Maintainers Chat: Week Of April 13 - 19

[Meg]

Good morning! If you celebrate, did everyone survive Easter? Does anyone have leftover Easter candy to deal with??

We had our family holiday dinner on Saturday and I ate a lot of salad and berries and managed to skip everything fattening. On Sunday, it was just DH, DS, and me, so we grilled steak and shrimp, had mac and cheese, broccoli and leftover desserts. I stuck with grilled shrimp, broccoli, and a glass of wine for my Easter treat and my weight didn't change. So whew!

On top of making it through chocolate bunny ear season unscathed, our taxes are done and filed.

I'm wondering if the gym will be crowded with people feeling guilty this morning or if some are still in a carb daze and skipping exercise? Me, I'm going to be thinking about Megan while I'm benchpressing -- you're my hero!!

Time for one more mug of coffee, then out the door! No matter whether Easter was a chocopalooza or bunny greens, we all can be on plan today, right?

[Mudpie]

Easter was the last chocolate/eating celebration in my life for the next few months. I'm hopping down the skinny pants trail starting today .

And a first in my life - I threw out some Belgian chocolate last night!!! Just didn't want it and didn't want to make that decision again today.

So I'm off to a two week dog sit tonite. Lots of reading in the evening instead of TV and no influence from DH. And there are full length mirrors in the master bath should I waver.

By the end of May 2009 (my 2 year anniversary of starting all this) I will be at my goal weight and fit into my skinny jeans again.

Have a great week all!

Dagmar

[sindy9001]

Hello! I know many people eat too much this day. There are full of people in the gym. I am glad that your weight didn't change.

[Megan1982]

Good morning everyone,

I'm pleasantly surprised that no Easter candy has made its way into the office this year. If I avoid CVS for just a few more days then all the good sale candy will be gone, and I've made it, whew. I briefly considered making a (lean cut of) ham yesterday, but BF doesn't have any particular attachment to Easter ham, and I decided I could do without the sodium. So yesterday was just a regular weekend day for me. It was too rough to go out fishing, so BF and I hung out on the beach Saturday afternoon and got a little sun.

Aww, thanks Meg. I'm starting to get a wee stressed out thinking about so many people watching me lift weight - everyone keeps asking me about it! I've got one more deadlift workout with Tim tomorrow, maybe one more light benchpress Wed (T says he's not sure yet). I'm just trying to get my cardio in, eat right, get enough sleep, and not think about it. I'll be thinking of Jessica prepping for her triathlon that's also this Saturday, right Jessica?

Dagmar, wow, I'm impressed you threw out the Belgian chocolate! Enjoy your dog-sit and you can eat all the on-plan food you want w/o your DH around.

How did others fare over the holiday weekend? Let's make this a great week everyone!

[paperclippy]

Dagmar, good job on the chocolate!

Sindy,

Meg, I had my one Cadbury egg for the year yesterday. Just one! (Let's pretend I didn't eat ice cream afterwards... )

Megan, is your weight lifting competition Saturday? Good luck!!! My triathlon is on Sunday. I'm a little worried because my knees have been acting up, but hopefully they'll be okay on Sunday. It rained today so maybe my knees were just reacting to humidity. The weather forecast for Sunday looks good so far so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

My sister and her fiancee were here for the weekend, which was good but also stressful (as family always is!). I got in a couple workouts though. DH and I have a few days alone together before my mom shows up Thursday night.

[BillBlueEyes]

Eating Easter Dinner on plan was somewhat easy since we hosted and DW roasted a leg of lamb with mucho roasted veggies. No Easter Candy in sight.

Lucked out that DS's GF was going to bring a fancy dessert but got set back by a head cold, so we put together our favorite fresh pineapple and strawberries.

Dagmar (Mudpie) - Big Kudos for tossing that Belgium chocolate; I've never tossed good chocolate - you're my hero for that.

[Meg]

Bill, fresh pineapple tastes like candy to me. Yum ... have you ever grilled it? Recently someone suggested grilling watermelon too.

Dagmar, you rock for getting rid of the chocolate! Much better to put it in the trash than on your hips. I read a funny suggestion about full length mirrors ... that if we want to eat something off plan, we should do it naked in front of a full-length mirror. And watch ourselves eat whatever. I imagine that would stop me dead in my tracks!

Wow, what a big weekend we're going to have with Jessica and Megan's big days! You both are going to do great and all your training will pay off. Good vibes for your knees, Jessica. : Does it take your breath away when you both stop and think how far you've come?

[traveling michele]

Good morning maintainers!!

Sounds like everyone fared fairly well with the holiday meals, candy, etc. If not, the holiday is over!!

Megan and Jessica-- so proud of you both! You will be fantastic!!! I hope your knees cooperate Jessica.

Dagmar-- you sound very motivated. Glad you are focused!!

Meg-- glad your taxes are done and filed. Our company does them for us since we were overseas and dh still travels overseas which makes our taxes very complicated. So, we don't know yet if we will be getting a refund or not but we are crossing our fingers.

I am back to work today after my spring break. I got a lot accomplished over my break but not nearly as much as I would have hoped to. I worked on my school work for the class I'm taking and got a ton done, but I still have a ton left to do. I worked out a ton over the weekend, but my weight is still up due to my Easter lunch yesterday. I overdid it-- no doubt about it. It was delicious but my stomach hurt so much after. Why, oh why......??? What gets me is "the old me" would have done that and my stomach wouldn't have even hurt and I wouldn't have thought twice. Now, if I have a meal like that, I know it is just one meal and I move on. This week will be extremely hectic and stressful for me. Dh is still out of the country and I am working my two jobs, plus dd has many appointments and events I have to work in (she is getting her braces off, she has a track meet, and she has an academic awards ceremony). I need to split myself in two to get it all done. Plus, I am feeling like I might be getting sick but I'm praying it is just allergies. Dd and I walked the dogs Saturday and Sunday around a reservoir-- it was very windy and there are tons of foliage, trees, wildflowers, etc, so I'm hopeful it is just that. I do not have time to be sick-- period!!!

Good morning to everyone else......

[Shannon in ATL]

Good morning, everyone!

Well, yesterday wasn't the best for me foodwise, and I continued it into my stressful morning... Saturday was POP. Sunday I made wise choices with my food (veggies, baked ham, one small piece of venison cubed steak, 1 small spoon of mashed potatoes) then I found the dessert table. My new MO is apparently to get small servings of several desserts - I never get more than one spoonful or a 'petit four' sized square or slim slice of anything. This time I would up with small pieces of two things, spoons of two other things, and an iced shortbread cookie. Didn't feel like it was too bad, all in all, until I got home and had another shortbread cookie before dinner and then ate too much dinner and made myself sick. So, the logical thing to do at that point was to eat the marshmallow bunny from my mother, since I had already gone overboard yesterday.... This morning I woke up to a storm - no power, debris from the house next door blown into my house, hail, wind, rain... I hate hate hate hate storms, so I sat in my room without exercising listening to the hail, then took a shower and couldn't dry my hair, make my smoothie or make coffee... No smoothie led to PB&J, no coffee led to snickers egg from the Easter bag. I don't know if I'm strong enough to toss it out like Dagmar did! Going to be back on track the rest of the day, though. I already have salad stuff that I bought for dinner, unless the power is out so long it gets ruined... I also didn't exercise any this weekend - the traveling around combined with DSS getting us up multiple times both nights wore me out... Have to get back on track with that today, too...

Megan - sounds like you had a great day yesterday!

Dagmar - way to go on getting rid of the chocolate!

Michele - allergies are up all over the place this year. People who have never suffered from them before are having symptoms because of the accelerated growing season - everything bloomed at the same time instead of more spread out. Or at least that is what I heard on the radio this weekend. Hope you feel better!

Bill - we got my stepson to eat some fruit this weekend instead of candy - pineapple was what did it!

Jessica - hope your knees feel better!

Meg - no coffee this morning for me... I can feel myself missing it already. I'm thinking about venturing out to try to get to McDonald's or Starbucks... if the power lights are back on...

[alinnell]

Good Monday Morning to everyone!

I had a fun weekend. Saturday we went golfing and had a wonderful time. Afterward my in-laws had a burger bar-b-que, and of course they put the bowl of chips and salsa in front of me and I couldn't resist.

Sunday we went out for a great lunch and went to see The Fast and The Furious. Afterward, we went back to my house to relax and I fixed a snack of tapas for a light dinner. Not exactly Easter fare, but it was nice not to eat a huge dinner.

This week I plan on doing more light dinners. My in-laws are here only for a few more weeks and as soon as they leave I'm going on a full blown "get back down" plan of some sort (I have some planning to do!).

[nakedmango]

Hi all! this is my first real post in the maintainers section. Yay! I posted in the goal section on Saturday, so I figured I should mosey on over here and make friends this time. I don't think I've reached my "final" goal weight yet, but I'm close.

All I celebrated this weekend was four days off work. Which have been fabulous! I was supposed to host Easter dinner with my parents and my rbother and his girlfiend, but that fel through. So I had plenty of extra time to go to the gym! And of course, to shop--I bought new 'skinny' workout pants and lounge pants, and the kind of top I would never have bought when I was overweight, thinking it was too cute and trendy for me to get away with. But I bought it, because now I'm cute and trendy too.

Eating has been mostly OP so far, though I found some vegan chocolate while shopping on the weekend. It's so rare to find anything other than basic dark choclate that's vegan that I had to pounce! Luckily it came in little bags (maybe 250 cals, I figure), so I can eat one bag and be done with it. As well, Saturday is often my rest day (if only because I know I should rest, and can't be bothered to sort out something "easy" to do other than walk to the grocery store), but I came home from shopping and then went for a 10K run. Desipte the fact that I was shopping ALL DAY (left at 9:30 and was home by around 6:00) and that my mp3 player died partway trhough my run. This was challenging, since I do 10 min/1 min intervals when I run, and without my mp3 player I had no clock! So I kept running around the block, which is just about a 10-minute run, so I knew where I could do my 1-minute walks, and made it all the way to 10K. All in all, a successful weekend! ...As long as I only eat the one last fancy chocolate today, and ignore the soy ice cream in the freezer.

Sound like there are some awesome fitness goals in here--a weightlifting competition, a triathlon?!? Woohoo! You guys are inspiring!

Meg--I love the idea of eating naked in front of a mirror. It should would make me think twice about chips, which are my only real weakness! Although yes, this guy----> might come in handy if I were to do that!

Mudpie--Good for you for throwing out chocolate! Sometimes I think, "Such a waste!" But then I think, "Either it's on my belly, or in the garbage--either way, it's still a waste!" (I'm sure I could make a waist pun here, but I don't want to shock you guys in my first post )

[paperclippy]

Welcome, Mango!

Thanks for the good thoughts for my knees guys. I got blood drawn for another thyroid test this morning and I'm kind of hoping it will turn out I just need more medicine. (The alternative is that I actually hurt my knees, which would be worse!)

Michele, I hope you feel better soon and that it's just allergies! I had a sore throat for a couple days until I figured out it was actually being cause by my allergy nasal spray. So I guess I get to choose between a stuffy nose or a sore throat!

Shannon, has the storm passed yet? We're getting lots of rain here, but no severe weather at the moment.

Allison, I'm planning on a full blown get-back-to-goal plan as soon as this triathlon is over. Hopefully it will actually work this time!

I just got an email from the triathlon organizers with all the rules in it. Luckily they're having a special meeting for first-timers the day before, because honestly half the email sounded like gibberish to me! Then I went and looked up setting up transition areas online and got even more confused. The two things that are most confusing me are the bike rack (the email said "rack your bike by the seat" but everything I see online is different) and figuring out what time I'm supposed to get there for "body marking" (???). Running 5k's is way less complicated!!

[Shanna]

Good Morning!

Welcome Mango!

Except for one fairly minor emergency, we had a blast this weekend. The RV worked well (Alison - it's not "new" just new to us - it's a 1992 or 94? class C four winds - in great shape for how old it is).

The minor emergency - be brought our little Boston Terrier. Grandma's dog and Great Grandma's dogs didn't like her much, so they kept growling, nipping, and snapping at her - she was a nervous wreck! She finally fell asleep on my lap, and a while later Addison (one of our 7 yr old twin girls) came running in, bent down with her face right in the dog's face and put her hand on the dog's back to pet her. The dog was startled and nipped her cheek - two stitches - probably become just a small scar, but it will probably annoy her when she hit's her teens. Ah well, how many times have we told her not to stick her face in a dog's face?

At dinner after that incident, and again last night at dinner my eating was not good (details in the "availability", I mean "accountability" thread but I'm back on track today. My tummy started growling for lunch at like 10 AM, but I just keep reminding myself that it's my body's way of telling me it's working off the extra, unhealthy food that I forced it to eat. I'm sure my body would have been much happier (and would feel better today) if I'd given it a "treat" of healthy foods in reasonable portions instead of giving in to my brain's twisted idea of a "treat". I did get in quite a bit of walking though, and I did my back/core exercises and stretches right there in the motorhome.

I'm up 1.5 lbs since Friday, which puts me still 3 lbs from my goal of being under 130 by May 1st. Only two weeks to go - I'd better make better choices tonight at my DS's and his GFs birthday celebration!

It would be a bit too cruel to throw out the Easter candy we gave the girls in their Easter baskets last night. So, I'll just have to make myself make good choices.

re: eating naked in front of the mirror - While first losing after hitting 178, when I'd get a craving for "bad choices" I'd go into the bathroom, pull up my shirt so I could see my fat tummy, and jump up and down. Watching it jiggle made me lose my appetite! (luckily no one ever walked in while I was doing this - now THAT would be embarrasing!!

Jessica, you'll figure it all out and I know you're totally going to rock the triathlon!

Shannon, I think storms are cool, but I hate having the power out! hope it comes back before your food spoils! (ps: you are getting very sleepy... now that you are hypnotized, listen to me... getting in a good workout is going to feel SOOO good, can't you just feel how strong and energetic your body is going to feel afterwards? I know you are just CRAVING a really hard workout. All you will want to do when you get home is work out until there is sweat dripping off of you.... ) Let me know if this works, maybe it's time for a career change - internet hypnosis... hmmm.

Megan, same goes for you on the weight lifting competition - you are going to totally rock it - relax and have fun!!

Bill, I love pinapple and strawberries!

Meg, was the gym crowded? Did the people all look like they had sugar hangovers?

I have to get back to work - Hi to everyone!
__________
Shanna

[iriswhispers]

Jessica and Megan, good luck this weekend! =) Jessica I am also quite confused with those tri terms.... only thing I've done is a few 5Ks and they were simple.

Michele, it's been blowing like crazy here too and I have allergies so I'm not feeling the greatest. I hope it's just allergies and not a bug for you, too, though.

Mango!

Shannon, bummer about the storm! I haven't had any coffee today either... yikes! I need to do something about that.

Dagmar, WOW, you are amazing for throwing away the good chocolate!! I can't even throw away mediocre chocolate.

Shanna, sorry to hear about your dog emergency. But it sure is never a good idea to put your face in a dog's face! My parents' dog doesn't like that much either. I listen well and keep my face out of his, so luckily no stitches for me!

Yesterday was all right - I had one plate of normal food like everyone else was eating, then a small piece of the pie and a small piece of the cake. The problem was the wine... several glasses of wine. Anyway, back on track today! I just have to get rid of the leftover pie!

[Megan1982]

Thanks for all the well-wishes everyone. I think I'll have more to say on "I'm glad I did it" after the tournament itself, but my attitude certainly has changed since I was "reluctantly coerced" into agreeing to train for the tournament! I get nervous before everything, always have - theatre performances, vocal performances, tests in school, etc., so I'm hoping it will just be at levels I'm used to and can deal with.

And Jessica, I'm sure the organizers are used to newbies and will answer all of your questions at the day-before meeting. Would it be helpful to make a list of your questions to make sure you don't forget to ask any? (I'm Ms. List, BTW.) You will be great! I'll be cheering you on from here.

Meg and Bill, I also LOVE pineapple grilled. Peaches are also delicious grilled. I just ate some (raw) pineapple for an afternoon snack, mmm.

Shannon, do you have power back yet? That line of storms that hit you will reach us down here this evening. At least we need the rain, right?

Shanna, aww, I'm glad your daughter wasn't hurt any more. Maybe that Mederma (?) would be worth a try - isn't it supposed to help remove scars?

Michele, you are one busy woman. Don't run yourself down! I hope it's just allergies you're experiencing, too. Everyone's spring allergies have been terrible here this year.

Allison, sounds like a really enjoyable weekend!

Iris, mmm, wine. (Is it wrong that that's the first thing that popped into my head when I read your post? LOL... still missing my alcohol from my "training diet" here.) Give away the pie!

Hi Mango, and ! Great job getting your run in.