Unna: I like your reasoning with the mirror! On the one hand, it's a bad thing. On the other hand, it's a motivator!
PHAT: I'm sorry you're having such a hectic week! Awesome work staying OP! :hug:
Northern: I'm glad Zumba went well last night!! I would love to find a class since I think the classes would be more enjoyable than the youtube videos!! I know what you mean about skipping WI for TOM! I usually do too.
Jiggle: I'm terribly sorry about your niece's daughter!! I hope they find the cause as well. Great work staying OP and awesome job taking the time to help your daughter with her homework! I LOVE the nugget today. It is important to step back and reflect on the journey and why we're doing this. It's not just about weightloss! I'm also happy to have motivated someone! The pedometer is helping with miles too!
KDM: A 1lb loss is awesome!! Keep up the great work, have fun on your trip. Try not to worry about why it wasn't more. Our bodies like to take their time. But, it will pay off!!
Jen: I don't know if I could eat like that! Awesome work!! It is good that your realized you went too far with your exercise and took a break. I'm still learning that! I had to take a break from exercise at the beginning of August because I did too much. I'm finally learning that our mind moves quicker than our muscles!

I've had a decent day foodwise. I still have a couple hundred calories left. I walked about 1.5miles so far today. I'd like to walk a bit more before bed. I also made a whole SLEW of pickled peppers tonight. 7 cans of whole chilli peppers (the big long ones, not super hot) and then 3 cans of sliced jalapenos. All from my garden and 1qt jars too! I can't wait to enjoy them :T
I also did some zumba for 20mins. I'm debating on a little circuit training.. but I think I'll hold off.
Later chickies! :carrot:

I walked 2 miles today!
56miles down, 194 to go!!

I was good and waited allllllllll week to share my NSV from last Saturday. I went to a Dropkick Murphys show in Rochester as the DD for a group of friends who are really into the band. It was ah-mazing, in case you were wondering. :)

Oh, right, my NSV: I crowd surfed.

This may not be mind-blowing news for folks who don't know me...but it is so incredibly not my style. I'm kind of...how to put this...prim? prissy? proper? (in love with alliteration?). Let me put it this way, I wore a floral skirt, tights, and a tank top with matching cardigan to a rowdy Shamrock n Roll show. Totally out of my element there, but in all the best ways.

Of course the crowd surfing wasn't exactly my idea either. lol. Some guy just grabbed me and hoisted me up like it was nothing. And that concept is what blew my mind: I am someone who can be picked up! I've never been able to think of myself that way before. :D

Lets here your NSVs for the week ladies! I find these victories more inspiring in times of doubt than anything the scale can tell me.

PHAT: One of my favorite things to do for working out when I don't have any time during the day is to do 20 reps of different movements throughout the day. It is really super easy and not enough to break a huge sweat, so no shower is needed (showering and hair washing and doing can often deter me from working out when I'm short on time - I have TONS of hair). So, I'll do 10 pushups, then 20 leg lifts on each side.... or 20 front lunges. It only takes, literally, 1-2 minutes for each rep. Some days, I will look back and realize "Wow! I did 40 pushups today". It is really a good feeling and it has been shaping me up a bit. Another good thing is: you don't have to change outfits and you lose your guilty conscious for not working out.

NorthernExposure: I sometimes find it nice to weigh in on/around TOM. Because you get to see and feel the swoosh when its all over. Its like "WOW! 5 lbs overnight gone!"

jigglefree: I'm sorry to hear about the sick little one. Of course we all freak out when we hear of lymph node issues as it is sometimes an indicator of cancer. However, throughout life I have run across many with extremely swollen lymph nodes (as in, you could noticeably see the swollen node), they had to have them drained and the doctors always seemed to treat it like a type of flu - the pipes were backed up. It seems to be a common problem. I'll keep my fingers crossed that everything works out for the best.

tdiprincess: Nothing like the wonderful feeling of realizing you still have a few calories left at the end of the day. Much better than coming to the realization that you have used all your calories and are COMPLETELY finished for the day.

So yesterday was filled with a few 20-30 minute walks around town - never broke much of a sweat. My calories were around 1700, so that is okay. Although in the future, I think it would be a good idea to drop them down to 1500 on the days I don't jog. We'll see.

We ate some Thai soup for dinner - it was a clear soup with veggies and shrimp, I could only roughly guess at the calories.... anyway BOY was it SALTY! I could barely eat it, although my boyfriend had no problems and said nothing about the saltiness.

Could it be that taste buds change during calorie restriction and certain foods seem much saltier or sweeter??

Good Day Ladies
I'm having a rough day today. I haven't eaten today because I'm just disconnected. I got a call today that one of my cousin's was murdered last night. So my mind is all over the place. I am going to do my best to stay on plan. I will get some physical movement done today. Cleaning the house, walking on the treadmill, walking around the campus all that will be my therapy. I want to call my uncle but my sister told me he's distraught and beside himself. So I will wait until tomorrow to call him. The family is doing what we do in times like these...circling the wagons. Thank you all for being supportive about my niece's little girl. She's home and doing well. They still don't know what it was which bothers me.

I was having a great morning, I have an NSV and it is I went to the doctor this morning and all my vitals were PERFECT!!!!! I also have a scale victory, I've lost 4lbs since I was there two weeks ago!! This is working.

Today's Nugget: Even when things look bleak, keep going. As long as you are alive you have time to improve your health.

Jiggle - I'm so sorry about your cousin...You & Your Family are in my thoughts & prayers.

NSV: Not giving into the 2nd cheeseburger....we had a small gathering at our house last night and grilled burgers & hot dogs...First off, I didnt eat my burger on a bun and Secondly, I didn't give into the 2nd burger I wanted to eat before going to bed!!! This is a BIG victory for me!!! :)

tinneranne: How cool!!! Crowd surfing would be fun & scary at the same time!! I've seen them drop people before! Glad you had fun!!! :D

jiggles - i am so very sorry for your loss. :( I'm glad your niece is well, and congrats on your continued success on your weigh in!

KDM way to go on not giving in to the 2nd cheeseburger! I totally understand the temptation, so *high five* on resisting! I bet the knowledge that you turned it down is way better than any burger could taste. Yea, crowd surfing was outstanding but I've seen folks get dropped too. Scary stuff!

Do you mean the physical strength or appearance of muscles?

You can gain strength without increasing your lean body mass if you train a certain way. Olympic weightlifters get stronger year after year while staying in the same weight class. A large component of our strength is neural rather than muscular, and you can train for that.

If it is the appearance, why worry about the scale? If you look great at a certain weight than that is a good weight for you. Not everyone fits the BMI charts. My goal weight gives a BMI of 30, which is considered "unhealthy".

Oh, jigglefree, everyone's thoughts and prayers are going to you honey. I'm so sorry to hear what has been happening in your family. Tight hugs to you, Donna

Jiggle - I’m so sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family :hug:

jiggle- So sorry for your loss.

Rode the bike for 30min & had 1404 cal. My average daily calories this week were 1900. I ate way too much yesterday, so I'm up 2 lbs. Got right back on plan today, it was hard, but I did it!

Jiggle: I'm very sorry for your loss! :hug:

Sorry no real personals.
I didn't get in any formal exercise. But, I did walk 1.6miles and I shopped for a couple hours.
I overate tonight, but it was quite tasty! :D I didn't overdo it either. I'm content with what I enjoyed. Which I almost think is an NSV. In the past on a free night I would've eaten a ton of food. I really only ended up eating about 1700-1800calories I believe. And I don't feel overfilled or uncomfortable.

Another NSV I went shopping today. I was able to button a couple size 8 jeans. Quite tight and they will take a good 5lbs-8lbs to fit. But, that made me happy. In general though I fit in 10's and a couple of slim 12's. So I'm technically down a size since I started out at a size 14! YAY!!

I probably won't check in over the weekend, since we have quite a busy weekend. I will probably get a bit of walking in though.
Later chickies! :carrot:

57.6miles down, 192.4 to go!

jiggle: I'm very sorry for your loss - but also very very angry that it happened at all. The laws really need to change. What a tragedy.

tdiprincess: moving down a size is an amazing feeling - congrats! Don't you wish you could bottle up that good feeling, so that you could feel it again when you are feeling unmotivated?? I do!

Yesterday we drove all day back home - and well, reached 2000 calories.... was never full, and got no exercise! Thanks gas station food!

It took us an amazingly long time to get home. The pope is currently in the same area we were in. They closed all the interstates that the pope would be using that day. We had to take tiny country roads the whole way home! He is currently an extremely controversial figure in Europe - namely, his insistence on no birth control (no condoms) and no homosexuality has made his visit quite hectic. There are huge amounts of protestors in every city. CRAZY!

He doesn't touch anyone's hands anymore - he never leaves his bullet-proof glass golf cart.

Anyway, back to the calories: I think it is amazing how easy it is to reach 2000 calories. It is no wonder that without counting calories I couldn't get lower than 165. You don't have to overeat or binge at all to reach 2000!!!!

Anyway, today we are going for a 9km run and I'm going to try to even out my calories from yesterday by eating approx 14-1500 today.

This morning is oatmeal - I swear I feel like oatmeal is medicine.... like it feels good for the soul.

Does anyone else have a healthy food that makes your soul and body feel optimal?