[Zuleka]

Hi guys,

Hope everyone is doing great! Well, I'm a little frustrated atm... last week I went down 1 lb. this week I went up 1 lb. I don't usually get upset or disappointed with the weight loss or gain, but I worked very hard for the pass 2 weeks. I did aerobics along with upper arms and stomach 3 times a week, add to that 2 add ional upper arms and stomach exercises, and I still gained... I ate all my points and had 11 left over from my extra 35. I've never had this happen before. Since January I keep losing and gaining the same 5,6 pounds again. It's funny when I wasn't exercising nor taking my vitamins I was losing, now that I'm doing the program correctly I'm in a plateau. Sorry just venting.

Den~ Woot! So happy you finally lost some weight. Please be careful with that knee. Stick to low impact exercises for a while, while you recoup.

Snow~ It's funny how little things our Parents tell us(sometimes in passing), have such an impact on our lives. My Mom had this thing for me not being over weight she would get these diet pills called "Fastin" for me. Till this day I think those pills messed up my nervous system. I sometimes think maybe that after she died I just sort let myself go and gain weight.

Wish~ Did you ever make out doors for your walk?


Well guys till next time.!!

[Den@]

Hi Everyone!

I'll make this quick, because I am having major internet problems. I hope this one takes this time. I tried before and no luck.

I am doing great... staying within my calorie range and exercising everyday.

Hope you are all well.
Hugs, Dena

[wish4fit]

Hey Dena and Zul

Glad you are here - I was beginning to worry about our thread dying off...

Kudos to both of you for continuing to stay true to your goals and stay good to yourselves.

I had family visiting last week and went a little overboard going out to eat and eating sweets. I weighed this morning to assess the damage and it's finally happened - I gained a pound back. I have got to be on it before it all comes flooding back! My day so far is good - I'm at 700 cals and it's 4:30 pm here. I bought some slim-fast the other day in hopes that it will help jump-start me back on my calorie plan. Excercise is still a fundamental problem as I literally have no time. I have been great about doing my morning meditation and yoga though. It's not cardio, but it feels so good I just don't want to give it up. I really need that mental and spiritual boost too...

Dena: I hope you get your internet up and running so you can post more. I miss you

And some good new......my husband and I are buying our first home! We don't have it picked out, but we've been approved on our loan and are meeting our agent tonight to go look at a few. I am so excited! Yippee!

Take care gals

[Snowbrocade]

Hi all!

Well a little busy on this end but I always say that! I have been working out on my recumbent bike and on a good day get a workout in the morning and one at night! I really like having it in here cuz I when I watch tv I just hop on it!

two more weeks till april all! My goal is to get back on my exercise routing that I has completely gone astray since my cold. I would like to do 40 minutes on my bike 5 days a week, leg exercises 5 days a week, 20 minute walk five days a week and 2-3 exercise dvd's.

so today--I have done nothing except stretch, so I think in a few minutes I will go on a 20 minute walk with my dog. Then later this evening I'll do 20-30 minutes on my bike and do my stretches and leg exercises. I'll do the same for the next 4 days, have a rest on sunday and then do the full plan as outlined in the previous paragraph.

Zuleka: is so relate to the mom being obsessed about my weight--my mom was the same. She was a total jock--tennis and gym--she was an exercise instructor for a while. so I was not very energetic and a little chunky when I was 7-10. So she started me exercising--swim team--which was good. Then she started doing restrictive diets. Then she started encouraging me to do my own restrictive diets--atkins etc. And on and on. I wish I had support and encouragement for loving myself no matter what I looked like. And just encouragement to do exercise. I think I would have gotten over it. I had such a poor body image my whole life, and until I started working on loving myself no matter what, I never succeeded in getting the weight off. Now weighing in the 180's, I feel better about myself than I ever did--even when I was in the 130's! When I went to college I went thru a phase where I didnt diet and just was going to accept myself the way I was--then I got a boyfriend who was nagging me about my weight!

Dena: I hate internet problems! I always feel like I am cut off! Great job on sticking with the plan.

Wish: sorry not to post much--I have had a lot on my mind. I can relate to over eating when the family is there. I get into that too. great job on hopping back on the wagon! But dont eat too few calories--that can cause the metabolism to slow down.

Take care ALl!

[Den@]

Hi guys!

I think the problem is fixed, but we'll find out when I post this if it takes. This is what happened... I kept seeing these ads on tv about bundling your phone, internet service and tv cable... one bill, one price... so I thought I'd go for it. I've had major problems since then. The phone didn't work well, the internet wasn't working, I couldn't send or receive E-mails and the computer was a lot slower. I had to call customer service a thousand times to try to fix the problem... which is a hassle in itself, because you have to talk to a stupid automated system that couldn't help me... and when I did get someone, they would tell me to be patient and wait a few days for things to clear up. I finally had the idiot cable guy here twice!! And I mean idiot!! So, we'll see what happens.

I'm surprised I was able to hang in there with all this frustration going on, but I did! I do feel better about myself just in the fact that I stayed strong during this time.

Zuleka, even though you didn't lose weight this time, I bet you are looking better because of the exercise. It's taking me forever to lose these last few pounds, but my hubby says I look better. I think it's because of the exercise. Hang in there!

Wish, congratulations on being approved on your home loan!! That's so fantastic... especially these days when banks are afraid to loan anything. What are the home prices like in Indiana? Good luck in finding a nice home... I know you will! I'm so excited for you! And that is sooo great you are still doing your yoga and meditation! Oh, you asked me about the Denise Austin DVD... I had to bring it back to the library. But I'm going to check it out again today, so I'll tell you the title when I get it. (They wouldn't let me renew it more than twice.) I think it's called "5 minute Target Zones." But it takes 30 minutes for the arms.

Sno, so great to see you again! Hey, good job on working out 2x a day on your recumbent bike. That's so great for your legs. I want to thank you for starting this challenge, because it forces me to stop and think if I'm loving myself. Sometimes I get down on myself for not being perfect, something I was taught to always be... and it's funny the people that taught me that, we're not perfect. I just never realized that before.

I hope you all have a great day. Only 3 more days until Easter!!
Hugs, Dena

[Den@]

Just in case I get busy the next couple of days, I want to wish everyone a very Happy Easter!

Hugs, Dena (It's about 78 degrees today. Just beautiful!)

[Den@]

My internet problems are over and no one is here? I miss you guys. I hope everyone is ok. As for me, I'm glad Easter is over. I took advantage of the holiday and celebrated with food. I didn't beat myself up this time! I finally figured out that I was human and time to move on. Back to my great eating habits and exercise. I'm going to try something new... portion control and stopping when I'm full. And, I already got on the treadmill for 30 minutes. I want to try to make an hour today.
I hope to see someone else on the board.
Hugs, Dena

[Den@]

I guess today's the last day of this challenge. I'm going to miss everyone here... especially my two friends that I started with... Wish and Sno. I'm wishing the best for both of you. Sno, thanks for starting this challenge.
Hugs, Dena