Hey everyone!
Yay! It's not Monday anymore. We are heading towards the weekend...slowly but surely. So, it's back to the gym today after my 2 days off. Sundays are my only completely exercise free day b/c I walk at work every weekday and work out on Saturdays. Tomorrow I have to take an unplanned day off from the gym to do laundry b/c last night's trip to the grocery store took much longer than expected. Grocery prices sure have gone up!
Over the weekend we were in the 90's, but today it is forecasted to be a much cooler 75. By Thursday and through the weekend we are supposed to be in the 60's, that should make for a much more enjoyable weekend out and about.
Anne--Good point about the fried foods! I think I will try to stick with whatever healthy alternative I can find. Last year they had a place that had really good taco salads...
I am thinking about wearing my hrm over the weekend to see how many calories all of that walking and jumping up and down at the concerts burns. I will definitely get my exercise mins in though.
Speaking of HRMs...Does anyone know how accurate the calorie count is ont them? I average about a 300 calorie burn for a 30 min walk up some pretty major hills. During these walks my heart rate is definitely up, usually to the higher end of the range it says I should be in. I also average 500-650 calories for 35 mins of cardio and about 30-40 mins of weights, abs and such. Do these sound about right? Just curious.
I also don't have any real girl-friends. I am in touch with my best friend from high school, but she lives in Oregon, so we just aren't as close as we were when we lived across the street from each other. I do have 2 younger sisters though, we are like best friends and I have my BF. It's really not the same though. I do have a co-worker that I have gotten close with; we complain about our boss, our bfs, our family, etc, but we haven't gotten together outside of work. Maybe I should make that a goal, I could go watch her play in one of her soccer games or something. I guess the people that I have gotten to know on this forum are the closest thing I have. I can come here and talk about anything! This place has been my saving grace. I can share my triumphs and my slip-ups, give encouragement and get it back! I am so happy to have found this place! Anyway, I didn't mean to write so much, but oh well...Sometimes you just have to.

BTW---All you gardeners...I am SOOOO jealous! They say people that are good with that stuff have a "green thumb," then I must have a black thumb b/c I kill everything I attempt to take care of! I wish I had that talent!

Have a great day everyone!
--Misty

Hi Teamies!

I like the Q of the day too! Gets us chattin and thinking! I figure I can follow the general trend of conversation when I pop in and I try to let that be enough. But funny enough I am starting to recognize you all when I see you elsewhere on the boards! Some of you even left comments on my blog way back when I started at 3FC in January and now I know who you are :D and I think that's really cool!:cool: It really helps to know you are all there struggling and working and trying just like I am! And on the days or weeks that don't go so well, we come on back and recommit again. I think we ALL deserve a big hand!
:cp:

Keillynsmom CELEBRATE! That is awesome! Good work!! :woohoo:

I am thinking THIS time it is 3fc and the daily plate which is helping me to be accountable when the WW site irritates me--it is so slow sometimes I would just not bother logging my foods. :nono: I have never tried putting so much info about me and what is going on in my head out there into the world before, I've always been a VERY private person and reticent about sharing pictures or anything too personal with someone I didn't know. But, I am finding that it IS empowering to have it out there, and writing it keeps me accountable to myself most of all, and all of you guys are around reading too, from time to time. It builds more good energy and motivation for me to stay on track! Cause, let's face it, we could get sort of annoying if we talked about our weight loss efforts this non-stop with our friends and sig.others :lol:

Yay for my 3FC peeps! :grouphug: Have a great day!

Hey Misty...just noticed YOU are also in Borderland! :D You've almost met your first goal! Very close now...:running:

Switzie6 (and any other bingers!) - One of the members of my small weight loss group has been using "Intuitive Eating." She's doing AMAZINGLY well. She's now 56 days without a binge. I haven't read the book, but it's really helped her.

HRM's - I think any HRM that uses your age, weight, height, sex, and heart rate is probably pretty accurate. I use a Polar F4. I LOVE IT!! I know how many calories I've burned and feel completely empowered. My weight loss had stalled before I bought it and now I'm back on the "down road!"

The WW site - It's MIGHTY slow and there are always those peeps that LOVE WW so much they try to contradict whatever you say if they find it ever-so-slightly anti-WW. I asked one girl point blank if WW paid her to come and argue people's experience with Activity Points. grrrrrr.

Meatloaf - In TBL cookbook, Devin Alexander uses oatmeal soaked in milk to help bind and moisten the meatloaf. I don't use her meatloaf recipe, but I did borrow this technique.

I've been kind of "off" the last few days and even though I haven't posted much I REALLY ENJOY coming in here and reading about everybody's positive and negative experiences.

Thanks everybody for keeping in touch!!

For me the biggest thing that's helped my weight loss is exercise. I eat healthier, crave healthy food, sleep better, have more energy, it firms me up, AND allows me to eat more.

Keillysnmom - CONGRATULATIONS on being our BIGGEST LOSER!!!!

:lol: Exactly! Calorie tracking is calorie tracking, and I consider more tools to be MORE tools even if they don't have a big ol' WW stamped on 'em! :D

I am sitting here eating a snack and starting wondering what others eat to get them through the day.

What are some snacks that get you successfully through the day?
-Multigrain wheat thins and string cheese
-Fruit!!
-Kashi GO Lean Roll Bars

YES, I am! I am hoping I will see it at next weigh-in, which should help keep me in line this weekend! ;) Thanks for noticing!!

I have a Polar hrm too. Its an F-something. It's not the coded one, whichever that one is. I love it too! One of the best purchases I have made in a long time!

The biggest thing that's helped me is the accountability. Be it to my DBF, my 3FC friends or myself. Granted there are times when I just want to say forget it - I'm eating/doing whatever I want. But then I get to thinking about it and it (most of the time) keeps me in check.

As for my snacks - I love Triscuit Thin Crisps with a wedge of Laughing Cow Light on them. Or fruit of any kind. In another lifetime it would have been chocolate!!!

I have been hovering between 180 and 183 for the longest time. I'm trying calorie cycling but haven't noticed any changes yet. Of course I'm sure I need to do it more than a couple of days to get any results. Think I'll try it for another week and see what happens.

I've never done WW but know others that have. Some really love it and others hated it. Course you'll get that with anything in life I suppose.

There are several on here that are so close to "Borderland". Everyone - keep up the good work!! You should all be proud of yourselves for taking the initiative to care for yourselves.

With that I suppose I should get off here. The auditor is gone this week and will be back next Tuesday. Fun times to look forward to!! I'll try to hop back on later. If not, see you all in the morning!!!

My husband! If I go to eat something I shouldn't be, he'll ask me why I'm doing it. His asking me "why" has made me really think about it on several occasions, and typically put the food back. He's also the one who makes me get up to go workout when I'd rather sleep. He's inspiring to me. He's lost over 100 pounds and I'm so proud of him and I just want to make him as proud of me as I am of him.

OKAY ENOUGH ALREADY :tantrum: is anyone else tired of losing every week? I am really pumping it up this week and I hope others will as well. LET'S WIN!! WE CAN DO IT!!!!

Anyone with me?

Now that that's off my chest...what has helped me the most is finding healthier alternatives to the unhealthy foods I love. Instead of Almond Joy, I now eat a SF kind that tastes exactly the same. I make pizzas on WW tortillas. A half cup of SF ice cream tastes the same to me, is lower calorie, and is satisfying...etc. you get the point :)

Chiquita--you definitely need to stick with anything new for more than a few days to see a difference. I cycle calories, and I don't know that you will necessarily see a big difference for quite awhile...the reason for cycling is to keep your body from getting used to the calorie level and stop plateaus. I don't necessarily think there will be a difference in amount lost one week to the next, though.

Misty--I know, food prices are unreal, especially tomatoes here. That's the reason we put in our own veggie garden this year...and I have turned into a complete coupon junkie. And with gardening, the green thumb is just an old myth, a saying now, I have found the key is knowledge. At first i couldn't grow anything, it would immediately die...but after a lot of research on what grows well here, soil/light requirements for specific plants, how to fertilize, prune, etc. then things really took off and everything is growing very well. I had to ammend our soil a few years, but now it is working. in the beginning you would have said my thumb was black as well, though.

In response to Anne's awesome question of the day. I believe that planning my food for the week and spending time here getting motiviated are key in my weight loss. I notice as soon as I ditch the plan for impulse I come to a complete stand still.

:wave:Hi Black Teamies!
There's a WORKOUT marathon on Bravo right now and all night until the new episode @10 pm EST.

Hi girls and guys! Back from Havasu and ready to rock it! Maintained my weight over the last 10 days! Gotta drop some this week though! Will have a chance to read posts later tonight. Hope you all are doing well!