Kobie, I hope you are feeling better sooner rather than later. Have a great holiday weekend!

Today I walked for an hour, and prepared a healthy lunch and snacks for work this afternoon. I will review my diary entries from last year tonight, to help me plan my meals and snacks for this week. I have accomplished two things today that will take me closer to my goals.

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Gail!!! i was SO pumped to read your post this morning!! Huge, huge congrats my friend!!! It just goes to show us all that making small changes along the way leads to big results... and you have been putting in a lot of effort with identifying your own particular challenges and working on them, and committing to the biking - and the results are showing all your hard work!!!! i'm so happy for you girl.... and so proud of ya!!! Super job ... truly!!!! :flowerforyou:

Susan: I love your goals... and the way you have set daily and/or weekly ones.... thanks to your hydration challenge I was able to realize I absolutely need to drink more water, so I've been careful to set myself reminders on my phone every 2 hrs lol...!! Looking forward to hearing your progress this month!!!! love it!

Kobie!! OMG you poor thing!! I do hope you're feeling some better by now... must have been quite frustrating (and painful!) for ya!! Great job on starting to move around a bit, but remember to listen to yoour body... if you get fatigued, rest... don't push too hard - it can take a while for your body to recover from the invasion of surgery so go with what feels right for you!!! Hugs!

Hope all the Hatters are having a great summer..... don't forget to do what makes you happy, be with who makes you smile, and laugh as often as you can!!! :drinker:

Congrats Gail, I know you can accomplish anything! FSA acoount.....don't want to talk about them. I lost $600 last year. I have since then turned everything into an HSA, 401K, Roth and Investment accounts. FSA has too many restrictions for me.

Phayes...Welcome!!

Snoozie, so glad you are doing well. Great day!

See, thanks for posting such a wonderful topic. "The Chair" makes me squeamish. It's really sad.

People this weekend for sure starting tonight and going all the way through Sunday. I sometimes get overwhelmed and complain but then I ask myself......"Who did this?" me that's who! I have always had a "the more the merrier" mentality. I still do, now its just that I realize people are here to see me not inspect my cracks and crevices. I am looking forward to this weekend more than many others for that reason alone.

Have a great holiday weekend and do what you can to stay an track or accomplish your goals. I know I intend to!

*t

I've felt so absent lately it seems all I do is work. I haven't exercised as much as I should due to fact that I usually walk and the weather has been horrible here. but today the sun is finally back and so I will start moving again. even though I have a horrible head cold and all I want to do is drown myself in Nyquil and have a nice sleep - but since I am Mom I don't get to be sick so life goes on.

Purple... you said you've been eating healthy for a while, and moving more ... but you're failing miserably because the weight or inches aren't coming off?? I can totally relate to how frustrated you must be.... my first 8 weeks on here I almost gave up because nothing seemed to be happening and I was doing everything right... the Hatters kept me sane and offered a lot of helpful tips and thoughts from their own xperiences.... so i'm going to try to do the same if it's any help..

Do you log your food? I know that until I started religiously logging everything in my mouth, I was only "guesttimating" and turned out I was way over the calories I had set for myself.. and I had set my cals too low as well. but once I realized just how many cals I was consuming and not burning off.. and that I was trying to make too big a deficit to "speed things up".... things started to change. I also kept flipping from one idea to the next when nothing worked... low carb here, eat more to lose more, etc etc... I tried everything (I thought). The frustration was huge... but eventually I managed to find what worked for me... it took a lot of experimentation and a lot of mistakes but I got there... and continue to keep figuring out what works for me as I lose th weight.... cause I have to change things up I've discovered...... perhaps if you share a little with us about whther you log, portion sizes, how often you eat nd what you eat.. that sort of thing... maybe some of us who've been here a while can offer a little advice if you want ..... but if not that's fine too.... everyone has to find out what works for them, and whatever it is we will support you! hang in there.. as long as you are eating well and moving you're doing GREAT things for your health remember.... so it's all a win! :flowerforyou:

Purple.... you said " My daily calorie intake was set by MFP at 1200 and I usually come up about 100 to 300 shy of that. I include my exercise"

just to clarify...... including your exrcise.... does that mean you are eating back the calories you have burned from a specific exercise (i.e. walking etc)...??

Im just trying to understand how many NET caloires you are taking in.... if you are set at 1200 and only eat about 1000 on average (sayig usually 100-300 shy of the 1200).... AND you exercise (actual exercise I mean.. walking or swimming or something else... not daily things that you've always done movement wise like the cleaning and sweeping ) do you eat back the cals you burned in exercise or not??

(im not sure if those links you posted have something to do with your logging as my puter wont open them.... do u log food here on mfp?

I love your "Motivation Marbles", Susan!! and "Motivational Milestones" also!! A visual is such a good motivator!!
It gave me an idea about excercising...I'm getting a can and putting a dollar in every time I exercise....May not sound like a lot, but I can by something fun and cute with it when I get smaller, maybe nail polish!!

Great planning on your choices when out with your friend. I have been trying to follow your example at lunch...If I get a sandwich, I eat half and the remainder later on around 4:00. I am not so hungry when I get home at night. Thanks!

Speaking of sandwiches...I am going to limit myself, I have been eating way too many Tomato sandwiches... white bread and mayo...but fresh garden tomatoes are hard to pass up.

I am still trying to get my water in, along with not overeating at night...still one lb away from my ticker weight. I am so tickled that I have had a steady number for over a week..usually I push right back up the scale...

I hope everyone is doing well. Stay cool. drink your water.
G

lol Gail.. yes I would have! GOOD ON YA!!! You are awesome and happy if its working for ya... I find its wayyyyyy too long between lunch and dinner so I have to have that something to tide me over... ! :flowerforyou:

and don't feel bad... I didn't even realize you had done another post right before this one lol.... so i'm just gonna backtrack to it.

Sandwiches are such an easy "go to", aren't they?? Especially on dayshift I find myself eating way too many as well.. I actually switched to WW bread because of it.... the slices are 1/2 the thickness of a regular wonder bread kind, and more importantly for me, it/s 1/2 the carbs for 2 slices (and for me carbs = sugars). I HATE paying the price of the WW bread, but its the only one I've found that has lower carbs.. anyway... when I make a sandwich now tho, I ALWAYS include a protein.. chicken, tuna, egg, leftover steak, whatever.. and then I pile the veggies on.. tomatos, lettuce, onions, cucumbers, blah blah.. whatever I can find... and because its got all that good stuff in it, it's pretty high lol... so 1/2 at a time really satisfies me.... and I'm free to have the other half around 3pm to tide me over til dinner. Sometimes I'll just throw all the fixings in a tub and a little 1 ounce size tub of mayo.. and construct it at my desk so it doesn't get soggy from the tomatos. ha! But I do try to make sure it's only every OTHER day that I have the bread... inbetween i'll try to have a salad with chicken or beef, or leftovers from dinner the night before. If I have a tuna sandwich, then I usually only add lettuce so I'll take assorted veggies cut up and a little of the Ranch dressing for a dip on the side... again 1/2 the sammich with the veggies is enuf.. and about 3 hrs later i'm chowing down on the same thing again lol. Splitting it up over a couple of hours seems to work best for me at work..... and keeps me from that | i'm home and Im starving I cant wait for dinner so i'll eat whatevers handy" moment LOLOL.

Honestly Gail, Im so impressed and so happy for you.. you are really working at making changes and keeping up moving the body parts in some way every day.... and it shows in the scale as you said!!! You're doing great.. and I love the idea of Susan's marbles and stones, and I think its a great idea on the $ every time you exercise.....!! Great motiviation and especialy cause its a win win. you get to SHOP with the $ after for some lovely bling lol!

i am struggling with the water too ...... and I'm really having to work hard at it. but I'm making my goal more days than not so its just a matter of me really buckling down and getting the amount I want in - i may resort to putting little red stars on my calendar every day I make it. ust like back in school LOL!! Keep at it girl.. you're making great progress and i'm totally psyched for ya!!

From Snoozie:

Saw this great little article here on the MFP site this morning... a couple of tweaks that go back to the Hatters mindset of "small changes making a big difference!" Thought i'd share in case it's helpful for anyone else besides me LOL! Have a great day MFP's! ) The difference between a healthy life and an unhealthy one is largely based on patterns of choices. Missing one workout or having one indulgent meal does not make you a fitness failure any more than having one “perfect” calorie-intake day means you’ll stay at a healthy weight for the rest of your life. Some people stay motivated by making big, sweeping changes to their lives, but most people find they can stay on track for a longer period of time by incorporating small, but powerful changes—tweaks that snowball into serious health-achieving momentum. Here are four power teaks that can do just that for you. 1. Don’t keep kryptonite foods at home This doesn’t mean you can never indulge, but if you make it super convenient to get to your favorite splurges (things like cookie dough, snack cakes, or potato chips) you’ll end up reaching for those items every time the craving strikes. It becomes an even better treat when you have to work for it. For example, if you’re really craving ice cream, take a walk to your local scoop shop and buy a single serving. (For more on overcoming trigger foods, read So You Want to Stop…Eating Kryptonite Foods.) 2. Make water your default beverage Put boundaries around soda and other sweetened drinks if you struggle with sipping too many calories. Don’t keep them at home, and make them a treat for special occasions only. Keep water super handy all day, every day. There are so many ways to doctor up h2o you should never get bored—room temperature, super icy, flavored with sliced berries, cucumber, or citrus, the options are endless. (Read So You Want to Stop…Drinking Soda for more tips on breaking a sugary beverage habit.) 3. Move more Take the stairs. Get off the bus one stop early. Go for a walk after dinner every night (bring your partner or the dog for companionship!). It sounds simple, but if you track your steps you’ll see these simple extra activities can add a thousand steps to your day—that’s 365,000 extra steps every year! Plus, walking for just 15 minutes has been shown to improve digestion and encourage fat burn. 4. Take a stand at work If you’re a desk jockey, chances are you spend most of your day slumped over a computer. Shifting from sitting to standing for 3 to 4 hours a day can have a massive impact on your health. Recent reports show standing burns 50 more calories per hour than sitting, which translates to 30,000 calories (or 8 pounds!) in a year. Those standing desks don’t look so ridiculous anymore, do they? Remember, on the journey to health everything counts; every step, every snack, every time you choose water over soda, every time you click “Complete this entry” in MyFitnessPal and finish tracking for the day - See more at: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/2014/06/4-power-tweaks-for-a-healthier-happier-life/

Have a great day and stay healthy and happy all you crazy mad hatters....

Carol

Hey Gail... thanks for posting... thought the crickets had invaded again..... :laugh: :laugh:

We just met with a contractor... $17,000 for a new bathroom.... well, luckily there are plenty of hotels in the area (we only have one bathroom).....:noway: so guess I won't be drinking anytime soon....:drinker: (unless someone wants to go to Long Island and bring back some ice tea).....lol :blushing:

Good news - New Bathroom... destroy and replace EVERYTHING!
Bad news - wanted tile, but settled for acrylic.... easy to clean... and maintain... plus the real tile didn't feel as good as I thought it would... with a lifetime warranty...

See you all soon...:flowerforyou:

Carol

But on the flip side... did do zumba twice...:)