Lindy - so glad you had fun! And congrats on the losing streak : )

Burgundy - Sounds like you know exactly what you need to do. Come back and tell us how it's going, especially for the first few days of getting back into your routine - we'll help you stick with it! : )

Maddiesmom - who-hoo! You are doing so well. And I totally agree - sore muscles seem to hold a bunch of water so I'm sure you've made even more progress than it seems.

Official weigh-in for me: 184 (2lbs less than last Sunday). Happy dance! I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing (leaning on you guys for support : ), calorie cycling with an average of 1400/day, exercise 5+ times/week for 45-60 min and a big hike on the weekend when possible) and hope I don't hit a plateau.

Hi Ladies,

Maddiesmom - I am sooo proud of you kicking your workouts in with the trainer and just all around being focused! You are a great inspiration for me and everyone else! Woo Hoo! Sorry you are still sore, but hopefully with some rest today, tomorrow will be better.

Neesy - I know emotions are high right now with your husband leaving soon, and the fact that you are coming on here when you can, and doing what is possible right now is great. I am an emotional eater, so I would be eating everything in sight if I were you - so I give you big Kudo's for sticking to your guns and maintaining your weight loss thus far! Know when he does leave that we are here for you.

Brown-Eyes - I did WW online and it didn't work for me. I mean I did lose a couple of pounds, but then gained them back. I think if I would have joined a local program and made myself accountable with a Leader and group, it would have made all the difference. Online, I was mainly on my own. Now, my neighbor loves WW. She went a couple of years ago and lost 25 lbs and has done well since. Her daughter went this year and lost I think 35 lbs. They both love the local group. Now today you sound good and on track, so let us know what you decide!

Lindy - Congratulations on your weight loss, and I am glad you had a good time with your friends from HS. Those will be fun memories to hang on too!

Burgund - Good to see you and glad Jillian is going for a dusting today! LOL... You will get back on schedule. Sometimes after a long vacation it takes another week just to readjust to 'normal' life.

Ok, my daughter just left.........I miss her already, but now I can re-adjust and get busy. My eating has been good, still sticking with unprocessed stuff. Yesterday I did indulge a little more than normal, which made me feel like the Goodyear Blimp all night, but I am better today. I hope everyones 4ths was good!!

So we are weighing on Sundays.......hmmm. I will weigh next Sunday then, since today is halfway gone and I already have eaten....lol....

Have a great evening everyone and hope this week is good for all of you!!! Hey where is Tiff???? She ok? Did she get her house?

Bye for now.

Hi everyone! Hope you enjoyed the 4th of July yesterday!

Vicky - not much you can do about the muscles other than what you are and ensuring that you are stretching a few times throughout the day. Drink lots of water too and eat a bit extra protein.

Lindy - glad you had fun at your get together and got some good 'hit on's' - that is always a great confidence booster and congrats on the 1 pound. The 180's seem so far away but I know I can get there

Dance - good on the 2 pound loss - you are doing well - inspiring!!

Burgandy - I can relate and I am wishing you lots of success this week in getting back on track.

Sandy - I've done some research on WW and I'm not sure it's for me. I know how to eat and have support here and with my family so I think for now, I will skip it. Try my own way first - thanks for the insight though!

I hope I remembered everyone, I wish my arse was as small as my memory sometimes!

As I mentionned yesterday I am 221.2 - my lip just curled writing that but I have to start somewhere.

I had a pretty good weekend. Worked out at the gym both days and got some sun and errands done. I have a long week at work so I am hoping to stay strong and get through it while still ensuring I eat well and get my exercise in. I probably need to push myself a bit harder in the workouts. Bought all my good food for the week and prepared to rock it good!

TTYL - S

Morning ladies-

Wow, I am so proud that most of you were able to weigh in and that the scale went down. Good job! I have to do the walk of shame today and this is SO embarrasing, I even think I gained a COUPLE of pounds because my pants were too tight today, so here it goes...warning...this is BAD, I have NEVER binged like this:

1 bowl of frosted flakes
1 hot dog, fully loaded
2 cheeseburgers, fully loaded
2 corn on the cobs
2 bowls of potato salad
1 scoop of baked beans
A LOT of cheetos
Chicken nachos, fully loaded with extra cheese and sour cream
2 slices of cake
1 slice a apple pie
Like....8 sodas!
20 starburst

Um...I think thats it. THATS IT!!!....Oh my god...no way...I dont know how Im not physically sick today. I didnt think that it was humanly possible to eat that much. Also, I had a steak egg and cheese bagel and a hash brown this morning! Thats it though, Im done...no more junk, I am going to hunker down. I was extremely embarassed to post this but I thought...hey, you guys always share your short comings in weight loss, Im no different.

Ok...focus..back on track. Anyway, I hope everyone had a fun weekend and if you did fall off the horse like me, you hop back on.

Take care.

Okay, who's up for a mini-challenge this week? Not so much on pounds lost, more on sticking to eating and exercise plans. Let's say, daily post Mon-Fri of:
Eating: xyz points, calories, etc. vs whatever your plan is
Exercise: blah, blah, blah min/miles/calories burned/etc. vs whatever your plan is
....and of course, whatever else you want to post about.

I could use some extra reinforcement of discipline this week as this is the weight I've gotten down to in past efforts then usually give up and start creeping back up again. I can hear the little thoughts starting in the back of my head 'it's okay to go for pizza with the girls this week-you've been so good' when that is not what I need right now

Any takers?

SOLD!!! I am totally down for a challenge, I need it. As bad as yesterday I was, I was just dreaming (LITERALLY!!!) of Cheetos, I mean, there is still half a bag left! But nope, Im with you Dance. Oh and you can totally do it, dont stray. 14 pounds is so awesome, just wait till you start seeing it in your clothes (drastically), it will feel so much better than a lousy piece of pizza. This is coming from the girl that consumed 7000 calories in one day - lol.

Anyway, lets do this.

: ) Lindy, unless you're saving them for your daughter, I say put those cheetos down the garbage disposal so they can't call your name! And I checked the online menu of the chi-chi pizza place we may be going to tomorrow and have a healthy salad all picked out - thanks for the encouragement!

I know you're feeling bad about yesterday and I totally agree with your get right back on the horse strategy but I'm curious - was it 'woo-hoo, it's a holiday - I'm going to have fun and eat whatever' kind of thing or do you think it had anything to do with all the emotional stress you've been under lately? Emotional stress and the associated comfort eating is a biggee for me - wasn't sure if that applied to you at all.

Here's to a clean and disciplined week, all!

I weighed myself yesterday but fell asleep right when I got home. Nonetheless.. my official weigh in is 209lbs (2 down from last week). Yay! Hopefully not just water weight.

Yay Neesy! Awesome...your back on board.

Dance - hmmmm...Ill say a little of both. I wasnt especially depressed or anything, I just had a I dont give a crap kinda attitude. It was horrible. I ate even when I was full and ate and ate. It was bad. I am not a typical emotional eater, sometimes I do it for convenience, ie: I get stressed when my daughter is in soccer because I never have enough time so I usually eat out. Anyway, I think your right...even if my daughter liked Cheetos, they should not be in the house for her or me, she LOVES fruit, so let her munch on that. Plan A when I get home...drench the cheetos with water (lol, yes...I do have to take it to that extreme) and then throw them in the garbage. Anyway, so far here is my meal for the day, I forgot to go grocery shopping this weekend, so I have not had a chance to pre plan my meals or snacks so my eating 5 times a day is down the tube for today.

McDonalds Steak Sandwich
McDonalds Hash Brown with hot salsa
McDonalds Large French Vanilla Coffee
2 corn on the cobs with butter and salt

Lets see where the rest of the day brings me. I am trying to drink A LOT of water and plan on doing some laps in the pool tonight if it doesnt rain.

Lindy - I'm right there with you on needing to completely destroy the temptation so there is no changing your mind later when you get the munchies! So, don't know if this would work for you as I'm not sure if you have a desk at work etc. but I keep some emergency supplies in my desk for when I don't have time to bring in fruits and veggies or go out for a healthy lunch. For example, I have walnuts, apricot fruit leather, progresso light soups and my new favorite Kashi TLC peanut peanut butter chewy granola bars in the drawer right now. Not what I would want to live on long term but works in a pinch.

Neesy - nice to have you back! Congrats on the 2lb loss - that's great!

Hi ladies!

Lindy - I had a day like that a week ago and I wrote down all the food that I ate and I couldn't believe it - that next day I had the worst food hangover ever. Maybe this is not it, but I have shown patterns that if I deprive myself too much of foods I like, my brain just goes nuts one day and I gobble everything and it can last for weeks at a time. I found this pattern when I was reading my journals this past weekend. So I am allowing myself to eat food that I want in moderation - under my calorie range. So far, so good. Regardless it's good that you have identified it and made yourself accountable on here. No joke, I have sprayed hairspray on stuff I put in the garbage

Dance - I'm up for the challenge - do you want us to just list our plans on here for the week? That sounds great!

Neesy - good for you on the 2 pounds!!

I'm having a good day at work, no real cravings yet. Work is really damn busy but I am keeping my head up and not to get too stressed. I am looking forward to my workout tonight - yeah I am in the right frame of mind again - so far!!

Oh so I tried on my target outfit last night and I took a picture of all three views. I will try it every 2 weeks. It's a great motivator!

Well off to meetings - hope you are all doing good! Lindy - as I said before, good on you for writing what you ate - accountability is always a great thing.

S

Okay, the hairspray comment made me laugh out loud at work. Now my colleagues are wondering what I'm up to : ) Sounds like you are doing great, Staccie - way to go!

As far as the challenge, here's my plan and what I want to stick to this week:
Eating: Average of 1400cal/day (with range of 1250-1700)
Exercise: 5x/wk, 30+ minutes

I'll make sure that my last post of the day includes how I did vs plan.

What plan are you guys commiting to stick to?

Dance - thanks for all the support...check and check...Cheetos drenched and in the garbage can, lol. Your plan sounds good, that was along the same lines as me, 1200-1600 calories a day, 5 days of exercise and 30 minutes of walking. Oh and in my calories...no carbs.

Stacie - haha, Im just like Dance...I laughed out loud at your hairspray comment. I tend to agree with you on my pattern, I think I went so full force with eating healthy after my trip that I really screwed myself this weekend. The funny thing is, I really had no plans of over doing it, I did not expect the holiday weekend to be a challenge.

Anyway...Since I am at 1550 calories today, Im passing on any other food and drinking buckets of water, seriously...I might as well strap a bag to my head like the horses do because thats how much Ive consumed.

Ill touch base tomorrow...Stacie and Dance...thanks again for your support, it means a lot.

My goal this week is to:

FOOD WISE: Keep my calories in the 1500-1600 range - with no salty snacks! I got fat free chocolate jello pudding and that rocks with the craving for chocolate!

GYM WISE: Got to improve my cardio - so at least an hour of cardio 5 days this week and 3 weight training sessions - oh yeah and Yoga on Tues night!

Speaking of the gym, there was no way I was getting up this morning so I am going home to change - I need to bring my clothes with me because once I get home...it's easier to slip into the pj's!

Well Ladies, what I thought was soreness is actually a torn muscle in my leg. Crap! I finally get into a workout routine and then I get hurt. I really can't work on my arms either, they are still really tender. I'm walking, but I have a noticeable limp, so no workouts for the next couple of days (dammit...which is odd coming from me since I hate working out). I just wanted to keep with my routine, and now I'm "on the bench" so to speak. I hope to be back at the gym near the end of the week. I'm cancelling my training session this week to give my body a rest. I want to be able to comfortably do the workout without hurting myself.

Lindy: Glad you got rid of the Cheetos. I sometimes feel guilty for not getting my hubby/daughter stuff like that to eat, but then I realize...they don't need that stuff either! Madeline loves fresh fruit, so I'm really trying to get her eating healthy now, so it stays with her later. My mom never did that for me, and I really wish she had. Glad to hear you're back on the wagon.

For the challenge, I'm in! I'll keep under the 30 WW points I'm allowed per day, and I will say that I will go to the gym twice before Sunday; even if it's to walk on the treadmill or do arm work.

Staccie: The gym is hard after work, I gotta admit. Once a week I go after 8:00 pm (which is really hard, since I come home, change, eat dinner, clean up, put Maddie to bed, and then go), and then once a week I go right after work. The third day is the weekend. I'm really trying for 3 days a week.

Question: I noticed that since I injured myself that since I'm not working out, my eating habits are slowly starting to take a dive. I find that when I'm working out, I eat better. Anyone else experience this?

For example, Friday, I went to lunch at Chipotle. Granted, I had a burrito bowl salad, but still had the sour cream and cheese. I was still within my WW points range, but I felt guilty as **** eating it. Afterwards, I was like "I am in so much pain from the trainer and I eat THIS?!?" What was I doing? Then Saturday, I had a small piece of cake which I shared with Maddie as a treat...felt guity again, but was in my points range. Do you think I'm becoming obsessed? I'm also weighing myself every morning, which since I'm retaining water with the sore muscles is quite depressing.

Here's my meals today:
Breakfast: Honey Almond Flax Kashi Bar
Snack: Banana
Lunch: Salad with white chix, sm cup cream of mushroom soup (which I didn't finish because again, I felt guilty)
Snack: Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Bar
Dinner: Swedish Meatball Lean Cuisine
Snack: 1 Serving baked lays BBQ chips

Well, I'm going to end my post since it's so long and it's full of ME, ME, ME! LOL Sorry for the rant, I guess I'm just frustrated since I've been gimpy for the past few days.