hi, all, no time for personals this morning, but I have really loved how active this chat is and love coming here to read your posts!

My big whine of the day is that counting every single calorie is HARD. So I've got to figure out a way to stream-line this. I don't have time to spend 45 minutes on making and calculating my lunch cals!

I feel like such a chunk this morning. Last night was my dad's birthday and I drank champagne and had cake.

Today will be day 1 without wine. I will not have wine Monday through Thursday. And possibly beyond that, actually, because I am planning on traveling to visit a friend who lives 2 1/2 hours away on Friday and staying a few nights, and she and her husband don't drink much, if at all.

Oh! I discovered a nice substitute for wine, too! Someone else here mentioned putting seltzer water in a wine glass. I did that, but I also added about 1 oz (50 calories) of pomegranate juice! It has a very tangy almost wine-like taste, with about 1/3 of the calories and no alcohol! That's what I'm planning on using this week as substitute! :)

So today is my wake up call. After 4 days of wild abandon, I'm up 6 pounds. Really?!? Seeing the big fat round 170.0 was surprising, an a wake up call. Either I'm done, ready to throw in the towel and my lost 40 pounds, or I'm not.

Of course, I'm not done, and I'm not throwing in the towel, ever. Head --> back in the game.

Ugh.

(( Newleaf)) I am right with you on this one! We can do it. My big reality check was 160.... Today marks day one on South Beach Diet. I had tons of luck with it before.

11 days till my trip home, how many pounds can I shed in 11 days? :rofl:

Hi ladies.

I see some of us stopping to regroup. It is important that we do that when we see what we are doing isn't working.

I'm definitely PMS so I wonder if getting on the scale is a fruitless effort. I will do it anyway but doubt that scale will move unless I am really strict with my eating.

Going to do my Butt Lift DVD now, then I teach two classes...no wonder I'm exhausted by late afternoon.

SUM, you could definitely have results in 11 days with SBD, if anything you'll lose bloat and feel more comfortable in your clothes. SBD never worked for me, there's not enough fat to keep me satiated. But I know people who have done really well on it. I even have the books, then again I have books for every diet...its insane!!

I had better get started on this day NOW!

Kelijpa- It's possible I'm deficient somewhere, but I recently upped my minerals, including cal/mag. It's frustrating but I think it really comes down to me, and my willpower to resist eating the house because of a craving. It's not hunger. Thanks for the suggestion, though! Tomorrow, I get my B12.

Today I start fresh. Again. I started fresh yesterday too, before eating potato chips. They're gone now. Each day is a chance to have a fresh start. I have to go to work so that offers a good calorie burn and a high step count. Then I plan on going to Tae Kwon Do tonight.

twinieten It is a new day :sunny:

Zumba What videos do you do?

I always have trouble sleeping on Sunday night. Up at 3am again. Turned on the hall light so as to not wake up TH. There, illuminated on the floor was Bathroom Scale....slim, smart, silent.....so close to death.....

I think I am at opposite ends from many of you. I need the daily data from the scale, and I have some mastery over diet. It's the exercise regimen that is slow to come for me, yet you have mastery and also enjoyment in that area. I should spend my weekends planning out a workable exercise program, but again I fell short this weekend. I do enjoy the silliness of my hula hoop--and it provides a good workout--hopefully; as I get better at it, I will naturally spend more time with it. I will force my brain to imagine muscles, tone and fitness...and sleeveless dresses in summer. I will imagine effortlessly running for miles. Brain first, body next. (Although when I imagine these things, the weather is warmer!)

Thanks to the Girl Scout warnings, I now have an unreasonable fear of little girls. And their evil cookies.

Happy Monday Everyone! Today is a new day, and the beginning of a new week. I'm ready to re-commit today, after a so-so weekend.

NewLeaf - I am right there with you. No matter what I do lately, that big ole 170 is staring at me on the scale every morning. Before the holidays, I was down to an all-time low of 158. But Thanksgiving and Christmas came along, and I really just was only trying half-heartedly, and sometimes not at all. It's so frustrating to think about losing those same pounds again, when they were so hard to get off the first time! I could just cry....that makes it hard to face this with a positive attitude, but I'm going to try.

Olehcat - I am happy to report that I had NO wine this weekend, even though that little voice kept suggesting I have just a glass or two "since it was Saturday night". I really like your idea of seltzer water with pomegranate juice - I'm going to try that - so thank you!

Exercise was not great this weekend. My right hip has been hurting, and I'm wondering if it's from the squats I've been doing, or walking on the treadmill at the highest incline. I only notice the pain when I sit on the couch in the evenings. it just aches, and makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong, workout-wise. But I don't want to stop. Today I'm going to try to find time to look for a youtube video that demonstrates form for squats. I always feel them in the front of my thighs, instead of my glutes, so maybe I'm doing them wrong?

SeeMyFeet - I am not a fan of exercise either. Comes from a hateful, sadistic PE teacher I had in high school. Funny (no - sadly) how something like that can still have an affect on me 30 years later :( Somedays I imagine finding him on FB and telling him the lifetime effect his cruel remarks in class had on me for the rest of my life - but that's just my fantasy!

Somewhere on this site I saw a suggestion of sending yourself reminders on your phone to eat right, not snack and exercise. Today I'm going to set that up on my iphone. I'm thinking one for mid-afternoon - reminding me to get on the treadmill before the kids get home from school; one right before dinner to remind me that it's ok to be hungry, and to wait for the evening meal; and one in the evening to remind me not to snack. I figure it can't hurt - maybe I'll even listen to myself!

Have a great day, everyone!

Hello, ladies! Love reading your posts. Newleaf's line about eating with wild abandon - point the spotlight on me too! Since last Thursday I have been on a sugar and carb binge. It's unbelievable how I sabotage myself. My dress for the wedding wasn't ready, so I didn't have the fitting last week. I am supposed to go in tomorrow. I am not looking forward to it. Ugh. I need to work out my emotional issues if I ever want my weight to go down lower. It's like I can't allow myself to be successful and happy. Maybe I am only happy when I have something to complain about or let myself down yet again.
I have a dinner to go to tonight - not sure what to wear as I feel so large and uncomfortable right now. Trying to save up calories for tonight - so far I've had coffee, yogurt, and kashi cereal. It's tiding me over for now....I just hope I don't cave in before tonight. I almost had a handful of Rolos earlier - luckily I diverted myself in time.

Good luck today! :hug:

SeeMyFeet I was up with you!! 3:15. My TH had to get up at 6 and I tiptoed downstairs hoping that he would not wake up; he did not :) You and I will be asleep by 8 pm tonight :hug:

Linda Do you ever see a chiropractor? I hope your hip feels better soon!

Guacamole Have fun tonight! I bet you'll look beautiful!

Guac, I can totally relate to you. I've been wondering if this isn't another fruitless effort to lose weight again, when I know in my heart I haven't dealt with all the emotional reasons for my eating. Then I wonder if I'll be strong enough to face them once I've lost a bit of this weight. I know I've got to change more than just what I'm eating if I want any loss to be permanent. Good luck to us both!

Thanks for the cookie reminder. Right on it's heels was the message from our troop leader that cookies will be in on the 28th.

I look at the calendar and realize there are junk buying/eating opportunities all year, one right after the other, with a short reprieve at the end of summer
Jan: Girl Scout Cookies
Feb: Valentines Day
Mar: Marti Gras, St. Patricks Day
April: Easter
May: Mother's Day
June: Father's Day
July: Independance Day
August:?
September: ?
October: Halloween
Nov/Dec: Christmas
Anytime: Birthdays, anniversaries, showers (baby, bride), and other celebrations.

In order to adjust my thinking, I have to remember that if I pass up any particular candy/cake/cookie/sweet, that there is another one coming just around the corner.

Anyway, weigh in today: down 1 pound. Not spectacular, but I'll take it.

Moondance September; Labor Day

MOONDANCE: Thanks for writing that out....it really proves that there is always a reason to go hog wild. September usually includes Labor Day which is a big barbeque party weekend.

GUAC: Good luck with your fitting. I totally get the whole emotional eating thing....in fact I was considering going to OA meetings to sort things out but I just don't have the time. Until we figure out what is eating us we'll keep eating...its so hard to get a handle on it.

LINDAWW. Just keep telling yourself that you will be getting those same pesky lbs off and MORE......and this t ime you'll be saying goodbye to them for good.

SEEMYFEET: I weigh myself every morning....very rarely do I not weigh myself.

SUM: I have a ton of videos but right now my favorite is brazilian butt lift, I just have a problem staying consistent on it.

Hi all, I put in a pretty good day today eating wise. I am going to have an atkins shake for lunch every day....it really curbed my hunger today. I wasn't my usual ravenous self. I also served dinner early, cleaned the kitchen and am "done". I don't want to eat anything else tonight. If I"m dying of hunger I'll have an atkins bar. I'm pretty proud of myself...just wish aunt flow would arrive soon so that I could be rid of this bloat. I don't like taking diurex pills, but if I'm this uncomfortable tomorrow I will..my boobs are killing me!

Someone mentioned visualization of how they will look or wear thinner..I keep imagining a color block dress I saw in WHBM catalogue...form fitting, not the kind of thing you wear when you have thighs like mine....I am going to buy that dress dang nabbit and rock it out!!!

Hi WeightLoser - I would suggest posting this in the Weight Loss Support forum. Seems like lots of people read and respond there. I don't have any suggestions for books, sorry. Others here may be able to help you out, though.

Today was a good day for me! I stuck to my meals, did an hour on the treadmill, and had no snacks between meals, and most importantly, I didn't even want to graze during that hour before dinner when I usually seem to want to eat everything in sight! I don't know what was different. Yesterday I was hungry all day. Actual growling stomach and all. Today, I felt munchy a couple times, but never actual hunger. And I had the same breakfast and lunch both days. I just don't understand how my body works, I guess. If I can be motivated like this the rest of the week, I'll surely see a drop in my weight by the end of the week when TOM is over.

I need to remember how good it feels to have a successful day - and how lousy it feels when I mess up.