Hi Everyone.

I really am computer illiterate.

I've only recently started using the message board. So I can't always remember whose posts I've read or responded to. Can someone explain things to me.

For example I wanted to reply to TBJ333, but does she have a name. Calling someone by a bunch of letters and numbers seems strange to me....but I still want to communicate so....

...Hi JBJ333

Where's the December Challenge? Or what is it?
...
Anyway my Thanksgiving was great. Stuck to eating plan and saw some friends I hadn't seen in a while. Laughed so much my belly hurt..better from laughing than overeating.

...

Off to the Gym. That's one of my goals... the Gym 3/7

Hope everyone gets back to their goals.

Babs

Hi all...
just tallying up my calories for the day. Just below 1600. Yesterday was around 1600 give or take a few! Some things I have to guess at and I usually guess at the high end of calories! Go figure! I need to cut out some of those "bad carbs" that I so crave, so I can have closer to 1500. Chocolate frosting was sure yummy, today! I ditched the cake, though!

No exercise today and certainly not enough water. Got get chugging! Today was weigh in day! I was a little worried, but I'm back down to 177, which is right where I started at the beginning of the month! Geesh...that was a lot of work! My plan is to just get it off this month...5 lbs or more! I tried on some clothes yesterday and I was NOT happy with the results! Although...I did try on a 14W dress which fit...tightly, but it fit! I think it just ran big! Dresses tend to fit me better than most other things because they can just "flow" around my butt and thighs which are the bigger parts of me!

Babs...Some people don't like to use their "real" names for privacy reasons so they use a "screen" name. Also, when you type your post, you can scroll up or down the "bigger" screen and check out what others have written. Some people like to write things down...I find that to be too time consuming, so I just "scroll"!
To find December's challenge, go to the top of the page of this challenge. You will see the title of our challenge "Just DO IT challenge"...and then their is a blue title before that which reads "Chicks up for a"...hold your mouse over that and click on it...it should take you to the challenge. Just explore this page, there's no way you can do any harm! Usually things that are in blue will allow you to click on that and will take you to another page. When your arrow icon turns to the "hand", that means you can click on it...maybe you know that much! I'm sorry if you do! Hope this helps! Let us know if you need further instruction. Be glad to help!

TBJ...Nice job on the challenge for December! I like it...it gives us accountability to ourselves...and if we don't meet the challenge, well...it's our loss. I personally don't do well with personal rewards, but I will try it! I don't have anything to lose...except pounds, right? LOL! I'm going to have to come up with some inexpensive and creative rewards. I've never had a manicure, so that could be one of them...probably the biggie...but we shall see!

Elisha...Cheer up chickie! You've got so much to be thankful for! But I totally understand your mood. It's the "Post Holiday Blues"...That could be a title to a song!!! LOL! I am so dissatisifed with myself right now, that I made a comittment to myself last night...that I am going to change...not only physically, but emotionally and that means my attitude. I've got to change it!

That's all I have time for tonight! I still want to get in some exercise! I'm feeling rather bloated!

Hello all!

Just stopped by for a quick post.....the weather here was rainy all day and near 60 degrees! By the end of the week, it will be snowing and 20 degrees again!

Joy.....i know too well the sliding effect of weight loss, especially toward the end of a month! I wish there was something we could do to fix that.....something about halfway thru a month to keep us inspired! Changing habits is soo hard (especially the bad ones ), so it is go to take it in 'baby steps'.

Elisha....Sorry you are feeling down. Paste a smile on that pretty face and keep on marching! Don't stress about the breakfast offer from Steve......our significant others want to do things for us, but sometimes it just gets lost in the translation.....give him points for effort.

Betani.....My food plan didn't go well over the weekend either. Time for both of us to focus on December.....we can do this!

TBJ.....I can't wait to hear about your first jujitsu class! Was it a real workout or mainly stretches or .....what? Will check in on the December challenge later.....I am sooooo ready!

Babs.....Good job on keeping on track on Thanksgiving! I have heard that laughing is good exercise too!

Julie.....Getting those calories down to a manageable level is good! Gurgle some water down and I'll bet it gets rid of that bloated feeling!

Sorry this is so short......my to-do list sure isn't!

Morning chickies!

MsRD: The weather is doing the same thing here... it's been in the 60's for the past 2 days... right now it's pouring down the rain. Tonight it's supposed to drop into the 30's, and it'll be snowing again before the week is out. Wacky weather!

Julie: You and I are both back where we started! At least we didn't gain though, right? If I can make a solid 210 by New Year's, I will be a happy camper! You're right though about changing not only physically but emotionally as well. Perhaps we all need to incorporate an emotional/attitudinal (is that a word?) goal into our upcoming challenge.

Babs: One easy way to find threads you've responded to is to check your user control panel. Just click "User CP" at the top (on the very left in the purple box) and it will show you a list of your "subscriptions" with any new replies. If you want to see all of the threads you have responded to, click "View All Subscriptions" on the CP page. As for calling people by their name... well, anonymity is one of the wonderful benefits of the internet. Some of us, myself included, don't care that much about revealing our identity, but others prefer to keep it a bit more private. It's a personal choice. I just try to think of those random letters and numbers as sort of initials, whether they actually are or not.

TBJ: YAY you for meeting your goal, and CONGRATS on the loss! So... how did your jujitsu class go? Come on, inquiring minds want to know!

Betani: You're right, it really is about habits and not pounds. I've been trying to remind myself lately that IF I get the habits working for me, the pounds will come off eventually. And this is the month when we all really need to focus on the good habits.

Joy: That's more than 50%, and that's improvement, right? You're on the right track now! We all slide every now and then, but the point is to pick yourself up and start again.

Birdie: The Crystal Light is a good switch, and I really don't think those 5 calories are going to make *that* much of a difference. Those 100 calorie packs are great! Steve buys them all the time. And we ALL wish losing weight was easier and faster! But hey, at least it happens, no matter how fast, right?

Rosie: CONGRATS on the loss and makig it into the 320's! Our friend Jennifer, who used actually started these challenges, used to say she "got a new middle number" when she made it into the next set of 10. (I'm not sure that makes sense the way I said it...) Anyway, how did your Thanksgiving go?

OK, moving on...

Yesterday was ok. Food... umm... too much. The lunch I had in the frige turned out to be questionable (well, that's what I get for leaving a frozen dinner in the frige--not freezer--for 5 days), so I went to Arby's for lunch. I ordered a salad, and fast food salads are bad enough, but then I also ordered some cheese sticks. I was craving them so bad! But you know what? They really weren't that great. But a big glob of greasy cheese. If I hadn't eaten that, my calories for the day would have been right on target. But alas! Oh well, what's done is done.
Water was decent yesterday, and I got in 30 minutes of Yourself!Fitness. I actually made it through the entire session without even stopping the arm movements (which is the first thing that gets me). Of course, it was a core strength focus session, which meant it was basically about 12 minutes of aerobics and 18 minutes of crunches and side planks (I didn't think I'd make it through all the side planks!). But I did it, and I was proud. I turned on CSI reruns while I was exercising, so I think it may have helped that I was a bit distracted. I felt kind of silly though, flapping my arms around when I couldn't hear the music or instruction. But I did it anyway.

Food today will be ok. I'm actually going to eat the lunch I brought and NOT go fast food. Of course, I brough leftovers from Sunday's dinner out--a chicken quesadilla. Fortunately, this one actually isn't too incredibly fatty. And I brought some light sour cream to go with it.

I do have to go out at lunch today. I have to get my license renewed. What fun. But if I don't do it today I'll have to retake the test, so I guess I'll just suck it up and do it. At least it will be done. Until we move, then I'll have to get it changed again. Bah.

I think we're going bowling tonight, but I'm not positive. I haven't been doing so well the past couple of weeks, so I told Steve we need to practice, and he said we could go this week. I guess we'll see what happens.

OK, I have to go to a meeting, so I guess that's it from me for now. I hope you're all having a wonderful day!
~Elisha

I was just looking back at my original goals for this month, and I haven't done too badly, I think.

Weekday exercise is now a pretty strong habit, though I'm still struggling with weekends. I'm much better about not snoozing my alarm now, as long as I get to bed at a regular time each night. I'm still a little wishy washy as a general rule, but my routines are beginning to make that a non-issue as far as getting things done goes.

The only thing I didn't do was lose weight. In fact, I gained. I don't feel too badly about it, though, because I know exactly why. I'd stopped logging food and counting calories so I could focus on exercise. Now that I don't have to think as hard about exercise, I can move on to the next babystep habit. I think next month will be about logging food on paper. No calorie counting yet, just getting into the habit of recording it all.

***

Elisha-- I'm notorious for needing emergency back-up lunches. I forget or ruin my lunch all the time, and have no transportation to go get anything, so I keep my cupboard at my desk filled with soup cans and oatmeal packages. (Pay no attention to those Girl Scout cookie boxes behind the encyclopedias...)

MsRD-- Good luck with that "To-Do" list. It'll be a "Ta-Da" list before you know it!

Hikein-- I know what you mean about dresses. I would wear them more at work, but my job can be a bit physical at times, so it's impractical.

Babs-- Great job staying on track on Thanksgiving! I wish I could say the same. The best I can do over holidays is to plan my other day's eating around them.

TBJ-- I like the new challange! How was Ju- ji-... How was class?

Hi!

Betani -- That was funny!

Elisha -- Heh heh, flapping arms around... those women who have really strong cores look so fly when they do their side planks. Core is impressive.

MsRD -- Hope you like the December challenge.

Julie -- Don't worry about the rewards. Just achieving your goals will feel fab. And I got my bike today... will take it to the bike shop tomorrow; then I'll know how long it will be before I can start riding.

Babs -- Hello to you too. Everyone else told you pretty much all you need to know about using the boards. I prefer initials rather than my name, but other people prefer their names. If you see someone who doesn't sign his/her posts, the general response is to just refer to that person by whatever screen name is posted.
***

OK, jujitsu... It ROCKED!

I *knew* that worrying was silly, but I spent the day doing it anyway. I had to go to Chinatown to buy a gi (the white outfit that people wear when practicing martial arts). I was nervous about finding the store, and looking stupid when buying a gi. But the saleswoman was kind and helped me decide on a size.

Then I learned that I wouldn't be able to wear the gi that night, because I have to shrink it in the dryer. I took the gi to a tailor, because I thought I might be able to have it hemmed by that evening. No such luck. Long story short, after I submitted the gi to the tailor, and they already started working on it, I realized I should have shrunk it before getting it hemmed. Now I have to wait until tomorrow to get it back, and hopefully it will not be too small after I shrink it.

As a result, I had to go to class without a gi, and I was more stressed than ever about looking stupid.

But, I went to class. I just put one foot in front of the other and made myself march into the dojo. I had gone to a class before so that I could check the place out, and the students pretty much ignored me back then. I was worried that people would be cold and judgmental. When they saw that I would be joining the class, they opened up and were really friendly. I met several new people and they all helped me feel more comfortable.

Another worry that I had before attending was whether I could keep up with the rest of the class. Turns out I don't have to worry about that, because I have a lot of basic material to learn, and I'll be learning that separately while the other people in the class practice more advanced techniques. One of the higher belts and I will move off to a corner of the mat and work on beginning techniques.

And the third silly worry that I'd had was looking stupid. Well, after I started working out, I didn't care. Why was I worried about not looking suave the first time I tried to kick myself into a handstand, roll over on my back, and come up into a kneeling defensive position? I'm going to look like an idiot for a long time... and the higher belts realize that and are supportive rather than haughty. So instead of worrying about it, I'm just going to laugh at myself and keep trying to improve.

The actual workout... Students warm up before class. Then one of the higher belts guides us through specific warm-up exercises... jumping jacks, stretches, scooting gracefully along the floor (heh heh, not at the moment, thank you, but I sure tried ). After we're done warming up, the sensei (big head teacher guy) tells us what to start working on. Generally he demonstrates, and then students either practice doing moves across the mat, such as the tumbling I described above, or they pair off and practice escapes/joint locks/nerve pinches.

After warm-up was when I split off from the rest of the class. A brown belt started teaching me how to roll up into a defensive position, which I was able to do. Then we worked on front and back rolls, and, um, I was not the epitome of grace. I will have to increase my upper body strength in order to do those rolls.

After [my attempt at] the rolls, a green belt started teaching me escapes, nerve pinches, and joint locks. The escapes are techniques such as how to get away from someone who is grabbing your arm or choking you. If you've attended a basic women's self-defense class, you probably know one or two of them.

The nerve pinching... I got woozy doing those exercises! I felt tingly and faint and had to stop several times! Sensei says people react in different ways... I don't know whether I was dehydrated because I'm not used to working out in hot weather, or I was reacting badly to my nerves being pinched. The likely reason is that I get grossed out easily, and when I pinched my instructor's fingers, I could feel his knuckles crack and his bones move. Whatever the cause, I'll just have to move beyond it.

Finally we practiced joint locks. Basically, those are when you hold on to a body part, move it to a position that is as far as it will bend, and then push, so that the person either has to move away from you or break a bone. If you do the joint lock hard enough, you could break someone's bone, but that isn't the point. The point is to have the other person back down, and for you to use only as much force as needed to push the other person away.

At the end of class, Sensei promoted three white belts (beginning level, like me) to blue belts. Good for those students.

Wow, this new hobby is going to kick my butt for a long time. Mat work, like those falls/rolls, is way beyond me at the moment. And the other techniques require way more refinement, because they work based on skill rather than brute force. I'll have to work out at home in order to work out at class. Jujitsu is going to be the biggest physical challenge I've had in my life, bigger than color guard when I was in high school, bigger than training for the MS 150. But it will also be rewarding. And those escapes are fun.

P.S.

Babs, the December Challenge is a new thread. It's part of the Chicks Up for a Challenge Forum. Go out of this thread, and into the forum. You'll see a link for this thread, and then a link for the Rewarding Challenge. That's the December challenge.

Morning chickies!

Let's see, how am I today? Tired! I was up late last night doing random stuff. We did end up going bowling, and I ended up bowling very badly. I think I'm getting worse. *sigh*

Food yesterday was ok. If I remember correctly, calories came in around 1640. Water was decent. Food wasn't great though, and most of those calories were junk. I was just insatiable yesterday. I just wanted to eat and eat and eat. I had a bit more than I should have, but I did try to catch myself before it got too out of hand.

The scale is down by 0.2 this morning. I was hoping for a bit more than that, but I'll take what I can get.

Steve was in a really crappy mood last night, and I've been in a crappy mood for days, so you can imagine what a fun situation last night was. And today, more crappiness. I really want to quit my job, and it just plain pisses me off that I can't. Can't afford to quit, and I have nothing else to do. Life is a real pain in the butt sometimes, isn't it?

Well, today... I don't know. Breakfast was fine, packed snacks and lunch are fine. Dinner, who knows? As usual. I have a feeling that today will be one of those days when Mom doesn't even get anything out of the freezer, and then I get all frustrated when I get home to find that she has done absolutely nothing with her day and I still have to find something to cook.

Breathe, Elisha, and pray that your house comes through.

Tonight will be my last 30-minute Yourself!Fitness workout, as tomorrow I start my 45-minute minimum rule. Egads, December already? How in the world did that happen?

OK, that's enough whining from me for the moment. I hope you're all having a good day, wherever you are!
~Elisha

WHOA...I feel so out of sync. I've missed sooo much. Give me a moment while I catch up. I WILL respond to everyone!

~Rosie~

Hello Everyone!

Birdiegirl: Yeah I think 10 lbs in a month is aggressive but just think of it as something you aspire to weigh and not like you MUST be there. It’s great that you’re slowly taking out certain things such as soda and fast food out of your life! I really think it’s the way to go.

MsRD: Happy to hear you are moving on down the scale although not as fast as you’d like! Keep the faith I love my quote too LOL. When I found it I felt like it so applied to so many things especially this journey and had to place it somewhere I could always see it.

Julie: The weather in Michigan sounds horrible. And I thought the hot/cold thing going on in NYC was something to complain about. I’m definitely not ready for snow! Indeed I agree that we should find what we are grateful for each day. The mental environment you have is the physical environment you endure. I am grateful for my accomplishment regardless of how small I think they are at times LOL.

Joy: It’s great that you have goals set up to look at each day. No worry about not completing them all…that’s why they are goals…something to aspire to As far as my motivation, I am my motivation. I know that most times I can’t worry with anyone else and I have to know how I feel at this weight and how it will feel to be somewhere I was happy and currently ascertain to me. As far as food plan, for me it’s a trial and error. If I see myself gaining I look at what I’ve eaten (through my food diary) and if it’s not something I eat I look at other aspects of my life. If after another week and so and things still aren’t on the down side then I evaluate the technical stuff like calories etc. Exercise well I try for something everyday but this week I’ve been off b/c of TOM. In general I think of what I’m in the mood for, like if I feel like dancing, I’ll see if I can find something on tv like dance aerobics or I’ll look in my video collection.

Elisha: Sorry you in an uhh type mood. I know what that is. I am sending positive vibes your way…hope you get them! As far as Steve offering breakfast…you know guys don’t think sometimes. He was probably just trying to be nice in his own way LOL. Oh and I have no idea what you meant but “new middle number” My thanksgiving went well thank you. I cooked lowfat meals and delicious desserts…enjoyed them for two days then pretend like it never happened LOL. It must really suck being in a job that provides no joy (or at least more pain than its worth!), I hope you find a solution soon that will bring some clarity for you.

Betani: Good luck on refocusing. You can do it! Habits should definitely be your main focus without them very little is possible.

Babs: I’m glad to hear you had fun on thanksgiving. The enjoyment of friends and family is what its all about. Don’t worry you’ll get the hang of the message boards. It feels like I was born computer literate. LOL

TBJ: Seems like jujitsu will be a lot of fun for you over time & an excellent builder of self confidence, strength and camaraderie. I wish you luck!
__________________________________________________ _
YAY! I responded to everyone since my last post
I was down .3 this week. I had two major losses in a row so I’m not sad about it. Considering thanksgiving, TOM and lack of exercise, I did well. I got a part time job at Time Warner Cable and will pick up my offer letter Monday. Now time to find a job for the day as this is an evening job. Oh and I also have a major crush on this guy I met Monday. I can’t even explain it. But he was supposed to call that night (MONDAY) and hasn’t. So I’ve been like tripping out to see if he was serious about being interested in me or maybe he was busy. I don’t know. My mind has been on him since I left his presence….oh gosh!

~Rosie~

Hi there,

Not much to report. I haven't been eating too much, but I haven't been eating too well. The December challenge starts tomorrow (gosh, I cannot get it in my head that tomorrow is December...), so I'll have to eat more fruits and veggies. I will go grocery shopping tonight or tomorrow morning. Shopping will help me stock up on healthy food.

***
Rosie -- Ooo, a new job and a new crush. What excitement! Thanks for the well-wishes on jujitsu. I'm looking forward to tonight's class.

Elisha -- Crappy moods do pass. Sorry to hear that you and Steve are in the same rut right now. At least the scale is down. That usually cheers you up.
***

Tonight's my second jujitsu class. I'm looking forward to it. I did push ups yesterday to start building muscle in my upper body. The matwork will take a while. I'll just have to work hard.

It occurs to me... I would have an easier time doing a handstand if I were twenty pounds lighter... more motivation.

Bike is going into the shop tomorrow. Hopefully it will be assembled by this weekend.

Happy day to you all.

Hello all

Just a quick note.....today was our annual physical inventory at work and we do it the old fashioned way, with pencil and paper......which adds up to about a 12 hour day total and I am whipped!

I want to thank you all for taking part in our November challenge.....hopefully, we have all learned and applied some things to benefit a healthy lifestyle, even if it is only the 'just do it' mantra. I am looking forward to our December challenge.....this month will be a tough one, and I frankly don't know how I am going to hold it all together. Should I set a 5# goal, or just pray for maintenance?

No comments tonight, chickies.....my brain has now ceased to function and tomorrow is another big day......

Already???
Where has the week gone? I have been doing great with food this week...journalling every bite that has gone into my mouth. Hooray! Now...if I could just find the energy to get on that bike in the morning (because I certainly can't find it at night these days!)...

Yesterday I came in calorically at 1380 and today it was less than 1000 calories... How can that be??? I added them up twice and gave it some more thought about what I ate today...can't seem to come up with any more! I even passed up icecream at the birthday party today at work! You all would have been proud of me!!! Guess that means I can have some icecream tonight, eh?

Now, I know that this does not give me reason to eat more tomorrow or the next day! I am still planning to journal all my food and I know that some days will be better than others, but at least I am on the right track! AND...tomorrow starts my official exercise program! I am going to do the bike challenge (not the one for MS...at least I don't think so, but the one that TBJ put out there!) I am going to start tomorrow at 30 minutes, do 30 minutes 3 days a week and then one day at 45 minutes! That should about give me the energy I need. I'm still having problems with my foot (I know...I really need to get that phone call made to the Podiatrist...I hate going to Dr's.) and am so tired at the end of the day from the extra energy I exert trying to walk on that foot all day! It's just exhausting. I do try to sit as often as possible, but that is very little...at least the majority of my day at work, anyway!

TBJ...Your jujitsu class sounds very interesting. I could just see myself trying to flip around and do all those things....NOT!!!! You go girl, though!!! I'm proud as heck of you! The biking training starts tomorrow morning...you gonna have your bike back this week anytime? I really want to train "with" you...and Joy!

Rosie...glad you are back with us! I will write my gratefulness at the end of each post!

Elisha...I was watching The Biggest Loser last night and I was thinking about me and you. One of the things I saw that keeps popping into my brain today was a sign on one of the competitors fridge that said "Don't give up!" I am going to use that as my "catch phrase" when I really want to cave in. It's amazing how little food the human body really needs to survive. I was hungry today but had little snacks all day. That really seemed to help me! I'm eating more fruits & veggies, so that's helping too, I think! Maybe I WILL finally have a loss next week! Wouldn't that be amazing??? So chickie...get out of the funk...don't give up...and keep hangin on! We're here for you!

Betani...Yep! That journalling stuff on paper is truly helpful! It makes us soooo accountable to ourselves, doesn't it?

OK...I started this hours ago! I need to get to bed! I'm thankful for my bed, a furnace & snow!