Hello ladies,
Del, HI, thanks for the welcome! Maine is nice but the winter gets long QUICK here! And you are absolutely right, the tropics sound AWSOME right about now!!
Kelley, welcome, you are in a great support group here! Aphil is very smart when it comes to eating and excersise, heed her advice!!!
Well my weight in went ok, I lost a lb! Better than nothing I guess. I am at that stage in my weight loss where it is difficult to get the rest off and to get everything firmed back up to where it should be. The initial weight coming off was fairly easy but now it seems that my body wants to stay at a stand still. I have been fighting to at least stay in the 150's and not go back up, that hasnt been to hard but to go down seems to be almost impossible! Just a little discouraging!
Well I hope everyone has a good monday!

Don't be discouraged my losing 1 pound!!! After all the weight you have already lost-losing 1/2 to 1 pound a week is NORMAL!!! This is what you should be expecting right now...it means you are doing GREAT.
Aphil

Thanks for the advice. No one has to tell me to eat 100 cals more a day twice!!! It'll be an effort but I'll try.

After being sick for 7 days it sure is hard to get back on track and not beat myself up. Tyring to be mindful of my "inner speak" which says Well you're "off" again, just eat anything. You'll never do this, see, it didnt work again. Will work on turning the committee in my head OFF and doing the next right thing.

Thanks again,

I Ladies,

I had a good weekend. Got 5 shirts, a skirt and a new pair of jeans Sunday (The gift card I have been holding on to). Eating and exercise was right on track . It is a month now for me and I am so proud of my self for not slacking off. I all most didn't work out Saturday but I made my self go up there at 10:45 PM after finally getting my DD to sleep and I did one of the best work outs yet, second wind I guess? It was like 12 when I came down. I slept like a rock! My hip has stopped hurting and I am feeling good. I lost 2 lbs this last week !! That is 5.2 lbs in two weeks! I am thrilled. It has been so long since I have see a drop in numbers.
Lori~ You know first hand that I have been in a stand still for like 7 months! It is hard and I though that it was over for me when I started gaining a few lbs back but I think the key to getting me back, was what you are doing now, counting and keeping my cals right at 1300-1400 every single day and upping the work out. I had to give up my 2-3 time a week treadmill walk and do 6 days a week and adding that elliptical really pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me get passed that point. I know you will get there too. get that Pilates DVD and try to change up your exercises or add 5-10 minutes to them. Something to get you out of your comfort zone and to give your body a variety. Drink your water.....It helps too. I have been drinking so much darn water! I have allways lost 1-2 lbs a week since the beginning, I think that is healthier. It seems like the 3 times a week of exercise only maintains but the 5-6 times helps you loose? I have been going out of my way to make sure I don't even skip one time becouse I know my self and if I skip once I will do it again then I will be skipping all the time???

Hi to all of you and have a great day...

Amie-you are doing AWESOME! I am so proud of you girl!!!!

I just took Jasmine to school...I am having a pre-workout snack (an apple) before I hit the strength training here in just a bit.

beachlace-you cracked me up with your last post!

Hello to all and welcome Kelley!

Here are my weekly updates...
weight - 203.0 (down 2 lbs from last week)
bodyfat % - 46% (no change)
bust - 42.5 (no change)
waist - 38.25 (down .25 from last week)
hips - 45.25 (up .25 ??? I think I measured in the wrong place last time )

Weight loss is slowing down now that I'm in my 4th week - thats o.k. and to be expected. The first week I was raw, I lost 6.5 lbs - the second week, I lost 4.0 lbs and this time, 2.0 lbs. Also, I need to hold back on so many nuts and oils and up the fruits.

Amie - you are doing so great! It feels so good to finally see that scale move - ! Glad your hip is 100 % again.

Lori - a pound is a pound - congrats!

Bye for now!

Ddel...could you pm me with sort of a "food diary" of what you are eating each day? Actually-If you want to cut the oils a tad that should be fine...but you want to keep the nuts-as on the raw foods diet they are your main protein source right now. If you are exercising you want that in order to maintain your muscle mass.

Wow...yesterday's workout kicked my rear end! I did 45 minutes of strength training, a 1 mile walk, and then I had dance rehearsal last night for a show we have on Saturday!

I am doing well...have been perfectly OP the past couple days. I am determined to bust through this plateau that has had my weight at a standstill since before the holidays!

I am just about ready to increase my weights for a few body parts in my strength training routines...that will give me some extra challenge and some more muscle definition here over the next couple months!

Today is cardio day-have a great day everyone!

Aphil

Hi laies

Hi, Lori, Holly, Del, Deb, Irish (if your reading) and all the new girls.....

Aphil~It feels good to know you are getting stronger and progressing. I did 30 minutes last night on my elliptical and tried something new with resistance. I went from 1-7 then 7-1 with in the 30 minutes about 2-3 min each? I burned like 582 cals. Then I cooled down on the treadmill burning another 73 cals. So that is 650 cals burned!

Things are going fine and am on plan. We had a low of 12 in SC today . We have the weirdest weather One day it will be 70 in January then the next week 20 and ice/snow flurries? I am excited waiting for my mom and sisters to get here and they keep moving the date. They are supose to be leaving this week?? I can not wait to see them and my sisters new baby girl. She is about 6-8 weeks old I think?

Yesterdays cals were 1395 cals and 43g fat elliptical and a walk
Today cals will be 1405 cals and 34g of fat and I will do Pilates and a walk.

Have a good day

Amie

amoses, you are doing so great. Keep it up and you will be at goal in no time.

Everyone, thanks for the support for the problems that I have been having recently. It helps a lot. I do have to be careful about letting others take advantage of me. I am a "mothering" person. I am happiest when helping someone, and I will do anything to help my kids. I don't believe my daughter is taking advantage of me. She lives with her boyfriend and they are both working, and,she is going to school. I have been paying her car insurance for some time now because they can't afford it, (the car that is in the repair shop right now). I think if I would stop she would go without I don't want her doing that.

I haven't let the BF know how much it bothers me when he gripes about it but it's getting there. I think his problem is that his parents have nothing to give to their children if they need help and never have. His dad was an alcoholic and spent all his money on booze, they were very poor. The BF helps/gives to them now. He is not used to parents helping children. On the other hand my parents helped me and my ex when we were starting out so I see nothing wrong with what I am doing. I am looking forward to the day when my daughter does not need financial help from me but we are not there yet.

Thanks for listening.

Deb

Hello Ladies,
Amie you are doing so great on getting to your goal, I am so proud of you! So your not enjoying the 20 degree weather huh?? Our high today is 6!! All this week our high is suppose to be in the single numbers!! The weather for everyone is just going mad lately
Deb, you sound like an awsome person! I can understand you helping your daughter, mom's do that, its in our nature I think! I have 3 boys (6,11,14) and I keep saying when they move out thats it, there on their own, but I know I will be there helping them if I can, just as you do with your daughter. We as moms just cant help ourselves, we dont want to ever see bad or hard times come to our children! You do what you feel is right!
Well I have been staying right around 1375-1400 cals a day and trying to stay under 45g of fat! I found the elliptical I want and I think I will go and pick it up next week, it goes off sale after that! I cant wait to get the last of this weight off, I hope this gets me over the hump I seem to be stuck on! Just seems like the dancing and the weights arent doing much. Im not expecting alot in the beginning but I have been at this for 3 weeks and I have lost 1.5 lbs. Maybe I have lost inches, I dont know, I will go and get me a tape measure to start and measure myself like once or twice a month. I cant wait until spring gets here, I love going hiking and to the ocean to walk the beaches, but thats a few months away unfortunately!! Well I should get back to work. Hope you all are having a great day!

angelina-you have lost a lot of weight...and you are in the home stretch here with Vermont Mom and I...working on getting the last of the pounds off. You are losing pretty close to 1/2 pound a week...and actually that is really good considering how much you have lost already.

I know in my personal experience-the first 10 flew off...the second 10 came off pretty easily staying on plan (1-2 pounds per week) and the third 10 really started to slow down to about 1/2-1 pound per week. The last 10-15 pounds that I have lost have REALLY been a struggle. I would be happy right now to lose 1 pound a month. I am not in a hurry...this is a lifestyle change for me and not a diet...so I know that I will eventually get there.

Debbie-I am glad that you are doing well. I hope that if it gets to the point where you need to talk to your BF about your situation...that you will handle it well. Blended families are hard. Both of my parents are remarried, and my stepfather has a son...and my stepmother has a son and a daughter. Things will work out.

I am getting ready to pick up Jasmine from kindergarten-and then come back and do my cardio.

I have been battling strep throat and tonsilitis since New Years-and it flared up really bad last night-woke me up at about 3am. I normally don't even mention it-because I get regularly get flare ups of it about 2-3x a year. I don't know...this time it just isn't going away...it gets a little better, then a little worse, but isn't healing fully this time around. I am dreading the fact that I may have to call the doctor and see about having them removed.

I have been eating soft food all day...and lot of water and hot tea. Ahh...well at least I couldn't eat half the bad foods I like right now if I wanted to.

Aphil,
Sorry about your throat woes...had my tonsils taken out when I was six. It's aggrevating to have illness linger like that. I was reading in one of my rawfood books about when you start detoxing (taking in less toxins that your normal diet regardless of if its vegan or a raw diet, a fast - or just a cleaner diet) you experience what's called a healing crisis. Since your body has more time to devote to expelling toxins and healing because of the decrease in intake of 'bad' foods, it remembers old wounds, infections and illnesses that were never fully healed and goes to each and finishes the job. I too had very sore throats about once or twice a year and in 2000, I did a 28 day supervised juice 'fast' and on about day 14 my throat woke me up feeling so raw and painful - it lasted about half a day and I've not had a sore throat since, not even when I got typical head colds! Our bodies and so fearfully and wonderfully made! Wonder if your cleaner diet of late is letting your body work on healing your throat?

I actually was thinking about fitday-ing my food intake, but have procrastinated because I've got a couple things to eat up that are recipes that are kinda complicated for figuring out the counts on. I might try it tomorrow anyway and guestimate my pizza. It's so good, though. The crust is made up of buckwheat groats, ground flax seeds, dates, tomato, onion, garlic, cayenne, celtic sea salt and olive oil... the 'cheese' is pine nuts, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, orange pepper, garlic, onion and olive oil.... the sauce is tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, dates, garlic, parsley, cayenne and celtic sea salt plus the toppings (just onions and marinated baby bella mushrooms). Yikes thats a whole lotta ingredients for one lil pizza! But it is a nice treat.

I just got a book called " The Power of Ten " and it sounds very promising. Basically you do a handful of core strength training exercises - super slow until muscle exhaustion once or twice a week and you get phenomenal results. I'm quite exited to try this. My foot-sprain woe is about all healed up and I'm a hittin the gym this week. Will be happy to go back there, believe it or not!

Oh and YEAH - we are forcasted for some SNOW here in VA this week / weekend - it's 'bout time.

Hi all,

They are calling for snow flurries here in SC too! My DD would love to see some snow, and so would I (if it is gone the next day!) I am ready for some good weather. I am really feeling so much more energy lately since I have been working out. I am finding my self wanting to go out at lunch and walk so bad and it is way too cold! After the hip thing I am worried to over do the stairs again. I am walking at about 2:45 with a co worker for about 17 minutes. It is a little break for us, we go across the street on cold days into this mall that runs through all the bank buildings here. It is called the overstreet mall. It is just way too crowed to walk in there at lunch. I did about my 45-1 hour accelorated Pilates dvd last night. Man, the V sit ups she does is so hard! and so is the move where you sit in a V legs up with your arms behind you for support and you make a large circle with your legs together.....oh my god!

Aphil! you can say that again....I AM NOT ON A DIET, IT IS A LIFESTYLE....I do not believe in diets at all. I think they make you gain weightin the end. The only way you can loose wieght, be active and healthy forever is to change your life style for ever.

Holly, how is work going? Miss ya

Hope everyone is having a good day....I can not wait till Sunday. I hope I at least have lost 1 lb this week. 3lbs and I will be back at my lowest weight before I gained that 8-10 lbs over that last 6 month. I still have not measured my self. I am so scared to do it fearing that my inches will be higher than they were back in June (the last time I measured). I may dig out my chart and measure this weekend so if I do not have a loss one week I may see inches gone.

Amie

Hi everyone!

I just did 30 minutes of strength training-and then picked up Jasmine from school. I am going to straighten the house here soon...and then get showered. I have to get ready for the class I am helping to teach tonight. It is the first session.
I shortened my strength training (still did full body, just a shorter workout) because the class I am helping teach is 2 hours long...and a good hour and a half of that will be dancing.
I am excited about finally getting to help teach a dance class though.

You know...I was shaving my legs in the tub yesterday...and I am really starting to see soem small changes in my legs. My calf muscles are looking firmer...and the area of the quadricep right above me knee area is firming up as well. Also...it can't be SEEN yet (still too much fat layer there) but my saddlebag/outer hip area is feeling firmer and harder to the touch as well. I am really hoping that these legs will continue to show some improvements for spring/summer clothing.

Holly-how are you liking your new workout routine?

amie-I know the Pilates moves you wrote about...OH MAMMA! They are great for the lower abs though!

Amie-
Did you all get any snow???? We got almost an inch ! And of course it came down while I was running errands yesterday morning...VDOT was really taken by surprise because they didn't do a thing to the roads until way later after the clipper had already passed through and Richmonders SURE don't know how to drive on snowy roads - geesh! They are pitiful. I had a crash (no, not a car crash, thank goodness) course in it when I lived in Lancaster, PA during "the Blizzard of '93". Those folks in PA didn't give a hoot that I was a transplanted GA-girl not used to snow - they expected you to be at work on time, no matter the weather... ...