Healthier Lifestyle Thread 4th August till 10th August

[Lorelei]

Happy new week HLTers!

Everyone is doing great - well done all of you! I was thinking as well, that it can be really helpful in this thread, not only for the poster, but for others reading it, to post when perhaps things aren't going as well as you would like. If you have fallen off the workout wagon or are finding food choices challenging, I think it is equally as helpful to write about it too, as that way there are bound to be others going through it, and you can take solace from that and get tips from how others can turn things back onto the right path.

Even if you just want to write that things aren't going well - that is absolutely fine. This thread as I have said before, isn't about perfection, but persistance, patience and practise! It isn't realistic to expect things will always be hunky dory and easy, that each day you leap into making healthy and ' perfect' choices with a happy cry - not so! So for those lurking or posting, if you are finding it a bit tough at times, keep on going, it will get easier if you keep working at it. Get back on track by making as many small positive steps as you can, just keep going in the right direction.

Have a great week!

 

[Skippy123]

Good Morning Friends! I had a great weekend, didn't do a whole lot but I got some nice walks in with my cousin and she is getting a pool so I know I will be swimming for exercise next summer (I actually can't wait, her pool sounds groovy). heehee

My cousin was cute and told me she expects me to be swimming laps with her everyday

I have been proud of my hubby riding his bike to work on the days that aren't looking like they will rain but it has rained 4 times coming home, poor guy. Well, tonight I will be walking again!

Kimi, yay for all your biking, you and my hubbers rock!

Marcy, we are glad you are back!

Apple, I hope you are safe and the hurricane didn't do any damage! eta: I just read your post and you and your city will be in my prayers Apple!

Lorelei, awesome opening as always friend and thanks for the great openings, I agree if people need some encouragement motivation, etc, please post we are a welcoming group!

 

[appletini]

Thanks for the hurricane safe wishes, it won''t get here until tomorrow morning. Oddly enough its gorgeous outside this morning, so I guess its just the calm before the storm. Surprisingly we haven''t gotten any email notices about it at work, but I''m sure we''ll have an early dismissal this afternoon, I just hope its not until afer my TBT class.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/4/2008 8:34:49 AM
Author: appletini
Thanks for the hurricane safe wishes, it won''t get here until tomorrow morning. Oddly enough its gorgeous outside this morning, so I guess its just the calm before the storm. Surprisingly we haven''t gotten any email notices about it at work, but I''m sure we''ll have an early dismissal this afternoon, I just hope its not until afer my TBT class.

Oh yikes Apple, stay safe!!

 

[phoenixgirl]

Lorelei, another great opening.

Yes, Appletini, please keep us updated!

Skippy, good for you with your walking and your hubby with his bike riding (but too bad about the rain!).

Thanks to all who responded about my mom''s birthday. It was a good time and she seemed to appreciate the gifts. I gave her several new tops as she has not changed her "look" in a long, long time. She only wears those pants with pleats that you pull way up high on your waist and then tucks in her shirt, so I got her some of the more peasant/billowy/wrap with rouching tops that are popular now. It took a lot to convince her to wear them untucked! (Her complaint was that then with her belly she might look like she was wearing a maternity shirt . . . perhaps when she started wearing her pants that way there was a possibilty this mix-up could occur, but not in her mid 60''s . . . I tried to convince her that it was just a different way to camouflage the problem area, but at least this way was trendy!)

In the end she relented and even bought a new pair of pants (literally her first that she has not bought second-hand for the high waist in years). She said that now that she has cute new tops to cover the tops of pants, it opens up a whole new world of pants she can buy and even referred to the "new" her. In some small way, I felt that having a new look might give my mom a little distraction and pleasure. On the other hand, discussing my mom''s "problem area" made me concerned for her health as fat carried in the belly is linked to higher rates of heart disease, but obviously this is not the time to say, "Gee, mom, perhaps you could lose a little weight?"

So anyway, thanks for letting me share non-workout related stuff during this stressful time . . . this board is a source of comfort and a good outlet.

I''ll do a Firm workout in a few minutes, and then shop for food to cook four nights in a row (eek!) later today. Somehow our refrigerator door was left open while we were away, so we had to throw away a bunch of stuff, and since we went out both nights this past weekend and should do the same next weekend, it''s time to buckle down and try some new recipes. Here''s what I''ve got planned (all from EatingWell in a Hurry and EatingWell Serves Two):

Steak Salad-Stuffed Pockets
Mustard-Crusted Salmon (with asparagus & couscous)
Spaghetti with Mushroom Bolognese (vegetarian)
Fusilli with Italian Sausage & Arugula (this one''s a repeat -- our new favorite quick dinner)

I tried to find the EatingWell cookbooks for my mom, but that was just another one of my failed gift-buying attempts. But my sister had one of them so we looked through and my mom said she would like one or both of the cookbooks. I should be on an infomercial, I am so excited about these cookbooks (but before you run out and buy them, remember that this is because I am cooking-challenged; more gourmet chefs might find them too elementary).

 

[marcy]

Good morning HLT friends. I’m starting off my day to stay healthy and am going to throw away all the food that was in my camper’s refrigerator. Things in the freezer were frozen solid but I worry the refrigerator wasn’t cold enough so the sausage, eggs, milk, bacon, cheese and mac and cheese are all going bye-bye. It’s not worth getting sick. Marty felt better last night but had napped so long he didn’t fall asleep till the wee hours of the morning. I kept taking alka seltzer and feel better this morning. Today I am going to run errands and wanted to get out on them early but since Marty is still sleeping I will be quiet so he can sleep in.
Lorelei, great opener. Some days it is hard to stay on track or be motivated to eat right. My house is free from really fattening foods so even if I am craving something to snack on I can’t do a great deal of damage with eating an extra 100 calorie snack or two. I do think once you have a few bad days of eating and it results in weight gain it is harder to get back on track. As I told my friend this weekend the big difference for me now is in the past once I failed I would give up and say what’s the use and soon I would be back to my old ways. This time I soon realized that even if I over ate or ate something bad I knew I would go back to my routine the next day and it didn’t mean I was spiraling out of control. As long as we continue to try, we won’t fail.

Skippy, that’s great your cousin expects you to be swimming laps at her pool next summer. That sounds like fun. Glad to hear you got in some nice walks this weekend. The star party has two big open fields and I walked around and visited with people quite a bit. I agree with you anyone looking for encouragement and motivation are welcome to join our group. I find everyone here very helpful to me.
Appletini, we’ll be thinking of you and hope the storm isn’t too bad. My niece is going to TAMU this fall and I saw she’ll be near enough the ocean to be in the path of hurricanes as well. She told me she was not going to take her winter coat with her – maybe she should rethink that decision, eh?
Phoenix, that is great your mom seems excited about a new look in clothes. I think a nice change in wardrobe can certainly brighten her day and distract her a bit as well. It sounds like we will both be throwing out some food today. Sorry to hear about the door being left open. We had our refrigerator go bad about a year ago and had to keep throwing away everything in our freezer. The first time we thought it was just the door left open, the second time we had it fixed, the third time was the charm and it was replaced.

Well, I hope everyone has a great and healthy day.

Marcy

 

[appletini]

Marcy,

I went to A&M! Your niece will need a winter coat eventually but not for awhile. College Station is far enough from the coast that she might get a lot of rain but that is it, when I was there we never even knew when there was a hurricane. Houston is 60 miles inland from Galveston island, and then College Station is 90 miles Northwest of Houston (on the other side)...so its not really close to the coast at all.

 

[KimberlyH]

Hi All!

J is on his way to the dentist, HOORAY!

We ended up going out to dinner, but not the movies, they pulled what we wanted to see on Thursday, bummer.

Skip, swimmimg with your cousin sounds great!

Zoe, you can call me Kimi/Kim/Kimberly, whatever works for you. So glad you had a great time swimming!

Lorelei, I ate 3 1/2 pieces of flat bread, artichoke, sundried tomato, mozerella pizza last night, does that count for struggle? I made myself sick, but it was so good.

I''m off to work, two more days before summer school ends.

Have a great Monday everyone.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/4/2008 11:10:43 AM
Author: KimberlyH
Hi All!

J is on his way to the dentist, HOORAY!

We ended up going out to dinner, but not the movies, they pulled what we wanted to see on Thursday, bummer.

Skip, swimmimg with your cousin sounds great!

Zoe, you can call me Kimi/Kim/Kimberly, whatever works for you. So glad you had a great time swimming!

Lorelei, I ate 3 1/2 pieces of flat bread, artichoke, sundried tomato, mozerella pizza last night, does that count for struggle? I made myself sick, but it was so good.

I''m off to work, two more days before summer school ends.

Have a great Monday everyone.

Kimmy I hope J gets on ok wif his teefs!!

The pizza sounds yummy!

 

[canuk-gal]

Hello ya''ll:

Hope this note finds you all well!

It has been ages since I posted, but we were away on vacay the month of JUly. We ahd full access to the Hotel GYm but I did not take my exercise gear. My DH did. Instead I wealekd the extensive grounds around th hotel and one night I ran. I did not formally swim, but did some water running while in the pool. Honeslty it was a half hearted effort, but I did something! We indulged eating and drinking daily, and I am the same size as always. My appetite is always diminished in the high heat.

I have run/biked once since we''ve been back, and the weather is fine this morning so I think I am off to do the same again. I was kinda winded on my last run!

Enjoy your day folks!!!!

cheers--Sharon

 

[Lorelei]

Hiya Sharon!!

 

[KCCutie]

Good morning!

Lorelei your intro this week is just so fitting for my post today. I haven''t worked out in 3 days

Granted our heat index was well over 100 here all weekend, but I wish I had made it to the gym once. We did do quite a bit of walking Sunday at the mall so that helped and I kept my eating habits in check. It''s much harder to do the 6 small meals when you''re sleeping in and don''t have set schedule so I try to just keep track of calories and drink lots of water. I think I finally got back under 140 lbs so I feel pretty good about that, and also I bought a small exercise ball at Target yesterday so I can do some ab work at home each day. So I guess the weekend wasn''t a total loss.

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 8/4/2008 11:32:04 AM
Author: Lorelei
Hiya Sharon!!

HI:

Hiya back! (P.S., Lorlei, I bought Carnal Flower (Perfume for Frederick Malle) at Barneys in Beverly Hills as I cannot get it here. It is utterly devine--as I am a tuberose freak. Well worth the price, altho I did get a huge sticker shoick. Sorry for posting it here, but our perfume thread is closed.....)

cheers--Sharon

 

[dragonfly411]

Hi All
Sorry I''ve been absent recently! I was away for vaca for a week. We lounged at the beach all week and I loved it. SO I am trying to up myself to around 1200-1500 calories a day ish. I''m realizing my breakfasts aren''t really the size they need to be at around 180 cals (egg with laughing cow cheese and a half a grapefruit) so I''m looking for some alts for breakfast dishes that will be a)filling b)healthy and c) a little higher in calories (around 300 ish?). Yesterday I didn''t do much besides go through boxes in the garage. I got up and walked a half hour this morning. I plan to hit the tread mill tonight. I feel like I need more cardio, more more more!!!

Lorelei - great opener and thoughts. I think that expressing the not so good also gives us the opportunity to encourage each other through slumps too
Skippy - yay for a good weekend!
Apple - I wish you a safe hurricane experience, keep us posted.
Phoenix - sounds like your mom''s birthday went well and all is going nicely for you!
Canuk - I hope you enjoyed your vaca

 

[noelwr]

hi, I''m new here. I''ve been on pricescope since Feb on the Bridal forum, but didn''t realize til yesterday that this forum is here.

originally my goal was to lose weight, but I gave up on that (after a month). instead I decided just to try and eat healthier and exercise. that is working better for me. I haven''t lost weight, but my muscles are definitely toning up noticeably after 2 months (my abs and arms). and it''s more important for me to look toned rather than to look thin, so I''m happy.

 

[fieryred33143]

Hi everyone!

Last week was sort of a blah week for me. I didn''t do much working out and we went out to eat the whole weekend. We really need to stop doing that. I didn''t gain but I didn''t lose either.

This week will be better though. I don''t think you should lose weight for anyone but yourself but it helps to have a little motivation and I''m recently engaged

so I have a wedding to lose weight for. I want to/need to lose 35-40lbs and at first this number scared me as I''ve been the same size for years but then realized I have 17 months. That''s 2lbs a month. I can do 2lbs!!

Apple-I wish you the best during the hurricane and yes keep us updated. Hurricanes are scary to go through. Make sure you have a full tank of gas! Getting in line at 3AM to finally be able to pump gas at 7AM is not fun

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/4/2008 12:58:51 PM
Author: canuk-gal

Date: 8/4/2008 11:32:04 AM
Author: Lorelei
Hiya Sharon!!

HI:

Hiya back! (P.S., Lorlei, I bought Carnal Flower (Perfume for Frederick Malle) at Barneys in Beverly Hills as I cannot get it here. It is utterly devine--as I am a tuberose freak. Well worth the price, altho I did get a huge sticker shoick. Sorry for posting it here, but our perfume thread is closed.....)

cheers--Sharon

We will have to start another perfume thread then!!

I have a tiny sample of CF, it is lovely and reminds me of juicy fruit chewing gum in the opening notes, then it dries down and is so gorgeous....I know it is one of the most expensive Malles, but it is a beautiful perfume!

Thanks KC and DF!

Welcome Noel!

 

[appletini]

I went to my TBT class today, there were only 3 of us but it was a good workout.

We were supposed to find out 30 min ago if the office would be open tomorrow, but no news yet so there is a chance I will be working from home. Yes the gas tanks are full, we have tons of bottled water, and I actually have a lot of stuff in the freezer, and I have a gas cooktop so if the power does go out I can still cook. But most importantly I have 3 half gallons of ice cream in the freezer (one the house and 2 in the garage) so if the power does go out I will start eating those right away b/c I cannot let them go to waste!

 

[appletini]

finally got the notice not to come into work tomorrow. My trainer did offer to meet with me and training partner offsite, so I guess that will all depend on the weather. I think its going to be a lot of rain more than anything. I''ll send an update later.

 

[KimberlyH]

Apple, I meant to send you well wishes and dust for lots of rain and nothing more!

Welcome noelwr.

Welcome back, Sharon! Hope you had a great vacation.

KC, no stress about three days off, just jump back on the bandwagon! I'm cheering for ya.

Marcy, sounds like your trip was fabulous! So sorry about the possible food poisoning!

 

[somethingshiny]

Hello, all! Sorry I''ve been MIA for a few days, lots going on.

My dad''s surprise party faired well. It was over 90 degrees in the shade that afternoon, but by the time the party started in the evening it had cooled down considerably. I actually ended up playing with a bunch of my little cousins and was surprised at how long I could keep up with them. I was in no way keeping up with them a year ago. So, that was fun.

JT is insisting we walk everywhere possible! Which wouldn''t bother me so much if it wasn''t so darned HOT! But, it''s good for us both, so I''ll keep sweating my butt off just to go to the library.

DH noticed my triceps today, which is really weird for me, but I was happy all the same! I''m so glad I found yoga. I still love it!

Hope all is going well with all of you!

 

[Amanda.Rx]

Hey everybody!

I''m back too... didn''t really post last week.

Lorelei- great opener- & I totally agree that you need support when you fall from grace just as much as you need a kudos when you do well!

Skippy- swimming is fabulous exercise and I hope you enjoy the time with your cousin!

Appletini- be safe! We''ll be hoping the worst dosen''t hit you!

Phoenix- you''ll never regret the time you spend with your mother- she''s lucky to have someone that cares so much! & good luck with the recipies! (bummer about the refrigerator!!)

Marcy- great for you to eliminate the temptations! I always struggle with wasting food (even if it is bad for me)... maybe that''s my poor college student coming out in me!

Kimberly- you''re almost free! Hang in there! (and what are you studying?)

Canuk-gal- hey there! I''m new, so I don''t think I''ve met you yet! I hope you had a great vacation!

KCCutie- I often go 3 days without working out... I start to get irritable and depressed- does that happen to you?

Dragonfly- I LOVE breakfast! I find that whole grain cereal with skim milk is really filling! Also, try getting some lean cold cuts (ham, turkey) and mixing them with your eggs- the added protein is very filling (and satisfying) or if you don''t do milk- try yogurt! (anything with protein)

Noel- Hello! Welcome! Glad you''re happy with your appearance!

FieryRed- 2 lbs/mo. is TOTALLY doable- that''s like... adding an extra 15 minutes of exercise a day! Do everything you can to cut corners and it''ll come off in no time- stairs instead of elevator, skip the mayo and cheese at subway, water instead of soda, getting up to change the channel... those little things REALLY add up at the end of the month!! It only takes 3500 calories to burn off a pound- 7000/month is really easy to find! That''s only 230 a day!

SomethingShiny- glad the surprise party went well!

As for me- I did good this week- I ran a 10K on the treadmill and then got really upset when my hand hit the emergency stop after 40 min... but I kept going! I also ate fairly well... but today, I''m more concerned with my happy health- I''ve got 6 of my girlfriends coming over for taco & margarita night! Woo Hoo! I''ll get back on the horse tomorrow!

Have a great week everybody!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Monday all! I didn''t get to work out until this afternoon (I''ve been going earlier in the day) and it seemed strange to be there so late, but I muddled through. I did 65 mins on the treadmill but I left there felling like I didn''t have a very strenuous workout. I don''t know; maybe I''m going to have to break the treadmill up with the elliptical or the bike, which are both harder for me becuase I feel like I can push more without hurting my hamstrings or anything else.

Foodiwse lately I''ve been thinking every day (well, OK, not the weekends!) that I might not be getting up to 1200 cals but when I add it all up it''s there.

Like today, I had a banana, coffee with whole milk, fiber one bar, 100 cal pack of wheat thins, yogurt, 2 oz of pasta with the HH''s homemade sauce, and and a glass of wine. It doesn''t seem like much but add it all up and there you go...

Honestly, I will probably end up with one more glass of wine and a 60 cal pudding cup before the night is over too.

Gotta go prepare a bunch of stuff for my morning client tomorrow (looks like I''ll be working out again in the afternoon between clients) but I''ll check in more later.

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 8/4/2008 6:11:01 PM
Author: Amanda.Rx

Kimberly- you''re almost free! Hang in there! (and what are you studying?)

I recently completed my master''s in education and have spent the summer working in an ASD classroom as an aide; I''ll return to substituting in the fall. Tomorrow is it, and I''m desperate to be finished, it was a tough summer as the staff I worked with are unexperienced and struggled to understand the needs of our kids and how we could, as a team, best serve the class.

 

[appletini]

Well looks like the storm will remain a tropical storm and not develop into a hurricane, so that is good news, hopefully we wont have too much flooding. I was good and bad tonight so I guess it cancels out, but I had tabbouleh for dinner (actually leftovers from last night but it was actually better today) followed up by some ice cream.

SS, love the pics of JT he is too cute!

 

[marcy]

Hi.

Well I spent my day running errands. I bought myself another pair of Brooks running shoes – I love their shoes. They make my feet happy.

I tried to find something at one of my fav clothing stores since I have a $10 off coupon but didn’t see anything I couldn’t live without.

I made another trip to Target to stock up on things and was just shy of $100 there. I went over to help my mom with her new laptop. She kept hitting the touch pad and losing her emails so I turned the touch pad off. Hopefully that will help eliminate her problems. Marty played golf with his parents then we all went to supper. I had some spaghetti and a meatball. We all split a chocolate mousse with strawberries for dessert. It was yummy.
Appletini, thank you for the info about Texas A&M. I will pass on the note about winter coats to her and her BF. They are going to grad school there.
Kimi, rats for missing your movie. It’ll be on TV soon. I hope J’s dentist was kind and he feels better soon.
Sharon, glad to hear you had a great vacation. It sounds like you’ve had a tough summer but glad to hear it’s almost over. I turned in grades today and have till the 26th when my classes start again.
KC, yay for getting back under 140 again. Have fun with the exercise ball. I would so kill myself on one of those.

Dragonfly, glad to hear you had a great vacation too. I eat cheerios and fresh fruit for BF and it lasts me for several hours.
Welcome Noelwr. Yay for focusing on healthy eating and exercise. You’ll notice big changes as the weeks go by.
Fieryred, congratulations on your engagement. You can lose 2 pounds each month. We’ll be cheering you on.
Somethingshiny, glad to hear the party went well. Thanks for the cute pictures of JT.
Amanda, I have no problems throwing away food because my mom will save food long past it’s expiration date. Have a blast with your friends tonight.
DeeJay, it is amazing and sad how quickly you can add up to 1200 calories.
Well, take care my HLT friends. Tomorrow I have to go back to work. RATS.

Marcy

 

[Rod]

Well it's late again and I've been workig since getting home from dinner. I like my new job, but it is really intense and requires lot's of hours. One of the deals should go through tomorrow. The other one tanked, but they liked the candidate and will keep him in mind for other positions. He was really disappointed though as he had already been through five different interviews and I had to break the news that an offer wasn't forthcoming. I did get to meet Charlie for Sushi after work. A good friend and her daughter wound up joining us, which was very pleasant. We stopped for a cup of coffee on the way home and the rest is me working. I'm going to the gym after work tomorrow night, so it will be late before I check in again.

Apple, I've been watching the storm and you are in my prayers. I hope the storm doesn't intesify beyond it's current strength and you just get some gusty (but not damaging) wind and rain (without significant flooding). Here in Tampa, we haven't had a direct hit by a hurricane in nearly 100 years. Some say we're due, but I hope we continue to stay out of harms way. Again, thinking about you. BTW., saw your post from yesterday and doesn't it alway work out that as soon as you wash your car, it rains?? Stay safe........

Thanks for reminding us to post the not good with the good Lorelei. I'm glad you did that!!

Kimberly, I hope John's doing much better after seeing the dentist.

I'm sure you will really enjoy swimming in your cousins pool next season Skippy! Glad the shower was enjoyable.

I'm glad your mom's birthday was a success phoenix!!

Good idea throwing all that possibly tainted food out Marcy. I'm glad Marty's feeling better and hope you feel better too.

Hey Sharon, sounds like you have a great vacation!! Glad to have you back!!

Hey KC, I hope you enjoy your exercise ball and get some rip roaring hot abs!!

Yay for a week at the beach dragon!!

Welcome noel!!

You can absolutely lose 2 pounds a month fiery! A good healthy weight to lose is about a pound a week, so 1/2 that should be a "slice of cake!"" LOL

Hey SS, I'm glad it cooled for your dad's party and Woo Hoo for hotter triceps!! The pics of JT are absolutely adorable. I'm glad you could laugh about the flour and water (aka glue) on your kitchen floor!!

Hey there Amanda.........a 10k on the treadmill is fantastic!!

Marcy, yumm to spaghetti. DeeJay mentioned it over the weekend and I wanted some then. Now, I'll definitley have to have some soon! Sorry you have to go back to work. When I win the lottery, I'm going to have a great time being retired. Sleep in every morning. Enjoy breakfast on the terrace. Have coffee under the oak. Have nice long workouts at the gym. I wouldn't have any problems filling my days!!

K, see you tomorrow night after I get home from the gym. Sleep well everyone.

 

[marcy]

Appletini, glad to hear the storm won''t be a hurricane. Stay dry and safe.

Rod, rats that one of the deals didn''t go through. My fingers, toes and everything else I can cross are crossed for you to finish the other deal tomorrow. I hope you do win the lotto so you can lead the life of leisure you deserve.

The spaghetti was good and I think we have enough left for supper tomorrow evening.

 

[Lorelei]

Kimmy, how did J get on at the dentist? Tomorrow is the day I lose my toof......

 

[Dee*Jay]

Lorelei, have you heard of this exercise program called Power Plate? One of my clients is doing it and she LOVES it. She said it's all the rage in the UK.

Good luck today with your toof!!!