Hi ladies, hope your day is going well.

Tabbycat, Nightowlrn, and TWINCA :welcome2:
and Happy New Year!

Grannyputtputt I hope you have a nice time with your family at the Italian restaurant.

Today I focused on meal planning and planning in general, I am tired now but I am happy that I did what I had to do! I put top priority on having my meals planned and having the ingredients so I went to the grocery store and got the stuff. It was nice and quiet, walked around another store a bit as I had some returns. I have my meals planned for the next 3 days.

So tonight for me ladies, the menu is roast chicken and broccoli. The next 2 nights will consist of extra lean beef night and brunch night.

I plan to exercise tomorrow! DH helped me set up the equipment in the basement...the treadmill is just so heavy and instead of having him bring it up I decided to do it down there! It's not the most pleasant environment but I have to start and am fortunate to have the stuff, I always loved my treadmill. I am thinking to make a collage of sorts, maybe with a pic of a beach on it and some other inspirational things so I can stare at that when I walk instead of the cement wall and oil cans, lol :)

Hope you all have a great night.

TWINCA congratulations on your 20 lb. loss! :cheer2::cheer2: That is awesome! :) I remember looking up the medifast once, glad to hear it is working so well. Congrats on the 5 wks. on program :carrot:

Weekend - Do you have wireless and an Ipad? How about music to play loud and proud? So you can listen to or watch something while you treadmill? There is NO WAY I could do that without some sort of distraction

Roast chicken is our favorite! I don't know why people buy those chickens roasted in the store when it is so easy and so much better for you (nothing injected!) done at home. After dinner, I pop what is left - bones and all - in water and simmer for a few hours with an onion, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. Then drain and save the broth and pick off all the meat and put that in the broth. Chop some carrots, celery, onion, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, maybe wild rice if I feel like it and simmer again until done. YUM and hardly any calories.

Hey all! I'd love to join in! I'm going for (Hopefully) 2 lbs per week so that would be 22lbs down in 11 weeks!

Main goals are 1. weight loss (22 lbs) 2. Drink 1 Gal of water every day and 3. walk 3 miles per day (tracked on my fitbit) Lets do this!!

Hi ladies, good morning! : ) It's the official day from today for our 11 weeks until spring. Wishing us all a great new day. Cntrygrl :welcome2:

I am ready for today. I try and just take things one day at a time (though I plan my meals 2-3 nights in advance) in the sense of putting all of my energy and focus into that day! It has been working for me, sometimes if I think too far in advance I get overwhelmed so It's now going to be to focus on having a good OP day today.

I also don't weigh myself like I used to in the past (I did monitor more closely over the holidays) because it just worked against me. That's just me of course, works great for some people. It helps my DH. It's really been working out so far but I need to remind myself now that the holidays are over I just focus on each day again and not go on scale.....I know the plan works for me so I don't need to guage so closely right now.

I put a star on the calendar for every day and change the colors every week.

Nightowl I am one of those people! lol :) I used to cook chickens in the oven a lot in the past but love the chickens they cook on the rotisserie at Market basket. They don't inject them with anything at all and only rub some spices on the skin, which I don't eat. They are small and cooked well and DH and I love them! Your chicken and soup of course sound delicious and it makes me think of the chicken vegetable soup ma used to make for me when I was growing up, she still makes it! :)

Regarding the treadmill, thanks for the idea!! :) I really appreciate it, somehow I did not even think to bring my radio down there! That will definitely help. Hope you have a great day.

GOAL for today- EXERCISE! Drink plenty of water tonight and follow my meal plan.

HOpe you all have a great day ladies and I look forward to hearing how your plans are going and sharing ideas and tips, I have learned a lot from the ladies here and we get ideas from each other......:dust: for us all today and our first new day of our first week!

Hi Ladies!

I'm in need of some serious accountability and motivation so i hope you don't mind me joining in.I'm hoping to lose 12lbs at the end of the 11 weeks and land at 135 lbs. Exercising isn't a problem for me as I do it 6x/week. It's eating that's my problem (just had doughnuts at chips and it's barely 8am). I'm slowly trying to clean up my diet and hopefully everything will fall into place. Have a great day ladies!

chub No of course not, the more the merrier! :welcome2: congrats on your exercising, I think that is fantastic! Hope you have a great day too!


As for me ladies, I did that planned workout! Happy! It really felt good. As I already had my meal plan in place, I put the highest priority on doing exercise today.
The dishes and everything else I have to do was put on the backburner and with that being said, I hear the sink calling my name! lol

A big hello to everyone and don't forget girls, it's never too late to join in.

Weekend Boater,
How about creating a dream board for yourself? You could put it up on the wall in front of your treadmill. That way you look at your dreams and goals while you work out.

Night Owl,
Thanks for the great idea with the roasted chicken!

The family dinner at the Italian restaurant was lovely, but as I feared, I ate too much. But that's okay, I'm already working it off. Another one of my resolutions this year is to stop feeling guilty all the time. I look to please others way too much. I need to stop caring what others think more than I care what I think.

GrannyPuttPutt A dreamboard! I love it! Thanks so much for that cool idea :hug: I actually just called DH to see if we had a big memo board over there. I can put pics (miss the old camera's when everything was printed out) and magazine clips, etc. It will be a great fun little project too and I can add things.....ty again! :hug:

I am glad that you had a nice time at the Italian place and that today your getting off to a good start. Not feeling guilty is also a goal of mine this journey. It just never did me any good, takes a lot of energy and made it so difficult for me to put my energy and focus into my goals (in regards to foodwise and in general). Hope you have a great day and thanks again! :)

Winter planning
 

I'm a North Dakota girl and we are currently experiencing our third major blizzard of the year and have a crazy a amount of snow. I live in the middle of nowhere and my roads are blown shut for the third day. But I planned ahead and have the fridge stocked with fruits and veggies. The freezers are full of homegrown meat and I still have electricity. Last week we were out of electricity for not quit two days. This craziness at least allows me plenty of time to focus on clean eating and working out. Maybe I will order some snow shoes and go on an outdoor adventure....that is if UPS can ever get here to deliver them!! Haha!

Good luck HazelH. Congratualtions on your planning. Keep warm in that snow!
Weekend boater Thanks for letting us know that we are starting today. I was eating all the leftover chocolates, crackers, and Christmas pudding and drinking wine on new Year's Eve and new Year's day and my weight went up this morning.
'Luckily' I seem to be ill today, I don't want to be ill but I have no appetite at all, so had soups and teas. No tempting foods left in the house except a packet of chocolate biscuits and I am fine not eating them. Am hoping to develop a way of living with them in the kitchen and only eating one a day.
Good luck to everyone whatever the weather.

Hi everyone!

I would love to join this challenge as well! My goal by spring is to lose 20 lbs (though I won't complain if it is more ;) ) I am going on my first cruise this summer and would LOVE to be below 200 lbs for the trip! In 2018, I am getting married and would be thrilled if I made it to my ultimate goal of 147 (200 lbs lost total :D )

This seems like the perfect challenge to kick start the weight loss! Good luck everyone!

P.S. What are some work outs you all are doing? I am heading back to the gym this week and want to change up my routine. Does anyone have any suggestions to get the weight loss going again?

anm017 - WOW over 100 down and still going. Way to go YOU !!!! I started last May at 202. I am 5'2", so close to where you are now. Maryland isn't the best weather in the winter, so the gym is probably your best bet. A friend of mine started weights last spring and I started a lot of outdoor bike riding. We both generally cut carbs, but she more so. We both also cut calories. We have had similar results -- so the story is - do what you enjoy and think you will stick with.

That said - when I started riding - at 200 pounds - i literally cried mid-way up the hill. Now, 50 pounds later, I kind-a-sort-a go up without much whining. I LOVE being outside and feeling like a kid again going down the hills I work so hard to climb. Some like riding, some don't. But, if you are looking for something to try this spring - give it a shot!

Anm: I love doing combat and ujam classes at my gym. Combat is a mixed marital class that definitely gets my heart rate way up. If these classes aren't available, I usually do stairs or run (depending on how hard I want to exert myself that day). I've slowly been trying to add more weight training into my regime because I love that tone shoulder/arm look! The weather has been super nice and chilly here in so-cal so I have been doing a ton of hiking as well. I think if you're new to the gym or looking for more activities to do, I would recommend a trainer. They offer a free training session at my gym when I signed up so I took advantage of it to familiarize myself with some of the equipments. It was very helpful! I also have a stationary bike at home which I use as a last resort (as in while I'm cramming for finals and can't afford to leave the house :D).

Good afternoon ladies! :) anm017 :welcome2: and welcome to all of you who have joined in. I hate to miss anyone.

It's a new day for us all and hope you all had a good night and have a good and successful day. If it wasn't such a good night, tis' a new day. Yesterday went well, it was breakfast night for last night as planned. Tonight is beef night and I am making mini meatloaf along with salad. I drank plenty of water last night.

I wrote in my daily planner, I have a goal to write in my journal every night and I record what I consume, any exercise, and other events of the day. I am a bit tired as I got up a few times last night and had to give myself a push to exercise but felt so good once I started!

Hazel wow! That was so smart that you stocked up on healthy ingredients before the storm! WTG! :carrot: We have been pretty lucky here so far in not having any major storms (a few 6" ones). THe year before last we hit a record here (near NH border) and were homebound most of the winter. lol @ UPS delivering the snowshoes! :) Hope your having a great today, glad you have electricity.

Muse I am sorry to hear that your not feeling well and I hope you feel better today. Wishing you a speedy recovery. Not having tempting foods in the house is helping me tremendously! It made it so incredibly easier when I started not having the stuff around. I had bread and starch food craving in the beginning (which is always hardest for me) and all I can say is, I am very thankful none were in the house! lol feel better.

anm17 Congratulations on your loss and successes! :cheer2::cheer2: You have some great things coming up! :) A cruise and a marriage! how nice, congrats on your engagement as well.

I was laid up for many months (tendonitis, then knee injury). I was on crutches a few months in summer, long story! I am ok now but to make a long story short, I just started walking and being more active in my day to day activities (as much as my feet would tolerate). Being active in and of itself helped me a lot. As Nightowl said, I also feel it needs to be an activity that we enjoy. I always loved walking (and it's a safe way to start) and swimming. It depends on your fitness level too. A great gal recommended the Leslie Samsone walking vid to me! I tried it anm and I really enjoyed it! It was the 3mile walk vid and it is in segments so you can just do 1 mile or more. I found it to be a very good warm up and total body movement, utilizing the upper bod the whole time. I unfortunately had to stop (when my ankle swelled up) but plan to try that one again. It was on Comcast for free (could not find it today) but they have the vid on amazon too, I want to get it! I did the 2 mile Comcast one a bit earlier but different trainer.


Nightowl Congratulations to you as well on all that you have done! :cheer2::cheer2: That's inspirational :bike2:

chub that's cool! :carrot: Hope your day is going well and same goes out to all.