That's awesome! Won't it feel so good to be done? Are you taking any summer classes?

Good job on your test, congrats! And that is great that you've worked out 7 days...way to be consistent. :)

So, do you think if I do stationary bike but do intervals, my body won't get used to it? Once school is out, I want to go to the bay and rollerblade, but I don't know if we can afford the gas, as expensive as it is. Maybe I could do this:
mon- rollerblading
tues- stationary biking (intervals)
weds- walking
thurs- stationary biking (intervals)
fri- walking
sat- outdoor biking (intervals sort of)

Do you think that would work? Plus I want to put in 3 days of strength training.

Well, I'm off to school...last day of classes before finals wooo!

I finally have my eating back in line! Since Monday I have been OP completely with my food! It had been a tough few weeks there with a few good days followed by a few binge days. The good thing is I kept up with my exercising the whole time no matter what I was eating.
Just finished reading Food Revolution by John Robbins and it really inspired me to rethink the way I eat. It was really a great book.

trooworld: I think your plan looks good!

switzie: good job on getting your food OP

I got my herb garden planted yesterday as well as some wild flowers-now I have to be patient and wait for them to grow, but I am SO excited to use herbs from my own garden!

Hope everyones friday is going goo!

Just stopping in to say hello. We are leaving to visit with my grandmother. Wont be back around till Monday.

Just wanted to wish all you great ladies a wonderful mother's day!

Alicia

Well it is again another dreary day in the neighborhood, boy I wish we could get some sunshine around here again, well I have a high school girlfriend coming into town this weekend and she is wanting to go out tonight and of course I am going to meet her but will only have a couple of Mich Ultras saved up a few points today just for this. Hope everyone has a good Friday night.

My weigh-in days are Fridays, and I'm down 1.8 pounds! :carrot: I recently signed up for the JB Beach Hopping. I started back to 24 Hour Fitness this week and I'm upping my exercising.

I have no idea what I was thinking when I bought a medium sized pack of Peanut M&M's the other day...that is a MAJOR red light food for me. I had a few the day I bought them, but knowing weigh-in day was today, I decided that I would put them away (out of sight, out of mind ). I managed to stay out of them. I did have a couple with my egg muffin this morning. Boy did they taste good, BUT, it felt even better to have had control over not eating them for a few days (in my previous lifetime, I could have easily...and WOULD have...eaten the entire bag in one afternoon.).

So, anyway, the bad news (for me anyway) is that my muscle mass seems to be going down rather than up (though my % body fat is going down), I need for my muscle mass to increase (I need to have a more efficient metabolism)!!! I'm going to get more serious about using weights (using 3 to 5 pound hand weights with all of my Leslie Sansone workouts - whether the workout calls for them or not, and using the weight machines at 24 Hour Fitness.) I also need to figure out if I need to up my protein intake (for those of you trying to build muscle, how much protein do you get in each day?).

Does anyone here know about building muscle mass and/or have had success with it? I could sure use some help and advice. Thanks!

RealCdn (Anne), thank you so much for your feedback! Hitting 90% most all of the time on an eating plan seems like a very respectable and doable goal. That way, when we do go off plan a bit, we won't feel guilty and our mental state will remain positive (which I think will help us longterm in making these changes permanent and things that are easy to keep up with the rest of our lives). I'm with you, I'm trying to eat as clean and healthy as possible (little processed food), but there are a few things I don't plan to give up (my absolute worst is Diet Coke, though I've cut WAY back on those). I'm going to check into John Berardi...is there a book of his you're reading or a website/blog? Good luck getting through your rest week!!!

Hiya Black team!

Everyone, I am so impressed with how you are keeping OP and exercising and posting your successes! LOVE reading about it. I wish I had time to scroll thru and address you all personally, but I am reading and cheering for you all the way!

We have a few more yummy sounding recipes over on the Healthy Eating on the Beach thread, even if you're not trying new veggies or fruits as a challenge you might find something inspirational to try out this weekend! :D

My mom just called from Ireland! She is on a well deserved vacation with her sister and my dad and a couple other friends. They were going pubbing in the country tonight just out of Belfast! My 66 yr old mommy, pubbing! :dizzy:
So, no mom around for me this weekend, but I am having lunch with friends on Sunday, and my friend's like-a-mom, mom so I will feel some mom-love.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers working so hard!!! I salute you! It's the most important job you will ever do IMO! :val3:

Off to work! TGIF! :cool:

Just answering a couple of quick comments (I'm supposedly cleaning my desk/office area - more like shifting the stuff on the desk to the shelf or the bookcase, to be reviewed later).

Trooworld - it looks good. Don't get me wrong, I mainly use the treadmill, but I know the body gets used to it. I've added swimming also at the moment and will continue that until the fall. I think the strength training is a great addition. Of course, I'm biased, I actually enjoy it. :)

Reda - careful what you wish for. We have a beautiful sunny day out, but the wind makes it unpleasant to be outdoors. It might be warmish without that darned wind. Enjoy your night out with your friend.

Cheree - that's the big thing about weight loss (losing the muscle). I've seen as much as 1g of protein recommended (I can't do that at the moment). I do aim for 30% or more of my daily calories from protein, and manage to hit it every day. I'm actually considering going to get my bodyfat measured in the next few weeks (even though I'm horrified by what it might actually be). I feel like I'm building strength, but can't say for sure. I do know that 8 weeks ago there would be no chance I could do barbell shoulder presses with 30-lb barbells... although I was using 8-lbs before that without too much of a struggle. So the best idea would be to get a true BF number soon, and then again in a few months. There's a body comp place a couple of hours from here (I think they go under the name Bod Pod in other areas). To answer your question about John Berardi - he's an author of a system called Precision Nutrition. A friend of mine who is a body builder used the system to build more muscle mass (not that I really think he needs it). I'm still not committed to purchasing it at the moment (it's just a little out of my price range @ $97US), but I suspect at some point I'll break down. You can actually join the forums without buying the system (although I think there are some areas restricted to people who have bought the system). They really push the nutrition part the most. I know I've heard the quote 'you can't out-train a bad diet' a fair bit. I think it's probably true. I mean, we can do all the exercise in the world, but unless the nutrition is good, you don't see the full advantage. Having said all that, since I'm still losing weight I'm not willing to buy into another system. Maybe if/when I get stuck I'll consider it. :)

I went and looked after I read that. I've got 7 unopened 12-packs of diet sodas in behind the bar. As well as four of them opened (so probably at least another 2 full). I don't know when but I just stopped drinking them. I've had maybe half a dozen in the last three months, although I will try to use them up when the weather is nicer. I was probably taking 4-6 a day (which is why there were so many when I stopped). I actually don't seem to miss them. I do take a single crystal light each day, but other than that it's just water.

Actually, yes, I work full-time...with NUMBERS! I am an Acct Asst, then I go home and do more Math homework and class work! I stayed home today b/c I just needed a BREAK! Plus I have been working out after ork, before going home. LIfe is crazy right now!

Hey everyone...
Just checking in. Today was supposed to be my WI, but today TOM started, so I am going to wait until Monday, so hopefully some of the water weight is gone. I walked for 2 hours today to the nearby shopping center and ended up walking around and home with a bunch of heavy bags...I bough a lot! Anyway, have a GREAT weekend! I took the day off from work and the gym today, I needed the sleep, the homework time and the re-hydration time!! Back to the gym tomorrow! TTY'all Later!

--Misty

Switzie: way to go, getting your eating back in control! :carrot:

smurf: I'm so jealous, I would love an herb garden! I've thought about doing some in pots, but I have a black thumb...I am HORRIBLE with plants...basil is supposed to be the easiest herb to grow and I bought a nice plant from Trader Joe's but I killed it within 2 weeks!


Well, there will be no exercise tomorrow, we are driving almost 3 hours up to Canoga Park to have an early mother's day with my m-i-l. Does driving in LA traffic count as exercise??? My facial muscles will be exercised as I cuss people out! ;)

Happy Mothers Day, everyone!

Hi all!

I, too, am just checking in. Gearing up to leave for a week at Lake Havasu. Exercise has been minimal this week. Food has been HORRIFIC and I am blaming the whole thing on TOM.

I should have weighed in today too, but will tomorrow. I will apologize in advance for any gain. I'm sure it'll be there. But I will be back on track after my vacation! Hope you all have a great weekend and keep up the good work!

KC

ggmugsy: Which new firm video was it? I may see if it's on exercise tv and try it. I used to do the Firm workouts in college in the early 90's and loved them. I haven't done many of the recent ones though.

Still struggling big time with food. I should be able to get in some good workouts this weekend however. It probably won't make up for my eating, but what can I say but it's just where I am right now. :(

Hope you all have a great weekend.

:wave: hey everyone! I would love to sit and catch up here, but no chance of that until later tonight (maybe). I expected to have an ordinary, on schedule week, but it turned out to be hectic :dizzy: I am getting ready now to take my daughter to a fitting for cheerleading, then MIL should be here when we get back...I'm hoping they won't stay long and I can relax some today :crossed:

I have updated my exercise for both challenges....though it wasn't much the past couple days. I think I was first to arrive at the beach this week, though :swim: I'll check back in to catch up later.