Because well, it's July!

Hi everyone! New month new start.

I finally changed my ticker up to reflect this mornings weight, 136. Ah 133.6, I hardly knew yee...

My goal for this month is 132. I have, including today, 4 more days of vacation before i get to go home...Then I can be on a more normal eating schedule. I only have one weekend trip planned at the end of the month, the rest of the month should be smooth sailing.

Hurray for JULY!!!!
Made 149.2 last month. Goal for this month is a sustainable 145...

Let's make it memorable, ladies!!!

My plan for July is to keep things on track with the exception of my wedding/honeymoon... which will be FUBAR. So far though, so good; yesterday was a cardio day so I did a short run (22 mins with 10 mins walking) and the stair climber for 35 minutes (intervals).

Today I did 75 minutes of weight lifting and then joined my unit for a 75 minute ruck march with some sprints up a few flights of stairs (15 times). Not a bad way to start the month... and, most importantly, my diet has been pretty spot-on since 12 June when I got back from my last vacation.

The trick is going to be keeping things in check when I'm in Las Vegas. I'll be there the 19th - 24th, and I have a tentative plan;
The 19th, 20th, and all day on the 21st (Up until the reception dinner) - Keep up workouts, clean diet, and no alcohol... staying OP!
The night of the 21st - 24th I have dinner plans, but I'll be trying to keep my diet clean during the days and having a few alcoholic drinks with calorie free or very low calorie mixers.
I'm not going to overly restrict myself, but I'm going to try my best to minimize the damage where I can. I'll be taking along some Quest protein bars and drink mixes (Bobs Margarita powder, crystal light, etc.) and trying to fill up on fruit and veggies during the days. My hope is that because it will be so hot and I'll be in a bikini/skimpy clothing that I'll just naturally eat lighter and drink a lot of water.

I do anticipate some gains, but hopefully no more than 2-3 pounds once some of the water weight wears off. I'm at 117 pounds as of Sunday, but if I can lose a couple more in the next few weeks BEFORE the trip, I can create a little "buffer" for myself.

Anyway... that's the PLAN... haha. We'll see how it all goes. Until then, I'm going to keep working my *** off!

Hi All,
No time for personals as I have to get cranking at work. Crazy weekend. I live in VA, so we were part of the massive storm that swept through. Husband & I were watching an action movie in the basement Friday night so we didn't realize (at first) what was going on until the power kept going out. We look outside and it's Armageddon!

We ran outside because we have a lot of kids toys loose in the yard (soccer goal, etc) so we threw those in the garage and then hunkered down. Thankfully our house and all our trees were ok. Tons of power lines down, trees and house damage throughout the neighborhood though.

We just got power back this morning, but much of the area is still without power. It wasn't the most healthful of weekend eating as we were at the mercy of what wasn't spoiled from the fridge (it's amazing how quickly it goes bad when it's 100 degrees out) We spent a lot of time at friends houses so it was also whatever they were eating. Oh, and we drank A LOT. We slept in our basement which was relatively cool. So glad to be able to move back to our own beds tonight though!

I was sad to clean the fridge out last night... going to be a big bill to replace everything. sigh. Weighed in the morning at 133.4, about .5lb up so I suppose not too bad. I won't be able to go shopping until this evening so my breakfast was toast with nutella. Why do I even have that in my house? I could literally eat a jar at a time! I can't wait to get some fruit!

Take care everyone!

I have absolutely nothing interesting to contribute to this thread since I am DEAD from a busy weekend in Montreal. I ate absolutely terribly all weekend long and am really looking forward to feeding myself properly this week and getting back to routine. Damned Frenchmen and their bread and Nutella - I can see how whole loaves and jars end up lost in time. Also, TOM came Saturday morning (HOORAY NOT A MOM), for what that's worth.

I weighed in at 128.6 lbs this morning which is honestly less than I had been expecting.

Hi all. Vacationing....slot machines,,too much booze!

I had a Nutella/Banana Crepe yesterday for lunch...need I say more?.. Hah

crazygurl : Have fun vacationing!!

Alexis : great goal for july!!

Jossfit : you'll be rocking this plan. Your Vegas trip is coming on so quickly, omg!!

DottieMae : I'm glad to hear you and your family are alright.

krampus : hope you had fun in montreal! you were lucky, the weather was awesome this weekend!

***

So I'm alive again after the craaazy weekend. I got the half marathon saturday, and it.was.HOT. At some point I really wanted to cry and give up with about 2 km to go... But I pulled the big girl panties and finished it (I had people cheering on me at the finish line, I wasn't willing to let them down). I finished in 2hour19min43sec, which is 10 min faster than my first goal of 2hour30.

This is my ''I'm freakin done with this thing, now let's have a beer'' picture



Yesterday, We woke up at 6:15 to drive to montreal to help some friends moving. With the race the day before, I was so DEAD last night. Plus it was frustrating, when we got at the new apartment, the girl (who was supposed to be gone at noon) wasn't gone at all and was not even done PACKING. She had dirty dishes in the sink and still stuff in every single room of the appartment.

Today being Canada Day (so not working), we are doing pretty much nothing. We did the grocery shopping for the week and we are planning to relax for the rest of the day... YAY!

Have a great monday everyone!

Joss ~ Sounds like a good game plan, chica! Forgive me if I'm out of line, but 117 at 5'4" is reeeally tiny. Totally understand wanting to have a cushion for the festivities, but don't drive yourself nuts over it, yeah?

Crazy ~ You're doin' pretty darn well for a vacation. How's it going being with the parents and hubby (do I have that right?)

dottie ~ Glad you survived the storm! I'm a nutella-holic, too, only a jar doesn't really last longer than 24 hours in our house.

Krampus ~ How do you like Montreal? I've never been but might be looking to plan a trip for the fall...

Turbo ~ YAY for finishing!!!! And what a great picture of you, too.

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Had the church retreat at the shore this weekend and got back late last night. Still kind of wiped out today. Did really well food-wise on Friday and most of Saturday, but caved in and had two s'mores, an instant noodle bowl, chocolate, and graham crackers. The next day, I had cookies and some birthday cake. It was a weekend indulgence, but wasn't too bad.

Good news: I found a new job!!!! (Associate Recruiter/Researcher at a health search firm)

Bittersweet: had to give my boss my two weeks notice... Yucky, especially since I love my boss. But alas, life goes on.

Feelin' kinda crappy about having to tell him. Again, a bit of emotional eating (wendy's and sugar free candies) but hoping to move beyond.

Stay focused: sustainable 145 this month!!!

UGH I've been over eating/drinking for two weeks straight! Haven't forced my chubby butt on the scale to face the damage.

krampus & crazygurl61 - I'm sensing we all have a weakness for Nutella!

crazygurl61 - enjoy the rest of your vacation!

krampus - You're always off on an adventure. So fun (and jealous!)

TurboMammoth - Congrats on the race. I love that photo. You look like you still have a ton of energy and are like 'bring it!' Hope you enjoyed your day off and the move wasn't too much of a pain.

Alexistrophic - yay! congrats on the new job. Always fun and sad to start a new chapter.

Dorian5 - You made the admission, start eating well and figure out where you are. If you've gained it will come back with just a little time back on track. Good luck & hugs!

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Recovering from the storm, still power out all over the place. I went grocery shopping after yoga last night around 10ish. The place was wiped out. I got one of the last packages of butter & milk and the produce was decimated. I'm so excited to have the 4th off tomorrow but wish I didn't have to go back to work on Thursday & Friday! 132.9 this am so heading in the right direction. Glad to have my 'normal' food routine back and a fridge filled with good food. Have a wonderful day!

Happy Tuesday Feathers! Glad to see everyone making it over to our new thread. I have to say, I really enjoy having this forum just to BS with other ladies trying hard to maintain and occasionally lose a few pounds... it helps a lot to have this place to vent all of my food and exercise related concerns and I'm sure my fiance appreciates not having to hear about it!

Today seems to be starting off on a good note; I had a decent workout (cardio day - 45 minutes of stair machine intervals, 20 minutes on the elliptical and a 10 minute hard run on the treadmill with a 5 minute cooldown walk) and today is our Unit picnic so nobody will be doing much work today. Heck with tomorrow off for the 4th and a late start on Thursday, I don't see a lot getting done around the office this WEEK!

The problem is that it's prime BBQ time right now. We have this picnic today but I'll be abstaining from the goodies and brought my own food as per usual. I might be going to a BBQ tomorrow at a friend's house, and even though I would normally treat myself to a day of drinks and burgers I won't be because of the wedding coming up. I just can't really justify ANOTHER day this month off plan in addition to the week I'll be away for the wedding and honeymoon.

I almost don't want to deal with the questions and comments that I KNOW are coming though; "one won't kill you... why aren't you drinking?... I'm sure you aren't going to have any because it's not healthy... " I'm sure you've all been there. It's just an annoyance at times. I try not to skip out on social events because of it but sometimes it's just easier.

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Dorian - What's going on chica? Just taking some time off to re-set or are you "off the wagon"? You know if you need to vent or just whine this is the place to do it... you can PM me if you want to - I'm here for you (and I know everyone else probably feels exactly the same). Whatever the case, I hope you keep coming back and saying hi in the meantime!

Alexis - You aren't out of line... this is a public forum so anything I put out here is up for scrutiny I suppose. Don't get me wrong, I am happy at 117 and like the way I look, BUT, if I should so happen to lose another pound or two just as a result of my workouts and normal clean eating routine that would be a bonus. Given that I am pretty muscular and very lean at this weight, I doubt I'd be able to make that happen again. (I was down to 114 in March)
I am just about back to the weight I was at when I did my dress fitting (still up a pound or so at my last weight check but thats not enough to make a difference in how it fits) so I'm where I want to be. I'm more or less just crossing my fingers and seeing what happens. After all, if I go on vacation and gain 4 pounds, it's easier to get back to 117 from 119 than it is from 121! (120 is my "Oh hells no" red line so I really don't want to be above that!)

Congratulations on the new job! I know that leaving the old one is a little bittersweet, but it sounds like you're really excited about the new opportunites. I'll be doing that next year when I go back to civilian life, and while it's scary and a bit sad, I'm looking forward to some new experiences and branching out a bit. I'm sure your former boss totally understands and respects you giving them notice.

Oh, and I totally want s'mores now... thanks.

Turbo - Yeah, its right around the corner... so excited! I'll definitely have to show some pictures to you all when I get home. Speaking of which, I love the one you posted! LOL I hardly think that if I actually managed to finish a run like that I would look significantly less enthusiastic. Any plans to do another one?

CrazyGurl - Hey, it's a vacation, no biggie! Shoot between you, Dottie, Krampus and I, it sounds like we've got some Nutella issues in this thread! (Okay okay, mine is Justins Chocolate Hazelnut spread - much less sugar, and I measure it out) but still! I hope you're having fun!

Krampus - I'm so jealous of all of your traveling! Maybe when I separate I can sell the idea of taking a year off before I start school to the hubby... just to get around. I've saved up the money for it after all. Actually, I may end up taking a few months anyway so it sounds like a good time. New York perhaps??

Dottie - I'm glad your power came back on. I know a lot of people are still without it. What a pain in the butt to have to throw out all the groceries and start over! Ugh!

Alexis : Congrats on the new job!!! When are you officially starting?

Dorian : You are not alone I faced the scale this morning and it is horrible...

DottieMae : Oh, don't be fooled by the picture, I was pretty much dead at this point LOL Enjoy your 4th of July celebrations tomorrow!

JossFit : BBQ season is horrible on the diet. It's weird, because it SHOULD be more healthy, because it's grilling and you get rid of the fat and everything... the sidedish make this hard I think LOL! And yes, I'm already in for another race, I'm doing the 1/2 marathon in the Montreal Marathon/half in September. It's part of the Rock&Roll series this year so it's going to be fun!

***

Well, I faced the scale this morning, after eating pretty much all weekend long and getting the visit of TOM on saturday : 140 pounds. It's horrible LOL (at least I'm laughing.

So today, back to counting, eating clean, drinking LOADS of water to get rid of the salt. I'm going back for a easy run tonight to try to relax my legs muscles, my calves are still a bit sore.

I'm NOT going higher than FREACKING 140! Back on plan to go back under 135, starting NOW!

Back on track yesterday. Down to 127.4 today. Upped all my weights. It's time to get a new routine soon and add some new exercises. I really need to stop being afraid of the squat rack/barbells, but it's so intimidating since I go to the gym by myself, there is always a line of big dudes, and I don't know how to rack the equipment. Does not help that sometimes said big dudes make jokey/mocking faces at me when I'm making pooping faces lifting pathetically small dumbbells.

4th of July tomorrow. AMERICA, woo. The last 3 years I celebrated Independence Day near the Navy base in Sasebo, Nagasaki. This year my friends want to BBQ at a park. Won't be a problem unless there are chips, which there will be. Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

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TurboMammoth Ach! It's hard to balance eating for distance running/endurance and weight maintenance. You've been running like a BEAST and training really diligently though, I admire that.

JossFit I wish I got to travel more - NYC and Montreal are both less than 4 hours away from where I live now so I can go there for easy weekends, but anywhere further than that requires time off and planning. A year off to travel would be a DREAM - you should look into that! New York City is really neat and also really smelly in the summertime - IMO the best time to come to the state of New York, period, is autumn. Drive through the mountains and see the colors on the trees and all that.

DottieMae Hope there wasn't too much storm damage around where you live - that sounds scary. I remember being at the opposite end of Japan from where the earthquake/tsunami hit and still seeing all the stores sold out of bottled water and batteries. Nutella is definitely a nemesis of mine, I don't buy it because that never ends well.

Dorian5 Sorry you're having a tough time - I bet the damage isn't nearly as bad as you imagine it might be. Like JossFit offered, feel free to PM me and rant if you'd like! We're all cheering you on~!

Alexistrophic Congratulations on the new job - it's always super bittersweet having to part ways and tell your current employer you're leaving. I felt guilty about leaving my crappy old job and stressed about telling the boss "yeah so in 2 weeks I'm history."

Hi All!

Krampus Nice job getting back on track, the chips are hard for me too!

Turbo great pic and congrats on the race! Yes, I am with my parents and husband...mostly smooth :-)

Dorian I feel you girl! I am needing to get back on track too. You can PM me also.

Alexistrophic I always feel guilty about leaving...now it's behind you and you can move on. Would love to hear about your new job!

Dottie oh the Nutella...it's like crack...hope the damage is minimal from the storm. It looks like you are doing awesome on the scale!

Joss I hate the not drinking questions. I've been married 3 years and people assume I'm pregnant. Hate it! I love Las Vegas. It's great that you have a plan. I've found if I have a cup of water in my hand, with a lemon or lime perhaps, that stops the questions. I also find if I feel myself slipping I will offer to help with the dishes or clean up, add more chips to the bowl, etc. Good luck!

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Today is the last full day of vacation and then we are headed back tomorrow. On Thursday I start my part time summer clerical job at 7am...yippeee!

I know tonight we are going to a fancy dinner so I will try to order fish prepared healthy and not overdo it. The scale has been going the wrong way. Probably becaus I've been eating later than normal, bloated, and drinking alchohol. Except for one day with a 4 vodka soda mistake at the slot machines I have not had more than 2 cocktails a day. It seems like I am refusing food right and left but still eating too much and things I wouldn't normally eat. we are getting a lot of exercise which is good but leaving me bloated and sore! That also makes the scale got up.

It hasn't been too bad being on vacation with my husband and my parents, but I feel like if we stayed any longer we might get annoyed...after while peoples little habbits start to bug. Hah! My mom keeps saying I look like I am at my goal. She is a but shorter than me and about 25 lbs heavier...so I know it's hard for her that I've lost weight, I try to ignore the comments because it makes me go crazy eating..hah.

I'm going to try to enjoy my last day and I look forward to getting home and restocking the fridge and pantry with healthy staples, and having the scale go down!!