Month 2 Progress
 

Hello All
It was measurement morning and the results are in Total weight loss for the monthy 6 lbs and 4.5 inches lost. "Never to be found again"!!

I don't see these as stellar by any means, but they are results.

My Scale is not moving and I'm taking that as a good thing as I am at the 1500 cals.

A couple challanges ago Zumba helped me discover my body is better with less carbs, which is my down fall, it is too easy to have a slice of toast as a snack or crackers. I gravitate to the easy, which means I have to Plan, I have to have protien rich foods on hand so I don't fall into the easy carb snacks and meals.

natamars: Regarding Withdrawls, Nothing major But I have a tool I learned when I quit Smoking that has been helpful: When I have a craving and think I want something I will Drink an Ice cold glass of water, and go back to what I was doing.

Delta Dawn: no, I am "supposed" to be eating 3 meals and 2 - 3 snacks, Not quite there yet but working through it.

Workout Time... Bye!!

Thursday: good day! 1170 calories, took supplements, drank water, ate fruit and veggies, and did an hour of Zumba! I've turned down 3 invites to go out to dinner this week - hope this pays off!

Nice to see the scale back under 135. Really need to push through these next few weeks to feel solidly there. Decided to make myself some english muffin pizzas to get through pizza night tonight. Even if I'm starving and eat 4 halves, I can do it for about 300 calories. Doing another 5K tomorrow - will see how that goes. Some of the route is the same as the 10K I want to do it September, and it's supposed to be hilly.

love, sounds like you had a great day yesterday - congrats!

zumba, hope you're feeling better! Do you cut back your exercise when you start Atkins? Are you doing the strict under 20 carbs a day? I've tried it but I have trouble getting through induction.

delta, hope it stopped raining there. It's GORGEOUS here this morning with bright sun, but only in the 40's!

TGIF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TGIF...I think???
 

:dizzy::dizzy:

HI all!! Well I had no loss from yesterday, I must have taken in way too many calories..either that or I'm super bloated from PMS...bleh...anyhoo I"m sticking to my low carb guns...went to lunch with a friend today and I ordered chicken salad on greens.....hoping the chicken salad didn't have sugar in it...it definitely tasted delicious....:p


Natamars: If I were under 135 I would be doing the dance of joy right now!!!:carrot:

Love2be: I tried south beach years ago and like atkins so much better..however I am doing it differently this time. Not staying on induction for as long as is suggested because I need carbs in order to work out as much as I do. btw I teach Zumba in the Circuit..It is a ton of fun and a great workout!!!

Izza..Mazel on the great weigh in and inches lost!!!

Hoping I can get through this weekend without caving in!! We are having pizza and cake at son's party.....Mother's day we are going out to eat at a fantabulous four star restaurant but I know that I can make good low carb choices there..I'm going to have a nice steak and veggies....and no dessert!!

Have a great weekend everybody!!!!!!!!!

Friday: 1510 calories, rest day

Went for a quick walk at lunch - gorgeous day in NY! Had my english muffin pizza while husband and son ate very delicious-smelling take-in pizza. It was fine, at least this way I can know the exact calorie count. I did have some wine though!

Doing my 5K today. Asked the family to help me plant flowers tomorrow instead of going out to eat.

zumba, happy birthday to your son! make sure to have something Atkins-friendly before so you're not starving at the party. Enjoy your steak tomorrow!

Happy Mother's Day!

Hey all...

I finally got the weight off that I had put on while on vacation and at easter..whew! Now my tracker is correct. Now I can work on getting the rest off....Aunt Flo paid a visit this morning which will mean more weight loss...yay.....

Went to a Lia Sophia party last night and did not touch any snacks...the hostess had out chips with salsa, cookies...nothing carb friendly. I drank a protein s hake before i went to take the edge off any hunger i may have had and not be tempted.

have a grand day everyone..its a crazy busy one for me!!

Good morning! 30DS done today and yesterday. Got some extra walking in, too! At my dad's so the eating is not so great!
Have a great weekend!

Saturday: 1515 calories, did my 5K, lots of water

Hardly any fruits or veggies, no supplements

Did my second 5K yesterday! It was REALLY hard. Very hilly course. I did the first mile in 10:38, which I knew was too fast for me. My mouth was SO dry even though I had about 5 cups of water that morning(race started @ 9). Maybe nerves? Some people are recommending gum - think I'll try that next time. Doing another one the first weekend in June. Anyway, I finished in 36:07, but I walked up a lot of the hills, so I was happy.

I was sure the scale would be below 134 this morning since it was @ 135.2 last night, but nope, 134.4 this morning. Think I'm on the brink of losing - I find when my evening and morning weights don't differ much I'm getting close.

delta, great job w/ the 30ds! Have fun at your dad's.

Sunday: 1435 calories. No exercise, no supplements.

Kind of a meh day. Finally got my annuals planted. My period is starting early AGAIN - anyone else going through this? I'm normally still pretty regular but this is about the thid time in the past year that it's a week or so early and stretches out! My dr. says it could be the start of perimenopause, but I think it's kind of early for that as my mom and my sister both got their periods into their early 50's(not that I want that either!) and I just turned 43. Is anyone else experiencing this?

Hope everyone enjoyed Mother's Day. My son made me some beautiful gifts at school and DH honored my wish and did nothing food-related, and spent a lot of time cleaning and planting instead.

Hi folks. I'm 44 and losing about 27 pounds to get to 135. I lost 35 pounds in 09 but had health issues and the pounds crept on (helped by a broken expensive scale so I lived in unknown denial).

I'm also on the 100%/100 day challenge but natamars question about cycles and thought I'd jump on board here? I have had fluctuating cycles for a few years. It seems like when I turned 40, my body was taken away and I was issued a whole new one--without instructions. It was so dramatic. I tracked my cycles in 2009 during my year long odyssey of weight loss (I tracked practically every aspect of life that year). I had some cycles 15 days long, some 28 days, and some 40 days. As it was a pattern and I was over 40, it seemed alright. I do have also a super heavy and quick cycle which has been for about six years or so (had that checked and it's a benign issue that could be corrected if I become too irritated with the heaviness). It's quite dramatic. I can be sitting in the morning, minding my own business, then *bam* it will start. I have moments to make it to the ladies to prevent catastrope. It's happened while I've been speaking before a large audience and on tv.

I lost 1.4 pounds this past week. I weigh and summarize my week's efforts on Sundays. I averaged 1535 cals eaten per day, 3 miles walked, and completed my required four workouts (home dvds, Firm 500 Calorie Workout). I usually walked 5 miles.

This week's goals are to reduce daily caffeine amount and see if I can have two 1250 days with five 1500 days. I'm restricted on some workout movements with a shoulder injury but not so bad that I can't keep up on my dvd (had to lose the heavy wrist weights, now using 1 pounders only).

A new week...and I get to start Level 3 on 30DS. First day done today and I decided to get a old Walk Away the Pounds walk in (I think it used to be on VHS) since it was raining out today.

Hi everyone! Having computer issues so I'm on my son's puter just to check in.....this weather is absolutely amazing lately so it has put some fire under my buttooski to get serious. I'm going to start worrying more about MY workouts and less about the workouts for my students..not that i'll be doing my job any less diligently than I do now...but I really have been focusing so much on my job than taking care of me..ironic since i'm in the fitness industry.

Natamars: about your question. My periods have changed...the cycle is a little different but the actual period has changed. I don't want to go into specifics and gross everybody out.....but in our forties strange things happen....it does not necessarily mean you are in perimenopause...we are just more prone ot hormonal fluctuations...stress has a lot to do with it also. We tend to lack things nutritionally moreso now than in our younger years so that could have something to do with it. I wouldn't worry too much but definitely track your cycles and bring it up with your doctor again if they seem really abnormal. They can do lh/fsh tests and other things to see if you truly are going into menopause early. I know a few years back they did that for me when i complained about my cycle.

have a great day all..lets get to our goals and wear our cute summer clothes!!!!

Monday: 1345 calories. Rode 3 miles with my son, jogged 1.5 miles. Took supplements.

It was way too beautiful to work out in the gym last night. My son and I rode down to the end of our road, where there's a huge pond. We saw a whole swam family, with 5 baby swans - so adorable. The weather is absolutely perfect right now.

Thanks for the input on the cycle stuff. I have been tracking lately, which I hadn't bothered to do in many years ever since DH took care of the whole birth control issue. I'll be seeing a new gyn soon. I do find that since I turned 40 taking and keeping off weight has been RIDICULOUSLY harder. NOt like incremental from one year to the next, like I hit 40 and BAM! I'm destined to be fat.

zumba. glad the weather's motivating you - hasn't it been incredible? The whole week is supposed to be gorgeous like this!

delta, I never made it to level 3 - how's it going?

iaradajnos, welcome! Sounds like you're doing great on your other challenge. 1.4 lbs. is a great loss! I cut out most of my caffeine because I found it made me more anxious at work, but I still have a little coffee on the weekends. And I also try to keep my calories between 1200-1500, although lately I've been edging on the higher end and it's not helping me.

Good morning everyone! 30DS and a walk done...
natamars - I actually like level 3 a lot better than level 2 - not as many planks! A bike ride sounds great - maybe I should get my bike out!

When I was 41 or 42 and still in the thoroughs of the change over to an "over 40" body. I really experienced a huge switch and had so much to figure out (physical pain in many body parts, hearing drop so needed hearing aids, overwhelming cycles, plus spouse and relationship, older kids, work).

I told my 38 year old friend while chatting, "hey, get yourself in order health wise before you hit 40 because once you do, every today is easier than tomorrow." She asked for clarification. I said, "you just can't put off anything thinking it'll get easier because we're on the decline. We can't expect to have more of anything by waiting because we won't."

A year later she told me how incredibly depressing she thought that was but she went on from that to join a women's rugby team and start other things for herself. I didn't mean to be depressing. I thought it was a positive motivator.

Planning my week to stay on track. Today I've had great low-cal meals and will get lots of walking in. I need two low-cal days to make up for a higher day yesterday due to unexpected travel around town.

Hi all.....I finally had a "'swoosh" with my weight...I think it was due to emotional stuff but it was a pleasant surprise to see the scale down to a place it hasnt' been in months...NOW to keep going.......

All this over forty talk is depressing but the truth. If I had worked out this hard in my twenties I'd probably look like a bikini model. In your forties you do double the work for HALF the results. I don't even want to know what fifty is like...I'll probably just give up by then...LOL.....BUT here we are and we all sound like women that care about our health and are NOT giving in to the problems that come with age if we can help it......Eating well and exercise is not just about looking slimmer at this point, we need to stay healthy so that we aren't the 60 year olds getting diabetes or being put on meds for bp and cholesterol, etc. I don't want to be trying to lose weight when I'm a senior.......I'll have other things to worry about at that point of my life. I recently met a women in her fifties that works out every day and told me that going through menopause has been a breeze since she is in such good health. Not sure if her fitness really did have anything to do with that but its something to think about.

Okay my mini challenges for the day...get my supplements down! I have Zumba this morning and the rest of the day to get started on planting and other stuff that I keep putting off...my life is a never ending to do list..!! Still doing the low carb thing, will make chicken soup today for family and I'll just have the broth.....also cooking up some cabbage with bacon....have to get my vegetables down somehow!!!!

Tuesday: 1695 calories, 20 minute walk, no supplements

Cramps kicked my a$$ all day yesterday - Advil didn't even help. Made it out for a 20-minute walk at lunch. Didn't get home until almost 7(soccer practice straight from work) and just wanted to lie on the couch. Felt sorry for myself and had some comfort stuff, like a glass of wine and a blueberry organic toaster pastry(which, face it, is a glorified pop-tart).

Debating between a jog and body sculpting class tonight. My weight has been the same since last Friday, so thinking the cardio might be better. TOM is not helping!!

Zumba, yay for your swoosh! Send some vibes my way!!

iaradajnos, hope the rest of your day went well.

Had a wee swoosh 3 lbs down!!! and this is eating more !!!!

I'm liking it !!!!

Yay to those swooshing!
Was able to get 30DS done yesterday and doing it again this morning when my daughter is done watching a movie - she was up at 5:30 a.m.! Was able to get lots of walking in yesterday. Have a great day!

Hello all....Sounds like everyone is doing well with their workouts.

Natamars: cut yourself a break girl....we have exhausting lives and there are nights we all want to just collapse on the couch and have an organic pop tart...I've been there trust me. Its hard to keep juggling it all, I for one feel very overwhelmed with all the things going on at kids school, etc.

I'm happy to say that I quit one of my jobs yesterday, it was a class that wasn't making me happy anymore because i worked for a dope....so now my wednesday mornings are FREE for ME to workout for ME. I plan on hitting those weights starting next week.

I'm losing weight (my appetite has diminished some bc of emotional stuff that I'm going through) but it doesn't seem like I've lost inches and it all looks kind of crappy...a big bag of cellulite..gotta tighten this junk which was part of this challenge for me.....7 more weeks until June 21....is that enough time to build muscle? I wonder.....atleast I'm getting smaller........

Have a great day everyone...it looks like another lovely spring day, except for the dang pollen which has turned my car and all my patio furniture yellow....

Thursday: 1315 calories, took supplements, jogged 3 miles

Felt great to run outside yesterday. I'm practicing HILLS - the 10K I'm doing in Sepetmber is very hilly and last week's race taught me a few lessons. Made it to the beach and back in about 34 minutes - had to incorporate some speedwalking up a big hall. My goal is to not stop jogging the whole time.

Still about the same on the scale - official weigh-in tomorrow. Day 3 of TOM, so hopefully some of this is gone soon. I really feel like I've been working hard since the day after Easter.

Zumba, yay for a morning to work on yourself! I also want to hit the weight machines - I do body sculpting classes but with lighter weights(3-7 lbs.) and I think I need a change. Hope it goes well for you. btw, we are once again within a few oz. of each other!

delta, great job w/ walking AND 30DS!

izza, 3 lbs? great whoosh! I hope these are catching!

Plan for today: calories under 1500, walk at lunch, Zumba tonight.

Thursday: 1215 calories, supplements, 20 min walk, 1 hr Zumba!

Only down .6 this week. Hoping some more will come off once TOM is totally over. I feel like I worked really hard this week. Average calories 1433, jogged three days, walking at lunch, etc. My tightest jeans went on this morning without my having to lie down or use a fork to zip them, so that must be progress, right?

HI all!!!

YES Natamars!!! That is definitely progress!!!! Sometimes the scale doesn't show us much but we see that clothes are fitting better or differently....losing inches is sometimes better than losing lbs on the scale...bottom line is how we look...when you walk into a store to try on clothes they dont ask what you weight, they ask what size are you?

I have a day "off" today and I couldn't be happier. Have to learn new zumba choreo but basically I am going to be tinkering around the house and trying to relax a bit, something that I don't do much of anymore. I may take out the Jillian 30DS to get some resistance work in since I feel too lazy to go into the gym. I also feel kind of weak, not getting enough calories in I think. It was hard teaching last night, I had no energy.

Well I am Happy you guys have been working out 'cause I am that exhausted heap on the Couch.

This week has been renamed "**** Week" Seminars, meetings, go,go go,!!!!!

Needless to say.... No workouts, definately did not drink enough water, and my calories were fine through the day but where late evening heavy... with taking cutomers out.

The scale looks good, but me ... somewhat deflated.

Here's to a new week!!!!

Izza I think we all have weeks that we are too busy to do what we need to do as far as taking care of ourselves...I know for me the only reason I zumba as much as I do is because it is my job...if it weren't Lord only knows if I would getting my workouts in. There are nights I literally drag myself into class because I am so tired from all the other demanding things going on in my life. Cut yourself a break and hopefully you'll have a better week next week with lesss meetings.....

I am NOT getting my water in and I haven't been taking my supplements so that is my mini challenge for next week.

Just a quick flyby - I have a retreat this weekend! Was able to get 30DS done today and hoping to get some hiking in if the weather permits. They also have someone leading a yoga class, so will probably try that out! Have a great weekend everyone!

I'm going to join in! You all are doing great :hug:
I want to be in onederland - that magical 199 is within my grasp, I have weighed in at 205 for a couple days:dancer: I will continue to drink 2 liters of water per day and stay on my healthy eating with a little cheating eating plan.

I have a goal to eat breakfast daily! This is hard for me to do but I do eat breakfast most days and today I had a large yellow apple and coffee with 2% milk. I also would like to add a cup or two of herbal tea at night. :coffee2:

Friday: 1790 calories, 20 min walk, no supplements

Hit horrible traffic coming home - took me 2 hours to drive 30 miles. The first 6 miles took an hour - ugh. So I was late to daycare, which is the worst feeling in the world. My son had a playdate, so I ran him over to the ballfield to meet his friend. Got home and downed a large glass of wine. DH and I had some alone time in the house - very rare! Then I just kept picking at stuff - picked at about 700 calories. Amazing how easy that is.

Debating if I'm going to run on the treadmill or outside - it's feeling humid and I can see that being an issue today. Gotta keep my calories lower today.

hydra, welcome! Once you get used to eating breakfast you won't want to do without it. I usually eat 4-5 small meals/day.

delta, have a great time at your retreat!

zumba, sorry you're feeling tired - maybe it's the lack of water? The other thing I'm noticing having a huge impact is my sleep. A few nights this week I slept 8 hours straight, and woke up on my own before my alarm. It felt WONDERFUL! I think when I wake up in the middle of a sleep cycle is when I drag.

izza, hope this week goes better for you - glad the scale was kind!

Great job everyone. I like folks writing their specifics. I have had a daily goal of 1500, 3 miles walk daily, and workout 4 times a week. In the past two weeks, I'm averaging 1550, 4 miles daily, and 4 workouts with 1.4 pounds lost. This week, I had a one, 2200 day, two 1700 days, one 1500, and three days 1200 to 1400 (average came to 1,600). I averaged 5 miles with 4 workouts. I weigh in tomorrow to see what's what. This week I also had a goal of controling and knowing how much caffeine I drink (diet mountain dew). I drank 32 oz on average which is actually way down from six months ago.

I'm continuing to look to lower caffeine and switch off this addictive mt. dew. My niece is visiting for a week and sleeps in my exercise space. I am figuring out how to get my workouts in and avoiding going over cals. Mostly planning on having my low cal days when she's away and higher with her around (still targeting 10,500 for week).

Hello to Hydra and welcome. Great to hear natamars running efforts; sounds cool. I wish I hadn't killed my knees jump roping too much or I'd get inspired and join. Zumba I like doing mini-challenges too (water's a big thing for me also). Delta you sound like an active-living person on the go a lot. Glad you got in a "flyby" here. "Hey" to everyone else.

Saturday: 1580 calories, no exercise, no supplements

You know it's going to be a lazy day when you put on pajamas at 4 o'clock! I was doing errands all day and when I got home I decided enough was enough.

iaradajnos, yay on the 1.4! Great job with your workouts!

I do my weigh in's on Sunday mornings and "wow, Nelly" I GAINED 2 pounds. I don't understand. I walked my butt off, did all my work outs, and averaged 1600 daily cals (one high, one 1700, two 1500, three below 1500). I had a high day yesterday but wasn't too worried since I'd really walked so many miles this week and saw that I'd end up averaging to lose. I can think that my TOM is soon but not so soon to allow a 2 pound gain. I'm not sure if yesterday was too much salt or something. I wasn't stressed out, either.

I decided to take all my measurements today, too. This will help me see if changes are occuring in one way that doesn't show up the other way.

I can't find my daily log from 2009 to see all the measurements, weight logs, and food log. I'll keep looking, though.

I'm looking to avoid a massive binge as a sign of "well, heck that's a bust". I'm eating a good dinner, then brushing my teeth (and going to bed early if I have to).

Hi everybody.

Well I am holding my own at this weight and finally notice my clothes fit a bit better....still have a ways to go. I didn't eat that well today..it was mini tournament at soccer and I was a the field for hours, had a slice of pizza. Had orzo with some lamb for dinner that my husband made...some miniature chocolates for dessert. Sundays tend to be my "cheat days" but I didn't go hog wild.

My plan for the week: I will continue my low carb lifestyle but adding some berries to the mix and finally some oat bran/oatmeal. I have a recipe for these oatmeal pancakes that another instructor gave me , she swears they fill her up so much for the rest of the day..and oat bran is good for us! I'll let you all know how that goes....

I will be adding some weight lifting wednesday and Friday this week.....

I'm so afraid of feeling comfortable to getting "cocky" ...as soon as I do that I gain all the weight back.....I'm always feeling like I"m one meal away from going back to my bloated higher weight.....

Let's have a great week everybody!

Sunday: 1260 calories, 3 mi jog

No supplements, not enough water, no fruit

Hit a new low on the scale for 2011 - 133.8. My body is fighting me so hard on this! Every .2 at this point is a cause for celebration.

Am starting to enjoy the jogging outside. I made it up the big hill near my house without stopping, although I was moving so slowly walking probably would have been faster.

zumba, I'm so with you on feeling like one off meal will send me over the edge. I feel like if I can get solidly under 130 I can stay there. Let me know how the weight-lifting goes.

iaradajnos, we all have weigh-ins like that that don't make sense. Obvioulsy you didn't eat 7000 calories over what you expended, so it should be gone next week, and hopefully bring some friends with it.

Nat:..Girl congrats on hitting that low number!!! I haven't been that small since last summer and that is only because my dad died and I wasn't eating.....anyhoo people dn't realize how hard it is when you get smaller to lose the last amount of weight....the body does indeed fight us to hold on to it all...but we need to go that final stretch to get the results that we can get and that we want!!!!!!!

Well I went up a bit thanks to that pizza yesterday....but I'm keeping it in check today........refuse to undo the little bit of good that I have worked so hard for...visiting my mom tomorrow which will be a challenge because she totally doesn't understand the low carb thing....She believes if you don't eat bread you can get sick...some old fashioned thinking from the old country when people didn't have much to eat. Seeing her always does a head job on me so I hope I can keep it together emotionally..........

Iradajanos: Nat is right, we all have weeks like that. I usually blame that kind of thing on my cycle and also on bloating which I have a problem with.

Lets all have a great week everybody!!!!

Hey there - was able to get 30DS done yesterday and today. I am getting a new Jillian DVD in the mail some time this week, so I can do that when my 30 days are done! The weather is beautiful here, so I am hoping to get out for a walk this evening...
Sounds like everyone has been keeping busy!

:carrot:Wooohoooo It's Monday and I got My workout in Kept my Calories on track, took my supplements and I worked in the Garden this evening.

I did good over the weekend too spent 3 hours in the Garden on Sunday.

Saturday I joined a little gym on a one month trial, I sometimes will miss work outs when Hubby is home cause ... well he's home ... and somethings a husband is just not supposed to see... LOL .. worth a try!!

Nat you are a machine, congrats on the .2 it all helps!!! I'm sure you do a bit of resistance training and you'll be at Goal.... ditto for you Zumba!!!

Welcome Hydra!!!!

Keep it up Delta Dawn.... your being consistant !!!!

iaradajnos: Try weighing yourself first thing in the morning it will be much more accurate.

Good Night Chickies I'm so happy this week is off to a good start !!!!

Monday: 1345 calories, 1 hr. body sculpt, supplements, fruit and veggies, water. No cardio.

Good day food-wise, but didn't get any walking in at lunch. Rain all week here - we're being punished for the gorgeous weather last week!

izza, great Monday! Hope your gym trial goes well. Take advantage of everything you can get there.

delta, you're doing great!

zumba, hope your visit to your mom goes well! ITU, my mom has some old-fashioned ideas, but then she'll watch Dr. Oz and call and tell me all the stuff I'm supposed to be doing that I'm not. And she's always trying to find out my weight, it's weird. Meanwhile my sister has gained a lot of weight again but she won't even try to talk to her because she doesn't want to upset her. Huh!

Too Funny Nat... My Mother in Law thinks my weight issues are hers and tells me what to do after she has gossiped about it to everyone.... Yet she has yet to notice I've lost 30 lbs Last week she told me I should go on weight watchers!!!

Hi everyone! Sounds like everyone is doing well! Getting to have company over tonight...need to go eat dinner soon.
30DS done for the day and a couple of walks in. The kids wanted some candy at the store, so, I had some with them...not so great on the watching the sugar thing lately...

Delta I had some miniature chocolates the other night even though I'm on a no sugar thing, just go back on the no sugar wagon......it tasted super sickenly sweet, I guess my taste buds are more sensitive to it now...

I gained around a pound back....not happy about that but I'm still down from where I was and just chugging along. Today is my day to do some kind of resistance trainiing...still not sure what i"m going to do ....