Hi everyone!

I hope you all be able to find a copy of the dvd. Don't tell anyone, but I didn't actually buy the thing... I used a torrent and downloaded it. Yes, I know that is illegal, but I'm a poor university student and I can't buy those dvd's around here. (Unless I order them from Amazon, wait for several weeks and pay lots of import money.)

For me, today doesn't qualify as a very good day :) I drank a lot of water though. At least 2 L.

It started out all right. I ate a bowl of muesli with no-fat yoghurt in the morning, with some fruit, and for lunch 4 slices of whole-wheat bread with different kinds of stuff on it. Not a problem there. I went swimming for 30 minutes and hit 750 m distance (I think that is a little more than half a mile). I even left the granola bar I brought alone, because I wasn't really hungry.

But then. I had a dinner meeting and the dinner was this pasta, with a spinach-zucchini-mushroom-bacon-cream cheese-normal cheese sauce. Quite fatty, so I tried some portion control, which I probably succeeded in because it didn't make me feel too full. Then we had this yearly meeting for all members of my student's association. They sold pie in the break. PIE! I totally fell for a piece of lemon cream pie with grapes. And then someone gave me their spare half piece of walnut-caramel pie. And I ate that too. And after the meeting I even had a bottle of beer. So, when I start to count the damage:

Lunch & breakfast -> about 500 calories
Dinner -> about 700 calories
Pie -> about 600 calories total
Beer -> 150 calories.

Total it comes to 1950 which isn't too bad, but it certainly isn't what I aim for either. And now it is very late, and I have this awful bloated feeling, and I can't stop thinking "Why did I eat all that? Why didn't I have a little more willpower, put it down and feel a lot better now?" I guess I shouldn't beat myself up about it... but I'm just a bit disappointed in myself. I thought I could do better than that. Lesson: next time when I have such a night, I will make a plan beforehand. (Like "You bring a granola bar instead of pie in the break, and then you can have your beer after the meeting.") And I know it's not really fair, but when people cook a dinner like that I can't help to think "Can't they keep into account that some people actually care about their weight? And what about all those animal fats in there? That is not healthy! Who cooks something like that!" It's not fair because not so long ago I cooked stuff like that too. It's a bit like that meal some weeks ago where they had mixed the cheese into the macaroni and melted it, and had a sauce consisting of loads of minced meat and about one or two tomatoes for 6 people. I don't expect people to cook fat-free, but they could at least incorporate decent amounts of vegetables. Right?

Oh well, I'm rambling. It's time to go to sleep. I hope you all had a better day than I did :)

tomorrow is a new day elwing! don't get too down about today! yea, it wasn't the day you hoped for, but you didn't do horribly bad and you have reflected upon what you can do differently the next time so you don't end up in this situation again.

i hear you on the cooking thing. people don't take into consideration what they are putting into their mouths! i have to stay away from my parent's house when my mom is cooking. she's one of those lucky ones that can eat what she wants and stay small. unfortunately i took after my dad and am not one of those lucky ones (obviously or i wouldn't be on here!). she makes the most delicious foods, but when i am trying to lose weight it's just not an option! i splurge every now and again b/c i feel like if i don't then i will never stick with this long term. i don't want to feel deprived. but i have also gotten to the point where the unhealthy stuff doesn't even look or sound good so i just skip it (w/out feeling deprived b/c i know that i can have it if i really want to).

today for me has gone pretty good. i walked with leslie this morning (4 miles) and got down with billy this evening. eating wise i did good. stayed w/in my points (ate the exact amount i am allotted). did splurge a bit with lunch which meant i had to cut out a snack, but it was worth it! we ordered olive garden. i had liguine alla marinara, minestrone soup, salad w/ light dressing, and one breadstick. was planning on skipping the breadstick (3 points for one is too much), but i gave in and had one! and it was good! i've drank lots of water and am planning on drinking about 32oz before bed to help flush everything out a bit. everyday this gets a bit easier! from the exercise to the eating! i am in my groove!

i've also noticed a big change in me. i've noticed a slight change in my body, but i've noticed a huge change in my mood/attitude. i feel good. i'm happy, i'm upbeat, i'm just really positive. not that i was debbie downer before and a complete bitty, but i was shorter with my husband and not as patient with my daughter. people tended to annoy me quickly. not anymore. i love it! i've also been sleeping better. amazing what a little exercise and healthy eating can do for you!

Elwing- don't get down!! you really didn't do that bad. We still have 3 and a half weeks left for the competition so no worries! I know exactly how you feel about having that massive regret afterwards. It always seems like such a good idea at the time but then later, massive remorse! ugh! Been there and done that way too many times!! Make tomorrow a better day and soon you won't even remember one bad day. Plus we still have 4 more days till WI on monday!
Jmb- So glad to hear that you are noticing such positive changes. Just today I was walking around and thinking wow i really feel great when I work out and eat healthy. I bought the 30DS! It was the last copy I think so I am glad I went. Tomorrow morning I am attempting to do tae bo and 30DS... OMG I am so nervous... 1 b/c getting up in enough time is going to be a struggle in itself and 2 I hope I can actually get through everything. I am really trying to step up my work outs.
Wish me luck!
Anti222- thanks for the advice for the mat. I have carpet but I think maybe I should put a towel down.
I hope everyone has a fantastic thursday! more than halfway thru the week!!!:carrot:

I forgot to mention that lunch was a struggle today! We had a lunch and learn (different companies come in and provide us residents lunch and try to sell us stuff).. anyway they brought greasy fried chinese food. I had some rice and lo mein but it wasn't very tasty and was oily. And one of my co-residents made 7-layer cookies (magic bars).. they have like nuts, choc chips, graham crackers, condensed milk, etc.. you get the point. She gave me one and I had some nibbles throughout the day and then I threw the rest out. It was so tasty.
I tried my best to estimate my calories but I hate not being absolutely sure how I did. I feel like I messed up but I don't think I did. Ugh I really want to go on the scale but I am holding out until monday! this is hard!
Man it is hard being a dieter in a non-dieter's world!!!

Good morning! :flow1:

I can't belive how much I slept last night, it was fantastic! I must have got at least 10 hours in, ahh sweet sleep!

Anyway, now I'm awake :coffee: and ready for the day! I've just had breakfast...porridge and a fat free cherry yogurt. I even made the porridge with half milk and half water today to cut the calories down a bit and it tasted almost the same as when I have it with all milk. Whoopee! :chef:

I've made my lunch for today (lucliky the office I'm in at the moment is in the middle of nowhere so I don't have the option of going out to buy food). I'm having 2 small slices of wholemeal bread with tomato and cucumber, a banana and 3 satsumas. That should be enough to get me through to dinner. Haven't thought that far ahead yet though...think I'll do the 30DS first and then decide as I'm usually less hungry after doing that :dizzy:

I'm going round a friends house tomorrow night for dinner, wine and dancing. (Haha! Sounds a bit fancy there but what I really mean is take-out, wine out of a pint glass and throwing ourselves around the living room to really bad music!). Anyway, I'm going to try to find time befire I go to have a healthy dinner so I don't eat while I'm there. I won't be able to avoid the wine but I'll just have to dance extra hard to burn off the calories ;) I'll even *try* to get up half an hour earlier tomorrow to do the 30DS before work. That's gonna be a challenge and a half! :yawn:

Hope you all have a great Thursday! Go Orange Team! :carrot:

anti222 i love your description of the get together! sounds like me and my friends! drinking wine out of glasses that aren't meant for wine and "throwing ourselves aroun the living room to really bad music". love it! sounds like a good time! sounds like you have a good plan to make sure you get a healthy dinner! sleep sounds good as well! i have been getting the best sleep lately, feel so refreshed come morning! ahh, the benefits of healthy living!

jessiecat: you threw the cookie away?! that's great! you had some so you felt like you weren't depriving yourself, but you didn't overdo it. did you do 30ds this morning? i'm definitely going to track one down this weekend! hubby and i are going to columbus, it has to be somewhere there!

as for me i got to feeling a bit discouraged this morning, not completely, just a little. i have been doing so great this week staying on plan with my food and exercising (most days twice). and yet when i jumped on the scale this morning only 1lb down from monday. i'm not disappointed with that, i'm losing and that is good, i just expected more. i've been losing between 3-5lbs every week. usually by now i am down 1.5-2.5lbs from monday. it's still a loss and something to be proud of. i know that the weight loss is going to slow down. it was just the initial shock of only being down 1lb. but i'm not letting it get to me. i changed directly into my workout clothes and got down to business with leslie. only did 3 miles today (usually do 4) and then had a good breakfast with my daughter (honey nut cheerios and 1% milk, i can't do skim, i'm doing good to be at 1%). i had my morning snack, a banana and a weight watchers chocolate muffin. getting ready for lunch, a wrap, peas, and pineapple. i'm having a yummy nut mixture and cheese stick for afternoon snack. workout with billy when i get home. apple around 4:30/5. dinner is going to be a hamburger patty with cheese (no bun) and corn. so this morning is not detering me, which usually happens. i know the weight will come off and i know it was only a matter of time before it slowed down some. and i know that it is possible that next week i could have another bigger loss. i also know that by monday i could be surprised by what i see on the scale. anyhow, i think i just needed to get all that out so that i can read it and see it. whew. okay, i'm good to go!

it's thursday ladies!! we are almost through the week!! keep up the good job!

*stealth mode: on*

Hello! I'm still at work but I've managed to sneak on for a few minutes. Mwahahaha!

JessieCat: Nice one throwing the cookie away! I did something similar the other day only slightly more disgusting! My fiancé had a box of mini chocolate brownies in the fridge so I weakened for a second and shoved one in my mouth. It was so good but then I thought 'why am I eating this?' so I spat it out in the bin...gross! Felt better once I did that though, didn't even swallow any, hehe!

jmb1981: Sorry to hear you were feeling discouraged this morning, hope you're feeling better now. Well done for all the exercise motivation too! I'm planning on doing the 30DS when I get home but I think that'll be my lot for the day. What's that leslie DVD you talk about though? I'm curious now :)

it's walk away the pounds with leslie sansone. the dvd i have has two workouts on it. one is a 4 mile super challenge (really gets the heart rate up) and the other is a 2 1/2 mile walk/jog (once again, get the heart rate up). i know she has many other dvd's available, some target specific areas. i like them and would recommend them (i know i used to do one by her that i got at our library so that i could try it before i bought any).

Well I went to walmart last night and got the 30DS and did it this morning and Man am I glad i did! You ladies totally inspired me to step up my work-outs. I woke up at 5 am (eek!) and did 43 min of tae bo and then 30DS. I felt fantastic!!! I took my measurements right after and will take them again hopefully before christmas. I am planning to do 30DS everyday I can. Even if I am sore tomorrow I will do it. I feel that burn still in my quads. It wasn't too bad but I am super excited to see some results.
Anti222- sounds like so much fun with your friends! I am glad to see you have a plan!
Jmb- I totally relate! Is it TOM? Maybe you need to either alter your calories?? Sometimes one day of more calories gives your body a boost or maybe you are eating too many calories??? Maybe cut like 200 cals a day for a week and see???? Unless you are already at a low calorie amount. I am so very proud of you for not getting discouraged. Me, in the past if I had a disappointing WI after working my booty off, I usually hit the ice cream and cookies hard!:( Please let us know if you see any changes.
I am so terrified/excited for WI mon. I am doing fantastic but I feel like I may have a disappointing WI... but I do think I am building muscle. And I am worried I have TOM even though I just got over my period recently (my cycles have always been irregular!)
Ok well one more day of the work week to go! I really hope everyone has a fantastic friday and stays OP this weekend!
I like the idea of a Mon WI.. that way I have to be accountable for my actions over the weekend as opposed to cutting loose and then killing myself to make up for it all week.

Morning! Well, I didn't make it up half an hour earlier this morning for the 30DS...my bed was just so warm and cozy and it was so cold everywhere else :( Unfortunately I don't think I'm going to fit in much exercise today at all apart from the dancing tonight. That might work though as I usually end up sweating like crazy and I wake up with really sore muscles the next day :lol: I'll definitely make up for it over the weekend though, got to get those wine calories off!

I just had porridge for breakfast and I have the same lunch that I had yesterday. I was thinking of a vegetable stir-fry with rice noodles for dinner tonight before going round my friends.

JessieCat: Glad to hear you like the 30DS :) I did it last night and it's finally getting a bit easier. Bring on level 2!

jmb1981: That DVD souds pretty good, I'll have a look at it on the Internet later if I get a quite few minutes at work :)

Hope you ladies have a great Friday!! :D

Anti222: Dancing is definitely exercise too, especially if you sweat and stuff. Stir fry sounds great :)

Jessiecat: Grats on getting the 30 DS! It really gets easier as you go, but keeps feeling like a real workout.

jmb: Just keep moving and the loss will come. Have faith!


I didn't really get around to my exercise yesterday. I wanted to go running and did so for about 7 minutes, but then it started raining and I was drenched within a few seconds. It was very cold so I headed home. Then I wanted to go do aquarobics in the evening but the swimming pool was closed. So I settled on the 30 DS but just as I was about to start a friend I hadn't spoken to in a long time started talking to me on MSN. So in the end I did nothing. Well, a little bit of running and some cycling but that was really it. My eating was OP though. We also had a rat in our house yesterday. Isn't that incredibly scary? I'm not a scaredycat but I don't like rats at all. My housemate caught him in a box and set him free outside. I still think he should have beaten it to death, but he didn't want to.

And the scale has been nice to me :). First it dropped back to 67 kg and this morning it was even 66.5! Squeeeee! I'm not changing my ticker yet; I always have a lower weight for 1 day, then it goes up again for 3 or 4 days and then it goes down again and stays there. It is very discouraging to have a ticker that is lower than your weight for those days. But it definitely is a good sign.

good morning! i love getting on here and seeing what everybody has been up to! i've always enjoyed 3fc and reading and posting, but i've never done a challenge or stayed in a thread with the same group and really felt like a part of it. so thank you to all of you! i am glad i decided to do this challenge!

yesterday ended well for me. i followed my plan for the day, got in my time with billy, drank lots of water, had the planned dinner. i did sneak one double stuffed chocolate oreo. but only one. it was good. hubby wanted to have a snack while watching survivor. i heard him in there and saw the milk on the counter. i told him, "don't you even think about bringing those in here!" he said, "what are you talking about?" "the oreos!" "this isn't fair, it's just not fair" he was joking about it not being fair, but it was funny. he's proud of me, tells me that he can see a change. the other morning i got up early to work out and he was still home. he asked why i was up so early, told him, he said "why do you feel like you need to work out" "because i need to lose weight" "no you don't, you are beautiful the way you are" so sweet! but i do need to lose weight for my health and my life. but it was nice to hear him say that! wow, i just got really off track! anyhow, yesterday ended nicely. i (yell at me now) got on the scale again this morning (i am an everyday weigher) and i am down 1lb from yesterday! so 293!! that's what i am talking about! excited about today and ready for the weekend! so ready for the weekend!

jessiecat: so frustrated that i have not been able to find 30ds yet! now i want it even more! it's on this weekend! i will track it down! even though i still don't plan to start until dec.1. that is a weigh in day, picture day, and measurement day, so that is a good reason to wait until then. getting up early to get in some exercise? love it! makes me feel more energized through the day! i don't calorie count, actually, i'm not sure how many calories i do have in a day. maybe i should track that sometime, more for curiosity. i do weight watchers so i just have my daily points that i have to keep track of.

anti222: it was hard for me to get out of bed today too! think it might have something to do with being friday. it felt so nice laying there in the warm bed, my daughter was cuddled up with me. love it! but i drug myself out and got ready for my morning workout. bed sounded better though! stir fry sounds good. was trying to think about what we will have for dinner tonight and we just might end up with stir fry! have fun dancing tonight and enjoy your wine!

elwing: you had the thought to exercise and you did start, got to take credit for that! sometimes things happen that don't allow for you to get in any exercise. you stayed op with eating though! :) is your housemate prepared to catch the rat again if it gets back in? i hate rodents! we have a mouse in our wall, but actually, thinking about that now, i haven't heard him for a while, maybe the cat got him! anyhow, yuck! congrats on the scale making some downward movement! feels so good!!

have a great friday! we have almost made it through the work week! now on to the more fun weekend!! 4:00 can't get here fast enough!

FINALLY found 30ds!!! target was out last time i was there. today they had one. it went directly into my cart! i decided that i want to start today. i took my measurements and am getting ready to do it right now. little nervous!


okay, i am editing this. holy dear. that was a hard workout! i thought that with everything else i have been doing maybe i would get through it pretty good. um, no, definitely not! i'm ready to do it again tomorrow! it has to get easier!

Jmb- soo glad you got it and decided to start it today! I can hardly walk down the stairs!!!!! I am so friggin sore it is not even funny! One oreo is hardly anything! I am impressed you were able to stop at just one! I can't have any of that yummy stuff in the house. Luckily I live alone so I don't have anyone tempting me!! That was very nice that your husband said that to you. Glad you have his support.

Elwing- I laughed reading your post about the rat. I used to live in philadelphia and we had mice problems. we would find their droppings. ugh it was so grody! I do not miss that at all up here in CT. Maybe it is too cold for them here. Anyway congrats on the loss! Those scales I swear have a mind of their own the way they fluctuate!!!

Anti222- you really must get your sweat on when you dance. I don't think I have ever woken up sore after dancing!!! Have fun!

Sore does not even begin to describe me today!!!!! I could barely walk. It was a struggle bending down to get on the toilet and walk down stairs. Ugh! I did 30DS again today after power-walking on the treadmill. I have to stick with 30DS!

I am a bit nervous about the weekend.. they are hard! And I think I have TOM again!!!! :?:I know I told you but this is soooo irritating! I had it for over 2 weeks and I think it is starting up again. So if I have a disappointing WI Mon I swear it is not b/c I went Off program, it is either my TOM or I built muscles!!! :dizzy:

Happy wekeend!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone!

Yesterday I cycled through snow and hail to get to the swimming pool. My motivation? "Well, it'll probably be wonderfully quiet around there." And it was! 40 minutes of quite active swimming and then cycling back. My dinner was not exactly low-calorie, but I have this pangasius fillet and I really need to finish it before it goes bad. But, I don't really like pangasius, only when I put it in the oven with some 1:1 mayonnaise/mustard sauce on it. Anyone has any ideas? It gets this nasty jelly-like structure which I don't really like. Maybe I should stir-fry it and drown it in Indian spices.

Edit: also, the scale said 66.5 again this morning. I'm changing ticker now. My weight loss follows a quite favorable course for this biggest loser challenge... thanks body!

JessieCat: You sound really determined :) treadmill AND 30 DS? No wonder that you're sore. But if you go on like this, you might even have a loss to report apart from TOM!

JMB: Yes, it becomes easier. Don't despair :) Good luck!