Alexis : Did you end up trying the threadmill run? I loved your Fitness Goal for the week ''ACTUALLY make an AM workout session'' LOL

Aidanqm : I don't see myselft going for more than a month without pancakes LOL Have fun at the seafood resto! yummm!

olehcat : Oh yeah for waterweight!! At least you are back where you used to be

krampus : I hate that freakin pill tooooooo. It's my second time taking it (and the second time it's the boyfriend fault I have to take it too argh). The pork belly and beet salad looks great! ( I'm drooling over the black and blue salad, but if you are trying to eat at a deficit, might not be what you are looking for :P)

I have never been eveeer to Taco Bell, there isn't much of those around here but I always wanted to try that bwahah.

***

Hi Feathers! The tummy is still hugeee this morning RAAAAH. I'm having a lot of trouble with the toilet lately, haven't done anything except rabbit poop for maaaany days. On a good side, I think my workout yesterday was great, my biceps are seriously soooore today.

I'm getting concerned for my friday morning WI ; the boyfriend invited a friend at our place tonight to watch the game and wants to make some nachos. Nachos are like one of my favorite thing in the wooooorld. And than tomorrow we are going to a potluck thing with people of his job. I'll have to try to behave but as soon as I get in a potluck thing, I get in the EAT ALL THE FOOD mood..

I have to clean the place this afternoon because of the guy and maybe his girlfriend coming over, because the boyfriend might finish work a bit late tonight.. it's fun,he makes the invitations and I'm stuck with the cleaning up :P

I'm having a proscuitto/blueberries salad for lunch with balsmamic vinegar dressing and I'll try to do some abs workout this afternoon so I can burn a few calories and don't feel too guilty if I end up tasting the nachos ...!

Have a good day ladies!

Morning Feathers... A quick check-in on my lunch break.
I'm dropped another pound today; 113.0. I think it's a fluke because I did not lift for a few days and just got back to it on Monday. maybe not holding tons of water weight from lifting. I'm really sore today form yesterday's workout, so I guess we'll see tomorrow.
Staying on plan so far this week.

Olecat and Alex...Sorry if this sounds harsh and insensitive, but I kind of agree with Joss. You just have to commit to a plan. It sounds like you both have good intentions but haven't fully said..."I am doing this no matter what." You won't be perfect, but like Joss said, get right back on your plan.
Losing weight and exercising is hard work. Hard work...There's no other way to get there...well "naturally" of course. I can completely relate to both of you...many times I said I'm going to try this or do that and my intentions were always there...but I didn't follow through with actions. I would suggest a plan that makes you more accountable...one perhaps where you have to weigh-in every week (even if just with a friend).

Aidan...Way to go girl! there is no reason 105 would be unrealistic, especially if are building muscle. You ar keeping me motivated

Turbo...Good job with the healthy choice and great run! I am "ruin it on the weekend" girl as well. That is a habit I need to break.

Joss...Wow! You have lost some great weight this week. Good for you! The tweek in your diet and cardio is working!

Krampus...I feel your pain with the TOM bloat. I get it so badly! Hang in there. The cabin looks amazing too. You always have so much fun!

Bayzee - I'm actually surprised you aren't up a bit if you're sore from lifting because of the water retention that usually causes... but who cares?! let's not overanalyze the good things!

Yep, my weight is dropping a bit, though still nothing crazy. Overall I'm averaging about 1 pound of weight loss per week... tiny bit more. Today will be the end of my 3rd week on this program and I'm starting to see some little improvements, but I'm only down 3 or 4 pounds so it's not much.

Turbo - I'll just say that you aren't missing out on anything by never having tried Taco Bell... I'm sure your nachos will be much more satisfying. I'm kind of particular about mine. How do you make your nachos?

Sorry you're rabbit pooping lately, that sucks! Have you been doing your ab workouts in the morning? I know that usually helps you to get things moving.

Your salad sounds so interesting! Prosciutto and blueberries with balsamic vinegar... what a combo. I'm going to have to try that! Your meals always sound so creative to me.

I had to take that pill once. yeah, BLERGHHHHH... Not fun. I hope you feel better!

Krampus - That top is so cute, but I don't think I could pull it off. I love the print because it reminds me of fine china or something... its very delicate. Maybe my crazy curly red hair and tattoos clash a bit too much! haha I think it will look great on you though.

My pick for dinner would be the same as yours. It was the only salad I saw that had protein except for the pork belly, which isn't very low calorie. You know you can always order their daily vegetable and see if you can make a meal out of a la carte items. I didn't see a chicken breast but they have to have it! Maybe you can order the steak salad and have them go light on the gorgonzola since a little goes a long way, and then instead of no dressing at all have them bring you a side of plain balsamic vinegar. I have a couple of tablespoons of that or apple cider vinegar in my salads, and it's actually really nice. *cough* It helps with bloating too *cough* not that you need it.

I'm happy that you're down a bit today... I'm sure it will continue! You still have a bit of time before you have to head out on your trip. It is hard because you say to yourself that rationally, 5 pounds IS NOT a big deal, and it's not, but we're FEATHERWEIGHTS damnit! LOL 5 pounds can be a visible difference on some of us! I would never think you were being overdramatic because you're upset about a 5 pound gain. It IS upsetting to you, and that's what matters. You shouldn't beat yourself up of course, but it's OK to be unhappy with it and want to work them back off.

That blog was cool! That girls body is SICK, but her hair is a turnoff for me... LOL. I actually am not doing CrossFit right now because it's a bit counterproductive to the 'look' I'm training for; I'm eating a bit more right now, and those sorts of explosive movements can pack a lot of muscle on me. We're trying to avoid any really heavy moves that involve my core, because I do have muscular abs and my waist is looking a bit 'blocky'. (That being said, I may have snuck a few random KB swings and pull-ups in on occasion... ) I do miss it, and I'll get back into it when I'm done with this program. It's also good to have a bit of a break from it for recovery's sake.

Alex - Dayum woman, running at 11:30 at night?! THAT is motivation. I have to workout in the morning or I won't do it! LOL I feel super accomplished if I even show up for unit PT in the afternoon!

I'm glad the food issues are settling down a bit. It does make it so much easier when your mind is occupied by other pursuits, but it's not easy to just MAKE that happen is it? You can't always choose to not think about it, because then you're sort of trying to trick yourself... does that make sense? Someone says "OK, I'm going to not think about losing weight so that it will just happen effortlessly" but then it's not happening naturally, and you KNOW that you're trying to relax and do other things so that you don't think about weight loss! LOL It makes sense in my head but I might not be correctly verbalizing it so now I'm just rambling.

Olehcat - Just hang in there woman... eventually (and hopefully SOON) something will click and you'll start to see some forward progress. Focus on the workouts (whoot whoot for your run yesterday!) and maybe you'll start to think of food as fuel for your training and naturally make better choices.

You might not find that there is any one particular approach working for you, but sometimes for a while at least, you have to force something. Hopefully the one-meal-at-a-time approach will work for now and it will just start to fall together naturally. I just don't think that the opposite approach of not thinking too much about it was your thing. Some of us () DO need structure and thrive with it, while others don't -- and sometimes what you need actually CHANGES. We aren't the same people our whole lives and maybe what worked before doesn't work now.

Aidanqm - How often do you get to see your dad? That sounds like a nice evening out! Relax and enjoy your dinner... you earned it certainly!

I actually am not a fan of buttermilk pancakes for some reason, so I haven't had them in a long time either. I think they're too doughy and the way they soak up butter and syrup pisses me off. I want to taste the stuff I put on top! LOL I prefer waffles... I like the crispiness. If I'm going out for breakfast THAT is what I'm ordering.

I do make a wide assortment of amazing protein pancakes though that are a bit denser and a lot healthier. I haven't had any in a few weeks but I'll be back at them soon! (I also make a mean French toast with whole wheat or ezekiel bread, egg whites, and a variety of toppings/fillings.)

You totally got me curious about your ''particular'' nachos LOL How do you make it? I usually make mine with whole wheat tortilla chips and tonight I am planning on throwing dice tomatos, jalapeno, diced red pepper bell, a bit of onions and a light shredded cheese on top, with salsa and fat free thick greek yogurt on the side Usually I like to throw Feta in it, but I'm not sure if the guy coming over tonight is a feta lover, so I did not get some this time

I ended up poopiiiiing. It was a good 3 stars! What a releif

For the salad, I did not even had a specific purpose on being creative, we just had some leftover proscuitto and blueberries from previous recipe, but it tasted so GREAT. If I do this another time, I might had a bit of red onions and some goat cheese, it would taste HEAVEN.

Turbo ~ Prosciutto and blueberry salad DOES sound heaven! And good idea to make nachos w. FF Greek yogurt. Can't believe I never put those things together. So much better than sour cream. And boozers to getting stuck with the clean-up, but doesn't it feel good to have a clean house at the end?

Krampus ~ You are a MACHINE when it comes to early AM workouts. I think to myself "what would Krampus do?" and get my a** out of bed! Those clothes are adorable and look perfect for the FL weather. Have an AWESOME time on your trip!!! Do you leave tomorrow?

Ohlecat ~ Hang in there! And I agree with you entirely: it IS about picking the battles. Horray for you going for that run in the evening!!! Was that after your class, too?

Joss and Bayzee ~ To clarify, I suppose I meant that the weight will "naturally" drop off once I stop bingeing and eating everything in sight.

And if I'm really honest with myself and look back in my history, I've not had the best track record when it comes to being on a "program". I wish that I did... (I check out sugarfreeshiela's site every now and then and think 'why can't that be ME?') But I don't. My brief foray into the 17DD area wasn't really "unhealthy" per se and it just wasn't the way for me (and to be honest, actually reading the book turned me off big time).

So I suppose my renewed commitment right now is to the plan of simplicity. Work out, eat smart, head down, keep moving.

Last year, I maintained around the 149-153 range and that was comfortable, but still put me at a BMI of 23. Firmly in the "solid" range. I'd like to maintain about 10 pounds lower (135-139) and I know that the only way for me to do that sustainably is gradually, with slow changes that just become part of my everyday life.

And I agree--losing weight is hard work. Full stop. For me, it's about changing my way of thinking to realize that yes, while this is hard, this is also just part of my daily life-- changing my definition of "hard" I suppose. Because once I start thinking "this is HARD work!" then eventually, for me, there will come a point when I think "I don't want to work this hard." and start to slack off.

I think "This is me, every day. If I had to live this way for the rest of my life, that would be OK."

I cannot control what random number the scale will come up with in the morning -- It might be higher than I think I deserve, or it might be lower, but ...

I CAN control what I put in my mouth.
I CAN control what/when/and how much I exercise.
I CAN control how much and when I rest/sleep.

For me, given my past history, this is about taking responsibility for what I can control and letting go of the rest.

Wow..tons of people posted when I did at lunch!

Krampus....For sure the "French Kiss entree" for me! Or ask for a filet with salad

Turbo...Nachos are by far one of my favorite foods. I travel to Mexico often and I can't wait to get those in my mouth as soon as I arrive. They taste so much better there!
Favorite restaurant nachos...pulled pork nachos. Loaded Salsa and sour cream on the side.
Favorite Home Nachos...In Canada you can get a brand called "Summer Fresh or Garden Fresh" (can't remember the name) but they come in big orange bags. I like the salt-free ones. They remind me the most of my Mexican ones. Also, I like Doritos baked..but they only come in "scoops".

Alex...I know first hand how hard it is to find the right "fit" to getting healthy. Make it easy... maybe start with a calorie deficit, watch portions and and exercise goal?

Aidan...Not a fan of pancakes really. I would much prefer to waste my calories on WINE! lol!

Joss...Slow and steady; that's all that matters right now. I bet you will see some serious cuts in the last month.
I don't know why I dropped, but I'm not expecting it to stick.

I've had a pretty good day so far as far as eating. One key for me eating healthy is not to force myself to eat stereotypical healthy foods (like baked chicken breasts and steamed veggies -- although OH HOW I WISH I could just LIKE that and crave that), but to eat food that I like that happens to be healthy (like my turkey chili!) Okay, the ground turkey is NOT the leanest, but I'm not as concerned about fat in my diet as I am sugar. Besides, I find the lean turkey to be dry and tasteless, even in chili. But aside from that, everything else in the chili is healthy -- tomatoes, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, garlic, black beans. I could eat that all three meals every day for awhile, it's that tasty to me.

Second thought. I think I read some blog post a long time ago on Zen Habits about losing weight by gradually every month adopting some new healthy habit. Like the first month was just getting exercise established, then the second month was dropping something like sugar, the next month dropping something else, etc., until you are eating and exercising naturally the way you should to stay healthy and you barely feel deprived while losing weight. That idea always appealed to me on some level, although I sort of scoffed at it before because I thought, geesh, weight loss would be so very slow then, it would be at the speed of nothing. But there may just be something to it. Especially because in my current pattern of starting stuff, not following through, eating too much for a weekend or so, and then starting something new again, there has been little to no loss over the past year.

I ran 3 miles today, too, so I feel good about that. I am still sick, but it's just in my nose now, not in my chest, so it's not affecting my running.

@Alex - unbelievable. We are SO twins in all this weight loss stuff. I totally am with you about wanting to make these decisions and choices that naturally create weight loss. I have GONE through periods of my life where it was like that, where I just naturally ate less for whatever reason (circumstances, not feeling obsessed with food, etc.) and lost weight without trying. I want something like that again. I want my choices to reflect my future body, if that makes any sense. The body I'm in now doesn't feel like me. And yet it IS a reflection of my choices over the last few years. And OMG, I, too, look at that sugarfreesheila site at times with the very same thoughts!

@Krampus - yes, you have the right attitude! I think you should relax, just start making some healthy choices for awhile, and the weight will naturally go downward. After all, it's TOM, and I know when I used to get a real period, I would be up 5 pounds every month for about a third of the month. So yes, it's not real weight and a lot of that will probably go right back down after eating healthier and after TOM leaves!

@Turbo - YES, omg, that potluck mode of MUST EAT ALL THE FOOD. I have NEVER been able to eradicate myself of that, even while on the strictest diet. Shoot, I'll binge on veggies if they're at a potluck, if they're right in front of me, LOL!

@Bayzee - No, you're absolutely right. It's something I've recognized is a major problem I have with motivation and it actually is something that leaks into other aspects of my life with indecisiveness and lack of follow through on things. I think part of the problem is pleasure seeking in the moment, verses waiting for the reward of looking awesome later. That's the click that I need to happen in my brain. And I have to believe that what I choose will work. Like if some diet angel () came down from the sky and said to me, "OLEHCAT, if you personally do x, y, and z, you will become your ideal weight in X amount of time" then I think I would have no problem following through. So hmm...(Sorry, I'm TOTALLY dumping here, I hope you don't mind), it really isn't so much that I'm unwilling to put in the hard work, it's that I'm unwilling to put in hard work if it will lead to failure. And yes, I'm aware of how silly that is and how stream-of-consciousness I'm being here , but I was just trying to analyze what is in my mind every time I freak out and don't follow through on something. Anyway, thank you for being honest because I think I needed to hear this from you and from jossfit! This group really is the best, and I have this feeling that it will lead to that click in my brain.

@Jossfit - thank you for your encouragement! See all my rambling above to bayzee...that's what's going through my thinkie thoughts today. I'm happy that you're dropping, and 3-4 pounds is significant, that's great, particularly because you must be dropping inches by now and building some muscle!

Hi feathers! I've been MIA; they have redistributed responsibilities at work (which is where I usually update from, lol ) and I have SO MUCH TO DO that I struggle to get it all done in one day now. Meanwhile other slackasses have stuff taken off of them because they b!tched about it. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, eh?

There are so many posts and I still need to read up on everything. I promise personals for next time.

I am 3 days into being recommitted to healthy eating. I already feel better! My wine habit is still bad, but I'm slowly cutting back. This time I'm trying to eat more WHOLE foods instead of DIET foods. There are some really healthy foods I love, no reason to keep eating aspartame/fake food when I could be having whole foods I enjoy. Still working on kicking diet soda.

I HAVE been having a special k protein shake for breakfast in the morning, though; and those things are all sugar. Anyone have a recommendation for RTD protein shakes? I would really prefer RTD because I sleep way too late, get up and walk the dog, rush through getting dressed, put my makeup on in the car.... lol.

Love you feathers!

I can totally relate to that! I've switched "my exercise plan" 3 times since New Year's. I even bought a Beachbody video to follow. I can't do the thinking because I am always second guessing if there is a better way (easier), or a better diet to follow.
BTW...I lost a fair amount of weight still drinking wine on the weekends and sometimes during the week by eating clean 80% of the time.
Small changes make a big difference...baby steps! You can do it :

Dorian...Nice to hear from you!

Dorian, these are sold at Trader Joe's here and are low carb, low sugar and taste OK!



I had A BLAST tonight just laughing and catching up with my friends - we were there for 4 hours! I got too hungry (only ate half my 500ish calorie lunch) and had a couple (tiny) pieces of pizza, but stuck to water and diet Pepsi. I had the steak salad and it was ok, may have made me sick? I'm worried i'm coming down with a fever, I got a weird nauseous headache as soon as I finished eating tonight and I'm sitting at home feeling really hot. rrrrrrrr. Oh well - gotta start and mostly finish packing.

@krampus - I hope you're not coming down with something!!!! When do you leave on your trip??

@dorian - hi there! I've never had protein shakes out of a container, I've always just made a green smoothie and added some protein powder, but I know what you mean about needing something to go fast. I often will just make some hard boiled eggs ahead of time to eat if I hit a situation where I don't have something to eat in the morning ready to go. Lots of protein there!

@bayzee - that's comforting! I thought I might have to give up all wine, but I don't think I do. I do need to control my weekends better. I've been doing pretty well the last few days. If I can keep up the momentum through the weekend, I will have it.

Morning, all! My weight was down a little this morning, but again, still above where it was last Thursday at this time by about .2 of a pound. So eh. We'll see how I do today and what happens on the scale tomorrow. I'd LOVE to see a number under 144 in the near future. So I'll ask myself, what do I need to do to see that? It's easy to add exercise so I wlll. I'm not running today because I have a hair appointment right after work and it's the first evening of this entire week that I will be able to just be at home. But tomorrow is a running day. Anyway, so easy to add exercise. The challenge is not getting into IT'S FRIDAY AND PARTY TIME mode tomorrow, hahaha. Have a great day!

Quick check-in!
I wrapped up my third week on the program yesterday and sent my update email off to my Coach this morning. I should hear back from him this weekend about any changes he wants me to make.

Yesterday I actually got my first food craving (I've said there are things I miss a bit and sound good, but I haven't really CRAVED anything) but I did yesterday. I was zoning out through a really dry sexual harrassment briefing that was cutting into my lunch time, and started daydreaming about what sounded good. Surprisingly, it wasn't the usual suspects; ice cream, chocolate, pizza, etc.
I wanted Cinnamon Raisin Ezekiel Bread or plain rice cakes smothered with some form of nut butter (chocolate almond butter, cookie butter from TJs, natural peanut butter, etc.) and sliced banana! LOL I don't know where that even came from since I NEVER eat bananas.
Weird. It passed, I lived and had not even a moment of REAL struggle with it, but rather thought it was bizarre that I wanted that little snack and not a huge piece of carrot cake.

Dorian - You haven't told us what the deal is with your BF's job and moving to San Diego! Any news?

I like the EAS Carb Control RTD shakes. They taste yummy (not at all chalky) and they're only 100-110 calories with 17g protein... not bad.

Krampus - I really hope you aren't coming down with something before your trip. You leave tonight, right? Did you get all packed last night even though you were out at dinner for so long?

Olehcat - I don't think I've had my hair done since like November... yeesh! I am so low maintainance these days hahaha. Go get your run in tomorrow and RESIST THE PARTY MODE!

SERIOUSLY. LOL, you need a few small victories right now and eating badly and drinking is only going to depress you more.

Alex -

"I CAN control what I put in my mouth.
I CAN control what/when/and how much I exercise.
I CAN control how much and when I rest/sleep"

Yes. This... all of it. You'll get there Chicka!

Turbo - Oooh, I'm totally with you on the goat cheese variation too!

For my nachos, (and we're not talking about trying to 'healthy them up" I have to have AUTHENTIC torilla chips, and of course they need to be hot. I also like a blend of shredded mexican cheeses, none of the melted cheese sauce stuff... it gets under my fingernails and just grosses me out. My toppings are shredded chicken or pork, black olives, jalepenos, guacamole, salsa and sour cream. I don't get too fancy. I can do a bit of extra stuff like corn kernels, black beans, etc. but I WILL NOT do nachos with refried beans, (they turn into bean cement) lettuce, raw tomato (gotta be salsa) or other veggies.

Now, I have had some variations with things like crab and white sauces, dessert nachos, nachos with queso and all that other crap up there, but the above is my ideal and what I would make at home.

Is the potluck tonight??

Bayzee - Did it stick?

Hope everyone's doing well! I tried to put on some khakis this morning that fit me 2 months ago but got buried in my drawer -- but they DIDN'T FIT! Too tight! I could button/zip them but, it wasn't pretty. I have more pants that DON'T fit me right now than I have ones that DO fit.

Every time I think I want a cookie, another glass of wine, a spoon of ice cream, whatever... I try to think about our upcoming vacation, our anniversary, the summer time and going to the beach, and not wanting to be fat for any of those thing. It's working for me so far, I've definitely paused and put whatever I want back.

---

Jossfit: OMG I almost forgot! OKAY so his boss came back to him last Friday and offered a LAUGHABLE amount of money; nothing that could sustain us in San Diego. We'd be living in a crackerbox and boyfriend would be working stressful 12 hour days. So he said NO.

Your craving sounds delicious! I frickin' love nut butters, I have a hard time keeping to a reasonable amount though, so I don't try to fit them in my diet.

You know, I HAVE had the EAS ones before, I liked them! Just couldn't remember the name. I'll try those and Krampus' suggestion! Thanks ladies!

krampus: oh, that's perfect, I was just at Trader Joe's yesterday, but I was buying wine instead of healthy things, haha. I hope you're not getting sick, ugh. That would be awful! Hope you're feeling better today!

olehcat: Yeah I just do not leave myself enough time in the mornings. What do you put in your green smoothie? Do you use a juicer or a blender? I have been wanting to figure out a green smoothie to make! I'm not keen on juicing because I like fiber, but a smoothie would be great. Good luck on not getting into party mode tomorrow! Friday evenings are dangerous for me, I'm like "Woohoo, no work tomorrow, I'm going to drink 3 bottles of wine by myself!"

Joss...113.4 today so I figure I broke the 114 for good. I am so sore today. The new workouts are kicking my butt! The cravings will be tough, but you seem to handle those well. Since you are allowec carbs and fats, could you not switch out a rice cake/nut butter for your avocado/sweet potatoe? You could ask your coach before you do it.

Dorian...If you find any shakes that taste decent, let me know. I'm having a hard time finding something I like. Too ad about San Diego, but it seems it just wasn't meant to be this time. Things happen for a reason.

Olecat & Joss...I'm getting my hair done tonight! Can't take it anymore. I just haven't had time to get in. I have a short cut so it looks aweful right now!

Krampus...OMG...Food poisoning is the worse. If you have that, get ready for some serious weight loss!

Ohlecat ~ *twin* You've got it, girl. Just stick with what you know will work and remember that saying Way to go on the exercise! I'm trying to get my motivation up for that. My body craves it, but at such weird times. Fingers crossed for tomorrow's AM workout.

Joss ~ Your "really dry sexual harassment briefing" made me giggle. I read "dry" as in "no alcohol"... And I thought "Why on earth would anyone do that?" Lol - Clearly, the only way to conduct a sexual harassment brief is with liberal amounts of rum.

Turbo ~ nachos *drool*

Krampus ~ The catch-up time sounds fantastic. It's always great to spend time with good friends. I hope you're not coming down with something and the symptoms have passed by now. Enjoy your vacay!!!

Bayzee ~ Simple is the way to go. Thumbs up to that. I'm just getting back into the swing of exercise and slowly but surely nudging myself into healthier eating.

Dorian ~ Those EAS shakes ARE pretty decent. And boo to the laughable amount of money...

~~~
Spent an insanely irritating hour on the phone with Target customer service. Placed an order online, returned it in store (in December), have not yet seen the refund on my account. After speaking with three different people in three different departments, they finally told me to go back to the store where I did the return and ask them what happened. It's an hour away in a different state. Argh.

Wins last night include yoga and NOT falling into binge city territory. Hurrah! Also got in 30 mins of practice time, which counts toward my creative goal of 7 hours before next Tuesday.

I was re-watching SSvSS and there was an episode with the food hypnotist and her line was "Remember, saying no to excess food is saying yes to the weight you want and the size and shape you want" I put that in my bank and draw on it in moments of weakness.

Let's do this!