Okay Monte...dont do anything drastic! LOL! You just said something very telling...."I'm seeing tape measure success" That means you are SHRINKING!!! The proof is in the measuring tape. We can all lose 5 lbs and its only water. But even 1/2 inch on the tape PROVES that you have lost. So dont be so hard on yourself. You are working out like crazy and what that is doing is building your lean muscle tissue. This is a very good thing because that LMT 1) tones you hence the tape measure success 2) burns more calories. These are things you want to happen. The downfall is that while you build the LMT the scale tends to not budge. You generally wont lose inches and pounds at the same time. Just keep up the good work!! Post your menus for us and if we see something you might be missing we'll let ya know! But all that exercise is a very good thing, your body is thanking you for it and you WILL see success!! Keep up the great work!!!

Thanks for the pep talk ladies, I still dunno what to do! Went to my interview and they couldnt even give me a range on the salary. It was an odd interview they made it seem like I already had the job but then told me that they had a few more interviews so I dunno. Someone send me a sign on what to do! LOL!!

AF is kicking my butt this month! I crave sweets which is really odd for me! Chocolate cake would be heaven right about now thank goodness I dont have any LOL!

Did I tell you that I finally bite the bullet and made an appointment for an annual exam for the first time in like 5 or 6 years (I know I know shame on me) but I'm getting my ducks in a row finally! Little by little I'm pulling life back together!

Its so quiet around here lately, I hope everyone is doing well! Be good to you and remember your goals during this big BBQ weekend!

I echo Melissa's sentiments. Losses that show on the tape measure are excellent! You should be proud! I'm sure the exercise is helping you build muscle. I read in an article at the beginning of the year (and mentioned it in a post a few days ago) that it's important to focus on the journey rather than the destination. You are eating healthfully and exercising which is awesome! The healthful living will result in weight loss. If you focus on the number on the scale, it can lead to frustration and many times in the past for me - binging, depression, etc. You are doing great things for your body whether you are losing weight or not.

I have in the past ate healthfully and exercised but didn't lose and just gave up or used it as an excuse to "cheat" or skip a workout, etc. Rather than focusing on all of the good I was doing for my body, I gave up and ended up gaining, etc. If I had just focused on treating my body right, then the number on the scale would have eventually dropped, but I sabotaged myself. You are worth treating your body well. Be patient. It's so hard to not see results or the results you desire at the time you desire, but you are doing all the right things and your body will catch up. Hang in there! Continue to eat healthfully and exercise - your body WILL thank you!

hi all!
sorry i havent been on much......been crazy here
the challenge has been very hard for me....but i might still get a couple days in on plan!!
just got home from the greenhouse...now its the little monsters naptime.....my 4 yr old ds is giving me major tude today....
hmmm smellimg something funky here...will try to post again after the diaper change/ bath since lil onre only goes 1x week, its always fun times/ruined clothes....
karla

I'm going to borrow this from ggmusgy on the Black team, because I seem to be seeing a bunch of excuses here and not a whole lot of lbs dropping. I know Mel with her busy life and helping her hubby recover from a serious health issue, puts a lot of thought and time into these mini challenges, and it seems like all we get are a bunch of reasons and excuses as to why ya can't participate. Why not challenge yourself a little bit and perhaps the scale with start moving down. So here goes,changing a few words here and there.

I don't want sound sound mean or bossy, but I am thinking we need to be doing less excuses and more doing. I know for myself, even when stressed, depressed or whatever, if I have an OP day and have exercised, it makes me feel a little better.

Let's give it a try.

Diva! Thank you. I for one am one of those people who needs to get focused again on the food aspect. Thanks for the post.

Diva,
How did you make your avatar? I love it; I want to make one too..

I took a screen shot of my Club pogo mini. Do you play @ pogo?

hey roni-diva,
hmm..no i don't play @ pogo...but i still love your avatar...s'ok...at least my coveting inspired me to actually put an avatar up...

ultimate frisbee is one of my newly found great loves...so it is appropriate even if not super-personal..

Thanks for the butt-kick Diva! Excuses (at least as far as I know) don't burn very many calories.

Hun.e.Be & ksk571 - thanks for the words of encouragement. I know that the exercise will have long term results, so I'm not giving up on it, but it is a little annoying that I was seeing constant drops on the scale up until we got a ways into this challenge, and then they stopped (go figure). I guess my competitive side was just bummed out. I also know that my diet isn't the healthiest (low carb, and I don't like vegetables, so mostly meat and cheese) so that really isn't a source of pride right now. I've tried the more "healthy" diets with low fat, high fiber, etc, but they usually make me gain weight instead of losing it. So I'll just stick with what works until I get to my goal weight, and then I'll reevaluate and see what kind diet I can maintain with. I think my Italian metabolism is just geared toward fatty meats and cheeses.

Monte...low carb just might be the way you gotta go, as long as you do it the right way and work those healthy grains and yes...even fruits and veggies back in! I know the scale has stalled right now but trust me...its gonna start moving again! Idealmuse is on our team is a fantastic example of how the pounds can drop when you just stick to that exercise. Be patient...the scale WILL start moving again and you'll be amazed!!

Diva -- Where was your butt kicking last week? I really needed it! Luckily I got myself back on track for my next weigh in -- unfortunately I'm a Monday weigher -- so it's already posted and done with for this week. Wait until you see how my next one turns out!

Very slow on here all over on the weekends, kind of lonely -- so glad you die-hards are sticking around!! I have to admit, it's easier for me to keep track of everyone!! Maybe they are all out exercising over their long weekend!!

Enjoy your weekend everyone and make sure you do at least two things that are purely for yourself!! My kids are now trained that every night mom exercises at 8:00 p.m. and they have to entertain themselves. This doing it after they went to bed wasn't working for me!!

I'm glad tomatoes aren't being tossed at me.

Mel, How was the Indiana Jones movie? I think I wanna go see it.

Well, tonight my son graduated from the 8th grade and I couldn't be more proud! We actually got through it. YAY What was MOST surprising and thrilling was when I went through my closet looking for something to wear at this last minute shin-dig (because he told me he didn't want to go), I found a nice, never worn pair of jeans, and a really nice, never worn blouse, put them on and they fit! I looked good! The jeans were actually a little baggy...go figure! I felt so good to wear "normal" clothes again and to be comfortable. Someone gave these to me about 3 yrs ago, and they've just hung in my closet. I tried them on once before and they were tight and yucky feeling, so this is so cool.

Doing better but not great. I have lost 5 of the 8 stress pounds but I am now hanging out at 190 and not budging. I of course have out of towners coming in who want to see, hear and yes taste Seattle all weekend so I am going to have to be very careful! Wish me luck - and I will most likely be MIA all weekend entertaining my friends!

Whoo hooo! And I'm back from the Grand Canyon - I did 3 hours of walking there but nearly FROZE to death when it started SNOWING! Real, honest-to-goodness, SNOW! I haven't seen snow in two years! I was very sad but did get some really neat pics of elks (from about 30ft away) and a deer (maybe 10 ft away)!

My plan for the two days we were travelling pretty much went to pot because of the snow though. I had food packed in the car and we were going to eat that for lunch - but around lunch time, we were 2.5 miles from the car and it was snowing like a beast!! We decided to eat at the lodge because we were not willing to walk back in the snow - and the food was NOT diet friendly. Oh well, one day off plan and then tomorrow back ON plan. I did enjoy the food and the company and the Canyon and really, in the long run, that is what is important.

Hopefully everyone has good, exciting plans for this weekend - I have Memorial Day off and I think I'm going to try to convince my husband to go wall climbing with me. We haven't been in ages and I loooooove to climb!