Posts by truus

Hi all, welcome to the new ladies here 

I've had the first signs of menopause, but so far manage to control it (more or less) with soy supplements (phyto oestrogen). And exorcise helps me a lot!

Kjun take care to eat enough. When eating so little, you're telling your system to hang on to everything you eat. That makes your metabolism slower. Many of us have experienced that a change in cals works to boost the metabolism, but only change it for a day or two - and it could also be through eating more for a day or so. Eating well - fibers, veges, fruits, protein and just enough carbs is the way to go in my experience, combined with exorcise. The exorcise doesn't make you lose that much weight, but it tones a lot, and keeps the metabolism going. And it makes you feel fit and pleased with yourself, helping you make good-for-you-food choices 

I'm back in the saddle, and it feels great! For the first time in years I went into a store, tried different pairs of trousers and actually fitted into several pairs so I had to make a choice!  I've been used to being lucky if I found one pair that looked ok on me  New experience, on to the next. Hubby has now taken an interest and is asking me for advice - all of a sudden he now wants to get rid of his 50+ tummy  Still got some way to go, I'd like to lose at least one more European size, that would be about 10 lbs - or maybe a bit more, we'll see.

Hugs to all, take care of you and have a fine day/week  Tru (now 46  )

Been reading back - oh Suz I too am so sorry for your loss, what a terrible summer and how difficult it must be to get back on some kind of track.

Sue - how're you and your mum doing?

Lucy - bad news, but: reversible as I understand it, is that rigth? So now you know exactly which fight to fight! Sometimes a diagnosis gets things into perspective and makes your path much clearer. You can do it!

I have a client with serious hypochondria - on the one hand feeling her body extremely well, but over-interpreting everything: out of breath becomes heart attack, liver spots become skin cancer etc. These fears have kept her from using her body at all for over 20 years. Imagine that. So many of her fears of course will become true if nothing's done. We walk and we talk. And after 5 weeks of walking her eyes have become clearer, her skin looks much better, she stands up straight and: she laughs out loud. Still easily off balance, but impressed at the difference it makes in her life to use her body more, drink more water, and eat healthier.

I love coaching a process like that, and at the same time it reminds ME how much influence I too have on the quality of my life. I drink and eat well and build and use muscle - and I feel fit, which makes everything else easier to handle. AND the other way round... Actually I kinda fell off the wagon for a while: I went easy on the running, and then easier and then not at all anymore. Inevitably followed by more eating, and then feeling a lot less fit and well. Stupid and unnecessary. So Saturday I decided that it has to stop right here, I took a day of eating well - like you Jas I switched to fruit and nuts, works every time for me. And then out running yesterday - and ladies: I realized that I'd missed it! So "I'm back on the wagon again" 

Aly - how's the sugar coming? Welcome to Boyte, and Vineree where are you?

Love to all, you too Connie, Tammy - and to all of you who're not here so often (Janet, Skn, Axe, Adanara etc)

Having it all to ourselves here at the moment, eh ladies ;) No problem, considering we can easily fill pages on our own, ahum :P

Con - if you like cabbage soup so much, and you can eat it evenings - give it a go! I mean: instead of whatever else you might eat, then remember that there's something at least as nice and much better for you. It'll make you feel good about yourself and make it a lot easier to step back up later when you're ready for that...

Tammy that's so great, not eating evenings. Aren't you very hungry in the morning then? Change of habit takes a bit, hang in there!! I eat nuts, fruit, something like that in the evenings now, works for me and my metabolism ;)

Hugs! 

Do you all get mail from about.com? Yesterday I received a story about slowly and steady. Can't get the link in here, it's probably too long... Read it if you're struggling! And you know Tammy - walking does help you, it'd be a lot worse if you stopped. Besides it's a sign that your body knows what to do, so you WILL find your way back :) Take e deep breath and start plugging in your cals from what you eat today ;) And then go buy some fruit and nuts, put them in nice bowl to make them look inviting somewhere where you run into them all the time. Don't be so hard on yourself girl, instead try to make it easier for you! :)

About sugars, Sue - when getting "off" sugar it's best to be very modest with all kinds of sugar, including fruit-sugars and milk-sugars. Only small portions a few times a day and best not eaten on it's own. But after a little while fruit and milk-products are fine. Once your blood sugar is steadier, it doesn't get upset so easily - as long as you stay off the real sweet stuff :)

Have a nice day everyone :)

Jas, how're you doing, stuck at home, and how's your 4-legged friend? Now you keep hanging in there - you CAN do it, a life without sugar is a better one for some of us  

You know, quite seriously "addiction" might just be the right word: There's some physical addiction to it, to the blood sugar "high". And because it's always followed by a "low" it turns into a very vicious circle. And then of course there's the mental addiction - sugar as a comfort, a prize, just not being able to letting the thought of something sweet go whenever something is somehow out of the ordinary.

The physical part you get rid of first, takes a few weeks. What might complicate that, is that there seems to be sugar in everything - meat, sauces and dressings, even many kinds of potato products  I'm sure that helps turning it into an addiction by the way, we get sugar all day long in amounts we have no idea of.

 The other part is tougher though, one needs substitutions at first - other comforts, other prizes, learning that it doesn't have to be (sweet) food. But that passes too, interestingly. Takes a bit longer, 2-3 months I'm told on average. And then a tiny piece of no-sugar-low-glycemic chocolate is more than enough, where a year ago I would've eaten the whole thing and been looking for more. Much stuff you don't even like anymore, too sweet  So hang in there Jas - how far are you by now?

Did I mention that I highly recommend to everyone going off the sugar??? 

Have a nice weekend all 

Connie hon - you know that pity works every time :D

Hi all, sorry to have been away for so long - bit of a buzy summer. In case you forgot me: the Danish case, living in the Netherlands, Europe... No, I haven't shrunk to thin air, - have shrunk, but a long way to go yet. As I never weigh myself, it's easier to tell that I lost 2 full European sizes and slowly but steadily working on the third. About halfway to g.w. now meaning, propably one more year to go. Is ok, I'm not dieting at all, change of lifestyle is what they call it ;) Feeling good, fit. Am proud to announce that I am now officially a trained badminton coach on the level of being able and allowed to teach youth untill 17 years playing on a national level (playing international tournaments). An 8-day intern course of incredibly hard work and I was of course the oldest, but I survived and made it :)

Lucy - hopefully all went well yesterday. Con - what can I do for you??? Sue - you're in my thoughts, take care and hang in there! Jas - you can do it! I promise (from 10 months of experience), you'll feel a lot better without any sugar at all! And to everybody else: nice to meet you (again) :D

I might be somewhat irregular here - hubby just might lose his job due to crisis, so I'm working hard on enlarging my client-pool in my little company. I'll do my best though to check in once in a while.

Hugs to all.

PS. Janet and her hub are celecrating their 25th aniversary this coming weekend, that just might keep her buzy at the moment :)

Connie - you're making me veeeeeeery suspicious girl - "lovelife" so to speak and ahem???????

Welcome Daryl  You'll like it here and here you're never too late! To be frank you too really provoke my general curiosity: can and will you tell us how on earth you ended up in Korea? I mean - I'm from Denmark and ended up in the Netherlands, not that far a stretch, - but Korea, wauw that's a big step no matter which country you're from 

Oh Tammy I do so hope for you that you will be able to get a good night's sleep soon.

Off to bed, be back soon. Truus

Tammy I think about you a lot here and send you positive and strong thoughts - first of all I hope you'll be able to sleep at night, that makes such a huge difference to how one is able to cope with the rest.

We had a 4-day-weekend here, celebration of Ascension Day, always on a Thursday, and the day after schools are closed too. On Thursday hubby and I went to a small chateau way up North almost by the sea. When changing jobs in January hubby got an overnight stay with exquisite dinner for 2, and now we finally went. It was extraordinary in many ways  And the kids for the first time were all alone for 24 hours and of course managed perfectly. We've had beautiful weather all the way, so Saturday and Sunday hubby and I've been gardening a lot. We had to pick up from 2 years ago, since I wasn't able to do much gardening last year and hubby couldn't get it all done by himself. My whole body's aching now, but it's been worth it. Wanna come for tea on the terrace anyone?

Only one small cloud on my otherwise bright sky - my arm's killing me  I've been struggling with a chronic tennis elbow for years, but now that I'm much fitter than I've been for ages I want to use that arm - for badminton, gardening, handy-work, anything! I'm strong and I like using my hands especially since my work is all "head", - but almost everything hurts that arm/elbow now. I've gone back to "my" acupuncturist, I really hope she'll be able to help me again...

Have a nice day all - be back soon 

Hi ladies. One of the more intense working weekends, so I'm very tired today and wisely taking the day off (!)  The good news: Last week I had a haircut, quite a bit off. This weekend someone said - hey you had a haircut, nice - and haven't you lost a lot of weight by the way? Can you imagine how that made me smile for hours?  

Yesterday we braided dreads into my oldest daughters hair - took al evening, but looks great. She bought colours that look much like her own hair and then a bit more reddish, - the effect is quite stunning, she's very happy now

Have a nice day/evening. Truus

Hi Con-hon  The rope needs to be long enough for you to put one foot on it and then both ends should meet waist-high. Material: some kind of plastic. Doesn't need to be expensive, just a bit better (heavier) than the really cheap ones for kids. Toy-shops may have'm. Don't forget to wear good shoes!!! If there's any way you can avoid jumping on concrete, you should. And do start out slowly, a bit every day is a lot better than killing yourself the first time  

Great advantage - it takes no time at all - fastest work-out I ever heard of, and burns a lot of cals. The calculation here on cc doesn't quite cover it, you need to balance it out with your weight - the heavier, the more cals you burn. Something like 200 in 10 minutes in my case. And believe me - 10 minutes of jumping takes practise, it's hard work!  

I found a practise-routine, starting out with 30 sec slow jumping with an extra jump for every swing, then 15 sec break, then 45 sec, 15 sec break, then 60 sec, 15 break. When you can manage that and still have some breath and legs left, then on top of that 20 sec with just a single jump for every swing, 15 sec break, 30 sec jump, 15 sec break, 45 sec jump.

There's more - but I didn't have to read that far yet 

I know I tend to make a science of this stuff, but it's my way of getting in gear - this way I can easily messure my progress and it turns into some kind of game where I am the one who decides whether I will be the winner or the loser. And I greatly prefere to win! 

Good luck, girl, you can do it and it's fun too! 

It's been a dusty day - been sorting out lots of paperworks, print-outs and whatever else I tend to gather. Threw out a lot, and now I need to create some kind of system for the rest, so I'll be able to find stuff when I need it  I know it's useful, but it's no fun at all. How come my self-dsicpline is much more troubled in an area like this?

Truus

Hi all  Just home after running 15 mins, - nothing special, probably looks horrible to a trained runner, but - I'm proud, proud that my self-discipline lasted this far  

Acupuncture I find, is quite different from other kinds of needles - the difference obviously being that those are a lot thicker, as they need space to extract or inject a fluid. These are incredibly thin, of course you feel it, but only rarely as pain, 9 out of 10 times no pain just a tiny sting if anything. Going again tomorrow, but already after 1 treatment my arm is feeling less painful.

My daughters gave me flowers, orange roses and more, I love orange  Sunny here, we've got leaves on trees and flowers, apple trees have lost their flowers already and are starting tiny apples now. Lawn needs mowing  - but then again even that is a lot better than snow in May, Adara, I feel for you.

People take care of yourselves - Jasmine, recovering all right? Lucy, you need to find a peaceful moment all to yourself (and then maybe you could write us??? ) Connie don't get a complex, they tend to end up causing snacks to wander into one's mouth... Axe - keep losing, like Aly says that's for the long run! Sue so nice to hear from you! Tammy I so hope you'll feel better by the day now. Aly - well done you young woman! Eating is ok when you're burning the stuff off, but you knew that already 

A nice, friendly, no-stress, active, pain-free, happy, lean day to all of you  

Truus.

Oh but Tammy I'm quite sure prison food would make you lose those lbs 

Connie sooo proud of you! How about considering what exactly it is that you did to get back on track? For yourself, just in case, and for the rest of us as well...

Sue - I don't know how bad your hands are, but I was operated on my right hand9 years ago, because I started dropping stuff without even feeling it - operation successful, took some days but no worries after that. My other hand though, was completely cured by acupuncture, a much nicer way than operation! I have to say that it wasn't quite as bad as the first, but the operation was scheduled as well, but cancelled  Just an idea, might be worth a try.

It's so nice that this forum has grown back again. I promise that now I will make the info-post.

I'm just a few days before my period and every month, repeat: every month!!! I gain waterweight a week before, look blown-up and heavy, feel that way too, and on top af that it's just about the only time when snacking fat stuff seems reeeeeeeaaaaaaaallllly the only way to survive. What is that and how do you concur that? Considering that I'm doing fine the rest of the time, it's really stupid and bad for my mood! Any ideas? Please? Please? 

Honey I'm hooooooooome 

Now Connie, anything that's more than your usual exorcise counts 

And now seriously: You start out with cleaning out your fridge and then going shopping - for healthy stuff. Make sure you're not hungry wehen you go!!!

Mind that you buy stuff for a large and healthy breakfast - that's your first goal, to start the day really well, that'll help you from snacking too much later on.

Good luck!

I'll be back tomorrow, just home. Hugs to all. Truus 

Wauw Axe, that's great! It is an artform, isn't it, to create something like that. I make costumes foor my kids, getting ever more fun to make as they get older, because not only do they now design much of it themselves, they also take part in the process as well. Takes quite some time to make a detailed costume, and you're making 3!

Hi Sue, so good to hear from you again. Funny, we do a bit of the same thing: when our older daughter will finish high school next year, we take her to London to buy the electrical violin she's been dreaming of for years... If you really want my opinion, I must say I agree with Hubby! Go, enjoy! Explain the situation though, so that everyone is in the clear that there's this much money for this trip, and after that everyone's to live on that experience for a while and be more than sensible with money. Hang in there, you'll be ok.

Take care all. Truus 

Why is it, that once you regain long lost energy - there suddenly is soooo much to do? Hmm. I do try to plan half an hour of just sitting down at least once a day, but now with spring here it gets very visible that I did not have any energy for doing the garden last year... Taking it bit by bit now, in between everything else. Leaving for Copenhagen next Thursday, work combined with a stay at my sister's. Now there's something to look forward to, although it's still cold there 

Oh and of course it was weigh in day yesterday - well the fast losing from the exorcise is over here, it's now slow and steady losing. That's okay though. More importantly: it's much easier to do the garden etc now, and the running gets easier every time. Ran for 9 minutes yesterday - doesn't sound like much, I know, but when coming from barely managing 2-3 times 1 minute 4,5 weeks ago it feels like a major advancement AND I didn't die afterwards  Wonder when I'll reach a plateau, we'll see. Anybody any experience there? I lost about 15 lbs since october, at least 8 of m these last 4 weeks. So app when would I hit a plateau?

Have a nice day and weekend if I don't "see" you before then. Truus 

PS. Connie - would you mail me your specifics? Then I'll make the overview-post.