Morning all - back from the yoga class - it was great - so between the other class even if I don't do anything on my own I will do 210 minutes of exercise per week.

Donna - sorry to hear about the car situation. Frozen pipes - that is indeed a mess too. Hope you have a better day - you deserve it - hugs to you!

Battle - great news on the scale front - you have changed more habits than maybe you give yourself credit for. Enjoy your weekend.

Nicole - way to go girl - 8 lbs - keep it up!

Brenda - what program is that? Glad you are feeling such a great relief - going in to this with confidence is such a plus.

Annie - so glad you are going to swim today. Hope you didn't have to swim out of your office yesterday. I hope your bosses don't let the stress of the pending contract trickle down to you.

Val - wow - that is great that you stopped and ate on the way. I'm not sure I could deal with the clingy kid - are you able to have any time one on one with your friend? Maybe a girls day (hour) out? I'm sure your friend would love it too.

Kayley and Heather - you are so kind with the thumbs up for 2 minutes on the elliptical - I felt like my weight was making me move too fast - will better balance help that?

Colneed - great job on the loss! WTG

Kimmie - glad you are using and enjoying FITDAY - acountability is something we all need.

Catherine - how's the tooth? Hope you are feeling better. Another "Catherinism" - hungry while in a come - I concur.

Jeanne - I too love the Japanese steak house experience - we haven't done that for awhile - thanks for the reminder.

Debbie - batwings? You been hanging out with Catherine? Love the description. Hope you're "dancing the fat away".

Zelma - I love the hair color - you are such a beauty. I loved it before but this is great too!

Xena - no DDR for me either (yet). Maybe that can replace you boot camp when its over - you can still get up before dawn and start the day dancing.

Johnnie - glad to see you - doesn't it feel great to be back in control. I hope you find some exercise that fits you.

Hi Nancy, RK and everyone else - miss you.

Need to get busy around here. Hope you all have a great OP day - don't forget to drink your water.

Hugs,
Carol

:)Kayley- For a busy girl you're doing great on the exercise so far this month.:)

:)Carol-I have a similar relationship with my doctor. I've been with him for 12yrs. and he has never nagged me about my weight. Although I sometimes wished he would. But if I bring the subject up he is sure to educate me on the risks of being this heavy, and happy when I shed some lbs. of course. Good luck on all of your dinners and travel that you will have to do.

:)Valerie- You can thank the gas prices for the rise in the cost of just about everything these days! Will it ever end?:?:

:)Donna- I hate frozen pipes! I go through it every year, and my pipes are insulated. I only have trouble when the temps get down below zero though. And good luck with the auto repair, I hope it is'nt too costly.

:)Brenda- Good luck with the program. And finding somewhere indoors to exercise is always nice when it's so icey and cold outside.


Have a good day everyone! Colleen

I just got back from my hour dance class and hour and a half yoga class and boy can I tell that I hadn't done the yoga in a few weeks. Stuff that was getting easier was much harder again. In fact I am pretty exhausted and I think I am going to go take a nap. My ex is coming over tonight to give me my Christmas present. That should be interesting.

I also stopped at Target and bought a full length mirror so that I can spend more time looking at myself and building the love.

Speaking of which, the scale deals are everywhere! They had a scale that was rated to 400 pounds and had a sample Biggest Loser workout dvd for only $15. If anyone is looking to buy a scale it looks like the time is now!

Birthday yesterday, wedding today. I'm snarfing some stir-fry right now, because the dinner at the wedding will certainly include pasta, as well as cake. As we know, cake is a four-letter word (and has maggots in it, right Heather?) but I don't wanna deal with whatever goodies, pasta, etc. they throw at me, without a solid, late lunch of veggies and lean protein. I'm ready to face it.

I've about lost count of days OP already, which tells me I'm in a good, forward-looking frame of mind. It's strange, not being pumped up, fired up, all enthusiasm brimming over - just focused, prepared & careful. What catches us up in bad habits so often, is not being prepared when temptations hit. I think every day of what's coming. If I go out to lunch at a restaurant, I think of the good options they have before I get there. Waiting and cruising the menu only makes for bad decisions. Planning my options for nutrition & my own benefit is how I can succeed. Failure is always an option, it's just not what I should wait for, or allow to be thrust upon me.

Today the wedding cake beckons. I'll be busy making other plans... and acting on them. :D Have a wonderful, healthful day!

Donna-no one leaves faucets running here, and the pipes never freeze. I have no idea why. In Oklahoma I spent many a morning outside under the house with a torch trying to unfreeze pipes, but no one does that here where it gets to -40. Weird. You guys are starting to sound like the demolition derby family.

Annie-I feel pretty good today. Good enough for a load of dishes and four loads of laundry. There weather here is supposed to hover around 0 this weekend, so everyone is out going crazy because they know it can’t last. It’s only -5 right now, that’s like 23F. Himself was running around in just a tshirt outside. I’m sorry you’re going through a contract process. That’s the way the funding for my program was, and the first time I didn’t do the proposal (it came right after my head injury and I couldn’t do it) in over 5 years, and it was awarded to someone else. That left 7 people jobless including 3 single moms. I’ve always carried a lot of guilt about that eventhough most were hired by the organization that did get the money, and the rest found work quickly. I was the only one that didn’t get another job. There’s a big difference between keeping a job you’re used to and trying to find a new one after having a head injury.

Battle-Have you started building an Ark yet. If you do, it think it would be okay if you didn’t take two of everything with you. I think we could live without cockroaches and hornets.

Kimmie-I don’t know if I have God’s ear or not, but that has never kept me from trying. I’ll certainly keep your niece in my prayers. I lost a 10 month old nephew in 1972 to a hole in his heart, that couldn’t be fixed at the time, and that now is easily fixed with an outpatient catherization procedure. We have made such progress in working on the little ones, that I’m sure she will be fine. They are lucky to have you to take care of the other kids so they can focus.

Carol-I never ate much in front of other people either. Most people thought I was a vegetarian, and couldn’t understand why I weighed so much. I did love going to the doctor when I was losing well. It was practically cheerleading practice for the nurse. She wanted me to write down everything that I was doing, and wanted before and after pictures to show people.

Val-I’m at 3 days too, and it is finally getting easier. I haven’t felt the need to eat a dish towel or wall paper. Both were starting to look good at one point. The price of healthy food is always going up.

Carol-My tooth feels great. This dentist is the best. I’ve had really bad luck with dentists in my life, like the one who billed my insurance for stuff he hadn’t done, and the one who got in a hurry and jabbed a tool into the roof of my mouth making for a nicely infected wound. This guy is gentle and really good at what he does. He’s also the first dentist, that I know of, that I’ve had who is gay. I must be becoming one of those little old ladies that only want the gay guy to do her hair or something.

Nancy-Isn’t New Year’s resolution time great for deals? I’m waiting for my store to put my brand of protein shakes on sale, and I’ll buy 6 months worth, and enough dried skim milk that they are going to think I’m sending it to an overseas mission or something. There are a lot of Mormons and Hutterites here, and they believe in having a 6 month supply of food on hand, so the clerks do see some of this, but I look like neither.

I had a devastating loss this morning. I lost two blades on my blender. Luckily, I didn’t ingest them. I dug out my old one, until he can run down on Monday to pick up a new set of blades. Himself is not terribly mechanical. The idea that you could call some place with a part number and go pick it up and fix it yourself has thrown him. I remember the day he came home and I had taken the VCR apart. He thought I’d had a breakdown, and was taking everything apart to find the demons in the machines. I think I’m going to find something else to take apart today just to terrorize him. I started taking my mom’s alarm clock apart when I was 6. My dad finally got a neighbor who worked for the phone company to give me a big box of broken phones to play with. I got several of them working. I love to tinker.

carol-- I don't know if balance helps with the elliptical... I think it just takes a while to get used to, for whatever reason!!

Nancy -- I love that you bought a mirror to build the love! Let us know what the ex does!

valerie -- maggot-ridden cake. yuummmmmm. Not. But if it helps, then YAY!

I am definitely sick today. Taking it easy. But I feel like a snot machine.

Carol – Hmmm…I’m not sure (about balance and the elliptical). I have horrible (and I mean HORRIBLE) balance, and I never had a problem with it. Although, I noticed that I kept wanting to go faster, because I thought it’d be a better workout, but could only do a few minutes like that. Just pace yourself. I don’t think that answers your question…lol. Good luck with it!

Nancy – I noticed that when I was at Target today, too! All of the fitness stuff is on major sale, because of the New Year! Good for you for buying that full length mirror. That really is awesome. And good luck with the ex tonight. When was the last time he saw you?

Valerie – Have a great time at the wedding, and good luck avoiding the cake! :O Let us all know how it went!

Catherine – Whoa. I’m glad that you were able to fish those blades out!


Well, I just got back from grocery shopping, and I’m good and stocked up for the week! I have some Ramen noodles that I will probably finish up tomorrow, and then on Monday, full force onto my plan! :D I’m not feeling all that well today, so I’m just going to take this weekend to rest, and then get back on the exercising track on Monday as well, too. Need to get my minutes up!

Nancy- I had an ex-boyfriend that brought a Christmas present to me just to show off his new girlfriend. :mad:

Donna: Sorry about all the car trouble you are having.

Brenda: I hope when you do your weigh in you are plesantly surprised.

Nicole: Yipee, congrats to you on -8.8! Great job.

Battle: Yeah on -1 especially during TOM's arrival. I am not as lucky as you. I am expecting TOM any time and hope I am retaining water thus, no weight loss.

Carol: Great job on the 210 minutes a week. You inspire me.

Nancy: Hope tonight's dinner goes well with the EX. So, so proud of you for the mirror!

Val: If the cake calls you, go dance!

Catherine: I am so the oposite about tinkering. I can break most anything but fixing it uh nope. That would be my Joel. He is the fixer and I am the.... breaker. lol. Glad you are feeling a bit better.

Heather and Kayley feel better very soon.

Well, made it to the pool and then did tons of walking after working out. I got in probably 4 hours total today with all the walking I did. That is exciting to me. I also touched up the gray in my hair. It was getting out of control. lol. Got the house spic and span with the exception of one of the bathrooms is almost done. I wanted to go swim at a certain time so I stopped right in the middle. lol. It should only take me about 10 minutes to get in there and finish, just being lazy. I have about 1/2 the laundry done too. Joel is outside taking the lights down. I love the Christmas lights but it is definately time to put them away until next year.

Hope you are all op and doing well.
Blessings,
Annie

OK, so I went to the wedding which was outstandingly lovely. Turns out that in the bride's early teens, her mom had pointed out the groom & told her she should date a boy like that someday. They've known eachother somewhat for years, but only started dating last February. They're such a beautiful couple, and both families are thrilled, which is always cool.

O yea, the reception. Turns out it wasn't a dinner reception. It was a FREAKING DESSERT reception! A 50-foot table with nothing but carbs & calories piled everywhere! Ya know, I was in control before I went into that room. I did some serious damage to their coffee supply, but I didn't touch a morsel of that stuff. It wasn't even that tough. I ended up having to sit with the evil one and listening to her endless twittering, but even with that little stress, eating that stuff just wasn't an option. Actually, I had my digital camara with me, and I cruised old pictures rather than deal with her. There were pics of Gabriel on there, and if I had needed any more motivation to be good, it was right there.

Of course, by the time we got out of there, we were starving. We ended up at Parasson's - home of some of the best lasagna on the planet. Bill ordered the lasagna, I ordered the baked chicken cassarole with a salad - no pasta! And then the unexpected thing hit the table. OMG! The garlic bread!! Now THAT was far more tempting than any of the sweets, perhaps because I didn't know it was coming, or maybe because hot garlic bread is devine. I asked Bill to move it, he did, and he ate all of it himself.

I'm feeling rather puffed up with myself, having been good in both planned and unplanned circumstances this last few days. I even talked to evil SD a few times. OK, twice, but I behaved & didn't say ANY of the things I was dying to. Hopefully the worst is over for the next several months, as far as ESD goes anyway.

Bad part is, I didn't get any exercise again today. :(

CATHERINE, hang in there! If I can resist every one of 153,896,942 calories under the fire of the ESD, then you can resist the call of the wallpaper! We're on a roll!

OMG Val, that is an amazing victory!!! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please don't beat yourself up for not exercising!

Val! Excellent job!!!! You had amazing victory's today!!! You are the bomb!!!

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!