More of the Same...

My WiiFit package arrived yesterday. Very interesting how that thing works. And fun to use. Sure hope the novelty doesn't wear off too soon. When it sets up it tells you what your WiiFit age is and so far I'm a year younger than the calendar says I am. Kewl!

So needless to say I got some exercise in yesterday. And eating was good.

Did I tell you that the UPS guy refuses to come on my mountain to deliver anything? Well, he won't. I could turn him in but I'm not that kind of person. Anyway, he delivers my packages to one of my neighbor's business that's close to town. Then the neighbor drops it off on his way home. Sometimes Ernie is a little lax in remembering and it will set in his truck for a couple of days. I guess he's in a hurry to get home and relax. But lately he's been bringing my packages on the day he gets them. I asked him yesterday how the mountain road was and he told me to not try it unless it was really necessary. He said it is a sheet of ice. He has to stop at the bottom and put chains on his tires then takes them off when he gets back to the bottom the next morning. He is such a nice guy. He told me yesterday to give him a call if I need anything from the store and he'd bring it to me.

Just one more month of this yucky weather (I hope). It will still be cold in March but at least the ice may melt that month. My friends in Virginia have a garage apartment that's furnished and they have offered for me to come there to spend my winters on flat ground but I just don't like to leave my home.

Have a great Saturday our there in blog-land.

Dodging the Bullet...

Well, we've dodged the bullet this past week with all this horrible weather on the eastern side of the US. This is really weird for this part of our state. We usually have the worst weather when all around us are having just a taste of it. I am very thankful for this turn of events.

I've also made a decision. I'm not going to fight with this weight loss anymore. I'm going into maintenance mode, as of yesterday. Yesterday I just ate what I thought in my head was sensible. It wasn't "clean" eating but it was what I wanted and what was satisfying to me. I had bean dip with one ounce of regular cheese melted and a tablespoon of salsa on top and a few Doritos for breakfast. Lunch came around and I had 1 cup of chili and was totally satisfied. For a snack in the afternoon I had 14 almonds. Then the supper hunger pangs started and I grilled myself a burger with fat free cheese and had it on 2 slices of light wheat bread. I was still hungry and wanting something that I hadn't had in a long time and decided I NEEDED it. I cut up a medium potato (with the skin) and fried it in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. It was so yummy, I love fried potatoes. Then I got to thinking about the food and went to enter it into MyFoodDiary. When I completed the task I was amazed. The day came in at 1432 calories. Less than the past couple of weeks when I planned and planned and couldn't stay on course because I was still hungry. I was full and satisfied all evening, even without dessert!! So I have decided that worrying about what and when and how much I eat isn't working for me. I'm not a happy person with all this worrying. I'm in my 60's and I just can't imagine spending the rest of what life I have left worrying about every morsel that goes into my mouth. I'm not going to binge eat but I'm not going to be so strict on myself either. Life just seems too short for me to do that.

I'm not giving up or going back to my previous life style, just changing things a little. I've been doing this for over a year and a half and know what I can and can not eat to keep this weight down. I've lost 70 pounds, for goodness sake. I know what to do. I know I haven't been exercising as I should in the past week. I only did it twice. And I think it was all mental. After pondering all of this last evening and making this decision, this morning I'm thinking of what I can do to get some exercise in. So I guess it is all mental. I'm still getting a treadmill as soon as the NJ kids come to visit and can help me haul it home and set it up.

If I lose more weight along the way, GREAT! If I don't, that's great too. I'm into medium underwear, size 12-14 jeans, large to extra large shirts and that's acceptable to me. I no longer have to head to the plus size section of the store and that's wonderful.

I can remember being on a picnic one time in my teens and my step-Dad and I were laying side by side on the blanket while Mom was packing the picnic basket back up to head home. I, for some reason was putting my legs in the air and Jack did the same. He started ribbing me about how his legs were prettier than mine. (I was about 110 pounds then.) So we started giggling. Last night I put my legs in the air in bed and looked really good at them. They look pretty good!! Almost as good as back then!!

I'm very satisfied with this decision. I have removed my weight stats and the 6 Weeks Challenge from my side bar because of this decision (in case you were wondering). I won't be reporting weekly on my weight loss or gain and I won't be going anywhere. I'll still be here "constant readers" (to coin a phrase from Stephen King). I'll still post about my ups and downs and I'm sure it will be a happier place to visit.

Thanks for all your support and HUGS along the way. Without you I wouldn't have been able to come this far.

Hope this weekend is wonderful in every way for YOU.

The Importance of Walking...

Still a little down but am a teensy-weensy bit better. I think it was all the hugs I received yesterday in my comments.

Just got this in an email and thought you would enjoy it.

THE IMPORTANCE OF WALKING

1. Walking can add minutes to your life. This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $7000 per month.

2. My grandpa started walking five miles a day when he was 60. Now he's 97 years old and we don't know where he is.

3. I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.

4. The only reason I would take up walking is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.

5. I have to walk early in the morning, before my brain figures out what I'm doing.

6. I joined a health club last year, spent about 400 bucks. Haven't lost a pound. Apparently you have to go there...

7. Every time I hear the dirty word 'exercise,' I wash my mouth out with chocolate. (My favorite.)

8. I do have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers them.

9. The advantage of exercising every day is so when you die, they'll say, "Well, she looks good doesn't she."

10. If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country.

11. I know I got a lot of exercise the last few years.....just getting over that durn hill.

12. We all get heavier as we get older, because there's a lot more information in our heads. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

13. Every time I start thinking too much about how I look, I just find a Happy Hour and by the time I leave, I look just fine.

ENJOY Y'ALL.

Weigh-In..

Lost a half a pound in today's weigh-in.

Just a little down and don't know why. Probably because of the weather. We didn't get the snow that was predicted and now I'm setting her waiting for the ice storm they say is coming. Actually I'm waiting or spring. Just wishing my life away I guess. I think I need a hug.

Hope all is well with you guys. Off to check.

Check, Check, Check, and Check...

Was able to get the first four items on my list checked off. And because of that I didn't have to do number 5. I do feel better about myself for doing that.

And here come the snows again. Prediction tomorrow is 3-7 inches. Glad I'm stocked up. There's a section of our mountain road that is a little steep. And it doesn't get a lot of sunlight in the winter, even with the leaves gone on the trees. So therefore it doesn't melt as well as the rest of the road. With the two warm days it melted a little. Just enough to turn all the packed snow to a sheet of ice. I haven't ventured down it but my neighbors called last night to tell me how bad it is. So actually that amount of snow will be a good thing on that section. Gotta tell you something funny... The neighbor that called saves her used kitty litter and spreads it on that section on her way down the mountain. So not only do we slip/slide down the ice but we have to slip/slide through cat poop too. Her husband keeps telling her that it doesn't do any good and to quit but she is a stubborn woman and won't stop.

I saw a brand new elliptical on the news yesterday that had a seat. I thought to myself that that kind of elliptical would be fun. So I went on-line to check it out. It is soooo expensive that they don't even tell you how much it is. They just tell you that you can finance it at $60 per month. Think I'll just stick to a treadmill, thank you very much.

My grandmother always had dessert after supper. And since she raised me I have a really hard time not doing that. I try every evening and when I manage to not eat dessert I munch all evening. So I decided to give in to it and had a Warm Delight Mini last night within an hour after supper. It actually helped keep me away from munching all evening. So I think I will add dessert to my evening menus. Whatever works, right? And it may even take care of the chocolate cravings. I've mentioned before that I don't have a sweet tooth and eating sweets all day just isn't me, but I do need it in the evenings after supper. Some days I'll have yogurt, a granola bar or a bowl of cereal and that should take care of it.

Have a great week, blog-buds!

Yucky Saturday...

Yesterday was a lazy day.

No exercise.

Ate way too much.

Where did that renewed feeling go that I had while posting yesterday?

Out the window, I guess.

I didn't just slip and slide but stumbled.

Oh, well, today is another day.

I have a plan:

1. I've already entered my food plan into MyFoodDiary for the day.
2. Put the old Richard Simmons DVD back into the DVD player and DO IT!
3. Get the dishes done.
4. Run the last load of laundry still piled in my bathroom floor.
5. Kick myself all around the house if I don't get the first 4 completed. (Wonder how many calories that will use up?)

NSV (Non Scale Victory)...

I've lost 5 inches in 4 weeks!!

Can you hear the big brass band playing in the background?

Wow, talk about getting the mind and spirit back into this. This is surely something that will do it. There WILL be exercise in my routine for today! See, those durn scales don't mean so much after all. I'm renewed!!

It took me a year to chisel 2 inches off my waist without exercise and only 4 weeks to reduce it by one with exercise. I really hate to admit it ('cause I love being lazy) but this exercise stuff really works.

To those of you out there that aren't sticking with it on the exercise front check out my 6 Weeks Challenge data on my side bar and you will see that it worked for me and I didn't even stick with it 100% . It doesn't take 100% effort to get this job done. Nobody's perfect when it comes to staying on plan 100% of the time. We're human after all and humans are fallible. We slip, we slide, but the important thing is to steer ourselves back to the straight and narrow.

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately where people are getting discouraged because they are sticking with it and the scales aren't moving. They might mention that the pants feel a little looser or some such but are you measuring? Get out the tape measure if you aren't and find a starting point as of now. Then check it out in a month and be amazed at the improvement. I didn't do that in the beginning so I had to guess (according to size charts) what my waist, hips and chest were. This time I added calf, thigh and bicep to my measurements and was really surprised to see that even with all this skin dangling like bat wings on my arms that I'd lost a half an inch there.

Their calling for a cold weekend here but I sure enjoyed the warmer weather for the past two days. There are only a few small patches of snow left around the cabin.

Have a great weekend.

We're Havin' a Heat Wave...

Around noon I got poised to turn on the AC. It got all the way up to 49 yesterday and today is supposed to be the same! And sunny to boot! It was so nice not to have to smell the propane burning all day. Then it's supposed to get cold again, as if 49 isn't cold. Everything is relative, right?

Frustration city around here right now. I didn't start hooking up my Wii until last night around 8:00. Finally got all the wires run and rearranged everything to find a place for it and turned it on around 9:30. Started it up and went through the first disc to learn how to use the remote and it was in black and white! I thought to myself that maybe the first disc was just black and white for them to save money, like we used to do in the olden days with photos on film. Then I put another disc in and it was still black and white. Then I knew I must have plugged the wires in to the wrong places. I crawled behind the TV again and started trying new holes. As it turns out my TV only has one place that has the CORRECT plugs. That's gonna be a real problem because that ONE place is where my satellite plugs in. It is NOT an option to plug the Wii in there. I refuse to do without color television for a color Wii. So I get on the phone to call Nintendo and they are closed. What no 24/7 support? That I'm not used too. So I got on-line and sent them an email. Then they say that it may be several days before they get back to me since the Wii is so popular. I was seething about that time. So I just went to bed and read.

I'll be making a bunch of calls today to Nintendo, DishNetwork and Vizio to see if I can solve the problem but I have to wait until they all wake up and get to work. Dish is available 24/7 but I want to speak to a service person I can understand and who can understand me and at night or weekends there tech support is in India.

I guess my resolve only lasts 3 weeks. I'm already tired of this eating right and exercising daily. Haven't exercised the past 2 days. Eating wasn't bad though. Gotta work on getting myself psyched. Cause right now it just isn't there. Even with all your wonderful support and cheerleading, the yuck has set in. I feel like such a failure right now because I just can't make myself exercise. I am sure this will pass and I'll be ready to get back to it.

Those of you that have been with me for a while may remember that last summer there was a blow up between me and a dear friend. She really hurt me and I had a hard time coping with it. Well, she called yesterday to apologise! I was nice and accepted the apology and we had a nice conversation. Then she called someone else to apologize to and that person called me. The lies have already started again so I'm going to be real leery about this development. I will be cordial to her but the close friendship will never be there again. I realize she has had a rough time and has even spent some time in a mental hospital but I just can't put my complete trust in her again.

TGIF!!

10:45 Update: The Wii is in color, YAY! It just took some daylight to see another hook up on the side of the TV.

Conundrum...

I just can't figure it out. I didn't come back and add to my blog yesterday about my weigh-in because it showed me up one half pound. That was disgusting but I figure it was because I wasn't able to exercise a couple of days because of being sick. Although after averaging my calorie intake and expenditure it came to 1248 calories. Now that should still show a loss! Then this morning I hopped on the scales and I was down to 179, that's a half pound loss from last week and a pound down from yesterday morning. So I'm going with that number! Mainly because I joined the HYC last weekend and they didn't have a 69 pounds lost button to put on my blog and I went ahead and put the 70 pounds lost on there. And now it's true!!

I wasn't very good yesterday food wise. I just felt so disgusted that I stopped at Ruby Tuesdays around 1:30 and had their Ruby Mini's. I got the 2 with fries and a salad and of course unsweetened iced tea. I ate a large salad and it was such a beautiful plate that I was sorry I didn't have my camera with me to take a picture to show you. It had lettuce, fresh spinach, a TBSP of eggs, cucumbers, baby limas, shredded beets, bleu cheese, grape tomatoes, mushrooms and a little french dressing. I had forgotten that the fries would come and sighed when I saw them. I ate ONE and that was it. I did eat both little burgers and was sorry. I was soooooo stuffed that I was miserable. This was all before the trip through Wal-Mart and I became so sleepy I was wondering if I'd fall asleep at the buggy. If I'd had to drive home on an Interstate I would have had a hard time keeping my eyes opened, but the roads that lead from Wal-Mart to my house are curvy and they kept me alert enough. Needless to say I wasn't hungry until really late last night and had a half a chicken salad sandwich and a yogurt.

I was hoping to find some Almond milk there but alas they don't carry it so I just got my regular Light Vanilla Silk. It's good and I like it with my cereal for a bedtime snack. I've been out for about a month because my little store hasn't restocked it. I hope they aren't cutting it out. I'll have to talk to them. Like that's going to do any good.

I checked out the treadmills while at Wal-Mart and one that they have on display would work and has all the bells and whistles that the one I was considering has, except the handles that add an upper body workout. I just have to wait until my NJ daughter and her fiance come to visit to get it so he can haul it in his truck and help me get it in the house. Then since that one doesn't have the handles for the upper body workout I decided to get a Wii and a Wii Fit. They had the Wii but not the Wii Fit. I got the console and will order the Fit online this week. That will take care of the upper body for me.

Night before last when I exercised I used a different Richard Simmons DVD (for the first time) and was having a hard time keeping up with his different moves. Guess I'm just used to the other one. So when I'd get off kilter I would just head to the foot of my stairs and go up and down the first step for 20 repetitions on each leg. And a couple of times I would walk really fast around my kitchen and living room. It's kinda interesting that when I first started with his first DVD I didn't sweat but now I surely do.

Guess I've rambled enough about my boring life.

Have a great Thursday our there in blog-land.

Housework and Munchies...

First of all I want to answer a few comments from yesterday. I do consume a lot of water both before and during my exercising. And the day I got the dizzy spell I had just had a really protein rich meal about an hour before starting. I'm pretty sure it was my blood pressure dropping. That happens a lot with me and sometimes even when I'm just setting still. I know what it feels like, so I figure that is what it was. As for the dogs dialing 9-1-1, I wish. AND I am NOT going to start wearing one of those alert necklaces. I'm not that old!

Now on to more important things.

Durn you Katschi! You shamed me into cleaning my kitchen. I even went so far as to rearrange some stuff on the counter tops. I moved everything to a different spot except my toaster oven. Now it's all sparkly and I keep going to the wrong place to heat something or make coffee. I really think it's a better location for the stuff so I'll leave it there and eventually I'll get used to it. Please, please, please don't clean out your garage. I don't think I could do that one on my own.

Gosh, the munchies hit me yesterday, and now that I think of it the day before too. Someone must have slipped some pot in my brownies. WAIT! I didn't have any brownies. And I don't think the dogs have the money to buy any pot. Must just be that one time a month where it hits. Hope it's gone today because I have to head to the big city of Lewisburg and there are all kinds of temptations there.

Haven't weighed myself yet today but will probably do that right before I shower to leave. I'll come back then and let you know how I did on the scale.

Have a nice "hump day."

Hey Jude...

Meet the newest member of my extended family. Her name is Jude (first name Hey :o). She is a rescue puppy and is part Lab. She became a member of my closest friend's family this weekend. They lost their beloved Sophie in November and didn't even know if they would get another dog and along came Jude. She was named Jude because he was the patron saint of the lost, "and now she's found." I am so excited to meet her. They promised to bring her the next time they come to visit and I hope it's soon.

Yesterday I went a little over my calories (1730) but with the 528 I burned it turned out alright. So I'm counting that as a good day because the overage was all healthy foods. I had a little problem during my exercise and had to cut it short by 5 minutes. I got right dizzy and had to set down to keep from falling down.

I have two cats and I banished them to the outside about a year and a half ago because they are long haired and I got so tired of all the hair everywhere. Well, I have let them back in since it has been so cold and the hair is driving me crazy. I have to pick them up and throw them outside (not literally) because they are afraid they won't get to come back inside. I don't have a litter box in the house anymore and I really don't want to smell that awful smell, but they have been good and held it for the outside. I'm afraid they are now expecting to live in the house all the time now so I'm going to leave them out all day today since it is supposed to be in the thirties. Maybe I can get them used to only staying in here at night. I'll have to say it really makes for a warm and cozy bed with two dogs and two cats all snuggled up against me. The cats stay at the bottom of the bed and are really good at keep me from getting toe-cicles.

Hope you're keeping warm and having a good day.

Meant to post this picture earlier. On the day that the temp was the lowest I moved the doggie bed in front of the fire and they were happy campers all day. They didn't even go out to potty until around 5:00 that evening. They'd get up and tell me they wanted to go out then when I'd open the door they'd head back to their bed. I don't think they want to have their peepee freeze on their little bottoms. I have wonderful dogs if they can go almost 20 hours holding it and not potty in the house. I'm very proud of them.

Yesterday was a great day on plan. I ate 1386 calories and burned 568. Again I got a slap on the wrist for eating too few calories but they didn't look back at the days last week when I went over and didn't exercise. So I averaged it out for a week and all was goooooood. I even went back to the beginning of the 6 week challenge and I have averaged 87% on plan. That ain't bad. Being a retired math teacher I miss having math in my daily life so I try to find ways to add it whenever possible.

After my research on a treadmill, I found the one I want, but... It is so big I just don't think I'll have room for it. :o( The durn thing is almost 6 feet long and even though it folds up, the way I'd have to position it to see the television it would still take up too much room (because at 200 pounds I wouldn't be able to scoot it back against the wall). So I'm a little disappointed here. I will be going to Wal-Mart on Wednesday and will still check it out if they have that model in their store. I really could go with a manual one that would take up less room but I'm a gadget sort of person and I want one with lots of bells and whistles. I'm such a gadget person that I really want one of those new Blackberry Storms, even though I can't get cell service where I live. It's all I can do to keep myself from buying it anyway :o)

Think I'll make some chicken salad today for sandwiches. I haven't made it in a while and sounds like a good idea.

Have a good week.

Exercise and a Good Meal...

What is it with me and remote controls? I got all ready to put on the DVD yesterday and get my exercise in and the DVD player wouldn't turn on. I kept pushing and pushing the remote control and nothing. So I got down on my hands and knees and found the power button and hit it and voila, it worked. So off I go to the battery drawer to replace the batteries in that remote. Let's see, I think there is only one remote here in the living room that doesn't have new batteries. I might as well replace them today, because the next time I get ready to use the surround sound again they probably won't work. Good thing I picked up a 24 pack of batteries the last time I bought them.

So...

I did feel like exercising yesterday and burned 583 calories. I ate on plan too. So all in all, yesterday was a good day.

I noticed on Biggest Loser last week that Bob gave a suggestion in between segments to sing while you exercise. In case you didn't catch it, he said that singing while you exercise will help you to breath better and will allow your body to get more oxygen. That's not hard to do with the oldies, so I did. I'm up to doing all but one song on the DVD and today I'll add it to my routine.

As you can see on my side bar, I updated my 6 weeks challenge stats. And I was honest about it instead of just deleting the chart so no one would see. After all this is about accountability and honesty.

Shhhhh, be real quiet so you won't scare them away, but there are four big deer (all does) rummaging through the snow right now outside my window. They are so beautiful. And it looks like they are finding plenty to munch on too. Sorry no pictures, it's too overcast and they blend in with the trees so well, you wouldn't be able to see them.

I fixed myself my very own chicken nuggets yesterday for supper and they were yummy. I just cut the chicken up into small pieces, coated them lightly in flour, salt and pepper, then fried them in a couple tablespoons of olive oil. And I wanted mashed potatoes with them so I baked one potato in the microwave then spooned out the meat and mashed it with some low fat Carnation evaporated milk and a little light butter. Yes, I did have vegetables too, cooked cabbage. Was a wonderful meal and kept me full for most of he evening. It would have kept me full all evening but I stayed up a little late last night, so I had strawberries dipped in Splenda for a snack. There was a restaurant in Charleston that used to have whole strawberries on their salad bar with powdered sugar for dipping. After trying that there, that's the only way I would eat them afterward. Well, the Splenda is just as good, I couldn't tell the difference.

I'm nearing the end of the 'Daniel X' book and it isn't much better. It's written for teenagers or older elementary children. I think that's why I haven't enjoyed it much. But the story has me captured to find out how it ends, so I'll finish it. Since I was a teacher, I've read a lot of teenage books so that I could recommend some to the kids and if you have one out there that likes Sci-Fi, I would recommend it for them. There is no foul language or sexually explicit content at all.

I used to read most everything I could get my hands on in the Sci-Fi genre but have gotten away from it and am into mysteries now.

Have a blessed Sunday.

Keeping Warm...

I'm feeling better today, so far. I spent yesterday just laying around resting and drinking plenty of fluids. I had a little over 1500 calories and no exercise. Just didn't have the energy for it. Hopefully I will feel good enough today to get it in. Because of my body deciding to get sick my 6 weeks challenge is thrown off kilter but I'm still going to continue it and report the days that I wasn't on plan as just that. I'm not going to throw in the towel and give up just because of a few days that I couldn't complete my goals.

Sorry I wasn't able to comment on your blogs yesterday. I read a few but for some reason the brain cells just weren't working enough to come up with a comment. I'm sure you understand.

Whoa, it was 50 in here this morning when I got up, and only 1 outside (at 8:30). I immediately turned the propane up and huddled over it to keep warm until the rest of the house began to get caught up. Hope this doesn't last much longer. It is kinda hard on OLD bones. Makes me want to go back upstairs and crawl back under the covers. And speaking of covers I even had to throw another quilt on the bed the past couple of nights. Usually the dogs will keep me warm but even they were cold and needed it. I turn the propane heaters down at night for safety and even on their lowest settings, they've been burning some throughout the night.

My plans for the day are staying warm and getting into a trunk to see if I have any old "fat" sweaters to help me do that. The new sweaters that I bought when it started getting cold are light weight ones, because I usually get too hot with bulky ones. NOW I need bulky ones and I hope I've still got some. If not I'll just have to layer.

My hubby liked to keep it cold in the house and I had a lot of sweatshirts and sweat pants then but since I've been "under"growing them I've been giving them away. And I decided I didn't look too good in sweatshirts so I haven't bought any new ones. Even if I'm not at goal by next winter, I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and buy some things to keep me warmer. Especially since a heat pump just can't keep the heat up in this kind of weather.

Have a good weekend and stay warm.

BRRRRR...

Don't need to say much else about the temperature, do I?

My feel bad hurts. Started feeling really bad yesterday around noon. A headache just this side of a migraine and just plain yucky. Thank goodness there wasn't a stomach virus in there too. The headache is gone today but not the yucky feeling. Tried to exercise yesterday, but just couldn't get through the first song. I just rested and napped most of the day. And today is going to be much the same.

I guess it's the way our mother's raised us but I really wanted comfort food yesterday. I wanted tomato soup and grilled cheese. And I could have made that low fat and all but it's just not as good that way and I didn't feel like cooking. I just ate what ever I had in the house that could be heated in the microwave. Late last night the "cookie monster" came a calling. Thank goodness I don't have any cookies in the house so I was able to thwart that demon. (Cookies are definitely my nemesis.) I had fresh strawberries instead and it was just as satisfying. But the rest of the day I didn't do so good. With all the yucky feeling, I was starving all day. I ate more than I should have but maybe my body was needing it more than my head. I'm going to try to get back on plan today, but no promises.

Don't feel much like setting her any longer so I may not get to reading about your world until later in the day.

Have a great TGIF.

Remote Addiction...

Yesterday was NOT a good day food wise. (At least it wasn't as bad as the "crash and burn" day.) They surely didn't slap me on the wrist this time for eating too little. But today's a new day and it will be good today. I didn't exercise either. And this wasn't a planned day of rest. Well, at least, not planned by me but planned by my television I guess.

For some reason the remote wouldn't work on the TV yesterday at all. I had to do all the turning on and volume controls with the buttons on the side of the thing. I changed the batteries in the TV remote and the DishNetwork remote and that didn't help. At least I have surround sound that operates separate from the television and was able to take the volume up and down without walking across the room. But there wasn't an "input" button on the side that I could find so I couldn't get it into DVD mode. It all started working late last night and I just wasn't in the mood by then.

Eureka!! I've got it all figured out!! Everything went into the toilet because I didn't have my cup of coffee in the morning. That's it, I know it is. No, I'm not trying to quit the coffee, after all I only have one cup a day. I just thought that hot tea would be a nice change, so that's how I started my day. Guess the television didn't have it's high octane caffeine fix yesterday. Yea, that must be it.

Didn't get the snow accumulation that was predicted. I'm so glad they were wrong. I just hope they continue to be wrong. It is predicting snow through the weekend and below zero temps at night but a lot of you are having the same temps. We just have to put on an extra layer and keep our favorite blankie handy to keep warm, right?

I started a new book a couple of days ago and I'm not enjoying it at all. I keep reading it thinking it will get better. It's the "Daniel X" one by James Patterson and it is so different than what he usually writes. I keep hoping that it will get better, I guess that's why I'm still reading it. Gave a whole shopping bag full of books to the Orkin man boy to take home to his grandmother. We don't have a used book store here and I just can't throw them away.

Toodles Blog-Buds.

One More Gone...

One more pound gone!! Only a half a pound until I hit 70 pounds lost!! And there WAS a new number in the tens place!! (See my side bar "Weight Stats.") I got a slap on the wrist yesterday from my on-line calorie/exercise counter for not eating enough calories. I had 1462 calories! But I did expend 505 on exercise. I guess they are subtracting the numbers. Don't they realize that with this old body I need to do it that way in order to lose? Of course they don't, they are basing it all on "studies." Poopoo on them, I'll do it they way I need too in order to lose this weight, so there.

I've already run the sweeper this morning. Orkin is coming today. They come in the winter because I have a one year contract with them and I guess it helps keep the spiders out of the house and mice out of the crawl space.

Biggest Loser was a tear jerker for sure last night. I'm really disappointed it went that way. I so wanted to see Joelle leave last night. And you know me I've got to gripe about the program a little, so please don't take it as a slam on all of you BL fans. What's with Bob telling the guys that if they want a cookie in the afternoons to try to chew some gum first and if they still want the cookie then have it? I thought they were supposed to be learning to be healthy. Why didn't he just suggest a healthy snack that would put the energy back in their bodies? Since this is my first time watching the program, do they ever show their eating habits or the type of foods they eat for a healthier body? I loved Bob's comment about being possessed by Jillian for his tirade.

Weather much the same here. Cold and snowy. Still not much accumulation but it is forecast for tonight. Just hope it doesn't exceed the 3 inch prediction. Is anyone else out there ready for Spring or is it just me wishing my life away?

Have a healthy day, blog-buds!

Researching Treadmills...

I ate 1336 calories yesterday and burned 525. Thank goodness I was supposed to exercise yesterday. I was so antsy Sunday wanting to, that I should have just gone ahead and done it. I even wake up every mornin' singin' one of the songs on the DVD. How funny is that? Tomorrow's my official weigh-in and I've got my fingers crossed that I will see a new number in the tens place.

Been researching treadmills. Wow, there are some costly ones out there. WalMart does have one that sounds pretty good. Will go down there when the weather breaks and check them out. I've got one on my mind that has a lifetime warranty on the frame and a 25 year warranty on the motor. That will outlive me. And it has thingies that you hold on to that you can use for an upper body workout as well. There's also a workout fan and an iPod dock with speakers. The biggest problem with any of them is the weight of the thing. They are anywhere from 175 pounds to over 200 pounds. There is no way I will ever be able to get it out of the car, much less into the house by myself. So what ever I decide to get I will have to make a plan to do it when I have company coming that can help me haul it in here. And before you ask, there is no seller near enough to me to deliver it and I only have one neighbor that could help and I don't think just he and I could do it. I think it would take one more person at least.

I asked a question a couple of days ago that got by-passed (probably because it was buried in the middle of a paragraph), so I'll ask it again. To those of you out there that have personal trainers or belong to gyms, "How often do you measure the body parts?"

Hope you have a great and healthy day!

The Boob Tube...

I played "Suzie Homemaker" yesterday morning. While washing all the dishes in the sink (and there were a butt load) I made a big pot of Taco Soup to freeze and supper at the same time. For supper I made the chicken/noodle/lima concoction (that I will put on my recipe page later today) and cooked some cabbage to go with it. Got it all done and to my dismay there are MORE dishes. Well, I put them off and will have to get them done today, but not right now :o), I'm too busy doing the important things, like blogging.

While I was cooking and cleaning the kitchen I had the news on to listen to in the background. What I heard was so interesting that I had to turn the fires down and jump into the living room to listen more closely. They have a doctor on there on Sundays and he was talking about eating before you go to bed. He said that he tells all his patients not to eat within 3 hours before bed time because it will encourage your body to put on weight. Then the revelation! He said that there are studies out there that say that it won't! It's what you eat the whole day that puts weight on or takes it off. It doesn't matter when you eat it. He said that he has had to rethink this and now he tells his patients that it won't encourage weight gain but how much and what you munch on in the evenings will. He said that most people tend to munch in the evenings on things that aren't healthy or just down right fattening and that's counter-productive to weight loss. So for me that has been a wonderful revelation. I just can't get to sleep with a grumbling tummy, so I've always had something right before I go to bed. Only lately I've been having a healthy snack and so far it has proven to be fine. I've worked those wonderful 100 calorie packs out of my daily routine with the exception of Quaker Granola bars. And that has been a wonderful snack just before bedtime for me.

Then there was this annoying commercial that was so loud that I didn't have to come into the living room to listen to. It was Marie Osmond for Nutra-Systems. This was a new one that I hadn't heard before and I started laughing out loud and saying a few off color words as well. She starts talking about how it took her 9 looooonnnnngggggg years to put on her 30 or 40 pounds and only 4 months to take it off. Good grief! How many of you out there, did it take 9 years to get fat? Not me, that's for sure! Geesh, I put on 30-40 pounds in less than a year! I really think they should remove that ad. It is so unrealistic it's pathetic. Now I'm not knocking Nutra-Systems, so those of you out there that have used it with great success, that's wonderful. We all have to develop a system that works for us. But we also have to be realistic about our gains and losses. Ok, I'm stepping off that "band wagon."

Yesterday was a fine day calorie wise. I enjoyed my day of rest from exercising. Although I did have a kinda withdrawal feeling, not exercising. WHAT? Again in the back of my mind I was thinkin', if I had a treadmill, I'd have jumped on it and walked for a half hour or so. I guess I'd better start shopping for a treadmill.

Hope your week is a productive and happy one.

Second Week Update...

I think I'm becoming a recluse. It was all I could do yesterday to talk myself into going off the mountain to run my errands. I don't know why, because I really don't mind it after I'm out and about, actually I enjoy it. I just hate leaving the house. Boy if I could get my groceries delivered through the Internet I'd sure do it. It was pouring down the rain but it was the only window I had without snow in the forcast and just in case the snow gets high I wanted to have provisions in the house. Snow is predicted every day next week. 'Course I think the National Weather Service does that so they won't look so bad if it doesn't and they didn't tell people about it, because so far they've been wrong about the ice storms they have predicted the past couple of weeks.

I was so proud of myself yesterday. I had breakfast before I went and didn't even contemplate stopping for a goodie in town. Just fixed myself a bowl of Taco Soup as soon as I got home. Calories were 1361 yesterday and I burned 585 calories in my exercise. That's another 6 days in a row! (Today is my planned day of rest.) Those of you that have been with me from this summer can pick yourselves up off the floor now. Me, the person that was so excited about starting exercising and quiting after 2 days. Remember, that happened quite a few times this summer? But here I was last evening wishing I had a treadmill so I could get on it and get some walking in! So, how often should I measure the body parts? I've never worried about it before because I've known that it takes a long time to shed inches not exercising but now...

Since I started this 6 Week Challenge I've dropped 5.5 pounds (as of last Wednesday). I've eaten an average of 1467 calories per day and burned an average of 291 calories per day. I've worked myself up from 10 minutes of exercise to 33 minutes in these past 2 weeks. And I've set my HRM to beep when I'm out of my calorie burn range and try to stay in it as long as possible. So far I've stayed in that range for 20 minutes the past couple of days. The DVD I'm doing has a warm up and a cool off song so that accounts for about 5 minutes of that time not in the calorie burn range. My plans are to continue this DVD for another week or maybe two (haven't decided yet) and then switch to the second one, which is supposed to be a little tougher.

Off to read your blogs. I didn't do that yesterday so it will probably take me a while. Have a great Sunday.

PS: I got a comment from Mother Hubbard and have gone to her blog. It is great! You'll want to check it out. But...for some reason it won't let me comment. So this is to Mother Hubbard, check your settings because I really want to comment and become a friend in this blogland.

20/20 Vision NOT...

Boy you guys need to get your eyes examined. I think you should pick up the phone immediately and call for an appointment. That was not a good picture of me! It was a horrible picture of me! And it's all Karen's fault! I even contemplated taking a picture of myself in a smaller shirt that I'm trying to get down to so that it will fit well (like she did), but I haven't yet and even if I do I surely WON'T publish it. Or at least not until it fits well and then maybe I'd do a before and after. Maybe.

Went a little over on my calories yesterday but it "all came out in the wash" with the calories I burned. So do I decide to count that as a good calorie day or a bad one? Guess I'll have to think on that one awhile. Okay I just looked at the reports and with the exercise and going a little over I still had calories left over that I could have eaten. So I'll count that as a good calorie day. YAY!

I can't figure out why I'm still on a high about losing this last 30+ pounds but I am. I'm trying to remember back to when I started and how long it took me to get fed up with it. Just looked back at a chart I've been keeping of my weekly losses (and gains) and my first zero was at the end of 6 weeks then my first gain was 10 weeks from then. Well, I'm determined to not let all that get to me again. Oh, I'll have some weeks without a loss and I'll have some weeks with a gain (heaven forbid but it will happen), but I WON'T let it get me down again. Sure hope I can stick to that promise.

Finished reading the book "Duma Key" by Stephen King last night. It was a really good one. It didn't get weird until about half way through and got really weird about 3/4 way through it. It was the old SK in good form. So if you like that genre, I'd recommend it for sure. Right now I'm trying to decide if I want to read a Nicholas Sparks or a mystery. Will let you know.

Hope you all have a great weekend! TGIF!

Exercise YAY...

Another good day yesterday with exercise. I really didn't want to exercise at all but I made myself and burned 545 calories. I've been doing 4 songs on the DVD and added another one last night. And this time I was sweating. I don't like to sweat! I'm allergic to sweat! But it felt good. Eating was phenomenal, only 1180 calories. Now before you all go ballistic on me I know that was low especially with the calorie burn during the exercises but I was satisfied and my body told me that it didn't want any thing more. I'll try to do better in the future, and think about adding some peanut butter or something when it is that low.

My favorite song on the DVD (Sweatin' to the Oldies) is "Wipe Out." It really gets me moving and I love the dance steps he puts with it. I would have given almost anything to have had someone here with a camera on the cool down song. I have to get on the floor and do stretches and my dogs think that I'm getting in the floor to be with them. They were all over and around me. I just kept kissing them and telling them that they needed to stretch too, but they wouldn't do it.

It's snowing again. Took a little nap yesterday and when I woke up there was snow! I haven't' been looking at the weather reports so it was a surprise to me. It has continued off and on since then and we have about 2 inches with another 2 predicted for today. That's cool, just so it doesn't get to a foot, I'm good. And if it does I'm good to go anyway. I might not have all the things in the house that I really like to have but I won't starve either.

I had recorded DietTribe from Sunday and watched it yesterday. I like it a lot more than Biggest Loser. It is much more realistic and you go away with the same feelings of wanting to exercise and realizing that everyone out there has the same problems as I do. Of course, I already knew that because of YOU.

I'm still giving some thought into buying myself a treadmill. The more I watch these diet shows the more I want one. Do you have any suggestions as to the best brands? I'd want one that would record all the stats, in other words one that has all the bells and whistles. Before I decide to definitely get one I'd have to rearrange my living room to see if I'd have a place to put it. Don't want it setting in the middle of the floor. I just don't have another room to put it in since all I have is one bedroom. And I'd want it where I could watch TV while doing it so I wouldn't get bored.

I can't believe it's Thursday already. Gee, how time flies.

Update and Some Ramblings...

One more pound down and only 30.5 to go!!! YAY!! I burned over 400 calories in my workout yesterday too. YAY! I'm so anxious to see if next week I will be into new numbers! I haven't seen the 170's in over 20 years. That will be so kewl.

Now, I won't be stepping on the scales again until Wednesday. Well I may sneak a peak on Saturday since that is the day I started with this new web site and they have me down as that being my weigh-in day but none other than that. Maybe.

I watched Biggest Loser last night for the first time. I haven't watched it before because two of my favorite evening shows came on at the same time and my tivo wouldn't let me tape 2 and watch another one. I can tape 2 but have to be watching one of them. Anyway, I digress. I'm a tad confused with the show. It was interesting and it made me want to get up right in the middle of it and get more exercise into my day but... Aren't we all about losing this weight slowly so that it won't come back on? Aren't we all about changing our lifestyles? How is the way these people are being put through hell and encouraged to lose mega pounds per week going to really help them in the long run? How are they going to LEARN to be healthy? I just don't understand. I WILL probably watch it again next week and maybe I'll find out the answers to my questions if I continue to watch it.

No ice storm today like predicted, just rain. Thank goodness! I still don't think I will be running errands today because I didn't have it planted in my mind to do it and when it comes to running errands I almost have to talk myself into it. But I will have to do it before the week is over because I'm running out of Brussels sprouts. :o) I just love them and they are one of my favorite snacks in the evenings. :o)

Happy Hump Day y'all.

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire...

Okay, so I lied. Well, I didn't exactly lie but I couldn't stick to the plan I had for yesterday. But I didn't do too badly either. I added another vegetable, another piece of toast (one just wasn't enough for breakfast), a cup of Taco soup for lunch and a light Quaker Granola bar and some peanuts (just need something salty in the evening). All in all it came out to be 1526 calories and I burned 355 calories with my exercise. So I feel pretty good about the day. In other words I took your advice and ate what I needed to not be hungry and give my body the fuel it needed.

Today is another day, and I won't be posting what my eating plans are here but I will let you know tomorrow how it went. After finishing up here I will be looking over my eating for the past week and a half and see what I had on the days I did well, that helped with the loss and try to do that again.

I didn't get the Taco soup made Sunday as I had mentioned 'cause I just got lazy. I have the stuff out on the counter right now to make a pot of Chili since I noticed that there isn't any left in the freezer. Just don't like to run out of my "staples." Living alone makes me lazy about cooking for just me so it helps to have the "staples" in the freezer when I just don't feel like cooking. When I began this journey I would buy the WW and Lean Cuisine dinners but I didn't really like them. My cooking is much better so I started making my own goodies for the freezer.

I've had several new people visiting and commenting on my posts recently and am thrilled that others are finding me and helping out with the support that I so direly need. Thanks so much for your support and comments. I will be adding them to my blog roll sometime today if I haven't already done so. So a message to my "old" friends, check them out, they are neat people!

Hang in there blog-buds, we can make this a stellar year if we want too.

Crash & Burn...

Yesterday was a pretty good day. Ate well. Didn't get exercise in but it was Sunday so I decided that'd be my day of rest. Then came the evening. ARGH!!! I wasn't hungry and I had NO will power. I started and couldn't stop. I started with peanuts and then graduated to the chips that I hated and had hidden on the back of the fridge. Well, those old friends are in the trash now. Couldn't do that last night but did this morning. Friends like that I don't need, for sure.

Looking back, I'm thinkin' it was the scale yesterday morning that did it. That pound that showed back up must have been in the back of my mind. I had done so well all week and up it popped. That's why I vowed to stay off the scales and here I went and back slid. Well, that's behind me in more ways than one. What's done is done. The only thing I can do is follow my own advice (that I have so freely handed out in comments here and there), just put it behind me and quit thinking about it. I won't beat myself up about it because it will only make me miserable and not get me back in the swing of things. As a matter of fact, I've learned over the past year and a half + that dwelling on it only makes me want to continue on a destructive path and once on that path it is terribly hard to get off it.

So here's what I will be eating today: (and only this)

Breakfast: (268 calories)
2 soft boiled eggs
1 slice Light Wheat toast
1 teaspoon light butter
1 cup coffee with milk and splenda

Lunch: (255 calories)
1 ounce cheese
1 slice pumpernickel bread
1 tablespoon light mayo

Dinner: (315 calories)
1 grilled boneless/skinless chicken breast
2 cups Brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon honey/mustard dip (homemade)

Dessert: (106 calories)
1 cup fat/free sugar/free Watergate salad

Snack: (80 calories)
1 cup Brussels sprouts

Water: (throughout the day)
64 ounces

That gives me a total of 1040 calories for the planned eating. I know there isn't enough fruits and veggies (or calories since I should have 1200) in there so I will probably add celery and craisins if I need something else to eat in between meals or late at night. I really need to do this today. Say a little prayer for me. I need all the help I can get right now.

Plans, What Plans?...

The best laid plans of mice and men...

Was planning out my week when I stopped in at NOAA (the National Weather Service) and saw that Wednesday is bringing freezing rain/snow. Oh, well, I guess I won't make it to the dump on an open day this week. (They are only opened on Wed and Sat.) I guess I'll shoot for Saturday then. I guess the old adage is true: "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans."

Did "okay" yesterday with my eating. Went a little over what I wanted too, but still within my calorie range for the day. Got my exercise in as well. Then hopped on the scales this morning and found that I'm up 1 pound from weigh-in on Wednesday. Piffle-snot-boogers-crap! Guess it's back to baked or grilled "chicken" for a few days :o( And I only have 2 cups of Taco Soup left in the freezer. So today I'll probably make a pot. That has become a staple in my house. I feel like my cupboards are bare if I don't have some in reserve. It's so easy to pop a frozen container of it in the microwave when I can't think of anything else I want to eat (cause I always want that).

Did you see the comment from Cammy yesterday? She said I exercised more that her last week! Tee-hee. (And you thought I'd let it slide and not rub it in, Cammy.) But actually she was being kind and encouraging. I'm sure she still exercised more than me, maybe just not as many days as I did, since I tend to get too winded after only 20 minutes or so to continue. But for me 20 minutes is a great accomplishment. Actually yesterday was only 18 minutes but I was dripping wet with sweat when I finished. I've been experimenting a little with my HRM and find that I burn more calories if I keep the exercise in the moderate range instead of going gang-busters. So moderate it shall be. It's been so long since I exercised consistently that I've forgotten some of the bells and whistles on my HRM, so I'm getting the little book out today to reread it. And this time I'll be making notes (since the print is so small and the eyes so old) on how to turn certain functions off and on.

Have a great Sunday out there in blogland.

A Good Week and a Recipe...

Yesterday was the end of the first week of the 6 Week Challenge I started with some others over at Katschi's blog. I started a little late but Karen said I could, so there. As you can see by the report on my side bar I did pretty good. Can you believe it? I actually exercised 6 out of 7 days! That's a first for me!

Staying within my calorie range was a tough one this past week. I went to bed several nights hungry. Mostly because I stayed up too late. I was really wanting something sweet so I'd have a cookie and fixed myself a cup of hot tea with sugar free syrup in it on those nights and guess the caffeine in the tea kept me up. I figured that one out last night and had a cup of hot chocolate made with soy milk instead. It was almost as good and didn't keep me up 'til all hours. Actually it was a little too sweet. Next time I try it I'll only use a half envelope of the chocolate mix and see how that goes.

I still used my weigh-in day (Wednesday) to have a little splurge for lunch but counted the splurge into my calories and ate more sensibly the rest of the day and that worked out fine. I used to use Wednesdays as my splurge meal and not pay any attention to the rest of the day and would go over what I was supposed to. And some Wednesdays I just may slip back into that too but I will try not to.

I started keeping a folder with my print-outs in it. I've been printing out detailed reports on what I'm eating daily and the final reports of how I did. It makes for about 4-6 pages a day. I'm only doing this for the 6 weeks challenge then I'll stop. I may still print out the final report to keep track and that is only 2 pages. But I figured this would be another way for me to keep track of what and how I'm doing. This way if I start feeling a little complacent I can grab the folder and look back at what I was doing and what worked well and get myself back on track.

I tried a new recipe this week that I just kinda made up and it was so delicious. I made enough for 4 meals and spread them out over the week (a couple for lunch and a couple for supper). I boiled 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, then boiled a half a package of 12 oz. noodles in the broth. I poured all the broth down the drain and then added a package of frozen fordhook green Lima beans and 2 tablespoons of light butter. Yummmmm. Course I love Lima beans but you could use any veggies that you adore. Mine came out to be:

473 calories
12.9g total fat
46.8g carbs
5.8g fiber
1.5g sugar
37.5g protein
134g cholesterol

I know that is a little high in fat but with my other eating it worked out just fine. And I figure the Lima beans were a little on the high side too, so that probably accounted for most of it. But I do LOVE Lima's.

Hope your week was as productive as mine. If not, get your rear in gear, friends. If this old gal can do it (living alone without any support) so can you.

Reflections on 2008...

I've been reading all your blogs reflecting on 2008 and thought to myself that I should do that too, not for you, for me. Cara's the one that really got me to thinking about my ups and downs and I need to voice them to get them out of my system.

I left 2007 behind weighing 209. It took me 6 months to shed 40 pounds to get to that point. I didn't look at the stats then or even give them much thought. And I think that was the wrong way of looking at the life of becoming slimmer and healthier. So that mistake won't be made again this year.

I got complacent in 2008. I guess I figured that first 40 pounds came off so easily that the rest would be easy too. Boy did I ever get a rude awakening. "The proof is in the pudding," so they say because I just looked back on my stats and found that in a whole year of 2008 I only lost 27.5 pounds. What? Why only 27.5 pounds? Because I got too sure of myself. I got too proud. I got too bored. I got sick of skinless/boneless chicken.

By March I'd only lost ~10 pounds. Then I discovered YOU! Cara kept telling me that it was awesome to blog and find out that there are others out there that have the same struggles I have. I balked at first and told her I had nothing to say and finally gave in and found out that there are people out there in this wide, wide world that struggle just like me (well, not JUST like me but struggle just the same). Without YOU I probably would have given up and quit this journey to one-derland (to borrow a word from Charlie). YOU have given me strength! Without YOU I would be a lonely, lonely old lady (and I use that word loosely). YOU have gotten me through these last 9 months!

Oh, I still stumbled and I even fell on my rump a time or two, but because of YOU I got back up and dusted off my rear and got back on the horse. Because of YOU I have discovered that I can do it! Mostly because I've watched some of you stumble and fall as well. Your inspirations and lives that you have shared with me have given me strength to start the new year with a positive attitude and a new outlook on life.

So, that's my New Years Resolution. I won't get complacent with this journey. Oh, I'm sure I'll stumble a time or three and probably fall some along the year, but.......I won't give up.

The highlights of my 2008 are YOU! Thank all of YOU for sticking by me. Thank all of YOU for reading the ramblings of an old chick! Thank all of YOU for commenting and trying to encourage me! Thank all of YOU for sharing your piece of this world! Thank all of YOU for being YOU!!!

Did you know that YOU are awesome?