Need to Lose 100 LBS -Robins Thread !

Good morning. Came in under calories yesterday by the skin of my teeth. EVEN with the wine I drank! Probably because I ate ALOT of Zucchini (LOL). DS has a soccer tournament this weekend ALL day today and most of tomorrow morning. Luckily it is 45 minutes away so not too bad. Plan for today at the fields is a subway veggie sub...NO CHEESE...and Pop Chips (my new favorite chip replacement...) Just trying to maintain since I am on vacation until Friday!
Have a great on plan day friends!
Onward
Allie

Just doing a drive by....I CAN BREATHE AGAIN!! The cold is gone!! :glasses:

Michael and I took our two kids and two of our nephews to Turtle Lake ND for Turtle Days. Started early with an hour drive. Caught a parade, watched a Pine Box Derby, ate some lunch, jumped on the inflatables, and watched 176 turtle race. We were so hot, we had to quit...don't know how many turtles they had in all, but when you only get 8 at a time, that's a lot of turtle races!!! The two younger ones (5&7) were DONE with the heat and we were DONE with the whining. :grumble: It was nice to drop the two boys off, take a shower and now I'm going to put aloe lotion on my sunburn (apparently, didn't get sunscreen on my back well enough) and relax.

Hope you all have a great Saturday!

Robin - Hate to read about your migraine. I get them, but never to the point where I get so sick. My head or I should say eyelids just throb. I always wonder if mine is just sinus pressure. I also have very bad eye sight so also think my headaches come from that too. Who knows? Was so excited to see your loss though. WTG!!!

Skinny - There's so many reasons I love this thread. We have so many folks and everyone is at a different time in their journey. You've already lost so much and I know you have a bit more to go. It shows me that this is an ongoing journey and even if you lose 50, 100 or 150 lbs we still have to maintain and this is our life going forward. I think your plan is perfect. Enjoy your trip. You're going to have some fabulous food and plenty of adult beverages I'm sure, but you'll get in so much walking too. We can do this. I know we can.

Joandue - I just joined a gym and I've been meaning to set-up a training session, but just haven't done it. I know that's when I start to spiral when I'm doing everything right - eating, logging, exercising, etc. . . and nothing happens. Plateaus suck!! Like MowMow said just keep at it and you will start to see the changes. Like others said it may be in inches versus pounds initially, but you'll start to go down. I know it.

Laurie - Have fun!!! You've worked hard and deserve every little kudos you get this weekend. I went to my 20th, but not my 25th. I have my 30th in 3 years and would love to hear that I've changed the most (appearance wise of course).

Holly - It's so good to see you back. I was wondering where you went. Sorry to hear about the relationship roller coaster. Just remember you always have to come first. Take care of YOU!!!!! While I get lonely and it would be nice to have a companion, I have kept my focus on my son and job. Plus, changing my lifestyle and making better choices is taking everything out of me. No time for men right now. Some day.

Kaye - I always love seeing your post. I just wish I had my mom close by so she could go shopping with me or spend time with my son. He's the only grandchild, but my parents live in south Florida and I'm in Vegas. They were here for 10 days in June. Cyrus and I are heading to Sarasota for vacation in a few weeks. We can't wait!!!

Vicki - Always good to check in just so we know you're doing OK. Keep us posted and check in whenever you can.

Shrink - Like Vicki, it's great to see you stop by too. I need to meditate or spend more quiet time. I'm always on the go, but really need to step back and breathe. Great lessons to learn.

Allie - Woo Hoo being under today. Now to it again tomorrow. I've got an 11 year old son. Luckily, we have no sports this summer. He just got home from a week at church sleep away camp. He had a blast!! His laundry though - oh my!! I don't think I've ever smelled something so foul in my life. LOL!!!

Saturday Success: Well, the day isn't quiet over, but I'm really under my calories AND I made good choices. As many of you know, I've been in a funk for a long time. I keep holding on and checking in with this group, but just eating junk and not exercising. I'm home the next two weeks before vacation starts. I'm really going to use these weeks wisely and get back on track. I've got the menu done for next week. I'm getting groceries this weekend and loading up on veggies, fruit and protein. The year is half over and it's not been good around my weight loss. I'm going to make the second half - MY YEAR!!!!

@Alliern - Welcome! Folks here aren't extra hardcore about the 100# mark :flowerforyou: .. and Kinda nice to see another RN on here!

@Robyn - forgot to mention that I love the new pic!

Saturday Success - looking on the positive here (believe me, it's a little difficult right now).. I'm staying close to my (tiny) numbers, but I'm often over a little bit :grumble: Sodium seems to be one of my problems too. The real success is the SIZES going down, even if the SCALE isn't cooperating. I'm having to decrease down to 14-16 (and mostly 14s) :glasses: Yep, feeling pretty cool about that.

Pretty awesome when you have to 'flush' your undie drawer because everything is falling off!:laugh:

Have a fabulous week everyone!

Coming to the end of another successful day. I had 2 grandkids overnight while the older members of the family participated in a wood gathering project for the needy. They are cute kids and very self-sufficient (ages 11 and 8). I completed my 1.5 mile walk a few minutes ago. I've got to remember to use mosquito repellent. The compression stockings don't deter the little critters at all!
I accomplished several small tasks that have needed completing. I made some bags for ice packs with cheap feed corn in them. My sister had some and they really work well. A few hours in the freezer and they stay cold quite awhile. They conform to the shape of the leg, or whatever, really well, too.
I haven't tried to log the strength training exercises I do for my knees. I didn't quite figure it out. Is there a calorie count for that kind of exercise? I guess it doesn't matter since I don't plan to eat back the calories anyway.
vickimieth-- love the visual of "flushing" the undies. LOL
I'm one of the worst for setting goals and then feeling like I have failed if I don't make to the goal. We have to remember this is a journey. Susan, you have lost a lot. Look at where you started, not where you thought you might be. I'm saying this for me, too.
Karen so excited for you trip. I hope its wonderful.
Have a good evening. Kaye

@kris--great NSV!!

@vickie--congrats on the smaller sizes--that's the best reward (even better than the scale going down IMHO).

@sherrie--hope the tech resolves your computer issues. I chuckled a little with your comment about you DH trying to fix it. I feel your pain--as I type my DH is "fixing" our dishwasher. Now don't get me wrong, he's very mechanically inclined and often gets it right, but he tends to go on "instinct" rather than doing any research, so it's a crap shoot. It's hard for me to get too concerned in this case b/c 1. it's just a dishwasher (if he ruins it, I have 2 good hands) and 2. I think it's older than me--I was up for tossing it to the curb when we bought the house 12 years ago b/c it wasn't working well. He rehabbed it and it's given us a dozen good years of service since then, so if he ends up breaking it, oh well.

@susan--thanks for the support. I'm not too worried about gaining while on vacation. As you said, I will be doing a lot of walking in general. Plus, the friend I'm traveling with is very fit and active (not to mention about 15 years younger than me). We've both agreed that we want to do a lot of outdoor activities like hiking and maybe cycling which I'm sure will make up for the food and drink. Sounds like you've got some good planning done (foodwise) so I know you will start making progress soon as well.

@tracy--glad you are feeling better and sounds like a fun day at the turtle races.

@robin--hooray for the drop on your scale--glad it finally decided to cooperate with you. I was also sorry to hear about your migraine. I had about 5 years where I got them regularly (from about age 35-40)--1st they were frequent but not so severe. Then they occurred less often but were much more severe (like violent vomiting severe :sick: ). Then they just stopped--I still occasionally feel the beginnings of one, but as long as I take Aleve IMMEDIATELY I'm fine.

@allie--welcome! :flowerforyou: Sounds like you had a good plan for food today.

@sara--yeah, gotta love the Basques! I don't really have anything USA themed and I've been wanting an authentic team jersey for years, so I think I will buy one while I'm there. A friend of mine just returned from France and she bought me one of the standard yellow t-shirts, but I want an actual cycling jersey. Not sure which team--I would love one for Garmin (US team), but I'll have to see what's available. I'm sure there will be a lot of merchandise and it will probably be pricey, but that will be my one "splurge" souvenir purchase for myself.

I know I missed a bunch of personals, but it's getting late and I'm still exhausted from a busy week.

Friday Fitness:
I kind of fell off the 30DS wagon this week--I had trouble finding level 3 online and then my leg cramped up when I decided to do level 2 instead. I was planning to do try it again today, but the same calf muscle cramped up on my run this morning. I'm still limping tonight, so I'm done with any exercise (other than walking) prior to my trip. I really don't need to be hampered by an injury.

Saturday Success:
Well, some friends had a party today and I made a healthy quinoa salad to bring as a side. I was very proud of that effort b/c I don't like to cook, so I usually bring hummus and pita chips. On the down side, DH and I arrived at about 2:30 (the invite said any time after 1 pm) and by 4:00 there were still no signs of even firing up the grill to cook the burgers and chicken. I was starving but my healthy quinoa salad was stored someplace awaiting "dinnertime." The only food was a bunch of cookies and chips and taco dip, plus these mini-ham sandwiches. I ended up snacking on a bit--a few plain chips, one mini-sandwich, one cookie and a few dark chocolate covered pretzel thins. DH and I were both tired so we ended up leaving around 4:30 having not eaten and the only food in the house was left over taco bell DH bought last night. All in all I wasn't over calories by much, but it was disappointing to eat tacos for dinner when I thought it would be chicken breast and quinoa salad. And of course, now I'm hungry, but I will just go to sleep rather than eat more.

Sunday share- I am 43 years old and have been on this journey for about 3 years and on MFP for about 2.5 years. I have learned many valuable lessons about managing what I eat and the choices I make when it comes to food. Now, I love exercise and it is a major stress reliever for me. I enjoy doing a variety of activities including swimming, rock climbing, cycling all of these would not have been possible.

This weekend I attended my 25th high school reunion. It was a fun event and I surprised a few people with the way I looked. I did get many compliments on my dress which was a mint green sleeveless dress. It was the first time I have worn a dress in years. It felt really nice to wear a dress and show off a little.

Based on the past week and my experiences with cycling, I will be looking into buying a new bike. A classmate owns a bike shop, so I will go to the shop and see what he can do for me. If I continue to ride my bike then my fingers could go numb to the ulna nerve (runs from the neck to the fingers on the outside of the arm), it will go away and my friend bikes causes my butt to hurt like crazy but the fingers don't tingle. I rather deal with finger than the bottom due to the level of comfort. Therefore the best course of action is to buy a new bike that is fitted to me. I have tried many times to get my bike to fit the problem is that it is a little to small for me. The handle bars and seat is at the highest it can go.

For those of you who exercise or do a lot of outdoor work, I want to suggest that you try Smart Water. It has the electrolytes that Gatorade has without the sugar content. It tastes like water and my trainer recommended it. You can find it at Safeway, Sam's club and even Royal Farm stores- I am sure the other major grocery stores also carry it.

Exercise Goals:
Sunday- bike 20 miles DONE
MOnday- Trainer
Tuesday- Rest
Wednesday- Swimming
Thursday- gym
Friday- Rock Climbing
Saturday- Swimming

Have a great week.

Thanks to all for the well-wishes for my trip!!! :flowerforyou:

@laurie--glad you enjoyed the reunion. The dog sitting sounds less than ideal--I love animals, but I think other people's animals are much more annoying than our own.

@robin--:drinker: Thanks for the reminder to pack a reusable water bottle--I refuse to pay exorbitant prices to stay hydrated. Also, one trick I learned about those Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine meals is to add more frozen veggies. They always seem to have a lot of "extra" sauce, so I'll add more of whatever veggie the meal features--in the case of the one you described I would add some extra spinach; especially if I am eating one as my whole meal.

Sunday Share:
For the new folks, my name is Karen and I'm a HS English teacher in the suburbs of Chicago. I'm married with one fur-baby--a boxer/shepherd mix named Gunner. I joined MFP in March 2011 and found robin's original thread in July 2011. I'm so thankful for finding this thread--I'm quite certain I would have quit by now if not for all of the love and support of my MFP friends--specifically those on this thread.

As you may have gathered from some of the other posts, I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow. A dream trip to Zurich, Switzerland to visit some friends who moved there last fall. I'm traveling with a good friend and colleague who is a seasoned traveler (her mom is a flight attendant). My DH decided not to come b/c he's not overly fond of traveling--his idea of a fun trip is to go to an all-inclusive resort and lie on the beach all week. Truth be told, I'm not sure we could have afforded to both go, so I'm glad it worked out that he didn't want to go. In addition to Zurich, we will be in Albertville, France for Stage 19 or the Tour de France--if you are watching, look for me--I'll be the girl cheering on the side of the road. :laugh: Seriously though, I was printing out some of the route maps tonight and it looks like the TDF will go right past our hotel!! So excited!! We will also do an overnight trip with the friends we're visiting to Locarno, near the Italian border, as well as some day trips to Lucerne and maybe Bern or Basel.

I will miss you all and will probably do a quick drive-by once or twice since I will have internet access while staying with my friends. Au revoir!