You're welcome Melissa! I requested Red also, just to have you as my leader. I better get Red too. LOL. YOu should have a big head. YOU ROCK WOMAN!!!

LOL...about the 1.65 calories at a time. I guess it does add up the more you do it.

Tina: (((hugs))) I've been snacking way too much lately, using empty calories for my points. FRUSTRATING!!! Melissa is right though, that is what OA meetings are for. It's mental, not physical. So you have to tackle the emotional side of it! XOXO one day at a time buddy! Good luck on day 1!!! I've dance my whole life, started when I was 2 1/2 years old. So I better have coordination and balance or my mom's $$ would have been waisted for over 18 years.

Good morning ladies! Well it's freakin snowing today! I am so tired of snow!!! Anyway, enough of my whining. Sorry I haven't posted much in the last couple days, man you all were posting fools! Took me forever to read through the last 2 days. Way to go everyone!! I am going to go and request this team again, you all are so great. I have a GF on one of the other teams and she says there's lots of drama there. I love the fact that we haven't had any drama. You all are so supportive!!! Well things are going to be hectic around here for awhile, my marketing class starts today and the other 3 start on Monday. Ex husband will be here on Saturday... oh joy! lol All this talk about hula hoops, I think I might have to go check 'em out...

Melissa
My kids love that stuff lol. I don't let them have it to often but once in awhile we do have it. I feel all bloated the next day. Never thought about it being the sodium that is in it. I am looking for a reduced sodium potato soup. Haven't found one yet. Irrigation tubing lol. Hey that would work.

Tina
It is much easier to go outside and walk 8 miles than to do those videos that is for sure lol. This summer we will walk around the parks a lot. Well I will walk and then stand around and wait for the hubby to catch up. Hmmmm wonder how crazy I will look if I take my stretchy band with me and do a bit of resistance training while I wait for him lol. This is what he is like. We went to a park when we had that nice weather a few weeks ago. I got out and he drove 3 miles up the road and then timed me to see how fast I walked 3 miles ( he says I have road runner legs and is always telling me to slow down ). I did the 3 miles in 30 min. He has decided ( I really don't understand this lol ) that he will drive and I will walk when I want to get my walking in for the day. I just call that lazy lol. Stop being so hard on yourself. We all have times that we eat things we shouldn't, we don't exercise like we should and in general feel pretty crappy about our selfs and don't understand why we do the things we do. Get the stuff out of the house that is helping to make you eat. It really is the only thing to do. Anything easy to eat ( crackers and such ) have to go. It can be difficult but you will see that over a short period of time you will adjust what you are eating and then you can bring some of those things back into the house. Some things ( I CAN NOT have pretzels in the house ) you might not ever want to have in the house.

Diva
For 35 dollars a person better be doing a ton of hooping lol.

jl
My daughter won't join in. Anything that looks like exercise is against her religion lol. I am starting to worry a bit about her. I was always thin or at least in shape until I started getting really sick and took more pills than a small pharmacy stocks lol. She is built more like the woman in my family and the hips and thighs are starting to be more than a bit more than she should have. She probably needs, at this point, to lose 15 to 20 pounds. Not a huge amount but it just might, if she stays on the course all the woman in my family follow and that is exactly what she is doing right now, keep adding up. My sister has to weigh at least 300 pounds and my mom too. I don't say to much but I do try to get her to exercise with me. Lately I have even said this would be a great way for her to get her legs prepped for tennis season which will be coming up soon. She just has no interest at all. She also is getting less and less happy with me since she put on a couple pounds and now I weigh 6 pounds more than she does. I really wish there was something I could do to make her see she needs to get this extra bit of weight off now instead of waiting years to do it. It isn't what she eats at home. I have always had really good balanced meals for the family. It is what she eats when she isn't at home. All I can do is show her how it is working for me and keep showing her good eating habits and exercise really are the only way to have a healthy trim body.

Diva: Well side bends and toe touches are a good workout for the waist too! LOL

Sara – I’m glad you are feeling in control of yourself. I’m trying desperately to do the same thing one day at a time! Yesterday was day 2 of POP for me.

Melissa73 – Congrats on the full REDWINS! The trying something new stumps me too. As a singleton, I cook for several days at a time and so I can’t try a new recipe every day. I’ve been doing the same old DVD’s for my exercise. I guess I can count my Turbo Jam as something new when I get it in!

Melissa (Hun) – I tend to get tired of the same old DVD’s, but I find I have to have some sort of guidance because when I try to do things on my own, I give up. I really wish I had some On Demand options for variety, but I don’t have that. I have thought about a treadmill or elliptical, but am not sure which one I’d use more or if I’d use it more than a week or two. I have thought about a hula hoop for quite some time. You are a pioneer! Also, what exactly do you mean by irrigation tubing, where (what department) do you find it, and how do you connect the 2 ends together?

Counting – The Zumba Cardio Party sounds intense. I’m hoping my instructor will learn some of the new routines from it (she’s already introduced us to a couple of new ones).

Andi – Congrats on breaking below 240!

Tina – I think you’re a wonderful teammate – even when you’re struggling. We are very lucky to have you. I’m sorry you’ve been struggling. I wrote this quote in my BDS cards. I’m not sure who on this thread said it but something in the back of my mind tell me it might have been you. Anyhoo, “I am not a failure because I have a failure. Failure is being unwilling to start over.” You are starting over therefore, not a failure! And you should not feel like a moron for crying at a support group. I’m reasonably confident that all of those other ladies have been there and probably cried in that same group before you joined them. Part of a support group (both your OA and our red team group) is to support when things are good or bad. Hang in there. You have been incredibly inspiring to me throughout this challenge and I am confident that you can do this. We are here for you.

Kari – I’m so sorry you have snow. I am so ready for winter to be over and am lucky enough to be enjoying some warm weather today. Good luck on dealing with the ex. Hang in there and don’t let the stress get you to go off plan. You are worth treating yourself well.

Rennie – I think you’ll only look crazy with your stretchy band on your walk if you have it tied around your ankles like you sister (or sil?) did in your story on the other thread. By the way that really cracked me up. Thanks for sharing that story (at your sister’s expense! ) That sounds like some idiotic thing I would do. I agree that being an example for your daughter is very important. Kudos to you for that!

How I made my hoop:

I used 100psi 3/4" black poly tubing that they use for irrigation. I got it at Lowe's in a roll of 100 feet (yes I have lots of tubing left over! LOL) you can get heavier psi and you can get up to 1" tubing but they tend to get alot more expensive.

I cut about 10-11 feet of the tubing and connected the ends with a 3/4" insert connector found right by the tubing.

Use a blowdryer to warm up the tubing so the connector fits in easily.

Then I duct taped over the areas where the connector is so the whole tube is smooth. You can decorate your hula with colorful electrical tape but I didnt see a need to spend more on it.

You can kinda see my hoop in my video blog on Danielle and my MPMU site. It was taken several weeks ago but you can see my technique on how I keep going at it.

Kari....no drama over here!! We woke up to about 2 inches of snow today too, luckily I didnt have to go shovel the sidewalk it seems to be melting by itself LOL! Good luck with your classes!!

Rennie...we havent had HH in so long I cant even remember the last time we did and I wonder if thats why it wasnt such a dramatic reaction to it. Tasty stuff, and so quick and easy but nothing that should be in your regular diet.

Diva...that is exactly why I said I wasnt getting that weighted hoop till 10% because I'm hoping I'm ALOT better by then!

Karen....do you get fittv? I just realized recently that they have that, I figured it was great for someone who likes videos, not sure I'd like having commercials right in the middle of my workout though!

Good I'll be crying again...thank you all sooo much for you kind words You guys are the best team a girl could ask for. Just writing to you all this morning and getting it out has made me feel so much better. I already did a nice workout and I've eaten a nice healthy breakfest. You guys always know just the right thing to say to cheer me up. Seriously you all are unreplaceable to me...I could not do this without you all. Karen...I was the one who wrote that...funny how I forget so fast Thanks for reminding me though. I'll pull through this and you all will be a BIG part of the reason why I do! Thank you all for being so supportive I really do love you guys...my spirit is feeling like it's on the rise

See thats why its SO important when you are in that funk and feeling down that you come tell us! You never know who is going through the same thing with you. and something you say can spark new life in them and vice versa. We all need each other...ups downs and the other. I never ever feel like anyone who is struggling brings me down, it helps me to help them. This is what support is all about, the good and the bad! And we all help each other get through it!

I wholeheartedly agree!

I third that agreement!!! XOXO

Tina - you are an inspiration to so many of us! You are so close to your goal - you are so strong and consistent with your workouts! You have grown so much during this challenge. None of us are perfectly on plan all of the time. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back at it. There is no failure involved unless you don't get back at it! I'm counting on you! When I see you losing, I know that I CAN get down to a lower weight! It really helps seeing people smaller than me still moving closer to their goal

I requested red again Though I will not be very helpful in the weight-loss category. I'm hoping that I will only have about 10 lbs. to go by then I almost didn't sign up thinking that I will be more of a liability than an asset, but I figure I can help with the challenges and chat at least

So, I'll be back for another round, if you will have me Melissa