They really are going! I know I've said this before, but I'm tired of messing around. These same 10 lbs. have come and gone numerous times in the past year. Although probably not all of them, cause I usually seem to get within 2 or 3 pounds of my goal and then I let my weight just kind of creep back up. X-( And I'm tired of the yo-yoing.

I'm not gonna set a time limit for this, but I'm gonna get it done without any backsliding. I don't have any huge plans, but I am still gonna follow my WW's plan. I guess the biggest change I'm hoping to make is that in about 2 or 3 weeks, I'm hoping to join a gym. It's called 'Anytime Fitness'. But I don't want to join until after my grandsons leave and I actually have the time to go. But the 'no excuse' diet and exercise starts TODAY. I weighed in at exactly 146 this morning and my goal is 136. So I truly have 10 lbs. to lose.

To that end, I ate well today, drank plenty and walked 3 miles this afternoon.

So here we go. :mus:

Great attitude and wanted to wish you good luck!!

:hug: MEL!

I know you can do it. You are my idol!

Hi Mel! I know you can do this, too..... setting a time line might be the thing that will help you get there! Take care and good luck to you!

hi Mel, saw this and thought i would stop by. good luck!

Thanks for stopping by, girls! The good luck wishes are greatly appreciated! :)

DJ - I did think about setting a time line for this, but I worry about doing that. I always seem to not leave myself sufficient time and then I'm upset that I didn't make it. But then again if you leave yourself too much time, you tend to think you have all the time in the world and slack a little. I always forget how tough the last 2 or 3 lbs. tend to be. So I think I'll just push to get it done as soon as I can. Like I said, I don't intend to back-slide during this time, I intend to move forward each week.

I'm gonna continue to weigh-in on Monday mornings and intend to have some sort of loss each week - even when I start the weight training. I am determined! :mus:

I'll be back tonight after work with how the day went.

Okay, my day went pretty good. I took my son to drop off his car at the Nissan dealer cause he was having some problems and then we ran a bunch of errands. Went back to Nissan to find out that they hadn't even looked at it yet. X-( I was rather irritated (to say the least) and told them so. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and got there in time to get ready for work. Then I took my son back to Nissan to pick up his car after they called and told me how much it was gonna be to fix it and I said 'no thanks, we'll be there in a little while to pick it up!" So I dropped him there and went to work.

Interesting - I worked by myself tonight at the store. That's never happened since I've worked there, just having one person by themself at night. I guess it has happened once or twice before I started there, but I'm surprised since I'm a fairly new supervisor that they did it tonight! They're trying to save payroll hours and they called this afternoon to see if I would mind doing it and then they called and told the part-time clerk not to come in. It went well, so everyone was happy. My boss called twice just to see if I was okay. She was pleased we made plan and that there were no problems. Me too! :laugh:

I ate well today. My son & I went to Applebee's for lunch while we were running errands and I had the Confetti Chicken off their WW's menu. If you've never tried it, you should - it's delicious. It's 7 pts. and is a little spicy. Only problem is that they say it comes with a side of veggies. And when it came it had A LOT of broccoli. I HATE broccoli, I can't even stand the smell. Since the waitress was no where to be seen, my son wrapped it in a napkin and threw it in the garbage. It was really turning my stomach. But anyway, I also had lots to drink, but had no time to walk today. That's okay, I'm off tomorrow and will definitely go. I was happy with my weight this morning.

Okay, I'm off to bed. Maybe, lol.

How could Mike possibly be driving a car? He's ONLY EIGHT YEARS OLD.

Cori - would you believe he graduated high school this year??? He was 18 in May. 8-|

Mel,

Just stopping by to cheer you on to lose those last 10 pounds!!! I am sure you will tone up and look great when your gym workouts get going.

Hi Mel, :wn

Just stopping by to CHEER you ON :cheer: and FORWARD :cheer: as you ATTAIN your goal. I am as always, Monica

Holy crow!! That's is crazy! And yet you and I haven't aged a bit, eh?

Corinna

Well, I was gonna say that I wished I was 40 again, but I really don't! (and you're NOT EVEN 40 YET!, lol) I rather like my life as it is right now. :) I guess the only thing I would change is that I wish my youngest would mature a little. Cause him and his dad just go round and round and I'm tired of it. I'm always put in the middle. :( How old are you now, Cori? I'm 53 already. How time flies!

Thanks to all who stopped by with their support. I really appreciate it. I've eaten well today and I walked 4 miles this afternoon.

I took my truck in today to have it looked at and it's gonna cost $1200.00 to get it fixed. That includes having the brakes redone. It won't be ready till tomorrow, so they offered me a rental car at their expense. So I'm now driving a 2005 Nissan Sentra. Seems really small since I normally drive a Durango. But it's only for a day and a half so I guess I'll live. But I'll live much more poorly since this is gonna cost me that much, plus I just got an estimate on my son's car for the same amount! And he's gonna have to have his fixed as he starts college next week and will be driving 45 min. each way, 5 days a week. Such is life. 8-|

Be back later with the rest of my day.

Darn automobile repairs, they just sap the life out of you sometimes don't they. But hey, we need them so we find the money.

Good job on the food and the 4 mile walk today, wow!!!

The grandkids are 3, not 8! Geez, woman! ;)

I am 34. $1200 sucks. Boooo! Hiss!

Corinna

Just here to cheer you on!! you can blast through those 10 lbs. !! Let us know how your doing!

Well, I said I was gonna be back last night and post the rest of my day, but I didn't get here. 8-| But I ended up being a little hungry last night, so I had a snack (which I always plan for!) but I was still hungry. And I think it was all in my head. When I work in the evening, I'm not hungry, but when I sit at home, I think I need to eat. So I called my oldest son and talked for an hour, lol. Took my mind off my stomach. I know he's a night owl, so that didn't bother him that I called late, plus he's an hour ahead of me. But it did the trick - when I finished talking to him, I folded the last load of laundry and went to bed.

Those of you that know me, know that I'm a scale junky. Have been for years and I know the 'ups and downs' of weighing every day, but it doesn't bother me. At least not too much! :laugh: Only time I don't weigh is when I've been really, really bad and just prefer to stick my head in the sand rather than see that number on the scale. Anyhoo, I weighed this morning and was happy with what I saw. So far, so good.

I'd better get moving, I'm dressed for a walk. Now I just have to see if it quit raining so I can walk outside or if I'm gonna have to go to the mall. If it's raining, I could always wait a while, but then l tend to put it off till it's too late. Plus if I do need to go to the mall, I don't like to walk after it opens. So I guess I'll just 'get 'er done.' I work tonight, so the evening won't be quite so tough. 8-|

Thanks Alex, Nancy and Cori for the visits since I last posted, it's always nice to hear from friends. :)

Hope everyone has a good day!

It was still raining when I checked earlier, so I said to heck with it and went to the mall. I walked 4 miles, so that's out of the way for today. :)

They called a few minutes ago and told me my truck was gonna be ready by 5pm. I work tonight, but their service department is open until 2:30am. I get off work around 9:30 - 10pm, so I'm just gonna drive out there after work and I can leave the rental car at the dealership. So I won't have to go out there tomorrow morning. I really like this dealership we bought the truck from - they really go out of their way to make things convenient for you!

Well, I'd better get in the shower and start getting ready. I think I'll have some of that yummy Weight Control Oatmeal before I go to work. :up: I really like the Maple & Brown Sugar flavor.

My day went well - I kept my points low, walked 4 miles and drank lots and lots. I just got home from work, had a WW's dessert and I'm done for the day, other than finishing this bottle of water.

I went to pick up my truck from the dealership after work and I was VERY pleasantly surprised how much difference all the work they did made. The truck drove more smoothly, quietly and the brakes feel MUCH better. It shifts easier and I was extremely pleased. Guess I should be for $1200.00, but still, I could have gotten it back, still been out the money and not noticed much, lol. But I'm happy. (sort of) I hate dropping that much money for something like that! 8-| Oh well.

I guess I'm going to bed. I didn't sleep too well last night, thanks to my husband roaming the house in the middle of the night. I guess he figured if he was up, everyone else should be too! X-( Hopefully he'll sleep better tonight. 8-|

Wow 1200 bucks..car repairs aren't cheap! I wish I knew a mechanic, because my rotors (I think they are called) need work LOL. Hubby can do most of the stuff but some he can't.
Good work on getting the walking in. Congrats!

LOL, Mel, I know what you mean about when hubbies are up and no one else is. Mine has gotten much better, but used to hear him shutting drawers, doors, and he would turn the lights on like it was just the evening time, lol. Although I have to admit that I am usually the one prowling at night, although I usually just sit myself down and watch tv, I even put it on mute and 'read' tv. Crazy, I know.

Congrats on making it a good day, you just reminded me to get my water!! Thanks.

Glad the truck is working better, after spending all that money.

Well, my husband slept better last night. I heard him get up to use the john, but he got right back in bed. He always gets up really early, but I'm used to that. 8-| I used to roam the house regularly during the night, but the last couple of years I've been sleeping much better - although I do have an occasional night that I can't sleep.

Good day for the old diet. Except I didn't get to formally exercise, although I was on the go all day. My legs are tired tonight. I would have liked to have laid down for a few minutes to rest before I went to work tonight, but I just didn't have time. Plus I'm gonna have to try to get to sleep in the next while, cause I open the store tomorrow morning. Gee, technically you're not suppose to close one night and open the next morning, but somehow it seems to happen occasionally. :shrug:

I still have the points for a snack tonight and I'm a little hungry, but I can't decide what to have - nothing sounds that good. Maybe I'll just have a Kozy Shack Tapioca pudding and go to bed. I already have my clothes laid out for the morning so that I don't have to find something when I'm half asleep. I'm not at my best in the morning, lol.

Okay, I guess I'm done rambling. Goodnight.

Oh boy, this is gonna be quick - I'm tired. Long work day, good for the diet. Just finished some Orville Redenbacher Smart Pop popcorn. 1 pt. - good stuff. (mini bag) Drank lots, ate well and was on my feet all day, then grocery shopped. I'm on my way to bed since I work again tomorrow. After I floss the popcorn hulls out of my teeth, of course. 8-|

Well, my weight hasn't budged in a few days. But I'm not gonna get discouraged. I officially weigh every Monday, so tomorrow's the day. I walked 3 miles this morning and now I have to hop in the shower since I work this afternoon. I figured I'd talk myself out of it after work. We'll probably be slow at work since it's so nice out. Guess I'd better get moving. 8-|

Oh boy, I was happy with the scale this morning! I had lost earlier in the week, but the last few days it hadn't moved at all. But this morning it was down again and I lost 3.5 lbs. for the week! I'm extremely happy with that, it motivates me to keep going this week. So I was 142.5 this morning.

I'm dressed to go walking and I'm telling myself I need to go now! It's going to be a hot one. I work again tonight, so this is my only time to go. So am I out there yet?

Congratulations on the loss!!!! Good work on getting those walks in!!

Thanks, LMJ! I did get my walk in this morning - 5 miles. :)

Congrats on your loss, my friend! :)

Mel, good work on getting out for your walk, 5 miles is GREAT!!!

And super congrats on the 3.5 pounds gone, whooohoo. Now that means just 5.5 left to go, right?! Wow.

Hmmm........I think you need to brush up on your math a little, Nancy! :laugh: That leaves me 6.5 lbs. to go. :D

Good day - I stayed under my points, drank lots (just finished one more bottle!) and walked 5 miles this morning.

I'm pooped, I'm off to bed.

WOW!!! 5 miles!! You go!!!!

I did well today - I'm pleased. I normally have a Natural Oven's bagel for breakfast, but I was out. So I had a LaTortilla Factory whole wheat tortilla w/ 2 oz. chicken, green onion and lots of tomato. It kept me full for a long time! Not exactly a traditional breakfast, but hey, it worked.

Did well the rest of the day, drank lots (especially since I had so much fiber today!) and walked 5 miles with my sister-in-law tonight. I stayed under my points, so it was a good day. Hopefully I'm finished eating for the day unless I decide to have some strawberries later on. We'll see.

Congrats on the good day! Our a/c will only be fixed NEXT Tuesday and it's HOT here again.. Cori's cranky.. but drinking lots and eating little.

but drinking lots and eating little.


Well.........I guess that would be the bright side, huh??? lol It's a terrible time to be without your air if your weather is at all like ours right now. It's hot but also terribly humid. Even when it cools off 'a little' in the evening, it's still really humid. I feel for ya, Cori.

It was really hot out there walking tonight and we waited till the sun went down. We were both just rolling in sweat. A cool shower felt wonderful.

I sweat all night - I am starting to retain water. That is always fun. NOT! Hehehe..

Your doing great!! 5 miles is wonderful. Keep it up!! When I go to the trails I usually can get in 3 miles, but I have yet to pass that. Next time I go I'll keep you in mind!!

Just peaking in to see how you are doing. Sounds great. That is nice to walk with a friend once in a while.

Thanks for stopping by, Nancy & Alex. I like to walk and it's definitely my choice of exercise. I've decided to join a gym, probably in September. I feel like I need to get back to the weight training. But walking outside is my favorite thing to do.

Speaking of which, I walked 5 miles again tonight. :) But it was hotter and more humid than last night! Boy, did I smell when I got home! A shower felt really, really good. I'm happy with my food and water again today too! I think my daughter and I are gonna try to get to WW's in the morning since we really don't like the lady on Friday. She's just wayyy to perky for either one of our tastes, lol, especially first thing in the morning.

That's all - I hope I'm done eating for the evening. But it's quiet here and no one else is around. That usually spells t-r-o-u-b-l-e. :sigh:

Well, my daughter and I went out for breakfast this morning and breakfast is easy to eat out and do good. I had eggbeaters veggie omelet and wheat toast. 3 pts. For lunch I had a bagel and strawberries. I'm also going out to dinner with some girlfriends (which I forgot about until this morning!) but I know the restaurant fairly well and know what my choices are. One nice thing to know about this restaurant in advance is that they have a great salad, but no lowfat or fat-free dressing. So I'll take a packet of fat-free dressing with me. They have a variety of chicken or fish entrees to choose from, so I'll be fine.

I bought some new walking shoes at New Balance this morning and then tried them out a little at the mall. Walked about 2 miles. But that's all I'm gonna get in for today since I'm gonna be gone tonight.

It's just getting hotter and more humid here every day. Hope everyone is staying cool!

I forgot something else. It's August 2nd today. My daughter is getting married 1 year from today! At this time next year, she'll be in her dress, ready for the ceremony! Hard to believe.

We did go to a couple of bridal places today, looking at some bridesmaid dresses and flower girl dresses. Didn't find anything we really liked, but want to hit another place tomorrow.

When Miranda got engaged, her wedding seemed so far away. Now it's exactly a year. Wow, I know the time is going to fly by with all the preparations! The wedding is another reason to lose these last few pounds and find a really neat dress for the wedding.

Okay, question to ask regarding wedding etiquette. My daughter's attendants are wearing pink. Do I have to have something in the pink family, or do I wear something that compliments pink or can I wear whatever color suits my fancy??? Does anyone know?

You are doing well, keep it up.

I would say, in this day and age to suit your fancy, lol. There are so many choices now a days. Have fun picking it out. It will also be a great motivator to maintain your weight loss.

You are the brides mother, Mel.... you wear whatever compliments YOU. Right after the bride... you are the queen bee. (but don't wear black and yellow barrel stripes...LOL)

You are doing so well!! 12 miles in less than a week?? Wow! You are my waking hero... but you are walking right towards that wedding in a year and boy you are right! The time just FLIES!!! Make a list month by month as in at 12 months have so and so done, at 9 months have this done and so on and so forth. It kept me on track with both of my daughters weddings. Look at the thrift shops for dresses, too... if you are okay with that kind of thing. You are liable to find something gorgeous that's only been worn once and it won't be so terribly expensive either.

This year is going to be so much fun and very exciting.... it'll be stressful at times, but it's a good kind of stress that you can get through because the end result will be so wonderful!

Take care and keep up ALL the good work. You are planning and walking and drinking lots of water... you couldn't do any better! Have a good weekend!

DJ & Nancy - thanks for the replies about the dress. I looked around online a little to see what was said about what the mother should wear. And it said that you should go with a color that compliments the bridal party. My daughter is having her bridesmaids in pink and she thought I needed to wear a pink dress. Well, I don't particularly like pink and don't look good in pink! What I read said to just not clash with the wedding party. I put the site in my 'favorites' so I could show it to my daughter, lol. It also said that you should stick with the same length dress as the bridal party. I don't know if I agree with that - especially if they pick out long dresses, cause I really prefer something tea length. We'll see, I guess I have plenty of time to pick something out!

DJ - I think my daughter and I will have to sit down and make a list. We both tend to procrastinate. Plus both of us work retail and will be so busy in November & December that we won't get anything done unless we HAVE to. So a list is a good thing.

I went out to dinner with a couple of girlfriends tonight and did well. I had a cup of vegetable soup, broiled orange roughy and a baked potato. Had iced tea to drink. There were two orange roughy filets, so I brought one home. I don't know how good it will be reheated, but I really didn't want to eat both of them. We had a good time.

Thanks to everyone for your encouragement - it really helps. I'M GONNA DO THIS!

Hello! You are doing fantastic. I was just wondering what ww lifetime means? Is it when you met your goals and are a lifetime member? I do ww flex and love the plan.
As for your girls wedding, you get what you like and wear it proudly. Its her day and yours as well.

Is it when you met your goals and are a lifetime member?

Yes, that's exactly what it is. You meet your goal, maintain that weight for 6 weeks and then you are a Lifetime member. You are then always a Lifetime member, even if you are over your goal weight. You're then only required to weigh-in once a month. As long as you stay within 2 lbs. of your goal weight, you don't pay for meetings anymore. I do the Flex Plan too. I really like the freedom of choice it gives you.

Thanks for stopping by and good luck to you!

Mel,

Enjoy looking for your dress! When you see the right dress you will know it. You might even want to go on your own one day and just look at your leisure. You can get an idea of what color, fabric, length, etc fits your style. Just take your time.

Hi Mel,
very exciting that its a year til your daughter gets married. i am sure you will find a wonderful dress and look fabulous in it too! i wouldnt be too worried about having to match the bridal party.
The best pair of trainers i ever bought were new balance ones. i just bought a new pair recently and its amazing how great they feel.
thanks for stopping in at my journal..i had forgotten about the chevy username now i rememeber everything always assuming i was male thats why i changed it lol.
hugs bell :)

Okay, the morning is starting out well. I went for a 3 mile walk after breakfast and now I'm showered, dressed, hair and makeup done and I'm ready to go out for a while with my daughter. I'm planning on walking after dinner with my sister-in-law, unless she bails on me.

Hi bell and CJL - I'm really looking forward to shopping for a dress and I'll probably look to see what the bridal shop that we're going to today has. Just to see what's out there. I definitely have tons of time to look around - I probably won't even think about buying one till the spring. Unless my oldest son decides to get married again before then! Actually, I'm really hoping he will, lol.

I LOVE New Balance shoes, I have worn them for years. I buy really good ones and they are worth every penny. My feet take it tough from the years of walking and now standing for so many hours when I work.

I just bought something online that my sister-in-law told me about. They're called 'yoga toes' and they help align you toes and stretch your feet. She said they've really helped the pain she was having in her feet from bunions. Mine should probably come today. I figured they're worth a try. Anyone ever hear of them or try them? If you have, I'd be curious as to what you think.

Hey, Mel.... this is a site that has the monthly run down of things to do that we used to help guide us. You might already have something, but we found this to be really helpful... you can print it and have it with you so you can make a time line to get things started and keep them rolling so you won't be running around like a maniac at the end.

http://weddings.about.com/library/blchecklist3.htm

If you scroll down once you get on the page, you'll see links for all the months....

Have fun looking for that dress.... and I honestly think now a days, it's perfectly okay to wear whatever. Not clashing would be nice, but even if you did, I don't think anyone would notice. I'm sure you'll find something that suits you and your daughter.

Have a good weekend!

Oh wow, thanks DJ! That looks great! I'm definitely gonna print a couple of those pages out. Looks like that could actually keep me organized a little. I'm really a procrastinator. I can just see me running around like a chicken with it's head cut off the last month or two cause I wasn't organized enough!

My daughter found a couple of bridesmaid dresses she like today - one she REALLY liked. And the designer will also make any of his dresses in girl's sizes, so her Jr. Bridesmaid could have the same thing. She wanted Emah to look more like 'the big girls' than like the flower girls. She's having 4 flower girls! (and no ring bearer) It should be cute.

If I can figure out how, maybe later I'll try to post a link to the designer's page of the dress she really liked.

Okay, I'm off to find some dinner - I'm really getting hungry.

Woohoo - I got another 5 miles in tonight, that makes a total of 8 miles for the day. I'm hoping this will jumpstart things a little cause according to the scale I haven't lost ANYTHING this week. And that's a little irritating considering that I've eaten very well and walked every day.

But I will win. :mus:

The last couple of days the scale has been all over the place. But unfortunately, it hasn't been down at all for the week. But okay, that's the hazard of being a scale addict, so I'll wait and see what it says on Monday morning.

I walked 5 miles this morning with my sister-in-law. I work this afternoon and all evening, so the evening should be good. I don't eat when I work and then have a small snack when I get home. I was glad to get the walking done early. It's a little cooler here today.

Well, I'm off to clean the bathroom. All three of my grandsons are coming tomorrow afternoon and staying for the week. :) It will be super busy as we're all going to VBS at our church, plus we're planning to go to a nearby water park one day and the county fair another day. Also we're hoping to swim at my sisters, if we can coordinate our days. I hope they change the weather forecast, cause right now they're talking about it being in the mid 90's. I'd really like it A LITTLE cooler than that! None of those things are fun in that much heat! I doubt that I'll get too many formal workouts done next week, but that's life. :shrug: I intend to stick to my good eating habits and hopefully the activity that they bring will be enough to at least keep me even. I enjoy them so much - I'm really looking forward to this week!

Wow Mel, you do alot of walking. I commend you! My daughter (who is 15) says she is never getting married LOL. Good luck on finding a nice dress that suits you. I'm glad I only have 1 daughter LOL, one wedding to pay for. LOL.
Your doing fabulous. Your inspiring me to get out there and walk!! I have been a hermit because of the heat.
Keep it up!! That 10lbs. will be gone in no time. Have fun with your grandsons!!

Hi Alex - yes, I really do enjoy walking. I'm looking forward to fall coming - it's my favorite time of year. I too only have one daughter's wedding to pay for. I'm glad I get to have the experience of planning a daughter's wedding, it's not something I'd want to miss. It'll be fun so long as I don't get too far behind, lol.

The scale still hasn't budged and I'm getting rather pissed about that. I've done really well all week, both food and exercise. I'm not fooling myself, I'm counting everything. I'm not taking bites while cooking either. Hopefully it will drop a little by tomorrow. 8-|

Well, the scale budged - a whole 1/4 lb. X-( I was NOT happy. If I had only done mediocre this week, I'd say, 'well, I deserved that'. But I did really well and don't think 1/4 lb. is much of a reward for my efforts. I'm not gonna blow it though, I have a busy week ahead and will just go with the flow. 8-|

The boys got here and we're ready to head out - we're off to VBS.

After VBS today, we went swimming at my sister's pool. They have a very nice inground pool with a diving board. We swam for several hours, which was very refreshing, considering that it was 92 and VERY humid. We left late afternoon and as we got on our street, it started raining. Within a minute after we got in the house, it started pouring buckets!!! A good old thunderstorm. Lasted about 1/2 hr., and just a little while ago we had another one! I ate well today, but ate a little more than usual. Made good choices, just chose too many things, lol. Not really too bad, but ended up with several hundred more calories than usual. But at least they were healthy choices, so I don't think it hurt things too much. Well, the swimming tired me out, so as soon as the dryer finishes up, I'm heading for bed. It took the boys less than a minute to fall asleep tonight, lol. :laugh:

Okay, I'm done. Goodnight.

the swimming with your grandsons sounds wonderful Mel! How old are they???? one thing that always tires for kids out is swimming..
let me know what you think about the yoga toes. i havent heard of them here but they sound good to me.
hugs bell :)
p.s keep up the great work with the walking and good eating..that scale will give it up before long!

Hmmmm......I agree, the scale HAS to give in sooner or later! :laugh: My oldest grandson Cody is 14 1/2. My twins, Alex & Christian are 8. They are growing up just way too fast! The swimming was fun and today we took them to a water park. We had a great time - it's a little easier to take them now that they're a little older. Thank goodness they like the rides - especially Alex. He's not afraid of anything, lol. Dean & I got rather sunburned. 8-| It's gonna be tough sleeping tonight. Tomorrow we're going to the county fair which is only about 1/2 mile from our house. We've taken the boys the last couple of years and they love going. Only problem is that it's been so ridiculously hot the last couple of days. I am really hoping it will be a little cooler tomorrow for the fair.

I was really proud of myself today - we ate lunch at the water park and instead of eating all the junk with the fries and stuff, I had a grilled chicken sandwich (took off the top of the bun) and a diet pepsi. By the time we got home in the late afternoon, I was too pooped to cook. So we ordered pizza. But I had a SmartOnes dinner. Then they wanted to go to the DQ for a snack later on and I had a fat-free fudge bar. So it was a good day. Of course, for all the boys it was really a 'junk food' day, which they all seemed to enjoy. So we'll have to do a little better tomorrow. But they like fruit and such, so it won't be too hard for them to eat better tomorrow. They were all in bed early tonight and I think I'm gonna head there real soon. I didn't get on the scale this morning to see if it had moved at all, but I might tomorrow.

Mel,

I saw the title of your journal and I knew I had to visit! I think you really serve as an example of how to eat healthy when you are in an environment or situation that has less than healthy choices! You made your day healthy at the pool and continued on a healthy path! Congrats!

Hang in there with your last few pounds. The metal beast doesn't like to give up those last pounds. My scale has been stubborn and I am hoping it will move today at my TOPS weigh in. I'm in a southern suburb of Chicago so I hope you see me waving to you! I'm about 18 miles from the Indiana border.

Awesome choices, Mel. It sure feels great doesn' it!!!

Sounds like you are having alot of fun!!! Enjoy!!!

Thanks guys, I was really quite happy with my choices yesterday. :) It was quite hot again today, but the fair was still fun. At least there was a little breeze today. Still really hot though. We rode the rides, played games and won the crappy little prizes :laugh: and spent lots of money, of course. But well worth the times spent watching the boys laugh and have fun. I ate a SmartOnes Chicken & Cheese Quesidilla before we left for the fair and had a couple bites of Christian's soft serve ice cream that he couldn't finish. They had lots of great food at the fair, but to be perfectly honest, it was so hot that nothing really sounded good. At one point I thought about having cheesecake on a stick, but then I didn't see the stand that they sold it at again, so I figured I wasn't meant to have it. And at that point, I didn't really care. I just wanted to go home. I had a bagel later on and was perfectly happy with that. We've been doing lots of walking and swimming lately, but no formal exercise. I'm hoping to get back to that next week.

The boys are leaving tomorrow night and Saturday Dean & I are going to my cousin's cottage for the day. Going for a cookout. I don't have any idea what we'll be having, so that could be a problem. Sunday we're going to our church picnic and it's a potluck. But they usually grill a lot of things, so I would imagine I could probably get some chicken. Just so I don't start picking at the desserts. 8-| There's always some wonderful things there. I have to be strong. :mus:

Ah more fun for Mel. What about taking some fresh fruit and veggies to share at the cottage. That will provide you with some good choices in case there aren't many.

Have a terrific weekend.

Just checking on ya. Its good to see you have made wise food choices. Have fun at the potluck, just don't overdo it. :)
Hope your having a great weekend.

Well, I'm here - finally. I'm pooped. It was a really fun week with the boys here and then the weekend was great too. We had a wonderful time at my cousin's cottage. We cruised the lake on their pontoon boat and the weather was wonderful for that. We came in, had a cookout at which I had a hamburger, and an ear of corn. Then we went out in their motor boat and came back and sat around the campfire. Nice night.

On Sunday we went to church in the morning and then went to the Sunday School picnic. Great friends - loads of fun. They had enough food for an army. And I ate way too much. I could say I ran it off going up and down the stairs hauling food out - which is probably true. Cause I made MANY trips. A lot of our congregation is getting quite old and only us 'young ones' (hahahaha) can do some of these things. But then the person who was suppose to scoop ice cream for the sundaes didn't show up, so I volunteered to scoop ice cream all afternoon. Which was fun, but it was standing on a concrete floor all afternoon. I enjoyed the fun and conversations as everyone came for their sundaes, but then I ate one too. And they ran out of diet pop, so I had a regular rootbeer. And the list of no-no's goes on and on. Needless to say, it was a bad day. So bad that I didn't get on the scale this morning. 8-|

So I vowed to get right back at it today. I worked 10 - 5, so the daytime was no problem. I ate dinner and called my sister-in-law and we walked 4 miles tonight. I tried to talk myself out of it considering that we were really busy at the store today and I'm off during the day tomorrow. I tried to reason it out that I should 'rest' my legs tonight and go in the morning. But I decided that I really should go tonight AND tomorrow morning. Hopefully I will go in the morning. I'm really tired tonight, so since I just took a nice relaxing bath, I think I'll head for bed. I'll try to get back to read some journals tomorrow after my walk. (did you hear that - I said AFTER my walk!!! :D )

I went for my walk this morning. I walked to one of my walking tapes which I haven't done for a while. I walked 4.6 miles in an hour. I'm hoping to walk to this one a few times in a row and then move up to my 4.8 mph tape. These tapes really keep you on a good pace. I forgot how much I like them. As I was waking up this morning I heard it raining and thought I'd have to walk at the mall, but by the time I got up and had breakfast, it looked brighter, so I decided to chance walking outside. I'm really glad I did, cause it was about 72 and breezy. Quite a nice walk despite the sweat I worked up! The way my work schedule looks this week, I should get a walk in most every morning except Saturday. Hopefully I'll be able to walk Saturday AFTER work.

I still didn't get on the scale this morning even though I was happy with my eating yesterday. I decided Sunday was just a little bump in the road and I'm gonna forget about it. It's done and over with and I can't change it, so I'll just move on. I'll work a little harder this week to make up for it.

As busy as I was the last 10 days, I was really pleased that I had the energy for it. We did a lot of physical activities and a lot of running around and even though I was tired at the end of the day, I was glad I could do these things. And I still had plenty of energy to enjoy the weekend activities! I love having my grandsons and I love being able to do lots of things WITH them, not just watching them. It makes things much more fun.

Okay, I have to shower before I stink myself out. :D

It was a good day. Work was good - we had lots of sales tonight. And I had a 'diva sale'. It was nice to report being up 30% for the day and also report my big sale.

I don't work till 2:30 tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have time to walk in the morning. I think I'm heading for bed.

I walked 5.0 miles this morning - 4.6 to a tape and the last .4 were a cool down. I'm sitting here with a washcloth on my neck to catch the sweat as it rolls down my neck. It is really humid outside - it's suppose to storm later today and I think it probably will, cause the conditions really seem perfect for a good old storm. I work, so since we have no windows, I probably won't know if it does or not until I go out after work. It's suppose to cool down a little. Hopefully it will - it's miserable out.

I got on the scale this morning and it's at 142.25, which is back to the lowest I've been since I started this 10 lb. thing. So the weekend must not have hurt me too badly. Now to continue on. No more bumps in the road. :mus:

Had a good eating day. Worked tonight - it was interesting. We have had a leak in the back room the last two nights from the air conditioning vents, which is real fun. But tonight we had major storms tonight. It was scary. I think a tornado touched down in our town, but that hasn't been officially confirmed. Most every stop and go light between the mall and here were out. Roads were flooded. It was a real adventure.

I walked 5 miles with my sister-in-law tonight. We walked to a timed tape which kept us on pace. It was a nice night for walking, except that we had to avoid all the tree branches and twigs and crap that remains from last night's storms. It's really a mess around town today. Trees uprooted and some fell on houses and lots of branches (big ones!) down all over. They're calling for rain tomorrow so I hope it's JUST rain, not storms. We don't need that right now. I ate well all day and I'm happy with how the day went. Getting a good walk in always helps. :)

you are doing great Mel :)
sounds like you had an eventful week with the boys being with you and then the cottage and potluck.
Good for you on being down to the lowest you have seen since embarking on your 10lbs challenge!
hugs bell :)

Hi Bell! :) I had an awesome week with my grandsons. You know how special they are to me! Any time I get to spend with them is a blessing. It really was a busy week, lol.

I walked 5 miles this morning. I work tonight, so it had to get done early in the day. As soon as my son gets home, we're gonna take Zoey (our chocolate lab) to the doggie wash uptown. It's such a nice place to bathe a dog, it leaves the mess there! She really needs a good, soothing bath. And she'll smell better too!

I was quite happy with the scale again this morning - looks like I'm making some progress. Well, my son is home, so we're off the the doggie wash. Be back later on.

Oh boy, does Zoey smell better! And she's nice and shiny. I used a oatmeal based shampoo on her to ease her allergies and she is happier tonight. She doesn't like getting the bath, but it's surely got to feel better to not have to scratch and bite at herself all the time. I'm gonna try to do it a little more often.

Good diet day so long as I don't eat too much tonight. I closed the store tonight and have to open it in the morning, so hopefully I will be able to fall asleep before midnight. I'm kind of tired now, but that doesn't mean I can sleep. 8-| It will be a long, busy day tomorrow.

I'm hoping the scale keeps cooperating. I'll weigh-in Monday morning and I'm anticipating some progress.

Well, it was a long day, but not because we were busy. We expected to be, but look what you get when you 'expect'. We certainly were dead, which made for a really long afternoon. 8-| I ate breakfast early since I was opening the store and I took a SmartOnes Chicken & Cheese Quesidilla for lunch. I ate it about 1:30 and by 3:00 I was getting hungry again. By 4:00 I was starving. I called my husband and asked him if he wanted to go out to dinner when I got off at 5:00. He said sure, so we ended up eating about 6:00. I WAS STARVING. I kept telling myself I had to watch what I ordered and not woof it down too fast. I had a cup of chicken noodle soup (which felt really good on my hungry stomach!), a grilled chicken breast with onion, green pepper and mushrooms and a baked potato. Plus 1/2 of a scoop of rainbow sherbet. I forced myself to eat slow and I brought half of my chicken home. It was a lot of chicken, so I figure I probably ate 4 ounces. But the nice thing is I left satisfied. Sometimes when I let myself get that hungry, it seems like I could just keep eating forever. So it worked out okay after all. I don't think I'll have anything else tonight.

I think I'm gonna take a warm bath in a few minutes, put my yoga toes on while I'm in there and read a book. Then I'll head for bed. Sounds like a plan. :D

Okay, it's Monday morning and it's weigh-in time. I lost 1 1/4 lbs., which brings me to the halfway mark in this quest to lose 10 lbs.! I was a little lower than that yesterday morning, but that's the bad part of weighing every day. But it will come.

My husband had a work emergency yesterday morning at 4 am and was gone the entire day. So I ended up going to church by myself. It turned out kind of nice cause then my mom & I went to lunch by ourselves afterwards and then spent the afternoon rummaging through some of her stuff. She wanted me to take what I wanted, as she's 87 yrs. old. My goodness, I hated doing that - she acts like she's gonna kick the bucket any day now! She's in great health for her age and still lives alone and drives with no problems. But she just wanted me to get what I wanted now. It wasn't a whole lot, but I did take some pictures I wanted to show my birthson. He'll enjoy some of those. Things like her good dishes hold some sentimenal value, but I'm sure my sisters will want those and I'll just let them have them. I won't argue over stuff like that and I don't want to just store them, cause I would rarely, if ever, use them. My brother just wants the grandfather clock that my dad made and I told my mom that he's welcome to it. I hope my sisters agree. But it was nice to have my mom to myself for the afternoon. :)

Okay, I've got to leave for work in a little bit, so I guess I'd better get dressed!

Hope everyone has a good day - I'll be back here after work, probably. I'm hoping it clears up enough to get a walk done after work.

Congratulations on making it half way!!! Thats so nice having your mom to yourself. My dad is 73 and acts the same way. Like he's going to kick the bucket. My grandparents both lived into their 90's. My aunt passed not to long ago at 76 and I think that scared my dad.

Hope the weather clears up for you. Its a dreary day here. Again congrats!! Have a great day.

Mel,

congratulations for reaching your half-way point, that is terrific!!!

Glad you had a nice time with your mom.

Congrats on making the half way point.

Thanks LMJ, Smallfri & Crazy! I was happy with the scale this morning (for the most part 8-|) I guess cause even though it wasn't a big loss, it put me halfway. I'm gonna make this and it isn't gonna take me forever! :mus:

I did walk at the mall - 4 1/2 miles - after work. I took my walking shoes and a change of clothes and got it done right away. I knew if I went home and sat down, I'd be too tired to do anything. It's way too wet and nasty out to walk outside. And I figured I'd talk myself out of doing a tape, even though I did do a Taebo tape last night. I'm really tired of the rain.

I had a good eating day and combined with my walk it was an all around decent day. I'm hoping I'll be able to walk first thing in the morning as I have to work all afternoon and evening. And our district manager and the vice president of the company are visiting our store tomorrow! :O I hope things go well. I was hoping they'd come on one of my days off, but no such luck. Oh well, I guess I'll live. 8-|

I'm off to bed.

Well, I woke up this morning and had planned on walking. I'm laying there in bed, wondering if it was nice enough out to walk outside or if I would need to go to the mall. And I fell back asleep! I got up to late to walk. :o I ended up eating breakfast, showering, dressing and going to the mall anyway - but to work! The bigwigs were there and it went fine. They were very friendly and the visit was a success for us. I worked till close and therefore it was a good diet day. Tomorrow I work the same schedule, but hopefully I'll get up early enough to walk.

That's all - I need to go to bed.

Hi Mel,
congrats on reaching the half way mark!
i like visiting journals because i always learn new things..our Jack Russell has started biting and scratching at himself and i have been looking for a shampoo that will soothe him and hopefully help with the biting/scratching..i will look for an oatmeal shampoo..
I am glad that the visit from the big wigs went smoothly!
hugs bell :)

The oatmeal shampoo for dogs works quite well. I don't know if they have the same type of thing is Australia, but we have something that you can add to your bath to stop itching and it's called Aveeno. It's an oatmeal bath and it soothes dry itchy skin and also is great for someone who has the chicken pox. My kids got the chicken pox when they were little and I would put them it twice a day. Once in the early afternoon and again before they went to bed. They liked it before they went to bed cause then they would stop itching long enough to get to sleep. It really calms the skin. So when I saw that they made it for dogs, I tried it. And it really helps. I think I'll give Zoey another bath in a few weeks or whenever I see the itching and biting start again.

I didn't walk again today. :( Did great on the food and water. Working that 12:30 - Close shift makes staying OP quite easy. Now I'm off for the next 2 day! Hope I do as well the end of the week as I did at the beginning.

It's been really strange weather here for the past week. We've had tornado warnings 3 times. The first time I'm sure there was a tornado, but they're hesitant to call it that since they didn't get the warning out beforehand. Quite a mess. But we had warnings last night and this afternoon again. The brunt of this afternoon's storms missed us as the worst went a little north of us - but that put it directly in my mom's neck of the woods. She says they have a lot of branches down and a few trees, and the rain was really bad, but no major damage. So we were lucky again. Lots of power out in the region, including stop & go lights. Makes going places rather slow. But lives were spared, so that's good. Wish the weather would change - these constant storms are terrible! I hear another storm rolling in right now - it's been thundering for a while now.

My daughter and I snuck a 3 mile walk in between this afternoon's storm and the one just rolling in. I was happy to get it done. I was quite happy with the scale again this morning, so that kept me on the straight and narrow today. I made chicken tacos for dinner tonight - they were quite good. The tomatos from our garden made them EXTRA good. :) There's nothing like a fresh tomato! They're one of my favorite things.

Miranda & I went shopping this afternoon and I bought myself an outfit. A rather expensive outfit. I normally don't care for Talbots, but I had seen this outfit on the front of their catalog. It came in petites, and since I'm only 5'2", I thought it would be worth looking at it. I shouldn't have even gone in there, cause once I saw it, I had to try it on. And once I tried it on, I wanted it. But I kept telling myself it was too much to spend on one outfit. (considering I get most of my clothes 1/2 price at C&B!) But I came home with all three pieces. :o I'm trying to talk myself into taking it back, but I really like it. I don't know what to do! Oh well, I guess I can think about it for a few days. 8-|

Think of all the hard work you have done recently..i say keep the outfit as a reward for all the hard work you have been doing.
Great jop on squeezing that walk in between storms..that is dedication!
hugs bell :)

Well, the mood I'm in today, I may just keep that outfit! When I got on the scale this morning, I was back into the 130's! Just barely, but that's okay. I'm hoping to still be there tomorrow morning, lol.

I did eat well today and walked 5 miles tonight. They were calling for more thunderstorms today, but thank goodness, we didn't get any yet! I'm so sick of thunderstorms, tornado warnings and rain! And the humidity, of course, is just terrible!

Okay, enough complaining about the weather. I'm happy with my weight as of now, it's starting to move again. I work 9 - 5 tomorrow, so at least the day time will be easy. I'll be back tomorrow night.

Okay, this is gonna be quick. I had a good day - I worked 9 - 5 and we were busy. My husband called me twice, as he and my son were car shopping. My son came home with a new (new for him! it's a 2002) Monte Carlo. It's black and it's got a sunroof, spoiler and electric everything. They got a good price and traded in the money-sucking Sentra. Mike can't quit smiling and my husband is happy that they had a great day together shopping and finally buying.

I ate well, drank quite a bit, but didn't get any formal exercising, besides my morning walk to the bank before work. And running my tail off all over the store. 8-|

I just took a nice warm bath and read some on a book. I'm reading a book called 'Skinny *****'. Has anyone read it or heard of it? My daughter works at Borders and said lots of people have been coming in asking for it. So she bought it for me, but read it herself first. It's about becoming a vegan. I'm about 1/2 way done and what they say makes sense. It just seems like a lot of work and not a very easy lifestyle to maintain. I'd like to try it, but common sense says it's not very liveable. I would enjoy hearing anyone's comments, especially if they've read the book. I must say I don't enjoy a lot of the language in the book - they certainly could use their mouths washed out with soap! (Okay, that's the mother and grandmother coming out in me! :D ) But really, they could get their point across without some of that language. 8-|

Okay, I said I was gonna make this quick and I didn't, lol. But I'm done now and off to bed!

Editing back in - I didn't realize this program was gonna edit the name of the book, but I'll give you a hint, the second word rhymes with 'witch'.

Good day - went to church this morning. Walked to Starbuck's uptown with my sister-in-law, had ice tea, walked back home for a grand total of 5 miles. Nice day, some of the humidity is finally gone! It would be nice if it STAYS gone.

I was happy with the scale this morning, so I'm looking forward to a good weigh-in tomorrow morning.

I'm off again tomorrow - not sure what I'm gonna be up to. I'll have to see if my daughter works tomorrow, but from what little I've seen of her today, she's in a herrendous mood, so maybe I'll just leave her be tomorrow, lol.

I think I'll go take a bath and finish up my book.

Hi Mel, just thought I'd check your jornal, and see we can have another clothes chat! I likw Talbots' things. A co-worker buys all her clthes from Talbots, she goes twice a year, when the summer and winter sales are on and she always looks great. But I can never remember to check when the sales are on!
The outfit I ordered from Coldwater Creek was pricy for my budget too, but I decided to pay for quality from now on and hope I have to buy things less frequently.
I was quite interested when you said you are only 5'2" and have got into the 130s. That must be exciting, I'm 5"1' and trying to get into the 150s. How much did you weigh when you started to lose?
I'm trying to walk a lot also, but will have more difficulty from now on as school gets into full swing here this week and I work in education. It also is starting to get dark earlier in the evenings, so I am going to try to do what you do and get my walking done in the mall.

I was interested on your comment about your son's Sentra being expensive to run. I'm driving my son's Sentra now while I decide what to buy and I am finding it harder on gas than my Mazda was. But that surprised me because it is the smallest of the Nissan models.

I didn't read the book you mentioned. But my daughter is a vegetarian, and at one point she went on to being a vegan and it was horrific. It seemed she couldn't eat anything that fit in with the rest of the family. Although she does all her own cooking it was still bad and also imossible if we went out to eat because she couldn't eat anything on the menu.
Being a vegetarian is much easier, it's not hugely different than what everyone else is eating and I think one's much more likely to get enough protien from eggs and dairy.

Well, I rarely buy things from Talbots. I don't care for most of their things. And they are quite expensive, so I don't go too often. I treat myself to Cold Water Creek occasionally, but most of my clothes come from Christopher & Banks since I get a 50% discount on their things, lol. That's a good reason!

When I started WW's in 1998, I weighed 220 lbs. In a little over a year, I lost 87 lbs., which put me a couple of pounds under my goal weight. I made Lifetime and maintained it for a while. I've gained various amounts back over the years, but then manage to lose it again. I've gotten back to my goal several times and stayed there a while, only to soon or later let some pounds back on. This time I had 22 lbs. to lose. But I've messed with the last 10 lbs. for quite a while. 136 is my goal weight. And I've been around 143 to 146 quite often. Towards the end of July, I weighed in on a Monday morning and was exactly at 146 and that resulted in this journal of the final 10 lbs. I'm within a few pounds now, so hopefully I can finish this off soon. I wear a size 6, so I'm happy with that. I was down to a size 4 last summer and may get back there if I go a few pounds under my goal weight. But I'm happy in a size 6.

Woohoo! Weigh-in this morning - I lost 2 lbs.! I'm VERY happy with that at this stage. It puts me at an even 139. :up:

Pat - I forgot to mention the Sentra in my post last night. I don't know that the Sentra is necessarily so expensive to run as in gas for us, but this one turned out to be not in as good as shape as we thought when we bought it, and the repairs were sucking us dry. The kid who owned it before my son did a lot of 'revisions' to it and come to find out, didn't have a clue what he was doing! So many things went wrong with it in the past year and we spent a lot of money on it. We just decided enough was enough and traded it in on the Monte Carlo. My son is thrilled with his new 'ride' and the car his much more 'him'. 8-|

Gotta run - I got called by my boss this morning. Her and her dog are sick and have been up most of the night. She's gonna have to go to immediate car for herself and take her dog to the vet. So I'm opening this morning and I just found out 15 min. ago! I'd better get moving now that my breakfast is gone.

I'm hoping to walk after work.

Congrats on your loss!

Mel!! WOOHOO!!! 2 pounds is great! You are doing a great job and are to be congratulated at how diligent you are! I need to take diligence lessons from you.... lol

Hope your boss and pooch feels better soon and have a great week!

Thanks Cori! - good to see you. :)

Good to see you too, DJ! Yes, I'm being diligent right now. I'm tired of farting around with my weight. I'm tired of being frustrated with myself all the time because of my weight. I get very down on myself when I'm within spitting distance of my goal and a month goes by and I haven't made any progress. I can maintain my goal weight just as easily as maintaining 10 lbs. over. So I'm making this push to get to goal. And I'm gonna do it! :mus:

To that end, I walked 5 miles tonight with my sister-in-law. Good thing we had it planned in advance, cause both of us were tired after working all day. I might have been tempted to talk myself out of it, had we not had prior plans. But I was glad we went. It was perfect weather too.

My daughter had me read the book I was talking about earlier about becoming a vegan. I've decided against it. It's just too tough of a lifestyle to maintain. I may look into being a vegetarian, but I need to see exactly what you're allowed as a vegetarian as opposed to being a vegan. Anyone who has any thoughts or suggestions on the subject - please feel free to comment or give advice.

That's all. :)

Good going on the 5 miles, Mel.... I think it's a good idea to make a committment with someone and then you will usually stick to it. Maxi used to do that with her neighbor in the wee hours of the morning.... knowing that her neighbor was getting up, too, kept her from rolling over and going back to sleep.

On vegetarianism, one of my daughters is a vegetarian and I think the thing she did most when she first started was read ingredients. It's surprising sometimes what has meat/animal products in them. Like Lea Perrins Worchestershire sauce has anchovies in it..... she can't have that anymore. No jello or marshmallows as there is gelatin in that and that comes from pig hooves... things like that. You just have to read, read, read..... she eats milk products and cheese and egg whites, though. She couldn't do the vegan thing. It's really stringent and I honestly can't see how it's healthy when you can't eat eggs or cheese. Where do you get your protein from besides beans? LOL You'll need beano, too.... LOL

It's a challenge to cook for a vegetarian, but there are good recipes out there, too. You just have to get a book and start picking out what you want to try. Good luck with it!

That's exactly my take on being a vegetarian vs a vegan Dj, vegan's much harder and I can't see how it can be healthy.
actually I couldn't be a vegetarian either. I can't handle many grains without gaining weight rapidly and I need heavy duty protein. But my daughter has been a vegetarian for years and is totally healthy and controls her weight really well.

Mel, that is fantastic that you lost that much weight and kept it off for so long. What an inspiration you are.

Mmmm, pig hooves.

Sounds delicous, doesn't it, Cori??? :D :laugh:

I wouldn't have a real problem giving up red meat. I do eat fish occasionally, but could give that up too. But I would be hard put to give up chicken. I eat a lot of chicken. I was reading up on being a vegetarian and there are quite a few different types of them. I thought one kind still ate chicken and fish, but I didn't read that anywhere. There are some that still eat eggs and some that still have dairy. My daughter would like to cut dairy and see if it helps her sinuses. They say that dairy contributes to quite a few sinus problems and if this could possibly be her problem, it would be nice to find out! I bought some Rice Dream which is a lactose free drink. And it contains no soy. So we'll see if we like that. I know being a vegan is MUCH harder than a vegetarian, but I don't think I could give up dairy. I rarely drink milk, but I LOVE ice cream and pudding. I'm gonna have to think this over really hard.

I had a really good day today. Food and water were good and I walked 3 miles this afternoon. It was much warmer out than I thought, the only thing that saved me was there was somewhat of a breeze. I think I'll try to go first thing in the morning tomorrow.

Thanks for the visits and comments, Patrician, DJ and Cori! I appreciate your thoughts on the vegetarian subject! Even you, Cori! lol Anyone else have any comments on the subject?

Okay, I think it's my bedtime. I worked tonight and I'm pooped.

I have had to give up dairy years ago because of sinus infections. I really hate that I can't have dairy because it is so good for weight loss. I have tried severl times to sneak yogurt back in because I love but after a few days the sinus problems are right back.
but there are fake dairy things made from soy, so I use a lot of those products.

Pat

Ok, call me stupid I didn't know that dairy affected sinuses. Wow, guess I learned something new. Now, my bil is vegatarian, I don't know if he is vegan..don't really know the difference. He used to be over 400 lbs. and now maintains (and has for about 15-18 yrs) a 145 lb. body on a 5'9 frame. I know at one point he did eat chicken and fish, but then he gave that up. Then he was home (he lives in CA, we live in MD) one Christmas and he ate an egg. LOL, we all freaked out. "What are you doing eating an egg?!?!?" He eats vegatarian chicken nuggets, cheeseburgers ect. As for me, we rarely eat red meat. I don't think I'd have a problem giving it up, but just like everything I probably eat more than I think I do. Your walking is phenomenal!! Keep up the good work. You'll get to goal and maintance will be a snap!
Hope you have a good day!! Sorry I got so long winded! Its my nature. Hee heee..

Didn't get here yesterday - too much going on. But I did get a 3 mile walk done. I ate well and drank enough, but should have drank more. I like to drink more than 'just enough'. I bought a book last night at Borders called 'Becoming Vegetarian for Dummies'. I'm not sure I'm gonna do this, but my daughter might. She most definitely needs to AT LEAST cut out the dairy and see if it helps her sinus problems. Could be an easy fix for her if that's what's causing it. She doesn't eat that much meat to begin with, so she might give it a whirl. And even if I don't do it with her, I need to know the ins and outs of this to help her get started. I could help her find some of the thiings she needs and we could shop for them together. I know it's hard for her cause she's not quite sure how to go about starting.

LMJ - don't worry about getting long-winded, that's what journals are for. I
do like to walk and the long walks really do help the weight loss. And they make you feel fantastic! I would like to try this vegetarian thing with my daughter, but I really, really like chicken. I eat it a lot and would be kind of lost without it. Maybe I'll just pick and choose what I give up and not be a true vegetarian, just change my eating to be a little healthier.

Maybe I'll go read on my new book now. It's quiet here and I don't have to work today! I'm hoping to walk after dinner with my sister-in-law. I'm waiting to hear from her.

Well, I heard from my sil and she couldn't walk tonight. :( So I decided to go this afternoon by myself. I walked 5 miles in this beautiful weather. It's 70ish, sunny and breezy. Still worked up a sweat, but it was enjoyable. Figured I wasn't gonna take any chances of waiting until later and then somthing could come up and I wouldn't get it done. So now it's done. Maybe I'll get to read my book tonight.

Good job!! Keep up the good work. Hope you enjoy your book. Have a good one!

Thanks, Alex! I did read my book tonight in the tub - my favorite place to read. My husband went to bed a while ago, my daughter is working and my son is at school. So I ran the water, but on my yoga toes and read my book. It's an interesting book and I'm thinking of easing into being a lacto-ovo vegetarian. And by 'easing' into it, I'm not gonna cut out the chicken altogether right away. We'll see how that works out. Unfortunately, my daughter will have to cut out ALL dairy if she want to see if that is causing a lot of her sinus problems. I'm gonna go out and get some soy milk and see if she likes it. I've heard the 'Silk' brand is really good. This should be interesting. I'm all gung-ho when I read about it and as time goes by, then I start changing my mind, lol.

I'm headed for bed, but I thought I'd check in here. I had a good day. I ate, drank and exercised well. :) I work 11 - 5 tomorrow so I have to remember to bring a lunch.

You've got me interested in the "yoga toes". I might consider them since my feet are a mess and I DO NOT want anymore surgeries! How are they working for you?

I've never heard of a lacto-ovo vegetarian, but that sounds interesting, too... you just have to find what works for you and then go for it. You could formulate your own veg program and call it something like vegomel's or something like that. lol

I have read that milk allergies or lactose intollerance affects about half the population. I would miss milk products a lot.... don't know if I could give those up.

You are doing a great job, Mel... keep up the good work and have a great weekend!

vegomels - I like that! :laugh: I think I probably will kind of design my own plan. It will probably be basically lacto-vegetarian most of the time. But I will add chicken in when I really want it. I could cut eggs without too much trouble, but I like yogurt, pudding and my WW's ice cream and Skinny Cows. They save me. :D

I like my yoga toes. I've had them for about a month and have been using them most every day. The time I wear them each day varies, depending on my work schedule. But I really like to relax in the tub and wear them while I read in the tub. But on really hot days, I don't take a bath, I shower. So I'll sit in the recliner with them on. You can really feel them stretching the muscles in your feet. I have a bunion on each foot, one foot worse than the other. That one aches on occasion. But it hasn't been. My sister-in-law has had them for about 4 or 5 months and raves about them. You can order them at yogatoes.com. They have some different packages and I got the package that had the yoga toes, toeless socks (very nice!) Bert's Bee's foot creme and a foot file of some sort. I haven't used the file yet. They came like 3 days after I ordered them. Well worth the money.

Thanks for the visits, DJ and LMJ. Nice talking to both of you. I'm trying hard to finish this up and the encouragement really helps! :hug:

I worked today, came home, made dinner and ate it and then walked 5 miles. It's beautiful weather and it was a great walk. Food has gone well and I'm finishing up another bottle of water as we speak. I think after my husband goes to bed, I'll take a bath.

Okay, I'm heading into my REALLY long weekend at work. It's gonna be a rough one. Mainly because of the terribly long hours, but also cause it's Saturday and that means I have to post payroll, which isn't so bad, but it's also the end of our fiscal month which means all these extra stupid reports have to be run. I've only done that once and since I'm fairly new at this job, it's tough to remember WHAT all to do let alone HOW to do it! :crazy: Well, I guess I'll just do the best I can!

Since I work 12:30 - Close today, I walked after I ate breakfast this morning. I decided to walk/jog today instead of just power walking. Hopefully if I can do that more often, it will jiggle things up a little. But it's done, I just hope my legs hold out over this weekend. I probably won't get any exercise tomorrow, as I work open to close. But that's alright, it will be my day off. Monday I will hopefully have time in the morning before I go in since I don't have to open. I'm planning to eat lunch before I go in today, so I need to remember to bring my dinner. Food usually goes pretty good when I'm working, so I just have to try to get lots of liquid down. It's harder when I work cause we're not allowed to keep drinks on the floor. We have to go to the back room and it's hard to get enough down.

Okay, my daughter is done in the bathroom, so I have to get my makeup done and get out of here. I'd like to get my nails done before work. I'm missing my great-nephew's birthday party this afternoon, so I have everything ready for my husband to take. Wish I could go! Oh well.

Be back later.

I'm home. Long day, we weren't very busy. Saturday is usually quite a busy day for us and the last 3 Saturdays have been slow. Tomorrow may be the same way, but there's no way to tell. I'd like to be at least somewhat busy, otherwise the day is just too long.

Food went very well today. Could have drank a little more water, but I'm working on a bottle right now. I think I need a bath to relax a little. I'll put my yoga toes on, but I'm not gonna read. I might fall asleep, lol. Been there, done that. 8-|

Ok, cant find it but its great you are doing good. What the heck are yoga toes. I have to find that out. Keep going on your weekend.

One more long day to go and then I'm off for a couple of days! Wednesday I'm planning on going to Michigan to have lunch with my son. My grandsons will be in school, but I hope to spend some time with them when they get home.

Hi Smallfri! Yoga toes look a little like the things you put on your feet when you give yourself a pedicure. Only they're made of gel and a lot bulkier. But you fit them between your toes and they stretch your feet and even your lower leg muscles. They correct some of the problems you have with your feet and make your feet feel great! They're also suppose to help with bunions. Also they space your toes better if that's a problem. You wear them for a while each night (or whenever!) but using them daily gets you the best results. You can see them and read about them at yogatoes.com.

Good day, I'm hoping for a good weigh-in tomorrow morning. I'm tired - I think me and my yoga toes are gonna take a bath.

Okay, I'm getting there! I lost 1 1/2 lbs. this week! I'm down to 137.5. Another 1 1/2 lbs. to go. Maybe this week? Okay, maybe not. But I'm gonna shoot for it anyway. But I'll keep in mind that these last pounds are stubborn.

I'm off for a walk before work. :)

I'm back - I walked 5 miles. It's really nice out, I thought lots of people would be outside. Nary a soul! I passed one man jogging and one riding a bike. That's it! Hardly even any traffic! People must be lazin' around inside.

My future son-in-law just came by and picked up my husband. They're going to a big sale at 'Guitar Center'. Yikes, dangerous place for those two to be! Can't even imagine what those two will come home with! Miranda and I are both working today (she's already left) so I guess they decided to see what trouble they could get in this morning.

Time for a shower!

I was pooped when I got home from work last night and I didn't get back here. But I guess there wasn't much to say anyway, lol. I ate well, drank lots and exercised. We were also quite busy at work, but I'm really glad the weekend is done. I'm off today and tomorrow! Yippee! Today I have some guys coming - hopefully within the next hour - to measure our kitchen for new cabinets. We're ripping EVERYTHING out and starting from scratch. Then I'd like to go for a haircut and get my nails done. I also need to grocery shop. And do laundry. So there goes my day! I'm hoping to walk after dinner with my sister-in-law. The scale was down a little more today! Hopefully it will hold.

Well, I'd better get going, hopefully those guys will be here soon.

Congrats on the loss!! Your getting there and thats awesome! Its so fun to renovate, its hard when its being done but when its done its great to see the finished product. Especially when its what you want. Keep up the good work!

Hmm, I will look into yoga toes and see what happens.

Mel, wandering around and decided to check in and see what you are doing. Wow, you decided to get off that ten pounds and you are well on your way. But we both know how hard those last pounds are... and how hard they are to keep off besides.

I guess I forgot that you were doing WW. I joined the on-line WW and am going to give the points a try.

As to why I said track for five days a week for a goal, we go fishing frequently and I do not have access to the internet. So if I say that I will do it every day, I am more or less doomed to fail. And right now, I don't need to be in a position where I will fail right out of the starting gait.

I'm still trying to figure out the WW web site. Do you use it for your tracking? I'm going to give myself a few days. The food tracker will be pretty ok once I get the standard stuff in there. I couldn't figure out how to get a half cup of milk for my cereal... need to work on that. But I entered everything today and came up okay on points.

Jo

Good morning! :) I slept in this morning and it felt really good. I was really tired after my day in Michigan yesterday and sleeping late was warranted! My son & I spent the whole day together and we had a great time shopping, having lunch and talking. We picked the twins up after school and then went shopping some more! The boys ated dinner at the mall and I bought them each some new school clothes, jeans mostly. They're growing like weeds and their pants were getting to be 'high waters'. I'd like to get them a few more things, but I'll wait till it gets a little cooler out. I didn't get home till quite late. But it was a very nice day.

I had been quite happy with the scale yesterday morning, so it was incentive for me to watch what I ate very carefully yesterday. I probably could have drank a little more, but I purposely didn't want to drink toooo much, cause I didn't want to have to stop numerous times on the way home. I don't like to stop at night at the rest stops by myself. I don't mind stopping at them during the day, but at night it gives me the creeps. So if I HAVE to stop, I'll stop at a gas station. But that just slows me down and I don't stop unless I have to.

Hi Alex, small & Jo!

Small - did you get a chance to check out the yoga toes?

Alex - thanks for the encouragement and yes, renovating is definitely a pain! I'm not looking forward to it, but like you said, the results will be worth it. But paying for it won't! :help: :D

Jo - I've used Fitday for years to track my food. Then I started using WW's etools about 6 months ago. Actually, I was doing both. But I just cancelled my pass at WW's, so the free e-tools are gone. I decided not to pay for them. I liked them, but I'll just do Fitday again. I'm within 2 lbs. of my WW's goal now, so I don't need the pass anymore. I think Fitday is easier or maybe it's just that I'm more used to it. You'll like WW's, it's an easy, sensible plan to follow.

Well, I'd better get moving, I'm not even dressed yet. My cousin is coming by in about 45 min. to pick me up, so I'd better get started! We're going out to lunch, but I don't know where. If we go to Valentino's (our favorite) I'll have to be very careful. They have a limited menu and there's not a lot of really healthy things to choose from. I'll probably be having the turkey sandwich, which is probably my only choice. Even their salads aren't really that healthy.

That's it - I'm procrastinating by sitting here. 8-|

Mel, I bought a copy of Fitday for my computer. Then it crashed and I lost the Fitday and all my history and special built foods. (Plus a bunch of other stuff - but at least my work files were all there, though I had to reload the software.) I don't know how long I will pay for the WW, but right now I needed something changed, needed some motivation. I have finished two days of using the food planner with points, and have built a couple of "meals" of stuff I eat together all the time, mainly breakfast and lunch stuff. I was within my points both days, which is good. Somehow it feels like the points are stricter than the calories of Fitday.. but maybe that is because I'm haven't used any of the 35 weekly points.

My SIL started WW in January and has lost about 25 pounds. She wasn't that heavy so that is a very good loss. Now she is at a slow loss, half a pound a week or less... My brother is happy because he is a diabetic and she has been changing the way she cooks which is very good for him and his blood sugar. I guess her success was what motivated me to give it a try again. It is just too big a hassel to go to the meetings, and I don't particularly think the "leader" out here where we live is all that inspiring.
(I've tried several times and never stuck with her over the years.).

So we shall see. Hopefully your last couple of pounds will come of fairly fast. And maybe we can both be in a good place by Christmas. That would be great.

Jo

Wow, the week is just flying by! My daughter and I walked 4 miles at the mall this morning. Actually, she walked about 1 1/2 and then quit and ate breakfast at Subway, lol. But then we shopped for a while and I picked up a present for my niece, who's birthday party is tomorrow. Just this morning a new Delia's store opened at our mall. We were one of their first customers and my daughter bought a pair of jeans & a top and I got Brienna (my niece) a really cute outfit and a gift card so she can shop a little herself. She's only 12, but I thought she'd enjoy picking out a few things for herself. It's a beautiful store. So that was fun.

I'm REALLY happy with the way the scale has been going! It's giving me the incentive to watch my food extremely close. My schedule got changed some at work and so I have to work again tonight. But then I'm off for the next 3 days! But then I work 8 hr. shifts for the next 5 days after that. So much for part-time!

Well, the fall dress code is starting at work, so I need to go sort through some of my clothes - especially my jeans, so I can wash some of them. I haven't had them out at all and I think I'll have to try them all on to see how they fit. The dress code was suppose to start a couple of days ago, but my boss was off yesterday and it was 84 degrees out, so I still wore capris and sandals. But today she'll be there, so I guess I'd better conform, lol.

Okay, I'm off to try on clothes!

It was fun trying on all my pants today. I tried on jeans and my casual pants. They fit quite nicely and I was happy everything looked good. I would have been really bummed had I needed to buy a bunch more. I did buy a nice pair last week at our store, but they were something that I didn't have. It was so nice to have them all just slide on and button and zip easily.

I ate well today, walked 4 miles at the mall this morning and drank quite a bit. I'm going to finish the bottle I have open yet tonight. I've closed the store several nights in a row and I'm tired. It will be so nice to have the next 3 days off! Then I start an extremely long stretch. :help: I really like my days off, but I also like the bigger paychecks. 8-|

I think I'm gonna head for bed.

WOOHOO!!! - THOSE LAST 10 lbs. ARE GONE!!!

I stepped on the scale this morning and I'm 1/2 lb. under my goal weight! For the past few days I've been 1/4 lb. over and today it dropped!

Now starts the hard part - keeping it off. I've been at my goal weight a number of times since I started WW's in 1998. And I've kept it off for varying amounts of time. But sooner or later, it starts to creep up. I don't want that to happen this time! Fall usually isn't too tough of a time for me as it's my favorite and it's great walking weather. But come December when it gets much colder, I struggle. I'm hoping to be busy enough this year, that I won't let things get out of hand!

Needless to say, I was quite proud of myself this morning. :D

Mel, Looks like you will have to change the name of the thread now!!! A big congratulations to you! Being at goal is a great feeling...........enjoy it! The secret is to continue to eat healhy with sensible portions and monitor your weight. Make a rule for yourself that you will not allow yourself to gain more than a certain amount of weight (such as five pounds.) Maintainence takes a different kind of desire, dedication, determination and discipline.

I was at goal for three years.... then I went alittle wild with Halloween candy and was up five pounds. The next week I was up 7. I started having a "tomorrow mentality" meaning I will get back on track tomorrow. You can see by my weight where that type of thinking lead me!


You will be fine as long as you weigh yourself regularly and make adjustments as you need to. I am very happy and proud of you. Hopefully I can join you in maintainence someday!

Congrats for the goal weight!!! You should be very proud, especially to have done it so quickly. And I agree, now comes the hard part.

I got down to 145 a few years ago, briefly, fleetingly... and then went back up. I seemed to be able to hold 155, for almost three years, then started the creep. Now I just want to get back into the 150's.. anywhere in the 150's.

Just keep doing what you are doing for a while, and maybe give yourself a little cushion in the numbers. And be very proud.

Jo

Thanks, CJL and Jo! I AM very proud of myself and I am enjoying being at my goal weight. I would like to give myself a few pounds of 'cushion', but I'm not gonna rush it. I'm just gonna keep at it and see if a few more pounds come off. I've been eating a little more vegetarian (although not totally) and I think that helped.

I think I may close this journal and start another one since the title isn't exactly appropriate for the time being. But I don't have a whole lot of time right now - I may get to it tonight or tomorrow morning. I bought a bunch of fruit at the store earlier and I need to get it cut up and put away. I think I'll make a fruit salad out of part of it and leave some of the strawberries and bananas for smoothies. My daughter has a Magic Bullet and I think I'll leave it set up on the counter instead of putting it away each time so that it will be easier and quicker to use.

I'll be back later.

Well, I did get all my fruit cleaned and cut up this afternoon. But I didn't get the Magic Bullet out yet or anything like that. We had a guy coming after dinner to give us an estimate on new siding and windows. OMG, we're broke! I can't believe how much that kind of stuff costs! We have a 2-story house with a lot of windows and we're replacing all of them. Doing the kitchen is gonna cost us another small fortune. We ordered the windows and siding tonight. They should be installed in 4 - 6 weeks! It should make a huge difference in the house. Plus we're getting a bay window in the front! Cool. The new windows should really make our house more energy efficient. But we're poor now! Good grief, why do those things cost so much???

I'm finishing up a bottle of water right now and I think I'm done eating for the day. The day went well. With that guy here from 6:30 - 9:30, the evening really went by quickly and of course, I didn't think about eating while he was here. :) So long as my mind is occupied elsewhere, I have no problems in the evening, which means I eat out of boredom. I really need to get past that, or just stay really busy in the evening, lol.

My grandson Christian called earlier, which was really nice, cause he's not normally a phone talker. It's usually Alex that calls. So that was nice. My boys are so sweet. :x

I am so proud you are at goal weight. Hurray to you.

Thanks, Smallfri! :hug:

Congratulations! I am VERY VERY jealous of you!! LOL.... Hopefully, I won't be too far behind you.

Thanks! It looks like you're rolling right along! You'll be there before you know it!

So that being said, I guess i need to get my butt out the door for my walk! :)

Okay.......I guess this journal has served it's purpose. I lost the last 10 lbs., so I'm closing this journal and I opened a new one. I think by the title of the new one, you'll be able to find me, lol.

Thanks to everyone for the support along the way! :ghug: