Good morning! I'm sitting here with a new-found appreciation for the wonders of coffee as I try to get started for the day. I started working at the gym last week, worked all day Saturday, then attended a mandatory "Cleaning Party" last night at which CAKE and PIZZA were served! Picture this scenario: it's 9:00 at night, I had just finshed two hours of cleaning disgusting treadmills, I'm starving, and in walks boxes and boxes of pizza and a huge sheet cake (home baked by one girl's mom). I grabbed my keys and literally ran out the door! That was a close call!
I work this morning and then go back in the afternoon for a high school girl. So far, I'm loving it! Today I'm spending an hour with a woman who's been a member for seven years, only does cardio, and now she wants to learn about weights. Yeah, baby! This will be fun - I hope she catches the bug for weightlifting.
Sorry there's not time for more - I've got to fly up to the gym and do a half-hour of cardio, race back home, shower, oatmeal, and be back by 8:00 for my first appointment.
I hope everyone's doing well - check in and say hi, OK?
Elaine, I wrote you a post iin the thread of last week.
Meg: you sure start you day early !!! About the mandatory cleaning and Pizza party: are all the other staff ot the gym maybe very young people with an enormous metabolism ??? Good that you like the job though !! I feel very lucky that so many experts are on the forum. I myself cannot picture myself at a gym, I would be terrified of the people and the machines., so I always excersise at home. But I learn a lot from the discussions on the forum and there are always a lot of cool tips from the pro's like you and Mel and Ilene.
Today I did LBW and 20 mins row, 30 mins jog and 30 mins bike.
I got back from my trip Saturday. It turned out to be a useless trip and a complete waste of time, so that was frustrating. The most awkward part of the trip was when I had to stop in the airport for some severe dizziness, sit down with my head between my knees for a while, and then convince my co-workers I was OK. They don't know I'm PG yet, and they're not going to find out (if I can help it) until performance reviews are done in about another month or so.
I ate too much of course and came home from the trip bloated and uncomfortable. I having to learn that, now that I'm pregnant, I can't make up for a bad day with a good day--I get to keep it with me for the better part of a year before I can do anything about it. I'm going to have to work this more strictly I think--my old maintenance strategy of lose/gain/repeat those couple pounds or so just isn't going to work. Fortunately, I am still exercising, and I get my full allotment of calories plus another couple hundred for the kiddo, so it shouldn't be such a struggle, but I'm really going to have to pay attention.
I am on the up-slide right now so I am trying to be good and watch exactly what I put in mouth. Even though I think I am fine with it - Saturday night I went with kids to the B-day party where I stayed as my 4 y.o. DD was not comfortable to stay alone with bunch of 6 y.o. boys in the gym. I should have known better. She was just fine, bever even looked at me during 90 min of the gym, but during pizza and cake part Mommy simply ate 1 piece of pizza and one piece of cake without even paying attention that I am doing it. At home I also got normal tasty dinner and guess what - it took me half an hour to figure out why I am feeling so full!!! He-he! Scale yesterday showed increase (as usually after pizza) and today I am scheduling extra run during lunch - just in case it will help!!!
Also I spent a lot of time in my garden - it is warm and sunny here in Vanocuver, Canada, and my garden just calls for us. We cleaned all old leaves and reseeded some patches of lawn.
Hope you all have nice week!
Meg, you rock, with running away from pizza and cake! I am really proud of you !
Anne, wait till you will start crying for no reason at the office - that is when some of my coworkers figured out that I am pregnant - when I cried because results of the test was bad! Can you imagine???
Only time for a one liner before I have to race back to the gym-
Anne: have you had your iron checked? That sounds exactly like what used to happend to me when I was pregnant with #2. It turned out I was severely anemic. Some "beefed up" nutritional supplements did wonders. Early fatigue and blood pressure changes are normal, but falling down, dizzy, exhausted feelings aren't!
It's Monday, and I'm screamingly, excruciatingly bored I REALLY wanted to take today off, but board books go out this week, and I have 40 pages of minutes to edit before they can go. I loathe editing minutes, and what I have done in the past is edited a page or so, and eaten something. Edited another page or so, and ea .... Well, you get the picture.
Can't do that anymore. I had a dandy lunch. I'm working on a huge pitcher of water. And I'm breathing. And you know what? I'm full. And I know it. So I can't eat ... don't really want to eat. But I sure am bored. So, I'm ducking in here, and then I have promised myself I will spend a full hour on the things.
Sorry the trip was a waste of time Anne ... isn't that frustrating! Take care of yourself.
Ah Meg, I have this wonderful mental image of you dashing out the door ... I've done it myself. Good job. And that whirlwind routine in the morning ... perhaps you'll be able to take you oatmeal with you in some form or another so you don't have to do so much going back and forth. I"m pleased to hear about the 7-year member who's interested in weights, but I'm even more pleased to hear about the high schooler. Get 'em while they're young.
Sandy, I hear you on the "mindless" eating. Been there, done that. Doesn't sound like the damage was too severe.
Hi Group:
Seems like we are all off to a running start this week.
Today was a holiday for me so I was very happy. 4 day weeks really can get to be a habit.
Airegrrl: I love your quote at the end of your post. Great way to focus.
Meg: Deep breaths to keep you going with all that running.
Sashenka: I don't even think calories count at a kids party. Be grateful you survived.(LOL)
Anne, I second Sashenka's story about pregnancy. I got very emotional during mine, and also it was like I lost IQ points every day further into it. Fortunately this all turned out to be completely reversible, but it could be that you will be literally not the same person until a couple of months after you deliver. Apart from that, it was huge fun to really drift away on a pink cloud with a new baby. However work-wise I can imagine this would not be to great a move.
Sashenka: One piece of pizza is not going to destroy all your efforts at once. Good for you to retaliate immediately with a run in lunchtime. I often also have this especially at the end of a long day when I am tired.
RobinAiregrrl: I hope the boring editing is over and good for you that you stuck it out. You know my motto: sometimes it is just showing up, go through the motions, you may not enjoy it but at least it keeps you out of trouble.
Gina: Good for you for 4 solid good days.
Today I had a meeting I dreaded BUT I got it over with and I went on a shopping splurge in the local thriftstore. Treated myself to an armfull of detective books and will try to get in some nicerelaxing reading.
Also I managed to squeeze in 1 hour of cardio before i left: 20 mins row, 20 min jog and 20 mins bike.
Meg: keep up the good work, I love to hear your adventures in the gym.
to everyone!!! So many victories already this week and it's only Tuesday!!!!
Meg, last week sounds like it was fabulous! I agree, it's super fun to hear about your experiences in the gym. I think it would be so rewarding to share with people about exercise and healthy living. What's the first step to becoming a personal trainer? Oh, and big congrats on escaping the pizza and cake!
Rabbit, awesome job on all that cardio! What's LBW?
Anne, I had my strategies in place before I got pregnant and it all went out the window when I actually was preggers. I couldn't anticipate the fact that I was nauseous ALL the time and craved sugary carbs 25 hours a day. I convinced myself that I didn't feel good enough to exercise, so you are doing better than I did in that department. Hang in there, you really are doing great!
Robin, hope the rest of your editing went well. It sounds like you handled your challenge beautifully. I used to use food the way you described. Food was my way of getting through any and all unpleasant tasks! It never was a true reward, though, because I would finish the task, but I would be bloated and miserable. Lately, I've been breaking up my tedious duties at home with bits of computer time or 30 minute chunks of a movie.
Sashenka, if I'm around pizza and only have ONE slice, I consider that a victory. Same goes for birthday cake - both are lethal in my book. Sounds like you have it all under control. Hope you enjoyed your run.
Gina, LOVE the four day weeks, too. My son has no school Friday either so this one is a 3-dayer.
My goal this week was to survive the 3-day weekend AND I DID! My food and exercise was on plan throughout. Weekends are tough just because I get into that celebratory mood and I associate celebration with FOOD! When I relax on my eating, it can easily turn into a binge. So, I'm VERY pleased that the weekend was a success. We did something fun with the kids each day so I was able to celebrate and have a good time but wake up this morning with feelings of triumph (and relief!) rather than regret.
Next weekend is another 3-day weekend AND my son's birthday. Getting through that challenge is my next goal.
Today is weights and cardio at the gym with my friend - looking forward to it.
My three day weekend was a complete success. I went out to eat three times, and did not overeat! I went to the country buffet, which is a buffet restaurant that i used to go to as a little girl and eat mass quantities of dessert. I had a small portion of sugar free, fat free frozen yogurt and that was all for dessert. This is a miracle!
I also went on a date, and the guy wanted to buy me some fancy dessert. I declined it! Another miracle.
I am so excited, I am only two pounds from my goal weight as of my weigh in last week. I bought a suit for my graduate school interviews yesterday, and the size eights were all hanging off me, which has not happenned since I was a teenager! (okay, that is not that many years ago for me, but still a big deal).
I have not binged in almost two weeks, another big deal for me.
Yeah!
Hi all. I posted a reply to all my great supporters in last week's thread. And, again, thanks for being there when I needed you.
Hoping this week will be much better than last. Even if it isn't, I'm going to just accept whatever comes my way and not have any more pity parties (at least not for a while).
Today was Board day (which I should spell Bored Day) and I attended a 4 hour board meeting this morning and have to go back after lunch. I hate bored day. They cater a luncheon for the board members and it's always difficult to avoid the "goodies." But so far I've managed.
Courageous - glad you had a successful weekend. Feels good to resist the temptations, doesn't it.
Robin - know what you mean about those Board minutes. I used to do the same thing. In fact, I ate my way through law school which is where I found my first "extra" 15 pounds. Then, I ate my way through private practice as a trial lawyer. Whenever I was preparing for a trial or an important brief, I always kept a plate of food on hand to nibble at. I did more eating than preparing I think. I'm done with that.
Sashenka - only 1 piece of pizza and cake at a kid's party. Great job! And good for you for getting right back on track.
KarynLee - congrats on the 3 days of success. I know you can do it for the upcoming weekend as well.
4rabbit - thanks for the post last week. Very helpful. Wow, 2 straight hours of exercise? Is this a regular thing? I've been known to do that much - but only when trying to bust a plateau or work off "extra goodies."
Gina - yes, the 4 day weeks can get to be a habit. I work on a flex schedule and every other week for me is a 4 day week (or a 3 day week if my flex day off falls on a holiday weekend). It's wonderful.
Mel and Meg - I so envy that you actually get to work in a gym. DH and I have joined a gym for the first time ever (at 48 years old) but we are waiting for them to finish building it. I'm very anxious. I want to start strength training. And Meg, good job on pizza/cake avoidance.
Anne - glad that you recognize that you'll have to be careful while you are PG. The weight is very easy to put on and takes forever to take off. With my first pregnancy, I gained 56 lbs. Took me 4 years to get back to my pre-pregnant size. Then about two months later, I got pregnant again. So with the second pregnancy I was very careful and gained only 20 lbs. Much better. It's all worth it though when the little one gets here.
I've been on maintenance now for two months and my weight has finally stabilized. I weigh every morning and every night and fluctuate between 110.8 in the a.m. and 111.6 at night - which has been consistent for 2 weeks now. I do not want to lose any more weight and so I'm glad that I've been able to "hit bottom" as far as the weight loss goes. Now, the real battle starts - keeping the weight from coming back. Well, I've put on my good attitude hat today and no more whining for me.
Funniegirrl - who posts here and on the Jenny Craig website - turned me onto Fitday.com. I notice that some of you have mentioned that site as well. It is so nice to have such a wealth of knowledge and experience available to help learn maintenance -- and for free too!!!
After playing with Fitday for a couple of weeks, I think I've finally gotten the hang of it and am now planning my daily menus with it. Really keeps me in line. I hope that I will get to the point where I can just eat right instinctively. But, at least for now, I'm keeping to a strict regimen. I find that now that I'm on maintenance I tend to crave certain things a lot more than I did while I was actively losing weight. Things like candy bars and pizza, etc. Right now I am craving a Butterfinger so bad I can taste it. (Probably because I noticed that they have them in the vending machines today.) I think what I may do if the craving doesn't go away by the end of the day is just go ahead and buy the thing, take it home and substitute it for the evening snack I would usually have. I'm hoping that by giving myself permission to have it if I'm still craving it, the craving will just go away. We'll see if that works.
So, everyone, let's go take on the day, the week and the month!
NOt such a good day today stillbecause ot the appointment yesterday. However, i did a good "Mental workout" for 1 hour and i am feeling a bit more in charge now.
Glad to hear that most of you are doing OK on your goals.
lawshark, glad to hear that you are feeling better now as well.
Because of the "mental workout" I had not much time for the real thing today. Still I managed to squeeze in 10 mins of rowing. Sometimes you have to shift priorities. Hope to do better tomorrow.
TGIW: Yes it Wednesday not Tuesday.
Haven't been feel too well this week and it is a bit fustrating. I have two herniated disk in my neck that are not behaving. This is a long term issue but when it flare's up it is very uncomfortable. So I have been walking for exercise this week, my favorite but also not the most intense. I have also been doing a modified strenght workout no stress on the neck.
Rabbit mental exercise is just as important as physical. Keep on keeping on.
Courageous & Karynlee: CONGRATULATIONS on your success.
Vacation coming up for me next week. I usually do fine at the event but then have an aftershock effect. I do real well and then boom the event is over and I have an overeating or emotional eatathon. So any suggestion for a post event backup plan would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Tee hee hee ... it's Wednesday, and I haven't even touched those dratted minutes since Monday. I suppose I should feel guilty. Nah, not worth it. I'll just have to do 'em later.
I see lots and lots of success this week. Rabbit, sometimes I think the mental workouts are the most important ones we do. Good job. And Elaine, congrats on getting through the weekend; on recognizing how your mind works and thinking through some work-arounds; and coming up with a strategy for that Butterfinger! Courageous, we have those big "country buffet" places here, too. They're a nightmare, although I have discovered with very careful sleuthing, I can put together a pretty healthy meal. And no binging. What a success
Reg4242, I, too, have successfully navigated through vacations only to come home and totally melt down. The last time I traveled for pleasure, I tried a little different approach ... I let myself go a little more on the trip. I ate my maximum calories every day instead of my minimum, and I tried to find time to do a little extra walking. After all, it's a vacation. You go away to enjoy yourself, and I count the pleasures of the table as sheer enjoyment. That said, in Florida I simply gorged on fresh fish, fresh fruit and great veggies. DH and shared a piece of key lime pie, but in the cosmic scheme of things, how much damage is half a piece of pie going to do? And if I hadn't had that half piece, I could have set myself up for failure.
I also started thinking about coming home ... about visualizing how it would feel to walk into the house and back into "regular life," with all of its stresses, strains and obligations. I started a little positive self talk about feeling good and feeling healthy. I also made sure there were a couple of things ready and waiting for me in the frig so that I didn't face an empty kitchen upon arrival. That way I couldn't tell myself that I "had no choice" when coming face to face with any number of poor foods.
I'm really interested to know how other people handle this, because it is always a vulnerable time for me, too.
Oi, talk about a crazy week. This is my second week in transition from weight loss to maintenance (jenny craiger here). Sunday's not so bad but Monday during a Idol style competition I'm part of EVERYTHING goes wrong.
1: They misplace, but eventually find my backing tracks
2: We do two songs that night, jazz & rock. I was told the day before we'd be doing rock first so I wear my knee high boots and black PVC mini-dress only to be told it's changed to jazz first. Off I go to get changed into my formal gown.
3: Backing track starts during my Jazz song and it's barely audible. I strain to hear it but I still manage ok because I know the song I was doing backwards and forwards.
4: During the rock song the track is fine, but the mike is not high enough. Most of the people hear me but still arghghgh.
Then tuesday morning out network at work goes kaput! I try and do as much work as I can until I just plum run out, end up leaving early. I get a call regarding the ultrasound I had done on my left breast when I found a lump They want to do an asperation to check it out and I manage to get an appointment for the next day. But this leaves me in severe worry mode. my main squeeze ryan was coming over that night and I just break down crying as soon as he gets in the door.
Today is ok since as it turns out the lump is receding so I don't have to get the asperation done after all. relief! Today is a maintenance calorie day so I am celebrating with pudding later.
But I did not overeat or binge or anything save for a glass of wine on tuesday. The rest of my week better go better!
Maintainers - February 21 - 27
I'm sitting here with a new-found appreciation for the wonders of coffee as I try to get started for the day. 
I started working at the gym last week, worked all day Saturday, then attended a mandatory "Cleaning Party" last night at which CAKE and PIZZA were served! 
Picture this scenario: it's 9:00 at night, I had just finshed two hours of cleaning disgusting treadmills, I'm starving, and in walks boxes and boxes of pizza and a huge sheet cake (home baked by one girl's mom). 
I grabbed my keys and literally ran out the door! That was a close call!
Today I'm spending an hour with a woman who's been a member for seven years, only does cardio, and now she wants to learn about weights. Yeah, baby! This will be fun - I hope she catches the bug for weightlifting. 
I hope everyone's doing well - check in and say hi, OK?
I REALLY wanted to take today off, but board books go out this week, and I have 40 pages of minutes to edit before they can go. I loathe editing minutes, and what I have done in the past is edited a page or so, and eaten something. Edited another page or so, and ea .... Well, you get the picture.
things.
to everyone!!! So many victories already this week and it's only Tuesday!!!!
I convinced myself that I didn't feel good enough to exercise, so you are doing better than I did in that department. Hang in there, you really are doing great! 
Lately, I've been breaking up my tedious duties at home with bits of computer time or 30 minute chunks of a movie. 
