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

Struggling on WW. Lost 5 lbs and even since then having a hard time with any success. Thinking about coming back to My Fitness Pal and Low Carb. Any advice anyone can offer us welcomed!!

@trooworld, your work environment sounds so lovely that it is no wonder you miss it. My job at the church is just me in an office where my desk faces a plain white brick wall. Not so inspiring! That is cool that you have your own ice cream maker, but I agree that making healthier versions is probably a good idea. I bet you could find a make at home Halo Top.

@mswatson0777, I haven’t got the new bar yet for my barre blend. It’s supposed to ship out this week. Right now I’m using my treadmill to help keep me from falling over. LOVE Parks and Rec!! We are currently getting into The Office. Soooo funny! That is good news about your summer classes and hopefully, with just the one class you will feel much less stress. Just think about how much you will appreciate your nice clean yard when all that work is done.

@Shexio, yeah barre is definitely different from other workouts that I’ve done. But it’s fun to try new things and it certainly gives me a burn and lots of sweat.

@its_cleo, mmm that icecream sundae sounds so good!! I’ve been thinking of a treat for Mother’s Day and that just might be the answer I’ve been looking for. That is interesting about the alcohol. I don’t drink very often because I usually never want to stop at just one. Good for you for doing a 30-day challenge!

@cbabie, that is great that you had such a nice Sunday. We all need days like that. How can anyone not love cornbread!

@theslightedgeforever, hmm a butt that a quarter could bounce off is certainly an aspirational dream. Yeah, I wouldn’t want to leave the patio covers on all the time. I would just do it for the pollen season. What is it with birds taking aim at our stuff all the time!

@sspell60, hi and welcome! I’ve been struggling too but what it really comes down to is that you have to make a commitment to stick to your plan. They all work if we work them.

Good morning! Yesterday, I went to my hair salon and got my hair done. She hasn’t fully reopened and especially not to the public, but she and the other girls are doing some their regulars and not having more than two stylists at a time in the shop. I felt totally safe and now I have no more grey! Today, DH and I are going Home Depot to buy some boxes so the church can pack up the hymnals and Bibles from the pews. He also wants to go downtown to our jeweler and see about remaking his mother’s opal ring for me to wear. The woman was a pixie and her rings are tiny but the opals are gorgeous. It's something we have talked about doing for a while now. DH has a construction mask and I told him that he will have to wear it. He is so tired of being stuck at home and just wants to get out. Have a good day!

@trooworld Isn't that always the case we don't take advantage of the great things near us? I live near some great hiking trails but I don't take advantage of them as much as I should

@TeresaW1020 I hope you and the husband are able to stay safe out there and that you get all your errands accomplished!

Welcome @sspell60! I don't have any advice other than doing what works best for you. Everyone's journey is unique!

Happy Wednesday! I was feeling pretty sore this morning so I did a dog walk this morning instead of my workout. After work I'm going to dive into paining the deck, which I'm hoping won't take me more than two after work days (but it always ends up being a bigger project than I think since there are a lot of nooks and crannies! Once that's done I think I'm mostly done with my portion of the yard work until fall chores come around and I have to trim our bushes and clean the outsides of our windows (the never ending cycle). It will feel good when it's done though!

@trooworld I like the fridge inspo!

@its_cleo glad I made you smile.

My night time snacking is a bad habit. That’s my focus today. Maybe I just need to focus on positivity.

How often do y’all weight yourself?

I’ve been weighing maybe 3/wk.
it was a negative thing but, I’ve recently decided that it’s not. It’s a tool.

Instead of focusing on lowering the number, I’m focusing more on, how can I keep my current number. I used to really rush to get a low Weight and then I would celebrate the next day, which puts it in a bad cycle.

Lately,( with you all) I’ve been really focused on, “my scale number is good, what can I do today to keep it good”. Less 🪀 yo-yo.


total body & Kickboxing (body combat/ youtube) loved this workout!!!

@shexio I weigh myself everyday and enter it on Happy Scale app. It has a trend line for the avg. and shows me going up or down and either in the red or green. I consider it just data and if I get a bad number I'm like meh. Unless it's really bad. lol The scale doesn't define me. My actions and habits do. If you ate a healthy snack at night, is it still considered a bad habit?

@its_cleo In my journal everyday, I write I give myself credit for.... and then list all the little things I've done for the day. Trying to keep it positive. now you've ruined the PB sandwich with unsweetened jam. lol Nothing but Smucker's grape jelly for me. It's the taste of childhood. Long term, what can you do about your tendonitis. Is it just a flare up thing or does it need surgery, therapy, etc? Yaaay on the walks.

@trooworld I'll take the chickpea bowl. I think hubby would like that. I don't like whole chickpeas. Hummus though.... with some good naan. Yummy. I know the seaweed. lol Look to the right bottom corner. wet mud?

@trooworld, smart idea plan a veggie menu. So far I have been able to find meat but there are times when there hasn’t been any or it’s slim pickings. I talked to one of my friends who is a vegetarian and told her she might have to start sending me some tried and true recipes.

@its_cleo, that is great that you will have a place to store your new bike. I assume there are lots of good places to ride where you live?

@cbabie, as of yesterday we are talking about opening the church on June 21st or 28th. We are going to send out a questionnaire to our people to see what concerns they have and when they would feel comfortable returning. We won’t have nursery or children’s church to start and that is going to be a real issue for many of our families. The real struggle is that we just don’t know from week to week what is going to happen next.

Good morning! Well, DH and I ended up not going downtown to the jewelry store. We decided to just wait until the shelter-in-place for people over 65 is lifted so that we won’t get crazy looks from people. We did go to Home Depot and had a great time. I bought a new mop. Woot!! I only lost a tiny bit of weight this week but at least the scale was down. I’m going to have to push harder if I want to see any real results. OK, I’m off to workout and then cut DH hair. He is looking very shaggy.

@trooworld I couldn't do a veggie week. I could do maybe a veggie meal? I tried to be vegetarian years ago but I couldn’t keep it up. I just felt hungry all the time. And sometimes I crave red meat like crazy. I tell my friends I think I’m a vampire lol. Burgers and steak are pretty much my favourite food group. I bookmarked that chickpea bowl recipe though.

@cbabie did you get your work station at home set up? It’s kind of a pain.

@theslightedgeforever, I find the jam is pretty sweet on its own. I also buy Smuckers, Smuckers Apricot jam. It’s funny I love apricot jam and apricot candies but I’m not big on actual apricots. ….the tendonitis. It’s an overuse injury which means the only thing you can do is let it rest. Rest doesn’t mean no exercise, but it means dropping down almost to nothing, and then just slowly doing tiny bits. If a tendon tears or ruptures then surgery is sometimes needed but I stopped it before that point.

It can take 3 to 6 months to heal, sometimes longer. If I rush it and have a setback it will take longer.
Apparently tendons are quite small- like your achilles tendon is relatively small but it generates tremendous force when you jog or run say, and even walking. So if you overload it, it burns out. However, the good news after doing almost nothing for a week I can walk about 1.5 km twice a day. I’m fighting myself not to rush it but it feels good to get out.

@TeresaW1020 yes there is a lot of very nice trails here. I used to have a bike years ago but I got rid of it. The only thing is I find the trails can get crowded. The city is in the process of paving them and so more people come. I preferred it when they were just dirt trails and other people stayed away!

Well in other news- again not doing well with calories. I was never a big dessert person, but I used to have a drink as a reward, but now I’m doing a 30 day alcohol free challenge and so now I want dessert lol. So the calories are a bit of a battle but I’m trying to be more relaxed with it right now.

I haven’t bought a bike yet, because I haven’t had time but I’m hoping to get to it within this week. There is bike racks in my apt garage but I’m still waiting for them to confirm whether there is space for me to have one yet.
It actually snowed a bit here today which is ridiculous but I still got out and enjoyed my walk. Did some core work yesterday and today I will be doing a strength/cardio circuit my trainer gave to me.

I was reading about crossfit and it sounds awesome, I wish I could do it.

Take care all.

HI all...Happy Mothers Day to all that trooworld said..Cold, dreary day here today. Supposed to be a frost/freeze warning tonight, but they think this will be the end of that much cold. Hope so, I am ready for spring. My cousin said she has flowers & tomato plants out already, and I don't have any yet. Dh helped dd till up the spot where she wants to plant a few things, peas, beans carrots, & zucchini & she got them in the ground. Hopefully I can put a few things in this week, she gave me her left over seeds, lol.

@trooworld Sorry about your bread. That is discouraging after putting so much work into it. Good job with the vegetarian menu. Being here at home & not going to restaurants makes me think I could do the Whole Food Plant Based like my sister..if I would continue to be here. Not sure I have the "willpower" to continue at a restaurant. Glad you got a nice walk in.

@renaegry Oh well, back to a healthy day again. Your supper sounds delicious. I love asparagus! I think we will order a pizza...we are both hungry for one as we have not ordered anything at all during the quarantine.

@its_cleo I agree on the apricots, yuck! Be careful with your achilles, a gal I used to work with had to have surgery on hers. Getting a bike sounds like a great idea! I have an old one that I keep thinking I need to get out & start riding. I hadn't ridden for probably 25 years until a few years ago when gkids were at our house, so I got it out so I could ride with them. Surprised myself that I could still do it...guess like they say, you never forget, lol.

@theslightedgeforever Good job with more veggies. I need to be eating more...mostly been broccoli, corn, & sweet potatoes around here, lol. Congrats on the loss, too! Things are opening up around here quite a bit...not convinced we should be yet with our case counts, but guess they didn't ask me, lol.

@cbabie Yeah for getting walks in. I bet the baby enjoyed it, too. Hope you got your work station all set up. Most of the time when I cook something, I must be planning for more people, because we usually have leftovers. Thats OK with both of us, tho. Dh & I will reheat most anything, & it saves cooking another meal, lol.

@TeresaW1020 Glad you got your hair done. I go with the natural hair..mine is kind of a blondish gray, but not going to color it. Sis has pretty salt & pepper type gray. Gave dh another haircut yesterday. He decided a few years ago that he didn't have enough hair to pay a barber, so I took over the job. Luckily he doesn't mind a buzz cut.
It is interesting about your church opening. Ours is still closed, but is so big, that I think social distancing would be hard. They plan to continue streaming the services even after they do open, so people that want to stay home yet, will be able to see it. We have had a young girl (about 10?) singing during a few of the services. She has an amazing voice for her age! Did you say about Vacation Bible School? Ours has decided to postpone it until next summer.

Think I said about dh breaking off a tooth. He saw the dentist last week & she was able to pull the rest out. We thought for sure he would have to go to an oral surgeon. Glad he didn't. Still really sore.

Well, not much happening here. Dd just called & asked if we will be home, they are coming over after a bit. We have been limiting our visits (been over there a few times) to being outside & 6 foot apart, but today is pretty chilly, so not sure if we will do that or if they will come in. Kind of feel like I shouldn't make a big deal out of it, if the other dd & gkids are coming here the end of the month. I am still conflicted about that, but know she needs help with the gkids while she works from home. The kids are planning to go fishing as much as we can, lol.

@its_cleo tendonitis: I have golfer's elbow that flares up at times so I get it. I wear my brace when it happens until the pain is gone. I don't actually golf but I guess doing things around the house. I always know when it's back when I pick up my heavy skillet. I've learned to hold my arm in close to my side versus arm out. I never understood why I have to wear the brace in a place where there is no pain but it works. lol I guess it pushes on something connected to the pain place. Now I have pain on the top of my foot I'm dealing with. It comes and goes. Well now you know you can never stop drinking or you would eat dessert all the time. Just keep working on the calories.

@trooworld Hooray for the loss. Down is down. It's all about the trend. I think I would like a ketchup/bbq sauce mix. Maybe I could make my own. That's a bummer on the bread. Is the "score" just for decoration? I thought I just missed one day but it looks like two. All the days run together. I don't even know what I do. But the days zoom by just sitting in the house.

@renaegry So back to your plan. Did dh leave? Your dinner sounded really good.

@retiredandlovingit I was talking with ds yesterday and he had a sweater on. I was like, I thought it turned warm there. He said, yeah but now it's chilly again. lol We've only ordered in once the past couple of months. It was pizza. I'm so sick of home-cooked food. Sick of the cooking too. lol Ds told me the malls were opening up. I'm like, why? your area is exploding. He says quit looking at the numbers everyday, Mom. lol I can't help myself. Glad they got dh's tooth fixed. Enjoy the grandkids even though I know how worried you are. Play the handwashing game all the time they are there. lol

@kaar17 Welcome to the group! I hope you get the answers you need.


So Happy Mother's Day to all. I celebrated by having a video chat with the whole family. The kids sang me the song they wrote to me when they were little. I have that on tape and just saw it last week. Thank God for video conferencing.

I'm enjoying my 100 day book right now. Just finished my first 10 days and lost 0.5 lbs. It's called Chasing Cupcakes. Right now talking about always taking the hard road when the easy road could be taken.

Green Day-Stayed OP 235/238 carbs Exercise-none

May goals: Green Dot day Drink 4.5 glasses of water Burn 200 cals through exercise.

@RetiredAndLovingIt good to hear about the bike! I just bought one online I'm hoping it will be here Friday.

I haven't ridden in about ten years.

@mswatson0777, that is great that you have a new job and a good reason to be able to get into your pants. I hope you will continue to check in with us.

@trooworld, I’m here and on my horse! Will you try to make bread again? I have always been way to intimated to try it myself.

@RetiredAndLovingIt, our children’s director is looking into doing VBS on Facebook Live this year. We have some talented college students with nothing to do this summer who plan to help. I’m still not quite sure how that will work. I cut my DH’s hair as well. Ouch on your DH breaking a tooth. That is great that he was able to see the dentist.

Good morning! Sorry that I went MIA. I really didn’t realize that it had been so many days. I didn’t do much this weekend. Mother’s Day is a day that just makes me sad and mad since losing my daughter. I would have ignored it all together except that I now have my mom living with me. I gave her an extra-large print Bible and made her enchiladas for dinner. She was happy! Yesterday, I went grocery shopping and then came home and mopped all the floors and deep cleaned our home office. DH bought us a tabletop grill and we had grilled hamburgers last night. Now I can start a new Pinterest board for grilled food.

@its_cleo Clearer healthy looking skin is definitely an advantage. Congrats on your new bike.

@mswatson0777 I guess Yaaay on your new job. Although you were stressed to the max as it was. I hear you on the Covid15 and I'm working hard to reverse it.

@teresaw1020 Come on, try some bread. Unless you think you will eat the whole thing. I think dough is easy if you proof the yeast correctly. I've never made a loaf of bread but do yeast rolls and cheese filled croissants regulary. Oh, wait, I did make a loaf of Artisian bread in my new dutch oven. Forgot about that. That's great about the college students. Sometimes different can be fun and we learn from it. I'm glad you had your mom there this year for Mother's Day.

@trooworld Hooray for attempting the black hole. A little a day gets it done. Even years later. lol I have a black corner. I'm sorry about Mother's Day for you. But you are a mother to your furbaby. If only the furbaby could cook or order flowers. But hey, I have live humans that live with me.........As the Stones sing, You can't always get what you want. (I didnt want to cook on Mother's Day) Sometimes they just can't read the room.

@cbabie Did you try your oils for your headache? What other stress reliever things could you do? Dark room with noise canceling headphones? lol

So some insights from my book so far.....

Hard road or easy road?

When your path is taking you down the hard road, you repeatedly let yourself down. Stop submitting to the familiar lies that keep you from creating the change you want. What are those lies? stop living in a cycle of continuous deferment…tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, but never today.

Hallmarks of the hard road:

Valuing novelty (new approaches) and intensity over consistency.
Putting off until later what you don’t feel like prioritizing today.
Focusing on your skillset more than your mindset.
Investing energy in the problem instead of acting on the solution.
Making yourself a victim of factors outside your control.
Making decisions based on emotion instead of principle.
Trying to do everything right instead of focusing on doing the right thing.
Talking yourself into an excuse instead of talking yourself into progress.
Focusing more on the journeys and opinions of others than on your own.

From "Chasing Cupcakes" by Elizabeth Benton



Yellow Day-Stayed OP 190/200 Exercise-free day

May goals: Green Dot Day Drink 4.5 glasses of water Burn 200 cals via exercise

@theslightedgeforever - you made a good point.

I’m really feeling in the zone. It’s amazing. One change is I’m drinking more water. More water, less desires for food. Also, mindset seems dialed in. So nice to be in this headspace right now. I’m feeling like I’ll see amazing things of I step in the scale. So I’m staying off of it (afraid It’ll be bad and I’ll go into a tail soon). Nope. No weighing in! Not right now. Not worth all the success I feel from what I’m eating. I know I must be doing it right. It just feels like I am!!!!!!