Hi all - I really need to get moving and get going to the ceramics studio this morning (I have a project I really need to get finished this weekend) but wanted to at least quickly check in. It has been a pretty good week, and I am feeling pretty good. My big accomplishment was spending the day on Wednesday in New York city, walking to and from the train station, standing all afternoon at the Met museum of art, and then even though I got home at 7:20 I still ran out the door and got to my belly dance class at 7:30. I was exhausted and my feet were killing me, but I did it! Also I have started to get comments at the gym that people can see changes, so that is rather encouraging.

Have a great weekend and hopefully I will get more time to post later on.

Today was a rough day. Just woke up feeling super down, then made a pizza (what was THAT doing in my house? Who knows!) and ate like half of it. Felt sick so gave some to the dog then threw the rest away. I hate to be wasteful but I know this was for the best.

I journaled my day and still have a few calories left so I won't be wasting them. Maybe I'll make a fruit smoothie for dinner, get some good food in my system and will be filled up.

And to everyone who maintained or lost this past week, AWESOME!!!!!

The curse of being known as the "Cake Lady" hit again today. I got a call today asking if I could do a favor and make some last minute purple velvet cupcakes for a friend who blew up her daughter's birthday cake (don't ask.) GAH! I am just slightly over a week in dieting, I don't need that temptation now, especially considering the fact I have to taste everything to make sure it is right before I allow it to leave my door...I have pride about the taste and look of my stuff, even if it is nothing more than a hobby. (Little FYI...I bake cakes and give them away, never charge for them, just like to bake and get them out of my house!) In any case, I had several dozen cupcakes laying around my house today. TEMPTATION GALORE! I am not proud of myself as I did taste it. Then again, I am proud that I tasted less than normal. I took a spoonful of the icing to taste. I took one bite of one finished cupcake. That was it. How I wanted more, but I managed to survive with just that one bite and one spoonful. At least all of them are out of the house today aside from one that was saved for my daughter. Maybe I need to tell people no requests for the next couple of weeks until I know my limits better. All in all though, had a on track weekend aside from today!

It wouldn't be to much to ask friends to hold off on requested until you feel more comfortable to baking again. I'm sure if they are real friends they will understand and be supportive of what you need.

That said, I think it is awesome you didn't indulge! It makes sense you'd want to taste it to make sure it was ok to go out and be enjoyed by other people. You could have partaken way more, but you didn't!

Also, it's pretty wonderful that you do all of this for people out of the goodness of your heart. You are a great friend.

hi y'all
just checkin in. lost 2 lbs last week. stayed op everday and logged 12 hours of cardio workout. that is a definite record for me. TOM is due this tomorrow so I hope I don't gain too much water weight. ugh. and hoping my back stops hurting. it makes my workouts so much harder but I just can't skip any workouts. Today was a good start to the week... didn't use all my ww points and I exercised for 2hours and 40 mins.

the forest I like to walk with my mom has clear paths but she convinced me to go another way and we got lost in very thick ground cover, branches, blackberry bushes, fallen logs, and had to navigate around ant hills. Lordy, its a good thing we were girl scouts. I won't listen to mom about paths anymore. Wasn't funny for the 20 minutes we couldn't find a cut path but I was never so happy in my life to find a clearing! Funny to think about now that I've washed the twigs and leaves out of my hair and picked the thorns out of my sneakers. haha.

THAT IS GREAT Chubbygirl 253! Keep at it!!!

Thanks BellaHTH, I needed to hear that. Also, I stepped on the scale this morning and found, even despite my little opps I still managed to lose 1.6 pounds over the weekend. I'll take it!

good job everyone! i am also down 3lbs!

hello all!

I had a terrible Saturday food-wise, (perhaps not terrible, but not good) but a perfect Sunday. So take that, weekend. I would like a few more days off from work, but alas: must work. Made roasted vegetable and black bean enchiladas for dinner last night, and black bean salad for lunch at work this week. (With beans from the local farm-to-table store and veggies from the farmer's market. I am feeling so virtuous!) I've become obsessed with this salsa de cebollas I had in Peru and make it pretty much every week.

It is simple: sliced up red onions, lots of lime juice, salt, and yellow tomatoes if available. They have had them at the farmer's market every time I've been recently, so I keep making it. I think it works a bit like ceviche, where the acid in the lime juice macarates the onion/tomato so that they express some of their moisture.

Cheers to the new folks, zoesmom - wow, congrats on such a great loss! are you doing Medifast (or something like it?) That requires such discipline, particularly when you are the cake lady. I agree with Bella that it would be totally fair for you to say "no cakes right now." It's so tough to resist that sort of temptation. I'm single and live by myself so can keep all unhealthy food out of the house. I need that control to do well. I am so impressed with you.

Keylla, if you are still popping in: I agree with the Vicki and Rosebud. You've lost so much weight; I think it is really important to celebrate that victory (and regularly) and perhaps take time and sit down and look at all the ways you have succeeded. How has your life improved with a 58 lb weight loss? I am looking at your current weight as a GOAL (it is what my driver's license claims I weight. ) and looking forward to it, and am so happy with what I've lost thus far.

Nancy - congrats! I am not sure I could've made it out the door after a day like that.

Okay: here's to a good (maybe great?) week!

mnemosyne-Yeah, you can say I am doing a program like Medifast. My doctor actually suggested Wonderslim as she has personal expereince with both said it is realatively cheaper (not by much) and tastes better. But you are right, the disciple is ridicuoulsly hard! I am proud to say though, outside of the cupcakes this weekend, I haven't had a slip so far. Even had to sit in the car one day while my husband and daughter went to Wendy's for dinner jsut so I wouldn't be tempted! All in all, the program is working for me. First two days were horrible, but after that, I have managed. Never hungry. Not really craving sweets. And I just make everyone have the same dinner I am having to make things easier. My doctor is working closely with me, so I have faith I will be able to do this and once ihit my goal, be able to keep the weight off.

Edit---before I hit post I had meant to tell you kudos for Sunday! Sundays are the hardest at my house because we have so many family events, so having a perfect Sunday is something to be proud of!

HI EVERYONE ~ we had a good weekend here; DH got a new bike to zoom around in on Saturday and he's lovin' it. Eating was good for me too; well on plan, so happy about that, and this week is off to a good start as well.

VICKI ~ congrats on those 5 lbs! Your puppies sound cute, will have to check out those pics for sure. Congrats on your new doggy treat business venture too.

LOST ~ congrats on your 3 lbs too!

MNEM ~ good for you saving the weekend; here's to a great week coming up!

ZOESMOM ~ not ez to face all those goodies, esp if you like them. I'm sure I would have had at least one. Not a big cake person though, thank goodness. That's a great NSV (non-scale victory) in my books. Plus you had a loss too; that's super!

BELLA ~ I like to make individual PITA PIZZAS; my veggie one comes in at around 350 calories. That way is less tempting to eat more than you should, esp if pizza is a trigger food for you and you live alone (no-one to pawn the rest on to like my DH and furry baby who luvs pizza too, esp the crust).

CHUBBYGIRL ~ that's great that your mom goes walking with you; much more fun to have someone to talk with too.

NANCY ~ that did sound like an exhausting day, but it must be nice to be able to take a day trip some place like New York City. I realize the smaller states are close together in that area (Maine, New Jersey, New York). You and MNEM can have a blast taking day trips all over the place.

The weather has been a bit warmer here but not too bad; had a few sprinkles of finally -- we needed that as the grass was starting to yellow just a wee bit. DH and I did all our floors this AM (swept & washed); that went a lot quicker with the two of us doing them together. I am quicker anyways becuz I had years of experience when I was a professional cleaner in the past; learned a few tricks along the way.

Hope you all have a wonderful OP week coming up ...

why do the people in your family never want to eat the same thing! grrrr... i am going crazy making diy meals - like tonight:

DH wanted chicken salad - ok, that's good - but boring chicken salad, no grapes, apples, nuts, or "weird things" and there is no way my 11 yr old picky-picky DD is going to eat "mayonnaise or onions" so ...

I grilled chicken breasts, set one aside for her - made the chicken salad with onions, eggs and relish (for dh) then made an avocado and tomato salad on the side so i could mix it in with my chicken salad.... whew! (of course then i made ginger carrot rice just so i wouldn't have to do with out the eye rolls I've become accustomed too)

is this exercise? I'm pretty sure this must be some kind of exercise, cuz I'm pooped and I haven't even tackled the dishes yet

I have had a good couple of days after eating way off plan on saturday. I was brave enough to make a new muffin recipe I wanted to try before i made them for a shower on sat. I think they turned out great and I only ate one mini muffin. I guess I will be making a couple of hundred on friday night.

I get my grandson on friday. He is such a sweet baby boy! Of course all 4 of my babies are sweet!I am excited to have a few days with him so i can spoil him. I lived with my grandmother so I never got to spend special time with a grandmother, mine was like a mother.

I will make myself exercise today!!I will make myself exercise today!! I will...trying to convince myself to get up and just do it!!!

Today is a great day! I refuse to step on the scale other than on my weigh ins, just because I don't want to get caught up in the numbers...but today is the first day since I started my diet that I woke up feeling like a million bucks! I was able to comfortably put on a pair of jeans! JEANS! I haven't worn jeans in over three years!!! To top that off, when my husband kissed me good bye this morning, he did a double take and told me that he can really see a difference in my face! And, it only gets better....I HAVE ENERGY! And TONS of it! Oh happy day! Once I leave work today, I shall be hitting the gym to burn some of this energy off, but man oh man! I needed a day like this!

Congrats on the reserve dgramie! It takes a lot to discipline to eat only one. GOOD FOR YOU!!!

lostbutstilltrying - I know your frustation! I have a husband who won't eat if he doesn't like what is in front of him, a brother who will open a can of pasta if he doesn't like the meal of the day, and a three year old who will pout if it isn't the cookie her grandmother promised her three weeks ago. Meanwhile, I cook something and am stuck eating leftovers for the next week because no one touched it the first go around and certainly won't touch it once it has been put away to be eaten later. Pure frustration! I've gotten to the point that I make my own micorwave dinners. I just cook in bulk, then portion everything out in healthy servings on those thick cardboard plates, wrap it up super well, and freeze it. I have enough dinners to last 2-3 weeks and everyone gets to choose what they want for the night. It saves on my frustration, and I know everyone is eating healthier than they once were. So win-win! Now if I can jsut convince them we really should all eat at the same time....

Thanks Justwant2Bhealthy for the encouragement! And sounds like you are doing great yourself!

dolphingirl2000...HUZZAH for the 5 pounds!

I had a good night last night, though I spoiled myself on the Olympics results and then couldn't bring myself to watch the men's team final. One of the articles I read mentioned that one of the US men landed on his rear after a vault and that sort of thing makes me really sad for the people involved, so I avoided it. Which was unfortunate, since I really like watching the Olympics (though I wish that NBC showed people other than the US in primetime coverage of the team qualifying over the weekend).

Also: I am finally below 300! Am very pleased about that. I promised myself I would go and get a real hair cut and color once I made it below 300. Now I am putting it off until I am consistently below 300 (i.e. - evening and morning) because I have a few other budget things right now. Like getting my lawn mower fixed (please be fixable!).

I bought a new dress at Target the other night that was on clearance to celebrate. It does not fit, and will not fit even if I lose 10-15 pounds because of the chest. A criss-cross bodice with an elastic band for the empire waistline. There is not a bra that I have that I could wear with it that wouldn't show because there is basically not enough room for me in the top. However! I ordered a "shapewear" camisole. Hopefully it will cover enough that I will feel okay with wearing the dress in 10 or 15 lbs. The print has a 70s vibe and it is fairly short. It was cheap (until I started buying shapewear, but I wanted that anyway to wear under a blazer, so!) - just over $10 on clearance. Alternatively, I could maybe wear a turtleneck and tights underneath it in the wintertime.

zoesmom - oh, interesting! I had not heard of Wonderslim. I am not sure that I would have the discipline for a very restricted system like that (especially since I love cooking and love all the fresh summer produce, and visiting farmer's markets, et cetera), but I have a few projects in the fall/winter where I won't have as much time to cook, when a program like that might be helpful. So I will be interested to see how much you like the program & the food, and how convenient it is. Clearly you are feeling great, so that's a pretty great endorsement.

Vicki - congrats! There is a woman at the Athens farmer's market who sells organic homemade dog treats, too. Clearly there is a big market for them, since I bought some for my mom's dog. Keep us apprised on your venture! It sounds like fun.

Rosebud - we have had so much rain here lately that I have not had to water the garden for two weeks, and the grass (which had turned brown) is now growing like... well, grass grows in the summer. Glad you finally got your rain. The floors are alot of work, but it's great that your DH is willing / able to help you get them done.

lost - that would be very frustrating. I only have to please myself with dinner, so that makes things easier. I don't suppose that hubby and daughter are willing to join in an help? Or maybe you could make a chicken salad "bar" and have them mix their own? So unfair to expect you to make THREE DINNERS per night.

awww, dgramie, when I was a kid each of us grandchildren got a week with grandma. It was great. She let us each pick out our own cereal, and her next door neighbor had a swimming pool. Plus, she had a magical attic full of awesome old toys and board games and books and Snoopy comics from when our parents were kids. What a treat to look forward to!