Hey girls!

I'm pooped from a full week of focusing on me! My classes (bootcamp) went great and I sat through a nutrition class tonight. Get ready ladies... my biggest loser plan is about to unfold!

Mercy - KUDOS! What an accomplishment! Very proud of you...

Very proud of all of you, of all of us for having the fortitude to stick this challenge out even though our real lives are full of pitfalls and temptation. Stay true to your vision for yourself. WE CAN AND WE WILL DO THIS!

Originally Posted by retiredone:
Well Done, Mercy!!!

Thank you:hug::hug:

Originally Posted by :
That is exciting!

Thank you Alwe 74 !:hug:

Originally Posted by :
Mercy - KUDOS! What an accomplishment! Very proud of you...

Thanks Nixmom!:hug:

Originally Posted by :
Mercy - WAHOO!!! That's great!!! Keep up the good work!

Thanks Nella!:hug:

Originally Posted by :
HATS AWESOME Mercy! well done!!!

Thanks Echo:hug:

Good afternoon my little Blue Team members. I'm feeling happy today with my weigh in. Lost 1.5 pounds this week. I think that's pretty good after losing 2 pounds last week and for an old lady past her estrogen producing years. :D

Nella, you're doing great with the weight loss.

Echo,oh to have 5 more inches added to my height. I'd be at goal weight now. Funny, the short are never happy about their height and the tall are always too tall...glad you've excepted yours. :)

Nixmom, you might be pooped but you sound pumped! So glad the boot camp is working for you.

I was going to take my skipping rope outside and do my own challenge but it's raining and snowing out today so maybe I'll do Echo and Bev's challenge today and leave the skipping for a dry day. But Bev, 50 jumping jacks followed by another 50 jumping jacks... Girl you're going to either kill me or knock another pound off my frame. Hahahaha, I'll take the pound knocked off.

Today, was my treat day. I had carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and a scoop of ice cream on the side. That's a meals worth of calories but it was good and only happens once a week now. I have my treat on the same day as I weigh. That sounds as if I'm rewarding myself with food but I'm not. It's just that it worked out that way. We always have a big meal on Saturdays and I like to weigh the end of the week so that's how that happened but it's a good way to do it as it gives me a full week to recover if I should go hog wild. Thankfully, I'm doing much better. I only had 1 piece of cake and a 1/3 cup of ice cream. Just a few months ago I'd have had 2 or 3 pieces of cake with as much ice cream I could pack into the bowl along side the cake. You know, if I have 1 dessert once a week, that gives me 52 desserts a year. And if I try a new or different dessert most weeks that gives me quite a variety during the year. No one would eat 52 desserts at one time because.... well because it would be next to impossible. What I'm trying to say is I'm not deprived having only the 1 dessert a week.

Have a good day.

Apologies to Harry Akst and Grant Clarke

you're welcome mercy:hug:

Originally Posted by retiredone:
Echo[/B],oh to have 5 more inches added to my height. I'd be at goal weight now. Funny, the short are never happy about their height and the tall are always too tall...glad you've excepted yours. :).

aww Thank you retire :) :hug:

Originally Posted by :
I was going to take my skipping rope outside and do my own challenge but it's raining and snowing out today so maybe I'll do Echo and Bev's challenge today and leave the skipping for a dry day. But Bev, 50 jumping jacks followed by another 50 jumping jacks... Girl you're going to either kill me or knock another pound off my frame. Hahahaha, I'll take the pound knocked off.
.

yeh i was just thinking the same!!! but by golly i'm gonna do it! just about to hit the shower after my p90x shoulders and arms workout, so i thought i would do the dare to finish it off my exercise today.

hope i can finish it!

Echo, I see you beat me to the challenge, but I did both of yours and Bev's too. DH wouldn't do them with me, haha. He's so out of shape in the leg department but his arms are full of muscles.

Originally Posted by retiredone:
Echo, I see you beat me to the challenge, but I did both of yours and Bev's too. DH wouldn't do them with me, haha. He's so out of shape in the leg department but his arms are full of muscles.

nice one retire! you are a machine!!! :D
===

Shall we start brainstorming for next weeks challenge this weekend!? so we can all start it on monday? Do we have any suggestions, any volunteers for leading next weeks challenge? :)

Hey chicks!

Had a great day shopping! Got myself a new purse (thanks step mommy!) and some shoes and I bought a belt - a size smaller than I am now with a cool a$$ buckle that is metal and spells out the work ROCK in rhinestones. I am gonna rock it soon with a tee-shirt and jeans! Its was a bargain (Guess belt normal $58 on sale for $15. I cant wait!

Retiredone - I have a man with bad legs - hit by a car driven 90 miles an hour by a 90 year old man who drove the building my man was working in! but he keeps some luscious upper body on him too! Gotta get him working out soon to maintain it! And I am pumped for the class I'm in. It just feels like its gonna produce some serious and much needed results!

Echo - Although I dont get in on the challenge threads (too many to keep up with) I do have an idea - straight from my trainer girl - when doing your walking or running... stop every 5 minutes and do 50 jumping jacks... increases the ole cardio and mixes it up a bit. Just a thought.

Had dinner at my pops tonight. A late b-day dinner (was supposed to be in July) and enjoyed pork loin, mashed potatoes and sliced tomatoes and avocado. Not too bad on the health front, and the company was fantastic!

So off to bed for me. Can finally straighten my arms out again and may actually get to sleep through the night. Hope you all have a great night!

Originally Posted by Nixmom:
Hey chicks!

Had a great day shopping! Got myself a new purse (thanks step mommy!) and some shoes and I bought a belt - a size smaller than I am now with a cool a$$ buckle that is metal and spells out the work ROCK in rhinestones. I am gonna rock it soon with a tee-shirt and jeans! Its was a bargain (Guess belt normal $58 on sale for $15. I cant wait!

Aww thats great that you treated yourself :D

Originally Posted by :
Retiredone - I have a man with bad legs - hit by a car driven 90 miles an hour by a 90 year old man who drove the building my man was working in! but he keeps some luscious upper body on him too! Gotta get him working out soon to maintain it! And I am pumped for the class I'm in. It just feels like its gonna produce some serious and much needed results!

oh no so sorry to hear that :( thats great though he keeps his upper body in shape.

Originally Posted by :
Echo - Although I dont get in on the challenge threads (too many to keep up with) I do have an idea - straight from my trainer girl - when doing your walking or running... stop every 5 minutes and do 50 jumping jacks... increases the ole cardio and mixes it up a bit. Just a thought.

Thanks Nixmom, sounds great! thats a good tip!

---------------

sorry Blue team :(, i'm reporting a 1.1lb gain this week. gah! even though i saw a loss of 1lb sporadically this week, my weight kept going up and down all this week. i am hoping i will lose it next week.

Originally Posted by retiredone:
Apologies to Harry Akst and Grant Clarke

Hehe How cute are you???!!! That totally made me smile this morning! :D

Good Morning Teamies! The Sun is out and I am feeling better. Still have some cramps due to TOM but besides that I am feeling like ME again!!! It's really COLD though! Good grief! We got 2 weeks of Fall and went straight to Winter! LOL! O'well. I am sure I'll be back to the GYM tomorrow. i sure hopw the sun-shine sticks around!

Nixmom, sounds like you had a great day all round, with shopping and a family dinner to top it all off. Got your exercise shopping and had a nutritious meal that night. So sorry to hear about your man's legs. My friend's father had his legs crushed by garage doors and it was a long recovery. It's nice to see well defined muscles in the upper body though. I'm getting close to being a senior citizen but I still like what I see. :D

Echo, that one pound gain is not permanent so don't feel bad. It's the end product that you're working towards and sometimes it's like walking a dog--a bit of backtracking.

Diva, I don't know why I was humming that tune. But it was in my head and I looked up the lyrics to the song and fixed them. Hahaha. So glad you're feeling yourself again. Nothing worse than being under the weather.

Talk about being under the weather. DS and DIL who live about 90 kilometers away got the same snow we did yesterday but theirs didn't turn to rain. Wow, it looks like winter wonderland where they live. Our snow is all gone except a few patches on the sides of the roads but they must have close to 6 inches in places.

I just got back from my 5k walk and it is cold out but I worked up a good pace and got a bit sweaty and warm. Before I left I did a few crunches and tried the leg lift crunches and found out I can't lift both legs while holding them straight out. I had to bend them and get them up part way before I could stretch them out to lift and lower them. I also couldn't figure out why my arms were so sore when I put them behind my head to do the crunches. It hurt to raise them up and then it hit me--it's the 100 jumping jacks I did yesterday--flapping my arms up and down. Ha, ha. I'll have to keep doing those jacks as they really get the heart pumping and gives me a bit of gravity resistance on the arms.

Gone shopping in a few minutes so I guess that'll count for a bit more walking.

Catch all later.

Originally Posted by Diva:

Hehe How cute are you???!!! That totally made me smile this morning! :D

Good Morning Teamies! The Sun is out and I am feeling better. Still have some cramps due to TOM but besides that I am feeling like ME again!!! It's really COLD though! Good grief! We got 2 weeks of Fall and went straight to Winter! LOL! O'well. I am sure I'll be back to the GYM tomorrow. i sure hopw the sun-shine sticks around!

Aww nice to have you back Diva! we missed you. have fun at the gym tommorow. so nice to have you back :hug:

and i agree the lyrics by retiredone was so cute!! retire, you're so clever!!

Originally Posted by retiredone:
Echo, that one pound gain is not permanent so don't feel bad. It's the end product that you're working towards and sometimes it's like walking a dog--a bit of backtracking.

-it's the 100 jumping jacks I did yesterday--flapping my arms up and down. Ha, ha. I'll have to keep doing those jacks as they really get the heart pumping and gives me a bit of gravity resistance on the arms.

Gone shopping in a few minutes so I guess that'll count for a bit more walking.

Catch all later. [/COLOR][/COLOR]

aww Thank you retire, that's made me feel better! you rock :) :hug: you always know the exact right things to say! i like that. its not permanent, just abit backtracking :D

way to go on the jumping jacks, i know they are tough! i have to wear 2 bras, lol a normal sports bra and then the corset one by enell i think. strap my boobies in lol.

Originally Posted by Diva:
I really REALLY hope we extend the Dare Thread out for another week since I didn't get to partake! I may use that thread for a work-out or two this week! You girls are so rocking this!!!:hug:

awwwwww thanks so much!!! well i'm definately game to extend it!! if we have another challenge, we can continue it alongside ;) double trouble hehe :cb: :cb: and thats awesome you're going to do them as a workout!! way to go :cheer:
---

i have edited one of the dares, so instead of shoulder presses i have changed it to bicep curls standing on one foot, the reason is because i just learnt this morning, whilst listening to a jillian podcast about how to avoid getting bulky trapz muscles!!

i have copied pasted my message from the dare thread here - for anyone who is interested :)

----

This morning (sunday) i was listening to jillians podcast and learned something very interesting that i wanted to share! there was a caller saying that her trapz muscles are getting bulky and how to reduce it. jillian said the following

Originally Posted by :
"To prevent big trapz muscles - between neck and shoulders...


"AVOID upright rows - avoid pulling weight from ground up and elevating your elbows towards your ears, none of those, those build trapz big time

basically avoid THIS exercise >>

http://www.myfit.ca/exercisedatabase...xercises&ID=19

You CAN DO lateral raises - hold the weights and lift the arms out to the side.

Dont do shrugs. Never do upright rows, no shrugs, never elevate shoulders up to the ear

Lateral raises are good.
Anterior raises - where you hold the weight infront of you, are good.

Posterior shoulder raises -where you bend over - and you push the weight behind you,- DO NOT DO MORE THAN TWICE a month MAX

basically NO upright Rows, and NO shrugs.

I have compiled a bunch of exercises to NOT do from the following website.

so dont do any exercises that specifically work the trapz muscles:"

avoid these

http://www.myfit.ca/exercisedatabase...ius&other=Neck

avoid these:
http://www.leehayward.com/art27.htm

trapz = trapezius muscle

http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~uzwiak/A...s/image009.jpg

Echo, I really appreciate all the illustrations and links you provide when explaining things. I didn't have a clue what you were talking about until I saw the pics. I definitely won't be doing any of those exercises. Hahaha...I'll pass them on to DH.

I don't mind if the "Dare" challenge is extended another week or along side another one. That's my vote.

Okay....so I am back on track. Picked up Jillian's 30 Day Shred so I will start that tomorrow. Today was a day of mowing, weed eating and trimming up the hedges. Closed up the swim pool on Saturday so all the floaties and water weights got put into storage for the winter until the pool is opened up next year. After 4 weeks of thyroid medicine.....I am starting to get more energy. Not sure what my number will be like tomorrow but the week after I should rock it out.

That's the right attitude, Iwanawrkit. Glad you're feeling more energized.

I have great news! Hubby is back to working full time and that means I get to cut back on my work here as we'll no longer be depending just on me :carrot: I can give more time to other things like taking care of myself now...just have to finish up a big project today and then I can not accept as much work, finally! But, I'm not going to cut back too much because we have Christmas coming up and right now both the kids need winter coats and we have to come up with Halloween outfits...it's always something!

Originally Posted by dixied:
Considering that a year ago this week I was just starting C25K, I think my (adjusted for warm-up/cooldown) 12 minute/mile pace isn't too bad.

I think you are doing just awesome! I keep thinking I want to start going out to the track and attempting c25k but I always feel I can't do it, I'm too weak, too heavy, etc. :(

Originally Posted by retiredone:
You know, if I have 1 dessert once a week, that gives me 52 desserts a year. And if I try a new or different dessert most weeks that gives me quite a variety during the year. No one would eat 52 desserts at one time because.... well because it would be next to impossible. What I'm trying to say is I'm not deprived having only the 1 dessert a week.

Have a good day.

I think it is a good idea and if it works for you and keeps you happy on your plan then go for it! I actually am going to try something very similar this week...still trying to find what works for me :dizzy:

waaaaaah! I am up one pound this week but I promise it will be a loss next week. I don't know how to explain the one pound gain but it will come off! DETERMINED!!!!!!

Sorry.

UGH! I had to post a 2.6 pound GAIN. Sorry Team. Just goes to show not exercising, being sick and TOM can surely take it's toll. O'well...:(

Skinny Jeans - That is great news!!

Diva - No worries, you were sick, the important thing is you are well now. And TOM sucks. I was down 2.4 on Friday, but TOM is any second, so I'm a bloated mess right now too. We just have to make the best of it and work hard this week :)

Iwanawerkit - I'm glad your medicine is leveling out and you are feeling better. Sounds like you had a busy weekend moving around. Any movement is good movement!

Retiredone - You go girl!! You're a little work out machine! Keep it up!!

I had a very busy weekend with Mom and Dad here helping with home renovation projects. Our house in finally starting to look like a nice house instead of the 55+ year old mess we bought 4 years ago. It's so hard to renovate and live in the house at the same time. Even harder when your DH is finishing his degree at night. So lots of trim and paint left to do, then we are pretty much done. Thank goodness! maybe in another year, lol.

Oh, and my aunt stopped by too. Haven't seen her in 5 months or so, the first thing she said was "Wow!" and spun me around and told me I have no butt ( I wish!) so I took that as a huge compliment. She didn't even know I had been trying to lose weight, so it meant even more. Now, that's motivation!