Ohhhh so hard to walk.

Would anyone mind telling me WHY I decided to step for 40 minutes of the hour of ER I watched today? WHY?! Ohhh it hurts. It's a good hurt, and I stunk like mad, just dripping with sweat. Ohhh I feel stupid for doing that!!

Oh, well. At least I went above and beyond.

I still have no darn idea where that measuring string is... I bet it's right under my nose somewhere on this cluttered desk. Hmm. Measurements will happen when I find the string or end up making a new one. :P

B today was a nutrigrain bar and 2 cups of coffee.
Snack 1 was 2 slices of toast, because I felt icky.
L is 1 garden burger with 1 slice of cheese and some condensed soup. Still upset tummy.
D is still set to be veggies, chicken & rice (about a 300-cal dinner altogether!).

I did some lunges & squats -- man. Those are HARD!! Then I dragged our 16" subwoofer out into the middle of the living room, and did a bunch of pseudo-step on it. I saw some random infomercial on the firm or something and they had this 14" thing... I said to **** with that, but decided to invent my own random workout. I am an odd duck indeed.

Okay. I am contemplating whether to invest in a new scale or not. Any advice, here? My current scale jumps from 155 to 190 and anywhere inbetween at any given time. And I mean, I can step on it in the morning, see 190, step off, step right back on and see 161, and then do it again and see 174. I am absolutely sure that it is not logically possible for my weight to change up to 30 lbs at a time within 5 seconds!!! It just cannot be!! So should I get a new one, or just say screw it, and go by sizes instead of my actual weight? I'm torn...

Hi Chicks! I was so pumped this morning. I decided to let myself sleep in abit, got up at 7:15, went into work at 9. That was like heaven. And today was weigh-in day. I'm down....drum roll please....6.5 lbs since last Wed. I'm sure that is thanks to the honeymoon phase of the first week. But heck, I'll take it. Only 9.5 lbs to go. My goal is May 11. Seems feasible.

But then, work was absolute h*ll. Part of my job is "scheduler". I have about 30 staff and about 20 home care clients. Well, I'll tell you, both of them were on it today. I've only been in this position for about 4 months, and I'm not too sure about this end of the deal. My boss tries to threaten me that it would only be part-time without the schedules. I think I'll call her on it and ask how part-time. The biggest problem is that I don't have enough staff, and she's in charge of hiring, which she doesn't do. Now, how am I supposed to do my job if she doesn't do hers? Anyway, my stomach is in knots tonight. We And to make a good day even better, I'm on-call until Monday morning. Which means as soon as I try to do something productive, the pager goes off. UGH!

First off....congratualtions to all of you who lost this week! The scale stayed the same for me...seems to be a trend for me! Same for 3-4 weeks then a 1-2 lb. loss! I sure wish I could lose faster, but that's the way my body has been and that's what I am gonna have to take...unless I am going to be super vigilant...and I really don't want to go to extremes to lose! I just want to lose! So I'll take what I get and shut up! But people are still telling me I look like I am losing and hubby keeps calling me "skinny" whenever he hugs me, so I guess SOMETHING is working!

Went on a field trip today with our residents. No food issues there...lots of walking and hauling wheelchairs on and off the bus and transferring residents! We went to a butterfly garden at a nearby public garden place! It was really neat and the butterflies were really out today...a sunny day here! We got to spend some time outdoors which was nice for all of us...we shopped too! That was fun for them!

Food for the day...
B- 1 cup cottage cheese, 1 cup strawberrries, some splenda, 16 oz. SF Raspberrry/Vanilla Latte
L-Beans & rice w/ hamburg (about 1 cup) w/ 2 oz. cheese.
Snack- 1/2 large apple

Water was good today. Drank at least 70 oz. before I got home today and then another 16 oz.

Supper was out with the girls. Had a Mesquite grilled chicken salad at Logans w/ a little honey mustard dressing...and one of their rolls! Yum! Oh, and a glass of wine...probably more than 4 oz, but only slightly more!
So, I think I did ok with my #'s today. Maybe a little more fatty foods than I should have, but not too bad! Hey...I just looked at my morning post and I ate pretty much what I said I would. Added only a roll and the Latte! And I think I am still under in my carbs...but I'm full from dinner. Must have been the wine!

Need to get going. Family must think I have deserted them tonight with dinner out, a short nap and now on the computer! It's nice sometimes to forget about responsibilities...but not for too long!

Hugs to all....I am going to TRY (ok, I WILL) get up tomorrow morning and do the bike! It's missing me, I'm sure! And Jennifer...glad you finally got back on yours, you dancing chickie!!!

Here I am again, but this time I am in a zombie state. This day has been mega stressful and hard. Sometimes life is just plain crazy.

My food is within my points, and I exercised on the bike for 15 min. earlier, and I am about to go hop back on.

I am so proud of all of you - just look at all the reports of the pounds falling off!!! We ARE DOING THIS!!!!!!!! We are rockin!!!! Just watch us all melt away .

Joy, Maggi, Ladyrose, Jennifer, Julie, Lucy, Cindi, Jennifer, Oreo ..... You are just THE BEST!! AND I APPRECIATE YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH!!!! This forum has changed my life big time.

This is a short post, but I am exhausted. I'll write more tomorrow.

p.s. OReo, I will get you those recipes a.s.a.p. Hope you are well!!!!!!!

Hi chickies...
a quick entry here to say that I did my 20 minutes on the bike this morning. It seems to be harder to do this in the mornings. I'm sure it's the time change...it's still dark when I get up at 6:30 now, so when it starts to get lighter out earlier and earlier, it will be easier for me to get up earlier. My body clock is pretty in sync with the light! I've always been that way!

Lisa, sorry life is so stressful for you, sweetie! I hope today brings you sunshine and happiness! I'm sending you good vibes! Did ya feel that???

I agree with your statement about this forum. It's my sole support (well, aside from my hubby) and you all have helped me change my habits more than you know! So thank you to all of you! You are such an inspiration to me!

Dolphin...a HUGE congratulatory hug for you, chickie! 6.5 lb.s! I have NEVER lost that much in one week...even in my first week, so you worked for that! Don't EVER tell yourself that you didn't, chickie! And I feel your pain with the scheduling! I have done that before in an Assisted Living setting with 7 buildings! Fortunately we had plenty of staff, but it was still a headache! No one can tell me that is not a full time job! I'm so glad I don't do that anymore. I see the stress that our scheduler goes through daily and I wouldn't want her job...no way! So hang in there...you have what it takes to do it or they wouldn't ask you to!

Ms. Lucy...I've decided that you like to torture yourself!! Now stop that or you are going to have heck to pay with other parts of your body! Really, you are kicking butt girl and you will be in that itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini...before you know it! At least your stomach will be flat!

Bigtime....hang in there honey! I swear when I first started on these challenges (and Jennifer can attest to it) that TOM was just a killer for me! It doesn't seem to be as bad now...maybe the exercise is helping with that chemical change in my brain...I don't know! Just keep at it...keep fighting the evil monster and you will be ok! We are here for ya!

Mary hon...I'm so glad you are still here with us. Life isn't fair sometimes and it seems the harder we try, the harder it gets! Keep working on yourself and it will come. You are so worth all of it. Now...about charging your groceries.... Hope you day is wonderful !

Jennifer...hope you can make it through the day without your "shadow" riding your a**!!!! I'm glad I don't have any at my work (right now) but I have in previous jobs and it bugged the heck out of me! I think I've changed enough now that I would just tell her to leave me alone and go bother someone who cares... Don't let her get the best of you, chickie! And if you have to...use that tazer on her! That'll quiet her for a bit!

Hugs to all! Have a great day!

Ohhhh I am a fooool!!!

Who do I think I am to mess with the Muscle Gods in my legs?! Oh, I'm cool. I did 40 minutes on the stepper and did squats n lunges.

And now I can hardly move. Ohhh man. I walked from the bed to the bathroom -- a whopping 25 steps -- and when I sat down... well... I didn't know I had those muscles before, but I assure you they're pretty mad.

Soo... today is going to be a lighter day than yesterday, I'm quite certain.

Foods today:
B - 2 slices of toast w/ preserves on 'em
S - String Cheese
L - Can of Tuna, 1/2 cup canned corn (I am out of fresh veggies! ack!)
D - No idea.

We are out of frozen meat, fresh veggies, and half of my normal food. We'll be making a quick trip to the store tonight... dinner will be decided after that, I think.

Workout today:

20 min stepper (if I can even do that!)
15 lunges
20 squats
15 (each leg) weird butt exercise that I made up thing off subwoofer
600 situps

Well. Maybe if I just keep up with the lunges it won't hurt tomorrow!!

Dr's office called, they bumped me up to 11am tomorrow because he has to perform some semi-emergency surgery. No biggie. He's worth the wait. Doubt I'll sleep tonight... hardly slept last night!! Although, I seem to remember my hubby waking me up to kiss me goodbye this morning, and I think I told him "quit stealing my glowsticks, you big jerk. you're being really mean about it!" Altho that could ahve been a dream itself!!!

Ahh other than that, I'm low on tapes today - only 3 - but no biggie there. Got my first substantial paycheck -- woohoo!!! I think I'm just gonna take it a little easier today and just chill out, mostly, after I do my workout and take a quick shower.

Hope everybody is having a rad day!

WTG Dolphin!! AWESOME!!!
Julie, it'll come off... it just takes way too long to come off!! You'll get there, hon!
Lisa - Hon, you are wonderful. *hug* You're doing an awesome job, and you're awesomely supportive, too!!

LOL- I'm free at last! Well, maybe not for good, but my "Roid" left early today because she wasn't feeling well. Yippie!!!!!!!! Oh, Happy Day!!!! Remember the Domino's commercial "Avoid the Noid" ? I gotta "Avoid the Rhoid." I kill me!

Awards will be posted tonight, as I spent the better part of 5 hours fighting with homework, and never got any play time last night. But I wil make up for it tonight, I promise.

Lucy- Did you try those 5 pound weights yet? How are your arms? If you can still move them to type, that is.... As far as the scale, yes, get a new one to keep you on target- go digital, too. Otherwise, you go by clothes, and next thing you know, the dryer shrunk the jeans, and next thing you know, there's 10-15 pounds creeping back on.

Cindi- I've never heard of salt on an apple. I did know some older people in PA who used to put salt on watermelon. I guess it's supposedt o make it taste sweeter?

Lisa- Hope things are less hectic & frazzled for you. Bike on, chickie- you're kicking my butt there! I'll have to get back on tonight to catch up with you.

Joy- wow, first of all, on the 6.5 pounds. Kick Tush!!!! That's incredible, chickie. And being on call, with 1000 interruptions would leave me frazzled & curled up in the fetal position...I'd be running in circles.

Julie- glad you had a night out, girlie, and were even under on some of your numbers. Keep it up, chica. You are still within the range of the tazer, you know! lol.

Happy Tax day, everyone...ugh. Time to get those last minute returns thrown together!

Owww okay. Change of plans.

I did 15 squats, and 10 lunges on each side. And a grand total of 6 excruciating minutes on the stepper.

I guess I overdid it yesterday, heh!!!

Jennifer - the arms are okay... I did a short arms workout yesterday since I had to jump 2 lbs up. Shoulder blades are sore, but that's to be expected, and it's good. It's my legs that kill... I need a cane!!!

I am about ready for a nap, now. I've learned my lesson about the stepper. No more 40-min sessions of cardio on it like that, mixed with first-day sets of lunges, squats, and some crazy workout I devise for myself. hah!!

Other than that, I am concerned with my stupid hair. I'm going to spend the next hour and a half searching for something they can do with my hair, because it's too darn short to put up in pigtails or anything, and it's too long to spike, and it looks like crap.

Howdy Chicks! Today was somewhat better at work. A couple of the old faithful (I mean literally, OLD) employees came through and picked up a couple of shifts. I can honestly tell you, the younger generation does not have the same dedication and work ethic. Definately NOT!

I did have a work luncheon today. I'm not really fond of those, I don't get to choose what my meal was. It was a huge lunch. And full of starch. Mandarin oranges and pineapple, baked potato, cream style corn, salisbury steak, bread, and pumkin custard. Not what I generally have for lunch. I tried to be careful, but I'm sure I will see it in the scale tomorrow, more sodium than I'm used to. It's also quickly approaching my TOM, so I should see that as well.

I think tomorrow I'm going to stick to mainly fruits and veggies. Maybe I'll even treat myself to a huge salad for dinner, it is Friday after all. Who wants to cook?!

It looks like it's going to rain, so I hesitate to take my walk tonight. I'm sure I would get soaked. I guess I'll have to hop on my stepper during Friends instead!

Have a good evening!

Magnolia...your total of 4 pounds- great work, chickie!

Joy- You're kicking serious butt and are sooo close to where you want to be!

Excellent job! we'll get your half pound on the next award

Ladyrose- an amazing 7 pounds- you rock, chickie! Keep it up!

What a great loss to report!

Hi!! Hope you are all well. I'm checking in a bit late. Life is crazy for me right now.... Just aren't words to describe it all. I'm thinking I might just spontaneously combust or something . I am experiencing SUCH STRESS. I have never felt like this. Sorry to whine - gotta hate the whiners I tell ya!

Food was good today. Maybe a bit under points. My arthritis meds have been doubled lately, and it upsets my tummy. Our unpredictable weather has made my arthritis hurt!! OW!!!

I haven't been on the bike yet. I'm about to jump on. The exercise has been helping me to feel better, I know.

I have checked in on you guys several times today. I was here in spirit throughout the day, even if I didn't post!! I am proud of you guys!!!

It's been busy in my life today! Work was crazy busy! I looked at the clock at 5 minutes to 5 and thought it was about 3pm! What???? Where did the day go? So glad I have days like that cause some days drag on and on and I can't wait for them to end! It helps when I have an activity or help with one and today was my Julie's Jewels group and I took two residents out for lunch to a little hamburg joint right next door and I helped with some of the more resltess residents this afternoon so the other activity gal could take some of the higher level ones outdoors.

It was a beautiful day here in West Michigan! Forecast was for only in the 50's but the sun shone and it got up to 75 today! Yea!!! So when I got home tonight, of course Ihad to go out for a while! Hubby and DD had been out since they got home at 3pm and DH had thatched the yard and was just finishing when I pulled in. Then he mowed it all up! It's looking nice! I made dinner and did a load of laundry and tidied up the kitchen! Boring! Then an hour of Survivor! Sad to see Kathy go! Rob needs to go, for sure! Maybe next week he won't win immunity!

So here I am! I'm going to report food eaten today and may even suprise myself!

B-about 3 T egg salad & about 5 Triscuits, coffee & creamer
L- 1/4 lb. cheeseburger (with bun) and a few fries & diet Pepsi
S- (I was hungry an hour later!) 2 slices Provolone cheese, one "Balance" Bar (it was the closest thing to a Zone bar I could find at the grocery near work)
Supper- Leftover brown rice, veggies & chicken from the other night sprinkled with about l oz. cheese! I did have about 1/4 cup Mac & cheese (which I can never resist!) which Imade for DD.
Water---kind of low today because I had a diet pepsi for lunch. Probably only 48 oz.

I'm pretty sure I'm over in the carbs & fat and not enough protein! Let's see...I will add it up quick! 10P, 13C, 8-10F (can't figure out how many in fries???) So I guess I did pretty good even with the fries & mac & cheese! Maybe I should go eat some more protein! Rock sistah! Suprise!!! Yea me!!! OK...now I just have to plan my strategy for tomorrow's "Pizza" Day at work! I will take my lunch...have some options in the freezer, but when I smell that pizza, not sure I will be able to restrain myself! Hmmmm! Should I just say now that I will have a piece and throw away the crust??? That way I can count it!

Hey Jennifer...how do you count Smart Start? and do you get the Soy kind with the 10gms protein in 1 cup? That has a high amt. of carbs in it. Just wondering??

Well chickies...dont' know why, but my eyes are getting heavy. Maybe it's a sign that I need to go to bed early and get up earlier for my workout in the morning!

You all are doing so great! I just want to be a loser like the rest of you...can I PLEASE???

Hugs to all!

Hey you guys, what is the deal, I had such a bad day on Wed, I stayed hungry all day, I could have eaten the north bound end of a south bound pole-cat! I was so glad to see that day end so I could go and hide in the bedroom. Phew!!! I think something is going on with me cause yesterday was half way like that, I finally found me something to do to keep me occupied and dug into it to get my mind off things!

For your info: Dh and I are taking a mini-vacation. We are leaving on Saturday afternoon and going up to Kure Beach NC. Will be back Fri or Sat, if I get a chance to check in I will, if not will check in as soon as we get back. Keep your fingers crossed for me that I don't fall off the wagon. Right now my desire is strong but don't know what I will be temped with. I am worried a bit, because I had been doing well a couple of years ago on a diet and we went on vacation and pow down hill from there!

Wed I stayed on track but could not stop eating and I ate a lot of fruit to keep myself from falling off the daily calorie goal.

Still walking everyday 30 minutes,
Doing weights with arms, probably need to take a hint and get me some 5lb weights.

Lucy, I like your idea about seeing yourself through pictures. I think it is great for getting your mental image to match your body. I am going to have dh take pictures of me every 5 or 10 pounds but he can't see them, even though he sees the original version, I just hope he is blinded by love!

Jennifer, your shadow is still with you, I see. I think I feel sorry for her, she must not have any self-esteem or life! Just don't let her mess up yours, because you have self-esteem and a life. Make a place in the conversation to interest her into going out on the internet maybe with a hobby she has and finding herself a place to make some friends and develop a life!

I will keep in mind Jennifer's tazar when I get tempted during our trip.

I will miss you guys if I don't get to check in, ya'll are my sanity!