Posts by mamafred

Hello All,

Della, my dad died in February of 2005 so I also understand your sadness.  I will keep you in my prayers.  Please try to take comfort in knowing that you are cared about.

Cheryl

Hi everyone,

Betty, happy upcoming birthday! I, personally, don't see a thing wrong with turning 50 (especially since I'm 51).  Just another chapter in our lives.  Congratulations on the weight loss.

I am back to journaling all my food because the pounds are creeping back on and I don't want things to get out of hand.  This time, I went to Barnes & Noble and bought an actual food journal.  It is so much easier to keep up with than just using a regular notebook.  I have tried everything imaginable over the years and a food diary works the best for me.  Nothing like a little accountability to do the trick.

Enjoy your week.   Cheryl 

Hi ontherun09,

I couldn't agree more on both counts.  I lost 25 lbs by exercising and keeping a food journal with a running calorie count.  I am dragging the journal out and starting to log every bite in again.  That is the only thing that works for me.  Congratulations on your success.    Cheryl

Good Morning,

Hi Everyone.  Welcome and happy birthday, Kent!

Julie, I think you are exactly right.  Everyone is busy.  My youngest son and his wife work at a hospital too and they are both getting a lot of overtime right now due to vacations.  That suits both of them just fine, since they recently bought a house. 

I have not made an entry in my food journal for ages, so I am sure I consume more calories everyday than I am aware of, but I have been faithful about the gym.  I am incorporating the South Beach recommendations in with my daily eating, but haven't gone into it 100%.  I do like it.  I had my annual check-up this week and my doctor was very pleased that I have maintained my weight since last year.  Me too.

We live across the street from an elementary school and kids play in the school yard the time.  I enjoy watching them.  However, there is one boy in the group who is around 9 years old and weighs way over 200 lbs.  He is wearing XXL in men's clothing.  His mom works at a local restaurant.  We were having our lunch there the other day and this child came in to get a snack.  He walked out of the kitchen eating a tub of Pillsbury chocolate icing.  I worry about him and his whole family.  They live on grease and sugar but are the absolute nicest people. 

Oh well, enough of that.  I hope everyone is well and enjoying the summer.  Take care.   Cheryl

Good evening everyone,

Well Betty, it sounds wonderful.  I know that you are tired.  After my daughter's wedding, I collapsed for about four days.  It is so much easier being the mother of the groom (done that twice). 

Della, I agree that eating the South Beach way doesn't make you hungry.  I started in earnest today.  It took me that long to go thru the book and get my mind wrapped around the foods I can eat.  I have been perfectly satisfied all day.  Even went to the gym after work and did a some serious strength training and didn't get weak.  This is definitely a plan I can live with. One exception though....I refuse to give up my morning cup of Cafe Vienna.  That is about 130 empty calories but I make sure I work out that much harder during the day to make up for it.  Guess I'm just a stubborn old girl.

Julie, I am very interested to hear how you like going to the gym. 

Carla,  I too hope that you and your family are recovering from the loss of your horse.  To some people, pets are just pets, but to others, pets are family.  The loss is so painful and we grieve like we would for any family member.

Debbie, I hope that everything is progressing well for you and that you find this site helpful.

Have a wonderful week.   Cheryl

Hi Everyone,

Betty, glad that your knee is holding up so well.  Interesting to hear about your new job.  My mother is a retired registered nurse.  The last several years of her career, before retirement, were spent working in a nursing home.  She called the patients her babies and dearly loved everyone of them.  I think the real estate market is picking up here too.  I don't see nearly the amount of signs that I used to. 

My daughter and grandson were in over the weekend and we had a blast.  The baby is 11 months old and walking everywhere.  He sure is keeping all of us on our toes.  He is such a happy baby too, laughs all the time.  Of course, a lot of that is because I act so silly around him.  My daughter says that my IQ drops whenever I am in his presence.  Guilty as charged.

Have a good week.   Cheryl

Good morning all,

Julie, thank you for the explanation of Della's daughter's condition.  I wish I had you around last year when we were going through my daughter's pregnancy.  We didn't know it at the time, but she was born with illiac (spelling?) vein syndrome and when she got into her fifth month, she developed a blood clot that started at her waist and went to her knee.  It was touch and go from there but all ended well.

Della, it has to be so hard to be this far away from your daughter and grandchildren.  I cannot imagine.  Congratulations on the 7.6 lbs down.  You are an inspiration.  And, thanks for the info on the carbs.  Like Julie, I tried to calculate my carb intake.  It was amazing to me how many I consumed.  I can put down 50g per meal easy.

Betty, hope your knee is still holding strong and the wedding & shower plans are moving smoothly.

I weighed in at 173.5 lbs this morning (12.39 stone).  I am slowly getting down to my pre-gym weight.  I hope this means I am adding muscle and burning more fat.  That's the plan anyway.  I don't go to the gym on Saturday, but today I am making an exception.  I missed a day this week because of an out-of-town appointment, and I have decided to make it up instead of just letting it slide.  I am afraid if I start letting myself miss here and there, then I'll find more excuses not to go.  I know myself too well.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.     Cheryl

Hello Ladies,

Isn't it great to be able to enjoy the outdoors again!  I don't garden, but I do enjoy walking my dogs and not freezing to death.

Julie, I did a conversion on your temperature and discovered that 15C = 59F.  We are having an unusually warm spring here in Kentucky.  Today's temperature was around 83F (28C).  Even when it gets up in the 90s, I don't complain about the heat.  Now the cold.....that's a different story.  I whine all winter long.

Della has been much on my mind lately.  I have started having the wild weight fluctuations that she talked about.  Menopause didn't come knocking at my door.  It hit the door with a battering ram and broke it down.   I may weigh 169 one week and 175 the next, then back down.   Whew.  Good thing that I conquered my aversion to the gym and have been working out harder than I ever have in my life.  Otherwise, I would probably look like Jabba the Hutt on a bad hair day.  Oh, and I am having a few little tropical moments too, just to make things even more interesting.  All since February.  Honestly, I'm laughing, not complaining.  It's just part of life and I'm glad to be here to experience it.

Have a great week, everyone.   Cheryl

Good morning,

Betty, so glad to hear that your knee is progressing so well.  I hope your improvement continues.  A lady I work with and her husband take a vacation every year with other couples and they have a blast.  She says that having other couples with you adds variety.  I bet you are going to have a great time.

Well, I did join the gym for a year.  I was there 6 days last week and 5 this week and absolutely love it.  I had thought it would be full of young, hard-body athletes and middle-aged, over weight me, but I was wrong.  So far it has been about 50/50.  I have also noticed that some of the young people can't keep up with me on the treadmill and elliptical.  I will give the credit for that to a year's worth of Leslie workouts.  It is a boost to the ego when I can do 30 minutes of intervals on the elliptical and an 18 year old gets on one beside me and only lasts 10 minutes.  Grandma is looking pretty good now, if I do say so myself.  Well, at least my self confidence has gone up.  Just working out along side others instead of alone in my basement, is remarkable for me.

Della & Carla, I am thinking of you and hope you are enjoying life.

Have a great weekend.   Cheryl

Hello Everyone! and welcome drgracedad. 

Betty, Loved your post.  Oh how true!  Life is never perfect and we can spend our whole lives waiting for a fairy tale existence that's never going to happen.  I am thinking about you and your knee woes.  I'm very impressed that you continue to be active despite your injury.

Thank you all for inquiring about me while I was MIA.  I still have no great progress to report.  Keep loosing and regaining  the same 3 pounds.  I have been very busy and have used that as an excuse to slack off on the Leslie walks.  Lame reason, I know.  I am holding my grandson in my lap as I type, so needless to say, this is kind of interesting. 

Have a great weekend everyone.   Cheryl  

Good Morning Ladies,

I hope everyone is doing well this weekend and will continue to do so in the week ahead.

I have only walked 2 miles this week because I have been having some bladder issues; not an infection.  I went to the doctor and had that checked out.  I have never received an official diagnosis, but it may be interstitial cystitis.  I have had trouble off and on for years.  Sometimes I do have an infection and sometimes they have no idea what is causing my pain.  Anyway, after my 2 miles on Monday evening, I had to go to bed, the pain was so intense, so I have avoided anymore exercise this week.  I thought the scales would reflect that this morning and, low and behold, I am down another lb.  I was completely mystified until I remembered that I donated a pint of blood a day and a half ago.  ha-ha. 

It is always so nice to hear from you.  Take care.   Cheryl

Good evening.

Della, I am so relieved that your test came back normal (except for the hormone).  Now you know for sure what is going on.  I admire your determination not to let it get the best of you.  The doctor put my mother on a low dose antidepressant several years ago to control her hot flashes.  She took herself off them too.  She felt like she was walking through jello and she would rather have the occasional tropical vacations her body was treating her to.

Now it's my body's turn to rebel.  Last week I did 13 WATP miles and was mindful of all my food, though I didn't journal anything.  Around mid-week, I noticed my feet and ankles were swollen.  When I weighed Saturday morning, I had gained 6 whopping pounds in one week.  It can't be fat, so it has to be water weight.  The swelling hasn't improved, though it is only from the waist down.   Just going to keep plugging along and see how it all plays out.  The weight gain does bother me but it doesn't freak me out so long as I know its water, not fat.  Ain't middle age interesting?     Cheryl

Hi Everyone,  Quick note....I am down two more lbs.  Wasn't extremely careful with the food this week but busted my hump on the workout...16 miles.

My husband and I are going with our youngest son and daughter-in-law house shopping today.  Betty, wish we had your wisdom to guide us!

Have a great weekend.   Cheryl

Good Morning,

I am sitting here at my computer on a Wednesday morning, which is unheard of.  Usually I am running over myself and the dogs getting ready for work, but not today.  We are in the middle of a major ice storm.  I went to work yesterday morning when it was mainly snow but they sent us home at noon when the icing started.  My parents-in-law live next door to us and my mother-in-law called before 6 this morning to tell us to look out at their house.  There was a power line down in the road and it looked like a fireworks show.  I am not going to try work this morning because we are supposed to get another round of ice beginning at 9am and topped off with about 2" of snow before it is over.  I am actually afraid to go off and leave the house because the power lines may pull loose causing a fire hazard.  I think that I will go down to the basement and do my WATP workout this morning because we are likely to be without electricity any minute and it may last for days, if not weeks.  We are fortunate in that our home has gas heat, gas hot water heater and gas cooking stove. We may be rattling around in the dark, but at least we will be warm, clean and fed.  This happened in 2003 and we were without electricity for 3 day, and we were one of the lucky ones.  Some were in the dark 2 weeks.  It is bad but beautiful, looks like a shimmering crystal wonderland.

Hope you all have a great week.   Cheryl

Good Morning All,   Carla - Minus 12!  Even with our wind chills, that makes our 14 degrees sound absolutely balmy.  Congratulations on the 1 lb lost.  Every loss is a gain.

Betty, the Eat This, Not That - Supermarket Guide is very good.  It is very informative, well worth the money, at least so far.  I'm not very far into it yet.  Trying to absorb as much of the info as I can.

Della, I'm older than you but I am only flirting with menopause right now.  I have had a few night sweats but no real hot flashes.  My periods are still fairly regular.  I remember when my mother was going thru it.  It was, as you say, wicked.  Like Betty, I admire the way you and Carla enjoy the great outdoors.  My husband is an outdoors man, but I'm a house cat.  He is making plans to build a rough cabin in the woods this summer and wants me to go camping with him.  When I say rough, I mean shelter only, no plumbing or electric, just 4 walls and a roof.  Can't say I'm looking forward to it.

I lost 1.5 lbs this week.  That is pretty good considering I had a business lunch on Tuesday and my husband and I ate out for lunch yesterday.  I am regaining some of my control over food.  Tuesday I had a philly steak sandwich and fries.  I didn't eat the bread on the sandwich and left about 1/3 of my fries.  Yesterday, I had chicken tenders and fries.  I left two of the tenders and over half of the fries.  I did a total of 12 miles with WATP.  Also, I bought a small workout ball with dvd this week to concentrate a little more on my abs.  It is tough, which proves how badly I need it.

My daughter, son-in-law and grandson are coming in today and going back tomorrow afternoon.  I haven't seen the baby since Christmas and am looking forward to it. 

Have a great weekend, everyone.   Cheryl