I let John know that the times were messed up on posts (it was saying early a.m. of 1/2 instead of mid-afternoon 1/1). Now that it's fixed, posts are showing up out of order. So... I want to say "hi" and "thanks" to buddies whose posts may actually show up below this one (bear with me!):

Thank-you, Mc! I am so happy if I inspire anyone to more success in their own weight loss. I don't always feel like the best role model, but I do keep myself going no matter what. DT is a big part of that.

Thanks, Jessica! I am sure we will both meet with more success this year than last. It's gonna be a good one. :)

Hi, Geo! So glad you stopped in here, too! Curves has helped me a lot as well -- I am much more toned in arms, shoulders, and back, and my shins don't ache anymore when I walk fast. BUT after nearly 2 years, it's getting boring. The convenience factor is huge for me, and I'm going to keep it up, but I'm also going to start experimenting with my Sweetie's dusty weight machine in our basement! :laugh:

Today's results:

Calories: 2000 or more. Today was the last day for "free" eating at my house. For New Year's, we always have a big cheese/summer sausage/cracker fest during the Bowl games. Starting tomorrow there will be no more indulging. If Sweetie doesn't think he's going to eat some of the goodies around here, I'm going to throw them out. I'm NOT going to eat them, either way.

Exercise: Even though it was back to 33 degrees today, I still walked outside. Wanted the fresh air! 3.25 miles/52 minutes. Finished tape 8 of 10. Later, I did 10 minutes on the exercise bike. Day one DONE!

I also wanted to mention that on 12/31/03, I started the President's Challenge. One of my 2004 goals was to achieve the gold award. Well, I am 94% there. The exercise I do doesn't quite earn enough points to make it in a year, I guess. I will finish the gold award this month, I'm sure. Feel good about that.

My plans for tomorrow: walk and do the bike again. Eat within my calories. Hopefully go to a movie while Sweetie is out watching more football. I've been casing what the theaters have right now trying to decide what to see... I'll have my first week movie/book/music experience taken care of then. :)

Lisrey :up:

Yes, a new journal for me! I try to start a new one every six months. The first half of the year tends to be my best time for losing, so I am excited that it's January first!

The last two months have not been good for my weight loss efforts. I've gained about 5 pounds over the 139.6 that's in my stats. I want that back! I know I can get back there quickly with a little concentration and effort. I have another motivator right now. My sister is getting married on March 4 in the British Virgin Islands. I am going to be at that wedding, and I want to find a beautiful dress and look the best I can in those pictures! For at least the next two months, I plan to be strict with my eating, push hard with my exercise, and get some more of this unwanted weight off. I can do it!

I posted some goals in the resolutions forum, and I'm going to copy them in here:

**********************************************************

* One of my 2004 resolutions was to walk in a 5K event. I did it! This year I'd like to do another one, hopefully on pavement this time.

* Another one was to start ice skating again. I had fun with that one, but I need to refine my skills. I want to learn/remember how to do a hockey stop this year.

* I had a hard time with my bike challenge last year because my bike didn't fit properly on the trainer I had. Now I have a stationary bike that gives me no excuses. I would like to build up biking stamina. To do this I will try to ride at least 5 minutes on the bike EVERY DAY. It's just 5 minutes. I can do that!

* I know that eating within my target range of calories is what yields results for me. I will try to eat between 1200-1500 calories at least 5 times a week. (This is a hard one.)

* I will continue my current exercise routine, and hopefully add to it: regular walking and Curves workouts, weekly horseback riding lessons, ice skating and golf in season, biking and weight training when I can.

* For the past 4 years I have really worked hard on weight loss. I have become an exerciser, which makes me happy and proud. However, in achieving this, I put aside some other things that were important in my life. At least once a week, I resolve to either watch a movie, finish a book, or play my piano, flute, or clarinet.

* I would like to reach my goal of 125 pounds in 2005. It's about 20 pounds away from where I am now, although less than 15 pounds away from where I was a little more than a month ago. I can do this!

**********************************************************

So I've said it: I want to reach goal in 2005. Whether 125 remains my ultimate goal after that, I will only know when I get there. If I can get to 125, I'll have a healthy BMI. That is my true goal: health and fitness. It's worth the work and effort, and it's close enough to be achievable. Let's go!

Lisrey :*

It is worth the work and effort!!!

Great goals!!!

This is your year...I know you will achieve it!!!

You are such an inspiration to all of us...I just wanted to take this time to Thank You!!!

Have a great weekend!

mcmarto :)

:wave:


I like the new digs!!

Today is a great day for a great new start!!

Hi Lisrey!

Thanks for stopping by my journal......!

Wow, you've done AMAZING! I'm in awe of you.....and I KNOW that you'll make your goal.

I'm a fan of Curves, I know that there's no way I would be where I am today without them (although I do have to admit the workout isn't overly exciting, but still.....). Now I need to take you as an example and branch out my exercise a bit!!

PS.....thanks for the spunky thing.....my sister (whom I love dearly) tends to call me a sarcastic wench, but I like spunky better!! :)

OK...just stopped in to say HI and have a great week!

mcmarto :D

Today's report:

Calories: 1375. Was very careful to put everything in FitDay before having my dinner, making sure to stay within my calories. I stuck to the plan and feel great about it. Sweetie had me bake a frozen prepared lasagna, not the healthiest thing, but at least the calories are calculable.

Exercise: Walked on the treadmill this morning. Did my usual 3 miles in 48:30, then cooled down to make an hour. In the evening I rode my exercise bike for 10 minutes. So far, doing great! :up:

I tried to go to a movie today, but the website where I got the times was all wrong, and I was 2 hours late or 2-1/2 hours early! :c( I came back home and watched a different movie ("Monster") that was pretty depressing. Sweetie went to a friend's house to watch football, and he took a whole bunch of the cookies and sweets with him. He's been quite helpful and understanding so far. Now if I could only get him to help me with the weight machine...

Tomorrow I go back to work. Afterward I will do Curves, then I think Sweetie wants to have leftover turkey again. Probably my last meal of that. Not sure what I will have with my turkey... will have to see what FitDay will allow.

TOM will be here later this week & I'm really hopeful that I can get back down closer to where I was QUICK. It's depressing to be up as much as I am. I weighed 146 this morning... On January 1 of last year I was 150... I intend to do MUCH better in 2005! I know the key to it is the calories. I worked really hard on keeping the exercise interesting last year, but I overate. If I keep the calories within my target range consistently, I lose. That's all I gotta do. Not that hard, is it?

Lisrey :flower:

Hi Lisrey,
Stopping in to say hi and wish you the greatest of successes in 2005! I know you can do it!

Will try to stop again soon......stay warm!


Blessings:spring:


Vickie:pass:

Hi Lisrey!

Sounds like you're doing great.....I know YOU'RE the inspiration behind one of my Christmas presents this year!! I got an MP3 player and audio books to put on it so I could walk without getting bored.....great idea! The only problem right now is it's -30C outside (about -22 F, I think) and I have a hard time convincing myself to go out.....but the books on tape definately help! :)

Oh, and what did you think of Monster?? Haven't seen it yet (my fiancee isn't too interested) but I've been wanting to rent it...... :)

Thanks, Vickie! :o

Hi, Geo, great about the MP3 books! For me, it's a great use of my time if I can both listen AND exercise. I can relate with the weather thing, too -- I am stuck on the treadmill for the next few months. Monster was well done but very depressing and disturbing. I found myself thinking about it last night into today -- that tells me it was a good movie, but not the sort to generate "happy thoughts!"

For today:

Calories: 1470 (estimate). Sweetie & I had the last of our turkey leftovers for dinner. I had a small portion of the potato casserole and a smidgen of stuffing. Proud of myself for passing up all snacks the last 2 days. :up:

Exercise: Curves workout after work -- the place was packed when I arrived, as I knew it would be! They got some new motivational posters that are really fun and I think they helped me, silly as that may sound. One of them says something like "Your Willpower vs. THE COUCH." After dinner I rode the exercise bike for 10 minutes again. :up: I really like my recumbant bike. It's much easier to do this when you have good equipment.

Weight: Down to 144.8 this morning. I am hoping to make good progress for the next couple of days, getting back to the kind of calories I should be eating.

Tomorrow I would like to go ice skating at lunchtime, but there are also some errands I ought to take care of, so not sure about that. When I get home from work I will walk on the treadmill & ride the bike. Need to talk to Sweetie about dinner plans...?

Lisrey :cat:

Woohoo...you are doing well in the walking,biking, and calorie department!

I guarantee you will lose more then 4lbs this year...or my name isn't "mcmarto"...hahaha!

mc

Hahaha, thanks, Mc! I actually lost 10 pounds last year, but I gained those nasty 6 back right at the end. (I think they're "fake" pounds! :laugh: ) If they wash away in this first week or two, I won't be surprised. The real work will start after that.

Today's report:

Calories: 1400. I had Sweetie cook some boneless skinless chicken breasts tonight, with marinade and egg noodles. The marinade was spicy hot and both of us ate some extra noodles to cool our mouths! I bought some kiwi at the store the other day & that helped a LOT. Mmmmmm...

Exercise: 22 minutes ice skating at lunchtime; 35 minutes (2-1/8 miles) walking on the treadmill after work; 5 minutes exercise bike. :jn

Weight: 143.6. Creeping ever closer to where I started from...

Nonstop day today. I got up a little early so I could stop for gas on my way to work. I filled every minute with stuff and now I'm pooped!

Tomorrow morning I will go for my riding lesson if the weather doesn't stop me. We are under a winter storm watch right now. The equestrian center is North of me, in a rural area where I am not sure how well they plow... I guess I'll find out! I work the later shift, so eating should be no problem, but not sure I'll be wanting to ride the exercise bike when I get home at 10 p.m., especially if it's a nail-biter of a drive in the snow. :shrug: Hopefully the storm will go easy on me??

Lisrey :o

This morning I weighed 143.4. This is a pound down from last week's weigh-in. Not bad for only 3 days of proper eating! It's also 2.6 down from the 146 I saw on New Year's morning. :o TOM will be here in the next day or two, and the scale should respond and go down a bit more in sympathy.

I'm off to my riding lesson now. There's fresh snow on the ground, but it's not snowing at the moment. Hopefully I have a little window of clear going to get there, back, and then to work before the big stuff hits.

Lisrey :water:

Yay for one pound!...Woohoo!!!

We have had tons of snow...it started last night...stopped this a.m...and started back up this afternoon...its supposed to snow until a.m...I want it to stop...I have had enough!!!...hahaha!

Well keep up the great work!...Think thin!!!

mcmarto

Thanks, Mc! We got lots of snow, too. More is on the way for tomorrow...

Today:

Calories: 1450. Had a Lean Cuisine for dinner at work, then some baked chips and salsa for an evening snack.

Exercise: 1/2 hour horseback riding lesson this morning. 5 minutes exercise bike after work.

The riding was really fun this morning. My instructor wanted me to get the horse trotting as fast as I could -- she wants me to get used to the kind of speed I'll experience with cantering. It's hard to get this particular horse to go consistently fast, but she can get going!

When I rode the bike tonight I couldn't believe how worn out my legs were. Not sure if it was from the riding or from TOM, which will be here tomorrow...? I could hardly pedal! :o

The snow was not a big problem in the morning. A bit slow going in spots, but okay. On the way home from work tonight it was pretty awful. It's supposed to keep snowing through the night and tomorrow. I'm glad I don't have to work in the morning! I was hoping to go run a few errands, but they can wait until Friday if it's bad all day tomorrow.

I will walk on the treadmill tomorrow and do the bike at some point. I would love to finish my book -- I'm close! Need to talk to my Sweetie about dinner. He suggested leftover lasagna, but I was thinking about cooking something for him... will see if the weather lets me get to the store. TOM starts tomorrow & I expect weight will be down. Hoping that the cramps and other symptoms go easy on me.

Lisrey :beam:

It's been really cold here (I won't give you exact degrees or you'll laugh at me) but I would *love* to see snow...(we have dry cold...)(then again, as I don't work, I dont' *have* to drive anywhere...)

Way to go on the first pound down of 2005!!!! Your cals are looking great...it looks like your january mojo is out in full force!!! Onward and downward, my friend!!! :up:

Way to go Lisrey!

Sounds like you're doing good and those rotten few pounds will leave again forever...... :)


I hear ya on the snow and cold.....today here it was -55 C (I'm guessing around -35 F??) and that's just ridiculous.....you step outside and your face just starts to hurt, it's so cold!! I didn't think my truck was going to start, thank goodness it did, but even though it was plugged in all night it just barely turned over...... :(

Hey Lisrey, I found my way over here. Love your new journal.

Yes, I think I like the PC Fitday OK. I have not really used it like I should but tha is one of my new years goals. And will be one of the foundations I will use to get me back down to the magic 150 number. I'll let you know in a week or so, but I think the PC version has a few new things that will work pretty good. One of the reasons I wanted it was to load it on my laptop for when I am at the lake. Of course, that will not give me day to day comparison, different computers, but at least I can track what I eat at the lake instead of trying to remember.. and then not really doing it. I might try to figure out a way to enter the total calories for the days I am at the lake, jerry rig something.

Your goals sound great. And this will be the year for you. I agree that it is a good idea to evaluate the actual goal number when you get there. For me, I found the lower number to be unworkable. But I'm not happy with the first goal number either. So I think I will "split" the difference and shoot for 150 this year. Hard to be back in a losing mode, but them's that play, pay. You will find that maintenance is not any easier than losing those last few pounds. Ah for the days when the scales just dropped with little effort.

Have a great year.

Jo

LISREY – Congraulations on the 1 pound loss. How are the riding lessons going? Aren’t those baked chips great? Mine favorite ones are the barbarque. Sounds like you really enjoyed yourself yesterday morning during your lesson. I’ve never been on a horse in my life, except for a merry-go-round, so I’m wondering what do you mean by cantering?


:rose: Katherine

KF, a horse has four different gaits, each progressively faster: walk, trot, canter, and gallop. Each gait feels different to the rider, and requires different skills to master. I can do walk & trot so far, and am just beginning to learn about cantering.

For today:

Calories: 1400. Salmon & rice with a kiwi for dessert. Sweetie got out of the house *really* late today & is working late as a result. We had a lot of snow & he did the driveway before he left, including going to the store to buy more salt...

Exercise: 3.31 miles/55 minutes on the treadmill, followed by 5 minutes exercise bike. First 3 miles of walking in 48:20, then cool-down. I had cramping in my legs from TOM and soreness from riding, and questioned doing anything at all... but I wanted to finish my book! :laugh: I *did* finish it, and it was great.

The Library director called me at 5:30 a.m. to tell me he'd decided to close the Library today due to weather conditions. Not a good decision in my mind... in the past we have never closed unless it was truly unpassable. This morning was not that bad, and by the time I went out (1:00) everything was very clear. Anyway, I had cramps but I had to get up and call the three people on my staff who were scheduled to work today. Went back to bed until about 9, but it wasn't very restful sleep. Headache, cramps, blech. :sigh:

One thing I did in the morning was watch a beginner ice skating video I got from work. It didn't show me what I wanted to know how to practice (different kinds of stops), but it did offer help on learning to skate backward, which I would love to do... I will have to watch that part a few more times before I skate again & see if I can remember what to try.

I went out to get my fish & some bread for tomorrow, came home & did my exercise, then watched a movie, The Cooler. (Chum if you happen to read this, I am wondering if you ever watched it after we rented it?) It was a bit different than what I expected, but I liked it. Good to be watching some movies again, though I had hoped to go to the theater. Maybe next week.

Tomorrow morning I plan to get up & go to Curves, then I have an appointment to get my hair cut at 12:30. After that, lots of errands. I've got to call my parents shortly -- we are supposed to get together for dinner tomorrow night, then my Dad & I will go to a hockey game. At least, I think that's the plan. Not sure what my Mom is planning to do during the game. If she wants to go I will just head home, but I would love to see some hockey! Hoping to moderate well when we go out to eat, but I need to find out where we are going before I can make a plan. I have been doing great staying away from the snacks, so if I have a higher-calorie meal tomorrow I don't think it will do too much damage.

Lisrey :hop:

Lisrey,

Sorry you have TOM but it is nice you were able to be home part of the day, not much fun at work like that sometimes.

Hope it goes quickly and you are feeling better soon.

Hi, Crazy! Guess I wasn't too clear in my post... yesterday was my day off. I was off today, too. But I had to wake up early yesterday morning anyway to make those phone calls! :shrug:

Friday report:

Calories: 1600. Yes, I went over calories tonight, but not by too much. We went to a very nice Mediterranean restaurant (my choice). I ordered a low-fat tri-color penne pasta with chunky tomato sauce, which was listed on the menu as 410 calories. I also ordered grilled chicken breast with it (additional calories unspecified). Ate two modest slices of Italian bread as well -- that's restraint for me! :o

Exercise: 1/2 hour Curves workout this morning; 5 minutes on the exercise bike after dinner. My legs are still aching from TOM & the biking was tough, but I did it. :mus:

Ran a lot of errands today, and got my hair cut. Got Sweetie's birthday gifts taken care of -- his birthday is the 23rd. I'm very tired. Sweetie has a cold and he's snoring something awful these past few nights. Was nice to see my parents tonight. My Mom decided to go to the hockey game, so I just came home after dinner, which was fine.

Tomorrow I go back to work for a 7-day stretch. I have an appointment in the evening, so I won't get any exercise in besides the bike. Need to talk to Sweetie about dinner options. Will definitely try to stay in calories, whatever we do.

Lisrey :*

WOW...you have been doing great!

Even exercising during TOM (I know its highly recommended...but I can't do it)...maybe it stems from when I was young and my mom told me that when you get your TOM you should not be so active...seriously...hahaha...I had my TOM all week...its gone now...so no excuses...but...just pure laziness!!!

Well...looks like we have warmer weather headed our way...hoping the snow all melts away...hahaha!

Have a good weekend!

mc

Hi Lisrey. Found the new journal!

I'm just like you. I gained some pounds right at then end and now they are coming off pretty quickly. I think in another week I'll be back to normal. Then, on to the new pounds!

I believe you'll hit your goal weight this year, too. The final chapter!

I saw Monster the other night, too. I liked it quite a bit and found it very disturbing, too. Didn't the main actress win some award for that role? She was excellent.

I'm listening to Far Side of the World on Audible cd now. I've just started it. The guy who's doing the reading has an accent that's appropriate to the book, I guess, but he's annoying the heck out of me. He sounds like a pompous British ass. Have you heard this book, by chance?

Lisrey,

I'm sure this will be the year for you. And those December pounds should come off fairly quickly, if you go right at them.

Have a wonderful week.

Jo

Hi there, friends!

Mc, TOM is no excuse for not exercising. Cramps and pain may be an excuse, but in reality, the exercise will help them. And I have discovered that in my case weight loss helped them tremendously.

Kilo, yes, Charlize Theron won a best actress Oscar for that role. I haven't listened to Far side of the world, but I remember the Master & commander reader was kinda like that. I have found that I get used to most readers when the book really gets rolling. There have been a very few from all the books I've listened to that I just really couldn't take (and several of those were the authors!). Good luck!

Thanks, Jo. I hope so.

Today's breakdown

Calories: 1350. Sweetie went down to our hometown tonight to visit an old friend, so I was on my own for dinner. Made myself some fish, then dashed out for my appointment.

Exercise: 10 minutes on the exercise bike when I got back home. It wasn't nearly as hard to pedal tonight -- I think my legs are finally over the TOM crampiness.

So, I had a good first week. Did the exercise bike for at least 5 minutes each day. Ate within calories 6 of the 7 days. Had fish twice. Saw two movies! :up:

It snowed more this morning and my drive to work was very slow. I was about 15 minutes late, and I wasn't the only one. One of my peers at work is on the verge of quitting. She got the new Director's plans for her yesterday and really doesn't like them. I don't blame her. I don't think this guy is going about things the right way at all. I'm not sure his ideas are bad, but his process is not working very well. :sigh: I am going to start looking at job postings again.

Sometime tonight or tomorrow I need to take down my Christmas decorations. Don't really want to take the time tonight, but it would probably be best if I do. Cat is in my arms as I type this -- he certainly doesn't want me to get up! :laugh:

Tomorrow I will eat my funny working-Sunday schedule. If Sweetie can have dinner ready fairly soon after I get home it'll be alright. I plan to walk on my treadmill at some point -- not sure if it'll be in the morning or evening. Will depend on how early I get to bed tonight.

Lisrey :flower:

Morning Lisrey,
Just stopping in to say hi! Have a great day! Today is Sunday.....you don't have to work today do you? I have never seen a library open on Sunday!


Vickie:pass: :laugh:

Hi, Vickie! Yes, we are open 7 days a week. Most larger libraries are open Sundays -- at least during the school year.

Today's breakdown

Calories: 1340. Had a piece of leftover frozen lasagna and one slice of bread for my dinner. Knew when to stop from my FitDay planning. :up:

Exercise: 10 minutes exercise bike before my shower this morning. After work walked on my treadmill 48:15 minutes/3 miles. Started a new book on tape & felt pretty strong.

Pretty good day of work today, though this evening has been rather exhausting. Did laundry, and Sweetie & I took down the x-mas tree. Tomorrow I will do Curves after work. Sweetie wants to make sloppy joes for dinner -- I will have to do my FitDay planning again to see what will keep me within calories.

Lisrey :spring:

Hey Lisrey...

I know TOM is no excuse for not exercising...but...I am pretty sure I never will while I have my TOM...hahaha!

Good luck on the job search...

You have been doing great with your calories these past few days...keep up the good work!

They kept saying it was going to be warmer here and the snow would melt...no such luck...they keep warning us about an ice storm...coming in the next 2 days...gosh...I am so looking forward to spring!!!

Well have a good week!

mcmarto

Monday's status

Calories: 1410. Sweetie made sloppy joes for dinner. I ate just what I'd outlined on FitDay. It's easy to stick to it in January! I wish it could always feel like this! :laugh:

Exercise: I packed my Curves bag, but I forgot to take it with me this morning. After stopping at the grocery store after work, I walked on the treadmill for 32 minutes/2 miles. I cut it shorter than normal to go eat my dinner. Rode the exercise bike for 5 minutes after that. :up:

Work was pretty exhausting today. The stress level is cranking back up again. A colleague is on the verge of quitting... it's painful to watch. I ran errands during my lunch hour, and since I've been home tonight have washed and changed my sheets, and put away all of my Christmas decorations. Tired out!

Tomorrow I work the later shift, so eating should be no problem. I would like to go do Curves in the morning to make up for missing tonight's workout, but we are supposed to get some more bad weather. If it's slick on the roads I'll probably just stay home and walk some more...

Lisrey I-)

LISREY – sloppy joes! Now that’s a great idea for dinner later on this week. That’s one good thing about reading other journals here I get great ideas from everybody here.

Your doing really great with your workouts. 2 miles in 32 minutes that’s remarkable, I can’t wait until the day when I can walk that fast.

Sorry to hear that your going through such stress at work. Hopefully everything will workout for you.

What a great motivator you are. Having a back up plan incase something doesn’t work out. Realizing that because of the weather, having to make another plan is the way to go.

:rose: Katherine

Hey Bart :wave:

Well looky you! All Januaryized!!! That's great! I wish I could get into using tht Fit-day.... You know I think its a good idea for you to look for another job this one always sounds so stressful, course who am I to talk... :laugh:

You do whatch ya got to do!

Does sweetie use regular ground beef for sloppy joes, or shredded? Gosh I haven't made those in forever. Hmm I bet my Family would like them.

Anywhoos glad to see you got your groove back! :hug:

Lisrey,

A new boss is always tough in adjusting to. And even worse when the previous boss left in such difficult circumstances. Hopefully it will work out in the long run. In any case, it doesn't hurt to start looking a job postings.

Sounds like you have started off the new year in pretty good form. Keep it up. This will be the year for you, I know it will.

Jo

Way to go on sticking to your exercise plan. You sorta remind me of the mailman... not snow nor rain...blah blah blah....doesn't matter the weather, you'll find a way.

I admire that.

Hope things improve with your job... and fast!

Have a good one

Dar

Thanks, KF. :o

Hi, Max! So good to see you back. Sweetie uses ground round in his sloppy joes. They're pretty good. He makes a ton of it and then eats the leftovers on top of hot dogs for several days (I don't!).

Jo, it would be a different story if there weren't so many dirty politics behind the whole thing. I am open to changes but I need to know that things are being done for the right reasons. I talked to the new boss today and gave him some honest feedback. I hope he will take it to heart. There are several things that keep me from wanting another job -- a big one is geography. I don't want to move, and I don't want to wind up with a long commute again. We'll see. :shrug:

Hiya, Fleur! Thanks! I did find a way! :laugh:

For today

Calories: 1350. Had a Lean Cuisine for my dinner at work. Just had some baked chips & salsa for my evening snack.

Exercise: It was quite snowy this morning so I did the treadmill. I pushed myself pretty hard and went fast -- 3 miles in 47:35. Rode my 5 minutes on the exercise bike to wrap up. Proud of myself for doing the bike every day so far since starting my challenge. Even if it is only 5 minutes, I'm building stamina, and building a good habit.

My eyes hurt tonight so I'm going to sign off early. I need some sleep.

Tomorrow morning I have my riding lesson. It'll be muddy -- it's supposed to rain & be warm tomorrow, and there'll be a lot of melt. Will eat well because I'm working late. Hopefully fit the bike time in there somewhere...? I will be back in the morning with my weigh-in!

Lisrey I-)

141.6. This is 1.8 pounds down from last week's weigh-in. :up:

I am sure TOM helped me, but I also did the right things this week. Stuck to my calories, with no snacking. Exercised well, including my 5-minutes of biking each day. Now I just need to get my movie/music/book goal in somehow before Friday's out...

I think I've pretty much lost the holiday pounds. It'll get slower and harder now.

Off to my riding lesson! It's raining pretty hard and there's a ton of melting going on. Things are going to be muddy at the ring.

Lisrey :)

Not a good day for riding. Not a good day to do much of anything. It's pouring buckets!

Way to go! Another 1.8 down!

Keep it up!

Dar

:dc yahooo on that Holiday Weight gone.

See I am getting excited seeing my fellow DTers getting there groove back and getting this weight off.... PAT PAT on the back for doing your bike, and the TREAD....

Sorry the weather is so crappy. We just got over our two weeks stright of pouring rain. Lord I would have a hard time living in the cold... Brrrrrr.. Although I love it at night. but then it makes it hard to get up... Ah never mind im never Happy :(

Anywhoos.... I'm proud of you for getting your weight loss mojo back!

LISREY – That’s one good thing about the beginning of the year, meals like Lean Cusine are on sale. My mom stocked up on a few the other day when she went to the store and has been eating one everyday for lunch. I loved baked chips, it’s just to bad that their not on sale more often.

I’m so proud of you for doing so well with your challenge. I’ve thought about signing up for the president challenge. Someone here told me about it during a chat.

Good luck with your weigh in today.

:rose: Katherine

Lisrey, I know what you mean about a commute. I had a one hour drive (one way) for 14 years. I basically loved the job and the people, but the drive sure added to my stress. It also added to my waist, since I tended to grab a "snack" to help me mange the trip home.

I hated work politics. I knew how to play the game, but tended to try and keep a low profile and hide out in my office which was in the basement of the building. One of the things I love about my current job situation is that I go into the office once a week for two or three hours, and then am away from the mess. I'm sure there is some politics, but I'm out of the loop. I do my work, drop it off and say hi, and then head for home. I didn't have to get involved in the "layoff" of the other new paralegal, even though it was clear after a few months that she was not able to make the transition from a hospital setting to a law office setting. It was sad, and I know she felt bad, but I didn't have to be a part of it.

Sounds like you have started off the new year with a bang.

Jo

Congrats on the loss...soon you will be in the 130's...woohoo!!!...

I am down 11 and feeling fantastic...my DH really noticed today too!!!...

Well have a good rest of the week!

mcmarto

Hello & thanks for the visits my buddies! I am gonna write quick & go to bed.

Wednesday's details

Calories: 1310. Another Lean Cuisine tonight (I only eat them when I work the later shift), and then some light micro popcorn for my snack just now.

Exercise: 1/2 hour riding lesson this morning; 5 minutes exercise bike when I got home from work at 9:45.

Riding this morning was great! I seemed to have had something "click" again & my instructor was really happy with me. I got to canter a little bit all by myself! No lunge line! And she said that I did really well with the downward transitions from canter to trot & trot to walk. I am thrilled about this! :D

Felt better about the work situation today. Hard to say what is going to happen next around this place, but at least it is never boring.

Tomorrow I plan to go ice skating during my lunch hour, and do Curves after work. I will do my 5 minutes on the bike when I get home. Not sure what we'll be doing for dinner. Sweetie is here so I guess I need to ask him.

Lisrey :cat:

W
O
W

Can't wait to hear how that ice skating went...that is a good way to burn a lot of calories!!!

mc

Hi, Mc! Actually, I didn't get to go skating. I was disappointed to find this morning that I didn't have anything to make a lunch with. That meant I had to go out for lunch, and doing that wouldn't leave me time to skate. I did do my other exercise, but the skating would have been the most fun. :sigh:

Today's info

Calories: 1500. Went out for a healthy pita for lunch; had the same sloppy joe meal (leftovers) as Monday night to stay within my calorie range.

Exercise: 1/2 hour Curves workout, followed by 5 minutes exercise bike at home. :up:

Got quite a bit done at work; felt good. Day 6 of my 7-day workweek... One more day and I will have a 3-day weekend. The new director is actually starting to DO some things. The first 2-1/2 months he's just been sitting in his office studying stuff... It is good to see some action at last, and it's giving me more confidence.

A former staff member stopped in today for the first time in almost 2 years. When she left, she weighed well over 500 pounds. She could barely walk, and had so many health problems she was fired for poor attendance. Anyway, she had gastric bypass surgery after being let go, and has lost over 225 pounds. She looks amazing. I am so happy for her. She is still big, but she stands at least 3-4" taller without the excess weight. It is great to see someone get such life-changing results. I hope I will see her again. :)

Not sure what will be happening tomorrow. I need to do my movie/book/music thing. I told Sweetie I'd like to watch a movie (at home) tomorrow night. I might go light on exercise to allow more time for that before he would be falling asleep (he's snoring now!). I will either do the treadmill then 5 minutes bike, or else just do a longer (20 minute?) session on the bike. Food? I got some nice deli turkey so I'll be able to have a healthy lunch. Not sure what dinner will be -- I may offer to make a chicken dish that could cook while I ride the bike. Will check in and report then!

Lisrey :D

You know.... No matter where you work there are Hills and valleys ay? There's always something or someone I reckon. Your a tough cookie, so I'm sure things will even out at work. That's nice that your getting a 3 day weekend coming up.

Gosh I bet your fellow co-worker feels so much better. Its like being released from your own body prison.

Look at you sticking to your calories.. I bet you'll see a GOOD loss next week.

Thanks for checking in on me.... :hug:

LISREY – way to go on your workout at curves that’s wonderful. One of my former co-workers had that same weight loss surgery. Before having the surgery she weighed 300 pounds, and I think she’s down to like 170 now.

:rose: Katherine

Max, you're so right about the work thing. I am going to stick this out for awhile longer yet, I guess. I think I will at least wait & see if they give us our annual raises in June. If no raise, I will probably start looking more seriously. I am going to keep looking casually, though! :laugh: I don't know if I'll see any loss this week, but I know I will for the month. Any progress is good! :D

KF: Thanks. Curves is something I will do...

For today

Calories: 1310. One of Sweetie's best friends got fired this week, so he went to try to cheer him up tonight. I made myself salmon & rice. Yum. I've been sticking to the calories really well. No snacking! It's amazing to me how easy this is in January. Why the heck is that?? One thing that has been helping is that everything we've had I've been able to measure accurately. I know that won't last. There are a lot of things (restaurant food, for example) that FitDay isn't very clear about or I don't know how to estimate very well.

Exercise: 5 minutes exercise bike. I had the best intentions of doing 15-20 minutes, but my legs felt like lead and just wouldn't go! I decided my body must be telling me I need a rest day, so I did what I needed to do for the challenge and that was it. I had very fitful sleep last night and am exhausted today; I'd be willing to bet that had something to do with it, too.

When I finish here I'm going to watch a movie so I can cross that off my list for the week. I wish this wasn't so hard! I *love* these things!! It's all a matter of time and the way I've slanted my priorities toward weight loss efforts...

Day 7 is over! A 3-day weekend is here! Tomorrow I plan to go do Curves in the morning, and I'll probably ride the bike when I get home. I want to go try to exchange the riding helmet I got for Christmas in the afternoon, and perhaps I will try to go catch another movie? No idea what our meal plan will be, but I will do my best to stick to my calorie range no matter what.

Lisrey :coach:

LISREY – I had salmon last night for dinner with a honey Dijon sauce on top. It was really good. Way to go on sticking to your calories this month, that’s just wonderful. Good for you for listening to your body today. Never force yourself to do more then your body can handle. A day of rest I’m sure that’s just what your body needed.

:balloons: Katherine

Hey Lisrey!

You are eating so well...I am impressed...you are super motivated!

Today I am bored...have been bored all day...I enjoy lounging...but...for whatever reason I have had food on my mind...trying to fight it!

Well...hope you have a nice weekend!

mc

Thanks for visiting, KF & Mc. I feel really good about my calories & my exercise so far this month. :D

Saturday status

Calories: 1650? Hard to guess today. Sweetie & I went out for a mid-day meal about 3:00. We went to a very authentic new Mexican restaurant that prepares meals in the Jalisco style. They specialize in tacos but do not use cheese on them. They are small, in fine, hand-made corn tortillas that are doubled-up for each taco. The waitress told me that 4 tacos are the perfect amount to fill you up, so that's what I had. Two were differently seasoned pork, one was chicken & one was beef. It was very unique & tasty, although not what I was expecting! Also had chips & some very good fresh salsa -- and Sweetie ordered two appetizers which we split. I did not like the gorditas (he liked that best); I preferred the taquitos, which of course were fried and probably the worst thing I ate, calorie-wise. I did not eat a regular lunch & am only planning to eat a piece of fruit this evening for a snack.

Exercise: 1/2 hour Curves workout this morning. I put a lot of energy into it & got a good sweat going. When I got home I thought since I was all energized it'd be a great time to do the bike, but my legs felt like lead when I started to pedal. I had to turn down the resistance in order to do my 5 minutes! :o

Weight: Was down to 140.4 this morning! :dn

I drove up to the saddlery to exchange my helmet in the later afternoon. I ended up getting a cheaper one than the one my Mom had picked out (it just fit the shape of my head better), so I was also able to buy some gloves. It's hard to feel the reins with my regular gloves on because they're too thick. These are made for riding. They have a light fleece lining and have little gripping dots on the palms; I think they'll be great. It was fun to look around at the saddlery -- I was not sure what a lot of that stuff was for, but it was interesting! Maybe later I will have to go back there and get some fun clothes or some riding boots.

Tomorrow I will probably walk on the treadmill & do the bike for my exercise. Sweetie said he is planning to cook something... that could mean just about anything. Need to squeeze some more details out of him! I have been suggesting that he experiment with our new, never-been-used-before indoor grill, or that he try making something in our used-once-or-twice wok, but I can't even guess what he'll want. Stay tuned!

Lisrey :laugh:

Sunday

Calories: 1150 right now. Will eat something else to make at least 1200 for the day. Sweetie wanted to eat at 3:00 again. Don't know what's into him... He made spaghetti & it was delicious. I got pretty hungry beforehand but ate an apple and was okay. I measured my dinner and made sure of what I could eat with FitDay ahead of time. So far, so good.

Exercise: 3 miles walking on the treadmill around noon. I did it with more intervals today. Usually I start at 3.5 mph and gradually work up to 4, then go back down. The intervals made it interesting and I wound up doing it a little quicker -- 47:19 today. When I was done I rode the bike for 5 minutes. Tough! My legs don't seem to want to ride after other exercise! :laugh:

Figured out what my all-in-one printer needed & am printing tons of digital pics tonight. We put our living room furniture back in its pre-holiday arrangement, I did laundry & grocery shopping. It's bitterly cold here these days, so I didn't want to be out much. Hard to believe today is nearly over... I am glad I have tomorrow off! :D

Planning to go to Curves for tomorrow's exercise. Have a few little errands I want to run, and would love to go see a good matinee. I offered to make dinner for Sweetie, and will make a reasonably-healthy chicken recipe. I'm feeling strong & I'm going to hold onto this as long as I can!

Lisrey :mus:

LISREY – I’ve never heard of Jalisco style that sounds really interesting. Way to go on the curves workout yesterday morning. That’s so great. Your bike rides are going great too. I’m so proud of how well your doing.
Well I guess I’ll have to read your next journal entry to see if he used the indoor grill or not. I’m going to stay tuned.

~ Katherine

You are doing great Lisrey, keep it up!!! This is going to be a great year for you!!!

Woohoo...you go girl!

Keep up the great work...I am so happy I have tomorrow off too...I am going to begin my walking plan (30 mins every a.m. before work)...and...I am going to plan out some meals...get to the grocery store and buy some good stuff!!!

Have a nice day off...and a great week!

mcmarto

Yeah on 140... Whoooo Hoooo :dc

I'm so proud of you.... Your making me want to stay on plan.... Good Job chicky!

I wouldn't worry about your little tacos. If they werent fried and just the little Corn Tortillas. They have hardly any cal. or fat.

LISREY – yum spaghetti! Any leftovers? That’s so great that your keeping track of what you eat and measuring out your food. I really enjoy using fitday to help me keep on track.

Way to go on the 3 mile walk yesterday. Changing your routine from time to time helps to keep a person from getting bored. I think when I start riding the bike, again, I might see if they have a program where I can do intervals.

:balloons: Katherine

Hi, Buddies! Thanks for the visits!

Mc -- Great idea to get walking!! Sounds like just what you need. :up:

Max -- Thanks! I am excited to get back down to the numbers my stats say. And BELOW! :dc

Report for Monday

Calories: 1500 or thereabouts. At Sweetie's request, I experimented tonight and made a chicken and rice casserole. Was hard to know how to put it into FitDay since there were so many ingredients. He really liked the dish, so I'll probably be making it again. It was pretty good -- I'd like to experiment with some more new recipes, but he gets nervous when I do that! :laugh:

Exericse: Curves workout around noon. Before dinner I rode the exercise bike for 5 minutes. My legs had a bit more energy... guess waiting awhile is a good idea. I also played 2 songs on my piano after riding the bike. I may try to play a little after riding -- I love playing the piano & hopefully this will help me get more playing time back into my life!

Got a lot of stuff done today but didn't really do anything exciting. It is SO cold outside I just didn't want to go anywhere I didn't have to go. :laugh: I got the invitation for my sister's wedding the other day. It says that the attire is "Island formal." Anybody have a definition for that?? It also says to keep in mind that dinner will be served on the beach. The wedding is at 4:30. Help! What to wear?!?

Tomorrow morning I will walk on the treadmill before work. Eating should be good since I work the later shift. Will ride the bike when I get home.

Lisrey :flower:

I tried to find info on "island formal"--nada. Best info so far is "try not to outdress the bride, the groom, or the bride's mother."

Best advice--ask your sister what in Sam Hill she meant by that, and what she'd like to see her guests in (since it is her own special day.) I actually found a really cool dress for a wedding in San Diego, similar situation (not on the beach, though the hotel in Coronado was near the beach.) --it was a sleeveless silk long Tommy Bahama floral print dress, with high heeled open toed sandals (I'd opt for flat sandals, easy to remove, on the sand)-- I'd imagine that "island" means the standard rules of "formal" don't apply...she may want things dressy, but not stuffy... I dunno, though...check with the bride :)

Way to go on the stcktuitiveness and the weigh ins :up:

Lisrey, maybe the idea of playing the piano after going on the bike will be a great motivator for you!!! LOL

Hi., just popping in to say to also how great your doing. keep it up girl. that is great. oh once in awhile we have to enjoy and eat out. but hey we always get back with it. that is what is important. i use to use that site so got to get back with it. i reached goal end of month. so a good thing. now maintaining for awhile and being happy with it. then may lose more and move down more. but will leave it be for awhile and see how things are going. just so happy to finally be where i like me. been walking some love that. hey have a good day. LaDean :)

Uh Yeah what Jessica said! You now you are quite the creative person.. Making new meals, riding horse, Ice skating, playing piano..... Sheez.... I feel like a frump.. I need to get out more... After I get a job that is....


Your calories are lookin so good. GOSH... I"M SO PROUD OF YA :c(

Thanks, Jessica! It makes me feel better just to know I'm not the only one who has no idea what that means. :) My other sister said she thinks a sundress is the way to go, but I don't do sleeveless well. Also, I like your idea about the flat sandals, but as I am very short I am not sure that's the best idea for me either...? I will keep you posted on what I wind up with! :laugh:

Thanks, Crazy! Yeah, I think the piano might help motivate me with the bike and vice versa. We'll see. Tonight after work I was very short on time, so I didn't play, but I think it will come together most other days.

Hi, LaDean, thanks for stopping by! I'm so happy for you reaching your goal. How exciting! And wonderful for keeping up the walking. :up:

Max, thanks so much! I have tried hard to be more creative on the exercise front, because I spent so much of my life hating exercise... I'm afraid someday I'm gonna wake up out of this dream and hate it again!

For today

Calories: 1340 -- had a Lean Cuisine at work tonight, and just had some light micro popcorn for my evening snack. :up: Weigh-in is tomorrow. My weight was up a bit this morning from the previous days; guess my chicken dinner estimation must not have been too accurate yesterday?

Exercise: 46:45 minutes/3 miles on the treadmill this morning -- that's my fastest time ever! 5 minutes on the bike after work this evening.

Work flew by today. I hosted our book discussion meeting tonight, which is always very gratifying. Makes me remember what I truly love about my profession.

My passport arrived today! It's only been about 3 weeks since I applied! Was shocked and very happy. I am starting to look forward more to this trip; hopefully after I figure out what to wear I'll relax more about it, too.

Tomorrow morning I am supposed to have a riding lesson, but there was a message on the machine from the equestrian center tonight. I don't know if they will call me to cancel in the morning or what... it might be nothing. If I don't for whatever reason have a lesson, I'll probably go to Curves instead. I work the later shift, so I'll do okay with eating again, and ride the bike when I get home from work.

Lisrey :*

142. Huh??? I gotta think it's from the salt from my popcorn last night. I was down in the 140.4-140.8 range for several days there... Hmmm...

It is snowing like crazy & I have been awake since Sweetie's alarm went off at 5 a.m. Don't really feel like driving the rural roads to my riding lesson, but I will venture out and see how it is.

Not the most auspicious start to today.

Lisrey :shrug:

Stopping in to say hi....sounds like you are keeping quite busy these days.
I need to be getting back into the fitday routine. I am keeping a food journal for two weeks but not really collecting calories, etc. I just want to get a picture of what exactly I eat and why! After this two weeks, I will probably start collecting calorie, fat, carb, data etc. I think it will help.
Your weather doesn't sound much different than ours....spring is coming though...can't wait!

Stay warm and dry!!!!


Vickie:pass:

The salt will always get ya!

I am sick...so sick...I feel terrible...I am off to zzzzzz...mc

Hi, Vickie & Mc! Thanks for the posts! It is so good to have buddies. :ghug:

The rest of Wednesday

Calories: 1500. I had a LC pizza for my dinner at work. Somebody had left a bowl of micro popcorn on the table and I ate some of that. When I got home I had a very modest and measured portion of cheese and crackers for my evening snack.

Exercise: 1/2 hour horseback riding lesson this morning (more on that in a moment). 5 minutes exercise bike after work despite very sore inner thighs from the riding! :laugh:

My riding lesson this morning was great! I am so happy I went! The snowy drive up there and back really stunk, but it was worth it. One of my problems to this point has been that when I try to concentrate on what I'm supposed to do with one part of my body, I forget about all the other parts. My instructor said at the end that "things are starting to come together!" Suddenly, it is all starting to be one big piece, rather than lots of little pieces. I am delighted! I also got to do a little more cantering today, which is exciting. The horse twists and shakes her head and neck a lot when she starts to canter, which is, I figured out, what seems so scary.

I wasn't sure when I started taking lessons if I was ever going to feel like I belonged there... Today, I started to feel glimmerings of getting there. I will probably have to take 10 years' worth of lessons, but maybe I *can* do this! :laugh:

Work today was rather frenzied, as someone on my staff called in sick. I was on the public desk most of the time. I have some "issues" with my new boss. I think his communication style is very poor, and I can't get him to realize that it isn't working. :sigh:

I have the next two days off. The big thing on my agenda for tomorrow is to get an eye exam. Last year I finally found an eye doctor who specializes in the kind of issues that I have... Very happy that I was able to make another appointment with her. I would like to either walk on the treadmill or do Curves in the morning, but eye appointment is at noon, so it will depend on when I get up. Had very minimal sleep this morning, so would really love to sleep in. Sweetie and I may go out for dinner to celebrate his birthday, may have leftovers, OR I may cook something. We'll have to see what happens!

Lisrey :D

LISREY - those LC pizza's are pretty good. My mom had the french bread pizza the other night, but it was to peppery for her. I love popcorn. I ordered an airpopper last night and I can't wait until it gets here.

Sounds like ur horse riding lessons are going great. How long have you been taking lessons? I think if your enjoying the activies that your doing, then thats what counts. And it sure seems like your having a great time with ur lessons.

:rose: Katherine

It is so wonderful reading about your progress with your riding lessons, Lisrey. It sounds as though you are finally reaching a sort of comfort zone where it feels more natural? It must be great to be more at one with the horse, huh? I love horses, but have always been a bit frightened of them, as you know. So, I follow your adventures with great interest.

What was the book you all discussed at your group? I am just now finishing On the Farm by Updike and only think it is so-so. Definitely not one to recommend.

Were you always into popcorn? This seems new for you. I should try it again. I've not liked it much without all the butter on it but perhaps the new microwave ones are better. You are pretty picky about good tasting snacks, so...

YAY! You got your passport!!! Woohoo!!! Now you can work the next ten years on filling it up! When do you leave again?

It's great to read you again, Lisrey. Thanks for being such a great friend.

Heya Lady :wave:

Gosh, just think, you could like save up to buy your very own Horsey? How Kool would that be?

Are you still eating your usual sandwich for lunch? Just curious...

Maybe you could get a sundress that has a little shawl type thingy to go over your shoulders... for the wedding? Maybe Mom could go shopping with you. What is she wearing?

Have you ever had a clementine? MMM there good tiny and no seeds...

P.S. Gee wilikers my reply to you ws all over the place... SAWRY! :(

Where is your sister getting married?

Down here Island Formal would be a sundress and sandals for women and an opened necked shirt with a light weight sport coat. If it is not that formal then something in cotton or linen skirt and blouse and sandals (it is hard to move in the sand with higher heels) and slacks and nice short sleeve sport shirt. Not plaid or flowers. We have gone to several beach weddings and parties. Don't know if I helped or not.

How many years did you take piano lessons? I used to ride horses and we have 7 in our pasture and not one is broken to ride. They are all pretty young and the ones that are older are more brood mare types and have some bad habits. I never road English, just western and some bare back.

Carol

Hiya Lisrey,

Your lessons sound like so much fun. Maybe one day I'll try it too. (have to lose a bit of weight first so I don't hurt the horse)

I don't know how far away Warren is from you, but I heard they are supose to vote (by tomorrow) if they will be doing the community project which includes a new gym and a new library to be built. The building wouldn't be ready for some time, but if things get to hairy where you are, perhaps this could be an option for the future.
Just thought I'd pass that along.

Have a great night and a better Friday

Dar

How exciting that you are doing so well with the riding!!!

I have only ridden a horse one time...and in Texas too...I was terrified...so I must give you a high five for being able to stick with it!

Well happy b-day to your sweetie...I don't remember...was he trying to be on plan this year with you???

It is snowy and cold here...dark too...I am so sick...but...still manage to make it to work...TGIF...well...have a good weekend!

mcmarto

OMG, a veritable flood of visitors! How exciting! :o

KF, I took my first riding lesson last April, but I didn't have a very consistent schedule with them until the summer. I do enjoy all the activities I do -- if I didn't like them, I would never stick with them.

Chum, thanks for what you said about my lessons -- I couldn't put it into words, and you did it for me. It feels more natural. That's exactly what it is. It's not the same struggle it was to concentrate on all the elements of my form anymore. Still work, but not quite as impossible! :laugh: The book was "Confederates in the attic," about how the US is still obsessed with the Civil War. Funny thing about our discussion, not a single person there had finished the book. But we had a wonderful time talking about it anyway. Popcorn -- oh YES -- I LOVE popcorn. No butter, lots of salt. Problem is, it's one of those foods I can eat like a vacuum cleaner. I just don't stop until I'm hitting my knuckles on the bottom of the bowl. So I've learned it's better to avoid it. When I do eat it anymore I eat this micro stuff that's lo-cal and only very good when it's piping hot. Better than nothing.

Hiya, Max! I am not sure how I would feel about owning a horse. Big responsibility. I think I would feel major guilt if I did not visit it every single day. Yes, I eat variations on my usual sandwich. :o Yes, good idea about Mom.... read further in my post for more... I've had clementines, but I've never bought any myseslf. Citrus is all really yummy right now! I'm doing lots of navel oranges, and I found my first honey tangerines of the season today. Mmmmm!

Welcome, Carol. Nice to have you visit. My sister is getting married on Virgin Gorda, in the British Virgin Islands, in the beginning of March. Thanks for your definition of Island formal. I can use all the help I can get! I started piano lessons when I was 5. Took them until early high school, but didn't actually get very good until I quit lessons and just started playing for myself. I studied clarinet and flute with private lessons though high school, and for some reason took those much more seriously. The piano is something that is more for ME, I guess. I never aspired to play it in front of people, but it gives me great joy to sit down and play for fun. So cool that you have horses. I decided to do English riding because I heard good things about the instructor I have, and I also heard it's easier to pick up Western after learning English than vice versa. Not sure which I would like more because I only know one way so far. Going to give this a good try!

Hi, Fleur! Yes, my lessons are a lot of fun, but also a lot of work, and expensive, and sometimes frustrating. It is so affirming to have a good lesson and feel that I am actually making progress, not wasting my money, and enjoying myself! I heard about Warren. It's actually quite far from me. My biggest obstacle to finding another job really is geography. I don't want to move, and I don't want to go back to a long commute. I'm probably too picky, but I think if I can be patient something is bound to come up that suits my criteria. I do not want to take a temporary job. If I go to work somewhere, I will stay and be loyal to that library for a long time. That's just me.

Hi Mc! I hope you feel better soon. No fun to be sick. My Sweetie suggested he would work on the weight machine with me, but so far, nothing. I am not prodding him. Just gonna let him be, I guess. He has not been bugging me about my food choices or about all my measuring and weighing of my food, so as long as he leaves me alone and lets me do what I want, I guess I will respect his choices, too. I just wish he would consider his health! 8-|

Finally, Thursday

Calories: 1420. I made myself some leftover spaghetti for dinner, with whole wheat noodles. They just aren't the same, but I will eat them when I eat on my own. Sweetie is working late tonight.

Exercise: 1/2 hour Curves workout this morning; 5 minutes exercise bike before dinner.

I went to the eye doctor at noon. I love the doctor I have now. Although I have seen many eye doctors throughout my life, she is the first one who actually understands how I see. I have a very weird set of issues with my vision. No one problem is so terrible that I can't see, but they all compound to make my case quite unique. Anyway, she recommends that I still just use my glasses for reading if I'm comfortable without them the rest of the time... and my prescription has only changed a little. I hated the frames I got last year, so I'm going to get something completely new that I hope I'll be happier with. We'll see.

I went to Trader Joe's after that to get some cereal. I had my afternoon ahead of me, so on a whim I decided to go into a clothing store in that shopping plaza that I'd never visited before. It turned out to be an upscale consignment shop... and I found a possible dress for the wedding! I couldn't believe it was in my size (8 petite), a fabulous color for me (fuschia), is floor length & lightweight crepe, and only $34. The only problem was I went wearing jeans, and I obviously needed some kind of slip or other "help" from undergarments to wear this dress. The top looked great, but my bottom half looked all lumpy. I asked them to hold the dress until tomorrow. I invited my Mom to come up and take a look at it with me. She's going to call me in the morning and let me know whether she will come (she was talking about car issues?). I hope she will come and give me an honest second opinion. After reading Carol's post, I wonder if floor length will be too dressy? But my Mom is wearing a floor-length dress with a sequined bodice, so...?

Ohmigoodness, this is a L-O-O-O-NG post! Better get on to tomorrow. Exercise will depend on what my Mom does. If she comes up here, I will walk on the treadmill in the afternoon. If not, then probably treadmill in the morning, but possibly ice skating instead. We have a lot of leftovers right now, so I'll bet dinner will be more spaghetti. No complaints from me on that, as long as I can measure and stay within my calorie allotment.

Lisrey :cat:

I finished the President's Challenge today! I earned the gold award. I started logging my exercise on 12/31/03, and finished today. Whew! I am proud of myself, but kinda glad to be done.

I did like the President's Challenge's exercise log better than the one at FitDay, but I was using both. I did not want to buy any of the awards, so it was just a personal goal to finish. Yay, me!

:dn :dc

Lisrey :mus:

Good For you! :ribbon:

I'm sure you will find the perfect dress. I too Love Love Spaghetti. And you'll see that if you keep eating the wheat noodles, you will get use to them and then when you go back to white its not as good, plus it keeps you fuller longer. The spiral pasta in wheat is thicker and more hearty if your looking for that.

Have a wonderful weekend. Oh I don't think You'll ever hate excercise again.... CHUH I mean seriously 8-| Are you kiddin! :laugh:

Congrats on finishing the challenge...I forgot all about it...hahaha!

Well the dress sounds lovely...hopefully it will workout...I say wear what you want...ok...not jeans and a t-shirt...hahaha!

My DH said he would cut out certain things too...I mean he eats out way to much...usually breakfast and lunch...unless he packs his own lunches...he only likes to do that every other week...most of the time he is on the road so he does not have access to a fridge/microwave...he just fills his cooler with snacks and drinks...but tends to stop for fast food...lately he has told me that he is skipping the fries...or trying to have wraps...etc...???...He keeps commenting on my weightloss...sometimes I think he is afraid of me getting back to my original weight!...pfft!...It must be cause I am such a hot babe! :laugh:

Have a nice weekend!

mc

congrats about the challenge! The dress sounds great; if floor length proves problematic, can you have it altered to just above the ankle? I think that length is a really flattering length, and you wouldn't have to worry about sand issues. However, I understand if the line might be best left as-is... sounds excellent...I love when things fall into place :)

Hi, Max! Yeah, I ate the spaghetti again tonight. I had actually had ww noodles before and not minded them a bit, but last night for some reason...? I think maybe they weren't cooked enough. Tonight I ate them again and they were just fine. :)

Mc, my Sweetie takes a cooler full of Pepsi everywhere. He keeps a bag of Doritos in his car at all times, too. But most of the time he goes without eating for most of the day, and then pigs out at night, about half the time on fast food. Scary to me. Sure wish they would think about their health more.

Hey, Jess, the dress is kinda flow-y right at my ankle. I think it'll be fine on the sand. Yep, I bought it! It looked much better with a little better support underneath and a slip. My Mom liked it a lot. And wanna know the best part? It turned out to be 50% off! $18.01 with tax! I thought I was going to faint! :rofl: I need to take it to the cleaners... someone had tacked a bit of the seam on the lining in a strange way. I took the tacking out so it would lay more flat, but that left it looking kinda funny. It needs to be pressed.

For today

Calories: 1500. Took my Mom to Quizno's for lunch since she was in a hurry to get back home. More spaghetti for dinner... SOOOOO good!

Exercise: 3 miles treadmill walking in (again!) my fastest time yet: 46:21. Did my 5 minutes on the bike a bit later, followed by some piano playing. I played 4 times this week after riding -- that's working out great!

We're supposed to get a winter storm tonight and tomorrow. I'm hoping my drive to work tomorrow isn't too horrible... Not looking forward to it. Starting a 7-day workweek again. 8-| After work I have an appointment, so I don't see any exercise happening besides the bike. Sweetie suggests more spaghetti tomorrow. 3 days in a row might be enough, but I'm gonna guess it'll be gone after that!

Lisrey :o

Look forward to seeing the pictures, Lisrey all tanned, on the beach, flowing dress!!!

Very nice.

WOW...congrats on finding that dress and such a great deal!...

Like Nancy...I can't wait to see the pic's of you in the dress!!!...

My cold is just a little better...

We have tons of snow too...ack...I am glad I do not have to really leave my house until Monday a.m....by then I hope the sidestreets will be cleaned up...our main streets look fine...but its still snowing now...they say it should end by Sunay a.m....ack!...

Well have a good week at work!...

OH...just wanted to ask you if you are still enjoying Curves and feel like its helping you strenghten and tone?...A friend of mine was interested in joining...I was only member for a year...and really only went on an off...I know you are more consistent...I have recently read some articles about gyms like Curves (for both men and women)...they basically say they are good for beginners...a good stepping stone...but in the long run...they do not provide a lot of variety for your different muscle groups, its more muscle endurance training then strength training...and if you want to tone up more...etc...a traditional gym is recommended...they also said...any exercise is better then none!- :D

Talk later!

Hope your drive was ok!

mcmarto

Hi, Crazy! Yes! I am looking forward to those pictures, myself! Probably won't be there long enough to get much of a tan, though! :laugh:

Mc, I think that's probably true about Curves. I'll have been going there 2 years Monday. I like it because it's something I *know* I will do, but I'm starting to feel more than a little bored, and I don't know that I'm making that much more improvement at this point. I definitely got a lot of improvement out of it in the beginning; I saw much more definition in my arms, shoulders, etc., and the shin splints that I used to get when I walked fast disappeared. Now, though, it's flattened out. I'm maintaining my muscles, but I'm not sure I'm making any more forward progress... If you could find an exercise buddy to go with, and get yourself there consistently, I'd highly recommend it for you!

Snowy Saturday

Calories: 1410. Sweetie brought me home bbq ribs and a baked potato tonight for his "birthday dinner." I split the ribs with him, weighed what I ate, and FitDay numbers came out great. :D

Exercise: 5 minutes on the exercise bike. No real time for anything else today.

The snow today was something else. Really deep and was still coming down hard until about noon. When I drove to work at 8:15 nothing was plowed and my poor little car had trouble getting through in some spots. Luckily, not a whole lot of cars were out on the roads, and so even though you couldn't see the road, it was fairly safe... The Director talked about the possibility of us closing early today, but later on we actually got a bit of business, and stayed open. Many of our neighboring libraries (including all of Detroit Public Library's branches) were closed.

I had an appointment tonight after work, afterwhich I stopped at the grocery store and bought a cake mix to make my Sweetie a birthday cake. I am a good baker and I make some amazing things when I bake, but it's rare that I do it. I asked Sweetie what he'd like me to make him for his birthday: cheesecake, red velvet cake, ???.... and he said a cake mix from a box! His Mom used to make him these & I guess it's the nostalgia factor working! Anyway, I made one for him Thursday afternoon, but apparently my oil had gone bad, and the cake smelled horrible. I hardly ever use regular vegetable oil anymore! So... slogged through the snowdrifts tonight to buy ANOTHER silly cake mix, and when I got home I baked it. Gotta go do the frosting when I finish here so my guy can have his birthday cake. :o His birthday is actually tomorrow, but he's gonna only be interested in football then!

Work tomorrow... hopefully the roads will be better. I will eat my usual strange Sunday schedule of mini-meals. Not sure what our dinner will be, but I'm sure I'll be hungry for it! Maybe the remains of the spaghetti this time? I will walk on the treadmill at some point, either before work or after, depending on how early I get myself up...

Lisrey :beam:

How sweet of you to bake him a cake!

I kind of like those box cakes...you can add stuff to the mix and make them really good...

But...I have not had any cake since well...my birthday!...Just a month...but it seems like 3 or 4 months...hahaha!...

I thought Curves was good when I first started going...but then realized it was not enough...I will not be rejoining anytime soon...I still have my Bally's membership...I only pay $99 for the year...so...I pay it every year...I figure if I just go from March-Aug its worth it...I just found out my friend at school has a membership too...we are considering going to the one near our school 2x a week...we will take turns driving over after work (tough area to park)...then drop the other one back off at school to pick up our car afterwards...hopefully in February we will get into it!...The gym is literally only about 5 mins from our school...eeek!...

I hope to start that morning walking too...actually I am hoping to walk tomorrow since I am breathing/feeling better!...

It finally stopped snowing here...my DH went out and got one of our cars out...he complained that our landlords shovel was too small...but he did shovel the front steps and walk for me...and...shovelled two walkways out onto the street...we may have to mark the parking space he shovelled out...but we are expecting a bit of a warm up on Mon-Tues...so...I hope lots of the snow on the street melts away!...

Well have a great Sunday!...

mcmarto

Hi Lisrey,
Surfing thru a few journals tonight. Sorry about the snow there. We got some snow but not much.....but boy has it been cold!!!!! I hate cold!
Glad you are still enjoying Curves. I went to Curves from January to May but when I got sick in May and ended up spending more time in the hospital than at home, I stopped going. I talked to the manager about putting my membership "on hold" while I recuperated and she was more than rude. So I just stopped going. They still debited my bank account every month, knowing that my doctor would not sign a release for me to resume exercising there yet. I will never sign another contract like that. And I will never go back to this CURVES!

I hope tomorrow is a better, warmer day for you. Happy Monday!


Vickie:pass:

Hi, Mc! Your Bally's membership only does you good if you USE it. Get thee to the gym! :laugh:

Hi, Vickie! I am sorry you had a bad experience with your Curves' manager. Is your contract up now, and money no longer being taken out? If it was still being taken out, I would go there every day to get my money's worth while I could! Curves is good because you can be as gentle on yourself as you need to be, and still build strength. It would probably be really great for you right now, but I understand your frustrations. When you have a really bad service experience somewhere, it can just ruin that business for you forever, no matter how much you liked it beforehand.

Strange Sunday

Calories: 1390. Sweetie is out with the guys tonight watching football for his birthday. I made myself salmon & a new flavor of boxed rice that I thought was delicious, but had a lot more sodium than I realized when I bought it. We'll see if I buy that flavor again...

Exercise: 5 minutes exercise bike this morning before my shower; 3 miles/45:30 (!!!!) walking on the treadmill tonight.

Very weird day today. Yesterday driving was very slow, drifts were deep and pretty much everywhere. The end of my driveway is a huge drift from the snowplow going by. The end of my street is a huge drift. Anywhere you need to go around a corner is a huge drift. (You get the drift! :rofl: ) Today, things were plowed a bit better, and more traveled, but certain areas were still problematic.

ANYWAY, this morning I get partway down the road on the way to work, get up to about 35 mph and my car starts vibrating and pulsing like crazy. I wonder if I have a flat tire? I pull onto a sidestreet, get out and inspect the car. No flat, but tires are all full of snow and ice. I kick huge clods of frozen muck out. I get back in the car. I call my husband and ask for advice. He says it could be a lot of things. I drive on. I get on a busier road where I can go a little faster. The shaking gets worse. I pull off into a parking lot and call him again. He suggests I check my lug nuts and make sure none of my wheels are loose. I do this -- they are fine. It's about 15 degrees out. I had to open the trunk to get out the lug wrench, and I have the same problem I had a couple of months ago when it was really cold -- my trunk won't latch again. X-(

I am very frustrated. I get out my ice scraper and push more frozen clods out of the tires. I get back on the road and the car is still shaking. I call work and tell them I am having trouble (I NEVER miss work) and head home. Sweetie drives the car. He kicks and pushes out more ice clods. Every time we go out of our driveway or down our street, we accumulate new ones. He gets the trunk to shut again, but I resign myself to taking the car to be looked at tomorrow morning.

One of Sweetie's friends calls and as soon as he hears the problem suggests going to a car wash. Says the hot water will melt all the ice and the car should be fine. I put on lots of layers and go to a do-it-yourself car wash. I aim the hot water rinse gun in the open rim area of each wheel. LOTS of steam comes up everywhere. The ice melts.

The car drives fine. :dn

I am sopping wet, so I go home and change. I go to work and work 3 hours of what would have been a six-hour day. I do not get a break, so I do not eat the snack I usually would have on a Sunday afternoon. When I get home I am famished, so I eat my dinner before doing the treadmill. I am doing laundry, and I washed my coat, which got covered in salt/water/dirt mixture at the car wash. I am VERY grateful I do not have to go to the car dealership in the morning!

Sweetie should be home in an hour or so, and he will open his birthday gifts then. His new cake turned out fine, and he's happy he got to spend the day with his buddies and the TV. :laugh:

Tomorrow I will go to Curves after work. It is my 2-year anniversary of doing Curves, and I will get weighed and measured while I'm there, so I can compare with when I started. I've probably lost about 20 pounds since then. I don't know what we'll have for dinner, but that spaghetti is still waiting for me... :o

Lisrey :spring:

I guess I should also add that we have a total of about 16" of snow here. Not all of it fell yesterday, but most of it did. I have a lot of experience with winter driving, and have long driven sporty low-to-the-ground cars, but this had never happened to me before!

In good weather I have a 25-30 minute drive to work. Saturday it took me about 45 minutes... and 1/3 of the snow hadn't fallen yet. We usually get a lot more of what they call "wintry mix" than snow... icy freezing rain, sleet, some snow but not dumpings. I have to say I prefer the snow for driving than the icy stuff. Now I will know what to do next time!

Lisrey :shrug:

Wow. Exciting times in the snow. That was some good, practical advice your friend gave. Dirty, wet clothes are far better than having to deal with repairs and the dealership.

I guess you guys are getting the powerful wet storm we had last week. It's a nasty one, no?

The volunteer coordinator from my horsie place called and said that sessions are suspended indefinitely. The hill on which the equestrian center sits has been deemed unstable and susceptible to sliding. The center is closed and they don't know what will happen.

I suspect it will just dry out and everything will go back to normal eventually.

As it will where you are. Do people still make it to the library in such weather?

MY GOSH! :eyes: Craziness... Good thing your a level headed person... I would have been insane. Hmmm I have never live where it snowed... Sounds uh.... FUN :D Just kidding....

Looky you speed walking.... :up: Have you ever thought of joining a regular GYM now. They'll give you a routine and even appoint a trainer for you in the begining.

Gosh How funny On sunday I made a 4 tiered Boxed cake for my daughter cause her B-Day was on the 23rd, and so was my MILs...... DD loves boxed cake. I can leave it... LOL....

Wow, what an experience Lisrey!!! Glad everything is ok with the car. You definitely sound like a seasoned driver for that snowy weather. Some just would not have made it or even attempted it.

Wow, again, I can't believe it has been 2 years for you at Curves, that is amazing. Hope the numbers are very good to you!!!

Hahahaha, Kilo! I think that people would cross the Mojave desert to check their e-mail at the library. We can always count on our Internet customers no matter the weather. We did actually have one mom and a 6-month old come to babytime storytime Saturday morning in the blizzard. Amazing.

Max, I have definitely been thinking about another gym. However, I am concerned about the cost. The gym I am looking at has absolutely everything, however, it's about twice as much as Curves. As long as I'm also paying for riding lessons, I am not sure I can afford that. Still in the thinking stages.

Thanks, Crazy! I am gonna post my Curves stats below. Check it out. :up:

For today

Calories: 1425. Leftover spaghetti for our dinner tonight. There is STILL some sauce left (my Sweetie makes enough food to feed an army when he cooks!), but I have finished all my whole wheat noodles.

Exercise: 1/2 hour Curves workout after work. I have yet to ride the bike tonight -- wanted to let my food digest a little first! I will do that shortly. Here are my Curves numbers:

Between 1/24/03 (when I started Curves) and 1/24/05 I have lost:

5.5 inches in my bust
6.5 inches in my waist
5.25 inches in my abdomen
5 inches in my hips
5 inches in my thighs
4.5 inches in my calves
1 inch in my arms
20.2 pounds
3.6% body fat

I feel good about those numbers, but I do feel that I have pretty much reached the peak of what I can do at Curves. It is good for maintenance of the strength I've built, but I don't think I can increase the intensity any more than I already have...

...Although when I went in tonight I discovered they have a new machine. It arrived today & it looks like a stair stepper (ugh!). :laugh: They said they didn't get the instructions yet, so they're just showing it off & not incorporating it into the circuit until they get the official info on how to train us on it. Hmm. That could up the intensity of my workout. I used to OWN a stair stepper. I HATED that thing!!!

Tomorrow I work the later shift, so my eating should be fine. I will walk on the treadmill in the morning & try to ride the bike when I get home.

An aside -- I was thinking about the "tomorrow" segment of my journal entries today. This is probably the most boring part to read, but to me, it's the most valuable part. This is where I solidify my plan for the following day, and make that pact with myself that I WILL do that exercise. I may not always know how things will work out, but this gives me an outline and a goal for what I want to do. For those who have said I'm a role model for you -- this is easy to do & it works! :D

Lisrey B-)

Thanks for the tip Lisrey!

Tomorrow I will not get up and workout...hahaha...jk...

Got that tooth pulled today...I am a bit miserable...it was awful...the painkillers seem to be working...but I have barely had any food today...tomorrow I will have to locate more SBD friendly "soft foods"...ack!...

I am hoping that plenty of sunshine and warmer weather will help melt some of this snow in the next few days...I had no problem finding a parking when I got home...but...to go out to places in the city where you rely on street parking is terrible right now...mounds of snow everywhere!...

Congrats on your Curves stats...that is so great!...I did measure myself back in Dec. so I hope to measure myself again maybe in another month to see...I know I have lost inches cause everything is looser!...

Well have a good Tuesday!...

mcmarto

WOWZA BART!!!! Those is some AWESOME stats...

Gosh how awesome that must feel you are a smaller you.....!!!!!

Maybe you should shop around on gyms, don't they usually have specials going on about now... Look AGAIN! :D

Your dress sounds very nice. With all the snow where you live you will certainly enjoy the weather when you sister gets married.

Your stats are great. Has it been 2 years since you started dieting?

I would never be able to live up north. I haven't a clue as to how to drive in snow and ice. Guess I would just have to stay home all winter.

Carol

LISREY – Spaghetti yum! I’ve never had whole wheat noodles before, what kind do you use? I’m thinking about giving them a try. Way to go on the cures workout. I’m so proud of how well your doing.

Oh my gosh! :cheer: congratulations on the inches and pounds that you’ve lost. You are on your way girl! On your way to completing your journey, and I’m going to be their with you step by step.

I know what you mean. I used to own a stepper machine by Denise Austin, and I hated it. I’ve learned from the past that walking tapes are the best for me.

:rose: Katherine

Hi, Mc! I sure hope your mouth is feeling better soon. No fun at all. Thanks for the kudos!

Hey, Max! There is really only one BIG gym that's convenient for me. If I chose one that was too far away I don't think I would trust myself to commit to it. There is one smaller gym, but it only has stuff similar to what I have at home. That's definitely not worth it. I am going to get a guest pass for the big gym and listen to their spiel soon. That'll help me decide.

Hiya, Carol, thanks for the praise. I started my weight loss in Feburary of 2001, so I've been working on this for about 4 years now. I've lost around 80 pounds altogether, 20 of them in the last 2 years, when I joined Curves. I'd really like to reach my goal this year. * As for the winter driving, it's just something that takes patience and practice. You need to know how your car is going to respond, and don't go faster than conditions will allow. The problem is, there are always other people who don't have patience or practice out there... that's what causes accidents! :O

Reporting in

Calories: 1350. Had a Lean Cuisine dinner at work tonight, and a simple snack when I got home. Really happy with my calories this month. I have cut out snacking almost entirely. I haven't seen much movement in the scale since I got off the initial holiday gain, but I'm expecting that next week when TOM returns.

Exercise: 45:19 was my new fast time for 3 miles walking on my treadmill this morning. :dc Rode the bike for 5 minutes when I got home from work tonight at 9:45.

In the past 2 days I've heard about 2 job openings that interest me. Then today, I had one of the best days of work I've had in a long time. If I do eventually get offered another job, it is really going to be a hard decision to make.

Tomorrow is my official weigh-in day. I'll come report in the morning, before my riding lesson. Food tomorrow will be weird. I finished all of my sandwich makings today at lunchtime. If I have time tomorrow I will probably eat a Lean Cuisine pizza before heading to work at noon. All day tomorrow is going to be a food-fest at the Library. Our Friends group is providing us with fried chicken and a ham, roasted potatoes and salad. Staff are bringing in other pot luck items. I will be eating at the dinner shift, and will try to do my best with whatever is left. This would not be that difficult if I could predict what would be available and try to approximate suitable portions in FitDay beforehand. Not sure enough of the menu, though, so I will trust myself and wing it. Wish me luck! :laugh:

Lisrey :*

wtg on the cals, and good work days, and smart snow driving.

We're engulfed in a fog attack right now, I think our weather's dropping (we were in the 60s, now we're going down to the 40s.) I wouldn't mind snow, but I'd like it to melt before I'd have to drive anywhere :D

I do like my "plans for tomorrow" thing in my journal (when I remember it) It helps keep me on track and organized.

141.2, down .8 from last week, which had been up. I seem to be holding pretty steady. I think my body is waiting for TOM to drop those pounds I KNOW it wants to drop. Give me about 9 more days & I'll have something interesting to report, LOL.

My sleep last night was not so good. Feeling tired now and sluggish. I hope the riding energizes me and wakes me up. I also hope I can restrain myself at this afternoon's food-fest. :o

Later,

Lisrey :peace:

Yaaay... .8 is better then a stick in your eye!...hahaha!

Hope that work pot luck wasn't too tempting!

I am feeling much better...98% to be exact!

mcmarto

Leave it up to Mc to come up with a Yogi Berra worthy congrats on your weight loss. :laugh: I don't think I can beat that but yay for you anyway!

The planning for tomorrow is an excellent suggestion. I have written it down and will definitely try it.

Tomorrow.

:not:

It is so funny that Sweetie wanted the box cake isn't it? My comfort foods are dumb things like that too, remember? It's all about nostalgia, you hit it right on the head. And you are a MARVELOUS woman for going out in the snow to get another box of cake mix, instead of spraying the rancid cake with air freshener or something. For my birthday, you can skip the whole cake part and just make me the frosting. heh heh heh

I just finished a book by John Updike. I'd never read him before and although he had a nice command of the language, the book didn't thrill me. Perhaps it just wasn't his best. I think it was called Of the Farm or something. (It was thin enough that I could take it to physical therapy.) What do you think of him?

Have a great evening...it sucks about the 7 day work weeks.

Thanks, KF, Jessica & Mc!

Chum, your post about "tomorrow" was just adorable. How clever you are! I think the only Updike I've read was a few classic short stories, probably in about 9th grade. They weren't memorable enough to stick with me, but when I encounter high-school students looking for criticism on "A&P" I can say "I read that, a long time ago..." :laugh:

Wednesday

Calories: 1800? I think? Had the LC pizza for my lunch. There was no ham for dinner, only broasted chicken. Everyone said broasted is so much better for you than fried, but I don't know how, and there's nothing in FitDay for broasted, so I used fried. Ate one small breast & one small wing. Also had some broasted potatoes (mmmm), a dinner roll (they were huge) and some fruit. Someone made these teensy tinsy pretzels with a "turtle" topping. I ate one of those & avoided completely the Oreo ice cream cake and its ilk. All in all, I'd say I did okay. I was hoping that I would not be hungry when I got home and skip my usual snack, but :shrug: I was hungry, and just had some soy crisps.

Exercise: 1/2 hour horseback riding lesson this morning. It was fun. I have so much to learn yet! :eyes: Got to canter for a couple minutes again. It's still scary, but I'm starting to get more the feel of it. 5 minutes exercise bike when I arrived home tonight.

Work was a whirlwind rush today. Very busy. The next two days will likely be similar. I am sitting in on an interview tomorrow, then I'm on the desk the rest of the day. I have a zillion things to do & am just hoping to get a few of them done.

Tomorrow I will go out for a lo-cal pita for lunch, as I still don't have any sandwich makings here. Will do Curves after work, and the bike after dinner. Not sure about the menu... Sweetie wants to watch basketball. If he's home, he may want take-out. If he's out, I'll make some fish for myself. We'll see how it works out.

Lisrey :ex:

Hi Lisrey, wondering what's broasted? As in how is the food cooked?

Haylo Goily........

Well I think its great that you are at least going to go check out the gym... You know how it is when You know you shouldn't then you do, and then your bought! :laugh:

:up: Good for you for resisting Oreo Temptations.

I think when you leave the skin on the chicken the fat just bubbles in it... Some people call that MOIST.... :laugh: Still you did good.....

China, if I knew, I'd tell you. :shrug:

Max, I love the skin & coating on chicken. 99% of the time when I cook chicken, I use boneless, skinless breasts, BUT put already-cooked chicken with skin in front of me and I WILL NOT pass up the skin. Sad but true! :o

Thursday (work day 6)

Calories: 1425. Weird day. Had my pita for lunch, then Sweetie decided to watch the game out, so I made salmon & rice. Yummy. I ate a tiny snack the last couple of days, and tonight after dinner ate another one. RIGHT after dinner. NO! NO! NO! I don't want this to creep back in already. Must hold it at bay as long as possible. Maybe this is my PMS eating feelings beginning early???? :caf:

Exercise: Curves workout after work. Tonight for the first time I used the new stair-stepper-lookin' machine. They actually put it in place of one of the recovery stations, so you do it instead of your usual cardio moves... It works my quads and I need that! The 5 minutes I did on the bike after dinner were KILLER. I wonder if it was because of the stepper thing????

Weight: 140.8 this morning. Jessica & Chum have been having a running discussion of how it seems you lose the morning after your worst day of eating, and gain after your best. Yep, seems to be true! Or else I ate less yesterday than I estimated. Crazy.

Okay, so today a third job posting appeared that interests me. After seeing NOTHING for 5 months, three in a week. Gonna be a lot of work getting these applications out now.

It is just so cold here it's hard for me to take. This morning when I left home it was -3 F. I just don't like that sort of temperature! Brrrrr!!

I stopped at the store on my way home tonight & I got stuff to make a lunch with tomorrow. I will run errands on my lunch hour, though -- need to find a birthday gift for my sister, and pick up the dress I bought for the wedding from the cleaners. I will walk on the treadmill when I get home, unless I can convince Sweetie to go to a movie with me. If that occurs (highly unlikely), I may just forgo exercise except for the bike tomorrow night. At the moment I am feeling that a little rest may be in order. Dinner? No clue right now. Need to talk to Sweetie.

All for tonight!

Lisrey :wave:

Hi Lisrey,
Its unbearingly cold here too. Even on sunny days, the wind chill is so bad.
When is your sisters wedding on the beach? Hopefully, you will get to miss some of this artic like conditions. Think of me when you are out there soaking up the rays!
I would give ANYTHING for a few days on a beach somewhere.


Blessings:spring:


Vickie:pass:

Hey...that Jessica/Chum discussion...

Well from what I have read...you should never have the same amount of calories a day...your body gets used to that...if its too low...it will hold on to the weight...etc...so....lets say you want to eat an average of 1500 calories a day...so x 7 days...thats 10,500 calories a week...what you are supposed to do is to have this same amount of calories a week...but...break it up differently...

Mon-1,200
Tues-1,500
Wed-1,800
Thurs-1,400
Fri-2,000
Sat-1,000
Sun-1,600

I think its called the Wendy plan?...It originated with WW points but others use it with calories!!!...I experimented with it before and I seemed to lose regularly...

But...it could all be bunk too...and just a coincidence!...

Well have a nice weekend!...

mcmarto

Hiya, Vickie! The wedding is the first weekend in March. I have about a month to go yet... In some ways I can't wait; in other ways I'm SO not ready! :laugh:

Mc, I've heard of that Wendy plan. I don't eat a consistent number of calories every day, but I do try to eat within a 1200-1500 calorie range. If I can do that 20 times a month, I call myself successful. You know from reading my journal that I have big fluctuations. :o

For today

Calories: 1500. Sweetie made marinated chicken breasts tonight which we served over egg noodles. Delicious, but I'm sure I ate more noodles than I needed.

Exercise: I decided this needed to be a rest day. I am just beat. But I did 5 minutes on the bike while Sweetie was cooking.

Work was exhausting today (day 7). I am going to SLEEP IN all I can in the morning tomorrow. I am sooo tired! Sweetie and I watched a movie tonight (50 first dates, his choice). Probably a good thing it wasn't anything that took much thinking! :laugh:

A friend sent me a link to a horoscope site. I thought the initial description of me was amusing, given what everyone says of my persona here:

"You are a steadfast and patient soul, capable of tremendous devotion, dedication, endurance, and constancy. The ability to follow through and stick with things is one of your greatest assets. Once your course is set, you pursue it tenaciously until it is completed, stubbornly resisting any attempts to sway you from your purpose."

:rofl:

If I get up early enough (I refuse to set an alarm, but I have alarm cats), I will go to Curves in the morning. After I shower I want to drive up to one of the libraries where I am interested in applying for the directorship. I would also love to go see a movie tomorrow, but I doubt that'll work time-wise. No idea what Sweetie will want to eat... will do my best with whatever comes up. Today's weigh-in was encouraging: 140.6. One more pound & I'll be back to what my stats say! The elusive 139!

Lisrey :*

Woohoo...so close to 139...Do you have your happy dance prepared for when you see the number?

Well its been cold here...super cold...It is almost February...so...that makes me happy...In some ways I wish I would have been born and grown up in a warmer climate...but I guess being in the Midwest I get all the seasons and appreciate them more...

Well hope you have a nice weekend!...

mcmarto

In my FitDay calorie count yesterday, I seem to have forgotten my bread. I also ate some extra noodles after I measured out what I wanted to have... and I ate a couple of pieces of dried pineapple before I went to bed.

SO... New estimate for yesterday: 1700. :down:

Lisrey :o

Hey, Mc! My weight was back up some today & made 139 seem a long way away again. :sigh: I know after TOM next week things will look better!

Reporting in

Calories: 1440. Picked up a chicken parm grinder tonight on my way to the movies. Mmmm. Had an individual bag of baked Lay's with it. Was proud of myself that I did not get anything at the movie. :up:

Exercise: Curves workout this morning; 5 minutes exercise bike after the movie.

Drove up to one of the libraries I am considering applying to this afternoon. It is smallish but fairly new. The collection looks somewhat run-down. I think they have been having budget problems. I did not see many staff. It was not very busy. The drive took me about 35 minutes; was just under 25 miles. That's 10 minutes & 10 miles more than I drive one-way now. Hmm.

Went to the movies tonight & saw "Ray." I would like to try to see all the best picture nominees before the Oscars. One down, four to go! I liked the movie a lot -- I love stuff with good music -- although I don't usually like movies with much drug use/drug themes. The scene where he was recording "Georgia on my mind" gave me goosebumps. Good stuff!

Tomorrow will be hard to plan. I have a lot to pack in, and not sure how it will all fit together. In the morning, I have to go pick up a corsage for my sister, then drive to the Library & pick up my shoes (doh! can't believe I left 'em there!), then pick up my sister from the airport. Will drive her to the restaurant where we are having a lunch in her honor at 1:00. That entire side of the family is Hungarian, and so is the restaurant. Not sure what will be on the menu... but I know my Mom made a big dios torte. (Jessica, feel free to correct my spelling!)

Anyway, I have no idea when I'm going to get home from all this. Will want to spend some time with my sister, Mom & Grandma afterward (the lunch will probably make me uncomfortable -- too many relatives I don't know too well). If I get home at a reasonable time, I will do the treadmill, then my 5 minutes biking. Not sure what Sweetie will want to do for dinner (he may not even be home), but I will eat something light if I am on my own. All for tonight!

Lisrey :flower:

mmmmmmm, yeah dios torte. Oooooooh, Hungarian restaurant. (none around here.) Colour me jealous.

remember. if all else fails, smile and nod alot. Unless they say blah blah (name) meg halt (died.) Then frown and shake your head :)

Oh can't wait to here how your visit with your sis went!

I am expecting my TOM too...this week...so no weigh in for me from now until its over!...mc

Hahaha! Thanks, Jessica. Actually, the relatives don't speak Hungarian (at least not around me). They're just very smothering and mothering... and everybody knows everybody else very well except me & my sisters, so we're always the center of attention. The dios torte was amazing!!! :laugh:

Hiya, Mc! It was great to see my sister. She is beautiful and ready for this exciting adventure that will be her tropical island wedding. I got to hear a lot of details about the affair, as well as the plans for the honeymoon (they've chartered a catamaran that will take them island hopping for a week). They also have a big party planned for Chicago in August. So I will keep you posted and maybe I can meet up with you if I'm there for more than just the day!

Party on Sunday

Calories: 1760. Rough estimate. Who really knows? The lunch was served family-style. There were breaded pork chops (I had a smallish one), chicken paprikas (I had 1/2 a breast with no skin), mashed potatoes, little dumpling/noodle things which were rather cold and I didn't like much, and green beans (which I didn't touch). Dessert was my Mom's delicious dios torte (rich, dense ground nut cake) and vanilla ice cream. I had a small piece of the torte & small scoop of the ice cream... Also had 2 slices of bread while waiting for the food to arrive, and 6 peanut M&Ms! :o For dinner I had a Lean Cuisine & an orange.