Hi guys sorry to be MIA. Have been doing some major house stuff - as in tearing apart a closet and going thru clothes that some were probably 25-30 years old ... Why no I'm not a fashionista why do you ask :^: -- and I filled one big black garbage bag to take to the clothes bin behind the church.. And I washed all the rest so I have some shirts to wear that fit again (out of style but how out of style can t shirts be) or finally fit (new and never worn that I bought on vacations for when I lose weight - and it only took decades to happen) and a few pair of shorts ...they are a little big but it will get me thru the summer since I only wear them at home not out.

I have so much to do in my house it's not funny... I decided that I will work every day in a section and will tear things apart for exactly 15 minutes ... Then will go thru things and chuck things and organize till that amount is done ... I know it will take forever to do but I figure this is how I'm doing weight loss (slow and steady and keep plugging away) and it will work for other areas of my life too... Does that make sense to you guys too?

I'm not going to make the current goal unless I have a huge whoosh but no matter what I know I've been on plan and it's because of the good loss the last challenge that I am going slow now .. I'm working to get as close as possible ... Like I say if I have a whoosh it could happen, :^:

Globe for sure don't leave the group ... Make your new goal for each challenge to stay at goal - and you got there during a stressful move you are amazing! congratulations!!

Ramra yay! On making your goal too... You can make your new goal to see how far you can go beyond the original one by the 4th... Then start the next new challenge at an even lower number ...

Gapeach you are doing great .. Keep plugging along and you will lose - maybe a little slower because you are near your total goal but WHOO HOO on the inches lost - heck to be truthful if you lose inches and the weight goes slower everyone will notice more anyway ... And a new to you car is exciting! A chance tovisit with the in-laws and then a nice trip home sounds great too.

serenity Oh ugh on the classroom temps that was brutal!

Better shower - going to get my haircut ... I was growing it out a bit but it was too hot last week and I can't stand it ..so getting it short again ... I so hope it will start looking cute not old as I go down more ... The trial and tribulations of white curly hair - you would think I would be used to it by now ... I've had white hair since my late 30's and was grey in my 20's ....

Have a great day all!

Hi all! Good job on the loses! I am down 2lbs I was hoping for a bit more but it was TOM too so Ill take what I can get. Hope you all have a great week Ill try to read through more later!

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't been around much! Globe, congrats on hitting goal!

I'm on the worst TOM I have ever had, cramping, cranky, and it's heavy and not letting up. I'm sooooo bloated. Blah, I feel like crap but being good today.

I'm looking into doing a swim class for Sloane, the class is for 6-12 month olds, so I figure I won't be the only one looking bad in a bathing suit because everyone else will have just had babies 6-12 months ago :P haha.

Still really wanting to join the YMCA so I can start working out more, but my husband is still working on the deck so we're at his parents every day once he gets off at work. They have a gym downstairs so maybe I'll talk MIL into taking Sloane so I can work out a bit. The only problem is FIL likes to 'supervise' my husband (and nag, question him) and he has MIL cook while he is doing that.

On top of it all, my old best friend is moving here. I'm so excited to have a good friend in town. She started doing Atkins but I know she's not doing it anymore. I hope I can help her get back on plan, and it doesn't go the opposite way where she gets me off plan. Because I can assure it will be one or the other as it has always been since we were teenagers!

:congrat:Globe for making your Goal! and moving across the world and being back in the States. I've been to Seattle and loved it! Lots of good coffee there, donuts too, but stay away from those. lol

Hi everybody, we can do this.

Brooklyn you didn't think I would let this pass without comment did you.... You are in ONDERLAND!!!!! Did you do a happy dance after you got off the scale :carrot::carrot:

So yesterday I screwed up my courage and did something really scary .. Joined an exercise class that has been in progress .... And not just any exercise class ---- hoopla hoop class.... I will never ever be like they all are .. They dance with the hoop.. But if I can keep the hoop going and do a few things (with no grace) I will be happy. After 45 minutes I hurt fom my head to my waist and my arm was screaming too from trying to do some arm things with it. This was a class of 6 who were all thin and pretty and graceful and young and oh so good! But they were nice and I am buying a hoop so I can practice at home and I will go more ... I also found an video of just an exercise class online without the dance moves that I might like to try at home .. It isn't instructional just a video of a class that I could follow along. It is supposed to be really good for you for you core and your tummy muscles of course and your low back and it burns 350 calories an hour just hooping and if you get into the other moves and dance it can go up into the 600 calorie range ....l also think it will be good therapy for my shoulder and arm that I broke ... Because you have to hold the arm you are using up as straight as possible and I don't have a fantastic range of motion or strength after the shoulder surgeries and the doctor said I won't ever have it - but I figure any increase is a help ... I will just be slow on doing those moves so I don't injure it .. I can always just hoop if I want in between .. Now I can't wait till tomorrow to see how bruised I am since I am the bruise queen!

Stephanie the swim class sounds like a great idea ... You will have fun and my niece did it with her kids and kept it up every summer - it makes her feel much more at ease about the pool they have now. She is still totally aware but at least she knows if they did get in there she could get out there to scold them about going in alone without worry that anything would happen..... Plus it will just be fun,


I am all about making things games and fun ... I do it with finding and trying new recipes, trying the challenges, now the hoop class ... Heck I've even tried making cleaning house fun ... I will never grow up I guess cause if I can't have fun doing things I don't want to do them .... stomping my feet and crossing my arms here ... :o

The scale finally tipped in the downward direction. I was 223 a few hours ago. That's about 3it pounds this week. I will sooo take it! I'm glad you are all doing so well!

I wanted to apologize for not doing any kind of personals when I post.. I'm on my phone so its difficult to even type this silly comment hah!

Rho, way to go on challenging yourself! I used to be a member of a gym that offered exercise groups, but I was too chicken to ever exercise with other people. lol

Steph, I bet Sloane will love it. My boyfriend's 2 year old has been in swimming lessons for a while. At first he was very nervous, but now he loves to splash around and get dunked under water. It's a huge boost in confidence for him.

Awesome work Sizlinga! I love your ultimate goal by the way, I love showing snoots a thing or two. ;P

Hey guys, there was an article printed in USA Today yesterday about a scientific study that found that a person burns more calories on a low carb diet. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/...oss/55843134/1

We could have told them that. lol

Keep on doing it peeps!

Hey guys, just realized I haven't done any check-ins since the day this challenge started. I've been way off plan, went to the coast for a couple of days for a vacation and came back with dental problems. So just recovering from all that fun stuff now, also started school this week. Most of my summer classes are 4 weeks long so I have class from 1-7pm 4 days a week which isn't much fun and there's not much of a break between classes. Thankfully I will be completely done by September. My goal for 4th of July is just to get back on plan. Right before I went off plan I was down to 207, I'm up to 218 right now, for the most part I'm living on soft foods which makes low carb hard but once I'm completely better I'm going to start back OP. I don't think I've ever missed salads so much haha.
Good job everybody on your losses!

So are we going to do a Labor Day Challenge ;). I was thinking again - dangerous I know- but how about if some people want to go scale free or not have an emphasis on weight loss and make it days on plan or measurements at the beginning and end or do a weigh in at the beginning and the end with just staying on plan each day.. People could do all three or one or all if they want. I think if we are struggling to get back that doing a day at a time and planning out our food for the week could be a less pressure filled challenge to ease back in.

Weights starting to go down again for me it's done with its stuck .. I doubt I will make my goal but that is ok .. I will get there a week or so later I'm sure and I will be in ONDERLAND soon.

Sizzl no problems I ramble on enough for both of us :o. And YAY! Doing good..

Air - vacations yay - dental problems ugh ugh ugh .. You will be back in the swing of things in no time Im sure .. Take it one day or meal at a time .. And for now concentrate on healing.. And maybe you can. Plan what you can do ahead of time to make your school time easier ..

Ramra going to the class was HARD and I wanted to turn and run when I saw how young and thin everyone was but I said to myself that would be even more embarrassing lol ...my hoop should be done today or tomorrow and I ordered a book and DVD from amazon to work with till the next class. I won't go to all the classes but I figure one or two a month should be ok (it's a money thing too) if I keep it up at home . I've been reading success stories of people who used it to help lose weight and just get healthier too. So if I can do a few 10 or 15 minute workouts a day it should help.

I should do a before and after shouldn't I? I took out shorts from last year and OMG I really did get thinner ... Isn't it funny that to my mind I'm the same size until I try something on from back when I began.

Serenity, cool article! I know I heard the '300 more calories burned' thing before, but I never really took it seriously.

Rho, I know I'll be staying on plan, watching the scale, and taking measurements so I'm down for any one of those, or all of the above. I'm placing a personal emphasis on inches because I'm beginning the 30 Day Shred on July 1st. Can't wait!

I really want to try hoola-hooping some time. Back in elementary school gym class, I was always too chunky to make the hoop spin around my waist. :P

6 days left...So as of today I am down 6lbs for the challenge. Not close to my origional goal but I am okay with that. I am officially down 10lbs since I started trying to lose Mid May so that is fine. I'm just going to really push these last 6 days, make sure I work out every day and drink lots of water. I am also going to pay a little more attention to make sure I get my daily fiber in. My new mini goal for the challenge will be to get into the 130's and stabilize there.

Rho- I love that you did the hulahoop class! I love doing something different and trying to keep it fun! Who cares what the barbies in class look like-ha!
And I am down for a labor day challenge too!

Congrats Gina and Brook on the losses! YAY!!!

Ramra- Heard a lot about Shred and know people get good results from it...I don't think I am ready for it yet-lol, you go first and tell me how it is!

Air- Good plan on making the last part of the challenge getting back on track...you will be ready for the next one that way!

Ok guys, lets push through these last 6 days!!! Good luck!!!

Rho - Scale free until labor day sounds perfect. My "goal" is going to be 20 gym visits during the challenge.
My friend teaches hoop dance and pole dance classes and is always super excited to see women who are just starting to get fit and left their comfort zone to come to her class. If your hoola hoop instructor is anything like my friend, she's much more impressed with you than any of the fit, tiny, college students.

:wave: everyone and thanks for all the support and congrats..

my goal is to stay at this weight every month so I will be weighing myself each week myself.. I'm still jetlag.. **** I've travelled from the mediterrean to the pacific ocean practically and it has only been 1 week today and last night was the first time that I slept normally without waking up..

yes I've already gotten into the coffee which is crazy as I didn't drink coffee in Italy LOL well the expressos were too strong and here I add a little of creme and no sugar and I'm all good..

Everyone is doing good and just keep on going.. if I can do it anyone can.. I had my slip ups and it took at least 6 weeks to lose those last 6 pounds and I was gung ho about it as well.. but my determination did pay off and this forum helped a lot.

Rho, any challenge you come up with for Labor Day, I'm in! I think the losing inches thing is a great idea!

The scale hopefully will stay down for my WI tomorrow. Another wedding tomorrow evening. That is the third in a month. But I still weigh less than before I started the July 4 challenge, so I'm happy.

Ramra, I was too chunky for the hula hoop too, either that, or my stomach muscles always were lacking. lol

:wave: TTFN

breyers carb smart bars have been my best friends the last couple days! So very hot out and the kids are eating a ton of ice cream I needed a little help. They did put me a bit over 20 as I am counting the sugar alcohols too. Now I am just hoping I dont have a stall. I am down 3 more lbs now that af is officially gone!

I hope you all are doing well good job on the loses! Almost there!

It's midnight where I live, and I just got out of bed and binged on brocolli salad! It was incredibly yummy, but I went over my carbs by 6g, and my calories by 300.

No more getting out of bed to eat!

Brooklynn, wtg on the 3 lbs lost. I have never seen the Breyers smart carb bars in my area, but I do eat SF popsicles, they are 0 carbs and are very refreshing in the hot weather.

Ramra, I do agree getting out of bed to eat is dangerous, but your confession of a binge on broccoli salad had me smiling.:D

Good news from the scale. Another 1.5 down. I managed to lose 4 lbs so far on the challenge. :carrot: I'll take it.

Have a great weekend. We can do it.

Globe --- coffee yummmmm. I am a coffee nut. I only normally have 2 large cups in the morning but I would love to drink it all day long .. I have some half-caff In case of emergencies - yep a coffee emergency it happens :dizzy: and yay on getting a good nights sleep - it takes time between excitement and all of moving in addition to time change and exhaustion. And you are doing great maintaining too!

Ramra - broccoli binge had me giggling too .. Getting out of bed to eat not so good ... Did you eat enough during the day and hunger just caught up with you? And most important how do you make your broccoli salad? ;)

Brooklyn maybe you will sweat out the difference from the ice cream .. I've been afraid to get that thinking I will love it too much - we do have sugar free Popsicles that I did when the last heat wave hit us. And it was a nice treat. On another site they were talking about putting a package of cream cheese in the blender and making SF jello and whirring it up in the blender and then putting in the fridge I may try that one soon... Sounded refreshing. I was wondering it the lime jello would taste like key lime pie?

Serenity - have fun at the wedding.. You are going to have wedding food down great by the end of the summer unless this is the last one for awhile ..

Ultra ... I got my new hoop yesterday and I had to ask for the next size down - still an adult hoop - because I didn't have room in my house to use the big hoop ... It is waaayyy harder lol. I laughed at myself last night - I would do six drop then maybe 8 drop then maybe 3 drop -- a couple of times I got up to 30 before dropping lol. I know I will get it - and I'm having fun and oh am I sore today - you really have to work the smaller hoop more. I should be getting 2 DVDs today and one on Monday to work with and get tips. My Instructor is away for two weeks (could I pick a time to start or what) and the week she comes back I may have jury duty ugh ugh ugh - I call the Friday before. The worst part is they don't even tell you where they say "all of Suffolk County". That could be extra sucky with distance and gas milage thrown in if I get picked.

On the next challenge - I think no matter what we should use the July 4th weight to begin and then decide what you want to do ...I am obsessive about daily weighing so I will continue doing that .. And I do my measurements once a month... So I will add in making an actual meal plan and shopping for it once a week to make it easier to make meals ... I tend to decide in the morning what I'm going to cook .. This will be a good habit to get in I think for me ..

I know when I've had struggles just saying that I would get thru the next meal on plan or today on plan and the next day on plan was a help to get back in to the swing of it... Maybe if you are making that a goal - have a pad that you can check off each meal and snack that was on plan for the day. I like making things games so doing that and putting a day star on the day would help me (and yes I would go out and buy gold stars and silver stars for days that was almost perfect .. Heck I'd probably buy a pretty new little notebook to do it in so I would have space to journal about each day)

We really need to keep fun in our lives and making this journey as fun as possible can only help .. So I play games with myself along the way.. Remember "growing older is mandatory - growing up is optional" let's find our inner child and celebrate her. Life is too short not to have fun!

So everyone think about their challenge for Labor Day.. Record your weight July 4th and that will be the beginning (I think we need to have a weight number to compare to at least) right now my challenge could be long if I break down all the things I want to do :^:

159 - I made my challenge goal. And, I'm on my period, so I'll probably lose a little more when that's over. Woo, I no longer have an overweight BMI and have less than 20 lbs to go!

Awesome stuff, ultrapeaches! You're getting close to your final goal.

The broccoli salad had baby broccoli florets, 3 cheese ranch, and shredded cheese. My boyfriend's mother made it and sent it home with him. D*mn that woman can make good food.

Today I worked it into my calories. I also went out and bought groceries; I walked 2 miles there and 2 miles back with 6 bags and a blender. I struggled. People stared. At one point my strapless dress fell down (glad I wear a bra!).

I made my first protein shake with ice, in a blender, and it was amazing! I can't believe I've been drinking it with cold water for so long. I'm getting chocolate next time and blending it with ice and coffee. Hurray for having summer treats.

I just weighed myself and got 146.5, but that will soon disappear as I'm expecting my period. I was supposed to have it around the 20th but it likes to come and go as it pleases. Doesn't do much for my peace of mind. I'm hoping to start our next challenge with 148.

Oh and they didn't have the 30 Day Shred at Walmart! I have it downloaded on my notebook, but it's TINY...So I bought "JM's Ripped in 30", and it looks pretty intimidating. I feel like I'm jumping a huge step. But even if I can't keep up, I will do my best, so there is progress to be made. Maybe I'll be "Ripped in 60". :P

Oh Ramra you had me giggling with the strapless dress falling down... I'm sure carrying the groceries and thlender home was a struggle but think of all those burned calories ;)

Ultra - a huge loud happy WHOO HOOO for you! I'm so excited for you I could just dance :carrot::carrot:

:dance:Doing the happy dance for Ultra!

Rho, is it hot out by you? Because where I am, it is going to be another scorcher today. The good news is it is so hot I don't even feel like eating. The bad news is that I make the heat a sorry excuse for not exercising.

I have made my mind up that I am not going to use "Fourth of July" food as a reason to go off plan. Plenty of delicious food I can it though. It is our tradition to have lobsters, and lobster with all the drawn butter I want is perfectly on plan.:D The only thing I'm going to miss is my pina coladas, but I'll stick to ice water this year. When you look up the carbs and calories for a pina colada it is shocking.:yikes:

Keep on doing it!

It's 88 but I'm sure it is hotter in by you - even Riverhead and Smithtown are usually hotter than us .. But it is HOT in my house for sure ..AC in the bedroom only :dizzy:

I'm making a smoked fish dip/spread for a BBQ we are going to tonight .. Its hot enough that The cream cheese gets warm enough to mix it up fast lol then it will go back in the fridge to chill ... I'm bringing my metal water bottle filled with water and ice and I can add more water as I need it .. And I'm really not too worried about eating because like you say it's too hot to care and by 5 it will be brutal I'm sure. I just had some leftover taco salad for lunch so I will probably be good if they have salad and a burger or hot dog ... And can ignore the rest of the stuff.

Lobster and a salad sounds great to me (just to have some veg in there lol) for the 4th of July ... Hubs is in charge of the fire department after parade hot dog party for the families that marched .. I won't be going and I won't see him much from tomorrow to the 5th I'm sure

Happy Canada Day to all the Canadian peeps! Enjoy your celebration!

hi all, sorry I've been awol so long. I started having trouble with bingeing again and I needed to step back from any feelings of deprivation. And I know Atkins isn't supposed to be about deprivation but believe me, when my brain gets that idea, any restriction is. About 10-11 years ago I was bingeing very badly but never did so much with the purging so I felt like I was such a failure I couldn't even do bulimia right, but apparently the bingeing on it's own is now an eating disorder in it's own right. Meh. Anyway, I'm feeling much better now, in particular reading Brain over Binge by Kathryn Hansen has been AWESOME, her book made so much sense to me. I can't recommend it highly enough. I'm probably about 5 pounds up from where I was but I've been eating lots of carbs so a lot will be water weight. I'm heading off on my trip tomorrow - over your way, going to be in SF on the 4th - and being out and about all the time will be great. It sounds like you all are doing great and I'm up for the labor day challenge too :)

Glad to see you Ana! I am glad that you were able to pick yourself up and continue on. I have days when I want to go back to bingeing also. I have come to realize that when I am very stressed out, I use binges as my go to medication.

Btw, I am going to San Fran too, will be there starting this Sat. evening. I have decided I will have a taste of some high carb foods, but not overindulge. Sourdough bread and chocolate are on my list.:D Oh, and of course wine.:) All specialties of the region.

Have a safe and happy 4th everyone! Keep on doing it!

thanks Serenity :) It really is like a go-to medication. But I feel good for not going down that path again.

Enjoy your trip, it sounds like you have some great plans :-)

Happy 4th everyone! I'll be flying tomorrow but I will think of my fellow 4th challenge peeps :)

Ana, I've been bingeing too!

We've decided to spontaneouslly move because of our limited space, and are now on a search to find a place before the end of the month. On top of that, on Sunday one of the women in my moms group lost her little boy :( He was born two days before Sloane and there was an accident while driving in Seattle.

This is a memorial fund we set up for the family, https://www.wepay.com/donations/milo...-memorial-fund and here is the news story, http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories...others-injured

It's been a tough while, we are all very close in our group and she was a great mom.

Amen on the binging .. I did it Saturday night with one of the worst possible things.. sugar cookies. Ugh.

Needless to say I won't be making my July 4th goal. Weighed 223 this morning. Was shooting for 217. Maybe next challenge :-(

Ana you have to take care of yourself. I've seen 2 of my friends suffer from bulimia and they still today go to support groups etc.. that book sounds awesome and I may read that myself.. hang in there :hug: and if atkins is triggering your bulimia then maybe you should take a break or find a plan that won't trigger your bulimia

Step that is sad about the little boy how tragic..I'm in Seattle now I will definitely read that article..

Everyone seems to be binging so maybe it is the stress :hug: well everyone have a great July 4th.. and just hang in there..

Oh my heart breaks for the family of the little boy ...


My hubs is in charge of the after parade hot dog party at the Fire House this year - so I will be going down there later today and I have made the decision that I am having a hot dog with the works! And I am really looking forward to it I must admit ...

Challenge wise - I gained since yesterday .. Lol I didn't go off plan at all .. But I did eat more than normal and it was clams baked with peppers, onion, garlic and bacon .. So probably a lot of salt in it too. Next challenge will be better .. I did lose some inches at least

How do you tell if you have pink eye? Something going on with one eye and it has been ages since I had that so I'm not sure.

Stephanie - Flylady has a good moving plan I think - so you are doing things little by little up to the move and not quite as much stress... I flutter along on there and keep hoping that it will make a difference - I need to get serious about it .. Good luck finding the perfect place

Ana you can do it - I wish I had some advice but I'm not familiar enough with binging to offer anything other than support.

HI all, short post, I didn't make the challenge but I did lose 6.4 so I will take it and move on.

I normally don't do this but I found out today that my mother may have lung cancer, we wont know for sure yet as she hasn't been to a real appt, this was just the emergency room nurse suggesting it. At any case she does have fluids around her lung and is having pains in her back, shortness of breath, and loss of energy and appetite. My family doesn't want to tell anyone about it yet until they know so I haven't been able to say this anywhere else. Prayers are welcome!

Gapeach, prayers sent out for your Mom.

Gapeach for sure prayers going out for your mom ... Please let us know how hints are going as she sees a doctor...

I will do, thank you ladies! She has an appointment with her general doctor tomorrow morning and we will go from there. I am going up (they are 4 hours away) on Sunday to spend a few days and we will just go from there. It's the not knowing that is the hardest, once we have some answers we can make plans and know what we are dealing with.

My mom is only 63 and a young 63, very active! It's just so shocking. Both my parents are dealing with their own mothers being in their 90's and dealing with issues that go with older ages. When my mom tells me about silly things my grandmother does I just laugh with her and tell her well one day I will have to do those things for you...now I am scared I wont get to complain about my crazy elderly mother!

Sorry for being a downer, just want answers....hopefully soon!

gapeach :hug: you will be in my prayers. be strong because I know it isn't easy..
congrats in the 6.4 loss as well.. big hugs again:hug::D

Well ladies I know this came and went and I have been MIA I wanted to stop and say I did make it.... then I cheated a little over the holiday and the rest of the week and now I am paying for it!!!!!!!!!!! MOODY BI**H! OMG and TIRED! and some weight back UGH! I am so POed at my self. But I am at it again I have to say cheating while yummy as it was SO NOT WORTH IT! Congrats to the rest of you who made it!! I was able to get back to 195 but I am stuck here BLAH!

Brooklyn don't be so hard on youself.. the key is that you got back on plan.. if it was easy everyone would be thin.. I fell off the wagon a few times on my journey but I won in the end..