Sorry for the MIA-ness, after my first allergic reaction I stopped taking the eye drops and antihistamines as the instructions were to do so if you had been un-symptomatic for at least 46 hours, which I had been....then my eye blew up again So WTF eye, WTF...anyways, I have been referred to a specialist on Tuesday and hopefully it is a food allergy, because at least then you can try to avoid whatever it is that does it. I'm not sure if I said, but my blood test came back as not being a rheumatoid problem, yay! My IgG came back high, but confusingly (apparently) my c-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation, was normal. How bizarre. Anyway, I have a hundred questions for the immunologist, including whether they are aware of psychoneuroimmunology But hopefully this week I will be able to get back into running because ive been really really missing it these past few weeks. Being at home, feeling miserable, does nothing for my diet, fitness or motivation At least I have sick leave now though

Rachel- where were you guys travelling to? Sorry if you have said in a different post. I have the same problem! I could eat dessert until I looked like one haha. I find that buying things that are pre-packaged (e.g. ice blocks instead of a tub of ice cream) helps with portion control. But its really hard when you are out and about When I'm on holiday, I usually dont calorie count, but use the time instead to eat until I am feeling full and then stop. I might eat a little more, but its a good way to re-check on those natural signs of fullness I think. And takes the stress out of a holiday!

Hotaru- thats great news about your friend! I think that sometimes we can forget that people at the other end of the spectrum have problems too. I always try to remember something a colleague of mine said "we are all at our own stage of recovery"

bea- ew poop! this is why i resist buying cute puppies

1yr2makeover- how hard are you working out? have you been working out at the same level for a while? Sometimes when my weight isnt moving and food doesnt make a difference, I have to change up the intensity of my workouts so each one is a REAL challenge. Like, each one is working out at 95% of my maximum. So you could try that if you havent already? Otherwise, it is very very frustrating I know. But remember, as long as you dont give up and keep trying, something will change at some point, I am sure

preety I think I did a report on Cyprus once in school. I remember the name,anyway.

katiekish I'm studying to be a court reporter (the people in courtrooms that type everything everyone says with a funny little typewriter). I have to know so much stuff about grammar and english.
That's good to know about my phone. If it did break, I still have one or two older ones I could activate if I needed to.

beahawkins Ohmygosh you are too sweet! I use Verizon, but thank you. If my phone does break, I have at least one older one that I can activate if I need to. Thank you for your offer though!
Hahaha, I don't think I ever play with the pudge on my belly. But I really like that I can *almost* see abs when I first wake up in the morning. I can see the slightest little trace.
Oh no! Dog poop. That's so frustrating! Babies are kind of like that; they'll wait until just after you put a clean diaper on them before they decide to poop.

1yr2mkovr How are things going? Any progress with the weight? Maybe hotaruchan is correct...you're retaining water?

Hotaruchan that is so fantastic about your friend! It is always great to celebrate a healthy weight. It's what we all want, whether it's gaining or losing.

RachelRawr vacationing is hard. The best advice I can offer is to drink a ton of water and make sure you are not thirsty at all. Try drinking a full glass of water before you eat. You could also try leaving at least two bites of everything on your plate when you eat out.
You and I are very similar: I don't miss fast food at all. (Except pizza. I like pizza. But last night I made my own.) But chips/chocolate? my downfall through and through.

katbot Have fun in Vegas!!!


Ghost Welcome back! I'm sorry about your eye. Hope they get everything sorted out soon.

I am super excited. At the store, I wanted to get soda. But I thought to myself: No. Do not get unhealthy soda. Go look at the sparkling water. So i tried out a new drink http://www.drinkhint.com It is flavored water (it comes in sparkling and flat) with "a hint of natural flavor." No sugar and no artificial sweeteners, and no high fructose corn syrup. I won't be able to buy it all the time because that will get too expensive, but it's yummy!

I also got some stuff to make a delicious spinach salad for tonight/tomorrow's lunch. Spinach, olives, red onion, feta cheese, a little bit of dressing. I know I'll have to be careful with the olives because of salt, but I don't think it will take much because of all the good flavors!

Has anyone read Bob Harper's "The Skinny Rules"? I heard good things about it and ordered it. It actually arrived yesterday, but the people at my apartment office are dumb and didn't tell me my package arrived. So I have to wait until they open today before I can go get it.

@Iconized Ghost - My boyfriend and I traveled from Texas to Washington state. We are here to visit his family. They go out to eat a lot so it's been tough, but I think I am doing well. I'm trying to eat slower. I think it's helping. I used to just be able to scarf up a dinner in like 5 minutes.

@Quiet Ballerina - I love pizza too! brick oven pizza...with alfredo sauce and spinach. geez :\ haha. I did well last night, we went out for italian food and I had spinach ravioli and the fact that I left anything on my plate was a major accomplishment for me. And then my boyfriend's mom made this reeses dessert.....I almost had some. I honestly can't believe that I didn't. So i guess i have been doing pretty good! lol. I just need to keep it up.

Evening ladies!

Got home from Chicago around 12pm. Boyfriend and I were restless way early and decided to come home early in the morning instead of mid-afternoon. Plus, it was a very stressful trip, my cell phone died about halfway through the trip and we had NO GPS whatsoever, and we kept getting lost in these dodgy neighborhoods. Plus dbf's phone would change driving directions every few minutes so we didn't use it for long. Otherwise, though, it was a great trip.

I haven't weighed yet but besides the trip up I didn't really have any significant eating binges. I was actually fairly prudent I think, but we'll see what the scale says tomorrow. I will probably begin my workout regimen tomorrow, I have really missed my track and weights at my local gym!

Will do personals later. Pretty much running on adrenaline now.

QB: Things are holding pretty steady. I tried eating more and gave my body a week to readjust. Tomorrow I'm weighing in but I don't expect any changes, but then the next week I think will be the place where I'll be seeing some good movement on the scale again.

You sound like you're in a great place!! I haven't heard of this Bob Harper book, but be sure to tell us if it's any good!!!!

namaste984: Welcome back and good luck tomorrow!!!

RachelRawr: OMG! About pizza! So one noght a week my husband and I do vegetarian night (it has sort of become an unofficial card-night! lol!) Anyway, so for one of these vegetarian nights I found this incredible pizza at the grocery store... I think is a Ristorante (could be Declicio... Can't rememeber) but it has no meat and it's ultra thin crust! AND GUESS WHAT??? It's 150 calories per 1/4 of the pizza (and it's a full size frozen pizza)!!!!! It's amazing! Tastes soooooooo good and you can eat 1/2 of it for 300 cal!!!!!! Look for the Ultra thin crusts in the grocery freezer!

Iconised Ghost: Thanks for your advice! While running today I actually blasted my treadmill up 1 point on the speed three time to throw in some intervals in there. I'll definitely be trying to up the anti during my workouts!!!

Are...you...serious?! I am going to the grocery store and buying that as soon as I get back to Texas. I hope they have it. Thank you! Pizza is definitely a big weakness of mine.

I GOT MY SIGNATURE!!! I GOT MY SIGNATURE!!!!!!

SOOOOO EXCITED!!!

Could this be counted as a mini goal??? lol!

How long does it take to get a signature?

I think it is 30 days? I cant remember >.< *feels old*

1yr- Congratulations on the signature and I would definitely consider that minigoal worthy!
----
Weighed in at 221 even today. A 1.4 pound gain... I can deal with that for now. I'm hitting the gym and the pool this morning and watching how much I eat so hopefully that will come off pretty quickly. I start school next week at 7am *cringes* Monday but thankfully it does not compromise my workouts or workout classes.

thank you!!!

They say it takes "at least" 20 days, and it was excatly how long it took for them to give it to me!

YAY!

And namaste984 don't worry about the weight gain... I had that happen to me last week (I lost a pound and after a very determined excercise schedule and perfect diet, gained a pound!!!!! Was supper angry, but just stayed on track). Despite the "undesirable waeight holding regardless of my efforts, today I weighed in having lost that pound plus one!!! So just keep at it, it'll come off!

1yr: Im so jealous of your ticker status! and that pizza sounds amazing

Namaste: Just keep your head up and keep on plan. You will get through this!!

My family was away this weekend which made it hard to eat. (I don't like to eat real meals alone, so I tend to snack instead.) And I feel I snacked a lot but no where close to the binges of yester. I don't know if it was snacking or my TOM but in 2 days I went from 253 to 256.5. I have been working out like a crazy person. Hmm not looking at the scale again until it's over. I hate TOM. Atleast it means I can start bcp and hopefully be less of a nut. (I have one good week a month that I am not moody.) On a good note: My grandparents who live on a farm in nowheresville, ohio have FINALLY moved into an apartment close to town and my mother. This has been a fight since 2006. And I get to go organize it! (eek!!! excited, no sarcasm!) On another good note: my best friend who lives in Illinois is coming to town next weekend! Last year I only saw her twice. this year, this time makes it 4 or 5!!

RachelRawr When I make my own, I have a go-to healthy recipe from a cookbook I have. Fast, pretty easy, and much better for me than take-out pizza.
That's such good news about your will power! I don't know if I could have skipped on that dessert.

Namaste Looking forward to hearing about your trip!

1yr2mkovr If only I could get myself into a regular exercise routine! I have a plan....I just really need to put it in gear.
I will definitely share my thoughts on the book! I'm about to dive into it right now. Congrats on the signature!!!

beahawkins I hear ya on TOM. It's awful. The bloating, the cravings, the cramps. Ugh. That's so nice about your friend! I'll bet it will be great for your spirits since you were down the other day about feeling alone.

Happy (err?) Monday everyone!
I want to get to reading my new book soon, so this will probably be brief.
Uhm....let's see....not much to talk about really. I'm sleepy. It's Monday. It's hot. :-P My weekend was pretty tame overall.
The weather was so pretty, I should have spent more time outside. Thinking about setting aside some time each weekend where I need to be outside. Even if it's just laying in the sun, on a blanket, coloring. Because I'm still a teenage girl at heart sometimes.

QB- I can relate. I love being outside, my parents actually met while backpacking and pretty much raised my sister and I to be hikers. Since I've started losing weight my boyfriend and I hike religiously and we usually go every fall and spring, sometimes in the early winter and summer too. I love it and its a great way to lose weight!

Bea- Thanks! It's actually going a lot better now, was off-program for about 24 hours after the trip and now am back to my normal eating pattern. It felt very good to work out today as well so I reckon I will be back on the normal schedule soon.

1yr- Awesome way to go for losing the weight and staying on track! Keep up the good work!

-----
Doing very well after returning from Chicago. We went to Wrigley Field and watched the Cubs play, and also to some places in the suburbs like the Rainforest Cafe and the Woodfield Mall, as well as a waterpark, and we had a great time. We also got to go to a really cool place in the suburbs where we ate and played all kinds of games (It is kind of like Dave and Buster's I think, except a little less expensive). I won the jackpot on Plinko and dbf won several games of pool. We also did one of those bowling games that you roll a ball inside a column. Dbf decided he would show off and do the expert level on the bowling, which he failed miserably at and walked off in a huff. My boyfriend is a great guy and really laid-back most of time but if he loses a frame of bowling he gets MAD, lol. I guess it's because he is in a league and gets competitive even if there's no one to compete with.

I am getting back to working out slowly after having a skin infection on my inner thigh while on the trip (TMI, I guess, but still true). It doesn't hurt as much as it did, but it is still a pain and kind of interferes with my workout. I have been treating it though and should be back to normal in a few days.

That's really about it, nothing very exciting to report today. Taking it easy and typing up some more notes for school lest they pile up on me at the beginning of school. I hope you guys have a great day/evening.

beahawkins: Totally hear you on the whole cooking just for yourself thing, but I actually realized that it doesn't need to be a big production, all you need is a piece of fish or meat, EVOO, salt and a bag of frozen veggies. Seriously just dump everything in the skillet and let it cook for 10-15 min. That's it. I know it's a drag to just cook for yourself, but the choice here is pretty clear -- either that or, well, forever living with bad habbits... I just recently discoverd how to eat healthy without putting a lto of time and effort into it, and I seriously wish I had discovered this a long time ago! The fist time I lost weigh, I did it on skipping meals, not excercising and eating lean cuisine (which is ok, sometimes, but not for MOST meals). If I would have gotten into the good habbits then (at 23) I would have never been back here.

Quiet Ballerina: I tell myself the same thing about going outside, but then if you have no purpose "out there", then it just kind of seems boring. It's hard to get out there if you do have anywhere you need to go...

namaste984: Sounds like a fun trip! Hope your infection clears up quickly!!

--

So, after all of my complaining last week, I thought I'd fill you in on what is going on... As it turns out, I really wasn't eating enough and was really over doing it with the workouts. As per my plan I started eating more (good, regular healthy meals) and there were two days when I didn't workout at all. For that time I had obviously been keeping to my weight without change, but I tole myself that it's ok, and that this is what my body needs to readjust. I didn't strtess too much about it. THEN I returned to my workouts and my body just gave those pounds away like it was nothing!!!!!! I don't know if this will continue this way, or if my WL will slow down some, but my plan is to keep eating and not working out more than twice a day (sounds like a lot, but really one vigurous workout and one very light thing).

I'm secretly hoping that it'll go back to the 4lbs/week loss, but I'll be happy with anything...

Thanks to all of you for your support and suggestions last week. I sorry to have whined and complained, but on the bright side all your suggestions got me here!!