ange : Good job on pushing through your run even if it felt terrible!!! And wow, 40 seconds faster, you were probably not that sluggish after all ;-) I always feel so good after a bad run ; yes, I want to die while doing it, but the feeling you get when you stick through it and when you're done is awesome.

Alexis : Nop, no news on the TOM front, despite the increase calories I'm now eating. I'm not expecting my body to come back super quickly to normal though... oh well. We'll see. Cool for you that are you being paid for the gig! That is a good motivation to go through your crazy week!

krampus : Your festival seemed to be a BLAST! And refeed that body, girl!

Hoopty : Argh, you seem to be stuck in a sh*tty situation :( Don't put too much stress on you with food, you have enough to go through right now!!(espcially on that crazy 1200 calories diet... god, that is low lol)

bunnabear : Stopping lifting probably played a lot of your body. I bet you'll be back where you were in no time!

olehcat : Well, addiction to chinese take out food isn't so embarassing (in my book, as long as you don't figure in the TLC my weird addiction thingy, you're fine :P). But it probably does play a lot in the diet thing though. Concerning taking a few days of break of running, actually, I would, but my first half-marathon of the summer is coming quickly, and I am a bit scared to go off my program. I think I have about 2 weeks of real training left and then it is tapering. I'll try to push through it :)

Aidanqm : I checked out the Ragnar Relay and it looks SO COOL!!!! I wish I had tons of running friend to do something like that! I have one of my best friend who is kinda intense too about running, but we could never find 10 other people LOL

***

Back down in the 133's since yesterday. Nothing much to report... Food is good. I went out for a 5k this morning and I sweat like A PIG, I think I'll have to start waking up earlier to run while it is still cool outside (NOOOOOOO!). Since we are moving in a few weeks, I started packing things and JESUS CHRIST we have way too many books/dvd/cd. I swear, when those 3 things will be done, half the work will be behind us :P

TOM is due in a few days. My appetite is huge today so I carbed out and I'm completely bloated from water weight. This feeling pisses me off. I've been lazy with the gym and overall disappointed with myself since the holiday weekend. If I don't get my @ss back in gear soon I fear I may have a gain. I worked too hard for this.

turbo, great job on the 5k. :carrot:

Ole, I have a serious addiction to Mexican food so I feel ya.

Hoopty, I'm sorry about your living situation. Hopefully everything works out back in Germany for the best. You never know. :hugs:

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth just super busy at work. Finally hit a new PR today deadlifting by 15#. I thought I had 200# but there was some math error and it was only 180#. So I was pissed, loaded the bar back up and with the help of my awesome coach hit 190#.

Will be more chatty tomorrow hopefully.

Hoopty so sorry for your situation but you had thought about going back to Germany so maybe there can be a light at the end of this crap. I know how sucky it is to have things so abrupt without feeling like you got to decide. Hang in there :(

Hello feathers,

Thanks so much for the encouraging words! :) One big :hug: for all of you! I'm trying to hang in there and I was able to resist junk food today. Well, "resist" might be the wrong word. I didn't have any cravings. My total calorie intake was about 650, no exercise again, and I know - way too low but that's all I could do.
I stayed up all night until 7 AM and barely slept. I found a couple of cheap tickets for about 405€ or 453$ each from JFK to Frankfurt or from Newark to Hanover. I didn't tell my parents yet and I'm not going to until I book those flights. Which is not gonna happen until tomorrow or the day after because of the following:

There was a bang on the door this morning and I knew right away it was the landlord (he's a total nut job-freak). He left a letter with the official eviction notice from the court. To our surprise we don't have to be out by May 31st but by June 7th at 8pm. What a relief. At least now we have a week to plan things out and get stuff done.
DH and his Dad looked at an apartment right around the corner from here. It's 950$ a month for a 1 bedroom, nice place, but then again - we don't have the money to pay even half for it. Something you should probably know is that our relationship with his Dad (well, the whole family) is not so great, at all. They're a bunch of ***. He had offered us to stay with him for a while, which turned out to be a year, but what shitty year that was!
Anyways, DH really wants to stay here and pay off my Adjustment of Status for my Green Card because I'd face a 3-year ban if I just leave the country. Which I totally understand why he wants to do that. On the other hand (and I mentioned this before) I really wanna go back home because things would be so much easier and I could finally go to school and get a degree and DH could learn German and go to school over there as well. DH would just rather wait until after the AOS is done and over with.
So tomorrow, DH and his Dad have an appointment with that guy who owns the other apartment and then we'll see if we're staying or leaving.
By the way - it's the landlord that is kicking the Dad out. He is the most irresponsible person I've ever met, never paid rent on time, has gotten several "threats" that he would get kicked out, and now it's finally happening, so no surprise there. We're not on the lease, but of course we gotta go as well.

Today I had healthy food, slept for a while in the afternoon and boy, why does it have to be so friggin hot?! I swear, I hate the summer!

Anyways.....what a long post that was, lol.

bunnabear - With the right food and exercise you should get the body you want in no time! :)

olehcat - I hear you on the Asian takeout addiction! I got the same thing with chocolate and donuts, no joke, and it's not fun. Sending you a lot of willpower to resist that disgusting, stupid, unhealthy food!

Aidanqm - Hello :wave: Sounds like you're doing well for yourself. How long was your sister in Europe for?

TurboMammoth - Lol! Waking up early to run is such a nice thing, isn't it :D Especially when it's nice and cold ouside and the early morning spiderwebs hit your face like soft silk, mmmhhhhhh! Where are you guys moving?

novangel - :kickbutt: PMS is a horrible, horrible thing. Who invented that stuff? I'll have the willpower-fairy stop by your place today and sprinkle some serious commitment-dust on you. You can do it! :hug:

batmomm - You rock! Congrats on your PR! :) How many times a week do you go to the gym?


Again - big hug for you all! :hug: I hope I'll have some good news tomorrow.

alexis- that's a lot of rehearsals! What are you playing? I love that post concert feeling- so uplifting :D

om- congrats! Hope your exams and things all went okay :)

ange- well done on the record! and even if it had been a slower time, it's still exercise which is what counts, right? haha, if I were you I'd be proud of myself for doing something, time is a bonus!

krampus- glad to hear you had a good time and a good weigh in! woo!

hoopty- oh man, :hug: that's an awful situation to be in. I'm glad you've got a week to get things organised though, I hope it all sorts out okay! I don't suppose there's any chance of you taking over the lease or anything is there? I don't know what to suggest, housing issues really suck :(

bunnabear- fingers are crossed for you, glad your health is back on track too! You should be seeing improvements in no time!

oleh- any way you could make your own Thai food? I've made Thai red curries and tom yum soups that have always turned out pretty decently and that way you can control exactly what goes in and what doesn't! I totally feel for you with the feeling of addiction though, there's the best Indian takeaway restaurant nearby to me and if I had the money I'd be ordering from there every week :(

aidan- ah I'm really jealous of people who have lovely places nearby to walk/run/cycle around. There's literally nothing near me :(

turbo- my parents house is absolutely stuffed full of dvds/cds/books, I went round last week with a large bag and gave loads to charity, I find sorting out such fun though. Or at least, the satisfaction when it's done! Good luck with the half marathon!

nova- go girl, you kick that holiday weekend blues! Just think, hiccups happen, gains happen, but if you give in then the gain is more than a little one! Whenever I find I've gone up I get really disheartened at the extra time to reach my goal that it's going to take and think about packing up, but then I think about how far I've come and how much longer it would take to loose a regained 20lbs before goal! Then I look at some workout websites or videos to spur me on, lol. Good luck!

batmomm- welcome back! What do you mean by 180#/190# etc? I'm no lifter, so I haven't a clue, lol. Is that pounds?

----------------

I've had such a crappy morning, my new phone was acting up so I rang up customer services and they sent a replacement. It was meant to arrive between 9-1 today, but the guy turned up at 7:45 and I was still asleep! So i ran out of bed and downstairs in my PJs, but got up so fast that I suddenly felt really awful and almost fainted on the doorstep. Couldn't concentrate to even get my sim and memory card out the old phone, so the guy did it for me. He didn't take out the memory card out but the sim holder instead without me realising. :( As soon as I felt better and realised, I rang up my phone company who told me that the only way to get it would be to put in an isolation request and would cost £90. What?! I'm so sad, there were so many pictures on there of previous pets and other things that I don't think I had backed up that I now can't get back. My own stupid fault for not getting the card out myself, but I feel so bummed out now :( /vent

In more positive news, despite lunch out the other day being a Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet (eurgh, the food wasn't even nice!) I've maintained at 142. Yay!

Hey Feathers,

We had pretty serious storms here - hope you are all doing OK around the NY area. My parents lost 8 trees in their backyard and there was damage to their windows and roof. Sad to think all the trees that produced the hickory nuts and acorns I played with as a kid are like, uprooted and rotting dead on the ground now - but I'm just relieved no one was hurt.

My tummy has felt funny lately...I lost power at my apartment for about 20 hours and cooked and ate some chicken and mushrooms that were in the fridge, who knows why I can't stop pooping though? I had some wings and half a pint of ice cream last night and pooped so much this AM I weighed in at 121.2. Also tried running - not a good idea with this cold, 2 miles was really difficult and I had a stitch in my chest the whole time!

Tonight my roommate has some art in a show, I'm having dinner with my parents, and tomorrow BF, roommate and I head up north to Montréal (it's the aigu right) to visit my old roommate who is in town for a Ph.D conference! Can't wait to see him, it's been almost a year!

Leaves Well done maintaining despite a Chinese buffet. I can do SERIOUS DAMAGE at those places when I feel like it. The unlimited soft serve ice cream is my weakness. Sorry to hear you had a stupid morning and a scary health issue AND lost photos :(

Hoopty I'm so sorry to hear of the ongoing issues with eviction and possibly having to flee the country - shame on your father-in-law for being so irresponsible and making his problems your problems.

batmomm NICE PR on the deadlift! That's super impressive.

novangel Pre-TOM is a hard time to control one's caloric intake, that's for sure. I feel like gym motivation comes and goes in waves - you'll be back to normal in no time.

Turbo Good luck PACKING, what a horrible chore to have to do in the heat. Hope your new place will have air conditioning...it's supposed to be almost 35 C here today, AUGH! I hate running in humidity and heat too; it's like I am gasping for breath the entire way and feel pukey and like I'm going to pass out. Sweet race photos - you guys look GREAT!

Aidangm Welcome back from Europe, your sister! It sounds like your weight has been really stable, less binge/restricting, and you're just loving life. What sort of clubs do you like? I get a vibe from you we probably have similar taste in nightlife. Just was at Movement/DEMF this past weekend.

olehcat Asian takeout is engineered to get people ADDICTED, I feel - we have a dearth of decent places where I live, otherwise I'd be like the guys in Big Bang Theory who get takeout Indian/Thai EVERY DAY. I forgot to eat because I was on speed/ADHD meds/Red Bulls the entire time - still not feeling totally human, not worth it.

bunnabear Welcome and good luck with getting back into your regimen lifting, it solves a LOT of "I wish I looked firmer" problems :)

Alexistrophic Paid gig? Are you a rock star? :D Hope you have survived the crazy week without toooooooo many bagels and managed to get some sleep. Moderation is harder than either extreme - it's a work in progress. Hang in there!

om namah shiva Yessssssssss so often you imagine you gained 10 pounds but in reality simply maintained. Lifestyle change ftw!

nineteen Not in Dieting w/Obstacles but I read it sometimes. Happy to read you are maintaining.

xiaobaicai NICE measure and weigh there. Looking forward to reading recipes!

WHEW think that's everyone, sorry I've been so lazy lately! Have a fantastic weekend!

Thanks everyone for the kind words and encouragement.
There are a lot of runners on here. I've learned that running is not my thing, but I'm jealous of those who are able to stick to it as it is a results driver for sure.
Has anyone tried Hip Hop Abs? I just ordered it as another "fun" activity to have in my repertoire.

I'll try to do personals in a bit.

Alexistrophic - I hear you about the bagel. I ended up cutting out carbs until after 10 a.m. so I don't go on a carb bender all day.

Turbomammoth - 134 is awesome! Congrats!

Olehcat - I love Asian food too, but my body does not appreciate the sodium.

Novangel - Bloating has been an issue for me too since last weekend. I was 141.2 last Friday and I'm still up to 141.6 today (from the 143s earlier in the week).

Hoopty - so sorry about your living situation

Leaves - congrats on maintaining

Krampus - I'm glad you made out okay in the storm. So much has been going on weather-wise around the country.

Total mystery but I didn't have a gain. I'll take it. :carrot:

Am I the only one that gets an urge to poop every time I run but once I get to a bathroom the urge is gone? Extremely annoying..

hola, everyone!

I've been absent for a few days, I guess! I haven't been weighing at all, and I'm pretty sure it's not great, although probably not terrible either judging on my clothes.

I have been much more active the last few days (running/walking up to 10 miles total for the day between a morning run, various longish walks, etc) but I've been eating a lot, some healthy, some not so much. Well, I'm all thrown off, as I predicted, because my ex is here and we're having a great time and going out a lot (as friends haha), but I feel a little out of control with the food. I want to enjoy life and to enjoy the thrill of getting to go out and hang out with someone all the time after being so lonely all semester, so I've been just enjoying. The first day he was back, I didn't care about healthy eating, I just ate whatever. Yesterday I made an effort to make sure that while I was eating, I was choosing healthier choices. For example, we went to a Chinese buffet for lunch that he likes, and you all know I have a problem with Asian takeout, right? :) Still, I was able to mostly stick to the healthier stuff, like a grilled fish, steamed vegetables, hot and sour soup, fruit, etc. Still, I know I ate too much. Then around dinner, we ended up walking downtown where there are lots of outdoor restaurants and we ended up sharing a Greek salad (again, pretty healthy overall but still higher in calories) and some chips and salsa. All that wasn't SO bad, since in total we walked/ran about 10 miles yesterday throughout the day, but then later that night, M. (my ex) heated up a frozen pizza and the smell just killed me dead, and I ended up eating 3 slices and had a lot of wine. Ugh! I need to pull it together! Now maybe that the "honeymoon" phase of having a live-in companion is over, I can pull it together for the rest of the summer!

OH! But I did buy new running shoes yesterday! Aesics and they have pretty purple shoelaces, yay!

@novangel - I make a HUGE effort to make sure I poop before I go running, but that doesn't always happen, eep. I have had that urge while running before, no fun! I have more of a problem with peeing with that, though. That happened to me several times during my half marathon! And mmmm...Mexican food!

@bunnabear - oh, yeah, definitely my body doesn't appreciate the sodium either. *nods* Yeah, running isn't for everyone, but I wonder, have you ever built up gently, like through a program like couch to 5K? A lot of non-runners I know who are now runners got their start that way! And I use my own variation of it whenever I've been out of shape for awhile!

@krampus - yikes, storms! These storms have been crazy! We had some wild ones the other night, here, and next morning there were HUGE branches down all over my neighborhood! Yes, I can definitely see that the Asian takeout food is meant to addict us! I start thinking about it and I know it's NOT EVEN THAT GOOD and yet I'm drooling over it. Crazy! I prefer Indian and Thai to Chinese takeout, but man, I could rotate it all for life, if I could get away with it and not gain a thousand pounds! :D

@Leaves - yes, I've made my own Thai food. I actually got decent at the Pad Kee Mao (drunken noodles) but it still wasn't the same because I'm obviously not going to make it as disgustingly greasy and full of bad things as the takeout stuff is, lol! But I should DEFINITELY go back to that. I haven't been able to find the right noodles yet, though, even at an Asian grocery store I go to a lot! Go you at maintaining after going to one of those buffets! :D

@Hoopty - ugh, I'm just so sad for you guys that your'e going through all that with the housing. Too bad your f-i-l is so irresponsible. It sucks that all this is forcing you to make a hard decision so soon.

@Turbo - yay, at least since my ex has been here, I haven't had the urge to order Asian takeout, haha, but well, he and I are probably doing worse damage as I've written above. I WILL get this under control so that I can still enjoy this summer and yet not put my weight at risk! Wow, good luck for the half marathon coming up!

Running has for sure been my go to thing. I also bike and walk, but running has been the main thing! I also just decided that im running a half marathon on the fourth of july!! It will be my first so im just trying to finish. Also, I FINALLY made it into the 130s this morning! Yay!!! Im hoping to stay here, and considering ive been good lately i think i will be able to. Ive been seriously plateauing at 140-143 for a while. I was starting to think my scale was mocking me!!!!