nice trip report !!! and thanks for starting the July check-in!
I am in Florida for a week vacation with DH, I am maintaining my weight although not exercising as much as I should at the gym : we are golfing every 2 days though, which is good mental relaxation for me ( also frustrating).

I am on a 30 day countdown starting tomorrow , until DD's wedding August 3, my dress is flowy so I am not worried about fitting into it, but I do want to tone my arms and shoulders till then.

Happy Fourth of July my american friends !!

Skin biopsies negative and annual mammogram was negative.

I have doctors appointments for GYN and thyroid next week.

Doing great with exercise with lots of Zumba and Spin. I feel better but haven't really lost any weight. I guess I have to be happy I'm not gaining.

Have a great 4th!

I have not been doing the check-ins, but lurking, so I shall start now.

After 11 months at the gym, I have finally lost 20 lbs! Only 17 to go. I am very heavy for my size, thanks to my German farmer ancestors, and is I lose 25 more lbs, I will be back to a size 2, and DH thinks that is too thin. I weigh 167 now, and wear a size 6 on the bottom, 8-10 top, thanks to broad shoulders and ribs. I am almost 5'4". The Drs and WW all think I should weigh 135. Actually one Dr. said 115, yeah sure. So, I quit listening to the Dr.

Truth be told, I have not been to Zumba in a couple of months, because the horses have kept me crazy, but apparently they are enough of a workout to keep my metabolism up, which is my struggle. According to my old tracker, I get the recommended 30 minutes of moderate exercise in the first 45 minutes of my day.

Happy 4th, everyone!!

Nancy

Congratulations Nancy and gscience that news is great !!

Nancy, I have your figure and size from what you describe, I find that 122 to 125 is a good range for me and easy enough to maintain. I am aiming for 120 by exercising more but I'm not holding my breath.

My last weigh in I was up 2.6 lbs-but as of this morning I'm down that 2.6 plus another 3. Just goes to show how much fluid I retain with this stupid lymphedema! My total is now over 35 lbs on average.

I'm healing faster, I can get around and move better-I am going to ask my Dr for a referral to PT so I can learn some good stretching exercises. I'm having more trouble with my ribs that were cracked. I have upped my activity level, but still no where where I'd like to be by now. We had a horrendous heat wave for a few days, and that made it difficult to sleep, much less want to go for a walk!

Today the temp is AMAZING and a nice breeze, so I am hoping we can take the dogs for a walk at the dog park.

Yesterday i posted a pic of me in a patriotic T-shirt on FB, and the comments I got were very positive, people were commenting that they could really see my weight loss, (the pick was a chest and head shot). That's encouraging. And people are commenting-getting that hesistant "have you lost weight?". Tells you that I have a lot to lose if 35 lb loss is starting to be visible!

Nancy, the last thing I listen to is the size/weight charts. When I was at a point where you could see my ribs, my hind end fit into a size 16 pants (I could wear a size 9 dress tho!). I am normally built more like Serena Williams than Vanessa Williams!

Hi all, I have participated infrequently on this thread but enjoy the motivation I get from reading it. In fact, thanks to Kelly's post about Primal eating I have transitioned to that lifestyle and find it very doable. My son is an avid crossfitter and wanted to do Paleo, so we are doing this together (altho not whole hog paleo). I have been struggling with a measly 10 pounds for a couple of years. I work out alot, intermittently count calories but was getting nowhere. After almost 4 weeks on the primal diet I have lost about 6 pounds, but more importantly, I am seeing major differences in body composition. This feels right and I hope that I can maintain it long term with some cheats for celebrations, etc without going off the rails. I am also 5'4.5" and currently 148....I would look too thin at 120! I am just built heavy....to look at me you would not think I weigh so much. So I am hoping to get to around 140, but am trying to stop obsessing about the scale (my son is threatening to throw it away) and focus more on how I feel, body comp/measurements. I plan to retake my measurements on Sunday, which will be 4 full weeks of eating this way. Will post back with results. Thanks Kelly for mentioning Primal Blueprint on here! And thanks hhireno for keeping the thread alive, even from Europe!

Judy

Sounds like everyone is doing great!

Jmck, it really is easy isn't it? I'm still eating primal but I allow myself the 80/20 rule.

I've done a month of fasting for 2 days a week. Fasting days consist of a total of 500 calories. I really look forward to my fasting days - for some reason it's kind of relaxing. I've only had one day where I really struggled but I had a bunch of emotional stuff going on that day. The first two weeks I lost 2 lbs/wk but now I'm losing about 1 lb/wk. Much slower than I'm used to but I really need to take it slow and steady.

I'm working out 5/6 days a week doing cardio, weights and Pilates. Really loving the Pilates!

My thyroid biopsy was rescheduled for the middle of August. I'm very anxious to get that done and have my thyroid rechecked to see if my dosage is working.

I just got back from a very active vacation, but we ate meals in restaurants 3 times a day, so I guess just from all those burgers (after a morning of hiking, I HAD to have a burger!) and just full meals in general -- which I normally don't really do at home -- I managed to gain about 3-4 pounds. I have been losing and gaining the same 3-4 lbs for at least a year and it is so frustrating. And of course, it takes me two months to lose those pounds and then one week to gain them back!

I feel gross, frankly, and it is Sooo hot and humid this weekend, I have no motivation to exercise. I'm trying to get myself in a mindset for Monday, when life goes back to a more normal routine. I had started counting points again on WW (online) a couple of months ago and that was going reasonably well, so I'll probably go back to that again.

I have three weeks of "normal life" until we go to our beach house for three weeks, a time that always throws me off course because we go out to dinner more, we eat burgers and hot dogs and pasta salad etc etc...and there is a fabulous ice cream place nearby. Not to mention the fridge full of beer! Every year I say I'm not going to do it, and every year, yup, I gain weight. Even with regular exercise -- I find it so much easier and more pleasant to walk 3 miles a day when I have a view of the ocean for most of the walk!

So, long story short -- back on track Monday! I turn 50 in a little over a year and I don't think my face looks 50 but my body is sure starting to -- so I really need to do something about that!

Getting to the gym three times per week. Pilates, yoga and today I did a Body Works Plus Abs class
which was a killer. It was weight training,, aerobic, and abs. I would have like more abs.
Thanks to Terricks, I am hooping at home up to 30 minutes. Now I have to do it five days to get the results she did.
Kelly, I also have a biopsy in the middle of August. I have at least four growths that were discovered when it was suggested that I do an MRA along with the MRI of my brain. Since these growth run in my family, I am trying to be positive that it is not cancer.
I also am a lifetime member of WW, but really don't follow the plan except for my monthly weigh in. That does keep me motivated. But, I am not the weight I want to be, but certainly within range of what is acceptable.
Sue, it really is all about the food. Easy to gain, but takes so long to lose. Interestingly, I have a sister who just lost 25 lbs by stopping going to the gym. Somehow it was making her more hungry and she was not losing weight. Now she just walks everyday. It really is finding what works for you.
Hhireno, your trip sounds great. Thanks for starting this post.

Ellendi, that's interesting because I was recently telling my friend/walking buddy that I swear when I exercise less, I lose weight! I do think it's because I eat more on the days I exercise more. I also heard someone (some kind of expert) say on the radio that to lose weight, it's all about the food, and to maintain your weight, it's more about the exercise.

I also think sometimes we use exercise as an excuse to eat more! "I did Zumba this morning so I can have a piece of cake!" Ahem, not saying I personally would take that approach.

Sueb, I never thought about exercise as maintenance, but I can definitely see that.
I think the truth comes out when you track everything. I think we do so much mindless eating. Or, we don't calculate the calories from a bite of this or that. I don't believe in drinking 8 glasses of water, or there was a formula which said I should drink 6. Much too much for me. But if you try to up the water, that too helps because it allows your body to do the work it needs to work efficiently. Something about the liver having to do the work that the kidneys should be doing.

Hello! I'm still about the same as I was. I lost my Fitbit a while ago, and I was so bummed. Then I got an email from them that someone had turned it in! It took about 3 weeks to get it back, which i did yesterday.

Today was my day to waitress at my sister's restaurant, I walked 8.10 miles by 1:30. I think I'll be too tired to eat the extra calories. I swam for a bit in the pool today as well, it was lovely.

My plan is to get back to counting calories, but avoid the carbs.

Meanwhile, my sister has lost 90 pounds. 90. She was doing the "Ideal Protein" plan. She has their food for breakfast (a shake usually), a salad and chicken for lunch, then either more of their food or a shake for dinner. It works for her as she isn't big into cooking...I really wish I could lose some weight and eat real food!! I would like to lose 30 pounds.

Beth P.

Checking back in to report my 4 week paleo/primal weight loss/inches loss. The weight all came off the first week...6 pounds, probably mostly water. I have not seen a drop in the scale since then, but am feeling great. I measured today and have lost a total of 9 inches, so I am calling it a success. My husband also took pictures for me at the beginning and today and there is a noticeable difference, particularly in my belly. I lost 3 inches off my waist and 2 from my abdomen. I really should stop getting on the scale for a while because it makes me frustrated. I feel great and my clothes are getting bigger...who cares about the scale! I plan to make this a permanent lifestyle change and then eventually the scale WILL go down...I'd like to lose 5-10 pounds of body fat.
Judy

Went to both GYN and Primary Care MD this week.

Waiting on thyroid and Vitamin D results. We will attempt to schedule me for colonoscopy this summer if they can get me in. He said if it's clear, I don't need one for another 10 years.

Thyroid seems good with no enlargement or nodules. He said I would probably need about 1400 calories per day to lose weight. I am working on increasing my overall activity. Thank goodness my BP, cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, etc. are all excellent. That is what regular exercise does since many of the benefits are independent of weight.

Had a summer cold this week. Probably got it from the Y because I haven't been around anyone like students, so I am getting back to my regular exercise.

I'm kind of late to the party this month. Was on vacation at our lake place over the 4th of July and busy with guests. Lots of cooking and eating and not quite as much exercise as usual though I did get out for three one hour kayak trips. I ended up gaining a few pounds and had to go into serious weight reduction mode this week. Dropped back to my preferred weight thankfully. Today I did my 35 minute yoga routine and went for a 45 minute walk - both very enjoyable.

At the end of June I passed the one year mark for my latest bout with cancer and all is well. I've had two different very rare sarcomas. Last one was in 1982 and then this endometrial stromal sarcoma last year. It's one of the kinds of cancer you can have when you think you have fibroids but it's really a malignant tumor instead.

What is a bit alarming is the increasing amount of laparoscopic and robotic surgeries where the uterus/fibroids are morcellated/cut into pieces to remove through the small laparoscopic incisions. Unfortunately this procedure spreads the cancer cells all over the pelvis and abdomen and makes for a worse prognosis. Fortunately I didn't have that kind of surgery but a word to the wise: if you have any kind of tumor that your doctor can't guarantee with 100% certainty is benign, do NOT have it cut up and removed in pieces.

Okay, end of my public service announcement.

My WW meetings are on Thursdays, so there was no meeting on the 4th. I weighed in this past Thursday-down 40 lbs! I am just shocked, honestly. I see it in weird places on my body-my knee caps are visible again. My left wrist is considerably smaller. My shoulders are not puffy, and all my jeans are really baggy in the legs and butt.

My back is feeling better-I finally go in for PT next week. I hope that exercise will make it better, and that I will soon be able to do MORE exercise. Of course, I now am dealing with what I believe is an impingement in my left shoulder-I can't raise my arm up and I can't fasten my bra in the normal manner. So since it's bad, I can't swim-which is what I'd love to be doing.

It's nice to read all these updates. Upcoming weddings, fitbits finding their way back, healthier eating, weight loss - so many positive things. It's great to see that we're all taking care of ourselves. That is not something that can be outsourced.

I guess after a month in Europe I was missing my friends because I came home and booked multiple social outings. I'm taking care of my emotional health by arranging grown up play dates.

I need to schedule a physical with bloodwork. Since I feel so healthy it seems ridiculous to see a doctor but my husband's leukemia was discovered by routine bloodwork so I know it's important to monitor all systems.

Keep up the healthy attitudes and actions.

Speaking of routine bloodwork, my doctor recommended checking my Vitamin D levels. I am extremely low, so I have to start on supplements. I am pretty much shocked by this because I eat 3 servings of dairy per day plus salmon weekly.

My thyroid numbers were actually pretty decent.

Screening colonoscopy scheduled for end of next week, yikes.

This month started off on a bad note after spending a few days on the Cape over the 4th of July. I went home 4 lbs. heavier, which is the only gain I have had over the last 2 years. DH and I both went back to phase 1 of South Beach and ramped up our exercise. We both dropped back to our pre-4th weight (DH actually dropped a couple of more lbs.-men!)

We are back on the Cape all week and have been eating healthy food with very little junk. We have been drinking wine and dining out but are also working out regularly. Today I walked 3 miles in a lovely state park with a friend. Later in the day I walked the beach.

Had a full body mole check right before vacation. Thankfully all was good.
I turn 60 in September and hope to do all I can to live a healthy and active life. It has been nice to have a week off from work, and a hot one it's been,even on Cape Cod.

Thank you to all of you for sharing your stories. It is so helpful.

I had my screening colonoscopy today. Resting at home; spent the afternoon watching movies with DH. They did find one fairly large polyp that was removed, so I will need to hear back on that. I am glad I did it. At least for me, clear the liquid diet was worse than the bathroom part. There is only so much water, Gatorade, apple juice, and chicken broth one can drink.

I have no family history, no symptoms, and very few risk factors, so do not put this off if you are 50+.

DH just had his first colonoscopy at age 50. Like you, he has no family history or risk factors. He had 11 polyps removed, including one that was precancerous. The worst part -- due to some "anatomical abnormality" they couldn't get through the whole thing, so he has to go back again in Sept.!

Oh wow, sueb20. Healthy vibes to your DH and you.

gs and sueb20, Thinking of you and sending positive thoughts. My DH had his first colonoscopy at 49 and the doc found a large, marbelized polyp, which he classified as pre-cancerous. The biopsy came back negative. No family history of colon cancer and he has (thankfully) been fine on subsequent colonoscopies. The doc told me at the time that my DH is lucky that his PCP recommended a colonoscopy and that my DH actually followed up and did it.
I have a family history, my late father was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at 60, had a colostomy and lived to be 87.
The value of colonoscopies for screening is so very important. Keep us posted.