*** Supportive Friends -- Looking to Release 50+ Pounds ***

@Jane, yes, surprisingly enough, my boy made it home with all his stuff. Congrats on proper pushups! They are tough! Hoping work goes better for you. Have you finished the project where the deadline was moved up?

@Tru - The "dead" bunny story is great! I think though, that I will never have one as a pet. When I was really little my older sister had one, and that thing was vicious! Bit me till I bled...
I'm surprised you're able to type after all that weeding. I need to go do some, but I'm totally dreading it. I'm always so sore afterward.

@Ron - no, I did not blindfold my babies! Silly man. As far as running in that heat goes, I think it's part of why I was so exhausted yesterday. I just had NO energy at all. Sat around and did nothing all day. But I'm up and at it again today, and extremely thankful that it's only in the 70's today. By the way, congrats on your awesome NSV for your trip to Germany! In India, take lots of pictures of cool stuff and share them please.

Today is a not crazy day. Love it. Tomorrow, craziness picks up again. Going to see my husbands latest play, and taking our children (should be interesting, 4 year old has never been to one). Hoping my parents come to see it so I can have a little help with him.
Thursday, Independence Day! Yes, I still celebrate it, even though I'm an honorary Brit. Spending the entire day out at my in-laws tribal firework stand (where you can get the good stuff that's illegal elsewhere).
Friday, driving down to Oregon, Mt. Hood National Park, overnight camping & and hike to Ramona Falls on Saturday with about 20 other people from my family. Four plus hours driving each way.
Sunday, probably a trip to Tacoma with my sister and mom, Babies-R-Us! We'll probably help her get a registry started.
Monday. Hm. I think I'll do nothing on Monday. That sounds good to me. LOL

So with all this madness going on, I'll probably not be commenting here for a few days! Hope you all have a good rest of your week, and good weekends!

Just joining to see if I can finally motivate myself to eat right and get rid of this weight. I have 70lbs to lose. Gosh it's tough to have to admit that. Got a walk this AM and had a good breakfast. Now if I can only avoid the 2pm munchies and after dinner dessert cravings.

@srwinks - Welcome aboard!

Hope everyone is having a great Thursday!

@tru - yep super busy - but not too busy to come on the board and say 'yay, it's weekend'!!!!!

I'm back on track - have done my session on the cross trainer this evening and will back with the ferocious Jillian Michaels workout tomorrow. Going to pick up some Friday fish and chips in a bit then we are going to the cinema in Brighton to watch the new Superman film. I'm spectacularly unexcited about it as a film but husband wants to see it and there is nothing wrong with a friday evening cinema trip. Have my parents coming round on Sunday - we offer them tea and cake and in exchange I get a couple of hours work in the garden from my dad - and advice on what else I can do with it. Seems like a fair deal!

Have a good weekend all

@Jane - It's great to hear that you are back on track! And doesn't it feel great? I always find when I am in a funk I kind of half-heartedly make my way through workouts, but when I am back in the groove, it feels AWESOME!! I'm actually starting to love that Jillian. Who would have thought?! Glad to hear you are back with her as well! How did you like "Man of Steel"? I have yet to make it out to see it, but have heard very good things. Agreed, tea and cake in exchange for garden work is a spectacular deal!

@Steph - So glad to hear you are feeling more positive! Great goal! I am not a runner, so any running is very impressive to me. Throwing in hills? You are a rock star! Please don't ever feel deflated for attempting a challenge. That's why it is called a challenge. It is suppose to be something that you have to work at and eventually conquer. Imagine how great it will feel when one day you run the hills as though they are flats!!! Were you are at now is just a starting point. What level you take your fitness too is completely up to you. You just need to commit. You can do it! As for the munching, just make sure you keep plenty of healthy snacks on hand. I've recently re-discovered baby carrots and hummus. Easy to travel and very tasty! How did the pamper session go? 5-hour training session sounds awesome! I hope you go for it!

I spent 2.5 hours at the garden yesterday. It was 36C (96F). So, I must be doing something right to have lasted that long. Although I must remember to bring along more water. Thirsty was an understatement! The tomatoes and beans are blossoming. Is blossoming the correct term? Anyways, the peas are climbing higher and higher and then lettuce is out-of-control (in a good way). The carrot tops also look good, but I'm not really sure how you know when the carrots themselves are ready. So much to learn!

As far as challenges go, I thought I add a little note. Never be afraid to try. If you fail, so be it. Make that your starting point and progress from there. The important thing is to never give up. Try again. There are no rules on how quickly you have to progress nor how quickly you need to conquer a challenge. And sometimes you learn your limits and realize you can't conquer said challenge, that's okay too. But trying your best is what matters. So please, always have faith in yourself, listen to your body, and aim for your personal best!

All the best! Have a wonderful Sunday!! xo

Hello lovely people! I'm back from the wilderness. Literally. Friday morning, after running and yoga, and packing up my car, I drove myself and the boys 3.5 hours southeast to Mt. Hood in Oregon. Set up my tent, helped my aunt set up hers, built a fire, herded cats (children), roasted hot dogs & marshmallows, inhaled too much smoke, explored the campground, went to bed, and stayed awake half the night. It was fun until that last part. I am not built for sleeping on the ground!! I even stole my boys sleeping mats to add to mine (they're young, they can handle it!), and it was still 3 a.m. before I fell asleep. Woke up at 5:30, had to go to the bathroom of course. Then couldn't get back to sleep, and my older son woke up shortly after I did, so we got up and made a fire, heated up water for hot cocoa & coffee (lots of coffee!) and had our breakfast. It felt somewhat weird, but I did yoga outside while waiting for my hot water. All standing poses so I wouldn't get dirty. After a while, boy two woke up, and had breakfast, and spilled his hot cocoa and cried, ate a marshmallow and was happy. Sent boys one and two to hang out with my aunt and cousins while I broke down camp, then drove to the Ramona Falls trailhead. Most of the rest of my family who had planned on being there was there first, and we headed out at about 10:45 a.m. About a quarter mile in, I realized I had forgotten the Northwest Forest Pass in my purse, so had an impromptu half mile run. Then we continued with the hike. Boy two is 4 years old and 37 lbs fully clothed, and I spent about 1/3 of the hike carrying him on my back. It was incredibly difficult! But between my dad and I, he made it up to the falls. I'd say the hike is relatively easy, if you're already in shape. 7.2 miles round trip. But not being in the best shape of my life, and adding herding and carrying my children to that, on not nearly enough sleep, it was not easy! But it was fun, because I did it with my family, specifically my aunt, who has recently lost 66 lbs, and my brother in law who is lighter now by 80 lbs.
I did not get home until 10 p.m. yesterday, and I was originally planning on a shopping day with my mom and sister today. That did not happen. I got up at 8, put pics of the hike on facebook, went back to bed for an hour, got up, had some toast, planted my backside in the recliner, and didn't really get out of it until 2:30, at which point I went to bed and slept for an hour. While my husband used the weedeater beneath our open bedroom window! lol, I am really tired! The rest of my plans for today include sleeping some more, and maybe sleeping again later. I'll catch up with you all later!

Hi all,

Don't have a lot of time to post, but I've written my first impressions of India into my blog - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ron2e - more to come later plus pics.

Keep going you wonderful people!!

@Tru, I used to be built for camping, did it many time growing up. And on into adulthood. I think it's the part where I had to sleep on the ground, instead of using an air mattress. I drive a really small car and was trying to be economical with the space I had to pack. That's not happening again! lol
Glad to hear your garden is growing well, and I hope it's not too weedy when you get back to it. And you're right, the eye thing sounds painful! I hope you heal up quickly.

@Ron, pics please! Read the blog, sounds like an interesting place to be...

@Jane, I'd like to try your peach jam! Sounds yummy :happy: Hopefully your weekend was relaxing enough to make the work week bearable! Hope things get better at work soon.

@Steph, you may not like running outside, but it makes you a stronger runner! I have only once run on my treadmill since January when I got started with this. I just hate using it. How was your pamper session, good I hope? And did you go to the 5 hour (!) training session? That sounds intense btw.

So here it is Thursday afternoon. Spent Sunday recovering from my hike on Saturday. On Monday, I baked 8 loaves of bread, paid my bills, went to the grocery store, and ran 4 miles. And my husband came home with a 32" flat screen tv for our bedroom. Not sure what I think of that one yet...
The rest of the week has been pretty mellow. Other than hitting a major goal in weight loss! Now officially 1/3 of the way there. 50 lbs gone forever.
And yesterday, I ran 5.65 miles! I did the first 5 without stopping, but I was getting pretty tired that last little bit, and stopped about 4 times! lol! But I should be able to make it through the 8K I have coming up on the 20th. I plan on doing another long run on Saturday morning.

Been thinking about the changes made in my life in the past 6 months (tomorrow is my 6 month mark), and I think just a year ago I would have laughed out loud if someone told me I'd be running 5+ miles on a regular basis. Or planning on running a marathon before I turn 36 (which is 2.5 years out still). Glad I'm sticking with it this time!!

Just a quick check in to see how everyone is doing. Had a nice weekend - didn't get up to much - far too warm!! Got a man coming round this morning to talk to us about wood flooring - all good but he's late so I've had to go to work. Left my husband at home grumbling about the fact that the guy is stuck in traffic - why didn't he leave earlier etc etc!!

Anyway will check in later properly - have a lovely Monday all!

Another quick check in - pics from my India visit on my blog - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ron2e

Great trip back, got an upgrade to Business with air miles so had a seat that converted to a lie flat bed, the best way to travel long haul! I weighed myself when I got back Sunday afternoon and was the same as when I left which was great news as I knew, if I followed the normal pattern, I would lose over the next two or three days, and sure enough, as of this morning I'm down 1.8 lbs since Sunday 7th, with hopefully more to follow tomorrow!! Thinking at the moment I should get a body fat analyser scale, first I must persuade my wife to get rid of her ancient scales (non electronic!) and put my current 6 month old ones in her bathroom!