No time for personals, again, started off a great day, on track, till I realized I was going out with a Navy friend who lives in Hawaii. Time with a friend with a traumatic brain injury trumps weight loss ANY DAY for sure. Just hope I didn't reverse every pound I lost in the past couple weeks! Even if I did, I can get rid of it again with far less work than it will take for her to overcome her TBI, if she ever does. Definitely puts things in perspective!

~Katy (ps, drunk, so I hope I manages to catch anything that didn't make sense there.)

WOOHOO going to a wedding on a rainy Saturday. I had a cheeseburger and a slice of pizza for dinner yesterday and like four drinks, but I feel human today and my face is somehow not that bloated. I'll take it.

My dress is BLACK and I just dyed my hair black. Ahhhhh, feels good to be back in NBB (nothing but black)!

Howdy! My oldest is still sick! Day six of high fever off and on, and just generally miserable. It's rainy and yucky here. I'm feeling quesy myself now. Blech! I hope everyone has a much more fun weekend. I had tickets for a zumbathon tomorrow, but gave it away. Pity party! ;-)

Happy Saturday all!

Today started off a bit rough for me; I was having a hard time at the gym today because I hated seeing myself in so many mirrors. Having put on about 5-6 'real' pounds, and so rapidly, it's hard to look at myself. Yeah, I know that for us Feathers its just 'vanity weight' but I don't care... I'm vain damnit! haha I just hate that my definition is nearly wiped out and my workout pants were actually giving me a slight muffin top! Ugh! I know it will come off in a few weeks or a month or whatever as long as I keep working hard, but having to look at myself is so demotivating.

I did kick my own *** during my workout though, and I've been going non-stop all day cleaning house (grocery shopping, vaccuming the house - including the stairs which is sucky - doing laundry, dishes, scrubbing the bathrooms, cleaning the baseboards and chair railing, etc.) in preparation of my roommate coming home and my husband coming to visit this week. It might be overkill, but it's been a while since I've cleaned the baseboards and dusted for cobwebs on the ceiling fans and such.

Between that and getting my meals/workouts planned for the coming week, I can't believe it's after 5pm already! Where did the day go?!

Does anyone use chia seeds? I tried them for the first time this morning, and they were good, but I am looking for other ideas. I actually prepared them last night by mixing 10g of chia seeds with 6g of PB2 and some water to make a chia/peanut buttery spread. This morning it was set up into a gel situation, and I spread it on a piece of toasted Ezekiel bread and had some egg whites, 2g fish oil and coffee with coconut creamer on the side of course.
I took a picture, but it's not pretty... haha.


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Chickie - Ugh, what a miserable way to spend the day! I hope your kiddo feels better soon and that you don't catch it too.

Krampus - LOL, are you rockin out to 'Back in Black' too?
Yeah, I also hope I never binge like that again, but honestly, who knows? I am going to do my very best not to. I was doing so well that I'm surprised it happened. It's been a really long time. It's a bit scary to be honest... thinking that this is how I got big in the first place!
Yeah I definitely have a lot of new workouts planned so my goal is to just stick to them. I'm generally pretty good about it, but sometimes I change them a bit. LOL, I am crazy and think that if the idea of doing your workouts don't scare you just a little bit, youre doing something wrong.
Man, you are so busy! Have fun this weekend!

Kakers - haha, you lost me... come back and fill us in when you're sober! I hope you had fun!

Lisa - I'm certainly trying... just going through the motions right now, and soon my mind will catch up as well.
This is going to be your FIRST massage? Ever? OMG! I get one every couple of weeks from a girlfriend of mine who is AMAZING. Seriously, it helps me so much to relax and with muscle recovery. I'm an addict.
I hope you enjoy it!

LockItUp - Hi! Welcome! You are TOTALLY welcome here... everyone is. We definitely understand the 'vanity pounds' (haha, you'll see us come in here hemming and hawing over 1 pound, but everyone understands so nobody judges!) Some of us have lost a ton of weight, some of us have never been big, but regardless of where we have been and where we are now it's a judgement free zone in here. I love these girls.

Turbo - Look at that whoosh! Dang girl! I'm sorry you had to cancel your hike, but you get to spend more time with your cousin AND you can rest your foot a bit more. I know you're itching to get out and run but it's probably best to rest it as long as you can.
I'm dealing with the same thing, and toying with the idea of adding in some running tomorrow... but I can't decide. I don't want to anger my foot but I don't want to just stick to the other machines. I want to do some sprints dangit!


OH, I just threw this random dinner together; eggplant, turkey sausage and cheddar cheese. Makes no sense, but it was delish!

Hey ladies! Wasn't up for posting for a few days just reading, I got some weird news and I was just feeling pretty down for a few days. No exercise and over eating a bit (I've been making a lot of delicious pancakes, like baked raspberry and raisin). Initially I wasn't exercising because of back pain but that's fine now so I'm just being a lazy ***** haha.. tomorrow's a new day. TOM is also on the way, grr! So I need a kick up the ***.

I'll catch up with personals tomorrow hopefully! I'm a bit behind so it might be like an essay which is cool as I like to talk about poop and eating. Have a great weekend!

Krampus - you look so hot!!! love the dress and the hair, you also have killer arms :P

Joss - Yup never had a massage before, I'm not one to indulge but now they're free so I might as well!! You're breakfast sounds amazing but looks pretty gross haha. Dinner looks yummy

Kakers - yay for posting drunk!!

Leila - Glad you're feeling a better!

Okay, I wrote a bunch of long personnals and than I messed up with the computer and clicked backward.. Lack of motivation to write them back, I'll keep up tomorrow!

I was 134.4 friday, up 135.4 yesterday and 134.2 this morning. I'm like OKKAAAY, because I was so expecting to be up today, after eating a heavy meals last night at my cousin's place (maybe all the walking from shopping helped!?). The thing is that I don't even feel that weight. My tummy is still bloated.. I guess I'll have to really recommit to the abs routine workout.

Anyway, I'm don't really care about weight or anything today because my cousin and her boyfriend asked me yesterday if I want to the the godmother of their babyyyyyyyy (she's due in december) which made me extatic (borderline hysterical) I can't wait for this baby to be born!!

Thanks, ladies, for the welcome!!!

Krampus - So sorry about your uncle! You look hot in that picture, though!!!

ChickieChicks - I hope your little one feels better soon! I'd have been throwing a pity party about missing a zubathon too! That sounds like lots of fun.

Joss - I'll admit, that spread doesn't look very appetizing, but I've heard a lot about chia seeds and that's a good idea to mix and use it as a spread; I would have no idea how to use them. Your dinner did look yummy! I love eggplant.

Turbo - What an honor!!! That's very exciting!

Kakers - I think I caught the gist of your post! I hope it went well with your friend!

Lisa - I've only had 1 massage, years ago, I hope its wonderful!!!!

Leila - Hope you are ok!!

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I had a 2 pound WHOOSH this morning. I've lost 4 pounds this week so far (one more weigh in tomorrow), I haven't lost that much in a week for months! I've been doing VLC for a little over a week. I do it from time to time, usually not for more than a couple weeks. I know it's kind of looked down upon by many, but I feel like I do it in a responsible way, and it's never for an extended period of time.

Anyway, hope you all have a great Sunday!

Its sort of a rainy Sunday around here, and I'm looking forward to spending a good portion of it on the sofa reading and watching movies! I was so busy yesterday I didn't even sit down until about 5 pm so today is a day to relax!

I hit the gym for my usual Sunday cardio session, and tried running just a bit to see how my foot felt afterward. Not awesome, but not any worse. Fortunately I *should* have a doctors appointment tomorrow afternoon (unless they cancel on me again, but I'm hoping the third time is the charm). It doesn't hurt during activity at all, but after a run it swells a bit on top and the pressure is a bit uncomfortable. Best to get it checked out. I also have developed plantar facitis, which isn't bad (it's manageable and has gotten much better) but I still want it documented in my medical records for when I separate next year. I'll get disability for that! haha

LockItUp - LOL, if you look back you'll see I've posted A LOT of pictures of my meals, and hardly any of them look very pretty. Needless to say I will not be making a living as a food stylist any time soon, but they're healthy, natural, and they all taste friggin awesome. I've had people on Facebook tell me over and over to start a recipe blog, but they're not really very helpful if the food looks like crap are they? haha
As for the chia seeds, I'm going to try something a bit different today. I added them to a bit of almond milk and let them set up a bit. To that, I added cottage cheese, strawberries, stevia, and a bit of konjac root powder (it's a thickener). All that goodness goes in the magic bullet and gets whipped up into a smoothie of sorts. I let it sit in the fridge for a while and thicken up (thanks to the konjac powder) and it turns into an unbelievably fluffy delicious strawberry mousse! I did it with pumpkin instead of strawberries yesterday, and added chopped peanuts and it was amazing. I've done quite a few combos. Anyway, I digress... I'm excited to see how it goes with the chia seeds today.
I've also seen a lot of recipes where people add them to fruit juices and purees to make jams out of them!

Congratulations on the whooshes! My goodness! If you don't mind me asking (and if you do, I totally understand) how many calories are you doing on your VLCD? I promise I won't judge. Just curious. You do this for a few weeks? I am doing my own 'moderate' VLCD right now to get off a couple of stubborn pounds so I'm curious to see how you are doing yours.
I'm eating 1200-1250 calories, 40P/30F/30C -- which is a VLCD for me because of my activity level. I find that doing this for a week or two helps me get off those pesky vacation (or in this case, horrific 2-day binge) pounds.

Turbo - Ugh, been there with the erased posts... so frustrating! That is fantastic news about the direction the scale is heading, but more importantly about being asked to be a Godmother! How exciting for you!

Lisa - Hahaha, yeah, me and my ugly meals! They're amazingly delicous though, so it works for me.
I expect a full report on how the massage goes! Enjoy your Sunday.

Leila - September was a hard month for me, so I can sympathize with your plight totally! I hope whatever it was that caused you distress is being taken care of and that you get whatever support you might need to overcome it.
Were you injured as well? You mentioned not working out for a bit because of it.
The eating thing sucks, because it's the easiest part to mess up and has the biggest impact! A missed workout or a few is no big deal, but a few days off plan with your diet can be pretty detrimental depending on how off plan it was. Trust me, I'm feeling it now... ugh. Big hugs to you, and get your booty back in here! I need another big poopin kettle bell swinging badass in here!
The pancakes sound nummy by the way. I love me a good pancake! My favorites right now are my chocolate chocolate chip recipe, my pumpkin recipe, and my bacon (yes bacon) pancake recipes. I also love blueberry and strawberries, but the strawberries don't tend to have as much *punch* in terms of flavor.

Krampus - I don't know how I missed the picture the first time, sorry! You look smokin, as per usual! Hope you had fun at the wedding.

Joss - Wow that does sound delish!!! I think I'll be getting some and trying that! And no I don't mind you asking. I've been doing 800 - 1200. I figure since my August was SO horrendous, I could afford to do this for a couple weeks. I try to center my eating before and then after my workouts on my on days. I have cut back, dramatically, on the cardio while I've been doing this. Today is the 9th day. I may only do it for a few more days, or maybe another week; my energy level is definitely suffering, and I'm sure the scale will start slowing down any day now. I am starting the NROLFW program on 10/15, and I plan to follow their calorie recommendations (for my weight, around 1500 off days, 1900 on days, 40% pro, 30% carb & fat); I know I very well may not lose any scale weight the first month or so on that program, so I kind of want to drop as much as I can before then (silly probably). I'd really like to be a "normal" weight by the 15th (under 155), just for my sanity. It all sounds a little compulsive now that I've typed it out. HA!

I hope you actually DO get to see the doctor finally!

Oh my gosh guys, the wedding I went to was INCREDIBLE. The bride and groom are both really laid-back tree-hugger type people. Their first dance was to an acoustic cover of "This Must Be The Place" by Talking Heads and then they played another cover of it and invited us all to dance - that's my FAVORITE SONG EVER so it was just amazing. The reception was held in a barn with fairy lights and the food was A-MA-ZING - great snacks at the pre-dinner reception, dinner buffet of beef rouladen, steamed kale, spaetzle, green beans, coconut curry, and the CAKE was so good that my bf and I definitely had more than one piece each It's so rare around here to find a wedding that doesn't feel like someone took it straight out of a brochure and just edited out the names - but this was a good one.



Of course I had too much wine and food and I'm puffy today and feel less than human, but eh! I weighed myself after getting home and am 126.4, which is within my "zone" - I freak out a little if I get over 126.5. I don't feel like it AT ALL but I'm gonna make myself go to the gym in a while. I even put on my Pig Destroyer (grindcore band) shirt and am listening to Pig Destroyer in hopes it will force me out the door. Often on days like these I end up feeling much better after a workout so I'm hoping that will be the case.

LockItUp Nicely done on the whoosh. 800-1200 would absolutely SLAY me if I tried that more than one day in a row, hahaha. Hope you get to your goal!

JossFit They'd better not cancel your appointment again...three times would be totally inexcusable. You know, I also hope you never binge like that again, but I think in some abstract way it's a sign of growth that it hit out of nowhere as opposed to identifiably in response to the loss of your cat and conflict with your husband. That said, I have definitely been ashamed to go to work the day after a binge because I feel like EVERYONE must notice how much bigger we look when we're carrying around 5+ brand new lbs. I really wish the best for you in moving forward and putting this incident behind you.

TurboMammoth Congratulations on being a godmother!!! That's awesome. May the bloat disappear soon, meanwhile congrats on the low weigh-in regardless, generally speaking pounds don't just fall off without any effort at all...

ChickieChicks I'm sorry your oldest is still sick! Don't let it infect you too!

LisaTcan Thank you! You must have killer arms yourself with all the lifting you have been doing.

LeilaJey Sorry to hear about the upsetting news - I really hope you're ok, whatever happened.

kakers Hope you and your friend had a great time. Catching up and losing weight don't have to be mutually exclusive but I know how it goes.

krampus you looked fabulous! And feeling human is better than I can say for how I felt yesterday LOL

Chickie yesterday was pretty gloomy, no fun. I hope your kiddo is feeling better today!

Joss Your food always look so interesting. I don't know anything bout chia seeds, really not even sure I heard of them before now.

Leila HI! Hope you are feeling less out of sorts. Not sure what the news was, but I hope everything is OK!

Turbo Our bodies are just so weird sometimes, you can just never quite tell no matter how good or bad you are doing if weight will go up or down. And that is SO EXCITING to be a god mother!! Do they know if it's a boy or a girl or are they not finding out till the baby comes?

LockItUp WOW 2 pounds! Great job! I'm not actually familiar with VLC. Anyways I see from your ticker you're in the 150s, and now I am not alone in that bracket here! I think I will make us a thread (or find an old 150s thread)

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Ok so, Friday was an amazing night. I have a friend who is in the Navy who got stationed in Hawaii, so I haven't seen her in almost 2 years. While she was deployed she got hit in the head with some metal on her ship, and suffered a traumatic brain injury. Long story short, they didn't get her the medical care she needed right away and that contributed to her brain injury. She was having spasms in one side of her brain that were cutting off the blood supply off and on, and since they took a good 2 weeks to get her really checked out, that was happening for 2 weeks longer than it should have. She's doing mostly well, but has a lot of issues with light and sound sensitivity, she can have trouble with her speech especially when she's tired, has vertigo, and if she gets stressed out she starts to shut down and she can't speak. I just can't help but be SO MAD at the navy for not addressing her injury the way they should have. This is now TWO if my friends, my other my good friend Brandon, that the Navy has broken by sheer negligence. (Brandon's work schedule gave him a sleep disorder, so now he's getting medical treatment and getting booted out of the Navy.)

But while we were out I ate a bunch, and drank even more. I had 2 drinks at dinner, one at the wine bar my friend Emily Ann works at, 3 and a shooter at the bar my friend Job works at, and then another after going to someone's house. My friend drove me home,I could barely walk. On the plus side I DID have 1 glass of water at dinner, 3 glasses of water at Emily Anns bar, and 2 more glasses of water after getting home.

On the negative side, I woke up an hour after my CPR class started. But they still let me finish the class and get my card so that is good! But OMG, I was a zombie yesterday. Total Zombie. Could barely absorb anything into my brain, and I wasn't hungry at all. Which is good, all I ate was mcdonalds for lunch and sunchips for dinner. Yesterday I weighed 156 (ew) but then I pretty much evened out my binge and woke up in between 153 and 154 this morning. So net weekend damage (not that the weekend is over) only a half a pound up! I can be ok with that for sure.

Also, I got my hair done last night! I was blond for almost 2 years now and my roots had grown out pretty bad (like 3 inches or so) I just couldn't justify spending the money for a while and then couldn't figure out what color I wanted it. Well, I asked my husband a couple weeks ago what color I should go with and he said red so I went red! My stylist is amazing, she put in some streaks of some darker red on some lower layers so depending on how I part it different shades come out. And she was having fun with it so she tinted my eyebrows and waxed them while she was at it. You can see it in my avatar!

Today is off to a good start, had a YUMMY grilled sandwich with turkey, pepperoni, and cheddar jack cheese! 360 calories!

I love our quesadilla maker.

~Katy

ps- looks like 3 people posted while I was writing this one! LOL

Katy - VLC just means Very Low Calorie, nothin' fancy. I'm glad to have a 150s buddy, although I'm looking forward to being 140s buddies more (soon right!?)! I love your hair color!

Sweet niblets! The mudroom is functional! :-) I've been caulking and painting for two days. The closet doers aren't hung, but everything else is done. Today has been one of those that I JUST HAVEN'T STOPPED sine I woke up. Except now. Lol I've got a spinach and goat cheese pizza in the oven. I e eaten like 650 cals today, since I was so busy. Tired, but very happy with the progress this weekend. The kids are better, still coughing, but please Lord let them both go to school tomorrow...

Joss- wow...those chia seeds look disgusting. Lol I eat them, but mostly because I ordered some to try them, and now I feel I need to use them up. I really, really don't like how they become gelatinous. I've tried them in drinks, as a "pudding" and snuck within recipes. Adding them to baked goods has been the best for me so far. Especially cookies! How are you feeling now? Has your stomach settled?

Krampus- what a gorgeous table setting! Very rustic and romantic. your look give in NBB. That might be the one look I could never pull off. I'm so not edgy or cool, but it just fits you. And you look seriously skinny in that pic!

LockItUp- go on with your bad self. Ditto what kramous said. I'd be one crazy biotch if I did a VLCD. Low for me is like 1400, and that very rarely happens. Which is why I am squishy! Lol ;-) welcome to the featherweights!

Kakers- let's see the new hair! Is that it in your avatar? Sorry to hear about two of your friends being let down by military healthcare. We have had very good experiences thus far, but I have certainly heard the opposite. :-(

Off to eat and out the kiddos in the bath and to bed!

The closet doors have yet to be hung, but you get the idea! This is the massive inside project, to match the outer transformation.

Previous back entry was right behind the couch. There were hooks and shoe racks behind there. It was such a pain!



After:



The old "office nook":



Turned into the mudroom, with foyer attached.








This has been my life for seven weeks. So glad it is coming to a close and we can finally start using that door!