walked 52min & had 1134 cal. Not hungry after yesterday's eating frenzy, my weight is horrible. No picnics planned this weekend, so there will be no worries about staying away from crappy food.

The end of the challenge is coming soon, i'm gonna do my best to finish it without over eating.

love2b150 ~ Wow, you have had a lot going on!! Glad you've had lots to celebrate about!

fuitlady ~ No picnics here, either...kinda takes the pressure off, right?!

Where are all the other ladies who used to post here? I hope you are all doing great wherever you are!

I'm at 169.8 this morning and my 4th of July goal was to be at 169. Granted, it might be back up to 170 or 171 tomorrow, so I'll wait until the 4th to see for sure and to make sure this number sticks around.

I am getting closer and closer to my weight goal! Even if I do not quite reach it, I am thrilled that I am this close.

Keep up the good work ladies! 3 days left!!

I think I am going to go for a short jog today. I surpassed my goal of 110 and I am now at 109.4. I'm not sure where I'll stop but I know I need to exercise more.

Buenos tardes, ladies. Or should I say buenos noches!

I've been doing pretty decently. I *did* have a little lapse in my exercise routine (skipped my workouts Saturday-Tuesday) but have been running the past 3 days and will do so to carry me through the 4th. I also went for a very long walk last night. My eating has been going very well! I *did* weigh in at 121.6 today, so I guess my mother's birthday hit me a little harder than I thought, though I didn't go much over calories. Probably my lack of exercise through the beginning of the week as well.

Hopefully, next week or the week after I'll start ZUMBA!

Ekickna- That's awesome! Congrats! I can't even imagine weighing that much!

Love- Yay, keep it positive! I'm so excited to start zumba, I absolutely LOVE to dance, especially to latin music! I've just found several instructors here in town that are teaching it, psyched!

Envelope- That's the way to think! There have been times I haven't met challenge goals in the past, but I always feel thrilled with what I've done!

Emme- High five! Sounds like you're definitely in contention!

Fruit- Way to get back OP!

Jiggle- You just keep moving on down! Awesome!!!!

LET'S RAMP IT UP LADIES! WE'RE SOOO CLOSE!

Envelope- Way to keep your eyes forward!

Ekicna- Way to go!

I have lost 1 more pound this week, only ten to go!

Thin Thoughts ladies!

Ekicna- Great job!
k15g15- Yay!
Corinne- Zumba sounds so fun!

Walked 31min & had 1326 cal. I'm not even close to goal, not sure I'll ever get there. I don't know if it's just impossible for me to diet anymore for a long period of time or if it's just unrealistic to think I can maintain between 108-112lbs. Staying in this range requires lower calories with little room for indulgences. I keep thinking I did it before, I can do it again. But in the long run, is it too hard to maintain that weight forever? I just don't know

Gooood morning!

I'm nervous about weigh in tomorrow. I peaked at the scale this morning and was 121.2. Lower than it was yesterday and Friday, but it's really disappointing after I had made it down to 119 just a week ago. I was pretty down about it last night and *almost* decided to give in and indulge, but forced myself to work out and then felt so good after that. I'm kind of worried about pointing out all of my flaws in the mirror- I just can't seem to notice the changes sometimes. This is the mental part of weight loss!

It seems odd to me because I've been doing pretty well- the only thing I can think of, though, is I've been doing an intense trail run on my treadmill which includes running with interspersed high inclines. Perhaps my leg muscles are holding on to extra water- it has been a while since I've really pushed my legs. Does this seem plausible?

In other news, I've been dancing a lot at home, work, anywhere. Guess I'm getting ready for the zumba classes, ha.

Fruit- I wonder if your body is trying to tell you that it likes where it is? I'm sorry you're having a tough time. You have done so fantastically and are an inspiration!!

K15- The final stretch!!!!

Love- Thanks! I am so excited, I feel like such a dork. I've already loaded my ipod up with reggaeton/ latin music and have been making up my "own zumba" moves, hahaha.

TOMORROW! I hope to see you all here posting about your successes! Even if we don't make goal, we are still successful!

Happy Holiday weekend everyone!

My weight has been strange, although maybe this will be a normal pattern for me? If I look at my weight for the last month4 Sundays, I only lost during 2 weeks, but for a total of 9.2lbs. I will have to keep tracking to see if this is how my body has decided to lose, or if it was just a fluke.

fruitlady - I bet you will look smoking hot at say 113-118, just as you do now, and your body may be happier about it.

k15 - you are so close!!!

hey ladies, sorry it's been a while since i've checked in. Been kinda crazy these past few weeks. So I was able to down to 135.4, but then I had a few events and functions that I splurged on and kind of went on a downward slope from there. This morning I was at 139.4 It's my fault because I stopped counting and checking my fat grams. And I finally experienced the treatment effects of Alli. It wasn't a horrible experience but it showed me that it was actually working and I can't just eat what I want when I want.

I'm I won't be making my challenge goal. I was doing so well, but just got lazy, didn't watch what I was eating and poof! Anyway, my friend's boyfriend has Celiac (spelling) disease and can't have gluten. She adopted the lifestyle for him and told me it's really great when you start to watch the gluten in your diet. So I'm doing an overhall and replacing certain foods with guten free foods. Also I'm trying to buy local meats, and from places that are more humane towards the animals. I'm going to eat as clean and natural as I can. One problem is this Tuesday and Wed, the bf and I are going on vacation to a place known for their beer and fried chicken, cheese and fudge I will do my best. I'm on vacation this week so I'm able to do an overhall of our kitchen, but I need your help...

I need some dinner and lunch ideas. I'm kinda running thin on cooking.

Wish I could have made my goal. I have to start working out too this is depressing. Well good luck tomorrow ladies, I am proud of all of you and can't wait for the next challenge.

Corinne- thanks, I know how you feel about gaining, I weigh 7lbs more than I did 1 week ago. I don't think my body knows what it wants anymore, LOL! It's confused like I am. I keep thinking that if I don't get back down to 108-110 range by Aug.( 2yr maintaining anniversary), than I am a failure. I will not be maintaining, I am gaining!

envelope- thanks, I wish that's the way it was. At this weight my knees hurt & I feel sluggish & lazy, not to mention my jeans won't fit anymore. I can't even jog anymore! I feel better physically just being about 7-8lbs lighter.

jdonato- Hang in there, my weight is up too, it sucks! I was going to go gluten free when I thought I had Celiac. Then I saw Dr. Oz. If your eating gluten free just for weight loss, it may not work. There are extra added sugars & sodium to make it taste better, it's also expensive. Depends how your body reacts to it. I guess it's worth a try, if it works that will be great!

Walked 31min. & had 1843 cal. It was a mistake again, i ate something I thought was lower in calories(ambrosia fruit salad), I checked it out after I ate it. It was 540 calories! I feel so stupid, my weight will keep climbing up & up. It never stops, I think my body wants to be heavy again!

Thanks ladies!

Hang in there everyone! Most of you are sooo close to your goals! I'm up to 111 today, I'm waiting for TOM to show.

Phew, back down to 120.0 on the dot today! So I can officially say I reached my 4th of July challenge goal! I didn't *always* exercise 3 times a week, but though I missed a week, I made up for it by working out 7 days the following. So I'm just going to go ahead and call success!

I think I need to re-evaluate my calories. Livestrong says I need 1600 to lose one pound a week, so that's what I've been shooting for, but I think reality is 1400-1600 and cycling it will be more realistic. I got back down to 120 by lowering my cals back to 1200 again. So, since I think I may want to lose a little more and I want to slowly adjust into maintenance calories (for me, probably 1600-1800), I'll keep it at 1400-1600 and see where that gets me!

Today, I'm working 7:30-4pm (my normal sched. is 2-10pm) so that I can get out early and catch the fireworks and have a little fun! Here's to staying OP!

Ekicna- I hate the tricks the scale plays with us at TOM, ugh! I'll be looking forward to that in a few days...

Fruit- You're not a failure! You're a human being, and an accomplished one at that! You've really inspired me throughout my journey with your dedication. I've read a little about cycling calories recently- maybe that will help you get over this little hump? I know a lot of ladies on here do it, and I'm sure you've read about it- but who knows!

Jdon- Sorry to hear, but you've done so wonderfully!! Don't beat yourself up. I did gluten free about 4 years ago (it was REALLY tough then, because you could find virtually no gluten free foods unless you were at a health store) and felt pretty damn good! I love millet and spelt bread, too, so I was eating that and pirate's booty a lot, haha. I definitely lost some weight on it, probably because I wasn't eating as many bad carbs. And that's awesome about switching to local meat! I am a strong advocate for local foods. I live in a farm community and love to support my neighbors, as well as knowing where my food comes from! As for the restaurant...I don't know, I'd be struggling with that! Can you look up the menu ahead of time?

Envelope- Sometimes that happens- a lot of ladies on here post about the "whoosh", for a few weeks they won't lose anything and then it all just comes off at once! I consider myself lucky in that the weight has always come off steadily for me, as I don't think that seems to be the norm. I'm sure your whoosh is coming!

Everyone else: I hope you've done well!

And everyone: Happy Fourth of July!! See you at the next challenge!!