I am finally loving exercise again! I guess I really just needed a change of scenery. It doesn't feel nearly as much like work now that I'm having fun again. My eating has been grand which I attribute to all of the walking we've been doing. I hate to admit it but when I was burned out from the gym and started making excuses not to go I'd nibble to fill the couple of hours I would have been working out.

When I exercise I want to eat well, when I eat well I want to exercise. Hmmm, think there is a connection?

I don't know what the scale has to say but the pants-o-meter is showing at least a little progress.

Susan, I would be afraid to post any pictures after you. You are too tough an act to follow!

I've noticed a trend in the various forums that I visit on a regular basis. It seems as though a lot of people have gotten off track and are struggling to get their groove back. A lot of "usuals" seem to have disappeared all together. Why is that? Do we feed off of each other's vibes? I've noticed it before. There have been highs everything seemed to be clicking for most people, lulls when everyone seemed to just be plugging along, and times like this. I know ups and downs are normal but it strikes me as odd to see so many people going through the same things at the same time. At any rate, the trend seems to be on an upswing and I for one am ready for it!

Welcome to everyone who has joined our group!

Hey Lucky! I posted after Meg whew! I've never had size 2 pants!

I do think we follow the 'birds of a feather' thing sometimes (perhaps without realising) if we're not careful what we read. I try pretty hard to read at 3fc for encouragement, but you could get down too.
I'm up too Tricia so we should skittle around here and post 'up' things :)
If we start to slip, we'll find Ilene (and her dancing puff guy) and any posts by Mel and Meg. Those always get me going again.

And I forgot to include him in that post silly me, I can't believe I did that!! Here he is cause I know you just luvs him :dance:

Hi Girls,

As promised here are my WW stats from Tuesday night....136.6 :faint: which was a 2.2 lb gain since the last weigh in on the 26th of April. I suppose it wasn't too bad considering 2 weeks of vacation and TOM to boot, but it stilll wasn't what I really wanted to see.

As of Tuesday morning I am back on track with my eating and FINALLY made it to the gym last night. I just didn't have the heart or the energy for a big workout but at least I was there and moving. Funny, how after only 3 weeks my body was really struggling just to get through a fairly easy workout. I will never go 3 weeks without a workout again :nose: (hold me to that, won't you?). Even though my vacation was filled with hiking and swimming almost every day, it just isn't the same!

Susan, great pics!!! Very beautiful!! And so is ur family!! I cant wait to be at the weight you are at right now!!
Ok, this past weekend, and beginning of the week has been pretty good for me. I was very discouraged at first, because my weight is fluctuating so much. But today, I weighed in at 142!!!!!! YES!!! I am now back to where I started when I joined this wonderful group!!! Now, if I can just hold it, or go below it!!! FINGERS CROSSED!!! Still waiting for my BB tapes. <<sigh>> Why does it always take so darn long for things to get here when you WANT them NOW? hehehe Anyhooooo, been walking a bit. Just about 10-15 minutes a day. I know thats not much, but it's more than what I normally do. I havent exercised at all for months!! So, every little bit counts, right? I plan to hall booty when those tapes get here!!! If they'd just GET HERE!!! lol Keep up the great work all, we'll get there eventually!!! :-)

I ordered my 3 fat Chicks book today. It's sold out of every Coles/Chapters/Indigo books around here so I have to wait too.

I got the 3 Fat Chicks book and it's very good Susan :yes: you'll like it...

I feel in control again... back on the wagon, back on track ... I had a great chest workout today and run too WOOHOO :dance:...

I just wish it would stop raining!!

Can I grab on your coat-tails all you upswingers??? ;)

I had a not-too-bad-but-couldda-been-better eating day yesterday, then a FANTASTIC workout at double kickboxing - I think I was missing the gym and I was carbo-loaded for that class made all the difference in my energy levels :hyper: Today I'm being mindful of what I eat, with a treat or two thrown in. I've had my treat for the day and I feel like such a :moo: I'm trying not to beat myself up about it, it was a scheduled treat and I enjoyed it, but now I feel horrid! Ah well! I'll remember that next time a treat comes my way!

I'm finishing work early today so I'm going to get down the gym after some caffiene to perk me up! Then I'm going to visit Mum and Dad for the weekend. I'm going to try and not raid the biscuit tin, and I'm going to try and eat like a normal, sensible human being and not try to prove to them that I can "eat all I want and still stay slim" yeah RIGHT!!!! I'll eat chocolate cake in front of them in defiance - like, look at me, slim and cake hahahahahaha! But then that backfires with a 7lb gain! :doh: No-one can do slim and cake and get away with it for long! :lol: I'm also packing my trainers and heading out for a cross country jog! I need to train for a 10K I've got coming up in a few weeks. I haven't run for ages!

Jenfrus! I missed you! No wonder we felt bereft the last few days. Jen's back!

Awwww I missed you guys too! I missed my healthy-self a lot this week too!

Right now I'm shattered! Crawling through the last 15 minutes of work, then home for a nap!

I wish I was in London! I've got a whole 8 hours left until I can crawl home and collapse :faint:

Oh well...back to the breakroom for another cup of joe :coffee:

Have a nice day all!

HI all!! Today was a very busy start for me. But I did manage to get in a 10 min. tanning session too!! My mom and auntie, are out of state this week, and I have to feed the animals and take of their farms while they are gone!! UGH!!! Lots of work!! 3 households for me until Monday!! Luckily though, hubby will be back in the morning to help me!! YES!!! Still holding that lovely number of 142 this morning!!!! Hope I can keep that up while hubby is home :-( cuz I always mess up when he's here!! Anyhoo, gotta go shopping for food today. Im out of everything!!! Sheesh!! hehehe I mean, the kids have food, but my diet stuff is all gone!! And there's NO way I am gonna eat with them!!! I worked too hard to get back down to this weight!! Eating with them will put me right back in the rut I wanted out of!!! So, I have to go shopping for myself today, no excuses!!! >>>Cha kicks herself in the bum and says, "SELF.....stay on track!!" hehehe Have a great weekend ya'll!!! Will see ya's on Monday!!

:wave:

:coach: Cha... STAY ON TRACK!

I did ok this weekend, Saturday was GREAT! I ate little and often, had a couple of treats, ate out and had trout with veggies, and I only had 3 baby potatoes! I had a dessert, but it was rubbish so I left half! :D Then we were in the pub and I drank diet coke. DF wanted chips and peanuts, so I got him 2 bags, and some peanuts and I ate 3 chips! :D :D :D :D Sunday was ok, I started the day off well, however we had to kill time before catching our train, so we went to the pub. Mum and Dad ordered a meal, but I wasn't hungry yet so DF and I shared bread and fries. Which led to a snacky feeling for the rest of the night. However, it was the best weekend with parents food-wise that I've ever had! :D

I'm really starting to get my head around this eating lark this time. I'm feeling slightly more positive!

I had a good weekend too...my eating was spot on! I did purchase a case of my favorite wine so of course I had to open a bottle, but even that was within my WW points so I should be OK.

I spent most of the weekend outside which made me feel great...I am sooooo ready for the nice weather. Saturday morning I took one of my shelter dogs for a nice long walk in the woods and around the lake (I volunteer at a no-kill shelter on the weekends). It was heavenly for me and I'm sure she loved being out of the kennel for an entire morning. The rest of the weekend was occupied with yard work which I am using as an excuse for not making it to the gym. I removed about 100 big patio blocks from my walkway then had to move and stack them elsewhere...that was a workout in itself! There is plenty more to be done so I don't think I have to worry too much about keeping busy this week.

The scale doesn't seem to be moving much, but I have been feeling good about myself. I do notice a change in the mirror and the way my clothes fit. I am starting to like the way I look again. I received a couple of "you look great" compliments yesterday from people who haven't seen me in a while and that was awesome....let's see what the official weigh in says on Tuesday...hopefully it will give me more positive reinforcement!

Oh well, I've got to get to work. Have a great day all.

Hey GIRLS!!!!!

I am Back from a GREAT and RELAXING VACATION! I have missed you all! Can't wait to get caught up on everyone's posts! We had wonderful weather. This was our first family vacation and the kids really loved it. I did gain about 4 pounds... but..... oh well... I am back on track today. :)

I would like to share some pictures but not sure how to do it. Can anyone hlep? I have my pictures downloaded to shutterfly.com and I could attach the link but not sure if I am allowed to do that.

oh yes, Kim...if anyone can post instructions on how to attach photos I would also be grateful.

I'd love to see pics... I use photobucket.com and I love it... You just download from your hard drive to their site... once that's done you just choose the appropriate link under the downloaded picture for here it's the last one the one called IMG, cut and paste in your response and your pic appears... It's free too...

This is a pic from January when I went snowshoeing at the Yoga Camp... I am the one one end at the left with a red, grey and blue jacket
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...n/P3110005.jpg

Thanks Ilene!!!!

Here are some vacation pics!

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h1...mvacation1.jpg

Me and my DH Rich

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h1.../vacation1.jpg

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h1...3/b3f860dd.jpg

My beautiful daughter Trinity

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h1...3/b4e18fb5.jpg

My handsome son Castle

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h1...3/f6e86650.jpg

Gotta get rid of that belly fat :)

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h1...3/51e50918.jpg

WHAT belly fat???? You look amazing!

daisimae -

Thanks for the compliment. I have come a long way that is for sure..but my belly has always been my trouble spot.... I am not bending over so you can't see my two big rolls of fat :o ! But they are there! I have my goal set at 118... not sure that is possible for me.. but I really would like to get to 125 for sure......it has been hard losing the last few pounds.....

Great job on your "on spot" eating habits over the weekend and walking the dog. I have to get back on track after vacation! I was really good yesterday and really good today.... so... hopefully those 4 pounds I gained will come off quickly.... I can only hope! :)

I agree, what belly fat!! Very nice pics, you look awesome, hubby's not too shabby either ;), and the kids are absolutely gorgeous!! The blue skies are so nice, it feels like I haven't seen ours in ages :(

Everybody sing ..... Grab your coat and get your hat
Leave your worries on the doorstep
Life can be so sweet
On the sunny side of 125 pounds !!!!!

Kim <------ running for coat and hat........

I want to be on the sunny side of 125 pounds...... tell me how to get there from here!!!!! :)

Way to go Susan! I haven't seen the sunny side of 125 for a couple of years now but I am still hoping !

For you maybe SusanB, for you! :D :hug: Well done... :D :D

Oh and Kim - get OUT! What belly fat! I can't see any!

Some small thoughts today. Was it you Susan who was saying about being a bit lactose intolerant, and therefore weren't going to try and stuff yourself with cottage cheese and milk and yoghurt? I am coming to similar realisations. This weekend we've had no time to go shopping, we've been away. We have the basics, milk, bread, apples but I haven't had time to even shop for chicken, let alone pre-cook it or make stir-fries for lunches or whatever. So I've been noseying around in Tesco (supermarket) and I found some pre-packaged chicken bites, they are cooked chicken nuggets. Yeah ok they sound as bad as McNuggets but they are made with 100% breast meat, and they have some extra stuff like onion powder and rusk - I think they're coated with some breadcrumbs or something. I haven't tried them yet - I'm saving them for after kickboxing as a quick protein snack. Ok so the point is, I think some days life is too short to get hung up on concentrating on being extra clean. If there's some wierd and wacky almost-healthy chicken snack pack that I can pick up on the way back from the gym as a snack, then that's what I'll be eating. I'm also excessively tired this week, and it's about all I can do to make my breakfast in the morning, let alone cook up something for lunch! So this week I am mainly eating easy things like baked potatoes with cottage cheese, musli and scrambled eggs - oh and those chicken packet things! :lol: In a few days time I will be making stir-frys and pre-cooking chicken and I'll be so ON IT it'll be untrue! But for now, packet chicken!! Oh and most of all, packet chicken and no guilt, no pressuring myself to be "clean" or "perfect" I'm just doing as much as I can, and if all I can do is get something that's vaguely healthy from the supermarket, then so be it!

Yup, it's me. I'm not sure it's lactose ... I'm not sure what it is.
Susan takes deep breath and dives in because she's been lambasted for this before.
Along time ago my friend the healthy nut :) Asked me what blood type I was and handed me food lists. I didn't ask any questions because ... well Lorie is Lorie and I'd probably jump off a cliff if she asked me to. I just started eating off the lists ... and felt better. When I started reading more I found that the aging problems associated with eating the wrong things are prevalent in my family. Might be ephemerous evidence but it works for me. I just feel a lot better when I do it right.
If nothing else it was a spring board to nutritional awareness.

Some days you've just got the make the best of what you can find. I think picking a somewhat healthy sounding snack over a fast food burger is a triumph....it shows that you are in the right mindset. I used to use "being busy and tired" as an excuse to binge but now I do as you are doing. I just make a somewhat healthy choice over a really bad one and it seems to work! Keep up the good work Frus!

If blood typing diets work for you, who are we to argue? ;)

And yes, the best of what I can find will have to do! I think the best bit of the progress is that I'm not letting myself feel like I've failed because I haven't been able to pre-cook all my dinners! :D

It's the same idea as when folks say they can't afford healthy food. If the best you can do is frozen or canned veggies ... then do it!

Wow! It's hard to keep up with you ladies!

We had a great weekend of camping and somehow I managed to not gain any weight. :D That's definitely progress for me! It's amazing how much more comfortable I am in my own skin. Last year camping wasn't a lot of fun because I agonized over what to wear to cover and hide my body.This year I had no issues with wearing tank tops and shorts. And according to the whistles I received I must have looked pretty good in them too!

What wonderful pics kim and Ilene. As soon as I get organzed I'll post some from camping.

Gaylyn

You all are doing such a fabulous job. I'm reading through the posts and feeling more and more inspired. And, boy, do I ever need inspiration! I haven't posted in the last couple of days because it is really, really hard to stuff food in your mouth with one hand and type with the other.:(

I have been journaling though and I do think I've finally figured out what has been giving me so much trouble. I am working through it and, until I do, will be faking my way to goal.

I have to admit that I was feeling a little jealous reading how well each of you is doing. I kept wondering why on Earth you all have been so successful and I'm just getting blubbier and blubbier. Then it hit me. I'll need to put the snack mix down and get off my butt to exercise if I'm going to join the ranks of you guys. It is the only time I think I'll ever appreciate the green eyed monster. It is pure envy that straighted me out and that is alright by me!

So, the kitchen is closed, the alarm is set, and my gym bag is packed for the morning. So thanks for posting you guys! Special thanks goes to Kim and Susan - those awesome pictures and announcement of 125 were just the kick in the *** I've needed to realize how much I'm missing out on by not keeping myself in gear!

:hug: Lucky:hug:
I was so excited to see that you'd posted. I find you knowledgeable, fun, honest, true ...
Maybe I'm tired but I'm having terribly mixed emotions about this. I feel bad and good and bad ... but good! I often feel that folks might think we 'featherweights' are bragging. And when I reread my own posts, sometimes, I think ... ew! But you and I have been around these parts for a while and both know that this'll be the 3rd or 4th time I've gone 127, 126, 125 ... As Shania would say "That don't impress me much."
Don't get me wrong. It feels awesome to be an 'enviable weight'. But I want you to be an eviable weight with me. I post mostly to tell folks that if I can ...
People who have known me for a long time are most impressed that I've actually done something (anything), done it right and stuck with it for years. I've got more unfinished projects than I can remember. More hair-brained schemes than you can imagine. I have a social anxiety disorder. I bite my nails ... shoot, I've got several very bad habits.
I ain't lying when I say that if I can do this anybody can. I'm not spewing cliches. That's what I really mean.
I feel so empowered, accomplished, sexy even ... and I want it for others. It's sooo good! Lucky, I want it for you. :hug: Don't envy me (pulease, I ain't no prize), be with me instead.

:yes: Lucky I know what you mean - and Susan, I'm joining you too, just not quite at 125! ;)

Thinking about your posts make me feel all blubbery too! I've been kidding myself that I should cut myself some slack - but I weighed and measured this morning, I'm up a LOT and I've put an extra inch on my waist. :doh: And thinking back to what got me to my low weight... Well it was that new gym that I signed up for, and eating well at weekends. Recipe for success methinks! So today I am going to the gym after work and I'm actually going to do some HIIT, and some abs and tricep work. Then I'm going to go home and flake out in front of Doctor Who with a veggie burger and jacket potato! :T that's my evening planned! And I'm hopefully not going to shout at DF for not washing up, because he shouldda done it already! :tantrum:

I'm coming down with a cold *sniffle* and I've got a belt test on Saturday! :mad: I hope I survive! :lol:

OK then Jenfrus ... for you I want empowered, accomplished, sexy, awesomely statuesque and fight ready ... at whatever weight and size suits you.
I'm not sure how you internet persona's have worked your way into my heart like this ....

Gaylyn? Daisy? Hand me a nose tissue would ya?

You guys are all awesome, empowered women and I, too, hope that you all feel sexy and successful at whatever weight/size you are!

It is great that we are all trying to improve ourselves but lets never lose sight of the wonderful woman inside each of us ... treat her with love, respect and pride even if the outside doesn't quite match our idea of perfection. I've spent a lifetime feeling "fat" even when I was 113 lbs. I may not have lost as much as most of you, but it has been a lifelong struggle to feel as good as I imagine other people do about themselves. REMEMBER TO BE AS SUPPORTIVE TO YOURSELF AS YOU WOULD BE TO A FRIEND...YOU DESERVE IT!

Lucky
I too know what it is like to struggle with my weight, and although I thank you for your sweet compliment, I am still slowly working toward goal. It isn't easy for me. I think about what I am going to eat every day :dizzy: ....or the day before each day.... or what kind of exercise I am going to fit it.... sometimes I wish it didn't consume so much of my thought in the day. Hang in there, remember that your mind is a very powerful tool and that as long as it isn't far from our minds then it isn't far from reality.

Susan
I have to admit :o I peek through your fitdays often to see..."how is she doing it" I can't seem to get past the 137 mark :( ... and I am not sure why ... so you have been an inspiration to me...

Frus
Don't worry about a little setback...... sometimes it's the small setbacks that lead to big accomplishments! That's the way I try to look at them.. it helps me find a new motivation!!

:cry: Oh you guys!!! :grouphug:

Susan - I promise I will do my best and give 110%!! I need to print out your post for when I'm having to fake it! ;)

I got in a small bit of running today - the heavens cracked open with thunder and lightening while I was on the way back from the shop!! I sheltered in the bus stop till it had slacked off a bit, then I ran up the hill - careful not to slip on the wet tree droppings, and was rescued by a man in a van! :D Don't worry, I knew him! :lol:

I'm off to empower myself at the gym later on! I will give 110%, just for you Susan! ;)

I wore out the nose tissue Daisi brought ... Kim do you have any?

Did you all read Ilene's post from last night in the thread "OK I'm In"? I've pm'd her about starting a thread like that.

Kim hands Susan an new tissue then goes to read Ilene' post.

I wanted to address Kim's statement .... It isn't easy for me. I think about what I am going to eat every day ....or the day before each day.... or what kind of exercise I am going to fit it.... sometimes I wish it didn't consume so much of my thought in the day.....

Please, everyone, kick in your thoughts.
OK let me think ... One of my favourite fitness models says something like .... what I think is dedication, others think is obsession.
Wyllenn (for one) talks about 'just doing it because it needs to be done' like paying bills, going to work etc.
I think we plan anyway. I've always known what I'm making for supper for my family. I've always planned errands and kids activities around work, grocery shopping, church, social activities, even my favourite TV shows .....
It's no different now. I plan what we'll eat (it's just healthier). I plan food in advance, everyone does if they're making a list. I'll probably lift weights in front of Jeopardy later. If I bike and exercise early I can get cleaned up to go to town later. I should get everything out of the way before supper because there's a hockey game on tonight.