I only have 25 days until I see my vascular surgeon again and he will determine if I need bypass surgery.I honestly could be doing better so I am going to make a commitment to exercise every day and to work on my diet. I hope to lose 9 pounds this month.

You can reach your goal if you stay focused. We will help you to stay focused with lots of support and encouragement as long as you sign in every day. I sincerely hope that you will not need bypass surgery, but if you do, be sure to come back to MFP for support and encouragement during your recovery. Good luck!

Thank you very much!

The service for the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots is this morning in Prescott Valley, AZ. May God bless them and their families.

It's really hot in London at the moment. I'm not a heat lover, but it's good 'cos all I want to eat is salad and fruit! I'm a bit of a fruit bat anyway and that's why I wasn't doing too well on Weight Watchers.It's great for some but I was overdoing it with the zero PP fruit.I was shocked when I calorie-checked it and found how many calories I'd been consuming. I have a local market which is very reasonable for fruit and veg, have just been there this morning to stock up the fridge with healthy stuff.

I love non dairy smoothies! My hubby makes the best fruit smoothies with a berry mix and fruit juice. Yum!!!

We've got 3 grandchildren for the next week or so and that will keep us hopping. They are 11, 9, and 6. We have bikes for them and a neighbor loaned us 2 scooters. The kids are having a blast. Tomorrow the other grandchild (8 almost) will be here, too. We're going to have a birthday celebration for the almost 8 yr old, with water gun fights along with bike riding, and scooter riding. Then carrot cake and ice cream! I can't have the cake :grumble: (gluten free), but I can have the ice cream.:bigsmile: Fun will be had by all!!!!!!

Wooken3 - you made my day! Thanks for the Video!!

This video is just a hoot and so true for us over 60 :bigsmile: Peace Man

Pretty funny, but the sad part is that by exercising and eating right we are doing what over 60% of Americans (overweight and obese) should be doing. To loosely quote Bob Dylan Those not busy being born are busy dying...

Nice one, Joe

Joe--I know I'm a little behind, but you're doing great! Know that people can get off BP meds is an inspiration to me.

Well, like Wooken, by sticking with it I've seen some major changes. Last week I hit a milestone 60 lbs lost and I celebrated by taking on a walk/hike that I never would have been able to do a year ago. The one mile walk up trail on Stone Mountain is not really that steep or extreme (except for the 100 foot "wall" near the summit) and hundreds of people do it every weekend day. It IS equivalent to climbing a 76 story building. The view from the top on another rainy day (normally you can see the Atlanta skyline):

Beautiful picture...I miss hiking and want to get back to it...

I know you can do it..we will all keep cheering you on! I will keep good thoughts that you will not
need any surgery!

I'm so proud of you, Joe! I know that getting off the meds was another one of your inspirations/goals. I think it is amazing that you've accomplished so much, so quickly. Way to go, honey!

I am one of those people that doesn't eat enough vegetables. I've always been like that. While I've improved some, I still don't eat nearly enough.

Joe did some research and found a great solution for me. Arden's Gardens Yoga I juice. It looks weird to me (very green) but has a pretty good pineapple taste, and it's easy for me to "down a shot" a couple of times a day.

I highly recommend it for anyone else who needs more veggies in their diets.

I'm not good with veggies either....lol....What's the recipe for it...would love to try it...

The "Yoga 1" recipe is fresh pineapple, apples, kale, spinach, water, ginger and lemons. Arden's Gardens juices are local Atlanta produced cold pressed juices that don't have any preservatives, so I doubt they are available nation wide. Other large cities probably have their own local juices. They fall into the green smoothie/ veggie juice category and there is a ton of info available about that online (most notably in some films, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead", "Forks Over Knives" and "Hungry For Change"). The premise is that by eating so much processed food with added sugars we are overeating and storing fat, but nutritionally starved so that we stay hungry all the time.

The first 40 lbs I lost (before coming to MFP) I did simply by walking daily, eating a big spinach and broccoli salad instead of my daily frozen pizza and fried chicken and switching from sodas to lemon water and club soda with lime. A little bit of exercise, a huge boost of nutrition and getting rid of a ton of added sugar (empty calories). Besides losing weight, I stopped craving so many sweets and snacks (the added nutrition cut down on those cravings).

Green smoothies are a way of packing a ton of nutrition into a glass that is easier to drink than chewing your way through a huge salad.or cooking up a bunch of veggies. The pressed juices and the ones produced in home juicers remove some of the plant fiber to make them less thick and easier to drink. Others, like heavy duty blenders and special made processors like the Vitamix, simply chop everything up and can bit thick (like a milk shake) but they have the added benefit of the fiber. I've been experimenting with a heavy duty, 40 year old Oster blender and so far my kale, spinach, apple and pineapple drinks don't match up with the professionally produced juice. But I'm learning ;^)

I like vegies and I found a comfort food in my chicken vegetable soup, it has some of what ever vegies I have on hand, cabbage, kale swiss chard, broccoli. carrots, onions, lots of garlic, celery, chicken stock and one thin sliced chicken breast added after the veggies have cooked soft. I use it as a basis for a hot and sour soup too. One way to get those veggies, I know, raw is better. But this is low cal and filling.

Go for it. We need to love ourselves enough to look after our bodies and our health. All the best in your new efforts to eat more healthy foods and lose weight.