Yesterday I found outn through a Youtube that my DH forwarded me about exercise and osteoporosis.

It appears I have been doing more harm than good with a few of my exercises. All are supposed be good for your back, but......not if you have osteoporosis.

My back has been hurting and we were searching what I could do.

Any exercise that includes the spine curving forward should be avoided. Also, no twisting!

No bending over to pick something up, but using knees instead.

I modified today and it will be interesting to see if this will help my back.

Weight wise I am staying within my goal range.

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Last week was not a great food choice week-- and I feel it. It is pretty amazing how your body will tell you that you are not on track. I feel the inflammation and I am just generally sluggish and uncomfortable. I did a full reset yesterday and look forward to making better choices and feeling better.

I want to say this is the first time since I started that I went so off plan-- but i am sure that's not true. I just can't remember another. I am kicking myself but I know I can get right back to my better patterns so focused on that rather than dwelling on the bad week.

Next weekend is my mother's birthday party so I need to be sure I am committed to stick with the healthier foods on the table. It's not worth feeling crappy for 3 days.

Happy as I met my first weight loss goal, back to my precruise vacation weight. I am a slow loser. Wanted to be back to this weight before next week when we go to Las Vegas, then I come back for my birthday weekend and leave a week later for a short cruise with friends. In October I will be working for the same goal again but I am okay with this.

Ate very healthy most if the week, lots of fruits and vegetables. Did some excercise videos but not enough.

Congratulations, @jill302!

Of course you are welcome, Yeonassky -- it is all about healthy habits! For some of us, weight loss is a part of that and for others it is about building strength, eating well and just maintaining good health.

Love that you are feeling so good after your workout-- I bet at some point you will actually look forward to the start also!

Wishing everyone a great and health week! I am going to be slammed this week and preparing for the party this weekend. I'll stop in when I can ... it's always nice to take 5 min and see how everyone is doing... and it helps me to stay on track if I am checking in.

@eld6161 - so interesting about the exercises. Glad you found that out and hopefully the modifications will help.

@Funkyart - you had a lot going on last week! Can't worry about any of the choices we've made in the past, only the ones we can make moving forward. yeah, yeah, that's what I tell myself. I too made some less than great choices and my stomach told me all about them as well:) When you start feeling better and then feel crappy, it's really noticeable.

@jill302 - Congrats!

@yeonassky - that sounds like a lot of pushups! Way to go.

I had a status quo week, which I guess is good. I only had alcohol on two nights when we were out with friends, so that was a success for me. I found some low carb N/A beer that tastes good enough to act as a substitute treat in the evenings. Made a couple new recipes that were pretty good and it was nice to have some food variety. I made this and DH had his over rice, but I put mine over arugula with a side of roasted asparagus. It was easy and really tasty.

https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/276341/chicken-cutlets-with-sun-dried-tomato-cream-sauce/

My exercise was ok - still not into the weight/resistance training and I'm not sure how I'm going to make that a habit. I might have to schedule a trainer or join an outside gym. I can't seem to get in the groove on my own.

I'm continuing on my pound a week average weight loss. I thought maybe the alcohol cutback would spur things along faster, but that seems to not be the case yet. Steady is good though. I guess I'll continue like this until it's not working anymore.

Twice this week I caught myself eating things I don't normally eat and thinking to myself, 1/2 bagel isn't going to cause you to gain back weight. Which of course it's not on its own. But it reminded me of my last yo-yo weight gain back when I rationalized the same way, but kept doing it enough that I did gain it back. So, that was a little worrisome to "hear" myself talk that way about food and treats, etc. Going to have to give that some thought going forward.

I went on vacation and gained two pounds in three days, but lost it in five. I hardly splurged, one meal out and a glass of moscacto was all it took. Plus we hiked up and down back dunes and beach towns all day long and swam in Lake MI. But I still gained weight, which goes to show you how close to the edge you have to stay to keep weight off in late middle age . . . sigh.

I'm now debating about continuing with Noom. I'm sick of reading the articles and although logging meals is very helpful, I am so dang busy and hate to take up time with it. I'm not sure how accurate I am being. Same with my water and exercise, I seem to be rather haphazard lately so not sure I want to keep spending all the Noom money. But on the other hand, it's a motivator to be sure, wanting to not waste my investment . . .

I've gotten myself up to doing 15 min. on the exercise bike every day, I think that is about all I want to do. I'm more inclined to go walking now that the mosquitoes are down. But not the vagrant population. It's really frustrating because many people in my town are trying to work on this problem. We seem to attract folks who just can't settle into housing or shelters for a whole host of reasons. A lot of it seems to have mental illness at the root. We've gone from the horrors of forced commitment to an end of the line scavenging existence for many now. We used to have a big state hospital in my town, they are tearing it all down now . . . we lost our men's shelter although we do have one for women and one for families.

Even in my neighborhood with folks owning homes, the folks with aggressive dogs on the loose is not shrinking either, it's growing. I don't live in town, not a lot of enforcement here of loose dog ordinances, if we even have any . . .

Edited to add that now that school has started I might start swimming during the day when the pool is uncrowded.

This week is tough. My summer morning swimming opportunity is over. So now I have to find time in the middle of my work from home day to swim. Sometimes I can make it work and sometimes work gets in the way. Last week I did great doing 5x swimming (soaking up the last morning swimming) and 2x running. I think I lifted 4x. This week I went for an extra long run on Monday and it wrecked me so badly that I could barely function the rest of the day. I managed to swim yesterday and run this morning. Thursday I have to go physically into the office for an hour to meet with my boss (whom I haven't seen in 2.5yrs) and that's going to mess up my ability to swim probably. I need to just plan accordingly and maybe run extra instead. I also have some extra stress at work having to give critical feedback to a long-tenured very senior but very underperforming employee and that is stressing me out big time. I know I shouldn't let stress and such impact my health and exercise, but it can be so draining.

My weight is hovering around my goal weight. I'll hit it and stay for a few days, then up a pound, then down a pound. I will keep doing 5:2 IF but this week I won't try to manage a 36hr fast this week. Meanwhile I will keep trying to focus on eating lots of veggies and fruits and trying to eat healthy. Over the weekend I splurged a bit with drinks and cooked for some family, including a yummy gluten free flourless chocolate cake that I made. On a healthier note, I also made this lentil salad which is really yummy, though has been a little tough for me to digest. If anyone is looking for more lentil recipes, I'd recommend this. It keeps in the fridge for several days as well.

https://www.feastingathome.com/moroccan-lentil-salad/

I'm continuing with my supplements to try to heal my digestive system. Mostly I feel better although I seem to be struggling a lot with lentils when I never used to. Not sure what that means. Eating out remains very stressful for me. I haven't done it much, but have a few times. I am finding myself avoiding social situations where I might be eating out somewhere that I can't check the menu first or verify if there will be any food options for me (gluten free vegetarian). I'm only semi-successful at remembering supplements with every meal. I usualy miss a couple each week.

I am also up after a not so great weekend-- well, 5 days (wed-saturday). I am feeling less inflammation and bloating but not down the pounds as yet.

This week is a mess.. I've been up at 4:30am and working well into the evening to scope and estimate a new project and prepare the presentation. Also trying to pull together all the details for the party this weekend. On top of everything else, I messed up an order for one of mom's gifts. I ordered 2 pairs of pants for a lounge set and NOT the top! I don't know what the heck I was thinking! I had to scramble to find a place to send it to arrive in time. I am just a hot mess this week.. and I blame it all on dropping intermittent fasting and not eating well for 5 days. When I am on top of my game, I am on top of everything... when I get lazy and give in to bad habits, everything falls apart.

I am solidly back on intermittent fasting as of yesterday-- and am making healthier choices. I will drink at the party (and the night before.. and very possibly the morning of.. ) but I will keep my eating in check and limited. Not only does it make my body feel better.. it makes my head feel better!

Pricklypear, sorry you have so many challenges to deal with at once but I am very glad to hear you are feeling better! That is strange that lentils are causing you issues.. but oh my does that salad look great!

ipink, glad to hear you have found an exercise routine you are happy with-- but so disappointing that your streets don't feel safe. It sounds like Noom may have run its course for you but I am sure you take lots of good info, insight and behaviors with you.

I enjoy reading everyone's progress, and want to emphasize that a few days (even 5, Funky) of less-than-optimal choices doesn't negate our overall lifestyle decisions. I think we do well most of the time, and are too hard on ourselves when we have a few bad days. And I'm saying this after skipping strength training for 4 days in a row. I got back at it today, and feel better.

My weight is fine, and I've been focusing more on strength. But I'd like to lose a few lbs. heading into autumn. My summer wardrobe of dresses and tops is very forgiving. I'm heading into a season of more fitted clothes, and I'd like some leeway. (I am very grumpy in tight clothes.)

Prickly, thanks for sharing the lentil salad recipe--I'm going to make that.

Pink, I understand about Noom. A few years ago, I was using the Myfitnesspal app to count calories. It was tedious and time-consuming. I found that it was a deterrent to a lot of snacking because I was adamant about recording everything. That was beneficial. And it did provide me with a more mindful way of eating. But, yes, I can see how Noom may start having diminishing returns.

Funky, give yourself some grace. Your work schedule sounds horrendous, and you want to enjoy the weekend festivities. Do the best you can, and you can sharpen your focus next week.

Thank you, @Feathers11 -- of course you are right. I definitely ate things I wish I hadn't but it wasn't as bad as I make out. I just don't feel well and I know it was the food choices and every bit as much, breaking the intermittent fasting pattern. My body just responds so well to it. While I will indulge a little this weekend to celebrate my mom, I am committed to sticking with IF. I think that will help mitigate some variance in my food choices and the cocktails.

I didn't bother to get on the scale today-- it's not going to make me happy and I'd rather just focus on eating well this week.

I did try on the dress I had planned to wear to the party last night-- I was so happy when it arrived and looked so nice and slimming. Unfortunately it is too big now. I can't remember exactly when it arrived but I really don't think it was more than 7lb ago but the top droops and cant be tightened more. It is just not going to work. I am thrilled that my shape is changing and I am wearing smaller clothes but I didn't need a last minute scramble for what to wear.

@Funkyart gosh good news/bad news on the dress. I hope you find something. I’m still looking for a dress for next weekend event. I was hoping the weight loss would make shopping easier, but no such luck!

When I get in a bad eating pattern, I try to concentrate on drinking even more water. Sometimes it’s not weight gain, but water retention or inflammation. Plus, it fills me up and makes me leas hungry.

@legomom23 increasing my water is an excellent suggestion. Thanks for the reminder-- i too often forget about the power of a tall glass of water!

Have you tried Boden? I love the dress I bought from them a few weeks ago and i found their shipping to be very fast! I was tempted to wear the Boden dress to the party but I think it is going to be just a little too cool for it. Maybe I'll take a second look and see if there is something colorful and joyous that I can have shipped overnight. Truth is, I don't need a dress.. it is just so easy!

I think a good deal of my vacation weight loss was fluids from eating saltier foods than I normally do. I splurged on fried calamari, not something I usually eat, and while it was delicious, the batter was also a bit over salty. Probably not too salty by normal customer's taste buds, but we eat very low salt meals so I could tell.

Tried to take Josie for a walk last night, had to turn back due to a big rambunctious dog off-leash roaming the neighborhood. I know people want to have their dogs off-leash when they are just puttering around in the yard with them, but if you are out walking your dog, most dogs are going to run out of the yard after the dog. That's one reason we can't have Josie outside with us off-leash. I wish my husband would train her better to come and stay in the yard but he is not going to do that and I don't have the time. He told me when we got the dog that he would train it but he hasn't done a very good job. Not sure why. He plays with her but won't use the time to train her. Luckily most of the time she doesn't get into too much trouble, but coming and staying are important behaviors for safety. I've argued with my husband about this until I am blue in the face, don't want to waste any more time on it. He's retired, I thought training the dog was going to be his project. I'm still working.

This is a pretty good time to be on a diet and exercise kick, not too cold, not too hot and tons of fresh produce available!

Aw Funky, I like high quality problems, and getting too thin for a dress you **just** bought is a great problem, as a rule, I know exceptions may apply.

Pink, off lead dogs are terrifying, unless you are at the dog park. I had **never** experienced this problem until my stint in Austin and it shocks me that people accept it. I have called the police several times to ensure that I could jog in the neighborhood.

I'm so sorry that you have to deal with off leash dogs, Pink. I love dogs. Truly. But off leash dogs in neighborhoods make me so angry. People should be able to walk through neighborhoods unmolested by dogs whether they are walking their own dog or have kids or whatever. Far too many people think they have "good" dogs and that "it's ok, he's friendly". Well, my dog doesn't love being charged by strange dogs and I really don't like it after numerous scary encounters, my mom being viciously attadked by a rottweiler, and my own previous dog attacked more times than I can count. You never know how an off leash dog is going to behave. Sorry. I'm ranting now.

Oh also, minor self-control success. Yesterday was very stressful having to sit down with an underperforming long-time employee to talk about her performance. It's a difficult situation and I came out of it feeling exhausted. I wanted to bury my face in unhealthy desserts and have a few cocktails. I didn't. I ate relatively sensibly, didn't drink any alcohol, and tried to curb my desire for sweets with some watermelon.

Great choice on the watermelon, Pricklypear. I also find those kind of meetings exhausting and soul sucking. Glad you found a good choice to satisfy your needs! Watermelon is magical for me-- that and the pink pineapple can just perk up my mood!

Pink and Zalco .. loose/unleashed dogs are ridiculous. I have always been a big dog person so I am especially passionate about it. You simply must keep your dogs and all people safe. Even when I lived down a private lane, it was rare that I would let my (well trained) dogs out without a leash... and only when when i was very close and had full attention on them. I trained my rottweiler to lay when approached by someone. She was very friendly but there is so much fear regarding rottweilers it seemed important. She was a fiend for training. I also trained her to sit and lift her nose before feeding. She would wait until I kissed her nose and said "Bon appetit" before she would dive in. This taught her self-control and I loved the ritual. Anyhow, I digress...

It IS a wonderful time of year for outdoor activities-- I hope things improve in your communities so that you can enjoy the weather before winter hits!

ok well, I weighed in this morning and i am back down to my lowest weight-- whew! Now just in time for tomorrow's party lol! I am mostly joking. Grilled meats and veggies, couscous they aren't going to cause me trouble -- and I'll be pretty active with errands, prep and setup. I tend not to drink too much alcohol but it will be steady through the day. I will enjoy the day but not go overboard.

Because my planned outfit fell through, I tried on a number of other items this morning-- i have a pile of pants and tops to donate. I guess the kinds of clothes i have been wearing have been forgiving of size changes but most of the dressier and more fitted items I tried are ready to pass on. Even the top I will be wearing is too big but it doesn't look bad.

It wasn't such a big deal when a few items were too big.. but it has started to become "real" now that it is a larger number of items.

Congrats Funky on sizing out of clothing! Although that is also a huge annoyance. I need to figure out what to do with my closet too. I tend to buy pricey jeans so I hate to just donate them, so I'm just hanging onto them for now. I have new jeans to wear at least. But I really need to find some new tops too as mine are all too big. One huge frustration for me is that the style seems to be short boxy tops now and I can't find things that flatter me. I look best in hip length and fitted / curved to the waist. Apparently that's out of style or something?

Congratulations on becoming the amazing shrinking person Funky! That sounds like a problem I would love to have!

Maybe you could get the new outfit taken in but when should you do that will be your new question.

I will probably always have to wear slightly baggy tops and it bothers me sometimes. Unlike you Pricklypear I don't have much of a waist. I do curve in just below my chest which unfortunately doesn't work for me. My clothes have to skim my extra curves so I don't have to look at them. :-(.

It is still much more enjoyable to dress this body than it was to dress it 50 lbs and 12 years ago.

I'm still hopeful that I will come upon the right formulation to lose the extra 25 lbs and get rid of my migraines. Hopefully within the next 2 years haha. (My other fantasy is that any loose skin would be managed with this formulation.). I'm reaching for the stars here.

ETA to add guess what ad was at the bottom of the screen when I mentioned loose skin. Pretty funny. Never click on the ad baits..

I have been buying inexpensive (relatively) jeans because I know i will be going through a few sizes. Tops lasted longer because I have broad shoulders.. but some just look sloppy now. And I hear you on short boxy tops out now-- ugh!

@yeonassky I've seriously considered taking some of my tops to a tailor to see if I could get them taken in at the waist. I do feel lucky that I've always had a narrower waist, though before I started this health journey this year everything was a lot bigger including my waist. At the same time, I've also lost a lot in my bra area so there's that too. lol.

@Funkyart I hear you on not wanting to spend too much on a new wardrobe when you're still in the process of losing weight. Jeans are definitely an area I splurge in general. I do try to get them on sale, but it's still expensive. And really, I can still wear my old tops, they just look a bit sloppy. Sounds like the same issue you're having. I think I might pick up a few new tops just to have something on hand when I need it. Maybe I'll be able to find something more tailored / narrow at the waist if I keep looking.

Yeonassky, yes -- good idea on going to the tailor. Probably not for all items-- but those that are special, expensive or dear for some other reason. I think i am a ways away from that point .. but it is NOT cost effective or reasonable to replace everything the whole way along my journey.

You mention extra skin-- in my youth (even up through 40s) my skin was pretty elastic and bounced back and was taunt after weight loss. Much less so now in my late 50s. I hope that it does tighten up some but i think that's why i think my face actually looks fatter now than before I lost weight. It is frustrating and upsetting but the reality i need to face. I expect exercise will help but not eliminate the loose skin problem (wahhh!)

@pricklypearcactus - yup, same! Until late 40s/early 50s I had a proportionately small waist-- in my 20s a ridiculously small waist for my overall morphology/big bones. My rib cage is huge, shoulders and hips large, hands and feet large. While i hate it-- it actually makes for less variance in sizes for tops. I can carry larger sizes.. before weight loss, I wearing 2x and 3x tops. I am pretty firmly in 2x now but can still wear many 3x. As i lose, i imagine I will I'll shift downward but much more slowly. Even at my skinniest (size 8), I still wore L and XL tops for my shoulders/rib cage. (Exception: Free People lol.. where i can wear M, L and XL depending on the style.. god love them!). I will wear my jeans baggy for awhile. My sister commented that the jeans I just bought a month ago were too baggy. I guess she isn't wrong but i don't plan to replace jeans every month. It's going to just be the cost of having allowed myself to gain weight-- I will have phases where my pants aren't going to fit well. Good news is I have a fair number of jeans in smaller sizes-- they may not be the "in" styles but they will fill the gap.

I had to laugh about the reference to the "amazing shrinking Funky"! I wish-- i see clothes not fitting but i don't see myself as "smaller" yet. In some ways I may always feel larger because I AM taller and bigger boned than my sisters-- and a giant compared to my mother! Anyhow, my point was going to be, I think the next 50lb are going to be when I REALLY notice the changes.. when I REALLY start shrinking. I am excited and ready for run to goal!

This is the first time post menopause that I have lost a substantial amount of weight - and I'm noticing my proportions are different as well. It's making it more difficult to buy flattering clothes than I anticipated. I just thought everything would look better :) I've lost most in my shoulders and then surprisingly my hips and legs. That was never the case before. Used to clothes would fit in the waist and be too tight around the hips. Now I can't button or zip them. I have more weight to lose, so maybe my belly will catch up. Or maybe that's my new menopause body composition.

Also - the current styles aren't super flattering. I don't want to lose weight and then wear things that don't flatter me. I thought shopping would be more fun! HA!

It's sort of a relief to hear that I'm not the only one annoyed with the current styles. I am also pulling out a lot of older clothes that fit again and happy to have them. I like their styles so much better than the current styles. I don't really care if I look particularly fashionable. I'd rather my clothes look flattering than fashionable if that makes sense. @Funkyart I used to love Free People clothing - probably about 10 years ago. I have a ton of tank tops from them. A lot of their current tops seem to be cropped which I'm just not ready to embrace. My stomach actually looks pretty good now but I still don't feel comfortable walking around with it exposed. Similarly I kept thinking I'd be excited to shop but very little seems appealing right now.

I'm nearly 40 so I guess I'm lucky that my skin so far has been boucing back pretty well. I do have some unexpected squishy trouble spots (like my armpits?!) that I'm hoping will make some more progress. I have never been great at remembering to lotion in general, but especially lately I've been trying to regularly lotion after showering to try to help with skin recovery. Allegedly 14+ hour fasts may help with skin recovery (autophagy), but that also could just be BS. But this conversation is also a good reminder that as I continue to age, I really really need to try to work on maintaining my weight this time. I've let my weight bounce up and down several times since high school and have never been good at long term maintaining the weight I want to be. I hope I do better this time. Ironically I've always been pretty good at exercising, but it's just too easy for me to let myself eat just a little bit extra so that my weight creeps up.

Tonight's dinner was a new one for us, from a magazine cookbook I bought called "Eat to Beat Inflammation" by Better Homes and Gardens.

Note: my local grocery almost never has escarole so I made this with baby spinach and chard. You could also use bok choy and just sprinkle dried fennel on it. Or sub two stalks of celery sprinkled with fennel which is what I often do since fennel can be pricey out of season.

I also added about 2/3 pre cooked brown rice at the end to mix with the spinach. I special ordered some Lundberg short grain brown rice and we love it.

Ingredients:

2 boneless pork chops

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp freshly cracker pepper (Note, I used a steak seasoning that had dried garlic along with the pepper)

2 TBLSP olive oil

1 head escarole, 12 oz which is 4 packed cups. Roughly chop

1 medium fennel bulb (that's too much. I didn't have the bulb part, had already used that so I sauteed the chopped up tops along with some of the leaves. About half were too wilted.)

2 TBLSP shallot minced (2 small shallots or one large)

1 TBLSP white wine vinegar

1/2 cup water (I used chicken broth)

1 TBLSP Dijon mustard

Start by sauteeing the fennel and the shallot in a braising pan with the olive oil. I had to add a few splashes of chicken broth towards the end because the shallot was browning too fast.

When they are about 2/3 done, add the seasoned pork chops. to the middle of the pan. Cook for 3 min. on medium high, with the cover on. (This is where I had to add some chicken broth to prevent the shallots from scorching)

Meanwhile, combine the dressing ingredients (water or chicken broth, vinegar and mustard)

Flip the pork chops after three minutes. They should be nicely browned.

Add the chopped greens around the edge of the pan and over the flipped chops, and pour the dressing over the spinach. Cover and sautee for about three more minutes. A little less if your chops are thin. Maybe two.

At this point, my spinach wasn't quite wilted enough for my taste so I took out the pork chops and set them aside temporarily on a small plate. I added some short grain rice I already had cooked (~2/3 cup) and sauteed the mixture for about a minute more. Popped the pork chops on top of the mixture to take to the table.

Served it in a pasta bowl.

Very good and filling, although we had a tiche of left over potato salad to go with it. This would pair well with roasted veggies particularly some type of squash. Or corn on the cob or some french bread for sopping up the juices at the bottom of the bowl. Of course this is if you aren't carb averse. If you are, then more greens and no rice.

Sorry no accents on the first e of sautee.