Jelbelle: Your career plan sounds really cool! I love reading/writing/editing, but I'd never really thought to pursue any of those things professionally. How did you become interested in owning a publishing company? I've never heard anyone express interest in doing so before, and it sounds intriguing! And yeah, I totally get what you mean about a lack of boyfriend material in -1700 words.
oOPeanutOo: Your advice about reading labels really struck home. I have a hard time reading the ingredients lists in Finnish, but at least I can find the calorie count! I really had no idea how many calories were in anything before I started looking at labels. When I first started trying to estimate calories, I'd round up to ridiculous amounts when it came to things like fruits, yogurts, and even bread, and then round really far down on cheeses. I'm still trying to get situated in calorie counting, but I find it really interesting!
Toastedsmoke: I absolutely love S&S (definitely my favorite), but I do understand what you mean about Marianne. I really despised her the first time I read the book, but I also saw a great deal of myself in her (I was going through a particularly bad break-up). I think part of the reason that I like the book so much is that it encouraged me to mend my ways and try to emulate Elinor. Things went really well this week! I actually decided that I was going to go ahead with the Masters in Nutrition plan. Who knew I could make a decision so quickly? And I've exercised fairly regularly this week, so I've been feeling pretty good about life. I'm sorry that you've been sick for most of the week, and I hope that this coming week finds you healthy again! Good job on exercising despite the illness. Next week you should join in the exercise challenge ... it's so quiet over there!
princessdi86: I love your dream of opening a dog shelter! I'm sure that you can do it if you put your mind to it. It sounds like such a wonderful idea.
southernbelle102: Congratulations on the new "niece"! I love when my friends and family have babies. My goddaughter is sooooo spoiled! I just wish I lived closer to her. I haven't actually been able to spend that much time with her so far, as we're on different continents, but I think I'll rectify that next year. Enjoy the time you have with your friend's baby!
JMfan: I hope that the rest of the month starts to look up for you!
Kim: How's everything going?
Weekend question: Well, I'm glad that you asked this one now and not last week!
1 year - living in Austin, preparing to take post-bac classes, volunteering in a community garden, hopefully working somewhere interesting (crossing my fingers for a food bank or a local environmental organization) 5 years - have successfully completed a Masters program in Nutrition, working to address malnutrition either abroad or domestically, hopefully tying sustainable agriculture into this work somehow, hopefully in a long-term relationship or married 10 years - too far ahead to think about career decisions, but hopefully married with kids (and still working)
Jelbelle – I think it’s awesome that you’re chasing after what you want!
toastedsmoke – I have to say, I was even impressed with my cooking effort. I mainly did it so I’d stay on plan and it worked. Sorry that you’re still having a rough time. Functional is definitely better than being stuck in bed. I think seeing a doctor would be a smart move if you’re still not feeling well.
Nienna – CHEESE!! I absolutely love cheese and was devastated when I found out how many calories were in it. I’ve had to stop buying Camembert & Brie all together because I just can’t fit them into my plan. I love that you want to try and address some of the issues on malnutrition once you’ve finished your Masters. It’s all about “giving back”.
My Monday hasn’t been completely horrible which is a nice change. We have nice weather at the moment so the Sun is out and streaming through the office windows at the moment. Stone fruits and Grapes are starting to come back into season for us but they are majorly expensive right now. In spite of the expense I still have to buy them. I never imagined that having fruit come into season would be a highlight for me. How things have changed!
Nienna: It branched off of the writer thing. Since I wanted to be an author first, and I thought "why bother being a struggling author?". I figure SOMEONE has to be the one in the editing chair. I just want to be the person on top, I want to be involved in the entire publishing process.
Nienna: I'll definitely check out the exercise challenge. Thanks.
oOPeanutOo: Thanks, I feel a lot better actually, thank goodness! I understand a bit about excitement that fruit is in season! I haven't had grapes in AGES, but tangerines were in season a couple of months ago and I was a happy camper for a while!!!
Yesterdays weigh-in went ok-ish, well as ok-ish as I guessed it would be. On th plus side, I did lose a lb, so that was good. I've been kind of exhausted. I have 2 outstanding days of 30DSlimdown (1 NMTZ and 1 30DS L1+L2) and I was supposed to do them both and catch up yesterday but I didn't bcos I apparently suck. And so now I'm obsessed with doing them and doubling up today and tomorrow's workout to get them done but then when I think of doing that, I get superdiscouraged and feel exhausted instead. I know I should just get them done and out of the way, and just mentally get myself in the zone of it must get done OR ELSE!
Anyway team Phoenix! Let's keep on keeping on. We're halfway there!!!! We can do it!!!
Monday Question~ Do you have a “before” picture? If so, what is it of (you can post it if you would like)? If you don’t, why? Did you avoid the camera and why?
toastedsmoke~ You don't suck!!! Did you get a chance to double up your workouts today?
oOPeanutOo~ Clementine season has just started here which I am super excited about as well! What is stone fruit?
Nienna~ Lots of ambition academically! Things are kind of just coasting here right now...
Laureedee~ Posting a day early is fine! Good to see you!
princessdi86~ Satellite company doesn't know what they're missing!
Jelbelle~ A starving artist in Manhattan sounds kinda fun actually! Do you paint, draw, write, etc? I saw that you want to be a publisher, plan on sneaking some your own writing in there?
JMfan~ How are you doing?
southernbelle102~ Sounds like 190 is a good goal weight considering how you were at 160. How are you doing this week so far?
excitedtolose~ How was your surprise date night?
Anyone I missed~
Monday Question~ Do you have a “before” picture? If so, what is it of (you can post it if you would like)? If you don’t, why? Did you avoid the camera and why?
I have "before" pictures, but none of which were intentional. I usually find myself behind the camera taking all the pictures rather then in front of it smiling. Although some of my friends have caught me before as well as some of my family. There is one picture from right before I re-started at the end of the last school year, that I absolutely dread. And it's posted on the school website! UGH! I'll try to find it at some point today.
So I'm currently coasting. Trying not to gain weight, but admittedly, not trying overly hard to lose weight either. My ear has been abnormally sore over the past couple days, to the point where I have even thought about taking the rook piercing out. I know I'm going to love it once it heals though. It's not infected... just healing. I've never had such a thick piece of cartilage pierced before, so it's a new kind of pain. One of the science teachers I work with here explained to me about how caritilage is soft bone, and the thicker it is, the harder it is, which means it will take longer to heal. Plus I toss and turn in my sleep and keep waking up lying on that side, ugh. K, I'm done being a baby now...
I have three Thanksgivings to go to this week! Wednesday is going to be a psycho gym day as I am planning on going at least once for 90 minutes, if not two or three times. We'll see, at least once though! My parents want to go to Harry Potter, so once may be all I can get in, because I can't miss Harry Potter..!
Okay, I'm done rambling!
Happy Monday everyone!!! (Thursday for me as tomorrow is our last day of school for the week!)
Monday's Question (A GREAT ONE!): I do have before pictures, tons. I love pictures, most of them however are taken with a lot of great lighting and at perfect angles to give me the best look possible.
It got to the point where my boyfriend knew exactly how to take my photo to make sure that I would approve so I didn't have him take it a gazillion more times. I have poses that can slim myself...NOW I find myself NOT CARING about the poses or lighting etc and just smiling to smile and they are genuine!
I do have a few really bad before photos that show the true me (fat and all). But being I've posted those around this site before...maybe I'll post one of those that don't show every roll. =)
KimL1214: Thanks! I actually ended up not sucking yesterday, immediately I got home from work I didn't allow myself to read a chapter or curl up in bed, I put on work out clothes and got to it. Now if I can only do the same thing today... Except i'll go to the gym first for a run... Good luck with tomorrow's monster workout!!! And have great thanksgivings!
Monday's question: I'd be hard-pressed to come up with before pics from the 275 era. First of all I avoided the camera like the plague. Unless it was my camera with which I had control of the pics, people weren't able to take pictures of me. My senior year of college (I was maybe 250-260ish), I have NO pics from then at all and it's soooo sad. My friends DO however have a lot of pics on facebook from senior year labelled (toasted's hands (covering face) or toasted's hair- har har). That's a big regret for me. My mom MIGHT have some pics from 275 from New Year's 2009 but I doubt it, by tht time I was a pretty savvy camera dodger even though my mom is quite the papparazza at family occasions. I have pics from 260ish downwards and I will think about posting them maybe later today. Eek! If I work up the courage. I think i'm waiting till onederland though to put up progress pics.
toastedsmoke~ Did you get your run in yet today? I know how you feel about posting before pictures. I would probably feel better about posting them if I had some better current pictures, but I really don't see a difference between them yet.
Krizstyling~ That's funny that you got your bf trained to take pics just right before. I'm glad to hear you don't mind how pics are taken now!
Tuesday Question~ Do you cook during the winter time with a crock pot? Do you have any favorite recipes?
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE cooking with my crockpot. I have a couple really great recipes involving a roast, and some yummy chili recipes if anyone is interested!
I spent almost all afternoon and evening in bed yesterday. I'm not really sure what's going on, I just feel off lately. I think part of it has been my ear which has been raging, but feels much better today. Still sore, but not throbbing or drawing my complete attention. Lots of goodies in the teachers room this morning, which I admit I broke down and had some. Bonus is that I didn't then go and eat another breakfast which was an old habit.
I should have the overall stats up within a couple hours!!! Last day of school!!!
Peanut: Cheese is absolutely delectable! When I visited my family in Belgium, we had cheese platters every night, and I thought I had gone to heaven. Of course, I also gained four pounds while I was there, so I guess that's the trade-off.
Kim: I'm planning on seeing Harry Potter with my parents, too, once they come to visit! I'm so excited, and I don't know how I'll manage to wait until December ... but I need to find a way to do so, otherwise I won't have anyone with whom to go. I guess I could always go with some of my students, but somehow that's not an entirely appealing thought. I hope that your piercing heals up soon! I've wanted to get my rook pierced for a while (as well as my nose and my conch), but I have fairly bad luck with infections, so I think I'll just admit defeat and stick to my industrial. Good job on walking away from another breakfast! I'm contemplating a second dinner right now, myself, but I'll resist. Maybe I should've saved some calories for after my work out ...
toastedsmoke – It’s great that you’re feeling better! Don’t be too hard on yourself with the workouts. We all get sick from time to time.
KimL1214 – I didn’t really explain that well. Sorry! We call things like, Nectarines, Peaches, Apricots and the like Stone Fruits. Are you feeling any better today? Ear wise and with everything else you have going on?? Hopefully the piercing heals quickly and you’ll think all the pain was worth it. Good Luck getting through all 3 of your Thanksgivings.
Krizstyling – I’d love to be able to get to the point about not having to worry when people take photos.
Nienna – Cheese Platters every night would be amazing but I know that I wouldn’t have the willpower to get back on my diet if I did that. Did you avoid that second dinner in the end??
Monday’s Question – Like others I have before pictures from when I’d be caught off guard by friends so they are definitely in existence. I’d just prefer to think that I never happened. My main reason for avoiding the camera is that no matter how I ‘posed’ it always looked like I had 3 chins. It was horrible! Sure, I did have the double chin action happening but all I could ever see in the photos were Chins. Not a good look at all.
Tuesday’s Question – While I do own a crock pot, I’m the first to admit that I wouldn’t have a clue how to cook with it. I’m sure there are heaps of great recipes around but I think that if I tried one out it would be horrendous and then put me off using it for life.
We’re on our 3rd consecutive day of hot weather in Melbourne and I have to say, I’m not looking forward to Summer if this is any indication. I don’t know what scares me about Summer every time it rolls around. Maybe it’s that I can’t find anything I like to wear in public or I’m constantly worried about how red my face is or how much I’m sweating. Hopefully some of those fears will lessen as I continue to lose the weight. I’m probably over thinking things...
hey everyone, hope u are all well... sorry i ent been around but i got some good news!.. i have a job.. thats why i missed last weigh in, dont have much time on here anymore so might have to leave the challenge as i dont know when ill be able to come on. but all the best everyone!
bbg200: Congratulations on your new job!!! All the best with that! And with your weightloss journey! Please update us on stuff whenever you can. You're still team Phoenix even though you may not be able to participate that actively anymore!
oOPeanutOo: Thanks! I'm definitely better than last week. And I plan to work out a little less/ be a little less militant with myself workout-wise bow that I've caught up from last week. I may only do one run this week instead of the 2 and definitely more yoga because it's only Wednesday and I just want to crawl in bed and sleep for a week! My brother and one of my best friends used to say the same things about the weather changing to summer. They dreaded less clothes. I don't care, I wear a cardigan or a blazer/jacket summer or winter. It helps that I tend not to sweat that much (but even when I do, I feel naked without layers) but nothing cam keep me from wearing layers... I'm living in the tropics and I wear a (summer weight) fitted cardigan or blazer (both always with sleeves pushed up to elbows as concession to the heat) everyday! Even to the grocery store. It's very sad. People used to always ask me if I was unwell but have come to realize it's just my "thing." It's really very sad. <shakes head at self>
KimL1214: I didn't get to run yesterday. I went to the gym but they were "closed for maintenance". I'm sure deep down I was very sad about it and the little dance I did at the entrance was a dance of sorrow not one of joy like it appeared to be... But yes yesterday was a bust, running-wise, but on the bright side I did catch up with the 30DSlimdown so there was that. So today is supposed to be your killer gym day, right? Are you still up to it or maybe i should say down for it, still? I understand about the pics definitely, I'm waiting till onederland because there's a difference now, I think, but I'm hoping the difference will be a bit more dramatic than now...
Tuesday question: I recently got a curry cooker. Which is sort of like a crockpot. I haven't used it yet though and was enticed more by the picture of the curry on the box (and the sale price) than any real belief that I'd use it that often. So I've never cooked with a crockpot (in winter in undergrad I lived off pasta and Lean Pockets (which aren't quite as lean if you eat the whole box as a snack) and in grad school, I made a lot of soups and broths in a regular pot) but please people share your most favourite recipe and maybe I can try them and get some use out of my curry cooker/crockpot contraption.
Wednesday & Thursday Question~ Do you have one or two really great pieces of advice for someone wanting to lose weight?
Good weight loss tips I try to follow (good ones everyone knows) : (1) stay hydrated, (2) portion control, (3) clean eating and active lifestyle/exercise (sweat more than you eat).
Friday, Saturday, & Sunday Question~ Where do you see yourself in a year/five years/ten years?
1 year: (wishes for) a nicer car; probably still working for father-in-law. 5 years: better have a nicer car; (wishes to) work with fitness or animals. 10 years: should definitely have a dream car by now and should definitely have a job I WANT (maybe a dance fitness instructor or helping animals)
Monday Question~ Do you have a “before” picture? If so, what is it of (you can post it if you would like)? If you don’t, why? Did you avoid the camera and why?
Yes. I've posted a before pic earlier in this thread. It was meant to be a "before" pic (taken at home) showing front/back/side views. This was for a 3FC TBL challenge taken 1-2 years ago (20~ lbs heavier than now).
Tuesday Question~ Do you cook during the winter time with a crock pot? Do you have any favorite recipes?
I have a crock pot, but have never used it (not much of a cook at all). I've heard crock pot stews are easy (dump everything in and let it simmer for hours), but I'm more for convenience (microwave!, lol). Beef stews are good (father-in-law sometimes makes- I think he cooks beans sometimes too). I'd probably cook something with CHICKEN
Kim, I'm alright. Thanks for asking. Been trying to stay on plan- hard with all the food temptations (bags of tiny chocolates, cheesecake and banana pudding at father-in-law's house) and distractions (if we have company, I put off workouts).
bbg: Don't worry if you can't post much. Just try to post all your Sunday weigh-ins so you stay in the challenge. Pop in the chat thread when you can
Girls, I hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving I know food holidays are hard on weight loss journeys, but if we stick with plan, we'll get through it (try not to overeat or make sure to burn it off later). Even if we fall off track, get back on asap (Monday, for sure!). Hugs and smiles to all.
Re: exercise games BF got an Xbox Kinect yesterday ($300 for the motion-sensing kinect and a 4gb xbox). It comes with a game, "Kinect Adventures". This could work as a workout game. The levels are 2-3 min each and you move your body (stepping/leaning/jumping/moving). If you do all 3 levels of all 5-6 mini games, that's a workout (disguised as a fun game). The BF played too and now he wants to get Dance Central (lol!, I'll let y'all know how this goes). Xbox Kinect has (at least) 2 dance games, 2 sports games, and (at least) a handful more- all of them use your body movements as the controller. Pretty neat once you get the hang of it. I plan on doing at least 30 min of Kinect Adventures today. Oh- another funny thing. The kinect games record pics/vids of you sometimes, so y'all can see (and laugh at) them later (blurry pics of jumping or funny positions- standing like a starfish/snowangel). Fun/ny stuff
Got my workouts in early. And by early I mean at a respectable hour that isn't 3 in the morning on a work night. However, ruined the good work with a dinner consisting of fried with fried and some mayonnaise on top Chinese appetizers. And I don't mean I had 1 or 2, I mean I sampled the whole platter- 1 of everything. <Shakes head at self> Thankfully I don't have Thanksgiving to contend with and will be pretty lean and mean with food (sensing strict 1200 cal days in my horizon) for the next couple of days to make up. Now I just need to 100% IGNORE the leftovers.
: (1) stay hydrated, (2) portion control, (3) clean eating and active lifestyle/exercise (sweat more than you eat).
