[Julie - scrapaholic]

Sorry ladies, with dance recital and sweet 16 I haven't been around much, and my workout has been paying the price of being busy. Dance is done now for the summer and so is working the second job, so it is back to my normal workout which will start right after work today when I go to the gym. I did manage not to gain any weight back at least.

Pat sounds like you found a good buy with the bike. years old is almost new.

[PBarnes]

Good for you Julie. I did manage to put on a few pounds during my hiatus from exercise. Bad Pat.

Three days in a row so far. Did a little over 6 miles today. I don't feel tired or achy when I finish the ride but I do feel achy later in the evening - but then, that's pretty much a normal state for me.

[momentousangel]

I stepped on the scale yesterday for the first time in a long time. I stepped up onto the scale with my eyes squeezed shut in fear at what the numbers would show. My dd held my hand and when I ask her what the numbers were, she giggled and said "Mom, You are not fat, you're phat! P-H-A-T!" I said "well, just tell me what the numbers are and then tell me what p-h-a-t is supposed to mean?" She told me the numbers and I just had to open my eyes to see for myself. Wow! I am pleased with the progression and while I've been watching everything I eat more often than not, I have not only reached my goal but also succeeded it! Talk about doing a happy dance, lol! I was jumping up and down like a little kid in a candy store. Then I remembered what my daughter said... p-h-a-t, that's how she said and spelled it out. I ask her what does that mean? She said it means you are pretty hot and temping, you're p-h-a-t! We giggled away and did the happy dance together!

As far as keeping those pounds off, I am continuing to exercise and have been really active. I do a lot of outdoors things, walking, bicycling, basketball, swimming whenever I have the chance, indoors or outdoors, it's all the same, lol. My pants all fall off, so a belt is definately a must and not just an accessary these days, . I'm going to do all I can and stay as active as I can for the rest of my life. It feels great to know I am doing more to take care of myself and it feels even better when I slip into something I haven't been able to fit into in a long while now.

In the past two days alone, I've done 20+ miles on a bike alone. I've also drug the kids out and we ride around a lot, all together after school. I want them to be active and get out from in front of those video games and away from the tv. Being active is key to being healthy, not just in body, but also in mind and spirit.

[April Showers]

That is fantastic Valerie!

[PBarnes]

WTG Valerie!

Nice 6.6 mile bike ride this evening. I was glad I was able to get out because my day started off with a headache and rocky stomach. Feel fine now. I started a bout of vertigo yesterday but that really hasn't been a problem during the day today. We'll see what happens when I lay down tonight.

[giggsster]

Way to go Valerie! I am so excited for you! And it's great to hear that you've gotten another bike Pat! Persistance paid off and you found one. I can't imagine how excited you are to be riding again.

Well, I've been doing great on my workouts. Last week, I worked out five days! Two of those days were lifting weights. I am really starting to see my body take shape (other than the shape of a blob! ). This week I haven't exercised at all. I've been so exhausted and I have no idea why, though today I feel a lot better. Maybe I caught a little bug. Anyway, I hope to exercise a few days this week.

This weekend I have major teeth work done. A bridge and two crowns are being pulled out and replaced. I doubt I'll be working out this weekend.

Anyway, it's so great to hear about y'alls progress. Keep up the work!

[PBarnes]

I got 5 rides in last week before the nasty weather hit. It was either too windy or threatening to storm at any moment up through Wednesday of this week. I've gotten 3 rides in this week and I'm up to 8 miles at a time. Sleeping really well at night too.

Hope everybody has a wonderful weekend. The pipeband is playing at the KC Highland Games tomorrow so I'll be gone all day but hope to have enough energy to ride Sunday - weather permitting.

[giggsster]

I'm glad to hear that you've been able to ride, Pat. I haven't worked out ALL week! At the beginning of the week, I had dental work done. I had my old bridge pulled out and prep work done for the new bridge. Now, I've got a cold that DH brought home from work. I realize there is nothing I can do but wait it out. Until I hit the gym again, I am watching what I eat. I've gotten back into the habit of eating bigger portions. I am really watching my portions right now, which is hard when you don't feel good!

[Brenda Peters]

Hi everyone!

It's been a while since I've been here. I've been terribly busy and it's difficult finding the time lately.

Well, I'm happy to say that I'm still going strong. Spark People has made it tremendously easy to log my daily food intake and track my calories. Including my fitness minutes and calories burned. I absolutely love it.

I'm now up to doing 5 and 6 Walking Away The Pounds workouts 6 days a week. I break my miles up into 2 workouts a day. If I do 5 miles, then I do a 3 mile in the morning and a 2 mile in the afternoon before dinner. I'm not strong enough to handle 5 miles in one workout yet. But I'm sure I eventually will.

Last time I wrote I had lost 15 lbs. Now I'm up to 31 lbs. Last Sunday at church was the first time anyone had asked me if I was loosing weight. It really made my day. YES! Finally!!!!

[PBarnes]

I've gotten three rides in this week, the longest being 8.8 miles. We're traveling this weekend (Fri.-Sun.) so I'm going to try and use whatever facilities the hotel has for exercise. I'm hoping for a pool Not losing any significant weight though.

Good for you Brenda! 31 lbs. is a lot.

[giggsster]

Wow! Posts around here have been few and far between! I hope that everyone is working out and eating well.

Brenda, CONGRATULATIONS! Loosing 31 lb. is huge accomplishment.
Pat, I'm really glad to see you keeping with your work outs! You are more consistent than me.

DH and I are back from a trip over July 4th. I haven't weighed myself since the trip so I don't know if I gained anything. However, now that we are back home, I am back to my smoothies and salads. I actually missed them while I was gone! Yesterday I was able to work out and I got to up the weights I use also - well, on one exercise, but I count that as victory.

[PBarnes]

Despite my consistent effort on my bike, my eating has gotten a little out of hand. I've put an a few pounds. Now I have to work even harder to get them off. I'm afraid I've gotten into the mindset that if I'm exercising, I can eat more. Bad Pat. (slapping self on the wrist.)

I got a new bike helmet. It matchs the red, black and silver on my bike.

[Brenda Peters]

Thank you Giggster! Believe it or not, it's actually getting easier.

LOL Pat! Actually, you are suppose to take in extra calories if you are exercising more. But the question is, "how many calories"? Spark People.com's nutrition and fitness trackers can help you determine that. In fact, today I was able to up my calorie intake because I've been getting anywhere from 60 to 120 minutes of cardio lately. I was so excited that I was able to eat an extra piece of pepperoni pizza today for dinner! Man was it ever gooooooood!!! LOL! I've been thinking lately about trying some biking myself. I think I'd like to loose a little more weight before I do that though.

Well, It's been almost a month since I last touched base here. I'm up to 42 lbs now. Woo Hoo!!! This week I hit a milestone in my exercise. I started doing Turbo Jam workouts AND I actually started doing 10 min jogs. I was way to big before to actually jog. It's difficult I'll admit, but I'm so excited that I can do a jog without it killing me now.

Brenda
Check out my then and now pics on My Spark People Page

[giggsster]

Brenda, I went out to your Spark People Gallery and I can really tell a difference! You look great!!! Keep up the good work!

And Pat, I'm glad to hear that you've kept up your workouts. I know that you can adjust your food.

As for me, I was only able to work out once last week. I didn't have any energy last week, but I feel a lot better this week. I plan to work out four days this week. Also, I've decided to increase my muscle toning workout to twice a week. I can see definition in my muscle (just a little bit, but that something). If I do that workout twice a week, I think I'll really see a difference. And I've done a pretty good job with my food. Despite not working out a lot lately, I haven't gained a pound!

[giggsster]

Hello, everyone! Goodness, this message board sure has been quite! Hopefully, we'll all be back soon!

It's been a month since I last posted. Here as of lately, I've been doing really good. I've been eating well and working out. Plus, DH and I have done tons around the house-I'm counting all that work in my work outs. I'm maintaining my weight too! Yeah me! I've also noticed that my weight routine is starting to pay off. I can see definition in my arms and shoulders now. I am so excited! The back of my arms are still a little flabby, so I still have more work to do. I'm pushed along by the progress that I've already seen.

May everyone else be doing great!

[CindyB]

Anyone still checking in here? Maybe I'm missing a new thread?!? *sigh*

Life has been nutso crazy and my computer time limited. My kids have been running me in a million different directions and I've been demoted so somewhat of a lurker. I hate to participate so sporadically but I guess I do what I have time for, right? I looked back and my last post here was like in April! Yikes!!!

I'm at a point where I need a little help from my friends...some kind on encouragement. I have been plugging away on my fitness journey for about 19 months now. I've joined a 2nd gym near my dd's dance studio so that I can workout while she is in class. I also am officially signed up for my first race...the 8k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning (my sister is running with me). I never thought I would love to exercise as much as I do.

I haven't lost much more than a couple pounds in the last 2 months or so. I've switched up my routine loads of times, I'm at the gym 7 times a week...just wondering what else to do to break through this stubborn plateau. I thought about a PT, but with a 2nd gym membership I don't think I could swing it financially.

On the bright side, I am losing inches...I started at a size 22-24 and I bought a pair of jeans last week...size 12!!! (I am so excited)

Hope everyone else is doing good...

[Brenda Peters]

CindyB, on Oct 21 2008, 12:59 PM, said:

Anyone still checking in here? Maybe I'm missing a new thread?!? *sigh*

Life has been nutso crazy and my computer time limited. My kids have been running me in a million different directions and I've been demoted so somewhat of a lurker. I hate to participate so sporadically but I guess I do what I have time for, right? I looked back and my last post here was like in April! Yikes!!!

I'm at a point where I need a little help from my friends...some kind on encouragement. I have been plugging away on my fitness journey for about 19 months now. I've joined a 2nd gym near my dd's dance studio so that I can workout while she is in class. I also am officially signed up for my first race...the 8k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning (my sister is running with me). I never thought I would love to exercise as much as I do.

I haven't lost much more than a couple pounds in the last 2 months or so. I've switched up my routine loads of times, I'm at the gym 7 times a week...just wondering what else to do to break through this stubborn plateau. I thought about a PT, but with a 2nd gym membership I don't think I could swing it financially.

On the bright side, I am losing inches...I started at a size 22-24 and I bought a pair of jeans last week...size 12!!! (I am so excited)

Hope everyone else is doing good...

Hi Cindy,

It's been a while since my last visit here as well. I don't visit here until I get an e-mail telling me that someone has posted.

I am so happy for you and totally feel your excitement! I've gone from a size 26 to an 18 in 6 months. It's quite an experience isn't it! I've lost 63lbs in 6 months. I'm teetering on the borderline between Plus size clothing and regular size clothing. It's been like 25+ years since I last shopped in the regular size clothes. It's a whole new world out there for me. It motivates me and excites me daily.

I'm hoping I may be able to shed a little light on your problem. I've hit a couple plateaus in the past 6 months and I was able to get by them by reading up on it at SparkPeople.com. If you are still loosing weight and inches, even if it is only a couple pounds in a couple months, you're still doing something right. So you may not actually be in a plateau. You've just really slowed down the rate of weight loss that you've been accustomed to. Here's my take. You say that you are at the gym 7 times a week? It may be possible that you may be working out too much and not taking in enough calories. If that's the case, you might want to work out a little less or eat a little more.

Weather you are more or less active as you were when you first started your weight loss journey is very important because your daily calorie range will change accordingly. It's important to at least reach your recommended minimum daily calorie range to prevent slowing down your weight loss progress or even a plateau. If you are burning more calories than normal, you need to elevate your calories to make up the difference. For instance, if your daily calorie range is 1500 calories a day and you are burning 600 calories a day, that leaves you with only 900 calories for the day. You should actually be consuming 2100 calories. 2100 calories minus 600 calories burned = 1500 total calories. While it's important to maintain a calorie deficit to loose weight, its important never to consume less than 1200 calories per day. Eating less than this (or too little in general) makes your body think it’s starving (known as “starvation mode”), so it holds onto every calorie, slowing your metabolism. Increase your calories to fit into your recommended range, (or reduce the amount of time you exercise) and you’ll notice a difference.

One way to help with knowing exactly how many calories you are taking in or how many calories your burning in your workouts is to use the nutrition and fitness trackers on SparkPeople.com. The website is 100% FREE. I've used them for the past 6 months and I attribute them to my weight loss success.

Sure hope this helps! Keep up the great work Cindy!

Brenda

[CindyB]

Thanks for your reply Brenda...sounds like you're doing awesome!!! WTG!!! I remember the day I was able to waltz into a regular sized store and shop...there was NO better feeling in the world at that moment, wish I could have bottled it! And the day I cut up my Lane Bryant credit card because I couldn't shop there anymore was totally liberating!

I've been a member of SparkPeople for a while, probably as long as I've been on this mission. I get their daily e-mails and read the articles, but am not active on the boards or anything. Sounds like I need to get my Spark page set up and start using the tools there...if anything, it's someplace that will keep me accountable right?

Now that you mention it, I did my best when I counted my calories and tracked everything...I stopped because I felt like I was micro-managing my life and I was getting tired of logging everything. Maybe I need to get back to doing that for a bit just until I'm back and making a little more progress. I never felt like I got off-track, but something with my diet vs. exercise is off-kilter and I need to figure it out.

Thanks for your advice
Cindy

[Vaughnde]

I guess I need some encouragement now since I've been ordered to start exercising to lose 20 lbs within 3 months and a new diet. Too close to Type 1 Diabetes. I don't have Wii fit, I don't have exercise videos and I'm off all dairy other than cheddar cheese, all white flour products, all sugar products (but I'm allergic to aspartame and I don't like splenda). Doc did not put me on metformin because I had a bad reaction to it last time. I don't want shots in my belly for the rest of my life so I need some help.

[Ledo]

Hi,
I'm new to the health club.

Let me say to Vaunghde before I forget ~~~ have you tried Stevia? That's what my husband and I have started to use. It's natural sugar substitute. I even just found a cook book for it as I have found trying to convert the amounts has been a little challenging, cuz you only need a little bit. I also have a friend who was told to loose weight for the same reason as you and she uses Stevia. All the supermarkets are selling it now. It may be under the name Truvia too. And from what I understand all the soda companies will be starting to use it in there sugar free beverages. If you give it a try let me know and I'll pass on some recipes to you.

Okay as I said I am new to the health club. My husband and I have been dieting and we have both lost weight. I have lost 12 pounds so far. I want to loose at least 10 more but 20 would probably be better. I am having a little bit of a hard time loosing. I know that my age plays a big part and I have a slightly sluggish thyroid. I guess I just need a little encouragement. I know it takes time and I am impatient. So here I am ~~~ encourage me!

Thanks,
Donna

[Vaughnde]

Sounds great Donna unfortunatly Roseburg is a small retirement town and none of the stores here carry stevia. I'll check at the health store (one teeny tiny one only in town arrrgh!) I would LOVE the stevia recipes. I did get some Blue agave syrup and its similiar to stevia. I'm thinking those recipes for stevia will work well with the blue agave syrup. You can get that at the Whole Foods market (same kind of store Emeril Green is in on Planet Green). I might try making myself some syrup with it a little for over my whole wheat pancakes.