Category Archives: getting the lard off

November 30, 2025 · 12:50 am

Losing the Lard November Report

Sharp_Requirement803-Reddit

It’s the end of November, just after Thanksgiving with little time before Christmas, but I promised that I would report my progress each month on my efforts to lose the lard and get healthier.

The short report is that I have now lost 84 pounds – 29 of them since I moved to Thailand. There is about 77 inches less of me now. I think my goal is to lose around 6 more pounds. I want to see how I feel at that weight and then will make a decision as to whether to lose more or go to maintenance.

The thing that has helped the most since I moved to Thailand in April is that Brian and I eat two meals a day. Our heaviest meal is breakfast after working out at the gym. We treat ourselves to a chocolate drink or an iced coffee many afternoons a week. We eat pretty lightly at dinner. I’m not worrying so much about eating low carb these days. The food in Thailand is almost all full of carbs. Even if you’re trying to watch carbs it’s difficult. I’m controlling my portions. We order a meal that serves one. I eat 1/3 of that and Brian eats the rest. We may have a side of some fruit or a small portion of pistachio nuts with that.

I’m taking supplements to help my digestion. I let Chia Seeds sit in a full glass of water for at least 10 minutes in the morning and then drink it down. I take a tablespoon of olive oil. Before dinner I drink 1/3 of a bottle of probiotic liquid. Before bed I take a probiotic pill. This combination has been truly wonderful for me. This has solved digestion problems here, but it also has made me more regular than I have been in my entire life.

I’m exercising every day. I will never be an exercise enthusiast, but I realize how important it is to my health now. I walk a mile on the treadmill every morning, 7 days a week. I used to hold on to the bars on the treadmill for dear life because my sense of balance was impaired by my surgery in February. Now I can walk not holding on at all. I still have to correct at times, but basically am comfortable so that I can now increase my speed a bit as well as the incline percentage.

I do either yoga stretching or exercises for my arms with water bottles on alternate days for half an hour. I also do some daily balance exercises I found on the net, plus dance daily for several minutes to some really great music on my computer.

Problem areas:

  • My belly will be the last to go. I’m trying to include belly exercises, but I’m also reading that some of these may actually make my problem worse. Encouraging, right?
  • My sense of balance is controlled by my inner ear and my brain. My balance and hearing were both impacted by either the anesthesia or the fact that my heart stopped twice on Feb. 11th and had surgeries to install a temporary, then permanent, pacemaker. I am now wearing hearing aids. I’m adapting to wearing them, while re-training my brain and body is a slow process.

Otherwise, I’m feeling better. I have more energy. I’m feeling more sure on my feet. Brian says I’m stumbling less over the very uneven sidewalks and streets here now. My blood pressure has improved to the point I’m on half the dosage I started on back in April. I haven’t been sick in the 7 months I have been here. Soon, I hope, I can shop for jeans that fit and a few new tops.

Onward and downward – I hope!

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October 26, 2025 · 2:17 am

“Take Less of Me….”

“Give your all to me
I’ll give my all to you
You’re my end and my beginning
Even when I lose, I’m winning
‘Cause I give you all of me
And you give me all of you, oh-oh”~ “All of Me” by John Legend

__________________________

This is a selfie taken just a few minutes ago. I’m going ahead and providing a progress report on my efforts to lose my lard for the end of October 2025.

This is my husband and me at “Lunch Bunch” at The Pizza Barn in Arkansas about a year and a half ago. At my heaviest (two years or more ago) I weighed 205.

As of today, I’ve lost 80 pounds and 85 inches. I still have about 10 lbs or so to go, but I can finally see the end goal and believe I can actually reach it.

I feel better now, since I’m finally in the normal, healthy range of the BMI chart for my height. I’ll make the final decision on where I want to maintain and concentrate more on fitness after I lose the next 10 lbs.

I don’t know if you can tell a difference or not. I can tell you I’ve had to alter the waist in my jeans 4 times now since I moved to Thailand in April. I will celebrate, getting two pairs of jeans that FIT when I reach my goal weight.

It’s funny. Although I’m pleased about the weight and inches loss, I’m wondering from time to time whether it’s better to have smooth skin filled out by fat or to be thinner with lots of excess skin and lots of wrinkles. I think of myself now as a Shar-Pei type of person…

Reddit

I will just concentrate on meeting my weight goal while continuing to exercise to increase my strength and stamina, plus regain my sense of balance since I lost it after being in the hospital in February. I’m walking a mile each day on the treadmill at the gym. I also do a session of yoga stretches one day and dance to really bouncy music with water bottles in my hands as weights with which I do exercises for my arms on the next day. My son, Brian, and I also try to walk to places that are close to the condo to get more exercise in.

It would be nice to meet my goal by the end of 2025. I’m not in any huge hurry. I’m trying to eat healthy things, enjoying trying Thai cuisine as well as eating “Western style” low carb meals. We’re eating breakfast and dinner each day, and I have an iced coffee mid afternoon. No snacks. I’m drinking lots and lots of water until I feel my eyeballs are floating. All this is working together to undo some of the damage I had before I moved here. I want to be healthy to be able to enjoy exploring this fascinating country!

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September 30, 2025 · 12:48 am

“Losing the Lard” Progress Report

Noemar – @noemardau.bsky.social

I absolutely LOVE this mug. No words are needed. One look and you react.

The progress report for September 2025 is encouraging, though slow, as usual. My “Losing the Lard” project started a couple of years ago. I have hit every snag, bump in the road, pothole, plateau and stagnation possible during that time. I have become a master of making excuses for what went wrong.

Dying twice February 11th in the hospital in Arkansas, having to have a temporary, then permanent pacemaker installed, then moving to Thailand and having a baseline assessment doctor totally concerned about my sky-high blood pressure – with orders to take a medication, lose weight and exercise – finally ended that. No more excuses. I needed to quit opening my mouth, start seriously moving my body, and embrace the fact that I have been given a second chance.

Since Thai food has LOTS and LOTS of carbs, my low-carb plan has been a challenge. “Western food” as it’s known here, is much more what I would like to eat, but it’s a lot more expensive. So I have changed to eating two meals daily – breakfast and dinner – with an iced coffee or chocolate in the afternoons, and sharing dinner with my son – with him eating 2/3 of whatever we get an me eating 1/3. We are eating chicken, pork, rarely beef, bacon, salad stuff, fruit, eggs, nuts, and some veggies. We are drinking mushroom tea with some beef bone broth mixed in each morning.

I moved to Thailand in April. Since the assessment by the doctor, I have lost 23 pounds. I am walking on the treadmill daily at the gym, doing yoga stretches, and dancing to music with water bottles for weights daily, plus regular walking.

PROGRESS TO DATE – I’ve lost 78 pounds total since my heaviest, and there are 74-3/4 inches less of me than at my heaviest. I’m undecided whether I want to lose 10 or 15 pounds at this point. I want to be in the middle of the ‘healthy weight’ section of the chart. I want to feel stronger, more flexible, and handle the uneven streets and sidewalks here in Thailand with more agility. I need to improve the balance issue I’ve had since being in the hospital. I’m working on that at the gym by not holding on to the handlebars of the treadmill, forcing my brain and my body to keep correcting to not fall on my head. It’s amazing to me how much more trouble I have staying balanced when the video on the screen in front of me is following a really curvy path and going in and out of dark places…

It’s good to be able to finally see reaching my goal in the relatively near future. Working toward my goal makes me feel that I am doing something good for myself.

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September 19, 2025 · 10:14 pm

Happy Milestone

Harvey is behind the couch. The fat lady on the right end of the couch is me in May of 2013, according to the date stamp.

This was taken about a year ago when we still lived in Arkansas. I had lost weight; but as you can see, I needed to close my mouth and move a LOT to get things more under control.

I don’t know if you can tell any difference here. It’s hard for me to take a selfie.

Here’s a view from the side.

And here I am, looking at you.

The milestone is that I’m under 130 pounds today for the first time in years. When I saw the scales, I measured twice to make sure, then decided to go ahead and do measurements for the month, since I won’t change that much in 10 days.

I’m down 73 pounds from my heaviest weight and there is 74-1/2 inches less of me now than at that time.

I’m still trying to watch my carbs, but we are limited here because of several factors –

  • Brian is trying to work full time plus take care of his dad in the nursing home plus take care of his mom. He likes ordering food and having it delivered rather than our cooking together or me cooking at his place.
  • Choices for delivery are limited as to how far away they are and whether they participate in Grab Delivery. Also, Thai food is not low carb. We can GET low carb, but it’s more expensive and usually the food here is spicy.

I have decided not to worry so much about how many carbs I’m eating, but limiting my meals and my portions. We eat breakfast and dinner. Sometimes I get an iced coffee mid-afternoon. We share our order for meals, with me eating 1/3 and Brian eating 2/3.

I’m walking at the gym most every morning. I’m concentrating on balance by not holding on to the bars of the treadmill, but the main thing is the moving every day. I’m doing long sessions of old lady yoga stretches, breathing into the stretches so I feel really loose by the end of my practice. I’m putting on headphones and bopping to dance music on my computer while holding a water bottle in each hand, doing exercises for my arms and back.

I am finally able to see a new beginning sometime soon where I stop the concentrating on losing weight and start concentrating maintenance and on getting more fit. I figure that 10 or 15 more pounds will get me where I will feel the healthiest.

I am having difficulty REALIZING that my weight is down, even though I just had to take in my jeans again. I want to wait and get jeans that FIT when I reach my final goal. I got some sweatshirts recently, and Brian had to insist I not get the one I had in my hand. I was used to having to go really large to cover my bulk. I went down two sizes and they are still quite roomy over another shirt!

I am trying to make the most of my second chance at life by listening to my body, trying to get as fit as I can, and showing discipline in my eating. 😜

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September 6, 2025 · 9:23 pm

Baby Steps

Flo

Pet Control HQ

I am finally walking on the treadmill with my hands swinging as I walk rather than holding onto the handlebars tightly for fear of losing my balance. I wasn’t at all sure that my brain and body could be retrained after the anesthesia from my surgery in February caused both hearing loss and loss of balance. Now I have hearing aids (!) and I am having success on regaining my sense of balance. I’m still walking slowly and really having to concentrate, but I am improving each day. 👍

Reddit

I’m making progress in my efforts for there to be less of me. Since I moved to Thailand and saw a doctor here in April for a baseline, I’ve lost 9.8 kilos or 21.6 pounds. All told, I’ve now lost 34.48 kilos or a bit over 76 pounds since my heaviest. There are 68 fewer inches of me. I can finally see a possible goal weight. I am now in the healthy weight range on the BMI charts for the first time since I started my efforts about two years ago.

Pixnio

Since I’ve been building my strength, can now hear with hearing aids, am improving my balance and mentally pushing myself a bit, I’ve started small ventures out on my own. Today I’ll take a walk to visit the Koi fish!

Baby steps to be sure, but progress!

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June 28, 2025 · 9:31 pm

“Take Less of Me…”

Willie Nelson – “Take All of Me…” – Wikipedia

“All of me
Why not take all of me?”

I love this song by Willie Nelson. I immediately started humming it when I was weighing and measuring for my end of the month reporting on my efforts to lose the lard – except I sang, “Less of me – Why not take less of me?”

I’m finally entering a phase where I can actually see what might be the end of my efforts to LOSE and the beginning of maintenance. I’ve been at this a LONG time and I had honestly begun to doubt my ability to actually achieve my goal.

As of today, I’ve lost almost 67 pounds and 60 inches since my heaviest. Even though Lynn, my much appreciated and much missed massage therapist did what she could to make me taller, it didn’t work. So I’ve continued to eat low carb and exercise more. I’m now finally within sight of my goal to be in the middle to lower end of the healthy range on a BMI chart and to continue my efforts to get more fit and flexible.

I talked to Brian this morning at breakfast. He has been helping and supporting me, but has lately been getting further and further from strict low carb, trying to introduce me to nice food here, plus just pamper me. We have agreed to be stricter about the low carb, and that instead of each of us getting half of whatever we order, I’ll get one-third and he’ll get two-thirds. I would LIKE to get to my goal weight by my next visit to the doctor – in about two months. Brian and I have agreed that I’ll aim to lose 1 kilo a week (or 2.2 pounds.)

I’m walking a mile on the treadmill at the gym each morning and I’m doing yoga stretches (now in the afternoon) as well as 3 new exercises to strengthen my back.

I hope there will be ‘less of me’ at the end of July!

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June 26, 2025 · 3:09 am

In-Between

Threads Magazine

Many Thai women are small, slim, stylish, and wear nice clothes. Brian took me to a nice shop in the ‘small mall,’ – “Maya” (pronounced, “may-yah!”) to look for some workout clothes, plus other things.

Because I’ve lost some weight, a ‘large’ fit me – tightly – but I think that is the largest size in the shop.

I brought 4 pairs of jeans here with me when we moved to Thailand. I ended up cutting off two pairs to make shorts for my gym workouts because the shorts I bought at the shop are still fairly tight in the waist and uncomfortable when trying to exercise.

This helped a bit, but now the jeans – shorts and regular jeans – are too loose around the waist and hips. I’m not to the point where I would fit into the jeans at the shop, but have a problem keeping the jeans on. ARRRRGH!

I ordered a travel sewing kit and it arrived yesterday. I have just finished altering the two long pairs of jeans, the two pairs of shorts, and some fleecy pants I call my ‘snuggies.’ The sewing isn’t NEAT, but it’s sturdy. I wear my shirts outside my pants anyway, so the stitching at the waist doesn’t show, and my pants are staying on – always a good thing… 😂

The long term solution, I realize, is for me to continue to lose the lard so I DO fit into the smaller sizes here.

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June 19, 2025 · 1:55 am

New Decade of Lard

Can you see me doing my happy dance?

After a year or more of whining/moaning/griping about being in the ‘morbidly obese’ category of the dreaded BMI Chart, I have FINALLY entered a new decade of weight – (this morning) the edge of which is JUST into the “healthy weight” part of the chart.

My goal now is to get into the MIDDLE of the healthy range, or under that enough so that I can walk into a clothing store without worrying if they have ANYTHING large enough for me to wear. I don’t know how much more weight and inches that means, but it feels good to be more within sight of it now.

My combination of mostly eating low carb meals (eating breakfast and dinner with a coffee in-between) and then my exercising with walking a mile on the treadmill at the gym with my son every morning and yoga stretches in the afternoon, plus adventures where we are enjoying walking to and from interesting spots in the city, all seems to be coming together finally.

The clinic doctor, of course, will have the final say. We saw her a month ago for a baseline. She immediately put me on a combination blood pressure drug because I was into stroke territory. She also told me to lose weight (surprise!) and I have lost a bit over 10 lbs (47 kgs) since we saw her. I’m hoping that she will be pleased with my numbers when we see her again Monday afternoon in follow up. I’ll measure at the end of the month to see if I’ve made any progress there.

I hope you’ll join me in my happy dance. 💃💪🏻😁

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May 30, 2025 · 9:32 pm

A Bit of Progress 5-31-2025

Time

Since today is the end of May here in Chiang Mai, I’m doing my official accounting of my efforts to lose the lard.

I have a new set of digital scales from the one I had in the states, so I’m not sure of the accuracy, but I think weight is a relative thing, and that ALL signs of downward results should be celebrated loudly, with great enthusiasm. 🤣

I am now down 62 pounds from my heaviest, and have lost 51.75 inches.

We went to a clinic here a couple of weeks ago to get a baseline on me since our move to Thailand. It was showing a fairly alarming blood pressure and lesser concerning reading of high cholesterol, relatively speaking. I started a combination of two blood pressure meds, taking one-half pill for 6 days and then switching to a whole pill daily until I see her again on June 23rd. She advised me to lose the lard (imagine that!) eat low carb (we’re already doing that) and exercising (I’m walking the mile on the treadmill every morning, walking to places close to our building during the day, and doing yoga stretches at night). The scale is showing I’m down almost 4 pounds since the initial appointment, and I’m hoping to have a good amount down by the time I see her again, plus better blood pressure and improved numbers otherwise.

I go to a 2nd main place for hearing aids this morning. We found a good candidate at another place awhile back, but wanted to see what this second place offered before we make a decision.

In each place, I am asking that I go outside wearing the pair I think is the best so I can hear how they perform with lots of background noise. We will study, read a lot of reviews, and then decide what seems best to do.

I still find it amazing that I could hear normally before I was admitted to the hospital for my low blood oxygen, ending up with heart failure and a pacemaker, plus a significant loss of hearing when I was released. No one can find anything physically wrong, and I’m very grateful that hearing aids may help.

Onward and downward, I hope, becoming healthier as the days pass.

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July 31, 2024 · 9:33 am

Progress Report – as of July 2024

Pinterest

In the interest of transparency and my promise to be accountable for my efforts to lose the lard, here is my report as of the end of July 2024 –

Poundage Gone (from my heaviest) – 34 pounds

Girth Gone (from my widest) – 36.5 inches

____________

I’m hoping to lose the last pound for my interim goal of 35 off today. If not, I’m still going in the right direction, albeit VERY slowly after a roller coaster of scale readings depending, I think, on how I hold my MOUTH when I step on the scales. I’m being “good” most days, staying under my calorie limit and under my carbs-for-the-day limit. MOST days I’m under my salt limit, though sometimes that sneaks up on me, or I cave at the last minute and have a late night snack of some almonds.

We’re back under ‘excessive heat warnings’ daily now, so, unless I get outside first thing, it’s simply too hot for me to spend much time working in the yard. Today I’m PLANNING to change the time on the watering units and get a bit of weeding done. I also PLAN to check my tomatoes and sucker plants. (I say, “PLAN” because often – even when I’m heading out the door – my husband snafus my intentions and then the cooler part of the day is gone.

He told me yesterday that he feels like a kid waiting for Christmas, waiting for the new mower to be delivered. I got a text from them yesterday, confirming our address and that Friday was still a good day for delivery. There wasn’t a real person attached to the text, though. It said I would get another one Friday morning, telling us morning or afternoon. I’m hoping a person is attached to that one, so that I can warn them about the steep graveled driveway and tell them that having us come down and putting the mower in the back of our truck and leaving US to get it out again is not acceptable, since we’re OLD. Fingers crossed this all works out well.

I hope that you are able to stay cool and comfortable today.

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July 6, 2024 · 9:39 am

32

sent to me by my good friend, Marsha

After lots of messing around – another virtual roller coaster ride – I am again at the ‘down-32-pounds-since-my-heaviest’ place. I’m ready to break new ground.

I just recalculated my macros with the help of Suzanne Ryan – Simply Keto – KetoKarma.com and then transferred that information to MyFitnessPal.com to track my food, drink, and exercise. I really like the fact that I can add things easily ( and many times someone else has added it before me) so I don’t have to list each ingredient.

I also really like it that I can enter what my eating plan is for the day and then adjust it if my carbs are too high, or if changing an amount will bring me into my goal range BEFORE I’ve already eaten it. Since I’m also trying to cut way down on salt, I can watch that, as well here.

I HAVE discovered that, because I’m old and weird, if MyFitnessPal decides “you probably aren’t eating enough,” the result will be a small, gradual loss on the scales, so that’s what I strive for.

Adobe Stock

I really try to do my yoga practice (old lady stretches) daily. It’s only 30 minutes, and I DO feel looser, a bit more relaxed, and more flexible when I’m conscientious about doing it, and FEEL it when I don’t.

My mantra is ‘keep on keepin’ on.’

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June 26, 2024 · 9:11 am

Binge is Over

Shut My Mouth

123RF

It’s all my husband’s fault for being so nice last week. He asked me out to lunch on Friday. I was good, eating only part of my carefully chosen lunch and bringing home the rest. But then it was as if the dam broke.

Pinterest

Shorter story – I gained 3 pounds over the next several days. :0( Now I’ve finally stopped the binge and am back to following my low carb plan and doing yoga – and yard work if Mother Nature isn’t being cruel – each day. I hope to be back to where I was very soon, and then will tackle the next 5 lbs.

I don’t know if my husband was just trying to encourage me to lose more lard, just being nice, or what, but he said last night that he ‘thought I was losing weight.’ He’s never been particularly quick to notice things (and, in some cases, that’s good) but it would SEEM that 30 pounds less of me would be a little more noticeable… But – he sees me daily, so I guess we both probably miss ‘details.’

Onward and downward.

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April 6, 2024 · 11:19 am

Moving the Bulk

Melsanie.tumblr.com – boredpanda.com

I won’t say I have built a ‘habit’ of doing my approximately half-hour of old lady yoga stretching daily, but it HAS become a grudging ‘responsibility to myself.’ I highly resent that I don’t get a flood of endorphins, or whatever you’re supposed to get that makes you happy to be alive, raring to go, climbing Mt. Everest in the morning, and what not. I just do my stretches the best way I can, usually feeling a bit ‘looser’ than I did when I first got down on my mat, and put my sparkly star on my calendar.

Women’s Health

Yesterday I started a new thing – a few exercises to strengthen my arms with 5-pound weights. I only did 5 reps of each movement, but it’s a start and I’ll build up from here. I’ll do this M-W-F. (I put TWO stars on my calendar yesterday.)

vgajic – Getty Images – Fit and Well

Today I’ll do 10 minutes or so on my Elliptical Trainer in the garage – after cleaning off quite-a while’s-worth of dust off and finding my MP3 player. (I just FOUND it – plugged into its charger behind my computer screen, along with the earplugs that go with it. :0) ) I’ll plan to do this right after lunch, and the plan is to do this T-TH-S and increase the time as I can.

Since I’ve already been out weeding and harvesting my veggie planters this morning, the yoga and the elliptical will round out my day nicely on moving the bulk.

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November 3, 2023 · 9:54 am

I Earned Half a Bear!

I’m not sure which of these pictures (or either of them) clearly shows you that I’m half way to an old Nutrisystem reward bear that says, “20”. I have officially lost 15 pounds this morning.

I know I told you a couple of days ago that I had lost 14.4, but 15 is much more satisfying as a number. :0)

I have a long way to go on my journey, but I’m starting to feel I may have a handle on what works for me, if I can just keep my act together.

The basics for an older-than-dirt lady like me are –

  • Intermittent fasting from after dinner at night until lunch the following day.
  • I eat mostly protein and share an apple with my husband for lunch
  • For dinner we eat either portion-controlled leftovers from my cooking or occasionally a commercial frozen dinner (Healthy Choice/Atkins), sometimes a side veggie, plus one dinner roll with butter.
  • I’m trying to drink lots more water during the day
  • I’m trying to move more – walking out to the shop, working out in the yard, plus doing a session of old lady yoga stretches each afternoon with some extra exercises thrown in.

This is what is finally working for me, and I have all appendages crossed that I will earn the 2nd side of the ’20’ bear soon.

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November 1, 2023 · 9:58 am

Very Small Celebration

4ArtWorks

My scales weren’t quite so snarky this morning, registering my loss of almost 15 pounds – finally. Even a turtle looks like a race car in comparison to my weight loss, but it IS happening, and I AM learning healthier habits. So, a very small celebration of moving in the right direction plus “keepin’-on-keepin’-on!”

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October 22, 2023 · 11:12 am

Lighter Attitude

Your e cards – http://www.LaFunny.net – Deborah Ann – Pinterest

A bit more progress this morning – almost 14 pounds off. If I can keep this up, only 6 years or so to go and I’ll be where I would like to be. :0) I just finished getting the ingredients for chili in the crock pot for dinner tonight.

I’ve pared down what I’m eating for lunch and drinking a lot more water during the day. If I eat between lunch and dinner, I’m watching what I eat VERY carefully. I’m watching my portions at dinner and then not eating afterwards until lunch the next day. (Intermittent fasting.)

On day where the weather allows, I’m walking out to the shop and garden a couple of times each day, plus I’m doing careful old lady yoga stretches each afternoon.

The progress is so slow I tend to lose my patience, but I’m looking at this, besides trying to get the lard off, as a character-building exercise, working toward a long-term goal and realizing that if I’m moving in the right direction, no matter how slowly, I’m doing well.

I found this on Pinterest and they didn’t say who this artist is. I LOVE this turtle and will keep it as a symbol of my ‘slow-but-steady’ battle to lose the lard…

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September 14, 2023 · 9:40 am

Thursday 9-14-2023

YouTube.com

I would LOVE to have this in my yard. If we DID try to do something like this, it would have to be created as a stand-alone wooden piece of art. We don’t have a fence at all. It’s wonderful, though, isn’t it?

Women’s Health

Shout-out to Cathy – and others who need it today –

As I type, it’s rainy and 67 degrees. I don’t know whether things will dry out enough for me to weed today or not.

Since I can use as much motivation to lose the lard as I can amass, I dug out an old NutriSystem bear I earned years ago in order to mark my newest efforts. I’m monitoring my eating (watching it like a hawk), not eating between meals and being mindful to get some kind of exercise in daily, drinking glasses of water between cups of coffee and weighing each morning to keep my goal in the forefront of my mind (wherever that is :0) ) I’m hoping it will continue to all work together to steadily shed my excess lardage over time. I don’t really care how long it takes, as long as I’m moving toward my goal in a mindful way. I’m down 11.4 lbs as of this morning. My next ‘eye-on-the-prize’ goal is 15 lbs, and I can look forward to digging out another bear eventually.

The Gardner School

If it turns out to be too wet outside to weed, I’ll plan on spending time upstairs in my art room.

I hope you have a nice day planned, or that you get some happy surprises that make you grin from ear to ear today.

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September 12, 2023 · 9:26 am

Some Progress!

Giphy

This morning I’m down almost 11 pounds.

FunnyTab

I seem to have finally put together a group of behaviors that is working for me –

I’m eating breakfast nowadays – Fiber One Cereal, blueberries and milk. 18 grams of fiber, NO sugar. The milk and blueberries add a bit of sugar, but not much in the grand scheme of things. The cereal tastes like rabbit pellets, but I’ve been having trouble finding more, so I’ll quit griping. I finally found some at Walmart on ONE of our trips, but none there or at Harps last week, so I ordered more from Amazon. It took a month to get the first order from Amazon, but there was no problem this time. I have no idea what the problem has been. I’m just glad I can get some.

I’m having a pretty heavy lunch – deli slices of turkey, some cheese, a hard-boiled egg, and some fruit.

Dinner is either a frozen dinner (like Atkins or Healthy Choice and a roll) or something I’ve cooked, with careful portions and the rest frozen in individual portions for another night.

I’m weighing each morning because the prospect of that – and MAYBE seeing good results – is keeping my motivation high.

I’m trying to include more veggies, drink more water and I’m eating nothing in-between meals now. I’m trying to move more with yard work outside or yoga inside daily.

The fact that I’m seeing some steady progress now is motivation to continue. So

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September 10, 2023 · 4:36 pm

Sunday’s Accomplishment

8 foot tomato planter before

NOW

Square tomato planter before

NOW

And that’s it for my outside work (and exercise) for the day.

Tomorrow (weather permitting) I have 4 planters – two really small concrete planters on either side of the garage door – and then two regular-sized brick planters that are on either side of the garage pad.

Here they are –

Hopefully, I can get something significant accomplished each day until I have things under control once again.

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June 12, 2023 · 11:21 am

Small Bit of Progress

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I’m down almost 12 pounds now, so I’m encouraged that my current efforts are bearing fruit (if you’ll pardon the expression.) I have a LOOOONG way to go, so I’m just quietly smiling a bit, but it’s good to know that if I just ‘keep- on-keepin’-on,’ I may live long enough to see the results I would like.

I’ve changed two things –

THING ONE – I’m eating breakfast. Nothing fancy, my husband and I are eating Cheerios, blueberries, and milk.

THING TWO – I’m trying really hard to not eat anything in-between meals, before I go to bed, or allow myself to get up in the middle of the night and snack because I can’t sleep. (this has been hard, but has been the biggest reason I’ve been yo-yo-ing, so I’m trying to be really serious about it). I now picture myself getting on the scale in the morning and hoping to see a lower number.

As a preliminary, I checked what I’m eating on MyFitnessPal.com. It basically decided I wasn’t eating enough, but I’m paying attention to what I’m eating, trying to increase my veggies and fiber. I’m eating some fruit, some protein, some carbs.

I’m trying to drink more water. My exercise varies all over the place from basically nothing to being outside in the garden, then doing yoga and/or my elliptical trainer, and cleaning the house, all in the same day. I’ll concentrate on trying to even that out over time. Paying attention to my eating is enough for now.

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April 9, 2022 · 9:42 am

Progress Report? – Almost End of Week 2

Giphy

SHORTER ANSWER:

  • No change in measurements yet almost at the end of Week 2. Down 28.7 inches overall since my heaviest. Hopeful to see changes by the end of April.
  • Down 1.6 lbs this week. Down 28.4 lbs since my heaviest – first goal is trying to get down to -30 – where I was pre-pandemic, then on from there.
  • Exercise level is way up. Still fighting sloth. Am doing yoga session each day. Also an online video on exercise with weights for seniors. Also working in the yard each day the weather cooperates.
  • I’ve read that it takes 66 days to build a ‘habit.’ I’m hoping that by the end of May my new way of eating, drinking, and exercising will have become ‘routine,’ ‘habit,’ or ‘regimen,’ – whichever word describes it most accurately. One day at a time.

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March 19, 2022 · 10:19 am

Thoughts on a Saturday 3-19-2022

Tenor

I’m reading Life Force by Tony Robbins. One of the suggestions is that you drink half your weight (in ounces) of water daily. My eyeballs are already swimming, but I’ll work on it. (He says that coffee actually dehydrates you. Since I’m a coffee-a-holic, this is a sad thing to hear.) So I’ll try to cut back on my coffee and TRY to drink even more water.

Another is to eat a more plant-based diet. My husband tends to dig in his heels, so I just talked to him, telling him I will include more veggies in our meals. Since he told me last night he LIKED the way I cooked the broccoli, I’m encouraged that I can do more of this type thing without riots. Small, gradual changes in a good direction.

I’ll go out later to visit our new early spring garden to see how our new plants made it through the latest rain. I’m hoping that the rain was greedily slurped up and that all are feeling happy. I’m reading about growing cauliflower better, since I’ve only been minimally successful, growing very small heads before having to harvest. Fingers crossed. I’ll take some pics.

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I’ve been neglectful regarding saving stuff on my computer lately. SO neglectful that I actually had to refer to my NOTES on how to make a new system disk and save my data to another. I’m embarrassed, but I got it done. I’ll put it on my calendar now so it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.

Norman Machine Tool

I told you that our air compressor suddenly quit working. My husband took apart the top of it, finding the part that he thought was causing the problem. He ordered what he HOPED was a replacement part, and it arrived yesterday. So when we got back from Lunch Bunch, he took it out to the shop. He spent a couple of hours, and he FIXED it! He replaced the part, put everything back together and tested it. It worked perfectly. So now we’ll be able to change our snow tires on the truck for the regular tires once we really believe we are finished with snow and ice for awhile. :0) Another wonderful thing was that he fixed the compressor for around $80. If we had had to buy a new one, a much smaller one would have cost around $450 plus tax, plus shipping. He’s a miracle worker.

Giphy

I’m starting to feel a difference in my efforts to move more. I’m feeling less creaky in my afternoon old lady yoga practices, and the working in the garden is definitely getting me moving more. I’m going to see if I can increase this as the weather improves.

Wishing you a happy Saturday.

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November 11, 2021 · 9:43 am

Arrrrgh

tenor.com

In spite of my efforts, I gained back two pounds. UGH. I didn’t do it like this sweet doggie, by eating popcorn or anything on the deliciously bad list. My scales are laughing at me. I can feel it.

I will continue to be ‘good,’ and see if those two, plus some more, will come off.

taolife.com

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November 3, 2021 · 9:56 am

Yo-Yo Expert

Super Fast Diet

My appetite is hale, hearty, and killing me.

I start each day determined to keep my mouth shut – and then life happens.
Choose whatever excuse and it applies to me. I have AGAIN gained some poundage and AGAIN am getting it off.

When I was young and living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, we knew a lady who owned a nice small women’s clothing store in an outdoor mall. She was very overweight. She was a really nice woman who made you feel happy you had entered her store. (She actually HIRED me to play my guitar and sing there, trying to draw customers in.) Later, I heard that she had entered the hospital and had had her mouth wired shut (REALLY – I’m not kidding) in an effort to lose weight. It worked. I don’t remember how long she was there. The next time I saw her she was slim and looked really nice in a beautiful dress, heels, etc. It wasn’t a good thing, though, because she wasn’t healthy. I don’t remember the details. I just remember the shock when I read in the paper that she had died suddenly.

That’s the first time I remember being aware of weight, as such. At that point, I had no problems. It wasn’t until I finished getting pregnant and having babies that I had trouble losing the lard. Now I’m older than dirt, have lost 30 lbs. and have become the world’s best ‘yo-yo’ expert – losing and gaining the same 3 or 4 lbs.

So, I’m a bit disgusted with myself at this point. So far today, I’ve done well. I will eat my normal lunch with my husband and then the temptation for the day begins. :0)

I have always had an extremely healthy appetite. I wish I were the type of person who ‘forgets’ to eat. Maybe in my NEXT life…

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October 7, 2021 · 8:36 am

Losing the Lardage

LillaLiptak.com

The use of cronometer and tweaking resulting in losing a couple of pounds in the past two days, although FIRST feedback from the scales yesterday showed the opposite. This morning the scales were smirking at me a bit less – always a good way to start the day.

I listed the typical foods I eat everyday with the app to see where I was on sticking to 1200 calories or less per day – what cronometer suggested would result in less lardage. I found that although my calorie count was good, I seemed to be eating too much fat. Since my weight has been yo-yo-ing lately, I decided to try some tweaks to get my body’s attention.

This seems to be good strategy! Fingers crossed that the ‘downward’ trajectory continues!

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July 31, 2021 · 9:47 am

Lard Progress Report – 7-31-2021

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Short answer: I lost an inch off my hips and a half inch off my thighs since the last time I measured, a bit over a month ago.

Total loss to date since my heaviest: 30 pounds and 28.7 inches.

Ongoing focus:

  • IF I eat in-between meals, have plenty of ‘approved’ snacks READY
  • Concentrate on my exercising, since it seems to be yielding results
  • Monitor scales, but don’t look to them for applause

General: We are eating carefully at lunch, and then eating a frozen meal from either Real Food or Stu’s Clean Cookin’ in Greenwood. We are happy with the variety, and we’re eating controlled portions.

I’m trying to do a session of yoga stretching daily, plus work with weights M-W-F, plus a session on the elliptical T-Th-S – unless I’ve been outside doing yard work. Then all bets are off.

Grand View Health

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July 12, 2021 · 9:15 am

Laugh and Hug

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I’m giving myself a hug and smiling right now. I just had two sales (one yesterday and the second this morning) from my HandmadeHavenbyLinda Etsy website! A really nice start to the day and a spirit-lifter, for sure. :0)

I’ve been having fun in our shop, refurbishing 4 “emu” planters this past week. I need to paint their legs, and then they can go back outside when they are dry.

I’m feeling very motivated on my weight loss and exercising goals. I’ll do two sessions with weights today – one with 5-pound weights, and a second with 3-pound weights, where I follow a short video online. Then I’ll do my regular session of yoga stretching and abdominal exercises later today. I’m trying to drink FOUR bottles of water daily (trying to ignore the fact that my eyeballs are floating as I get more movement in) – running to the bathroom. I’m eating some raw veggies and a bit of dip mid afternoon as a snack. Keepin’ on keepin’ on. (So far. 30.2 pounds down and 26.2 inches off).

I’m finding lots of wonderfully creative people on the net who have created artwork that makes my mouth water. I’m so grateful I live on the same planet and can enjoy their work and share it with you.

Have a wonderful Monday.

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June 29, 2021 · 11:41 am

Attitude

LoseWeightFast-blogger

Today is DAY 4 of my new motivation to lose my lard and increase my flexibility and stamina.

I’m feeling good about things, even though I didn’t shed any weight yesterday. I will ‘keep on keepin’ on,’ one day at a time, looking at each one as a day to maybe lose a bit and work on getting stronger.

Tenor.gif

I’m doing my yoga-snack-water thing each afternoon. I have some sore stomach muscles in particular, a sign that my body recognizes a change. That’s GOOD. I’m finding it easier to get out of my chair, get my yoga mat and get started. Once I finish, I get my husband his bagel with cream cheese, chives, and onion, and I get MY snack of some raw veggies and a bit of dip, plus a bottle of water.

My husband, of course, isn’t even trying to lose weight at this point, or exercise, but is ahead of me on weight loss. I’m trying to be adult enough to realize that each person is different, that men seem to lose weight more easily than woman, and hitting him in the mouth won’t solve my problems. :0)

I have my desk calendar set up to get my stars for doing what I should today, and it makes me smile when I earn them.

I am feeling more in control of my habits and I’m pleased I’m doing some good things for my health.

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June 20, 2021 · 9:20 am

A Bit of Success

WiffleGif

I finally had a bit of success on losing the lard. I’m almost back to 30 pounds down since my heaviest now – hoping to hit that officially in the next day or so. I’m learning once again how much easier it is to put it ON, rather than taking it OFF.

Yesterday I was moving most of the day. I was in the shop working on the refurb of our Box Turtle Yard art piece. It was hot in there, but I had a fan. I was up and down, pulling and hauling. After resting a bit, I weed whacked, doing two sessions that I had to stop when the weed eater started to smoke! My husband will look at that today to see if it is salvageable. Anyhow, it was a lot of work out in the hot, so I guess that helped finally shed a bit more of the lard.

Today I’m going to put the refurbed box turtle back where he lives in the yard, take pics to show you, start work on another piece, use the leaf blower to clean up the two sidewalks and garage pad, and then cut up lots of veggies for the “kielbasa and veggies” cookout for tonight.

I hope you have a happy Sunday, too.

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June 9, 2021 · 10:04 am

Interesting Thought

Signs of Wisdom

I am practicing a number of things, trying to get the lard off.

For several years now I have tried to get taller. I figure that if I grew several inches, I wouldn’t have to be so concerned about my weight. As it is, even though my wonderful massage therapist has TRIED to help once a month by pulling on my appendages and head, it isn’t working. So the concern remains.

  1. I fast between dinner the night before and lunch the next day
  2. I eat very careful lunches and dinners. My husband and I fix the meals together so we can ‘watch’ each other and encourage each other. We eat a lot of healthy individual frozen food dinners from Real Food and Stu’s Clean Cookin’ in Greenwood.
  3. I’m trying to move more and – if I eat between meals at all – I try to snack carefully.

My biggest problem times are about 4 in the afternoon and in the middle of the night if I’m having trouble sleeping.

We eat lunch at noon. We eat dinner around 7pm. Around 4 I am hungry. I’m really trying to have healthy snacks on hand and eat one of them carefully. In the middle of the night, all bets are off.

So, overall I’m losing some of the lard, albeit V-E-R-Y slowly. I yoyo a bit because of any extra eating I do. As long as the general trend is downward, I’m trying not to beat myself up too much about lapses.

Each day is a new day.

taolife.com

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May 23, 2021 · 9:09 am

A Week’s Progress

Spoon University

I have finished Week 1 of again trying to stay motivated and lose the lard. I concentrated on controlled portions for lunch and dinner, and very few, if any, snacks. At Lunch Bunch I asked for a to-go bag when I ordered, ate half, and brought the other half home. I cut up the leftover chicken fingers in our dinner chef salad last night, with lettuce and spinach from our garden.

I’m happy to report there are 3.8 lbs less of me than there were last Monday. My goal is to lose 2.5 lbs per week. I may not reach my goal each week, but if I’m down at ALL I’ll consider it a success.

And so starts Week 2. Concentration will be on doing my yoga stretches each day.

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