Motivational Thread - Nov 10-16 - Life happens, get up and make it work
 

It is a new week and I intend to tackle it one day at a time.

Monday - Still working
Tuesday - Catching up at home
Wednesday - Snow tires
Thursday - Shovel driveway if needed
Friday - Is for me
Saturday - Local election day
Sunday - Day of Worship

Annette, life happened last week. I ended up walking the 3 miles I set out to do. I forgot to weigh in this morning but I doubt that I'm down any. They week started off good but the weekend resulted in a trip to New Orleans. While I don't drink, it's hard (well impossible) not to go and over indulge in food.

Good Morning All!

Stuck to my food plan all weekend, but it resulted in a 1 lb. gain.... grrrrrr. Hoping it's just sodium. Already have my 2 miles in for today. Another way too early winter storm has just begun. 5-8" today with another 3-5" during the night tonight. Currently the snow is just gently falling and I have to admit, I really enjoyed my walk today. It's really beautiful here in November, December and January. But then by February, you want to stab yourself in the eye with a fork. lol

My goals for the week are simple:

1. Stick to mostly 1 ingredient foods.
2. Weigh in daily.
3. Stick to calorie limit.
4. Walk daily, unless it's raining.
5. Drink water, coffee, tea throughout the day.

Annette, thanks for starting us off. Great to plan ahead and take things a day at a time.

Mike, it just seems like a waste to go to New Orleans and NOT indulge in the food. Kudos on the three miles!

Quinn, we all know that one pound gain could be scale fluctuation, water retention, whatever. If you didn't eat 3500 calories too much, don't fret about the scale number. Oh, my, I forgot you get the winter storms early. We haven't had any yet in southwest Ohio. Glad you enjoyed your walk. LOL on your take on February. Nice simple goals this week.

Happy to report that I finally had the nerve to step on the scale because I felt so much less bloated and the aching in my legs and knees finally let up--that was probably water retention. Anyway, I'm down 2.8 lbs. from my last doctor visit and I know I had regained several pound since then, so my net loss included a couple pounds of fat, too. I'm encouraged now. :)

My goals this week will be simple again--clean eating, continued baby steps in exercise, plenty of water.

Hi all. I have tried several times to join in again but every time it says I am not logged in. I hope it works this time.
This weeks goals
drink lots of water
calories under 1100
15 min. exercise
post daily

Mern,
Getting on the scale was the hardest part for me, too. Congrats on getting up the nerve! I hadn't been on the scale in about 6-8 weeks and found a 9 lb. gain. I know that it was emotional eating. I had a doctors appointment 2 weeks ago to see if any of my issues returned and I had myself convinced that it was going to be bad news. Before the appt., I pretty much gave myself permission to eat and cook anything I wanted. I had perfect news, nothing returned, but she (the doctor) noticed a pretty big jump in my weight... oops! With a clean bill of health, I have a new found energy to get my weight down and get back in shape for the holidays. My goal is to get into my favorite LBD by our Christmas party Dec. 18th.

Good Morning!

Looks like I'm home bound today. We had 8" of snow yesterday with another 5-8" forecast for today with 30 mph wind gusts. The county hasn't even plowed the road in front of my house yet. :mad: Normally, I would be happy to jump into my kitchen and start cooking and baking today, but that's kind of how I got into this extra weight in the first place. May be a great day to do some online Christmas shopping. :) Unless the winds go down, my walk is off the table for today too.

Libby, glad you made it on. I've been getting logged out while posting and have to save my post and log in again. It works for me the second time around. Best wishes on those great goals!

Quinn, first of all, congrats on the clean bill of health. Wishing you getting into that little black dress by your Christmas party. We all KNOW you can do it. :) My story is a regain AFTER a great checkup. I usually go to the doc every three to four months. When my new doc told me in September I was doing so well I don't need to come back for another weigh-in and blood test until March, I decided to take a free pass, thinking I could eat whatever I want for a while and not get caught. I got so that I felt all bloated and my knees and legs were killing me from the extra weight and water retention. After just one week back on the wagon I feel SO much better. :) Good thought to do some online shopping rather than baking due to all the snow causing you to be homebound.

It's 10AM and I haven't eaten breakfast yet due to driving my grandson to school and running some errands. So my menu starts with brunch:

Brunch: boneless, skinless chicken breast and spinach creamed with a low carb Alfredo sauce.

Snack: vanilla protein shake with zero cholesterol eggs and nutmeg--tastes like egg nog. Yum.

Dinner: baked cod, sauteed cabbage, and broccoli slaw with ranch dressing.

Evening snack: flaxmeal muffin and celery spread with soy nut butter

Yum! Your menu has a lot of my favorites! :) Just found out that the Christmas party is the 13th, not the 18th... the pressure is on! lol

Okay everyone, I finally made it out of bed. Had to skip one of my meds because I slept in. It is an on an empty stomach med, at least an hour before my heart meds. Priorities came into play.

My reasons for sleeping in were two-fold. One, I was reading in bed, celebrating the fact that I didn't have to go to work today. Two, my daughter decided to celebrate with her twin as well and didn't come home till near 1 am. I deserved it, she deserved it. We're all good now.

I got the jump on my list of chores for the day. I don't intend to do them all today, but these are the jobs that I have to work at:

• Windows - inside and outside
• Kitchen - dishes
• sweep and mop
• Living room - vacuum
• de-clutter
• Bedroom - sort clothes
• clear closet
• Sunroom - rearrange furniture
• Outside - burning (6 days left)
• clearing driveway
• last mow

I am out of eggs and the milk is sour, so I will have to make an egg free waffle for breakfast. I have some frozen fruit I can thaw to put with it.

I still have squash soup in the freezer that I can thaw for lunch.

I have a package of salmon fillets in the freezer and brussel's sprouts in the fridge for dinner.

For snacks, I still have plain yogurt left, and lemons. It just needs a little sweetener of some sort and I'm good.

Tomorrow I shop.

Quinn, I I have no doubt that you'll be posting to us before your party that you slipped easily into your little black dress. :)

Glad my menu sounds good to you. I still find it very helpful to post my menus even though right now I'm not logging my food in the nutrition tracker. I'm not going back to tracking unless I have to--like if I'm not losing at all for two weeks. It's such a valuable tool, but it's so time-consuming to log every bite of food. I do have a good handle on what's a good portion size--still weigh and measure my food.

Hello folks! I love reading all your posts but have had issues with being able to post on this thread the last 2 days. Hope this one posts!

Here's my update on the weekend: Grands were over and one was the birthday boy. He expected me to make his dinner and all the trimmings. I did well with cooking and not sampling but I did eat cake and ice cream and neither are on my food plan! I did exercise, drink my fluids and eat my protein/veggies. I reacted to all the drama and confusion swirling around me and even tho' I did some planning, I didn't do enough. Well, life is full of lessons and hope I learned from this one.

My weight is up a pound from last weight but I'm also dealing with other issues. I have a plan in place and here's to working my plan. There's a saying 'If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.' Maybe I need to post that where I can see it often! Vicki

I've been tracking my foods because my doctor told me to take 2 T. of grapeseed oil/day for borderline high cholesterol. But that's a whopping 240 calories, which I sure don't have to spare. Since I don't use butter or spreads, I can't do it that way either. My pie chart also shows that I'm still high in carbs, but they are mostly vegetables.

Annette, kudos on the vigilance on taking your meds properly. It's amazing to me how many people read on their meds bottle how many pills and how many times per day, but they don't bother to find out what time of day, with or without food is best. How wonderful that you all got in some well-deserved celebrating. Wow, that's one long list of chores. Think of all the calories that will burn. :) How'd your waffle turn out? Oh, yum, your menu looks great, too. I have frozen Brussels sprouts and keep forgetting to introduce those to my 14 month old great-granddaughter. She used to love baby food veggies but since moving up to table food she now rejects anything pureed. I've been able to get her to eat only broccoli and mushrooms when I babysit her. I have sneaked pureed carrots into her grilled cheese sandwich, though, and she didn't notice. And she didn't notice the very fine diced veggies I put in her rice dish. Of course she'll eat French fries, but they're basically junk food. I put diced mixed veggies on her plate yesterday individually--first one carrot--plop on the floor without even tasting it. Then one potato--plop; one green bean--plop; one celery--plop. LOL But she doesn't know how sneaky her great-grandma is--I'll win one way or the other. LOL

Quinn, I'm not familiar with the grapeseed oil. I'm taking it that your doc thinks your cholesterol numbers are more important than your scale numbers. Did you or your doc discuss fish oil capsules at only 20 calories per 1000mg? Or did you say you tried that an found it unpleasant? Are you deducting fiber from your carb number to get net carbs? (Newbies, fiber is a carbohydrate that does not impact blood sugar, so you can deduct those.)

After Annette's post about being sure to take her meds properly, I remembered that at age 68, I just learned a couple months ago that we should wait half an hour after eating before brushing our teeth. (That came from a doctor's talk show on TV--my dentist and hygienist never mentioned that.) The reason is to let your saliva help wash away food debris so that it doesn't get scrubbed into your teeth, making you more vulnerable to decay. If one can't wait half an hour after eating to brush, they said to at least vigorously swish water around your teeth and spit it out before brushing.

Hi, Rosabella. I've been having log-on issues related to my posting. I'm still having them.

Don't you just love having grandkids? I've got seven of them and four great-grandkids. My grands didn't like it when I skipped the cake and ice cream because it's an important part of the celebration to them. So now I indulge, but with moderation. Their birthdays are only once a year--I can cut back other ways, other days. Sometimes we can just do the best we can under the circumstances and get back on track ASAP.

I swish if I am in a rush.

I am taking 6 different pills a day. The first one is supposed to be taken on an empty stomach. If I miss it, I can live.

The next three pills can be taken together, with or without food, but must be taken every 24 hours. Along with that, I take a half pill that must be taken every 12 hours.

Then in the evening I have another pill that specifies evening and every 24 hours, along with the half pill.

I have alarms set all over my house. 6:15 am for blood sugar and 1 pill, 8:40 am for next bunch of pills, and 8:40 pm for the last ones. If I decide that I want or need to take vitamins, I make sure I take them mid-day. I don't want accidental interactions.

My grandchildren are even harder to feed. Although they don't have the luxury of disliking foods. Too many allergies.

Vikki, I find I have trouble posting as well. I guess it takes too long for me to type out the original post. I right click and copy the post before I submit, then if it says I'm not logged in, I still have everything I typed.

I forgot. The waffles were horrible. I usually use an egg, which is fat and protein. I used a bit of oil instead. I should have dug out the small packets of frozen avocado and used them instead of an egg.
I'll remember next time.

Okay, tackling my kitchen and laundry.

Quinn, I'm not familiar with the grapeseed oil. I'm taking it that your doc thinks your cholesterol numbers are more important than your scale numbers. Did you or your doc discuss fish oil capsules at only 20 calories per 1000mg? Or did you say you tried that an found it unpleasant? Are you deducting fiber from your carb number to get net carbs? (Newbies, fiber is a carbohydrate that does not impact blood sugar, so you can deduct those.)

Mern,

I've never taken anything for cholesterol as my numbers weren't that bad. My diet is always pretty clean; just a hereditary issue I've been told. I may replace olive oil with grapeseed and see if that helps. At least it will be something. I've never taken fish oil. I once saw a documentary on the origins of foreign imported fish oil packaged and sold in the US and it kind of grossed me out. lol We do eat salmon and other seafood about 3 times a week though. I don't do a whole lot of cooking with beef or pork, maybe once a week. The other 3 nights are either chicken or vegetarian.

As far as deducting fiber, you're right. If I deduct those, I'd be pretty close. I love squash, rutabaga and bananas which always get me in carb trouble.

Still totally snowed in! ARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!! LET ME OUT!!! Hahaha! The county still hasn't plowed my road which has about 12-14" on it, too much for my Terrain even with AWD. I feel like I'm in jail! I haven't left the house, other than walking, since Sunday night. I have a can of Hershey's cocoa powder in my cupboard that is begging me to make warm, gooey brownies!!!

To those of you losing your posts....

Before you hit "Post Quick Reply", copy your message, as in copy and paste. Then, if you do get that log in screen, you can just paste it in a new message box. It is one of the glitches that still needs to be worked out.

Holy cow, Annette! That's one boatload of meds you have to take--you are so wise in how you manage and prioritize that! A lot of people also don't know that they should talk with their doctor before taking vitamins and minerals because they do change one's body chemistry and can indeed interact with medications. Aw, so sorry about your grandkids' food allergies! I'm sure it makes feeding them more work. Yeah, seems like avocado should work in place of an egg in waffles.

Oh, did I miss that? Is Rosabella's name Vikki?

Another way to get around losing a post is to type it on our word processors or on Microsoft's WordPad and then cut and paste it to the FitDay reply box. Sometimes if I'm planning on a short post, I forget to do that, though--and in that case I try to remember to right click and copy it from the reply box.

Quinn, I always research meds the doctor suggests to decide if I'm willing to risk the possible side effects before I will get a prescription filled, but I must admit I didn't do that with the fish oil. My doc never recommended a brand, but she approved Nature's Bounty brand. Thanks for the heads-up on the fish oil. I'll research that tomorrow to see if I can find out how "yuckified" or safe my brand is. Wow, that's fantastic to eat salmon and other seafood three times a week. I try to limit red meat to no more than twice a week and strive to eat fish twice a week. I eat chicken more than anything. I totally gave up bananas and have never had routabaga. I'm a squash lover, too but isn't it more of a borderline carb rather than a high carb? I'll have to check on that--I know pumpkin and yellow squash are kind of borderline. So sorry you're still snowed in! I'm gonna go outside and see if I can smell brownies if I point my nose north. LOL

Mern, you made me look and I was wrong. Rosabella is Vicki. I have a friend Vikki on another forum.

My doctor okayed any vitamins that I might want to take. After the end of December, I might be down to only 3 pills a day. Especially if I can lose a few more pounds.

Good Morning!

I'M FREE!!! lol The snow plows came through about 5:30 pm yesterday, but there were still 30 mph wind gusts and my garage door had a big snow bank in front of it from drifting. It took a couple of hours last night, but I can finally get my car out. =)

Somehow, I refrained from baking and decided to make my evening, healthy meal mid-afternoon because I was soooo bored! I don't think I've ever been that mind-numbing bored in my entire life! Stuck from Sunday night until Wednesday morning. It was hard not to just fill the time with movies and snacks, but I did a lot of fall cleaning. In fact, I think I cleaned the clean.

This snow was definitely early, maybe 6-8 weeks early. I guess we were somewhat lucky. We received 13" while others not far away had readings of 22-26".

Today, the sun is shining and the winds have calmed down, so I'm heading into town to get some fresh air and run some errands.

My weight has started to go back down so my simple goals will remain. The only things that really changed when I gained weight was portion control and I was doing a lot of baking, mostly for guys that were working on a construction project here and kids returning to college. But, a lot made its way to my mouth, too. Just can't handle bakery or chocolate in the house.... none. When will I learn??

Have a wonderful day, all!
quinn

This weeks goals
drink lots of water: Y, Y
calories under 1100: N, N
15 min. exercise: Y, Y
post daily: I tried

Annette, thanks for letting me know Rosabella's name as Vicki. She's new to me, so I knew her only as Rosabella. I like to address people by their real names, if possible. How wonderful that you might be down to three pills soon. Must make you feel great knowing how far you've come in your recovery. :) That's also great that your doc okayed any vitamins you might want. I take only prescription vitamin D2 because my blood tests showed a deficiency only in D and my body wasn't absorbing the over-the-counter vitamin D or D3. The prescription has me back to normal vitamin D range, but I don't feel any different--never felt any symptoms of that deficiency to begin with.

Quinn, hey, there snow lady! I'll bet that was two hours worth of work gladly performed to get your car out of the garage. Mighty generous of you to credit Mother Nature for giving you only 13 inches rather than 22-26. LOL Major kudos on not baking and on spending the time fall cleaning. I must confess that had that been me, I'd have had my fanny parked on the couch and watching TV--maybe mindlessly eating sugar free candy and other low carb snack which would add on more carbs, calories, and saturated fat. The great thing about this group is that it encourages us sit back and analyze where our problem areas are--like portion control and baked goods. Mine was eating whatever and however much I wanted to eat. I'm so glad my simple goals are working to decrease my weight, too, so that I can feel justified in not logging all my food right now, but continuing to weigh and measure. So far I've lost 4.4 lbs. since my restart.

Mern: My name is Vicki, but I set up my account here using my chi's name--Rosabella.

Annette: Sure hope you get to cut meds down--my husband can stay off BP meds as long as he keeps his weight below 190. He weighs the same as he did when he graduated high school!

Quinn: Glad you were able to get out of the house! This morning's low will probably be our high for the day! It's dreary, damp and just downright COLD--I know 50 sounds warm to those of you way up north, but yesterday it was 83 on my back deck!

Yesterday, I drank all my water, ate foods planned and did some exercise. Today, repeat the process! Vicki

Mern, Congrats on the 4.4 lbs.!! Isn't it a good feeling to be back and accountable?? I know it does for me. What seemed like a treat, to take a break for awhile, really wasn't all that great. I think I'm down about 4 lbs., too. Hopefully, we can keep it together! =)

Vicki, Yes, 50 is shorts weather around here. lol Especially in the spring when the high school kids have had enough of winter. Then, shorts weather is anything above freezing or when the sun finally returns and things start to melt!

The cold front that is hitting you now is the same one that got us. Someone said that a "super storm" is a drop in pressure above 24 millibars and this one was something like 3 times that, similar to the drop in pressure during a hurricane. Our temps are going to be in the mid 20's for at least a week, so it's possible that this snow is here to stay, which is going to make for a very looong winter.

Picked up a book that a friend had recommended called Neverhome, by Laird Hunt. A glass of wine, a good book and a fireplace sound like a plan this evening. =)

Quinn, it is indeed a good feeling to be back and accountable. I totally agree that the break from here was a treat, but I paid dearly for it. Not that we can never take a break, but we have to be mindful of the consequences if we stray too far or for too long. Like Thanksgiving--I'm going to eat what I want and TRY to practice moderation and TRY to get back on track the day after.


After all the talk of how to save our posts from getting lost, I composed my menu for today on Microsoft NotePad, right clicked and copied it. When I went to paste it into the reply box, I discovered there was something on the clipboard that was never pasted and I had already closed NotePad, so lost it anyway. Live and learn! LOL

Today's menu:

Brunch was a microwaved casserole of spinach, onion, mushrooms, and diced tomato with zero cholesterol egg blend and just a wee bit of low carb Alfredo sauce

Snack was low carb pumpkin soup with low carb tortilla chips. I'll try to post the recipe later today in the food section under Low Carb Recipes

DH went out for a Veterans' Day dinner with golf buddies, so I'm making tonight the cod I had planned for yesterday.

Dinner: fried cod breaded with crushed pork rinds on flatbread with tartar sauce, with a side of cooked from fresh kale (from our friend's garden)

Evening snack: low cholesterol pumpkin and eggnog protein shake (to use up 1/4 cup leftover pumpkin puree) and a flaxmeal muffin

I'm late today.

I slept in again, so I had to grab my pills and run. I took the recycling out, dropped the garbage off at the farm and kept on going. Tires are changed and the all seasons are in the garage. Stopped for gas, did the shopping, at two stores. Farmer's market and regular groceries. Did the banking at one bank, forgot the other one, so I still have checks that need cashing. Then I stopped at a car wash to vacuum the inside of the van where I spilled garbage. Now I am home and finally getting my first meal of the day.

Egg and veggies in a rye flour wrap.

My low carb pumpkin soup recipe is now in the Food Forum, Low Carb Recipes, post #53
http://www.fitday.com/fitness/forums...tml#post112231

Recipe could be made full carb by using whipping cream instead of almond milk.

The Hungry Girl Light Sundried Tomato flatbread I made into chips to float on top was a yummy addition.

Annette, wow, what a busy day! Your wrap sounds good. Hope you get a great sleep tonight!

Mern, that was just my morning. Afternoon took on a whole new dimension of busy. Nearly three hours on the phone with people who want to suck the life right out of me. The first wasn't bad because she is my mom's friend and it has been months since we talked. But the second two calls were from the same person just needing to talk.

Okay! Today!

Last night I made a new recipe of BBQ seasoning. I mixed two tablespoons of that in some of my flour mix (rye, wheat, flax) and dipped the chicken in it. I complimented the chicken with sliced raw tomatoes and pasta. Moderation is the key.

I let temptation get to me and made a mug of Aztec hot chocolate. I only drank 3 oz and left the rest for my daughter. I advised her to add sugar because I had only used 1 tbls of honey to sweeten the whole thing.
I will buy some supplies and try another combination, but this is a treat, not a daily occurrence.

Tonight, I don't know. I will be out from 2:30 till 6:30, so unless I get something in the slow cooker, I will have to get take out for the family.

Good Morning!

Woke up to a balmy 14 degrees this morning. It definitely makes crawling out from my quilt and electric blanket more challenging... especially getting up the will to trail walk. But, by putting it on here, I will be on my way after my massive mug of coffee. Then, as a reward, I'm going to go shopping for a new pair of trail hiking boots. =)

My weight is still, slowly but surely, going down. I'm convinced that the cold weather hikes have been a big contributor to my calorie burn. I always feel so good when I come home with my ipod blaring away... It's just leaving my nice warm home, complete with hot coffee and a fire in the fireplace, that makes the decision a hard one.

But, like I said, by putting it on here I'm obligated to go. You know, accountability and all that... lol. So, I'm off. If I don't post any more today, send the dog sleds out for me! :D

quinn

Still warmer here, Quinn, but colder than I'm used to. I layered and went for my walk.

Oatmeal for breakfast. Adding cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Like Oatnog.

Annette, so sorry about the phone calls messing up your day. You are good at heart. :) Great job on the chicken dish and on just 3 oz. of the hot chocolate. I love coming up with new recipes, too. Yup, moderation is the key. Wishing you a great evening.

Quinn, kudos on your weight still going down. Enjoy your coffee, walk and new hiking boots! I heard that shivering helps burn more calories. Hope we don't have to send the dogs!


I'm doing well on food and water, but not on exercise. Need to go back to forcing myself to do just five minutes with permission to myself to stop after that-- because I always wind up doing more.

Today's menu:

Unconventional breakfast: think sliced deli rotisserie chicken, mushrooms and Swiss cheese on low carb flatbread

Lunch: tuna salad, pumpkin soup

Dinner: low carb spaghetti and meat balls, broccoli slaw with ranch dressing

Snack: celery with peanut butter, strawberries

Your oatmeal idea sounds amazing! I have to try that tomorrow. Anything that even remotely tastes like eggnog and I'm in! =)

And Mern, your menus always make me hungry! lol

Just got back from my hike and it wasn't that bad, except when I had to walk into a little north wind. Any wind at these temps isn't good.

Bought 2 whole chickens yesterday and slow roasted and deboned them for lots of easy lunch ideas. Will put in portion-size bags and freeze. Think I may do some kind of panini with 35 calorie bread, roast chicken, tomatoes, spinach, red onion and smokey brown mustard. Then, as I promised myself, I'm off to do a little boot shopping. =)

Quinn, kudos on the walk.

What a great idea to roast two chickens and portion them out to freeze. And that panini sounds delicious! You're making ME hungry. LOL

Dinner menu changed: I didn't feel like cooking and DH asked if I wanted to eat out--we decided instead to get carryout food. Confession: I was GOING to cheat and indulge in a Domino's Pizza Philly Cheese Steak sandwich on their regular baked roll, but then I logged on to FitDay and found your post. I decided to still get the sandwich, but when DH comes back with it, I'll transfer it to an 8g net carb Hungry Girl Whole Wheat flatbread Foldit. But I'll wash it down with a Diet Coke. DH can eat the abandoned sandwich roll tomorrow.

You are inspiring, my friend! Thanks! :)

Haha... thanks, but you deserve the credit for pulling back on a splurge! =) By the way, I found out what my carb issue is. Sweet potatoes! 23.6g of carbs per medium microwaved sweet potato. I've been having one with my supper at night when I feed my husband a higher calorie option. (He's not dieting this time... ugh.) The only thing I'm really craving this time around is CHOCOLATE! I usually have a 25 calorie hot cocoa mix, but this time around it's not working. Any low cal chocolate craving ideas?? :confused:

Mern: Will you post your flaxmeal muffin recipe? Do you make your low-carb Alfredo sauce? Love Diet Coke myself!

Quinn: I love sweet potatoes and chocolate too! Don't know that I could drink 3 oz of a Mexican hot chocolate and stop--I'd want to finish it all! I buy Lindt chocolate bars, the big ones. They are sectioned off into squares--4 squares equals 1 serving, but nutrition for 1 square is generally pretty good. I have 1 of those squares every week or so for a treat. Glad your weight is going down!

Today has been very cold here--we barely got above 40! Tomorrow is supposed to get to 50! BRRRR! On a good note, I pulled out some more winter clothes and the 26 that was tight last winter is very baggy this year! I could even get into a 22-24 skirt but it was a little tighter than I like to wear my clothes. It really felt good! Vicki