Need to Lose 100 LBS -Robins Thread !

Hi everyone. I am fully back from Covid, no more lingering symptoms for me! I am on a 9 day streak of making my step goal. I have changed up my exercise routine. Rather than doing 60 min on my bike I do 30 minutes and 30 minutes of step aerobics. My eating continues to need improvement. I started weighing and logging my food again week. Hopefully with the changes I am making I can get the scale moving again. I noticed since I've been more aware of my portion sizes I have found that I am feeling when I get full and am able stop eating. Though one thing my friend helped me realize is that once I reach my goal weight I have confidence that I am going to be able to maintain it, considering I've been maintaining since the winter holidays.

One of my dear friends had weight loss surgery a year ago, last month my cousin also had the surgery. I am fascinated with the process they go through not only before but also after. I was asking my friend about it at a party this weekend. I don't think that route would be right for me. But I give a lot of credit to those who decide that is their journey. It certainly is not an easy road. That sparked me thinking and I started watching my 600 lb life. I am only on episode 2. I have to say that I am in awe with how hard this woman is working to reach her goal. It is wonderful to watch her regain her life and see her personality blossom. My heart also goes out to this woman for all the emotional turmoil she is dealing with surrounding her journey.

@MelodiousMermaid
Your great grandmother's homemade vanilla recipe sounds delicious!

@nsk1951
The elevator situation sounds dreadful. I think you have very valid concerns. I hope it has been rectified by now.

I too think about Robin (Ellen) often and wonder how she is doing. I remember her speaking about her struggles. I hope she is doing okay.

As for me, my goal for September is to consistently measure and log my food. My other goal is to clean out my art/workout room. I have to figure out where I am putting all the stuff I took home after my mother passed and I had to clear out the house. Right now I have it in bags and it has been untouched. I also need to go through my daughter's art supplies that we keep in my room. We have a lot of stuff that she never uses and takes up a lot of space. Once I clear up some space I will have more room to broaden my workouts. I can also move the dvd player into that room and do some of the workouts I have on dvd.

not sure what is going on the only way this post is showing up as if I completely uninstall and reinstall the app every time. Well I just want to say all is good and I completed my 500 mile challenge I wanted to show you guys some pictures but this stupid app isn’t letting me. I’m gonna go through and read everybody’s stuff but it doesn’t appear that I will be able to comment because I’m not going to reinstall an app every time I want to leave a message I don’t know if it’s something to do with my Apple iOS or this app it’s self but it’s very frustrating .

@MrsHermit ... It was nice of you to stop by and give us an update. I hope everything works out for you as you dream of it being. ... At one time, I wanted to move to Arizona to the mountain area above Sedona after falling in love with the area from a subscription to Arizona Highways magazine ... gosh, that was way back in the 1960's! ... I've only ever been to Arizona in my dreams and up high in the sky as planes I was a passenger in flew past. LOL.

Weekly Saturday Update ... Don't want to talk about it. I am in a holding pattern, have been for a few months now .. and am just waiting to get clearance from my cardiologist before embarking on a physical fitness program. It's just too difficult to really drop weight successfully with calorie restriction alone, at least for me, and at over an extended period of time. So ... as far as weight goes, it's up a couple, down a couple ... back and forth keeping me in that 50 pound loss to date status.

@mnwalkingqueen ,,, sorry you are having App issues. Hope it clears up so you can count on your device going forward.

Elevator here is still non-functional. A group of apartment tenants wrote up an angry letter of complaint about it and are sending it to the landlord. I understand that the issue is the mother board repair/replacement has hit some snags ... and I'm not surprised at that in our modern shortage of that kind of stuff. Hope it gets fixed soon.

Keep plugging!

@nsk1951
Sorry to hear you woke in such pain. I hope you are feeling better.
That is very disappointing to hear the elevator is still out.
I never friended her on FB. I do hope she is doing well!

@mswalkingqueen
Congrats on completing your 500 miles challenge! I am happy for you.
I am sorry to hear you are having issues with the app. Last month I was having issues with it too, but my issues were it not responding. Deleting and reinstalling fixed it for me. I am surprised it didn't work for you. Maybe you can contact MFP for some support? I hope it is fixed soon!

@MsHermit
It sounds like you are doing well and keeping very busy! Congrats on your move and new beginnings!

@MelodiousMermaid
It does feel really great! My energy level is completely back and I feel like I am getting in some really good workouts. I started back up with strength training too. It's a fantastic feeling!

As for me, I've been watching some cooking videos which inspired me to try out some new plant based recipes. The first one I tried was a cauliflower "alfredo" over chickpea pasta. I have to say I liked it, but I need to work on the recipe a bit. As someone with Italian heritage, this certainly does not taste anything like an alfredo. The only similarities were the color of the sauce. My husband was very irritated with this and insisted I cannot call this alfredo. Though that did not stop him from having a second helping. LOL I did not think my daughter would like it so I kept some plain chickpea pasta off to the side for her as a back up. She ended up liking it a lot and had a second helping too. I found the cauliflower sauce to be a little grainy but the flavor was amazing. I think the error was because roasted the cauliflower in the oven with some garlic rather than the instructions to boil it. I dislike boiled cauliflower. I am assuming the roasting it kept the cauliflower drier which caused me to have to add more plant based milk, a lot more. I would definitely try making the recipe again and make a few changes to get it creamier.

Another recipe I tried was a made up one. I cleaned out the freezer yesterday and realized I had 2 large bags of frozen spinach. I always do fresh veggies, never canned and rarely frozen. Corn and spinach are the only veggies I ever have frozen. I sometimes forget when I buy more and have a tendency to forget about it in the freezer. I decided to use one of the bags and make spinach for dinner. My daughter dislikes cooked spinach so I didn't know how this would go. I sauteed some red onion in some water then added the spinach. I roasted a head of garlic, made it into a garlicky paste then mixed with the spinach. I added some nutmeg, salt and pepper. I have to say it came out really delicious and my daughter, surprisingly, loved it!

I hope everyone is doing as well as can be!

Whoo Hoo!! looks like the app is working for me again properly. Here is a picture of I and Riley hiking in Taylors Falls Minnesota for the first time last weekend I will say climbing up the rocks was not the funnest but I did it.
I read through everyone’s post all of your food ideas wow, you guys are awesome. I found some great fall foods at Aldi the other day I really like the squash risotto.
I hope your elevator is fixed that is so annoying and then to not have decent communication about what is going on.
as for me right now, I am working on not eating if I’m not hungry. Also working on not eating because I’m pissed off. My coworkers tend to take me off a lot and I tend to eat lunch when I’m not even hungry and then I get mad because I ate.

@nsk1951
Sorry to hear about your health issues. I hope you are able to get the medications under control and back to a regular routine soon.

I am so glad to hear the elevator was fixed. That is fantastic news. Sorry to hear about the water being out but I am glad that was rectified quickly.

I love spaghetti squash. I have a hard time replacing vegetables for pasta. One thing I like to do with it is make it with garlic, onion, tomatoes and spinach. I used to do some kind of sauce on it. Either a white wine, olive oil or butter based. I don't know how I would dress it now considering I am avoiding all those things for my own health issues.

The temperature just dropped here too. My husband was dancing around earlier singing "It's finally getting cold. It's finally getting cold." LOL I always have a hard time transitioning from the warmer months to the colder months.

@ mnwalkingqueen
I love the picture! You look great! You also have such beautiful scenery!!! I am a bit envious.
That squash risotto sounds delicious.


As for me, the program I teach in started up this week so I am back to work. Half my students don't start for another few weeks. So far it has been an interesting start with lots of ups and downs. I have been really good at weighing and logging all of my foods. I've been sticking with my strength training routine mixed in with cardio. My goal is to finish the month out then October 1st I will increase the weights I use to 5lbs. I'm currently using 3 lbs. I do have to say, even with the lower amount of weight I am really feeling it. It's a good feeling though. My muscles are tired and feel worked but I always feel strong and energized after I complete my routine. I am proud of myself!

Saturday check in ...
First Saturday in Autumn 2022
Last Saturday in September 2022
First DAY I had to wear a hat and gloves outdoors in the Fall of 2022. It was early, and I have Raynaud's in my hands. When I got back from running my early morning errand I sat outside on the bench soaking up the morning sun for a while. The mailman arrived and he was wearing SHORTS! We both did a bit of a double-take on one another.

I had a 2.5 pound weight loss this week and I KNOW it is excess fluid trying to leave my body, not a true fat weight loss. Still, it feels so good to feel lighter and breath easier. And, as long as the scale keeps going in the downward trend I'll be happy ... each tick down the chart brings me that step closer to where I am going.

@jjlbrick , welcome to the thread and I do hope you'll find us again. Bookmark us so you can find us easily and stop by as often as you like to chat with us. I think most of us have 'been there, done that' when it comes to losing and then regaining ... it's very interesting to me that we (humans in general) don't seem to make permanent lifestyle and food preference changes necessary to maintain a body image we prefer. It's so easy to get derailed and let it slide until we have cold water tossed in our faces when we realize, sometimes desperately, that things have gotten out of our control, again! ... I can remember lamenting to my primary care physician one year at my second semi-annual visit with him that in the period between visits I had lost 17 pounds, but was again the same weight as I had been at the prevous appointment. I wouldn't have been so upset if it had been 5 pounds, but 17 was a lot of hard work that seemed to have gone 'down the drain'. Still .. when I started on here, I had 60 pounds more to lose than I do today. That is something I can be pleased about.

@JNettie73 ... how do you prepare Spaghetti squash properly? The one I got last week in my farm share bag came out very soft, mushy, watery; with no strands like I expected. I had cut it in half and removed the seeds and baked the halves cut side down on parchment paper until I could pierce it with a sharp knife point. It tasted like well cooked zucchini to me. Now .. what I DID like were the seeds. I had picked all of them out of the membrane and rinsed them well. Then I tossed them in a tiny bit of oil and sprinkled them with a tiny bit of salt and put them in between the halves of squash to bake. They turned brown and crispy and were 'oh so good' as snacks for the next few days. I'd be tempted to get another one just for these seeds!.

@mnwalkingqueen ... that's exactly what I have practiced long enough that is is natural and easy now ... only eating when I am hungry. Of course, it's much easier; for me, to do before I have my first meal. Once I have eaten and hormones get activated, I might find myself 'hungry' again in less than 60 minutes to as long as 5 hours depending on what was in that last meal! ... Still working on that part ... getting the right balance and amount of food to keep me satisfied for about 4 hours at a time. Good luck. Share what techniques have been working for you regarding that focus. For me, one of my favorite long-lasting meals is a couple of medium eggs with a medium potato, a couple links of breakfast sausage, a serving of any vegetable or fruit and a glass of water really holds me well. It's a lot of food, calorie wise even though it all fits quite comfortably on a standard 9" dinner plate. It must be the protein and fat in the ingredients that holds me so well.

I made a small meatloaf yesterday and had a 4-ounce serving of it with green beans and a baked potato with some EVOO instead of butter. I was surprised that I had eaten it at 5 PM and it is now 18 hours later and I am still not hungry.

Have a good week everyone. I hope your weather is good where you are. There have been bad storms in various parts of our world, hope you were all safe if any happened where you are.
Nikki

@jjlbrick- Welcome to the group.
@nsk1951- the view from our photo was spectacular. We were on the top of the bluff. Of course Riley had fun he loves going out and doing new adventures. It was a struggle for his human though. I didn’t know that I had to climb so many rocks, my ankles and knees were a little bit sore. I would also be curious to know about cooking the squash. I have never tried before because in my head I couldn’t figure out how you would get a knife through such a thick thing, but I guess it’s kind a like a pumpkin when it comes to cutting anyway.
@JNettie73- I think your husband doing the happy dance is what has made it 39° here in Minnesota in the morning. Lol I just wanna cry I am not ready for hats, mittens, and winter coats yet I actually ordered a headlamp because it’s really super dark here when we go walking in the morning, I mean I guess that’s what happens when you go walking at 5:45 in the morning lol

AFM-
Riley‘s dog psychologist who helped with all of his dog issues, invited us to be part of the fall festival booth this past weekend. He did such a great job, and he loved all the pets and attention and the sniffs. I guess it’s kudos to me, because when you have a dog with behavioral issues is retraining, the human, not the dog the human got the dog that way, lol well, at least that’s what Cesar Millan says! However, I did meet the cutest dog that is up for adoption and she loved Riley. She kept licking his face and he totally just let her do it and didn’t get mad. I hope she gets adopted soon, so I don’t feel the need to adopt her. I realize I am more of a one person dog then multiple dogs even though we have fostered a couple of dogs it’s always nice when they’re gone, I will definitely keep you in the loop on how only eating when I’m hungry goes this week has been really busy. I have eaten out three times already. I no longer wonder why the scale says what it does. However, I will say as much crap and junk that I have ate in the last month. I’m shocked that my weight hasn’t went up. I better count my blessings for sure.

Does anyone in here pay for premium membership? If so, do you feel it is worth it?
I read today that as of October 1st the free version of MFP will no longer have the bar scan for food and will only be available with the premium membership. I looked further into and discovered they are giving 50% off if we upgrade to premium, though is still costly IMO. I looked into the features that come with a premium membership and I am not sure if spending that money is worth it. I asked in my feed to see if any of my friends on here have premium but no one responded. I would love some input. Thanks!

@mnwalkingqueen
I feel the same about having to pay for it. Especially since it's not a feature that I don't regularly use. The more I think about it, the more I feel the premium version at this point in time would not be worth it for me.

Sorry to hear you are not feeling well. I hope it's not Covid or anything serious and you are back to yourself in no time!

Welcome October!

Starting weight 225 (ouch!) That's too much for these 77+year bones to carry! Ouch my aching knees and back!

Goal for the month ... weigh less than today! (nuff said!)
... Why do I want to lose weight this month? ... because I've been yo-yoing up/down the same couple of pounds and that has to stop!
... How am I going to achieve that goal? ...
...1...Plan on eating 3 times a day during daylight hours only!
...2...Walk more every day, by walking the hallways in this apartment building on days that I cannot walk outdoors or have not participated in an exercise program that day.
...3...Stop accepting free candy put into the community room by a friendly neighbor.
...4... Be more active during each day by doing more cleaning of any kind in the apartment. Sparkle and Shine is the goal on how every surface looks. No clutter anywhere. Laundry up to date all the time.

What I'm happy about from September ...
...1... Had a cardiologist take a good look at my heart function so now I know where I stand and also what activities are ok to do.
...2... Met a lot more neighbors and was able to socialize a lot more than before. Felt great to be in the company of other people and engaged in some interesting conversations that didn't revolve around negative issues.
...3... The elevator got fixed. The new maintenance man got hired and is doing a great job around here.
...4 ... Joined a Hatha Yoga class at the Sr Center that allows me to do most of the positions while seated.
...5...Got my hair trimmed! I've been cutting it myself since 2020!

@JNettie73 and @mnwalkingqueen ... I was a member a few years ago (under a different profile), when the paid version first came out and I did join it. I miss some of the diary and meal logging features that were available with it, and I was very glad to not have advertising popping in. There were features that were related to exercise and linking that I didn't use. In the end, when I came back, I decided that a trimmed down app was all I needed so I stayed with the free version.

Have a safe and happy October everyone.
Nikki

There are other things other than the food scanner on the paid version. But I’d sure like to find some one who is on it as well

Starting weight: 270 March 2021
Total loss to date: 60.8

October 2022 Start Weight: 212
October Goal Weight: 208
Ultimate Goal Weight: TBD

October 2: 211
October 9: 209.2
October 16:
October 23:
October 30:

I am updating my stats because I feel it helps me with accountability. I've been working really hard and my stats are reflecting it. I am 1pound away from my lowest recorded MFP weight. Once I reach that I can start updating it through MFP to show up in my feed again. I can't believe I am only 9 lbs away from wonderland!!!! I am so excited to get there.

This weekend my bestie came over with her kids and spent the weekend with us. Her son is a month older than my daughter, her daughter is a few years younger. It was so great watching the three of them play! Today we took a ride out east and brought them to our favorite farm. We spent the day pumpkin picking and enjoying all the fun things at the farm. We left the house at 9 am and didn't get home until 7 pm. I have close to 15K steps just from the farm. It was my plan to do my workout tonight after dinner as I ate a lot of things off my plan today. Exercise helps keep my glucose in check. I never skip my workouts but I am exhausted. I am going to give myself a little slack tonight and skip. But tomorrow I am back on track.

I hope everyone had a good weekend.

Saturday Check-In

Age: in my 78th year of life
Weight: 223.6
Goal: OnederLand
Goal target date: the way it's going it'll be in my 79th year

What's going on? ... I am still 'maintaining' instead of losing. There is a reason for it and that reason is my own behavior and habits. Recently I've even taken to satisfying hunger pangs during my waking middle-of-the-night awake periods. ..

And then the 'parent in me' rushes in to tame the angst of the 'child in me' (yes, I'm into psycho-babble!). My thoughts immediately come up with this ... How much excess weight has been lost to date?... 58.4 pounds. How long did it take to lose that weight AND keep it off? ... about 10-14 years. How long did it take you to become that overweight during your 'gaining years'? About that long ... So! You are expecting weight to come off faster than it went on? (sounds like an incredulous questioning voice in my imagination!)

Thank goodness the 'present adult' in my has stepped up to the forum by the time I have thought through this mental chit-chat. I remind myself that both thoughts are valid. However, as observed, my habits are perhaps in need of a tune-up. What about trying to spend more time having fun cooking interesting and different recipes instead of spending the afternoon on the computer? Or adjusting the pattern of when I eat my meals to better fit the changing season?

Well .. I'll update you another time of what I did or didn't do about it all. The scale will tell!

Have a good week everyone. Heading out to the Farm for my share of produce. Last week for it is the first Saturday in November and then it will be all produce from the grocery store season again.

Nikki

Starting weight: 270 March 2021
Total loss to date: 60.8

October 2022 Start Weight: 212
October Goal Weight: 208
Ultimate Goal Weight: TBD

October 2: 211
October 9: 209.2
October 16: 209.4 (TOM)
October 23:
October 30:

Mid Month Goal Check In:

• Weigh and log all my food - Doing great!
• Increase weights for strength training from 3lb to 5 lbs - Done. I've been doing weights every other day with my 5 lb ones. It is going very well. My left arm isn't as muscular as my right. I've been doing extra reps on my left to help strengthen it. I am starting to see the results of that.
• Continue to work on improving my tolerance for step aerobics working up to doing at least 45 minutes on level 2. - I've been doing 35 minutes of step level 2. It is a very challenging workout. I am not sure if I will get to 45 minutes by the end of the month but I am trying my best!
• Focus on my water consumption. - This is MEH. Some days I do great while others I don't do as well. Clean out my art/workout room and move the dvd player in. - I have not started this yet. I was going to on Friday but I ran out of time and had to go get my daughter off the bus. I am planning on starting this sometime this week.

I've been doing really well with my eating and workouts. My glucose has been excellent too. I was just saying to my BFF today that I am looking forward to taking my monthly pictures and measurements November 1 and comparing them to previous ones. I am noticing a difference in my body and the way some of my old clothing is fitting me.

@nsk1951
I love what you said about reflecting about how much you have lost, how long it took you and how long it took to put that weight on in the first place. I often find myself reflecting on my progress and thinking about what I can do differently.

You have a victory with being able to maintain rather than gaining. When I went through my slump my BFF told me the same thing. I stopped to think about it and she was absolutely correct.

@JaysFan82
Congratulations on your loss. That is amazing!!! I will send you a friend request.