Magicsusan, i totally love your approach..having a life will keep you from eating..maybe thats my problem..i don't have enough interesting things going on in my life....i spend a lot more time alone now....I was thinking about taking the test to become a teacher's aid...I think i need something other than zumba to make me happy at this point in my life...plus i love working out for ME for a change.....

It is getting nippy here too..really feels like fall now..all we need are all the leaves to turn and fall from the trees. I didm' tget to enjoy my pool this past summer at all, it didn't get hot enough to heat up my unheated pool...but it was pleasant..can't complain about it....

I had chinese tonight, some steamed chicken and broccoli (bleu) so I'm sure i'll be extra bloated tomorrow....i'm under a lot of stress right now because of a new class that i'm teaching tomorrow morning, i should be rehearsing well into the night...can't wait for it to be over.

Hi cactus, i've heard of the 17 day diet before, i think i know someone on it and they did really well with it.

I'd like to join also. My goals will be to not have afterwork drinks with my husband, stick to South Beach this time and work out every morning before work. Off to Mexico Oct 18 so the 15th works for me.

I love reading everyone's stories and seeing the support.

Good luck everyone

Friday weigh in 155 lbs
Goal 140 lbs
Ultimate goal 130 lbs

Hi wantochange!!!! vacation is a GREAT incentive!!!! we have the same goal of 140....:)

Okay, ice cream with dark chocolate syrup has been my downfall now for over a week..I have also given up cheese. I have gained four pounds and looking back on the past week i can't understand how or why....its a huge mystery to me..all that working out..maybe my muscles are just holding on to water....how I hope that is true!!

I had a rough week and went off plan. I'm on Optifast and I think I have been exercising too much for the 800 calorie a day diet. I have been SO hungry at bedtime. My cheats have been healthy choices, but I am still afraid to weigh myself until I'm back on plan for a few days. Besides, TOM is coming in the next few days, so better to wait until that passes, I think.

I hope everyone has a good week!

Checking in, 225 this am, 225.6 tonight, hoping that means I am below 223 in am.

Totally busy week last week. Hoping things are a bit more mellow this week.
I felt really horrible for 3 days, part of the week-end. And I am positive it is because I am putting crap in my body. I am doing a 3 day "cleanse", I am sure it will restore me as long as I stick to it. I am thinking that I might just eat some of the vegetables instead of mixing them up in a blender. What's the difference really? Well, we'll se how it goes.
Magicsusan, I know exactly what you mean about thinking back to school will give us tons of free time. I actually feel like I have less. :dizzy:
Zumba, I think you are right about your work outs causing the gain. It will probably whoosh right out.
Twish, an 800 cal diet seems really low...
Cactus, thanks for the info on the 17 day diet. I'm not exactly sure what my approach is going to be, but it will be low carb. Southbeach worked really well for me once..
Wantochange, sounds like you have some good ideas and great motivation! Can I come with you to Mexico?

223.2 this am,

My first post! I cannot stand myself anymore. I am overweight and getting bigger! Today I ate a whole pizza for lunch, then a candy bar! I do childcare and it was a very frustrating morning! I need to lose weight and get my 9 year old eating healthy! This is my first step! Any ideas? She is also very overweight :( Help!!

So who GAINS weight on a liquid detox diet? ME! I was up one pound this morning after torturing myself by drinking some pretty icky "smoothie" gunk all day yesterday. well, I am half way through now so I'll stick it out. I am peeing a lot more than usual so something IS going on. I have a headache, probably from caffeine withdrawal and I'm tired. Wah wah wah.:cry:

Upliftme!! Whoa! I guess my best advice to you is to come up with a plan. It could start out really simple, like no more pizza, and go for a walk with your daughter every evening. Try eating whole foods rather than processed stuff. But yea, plan, and write it down!

Back to my full work out schedule, keeping away from the ice cream (finally). Not making much progress..waiting for that woosh....Two day workshop in the city this weekend , i need to make sure i'm not tempted to eat too much, there is food everywhere in Manhattan! My mini goal today is to get a lot of water down!

Apple Blossom: you probably just didn't show the loss yet from the liquid diet...I can't imagine that you would gain weight from it, something else must be going on...keep on keeping on and let us know how it turns out in the end. I hate the word "detox"..to me that usually means some kind of torture.

UPLIFTME I know all too well what it is like to turn to food for comfort. :( You need to make baby steps....as far as your daughter goes you need to be an example for her first and foremost. I was always really careful about what I brought into the house for my kids...treats are okay but you have to eat healthy first....vegetables and salad with dinner....and i like blossom's idea about taking a walk together.

Carma Good to see you girlfriend!:hug:

Twish your body knows you have this huge calorie deficit and it is making you hungry. No doubt....You need to adjust your fitness to your activity, otherwise you are just going to feel hungry and miserable. It can just be a temporary situation. There are actually diets where people are told NOT to exercise at first , especially cardio.

Well this was a bad week but at least I didn't gain. Friday weigh in was 155.

2 separate celebrations; 3 days of workouts and then an injury (leg is better now so back to exercise tomorrow); and now a cold (thankfully it's almost gone).

So unfortunately I did have drinks with my husband almost everyday and no work outs in the mornings.

Sounds like some of you are having struggles these days. I hope that things go better for you this week.

Good luck everyone.

I know how you feel, wanttochange. Kids and spouse are on holiday and the odd disruption to routine is kind of messing me up. My determination to finally make some progress (haven't made any in months) has once again crumbled into determination not to backslide and I'm getting really frustrated.

Hope your injury continues to get better.

So I ended up losing about 4 pounds on the detox, but then went crazy over the week-end and now I think I'm down about a pound. :shrug:
I might replace a meal or 2 this week with some kind of juice or smoothie, but my half-marathon is on Sunday and I don't want to go too crazy and deplete my energy. I plan on one more long run on Wed and maybe only one more short run on Fri. I'm a little nervous because I don't think my "training" went all that well. On the other hand, I've done it before so I know I can finish. It's just a question of how fast.
Hope everyone made it through the week end better than I did. Lets buckle down this week! Make it a good one!

I got a huge wake up call when I stepped on the scale this morning. 183 - up 23 lbs from my original 60+ loss three years ago. I am so sick of myself right now.
I tell myself "I have to lose these 15 - 20lbs" before I gain it all back. I have been telling myself that for two years and the scale keeps going up and up. I am on track for a day or two and then something happens it I screw everything back up. I keep telling myself, I am going to start exercising next week and next week comes and I don't get it done.
I am in pre-menopause and I hate myself and my life and everything around me. I know it is all hormonal but I still feel what I feel.
Ugh, I need to get this together. For myself and my sanity, I need to lose this weight and I must start exercising again. No more hiding, no more broken promises to myself. I have come back out in the open here and I will make this happen. I can lose 5 lbs, that is what I keep telling myself. I can lose 5lbs, I just have to do that 4 or five times.
Time to get moving.

I lost it food wise last night, ate too much at dinner and then kept snacking so my calories were around 1700 and I need to try to keep them between 1300-1400.
I felt better this morning when I woke up, not so tired. I did get up and exercise this morning. I walked on the treadmill for about 20 minutes and then did a little weight lifting. It will take time to rebuild my stamina but still feel good that I got up one day and exercised.

Hey NEMom! I share a similar theory, 5 pounds is doable! And it looks like you are off to a good start with the exercise. You can do it!
So today is the first of the month, always a good time to review your progress and goals. I am thinking that if I lose 8 pounds in Oct and 5 more in Nov that will put me at 160 for my birthday. (late Nov) That would be so wonderful. I am starting south beach next week and until then i will make good choices. I am about to head out for my last long run before the half-marathon on Sunday but I am procrastinating because it is windy and I hate running in the wind. :(
Have a good day everyone!

Apple Blossom - Sounds like a good plan. I don't run and am envious that you do. Good luck on your half marathon Sunday. Hope you have good weather.

Food was better yesterday. I did get up and get a little exercise in this morning about 20 minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes with leg weights. I was down a whole pound this morning to 182. Probably water weight and it is still a real scary number for me to see.

Hope all is well. Can't believe its October already.

My food was good yesterday. Kept the calories within my calorie limit. HOWEVER, I had a few too many drinks last nice, hence, I did not make it up early this morning to exercise and while not hung over, I am very tired and dragging this morning.
Today will be challenging - I have a work lunch today and then I am going out to dinner with my mom tonight. Have to make good choices but not sure I will be able to stay with in calorie range. Will do my best though.
Hope all is going well for you ladies.

Considering I ate out twice yesterday food was not too bad. I had a terrible, rotten, very bad day yesterday at work so I did not sleep well last night, my mind kept spinning. Needless to say, I did not even hear my alarm this morning to get up to exercise so that didn't happen. I have to work late again tonight, third time this week, so I wont get it in tonight. Maybe I can get some done this weekend. We will see. Happy weekend all.

Hello all., i've been away for a while. Life just catches up with me....

It has gotten colder here and I already feel like hibernating..no desire to take a walk....not a good sign.....not making progress AT ALL if anything I have gained the past few weeks. That 5:2 diet is a hard one for me to follow....not conducive to my lifestyle at all. I know it is working wonders for many people. I have decided to go back to low carbing. starting tomorrow...turning a new leaf..AGAIN....

on another note I have decided that going out while trying to lose weight is not possible. It totally takes me away from my focus. I can't eat out and lose...even if i'm ordering salad..it never winds up that way. Have given up alcohol for time being also.....

Doesn't look like i'll be at goal by october 16 but I do hope to be smaller by Halloween...

NEMom, nice you see you.....hang in there girl. we got this.

155 again! At least it's not going up. I have to work harder this week but I'm like the rest of you, it's hard and I get lazy.

I need to change my life style but it's difficult to always choose the right thing.

Good luck everyone

Hi everyone,
I haven't posted here since...February 2014 I think...well, I am unfortunately 154 pounds today. I had a bad winter/summer...knee and neck injuries, lots of relationship problems leading to zero motivation to do anything for myself.

But things are better, my body seems to be healed more or less, I love my bf, he loves me...I am restarting my 5:2 diet plan tomorrow with daily exercise and yoga.

I'm a little late for this challenge, but I'm hoping to lose 5 pounds by October 15th. I'm inspired and motivated now.

Good luck to all!

Hi all..I realized today that it is so hard for me to focus on my weight loss with all the other "stuff" going on in my life. Problems with Ex...financial worries..and today my son is home sick from school. I laugh when I think , oh yeah, let me go run on the treadmill now and cook a healthy meal...puhleaze....but this is life, and there's always going to be "something" to set us off....my son is asking for chinese food and i'm thinking NOT A GOOD IDEA....i don't even know what a good low carb choice would be...obviously not rice or noodles....

Chardonnay, we are about the same weight....we can do this....Life handed you some bad cards...but here you are again!! :)

Rough weekend. Work stress really got to me at the end of the week but I did make some decisions that should help make work a bit easier in the future.
I had dreams all weekend of mixing up a batch of instant brownie mix and eating the batter, I resisted that but yesterday my husband brought home some amazing cookies that I couldn't resist, had four. Ugh.
I did get up to exercise this morning the bad is I accidentally woke my daughter up in the process so we ended up talking more than I ended up exercising but I tried.
Hang in there Zumba, things will even out.

my SIL and I have challenged each other to lose 8 pounds by my birthday, which is late November. So now I have a little more on the line. I hope it makes a difference.
I have not been "dieting" for a week or so with the half marathon coming up, I thought I should stay fueled for that. The race went pretty well. Slower than my last one. I kind of bonked right around mile 9 after running through a sunny section as it was starting to get pretty hot. Definitely dehydrated towards the end and had to walk a bit. But I finished! And as usual, I am inspired by my sub-par performance to do it again! But probably not until next year. Today I am just kicking back, I'll start up with my SIL challenge tomorrow!
Zumba, where can I find 5:2 success stories? Is there a thread on 3FC?

Here I am again! :) Yes, we certainly can do it, and like you said, there will ALWAYS be things in life that come up and stall us, or try to pull us away from our focus...I'm trying to think of this as a wonderful challenge instead of a difficult and scary possible failure. I think, at least for me, it's a mind game.

Today I had all intentions to exercise, then on my way out the door, I banged my head really hard on the top of a shelf, I've been on the couch with an ice pack on my head ever since. Exercise? Not today. What a "day 1" for me lol...but at least the nausea is keeping me on track with my calories, ha ha, I guess that's a success!

Hi NEmom, my bf brought home a box of 90 chocolate bars, you know, the Halloweenie ones...gosh those little kitkats are hard to resist...I've been good so far, but I asked him to either hide them in his office or don't bring any of that into the house, at least for another few weeks until I get my self-control going!

Apple Blossom: I'm restarting the 5:2 today, it worked quite well for me last winter and I ended up not only losing some weight, but also it shrunk my appetite on the non-diet days. I haven't found any links to that specific diet, but I do remember posting on the "Intermittent Fasting Support Thread". Are you starting that diet?

Yes Chardonnay, I am thinking of doing the 5:2. But right now my DH is out of town which makes it a lot easier to do SouthBeach phase one, so I'll be on that for 2 weeks and then I will switch over. Except I haven't started yet. Dealing with PMS where I always go through a couple of days where I need to eat everything in the house. ;) And recovering from my race so not much exercise yesterday or today. Looking forward to moving forward tomorrow!
48 days to lose 8 pounds!

Hi Apple Blossom, btw congrats on your race. I haven't the knees for it anymore, but I respect so much those who can take on such a challenge! Yes, the PMS eating...thankfully I'm on the pill and I only stop every 3 months for the TOM. My PMS weakness is mashed taters...there is no logic and there is no stopping me lol...but at least it's only every 3 months now! The 5:2 is wonderful. Once you get over the initial first few fast days, it's a breeze. You can eat enough to keep full on 500 calories, though my fast days are currently about 600.

chardonnay...i have been dabbling with the 5:2...at first it worked but then i stalled, and then i gave up and put the weight back on :( So here I am again..going to do low carb along with 5:2....but 500 calories is out of the question with the way that i work out..so i'm going to let myself have 600-700....
oh and YIKES about your HEAD ...you poor thing, i hope it didn't leave a big bump...you are excused from exercising, thats a pretty good reason NOT to.

APPLE yes you can lose 8 lbs by that date! there is a 5:2 thread somewhere on this forum..but a really good one is on Facebook..there are people losing weight in leaps and bounds on there doing 5:2. I personally find it really hard because eating with me isn't about hunger, its more about emotions .....but I feel like its working for people so there is certainly something to it..as crazy as it sounds at first...:p

NE MOM...dreaming about brownie batter...now that would be a first for me...LOL...I never dream about food....I guess i get enough of it in real life so there's no sense in dreaming...LOL...its so hard when temptation is around. Today i purposely bought sorbet that I won't want to eat for my son to have in the house.....I tell ya, the wrong kind of cookie or ice cream in the house and i"m a goner.

today was good for the most part but I think my sodium intake is going to send me into Bloatville.....keeping up with kickboxing, hope to go again tomorrow night.....

Thanks Zumbachica, my head is better today. I was a little worried, you know, you hear about these head injuries...people feel fine than suddenly they need to go to the hospital...I'm a little bit of a hypochondriac when it comes to hurting my head. But today I got my exercise in and I'm happy :) Oh I used to kickbox, I LOVED it...I had a heavy bag hanging in the middle of my living room for about 5 years, not so nice for the decor but it was motivating lol!

Wow chardonnay i would LOVE a bag hanging in my living room.....i have to say my arms definitely feel tighter with KB...my legs have muscles too but they are covered in fat and yucky blubber...but i know they are in there!!


Had a two lb swoosh since yesterday so I know the low carb stuff is kicking in....tomorrow is somewhat of a fast day.

Oh Zumba, my abs are in there too somewhere, I'll find them eventually lol! And you'll find your quads of steel too :) Congrats on the swoosh!

I kept to my fast day just going over by 10 calories. Exercise today was just yoga, I love how I feel after a long yoga session...so relaxed and flexible.

Lost another pound from yesterday and I know it is because of my low carb eating. Any time I try something else I fail miserably, but always do better on low carb. you would think I would have learned my lesson by now! Finally out of the 150's...149 looked and felt good this morning even though I know it is just a start.

Today I am teaching class and then I am gathering things to bring to a consignment store. I am trying to get rid of all the stuff that I don't need, mentally and otherwise...that includes the junk in my trunk ;) That is the goal of this Fall....

Chardonnay you say "just yoga" but some of the most in shape people that I know just take yoga....i wish ihad time to fit it into my schedule...maybe i'll try it this weekend.