Thanks Corinne and k15g15!

I weighed in at 112.8 this morning. :carrot: My body fat percentage is 22.9, I am ecstatic!

Well, nighttime cocktails with Hubby is really derailing things for me. I've been over my calories pretty much every day since this challenge started! The good news is, I haven't gained anything, so that's a plus. But I fear for my progress if I continue along in this vein.

~Been M.I.A. ~Been going to yard sales for 2 days now ~i am sunburnt horribly...so bad I am blistered...~OUCH! Anyways just wanted to do a check in~Welcome everyone for joining....& SAY HELLO TO ALL~& Now I am gonna go back out in the sun & Enjoy the day with the hubby & kids..(May sit under one of my trees~LOL) TTYS.

I'm still being a lazy slob...like, I have to get it together STAT. It's been raining off and on here and I'm still to cheap to get a gym membership and without a car, it's super hard to get anywhere (I am buying my car very soon, thank you Jesus) and working out is my life force...when I work out, I eat better, it's a [non]vicious cycle. lol. I hope the rain let's up and I can get my motivation back...somebody pray for me!!! LOL

I am praying for ya girl! (hint hint~I just pace walked back & forth In my house due to ashtma & made up my own exercises in the house~I had a walk while ya talk thingy I did~If I was talking on the phone I was walking...Sucked but Was exercise!) HUGS Fit!

PHAT- You can do it! Sodium is my worst enemy!

Walked 35min & had 1255 calories. Didn't go over too badly today(55), I have this delicious watermelon. I don't want it to spoil, so I'm trying to gobble it up! Day 5 of eating clean so far, weight stayed the same, but I feel another loss coming soon. Gotta think positive!

Good Luck to us all, I know the weekends are hard.

Hello, I am new to this forum and I am ready to jump in with the Fourth of July Challenge!
*My goal is to lose 15lbs. by July 4th. I will continue to do cardio and strength training for 5-6 times a week and will limit my calories to no more than 1200.

I have one newbie question, I created a weight tracker, but how do I include it in my posts?

Amberelise - Sounds like you are having a great start to June. We can all dream about treadmill desk...Iwonder if a drafting table raised up a little higher would work?

Ekicna - You go girl!!! Hope you are having a great time with your husband this weekend.

CorinneIrene - It is wonderful thing to step on the scale and seeing it moving downward.

jigglefree - in the summer it seems like I can always find a reason to party! Possitive progress is a great reason.

SeeImTryin - You are giving me inspiration to do good when I go to dinner tonight to celebrate my nephews HS graduation. My biggest problem is that we are going to Red Lobster and I am not a big fish eater...even though my entire family was growing up. I plan on tryting the rainbow trout.

mjluva829 - I have never tried a work out video...maybe this summer I will.

fruitlady - This sounds a bit crzy, but a good friend of mine who no longer has TOM had mentioned to me that she was feeling cranky, emo, bloated and it happened to be my TOM so I remembered it when the next month she said the same thing during my TOM. After that we started tracking it and she actually was still having TOM symptoms with out actually having TOM. I guess she is still having some hormone fluctuations.

k15g15 - have fun teaching and taking summer school! I am getting ready to start some Masters courses...I just have to get myself motivated!!!

banananutmuffin - Maybe you and your husband could add a nice walk around the neighborhood in before evening cocktails?

Lori259 - Where is you sunscreen missy?

Fit4lyfe - I agree with Lori, start moving around your house more. One day last week my husband was working late, the kids were in bed and I needed to get some more steps in, so I was walking from my living room to kitchen to dining room back to the living room...and we have a small house, but the steps add up.

PHAT - sodium always makes me gain a ton of water weight. Keep drinking the water and it will eventually come back down...sometimes it takes 4-5 days for mine to come back down.

Welcome fabforties!

I had a rough day yesterday. I felt like grazing all day. Nothing that I ate satisfied me. And, my brilliant self decided to bake brownies with the kids. So, guess who snacked on the ingredients. It was rough. I think that I was bored. So, I did step away from the kitchen and play on the xbox kinect with the kids. I also did some Zumba on the xbox. But, that feeling of not being satisfied lingered ALL day. I am nearing TOM, so I am guessing that could have been a part of it too.

Today is another day! I weighed in another .7 loss. Hopefully, I won't see any effects from yesterday's snacking.

Hi everyone ~ I hope you are having a better weekend than me! My weight has climbed up for 2 days straight and I haven't been good with my calories. I don't know what it is...does anyone else feel that sometimes they are just flat out tired of calorie counting?

Emme- I've been counting for 3 yrs. There for a while I just didn't want to anymore, I wanted to feel normal. As soon as I stopped counting, the weight gain started. I'm never stopping again!

envelope- yeah, I'm sure that can happen. I'm cranky and emotional all the time though. I'm not sure if the TOM problems are from my diet or menopause. thanks!

I've been eating clean for 6 days now, lost 6.8lbs so far. Calories today will be at 1192. Finally didn't go over, the watermelon I've been eating everyday is filling me up fast. Only 48 calories per cup! Walked 31min, it was cloudy & damp. yuck!

Quick check in before grocery shopping,

I got down to 139.4, and tomorrow I will be starting the South Beach Diet phase 1. I'm doing it as a push and a cleanse, so for 2 weeks I will cut out starches, refined sugars, fruit, and alcohol. the fruit will be the hardest thing but I can slowly add that in after my 2 weeks. I plan to workout every morning, so I'll have to get up at 5am to do that and do my pilates at night. We will see. If anyone has any suggestions to help that would be great!

Fruitlady: congrats on the loss, you are doing terrific!

Emme: I'm with fruitlady, I was counting for 2 years and lost 50lbs, when I stopped counting, I am where I am today...I gained 27lbs of it back and have to start over. It's hard to always count, but eventually it becomes second nature and with the right people around you and support it's even easier. We are here for you anytime you need the support :)

I'm very excited to do my 2 weeks, and it's gonna be hard because of the negative critisim from ppl, the whole, "you don't need to lose weight", "omg I coudln't give up food like that." "oh you are on a crazy diet." I've done this before and this is how I started my last 25lb loss of my previous 50 lbs, and I loved it! I got my insulin levels stabolized, I finally felt clean and revived, and motivated. Also ppl dont know my weight, besides you guys, and they dont know that i'm over weight for my heights, body, and age, so we will see. I"m still doing Alli and love it, it's really helped me watch what I eat and how it effects my body. wish me luck ladies, need to go to the store now.

got up early this morning and got my walking in before church because it was going to be hot again. Still on track with program. Had a graduation party yesterday, but I just drank water.

I just got home from work and was *really* struggling. I had planned to week my garden and plant my last flowers, but when I pulled into the driveway, I didn't want to. I also thought that maybe I should wait until tomorrow to pack for my vacation. Then, came on the desire to munch. I had a fruit lime bar, which I planned for in my calories today. But I keep thinking about other foods...and wanting to graze.

SO, I told myself..."you just got home from work, sit down and relax a little bit. Clarity will follow." And I decided to come check in here- and guess what? After browsing the forums a bit, I'm now getting geared up to tackle my garden and do my packing for Montauk. Thank. God.

I just have to remind myself that I'm taking this week "off"- I won't be strict about calorie measurements, I'll eat what I want (in moderation), and will imbibe! Of course, I'm sure I'll be doing a lot of swimming/running around- and I will get to the hotel gym and bring my resistance bands.

My plan for this coming week is simply to maintain. When I get back on Friday, I'll be back on plan!

Weekends are always toughest for me- NOT because it's my time off, but because I'm working. Being in a residential setting with a co-worker who is always trying to push food on me and tell me that I never eat...is really tough. Especially since she's a great cook. And guess what? She's the one I'm vacationing with! She's great, she just has no idea the issues I have with food, haha.

Fruit- Honestly, I'm not sure if I'll maintain at 120. I *may* lower it again to 115. We'll see how happy I am in a couple of pounds! I have a naturally, ehem, curvy figure and a lot of muscle so I don't want to go too low. My biggest thing is probably getting rid of the fat on my upper arms. We'll see! You seem too young for menopause yet! It must be nice to be slowing down on the flow, that's for sure! And Congrats on the loss!!!

k15- You sound quite busy! Good luck!!

Banana- Yeah, alcohol is killer. Have you tried any low cal cocktails yet? I'm hoping to be good about that this next week, haha.

Lori- Ouch! Enjoy the sun (or rather, shade!)

Fit- Sorry to hear about the weather! One day, you'll wake up and will just get going! You CAN do this!

Phat- Ick, I went over sodium yesterday- hate the feeling! I've been drinking water all day like mad! Good luck!

Fab- Welcome! You can post the weight tracker url in your signature from your user CP. Hopefully that helps!

Envelope- Yes it is!

djett- That was me today too. Coming on here stopped me from getting out some french bread and dipping it into dipping oil (the oil itself has something like 200 cals per 1 tbsp! YIKES!). Thankfully, I avoided it and will save it for another day! If I had brownies around, though, I KNOW I couldn't resist.

Emme- I hear you- it's easy, and yet it's so routine you just want to break free sometimes! Every now and then I give myself a cheat day where I don't count. But, I don't even tend to go over cals because I am more conditioned now to eat how I should. Have you thought about weighing weekly? Weight can fluctuate a lot in a day, too!

Jdon- Congrats! And good luck on south beach! I know what you mean about the comments...Honestly, just because I'm smaller than what I *was* doesn't mean I'm where I should be- and I want to be healthy! It's really hard to try to deal with "saboteurs". I just try to ignore it and think about the good decisions I'm making. Have you had any of the notorious Alli side effects? That's one thing that always stopped me from trying it.

See- Awesome!!

Okay...I've written a book. Goodnight ladies!