Hi again, everyone!

Can't believe how well you are all doing in your weight loss!

Andi, Floann, Cakses, CONGRATS on the awesome job with your weight loss! You go girls! :carrot:

Also sending you a belated Happy Birthday, Cakses! :hb:

Laura, way to kick butt! I can't believe how much you can run, girl! :running: BTW, where did you find "Proud" on CD? Or did you download it?

I've been doing really well, and surprisingly it seems that keeping crazy busy has been helping me stay on plan! lol. I actually get hungry at regular intervals now. Hope that's my metabolism getting kick started. I've had a really great week for weight loss, and have hit 55 pounds lost!

As some kind of karmic reward, while I was at Walmart today, picking up some last minute odds & ends, I found swim shoes! (shoes you use in the water). I was really happy about that, because every time I go to the water workout class lately, I've been getting really sore feet from hitting the little tiles on the floor of the pool (it felt like my feet were getting cut - but they weren't.) Anyway, I find these shoes for $6.99! Awesome price! I'm so happy about them! :D

Keep up the great work, RED team!!! :)

-Yello.

Good morning ladies,

Well i'm sick today. I've been feeling under the weather the past few days with stuffy nose and sore throat but today the cough has kicked in and i'm blaaaaahhhh!! I called work and told them I would be late. I can't NOT go in because I have all my lesson plans and teacher books at home with me. But at least I don't have to be in until 11am....so I can relax and lay down for a bit longer. AT least I got a good workout in last night in case i'm too sick to go tonight!

Yello: Great deal on the water shoes. I hope they are just what you need to get a great workout in for your next class!

Cassie: (((((skinny vibes))))) it stinks when our body hits a wall with weight loss but thats when you have to change things around! With WW we do what's called the wendy plan. Instead of eating teh same amount of daily points each day....we have a few HIGH point days and a few low point days and change up our eating habits a little bit to shock the system from its regular routine and it helps alot of people break through a plateau.

Good Morning Red team!! I woke up with quite the sore throat this morning but I think its going away. We took the girls up into the mountains yesterday and did some sledding. We had a great time!

I've got tons to accomplish today and surprise surprise I'm running late, but I will be back once everyone is to school to do personals! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! We had pizza for dinner last night but I didnt do too bad! Better than last time, and next time I'll be even more in control!

Dont forget tonight is the deadline for Week 4 weigh in!!

Cakses....how ya feeling this morning? I hope better!

Jen...Good Morning!! How are things going with you?

Laura...aww you werent alone in that race!! You had your whole Red team right there cheering you on! Way to go for getting up and doing it despite being so tired!! That is amazing dedication to yourself!!

Terapet...way to go on another loss!!! Sounds like you had a lovely weekend!

Rennie...:wave: How is your day going?

Andi...my throat is feeling it this morning too!! I hope yours is better. Way to go on getting out there and doing that workout! Thanks so much for the support on MPMU!!

Tina...I hope this finds you feeling even better this morning! Seems that little bug made its way through our team!

OptimistK...well how'd that workout go? It is so true what you said. You can watch the weigh in thread and see those who are struggling. If someone's not posting to their team generally something is going on and they arent committed to themselves. I hope we see you around here ALOT more!!

Melissa73....Wow what an amazing weekend you had!! Is it break time already? Ours doesnt come till the end of March, I'm hoping we'll have some sunshine by then. I'm thinking we all need it LOL!! Keep up the great work!! Love your energy!

Counting...:wave: We really do have the best team!! This is an amazing group!

Cassie...I'll hope you see a different number this morning too, but dont stress it! Its gonna move I promise you that! And if you added weights any not moving is due to building that lean muscle tissue, which is such a good thing!! Dont give up!! It's gonna move!

Yello..so good to see you on the board!! Sounds like things are going well for you! Congrats on the find! I'm always needing swim shoes for my girls in the summer and can never find them, perhaps I need to look in the winter LOL!! I hope we see you more often!

Melissa73...just saw you were sick this morning!! I hope you feel better very soon!

floann...I missed your loss!! Excellent job!! Keep it up! How is everything else going?

Good morning ladies~ Ahhh Mondays gotta love them:) I was so tired this morning...after I got Joey on the bus I got right back into my nice warm bed. It's been really cold here...I can't take much more. Yesterday I went and got my hair cut and then I came home and colored it. I can't afford to have it colored at the salon, and I do a good job at home. I do a color and then I highlight it...turned out good. Today I'm helping in Kyle's class, and then tonight I'm hitting the gym. This week it's back to the gym for me. Our game night was really fun. We played some black jack and I had maybe one too many diet pepsi and vanilla vodkas:) That is about all going on for me today though...the kids are getting excited about Valentines Day. I always make us a candle lit dinner, and decorate the table. The kids get a buzz out of it. I make them up little goody bags also, and they love that. I'm going to make a taco dinner this year. It is everyones favorite, and they all wanted it, so that's what it will be. OMG Joey and I were playing Wii last night...boxing! My arms are killing me...that was a workout I tell ya. Fun though, even though he kicked my butt everytime. That's cool though because I killed him in bowling and tennis;)

Melissa- WTG on being down .6 with TOM...if I'm ever down anything with TOM that is always a great sign. I was so happy when we paid our truck off. Just to have that extra money in our pockets was so nice. I have to say that James is my fav. also...that Pavarti is so annoying though. I wish James would smarten up and ditch that girl. Sledding in the mountains...that has to be really fun. Glad you all had a nice time.

Msteacher- YAY for being down 2 sizes...that is great:)

Cakses- Thanks for the input on strength vs. cardio...I think I'm going to give it a whirl and see how it goes. Happy Belated Birthday:)

Floann- Congrats on being down 2.2

Laura- Great job on finishing that race...that sounded like a tough one. You pushed through though and that is what makes ya one tough chick:)

Jen- Hello...how is it going? Have a great day

Terapet- Ahh a nice relaxing Sunday morning...those are the favorite part of my weekend!

Rennie- Hello...how's it going? How is your hip feeling?

Andi- I usually do more cardio also, but I think I'm going to give strength training a push and see how that goes. Don't ya just feel good after a hair cut?

Optimistk- Come on you and I are getting back on track together today...let's both make this a kick butt week:)

Melissa73- Wk. 3 and running for 3 min. straight...that is awesome! I always picture myself running and love the visual, but once I actually start to run I feel akward...I don't know what it is? Get some rest and feel better soon hun~

Counting- Good morning...we love having you on this team. You are an great lender of support for us all:)

Cassie- Try not to fret over the scale too much. I know how frustrating it can be, but your doing everything you can. I'm sure though that weights has something to do with it, but don't stop them. You want to build that muscle. Hang in there.

Yello- Congrats on hitting 55 lbs lost...that is great! You could only find a pair of 6.99 swim shoes to celebrate?LOL! I'm playing sometimes it's something that simple that makes us happy:) Keep it up your doing great:)

I hope you all have a fantastic Monday~

Just coming by to say good morning. I have Jury duty bleh ... I am down to 230lbs. I am drinking tons of water trying to get this weight down as much as possible for my dr. appointment next week. *sigh* Is it just me but no matter what the dr. appointment is for its always dreadful? lol

good morning ladies! Well my computer was giving me fits all weekend. So I am finally back. :) Well I am up 1 lb this week. But bound and determined to get this weight off. We are going to buy one of those total body machines this week. It's going to be our Valentine's day present to each other. :) Can't wait to go get it. :) DH is really excited about it too. Ok, well gotta get busy getting things done this morning.

Diva -

I was all wobbly and sore afterwards the first week too. It does go away as you adjust. just remember to repeat weeks if you need it. I'm not doing the C25k but a similar program that is in a beginning running book I own. I'm on week 5 there which is 2.5 mins running and 2.5 walking for 60 mins.

Good afternoon ladies,

Well I made it into work for 11am and survived Math. Lunch is almost over and then I have 3 hours left. UGH!!! I just ate a delicious turkey wrap for lunch and these cool rice chips that I found at trader joe's 38 for 2pts. They were good and crunchy. I found these great whole grain wraps at BJ's last night they are only 1pt each. So I had a great 6pt lunch and I didn't even eat my salad yet.

Tina: I love playing Wii with my son. Boxing Kills my arms and DS beats me every time too...but I also hold my own and sometimes even beat him when we play bowling and tennis. It's a good workout too! I haven't played in a while, looks like I'll have to challenge him when I get home. He loves to play with me!

Melissa: YES we get a February Winter Vacation and Our Spring Vacation is in April! Then we get out of school in June! and I have July and August off. Well really, I have the end of June and August off because I work in the summer as a choreographer at a theater camp for 8-15 year olds for 4 weeks. It's alot of fun, keeps me busy while having fun and getting out of the school environment for a month. We put on a full production every summer and DS gets to come with me. The first year we did Once On This Island and it was DS's first time on stage. He was so cute. Then last year we did Guys and Dolls and DS was one of lead gamblers and had a solo song and everything I was so proud. This year we are doing Alice in Wonderland....not sure about it...the director picked it and DS is NOT thrilled with it at all. He may choose to do lights or sound this time around. LMAO...12 year old boys are just too cool sometimes! The kids perform on the weekend after camp ends and then I have all of August to myself to relax, read and layout in the pool. This summer I'll be riding my bike and hiking alot. I can't wait until it's warm again!

skinnyvibes: Sorry about the loss but glad that you are getting back on track. Total body machines is a great idea for Valentines Day!

Nicoyaangel: congrats on your 1lb down. I hate Jury Duty, have fun!!!

Diva: I just started week 3 of c25k and I know what you mean. I can't believe I actually ran for 3 min straight.....TWICE! It's a miracle to me. Very important to stretch before and after we run!

Well I have to run, lunch is over!!!

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone! The scale FINALLY said 213 this morning...and I'm thrilled, LOL! It's only 1lb, but I know that more are following as soon as my body adjusts to the new routine. I think I had just hit a wall and needed to change things around. Now that I have, I expect weight loss to continue. Yay!:carrot:

good afternoon ladies. I am stuck at home sick with the sore throat and chest congestion. I sound like a frog and considering my job is nearly 100% on the phones I figured it best that I not go in and save my voice. My boss agreed, when I called her she didn't believe that it was me calling! Once I dropped Jon off at school I came home and fell back to sleep on the couch until 12:30.

I weighed in this morning and was very glad to see a 3 pound loss for the week! I think I am attributing this to the intense workout I did on Thursday! LOL http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_11_6.gif

Hi all just a quick pop in....the moving is going great and should have most of it done today.....well gotta get back helping my brothers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, sounds like we're all fighting some sort of sickness these days.

Andi: Woohoo....3lbs is great! I hope your feeling better soon! I was home today too but only for a half day, I got some extra sleep and went into work for 11am. Now the school day is over and i'm heading home.

Hi Utahgirl : Glad moving is going well and you're almost done.

B]Cats: [/B Congrats on your 2lb loss! Way to go and keep up the good work! I don't blame you wanting to pick up your eldest child. I gave my DS a ride to the bus stop this morning because the wind chill was -10. YIKES!!!

Cassie: I'm glad the scale moved in the right direction for you. YAY!!!

Okay, i'm going home now! TTYL

Muse – You’re doing great on the running. Sounds like you’re due for some new shoes! I just got some new shoes a few weeks ago.

Melissa73 – I have a huge respect for teachers. And an even greater respect for special needs teachers. You are an angel. I could never do what you do. Good job on keeping at or below your points. I’m glad you had fun at the casino. I hope you get to feeling better soon.

Mom23 – I hope your son had a great birthday. It’s great that you were able to bank some calories to use for his special treats!

Andi – It’s so exciting that you’ve hit the 20 pound mark! :carrot: I bet it feels great! I have 2 dogs and have lost about the same amount of weight equal to my small dog. Amazingly enough, my long term goal is about the same as the weight of my larger dog (65 pounds). I’m glad you were able to reward yourself with a haircut. It’s so nice to do something non-food related for a reward. I hope you get to feeling better soon.

Counting – I have been going through the Beck Diet Solution and one days focus was specifically to set realistic goals both in the amount of weight and in the time it takes to get there. One thing I picked up from that day was the quote “How much will it matter a few years from now how long it took?” I always want immediate results. You are so right about us being our own worst enemies. I think it’s great that you recognize that it doesn’t matter how long it takes as long as you get there!

Tina – I know what you mean about the weather. We are having freezing rain here today. I can’t wait until spring! It’s interesting that I keep hearing more and more that strength training is better than cardio. Of course, I’m obsessed with fitness related topics so maybe that’s why I keep hearing it. I do probably 95% cardio so I need to get the strength training started. I’m glad you had a fun game night. The Wii boxing sounds fun and like quite a good workout. Your family Valentine’s day dinner sounds great. You’re a great mom, I can tell!

MSTeacher – 2 sizes! How exciting! Congrats! :cb:

Melissa (Hun) – Congrats on getting your car paid off! That’s a great feeling, isn’t it! That extra money is going to be nice! Sledding with the girls sounds like a lot of fun! Good job on staying in control with the pizza. That’s one of those things that I can easily go overboard on. I hope your throat gets to feeling better.

Cat – I meant to pop on yesterday to wish you a happy birthday and didn’t get it done. I hope your day was fabulous! :woo:

Laura – Great job on running the race even though you weren’t as motivated. Let me just say – you make me PROUD!!!

Floann – great job on the 2.2 pounds. :broc: (It's a good thing I proofread-I had 202 pounds instead of 2.2 :dizzy:)

OptimistK – I’m glad to have you posting. Sending you :dust: to help you get back on track. Kudos to you for recognizing the issues and getting back on track before you did too much damage.

Cassie – I’m glad you got through your mini-plateau. Keeping working at it and the loss will continue!

Yello – I’m glad you’ve been doing well on your plan! 55 pounds is awesome! :woohoo: I’m glad you could find your swim shoes. We all need to treat ourselves from time to time no matter how small of a treat it is.

Nicoya – I hope your jury duty is over quickly. Most people I know that get called to jury duty have the cases dismissed, but mine never do. I’ve only had to actually serve once. We put a dirty old man away for a long time!

Kari – Your valentine’s day present sounds exciting. You’ll have to let us know how you like it. I’m glad your computer’s back in business.

Cathy (Catsgetnhealthy) – Try to stay warm and keep the kiddos warm, too. Congrats on the 2 pounds.

Jen, Rennie, Terapet, Roni, and Utah – :wave: hello! And thanks for posting. It was great to hear from you.

I have been trying to keep my expectations in check and have prepared myself for a maximum of 1.25 pound weight loss per week. When I weighed last Friday I was down 2.5 pounds which was exciting. When I got on the scale this morning it was 3.5 pounds. :woohoo: I don't usually lose at this pace. I'm not sure what I'm doing but I like it!

I was able to resist the cake at my party this weekend. I wasn't tempted in the least and then when I realized it was dry store bought cake that sealed the deal.

Okay - so I keep seeing over and over that strength training is as important or more important that cardio. I do about 95% cardio. I need some guidance on getting the strength training up and going. I don't have access to a gym and I'm not sure what I need to be doing. So for a poll: what do you do? Do any of you do a strength training dvd? Do you use hand weights, other equipment or something that doesn't require equipment. Think strength training for dummies! ;) Help, please! P.S. I'm not usually good about pushing myself when it comes to pain, etc.

KSK - I like the Jari Love DVDs. The first one is a good one to start with it's called Get Ripped. It's got all the basics there. It's a higher rep program, but for starting out you'll likely see muscle gains. It was true for me anyway.

I hate to admit I haven't been doing the weight training lately, but I will incorporate it back in shortly when the basement gets warmer in the spring time. In the meanwhile between the bike and running at such a heavy weight my legs seem to have gained quite a bit of muscle tone but my arms are sad sad sad.

Testing to see if I can put in a chart.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...23il/Chart.jpg

Hey Karen first off congrats on the loss this week...WOOO-HOOO! That is awesome. Do you have the fit tv channel? I do most of my weights at home...I have 3 different sets of weights...3lbs, 5lbs, and 8 lbs. For me that is good. I also have a stablity ball...I would highly recommend one of these. I tivo a bunch of shows off my tv...body electric, gilad, cathe friedrich...I just search under exercise and tivo away. Most of the shows are 30min. to an hour, but that is with commercials. It's nice because the shows will work on different body parts each day. Denise Austin has a good one also. So what I would do if I were you would be start with a few different sets of hand weights. Do you buy fitness mags at all? I get them all, and they have great at home strength training programs. If you don't get any fitness magazines, go to Fitness.com, Shape.com, Womenshealth.com...and they have stuff on their sites to help ya start up also. If you have any more questions let me know:) Your doing great~

Yea! Thanks for the quick responses - Muse and Tina! I have 1 lb, 2 lb and 5 lb weights. I also have a stability ball. I don't have Fit TV or Tivo :(, but I just added Get Ripped with Jari Love and Gilad:Sculpt and Tone to my NetFlix. I need to bump them up to be my next selections. There are several Jari Love dvds with Get Ripped in the title, but I think I got the first one in my queue. I wrote down the magazines to look into.

Diva....I'm so glad to see that you are feeling better!! Way to go on your workout today! After I run I'm spent I cant seem to pull myself to do anything more so the fact that you did is fantastic!!

Nicoya...I hate going to the doctor! I hate doing just about anything that my body is the focus LOL! I hope its uneventful for you!! And I hope jury duty was quick and painless! Great job on the loss!!

Kari...what a fantastic present for the two of you!! I bet you guys will have all kinds of fun on it! :wink: LOL! Really glad to hear that your computer is better!

Muse...you have become my running inspiration! I wanna try how you do it! At what interval did you start?

Melissa73...I've gotta laugh because when I see you talk about C25K, you are a week behind me and I swear I've said EXACTLY what you do...I cant believe I run 3 minutes...twice! LOL!! Boy do I know about those 12 year old boys! Oye! My girl turns 13 on the 4th :fr:

Cassie....WOOOOHOOOO!!! I knew it would happen! Now stay off that scale till next week!! Was that your bumper number? Are we bouncing down the rails now? I hope so!!

Cathy....Yay!!! Excellent loss!! Keep up the fantastic work! Way to go on those workouts!!! You are doing so great!!

Andi....I'd say that workout was a good reason for the loss!!! And a huge one at that!! Excellent job!! I hope you feel better!!

Barbara...:wave: Yay the move is almost done!

Karen...WOOOHOOO!!! Way to go on a VERY successful week!! Congrats on the loss and for avoiding cake!! You are doing so great!! Keep it up! I have hand weights and a ball that I use for resistance. I need to research workouts myself.

<<<<< just did 2000 posts!! LOL!

And I finished Week 3 of C25K! Moving on to Week 4 tomorrow, I've got to make up for skipping last friday!

Today I did upper body, well I am doing part of it later as well. Ran out of time earlier.

Scale sais 198 today, maybe I am over the whole 199/200 debacle? Let's hope so!

Mel -

I started at 1run/4walk then 1.25run/3.45walk 1.5run/3.5walk then 2run/3walk and now 2.5run/2.5walk... The book I had started with 30 second runs, but I skipped that week.

I picked this program versus the c25k because I just liked the layout of the program more then the others I saw. It seemed a bit more realistic with the recovery (walk) times for someone starting out so heavy... and allows me to go for an hour at a time because of those recovery times.

The Book is: The Beginning Runner's Handbook: The Proven 13-Week Walk-Run Program

Edit to say: I'm not knocking the C25k program I think it's fabulous too! :)

Another Edit: Looking at the Amazon reviews looks like the program in the book was overhauled to be a bit more progressive so look for the older version if you want the start off slow (30 seconds)

Muse, I do have to admit that while I love the C25K program because its actually got me running I'm very intimidated by it. This week I'm supposed to run 5 minutes straight...2 times. I'm sure I'll do it. But right now running 3 minutes is HARD! Like...where did 4 minutes straight go? Just seems like such a big jump. And the end of next week I'll be doing 20 minutes straight. That scares the heck out of me and I just dont know if I'm gonna be able to do it. Seems like too much too soon considering I struggle with 3 minutes. Am I just making excuses?

Mel I don't know, but you don't know unless you try right? If it's too hard repeat this week over as many times as you need to before you think you can move on.

This is why I went for something a little more gentle. I can add 30 seconds here and there fairly well and it's less intimidating... but I haven't gotten to the long stretches of running yet so I think I'll also need to repeat weeks at some point.

The point is we're out there DOING it right? Go US!

Yello
55 lbs lost. WOW that is terrific. You keep with it. You are going to fit in a snack size baggy in no time at all. ( Hubby tells me he is going to have to keep me in a baggy I get any smaller ) :)

Melissa
So sorry you aren't feeling well. Hope you feel better soon. Ohhh thanks, I have a ton of food left I need to eat today and nothing really sounded good. Turkey wrap yummm. Now I know what I am going to have.

Hun
Darn I wonder if that is going around. My daughter woke up with a sore throat. Hope you feel better. Glad you had a nice time. You know as well as I, this is all one day at a time. Everyday we find more control and things become easier. I have just been lazy today. Have my two walking/aerobic videos in still have to do my resistance training lol. It is so darn cold I just wanted to stay in a warm bed all day.

Tina
I feel just about good as new lol. Which means I have good days and bad days. The good days are great. The bad days tell me I am alive and should not complain it cold be worse, I could be dead lol. It is always nice to get back on track, hope you enjoy the gym. I have heard the wii is great exercise lol. My valentines present is going to be a stability ball and the Leslie Sansone video. I told him that is what I wanted and he said ok if thats what you want that is what you will get lol. I said don't forget to get the ball for little people or I will lay over it and my feet will be waggling and not be able to reach the floor lol.

Diva
Nice going. Sounds like you are doing real well. Glad to see you aren't forgetting the stretches. For some reason people just don't take enough time to stretch properly after work outs. Stretching is just as important as the workout.

Nicoy
Oh my gosh LOTS of water and jury duty lol. They might as well forget it for me unless they have a loud speaker in the restroom lol.

Kari
Nice attitude, keep it in perspective. The weight will come off. You just have to stick with it. Hope you enjoy the machine.

Cassie
WTG the scale moving for you is great. WHAT do you mean ONLY 1lb. Girl you are looking at it ALL wrong. That is one less lb to lose than you had to lose before :)

Cathy
Nice to see the scale moving for you too. Take it easy with the cough. Just keep the body moving, it all helps.

Andi
Nice loss, bet you feel good about yourself. What you, Hun and my daughter all with sore throats. Maybe it is going around. Hope you feel better soon.

ksk
I don't know about strength training being more important but it is important. I use dumbbells and have a few workouts I do. I like resistance training with stretchy cords and Leslie Sansone has a couple really good ones. Walk Away The Pounds With Leslie Sansone For The Abs 10 Minutes Ab Buster, You Can Do With Leslie Sansone Pilate's and Walk At Home Walk Slim With Leslie Sansone Fast Start Fast Firming. The stretchy cord is a great tool to do weight/resistance training. You are less likely to hurt yourself ( a trainer told me ) than using weights. I do at least one of these videos everyday and every other day I do an upper body workout with dumbbells and one of these videos along with 3 to 4 miles walking/aerobic videos every weekday. Nice going on the weight loss. Have you changed something you have been doing? Maybe the body is just catching up on the loss it hasn't given you so far. No matter what the cause I love the effect. I can feel your smile.

cakes
Thats great I am so proud of you. Now, you be proud of yourself.

Okay have to vent about something that has really upset me. Not sure if I've told you before but I'm the PTA president at my youngest daughters school. We are a small school - 240 students if that, low income. And we (the PTA) work REALLY hard to stretch our money and do all we can do for our school. Well the treasurer just called me to tell me that someone stole her purse out of her car, parked in front of the school today while she was loading boxes in her car. Well the PTA checkbook and a bunch of cash was in it. For Valentines day we do these neat valentines the parents can buy for kids, or kids for friends. They are only $1 or $1.50. Well all that money was in the PTA bag. So frustrating! Its not alot of money but enough, its just the fact that it had to be one of our parents who did it. Someone waiting for their child to get out of school and saw an opportunity. Sucks to work so hard for something only to have it stolen.

Alright, I guess venting isnt helping either so I'm gonna go read auditing...now if thats not enough to depress ya I dunno what is! LOL!

Whew - I got caught up reading everyone's posts. I'm sorry we still have some sick chickies - get well soon! Sending hugs and snuggles your way!

Looks like almost everyone is losing this week! Way to go team!! Let's keep it up - stay strong, and keep posting yoour results in the vacation challenge! It is STILL -2 F here, and I NEED that vacation!!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful POP Tuesday! You guys are wonderful :D

oh wow Melissa http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_1_30.gif http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/23/23_11_56.gif I hope they find whoever took the http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/12/12_1_102.gif :hug: That just is not cool.

Just a quick post to say hi. It's past my bedtime and I still have laundry to fold. Been busy, busy with band camp stuff. No time to exercise today but yesterday I went to a Pilates class followed by a Zumba class. I bought a heart rate monitor on Friday and figured out during class on Sunday that the Zumba is probably a bit much for me. Darn. I know I could try to modify and stay at a lower heart rate zone but I think I will just avoid this class for the time being. Hopefully with jogging on the treadmill and some weight loss, I can improve my cardiovascular capabilities. Speaking of exercise, I love strength training the best. I attend both a body sculpting class and a Pilates class at least once a week. I have a bad lower back problem but as long as I go to class (especially the Pilates) it stays in check. Also, I noticed after about age 45 my flexiblility was not what it used to be. However, again the Pilates class is very helpful with that also.

Tried to be very careful not to overeat today. I think I did okay. Time will tell!

Thanks everyone for the congratulations! A complete race report is now up at my blog if you want to read more.

Melissa73, the one thing about student loans that makes me feel good: I'm trying to pay them off in three years, so I'm making basically double the minimum MONTHLY payment with every BIWEEKLY paycheck I get. I definitely feel proud to see that debt getting smaller faster because I'm being frugal!

Nicoya, it seems like everyone I know is on jury duty lately... weird. I've never been called up but have lots of Law & Order delusions about how interesting it would be (though I know it never is).

To everyone who's sick, get well soon! Can't have our red team all down with colds/flus :)

Karen, check out half.com for good prices on DvDs if you decide to get any of these. My personal favorite is the "8 Minute Fitness" DVD, which has four workouts: abs, arms, legs, and butt. I like that it's quick enough that I can never make the excuse that I don't have time for it.

Melissa, that's terrible about the PTA money! I hate hearing stories about how selfish and horrible people can be :(

I'm really sad to be up AGAIN. I feel terrible to let you guys down, but am trying really hard to get myself together so I can lose. However, I think this is my second high week due to TOM (I seem to get two high and two low), so hopefully next week will see a big drop.

I'm traveling again and didn't do a great job with being healthy for dinner tonight, though I was fine with breakfast and lunch. HOWEVER! They upgraded me to the special WestinWorkout room at the hotel, which has a treadmill, stability ball, weights, fitness DVDs, and other exercise equipment RIGHT IN THE ROOM (in addition to the full gym in the hotel). It's amazing! I actually figured out how to prop my laptop up on the treadmill so I can read 3FC and do my evening work while walking. I know it's not much, but hey, every step counts right? Have a great night everyone!

Hi Everyone! I just wanted to say thanks for remembering me. I'm still very bummed over my WI. But it's nice to come here and see friends who are asking about me. I know the weight will come off. It's got to be water weight (or maybe I found my bumper weight) because I kept track of everything that went into my mouth. I know my calories haven't been to high. I'm still kind of bummed. But I'll be over it soon, I'm sure.

My mom had a knee replacement last week. I was out at her house today with one of my daughters. We were just running errands for her, getting her medicines, and generally helping her out. She's such a trooper and so inspirational. I'm really blessed to have a mom like her.

It sounds like everyone is doing well this week. I'm glad for all your successes! I'm so proud of you. It makes me remember that I can do this too.

The good news for me is that the weather has been beautiful and warm this week. I love it!

Melissa-- So sorry to hear about the PTA money. That's so disappointing. I hope it turns up.

I am sooooo tired, but wanted to check in.
I did my 20 minute run on Friday and it was not bad at all! Ok, the last 5 minutes were hard, but I did it! Melissa, you can do it! Just take it slow. Today was actually harder (week 6 day 1)... But like I said- I think I'm just tired.
Weigh in wasn't great this week- just 1 lb. But I'm telling myself that if I lose a pound a week this year I will be SO happy. So I'm happy, lol.
I'm really trying to get to bed at a decent hour tonight so I'm not so draggy and living off diet coke, lol.
ANyway- I'll check back in the morning.

Hey Red Team! I posted this in my Blue Team Chat but I wanted to let you all know that I feel the same way about you all as well!

Please take a moment to answer the QOTD, I'll check back later for your responses!

Just wanted to say hi. I only have a few minutes. I have a ton of housework today and an exam in my class on Friday...ICK.

Exercise is going pretty good. I have not been the best with my food lately. I am a few days late with my monthly...I am beginning to get a little anxious. I am an emotional eater so I have been having a hard time staying away from the snacks. I am going to try the 10 or 15 minute rule (whatever the rule is...anyone know?) where you wait for however long to have your snack because by then the craving is supposed to go away.

Hope you all have a great day!

I will be back to answer the question of the day later when I have more time.