valeriebpdx Member

That is fantastic. To go from needing a cane to get around to being capable of miles and miles of hiking is a major accomplishment. And you look terrific! Congratulations!

When you are that close to goal, you should make your weekly loss goal more modest, 1 lb or even .5 lb. You probably need to give a consistent intake time to see how it shakes out with the new job. I could be totally wrong, but if by cheat day you mean "I didn't track," then it's easy to imagine that you ate away all your…

I tend to fall in love with them, as they are so rare and wonderful.

My older ran away from me in a department store when I was 8 months pregnant. It was all decorated for Christmas with many trees I could not squeeze in between. I genuinely could not catch the little mofo. We stopped at Babies R Us on the way home and bought a wrist leash. I only used it a couple of times, but I think the…

Well, I am way bigger than I want to be so I can't solve all your problems, but I can speak to the husband issue. Sometimes you have to give yourself what you wish you could get from somebody else. My husband exercises a ton and can therefore eat whatever he likes; he has no concept of the idea that anyone could need…

Pretty in Pink. That wasn't a hint, btw, it was all of it. "Ma, I love him awful." "Oh, god, that's too bad."

I like you.

Dear 16-year-old Valerie, Just because someone wants to date you in the coming years doesn't mean you have to let them. Never go out with Rick. Ever. Tell Chris you love him. If he lets you down, you can handle it, but you will regret not showing him how important he was to you so you didn't look desperate. Break up with…

Grieving is, literally, extremely demanding physical work. The best thing you can do for yourself is sleep, nap, rest, and let yourself feel so you can begin to heal. This is not a motivation problem, and you should definitely not be beating yourself up about diving into weight loss right now. Just be kind to yourself and…

That's right, Dopeitup and Meshashesha. Great minds ...

Another vote for: Don't give a damn, just run. Also, it's Sir Mixalot if you want to bump "Baby Got Back ..." Get yo' 80s rappers straight. Girl, we got it goin' like a turbo 'Vette.

Frosty the Snowman does say "Happy Birthday!" Every time he comes to life. Kid is right, not random.

When my older son was four I told him to dress warmly because it was chilly out, and he comes down in an outfit for an Arctic expedition. I told him maybe that was a little too warm and he should try again, and he got frustrated and burst out, "It's harder to be a boy than a bird." I reckon he's right.

Didn't read all the replies. This is weird to me. I don't get women who are all, "I'm an independent woman, no one's going to control me or tell me what to do" but then all of a sudden when the check comes they're old-fashioned and want to be taken care of. I agree that on the first date the asker should pay. Usually I…

Hi Tsteven, You were entering it under the strength training section--while it is definitely strength training, you need to find/enter it under cardio to include calories burned. That section is more a place for lifters to keep notes on exercises done, weight and reps. Hope this helps! -Valerie

bump for the motivating replies

No. We don't work out together because we don't like to do the same things, and I am not interested in his thoughts on what I am doing in re: exercise. If I happen to be doing a video or something when he gets home, it gets paused until he gets out of the room. I think living, sleeping, and raising children together for 20…

I did this once and the guy I was starting to date found out about it later and lost his mind. We didn't break up over it but I should have--it ended up being a major issue and he brought it up every time he got insecure or mad. The casual sex absolutely wasn't worth it. However, I was a lot younger then and neither of us…

Agree totally. I wouldn't want to date a guy who put his *new girlfriend* before his own children. "Even for a minute." If you want the fairy tale, wait for a dude with no kids. If you are dating grown men with families, accept the reality. BTW, re: the fairy tale, although we are in love and always present a united front…

I think this, too. I would be wary of how much "parenting" you allow your fiance to do with your boys--they are 15 and 13 and a couple years from being launched. They have no basis for seeing this guy as a parent, and he has no parenting experience. If it were me and my kids (I also have boys, 11 and almost 14), I would…

Your body is doing complicated things with water, storing it to repair your muscles and replenish glycogen stores. It will drive you crazy to live by the scale while running a hard (5 runs a week is hard) half program. I have never lost more than a couple of pounds training for a marathon, because you need to fuel the…

One of my all-time favorite lines from the Simpsons: Bart: (picking through Lucky CHarms) "Damn FDA, why can't they *all* be marshmallow pieces?" Lisa: "Ewww, don't put the non-marshmallow pieces back in the box! Those go in the trash."

Surely you don't actually say these things out loud? I would be having a long conversation with your supervisor if you did.

The Golden Child seconding Grease 2 (so so bad, but I still get a little excited when I find it on cable)

Jesus, you cannot make jokes like this to a person who would make such a post. There is total astronaut in adult diaper-Glenn Close potential here.

I can't speak for others, but this is not the kind of relationship I would want. It's not my job to make somebody feel less insecure. It's my job to be me, and if my husband wants to live with me while I do that, great. I have male friends where there is or once was a small current of attraction, and I have male friends…

It's OK. We all know what you wanted to say. :flowerforyou:

Seriously. Running can also be done outside, fyi. Only things that bother me are folks who don't re-rack and loud cell-phone talkers. Nothing else affects me. OK, actually, the people who stand in the front row at Zumba watching themselves in the mirror, all pouty and serious like they are auditioning for a Broadway show,…

I will not be ignored, Dan.

I was 172 when I joined the group on 12/29, but got up to 174.4 (yikes!) on 1/2/13. Today I was back to 171.2. SW: 174 CW: 171.2 GW: 145 by 6/15 (UGW 135) I am walked well over 1K steps per day but did not attempt star jumps either. I am working out a frozen shoulder so I can't really do those explosive movements on my…