~~Weekly Chat - August 16 - August 22~~
 

The rule for this week - NO WHINING.

Positivity only. I need this rule as much as everyone else does. Just try it - think of one positive thing to say about yourself, and do it. And don't do the whole "whine whine whine GOOD THING whine whine whine." ONLY GOOD THINGS. Let's just try it, and see if it makes an improvement in our moods/plans.

I had a very tiring weekend - lots of traveling, lots of family, lots of great food - but it wasn't bad. It was actually pretty nice, I just want a nap. I seriously don't even want to know how many calories I consumed, but oh, they were all so worth it.

I'm going back to 1200 calories a day. I cheat too much at 1400, and then before I know I'm at 1600, 1800, etc. So, back to 1200.

My positive thing - my pants still fit after a big Spanish dinner Saturday and a big Italian dinner yesterday - and I was able to run 2 miles outside yesterday :)

Good morning!
Happy (as happy as can be) Monday!
Good thoughts...good plan.
Dinner is cooking in my crock pot. That's always a good thing. Gives me no excuses to go out because of stress/moodiness. Goal for this week is to plan dinner every night the day before! (even if that means planning on leftovers). I also need to start tracking better. Considering paying attention to calories instead of points.
This will be my last full time week before school starts. I'm pretty stoked about that. Next week I'll get paid for full time, but I'm taking a day and a half of vacation. Birthday is September 3rd, so I'm need need of some celebration ideas!
Stella - I'm totally down for a nap, too. Mondays should include a nap at work!

Good Afternoon! (for me here in FL anyway :)

Good things, eh? Great plan, even if a bit difficult to adhere to on a Monday morning ;)

I had a super awesome weekend, with a good concert and some unexpected family time as I happened to be near a few people that were able to get in contact with me while I was in the area. I overindulged in all areas, and it was fan-freaking-tastic.

I had a weekend of decadence and am more than prepared for a week (weeks, really, I don't intend to have entire cheat weekends often!) of being on plan, active, and productive. I'm a strong, intelligent person that is more than capable of achieving her goals.

Yes, it is hard, but I'm reminded of a quote from "A League of Their Own."

"of course its hard. If it wasn't then everyone would do it." We're pretty exceptional ladies, so I think that we CAN do it.

I have been doing really well with my eating over the past couple of days. Still haven't worked out but what the hey I've also been working like crazy. So HAPPY MONDAY or least for me it is:) I have the day off!! woohoo.

When I stepped on the scale it read 206.8 last night and then 207.6 this morning...so i'm taking the higher one. Hope you ladies have a good one...babies crying so i gotta run

Stella - and I thought you were going to use either "mule." "nag." or "there's no crying in baseball!!!" hahaha good movie.

Happy Monday!

Good things....hmm....well, I survived a weekend spent with the in-laws! Crazy, though, we went to a potluck and there wasn't ONE vegetable on the freaking table. NOT ONE. I was told to bring dessert, so I made a plan-friendly brownie, which I didn't even eat...I took a Vitatop. But, not ONE vegetable?! Sickening! And even more amazing is that I noticed. Before, I would have just happily filled up on all of the carbs and not been disturbed in the slightest. Now I know, next time I bring salad!

I'll be earning some activity points organizing the house this week. We're calling the realtor and having him come out at the end of the week to discuss putting our house on the market. My husband *might* be getting a job in TX, so we're thinking we should start trying to prepare. *crosses fingers*

Well, the no crying in baseball also applies here, I think...

I say that to myself sometimes when I'm having a rough day at work - THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL. It just makes me laugh.

Especially the way Tom Hanks says it. Some days we just gotta laugh! :)

I had an amazing weekend on the lake. Lots and Lots of swimming, which felt good. However, I am exhausted today! I can't wait to go home and take a nap, then go for a run of course! The weather is finally cool enough where I can step outside without having a heat stroke!

I've been waiting to tell you ladies this all weekend. Thursday night before we left for our trip I went to wal mart and bought natures valley granola bars, bananas, celery sticks, laughing cow cheese, jimmy dean d'lights etc. I wanted to make sure I had lots of healthy snacks on the boat because I know my 'mother in law.'
So we get there, I step in the kitchen and first thing I see is two GIANT bowls of fun size snickers, reeces, and kit kats. I look on the counter and it is packed full of 3 cans of pringles, bags and bags of chips, every little debbie you could possibly imagine, and a giant bowl of sausage rotel. I couldn't help but laugh. I did OK. I did indulge in the occasional fun size snickers as I walked through the kitchen and one night I ate a small bowl of sausage rotel yuuuuumm. I'm not too disappointed in myself considering I swam the ENTIRE time. I had so much fun, and I have raccoon eyes at work today from my sun glasses :)

I hope you girls had a good weekend. Fingers crossed for a quick afternoon, so I can have that nap!

Hi all!!! Everyone must have had a wonderful weekend as the weekly chat stopped dead somewhere on Saturday.

My weekend went well. Took the little one shopping on Saturday then went to his girlfriend's first birthday party on Saturday evening. Jackson had one very small piece of cake. I didn't have any. I bought a really cute black dress at Target on Saturday for only $15. Yay! Went swimming yesterday with Hubby and little one. Made pizza quesadillas for lunch and ribs in the crock pot for dinner (I don't normally eat rib meat because of the fat content, but hubby loves them so I relent once a month or so.) Also made a batch of blueberry muffins for Jackson. I did lick the spoon as I was making them and it was wonderful!

I feel like i have been slacking some with my eating lately. So as added motivation, I ordered a copy of the newest South Beach book off of Amazon this morning. I read the first version back in 2008 so I figure its time for a refresher course.

I think the above accounts as my good thing. :)

Jenn- u will LOVE the newer South Beach book. Has some great recipes that I enjoyed in it. Although I borrowed it to a friend when I got pregnant and have yet to get it back! haha but I remember a lot of stuff out of it so its not a necessity right now.

Stella- If it isn't hard, it isn't worth doing, right? And I'm a fan of the "There's no crying.." quote as well :)

Monday is more than half over, how's that for positive?! I've been planning the night's menu in my head and I'm ready to leave work, hit the grocery store, then go home to get organized. My house is an awful mess in some areas (my room, bathroom... the rooms I blow through like a hurricane every morning!) and the laundry is piled up. I really, really think getting control of that will lead to a lot more harmony in all areas and make keeping on track easier. So I'm excited to get home to clear out some cobwebs and get my head on straight.

I think that's when he says "Anything worth doing is worth doing right" after someone makes the comment about him scratching his balls for an hour. (I just watched this a few weeks ago in B-more with the girls). Love it...

I'm debating NOT exercising tonight. I'm running on very little sleep, my legs hurt, and I have a very early day tomorrow. I just hate skipping exercising, so I think I'm going to play it by ear. In theory, I want to exercise, but I have so much to do tonight and I don't want to hurt my knees.

Ha, I wasn't trying to quote an actual part of the movie there, but it fits either way.

I'm trying to reason with myself about working out as well... It is important to fit in a legit workout, but I think tonight it is equally as important, if not more so, for me to get things straight at home. And, if I clean enough, it counts as a mild workout, so there's a plus.

um positive thought for the week.. my mom noticed my weight loss! :D

Yeah, its going to storm here so I have a migraine. I just had a coffee and it kind of helped (caffeine always helps with the pressure) but I have so much to do tonight. If I keep my calories at 1200 I might be okay.

I'm getting settled into my apartment...

Um the gym I went to didnt have a stairmaster...it had a stairmill...ewww

but I ran for the first time since June and it was awesome...cute boy inspiration made me get off my elliptical and onto the treadmill next to him :)

I love you ladies and miss you...

I'll be around this evening to catch up hopefully

Yay for cute boy inspiration!!

omg i cant believe i forgot my gym SHOES this morning xD Ah well, I'll just have to go twice on the weekend to make up for today lol. I gotta get back on eating track too, but the mini eclairs in the fridge are totally not helping. Better head to work before i eat myself out of house and home!

I've never joined in on a weekly chat but thought I would - though I'm in a different time zone to most so not sure how that works but just felt like sharing a couple of things!

My dad (who was hospitalised on Friday 13th) is ok! He'll hopefully get to leave tomorrow (Wed) but in the meantime we've been visiting and it's great to see each day how much like his normal self he looks in comparison to the previous day.

I just ate lunch! Haha. Not an achievement, but what did I eat? Salmon & avocado sushi! And it wasn't the usual reason (usually that's all that's left) I actually chose the one with avocado, which I usually avoid. But I think I need some of that good fat and each piece of sushi is only 45 calories! So if I eat all 8, it's a fairly good number for lunch. Though a lot of sodium me thinks...not too worried though, I have finally gotten over my dislike of avocado!

Slightly annoying so far this week (though not whining...haha): Still not being able to exercise since last Friday due to my dad being in hospital/my foot being kind of screwed up. But I am going to tomorrow I think!
Having to pick up my boyfriend at 1.30am from the airport - he was already out of arrivals and we sat on opposite sides of the waiting area for 30 mins haha, he didn't know I was there and I didn't think he'd cleared arrivals yet. SO silly.
Eep! That's it! I'm hoping to do something fun this week because for the past week it's been pretty sombre - I want to go see Scott Pilgrim! And Inception!

^
really glad your dad is improving-sorry to hear he is sick.
For the most part sushi isn't usually too high sodium, just depends how much soy you might use!

Hello all!
Glad so many had a good week-end, can't say i did anything exciting, but it as ok for the most part.

A definite positive was that i went to old navy (major sale, i can't justify getting really much of anything at my current weight as i have lots to lose but i have no pants that fit atm) and while they were quite snug- i fit into the 10's. I was shocked. They definitely must run plenty big, but a little happy moment anyhow. Be wearing the 12's (which aren't exactly loose-they're not too much bigger then the 10's go figure) for the time being of course, can't wait for the 10s to comfortably fit.

I need to tear myself away from the computer (i spend forever reading a lot of healthy food/living blogs good lord) or i'd have more replies!

Thanks cataclysmic - it was actually mistreated diabetes that got him so sick in the last couple of weeks. I am not happy with our family doctor to say the least. Negligence is basically all I can say without getting too negative! But on the plus side, getting that sick has meant that he will now get the treatment he needs! And it's another incentive for me to get healthy now while I'm young - avoiding diabetes would be a definite bonus!

Oh I wish we had Old Navy here. Or just something cheap and semi decent. I am such a bad person when it comes to losing weight. I know I shouldn't be spending my money now when I'm at a size I don't plan on staying, but I keep seeing so many awesome things!

Rainbow- good to hear about your dad :)

Btw guys, how many cals would you say is in a pureed vegetable soup? I'm talking home made. I'm pretty sure its parsnip, possibly carrot, maybe a little potato, possibly some lentils. And im pretty sure its not 160 cals for half a cup like spark thinks but I just wanted some second opinions

I would say 160 for a whole cup.

Good morning ladies !

Here's to another positive day. I'm very proud of all of you for yesterday, let's keep it up!

I'm on my way to my site - I brought lunch and I have snacks with me, so today will be a good day!!

I'm so totally running later.

Rainbow: I do the same thing with clothes.. I see something awesome and have to have it. Like my favorite, most comfortable pair of pants that I found on clearance.. then I lost 20 pounds and they look like MC Hammer pants!

cataclysmic: Old Navy varies for me.. some pants run larger, some smaller. Either way, fitting in that smaller size is always a happy moment!

I am not feeling well today. Just a sniffly cold... but that's OK, I will try to get in some light pilates later.

And while we are on the topic of Old Navy.... This has become one of my favorite stores. I used to hate it because it was so hit and miss. You would go in one day and they would have absolutely nothing, and the next I would find loads of stuff.

It seems our store has improved recently. They have a lot of really cute stuff. I bought a really cute dress there last time, and I plan on going back and getting it in various colors and patterns. They also had tables and tables of really cute graphic tees. They weren't the cheesy ones that have a random city name and cheesy graphics. They were actually really pretty. The one I got was white and it had 3 birds on it and it was really bright colors.. red, yellow, blue, and green. Really artsy and pretty. And I LOVE their cardigans for work :)

old navy is the only place that I have found jeans that fit me... and they were my first pair of skinny jeans and I'm in love... I've now had them in three sizes :)

someone come cook for me... lol or at least join me for dinner... also I couldn't find half of my grocery staples so I was angry lol

but there was a cute boy at walmart following me around pretending to be just as lost as I was but he never talked to me...grr...grow some balls cute boys I dont bite

so I've been hanging out with the ex...seeing that we decided to go to school together than broke up... he seriously is such a jerk... I never noticed it before but I dont like his personality at all ...and he claims I have a personality flaw... I complain...yes I do... I also take offense to things sometimes when maybe they weren't meant to be mean...he however said I'm psycho and should never let my personality show in a realtionship because it is horrible and would make any guy leave....um you're a big jerk and you're personality is that of a rock...

pretty sure I have wayyyyyy more friends then him :)

Haley - you are so much more cooler than the ex-bf. I'll come cook for you :)

I need caffeine...

Happy Tuesday Girls!!

My week is going well so far. A bunch of co-workers went out to pizza last night. I scowered the menu beforehand and found out that they do Build Your Own Salads, so I made a yummy and healthy salad. I also shared some delicious meatballs with my little one.

Our date is set for the waterslides! Next Monday I will be sporting my new swimsuit in public (EEK!) I'm excited because the weather is supposed to be beautiful and it will be a whole day with just me and hubby (little one is staying with the nanny.) I feel guilty have a day off and leaving Jackson though. I have to keep reminding myself that if we weren't going to the waterslides, that I would be at work and away from him anyways.

Had a yummy egg salad sandwich on sourdough today for lunch...mmm. Making turkey meatloaf for dinner.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Tuesday!

Feral - where are you?

Good work on the build-your-own-salad, Jenn!

And not only should you remind yourself that you'd be away from LO at work, anyway. But, you are investing in your LOs future by spending time with your hubby!

Ah, 20 more minutes until I can go running. My brain is excited, while my knees are apprehensive.

Jenn - she was ridiculously busy at work. I think she's going to be slightly MIA until school starts again.

Thanks Stella! It seems like some other people have been missing lately too. Forest and Samantha? Work has been super slow for me lately, so i've been able to stalk the boards

Yay ladies! Sounds like everyone is having fairly decent weeks so far.

My dad came home from the hospital last night and he's pretty much back to his normal self - I feel terrible that it has taken something like this to get me to take him less for granted though - not that I really took him for granted, but I probably didn't spend as much time with my parents as I should. Now I'm enjoying hanging out with my dad, just having a chat.

About to go exercise! My foot is not that great but I'm going to aim for 30 mins walking on the treadmill and up the incline so it's hard but not too much impact on the foot - jogging is not a good idea right now!

OH OH OH and my weight is down another kilogram/2.2 pounds which is great considering the break I had to take from exercise since Friday! On the right track!

Rainbow- I used to be so horrible and compulsively bought clothes to a disturbing level! Shame they're all so incredibly small-**** the most expensive things i have i may never fit back into (not just saying to be all depressing, some wear a 0/1 which wasn't my healthiest point. its embarrasing to admit i was that size and let myself gain so much.). I'd like to go back and kick myself-but hey at least i was well dressed for awhile, ha.
That really sucks about your dad being misdiagnosed and consequently ending up so sick. Yikes. That happened to my friends mother, she nearly lost her vision in the midst of it all. My mom has diabetes too-its good that we're young enough to hopefully avoid it, but i'm grateful treatment for it has come so far.

casey- Hope you are feeling better! Old navy really grew on me i'd say about 3 years back. They have great staples, and i love the prices.

Haley- Looks like your a cute boy magnet, always a plus.
I've had (it took moving to start to well, move on) a hard time letting go of ex's, so i'm one to talk, but this dude sounds super lame in how he's treating you and you definitely deserve better. I think as you keep moving forward with the awesome progress you've made you'll continue to see that. It's been hard for me to look back and see how badly i let some people treat me.
I wish i could come cook, i love to cook and since i moved home (my parents aren't a fan of healthier cooking, sure that helped me pack on the pounds) i have no one to cook for.

jenn- Good choices and i am now craving egg salad. I've made some where i use the 0% greek yogurt and its so good. I'm excited for you for your water park trip.

stella- While i am far from being a runner again, i managed to make it 5 minutes in a row today on the tmill. The last time i ran was a 10-k in november, and my lord was this the worst running experience of my life-i'm sure the 60+ lbs had a lot to do with it. I however will work my *** off to get back to real running shape, i just have to slowly build up to it. I have horrible knees so the excess weight really doesn't help me-but thats no reason to totally avoid. Hope your headaches subside.

Cata- I love to cook as well... Just no one to enjoy it so its not as fun... Also my problem has been that I've been super busy and therefore forget to eat... I lost my hunger sensor with my weightloss...its very strange


Jenn- Forest is starting grad school so she had to move and everything else...plus shes going Ivy league... I dont think we will be seeing much of her, and Samantha is also going to grad school.. once school starts people go MIA but sometimes they come back

Cataclysmic: Wow, I guess we're lucky that he hasn't been left with any more severe health problems! I think he's going to be fine now, so many people live with diabetes, right?
As for the clothes.. once I got down to a NZ size 12/14 which is a US 10/12 I think? I was only there for a few months but whilst there...oh man I bought a lot! Not too expensive stuff, just the amount of stuff! Tops, dresses, skirts, jeans... I'm looking forward to being able to get use out of some of them again. There is one photo of me in one of the dresses that is my inspiration now - considering I still thought I was huge then! I want to reach that point and go a bit further! And healthily of course. I didn't realise I was losing weight back then really but I wasn't in a good place, all I ate was eggs, drank coffee and smoked WAY too many cigarettes.
Luckily now I'm doing well and doing it the right way!

Happy Hump Day Ladies! So I am proud to sa ythat no matter WHAT I AM going to work out today:):)promise. Other then that I finally got a little sleep this morning because the kiddo occupied himself.

A not so exciting day for me though..I have to have a colposcopy done and they are doing a biopsy. Hoping it is quick.

It is a beautiful day outside sunny and there is a nice breeze.

Rainbow- Isn't it funny how we can look back at pictures of ourselves and say "WTF was I thinking back then, I looked GREAT!"

Haley- sounds like you have cute boys following you all over the place:) Totally jealous! I mean I have my fiance but its' still nice to know others look...hahha(and cute ones at that)

BLCarter ~ Good luck with the colopscopy. Hope it goes by quickly and that everything comes out ok.

I hope everyone is having a good week!!!! I got home from Oklahoma late Monday night and did some school shopping yesterday. I went to pick up school supplies for my classroom and spent more money on clothes for myself than anything else. I am so not in the "back to school" mode yet. Thankfully I still have next week free before starting back on the 30th. Usually by this point, I'm ready to head back or at least buy supplies. I don't know if you guys even understand my affinity for office supplies! haha

Missed another day of work today. Missing work always makes me feel anxious, because I know other people have to pick up the slack and I hate that. I'm going to the doctor here in a bit. I'm almost certain I have an ear and throat infection, I used to get those a lot. Hopefully the doc will give me a shot and I will be feeling better soon.

Today was my official weigh in day ( I quit weighing myself everyday) and I am down 1 lb. :)

My sister bought me a little pink (haha) can of mace to take with me on my runs. I had a little incident on the trail the other day, which some of you may have read about on the other thread I posted. But, I think I will feel much safer armed with mace.

Haley- You are HOT, that dress in your profile picture is amazing! Who needs a douchy ex when you have cute boys following you around in the grocery store :)

Jenn-I saw the pic of your swimsuit in the photo album. I love it, super cute!

Rainbow-I'm glad to hear your dad is home and doing better.

Chele-I'm so jealous! I want to be a teacher so bad. I have a b.s in Psychology. I started out as Early Childhood Ed. but changed my sophomore year. No regrets, I like where I'm at. Arkansas has a Non-Traditional teaching program where people without education degrees can go through an accelerated program and receive their teaching license. It costs 1200 dollars a year. I did the first 1200 dollars and they want you to get a job in that first year. I applied to over 50 schools statewide and got one flippin interview. It was CRAZY I know this is hard times with the economy, but I felt like I kind of got screwed. They told us at orientation that maybe one or two people wouldn't get a job, and over half of us were still jobless at the end of the summer. I kept applying throughout the school year and NOTHING. So, in June I would have had to pay another 1200 dollars and miss 3 weeks of work to go to training to stay in the program and be eligible for a job. There was just no way that was happening with no guarantee I would get a job. So now my option is to go back to school and get my Masters of Arts in Teaching. And, that is my plan. I will probably go next year. I am soo dreading working full time and going to grad school. But you gotta do what ya gotta do. My dream is to be a teacher.