Hey there everyone. I just wanted to give my support and encouragement. I know losing weight is tough but don't lose sight of your goal and why you want to lose weight. For me, its my health and wanting to be around for my daughter in years to come. I want to be active in her life and not a couch potato. I barely have energy to do things I need to do day to day and I know a lot of it is due to my weight. Have a great day!

How depressing is this? I saw my dr. for a regular checkup (hypertension!) this morning. Not only did I have a weight gain of 4 pounds since late August, but also the old BP was waaaay up there (170 over 80 something). Of course I would say that it was all self-inflicted. Too much sitting at the sewing machine and too much standing in the kitchen preparing tasty holiday food, especially all the batches of fudge. I am looking to this wise group for inspiration. More walking will the first thing I want to work on...and I don't mean from sewing machine to ironing board.

So it is Jan. brights, Feb. Valentines, March purples for sure?

So sorry Gail. I hope this month will be better. I am just trying not to gain. It seems 3-5 pounds up and down. My goal weight now an illusive 5 lbs to go.

I sent out my FQ today. Hope they arrive soon! I am off to a good start. Hoping it lasts through the months to come! Have a good day everyone.

Good morning. Actually it's afternoon, but I lost an hour shoveling ice chunks, so it's still morning to me.
Gail, 4 pounds with Christmas in there isn't too bad. Do you have white coat hypertension? I run screwy numbers at the doctor's office, come home, and am good on both my monitors. I have to take it daily for a week after an app't just to prove to the doctor that it's okay. The problem isn't the doctor - he's great - it's the small room with the door closed because I'm claustrophobic.
Anna, what do you know about set point weight? I can hold 5 to 7 pounds over my goal weight almost no matter what I eat though I won't go on a carb binge to find out what it would take to gain beyond that. But 138?? I can force my weight down to 139 (I just did), but if I inhale and exhale, it creeps back up to 143-145. Give it up and be happy with that?? If spot exercises worked for the thick waist, I might consider it.
Why do I insist on keeping it down? With several arthritises, lupus, bolted together feet, etc, my body doesn't need any extra weight. We all have our reasons - I think it only matters that we want the best for ourselves - we each deserve it.

I don't know much about it at all so I googled it. Among what I read was this-
-One other observation to make is to look at your family of origin. What size were your parents, their siblings or their parents? Predisposition to be a certain size “runs in the family” and ignores the current fashion!- quote

Now this is not good for me as they are all heavier and I was even heavy as a child. I then lost it in my teens but gained weight especially after 40. I am now within normal Body Mass Index due to loosing weight over the last 3/4 of a year but now to keep my weight down.....

Yes the themes for FQ are January - bright, February- Valentines, March-Purple.
I was doing really well so far but I just put turkey in the oven. Having family over for dinner. I am also making mashed potatoes, stuffing and carrots and of course gravy. My DD is bringing pumpkin and apple pie fro dessert. I do make the potatoes low fat. Hope I can behave myself. I went to spinning class on Saturday and rode 22 miles. Then I went to the gym and did all of the lifting machines. I do spinning most Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I am trying to add the weights in on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I also am trying to stay off of the scale so often. The daily ups and downs bother me. I would like to make myself only weigh once a month. Not sure if I can do it or not.
We had our first snow today. We have about an inch or 2. This is really late for our first snow. The weather here has been a lot of u and down. It was 56 degrees yesterday, I had my sunroof open driving yesterday. It is supposed to be in the teens tomorrow.
Eat healthy and good luck everyone.
Pat

Definitely have the "w-c s" and both drs. agree but both say it shouldn't be going so high. The nurse lets me sit calmly in the weigh-station alcove before I go into the exam room. This time it was 157/81. Then when dr. did it, 170/eighty something. Sometimes they put me in "timeout" for a while and try it again but this time I was sent home with homework -- again. Take the BP daily for a week and bring it in next week to check my machine -- again -- against theirs. So here I go again. BTW, I've had good readings here the last few days. Back in the one-thirties.

Ooh, I could go for 56. It is below zero here today. Brrrr!
Don't know that I could only weigh myself once a month. I have done it every morning for so many years it is most certainly a habit.
I am so caught up in "Call the Midwife" on netflix. It is so good! It takes place in London in the 1950's. Good thing I have a tv in my sewing room and my DD gave me chromecast for Christmas.

Good morning ladies, I know some of you are having some bitter weather. We are cold enough in central Texas to keep me off the bike, and the pollen is murder on my allergies. I have been attacking my weight by focusing on my calories first, then activity. My doctor disapproved of my exercises, wants me on the bike to strengthen the little muscle that runs from the quad to the inner knee. I am trying to walk 10,000 steps daily for the movement, but that does nothing to strengthen my knees. I have been within calorie range all month, still waiting for the scale to drop. About to have some major changes in my life - so far I've been able to avoid the emotional eating. Not even a Dr Pepper!

meanmom, I will have my skinnies in the mail to you this week. Have a great week everybody.

It is not cold here yet but I hear there is a blast of arctic air coming this way soon.

I absolutely love Call the Midwife. The only thing is I can't watch too many of them at once because the show is so "heavy".

Keep up the good work ladies! I am trying to only eat when I am truly hungry with lots of water in between. Have a great day!

I do too. It reminds me of growing up in Europe even though I am not from England.

I received my Fabrics for November. Thank you all!
I will try really hard to get my next 3 months worth in the mail in the next day or two.
This past week was a birthday party for my oldest Grand daughter. She turned 4. Then Sunday was my daughter's (her mother's) birthday so we had a big family dinner and everything. I really need to get on the ball. The 6 min on an exercise bike at therapy 2x a week is not enough. I need to get on my bike her at home. Therapist still won't let me take walks

Mailed my fabric yesterday. I have just finished watching the second season of Broadchurch. Watched the first season again before I started the second season. The first season is really good, but the second season is even better.

My husband and I go to Walmart or Sams to walk. That way I have a cart to hold on to. Always afraid I am going to fall again. Fell 2 years ago and fractured ribs.

"Call the Midwife" was very good! I watched a bunch of it last year while on the treadmill. That was when I had the most weight loss in my recent history! I didn't want to stop watching, so I kept walking. And it motivated me to jump back on the treadmill everyday so that I could watch more! I need to find another good program like that. Any suggestions for shows on Netflix?
I have a tv in my sewing room as well. It is a smart tv, so I get to watch youtube quilt tutorials. Love it - but burns no calories...

Orange is the new black, mad men, breaking bad, house of cards, the walking dead. Those are ones that I have watched. I have a long list that I wrote down one time when Bonnie Hunter asked for suggestions. That's how I found out about call the midwife.

Thanks for the suggestions, Pam. I have several co-workers that watch and talk about The Walking Dead. I'm just not much of a zombie-person, though. I've been tempted to watch, since I've heard of many that like it. But I'm not sure.

I received 3 FQ from Jcarpentier, very pretty. I also received one from Irishrose.
I had a chocolate attack yesterday. While it was yummy I immediately regretted eating it. I ate several pieces. I really need to find a better medication for stress than chocolate. My kids at school have been off the hook. My kindergartener was suspended today. FINALLY! She pushed me. She is rotten. She threatened to kill me last week. She is probably the rudest child I have ever met. She thinks she is in charge. We are pretty sure she is bipolar or schitzophrenic. Mom says she is ADHD. We are pretty sure mom keep messing with her medication. My 2nd grader cries really loud for hours on end. At least after they had an emergency meeting with mom she took him to the dr for a med change.
The weather here is really cold. Wind chill was below zero this morning. I was out for about 30 minutes doing bus duty. I have been going to spinning class pretty faithfully, Mon, Wed, and Sat.About 50 to 60 miles a week. I am considering trying a personal trainer. I love spinning. I fell last week at the YMCA when I was being shown how to work all of the exercise equipment. He forgot to turn the speed down on the machine when he put me on it and I went off the back of it. I hit my knee (not the one that was just replaced) and it is still bothering me some. Hopefully I didn't do any real damage to it. Everyone try to stay on track.
Hopefully I will be laying on a beach tomorrow if my Powerball ticket is good:-)

Hey all. I cannot watch the Walking Dead as it is too gory for me. Some people like the story line though, and choose to watch because of that. Meanmom, I hope you do get on that beach! Sounds like you have your hands full. My "diet" has not been going so good lately. I plan to get back on the wagon today though. Maybe I shouldn't think of it as a diet but a lifestyle change. The problem with that is forming new habits takes a while. I can do this! Have a great day!

Hi Ladies,

meanmom, I put my fabrics in the mail for you today. I am grateful that you give us 3 months that we can ship for. Thanks for being our hostess.

I've managed to NOT stress-eat during this storm in our home, but the scale is still not moving. I"ve been wearing my FitBit everyday and tracking all my calories. I'm still waiting for the evidence that you have to burn more than you eat to lose weight. I've been in a deficit all month. May be time for a splurge to shake things up.

Our weather has been gorgeous, which also brings the pollen. Hoping that the Flonase my DR has me on gets me through the season without getting sick like I was in Nov & Dec.

hugs

I have been having a hard time. Snacking and more snacking. I also added some diet soda to the mix. Maybe once the Holiday chocolates are gone. I did not help that several of my adult children gave me bags of chocolates for Christmas even though I had asked them not to do it. I asked for gift cards to Hobby Lobby. Nothing like that. Hubby did get me a nice big rotary cutter. I was told I was ungrateful for not being excited about the chocolate. I have blood sugar issues so it is not just a weight issue. I guess I am a grump.

Annaquilts, I do not think you are a grump and you have real concerns about your health and well being. Shame on them for not realizing that.

Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate.

Having a piece of chocolate just makes me right with the world. I have to admit it.

I know I shouldn't be emotionally attached to any food. But if I don't have my fix, I know I will be searching for other things to eat to compensate.

So to make this not too bad for me, the only chocolate I will have is the 86% bars. Ghiradelli is good. And there is a German brand sold at a local Aldi's store that I find supreme.

There's nothing wrong with dark chocolate. It's the amount that gets us in trouble. Isolate as much as you've allowed yourself for the day and eat it in slow bites. Even on days you have more, separating the amount you feel is reasonable keeps you accountable. Kudos on eating that high a percentage dark. I'm not there yet. I'll try the Aldi's one.

I've had four heart attacks and 2 mini strokes. I'll take the little bit of heart health dark chocolate offers.

Anna, it's very rude of your children to buy you chocolate when you have health problems. Some is allowed on your type of diet - can you ration it? I buy all my grandchildren Santa Bucks (chocolate bars that look like a dollar bill.) I have to find something else for the diabetic one.

Hey everyone. I haven't weighed myself this week yet. I am kinda scared to but need to know if I made any progress. If not, I will need to hammer down! I hope you all have a wonderful day. I have to go into work soon.

[QUOTE=Irishrose2;7434934]There's nothing wrong with dark chocolate. It's the amount that gets us in trouble. Isolate as much as you've allowed yourself for the day and eat it in slow bites. Even on days you have more, separating the amount you feel is reasonable keeps you accountable.

Thank you. That advice is helpful.

It's regretable that your children took offense about your not wanting the temptation and empty calories of their gifts. I would have no problem with giving them away to someone who can enjoy them guilt free. They don't need to know about it. Just thank them and leave it at that.

Re the weight loss. I am doing terribly. Weight only fluctuates 3 pounds up then three pounds down, etc. Perhaps next month. When I eat what I consider to be sensibly, I find myself searching (and usually finding something) for munchies a couple of hours later. The house is just about stripped of my favorites, but I do manage to come up with something. Please don't tell me to fix a tray of celery sticks and carrot sticks. lol

Gail, carrots and celery are good in soups and stews, but I won't tell you to eat rabbit food. I don't know what to tell you as we are all different. 1/2 a Dove dark chocolate after a cup of tea usually helps me get over a munchies attack. Are you restricting your calorie intake too much? It may be time for a feast day once a week to take your body out of starvation mode. Without a feast day, your body thinks it's starving and adjusts its calorie requirement. It worked when I had more weight to lose. I think I'll try it now for this amount.

I'm feeling a need for exercise and fresh air. I took the dogs out, but it was super icy. I slipped three or four times in the first block, even with the YakTrax so I gave it up. I can do a exercise video or something on Youtube or Grokker, but that won't get me some refreshing air. Speaking of exercise, last week my morning yoga class was wall to wall - this week there were four of us. Have the New Year's resolution exercisers given up already? My evening class was down a little, but not as dramatic a drop.

I am losing weight and becoming healthier.

I like vegetables but much prefer them steamed or in soup. Eating celery sticks would only make me feel deprived and would cause me to grab something to get rid of the flavor.

I had to laugh at your description of the full and then empty exercise class. It wasn't me. I still haven't made it out to the gym. My 26 year old son is very sweet and keeps on encouraging me. I am kind of scared to go. I did see two ladies at the vegetable store that had obviously just worked out at the exercise place next to it. They looked like they had just started. DS pointed them out to me to encourage me. He even cut out one of those one time free coupons for me. DH is on a business trip this coming week. Maybe I'll go with my son to the fitness place. He goes all the time and has those nice in shape muscles. I asked him if he wouldn't mind him being seen with his old out of shape mom. LOL Oh he was not one of the ones giving me chocolates.

I have going tot the YMCA for a couple of months. Mostly for my spinning class. We have all commented that there have been very few New Years resolution people show up this year. I went yesterday and did some of the exercise equipment before class and finished it up after class. I just couldn't drag myself out of bed any earlier. I rode 22 miles in an hour. Then I showered and spent a fun day with a girlfriend. We went to Fabric Shack and out to lunch. I didn't need anything from Fabric Shack as I could sew from my stash for at least my lifetime and possibly another lifetime. I did get out of there for only $65. My friend spent a lot more than I did. I am thinking about doing the Hoffman Challenge this year so I bought some of the fabric. I have something formulating in my head. I still need to figure out the details and then actually sew it. It was a fund relaxing day.

That sounds like a great day, Pat. You deserve one after the year you're having at school. My Friday yoga class is at the Y. My same instructor, just a different location. I may get brave one day and try out the pool - can't wear panty hose with a bathing suit, darn it. ;) I used to love aquaerobics at another location, then I had a nasty reaction to the chemicals in the pool. Took steroids to clear it and I am still scarred. I doubt if I can use the pool because even the chlorine in city water bothers me if I run out of water softener salt. There's only one way to find out. My daughter says it'a very cold pool, so that wouldn't be fun. There's a body sculpting class right after my class, but it looks too hard. They have Senior Fit, too, but the woman who is in charge is very strict. Twice a week and if you miss 2 classes, you're out. In an ideal word, that would be okay, but life can't be that rigid for me.

I am OFF today for MLK day:-) OMG I just read my school email, huge mistake. My kindergarteners mom is coming in tomorrow or Wednesday to observe her in class. The last time she was there it was awful. She spent the whole time arguing with her and threatening her. Courtney loves to draw people into endless conversations. One of her problems is she spends all of her time with adults. I will have to talk to the principal about what to do when mom is disturbing the whole class. (cough, cough I think I might feel a sick day coming on!)
It is really cold here today. I was heading out to shop. I need some new jeans. I have been avoiding buying new as I was hoping to wait until I can't wear these any more. They are loose but not that bad, they are worn out. I can occasionally wear them to school and they aren't fit to be worn there any more. My weight loss seems to have stalled. I need to change some things up. (cut out the sweets)

Hey there everyone. Just checking in. We have to bring my daughter to the orthopedics for a followup because she fractured her pinky at recess while sliding down a hill. This was on the 8th of January. She seems to be doing well so I am hoping she doesn't need a more permanent cast.

My weight loss has stalled as well...

I received 3 FQ from Leann and Susanna10, and one form Gail G. They are really pretty. Everyone need to work hard to win these beauties.

Just catching up on the last week after being in Florida visiting my mom. For some reason I am wanting chocolate!
Pat, I don't know how you can stand to go to work every day. Chocolate is probably a better alternative than how much alcohol you might want to drink to cope with your stress.
I am still not eating sugar (plus white rice, white flour). I go for blood work the end of the month to see if my numbers have improved enough so I don't have to go on meds. Panera gave me a cookie for my birthday and I let my sister, mom and aunt share it. We went to Outback and they gave me an ice cream sundae which I did have 1 small bite of. It was so yummy! Then I shared the rest.
I am allowed to have dark chocolate - at least 70%. I got some at Aldi's. Since I am not a fan of dark chocolate I found it is much improved with just a thin smear of peanut butter. Another one that I found at the grocery store has raspberry flavor with it. That one is pretty good.
We'll see in the morning how I did diet wise on vacation. At least I remembered to wear my compression stockings. My goal was to walk at least 10,000 steps a day. Well, when you vacation with your 87 year old mother you just might not be as active as you might hope to be.

Hey all. I've been so busy I almost forgot to post! Honestly, I am not sure how I have been doing weight loss wise. I don't think I have lost that much. So much stress at this time. Its just awful. Hope everyone is doing great!

My daughter is a teacher of high school students with multiply handicaps. She always has a least one parent that causes all sorts of problems. I admire teachers. I cannot understand how you always have the patients to work with students each day. I think you are a gift from God.

I, too, am having problems. We have not had sun the past few days and I just mope around. Need SUN

Have been watching Call the Midwife on Nexflix and cutting with Go Big (I love it) and sewing a tumbler block quilt together. Using Kansas Troubles fabric. It is my 2nd favorite fabric after Laurel Burch fabric.

Ok, so finally got my FQ's out in today's mail. I'm sorry they are so late. I have Jan - Mar with a little something extra for postage.

I hope everyone is doing well. I am down only about 2 - 3 lbs so far. It is better than going up. Today I am babysitting my youngest grand daughter. She just will be 5 mos old on the 27th. Her mamma is a teacher in a T-K class.
My next grand is due March 3. Beth will need a C-Section so that means for a couple of weeks I will have Faith more as well as Naomi and Caleb while their mother recovers. It ought to be interesting.

I had my last session with my PT. He is going to request more. I see my Dr on Monday. I asked him if I can start walking around the block yet. He said no. I can ride an exercise bike or do a little work on an elliptical(I don't have access to one of those) but no walking where I can't immediately stop when the foot starts to hurt. :(

I do get to go to Road to California Quilt show tomorrow. I am going with 4 other friends and they will take turns pushing me around in the wheel chair. It should be a fun day!

I'm like several who are having trouble getting any traction. I've been tracking my calories and have only gone over my range twice, and I'm averaging more than 10,000 steps each day yet I weigh the same as I did Thanksgiving. I'm having a colonoscopy in the morning, haven't had solid food for 3 days; if the scale doesn't move in the morning I should probably give up.

But I know I'll just try harder. I want to start a new quilt - I've got the bug again.