Hi Jannine! I was dressed as a tired mama, thankfully, no special costume required

It's been so long since I've returned that I forgot my username/password. My goodness that's awful. Just like Sweety I'm having some rebound issues as well. I got down to 185 pounds which looked skeletal on me because my legs and thighs stayed thick so I consciously put on more weight and I haven't been able to stop. I've made the effort to start going to the gym again, I was a 5 times a week girl for a long time, but it's slow moving. I'm hovering around 210 now and wear a size 12 or so, sometimes 10 if stretchy. I can tell even just sitting here my breathing is more labored and my body feels like every movement is SO difficult, like having the flu with no sickness. I quit my baking job to focus on school so I'm devoting my mental space to Anatomy and Physiology for the most part. I would love to become a bariatric nurse and comfort/help people who are beginning their journeys. Thanksgiving was tough for me, I got to have one bite of everything and sat for the next 45 minutes or so while everyone else finished eating. I wanted to keep going!! My head still wants more, more, more but thankfully I suppose, my stomach still keeps me in check. Hope everyone's doing okay, would love to hear about what is going on in your lives.

Laura,

Not TMI, my wife is 62 and she would definately understand.

I'm glad you have come so far in your recovery and things are perking up (just kidding).

Happy Thanksgiving to you as well. We will be fortunate to spend it with 12 family members in Costa Rica.

Take care, Rick

Hi Janine and fellow Marchers....

This post reminds me of the cross-country walk we did several years back.  It was so much fun to see how far we'd walked and what sights in the area we were 'seeing'!!

Hope everyone is well and doing great on their individual programs....if not, let's check in here and support each other.

Good thoughts to All....

Orginal post from Rick A.


The second tool in our arsenal or W E P N is exercise.

I used to think exercise was a foul, evil word, but no longer. Now that we have lost the bulk of our excess weight it is so much easier to exercise. It is easier on our bodies and much more enjoyable.

The trick is to find an exercise that best suits your needs and lifestyle. For many people it is to “go to the gym". (I’ll be honest with you, I have never been to a gym in my life)

It is very important to enjoy the activities that you choose. It should be something that you would do whether it was good for you or not. If you dread exercising your success with it will only be short term.

My exercise of choice is walking. I can do it anywhere, it doesn’t require any special tools or equipment other then a good pair of shoes. I can and do walk at any time of the day or night. It provides me with a wonderful feeling of wellbeing and is as much for my physical health as well as my mental health

There is a program called “10,000 steps" if we take that number of steps each day it would equal 5 miles. I know that sounds like a lot, but it is only about twice the amount we normally would walk in a day anyways. If we walk 10,000 steps we will burn about 500 calories. The good news is that if we are following all of our other nutritional guidelines and we are at goal we could in theory consume 500 extra calories a day without it having a detrimental effect on our weight. If you are not at goal and you made no other changes in your life you could lose 50 pounds in a year just by walking.

It is a good idea to wear a pedometer to track your steps at first. You can be very creative in how you fit more steps into your day. Park your car further away from your destination or take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. Walk during part of your lunch hour or breaks. It may be a good idea to have an exercise partner, but keep in mind it is ultimately up to you to succeed.

My personal goal is to walk an average of 4 miles a day in addition to my normal steps taken during the day. Last month I walked 111 miles and I have walked 1500 miles since I started logging my walking thirteen months ago.

So how about you, what is your exercise of choice?