Hello, Ralph here, I have been away so long.... sorry so much going on....

[dancinbr]

Hello Everyone,

I have been away from this forum for much too long a time.

My wife and I have been so busy this summer with trying to sell our house and also some family issues that I have neglected getting to this forum that I strongly support.

A couple of items. I made goal. I reached 199 about a month ago or so.

Just returned from a wonderful 10 day vacation trip. We visited my grandson, Alexander and his Mom, Jackie, down in Virginia Beach, Va for a few days. My son, Christopher is US Navy and is now stationed in Norfolk, which is about a 1/2 hour north of Virginia Beach. He is out to sea right now, so Jackie is alone with 5 month old Alexander. We thoroughly enjoyed the visit.

Then onward to Charlotte, NC for an overnight visit with my brother. Wouldn't you know he sold his house and is downsizing to a townhouse in North Carolina.

After the over night with my brother we went on to visit a very close friend in Asheville, NC and enjoyed her company for a few days staying at her home and enjoying 3 evenings of bluegrass music at its best.

The good news is while on this vacation I managed to get down to 197 without trying.

I have set a new goal of 195. I would like to weigh in between 190-195 long term.

I have about 10 pounds of excess skin according to my doctor so technically I weight 187 right now not 197 if I exclude the excess skin weight!

So, how is everyone?

I promise to get back to responding to posts ASAP.

Ralph

 

[Cheyenne]

Hello Everyone,

I have been away from this forum for much too long a time.

My wife and I have been so busy this summer with trying to sell our house and also some family issues that I have neglected getting to this forum that I strongly support.

A couple of items. I made goal. I reached 199 about a month ago or so.

Just returned from a wonderful 10 day vacation trip. We visited my grandson, Alexander and his Mom, Jackie, down in Virginia Beach, Va for a few days. My son, Christopher is US Navy and is now stationed in Norfolk, which is about a 1/2 hour north of Virginia Beach. He is out to sea right now, so Jackie is alone with 5 month old Alexander. We thoroughly enjoyed the visit.

Then onward to Charlotte, NC for an overnight visit with my brother. Wouldn't you know he sold his house and is downsizing to a townhouse in North Carolina.

After the over night with my brother we went on to visit a very close friend in Asheville, NC and enjoyed her company for a few days staying at her home and enjoying 3 evenings of bluegrass music at its best.

The good news is while on this vacation I managed to get down to 197 without trying.

I have set a new goal of 195. I would like to weigh in between 190-195 long term.

I have about 10 pounds of excess skin according to my doctor so technically I weight 187 right now not 197 if I exclude the excess skin weight!

So, how is everyone?

I promise to get back to responding to posts ASAP.

Ralph

Hi Ralph, WELCOME back to the forum!!! We have missed you.. So glad you made it to your goal weight! Awesome!!!

Many of the regulars on the forum have not been on lately, I thought perhaps that most were on vacation, as you were. One new person even asked if this was still an active support group.

So glad you are back, you have always given such great advice and encouragement to everyone, the newest newbies will be really happy that you are there for them now.

So glad you had a great vacation and had a wonderful visit with your new grandson and family. .


Cheyenne

 

[dancinbr]

Hi Cheyenne,

Thank you.

From your stats I see that you are doing terrific too!

Ralph

 

[Cheyenne]

Hi Cheyenne,

Thank you.

From your stats I see that you are doing terrific too!

Ralph

Thanks Ralph! I have been at a plateau for awhile now. Hopefully I will start to drop again soon. I have been exercising and walking more. I need to change my diet. I have had a great desire for fruit lately and have been eating peaches, oranges, pineapple and some grapes. Carbs just totally stop my weight loss and I have to really keep them at a minimum for me to lose more weight. I guess I have to stick to meat, eggs, fish and green beans. The fruit added to my meals was a break from my strict diet and it felt so good and now it's time to get back with the program.

Cheyenne

 

[Gr8k8]

Hi Ralph & Cheyenne!
You both are doing so well. We are all so fortunate that you both are active on this web site. It's been a busy summer for me too. I hadn't lost the pounds like I hoped, but my Nutritionist says that My body has reconstituted in other words exchanged muscle for fat. I walk and swim everyday. My inches and dress sizes are decreasing but I'd still like to see the scale move more. I've decided that I'm gonna try to keep my calories at or below 1000 and maybe reduce that to 900 next month to see if that works. My Nut says that the reason the 5 day pouch test works is because it flushed out water but doesn't really loose fat which is what we all want. She says it's simple eat less move more. Focus on lean proteins, high fiber, and low carbs. Limit simple carbs to occasionally to rarely and remember the KISS rule (keep it simple stupid).

I've volunteered at an Equine Rescue All About Equestrian Animal Rescue (AAER) and will start working in a couple of weeks after my orientation class on the 20th. I'm so excited I can hardly wait!

I gotta go now, my son made dinner for me tonight, so I'm off to enjoy his great meals. Green beans, grilled pork loin, artichokes. Yummy

 

[Cheyenne]

Hi Ralph & Cheyenne!
You both are doing so well. We are all so fortunate that you both are active on this web site. It's been a busy summer for me too. I hadn't lost the pounds like I hoped, but my Nutritionist says that My body has reconstituted in other words exchanged muscle for fat. I walk and swim everyday. My inches and dress sizes are decreasing but I'd still like to see the scale move more. I've decided that I'm gonna try to keep my calories at or below 1000 and maybe reduce that to 900 next month to see if that works. My Nut says that the reason the 5 day pouch test works is because it flushed out water but doesn't really loose fat which is what we all want. She says it's simple eat less move more. Focus on lean proteins, high fiber, and low carbs. Limit simple carbs to occasionally to rarely and remember the KISS rule (keep it simple stupid).

I've volunteered at an Equine Rescue All About Equestrian Animal Rescue (AAER) and will start working in a couple of weeks after my orientation class on the 20th. I'm so excited I can hardly wait!

I gotta go now, my son made dinner for me tonight, so I'm off to enjoy his great meals. Green beans, grilled pork loin, artichokes. Yummy

Thanks Katie! .. So glad you are back, we missed you!!!

Your son's dinner sounds really yummy.. I love pork loin!! And it's a great food to eat for our nutritional needs.

Working at the Equine Rescue sounds AWESOME!!!!! Keep us posted.

I woke up real early and read your post, I guess I'm gonna try to go back to sleep for awhile now.


Cheyenne

 

[dancinbr]

Hi Ralph & Cheyenne!
You both are doing so well. We are all so fortunate that you both are active on this web site. It's been a busy summer for me too. I hadn't lost the pounds like I hoped, but my Nutritionist says that My body has reconstituted in other words exchanged muscle for fat. I walk and swim everyday. My inches and dress sizes are decreasing but I'd still like to see the scale move more. I've decided that I'm gonna try to keep my calories at or below 1000 and maybe reduce that to 900 next month to see if that works. My Nut says that the reason the 5 day pouch test works is because it flushed out water but doesn't really loose fat which is what we all want. She says it's simple eat less move more. Focus on lean proteins, high fiber, and low carbs. Limit simple carbs to occasionally to rarely and remember the KISS rule (keep it simple stupid).

I've volunteered at an Equine Rescue All About Equestrian Animal Rescue (AAER) and will start working in a couple of weeks after my orientation class on the 20th. I'm so excited I can hardly wait!

I gotta go now, my son made dinner for me tonight, so I'm off to enjoy his great meals. Green beans, grilled pork loin, artichokes. Yummy

Hi Katie,

You are doing terrific too!

You have found a new way of life. You are following it. The rest will come and sooner than you realize.

Just continue to follow your new discipline as you are doing now. Do NOT drop the calories below 800. That is the point of starvation mode and that is where the body says no no no and starts to play tricks on you to preserve itself and the weight loss stops anyhow.

Better to keep around 1000 calories and just make sure you meet your protein requirements (60grams) and keep your carbs limited; like below 100 or even better below 60 if you can.

Right now I tend to keep my carb intake between 100 to 150; sometimes lower and sometimes higher, but on average probably 120 or so.

When I need to focus on weight reduction I will drop carbs below 100 and if I get serious for a day or two around 60grams.

I am more focused now on maintenance and then if I see weight creeping up in my 3 pound range I get more conservative with my meals for a few days.

Finding a good balance is so important.

I was simply thrilled going away for 10 days, no journaling, but following a reasonable discipline and then coming home to find out I had dropped 2 pounds.

Ralph