It sounds like the week-long stint of chaperone duty was enjoyable for you - and I am sure that it would be good exercise too.

I hope that things are going well for you now and that you are getting some good weather. We never know quite what to expect. It is warm but cloudy today and should be the same tomorrow. It was bright and sunny yesterday - but it is due to rain on Thursday. If it does - I will be pleased that Rod bought me a treadmill.

wow.looks like you are having a good time. have a great week. hear from u monday

Bad, bad, bad!
That just about sums up my eating and exercising of late. *Sigh*
I have gained back about 10-15 pounds. I wasn't in the 180's long enough to really count them. But if you did count them it puts me closer to the 15 pound gain.
The sad thing is now that my job at the YMCA is actually up in the fitness center. So you would think that I would be able to get my butt moving.
I did start back to my weight lifting class last Tuesday and plan to go tonight.
But all that won't do me a lick of good if I can't get my eating back under control.
It just seems that no matter what I just eat. I don't even feel bad for eating the junk either.
I keep telling myself that tomorrow is another day and that I worked to hard to let myself slide back any farther, I actually went back up above 200 a few days ago!
But nothing seems to be sticking.
That's the main reason why I haven't been lurking around so much. Guilt I suppose. That and embarrassment.
I will try to do better with popping in here.
And hopefully I can get myself back on track before it is to late.

I'm pretty sure that you were still in England. 'Cuz when I got back home you still hadn't/or had just posted about your trip.
Would have been cool to see you again! Guess we'll just have to plan out a different time to get together.

Thanks for dropping in on me Margaret!
How cool that you finally got a treadmill. Super Sweet!!! Now even Rod can get into the action of things.

Hi Angel!
Thanks for poppin' in on me.
Sorry I have been "outta commision" for a while. I need to get it back in gear or all will be lost. And I ain't talkin' weight here! LOL

Just remember--your body is a temple unto the Lord--so treat it right and don't abuse it. Yeah, I know that sounds hypocritical coming from me, lol, but it's true, right?

And aren't you wanting to be a healthy role model for your kids? See, you have lots of motivations to eat right. Get back on the wagon girl. You can get that weight back down in no time.

I probably was still in the UK when you were in Holland. Oh well. Like you said, we can get together again some other time.

lol! hope you get back on track very quickly. just remember how good it feels. anyway hope you had a good day. keep smilin

You may think it sounds hypocritical but that is really something I needed to hear.
And your right about the role model thing too. I don't want my children to have these kinds of problems. And if I can do anything to prevent it from happening than I will.
It would have been cool to get together when I was in Holland (had you been home) but truthfully we didn't have hardly any free time. And the one day that we did, we went to the beach. But the sun was hiding behind some pretty big clouds and it was spitting rain. Add to that it was pretty windy and cold and you can guess how long we stayed at the beach! LOL
There was a pretty big storm coming in that we could see north of our beach. We barely made it back to our dorm rooms before the torrential rains started falling.
And lets face it only Margaret does a good drowned rat impression!
So it wouldn't have been worth your driving all the way over.

Thanks for the encouragement Angel!
You have a great day too!

You couldnt do anything to justify feeling embarassed with me about. I am in absolutely no position to judge anyone. Look at my ticker start weight. I spent two decades up there! The heaviest that you could ever get is skinny next to where my head is.

The fact is that you have the knowledge and equipment to make it all happen. You go to the gym (indeed you work there) and you have that elliptical.

All you need is the willpower and you are back on track straight away.

Coming to the forum is a really good sign. You know that you want to do this. If we stick together we can all do it together.

Depriving ourselves isnt what you would call second nature to any of us. But the results do speak for themselves. We have all loved the great feeling of weighing a lower weight, looking slimmer on photos and wearing clothes that are a smaller size. With food - the pleasure is much more fleeting. Sure - it tastes nice - but swallow and you can hardly remember what was so good about it. Not like the way that you can put on that smaller clothing and stand in front of the mirror again.

I hope that you find your motivation to do this. As Kimberly mentioned - you are teaching your kids that with hard work they too can make their dreams a reality. A great lesson to learn.

Margret you always know just what to say!
I think that I may print this one off and put it somewhere that I can see it daily.
Margretism's are the best!

For the first time in a long, at least 6-8 weeks, I feel like I can manage to get back on track.
I made it to my Fit for Life class both days this week. And I am freakin' sore for having missed sooooo many classes. A good sore though.
Kelly did say that she was impressed with my workout for someone who had missed class for so long it didn't really show. I was still just as strong as before. At least in the upper body. Lower body was a whole 'nother story. I could barely walk out of the YMCA! It felt like I had wet noodles for legs! LOL
At one point when I was doing my walking lunges I thought for sure I was either going to cry or puke . Thankfully I didn't do either.
I did beg off the last set of walking lunges though as I KNEW I would never make it. Kelly was cool with that.
I have come to the knowledge that the people on this forum are immensely important to my success on this journey. After coming back yesterday and seeing that Kimberly and Angel had stopped by to wish me well I had a new resolve to stick to it.
Case in point~
I went to the Fair last night and sat in a booth that the local churches are putting on for abstinence. Obviously we are aiming this at teens. Though we do get elementary kids coming to the booth so we just talk to them about good character values. They play a game, answer ?'s, win prizes. You get the idea.
Well anyway I WAS at the fair. And what do they have at the fair but fair food.
And lots of it!
Elephant ears (which they should just rename elephant rears because if you eat enough of them that is what you are going to be left with!), cotton candy, deep fried cheese and fried veggies. Just to name a few of my favorite things. Okay so I love The Sound of Music.......sue me! LOL
I don't know about other fairs but ours has the best soft serve ice cream and it is only ever for a dollar.
And every day is a special flavor.
Yesterday was Cake Batter flavor.
I really wanted some. But after having just got my butt as well as my legs handed to me in a sling by Kelly plus getting some encouragement tossed my way by my forum friends, the last thing I was going to do was eat ice cream! Though I will admit to wanting to! LOL I am human after all. In the end they had ran out so it wouldn't have mattered anyway.
Sooooo the lesson I learned from yesterday is to stay in my classes and on the forum. No matter how I falter I know that you guys will be there for me, I will feel better in the long run as well as have a physical reminder of WHY I don't want to eat all the junk.
Hope everyone has a great weekend. As for me I am off to the frozen tundra.
Brrrr!

It is great to hear that you are back on track. It is a wobbly and uncertain place for us all (why do you think that I fear maintenance so much) - but you are there with us.

Well done for going to the class - and for avoiding eating so much inviting junk (all the fun of the fair!!!). Remember Christmas! So many people put on weight - and got a bit of a shock. I always think of The Krinse and how she put on weight and then got straight back on track. I think that she lost something like 10 pounds in that first week of January. Those splurge pounds that you have recently put on will be gone really soon now that you have your control back.

Thanks M for continuing to stop in and encourage me. I sure need it!
Yesterday went fairly well in that I did not over eat for the first time in a long time. When I left for work I had (when my lunch was figured in) myself at 1360 calories for the day. Don't worry though I know that I came in close to 1675-1700. I took some flavored creamer to work for my coffee. One Tbsp is 35 calories. With 2 cups on first break, I was feeling really sluggish for some reason, and one cup at lunch I came in at an additonal 315 calories.
I don't plan to have that much coffee today.
I am extremely VERY sore today. It's always the 2nd day after the workout that hurts the most. And unfortunately the nature of my job (standing all night without really moving my legs) only makes them hurt worse. 'Cuz they get so stiff.
So far today I have had:
1 1/2 cups of Cinnamon flavored Life cereal
1/2 cup skim milk
1 whole wheat bagel
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp s.f. blackberry jam
for a grand total of....................
635 calories
That gives me just about 1000 calories for my meals at work.
Hope everyones weekend is going well.
Ciao