Yay on that big loss retiredone! Congrats on all that weight lost.

Glad your move went well Sgirl! Sorry to hear about the scale. It happens to all of us (as we all know!) and will be over with before you know it. If you're anything like me, moving is crazy, stressful and includes some salty food.

Jammy, I so want to try out BFL, but am honestly scared to change anything right now. Your beach day sounds lovely. Did you walk 6 miles in the sand? Regardless of the surface, after that walking and skating I'd imagine your legs are tired! I love LB days. One of my favorites is pliets with a 45 pound plate.

WTG Rain Dancer! Your will is admirable, I'd be trying it on everyday.

I stepped on the scale this morning and saw my Labor Day goal weight! I was shocked! 199! So shocked I stepped on again and saw 200.2. SHOOT. Not counting it yet.

So freaking close....

Oh, FB, soooo close! But congrats on the sneak preview... you'll be there for real soon!

Jammy, you're on fire! Great walking and workouts. Like FB, I am curious about calorie cycling, but afraid to try it. Let us know how it goes!

Congrats on the smooth move, SGirl. I'm sorry the scale isn't cooperating. Moving the scale, or the new surface it's on, may have affected its readout, so maybe you did make a little progress that just isn't showing.

Also congrats to RainDancer, Isabella, and Layri for making good progress and to everyone else plugging away at it!

Hi everyone - just checking in. I think I will probably make my Labor Day goal - 153 lbs. - if I stay on plan. The scale has been bouncing around between 155 and 157 for the last two weeks. Hopefully I will get my act together enough to make it read 153 by September. :)

My goal this week is to stay on plan, without any slip ups.

Good luck everyone! Keep on keepin' on!

Well, the boy deserves another bonk on the head- tonight he was just craving KFC, so off we went. Breaks my no fast food goal, but I got online and checked out the nutritional info ahead of time. I got a snack size popcorn chicken and side of mashed potatoes, which was about 600 calories. Not great, and not a lot of food for the amount of calories, but I could have done worse.

And I'm 4/6 for my labor day goal, so yay to that!

nice restraint and planning. sometimes, that's the key to being sucessful, and not feeling guilty.

Morning, ladies! I finally, finally got to see something under 193 today: 192.6! Maybe the BFL can help break this plateau. :) I might see my LD goal after all.

Rain Dancer, maybe on the day, you'll find out the garment is too big.. :hug:

FB, we were walking on the boardwalk, which is paved, for most of it. Still a good walk, though, and walking always wears my legs out...for some reason, it's harder on my legs than jogging...different range of motion, I guess?? I wouldn't change anything, either, since what you're doing is working great right now. I'm only making a change because what worked for the first 40 lbs wasn't doing the trick any more. I think part of it was straying off plan with food too often this summer...too many unplanned cookouts and "special" occasions...blech! The free day for food is definitely helping me to stay on track this week. Also, I'm just seriously motivated to get out of the 190s and see some new numbers on the scale. Speaking of scales, congrats on being so close to your goal. If I saw that, I would have been scooting that scale around the bathroom to find the magic tile that makes it read lower, lol. Tomorrow, I bet you'll see ONEderland, baby!

Asynchronous, my boy loves KFC, also. We go there for a mom/son date (only occasionally, now), mainly for the freeplay oldies jukebox...nothing like an evil gravy-dipped biscuit and Little Richard cranking out "Lucille". :D

K I am not sure if canada Labour day is the same day as usa but ours is september 1st so I am going to jump in with a mini goal for myself :) thats 3 weeks so I am going with 165 so 6lbs by september first.

Cool, what do you get? Or do you just close your eyes and pray? ;-p

Thanks yoyo!

You're awfully close to target Ursus! Keep it up!

Hey Irish! Good to 'see' you in the challenge!

Nice planning Asynchronous!

Jam, I should really pick up a copy of BFL and see what I can apply to me. It sounds great. Another I've recently started looking at is Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle. But I've only given it a few precursory glances.

Oh good gawd! Now I want KFC. You people make me crave things! :) It's not a bad thing. I love food, even the thought of food. MMMM, popcorn chicken dipped in gravy.

I haven't weighed yet today, but as of yesterday no goal yet. I hit my legs too hard, hard and hard at the gym on Sunday, now I'm walking around like a stump-legged sore pirate. I never lose when I'm sore. No loss, no gain. That's a good thing too.

If I hit it when I weigh in today you KNOW I'll be checking in here. That'll be a huge milestone for me.

FB: hey long time no chat :)

didn't lose anything today but that could be because I had a wendys salad yesterday and even though wendys salads are only 430 cals I assume they have alot of salt so I think I may be retaining....water must drink lots of water lol

Irish! :hug: Great to see you again! I thought you became a rock star and ditched all us John Q types. ;)

Asynchronous, you got a nickname, a super secret spy code name...anything shorter than that user name? I have no idea how to shorten that! Anyway, if I go to (FB...close your eyes, so you don't get a craving) KFC, I don't try to stay on plan..I just get what I want and enjoy the experience. If I was going some place where I did NOT want to partake of the calorie/sodium carnage, then what I'd do is plan to eat at home just before, either a good protein/carb meal, or a meal replacement shake with protein powder, since a megadose of protein keeps me feeling full for hours.

Lol, I realized after I made the sn that asynchronous was a bit lengthy, and hard to shorten. But my RL name is Wendi, and once I can have a sig I'm going to put that in there, so you could go w that =)

Wendi, that's much easier to type (and spell, lol), thanks!

Well, I had a good day today, on plan, anyway. I did 60 mins of running this morning, in the zone and feeling strong, it was great! Then, I did UB lifting late this afternoon, and just was not feeling it. I hit the wall not even halfway through my workout, ugh. I switched to circuit style to finish it up, but it was a slog the whole way. Glad that's over. I've had that happen with running before, so I know it's just a blip, but I pushed on through and finished the workout, and that's what counts, right?

SK8r- I've been feeling ugh the last couple days too. This morning I had to drag myself out of bed, I'm not sure how my run later today will go, but I'll push through it!

I haven't been around much to check in due to tons of traveling I have been doing. I visited some friends in Toronto last week and on Friday I am off again to visit my sister and my soon to be born new niece or nephew. I am so excited!!! My sister's actually being induced tonight at midnight, so the baby should be here before the weekend :)

As of the last weigh-in, I was at 225.5 pounds!!! When I started eating better and everything, my goal back then was to be 30 pounds lighter when we came back to school in September. With a couple weeks to go, I am almost there :) It will be interesting to see what the scale says on Friday when i weigh in again.

My actual Labor Day goal for this thread was 210-215 pounds, so I will have to see if I can hit that goal....maybe, maybe not.

Wendi, I hope your run goes well today!

Chele, congrats on your amazing weight loss, so far! That's extra impressive, considering all the travelling you've been doing. :hug: I'm jealous you're going to have a new baby in the family! What a blessing!

Where is everyone? Having fun, I hope!

Things are going well with me. I've stayed on plan for eating this week, done all my workouts, hit 192.8 this morning, and my weekly average (daily weights for the week added up then divided by seven) was a new low today: 193.4. I'm pretty happy with all of that, plus my new pants were falling down this morning, so I might be moving down a size soon!

Tomorrow is my free food day for BFL, but I'm not really craving anything. Maybe I'll just keep it OP? I'm not sure if having that free day actually helps with fat burning the rest of the week, or just makes it so I have to burn those cals off all over again. :chin:

Fun? Not exactly tons of fun here, just terribly busy with work. Bah!

Jammy, I think you're definitely in a new pants size, not 'might be moving down a size soon' :). When your pants fall off that's a sure indication. So congrats! Get some new pants! Congrats on the new low average too!

I don't know much about the free day theory. BFL is a widely accepted plan and free days are a common thing among diets, you're probably safe.

No scale movement yet. So close, so very close, and I stall out. That's the life of a girl losing weight.... my biggest milestone yet, and I have to wait on the edge of my seat (rowing machine). I'll be there in no time, no time at all. Like tomorrow.

Hey everyone, just checking in, been busy with work. Still no scale movement, but staying on plan and doing my workouts. I need to find a place in my new town that has a fancy scale so I can see what I'm really losing cause this is getting incredibly irritating. I haven't dropped at all since Canada Day and I can't really measure accurately with the tape. Thanks yoyoma for the suggestion that possibly the new surface could be making the scale give a bad reading. I know I'm a slow loser, on avg. about 1/2 a pound a week, so I have to stay motivated despite seeing limited results anyway, but this is just so irritating. Oh well, hopefully it's just a scale problem and I will see results soon. Great job losing all that weight Chel65!

Hello fellow calorie counters. Weigh in this morning proved a happy time. Lost another 1.5 pounds towards the challenge: 7.5/10

Keep up the good work everyone. When I first started the Canada Day Challenge I took note of the weights that everyone was when they started and wow, there's quite a difference in most everyone's weight now. It seems slow at times but looking back I can see quite a difference.

Wow, you look awesome, FB! WTG on blasting by your Labor Day goal..woohoo! And one of these... :flame:

Isabella and Layri, congrats on another great week! :carrot:

Sgirl, I'm in the same boat. Staying on plan, though! :hug:

Wow, FB what a difference. You look super good.

You look amazing, FB!

Cheryl - Congrats on losing your pants! ;)

Just checking in - I'm 1 lb. away from meeting my Labor Day goal. I'm so tickled! Hopefully I'll be there when I weigh in next Friday...

Jaclyn, I haven't quite lost them, but I'm getting there! Great job on making this goal happen...almost there!

Great job Jaclyn!
Thanks everyone, for the congrats.

I'll get to work on our next challenge, which I assume will be Halloween. That, of course, will be up to our chairman of the board Jammy. I appointed her you know. Jammy- you're an awesome challenge leader! :carrot:

I'm thinking another 15 would be great. It will probably be a close call, since I don't have much further to go in terms of weight loss, just about 30 pounds more. Thank goodness. Can I count the three I've lost in the meantime? That'd be cheating I guess!

Hey everyone! FB you look fantastic! As for me, still OP, Still no weight loss, BUT my husband and I were celebrating our 1st wedding anniversary last weekend and he took me out to a show and there was this old dress I got a few years back that just didn't fit right and I had to squeeze into and I looked like a sausage and I couldn't take it back. It was a black strapless gown...we were going to a fancy play so I thought I would try it and if it didn't fit, then oh well. IT FIT! It was even a little loose! AND I even got complimented!! So maybe I am losing fat afterall!
On a less happier note I am starting my new job and already I feel like I don't fit in. People are coming up to me and being passive aggressive regarding my age and graduation date which is frustrating and are jumping on every opportunity to make me feel incompetent about any mistake I make, no matter how petty! Hopefully tomorrow, my 3rd day will be better and going for runs and working out really helps stop the stress. Good luck to all!

Sgirl, what a great NSV! I'll bet you looked fabulous on your anniversary. I had one this week with a sundress I had put away for the same reason. I wore it yesterday, too.

Hang in with the new job, it'll get better with each passing day. Later on remember how you feel now when someone new comes in after you and treat them with the respect you're not getting. They'll appreciate the treatment and you'll feel good.

Sgirl, that's a great NSV, congratulations! :carrot: Hang in there with the work thing. :hug:

Here's my update: I'm pitching my scale! Well, I'm putting it in storage for a while. I realized this whole "plateau" thing with the scale has been causing more trouble than it's worth. I've been obsessing about finding the "best" way to burn fat, how to get the number to go down, dreading the water weight gain after lifting, just a lot of things like that. I don't want to live like that. I just got to where I was contemplating all these workouts that just were not fun for me, I was looking for a better food plan, all this garbage. Finally, I just decided that, if that's what it takes to get down to a certain number on the scale, then I don't want it! I honestly feel that more fat will come off, if I just stay active and eat right. If it doesn't, though, and worst case, I stay right where I'm at, I'm actually okay with that. I feel strong, I can run for an hour with ease, I fit into some decent sized clothes. I just want to get away from the scale focus, and focus on having fun with lifting, jogging and skating, doing them because I enjoy them, not because their sole purpose is to burn fat off...does that make any sense? Anyway, I just need to have a "life" outside of the weight loss focus, so for now, I want to focus on fitness, integrating exercise into more of a permanent lifestyle change, and I'll look to NSVs for progress, rather than a number on the scale.

Morning, all! Yesterday, my ds11 and I spent the day putting blackberries and zukes up in the freezer...more of that fun today, but not quite as bad, since the zukes are done. I didn't end up with much time for a workout yesterday, but squeezed in 15 mins of lifting before a shower and mad dash to run errands. It was short, but I was glad I did something, and it was fun. :)

Cheryl-good for you for keeping the focus on being healthy and having fun and not on the numbers. I hope I can do that when I hit a plateau.

FB, I love the photos, thanks for sharing. You look awesome! Pictures like that are so motivating to me. I really appreciate them.

Sgirl, woo hoo on fitting into the dress. I'm just starting to fit into my clothes from last summer. Still a tad tight, but I can zip the jeans up. I'm glad you got the compliments that you deserved after all that hard work.

I had a 'girls day' today and ate like there was no tomorrow. I do this once a month with my best friend and was really looking forward to it. The problem is, I feel horrible now. Not emotional horrible, but physically ill. To much sugar and grease and it's so icky. The cool thing was, I couldn't eat as much as I could at the beginning of the summer. Something major is changing if I can't fit as much food inside me and if the planned binge just doesn't feel good anymore. I don't want to give up indulging myself on my 'girls day' but I think next month I'll have to tone it way down. Live and learn! And cry tomorrow when I get back on that scale. But I was prepared for that, so I am not going to beat myself up.

I weighed in this morning and have lost another pound so I'm well pleased about that. So that gives me 8.5 pounds towards the challenge. 8.5/10

Cheryl, you've got a great attitude about the plateau. You'll be surprised when you finally step back on the scales. And all that work getting the produce ready to freeze can be a workout in itself.

Cdiem, yep, your tummy is not used to being overloaded with rich foods anymore. Next month you'll have to eat salad and lighter foods like there is no tomorrow. :lol: Maybe you and your friend can find another activity to do to supplement the eating so you won't feel compelled to sit and eat for such a long time. You know let's eat this quick so we can get to our next activity kind of thing.

Morning, ladies!

Cdiem, thanks for the encouragement. It's a little bizarre going without the scale after several months of watching it so closely, but overall, it's a relief not to have to look at that same 2-3 lb range on a daily basis. I've experienced the same thing with the food. I'd been eating OP for many months, then started the BFL, and tried out the "free day" (for food). I can handle off plan foods occasionally, like one meal, but I can't pack it away, or go all day eating off plan...it just makes me feel sick to my stomach. I tried it two weeks in a row (the free day), and think it's just too much. Yesterday was my "free day" again, and I just had one off-plan meal, since my boy wanted to go to his favorite restaurant for dinner, but I had a much smaller portion, so I wouldn't get sick. Too many starchy carbs just don't sit well with me now, since I have not been eating them regularly.

Isabella, congratulations on another pound! :carrot:

Lifting day for me. Feel like going to the Y today..so I'd better get ready and go!

Jammy/Cheryl, really quick cause I have to head off to a birthday party... I think it's a wise decision. You do a wonderful job regardless of the scale's feedback. There's no need to use it right now to witness those same 2-3 pounds as you said, because it isn't validating your hard work. Your body composition is changing for the better, sizes moving down, strength increasing. I agree it's a great choice to focus on the other accomplishments.

More for everyone later. I PROMISE! Off to party it up.

The party was fun. I ate beforehand as the hostess is this great Paula Dean fanatic type of cook, and just noshed on raw veggies while there. Worked perfect for me.

Sgirl- WOW on the dress! You know, that's happened to me a lot through these weight loss adventures, I'll show no scale loss, but fit into new sizes. Honestly, I like the new sizes better! Isn't it ridiculous how you have to prove yourself in some workplaces? Don't worry, things will get better. You're so awesome you're making them act insecure and ugly.

Thanks so much cdiem! I always get so nervous about posting photos. I don't know why, I love everyone else doing it. I'm so freaking critical of myself. Sounds like you're making great progress in terms of changing your foods! Isn't it funny how the foods we used to relish now make us sick as ****?

Great job retiredone! Only a measly peasly 1.5 pounds to go. Doesn't it feel great?

Off to swim. It's the last day our city's public pool is open. It'll be a good workout day as I've already put a 85 minutes on the crossramp/elliptical thingy.

FB, I see you're at 100 lbs lost...amazing! :hug: Thanks for the reply to my post, too...that helps!

I've been having more fun with my workouts since I ditched the scale, but have not been getting them in every day. I do good for 3 or 4 days in a row, then have busy day or whatever that happens, and miss my workout. I don't feel like beating myself up about it, but would rather be getting a workout in six days a week. I'm thinking a new challenge for myself will be to go four weeks in a row without missing a workout. I need something I can measure, some kind of goal to shoot for, you know? On the weight loss front, I'm really starting to think I may be closer to my "ideal" weight than I thought. Maybe not, but I'm getting really close to the sizes of clothing I was hoping to fit into, and all the bodyparts look pretty good to me except some fat still on my upper arms and around the middle. Overall, not bad, though, so I think if I can just get my workouts on track, the rest of the fat will come off and things will tighten up with the weight lifting. I can be happy with just fitting into normal sizes and being able to do what I want to do...I don't need the six pack abs, lol.

Had an NSV, sort of, the other day. First scooter run of the season for the dogs, since the weather has been cooler. Heading up a hill with my little red dog, Gracie, I hopped off to run, and I realised I could run up the hill, all the way, without getting out of breath...it was great! Now, I've been running a while, so that shouldn't have been a surprise, but I hadn't been on a scooter since I became a runner, so I still had that old mental block of "oh no, here comes a hill, better get off and walk!" Being able to run hills with the scooter (so the dog can keep running, rather than having to slow so I could walk up the hill) was one of my original goals when I started losing weight. Anyway, it was great to see that achieved!

I'm off to the Y. Going to play around on the legs machines in the free weight room today, have fun, and then I think I'll hit the elliptical after...haven't done that in a while. Errands will be on the way home, for a few groceries and dog food, maybe will sneak in a little Xmas shopping if they have what I'm looking for. Been working at the Xmas list all year, a little at a time, and just have my son, nephew and stockings to shop for, then I'll be done!

Layri, congrats on making the labour day goal!
Isabella, way to go on the weight loss!!
FB, cdiem, Isabella and Jammy, thanks for all the kind words about my dress and the job. So far my 2nd week has been much better as I am really avoiding all the politics and just doing my job, which I love very much.
Jammy, I think you are right about puting the scale away and shooting for a more tangible goal. I find that staying OP has been almost too easy for me, because I think I am justifying my going off plan moments, and I am looking at the same weight everyday.

So far no scale movement, staying OP, but on the TOM so maybe that has something to do with it. I think next challenge I am going to try to get up in the morning and work out b4 work as working out afterwards, I think I am just too tired to put in a really good effort!
See everyone later!

Yeah Jammy- I did lose 100 pounds! Yesterday! It was invigorating to say the least. I was one bad motha yesterday, oh yeah.

I too set workout goals. For instance, this month I committed to exercising every day, since I was so close to that big milestone and am in a Biggest Loser's contest with my friends (cash is a nice motivation). So far so good, knock on wood. So yeah, I think goals for workouts are great.

I'll bet you are close to your ideal weight/composition. Strength training changes our bodies so much - there's no way to figure out a 'prefect' number. Just the right size for ourselves.

Cool on the dog scootering achievement! Running uphill is great! And cool on the legs workout. I LOVE lower body workouts and cannot figure out for the life of me why guys aren't into it. I see all of these top heavy boys at the gym on toothpick legs. Give me strong legs any day. I love the awfulness of the glute press, it sucks so good.

Layri- look at you! You've come so far sweet thang! You've exceeded your original goal and are continuing on to new realms. You rock my socks! I did the same thing yesterday, met my first goal and celebrated exercising. That's great!

Sgirl- TOM sucks. Don't make me want mint chocolate again - puhleaze! You're doing something better than seeing new numbers on the scale - you're sticking with this regardless and that, to me is winning the biggest challenge of them all. Keep at it - your body will bow to biology. I wish I could do morning workouts. I'm a late afternoon and evening girl myself. I just slam some espresso shots to re energize.

Good work everyone! Keep at it. Lots o' love.

Good morning, all!

WTG, Layri and FB on the weight loss! :carrot:

I went to the Y yesterday...did about 30 mins of leg stuff in the weight room, including a new personal best on my deadlift (!), then did 20 mins on the elliptical. I could have done more, but I'm trying to get the Y time pared down. I was in and out in an hour, including a quick shower, so I was happy with that. Skating tonight for my "cardio". Might do something with weights today, though, and abs, since I didn't do those yesterday.