My NSV today is really starting to see the definition in my biceps. I've been developing a little pooch of armpit skin since I've really been working on my arms (always had muscular arms, but am really trying to define them now) but that too is slowly shrinking away! It feels so good to look in the mirror and be pleased with what I see.

Yesterday I did very well op with calories. I didn't do a formal workout, but I did go finish picking up some wood and stacked about a face cord of it. Then I took the truck and gathered some old collectibles out of a falling down barn and brought them up to a new barn for storage. Transported some very heavy doors!

I had a slow morning and a carb laden breakfast which came to about 630 cals (yikes!) but I got a surge of energy and haven't stopped moving until now. Just finished my workout and am forcing greek yogurt down my throat despite not being hungry- but I always try to get a protein load within 30 minutes post workout. Good thing I looove greek yogurt. It's a beautiful day out today, toooo bad I have to work tonight. I'd rather keep working on stacking the rest of the 3 cords of wood that were piled up in my backyard yesterday.

I weighed in at 118 again today, which is great because the past two weeks I was over that (one due to TOM (122), the other was probably an actual gain(119.8)) so I'm ecstatic about that.

Jiggle- Congrats on the great day! And another beautiful nugget!

Sumu- 50 dancing carrots for you!!! :carrot:

TDI- I'm sure you probably burned a lot more cals than you thought! It's a nice change of pace getting a workout and doing something so productive, eh? Glad your ankle is doing better.

Fruit- So many congrats on two years! You're a real inspiration! I don't know how many times I've told you that but it's so true!

Envelope- I love the feeling of loose pants, ha. It's so wonderful to wear an old pair and think about the last time you wore them when you could barely squeeze into them...really one of the best NSV's there is!

Archy- I'm so glad to hear you've found something that will work for you! I've thought about IF, and honestly I used to eat like that without thinking about it. You're right about it- there are no set times for eating! I'm sure the cavemen did not sit down to meals every 3 hours. It's about finding what works for each of us individually.

H82sweat- I so have the same weird dangly arm bit. I don't let it stop me from wearing tank tops though! It will go away in time!

k15- That is awesome! Man, what an odd requirement for the parade- seems crazy to expect that people would still have stuff not to mention that most people would still fit in them, ha. I'm sure you rocked it! I've been having off days going over calories like that too lately- but it's all about just picking yourself up and dusting off! Look at how far you've come!

BigChief- Alright, so basically prepared like most squash! I bake a lot of squash in late summer, fall and winter, ha. I can't wait to find some spaghetti squash to try! Does it really help with pasta cravings like I've heard? Happy belated B-day! You did give yourself the best gift anyone could give themselves!!

Realme- You'll be hitting onederland before you know it! Keep on going!

sumu: Awesome work!! It is so exciting to see the scale going in the right direction!! :carrot:
Jiggle: I agree very much with your nugget today!! (as usual). It reminds of "you reap what you sow". This covers many aspects of life, including what we eat and our exercise as well. I'm happy that as I was reading that I was snacking on a plum and peach! HA!!
Corinne: Awesome job! It is great to get back to where you were, makes you feel relaxed and content. It is nice to get some 'functional exercise' in. I have gardening I'm about to do and some more painting (I'm tired of fences! LOL)

Thank you all for your encouragement with my ankle. I'm glad it is finally feeling better. I know that my weightloss has slowed down for this week. It's a combo of eating a bit high, but also not exercising as much as I was. But, I will still ease back to where I was. I need to come up with a schedule for what I'll do each week. Next week I'm planning to do my programs MWF and 30DS T,TH. I'd like to get a bike ride or 2 in there.

Anyhow..off to garden and paint! Later chickies!! :carrot:

Walked only 25min. had no time, just had to squeeze some kind of exercise in. Had 1266 calories, i'm on a roll finally. Only dropped 3 ounces from those stupid cookies I ate the other night. I hoping for a woosh tomorrow!

All in all a good day. I am down a pound.

NSV: I love the idea of success beyond the scale! Today was incredibly stressful. A real roller-coaster. I didn't stress-eat at all and had no problem getting to my eating window. I feel good and balanced.

td: Thanks for the abbreviation! Take care of that ankle and nice job keeping on track. I hear you about the garden. I just picked two Cocozelle zucchini, but can't wait for the other produce!

sumu1: Congrats on your loss and getting back into shorts! It's exciting shopping in your own closet after a weightloss. I'm looking forward to that again (for the LAST time).

jigglefree: I love it when I feel in control and not hungry. Good luck at your weigh-in. I'm sure that you will be happy with the result. :)
[B]

Jiggle - My reward or maybe consequence of taking on more hills while jogging is being very sore. I have a shorter run tomorow, and have decided against the hilly path I was originally going to take. I guess I am going to have to work up to the hills more than I have been.

I went over a little with my calories on friday by having good food and wine with a friend. It was fun at the time but the guilt today and my first weigh in tomorrow makes me on edge and wondering.... was it worth it? I've been trying to be good and haven't had any NSVs. Maybe when I've been a good girl for a while I'll be able to report some!

Archy - congrats on no stress eating! That is a good habit to kick! :cp:

Tidi - so glad you're able to do your gardening! hope the ankle isn't acting up enjoy the good weather!

I hope you all have a good Saturday!

I haven't been doing well the last few days. I've been dealing with a lot and that makes my eating disorder go on a rampage so since, I think, Tuesday or Wednesday I've been B/Ping like crazy. As gross as it sounds, it's not so much about the food, more about throwing up makes me feel better. I haven't been this bad since the beginning of June. I've put on 4 pounds this week, most of which I'm sure is water since my hands are swollen, and I feel terrible about myself. I still want to lose weight, I still want to be healthy, I just don't know how to start again when I feel so bad about myself.

Chaotic but fun weekend so this is another drive by posting.

I went out of town with my DH on a business trip and had a nice evening out with him. Louisville is a very nice place to spend an evening :)

Back home today and we're having a big family dinner this evening so I am conserving calories for that. Counting them will be difficult, it was last night, but I figure if I leave myself caloric room to play with I can have a nice meal and just not worry about it. Small amounts of really good food when I feel like having a good time is a habit I need to cultivate on the way down to goal anway, or I'll never maintain when I get there!

Sounds like everyone is on track and losing and having fun! See ya'll on Monday!

Had a woosh!!!!!!

Calorie Counting worked!!! Down 5 pounds this morning!! Happy RealMe! :carrot:

Fruit - Hooray for the woooooooooooooosh! :D

H82sweat - hope you had a fun Sunday!

Lemon - sounds like you're in a terrible rut. I don't know you very well so I don't have the right words for you. Try to remember why you're here, what are your reasons and inspirations for losing weight? You are worthy and wonderful and you deserve to have a happy long healthy life. HANG IN THERE!!!

I saw some great words of wisdom by someone on here and I'm re-posting here: Self talk is the most powerful conversation you will ever have. You are a self fulfilling prophecy of the words you have spoken. Speak greatness to yourself. Speak kindly to yourself and above all NEVER engage in negative conversations about you with anyone, not even yourself. Joking about yourself is never okay because your subconscious doesn't know the difference.

RealMe- Thanks!! Love your words of wisdom!


It was pouring all day, I worked out in the house lifting weights & dancing for 35min, i worked up a sweat! Yesterday had 2200 calories, today 1604. It was the weekend, I always eat more, but no junk food this time. My daily average calories for the week were in the 1900's & I weight 6 oz. more. I'm getting close to figuring out my maintenance calories. I do the same amount of activity everyday, so I'm thinking 1800 should be tops, to stay around 115lbs. I could never eat that much everyday, so I'll stick to what I'm doing now. Lower days mixed in with higher days, but I'd like to get my weight down a bit more if I can somehow. Then I would have room to gain weight from my higher days and still fit in my pants!

Hey ladies!

Last week I decided I'd start not counting on the weekends. Of course, I still find myself running a tally in my head...but I've been more relaxed with my eating on the weekends. Hard to adjust to! I don't usually exercise on the weekends either because I'm always too tired when I get home from work.

I've decided to go a little more seriously into weight loss mode again rather than maintenance, and am backing my calories back down to 1200. These last 3 or so pounds feel impossible!

I had a bad moment last night where I was looking in the mirror and still saw the "old" me. So, I'm giving myself some positivity today and as you've said, Realme, speaking greatness to myself!

Fruit- Yay for sweat! I love workout sweats, haha, I feel so accomplished. Glad to hear you're narrowing down your maintenance cals! I think I too am better when it comes to varying my cals instead of eating at one steady level.

Realme- That's fantastic! It really is the most basic trick in the book, and so effective. :carrot: Thanks for the additional nugget, I needed that!

H82- Sounds like fun. I definitely would not have made it this far if I hadn't ever set aside calories for indulging. Would definitely end in a massive binge if I were restrictive! Hooray for healthy normal food relations!

Lemon- :hug: I know exactly how you feel. I'm so sorry hun. It will get better! You've just got to pick yourself up and dust yourself off! It always seems impossible when you're low, but it's so much easier than you think once you've done it. It WILL get better, you have the strength, I know!

Envelope- You go girl. Wish I could jog like that! I tend to run only on my treadmill in the basement (safe from all eyes, ha). I accidentally bumped the incline up to 5% when I was running once without noticing, and got out of breath so quick I was wondering what the **** was going on! Definitely something you need to work into, I was wondering what I was running out of breath so much faster than normal, hahaha.

Archy- So glad to hear you avoided stress eating, and made progress. Food has always been the first place to turn for me when dealing with emotions and it is SUCH an accomplishment when you realize you don't rely on it anymore!

Ekicna- Glad to see you check in. We all need calorie counting breaks or else we'd go crazy, I think. I remember reading it's recommended to take a "break" from your diet for a week every 8-12 weeks to recharge yourself. Glad to hear you're doing well with maintenance.

TDI- Thank you! Yes, it is great. Glad to hear your ankle is healing up well. Definitely do the scheduling! Most of the time I find myself just going with the flow with exercise, but I've realized I should write down a schedule to keep myself on track. Otherwise it's too easy to say..."eh, I'll workout harder tomorrow..." (which is what I'm saying today as I still sit in my pj's, hahaha)

Corinne: Eh, depends on the pasta cravings, I think. If you're craving pasta because you want Ye Olde Giant Bowl o' Carbs, then no, I don't think spaghetti squash would really help much. If you're craving the sauce or the experience of a pretty plate of pasta with a little garlic bread or something, then it's definitely a good way to have that for a massively reduced calorie cost.
Lemon: Don't let yourself get into that mindset of "Oh well, screwed it up, guess I might as well give up entirely"! Sure, it sucks that things have been messed up, but you're totally capable of just hopping back on the wagon. Just requires putting on the Big Girl Pants and doing it! You KNOW you'll feel a million times better when you do (speaking from experience here...).
fruitlady: Congrats on the woosh!

I've been doing pretty well - down another pound! Only seven pounds to go until I'm at my pre-pregnancy weight, yay! Otherwise, not much to report. I've been OP and exercise has been going great - ran twenty minutes straight on Friday for the first time in my entire life! I just got some Zumba videos too, which I think will be fun to do at home when I'm bored with the P90. I've been turning into an exercise junkie lately; even my husband has commented on it. Can't explain it.

:carrot::carrot::carrot:Hey Ya'll (True Southerner!) I went to the doctor this morning and I am really in ONEderland. I had to weigh with my clothes on and I'm still under 200 pounds. That got me really happy especially since that scale is usually a couple pounds more than my scale at home!!! I'm even more excited now!!
Corinne - I know how you feel looking in the mirror. Have you taken any pictures. That's usually works for me and I can see the loss. Don't be too hard on yourself because you have done a wonderful job. You have a lifetime to get those three or so pounds off. But I know you get anxious because I was anxious when I was so close to Onderland.
Fruitlady - It's great that you are figuring our your maintenance calories because from my understanding that is the hardest part to get done. I think you have done well sticking with your program and not quitting and gaining it back in two years!!!
RealMe - Congratulations on the LOSS!!! Keep up the good work!!!
H82Sweat - Glad you had fun!! How was the family dinner. I love those but since I live so far away I only get them when home. I miss them lots.
LemonZest - Don't feel so down. What are your triggers when you start B/P? Know that you can and will get back on the wagon. When you figure out your triggers it then you may be better able to conquer it. To start over make small cut backs and when you get that one done make another one. We are here for you and to encourage you to get back at it.

Today's Nugget: This journey is for a lifetime. Challenges will arise, frustrations will come and you will want to quit. Decide every morning that you are worth the fight. You will win as long as you don't give up!!