This is an informative site dealing with women's issues and I am currently reading the article on weight gain in menopausal women.

I had a great Thanksgiving and hope you all did also. There is a lot of pain and suffering going on in the world right now and the survivors and injured parties are in my prayers. Even though Thanksgiving is observed as a secular holiday, I feel that perhaps it's one of those special times that people stop and think about what they are thankful for and where their blessings come from.

Anyway, I am ready to get back to life as we know it, as normal as it can be for the next month or so, what with friends stopping by and parties to attend and festivities to be had. I will continue to have my little say here and will continue to weigh in on Tuesdays. I may look at the world through rose colored glasses sometimes and am sometimes taken back by the things people say, but it's because I am a positive, happy person and expect everyone else to be. I feel very deeply the pain and suffering of others, sometimes almost to the point of empathy, but it's something I am used to and I have ways of coping with that, also.

For those out there who are dealing with negative comments and hurtful things said to you by "well meaning" folks, remember the lyrics to Christina's song Beautiful...

Every day is so wonderful
And suddenly, it's hard to breathe
Now and then, I get insecure
From all the pain, I'm so ashamed

I am beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring me down
I am beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring me down
So don't you bring me down today

To all your friends, you're delirious
So consumed in all your doom, Ohh
Tryin' hard to fill the emptiness
The piece is gone left the puzzle undone
Is That the way it is?

You are beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring you down
Oh no, 'cause you are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring you down, Oh no
So don't you bring me down today...

If you have never heard her sing this song, when you have a chance, go to YouTube and check it out.

Remember to have a great weekend and remember you are beautiful.

Just a quick note...

In addition to doing all the holiday related things that we love, I am going to be working on my computer. I realized that I am trying to keep up with six personal sites. It is time for me to scale down some. I will be dropping off from following some blogs and I will be adding some new blogs to my sidebar. Please don't be offended if, in my attempt to regain control of my computer time, I have to leave you for a while. It certainly isn't personal.

That being said, Happy Thanksgiving! See you soon!

My word...

I am back up to 174.5 this week. We went out to lunch yesterday and I ate like a piggy. I try not to get so down on myself for doing this. I just wonder sometimes, what is wrong with me. How can it be just not exercising? I am so tired of eating chicken and vegetables. I need fried potatoes and gooey dessert and buttery things. Well, it's hard not to beat yourself up about things like this. I am going to grab those bootstraps and hang on.

I have so much to be thankful for. I have a wonderful husband, who is healthy and loves me very much. I have a nice place to live and plenty to eat, obviously, so I shouldn't complain. Sorry, I am just frustrated at the up and down of one or two pounds. I suppose working out once last week wasn't enough.

Well, if you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope the holiday goes fab for you. I think my hubs and I will go out to dinner Thursday. Enjoy the rest of the week and if you have any ideas for getting me over this slump, you know where my comment section is.

Take care.

It's better than gaining...

Down one half pound...

That is much better than gaining...

I have never taken my time about losing weight. I was always one to lose 6 or 7 pounds the first week, than 2 and 3 pounds each week after until I reached my goal weight in several months. Obviously, those days are gone. At this rate, it will take well over one year to reach my goal. Perhaps, by that time I will have acquired such great habits, that the weight will never come back. I know you are all with me on that.

Hope everyone had a good weekend and are ready to face another day.

Keep us posted with your progress and remember that we are all heading down the same road.

Take care.

Don't ya' just love Mondays?

I love every morning that I awake to see another day. I know that sounds sappy, but I truly do. Everyone makes mistakes during the day and I have always looked at tomorrow (cue Annie) as a chance to do something differently. It doesn't always make it better, but hopefully, but it just might make a difference in the way you feel about things.

When I say mistakes, it may be as simple as a thought that you had, that you aren't particularly proud of. It may be something that you actually said or did that didn't have the desired result. Not to worry, tomorrow is another day and we can do better.

All that being said, I love Mondays. It's the perfect day to start anything. Start something new, or perhaps to start something over, like getting back into that good habit that you let slide, or it might be the perfect time and the perfect day to start a new Workout. Hubs and I went to Best Buy to kill some time the other day and I wanted to get a workout video. I am not that great about walking in my neighborhood, hills, dogs, yada, yada, but I had a "walk your way to fitness" type video in my hand, you know, the kind that you walk inside the house...and Hubs said he would rather see me try something else. He said, "you are way too energetic just to walk", try this one. I don't think he realizes how hard walking can be sometimes....but, if he sees me as energetic enough to do this video, I wasn't going to say no. He picked Jackie's workout video along with another ab workout and away we went.

I popped it in the machine this morning and did the upper body portion. Each segment is only 20 minutes which includes a brief warm up and a stretching segment. I can handle 20 minutes. It's the 30, 45 and 60 minutes ones that take me down. I made it thru the first 12 minutes and then I realized that I was going to have to stop for a minute. So, I did. That's the beauty of working out at home, she may be saying, "I know it burns, but don't stop", I said, "oh yeah, watch this" and I sat on the couch with my water and watched her go through the next two minutes.

No one thinks badly of me, I wasn't next to some cute little 40 year old, showing off her moves. I wasn't sitting on the curb, red faced and puffing outside someones house in my neighborhood. It was just me and my bad knees and my .... well, I could go on, but the point is I did it. I will probably be sore tomorrow, but after that brief rest on the couch, I got back up and did the rest of it. This is a pretty intensive workout that uses weights. But don't sell yourself short. Maybe you can do it. If not today, it's something to plan for. Maybe you can do it on Monday.

Whew, my elbows are still shaking, but it feels good. Have a great day, ya'll and remember that we are in this together. See you tomorrow for weigh in.

I'm changing my weigh in day

I just figured out what is happening with me. I go to the store on Tuesday because of extra coupons/discounts. I get all kinds of great things and always have a treat afterward. Every Wednesday morning my weight is up. So to accommodate this phantom weight gain, I am weighing in on Tuesday morning, not Wednesday.

All that being said, this morning I was at 173.5, which is back down to where I was, minus 1/2 pound. If that's all it takes to keep me happy, I'm going to do it.

More on other stuff later, but that's it for now. Love ya bunches!

Junk food

Weigh in day and I am at 177 pounds. That's a 2.5 pound gain for this week. I know it's just a number on the scales and in the long run, that's not what is important.

I have not eaten healthy this week. I can tell that I feel better when I make better choices in food. I ate junk food. Candy, salty crackers, Hardee's biscuit, cheese pizza, soda. These are not good choices for anyone. They are not conducive to good sleep patterns, even my allergies have suffered. Sometimes being a junk food junkie takes it's toll.

Today is today, not yesterday. Today I can take better care of myself. If I don't take care of my health, who will? We are all responsible for the choices we make. I don't hate myself, I just feel yucky for eating junk.

Well, that's all for today. Hope you all have a good week, and stay off the junk food, you'll feel better. Take care.

Too much candy

I have eaten candy two nights in a row and I hope the scales won't reflect it. Today is Saturday, I have already started bargaining with myself. If I am "really good" I can be where I want to be on Wednesday. My hubby worked out this morning, and it should give me inspiration, but sometimes I just feel so lazy. I think to myself, is it worth it? I know it is and I always feel better after working out, it is just so hard to make myself get started. What is wrong with me. I am a reasonably intelligent person and I know I should do this for my health.

Well, I'll let you know later which side of me wins this battle.