Delphi Things are good, you know I never knew how much exercise I would get by having a 2-story house with a basement.. All day long I am up and down the stairs... LOL I am kind of glad though because it is letting me know that I have to get into better shape to go up and down these stairs alll day... Hope things are going well with you... My DH is a big gamer as well.

crazymamaof4 You sexy momma!!!! You look awesome. Now that is what I call some inspiration to me... You are a role model to me. You are the best... I am so glad you are here.... Just when I feel like giving up there you are to pick me back up....

shasha17a Good job on pre-planning dinner. I am just staying away from resteraunts at the momment I have no control especially with those desserst... LOL... Have a great time.

Jacque9999 How you doing girl?

Hotsplashes School doesn't start until Sept 8th here either. Great job on the garden ... That is awesome.

Tummy Girl Great job on the run... I hope one day I will be able to do that. LOL seems like that won't ever happen, I know, I know it will be oh my gosh thought I was going to die doing the HIIT... I couldn't do the levels that I needed to so I just put them down a little until I can get to that level... I will be on week one for a while but when I do complete it I am going to have a party Thanks for all the support you are the reason I started HIIT... Thanks I'll keep you posted.

As for me it it is cleaning day! Bathrooms, laundry... Upstairs, mainfloor, too basement... Boy I'm already getting that workout in... I had my oatmeal with strawberries this morning, then for my snack I had some fruit... I am finally eating on plan thanks for all the support and the I really needed it.... LOl Hope you all have a fantanstic day...

Hello Ckickadees! this is a little late in the month well only like a week and a half. anyways. my goals for this month are to lose at least 7 to 10 lbs and to keep up the running with my husband, hopefully to run a mile without stopping by the 22 i am giving myself two weeks. i think that should be enough. also to stay up on the fiber and cut out the junk food,such as those chips in my cupboard. o and of course keep drinking lots of water!
thanks ladies for this challenge, my first of many to come i hope! i hope that you are all blessed dearly with your challenges! good luck!

Delphi~ you'd better run girl because here I come!!! As you read this you had better be guzzling your water chickie! Got it? My word, YOU? I never thought I'd have to worry about you drinking your water! GASP!!!! So, how many calories did you burn painting? Oh, my goal is in my new ticker...see? I guess I should have actually declared it out loud though huh? 135 baby!!! And thanks so much! I always hate taking pics of myself, but I promised Tummy I would--she'd better check in too or else I'm gunna be mad!!!

Mystical~ Aww, you're such a good wife! Hubby's thrilled beyond words when I make him a plate! Last night he wasn't so lucky, he had to assemble his dinner. I just thought making a baked potato 2 hours before he got home was kind of silly when it takes 5 mins to nuke one. I'm sure the scale will start to see a downward trend soon chickie! Keep doing what you're doing hun! Aww, just saw your other post, thanks so much hun! You're awesome! I love your positive attitude and the fact that you got your whole family on board is such a wonderful thing! It gives me hope that I can do it too...one day.

Darby~ thanks hun! Congrats on the swoosh!!! Ya know, you could always go and get fitted at Victoria's Secret then head straight to Lane Bryant and pick out the exact same bra for half the price! Seriously, the bras they carry are made by the same company! The super soft seamless ones and they come in the larger sizes like 38 & 40 that, for reason's I've yet to figure out, VS does not. (well, they might now, but they didn't the last time I was in there). I think I remember hearing that JC Penney's does sizing too.

jeannep~ oh I KNOW I'll hear angels singing--either because I survived and miracle will have occurred or because I dropped dead and I'm on my way upstairs! Have fun at the driving range! I've only done it once but it was wicked fun!

Tummy~ woo hoo! Wow you ARE having a fanfreakin'tastic day! What a great way to start off your vacation! I mean, how could you not have a great vacation with a day like this to start it off? Woo hoo for running all that way and turning heads in the process! You sexy thang you! Clapping and bouncing up and down? Hee hee, now that's funny! Ya know, the longest part of the whole thing was that last bit--man alive I was starting to get irked!!! See? I told you were blazing through the 180's!! Next time just accept what I say and move on. I hope you have a wonderful, amazing, fantastic time on vacation!!! We'll miss you tons and I hope you'll be able to check in from time to time--because 13 days is just too long to go without Tummy!!! Bravo on the .4 lbs gone girlie! You'll be hittin' those 170's in no time flat!!!!!!!

Hotsplashes~ bravo on the carrots! I wasn't adventurous enough to try carrots this year, hubby just planted squash, corn and bell peppers. We've got squash o' plenty, but nothing else yet. Congrats on revamping your goal--I think 5 lbs a week is a bit much and you're right, about the only way to do that is to come down with a stomach virus and who wants to do that?

shasha~ Oh you can and WILL do it!! As the saying goes, if I can do it, anyone can!! Bravo for not letting your missing shoes derail you, you've got your head on straight girlie! Have fun working those muscles and charge your iPod as soon as you get home from the gym so you can have it for cardio! Have a great time at dinner tonight!!

Jacque~ thanks hun! I love my camera, it's been neglected though...I need to start clicking again!

MrsVegan~ Oh it's never too late to join so jump right in!!!

Well girls, I've rambled long enough and I need to get up off my bum! Thanks for all the sweet words and I hope you're all having a spectacular day!!!

mystical:

crazymomma - dang, you're HOT

happy rainy wednesday all...

just checking in to wave and cheer us all on!

Hi Ladies!!

Sandye Wow!! You look great!!!

We must all love lavender lol, and I was just telling dd last night that light green would look great with it. At first I was thinking dark brown accents but she wasn't too enthused with that. I hope we get the bathroom painted today. My bedroom is a light sage/jade and I have red and gold to accent but I'm getting tired of the red and gold so I think I'm going to get a nice chocolate brown bedding set and drapes. I don't know whats with me lately but I am loving dark brown. Also the guy is here today tiling the front porch, I am so excited to be getting that done. My husband had done it in pebblestone when we built the house but it didn't turn out right and it hurts to walk on it.

Good news today, all the weekend weight gain is gone plus another .4. New low for me today, 174.6. I was really excited to see that. I wasn't able to do low carb all day yesterday, a couple hours after a chicken salad (from Burger King) last night for dinner, I was feeling bad and knew I needed some carbs so I ate half a peanut butter sandwich and felt much better. I envy you ladies that can do low carb, my body just can't handle it. I can cut back on them but not too much. My sister is the same way.

Congratulations to all you girls who are losing!! It's fantastic!

Ok just a quick hello, had to check on my sexy mama! Those arms girl! That's definitely body for life, holy! And you carried all that in your stomach and now you're under 30 inches! Well look who's laughing now stomach fat, muhahaha. And those 10's look a tad bit loose my dear, oh and have you tried on that wedding dress lately? Hmmm? Bravo, just bravo, that is truly amazing and inspirational and thank you for sucking it up and inspiring everyone one here with those You're gonna be that lady that tells ppl you have four kids and they're gonna be shocked!

And Delphi, you know I do like living in a small town but thank goodness we'll never have a traffic jam over this behind of mine, there's only 851 ppl here and it would only take a half hour for them all to line up and take a look.

Oh shoot I forgot to measure myself and gotta get my upper body STing out of the way b/f it's too late. TTFN.

Sandye-Oh my freaking goodness!! You...Look....AMAZING! I can't believe what an amazing transformation you've made. I haven't ever looked at my before and current pictures side-by-side. I hope when I do, it looks as good as yours does. What an inspiration!

Tummy-You crack me up with the small town comment...people would take an hour to line up to create a traffic jam..LOL We're gonna be building outside a town similar in size. Gotta love those small towns!

Sorry I can't reply to everyone. Some major back discomfort has struck (too much time on my feet today~busy day) and I need to lay down for a couple minutes, then it'll pass. Take care chickies!

Looks like you all are having all the fun in here! Is it too late to join in on the August Challenge? If not - here's my goal! I'm currently 201 (I crept up to that from 198 last week - yikes! It is most definitely time to get things under control.) and by the end of August, I'd like to be 195. Reasonable, I think!

MsP ~ Hope your back gets to feeling better.

Tummy ~ I know the feeling. My town is pretty small but not that dang small. It's still a thought though...I mean you could try integrating kartwheels into your running routine..eh?

Ruth ~ I believe Jacque's was purple lime green with some brown in there..and that was her bedroom and it looked great. I was joking around with a friend yesterday calling my house, The House of many colors..only found in OZ. But hey, I like the diversity of colors in decor. on that new number..keep up the great work.

dcapulet ~ Hey you

Sandye ~ You can't catch me I'm the ginger bread man..hahahhaha! Nah, I think most of it is due to this light exercise month..and same with my eating. I've had some really low calorie days, but I'm just not as hungry without all the extra exercise...like yesterday I burned a boat load of calories painting...around a 1000 of those bad boys and I ate around 1500...the more active I am, the more I eat...and the more active I am, the more water I drink and not forcefully, my body just craves it. But I will get back to it, at least with my meals...I can get the required amount in four doses a day...so I'm not too worried about it..though, I'm up a boat of load..I know some of it is water, but I just think, either I've finally some how managed to gain an entire pound of muscle or my body is in hoard mode again...regardless, you know me, no sweat off my back..I'll just keep doing what I'm doing, because I feel great.

mystical ~ Oh really...on what platform? We old school gamers are few and far between...trying to show this new generation what's up and all. You have yourself a great evening dear.

hola ~ and it's never too late to join

As for me, I've spent the entire day almost playing Rock Band, well until the boys came home and then it was homework time, and now I'm getting ready to cook dinner and drink my water, so lower the rolling pin Sandye. It's really been a relaxing day, which I desperately needed after yesterday. I failed to mention I only got like three hours of sleep last night...I don't know if it was the paint smell still in there or that I was so sore....now that I think about it...it was probably both...but I just couldn't for the life of me fall asleep. I just laid there and tossed and turned. It was madness I tell ya. You would think I could harness my inner jedi and force myself to sleep or something..alas, I could not. I tried counting..yeah, counting, whoever the jackass was that came up with that bright idea, needs a reality check...counting sheep, men or any other inanimate object does not work..not for my eccentric self...maybe I should of tried counting lightsabers?

Well, I'm still stalled out at a gain...like I said I know some of it is water, but don't know about the rest of it...I'm burning at least 1,000 more calories a day then I'm taking in, so there is NO way I could gain...so it's something in there causing me to have all this extra something in me...but Oh, well, I'm sure it will straighten itself out at some point...in the mean time, I'll just go walk like an egyptian, naked in front of my mirror....roflmao!

Tootaloo chickadees...see you ladies bright and early in the morning.

EDIT TO ADD QUOTE: I found this, I think it is from Body for Life..but just needed to share it with you ladies...Alcohol is a big NO NO while trying to lose weight...

"Daily alcohol consumption will slow or stop your results. The drawbacks are probably going to far outweigh any health benefits. Your liver can't metabolize alcohol and fat at the same time. It will always get rid of the toxic substance (alcohol) first. That means that as long as there's alcohol in your system you won't be burning any body fat. If you have one or two drinks, you might stall your fat loss for a few hours. If you have quite a few drinks, it might be as long as four days before you're metabolizing fat again.

Drinking also dehydrates you, raises cortisol levels (goodbye muscles), raises estrogen levels (hello hips), lowers inhibitions (pizza anyone?). Combine that with the fact that alcohol promotes abdominal fat storage (of all places!) and it's really not worth it, not even on free day, not if you're serious about making a major transformation.

Hi everyone, just wanted to check in really quick. Eating has been good today. (sorry if thats all I talk about). A couple of my coworkers who like me in the past always swear to start a diet every Monday went out to chinese food, but I passed. It wasn't even difficult because other the calorie issue, eating out can add up as far as expenses. No thanks! So I had my left over turkey pasta, with some baby carrots and a small baggie of blueberries for lunch. It ended up being better because I sat with some of the guys I work with and they are hilarious. Then my friend came to talk to me later and she said she felt like crap after eating all that chinese food. My boss came back from picking up his lunch a few min ago. He got hawaiian bbq...mmmmm sooo good. He always gets yummy things. Sorry for all the food references, it helps to get it out there so that I don't fall to temptation. Now I'm finishing up this last hour of work, then heading to the gym. We are going to a sushi place for dinner tonight. I think my boyfriend and I are going to split 3 rolls. Nothing tempura, or stuff with mayo. Just trying to figure out what to order now. hmmmm...
Hope everyone is having a wonderful day OP, I will catch up with everyone tonight.

Delphi - kartwheels in a mini skirt, just for you chickie!

Toodaloo ladies!

Just back to say I got my groove back after a brief rest off my feet, my back is definitely better. I did the rest of my exercise, tried a new recipe for supper (meatball & mushroom soup...it's better than it sounds!) which went over well, and now it's time to relax for the evening!

Geeeesh... I leave for 12 hours and this place EXPLODES. I'm thinking I better catch up now before I leave for another 12 hours and find myself 12 pages of posts behind!

cmo4 - Ok.. first off... you look FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC. Woohoo! Way to go you! As far as the C25K, I'm sure we can do it - ithinkican ithinkican ihopeican ohgodihopeican-. I honestly wish I had a treadmill to use. I'm looking at finishing up the program and then having to find somewhere to run inside.. and it's looking like work.. and that makes me nervous. I have that whole public exercise anxiety... PLUS, I've never worked a treadmill before in my life and I'm truly afraid I'll go flying off of it the first time I attempt. Though, I would love to be as suave on one as those guys from Ok Go are in that video.. seen it?

inthemidst - It's ok if you don't write personals, it takes forever... and personally, I never would have accomplished it had someone (gah, I forget who it was) hadn't told me about the two window trick. Write your replies on one, and read on another. It's GENIUS.

FSA - Don't sweat the midnight snack. "They" say it's not when you eat but what and how much. All that "don't eat after 6pm" crap was just to get people not to snack.

MsP - If any water weight comes looking for you, I'll direct it straight to my sister's pool. Problem solved.

Delphi - Hello yourself! Hey... what are you burning for calories for Week 2 of C25K so far? I've been dying to know but I haven't seen you say....

mystical - Kudos to you on making sure your DH has a hot meal waiting for him. I gave that up a long time ago with my DH. I tried though, but he kept getting home later and later and there was one school year I had a scheduled lunch at 10:35am and DH wouldn't get home until 8:30pm... I couldn't wait to eat and I just slowly got out of the habit. He comes home to pans on the stove now (sometimes I fix him a plate and keep it warm if I'm feeling affectionate). Haha. I sound like a horrible wife!

Darby - I wish I had some advice to give you on where to go for bras and bra fittings. I'm definitely going to need one myself (I swear, the boobs, they are getting larger since I"m working out... which is unexpected). Every time I go to buy the stuff I just cringe at how much it costs and I've been thinking myself about "transition" bras... I mean.. there are a lot of bra sizes between me and my goal weight, I hate to think about all the money I'm going to waste... so if you find a place... let me know!

jeannep - My DH and I have been talking a lot about the C25K and how impossible it seems that I'll be running that much and when I read your "The first time I ran 10 minutes without stopping the last time I did the C25K I expected the heavens to open up and angels to sing because it seemed like a miracle." I had to read it to him, we were both in stitches so thank you for the giggle and for assuring me that I'm not the only one who thought it's an impossibility!

tummy - Haha, I once hurt myself like that where anytime I sat down it was an effort! I have high hopes though. The first time I did the running I stiffened up the same day and was sore for 2 days after... but it hasn't affected me since so I've been hoping I won't stiffen up and get sore again!! Yikes! And woah, you've had a fantastic day! Congrats on the 6K, that is AMAZING!!!

hotsplashes - My garden has been a disaster this year. It got hit with a late spring frost and just has never really recovered. I haven't even been weeding it's so pathetic. And... purple carrots? Do tell!

Shasha - I also have some serious anxiety about working out in front of people and trust me, when there are others on the track (and there always are) I have to keep telling myself that they don't care what I'm doing, and that if they ask me why I keep running and then walking (like anyone would really do such a thing) I have a perfectly reasonable explanation other than "fattie can't take it".... It's horrible. I'm hoping to slowly get over this... but it's tough.

I'm running out of time so sorry if I've missed anyone. Today has been an awesome day. DH is off work and we went to see GI Joe and then to Dairy Queen for lunch... where I had a salad and ICE CREAM. I totally love ice cream. I've had 2 really low calorie days in a row (just wasn't hungry for some odd reason) and I needed a boost to recover those calories (I'm trying very hard not to lose any of my muscle so I have a calorie count I must hit by the end of the week) and so I took that boost in the form of ice cream. Totally fantastic. Made it hard to eat enough for dinner though, I just get full and don't want to eat (shocking, I know.. that never used to happen). So it's been a great day.

See ya tomorrow!

Delphi: HI! You know, I've pretty much stayed away from alcohol since starting over... I find that it helps me avoid over eating (and over drinking!) I had no idea that it aids in abdominal fat storage... along with the huge plate of nachos i scarf down with some drinks... good to know!

So i was in a total funk today... just feeling like crap. So i went for a run, not for the fridge. and i felt better, especially after my 2 min running bursts. I can run for 2 mins at a time now, without an ambulance standing by! Therefore, I am better off than I was six weeks ago, and that's good enough for me!