So sorry you have been sick! The flu is AWFUL! I have taken the flu shot for years and have had good results. My allergist recommends it so hubby and I both get one. It's been a long time since I've had the flu, but I still remember how sick I was, so I opt for the vaccine. Another tip - if you start tamiflu within 48 hours, it greatly reduces the symptoms. It sounds like you are doing well though! Some people get really sick with the flu for several days.

Take care of yourself and feel better soon!

tina

Hi tina, I was taking that other anti cold med, oh heck I can't think of the name of it and am too tired to walk to the kitchen for the bottle. I took it for 2 days thinking I was catching a cold. It may have helped because I am getting over my symptoms very quickly, just still feeling a bit weak.

I think I will definitely opt for the flu shot next year.

HIWTHI, I hope you're getting lots of good rest at least. Sorry to hear you're ill.

Down a pound this week, still enjoying eating less & feeling better for it. I was having a problem with heartburn before going on my diet healthy eating pattern. Cutting back/measuring & weighing my food has eliminated the problem, thank goodness.

My spin & Pilates instructors are going to try to work out of the spin teacher's home. She has a large finished basement & is hoping to buy some of the unused spin bikes from the gym. (My gym announced last week they're closing their exercise classes).

Hiwthi, sorry to hear you have the flu! Not really the method of weight loss you were looking for, right?? I get the flu shot sporadically. I feel rundown for a few days after the shot so I tend to put it off. It did help one year, though. DH & I both caught the flu at the same time. He didn't get the shot but I did. My flu was pretty mild and only lasted about 48hrs while his symptoms were bad and lingered for at least 1 week.

Awm, That's great the instructors are willing to keep the group together and move into a personal residence! That's dedication. Is the new location near your home or office?

I'm down a few pounds. I've been using the Sparkpeople food journal every day. I've always eaten fairly healthy but now realize my food portions were too large. I've cut back and still feel satisfied. Kind of a light bulb (aka duh) moment, if you know what I mean.

Kelly, How is your knee?

Jennifer

Okay, checking in. Still feeling completely disinterested in food except for when I am really hungry. And my pants and bras fit better, AND someone said, "You're looking thin...." to me yesterday!

Sounds like everyone is doing great (sans the flu, I think DH is getting sick too).

Jennifer, thanks for asking but I'm afraid it's worse. I did a good job of resting last week and still lost a pound. So I was feeling antsy and energetic so went to a Zumba class. We were doing a little salsa style spin around and my shoe gripped the floor but my knee kept going and . . . POP! goes my knee. I buckled, had to be helped to a bench. I can't put any pressure on it and it's pretty swollen. I sent DS to the drug store for some crutches and have an ortho doc appointment this afternoon. I fear an ACL tear but have my fingers crossed that it's not that bad. After all, I was only doing a little Zumba!

My head and heart says I'm able to leap tall buildings in a single bound - but my body says differently!

Kelly - have you tried any type of water exercise? Providing you do not have a tear, water exercise might be the way to go until the knee has healed. Let us know what you find out!

tina

I'm in maintenance weight-wise but it was my birthday yesterday so between that and the weekend I was up 3 pounds but I do know what to do about that. When I lost my weight I did give myself a leeway of 5 pounds for times like this. I don't get down on myself but I buckle down and fix it.
I run in the trails but they have gotten very icy and today's run was a little difficult so on Thursday we will find someplace else to run.

Jennifer - when I decided it was necessary to lose weight that is one of the things that I addressed. I didn't seem to have a turn-off switch telling me that I was full. After looking a portion sizes and lessening them I slowly developed that turn-off switch and now it does click in.

Good Luck everyone. Kellyeng - I hope your knee will be ok and maybe some icing and physio will get you back on your feet.

Yes I take the flu shot every year. I work with premature babies and we are required to take it or we have to wear a mask at work. I had the flu 14 years ago when I was a brand new PA and I was so sick, I ended up taking off 2 weeks from my new job. Had to get cleared by employee health, and that was the required time to take with a diagnosis of flu. It was awful, I was never sicker in my life. I have never been anywhere near as sick since getting the flu shot. I'm so sorry to hear you got so sick, I hope you are feeling better soon.

Kelly - good luck with your knee. I took a Zumba class last week, and decided even though it was fun, it was too many twisting maneuvers, and I can't risk a knee injury. I will stick to strength and training classes, and cycling/spinning/elliptical for cardio.

Triathlon season starts soon, I'm eager to get back to swimming to with my training buddies. But I'm hesitant to do the same triathlon I did the last 2 summers, the ocean was brutal and I don't think I can do it again.

So, I never got on a scale to see just how much weight I gained back- I knew it was a lot, but oh my! I cried when I saw the number. I'm only 5'2'' so it really shows. Now I'm really motivated to lose it even more.

Thanks for this weekly check in ladies- it really is a great motivator.

51 degrees this afternoon, so I rode my new bike for the first time -- oh! oh! oh! It's a dream of a bike! And how fun to go for a leisurely ride. So relaxing! I can hardly wait until Spring now :)

blfenton, happy birthday!

polly929, swimming in the ocean for a triathlon: holy smokes but that sounds tough. I'm impressed that you did it.

Thanks everyone for your well wishes. Each day I'm improving. I did a lot of house cleaning today and figure I'm either going to feel better or have a relapse. LOL Hope I don't relapse, that's the worst illness of any.

Glad everyone is still motivated to eat right and keep/get fit. I can't wait till I can go back in the pool. I'm hoping by Friday.

Kelly that is a shame about your knee. Ouch. I do hope you don't need any type of surgery.

kellyeng, just saw your post about your knee, you poor thing. Ice, ice, ice to get the swelling down.

jennifer_in_kansas (my home state!), the instructor's home is near by, not as close as the gym, but beggars can't be choosy! Glad to hear you're having success with Sparkpeople.

I've now lost 6 lbs and have 1.6 to go. I can't believe how much better I look - to myself anyway. Though I did have someone else comment about being thin. I think the yoga is starting to improve my shape too - along with the weight loss.

My 2012 healthy eating plan is now starting to feel "normal" - surprising after only three weeks. DH is working out of town though so it's easier to just have things around that I want to eat and not have anything tempting that I shouldn't have. I did test myself with pizza over the weekend at my cabin - easy to just pick one up and have a few pieces for each meal until it's gone - rather than doing a lot of cooking there. I passed the test, getting a smaller size than usual and limiting myself to two pieces per meal and overall staying within my calorie limit. I always eat veggie pizza so not quite as bad as a lot of greasy meat. Boy did I savor every bite - it was a real treat. I'm really getting into portion size and savoring the special treats - just paying much more attention to eating rather than devouring a lot of food without even thinking about it. Previously I was more like an uncontrollable addict with some things like sweets. Now I'm just not eating them at all and almost don't think I should even try just one - for fear I'll go nuts and eat a bunch.

I'm still exercising regularly but I just don't love it. I do love the fact that I look better and my gut is not sticking out like it was on Jan 1. DH will be back next week so my goal is for him to notice and say something. He's not particularly observant though so that might be a lofty goal.

I'm sorry gibby but I laughed at this
my goal is for him to notice and say something. He's not particularly observant though so that might be a lofty goal.

and thought you're doing great so don't set yourself up for failure. Maybe it's better to say to him "hey, what do you think? I've been exercising!" and then let him ooooh and aaaah about how nice you look. A little prompting or well placed hint is better than disappointment.

Today was a cardio only day at the gym and for a change I started on the rowing machine, instead of the elliptical. It was a long 10 minutes, especially considering 35 on the elliptical seems faster. I wonder if I could learn to like it, or at least tolerate it, for more than that? I did finish up with the trusty elliptical so I did get a full 45 minutes of exercise, 38 of them in the cardiac zone.

I hope everyone's week continues to improve.

I laughed at that too gibby!!

Personally, I'm having trouble getting back in gear! Have not been on the eliptical near enough, but on the other hand, we've had great weather several days (60ish) and I have gotten to get outside and walk more. Whoever mentioned they don't especially like exercise - I'm right there with you. I LOVE talking walks, hiking, swimming, dancing, etc. but do not take me to the gym. LOL I am trying to get in more time doing those activities.

It's a battle - that's for sure!!!

Ya know, I love how I feel after I exercise but I am so not inspired to just go do it. I wish I could overcome this. I do love walking, hitting the tennis ball and kayaking but don't do much of that in the winter in Minnesota. I will walk if it's not dark or slippery but there aren't a lot of those opportunities.

gibby, I call exercise my "job". That way I know I have to do it. LOL I wish I had done this 30 years ago instead of procrastinating about exercising.

There's a lot to be said about becoming older and wiser.

Trying hard to get back on track this week too. I went to Yoga yesterday morning at 6. Today I went to Pilates. Working hard to stick with Weight Watchers and track my food.

Tomorrow I'm not sure what I'll do. Maybe try a workout on my Son's Xbox kinect in the afternoon. Saturday I'm planning on snowshoeing. Of course, we all know how the best laid plans go!

Beth P.

You are all so awesome.

Thank you so much these check-ins are all the motivation I needed.

Got on the scale this morning and I lost 4lbs! So excited to keep going!

Way to go Polly!! I agree, once you make some progress it really does inspire you to continue. I have to go out tonight for a business dinner - that should be interesting to see how well I can control my food consumption. As I consider what I'm going to put in my mouth I have to remember to ask myself - what do you enjoy more: that fleeting moment of eating or the new more fit and trim you that you see in the mirror every day?

Great going Polly.

Gibby don't look at it as "how much food will I consume" rather think of "what food choices I'll make" and then don't fret so much over it. Enjoy your dinner out and remember, there is always tomorrow.

Hey all you kettlebellers! Good article in the NYTimes today about how kettlebells can help neck & back problems. Interesting discussion in the comments section too:
kettlebells for neck & back pain

I like this part: "Kettlebell training is also surprisingly aerobic. A study by the American Council on Exercise found that a 20-minute kettlebell workout burns about 21 calories a minute, the equivalent of running at a six-minute-mile pace."

The funny thing about kettlebells is that you don't feel like you are exerting that much but my heart rate gets up just as high as I'm doing my highest intensity workouts. Also, it's really easy to progress in weight quickly. Most people use too light of a kettlebell - a 15 pounder isn't really going to do you any good after the first few times of working with it. I generally use 35 to 50 pounds depending on what I'm doing with it.

My doc thinks I have a torn meniscus, my MRI is tomorrow and it's going to tell us if surgery is necessary. So the kettlebell workout is probably going to come into play for me a lot more since I'm forbidden from high impact activity.

kelly....DH just had his meniscus repaired a couple weeks ago. Had it done years ago and it was a bear...but this time was nothing...no pain no swelling nothing. Here is hoping that you have a good report/result too !!

They don't offer kettle at our Golds. My DD does them in Atlanta at her gym. She did say that it is very easy to hurt yourself with them if you aren't careful. The swinging can get out of control. I watched a Youtube to see what it is all about. I thought the person who was in the video was using way too much weight and had very bad form...hers was the most watched too...so it sure is something to have a good inst as was said in that good article from the NYT .

GOOD LUCK...and what a CUTE pic of you :)

kelly, sorry about your knee. I was hoping it was just a strain.

You swing 30-50 pound bells? I'm impressed! Good for you for developing that kind of strength. I'm just graduating from 10 to 15. I never did have upper body strength, so it's nice to have a little now. My instructor does a Turkish Get Up with a 53 pound bell. She's like 5 ft. 4 in. and built like iron.

Yeah, trailrunner, kettlebells are definitely something you want to be careful with. Correct form is imperative. I was hesitant to do it on my own for a long time, away from a vigilant instructor & mirrors to check position & posture with. You need to build up some base strength first to control the bells adequately. But now that I've got all that down, there's just nothing like them in terms of developing strength & balance & pushing one's aerobic capacity all in one exercise.

HIWTHI - I did enjoy the dinner outing. I made good choices and didn't go crazy - though I did have some kind of delicious bread (no butter) and dessert. Four little yummy balls of salted caramel ice cream. It was heavenly. Back to normal eating tomorrow.

Kelly, hope the MRI has good news.

Gibby, good for you. Told you you could do it. Glad you could enjoy yourself and not fret about food. We need to stop the fretting and begin the enjoyment of food.

Do any of you remember that book written by the French lady who said American women were stupid the way they obsessed over food? She was so right. Those French do know how to enjoy food and not let it consume them instead of the other way around.

Today I had a real craving for sweets because I allowed myself to get too tired and didn't give in to it and go lie down. I now know what my biggest trigger is for craving the sweets, getting too tired. My body is so use to that rush of the sugar to perk me up. I suppose over time I can reprogram my body to stop wanting sweets when it's tired.

Is this a trigger for anyone else?

Down 6.5 pounds today, yay! I have a lot more to lose, and 6.5 pounds is just a drop in the bucket, but already I feel leaner, more lithe, and (gulp!) slim. I'm just glad the awful nightly heartburn is gone. That could lead to esophageal cancer, so it was necessary for me to reduce food intake and lose weight.

Bikeable weather today. Looks like a nice long ride on my new bike is in store. More bikeable weather ahead this week too. What a gift! The key to winter biking: good gloves & booties to cover your shoes (keeps the wind out & warmth in).

re food triggers: I crave carbs when I'm tired or stressed. I first noticed it when my kids were small. It's not a habit I had prior to having kids, so food availability & being housebound had something to do with it too. It's like I was fueling myself to get through the day. Of course the pounds piled on with all that stress eating & "fueling." I'm a recent empty nester now and am surprised how much the urge to eat has diminished.

Oh you guys are dong so well!

I'm a little down in the dumps. My MRI was yesterday and I had so many muscle spasms, the tech only got a couple of clear images. I had to stay still for so long and then driving back home killed my knee. It was feeling better and this morning it hurts again and is a little more swollen. The results of the MRI will be available on Tuesday, I hope I don't need surgery.

I'm going to have to change my entire workout routine and for some reason this makes me really scared. I love going to the gym and doing all the different classes and palling around with the other ladies. It's not that big of a deal, I just have to adapt and move on but for some reason I'm mourning something here and I can't figure out what.

Also, there's a direct correlation between my activity level and food habits and I've got to figure out how to separate them.

Kellyeng; I'm having knee issues as well and had to have an x-ray yesterday. My knee is very swollen so my Doc put me on an anti-inflammatory rx. (my doc said something about there not being enough advil in a bottle to get that much sewelling down). My physio asked for the x-ray so that he knows how far to push the knee for recovery. I'm a runner and go to the gym as well. It doesn't hurt to run, just to walk and from that they have ruled out arthritis and anything torn but still need to find out why it is swollen. But in the meantime no running for me but the gym is ok.

Good Luck with yours and hopefully time and rest will take care of the problem.

Nice job awm!! Isn't it amazing how good it feels to drop a few pounds? Do I remember you from the kitchen forum too? I recognize you from somewhere.

So sorry to hear about all the continuing knee problems. That has to be extremely frustrating especially when you're used to being so active. Hope you can recover soon!

I don't know what triggers cravings for sweets for me - other than just the sight of them. Addiction I think. Yesterday someone brought these beautiful, gourmet cupcakes into the office for someone's birthday. For several hours I just admired the beauty of them but at the end of the day I could no longer control myself and snatched a lovely key lime one. I was practically drooling over it. I ate it, savored it, logged it and stayed within my daily limits and today dropped down a couple tenths of a pound to my lowest level since early 2010. I haven't actually maintained this weight for any period of time since 2009. One thing I'm finding kind of helpful is sometimes eating half the amount I normally would - small glass of juice vs. large, one piece of toast vs. two, etc.

The thing I have to figure out is how to incorporate treats into my diet without going completely crazy and eating massive quantities of them.

I think you did a couple of things right - you logged it and admitted to having eaten it and made adjustments for it. You have already cut back on amounts of food that you were eating which will allow you to have the "occasional" sweet treat. But you don't want to cut back on essentials to have the treats which it sounds like you know and just have to work through a little bit more.

For all us, bad eating habits and triggers for eating took years to develop and to become ingrained. We are not going to change those in a matter of days or even weeks. It took me 9 months to lose 42 pounds because I wanted to make sure that I was making changes, both physically and mentally, that I knew I could sustain for the long term.

Congrat's awm, that is awesome.

Kelly, so sorry you are suffering with that knee. I had both of mine replaced a couple of years ago. I had horrible arthritis though and nothing could save them. I'm a new person since getting them replaced. Being able to stay on my feet all day is just so remarkable. For years I was limited in my activities. Didn't realize how much till I had new knees. LOL I hope it doesn't come to that for any of you.

gibby, you're doing fine. You're conscious of what you're eating and I think that's half the battle for us. I know it is for me now. I always think before I eat now and sometimes I realize I don't want what I thought I wanted and just walk out the kitchen. Being in control and conscious of what I eat is a wonderful feeling.

bl, good luck with your knee. Hope it's nothing serious.

Thanks, everybody.

Kelly, I would grieve too! For one thing, now your successful routine is disrupted, so that's disconcerting. You're afraid of falling back if you can't find a way to compensate. And you're gym is a source of joy for you, socially & self-developmentally. I sure hope you can find something that doesn't aggravate the knee. Swimming or water exercise like tinam suggested perhaps.

blfenton, keeping my fingers crossed for your knee too. I used to run. When you can't run, it's hard to settle for anything else. I loved what you said about making both physical and mental changes that are sustainable. The fact that you've kept 42 pounds off for 3 years is such an inspiration. Whatever you did, you did it right.

gibby, what a good memory you have! Yes, I was in Kitchens for several years and drifted over here during a house renovation. I enjoyed your posts a lot way back when. So very nice to have you over here :)

I did 23 miles on the bike today, slowly, certainly didn't ride with any power. Base fitness for summer biking could be better, but it's been worse, so I'm okay with it. I'm very tired now. Still, it was lovely getting out for a ride.

23 miles, OMG, that is fabulous. I suppose you are tired. LOL