Morning, girls! Just got back from a fun zumba class with my sis. Very sweaty but the dance steps keep you so entertained you kind of forget you're working out. I'm going to run some shopping errands and then work on some inside projects to stay out of the sun. Sticking to plan so far.

burgundy - I imagine the first few days of 30ds are the worst - good for you for powering through it!

maddiesmom - have fun today!

mygrits - you must be out having fun - fill us in when you get a chance!

ONEDERLAND!!! I woke up this morning and here's what the scale treated me with...trust me I am thrilled. 197.2!!!

Hope everyone has a safe (and healthy) 4th of July!

Vicky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats, so happy for you. I bet you were on cloud 9, I was when I hit onederland. Good job girly.

Looks like we have the same scale.

Did day 2 this morning and did 150 crunches on the ab lounge. Might squeeze in a small workout with the kettle bell before bed. My husband hates that thing. He thinks I am gonna lose my grip of it and it will go flying and of course he always thinks it will fly right into the tv. He worries about EVERYTHING, sometimes it gets annoying. Hope you are all having a great weekend. Today was kinda boring for me. Stayed home most of the day, did venture out and bought some fireworks for tomorrows bonfire. Hope we dont scare the pups too bad. Happy 4th to you all.

maddiesmom - woohooo!!!!!!! You rock!

burgundy - love the image of the kettleball flying through the air Good for you for sticking to 30ds!

Just got back from a long hike and I'm whupped! I'm icing my knee which is still pretty much holding up and trying to get psyched about taking a shower and running to the grocery store for a few things we need for dinner. It will be a quiet fourth for the rest of the day for us. Hope you guys are all living it up though!

Hey chicks. We had a fun night last night with friends and family. We had a bonfire, made smores, lit some fireworks. I wanted to take some pictures but Chris wanted me to light the fireworks so I didnt get any.

I am still hanging out around 194-195 and its getting annoying. I know some of it is water weight cos I ate some things I shouldnt have yesterday like a hotdog(major sodium) So today I am gonna stay POP and see if that helps. Havent done day 4 yet but will get that done soon. Plus I am drinking tons of water today. I really want to see 189 soon.

Hope you all had a great holiday.

Hi Ladies!

Maddiesmom - YOUR AMAZING!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! I know you are totally stoked! I am so proud of you. Good grief, I got to get a move on! LOL

Burgund - Thats funny about your husband, because when I use my kettlebells I think the same thing. This sucker is going to fly! LOL........I am so glad you back at working out and I know your probably feeling better too.

Dance - Is your knee acting up again? I'm sorry if it is. Have you ever had knee surgery? Just curious, my nephew and brother have both had a couple of knee surgery's that really helped them.

Well our 4th was quiet also Dance. I think this is the first year we didn't light fireworks and terroize the neighborhood! LOL.........We basically watched TV and went to bed. Very, very boring. BUT on a good note........

Bubba is down 35 lbs..........can you believe it? This LiveFit has really got him on a roll. He feels great, is losing and building lean muscle. I am so proud of him. I just started it a week ago, but already notice a difference. I don't have a scale here anymore, but know I have lost and will weigh when we go back to the gym tomorrow or Wednesday. I feel better and my clothes are looser.

On another note, my daughter was here for a couple of days and is going to file for divorce........ugh. I feel for them both, because that is just a depressing place to be in. Bubba felt they should marry in the first place, because they are just two different people. They dated for several years, but it was always on again and off again.....

Well signing off for now.........hope all of you had a good July 4th weekend.

Sandy-sorry to hear about your daughter but if shes not happy she needs to do what is best for her. I am so happy to be working out again. I put the scale away today cos I have been obsessed with it lately. I was stepping on it multiple times a day. Gonna try to stay off of it. Congrats to Bubba, 35 lbs is great. Wish I could lose 35 lbs that quick. Cant wait to hear about your weigh in. What is LiveFit? Maybe is should google it.

I did day 4 of 30ds and did a kettlebell workout. It was sooo hot out today that I stayed in. Gotta return some movies later, ugh. Didnt want to leave the house today.

I cant wait to get my trampoline, gonna have lots of fun with it this summer. My niece is excited too. Hope to burn a lot of calories on it.

mygrits - wow, 35lbs - that's so impressive of your husband in such a short time. And I'm glad you're seeing changes you like in yourself, that's great. Sorry about your daughter's tough situation - hope she's doing okay.

burgundy - you're obsessed with the scale, I'm afraid of it I haven't wanted to get on the scale in days. Part of it is when I know I'm eating closer to maintenance calories than losing calories, I go into reality avoidance mode, I think. I'm going to shoot for POP today and get on the scale tomorrow whether I want to or not.

I did a major amount of cooking yesterday so I have a bunch of interesting healthy veggie dishes in the fridge so no excuses. I'm going to run my usual three miles today and tonight is my nephew's b-day. Luckily b-day cake is not a major temptation for some reason so that shouldn't be too bad.

Hope you all are doing well...

Thanks for the congrats everyone! So glad that I finally made it. Of course, I told myself that I could have chocolate as soon as I was under 200 pounds, but now I'm like - why would I do that to myself after I've come so far?!? LOL Of course someone brought me a milk chocolate bar from Harrods (she was on vacation). It's sitting at my desk and soooo tempting. Haven't opened it yet, I'm having my POP lunch.

Sandy: So sorry to hear about Alina, what a tough spot. At least she's following her gut. Great to hear about you and Bubba though. 35 pounds! HOLY COW!!! Can't wait to hear what treat the scale has for you today as well. Glad to hear that your clothes are getting loose - what a treat!

Burgundy: I love working out with kettle bells, I've never dropped one, but Jeff said one of his clients pretty much dropped one on his foot before and did some major damage. Glad you are getting into workout mode again and doing 30DS. Are you finding it any easier the 2nd time around - are you on a different level (e.g. intermediate vs. beginner?) When are you getting your trampoline?

Dance: How is your knee doing? You are a hiking/running queen! (As well as Zumba). What did you cook up yesterday? I tried grilled eggplant for the first time on Sunday and it was really good. My friend put a little too much salt for my liking, but it tasted decent. I bought a ton of fresh fruits and veggies, so I'm aiming for a POP week.

Overall, 4th of July weekend was good. There's some 24 hour bug going around here that similar to food poisoning. I had it Saturday (so I didn't really eat - unless you count crackers and chicken broth), Madeline had it Sunday, and Jeff has it today. Not a fun time, but glad to be done with it!

I went for my run yesterday and ran 2 whole miles outside. I'm finding exercise is totally mental. Never in a million years would I have thought I could run the entire 2 miles, but I kept thinking to myself "what would Jeff say to keep you going" so I just stopped thinking and just ran. Made really good time as well. So, 5K here I come!! I have about a month before I do it and I really want to run the entire thing.

Exercise today will be another run, since Jeff is sick today. Going to class tomorrow if he's feeling better. What is everyone else up to?

maddiesmom - can I just tell you what a good looking ticker you have these days? It is SOOOO cool to see that much deserved 197 on there. My veggie cooking frenzy yesterday involved making spaghetti squash, sauteeing a bunch of onions and zucchini and sauteeing a bunch of green beans. Also cut up a bunch of fruit (love nectarines!) and some cucumbers.

Dance-I need your fear of the scale. Its just frustrating to me that it hasnt been going down. I want to be back at ticker weight and out of the 190s for good. Good luck with the scale tomorrow. Im still gonna stay away from it.

Vicky-your willpower is amazing. Staying away from the chocolate, I need to do that. I love my dark chocolate but havent been eating it as much lately. 30ds seems easier this time, I can do most of the exercises the advanced way except the push ups, I still do those the girly way. Im gonna do each level 10 days. Fedex website says estimated delivery date of my trampoline is Thursday. I hope so, wanna jump my butt off, literally. You are gonna be running those 3 miles in no time and do great at the 5k.

I'm gonna go to the farm market tomorrow and load up on everything. Need to get the fridge cleaned out tonight so I dont have to worry about it in the morning. Then I am gonna do the same as Dance and cook some stuff up for the week.

Got day 5 done this evening. I have been doing it in the morning and seem to have more energy then. I noticed when I did it tonight I really had to push myself to get through it, so I know now to do it in the morning.

Our bedroom is stifling so the I blew up the air mattress for me and the pups to sleep on. Chris said he is still gonna sleep in the bedroom but when its that hot I wake up so grouchy.

Hope you are all having a great week so far.

Sandy-how are you doing, did you weigh??

burgundy - sorry about the heat at night - do you have fans going in your bedroom? Just a regular box fan makes such a difference, I think. How's the cooking frenzy going? I need to get ready for part two - the making of the turkey chili!

My construction guys are here and working away again. And it's cool and rainy so I'm going to run at lunch, I think.

Hope you guys are doing well...

Hi Girls,

Thank you for the congrates to Bubba! I am so proud of him. He is starting to see his old Navy Seal muscles - and yes, he is proud ;-) LOL...Anyway, he weighed today and was down another pound. I weighed and was down a couple, but I am really unsure how accurate it is because I am PMS'ing. I don't know if I am retaining fluids yet or not. TOM is due sometime between now and the 10th or not??? Anyway, I'll just keep doing what I am doing.

Dance what construction are you having done? Cool weather sounds so wonderful. I wish we would get some here. It's just hot and sticky. This makes for everyday being a bad hair day ;-( I love that you loaded your frigerator with good foods. When I do that I always eat healthier. Good for you!

Burgund way to go on the great workout routine. I know you feel better. My girlfriend has a trampoline and works out on it everymorning. She has lost over 50 lbs and looks amazing. Did you not plant your garden this year? I noticed your wrote going to the Farmers Market. Hey what happened to your air in the bedroom? I'm sorry it's hot. I too have to have cooler air to sleep or I am just majorly cranky! LOL.........Oh I will email you on FB the LiveFit information.

Maddiemoms Good grief your just amazingly focused! No chocolate, in onderland, workingout like crazy, running 2 miles..........is there no stopping you??????????????? Can you package that Vicky Power and sell it? I'm serious now! LOL......... Your incredible!

Well, thank you for you words for Alina. It's a tough time for her, because she hates hurting someones feeling, but she is following her heart and I have to commend her for that. She is back in Georgia now, so we will see how she does. I'll keep you posted.

Do any of you like Sabra Hummus? If so have you tried the Supreme Spicy one? Or the Artichoke - Spinach one? OMG I'm so addicted!

mygrits - too funny - sabra hummus is my absolute favorite - I usually get the one with garlic. What the heck do they do to their hummus to make it so much lighter, fluffier and all-around yummier than other people's? I will look for the spicy one at the store tomorrow for sure.

So I was doing some reading on nutrition stuff and it sounds like lower carb if not low carb is the way to go to drop weight and improve your cholesterol, etc. levels. I'm such a fruitaholic and I love breads, pastas, rice you name it. Maybe I can ease into that direction a little. Have you guys ever gone that way? I've been trying to stick to healthy stuff (no fast food, minimal junk food, minimal candy) for the most part but haven't been trying to restrict carbs and just the idea of it makes me nervous. I did it a long time ago but don't know if I could repeat it. Oh well - food for thought.

My construction guys finally put the gates in the fence (the one I had built back in, oh, April) today - woohoo for gates! It's the little things Tomorrow they're installing closet doors - wild and crazy life here, I know.

Off to bed - hope you girls have sweet dreams...