Good Monday afternoon, Whenicit! I didn't want you to be all alone here, so I'll think of something to say. LOL

I had a calm, uneventful weekend, so the eating wasn't a challenge. Sorry it was for you, whenicit. I do know how hard it is to resist temptation though. I'm trying to be a good example to my husband as I really want him to eat healthier with me.

The only thing I can tell you is to start fresh at dinner this evening, and let go of the guilt from the weekend and lunch. Beating yourself up won't fix anything. Remember that you're doing this for yourself, ultimately, and you're only accountable to yourself. Be kind to yourself and give yourself another chance to succeed. You'd be that kind to someone else.

You are absolutely right! I would never behave to others the way I behave internally. I am fighting the stressful burden of owning two homes. I keep wishing I was one of those people who exercised crazily when stressed but I tend to shop or surf the web.

HOWEVER -- I vow to get on my treadmill or bike tonight!

Have a great Monday all!

Good Tuesday morning! It's cool, 53 degrees, and misting. I was going to stain a blanket box for our bedroom this morning, but think I'd better wait until a sunny, dry day.

We're finally going to get our attic floored, and we're getting new and improved attic stairs - with 2 side-rails! The handyman is coming Thursday with a small crew, so they'll get this knocked out in a few hours. Very best treat is that they're also going to haul up all the buckets that have filled our garage since move-in day back in late August! We'll soon be able to park our cars in the garage. I am going to spend time today and tomorrow going through the Christmas boxes out there to make sure that what goes upstairs is really important to me anymore.

Whenicit, did you get your workout last night? I have the best of intentions every day, but manage to let things slide. My WOE is good, and I would benefit from working out. Somebody kick my butt into gear!

Where is everybody? I hope you're all well, just too busy to peek in. Whenicit and I will keep the homefires burning and a candle in the window till you get here!

Hello Everyone,

I am back. Hawaii was wonderful, but now I have LOTS of catching up at work to do. I left for Hawaii at 150.8 and came back 150.6 pounds. I was hoping for more but at least I didn't gain.

Its freezing here. But, no snow.

Gotta run, take care everyone and check in.

Jen

Hi everyone, I'm new to this Diet forum although I've been on the Home Building forum for a while, so I'm looking to find some encouragement. After a brutally hellish year last year, I was horrified to learn I have packed on 35 pounds and weighed in at 167 on my 5' 6" frame at 36 years old. Talk about a kick in the pants to get back in to shape! I've joined a gym, primarily for the treadmill & recumbent cycle and have diligently been going Sun-Thurs each week, 45 mins on the treadmill and 30 mins on the cycle. I just got a Bowflex last week and have also been using that for 30-40 mins Mon-Thurs.

My "diet" is ok, I don't particularly care for sweets, and I don't normally eat junk food per se (maybe fast food once a month). However, the Personal Trainer at the gym recommended that I keep tabs on my food intake so I've been mindful of my daily calories over the last 2 weeks and adding up what I normally eat in a day. Shockingly, I only average between 1400-1800 calories a day. I can't believe I've packed on that much weight in just over a year when my calorie intake is not that high. Mind you, I have a desk job all day, and evenings were spent also sitting on my butt because I was in night school.

Here are some questions if you don't mind helping as I've never been on a "diet" before so I'm not sure what to expect. Although I don't have a scale, I had "hoped" to lose a little more than I have, especially considering I'm now "active" for 1.5-2 hours daily. I would guess I've only lost around 5 lbs though since Jan 1st. My next weigh in will be Jan 25th so I'll know for sure, but my pants aren't shrinking as much as I had hoped, nor as quickly lol.

While I know there's no quick magic bullet, considering my daily calorie intake isn't all that high (apparently for a 36yr old, 130lbs weight maintenance, moderately active, then daily calorie intake should be 2100), so it would appear my metabolism needs a "jump start" which I had hoped cardio & weight toning would help with. Is it too soon yet? Anything else you can think of that might help?

Just in total generality, can anyone share their weekly weight loss average so I can get an idea of what is achievable and realistic?

Hope it's ok to just jump in here....look forward to getting to know all of you!

Lora

Welcome Back Jen! Glad that you had a good time!

Whenicit & Milkdud~Thanks for keeping things going.

Lora~Welcome & of course you can jump in any time. Things are slower here than most of the time. Don't know for certain what is going on. Most lose weight so differently IMHO. I, too, am 5'6". I put on weight quickly like you did. I think that mine was due to high stress & then being a single parent of 2 highly active boys & grabbing something quick to eat b/c we were always out at someone's game, then homework, baths, sleep, work, and repeat. LOL It sounds like you are losing weight the smart way. Remember, if you lose it too quickly, it usually doesn't stay off. (Just my experience...) Hang in there. All of the sudden, you will notice a big change in clothes size, I think. Hope this helps.

Hi to everyone else. I second what Jen says, "Check in."

Be good to yourselves...Patti :)

Jen-welcome back. I'm still jealous that you got to go and I did not! Hope you had fun. And I usually gain 3-4 just by eating Lapperts a couple of times. And oh yeah, the girl scout cookies outside of the supermarket in Kauai gets me too (Big Save in Koloa?) So....GREAT JOB!!

OK - I did not work out Monday like I said, stayed here too long on various forums and stuff. But, I did do the recumbent bike last night while watching Idol. Today I taught religion class and then my 12 year old had a meltdown so I gave myself permission not to work out. Ate kind of poorly today. I think I'll start a food diary, that seems to help if I tell myself I have to show another person what I eat.

Lora - it seems you are not eating enough calories? Does your trainer have recommendations like eat 5-6 times/day and the total # of calories? Are you sure you are not sneaking bites of your kids food or anything like that? If not, you should be seeing results really soon because your workout should burn the calories and as we all know, more exercise, less food = lose weight.

I think if I recall several forum members were on vacation this week - cruises maybe? I'm sure they will all come back soon (unless me joining scared them away?)

Thanks for the welcome yankandtex! I know what you mean about high stress....my BP before I began my exercising was 150/103 and my doctor had a fit lol. He thinks, beyond the stress, it is elevated because I was too sedentary and not getting ANY daily exercise plus the additional weight I put on. I'm really hoping the exercise brings that down, I sure do feel good after each work out though. It's exhilirating so I'm enjoying it!

Hi whenicit, my trainer did mention breaking my meals down to 5-6 times a day because I was skipping breakfast before, sometimes eating lunch, but mostly just scarfing late at night before bed when we had supper (usually around 9pm). Not good. He told me I needed to split it up during the day, and especially eat breakfast as that "kick starts" your metabolism, and he wanted me to aim for 1800 calories a day (he didn't think less than that was possible), but in keeping tabs on my food intake, I have no problem at all.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not starving myself. I only eat if my stomach feels hungry and I've always been that way. I've just never actually counted calories before so I was kind of shocked it was that low and I'm still overweight. 3 days last week my daily caloric intake was actually just over 1000 (Tues 1080, Wed 1023, Thurs 1090 etc), the only days it got over 1400 were 2 days (Mon & Fri) when we had red wine with supper guests.

I guess I'm just expecting too much too soon, so I'll just keep plugging away at it. I feel like I've always lost 20 lbs in sweat alone lol, so that's gotta count for something!

I wonder if you can loose weight by shivering? It's going to be in the -40's here tomorrow! Have a good day everyone, and stay warm!!

Lora

I just thought if anybody wants to give me some insight on my daily intake, here's an example of last week that is very representative of what I eat on a daily basis. Not much diversification except for the foods that I cook myself, and I looked up the calories in a diet book that I bought so that's where I got the numbers from. Do the numbers look right to you? Any other comments greatly appreciated!

Jan 8th
Breakfast - cranberry & almond granola bar (150 calories)
AM Snack - navel orange (80 calories)
Lunch - (homemade) 1 cup whole grain spagetti with 1/2 cup meat sauce (lean ground beef) & 1 teaspoon parmesan (approx 500 calories)
Supper - 6 oz (from frozen) roasted, skinless/boneless chicken breast seasoned w/Lemon & Pepper (240 calories), 1c green beans (steamed) (45 calories), 1 c brussel sprouts(steamed) (65 calories)

Total: 1080

Jan 9th
Breakfast - cranberry & almond granola bar (150 calories)
AM Snack - Fat free Rasberry yogurt (120 calories)
Lunch - 4 oz roasted, skinless/boneless chicken breast (120), 1/2c. green beans (20), 1/2 c. brussel sprouts (30)
PM Snack - Granny Smith apple (80 calories)
Supper - 6 oz pork steak (trimmed) & broiled (approx 400 calories), 1/2c steamed spinach (35), 1 c. steamed cauliflower (steamed) (68)

Total: 1023

Jan 10th
Breakfast - Fat free Strawberry yogurt (150 calories)
Lunch - 4 oz pork steak (300), 1/2c steamed spinach (35), 1/2 c. steamed cauliflower (steamed) (35)
PM Snack - navel orange (80 calories)
Supper - 1 slice ham (300) , 1/2 c. mashed potatoes (130), 1/2 c steamed peas (60)

Total: 1090

Good Thursday morning! How nice to see more people posting. I was beginning to think that whenicit and I were in the Twilight Zone or something! :)

Welcome loralee! This is usually a very busy place to post, but this week is the exception. You've gotten good advice from whenicit about breaking up your calories into more meals. One thing I noticed was that your breakfast is very low in calories and protein. Jump-starting your metabolism means eating a larger, more protein=laden breakfast. If I eat a too-small breakfast, I find that I don't do well the rest of the day and don't show a loss.

Welcome home, Jen. Glad you did so well with your weight in Hawaii. What willpower you have!

Patti, it's about time you posted! I was going to call out the Mounties for you soon!

I've gotten a pretty good handle on my portion-control anymore. I did have a binge yesterday when I moved things around in my pantry and discovered a bag of red hot candies. I munched my way through quite a few of them, then had the flutters in my tummy and guilt in my head, so I tossed the rest in the garbage. Funny how something like that can trigger a binge. Otherwise, we have nothing but healthy foods in the kitchen. I even have H eating my way when he's at home. He's not buying junk food or trigger-foods anymore, thank goodness!

Hope everyone has a successful day wherever you are!

Good Morning all,

Has everyone gone off on vacation with Dee? I donÂt recall this thread ever being this slow!

I have been MIA because I have been quite ill with the flu. I was down and out completely all of New Year week. I went back to work last week but had to slowly get back into the swing of things. This week, I am feeling much better and back to my old self.

Milkdud you always have such good and sensible advice! Glad you are on track.

Jen, glad to hear you had a great time away! Back to reality! LOL

Whencit, thank you for getting us started this week. I hope you donÂt feel all alone here. I cannot imagine where everyone isÂÂÂÂDee is the only one that I know is away.

Lora, welcome! I agree that it doesnÂt sound like you are getting enough calories for all the exercise you do. Personally, I donÂt think you need to constantly exercise but if it makes you feel good then do it! You will have to look at your overall caloric intake and make some adjustments  I think anyway. Congrats on your determination!

There is nothing much new with me in NH except SNOW, SNOW and more SNOW. We have now exceeded more records for the average amount. We have had a whopping 66" of snow so far this winter! ItÂs not that I mind it but shoveling gets pretty old after a while especially when I had the flu. If it hadnÂt been for the January thaw my horses would be able to walk over the fence practically! This past Monday the we had another 14" NorÂEaster with another storm due on Friday!

I hope we hear from all you MIAÂs soon. I donÂt want this thread to fade away!

Hey, Suzanne! It's so nice to see you back here. It's hard to believe how long and hard that flu had you in its grip. Take care of yourself and stay well now.

I agree with you that we're missing the regulars. I hope everything's okay with them.

Hey there, I'm back, so let's get the place up and moving!

[[[[[[[[[[Suzanne]]]]]]]]]]] Hope you are back to feeling your best soon.

I'm about 30 minutes from my 2007 review, so I must get my notes together. Spent the entire morning catching up on snail mail and e:mail at this office. Boy, reality bites.

Later..........
Dee

Hi All!

Boy is this thread slow this week....maybe because the week seems endless???????

Lora - welcome! Jump in at any time. Everyone is right, things are exceptionally slow here this week.

Whenicit - glad to see you posting.

Jen and Dee - welcome home! No doubt both vacations were fabulous.

((Suzanne)) you have been sick for a long time. Glad you are starting to feel more yourself.

Patti and Milkdud - hi!!

Will read and catch up later so I can respond reasonably intelligently...gotta run....Donna

Good Evening Eveyone.

Welcome Loralee. You have a good meal plan going there.
This is a great place to get advice and tips etc.

I am working on lowering my carb intake and portion control. I also eliminated caffeine after lunch.

Had another run in with the bully at work, but I nipped it in the bud ASAP. I am proud of myself for it. I feel like I am working in a daycare instead of an office.

Patti - glad to see you post also. How is Dave's Mom? Sounds like you did have a good trip overall!!!! DH and I my be taking a trip to Sebring, Fl this Saturday. We are doing a favor for a friend of DH's who lives in CA and has a small motor plane/glider/kite they are displaying for the first time. I think it is about 2 1/2 hr one way from our house. It is in the middle of the state Northeast of us.

Suzanne - Sorry you felt so bad after the first of the year...what a way to start off the year. Glad you are feeling better. Got any new pic's?????

Jen - Welcome back. I hope you have some fun stories to share. WTG on losing weight on vacation!!!!!!!

Hello to eveyone I missed!!!!

Take care!

Lynn

Lynn~Sebring isn't very far from us. Dave says it takes us about an hour to get there. His DM is still having problems last I heard. Glad that you didn't let yourself get "bullied" around.

Dee~Welcome back! I hope that you had a great time. I'll be happy to hear all about it.

Donna~Glad to see you posting. :)

Milkdud~You move further south & now I need the Mounties? LOL I keep thinking that I'm going to call you. Did your attic get done today?

NH Suzanne~Sorry that you have been "under the weather". It sounds like it has been literally. It actually got a little chilly here. Today it was warm & muggy. It rained. We had to turn the ceiling fans back on. We had turned the heater on to take the chill out of the air. Glad that you had the January thaw. Dave tells me about that. Good to keep the horses in.

Lora~You got good advice about breakfast. Dave was saying that he thought 2# a week was about right? Does that sound right to you? Brussel sprouts?...my kinda girl!

Whenicit~Glad that you feel comfortable enough to post here often. We all like that. You'll find that you are just "one of the group" right away.

Hi to all. Will be glad when you have time to post & let us know what you are up to. Patti :)

Good FRIDAY morning all,

Another horrible drive into work! We have 4" of snow and now it's turned to sleet - ugh.

Welcome back Dee, I hope you had a great time and even better review!

Lynn, I have a few nice pix to share with you all.

This is alot of snow!

This guy and his harem perch themselves onto the roof of the chicken coop.......they are all good friends.

Dominic our rescue donkey

A couple of the girls on a snowy day

I have a nice one of the horses but I haven't uploaded it yet.

QOD: What is everyone doing for the weekend?

TGIF!!!!!!!!!!!

Suzanne, I was telling DH all about your snow this morning and he asked where you are putting all of it! I'll show him your pics tonight!

QOD: Tonight we are taking MIL out for pizza and going back to her place for dessert. She told him that she made me one of my favorites...chestnut pie. OMG, I am trying so hard to stay on track and they keep pulling back!!!! lol! Tomorrow I have car service in the morning and in the afternoon, DH and I need to take down the Christmas tree! Also need to put away all the luggage and cruise clothes (which are finally laundered, dried, and folded). Sunday I suppose he will hang out and watch playoff games while I go through paperwork. Hoping that we don't get any dinner invites on Saturday or Sunday.

FYI, Raeanne wrote to me this morning and is experiencing lots of problems getting onto this site...stay tuned.

MADDIE, we are all concerned and trying to get in touch with you. Please check in.

Gotta run, but will return.
Dee

Heard from Raeanne again....does anyone here use Vista? She is getting a strange red band across the screen stating that the site will be up shortly. Any help/advice you guys have, I'll pass along to her.

Okay, I got the red-line too---for DAYS now...strange.

Raeanne sent me a link and it SEEMS to be working. I haven't read to catch up, but I'll print and take it with me on my travels today...

Oh I never thought I would see any of you again....

I tricked them into letting me in. I did a search for the diet chat and clicked on it and was able to get in. I just can't use the front door right now.

Suzanne - what wonderful shots, as always. We have had 20 turkeys in the yard the last 2 days at the feeder. I didn't see a Tom. I threw out extra bird seed this morning hoping to keep them around long enough for some good photos.

Dee - it's so good to have you back.

Milkdud - I think I need to work on portion control too. On Carb Addicts it's not suppose to matter, but I think it does for me.

Whenicit - you can't scare us off that easily LOL. I had problems logging on and still am, but I was determined to get back here.

Lora - you seem to be eating a very well rounded healthy diet. Maybe the 5-6 meals a day would be worth a try. Welcome to the group.

Jen - glad you had a good time, and you did excellent with your weight WTG.

I took off today, I woke up with a terrible headache and sore throat. Both feel much better now. I have watched a couple old movies while I tried to get some sleep.

Enjoy your day.

Good to see you, Raeanne!

We had a wonderful trip. DH and I joined up at the spa for the 12 days to use the private therapy pool, sauna, hot tub, and steam room. It was heavenly; they even served us freshly squeezed orange juice!

Let's see, I took a National Park/Island tour of Antigua, swam at Malibu Beach in Barbados, walked into town in Tortola, took a spice tour in a Best-of-Grenada day, and went whale-watching in Dominica (pronounced Dom-en-eeek'-ca ....like the Singing Nun's song!!) I saw more whales in Dominica than I did in Alaska, so that was fun. We saw a sperm whale and her baby right next to our catamaran...our captain showed us the first spout of water (momma), followed by the little spout of water (baby imitating momma!), so we followed the spouts and found them! So cute, I felt one with nature, ladies; you would all have been very proud of me! LOL!!!

Back at work, my director is now flying back to the UK. He gave me rave reviews and did not flinch when I asked for a promotion! He promised to get it done if at all possible this year. With complications, he promised to get it completed next year. Fine with me; as I was ready for an argument like I got from my last director. He told me he cannot run the department without me and has suggestions for a few years down the road of transferring me up to higher management levels. Not sure I want that at my age, but the money sure looks good up there, especially as I still will no longer have to manage people...been there, hated that!!!!

OK, gotta run some more metrics on 2007 data.

TAKE CARE, EAT HEALTHFULLY, AND NEVER NEVER GIVE UP!
DeeMarie

Good late Friday evening!

I've been inundated with busy-ness these past 2 days, but I've peeked in to see what's up. I weighed in today, and I'm only down 2-1/2 lbs. from last week, but I feel more in control of myself, so I'm thinking I'm doing okay.

I have Vista on my computer, but I haven't had any of those problems yet. Hope it stays that way. I'm glad to see so many checking in, that you're all okay.

Loved the snow pictures and hearing about Dee's cruise. I'm missing my granddaughters so much that I called my son yesterday and asked if they would like to go out Saturday night so I could come babysit! LOL I'll be back early Sunday to celebrate hubby's birthday with him.

Got the attic finished today and 80% of the junk hauled up there! The last of my curtains came in today. They're pressed and ready to be hung in the morning before I leave. Once I finally get the blanket box staind and brought into the master bedroom, I will officially be through with the current decorating!!! The realtor who sold us the house came by today and took pictures because he had heard from the painter that the living room and kitchen looked really nice. I told him that he could come back next week to get the master bedroom!

I hope you all stay warm and safe this weekend. We've had so much rain the past few days and cold (for us) tmeps. Tomorrow it will be in the 30's and low 40's, but the sun is supposed to shine. Hope it shines where y'all are!

It's not a Vista problem, as my computer at work doesn't allow me in through the main page.

Milkdud - you are the best grandma to offer babysitting services (even if it is for selfish reasons LOL). The sun is shining but it is only 8 degrees.

Dee - I am glad your Director know's how valuable you are - we could attest to that. I went to Antiqua over 30 years ago and had one of my best vacations there. Was the island still beautiful?

I took off yesterday, so I better get busy at work today. I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend.

Happy SUNDAY!

Is everyone freezing like we are? Are you ready for some football? Laundry finished? All the holiday decorations down and put away? (for me, 3 out of 4 ain't bad!)

Check in!!!

Happy Sunday to you too!
Yes, freezing and expecting snow. Towels are in the dryer!
Hoping to squeeze in a workout today amidst a long to-do list. Need to remember to take care of #1!!
Best thing about today -- I have tomorrow off. Woo Hoo MLK!

Good Sunday afternoon! I had a wonderful time with my DGD's this weekend. Got home in time to take hubby out for a late birthday lunch. Unfortunately, it was at a Mexican restaurant with killer green sauce, darnit!

It was cold and sunny here again today. Rain is expected for the next few days though.

I hope everyone is able to get back in here this coming week. It was kind of lonely around here without y'all.