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!