Hello ladies!

Hope everyone is having a great week. Pour moi, I'm gearing up for holiday in a couple of weeks and have so much to do, the mani/pedi, hair cut-n-color (gotta cover those grays!), cleaning the place (hate coming back to a dirty kitchen!), packing, all that stuff.

@Lovely: Got your new eyes, eh? Sounds great. Mine make me look like John Lennon in drag, I think! Every time I put them on I mentally begin singing, "Imagine." Yep, I'm nutty like that! But, DH says I look good in them so I think I'll keep the same style when I get them upgraded.

@Spooky: I love cat's-eye glasses! They're so cute.

You girls have a great weekend.

Ellie

I'm not having the best week, ladies We go on holiday as a family (potentially our last-but-one holiday as a family, being my brother, myself and my parents, ever) a week on Tuesday, but we can't find my passport, and I won't be able to get a replacement in time We're doing a trip to Estonia and Finland that we've been planning for years I am so gutted, it's really tempting to break into the ice cream and cheese that I know is downstairs.

Ryeb - Miss seeing you around as much! Really sorry to hear about the cyst =( I hope everything goes well with the prenatal appointment.

Ellie - Love it! Imagine, indeed Have fun getting ready for the holiday!

Spangle - It'll turn up. You'll get it! In the meantime, you KNOW that ice cream and cheese won't actually help find your passport. Deep breath. One thing at a time. You'll find it!

The downside to having crazy colored hair: I can't go swimming. Swim caps don't do much in keeping the water out of my hair. I need to get some serious exercise into my life. I wish it wasn't a hundred degrees outside so I could go for a walk. Not that I'd go for a walk in this area. I wish I still lived with my mom. Southern California has way better neighborhoods to walk around in.

Hurray! I'm celebrating 3 months today! AND I've accomplished my mini-goal of no longer weighing 300 pounds I'm now in the Two's

Crazy what 3 months of healthy choices can do for a body! I still can't believe it. I'm going to be taking pictures tonight, along with measurements so that I can graph all that stuff

I feel silly, but I'm already looking ahead to 6 months on plan trying to imagine what great things I can accomplish by then One thing at a time... one thing at a time.

I've got some tofu in my fridge and I'm trying to figure out what to do with it this week for dinner. I could marinade it and slice it thin in a stir fry over some brown rice... which sounds good... Hmm. I think I'll look up a couple recipes, but I'm keeping the stir fry in the back of my mind especially since I have broccoli, carrots, and mushrooms on hand.

Triptriptrip- I love your hair. I so badly want to dye my hair, but don't know how to do it myself and don't have the money for it right now.

Lovely- Congrats on getting out of the 300's

A lot of people talked about having bad nights. I haven't been able to sleep for two nights. Last night I didn't get to bed till 4 this morning and slept about 4 hours. So far I haven't been able to sleep at all tonight.....I mean morning. -_-

Hey guys!

Hi Msdarkmetal! Welcome to our little area ^_^

I've been having strange sleeping nights, but last night I passed out early... and so here I am up early

I took those measurements and pictures. At first I didn't think there was really much of a difference, but after the calculations and comparisons... I'd lost 4 inches off my waist! Another couple inches off my thighs, and arms... not as much off my hips, but still!

I've got another week and a half before my sister and her kiddos come visit my apartment. They've never seen it as they live a couple hours away. I'm trying to make sure things are cleaner. Having someone come look at my house is sure motivation to make it stay neat!

Congrats on making it out of the 300s, Lovely! I am so looking forward to Onederland! I've lost about 25 lbs so far this year and I'm going to aim for another 25 before the new year, even if I fall a bit short I should still be further along than I am now! I haven't seen many of my family members in at least a year, if not more, it would be fun to surprise them at the holidays looking a bit thinner.

I love love LOVE scrambled tofu for breakfast. I also like it stir-fried, I usually press it for awhile to get all the liquid out so it will firm up and be crispier.

Spangle - I hope you can find your passport!

My hair is gray(ing). I have dyed it every 6 weeks since I was 20 or so and now I'm taking a break. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it. It is shocking just how gray it is around my hairline. I think there's a terrible double standard between men and women and graying hair/the responsibility to stay youthful as long as possible. Not promising NOT to dye it again but right now I'm taking it day by day.

Hey girls. I've been kind of barely hanging in there on the plan since 4th of July Weekend due to a string of events. I've managed to maintain what weight I have lost already but that also means I'm 2.5 pounds heavier than I would be if I had stuck on plan I'm feeling kind of down because my cousin (who's yo-yo'ed in the past) started losing weight right when I re-committed in May/June. She's doing Weight Watchers and now she's getting to the point where she's about as heavy as I am - I was always getting her old clothes that she was too big for - so I guess it threw me into a bad mood. I know it's unflattering to say that, but I think I'm just disappointed that I can do SO well for two months and then get stuck on a major holiday.

On the happy side, I went to Orientation for Target yesterday and will be training over the next 2 weeks for cashier. Everyone was very nice and they were able to accommodate a small vacation I had planned months ago for the last weekend of July, so no worries about losing money or re-booking

Lovely - Congratulations on your mini goal!! I feel you on the clean apartment thing - in college when I knew my parents were coming I would spend the day or two before doing laundry, organizing, washing dishes, etc so they didn't think I was a pig

Spooky - I also am looking forward to Onederland but I still have a ways to go. I estimated that I was about 225 - 230 lbs when I met my boyfriend so I'm sort of setting that as a mini-goal on the way there.

msdarkmetal - You know, I went to sleep at like 11:30 last night and woke up around 9:30 this morning and though it seems like it should have been plenty, I'm still feeling kind of cranky and tired. My boyfriend's been keeping terrible hours since becoming unemployed (he's still sleeping now and probably won't be up, showered, and functioning until 11) but I'm trying to get him back on track so I'm not falling into bad patterns again too!

Spangle - That's just the worst I'm sorry about the bad luck. Is it possible that you have it still packed in a box from moving? I'm sending you good vibes in hopes that everything will turn out okay!

trip - I wish I had a pool to exercise in! It's one of the few ways I enjoy exercising. I've also been wanting to go for walks/jogs or bike around the neighborhood but the heat and humidity are terrible :/

Michi: 230ish is sort of my set point. I can diet and get down to somewhere between 200-210 but that's the lowest I've been as an adult. Once I give up (as I usually do) I go right back up to 230 and sort of hover there. My highest ever was 260+ and I was so very uncomfortable. It's funny how my body can accept 100 lbs overweight but that extra 30 was just too much. I'm determined to make it this time and it is exciting to me because I've never seen myself at a lower weight. Interested to see how it will look.

And I understand about your cousin, too. I have a friend who is heavier than me and I usually get the work clothes she can't squeeze into anymore. It sounds mean-spirited but I would be upset if she were suddenly my size or smaller. I know she is sort of depressed that I am so much smaller than she is now. Now her too small clothes are too big for me.

Hey guys ^^

Happy Friday! Anyone got plans? I've got shopping to do. Promised myself a little reward clothes shopping trip after 3 months, so tomorrow's the day!

Spooky - I definitely know what you mean about that set point. Seems like I was always "okay" with the high 200's. It was just normal. But slap on that extra 30 lbs and suddenly it was NOT okay. Very weird... I'm going to press that tofu nicely to get it great for the stir-fry I'm making Saturday night :3

Michi - Don't let anyone else affect your success. You're doing well! Holidays, new jobs,... cousins. You hang in there!

I'm going to jump up on the treadmill in a short bit soon as my food is digested more, and then get on with the day! Much to do Have a good one, all!

Hi All!


First, congrats to Lovely for hitting your goal! Way to go!

@Spooky: I know how you feel about "set points." For some reason whenever I reach the 259 mark I think that's my cue to go back to my old eating habits, then I gain back everything I lost and a little more. I wish I could get over this psychological border as I'll be coming up on it again soon and am dreading it.

@Michi: Wow, going through a stressful phase right now, but hang in there, things will slow down in a bit and you will be able to catch your breath. I just love Target, btw. Our store is so clean that it's a joy to shop in.

As for moi I'm going on holiday this week to the mountains. Gonna go stay in an inn, swim in an ol time swimmin hole, hike (well, more like walk at my weight!), and just generally get outta the concrete jungle. Woohoo!

Have a great week, girls!

Ellie

I worked yesterday so today is my only real day off this weekend. Working again tomorrow, off Tuesday (and I have my follow up 'mystery illness' doctor's appt), and then I'm working until the weekend. So not a lot of down time for me. That's something new. My last job I worked 3 days a week so I was off more often than I was working and this place I feel like I am at work looking at the same people EVERY SINGLE DAY. Oh well. It's a trade off I will gladly make for state benefits, job security, and daytime working hours.

I've been doing great, eating-wise. Still not working out. Hoping to see a loss this week, I WI tomorrow night.

Ellie - I am *so* with you on that psychological barrier thing. Mine is right around 209-210 lbs (so about 1 lb away from where I am now). At this weight I am the smallest I've been as an adult and am approaching more of a normal size, getting much more attention (especially sexual attention from men, which I loathe), and it makes me very very uncomfortable and that's when I shut down and gain it back. I am determined to make it through this time but it is so hard. I'm still recovering from being off plan for almost a month and this is all I can attribute it to. Psychological discomfort. Losing weight is so much more than calories in, calories out. It's a total mindgame. For me, anyway.

Hey everyone!

Ellie - That sounds like a great trip, and so active! Have an awesome time, and be sure to tell us all about it when you get back!

Spooky - It really can be so much more than just eating less. I think it's a huge success that even though you haven't been able to workout that you've stuck to your points and are focusing on sticking around.

This coming weekend is when my sister and the kids are arriving so I've gotta get my bum in gear and make sure the apartment looks nice. I got off the treadmill, and I've got a list of things to do today and the rest of the week. I'm hoping it'll keep me busy and moving. More activity, less thinking about food. It'll be good!

Hey girls! Just a quick update from me today. I finished my first solo shift cashiering today and man were we busy. I was so famished that I grabbed some Subway afterwards and kind of splurged a bit on calories which makes me upset. I did burn about 430 calories though, but I hate eating into that surplus. I'm gonna have to start planning a bit better

Ellie - Enjoy your vacation Sounds like it'll be fun!

Spooky - What an adjustment going from 3 days to 5 days. I'm not looking forward to doing 5 days next week, after doing 2 weeks of very easy 'training' schedule of just 8 hours a week. I know I'll love the money (or what little I'll see of it after loans and all that jazz) but man I've been a little spoiled while unemployed!