HI girls!!

Back on track as of yesterday. Writing down all of my food again.
Looking forward to watching BL tonite.
Have a good one!

Girls, I so wish I could figure this out. I don't know why, but I always gain during the middle of my cycle, ovualation time. It is crazy and depressing aas H***. I am up 5 pounds. WTH??? I started using progesterone cream to balance hormones. I thought it helped last month, but not so much this time. I have to keep my head on straight and not get depressed.

Shy- You have been doing great. Keep it up.

Fluffy- 24 kids. that is crazy. I can't even imagine.

Lucky- Yep, perspective. When I get to feeling down (like today) I have to look back at the 60, well 55 now, pounds I've already lost.

Cruise- thanks for the boost. Funny, I also gave in to the Twilight. I thought it wasn't for me, but started it over the weekend. It's alright so far, but I'm not in love with it yet.

Mary- Good for you.

mtiger - You aren't the only one who has mid cycle gains. I often do and then get a little whoosh of loss when TOM finally shows up. Try to remember to take into account that it's just the way *your* body works and try to take it in stride.

Hi Everyone,
I missed my weigh in and so I'm out now, I'll try to keep posting if that's ok. The Easter candy and food occasions have gotten the best of me this past week, I'm going to get back on program now.
I do have a huge NSV I would like to share. I have been in charge for the spring project in the parishes where I work. Traditionally we raise money for an international aid organization, in the past we have packaged food for poeple in Africa. This year we raised money for Heifer International to help families around the world get involved in agriculture and raise above poverty. Our goal was to raise $5000 to help purchase farm animals and seed for people around the world. I was given the impression by many people that it was way too much money to raise and would never get done in the 6 weeks we were doing it. As of this weekend our grand total is $9300!! One of our fundraisers was an international tasting dinner which was held last Sunday, We had everything donated and did not spend a cent on the meal. Today my boss told me one of my gifts was I was totally fearless and would dive in and try anything. Now if I can translate that into weight loss.

For all our biggest losers and all those struggling, have a great week.
Bette K

Well, I'm a big fan of the burrito bowl. I get lots of rice (my weakness, I LOVE rice, thankfully I don't eat it as much anymore), black beans, chicken and medium salsa. You can add lettuce, cheese and other things if you want. The tacos are great as well. It's all grass-fed beef, so its very organic.

Hi Ladies! I haven't been posting very faithfully, but I've been here in spirit. I had a rough couple of weeks (which caused a 3lb gain), but the past 10 days have been amazing! Calorie cycling has been wonderful for me, I've gone down from 158.8 to 153.2 in just 8 days (a new record low for me!) I'm still doing treadmill intervals for my workouts, and it is getting harder and harder to keep my heart rate up (yeah!), so I know I'm getting more fit. So good things all around. :carrot:

I have only been able to eat at Chipolte once, but it was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE the movie Twilight. I haven't read the books though. Everyone says "read the books, they are so much better" I say, why read a book and ruin a good movie? I love movies, not much of a reader. One of my closest friends is an high school English/lit teacher and she just can't understand my way of thinking...lol

running is definately the best workout for me although i still walk more than i run my heart rate is always way up by time i'm done and i can only run 90 seconds at a time.

Quick post before the meds kick in again and I'm out sleeping for another 13 hours. I'm very sick with a sore throat and cough. I only managed 1 hour at work today and DH said he'd take my keys if I tried to go to the gym. Not much chance of that anyway since I feel so weak and my head is going to fall completely off if I cough any more. Fluids and bedrest...not good for losing poundage. I'm whiney and bored. Daytime TV sucks, I guess I'll break out the Buffy dvds.

Bette - that's a great NSV - well done you!

Dixie - hope you feel better soon. I had a bad chest infection earlier in the challenge and was nearly driven mad being confined to the sofa with daytime TV. I did lose weight though because I wasn't eating very much but it all went back on when I was better unfortunately. Just remember you can through this and try to watch something good on TV to keep you going. Take care of yourself.

Sonja - 24 kids! Wow! That's a lot of birthdays ;) I was speechless when I had dinner next to Westlife but tried to act all cool and unbotherered, LOL :) I'm not sure of the exact arrangements yet about the Queen's visit. Should be a different kind of day :)

I haven't posted for a few days as I was away to London on business. Went to see Jersey Boys at the theatre whilst I was there - it was FAB! Anyone seen it? What about you, Mindy?

Mandy - I'm with you on falling off the wagon. I just seem to be self-sabotaging my efforts at every turn just now. Need my butt kicked big time. Even my exercise is slipping (Blue teamers won't know this, but I'm a bit of an exercise addict!)

The UK version of Biggest Loser starts this Monday so I am excited about that and hope it will help me get my efforts back on track!

Hope you are all doing good - tomorrow is another day ladies!

Well here I am on the up, down roller coaster of life. Down 1.2 today. It is crazy.

Zinke- Yep, that's me to a tee. I will get a loss before TOM, but once it passes I will see a big loss. The ups and downs are frustrating and I need to just deal with it.

Willow- I am an avid reader and would not watch the movie until I read the book. I am about halfway through the book, so no movie yet.

Okay guys, you are talking about food and I am starving. Need food.

dixie-hope you feel better soon

I have been trying to cut down my computer time this past week or so. I just came in to check on this thread and I see that we are back to being a really chatty group :D. Problem is I am way behind with everybody, so I will say hi :wave:, hope everybody is hanging in there and I will do my best to catch up

Hi everyone and congrats to this weeks' biggest losers!! I can't believe I forgot to post my weight, but I still had a freebie so I'm okay!! I can't do that again though!!

I went to my third boot camp workout tonight...it is so extreme, but quite a challenge. Last week I got a major cramp in my right quad as the class started. It hurt so bad I wanted to leave but I couldn't bring myself to walk out because everyone there is sooo competitive. So, I just pushed through, slower than the rest, but i wouldn't give up. I also tried a zumba class this week and it was awesome!! I wear a bodybugg to monitor my calorie burn and it said I burned 520 calories in the one hour class. I would like to try the dvds as it is sometimes hard to follow the steps but it is new at my club so we are all suffering with 2 left feet at this point.

I have spent the last few weeks tearing my house apart - part spring cleaning and part getting ready for possible summer guests. My BIL is in the Marines and possible getting deployed to Africa for 5 months. We should know if he is going within the next week or two. If he goes, my sister and 3 nieces will come spend the summer with me. So...I need to get the house ready by babyproofing and cleaning out my nieces bedroom here as it tends to be a catch all room between their visits. The visit will be awesome, but getting them here will be stressful. They have an older dog who would not tolerate a flight so I will fly to San Diego, drive with them across the country, drive home with them in August and then fly back home. We've done it before and the only problem will be the 20 month old...she will be one unhappy baby!! It also means I will drive across the country 3 times in 4 months!!! Rudy and I have had a trip planned to Yellowstone this Sept and we are driving. Now I'll also drive from CA to PA in June and PA to CA in August, and then PA to Yellowstone in Sept!! Whew.

MonteCristo - can I ask how you break up your calories when you cycle? I have wanted to try it but I can't decide on how low and how high to go and how many days at each level.

Dixie -hope you are feeling better soon.

Sorry for the long post....its been too long between posts I guess!!!!

Hi Losers!

It's been a while since I dropped by. But, I'm going to take a page out of Kristen's book from the BL and say it out loud.....I'm on plan again and I'm going to meet my goal soon! :carrot: Yep. I voiced my dream out loud. And, no one is going to snatch this dream away from me! I deserve this. We each deserve this.

Today is my 3rd day on-plan and my 3rd day in a row of doing some intentional exercise. I wish I had gotten my lightbulb moment during the challenge and would have been a better team mate, but better late than never. I have been lurking, though, and feel like I am getting to know everyone fairly well.

BTW, when will the next challenge begin? We just might all be at goal by then. :lol: Well, maybe not me. I've got a ways to go.

Hey all...
Glad to see some folks are still doing well, and others are hopping back on the wagon. As Rhonda said, "better late than never."

:wave: Rhonda: Long time no see. Glad you're back on plan and exercising intentionally. ;)

Dix: Aw, you poor thing. :hug: I hope you feel better soon, and I'm sure we all agree with your DH - no working out before your body starts healing itself.

luckycharm: You're welcome for the pee break laugh. :D

In light of "the wagon" we've been talking about lately, I wanted to pose a QOTD for Thursday. I know it's still Wednesday here, but you East coasters are well into the afternoon by the time I get up for work, so . . . .

QOTD for Thursday
When you get back on the wagon, do you find that there are things you missed about being "on" the wagon? What are those things and why do you think it's so hard to remember those things to help keep you on the wagon or to help you get back on the wagon faster when you fall off?

QOTD for Thursday
When you get back on the wagon, do you find that there are things you missed about being "on" the wagon? What are those things and why do you think it's so hard to remember those things to help keep you on the wagon or to help you get back on the wagon faster when you fall off?

Having re-boarded the wagon this week, I realize now that I missed feeling good about exercising regularly, and I missed the high I got from exercising. I discovered that I missed oranges. Somehow I forgot that I love oranges and that they are totally worth the peeling effort.

Now, as for why I forget, I can only blame the inconvenience of eating healthier or exercising. Sounds stupid, I know, but it's easier to order take-out, than to cook. It's easier to watch TV than to exercise. This getting healthier thing is time-consuming, and I feel like spending all that time on myself makes me feel oddly self-centered. OK, now it really sounds stupid. Ugh! :halfempty

i agree with you on the exercise part of it...i certainly don't miss watching what i can and can't eat. but i get an energy burst from exercising that you can't get else where

Tanya - I have found that the average amount of calories that works best for me is around 1500. So for the cycling I've been doing like this.....
Monday - 1500 ; 1200
Tuesday - 1700 ; 1200
Wednesday - 1300 ; 850
Thursday - 1500 ; 1200
Friday - 1700 ; 850
Saturday - 1500 ; 1500
Sunday 1300 ; 0

The first number is the calories I consume for the day. I also sort of cycle my workouts (and that is the second set of numbers) So almost every day I end up with a slightly different overall result.

Morning everyone... seems like the boards are having issues again.

Just wanted to pop in before I got busy cleaning the house. I leave on Tuesday and I have had my head stuck in a book(s) since Monday. I hate leaving anything for Mack to do while I'm gone; he works so hard and then has to deal with all five dogs in the evening.

I'm doing OK... not as consistent as I had been on the treadmill and between Tuesday and Wednesday I ate a big box of Hot Tamales; I still need to work on moderation. I guess the good news is the scales have not moved either way since Monday.

QOTD for Thursday
When you get back on the wagon, do you find that there are things you missed about being "on" the wagon? What are those things and why do you think it's so hard to remember those things to help keep you on the wagon or to help you get back on the wagon faster when you fall off?
One of my biggest issues with going off is that I risk having a gallbladder attack. Does that stop me from eating crap or even overeating like I found out a couple weeks ago..... NO. It's not like I don't remember and I do care but I do it anyway. I do feel better when I work out and I love the extra movement on the scales but again there are days sometimes weeks that I just don't do it. I guess the bottom line for me is that I am still working on the life style change and some habits are VERY hard to break or replace.

It only takes a day or two before I realize that being on-plan and not pumping my body full of processed foods and sugar makes me feel better physically and mentally. I'm more alert, less moody and irritable, I sleep better, I have more energy, I smile and laugh more, I feel strong, etc etc. Why is it hard to remember? I get sucked into feeding my emotions. To relaxing and not worrying about every bite that goes into my mouth or worrying about exercise when I just want to sit on the couch and watch the tube. Is it worth it? No way!

Thanks for the "get wells"!

I just got back from the Dr. As I suspected its just really really bad allergies. My throat isn't getting any better because coughing up the crud is irritating it (and me).

More Mucinex DM
Another allergy Rx
More fluids
More rest
No working out

Rinse and repeat until Monday. Bummer. 20 minutes til my next dose of meds, so I'm going to go fix something to eat and stop looking at my free weights gathering dust.

QOTD- Before I start, let me say, please don't hate me. I never fall off the wagon. I have been on since Jan. 08. I might go a tad high with calories, like 1600 and miss a workout once in a while, but that's it. This is a new lifestyle for me. I have changed my life completely and never even consider blowing it. I have chocolate sometimes and pizza, but I always count it in. I'm scared to miss a day of working out because I'm afraid I won't start up again. This has been life altering, truly.

Having said that, I am down a little more today from my 5 pound, mid-cycle gain. If I could only figure out to avoid that.

Tsap- Sounds like a little craziness for you. Could be fun though.

Girly- GOOD for YOU!! Welcome to the club. Commitment, that's the name of the game.

Fluffy- Self-centered??? Not at all. you deserve to spend time on yourself. We all do. :smug:

Monte- Are you saying the 2nd set of numbers is how much you burn each day?? If that's true, then on Monday your body must survive on 300 calories???

dixied
So sorry to hear you aren't feeling well. Funny time of year, not hot not cold. Things sure do go around this time of year. You take care of yourself and get better.

Miss Vitality
Glad you had a nice time in London.

Mtiger
Hi. I don't go off plan. It is just a way of life for me now. I do feel more in control because what goes into my body is up to me.

Hi everyone
Things going pretty good around here. Doing the normal stuff and adding a few odds and ends each day. Don't want to have everything to do at once once the weather gets warm. To much darn yard work to do then to have to be stuck in the house with extra cleaning. Of course the windows are waiting. Why on earth did I buy a house with so many big windows lol. Moving right along on the Afghans. If I stay on track all 10 of them will be done by Christmas. Not sure that is going to happen once the warm weather hits but I am going to try my best.

TSap
Know what you mean about the spring cleaning and so forth. We have 5 people that come to stay about a month in the summer. I have to do the same thing. I leaned a lesson lol. I do a little ( extra ) cleaning each week, example scrubs walls down or clean carpets. I don't have so much to do at one time.

Sebas
One day at a time is how we get to where we want to be.

Cruise
I just wish it would get warm enough and stay warm enough so I can get the darn windows cleaned.

dixied-feel better, darn those head colds!

GirlyGirlSebas-Hanging on tight to that same Goal!! Yeah for all of us!

QOTD- To tell you the truth, I really do feel better when I move more and eat the right foods. I tend to start off great everyday, a good filling breakfast, 30-40mins of exercise, sensible lunch, and big salad w/protein for dinner, but lately, I, undo all my hard work, by hitting the vending machine, I do count the points {WW} but instead of a 2pt orange I have 5pt candy bar. WHY???

I was doing so well, before Easter, and that darn candy, which have no one to blame, since I'm the one that makes up the baskets, mine you, my "kids" are 30, 29, and 27. I think next year I will try cash instead!!

Well today is a new day-I'm planning on NOT hitting the vending machine! I really do Love Oranges!

Have a Great Day and enjoy your weekend-take care

Montecristo - I was also wondering about the second set of numbers. I don't think I could burn 1200 calories a day so maybe thats what is left after you work out? :D

Does anyone listen to Jillian Michaels' radio show? I checked out the broadcast from Sunday and it was quite interesting. In the begining of the show she was discussing how she has been struggling to stay OP lately. Rewarding herself with food and discussing how she struggles with portion size in restaurants. I had read an article a while ago about how she was 50 lbs overweight as a teen and has struggled with eating issues herself. Hearing her on this episode made me realize why she is so in tune with the contestants emotional food struggles...she truly gets it. Makes me appreciate her and her advice so much more!!

Well, have a great weekend everyone...hope the weather is going to be beautiful everywhere!!!!

Mindy & Tanya - The second set of numbers is the amount of calories I burn each day, at least according to my HRM. Sometimes I wonder just how accurate it is. For a 1200 day I do treadmill intervals for 90 minutes (1min @ 7mph then 2 @ 3.6). For a 850 day it is 60 minutes, 1500 takes 2 hours. Maybe I should be eating more with this much exercise, but it doesn't seem to be a problem, plus I am a bit of fudger with my calories. My program is a little more intense than I would like, but I've only got 17-18 more pounds to go, and I desperately want to get down to my goal weight before my vacation in July (and hopefully with enough time to get new clothes!).

MonteCristo - You and I have about the same amount left to lose, and the same goal time frame. Your trip sounds more fun than my 20th reunion though. :D

I put my last sick day to good use, I worked 2 hours this morning and took the rest of the day off. I bought Jillian's new book, and now I'm pretty much convinced that all my health problems stem from my poor eating habits in early adulthood, some of which I still battle (diet Mt. Dew). I don't know that I can incorporate all of her ideas, but some of them are definitely getting a try.

I am happy to report that some of my mid-cycle gain is coming off. Today has been a really weird day all around. Foodwise and time wisewise. I have just been off. Today will be one of the few days I don't work out. I will hit it hard tomorrow and Sunday.

Have a great weekend everyone.

I got my cleaning done on Thursday and yesterday I spent the day going through my closet and drawers. Seems I passed right through some of my 12's and can now fit in to some of my 10's. It's nice to have a new wardrobe every couple months. Although I have not pulled out the suitcase yet I do have piles and at this point only need to replenish my ditty bag.

Question of the Day..... How many pounds off is your weight on your driver's license?
The other day I pulled mine out and was shocked at the face looking back at me. At the time I got it I was about 190 lbs. yet put 160 as my weight. Now I'm 148 so it is off by -12 lbs. Sadly it will not be replace until 2011.

QOTD: Oddly enough, FL doesn't put weight on the DL. But looking at the picture and the date issued, I was 30 pounds heavier. It doesn't even look like me. No wonder the clerk selling me the Musinex DM looked at me funny the other day. Yes, I got carded for cough suppressant/expectorant. Who used that stuff to get high?

Mission of the day for me: Drag DH (somewhat willingly) to the Farmers Market. The maybe on to the Navy Base to check out the new IMAX movie at the museum.

Gone all day and no one else posted?

Happy Birthday RangerChic! :bday2you:

Dixie- I was gone all day too. Just got home and spent some time cooking dinner with my DD. We broke out my low-cal cookbooks and whipped up some things. It should be good. I need to eat and workout yet tonight.

Stayed the same on the scale today. It was to be expected after 2 slices of pizza and no workout yesterday. I will workout tonight.

Hi everyone

Happy Birthday Shannon. :balloons: I hope that you are having a great day. Are you a comic book writer? Or a collector?

Dixie I hope that you are feeling better. When we were in California, I got carded everytime I bought wine. Now I am going to ask why do they ask for ID when I am obviously over 21? I haven't been asked for ID since I was 18. :lol:

Cruise - When I went to renew my drivers license this last year, I told them to put the same weight down as last time which I thought was 190 lbs. (which was 40 lbs short) She gave me a snarky look and told me I was not 120 lbs. :rofl: I went 4 years 100lbs lighter than I actually was. I told her that it was not my mistake because I obviously would not tell them that was my weight. :bravo: on getting into your 10's. I hope that made you grin and feel really good about your progress.

Mindy I hope that you and your DD had a great time together. How old is she? Are you up for a last chance workout tomorrow? I am going to do 2 workouts tomorrow.

Monte-wow that is some good calorie burning that you have going on. You will be down your 17 lbs in no time.

Tanya how exciting that you might have guests for the summer. How old are your nieces? Have you been to another Zumba class yet? I have heard great things about it. Now I just have to try and find a DVD, as they don't have that class here.

Instiches - what a great mom you are to still do baskets for your kids. Do they live close to you?

Shy - that is alot of Afghans to do. Guess that doesn't leave alot of time for after dinner snacking.

Rhonda - how are you doing? Still OP? You and I will be in the next challenge together.

Newshiny- :wave: how are you doing?

MissVitality- How exciting that you will get to meet the Queen.

Willow-your right. Why ruin a good movie. The only books I get to read are kids bedtime stories.

Sonja - Are you back on the wagon? I am. The new perspective really helped me. Also, I have to tell you, we live out in the country, so when I was coming home the other day, some poor girl was in our neighbors driveway taking a pee break. As we drove by she gave us a wave. :rofl: I laughed so hard, I was crying, and my abs were very sore. My family of course couldn't figure out why I thought it was that funny.

Me - We are both at the 90 second running stage. Do you find that it is getting easier for you?

Mary-How is everything going for you?

Well I am hoping to finish week 4 of c25k this next week or so. Although it certainly won't hurt to keep trying. My SIL gave me a book to read called The Eat Clean Diet. It is about eating every 3 hours, and doing some weight training. I am going to try her approach and see how it works.

I hope that everyone has a great weekend.

it is definately getting easier. everytime i run i find i can do more as long as i keep pushing myself. yesterday i did run 90 sec/walk 90 sec/run 3 min/walk 90 sec...repeat. lol and was amazed at being able to do the whole 3 min. thing.

well i'm kinda nervous about starting work tommorrow. lol, not about the work but have to be ready to leave at 5 a.m and always worry i'll sleep in. probably won't be able to sleep tonight cause of it.

Question of the Day..... How many pounds off is your weight on your driver's license?
well idk let me look....apparently michigan doesn't ask either.:o

Hi Chicks! :D I'm late to the party, but I see lots of friends from the blue team here. I tend to log in and just check threads I've posted on quickly and somehow missed this one completely. I'll keep my intro short, I'm turning 40 in a few days, want to lose less than 20 pounds, love running and have loved working out and sports for 20 years...also love food and drink just as much so have gained weight over the past 10 or so. ;)

This morning I found this thread, what a bunch of fabulous women!!

QOTD: How many pounds off is your weight on your driver's license?
Nova Scotia doesn't list them but my photos looks to be about 20 lbs heavier. I need to get a new one done soon.

Dee, I'm charmed by your current photo! Overall would you recommend purchasing Jillian's new book?

Lucky- My DD is almost 24. Hard to believe. And my DS is turning 21 in July. You have just put the smack down. Last chance workout, here we come. Oky, I will get in a run today since it is beautiful today. Then tonight I will do some type of strength workout. What will you do?

I had to laugh about the girl taking a pee break. I also live in the country and there have been times when I was out running that I needed to head out into the field or trees for a "break".

Dixie- Please report on Jillian's book. I have looked at it several times now.

Me- Have fun at work. You sew? What kind of job did you get sewing?

I have taken off 3 of the 5 pound (mid-cycle) gain. Must keep going.

Thank you all. I've had a tough weekend. I overate, so using my first freebie. I'll post and say more in a couple days once I get myself good and going again.