Are you looking for support on your health and fitness journey? If you are, then this thread is for you.

There are no expectations in this forum. Post as often as you like. Post anything that you feel is relevant to your own personal health and fitness goal. Here are some ideas:

• Monthly health and fitness goal
• Daily health and fitness goal
• Progress (or setbacks) in reaching your goal
• Personal stories about why you are joining this topic
• Healthy recipes that you feel others will enjoy
• Links to articles or books that you feel others would find helpful
• Food Choices (healthy or unhealthy)

Remember, your health and fitness journey is your own. There is no one program, method, or philosophy that is right for everyone. This thread is for support only.

Starting off Oct 1 with some major scale fluctuation. Today is 142.9. Looking back, I haven't been this high since Sept 10. Yesterday I know I didn't drink enough water, so today I will focus on water. Hopefully tomorrow this will settle back into the 141s which is where my weight has been for the past many days. 

I'm starting out the month at 239 lbs. So I lost 8 lbs. last month. If I can do as well this month I'll be really pleased.

Heather, you'll get there.

Scale said 237.4 this morning. I've been eating all kinds of stuff! 
 

Today was supposed to be the great reset to the month of getting back into weight routines, etc. But it did not happen! However, tomorrow is another day.

i can still get in some oatmeal.

I know what you mean Margaret. I didn't really over eat yesterday but it was more carbs than protein and that showed this morning. I'm 240 today.

My a/c died and I'm waiting for a new a/c unit or refurbished one so not sure how long it'll be before they come to take care of it. I have portable fans but that's just moving hot air around. It got up to almost 90 degrees yesterday in the apt. Since my windows don't have good screens on them I can't open the windows unless I want all kinds of natures critters getting in. But hopefully they'll get the a/c replaced today or tomorrow. I can't take the heat very well so having to stay right under a fan just to get a breeze. But if it gets bad enough I'll get in the car with the a/c.

Holding at 198. That's acceptable for now. Still managing to stay away from desserts except SF Jell-O. Its better than nothing. I wanted to try a keto pumpkin custard but not going to because it will just add calories. Even diet desserts take me outside my usual daily intake. It took me awhile to realize that just because something is "diet" doesn't give me license to eat it.  I could eat it if I cut something else out.

Well, yesterday was just a weird fluctuation as today I am back to 141.5

But now when I do my Oct 31 end of month weight, my Oct 1 starting weight will be a higher number. Oh well, the numbers aren't that radically different.

Today I'm going to focus on hot tea  :) 

Vicki, I hope you a/c situation gets resolved pronto. Just take it easy until then!

Teri, I know just what you mean. Trading off this for that is something I do too. I also have to be mindful to not eat both this AND that.

Margaret, I hope today you're able to settle back in to those good routines you like  :)

Better today. The scale is down to 236.4, still a lot higher than a week ago, but down a pound from yesterday. I never found time to check BP yesterday, but today it is 120/90. This is just weird, since 120 is lower than they like to have you if you are on meds, except the 90 is way too high. 
 

Now let's see if I can get in all the activity I have planned for today.

My a/c has been replaced. So I wouldn't have to wait,  the maintenance guy took one out of an empty apt. It's only been in about a half hour but can already feel a difference.

Margaret, you & Heather are doing good. Just keep working on it daily.

Vicki, that is so great about your AC! The sign of a compassionate maintenance man!

Yeah, he's nice. He knows it's just me here and I don't complain about anything unless it's something really needed, so he tries to get to it for me as quickly as he can.

You can tell a world of difference in how the apt. feels now compared to this time last night. It still hasn't gotten quite as cool as I want it to go but it's down about 10 degrees from what it was last night. I want it down to about 74 in here so it needs to come down another 6 degrees, but this a/c works so much better than what I'd been dealing with. The old one hadn't worked right for a year or more. This one should help my electric bill come down a little now since it works correctly.

So glad your AC is working! Can't imagine what is like in the Carolinas, GA, FL without any power for AC.

i think I overdid today, but at least I got myself moving.

i planned to walk to a bus stop, probably 45 minutes for me, ride bus to library, return books and buy a bus pass, ride bus back to a different bus stop, then walk probably 35 min home. I knew it would be a challenge, since I have not been walking much, but nothing like a goal. Then I remembered I needed to mail two books to Heather today, which I usually do from the grocery store, which is on the bus route and about a 15 minute walk from the library.

new plan: walk to a bus stop, probably 45 minutes for me, ride bus to grocery store, mail books, walk 15 min to library, return books and buy a bus pass, ride bus back to a different bus stop, then walk probably 35 min home... but this was even way more walking... 

then my daughter texted her late afternoon class was canceled and she would be home...

new new plan: daughter drive me to Culver's where I buy us a late lunch, walk across street to bus stop, ride bus to grocery store, mail books, walk 15 min to library, return books and buy a bus pass, ride bus back to a different bus stop, then walk probably 35 min home... this seems doable

but while at Culver's, remembered I should pick up prescription at Walgreens.

new new new plan: daughter drive me to Culver's where I buy us a late lunch, walk 5 min to Walgreens, get pills, walk 5 min to bus stop, ride bus to grocery store, mail books, walk 15 min to library, return books and buy a bus pass, ride bus back to a different bus stop, then walk probably 35 min home... this seems doable

but Walgreens was SLOW so I missed the timing in my plan.

revised in progress new new new plan: daughter drive me to Culver's where I buy us a late lunch, walk 5 min to Walgreens, get pills (almost twenty minutes in line!), walk 5 min to bus stop, use app to discover bus will be another 20 min because one just went by, walk to the next bus stop, about 10 min, hoping to find a place I can sit, but no luck), ride bus to grocery store, mail books, walk 15 min to library, return books, charge phone, and buy a bus pass, ride bus back to a different bus stop, then walk probably 35 min home.

But I was so hot in my final walk, and walking directly into setting, blinding sun, so I called my daughter so I didn't walk all the way home.

what really happened: daughter drove me to Culver's where I bought us a late lunch, walked 5 min to Walgreens, got pills (almost twenty minutes in line!), walked 5 min to bus stop, used app to discover bus would be another 20 min because one just went by, walked to the next bus stop, about 10 min, (hoping to find a place I could sit, but no luck), rode bus to grocery store, mailed books, walked 20 min to library, (longer than app showed because I had to go way around a construction site), returned books, charged phone, and bought a bus pass, rode bus back to a different bus stop, bought way too many treats at convenience store since I "earned" them with all the walking, walked 15 minutes to good pickup spot then got picked up by daughter.

Phone says 7500 steps, after averaging 2000 for the last several days!

Now I need a plan for walking tomorrow. I don't do well with a walk just around the block, but better with a goal, like today.

Poor Margaret, you wore me out just reading all that. But congrates on all the walking you did do. And you gave me my morning smile.

My new a/c works BEAUTIFULLY!! I actually had to turn it up when I got up this morning because I'm not used to it ever being 68 degrees in the apt. I turned it up to 73 degrees. That will suit me just fine. Much better than 86.

I'm 238.6 this morning.

So glad the AC works! 73 is definitely better than 86. If my condo was 86, I would be taking showers all the time and then sitting in front of a fan!

Scale same as yesterday, because I had all those treats, even though I walked a lot. And I got up last night and had a sandwich, hoping the protein would balance some of the sugar. Woke up with a terrible headache, as usual when I have too much sugar. Well, that will help me avoid sugar! Waiting for the electrician to come this afternoon to change out a ceiling fan and figure out why the breaker keeps flipping.

Hope the electrician was able to take care of the problem and also changed out your ceiling fan.

Do you or the others in the group get stuffed up (sinus) when you eat dairy? I seem to any time I eat things like cheese. I know I'm lactos intolenant for milk, ice cream, etc That literly makes me sick to my stomach. But cheese stuffs up my sinus's. But I still eat it occassionally, like when I make myself a cheeseburger. I rarely eat red meat any more, but the other day I really wanted a cheeseburger but I'm not heading to a fast food place to get one. So I bought a box of hamburger patties at the store and cooked a couple on my George Forman grill. Had it the old fashioned way, on loaf bread and it was the best meal I'd had in quite a while. Totally satisfying. But the cheese made me a little stuffy. But so worth it to feel so satisfied with what I ate. I had the 2 cheeseburgers plus 2 navel oranges later on that day, and was totally satisfied for the day.And I was lower in weight the next morning.

 But then yesterday, I felt like eating everything not nailed down, and ate WAY too much. Over 3000 calories plus over 4000 grams sodium. I wrote everything down so I know how over the top my eating was, and yes, the scale told on me this morning (240.6). So I'm going to really have to watch my eating today. And I'll drink plenty of water today to help flush the sodium out. I hate when I get the food cravings like yesterday. Makes me feel totally out of control, and then I want to just say screw it and eat what I want. But I know I can't do that or I'll end up back where I was a few months ago. So today I'll eat as I know to do and see how things look tomorrow.

I really don't know if cheese makes me stuffed up.  Its mostly dust and pollen that stuffs me up. I heat with wood, too, so there's more particulates in the air via smoke. Wood is dirty but I love the heat. I live on a dirt road so a lot of dust gets kicked up by traffic. 

Sometimes eating makes my nose run, but I haven't narrowed it down completely to know which foods. I don't think it is cheese, though. I think it is wheat.

last night I had a Buy Nothing pick up, but instead of driving to pick it up, I drove to a nearby grocery store and walked from there, using a paved walking trail I hadn't used before. There was a bench! I used it to stop on my way back because I got tired. And I got a touch of shin splints, but I got over 7000 steps! Today I'm going to a volleyball game and my plan is to go about an hour early and check out a path I can't see on my map app. I can't see it on my map app because it was recently completed so it's not on the app yet. I ate too many sweets as a reward again, but for now I'll live with it. The scale didn't go up, and I can focus on eating after I get the activity habit back. The sweets are because I am sticking to low sodium and it's not so easy finding food that is low sodium AND low sugar.

Teri, Pollen gets to me too. I love a wood stove/heat, but of course I don't have that here.

Margaret, you're doing great with your steps. I've really got to push myself to get in more exercise. Still 240.6 today.

Starting out the new week at 237.6, so that's great. Hoping to keep it heading in the right direction now.

Have a new Hurricane heading this way and will be dealing with that Tuesday thru Thursday. By the time it hits Titusville, it's supposed to be a Cat. 3. Hoping it won't cause too much of an issue here. I'm sure other areas, especially the gulf coast will be hit harder but I'm not expecting this one to be as easy on Titusville as Helene was.

I've got car troubles this week. My power steering went out Saturday. I'll call the mechanic tomorrow morning. My extended warranty will cover all but $100, thank God! I hope I don't have too much trouble getting it the 18 miles to the dealer. It took a lot of muscle to get into my driveway yesterday. The van is 10 years old with 73,000 miles on it so the PS lasted a reasonable time.

Well, after two days of over 7000 steps, I had very painful shins. So I walked only about 2500 steps, mostly to get from parking to volleyball and back, on Friday, and hardly any yesterday. But I continued to sugar binge! Headache on a king today, and BP was high yesterday. And scale up to 237.6.

ok, I think the binging is over, having mostly to do with the fact that I HAD to try the new Halloween candy flavors, and my old favorites, and continued because I'm depressed. Why am I depressed? One reason is that the light quality is way down, though it is hot, so I need to get back in front of my light box daily, as soon as I can since my bedroom is torn up. The main reason is that my finances are in trouble. I knew my pension wouldn't cover my lifestyle, which is why I got a part-time job, but I still bought a place that was a little more expensive than I wanted, because housing is so tight. It was ok at first, because it's new and so I was paying property taxes on the unimproved lot. But suddenly my property taxes are up where they should be and I just got a notice that my mortgage payment is going up $500 per month starting in November, because of this! From $800 to $1300 a month is just not something I was prepared for! I start working again this month in my seasonal job at H&R Block, and I thought I had enough in savings to pay mortgage for November and December, and then the money from HRB goes in that account, and I'll be covered, and I make enough in February through April to cover the original mortgage payment for the rest of the year. But now I only have enough for November, and I'm not sure I'll make enough in November to pay for December. (I only started this job in 2024, and so I know I'll only be part time till February, but I don't know how many hours a week) I can't transfer from my other account unless I want to not pay Visa in full and then pay interest on that. The VISA is way high because I've been paying about $1000 per month on the cats who are getting more and more expensive as they get old. I know this would all work out if I could collect SS, but I can't do that till March. I guess I retired too soon, but I had worked long enough for full benefits and I was so burnt out. And I just don't think I have the stamina to work full time all year round any more. The problem is mainly the timing of the cats... Anyhow, I'm trying to figure out how much to borrow from my mom to get me through, so I'm not really worried about making it, just depressed that I can't support myself and have to ask for help. Realistically, I know I can pay mom back once I start collecting Social Security, and even faster after the cats are no longer a budget item, but it's still depressing.

in happier news, I just found out that my health plan included a $500 FSA and I haven't used any of it, because I didn't know it was there. So I just need to do the paperwork to get reimbursed for my spending on PT at the beginning of the year. That will help!

Margaret, I understand your financial stress!  My spending has been out of control too. My cushion has been really depleted because of the unexpected expenses the past couple years, with annual trips to see my dad,  house repairs, Vet, dental, car.  Unlike you, though, I've got equity in my house so I'm considering a home equity loan before credit cards sink me.  If I go after this, it means I'm committing to staying here in this house.  I don't even know if I could qualify for a home equity loan but I'm thinking about it.

Teri, I'm sorry about your van. Stay safe getting it to the dealership to be fixed. I'm sorry you and Margaret are having so much stress with money issues right now. I would be in a world of trouble if my rent was raised $500.00 a month. Usually here they raise the rent $50.00 per year. That hurts too but nothing like $500.00 would. I just have my SS check to live off of and that's less than $2000.00 a month. My rent takes just under 1/2 of that. By the time I pay utilities, my car payment, and car and renters insurance, plus internet bill, it leaves me about $275.00 a month to live off of. And with the price of groceries, I have to buy as cheaply as possible so I can afford gas for the car, and stamps plus pen pal supplies. That's why I'm so glad to have my friends on here and in the Random Act of Kindness group. All of you help me so much. I feel blessed. I tried having a part time job driving for Uber, but it became too dangerous for a woman driver around here. I can't do any kind of job where a lot of standing is involved because of my back, so I'm just managing best I can on the SS.

Todays weigh in is 237.8.

My mortgage tends to go up $50/year and I think that's probably taxes. I can't believe rent rising by $500/month! That seems very unreasonable and aimed at chasing tenants out!  

The service shop couldn't get me in until Thursday! So I'm stuck without transportation.  My wonderful neighbor has offered to buy power steering fluid for me so I can drive my car in, if the fluid stays in. Regardless, I will drive it in slowly and carefully.

Teri, no power steering in a van = no fun.

i had an old car that was huge in the late 80s in FL. When we moved to FL, I had to get a FL driving license, and they required a driving test for every person moving to FL. So I took my test in this huge car with no power steering. I only lost points on the parallel parking and the three-point turn, because it just wasn't physically possible. I think my Three point turn was a seven point turn, and the examiner said I did it absolutely correctly, but my car wouldn't do a three point turn. I did pass, but barely. And I was working so hard at that wheel that I had blisters at the base of each finger on both hands.

it's not rent, it's the property tax. My mortgage payment itself is not charging. It's a "variable rate" loan but under the way the loan is set up, they can't raise the rate for the first five years. So, they way they charge property tax here is behind by about two years, so since this is a new building, the property tax for the first two years was $2, based on an unimproved lot. Now it is suddenly up where it should be, approximately $3200, paid half twice a year. But the bank holding my mortgage pays it. So the first payment was due last month and the money wasn't in escrow. So I'm in the hole $1600. But they said they would stretch that out over 12 payments. You would think, $1600 + 3200 = 4800 would be $400 per month. But they said that because it dipped in the hole, now I have to get it up to where I have a payment in reserve. So over 12 months I have to put $6400 in escrow, so a little more than 500 per month added to my mortgage payment. In a year, I'll have that reserve and the escrow will change to about $365 a month, but right now when all the extra cat stuff due to aging is about $700 a month, it's too much. I'll be fine when I can collect SS, but that isn't till March. And my seasonal job at HRB starts this month, so that will help, but it's minimal hours in October, November, December, mostly the paid training for all the tax law changes and all the internal HRB updates. 
 

I barely ate yesterday, just not hungry after so much overeating. Scale said 235.8 this morning. I did eat a huge meal today, but just the one meal. And my shins are not sore. I got about 4000 steps during my volunteer shift at the thrift store and that had to be enough since there was choir practice at night.