Need to Lose 100 LBS -Robins Thread !

Just a quick visit before my date with my pillow. Busy day followed by a busy evening--special program for teen girls at church. Now I can finally rest.

Laurie: You could be my much younger (prettier), slimmer sister! Really! Loved the photo of the falls, too.

Barbara: Way to go! Weekends are full of landmines for me too! Too close to the fridge, too much desire to bake/cook a fall treat, and too much TV.

Why do I plant a garden? It's just a playground for naughty squirrels, hungry rabbits and whatever is munching on all my pansies. Afraid to put in the bulbs. Speaking of landmines (above)....

Under goal today, with cardio. Getting ready for the Great Halloween Sugar Orgy. Bought nasty, non-chocolate candy for the tricksters. No yummy leftovers to tempt me.

Looking for a good challenge for November. What are YOU doing?

Till tomorrow (today).

GrammyWhammy=Marsha

@skinnyjeanz - I too am falling into the "special occasion" trap. I celebrated all the same occasions last year and somehow managed to stay within my calorie goal, but this year I seem to be giving myself a free pass to eat it all. Gotta change that thinking!

@kah - Can't wait to see the pictures!

AFM - I need a weekend to recover from my weekend. It was a whirlwind of activity with both girls home, a baby shower and an 85th birthday party. Now it's back to work. Not much fun there.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Hi!
I am back after a month long break. I went away for a fun weekend and fell off the wagon. As you all know, it is hard to get back on afterwards. Glad I was able to find the thread again!
Becky

I'm soooo behind!!! It's been a crazy few weeks. Last week I was gone 6 days to two conferences in Orlando. I've been playing catch up at work, which has been nuts too. I'm leaving this Thursday for Atlanta. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I have a BIG decision ahead to make that will impact me and Cyrus. Plus, I've shared about my friends before and their battle with cancer. Unfortunately, all treatment has been stopped. There's nothing else that can be done. They went to the beach this past weekend so he can see the ocean once more for some family time. Hospice has been arranged, but not coming quite yet. I'll be seeing them this weekend as well and cannot wait to hug all of them. Many tears will be shed, but I'm trying to stay strong for all of them. HATE cancer.

Good Morning.

Back to reality this morning, as I returned to work after a much needed vacation. The cruise was great, although we did hit some snags along the way with a luggage delay in NYC and then a dead battery in my car when I got home. The weather was great in Newport, RI and Boston, MA but as we worked our way up the coast it got dicey—beautiful sunrise in Bar Harbour, ME but then by the afternoon it clouded up and started to rain. Rain that would follow us up to Canada and prevent us from docking in St. John New Brunswick—just my luck a nor'easter came up the coast so the captain had to make the decision to abort that port, the winds and surf were too high for us to dock safely. As a result we spent two days in Halifax, Nova Scotia where the weather wasn't much better—rained both days. We pretended it was a sea day the first day there and just did stuff around the ship—my friend went to the spa for a massage in the morning while I napped in a lounge on the promenade deck, spent the afternoon in the martini bar for happy hour. Good things shops and casino were closed, might have done some damage! We had car reservations the next day, so despite the rain (okay, really it was sleet) we drove to Peggy’s Cove and went to the Titanic grave site. It was rainy on our actual sea day back to NYC, but wouldn't you know it—gorgeous day in NYC on disembarkation day! :wtf: Regardless of the weather it was a fun and relaxing vacation. Of course, Texas didn’t get the memo that it’s autumn—still in the 90s?! I will post some pics soon, hopefully tonight. Let the countdown begin until the next cruise, 287 days.

Interestingly enough I lost 5# on vacation—who loses weight on a cruise?! Honestly, we were really active walking 6-7 miles a day, sometimes more according to our Fitbits and for the most part just had breakfast and dinner—we didn’t eat much in the way of sweets. Our goal was to stay away from the buffet and we did except for salad in the afternoon a couple of times—kept to the dining room for breakfast/dinner and went to the steakhouse the last night. We were determined not to gain weight this cruise, so I’m proud of us for that.

Seeing the fitness center on the cruise ship reminded me of the equipment my old gym had. Ironically, I received an email from them while I was gone waiving a bunch of fees so I re-joined my costly gym yesterday. :grimacing: It will be nice to have access to a pool again, access to the cardio equipment I enjoy and start taking yoga again--hate the higher prices but they have what I need and its so convenient. I will also continue to work out with my trainer at his studio 2-3 times a week. I am determined not to gain what I lost on vacation and to get the rest of this weight off, no more messing around.

@Marsha(GW)~My goal for November? No more doing this half-assed, like I've done the last six months!

@Laurie~Great transformation pics! What a great way for your friend to honor her mother, I’m sure she was glad to have her girlfriends close-by for support.

@Susan~I’m so very sorry that your friend is losing his battle with cancer; I know it’s been an uphill battle for him. I’m glad they were able to spend some time together as a family at a place that brings them lots of memories. Thoughts and prayers to you on your visit to Atlanta and on the decisions you’re facing. {{{hugs}}}

Welcome back Becky and Helen! Welcome to any newlings that have stopped by.

@kelley—sorry the weather wasn’t as nice as it could’ve been, but it sounds like you and your friend made the best of it and still had a fab vacation. Can’t wait to see pics, and WOOHOO for the 5# loss!

@niki—congrats on the 2lb loss! Gunner is a boxer/shepherd mix; he’s a rescue we got when he was about 18 months old. Silly us, we thought he was full-grown at about 70 lbs, but when we took him to the vet, we were told that he still had some growing to do. He topped out at about 95 lbs, but now that he’s getting older (he’s almost 9) the vet asked us to cut his weight a bit, so he’s currently about 87 lbs. He’s really just a big, cuddly lap-dog who loves all people and “selective” doggy friends.

@susan—I was just thinking about you and that Atlanta opportunity—I know you will make the right decision for you and Cyrus. So sorry to hear about your friend—I know it’s been hard being so far away from him and his family during this time. Glad you will get the chance to visit in person.

@helen—WLCOME BACK!!!! I was so worried about you, but refused to delete you as a friend contact b/c I just knew you would find your way back to MFP. So glad you are also back in the thread!

@becky—those “fun” weekends can be tricky. Welcome back!

@tom—Yay for Navy Day! I will have to call my dad (retired Captain after 42 years in) and wish him a happy one.

@L2T—yes, I really have been giving myself too much leeway and am determined to reel it in.

@barbara—congrats on staying under goal all weekend—what a great accomplishment!

@laurie—great pictures! You’ve inspired me to post some of my own before and after pics. I’ve never done it in the past b/c I didn’t want to learn the picture posting process, but now that it’s so easy, I have no excuse.

@marsha—I noticed that I’m not the only one who’s been only putting in a half-hearted effort. Excuses seem to make their way into my brain and I rationalize every “special” treat. I read somewhere that just a couple of bad days a week can undo all of the effort of all the good, healthy days.

@everyone—I’m thinking maybe November should be “no more half-assed effort” month; however, that not a very eloquent title. LOL Perhaps we should just call it the “All In” challenge. In addition to a lot of us old-timers not meeting calorie goal, I’ve noticed a lot of the newlings struggling to get the activity levels up. So maybe the challenge can be personalized: those of us struggling with food and controlling the “special occasions,” can give ourselves a specific calorie related goal. Others who want to increase exercise, can gear their challenge toward that. Regardless, I’ve already decided to limit myself to 3 “special” days in November. One is a gala I have on 11/8, another will be Thanksgiving, and the third I’ve yet to determine. I’m thinking maybe one of the parent/teacher conference days when the school provides dinner and my colleagues and I all go out for drinks afterward—that day is always a tough one. Even on those special days, my plan is to stay below 2000 calories net.

Grading Goals:
1. 21/66 AP essays
2. 60/60 Montana 1948 vocab DONE

Exercise Goals:
Sun--walk gunner DONE + gym DONE
Mon--rest day (meeting) DONE
Tues--rest day (meeting)
Wed--walk gunner + gym
Thurs--walk gunner
Fri--walk gunner
Sat--walk gunner + gym

Good evening Friends, I've had the munchies today, and yesterday got away from me, too. I haven't binged or done really terrible, just half-in. I guess we are all having the same issues. I like the 'all-in' suggestion. I will continue to record weight, calories, miles, and water. I will not allow myself so many over calories days, and I will increase my water. There, I've said it! Hope that helps. I have a feeling that walking will be harder when we go back to standard time. I'm glad that Cathy and her dog will still need to walk so I won't have to go alone.
Welcome back to those who got derailed for awhile.
Kah, welcome home. Sorry the weather didn't cooperate, but glad you feel rested, and lost weight.
Laurie, I'm impressed with your pictures.
I have felt that I probably couldn't increase my walking speed very much, because I am so short. This evening I walked 4.3 miles in 70 minutes. I'm really excited about the increased speed.
Here's to a good week for all of us.
Onward and downward. Kaye

@Skinnyjeans ... I'm using a desk top computer and at the 'reply' in the row with all the icons for formating is one that looks like a document with a folded upper corner. That is the attach image link.

I attached a photo that I downloaded from FaceBook.

testing

Nope--still not working.

I've tried both options--to "browse" my files and to copy/paste an image URL. Neither is working.

Gah!! Frustrated and going to bed.

I tried a photo but to no avail. I like the "all in" challenge for November. I seem to struggle with that, and as a newby the exercise is especially a challenge.

Testing a picture--Peggy's Cove Lighthouse in Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia...

Good morning everybody.

Happy National Chocolate Day
There is no better way to celebrate Halloween’s approaching than with a piece of chocolate. But just in case you need another excuse to try your favorite treat, it’s national chocolate day.
Chocolate can be used in almost any dessert. It can be enjoyed plain, mixed into your favorite cookie dough or glazed on top of a cake. While I always enjoy the way chocolate tastes, I never really think about how it’s made. Here are a few insights into how your chocolate bar makes it into your grocery store.
Chocolate 101:
• Cacao trees grow around the world in tropical areas. They grow pods, which contain about 20 to 40 cacao beans.
• The beans are removed from the pods, and then fermented in piles for about one week. This process allows for the beans to dry out and develop their color and flavor.
• The beans are then taken to the factory and roasted. Next, they are “hulled” by removing the outside shell from the inside of the bean called the “nib.”
• The nibs are then ground into a chocolate liquor. Then, the liquor (it’s not alcoholic) is pressed to remove the fat, called “cocoa butter,” and the residual powder is what is mixed in to create different kinds of chocolate.
• Depending on the kind of chocolate (milk, bittersweet, semisweet, etc.) cocoa butter, milk and sugar are added to the chocolate powder.
• White chocolate does not contain the chocolate powder that regular chocolate contains. It just contains cocoa butter, milk and sugar.

“It’s not that some people have willpower and some don’t. It’s that some people are ready to change and others are not.” ~James Gordon

Tom

Just a few pics from my cruise to share



Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia



Titanic Cemetary in Halifax, Nova Scotia



Newport Bridge in Newport, RI at Sunrise



Bar Harbour, ME at Sunrise

Pics still aren't working. I tried the icon everyone is talking about--it opens and brings up a "browse" ability, but the pics don't post. I just tried the drag and drop technique laurie suggested. When I do so, a black box pops up that says "drop image/file" so I do, but nothing happens. Or the picture opens up on a plain white background, but there's no "post reply" button and I'm not even on the post page any longer--I have to use the "back" arrow to get to the thread again.

Oh well--I give up.

@kelley-those pictures are so lovely! I've never been to NE other than NYC and NJ--would love to travel there someday.

@robin--that's a tough situation with your step-mom. Hope she listens to you and your step-sisters--the home where her daughter works sounds like the perfect solution. Too bad she doesn't see that.

@tom--I'm glad I didn't know it was NCD! I might have used it as an excuse to overindulge.

@helen--thanks for the link--the cartoon is now my desktop background. My students will love it.

@holly--hang in there with the algebra--X = what...? LOL

@barbara--glad I'm not the only one having photo issues. I'm not super tech saavvy, but I can usually post a simple picture. I may try opening the website in a different browser to see if that works. Otherwise, I'm all out of ideas.

@marsha--love your grandpup!

Tuesday Goal:
Not really a goal, but I'm just trying to get through this week. I honestly am feeling very defeated about work. I can't seem to keep up with grading--there just aren't enough hours in the day. I keep planning to get to my AP essays, but then other responsibilities come up and I get side-tracked. I mentioned to a colleague today that I wish I could just hit the "pause" button in all of my classes so I can catch up. Sadly, that's not an option--I need to keep teaching new curriculum and collecting more assignments even when I'm behind as I am now.

To top things off, I'm a member of our contract bargaining team and the meetings are just piling on. I had one yesterday until alomost 6, and another today that lasted until about 7 pm. We spent the last half hour coordinating calendars to schedule all of our upcoming meetings through Feb. I seriously felt like crying when I saw that most weeks I have at least 2 school related meetings.

Of course both yesterday and today, I had grand plans to come home and grade, but by the time I get home and eat some dinner, I'm exhausted. Tomorrow I have no meetings, so I would like to go to the gym, but I really need to grade. Ugh.

Sorry I'm being a whiny crankypants. Grades for 1st quarter are due on Monday, so I have no choice but to catch up. Maybe after that I'll be in a better mood. My students are being pretty awesome lately, so that's a positive--trying to see the bright side.

Grading Goals:
1. 21/66 AP essays
2. x/60 Montana 1948 vocab 2

Exercise Goals:
Sun--walk gunner DONE + gym DONE
Mon--rest day (meeting) DONE
Tues--rest day (meeting) DONE
Wed--walk gunner + gym
Thurs--walk gunner
Fri--walk gunner
Sat--walk gunner + gym

Forgot to report Tuesday Goals to share with you. Well ... Tuesday is over and the goal I had didn't get done because I took a nap in the afternoon instead of going for a walk.

Some more data on photos. The cats are Kitcat and Strawberry.



Ah-HA! ... When you have the image link that MFP creates in the reply text box, it shows up big right off the bat. When you don't have it there, the photos show up as little links you click on.