No, this week I'm only going as far south as Salem! Maybe in August we are going to SouthernCA. Thanks though!

Yeah, watermelon is probably #3 on my Top 5 Foods list! YUM. So nice! I crave it after some hanky panky!! (That probably should only be posted on Plurk, but oh well.:o)

I have to be VERY careful with grains and carbs in general...veggies aside. If I eat a "regular" dessert, forgetaboutit! I will be up on the scale even with intense workouts to "cancel" it!! I do see the most consistent losses when I follow The Zone - balancing carbs, protein and fat at each meal and snack. I just don't always follow that. Should though...

This is the main complaint I've heard about BBlanks. He gets so distracted and messes up on counting and evenness.

I know! Crazy as this is...this is why I HATE scales...I was up 3 pounds on Monday...knew I HAD NOT gained any weight. Used a freebie instead of posting a gain...and today am down 5 pounds! Whatever...

Not to much happening here. Went to the gym again today. I am really enjoying myself and working with the free weights. I thought my mom was going to pitch in and help pay for a few training sessions but that probably won't happen. It must be time for her to go to the casino and win some money soon. ;)

In the meantime, I have the New Rules book coming and I picked up two others from the library today. Gonna start practicing a few more things next week and then start looking at increasing the weights after that.

Went grocery shopping today and filled the cart with fresh veggies so I should be good for the weekend. Oh, and I got a watermelon ;) DH might get lucky tomorrow night when he gets home, LOL.

Hope everyone has a great 4th of July!

Jennifer- WOW, I have to say that is so awesome that you passed up the pizza!
mariarose- I don't think that is too much for one day, if everyday was like that I would have canker sores from the grapefruit. ;)
Dora- You always say the sweetest things. Your family and friends are so blessed to have you, and so are we!

Thanks guys Kmart didnt have another treadmill but they said i could have a raincheck on the price and they will ring me when they come in.. but if they are gonna be like that then im not gonna buy off them i dont think.. we will have to see..

thanks for the info in bb Shay i thought is would be a good workout.. and im glad to hear its enjoyable ...

Dora sounds like you have a nice new nieghbour .. .

So here a question when this challenge is over what are we all planning to do?? will we go make a chat somewhere and stay in touch .. I would really mess you guys if we all went our seperate ways :( ..? so what do you think? we dont have that much time left in this challenge?

Amy, yes I was just thinking that myself, I think we can do Blue team chat, even though the challenge is over. =)

Chellez, Chellez? Come on back, we won't hurt you... please... :cry:

Amy - what happened last time was at the end there was 1 chat thread for all teams created for the time "in between challenges". It went on for a few weeks/couple months until the next challenge started.

thanks nori that sounds good :) by the end the way the teams are dropping number it would proibably be a good sized group

I personally would love to still keep in touch with you guys.

WEll, I guess Leo has to start over again. He had one beer last night and tried hiding it from. Jerk!!! Just kidding. I know I can't expect him to give it all up at once. It'll take time. But that does show me that he is addicted to it. He hid it, lied to me about it, and couldn't resist it. Oh well. we'll just start over again today and see what it brings.

I feel like our leader has lost interest in our challenge. :(

i think she has become a plurkerholic lol

tkglenn- one beer is probably much better than some other days, right? I'm glad you feel safe telling us what's going on. Even if times get good or bad, it's good to hear from you.
Nori- all team chats sounds awesome
Team support- you all have been awesome and fun to chat with, I am very proud of all of us!

I'm kind of feeling the same way :(

Yeah it's not going to be an easy road, but he can only do it one day sometimes one minute at a time.

And I agree, I want to stay in touch with you guys too. You can't know how much you guys have really helped me.

I'm proud of us too! GO BLUE! :carrot: :cheer3:

i agree with vix we have the greatest team of people.. . Its been and absolute pleasure to be a part of this team..

Today i went down to my local cash converters second hand shop in search of exercise equipment.. they had a mini trampoline (rebounder ) for $10 so i grabbed it and i have to say im very happy with it too.. It gave me a gereat workout this afternoon .. i was sweating and had sore muscles and felt great when i was done.. I spent an hour or so searching for them on you tube to find some good and safe workouts oves.. did them and came off with my butt burning and toght calves.. .. yippee .. i have my afternoon cardio back.. im very happy about that..

I put the money from the treadmill onto the elliptical so i will have that sooner rather then later. I spoke to my hubby and he is happy for me to get it as soon as all the bills are payed .. so maybe a month instead of 2 .. which is gtreat becuase..since my elliptical broke .. i have felt quite bummed.. and i have not lost a single ounce :P .. so im still at 267.. and ahent budged.. i need my cardio back enjoyable .. :) .. i would do the elliptical generally 6 days a week when it was working good :) lol .

Tomorrow im going out with a group of new friends im really excited we are all going to a play cafe with the kids .. they also invited me out last week end to a party at one of the girls houses i went to it was great and are now planning a kid free girls night out around when my hubby will be home next :) im so pleased.. they ar taking time off work and getting sitters on nights they dont usually so I can go to.. :) makes me feel special.
We are going out for dinner and a movie . im so excited about it all and so happy to be in a group of great girls .. they are all mums .. and ours kids are all around the same age .. 5 of us have 2 kids ( one school age one younger) and the other 2 have one younger child each and the other lady has teenage twins and a 2 year old . So its quite a big group really .. and it going to be great

Amy- I found a lot of good videos at cash converters for fitness, I used to be a fintess instructor and needed some new ideas so I went over there and got like 20 videos, I ended up donating most of them, but they were only $2 a video!

ok im just wondering do you think him learning to live without the beer is a similar process to what we go though learning what to eat to lose weight?? at first you crave what has been taken away and feel like crap even though your now eating healthy but your body isn't used to it.. .. or do you thinkn changing diet is easier then a alchol problem becuase instead of having nothing you are replacing what is bad food for good ?
and its its easier to replace things that are bad for good what could he use as a replacement for his beer??

omg wonders never cease i cant believe you guys have cash converters too lol i didnt think you would know what that was lol.. is there anything you dont have?? ,lol

Hey everyone

I just wanted to address my lack of communication and give you a brief reasoning behind it.

Pretty much my participation has dropped drastically because about 3 to 4 weeks prior to now, I had a heart to heart with Melissa via messenger. I expressed my concerns of being burnt out and really ready to give up; diet wise and challenge wise. I explained that while losing weight and getting healthy are things I want to do, they are not in my front and center right now. I have like a million other things that I want to do than that.

That's not to say that I don't love you guys or the challenge. I'm just ready for a break.

Some of you already know this, but I want to let you all know that after this challenge, we're only going to run the challenges when the show is on air. There will be a formal announcement in the forums later.

I'm not quitting the challenge, and I'm still losing weight, I'm just enjoying my life and other endeavors along with hanging out here. :D

Hope that helps explain some things. :hug: Sorry you guys feel like I left you.

amy-I never thought of it that way but it is so true. I think the point of the bad stopping and filling it in with the good is the same. I told him to do something instead of drink and he had no idea what to do. i suggested for him to work on his truck or work on the house, the yard, something or even find a new hobby. Just like us as we lose weight. Instead of snacking constantly, we find something to fill in or take over that time by exercising or doing something else. I totally didn't think of it that way but you are right!!! Thanks for the insight.

chellez-you have done alot for us and I know I'm not the only one who feels this way but I am so greatful for you even having started the challenge and continuing with it. I think doing it while it's on air will help alot too because we will all feel motivated. Do what you have to do. You need to take care of yourself too.

13 more days and i'm outtie!!!

Chellez - I completely understand. I couldn't manage a challenge like this and have an outside life. Thanks for what you've done. It's been great for me and while I'll miss it, I do understand!

I couldn't have said it any better. I don't know how you keep up with the challenges and have a life. I will miss the challenge too, but I understand completely. So when does the next show start?

Isn't it in september or something?

i just went on the website and it said in september

Wow, only 5 more weigh ins for me and the challenge is over. But so far I've lost 35.6 pounds in this challenge, so it has been good to me. :)

Hey guys! Just checking in. I had an awesome run last night and had a whole route planned for this morning and .....rain. Lots of it. RATS!

Josephine--you are a rock star. I am working on being happy for you without being jealous of you.

Chelle--you have worked so hard on all these challenges. We appreciate all you do.

Chellez--What you are capable of is amazing. I also think only doing it when the show is on does make it more motivating. September is not that far away.

It will definitely still be easy to do chats bw challenges to keep up with each other.

Enchilada Sauce:

1 T oil
1-2 T chili powder
3 T flour
2 C h2O
1 t vinegar
1/2 t garlic
1/2 t salt
pepper to taste

(I also add cumin)

I put it all in a sauce pan and whisk together. Cook til thick.

In a casserole dish, I put down a layer of tortillas. Then I put down the beans, then cheese. Then I add a layer of tortillas and pour the sauce over. Serve like lasagna.

Easy recipes, Anna. I've printed it to try it!

Jo - you do rock! I'm so impressed at what you've been able to accomplish!

We have had thunder and lightening and hail and downpours off and on for the past 18 hours of so. Power outages... So odd.

Happy Fourth of July
 

:sunny:

Hope everyone has a happy 4th - in my area we have a BoomBox Parade - people come with their radios tuned to the local radio station to watch anyone who wants to march down Main Street - many make floats of their own.

Linda

I probably will not be on that much in the coming week. I'll be in Oregon with limited access to internet. I plan to do lots of physical activities - like walking and some body weight exercises like my push ups!! And I am planning to be in the 230's when I get home! That's my goal. I must maintain for sure. No gains allowed. I used a holiday freebie this week since I usually weigh in on Sundays and will not have a scale. Have a lovely holiday weekend everyone.

CHelle, how is Daniel, and how did his tests come out? I figured that is one of the big things on your mind. Hang in there........

Hahahah, I agree. ;)

Chellez- Thanks for telling us what's going on, I honestly didn't know what was going on with you, so just wanted to check on you. I know we've lost a lot of peps in this challenge (this is only my 2nd one), but we did in the last one as well. I, personally, don't think that the show being on (or it being summer) has effected my motivation. We talked mostly on a different thread about the show, this thread was more support and personal related. That's just my experience. But anyway, I know you do bust *** crunching numbers for us and managing the whole challenge in itself, along with our team's info as well, plus your personal, work life, and school and other projects, it's a lot. Also, this is an longer challenge than some in the past (I think) so that might be why too. I know you worked hard to get this challenge where it is and we all appreciate it. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have met all these awesome bluesers and have such a great team.

Oh yea, and bluesers, we better clean the floor with the other teams this week!:carrot:

I agree with Vix - the challenge being on, or it being summer hasn't helped as much as having accountability to a team, someone you didn't want to let down. I can easily see how Michelle would be burned out with all her responsibilities. But I sure will miss the support of the team when this is over. Sure, I know there are other threads, but this was really fun. Just my take on it.

Dora

Happy 4th of July Blue Team! Let's have fun AND stay on plan so we can kick some serious booty at the next weigh-in, yes? I'm a competitive freak and I don't like losing! :)

:cheer3: :cheer3: :cheer3:

just caught up on posts
 

Blue Team is fantastic:grouphug:

This is my first challenge to join and I think it has been wonderful. Chellez, thank you for all your efforts and work on this - I am sorry I was out of the loop - dropping in to read posts I have missed keeping up to date on you and some of the pulse of the team. I just want you to know that this has been a positive experience for me.

:woohoo::cheer3::woohoo:Blue Team

Have a Healthy, Happy Fourth of JulyCOLOR]

Linda
:moped:

Chelle - i would be more than happy to help in anyway with the challange to take some weight off your shoulders.

Let me know if I can help you in anyway. I am so greatful for all you do for us.

Happy Independance day everyone!

http://dl2.glitter-graphics.net/pub/...fz19ohqob0.gif

Going to breakfast, then a parade, then maybe some down time, then the best... FIREWORKS!