JoLightensUp Member

Walked up a local mountain this afternoon with my husband and daughter. I haven't been up there in years. It was tough - I had to stop and catch my breath a few times! But sooo glad I did it. And the view from the top is beautiful. We plan to do it regularly now. :)

First mini goal is to get below 70kg. Currently 76kg. I know MFP works really well for me, but I wasn't prepared to commit to it until now. I'm feeling positive!

I'm back from holidays. My home town welcomed me back yesterday with a sweltering 41°C (106°F). I know many of you in the northern hemisphere are shivering instead, and I hope you are keeping warm and toasty and looking after yourselves up there. So I didn't weigh myself or my food for over two weeks while I was away. I…

Merry Christmas everyone! I'm on holidays, my backyard is currently a beach, and I'm loving it! Going to my brother and sister-in-law's today in Sydney for Chrissy dinner. I don't know what we'll be eating, but they love food so it should be good. Hope you all enjoy your day, however you are going to spend it. ETA: A…

I've always enjoyed reading your comments @MegaMooseEsq. You seem to have such a good attitude. Congratulations on all your achievements so far. I hadn't set myself any time goals, but I sort of just expected to be at my goal weight by Christmas. I'm not, but the experience of having a deliberate diet break was more…

That's great Rick. It must be encouraging to see those results. Enjoy your diet break! I was only a little overweight but I am amazed at how my blood pressure has responded to losing just 9kg (plus more exercise and less salt I suppose). Midway through this year, I was hovering in the high 130s over the high 80s, and now…

Yeah, we need an empathy button here. So many of you struggling with one thing or another at the moment. :/ Looking at my calorie averages for the last week or so, I have been eating at maintenance overall, which would explain why I haven't dropped any more weight. I'm OK with that at the moment. I have been working on my…

It's worth it, BJ. YOU are worth it. The rewards might feel like they are slow in coming at the moment, but they are coming. Keep chipping away.

I'm sorry y'all, but my dad was a pastrycook (third generation) - he made the best shortbread. :p ***Ducks and runs***

It's after midnight here and I'm back from a Christmas party/barbie, catching up on the thread, and guess what I coincidentally happened to choose from the dessert buffet tonight...yep, pavlova. B) Wow, I haven't had it for a while and had forgotten how sweet it is. I feel like I've had a gazillion calories, but it's…

Glad you bumped. I missed it the first time you posted @rybo. Great article - comprehensive and easy to understand.

"You may be right" is one I've used to shut things down too. In my mind I finish it with "but you're not" lol. Seems reasonable Lillymoo. :D Come on down, OP! It's beautiful here today. (Better make it today; tomorrow's going to be a scorcher and we'll all be whinging about it. :p ) Anyway, I'll add to the chorus of "wear…

I was walking around a local lake and a woman was walking one dog and had the other - a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - in a stroller. We chatted and she told me that he had a bad heart murmur and couldn't walk far, but loved to go on his 'walks'. It was so sweet. I've never owned a dog even though I love them. I love to…

I hope your migraine has eased and you're feeling a lot better, @GottaBurnEmAll. I find the mental aspect of weight loss as interesting as the physical side. I'm trying to work more on my own thinking this time around. It's helpful to read your reflections. Hi @stephaniedenise28. Is Enzo an Italian greyhound? He's very…

I'm glad you posted this. This approach might work for me. I'm only a couple of kilos off maintenance and I think I'll continue logging for a while, but snacks are really my biggest problem. At some point, I might stop logging and just try to keep a calorie limit on my snacks. Or even just log my snacks for a while. Thanks…

My mum's in her early eighties and pretty much stopped walking after she had to put down her beloved old dog. She couldn't bring herself to go looking for a new dog either. I looked and looked on rescue websites, made enquiries and kept sending pics to her (she lives in another state). After months of searching, a rescue…

Thanks @Nony_Mouse, I'll have a look at Strong Curves.

Get well thoughts for you @VintageFeline. I'm not feeling that great either - I managed to get swimmer's ear (outer ear infection) even though I wear earplugs when I swim. So, no swimming for me for a week or so. When it starts to heal I think I'll look at my options for strength training this week because *whispers* I…

Just gotta say I really love your profile pic @Psychgrrl

I'm not sure how I'll go about the holidays either. I've never tracked during a holiday before, but that's because I've never stuck at logging my food for this long before! We'll be away for a couple of weeks, so I'm thinking I'll try to log something every day, even if it includes some quick adds, notes and guesstimates.…

My daughter just watched all Giles's videos with me. They are great! We lol'ed all through the dancing one.

Giles is AWESOME. He looks like he's conducting an orchestra...adagio movement! Then he gets a bit carried away with the music and topples off the podium.

Time for a pet break? I'm gonna assume you all said yes. :p This is Ana. She's one of two rescue kittens that we got earlier this year. I previously had two cats that both lived to 18 years. I had to put one down last year and one this year. :'( After that, I suggested to my hubby and kids that we wait a few months before…

There you go. Exactly the sorts of things I would see you saying to someone else. Well, maybe not "grow up" lol. It's tough when you are feeling so rubbish and sleep-deprived. That's temporary, but all the valuable things you have learnt are here to stay!

Congratulations Nony! You are rocking that dress too. :)

{{{Nony}}} <3 That just sucks. I hope you can get some good rest tonight and feel better tomorrow. Hopefully, hopefully, he has kept those darn shingles to himself. And hopefully you are asleep right now - I think it's beddy-byes time in NZ.

I see that you are trying to do a lot of planning, which is fine and helps you get ideas. But it can get a bit overwhelming sometimes. Another approach is just to start logging what you are eating now, learn from that, and tweak as you go along. Don't feel that you have to completely overhaul your diet all at once or…

Yes...if their lawn is also a crime scene on Midsomer Murders. (Sorry Nony :p )

Well that sounds awful. Sending get well thoughts over the sea to you.

I have a sweet tooth. I find fruit helps. At least I'm getting some fibre and vitamins with it. I used to have brown sugar on my breakfast cereal and I'd been doing that since I was a child. Now I have replaced the sugar with strawberries and walnuts, and I've found I actually prefer it. I have two coffees a day mixed in…