I'm sticking with my penchant for the dresses with dips in the front. My DD the bride-to-be likes the meringue ones too. Hers is kind of Titanic era flavoured with silk, a bustle and diagonal rouching (spelling rooshing??)

There's no way I can pull this bridal shower filled weekend out of the crapper. But I did go for a nice bike ride this morning. And I've been ruminating on the weightlifters holy trinity of clean eats, cardio, weightlifting so ... if I can remember that when the church ladies bring out the trays of yummy stuff ...

I think it's rouching - from French.

I didn't buy the DVD I was going to - it was out of stock even though the box was on the shelf :tantrum: so I didn't buy a rebounder. I still haven't done any exercise yet... I am going to lift weights next. I AM, I really am!

I've done plenty of housework today - onto 3rd load of washing, about 7th load of washing up... :lol:

Lucky - the big day is November 4th - DF's birthday!

Susan - I would like a dippy front, but I think those with the big gathers at the front are going to look dated easily and the V neck one didn't really do anything for my waist.

Right - er off to make tomorrow's lunch and to kick some weights into touch!

laters :wave:

Thanks for the welcome girls :)

And yeah, I'm "vertically challenged" (I like that!) as well, and 104-105 wouldn't look sickly on me, I don't think, but hey... I'm like 25 lbs away. If I get to that point and think I look too thin, I'll be glad to put on some more muscle or something, you know? Oh, and I'm about 5'2.

As for my plan, I'm counting calories (just as few a day I can get away with, considering my daily cardio trips at the gym) to lose weight... but that's sort of plateaued. Then I do cardio, pilates, and some weight training to try and get rid of the flabbiness for bathing suit season.

Good luck everyone!

:wave:

Right, back to it again! I've lost that mojo that I had - back up to 165, that 2lbs is back too! :tantrum: I'm just going to have to fake it today! I woke up with a headache and not feeling particularly good, but I'm here, I'm upright, I might get some caffiene in a bit and I'm going to get on with my day as best I can!

Jenfrus, you baffle me! Even your posts make me tired, you are sooo active!

Oh lesel! I love new calorie counters! I really really believe in it. I do!

Morning Lucky! Morning Ilene! Good Morning everyone!

What's baffling? The fact that I do a lot or the fact that I put on weight when I do a lot? Or just the fact that I'm always up and down like a :censored: yo-yo! :rofl:

I skipped my lunch run - I was too hungry, I might've died! Probably not, but I felt the need of some TLC today. I've got class tonight too, so I think I'll just take it easy.

I'm going to batch bake some more pancakes tonight after KB.

Oh funny story - been sick Thurs and half of Friday, did weights on Saturday since I felt better. Argued with myself about going out for a run on Sunday, didn't but lifted weights. Decided to set alarm early today so I could squidge in the weights I've been skipping, but woke up with a huge headache, so I snoozed instead! I will hopefully manage weights tomorrow morning, run at lunch and/or before kickboxing, kickboxing and collapse in small heap! It'll probably turn out that I just go to kickboxing! But then I've been reading, "Stop planning, just SHUT UP AND DO IT!" on a website, so I guess that's tomorrow's motto!

I wish I spent less time travelling and more time working out :rolleyes: If we lived nearer KB I'd be sooooo ripped!

Another vote for calorie counting over here! :yes: Zig-zagging or cycling is good too - however mine seem to go up, up peak, then down down, bottom out, then go up in a strange pattern over the week rather than up down up down! :lol: :crazy:

Mine zigzag without any effort on my part! Look there's a donut ZIG!
JenFrus ... we don't want you to shut up. We like your liveliness! Maybe baffle wasn't the right word ... sorry.

OK here's my head scratcher for the day. Most of us have been hovering about 2 or 4 pounds. Why do we assume that we're NOT LOSING? Why don't we figure that we're MAINTAINING?

baffle = confuse?? Now I'm baffled :?: :lol:

You have a doughnut... GIMME NOW! It's for your own good... I need it! :lol:

I actually figure about this bouncing around 2 or so pounds - I think I'm losing... but just v e r y s l o w l y.

Check out the new smilies :kickbutt: :frypan: :drool:

Holy :censored: !! You ladies have been busy. Welcome lesel! Another calorie counter here.

Why is it that these last pounds are so darn hard to take off but yet they come flying back on no problem at all?????? I had a REALLY bad weekend. We were drywalling our basement so exercise was not the problem but lets see there was.......donuts:^: , KFC:eek: , pizza:nono: and McDonalds:fr: plus I didn't drink near enough water and this morning I'm 158!!!! 8 :censored: pounds in three days! AAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!! I know that part of it is water retention because my feet are swollen and so are my hands but still! I've got my now tight :mad: size 10 Calvin Kliens on to keep me in line today.

Gaylyn

Susan, great minds must think alike!:D I woke up this morning with the same idea in my head. Even with the bit of weight that I've gained (much of which is gone, I think - but I haven't been on the scale) it occurred to me that THIS is what maintainence is. And, quite frankly, it is a huge improvement for me. I don't remember a time when I wasn't either gaining or losing weight. I don't think I've ever just hovered.

But, with that said, I think I'm on a losing streak. :carrot: Staying off of the scale has served me well. I'm starting to feel thin again and that is really motivating me. I believe that part of the reason I was recycling those pounds was because I had in my head a certain weight I refused to go over. I'd lose a couple pounds but as long as I wasn't near "that" number I'd allow myself to relax my habits. Not getting on the scale means that I have to assume the worst of my weight which means I stay on track without analyzing it all so much. :dizzy:

I skipped the gym yesterday and went for a walk in the park instead. Our weather was beautiful so there was just no sense in working out indoors. DH took the kids fishing while I walked. I felt soooo good when we got home. I knew the cold and wet weather we'd been having had given me the blues but I didn't realize how yucky my mood was until I started feeling more myself yesterday. I've decided that I'll do all of my cardio outside as the weather permits and hit the gym just for weights, the sauna/hot tub, and the occasional class. Well, until our tempertures creep up which, in the South, won't be long!

Gaylyn, I know EXACTLY how you feel! When I was working on our master bedroom a few weeks ago it didn't matter how much I planned I always ended up ordering in or driving through. I'd just lose track of time and all of a sudden have the family under my ladder telling me they were hungry. Funny, I did the same thing as you - I wore my favorite jeans, that had been getting too big, that fit (snuggly) at that point. I've not kept my bigger clothes. As soon as they get to big I get rid of them. So, I didn't have anything to fall back on. It was get back on track or go naked - and, believe, NOBODY wants to see THAT!

Hi all.

A wierd frus checking in today. I really had a terrible day yesterday. I didn't get up at the alarm to do weights, I didn't run at lunch, I didn't kickbox. I lounged around and went straight home last night. I walked in the door and saw a Creme egg... Then I ate more easter egg, then toast, then ice cream, flapjack, cornflakes, flapjack, easter egg :cry: I don't know why. I remember arguing with myself in my head. I think the word "punishment" came out in it somewhere. Like I was punishing myself for not feeling well or just for not making it to kickboxing. I watched a DVD which took my mind off the endless binge, then I had the earliest night! I was asleep at 9pm! Maybe that was really all I needed. If I'd come home and had a nap I might've done ok. :dunno:

Anyway, it's done now. I got up at 6:20 this morning and lifted weights! I made a protein packed brekky and packed my meals for the rest of the day. I hope I'll be all full today, since yesterday I was hungry too. I think I made poor choices when it came to snacks yesterday. I've got more dresses to try at lunch, then I'll go kickboxing tonight and have a small run while I wait for class to start.

My head's slightly more in the game today. I have a fair bit that will keep me occupied today - phonecalls I need to make, stuff to write, actual things to design! I have to go out on an assessment too, so it will keep me busy!

Here's to a better day and kindness to oneself. I need a self-hug smilie! :)

Yes, be kind to yourself 2Frus. I've had those days myself and the best thing to do is forget about it, forgive yourself and move on. In the grand scheme of things it is only a minor slip.

Have a wonderful day today!

You know how we sometimes talk about mistaking thirst for hunger? I wonder how many times we get all kinds of things mixed up? Like JenFrus and her tiredness?

Today for the first time ever ... I'm going to use this little emoticon:tantrum:

In an effort to accurately answer another thread I found that I have been hanging steady weightwise for almost two months :tantrum:
The butt kicker addendum to that was the realization that I was averaging 1650 calories per day.
I'm ashamed to go find the post where I declared that I was gonna kick it up a notch.

:kickbutt: for you Susan ;)

And one for me too! :kickbutt: I ate Maltesers after my wedding dress thingy today - they all made me look rubbish! Perhaps that was because I ate my body weight in junk food last night?!

Jenfrus! I thought of something. Stephanie told me a few times that she wished she'd worn better undergarments the first time we went dress shopping. Helpful???

2frus, I know how terrible it feels to have a day like the one you had yesterday. For me, being tired is one of the worst triggers. I'll be so exhausted but not quite ready to go to bed. Still, I won't feel like doing anything and I find myself standing in the kitchen just picking away at whatever happens to be there. Before I know it, I've consumed at least a days worth of calories. I'm glad you got some rest and started today off on the right foot. Take care of yourself - you deserve it!:hug:

Well, Susan, at least you KNOW what your calorie averge was. I added these extra pounds by NOT knowing how much I was eating. Offically, anyway - I can't help but keep a running total in my head anymore. :dizzy:

So, I've been avoiding the scale. My in laws will be visiting this week and I'm still not going to step on it. I don't need any reason to justify eating poorly or not exercising while they are here. If I have lost any weight (and I really think I have) I am afraid I'll use it as an excuse to indulge. It is better that I just keep plugging along and not letting myself be influenced by a stupid number.

Speaking of the scale...
I was thinking this morning about how, when I reached 134, I weighed myself all the time. I'm talking several times throughout the day. There was some voice in my head that kept telling me that weight couldn't be true and I had to keep verifying it. I'd weigh myself then go check my pants to see if they really were size eights. Then, I'd compare my size 8's to my size 10's to see if there was even a difference. I weighed bags of flour and sugar to make sure it was accurate. It was just so hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that I weighed LESS than my original goal weight. Anyway, that thought got me thinking about how I had the same attitude when I started putting a few extra pounds on. I mean, my 8's weren't getting too tight it was that they had just come out of the dryer. Sure, the scale was up a pound or two but that was water weight, right? Why is it that, when it comes to weight loss, it is so darn hard to just accept things for what they are? And why do I care so much about the number on the scale when I never trust it anyway?

The funny thing is that now that I'm not weighing myself I'm doing the same thing with my food logs. I'm constantly reviewing fitday. Could I have possibly eaten THAT much food and stayed under 1500 calories? How on earth did I eat so little food and end up OVER 1500 calories?

I can't seem to just eat less, move more, and let nature take its course. No, no, no, I have to micromanage and obsess over something or diet and exercise aren't going to work.;)

Susan - underwear :yes: It's v important. Some of the dresses I've been trying on however have been so flimsy that it wouldn't matter! I at least made sure that I was wearing frenchies rather than strongly elasticated knickers that cut in and bulge wherever they touch! Sorry TMI! :rofl:

lucky - scales, they're a pain in the butt! ;) I think it's best to keep plugging away - I know when I'm "light" I feel like I can be a :ink: all day because I weighed "light" in the morning! As for micromanaging and obsessing - I think if you pay attention to the days where you can eat lots for less than 1500 and try to replicate them most days then you're learning about what fills you and how you respond to certain foods. I know I was surprised when I planned my food for today that it all came to less than 1500 and I knew all that food would be filling. Ok so I've eaten a little more, but that was more head hunger (I used a pear for one head-hunger issue :dancer: ). I think we're getting there!

I also had a thought last night after this huge blow-out thingie, that, well, what if I'm placing too much pressure on myself to be "perfect". The exercise plan about lifting in the morning, running at lunch and kickboxing. If I screw up one of those I feel like a failure. If I eat more than 1800kcals in a day - even though I'm hungry - I feel like a failure. If I eat a cookie when I'm trying to have a clean day - you guessed it :frypan: I was really tempted to "wing it" from now on, not obsess over calories or having a week where I get all my exercise in (I don't think I've ever done that!!). Then if the opportunity of a meal out arises I won't be beating myself up because I was trying to have a "clean day". I also remember thinking that I need to listen to what my body is really telling me. If I'm tired I must nap, or not go to class, or not go out trekking round London where junk food is easily accessible. If I'm sick I must rest, if I'm hungry I must eat what my body needs, not what my head needs. If I'm fed-up I must watch Wallace and Gromit :lol:

I almost threw the "winging it" approach out with the bathwater, BUT I do feel that, for example, if I want / "need" a bag of Maltesers because of crappy wedding dresses, then I should have them, then this will stave off a huge eat-all-the-chocolate-you-can binge later on in the evening. So I think the best plan at the moment is... Plan the next day's meals (DON'T wing the healthy food) AND if they're as filling as today's food, then I have flexible calories to "spend" on maltesers, creme eggs, pears, toast, eggs, chicken etc! As for exercise - I just think if the alarm goes off and I feel like lifting, then lift. If it gets to lunchtime and I feel like running, then run. If it gets to kickboxing class and I feel like so much doggy doo, then go home. No-one's going to appreciate me collapsing on them in class!

So I think a little balance is called for, some planning and some :listen: listening to what my BODY needs, not what my head feels like.

Phew - novel anyone?

Loved your novel! Elasticated knickers!

Morning Lucky! I enjoyed your post too.

So much to think about!

You ladies sure give a person lots to think about. lol

I had a bit of a jolt today. I've been down on myself because I haven't made a lot of progress since March. Which was made worse with the 8 lb backslide from weekend Today, I was reminded of where I came from and how much I have to be proud of. I know that these extra lbs are just a bump in the road and that with proper eating they will come back off.

I had to get the builder to come to the house today because one of our plumbing pipes hangs down below the joist and we can't drywall over it. The builder who came was a guy that I had dated 14 years ago. He couldn't get over how great I looked and the fact that I look better now then I did 14 years ago. And after two kids too! What a wonderful ego boost!

It was just the :kickbutt: I needed to see how far I've come and that in the grand scheme of things I'm doing really well. I'm no longer at risk for diabetes, my PCOS is under control, I can keep up with my dd on bike rides and chasing my ds around the park doesn't leave me winded. I still want to get down to 140 and those size 8's but I'm going to start to enjoy where I am now and try to quit obsessing about my 'failures' and concentrate on my successes.

Gaylyn

Gaylyn, I like your attitude! I might just try and jump on that bandwagon. Thanks for the reminder how you look at a situation is much more important than the situation itself.

:yes: Can I join the happy bandwagon too?

I went to kickboxing last night and did the best I could. I still think I'm feeling a bit under the weather. :dunno: I ate healthily yesterday all things considered.

Not feeling too bad today - I had scrambled egg whites for breakfast, however they were the leftover ones with Splenda in - I forgot! :doh: They tasted strange... especially with cheese. :barf: I'm not sure if they've gone off either, they didn't smell... How do you tell an off egg white? I suppose I'll know when I start to :barf: :rofl:

Right must go and hydrate - up to 168lbs this morning (that's up from 163 about a week ago :doh: ).

:coach: Calling SusanB - calling SusanB!

How do you split your weights up? I've joined a gym :eek: and I hope to weight train 3 times a week - do you do legs, shoulders/back and arms/chest or what? I'm looking to start a new routine - I'll only have 30 minutes but I figure if I do a split thing, so I can do many many chest/arm exercises in 30 mins, I'll get a good workout!

I'm here! I do a four day split that Mel suggested. I think it's from Krista at stumptuous.com

calves and hams
back and biceps
chest and triceps
shoulders and abs

I was trying to come up with something to split up all that upperbody so I'm painting :)

I see... I just really wanted to know what the major body bits were I guess and how you put them together! ;)

Gym gym gym :eek: I'm going tomorrow - swotting up on my ExRx as we type! :lol:

I like ExRx too. For ideas, form ...

I just gotta show those guys with the belts and the gloves is all! :rofl:

2frus~~Good for you on joining a gym. I've thought about that so many times but the only gym that offers child care is 20 min away and they only have childcare in the evenings two days a week so it's hardly worth it. Maybe once our basement is finished I'll look into getting a home gym.

lucky~~Come for a ride on the happy bandwagon it's great and I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

Susan~~What's an ExRx???

Four of the those nasty 8 lbs are gone! Woo hoo!

Hooray! I'm glad your nasty lbs are taking the hint! :cheer:

I think it's www.exrx.net
I'll edit and fix that if it's not. But it's a fitness site that describes lifting moves and a bunch of stuff. Let's see if that's the right link.

Thanks Susan.

And we like to look at the funny men in their weightlifting getups :)

:censored: SCALES! :rollpin: I'm STILL 168!!! That's 5lbs up from last week! :tantrum: I've put them in the cupboard. :censored: :tape: *mutter*

I went to see the Royal Ballet last night. Wow! It was lovely - they were all so strong and bendy! :lol: And they make it look so easy!

I'm trying to be good - I really am, but when you don't see results and you know you're going to Cornwall at the weekend - home of clotted cream and pasties, then it's hard to keep going!

Hopefully I should get to the gym at lunch, if work doesn't get in the way!

Be strong jenfrus! Think how empowered you'll feel by vanquishing those clotted creams! "Get away you other clotted creams! I have chosen just this one to nourish my fabulous musculature and the rest of you must perish!"

Oi gals! Want to burn some calories? Redecorate something! I paint for two hours, have a little something to eat (carefully planned of course), check in here and then paint some more. It's fabulous!

:devil: EVIL, EVIL Clotted Cream:devil: Don't worry Frus, you are stronger :lifter: than those silly little treats...you can kick their butts :frypan: and walk away smiling:)

Enjoy your weekend!

Susan~~Try drywalling for buring calories or is that just burning, painful muscles?? Today is the first day my arms didn't hurt when I woke up.

2frus~~So sorry your scale is being :devil: . As for the clotted cream have one and be done.


That's what I've been telling myself about all the Easter treats I have in my house. Every day I have been having one and only one peanut butter egg.(42 cals) Today will be a test, we're decorating cupcakes and tomorrow is dh's birthday. When does it end?? My goal for the weekend is to just maintain or maybe I should plan to gain a pound or two? :dizzy: lol Plus we're drywalling again so unless I really plan....our meals are going to be screwy.


Hope you all have a good Easter!

Gaylyn

Drywalling is not for me! That's why I'm married to a carpenter!

I ate a whole bag of tortilla chips today!

I've got my good head on today! I'm batch baking cottage cheese pancakes! :D

I'm feeling positive, I made it to the gym AND double kickboxing last night! :angel:

I'm going to be very good in Cornwall, really :listen: to what my body needs. I'm also packing my running gear and will take advantage of the great beach for a lovely run :D

Feeling groovy :dancer:

Have a lovely Easter weekend - I'll be back Monday :grouphug:

A beach in Cornwall, I'm jealous! More painting for me.

Where's everybody at? I know i've been MIA but I've been reading your posts...

Did a 7.25 mile run yesterday and NO easter candy. That was quite the accomplishment for me. And today I have promised myself not to even go to the store because that clearanced candy will be calling my name and I refuse to give in.