Good morning everyone

I have already been inspired this morning... I have been inspired by Annie to get off my tush and clean my house. I have been inspired by Val to stay away from all the BAD foods today.

Carol and Kayley ~ The program is called Simply for Life. They create a personalized meal plan based on the GI. You get a different menu each month and you weigh in once a week.

Heather ~ Get well soon. You too Kayley!

Anyhow, things are improving around here. Exercise is great. Have to get over and start posting minutes soon before I forget them. I have been writing them down :) I have a new years goal of achieving 10000 minutes in 2008. Hopefully as I lose more I can do more.

Off for now, theres shopping, eating, exercising and housecleaning to do!

Kayley: :)

Val: I am sooooo proud of the choices you made. You are doing so fantastic. I bet you feel so great about you!

Storey: Have a nice week.

Brenda: I hope your day is op and super productive.

It is 7:20 and I am debating if I should go to the gym to swim or not. It is snowing pretty good right now and I can think of excuse after excuse. I think Val and Brenda have made up my mind for me. I'm going.

Be back later to check in with you all.
Blessings,
Annie

Thanks gals! I had a talk with DH this a.m. about this whole mission. He's so supportive, and gives me great input and food for thought. We talked about the sub-concious and how negative input from others in my past has shaped how I think of myself, and what - deep inside - I believe I'm worth. How sometimes it's the chemical causes (sugar/wheat) that give me cravings or make me break down and indulge, but sometimes it's deeper than that. You know, when that 'what-the-heck' feeling is allowed to take control and I give up and have things that I flat out KNOW will hurt me. We talked about replacing all those little messeges left behind by others who've hurt us with concious, positive, out-loud conformation that I AM worth success in this mission. I DO deserve to be healthier, live longer, look good, live my dreams, ride my horse.

He said one of the kindest things - "I want to see you ride your horse in dressage shows." When someone believes in me like that, how can I fail to believe in myself? How can I place any losers in my past higher than I place him & his opinion? How can I let myself down, when he knows that I'm capable of victory, of changing my thinking, my habits, my daily life? HE knows that I'm capable of accomplishing this weight loss, as well as other goals in my life, and if I backslide or fail at times, he's not the one who is angry and disappointed in me - he's the one that says "So? Try again. Just try again."

...Can you believe this is the guy I almost left a year ago? OK, he's not perfect, but he is wonderful. That's two things I'd like to believe we have in common. :D So today I think I'll dedicate to that belief he's shown in me. Today I'll eat to live, and I'll try harder to make an opportunity to sweat for a few minutes, and I'll do that in honor of the faith and love he showed me today.

O good grief. It must have been going to that wedding yesterday - it's made me disgusting sappy.

Have a brilliantly planned, beautifully successful, pulse-racing, veggie filled, OP day! I gotta go move a friend's horse, then ride, then I have a date with DH. :D :D

Man, has the board moved fast this week. And I'm way, way behind. I worked lots of overtime so I'm way behind. Eating ths week has not been good, but I can report a loss of 1.2 pounds. Obviously I was not totally South Beach this past week.
This week will be better cuz I have better choices in the house. I just have to stay out of the crap at work. I say it that way, cuz the "junk" food at work is just that to my body. It's bad for me. It makes me feel sluggish and makes me want more "crap" foods. I just have to keep telling myself that.
I'm unhappy with myself with basically wasting a week, I"m also totally pmsing and am swollen like a huge balloon. (it's what i get for not making healthy choices.)
I gotta tell you abouit something that I did this week.
I bought a pastry roll out the the machine one day. Of course I ate it. But I was thinking about it later, and I couldn't even remember eating it, let alone what it tasted like. What a waste of time, calories and money. I'm feeling really disgusted with myself and just basically sad, depressed and blah!
And I feel like I can't catch up on the board. I've got lots of chores to do and it's already almost 3 pm.
So, I'm gonna get to work here at home and reward myself with trying to get caught up on at least reading the posts later on.
Sorry for being such a downer.

I actually got to go to church today. It was great. Everyone seemed so happy to see me. I'm going to choir next week even if I have to sit to sing, which I hate. I like to show that even when you are not your best, whether it is your clothes or hair or physical limitation, that you are still welcome.

Val: So happy that you had such a great talk with you DH. I was thinking the same thing about how last year you were thinking that your marriage was over and look at you guys now! Hugs to you.

Sandy: woohoo! Congrats on the -1.2 every bit helps. Please don't be down on yourself. It was so good that you reflected on the pastry and it wasn't worth it. Perhaps next time it will stop you from eating another one. Let everything in life that disappoints us be a lesson for the next time. Don't worry about catching up. Just come and post as much as you can. Hugs.

Catherine: Glad that you were able to go to church. That is one step closer to healing. Hugs.

Well, I did go to the gym and swim for 1/2 hour then I did some water walking for 20 minutes. I feel so happy to have made it. I also shoveled the drive way before I left which gave me another 20 minutes of exericse. It feels good to start your day with movement. I posted my minutes and since the 1st I have managed to accumulate 345 minutes. I am hoping to blow that amount away this week before I post my minutes again next Sunday.

Blessings all,
Annie

Hi everyone,
TOM is here with a vengeance, but I'm relieved that once the sickness passes, I can look forward to several weeks of being on a more even keel.

Yesterday I went food shopping for an enormous amount of food, and today I spent several hours chopping, dicing, peeling, slicing, and cooking. My fridge and freezer are packed with ready-to-go and pre-prepped raw ingredients that will make next week a breeze. It's going to be a very busy one, so I have done all I can to make staying on plan enjoyable and successful. I keep looking in the freezer and feeling happy. It's all delicious and satisfying food that I look forward to eating.

GTL: I don't know anything about your plan, but good luck on the next round, and good job on exercising. Having a plan is so important, and now you have one.

Annie: the excuses are plentiful, aren't they! I'm impressed that you braved the bad weather and exercised. This is what true commitment is all about.

Valerie: WTG on handling that wedding and the restaurant afterwards. You are smoking! I don't know what I would have done in front of all the delectable goodies.

You are lucky to have such a wonderful husband who sees the best in you and believes in you. Carry his words around and take them out when you are not feeling strong. You deserve all that comes with weight loss. You are worth it.

Sandy: 1.2 lbs is nothing to sneeze at. Congrats for that. I know what you mean about looking back on some of the crap you ate and seeing that it wasn't worth it. I ate some junk last night that was totally not worth it. After eating a number of cookies and candies, I stopped mid bite on one of the candies and threw it in my drink, realizing that is was SO not worth it. I was at a party, and some people looked at me funny.

Catherine: How nice that you were able to go to church. It's great to go to a place where people know and care about you, and that helps you feel more connected.

Heather: I hope you feel better. There is nasty bug going around.

Val -- Wow, I remember you being really unhappy with hubby last year -- great to see the turnaround! BTW, your words are frequently inspirational, ya know?? :D

Sandy -- Don't beat yourself up about not keeping track here! Honestly, there are days all I can do is skim. If that. I'm sure others are the same.

BattleAx -- Planning for success! That's the way! I need to do that tonight. I have a crazy week coming up. In fact, I'm at work now, trying to make a dent for the week ahead...

I'm feeling less like a "snot factory" than yesterday, but am definitely feeling stressed about this week. Lots of deep breathing required, I think. And lots of chopped veg ready to go!!

Heather and Kayley - glad to hear you're starting to feel better. It's a nasty bug going around here - I've had 2 doctor visits over it - said most people are seeing him 4 times - please be sure to stay ahead of it.

Glad the weekend is over - toooooo busy with out of the house for meals commitments each day.

Time to work on laundry some more - have a great evening.

Hugs,
Carol

Hi all! Thanks for the good wishes. I am feeling even better tonight. I have all sorts of snacks bagged up and ready to go. There's leftover soup in the fridge for a few meals for the week, and I even got in a little exercise walking my dogs (first time all weekend!)

It's going to be a crazy crazy week -- hey if someone sees this on Monday morning, go ahead and start the new weekly thread!