Need to Lose 100 LBS -Robins Thread !

Sunday Share: Tracy in Bismarck, ND. 41 years old. Married for 18 years. Two kids - Jacob, 12 and Emma, 7. Work in Life Insurance out of my home (quality improvement, not selling ). Been overweight my entire adult life. Had a pretty sucessful start to this in January 2013 and been losing the same 5-10 pounds for almost a full year now). Started with a personal trainer and really enjoying seeing how much I can really do. Now to get the eating under control. Love this thread and do much better when I check it often.

Monday check in: I suck at the weekends. I really have to get some structure down as that is always helpful for me. This running from place to place isn't doing me any good. I forgot how busy Palm Sunday was in my church from last year. Next weekend is Easter so it'll be another struggle, but I'm working with my siblings to find out what will be the menu items so I can have a plan.

@Nettie...congrats on a quickened pace. I'm still as slow as a herd of turtles but at least I'm moving.
@shadow...I've heard the 'losing toenails" thing before and it freaks me out. Sorry about your pain...I have no suggestions.
@Susan...sorry I missed you this weekend...hope you have a wonderful vacation!!!
@Robin...Michael and Jacob are headed to Captain America in the next week. They are very excited for it.
@Karen...glad you had a good time (and pretty active) conference.
@Kelley...I've only done the land cruise (started in Fairbanks...boarded the ship just outside Anchorage...debarked in Vancouver)...what will the back to back entail? Thanks for the advise (my ice pack is a close friend when I'm home - ha). Whoop whoop -- 450#!!!!
@Laurie...WOW. you impress me over and over with your activity? This might sound like a dumb question, but is biking the last event of a tri?
@Kris...HAHAHa! Chips and Onion Dip...Love the cat bed, not only great for the kitty, but everytime you look at it, you will think of your Dad.
@L2T...I suffered from planta fascitis as well. Luckily, after I got better at excercising regular and new shoes with great support, it doesn't bother me at all anymore.

AFM: I spent this weekend just going and going. Saturday started with choir practice, then I set up for the Easter event we were having (kid's carnaval at church). Took Emma to the event. Took my Mom and Jacob to Jacob's festival. It was a lot of fun and he did such a good job. His quartet even got a "wow" from the judge and was told to keep playing together because he'd like to hear them again. Saturday night was "our family" celebration of my birthday. Red Lobster with too many calories. Then Emma bought me a new car charger for my van. We have a broken door on it and someone went in and took my charger and my GPS . Jacob wanted to buy me the Dragon program -- the one that you can speak and it will type for you. I told him to save his money and his comment was that I seem to type all the time. I convinced him that I can still type and that I don't need it -- he broke down at that point and asked for suggestions. Michael and I then cuddled on the couch and watched some DVR shows that we've wanted to see. Stayed up way too late!!

Sunday started with us singing the Cantata for both the 8:00 and 10:00 services. After that I took a nap. Then Emma and I went Easter dress shopping (she even chose a dress I had picked out and admitted that I had okay style :bigsmile: ). Then it was off to the rest of the mall for accessories, new shoes, compression shorts for Jacob, sweat pants for Jacob etc. Picked Jacob up in enough time to get him to church. Then Emma and I did grocery shopping. Michael came home from at 9:00 and we watched our last show while I finished some more carnations for my Easter Cake. I just need to do roses tonight and then all my "pre-prepared" items will be done.

April Goals:
30 Day Plank – 60 seconds
Remember why I want to do this!!!
Drinking my water – 8/30
Calorie intake – 8/30

Last week’s activity goals:
Monday – Cake Decorating class DONE
Tuesday – Gym with Trainer DONE
Wednesday – Water Aerobics DONE
Thursday – Cooking and Serving at The Banquet (I’ll be on my feet from 1-7:30 --- I think that’ll be enough) DONE
Friday – Gym with sister DONE
Saturday – Cantata practice, Jacob is at a music festival and then I’m helping with an Easter event at church…no time for a formal workout DONE
Sunday – gym with sister NOT DONE

This weeks' goals:
Monday - Gym and Cake Decorating Class
Tuesday - Walking
Wednesday - Gym with Trainer
Thursday - Walking
Friday - Gym with Sister
Saturday - Rest (Easter with Family) - relaxing walk
Sunday - Rest (Easter)

Today's "other" Goals:
**Drink that water
**Meet my calorie intake goal
**Deep clean my kitchen
**Get five roses done out of gum paste

You all have a wonderful day!!

Thanks for the confirmations that meal planning works! I'm going to try a bit harder to actually plan out what I need to eat for the day/week.

Aaron and I had an amazing time this weekend. **hush hush secret** I am falling in love with him, but I'm not ready to tell him that!
We hiked for about 2 hours on Saturday and had a picnic lunch. We ate really well all weekend, which we both felt better for! We're planning another roughly 8-9ish mile hike for this next weekend. I'm really glad he and I found something we both really enjoy doing.

I'm finally down to about 210 from the 217 last week. Still not the 209 I had, but I'm getting there.

The clothes I ordered from WetSeal came in, they're so TINY! The jeans are size 11....Aaron laughed at me telling me it's the small things. I said now I can pack twice as many clothes when we go on vacation this fall. I'm in a size 14/16 now, but I'll get to size 11, it's happening. He also laughed at me on our hike when I told him it's amazing how I can hike for hours, and my legs don't chafe because they don't really rub anymore. weirdness.

@littleshadow-OMG your poor toenails!

@ann- I love your picture. I love Doctor Who!

@Robin- No worries. My knees can take it. I'm not putting any more stress on them than I was when I was over 300lbs. I really hope you feel better soon.

@rainandwood- Focus on your studies! As long as you're making progress, we're still here silently cheering you!

@lauriek- woah! 26+ miles is VERY impressive!

@mowmow- I LOVE the apothecary look!

@kah- I'm so amazed by your weights. That's nuts!

@Aimee~Sounds like you had a fab weekend!

@Robin~Yikes, so sorry about your fall – sounds like you kind of stunned yourself when it happened. I’m glad to hear that it was nothing serious and that you’re doing okay, glad you’ll be able to see the PT and they can evaluate it.

@Tracy~My last AK cruise was very similar to yours, we did a land cruise tour also. This time we decided we wanted more time in each port to see and do all we could, best way was a back-to-back – which is essentially a round-trip cruise through Vancouver. It cruises north to Whittier (we’ll stay on board) and then cruise back south to Vancouver – ports of Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan are on both itineraries but the scenic cruising at the glaciers will be different. Both ways will include Glacier Bay but we’ll see College Fjord on the northbound itinerary and Hubbard Glacier on the sourthbound itinerary. In all, we’ll be on the ship for 14-days.

Little shadow- You look wonderful. You can really see a difference in your pictures.

MOW-mow- I love the cat bed. How did you fix the lid so it doesn't snap shut unexpectedly?

aimee- Great job with the hike and the picnic lunch.

tlh- Biking is the middle event in the triathlon. The order of events is Swim, bike then run. That is great about your trainer working out for you. They are a great resource in holding you accountable and pushing you to try new things and to find a limit.

Today was good day did some running drills and strength training with my trainer. This week I will try going to a swim team practice for an evening workout. The only reason why I am trying it is due to spring break and not having to go to work the next morning. I am also interested in finding out if I can handle a more intense swimming workout. I will meet my trainer there and she will introduce me to her coach. So I am nervous but hopefully it will be a great experience. Worse case, I will just give up and swim on my own.

MOW-mow- I love the cat bed. How did you fix the lid so it doesn't snap shut unexpectedly?

It's got hinges, but there's no tension so it wouldn't 'snap' shut. It's set far enough from the wall to rest the bag against the wall falling closed (and close enough to the wall to keep it from flopping back all the way).

You could still close the lid and use it for seating if need be (and the person was not too heavy)

This evening MowMOw is sleeping IN it and Book is sleeping UNDER it. It's become a bunk bed, I guess.

Kris-love your projects.
Robin- sorry about your fall.
Littleshadow-your pictures look good. Doesn't it feel good to see progress?

My day has certainly been a mixed bag. Good news first. Today was the 3 year check up for DH's kidney cancer surgery. He has a clean bill of health. We also got to see Baby Jane and her brothers. She has a bad cold and wasn't feeling very good. DH did get her to coo and smile at him just as we were getting ready to leave. The boys were excited to see us. We'll see them again on Sam's birthday in May.
When we were getting ready to leave about noon, I couldn't find my purse. I finally found it on the floor in the bathroom wrapped in a towel. Anya had a busy morning.
Food and exercise were a loss today. I don't even know how to log it. I ate a good breakfast, but skipped lunch because I spent all morning munching on the candy popcorn I made yesterday. I had told myself I could just eat enough to satisfy my craving and then give the rest to Cathy's boys. Well, that didn't happen. :blushing: I walked to school this morning with Keith, but didn't get home early enough to walk this evening. The only exercise I got was a lot of grocery shopping at Costco and Winco. Then I had to put it all away. I don't know how to log that. We ate dinner at my favorite buffet. I feel okay about my choices there. Well, tomorrow is another day. I bought a lot of fresh fruit for snacking.
Onward and downward. Kaye

It's a rainy, story day in NC today. And they're calling for frost tonight so I'll be hauling all the old sheets outside to cover my tender plants. Very unusual for this time of year! Not much to report today. Just staying the course and staying at or under my calorie goal.

Hope everyone has a great day!

April Renaissance - Fighting Complacency:

At or under Calorie goal: 12/30

Exercise Goals:

Saturday - 5 miles walking DONE
Sunday - 3 miles walking DONE
Monday- Rest Day DONE
Tuesday - Pilates
Wednesday - Cardio/Weights/Stretch
Thursday - Pilates
Friday - Cardio/Weights/Stretch

@Laura~What a strange conversation with the supervisor for the intern position, surely they understand a person wanting to live a healthier lifestyle. :indifferent: I think Zumba being canceled was a Godsend, given your current knee issues I think it’s important that you give yourself several days of rest (not only that but Zumba is terrible for knees) – also if you can form an ice pack (they may even give you one at student health), I highly recommend icing it several times a day for 20-minutes. Surely your dietician understands the stress you are under with your classes and knows that cortisol levels greatly influence weight loss. Hang in there.

@Hansea~Sounds like you had a great weekend with your hubs, sans kids – very important!

@L2T~Weather here has been crazy too, freeze/frost warning here through 10am. I wish the weather would make up its mind – running the heat and a/c in the same day is just crazy! :explode:

@Heidi~I definitely see a difference in your pics, you’re doing great!

@Tanya~I love lazy, rainy days! As for running, it’s important to start out slow and get adequate recovery as you stated. I highly recommend following a c25k program to get you started, it will have you running 2-3 days a week in short segments. If you have a day at physio where you’re just doing legs, I don’t recommend doing it that day – too much load for your hamstrings and quads, which leaves you susceptible to injury. Also, make sure you have some really good running shoes – if you have access to a store that specializes in running shoes I highly recommend being fitted, your feet/knees will thank you! :happy:

AFM~I found a great section of a park near my house with awesome trails, so ran yesterday for the first time since before vacation. I bundled up as it was windy and chilly, but it felt great! :bigsmile: I did some running drills and after each segment I stopped and did 20 squats, so my legs got a really good workout – also got in some kettle bell sumo squats and push-ups. My hamstrings are a little sore this morning – I suspect it’s a combination of heavy weights on Sunday and the squats yesterday. I’m sad this morning because the 5k I run every May has been canceled this year :sad: – it’s an event for women, I hope they are able to hold their event in the Fall. I may need to find another 5k event in May or June to run – I plan to do the 10k in September if its being held and then if all goes according to plan (and I can stay injury free) a half in December.

April Renaissance:

Planks 14/30
Under Calories 11/30

Tentative Exercise Goals:

Sunday~Trainer DONE!
Monday~Cardio/resistance outside DONE! (running drills)
Tuesday~Cardio (hopefully)
Wednesday~Trainer
Thursday~Cardio
Friday~Rest Day
Saturday~Cardio

Argh…started this two times and had it go down! :grumble: Now I’m typing it on a Word document and going to copy and paste. What a waste of time!

@Robin…wow! That would throw anyone for a loop to just fall out of the blue. Glad you weren’t hurt worse and could get up.

@Kelley…Yes, I can see how that back to back would be wonderful. I enjoyed my Bahama cruise, but did miss the beautiful scenery you always have on an Alaskan cruise (but enjoyed the temps in the Bahamas better – haha).

@Shadow…you can really see the difference – great job! :flowerforyou: Hmmm? I’ve lost 30 pounds and don’t see it in my pictures at all…grrrrr.

@ Kaye…Yay to a clean bill of health for DH!!!

@Rain…that is illegal for her to bring that up. I’m mad for you!

AFM…Had a very modified workout last night. I didn’t get it done until after my class and I could tell the difference on my left heel. I don’t feel it was very effective, but I got one in. This morning when I did my plank, I must have been tired. At 24 seconds, I felt like I had been doing it a lifetime. At that point, I didn’t think I’d make it, but I kept repeating “you did 60 yesterday, no problem to get there at least.” Then when I got to 60, it was like, “well, you can do 5 more seconds!!” VERY SHAKY but I made it. :glasses:

Last night a lunar eclipse and today another rarity in my household: No plans!! Saxophone lessons have been cancelled and while Jacob is now going to see the Globe Trotters with a friend, Emma and I do not have to leave the house. It’s going to be close to 50 today so I plan on taking a walk, but other than that I’m going to have my windows open and keep going with the cleaning. Our kitchen is very tiny (makes sense since the apartment is tiny) and the top of my cupboards are extra storage for cake decorating, pans, crock pot etc. I will set Emma up on the counter and hopefully get it all cleaned off and organized again. After that I move onto the bathroom.

April Goals:
30 Day Plank – 65 seconds
Remember why I want to do this!!!
Drinking my water – 9/30
Calorie intake – 9/30

This weeks' goals:
Monday - Gym and Cake Decorating Class KINDA DONE (MODIFIED) AND DONE
Tuesday - Walking
Wednesday - Gym with Trainer
Thursday - Walking
Friday - Gym with Sister
Saturday - Rest (Easter with Family) - relaxing walk
Sunday - Rest (Easter)

Today's "other" Goals:
**Drink that water
**Meet my calorie intake goal
**Deep clean my kitchen (I have one cupboard, the top of my cabinets and the floor left)
**Get five roses done out of gum paste (after class last night, I just didn’t want to pull it all out again)
**Go to bed by 10:00.

You all have a wonderful Tuesday!!!

My goal is to try and fit in some fitness during this busy Holy Week. Yesterday was a rest day. This morning, since I don't have to go into work until 3 pm and the kids are in school all day, I was able to spend a lot of time at the gym. I ran 2.5 miles on the treadmill. The gym just got three new treadmills with "virtual activity" on them, so I tried it out for the first time. Kind of cool! It plays the scenery of different places as if you're running there. I chose a parks version which took me through some highlights of Yosemite Nat'l Park and Sequoia Nat'l Forest. It cleverly popped up with factoids wherever there was a large increase in the incline. Neat distraction!
I then spent 30 minutes lifting, wall-sitting and planking. I'm broke through my 30 second-jam on the planks! Woo hoo! 35 seconds!

Still cold and snow on the ground, but the sun is out. Hopefully, it melts some of this stuff!

Nettie- Jealous of your gardening! Looking forward to some warm temps so I can clean up my yard and beds.

Tlh- High five on your plank!! Way to give yourself a positive pep talk. We can do so much more than we think we can. :drinker:

Mel- Sounds like you're stuck in a negative loop. All you can do is work on your health, hope it has positive effects on your weight loss, thus leading to even better health. One will feed the other in a good way.

Kah- Great trail run and squat session! Wow!

Ann- Visual cues are so helpful. I love making lists for everything and physically crossing stuff off. Helps reinforce good behavior, for sure!

Well, going to go prep a slow-cooker beef stroganoff and take a shower. Then on to grocery list and laundry!! Getting stuff done today! Make it a great one, everyone!

April Renaissance:

1. Under calories: 8/30
2. Wall sit: 8/30, 65 sec.
3. Forearm Plank: 8/30, 35 sec.