[Riestrella]

Hey everyone! How's it going? You all ready for Independence Day weekend? Always a fun holiday to be around as Brit

So I am done dog sitting Bella, I got a pretty good $300 for the week which is nice! I'm eager to get my work permit so I can start job searching, it'll be nice to have an income again. I treated myself to some new sandals, I don't own a pair and since it's summer I wanted a nice pair of summer shoes that aren't just flip flops.

I got these, they were on sale! Woohoo! Might take a while for them to get here since it's a holiday weekend. Fingers crossed they fit, if not it's free return.

I spent the day that I got back home and yesterday just relaxing. I think I needed it after always being alert for dog sitting and needed a bit of chill time to settle back into normality. Some days I just need a lazy day! The only problem is I have to work out every day over the weekend to make my goal, but I'm determined! I did a Jillian Michaels strength training day today, so tough! I always feel it the day after though. Felt great though.

I've been seeing 165 lbs on the scale the last couple of days, but my lowest weight this week was 164 lbs. I'm hoping now I'm drinking more water and I'm not eating like a cow grazing in a field the weight will drop down. Here's to hoping!

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kisskiss - I would say get a malamute, but I don't think I would ever own one! They're hard work. Very head strong and independent. I like my dogs a little more obedient/dorky! But they are a great breed.

LovelyLeah - Sounds like you live in a wonderful place!! I would love to have access to nature but still live in the city .

Penny - Well done on being more active! If you wanna reach the 150's by August I'd suggest really pushing yourself to get your heart rate going and getting a sweat on for at least 20 minutes every time you work out. I'm sure the weight will fall off you

poly - They are quite wolf like in their behaviour too, very independent! Don't feel intimidated!! Everyone started somewhere, don't let any beef-cakes scare you off .

Dani - Sounds like you're killing it with the exercise! I'm the same way, food is always the problem for me.

char - Hehe, abs are always misleading... and strength training in general!! It's so strange how I can be so good with food but then have a day or two where I just want to eat all the food in sight. I blame it on my period looming around the corner...but I think it's a mental thing too. If it's there, I want to eat it! Sounds like you're owning your exercise goals though. Keep it up!!

atmos - Welcome back! So great to see you . Sounds like things have been pretty hectic for you, glad it's all looking up from now!

NNS - Woohoo, congrats on your weight loss! That's awesome, I bet you're stoked!!

[Riestrella]

Please enter your week 1 weights soon so you will be moved to next weeks spreadsheet!

[charbreaker]

Weighed in at 135.2, so didn't gain terribly, which is nice considering how loose my eating was this week! Will weigh again tomorrow and hope it's not gone up.

Entered back into the world of high intensity interval training (my nemesis) with Turbo Fire's HIIT 20 today. Went pretty well, if I do say so myself. I'm clearly a lot fitter than the last time I tried it. Will try one of the longer ones on Monday I think. Will try to do HIIT at least two days a week. I've been reading they're really good for getting the last ten pounds of or so.

Happy Fourth to my fellow Americans, and happy Saturday to the rest! Best of luck to you my friends! Hope you're all seeing progress and feeling good.

[SnowFlower]

Riestrella - Is it ok if I weigh myself on day 7 each week?

[wundertales]

Riestrella: LOVE the shoes. Now I'm tempted to buy some new shoes ( I just bought some this week lol.)

I'd also like to know if I can weigh in on Day 7 of the week. It's when I usually do my last weigh in.

[Riestrella]

Weighing on day 7 is fine!! Just make sure you get it in on time

[Buckkeepblue]

Hey Riestrella, I was away this week so didn't get to weigh-in/do my workouts, is it ok if I start from week 2 (6 July)? Or do i need to put a note or comment or something beside my name? Also, on the Overall Weightloss tab I think the weights are all one row below their matching usernames, e.g. I have Bonnie+J's weight next to my username, and my weight is next to candicamster.. just thought I should let you know!

[atmos]

It's been slow trying to get back into the routine. My apartment is all unpacked, though, except for the knick knacks and pictures, so I can return focus to getting back in shape and my diet spot on.

I finally got back to practicing dance today. I have a competition on Saturday...yikes! None of my dance have enough people to advance, so I'm using this as practice to manage stagefright for the next competition, which won't be til September.

charbreaker - Thank you for the welcome! It must feel nice to attempt a certain activity again and feel how much more fit you are. Glad you had a nice time.

nonameslob - Glad things are going well!

Ries - Cute shoes! I'm glad you had a nice time dogsitting and thank you for the welcome.

[Penny105]

While I'd love to get into the 150s by August, it'd be great, but it's unlikely. My realistic goal is to be in the 160s by then, especially the way my weigh ins have been going. That's fine - I really am looking forward to the 160s!

So, I was thinking today about how a lot of people view others who are trying to eat healthy. For me, I get a few people thinking I have an eating disorder. They comment when I have a salad instead of a burger, or oatmeal instead of stuffed French toast, or fruit and dark chocolate instead of a slice or two of cheesecake. I notice this with others, too; I have a friend who's very skinny, but she's always been that way and tries to eat nutritious foods. People often comment that she has disordered eating. She doesn't - I lived with her for a while and she eats plenty, just rather plain and healthy foods.

I don't know if it's a skewed view of what it means to eat healthy (I know someone who thinks Snickers bars are healthy because of the peanuts) or what. Anyone else experience that ever?

[Dani0112]

Well week 1 over already. Unfortunately I didn't meet my exercise goal this week because I strained my right hip! Halfway through my work day Thursday my right glute seized up and my hip was so stiff I could barely walk. I felt 80 years old. Thankfully after a few days of taking it easy, everything feels normal now. A few months back I strained the same hip bad. It took a month to heal!

I plan to resume exercising tomorrow but I will be more cautious to work hard but not overdo it. Sometimes I forget how limiting my current weight is. I can't just jump into activities like I used to.

I hope to eat better in the upcoming week. I was all over the place this week but I did still manage to lose about 2lbs. My scale just read 236. I'll take it!

@Penny105 ignore the naysayers. This is why I don't share when I'm trying to eat better. I just (try to) do it. Like right now my family is aware that I'm going to the gym and may have noticed me swapping out foods but I don't draw attention to it and they don't comment. I hope to keep things that way.

[Penny105]

Dani - I don't ever say when I'm trying to eat better, lose weight, work out more, or anything. Eventually people notice, though. It's baffling because they only say something when they notice I've lost weight. I've always loved veggies, so me having a big plate of veggies at my high weight was fine, but now it means I don't eat.
It's not a huge deal. It's only a couple people who are kind of nosy and like to stir up drama, but it's still not nice of them.
And congrats on the 2 lb loss this week! I'm glad your hip feels better, too!

[charbreaker]

Got another HIIT workout and some ab work in today. Hope to see some loss in the coming week!

atmos- Good luck on Saturday! Hoping you have calm nerves and that you nail your routines!

Penny- I can relate; I've experienced similar comments myself. It makes me feel really self-conscious. It makes me wonder if they point that out instead of asking if someone's trying to lose weight. Either way, the comments can be irritating and occasionally, hurtful. Sadly, I think it just goes with the territory of weight loss and the fact that some people will always be insensitive (not always deliberately of course). I'm still getting used to it and I just have to force myself to brush the comments off. (When I'd much rather tell them to mind their own business!)
Hope you make your goal!

Dani- Congrats on the 2lb loss! And hope the hip stays feeling better; it's such a shame when an important part of your body goes out of commission. Especially when you're trying to workout!

[LovelyLeah]

I made my fitness goal this week. I wasn't sure how a total step goal would work but it went just fine.

My goal for tomorrow, though, is to drink a ton of water and sit on my a**. My body needs to rest! I've been out of sorts for a few days now but I haven't dealt with it since I've been working.

[atmos]

Penny - Not with food, exactly, but I've experienced that regarding my weight before. Several years ago I lost from about where I am now (145ish) to under 130, and that was after gaining to 160 in college. So basically within a couple years of college I had lost 30 lbs. My relatives back home kept commenting on how thin I was, asking me if I was trying to lose more, and shoving food into me at every opportunity whenever I visited. I think part of it is a skewed view of healthy/healthy weight from a cultural perspective, and part of it is people are just used to you eating and looking a certain way, and the change is hard to handle.

charbreaker - Thank you for the luck wishes! After a couple weeks of missing dance practice due to overtime work and moving I'll need it.

[charbreaker]

Alright, I've been avoiding asking this, but it's time to bite the bullet, so to speak.

If one is trying to lose weight, about how many calories per day should we be consuming? (I know that's going to be dependent on each person, but I'd at least like to know how to calculate it, if possible)

Do you guys count calories? I've been trying to avoid it, but since I've hit the final stretch in my weight loss, I would imagine it begins to matter more. What do you guys think?