Burgundy: You have to be totally buff after doing all that manual labor! It feels so good to accomplish something huge like that. WTG on the few days off from work...I'm sure you need the rest, especially since you watch the boys for a long period of time.

Staccie: I'm addicted to reality t.v. I should be ashamed, but I'm not! LOL I absolutely LOVE ****'s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares (there's something that will keep you from eating out!), and the like. Sorry you missed your workout. I'm notorious for sleeping through the alarm, so I was glad that I was able to wake up the past few days without the hubby there to wake me up. Will you be working out this afternoon?

Dance: So sorry you're not feeling well, that always has a way of derailing your motivation to eat well and especially workout. Feel better! I'm sure there are worse things to eat other than pineapple popscicles - you could have eating a bag of cheetos or something!

As for me, yesterday was POP...until dinner. Went to visit a friend and got home after 7:30 and didn't eat until then (usually eat around 6-6:30) so I was starving. Had some leftover chinese, but I'm sure I ate way too much. Today is back on POP:

B: Special K protein shake
S: Almonds, protein bar
L: rotisserie chicken breast sandwich on a flatbread with lettuce and cheese
S: Banana, nuts
D: Rotisserie chicken and veggies

Tomorrow is my core class with Jeff and I think my friend is going to drive up here and go with me. Then I have the PT session with Jeff on Thursday. He's now posting daily workouts for me to do on his personal training page, so that's pretty easy to follow.

Hope everyone is doing well, I'll try and check back later.

Staccie-I love sleep so Im glad Chris is an early bird to wake me up. You can come on down to Michigan and do all kinds of yardwork. I have a big yard.

Dance-I might see some friends and family that I havent seen in a while so I hope they notice. Cant wait to get down there. My cousin wanted me to do a 5k with her but its on May 31st and we wont be there then. Feel better soon.

Vicky-I dont know about buff, but I am burnt. My neck and arms are so red. You are so lucky to have a personal trainer. Have fun at your class. I am gonna get on the wii tonight and get a workout in.

It rained today but not hard so I walked my 4 miles. Glad to get it done earlier today. I can workout on the wii tonight. Gotta get to 500 minutes on it this month. I was down to 190.8 this morning so I am claiming it. 4 or 5 more lbs to go before June 7th.

burgundy - how totally cool is it that you can even think about doing a 5k?? Good for you on all that yardwork - that's some serious calorie burning!

maddiesmom - You are doing great with your workouts! I can't remember how long you've been working with Jeff - how long has it been?

doing okay here but just okay - the worst of the cold is over, I think, now it's just annoying. there's snow on the ground outside after 75 degree weekend - craziness - I'm ready for summer. No exercise plans yet but I'll probably try for some long walks while I'm away in Philly thurs-sun. I'm looking forward to picking up running again when I get back and getting my mileage up.

What's everyone else up to?

Dance: I have been with Jeff for 10 months (wow, that's like my longest relationship with a guy other than my hubby! LOL). Since I've been with him I've lost about 45 of the almost 70 pounds, but I have lost so many inches, I really don't count the pounds as much (I think I'm up to 35 inches as of the end of March / early April). Glad you are starting to feel better, you have to take it easy and rest before you can really start to feel better.

Allison: You are a rockstar...4 miles with the rain! WOW! The 180's are so close...good for you! Not sure you mentioned...are you driving or flying to AL? If driving, you should stop by me in Chicago and come for a workout with Jeff! That would be so much fun!

So, POP has hit a bump in the road...not too terribly, but still. Had the remaining 3 potstickers from my chinese food binge last night for dinner, had some rotisserie chicken, then some baked chips, then some crunch and munch (tasted sooo good, not sure why I picked it up at the store). All in all, not terrible, but there are so many other good for me things to eat in the house. So, I'm back on plan today:

B: Protein bar
S: Protein shake, almonds
L: Chinese Wonton salad from Corner bakery (said 18 g of fat, but I had DOS and only had 2 oz)
S: grapes/strawberries
D: Muscle milk and fruit (have a super hard corefit class with Jeff tonight, gotta build those muscles back up and it has 22 g of protein!)

Hope everyone else is doing well. Check back later!

Wow...where did everyone go? I know Dance is on her way to Philly...

So, I was pretty much on plan yesterday. I went to Jeff's class last night and there was another lady there as well. My competitive side came out and of course I had to push myself and do more reps and we had to hold the plank position and even though my body really wanted to rest, I pushed through it. Then we had to do a 400 meter "farmer" walk, which is basically walking with a 25 lb. dumbell for 400 meters. Tougher than it sounds, your arms get pretty tired (as do your hands from gripping the dumbbell). Well, I lapped the girl twice and was done - only stopped once and that was because the weights were slipping. Jeff was pretty impressed. So, here was the workout (in case any of you want to do it!!):

warmup: walking lunge for 40 meters
1 min: Kettlebell swings
1 min: weighted bar press (up over the head)
1 min: plank
(Do that 3 times)
25 box jumps
50 thrusters (squat with 15 lb dumbell) and when you stand from the squat, lift the dumbbell up over your head and press)
75 pushups
100 crunches
(I did all of this in 16:23, which Jeff said was pretty good)
400 meter farmer walk
cool down: yoga stretches
In this workout, in 60 minutes, I burned 865 calories!! Which is kind of insane, but it shows that I'm pushing myself, so it was quite a surprise when I checked the heartrate monitor as I was leaving the gym.

I still have my personal training appt. tonight, so Jeff will probably work more on my lower body since I did so many arms last night. Trying for POP today, so I have my fruit and my salad ready for breakfast and lunch. What is everyone else's plan??

Also, hit 206 today! Another pound down and 1 pound away from 70 lost. Gotta step it up to get to Onederland!

Hi all!

Vicky you are rocking it girl...I'm not seeing the weight change on the scale so much - but know TOM is coming and there are adjustments in my sodium and food intake. I know I'm doing better but not good enough. I'm going to weigh in once a week because I was doing it daily and it becomes a demotivator!

I left work early to come home and relax - going for a walk tonight although I killed my calves a few days ago and they are still sore as ****!! Had a good workout this morning even though I got a late start.

Vicky do you have something that is counting how many calories you are burning?

Burgandy - I wish you were closer I would do yardwork for free! And you are walking up a storm - I need to do more stuff outside!

Dance - hope the weather and the summer season comes soon for you - it's beautiful here right now and I am loving not seeing rain very often! I really hated that rain!

Well I'm going to have some dinner and go for a nice walk...I can hear that damn ice cream truck but I would never go out there - I think most of the drivers are creeps!!! Not exactly boyfriend material

S

Dance-I cant wait to do a 5k. Its awesome that I know I can do one now. I may not be able to run the whole thing, but I can try. Is your cold gone? Try to have some fun in Philly when you arent working.

Vicky-Thats amazing all the inches you've lost. 70 lbs!!!!!You rock. Oh we are driving down to AL, but we go thru Ohio down 75, straight shot. If my husband and I ever get to go alone(we are hoping to leave SIL and kids here next time we go down) we should come your way. See your little bump in the road didnt affect you, skinny!! I cant believe you burned that many calories in an hour. I really wish we lived close, I would definitely be your workout buddy.

So I spoke too soon the other day when I said I had the week off, had the boys from 1-midnight yesterday. Took the 3 yr old on a 3 mile walk and then took them both on 1 mile, they took their little scooters. I'm at 13 miles for the week. It rained all day today so I only did one mile. Sounds like its stopped now so I am gonna try to do 1 or 2 more.

Tuesday is mine and Chris' 8 year anniversary. Not sure what we are gonna do. Think we are gonna board the dogs and stay in a motel near an outlet mall. We'll probably have mexican for dinner that night. YUM.

Did 55 minutes on wii fit today. Gotta up my wokrouts and eat better if I want to hit my June goal.

Have a good night ladies


Staccie-just saw your post. Free yardwork, come on down. I am trying to hit my goal of 20 miles a week to get down to 185 or 186 by June 7th. Have a nice walk.

Staccie: Glad you are getting back on track with workouts. TOM is a pain in the butt, that's for sure! I always tend to get bloated, but I drink so much water now, it doesn't affect my weight as much as it used to. To answer your question, I have a really nice heart rate monitor that my trainer Jeff sold me and it tracks how many calories I burn, more so than the machines with the monitors do because the monitor I wear accounts for my height and weight. It has really made a difference in my workout because it also tracks the "zones" I am working out in.

Burgundy: Yes, I wished we lived closer too!! I would really love to have a workout buddy, Jeff is nice and all, but I need someone there to keep me going, I guess I'm competitive by nature. You are a walking machine! I tend to get bored, but I think it's because I'm on a treadmill instead of outside. I need to check out the forest preserves out here and take a walk outside.

So, had another training session with Jeff tonight. I thought he would take it easy on my upper body today since I worked it so much yesterday, but that's a big no! LOL Did a big workout (not as much cardio as yesterday) but I still burned 760 calories...insane! He is now offering his class 5 days a week and he said that he wasn't going to charge me for them...so nice, because it's $25/class (still cheaper than personal training!) or you can get unlimited for 2 mos for $155. So he said I can come as often as I want and he won't charge me. Such a nice guy, but he said he doesn't mind me coming for free since I've been trying to draw in some business for him and getting my company to work with them to get some additional members. Win-win situation. He's such a great guy.

Have a great night ladies! I'm taking a much needed shower and hitting the pillow...that workout just exhausted me!

Everyone is MIA again!

Well, I'm still doing well, not sore from my workout yesterday, so that's a bonus. Feeling good about my workouts. I've worked out twice this week and have burned almost 1700 calories. I plan on taking today off, then working out Saturday and Sunday.

Eating has been ok today. Had my protein shake for breakfast, protein bar for snack (I'm giving these up BTW, found a new protein source Jeff said would be good for me), and went out for lunch. Had a salad, which was good, with dressing on the side, but it did have cheese on it. There are worse things I could have had, so I'll deal with the dressing/cheese. Dinner is the salad I originally brought to have for lunch today and maybe some grilled chicken.

What is everyone else up to? Still on plan?

Vicky- I got bored on the treadmill at the gym too and would usually quit before I wanted to but outside I know if I walk somewhere, I have to turn around and go back. Thats cool Jeff isnt charging you for the classes, he sounds like a great guy.


I made my grandmothers chicken soup and my moms biscuits for dinner, not the healthiest meal but it was delicious. I did good the rest of the day. Having a cook out tomorrow. Making hamburgers, hotdogs and chicken kabobs. I might have a boca burger, they are actually pretty good. Then I will have to go to the boys house at bedtime, their mom has to leave for work at 4. I dont have them tomorrow, their grandma took them to see their aunt again.

Gotta walk 3 miles tomorrow to get to 20. I joined Family Circles Walk2010 so I have been logging my miles there. Gonna read a little and go to bed. Night ladies.

Where is everyone?? Had a good day today, think I might have eaten too much. Hopefully it wont show on the scale tomorrow. Gotta pic the boys up from their grandma in the morning at 10. Took a rest day to let my calves rest. My right one has been sore from doing step aerobics on the wii. So I only made it to 17 miles this week, but oh well. Hope you are all good. Night ladies.

Hey everyone, sorry I have been MIA this week, but life has just been hectic. It may even be longer than a week???? I looks like others are MIA too.

Question, is Neesy gone? I saw on FB her location is Osan, Korea. If she left, has anyone heard from her over there? I'm just hoping she made is safe.

Well, it appears that you Burgund and you Maddiesmom are still kicking a**. I am so iimpressed with both of you!! Gosh Burgund I remember when we weighed the same! ;-( Hey, it's my own fault for allowing life to get in the way.

Well, as I said I have been really busy, even though I am not working - I am working on other things........go figure....;-) My food has been really good, and my foot is feeling better. I haven't exercised on it yet, for fear I would make it worse, but I feel in the next few days it will be ready for a workout!

How is Dance? Any word from Tiff or anyone else? I will check in tomorrow and read up a bit. It's too late and my eyes are tired. Night.

Morning, girls! I'm back from Philly and had a great time at the reunion. Cold is mostly gone - just an annoying cough and some sniffles left.

Maddiesmom - you are getting so close to onederland - I'm so excited for you!!!!

burgundy - you are doing great with your miles!

mygrits - that sounds like exciting news for neesy and she got to 179 like she planned which is wonderful. Can't wait to hear her updates. Okay, so now that you're a free woman and I know you're super motivated, what's your food and exercise plan going to be? I just have a feeling you're going to lose at least 10lbs this summer

staccie - how are those calves? Hope the worst of the soreness is over.

No miles for me today - just getting back into the swing of things and going to the dentist (yuck). Will try to start running again maybe tomorrow.

Hope everyone's doing great!

Dance: Glad you had a great time in Philly! Sorry you still aren't feeling 100% - that's not fun! Hope you can get your run in tomorrow.

As for Neesy: According to FB, she was to wait for 30+ families to move from Korea before she is able to go...poor thing, I know how badly she wants to go and the fact that they lost her paperwork so many times. So, I guess it's on hold for awhile.

Allison: What did you do to your calves? Is it from working out? You have been a walking goddess lately, hope it feels better soon. Sorry to be MIA, pretty busy/hectic weekend.

Sandy: Glad your foot is starting to feel better and even though you're not working out, at least you are watching what you are eating! That's the important thing.

This weekend was a total bust for me. I did really well on Saturday until dinner time. I had a friend who had a complete breakdown and sat and talked with him until way past dinner time, so when I got to the restaurant, everything sounded good - so I had a cheeseburger and fries. OMG, it was sooooo good. I haven't had a decent burger in a long time, so I take full responsibility for it. My cheat day, I suppose. But then yesterday had a salad at Chili's (what they call a salad is a joke). I had a buffalo chicken salad and then a BLT for dinner with some fresh veggies. So, not very good, but I rarely splurge, so I'm considering this my calorie cycling. Back on track today, giving up the Special K protein and adding lots more fruits and vegetables. Salad for lunch and I'm doing roasted chicken for dinner. Then it's back to Jeff's class on Tues/Thurs of this week and training session on Saturday. Busy busy!

hello ladies, sorry i have been mia

been busy.
but am ready to get back to the task at hand. i bought a treadmill sunday and will work out on it tonight for the first time. i am excited, hopefully i like it as much i want to so i work out everynight like planned.

gained a few lbs back but will work those off in no time.
been gardening outside alot to get things planted.
work has been busy and frustrating.

found out my sister is pregnant and due 1/1/11. i will finally be an aunt. but not all that good. her boyfriend is 21 she is 35, he is an illegal mexican in the country. dont' like him at all, they just moved in together after being together only a few months, he does not speak any english so only my sister can understand him. just not good, she is on unemployment going on 2 yrs now, wont' get a job for less then what she was making, which pisses me off (sorry) we work hard to make money for her to sit on her a**. i keep telling her to get a job, sorry for venting i will quit now cuz i could go on and on.

anyway off to make baked chicken breast with cooked broccoli, cauliflower and carrots for the week. so i have lunches for work.

take care
later