Doing pretty well on the food front. Ate a little too much again today, but it was all healthy food I overate, so I am not fretting too much. And tomorrow is a national holiday in France, so no school!

I think after today I should have broken through my water retention. I hope. My mom bought me some yummy green tea infused with mango and I've read that drinking green tea is supposed to help with fluid retention, sooooo I'm chugging it down! Plus, it tastes delicious mmmm!

Tonight I made broccoli and asparagus casserole and it was SO GOOD and SO FILLING!!!! It's another recipe I found on spark people, I am LOVING that place so much more than fit day lol! (except I still use fit day for their summary graphs and what not) Supposedly it's a little under 200 calories per cup, which I'm a little skeptical about, buuuuut it tastes too good for me to care about right now lol. I took about a cup and a half since I only had a little bit of soup for lunch.

Also, even though it's a little high in calories for a 6oz cup of yogurt, Breyers peach-orange-mango fruit on the bottom is DELICIOUS. Seriously, it tastes like an ice cream smoothie yum yum yum! I had it with some blueberries and almonds as my snack today and it was divine.

And... I'm in such a good mood right now and I can't explain why lol.

Now I'm off for the night ladies to do a crap ton of classwork :( (this is probably not true, I'll probably procrastinate and end up on Facebook and 3FC as usual lol)

Hugs to all of you who are sick or struggling - it's a tough time of the year for sure :(

I'm pretty excited - I've been making a big push to be on plan since Sunday in preparation for my step-sister's wedding in FL this coming weekend and I'm still on track! The biggest challenge for me is working at a candy company, but so far, I haven't had any pieces of candy at work, except for the mandatory three pieces for an ingredient trial we were running today. DH and I have been going to the gym before work regularly too, so I'm hoping to see a big change this week :)

Okay, so this is what happens when I check in at the end of the day...here I go...

Mary - Water retention combined with not being able to go to the bathroom (welcome to my world) sucks major donkey reproductive parts. Green tea DOES help, and I love the kind infused with fruit. Mango is good, and peach is awesome. That broccoli/asparagus casserole sounds amazing... Also, please teach me how to crochet lol. I can knit (and Pammy, you should learn, its so easy!) but I cannot crochet.

Feral - I know I'm like 80 posts behind, but I agree with platform and forest. Just take one or two things at a time, and before you know it, you'll be back to OP. :) Did you ever think about working out in the morning, maybe? If I work out in the morning, I don't need caffeine, which I've noticed kind of exacerbates me crashing in the afternoon. Also, maybe try some fruit in the morning instead of caffeine. The Vitamin B's will help with waking you up, and no crashes!

Luvja - Yay for losing 4 lbs already, that's awesome.

Okay, so Omaha, Day 2. I got up and worked out this morning (patting self on back) and almost went back to the fitness center after my work-day was over just because I was sitting all day. I instead opted to go for a walk around downtown Omaha before dinner. Not the extreme calorie burn I would have liked, but fresh air never killed anyone. I also found this cute store and spent possibly too much money on this GORGEOUS scarf and 2 shirts (one flannel, one wonderwoman, both slightly too small, but only slightly). I figure its motivation to keep on going . I want to wear the flannel one on the plane back to DC tomorrow, so that'll prevent me from stuffing my face all morning tomorrow. AND I'm going to get up and exercise again. I'm working myself up to restarting C25K week 3, where I left off. I've been doing intervals - run 2 minutes, walk 2 minutes, and I can do it for up to 30 minutes before I run out of time or I feel like I'm going to die. I'm going to try and do it for 45 minutes tomorrow, but that means I have to go to sleep at a decent hour tonight:)

Stella - Oooh, peach? I should definitely look for that, it sounds just as good as the Mango is! And yay for getting up and working out! I'm sure you'll do fine when you jump back into C25K. I just started week 3 today and it's actually a little easier for me than the past two weeks have been, since it's a short run, a short walk, a long run, and a long walk repeated twice. I dunno, but I liked it lol. It helped that the podcast I made for this week is all Glee-themed :D Annnd crocheting, yes. That was a little tougher to learn since I already knew how to knit when I tried it. It's weird going from two needles to one hook. I use it mostly for edging, decorative stuff, and TOYS! I love making plushie toys lol, especially for my boyfriend. I hide them all over his apartment in places he'll find them and I spray them with my perfume so he has something to remind him of me during the week lol. For crochet, I've heard it's easier to just learn how to make a granny square (videos on youtube) rather than learning a scarf, since it will teach you almost all of the stitches used in crochet AND you'll learn how to turn your work properly (something I've never fully mastered because I learned by making a circle first so I could crochet "in the round" to make a toy lol). Again, I suggest Ravelry.com because there's awesome people there and the forums have a TON of help. I believe they're still working on a crochethelp.com, but right now it just forwards to KnittingHelp.com. This site looks like it's very similar to knitting help, but with crochet stitch videos. And these are the search results on youtube for "learn to crochet for beginners". Also youtube results for "learn to crochet a granny square". I hope that helps you!

stella- Go to bed!! ;)

Platform- that is so cute that you knit little plushies for your bf. I think I now have a new motivation to learn :)

Hey all! I'm new here ... Hope it's okay I'm jumping in the middle of the conversation. I'm 21 and getting married in April ... about half way through my weight loss goals with 30 more lbs to go ... :carrot:

Mary I knit too! Congrats on finishing the vest. :congrat: I don't do anything with shaping (at least not yet) ... I'm working on a baby blanket right now but there's lots of inc, dec, and decorative stitching so it's slow going :)

Talking about McDonalds ... :mcd: I used to eat at least one of their milkshakes a week and several breakfasts a week when I was in HS ... How did I stay a sz 10 or less?

Have a great day! :)

Forest - LEARN LEARN LEARN!!! Lol, I'm such an enabler....

Ash - Aww baby blankets are so cute :D The vest pattern is actually pretty easy, there's no shaping. The pattern just has a few inconsistencies in it annnd to make it adult sized you'd have to add stitches to the stitch count. I think the front panels could probably still be done the same. Maybe a few stitches added to the stitch count, depending on your bust size. The only crappy part about that pattern is that it's knit flat and you have to seam everything together. I'm allergic to sewing knits together hahaha, I wish everything could be done in the round!

Sooo I got an extra workout in today, because my best friend dragged me over to her house an hour ago to workout with her because she never stays motivated enough to do it on her own. (Although it's probably good she has me around to remind her about her form when we work out so she doesn't hurt herself!) We ended up doing Bob's Biggest Loser Cardio Max. I needed to take another shower and now I'm pooped and am going to sleep!

Hi girls!!! I hope everyone is doing good. Sounds like everyone has been busy....which is usually a good thing ;)

I had such a great day today!!! I went out with some of my college friends to dinner and a movie. I ended up getting the turkey sandwich which wasn't too bad and waffle fries, but I made sure to go to the gym before leaving....mainly because I really was looking forward to getting some fries ;) LOL

I love my college friends and it's always so great to catch up with them! We already have nights planned for the next two months. But there were so many different Christmas things out when we were in one of the stores that it's crazy to think that Christmas is right around the corner. I'm so not ready for it!

It's been a successful day! Did well on my calories, got a work-out in at the gym...and now I'm tired and ready for bed. I must go to sleep before I ransack the fridge..haha! Today is Day 2 in getting back into counting calories and when you are so used to eating whatever whenever you feel like you are starving to death the first week or so...(stomach...hurry up and shrink!).

I want to reply to everyone, but I'm just so tired and have to get up early for class.

Mmmmm, so I think my digital scale is broken. There is no way that I pee'd all day yesterday and got up 4 or 5 times in the night for there not to be a change on the scale. So I went to our basement scale (a non-digital, which makes me a little leery of trusting it) and it said 184, so I'm giving myself a lb and saying 185. I'm going to use that one for the next few days until I can find a new battery for the digital one.

I'm getting more and more excited for my progress picture on Friday :D This morning in the mirror (I always check how my waist line is looking) I was looking GOOD. I also lost a half inch on my hips and bust (pretty sure it came from my back because my boobs haven't changed - though I wish they were a little bigger. Or fuller. Damn B cups.) so YAY for that :D :carrot:

This Friday my boyfriend is taking me ice skating at the local rink which I'm sooooo excited for :D The last time we were going to go we got.... distracted ;) But he was so cute because he was like "I don't know how to do this." I thought he meant skating, I told him it was easy and he'd be able to do it. He told me "I've never ice skated while holding hands before." Awwww <3

wow lots to respond to! lol

Feral - :hug: Sounds like a lot of negativity going on around you. Make sure you find time for "me-time" and stay positive for yourself. You can do this!!!!!!

peachykeen62 - Yay on no school =) Hope you have a great day today or yesterday (confused lol)

platformnine - Love, Love, LOVE green tea ~ drink at least 4-5 cups a day. Glad to hear you are peeing a lot LOL. You sound so crafty (jealous lol) .. my mom can do all these things and I just wish for 50% of her skill. Sounds like you and your bf are really hitting it off, which is awesome.

Ashbee - I love mcdonalds too but I haven't gotten it in 5+ weeks now. It's a nono for me until I get to my goal. I can't justify going there at the moment. Welcome to the chat!! The girls are really nice so post awayyyyyy haha

Chele615 - Sounds like you had a fabulous day =) it IS great to catch up. The more positive people you surround yourself with the happier you are ~

sgregg - I do that too lol. Sleep before I get snackish! I've been sleeping before 11:30 pm every day since I started on my journey lol. GL with classes.

stellarosa27 Sounds like you are really enjoying your trip in Omaha. The items you bought sound beautiful =D (post pictures of them!!!) Nothing like retail therapy to push you in the right direction haha

I have less than 2 weeks before I'm going to nYC to see my sister and lots of college friends (just graduated last semester)... My sister last saw me July during her birthday and I was approx~195 lbs... I HOPE SHE NOTICES I'VE SLIMMED DOWN :^: This trip was actually what kickstarted this journey a few weeks back... I'm hoping for 169 lbs before I step foot on the airplane....

Good luck everyone today and hAPPY HUMP DAY ~

Hi girls. Good morning.

Luvja - Morning! Still OP today? Are you doing ok with not smoking?

InControl - You're so close to 169 I'm sure you'll beat that goal by the time you go! Knitting is one of those simple things in my life that keeps me happy and out of the kitchen haha. It's really easy, make your mom teach you! Lol I always think everyone should knit. Being crafty keeps me sane. And I'm soooo in love with my boyfriend, and if it's possible he's even more in love with me lol. We've got lots in common, but also are very different from each other so we have tons of fun together. We're kind of like an old, married couple in that you feel like we've been together forever, but it's only been 3 months hahaha!

UGH, so this morning I've been slaving over my mom's laptop to help my aunt upload the last few months work of video from her camcorder to the computer. The camera works great, and it has super good quality and whatnot, and the pictures upload fine - it's the videos that are giving me trouble. Apparently sony thought it would be a fantastic idea to have the videos be in a format that computers can't read - what a great idea, right?! >:C I think I'm finally getting somewhere because I found a different software and an updated driver to download and hopefully in the next hour or two I'll have the videos uploaded to the computer and VIEWABLE. Jeez, my aunt just wants to put this stuff on DVDs so my grandparents can see it! I love technology, and I totally understand it and I've chosen it as my career path, but sometimes I just want to throw things.

HUFF, sorry for the vent, Vista just drives me crazy. It's part of the reason I have a Macbook Pro now.

What should I make for lunch? We have soup, salad, and.... that's about it lol!

platformnine - soup and salad + something else sounds yuM~ definitely need some crusty bread or pita or something to go along with it though ~ maybe some protein?

Guys, I just got reminded there are only 50... days until 2010 that's RIDICULOUSLY fast don't you think? Let's make the rest of 2009 count and start the year fresh and feeling awesome~

I know being reminded of that renewed my motivation and drive ~ hope it helps you too. :D