Dawn - I am hoping that she is enjoying the rest of her holiday. The weather is still pretty good - so hopefully she will be. I miss that girl - she is not here and not on the forum either.

I ought to mention that my shorts - while skimpy for anything that I wear - are not skimpy compared to what the younger women wear. I would hate to give anyone the wrong impression. I am not doing a middle-aged Daisy Duke impression here!!!

The weather is bright again Thursday - so it will be another day in shorts.

I have some great news. Rod has placed an order for a treadmill for me. It is a big solid one so that we can both use it. It is a Tunturi T60F

Tunturi T60F Treadmill

Heaven knows where we are going to put it. I think that the living room is going to be the only option - but in all honesty the most important thing is that we have one. Rod has not been going out walking and he thinks that he would use a treadmill at home. I would dearly love him to regain his former fitness as I have. I dont care that it will turn our only living room into something that looks more like a gym than anything else.

Thankfully it folds so it might not monopolise the room totally when not in actual use.

It will be great for me when the weather is poor as I will be able to avoid the worst of my drowned rat days next winter.

I dont know when it will be delivered. Watch this space!

That's fabulous Margaret! If I am not mistaken, this is quite supportive coming from your husband, I hope you both make great use of it!

Thanks Anke.

My husband is very supportive. He fights the same battles - having a BMI larger than my BMI at the start of my project. He has the same type of relationship with food and tendency to binge not to mention turn to food for comfort in times of stress. Add in the sweet tooth and you can see that we were/are not an attraction of opposites. We developed bad habits together. Now that I am trying to be good (he tries but finds it harder than me) there is temptation for me if he succumbs to temptation.

I really wish that he could be as successful as I have been. My biggest fear lies in the fact that Rod is now within a year of the age that his father was when he died from a heart attack caused by morbid obesity. I do not want history to repeat itself.

Wow, that's pretty scary. Sounds like he's also realised what needs to be done, though. You should both be proud!

Really scary stuff!!!

We have been together for over 23 years and I really cannot imagine life without him.

I am just hoping that the treadmill does the trick and gets him walking. I know that walking has made the biggest difference to my own weight loss project. He cannot walk as far as me (he has problems with his legs) - but he can certainly walk more than he is currently doing. Every little helps.

I have been missing for a while, and I come back to find that you are halfway out of 130's! WOW Margaret!!!! As always, I am completely amazed by you!

Thanks Tyly - but I cannot help but notice that you still have a slimmer BMI than me. You are doing amazingly well yourself. Clearly the running really agrees with you.

Hello,

Thats really excelent about the tredmill for both you and Rod. No more walking in the rain!

It will be great not to be doing an impression of a drowned rat for half the winter.

I'm jealous of the treadmill. I want to try actually running a little, but I'm too embarrassed and wibbly to do it anywhere except in the privacy of my own home.

I actually have dreams about running sometimes, and they're wonderful--because I suddenly start running and then go, like in flying dreams, "Oh, yes, I can do this."

I want that to be real someday.

Sophie

I am so much thinner than I was - but I still havent tried to run yet. Kimberly was zipping across the roads with the traffic coming much quicker than me. I keep thinking to myself that I should be able to run now - but then I put it off a little. I will probably give it a go when I get the treadmill.

I know that I felt a little awkward the first time that I was going to do aerobics - but I went for low impact at first and really enjoyed it. I know what you mean about being aware of the way we wobble. My boobs are such that they will always wobble until surgery intervenes. I am in danger of knocking myself out if I jump up in the air!!!!!!

I must say that if I had fancied running to the same extent that I fancied aerobics - I would have done it long ago. I started aerobics last summer. I suggest that if running is your dream you do it sooner rather than later. You may always feel a little self-conscious. We have the power to make our dreams come true (or give it a jolly good try!)

Hello,
I've just read through your diary, and I am very impressed. I love walking as well. Last night, after having studied all day, I needed to get moving. I went outside and started walking, and didn't end up back at my house for an hour and a half. I used to not count walks as 'real' exercise, but I'm glad to see it has had so much of an effect on your weight loss. Thats encouraging for me. And I wonder if thats why my weight was down half a pound this morning.

I'd love to get a treadmill as well. Its my favorite machine at the gym. but I don't have any room or money for it currently. It would be nice to have for when the gym is closed though. Oh well. I'm a slave to their hours, for now.

I notice we're at a similar weight, and yours keeps dropping. I will use you as my inspiration to keep going.

Walking has had a dramatic effect on my weightloss. I walk between 11 and 12 miles each day and it has been my only form of exercise since an operation that I had in mid April. I am just about to start up my other exercise again - but have been under doctors orders not to do anything strenuous plus not to bend, lift, stretch or carry anything. In that time I have come down from 147 (just before the op) and got rid of an 8.5 post surgery gain which I think was a mixture of swelling and water retention from saline drips.

Whilst walking is certainly beneficial for weightloss - other exercise (strength training) will help us improve our muscle tone. I have certainly noticed my arms become more flabby looking since April. I have confidence that they will soon improve now that I can do other exercise.

It is great that we are a similar weight - and great that we are both motivated to improve ourselves. The fact is that we pretty much know what we have to do to make it happen - firm control of our food (eating healthily at a sensible calorie level) and exercise. It will take hard work - but together we can make it happen.

You're right. It will be hard work, but we CAN do it. Good luck with toning those arms. And 11 or 12 miles a day: impressive!