NON WW & WW NEWBIES, OUR NEW LIFE, THE START OF SOMETHING WONDERFUL

@lore11a - good for you taking piano lessons. We're never to old to learn stuff. I believe in lifetime learning. I play piano (at a basic level, in spite of years of lessons) and can read music, but when I was called to be a chorister at church I had to learn to lead music...it was so hard for me...I'm not too coordinated! But I finally got it and was so happy that my hard work paid off. My kids belong to a college swing dance club, and some of the kids go out to a club on Wednesday nights that has swing dancing...a lesson, then social time. My daughter told me that her dad and I should go..."there are lots of old people there". Well, thank you for those words of encouragement, dear child, lol. I'd love to be able to dance like that, it looks so fun. We might try it, but not this month...my hubby's work schedule is awful. Unless I go without him. He catches on to this stuff faster than I do anyway.
@trooworld - my favorite game? Lol...I wouldn't know where to start! We play (and own) so many games. Tabletop gaming is our family hobby, and we've been doing it for years. We even go to conventions, and we all demo games for several companies. I guess some of my favorites would be "Lanterns" (a very pretty game where you lay tiles down and collect colorful lanterns), "Plague Inc" (a very new one that is based on a phone app game of the same name...we have to try to spread a germ throughout the world!), "Splendor" (where you collect gems to collect more gems), "Fluxx" (a card game where the rules constantly change...this comes in many themes, like Holiday, Zombie, Pirate, etc). I guess those are my "go to" games right now, but I like so many more!

You ladies who live in the cold parts, kudos to you! I lived through 2 winters in my early twenties, and it was kind of fun but a lot of work (I worked outdoors with horses and livestock, so I got to know the cold intimately, lol). It gets to be 50F here and I'm freezing and my joints all stop working, lol. Having said that, I'm thinking of bundling up (because it's 67F, lol) and going for a short walk. Christmas lights and a good audio book will keep me going!

Until later,
Karla :-)

I decided to just jump in where I am. I got my stitches out yesterday but gums aren't healing like they are supposed to. Implant surgery is set for Jan 15. One of my sons is home for winter break and one will be coming in on Monday. Food is always a challenge when they are here. Exercise has been lax. As Nike says Just do it.

gemwolf What a day you had!

Good afternoon ladies,

@gemwolf110 _ Way to go! Does it bother you that they don't record the same amount of steps? And which one do you like best and why?

@theslightedgeforever - You be careful with your mouth and let it heal up. You can get back to exercising after those implants heal up. Take it easy and maybe take calm walks. I know you are motivated to move, but you don't want to jack up your mouth, especially the week before Christmas.

@cbabie - Wow almost 12k, you go girl!

I enjoyed my day of rest and candy. I am back at it today, it was SL 5x5 day so I got an hour of exercise in. It looks like I will do pretty good with my calories as well. It was below zero this morning and hasn't warmed up too much so I am glad I am indoors today. I am thinking of you @bugmom92 being in a nice warm climate.

Sending happy thoughts to all of you.

Liz

Well, thank goodness I survived my little piano recital. Whew!! Glad that is over. Lol. We had fun though, it wasn't too bad. I played Away In A Manger. It is a pretty little song. Afterwards we played musical dominoes. I also got my fruitcake baked and it actually turned out decent. Not as good as my Mom's but not too shabby for my first try. We are expecting some really cold weather on Saturday in Oklahoma and maybe some snow to go with it. I hope it doesn't get too bad. I don't really drive in it.

Good morning! It's 12/16/16. I am a horrible WW'r. I am super hungry on their Program and quit. I refuse to be starting,stopping and paying. Also, MFP is super easy and I need this. I know my final goal weight is what I weighed in the past at 120 lbs. and I used to eat 1600 calories a day. I also know after working MFP's calorie counter, this is very doable and shouldn't feel hungry. I am a RN, work night shuft, 5 pm to 5:30 am and do contracts. I am in N. Ca. and from FL. I am happy that I am alone here and I can stick to this without being sabotaged by my sis who lives with me in FL. I am so happy to taper down these past 2 weeks of stress and now begin. I have 11 weeks before I go back to FL. so hoping for some good losses.

cbabie I think everyone loves food. This time of year there seems to be more of it. Implant surgery not my thing either. lol Although my son had two when he was about 16. Now Im thinking I should have been more sympathetic towards pain. I have lots of tea/sit on my fanny kind of days. Especially nowadays. Im in flannel jammies. I just wish I had some booties. I put a hole in it. My mom used to make me some. So I need to go find a friend who crochets. Hey we had fruitcake too. All I can remember is dry brick with red and green things in it. Now I'm sitting here wondering what the green things were lol I grew up with candy at this time of the year. Divinity, PB and choc fudge. No wonder my parents were diabetics. Other than my dd no one here likes fudge. I hate divinity so no candy gets made at my house. Thats a good thing for me.

mysticlizard Are you enjoying the 5x5. I think fall is the perfect weather. Not winter. I have reactive airway disease flareups in cold weather. Plus after running. I get in a running mood and forget Inshould have used my inhaler beforehand. You can tell I don't run that often lol

lore I love Away in a manger. How do you play musical dominoes? My kids are supposed to have 4-8 inches snow tonight and the wind chill factor about -43. My dd has about a 20 min drive to work. Night shift. I told her to throw a blanket in the car. I received a Sheesh mom from her and a what does she need a blanket for from my other son. I replied to him so she can stop and have a picnic by the side of the road on her way home.When will they learn Mom's wisdom is golden.

@ladynasdaq welcome to the group. I was doing well here until about 10 days ago when I had a tooth pulled. Seems like all my healthy habits went with the tooth. So Im trying to start again. I hate when I stop because hard to get going again. Plus I'm a routine person and one son is here and other one here on Monday. I know what you mean about doing better alone.

I'm reading a book called Younger Next Year. About how we don't have to feel "old". Two authors one from a psychological side and one from a science based side. Lots of exercise I hear. I wish there was a pill that made you get up and do all the things you know are good for you Take it 3 times a day,

Good afternoon ladies,

@theslightedgeforever - I am doing better with the 5x5 than I thought I would. So I am feeling pretty good about it. When each of my kids got a car, I made an emergency kit for them. I got them a basic roadside kit with flares, jumper cables, an army blanket, hand and foot warmers, a box of granola bars and put it into one of those small plastic totes (or a cloth grocery bag for my truck kid). I explained what everything was for and had them throw it in their trunk. When I was in my 20's I broke down in the middle of no where in the winter and spent a very cold night in my car, the kit my dad put together for me saved my life.

@gemwolf110 - Your fur baby is beautiful!

@trooworld - I hope you have a nice time today. I like your idea of making a different goal weight and it may not seem so overwhelming. I know what my ultimate goal is but I focus on ten pounds at a time 290, 280, 270, 260, 250, 240, and now 230. This is a rough time of year for weight loss. I just promised myself that I will log it all.

@lore11a - I have never seen Musical Dominoes they sound really neat. What a great way to teach someone to read music. I hope the weather behaves and you can get to church tomorrow, otherwise curl up and stay warm.

It was 5x5 day so I did that, walking, and peddling for an hour. We will go to church tonight so we don't have to go out tomorrow. Hubby just came in so now I need to figure out something different for supper. I was going to sprialize zucchini and try a new recipe but that didn't sound good to him. I have a butternut squash so I guess I will make beef tagine.

I hope all you ladies find a little time for yourself today.

I was on Weight Watchers years ago and lost a bunch of weight. With WW (and a TON of exercise), I got off my plateau and hit my smallest weight of 152. The switch to Points Plus made the program stop working for me (plus I started dating my now husband and his love for food and my love for cooking made for a delicious combination, that was deadly to my waistline.

Five years later and I'm up to 236.2, almost my max weight (I was 240 back when I was 15, before I started caring about fitness AT ALL). Rather than get back on WW now that I'm super committed to getting back in shape, I'm just using all the knowledge I KNOW and doing it.

1. EXERCISE: I've already started a daily yoga regimen which is making me feel awesome, relaxed and strong. I am not a morning exerciser, so I do it right when I get home. I will do at least 30min daily. More if it strikes me, but that's a minimum.
2. TRACKING: After only tracking my exercise and assuming I was doing pretty well food-wise, I'm going to track EVERYTHING: exercise, food (even if I slip up) and weight (once a week, even if I gain).
3. FOOD: No more fried foods, daily dessert, cheat meals, or pasta multiple times a week. Since developing an allergy to dairy, ice cream is already gone, but I'm going to be much better food-wise. Cheat meals once a week aren't enough when you've got as much to lose as I do and have a desk job. We're doing TREAT meals once a month, and WITHIN REASON. Not COMPLETE deprivation, but we are sometimes going to have to forgo things we want for our health goals. After a health scare, my husband is on the health track with me, so I won't have to cook two meals and drool over his dinner. Christmas and New Years are coming, so it will just be tiny portions. I've done it before; I can do it again.
4. ACCOUNTABILITY: I have tried this alone. It doesn't work. My husband is on board, and I hope all of you are on board. Please friend me and post love/tough love. I will do the same. My diary is public. My profile pics is my current pic. It's tough to put it all out there, but it's even tougher to be stuck in a body you don't love, having undone all your weight loss progress. Lets do this.

Hello Ladies,

@gemwolf110 - I sounds like you are really running with work. Take care of yourself and keep healthy.

@cbabie - Maybe your body is trying to tell you need something specific hence the peanut butter.

@trooworld - The rib roast sounds yummy! I hope you enjoy your time off. Have you used your air fryer again?

@lore11a - I need to work on my snacking too. I have a real love/hate relationship with exercise. I hate to do it and it is rather like taking medicine (ick). But once I have done it I do feel better. I started with 15 minutes and worked my way up to an hour/an hour and a quarter work out a day. I had to make it a priority in my life as well and that was a big challenge for me. It meant putting me first before everyone else.

@KWebb84MFP - Welcome! At the top of the page there is a gray star, if you click on it, it will turn gold and bookmark the page for you so you can find the thread easier.

@theslightedgeforever - Take care of yourself and feel better. My oldest is off work with the cold and a sore throat. I told her not to come over and spread it. It didn't help, my middle daughter has come down with it and the younger is starting to get a scratchy throat. If I am unlucky I will end up sick for Christmas.

I had a mess of year end paperwork to plow through today, still more to do tomorrow. I did get my hour and a quarter workout in. It got up to 20 degrees today so I feel like we are having a heatwave.

I hope everyone has a good evening.

Liz

Good afternoon ladies,

@gemwolf110 - Your supper looks wonderful and sharing it with your honey makes it all the more special.

@cbabie - I don't think a person can ever read too much;) I love to read. We have the rare event of hubby being home for Christmas. Since he is home the girls wanted Indian tacos (taco fillings on Indian fry bread) for supper so he will be cooking Christmas supper. My oldest daughter will come on Friday so I think I will do some baking with all the girls on Friday and Saturday to keep them busy. Then the oldest's BF is coming to spend Christmas day with us. I wish our son's and their families could be here, but we will all be together for the middle daughter's high school graduation in the spring.

@trooworld - Yay! 90% tracking, it is progress. I have a friend that only weighs once a week and she is much happier. Maybe you can cook with your air fryer when you are off work next week.

It is 33 degrees and sunny here today. Even if it is cold it does the heart good to see the sun. It was SL day so I did that, walked, and peddled. So I got my hour of exercise in today. At the beginning of the month I joined the 24 hours of exercise per month challenge - December 2016. It has really motivated me to stay on track. I like seeing how I am chipping away at my goal daily. Well I had better get back to the paperwork, it doesn't seem to want to do itself.

I hope all you ladies have an awesome Tuesday.

Liz

Cbabie. at least you had a tree, right? I think maintaining is a good goal right now.

trooworld. So just write down some notes how the Christmas party could have gone better. Because you will probably attend some other kind of party before next Christmas. You can use the same strategies.

gemwolf Just realize that your schedule is temporary and like you said it won't be forever and you can make changes as needed. This is what I'm telling myself about being sick. one day I will exercise again. Just not today. Good thing is my blood sugar readings have been down lately. No more in diabetic range.


okay, lots to do tomorrow. Have to find the balance between getting my things done and rest.