Tuesday: 1475 calories, 40 min elliptical
What made me proud: Going back out last night in 19 degree weather to go to the gym when I really wanted to curl up in bed with a book

Down .8 this morning - yay! Need to work on making some of my days on the lower calorie end - I see my last few are on my high end.

Jennifer, the spinach egg thing is so easy. It's an old South Beach recipe you can modify however you like. Start w/ a 10 oz box of chopped frozen spinach. Thaw in microwave. Squeeze out all the liquid until it's nice and dry. Add a 16 oz. carton of egg beaters/egg whites - I'm sure you can use real eggs too but I don't know the equivalent. Add some shredded cheese. I use 1 cup of mozzarella but any kind will work, and you can use less. I add some chopped red pepper and onion and some tabasco. Line a standard muffin tin w/ aluminum foil cucpake liners. Add mixture and bake at 350 for 25 min or so..I forget the exact time. So easy! I usually make a batch every week and have 2 for b'fast each day. I like them w/ veggie sausage, also makes a good sandwich on an english muffin. Mine work out to about 60 calories per, but it's very easy to calculate the calories for whatever you add.

vegan, a 1/2 lb a week sounds pretty good when it's consistent - wtg!

luv, yay on the 1.6!!

Thanks, Natamars! That recipe will be added to my Sunday cooking schedule! I eat a hard-boiled egg every morning and can use a little variety!

I'm down .5 today, which is the first scale movement in days, so I'll take it :)

Have a good day, everyone!

Start 166.2
Current 164.0
Goal <160

zumba I know your days are up and down. I'm hoping today is a good one for you.

natamars I'm glad to scale was down. Good job getting out there last night! I can't bring myself to go out and get the mail. Brrrrr.

luvCats glad the scale was down for you, too

veganGypsy how's you're treadmill area treating you? I tried to get to your blog but my net nanny blocked it! I need to whitelist you... Most blogs are blocked as a default.

jennifer and the scale was down for you, too. Hooray!

Here, the scale was down, too. I truly want to focus on getting out of the 160s. I feel like the only reason I'm at this weight is because I'm comfortable. Ugh, had to go to the pharmacy yesterday and Walmart today, and see all the candy on sale for Valentines Day. Junky candy is really my downfall. But as I walked past it today, I felt at peace, recognizing that I didn't want to let it distract me. Which is different than yesterday when was caught off guard by it all, and got sort of a panicky feeling.

I wish I could do all my shopping at Whole Foods where they just don't have the sort of candy display that gets my heart thumping. But there's no way I can afford that LOL.

Good food so far today. A papaya protein shake and Greek yogurt for breakfast, a salad and Portugese kale soup for lunch, a latte and nuts for snacks. Dinner will be a salad.

OK, by Valentines Day I am gonna increase my sprint intervals on the treadmill to run a half mile in 5 minutes. Currently my 6mph sprints are 90 seconds long. I sooo want to run 10 minute miles someday.

[B]Sum 38. Don't let the scale get you down. Your food choices sound so healthy I am sure you aren't adding fat to those damned adipose cells. Grilled shrimp sounds yummy.

june sounds like you have a plan. You can do it!

I just got done on the stairmaster. I tried every excuse to not do it. It's too late. I just ate. I don't want to leave the kids alone upstairs (??? They are 11&13 and I was in the basement. I leave them alone ALL THE TIME.) it's too close to my exercise tomorrow. Good golly, just do it, I said. So,I did. Go me! I really want to shed the next 4 pounds.

HELLO VALENTINE GIRLS>>>Let me try and catch up with all of you lovely ladies!!!

NEWLEAF: Good job on the stairmaster, that thing is a killer.

JUNEM: You can do it.

JENNIFER: a loss is a loss is a loss....way to go.

NATAMARS> those sound good....must try them. by the way I need to private message you...

VEGANGYPSY: Sounds like a nice set up...environment is so important...

LUVCATS: you are kicking butooski

Everybody else...keep it going....Valentines day will be here before we know it...I will start doing the day count down starting tomorrow.........

Seems like its an up down thing with me...lost it yesterday when i went to the salon to have my hair done..left my pecans in the car and i wound up eating soem apple pastries that they had out by the coffee machine..POOR PLANNING...so at that point it was a dud for the whole day...I had a few cookies last night, etc..bleh, how awful i feel now when I have sugar..it literally makes me feel sick. Today I did much better, kept busy cleaning the house and doing chores.....maybe had too many carbs at dinner but overall stuck to the plan....hope to put in a few more good days...have teh kids this weekend so I need to plan what they're eating as well as what I'm eating and go food shopping either tomorrow or friday....

hugs to all....keep up the good work.

Start 166.2
Current 162.9
Goal <160

I feel like I'm finally in a losing mindset again. Yay!

Wednesday: 1295 calories, no exercise
What made me proud: Played Monopoly with my family just feet away from the fridge and pantry and stuck w/ unsweetened tea

Was going to do teh treadmill at the gym last night but decided to spend some family time instead, my son had been asking for us to play a game together. Brought my workout clothes to work and going to Zumba class straight fom here.

Down another .2..I'll take it. Any movement down is welcome. Made my baked oatmeal last night so b'fast is set for the next week. Need to get more fruit in my diet..I did add a ton of blueberries to the oatmeal but would like to add some grapefruit and berries or melon each day.

Everyone here at work has the flu! The guy in the cube in front of me is the latest victim. People are mostly staying home but they may have been contagious before, right?

nice loss, newleaf!!

zumba, brave the cold and get the shopping done..you know the whole fail to plan plan to fail deal..it's hard with this freezing cold and the craziness of your schedule with the kids, but you will be so glad you did. Maybe look for some recipes that will warm you up - I'm planning to look at vegan's blog for some.

Jen, woo-hoo on the .5!!

vegan, just printed out your lentil stew recipe - looks great!! Planning to make it this weekend w/ some basmati rice. I also printed out the pineapple quinoa one - have you tried that?

where is that recipe?

NAT: Good for you for being able to play monopoly without hitting the snackies....

NEWLEAF: I don't want to jinx myself but i think i'm in the mindset also..yayyyyy

Okay so I have been thinking about our deadline alot.....I am visualizing myself in a dress that I have been wanting to buy from WHBM....i want to look slim in it,,trim...and be able to wear it without having to wear industrial strength spanx....

I'm going to visualize that the next time I want to shove food down my throat.

did really well today..I was out at lunch and needed to pick up something quickly. so i went into the chinese takeout store, asked for steamed chickean and veggies, sauce on the side no rice....it was tasteless..but I kept to the plan and i'm pretty proud of myself..just having some soup tonight and i'm done....took my raspberry ketones and my supplements....

Hi all!

I've been doing well, but today I have a "must eat everything in sight" mentality. Working on good choices, but I know portion control is an issue!

Zumba: glad today's been a good day! I'm going to have a major cleaning day this weekend.

New leaf: congrats on the loss and the mindset! WTG!

Nat: congrats on the scale going the right way! I love blueberries in my baked oatmeal! I have been tweaking my recipe.

Hope everyone has a great night!

Thursday: 1130 calories, 20 min stairclimbing, 50 min Zumba class
What made me proud: Went to the gym even though I got stuck in traffic and had to do a Superman-style change in my garage to make it to class on time

I recruited a new stair-climbing buddy at the office. We walked up and down 7 double flights of stairs three times.

Jennifer, you can do it! Come back and tell us about it tomorrow.

Zumba, great choice on the Chinese food - I always cave when we eat it and end up with noodles and dumplings. I printed out the lentil recipe, don't have the link..if you google vegan gypsy it's on her blog site. It looks great, and pretty easy!

Down 1 lb from yesterday, and under 145 - woo-hoo!!!! 5 lbs in 3 weeks to get to my challenge goal - tough, but potentially do-able.

Can I slip into your Valentine's day challenge a few days late? You are all doing soo well I thought I might be able to catch on to your motivation.:carrot:

So I'm going to
Drink more water
Do 30mins cardio a day
Start resistance training
Reintroduce myself to squats!!!

Hoping to be down 4lbs + for the Big Day!

Start 166.2
Current 162.5
Goal <160

I have to go to an Indian restaurant on Sunday. I love Indian food, but it always means a couple pounds of gain. Ugh. I'd put it off, but I have a groupon expiring for it that day. I paid $15 to receive a $50 meal.

zumba sorry to hear about the apple danish substitution... This goes back to an earlier rant of mine; why must places put these things out? Really, does anyone feel happy about it a few hours later?? I'm glad to read that Wednesday went better; hopefully Thursday did too, and you're prepared for your weekend with your kids.

Zumba Just read your next post. WTG on the boring tasteless Chinese food, LOL. I guess you do what you gotta do, right? I wont jinx things if you won't... I think visualizing is key. Every night I hope that the scale is down just a 1/10th the next morning, and I do try to visualize that number. And, I'm also visualizing (okay, this is a negative thing) how tight my new hiking pants are and that I want them to fit in March. I'm not visualizing me fitting in them. I'm visualizing how I looked under the bright light and glare of the dressing room 10 days ago.

Natamars I'm glad the scale is moving for you. Very sweet that you stopped everything to play a game with your son. I'm sure that meant a lot to him! My younger son was home sick all week (back to school today) and when I came back from running some errands on Wednesday, he had a board game all set up for us when I got back. How can you say no?? These sweet moments are what it's all about.

Natamars (again) That's great that you are climbing the stairs every day at work, and that you are inspiring others to do the same! Also, I love your "I'm proud of..." statements each day. I may need to steal that. Great on being down another pound!

Jennifer I have to be mindful of portion control, too. Since I don't count anything (ie, calories, points, exchanges, carbs, what have you), portion control is critical.

CurlyCarr Welcome!

I didn't get to they gym liked I hoped yesterday, and in fact I didn't do any exercise. My neck/shoulder area got a crick in it so I decided it was a sign to take it easy. Not sure yet how today will unfold. I probably won't make it to the gym, but I intend to force myself down to the basement if that's the case. I'm really not looking forward to the Indian food on Sunday, but I don't want to be a downer for my husband and sons. So I am trying to visualize just taking a tiny spoonful of each dish.

Hello, everyone! Can I jump in? I want to eat fewer carbs, much less sugar, keep up my water intake, up my veggie intake (especially leafy greens), lower my salt intake, and stick to 1200-1400 calories per day. I'd like to be near the 150lb range by Valentines day - I'd be happy with 150-152lbs, since today I weighed in at 159.

Good luck to us all!

Hi, all! I had a better eating day today. I didn't feel quite so ravenous all day, so I'm a little under calories to make up for yesterday! I bought a kettle bell set and DVD this evening, so DD and I are going to start this weekend. Wish me luck, I tend to hate most exercise ;)

Natamars:Congrats on the loss!

Newleaf: Indian sounds good, I'm sure you can make a healthyish choice. Enjoy your discount!! You are lucky to live in Pittsburgh where there are so many great restaurants!!

Curleycarr: Welcome!

Guacamole: Welcome!

Welcome to those who've just joined.

WTG everyone! We can do this!

I don't weigh again until next week so can't make those changes but eating has been good as has exercise. :)

Friday: 1660 calories, walked .75 miles, jogged 3 miles

Well, it was quite a day. I worked from home because the snow was on its way and I didn't want to have to rush to daycare in bad weather. I decided to go to the gym on my lunch hour. Did the treadmill and felt fine, then planned to do 10 min on the stairmaster as a coworker and I are doing stairs at work together and I couldn't be there. After a few minutes I was feeling really bad. Dizzy, sweaty, nauseous. I got off the machine and went to get stuff to wipe it down - I reached for the bottle and couldn't grab it...felt like I was going to faint. I was about to just lie down on the floor before I passed out. I made it over to the desk and they fed me water and OJ and gave my wet towels to cool me down. I've been in bed most of the day. Not sure what happened - I guess I pushed too hard. It was so scary. I have to be careful not to let this stop me but also to be more cautious.

See you all tomorrow.

Sw 166.2
Cw 162.5
Gw <160

TOM came last night, which goes a long way in explaining the last couple of days! I was down .3 lbs. this am and am hoping a couple more drop off over the next few days if I'm retaining water. I really, really want to be in the 180s by Valentines Day, but I'm afraid from 196.2 to 189 in less than 3 weeks may not be realistic. Maybe if there's some TOM weight in there it may happen. Keeping fingers crossed!!

Hi everybody.computer not working so I can't type out all that I want to...know that I'm reading everyone's posts.

Had our Indian dinner tonight, plus drinks with my husband. Hoping the scale will be below 165 tomorrow AM. Was 162.5 this AM. Did get in 35 min on stairmaster, so fingers crossed.

Sw 166.2
Cw 164.3 (as expected - Indian restaurant)
Gw <160

Saturday: 1240 calories, 30 min elliptical
What made me proud: Went back to the gym after my episode there on Friday

Pretty good day. Ran around with the family and didn't snack as we did errands. Also got to watch my son play the most awesome basketball game..his team won in a shootout after going into OT..which totally took my mind off my problems.

Weight was up after yesterday, which I figured..didn't think I was down 1.4 in one day. But I'm still down for the week so I'm happy.

newleaf, did you enjoy the Indian food? It's one of my favorites but I don't eat it much - I always get a healthy entrée like chana masala, but ruin it with naan and fried apps.

zumba, hope your PC is up and running soon! I just recently got data on my phone but I still hate using it to type anything.

Jennifer, my goal is a stretch too, so we'll both see what happens. It sounds like you're doing great, so no matter where your actual weight ends up you'll have made great progress during this challenge.

HELLO MY LOVELIES! I finally got computer issue fixed....typing on an Ipad just doesn't cut it for me.....now I get to catch up with you ladies .....

NATAMARS: What the hay???!! Were you hydrated at the gym? That is some scary stuff, especially because you can hit your head on the way down..I hope staff took good care of you. That only happened to me once, I didn't go down completely but I lost balance and had to hold on to a machine so that I didn't go down, I contributed it to blood pressure issues....please be careful and know that it happens often ....this is why it is so important for instructors and gym staff to know what to do in case a member hits the floor!!

NEWLEAF: my family loves Indian food..I find if it is a buffet then its a free for all...but if I can order chicken tiki or something I'm okay except for all the nan bread. Still, Indian food for the most part is healthy..don't stress it...we still have to live a little on this path we are taking!

JENNIFER: PMS is such a drag now that i'm older.....I can eat a side of beef..and I bloat like you wouldn't believe....cranky and irritable....hormones are really the root of all evil...hope you're feeling better...

GUAC: good to see you here...hope people aren't annoyed that I started another thread for check ins...but Valentines day has always been a big deal for me and sometimes if we have a "deadline" we get the lead out faster....

Hope everyone is doing fine !!!!

Hi everyone, so happy to have the computer issues under control here....anyway I put in a few decent days. Someone correct me if I"m wrong but we have 18 MORE DAYS UNTIL VALENTINES DAY.....lets see how much we can get accomplished in 18 days....

I am not keeping up with the challenge like I would have liked. Not getting that water in ..booo......and not working out at home like I said I was...boooooo...on a happier note I have been keeping away from bad carbs, sticking to my plan the best that I can and so far so good. Another week or so of this and then I'll start having some berries, and introducing good carbs to the mix.

I changed my ticker to make my goal weight my valentines challenge goal weight, if I visualize that goal being attainable maybe i'll actually get there......

I had a credit from Bebe (long story) so I did a little online shopping last night....ordered a few tops...I hope I don't look like a total fool trying to pull that off becasue as you know that store isn't really for the forty and over set......still, I had to use that credit that I had. Looking at those skin tight dresses was kind of depressing......my thunder thighs aren't getting into a dress like that ever.....

But enough self loathing, time to get some stuff done today...and plan what i'm making for dinner...

have a great sunday everybody!!

Well, yes, the Indian food was good. Chana masala, chicken tikka masala, some lamb curry dish, naan, soup. I had a groupon and the whole meal for the family of 4 was $30. Totally worth it! The problem we have nowadays is that my boys eat as adults; without the groupon it would have been $70 before tip. We don't go out to eat much at sit-down restaurants as a result. Just so expensive! I felt like I ate well, enjoyed everything, and stopped before going overboard. So, despite the scale being up (which I knew to expect), it was a win.

Natamars totally scary at the gym. I find that the stairmaster requires much more exertion that all the other machines for me, and now I only use it if I'm wearing a heart monitor or doing a program that I've already worn the heart monitor for before and know its okay. I find that works well for me; when my heart rate hits my personal max limit (165), I drop down the intensity level until it gets back down to 135. Then I notch it back up again. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Zumba I hear you re: iPad typing! So much easier at the computer...

I have discovered a new supplement called ephedra, reduces hunger pangs and it increases metabolic rate . It has helped me shed off 10 lbs in a week and I will stick to it come valentine

Zumbachica - Thanks for starting this thread! I actually am finding the main thread to be overwhelming - not that this is a bad thing - but there are so many posts that it's hard to keep up sometimes! I also have a hard time finding my last post, to remember where I left off and update. This thread is much more manageable and goal specific, so thanks!

Valentines Day does not mean as much to me now as it used to when I was young and single - is that weird? I guess I used to anticipate and hope for a guy to be my Valentine - most of the time I was disappointed and was home alone! :) Now that I am married, my husband and I don't even celebrate the day, except to wish each other a happy valentine's day. Gotta love us old married people....

Onto my progress update - I am down 2 lbs today to 157. I still hate that number, but it does tell me that either due to flying or salty food or both, at least some of the weight I saw on Friday was water. I ate badly yesterday, as my family went out for pizza and ice cream and I did not hold back. That makes me more pleasantly surprised by the 2 lb loss. I actually asked my husband to help me get back on track with my diet by not tempting me and taking me out to restaurants for awhile. He has been buying me candy and chocolate, and I have been eating it! I need to take the reigns back and just say no! These winter blues and hormones aren't helping either. TOM is now behind me, and I need to use the next 2 weeks before PMS hits to really make some progress.

Starting weight
1/25/13 - 159

Current weight
1/27/13 - 157

Goal weight
2/14/13 - 150

I'm with you, Guacamole, the regular thread is daunting. I cannot keep track of that much info!

Zumba, good job keeping away from bad carbs (my weakness). I do all this typing on the iPad, which is a pain, but much more convenient than my laptop. I hope you all excuse my many typos due to it ;)

Natamars, scary experience at the gym! Kudos for getting right back in that horse! Keep hydrated, it may help. And hopefully we can both reach our goal by the 14th :)

Newleaf, yum! Now I want naan! DH and I are going to go away the weekend after V Day, so maybe we'll get Indian.

Scale stayed exactly the same today, which is probably pretty good since TOM. I still haven't opened the kettle bells I bought Friday! I need to learn to like working out :). Or at least not dread it ;)

Sunday: 1365 calories, 30 min light weights and resistance training

What made me proud: Went to a bowling party with my son where pizza and ice cream cake were served and only drank water

I HATE Sunday nights. End of the weekend is so depressing.

I'm finding it easier to deal with temptation. Think it's because I'm getting results on the scale. It's so much harder when the scale's not moving. But I know I'll hit another plateau soon. I am getting used to fewer calories, though.

Jennifer, getting through TOM without a gain is great - hope you see a big drop when it's gone!!

guac, I bet you're still seeing a higher number due to water retention - it takes a while to lose that.

newleaf, sounds like you did great with your dinner out.

zumba, celebrate what you've done right and don't beat yourself up over what you could have done better. 18 more days is a lot of time for us to kick some more butt!!

I bought all the ingredients to make the red lentil stew but am being lazy, watching a movie with my family. Will make it tomorrow. I did make a big salad and my spinach and egg whites for the week, and turkey bacon.

See you all tomorrow.

Movie with the family trumps making soup (probably by yourself), natamars.

Did the elliptical today and have eaten as I should even with DH home. :)

Sw 166.2
Cw 163.9
Gw <160

Quick check in. Weighed 155 this morning. Water weight is coming off and soon I will see the real damage. I am having a terrible time with sugar cravings. I got addicted again with my latest binge streak. Going to try to hold strong today!

Starting weight
1/25/13 - 159

Current weight
1/28/13 - 155

Goal weight
2/14/13 - 150

Guac. Here is a thought that may help you. When you feel like you absolutely need sweetness slowly eat a serving of fresh fruit. Take time to savor the naturally sweet flavor. Remind yourself that this is the level of sweet that we humans are meant to eat. The super sweet processed food and refined sugar has a similar relationship to natural sweetness that crack cocaine has to a good strong cup of tea. We seek sugar out of animal instincts but our modern world has given us a toxic, addictive environment. I find it useful to remain mindful of this, but still savor the less intense, naturally sweet things.It is necessary to dial back our threshhold of what tastes good to us and what tastes too sickly sweet. Hope this helps a little.

I'm down almost 2lbs this week! I'm sure some of it is TOM weight leaving, but I'll take it! I'm at 194.4, so only 5.4 lbs to be in 180s by Valentine's Day! im feeling pretty optimistic this morning! i know if I increased my exercise it would even be better.

Hope everyone has a fantastic, healthy week!!