Exercise - 90 mins treadmill, 30 mins sculpt DVD

Water - 18 cups

Food - 1948 calories (25% fat, 52% carbs, 21% protein)

Breakfast - protein shake, 3 clementines (159)

Lunch - whole wheat tortilla, cheese blend, beef barley mushroom soup, apple, fruit salad (574)

Dinner - chili, cheese blend, tortillas, salad, salad dressing (825)

Snacks - protein shake, apple, fruit salad, 1/2 biscotti, crispy tortillaz (390)

Yes really, 1/2 a biscotti.  Actually, the ones I made yesterday weren’t crisp enough so I baked them again today.  I made my mother eat the other half.  I think I’ve figured out what is wrong with them (looking at an older recipe that I know worked well).  The one I made yesterday had more flour, more sugar, and less raising agent, to the same number of eggs.  When I’m looking to make the next batch I figure that I’ll use the known recipe with whatever additions I want.

The sculpting DVD just about killed me today.  I can feel it even now in my arms and shoulders.  Let’s see, I guess that would be from the push-ups I was so proud of.  Ah well, tomorrow maybe I’ll try the cardio part of the DVD.  I was planning weights, but that might not be a good idea.  I also have to make my last pot of soup, although will need to go out for a few things first.  Unless I can talk my mother into it… probably, since she actually likes going shopping.  Other than that I have no plans for the day.  Just the usual, check for work, check the college websites, continue my good eating habits, and exercise.

Brandie - yes, the changes are nice to see.  The last time I even tried the push-ups was Jan 25th, and I definitely couldn’t do them.

Deb -  I keep telling myself that strength training is more important.  I should have probably taken a deep breath and taken some measurements when I started. I might do that tomorrow (at least to know where I am now).

neverperfect - I surprised myself.  We’ll see how I do on Wednesday.  In theory you’re supposed to do the cardio one day, followed by the sculpt (the one I did today) the other day, switching them off.  I don’t think the cardio is as long, since it’s followed by an ab thing.  I know I’m not limber enough for the ab one, but I might try the cardio tomorrow.  Speaking of our feline watchers, I’ve got one here now.  He keeps trying to put his big furry head on my left wrist, which makes typing rough.

Mizu - it’s always difficult when the weight loss slows.  I’m hoping this is just a readjustment as I don’t want to change anything up just yet.  I’ve heard it said that you should wait 4 weeks before attempting to break a plateau.  I’m not sure why, but it makes sense.  If you consider that both before and after TOM our bodies do weird things it’s probably better to wait.  So we’ll both just take a breath, stay on plan, and worry about it in a number of weeks.  I know, easier said than done.

Good morning - I’m actually just duplicating what I just posted in the forum because I was basically going to say the same thing in both places. Well, the weigh in was disappointing this morning, but not really a surprise. I’m up about .6 of a pound, but I’ve basically been bouncing between 335.4 and 336.4 for 13 days. I’ve been completely on plan so I’m just going to continue on with what I’m doing for at least a couple of weeks before I panic.

I had kind of a non-scale victory this morning. I put in the DVD I tend to avoid (it’s the sculpt one from a sculpt/cardio set). It’s actually a very good set, even though I know my form isn’t as good as the people demonstrating it. It’s the Beach Body set, and Tony Horton (the one doing the talking) keeps reminding you to hit pause if you need to, and not to overdo it. On the cardio especially he shows alternate moves as well. Okay, that’s a long way to go explaining that I don’t think I’ve ever done the push-ups. I usually just switch to something else, just to keep moving. This morning I managed to do 8 push-ups (8-15 is what you’re aiming for) in both of the first sets. That’s 16 total, most full push-ups. In the last section you’re supposed to do 7-7-7, which I also managed, although in all cases I had to pause the DVD since I wasn’t doing them as fast as the pretty guys and gal on the screen.  Thank god for the pause button.

So I guess that means that the work with the hand weights has strengthened my arms a bit. In the past (even when lighter) I could barely manage the ones on my knees, usually quitting because my knees would hurt. Today I did at least half of them on my toes (although I’m sure with horrible form). I was too busy trying to count them to keep track of which were which. And of course the cat had to watch carefully. I’m actually surprised he didn’t do something stupid like crawl on my back!

eileen2blean - Hey, I’m a stats person by nature. Sadly weight loss does not always follow logic. By all means borrow the format. The information comes from my FitDay, but it’s easy enough to track.