Well, I hate to follow up with my lame "progress" but... this week I am re-motivated after a couple of weeks of, you know, just feeling "eh" about the whole thing. Last week I was in Philly with my kids for a few days, and usually whenever I'm away I gain weight. Restaurant meals, treats, lack of real exercise. Well, I am glad to say I didn't gain an ounce on our trip, probably because I didn't go overboard on any meals, and we walked a gazillion miles. This week, I am going to Zumba twice, did treadmill and weights at the gym yesterday, and will hit the gym at least one more time. I am also counting points again with WW. So -- back on track, again!

I have a couple of spring events, plus a high school reunion in the fall, keeping me motivated now!

Sounds like good news across the board so far - great to hear! Kelly, isn't that a great feeling when you just don't even want the stuff that's not so good for you? Sueb, wonderful to hear that things didn't fall apart while you were gone and that you're back on track.

I've been able to increase my exercise again now that I've got my new leg. I don't think it's quite perfected yet but I was able to go for a 40 minute walk without any difficulty so that is a good test. Also able to get back at the yoga without having my leg fall off - also good. I've now lost 13.4 lbs since Jan 1 - way more than I ever expected.

I went shopping again for pants - jeans only this time. We have this place called Fleet Farm which you probably wouldn't think of as a place to find the latest fashions and you'd be right. They do however has a very large selection of jeans and I found some - perfect fit - yay! I grabbed some kind of tank top off the rack so I could see how they fit with something other than the sweatshirt I wore into the place. All I can say is WOO-HOO and I love the new smaller, more fit me.

It's kind of funny. I was out somewhere on Saturday night and this somewhat older woman was dancing in jeans and a tank top and I was envious of how good she looked. Then when I was trying on the jeans I thought, whoa - I don't look too much different than that woman I saw on Saturday night.

I leave for vacation tomorrow - not too worried about adverse impact there. Just going with DH and he is very health and fitness oriented so we should be in good shape with food and exercise/activity. Plus I'm so into the new mini-me that I just don't think I'll blow it by gorging on bad food.

Hang in there all - it's worth the sacrifice for the end result!!

I finally got on the scale today, and ya know, I'm only 3 pounds over where I was in March. Still 7 pounds lighter overall. All is not lost. I thought I was way heavier.

Anyway, had spin class followed by kettle bells today. Too tired to type!

Doing well, feeling good. The weight was up .6 of a pound, which I attribute to the wine with dinner over the weekend, but once the nightly wine was eliminated the weight edged back down.

I get annoyed at myself when I occasionally find myself focusing on my flaws & failures instead of my strengths and improvements. The good thing is I do feel annoyed and that breaks the negative thought cycle. It is so ridiculous to allow those thoughts any space.

hh, I hear you. When I go to Zumba, I always seem to end up right behind the instructor, so I am seeing my body in the mirror and comparing it to hers. I have to mentally yell at myself to knock that off! I have to remind myself that I am fortunate that I have a 47-year-old body that can DO Zumba (um, however awkwardly) and quit always focusing on how the body could/should be a bit leaner!

I was tempted to skip exercise this morning because my muscles were screaming from Zumba yesterday, but my neighbor convinced me to go for a walk. It wasn't exactly a power walk, but we were walking for an hour straight, so in my book, that counts!

Still on hold here. I finally saw a doc about my arm and am headed to PT next week. Until then I don't dare do too much with the arm. I can't figure how I'd do my hard class, and have been too busy to go to Pilates. I have taken some nice walks this week and am trying to get more motivated.

DH seems to be on a full-scale food binge so that doesn't help much. I just have to keep reminding myself that I need to take care of myself. One thing I realized is that left to my own devices I will head straight for the carbs. So I'm really trying to keep more easily accessible fruits and veggies ready to go for quick snacks instead of pretzels and fiber one bars.

I'm really hoping the PT isn't long and complicated and she just lets me get back to work. I guess I tore two muscles in my arm..it doesn't really hurt much, just gets achy at night.

It's a battle! We just have to keep on fighting.

Beth P.

Yesterday my hair looked excellent. I guess the stars aligned correctly because I do the same thing all the time but yesterday it was just perfect. One of my sisters even asked if I had been to my stylist.

This morning when I woke up it STILL LOOKED GOOD. Amazing. I was tempted to skip the gym because I didn't want to mess up my hair (for the gym I ponytail and bobby-pin it). But being healthy won out over vanity and I did go to the gym.

My hair didn't turn out quite as perfectly today but I'm not unhappy with it and I am happy that I did over an hour of cardio exercise. My biggest regret is I didn't get someone to take my picture yesterday.

Hh, once again, LOL. I had good hair yesterday too!...because I got it cut and styled. Today, not so much.

But I got on the scale finally this morning and I was down 2.4 lbs.! So I'm happy.

My 2 sets of bike panniers came . I have used a trailer, I have posted pics of it , for the last 2 tours. It weighs 13# empty so added to that was about 30# of stuff ! The Vaude panniers weigh almost nothing. I read and read about them before I ordered. DH was afraid I wouldn't do well with balance etc. I am here to tell you that these things ROCK ! I will never ever tour with a trailer again.

I put a 5# bag of flour in each pannier...so 20 #. I have a front rack and a rear rack. I bought the 34 Litre size ( so 16 L each bag) for both places...decided I didn't need the bigger ones. I am SO glad that I didn't get the bigger ones. They hold a ton of stuff and I have pared down what I take anyway so all is good. The first day,Friday, I rode 26 miles and it was so easy I kept thinking I had made a mistake LOL. Then DH went with me on Sat. and we went slower , since he doesn't bike as much. Still went great even with the winds we have been having here for over a week. Did 25 mi the next couple days with the 20#.

Today I put 10# in each front bag and 5# in the back bags = 30#. They suggest 60% front/40% back and this was as close as I could get. I did 25 miles. Had a tail wind the first half and avg 14.3 mph wow...I was amazed at how it went. Then the headwind home so I was only 11 mph. But that is still great as we usually avg 10 on tours and ride 50 -60 miles per day.

DH says it is the gyroscope effect. Once you get moving it just sort of takes care of itself. I was always suspicious of how everyone said it was easy to ride with these bags hanging off the bike....well I was WRONG...and they were all right. Should send everyone I have ridden with an email and pics and tell them this LOL !!

I have till the 22nd of May and then I have to UPS my bike to Victoria BC. Lots of time to practice till then.

Nice to be able to share here...everyone is doing so well. Beth I hope that your bicep gets well soon. Have you tried Glucosamine/Chondroitin ? It is a wonderful supplement and really does help heal muscles/tendons/ligaments. Take it easy and enjoy those walks !! c

I have good news!

I had to go to work for some training today and I fit into a pair of pants the was too tight a month ago.

That was inspiration to eat well tonight.

Beth P.

Wow, you go sueb! Any scale movement in a downwardly direction is great but 2.4 is really an exciting change.

beth, wu-hoo for you and your no-longer-tight pants. And smoother facial skin. Now if your bicep would just heal you're be in great shape.

trail, when you're doing a trip how many miles do you ride a day? When does this one start and how long do you expect to be gone?

hh...we ride 50-60 miles per day...but that depends purely on conditions and campgrounds . We do 80-100 if we need to and sometimes 30-40 of things are not going well or the weather etc. We avg 10 mph.

I will fly out June 2nd and we start pedaling on June 4th from Victoria BC. Will be on the road about 94 days +/-. Have no set route towards the end so will depend on how our time is going. We will end in St Johns NewFoundLand/Cape Spear...most Eastern point. We will ferry back to Halifax and then ferry to Maine and fly home.

My neighbor and I have been doing this "Couch to 5K" program (it's an app we use on iPhone) on and off, in between regular walks and Zumba. This morning we were doing our walk/run thing and it started raining. I thought, oh, we must look like those people who I look at and think "oh, there's a hard-core runner, out in the rain, I'd never do that!"

I feel really good about the exercise I've done this week (4 out of 5 mornings). I just need to keep it up now. The hard reality is that I can't lose any weight without eating right AND exercising. Not one or the other.

I meet my fitness goals for this week. I wanted to burn 7500 calories and ride another 50 miles on the stationery bike. I was progressing nicely then I was off work yesterday and ended up running around town instead of going to the gym.

So I had some make-up to do today: I took a cycling class, did about 20 minutes of Zumba then got on the SB. Worked for almost four hours and burned 2000 calories. I ended up with over 8000 calories burned for the week or 2.28lbs. Took a total of 15 hours for the week.

That was tough, not sure if I can repeat it but it is getting me to think about hitting the open road . . .

I'm tired but it's a nice tired:)

sue..that is the hard reality :) Every year that goes by it is more of a challenge to balance eating well and exercise. It really does take more activity than one thinks. Our metabolism slows and takes more effort to rev it up. Of course if the only things you eat are the things that really are good for you and leave off the extras it makes it easier too, but there again the temptation is great :) You sound like you are doing SO well. Congratulations ! I love love to run in the rain.

Kelly you certainly have put in some amazing hours. One of the things you will find when you "take it outside" is that you will spend WAY less time and burn way more calories. The machines have these numbers on them but they really are not accurate at all. They are something to go by but the real world of exercise outside with all the variables of temp and wind and real movement is a huge pay off as far as calories. So you will spend a lot less time and get more bang for your buck ! Congratulations for having such an amazing week and so much sticking power !!! c

Trail, you are such an inspiration. I can't imagine putting those kind of miles on a bike daily. What an adventure! I rode 10 miles today on our beautiful bike path. That was good for my first trip out this Spring.

Kelly, you too are amazing to me. I can't imagine how you can do all that in a day.

Good eating today and tomorrow's dinner is in the crockpot and ready to go for tomorrow. DH, DS and I are all working tomorrow, so it'll be nice to have it all set by the time we get home.

Beth P.

My thoughts exactly - re: Kelly I can't imagine how you do all that in a day! You are inspiring!!

I just can't set aside that much time for exercising. With work (3-4 days a week), time with hubby, house stuff, yard stuff, church/community, and extended family (I help my dad and grandmother), friends, etc. I'm good if I do 30 minutes a day!! I do agree with Trail. I feel better and feel like I've done more if I get outside and actually take a walk rather than using the elipitcal. I also enjoy it so much more. Used to have a treadmill, which I called a dreadmill because I got soooo bored.

I'm hanging in there - I've lost a little, but haven't weighted lately so can't tell you how much. Have had some comments from others though, so it's showing. Food is up and down - good for the most part, but still having those sugar urgers!!!

tina

Tina and Beth thank you for the nice comments ! I only do something one minute at a time...can't think too far ahead or I become a victim of "stinkin' thinkin' " ! I have had to work very hard to not run all the miles at the beginning of the race...YKWIM ? When I am riding up a mountain, as I was in Texas 2 yrs ago , I looked down at the speedometer and I was going 3-4 mph...hmm..well d%^m ! I had 10 miles to go ! So I disconnected my mind and just pedaled and sang...I have the "worm " song to keep me company :) You know the one...nobody loves me....haha.

It is so true that you feel better no matter what YOU do. I can't measure me against any of you and the other way too. We are each doing what we can when we can and that is ALL that counts. I never get on the scales. Only when I get home from a bike trip...one time a year. I know how my clothes fit and I go from there. I am lucky that I can stay active all year in this climate in AL. I also am retired and have support from DH. Everyone is different. All that matters is getting out. A 30 min walk around the neighborhood is better than a lot of folks ever get. It is less than some of us get...who cares. It is what it is for YOU. The moral support on this forum is wonderful . You can't always have partners to work out with. I have had some great ones over the years and currently have no one...DH only gets out when the sun isn't too bright due to his eyes and skin. So I am on my own. It takes a LOT of motivation to keep it going.

I ADMIRE all of YOU for keeping it going. What an achievement. You won't take your last breath thinking ...I wish I had lost that last 2 # ! You might wish you had walked in the woods alone or with someone you love. Go for a walk....c

I was also thinkIng how amazing Kelly's amount of exercise is. I'm happy if I can get in 45 minutes of walking, yoga or stationary bike. Or occasonally two of these three things. I do rather hate the stationary bike - would much rather get outside for a walk. Or if the weather is good and I can find a suitable partner I love to hit the tennis ball - that I could do for 90 mins or so.

My vacation is winding down. Have been doing a lot (for me) of walking and hiking so that's been great. My improved eating habits are now pretty well engrained so I just don't want the type and quantity of food I was eating before January 2.

Thanks everyone.

I'm lucky that my time is pretty much my own. I'm self-employed and work at home so I make my own hours. Sometimes that means I'm up until midnight working because I chose to do other things during the day - but at least I have the choice. My son, who lives at home, is almost 25 and is working full time so he's not around as much and DH is gone a bunch too so I don't need to cook dinner as much anymore.

I have other obligations as well but since I really don't have anyone depending on me anymore my number one priority has shifted to my health. That shift has allowed me to "guilt free" spend as much time and money as I want on exercise, healthy eating and mental health.

The really neat thing I have found is that when I concentrate on myself, relationships seem to improve as well. My DH and I have never been more in love and my son is proud of me and has started exercising more which gives us something to bond over. I've made some amazing friends at the gym - of all shapes and sizes - who encourage and motivated me as I do for them.

I guess it's the thing Oprah has had so many shows about: It's not selfish to put yourself first

Oh Kelly - I never meant to imply I thought you are selfish! I certainly agree and strongly believe that you have to take control of your health. Haven't I preached enough about that here? LOL I knew you worked from home, and I didn't remember that you have a son! You sound much like my sister, her and her husband's routines are never the same, while I'm old school in the thought that I like sitting down to dinner as a family each night. Life is busy, but that makes me happy. Although I do know how to relax and enjoy those times too. You encourage and motivate many here so I hope you realize that and took nothing negative from my comments. I look forward to these threads from you each week!

tina

Tina, I didn't think you were calling me selfish. In fact, I was actually calling myself selfish which I think isn't necessarily a bad thing. ;)

Kelly - you are a doll. And I agree, I think there are times we need to be selfish!