Welcome, Karen! I live alone, too! This is a great, non-judgmental group! (Although I want some nagging to remind me to do my resistance bands -- I'm awful about doing them).

I don't have the pets. I just don't want the responsibility. Maybe I'm going through my rebellious years!

When I hit 200, my reward was a bathing suit. Definitely not a bikini. But this working out and eating lighter is paying off. I need a new bathing suit already!

Hey dear MFP friends!

Our coffeemaker just decided to bite the dust!
I would love opinions as to which is the best brand.

I don't think I want a one cup maker as Larry and I take our coffee to the deck most mornings - I don't want to go back and forth to the kitchen to get more coffee. But, if you love your 1 cup then tell me about it please!!

Thanks!!

Gramanana, I am so proud of you for the progress you are making! :flowerforyou:

Hello at the end of another weekend.

Charlie. It is easy to get room for that beer .... a few jigs and reels will provide all the room you need.

Welcome Karen and I wish you success in your efforts.

Reba. I am glad this harvest is in and hope you got a good yield.
I was thinking about your night time eating. A lot of people try to not eat anything in the evening because the calories are not needed while sleeping. This sounds reasonable but I found out decades ago that it does not work for me. I need a snack before bed or I will wake up in a few hours. (A heavy meal or alcohol before bed now have the same affect too.:huh: ) I have tried all kinds of things....fruit does not work, vegetables do not work, even meat does not work......the only thing that seems to work is starch foods. (No carb free for me). My favorites are nuts, granola bars and popcorn. Knowing I have that snack coming up at 9 pm keeps me from grazing after dinner.

Gramanana. I looked up a video on the weighted hula hoop and have some questions for you. Does it bother you knees at all? Looking at how the knees work when they are using it concerns me as I have one knee that does not like lateral motion. Is it really easier than an unweighted hula hoop? How heavy is yours?

I just went outside with the pups and both the frangipani and the lady-of-the-night is blooming and it smells so wonderful out there.

Wanda

Bvifun--I have no idea how much my weighted hula hoop weighs because my neighbor gave it to me. If I had to guess, I would say about 2 pounds. It is easier for me to use than a regular hoop, but I can't explain why. My neighbor said she could never get it to work herself. As far as the knees, my knees were already giving me problems after trying to use a non-motorized treadmill. The weighted hula hoop is easier on my knees because I try to use my hips and waist more than my legs. I do have a bruise on one hip, so hubby told me to take it easier for awhile. (I tend to get excited with an exercise that's fun and over do it. Then my asthma or some other problem kicks in and I have to quit exercising for awhile.)

Rebamae--thanks for your encouragement on my progress. I tend to get discouraged easily by the scale that either stays the same or goes up a couple of pounds and then, of course, I want to quit trying. However, I'm doing this mainly for me, so I keep on with the program. I do feel better and I'm not between sizes any more, I've actually finally settled at the lower size (8) so I'll just stop my whining and keep going. Any positive feedback I get from my hubby and my MFP friends really helps. So a BIG THANKS to you.

In general, yesterday was a fun day with a long time friend and hubby walking around a great care show we have every year out here and then going back to the friend's place to use his pool. I was the only one that went in to play, but I loved it! Really have to stop eating out because I think that even though I'm staying within my calories, the fat/sugar content might be what's holding me back. All I can do is keep trying new strategies to see what works for me.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Hi everyone!!

It has been an interesting Monday!
I could not sleep last night (finally west to bed at 4:00) - :sad: but that is the first time in a long time.

DH woke me early as I needed to drive my men so they could bring harvest equipment from the field an hour away. So, did not get to do what I had planned - but so very glad to be done with the worst harvest in our history. And we say "OH, WELL" :frown: and move on to the next chapter of being farmers. Actually the combine just drove in our drive :happy:

I am having the Sclerosing Mesenteritis flare ups again - :grumble: that I do not like at all. The medicine has kept me symptom free, so wondering what is going on. I will be sticking to a bland/soft diet again for a while. :frown: I am just praying that takes care of it. It was a good thing I had time to stop at the grocery store on my drive home.

Ate a late breakfast with my older DB & SIL. They are in the process of moving to a city 3 hours away - I am so happy for them :drinker: but I am having a hard time letting them go. I know 3 hours isn't far, but you all know how I feel I need to be close by to DH during these busy times.

DH will be walking in a few minutes so will talk later!!

As I said on the July Challenge thread - this month of July has been a total disaster for me, so I am ready to start August! So August 1st here I come!!

Hi, Barbara. Welcome. You'll like it here.

Reba: Ouch. I hope you get feeling better. I agree. August can't come quickly enough for you. Get out from that gray cloud hanging over you. Unfortunately, that cloud hasn't brought you much rain.

We, on the other hand, had a deluge yesterday. I have never seen it rain harder and had tornado siren going off several times. Nothing hit around here though.

Wanda: I like the way you think. I will have to practice my jigs!

Smilesback and Gramanana: I find everyone here helps with the focus, but it doesn't take much to stray. I can't imagine how hard it will be when I am as successful as you have been and I am at or closer to goal.

Gramanana: You've got me interested in the hoola hoop!

Finally, I just wanted to comment on something in the newfeed posts. I thought it was funny (and Reba, you are right, several of us seem to be the exact same personalities) that so many of us said the same things on the newsfeed posts. We don't go or hold garage sales. We do not go to home parties as a matter of priniciple. We don't like shopping. And, if we must shop, we do the majority of it on the internet! Were we all separated at birth? :laugh:

Not much of the month left,
Charlie

I think I've started something with my weighted hula hoop--"the hula hoop craze for older people"--I love it! Glad I've been able to inspire you.

Jeanrob--congratulations on your 40th anniversary!

Welcome Barbara and congratulations on the 8 pound loss in such a short period of time. That's good work!

Rebamae--hope you're feeling better and that next month will be a good one for you.

Next month will be very busy for me. I'm turning 65 at the end of August so there will be one big party and a couple of smaller ones for people who are unavailable for the big one. I love celebrating birthdays and plan on having lots of fun! Not so sure it will be good for weight loss/maintenance, but I only have one birthday a year and plan to make the most of it!