FPSJ Good luck for the weigh in!

k15 Hope you have a great weekend with your doggies!

envelope I totally hate the puffy finger thing :( Hope it goes away :)

jiggle Hang in there. You are handling everything so well. My thoughts are with you still.

~Feeling pretty happy and excited this morning, I made my Valentine's Day weight goal today! I'm at 65kg / 143.3 pounds. That's also 2/3rds of the way to my long term goal - however I'm thinking I may need to revise it lower once I get there...but I'll see when it happens!

lori- I love that name you have for me, it's so funny! Welcome to size 0 & 2's, you are doing an awesome job. I should name you itsy bitsy Lori, lol
I wear 0's & 1's, your the same size as me.

This is my second day of going back to dieting, it's going well. Had 1233 cal, rode the bike for 30 min & went 7 mi. Lost 3 oz. after 1 day of dieting so that means my weight is going down & if I know my body as well as i think, I'll lose more by morning. I get so scared when the scale is creeping up, I've been through it twice before, I know how quickly I can gain all the weight back. I'm older & wiser, I know what works now, what food to eat, how to raise my metabolism to burn calories like crazy. I have all my little tricks, they work like magic. I miss being 105 or 106lbs, I loved how I felt, often I think how much I would love to be there again. If my body allows it, that's what I plan to weigh by spring. Good luck to all!

rainbow - how did the dinner go? Congrats on the Vday weight goal!!!

k15 - my dog hides when I try to take her for a walk.

jiggle - (((hugs)))

I am still slightly puffy today, but it is going down. I did get myself back on the elyptical yesterday, and it felt great!

Saturday: 955 calories. 1 hour spin class.

My calories were so low because I was running around most of the day and didn't have time to eat. There was a "fun fair" at my son's school but none of the food was remotely tempting to me. Now that I'm losing, albeit slowly, it's much easier to stay on plan.

Didn't sleep well because cramps kept waking me up, so I may just take it slow today, but will at least try to get some time on the elliptical.

envelope, glad you're feeling better today. Activity usually helps, and getting down as much water as you can stand.

fruit, you will do great. I plan to keep checking in to this site daily even once I hit goal. I used to do Weight Watchers, and would start gaining once I stopped going to Lifetime meetings, then I wouldn't want to go back..vicious cycle. This site will be my accountatbility.

rainbow, freaking awesome that you hit goal already! Are you going to set another short-term one now, or wait until V-Day and re-assess? I'm hoping we have another challenge after this.

jiggle your mom sounds like a beautiful person. I'll be thinking about you and your family.

k15 and fpsj, hope the scale is good to you tomorrow.

lori, you rock!

Morning, ladies.

Nothing much new to report here, just a typical winter weekend. Really starting to get cabin fever!!

Rainbow: congrats on getting to goal so early!

Jiggle: still thinking about you.

Everyone else: sorry I don't have time for more personals, but I've gotta run. Hope you're all having a good weekend!

My third day of dieting went good again, lost 2.5 lbs.total since I started. Probably water weight, but I'll take it. Had 1305 calories, went 35 cal. over my limit cause there's so much fruit here to eat, that's the way I like it, a variety to choose from. I ate a blood orange today for the first time, somehow I ended up with it by mistake. It was good, I will buy more next week. Rode the bike for 30 min. after breakfast. Riding longer just causes more hunger for me later in the day, so 30min. is perfect. I'm craving peanut butter again today, purposely didn't buy it, I'm too lazy to make it, so I'm good. Thinking of eating a few dry roasted peanuts tomorrow, maybe that will help the cravings.

Well, happy last day of January!

So I have to confess I lost focus a bit over the weekend. Didn't go totally crazy, ate what I normally eat on the weekend (typically higher than what I eat during the week, but still below or at least at my maintenance caloires.) But I didn't count, and I didn't exercise. Honestly, I was kind of bummed over only losing a lb last week when I thought I did "good". Yes, I know this kind of thing happens, it will pass, it's better than gaining, blah blah blah...but well, we all know how it feels. Just seems like no matter what I do (if I'm "good" or if I slack) I always lose a pound. So might as well slack, right??

Anyway, it's Monday, it's almost the end of January (thank GOD!) and I am going to get over my pity party and get back to being fully OP this week. New month, new attitude! 2 more weeks in the challenge and I plan to give it my best effort!

I gained .5
Bummer because I've been steady all month! Darn. It.
I plug onward and upward!!!!!

As expected, my weight was up this morning: 124.4. I ate ludicrous amount of sodium over the weekend, so I know this is part of it.

Planning to weigh in again on Thursday, will report back.

Now, time to drink LOTS of water......

Good luck everyone!

So apparently making my goal early gave me the permission to go off plan yesterday. Not too crazy, but nothing really good - aside from the carrot sticks. I ate fries and a super salty steak sandwich, and had far too many alcoholic drinks (I was at a music festival).

I am back on track today though, counting everything religiously. I am glad I have that willpower and commitment.

Sunday: 1435 calories. 45 minutes on the elliptical(280 cal)

Another storm heading this way - some of you may be dealing with it already. Will probably have to work from home tomorrow as schools may be delayed. 2 more weeks in this challenge, and trying to lose another 2 lbs.

WooHoo!Down 4 pounds. So my total for the challenge is 13 lbs.1 to go.

Thanks for all the support ladies! You rock!

Monday: 1210 calories. 35 minutes on the treadmill, 1.5 of them continuous jogging. Decided to run a 5K in April - I'm halfway there!


k15, 13 lbs? Amazing!!

fatpantskinnyjeans- I gain water weight so fast. Try eating lots of citrus fruits for a couple days, it really helps to rid the water. I read it somewhere so I tried it, it worked.

Did good, had 1320cal., over by 50 though. Had to have some peanut butter, only a half serving which is a victory for me. Weight stayed the same, that's ok. Rode the bike for 32min, went 7 mi. All in all an ok day.

Just quick check in~Cause I am on a mission~ A looney one~ but a mission LMBO! I am gonna go take pics in some bikinis I bought at the end of summer to see how close I am to a bikini ready body~Cause even though I am not a swimmer (I can't swim LOL) I made it my goal for this fall/winter to get my body nice & toned enough to look good in a bikini! I am getting close ~I HOPE & THINK Who knows I will see soon! LMBO~Well off to do this while everyone is asleep~I hope the hubby doesn't wake up~he will think I am nuts trying on bikinis & taking pics In the middle of the night~But I need some privacy...LMBO~Wish me luck.~ Will do personals another time......EVERYONE TAKE CARE!!! OH & wish me luck the kids don't wake up either while I am doing this ~it will haunt them forever! hehehee! ~Cutesy fruitsy~Just call me Little Looney Lori!(LMBO!)

Morning ladies!

1525 calories yesterday, 45 minutes of shoveling (with several breaks, lol) and 30 minutes elliptical.

Sounds like everyone is doing good! Congrats to those who are losing and also to those who wavered but got right back in the saddle! As so many have said around here, it's not about perfection, but perseverance.

Good morning, all!!! Missed you all this weekend! I kind of had a crazy busy/then really lazy weekend! :D

First, I weighed in today, and am down 1.4, which puts me at a total loss of 10 pounds for the challenge - only 4 more to go!

rainbow ~ CONGRATS ON MEETING YOUR GOAL!!! It's always a great feeling to reach a goal, small or large!!!

Northern ~ I second the Bye Bye January - I hate January! I live in Ohio which means COLD/SNOW/ICE (which we had an ice storm last night, one coming later, with some snow on top for tomorrow! AH - winter). Anyhow, I think it is the LONGEST month of the year, and am not sad to see it end! February may bring cold weather too - but being a short month, puts us that much closer to Spring and warmer weather.

lori ~ Your too funny! Saturday, I got out all my jeans/work pants and tried stuff on! Some jeans are fitting tons better, some still have a long way to go ~ but for me it is theraputic. One, I am super happy to add back in an old pair of jeans to my daily wardrobe. Two, those that still aren't fitting keeps me focused on my goals!

Northern mentioned losing track this weekend, and I am right there with you. We had friends over Saturday night, and I had a little too much to drink - and a little too much chicken buffalo dip. Although, I did the recipe and knew how much calories I could eat of it - I don't think the wheat tortillas to eat it was helping my case! :) I did get in an hour of cardio on Saturday though. I was uber lazy on Sunday - didn't even cook dinner - had leftovers from Friday's dinner mostly, and maybe a little more leftover buffalo chicken dip! :D I love that stuff!!

Nonetheless, jumped right back on track Monday, so I am pretty confident about not falling off any wagons anytime soon.

Although I lost 1.4 this week, I was a little disappointed just because I have been losing 2-3/week. I think it is because I didn't exercise as much as the weeks before. I went to the gym M - Sa, but only got up early once to do extra cardio - will have to get back up this week! Got 4 more pounds to go!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Well I'm still hanging in there. Had a great day yesterday. I worked out on the eliptical for 45 minutes and did 30 minutes on the treadmill. Burned a whole lot of calories. I think I ate too much salt in my dinner Sunday and Yesterday. I didn't have too many calories just too much salt and that's just as bad. But I've had about 2 liters of water so far and have two more liters to drink before 5.

Meg: I'm glad someone understands me, lol! I know what it's like to go from losing 2-3 a week down to 1 or 1.5 :( Though I suppose we should wear it as a badge of honor in some respects...it means we are getting smaller!

My other hope is that the slower loss will result in less loose skin when I get to goal. I still have about 50 or so lbs to lose so I'm not sure how this will all turn out...but I'm pretty worried about my stomach, especially.

Jiggle: glad to see you! Considering all you have going on, I wouldn't feel overly guilty over a little extra salt. You're doing great.

Ate 1330 cal. because of too many grapes. Sent all the bad food with my husband so he can take it to work w/ him. I don't feel so tempted now, there's nothing here I want. Rode the bike for 30min. went 7mi. Gained 8 ounces, felt so discouraged this morning, almost just gave up. I'm trying so hard, doing good with controlling the food i eat, still I gain. I don't know anymore.

Tuesday: 1505 calories. Rest day.

Schools are closed AGAIN here because of the ice. Thinking of working upstairs for a lot of the day, away from the food :-) Hoping classes will be on at the gym tonight.

I just signed up for a 5K on April 30. I'm up to 1.5 miles, so I'm planning to get in two runs a week, increasing my distance about .25 miles a week, then I'll work on my speed. I'm very slow!

Well I'm still drinking my water. I'm still waiting on TOM to go away so I can see if I'm really at goal or not. I would like to be there while TOM is here but no such fortune. Hopefully by tomorrow I will be done because I'm so over it right now. I really want to be at goal.

Northern - Thanks for the support. I'm doing what I have to do to keep some stability in my life. It's WORK though. I so feel you about the skin, stomach and the slow weight loss. The frustration and hope all hanging out together. So lets keep our hope together!!!
Fruitlady - Hang on in there we will all see things get better!!
Natamars - Just don't let cabin fever set in...it got me last month and cost me some pounds.

Jiggle: Yep, gotta keep the hope alive! I'm so glad we can all support each other here.

Fruit: I TOTALLY get your frustration. Ugh. But...we can do this! Just have to keep on keepin' on (as Steve Miller would say, lol.)

Nat: I am SO sick of winter. -20 on my drive in to work this morning. It's either flippin' cold or it's snowing. I think I can count on one hand the times it's been relatively warm (above 20) and NOT snowing this whole winter. It's really hard to stay motivated when all you want to do is stay in bed! At least that big storm that's battering the rest of the country is missing us....but I'd almost rather have a blizzard than this cold, at least there would be hope they would cancel school!

As for me: did OK on calories, ended up at about 1450 yesterday. I shoveled my deck for 15 minutes (had a big pile of snow on the part that we don't walk on that's been piling up all winter...got worried that the weight was starting to stress the deck.) After being out in that cold, that was it for me for exercise for the day, unfortunately. I really need to step it up the next two days before my WI Friday.

Ok...I got my whining done for the day. Thanks for bearing with me!!

Hey all, I'm still around.

Failing severely with exercise. I don't know why I'm so reluctant to do it, but I am. I missed my Zumba class on Tuesday due to a family dinner, so it's now been a whole week since I did anything I'd actually count as exercise. And I don't want to. I'm fine with the foods and calorie counting and staying on track there, but with exercise, I suck. I think that because I know I can lose weight without it, it's somehow ok to skip it - but I want to be fit as well!

jiggle & Northern- thanks a bunch! Watching what you eat & not seeing results was driving me nuts.

Had 1305 calories, I didn't have any junk food in a week, it's starting to get to me. I actually said to myself yesterday that if I didn't lose any weight this morning, I am going to pig out on junk. This morning my weight dropped 1.5lbs. so glad. Yesterday weight was up for no reason, today it went down, I don't get it.

I had a very stressful evening ... which has been happily resolved. I ate more than I should, but I kept from getting too carried away by the knowledge that I made it out of the 190's today. 189.2

Wednesday calories: 1260. 10 min. elliptical, 1 hr. body sculpting.

Time to read stories with my son. See everyone tomorrow.

I hear you! It's been below zero here for over a week and I just can't make myself go to the YMCA. I know that I can still lose weight without it but I know I can loose a lot more if I work out.

Megems~ I love to try stuff on~the bikinis looked good~i am so close to a good Bikini body! But I can't post the pics My husband forbid me too..Which is ok LOL~Are 18th anniversary is Feb. 25th & if he posted a pic in his undies online I would get mad too~Cause he is so hot!! LMBO(And a bikini is basically undies & a bra)

Anyways......Noone got there life ruined waking up during the picture taking process at least...LMBO!

Hope everyone Has a super tomorrow....Been messing with the time I take my prozac & My sleeping is outta control...I took a huge nap & Just got up & It's just a little after 9 p.m.~UGH~I AM SO HUNGRY But ate all my calories earlier....I am just gonna drink lots of water I guess...It's just in my head I think from the different sleeping times I keep getting from this medicine.~It is actually helping me or I would quit taking it...UGH! Anyways ~On a positive note maintaining is going well....I am so thankful to the girl that told me about calorie counting a little over 2 years ago in our public library here where I live~Cause I took a moment to compliment her weight loss even though I was in a sad mood & she took a sec to tell me how she was doing it.~I THANK HER EVERYTIME I SEE HER.~I think God placed her there that day!
Anyways...gonna go to FB ~Then Maybe clean...I am gonna be up for hours!

<3 Y'all! MAY WE ALL HAVE A GREAT VALENTINES DAY ACCOMPLISHMENT ~Just 12 days!

Oh before I go~Cutesy fruitsy~ My daughter & u Are approx the same height & weight & she will be 18 in May~Anyways we fight over clothes~But I am a bit taller than u 2 & I would say she is built just perfect! She tends to be around 110 to 115 at the moment.She is proboly a 1/2 size or so smaller than me actually~I do weigh 20 pounds or more above u 2!~SO U GO GIRL! WOOT WOOT!~HUGS & Rainbow congradulations On reaching your goal~ & I have felt the same way on the exercise before ~Find something u enjoy to do...Maybe u are sick of the same routine it can happen.~Even if u just start with 10 mintues of something a day different & see....EVERYONE ELSE~TTYL

Went over on calories yesterday. I did a pretty good workout last night (a good thing), but I was still hungry after dinner so I had a bowl of oatmeal. Not a horrible choice, but I pretty much ate back my exercise calories...ugh.

Envelope: congrats on getting out of the 190's! All I need is one more lb tomorrow to get to 189.9. Let's hope.

Afternoon All!!! Well, this stupid ice/snow storm did it's damage. I lost power Tuesday night, and it somehow screwed up my computer (which ironically is on loan, since my own personal harddrive is getting fixed). It will turn on but won't start up the Windows ~ anyhow, I digress. Nonetheless, my boss called me off work yesterday due to the severe weather (1 & 1/2 days of ice, and 1 day of snow!!!).

I am glad to say I did good on my food choices/calories over the last couple days - BUT, I didn't get to the gym Tuesday or Wednesday due to weather. AND I didn't work out at home either. I was actually rather lazy yesterday and stayed in my pj's reading my kindle! It was a good day!! :D

I weighed myself this morning, and it is saying over a pound down from Tuesday, so we shall see - and I WILL be hitting the gym tonight!!

Hope everyone has a fabulous day!

Itsy bitsy Lori- Thanks- Sharing clothes w/ your daughter is awesome. I think 110-115lbs. for someone that's 5'3 looks just right too, that's why I'm trying so hard not go over 110lb. I know once I go over that & stay there, it could get out of control & keep going up.

Ate too many grapes again, they are addicting to me. Went over my calories, had 1340. Doesn't seem to hurt to go over as long as it's because I ate grapes. My weight is down to 108.5, but I'm gonna keep going, just in case I want to pig out one of these days. Rode the bike for 32min & doing cleaning tonight. I never sit!

Hello ladies.

I just stumbled upon this challenge (being MIA from 3fc's for some time now) and would like to join for the last few days. I need short term anyway because I have a problem sticking to long term goals. I have to work my way up.

Well my goal for this challenge is to log all of my food and beverage intake and keep my calorie count at or below 1800.

I look forward to conquering this challenge and then bumping up my goals with the next challenge.

e.mccoy Sounds like a great plan of action. WELCOME!

Hope everyone has a good day.

Thursday: 1305 calories. 1 hr. Zumba! class

Down 4.4 lbs. for the challenge, with 1.8 to go to reach my goal.

Going to dinner with the ladies from the gym tonight. Will enjoy a cocktail and a small dinner - the portions at this place are enormous so I'll bring most of it home for DH and DS.

My gym just added spin every other Sunday, so I may take advantage of that as well. Also getting my run on the treadmill in twice a week - may be time to increase that to 3 soon.

e.mccoy, welcome! Great goals for the challenge. And I'm sure we'll have a new challenge after V-DAy too!

Happy Friday everyone!

Down 1.5 this week, which puts me at 189.4....so I am now out of the 190's! Still going to plug along this last week or so of the challenge...hope to see 188 or so, so I know it's for "real". 4.4 lbs til my next goal, "just" an overweight BMI!

For the past month or so, it seems my weight loss has slowed to about 1 -1.5 lbs/week. I guess I am just getting to a size where that is my reality based on my current calorie intake/exercise schedule. I'm really not ready to cut calories yet (SO hard to do in the dead of winter), so I think for the next challenge I will focus on stepping up my exercise. I ordered the Zumba for Wii online the other day, should be here by then. Guess it's time to shake things up a bit!

Anyhoo...hope everyone has a great weekend!

Happy Friday ladies!!!

e.mccoy ~ Welcome!!! These ladies are great for support!!

Northern ~ CONGRATS!!! Feels great to make your goal!!! I will be trying Wii Zumba this weekend too! My friend got it and we always meet up on Saturday's for some sort of Wii exercise!

natamars ~ My Y started spin in January of 2010. I LOVE it! You will burn tons of calories!! :D

Got back to the gym yesterday, and felt SO much better! Can't let myself get into an excuse rut for not going! Heading back tonight for more cardio!!! The scale was very nice to me this morning - but I don't weigh in until Tuesday's so we will see what comes of it!!!

Hope everyone has a fabulous day!

I'm still here. Haven't been on because I've been trying to keep up with what's going on with my mom, my job and my household. I've been working out but my eating was off task the past two days. I will be holding it down the rest of the challenge so I can celebrate my victory. I smell it in the air. I will be -10lbs by Valentines Day.

Northern - High Five!!! You are doing the thang!!!
Natamars - Congrats to you as well. You got that 1.8pounds in the bag!!
Megems - All it takes sometimes in on excuse and you can find your self with plenty of them. I love how working out feels.

By the by - I tried a kettle bell workout...BEAST!!! I did a lot of squats and lifting. Most of the time my thighs and legs don't hurt until the next but not this go around...immediately I feel the burn. I like because I feel my inner thighs burning...HOORAH!

Down 4oz. Rode the bike for 50min. Had 1807 cal. Way too many calories, I ate a huge cookie. The only sweets I ate in 8 days. Why did I mess it up!