Good morning ladies. I am so happy to read ZUMBA of your whoosh! You go girl.
Chardonnay - what is the 5:2 diet? It this where you restrict your calories 2 days a week and diet with in your calorie range the other five? I might have to give that a shot.
My week has been ok. I have not stepped on the scale yet this week but I will tomorrow morning. For the most part my eating has been ok, not perfect and I know I would lose faster if I was eating better but I am really trying at least and not just telling myself 'I need to do this, I shouldn't eat that".
I have exercised 3 days this week. Hoping that I can get up tomorrow morning and make that 4 days a week.
Have a great Thursday all!

Congrats Zumba, getting out of the 150's is my first goal this month! And yes, it's a bad habit to say "just" yoga, I consider yoga a wonderful thing, but in weight loss I know my metabolism and I need cardio every day (if possible) to burn enough fat for weight loss. I do Hatha yoga, so it's mainly for flexibility and relaxation, I hope you can make some time for it!

Hi NEMom, good luck on your weigh-in tomorrow! How about instead of saying you "shouldn't" eat this or that, that you change your inner voice to "I don't WANT to eat this or that" (even if you want to ;))

Another tiny little swoosh, and this is after I had two glasses of wine last night....I had a big steak for dinner and shrimp and kept thinking that my weight was going to be through the roof but it went down..I love low carb eating, atleast in the beginning before i start missing bread. Have to teach two classes this morning and I have a red wine headache (bleh)....Maybe, just MAYBE I'll meet my halloween goal.

Why to go Zumba! I love whoosh's.

I did not lose weight this week. A couple of ounces but not a drop. It's ok, I know my eating was not 100% clean and I drank way too much last night. At least it was not up, I take that as a win this week.

Have a big event at work tonight and then painting a bedroom and house cleaning is my weekend fun. I know we will be eating out one time for my foster son's birthday but other than that I plan to eat clean most of the weekend and will make the best possible choices while dining out.

Have a great one ladies!!!

NEMOM trust me when i tell you girl that the swooshes have been few and far between the past few months. I was getting to an okay place in the summer but it didn't take long for that pesky weight to creep back on. It sounds like you have a good weekend planned....painting burns mega calories! Or atleast it feels like it does when I do it!!!

Wow, this low carb thing is working.....hope this keeps up. Going to kickboxing now and dragging my ARSE...I don't want to go but i know that i need to.

Its pouring here...i'll be indoors ..maybe i'll organize some cabinets.

Had some sushi last night, i guess the soy sauce bloated me up a bit, put on over a lb...but i'm not discouraged, back on track today with low carb....i love this style of eating, I don't feel hunger.

How many carbs do you eat a day Zumba? I was reading the Atkins diet and I don't think I want to go as low as the induction phase, but I thought I'd start at less than 75g a day. Today is my fast day, so far so good, I'm not even hungry at 7pm, all I've had is coffee and water. My spirits are low though, that could be contributing to my lack of appetite.

Chardonnay< i'll look up my chart and tell you how much I have been having a day...I upped it a little bit and gained back a pound but Im looking at this for the long haul. Belly Fat Cure is not Atkins...in fact many Atkins refugees switch to BFC. I think 75 sounds really healthy.....I'm focused more on eating clean. I'm doing fast track which is a strict version and then after that's over I can start having berries and oatmeal....then my carb count will go up a bit more.

Thanks Zumba, I'm going to look into the Belly Fat Cure. Low carb eating is new to me, though I've heard nuances about it over the years, I never really paid attention to it because I was such a stickler about calories in vs. calories expended. Now that my body is changing as I age, I'm more open minded to trying new methods that not only help reduce my fat, but also make my entire digestion better!

Today is Canadian turkey day....I'm going to save myself the trauma and wait until next Tuesday to weigh myself again! :)

Just a quick check in. No exercise at all this week, and no real dieting either. At least I did not gain weight! I need more discipline! I think it is really key for me to lose 2 pounds this week and get rolling in the right direction.
Glad to hear everyone seems to be doing well!

Chardonnay: low carb can make you constipated, so you need to make sure you get your vegetables in and also take some kind of fiber...drink a lot of water just like with any other diet. I have tried many diets over the years but low carbs is the only thing that works for me. Not sure if that means something about me and my body but I just don't do well with carbs, even if my calorie count is low.

APPLE BLOSSOM no gain is a good thing....make a plan and see it through for this week...

Well I have lost close to five lbs since October 5 but i'm kind of stuck now...i'm really jonesin' for some carbs. I didn't succumb, but i didn't lose weight either. I think this morning I may have some berries and oatmeal, not part of my fast track plan but I feel groggy and stupid like I need it.

Hi Zumba, I think that as we experiment with different diets and eating plans, we find what really works for us may not work for others. Like for me, I can still have sugar in my coffee and some wine each day, where some can't even touch that stuff during weight loss. As for carbs, I actually did a little calculation, and most days I naturally eat less than 75 grams of carbs. Maybe that's what's working for me too. I've never been one for buying the low-calorie, reduced-fat stuff...and I noticed that those contain so many more carbs that the full-fat, regular versions. I learned something about carbs by reading the carb counter list I found on the Atkins website. I could eat more veggies though, that's for sure.

Yesterday was a total cheat day.....had a procedure at the doc's office, was bored and irritated and needed some TLC, of course I turned to food for that...have a one lb gain to show for it..but getting back on the wagon. I think I am going to allow myself a cheat day once every ten days or so....they call that carb refeed I think..LOL

okay back on track...lost whatever i gained on cheat day. Back on my low carb eating....its not easy this time around, I really am craving carbs in the worse way. ..but i won't succumb. So tired of feeling so unhappy in clothes . I can't hide under big sundresses anymore now that winter is here.

Do you think you'd have an easier time if you didn't do a cheat day?

Chardonnay, doing a cheat isn't something I would do again any t imd soon..I think mentally i needed it because I had a procedure that day and just felt like I needed to comfort myself with something. It took me a few days to get back to my low weight...so Im not about to do that again. However people that i know that body build for competition talk about tricking the body , having the carb refeeding day, etc. I'm definitely not at that level, so i can probably do without it.

I went out last night and i'm pretty proud of myself, just had some salad and chicken. Unfortunately i hit up a few pumpkin beers...still with all that I managed to lose a lb...yay....praying to higher power for strength every day to keep this thing going......

Oh and I am SO SICK of bacon!! Never thought i'd be saying that...

Hi Zumba, congrats on your pound loss :) It's hard not to have pumpkin beer this time of year! But look, you had a few and you still kept within your plan enough that you lost a pound! I have wine daily and I still lose weight, much slower than others I'm sure, but I feel good about it.

I've heard of the tricking the body, like zigzagging...eating low cal one day, high cal the next etc...it's to get your metabolism working efficiently - I was just reading about the carb re-feeding (carb loading) to restore leptin in the body after days of low carb eating, in order to help with appetite control. But I also read that it can increase appetite for some too because the body then craves the carbs despite the leptin increase.

Sick of bacon....for shame ;)

wow, had a slice of pizza last night with eggplant on it (my son wanted to stop at pizzeria and there were no low carb options there)....and wouldn't you know up a lb....grrrrrr.......once you have carbs all those calories "count" all of sudden you know? so irritating.....

Im laying low on food consumption today...going on dinner date tonight even though I said I swore off dating...not sure where he is taking me but I hope it is somewhere where I can make good choices.....

a nice fall Sunday morning.....laundry going, banana bread baking for my son for when he wakes up.....God is good.

Keeping things "in check" for the most part. Today is somewhat of a "fast" day for me..I'm going to try and keep calories on the low while doing high fat, not sure if that is possible.

Hey Zumbachica, thanks for popping by my blog, it prompted me to get online and check out the forum, which is always helpful in keeping my head on straight! :)

Hey Snark, I always wanted to blog but never did..I love to write. I wouldn't even know where or how to start. I think you look fantastic and you are an amazing writer....really funny!!!

shared a rice pudding when i went out to lunch with a friend today....trying to keep my hand out of the halloween candy and really working hard on low carb....its not easy.....and something like one night of chinese food undermines all my effort...this is so much work, there's no reward..and i'm tired.

Oh halloween candy, stay far, far from me! ;) Hang in there Zumba!

Hi again, my usual Monday where I tell you I did terribly last week and starting over today. :(
I really have to buckle down if I am going to win my bet with my SIL. 4 weeks left is 2 pounds per week, totally doable if I buckle down. This week is going to be tough though, I am hosting the high school cross country team's team dinner, I'll be carbo load central on Wed night and then a lot of craziness Thurs- Sat with the XC meet, 3 football games, trick or treating and a halloween party. Lots of house work going on too. I can't wait until Sunday! I think I should find the time to get a lot of running in as it is great stress relief. And a great way to procrastinate housework.
Zumba, I am proud of your 5 pound loss! It's really important to find what works, even if you can't stick to it all of the time. You know what to do and you'll do it again!

I'm righ there with you Blossom....had a bad few days....back on the wagon, its all that we can do. try and fill up on p;rote in so you aren't tempted to get into the carbs....

SNARK: some of that candy won, but i got it out of my system and i'm not tempted. Its wierd ...I remember Reese's peanut butter cups and Kit Kat bars tasted better back in the day....

afraid to get on the scale, so i won't for a few days......back on the low carb wagon....keeping calories at around 1200....went to a health fair yesterday, it was really interesting, a speaker there said we shouldn't bother spending more than 20 minutes on a cardio apparatus, i always thought the longer the better...

not getting on the scale today..too afraid of the number due to this weekend's binging...but i am back on low carb, will be in the gym today for weightlifting...

started weight training today...i love it.....can't wait to do it again on thursday. My eating is a whole different story.

hmmm...gained almost three lbs back..here we go back and forth back and forth...

How did we all survive halloween? I had a few small butterfingers, five twizzlers ...two peanut butter cups. Not good, but i could have down a lot worse. I realized that candy tastes different to me now....I wonder if they made chocolate different or my taste buds haven't had sugar in so long that it just doesn't taste as good.
TODAY IS A NEW DAY OF A NeW MONTH!!!! Back on low carb. I also have started taking supplements ....wine tasting today with friends and then dinner, going to try and make good choices.

Hi Zumba, I survived the Halloween candy too, and I agree, it just doesn't taste as good as it used to. How ever, I didn't survive the adult beverage temptations at all, so I'm still treading water. :(
So it's 3 weeks until my 50th birthday. I would really love to still lose those 8 pounds by then but it will be a challenge. I will have to seriously kick some *** for 21 days. I am thinking of how awesome I will feel if I can do it! Instead of how crappy I feel for failing so far. So far the day is going well, but it's the evenings where I slouch off....
I was going to wear a shirt today that I bought with out trying on, thinking it was a loose tunic type shirt in size large, surely it will fit. Nope. Too tight over my upper arms. I threw the shirt on the bed in anger. grrr.
Well, I hope I have something positive to report tomorrow.

Apple if you are really determined you can lose that 8 lbs, atleast five...you can do it.....but it will take a ton of discipline.

Im back in the mode, only because something traumatic happened and that usually gets some fire under my feet and also kills my appetite temporarily. I took a mental health day today and didn't get to the gym...willl do some ab work later at home, push ups and lunges...sumo squats .....

Im going out friday so i'll deal with adult beverage temptation then myself.

tiny little drop....the secret is just not eating....Ive sat here and analyzed, did low carb, fasting diet, counted calories, adjusted my workouts, prayed to a higher power, tried being hypnotized, probiotics...you know what? at the end of the day just don't FREAKING EAT!