Hey everyone!

Congrates to everyone who lost weight this week. Fantastic work.

All this talk of supermarkets is so weird. I don't really like shopping in places like walmart... but sometimes I have to because I can't afford the stuff in more expensive stores. I've never been in a Target. But I know when the Walmart in my hometown got the grocery store section I was kind of scared. It seemed so bizarre to buy your groceries right beside your underwear...

2Frus Have fun at kickboxing. I took a class this semester and loved it! But I missed the last week and that made me sad....

Hikerchick - I hate when scales start to go all weird. What kind of scale are you thinking of getting to replace it?

Doughnut - Fights with friends are totally hard. I can totally understand eating a cake. I've definitly been there. Did she get mad at you about what you told her?

My day has been good so far. It's been so sunny that I biked to school and went for a little cycle between classes. I came home and went for a run, a longer run than I've done in a while! It felt great.

Ah, ye ol' planning thread!

I've been running around like crazy for the last 48 hours and haven't had a chance to make my plan for the week, but here it is:

I had an amazing three-day weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) while my husband was away, and I was at home writing my paper with the dog. Not only did I finish 38 pages of my 30 page paper (so now, no more writing, just editing!!), but I exercised everyday and ate really, really well.

I was averaging about 1300 calories, and while my fat/carb/protein breakdown could have been better, I was really happy with the choices I made. Most importantly, I spent three days alone in my house with piles of candy and did not have a SINGLE piece.

I haven't had anything sweet since Thursday night, which is a huge accomplishment for me. And even Thursday, it was just a Hostess 100-calorie pack!

So, my plan is to try to stay on track even though my husband is home, I'm back to commuting to school, and it's TOTM. I know that my normal calorie range will probably settle around 1400 - 1500, but I'm fine with that, since I was probably averaging over 2000 before I started counting.

For right now, I think 1300 is good for me. I don't feel hungry and I'm craving a totally different set of foods. That said, I was averaging 1300 when I didn't eat breakfast until 12 or 1 p.m. I might need more food and be more hungry when I'm eating breakfast at an earlier time (around 9 a.m.).

Speaking of, I love Fitday!! It makes me feel totally in control and also helps me make better choices when I'm eating away from home -- either I pick a choice that is prepared simply (so I can track it better) or I only eat a portion of my meal.

Some random goals:

(1) Replace candy with better "treats" (like a Kashi waffle with natural peanut butter). If you really want candy, make sure it fits in your calorie range and only have a single serving. And no going above 1300 calories JUST for candy!!

(2) Keep tracking on Fitday. Try to keep calories under 1300 if possible. If not, just be smart about what I eat.

(3) Continue exercising, especially keeping up with C25K and my new Turbo Jam and Hip Hop Abs DVDs.

(4) Allow myself a treat meal Saturday at lunch for my friend's bridal shower!

Hmmm. I was totally on track through dinner and was ready to have an after-dinner snack -- probably a banana with natural peanut butter.

But then SIL (who I live with two nights per week) said she had a special dessert she wanted to make for me.

She cut a banana in half lengthwise, placed it in a tortilla, added some shredded chocolate, wrapped and fried the tortilla, then covered in cinnamon-sugar. It was very good, but I'm unhappy what it did to my calories for the day (though I'm only at about 1550, give or take).

Learning to say no is going to be difficult. But at least I didn't eat anything else after that. I'll be extra careful tomorrow.

Poppins - that sounds really really nice I can't imagine it was tooooo bad on the old diet apart from maybe the frying Hey at least you got a banana!

Well I did go training last night - I was doing WEAPONS TRAINING Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeha! With a broomstick I am deadly Ninja Cleaning Lady

I'm still lingering with a bit of a headache, but at least I can see today I'm planning on going to the gym at lunch and I might do some treadmill running this afternoon just to keep my paws happy

Food yesterday was great until we got our Tesco delivery - I'd forgotten I'd ordered choc-ices AND they didn't fit in the freezer AND DH wanted one... They weren't all that great anyway! I did enjoy it though, and there was enough room in my day for it - but I just felt a bit dissapointed with it since it wasn't all that great

Anyway, this morning I'm HUNGRY! I've had porridge with pecans and cranberries and honey and then an apple and I'm still just a little hungry. I suppose I could make tea...

Doughnut-we have 3 old shopping centers in my town thanks to Walmart...they had to build a new SUPER Walmart. I hate walmart and everything they stand for. Basically in the US, they come to a small town, tear out a section of forest, build and cut prices so low that they put everyone out of business...a few years later they leave the ghost town of a shopping center (and all the barnacle stores that hang off walmart) and rip out more forest to build another one, raise prices up (since there is no competition)....etc. It really makes me sick. I avoid that place like crazy. There are very few items that only walmart carries. I even order my printer cartridges, etc online to avoid that store. I would love to see them go under...it's just a matter of time.

p.s. I have a problem with being too "truthful" also (some call it opininated...see above paragraph ). In my personal experience, people don't want to really know the truth...they just want someone to agree with them. Makes it hard for us "say it like it is" kinda gals.

I ate healthy and very low cal yesterday and woke up with a hunger headache to prove it! My hubby brought home an extra large Hershey with Almonds bar...ate half of it and it is laying on the counter calling me....must be strong! I think I may have to put it in a cupboard until he finishes it off, I can't trust myself this early into a diet!

Good morning dears.

I think I'd like to get a one hour walk/jog in today. I could map it out at Gmap and have it in mind for nice weather and lazy days.

I'm kinda sorry I got cancelled for my shift this afternoon. I would have liked to weigh myself. I'm doing OK with the physical-ness of not weighing everyday but sometimes the mental part is hard. Especially after a little loss. I'm greedy.

Hi everyone!!
Well I am thrilled to report that I have lost another lb!!! I am now 126 --1lb below my goal.
I would like to get down to 125 before I go visit my daughter in Montreal.
Wow --I wonder if I can do it --just eat say 1/4 of a Montreal bagel!!
I am now adding weight lifting to my cardio work outs but am I bit concerned that I will not be able to take off as many cals for exercise each day and yes I do know that muscle burns more calories but I am pretty weak and so have to start out very slow with the weight lifting. Wish I could just do cardio which I love. Katie

Good morning ladies. Got up and out to Curves early this morning. I have to follow my son to drop the truck off to get a brake job.

My two older sons are coming home today. One had been in Vegas and he is getting dropped off here then we'll drive him home to Santa Barbara tomorrow.

So not much more than that planned today. We will be going out to dinner tonight so hopefully I can keep it low. They all love beef so maybe we'll go to Roadhouse Grill. They have the most awesom, huge baked sweet potatoes. They are so good you don't even need any butter or other condiments on them. I usually get that and asked for broccoli with no butter, etc. and they make the BEST. Yep, that sounds like a plan

Have a great day everyone. Jane

Ok, after my blargh day yesterday with probably 3,000 calories intake (refer to recent blargh post in this community) - I'm ready to get back on track today.

Breakfast:
Steak Fajita mini-burrito - 380 calories

Snack1:
8 oz. vanilla chai protein shake - 160 calories
half a doughnut ~ 120 calories

Lunch:
Chicken Noodle Soup with extra wilted greens - 200 calories
2 minneolas (tangerine/grapefruit hybrid) ~ 100 calories

Snack2:
Ham/Turkey/Pepperjack Roll-up ~150 calories

Dinner:
LeanCuisine + cup of steamed veggies + salsa ~ 400 calories

Treat:
1 truffle ~ 75 calories

Planned Total: 1585 calories

Exercise:
20 minutes toning/stretching with exercise ball
~ 1 hour jogging (aiming for 5.5 miles - steadily training for 10K)

Well today was a much better day. Hubby is back to normal so all is well in NH. I think my stomach is shrinking because usually I have a salad and a yogurt for lunch, but for the last few days I was so full after my salad that I couldn't eat the yogurt. So today I just had salad, maybe there will be a loss when I weigh in on Friday. Hope everyone is having a great day!

FOILED AGAIN!!

I had my meals and calories all planned out, but then SIL made pasta with regular spaghetti, tomato paste, cheese, and ground turkey. Not terrible, but I'm not pleased with how it looks on FitDay, and it wasn't totally satisfying, since I had planned on something else for dinner.

I just had no idea how to say no. Plus, she made so much that it would have been doubly rude if I didn't have some for dinner.

I guess the unexpected meal is just something I'll need with which I'll need to learn how to cope.

At least I only have two more weeks (at two days per week) and then a few random days during exams of commuting and staying with SIL, so I'll have more control over my diet soon. STILL, there's always DH or the unexpected dinner invitation or something else for which I won't be able to plan.

This is something I just need to ACCEPT.

Calorie counting, combined with my obsessive personality, is definitely having one negative impact: I don't want to eat anything that doesn't have a nutrition label slapped on it (except for fruit and vegetables). So, any type of "meal" with lots of components just scares the heck out of me, and I find myself gravitating towards more packaged things, though healthy choices -- like a Kashi meal or cereal or yogurt.

Any help ladies?

I should have kept my mouth shut about being cancelled at work. I walk/jogged an hour this morning, went for a 45 minute walk with my friend this afternoon and then got called back for four hours.
My legs are tired now .... and I'm starving!

I wanted to walk to town today cause DD1 had to get her braces off but this dang wind I had to take the bus but not all was lost we walked from the bus dept to her appointment and then to the grocerie store but I still would of love to get my big walk in.

Wow, what a day I had!!!

Bfast was fine (ww tortilla, egg whites, ff cheese). Off to work to deal once again with my saga of having a corporate gas card stolen and $1850 in charges rung up. Then I was starving, so I grabbed an apple and our business partner immediately came up and said, "are you ready?" Ready for what? I thought. Oh, we have to go meet with our CPA for the taxes......I finish roughly half the apple before I have to throw it out before we leave. Lunch a couple hours later was really good, although kinda high in calories (frozen panini 440 cals + fresh veggies and a little low fat dip). BUT, it kept me full until now!!!! Ok, so right now I'm having a martini (but a small one) and tonight DH and the inlaws and I are going dancing and dinner will be served as well (it's a fundraiser for DD's school band).

Oh Allison, just thinking about dancing made my legs ache. But it sounds fun!


Poppins ... I'm not sure that's a negative effect. Growing pains maybe, but you'll get the hang of it.