Healthier Lifestyle Thread 28th Sept till 4th Oct

[Lorelei]

Happy new week all!

Can't believe October is almost here....I notice the Holiday ads are starting to appear on TV and in magazines, it only seems like yesterday with the last Holiday season....

Anyway, along with that of course we will be thinking of Holiday parties and outfits, there is still time to fit into your favourite party outfit if you start now, a little extra effort with the workouts and watching the calories more closely if your chosen outfit is snug will soon make a difference and have you slipping into it! It bears mentioning again but do make sure you are eating enough lean protein to help you to stay full for longer, little tweaks and being watchful can really help. And of course water - so important for various reasons so make sure you are drinking enough.


Keep going everyone, you are all doing such a superb job!!
Have a great week

 

[marcy]

Great opener, Lorelei. I am beginning to be diligent today as those holidays and holidays treats will be here before we know it.

Have a great day my friends.

BTW Marty arrived safely this morning.

 

[dragonfly411]

Morning all! We actually started early with the Halloween decorations this year so I''m definitely prepping for the holidays. Here in Florida there is a shortage of pumpkin so so far no pumpkin pie, BUT my grandmother made a fantastic suggestion of getting cider, and using our mini crockpot to warm it and it will make the house smell great and we''ll get to enjoy warm cider in the evening... I''m going to Publix today. Yesterday the ick set in.... yes.... the ick. I was doing SO WELL of staying SO WELL, and now this. Head hurts, sinuses hurt, ears hurt, congested, coughing sneezing, achy, hot then cold then cold then hot, chills, sore throat, I sound like a frog, and to top it off I still have to work. I managed to force in a 2 mile run yesterday despite the aches, but tonight I''m thinking it''ll be light yoga, and cider...mmmm. I knew before I left that today would be a soup day but I didn''t bring it, thinking I''d be too warm, well it''s chilly outside and now I am FREEZING.


Lorelei - I loved the opener, and I had a fun idea of maybe us sharing some of our healthy holiday recipes.... oatmeal cookies... a healthy pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup (I can''t wait to make pumpkin spice soup) etc. What do you think?

 

[tlh]

Lorelei - someone brought in fudge brownies last week, they bake as their holiday gifts, and they are tweaking the recipe, so the treats have already started flowing in!!! EEK!

Marcy -glad marty is back safe!

everyone happy monday, sorry I don''t have time to respond to all individually. Been crazy busy @ work prepping for the time off for my friends wedding, and my hubbies tri. He did really well. I was very proud of him. During the swim he started to cramp up, but I jogged alongside the dock where the race was held, and he said he could hear me cheering the entire way, which gave him the confidence, and cooled down the panic. His shoulder is REALLY tight today... but he did great. I never know why people don''t cheer for the swimmers.... uhh.. they CAN hear you! Well it was a lot of fun, but unfortunately it ruined my tan line a bit... so I''ll have to bronzer my shoulders for Saturday!

Have a great week!

 

[tap02150]

Hey everyone, i just got back from the gym. I wasn''t going to go this morning until I read Lorelei''s thread about the upcoming holiday season. So thanks to Miss L, I made a deal: I went to the gym, and in return later this month im going to enjoy some pumpkin pie! shhh dont tell no one!

Marcyc, glad marty made it home alright! I hate when Lindsey has to drive for long distances, it makes me nervous. I dont know what I''m going to do when/if i have kids and they start driving!

dragon, I hope you feel better. I was sick and it suckssssssssss. But, you can''t go wrong with curling up with cider or soup! hehe good luck

tlh, as a swimmer, and a person who does triathlons, people always cheered when we got in the water.. but with the dam water caps they give you.. you can''t here poop! lol. Tell him congrats for accomplishing!


***heres an interesting fact I found in my notes this morning. Since the weather is changing, you all might be interested to know that one can burn up to 220 calories per hour by shivering!!! brrr!! lol believe it or not, shivering is muscle contractions! OR if you are in florida or somewhere nice and hot you can hit that beach all day and sweating burns about 230 calories for the day! Take note, "for the day".. compared to shivering - per hour!

Enjoy the day everyone!

-Ted

 

[dragonfly411]

Ted - just so we''re clear. It get''s just as cold here in FL as anywhere else. Last year we sank down into the 8''s and 9''s at one point. It was a chilly low 70s today and we''re supposed to be in the low sixties this week. I know that''s not COLD but it''s def not beach weather either for us hehe.


GJ hitting the gym. And I hope when I get home I can cuddle up, soup for dinner and then have cider.

 

[Skippy123]

well I didn't workout last night; I caught hubby's cold and spent the afternoon sleeping. I had him buy lots of fresh fruit (vit C) not sure if it works but in my mind it does. hehehe Happy Monday friends, I will be better soon, everyone else in my family got it much worse than me.

Oh I noticed lots less people at WW I bet many of them aren't going back till after the holidays which isn't good, oh well. It is good to see the HLT gang here!!

LORELEI awesome opener!!!

MARCY, glad Marty made it safely.

DRAGONFLY, oh no, and I going to freezing Florida soon. what are the temps?? darn I thought I would be treated to high 80's, oh well.

Stay warm and hope you feel better, hugs.

TLH, wooohooo for your hubby, hope his shoulder feels better soon. Yay for his awesome wife cheering him on.

TED, wow, that makes sense on being cold and buring calories. thanks for the tip!

ROD, how was Maryland?? hehe Hope you got lots of crab!

 

[dragonfly411]

Skippy - I think it''s supposed to warm back up. This week is just chilly for me.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 9/28/2009 1:36:23 PM
Author: dragonfly411
Skippy - I think it's supposed to warm back up. This week is just chilly for me.

yay!

take care of the cold sugar. hope you feel better soon.

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone. Did any of you get this cute email?

I got a call from a charity wanting me to donate clothes for starving people.
I told them forget it.
If my clothes fit them; they aren''t starving.

I am at school.The students are working on a worksheet so I can goof off for a bit.

Thank you all for being glad Marty made it okay but he made it to Hong Kong.He won’t be home for 3 weeks.

His blackberry is already messing up and he doesn’t think he can make calls on it but he can get data.It’s not like we would be talking much on the phone anyway.

I had a good day at work and stuck very religiously in my calorie range.

No more excuses that I am stressed about Marty being gone – he is gone so it’s a good chance for me to lose those few extra pounds that seem to be “attached” to me.I walked extra at school tonight too.

Dragonfly, funny you should mention Halloween decorations.One of my old employees (she is in another department) showed up today with a Snoopy head pumpkin that lights up.It is very cute.I bet the house smelled great with the warm cider.I hope you feel better soon and get over the ickies.

Tlh, holiday treats already.Oh no!

That is another reason I want to lose a few pounds.BTW once they perfect the brownie recipe can you get it for me?I have a cocoa brownie recipe that is my favorite but I am always open to trying new fattening things.Hence why I have to lose a few pounds.That is awesome your husband did so well in the race this weekend and how cool your cheering helped him continue the race when he was getting worried.I am proud of him and I don’t even know him. I hope he feels better soon.

Ted, yay for being motivated to go to the gym.It looks like it is a good day to be motivated.I know what you mean as well about a loved one being on the road.Colorado has grooves in the interstate that freezes with ice BAD in the winter and since Marty has to go down there for meetings or to the airport very early in the morning I am a nervous wreck (ooh bad choice of words there) until he gets there.Does Lindsey have to travel often?I hate to cast doubt on the shivering calorie burning theory but when I weighed about 350 pounds I was always cold and it sure didn’t help me.Then again maybe it did and saved me from weighing 500 pounds.Of course I am colder now than I used to be and so if that helps me now then I’ll take it.

Skippy, sorry to hear you got sick.Get better soon.Now is the time to be vigilant before the holidays get in full gear.Be afraid, be very afraid.Tee hee. My boss has a saying on his communicator "come to the dark side. we have cookies".

Well, take care and see you later.

Marcy

 

[deegee]

Good evening all!

Lorelei - My hubby''s company canceled their Christmas party this year. Bummer. I never looked forward to going (it''s a formal event), but I was going to impress everyone with my weight loss this year. Big bummer.

Marcy - Glad to hear Marty arrived safely! Do you get to talk every day while he''s away?

dragonfly - gosh, hate to hear that you''re feeling so bad! People at work are already starting to feel down this year. We''ve had a lot of cool, rainy weather the last couple of weeks. Tomorrow it''s supposed to rain all day with a high of 55. Yuck!! I hope you''re feeling better soon.

tlh - I looooove fudge brownies. My mom makes them every Sunday for the grandkids, so there''s always a cruel fresh out of the oven batch sitting there when we go for Sunday dinner. I avoid them because if I eat one, the grandkids aren''t getting any! And my niece Alyssa would fight me over brownies!! Glad to hear your hubby did well.

Ted - my office is really cold. I always add a sweater when I get there and sit with my legs wrapped in a blanket all day, and I still have to run hot water on my hands a couple times a day to warm them up. Who knew I was burning calories!?

Skippy - sorry to hear you and your family aren''t feeling well. I hope everyone is back to normal soon!

Hubby and I had a tasty dinner of lean pork roast and veggies. Thank goodness for crockpots! We''re heading out for a walk when the rain lets up a little. It''s only 57 degrees - brrrrr!!!! I''m not liking this cooler weather! Have a good Tuesday everyone.

 

[Skippy123]

Deegee, your dinner sounds yummy a perfect fall meal!!!! Can I come over? hehe YUM
MARCY, yay for losing those extra lbs while hubby is away; I bet you only have a couple and you will do it in no time, yay. Hope the time flies by!


Well I have been wanting to do a Before and After picture of when I lost my 35 lbs. I can't find a good pic because I noticed when I weighed 35 lbs more I would hide

behind people or have my pic taken from the waist up only.
Well I lost 8 or 10 lbs in this group picture (below) from the wonderful Chicago Pricescope Get Together. Also here is an after pic taken a few weeks ago. (in the picture below in case you are wondering, here are the the wonderful PS'ers: our Garry H, me, Andrey (PS admin), Andrey's beautiful wife, Jas, Catmom and Dee*JAY taken in May 200. hope they don't mind me reposting this but this is the only pic I could find of a full length, sorry.
BEFORE

AFTER about 2 weeks ago

 

[Kaleigh]

Skippy,

Look at YOU!!! You are a skinny minny. You looked fab before.... But now??? AMAZING!!!! I know it''s got to feel good. And you are such a BEAUTY!!! Really.

Congrats, you look marevelous..... xxooo

 

[marcy]

Deegee, you can impress us with your weight loss.

Post some before and after pictures.

I love to see them.Rats for the Christmas party being cancelled though.I probably won’t get to talk to Marty everyday but we can exchange email.As a matter of fact I am trying to get him to give me his password to WOW right now.His response was “um . . . never”.I told him I was going to sell his character while he was gone to get jewelry money.

Ha Ha.I guess his phone is pretty much dead already.He is pleased.Crock pots are awesome especially on chilly or cold days.I am with you; I am not ready for the cold yet.I wore fall clothes today and had a sweatshirt on top of them at work.

Skippy, you SKINNY lady.You look amazing!

Of course you looked amazing before now you are just skinnier and still gorgeous.Isn’t it funny how hard it is to find good before pictures?Mine were few and far between. Woo hoo for losing 35 pounds.

 

[dragonfly411]

Thank you all for the get better wishes. I didn''t get my cider (tonight I hope) but SO made me soup with crackers for dinner last night, and he cleaned the whole house

while I vegged and felt bad.

I''ll play the before and after game. I''ve lost roughly 50 lbs (give or take bouncing around on weekends lol).
Here is before out at dinner with SO:

 

[dragonfly411]

And After a picture of me with the band Sister Hazel

 

[dragonfly411]

You guys should feel really lucky b/c I am highly embarassed of that first picture.

 

[Lorelei]

Skip and DF, you both look INCREDIBLE, well done both of you - gorgeous ladies and you ARE skinny minnies as Miss Kaleigh says!!!

 

[tlh]

Ted- thanks for the interesting fact on shivering. Looks like I''ll get a calorie burn at the wedding after all!

skippy- I hope you get over your cold soon! LOVE THE PICS! You on one sexy lady! WOWZERS... you are BEAUTIFUL!

marcy- OH NO< I didn''t realize he was gone again! That just STINKS! (love the RHR! Thanks for the eye candy on SMTR!) I asked about the recipe, and they are being STINGY! I''ll keep working at it though.

deegee- WHAT A BUMMER that the party was cancelled. You need to get all dolled up for something! Like us pSers.. you know we''ll be on the you look totally awesome wagon, You are definately one hot tamale!!! The smell was AMAZING.. they tasted pretty good too... perfectly gooey and yet firm at the same time... I don''t know why she thinks she still has to tweak this recipe... but I''ll be afraid of the batches come mid December - cuz if they just keep getting better, my hips are in TROUBLE!

dragonfly- wow I hope you feel better soon. Those pictures are AMAZING. I do feel honored that you shared your before and after pic. Look at how TINY you are! How is the training for your race coming along???

Everyone Happy TUESDAY!

I''ve started packing for my friend''s wedding. It is this weekend. I''m leaving 105* temperature and heading to 40-60* temps. I''m not thrilled about the vast temperature change, and hope I don''t catch this cold everyone''s been passing around! My DH and I plotted out some running courses and found a local pool so we can get some runs/swims in while away. I had packed my stuff before checking the weather, and now I need to unpack and repack... because my body just can''t handle that much of a jump too well. I actually had to dig my winter running clothes out of storage.. and wonder how I''ll do. HA! So I''m pretty excited and I''m hoping for a warm front and no rain for my friend''s wedding. We''re supposed to be outdoors allday for pictures, and she doesnt want us in coverups... so I may burn ultra calories with the shiver factor! Other than that, just getting some runs in while we''re here. Hubs rode his bike trainer and loves it, he took tomorrow off so he''ll ride tomorrow morning for his long ride since he wont get one in while we''re away. But other than that things will be good. I''ve been working on my Matron of Honor speach, and haven''t really got it figured out. She told me she wanted me to sing to her instead of giving a toast... so.. I just don''t know WHAT to do... and no, I''m not a good singer. I''m hoping she was joking...

"A friend in need is a friend to be avoided." Lord Samuel

"People are like stained glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within." ~Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

 

[somethingshiny]

Skippy~ You''re so lovely!!

df~ I didn''t know you had lost that much weight. Congratulations!


So, DH and I have been building at my mom''s house. We demo''d an old icky closet and remodeled a bit to fit in two new closets. DH is finishing the mudding now. So I get a day off! It only took 2 6 hour days, but going up and down steps with lumber and drywall is quite a workout. We also got to go to our fav hiking place on Sun. We were only able to do about 3 hours before JT started getting too hungry. He can go so far now I can''t believe it. We usually go on the waterfall side of the canyon but this time we were able to do the other. Usually it''s so full of water you can''t get very far. But we haven''t had much rain lately, so we were able to go to a place I had never seen. CAVES! The water rushes through the canyon and has created many small caves that are sometimes connected by a small tunnel (until it becomes a larger cave).

I''m posting a few pics....hope you don''t mind!

The first is JT taking off up a slope to get to a cool rock formation once we were down inside the canyon.

 

[somethingshiny]

sorry these are so tiny, They are still nearly at 100kb! I guess there''s lots of details...

Here are some of the caves that we went through. DH and JT are standing in front in case you can''t tell what those specks are!

 

[somethingshiny]

When we got through to the other side of the caves we came to this basin that is usually about 30 -40 feet under water.

 

[somethingshiny]

And the last one is looking straight up from our vantage point at the side of the shallow watered basin.

 

[Skippy123]

Hi friends, I went grocery shopping at Costco and bought a chicken and fresh veggies (onion, celery, carrots, spinach) to make a lentil soup for dinner. I also tried these chilli beans but no meat and they were so yummy so I bought them; anyone else out there love beans for protein and low cals??? hehe

Hope everyone has a great day

Thank you for your sweet words

on my weight loss (just a side note, that it took me about 1 1/2 yrs; I know I was slow but didn't give up. hehe) Thank you dear Kaleigh, TLH, MARCY, Lorelei and Somethingshiny.

KALEIGH, pop in more often, thanks you made your pal feel grrreeat sweetheart; I know you workout, so great job on keeping trim dear friend!!!

MARCY, hehe thanks for the cute emoticons; isn't it fun now to be in pictures?!?! I bet you feel like a million bucks!!! thank you for your sweet words. xo

DRAGONFLY, yay I am glad my pics got you to post your pics. I had no clue you lost 50 lbs; how long did it take you? that is awesome!

TLH, thanks, aw, you know how to make a friend feel good. hehe xo YAY for a wedding this weekend; wow, that is chilly where you are going but how fun a wedding!!!! Stay warm and please don't catch a cold. Yay for your hubs riding his bike. aw, that is so sweet you are the Matron of honor, post a pic when you get back; I bet you will be gorgeous!!!

SS, those pictures are fantastic, love them; I loved the pics you posted of you and JT hiking too about a year ago. How is JT? I bet he is growing so fast! Aw, you and your DH are so sweet to help build at your mom's house. Love the waterfall. Cool caves! thanks for your kind words friend!

LORELEI, thanks dear friend!

 

[dragonfly411]

Hey everyone. I ended up going home halfway through the day. Thank goodness. I''m feeling a bit better, though still congested and kindof woozy, not nearly as weak and dizzy though and I finally got rid of my shivers.

Thank you all for your words hehe, I rarely share any before and afters, mainly due to embarassment. It took me a year to get the weight off. I''ve worked really hard and have kept it off for almost as long and plan to keep it off and tone more.

TLH that''s AWESOME that you found a place to swim while you are gone

SS - the cave photos are really neat! I bet that was fun!

Skippy - I like beans a lot and we end up using them in a lot of dishes. I might have to try that chilli

 

[tap02150]

Skippy and Dragon.. all i can say is WOW! You ladies look amazing! I am so glad that the hard work has been paying off! Keep up the great work and continue to live healthy! Wooo! hehe

-Ted

 

[tap02150]

OH AND PS! Weight loss over a LONG period of time is actually considered really good. That means you are losing it consistently (more or less), healthier, and you have a much greater chance at keeping it off because it has now been a lifestyle change and not just a "diet".


I hope everyone enjoyed their day as well! Almost to the hump!

-Ted

 

[Rod]

Hey......We''re home. We actually got home last night, but by the time we got our luggage, had some dinner, unpacked, got some groceries, it was just too late to check in. We had a good weekend with my folks. It was actually bitter sweet. They''ve become so old. My dad''s 88 and my mom''s 86. For their age, they''re doing OK, but my mom can''t cook anymore and my dad has taken over the kitchen. Charlie and I removed layer upon layer of grease from the stove, the counters, the floors, etc. You couldn''t even see the burners on the smooth cook top. I had to take a razor and mounds of Comet cleanser to get down through the burnt on food. So, like I said, it was bitter sweet. We really enjoyed being with them, but we don''t know what we''re going to do as they''re just getting to be too old to care for themselves much longer. We did eat lot''s of crabs while there. I''ve attached a pic to show you. They were so good! In my parents liitle town, there''s "THE" Starbucks, so Charlie and I slipped out a couple times for a cup of coffee.

Today was a long workday as I had to get caught up. I got to the gym around 6:30 and I don''t know why I had such an engergized workout, but I did. I did higher weights than I''ve done in a long time and I pushed harder on the elliptical as well. It''s so nice to be pain free and able to have really productive workouts. I actually approached a 3 hour workout, which I haven''t done in many months......WOO HOO!

I''m sorry I don''t have the time to write everyone individually, but I had to say........O M G Dragon!!!!!!!!!! That''s quite a transformation and I''m so happy and PROUD of you. I honestly wouldn''t have recognized you in the 2nd pic and I had to look at them both closely. You must feel so proud of yourself.

And you my dear Skippy. You''ve always been adorable, but the newer svelte stunning you just puts a big smile on my face!!!

Ted, I''ll sweat the calories out instead of shiver them, Thank You Very Much. I''m not fond of cold, maybe that''s why Florida suits me. And dragon, it never get''s that cold in Tampa. It''s possible to have frost in the wee hours of a winter morning here, but that''s pretty much it.........

I promise to post a before and after pic sometime. Honest. I will............Really.

I''ll do my best to write you all tomorrow night, since it''s not a gym night.

 

[tap02150]

3 hours in the gym!? YEAH ROD!

 

[tap02150]

I was going through old photos to see if I had any before and after pictures and i stumbled across this one from last year''s triathlon. It was too good NOT to pass up lol Check out the guy squatting in the background!!!