The cooking lesson wasn't as detrimental as feared. Three hours of scuttling back and forth to watch the chef demonstrate, finding ingredients, whisking and stirring like mad, and then hurrying between the kitchen and the dining room to finish dishes and to serve the different courses to our invited guests had to use a ton of calories - it certainly killed my feet.

The dishes themselves were also not as calorie-laden as I had expected and were a good lesson that a little bit goes a long way. The starter mini towers of low fat fresh cheese and horseradish with cucumbers, scallions and tomatoes interspersed with smoked salmon and steamed zucchini only used one and half slices of salmon and half a zucchini between two people. The saffran risotto (cooked in low-fat broth) used only 30 g of rice per person (normally I would cook eat two to three times that amount) and the veal was in very lean, small portions. Even the dessert was only mildly naughty - sautéed apples, pears and clementines with three spoonfuls of a pistachio sabayon on top.

I really wasn't even hungry for dessert and would cheerfully have skipped it, but was leery of offending the chef. I think the pain signals from my feet were drowning out those that normally would have been whispering "another bite, another bite".

Hobbling out the door at midnight, six hours after the start of the lesson, it was good to see that I can still indulge in gourmet cooking from time-to-time, but in a body-friendly way.

It would be nice some time in the future to be able to double-wrap an apron and tie it in front like the other students. I would also love to reach the point that I can follow LadyC's excellent example and join a gym and whittle away the pounds. Walking is about all I can handle at this point, but hopefully I'll get there. I know the idea of having more energy is really attractive. It is very motivating to be able to read about the successes of everyone.

Penance for the cooking lesson meal, I headed out into the freezing weather yesterday for a 30 minute walk.

YAY! Good for you

I've done a good job of being proactive with regards to my treats. If I know I want to have something, I'll plan for it, and do the exercise ahead of time. It takes a while to get used to doing it that way, but once you have it turned into a habit, it becomes a very positive way to look at how you eat. Instead of doing penance for eating something, you instead 'earn' a treat.

Some great results! I didn't expect to lose much, but I had been really watching the sweets.

Not giving up at all, I need the bost that exercise and weight loss gives me.

Anyone can shorten my user name also, I've kept the same one forever.

We're getting some drier weather, it's such a rollercoaster here in the winter.

Exercising ahead does sound more sensible SilverMoonSong. I imagine it also serves as a deterrent. It is good advice! I'll try, but it may take a while to get into the swing of it.

Postal, keep up the good work. Winter here is also a little crazy this year. We've had almost two weeks of bitter cold. The weather service predicted a return to warmer weather yesterday, but it was still below freezing in the afternoon. We are at 600 meters, nearly 2000 ft above sea level, so it stays colder than lower down. The Bise, which is the cold north-north easterly wind, is supposed to pick up and snow is supposed to move in tonight. It is definitely not conducive to sticking my nose, much less the rest of body outside.

We are lucky to have good heating. My heart breaks when I see the reports on television of the huge numbers of people who can't afford the high heating bills and have little or no heat in their homes, plus the growing numbers of homeless on the streets and in their cars. It is really sad.

I'm 9 stone 11 this week

Jane, you do an amazing job maintaining your weight loss. I hope I do as well when I get there.


Some good news - I just had my annual wellness exam with all my blood work.

My blood pressure was 122/80. Watching my sodium intake has been the biggest factor in bringing that down. I was never *really* high (145/90-ish), but always just enough for the doctor to say something, so this was a huge win for me.

My cholesterol is 139 (down from 148 last year). My HDL, LDL and Triglycerides are all within the 'normal' or 'optimal' range.

My glucose is normal. Diabetes runs on both sides of my family, so I've been tested since I was 12. I seem to be the one who always bucks the trend, and I usually run a little on the low side. I actually have to watch what I eat so I can keep it high enough for all the exercise I do.

The only note I had from the Doc was that my B-12 is low, so I have to go in to talk to her about possibly getting on a higher dosage vitamin or getting extra boosters of just B-12.

Congratulations Jane on maintaining. Do you work at it constantly?

I think the reason that I put back on what I lost a few years ago, in addition to the stress and lack of exercise, was that I stopped weighing myself regularly. Only going by being able to close the zipper doesn't cut it, especially with stretch jeans. My personal preference in clothes, even when I was pretty slender, was for layered sweaters and tunics. These cover a wealth of sins and make it easy to ignore the pounds slipping on. Before I knew it, I had bumped up one size, then another and another... Aiming for the top of the size chart is not the most desirable of targets.

Great exam results SilverMoonSong, especially the blood pressure. You are especially lucky to have bucked the diabetes trend. One of my nieces is struggling with this now.

-2.2 pounds this week! A combination of watching the snacks and portions, planned exercise and going up and down the stairs incessantly because of the bathroom work! I hope to work toward an average of 1 to 1.5 pounds per week.

That's FANTASTIC!! I think your goal is absolutely attainable, and perfect for a healthy weight loss that will be easy for you to keep off.

Hi Everyone sorry for not coming in for a while ... had to go away for a month or so and it was hard to get on FT on just the ipod.
It was tricky to eat well while away - I tried most of the time but did have to have some crap here and there but the scales have only gone up a kilo or so! yay!

I've been home a few days and have been very strict on myself foodwise and already feel better .. one of the things I'm strict on is getting my 5 veg and 2 fruit a day and for me it really helps my general wellbeing.
Was also hard to regularly exercise but there was lots of walking involved which must have helped.

So back home now and eating well and doing lots of exercise .. not formal stuff but it's a busy time on the farm so there's hours of work there each day!

I probably have five kilos I'd likely to lose but in reality it'll probably be tricky to get there. My husband doesn't want me to lose any more(35kg lost) but a bit more wouldn't hurt!

Look forward to watching everyone's progress! And it doesn't always matter if the scales aren't going down .. results can be shown elsewhere .. clothes, waist measurements for example.

Copago, it is great to have another good role model. How long did you take to lose the 35 kg?

Between a bad cold I came down with three days ago and all the dust from the bathroom work, I feel pretty rotten. When I am sick, I crave crunchy, but most crunchy foods are rich in calories and low in nutrients. I am trying to limit myself to carrots and saltine crackers with cucumber slices and balsamic vinegar, but would love to have ideas for other satisfying, crunchy snacks.

I also forgot to exercise yesterday, which must sound ridiculous. I don't have a fixed time, but generally try to do my walking at the end of the morning or early afternoon. I was busy with something, so told myself I would get to it later. Just before bedtime I realized that the day had gone by without getting on the treadmill. I did not have the heart at that point to start, so I skipped a day. Before that I'd been regular and had lengthened the sessions to 20 minutes at a go. I'll be sure to fit it in today, so that I don't skip two days in a row.

Knowing that I will be reporting in here is a positive incentive to sticking with it!

Yes, I've been working at it constantly for almost 9 years now
9 years ago I was verging on 14 stone (probably more!) and had absolutely no quality of life at all. My wake-up call was when I was told that I was going to have fully-blown diabetes if I didn't change my eating habits quickly. I chose cutting back on goodies, over injections every day - best decision ever, with the support of all my Funtrivia friends and my wonderful parents
I'm just under 9 stone 11 pounds today, losing a quarter of a pound

I took about a year to lose it but the last 5kg were pretty slow - I wouldn't even call it a plateau .. I had just found my level.

Would a muesli count as a crunchy snack?

Jane, nine years is a remarkable achievement! You must be really proud. I went part of the way down some time back and kept it off for a couple of years, but things got stressful at work and I let it lapse. Now I have about 5 kgs more than when I started down last time. When I make it this time, maintenance will definitely be a long-time commitment.

One of life's quirks is that the pounds slide on with so little effort for me, but I have a son who looks like he would blow away. My husband and other son are also on the light side. Perhaps they are secretly offloading their extra calories to me while I sleep?

Copago, I am encouraged that you were able to lose that much in such a short period. I thought it would take much longer. If I can be anywhere near that achievement a year from now, I will be pleased.

Muesli sounds like a good idea for crunchy. I had not thought of that. Someone on the Pinterest website posted a recipe for a no-butter pizza-flavored popcorn that I also thought sounded good. I will definitely give them both a try. Any and all tips are always welcome. I'm still at the stage where I am craving something between meals. I'm trying to ensure that the snacks I do eat are reasonable ones.

Postal, how is your walking going? We are much warmer now, which makes moving around easier, so I am getting one walk in each day. It is not far, but even with that I am starting to feel a small difference, especially in my knees which had gotten pretty stiff from perpetual sitting.

I'm pleased to report that I was down another 1.2 kg or 2.6 pounds - the latter sounds better.

I'm improving my portions and food choices and weighing the food definitely helps. I'm still eating what the rest of my family eats for the main meal only less of it, especially the carbs. The bathroom remodel from hell continued to work on my psyche, which notched up the cravings, but when that happened, I tried to walk before eating anything. Except for one day, I kept to the exercise schedule, so it was a good week.

Oh WOW! Losing 2.6 pounds is fantastic! Are you also watching how many calories you eat in a day?

I'm not counting calories; I'm using the WeightWatchers on-line point system. That helps guide my eating in the right direction. It also gives some me flexibility in terms of extra points during the week that can be used for special meals. I'm mainly focusing on changing my two smaller meals and snacks. What I ate at night was already pretty healthy. My problems were the sandwich or pasta lunches eaten hastily at work, the portions and the between meal snacking. If I can stay somewhere in the 1 to 2 pound loss per week, I think I might be able to stick with it.

Hi everybody! Please excuse me not posting, I had blood drawn at my doctor's and the nurse was sick and I caught it.

Somethin like the flu, but no runny nose or coughing. I had bad headaches and a sore throat. But what really worried me was I was so weak. If I went down the hall to the restroom, I would be out of breath. I mean to the point where I was panting. I had no interest in FT or TV, or antthing.

The good part is, due to this and watching my portions, I've lost 10 pounds! The exercise ect. I was doing that didn't show up, has finally shown itself on the scale.

BTW: When I went to the doctor a week after my blood tests, everything was fine. Just a virus that has to run it's course. My bloodwork was good, better than it has been. Could portion control have something to do with that? I think yes!

Now that I'm almost well again, I will resume my walking. Hopefully, I'll get a good result on the scale again!

Sorry to hear you were ill Postal, but at least there was the silver lining of the weight loss. A good jump start! Congratulations. Walking and small portions are definitely a good strategy.

I am learning to say no to temptations. I went to lunch with a friend yesterday and managed not to order the chocolate crème brûlée that was calling out to me from the dessert menu. I stuck to a portion of cheese, as I had not had any milk products. Someone I know from Turkey was also in town this weekend and brought me a box of Turkish delight - pure sugar. I took one tiny taste and passed the box on to my husband.

It is nice to be working on this together!

The good news is that I was 1.4 kg or 3 lbs down at the weigh-in today, a little more than the goal for the week.

The bad news is that I forgot to walk yesterday. The day was so hectic, I didn't think of it until I was going to bed. I suppose that missing once in the week isn't too bad as long as it stays that way. I was thinking of adding a second walk to the day. Maybe that way I'll get remember at least one of them. I wonder if I'll lose all the weight only to find that my memory has gone with it.

Congrats on your loss, Pitegny! Great result!!

A day off now and then won't hurt .. but like you said, so long as it doesn't keep happening

I've hit a plateau, so I'm slogging along waiting for it to break. It's good to read all of your good news!

Thank you for the sympathy, I'm still getting flash fevers and decreased appetite.

Something has settled in my hip joints, so no walking for me right now. I've substituted a TV show for people who are wheelchair bound called "Sit & Be Fit", exercises the upper body and gets the heart rate up and the blood flowing. I don't plan on having to do this for long, my dog would much rather I got off the couch.

When I'm able to really work out, not just walk, I'll do alternate days. But that's for 45 minutes to an hour of strong cardio. It's best to rest a day in between. Nowhere close to that as yet.

Those plateaus are really deflating. Just have to push through and know that the scale will show improvement eventually.

With the plateaus I just figure that so long as you're eating well and moving about then you know you're doing good things for your body and eventually it'll come around!