Hey everybody and happy Monday! Guess I'll start this week's chat off.

I don't know about you guys, but it is ugly weather in Chicago. Seriously, it may snow today... How depressing, especially for a Monday.

Mother's Day is coming up and my mom wants me to try and bake something. I'm a bit nervous since my family are rather harsh critics... I am debating between making this healthy banana bread or attempting a cookie recipe from Cooking Light. Hmmm The problem is some people aren't into healthy food and I have a feeling it won't be "buttery" enough for them. On the plus side, at least I know regardless of all of the unhealthy food that will be there I can at least eat what I bake with out worrying about going over my calories for the day.

I have a question, I hear oatmeal is a good choice but would you guys recommend ordering it at a restaurant? I am just nervous when it says on the menu "home cooked" oatmeal all of the potential sugar they could have put in it. Also, how many calories would you guys consider an egg white vegetable omelette to be in a breakfast place? Clearly I have a brunch coming up and am trying to prepare.

MY SHOW IS OVER!! I'm a little sad that I won't be performing for a bit as I don't have anything lined up right now, but I'm SO HAPPY that I can get back full-force into the weight-loss thing. I have NO idea what my weight is going to be like when I weigh myself tonight (I only weigh myself at the gym and haven't been able to go), but hopefully it won't be too too bad :-\

I'll be happy to be able to chat with all of you once again, as well!!

Hello..

My birthday is tomorrow!!!!!!! I'm a little bummed out that dh has to be working late, but thats okay. At least he'll be home. I have the dinner & dessert menu planned. Yay!!

After tomorrow though, we'll be almost out of food. I dunno what to do. I have no idea if he'll even be here once we get paid or what. If not, then I guess I'll just be ordering my groceries online, and probably starving for a few days until the food gets here...


Anyhoo..I'm gonna go. Happy Monday!!

i'm having a non pms related irritable moment. i wont be going to any training meetings this week or next no thanks to some other rep(she's being unprofessional)
anyway i looked into planet fitness so i might consider me and dh signing up for it when that stimulus comes in

CookieMonster416 The weather is nasty here in Detroit area too... Rainy and nasty. Well, they said chance of snow shower, so I guess I should be happy that it's just rain.

Shop Happy Birthday!

Lissa I used to go to Bally's..well, more like had a membership and went not even 5 times in 2 years. But I didn't have someone to go with me, which sucked. If I had a friend or significant other to go with, it would've been so much better! Good luck with Planet Fitness!

As far as my week goes...well, nothing much really. My daughter went back to the day care for the first time after the surgery..so it's ALMOST like everything is back to normal. But she's now used to me babying her from when she was sick and she fought so hard to go to sleep for her nap. Sigh...

Let's see. Today was my weigh-in and I lost 3.4 lbs..I'm so close to the Onederland that I can almost "taste" it. hehe... I get to measure on the 7th at the gym and can't wait to see! =)

Well, hope you ladies have a great day!

Hey alla I wanted to check in. Still in the mist of finals but I only have one more left, tomorrow. So today will be all studying, I'm worried about this one. On a good note I think I did well on my final yesterday. I felt like I new all of the material and didn't get tricked by some of the multiple chioce.

Francie - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Cookie - the weather in detroit was icky yesterday too, I said it's good because I'm stuck inside all day. When I go out to breakfast I normally get like either an egg beater omlete or an egg white omlete with dry whole wheat toast. I've never got homemade oatmeal at a resturant but I have gotten grits and I ask if they cannot add butter to it. So maybe you could call and see if they can customize it.

Arts - sorry your show is over hopefully your weight in is good.

Lissa - Someone else was raving about planet fitness, you should see if they give a free trial before you sign up or try and bargine price with them because I know I have two friends, both go to Balley, one pays $40 and one pays $15. It's just because one asked for discounts and the other paid face value.

Tara - I'm happy your daughter is doing better, you'll hit onderland soon!!!

Cooki e – thanks for starting the chat! That is tough about the baking. I would definitely be having the same inner conflict about it! As for the oatmeal, you can always just ask the server what it’s made with. Not sure about the egg white omelet, I would probably assume a serving of butter on top of the egg whites
Arts – congrats! How did it go?? And good luck with the WI!
Francie – happy birthday!! Hope it was great!
Lissa – ooh joining a gym is such a great motivator. Have fun!!
Tara – wow on your weight loss!!
Remember – good luck with finals!!

Well, I just got a job as the Operations Director for a summer camp this summer! I am so excited to just be stashed away in the woods for a couple of months. Hoping I can stay OP even though I won't have a gym and I'll have minimal control over my food...

OK, I am gonna go get ready to go to the gym. Icky, rainy weather here, too, but thankfully no snow!

S

Thanks for the breakfast advice. It's just tough with this nasty weather because if you want to meet up with friends brunch or dinner is the best way to do it. We truly are a society that revolves around food.

By the way wanted to send a couple of Blog shoutouts:

Rockstart87 - Were we separated at birth because it sounds like we have the exact same mother. At times it helps that my mom is so supportive is my weight loss, other times I just want to kill her because she makes me obsessed with it.

Weegreenlassie - Totally hear you on the calorie counting. I started it in January and LOVE it. I feel so in control and I don't feel like I am even dieting because I make sure to eat what I crave, I just balance my calories for the rest of the day.

I love reading everyone's blogs. I wish I had the motivation to keep one... I guess I am working out and eating healthy so one challenge at a time right? haha

I just got back from a soaking wet jog. I felt so good that I headed out for a jog in this weather, but about 2 miles in, my knee REALLY started to hurt...and I was wet...
I have got to figure out what this knee pain is all about. Any runners in this thread? When I describe it to people, they say "IT band," but what can I do about this? I already wear an Ace brace, and I just bought a good pair of sneakers from a running store where they helped me find the right shoes for me...any stretches or something?
But, more importantly, artsnsmarts -- i'm pretty sure someone with a Urinetown shirt jogged past me as I gave in to my throbbing knee! Black long sleeved t? I don't know, I don't wear my glasses when I jog (I would have needed windshield wipers for them today anyway) so I could be wrong. But I thought of you!
S

Cookie - Did it end up snowing in Chicago yesterday? Cause it certainly did here in western Illinois! It was blowing all over the place, too, like being inside of a snow globe. Very strange.

Shopaholic - Happy birthday! Hope it's fabulous!

Arts - Congrats on finishing your show! Glad to have you back.

Lissa - From what I hear, Planet Fitness sounds like a really cool place! Let me know how you like it if you decide to join!

Tara - Congrats! You'll be in onederland in no time! Glad to hear everything is going well with your daughter.

Remember - Good luck on your last final! Our schools must have very different schedules, because I just had a midterm today!

Lizzy - Congrats on the job! I just noticed you're from outside Boston! Me too! Well, when I'm not at school. I hope you get the problem with your knee worked out soon.

I'm really over this winter coat weather at the end of April. I just want it to be SPRING! In other news, I graduate in 5 weeks. Whoa.

Hey Guys! This is my first weekly chat!

First of all, I'd like to thank all of you for making me feel so welcome! This site and the 20-somethings forum is amazing! Definitely a great motivation between success stories and the support system.

This week has started off to be GREAT! Yesterday was kind of stressful at work, but today totally made up for it. I work at a middle school in the Guidance dept. Last week was Administrative Professionals Appreciation week. We were tied up with various things so our boss didn't get to take us out to lunch until today, but she ended up giving us a half day off! SCORE! I also remembered to eat slowlyyyyyy! (For once, half the time I'm done with my meal and I fuss at myself for remembering not to inhale it until it's too late.)

For those of you that live in the north... I feel for you. It's been so nice here, however weather in the south tends to be erratic. One day its 80 degrees, the next it's 57. No snow, but we've had lots of rain recently...to the point that I'm sick of it. Today was really nice, a little chilly but the sun has been shining!

My exciting note for the week: I found a plan that I'm going to follow for the next 12 weeks and see how it works. It's Body For Life and I already have a buddy on here doing it as well! I'm really excited. I just have to finish up reading the rest of the book. Monday will be DAY ONE for BFL. And I've been drinking a ridiculous amount of water. [ Ridiculous for me being how much I should NORMALLY be drinking. That's one of my major downfalls.]

Cookie: Have fun with Mother's Day. I'm sure whatever you decide on will be great!

Shopaholic: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Arts:Congrats on your show ending. I'm showing my green around here - what kind of show was it?!

Lissa: We all know by now I'm a huge advocate for Planet Fitness. Definitely check it out. I'm not sure what kind of deals they run, but it certainly can't hurt to ask if they do a "free trial" or what kind of deals they can cut you.

Tara: Glad to hear your daughter is BACK in action Congrats on the weight loss! You are SOOOOO close to ONEderland! Sweeeeet!

Remember:Good luck on your finals! Better you than me!

Lizzy: Congrats on the job! Sounds like a lot of fun. I love being outdoors. Sometimes I wish I didn't have an office job (****, I don't even have any WINDOWS to the outside in my office!) so I could be outside more often!

Swimming: Congrats on being so close to graduation. Watch out for the spring time weather, that always kicked my "senior-itis" into high gear!

I hope everyone is having a GREAT day!

Thanks for the birthday wishes

I'm having a pretty good. Except the fact that this chick is still stalking me..but besides that..everything else is pretty good. I did TBL Power Sculpt and omg..I was sweating so much. I felt pretty nice afterwards..but I'm starting to feel a little wobbly when I walk, lol.

Anyhoo..I'm gonna go read and eat my lunch..Hope everyone else is having a good day!!

Thanks to everyone on the congrats for the show! It went REALLY well, got great reviews and was well-received by audiences. Unfortunately, I didn't get to weigh in Monday night and it's probably good I didn't get to the gym because I'm feeling really sick, which is unfortunate because I have to go to work tonight :-( (and Feral -- it was a musical. I'm a theatre actress)

Lizzy it probably wasn't anyone from my show because we didn't get shirts, but it's a pretty popular show that's done frequently, so I'm not surprised!!

It sounds like everyone is doing really well lately, and that's great! I can't wait to get over this little sickness/finals hump so I can be back in the game for real. I'm sorry I don't have more time to respond to everyone, but I have to head for work in 6 minutes, so I gotta go get changed!! It's my first day back since the show ended, so I'm hoping I can make some good money since I'm running a little low on cash....

i'm trying to give working out another shot before we know if we can join the gym which i'm pretty sure hubby and i will do is join the gym he's taking a better interest in his health and i need to lose this last 30 pounds...the scale annoyed me today 166.6 same freaking numbers every weeks 164,165,166.
i did crunches today to a maroon 5 song jsut to break the funk i've been in i didnt keep track of numbers which might help me get back into things i set myself up for failure before cause i knew i had to do it so i didnt want to.
funny thing is i usually do lifts with my arms and legs during the day with the help of a 25 pound little boy that gives the cutest smiles when i use him as a weight lol.
anyway my guts burning from the crunches and the poptarts i had for breakfast

Lissa -- That's cute about using your son to help you work out!! And hey, we all do what works for us, and if your son enjoys it and it's a workout for you, that's great! He probably thinks it's a game and doesn't realize Mommy is getting healthy for him!