tonimaronie : boyfriends (but I think boy in general) suck for that. they can eat much more without having consequences ont their weight... it's always a challenge keeping some good healthy habit when mine is around (and well, we live together, so he's ALWAYS around! LOL)

crazygurl : glad you got the job! seems a bit complicated with the vacations time with your parents. Good luck with that!

jossfit : a bad weekend of eating won't derail anything drink a lot of water to take away the water weight first, and than you'll see that it won't be that bad. gaining 3-4 REAL pounds would equal eating 10500 in OVER in 3 days and I doubt you did that

philana : welcome to the ''i'm not eating enough for all the sport you do because you're just not that hungry'' club. Become a sport person, they say. It will be fun, they say! LOL

krampus : You seems to have plenty protein. Maybe it was just a bad day at lifting? you are rocking the scale these days... awesoooome!

Dorian : this recipe on skinnytaste looks so gooood, I always wanted to try it. And this is definetely the best morning workout!!! If you want to had a twist to your turkey burger, throw a bif t shredded zucchinis in them! I tried that the other day and the meat stays super moist (it is actually a recipe from skinnytaste hehe)

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hey ladies!

I tried out a run this morning, no interval just a plain 8k run. I was ok, a bit weird but it was because I haven't run in a 5 days. The legs were arguing with me and not happy to get up at 6AM to jog I think... Still glad I did it. It's getting me more confidence about going for a run after the fainting episode. Plus it was already hot at 6AM this morning, it would have been aweful tonight.

I managed to eat 1850 calories yesterday without counting the oil used in cooking, so I probably made it to 1950 or something. I was still at 134.4 pounds this morning (same as yesterday). I think I'll try to stay in a 2 pounds range 134.4 being the top of the range

I sent out resumes for 2 jobs since Sunday, like the first time in my life for a real adult stuff job. It's killing my nerves LOL

Have a good day feathers!!

Was suppose to go 30miles but ended up cycling for 46miles. I got lost and did not research exactly how far the place I was going was. Took me 3 and a half hours with the constantly looking for the route since my GPS was broken.

It's kinda funky, the other day I did 34miles and burned 2000 calories, now I did 46miles and burned 1800 calories. I think it's because it was not so hot today and because I had a very slow pace. Well, not really slow. But still. Anyhow. Rambling.

Talk to you gals later!

((((Toni, crazygurl, jossfit, Krampus, Dorian, philana, turbo))))

Apologies no personals...

Someone (Toni?) asked what kind of music I play... I do violin/viola (as needed) with a few local orchestras. I also have ONE private violin student. I'd like to have more, but the reason I haven't been searching for them proactively is because I'm not at all sure where I'm going to end up job-wise and I figured that it just wasn't fair to take on a bunch of students only to have to drop them later on.

Speaking of which, I'm in a job application process now and it's interesting... Kinda nerve-wracking, but very exciting. Had an interview today and the company is trying to schedule second round for me in the city on Friday. It's working with an IT consulting firm (completely the opposite direction of where I thought I'd like to go, but I'm trying to keep an open mind) The position sounds amazing and they're willing to train me.

Cons: long commute (40 miles away, no public transport) and would involve taking a pay cut at first.

Pros: I like the office, people, and area; the work seems exciting and has tremendous earning potential.

Eating has been better of late... Keeping my 8PM cut off and making slightly better choices. Bought one of those giant "days worth" water bottles from Walmart (74.40zs) and managed to get through TWO of them yesterday.

Going down to the shore at the end of the month, so it'd be nice to be in shape for that...

Onward and upward!

Sorry no time for personals right now but I've read all your posts.

Been bouncing around 135-136 for a bit. Hoping to get 135 to stick.

I'm wondering when did people start noticing your weight loss? I think because I've lost a little over 10lbs and been at this for a solid 2 months that I just wish people would notice. It's completely selfish, I know. My husband did say "you're looking skinny" but I kinda feel like he feels like he needs to say stuff like that to encourage me. haha.

I got one comment from a woman I work with about 'Did you change your hair?' Nope, it's been the same way for the past 4 months... but to be fair I hadn't seen her in awhile.

I know it's completely selfish and in all reality I haven't lost that much weight... I guess it's sort of like when I had really long hair and would chop like 6inches off - it was still long so no one noticed that it was 'different'.

Sadly, I have to admit I've been on the other end of the spectrum - a guy who I worked with had been working on losing weight for like 10 months (unbeknownst to me). One day I was like "Hey, have you lost weight?" He was like, "Ummm, yeah... like 70lbs." oof, I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed! 70lbs is a lot!! (and a heck of a lot more than 10lbs!)

Ugh, what a day! It was bad enough going back to my office after being gone since mid-February, but then to have people seeing me when I am holding (literally) 15 POUNDS of water weight, bloat and fattiness from this weekend was just crappy. I was embarassed, felt uncomfortable physically, and had a crap workout to boot!

So yeah, you read that right... 15 pounds. Nice huh? To be fair, my body is really suseptible to bloating, and flying only makes it worse. All the factors put together created the perfect storm I suppose, and the end result is a 15 pound scale gain today. I hate it... I look awful! I probably gained like 4-5 real pounds, but even just that amount is extremely noticable on someone my size. Obviously I'm having a little pity party over here today, but I can't help it... I'm depressed and miserable! I just want to fast forward time a few weeks.

In the meantime, all I can do is get back to a clean diet (I'm actually cutting my calories down to about 1300 per day for the next week just to jumpstart things) and increase my water intake to try and flush out that bloating. I'm aiming to do another "official" weigh in the weekend after this one - Saturday the 23rd of June - to see where I'm at.

For now, I feel like a fraud. I am in my avatar looking the part, and someone introduced me to someone else today as "Our resident fitness guru" and yet there I stood looking like a sea cow wishing my stomach would stop begging me for more junk to put into it. I think that's the worst part; feeling like a hypocrite somehow. Normally I tell everyone "You CAN have treats in moderation!" and I mean it, but I didn't feel that way today. I had too many treats and swelled up like a balloon because of it. Not cool.

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Dottiemae - People may notice your loss, but just not say anything. Unless I know someone really well (like my best friend or my fiance) I would never comment on their weight in a positive or negative way. I just think it's potentially rude to bring up when not solicited.

Alexis - Good job getting more water in... that should help!

Philana - Holy cow woman, that's a lot of riding! Once I get out to Colorado with my fiance (well, he'll be my husband then) he wants to get me a mountain bike so we can go on rides together. I think it will be fun! I'm not much of a bike rider (okay, not at all) but anything that gets me around, gives me an activity to do with the SO and burns some calories sounds like a good deal!
It must be a tough battle to fight trying to determine how much you need to eat with all of that activity though... I don't envy you that. Counting calories is the best way to start, and then you can adjust from there. I know this is the pot calling the kettle black... but just try to be patient with it!

Turbo - I WISH I hadn't eaten 10500 OVER MX in the course of a few days, but I'm pretty sure I did. Again, nothing I can do about it now other than work hard and be as patient as I can for the next few weeks.
Good job on the run too... just take it easy! We wouldn't want you fainting again.

Toni - You're right... nothing I haven't lost before... but if you've ever had an experience like this where the gain is so IMMEDIATE, you know how frustrating it can be and how scary it can be... especially only 3 weeks before my final dress appointment and 5 weeks before my wedding! Ugh! It's my own damn fault though.
How do you like your bodybugg? I looked at them, but I can't wear it to work because it transmits information which is a big no no in my office. No cell phones, GPS enabled devices, 2 way pagers, etc. I would like to have one but I could only wear it on weekends.

Dorian - Yes ma'am, buckling down! Now that I'm back in my office I also have to do unit PT M,W,F so on those days I'll be doing two workouts. I'm going to be one tired feather!

Krampus - I don't think a lack of protein is to blame for your gym lethargy... have you been drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, and eating a diet rich in vitamins? Alcohol zaps you of energy and impares your body's ability to repair itself so the few drinks you've been having could have a part in it.
Right now I'm actually jealous of your ability to maintain your weight with the chips and guac and goodies! I did eat way too much, but 15 pounds of bloat is so unfair! If I hadn't been flying/traveling it would have been maybe 1/2 of that, but still. I'm glad at least ONE of us is getting away with it lately!

To anyone I missed, my apologies! I hope everyone had a less frustrating day than I did. Here's praying that I shed some more of this water tonight and don't feel quite as bad tomorrow. I just have to keep telling myself that as long as I stay on plan, each day I will look and feel better than I did the day before.

Weighed in today at 128lbs. So happy, determined to stay on track though when I got home from work today I discovered that my Dad had bought chinese takeaway for dinner. Luckily I had eaten really well for the rest of the day so I don't think too much harm was done.

krampus - have you tried changing you gym routine?

Dottiemae - keep on going, people will notice soon. Trust me

128.8 this morning. I ate a little more than ideal yesterday, too much sodium, and I feel really gross - but it wasn't an all-out munchie mania like Monday. Oh well, nothing goes without consequence I guess, and a few weeks ago I'd be nearly soiling myself with excitement to be under 130 at all. I think 128 is going to be my new red line.

I won another local blog contest - this time it's 2 passes to a really amazing-looking consignment sale: http://www.oldisnewsale.com

I'll be going with my roommate and hopefully picking up some awesome new clothes. It would really be nice if I weren't bloated for the sale...

JossFit You're not a fraud! Everyone has days when they feel they're not walking the walk to accompany the talk, but that doesn't mean you aren't still the same person as your avatar. You'll deflate and get back into a routine - but I totally understand not wanting to be seen by anyone. I remember piling on 10 lbs of binge bloat after a weekend in Seoul and going to a work meeting that Monday unable to button my blazer jacket...yuck. Thanks for the tips - alcohol really is nothing but poison as far as fitness is concerned, sigh.

ManekiNeko Nice job on the loss!

DottieMae People probably notice but don't want to say anything. It's always a slippery situation commenting on someone's weight - what if you had a tapeworm or AIDS or something? :P

Alexistrophic Do you say "down to the shore" or "down the sho-ah" (NOT a Holocaust joke) out loud? I'm glad you're feeling better lately, it sounds like that 8 PM cutoff is working pretty OK for you.

philana You're on fire with the cycling. Really living up to the Dutch stereotype of "everyone is a bike maniac."

TurboMammoth Good luck with job hunting. I don't think anyone's legs actually enjoy being up at 6 am. I know I can only run half as far and half as fast if I go in the early morning.

Good morning feathers! I clocked in at 128.8lbs this morning (krampus, we match!) so I guess that's... okay with me? I weighed 127.8 last Saturday morning, I must have really put away some food/booze over the weekend to still be up from it. Blech.

I made some kick *** pasta salad last night, beau and I had a scoop of that and some baked potatoes (his was loaded, mine was light sour cream and a half tablespoon of light butter ) -- but tonight, I'm determined to have those turkey burgers! I bought light wheat buns and a tomato to slice and lettuce leaves and instead of cheese I have an avocado to slice up. Also making "fries" by baking up some skinny spears of butternut squash. Yum yum.

This weekend we are going to his parents house, it's a 2 hour drive away -- it's his dad's birthday, not to mention father's day, so they are having a little party for him. I'm baking the cake (anyone obsessed with Pioneer Woman like me? She has a "strawberry shortcake" cake that I'm making) and I'm sure dinner will be fat. I hope to eat really light all day on Saturday, have small portions at his parents, and a tiny sliver of cake. I'm determined to make this weekend better than last weekend!

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tonimaroni2 - It's hard to cut back when you've been losing at a certain number. Congrats on figuring it out, I can't wait to hear more about your Bodybugg, I think those things are so neat!

TurboMammoth - Sounds like you're maintaining well! I'm glad you managed your run and felt good about it. Hope you get some calls back on the jobs you applied for! Fingers crossed. And I am totally gonna get a zucchini on the way home for my burgers, that sounds AWESOME.

philana - Holy wow, I think my butt would fall off if I tried to bike that much. Way to go!

Alexistrophic - Hope you get that awesome job as well! The pros look like the definitely outweigh the cons. I can't believe you got through that much water, I've been trying to just get through 60oz and I find I have to pee constantly.

DottieMae - I think people are shy about bringing up other's weight loss, I would be willing to bet that a 10 pound loss is obvious on you. There's a guy in my office who has lost a TON but I never brought it up, I can't say why... I guess it's like acknowledging they had weight TO lose? When I lost, only 2 people said anything, and one is my outspoken boss (who even told me when to stop losing) and another guy who looked at the floor and made hand gestures while he tried to tell me I looked good, haha. I'm sure someone will buck up and say something soon - I bet you look awesome.

JossFit - You are DEFINITELY not a fraud. The water weight will come off, just give it some time. When I fly I blow up like a puffer fish, and it takes a while to go down. Instead of wanting to fast forward time, be HAPPY that each day you have is more time to get to where you want to be! You're not a hypocrite, this has happened to EVERYONE who has ever struggled with their weight. You know how to do this.

TheManekiNeko - Congrats on the low weight! And the chinese! Onward and downward.

krampus - Consignment sale looks awesome! That's so cool you won a blog contest. I want some pictures up if you get any cool clothes! I wouldn't sweat the weight, you'll be back to flirting with 125 any time now.

KEEP GOING FEATHERS. XOXO

Hahaha this made me laugh so hard, you're too funny girl.

Dorian - Your dinners sound DELICIOUS! I never have the ambition to put so much thought into healthier choices. I would love to try those turkey burgers and squash fries.

I'm loving my BodyBugg. The user interface is kind of dumb, but it really pushed me to keep moving yesterday after work. I had a 1000 calorie deficit which is a little steep, but I was compensating for my overindulgence the day before. The good news is the scale started moving back down towards normal today.

On a side note - work is killing me. I hate hate hate my job and I have a couple of interviews coming up, but I've been a job hopper since I graduated from college and really wish I could just find a home. My boss is an idiot.

Philana : woah! 46 miles! Sounds like fun, but I don’t think my b*tt is ready for that many cycles yet. You remind me to try to kick myself out of the bed on Friday morning to score a few miles there before work LOL

Alexis : your IT consulting thing looks nice, hope you get the position!!

DottieMae : That is funny that you are talking about people asking about losing weight, someone asked me just last night about it. I think 10 pounds on someone your size might show, but sometimes people are just not sure enough to ask in my opinion

Jossfit : At your weight and your figure, even a little bloathing must show... but at least, bloathing is more easy to go away. Don’t beat up yourself, you’re just putting too much stress on you : ( you are still the girl who went from 180 to 115 no matter what happened. You got that in you!! Hold on! *hugs*

TheMane : oh, Chinese take away. Hope you enjoyed what you had!

Krampus : another contest? Girl, you’re a lucky one, get lottery or something LOL Still being at 128 after something high in sodium is awesome!

Dorian : squash chips, YUMM! I need to try that. Here’s the recipe I used the other day for turkey/zucchini burger : http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/05/t...-zucchini.html I totally forgot it is Father’s day this weekend. Crapy-crap!

***

Yo feathers!
Still at 134.4 this morning, I’m starting to be concerned about my scale. I mean, okay I’m trying to maintain, but helloooooo. I’d be more happy to see fluctuations than this stubborn number. The boyfriend is also getting weird feeling out of the blue, he lost 3 pounds over the last weekend. Oh well.
I am getting ready for a fest food extravaganza at my place this weekend (which also led to a little fight) We moved last summer to a new apartments where we have this HUGE 25’x25’ deck, standing on top of a garage. It is safe, but still, we need to shovel the snow in the winter so there’s not too much weight on the top, etc. Last summer, I wanted to invite my hockey team (10 people) for a BBQ and the boyfriend keep on blabbering that he did not know if the deck was strong enough, etc. So I did not invite them.
He wanted to invite people from his work over for a BBQ in like forever, and this weekend was the best one to do that for everyone. So last night when I was wondering how many colleagues were coming, he told me it was unclear yet, but the top would be 15 people.
- We will be 15 people next Saturday??
- Oh no!
- Oh, thanx lord.
- With the 2 of us, it makes it to 17!

Like hello, we don’t even have 12 chaiiiirs! (and of course, he says he NEVER said that it would be unsafe to invite my hockey team.)

After the way we usually fight (I freak out, and he freak out BECAUSE I freak out, never ending loop here) we calmed down and I announced to him that I would cook appetizers and stuff but if something was going wrong I was totally gonna play the ‘’no f*ck was given that day’’ thing LOL I’m usually the one in charge when we get people over, let’s see how he manages. He was already a bit concerned when we had 10 people for his birthday, I can’t wait to see. Plus there will be child running around. I need to remember to hide the cat... LOL

Have a great day everyone!

YO TurboMammoth is this song too old for you to remember? HAHAHA I have never seen a man who looks more like a horse. I've been laughing at this all morning, also laughed very hard at "I need to remember to hide the cat:" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKqVx...eature=related

tonimaroni TOTALLY feel you on the job thing. Job hopping doesn't look nice on a resume but why stay put at a job where the boss stinks and the pay isn't worth it?

Dorian5 Twins!!! Wishing you well for the coming weekend. My friends have a baking blog and love Pioneer Woman, you might be able to get some (less than healthy) ideas from it: http://www.thepudcasts.com/

Krampus - I know I'm not supposed to like that you know how it feels, but I do. I think I'm more upset that I DIDN'T binge eat to gain all that bloat, it was just too much sodium, too little water (I was at the spa all day on Saturday before the reception and traveling all day on Sunday so I didn't drink as much water as I should have) and then adding air travel to that which I KNOW bloats me anyway... it almost seems unfair, you know? I did overeat, but no more so than anyone else did over the weekend.

I've never been to a consignment sale, but they look neat! I actually sold my first wedding ring on consignment (and I'm still hoping that it sells soon because that little bit of extra money would be great before my wedding next month!) Congrats on winning!

Dorian - You're totally right on all counts; I'm starting to lose the water weight, and I know that if I stick to my plan any REAL weight will come off in a few weeks. The hard part isn't doing the work, it's being motivated to do the work and stick to it, and right now my motivation is running high! I've got some to spare if anyone needs a loan!

I love that you love to cook and find creative ways to make healthy meals. I do a lot of that myself, and am always posting pictures and recipes on Facebook to share with my friends and to show that you can be tit (LOL, current condition not withstanding... hahaha) and eat delicious foods too. My fiance has never been one to do much cooking aside from eggs in the morning or throwing meat on the grill, and he's gotten into the habit of eating out way too much. I'm excited to be able to live together and cook for the both of us the way you do with your boyfriend. There's something nice about cooking for someone else, isn't there?

Toni - I've got the work blues right now too... I feel ya. I just got back to my office after being deployed since February, and morale around here sucks! I want to leave again already... hahaha. Good thing I have another vacation to look forward to in only 37 days!

Turbo - You are so right... I freak out more than I should because EVERY SINGLE LITTLE fluctuation shows on me right away. I love being lean, but sometimes it's got it's own issues!

I'm sure it will go fine with the BBQ this weekend... just try not to worry about it too much. I need to take my own advice because I tend to overthink/overplan things, but there really is no need to worry before there is a reason to, right? You're going to have a blast, and now you BF totally owes you one!

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I feel a bit better today. My first workout wasn't great this morning (just lifting weights, and I couldn't seem to find my intensity) but my second workout with my unit wasn't too bad. I did a 3-ish mile run/walk with a loaded ruck sack so I'm sure I burned a few calories on that one. I'd actually be really curious to know how many, which is why I want a Bodybugg Toni! I wish I could wear it into work! If I could, I'd have purchased one already.

I've done just fine losing and pretty much maintaining without one, but I'm definitely wondering how many calories I burn throughout the day, and especially when I do an activity like that.

Since I'm back at work now, I'll be having to fit in a lot of workouts which should help me get back on track pretty quickly. Right now my schedule is looking like this;

Monday: Full body weights @ 0600, Unit PT (can be anything) @ 0730
Tuesday: Cardio on my own @ 0600 (Usually running and stairs)
Wednesday: Full body weights @ 0600, Combatives/CrossFit training @ 0730
Thursday: Cardio @ 0600
Friday: Full body weights @ 0600, Unit PT (Usually football) @ 0730
Saturday: Kettlebell training with abs and cardio
Sunday: Cardio

Whew! After this week I might have to bump my calories up slightly. I plan to weigh on the 23rd, so on the 30th when I weigh again I should have a good idea of what I need to do with my diet in order to keep myself (or get myself) into my "Happy Range" again.

OMFG! they are SO STYLISH! I remember it a bit but WOAH. I'm at repeat #3 of the song right now. I wish you would understand the lyrics, god

''when you came in the unknown street, you did not knwo where you were going, but you knwo that there was in the first house, a girl, very typical, that every neighbors were calling Thai na na naaaaa, my god, what an angel, when she told you Sir wipe your feet when you come in, so I don,t have to wipe the floor after you'' ETC ETC ETC

DottieMae~ Completely understand that part about wanting other people to notice your hard work... Agree w. Dorian that people may just be shy about bringing it up.

Jossfit~ You are most definitely not a fraud. You have put in the hours and gathered the knowledge... no pesky excess bloat can take that away from you. Glad you're feeling better now! Right back on that horse

ManekiNeko~ Ah, the "suprise" takeaway... It's a good feeling when you know you've got enough room left though.

Krampus~ *fistpump* Well, you know what they say-- When in Rome... And you are just the blogwinner of the day, lady! Look at you burning it up with the scores on these contests.

Dorian~ I tell ya, it's the water bottle that's enabling me to push all this water... I can't really believe it myself. I was a big fan of the Pioneer Woman for awhile, too, but the New Yorker article kinda took off some of the luster for me. It describes her as being quietly, insanely ambitious which is all well and good, but I also feel like she presents herself as a kind of "golly shucks I can't believe all this is happening to me." kinda girl. Gotta respect her business sense, though.

tonimaroni~ What kind of work do you do again? Are you the teacher? I'm an industry hopper myself. Looking for a place to settle down, really. Hoping for good things for you from these interviews!

turbo~ That party sounds intense... Also sounds tough w. the bf "disagreements". Hopefully you guys can just work together and have a great time with your guests. Maybe suggest everyone "BYOC" (Bring Your Own Chair) ?

~~~
Ugh. Just got a call from the prospective new employer and they were suspicious b.c my linkedin profile didn't match my resume... Not a big deal (concurrent employment) but still.... All you job seekers, take note: Update your LinkedIn profile NOW! (I really should have known better... I'm potentially going into the staffing industry.)

Food has been fine. A bit disappointed b.c a friend just cancelled on me for dinner, but oh, well. Onward and upward.

Alexistrophic - I work in Human Resources. Right now I'm the HR director for an oil field services company but I want to get on board with a company that's local.