Something I just read that I wanted to share.....

10 To-Do's For Making Your 2008 Comeback
by Guest Author
Successful weight loss and physical transformation requires a major mental effort.

John A. Sarkett (author of the book "Extraordinary Comebacks") offers these succinct tips for making your New Year's resolution stick.

PERSIST. Don’t quit. “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.” Sir Winston Churchill
MAKE THE EFFORT. Work hard. Great comebackers use all the hours in the day: Wayne Huizenga collected trash at night, sold new accounts in the day. George Foreman out-trained younger fighters to become champ. You can find your comeback right in the effort you make.
UNDERSTAND TRANSIENCE. Don’t extrapolate temporary setbacks into permanent defeat. “This, too, shall pass.” Lance Armstrong was given a 2% chance to survive cancer, he went on to win seven, consecutive Tour de Frances. Churchill again: “When you’re going through hell, keep going.”
CHANGE DIRECTION. Sylvester Stallone was stymied as an actor, so he wrote Rocky after seeing the Wepner-Ali fight. Billy Beane was a so-so baseball player, he quit and became a top GM. Quincy Jones was a talented trumpeter, but after a stroke, he had to quit, and then became a legendary music producer.
EMPLOY SUPPORT. Stay away from the nay-sayers, even if they’re famous or going to be (Martin Scorsese once told Billy Crystal he had “no talent.”) Pack your corner with friends who won’t let you quit. Muhammed Ali did that: he wanted to quit during his first heavyweight championship, his manager wouldn’t let him.
REPEAT. It took Sir Edmund Hillary two attempts to climb Everest, Peary eight times to reach the North Pole, and various authors scores and sometimes hundreds of tries to get their works published. Go again, and again, and ………
DREAM BIG. Your effort and ideas are worth many times what you may imagine. Fred Smith wrote a college paper that got a “C,” as the story goes, then turned it into $40 billion FedEx. Dean Karnazes ran a 226 mile ultramarathon and 350 mile run, plus 50 marathons in 50 days (2006). J.K. Rowling wrote her ideas about one “Harry Potter” during a train ride. It sold 100 million copies, and $4 billion movie box office, and counting. You can do much more than you imagine. Dream big.
STAY HUMBLE. Attitude -- is everything. When tennis master Andre Agassi fell from No. 1 to No. 141 (1997), he started over, went back to the minor leagues, upped his training, including weightlifting. It set the stage for greater things than ever before. Attitude – not image – is everything.
SELF-PROGRAM. Get a mantra. A psychiatrist-hypnotist provided Rachmaninoff the composer, who had a writing block, with a positive self-talk mantra: “You will begin your concerto. You will work with great facility. The concerto will be excellent.” It worked. He wrote his Piano Concerto No. 2.
PERSIST. It’s not over until you say so. Don’t say so.
Sarkett's book is Comebacks: 201 Inspiring Stories of Courage, Triumph, and Success. It is available at Amazon and other bookstores.

Merry Christmas

Just stopping by long enough to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I hope this is the best one ever for you. Hugs,
Gail

Aloha Friends

We are back from Hawaii, I think I have finally caught up with the jet lag. Tomorrow I will get back on the track with the food and exercise plan. I was way off my plan while on the trip, but I wanted to enjoy the time there and not worry about eating the right things or getting enough exercise. Hawaii was wonderful, we really did enjoyed it. I have some pictures to share that I will put up on my other site. Stop by there and see them. How is everyone doing? I read that there is a 30 day challenge going on between Tracy and Kim. Sorry I missed getting in on that one. I have a big birthday coming up in Jan. so I may have to start a challenge for 30 days before the birthday. Something that will keep me motivated. I really would like to take off some more weight before my 60th birthday. Yep I will be turning the big 60. Do you think 10 pounds is a reasonable amount to lose in say 6 weeks? Of course I would like it to be a lot more, but at this point, I am trying to be sensible. Keep up the good work Kim and Tracy.

Aloha

I'm leaving on a jet plane.... Tomorrow is the big trip to Hawaii. I am so excited. I am sorry I haven't been a very good blogger, It has been a very busy time. Check out my other blog for the update on what I have been up to. Still going to Curves, but not keeping track of my miles....I will try to do better after the trip. Hope you are all doing well. Just wanted to check in with all of you. Aloha....

Just a quick note

I have been keeping my tracker up to date but not my postings. Sorry about that. Yesterday I did some errands, mowed the grass and visited with some friends. I managed to get 5.2 miles on the pedometer. I was surprised when I checked at the end of the day.. I went to Curves Wed.Thurs.& Fri. I haven't been keeping very good track of my food intake, but since the cravings have returned.. I must have over done the carbs. I think I need to be more restrictive on the carbs. I will try to keep a food journal for the rest of the week to see what it tells me. Maybe just keeping it will help. I don't want to add any weight to the scale, I've worked too hard to get off what I have gotten off. My DH is coming home this week, I have a couple of things I want to get done before he get here. I am going to shampoo the carpet tomorrow and this stamp room is a disaster. I want to get that cleaned up and organized so I can start working on my Christmas cards. Have a wonderful Sunday and good week ahead.

Weigh In Wed.

Hi Gang, Well tonight was Weigh In. I lost 1 pound. I was hoping for more of course but the better news was that I was finally under the 200 mark for thei first time in a long time. It felt wonderfu. That Big Chunk on the balance scale does not have to be used anymore. Now I am shooting for 10 pound chunk of weight loss. I had never mention my actuall weight because I hated the fact that I was over 200 pounds. Not even my DH knows how ,uch I weigh. I guess I was in denial that the scale was reading that high. That I weighed that much. This is a big deal to me to finally be under that awful mark. SB diet has worked for me. I am ready to start phase two I think. At least that is what I will be doing for the next week. Slowly introducing foods back into my diet. The first being fruit. I have really missed fruit.
I am very excited about a challenge going on at my Curves. They are looking for the biggest loser over the next 6 weeks. The hardest part for me will be that my trip to Hawaii is in the middle of that. Actually it will be near the end of the six weeks. I won't be able to be at Curves the three required times that week, but I will do the best I can with the rest of the Challenge.
Hope you are all doing well. I have been so busy with classes and swaps this past three weeks, I hope to get the last of the swaps done and mailed tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Weigh-in report

Had a great weigh-in today. I lost 3 3/4 lbs. This is the best loss I have had an some time. The SB diet is working for me. I did go to curves today also. Never did get out to walk at the park though, too rainy. Tomorrow I have to work at the Hospice office and the library so I will be pretty busy. DH said he will probably be in NY for another 2 weeks of hunting. I should be able to get a great start on the SB diet while he is gone, and then switch to phase 2 and work that even after he gets home. I Have 3.5 miles accumulated so far today. I think I will just add that to my tracker as I will probably be pretty quiet the rest of the night. I have a lot of stamping I need to work on and I don't get many steps in when I am doing that. Hope you had a good day. Lots of rain here, but we have needed it so badly.

Day 4 and 5 update

The SB diet is going really well. The hardest thing I have done is switch to decaf. I have been so sleepy for the past several days. It doesn't help that it has been rainy and a bit gloomy here. I am sleeping much better since I have laid off the carbs (especially all those I use to eat in the evening). I went to Curves on Monday as planned but didn't get out for the extra walking in the park. No real excuse, just didn't do it. Today is a Curves day and I may try to get that walk I missed yesterday in too. I have been reading another diet book called "The Hollywood Trainer Weight Loss Plan" I picked it up at the library this week.I liked the the idea that it talks about ; 21 days to Make Healthy Living a Lifetime Habit. and 7 simple steps to shed the Fat and Keep it Off -for Good! Here are the seven simple steps:
1. Accept the need to change.
2. Make an essential mind-body-spirit connection.
3. Exercises: Start an effective program tailored to your needs and goals.
4. Nutrition: Learn to eat as though your life depends on it-because it does!
5. Educate yourself, because knowledge can be converted to weight loss, longevity, and a better quality of life.
6.Commit to be consistent, for excellence is not a single act but a habit you'll have for a lifetime.
7. Create a supportive environment with the people and the space that will encourage and inspire you on your journey.

Food for thought everyone. :)

Trying to catch up

I've had a busy weekend. I had a big workshop to prepare for and then yesterday I was so tired that I dozed off in the chair twice. I am switching to decaf coffee, and that may have been why yesterday I was so sleepy all day. here are the days I missed.
Day 2: Not doing too well with the eating, although I have cut back on the carbs. I didn't get out to walk today so only have my usual count to add to my tracker: 2.5 miles.
Day 3: much better on the eating today. Still ate a few carbs not on my list, but generally followed the plan. Again no walk and only 1.7 miles. Hard to get any miles in when you are falling asleep in the chair. LOL Oh and I broke the clip on my pedometer today too. I will have to get another one, but I will try to see if I can get any sort of a count without attaching it to my shoe. If I had one of those one's that will count even if it is in you pocket I would be OK.
Time for reevaluating my exercise schedule. MWF at Curves will still be good and walking Tuesday and Thursday is still good, it is the weekend that I need to change I will plan for either Sat or Sunday and try to make it a longer walk at the park.
My SB diet plan is still good I just need to make some preparations so that I have something to grab when I get hungry. I haven't wanted to cook a meal since my DH has bee away, but for this to work I do need to plan cooking dinner for myself. So my goal this week is to cook dinner for my self and to make up some things that will be easy to grab when I am hungry. I will report on today's results tonight. Have a great day everyone and get out for that walk. :)

http://walking.about.com/cs/howtoloseweight/a/southbeach.htm Here is the web address of the diary that I spoke about in the previous post, for some reason it is not posting as a link, but you should be able to copy it to your browser and get there.

Project Gail Day 1

Took my dog for a walk On Th. morning, but had to cut it short because it started to rain. I did manage to add a little more walking trough out the rest of the day. (Note to self: bring an umbrella in the car!). I made up a grocery list which I will use today when I shop. I did not follow the diet, but once I have the good food in the house, and the bad food out, I will be on my way. I did a lot of reading on SB diet. and am looking forward to the change in me as I follow it.
I picked up the SB cookbook at the library yesterday. I also read an online diary of someone who has followed this diet. It gave me encouragement.if you want to read it yourself I will add the link here :

http://walking.about.com/cs/howtoloseweight/a/southbeach.htm
Day 1: did not follow the diet
walked 3.6 miles

Wed. Weigh-in whine

Weigh-in was a little discouraging last night. I had a gain of 3/4 lb. Today is a new day! DH left for his hunting trip. He will be gone for 2 weeks. This should give me time to work hard on some kind of diet. Have you ever felt that you have dieted so much, that your body is rebelling? That is how I feel. I don't seem to be sticking to anything for very long, I am jumping from one method to another, counting calories (my most recent attempt) counting food groups, counting carbs, watching the fats, counting points. Now I have heard about a rainbow diet that a couple of my ladies in the TOPS group are being very successful on. I seem to gravitate towards the diet of whom ever I see being successful. What I need to do is pick one and stick to it. I think if I am going to stick to it, I have to see some good results fairly quickly. I need the boost of instant gratification. I think that is why I am going to do the South Beach diet for a couple of weeks while my DH is away. I have been successful on that in the past and I know I have really been a carb addict my whole life. Time to break out the South Beach books I have. You wouldn't believe the collection of diet books I have. From the looks of my bookshelf you would think I was a professional dieter. (just not a very successful one) Wish me luck, I will chronicle this two week journey and see what happens.
Project Gail begins today, I am scheduling time between 8-9 AM every day to go to Curves or Walk 3 miles. :)

Tuesday AM

Good morning fellow journeymen and women. I have been so busy that I haven't taken time to write on this blog in almost a week. I have updated my tracker and I have taken time to visit some of you to see how you are doing. Tami is getting back on the South Beach diet. You know that worked for me too, but it was hard to do with my DH as he likes meat and potatoes every night. The good thing is he is going to be away for a few weeks. He is in Raliegh competing at the senoir softball atate torunament, and then he will head to NY for some bow hunting with his buddies. I could try the SB diet again while he is gone. Tami thanks for the inspiration.

Have you ever gone for a bra fitting? We had one at Curves yesterday. I thought I had the right size but I was wrong. I ordered a new one because once I put it on I looked like I had lost ten pounds. No kidding, it was amazing. :)

Have a wonderful day everyone. I have a stamping class this afternoon that i need to get ready for.

Wed. Weigh -in

Tonight was my weigh in at TOPS. I lost 1/2 pound. Slow but steady progress. I took a three mile walk in the park, and with that I was able to accumulate 5.4 miles today. It felt good to get that many miles in today. I have not been keeping my food chart, but will get back to it tomorrow. I am going to bed early tonight. I have been up since 4:30 this morning. I had no reason to be up that early, I just was wide awake. Good nite all.:)

Monday

Went to curves today. according to their scale I have lost 3 pound in three months. I wanted it to be more but since I missed a whole month at Curves because I was sick, I guess that a three pound loss is good. Wait till next month! I am using my TOPS scale as my weight loss. I will post the loss on Wed. I got 2miles walkingyesterday and 4.2 today. I didn't keep track of my food over the weekend or today. Back at it tomorrow.

Disppointment = bad food choices!

I have been so bummed since yesterday. My DS called and changed the weekend plans.He and friends rented a great place in TN and he wanted us all to come up there instead of them coming here. I passed along the info to my DD and then discussed it with DH. DH does not want to go, DD would rather not travel 6 hours for one overnight with two kids. I felt like I was in the middle. It looked like a great place for all of us to stay... but we aren't going, DD is not coming up and DS did not come here. In DH defense... He is not feeling well ( he sounds like I did when I got sick) DD is still fighting her bronchitis, but would have traveled here ( a three hour drive) if her brother was here. I was so looking forward to having everyone here. When that didn't happen I decided to eat. My usual choice when facing disappointment. Old habits are hard to break.
Friday calories = 2060, 2.0 miles walking
Sat calories = 1180, 2.1 miles walking today.
I didn't keep track of food exchanges. and my calories my not be totally accurate. I guess on some, just didn't want to look them up.
I know I will do better tomorrow, but today I am just having the biggest pity party for myself. :(
Hope you are all doing better than me this weekend.
Gail

Evening report

This is what I have to report for today. One of my favorite Dr. Phil quotes is: If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten. With that in mind I am changing the way I record my food intake. I have not been counting calories. I am sure I have been fooling myself with how well I keep my eating under control. So I will be counting calories and reporting here each night.
Change #1: Today's Calories 1280 (now that I have reported it I can't eat anymore
tonight. That is a problem for me...late evening eating.)
Change #2 Food exchanges: Fats - 1, Dairy - 2, Fruit - 1, meat/protein - 6,
veggies 3, grain/starches - 2, water - 64 fl oz.
Change #3 went to Curves for 35 minutes, and accumulated 2.8 miles today.

My son and his girlfriend are coming to visit this weekend, My daughter and the boys will drive up from SC to see them. I will be in my glory having both my kids here at the same time.

Have a great evening everyone
Gail

Went to Curves today

I hadn't been to Curves in about a month. When I got brochitis, I stopped going. Today is is raining and rather than not get my walk in I decided I could at leat do that. It was like starting all over again, but I am glad I went. Don't know how much walking I can get in but I am working at the library today I will try and walk the isles while I am there. I report back tonight. Have a great day ladies.

Weigh in today

Ok I am getting discouraged with my slow progress with losing weight. I had another weigh with no loss. I am the same as I was last week. I have upped my walking but it hasn't showed up at the scale, yet. I am not givning up, but boy it is really hard when there is no change. I will allow myself to feel bad for one night , but I will be back at it in the morning! I didn't do weight with my walk today and I didn't walk as far only 2.7 for the day. Off to update my trackers. Hope youall had a better day. Gail

update for Tuesday

I am really liking this challenge. I have increased my walking , by going to the park and walking the course there. My knee was bothering me after the long walk yesterday, so today I only walked half the distance there. I was still able to make a total of 4 miles. Good start for me, How about the rest of you?

Oct. 1st Let's get walking.

I am heading out for a walk this morning. How about you? Today is the start of the Leslie Sansone walking challenge. We are headed to SC later this morning, so I need to get that walk in early. Have a great day everyone.
:)
Gail

Get ready for the Leslie Sansone Walking challenge

Go to http://diet.ivillage.com and you can read all about it. This new challenge starts on Monday.

I only added 2.6 miles today, Hopefully I can add more tomorrow. DH has planned a day trip to Tenn. tomorrow, so I don't know how much walking I will do. I will keep you posted.
Gail

Fianlly over 100 miles.

Today I was able to add 4 miles to my tracker. I had such a fun day with my Red Hat Friends. The boat ride was lovely and the guide was fun. I really enjoyed it. It is nice to to something just for me. I don't do that very often. Tonight I had to go out after dinner and buy a pair of black pants and a blue shirt for the Rally tomorrow. I hate buying clothes. I hate how I look and I the the size I have to buy. That said, I did find a new purse. :o)
Gail

Busy volunteer day

Today was my busy volunteer day at hospice and the library. I didn't walk at the park today. To be honest I was a little sore from the walking the day before. I did manage to record 2.1 miles throughout the day.
Today is my day to play. I am going with my Red Hat group on a boat tour on a local lake here. I am looking forward to it. When I get home I have to go shopping and then finish up some name tags for my TOPS group. Our Fall Rally is tomorrow. We are one of the newest groups in the in our section of the state so it is important that we are represented at the rally. We are looking forward to some fun and some learning from the other chapters in western NC.
Have a great Friday everyone. Increase your exercise a little today.

Weigh In

Today was weigh in. I lost 1/2 lbs. Slow progress, but still progress. I took a 3 mile walk in the park today, add that to the rest of the day and I got 4.8 I was shooting for 5 miles . I think I can pretty close. I will try to reach that tomorrow. I am off to update my trackers.

Evening report

Just a quick update: 3.2 miles today, I had Fruit twice amd 3 veggies, This was a good day.

Good Monday Morning!

Yesterday was a quiet day at home, I got my walking in early but only a couple of miles. I am keeping track of my eating, I haven't counting the calories because I am really trying to keep track of the food groups. What I I noticed for the past week is that I eat no fruit. So my goal for this week is to eat fruit every day. If I couple that with more Veggies I should have a good week. That's the plan. Have a great start to you week everyone.
Gail

update for Sat

Got to add 3.6 miles today. DH and I walked around a car show on main street and then we went to Lowes and I walked around the garden section while DH bought some things for a job he has to do next week. Otherwise it was a quiet day.

Oct 1st starts a new challenge

If you have been reading Maria's blog then you know about the Leslie Sansone Walking challenge at ivillage. I have 2 months until my trip to Hawaii. I don't expect to have reached my weight goal by then I thought I had a little longer before the big trip. I do want to be able to walk a lot in Hawaii, so I am up for any challenge that will get me ready for that. Won't you join us. I could put a link her but Maria already has one so check her out and let her know you want to sign up to. :)

yesterday's report

I did get in 2.7 miles, but did not walk at the park, I got too busy to get out for that walk. I need to get back to that first thing in the morning walk....then I won't let anything get in the way. I did record all that I ate and I am doing good so far today. I report final number for today later. We have a gray and misty day, I just got my hair cut and didn't want to ruin the "do" by walking in the rain.
DH is starting with the cold that I had, Hopefully his won't be a full blown bug. I don't know how your men are but for me the "his" cold is always worse than the "her" cold. LOL :o)

weigh- in

Today was weigh in at TOPS. Lost 1/4 lb. Not much but at least it wasn't a gain. I did walk a little more today, 2.9 miles. Tomorrow is the starat of my new focus. more moving and less carbs. I will keep you all posted.

Tuesday Report

Walked 2.5 miles today just doing errands. Tomorrow I will try to get an actual walk in at the park. My breathing is better today So I think I can handle the walk in the park. TOPS Weigh In is tomorrow and I will probably have a Curves weigh in too as I haven't been all month and I was due for one at the beginning of the month. With so much time off being sick, I would really like to skip the Curves weigh in.
I want to make some changes in my eating to go along with DR OZ and Diana Schwarzbein programs. I think it is important to make small changes so as not to get overwhelmed. I usually get so gung-ho on these things that I try to do too much too soon. So starting Thursday (after weigh in on Wed.) I will cut out many of the carbs I have been eating. No bread or potatoes for a few weeks and no sugar. I want to reboot my metabolism and I think this is the way to go. At least I am going to give it a try.

Today's Report

I only recorded 2.1 miles today. I didn't start using the pedometer until this afternoon. Not a bad report after so many off days. The eating was better until late evening... then I just had to get into the ice cream. It's almost as if I think I earned for some reason.
I watched Dr. Oz on Oprah today. It was good to hear him agree with the Schwarzbein Principle about eating food that is closer to nature. I really think they have something with the idea of eating food that can be gathered, caught, grown or milked. It seems the right way to go. I will be trying to eliminate as many of the foods that contain trans fats, and preservatives. I will be eating protein, good fats, non starchy veggies and good carbs. My goal is to keep my carbs at 15 grams per meal and 7 1/2 grams per snack. This just makes sense to me. Oprah, Dr. Oz and Bob Greene agreed that once sugars and salt are eliminated from your diet, you won't be craving them. (supposedly in a couple of weeks time.)I will keep you posted on how I do. Obviously the ice cream I had tonight will have to go!

I'm Alive!

Wow a week of laying around.... I hate it. I am feeling better and today. I bought a new pedometer. Not sure how much walking I will get in, but it feels good to feeel good. I hope I will get back to my walking routine easily. Still a little short of breath, but no more meds after today. I am going to update my tracker for the last week. You all have gotten so far ahead of me. But like the Turtle on my tracker I will keep a steady pace and not give up. We are enjoying the beautiful change in the weather. I hope you all have a lovely day.

weigh in

Well it was bound to happen... I had a gain 1.25 pounds. All this laying around being sick isn't helping.

went to the doctor today

I have bronchitis. I have to do some breathing treatments 4 times a day and take some strong antibiotics. Needless to say I haven't felt like walking. My DD said she was sicker today, and not to come to get the dog as she didn't want to give us more germs. I took the time to call the doc for myself and I guess I am glad I did. This is a little setback for me and my program, but I am going to take the time I need to get better.

update

News to share.. We have moved the date for the Hawaii trip. We are going in Dec ('07) instead of Feb ('08). I am so excited. but that means I have a lot of work to do. I don't know how much weight I can lose by then but I am going to work really hard. We just returned from our trip to NY for the wedding of the daughter of the man who was best man at our wedding. It was a lot of traveling in Five days. 14 1/2 hours each way. We had a great time, but traveling is always hard on my diet, not to mention I have been really sick with a sinus cold. I lost my pedometer while I was there. So I am making an educated guess on the total miles I walked since I last reported. I am sure I am under estimating, but you can be sure I will be getting a new pedometer as soon as I can! I lost it on Friday and I already had over 5 miles on there so I doubled it for the 6 days. We are heading to SC tomorrow to pick up our dog. The oldest GS was dog sitting for us. We will get to watch his soccer practice while we are there. Just a quick trip. We will be back on Wed so I can do my volunteer work at Hospice. Busy week ahead. Hope you are all doing well.
Gail

New mattress tonight!!

Got another 2.1 miles in today. We got our mattress in today. It is so high that I need a step stool to get into bed. I can't wait to go to bed tonight. Going to SC tomorrow to check on my DD. She has pneumonia, and I want to try and help her with the kids for a couple of days, before we head north for a wedding. Don't know how much time I will have for the computer but I will keep track of my miles.

Fri. Evening

Had a great day today. I mowed the grass and got lots of walking done with errands and such I added 4 miles to my tracker. It was the best I have done in over a week. Yipee!!
DH and I bought new mattress tonight and we get it tomorrow. We have hated the one we have and really needed a new one. Hopefully we will both sleep better now. It is deeper than the one I have. I think I will need new sheets for it. We are looking for a new bed too, but haven't seen the right one yet. I can't wait. I told hubby I was staying up all night so I could sleep on the new mattress and not another night on the one we have. LOL
Hope you all have a great evening.

Friday AM

Good morning fellow walkers and /or dieters. How are you all doing? I am still fighting a cold although I do feel better. My DD's cold has turned into Pneumonia. I have been worried about her. She doesn't take the time to rest that she should when she is sick. (A little hard when you have kids, a full time high pressure job, and now the new puppy.)

I am reading two books at the same time, "You on a Diet" and the "Schwarzbein Principle". both are excellent. I had the Dr. Oz book for some time but the Schwarzbein book was just recommended to me by a friend. It's about healing your metabolism, from years of damaging behaviors, such as low fat and yo-yo dieting. I will share on that one after I finish the whole book. I think the the information in both of these books will be helpful to me.

Dr. Oz's book is a little easier reading, lots of comical comments. He has really cracked me up on some of the pages. Here is my contribution from his book today:

Why can't I lose weight? It's the all time big question facing many of us. According to Dr. Oz, our bodies have more systems that allow us to gain weight than lose it. In his book he promises to teach us how to reprogram our bodies to work the way they are supposed to. So that we eat to satisfy and to fuel rather than console or excite.

Dr. Oz Tips:
1.Don't eat foods that have any of the following listed as one of the first five ingredients:
* Simple sugars
* Enriched, bleached, or refined flour (this means it's stripped of its nutrients)
* HFCS (high fructose corn syrup)
2. Choose unsaturated over saturated fats.
3. Don't confuse thirst with hunger.
4. Avoid the alcohol binge
5. Watch your carbs
6. Stay-Va-Va-Va Voom satisfied. (pg 49 in his book)
7. Manage your hormonal surges. have on hand a few of the things that can satisfy you when cravings hit...V-8 juice, handful of nuts, pieces of fruit, or even guacamole.

Have a good day. Read some labels today!
Gail

Weigh in report for Wed.

Well I've lost another 1/4 pound. Now that may not sound like much, but as my weight recorder reminded me I have had 7 weeks without a gain. This is very good for me. Since Jan., the longest I have gone without a gain is three weeks. I am happy about that, but boy I wish it would come off quicker. Guess I need to rev up my metabolism. I have been reading lots of books lately about weight loss as I prepare for the programs I do at the TOPS meetings. This week was on emotional eating. I am liking the things I am reading in Dr. Oz's book. I will be sharing more from that book, over the next week or so. I don't want to quote everything from the book, so I will digest what I am reading and share what I discover in the process. I will post later after I have had a chance to read some more. Hope now that I am feeling better I will get back to my walking and Curves. more later....

weekend report

I am feeling quite a bit better today. I will take it easy one more day. I have a bunch of things I need to get done at home here today, so I will just do a few things at a time. I only got 2.7 miles in over the entire weekend. Most of that on Sat with all the places I needed to go. I have a really hard time not eating when I am home with nothing to do. Like I said before Mom's voice is echoing in my ear "Eat! you'll feel better." Of course she is not putting the food in my mouth.

Taking everyone's advice

Now I have started coughing so I am really laying low today. I had a few obligations yesterday, but after church today I have just sat and watched TV and read. Pretty boring. I did add some pictures to my stamping blog check it out . Hope you all have had good a weekend.

Advice????

What do you do about your exercise routine, when you are sick? I feel awful about missing it, but I really don't have the energy to go walking or to Curves. I have a couple of errands that I have to run, but then I am coming home to rest. I am not sleeping well.. and last night I even got up and ate! I never do that, but I was sure I could hear my mom saying "Eat something, you'll feel better" If I keep that up and don't walk or go to the gym... there will be a gain for sure. Help!

Today's report

I finally got the tracker to update. Today I added 1.4 miles. I didn't do much today. I feel awful and I am off to bed early. Hope yu all had a good day.

I don't know what is going on with the exercise tracker. I can update my weight tracker (which I forgot to do last week). I can change the look of my walking challenge tracker but I can't add any numbers. Bummer. For the record I have walked 35.1 miles. Still feeling yucky today. Probably won't walk very much, today and won't be going to Curves. I am keeping my food chart today.

Anyone else having trouble updating their tracker? I have 35.1 miles and I can't get it to register on my tracker.

weigh in report

Another week and no weight loss... I don't get it. I am getting more exercise, but I guess I haven't done so well in the eating department. I did get 2.3 more miles today, but I am having trouble updating my tracker, I'll try one more time, but I need to go to bed. I feel lousy.

I feel yucky

My throat is killing me. Even ice cream isn't soothing it. The only thing that helps is ice water. I didn't sleep well last night and I stayed up after my DH left for his Canoe trip at 4 AM this morning. I taught a stamping class and I did go to curves. I did a little gardening this evening, but I think I just need t go to bed. 1.4 miles today. Hopefully I will do better tomorrow. Starting tomorrow I am going to keep a food chart again.

Mon. Evening

I think I am done walking for the day. The pedometer read 3.3 Miles Not bad. I did go to Curves today also. I came across this article at Curves last week. It was in one of our Local Papers. Dr. David T. LaMond offered 12 Golden Rules to a healthy Life Style. I wanted to share them with you all.
* Never skip breakfast. Incorporate protein into your breakfast everyday. You can have a protein shake, PB, Eggs, or low-fat dairy options.
*Eat at least five small meals a day and avoid eating two hours before bedtime. Don't allow yourself to get hungry. Graze. Eat every three or four hours to keep your blood sugar level normal.
* Know what a serving size is. Use the "rule of hand" to estimate a portion size. Your palm is a serving of carbohydrate, four fingers of protein, and your index and middle finger is a serving of fat.
* Combine protein, fat and carbohydrates in every meal. Never eat carbohydrates alone.
*Rule of carb: All carb must have fiber; avoid white flour and sugar. Ideally you should pick carbohydrates with at least 2 grams of fiber for every 100 calories in a serving. This is an easy way to see if you are eating a "whole" or less processed food. In general, most fruits and veggies meet this requirement as long as they are not fried or cooked until mushy. You should shoot for at least 30 grams of fiber a day. Beans, whole grains, veggies, nuts, seeds, and fruits are excellent sources of fiber, and they contain vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory molecules.
*Rule of protein. Your body can only use about 20grams of protein per hour, therefore you should only have 20 grams of protein during a meal. Be wary of high protein bars and mindful of serving size, typically 4 to 6 ounces. Ideally, use lean animal protein like fish, turkey, chicken, lean cuts of lamb, and even vegetable protein such as nuts, beans and tofu.
* Rule of fat. What kind of fats can you eat? Increase omega 3 fatty acids by eating cold water wild salmon, sardines, herring, flax seeds and fortified eggs. reduce saturated fat and use more grass fed or organic beef or animal protein, which contain less saturated fat.Eliminate all hydrogenated fat, especially trans fat, which is found in many baked foods and processed foods. Use healthy oils, such as olive (especially virgin olive oil) cold pressed sesame and other nut oils.
*avoid all processed junk foods, including sodas, juices and diet drinks which effect sugar and cholesterol metabolism. Artificial sweeteners in no calorie or very low calorie foods actually make things worse when consumed alone. Artificial sweeteners fool your body to secrete insulin, a hormone that stores sugar. Once extra insulin is in your system, your body actually thinks it is starving and makes you binge eat 30 to 60 minutes later.
*Reduce alcohol, which can increase triglycerides and fat in the liver and create blood sugar imbalances.
*Drink at least 64 ounces of water daily.
*Go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Ideally, you should have at least seven hours of sleep a night, it will help regulate your metabolism and help you lose weight.
*Reduce stress, this will effect cortisol, which is a hormone which will cause you to store calories.

I thought this was pretty interesting.

It's Monday!!!

It is 10:25 AM here. I just finished mowing the lawn. I use a push mower that is self propelled. I only do part of the yard as so much of it is up hill and down. Even with a self propelled mower it is too difficult for me. I measured the distance with all the back and forth and it is 1.5 miles. A pretty good work out if I get it done before it is too hot. I've come close to heat stroke a couple of times trying to do it in the afternoon. I actually like to mow the grass so imagine my surprise when my DH came home and told me he had bought me an exercise machine at Lowes. I looked at him like he was crazy, and said, " I didn't know Lowes sold exercise machines!" I went to the garage looking for my new exercise machine. I found a brand new self propelled mower with an electric start. Now how is that for supporting my weight loss effort? LOL!
It was not what I expected, but I am using it and a 1.5 miles isn't a bad thing either. :) More later.....

Sunday Evening

Only a short amount of walking today (1.3 miles). I have added it to my weeks total and I have walked 28.1 miles this week. Tomorrow we start our third week of walking. How are you all doing? I'm feeling a little under the weather to day. I think taking care of my grandson has worn me out.

Sunday Morning

Good morning everyone, Yesterday was not a good walking day. I had to drive 3 hours to get back from SC so I didn't get much walking in. I won't be going for a walk this morning either as I have to finish some cards for a swap and go to church. Hopefully I can get some in later today. DH is going on a canoe trip this week, so I will have the house to myself. I like to use this time to do some major cleaning, so not sure how much time I will be actually walking. I want to up my walking some this week...Kim is getting way ahead of me ;o) Have a wonderful day everyone. Hugs, Gail

Catching up with reports

I have two days of walking to report. My DGS and I got in some extra walking so I am able to add a few more miles to my total. I am taking him back to SC so I won't report more until after I get back.

Weigh In Report

Well the scales are moving oh so slowly. I have to tell you though this is good for me, my weight loss has been up and down so much a Pound here and pound and a half there. I have had 5 weeks in a row without a gain, which is good. I only lost 1/4 pound last week, but I am at least losing. I only got 3.4 miles in all together on Tues and Wed. I took my grandson for a walk this morning and got in 1.5 miles already so hopefully I will clock in more miles today. The little guy has a cold and is been very demanding of my time so I am not going to be able to share much information until next week. I will try to check on all of you, for give me if I don't leave you a message. Just know that I am trying to catch up with Kim, She is way ahead of me now. Have a great day and stay cool. Drink lots of water. Hugs, Gail

Welcome to a new walker on our challenge

We have a new walker with us, Welcome Lynette. We are glad to have you join us.
Here is my Post for yesterday's progress. I was able to add 2.3 miles to my tracker for yesterday. I was not able to get to Curves, I have my little grandson with me and his napping did not allow me to go. MY DH has hurt his back so I didn't want him to have to worry about the baby while I was gone. I think today I will just make the time and have him look after him so I can get my workout in.
I have not been keeping a food chart and that is not good. I need to get back to that. My water intake is good and my walking has been pretty good. I will work on the recording my food today. Have a good day everyone. hugs,
Gail

Monday AM

I am back from SC, What hot weekend there. We celebrated our oldest grandson's 10th birthday. I walked on Friday, but the rest of the weekend we were pretty quiet, trying to stay cool. I spent a little time in the pool. I can add only 2 miles to my distance for Friday, not enough to count for Sat or Sun. We brought the youngest grandson home with us. He is a very busy 2 year old. I am planning on doing my time at Curves while he is napping. I forgot his stroller so taking him for walks is out of the question.. Besides it is going to be pretty hot here for another couple of days. Glad to have more walkers on this challenge. It is not too late to join us. our goal is to walk 638 miles. in however long it takes you. The important thing is to have a goal in mind and to work towards it. Won't you join us?? Have a great day everyone.

my report for today

I did get to Curves today and I did a couple of stretches at the places I volunteer at. I was able to log in 2.6 miles today. We are heading to SC for our oldest grandson's 10th birthday on Sat. It is so hot and even more so in SC, So I don't know how much walking I will get in over the weekend. I am going to curves tomorrow though. That will make three times this week. A goal I have set for myself, so I am happy about that. I will have my youngest grandson here with us in the mountains, next week. I am thinking I will be able to get some good walking in with him here.
Maria wants to join in the Challenge. That is great. We didn't talk about a time frame to get the 638 miles in, but I am thinking that just getting it done will be good for me. For me this was all about motivating me to walk more. It will be pretty interesting to see how long it take and who can do it first. Let's have fun with this... Keep walking everyone. And stay cool and hydrated. Don't want anyone falling over from heat exhaustion.
Gail

Weigh-in Tonight

I had no change in weight this week at my TOPS meeting tonight. Sure am glad I saw the 5 inches lost at Curves this week. I guess I must be building muscle and that is why I had no loss this week.
We had a great meeting. Five new members joined. I couldn't believe it. I will have to be on my toes as the leader so that I can encourage all the members. One thing we do at each meeting. The person who lost the most since the last weigh in gets to pick a food we should avoid and one we should include in our diet this week. We have to cut our salt intake in half and eat cooked dry beans. I don't know if that will be good for me. I am not a big salt user and I don't think I have ever cooked dry beans. Does anyone have a recipe that would be good to try?
I did get in some walking today as I did my volunteer work at Hospice and out TOPS meeting tonight. 5,780 steps and that translated to 2.4 miles on my pedometer. How did you do today Kim? Anyone else going to join in the walking challenge? Have you checked out what Maria's challenge is this week. I think I would like to participate in that. Hope yo all have a good day tomorrow.
Gail

I'm Walking Yes Indeed I'm walking...

I did a lot of walking around today. I worked at the library and then I pushed the mower around the yard. The results were 9,523 steps = 3.2 miles. I am really happy with that.

One month report from Curves

Today was my one month weigh-in at Curves. I know I retained fluid from this past weekend's eating. I couldn't even move my rings on my hand. So my one pound loss on their scale was a little disappointing. I won't update my wieght loss tracker until my weigh in at TOPS on Wed. That is the scale I am going by. I did lose 5 inches in this past month. I only averaged 2 visits per week. I am going to up that to 3 times each week. I feel good about that and the distance I walked today as well. I got in 2.5 miles on my pedometer which was about 9,384 steps. My miles still don't match the measured distance at the park, but I am using what my pedometer says, it is pretty close I think. It is something to go by at least. I will update my tracker and then check out how Kim did today. I think it is a good start for me. I haven't been walking everyday, but my goal is to try for at least 2 miles a day. If I get more great. Hope you have all had a great day and that you have gotten some exercise. Keep up the good work. We are all in this together. :)
Gail

Kimberly and I are ready

Tomorrow, Kimberly and I start our 638 mile "walk". We both have our pedometers and are set to go. I wear my pedometer on my shoe, so I am able to record all steps and miles throughout the day. As I have said before, having my pedometer on my shoe is a visual reminder to me to keep moving throughout the day. Check out the side bar on this blog to see my progress starting tomorrow. I will also update my weight loss on the tracking bar at the top of this blog. I found these trackers at http://www.tickerfactory.com/ . I thought it would make a fun visual for myself and others to see.
I had a busy day yesterday I really dropped the ball on recording my food, but I did record my steps:
Friday 3644 steps = 1.2 miles on my pedometer,
Saturday 6600 steps = 2.1 miles for me

Challenge

I have challenged Kimberly to walk 638 miles, which is the distance between our two towns. She has accepted my challenge. Yeah! We will begin very soon and report, on our blogs, how far we have gone. It will definitely motivate me to get out and walk more.
Friday AM report:
I recorded most of what I ate yesterday, but I did eat after 8 PM which is something I am trying not to do. I mowed grass but no Curves or walk at the park. I will do better today. I have to get ready for my challenge walk Kimberly. Hope you are all having a good day. Get out and get some exercise!
Gail

Weigh in report

I lost 1 pound this week. I certainly didn't do very well with my recording of food and exercise.I did go to Curves 3 times last week, but I didn't do well with the eating part of it. I have to tell you I was really bummed when there wasn't a better loss last week. I did a program at TOPS tonight "Don't Quit" I think I did it more for me, but everyone really enjoyed it. I also read my Friend Joanne's story. She just became a KOPS for the last time. A KOPS is someone who has reached their goal and is working to maintain that loss. I am so proud of her as it hasn't been an easy journey for her. I have asked her for permission to share it on this blog, so I am waiting to hear back from her. I will record the poem I read to my group before we closed the meaning.
DON'T QUIT
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debt is high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh. When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must-but don't you quit.

Life is queer with it's twists and turns,
And many a failure turns about;
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up, though the pace seems slow-
You might succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
it seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup.
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out-
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt-
And you can never tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit-
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

Have a good evening
Gail

weigh in report

I am a little disappointed I only lost 1/4 of a pound. I was sure it was more. My experience has shown me that if it doesn't show up this week I will have a better loss next week (if I stay on program). 1/4 pound loss is still a loss and they all add up. I will look at my food chart and see if there are areas I need to improve on. I know I didn't eat enough protein each day so that will be my goal this week. To get protein at each meal. If you are not keeping a food chart it is hard to know what you need to adjust. I did not keep a good account for the past few days, which may be why I didn't lose as much. I find if I am not recording it's because I have been off program.
My goals for week two are:
record everyday what I have eaten
Continue drinking 8+ glasses of water
Curves 3 times during the week.
Walk 2 miles/ 3 times during the week.
Support my fellow dieters

Have a good day everyone Eat well!

Just One Found Of Fat

I found this program on a TOPS group's web page. I have not met the person who wrote it. I added my own ideas to it but want give credit to the orignal poster. It was a long time ago and I don't even know if this email is correct but here's where I found it. ( MTNDEW1555@aol.com)

Before I gave this talk at my TOPS meeting I took a one pound can of Crisco and added a little yellow food coloring to it. I heated it up and then let it cool off to simulate one pound of Fat. I passed it around the meeting as I read this. So try to visualize that now as you read further.

"Hello, fellow travelers on this weight loss journey.
Do you know me? If you don't you should. I 'm a pound of fat, and I am the happiest pound of fat that you will ever meet. Want to know why? It's because no one ever wants to lose me. I am only one pound of fat. Everyone wants to lose 3, 5, 10, 15 pounds, but never only one pound. So I just stick around and happily keep you fat. Then, I add to myself ever so slyly, so that you never seem to notice it, that is until I've grown to 10, 20, 30 or more pounds in weight. Yes , it's fun being just a pound of fat. Left to do as I please. So, when you weigh in, keep right on saying, "Oh, I only lost one pound" (As if that were such a terrible thing) For you see, if you do this, you'll encourage your fellow members to keep me around because they'll think I'm not worth losing. And. I love being around you, your arms, legs, chin, hips, thighs and every part of your body. For you see, "I'm Only One Pound Of Fat"

Tuesday AM

Here is my report for Monday:
I went to Curves and mowed grass:
6648 steps and recalibrate miles 1.8
Breakfast 7:15 AM 2 toast with PB, Coffee and banana
snack 9:45 cereal, skim milk blueberries
lunch 12:15 BLT wrap made with light mayo and ice tea
snack 1:30 PB & J sandwich, ice cream
dinner 6:00 grilled chicken, Potatoes, baked beans and Salad
snack 9:00 ice cream

I knew when I bought that Tub of ice cream that my DH likes, that I would have a hard time with it. I hate that I have no will power over some foods. That is why I don't usually have snack foods in the house. I try to keep only sensible snack items available to myself.

I am going to give a talk at my TOPS Meeting this week about keeping a Food and/or exercise Journal. It is the single most important tool for me. I have found that reporting here is also been helping me. Knowing that I have to report for all to read, has made me be accountable in ways I haven't been in the past. Tomorrow is my weigh in day so we will see how I have done.
Have you gotten your exercise in today?

Still working out the pedometer problem. I have Kilometers instead of Miles. I don't know when or how that happened
My DH and I had a great day yesterday. We drove our 73 MGB in a car rally. We came in 6th out of 17 entries. It was our first rally. It was great fun. I did not plan for a long day of driving... and did not pack any good food choices. I ended up eating a Klondike Bar for lunch and that was enough to kick off an ice cream binge. I had a Creamsicle and an ice cream sandwich for dessert and then an evening dish of ice cream. It really ruined my day of dieting. I am not going to dwell on it. I will just start over today.

Something is weird with my pedometer

According to my pedometer I walked 6.7 miles and 8,933 steps. It doesn't make sense. How could 11,913 steps on Thursday only be 3.8 miles and today's 8,933 steps equal 6.7 steps. I think my pedometer is not too accurate. I will still record what it registers each day, but I think I need to get a new one.
I did walk at the park with my Dog. That was a 2 mile walk. I went grocery shopping but I don't think I walked 4 miles in the grocery store??
I drank over 64 oz of water and I recorded what I ate:
Breakfast 7:30 AM coffee and two mini muffins
Lunch 11 AM Macaroni Salad
snack 2 PM PB & J sandwhich and banana
dinner 5:30 grilled prok chop, Tomato and cucumbers, and French Fries (baked in the oven)
snack 7:30 yogurt and Blueberries.
Tha's it for today
Gail

Sat AM Report on Fri.

I was too tired to write last night. I even went to bed early. We were very busy at the Libary yesterday. The busiest day since I started voluntering in Jan. I really enjoyed being that busy.
I did go to Curves Fri. AM
I drank 64 oz of water
I recorded what I ate
I did not eat after 8 PM
I recorded my steps 6,574 = 2.1 miles

I need to get to the grocery store today. My eating yesterday was an indication that I did not have the best food choices in the house to eat.
Here's what I ate:
Breakfast 7:30 AM banana, cereal, skim milk and Coffee
snack 9:30 AM Chai Latte
Lunch 12:00 PM Macaroni Salad (made with light mayo) & unsweet Tea
dinner 6:00 PM grilled hamburger, Macaroni Salad, & unsweet Tea
snack 7:30 PM one bread with Peanut Butter

I'm going to head out now and get my walk in for today. Hope you are all having a great day. Keep moving it is good for you! :) Gail

8 PM Report

In keeping with Bob Green's guidelines I am not going to eat anything else today. It is now 8:08 PM and I am done eating for the day.
I kept my food journal and I walked 2 miles with my dog today. Adding that to the other steps for today I was able to get over the 10,000 steps for the first time this week. I actually logged 11,912 steps which equates to 3.8 miles for me today. Yipee.
I drank 96 oz. of water (12 / 8 oz glasses of water). If you count the coffee that is even more. I have made many trips to the bathroom.
Here is what I ate: Breakfast:6 :30 AM
Cheerios, skim milk, Blueberries and Coffee.
Lunch: 11:30 AM
1 tomato, Mayo 1 slice of cheese, and two slices of white bread. I don't usually eat white bread , but it was all that was in the house.
Dinner: 6:00 PM
Macaroni Salad made with Light Mayo, celery, green peppers, carrots, and a hard boiled egg. Hubby wasn't home so I didn't have to cook.
Snack: 7:58 PM (Had to get it in before the 8 PM cut off.)
I am am settling in for the evening, Hope you all had a good day.

Weigh In Results

Weighed in last night = lost 1 pound.
I was happy with that as I didn't feel I worked very hard. I missed two of my days at Curves. I had a really busy day yesterday with meetings and my Volunteer work @ the library, Hospice and TOPS. I went to Curves after my TOPS meeting. I wasn't going to miss another day. I have been trying to figure out how to use this blog to help me on this weight loss journey. I know I need to journal what I eat and how much I exercise. I have always done better when I do keep a food chart. I think what I will do is write everything down throughout the day on the food chart I get at TOPS and then report it on here at night an long with the number of miles I walk on my pedometer. I wear my pedometer on my shoe. It is a constant reminder to me to keep moving throughout the day. I get some strange looks and questions when people see it, but that's OK.
My goals for today are:
Keep a food chart
Take a walk
Not to eat after 8PM (Bob Green suggests this in all his diet books)

Hawaii Here I Come!

I decided to join Maria on her journey to Skinnyville. I have been playing around with trying to lose weight since we moved to NC. I usually take off a few pounds, but then put them back on. I have been playing with the same 10 pounds for almost 4 years now. I am not getting any younger and it gets harder each year to work at this. I have probably messed up my metabolism. All I know is that my husband is taking me to Hawaii next year and I want to look good on the beach when I go. At 60 year's old I don't expect to be in a bikini but I do want to be down 3 or 4 dress sizes.
Here is what I have done right so far:
I am the leader of a weight loss group called TOPS
I joined Curves last week
I already drink lots of water
I am tracking how many miles I walk each day
My problem areas
poor food choices
too many carbs
late night eating