morning guys, just checking and weighing in , i lost 2 more lbs, yea!!!!!! new stats, 190/185/130. the only thing i can say is , i am just eating less then i was, i excercised 4 days last week and drank 6 to 8 glasses of water. my food choices werent always healthy but ,i guess i am doing something right. hope everyone has a great day. now i am back to the weight that i had gained, so now i really have to move forward and get out of the 180's

Oh sure, thanks a lot Jen. Now I'm hungry for peas!

Just kidding. But have any of you noticed that sometimes when you're trying to lose weight, just about anything looks tasty. (No, Tiff, I'm not talking about 9-volt batteries. ) I mean, things that you never wanted to eat before, wouldn't eat as a kid, never really cared for. When I was a kid, I HATED peanut butter. (Yes, I was a weird kid.) Now, I cannot have it in the house or I'd sit down with the jar and a spoon and devour the whole thing in one sitting.

OK, confession time. Any of you ever eat anything totally weird. Like one time, I sat down with a spoon and ate ... oh wait, I'm the new kid here. I can't tell you things like this!! You won't let me come here and play any more. Oh, heck, I'll take my chances. I sat down with a spoon and a box of brown sugar. Woo, what a sugar rush that was! P.S. Don't knock it till you've tried it.

Well, if you're all through going "EWWWW!!!" I'll continue to ramble, as I do. Got on the elliptical machine at the gym yesterday and went crazy!! Well, they have these little TV's on them and I didn't want to miss the end of the Frasier rerun I was watching so I had to keep going. Boy are my legs sore today!!

So anyway, I had these bananas in the house and, with all this heat, they ripened way too fast so I'd taken them, peeled them, broken them up and put them in the freezer. Last night, I put a couple frozen pieces and some skim milk in the blender. Yum!! Banana milkshake. Think maybe I'll add some other fruits to this mix. OK, maybe not totally great for me but a better dessert than a hot fudge sundae or an entire pan of brownies or ....

Making myself hungry. Gotta stop now.

Tiffany, sorry to hear about your "female troubles" as my mother used to call them. Gyn. problems are nothing to mess around with. Trust me. I know of which I speak. Since my cancer go-round, I can't have children so I'm no longer on the Pill. While I was on it, my periods were light and short and I had no problems. Now, I'm back to how it was when I was in high school and college. Really heavy with lots of cramping and aches and nausea and they last 7 or 8 days. I'm considering asking my doc. if I can go back on the pills. Anyway, I feel for you girl!

Boss just walked in. Can't tell his mood just yet. We'll have to wait and see. ... Like we all really care.... Humph!

Hope you all have a good one!
Jo.

Hello everyone - I'm back at home. It was great to catch up and read about what each of you have been doing.

Since it's been almost a week I'll give you the rundown:

My new mini-goal was to keep my minimum M-W-F workout schedule through my vacation time. I'm proud to say that I actually sought out the exercise room in the hotel I stayed at over the weekend, got up at 6:00 a.m. Friday (when it opened) and did some sweating. Now the workout I did was not necessarily as hard or long as what I might do at my gym - but I kept my routine which was my goal. AND I went for a long sweaty walk in the evening with a friend. Believe me, if you want a good workout go for a walk with a fit friend who's 10 inches taller than you, LOL.

So I worked out on Friday AND I worked out yesterday (Monday) as well. We came back home Sunday night - I actually unpacked instead of waiting (!) and wouldn't you know my sister called before I was really awake the next morning and said she was picking me up to go to the gym in a half hour? So a quick cup of coffee later...

She also motivated me to begin adding weights. My big goal to make this a habit was just to GO consistently and do some cardio. Finito. I know the value of weight training, but didn't want to get to complicated too early. Well my wonderful sister has gotten herself excited about weights and photocopied some pages from a friend.... And we did all the leg & butt weights, the side-torso-rotation machine and even abs. Every step of the way I said, "I don't know if I'm ready for this... I don't know if I want to do this... Are you sure I should try that?" But she blew me over and I was so happy.

Heck, I didn't even think I *could* do abdominal crunches it had been so long.

SO, I'm still working out and I checked in to read your great stories. Can't do shout-outs as I've just consumed about 4 pages...

Also, I went to a used bookstore across the street from where I was staying over the weekend and picked up a copy of the Bob Green book "Make the Connection".

I know that this week (not going to work until next week and my company cancelled so I have few responsibilities) is the perfect opportunity to invest the time and planning in a diet plan, but so far nothing has really struck me. I guess I need to do some research today. I need to make my mind over to a plan....

Hanging in there....

Jo, in case you haven't noticed under my name, I am BANANA FRIENDLY. Look at my little groovin banana and tell me how in heaven's name you could THROW HIM IN THE BLENDER?????????

Killer.

Anyway, Jen!!!! Good to see you again! I had to laugh at the large quantities of watermelons and grapes. LOL...I still want to eat like that. Except my weaknesses are french fries and big ole burgers and fried chicken and all kinds of nasty foods. They just taste the BEST!!!!

So...I continue to fight the urge to whip into the McDonalds every single time I drive by there and get 4 hamburgers and some nuggets and some fries and eat myself into a coma.

GREAT NEWS on the 2#s Will. I am JEALOUS!!!!! I worked hard this week and got on the scale today and had lost 1 pound. ONE POUND. I was in my calorie range every day and exercised every day and this was what happened. ONE POUND. I will be honest, I expected at least 2.

This is happening SO slowly. I am thinking maybe I shouldn't have eaten a whole head of cabbage yesterday. Maybe I am bloated and retaining cabbage.

Jello, Jello, Jello. You are my twin....you crack me up and I look forward to logging on to get my daily laugh. Even if you are a banana killer.

I was laughing about eating a box of brown sugar. I have been reduced to that myself. Not brown sugar, but I ate a stick of butter rolled in sugar one time. That was all that I could find in the house. Was I sick later? Oh Baby....but hey...ya gotta do what you gotta do!

Great job at the gym!!!
We have a walking path near where I live. I walked that and thought I was going to die. I usually do one mile or 1 and a half miles, but last night I did three. I was REALLY wanting to see that scale move...Guess I should have walked 10 miles. *sigh*

Well, I had my second interview today with that company that I so desperately want to work for. Seemed like it went ok, they are down to me and one other girl and will decide by next Tuesday. So I will either be on top of the world, or I will be UNBEARABLE to live with! We shall see. I left the interview thinking of about 60 things that I SHOULD have said. Grrrr..Hindsight.

Well, I guess I should catch up on the laundry.
Take care my friends,
Tiffany

For Jo...

This could be your job. Be grateful!

the sense of humor on here is great, what a nice way to end the day. tif , keep on doing all those good things you are doing, that stupid scale will get moving. welcome back cafe, good for you for getting in that excercise. i will check in tomorrow.

That IS my job!!!! That's me! Second from the left!! How'd you get our company's photo!?!?

No, actually, sometimes I feel like I have to be a little lower down on some people's anatomies around here. And it's lips, not noses....

Oh never mind. This post is going downhill fast, isn't it!

My new friends, I must confess. I'm addicted to the gym. I can't seem to stay away from the place. Yesterday, my b/f uttered those immortal words "You're going there AGAIN!?!" Now that used to refer to McD's or the local pub. But now it's *gasp* the gym!?!?!? Who? Me??

BTW, Tiff, I didn't just toss those bananas into the blender coldly. I gently coaxed them with promises that it would be fun, like an amusement park ride. I told them if they went, they'd have a good time and then I'd buy them a sno-cone and a park T-shirt. (Well, they were naked with no peels after all.) Anyway, I had them all convinced it'd be OK and they were happy and laughing....

...They died happy!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Hide your fruit products! Here comes Jo, the mad shake-maker!!!

As you can tell, I'm in a slightly strange (and somewhat frightening) mood today. Feels like a Friday around here. Usually, the company president comes around on the day before a holiday at around 2:30 or 3:00 (we're a very small company) and wishes us a happy holiday and tells us we can go home early. Hope he's feeling generous today too.

Then, I'm off to the gym!

... who said that?

If I don't get a chance, I want to wish you all a HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!

hello, i guess we can all be happy this isnt our job, gross!! jello, i dont think your mood is strange, i welcome the humor on this board, it gives me a chuckle everyday. i look forward reading the posts. congrats for getting addicted to the gym, if you are gonna have an addiction, i guess that is the best one to have. good for you.

i am doing good so far today, i have to babysit all day, so i have to keep busy. and out of the kitchen. we will go swimming and play games, all that fun stuff, it is a good thing alot of the neighbors work during the day, seeing me in a bathing suit is not for the squeamish, lol. we only have a 3 ft pool, but it helps when it is hot.

lets all have a great day.

Well, I hope everyone is enjoying their Holiday weekend!

Yesterday was a block party and everyone took food, so I made a big bowl of mandarin oranges, pineapple chunks, halved green grapes and strawberries covered with lemon lowfat yogurt. I mixed it all up and refrigerated it for an hour and Voila!!!

I had a chicken breast and baked potato before I went over there, and then I munched on fruit throughout the day and skipped the burgers, corndogs, hotdogs, chips, cakes, brownies and pasta salads, etc. I was super proud. BUT...even though for the last week and a half I have been doing nearly perfect...the scale was up a pound today. Maybe I should up my water intake and try to flush this out. Or maybe I have reached a plateau, although it seems a little early for that to happen.

So, I am stumped. And a little mad, I wanted to consistently lose about a pound to two pounds a week...and if this continues, I will be lucky to maintain.

Please, with all the knowledge here, check out my calorie range and tell me what you think.

I am currently at 244 pounds and I am eating between 1450 and 1700 calories a day. If I am not mistaken, this corrolates to the Weight Watcher range of 26-31 points a day and most days I eat at the low end of the calorie range. My fat intake is anywhere from 15-30 grams a day...

I don't want to go too low on calories and mess up my metabolism, but I am not sure what to do to jump start this again. Before, I lost consistently for a couple of months before I hit my first plateau.

Should I just trudge on and wait for the loss to start again? Or do I need to make some changes?

Any help would be appreciated.

Well, I have fireworks to clean up off my driveway...and a house full of mess that needs to be dealt with.

So, I will check in on all of you later!
Tiffany

Are you exercising? That will jump start it good. Walking a 20 minute mile is a good place to start and increase from there.

*Judy

Yeah, actually I HAVE been walking about 3 miles a night for almost a week now. (before that, I was walking about 1 to 1.5 miles)

That is why it makes it so much harder to see the scale sitting still.

Tiff

Hmmm don't know what to tell you then except be patient or walk faster... lol

*Judy

Ok, well...I have been doing some reading on this plateau crap and I think I know what I will do. I will vary my exercise.

One week, I will walk 3 miles (or more if I don't fall over on the sidewalk and die) every evening. (at least 5 days)

Then...the next week I will spend at home doing my step tapes and using my weights.

Well crap. Maybe I should do them all in the same week. Like:

Mon: Walk 3 miles
Tues: Weights
Wed: Step Tape
Thurs: Walk 3 miles
Fri: Weights
Sat: Step Tape
Sunday: Lay on the couch like a slug.

I don't think I will mess with my calorie range, because I am sure it is fine for the weight I am at right now. But I will add those 8 glasses of water a day, and more when I exercise. THANK GOD for Crystal Light, WW says you can use it for half your daily water intake.

Ok...I have a plan now!!!
Tiff
P.S. If you see any flaws in this plan, PLEASE let me know.

Hello, everyone!

Been enjoying my time off but I am proud to say that I did my workout on Wednesday and today (Friday). So I'm happy about that - I've achieved my mini-goal of staying true outside of my usual structure.

That being said, I've finished the book "Make the Connection" by Bob and Oprah. I looked over his ten steps and it seems like an awful lot. On the other hand, I've been exercising for 3+ weeks (this is about when I would usually quit, LOL) so maybe it's a good time to step it up a little.

I've decided that a goal I can handle is to exercise 4 times next week as well as the week after and after that I'm going to gun for 5 times the last week of the month. That dang bob wants me to work out 5-7 times a week... I'm not 100% convinced but I guess I can try it out.

As for the 10 steps, well I'll write them on a card and see how many/which ones I can do more or less easily... without setting myself up too much yet. Heck, maybe I can give myself a number between one and ten each day and just see how I measure up. But... I don't think I can pretend I'll do them all starting tomorrow.

Scale stuff - Hey, I found it WAY back under the bathroom sink and got it out. I guess I don't like it much, it's the spinning arrow kind and if I jump a couple of times and let it settle it doesn't always say the same thing it did before. But it's pretty consistent as long as I pay attention to whether the arrow is actually on zero before and after!! Now I have to pick a regular time to weigh in........maybe Monday morning.

Tiffany, don't you let it get you down! It's probably just a water thing - your body is getting ready to drop some fat off. Why don't I read to you what Bob says?

"you will lose weight - primarily fat. However, there are times on a daily, weekly and monthly basis that your body retains (and also releases) water. A considerable number of people have given up on their weight-loss regimen because of these nasty little jumps in water weight. The amount of these increases vary from person to person, and can account for up to seven or eight pounds. This extra weight does not change your appearance, and should be ignored. It is only temporary. In fact, a gain in water weight often precedes a drop in your actual weight. Again, continue to follow [your own plan] and ignore these minor fluctuations in your weight."

Okay, you can see by the brackets that I edited him a little bit. Here's a little more.

"In addition to natural fluctuations in water weight, when you first start to exercise regularly or increase the amount of exercise you are already doing, your body sends out a signal to retain more water. This is your body's attempt to "super hydrate" itself. Therefore, you my put on an additional two to five pounds of water weight. This may be especially bothersome in the initial weeks of your exercise program, and may fool you into thinking you have gained weight when you may have actually lost fat. Again, ignore it. Expect it to occur. But stay on your program!"

My goal for the weekend: Have some kind of food plan in place by Monday? I can always hone it as I go but I have to begin to be accountable as regards food now that I have made exercise a habit (I'm running with the 21 days rule).

(Note, Tiffany, you posted while my connection was hanging itself! Great coincidence. I'm going to have to read your post now but I hope bob's words still help.)

Hugs to all...

Thanks Cafe, that actually makes me feel a LOT better. I will ignore the scale for a while and just keep doing what I know is right.

My brain knows about the plateau stuff but my fat cells panicked for a minute.


Tiff