40+Club-Making it Work

Texssippian,
I'm so sorry to hear about your dog - I know its extremely hard to lose a long-time pet; they're another member of the family!:brokenheart: :sad: :sad:
We have a 13-year old beagle-doxie mix and when she goes it'll just kill my husband. She's "his" dog, and stops eating whenever he travels. He found her as an abandoned, 4 month-old walking skeleton and she worships the ground he walks on. I'm not really a pet person, but she and I keep each other company when he's gone

You and your family are in my thoughts......... take care

I will be returning to work probably on Friday. I will have a lot less time to be here in the thread. I work eight hours per day and then have my family, which has grown since last week, to care for. I will try to log in here as often as I can. I love all of you.

texssipipian, I'm so sorry for your loss. It sounds so sudden. What a shock. :brokenheart:

TexasMom, congrats on the milestone! :drinker: And even better yet, congrats on how good you are feeling. There's nothing like feeling good, is there?

Swissmiss, we'll miss you! Please check in whenever you get a chance.

All here is well. Did an hour of chest/back strength training this morning. I felt pretty strong.

I think I've finally locked into a diet I can sustain at about 1650 calories. My energy was way down the latter part of May, but over the past couple of days, I've been feeling much better. My weight is staying the same, so chances are, I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be in terms of calories.

Now I just need to work on what goes into those 1650 calories. I'm thinking I'm going to have to re-think my breakfast. I love peanut butter and jelly toast in the morning, and this is what I always have. But I'm finding I'm having a hard time sustaining my energy through my workouts anymore.

Does anybody have any suggestions for EASY breakfasts that are good for sustaining energy (I think I might need more protein and less sugar)? I know I'm not going to be cooking breakfast every morning, so I want something I can pop into the microwave, toaster or simply take out of the fridge and eat. I know....I'm so picky. :blushing: Any suggestion would be appreciated.

Hope everybody is having a good day. :flowerforyou:

Thank you to all for the support. It is very helpful having you out there.

We did go to the trainer tonight. She noted how thin my middle area is getting. Yea!

It was making me sad looking at the dogs' pictures so I changed the main picture to produce from our backyard: cabbage, eggplant, squash, tomatoes, bell pepper and banana peppers. My mom is flying in on Friday so we will have cabbage and ratatouille and I will put the pepper in buttermilk corn bread. I love ratatouille. My mom and I are both big eggplant fans. My husband is not but he plants me a couple of eggplant plants each spring and gamely at least tastes my eggplant creations. He does like baba ganoush. I have found a middle eastern grocery and restaurant which will give me small amounts of tahini so I don't have to buy a big jar.

Thank you again to everyone for the kind words and support as we work through losing our sweet Callie-dog beagle yesterday.
Back to work moms: take care of yourself and try to carve out a little time to hit this sight. You deserve the support even more while making that big change.

:flowerforyou: Thanks tron...I will be around.

:flowerforyou: tex..the veggies look good. I so wish that I could have a garden.

:flowerforyou: stiring..don't have any suggestions for you. I also eat peanut butter when I am in a hurry. If I not, I like poached eggs or oatmeal. I have been having the oatmeal this week.

I managed to get to the Y today. I spent 1/2 hour on the bike and rowing machine. I feel much better. I am holding at the same weight also.

Texassippian just wanted to send you a hug. Losing pets is so hard. I lost my Sherman-dog 3 years ago and still miss her.

Good morning everybody!

Thanks for checking in singfree! Happy to hear you are having a good time in CA.

Nothing much new to report here. I consider today to be my first day in full maintenance mode with three meals, two snacks and a small treat (if I so choose)...all coming up to about 1650 calories. I'm looking forward to it. Of course, I get up this morning and discover I'd lost a pound :noway: (down to 106.7). I'm thinking that could be temporary, but if I lose anymore on this maintenance mode, I'll have to think about it again. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about the weight loss, but I'm really ready to figure out my maintenance routine!

Going to be doing an hour of cardio this morning (step aerobics). Yay!

Hope everybody has a good day!

Texasmom.... Your HRM is what is accurate for you. Working out and burning calories is different for each individual. As far as I understand it, it goes off of your height, weight, and fitness level. For example a 5'2 woman weighing 140 will burn more calories doing the same exercise than a 5'2 woman who only weighs 110. So unfair if you ask me.... But thats the way it was explained to me.

Thanks for the idea, alf! :flowerforyou: I'd never thought about putting the peanut butter in oatmeal. I might have to give that a try since I think oatmeal will have less sugar than the bread I'm eating (no HFCS...but still a pretty high sugar index) AND I would still get my peanut butter (organic, natural and unsalted, of course) fix. Thanks again!

I've been thinking about duffy too and hoping her recovery from her surgery is going well.

TexasMom, I just want to echo what tron has said about calorie burns. MFP is probably based on an average (much like exercise machines are based). From what I've seen in a number of places (though there is no indication of this here at MFP, but I'd be willing to bet MFP uses similar averages), the 'average' seems to be somebody in the 150-160 range. If you weigh less than that, you may burn less. If you weigh more, you may burn more. So if your HRM has your personal data recorded accurately (weight, age, etc), I suggest you go with what your HRM says. Hope you had fun on that bike ride!!

Now I just need to work on what goes into those 1650 calories. I'm thinking I'm going to have to re-think my breakfast. I love peanut butter and jelly toast in the morning, and this is what I always have. But I'm finding I'm having a hard time sustaining my energy through my workouts anymore.

Does anybody have any suggestions for EASY breakfasts that are good for sustaining energy (I think I might need more protein and less sugar)? I know I'm not going to be cooking breakfast every morning, so I want something I can pop into the microwave, toaster or simply take out of the fridge and eat. I know....I'm so picky. :blushing: Any suggestion would be appreciated.

Texas,
Congrats on the weight goal - good for you!!!!
As far as breakfast, I leave the house by 7:00am for a 25 mile commute, so I usually have a cup of Weight Watchers fat-free yogurt with a serving of Special K Chocolately Delite cereal mixed in along with a glass of orange juice at 6:30am and I rarely get hungry before lunch at noon.