Need to Lose 100 LBS -Robins Thread !

Thanks for the good wishes for my dad. He is now in a rehab center. Hopefully, this will give him a chance to heal and get his strength back. The hospital did admit that they released him to early.

I had a good workout today tried something new. Running on the treadmill at a constant speed for 1.5 miles then ran on the track for a couple of laps. The increase in speed was amazing and I found it easier to run. I will do that training method again.

Truth- I have been craving chocolate this week so I need to focus on eating healthy but it is hard when life has been crazy. I have many papers to grade tomorrow so I hope it gets done. Our first marking period ends tomorrow and I need to get my but in gear and catch up on grading. Karen- I am write there with you in terms of grading.

Still up and it's 2:00 am. That's what I get for procrastinating! I had a Halloween cake due for my brother in law. He's taking it to his work as a favor for me. He'll hand out my business card so hopefully it'll drum up some business for me. Normally I can frost a cake pretty quickly but this one was being a bit stubborn. Square cakes for me are much harder than round cakes...weird I think, but what can you do?

Tomorrow I will be baking two cakes. Then I have teacher/parent conference for Emma right at 3:15. After trick or treating, I'll be decorating those two cakes...a baptism one for a customer and then Michael's birthday cake. One is due at 11 am and the other is not until 6:00. Both are pretty minimum with decorations so shouldn't be too tough.

Didn't make it to the gym today. It was a lifting day and my sister has a severe kink in her neck (fell asleep on the couch and the 90 lb dog decided he didn't like her taking his bed, so she slept curled in a ball on half a couch -- ha) so no lifting for her. Considering the fact that we had the first night of skating lessons for Emma and then had to run to Sam's to pick up Halloween candy (did I say something about being a procrastinator earlier?) I was okay with missing the gym today.

Alright...actually headed to bed now. See ya all tomorrow!!!

I didn't have a cat to share cat day with, but I found a newty creature in the garden last night so I named him Norman.

skinnyjeanzbound wrote: »

@L2T—congrats on your DD’s upcoming engagement. I don’t think either of my grandmothers had an engagement ring. Both were immigrants with no money for such extravagances when they married. My mom’s mother did have a lot of jewelry and my sisters and I each got to choose a ring when she passed. I chose a beautiful opal. I also got several junk rings—she had a lot that are so cheap they have adjustable bands. Many say “Avon” in the band—you would probably need to be 40+ to remember when the “Avon Lady” would sell jewelry, make-up, and trinkets door to door. Even though those rings aren’t worth any money, I love them b/c they remind me of my “fancy” grandma. LOL

@skinnyjeanz - My Dad's mother immigrated from Ireland as a teenager. His father's family came in the 1600s from England. I never knew either of my Father's parents. They both died during an influenza epidemic when he was 16. My Mother's mom didn't have an engagement ring either. They were recent immigrants from Germany and had no money for something like that. I have no jewelry (or anything else) from either set of Grandparents. My lucky daughters will both have nice engagement rings courtesy of my Mother and I'm very grateful that she's willing to give them such a fabulous gift!

@kah - Darn car batteries. If the heat doesn't kill them, the cold does. Lucky you that you only had to pay half.

AFM - Work is kicking my butt and I'm using it as an excuse to be less than vigilant about my meals. And as a result, I'm up 4 lbs. that are not just "water" weight. I'm pretty sure they are "Candy Corn" weight. Gonna try real hard to not add more in the form of "Hershey Kisses" weight during the upcoming holidays. I'm starting down that bad path of beating myself up about my recent failures, but on the bright side at least I'm aware that I'm doing it and can hopefully change my inner dialogue to be more positive.

I have been walking faithfully every morning, so at least there's that. And I've become addicted to Podcasts. My current obsession is with "Serial", the story of a guy from Baltimore convicted of killing his girlfriend back in 1999 and the year long research a reporter did about the case. It's like an audio version of Dateline!

Hope everyone has a happy (and relatively candy-free) Halloween!

I said I was going to bed last night and my husband came home from work at the exact same time. He’s been doing 6 – 12 hour shifts so we don’t get much time to visit. He washed my dishes for me while I sat and visited with him. It made me more tired, but it was such a nice time. Actually went to bed about 3:20 this morning and that darn alarm still went off at 6:40!

@Mary…nice to have survived your entrapment! I think your plan of doing 3 times a week is a great place to start. I need to remind myself that even if I miss the gym on days I had planned that I am still doing more than I used to do.
@Teresa…missing staff always adds to our workloads but this too shall pass. What a great friend you are being in your friend’s time of need. While it’s tiring, it’s such a wonderful thing that you are there for her. Hope you enjoy the books!
@Karen…I was told on Wednesday that women aren’t suppose to work out that late at night, but it’s then or never for me some days. I’ve tried getting up in the morning and am just not a morning person so I miss more than I make. On the days that I don’t have anything going on, we try to get there earlier, but the gym is so packed that we almost like going later better since we don’t have to wait for equipment/space.
@Niki…I’ll have to check it those books out after I’m done with this read. Now that fall is officially upon us (woke up to frosted car windows) and winter is around the corner, I’ll spend more time reading.
@L2T…I usually do pretty good with candy. I try to buy the kinds I don’t love (I’m not a huge chocolate fan unless TOM is visiting me) and the kids and hubby make quick work of it. However, I did get candy yesterday that includes stuff I like. Hopefully we have lots of trick-or-treaters (new neighborhood – no idea how many kids to expect) and most of it is gone. Otherwise, I’ll have them “hide” it from me.

Friday Fitness: Okay, I’m to the point I want to write this down.

• Friday: Trick-or-Treating with Emma and then on my feet for most of the evening getting those cakes done.
• Saturday: Lift
• Sunday: Rest
• Monday: Jenna’s Workout
• Tuesday: Vote and Lift
• Wednesday: Jenna’s Workout
• Thursday: Lift
• Friday: Rest

I’m also going to post my goals for the house. Maybe it will help me be more accountable and get things done for my company at Thanksgiving.

• Get through 5 packed boxes.
• Finish hanging pictures/plaques etc.
• Go through my closet and put away summer clothes and donate items.
• Organize bathroom closet.
• Organize baking/decorating supplies.
• Schedule a carpet cleaning.
• Paint Emma's dresser.

Alright, let's do this...all in right?

Popping in to say hi.

Little Babycakes has been super active and going what feels like gymnastics. I am constantly getting kicked and punched. It is really amazing. I cannot believe I only have 3 more months to go. Squeal...I am getting really excited.

Laurie - Wishing you dad a speedy recovery.Love the pictures. What a difference in your transformation!
Skinny - 5 teachers and 6 babies in one department? Yikes. That sounds stressful with all the subs that will be coming in.
Susan - So sorry to hear about your friend. Thoughts and prayers your way during this difficult time.
Kah - Who loses weight on a cruise??? UHM, someone who is pretty dang awesome that's who! Congrats on a job well done! Beautiful pictures.

Everyone is posting such beautiful pictures. Sorry I don't have time to comment on all of them and respond to everyone. I was slacking today and being lazy. I have to get in the shower and get my butt moving to see some kiddies.

Happy Halloween!! I just got a text from hubby that the kiddos are looking exceptionally cute this year. He is such a sap for little kids and hopefully won't run out of candy like he did last year. I told him that parents train kids to only take one piece, so encouraging them to take more isn't in their best interest. I wish I could be home to watch!

Friday fitness: I did a quick workout this morning and admit to not doing much today at work in the way of walking. I hurt my foot the other day and have been babying it. I promise to make up for it tomorrow since the Florida/Georgia game will keep all the people from shopping and I can walk to my hearts content.

Got go, customer!!!

Good evening.

Happy Halloween!
Here are some pumpkins we have done over the years.









“Where you start is not as important as where you finish.” ~Zig Ziglar

Tom

@niki—great job exceeding your weight loss goal for the month! I really admire how you are tracking everything—you will meet all of your goals if you just keep at it. As far as all of the grading—it is a lot of work, but I truly love my job. I think a lot of people have misconceptions about how much teachers actually work. More recently, I’ve heard a lot of people in the private sector counter-argue “but in this economy everyone is putting in more hours.” They forget that public servants make 7-9% less than private sector employees and our workload (i.e. student load) has increased with the economy as well.
And that doesn’t mean I think teachers are necessarily underpaid. I just don’t think we get the same respect as people in other equally specialized professions. You rarely hear someone talk about how a firefighter should put out a fire, or how a doctor should treat a patient, but people always talk about what teachers “should” be doing in the classroom. As if they know just b/c they were once students or have children themselves. Sorry, I really didn’t mean for that to turn into such a long response/rant. <steps off soapbox>

@tom—love the pumpkins!

@laurie—have fun at your party!

@teresa—hope the foot is feeling better tomorrow.

@true—welcome!

@nettie—yes, and they are all going one after the other. The first is due with twins 1st week of December. Then there’s one in Jan., one in Feb., and two in March. Fortunately for me, none of the expecting parents teach my preps, so the subs won’t affect me directly.

@lois—cute newt! (hey, I’m a poet!)

@tracy—I don’t know who told you that about women not working out at night. Sounds suspiciously like “bro-science.” I think people should work out whenever they can/will. I’m right there with you about not being able to work out in the morning. I’m lucky that when I go one weekdays, I can usually get there by 4:30 or 5 and just beat the after-work crowd—it’s usually just getting busy when I’m finishing my workout. On the weekends I tend to go right in the middle of the day when the gym is empty which I LOVE. There’s nothing better than having the gym all to myself.

@helen—I also woke up to snow on the ground, and I heard on the radio that it’s the first time Chicago has had measurable snowfall on Halloween. Somehow that seems wrong to me, but that’s what the weather person reported. A group of my friends made plans to pub crawl in the city tonight, but I had already decided not to go. I was so happy about that decision when I saw the weather forecast. Stay warm!

@L2T—ugh—candy corn weight! I don’t like candy corn, but I’m sitting here resisting the urge to eat yet another redvine. I need to just go to bed.

Friday Fitness:
Well it hasn’t been great—didn’t get to the gym all week and only walked gunner one day. I plan to go to the gym tomorrow for sure and maybe Sunday depending on the grading progress. I only got one more paper graded today b/c I had meeting s with students during my open periods. 21 essays remaining plus the vocab work. Very doable.
My AP did one of my favorite discussion activities today: Speed Dating. I put their seats in pairs and they meet for 3 minutes to discuss a journal question. Then they rotate partners to meet with another student. After they’ve talked with 3 students about the same question, we come back together to discuss as a whole class. Then we move to the next questions. It’s a great Friday activity b/c they don’t get bored and get to move around the room and talk to different people.

Grading Goals:
1. 45/66 AP essays
2. x/60 M1948 vocab 2

Exercise Goals:
Sun--walk gunner DONE + gym DONE
Mon--rest day (meeting) DONE
Tues--rest day (meeting) DONE
Wed--walk gunner NOT DONE + gym NOT DONE
Thurs--walk gunner DONE
Fri--walk gunner
Sat--walk gunner + gym

Good Morning. Busy day at work yesterday and trying to get some appointments set up.

@Tracy~Like Karen, I've not heard that women shouldn't work out late at night. I think you need to work out when it fits into your schedule. The only thing I have heard is that working out late at night (so close to bedtime) can make it difficult to sleep well--workouts should be 2-3 hours before you go to bed.

@Nettie~Yay for the baby being so active! How is the nursery coming along?

@Lori~Great goals for November!

@Laurie~Hope you had fun at your party.

@Niki~Hooray for surpassing your weight loss goal for October!

@Tom~Love the jack-o-lanterns through the years, thanks for sharing.

@Robin~Those pumpkin bars sound yummy, I love the pumpkin scones they have at Starbucks this time of year--I'm allowed to have one!

AFM~Last couple of days were busy. Thursday was a visit to my orthopedist for my Achilles ailments, not much he can do really. A friend of mine recommended a specialized chiropractor she goes to for Airrosti treatments, he keeps her running. I talked to him yesterday and he thinks he can help me with these flare-ups, since all other therapies aren't working. My first appointment is Monday afternoon, after 3 treatments it should be feeling much better--my fingers are crossed this works well enough that he has me running again (I miss it). Minimalist runners have also been recommended, so looking for those this afternoon. Good workout with trainer yesterday and I'm headed to the gym in a bit, then running around this afternoon.

November Goals: I'm "all-in" for the challenge, so will be at or below my caloric goal for the month. I will allow myself some liberties 3-4 times, including my birthday and Thanksgiving. My other goal is to get back into my routine at the gym and start Pilates.

Exercise Goals this week:

Monday~Trainer DONE!
Tuesday~Rest Day DONE!
Wednesday~Trainer DONE!
Thursday~Cardio NOT DONE (had to work late)
Friday~Trainer DONE!
Saturday~Cardio
Sunday~Trainer

My November Goals … I'm ALL-IN to
1 - Lose a minimum of 5 pounds this month
2 - maintain maximum calories for the day at goal (+ or - 100 calories) not Thanskgiving
3 - Achieve 81% of checkmarks on Attendance Sheet - a total of 145 out of a possible 179.(I'd say that I want all 179 checkmarks, except my confidence isn't high enough for that ... I think close to 30% higher is achievable with a confidence level of 8 out of 10)

Saturday Success … It’s ironic, the success I’ve put to bed this week is not weight or diet related … but it is health related.
I got the call yesterday that the Amherst Senior Center is definitely sponsoring the Diabetes Self-Management Support Group that I have been working to get started. I was able to contact the other 6 people who wanted to join this group to tell them the date and time for the first meeting.

It’s been approved by the State Health Department and a Diabetes Specialist has been found to lead the group. Our first meeting is November 13th. At that meeting, we will vote to determine exactly how often and when we will be meeting going forward. This Support Group will be in the center’s newsletter and monthly schedule. It’ being ‘written in’ until the next quarterly printing … which will be in January. I am so grateful I found people at the Sr Center that were all for this group and championed it with the Board for consideration. I’m also very grateful to the people who agreed to become starting members of the group. If the leader turns out to be as passionate about Diabetes as his reputation, I do believe I will become an ambassador for this group and talk it up as much as I can so that it continues …

Onward - engage! An elephant bite at a time.
Niki

October Challenge Stats:
24/31 days under daily calories goal of 1350
(One really terrible, horrible 24 hour period involving Halloween and KitKat bars-may have had something to do with Nat'l Cat Day )
26/31 days of cardio
Weight lost last month: 11 lbs.

November All-In Challenge:
At or under daily calorie goal of 1350 every day EXCEPT Thanksgiving which will be 2000.
Cardio 30 minutes/day, 6 days/week (barring emergency or sickness) including T-day.
Weight training 2-3 days/week depending on trainer's schedule.
Increase steps to 10,000/day 6 days/week as long as foot pain doesn't increase
Weight loss goal: 10+ lb. by December 1 (Please, please, please)

Halloween turned out to be "Candy Horror Ween!" I swear to NEVER be alone with 3 cases of KitKats again. NEVER! I will probably pay for the carnage all next week and then some.

Tom: Thanks for the pumpkin photos. You and the Mrs. are very crafty folks!

Niki: What a worthy accomplishment! Your passion will probably save the lives of others struggling with diabetes. Your October Challenge results are worth crowing over also. Good job!

Lori: And you also rocked the October Challenge and crowned it with a 12 lb. loss. Way to Go! Good luck with discussion time today.

Kaye: 150+ donuts and wassail??? Can I be your neighbor? Before our children were born I made monster-big chocolate chip cookies for the trick-or-treaters and nary a child rang our bell My heart was broken though hubby sure enjoyed 'em. Last night I had several cases of full-size KitKats to pass out and most were left over (except what I ate-see above) as the number of doorbell ringers was so paltry. I put 'em in goody bags for Primary children and YW handouts tomorrow since I can't be trusted around the blasted things. Next year maybe I'll go visit the grandkids in UT instead.

RobinsEgg/Ellen: Do you have a World Market near you? Torani has these sugar-free syrups, the kind you put in lattes or steamers (hot milk), and I bought a Pumpkin Pie flavored one and put 2 T. in a mug of hot skim milk for a real yummy treat. The sugar-free syrups come in lots of flavors (Toffee, Hazelnut, Vanilla Cookie to list a few) and two sizes and are 0 calories. BTW, I hope your hip feels better soon.

Beautiful COOL weather here. It's Fall, y'all!

Have a great weekend.

GrammyWhammy>Marsha

All In challenge- I will take it. I am planning on increasing my level of physical activity this month. I will aim for 5/7 days of formal exercise that will include swimming, climbing, running, biking and weight training/core work. I will do my best to stay under calories this month.

kaye- I am sure the church would love the doughnuts.

Karen- Good luck with the grading. I finally finished one set of papers to night. Now al I have left is the 2nd short response to the final test. I will deal with those on Monday at school with a co-worker.

Tom- Love the pumpkins, you are very artistic.

I did have fun at the party last night but snacked way to much. Today was better but to much candy left over. I may take some it to school and give it to the kids, then again it does taste good.

Tomorrow I am thinking about running a 5K provided it is not freezing cold and the winds have died down. I should go to bed but the Navy, ND game is good. I hope Navy wins. Have a great day tomorrow.

Don't forget to turn your clock back tonight as daylight saving times ends.

Hello, everyone! I'm new here, but not to mfp...I lost 50 pounds a few years ago, but have gained it all back! I now have 110 pounds to lose!! I read the notes at the top of the page, can't wait to get started!!!! :-)