Support Groups - "Every-Day" 21-Day Challenge -- There's strength in numbers!!

Good morning, everyone. It's Wednesday here. Things are moving along with the challenges. I have to go check the numbers but I have about a week left on the caffeine and crunches and another two or so on the journaling. I have a story I had better get mostly finished today but I am determined to get in a good workout as well. My right knee is hurting, which is throwing a bit of a monkey wrench into my running plans, but I can do other things I suppose. The lethargy of yesterday seems to have lifted a bit.

I am staying away from the scale though because I don't think it will look nice but I also don't think it is a true reflection of my efforts. I think it may be water retention and that looks, feels and weighs like fat, but ISN'T so I'm not going to let it get me down, which it would if I see a number on the scale....then again, maybe I should just be brave. I used to chart my weight every day and I wouldn't mind the ups and plateaus at all because I knew they would be followed by a sudden drop...that is, IF I had been doing well on keeping the food and drink down to human levels AND exercising.

***
Ok, I weighed myself and it was up from a couple days ago and I am rather annoyed, but I will NOT let it change my plans to notch a "GOOD" day! :mad:

***

Speaking of exercising, I was thinking back some years and realizing how I used to do a LOT more moving around in a day. I'm going to try to do that now, instead of sitting around in my room so much.

jolly -- I'm glad to hear a good report out of you! Great work! :cp: That certainly was a magnificent day, a masterpiece! :sunny: And thanks for the explanation on the red dress pin. I looked it up on the Net and see the symbol. So many diseases are brought on by overweight, poor eating and exercising habits. I am glad you are aiming to (and I'm sure you will hit the mark!) to break this chain in your family. I think very little of it is actually genetic and I fear many people look to others in their families who have been ill and think, oh, what's the use?! I'm doomed anyway...you are NOT going to do that! Power to you! :strong:

Sushi -- You too! Wow! Great on the running! :cp: It would be nice to be able to run outside. Here, it's just too unpleasant, concrete all around me, no way I'm going to go off and find a park, which would mean getting on a couple trains...I don't mind the treadmill though, especially not since I have my iPod nano. A lot of times I feel I don't want to listen to any music but if I do start listening to it it is sure to change my mood and I go for much longer. Now, with my knee hurting, I am trying to stop myself from doing too much and further aggravating it. I hope you don't develop any joint problems or the like. Good luck on meeting your next goals! :goodluck:

carla -- Thanks for the spinning explanation. It sounds very tough, but fun. Yes, as you say, the group is what makes it fun and competitive...even though you're not going anywhere! :lol: As for the popups, I have never gotten a single one. What browser are you using? That may be the reason. I think Explorer is the lamest and the most dangerous too. I use Safari and it is very easy to block popups. Or you could try Opera or Mozilla. They can all be had for free just by downloading off their sites. And what is this?!?! Down 3 lbs! Wow! Where did that come from?! :cb: I mean, yeah, "salt, fact and water" !! that's what we're all looking to lose. Nothing to make light of! Interesting irony in the expression, no? :lol:

freaky -- !! There you are! Good to see you and your smiling face avatar pic! Wow, groovy going with the newfound, or rather, increased, popularity. Kudos on the 2 lbs down :cp: but I'm sure it's your party spirit acting like a beacon of hope amongst the downtrodden that is the real reason for your flock of groupies! Yes, and even hanging out with the very senior crowd, an 80s party!, I thought you only hung with people your own age! Cool! :lol3:

marble -- :bravo: Congrats on notching Day 4. 20 mins of ellip. doesn't sound like a warmup of anyone's to me! Don't pooh-pooh your efforts! :nono: I don't know what you did with your posterior muscles. The gluteus maximus is, like its name, huge! and we use it enough that I doubt you injured that. Don't even know if that's possible. I was reading a bit about butt injuries...strange topic, eh?...and I think it may be one of the underlying little ones that you could have strained, something about one of them and sciatic nerve. I'm sure it'll be better soon.

tia -- I didn't think you were whining, just feeling a bit down and discouraged. Don't we all do that at times? ;) Yes, that's the way I understood your challenge too, just writing it down, keeping track. Chin up and carry on!

Apple -- Squeaky is still safe! Better a squeak than silence. I hope you'll be able to get that good workout in today. So, when does the no-beer challenge commence?

Fish -- Very sorry to hear you've been sick. Bronchitis really knocks you out. I had a very bad case of it once. I was much more of an obsessive with the exercise then and I kept pushing myself and pushing myself at the gym. After doing heavy weight training I would run on the treadmill even though my lungs were hurting something awful. My fingernails were turning blue, that's how bad I was but I just was determined to push on, actually thinking I was probably just a bit tired. It wasn't until a friend forced me to go to the doctor and he said I was a hairline away from pneumonia. He insisted on a week's complete bed rest and tons of antibiotics. For years after that I would get asthma easily and I think I did not help my lungs much. Things are much, much better now. I hope you were not so far along. Lung ailments can be very strange things...like "walking pneumonia" they don't always appear to be as bad as they are. Though in your case, it sounds bad. Let's hope the weight stays off for you. It's not a nice way to lose, is it?

CBETA -- Look at you go!! Only 1 more day on two of your challenges and 2 more on the other. Fabulous! :yes: You are so strong these days. I wish I could have some of your determination and success! I hope your ex notices the weight loss, but, remember, men are usually pretty much dorks when it comes to things like that. 20 lbs though, that should be good for something! Enjoy your dinner and celebration of citizenship! Congratulations to your ex!

:bubbles:

Oh Red! Today is supposed to be day one of no beer. I came home from my hour & 15 min walk/jog (it was awesome...I wish I could do that everyday!!) and I was hungry AND thirsty...so I scoured the fridge for a beer but they're ALL GONE!:cry: So I had some yougurt... I used to run a 10 minute mile. Pretty slow, back of the pack but I've always been OK with that. On Sunday I ran 1 mile in 11:11. And I can't imagine putting back to back miles at that clip anytime soon. :tread: I got a running shoe/clothing catalog in the mail today. Maybe I'll set up a reward system with it.
Carla, I'm going to cheat a little since I didn't weigh myself yesterday. I'll use Fridays weigh-in (2 pounds down) and weigh in again next Monday I guess I get 2 extra days that way but I have to synchronize somehow...:shrug:
Well, if I eat what I'm planning on tonight it will be a good day!
Hope everything is well with the rest of you!
Congrats on the 20 pounds. CB!

Hey Kids!

I am sitting on my tuckis watching American Idol, and I realise that I have got to start posting again. I have been (and still am) off the wagon the past few days. My inability to get past day 1 on my early morning challenge has been really demoralizing. I am not ready to give up yet, though - I am going to give it one more shot - this getting up by 7am challenge... If I don't make it this time, then I'll consider revising to a more manageable challenge.

I have been happily wallowing in food porn over the past couple of days and have managed to gain back a pound or two. I am going to complete my food porn wallow tonight and start fresh tomorrow. I have a marathon of interviews this weekend at a job fair - We will be staying overnight in a hotel, so I know it will be a challenge to make good choices, but I am committed to not sabatoging myself anymore. Breakfasts have continued to go well - I've been making good choices there, but my major problem lately has been overeating - I'm back in my old rut of eating until I can barely breathe. Somewhere in the last two days I checked my self control at the door. Now I just have to find it again. This is not a full-fledged tumble into rebellion, this is just a little backsliding on the straight and narrow path to health. I'm going to spend the rest of tonight reevaluating my progress and actions so far and figure out what's working and what's not so I can get back on track in the morning. Tomorrow is another day, as they say, and tomorrow will be a better day and the first of a nice long string of better days!

Keep on Truckin!
Erin :carrot:

Well, I discovered these forums on accident. It seems like a very positive and goal-oriented group of people frequent this site. Anyway, I had trouble figuring out where to start and I found the 21-Day Challenge. It's February 7th today, so assuming I can stick to it for the 21 days, that'll take me to the end of the month.

I definitely have some pounds to lose, but at the same time, I'm in decent shape. I'm training for my second half-marathon and I'm up to 7 mile long runs. I'm very motivated when it comes to training, however, eating and losing the pounds is easier said than done. Strange, as it seems the common person would be much more motivated to simply eat healthier than run for a straight hour plus.

Getting on to my point, my 21-day challenge will be OATMEAL. I would like to eat oatmeal (1 cup oats, 2 cups water) for breakfast with a glass of Orange Juice every morning, followed by another bowl of oatmeal with a handful of raisins for lunch. That may seem like a lot of oatmeal (and it is), but it's relatively low in calories and very filling. Also, with the OJ and raisins, I'm getting some fruit in my diet. My dinner will vary from night to night, but it'll be healthy both in nutrition and proportion. I'm vegetarian, so a sample dinner might be a soy burger on whole wheat bread with cooked or fresh vegetables and soy yogurt or a fruit. The oatmeal is just a sure way to keep me on track during the day. The reason I like to leave dinner open is that it's more common to have evening "food" gatherings with friends for dinner rather than breakfast or lunch for me.

I know I have a late start, but I still think this will motivate me. I look forward to hearing about anything similar that has worked for anyone else.

Didn't complete any challenges today. I have to start over on the journal. And I will start at day 10 with the other two tomorrow.

Well, I discovered these forums on accident. It seems like a very positive and goal-oriented group of people frequent this site. Anyway, I had trouble figuring out where to start and I found the 21-Day Challenge. It's February 7th today, so assuming I can stick to it for the 21 days, that'll take me to the end of the month.

I definitely have some pounds to lose, but at the same time, I'm in decent shape. I'm training for my second half-marathon and I'm up to 7 mile long runs. I'm very motivated when it comes to training, however, eating and losing the pounds is easier said than done. Strange, as it seems the common person would be much more motivated to simply eat healthier than run for a straight hour plus.

Getting on to my point, my 21-day challenge will be OATMEAL. I would like to eat oatmeal (1 cup oats, 2 cups water) for breakfast with a glass of Orange Juice every morning, followed by another bowl of oatmeal with a handful of raisins for lunch. That may seem like a lot of oatmeal (and it is), but it's relatively low in calories and very filling. Also, with the OJ and raisins, I'm getting some fruit in my diet. My dinner will vary from night to night, but it'll be healthy both in nutrition and proportion. I'm vegetarian, so a sample dinner might be a soy burger on whole wheat bread with cooked or fresh vegetables and soy yogurt or a fruit. The oatmeal is just a sure way to keep me on track during the day. The reason I like to leave dinner open is that it's more common to have evening "food" gatherings with friends for dinner rather than breakfast or lunch for me.

I know I have a late start, but I still think this will motivate me. I look forward to hearing about anything similar that has worked for anyone else.

Hi, and welcome.
What part of Columbus are you from. I lived there and went to OSU 5 years ago before moving out to CA. My parents still live there....
Congratulations on starting out on this journey.
Also, you should go back to the first post in this thread and read about the rules, so you can name the level for you challenge, i.e. how many pause days you anticipate needing.
It is challenging, but it's mind over matter if you are determined you will successed. Good luck.

Hi guys, Today was a very bad day, or a good one, depending on whether today marked a turning point in my getting out of the enormous debt I am in and/or whether I can go all out in search of work. I will not go into detail, just leave it be said that it was an emotionally draining day. I was headed to the gym...but never made it...I was lucky to get anything done today but I did NOT go off my challenges and I just did the crunches here in my tiny hovel. We gotta be strong. That's the only way...the ONLY way!

thirty -- :welcome: Glad to have you aboard. My trusted assistant, CBETA, has already instructed you on going to the first post to check out the rules. :lol3: There are some other "rules" we have that I have yet to post there. One, is that we are a, at least outwardly, nonsectarian thread, though passing references to one's goddess of choice are OK. And, yes, we take nominations. Vegetarians are allowed to preach though. :lol: Also, we have a rule on what we call "food porn." This is a ban on going on and on in detail about any sort of garbage you've been indulging in, such as the usually sugar, rich, simple-carb laden things or fast-"food," or crunchy calorie-laden things that come in bags...anything that really does not belong on a diet and the kind of thing that often acts as triggers for people to start bingeing. Telling us about your luscious veggies and soy burgers is OK! The reason for this rule is because we are an action-oriented thread. If you are here you better be on the wagon, or about to go on the wagon, or just fallen off and nursing your wounds before you jump on again. No, really, though some of us are not doing food-related challenges, and wouldn't at all be bothered by having a wallow in all sorts of goodies, there are those who would be sorely tempted by even the mention of such. I do not want this to ever become a misery-loves-company kind of place. Oh, we have our share of misery here....just wait till you hear me!...but the goal is always to get back up and try again, and again, and again. My motto, NEVER GIVE UP!

OK, enough of that. Now over to you. Living on "zen lane" you surely must know that there are no "accidents!" You were sent to us, for sure! :yes: And I think it must be the oatmeal link! I have the stuff every morning, organic steelcut, slow-cooking stuff, sometimes mixed with 7-Grain cereal, and raisins and cranberries, made with soymilk and topped with wheat germ and some nonfat milk. I'm a vegetarian too, but not vegan. I'll have some dairy and eggs, though not much. Are you vegan?

Good luck on your running. I like to run too, was once thinking of marathons myself, but always get knee or foot problems. I guess if "common people" would rather eat well than run like a nut then that makes you....well.....an uncommon sort!!! :lol3: You and I also have about the same weight goals and ways to go. I'm a little lighter and want to go a little lighter than you do. I am only just over 5 ft though. You sound tall and you certainly don't look like you have ANY weight to lose from your picture. Love the eyebrow piercings. Ouch! Well, good luck, and, oh, there is no "too late" on this challenge. We're all at different points and some of us start over and over till we get it right. I make a new thread when I personally start a new challenge but everything just carries over and carries on. Hope to hear lots from you! Good luck! :goodluck:

CBETA -- You are a doll! Welcoming our new member, pointing her to the rules and helping me out! :lol: Thanks!

tia -- Back on the wagon with you, girl! No excuses! Up and at 'em!

Apple -- So, I take it, today WAS the first day of the no-beer challenge?! But, you really had planned to have one after that awesome workout, right? But, really, way to go!! Running like an antelope! Keep it up! Oh, that reminds me, I had a running dream the other night. It felt great, kind of, you know, the ones where you're fast and running is effortless? Well, in this dream I was in the woods in Germany with some clueless Brit looking for racehorses, when I look down and I see bear footprints (now, I've never seen a bear pawprint, but I knew what they were in my dream!) I said, uh-oh, bear! and he says, nah....and then we both see this bear in the woods and I ran and just kept running. I was SOOOO fast! It was incredible! I don't know what happened to the Brit..... :rofl:

chai -- sitting on your "tuckis" is it? "happily"....did I read that right?!?!?! :eek: happily?!??! wallowing in food porn?!?! NO way. I refuse to believe it! You know, I think I am just going to have to ban any sort of pleasurable words associated with food porn...no more of this happy stuff, you know! :mad: It's going to have to be...I suffered through the smut...I beat myself with a piece of hardcore porn...I gagged and nearly :barf: -ed choking down some filth....ok?! :lol3:

Hmmm...eating till you can barely breathe...I know the feeling...I think I did it a couple nights ago. :(

Well, I see you are nevertheless repenting for your evil ways....10 Hail Marys and an Our Father for good measure...!! :nono: Good luck, chai!

:sumo:

yesterday was day 18 for me

calories= 1265
exercise= 30 min walking in the am
30 min walking in the pm


everyone is doing soooo great!!!! really pushing it!!!! way to go :cheer:

:yawn: Good morning everyone, and welcome to the newest member. I just had to come online quick and get my morning fix before heading off to the gym. It feels good to be able to work out first thing, instead of having to head to work. And, let's face it, the extra half hour of sleep was way nice.

Here's to a great day for everyone. This is day 5 of both of my challenges, and I predict an AWESOME day. Take care all.

p.s. - Red, I love your comment on "suffering through the smut!" Got my first laugh of the day :rofl:

Tayja -- Well, kiddo, you did it!!!! :cp: :woo: :encore: :cp: :woo: You chugged your way to your first complete round of 21!!! WAY TO GO!!! With new habits and new discipline you're sure to get that midriff you want this year for sure!! :yes: Hang in there! I am like you with the inflexibility. So tight! But I do try to stretch a bit more these days. Usually, if I'm pressed for time, it's going to be the thing that goes, right? I hope you can gain some momentum nearing your birthday too. I'm sure you can if you just keep at it and gradually increase what you're doing. And thanks for the kick in the butt to freaky. I gave her one too. She was out partying after the Super Bowl and had an absolute blast! Oh, I wish I had been there in Detroit with her.



thank you !!! apparently some where i messed up my smilies cause according to them yesturday was 18 but sure enough my challenge ended yesturday :carrot:

go me :cheer:

ok so i will be back to post my new challenges after i get home from work/school... and to try and catch up with everyone i been pretty much slacking and justchecking in lately... have a wonderful successful day everyone :cb:

CBETA--Thanks for the welcome and setting me straight with the rules. I promise I read them, but I just left out that one little detail. I'll go with level....1. Although I find it tough in general to lose weight, I find it easier when I have a specific plan, SO, 1 it is. Also, I live in the Clintonville area, where all the vegetarian hippies live, duh. (Disclaimer: I am not a hippie nor do I advocate such a relaxed, earth and animal-friendly lifestyle). ;)

Red--WOW, what a welcome!! Does everyone get this treatment or do I have special rights as a vegetarian? Speaking of that, I'm not vegan, although I'm often mistaken as one, as I very rarely eat dairy/eggs. When I do eat eggs, I have to make sure they're free range, vegetarian fed, and so on. I only buy vegetarian cheese with microbial or vegetable rennet as opposed to straight-up calf stomach. Eww. Oh, and about the food porn--are you saying nobody is tempted by my delicious soy patties? MY vegetarian burgers taste just like,...Well, I can't say it--that would be participating in the forbidden "food porn." Anyway, it's pretty peaceful here on Zen Lane and I don't plan to stir up any misery. It's not my style. As for the piercings, I have some that hurt MUCH worse, I assure you. We'll save that for another day, though. Thanks again for making me feel so welcome. Catch you on yahoo? ;)

Hi everyone,

thank you all for the kind words. I am feeling a little better today, but the 20-minute walk to the subway (I'm back in NY again) completly wiped me out. At least I know I will get another 20 minutes of walking in tonight when I go back to the apartment. Unless I take a cab:D . I think I'll just walk. It's good for me and i need some activity other than moping about at work wishing I felt better!

CBETA - you are doing so well with your challenges! I saw that you finished your first round a few days ago, and have started a new set of three - Congratulations! I hate to take meds also, but, sometimes they really help you (like my antibiotics!). I get really bad TOM for just one day, and then the remaining days are fine. So I usually don't take anything, but if your meds help you, then take them, silly!

Jolly girl - doesn't it feel good once you are done with your workout? I miss the gym. My goal is to start working out again by Friday.

Sushi - your running has really improved! Weren't you running only 3 and 4 minutes at a time a few months ago?

Carla - Wow, you have just been "spinning" away the pounds, haven't you? Keep it up, lady!

Red - let your knees rest up! I personally have more knee trouble when I run on a treadmill then when i can run outside, but if a treadmill is your best option, just try to take it easy for a little while.

Talk to you all later! And hello to everyone else I missed!

.....
CBETA - you are doing so well with your challenges! I saw that you finished your first round a few days ago, and have started a new set of three - Congratulations! I hate to take meds also, but, sometimes they really help you (like my antibiotics!). I get really bad TOM for just one day, and then the remaining days are fine. So I usually don't take anything, but if your meds help you, then take them, silly!


Actually, I've not yet finished all
A: Food (3-2) -Day 21 (Feb. 7) Done. CHALLENGE COMPLETED
B: H2O (3-2) - Day 21 (Feb. 7) Done. CHALLENGE COMPLETED
C: Gym (3-3) - Day 20 (Feb. 7) Done ONE more day and tonight it will ALL OVER!
So excited I thought I'd never make it. Though that weight 248, hm is another story, today it was 250 perhaps due to soy sauce salt. It must go down by Friday. To celebrate, I am making a few guys buy me flowers and, may be going up to Tahoe to ski... My ex did say that it looks like he can see some loss when he looks at my profile, but when anfas there is still a lot more work to do...Saturday I will start my new challenges I think. I think it will be 3 or 4. Meaning a repeat all of old 3 plus a no any sugar. I eat very little of it as it, but sometimes I do, so I will get rid of 1-2 teaspoons in my morning tea, and then random other ocasional white flour stuff. That will be hard, but at least water and food can become level 2 or may be even level 1.

Im Doneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Yeehaw Uh Huh Whos Ur Mommy Now... Um New Challenge 64 Oz Of Water A Day For 21 Days Level 1 ...yeehaw

Hi all. Congrats on challenges met. Fish, yes, I love it when I am done at the gym. Especially in the mornings. I feel so much better all day once I get that done. Evenings are tough, especially when work runs long (hence, no barn again today :( )

Day 5 for both challenges - met :cb: :cb: This was amazing, as again, work was a bit hectic - dealing with finances that didn't exactly match up. Then, I got home, and took the plunge. Asked a friend about setting me up with a friend of her husband. This was stressful, as I am not attractive, have no social skills, and the only dating skills I ever had (haven't dated in about a decade) was beer. at least I tried, yah? But, I stuck with the menu, enjoyed my dinner (between cleaning up after sick dog:barf:), and am getting ready to watch Lost.

Oh yeah, and am checking out a bike riding club. I like my bike.

have a great night all! YOu are all awesome.

CBETA! FREAKY!! TAY!!!
WE'VE GOT A HAT TRICK!!!
:woo::woo::woo::carrot: :carrot: :carrot: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: :cp: :cp: :cp: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: :carrot: :carrot: :carrot: :woo: :woo: :woo:

Bythe way, CBETA, you almost had me stumped with "anfas", but I think I've figured it out: from French "en face", or face-to-face/straight on? (As opposed to in profile?)

Yesterday I used up my second food challenge pause day; I don't think that one's going all the way to 21. But another no wine day under my belt today. Which makes either 9 or 10, gotta check.

This morning was the second boot camp class - not as much fun this time, as the (different) instructor didn't seem to realize she needed to dumb down some of the ab work for me to a level I could at least attempt. No grasp of the concept of walking before you try to run... But the early rising was still not too bad. Tomorrow night: spin, then Fri am boot camp again, followed by a bit of a break over the weekend (although I'll be working both days, so no sleeping in).

33 - :welcome3:

too tired to post more right now...

day 19

calories- 1280
exercise- 1 hr of circuit training

fingers are too tired to type... eyes are going shut... carla u made me sleepy just reading your schedule!!!!


fish hope u are feeling better....

As of now all of my challenges are completed.
I could not have done w/o your support and w/o support of my friends and family (that' my acceptance speech....)
Here is to more completed challenges in the future. Not sure I might start one tomorrow or friday.
I feel that beggining of this week due to TOM I did not work hard enough, so perhaps I shall look into doing more.
BTW, I never bought those flowers for 260 pounds(first they did not have the kind I wanted, second time when I stopped by, that kind was not very fresh and I did not want to be upset looking at them all droopy)... and now being right at 250 this eve and slightly below in the morning, i think I should, or at least I shall attempt to get one of my guy friends to buy me some, due to weight loss and upcomming valentine, even though I will not be going to Denver :-( because of work...

carla yes anfas is correct, I was not sure if this is an english word...though in my story I screwed up he did not like my "profile view" and did like my "anfas".
But yes you are correct on the translation.

Yes, my running has improved... makes me very happy. :) But I once ran 1.5 km in 2 min 10 sec. Wonder if I'll ever repeat that! :lol:

Today was Day 9 of my challenge and I did 14 minutes. I improved my time for one stretch of the dirt road (about 1.5 km) by a bit to 8 min 24 sec, but it was really tough... I get so awfully red in the face! It's embarassing when people stare at me from the passing cars... or when other runners stare - they're never red in the face! :oops:

Hi, all. I just got bombarded with work...and if I don't get it done tonight I will have to forego the gym tomorrow morning and I would really like to go. So, no time for long posts now.
Just wanted to say that I am on:

Day 20 for caffeine
Day 20 for crunches
Day 14 for journaling

There are no more pauses and it looks like I'll be clear on all of the above today, since it's already late and I'm not going to drink coffee, I have done the crunches and written everything up to now! So, tomorrow will be the last day for two of them! Hurrah, hurrah!

Later, guys! But, CBETA, Congratulations!!! :cp: :woo: :encore: :woo: :cp: You are fabulous!!! :spin: :dizzy: And I'm sure you look fantastic from ALL angles. Guys are clueless, will you pleeeaazzz remember that?!?!?

Curly, way to go! carla, you are amazing with your boot camp!! :eek: jolly, I love your upbeat sound and yes, bikes are great fun, a group is even better! Go for it! And I don't want to hear you saying stuff like "I am not attractive..." Give me a break!!! :nono: And, wow, and freaky too. Major kudos to you!! :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: Fish, get well soon! thirty, you hanging in there? Tay, I already gave you your cheer. Tia, where are you, kid? Anyone else, how's it going, Apple? Shad, melting marble? JCT, you ok? stage, whatever happened to you? chai, you wallowing again?! Sushi? Others! How ya doing?! :sunny:

Outta here! :wave:

Good morning all. Wow, Carla - your workout routine sounds awesome. I know I have gotten complacent lately, and need to amp things up a bit with my workout. Have been doing weights regularly, but need to push the cardio more. My reward for hitting 200 is some personal trainer sessions. I also have figured out in advance my next few food goals, which is great. I have even planned in when to consult with a dietician if needed. I really feel like I have made some strides the last few days.

I also dodged a pause day bullet already this morning. For some reason, I woke up feeling really tired and kind of grumpy. I decided what I had planned for breakfast just wasn't going to work, and I was having something else. Now, what I was going to make was actually healthy, but then I realized - why waste a pause day on a healthy breakfast that I can easily put on the next menu rotation??? How silly is that? So I had the oatmeal that was on my menu (let me tell you, 33, once a week oatmeal is more than enough for me!), and am off to the gym as soon as I get done here.

And sorry, Red. I wasn't meaning to be down on myself, but I am not a pretty woman. Add to that a sarcastic sense of humor, a strong independence, and a protective shell - I am not exactly a man's fantasy. Ah well.

I am off to the gym and work. Have a great day all.

Hello everyone!!

I made it through Day 1 of the challenge. Jolly, I honestly LIKE oatmeal, so maybe that's the difference. And, I find it to be very filling and it's healthy, so I have no problem eating it!

Red, sorry about leaving so unexpectedly--I had surprise company. I will most definitely catch you later, though.

Sushi--I swear to you not ALL of us runners are so judgemental. I see people running all the time on the streets/trails/etc. and I'm just happy to see them out. Some are slower than me, some are faster, some are red, some look like they could go to work right after their run and nobody would notice. Honestly, rest assured that they just think you're working extra hard. I'm seriously just happy to see people out being active. Also, I don't know if you've experienced the "runner's high" thing yet, but when people are in that zone, they're not paying a bit of attention. Keep up the running!

Thanks everyone for the new inspiration. You've been great and I feel really good about everything right now. I've always been the "I can do it by myself" type, but the truth is--it's very encouraging to have people like all of you around. Okay, I'm going to stop before this turns into some sentimental breakdown and my reputation gets shot! LOL

~ZenLane

Hello everyone!!!

Guess what? I'm back at day 1 with all of my challenges, boohoo. I have completed WATP for the day. thirty3zenlane welcome to the group, I have been so absorbed in myself I didn't do it before. You are really in for a treat, these gals are great motivators. CBETA and the rest of you guys congrats on your completions, what's next. Redballoon, I'm still scooting along. I'll try to catch you on the messenger at some point today. I planned my menu last night so as long as I don't add anything, my journal is complete. I am on my 4th glass of water. Oh, I'll get that email to you today also. Have a great evening.

Carla, this boot-camp sounds like something I saw on a FITTV network show.....you PAY to be tortured & get up early???? I GET PAID to get up at 445AM for work...........


hmmmm? I'm sure you are going to get stronger and kick some A$$

Exercise is down the loo, I'm preparing to give my life to the TAX-MAN (insert old Beatles music)...HOWEVER......today I am wearing junior size 11 slacks from Mandees! I'd better get to exercising because the very last place I seem to lose is the torso! My buttisimo shrinks, my thighs, my wrists and my back-fat are leaving....Thankfully the girls are staying, but this WAIST ANNOYS ME!

(ok I'll stop ranting now)....

Congrats to all who are so motivated and complete things!

Hello everyone! I would like to join Red's 21 day challenge here. Red is really inspirational and I found that last year before summer, Red's challenge really put me on the road to better eating and fitness. I will be posting here and there, but right now I am working 75 hours a week until the end of the month. Congratulations to all that are working on the 21 day challenge, you will get the support that you need here!

Sub

I didn't post yesterday. I took a pause day too, (my last one) so That brings me to 16 days. I'm pretty sure I can finish. 5 days is not too far a reach...I couldn't walk this morning though, I was asked to babysit earlier today and I had to spend my normal walking time cleaning the house. A bit of a work out in itself, but it doesn't count! I need to do the dreaded step video tonight I guess. I ordered a new video and it should come anyday now. Sure would be nice if it came today. And day 2 on no beer. Wahoo.....
Way to go RED!!! One more day!!! I hope the momentum keeps you going!!!
Hey tia, don't worry too much about starting over. The start-over club is probably bigger than the completed challenge club.;) Just get back at it!!
Fish, I'm glad you are feeling better! Weight loss is always a nice side effect of being sick.;) I never find it to be permanent though....
Hi Marble! I love hearing about your success!!!My waist is usually where I lose FIRST. It's my thighs where it sticks....
Welcome 33! Have you run a half marathon before or is this going to be your first? I have run a few (long long time ago) And I love the challenge of a nice long race, but not too long.No ultras for me!! When I get back into decent shape I would like to set a goal of running in some sort of race once a month. And if I stick to things, I imagine 5K's will be do-able in a few months. :crossed: Hearing about you and Sushi and Red and anyone else who's running will serve as my inspiriation!!!
Yeh CBETA!!!!:hat: :cp: :cp: :cheer: :cheer: :cp: :cp:
Bummer about your trip to Denver. But you made your goal and thats great!! Keep it up for the next round!!:hat: :hat:
Hey Jolly! We've got to work on your self-image a bit!! But I want to you to know that you've had a great attitude lately and you seem a lot more positive since the Back to Basics days:halffull: I see success in your future!!
:wave: Hello to everyone else!!!

Hello there Apple! Thanks for the welcome. This will actually be my second half-marathon. I did one in August of 2004. I trained for the same half-marathon the following year, only to fracture my skull a week or two before the race in a rollerblading accident. It was too bad because I already had all of my training in. So, I'm getting a jump start at training for the April race, then I'm going to keep up my long runs and focus on improving my time for the Columbus half in August. I'll be doing an 8-mile run this weekend and going up a mile each week thereafter, until I hit 12. I'll do a 10-miler the week before the race, then of course the 13.1. I'm very excited and I enjoy my long runs so much. You should definitely get back into it! ;)

Hello everyone! I would like to join Red's 21 day challenge here. Red is really inspirational and I found that last year before summer, Red's challenge really put me on the road to better eating and fitness. I will be posting here and there, but right now I am working 75 hours a week until the end of the month. Congratulations to all that are working on the 21 day challenge, you will get the support that you need here!

Sub

ok i just read back 3 pages :lol:

:welcome: Sub, and any newbies i mighta missed...
==========

Red was right... my challenge was complete on the 7th :cb: i took a free day yesturday to just do pretty much any thing i wanted and not have to focus on drinking all those damn bottles of water...

today i am starting my new challenges... yes there is an "s" on the end of that... i am taking on 3... yes THREE new challenges...

so here they are...

:^: 60oz of water per day (yes doing this again dont wanna fall off the wagon) - level one

:^: no cookies or candy from school - level three

:^: 15 minutes of excercise AT LEAST every day (setting a goal for 15 minutes cause so far thats really all i have time for in the morning but hopefully i can increase this) - level three

so today is day one... cookies/candy - CHECK, excercise - CHECK, water- working on it...

headed to update my siggie now :D

All challenges complete for today. Had 1240 calories and 18 carb grams. Curlylocks, how are you doing? I think I will ride my bike some before I go to bed or do a yoga session.

Hello everyone. AFter a shaky start, and almost convincing myself out of working out, I had a good day. Though, didn't have time to get the weight training in - will do Saturday. Also, didn't get to the barn because work ran late again. Bad owner. Bad.

But, day 6 of both challenges met and complete. Woo hoo. Made good food and snack choices. I actually have to go get more carrots and celery, as I am almost out. Wow.

Anybody have suggestions how to get recommended daily servings of veggies, when all I like is salad and carrots??? Oh yeah, and green beans.

Have a great night all.

day 20 is all wrapped up!

welcome to the newbies...

Tia: dang girl 18 carbs??????? I bow to your royal :queen: low carbby-ness !!!! Way to go!!!!

Eating only 18 carbs would kill a vegetarian! To each her own, though. I'm finding the challenge to be easy for me, but I'll try not to get ahead of myself as it IS only the 2nd day. I haven't turned into a big oat yet. Everyone here is inspiring and I feel very motivated to lose this weight. I'm doing my best not to hop on the scale, since I've decided I'm weighing in once a week and ONLY once a week (Tuesdays). I know how discouraging and disappointing it can be not to see results overnight. I am patient most of the time, but sometimes I am tempted to throw my scale out of the window :) Patience, Tara, Patience!!!! I hope everyone is doing well!

~ZenLane

Good morning all. Off to another day. TGIF. And then one more week of work before I took a week's vacation. Not doing a whole lot, but it will be good to relax a bit.

Yeh, 33 - I like oatmeal, but not enough to eat it more than once or twice a week. Actually, there really isn't anything I like enough to eat twice a day every day unless you are talking :censored: or :censored:

:joker: I crack myself up.

Anyway. Off to the gym. Going to try and start jogging on the treadmill, so maybe I can keep up with my stepsister for a bit this summer. Biking is more for me though.

Have a super day everyone.

I normally don't come on line from work, but this morning, I just had to.

Despite feeling very self conscious about being on the treadmill, I DID IT! I did week 1 of my training program, and did 40 minutes/2 miles of jogging and walking. I have a long way to go, and I feel beat, but I am so happy I did it.

Have a wonderful day all.

Also, I have to say I have made some huge strides in work eating habits. If I were at my desk doing paperwork, I always was noshing on something. Hand constantly moving from paper to bag of :censored: Lately though, I have been listening to my body more, and eating a snack if I felt hungry only, and trying to find something that would fill and fuel me, vs emotionally comfort me. This is a huge step for me. Now, to keep going:)

Day 10 no wine completed yesterday ( and turned down a free mimosa this morning!)
Day 7 food challenge completed, one pause day left. Prognosis: dire.

This morning was my third boot camp day - really terrif! And spinning last night. At this rate I should be skinny in no time. (Yeah, right.) The weekend is break time on the exercise, and I'll try to repeat this week's success again starting Monday. Hey, if I keep it up, maybe I'll be able to wear sleeveless tops this summer! Right now the underside of the arms is scary, all crepey and wavy and flabby. I used to roll my eyes when my SM would say (over and over again) that getting old ain't for sissies, but I'm starting to think she may have a point...

Time for a nap.

Jollygirl--congrats on conquering your emotional eating at work. That's a huge step in the right direction!

Well, I think I almost have my voice back. I still can't hit high notes while I'm singing, but I CAN talk! I hate being sick. Anyway, what I'm getting to is that I finally went for a run. The last day I went running was Sunday (and that was just a mile to motivate a new runner friend). During my 3 mile run today, I thought that I should make it into a challenge. After all, everyone ELSE is taking on more than one challenge. LOL. No, that's really not the reason. I'm not being competitive! ;) So, Challenge #2 is to run or walk 3 miles or more each day. I included walking as an option because sometimes I just don't feel like running. If I force myself to walk, I may hop on the treadmill and suddenly get a burst of energy OR I may get bored while walking and decide to run OR I'll just walk but AT LEAST I'll cover the distance. I ALWAYS get bored walking--maybe that's why I'm a runner. I'm rating this challenge Level 3, as I'm not sure how much motivation, desire, or energy I'll have to walk or run on Sunday after the Long run on Saturday.

I'm just wondering--what motivates everyone here to stick with it?

For me, there are several things:

-Confidence. I like to see it in others and I'd like to see more of it in myself.
-Training. The half-marathon is right around the corner.
-Health. Being healthy is important to me.
-Stomach. I'm NOT happy with it.
-Muscles. I'd like to SEE what I have. I have a layer of fat hiding them.
-Running shorts. I have great shorts that I'm too self-conscious to wear.
-Wall-climbing. A friend of mine used to be into it and asked if I wanted to go with her soon. She's running the half with me, so I told her after we finish our training. I want to improve my body so it will be easier for me to learn.
-Appearance. Yes, I admit--I want to be sexy.

Those are just some of the reasons, others are more personal, but I just thought I'd share.

17 days on exercise, Day 3 on no beer.
I'm all excited about getting back into running shape but now I realize that I can't go running until Sunday at the earliest. And I haven't been since Tuesday. Not gonna happen unless I can get out there every other day or so. Usually I can get my daughter to go with me but there's no way I can go with all 3...school schedule was not favorable and an unexpected child care situation came up. Not the norm so there's still hope...:blah:
IF today was still my weigh in day I would be able to report success...1 pound down....I think the real challenge will be to behave myself over the weekend so that pound stays off...I have a lunch date today and a birthday party on Sunday to get through.....
Red, we are anxiously awaiting to hear the news about your successful challenge.......
Carla...who is offering you a mimosa on a Friday morning???!!! Nice lifestyle, chick!
Jolly!! Congrats on a great work out and on over coming some food hurdles!!:hat: :hat: :cp: :cp:
Zen...I would say that my motivations are very similar to yours. We have had a very warm week here and I am feeling really SCARED about having to wear short sleeves and shorts. Not to mention a bathing suit.:yikes:
So that's my MAIN motivation: To look good and feel comfortable in less clothing.
I'd also like to proove to myself and others that I'm not a complete loser...I can accomplish SOMETHING........

day 20 is all wrapped up!

welcome to the newbies...

Tia: dang girl 18 carbs??????? I bow to your royal :queen: low carbby-ness !!!! Way to go!!!!

Thanks girl, I really needed to hear that. If I eat what I have planned today I will only have 7 grams of carbs but only 887 calories which I don't think is enough. I'm not really hungry so I have to push atleast another 200 calories by ear.

Im thinking my next challenge is gonna be a carb challenge.. i just got a 6 lb tub of protein poweder 1 vanilla and 1 chocolate.. so i am thinking i will start to replace one meal a day with the protein powder just as a lil boost in teh weight loss department I need to get down to onederland !

As I sit here swamped with work, I read 33 Zen's note about what motivates me.
Well originally it was a nice a present received from my parents and my guilt over how much they want me to be healthy and happy.
I try to be careful with motivating thoughts because often in the past they brought me to hours of self review and zero work done.
I seem to get unhappy when I try on something and feel like I have nothing to wear, but then I quickly forget and just enjoy myself. I get embarassed in a swimsuit, but quickly forget once I am near the pool because I do like to swim. Few weeks back in the middle of my depression I've written a lot about the little things I am noticing, so far I've tried to hold on to these recollections and try to change them. for example, I noticed that most women at my gym change socks standing up. I've made it a point to do so all the time. It's hard to balance, but it's one calorie, and it's a simple challenge.
It's sad, but I do want to date and my recent struggles have shown me that no matter what anyone says, men and women are attracted based on looks at first. I make great connections with people once they get to know me, but until than most try to stay away. And don't get me wrong, I do the same subconsciously...so it's life, and if I want changes in that department I must change myself. So far unlike what I planned I've seem to share my struggles with friends. Some of them see results, perhaps once I reach a 41 pound loss there will be noone who has not noticed, I really want that for some reason or another, but until then, I shall start my new challenge....

So today is my weigh in and as I promissed 248 became my official weight. Actually it was jumping between that and 249, but it's because I let myself off the gym yesterday.

As far as my challenges:.

Challenge A - Gym: Level 3 (same rules as before) Start Date: TBD may be today 2/10
Challenge B - H2O: Level 2 (same rules as before) Start Date: 2/10
Challenge C - Food: Level 2 (same rules as before) Start Date: 2/10
Challenge D - Carbs: Level 3 (I'd like to reduce the number of carbs I intake. I am still reviewing how many I'd like to limit myself to on daily basis. Let me know anyone if you have some suggestions).
Challenge E - Lunch: Level 3 (I'd like to start eating my own lunches at work and at home, I feel like it's more wholesome. If I got something healthy at a friend's house or at the restoran the night before, I will count it as brought in lunch as well.) Start Date: 2/4 (I've actually been doing it all this week already)

I still haven't re-started a challenge, but wanted to come in and say hello! My plan is to do a yoga dvd when I get home tonight, if that happens, it will be day 1 of my exercise challenge.

I could probably "stealth-start" my calories challenge. I just looked at fit day and I have had under 1600 calories/day every day since the 2nd. That would put me at day 8 already! However, I wasn't conciously staying under a certain goal - I was so sick for part of that time that I barely ate anything. So - if I stay under 1600 today, it will be my new day 1 for that challenge as well.

I think the exercise will be level one, and the calories will be level two.

Tia - I think that 887 is too low for calories, but after looking at my fitday I have had three days of the past 8 at under 900 and one of the past 8 at under 1000. :o But I was sick, girlie! You should probably eat a little more:D You are definitely much better at controlling your carbs than I am! I'm usually around 40% carbs, and they aren't always "good" carbs, either:( . Except for yesterday - I ate *really* well yesterday (for me:p ).

Zen Lane - those are all really great motivators! I think health and muscles are my two biggest motivators. Also to be able to say I am a runner. I can't honestly say that right now, and it is sort of depressing. I love running, but don't really like the treadmill, and when I go to the gym I sort of gravitate to the elliptical. I am a fair-weather runner! :o As soon as the weather starts getting warmer and the days get longer, I run more. It is such a great exercise. Appearance is another motivator for me. I am petite, but want to be tiny and petite, not flabby and petite. Particularly with my figure (large chest, very hourglass shape) it is easy for me to feel pendulous rather than petite!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! We are supposed to be getting snow! Well, the dogs will be happy about it.

Fishwoman, I agree that my calories are two low, so I am going to add some peanut butter later since two tablespoons have about 190 calories with only 6 grams of carbs. I feel a bit tired right now. Probably from a lack of sleep, sick baby.

CBETA why don't you keep a record of how many carbs you are eating and then maybe cut it about 1/4 a week or so until you get where you would like to be as far as carb intake.

Oh yeah, do we have an official weigh-in day. If not I will change my slider every Monday, good or bad.

Hello everyone :)
Running has been going good. I did 15.5 min this morning, and yesterday I improved my time for one stretch of the dirt road. And I just realized that I went from 14 minutes on Day 9 to 15 minutes on Day 10, as opposed to 14.5 minutes... well, that would explain why it was so tough and why at 14.5 minutes I had gotten to the same spot on the road I hit at 14 min the day before... but at the same time, that was the day when I improved my time for one stretch of the road... Go figure! :lol: So should I do 15.5 min or 16 min tomorrow...? Dilemma... Interestingly, the dilemma pops up just after I was thinking that the 15.5 min this morning was really tough and I might have to stay at that for a few days before I have the strenght to do increase the time... hmmm... Oh well, I suppose I shall see how it goes tomorrow. :)

I've started a new, super-tough 21-day challenge... No sweets or treats, 15 min stationary biking in the morning (or 20 min if later in the day), rope skipping (started at 150 skips and adding 50 each day). Cannot be split. I may have up to five "sticks" - they're small and low in calories and involve mint. Day 2 today, all the exercise is under my belt already. :)

And I'm debating with myself whether to start another challenge involving a very detailed food diary... wouldn't hurt, but the no sweets challenge should take care of things... Maybe I'll start it in 7-10 days, when I'll have stopped working and will be home lots, and when temptations will likely be more of an issue... By the way, I've decided that fridges are useless and unnecessary! :lol: I'm joking, of course, but the fact is that I haven't looked into the fridge for more than a few seconds at a time for weeks now... My wonderful man prepares my breakfast and lunch each morning, I buy sushi for lunch and usually for dinner, and often have the dinner part of it at work anyhow because I'm hungry!

Hey all. Day 6 - both challenges met. I started to get the cravings, but was able to put it on hold. I am not going to go there again. I even had an interesting "Sybil" moment at the grocery store. I had to stock up on veggies and stuff I was out of. Also, my dad is coming over Sunday for his birthday, and I was trying to figure out what to make for the "last course" (:censored: if you get my drift). I went back and forth looking at calories and servings per package, etc. Finally after picking up and putting back several things, several times, I decided that after we ate and went to see the horse, I would take him out and he could pick what he wanted, and I didn't have to worry about leftovers.

Here's to a great rest of the evening, folks. Hurray to all who have met today's challenges.

Oh yeah, and what motivates me, Zen? wanting to improve my health, and yeah, my looks. To feel better about myself. Unfortunately, it comes off so slow, but at least I feel good about the progress made.

ANd I agree with you, Cbeta, about that attraction factor. Just look in the personal ads - count what percentage of men's ads mention looks in some fashion, compared to women. Sucks.

And Tia, I am not a dietician, but I would caution against going too low. YOu need enough to be healthy and energized, without your body thinking it is in starvation mode and starting to conserve fat stores.

Night all.

Hey all! No time to post. Just wanted to say that the caffeine AND the crunch challenge are complete!!!! Am on Day 10 I think with the journaling... Give me a hand, everyone!! :encore:

Woo hoo! Congratulations Red!!! :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

wooo hoooo I get me a new barbell cuz today is day 21!

calories: 1180
exercise: 1 hr and 15 min circuit training ( haha thats what happens when u are working on the machine and yapping with the person next to ya... you 4get how long u have been on the machine!!! )

Congrats Curly, Red, Sushi, and Jolly. You chicks are just too badd!!! I have complete all of my challenges for today. Good looking out ladies.

TIA: here is the formula for determing calories

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )

then subtract 500 calories for a total of a 1lb loss per week

500x7=3500 calories or 1 lb of weight loss

thanks

Howdy all!

It looks like you've all been super busy during my hiatus... we've got finished challenges... new members... new pictures... DANG!!!! You all rock my world! ;)

Anyway... here's the deal... my motivation took some HUGE dives this week. It flew RIGHT off the deep end and swam all the way out to that beach everyone elses' were vacationing at. :beach: SOOOO.... I am here to let you all know that I need a super swift kick in the rear (the BIG rear!) if I am going to make my 10lb loss goal before my son's bday. So... please kick away! :kickcan:

I'll be back to report soon... promise.

Hey Girl,
How have you been? When is your son's birthday? I ended up having to start over on my challenges but am doing really well so far. Just jump in where you are and don't feel like you are behind on anything. Every second you are making a positive change is progress. Take care.

Walk Away the Pounds 1 Mile complete for today. I have planned my menu for today and will update any changes in it. Have had 4 glasses of water so far. Have a great Saturday guys!

ok my new challenge is gonna be to stay under a max of 60 carbs per day.. this is gonna be a tuff one for me since i am usually around 80 -90

Good luck CURLY, I know you can do it.

Hey all. Welcome backs and good lucks on new challenges.

I wish I could just bottle my mindset right now, so I could keep it always. I am being very deliberate in changing my eating habits slowly. I want them so ingrained, that I can finally override 35 years of stress eating. It takes time.

So, my first challenge is to follow my menu. Going slowly, I tried to choose healthier foods, but was not extremely limiting, as again, I don't want to feel deprived and go galloping back to my old habits. Well, last night's menu was, shall we say, a bit more "generous." I followed the menu, but actually felt guilty eating it! Yes, per my rules, I could have substituted a salad, but I am having salads the next 4 days, and had one Thursday night too. It's a good feeling, and will help me with my choices for the next set of menus I make up.

Also, water is tasting really, really good. I do have some flavored waters, but turn to regular ice water most of the time. I guess it is true what my daddy says about things being mind over matter - "If I don't mind, it don't matter."

Now, I need to figure out a really good flavorful cheese I can add to my omelets, so I use less. Any ones you guys like?

Today, the real challenge will be getting my rear to the gym. I forgot to stretch yesterday after jogging :nono: so am feeling it today. Oops.

Have a wonderful day all.

my mom used to add cream cheese to scrambled eggs sometimes.. it was pretty good!

hey all just poping in real fast.. kind of in a chatting/posting funk lately... but wanted to let ya know day one and day two of my new challenges have been successful

day 3 is off to a good start...

Hello everyone!

I'm making a slight change to my oatmeal challenge. I'm calling it a level 3. It's not that I think it'll be difficult on that level, but after running 8 MILES this morning, I decided that oatmeal just won't do. So, I went to the store and bought some soy milk and had a gigantic bowl of total cereal. (2 1/2 cups total, 2 cups soy milk--558 calories). Yes, that's a lot of cereal, but that's also a lot of running. So, including the clif shot gel packs during my run and the gatorade after my run, I'm at 858 calories. I have a general rule that I'm following.

My calorie intake for a non-workout day is in the 1500's. For days that I run, I start with 1200 and add 100 for each mile, never to go under 1500. For example:
1-3 miles--1500
4 miles--1600
5 miles--1700
8 miles--2000
12 miles--2400...and so on.
I think it's very important to fuel the body.
As you can tell, I'm not a carb-counter, so calories and "healthy" eating are my only rules...and of course the challenge.

Anyway, that's just my quick update. Oh, and I weighed myself today, even though I'm not supposed to weigh myself until Tuesday. I'm not convinced that I lost 5 lbs, because when I weighed myself initially, it was mid-day, so it could be as simple as weight-fluctuation. But, as I said before, weight is so irrelevant to me, as muscle weight always throws me off of what's supposed to be the "normal range" or something like that. ;) blah blah blah. Ramble ramble ramble.

jolly, I know how you feel when you are so please with what you are currently doign because you know it is working and making you feel great. I am a stress eater also. I like that you are changing gradually, slowly. That's good. Am I rambling? lol Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I like your style. Take care.

Hello everyone!

I'm making a slight change to my oatmeal challenge. I'm calling it a level 3. It's not that I think it'll be difficult on that level, but after running 8 MILES this morning, I decided that oatmeal just won't do. So, I went to the store and bought some soy milk and had a gigantic bowl of total cereal. (2 1/2 cups total, 2 cups soy milk--558 calories). Yes, that's a lot of cereal, but that's also a lot of running. So, including the clif shot gel packs during my run and the gatorade after my run, I'm at 858 calories. I have a general rule that I'm following.

My calorie intake for a non-workout day is in the 1500's. For days that I run, I start with 1200 and add 100 for each mile, never to go under 1500. For example:
1-3 miles--1500
4 miles--1600
5 miles--1700
8 miles--2000
12 miles--2400...and so on.
I think it's very important to fuel the body.
As you can tell, I'm not a carb-counter, so calories and "healthy" eating are my only rules...and of course the challenge.

Anyway, that's just my quick update. Oh, and I weighed myself today, even though I'm not supposed to weigh myself until Tuesday. I'm not convinced that I lost 5 lbs, because when I weighed myself initially, it was mid-day, so it could be as simple as weight-fluctuation. But, as I said before, weight is so irrelevant to me, as muscle weight always throws me off of what's supposed to be the "normal range" or something like that. ;) blah blah blah. Ramble ramble ramble.

Girl, I tried soy milk once and thought I would die :fr:, lol. Are their variations in flavor, maybe I tried the wrong one.

Girl, I tried soy milk once and thought I would die :fr:, lol. Are their variations in flavor, maybe I tried the wrong one.

Oh, most definitely! The kind I get is called "Silk" and usually comes in a half-gallon size carton. I find most of the shelf kinds to be absolutely disgusting. Also, the refrigerated kinds last longer. Personally, I was never one to drink cow's milk by itself, so I only used soy milk in cereal, smoothies, and with my chai tea sometimes. If you can't find Silk, there's also another kind by "8th continent" that I like. Soy milk doesn't taste like milk if you ask me, but I actually like it better. Good luck if you try any of my suggestions. You'll have to let me know what you think.

Super quick posts in between mouthfuls of oatmeal here. Gotta be out before 6 a.m.

Still going strong on the last of my challenges, think it's about Day 11 on the journaling.

Sushi -- Thanks for the congrats on finishing my two challenges, or rather, two of my challenges. They were the tough ones but I definitely formed some habits there, well, not exactly habits, but things got easier. I took yesterday off with the crunches but felt bad about it a little. I like the way my torso has really tightened up and I am going to stick with the crunch routine, even if I don't make it a new challenge...but I think I will include it.

curly -- Hard to tell if you completed your challenge. You just mention it briefly, or say, you are on Day 21, so does that mean you DID complete it? Let me know!

yes .. i did complete all 21 days... my challenges this past time were:

1.to stay under 1300 calories

2. to exercise 1 hr per day..

Hey all. Just have to laugh at myself quick. I went to the gym today. Because my friend wanted to meet earlier, I did not have time to do weiights, but I was determined to push myself on the elliptical. I was going and going. Felt like I was going to collapse, but couldn't get my heart rate on the machine to register higher than 58. That isn't even half my target rate:fr: So, I drag myself upstairs, soaking wet, redder than a tomato, and feeling pretty down that I am that out of shape. I told the person at the desk that the machine's monitor must be off. Her response - "oh yeah. It is!" So I almost GAVE myself a heart attack due to a broken machine. Yikes!

I will try to post more later. I didn't make the barn today, and need a nap now, because they are dead serious when they say don't mix antihistamines with alchohol. I had one when I met my friend for lunch, forgetting I had taken the meds. I must sleeeeeeeeeeeeep.

Later, gators.

All challenges for today complete. That's day 3.

Curly!
Red!!
Two Challenges Each??
Yowza!!

:woo::woo::bravo::carrot: :bravo: :hat::hat::bravo::carrot: :bravo::woo::woo:

Jolly, the pulse readout on most machines is faulty. I wouldn't put ANY store in that at all. If you were breathing hard or sweating your pulse would have been well over 100. I have said this before, but I highly recommend getting a heartrate monitor such as the ones made by Polar.

carla -- thank you! Always love your big, colorful congratulations! And I must say it's nice to have someone notice I finished my challenges! :^: So few did.... :cry:

curly!! -- And a big hand for you from me as well!!
:woo: :cp: :cp: :cp: :encore: :cp: :cp: :cp: :woo:
and three cheers as well!! :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: Way to go!!! I don't know how you EVER, EVER stayed below 1300 calories for 21 days?! :shrug: You are amazing!

tia -- Glad to see you're back on the ball and moving along well. Putting that nose to the grindstone I see! :cp:

Day 12 done for running, and Day 3 for my other challenge.
No idea how I'm going to manage tomorrow... must leave at 7 am to get to work on time, work till 5 pm, then wait around for my ride (heaven only knows how long), and then either stop at home for 15 min or go straight to yoga, and by the time I'll be back it will be 9 pm and dark... eek!

Walk Away the Pounds Day 4 complete.
Water Challenge complete for day 4.
Food journal challenge complete for day 4.

Good morning all. Sushi, I just noticed your hair goal and just laughed :lol: I am trying to grow mine out, but it is so thick and has some wave, but nothing cohesive. I swear each hair has a mind of its own, and some even have multiple personalities. I want to grow it out, but keep getting frustrated and cut it. Good luck with your goal. Red, I hear you. It was more funny because I had realized that while I am on the equipment regularly, I probably don't work out hard, as I am more bopping to the music, reading the articles, etc., so I wanted to make a conscious effort to WORK my work out (what a concept), and that darn monitor just wouldn't go up. The joke was on me. I may get a heart monitor, or figure out some reliable way to make sure I am putting enough effort into my workouts.

Day 7 for both challenges met yesterday. I know I keep rambling, but it helps to be able to process how I am feeling. I need to get to the bottom of what I am feeling, so I can keep going. I want to make my changes slowly. I have tried to "be perfect" and change things all at once, and it hasn't worked. Now, I have mapped out my course, with baby steps in the form of my challenges to get there. And the funny thing is, I am already subconsciously pushing to make more changes. Looking closer at portions and calories, and seeing where I am "wasting" calories. I am just going with it, but sticking to the steps I mapped out. I would rather find myself already meeting the challenge, then pushing too fast and rushing back into old habits, as has happened each and every time before.


And Curly, thanks for the cream cheese and eggs tip. I will have to try that.

Have a super day all. I'll check in later!

Well day 1 i am calling a "bust" becuz i 4got to add my dinner to fit day last nite.. after lunch i was around 36 carbs and i know my dinner didnt put me over my 60 ... however i forgot to total them up so i am re-starting today!

we have @ 5 inches of snow here! and its still falling.. I think i will take chai out to romp in the snow today... and FINALLY crack open that tai bo dvd and give it a whirl!

have a great sunday challengers!!!

Congratulations to everyone that is hanging in there and working on the 21 day challenge. I've started a new fitness program called TurboJam and must complete 20 workouts in a month. Today I am on day 8 ( every Sat and Sun are the days off according to the program's workout schedule) and since I am off work early today, I will get it done because I am already seeing results! Have a great day everyone and keep striving for better health!

To Jolly:
A heart rate monitor is one of the best investments that you can make. Since I have started using my heart rate monitor the pounds and inches are coming off much more quickly. I try to make sure that my heart rate is up between 70 and 80% of my maximum heart rate. When you work out at the top tiers of your maximum heart rate, you will burn a TON of calories as well as get aerobically conditioned.

Sub -- Hi there! :wave: Didn't mean to ignore you. I've just been too busy to come in and do a full posting. Thanks for your kind words the other day and I do hope to see you back doing a 21-day challenge real soon. You could easily tailor your exercise challenge to fit it, like adding just a bit of something on your off days and still call that your exercise for the day. If you stick to that Turbo plan, with two days off a week, on a level 3 challenge, you'd only have to do something on one of those days for the 21-dayer. You know, three weeks, three pause days, one once a week. Whatever..I just want to have you back in the fold! :hug: Take care and good luck! :goodluck:

Hey all. HELP :fr: :fr: Stop the insanity! My dad just left, and I want to use a pause day SOOOOO bad. I changed into my pj's to keep me from leaving the apartment. But I still just want to go nuts on food. I don't know why. This is crazy. NO FOOD PORN. NO FOOD PORN! I know I put the pause days in to help me. But I want the use of them to be a choice, not some uncontrollable binge. :censored:

On a lighter note, I have been trying to find a church here to go to. I went to one today, which had more energy, but I can honestly say I have never before had a sermon end with "You bet your butt."

Anybody out there? Help!

get your water and drink... drink ... drink.. or have some egg whites something with high protein!


day one of my carb challenge

calories:1140 carbs=46

Jolly, if you're already in your pajamas, GO to bed!! Don't allow whatever feelings you are having or had to trigger a binge. It's NOT worth it! It won't change anything! Nothing at all. Take a hot bath if you can't sleep...try to get into a book, just remember the eating will make you feel worse later and it WON'T change anything!!

On further thought though, is not going outside such a good idea? Wouldn't perhaps getting out for a walk or run or to the gym help? I don't know the time there or your situation but just try to yank your thoughts away from food. Sing the song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music to yourself, putting in all your NONFOOD favorites and picture yourself twirling free and easy up on a hilltop in the Austrian Alps! Use your mind to take you away from what is troubling you and there is something troubling you if you feel you want to binge. It's always there. I've noticed this in my journaling analysis. I'd be going...I don't feel anything...and then I'd think, well, what was I feeling BEFORE I ate, even quite a while before...and usually I can pin it down...and stop or at least not just go crazy. Hang in there, kid! You can do this!! :hug:

Can't post now... have to fix dinner for my kiddos. But ya know... I just have to say... I hate Valentine's day/weekend.... too much food porn... too much gushiness... I think I am becomming bitter. Hmm. :blah:

Hey all. HELP :fr: :fr: Stop the insanity! My dad just left, and I want to use a pause day SOOOOO bad. I changed into my pj's to keep me from leaving the apartment. But I still just want to go nuts on food. I don't know why. This is crazy. NO FOOD PORN. NO FOOD PORN! I know I put the pause days in to help me. But I want the use of them to be a choice, not some uncontrollable binge. :censored:

On a lighter note, I have been trying to find a church here to go to. I went to one today, which had more energy, but I can honestly say I have never before had a sermon end with "You bet your butt."

Anybody out there? Help!


Jolly, I know how you feel. today I decided I could try just a bit of food porn for the taste since I was only at 6 grams of carbs, well afterwards, silly me, I knew it would happen from experience, I started craving so much food. I wanted food porn's momma. So I did the ultimate, I took an energy pill and ate something healthy. Worked like a charm. Don't get me wrong, I am in no way suggesting taking anything. It is just what I did. I use them for the rough times, lol.

You guys are absolutely postively the best! :grouphug: Thank you so much! After posting before, and getting everything out, I went in and made the salad I had planned for dinner. I did allow myself some air popped popcorn, which is one of my ok snacks. So, day 9, both challenges met. Thanks to you all.

Tia, you probably hit the nail on the head with what caused this. My dad was here for his birthday. I had a small piece of :censored:. I had allowed for this on my menu, and really had a small amount, but it has been so long since I had real :censored: I think it triggered cravings for more :censored:. Ah well, I saved it, and had a good end to the day. Congrats to you for saving yours too.

Thanks for all the suggestions and support. I don't know what I would do without this thread. Have a SUPER night all.

it helps me to surf the personal web pages of people who have lost lots of weight and just busy myself with motivational thoughts...

Confessions...

I allowed myself to run out of oatmeal, so I didn't have enough for my challenge today. The main reason for the oatmeal challenge is to keep me full through the day, so I can eat a healthy dinner and be absolutely fine with my caloric intake for the day. Well, I opted for cereal for breakfast, and my calories built up to 2000 by the end of the day. I didn't exercise today, so that's definitely over my 1500 calorie limit. I'll share what I had:

Cheerios (2 cups) 220
Soy milk (1 2/3 cups) 180
Soy yogurt 170

Peanut butter jelly sand. 440
String cheese 80

Luna bar 180

Vegetarian Lentil chili 215
Pita bread (1/2 piece) 100

Chips/salsa 100
Bite of gf's pita pizza 15

Whole wheat bread (2slices)140
Soy cheese 35
Veg Burger 95
Ketchup 30

Total 2000

So, this is a reminder to myself WHY I need to stick with my challenge and not let myself run out of oatmeal. I just went to the store and bought some more so I'm all set for tomorrow. To be honest, none of this was bingeing. I was actually hungry (I'm blaming my appetite on my 8-miler yesterday).

As the oatmeal challenge stands: 3 days complete, 2 pause days (eek)
3-mile challenge: 2 days down, 1 pause day

I have a blister on my poor little toe from yesterday. I think Sundays are going to be pause days permanently for my 3-mile challenge.

My gf and I made a BET today. The person who loses 10 pounds first, keeping it off for at least a week, gets taken out to dinner at our favorite vegetarian restaurant for broccoli burgers. She's 153 so she needs to get to 143, and I need to get to 160 to win. WISH ME LUCK! I think it'll be a fun and friendly competition.

Thanks for listening,
Tara

P.S. For those of you who think I must be feeling like crap because I ate 2000 calories, you're wrong, LOL. I can maintain on 2000 with my activity level, so I don't think one slip is going to screw me. I'm fairly optimistic, people! :cool:

A couple more things.

There's this woman who is fairly new at my place of employment. Every day she asks me, "Are you losing weight?" What's funny is I don't see it. After all, this is before I even knew I lost 5 lbs. She doesn't speak English very well, so I'm wondering if she thinks the phrase means, "Hello. How are you doing today?" or something common like that. LOL Sorry, I just thought it was worth sharing.

Also, I meant to post this in my previous post. In my food log, I mentioned "a bite of my gf's pita pizza" so I thought I'd let you in on that secret. I'd consider myself healthy in the food choices I make, so I get excited when I discover new things. I stopped over at my gf's house after work and she was making dinner for herself (She offered to make some for me, but you saw my food log--I had already eaten). She took a piece of pita bread, put a lot of broccoli and mushrooms on it, then about 3/4 cup of cheese. She put it in the oven for 15 minutes and it was GOOD. I just thought some of you might want to try this. It's healthy and at the same time, it's kind of "comfort" food. You could also add a little sauce and more or different veggies.

I believe part of what keeps us eating healthy is to make sure we enjoy the food. If anyone tries this, let me know what you think!

~Tara

This "are you losing weight" which could be a hello is hillarious! :lol:
And I do love the pita-pizza idea! :)

hi guys.
My challenges are all on hold...yesterday I went to a russian disco party for valentines day. We've been to this club many times, and it's a nice club, yet there this steps all over the place and of course in the dark autmosphere it is hard to see, so as we were walking out there, I missteped. Twisting my right food, and landing on it sideways, as my hill slipped off the last step. At the same time my injured left knee made a 360 degree circle inside ripping and damaging once again already torn ligaments. I did not fall, but my left knee does not straigten anymore, and I am libming.
I have some crutches and I've been hopping around on them, as needed. A friend came over to cook and hang out with me. Tomorrow I will head to work, and may be will be go see a doctor. I think I need an MRI rather than just an x-ray. We will see, but for now I will limit my food intake, and do just minimum of excercise at home. Challenges are on-hold.

CB- OUCHES hon! I am sorry about your fall... what a bummer... didn't you just get your knee better???? :headache: I hope you get better soon sweety. :hug:

Zen- That pita sounds super yummy... but just wondering... does your food log constitute as food porn??? Or am I the only one who gets :hungry: from Soy milk and the thought of anything resembling a :burger:??? LOL

Yes, zen, I was a bit wondering about your food list..I know I said veggie burgers probably wouldn't constitute food porn but peanut butter and jelly...chips... hmmm....can we keep the food lists to a minimum, please. Do you know what food bingers are capable of doing with a jar of the Welch's, a bag of the crunchies? Do NOT lead us into temptation!! ;)

Just popped in to say a quick hello - are you losing weight? I think that is funny too!

Still not motivated to challenge myself to do anything other than exercise and crunch. But my new challenge - for one week only - is to get everything done around the house that needs doing before I shut it up to go start my new job. New job is in Wollongong on the east coast of Aus just south of Sydney. I leave here Sunday morning early and should get there - God willing and the rivers don't rise - by 8 or 9pm that night. It is about 1100k from here. Long drive huh.

Okay - gotta split. Next job on the list, fold the llaundry, put it away, check the e-mail for accommodation replies and sweep the floor in the lounge. That'll get me off to a good start tomorrow.

Good luck everyone. Red I think I saw that you have completed one of your challenges

YOU GO GIRL

Day 13 no wine complete (one pause used Saturday).
Day oops :o on the no choc challenge - guess that one's a goner! (But really enjoyed the buffet at the party.) Will restart in a day or two..

Off to boot camp.

Good morning all. Just here for a quick pop in before work. Cbeta - good luck with your knee. That is awful for you, and hope they are able to do something for it soon. Good luck. Red, I had to laugh when I read your comment about what food bingers can do. If you have ever read Oprah's book, she talks about a binge on frozen hot dog buns and syrup. It's so true. Curly, I also like to read up on what successful losers have done.

Everybody - have a wonderful Monday (or Tuesday, depending on location!).

Hey, all, sorry, again no time to post. Just wanted to say hello and I'm reading all your posts and cheering you on and feeling your pain, so hang in there, as I am doing and I'll be done with this last challenge on Friday and will start up a new thread...so keep it up, all your hard work. These things are for YOU, in a world where the yous just don't get their dues, so you have to give them to yourself!

Well, good night! Catch you sometime tomorrow....oh, yeah...Valentine's Day.....give me a break!! :^: I think I'll buy myself some nice red roses.... :hug:

yikes... CBETA... take care of yourself.... hope u didnt do too much dammage to your knee, hopefully they will be able to fix u right up!

Yes, zen, I was a bit wondering about your food list..I know I said veggie burgers probably wouldn't constitute food porn but peanut butter and jelly...chips... hmmm....can we keep the food lists to a minimum, please. Do you know what food bingers are capable of doing with a jar of the Welch's, a bag of the crunchies? Do NOT lead us into temptation!! ;)

Wow. I don't know where to begin on this. I guess I don't consider a food log to be food porn, especially if it's healthy. All-natural peanut butter and 2 Tbsp of jam hardly count as porn in my book, especially on whole wheat bread. I know this wasn't meant to be offensive, but does anyone here go shopping? The temptations there are endless.

My point is--we are each faced with challenges everyday. One of those challenges is food. That's how we ended up here in the first place, right? The president doesn't go away if you ignore him (trust me, I've tried) and neither does food.

Sorry if I've triggered anyone. Accept this as my apology: :dust:

yesterday I've conteplated going to see someone for my knee and decided against it. It's not broken, it's muscles and ligaments that are stretched and twisted. To see anything I'd need an MRI, but there is noone who can prescribe it over the weekend.
So iced everything and spent time resting. Doing slightly better today. I am at work, Walked off my 2nd floor apartment, to my car, drove with my right leg, and then walked up to the second floor using stairs. interestingly it hurts more when I walk and less when I climb stairs. I've been rethinking lots of things yesterday.
Saturday when I was at the store, I used a dispenser to try some food porn.
then I bought some cheaply at the bakery and had one, before we went to the club. was it punishment for going off the plan? who knows, but perhaps someone wanted to stop me from going in the wrong direction so here I am unable to walk out and have any of it.
The stuff I bought that was bad, was donated yesterday to a friend all of 10 sweet pieces out of 12. I ate well the entire day and we cooked together, instead of ordering.
This brought me to rethinking my challenges. As I am struggling it is not a free for all. I shall continue with my challenges, so there it goes.

In summary for today Feb.13
A (3-0) Gym: on HOLD
B (2-0) H2O: Day 1 today
C (2-0) Food: Day 1 today
D (3-0) Carbs: on HOLD
E (3-0) Lunch: Day 9 today

Early morning here. Gotta run. Challenge notched for another day and I WILL make it through till Friday! That will be Day 21 for me.

thirty -- Sorry about our silly ways! And thank you for the dust!! :lol: Where are you on your challenge?

CBETA -- My goodness! How many challenges are you doing?!?! :eek: Good for you for eating well! :bravo: And kudos for that food save of yours, giving the stuff away. The other day at work someone from another section..a very thin person...came over and gave us "sweet things" and I asked her what the occasion was. She said, "well, I didn't think I could stop at one." So you see, thin or currently NOT, a lot of people have to do what you are doing...whatever it takes, eh?

Day 14 done with a 16.5 min run on Monday. Pause day on the other challenge, I just couldn't fit the exercise in yesterday... decided that running was more important - I don't want to take a break on it unless I really have to because I'm worried it might be hard to continue and must get 500 min of running this month somehow!

The prospects for today aren't good either, so I might have to stop this challenge and re-start it next week when I have more time. Unless I take my 2nd pause day today, which would be a crazy thing to do when 18 days are still ahead of me! :dizzy: Unless I just do "no sweets/treats" challenge... but that's just not enough - I sort of need a double one, with abstaining from something bad (sweets) and doing something good (exercise) or else I don't feel like I'm really doing something.

Weight mini-goal not met, so I'm a bit bummed... I was doing good, but a week ago the scale showed almost 138 for some strange reason which I still can't figure out. So perhaps I should be happy with 134 as of this morning....

this past weekend was **** and hectic... so needless to say my challenges went down in a hand basket...

so will try to restart tomorow... really all i want to do lately is sleep tho... *insert yawning sleepy smilie*

Good evening all. I have to ramble a bit.

today was a very Monday sort of Monday. Started out at the gym. I did my weigh in, and despite all the positive things I have done since last weigh in, I only lost a half a pound. Now, I know any loss is good, and there are some particular hormonal reasons why my weight loss was smaller, but I was pissed. I still did my jog on the treadmill (pant, pant, pant). Then, work was a bit crazy. Didn't get lunch until about 3 hours after I needed it. By the end of the day, I was tired, crabby, crampy, and was going to take a pause day, darn it. I came on and read your posts, and the "good angel" was trying to talk me out of it. I decided, maybe not, but I still HAD TO go to the store to pick up the salad fixings I needed for the Westminster party we are having tomorrow night. Now of course, this is usual just an excuse to get me into the store to be in reach of food porn. But when I was there, nothing looked good. I left the store with just what I needed for tomorrow. Even stopped by the library to pick up some healthy cooking books, and some others I had been wantiing.

Still bummed about the slow loss, but happy to still be on course and to have completed day 10 of both challenges.

Everybody, keep up the great work. Have a super evening.

Yes, zen, I was a bit wondering about your food list..I know I said veggie burgers probably wouldn't constitute food porn but peanut butter and jelly...chips... hmmm....can we keep the food lists to a minimum, please. Do you know what food bingers are capable of doing with a jar of the Welch's, a bag of the crunchies? Do NOT lead us into temptation!! ;)

:rofl: heh heh heh.... that could be misconstrued in some very incriminating ways Red!!!!!! ROFLMBO BTW... you DO know that you rock right? How many challenges have you done this time? and does this mean that you are leaving us... I don't understand how it all works... do we go with you to the new thread or continue on this one??? Where will we be without our fearless leader??? :?: :drill:

Zen- I didn't mean to offend you... and honestly there are lots more scary things out there to be eating I know. I was trying to be light hearted. :sorry: On the happy note... I really like that blinkie you used... someone needs to teach me how to do those!;)

Jolly- Dang girl! You rock too! I can't go to a store and not have at least ONE porn item scream at me. I think you are awesome for sticking with it so well. Inspiring... trully. :hug:

Well... I'm here. I'm drinkin water... I'm thinking about working out :lol3: we'll see how I do... TTFN!

Slow is good Jolly... Slow means its fat u are losing and not just water weight! slow means u are losing and building muscle!!!

Okay, I've got a problem here. I don't want to make anyone upset or anything, which is why I won't quote anyone's posts or mention names.
I think that the food porn issue is going a bit too far. With the way things are going, it'll soon be considered food porn-ing to mention any food.

Obviously, there are food items which can be regarded as "food porn" by anyone. I won't name them specifically because it's not wanted here, but think we all know what they are. I think we can all agree to that.

But it's turning out that any person on this thread can have a problem with pretty much any food product mentioned by someone else, in a sense that reading about someone eating, for example, an apple, might make them want to eat or overeat or indulge or whatever. And thus this person might consider an apple to be food porn. That's going a bit too far, IMO, and unfortunately this is the way we're heading here.

I don't think that a request to keep food lists to a minimum will achieve anything - because we'll never reach a comprehensive agreement on what is food porn and what isn't. Also, even if someone has a known-to-be-food-pron-food-item in a small & specified quantity, that's not food porn. There is nothing wrong with having a bit of something, and I think each person knows themselves, their habits and tendencies well enough to know whether that is an indulgence or pigging out or overeating or lack of control or whether it was a conscious choice.
I also don't think it's fair to people who have food-related challenges (posting what they ate, or making healthier choices with food or whatever) to request that from them. Unless there is a specific rule - no food diaries, no food lists, or whatever.
Part of being accountable is being 100% truthful and recording all the details about food. If that's what their challenge is, they should be allowed to do it. I believe that stating "food porn" goes neither with accountability nor with the challenge. With food, specifics are very important - what and how much. Besides, if someone can just say "food porn" and not detail what it involved, well, what incentive there is NOT to eat food porn or not to eat more of it? After all, they aren't allowed to state what specifically they ate and how much, so how does it matter whether it's a bit more?

Don't want food posted on the thread or worried about food porn? Then there should be a specfic rule about that.

Hi Little Ladies,

I have a suggestion for the food porn situation. No one is to mention any food at all in their postings. They could maybe add that they would like to share what the food was. Anyone interested can contact that person personally to get the "dirty details". Also I would like to know if the person who starts a thread is somewhat an owner of that thread, if so, all participants should follow the rules they set forth. But it just my thoughts and like I said thisis just a suggestion. This is such a great thread. I really would hate to see someone not benefit from it because of something as simple as wording. Take care.

day 2...[ under 60 carb challenge ]

57 carbs total

Another successful no-wine day.

And here's my take on the whole food porn issue. The whole thing started after someone (don't remember who, might have been me) posted a loving, mouth-watering, detailed description of excessive indulgence in some forbidden sweet or something. The description was so graphic it qualified as food porn, and awakened guilty longings - and more than one dietary slip - in those who read it. Hence the original ban. Since then, I agree that the whole thing has gotten a little silly. While I've never been interested in reading detailed accounts of anyone's food day (including my own) I see no harm in a passing mention of food or drink. There's a big difference between : 'Invited out to dinner last night, managed to limit myself to two slices of pizza' and 'The triple :censored: meat-lover's pizza was great, :censored:-stuffed crust, big juicy :censored:, double :censored: - not to mention the ooey-gooey dessert with :censored: ...'

Maybe we can take a vote. My choice would be to save the food lists for FitDay or a food diary thread, but drop the ban on unembellished passing mentions of occasional bites and sips.

Almost any mention of a consumable COULD offend or tempt someone. The vegetarians really don't want to hear about meat, the lushes amongst us are susceptible to stories of indulgence at the pub, junk food junkies salivate at the mere mention of pizza or a :burger:. Maybe we can all make an effort to avoid writing tempting accounts that dwell lovingly on our slip-ups, and apart from that just show some judgement without any blanket bans?

Any other opinions? As for Tia's question, the one who starts the thread usually makes the rules that shape it. But even a :drill: like Red might listen to the peanut gallery's dissenting opinion from time to time... Usually if someone really doesn't like the style of a thread, they just look for one that's a better fit or start a new one.

Hmm food porn discussion.
I seem to agree that sometimes I'd like to mention my small slip-up because I want to demo and feel proud, that I was able to control and limit myself with food porn items. Of course each one of us does sets different goals, and perhaps high carb items will be too tempting for low carb group and so on.
I don't have a clear solution, but I'd say "if food porn was over eaten - censor it, if it was a small slip-up mention it w/o giving juicy details".
As for me today was Feb. 13 and I did write my status earlier. Now I shall make some corrections:
In summary for today Feb.13
A (3-0) Gym: on HOLD - no I did bicycle carefull with my knee. Day 1 (more below)
B (2-0) H2O: Day 1 today
C (2-0) Food: Day 1 today
D (3-0) Carbs: on HOLD
E (3-0) Lunch: Day 9 today
So about the gym. Two friends called today as I drove home, reminding me to head to the gym. Both knew that I had the knee problem and both recommended concentrating on sitting down activities not putting too much presure. I had no plans of visiting the gym, so I stopped at home. My ex knocked at my door 10min later. We sat around and talked, he came to comfort me and to help me in case I need anything. I suggested eating out, hence screwing up my Challenge C (food), but he surprised me saying that he will eat at home and I should go to the gym and work on my other body parts, so that these injuries stop for good and I am a more happier person. I am sad of course, as I'd hoped we'd go out tomorrow, but yet I am glad, that he wants me to do what's right for me. With everyone on my side, I changed and headed for gym (sorry for the long story), there I spoke to a trainer who recommended a few excercises, and did some simple test on my knee, to see how bad it was. Not great, but my muscels are badly pulled in the back of the back, where all nerve endings are, hence it hurts to walk and bend the knee, but I think in 2 weeks I will be better. I am not quitting my gym challenge, range of motion and amplitude of workouts is reduced, but I will not agree to gain, no way... I am crying, but I will find that optimism in me.... I know I sound silly, even I dont' believe 100% but I must say/write this in order to find ability to believe in thy self.
Thank you guys for your ongoing support.

:val1: Happy Valentine's Day !!! Challengers:val3:



-------(-----@

Good morning, all. Cbeta, I have to tell you, when you said you were crying and not believing yourself 100% - sometimes you have to fake it 'til you make it. I am so happy you went to the gym, and figured out what you can do, until you heal and to help you heal. That is HUGE. You made yourself and your health a priority - Way to go girl. You have to give yourself some love and a lot of kudos for that. Baby steps.

As for the food porn. . . OK. I have to admit, I have a 3 year old's sense of humor, and I enjoy using the :censored: and :tape: and whatever. It makes me giggle. But I think originally it was not about admitting to slipups, but folks lovingly raving about what they indulged in. But, I also think the food lists themselves could stay in your own journal, fit day, or a food log thread, and keep this for the wonderful support of our journey. We need all the help we can give each other. Let's just come to an agreement and not let something as silly as :censored: break this up.

Red, what are your thoughts??

I think you couldn't have said it better, jolly....thank you!!! I'll GET IT IN WRITING at the start of the new thread, which I'll have started in the next day or two. And this is taking into account all that has been said, but most of all it takes into account the kind of thread I, me, moi envision. I am the one who has to stick it out even when I'm not getting support, even when there are no posters, even when I don't feel like posting, welcoming people who never appear again, looking for people who haven't posted in a long time, going back and reading all posts and THINKING about what the people are doing in order to make a somewhat relevant and personalized AND encouraging comment if I can, not wanting to comment on someone who shows no support for others but doing so nonetheless...and all that kind of stuff.

I hope we can get the focus back on important things on this thread, back on what I thought was a pretty supportive place. Structure and rules are necessary to keep a big thread going. It's fine for those who come and go and pop in when they feel like and waffle on about what they're doing without much care about the long list of others, but I'm not supposed to go off except when I am very busy and that's where people who know the rules have always helped out. And I don't like neglecting people who need support. That is what this place is for. But, I don't have unlimited time. This doesn't bring me any money.

I sincerely hope those of you who don't like the rules here will just move to a more suitable thread for you, one where you feel more comfortable. There is a great choice of them. Absolutely anyone can start a new thread. Please do so if you like, a new challenge, a new support group, whatever.

The whole food porn discussion depresses me no end. Although there have been some excellent comments and I am taking them ALL into consideration with the new "THREAD GUIDELINES" aka RULES!!!, all I really want to say is get the focus back on the challenge and, excuse my Japanese, but please, let's cut the crap...I mean cake....I mean...I mean...I am going to bed!! Good night.

:comp:

OKAY. The day I posted my food log, I was PROUD of myself for not over-indulging in any one item I ate, even though I didn't stick to my oatmeal challenge that day. I guess I thought the group of people here was a little stronger than that. Come on people. Just because I mention that I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich doesn't mean you have to go to your kitchen and dive into your Welch's grape jelly and a loaf of bread. It's not like I said, "I just had the most delicious PINT of Ben and Jerry's!" You're going to run into obstacles EVERY day of your life. You're going to walk down the isles of the grocery store. You'll be offered food from coworkers and friends. You'll go out to eat and have to make healthy food choices. You see, I'm not the only one who lists food items on here and there's NO fine line. Someone, as I recall, mentioned cream cheese. Cream cheese reminds me of bagels. Bagels are very much a binge food for me. Did I go out and buy one? No. I'm trying to fight this, too. In life, you have to take the good with the bad. You get support here. If you can't handle a food log, you have a long road ahead of you. I wish you the best of luck.

Hi Red,

I've been visiting your thread after you've joined ours ~ out of curiosity, and I'm loving it so far.......
You've got a nice thing going in here, and the efforts you put in is absolutely unbelievable. I was involved in a challenge thread, but the ones in charge didn't seem so serious about it ~ so needless to say, I drop out of it.

May I join your group when you start your new thread?

Hi, I'm brand new to this website so I'm not real sure about the 'rules'. Any suggestions would be appreciated. New I might be, but I am very interested in the 21 day challenge and would like to start. If I get this, I am to make my own challenge for myself. Is there a "list' of personal challenges that people have given themselves? I love stealing wonderful ideas. But for now, assuming I'm to make my own challenge, here goes:
1. NEVER read when I eat. I love reading and can eat an hugevolume of food without even being aware of it. I also find eating all by itself is a bit boring.:)
2. Walk the dog for an hour a day. We both need the exercise!

Wow - I'm off the wagon for a little while and I come to check in in my usual lurking fasion of late and there's a genuine heated discussion going on. As for my two cents abotu the whole food porn thing - I can take it or leave it personally, as I am generally not tempted by other people's mentions of food. However, I do agree with the sentiment that if you have a food - based challenge, then it makes sense to be able to talk about food. I'm sure, however, that our fearless leader will come up with a guideline that takes everyone's opinion into account and is the best solution she can find to the problem. By the way, Red - I think you are awesome and appreciate what you do immenseley. Without this thread I would have fallen waaaay off the wagon long ago and would not have been able to meet two of my three mini goals that I set for myself.

As for those who waffle on to post their own updates without any care for the others, I couldn't help but wince a bit at that. Just a note from one who could potentially be regarded a such a "waffler" - I do read each and every post and try to keep up with what's going on in everyone's challenge/lives - lately I have only been posting brief updates because that is all that I've had time/energy to do, but I do actually care what's going on with everyone. This is not meant as an attack or rebuff to anything that anyone has said about this at any time - merely a heads up to let everyone know that I am still here - I am not leaving, nor am I fading away - I am just a little caught up extraneous stuff right now and am working my way back to posting responses to everone and being a more active participant.

Anyway - I have to be off to school now - but on a side note, I made my Valentines day Goal weight.

Keep on Truckin
Erin :carrot:

I just felt like I had to post quick. First off, Chai - you met your challenge! I'd say your are on the wagon. Way to go.

I have been posting on and off on this site for a couple of years now. I have seen threads come and go, and started my own threads which have come and gone. I hate to see this great thread Red has started go that way, over something fairly simple. Zen, I understand what you are saying - this is not like alcoholism, where we can just say we will never go near our "trigger" again. Food is all around us, and we do need to learn how to cope with it on a day to day basis. This is true. But everyone here is at very different steps in that process. I have been battling this for a long, long time. And am finally taking baby steps in the right direction that ARE STICKING. That is because I come here for support to help me deal with those things out in the real world.

But again, I think there is a difference between a food log, and someone who is rapsodizing about falling off the wagon. Healthy eating, and binging. So, we need to figure out what we want and need.

Elyn, since I am already being a big mouth (sorry Red :;), of course you can join. Anyone is welcome. And for both you and Elaine, Red usually puts "rules" in the first post of the thread. Unfortunately, there isn't a solid list of challenges, Elaine - you kind of have to read back, and see what everyone is working on. but your challenges sound great!

Have a GREAT day everyone. Keep up the good work.

Hmm, I thought I had caught up with all the posts yesterday. Then I log on today and see I missed a ton of discussion! I must have just thought about logging on yesterday and then got distracted:o
At any rate - day one is finally done (just in time for Red to start a new thread:p ). Yesterday I had 1542 calories and did 30 minutes of yoga.

Congratulations on finishing your challenges, Red! Our fearless leader is once again showing us the way:carrot:

CBETA - how is your knee doing? I understand not wanting to give up your exercise challenge, and I am sure you will be able to finish it safely, but PLEASE be careful! You are young, and you don't need to mess up your knee for life.

Chaigirl - you met your v-day goal! FANTASTIC:carrot: :carrot:

As for the food porn issue - I agree with Carla and Jolly. Save the food lists/diaries for fitday, but don't ban passing mentions of food. As Carla noted, practically any food can be porn for someone (friday morning mimosas, anyone?;) ) but I can't see never being allowed to mention any sort of food on this thread again.

Curly - how much snow did you get? (You are in Southern Maryland, right?) I'm in Montgomery County and we got about 12 inches on our deck! The dogs were going crazy, but they were really confused about where to go poddy when I let them out first thing Sunday morning!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!!! I am back in NYC and DH is home, so I am a little sniffly and sad for myself. He called me last night to tell me that he has a card for me that he meant to put in my luggage to surprise me, but is actually downstairs on his desk. Surprise!!

I have really been slacking about keeping up with everyone. I am going to try to make it a personal challenge (while not an "official" challenge) to be more involved. I feel a little guitly about expecting support from y'all and not really giving it in return.

Fish Woman: I am in St. Mary's, we had @ 5 inches, it was chai's (my dog) first time out in the snow.. he is a chow/german spitz mix he loved it!

Well, trying to get a quick post in here. It's early and I MUST get out soon. I hope the whole food porn issue is laid to rest. I will be posting the rules clearly in the new thread, taking into consideration all you have said. Then again, I think there is no room for touchiness here, defensiveness and going on about what is good for you and works for you must be good for the others or they are weak or "have a long way to go." And this goes for anyone! Consideration for our members who need the most help right now, not down the road, not when they are "stronger" is what I am concerned about. And often, usually actually most often, we don't know who that is at the moment. RESTRAINT is the word here and this does not only apply ONLY to eating.

I know what it's like to be "weak" (as if that is really what it is about). I know what it's like to have people telling me all I need is more willpower, more awareness, more whatever...yeah, like I didn't know that, like any of us don't know that, and yeah, like hearing that is going to help.

Get the focus back on weight loss, challenge achievement, NOT food.

Elaine, yorkie -- :welcome: I'll try to get back to you more later. Just jump in. You don't have to wait for the new thread. You can start a challenge anytime. Everything just carries over. The rules are in the first post of the thread. Those are the important ones. Other things are just causing a bit of hot air right now. You can ignore it for now. Until the new thread starts up, anything goes!

zen -- There is no reason for you to leave and, for the record, your little food list wasn't the problem. It just touched off a discussion, that's all.

chai, jolly, curly, Fish, no time now, just want to say hi and thanks for the kind words. Chai, I have never found your posts to be selfish. We all have busy times. I haven't been in here much to talk personally with people these past few days but I'm sure everyone understands. It's the long haul that counts. With everything! jolly, I know how things were for your before and I am really happy to hear you sounding better these days. You are making those steps you speak off and I don't want you to forget that!

Gotta run! Others, hope to see you soon. tia, apple, CB, sushi, JCT, Tay, freaky,

What a kerfuffle! Enough to drive one to :censored:, washed down by a gallon of :tape: . I don't have much more to add to the food porn debate. :ziplip: I tend to agree with Jolly and Fish. So I'll wait for :drill: Red's executive decision in the new rules, and will abide by her guidelines. (Although I may transgress from time to time - always get a thrill from the public spankings that ensue... ;) )

Red, don't ever think your efforts aren't appreciated! Why, just two or three days of shorter posts from you while you try to make a living, and the rest of us turn into a herd of squabbling harpies! (Okay, slight exaggeration. Maybe I need a spanking. Hee-hee.) Anyway, as I was saying, composing thoughtful responses to every post is an enormous task, one you execute with skill and consideration. I know I just can't find the mental energy to respond to everyone, and have chosen to only comment when a post strikes a chord with me or when someone finishes a challenge. Not good enough, I know, but it's what I can manage. Besides, if EVERYONE commented on EVERY post, this thread would take so long to read we'd all have to quit our jobs just to do our share. Please don't ever doubt how much your effort is appreciated. :hug: :hug:

Chai, (and Red too!) I'm not sure all that talk about waffling and being a waffler isn't food porn in disguise. (Just joking. I know. As my Dad used to say, everybody loves a lover, but nobody loves a smarta**. Which explains the absence of roses and :censored: arriving on Carla's doorstep today...)

Elaine, those sound like pretty good challenges to me. :welcome: to our quarrelsome little crew!

Girlie, you don't have to wait for the new thread if you want to start right now. Or maybe you want to wait until the dust settles on the great debate. :welcome3:

:wave:

I'm going to stick my pennyworth in as well even tho' I am not challenging at this moment. That doesn't mean I won't in the future.

As one of the instigators of the whole 'food porn' bit, I think it was meant to be in fun at the beginning although it did have overtones of seriousness in it. If one is thinking about losing weight and challenging oneself and others on a weight loss site then there are things that definitely qualify as porn. However if someone has gone to the trouble to create a food and exercise program that they wish to be accountable for, I have no objections to them posting that food and exercise log. The majority of the time any food specifically mentioned will be in the diet safe/ healthy category. I don't think that should worry anyone.

When we go off on a binge, and believe me I have been on a few myself, I find it amazing that people actually want to come here and describe what they have done to themselves. My method of dealing with it would be to say I had fallen heavily and leave the gruesome details alone - they are my shame to live with.

Red Balloon puts a huge amount of effort into this thread. It costs her (maybe not so much financially, but mentally and emotionally) to be here, think up the rules, add new ones, try to encourage, support, pick up pieces and generally act like an all round nice person (which she is) and look for support for herself.

By all means the :censored: and :tape: are fine. I don't need to know what you did to yourself foodwise and healthwise. I don't actually care too much if you smoke, drink, gamble, eat meat or crocodile and/ or are nice to old ladies, rabbits and children. I am far more interested in how you go on your challenge and whether you can summon up the immense strength needed to break old habits and make newer better ones. That is what we are here for, to give and receive that strength that comes from caring individuals who together can make a formidable difference.

For what it is worth, my opinion is that food program logs are okay. Details of binges are not.

Not much time on my hands again, so just quickly - day 14 done with running, 17 minutes but I struggled struggled struggled from the very start and in the end I wasn't really running, just sort of trying to bounce ahead.... No idea why it was so tough or why it's getting tougher and tougher...

Re the food porn issue, I hope noone will be upset with me for starting the discussion, and I am happy that I started it and to see that many 21-day challengers shared their views. I think things went too far when a mention of a food item ends up being described as food porn by someone else. Re the whole food issue, my stance is similar to that of Zen's, only softer - I'm trying to be sensitive to and considerate of the work many here still need to do. For some, food might always stay an issue, but as long as we work on things like that, we'll make progress. :grouphug:
I'm sure we can come up with a good solution for this, and I know we will with Red's help. :)

One more bit...
Red, just noticed your ticker, and I love the idea - it's frustrating how it won't accept decimals. I think I'll change mine to be like yours too :)

Evening all. First, while Challenge 1 (no soda) is fine and on day 11, I have to take a pause day on Challenge 2 (follow menu). I must have gotten in a kerfuffle (sorry Carla, but I just loved that :lol:), but I succumbed to :censored:

The good thing is that I literally felt ill afterwards. I have been doing well, so my body didn't know what to do with all that. No lingering urges. So that is a bonus.

I really just hope we can get back to supporting each other's struggles. To plaguerize the poor old Bard - "to list food or not to list food? That should not be the question."

Red - We love ya! Everyone else, jsut a quick shout out. I am getting ready to watch night two of Westminster. That is the only holiday I celebrate today. Keep up the challenges!

sigh ! $%%^^^$##@ i must be kerfuffled!

back to day one ,,, calories were on target carbs went over the limit!!



yeah what carla said>>>>>Red, don't ever think your efforts aren't appreciated!

I am struggling too, desiring something, but not allowing myself to get up and walk to the room with a fridge. Actually I did get some green there, and brough a dollar, but kept it in my pocket, thinking that with me liping I cannot hold my tea, and else, plus open doors and walk at the same time w/o spilling the tea. So I left w/o anything. Eve will be a struggle, as I desperatelly want my ex to take me out...but it seems that he might not be available, he is still confirming. Instead I am planning to head to the gym soon and workout, rest will play itself out once I am done at the gym, but I do feel the cravings, yet I don't know what I want specifically so I lie to myself - "I crave herb tea", or "I crave a nice cold bottle of water" such a lier I am....

At work now. I was able, despite getting out late because of posting this morning, to get to the gym and to in 4K and did the crunches although these aren't on my challenge now. Just the journaling through Friday.

Thanks carla, curl, jolly, sushi, shad, for your kind words. I need them in regular doses.

I would like to think the food porn hubbub is put to bed and I will make things clear on that area with the new thread....that said....I don't think there ever was a problem really. I think a lot of what was meant humorously was misunderstood and the misunderstandings and what were said sparked in turn too much seriousness. I want everyone to lighten up despite the underlying seriousness of the situation for many of our members. As I may have said before, this may be fun and games for some, a kind of yeah, well, I'd like to when I'm feeling up to it kind of thing, but it is truly a matter of life and death, or serious ill health and disease which could lead to an untimely end, for some. And this means, showing consideration, restraint, choosing our words with that in mind and in general just being a bit more supportive, even though that may not mean you specifically mention someone else.

Will talk later...I'm at work and can't do my normal review of the posts too well.

CB, I think you are struggling with your issues a lot these days. You seem to be getting a bit too "micro" on things. Come up for air, look around at the rest of our members a bit and maybe that'll help you get some better perspective. Remember what tia says, baby steps. You are doing so many things right, just don't get impatient, don't get "desperate." These are the things that can bring on a crash and burn scenario. Deep breaths, slow down....calm and centered. These are things I must concentrate on in my riding and they are words to live by, always. Oh, jolly, by the way, here's something I thought you'd like....Horse sense = Stable mind.... :lol3:

Howdy howdy girls! :moo: <~me!!!!:D

I'm here... trully... honestly... I am. I want you all to know I read everyday, I might not post... but I do read and think about posting serveral times... addicted much??:P HOLY COW.... so many people are joining and completeing challenges... HOOO WAHHH ya'll!!!!! :carrot:

ANYWAY... I have to say... Red... I've told you before... i think you rock. And even though I don't say it... I am super glad I found this board... I think the kick in the pants I get from you all (mostly in my own head) is really keeping me on track... or at least mega-guilty when I don't stay on track! ;)

CB- are ya feeling better? I hate knee pain... it never seems to heal properly in a decent amount of time... or perhaps i am jsut not the person to slow down enough and give it enough time??? I am not a patient person. hmph. I was totally amazed at you and how you continue to work out when you aren't feeling well... I am such a whiner. Keep off that knee as much as you can and get better soon sweety! :hug:

Jolly- Dang girl! Remind me what your menu challenge is... I mean do you post you menu somewhere? is it low-cal, low-carb, or jsut generally healthy eats? Speaking of :censor: my daughter wants to be a :chef: and well... she watches the FoodNetwork when ever I tell her I can't handle cartoons! :lol3: So yeah.. i get mega doses of it almost daily. Who did you want for the Westminster? I only watched the Toy competition... I think I like that little minature afghan and the long hair chiuaua(sp?) I would love another dog... but I want a dauchshund. Who won best in show???

Carla- lovin the kerfuffled... it goes well with discombobulated... and pissant. ;) No worries... i didn't get any :censor: either... I did however get a nice goose down pillow from my mother! :?: LOL I spent the afternoon watching Team USA Women's Hockey.... hooowahhhh ladies!!!!!! :cheer:

Shad- you crack me up!!!!! I don't actually care too much if you smoke, drink, gamble, eat meat or crocodile and/ or are nice to old ladies, rabbits and children. I am far more interested in how you go on your challenge and whether you can summon up the immense strength needed to break old habits and make newer better ones.:rofl: I am not nice to old ladies or rabbits... just thought i'd tell ya :P heh heh I fully agree though... I never meant to offend... I was trully just teasing. :ziplip:

Ok. So now... on to posting... heh. I still haven't started my exercise challenge again... um... I'm sorta waiting for :drill: Red's new thread.... new beginnings and all. But I am however on day... 17 of my h2o challenge and have successfully completed my study challenge! Sooo... 4 more days and i'll be ready for that exercise one... honest!!!!! :p

Good luck to you all!!!! :hug:
btw... next Team USA women's hockey game is Friday at 8am (pst) :yawn:

I think you couldn't have said it better, jolly....thank you!!! I'll GET IT IN WRITING at the start of the new thread, which I'll have started in the next day or two. And this is taking into account all that has been said, but most of all it takes into account the kind of thread I, me, moi envision. I am the one who has to stick it out even when I'm not getting support, even when there are no posters, even when I don't feel like posting, welcoming people who never appear again, looking for people who haven't posted in a long time, going back and reading all posts and THINKING about what the people are doing in order to make a somewhat relevant and personalized AND encouraging comment if I can, not wanting to comment on someone who shows no support for others but doing so nonetheless...and all that kind of stuff.

I hope we can get the focus back on important things on this thread, back on what I thought was a pretty supportive place. Structure and rules are necessary to keep a big thread going. It's fine for those who come and go and pop in when they feel like and waffle on about what they're doing without much care about the long list of others, but I'm not supposed to go off except when I am very busy and that's where people who know the rules have always helped out. And I don't like neglecting people who need support. That is what this place is for. But, I don't have unlimited time. This doesn't bring me any money.

I sincerely hope those of you who don't like the rules here will just move to a more suitable thread for you, one where you feel more comfortable. There is a great choice of them. Absolutely anyone can start a new thread. Please do so if you like, a new challenge, a new support group, whatever.

The whole food porn discussion depresses me no end. Although there have been some excellent comments and I am taking them ALL into consideration with the new "THREAD GUIDELINES" aka RULES!!!, all I really want to say is get the focus back on the challenge and, excuse my Japanese, but please, let's cut the crap...I mean cake....I mean...I mean...I am going to bed!! Good night.

:comp:

Cut up, Sarge!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good morning all. Quick post before working out and working. Cbeta - I know, I have tried the whole - pretend you really want healthy stuff thing. Until you do (like finally the water for me now) it is bull. So, what you really crave is a healthier body. Though, I will ask, are there still issues for you with the ex? It sounds (and this is just me reading here) like TIME with the ex is what you want, not eating out in general? Just a thought.

Red, maybe that is my problem right now. With work, I haven't had time to spend with pony - I know you can relate. Next week I am off, and I am all about the horse.

Jessica, the menu challenge is just baby step #1 in me eating healthy. I make menus every two weeks so I know what to shop for. I don't always follow it, which usually leads to buying more food or eating out. So, step 1 is to follow the menu. And while I don't have every single snack planned on the menu, I do have a list of healthy snacks that are ok, and know how many are ok (so Idon't binge on healthy stuff). Then, will work on improving food choices, counting calories, or whatever. Baby steps so I can make permanent changes. I would have rooted for the Springer, but I don't like the handler or dog that won breed, so I was rooting for the Rottweiler - it was a nice dog that won Workiing Group. The Bull Terrier won.

Tia - good to see you. Was wondering where you were. How have you been?

Today is going to be a rough day. PHysically, as I stayed up late to watch Westminster, then stayed up even later to read for awhile. Plus, I am a bit sore from the jogging on the treadmill, so I am going to have to slow that one down a bit. Emotionally it will be tough, as my mom called during Westminster, (DURING WESTMINSTER?!?!), and got miffed and hung up when I said I couldn't watch and talk as I had friends over. She can hold on to things when she wants to, so making up will be tough. Lastly, due to those things, it will be harder to remember yesterday was a chosen PAUSE, not a backslide, and today I am not chosing to take a pause. It will be a good day.

Have a super day all.

i thought the golden was just gorgeous!!
chai prefers the german spitz.. & the chows but then he is biased... (i have always had labs.. this has been a real adventure having a spitz/chow... can u say protective and agressive oh and dont forget BULL headed!)

Wishing everyone a great OP challenge day!

I ended up at 1356 calories yesterday and 60 minutes total of walking.

I decided to check out this outlet store over at 1st Avenue and 13th Street, so instead of going straight to the apartment after work I walked over from the subway I normally get off at instead of finding a closer subway (wow, way to run on a sentence!). There were some really great deals there, but practically all of the clothes were too small. Earl Jeans for $36 - but nothing larger than a 26. I almost bought a Narciso Rodriguez leather skirt. It was about $150 instead of $500. (FYI, this is clothes porn instead of food porn :p ) But I couldn't think of what to wear with it. So after that I walked all the way back to the apartment.

There are some other outlet/discount stores I am going to check out next week when I am up here.

I hope everyone is having a good day!

Hello everyone, My name is Liz, i'm 21 and new to this site.
My goals are:
1- To not eat chips.
2- Drink 8 glasses of water.
3- Walk before every shower no matter how early or late in the day it is.

~Liz:angel:

Jessica, the menu challenge is just baby step #1 in me eating healthy. I make menus every two weeks so I know what to shop for. I don't always follow it, which usually leads to buying more food or eating out. So, step 1 is to follow the menu. And while I don't have every single snack planned on the menu, I do have a list of healthy snacks that are ok, and know how many are ok (so Idon't binge on healthy stuff). Then, will work on improving food choices, counting calories, or whatever. Baby steps so I can make permanent changes. I would have rooted for the Springer, but I don't like the handler or dog that won breed, so I was rooting for the Rottweiler - it was a nice dog that won Workiing Group. The Bull Terrier won.

Ahhh ok. I thought the Bull terrier was quite adorable. My neighbor brought her Pug over last night and my baby was having a blast!!!! My Old Girl Black lab didn't like him much though. She was very good and stayed on her bed and guarded her food! ;) I decided that she needed a treat and bought her a new bone last night, it's already gone. :dizzy: I would have loved to see the Rotti win, I love them... sweet as :censored: they are. I cant afford to get any of the breeds I have dreamed about... Rotti, Dachshund, Newfoundland, Keyshund, English Bull, Brichon Frise. I know quite an eclectic mix. One day perhaps I'll have a ranch where they could all stay! LOL

Fish- what a good idea!!!! I think window shopping is a great way to get in exercise. I hate it when nothing fits. :( Well good luck and Have a good rest of your business trip. Do you commute every week back to NYC? Who is Narciso Rodriguez? I mean.. I assume a designer.. but where would I see his stuff???? I can't imagine spending $500 on a skirt... silly rich people!;) This is why I have never gone to NYC... I'd look so like the backwards hillbilly. I'd walk into those shops and openly guffaw at the insane pricing. One wonders how anyone can afford to live there... Do you know how much house you could get here for the price of a 2rm flat in NYC?!?!?!?! INCLUDING ACREAGE!!!!!

OKIES... rant over...:soap:so I am off to drink the rest of my water..... :cheers:
HAGD all!!!! :grouphug:

Red, micro or not, it helps me sometime to motivate myself.
yet yesterday was not enough. I did have dinner out, and it took 3 hours, as 2 eldery women bussed and servved 37 some people, at this small bavarian place. We had plenty of laughs and knowing that I won't see him for a while now, it was an excellent eve together. I did well on food, and brought home, though I felt so full at the end, I am no longer used to stuffing myself.
I wanted to go for a walk but my knee... anyway today is another day.

Fish- what a good idea!!!! I think window shopping is a great way to get in exercise. I hate it when nothing fits. :( Well good luck and Have a good rest of your business trip. Do you commute every week back to NYC? Who is Narciso Rodriguez? I mean.. I assume a designer.. but where would I see his stuff???? I can't imagine spending $500 on a skirt... silly rich people!;) This is why I have never gone to NYC... I'd look so like the backwards hillbilly. I'd walk into those shops and openly guffaw at the insane pricing. One wonders how anyone can afford to live there... Do you know how much house you could get here for the price of a 2rm flat in NYC?!?!?!?! INCLUDING ACREAGE!!!!!


JCT - Narciso Rodriguez designs very feminine clothing. His stuff usually manages to be slinky and floaty at the same time. Frankly, I can't imagine spending $500 on a skirt either, although I have spent as much as $300 on a suit. I try to wait for the clearance sales and the outlet stores and try to buy only classic pieces. I can usually do fairly well (for example, a couple years ago I got a great pair of leather pants for $100 that were regularly $600).

I am commuting from DC to NYC every week until May. Right now it's 2 days a week in new york. As of Feb. 27th it will be 3 days a week, and by the end of March 4 days a week. May 1st is the filing deadline, and after then I will be back in DC full time.

I feel ya about the prices of real estate. I figure that the one bedroom apartments I am staying in probably rent out for at least $2000/month. I thought DC prices were bad . . . these are ridiculous! I love Manhattan, but could never afford to live here until I won the lottery (and a big lottery, not just a couple million!)

I totally spaced out about Westminster - and I am freaking here in New York!!! I love watching all the dogs. I'm partial to the sporting group, as I have two springer spaniels, but love pretty much all the big dogs as well.

I am so lame... :welcome: Angel!!!!! Awesome challenges! I am doing the water thing too... I feel :halffull: all day long!!!!! rofl Good luck to you!

JCT - Narciso Rodriguez designs very feminine clothing. His stuff usually manages to be slinky and floaty at the same time. Frankly, I can't imagine spending $500 on a skirt either, although I have spent as much as $300 on a suit. I try to wait for the clearance sales and the outlet stores and try to buy only classic pieces. I can usually do fairly well (for example, a couple years ago I got a great pair of leather pants for $100 that were regularly $600).

I am commuting from DC to NYC every week until May. Right now it's 2 days a week in new york. As of Feb. 27th it will be 3 days a week, and by the end of March 4 days a week. May 1st is the filing deadline, and after then I will be back in DC full time.

Gottcha! I couldn't see myself in leather pants... :rofl: Although I am thinking of those old 80's style ones... perhaps the new ones are better looking! The most I have spent on any one outfit is $150... but that was on sale and a full suit; jacket, pants; long skirt; and shirt... SHOES... however.... oooohhhhh I could totally spend $$$$ on those!!!! My mother has 2 pairs of Italian Stilletos! They are to die for!!!!!

That is quite a commute you have. May I ask what your field is? I am in school right now... and I am thinking I need to get into something more... atainable.... more "in the near furture" as the education field really is saturated here. So back to the course catologs i go!!!! TTYL!

Gottcha! I couldn't see myself in leather pants... :rofl: Although I am thinking of those old 80's style ones... perhaps the new ones are better looking! The most I have spent on any one outfit is $150... but that was on sale and a full suit; jacket, pants; long skirt; and shirt... SHOES... however.... oooohhhhh I could totally spend $$$$ on those!!!! My mother has 2 pairs of Italian Stilletos! They are to die for!!!!!

That is quite a commute you have. May I ask what your field is? I am in school right now... and I am thinking I need to get into something more... atainable.... more "in the near furture" as the education field really is saturated here. So back to the course catologs i go!!!! TTYL!

I'm a shoe freak as well! I own an embarrassing number of shoes (but I wear them all!) I can't wear any heels higher than about 2 1/2 inches though - I am clumsy:o

These are NOT the 80s style leather pants:D.

I am an attorney. My practice area is investment management compliance. Basically, I make sure our clients may legally sell their investment products in accordance with state and federal law.

Oops! I have to roll, or I will miss my train! I hope every one has a wonderful evening!

JCT what kind of family study do you do?

DAY 1~ Again... of my 60 carbs per day limit
39 total for today


This is a tuff one !

Hi everyone. Glad to see you all posting away. I am feeling pretty rough this morning after once again getting sidetracked by the guys after work.... :^: will she ever learn? you don't have to go play with the boys.... It's a rainy day here but I am determined to at least get out and see my girl..nicker, nicker. She is my stubborn little sweetheart. :love:

Well, got just two more days to journal my eating and analyze. What do I say about these afterwork things? Oh, the sparks do fly at our office, yesterday we had a Brit telling the managing editor to "F off!!!" It was great. We sent him messages on the inhouse computer saying "encore! encore!" And tonight I have to go out with an even higher-up than the managing editor and entertain him....sigh...probably listen to him whine and feel sorry for himself and I will sit there and smile and be just as sweet as ever....:lol3:...because he is paying!!!

Well, I am coming to life here now with an infusion of caffeine. Now, for the breakfast. But first, over to you!

angel -- :welcome3: Hello there! Glad to have you join us. Your challenges sound great. Are these three separate ones or all together? And what level are you making these? Please read the first post of the thread for the specifics if you haven't already. I like your dreams avatar...it reminds me of what was always a favorite little poem...do you know it?

"Hold fast to dreams,
for if dreams die,
Life is a broken-winged bird
that cannot fly,
Hold fast to dreams,
for if dreams go,
Life is a barren field,
frozen with snow"
-- Langston Hughes

Fish -- Isn't NY great though? But, yeah, the prices. It's like Tokyo, only Tokyo is worse! I hear London is the most expensive though. Nothing bigger than 26?!?!? What the heck! That really sounds like Japan! And, congrats on notching Day 2! :cp:

CBETA -- Okay, if micro works for you, then fine. You just didn't sound so fine and I was concerned. I'm glad you had a good time out. It sounds like fun, a small Bavarian place, hmmm. I used to live in Bavaria...Munich....and I loved it. I am mostly of German extract...sound like something you add to your cooking...vanilla bean or something...:lol: Sure hope that knee gets better. I have mine hurting too. But it is better, probably because I wasn't running as much. Yesterday though I knocked out 4K. Was late to the gym but upped the pace and got at least that much in. It felt good! Sweat dripping, heavy breathing...yowzah! Exercise porn!! Go for it!

JCT -- All this talk about dog shows! I wish I could see it. You gotta send me videos of these things, okay? We get nothing over here. I didn't even know that aired dog shows. Good going on chugging that water. I wish I could see the hockey shows too. Not much here really, well, I haven't been taping anything that's why. Not much time to watch TV.... The new thread is almost here. Hang in there.

curly -- Wow, this must be a tough challenge. It sure sounds it, but to be knocking our ace challenger back to the start line....tough one for real! You keep it up. I know YOU can do this. :yes:

jolly -- I hope you can get a lot of quality time in with your pony next week. I hope your day went well. Too bad your mom gets that way. Too bad you can't monitor the incoming calls. I do all the time and simply don't answer the ones I don't want to....;)

tia -- thanks! You hang in there kid. I am rooting for you, you know that. :sunny:

Shad -- You are a card AND so sweet. Thanks. :love:

Okay, all, I'm sorry but I have NO more time here. Others, good luck and a big hello! Sushi, carla, our new members elaine and yorkie, chai, apple, where are you? tay? freaky? anyone else? :listen: :goodluck:

:bubbles:

I forgot all about the dog show!! I LOVE the winter olympics so my TV's permanently tuned in for the next 2 weeks...but you won't have a tough time guessing who I would have rooted for....
I guess I've been kind of lurking. Kind of have to keep up daily, I've tried but other family members have been tying up the computer....
While I was off line....Curly and Red finished their challenges!!!!!Hurray!!:cp: :cheer: :hat: :cp: :cheer: :hat: :cp: :cheer: :hat: :cp: :cheer: :hat:
Sorry I didn't jump in just to congratulate you, I should have. Forgive me.
I'm proud of you both!!!!!:hug:
Good news and bad news...I finished the exercise challenge!!! But the beer challenge is history again.....
I'm starting the exercise challenge right up again...today is day 1.
My pound a week is iffy, it was gone on Friday, back on Monday (official weigh in) and today it's gone again. :^: So I guess I'm on schedule for that...
ZWell, I have tons of cleaning to do. Chat with you all later!!!
I hope hope hope 33zen comes back....

Thanks for the welcomes ladies.

angel -- :welcome3: Hello there! Glad to have you join us. Your challenges sound great. Are these three separate ones or all together? And what level are you making these? Please read the first post of the thread for the specifics if you haven't already. I like your dreams avatar...it reminds me of what was always a favorite little poem...do you know it?

"Hold fast to dreams,
for if dreams die,
Life is a broken-winged bird
that cannot fly,
Hold fast to dreams,
for if dreams go,
Life is a barren field,
frozen with snow"
-- Langston Hughes


redballoon- It's a lovely poem. I haven't heard/read it in ages. Thank you for bringing it up.

Sorry I should have explained my challenges. They are all separate challenges but they will be done at the same time (does that make sense? lol) and they are listed in their lvl of difficulty.
LVL 1- To not eat chips.
LVL 2- Drink 8 glasses of water.
LVL 3- Walk before every shower no matter how early or late in the day it is.

I just want to check that when you wrote, "Pause days are NOT substitutes for days" you meant that a "Pause day" is a day that we schedule in ahead of time?

~Liz:angel:

Hi all. Just time for a quick post, as I have to be to work early tomorrow.

JCT - if there are breeds you like, go on line and look for a breed rescue near you. They would LOVE you.

Angel - Welcome

Fish - you go girl. Tell me about your Springers. I have an 11 year old black and white male, adn a 10 year old tri female. Love them to death.

Red - all is better with Ma. Stepdaddy must have calmed her down. Plus, I set up a date to learn how to make her soup, so that is good.

Good day overall, though I did need to take a pause on the soda challenge. Long meeting, gas fumes, and no sleep? Needed one soda.

Off to bed. Have a great day all!

JCT what kind of family study do you do?

I do Scripture study with my family and personally. I used it as a challenge initially because part of an old plan I was doing was based on a person's "personal relationship with God." Specifically, I am LDS (Mormon) and have been trying to read the whole Book of Mormon with my children. It is difficult because the style of writting is the same as the King James version of the Holy Bible (Olde English). I haven't posted about it since I first came on the challenge because Red asked me not to be preachy. ;)So... anyway... does that explain it?

I never thought about a rescue. I had looked into the Dachshund one here once. But I can't do it now... I live with my mother (post-divorce blah) and she has now said "NO MORE animals!!!!" Grrrr.... I shoulda thought about that before I adopted my old girl. I mean I love her and all... but... she's old.. and cranky... and she certainly isn't a lap-dog no matter how much she wishes she could be! :lol:

Day 18 on the H2O DONE!!!!!! chug chug chug.

I realized I forgot to post here today...
Yesterday I did 10 mins, then nearly "died" because of some strange abdominal cramp, which then went away I did another 13.5 min quite easily. That's Day 15 done.

And I forgot to do the other exercise (stationary biking & skipping), so no point in continuing my other challenge now. Must restart. Maybe today if I don't drop dead when I get home - so tired... Must get up by 6 am this week, and haven't been going to bed early enough because I've been watching the Olympics. No skating on TV tonight though, so I'm looking forward to being in bed way before 10 pm.

And just 3 more days left at work - tomorrow and Monday and Tuesday, and then free free free! :cheer: Too bad there is no way I can get paid for all the things I love to do in my spare time! :lol: And too bad I don't have as much money saved up as I should. I don't have little, and probably couldn't really have saved up more than that, but still, after 4 months on a well-paying, full-time job... ;) Oh well, as long as I can find something equally good in April, I'll be fine. Money sucks! :p

Real fast pit stop here. Just in and gotta get out again! Just wanted to set angel straight on things. Angel, by what I wrote...gosh, I'm going to have to be more explicit... :(....I mean that a pause day is not like a freebie, that you use instead of making your challenge. You WILL do 21 days sticking to your challenge but that may be spread over (in the case of Level 3) 24 days ...or you'll be starting over at Day 1. The pause days are as you like them, planned or oops! gonna need a pause day. :eek: Ok, does that clear things up. And like the name, you pause in your counting....Day 7, Day 8, Pause Day, Day 9, Day 10...like that. Ok? :spin:

Day 15 complete for no-wine challenge, one pause day left.

No time to natter right now.

no time? are ya kerfluffled?

curly!! :rofl:

I squeaked in at about 1580 calories (I actually poured 1/2 my glass of wine down the sink last night when I realized it would put me over my limit if I drank the whole thing) on my calorie challenge. I also just made my 30 minutes of exercise by walking around and around Penn Station while waiting for my train.

I am going to try to do cardio today at the gym. Hopefully it will not set off another coughing attack! I'm sick of not doing cardio!!!

Jolly - I have a 5 1/2 year old B/W male and a 1 year old L/W female. The boy is so smart - he has recently learned how to get me a bottle of water out of the bin and bring it to me. However, since he gets a treat for doing so, he sometimes brings me water even when I don't ask for it. The girl dog - not so smart. I'm hoping that is because she is still a puppy!

JCT - that's too bad that you can't have a dog right now. My sister was involved in German Shepherd rescue for a while. That is how she got her dog.

Red - I hope you were able to go play with your horse. I love horses, I think they are so pretty - but I am sort of afraid of them too.

I have to get some work done, but hello to Carla, Chaigirl, Shad, Tia, Tayja, CBETA, Curly, Sushi, Apple, and everyone else!!!

Real fast pit stop here. Just in and gotta get out again! Just wanted to set angel straight on things. Angel, by what I wrote...gosh, I'm going to have to be more explicit... :(....I mean that a pause day is not like a freebie, that you use instead of making your challenge. You WILL do 21 days sticking to your challenge but that may be spread over (in the case of Level 3) 24 days ...or you'll be starting over at Day 1. The pause days are as you like them, planned or oops! gonna need a pause day. :eek: Ok, does that clear things up. And like the name, you pause in your counting....Day 7, Day 8, Pause Day, Day 9, Day 10...like that. Ok? :spin:

Red Thanks for explaining it...lol. I just wanted to double check so I can prevent myself from messing up.

Day 1 went perfectly, I even doubled my steps!!!:running:This challenge is exactly what I need to get me moving.

Thanks again, Liz:angel:

Summary for Feb.14
A (3-1) Gym: Pause Day (that dinner out killed it)
B (2-0) H2O: Day 2
C (2-1) Food: Pause Day (that dinner out killed it)
D (3-0) Carbs: on HOLD
E (3-0) Lunch: Day 10


My knee is giving me pain around the ankle, I think it's time I seek medical help...:-(

Summary for Feb.15
A (3-2) Gym: Pause Day (too much pain, too busy at work)
B (2-0) H2O: Day 3
C (2-1) Food: Day 2
D (3-0) Carbs: on HOLD
E (3-0) Lunch: Day 11

Hey everyone, i'm going to start my first challenge since joining 3FC.
starting tomorrow (Feb 17th) I am going to try and drink only water (with the exception of 1 tea in the morning)... let's see if I can do it!

HI all

Day 19 underway..... chug chug chug....:halffull:

Fish- WOW! you poured it down the drain?! that's commitment!!!! You go girl! :cb:

Curly- kerfluffled... you silly girl :crazy: Thanks for the grin!

CB- OUCHES girl... I think you are right. perhaps the range of motion exercises knocked somethign a little off kilter???

Sushi- how are you feeling?? I wonder what caused the pain. Do you think you need to go the Dr??? Perhaps a kidney stitch... have you ever had that when you were running?? I have this wierd funky pain in my heel... it hurts :( I hope you are feeling better.

I'll be back later... my kiddos just came up for breaky. They have been getting healthy doses of Love and Logic lately! "Feel free to join me for breaky as soon as you clean up these toys." :D Oh boy... have you ever had that kind of "no argument needed" stuff used on you??? But it has been working well for the most part. Well... gotta go... ttyl!

Dee, here,
My greatest feel better challenge is the water consumptions.
So 1 glass b4 breakfast; one 16 oz bottles during the day; 1 glass b4 bed.
Here goes my first 21 one day challenge with you.

Whehee hurray good morning! :cheer:

No problems with running yesterday! I was feeling very motivated and wanted to go for 25 minutes or even 3 full lenghts of the dirt road. Unfortunately, it was still quite hot at 8 pm, and at about 2.5 lenghts, I started getting a bit lightheaded and dizzy from all the heat, so I decided to stop - better stop than drop! :lol: I did 23 minutes without breaks, which I'm very happy with. On to Day 17 today! :)

JTC, thanks for your kind words. No idea what the cramp was or where it came from... it was the kind I get during TOM, but there was no reason for it. I did feel some discomfort earlier that day. It seems to have gone away for good, which is great. :)

Fish, wow, contrats on the wine! That's the spirit! :cheer: :strong:

Hello everyone :wave: Just time for a quick update, as the dogs are convinced they are STARVING. Horrors :fr:

Day 12 complete here for both challenges. Bit rough, as once you start being bad (Tuesday's pause day) it seems like a reasonable request every day.

But, I count today as a huge success. The weather here was bad - snow, sleet, thunder, lightening. The only exercise I got was shoveling, as when I went to the gym after work, it was closed due to the weather. I did have to make a menu substitiution. I didn't have some of the ingredients. But, since I substituted with items on my menu, and didn't use it as an excuse to order in, I count it as a success. (yeah, I could have just ran to the store to grab what I needed, but knew I would be too tempted by the :censored: I have been wanting all day, so just stayed in).

Congrats on challenges met for the day. YOu guys are awesome. Keep up the good work.

And have a great evening.

Good morning, people! Not a very good start to the day here, with a sick cat in bed with me. I will NOT go into details, but it was a gross thing to wake up to. Now, just to work on some rewriting before going in to the office. I really could use a good sweat-dripping run though. Sigh.

Maybe I could force myself to get to the gym tonight. It's so crowded at night though that you often can't even get on the machines. Friday is the worst. I did get a ride in yesterday. Fish!! there is no "playing" with the horse. I wish. :lol: I do, or attempt to do, :^: dressage and this is major work for the horse and the rider, especially when the horse is like mine and doesn't want to work. Talk about sweat-dripping and often on the cold days I get asthma and can't get air. It's a real discipline and super hard work but I am determined to become a good rider so that's my motivation. The mirrors sure make me feel sick though...still it's been worse.

Anyhow, I am in a foul mood as my evening out last night with the office higher-up was cut short just as I was starting to feel mellow. He gets a call about a sick dog at home...yeah, right....and jumps up and calls it an evening. Of course, he is a total flake and I know to expect anything from this guy, but it just felt so, what the ****, ruining a nice evening. Now, I gotta do his work for him, something he dropped in my lap as usual.

Ok, enough of the crap....today is my last day of the journaling challenge. I have not been doing well with eating again, too much junk going down the trap. It always happens when I get busy and irritated and there just has been so much irritation lately. Let's hope things get better....I really just want to stay home and lick my wounds.

Oh, yes, tia wants me to tell you all that she has had to go to the hospital with her kids until next week, but that there is no need to worry and that she will back here with us then. Tia, take care!

Sushi -- Good going with the running! :cp: 23 minutes without a break is great! Be careful not to overdo it. Were you well hydrated? By the way, are you in Australia now? as it says by your "location?" I hope you feel better. Maybe the pain was gas or some reaction to some food you'd eaten,

online, Losing -- :welcome: Glad to have you with us. Hope to see more of you! :yes:

JCT -- I like the love and logic system. Wish I'd had a bit more of that instead of the whip and spur! Oh, and there's a huge gap between being "preachy" and just talking about what you're doing and what's up in your life. Don't feel you have to have a gag on, please! If you're concerned though, just PM people. Thanks for being such a sport. :hug: What's this heel pain you have? Have you been running?

jolly -- That is great to hear you had a "huge success" of a day. :bravo: Way to go! Too bad about the gym, but shoveling is major exercise! I remember it well. Keep up the good work. It sounds to me like you're really thinking things through more these days, using real logic to counter the tough times. That shows major progress I think. Good for you, jolly! :sunny:

CBETA -- Too bad about the dinner killing things, but I hope you had a good time. What is this with the carbs "on hold?" Does this mean you will be restarting but don't know when? I guess, right? You have so many elements to your challenge, or should I say, you have SO many challenges going on. What is the lunch challenge, by the way?

angel -- You have achieved liftoff!! Keep it in the air! :cp: :cp:

Fish -- You are amazing! But I think pouring wine down the sink could be conceived as criminal behavior in some circles?! :eek: carla, what's your take on that?! :rofl: But Fish, way to go! :cp: Coughing fit? What's this about? I hope you're not overdoing it. That is too cute with your dog. Yes, a lot of people are scared of horses. I'm not, but when I'm on them they can be scary with what they do! My horse is small and not into intentionally trying to dump me, as some horses are, but others, they can really lose it. Dressage looks so calm but it is actually very scary because you are making the horse work super hard and building their muscles so they become much more able to really blast off. It's like filling up a keg with powder and sitting on it with a lighted match in your hand!

carla -- Congrats on Day 15!! :cp:

Apple -- Glad to see you! I was getting concerned. Lurking were you? Yeah, well, things were a bit rough there for a while... :^: And wow, what's this, the challenge is done!! :woo: :cp: :encore: :woo: :cp: Well, too bad about the beer challenge, maybe you could just tweak it a bit, say, limit yourself to a can or two and make that your challenge. Good luck on the new exercise challenge! :goodluck:

:kickcan:

OK my carb limit is 60 i totaled my carbs for the day and had @##$$% 63

so back to day 1 ! However, I am proud of myself cuz i did the gazelle for 30 min. even with the stomach bug.. so patting myself on the back for that..

However... i am bound and determined that i will do this 60 deal.. so once again back to day 1

grrrr talk about being kerfluffled!


tell tia we hope all is well with the lil ones..

CB- hows the knee?

welcome newbies!

Red, I'm a beer snob, I don't drink beer from a can!:barf: I am fine about my difficulty with this beer challenge, it IS keeping my beer consumption way down, and that is what I need to establish as a habit, otherwise if I ever DO lose this weight, it will come right back.
Fish, I don't think I'd EVER dump wine unless it's nasty in the first place. You are truely committed!!!:hat:
CBETA, I hope there is no major problem with your knee! Keep working your upper body anyway!!
Tia, I hope everything is OK!!!:hug:
Hi Jolly and sushi and Carla and JCT and Curly (You sure did challenge yourself this time!!! 3 carbs over! Arghhh! It will probably just take a little practice, soon you'll have a new menu worked out.)
:wave: Hello to the chicks who have recently joined!!

By the way, I took last night off instead of starting the new exercise challenge. I started today, 30 min of walk/jog OR 20 min of video, level 2.:D

JTC, thanks for your kind words. No idea what the cramp was or where it came from... it was the kind I get during TOM, but there was no reason for it. I did feel some discomfort earlier that day. It seems to have gone away for good, which is great. :)

Sushi... I dunno if this has anything to do with it... and it might be TMI... but have you ovulated this month? I say that because I can mark my calendar by that when I feel cramping on one specific side. usually it spans out from one central location... through my lower abdomin. and sometimes through to my back. Also... could it be a kidney infection? either way, I am glad the pain is gone. take care of you :hug:

Red.. no worries chicka! I don't feel like I have a gag order in place.. honest. Just don't want to get pushy... KWIM? Anyway... heel pain. I have NO CLUE :mad: It still hasn't gone away. But I did put on some "reflexology" socks we have... silly little things you can use to see where your pressure points are and what each area is for. TMI here... but I was telling my mother earlier in the day that I think I have an UTI and when we looked at the socks... the point where I was having the pain was right where the Kidney point and the Bladder point meet. Interesting. If it still hurts tomorrow I might look into a DR app after my WW meeting.... since my oldest is going on a playdate.

Apple- hey girl! GOOD LUCK with the beer challenge... I know how hard those can be... esp when you are out with friends... nice thing is usually the designated driver gets free virgin drinks! ;)

Curly... DANG! 3 over? I'm thinkin you are being rough on yourself!!!! Relax... I know you can do it!!!!! I Have Faith in YOU!!!!!! :flow2:

Ok... hi Losing... Hi Online!!!! :welcome: !!! These ladies are AWESOME!!!!!! have fun!!!! and TTYL ... anyone I missed.... Oh... Please someone tell Tia good luck and that I'll be praying for her and the kids!!!!

Byeeeeeee

YES! YES! YES!
APPLE THE EXERCISER RULES!
GO BABY GO!!!!
:woo::woo::woo::woo::woo::woo::woo::woo:

Between work and early rising for boot camp, I don't have much time or energy for posting. Sorry! (I'm not one of those who posts from work.) But I've been trying to keep up on what's happening with y'all.

Tomorrow will be my 6th out of 12 boot camp sessions. It's quite discouraging in a way - I'm so out of shape except for the cardio part. Gotta get me some abs and back muscles! And arms, I need arm muscles too. Actually there was one amusing moment, doing a sort of rowing-type exercise with bands. The instructor sounded surprised and pleased that I was doing it well, but I realised it just proves all that schlepping luggage thru airports is good for something after all! Also, it turns out I can pay for a month's boot camp and spread it out, which kills my excuse for not signing up again at the end of the 4 weeks. (I'll be away two weeks in March, and again 2 weeks in April. But I really need to keep this up if I hope for results.)

On Tuesday morning I decided to spin at the early morning session, but hated it. Just too much noise that early, and a little tight time-wise. I had booked to go again today, but decided to take it easy instead. So next week it'll be back to at least one, preferably 2 evening spin sessions. They burn well over 500 calories each, and with the way I've been eating...

This has been a week of overindulgence in the :censored: area. So I'm going to take a page out of Jolly's book, and have put together a simple menu for the next week. Being tired has proved to be very bad for my food choices!

Red, did I read you right - the evening out was a bit of a bust, but you DID get some work out of it? And you went riding, hangover and all? Yowza!

Tia, best of luck with your sick kids. No fun!

JCT, congrats on finishing your personal study challenge. And about your heel pain, be careful with that. You don't have to be a runner to get plantar fasciitis! If it doesn't go away lickety-split, I'd suggest you go on line and look for some foot stretches/exercises to repair it. One exercise is to take off your socks and pick up marbles one by one by curling your toes around them and then placing them (the marbles, not your toes :lol: ) in a cup...

Fish! No! Say it ain't so! How could you? After reading your post I had to go lie down for a while... You're going to be drummed out of the drunken fat chicks union if you don't clean up that act of yours!

Curly, I must confess to a touch of schadenfreude at your repeated restarts this time round... usually you just bulldoze through all obstacles while the rest of us fall off wagons and go rolling into ditches where we wallow in :tape: and sloth... You're fallible after all! Who knew? ;)

There's a nasty storm happening outside - freezing rain and howling wind, to be followed by a cold front. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it won't be too hazardous to drive to boot camp in the morning (well, sort of - also :crossed: that I won't be able to make it but it's really not my fault teacher, the weather ate my ride...).

Welcome to our many newcomers. You all have worthy and challenging challenges, and will do fine here as long as you don't mind us whiny lushes. A sense of humour - and a sense of proportion - will also stand you in good stead. Also be forewarned that Red is a real :drill: who is pitiless when we start to display Eeyore-like tendencies... (Her bark :coach: is much worse than her bite, but don't tell her I told you that.)

:eek: This post is much too long. :wave:

It's me.
I am back. Knee and all is not good, no, toes are not 100% numb, only 20-30 but such an uncofortable feeling of tightness also exists.
This is what scared as I was worrying that a nerve was pinched.
After work I headed for urgent care, as neither my regular doctor nor ortho could see me. I really wanted the lader, but the next available slot was in 10 days! By then all might heal, or I might just lose my leg...who knows.
As expected my x-ray was fine, I've been refered to an ortho/sports medicine doctor, they shall call me in 3 business days, ie by Wednesday as Monday is a holiday.... Hmm let's see next available appointment is next Friday may be? I am hoping it heals well by than, but for now I got a stabilizer brace. So embarrasing it did not fit properly onto my fat thighs! More reasons to lose weight.
After doctor I visited a friend, one of those who is madly in love with me.... but i feel nothing except frienship and occasional frustration at his attemps. He cooked a nice dinner for me, which was a little bit too much, but good protein items. I had all of my water, and then.... I picked his dumbells and worked for 20 minutes.... I've not been able to visit the gym due to being busy and will be restarting soon, I miss that lightness feeling...(better remember that when I am able to work out full force)

I wanted to write a separate post.
THANK YOU guys for your support and worry. I feel so cared for... and that's a great feeling.

p.s. I decided not to worry my family thus far about my knee, sorry for too many details. And again thank you for being like a family where I feel safe to share...

JCT, congrats on finishing your personal study challenge. And about your heel pain, be careful with that. You don't have to be a runner to get plantar fasciitis! If it doesn't go away lickety-split, I'd suggest you go on line and look for some foot stretches/exercises to repair it. One exercise is to take off your socks and pick up marbles one by one by curling your toes around them and then placing them (the marbles, not your toes :lol: ) in a cup...

A sense of humour - and a sense of proportion - will also stand you in good stead. Also be forewarned that Red is a real :drill: who is pitiless when we start to display Eeyore-like tendencies... (Her bark :coach: is much worse than her bite, but don't tell her I told you that.)

:D THANKS for the congrats!!!!!! As for the heel.... hadn't thought of that... I don't really know what Pantar Faciitis is... Must google when I have more energy and my eyes aren't waining in and out of focus. :yawn: The pain is sort of in the front of the heel.... (thinks about how to explain this...)ok.. if you look at your heel... its on the inner part by the arch. but right where the heel starts to rise. I don't know what it is. It isn't hurting as much now... but i did soak it tonight so that may have helped. I think the Dr and I need to have a talk. :shrug: Loving the Eeyore comment!!!! Hee hee aint that the truth!:lol3: Love you Red!

CB- Hon we love ya too! I hope the Dr's can see you soon... I have had those same problems with my calves.... what a bummer. :hug: Take care of you... it was nice of your friend to cook for you. I am glad you were able to get some good stuff and not Take out. Nice to know that our friends don't want to sabotage our attempts at living healthy! :hug:

Day 19... chug chug chug.... I almost didn't drink it today but as I have no pause days left i really couldn't stand the thought of having to start over. :lol: Chug chug... potty... chug chug .... potty... :halffull:

Night all... off to find my feather pillow and wish that it wasn't 2am :eek:

Good morning, everyone.

Off to the gym soon. REalized I made an "oops" on my checkbook I had to fix, then came here, so am really running behind. But had to say good morning. I am also realizing how LOUD that bad inner voice got after Tuesday's pause. Really "encouraging" me to just start the challenge over in a few days, it'll be ok. What's a few more bad choices? So, I realized I had better try all I can not to use the two pause days I have left, as it makes it so hard to continue.

Cbeta, I am glad you went to see a doctor, and hope your knee starts to heal. Congrats on picking up the weights. Tia, good luck with everything, and I hope things are ok soon. JCT - CONGRATS on finishing your study challenge.

Red, and Apple, and Curly, and Fish, and everyone else :wave: Have a great day!

:( ahhh Carla no need for schadenfreude ... if i were not fallible i would not have started at 288 lbs ... i just want so badly to get this weight off .. so the drive doesnt come from pride or ego...

it comes from wanting to be healthier...my dad had his first heart attack at 39.. so at 46 its time to wake up and get the job done.. once and for all ..

Yep carbs are my weak spot for sure.. thats y i have to keep at it ...

you are doing great with your boot camp .. u will see it will get easier as time goes by!

ehhh yesterday was the 1st time i used the video that goes with zellie.. that Tony sure is annoying isnt he?

Hi all. Finishing up my challenge here, but I haven't written it (my eating) all down yet so wait till tomorrow morning to send the flowers, ok?! :lol:

JCT -- So sorry, it wasn't till I saw carla's congratulations on your home-study program challenge completion that I realized I'd missed something! Sorry and congratulations to you! Three cheers for ya! :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: You know, I'm wondering if you have some shoes where the arch is not right for you. This is a big problem in a lot of athletic shoes. But, yes, the stretches are probably a good idea in any case. And great going on the challenge. Just two more days, right? You can and WILL do it! :yes: Ok, glad you're cool with the no-preaching. Speaking of religious like things...I had lunch at my favorite Pakistani place near work today. Hadn't been there in weeks because I've been bringing my lunch in to save money and eat more healthily. They were unusually nice today, giving us some free things and we thought it may be because they're afraid of losing business if there is any backlash because of all the protests about the Muhammad images. Actually, the workers in this restaurant are a mix, Indian, Nepalese and Pakistani, sometimes Bangladeshi...I know because I chat them all up! ;) So, today, when we were at the register I said to the Pakistani guy, "why are you so nice today?....you know, lots of bad things happening in Pakistan....burning down KFCs and McDonalds and stuff..." and he just laughed. That was in Lahore, don't know if you follow any news, but you know with the uproar over the cartoons...looks like the antics got turned on American fastfood icons. I asked him where he was from and he said Lahore. It's funny because my bootmaker just told me he was in Lahore to buy leather. Small world......wow, am I babbling or what??! Oh yes, I know those socks well. Reflexology is big here. Sure hope you're okay.

jolly -- I hear you loud and clear on that insistent inner voice. :^: Yeah, what's wrong with a bit more indulgence, a bit more this, a bit more that...the same has been happening to me. Although it's not stuff on my challenge, I have always been trying to cut certain things out and am trying my darnedest to do that 500 gram loss per week that I wanted to attempt. But recently, I've been allowing a bit too much. Time to crack down, eh! Pause days can be a double-edged sword. I interviewed a competitive bodybuilder once who told me that when he was really dieting down for a contest he didn't allow himself any free days, nothing. He said the pain was to much to have had just a taste of something and then to go off it again. Ouch. But, you see this a lot with bodybuilding. The extremes cause them to do major yo-yoing. Course, this is different, just getting a bit sidetracked there....sorry. But, I really like to see that you are thinking ahead, planning on what your foresee as your battles and thinking through HOW you can win them...like saving your pause days. Good for you!

CBETA -- Thank you for your kind words of appreciation. I hope your knee gets better soon. You are having a hard time with the runaround your doctors seem to be giving you...well, not being available and so. Best of luck and a fast recovery! Sigh, you know, it would be nice to have someone madly in love with me...just what is it he is "attempting" that you are frustrated with? ;) :lol3: No, that's okay, no details necessary. I will use my imagination and think what I would like my madly in love with me person to be attempting!

carla -- You crack me up with your post. Admitting to schadenfroh feelings at curly's restarts! :lol3: my pitilessness at Eeyore type behavior! and your having to lie down at...you know....what Fish did! :eek: Drunken fat ladies union....do you think they'll let me join? Well, you're really doing great with that boot camp, aren't you? Luggage schlepping is definitely a muscle maker. Now, I am looking here and not seeing your challenge mentioned. Are you on one now? The wine perhaps? Hmmm.....just checking here. Well, as for the meet with the head flake, I may have gotten some work. Nothing set yet. He was okay today, apologized for running out...said his dog is still alive. Course I got home and in an email said I expected a followup to last night to counter his rude behavior...I was joking kind of but I hope he saw the humor. It is so hard at times to get humor and such across in written form. What's in our head at the time is usually what we hear, but if you're reading something meant to be funny but are in a snarly mood, you'll probably perceive it as snarly. Here, smilies can help a lot but I don't always think to use them....sigh, what is in my brain right now? Not much from the sounds of it....

Apple -- How did Day 1 go? Did you achieve liftoff? :dancer: I understand not drinking from a can. I was the same but then the stores stopped selling bottles so now I am forced to drink out of cans if I'm home. But, I never drink directly from the can...is that better? :lol:

curly -- Your margin of leeway is rather strict, no? I mean, you can't be absolutely sure how many grams you had. But, I suppose it's the same thing as what jolly was saying, you stretch a little and then it gets too easy to stretch a bit further. You'll do it. I know you will!

Well, I gotta get ready to turn in soon. Hello to everyone else. Hope to see you posting. Newbies, you still with us? :listen: marble, where you hiding these days?

Feb 17 Day 1 one Challenge
b4 breakfast; one 16 oz bottles during the day; 1 glass b4 bed.
The antihistamine I'm on helped...I was thirsty all day so I also drank 3 extra glasses of water :)

I completed day four for both challenges: 34 minutes on the elliptical and a total of 1517 calories. The elliptical was pretty rough - I started at level 5 resistance but had to bump down to level 3 about halfway through because I couldn't breathe. But I am feeling alright today, so I don't think I over did it. I will still probably just do yoga today rather than cardio to be sure.

Sushi - way to go on 23 minutes without a break! If it stays warm here I will probably go for a run/jog this weekend.

Jolly - the dogs are ALWAYS convinced they are starving! They're DOGS:D . We have to put their bowls up between feedings because they will bring the bowl over to us at all times during the day to try to get fed again. BTW, snow-shoveling? Totally counts as exercise. That is sort of wierd about the gym being closed because of the weather though - are you in a small town? I am just happy that the east coast is warming back up. It got up to about 60-65 yesterday and today.

Red - I just looked up "dressage" on the internet. It looks like a lot of hard work and committment. I am sure you are a great rider (at the very least you are a better rider than me;) ) And practice makes perfect, as they say!

Curly - I hope your stomach feels better today.:hug: Congrats on working out anyway.

Apple, Carla, and Red - I know that pouring wine out is some sort of horrible alcohol abuse:lol: But don't kick me out of the union - I promise I'll make up for it this weekend:hat: See? That's me drinking champagne!

Hey all. I just have to come on here quick, and report my shame :( I have to take a pause day for both challenges, so I am still on day 12. Started out being a little tired and sore from yesterday's shoveling, and a lot lazy just 'cuz, so did NOT make the gym. Then, despite knowing I am making bad choices, and that this will make life harder in the long run, and this is totally the bad little voice winning out, but . . . .Well, I have to take pause days on both challenges. 'Nuf said?

So, I either need a strong kick in the rear or a yank back on to the wagon. Whichever works! HELP!!!! :fr:

Jolly -- Look, just get back on track! Forget the shame and guilt and all that crappola. I notice this tendency in you to really pile the blame on yourself too much or at least to focus on the things you didn't want to do....pause days are there for that...use 'em and be happy. I mean, you have to enjoy them as well :dizzy: ...not think of them as something bad. :nono: So, remember, no shame! Just smile, make a silly face in the mirror, give yourself a kiss and say, "Bring on the next round!" :crazy: ....of days, that is...and whop 'em flat! :dancer:

Morning! Saturday here. Getting caught up. Wow. And so, yes, my challenges are complete! Hurrah, hurrah! :sunny: I will be starting the new thread soon. Just continue on here for now, okay?

Fish -- Wow! I am impressed. Actually looking up dressage on the Net. Thank you! :o No, I'm not a great rider....I don't even know if I'm a good rider...well, I guess it depends on where you're standing as a rider yourself...but, I've made progress...over all these years. Just gotta keep at it. As for the union, I think you'd have to be an honorary member, or one of the OBs, seeing as you are quite svelte already! Of course, "fat" is a state of mind as well, so perhaps we could stretch the definition. With all carla's spinning these days, I don't think she's going to qualify much longer. ;) I hope you feel better soon. What is up with the difficulty breathing? Are you sure you're not still sick? Or are you just having to rehabilitate? I hope it's the latter. That is so cute with your dogs bringing you their bowls. :lol:

online -- There you are! Excellent going on your first day! :bravo: Hope you feel better. Is this a cold or hay fever? Maybe hay fever doesn't start up near you this early but it is already starting here...I don't get it bad usually but the eyes have been itching..this morning too. Well good luck! :goodluck:

Hi all. Finishing up my challenge here, but I haven't written it (my eating) all down yet so wait till tomorrow morning to send the flowers, ok?! :lol:

JCT -- So sorry, it wasn't till I saw carla's congratulations on your home-study program challenge completion that I realized I'd missed something! Sorry and congratulations to you! Three cheers for ya! :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: You know, I'm wondering if you have some shoes where the arch is not right for you. This is a big problem in a lot of athletic shoes. But, yes, the stretches are probably a good idea in any case. And great going on the challenge. Just two more days, right? You can and WILL do it! :yes: Ok, glad you're cool with the no-preaching. Speaking of religious like things...I had lunch at my favorite Pakistani place near work today. Hadn't been there in weeks because I've been bringing my lunch in to save money and eat more healthily. They were unusually nice today, giving us some free things and we thought it may be because they're afraid of losing business if there is any backlash because of all the protests about the Muhammad images. Actually, the workers in this restaurant are a mix, Indian, Nepalese and Pakistani, sometimes Bangladeshi...I know because I chat them all up! ;) So, today, when we were at the register I said to the Pakistani guy, "why are you so nice today?....you know, lots of bad things happening in Pakistan....burning down KFCs and McDonalds and stuff..." and he just laughed. That was in Lahore, don't know if you follow any news, but you know with the uproar over the cartoons...looks like the antics got turned on American fastfood icons. I asked him where he was from and he said Lahore. It's funny because my bootmaker just told me he was in Lahore to buy leather. Small world......wow, am I babbling or what??! Oh yes, I know those socks well. Reflexology is big here. Sure hope you're okay.

:rofl: and so why WERE they being so nice???? I mean I heard about the cartoons and stuff... That was the reason??? I'm kerfuffled....;) Thanks Red and Jolly for the congrats. I figured I'd wait to make a fuss untill I finished the Water challenge!!! 19.5 down... 1.5 to go!!!!!! :flow1: Red... WTG on the completeed (unofficial) challenge!!!! WHOOPPPPEEEEEEE! :woo: Good news all... i was feeling all sorts of lazy and slothfull... I haven't exercised or nuffin' for too long... well I almost used my "No Weigh-In Pass" at my WW meeting today... but decided I needed to face the muzack. WELL!!!! I lost 1.6lb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That means I am down a FULL 2# from my starting weight!!!!!!!! :woo: :goodscale:

Online- good for you!!!! Keep that water going in girl... those antihystamines can be nasty.

Jolly- Com'mon girl! One day is ok... you can do this... jsut remember that you are more than half way there!!!!! :cb: Besides... you kicked some tail yesterday... Hanging out in the cold means your body is burning up fat to keep your core temp up!!!! However, as much as I like that idea, it still doesn't make me want to play out in our yard today... it's FREEZING HERE!!!!! :shocksn:

Fish, Apple... Tia... Curly... everyone seems to be going great!!!!!! I'm sending :goodvibe: your way on challenges!!!!!! TTYL!

I'll post later... I'm still licking my wounds from today's sad Team USA Women's loss againts Sewden :(

JCT -- Way to go!!! :dance: :dance: :dance: Doing the pounds-off dance, light as a cloud! :cloud9: Good for you! And thank you for the congrats on my challenge completion! :yes:

Ah, too bad about the hockey loss. Does this mean the U.S. is out of the running or out of the gold? You'll have to fill me in. Just wanted to say that the girls are rocking elsewhere though. A Brit at work saw that England had just won its first medal, a silver. He wanted to find out who did it and looked it up on the Net. It was in women's skeleton! Go girls! Japan is a total washout this year, NOTHING yet! They usually do much better. We've still got the figure skating there and Miki Ando is a hopeful, so I'm rooting for them there.

As for the Pakistani place, I don't know why they were being nice. It's always a mystery. Indians and such tend to be like that. :lol: Maybe they just like me. Also, I go in to that place with a different guy each time it seems (well, I rotate with about six) and they probably wonder about me! Also, I was chatting up another guy in a nearby convenience store, found out he was Nepalese as well and maybe it gets around. Communities of foreigners, especially of Asian and sub-Asian countries, can be very close. But, no, I really don't know. I used to live in India, you know, and I find them to be very mysterious. People think Japanese are but I don't see it at all. Not anymore. It took me a long time to get used to the Indian way of nodding your head yes. They don't nod, they tilt their head to one side, like Americans would do when they're not sure about something or just so-so on something. So all along when I would ask someone, for example, "Do you like this?" or something like that, I'd get this head-tilting and I'd think, damn! what a wishy-washy bunch...and it was just me misreading the body language. So, a straight answer on why they were being nice yesterday is not something I expect...laugh...move on. Japanese are similar, actually. You have to learn what is being implied. Even then, you really don't know. I think half the time they don't know either! :lol3:

Day 17 done, but I was too tired to run longer than 13 minutes.
I think this week has been going so bad because I haven't been getting enough sleep... hopefully it'll get better next week - Olympics are still on, but only 2 days of work. Must get going now...

Day 1 28 carbs!!

BBL have cat boxes to clean!

Wow, curly! Amazing!! :woo:

Sushi -- good for you too! Another day down...lack of sleep or no! :cp:

Gimme an R!
Gimme an E!
Gimme a D!
What's that spell? RED!!
The journaling journalist!
Red Rocks!!
:cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers:
Day 16 done on the no-wine challenge, one pause left. (I might have used the pause, but the weather is beyond miserable so I decided to just stay home in my vino-free home.)

Red, the "fat" in the drunken fat chicks union refers mainly to the affiliation to 3fc. No aspersions being cast on anyone's sveltitude ;) , especially the wraith-like Fish. Marble is also a member, and she's quite teensy-tiny these days too. (So tiny, in fact, that we can't even see her shadow - or her posts. Hint, hint. Talk to us, Marble!)

Well, today was midway in the month-long boot camp. The weather was vile, but since I have snow tires, I really couldn't find a reason to skip class. I did, however, unintentionally manage to yack just enough to slow things down. So it turned out to be a sort of boot camp "lite". In my defence, I'm pretty tired from the week of early mornings and work and late nights, and I did pull my left quad a little... I never could do lunges.

My cats don't bring me their food dishes, although I'm sure Zen would if he could figure out how to pick his up. But I recently started playing laser pointer with the pair of them, and Lily is quite demanding about it. She comes and paws at the table by my chair, meowing at me to pick it up and play with her. She'll chase the little red light forever. Or at least as long as my patience lasts.

Time for bed, and a chance to sleep in tomorrow. Yay!!

Greetings to you all. :wave:

Hey all. Bloody cold up here. Congrats on completing your challenges Red, and to JCT for her loss, and everyone else for having great days.

Yeah, I know that is what we have pause days for, but I also know how hard it is to let it just be a pause day, instead of pause week, month, decade . . . And I feel like I blew two weeks work in one day. Ah well, tomorrow is another day.

have a good one everyone. Dogs are yipping to go out. Oh yeah, and Fish, only one of my dogs is ALWAYS STARVING. My boy is actually a bit anorexic - I actually have to cheer him on at mealtimes, to get him to eat. :cheer: :cheer: Crazy really.

Ah well. Off to brave the burry weather, then to bed. I still need a few kicks :dancer: :dancer: in the right direction. Good night all.

Whee!!! Wheeee!!! WHEEEEE!!!!:carrot: :cheer: :carrot: :cheer: :carrot:
I ran for 30 mintues straight & no breaks today! :D :D :D Who would have thought after the 13 minutes which I hardly managed yesterday! :p

And I also improved my time for 2 lenghts of the road - 17 minutes 5 seconds today (previous best was 17 min 30 sec) and ran for 3.5 lenghts total (about 5 km?), which means that both of my current Running Goals have been achieved! :D :D :D :) :) :) The one thing I'm kicking myself about is not taking a good look at the stop watch when I finished the 3rd lenght... I think it was just under 25 minutes, but could have been just under 24 or even 26... Shame that I don't know for sure because my pace was really good and it would be good to know. I know it's going to be hard to beat, whether I know the time or not. :p

Well, that takes care of Day 18 and puts my total for this month at 284.5 minutes of running so far this month... :cool: Just 10 more days and 215.5 minutes to go... :p


Red, congrats! :cheer: :hug:

Back home. No time to write right now as I must get to sleep. Nothing really to write about as I did nothing challenge oriented today...in between. Very busy day ahead of me tomorrow.... :stress:

Sushi -- Excellent on the running!! Now, where did that burst of energy come from, eh? And you were complaining about your performance! Well, you made up for it today! :cb: :cb: Just three more days!! And, you didn't tell me where you are, did you?

jolly -- I know all too well about those pause days that seem to stretch on and on and on... I was just trying to cheer you up, stop you from beating yourself up. And really, I don't think you can blow two weeks' work in one day....well, are we talking calories or what? Ok, maybe it's possible, but you also have to think of the habits that you are cultivating and have been cultivating over those two weeks. One day of throwing all care to the wind is NOT going to undo that, ok?! ;)

Thanks for the congrats! :hug:

carla -- Thank you for the super congratulations message. I really love those! I should be doing them too I guess, I just can't seem to have the time right when I'm posting. Either I should prepare ahead of time or just leave it up to you! How 'bout it?!

Well, at least you GOT to boot camp, I wouldn't worry about a little yacking. Were you chatting up the instructor? Hope your leg feels better soon! That's so cute with the cats and the laser light. Good exercise for them too I bet. They say jumping up and down things is the best exercise for cats. Do you have anything for them to do that on? I got a bloody lip this morning from Momo jumping across my face....maybe I said that earlier..

Yes, I wonder where marble is? Ok, on the union name, the DFCU, is it? Where do I sign up?

Well, it's off to bed for me too. Kudos to you for notching Day 16 on the no-wine challenge! How have you managed that? Have you switched to something else? :s:

Dee, here
Yesterday, Feb 17 just made the water quota. Was really sick though.

Hi everyone,

I'm new to 3fc but decided to come on because my job is starting a version of The Biggest Loser at work and I am determined to compete.

My goals:

1. Water- at least 8 glasses each day
2. Exercise- at least 30 min. cardio each day

Good morning, all, andwelcome to Kary. Sushi, congrats on the running. Very impressive. Red, I am not getting too down on myself, just want to make sure I get back on the wagon. This is too important to slip back into old habits, which is what yesterday felt like.

But today is another day. I listened to my body, and didn't eat when I wasn't hungry. Off to the gym now, and then to meet up with friends (which I did budget into my menu). If I can just stay warm. Dogs are bound and determined to go outside - this is the only time I wish I liked cats :(

Have a great day all, and will try to check in whe I get home tonight.

:carrot: :carrot: :carrot: Challenges done!!!!!! Day 21 complete!!!!!! :carrot: :carrot: :carrot:

:welcome: Kary! How cool to be a part of The Biggest Loser! How will it work? how many people from your company will be allowed to compete... you'll have to give us details!!!! I had a friend who drove to Seattle for the casting call for the TV series. She never heard back though... bummer. I would love for her to be able to get in it. She's a great gal.

:woo::dancer: :encore: :bravo: YAY RED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :bravo: :encore: :dancer: :woo: You are soo aewsome GIRL!!!!! Looking forward to new challenges on the new thread!!!!!! WTG Fearless :drill: We LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:cheer: :cheer: :cheer: THREE CHEERS FOR SUSHI!!!!!! WOW GIRL! YOU ARE ROCKIN!!!!! Keep up the great work!

:hug: Jolly... Glad you aren't down on yourself today... life will work out... and just remember to focus on the progress you are making... cuz DANG GIRL! You are workin HARD!!!! :flow1:

Online... way to chug that water!!!!! Were you sick because you are sick or sick from the water???? We were talking about drinking too much water at WW and they were cautioning more than 72oz/day because it causes all of your electrolytes to be flushed out and reduces the nutrients in your blood and all sorts of other not so good things to happen. We don't want that to happen to you.... but don't stop either! :lol: What day are you on now???

I hope everyone is doing great! I am off to fold MOUNDS of laundry... Ugh. Oh, I forgot to tell you... At my WW mtg... I volunteered to take home the traveling food journal and bring it back next Fri. :smug: I thought it would keep me honest and get me back on the journal wagon.... I think I might look at journaling as a stealth challenge.

Well... Take care of you! :grouphug:

Morning, all. Sunday morning here. Just getting out. Very early. Not much action around here, is there? Glad to see a few of you! :sunny:

JCT --Thank you for all your congratulations. You are a sweetie! :love: And wow, you are done with yours!! Hurrah!! Another round of cheers! :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: You got through it despite all the lows...I'm so proud of you!! :flow1:

What is this with the traveling food journal? :?: Do they just give it to different people each week and you write in everything you alone have eaten? By the way, I am having a hard time reading the small letters. Please be kind :^: to my already overstrained eyes from sitting in front of a monitor all day at work, then on here. :stress: I am not feeling very good these days... too many problems....:cry:

jolly -- Glad to hear you notched a good day and are back on track! :yes:

kary -- Welcome to our thread :welcome2: and good luck on your challenge! I don't know anything about The Biggest Loser as I don't live in the States and am clueless when it comes to TV and the current popular culture. Tell us what your company is planning and how it works.

online -- Good for you! :cp:

It's Saturday around 2pm. I am at work. yes - Go Live is Tuesday and I must do about 2 weeks worth of work in just 2.5 days. Fun, huh?
It will be alright once I concentrate and get organized.

I've not gone to the gym, but will try to do so tonight. After keeping knee at rest yesterday I feel better... which makes me very happy.

Also yesterday it rained for 2 hours heavily and the mountains that were next to my house were covered up .... after the rain it was so clear, and top of the mountains got little white caps of snow. so beautiful....

Water challenge is good. Dinner is also, Lunch was a miss.
Carbs and Gym will be restarted.
Perhaps if curly could share what she ate to get to 63 carbs and to 28 carbs via private message would be great. I'd like to know what to avoid, and then come Tuesday I will say how many I'd like to limit myself too. I will be counting them this weekend just to see how many I eat normally.

CB: i would suggest these books:

Protein power : by michael Eades

the south beach diet

and low carb & lovin it by george stella


Day 2 carb challenge= 54 carbs

Day 17 of the no-wine challenge complete. Only 4 days to go! And Red, I haven't substituted anything else for the grape. The only other libation I really enjoy is a particularly calorie/booze rich concoction that starts life as a martini and ends up all blowsy, overdressed , and extremely pricey. And is, of course, served with far too many salty bar snacks. (Just as well it's too late to head out for a drink. I've made myself quite thirsty...)

Time for bed. Bye all! :wave:

Wow, and carla! you've made me thirsty too! Heading to the racetrack now...

Red... is this ok??? I don't know what size to use... the congrats to you on my last post were a 3pt...my writting on that post was a 2pt.... this is a 4pt.... I wish I knew what it looked like on your screen LOL :?:

As for the traveling journal... that's basically it... you have to write down everything you eat... plus the points you have allotted and how much each item "costs" you. The points are a calculation of calories, grams of fiber, and fat grams in each food.... I have 34 pts a day plus 35pts for a weekly allowance. To put that in perspective.... a 4.5oz Chicken breast without bone or skin is 3 pts without any type of seasonings... then you start adding side dishes... spaghetti w/ marinara... 1/2c is 6pts. Milk is 3pts for an 8oz glass... it starts to add up fast. Anyway, my job is to stay under my points... and write down everything that I put in my mouth. The best way to use this diet plan is to eat high fiber + low pts. Lots of leafy veggies and stuff. Which is super good for us because we love veggies here. I have to bring the journal back on friday... which is gonna be hard because I have a women's conference that day... I may have to drop it off sooner... and leave my "how I did" report with the leader. I don't want to miss the class I am supposed to attend!

I hope everyone is having a great day... rather night... Sunday... hmmm... so many timezones... ;)

Good morning all. Just a real quick post before off to a tack sale and the barn.

Not much new to report. Had a good time with my girlfriends yesterday. Should be a fun day today. Just have to stick the resolve as far as my eating.

have a good one everyone. Talk to you later.

Heh JCT, 3 and 4 are fine! 2 was just too small. I've noticed that depending on the font there seems to be a big difference and often I see no difference between 3 and 4 and then all of a sudden, wow! it's miniscule! I just got in from the track. It was a good race. 3-length win. I had the story typed out in no time!..... Well, good luck on the journaling. It'll help keep you in line, I'm sure! ;)

jolly -- a tack sale?!?! Oh, my, the words that are music to my ears...jeans, skirts, dresses?! :dunno: nah.....coolers, blankets, sheets, breeches, paddock boots...oh yes!!!! :love: tell me if you get anything! And, by the way, I never asked you, what's your horse's name, breed, age, color?

32 minutes yesterday (Day 19). Burst of energy came from having had enough sleep the past few days. :)
I haven't decided yet whether to start counting from Day 1 on Feb 22nd, or whether to continue to Feb 28th and start a new 21-day running challenge on March 1st.

Note: Tomorrow is the last day I'll have reliable computer & internet access. After that I won't be able to post more than once or twice per week until March 9th or so. And then starting March 20th, I'll be totally offline for almost a month. It will suck! :lol:

32 minutes yesterday (Day 19). Burst of energy came from having had enough sleep the past few days. :)
I haven't decided yet whether to start counting from Day 1 on Feb 22nd, or whether to continue to Feb 28th and start a new 21-day running challenge on March 1st.

Note: Tomorrow is the last day I'll have reliable computer & internet access. After that I won't be able to post more than once or twice per week until March 9th or so. And then starting March 20th, I'll be totally offline for almost a month. It will suck! :lol:

Dang girl!!!!! I think you should count day one from Feb 22... you are doing so well... why cut yourself short?! ;) As for the internet service... what's going on that is keeping you from being on? Are you traveling?? Moving?? Let us know... we'll miss you. :hug:

Hello . . . I'm new to posting and forums and threads so I'm not sure I'll be able to find my way back here, but I just had to talk to somebody. I've decided to join OA because I'm sick and tired of being 40 lbs overweight and hating myself everytime I see my naked body in the mirror!

I haven't found a convenient group to join yet . . . I suppose "convenient" is the operative word here. That's my boggle . . . convenience foods. I don't think I "over eat" regular foods . . . I just don't eat the "RIGHT" foods and I eat when I'm emotional. Wasn't sure if OA was right for me until I read the 15 questions. I nailed most of them, so I guess I have to say . . . "Hi, I'm Noodlesz and I'm an overeater".

The new thread is up!! Please click this link and join us there:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1138791&posted=1#post1138791