Okay...i did okay over the weekend. I haven't weighed myself since saturday morning when i weighed in at 138. I have to say that had me so happy because with TOM and all...i was seeing 140 and 141. So, i was a little nervous. I don't think i did all that bad with weekend eating..but i didn't do very well with weekend water or weekend excersizing. I did my 4 miles on friday and that was it. So, tonight i hit the gym and am trying to get all my water back in. Eating is not sooo bad, but it ain't sooo good either. I didn't go home last night so i had to stop off for breakfast and ate homemade chinese left overs for lunch. But i tried to watch my portion size on it. Definately hitting the gym for either 4 or 5 miles tonight, and tomorrow night and thursday night and probably friday morning.

Just a reminder to myself that my goal for christmas is 115 pounds. Or at least 120.

I think I am overwhelmed by shooting too far for a goal, and then shooting myself in the foot! I think I will try to lose 3 lbs a month by Christmas, which should be 21 lbs, if I can add correctly this evening. We have had the "morning after the full moon" syndrome all day at the Hospital and it was just awful! That will put me in good shape for the holidays. I will re-evaluate in 12 weeks and hopefully I won't have to adjust my goal down. I have a new dance class schedule and my 9 y/o's last day of school is Friday, so I will decide next week about how to fit in exercise that works. Changing schedules always messes me up. But at least I have made a goal or 2 today, so it is all GOOD! Have a good evening ladies.

Kathy

Michelle - I am SO glad you came over to join us & it's true, we can make a lot of changes between now and Christmas.

Josephine - Welcome to you too, we all look forward to getting to know you. How true about drifting away during bad days, I have been guilty of that as well. But I am in this for the long haul, I want to change my life, not my weight, I NEED for this to be a lifetime sustainable commitment because I do NOT intend to lose this weight, only to find it again.

Kathy, good job on making your goals. What kind of dance do you do? And what do you do at the hospital? Feel free to tell me to MYOB of I am too nosy!

I have been thinking a lot about goals, Michelle outed me, I am great at doing my crunches, not so good at keeping my eating clean! I usually do fine until I get home, then nibble my way into oblivion from there. Not practical for me to take all the food out of the house as I have two boys (17 & 20) and a hubby who live here too. Besides, if I am going to make it a life change, I need to get a handle on that. So I guess that will be my goal for the next 2 weeks. I am going to plan every bite and nothing into thy mouth that is not on that sheet of paper. I also need to get my running shoes on so I can chase Lumi as we are thinking of chasing each other 500 miles by Christmas! We would love to have you all join in that too as kind of a keeping us on the exercise track. (And it's OK if you don't run, count your walking miles)

OK, got to hop over to WEED to make my daily vows, then crunches and a video, then off to get into the shower. I owe, I owe, so off to work I go! TTYL

I'm new here, but I'd love to join you all in this Christmas Challenge. I've already set a goal for myself in FitDay to reach 165 lbs by Christmas, so this is the perfect thread for me. I need to lose about a pound a week at this rate. For me, exercise is way more the focus than food. I don't eat all that well, but not terribly badly either. I need to watch my portions and eat more veggies, as well as be careful at parties. Other than that it's just finding time - and motivation - to exercise, exercise, exercise. I'm having an awful time getting to my exercise this morning, which is why I'm still in my pjs and at the computer!!

My biggest concern with meeting my goal is that I have very little muscle at the point I'm starting from, so I've fluctuated a lot in the two months I've been trying to lose, and not really ended up any lower yet. I keep putting on muscle, which burns more fat but in the mean time is adding to my weight. It's so hard not to be discouraged by that! But I know eventually there will be a turning point and it will start to come off.

Anyways, I should get to that exercise! Good luck to all of you who have joined so far, I look forward to encouraging you all and cheering you on!

Oh, and I almost forgot - what does WEED mean?

Morning gang!

Hi Betsi -- I'm a bit of the opposite from you: left to my own devices I'm a terrible binge eater with just the worst eating habits you could imagine. But I LOVE exercise and have no problems getting plenty. All my real effort and mental energy has to go into eating "on plan". I wish I had your general natural inclination to eat okay. But I haven't gone off plan since I made this commitment to myself 69 days ago, and that is a huge record for me not to have had a single binge (or even a single TASTE of anything off plan!) in 69 days. Now I'm hoping for true abstinence when it comes to binging.

Oh, and I don't know what WEED is either!

Mothermavis -- where is the 500 miles by Christmas thread? I'm already in a couple of running threads, but I haven't see that one. I am a big-time meal planner, but I have to be in order to manage my binge eating.


As for me today: I've done my 5.15 mile run this morning and now I've got to plan my meals out for the day. I need to mow the backyard and I've got alot of other gardening work to keep me busy and active today. I'm having fresh pineapple for breakfast and it is just DELICIOUS!

Oooh can I join? According to all the calorie counting sites I*should* be at goal at Christmas... hmmm

Support and best wishes to all!

Hey all!! WEED is W=Water E=Eats E= Excersise D= Daily affirmations.

I don't think we have a 500 miles to christmas thread...but maybe we should start one!!! How many miles would that be per month??? Starting June 1st...that would 71.43 miles by christmas. What do ya think?? Is a 500 miles to christmas too hard to keep up with???

MMavis....you are too funny. Come on girl. Get your shoes on and we'll run to our weightloss together!!!

Talking about what we're good at....some days i'm good at my eating...other days i am soooo far off plan, it isn't even funny. Then some weeks i am so on with me working out, and other weeks...we won't even talk about. I have really gotta get the two together and make it happen. To be at 115 by christmas, i only have to lose 2.58 pounds a month...but i'd like to make it happen before christmas. But hey...if i can lose 2.5 pounds a month...that's nothing to sneeze at and definately better than gaining 2.5 pounds month...which is what i've done the last two months!!!

YES! ME TOO! Count me in , I need to be at least 155 by Christmas.

Hello All:

I am new to this forum, and really would love to be 155 lbs by Christmas...at least. At max, I would like to eventually be 140lbs. Right now I just started so losing 10 lbs is my first focus, and then another and another. I think I should be in pretty good shape to be somewhere btwn 140 and 155 by then FOR SURE!

However... I have a question for everyone here on the board. I am not trying to sound critical or a worrywart but I have had female friends who go from determined to overboard, and I have seen some stuff here and there that make red flags go up in my head.

I know some of us have completely different bone structures (small. medium, large), and genetics so to some women 150 might be large, but for me- a muscular, and fairly medium to large boned lady, at 5' 7" I feel like 140 should be my max lowest weight, with something like 150 being really good for me. I guess I wont' know until I get there, but I get a little concerned when looking around the boards. For some of us starting at 250, or 190 and being significantly taller heights, is it really healthy to aim to be 115 when you're already 120? I think at some point you should be happy that you obtained your goal? I am not knocking anyone on this thread, I just get worried that some people might not know when to stop? Does anyone else feel like they see this on the board or elsewhere?

Maybe I am just nuts, and I am underestimating how much weight one can lose, and how much weight I really have on my body. I was reading somone's Goal posting and she was saying that she always thought she was big boned, but when she lost weight it turned out that she really wasn't big boned- even though she felt it. She wasn't a short lady, and in the end I think she ended up being 127 lbs from 196. So... maybe I am over-concerned??

Unfortunately, we can't control what other people think they should weigh. I hear everyone who personally knows me, thinks i shouldn't lose any more weight. And where i might look good in my clothes, i know about the potbelly that is hanging over my undies...that they don't see. Or the back fat that rolls out underneath my bra. Things that they don't see because i wear figure flattering clothes. And i know i used to be 100 pounds...and that was alittle too skinny for me...but i think 120 would put me being perfect. Well...as perfect as a normal, everyday person who can't be airbrushed, can be. lol. And yeah...i've seen post by members that i think are just crazy being 6'1" and wanting to weigh 100. (Just making that part up folks for emphasizes (sp??)), but what can you do?? We are here to support people. While we don't encourage someone to lose too much weight but we still try to be here for them as best we can. We encourage those people to read certain post or sticky threads that might be beneficial to them. But ultimately, the only person who can decide if they have lost enough or too much weight is the person doing the losing.

On another note, welcome to the challenge. I hope we will be able to encourage you and support you to victory by this christmas. I know it seems as if i should be at goal by now but i just have a few more inches to lose...mainly in the gut. The most dangerous place to have fat. I truely believe most of the weight i have left to lose is all in the trunk. And it is the most stubborn to get rid of. But together, we can beat this!!!! WELCOME ABOARD!!!!

I think the number of people on this board who have what I (without knowing any true information about them so it would be just an instinct) might consider to be extreme low weight goals is VERY small. Most people seem pretty moderate in their goals.

We can all really only speak to our own bodies with any authority. I'm 5'10 with a 140 goal, and I've been 140 within the last 2 years so I know for a fact that it is by no means an extreme low weight for me (I have a very small frame).

Evening all. I am crossing my fingers for a better day than I had today, and then I felt bad too.

Well, mothermavis, I come from a big family and I will have no problem telling anyone to MYOB if I need to! Besides, it's fun getting to know everyone. How can you find out anything if you don't ask?

I do Tap (hence the moniker, with my favorite flower) and our adult Jazz class is a combination of 30 minutes of pilates or yoga and 30 minutes of Jazz. It is as much fun to dance as anything else in those 2 classes. We can get pretty silly, and sometimes you just need to laugh. The teacher is presently 7 months pregnant at age 42, and is still putting us to shame. She has switched excuses from blaming things on Alzheimer's to "I can't think when my brain is in my uterus swimming in hormones" when she switches steps on us from week to week. I am going to test the waters tomorrow. For the summer, the classes are on the same night, and I'm not sure that being diabetic if I can go for 2 hours straight. During the school year, they are on different nights because of the kids' classes. As to nursing, I am a Recovery Room nurse--taking care of patients directly after surgery. My husband is an anesthesiologist, so he tells people that he puts them to sleep and I wake them up. Sort of true, but it's cute. Tomorrow, my daughter's school is having Field Day, so I am spending my day off playing nurse at school. Usually it's fun with a few bumps, bangs and bruises, cuts, rope burns, bug bites. 2 years ago we had 2 broken arms, so that wasn't good. The only thing I really hate is when I go out to school to help with lice checks, and you find some. NASTY!!!! Your boys are just a little younger than mine--20 and nearly 22, and my daughter is 9. Never a dull moment!

I did get all my goals done yesterday, and lost 1/2 lb, so I am on my way toward Christmas. I didn't get any goals accomplished today, but it is hard when you don't feel good. Better luck tomorrow, plus I'll be dancing!

Every body have a great day Wednesday. Welcome to all the new names I saw as I was reading posts.

Kathy

Wow, so exciting to see all the new names, can't wait to get to know everyone. Takes me a bit as I can't get on the computer during the day at work and share it w family at night (homework must have priority! )

I just started the 500 miles by Christmas thread. I think that is really doable goal. http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142906

Kathy, tap dance, that's neat and great exercise I bet. I remember taking classes when I was younger, that's something I have not thought of in a while, will have to look around and see if there are classes near me. Eww to the head lice, I agree though, I remember when the boys were little and you'd get the dreaded note , "head lice were found in your child's classroom", made ya itch just to read it!

Nicky, I agree with some of the others. I am shooting for at least 120 but I think more in the 110 range, if I am happy with the results at 120 I'll stop, but for perspective, I have a 5.25 inch wrist, so I am small framed, not out of the range for me. I have always heard 100 lbs for 5 feet and then 5 for each additional inch, but healthy has to be the goal for all of us. That said, we are glad you are here.

Glittering pink, cool name! Welcome!

Lumi, you rock, don't ya love how doable our goals are when we map them out to Christmas!

Josephine 69 days OP. you are my idol! I made it through day 1 OP yesterday!

Betsi, about the gaining muscle and bumming because it doesn't show in weight, have you tried taking your measurements. That helps me a lot, when I see that even though I have not lose a pound, I am down an inch in my waist!

OK folks, got to go do my crunches and get in the shower. I have started car pooling to save gas and I have to pick the other lady up in an hour as it is my week to drive!

Please tell me it's not too late to jump onto this Commitment to Christmas! I started South Beach on the 15th and just started in on these forums a few hours ago (I work 3rd shift -- it gives me something to do when we're not busy!). I would LOVE to hit my 2nd Mini-Goal of 172 by Christmas which means 43.4 pounds in 32 weeks or an average of about 1.35 pounds per week. It won't be easy but I think it might be doable!

A little bit about me: I'm Karen, 32, live in central NY, have a gorgeous almost-2 year old son, an incredible boyfriend, a freakish dog, and work the 11pm-7am shift as an auditor at a hotel 5 nights a week! In fact, my shift is just about done so unfortunately I'm going to have to cut this short but I hope to get to know you all a lot better over these next 32 weeks!

Morning gang!

Hey Karen, welcome! I gotta ask: what makes your dog freakish? I thought I had the corner on that market!!

Kathy -- Tap class sounds like so much fun! Have you been tapping since childhood or did you pick it up as an adult?

MMavis -- I'll go check out the 500 miles by xmas thread!

I just got back from my run and ick was it hot. I'm going to have to go back to starting when it is still fully dark out or doing more running at night because once the sun is up here I just get miserable. I'm always so optimistic thinking it won't be TOO hot and then I'm always terribly miserable on the last mile! When will I learn? I've been spoiled sleeping in a little late, but enough of that. Gotta get out the door earlier!

I've gotta sit down and plan my daily meals now and then get cracking on some chores. DH asked me to give his office a spring cleaning (not my favorite task) and I was so absorbed in major gardening/landscaping yesterday that I never actually mowed the back yard. I'm going to save that task for dusk when it will be cooler!