hopeful-i love the hair and the pics. U look so cute. I once donated 12 inches of hair to Locks of Love. It feels so good to do something right for someone who doesn't have what I have.

Dora-Thanks for the letters. I got them. I will show them to Leo and see what he/we can do. It helps tremendously, trust me. You aren't overwhelming us at all............it's so much of a help. Thank you.

Wow! Thanks for that Kelly! It's that simple. I always, sometimes many time a day, have to ask myself if it's worth it. The honest answer is usually NO. It's a hard thing - denying myself! Worth it though. It makes us stronger.

I often think about Albert Einstein's definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.

Jen - love your happy pics! Your hair must have been real long! I did Locks of Love once and my hair was up to my ears!! They needed 12 inches!

:rofl: Mine is still in a zip-loc bag in my spare room!!! Sad thing is - its from a couple years ago! Eek! Guess I'm not that good on the follow-through ;)

I have awesome news to share with you guys - I had my body fat diagnostic this morning, and I'm down to 28%!!! I am so excited!!! That also means that virtually all the weight I've been losing the last couple months has been fatty-fat-fat and not muscle! Yay!!!:carrot:

Anyway - feeling energized and excited! Have a great day everyone!:carrot:

Did you recently start weight training? WTG!

Rhonda -- what Kelly said. You have to start learning that "relaxing and enjoying yourself" is completely doable ON PLAN, because your WHOLE LIFE is going to be ON PLAN. If you keep going off plan you're just convincing yourself that happiness exists through junky food and that you can't be on plan and happy! That's bad thinking and won't get you were you want to go!

Thank you Kelly and Josephine! You ladies are so right. I need to learn to stop looking for excuses to go off-plan and learn how to celebrate and enjoy life without using food as the focus. Using food brought me up to 264 pounds and has kept me in the 230's for a while now. It's time to suck it up and do what I need to for my health and my future.

Hello Ladies...another week over and the weekend's here. It always cheers me up :D

I've been eating OP and working out a lot this past week and it's part of my new plan. I want to make a habit of working out every day and get it through my head that it's a lifelong thing, no ifs or no buts. It's not easy, I stumble a lot and get discouraged sometimes but I sincerely thank you all in the team, 3FC and DH for all the support I am getting. You guys are amazing. I'm trying different things right now to see what I can continue to do forever as part of my workout routine. It might take a while till I figure out but as long as I'm exercising along the way that's what matters.

DH and I have also started playing tennis and joined a cardio tennis class to get into the routine. We went to play tennis last night too just the two of us and man! it was something! (if interested I wrote it in my blog how it went) :D We hope to make it part of our routine and our ever changing lifestyle, watching less TV and finding things to do together that are inexpensive and fun to do (besides you know ;))

Me_Amarie, super on the fat% loss. That's really good news.
Rhonda, you've been doing SO good past few days staying OP and exercising regularly. I agree with Kelly & Jo, there's always going to be some occassion or other. Instead, I'd suggest finding an alternate way to celebrate with DH ;) instead of food before you go pick up the girls. You know you'll feel upset and guilty after you eat out. Why go through that? It's not even worth it. We've all been there done that. I know it's hard but you need to stay strong right now. Think of what you've accomplished in past few days, feeling healthy, eating healthy and working out. It's amazing! Be strong girl! I know you can do it. We're here for you :hug:
Jill, great going :) perseverance!
Maria, we know you can do it :)
Tawnya, how are you doing?

I believe you mentioned Texas Roadhouse? LOVE that place! But I can enjoy myself just fine by having a lean cut of steak (filet mignon) or grilled chicken, side caesar salad (no croutons), and a veggie side. The only thing that's hard for me to avoid is the bread with that sweet butter...but, it's not the last time I'll ever have a chance to have that bread. It will be even more delicious if I wait for a REALLY special occasion to have it, like maybe only a couple times a year.

I think that's my plan right now. My birthday is in July, so it's spaced about 6 months from the crazy holiday season of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. So, I'm thinking I'll allow myself my birthday and one day in the midst of holiday season to eat a bit off plan. Not a 24-hour sugar binge, but something more than I would normally allow myself. Right now, I'm very strictly low-carbing for the sake of my blood glucose levels. It is proving to be a bit of an adjustment even for Jeff that when I come home tired, I tell him no, we can't just order pizza or subs or Chinese, and no, I don't want to go out to eat because who knows what they really put in their food. I'm sure he gets frustrated with chicken and broccoli or cauliflower for dinner 5-6 nights a week, but guess what--my health is more important than his variety of dinners. If he doesn't like it, he can learn to cook! That's basically what I told him last night :p

Way to go Jill! And remember, it is healthy for him too, even if he doesn't like it!

Good for you Jill! He should be happy he's getting healthy meals as well! Do you make the chicken in different ways? Different marinades? My DH doesn't care for BLSL chicken breasts. He'll eat it without complaining... But when I prepare it in different ways he appreciates it!

I don't like chicken much either. The other day, Hubby tossed together some chicken breasts with some salsa he had in the fridge. Yummy! For something he just threw together, it was really good.

Thanks!! Nope, no weight training here - it bores me ;) I have recently been doing yoga, pilates, kayaking, and running though - so between those it must be doing the trick!

Josephine - great words of wisdom! Love them, love them, love them!!!