Hey all, doing well with calories, lost another pound so far this week, pretty happy overall!

Friday: ~2000 calories. Rest day.

Had my off-plan meal last night - 2 glasses of wine, salad, 2 small pieces of foccacia, and about half my salmon dish. Oh, and a decaf capuccino. Then I came home and had 1/2 a cup of ice cream. Yum!

Got up early to do spin, and today will be a low calorie day. I've been running around since 8 this morning, so I am now sitting my a$$ on the couch and may not move it the rest of the day! It is damp and cold and rainy here, but at least it's not snow.

Happy weekend, ladies!

Meg: did you try the Wii Zumba yet? From what I've heard, it's best to start out in "class" mode...otherwise it goes too fast when you're still learning the moves. You'll have to tell me how you like it!

Fruit: don't be too hard on yourself...1 cookie isn't the end of the world. I totally understand the guilt when you didn't "plan" for it, but think about how well you've been doing!

Rainbow: way to keep plugging along!

Jiggle: way to work those thighs!

Nat: hope you enjoy your downtime!

E.Mccoy: welcome!

As for me: I bought 30 day shred yesterday and am going to try it this evening. As I mentioned before, I need to shake up my workouts...and from what I heard, this is a good bet! Also bought some 3 lb hand weights. My 2 pounders aren't doing much for me anymore.

So far I'm doing very well on calories today. DH is off doing a guy thing and won't be back until tomorrow...so I planned all my food out until the super bowl tomorrow when he comes back. Going to have a bit of a cheat with some homemade hot wings. Also got some baked tortilla chips and fresh salsa. At least it's better that nachos and sliders, lol.

Well, I've been lazy most of the day and I've been meaning to get out to get my hair cut...I suppose I better get going so I can get back and try my new workout before I lose motivation!

Oh, and go Steelers! (being a Vikings fan, I'm obligated to cheer against the Packers. Sorry, neighbors.)

Northern - Congrats!

I am trying to be careful with food leading up to the Super Bowl today too. It will be a late night, my son wants me to take him out after the Steelers win to pick up a Championship shirt he can wear to school tomorow.

Saturday: 1675 calories. 1 hour Spin class.

Well, so much for a low-calorie day. I hardly ate in the morning and then ran around doing errands for several hours. I was so hungry when I got home that I wolfed down about 500 calories in 20 minutes. I have to pace myself better.

I'm up almost 2 lbs. on the scale - too much sodium and not enough water. Will have to work on that today.

rainbow and northern, yay!!!!

I am so having breathing issues today~Spring is just around the corner~my alllergies always act up horrible & asthma right before it arrives~UGH & THANK GOD! I am soooooooooooooo sick of winter.~Anyways Just wanted to come in for a quick check in.

I aint a football fan~But it would be sweet for the Steelers to win for my son~He just had his 13th birthday on the 4th~It would make his day! He has a jersey of them.So he is gonna wear it tommorrow to school if they win ~lol! He never really watches them either just loves that jersey!
Anyways off to check out facebook. TTYL

OH ~just 8 days to go ~Give it your all!!!!

Hi all- Not doing good calorie wise for the past three days. Today was 1787, way too high again. I'm gaining weight but still can't seem to get back on track, i don't know what to do, all I want is cake,candy,cookies, chocolate & peanut butter. I eat all my healthy meals w/ lots of fruit, then in between meals I eat junk. I think the sugar has me addicted, I hope I can get back on track starting tomorrow!

Sunday calories: 1185. Exercise: 40 min treadmill, 2 mi jogging(continuous).

Ugh, back to work. At least the weather is nice again today. We got so much melting yesterday.

Cooked enough oatmeal and whole grain pasta for b'fast and lunch for the week, so no excuses there. DH and I finished the salad, so have to make another batch of that tonight. Planning on a body sculpting class tonight.

fruit, sorry you're having a rough time. I also find when I get on a sugar kick it spirals. I usually try not to have the stuff in the house(I do keep ice cream for my son, so often I'll get a flavor that doesn't appeal to me) and I'll keep dark chcolate in the house for myself - the kind that's so rich you don't usually want more than a piece. If I try to deprive myself totally it often backfires.

Happy Monday.

I never did get around to popping 30DS in my DVD player this weekend. Did OK on calories Saturday, but yesterday is a different story! Overdid it on super bowl snacks PLUS I didn't exercise. Pre-TOM issues certaintly didn't help me any! Oh well, today is a new day.

Good morning all!

Finding out that the weekends are getting harder & harder for me with food control. There is always something going on, birthday parties, football parties etc. I do excellent with breakfast, and will skip a large lunch (or just eat a small snack) to get me through so I can splurge at dinner for these things - but I still end up eating more then I should ~ AND I don't know the calories. I need to take control of this better. Unfortunately, we have another birthday party this weekend - but I will use it as a obstacle to get over - just need to figure out what to do to make sure I don't overeat.

Northern ~ Unfortunately, we didn't get time to do it! But I am hoping this weekend we will get to try it! I have taken a Zumba class at my Y - but that was like 2 years ago! But I am excited to try it.

Exercise last week was there, but not as much as I would have liked given the weather & my busy weekend.

Hope everyone has a great day!

natamars I feel you on not wanting to be at work.

Northern Today is another day. I don't really understand the SuperBowl...all I get is that it's sports and it goes on way longer than it should - I don't think we really have an equivalent sporting event in New Zealand!

megems I didn't get enough exercise last week either, but I'm trying to make up for it this week!

~So I started Monday off great, went out for a run - haven't done it properly since December! It was way harder than I remember, fitness in that area definitely decreases pretty quickly! Usually my 3km run would be 2.7km running with 300m walking...yesterday was probably half walking half running.
Zumba after work today. Then I am looking forward to a sleep in tomorrow! I am so tired, it's crazy. Doing well with foods, although I feel myself getting a little too relaxed on some things.

Lost 2 lbs this week for a total of 15 for the challenge! I can't wait to be in the 2 oh somethings soon and then to onederland!

Keep up the good work ladies!

rainbowstripe- I think any amount of running is a good run!

natamars-thanks, i agree. When you deprive yourself, it makes things worse. My hubby & daughter eat lots of junk food, so it's always here. I've been making him take all the junk food to work with him, but when he's home, so is the junk & that's when I get to it. You do so great with your calories, good job!

Had 1645 cal., better than recent days. Somehow I lost .7lbs don't know how. Been riding the bike for 50min. each day I went over my calories, including today, maybe it helped. I'm hoping to be in my normal calorie range tomorrow!

Weighing in tomorrow, and anticipating bad news. Last week was all sorts of off-plan, out of control badness.

I'll let ya know how it goes...

Good morning, hope everyone is staying warm. I will be glad when spring gets here. More rain, sleet and snow headed our way in the tonight. Keeping my calories around 1200 and doing some excercise everyday. Im now doing zumba gold and zumba chair.. Would like to try line dancing, some of my friends are doing it and is having lots of fun doing it. My weight is staying the same thats very frustrating. But I am making progress, staying on target and hopefully will see the light. Have a good day. :swim::workout::dance::wave::dust:

Monday: 1400 calories. 9 min elliptical(ran out of time), 1 hr body sculpting class

Noticed that my calories are starting to creep up a bit. I'm averaging around 1400 since I've been tracking, many of them due to my high-calorie Fridays. Something to think about.

bigmama, great attitude, and I love that picture!

fpsj, good luck w/ your weigh-in!

k15g15, 15 lbs? wow!

rainbow, I agree on the running. I also notice some days are so much harder than others - haven't figured out why yet. Planning a run tonight and nervous b/c my legs are very sore from sculpting last night(lots of lunges).

megems, I'm sure you'll do great. Parties are tough - it's OK to splurge if you don't have them often, but when you do it can add up quickly.

northern, hope yesterday was a good day for you!

Yaaaaaay, weigh- in was great! I actually lost a teeny, tiny bit! I'm 122.0 even, and totally happy with that. :)

Thanks for the kind words, and wishing everyone a great, on-plan day!

Happy Tuesday all!

k15g15 ~ Congrats on the 15 pounds that is awesome!!!

Thanks to everyone else for the encouragement. I think part of my problem to is this cold nasty weather ~ I am SO ready for Spring!!

My weigh-in is today, and I am ecstatic to report that I LOST 3.2 pounds. I have one more pound to lose by Monday to meet my 14 pound goal for the V-day challenge. I am utterly surprised by this, because when I weighed myself yesterday, I was only down by like .5 - but that could have been reflecting the weekend splurge a little and some water weight!

I realized the other day that due to weather & out of town stuff this past weekend, I only made it to the gym 4 days! I am a 5-6 day girl! So, I am going to make sure I hit 6 days this week, and will start incorporating morning/late evening workouts at home again!

Hope everyone has a fabulous day!!!

Yesterday was a better day calorie-wise. I also started 30-day shred. I did pretty good on the strength/abs parts, but the cardio is an issue for me (TMI warning)....it's not so much the actual activity part....it's just all the bouncing around is a bit of a challenge for someone like me with a big gut. Jumping jacks HURT!

So I kind of made up my own jogging in place thing (not as much bouncing) instead of all the jumping type moves she does. I suppose I could also hop on my elliptical and just go all out for the 2 minutes or whatever it is (the main thing is getting my heart rate up, right?) I really do want to be able to keep up with the vid, but I'm not sure how to minimize the bouncing issues. Maybe I need to wear a "body shaper" type thing while I exercise?? Anyone else feel my pain??

Again, sorry for TMI!! Congrats to all of you who are making such good progress! Hope everyone is having a good week.

I haven't gone missing. I'm still here. I feeling a little frustrated because I weighed myself this morning and I had expected to be at goal but noooooo, I still need to loose three pounds...WTH! I'm really glad I didn't start this journey weighing myself because I may have given up. Now that I've been in the game a while I can't help but keep going.

My mom has gotten a little better. Please pray that her appetite increases and she cooperates with the therapist.

Northern - It's just the first day, I promise it will get easier. If I did it when I first started a bunch a weight ago and it got easier...it will for you as well. Level 2...not so much!!!
Megems - 3.2 pounds you go girl!! How did you do that...I got that many to go by Monday.

Northern I totally get what you mean. For me it's boobs and tummy - sports bra helps with the boobs...but do I now need some sort of sports apparatus to keep my stomach in check?? URGH. I feel your frustration.

I am reading everyone's posts, just so you know :) Keeping to my calories but wondering if they're too high - I guess that's something we all go through, wondering wondering wondering...it's not like I've gained or stopped losing though, so I may as well just keep plugging along...

Ate 1900 calories today, another high day, 4th in a row. I just can't seem to get a grip on my eating. Lost 1 oz. don't get it. But I'll see a big gain soon, just know it. These high calories are gonna catch up w/ me. Maybe that's what it will take to scare me. The funny thing is that I'm not even hungry, I just eat for no reason. Craving chocolate, peanut butter & ice cream, everyday. I give in to the chocolate daily, that puts my calories up. Rode the bike for 30min this morning, feel real lazy all the time.

Jiggle and Rainbow: thanks for the feedback. I know I still have a pretty big chunk of weight to lose so I'm trying not to panic yet...but I'm really getting worried about my gut never shrinking back to a managable size?? I don't expect to ever have supermodel airbrushed looking boobs and abs (espeically since I'm approaching middle age), but seriously...am I going to have to save up for skin surgery? I know being fat is more disgusting (and more importantly, more unhealthy) than having sagging skin...but if this doesn't get better, I'm still going to be limited in what I can do physically, even at half my starting weight. I just don't know what it is yet...is it still just fat I need to lose or is this mess NEVER going to go away, no matter what I do?? So confused.

On a brighter note, I did try 30DS yesterday wearing a body shaper cami thing I have (along with my sports bra) and it does help. Still some things I can't quite do exactly like on the video, but it's better.

Had a working breakfast today, so really watching what I eat for lunch. I think I'll do OK on calories for the day if I stick to my plan. Just hard because I had to estimate the breakfast, so no way to be sure. Tomorrow I have a 12 hour day at work (financial aid night). Ordering pizzas for the parents/kids and am planning to have some (no way I'll be able to resist completely after such a long day) but hope to keep it reasonable portion-wise. My only worry is the sodium since Friday is my usual WI day. I suppose I can do another WI on V-day if I don't like Friday's results since it's the end of the challenge, lol.

Later!

Northern - I so feel you about the loose skin situation. I was feeling like that this morning. I looked at my body and was so sad. I began to wonder if these rolls of fat will ever come off. Let's not even talk about this stomach. I leaned over an my skin wrinkled like it was loose and thought to myself...oh I need a savings account for loose skin. I was trying to do my measurements and was having a hard time. It's like the places I measure (waist, lower stomach and hips) aren't budging. I've been doing squats the past couple days hoping those will help. I do the eliptical on the highest work load. Hopefully that doesn't bulk me up.

I've been wondering today if I'm eating enough because I figured my clothes should be more loose with all the workouts I'm doing. I've been keeping my calories in the 1300-1400 area. I was looking online and saw that I should be eating around 1800-2000. What can you do...?

jigglefree- I also have wrinkled and loose skin on my lower stomach, tops on my thighs & other places too embarrassing to mention. I'm in my 40's so I guess I just have to accept it, your skin just can't go back into shape after it's been stretched for so long. Exercise doesn't work either! But losing the weight is worth it to me.

Gained weight from all this over eating, I'm up 4.4lbs since last Friday. I'm back on plan, eating clean for as long as it takes to get back to 108.2lbs. If I eat one thing that is processed, it will stall my weight loss. I am realizing that I just can't give up my favorite sweets forever. I will eat clean to lose the weight, then have a sweet food if I want it. I'm not gonna give up my favorite food. It's a good thing I never want fast food, donuts, starches( bread, potatoes, anything white), red meats, anything fried or pies. I'd be in trouble! Haven't had any of that in over 2 yrs. Cake, cookies, ice cream, chocolate & peanut butter are my thing. 1260 calories today, right on target. Rode the bike for 30min & went 7.5 mi. Good luck to all!

Northern I know due to our differing ages that it could be a completely different situation, but I know my stomach has shrunk a lot...it's still saggy and hangs down (something I lament rather often) but I think the fact that it's smaller has helped make exercise doable? I do have a good pair of workout pants that kind of hold it up and in a bit...maybe you could try some of those? I also worry about it never fully going away...as far as I'm aware I've had this stomach like this from a very young age (sadly) and even though I'm still relatively young, there is only so much resilience in the skin.

~I was pretty much on my calorie target yesterday, which is frustrating as I'd meant it to be a lower day to prepare for a couple of higher days I know will happen tomorrow and Saturday. The most annoying part is that the last 160 calories were from chocolate which I just didn't need to eat! I was craving it though. I've been feeling kind of depressed and for some reason I equate chocolate with feeling better :/
I've made plans to go out with some of my good friends I haven't seen in a while tomorrow night but I'm so stressed out about what to wear. I feel like I have no clothes. I'm considering going shopping for something new.
I'm struggling today with motivation to exercise.

Rainbow Stripe- Go buy yourself something fabulous! You deserve it!

No workout today because I gave blood. I was ticked that I had to use some of my calories to eat so they would let me leave, but I did eat a great cookie that some grandma made:)

Ladies- Everyone on here gives me strength to stay on the path! Thanks! I don't doubt that everyone will be successful!

Have a great night!

Thanks, guys. I guess I will just keep plugging along and see what happens. Maybe my slower weight loss lately is a blessing in disguise...I have read more than once that losing more slowly gives your skin more time to adjust to getting smaller. I also read that drinking lots of water helps, as does strength training. Do what you can, and hope for the best, I guess!

Today is my long day...brought a couple of extra snacks (healthy ones) to get through the day. Hopefully that will also help me from eating too much pizza at financial aid night tonight. Thankfully I will be eating in front of other people, so that will help too, lol.

I don't have a lot of hope for WI tomorrow. Still in the ending stages of TOM, plus the sodium from the pizza tonight isn't going help either. I guess I should just go in expecting a gain, and anything less is a bouns!

Been M.I.A. ~Sorry~Just got hooked on the games on here & Facebook & My daughters drama again ~LOL~I weighed 135.4 today so my maintaining is going well still~I figure I will drop again in the spring because I am active outside alot.(I hope I don't drop to much if so cause I am so happy with where I am at.)~My exercises are toning me up greatly~I wish to GOD I could post My end of summer bikini pics with the ones I took the other day~It's unbelieveable the body change~EXTREME! Anyways No basically naked type pics Will be posted ~me & the hubby agreed.Anyways......Maybe In the warmer weather I can get a half shirt & a pair of shorts on to show how much toning I have managed~Speaking of skin issues~The skin issues are there still but leave with every time I exercise~I am up to 150 In total of crunches(Since I still can not do situps~i am too wimpy) a day(5 days a week) & I can feel major muscle under the loose skin but it is trimming up daily even though the weight is back & forth from usually 134 to 136 now which is fine with me I just didn't wanna gain back a zillion pounds trying to figure out how much to eat ,ect. to maintain.~I think I got it all figured out.Anyways just saying do exercises for the sagging skin problem areas only & u will see a difference eventually~I PROMISE~I notice change everywhere I exercise to tighten up.(eventually)WELL JUST 4 more days~What CC Holiday challenge u all wanna try next any suggestions? Maybe St. patricks day? LET ME KNOW! Sorry for being away so long from all my sweet friends I so adore on 3fc!~HUGS TO ALL~U ALL ROCK!

Hey all

I did go shopping, bought a dress, a skirt and a blousy type top thing. I'm now scared to wear the skirt and blouse because they're so different from what I'd usually wear. I felt great in the shop but kind of not as confident when I got home.
Weighed in at 64kg/141 pounds this morning - down a pound this week...could be more by the end of the weekend.

Rainbow wear those clothes, hold your head up because you look better than you think you do!!
Lori thanks for the encouragement and I'm strength training really hard because I'm a little older and the skin has been stretched out a long time. But there is still hope!!!
Northern we are going to rock these bodies not matter what they decide they want to do. Because we worked so hard to get where we are going. No more lamenting over saggy skin and stubborn fat...we are just going to keep pressing because we will be victorious!!

Okay for me...I've been going over what I've been doing, eating-working out to see what the problem and sure enough I'm the problem. I wasn't eating like I should have to sustain my workouts. So I made the adjustment today and will see what happens. I am really loving the kettle bell workout. I decided to go online to find a good kettle bell workout so I could do my thing at the gym. Well I was doing my thing and one of the trainers came over and grabbed the kettle and did a couple examples for me to incorporate into my little workout and man am I sore. It was a great workout and I was tore down when I finished. I got on the eliptical before I did the kettle bell routine. So I figured if I do both of those and eat more to fuel my body and not to starve/lose weight, I should come out with better results. We'll see.

Lost 1.5lbs. just from 1 day of eating clean. Today ate clean again, calories are 1360, a little higher, but at least it was from healthy food. Rode the bike 30min. & went 7.5mi. I now know why I get bad cravings & want to eat all day sometimes. Since i figured it out 2 days ago, I'm not over eating or craving junk food. Let's see how long this will last!

Up .6 this week.

Kind of depressing - looks like I need to keep my calories really low to maintain a lb/week loss. I averaged 1600 this week - previous weeks it was closer to 1300. I've added running and spinning once a week each to try to shake things up, but it hasn't been enough. Will drop my calories back down for next week and focus a bit more on protein - egg whites instead of oatmeal, grilled chicken salad instead of ww pasta.

fruit, good for you on the clean eating. This is something I struggle with.

jiggle, love the way you go back and analyze - hope you get your results! You're working hard for them!

rainbow, it's good to step out of your comfort zone with fashion! I bet you look great.

lori, you rock!

northern, hope your weigh-in goes well.

k15, thanks for giving blood! You are definitely entitled to some sugar afterward - I always have some juice and cookies. I actually get really dizzy afterward and they tell me some coke is the best thing.

Well, as expected, my weight is up a bit today. I'm not stressing too much about it as I'm sure it's mostly due to TOM/sodium bloat. Not moving my ticker! I will re-weigh in a couple days after some water and cleaner eating and see where I'm at. As long as I'm 189.9 or lower, I will consider this challenge a success :)

Lori: I like a St. Patty's day challenge. Good length--about a month. Long enough to set a good goal, but not so long to lose focus. I think that (St. Patty's) was the first CC challenge I joined last year...can't believe it's been that long already :)

Rainbow: I agree with Jiggle...rock those new clothes!!

Jiggle: Thanks for the encouragement...so nice to know we are all in this together.

Fruit: WTG on the loss and clean eating!

Nat: I feel your pain on the slight gain. We will just keep on trucking!

Natamars U rock 2!

Northern~st. patricks day it will be then ~woot!

Rainbow~I agree too~Enjoy them clothes girl!!!



Jiggle ~SUPER HUGS TO YA! Praying for you momma still girl!

Fruit~HUGS~TO YA!

Everyone else~Hugs to y'all too!

Todays update: I cleaned the bottom of my scale It had a piece of something on the bottom of it~I had noticed LOL~Proboly from the kids they like to play & weigh with my scale...Anyways I weighed 10 times & was 131.4~~HOLY CRAP! I about fell over! I thought I was shaping up better but gaining muscle~Oh well As long as I remain the size I am & just get a little toner ~I will be happy~And if I have got to eat more~Can do! (LOL~Thats the good part) I am still close to the old 132.0 so I am thinking I have basically been maintaining close anyways & eating the right amount...I am so HAPPY TODAY~SUNSHINE IN OHIO & 30 Degrees! ~hugs to all off to change my ticker...I may just freak if I get the 120's ever~I would feel way toooooo tiny~Not sure why but so would.
TTYL ~3 DAYS TO GO!

Lori- your doing great, you transitioned into maintaining so smoothly.
Thanks to all!

1290 calories today, third day eating clean & lost 3.5 lbs since I started. Almost at goal and I was thinking about cake already. I'm not blowing it now! Did the same exercise as yesterday, I'm getting sick of riding the bike, but it's still too cold to walk outside. Can't wait for a warm up!

Good morning all!
I'm excited Lori to have a St. Patty's challenge, this one has helped me think about going bit by bit instead of...I still have 40 pounds to loose!

Natamars- You are just awesome....every one of your posts I enjoy reading!
Rainbow- Glad you got some new duds! I'm sure you will look FABULOUS!!

My next weigh in is Monday. I have felt bloated since giving blood so I don't know if that will change the scale. I have never felt that way before when I have given blood, but maybe I'm just noticing and caring for my body a little more now.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. It is above freezing here and I can see the sun!:)

I'm ready for the next challenge too! Ate too much today, but I figured I'll give myself a treat day once a week. Saturdays are good cause I can buy myself a piece of cake or something at the farmer's market. The rest of the week will be on plan, I hope. A weight gain is sure to come after today, i'll accept it & move on.

jiggle Thanks... I don't know though! I know my height is definitely not helping me out in this whole weight loss thing haha...I am cursing being short right now! Great that you figured out you weren't fueling the workouts properly - hopefully you see a change! Kettle bell sounds fun!

natamars Thanks! It is kind of fun experimenting with clothes now, even trying on (not necessarily with the intention to buy) things I wouldn't usually is kind of fun! Sorry about your small gain - I don't think you should drop 300 calories...maybe just try 100 or 150? I dunno, I know everyone is different.

Northern I attempted to rock them! My friends said I looked great so I think that's a good thing...I did also get approached on the street by some older men thinking I was a prostitute - not such a good thing - but I don't think I had that look at all - if so, I wouldn't have left the house. Glad to hear you're calling the challenge a success! Hopefully see you next challenge!

Lori Thanks for the encouragement! And wow 131!! AWESOME! I can't wait to get there! You've been such a constant inspiration to me since I've been on this site!

k15 Thanks! New clothes are always fun.. I got some more yesterday as well haha...but they were gifts from my mum so I saved a bit of money which I'm glad about! Good luck for your weigh-in!

~Tomorrow is the 14th here, so I'm going to weigh in the morning and see how far I got! I was down to 139.9 yesterday but up again to 141 today, probably due to sodium/water retention after a restaurant meal last night. I'd love to be back at 139.9 pounds tomorrow, since my original goal for this challenge was 143.3. Feel like I'm doing pretty well, and I feel really good! Looking forward to the next challenge!