4 tablespoons of fat free sour cream are a free exchange BOO!

You wonder why... pffffft!

I am a little worried about my WI today (may skip and go tomorrow instead) as my scale says I am up a bit. I have been on plan with the exception of a few (like 6) crackers yesterday (which counted as my starches) with some spinach dip on them (darn book club goodies LOL)

The other thing is, I have been exercising more this week and I did a new workout yesterday that have my glutes and my calves screaming today! What I have been reading about exercise and weight gain/loss is that often if muscles are worked/overworked they send fluid to the area to heal them...and this ends in increase readings on the scale.

So it may be possible that my wi may show my weight is up (maybe up to a couple of pounds!!)?? I don't know if I can face that today. Seems so unfair that exercise to be healthier makes the scale betray you. If I see anything back in the 250's I'll be really REALLY upset!!

Oh well...that's my rant. Thanks for "listening"?

Momo - I know what you mean. But exercise is what makes you firm...and you might end up "shrinking" more than losing pounds... which is ok too!

Anyhow, just a thought. Don't be afraid. Exercise is good for you.
It'll keep all the "jiggles" away

Momo: I understand your hesitancy to go in for WI today... especially if you are anticipating a slight increase. However, overall... as Chantal already stated... exercise is a must! There were girls at my centre (who have since moved on) that were on program, were slim, but were gooey if you know what I mean. Remember, muscle burns calories even when you are at rest. You might end up weighing more in the end, but you will look leaner than ever. A toned body is way better than just a slim one that jiggles. Keep your head up and keep working!

Speaking of which... I am going to hot yoga tonight. I am so excited! It will feel so good to be doing something to help my back heal! Wish me luck as I really have to be careful not to push myself, overextend or cause further injury. It is a fine balance...

What motivates me is looking at old pictures of myself from when I was at my slimmest... how i felt about myself then is how i feel about myself now. Now I know not to be so hard on myself and appreciate what I've worked to become!!

HOT YOGA!! I've always wanted to try that. Have fun!

As for my update. Today was measurement day and the day where you tally up the week. Here are the results for the week:

-4.5lbs (:O)
-6inches (everywhere except my leg!!)

So that's a total of 7 and 1/4 pounds and 8inches for two weeks.

I'm really excited about this, because I was looking at my old success charts from when I was on HM before, and I didn't start losing inches until the 3rd week. Yaaaaaaay.

I hope every had a good measurement day!

chunksof love:Congratulations! That is awesome progress for your first two weeks!

mememegogirl: Hot Yoga sounds like fun. I have a few friends that do it but I am SO not into heat that I don't think it's for me. Hope you had a great time.

I decided not to go in for my wi...partly because I know I am not going to like what I see there and I am hoping that this water weight will disappear by tomorrow...and partly because it was a very busy day and finding the time to drive in there would have added too much stress to my day.

I'll go tomorrow and hopefully the scale there will be kinder than mine has been at home today

Good night all!

I think for myself, it is important to go to all the weigh ins. For me, I have to be held accountable, thats just the way I am. Avoiding uncomfortable situations and accountability, is one of the reasons I got to being over weight. I know that if I started avoiding weighing in when I felt heavy it would just snowball and I would quit all together. There have been times when I went in and was up by 2 lbs, and there have been weeks when I have lost nothing, ya just gotta keep going! Don't worry so much about the scale, I have only lost 20lbs, but have lost 30 1/2 inches, sometimes you lose nothing but inches in a week and that would be the results of your exercise. You can do it momo, just keep on truckin, and ditch the scale for awhile.

That is some great perspective witchie. I have always said that I don't care about the numbers on the scale but about how I feel overall. Inch loss is what makes the difference. This is what makes our clothes fit better and is also what is visible to others.

Hot Yoga was good. I will have to learn what I can and can't do thru trial and error as today I am in quite a bit of pain. I will have to consult with my doctor some more so that we can lay out a plan. Overall, if I can be moving and active I will be happier, and more importantly I will be healthier. The bonus is how it will affect my weightloss and inches. More and more I am feeling the pressure to stick to and complete this program. It is just one more financial burden when we already have so many medical expenses to cope with.

So I went in for my wi first thing this morning and I am down .2 pounds. I'll take that.

At my centre, there is only one girl working there that I really don't like and so, of course, that is who I got today

So, she did my wi and frowns... then looks through my journal and sees that I had chili on Monday. That is NOT on the program, she says. Hum....interesting, I say, because I was at the centre on Monday afternoon and had an entire conversation about chili with the staff and how to count that in my day....and then she is just silent. Grrr!

Anyway, a .2 loss is better than a gain and I know that I am feeling better and my clothes are feeling better so that is what counts. I had planned to get my measurements done today too (because I had only one child with me ) but I didn't really want to hear anything else from this particular woman anymore so I may go in tomorrow or Saturday for that...or just wait until Monday. That will make it two weeks since my last measurements were done so that could be a good time to go in. How often do you all get yours done?

witchie...I hear you on the accountability thing. And if I had been cheating a bunch and "knew" that my weight should be up, I'd totally go in and just grin and bear it. My problem this week was the fact that I had stayed on the program and I felt that my real weight (read: FAT!) has changed but that the water retention or whatever was not getting the scale to reflect that. The girls at my center that I have talked to about this don't seem to have any good information about this.

Has anyone else had conversations at their centres about how exercise effects the scale? Any good info you'd like to share?

As always thanks for the encouragement everyone!

momof5k : Sorry you got stuck with the girl you don't like. I can't believe she acted like that. I'm so thankful that none of the girls at my center are like that. I too only lost .2 but like you said, it's better than a gain. The only problem I've ever encountered so far is one of the girls told me that she needed to see another pound gone by the end of the week. Kind of irritated me a bit seeing as how I am ahead of schedule by 7 lbs! Whatever!

Anyways I just finished my 3 rd week of Herbal Magic and I'm down 12.8 lbs and 10 inches Yaahoo!! I also wanted to mention that I had the taco salad that was mentioned and it was so so so yummy! I felt like I was eating so bad, but I wasn't!!

Good job everyone on your losses! Can't wait to see what my WI for tomorrow says!

Hi there ladies!!!

Congrats to all for your losses...even if it's 0.2... it's still a loss!

For my part, I gained 0.2 but I was expecting it.
So I took it, went in, told them exactly all the junk I ate and took responsibility for it....with a smile! Was it worth it in the end? Hmmm Yes & No. I have to admit the club was good...the fries were ok.

Anyhow, that's it for me! I'm hoping to be at least 2 pounds down by Monday!
If I stick to at least 2 pounds...I'll hit my mini-goal a few weeks ahead of time.
I have 7 weeks left - 12 pounds left...so if I go at least 1.7 pounds per week, I'll hit my target - woot woot! BUT, my goal obviously would be to hit it before.

My vacation is also scaring me... end of June...afraid of not having a routine...restaurants and stuff....

fbenjamin... I know! The taco salad was almost too good! I've used the baked tortilla shell a couple of times since I came up with that and I'm always so satisfied afterwards! When it comes down to it.... a 6" tortilla just isn't big enough to hold a serving and a half of veggies! Glad you liked it ; )

momo: I find that the weeks that I really work hard on the treadmill, and light weights, the loss is reflected more in inches, which is fine with me! As long as I'm losing, whether it be on the scale or on the measuring tape, either way I'm happy. The scale can sometimes be more of a stressor, just keep up the good work, and put the scale in the closet for awhile. Chin up!

Geez I really have to try this baked tortilla thingy!

I had the Taco Salad too!
I wanted to let you guys know what I did...

For my dressing, I used half a teaspoon of Salsa, one teaspoon of mayo, and one teaspoon of FF Sour Cream... WOW... Plenty of dressing for 1 F...and a tiny bit of an FE. It was to die for... I added 0.5 oz of shredded cheese too... mmmmmmmm! I want it again! lol