I have been struggling to remember that I am no longer 36. I don't refer back to 29 because I wasn't at my best then. 36 was my year. I was a farmer's wife, worked on the farm, grandma, mom of preteens and teens. I had taken in my niece and nephew, giving me a houseful number 10 with the baby. I was a Scout leader at night along with being mom's taxi.

Now when it takes me four days to mow the lawn, I consider myself lazy. Then I have to remind myself that I'm not 36 anymore.

Mike, close your eyes.

I discovered this morning that my boobs aren't 36 anymore either. One shirt, and I have to say that I love the colour, requires perkier boobs.

Mike, you can open your eyes again.

The temp was right on freezing this morning so I pushed for 1.5 miles. When I got back I realized that I didn't have to take a break at the 1 mile mark.

Annette,
10 in your household?? :eek: Bless your heart! You gave so much to them, it's time that they cut the lawn for you! :)

One of the people who came over this weekend, was a friend of my daughter's. At 21, he's going through some tough issues. I agreed with him that 21 is hard, and that I am the happiest now at 52. He looked at me like I was crazy! But, for me it's true. I wouldn't go back to my 20's for all the money in the world.

Annette, you can't tell a guy to close his eyes and expect him to do that. What you have to do is write your message in white and hope I don't notice it!

I'm sure some of the "old" regulars know what I just said... I use to always post like that.;)

Libby: Happy Belated Birthday! Hang on for as long as you can! I let go a few years ago and now I'm pushing 56! Each day I see more gray in the mirror and I choose to LOVE it! Ain't gonna wash it away--I worked to hard to get it!

Annette: I love to try new things and bison burgers would be new for me, but now I know to double-check for sodium--Thanks! My parts and pieces are showing their age too--welcome to the Club! Kudos on not having to take a break in your walk--that's great! I agree with Quinn--it's time someone else cuts the lawn.

Quinn: For years I felt guilty for taking care of my needs--until I learned that if I didn't take care of me no one else was gonna. I believe learning should never stop and is what keeps us young and alert mentally. I also believe in nurturing the artistic/creative side and do this by listening to a variety of music and operas, watching classic film, reading the classics and I adore traditional ballet. We make it a point to attend concerts and support the arts in our area too. I'm so much happier and in a much better place now than I was 30 years ago--I wouldn't want to go back either.

Trying to stay warm--it's pretty easy in the sunshine since the wind is calm but after the sun goes down is another story entirely! Soup time! Vicki

Its all good, Mike. I gave away the shirt so the problem is gone.

Doing the lawn burns lots of calories.

I agree! I've never belonged to a gym in my life, but instead I'm very physically active around my home. When my kids were home, every day I would do something like play one-on-one basketball in the driveway with them, mow the lawn, shovel snow, whatever needed to be done. Home improvement projects have also been a great way to keep in shape. I've tackled everything from laying floor tile to taping and mudding drywall. lol After a car accident a few years ago, I was forced to give up some activities, requiring me to watch my weight more closely, but I still push up to my new limits. It's just harder to keep the weight off now when my lifting limit is a bag of groceries.

Good Morning!
Well, here it is Wednesday already. For one reason or another, it seems as though I'm not getting a whole lot accomplished this week around the house. It's certain that the non-stop snow, high winds and unseasonably cold temps are definitely starting to get to me.

The only thing going in my favor right now is my clean eating. It's amazing how a high number on the scale, and the threat of throwing away my prior hard work and weight loss can scare you into straightening up. I was lucky. After a doctors appt. and a very well-timed message in my email from Mike inviting me back, I realized that all of my old habits had returned after 4 years of maintaining. I also realized, maybe for the first time of my long journey, what my triggers are.

I started journaling again so that, hopefully, I can talk out my triggers before they sabotage my health again. For me, my weight is completely dictated by what's going on in my life. Finding other ways to deal, besides food, is the trick. Let's face it... when your feeling really crappy for whatever reason, a celery stick and a carrot isn't going to replace a hot fudge brownie delight at DQ... or a Sonic blast...lol.

Keep up the fight. We can do this... not just reaching our goals for a short time, but for life. I want to live a long life... I want to be healthy... I want to remain active as I age and not be so arthritic that I can't move (already starting). I guess I've found that I want this for me, which makes all the difference in the world. =)

Today I will:

1. Walk for one hour in the snow, remembering how fun the first few snowfalls were when I was a kid.

2. Pick up a new book at the library that I've been anxious to read.

3. Buy whole wheat buns for my amazing turkey burgers that I am going to throw on the grill tonight. (Yes, in the snow...lol.)

4. Keep hydrating continually.

Hope you all have an amazing day. =)

Hi all. Been absent for quite some time but have been staying on track. I weighed myself on Sun and my BMI is closer to 40--still too high but it was a mini goal and I lost 2.5lbs! Had been doing a lot of yardwork last week so it paid off.

Jenn

Welcome back Jenn. Congrats on the loss, keep it up!

QP, much of what you said rang true with me as well, not just the DQ and Sonic Blast part. ;)

Haha! I hear the girls in the Sonic drive-thru know your order by heart! :D

I took some time last night and read through my fitday journals from 4 years ago, and I realized that writing it all down really helped. For anyone who hasn't used the journaling feature of fitday, I really recommend it.

I've accomplished everything on my list for the day, except I cut my walk a little short because the cold even got to ME today! :)

One last task... my football picks for the week. Mike, I'm picking NO to win this week, a Monday night game against Baltimore. (Only assigning a 3 point commitment to it though...lol.) Currently second place out of 32 in my pool! :D