stargzr - how things slow down for you soon so you can catch your breath.

Nicole - nice to see you back.

mickletoe - welcome and congrats.

Sun - so happy to hear you are enjoying your swimming. I know it is something I really enjoy also.

tuende - good luck with lowering your carbs; can't wait to here how it works for you.

heather - vegas is hard, just try and get fresh veggies were you can and do lots of walking! It is easy to get in lots of walking while there. But I usually gained a couple pounds each time.

So something has to give. I am stick of hovering between 159-163. This past week was bad, but I think that is going to make it easier to get back on track. I think I ate every bad food I could think of; so that should take care of all my cravings. Lots of water + 1200 calories a day. I am not even worrying about exercise right now, maybe a walk on lunch if its nice.

I am totally stressing out. Thursday I have a driving test - I know I can pass, I know I am a good driver but I am still freaking out. And even if I fail, its no big deal - they don't take away my license now or anything. I just pay $50 and come back in a week to try again. I just don't want to waste my money and it's like 3-4 week wait to get in. I am also paying extra money to use a different car for the test because I didn't wanna take it in my mini van (yes I am 24 and drive a mini van, laugh away lol). Argh, I know I am stressing for nothing but I can't stop!

I seriously just want it to be Thursday so that the test is over and done with. The waiting is killing me.

Yay signature!!!!

Test!

Sotypical, Sun, Tuende~ Thanks for the warm welcome;D
I had a surprise birthday party Saturday...I was doing great but I had some cake Sat. and Sun. It is gone now...thank the lord! It was my favorite too. I am back to being good again though. Tilapia and veggies for dinner tonight yum!

Hey girls... hope everyone is having a great start to the week! I don't know if teaching middle school pottery and Spanish is what I'd call a great start to my week, but as I very well know, it could have been much much worse ;). Heck, this is my last two weeks of money makin' for a few months, so I'll pretty much take what I can get.

The low(er) carb is...going. It's not my favorite, but even after 1 day the scale is headed in the right direction. Although, it might have been because my calories were lower than normal yesterday. I just couldn't think of anything to eat that sounded appetizing. Definitely not the norm for me. I'm having the same problem today but I don't like to be too low in calories two days in a row, so I'm going to have to figure out something.

sotypical, sounds like you're doing great getting back on track. I'm sure you'll do great on your driving test, but I understand it can be nerve-wracking just the same. It always helps me to channel my nervous energy into something physical. It turns out whacking the **** out of a birdie in badminton is a great stress reliever ;).

Heather, welcome!

mickletoe, that's great that you didn't let a small slip-up derail you. Was it a surprise party for you? Your dinner sounds delicious, btw- I love tilapia!!

Tuende, low carb works awesome for me. I tend to eat low carb for a week or two, then low calorie for a week or two. I rarely gain, but I only lose much when I'm on low carb. Switching it up keeps my body guessing, which allows me to drop 5 or so pounds in the 1-2 weeks of low carb that I do each time.

I eat:
a lot of cheese (cheese sticks, havarti, parm - whatever I'm craving)
salads w/ any vegetables or meats + low carb dressings (bleu cheese and ceasar are both low carb) or olive oil
lettuce wraps
slim fast low carb shakes (or pure protein, or atkins, but slim fast taste best)
all meats (chicken, fish, burgers w/o buns, lots of steaks)
green vegges (Spinach = love!)
Fresh tomatoes and cucumbers w/ mozzarella
Occasionally, peanuts or beans

By the way, I'm on my low calorie week(s) - been that way since last Monday. I'm pretty sure after today, I'll go back to low carb. I half want to stretch it until Thursday since I know we're having meals catered at work, but I'm not liking the whole "pants feeling mildly tighter" thing. Still steady at 151 though...I'm ready for a big jump downward!

Tuenda~Yes my party was a surprise party!

Thanks for the info, Nicole. Low(er) carb is working for me (and I've only been at it two days), but I'm already getting a little bored of meat and cheese and nuts. I seriously just want a banana! It's not the most enjoyable way of eating for me, but it's working and I can stick it out for a while. I know that I can maintain with more carbs, so this is only temporary. I'm also thinking that if all I'm craving is bananas, I shouldn't be complaining :).

Hope everyone is having a good week! I weighed in this morning at 148.7 which, needless to say, was very satisfying. AND it was sunny AND there's only about a week left in the school year. Life's good right now...

Hey everyone!

So I've been really busy these last few days. Today was my university graduation. I have to say, I'm very happy with where I am, but seeing pictures I know I'm not done yet. I think I looked really good (not to sound conceited or anything, haha), and I felt good and it was way better than my high school grad (when I was at my heaviest), but there's definitely room for more to be lost...which is good. I often wondered how I would know if I was done losing and if I was just stuck on a number. I just want to tone more. I'm thinking about doing crossfit after my half marathon. I want a lower body fat percentage.

But yeah, not done yet. So I'm glad I can recognize that.

I also got two cute new shirts from my brother and sister from costa blanca. For those of you who don't know, it's this boutique type store that I own nothing from. It's like a "skinny girl" store even though they do have stuff that would fit not-so-skinny girls (my mom even has a few pieces from there, I just liked to stick my nose up at a lot of trendy stores when I was heavier because I knew I couldn't wear the clothes). I used to walk passed it and scoff at the people inside because there was no way I would ever be able to shop in there. Haha. So yeah, kinda a big deal to have two shirts from there. So I'm pretty happy. They're really cute and it's nice to just have more options (whether I was limiting them for myself or whether the sizes were limiting me).

Annnnnd I didn't workout today, but I had a good (while very windy and cold) run on Sunday and did weights on Monday. I feel kinda blobby now. We went out for dinner and I missed lunch and ate some of these chippy things in between (all natural, organic, but still chips). For dinner I had filet mignon and a few shrimp, some mashed potatoes and a little piece of bread annnnd...*da dun dun* a martini and a glass of wine. I know it was my grad and it's okay to indulge a little, but then I came home and had this skinny cow ice cream thing (which I don't usually eat because of the splenda, so I feel like I really had a bad day. That ice cream thing was totally unnecessary. Time to get back on track tomorrow.

So yeah, that's my last few days in a nutshell. I really don't want to work. I want to workout lots so I feel a little less blegh. I feel like I'm kinda stuck in a weight loss rut right now. I just wanna get back to where I was losing steadily (if slowly).

Sorry for the long post. Haha. Welcome to all the newcomers! I hope the 150s are kinder to you than they are to me these days! And I hope everyone is having a good week so far.

I always think I should try lower carb, but I just don't think I can :/

I am still so nervous for tomorrow, *sigh* - this time tomorrow I will be ALMOST done my road test. It starts at 10 and lasts an hour. I know that being nervous will only make it worse, but I can't stop worrying. Like I said before, it's not even a big deal. If I fail, I still get to drive - I just have to pay more money and take it again. I don't think it helps that in my 2 pervious tests I had to do both of them two times to pass. There are 3 tests you go through here to regular licence.

Happy Hump Day!

rockstar, glad to see you back! CONGRATS on graduating! Do you feel free now? Reading your post I feel like I could have written most of it! I'm totally with you on the goal weight thing. I'm a little shorter than you so I have a bit further to go, but I've been having the same thought process about how much to invest in any particular number. I figure I know when I'm at goal when I get there. Don't know if that's the best plan, but that's the way I end up doing most things ;). I've also been thinking of doing crossfit when I get back after the summer. Allllso, you bad day doesn't sound all that bad, but I know when I have days like that I have the exact same feelings. My biggest pet peeve is eating things I know have artificial crap in them, especially artificial sweeteners. Ah well, moving forward is always the best option! Hope you figure out your rut. For me, making a couple of changes really helped!

sotypical, won't you be elated when tomorrow's over?! Those Canadians sound like real sticklers with all these tests. I have confidence in you, though! You'll have to update us. RE the carbs...going lower carb has helped me. A lot. Although I'm not going extremely low carb. I've still been getting about 30% of my calories from carbs, but I'd guess that's down from probably around 60-70%. I allow myself one "carb-y" thing a day, early in the day and then try to focus on protein, dairy, veggies and healthy fats the rest of the day. I'm getting used to it and it's not that hard. It feels like a puzzle or something; I really haven't been having cravings. Plus I'm actually losingwhich is the most motivating thing for me. I think I've kind of stumbled upon a good system for me. But we all probably have different ways of eating that work better for us.

It's been awhile since I've been able to get on and read all of your post. I don't have time right now to do that but hopefully later I'll be able too. I hope things are going awesome for all of you and your getting close to getting out of the 150's!!

I'm doing well. Life has been crazy for me lately. Potty training is going awesome!!! We aren't having any pee accidents just having a hard time getting the pooping down..that part takes time though so I'll be patient! My eating/exercise has been going well. I'm down to 152..it won't be official until Sunday yet though. Well, I just finished my workout and I need to get ready for work. I hope you all have a great day and rest of the week!!

tuende - I have been trying to do what you do. Have like 1 slice of bread or something and then just eat fruits, veggies and protein the rest of the day. Been doing this since Monday - I never really though of it has low carb, but I guess you are right. And the scale is down! haha - I have have two carby things today so fail on today lol.

AND

I PASSED!!!!!
I even got an awesome job sticker! When I went to pay for me new license the girl was like, wow I never seen a sticker before!

Did you know it takes 3 years here to get a full license? AND I AM DONE! It feels so good to have no more driving restrictions. I took a little longer on the first part of my license so it took me more like 4-5 years, haha.

No stick bright green sign on the back of my car anymore - it feels awesome. I am so totally exhausted though after all the driving this morning.

so typical~ yay for passing your test!! Why does it take so long to get your license there?

rockstar~congrats on the college graduation! The shirts sound like an awesome gift!!

tuende~what a great weigh in!! You're doing awesome!

rockstar - I totally missed the part on you graduating, I am so sorry! CONGRATS!!!!

zephyr524 - You get your Learner license in the beginning after taking a written test. It has all these crazy rules and you have to drive with a qualified adult over 25. After 1 year you can take a road test to get a Novice license and you can drive alone, but with all these restrictions. Like 1 passenger, if you get two tickets you lose it and start all over at the beginning of the Novice stage. After 2 years you can take another road test and if you pass you get your regular license with no dumb restrictions lol. That's what I did today, that last part. I guess it makes safer drivers. New drivers cause the most accidents so they are trying to reduce that I guess. And congrats on the 152 - I can't wait to get there!

sotypical~ Sounds like a great way to do the whole driveres license thing! That would save ALOT of heartache here in the states for alot of families I think! How old do you have to be until you can start that whole process? Here in Pennsylvania where I live it's 16 but I think it should be higher than that. To many teenagers are getting killed in car accidents!