Maine-iac's Progress

[Maine-iac]

Decided to go for the ultimate ideal weight and set the goal at 25 lbs. off.

Start date 1/1/2006
Results on 1/9/2006: down 3 pounds

Challenge for the week: Behave reasonably on a two-day road trip.

[Maine-iac]

I think if I can actually manage the exercise goal this week, it should only get easier. The equipment is in the master bedroom. (There is really no place else it will fit without being a gigantic eyesore.)

Mr. M is on an opposing shift, and sleeping during the day and early evening, so my window to use the stuff is narrow. He gets up between 8 PM and 8:30 PM, I move in and do the workout, he heads to work, and I head to bed. Is life exciting or what?

Morning workouts are not in the cards for me as a general thing. (So many other things need to get done before leaving for work at 7:30 that I'm getting up at 5 AM already.)

When Mr. M goes off this shift, I can do early evening workouts, which is much my preference.

[Maine-iac]

Made it through another day of exercise. The challenge is helping. Since I issued the darn thing it would be very embarrassing to miss the goal.

Wish me luck on tomorrow's road trip!

[Frenchie]

Made it through another day of exercise. The challenge is helping. Since I issued the darn thing it would be very embarrassing to miss the goal.

Wish me luck on tomorrow's road trip!

Good luck! You can do it! We have faith in you...and you're right, kinda embarrassing to miss the goal of the challenge you made! ;) Just keep that in mind... :D

[Titania]

Good luck! I hate trying to exercise on the road, particularly if I'm travelling for work. I just want to sit in my room and watch TV and think about how nice it will be to get back home.

My trick for healthy eating while travelling is - soup. As long as it's not creamy, it should be pretty good for you. (Then again, I don't really like salad, maybe it's a better option.)

[Maine-iac]

Thanks guys!

I do tend to prefer soup to salad in the colder months, sometimes in the summer too. A clear soup is usually as good a nutritional option as a salad, or sometimes better depending on your attitude toward salad dressing and croutons.

[Maine-iac]

Progress report: Not too bad for a trip. Could have been better, but also could have been a lot worse.

I did get the exercise in and met the weekly challenge goal, so that's my best accomplishment.

Mostly made good choices at restaurants, but overdid the portion sizes. And the dinner restaurant had a specialty of the house white chocolate bread pudding, so I decided to try a piece. It was very good, and at a restaurant it's not like I'm going to go back and finish up the pan, so I can live with it. If the end result is a weight hold instead of a loss this week, so be it.

I did stay away from the bread basket!

[Titania]

Woo HOO!

I think that, when you're out of your normal routine and surrounded by temptation, not gaining is definitely an accomplishment!

[Maine-iac]

Well, I took the official Monday Morning weight today, and I actually lost one pound, so I am VERY happy. Exercised 7 out of 7 when the goal was 6 out of 7, so it was a good week.

7 days straight isn't going to happen every week, but it's nice to know I can do it.

[Uncle Larry]

Good job, keep up the good work!

[Maine-iac]

Well, this week is a real challenge. FIL is in the hospital, and we made a sudden trip to NJ to look after MIL. No exercise opporunities here, except taking a walk, but those are limited since somebody needs to be in the house with MIL.

Food in the house is pretty fatty, but I'm making a grocery run tomorrow, so that should improve that situation. MIL prefers lighter foods anyway.

FIL is doing better, they think, and with luck will be home in a few days. He's pretty weak right now, but we'll see how that goes.

All prayers and good wishes would be appreciated!

[annabel lee]

So sorry to hear your FIL's in the hospital. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

[LoneGirl]

I hope your FIL is okay. I'll send all of my positive thoughts toward you and your family!

[micaelagb]

How are things, Maine-iac? How's FIL doing? Hope you guys have a relatively low-stress weekend.

[Maine-iac]

Well, we're back as of last night.

FIL is doing better and came home Monday, so short-term things are stable in NJ. Concerns about the long-term persist, but we'll have to take that as it comes.

Weight/Fitness wise, it was a very strange week and a half. Practically no formal exercise, but truly Olympian housework on my part. Poor food options in the house and stress eating on the one hand, and an intestinal virus on the other hand. No good idea where I'll end up. Probably near where I started out.

So, I'm just back on plan today, and I'll see what the consequences are on the regular Monday weigh-in. A couple of days of normal food and exercise should give a true picture then.

[Maine-iac]

Feeling kind of encouraged today. Yesterday was the first full day back home, and I was able to eat regularly again and get in 30 minutes on the bike.

Took an unofficial weight this morning, and if it holds true, then I actually managed to lose a little over the week+ we were away. I won't count on it until the official Monday weigh-in, but it leads me to believe that if I keep plugging, the Monday weight won't be too bad.

[Gretchen]

Good for you! Staying on track when life itself is not running on the 'normal' track can be really tough. Sounds like you did a good job.

[Maine-iac]

Three pounds over the two weeks. Not bad.

I'm pleased that it was easy to slip back into the healthy routine as soon as we got back. I think it was because I didn't slip due to something tempting coming my way, it was more due to poor options available. Although I didn't exercise down in NJ except for a couple of short walks, I think I underestimated how many calories I burned helping the in-laws by doing the heavy housecleaning. (Supposedly, a cleaner comes in once a week to do the heavy stuff, and gets $50. I can't see much evidence that she actually does anything. But that's probably a function both of being told not to move anything in the "Pile of stuff filing system", and not dealing with any mess caused by the dog.)

[Titania]

Three pounds over the two weeks. Not bad.

I'm pleased that it was easy to slip back into the healthy routine as soon as we got back. I think it was because I didn't slip due to something tempting coming my way, it was more due to poor options available. Although I didn't exercise down in NJ except for a couple of short walks, I think I underestimated how many calories I burned helping the in-laws by doing the heavy housecleaning. (Supposedly, a cleaner comes in once a week to do the heavy stuff, and gets $50. I can't see much evidence that she actually does anything. But that's probably a function both of being told not to move anything in the "Pile of stuff filing system", and not dealing with any mess caused by the dog.)
Congrats!

When I was on WW a while back I went to Ireland on vacation...I was worried that I would slack off too much because, let's face it, who wants to diet while you're on vaycay? Plus, all that good beer to sample, etc. So, I went on my trip, tried to be sensible, and didn't worry about it too much. When I came back 10 days later I found that I had lost 4 pounds...the only explanation was that all the walking we did burned a ton of calories.

So, don't discount the work that you do when you're not sitting at a desk all day!

[Maine-iac]

Well, bummer of a weigh-in. +2.

I think it's a water retention thing, so I'm not overly worried. Stuck to the nutrition and exercise plan well, except for a poor Wednesday evening.

I expect the +2 to vanish in a day or so, but still, it's a blue Monday. :(

[Maine-iac]

Yep. Water weight. Scale much happier today.

Why'd it have to be a Monday for a spike, eh?:swear:

Still, I seem to be plateaued out for a bit. I'll have to play around with the exercise regime this weekend and see if I can push past the barrier.

[Gretchen]

Yep. Water weight. Scale much happier today.

Why'd it have to be a Monday for a spike, eh?:swear:

Still, I seem to be plateaued out for a bit. I'll have to play around with the exercise regime this weekend and see if I can push past the barrier.

Hang in there. I've had several times where I'd seem to plateau for a couple weeks, and I'd think I just wasn't going to get any farther. Then suddenly I'd be down 2 or 3 pounds again. So while I actually weigh daily and have nominal goals weekly, I really focus much more on what happens month over month.

[Maine-iac]

Well, the official Monday weigh-in was -3 this week, though that includes losing the rather dubious +2 of last week. Still, it's net down a pound, so I'm pleased enough. Progress is slow at this stage, but it's steady, so that's good enough for me.

I have to be careful this week. Spending the 3-day weekend downstate. Meeting my girlfriends for catching up, shopping, entertainment, etc. I need to make sure I stay aware of what I'm eating and drinking!

Next week's weigh-in will be moved to Tuesday, 'cause I won't be back Monday morning.

[Maine-iac]

Missed the official Monday weigh-in due to travel, but the unofficial Wednesday weigh-in says I stayed at 142. Which is OK for just after a wild weekend with the girls.

Not particularly low-cal dinners, :), but not a lot of snacking and a lot of walking so it all nets out to no change. That's reasonable and I'll take it. Hoping for a loss by Monday!

[Titania]

Missed the official Monday weigh-in due to travel, but the unofficial Wednesday weigh-in says I stayed at 142. Which is OK for just after a wild weekend with the girls.

Not particularly low-cal dinners, :), but not a lot of snacking and a lot of walking so it all nets out to no change. That's reasonable and I'll take it. Hoping for a loss by Monday!
I think that's just great.

Not gaining during times where there's a lot of pressure to get off track is definitely progress too!

[tommie frazier]

no prgress feels a lot better than regression. keep it up! move that butterfly to the right!

[Maine-iac]

Lost another pound this week. Added some variety to the exercise routine, which seems to have helped a bit.

Averaging about a pound a week. Slow, but sustainable. As long as that keeps up I'll be happy. Let's see if I can manage 140 by next Monday!

[satogaeru]

Congrats! Slow but sustainable is good.

[tommie frazier]

slow and strady wins the race.

good work!

[Maine-iac]

One more pound off, just under the wire. Hoping for another this week, but if I go to pattern, I may just maintain this week's 140 for a week.

That would be fine, but it's a big psychological boost to go from 140 to 139. Then you can say "Oh, I weigh one hundred thirty something . . . ."

Oh, the mind games we play. :D

[Frenchie]

One more pound off, just under the wire. Hoping for another this week, but if I go to pattern, I may just maintain this week's 140 for a week.

That would be fine, but it's a big psychological boost to go from 140 to 139. Then you can say "Oh, I weigh one hundred thirty something . . . ."

Oh, the mind games we play. :D


hehehe....mind games are great!

Congrats Maine-iac...

[Gretchen]

One more pound off, just under the wire. Hoping for another this week, but if I go to pattern, I may just maintain this week's 140 for a week.

That would be fine, but it's a big psychological boost to go from 140 to 139. Then you can say "Oh, I weigh one hundred thirty something . . . ."

Oh, the mind games we play. :D

Yeah, I think that's my main motivation for wanting to be under 150, even though somthing like 155 is probably fine for me!

Congratulations!

[Maxprime]

Lost another pound this week. Added some variety to the exercise routine, which seems to have helped a bit.

Averaging about a pound a week. Slow, but sustainable. As long as that keeps up I'll be happy. Let's see if I can manage 140 by next Monday!
A pound a week is PERFECT. Your body is being nourished enough that it's not going to freak out and start storing every piece of food you give it - this is weight that you will keep off.

A pound a week is not slow, it's just right. A pound a week means that your diet is working, your exercise is working, and you're becoming very healthy. Looking great is a great motivator, but being healthy is something you will enjoy a lot longer.

[Maine-iac]

I went out and got one of those Tanita weight/bodyfat % scales and tried that out this morning.

My body fat % came in at 33.2%, which is just below the upper limit of 34% of the healthy range for my age bracket. This pleased me, though I'd like to see it in the high 20's by the time I reach my weight goal. We'll have to see what it averages to over several weeks as well, since the literature with the thing said that the % is much more variable for women as they progress through the monthly cycle.

I REALLY like the scale as it said I weighed 2 lbs. less than my old scale. :)

Sadly, I tend to believe the old scale. When I get weighed at the doc's office I come in about 3 lbs higher than my old scale. This seems about right for time of day and clothed w/o shoes vs. unclothed. Mr. M clocked pretty low weight on the new scale as well.

But the 138 looked pretty! :D I'll stick to the old one for my official weigh-ins though.

[Maxprime]

I went out and got one of those Tanita weight/bodyfat % scales and tried that out this morning.

My body fat % came in at 33.2%, which is just below the upper limit of 34% of the healthy range for my age bracket. This pleased me, though I'd like to see it in the high 20's by the time I reach my weight goal. We'll have to see what it averages to over several weeks as well, since the literature with the thing said that the % is much more variable for women as they progress through the monthly cycle.

I REALLY like the scale as it said I weighed 2 lbs. less than my old scale. :)

Sadly, I tend to believe the old scale. When I get weighed at the doc's office I come in about 3 lbs higher than my old scale. This seems about right for time of day and clothed w/o shoes vs. unclothed. Mr. M clocked pretty low weight on the new scale as well.

But the 138 looked pretty! :D I'll stick to the old one for my official weigh-ins though.
Take measurements @ the same time of day (I suggest the late afternoon b/c it's before your last big meal and you should be fully hydrated). Also, record results every day and smooth them to get a much more accurate picture.

Since it can vary by a few % and doesn't show a decimal, I can jump between 17 and 19% (even peaks of 20 & 21) due to hydration level and other factors. Just like a single weigh-in, it's the trend that matters.

[Maine-iac]

A good week. One pound lost, so I can now say I'm in the 130's. ;)
Met my exercise challenge for the week.

I just need to keep plugging and not get bored.

[LoneGirl]

A good week. One pound lost, so I can now say I'm in the 130's. ;)
Met my exercise challenge for the week.

I just need to keep plugging and not get bored.

Way to go! I'm like you - my goal is to get to 149 so I can say I'm in the 140's. Not like 150 is much different from 149, but just being in a lower "decade" makes me feel better!

[Maine-iac]

You ain't kidding, sister! :D

[tommie frazier]

a friend was once told she had gained a "significant amount of weight".

after telling me the story (yes, she was not thrilled with how blunt the doc was, but what can you do-that's what we pay em for) I went on to gain like 2 pounds, from 149-151. moving to the next big slot on the doctor's office type scale saddened me. I told friend that I too, had gained a significant amoount of weight.

not in volume, but in effect. the drop from 150 down to 14x is significant.

keep plugging!

[violaactuary]

A good week. One pound lost, so I can now say I'm in the 130's. ;)
Met my exercise challenge for the week.

I just need to keep plugging and not get bored.

Congrats! 130's is awesome :)

[tommie frazier]

Maine-iac has lost a significant amount of weight!

great job!

[Maine-iac]

Well, it's Monday again. Another week, another pound off. :)

The scale was flitting between 137 and 138, but I think the 137 was a TOM thing, so I didn't count it.

The exercise is a big help, but I still can't get to a point where I enjoy it. The 12 week "corporate challenge" is providing sufficient motivation for now. I'll have to see what kind of motivation I can dig up after that. Maybe by then (end of May) I'll be close enough to goal that the end will be in sight and that will be motivating. I can hope!

[Bison]

Well, it's Monday again. Another week, another pound off. :)

The scale was flitting between 137 and 138, but I think the 137 was a TOM thing, so I didn't count it.

The exercise is a big help, but I still can't get to a point where I enjoy it. The 12 week "corporate challenge" is providing sufficient motivation for now. I'll have to see what kind of motivation I can dig up after that. Maybe by then (end of May) I'll be close enough to goal that the end will be in sight and that will be motivating. I can hope!


Congrats! The good thing is that spring's on the way, so that'll open a lot more exercise options that you may find enjoyable.

[violaactuary]

Well, it's Monday again. Another week, another pound off. :)

:tup:
Yippee!

[Maine-iac]

Thanks. New mini-goal = 137 'cause that's past the halfway point!

[tommie frazier]

you ar eon the verge of making that mini goal. well done.

new clothes when you are done? what is the reward/dangling carrot? (or is it just how you'll like the way you look/feel/clothes fit?)

[annabel lee]

Woo-hoo! That's awesome. I'm using you as inspiration...

[Maine-iac]

you ar eon the verge of making that mini goal. well done.

new clothes when you are done? what is the reward/dangling carrot? (or is it just how you'll like the way you look/feel/clothes fit?)

I just bought a raft of new clothes. Tons of fun, I admit, but not really the incentive. The incentive is mainly health. These past few years I've seen the price that older relatives and friends have paid for not developing healthy habits and I don't want to go there. Sure, something will get me in the end, but I want to give myself the best chance possible for a vigorous life.

Plus, after a rather alarming weight gain in the last few years, Mr. M has finally seen the light and is now working to get himself into shape. The last thing I want is to be a bad example or a discouragement to this trend. He's done very well so far.

[Cannonball]

Awesome progress so far. Way to go.

[tommie frazier]

man, all you need to do is spend any time in an airport or mall or wherever, and the fat americans just limp on by, with a display of clocks over their heads: one is for heart attack, other for knee replacement, another for type 2 diabetes, etc.

I've grown to hate a good many of them, and that is something that makes me a bad person, I know.

[Frenchie]

The last thing I want is to be a bad example or a discouragement to this trend.

So does this mean no sitting on the couch with a full-fat hot fudge sundae telling him to move his fat azz faster or he'll never lose the weight? ;)

[Maine-iac]

Nope. No can do.

But it makes a great fantasy, though. :D

I've got to give him credit though. He needed to lose about 50 lbs, and has dropped about 30 since mid-january (10 of that was probably due to an intestinal flu, but still . . . ) He works rotating shifts, and that makes nutrition management a REAL challenge.

[Titania]

I just bought a raft of new clothes. Tons of fun, I admit, but not really the incentive. The incentive is mainly health. These past few years I've seen the price that older relatives and friends have paid for not developing healthy habits and I don't want to go there. Sure, something will get me in the end, but I want to give myself the best chance possible for a vigorous life. That is the best attitude. And even though I think a lot about how my favorite jeans are fitting, the thing that keeps me on track (with the exercise and weight, but particularly the smoking) is that I DON'T want to work hard all my life, and then be too frail to enjoy my retirement or be carrying my oxygen around with me in a suitcase. I want to be able to got on mountain hikes and climb gothic cathedral steps in Europe when I'm 70.

Plus, after a rather alarming weight gain in the last few years, Mr. M has finally seen the light and is now working to get himself into shape. The last thing I want is to be a bad example or a discouragement to this trend. He's done very well so far.
That is AWESOME! You're doing great.

Keep it up!! :clap:

[Maine-iac]

A good week. -2 pounds and past the half-way point. :)

[Gretchen]

Way to go - you're doing terrific!

[Maine-iac]

Next mini-goal, 135. Then all I have to lose is "5 or 10 vanity pounds". :D

[annabel lee]

That's awesome!! Go you!

[Maine-iac]

Kind of a bummer week. My weight has crept up 2 lbs by the scale. I know why, and it's a short-term physical thing that I hope will be resolved before the "official" weigh-in on Monday. My clothes are still fitting well, and I know I look fine.

Even knowing all that, it's STILL depressing to see the number climb. It makes me want to give up and go eat chocolate. Now I'm not actually going to do it, but this whole weight and fitness thing is at least as much psychological as physical I'm finding.

[ACCtuary]

Kind of a bummer week. My weight has crept up 2 lbs by the scale. I know why, and it's a short-term physical thing that I hope will be resolved before the "official" weigh-in on Monday. My clothes are still fitting well, and I know I look fine.

Even knowing all that, it's STILL depressing to see the number climb. It makes me want to give up and go eat chocolate. Now I'm not actually going to do it, but this whole weight and fitness thing is at least as much psychological as physical I'm finding.

The giving up part I can really relate to. It's tough to see things not change. I presume part of this is a phenomenon related to position in the lunar cycle. But otherwise, don't give up on yourself. You've come so far! How's the Yoga tape going?

[Maine-iac]

I mail-ordered the tape, so I haven't actually received it yet. We'll see on that.

Not a lunar thing, but similar. No big deal, just messing with the scale. Intellectually, not a problem. Emotionally - NOTHING IS WORKING! JUST GIVE ME SOME CHOCOLATE!" ;)

The compulsion to report back to this group is actually a big help in not giving in to the chocolate lust.

[ACCtuary]

I mail-ordered the tape, so I haven't actually received it yet. We'll see on that.

Not a lunar thing, but similar. No big deal, just messing with the scale. Intellectually, not a problem. Emotionally - NOTHING IS WORKING! JUST GIVE ME SOME CHOCOLATE!" ;)

The compulsion to report back to this group is actually a big help in not giving in to the chocolate lust.

We're here for you! I know how depressing it can be. I hope that adjusting my thyroid medication will at least keep the field level for me.

When this happens to me, which is now, btw, I take the focus off weight. Instead, I focus on fitness gains for two weeks, since that is directly under my control. I also learn about the science of it, so I better understand what is helpful and what is not in terms of expectations. I'm 40, so I'm not going to lose weight like I'm a 20 year old athlete. On the other hand, I also learned that I'm only 4% off my speed as a 20 year old, and ability declines only modestly in the 40s.

I'm big into Yoga because I think it will pay off when I'm older in terms of reducing falls and living independently.

Strangely, for me, chocolate lust drops to nothing as spring approaches, to be replaced by Ice cream lust.

[Maine-iac]

I'm big into Yoga because I think it will pay off when I'm older in terms of reducing falls and living independently.

This sounds very appealing. It was a fall that started my Mom down the road to the end a few years ago, and we are dealing with issues regarding my Mom-in-law and falls now. :( I'm quite uncoordinated to begin with, so my prospects for keeping my feet as I get older are not good. (At least osteoporosis does not run on my side of the family, so the falls tend not to end in broken bones often. Mom was graceless like me, and was always tripping and falling over something, like me. :oops: But she never broke anything until she was over 80. Ma-in-law is an entirely different story.)


Strangely, for me, chocolate lust drops to nothing as spring approaches, to be replaced by Ice cream lust.

Ah. Further proof that you are not female. Chocolate lust is not a seasonal thing for those of us of the feminine persuasion.

[Frenchie]

This sounds very appealing. It was a fall that started my Mom down the road to the end a few years ago, and we are dealing with issues regarding my Mom-in-law and falls now. :( I'm quite uncoordinated to begin with, so my prospects for keeping my feet as I get older are not good. (At least osteoporosis does not run on my side of the family, so the falls tend not to end in broken bones often. Mom was graceless like me, and was always tripping and falling over something, like me. :oops: But she never broke anything until she was over 80. Ma-in-law is an entirely different story.)

And then you have my "Mama" (great-grandma) who never exercised, never ate healthy, none of that. She lived to 105+ and fell numerous times, but never broke a bone...There's hope for you Maine! :tup:

[Frenchie]

...to be replaced by Ice cream lust.

Speaking of...a good, low cal, snack is Edy's Light Ice Cream (vanilla is only ~100 cal per serving which is 1 c or maybe 0.5 c) with Chips Ahoy 100 calorie snack pack tossed in. A yummy and filling treat!

[ACCtuary]

Ah. Further proof that you are not female. Chocolate lust is not a seasonal thing for those of us of the feminine persuasion.

So, what persuaded you? :-) Was it the babies or something else :judge:
So for a time people thought I was female?

I still enjoy chocolate in spring - but not in the height of summer. Anyway, thanks for the humor. And keep up the good work. If you've got the time for a trip to Boston, the YJ Spring Yoga conference is there April 7-10.

[ACCtuary]

Speaking of...a good, low cal, snack is Edy's Light Ice Cream (vanilla is only ~100 cal per serving which is 1 c or maybe 0.5 c) with Chips Ahoy 100 calorie snack pack tossed in. A yummy and filling treat!

I've never tried low-fat ice cream. I'll have to give it a shot.

[ACCtuary]

This sounds very appealing. It was a fall that started my Mom down the road

And my grandfather as well, G-d rest his soul. But he lived in his home until that day - something I want for myself as well.

[Frenchie]

I've never tried low-fat ice cream. I'll have to give it a shot.

I can't speak for all brands but Edy's light and Breyer's low-cal/low-fat are both yummy.

[Maine-iac]

I like ice cream, but I'm not a huge connoisseur. Mr. M is though, and he gives a thumbs up to Breyer's low-cal "double churned". About 150 cals a serving IIRC.


edit: I looked it up. 120 cals. It was 150 when Mr. M put it in a cone. :)

[Gal Friday]

I like ice cream, but I'm not a huge connoisseur. Mr. M is though, and he gives a thumbs up to Breyer's low-cal "double churned". About 150 cals a serving IIRC.


Mmmm. Good stuff! I like their no sugar added varieties (with Splenda), that have as few as 90 calories a serving.

[Frenchie]

Mmmm. Good stuff! I like their no sugar added varieties (with Splenda), that have as few as 90 calories a serving.

I think that's the ones I get. I know whatever I had was only 90 calories...

[Gretchen]

I like ice cream, but I'm not a huge connoisseur. Mr. M is though, and he gives a thumbs up to Breyer's low-cal "double churned". About 150 cals a serving IIRC.

My husband is very particular about tastes, and he really likes the Edy's slow churned light - 120 calories per serving (1/2 cup). When we went to San Diego last summer we discovered that on the West Coast it goes under a different name - something like Dreyer's. (And no, that's not a typo - it's not Breyers.)

[LoneGirl]

My husband is very particular about tastes, and he really likes the Edy's slow churned light - 120 calories per serving (1/2 cup). When we went to San Diego last summer we discovered that on the West Coast it goes under a different name - something like Dreyer's. (And no, that's not a typo - it's not Breyers.)

I recently tried the Edy's Slow Churned Light peanut butter cup ice cream, and it was great! I thought it was definitely one of the better lowfat ice creams. And you're right - out west it's called Dreyer's. I don't know why companies do this. It's just like Hardee's is in the East, but out west it's called Carls Jr. Do they think people out west won't buy an ice cream called Edy's???

[Frenchie]

I recently tried the Edy's Slow Churned Light peanut butter cup ice cream, and it was great! I thought it was definitely one of the better lowfat ice creams. And you're right - out west it's called Dreyer's. I don't know why companies do this. It's just like Hardee's is in the East, but out west it's called Carls Jr. Do they think people out west won't buy an ice cream called Edy's???

Cause they know folks out west aren't too bright so they figure they'll think they have something all new and that nobody else (us on the east coast) can get! ;)

[violaactuary]

Ah. Further proof that you are not female. Chocolate lust is not a seasonal thing for those of us of the feminine persuasion.
For me it is. I like the chocolate truffles that the boss gives out for Christmas, and I like a scoop of chocolate ice cream once or twice in the summer.

Give me potato chips and salted cashews any day.

On second thought... better keep them away from me ;)

[Maine-iac]

You can have my chips if I can have your chocolate . . . . :D

[LoneGirl]

For me it is. I like the chocolate truffles that the boss gives out for Christmas, and I like a scoop of chocolate ice cream once or twice in the summer.

Give me potato chips and salted cashews any day.

On second thought... better keep them away from me ;)

When I was 14 or 15, my cousin told me that I would outgrow my sweet tooth because she no longer craved chocolate and other sweets once she was an adult. I'm 28 and still waiting to outgrow it....I don't think it's ever going to happen!

[violaactuary]

You can have my chips if I can have your chocolate . . . . :D
:tup: Deal!

[violaactuary]

When I was 14 or 15, my cousin told me that I would outgrow my sweet tooth because she no longer craved chocolate and other sweets once she was an adult. I'm 28 and still waiting to outgrow it....I don't think it's ever going to happen!
Well if it did, I would sure feel better about the safety of the cookie truck driver!

[annabel lee]

Carl's Jr. is the same as Hardee's? I had no idea. Too funny.

Back to Maine-iac's original post from yesterday (today?) -- hang in there. It helps that you know what physical thing is causing your (temporary!) gain. If you need a pick-me-up, don't turn to chocolate -- get a manicure or something fun like that. For $10, you get pampered. Can't beat that.

[LoneGirl]

Carl's Jr. is the same as Hardee's? I had no idea. Too funny.



Yep, and Chuck E. Cheese used to be called Showbiz pizza in the east and midwest. But they finally caved in and changed them all to Chuck E Cheese!

[LoneGirl]

Well if it did, I would sure feel better about the safety of the cookie truck driver!

Too funny!!! I got to the intersection at the same time as the cookie truck today, but I had the green light so I was able to get ahead of him and avoid staring at the cookie for my entire commute!

[Frenchie]

Yep, and Chuck E. Cheese used to be called Showbiz pizza in the east and midwest. But they finally caved in and changed them all to Chuck E Cheese!

No,(IIRC) those were totally separate companies. They used to have both around for a while on the East. Either they got run out of business or bought out.

[LoneGirl]

No,(IIRC) those were totally separate companies. They used to have both around for a while on the East. Either they got run out of business or bought out.
Hmm, but they had practically the same characters and it was basically the same thing. Someone just told me they were the exact same thing.

[ACCtuary]

Ah. Further proof that you are not female. Chocolate lust is not a seasonal thing for those of us of the feminine persuasion.

I told my wife, who is in fact of the feminine persuasion, about this comment and she :lol:

[Roto]

Carl's Jr. is the same as Hardee's? I had no idea. Too funny.

Back to Maine-iac's original post from yesterday (today?) -- hang in there. It helps that you know what physical thing is causing your (temporary!) gain. If you need a pick-me-up, don't turn to chocolate -- get a manicure or something fun like that. For $10, you get pampered. Can't beat that.

Had no idea either.

The town I grew up in (about 40,000 people), had 3 Hardee's.

Good Stuff!

No Carl's Jr's 'round these parts... but I've seen 'em in the South.

Haven't been to Hardee's in years... of course I gave up meat 6 yrs. ago, so there wouldn't be much of a point.

[Bison]

Yep, and Chuck E. Cheese used to be called Showbiz pizza in the east and midwest. But they finally caved in and changed them all to Chuck E Cheese!


Showbiz Pizza was the best! I loved that place as a kid.

I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think that ShowBiz bought Chuck E Cheese, and then eventually changed all their restaurants to Chuck E Cheese places.

[Maine-iac]

Good gosh. You can find anything on the web.
http://rock_afire.tripod.com/info/history/

(Actually, I've never been to Showbiz or Chuck E. Cheese.) I've never lived where they had one.)

[LoneGirl]

Good gosh. You can find anything on the web.
http://rock_afire.tripod.com/info/history/

(Actually, I've never been to Showbiz or Chuck E. Cheese.) I've never lived where they had one.)

Showbiz Pizza was quite the treat when I was little! There was one an hour away from my town and my parents took me and my friends there for my birthday. The coolest part was that they'd announce your birthday and then Billy Bob and the characters would sing "They Say It's Your Birthday"! It was also cool because they had the big pool of plastic balls that you jump into. Ah, those were the days......

[LoneGirl]

Had no idea either.

The town I grew up in (about 40,000 people), had 3 Hardee's.

Good Stuff!

No Carl's Jr's 'round these parts... but I've seen 'em in the South.

Haven't been to Hardee's in years... of course I gave up meat 6 yrs. ago, so there wouldn't be much of a point.

I haven't been to Hardee's in years because growing up, Hardee's was the only fast food place my little town had. I think I got burnt out on it, so when I moved away to a city with all types of fast food places I never chose Hardees.

[Frenchie]

Good gosh. You can find anything on the web.
http://rock_afire.tripod.com/info/history/

(Actually, I've never been to Showbiz or Chuck E. Cheese.) I've never lived where they had one.)

More info than I've ever wanted to know about these restaurants! Whoa..so bottom line? They were completely separately created companies? I saw Billy Bob mentioned, gotta read more later and figure out where they came in. Believe it or not, out in Conyers, GA (now considered part of "Metro Atlanta" but I still call it "country") I believe they still have a Billy Bob (see why I call it country!).

[Frenchie]

Ohhh...there used to be another one out by us in Atlanta. I had a birthday party there...now I'm going to spend all day trying to remember the name of the dang place. Ugh!

[Maine-iac]

Well, it was one strange week, weight-wise. I gained two pounds in the first four days, then proceeded to lose the two spurious pounds plus one more for good measure in the next three days. Net, down one!

Many thanks to the weight-loss companions in this forum for inspiring me to stay away from the chocolate when things were going badly!

[tommie frazier]

was it the threat of me calling you "lardy" that did it? some have clearly gone off the reservation-good to see you staying the course!

that butterfly is 60% to goal!

[Pillow]

Congrats on the turn around the latter part of the week. :tup:

[ACCtuary]

Way to go!

[Maine-iac]

was it the threat of me calling you "lardy" that did it?

But of course! :D

[violaactuary]

Maine-iac, wow!

Just look at that little butterfly go!

[Hummer]

Well, it was one strange week, weight-wise. I gained two pounds in the first four days, then proceeded to lose the two spurious pounds plus one more for good measure in the next three days. Net, down one!

Many thanks to the weight-loss companions in this forum for inspiring me to stay away from the chocolate when things were going badly!
If I may say so,... you are welcome. Keep up the great work. You are doing awesome.

[Maine-iac]

Another pound off this week. I keep waiting for the next plateau, but so far, so good. I think the steadier progress is the result of a combination of the corporate exercise challenge and the skipping wine for lent.

The wine will re-enter the diet on Easter, but the challenge continues another 7 weeks, so we'll see how next week goes. Easter dinner is the day before weigh-in, but I'm the cook, so I control the menu, which helps. I bought a nice little prime rib, figuring that a good cut of meat can be satisfying in smaller quantities. For dessert, I'm going to do parfaits with sugar-free jello and fat-free cool-whip. It looks festive, but is still lo-cal. Since Mr. M is also trying to slim down, and my brother, though not officially dieting, also wouldn't mind trimming a bit, there's no one who will really feel cheated by the lack of a traditional sugary dessert.

I need to give some thought to the side dishes such that they are a treat, but still healthy.

[Bison]

Good job! I have the Easter family dinner hurdle coming up as well, but without the controls in place that you do. The sugar-free jello is a good call, maybe I'll put that recommendation in.

Keep up the good work, you're doing great!

[Gal Friday]

Another idea for anyone who just has to have pie for dessert at holiday gatherings :wave: is a pie made w/ a reduced fat graham cracker crust and either fat free/sugar free pudding and fat free cool whip, or (my favorite) sugar free jello and fruit.

For the jello pie you cook up ¾ cup of sugar – but I use splenda – with 1 ½ cups of water and 3 tablespoons of cornstarch until thick and clear. Stir in a small box of sugar free jello until disolved. Pour over 4 cups of fresh berries (strawberries or raspberries) in pie crust. Serve with fat free cool whip. I believe this is about 120 calories a slice (based on an 8-slice pie), assuming you use splenda and sugar free jello. (Plus whatever you add in cool whip.)

[Maine-iac]

Well, no plateaus yet. Down 2 this week. Seven more to go.

[LoneGirl]

Well, no plateaus yet. Down 2 this week. Seven more to go.

Wow, you're kicking all of our butts! Way to go!

[tommie frazier]

nice job M.

[Hummer]

:tup:

[annabel lee]

Wow, you're kicking all of our butts! Way to go!

Yeah, what she said! Seriously, go you. That's awesome.

[Maine-iac]

Well, another week, another pound. :)

Still hoping to hold off the next plateau for a little while longer. One more pound would bring me to a nice round number, and the magic 5 pounds to goal. Two pounds would put me into the oh-so-nice-sounding 120's. After that, I suppose there would be no more mini-goals, just the big one!

But I get ahead of myself. One week at a time . . .

[Frenchie]

Well, another week, another pound. :)

Still hoping to hold off the next plateau for a little while longer. One more pound would bring me to a nice round number, and the magic 5 pounds to goal. Two pounds would put me into the oh-so-nice-sounding 120's. After that, I suppose there would be no more mini-goals, just the big one!

But I get ahead of myself. One week at a time . . .

I need to learn your secret! Good going though..

[Maine-iac]

Another one of those mysterious random pounds has snuck back on the scale the last couple of days. I know it doesn't mean anything, since I haven't done any extra eating or skipped any exercise to cause it, and I suspect it will vanish in a day or two as quietly as it showed up.

BUT WHY DID IT HAVE TO SHOW UP JUST AFTER I CHALLENGED CANNONBALL TO A RACE TO THE FINISH LINE?:swear:

*sigh*

[violaactuary]

Because next week it will feel so much better to be able to say you lost 2 pounds! (including the one that wasn't really there in the first place of course)

[Hummer]

Another one of those mysterious random pounds has snuck back on the scale the last couple of days. I know it doesn't mean anything, since I haven't done any extra eating or skipped any exercise to cause it, and I suspect it will vanish in a day or two as quietly as it showed up.

BUT WHY DID IT HAVE TO SHOW UP JUST AFTER I CHALLENGED CANNONBALL TO A RACE TO THE FINISH LINE?:swear:

*sigh*
Water weight. I lose 2 lbs every time I break the seal.

[Maine-iac]

That pesky pound still hanging on as of this morning. I did budget in a few weeks of plateauing when setting my goal of July 4th to be at target weight, but I didn't budget in any gains! Well, I still have 3 days to make it go away before official weigh-in.

[Maine-iac]

The mysterious pound vanished, but no movement this week, staying at 131.

That's reasonable at this stage, though a tad disappointing. I'm just hoping it's a one week plateau, rather than one of those one month plateaus!

[annabel lee]

Well, congrats on sending that one pesky pound where it belongs...and I hope you return to forward progress next week!

[violaactuary]

Goodbye and good riddance to that mysterious pound!

[Maine-iac]

Well, the one week platueau seems to have a been a week of weirdness rather than a true platueau, since I lost two this week to play catch-up with the pound a week pace that's been going on for awhile.

I'll keep my fingers crossed and the exercise regular and hope that I can continue the pace through the next four pounds!

[tommie frazier]

nice job. almost there!

[Kid Notorious]

way to go!

[Traina]

Awesome Mainey! You're almost there!

I may have missed this somewhere in the thread, are you following a specific diet program or just eating sensibly, watching portion size closely etc?

[Maine-iac]

Following South Beach pretty much. In a nut shell, not much weighing, measuring or counting, but you choose foods with low glycemic indices and low fat (lean meats and fish, low fat cheeses, whole grains, lots of fruits and veggies, etc.), stay away from sugar and white flours and grains, and eat three meals and two or three snacks during the day to keep your blood sugar levels from bouncing up and down a lot.

Pretty sensible stuff. (The first two weeks are a little more severe, kind of Atkins like, but you can always skip straight to phase 2 if you want.)

It's helped me a lot.

[Traina]

Great. Thanks! I'm pretty happy with my exercise program, but I figure the nutrition side could use some work. I'll think about South Beach.

[annabel lee]

That's awesome progress! Go you!

[violaactuary]

Yippee! :tup:

[Bison]

Great job, Maine-iac!

[LoneGirl]

Way to go! At this rate, you'll get through the next 4 pounds, and then some!

[tommie frazier]

Maine-iac might make it to goal before memorial day.

is anyone else close to goal?

[Maine-iac]

Cannonball was 4 lbs away last week. Don't know yet about this week.

[Uncle Carl]

Wow. Haven't been in the weight loss section in a while, real impressed. You must feel just great. Congrats! Glad to see the hard work is paying off. Almost there!

[Maine-iac]

Well, we keep plugging along. 128 today, -1 for the week.

It's actually bouncing around between 127/128, but I'll be conservative and take the higher number.

That will make it easier to lose another pound for next week! :D

[Bison]

Well, we keep plugging along. 128 today, -1 for the week.

It's actually bouncing around between 127/128, but I'll be conservative and take the higher number.

That will make it easier to lose another pound for next week! :D

Nice job! (And that's exactly the approach I take when I'm between pounds as well...)

[LoneGirl]

You're doing awesome, Maine-iac! I think you get the award for most consistent person in this forum - I'm impressed with the way you've really stuck with the exercise too. Good job!

[Maine-iac]

Maybe I have the most boring life! I've only had 4 or 5 days of travel temptations since I started in January. ;)

The exercise thing is all a matter of ego. I just can't stand the thought of answering the weekly e-mail from the exercise challenge committee saying "No, don't put me in for the drawing this week. I decided to lay on the couch and feel sorry for myself." Good thing the goal and the end of the challenge will almost coincide!

[LoneGirl]

Good thing the goal and the end of the challenge will almost coincide!

So I guess the big question is, are you going to keep up the exercise once the work challenge is over???

[Maine-iac]

The plan is to stick more or less with the exercise, but not quite as rigidly as the challenge.

On the challenge, I have been doing 45+ minutes, 6 days a week, without fail. This has required exercising very late at night once or twice during particuarly stressful weeks!

My intent is to drop down a little to 30+ minutes 5 or 6 days a week, though I would expect to be in the 40 - 50 range most days.

We shall see if the plan becomes reality or not. :)

[LoneGirl]

The plan is to stick more or less with the exercise, but not quite as rigidly as the challenge.

On the challenge, I have been doing 45+ minutes, 6 days a week, without fail. This has required exercising very late at night once or twice during particuarly stressful weeks!

My intent is to drop down a little to 30+ minutes 5 or 6 days a week, though I would expect to be in the 40 - 50 range most days.

We shall see if the plan becomes reality or not. :)

That's a good plan. Once you are happy with your weight loss, I think 30 minutes is what they recommend to maintain it and stay in good physical shape.

[Hummer]

Nice job! (And that's exactly the approach I take when I'm between pounds as well...)
Mines digital, so I don't have that luxury..., and I can sway 5 lbs in a given day.

[Maine-iac]

It was an OK week. Dropped to 127 early on, and stayed there for the week. Still there this morning. Hoping I can drop the last two without plateauing, but who knows? Still keeping up with the exercise and the food plan. Wish it would stop raining though, so I could exercise outdoors. :( It's been a week since it was nice enough to take a walk, and it probably won't clear up until Thursday at the earliest.

[annabel lee]

You're so close! That's so awesome. Keep up the good work!

[violaactuary]

23 pounds lost... that is so awesome!

What does your hubby say?

[Kid Notorious]

I just noticed your sig in another thread... Awesome work!! You're almost there. Way to go!

[Maine-iac]

23 pounds lost... that is so awesome!

What does your hubby say?

"You're so tiny!" :)

The good thing is that it has inspired him to lose weight as well. He's got 9 lbs to go to his goal.

[The Sad Man]

What are you going to do when the goal is reached? Hopefully nothing.

[Maine-iac]

Not much different. Dial back a little on the exercise, but not much. Maybe eat out once more a week. We'll see how that goes.

[violaactuary]

That's great that you two are kindof doing this together. Congratulations again! :) I bet you feel great.

[Maine-iac]

I do feel great. Actually, the dieting is strange at our house. I'm taking the South Beach approach, with lots of lean meats, veggies and whole grains. Not Mr. M's thing, so he's calorie counting. So I'm trying to come up with meals that can adapt both ways. It's a challenge!

But as long as it keeps working, I'm up for it.

[violaactuary]

I do feel great. Actually, the dieting is strange at our house. I'm taking the South Beach approach, with lots of lean meats, veggies and whole grains. Not Mr. M's thing, so he's calorie counting. So I'm trying to come up with meals that can adapt both ways. It's a challenge!

But as long as it keeps working, I'm up for it.
I can imagine that 2 different diets makes it hard to keep up with!

I think Hubby and I are going to do the Soup diet for the first couple of weeks of June. He's excited about it. Then we'll switch to something more long-term, but it should jump start the weight loss. We should get plenty of exercise as we are moving... then by the time we are done moving, we should be on a regular diet and exercise plan. Plus, I see the soup diet as helping me use up everything in the pantry before we move, :lol:!

[Maine-iac]

Whoo Hoo! Made it to 125 today!

Now comes the real challenge . . . Maintenance!

[high9]

:party: :party: :party: :party:

Well Done!!!!

Thats excellent. I'm sure maintaining won't be as hard as the initial phase, because its become a habit for you now. Again, congratulations.

[Traina]

CONGRATS!!!!
:wav:

[SykoChikka]

Yay you Maine-iac! Congratulaaattionnsss and Celebraaaatttiioonnss!! :D

[Hermann]

Congratulations...

I usually run/ lift weights 5 days a week. However, since I graduated college on May 21, 2006, I have been eating and drinking large amounts without exercise. I am starting to feel guilty. I think I am going to run now.

[tommie frazier]

great job! very happy for you! (now keep it off, or I'll have to call you lardy!)

[Bison]

CONGRATS!!!!!

[annabel lee]

Go you!!! That's awesome! We're so proud of you, Maine-iac!

[Roto]

Nice work, Maine-iac! You look hot !

[Frenchie]

YAY!!!

Now, maybe some of that weight loss will come my way now that you're done! ;)

[Maine-iac]

I went through my closets last weekend, and ruthlessly got rid of any clothes that were way too big. A 6 fits well now, and an 8 is loose, but acceptable. So I packed away the 10's, kept the 6/8's out and ditched anything bigger. I also got out my old 6/8's that I'd been saving many, many moons until I lost weight. And found that about 2/3 were NEVER coming back in style.

So, the Salvation Army ended up with six tall kitchen bags full of clothes. If I see a professionally dressed large lady around town, or a small lady with a lovely suit with a high waisted skirt and shoulder pads that would make the Dallas Cowboys proud, I'll know where she shops. :D

[violaactuary]

:party:

You rock! Congratulations on attaining your goal- Of course you still have Mr. M's goal to support as well!

[Cannonball]

Outta sight, Maine-iac! Welcome to the club!

[Maine-iac]

Thanks for the kind thoughts, all! You can do it, if I can do it!
(Except Cannonball, who already did. :) )

[thing]

Now comes the real challenge . . . Maintenance!

:party: Way to go!!!:party:

[Maine-iac]

First week of maintenance went well. I held at 125 and I'm happy with that. I was at a Rotary conference this weekend, meals provided. I didn't make any real changes in my eating plan early in the week, to accomodate the weekend challenges, and the strategy seems to have worked. I may need to employ it again this week. Friends are planning to come in from out of town this weekend, so we will probably eat out a bit more than I usually would. So I'll stick to the eating plan on the weekdays, and allow a little weekend leeway, and see if I continue to hold at goal!

[annabel lee]

Great work! I hope your maintenance plan continues to work for you.

[Maine-iac]

The plan, if I can stick with it, is not to sweat anything +/- 3 lbs. from 125. If I go above or below that, I need to adjust either the eating or the exericse, whichever seems the more out-of-balance.

Of course the trick is not to let reality diverge from the plan. :)

[violaactuary]

The plan, if I can stick with it, is not to sweat anything +/- 3 lbs. from 125. If I go above or below that, I need to adjust either the eating or the exericse, whichever seems the more out-of-balance.

Of course the trick is not to let reality diverge from the plan. :)

We don't talk about things like reality on Monday. Reality is for Tuesdays. ;)

[Maine-iac]

Well, I'm depressed. Mr. M has been complaining that our old scale is starting to vary too much. While I can see his point, I didn't think it was all THAT bad. But I finally got a replacement yesterday.

By the new scale, I have two more pounds to goal. :(
I actually still consider myself to be at goal weight, since I did drop the 25 lbs., but I suppose I should hit it on the new scale. I haven't really gone into maintenance mode yet, so it should be do-able. Bummer.

I really need to find a doctor's balance scale I can borrow to see which is more accurate: The average of the somewhat variable values from old faithful, or the fairly consistent value from the new scale. I'll have to wander through the fitness center in the basement here and see if we have one. I never go in there, since I really don't want to exercise in front of my co-workers, but they might have a balance scale.

[tommie frazier]

don;t get down. you are still in front of all us slackers.

back to the good work you were doing, and it will melt away 1 at a time. You'll still be at goal by July 4 to enjoy the 3 day Maine summer.

[Maine-iac]

Well, maintenance is still going well as of today, though I haven't really moved to a maintenance level due to the scale issues. The weekend visit was cancelled due to weather, so I just stuck to the plan. Old scale bouncing between 124/125. New scale at 126.0.

I'll stay at the current eating habits until the new scale says 125, or until I find a balance scale that would confirm which is more accurate.

[tommie frazier]

i'd just keep buying scales that put you at 127. by the time people tell you to stop, you'll be down to like 110.

[Maine-iac]

Anorexia Tanita. It's a new disease! :D

[Loner]

On scales that read you a little low, if you do a little hop on the scale that will usually jolt it back up to the correct weight.

[high9]

you're 2 weeks into maintenance and sitting pretty nice:tup: Scale or no-scale problems, its impressive.

[Maine-iac]

Maintenance still hanging in. 124 on old faithful, 126.0 on new scale. Which averages to 125! :)

Fine by me.

[Frenchie]

Maintenance still hanging in. 124 on old faithful, 126.0 on new scale. Which averages to 125! :)

Fine by me.


Isn't it awesome to be good with numbers?!?! :) Keep it up

[Maine-iac]

OK. Met goal on the new scale. 124.8 there, 123 on old faithful. That's it. I quit. No more losses.

Weird long weekend. Amateur radio field day weekend. We traveled to the site this year, so with hauling the camper and set-up, operating for 24 hours, tear-down, and hauling the camper back home, it was 3 days of pretty constant activity. Nothing to qualify as formal exercise, but not exactly lying on the beach either. A lot of of pot luck meals with the group of questionable nutritional value, but we didn't do too badly. I brought some low fat burgers and hot dogs to throw on the grill along with the full fat versions on offer, and I contributed a massive 3-bean salad made with Splenda. Didn't really eat many things not on my usual plan except a brownie and two peanut butter kiss cookies, which over 3 days is not bad. So I ended up with a loss. Nice, but I was more concerned about suddenly changing my eating habits and feeling crappy while trying to enjoy the weekend versus a small weight gain. I'm pleased that I was able to by-pass most of the sweets, choose a little here and there, and do OK.

Now back to my regular eating plan.

[tommie frazier]

well done. Is till like my idea about finding a new scale that puts you at 126, but ...

good for you!

[LoneGirl]

Excellent job, Maine-iac! You should be the inspiration for all of us! :)

[Maine-iac]

Well, seems about time for another maintenance check-in. Have been hanging out in the 120-121 range (morning in the buff on my own scale, which translate to 123-125 at the doc's office.)

Went on a trip and went up to 123 briefly, a few weeks later got food poisoning and went to 119 briefly, but mostly have stayed at 120-121.

Today = 120.

[tommie frazier]

nice!

[Sotally Tober]

:tup:

[Bison]

Good work, Maine-iac!

[Maine-iac]

Okey dokey, checking in again. Original goal: 125. Place I ended up after stabilizing maintenance: 120 - 121. Weight today: 121

TODAY IS MY OFFICIAL ONE YEAR AT GOAL WEIGHT MARK!!!!! Lots of times in my life I have lost weight. Twice before this I lost enough weight to meet goal. But I've never kept it off for a year. I am a happy camper.

:D

[Willie Mosconi]

That's fantastic Maine-iac! Keep up the great work!

[tommie frazier]

nice work! one of our few success stories!

[Bison]

Okey dokey, checking in again. Original goal: 125. Place I ended up after stabilizing maintenance: 120 - 121. Weight today: 121

TODAY IS MY OFFICIAL ONE YEAR AT GOAL WEIGHT MARK!!!!! Lots of times in my life I have lost weight. Twice before this I lost enough weight to meet goal. But I've never kept it off for a year. I am a happy camper.

:D

Congratulations!

[LoneGirl]

:clap:

Congrats Maine-iac!!! That's wonderful!!!

[Maine-iac]

Well, I've been travelling a bit lately, and the weight crept up to 124. As of today, down to 123. I would like to get to 122 before T-day, and back to 120-121 before I add my evening snack/glass of wine back in.

OK folks, I need an exercise pep talk. Keeping the exercise up will definitely speed up the recovery process. However, my motivation is very low right now. It has turned SOOOO cold, and it seems to have sapped my energy, along with it getting dark early now. Not that I exercise outdoors, it's just an attitude thing. Get up in the dark. Come home from work in the dark. Just makes me want to spend my free time napping. Not good. I haven't dropped the exercise altogether, but I should be pushing more.

So, help a pal out and say something motivational, folks! :D

[ajstudies]

You can do this, M. Have you set some goals for the week? I know I am definitely hoping to get in some exercise when I am off this weekend.

[tommie frazier]

get a move on fattie! jesus, have some pride!

(ok, that was harsh. get back to the program. you are perhaps our only true success story!)

[MrsFrog]

Think about how many tastey Thanksgiving treats you'd have to give up if you skipped out on exercising. Plus exercising will probably give you more energy to other things done

[Guest]

Exercising will help you meet your short term goals, but it will also help you stay active in 15, 20, 30 years...

You want to have the energy to walk up the staircases of gothic cathedrals in France and hike around adobe villages in New Mexico well into your retirement, right?

So get on the treadmill!!

[Maine-iac]

Thanks, everybody! I knew I could count on you. *sniff* :cry:

(Well, except maybe tommie. Gee whiz, I'm only up two pounds! ;) )

[LoneGirl]

Come on Maine-iac; you can't quit just because it's a little cold! Get out there at least on weekends when you have daylight! You live in one of the prettiest parts of the country - concentrate on that and not on how cold you are! Maybe you'll even see a bear or a moose (and if it chases you, then you just burn extra calories from running ;) ).

[yanz]

Think about how many tastey Thanksgiving treats you'd have to give up if you skipped out on exercising. Plus exercising will probably give you more energy to other things done

I'm going to ditto this. Seriously, think about how working out more will allow you to sample more TG treats and still stay on track :)

[Maine-iac]

Come on Maine-iac; you can't quit just because it's a little cold! Get out there at least on weekends when you have daylight! You live in one of the prettiest parts of the country - concentrate on that and not on how cold you are! Maybe you'll even see a bear or a moose (and if it chases you, then you just burn extra calories from running ;) ).


Well, the bears are hibernating, but the moose are still on the loose. However, it's deer hunting season so I am avoiding the woods for now!
Thanks to all the motivation, I WILL exercise tonight (maybe the yoga/pilates combo DVD). That will put me at 2.5 days in a row.

Sat = 15 mins on the exercise bike (I was interrupted and never went back to finish)
Sun = 40 mins power yoga
Mon = 40 mins pilates/yoga or ????

[LoneGirl]

However, it's deer hunting season so I am avoiding the woods for now!


Well, as long as you don't wear a deer suit...... ;)

I don't know if you have this, but my cable's On Demand feature (I have Comcast) offers a bunch of free workout videos. I've found those to be a good alternative to the treadmill when I have to workout indoors. The hip hop dancing is fun (although I'm sure I look like an idiot doing it) and the Turbo Jam and Tai Bo workouts kick my butt!

[Maine-iac]

That actually sounds like fun. No cable though. Satellite dish. I'll have to see if they have anything like that, though I don't recall hearing of anything like that. Which doesn't mean it isn't there and I missed it.

OK. I checked. They are starting up a "Dish on Demand" service, but you have to upgrade to the DVR, which we haven't done as yet. Right now they only have movies, but more content is to follow. If they add workouts, that might be the time to upgrade.

[LoneGirl]

That actually sounds like fun. No cable though. Satellite dish. I'll have to see if they have anything like that, though I don't recall hearing of anything like that. Which doesn't mean it isn't there and I missed it.

I stumbled upon mine purely by accident - I never knew it was there either. I only used my On Demand for movies, and one day I noticed something that said "Sports and Fitness" so I thought "hmm...what's this?" then I clicked on it and it came up with a menu with "Cardio", "Dance", "Yoga", "Pilates", etc options. It was pretty cool!

[Maine-iac]

Well, thanks to the motivational support, (and the public embarrassment of wimping out on exercise since I SAID I was going to do it) I did get the yoga/pilates in last night. Still stuck at 2 lbs. up this morning, but that's OK, it will come off as long as I stick to the "no evening snack" and "no exercise breaks" rules.

Tonight, it will likely be 30 mins on the exercise bike.

[Sommelier]

Good job, Maine-iac!

[Anitha Desai]

In case you have the coordinates of the motivation you found, please send them my way. ;-) I'd love to find some. I'd better satrt my therad back up next week, so I can be accountable, atleast to myself.
Meanwhile, I think you're doing an awesome job of miantaining your weight that long!:tup:

[Maine-iac]

OK, made it another day with exercise. (The key for me seems to be having publically declared that I was going to do this, Anitha! I hate to look like a cosmic wimpout. ;) )

The tricky bit will be to make sure that I at least get bike time in tonight, if not some other exercise. I need to get the cooking started, and I'm apt to tell myself that there is just no time . . . . Bad thought process!

[Sommelier]

OK, made it another day with exercise. (The key for me seems to be having publically declared that I was going to do this, Anitha! I hate to look like a cosmic wimpout. ;) )

The tricky bit will be to make sure that I at least get bike time in tonight, if not some other exercise. I need to get the cooking started, and I'm apt to tell myself that there is just no time . . . . Bad thought process!

Just bring the bike into the kitchen and peddle while you're mixing and chopping stuff. No problem! :tup:

[yanz]

:yikes:

[Maine-iac]

Not a bad weekend. 122 this morning, though it bounced a lot over the weekend. One more pound to be back at my 120 - 121 target.

Only missed exercise one day, which is decent. And the crustless pumpkin pie was REALLY good. :)

Not too many leftovers, and they are all gone now.

[ajstudies]

Great job!

[Maine-iac]

Holding steady at 122, still looking for the 121 to get me back to the target numbers. However, I have deliberatly taken a slow approach to this, so despite my impatience if I stick to it it will move. So far only skipped one day (which was planned) this week. My schedule this weekend will be very weird, so I need to be careful to fit in exercise and eat sensibly, but I think that is do-able. Mr. M is traveling next week, so I can fix whatever I want to eat and exercise any old time without disturbing him, so that should be an easy week.

[Maine-iac]

11/30: Back in the 120 - 121 range at 121 this morning!
Time to do the happy dance!

I'll keep the no evening snack routine up until I've seen 121 for 3 days straight or dropped to 120. I really can't slack off on the exercise either way, especially with the current weather being very cold, snowy and inclement, but not quite snowy enough yet to get outside for winter activities. (Though it's looking as though after Monday there will be enough of a base to start snowshoeing!)

[Anitha Desai]

Yayy!:tup:
You are awfuly disciplined!

[Maine-iac]

Bought too many clothes at my current size, and after the 1 year mark I gave all the larger ones away. I can't afford to be undisciplined!!!!!

[Sommelier]

11/30: Back in the 120 - 121 range at 121 this morning!
Time to do the happy dance!

I'll keep the no evening snack routine up until I've seen 121 for 3 days straight or dropped to 120. I really can't slack off on the exercise either way, especially with the current weather being very cold, snowy and inclement, but not quite snowy enough yet to get outside for winter activities. (Though it's looking as though after Monday there will be enough of a base to start snowshoeing!)

Good work!

[Maine-iac]

Things are going pretty decent. Saturday morning I did eat "off plan" at a brunch-type affair, but just offset it with a little extra effort in the workout in the afternoon, and a very light dinner, and there were no consequences. (It seems to work better to balance off an indulgent meal early in the day by corrective actions later in the day, than it does to eat light early in anticipation of a heavier meal in the evening. Not quite sure why, but at least for me it seems true.)

So, I added the wine in the evening back in last night, and no problems this morning, still 121. If it stays this way, maybe I'll get a bit of the dark chocolate when I go shopping this weekend and add that back as well. Definitely if I drop to 120, (I don't want to fall below that) but maybe at a steady 121 as well.

[LoneGirl]

. (It seems to work better to balance off an indulgent meal early in the day by corrective actions later in the day, than it does to eat light early in anticipation of a heavier meal in the evening. Not quite sure why, but at least for me it seems true.)



I find this to be true too. If I try to eat light all day in anticipation of a big meal, I just end up being hungry all day then REALLY overdoing it at dinner. But a big meal earlier in the day makes it so I'm hungry the rest of the day. I've also heard that it's better to have your big overindulgent meal earlier in the day because you have more hours left in the day to burn it off.

[tommie frazier]

great job. I take back the earlier motivational dig when I called you "fattie". I'm really just directing it at myself. <sob>

[Anitha Desai]

(It seems to work better to balance off an indulgent meal early in the day by corrective actions later in the day, than it does to eat light early in anticipation of a heavier meal in the evening. Not quite sure why, but at least for me it seems true.)
I'll take your advice and pig out at the breakfast holiday party tomorrow. :tup:
Just kidding. It's amazing how quickly you were able to get back down to your goal weight once you put your mind to it, though.

[Maine-iac]

Well, I dropped to 120 this morning, and today is grocery day, so the chocolate goes back on the list! :D

[Sommelier]

Well, I dropped to 120 this morning, and today is grocery day, so the chocolate goes back on the list! :D

:toast::clap:

[ajstudies]

Good for you!

[Anitha Desai]

Yay!!! :tup:

[Maine-iac]

Hope to be able to get some snowshoeing in this weekend. First time this season!!!!!

[LoneGirl]

Hope to be able to get some snowshoeing in this weekend. First time this season!!!!!

That sounds so fun - I've always wanted to try it! Actually, we have about 5 inches of snow on the ground here.....but somehow I think the scenery where you are may be a little more exciting. ;)

[Maine-iac]

Snowshoeing conditions are great this year. (Yesterday not so much, since it was below zero all day and hit minus 23 last night, but generally they have been very good.) Come up and try it!

Got past the holiday weight and back to 121 today. I'll probably continue to eliminate the chocolate until I see 120 (I try to bounce between 120-121, not 121-122). Annual physical next week, so that's motivation. I don't want to see any change in the official numbers. (It's pathetic. My annual physical comes up in January, but I will shiver in the lightest clothes I own lest any extra weight shows up on that scale!)

[Cannonball]

You go, girl!

If you want to be between 120-121, instead of 121-122, er....is it not possible that you could weigh in at 122 simply as a result of variance? What I'm saying is that it appears you're at your goal. Congrats!

(I'm jealous)

[Maine-iac]

Yeah, I am at goal, and I'm not that worried about it. But once I stabilized on maintenance, I tended to stay pretty consistently at 120-121. So I've found that if I take tiny steps as soon as I see 122 or 123 (usually after a holiday or a trip), I can get back there quickly and pretty painlessly. If wait and see if it's just random, then a pound becomes 2, and two goes to 3 and 3 goes to 5. . . I've done that too many times in the past and I don't want to go there again.

So, I can live with a little extra obsessiveness. It's just a matter of skipping the evening snack for awhile and stepping up the exercise frequency a bit.

[Anitha Desai]

Good lesson there, Maine-iac. I'm going to try that - when I do reach my goal weight :-(

[Maine-iac]

Well, here we are at Memorial Day week again. Two years since I hit goal.

Weight today = 120. :)

It is very strange. I've never maintained a good weight for such a long time. I guess I finally smartened up and realized that I wasn't going to get away without exercise, no matter HOW much I'd rather be doing something else, and realized that food remains healthy or unhealthy regardless of where my weight stands, and that it IS possible to develop a liking for the healthier choices.

Haven't developed a liking for exercise, just a tolerance, but I'll take it.

[Frenchie]

Well, here we are at Memorial Day week again. Two years since I hit goal.

Weight today = 120. :)

It is very strange. I've never maintained a good weight for such a long time. I guess I finally smartened up and realized that I wasn't going to get away without exercise, no matter HOW much I'd rather be doing something else, and realized that food remains healthy or unhealthy regardless of where my weight stands, and that it IS possible to develop a liking for the healthier choices.

Haven't developed a liking for exercise, just a tolerance, but I'll take it.

:clap:

Great job!!

[Anitha Desai]

Well, here we are at Memorial Day week again. Two years since I hit goal.

Weight today = 120. :)

It is very strange. I've never maintained a good weight for such a long time. I guess I finally smartened up and realized that I wasn't going to get away without exercise, no matter HOW much I'd rather be doing something else, and realized that food remains healthy or unhealthy regardless of where my weight stands, and that it IS possible to develop a liking for the healthier choices.

Haven't developed a liking for exercise, just a tolerance, but I'll take it.
:tup: You are an inspiration, Maine-iac! I've always imagined that you'd be the kind to like gardening or a long walk in the woods. Do I have the wrong image? ;-)

[Maine-iac]

Semi-wrong. I DO enjoy a long walk in the woods, but that really doesn't generate enough calories burned in the time I have available most days. If I had an hour to spend daily on nature walks and the weather was cooperative I'd be a pretty happy camper, but alas, not so. :(

I HATE gardening. I like flowers, though, so I do what I have to.

Most of time though, what I really want to do is curl up with tea and a good book. NOT the way to burn calories, alas.

[Maine-iac]

I REALLY need to exercise. Haven't done anything except get a few walks in for the last 3+ weeks. My MIL took ill, we went to NJ and spent a week with her, came back home, went on a business trip, she passed away while I was on the business trip, (:cry:) went back to NJ for the funeral, got home Sunday, and there are other issues going on that have sucked up every ounce of free time since then.

Weight is holding steady (stress will do that for you), but I just don't feel right not exercising. Tonight is not looking good. (Rotary meeting, and since I am president, and have bagged the last 3 weeks I SHOULD go) but darn it, tomorrow I'm going to do SOMETHING active.

[tommie frazier]

get movin, fatty!

(hope that motivates you. sorry bout the MIL.)

[Anitha Desai]

Sorry about your MIL. Family issues tend to cause irregularities in schedule. Hopefully, you'll be back on track soon.
I hear you about not feeling right when you don't exercise. Once it's a habit, it's addictive, and you need a fix. ;-)

[Maine-iac]

Thanks.

Not sure I'd call it a fix, exactly. I STILL hate exercise, and mentally, I don't miss it at all. But physically, I can tell the difference, and I feel like I'm losing stamina and tone. Not good. Tonight IS the night to get back on track. Probably use the recumbent cycle.

[Maine-iac]

Well, I did get started on the exercise track again, with the cycling last night. I thought it would be physically difficult after the break, but it wasn't really. (Maybe we walked more that I thought . . .). Oddly, though, 30 full minutes seemed longer than I remembered it. I didn't really mind the exercise, but it just didn't seem to end.

[Maine-iac]

As noted in the holiday challenge thread, I seem to be stuck at 127, though I've been back on track for about 10 days now. It's not all that alarming to me given the holidays and the tremedous stress of a pending move in the works, but I need to keep track of it and get back down to under 125, so I'll resume weekly posting here until I actually get there again to keep me accountable. Well, except for the week or two I actually move, as I'll probably have no scale for awhile!

[Sommelier]

As noted in the holiday challenge thread, I seem to be stuck at 127, though I've been back on track for about 10 days now. It's not all that alarming to me given the holidays and the tremedous stress of a pending move in the works, but I need to keep track of it and get back down to under 125, so I'll resume weekly posting here until I actually get there again to keep me accountable. Well, except for the week or two I actually move, as I'll probably have no scale for awhile!

Moving is stressful, indeed. I know I gained during/after my move. I hope you have more luck than I did! Are you changing jobs or something, or just moving to a new house?

[Maine-iac]

Something. :)

Mr. M got promoted, and we are moving to Nevada! (He's already there.) But I am not changing jobs, just changing to a telecommuting arrangement.

[annabel lee]

Wow, congrats!!! So you'll be changing your name to Nevad-iac? :)

[carryme]

Something. :)

Mr. M got promoted, and we are moving to Nevada! (He's already there.) But I am not changing jobs, just changing to a telecommuting arrangement.

Wonderful. Congrats.

[Sommelier]

Something. :)

Mr. M got promoted, and we are moving to Nevada! (He's already there.) But I am not changing jobs, just changing to a telecommuting arrangement.

Wow, yay for Mr. M!

[Maine-iac]

Wow, congrats!!! So you'll be changing your name to Nevad-iac? :)

It's up in mining and ranching country, so I'm thinking of switching to "Cowgirl Wannabe". :D

[LoneGirl]

Something. :)

Mr. M got promoted, and we are moving to Nevada! (He's already there.) But I am not changing jobs, just changing to a telecommuting arrangement.

There are no moose in Nevada.... :(

...and I think you'll have a little less snow and cold weather. :)

[tommie frazier]

wow. good luck with the change. is the location considered permanent, or finite? or is it "for the foreseeable future"?

[Maine-iac]

There are no moose in Nevada.... :(

...and I think you'll have a little less snow and cold weather. :)

We will be in the mountains, so there is snow and cold, but not as much as here. And they do have moose and elk in the mountains as well. :)
It's not Vegas where we are going.

It's a relatively permanent move, at least until one of us gets promoted again or we retire!

[LoneGirl]

We will be in the mountains, so there is snow and cold, but not as much as here. And they do have moose and elk in the mountains as well. :)
It's not Vegas where we are going.

It's a relatively permanent move, at least until one of us gets promoted again or we retire!

Oh, well that's not so bad then. When I think of Nevada, I think of it having two parts - Vegas, and the desert where the government has its secret testing sites. :)

[Maine-iac]

Think more "Ponderosa" though it's on the other side of the state from Virginia City. ;)

---------------------

I seem to have suddenly broken through a plateau. I've been doing well with the nutrition and exercise since Christmas, with no visible progress on the scale, but now have dropped 2 lbs. in two days which puts me back in the top of my target range of 120 - 125. Of course, it's not "official" unless I can keep it going to Wednesday, but I'm encouraged, anyway. :)

[Sommelier]

I seem to have suddenly broken through a plateau. I've been doing well with the nutrition and exercise since Christmas, with no visible progress on the scale, but now have dropped 2 lbs. in two days which puts me back in the top of my target range of 120 - 125. Of course, it's not "official" unless I can keep it going to Wednesday, but I'm encouraged, anyway. :)

Yay! :tup:

[Maine-iac]

Well, something is wrong, but I'm not sure if it is moving stress or the scale is going "pfffft". I am continuing to eat well and exercise, and TOM is not in the picture right now, so my weight should be either maintaining or slowly dropping. Last Wed, it was 127. On successive days it has read 126, 125, 125, 126, 127, 127, 128! Yet nothing has changed in my food and exercise routine. My big plan was to calibrate my scale against the doc's balance scale at my physical today, to see if it is the scale or a stress reaction. Then Doc's office cancelled the appointment. :(

So, I'm basically going to try to keep things as healthy as possible over the next three weeks as I finish the move, and then reassess and decide what I need to do when I get settled.

I figure as long as I stick to the healthy habits, things can't go all that wrong. Scale variations will settle down eventually.

[tommie frazier]

stress does weird things to people. try to relax. you know how to get back on a program and make it work, so just make sure you stay with what is working and wait for things to settle down to the new normal, and voila!