Healthier Lifestyle Thread 25th August till 31st August

[Lorelei]

Happy new week all!

Skippers suggested that perhaps we could post how much weight we have lost, how long it took and how we keep it off - participation is completely voluntary of course and no current weights or measurements need to be mentioned!!! This might be helpful to encourage each other and for those who read.

I will start. As many of you know, I have a terrible and fearful relationship with scales, so I rarely weigh myself. But I have lost about 20 pounds in total, much of it I lost in the summer and fall of 2005 just by trying to eat carefully. In the summer of 2006 I began working out doing mainly cardio, and I try to aim for about 3 sessions a week. I lost the remainder of those 20 pounds since last year by upping my protein and lowering carbs, I modify this even more as I feel I need to.

I now maintain by judging how I look and feel, days where I feel heavier, I take it a little easier foodwise. This seems to be a plan I can follow for the rest of my life. It certainly beats my days of extreme fad dieting and all the misery that went with it.

My body is far from perfect, but I am ok with it now, I aim to be the best ' me' I can be and try not to be too hard on myself. Goodness knows I have beaten myself up plenty over the years - no more!

I have finally found a plan I can live with, and it feels good.

Have a great week

 

[Skippy123]

Good Morning friends!

Great opener Lorelei, your openers are awesome! I always wonder about the newbies and others where they are on their journey, I know some people are maintaining and others are like me who appreciated any helpful tips or just trying to make little changes.

I have lost 15 lbs so far since April. I need to lose about 15 more and then I will be at a comfortable weight for me. I use to be at a good weight but then I was traveling lots for work and looked to treats to help alleviate the stress from traveling and working, now I am learning to rethink my eating to healthier choices and portion control. It is a bit slow for me but Lorelei and Marcy said one lb at a time and that saying works! Have a great day friends!

 

[Julianna]

Good morning folks o'' healthiness!!

Three miles on the treddy. Thought I was gonna puke at minute 20, and that sensation lasted through the last 10ish minutes. What''s up with that? Didn''t stop me though, because stopping at minute 20 would make me far sicker than running the last mile feeling queasy.

Morning Lor and Skippers! Always good to see your happy posts, they cheer me up.

Well...about my weight. I really shouldn''t lose any, if I can help it. I have quite high metabolism (thus far) and haven''t gained but five-ish pounds in 12 years. That said, I still have areas that I would like to be firmer (hello thighs) and I run/stairmill mostly for the cardio and partly in hopes that even though I eat mostly crap, my thighs will magically become muscular. No dice so far, though.

I must say, if I did find it necessary to lose weight, I don''t know if I could keep it off. I know that the formula is 90% diet, 10% exercise or some such, and I only have the exercise part down. You folks are so outstanding with your eating discipline, sometimes I feel like an imposter on here.

HENNYWAY, hope everyone''s Monday is halfway tolerable thus far.

 

[Lorelei]

Cooee Miss J! I always look forward to your posties!!

I found if you do leg extensions that can do some serious toning on the old thighs, that might be worth a try.

Oh in toof news - I am still not done, I now have to have 2 fillings redone!

still dentally challenged.....

 

[Julianna]

Date: 8/25/2008 10:33:47 AM
Author: Lorelei
Cooee Miss J! I always look forward to your posties!!

I found if you do leg extensions that can do some serious toning on the old thighs, that might be worth a try.

Oh in toof news - I am still not done, I now have to have 2 fillings redone!

still dentally challenged.....

SWEET MERCY! WHEN WILL IT END?!?

This reminds me of the time (perhaps last year) when my dentist found FIVE cavities in my mouth. Somehow I managed to get FIVE in six months? I''m starting to doubt his honesty. Especially since, when I went in to get them all filled, all of the sudden he could only find four. Hmmm.... (not that four isn''t terrible too). At least fillings won''t knock you off your workout routine like the root canal did. Bleah.

Leg extensions it is, gosh dang it! Thanks for the suggesty, I hate trying new workout things if I''m not quite sure they''ll work. Will keep you updated thusly.

 

[noelwr]

hi, I''m new on this particular thread. I started early June and have lost about 1kg. it doesn''t seem much but I am not far from my ideal weight (3 kgs more to go) and I think it gets tougher when you''re almost there. that''s what I think, not sure if it''s true.

I do ab toning and lifting weights for my arms religiously: Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. The first month I started doing them daily but read somewhere that you actually need to give your muscles time off as they build up when they are relaxed. however, cardio you can do every day, but 3x per week is sufficient I read. I haven''t started cardio yet (plan to do that on Mon, Wed & Sat) but am waiting to purchase my dance mat for the PS3. maybe when I start that it will help me lose the weight faster.

my goal isn''t really to lose weight as much as to actually be visibly more tone by working away the fat. the ab exercises have made me thinner around the waist and I have nice muscles (though I still have to tuck in my tummy slightly in order for them to be visible). unfortunately you can''t see my arm muscles unless I flex them but I''m not giving up hope.

and including all of this I have also started eating healthier. no sweets, chips or soda. no potatoes or rice or bread.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I have been in exercise mania--running way more than I should....and since my knee is sore today I''ll lay low. Yesterday was very pleasant by the river--warm early and I had a delighful run/walk/bike.

I went to the market yeateday--and boy this eating healthy is expensive!

I mean I have always been careful about what I buy and preapre for meals, but too into account the 4 different vairities of fish I bought yesterday (halibut, wild coho salmon, ahi tuna and steelhead trout--all fresh, not farmed....) and it was around $100.00 just for the fish! Oh well, our bodies will love it!

Hope all is well in exerciseland here......

keep well..

In health--Sharon

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Monday all! OK, Lorelei, I'll play!

At the end of 2006 I joined this thread at 159.5 lbs (

). I worked out religiously and watched what I ate and was at 135 when I went in for my surgery in July 2007. Then the weight crept back on... When I became serious again at the beginning of July of this year I was at 157(ish--I can't remember exactly). I've been as low as 150 last week, but I was at 152 this morning thanks to a weekend of debachery (which I THOROUGHLY enjoyed thank you very much!). Even though that's only 5 (or 7 pounds, depending on how you look at it) I am DEFINITELY slimmer, especially in the a$$ and thighs. Still such a long way to go though... The HH is leaving today through Wednesday so my goal for the next three days is to of course work out but also to be better about counting my cals, because I think that's where I'm falling down this time around. (That at the glass or two of wine I've suddently decided I deserve almost every night as a reward just for surviving the day...

)

I didn't have time to post yesterday but I did the "circuit" thing with elliptical/arms/elliptical/legs/elliptical, which took a full hour. And this morning I spent an hour on the bike, which was honestly kind of a lazy cop out because I really wanted to keep reading this book I'm into, but I doubt I'll have time later so I got some of it in then. Hopefully tomorrow (barring any client craziness) I'll be able to do the longer (1 hour, 15 mins) body strength class at the gym.

Not much else to report... I'm meeting an agent from another brokerage for coffee at 2:00 because he's thinking about "defecting" to my firm and as much as he enjoyed his chat with the managing broker he wants to talk to someone who will tell it to him like it is. Hmmmm... imagine that... coming to me for the straight scoop! I belive his words were "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth -- no bu!!shit allowed." We did a transaction together earlier this year (my client was the seller and his was the buyer) so he knows that he will get the plain unvarnished reality from me. I guess there are worse things to have a reputation for, LOL.

Skippy, good for you on the 15 lbs so far! That is a great accomplishment!

Julianna, 90% diet and 10% exercise?!? Geez... maybe I should stop obsessing about spending an hour a day at the gym and just spend more time just NOT eating...

noelwr, welcome!

We are a great lot for finding inspiration and keeping each other on track so I hope you enjoy the thread!

Sharon, the HH is very into organic fish and meat right now and sometimes I see the price tag on something as he's unwrapping it to cook and I'm like HOW MUCH? But you're right, it is better (both better for us and better tasting) so I'm OK with it.

 

[fieryred33143]

Since I started posting on here, about three weeks ago or so, I’ve lost about 3lbs. I had a very sad moment this weekend shopping for MOH dresses for a friend’s wedding. All of the dresses she loved looked awful on me and she made me feel it too. At one point she made this comment “well it doesn’t look right cause it wasn’t made for people with large butts.”

I think for her it was a funny comment. If you would have seen my bright red face, you would have known I didn’t find it too funny

. I was already feeling horrible about not looking good in the dresses and to throw "large butts" in the mix

But I decided I’m not going to focus on her silly comment and instead focus on getting healthier and to a size I like. I’m walking a lot in the afternoons and I’m going to try to get myself up early enough to do spinning in the morning.

Lor—Congrats on the 20lbs and keeping it off! I love your motto of aiming to be the best you. I need to do the same!
Skippy—15lbs since April! That’s fantastic!
Julianna—Lucky you! I want to get to a point where I can successfully maintain a healthy weight!
Noelwr—I hear you on the toning. I want to get my cardio down to a point where I’m losing weight and then start toning at the same time. I think I might need a personal trainer as I have no idea how to do that. Good luck!
Canuk—My FI and I were discussing the same thing! We wanted to get some Kashi products since they have more protein/fiber in them. We couldn’t believe how much more expensive their waffles are in comparison to others but they are really, really good.
Dee*Jay—5lb loss is great since July! Good for you and good luck with your meeting!

 

[dragonfly411]

hello all!
I''m not sure when I started chiming in here, but since I started trying to lose weight in January I''ve lost 28 lbs going from 150 to 122. My healthy and goal weight is around 115 which isn''t too far away now! I am 5''1 so the 150 was very heavy for me. I feel so much better and am happier and more energetic now. Things I do to lose and keep off? I eat very healthy, and work out for at least 30 mins every single day. I try to keep my work outs varied so my body doesn''t get used to one thing, I walk, jog, dance, jump rope, do jumping jacks , sculpt, do yoga, you name it.

So that''s me

Lorelei - great opener and you sound so healthy on all levels
Skippy - grats on 15
Fieryred - I''m sorry about your friend, I would make it clear that if she has a problem with my body weight then she really doesn''t appreciate me wholly for who I am.

 

[Dee*Jay]

First of all, Dragonfly, you are my new idol! How many cals are you taking in a day? Do you vary them or stay consistent?

And (on a different note!) I made a very big strategic mistake today... Since the HH is going to be gone for a few days I decided to stop by the grocery store to get a few "good" things to keep me from eating all sorts of bad stuff. Everything was going well (fresh fruit, yogurt, a couple new LCs)... but then I saw the hostess cupcakes. My thought process was, OK, a chocolate chip fiber one bar is 140 cals but there are only 180, so if I save up and just have one for dessert every day that will be fine. Except fiber one bars don't hide in the kitchen pantry and whisper my name in the most seductive of tones... DeeeeeeEeeeeee.... We're in heeeeeeErrrrrrrrre...

 

[zoebartlett]

Hi All!

I didn''t have much time to post last week, although I did try to log in to read what was written. Now that school is starting again, I''m sure I''ll find myself catching up at the tail end of some of these threads. I''d love to chime in throughout the day, but no-can-do. Anyway, I hope you had a good weekend!

Okay, I just looked at my "weigh in" excel spreadsheet that my husband made, and it looks like I''ve lost 5-6 pounds over a 5 week period. I''ve never been so obsessed with what I weigh, and it''s so hard now to stay away from the scale, but I''m doing my best to only weigh myself once or twice a week. My weight fluctuates between two or three weights so often, but they''re all still lower than what I began at five weeks ago.

I know slow and steady wins the race, but I''m SO frustrated. I''m so sick of seeing the same few numbers. The scale isn''t budging, and it''s getting me down. Yes, I know there are many other problems out there, but for me, this is a big deal. I''m FINALLY really serious about this, and the weight isn''t dropping like I keep hearing it''s supposed to in the beginning. Jeez, sorry to be such a negative Nelly. I AM happy to have lost 5-6 pounds.

The things I know I''m doing that are right:

-- seeing a personal trainer twice a week to do weights and nautilus stuff
-- seeing a RD (I''ve met with her about a month ago and I''m meeting with her next week to go over progress and get other suggestions/recommendations). She set me up with a plan: aim for 1,600 calories per day and divide that between carbs (60%), protein (30%), and fat (20%, where I have to aim for total calories coming from sat. fat at no more than 7%). I rarely get up to 1,600 calories, unless I really load up on carbs. I usually get up to 1,500 or so.

Things I need to improve:

-- cardio
-- rely less on carbs to get the calories up to 1,600
-- figure out new foods that I "can" eat (I''m not adventurous in the kitchen, and I tend to get in ruts and stick to the same "safe" foods.)

 

[zoebartlett]

Hi Kim -- I just saw what you wrote in last week''s thread. I''m so happy that you have a long term position. Good for you! Subbing is hard work, that''s for sure.

Things with me are going well -- tomorrow (Tues) is the staff''s first day back in our district, and the kids come on Wednesday. I have 17 kids this year, which is down from the 24 that I had last year. I haven''t really heard many comments from the first grade teachers with any warnings about any of the kids, so I''m not ancipating having many behavior or academic issues to deal with. I''ll still be firm though just in case. It''s hard to be firm when dealing with 7 year olds, but sometimes it''s necessary. We have a few new changes this year -- a new princpal and new literacy and math coaches. There will be an adjustment period, but I''m optimistic.

 

[ChargerGrrl]

ugh, what a bad start to the week- i''m fighting a cold. we leave for Kauai on thursday morning, so my plan is to lay low until then.

i''ve been popping the cold-eeze and eating fruit- all other food is yucky to me right now. i''m off to try to down some string cheese. i need some protein!

sorry for the downer post

 

[KimberlyH]

Hi All!

I''m still around and doing the same ol'' same ol'' life has just been a bit busy, in a good way.

To answer the question from the intro: I started off losing 68 pounds about 6 years ago, which landed me at 132 pouds. I then gained 6 pounds back over a 5 year period. I joined this thread approx. 2 years ago, and a year and a half ago decided to push myself a bit to see if I could lose any more weight. I got down to 124 at one point, but that was a bit too think for me...I sit somewhere between 125-127 pounds now, and have for over a year. So in totall I''ve lost about 75 pounds, cumulatively.

Wow, Skip, 15 pounds is amazing. And you, Ms. Anti-Scale-Lorelei with your 20 pound loss, you''re fantastic. DeeJay, you''re so dedicated, great at hopping back on the horse, so to speak, and it''s so easy to fall off, I admire you for it; and you''re gorgeous at any weight! Dragon, fantastic accomplishment! Great work everyone!

Zoe, I know it''s frustrating, just keep on truckin''. I''m glad to have a long term position as well, I''m bummed I can''t take the teaching position because I''ve commited to being an aide (and my credential mess) but I''m good with having anything steady. Being stern with the little ones is hard at times, it''s difficult to find the line, but I''m sure you''re amazing at what you do.

So I worked out today, and babysat, and now I''m waiting for chicken taco dinner..YUM! Have a 1/2 day sub job tomorrow. Have a good one, all!

 

[Skippy123]

Hi all, I took tonight off from working out as I worked out over the weekend and I will be working out tomorrow! hehe It is great reading everyones goals!

Have a great evening all! Anyone trying to cut out processed foods?? I am trying my darnest as I notice they make me crave more!

LORELEI, owie, to the teeth. I hope it is over soon! Yay for 20 lbs!

JULIANNA, sorry your tummy wasn't so well during your workout! I am jelly of the high metabolsim!

thanks for the kudos

NOELWR, welcome, glad you joined us!! Great job on the toning! Calorie counting helps keep me on track, just a thought?

SHARON, hi, how are you? Yay for your workouts! I love fresh fish! YUMMMMM!

DEEJAY, good for you working out! Yay for losing 7 lbs, awesome, girl!!! Which hostess desserts are these? Can you cut up celery, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers for snacky snacks? hehe thanks for the kudos

FIERYRED, glad you are here and yay for losing 3 lbs!! I have a behind too. hehe Ah, I bet you are beautiful!! Thanks for the kudos

SDL, good to see you, yay for being down 2lbs!!! See you tomorrow on your days off!

DRAGONFLY, that is awesome!!! 28 lbs, wooo weee!

ZOE, woo hoo for the 6lbs, slow and steady wins the race!!! Great job on the good changes you are making!

CHARGER, I am so excited about your trip, eeeeeek, yay! Hope you feel better soon sweetheart!

KIMI, yay for mainting from your 68 lb lose, that is awesome! I think losing weight is hard but keeping it off is the hardest, major kudos and thanks for your sweet words!

 

[marcy]

Hi. Wow what a day I had! My company has corporate office in Denver so I went down today to meet with one of the departments I work with but my primary reason for going down today was to have lunch with CNN at their headquarters at the DNC convention. The old me would NEVER have attempted to do this. First I used to hate to drive in traffic plus my knees couldn’t handle driving that long. And there was no way I could have walked that far before. Without divulging info on where I work the reason I was invited is a few times a year I do some work for a lady at TBS / TNT which is owned by the same person as CNN. This lady invited me to come to the luncheon to meet her.
CNN sent a couple of vans to pick up the 30 or so of us attending. Traffic was horrid near the convention and you can forget about parking. They dropped us off about ½ mile from the entrance where we stood for about 30 minutes before CNN came to get us. We got badges for the day and badges to get in to their diner (CNN headquarters) and off we went. We walked easily another ½ mile then stood in line for the police / secret service to go through your stuff and walk through a metal detector. Finally we get in the restaurant.
Anderson Cooper was the guest of honor at this luncheon and he ended up setting at the table I was he. He was very personable and talked to everyone at the table. Since he was so nice I asked him after lunch if I could get a picture taken with him and he didn’t hesitate to agree. My folks really like his show so I knew they’d be excited to have that picture.
After lunch we hiked the mile plus back to where the vans dropped us off and waited and waited then the VP figures out no one called them yet so he calls them and they said they’d be about 30 minutes getting back so he takes us all in to a bar and order pitchers of beer. Strange way to spend the afternoon but what else are we going to do? I just had ice water.
The vans pull up outside the bar and we were off back to headquarters. I left for home about 4 and took the toll road because I didn’t want to be in the heavy traffic on the interstate.
I am very sore from walking and standing on cement so much but after an advil or 2 I am sure I’ll be better. It was very cool to see all the flurry of activity. We saw some protesters, some kooks, Jesse Jackson was outside talking to some people, CNN gave us some nice keepsakes including a very nice tote. I am sure I burned off some of my weekend calories today. It was fun.
Lorelei, great idea! Congratulations on losing 20 pounds and finding the plan that works so well for you. Rats for being dentally challenged.
Skippy, great idea! Congratulations on losing 15 pounds so far and good luck on losing the next 15 pounds. Treats are certainly something I used to reach for to relieve stress but I know you work very hard at eating healthy and you walk a lot burning off those pesky calories.
Julianna, sorry to hear you were getting sick on the treddy. I hope you don’t have that problem again. Woo hoo for a high metabolism. Good luck with your workouts helping firm up your body. That is suspicious – maybe your dentist wanted a new Cadillac.
Noelwr, congratulations for being so close to your goal. It sounds like you are doing great toning up with all of your exercises. Welcome to the HLT thread.
Sharon, glad you had some lovely weather for a great workout. Sorry to hear the knee is sore today. Healthy food does seem to be more expensive.
DeeJay, good luck at working out and counting calories. You are certainly doing a wonderful job at getting in your workouts and woo hoo for seeing results.
Fieryred, congratulations for losing 3 pounds. Sorry to hear about your friends insensitive comment – I am sure she was trying to be funny so don’t let it bother you. Good for you walking in the afternoons and starting spinning in the morning.
SanDiegoLady, congratulations for being down 2 pounds.
Dragonfly, congratulations for losing 28 pounds. You are closing in on your goal. That is great you feel great and have more energy.
Zoe, congratulations for losing 6 pounds. Slow and steady does win the race so hang in there.
Chargergirl, sorry to hear you are feeling so bad – I hope you feel better soon especially before your trip.
Kimi, congratulations for losing 75 pounds. You work so hard at keeping it off too. Your chicken taco sounds yummy.

Okay to answer Lorelei’s questions. I have lost 162 pounds so far. I want to lose 8 to 15 more pounds – I honestly don’t know yet where I want to end up. It took me almost 2 years to get this far (Sept 1st will be 2 years for me). I am more lax than I used to be but stay pretty strict during the week on eating around 1200 to 1400 calories a day then try to be sensible but enjoy some things on the weekends. Since it is becoming harder to lose weight I will probably have to watch those weekend treats more so than before. I walk on the treadmill 3 times a week and try to walk around work or the mall as much as I can.
Take care.

Marcy

 

[Skippy123]

Marcy, wooo hooo for 162 lb weight loss!!!

How exciting your trip was today!!! Yay! Is Anderson Cooper as cute on tv as he is in real life???

 

[marcy]

Thanks Skippy. Anderson Cooper is a nice looking man but he is very small for a man. Here is our picture. He kept talking about his recent trip to South Africa where he went diving with a guy that studies sharks. The last day he went down there without a cage.

ETA: He'd be good on our thread - he ordered the grilled chicken sandwich and only ate a few fries. He skipped dessert.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 8/25/2008 11:11:13 PM
Author: marcyc
Thanks Skippy. Anderson Cooper is a nice looking man but he is very small for a man. Here is our picture. He kept talking about his recent trip to South Africa where he went diving with a guy that studies sharks. The last day he went down there without a cage.

OMG, you lucky duck!!! You 2 look adorable

He is such a HOTTIE! LOL

I am so jealous. hehe

 

[marcy]

Thanks, Skippy! I''ve actually never watched him before but I think I will. He was so down to earth and polite.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 8/25/2008 11:19:28 PM
Author: marcyc
Thanks, Skippy! I''ve actually never watched him before but I think I will. He was so down to earth and polite.

Marcy, can I come work with you!?!?!

I wouldn''t have been able to talk to him!!! LOL Ah, that is sweet, glad you all met!

 

[marcy]

Skippy, sure you can come work with me. You would have been fine talking to him; he was just like a regular guy.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 8/25/2008 11:11:13 PM
Author: marcyc
Thanks Skippy. Anderson Cooper is a nice looking man but he is very small for a man. Here is our picture. He kept talking about his recent trip to South Africa where he went diving with a guy that studies sharks. The last day he went down there without a cage.

ETA: He'd be good on our thread - he ordered the grilled chicken sandwich and only ate a few fries. He skipped dessert.

Oh marcy, how fun!! I love Anderson Cooper, that's a great pic of the two of you!! You look amazing!!! Love that he's a healthy eater. Ok back to lurkerdom.... But it's fun to say Hi now and again!!!!

 

[Linda W]

Hi Marcy

Oh how fun that you met him!!!!! I would be so tongue tied, knowing me. You look so beautiful. I am so proud of you, as always for all the weight you have lost. You are a hero to everyone.

Linda

 

[marcy]

Thanks Lisa. I am always happy to see you "pop" in. That was great to see he was such a healthy eater.

Linda, thank you so much for being one of my cheer leaders. I really appreciate it. He would have made you feel right at ease and you would be fine.

 

[steph72276]

Hey, guys. Well, I haven''t posted in a few days b/c I didn''t want to seem like a downer, but I miss all you guys and all the support especially since I have sort of fallen off of the healthy living wagon over the past few weeks. Well, like that say, when it rains it pours and that is so true. It started out with me having flu-like symptoms of fever and chills and aches for about a week so of course I didn''t feel like working out. Then the damage of Fay over the past week. We had lots of water come in through our window in our dining room, but luckily we were here as it was coming in and we were getting it out really fast so the damage was minimal. We are just going to have to have our window resealed. We had our fence damaged in 5 different places due to the high winds, but that has now been repaired. And to top it off, Adam and I went on a date for sushi and had a wonderful meal, however at 2 am the next morning, I woke up with severe swelling of my lips and throat and had to go to the ER to get an IV put in so I could breath wherein I passed out completely! So needless to say, it has been a tough couple of weeks. But I''m not letting it get me down, and today I start back on healthy eating/working out! I had 1 scrambled egg and 2 pieces of whole wheat toast for breakfast and will go on a long walk in just a little while. Hope everyone has a great day!

 

[KimberlyH]

Just a quick drop in to send you lots of good wishes Stephanie. Don''t ever worry about being a downer, so sorry about the rough time you''re having...and we all fall off the wagon!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Pants here, so no outdoor activity for me--unless you call trapsing the mall for back to school stuff (son) exercise!

Stepth--so sorry for your recent upsets! Wow--when it rains it purs for sure--no pun intended.
Marcy--cool pic! Thanks for sharing!

to the rest of the ganarooni!

cheers--Sharon

 

[steph72276]

Thanks for all the encouragement Kimberly and Sharon. It means a lot and I''m already feeling lots better. Today is a beautiful day and I am back on track with eating and working out!