Will you get Judge Judy? That would be so cool!

Evening chicks!

Yes, I'm still here. The past couple of days have been rather... I dunno... eclectic. Lots of things going on, random stuff, and none of it involves diet or exercise.

Let's see...

Dill, yes, Steve is my boyfriend. He's fab. Sorry if I hadn't explained that. Sometimes I just assume everyone knows exactly what I'm talking about even if I haven't bothered to explain.

Joy, the GRE is the Graduate Records Examination--the test I need to get into grad school.

Julie, about calculating metabolism... I dunno. My software does it for me on a daily basis. I plug in everything I eat and any exercise I do, plus my measurements once a month, and it recalculates my metabolism on a daily basis. I imagine you could do it by keeping track of your calories eaten and exercised every day for, say, a week, and any weight fluctuations. One pound is 3500 calories, so if you lose 1 pound you have burned 3500 calories more than you have eaten... yada yada yada. I'm sure there's a formula, but it's not in my head, and my head isn't functioning well enough to figure it out right at the moment.

Ugh... I dunno. I'm saying that a lot this evening. I'm frustrated. Another one of those "I'm going to have to do this every day for the rest of my life" kind of days where I just feel like giving up and accepting the fact that I'm fat and always will be. Steve keeps saying that maybe I should set a more "realistic" goal, meaning that I should aim for the weight my body is comfortable at. But that means I'll have to gain back all the weight that I've lost, because I'm having to fight to maintain 200 or below. Which is more frustrating, being miserable because I'm fat, or being miserable because it's so damn hard to not be fat?

I'm thinking I might just try to maintain below 200 until after New Years. Not that I'm going to stop trying to lose, but I know it's going to be difficult, and I think it will be enough of a feat for me to not gain anything. Plus I've got the GRE coming up, and I *really* need to study for that as much as possible, plus there's applying to schools and all of that jazz.

I don't know. Now that I've typed it out it sounds like an excuse.

I wish I could start over, start fresh. I want to try a specific diet, like South Beach or something. I want a routine, and that is so hard to do without a regular schedule at work. I just want something to be easy, and I want something to work out.

I need a plan. Right now I feel like I'm just floundering about, and nothing is happening. I'm so scattered that nothing is going anywhere. Counting calories worked for a while, but it's not working so well anymore. I don't know what else to do.

~Elisha

Down on the scale!
 

Not a good day food or exercise wise, but I did weigh in today at .25 down! I will take any loss at this point and I think it is a legit loss, so hopefully this next week will be easier!

Today was a total writeoff, so I'm not even going into the details! Wine and h'ordorves at an Itallian Restaraunt! A shower/potluck at work for one of the girls who's getting married...lots of good food! Too much sugar, fat and carbs! But I had a good time...sometimes that matters more. I spent a couple of hours with my best girlfriend tonight at the "bar"!!! We had a nice chat! Always something to talk about since we don't see each other but once a month or so!

Hope you all are having a great day!

Hugs!

Evening all! :)

I feel so much better today......probably because I did something positive on the health/diet front. Got my butt out of the chair and exercised.......downed 60 oz of water today.....and really watched the food. Breakfast was cheerios & milk & tea.....mid morning orange juice......lunch was chicken salad wrap & water......dinner was fried chicken (only ate half) & mashed potatoes & peas.

Julie.....no chocolate for you? Now that is something to be proud of! Your 8 miles totally blow me away......I would be down for the count!

Bluekat....a stay at home anniversary is the best. Years ago, DH and I couldn't afford to go out to dinner (and pay sitter)......so, I stretched the budget and bought 2 little steaks for the grill......and had baked potatoes.....and the rest of the dinner from the garden (corn, tomatoes, cukes). After the kids were in bed, we hauled out the good china and had a wonderful candlelight dinner. :cofdate: Even now, when we could afford to go anywhere, we spend our anniversary at home in the same way.......

Squabb......I don't think I could resist the carrot cake either......but it does have veggies in it, so that should redeem your day :lol3:

Dill.....good luck on the essay! What is the subject?

Lisa.....I really appreciate your kind words....your support means a lot.

JavaTurtle.....you keep hanging in there! :cheer:

Jenn.....Sorry to hear that you have to work Friday when you were supposed to be off! When that happens to moi, we try to make it a special day......like sending out for a special lunch. (The restaurant down our street makes the best chefs salad!)

Lucy......awesome job on the workout! Makes me want to get up and get this creaky old bod moving!

Elisha.....you got a lot on your plate right now, chickie...:spin:...cut yourself a little slack. Make up your mind what *has* to be done and everything else can wait. (BTW, exercise is a great study break)

Laundry calleth.......

Elisha, it sounds like you need Arnold. Ok you are going who. I just read a wonderful book called The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard) by Jill Badonsky, M.ED. It is basically a book on creativity, but most of the principlas can apply to everyday life. According to the author, the 9 muses from Mount Olympus recreated themselves for today's world and hired a bodyguard to protect you from negative feelings. They named him Arnold as in the Terminator Arnold. The idea is to call for Arnold whenever you feel negative or someone was negative towards you. Take your hand and physically brush off your clothes like you are brushing off dust and tell Arnold you don't want no more negative feelings about you. I know it sounds silly, but it actually works. Picture Arnold saying "Hasta la vista, baby" to the bad stuff. What this actually does is let you breathe and regain the sight of your goal. It sounds like you are really stressed out. Breathe honey, sit down and figure out what you want, write it down, get some sleep and start over with a new plan. Life is full of stress and we just got to remember to breathe.
Shirley :goodluck:

Hi all :wave:

Well, had weigh in last night, and after all my dedication; all my exercising, all my journaling and drinking water - I stayed the same. :mad: Hopefully its a glitch and will be down next week. I may be holding water - my rings seem tighter today.

MsRD - :yes: glad your back on track and in control - feels great doesn't it?

Hikein - down .25 is better than nothing - I ought to know :lol3: Sometimes we need go to go out to social occasions and indulge, but afterward it's important get right back on the program and pledge to renew.....

Elisha - sounds like alot going on right now .... are you overwhelmed?? Maybe it would be helpful if you took the time to write down your goals (long term, short term - diet schooling social etc.) and why and when you want to reach them and why they are important to you. I know what you mean about needing a plan, I was lurking here for many months - deciding what to do before I finally settled on the WW program. Once I decided I was off to the races. Maybe you need a change of exercise routine, sometimes that jump starts your metabolism??

dilleight - I try to keep on track by remembering that each choice, each meal, each day is an opportunity to renew and make positive decisions. Do you do a food journal? Sometimes when you have to write it down, you do make a different decision - gives you some accountability, and also acts as a reward if you do things like put a star on OP days, write down your weight loss after a week, etc. Then its easy too - if you have a good week then you have a menu plan for sometime in the future when you want to know you'll have a loss.... Just some ideas ????

**Jennifer** Yup, I'm stuck working with the few on Friday too. Unfortuneately for me -- there's lotsa work to do. Good luck with the job prospects. I'm sure you are up for the interview and will make a great impression :D

lameduck - I can't quite picture what the PF leather chair has to do with the exercising in front of the TV:?: :?:

bluekat - Good thing you joined this challenge, it should help with getting your exercise in - helps me, anyways. :p Are you doing the Turkey Waddle 100 Mile Challenge? I wish I could wear hubby's jeans... too small for me at this point. I used to be able to wear them, and before that they swam on me, oh well... looking forward/not back. If you are looking for informal exercise, how about looking for a team sport - baseball, volleyball - or dancing lessons. :dancer: My grandson is 11 and he likes to go bike riding with me, or running or hiking - your son is the same age... how about shooting some hoops with him, playing one on one soccer - having a race around the block???

Hotcupojava - glad to hear you are hanging in there. :lol: That magical place where you lose weight without trying very hard doesn't exist for me - I keep looking tho. :mag: You've got the right attitude " Every day is another chance to do better. A Turtles' got to do what a Turtles' got to do. Go Turtle. Go Turtle. "

Hmm ... this is what happens when I don't have time to post one day.... Look I've written a small novel. Oh well, gotta get on with my day.... Hubby's gone hunting for about a week -- I've got all sorts of time to myself :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance:
:dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance:

Well, I have been on the computer for nearly 3 hours researching. My breakfast was a piece of oven bake chicken. I was researching belly dancing of all things. Trying to find a different routine. I did order some new videos. One that is dancing, one for tai chi, one for qigong, a set of 3 on belly dancing and 2 music cds for belly dancing. All of which I have interest in. Maybe one of them will stick. What works best for me, is to get up early in the mornings and do my exercise after hubby leaves for work and before I eat. This usually works, but with this cold, all I want to do is sleep. I hope to get back on track next week. The cold is almost gone and should be gone by Monday. I do best with dance, step and martial arts. I have been good about exercising, except for Monday, when we had to leave at 6:30 in the morning for dh's doctor appointments, I haven't missed a day. Now if I can just get off of this computer and exercise.
Shirley

Hi girls! It is rainy and cold here in North GA!! I had to turn on the heat for the first time! I'm staying in today...just trying to catch up on things in the house! My eating has been good today...I had a couple of days that I just felt so empty- no matter what I ate! I stayed OP..but it was frustrating!! Today, I am including more protein, and that seems to have helped! Exercise has not happened yet today. I feel "sinusy"...like my head is full of cobwebs (wouldn't doubt that!! :) ). I am drinking my water like a good girl! I have had 42 oz. so far. I just don't drink over 64 oz. I just can"t...but I think 64 is better than none. I've been planning for Thanksgiving...all the family get togethers. I really, really like this time of year. I suppose that is so because I fell in love with DH this time of year...it is a lovely memory for me...and I seem to have other good feelings related to the Fall...even Winter. Good grief......sorry to ramble on!!!!

Julie - Good job on the loss. And, don't worry about your overindulgence...You can work it off!! :)

Bluekat - that bellydancing sounds fun!!! I've heard it is a good workout! Glad to hear that yucky cold is almost gone!!! Yay!

Joy - I hope you enjoy EVERY MINUTE of your free time!! Can I have some??? Please??? :) I'll bet that as soon as your water retention passes, you will see a loss for sure!

Ms RD - Way to go! Your eating and exercise sounded great! See?? Told ya you were going to do great!!

O.K....off to take care of the little ones.....Have an awesome day everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello peeps

Last night was well dodgy for me as I was having an essay crisis and also had some of my charity stuff on and I ate biscuits! I eat ALL the food when I get stressed. My essay is pretty good though. Hmm can't really afford to mess up every week though! Bit knackered to exercise too as only had about 4 hours sleep.

Hey Elisha- I know what it's like to have to study and it goes very badly with dieting. I think if you can maintain you're doing well.
Julie- well done on 0.25lb
MSRD- My essay was on philosophy of mind. It's all done now yay.
bluekat- hmm I don't really wanna be thinking about Arnold too much
Joy- Yeah I usually log in fitday but I have essay crises quite often and then eating properly doesn't seem as important!
Lisa- all positive Yay!

Dill

I can finally see 30 feet out my window! :lol: The fog up here has been THICK like mad for the past week or so. Today, it's sunny & absolutely beautiful -- a nice change.

I've done my workout and had my healthy high-protein breakfast and all that jazz. Just tired. I have a nasty little head cold that won't leave me be, so i'm taking an extra-long hot shower today to clear that gunk away!

Almost got very upset last night -- soldier from our local base was killed in Fallujah and he looked exactly like my friend, and I was nearly in tears. I felt bad, being relieved that it wasn't my friend, but I still feel bad for their families. I think I've made a conscious effort to not watch the news anymore, because those things really upset me, no matter where the family is from or who it is. Blech. That sucked last night.

I've made a few calls to the stupid nutritionist, but nobody has returned my calls. I'm annoyed, to say the least. At least I tried. I'll go back to visit my doc on the 23rd, as scheduled, and just let him know that nobody would return my calls. The specialty suites at this hospital are not very helpful, to be honest. They rarely return calls and they are just a smidgen stuck up at the patients. Good riddens. :lol:

Saturday is cleaning/packing day, like I said yesterday. Hubby is having breakfast with his dad, and I'll get the house cleaned up before he gets back. Then we can just have at it, hopefully be done early in the day, and then take the puppers for a nice long walk. She's sad. I can't wait until March so we have a yard for her to be free in, chase a ball, roll in the mud (she's a dog...), be a dork like she wants to be. I wish she was willing to be trained. Even professional trainers could not get her to come back when called. Can't take her to an off-leash park and run with her... we'll just have to wait, I guess.

I might rent some freezer space from my mom this weekend and spend part of Sat. making my holiday cookies. Want it done early.

Other than that... I'm having issues with not having my coffee in the morning. I hate, absolutely detest, artificial sweeteners unless they're Splenda. I don't like the weird cancer-causing icky gunk in all the sugar-free stuff, like Lite Frappucinos from the store. They're GROSS! :lol: I might just work in that morning little bottle. It does have calcium, right? :( I can't wait until I'm done with losing this stupid weight so I can live a normal life again.

I wish it were as easy to lose weight in my body as it is to maintain weight. I can maintain with 0 problems, but losing is impossible. BLAH.

Well, off to have my hot shower & get ready for another super-long day at work. :D Have a great day, chickies!

Evening all :wave:

Another good day...:cloud9:....breakfast was oatmeal & milk & tea......midmorning, one of the gals was running late, so stopped and brought us all honkin' big bagels - yum!.......no lunch (still full from bagel).......midafternoon apple & ff pudding.......dinner was tuna/rice casserole & salad. If I really watch it during the day, I can indulge in a healthy treat in the evening.

Bluekat......I love the good advice of "brushing away negative feelings". :wizard: That should give me a little kick when I need to get over some little hurt or self-pitying moment and get on with life!

Squabb......ok...sometimes staying the same weight is not all that bad. With all your great effort, you will see those results next week, I am sure. Hunting season (whitetail deer gun season) starts here Monday......we live in the country, so DH will be hunting on our own property. And, who knows, maybe we will have some venison in addition to our turkey on Thanksgiving!

Dill.......great job on getting thru the essay crisis!:comp: Philosophy? I never took that class.....pretty heavy stuff.

Lucy.....Sorry your nutritionist is being such a butthead and not returning your calls. Just because they aren't doing their job is no reason you shouldn't do yours.......don't let this undermine your resolve. If you can't get help locally, get on the internet.....there are plenty of nutrition sites you could research yourself!

Dog is hyperventilating......better go let him out!

Thursday eve
 

Ahhhh!! I just realized I missed Survivor! Guess I'm going to have to log on after this and see who got booted out! Hope it wasn't the guy whose name I drew for the "Survivor Pool"...Chris!

Another emotional day today! :cry: Which always means making the wrong choices for the wrong reasons! :mad: I sure wish emotions did not equate to "feeding frenzy"!!!

Started out ok with the cottage cheese & fruit and coffee.
Lunch...Lasagne at work...not one but TWO pieces! (Did have some green beans and salad, too but the damage was done with that 2nd piece!) What WAS I thinking??? It was sooo busy and I really was sooo hungry...Dipped into the residents Bingo candy after Bingo today (I am starting to really dislike that game!) and had one fun size "Mounds" bar! Grrrrrr!
Supper...Crockpot meal of chicken, salsa w/ corn & rice. Pretty healthy! Added a bit of cheese & sour cream (both low fat).
After family went to bed tonight, I ate a fun (whatever!) size "Milky Way" and a small Rice Krispie Treat! That is about enough of that crap! Tomorrow I'm giving away all the rest of the crap that's in there! I've gotta stop this!!!

Water today...got in 72 oz, which doesn't feel like near enough and probably isn't for me! I drank coffee this morning, Diet Coke for lunch so the water has been since lunch time today! I am parched! I know it's the dryness in the air with the furnaces running at work and home now! (Brrrrrr...we even brought the puppies...well er full grown...Siberian Huskies...in tonight... spoiled brats!) :bb:

Exercise...Got in over 13,000 steps even without doing my walk this morning! Dang! I'm a walking fool at work! It's amazing even to me how much I walk at work. That translates into approx. 5.9 miles! Woo Hoo! Gonnna make that 100 miles this month!

SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME THAT THIS BEHAVIOR IS NOT HEALTHY!!! TELL ME THAT I AM BEING LAZY, UNMOTIVATED, UNWILLING AND UNDISCIPLINED WITH FOOD AND EXERCISE!!!!!! AND GET OUT THAT TAZER AND HAVE IT READY!!!!

************************************************** *******


Lucy...You wrote "Other than that... I'm having issues with not having my coffee in the morning. I hate, absolutely detest, artificial sweeteners unless they're Splenda. I don't like the weird cancer-causing icky gunk in all the sugar-free stuff, like Lite Frappucinos from the store. They're GROSS!"
Here they now have low carb (with Splenda) and relatively low fat (about 2 gms per Tbsp) flavored creamers. It's yummy in my coffee in the morning and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything! See if your grocer has them. Both Carnation and International Delight (I prefer the latter) make them now!

MsRD...You are inspiring me!!! Keep up the good work!

Dill...Charity stuff? I am translating buscuits into cookies, essay into term- paper, knackered into tired. Your posts are so much fun to read! Thanks for keeping us enlightened! LOL!

Lisa....Glad you have good memories of this time of year! I despise Thanksgiving, but have given it another chance this year! I love the weather here this time of year (if it's not raining!) but hate the emotion that goes with the weather! That probably doesn't make sense! I'm in another funk tonight so not much is making sense! ;) Anyway...yea on the water, chickie! I'm proud of you...I know how much you despise it! And thanks for the encouragement...as always! :)

Shirley...Belly Dancing and Arnold...All in the same day!!??? :lol: You are too much, chickie! Keep up the good work and the inspiration!

Joy...The WW thing sounds like it's working for you! Yea you! I have been thinking of doing that again soon! I've got to go somewhere! I've just been standing still for so long...but I've got to get it in my head first before I get it going in the diet! Ya know?

Jennifer...Great to hear from you! I hope that your day tomorrow doesn't suck too bad! ;) PM me and that will take some time! LOL! Good luck with the recruiter! Hope all is going well!

The rest of ya...hope all is well...post to let us know how you are doing!

Hugs to all!

Morning ladies!

Motivation level: 4

Well, at least I am out of bed and showered, so that is an accomplishment today. Today is going to be busy (payday always is--full of errands), but tonight I'm making dinner for Steve, so this evening should be good. If it stops raining, I might make him go for a walk with me in the morning. (That reminds me--don't forget tennis shoes!)

Work all day today. I sure hope I get some stock in today, because I'm out of a lot of stuff, and this is not the season to be out of popular items. The problem is, I work in a small store, and as a result we occasionally get treated like dirt and get only the leftovers. Nevermind that sales have more than doubled since I took over, nevermind that I'm consistently making aout 120% of my goals whereas the larger stores in town operate at around 86%. Grrr....

Yeah, so I'm getting a little frustrated with my job. And that's not the half of it.

For breakfast: coffee w/creamer, 2 eggs, red. cal. wheat toast
For dinner: garlic-crusted chicken, mixed veggies, pasta with creamy garlic sauce, probably some wine, possibly some garlic toast (can you tell we like garlic?)

Lunch: who knows? I'll have to eat on the run today, since lunchtime is the only time I have to run all my errands. I may go ahead and grad a Leanpocket and just heat it up at work and take it with me. That way I won't be tempted to hit the drive-thru. What am I saying? I'll be tempted anyway. But I might be less likely to give in. Then again, my taking a lunch to work is no guarantee that I will actually eat it today, especially when it's frozen and will do fine in the freezer. We'll see.

Ok, I need to get moving. I hope everyone has a great day, and a wonderful weekend!
~Elisha

No time for real post, but I'll reply before I forget! :D

Msrd - I know my nutritional status and everything. The reason I'm supposed to go to someone who's certified is for my doctor, before he decides what medication I'm going on to help with the loss. I say to **** with them, anyway, if they're unprofessional enough to not return calls. Bah! He already knows my diet is healthy and my workouts are good... no biggie. :)

Julie - Yeah, I know. I have the sugar-free, splenda-sweetened stuff but I don't have time to make coffee, is the thing. PLUS, I hate home-coffee. I like the stuff from this little coffee shack just down the road... I'm addicted. :D I will never give up caffeine, no matter how much everyone else hates it. :lol: It's against my nature as a geek!

No workout today. Right foot is hurting massively. Making doctors' appt. for monday, if possible. Need more painkillers or something! OW! :lol:

Hey chickies! So much for a day of leisure here at the office! With only 3 of us here, plus 1 loan consultant, we are running around, dealing with crisies and other crap. Not fun at all, I tell ya! I had brought my cross stitch, hoping for a lot of down time, but instead, I am dragging that to the park with me for a lunchtime break.

My back seems to be better- I went shoe shopping after work on Wednesday, since I needed to replace my "chunky heel, black, basic work shoes" You know, the comfortable shoes that you wear all the time, with everything...I needed a new pair, since my old ones have been used as scratching posts by the vermin/kitties.

I went to the Sawgrass Mills Mall, which is about 2 miles from my house. It's the 2nd biggest mall in the US- it is fricking HUGE! Well, I get there, park at the correct entrance, only to find it ISN'T the correct entrance, and I have to hike a half a mile (I clocked it on the pedometer) to the Easy Spirit shoe outlet. Pant, pant, pant. After picking out 2 pairs of shoes (can't go wrong at buy 1, get one 50% off) and waiting for the girl to ring me up, I went across the "street" in the mall to Payless, just to check out the cheapie, last 4 months shoes, and they didn't have anything interesting. After that, checked one more place, but got all turned around in my head, and when I left that store, I went to leave, only went in the wrong direction.

I get the half mile down, and nothing looks familiar, and now I am carrying my purse & shoes & moving at my WATP pace, so I am starting to glisten. It's still FL, and it's still hot! I turn around and backtrack, knowing there's nowhere for me to go but back towards where I belong. Arrrgh. Still keeping up my pace, now I can feel sweat at the nape of my neck- getting damp hair, and more glistening...finally, 15 minutes later, I am near the exit.

Now, here's the kicker. A rather large, rather rude gentleman is walking past me, and has the absolute nerve to look me up & down while I'm sweating & ready to keel over, having now hiked 2 miles in this mall in heels, on hardwood & tile floors, dogs fully barking. His comment: "Yeah, you know I want me somma dat." And sneered.

Have I mentioned ever how much I hate people? Not my chickies- but just people like that who serve no better purpose than to harass other people? People like Monica, and this idiot. I'm sure there's a bunch of chickies here who know what my 2 word response to this jerk was....and I continued on my way to the car.

Feeling like crap, I got home, and found 2 newly formed blisters by my big toes. Owwies! Could every body part cooperate at the same time? LOLOL. I had to pop them (yeah, gross, but only way to get them to harden & stop hurting) and I'm walking funny with bandaids sticking out of the top of the shoes. Good thing it is the weekend & I can run around barefoot.

The faxing of the resume is happening today, and hopefully by early next week, I will have an interview set up, and then an offer. Wish me luck, and keep those fingers crossed for me! :)

Ok chickies....running to steal some time for myself during this lunch break! More as it happens!