I'll be 43 this June anyone around the same age want to join my weight loss quest?

Greetings!

I am hoping that this site I stumbled on will help me out. I have been on a diet or fighting with food my entire life. About 8 years ago I lost about 100 pounds, my lowest weight was 204 then I had my first child at 40. Now I am 220 and he'll be three this June. The only good news is that I do not weight 300 + pounds anymore having said that - No excuses, my food addiction problem has been out of control now since his birth. I try - and try - and try - and still nothing seems to be working. Maybe I can find a friend here who will help give me the strength I need to be healthy. I need to stay alive for my family.

Hooray for Friday!  I am looking forward to getting together with friends tonight.  That looks like an interesting web site, thanks for posting it.

I'm down a little from earlier this week; I'm not sure how much of this is water fluctuation, but any improvement is good.  I did my cardio Monday and Thursday, and both went relatively well; I met my goals for number of steps and for calories.  I'm not sure how accurate the measurement of calories is on the machine, but it's something to compare from week to week at any rate.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Sandy - Omagraf - 151.8 (up a little)

cynthb - Cynthia - 184.2 (down 2.0)

I hung onto most of my bloat till Wednesday, it causes some serious discomfort when it hangs on for that long...really glad it has let up now. My lower back has been acting up this week, but it is manageable and stretching exercises are helping. Makes me feel old when I put a hand on my back as I get up from a chair! HA!

Oh, my oldest grandchild gave me a wonderful gift (he is 5 1/2). He looked me in the eye last night as we were together fixing a snack (bananas & nutella, it is his favorite) and said "Oma, you are skinny". Could have gotten anything he wanted from me at that point. You just don't know what will come out of a kid's mouth.

This cold is so incredible, we have been below zero (actual temp) for days now. Yesterday -11, today -16. Incredible...my husband has to work outside and I keep pushing food at him to keep his body burning fuel! They said that the pizza delivery people had trouble because the warm pizza was causing cars to actually ice on the windows (not just steam up), they said they were having to scrape the INSIDE of their windows to get around.

I hope that your week has been good, I also hope that some one else stops by and checks in for a change. It would be nice to hear from some of the people we have lost track of.

Sandy - Omagraf - 149.8 (down 2)

From the mouths of babes :)  What a wonderful compliment, and you know it's the truth from someone that young!  I hope your back gets better - do you have a hot water bottle or heating pad that you can wrap in a towel and put in your lower back?

It's really cold here too.  Last night it went down to -30C (-22F), and it's only getting up to -20C (-4F) today.  I'm bundling up very well for the walk to work.

Weight-wise I'm holding steady.  We've been pretty good about eating this week, mostly homemade beef stew and grilled chicken.  My husband (he's the cook) has his mother's jambalya (spicy rice with chicken, sausage and shrimp) recipe which we're probably going to have next week.

I hope our landlord fixes the heat today.  The apartment is getting colder in spite of the thick cinderblock walls, and our hedgehogs need it warm.

Sandy - Omagraf - 149.8 (down 2)

Cynthia - cynthb - 184.2 (same)

Jambalya, I love it! O man I will not get it out of my head now till I get some.

I have been sitting with my heat packs and massage unit (that was worth the price). Back is better, but it is mostly the internal organs acting up (stupid disfunctional disgestive system). I am feeling stronger every day so I am hoping to kick it soon.

I am holding steady still also, I am not complaining about that since I have been less active for over a week. We had a (relatively) warm day yesterday and today so it is really good for the spirits. I think that our day time high has been above freezing 3 days this year so far.

Sandy - Omagraf - 149.8

You have hedgehogs? They are so adorable and sweet, so what are their names?

Well we didn't have jambalya this week, but my husband did make Thai chicken with noodles and peanut sauce, yummy!

I hope your system feels better.  I know how hard it is to function when your digestion is off... my husband also has digestive issues.

We have two hedgies - Vern and Chevy, both male, and both from a rescue in a nearby town.  We've had four before these guys.  We love the little fellows - they're so sweet, and their noses are always sniffing about even when they're feeling cranky.  They're very easy to read how they're feeling once you know what the signs are.  I can go on about hedgies forever :)

I'm down a little bit, which is good to see since I got on the elliptical Monday and Wednesday.  Ideally I'll get on it tonight as well, but we're going out tonight so the timing will be tight.

Hope your weekend is great and you feel better!

Sandy - Omagraf - 149.8

Cynthia - cynthb - 183.4 (down 0.8)

Vern & Chevy, how cute. I had a friend who had a couple and they are so sweet, she had some rabbits also and they were cuddly but I did prefer the hedgehogs.

I am feeling much better today. I was getting around more Saturday and Sunday I got out the dance pad game that attaches to the TV and ran a couple races with my oldest grandson. I got that game in the after Chirstmas sales and it is the best cardio (or worst) I have ever endured. After you run the 100 yd dash a few times you start to feel the burn. I am so glad that I seem to have kicked whatever was up without going into the dr. I worked on a hutch that I am refinishing Saturday. My dad made it and gave it to me, he is in FL for the winter and I wanted to have it redone by the time he got back. He made it in the 70's and it was stained so dark that it was almost black, after stripping the black left a lovely cherry color on the wood. There were so many coats on this thing that I didn't think I would ever get through them all, it was like tar! I will start sanding this week and then be ready to finish it, he should be impressed with it when he gets home.

The weather hads gone cold again here, with snow predicted. I am feeling so perky again this week that I don't think I mind. I hope that you were able to get in your eliptical work! Talk to you soon!

Glad to hear you've kicked the bug or whatever it was.  My friends have a dance pad for their Wii and it's a lot of fun and really good exercise too.  Refinishing is a good workout too for the arms and shoulders with all the scraping and sanding!  It's nice to keep a piece like that in the family and be able to tell your grandkids the story behind it.  I refinished a table when I was in high school, but I haven't really had the space to do anything similar since then.

I did my elliptical last night and it went well.  My husband likes to watch videos while he's on "the machine" but I prefer just to listen to dance music.  He also can do his exercise right before bed; I can't because it wakes me up too much.

I'm working on socks for my husband.  I do make some for myself too but it's his turn :)  These ones are green with a design of white reindeer and trees on the legs.

Back to work now; talk to you soon!

Hey guys!!!!

I was really hoping this thread would still be going! I took a minute to read back through the messages and you guys are doing great! After my crazy summer, losing my job, getting a new job, surviving the holidays, etc, I finally decided to get back to business. I lost 40lbs last year around this time and got to a low of 228lbs. Well, 10mos later, I am sitting at 232lbs. I am actually happy that I managed to only gain 4 pounds in that time. So, I figured if I can lose 40lbs last winter, I should be able to manage 20lbs over the next 2-3 months. If I can get below 210, I would really be happy.

Weigh-ins on Friday???

Hey Terry, welcome back!

It's been mostly Sandy and myself recently.  She's been doing really well; I put on a few pounds over the holidays and am trying to work those off.  We still weigh in on Fridays.

Great to hear from you again!

I guess I'll go first....here is to a good start...

Terry - 233 (got to start somewhere)

Hi again!  I was down further, but we went out to supper last night.  I've been exercising and otherwise eating well.  Hope you all had a good week and will have a great weekend!

Terry - 233 (got to start somewhere)

Cynthia - cynthb - 184.8 (up 1.4)

Well you never know who might show up. I was just beginning to think that we'd be alone here. I think that it is great that you have kept the weight off that long Terry, especially with all that stress and turmoil.  I'm doing ok, I am nearly a year into this now and I feel much better overall. I am still trying to lose 15 to 20 lbs, not much more but it comes off much slower now.

Terry - 233 (got to start somewhere)

Cynthia - cynthb - 184.8 (up 1.4)

Sandy - Omagraf - 149.5 (down .3, I told you it comes off much slower for me now)

I think that I will go run a little with the kids on the dance pad, the track & field events are kind of fun (and really get the blood pumping). I beat my daughter's boyfriend at the 100 yd dash the other day, it was only his second race ever so I think that I had the advantage! The grandson really enjoyed watching me beat that big kid in a race though, I think that he is now convinced of my super powers! Ha!

Thanks Sandy...I did a bit of rollercoastering during the time off. I was up 10, then down, but I got on the scales at least every couple of weeks and if things went the wrong direction, I tried to be smart for a while. Can't say I just naturally kept it off. I think that is just a fact of life that I am always going to have to watch it. I mean the bottom line is that I enjoy eating! I noticed that since last year there are some pretty cool products on the market. I bought these bagged meals called Steamables. The one I brought for lunch today is grilled chicken, carrots, broccoli, peas and something else..maybe water chestnuts in a pepper glaze. I think the bag is like 180 cals? Add in an apple for a snack and life is good! :)

My "problem" is when I get in the 230 range. If I weighed 245, I could lose the 15lbs in no time, but I ALWAYS get stuck in the 230 range. Before when I lost the 40 last year, I got to 228 and just stalled. I mean I went a month working hard, eating right and nothing. I think it is a mental block more than anything. This AM, I was at 230, so I have my fingers crossed.

Right now I am struggling to get my exercise in. With the weather so nasty, I am stuck on the treadmill and I HATE that.

Is your treadmill at home Terry?  What we've done with our elliptical is built a bookshelf around the control panel, and we put one of those mini 7" DVD players on the shelf right above the control panel.  I'm fine with just music while I work out, but my husband really needs to watch the DVDs.  He's working his way through Mythbusters right now.

We're trying to eat out less, but it's still tempting when you get home and you're both tired and everything is frozen.  We were pretty good last night - we heated up some leftover chicken instead of going out.

My biggest problem is that I'm generally good during the week, but it falls apart on the weekends when we go out for brunch, have dinner at the in-laws, etc.

I have a treadmill, but my younger son is 14 and a hockey player. He is really into working out, so there is a gym about 4 blocks from our house. I usually take him to the gym and get on the treadmill there. They have TVs in front of the treadmills and I am still bored to tears...even watching sports! I just love to be outside and walking/hiking around. I figure it will be okay in a few weeks maybe.

I understand about the weekends. My wife is a consultant and travels M-W. Those are the easy days. I bring my lunch, eat at my desk, and then have a nice dinner at home with the kids. Then when my wife gets home, we have "date night" on Thursday, so that always includes dining out, then we usually go out on Friday nights for dinner with the family. On the weekends we are running with the kid’s hockey teams, so more eating out.

 So far this week is going well. I have really not had much of an appetite for some reason. Yesterday I had Special K with skim for breakfast. I had a 190 cal "Steamable" for lunch and then a turkey sub from Subway for dinner. I think that is less than 1000 cals. Definitely less cals than I need, but I just didn’t want anything else.

So let me ask you guys...how do you handle when you have weight increases instead of decreases? Especially when you thought you had a good week. I got on the scales in the past and put on a pound or two and it REALLY put me in a terrible mood. I am a pretty rational guy and realize afterwards how dumb that is, but it really puts me in a bad mood....even a single pound. I mean the body fluctuates and I realize that, but it doesn't matter...I still get worked up.

Hello again!  I don't know what to suggest Terry for your runs, except that sometimes I listen to podcasts or audio books instead of music.  Hang in there :)

This week went well - I lost what I gained last week plus a tiny bit.  It frustrates me too when I fluctuate even though I've been good.  I know that I gain weight over the weekend - the question is whether I lose it all during the week or not.

Cynthia - cynthb - 183.2 (down 1.6)

Cynthia - cynthb - 183.2 (down 1.6)
Terry - 228lbs (down 5lb)

Got to love that first week loss. Good news it that 228lbs is my lowest from last year and the lowest I have been in several years. 28 more would be nice!

Thanks for the suggestions though. I am just meant to live somewhere nice and warm year round, but I am stuck in Ohio!

Cynthia - cynthb - 183.2 (down 1.6)
Terry - 228lbs (down 5lb)

Sandy - 149.8 up again

Terry you are cracking me up, I read you posts and could have written them. I have stalled around 150, can't seem to get below much and when I do it creeps up on me easy. I hate gaining anything, I mean face it that is not what I am looking for and I just never buy into the muscle weighs more thing. There is no comfort in that, I am not wearing a 6 pack here.

I absolutely love to listen to books while I exercise. It is so much easier than trying to watch a screen. I can really get into a book and not pay attention to how long I am working out. I hate to stop when I am into one and I try not to listen to it unless I am being active (makes me work out more). I did music and tv for alot of years and am kind of burned out, so I have been enjoying books for the past year. I guess you just need to find your interest and go with it.

Good luck on the weekend, I plan on cooking this weekend and I always eat when I cook so hopefully I don't rise above 150 again.

Okay...forget the weight for a sec...I was going out with some friends and put on a pair of my 38 jeans and they were actually a little baggy. These were the first pair of 38s I bought last year. I stopped by Plato's Closet (The cool used store) and bought a pair of 36s and they actually fit. I haven't worn 36 since about 1987. I was wearing a 42 a year ago. How cool is that?

Hi tsjej.......

I know the feeling about not being in a certain size. I found out yesterday I back into a size 16. I haven't been a size 16 for about 10  yrs. Feels so good.

Keep up the good work

Alicia