That is phenomenal!!! Congrats!
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What a great story! Thanks for sharing.
I’ve not been running much (though I did my usual lake loop last Friday, so I know it’s still possible). I’ve been able to continue my new pickleball hobby into the the colder weather, sometimes outside and sometimes inside. But it’s not on regular intervals. Last Thurs was outside due to nice weather. Tomorrow/Thurs is indoor with the local club (just $3 donation to the church where we meet) plus Fri group lessons at the indoor private courts (an $18 splurge… but I was happy to accept the ideal of one of the new PB buddies.). Sunday will be the local club renting out private courts for a holiday event …$10. Bottom line - it’s sooo much more affordable than skiing (which I still do too, but only have 5 days prepaid this year.)
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I will throw a pic up at the one year mark. Change is crazy for sure. I did a 134 lbs drop 12 years ago.
I tell people I am great at losing weight but I am terrible at maintaining. But this time will be different. 
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Congrats on the work, perseverance, and results, @gpo613! 
Excellent work
My fitbit broke while we were in England so no idea what my step counts are. While were there I was easily north of 12K steps a day.
We went to got a concert by one of favorite bands (The Oysterband) who was doing their last tour. We stayed in little town 30 minutes by train from Portsmouth. While there we spent lots of time in the Historic Dockyard (Mary Rose, Victory, Warrior) and other museums. We also went to a football match which was superfun.
Both DW are looking to get serious about exercise/weight loss after the holidays.
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Our gym is already seeing the typical influx of new members this month. On the plus side, the newer members have pushed the gym owners to purchase new equipment, most of which I don’t use (preacher curl bench? 
), except the new Olympic lifting platform. 
I signed up for another powerlifting meet in the Spring. Forget about eggs, inflation has hit meet signup fees. They’ve just about doubled.
Best of luck to everyone who will be starting their weight loss journeys in 2025. And congrats to those who have already begun and are in the process.
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Good post. That’s crazy about the increase in prices!
I’m changing jobs in January, semi-retiring to part time….hoping to add “something” exercise wise into my routine with some of my extra time. Don’t really know that I want a gym….gonna have to think about this.
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I’ve been on vacation for a week and a half. I haven’t gotten as much exercise as normal, but I have met my minimum requirement (move ring closed on Apple Watch) every day. We mostly walk, although I did “run” slowly with husband one day. We have been eating and drinking more than normal, and vegetables haven’t been a priority. (At home I eat a lot of fruits and veggies most days, and not so much protein.)
We are having a good time, and I will worry about it next week.
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This is interesting. I had not heard of this one before.
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Interesting! It is a muscle involved in chewing foods. I wonder if there is a link between diet (fibrous foods that require a lot of chewing vs soft processed foods) and memory loss. I have not read the original article though, so it could have been discussed.
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Oooh, interesting. I couldn’t come up with a single reason why this muscle over another, but I like your hypothesis.
Per the statement, the jaw muscle was easily studied and representative of other muscles. It by itself wasn’t particularly significant. Otherwise, chewing gum could be a preventative measure .
The team, based at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, led the study, showcasing how measuring temporalis muscle size could offer a low-cost, non-invasive method to assess skeletal muscle status. “Measuring temporalis muscle size as a potential indicator for generalised skeletal muscle status offers an opportunity for muscle quantification without additional cost or burden in older adults who already undergo brain MRIs,” stated the team.
Besides the side effects…
I want to share something on this thread. Some of the regulars here might remember I started a weight loss journey on 2/7/24.
I am amazed at my increased energy level and how it is affecting my everyday life. I am working from home today. By 7:30 this morning I had done 70 mins on the elliptical, emptied the dishwasher, done a load of laundry, folded the towels from last night’s load, showered and got started on my work day. 11 months ago it was a struggle to get much of anything done. Most nights in the past would find me coming home from work eating dinner helping with the dishes and collapsing in front of the TV for the rest of the night only getting up to get snacks.
Basically everything about life is much better.
Looking forward to Monday as myself and the family are heading out to Cancun for the holidays. I am looking forward to not being self-conscious about being at the pool without a shirt. The body isn’t perfect, but it is a heck of a lot better.
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We always have the energy to get those snacks don’t we. 
I think getting the energy back in your life is the biggest win of all besides the general health benefits of getting in better shape.
You truly are an inspiration.
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Thank you.
@gpo613 - Wow that is fantastic and very inspirational!
Enjoy your trip!
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I had a good treadmill run today. I’ve decided in 2025 I’m going to focus more on really running again, and I want to get back to the treadmill. I’ve been trying to do it once a week for the last 6ish weeks. It started pretty rough, but slowly it’s getting better and more comfortable - which was the plan. Finish off 2024 getting used to it again and then in 2025 starting to do some quality runs on it.
And so I start off with a 3 mile w/u outside (I’ve always hated warming up on the treadmill), then I run 40 min fairly steady followed by 20 min of light intervals, just trying to get the legs to move a little faster. Anyhow, today I got in 7.65 miles in the hour. That is good for me right now. I was working hard, but not out of control. The first few weeks I got really really sore, but the last few not sore or tired at all even though I felt like I was working hard.
Of course, then I came home and spent 3 hours vacuuming and cleaning and started making peanut butter balls. Now I’m tired!
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I’ve been playing a pickleball a few times per week, on indoor and outdoor courts. It’s great fun, but the downside is that I don’t have as much time for running… especially since the best outdoor PB days/times are the primo opportunities for running.
But today after 2 weeks away from running I was back out on my beloved local lake trail. Perfect day for it… high 50s, bright sunshine (had to wear sunblock and a hat), calm-ish breeze. Yay, my 5k timed run was 39:50. There was a time where I was disappointed in 5k times over 40 minutes. These days I rejoice in any under-40min result.
Photo is from 12/6, but conditions were similar today. Snow in the moutains, dry on the plains - just the way we like it (except for the whole drought concern thing).
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