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