Morning, girls! TGIF!

Just got back from a run and was hit by the park sprinklers big time - I'm completely soaked but definitely cooler than I would have been otherwise. I'm feeling really lucky - my knee seems to be holding up so I'm going to try to run again tomorrow. Running is what helped me so much last summer so I'm hoping I can get back into that groove again.

burgundy - good for you on the miles and your stirfry sounds delicious!

So, I didn't get to my roots after all but my toenails are now a lovely shade of pink. I like going to get them done but my feet are a bit ripped up from blisters and I won't go unless I'm completely bandaid free so I had to do it myself this time. Roots are next. I'm trying to come up with lots of non-food ways of treating myself. Will keep you posted as to whether or not it's working

Hey everyone. I went to a yard sale today and got an ab lounge for $20. Great find, now have to find a place in my house to put it. Would put it in the guest room but theres a drum set in there. Also went to walmart and bought a 10 lb kettlebell. Excited to try them both out later this evening. Gonna try to fit a walk in around 8. Probably 2 miles again. I was down another lb this morning, so 4 more to go to be back at ticker weight.

Hello Ladies,

Dance thanks for the photo compliment ;-) We were at Flagler Beach after my birthday and my son took that pic. I never really liked it that much, but only have a few to switch out on my computer, since I am the one usually taking the pictures! lol.... I am not discourage about my weightloss, because honestly I know it's my own doing when I munch at night. If I didn't do that, I would lose big-time! I am very proud of Bubba and pray he stays on course. I was really worried about where his health was headed, and quickly I might add. Now, I feel more confident that if he can keep going forward, we may steer from serious health scares in the near future.

Burgund I too am surprised by our group because Staccie, AJ and Tiff all mentioned being on diets and needing to lose weight on FB. I think Staccie was even starting to work with a trainer or something. I don't know. I did tell them each we missed them being on here. I guess that's all I can do......

Burgund congrates on the AB find. Did you work with it or your Kettlebell? I love my Kettlebells and use to use them alot until going to they gym recently.

Dance glad about your knee! It sounds like you are back at it with all the morning runs. LOL.....I had to laugh, I remember when I would purposely run through sprinklers in the summertime here because I would get so hot jogging! LOL......It always felt sooooo good too. How did the work go at your moms? Did you pick up some more new furniture for your house?

Well, I am heading to bed. Alina suppose to be here tomorrow. She is on leave and going to the beachhouse for 4 days with friends. She needs it, as I guess there are some marital woes going on and there may be a divorce in the future. We will see......

Night ladies.

Awwww nobody's home........;-(

Well, update for my day. Alina showed up this morning and evidently slept in her car outside all night. She didn't want to wake us, and honestly it looks like there were alot of tears last night. I guess she told Joe it may not work out and she honestly felt he was stearing the same way, but he surprised her when he said he would wait for her. If she found someone else, then he would go forward. That upset her, because she hates hurting anyones feelings. She feels she just isn't inlove anymore. We will see how the next few weeks or months go. He is evidently leaving for CT. in a week for work.

Ok, Bubba and I went to the gym and worked out hard. I was exhausted, and I did lose 2 lbs when I weighed in!!!! We weigh when we get there. I have decided I love LiveFit! ;-) I have energy, I'm not as hungry and I am finally losing some weight. We will see what happens next week ;-) After that, some shopping and then the late afternoon until 7pm in the pool with friends. It was really nice.

What did everyone else do today?

Sandy: Congrats on the 2 pounds! WTG!!!!!!!!!!!! You deserve it. So glad that you and Bubba are doing this together. Sorry to hear about Alina's tough situation. At least she was up front and honest, no matter how tough that conversation was. Praying that she finds what she is looking for.

Allison: I love working out with kettlebells, Jeff has me use them all the time: swinging squats, arm raises, etc. There are so many exercises you can do with them. I was considering buying some, but the gym is where I work out - I really don't work out at home except for my running.

Dance: Glad to hear the knee is doing better. Did you get any milage in today?

So, I'm proud of myself. The "no chocolate" stint is still in effect. I bought Madeline some M&M's last night for a treat. She only ate half the bag...I didn't have any...and it was tempting let me tell you. Also, a vendor gave me chocolate chip cookies, which Maddie at a piece of - and again, I didn't have ANY! Wahoo for willpower!!!

I had a cousin's grad party today and they had desserts, including amazing chocolate brownies. I had a small piece of apple pie, didn't really care for it so I didn't eat the entire thing - instead, I went back and had more salad. Filled up on healthy foods - their only protein was fried chicken so I had a wing and a thigh. Nothing too horrible. But I'm sure the sodium will show up tomorrow.

Still haven't worked out since Tuesday due to the cold, which I think is finally going away. I'm forcing myself to go to the gym tomorrow, no matter what.

BTW: Got on the scale today...down another pound! That's 201!!!!!!!!!! So close!!!

Have a fabulous Sunday ladies!!!

maddiesmom - oh wow - 201 - that is just amazing! This time last summer, did you ever imagine being this close to onederland in just a year? You, my dear, are a superstar! And wowza on the willpower - I'm very impressed!

Yesterday was a killer day for exercise on my end - my nephew came with me for my 3 mile run then I did a 4 mile walk in the afternoon with a friend. And it was seriously HOT! Today, I'm waiting for my furniture delivery this morning so it looks like I'll be waiting to run until it cools off later in the day.

mygrits - congrats on the 2lbs - that's great news! Sorry to hear about your daughter's tough spot. I hope they figure things out in the best way possible.

burgundy - how's it going being back? Are you having post-trip letdown at all? Or just glad to be home?

I'm really trying to work on my non-food focus and have been making sure to give myself lots of pampering/self-improvement kinds of treats as a distraction. It seems to help some - do you guys ever try stuff like that?

I'm going to try to take out two large bushes in the backyard this morning after the furniture arrives. Then maybe head to the nursery to buy a new tree. Should be fun...

What's everyone else up to?

Vicky Woo Hoo! 201! Gosh soooo close. I bet you will be at 199 by next week! You so deserve and congrates on the Chocolate restriction. That is a tough one and I am really proud of you!

Dance I have done the rewards and distractions other than food and it works everytime. I have goal rewards that are not food which I reach them and keeping myself busy with hobbies always keeps me from food. Congrates on the great run! Sooo our heat has come your way huh? LOL

Today is lazy, haven't done a thing but walk the dog....LOL Hey, he's happy and snoring next to me. ;-) Getting ready to geat a shower (yes, lazy it's 2pm) and then vacuuma and mop. After that,,,,,,,,back to lazy ;-).

Hey did any of you watch Book of Eli? Saw it last night, good movie.

Goodmorning! Hope everyone is having a nice, productive and feeling good Monday morning!

I myself had one of those wake up at 4am to go to the bathroom, then can't get back to sleep. I hate that. I tossed and turned, totally unable to 'shut my brain off' and finally got up at 6am. I should have just gotten up at 4am, since I never went back to sleep! Oh well, here I am at 8am sleepy. LOL....

Maddiesmom how are you feeling today? Is it time to hit the gym to see that onderland of 199? I hope it's a good day for you!

Dance how are you? Did you get those bushes out yesterday and get your tree planted? I love working it the yard, especially in Fall or early Spring when it isn't so humid/hot here. Plus, it's a workout! What furniture did you get?

Burgun what's going on? How's the workouts going with the Kettlebells and Ab machine?

Well, today is our weigh-in and gym day. Bubba is wearing my out! Good grief. He is like a steam roller now and I can't slow him down........LOL. I guess there won't be any slacking on my part anymore. He mentioned after the gym hitting the pool for laps. I really think I have created a monster. Help ;-0

mygrits - Sorry about the tough night's sleep. My mom (who's a veteran of these kinds of things) swears by just lying there with your eyes closed, even if you can't sleep, to keep your eyes from being so tired during the day. Apart from last night though, I'm so happy for you and bubba - so glad he's doing well for his own sake but how crazy cool for you to have a buddy in this whole process! My bf is like that sometimes (he's trying to increase his exercise right now) and it's SOOO helpful for me as it gets me going in the times I might be lazy otherwise. I wasn't as productive in the yard yesterday as I hoped so those bushes are still there but I'll get them eventually. I spend most of the day organizing all my stuff into the new bedroom dresser and chests and making another pile for goodwill. Thanks for the tip on Book of Eli - I love Denzel - will have to get that one in my netflix queue.

I'm not making much progress on the scale but I'm losing some inches with my higher exercise level lately so I'm trying not to let the plateau get me down.

maddiesmom - how was the rest of your weekend?

What's everyone up to for the fourth of july weekend? No big plans here - just trying to get in a bunch of exercise to bust through this plateau. And probably keeping the grill on the patio busy.

Sandy: So sorry you weren't able to get back to sleep this morning - that is the absolute worst! Madeline keeps me pretty busy so I have absolutely no problem falling back asleep. Glad you have a workout buddy in Bubba, wow, you will be passing me in no time! I really wish my hubby would come work out with me, but that's not going to happen. I think it stems from us working out together before and I was a little too competitive with him. now, I think he's just intimated (as he should be, LOL!) I hope to be in onederland by next weekend, I'm 1.4 pounds away, so that's do-able.

Dance: You sound super duper busy. Not sure how you get all that stuff done around the house and then get your walks/runs in. You are amazing! Don't worry about the pounds coming off, you're losing inches, which means new clothes! That's what my incentive is at this point, like you, I need something fun to keep me busy and motivated.

The weekend ended ok for me. Went and worked out yesterday - did my isometric exercises from Jeff and then did some running on the treadmill. The one thing I don't like about the treadmill is that it faces a mirror, which is fine at first, if you're checking your form, but after awhile, you just watch yourself run, and get more tired and sweaty. Ugh, not what I want to see when I'm trying to run. Food was good for breakfast and lunch.

Went to a buffet for dinner last night for the hubby's birthday. I had a giant salad, then for my entree, I had 1/4 cup white rice (I had the spoon for the fried rice in my hand and said no!), 1/2 cup bourbon chicken, 1 small boneless rib, steamed spinach and a few small fried shrimp/calamari. Not too horrible, considering what I COULD have had. I did have dessert, one small bite of apple pie, 1 small bite carrot cake - didn't really care for either, so I didn't eat anything more than that because it just wasn't worth the calories. Still no chocolate, even though the fudge brownies looked good.

Plans for the week - GET TO ONEDERLAND!! I'm going to Jeff's class tonight and Wednesday, training on Saturday, and the remaining days I will be running off the water weight that I'm sure I gained from last night. But, I don't feel guilty, as I could have been 100 times worse than what I was.

Have a great day ladies!!

Okay, time for me to resurrect (and make PUBLIC!) something that worked for me last summer. I'm around 170 right now (but am not moving my ticker up - I will lower my body weight to meet it!!). I know weight loss isn't linear, etc. but I essentially haven't made any lasting progress since about January so enough of that.

Here's my plan for the rest of the summer:
1-Jul 169
15-Jul 167
21-Jul 165
1-Aug 164
7-Aug 163
15-Aug 162
21-Aug 161
1-Sep 160

I will keep you guys posted on how it's going.

Hey girls!

It's a work from home day for me so I'm going to slip out for a run here in a sec. Went for a walk after work with friends then had them over for a healthy dinner last night (tillapia, salad, ww couscous, one of my go-to's). Food plan today is:
B: grapefruit, cereal, skim milk
L: leftover chicken kebabs, green beans and salad
S: cherries
D: leftover chicken, shrimp and veggie stirfry, brown rice

I'm planning on meeting another friend for an evening walk tonight so that should be double exercise for me today, which is much needed.

burgundy - how's the new kettlebell? I've never worked with those so I'm curious.

I ordered some more sports bras and running shorts as I had too few of both and was having to do laundry ridiculously often to have enough stuff to wear.
It takes a lot of gear to get through a week! Anyone else having challenges with that too?

Do you guys worry about sodium? I see so many posts on 3fc worrying about high sodium in foods but if you don't have high blood pressure issues, at the worst you just retain a little bit of water which comes right back off, right? I'm not sure why this is such a concern. Now maybe if I was going to the Oscars and wearing a slinky dress (yeah, right), I would try to avoid salt for a few days before, but otherwise it seems like not that big of a deal. Thoughts?

Okay, will check in later...

Dance: I try to avoid the high sodium just because I feel so bloated after I eat something that is high in sodium (also why I gave up the Lean Cuisine paninis). I mean, the salt does flush out of your body, but I read it takes about 3 days to be rid of it. Now, I had a couple of pieces of fried popcorn shrimp and I'm still bloated from it, for me, not worth it. But if I do have something high in sodium, since I don't have high BP, it really doesn't bother me health-wise.

So, last night was good - went to Jeff's class and now I'm finding that the exercises are getting easier, so my endurance is increasing. I'll have to start working out more than that hour - only burned 600 calories in class - I was burning 800. Jeff said that my body is becoming more efficient, so I'll be able to go longer at class. So, he's going to up the intensity and make it harder for me.

Today is my day off from working out, it's the hubby's bday. So I may go for a 2 mile run to get prepped for the 5K. Then I have class tomorrow night, personal training on Thursday, then running Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Gotta have a plan or I won't do anything!

How is everyone else doing? Allison, we miss you!

Didn't have time to make a lunch today, so instead I went to Panera and had their strawberry poppyseed salad. 280 calories, but I didn't have the lf soup that I had last time that was pumped with sodium. I did have it with the bread though - just so I wouldn't be starving in an hour.

B: Protein shake
S: Almonds, banana
L: Salad
Snacks: grapes, carrots
D: Filet mignon with steamed veggies (hubby's bday after all)
Workout: I may take the day off for the hubby's bday, but I may run 2 miles - anyone in with me?!?)

Hope everyone is doing well and checks in...

Hey girls, sorry I've been MIA. Went out of town with the boys and their mom yesterday. She paid for the stay at the casino and our food. We put the boys in the little daycare at the casino for a few hours and gambled. I lost my 80 bucks and wouldnt put more in after that. I've been using my ab lounge and love it. I am still hanging out around 194 for now. Maddiesmom, you are pass me up. So excited for you hitting onederland. I have to up my workouts to start losing again and get this vacation weight off.

Dance-great idea setting yourself goals. Let us know how it works. I am sure you will reach them.

Sandy-I wish I could get Chris to workout with me. Glad Bubba is looking after his health now, I know you have been worried about him in the past. Sounds like he is keeping you on your toes.

Think I am gonna get up and do a workout with my kettlebell later. It comes with a dvd so may pop that in. Need to clean my house, think I'll wait til tomorrow to do that. I got a new book called The Ultimate Tea Diet. Gonna read that this week. I love tea so we'll see what its all about. I'll let ya'll know. Have a great night ladies.