Heather, so sorry about your grandma. I hope you and your family are doing okay.
Nori, any update on little Nolan? I hope he is recovering, poor guy. On a different subject, are you kidding me, did you really say that you "only" have lost 14 lbs. That is a really big number considering the not so long time frame. Even if you cannot see a change, remember that we are often the last to see improvements in our own bodies. You are doing fantastic (and, I might add, thanks for keeping this thread moving when it seemingly comes to a halt. Really appreciate your dedication.) Can't wait to hear how you like all of the new purchases! I've been thinking of getting one of the Jillian Michaels books, but I cannot decide which one would be more appropriate for me so I've just put it off.
Anna, how ya doing? Did you end up taking the antibiotics. That is a though one because I know how hard you have been working on the more traditional approach. Could you take the antibiotics and a probiotic, and maybe get the best of both worlds? Whatever you decide, I hope it works!
Selina, I hope you get that little fella back! I imagine the only thing better than getting a call that your getting a baby is a call that you are getting a baby that you are already attached to. Praying for a quick and successful TPR, if that is what is meant to be, and then a delightful life as a member of your family for baby boy.
Theresa, you are amazing. I hope you know that!
Lisa, I am so glad you have been posting as I see so much of myself in each of your posts (unfortunately I see myself in your past behavior of binging, hiding food, etc, and not so much in the new success of wholesome eating, yet at least). I've been eating really poorly for the last couple of weeks, so I think I really do need to think seriously about eliminating sugars and simple starches. Your success may have been the nudge I needed to actually modify my diet yet one more time.
-I must apologize as I have posted a gain again this week. So sorry to all who take the "competition" part of this challenge seriously. I truly feel bad for effecting our team score and essentially cancelling out someones hard work.
Hi Chelle, Dee, Vixjean, Dionne, Ellie, Fran and the rest of the blue crew. Hope you are all doing well, or at least hanging in there!

Good morning. I'm getting ready for work and I figured I'd drop in an say hello before I go.

Anna- glad you found out what is wrong and got some antibiotics. I am just like you when it comes to taking medication, I have to be convinced it's not viral or I WON'T take them. Get well soon.

Jordon - I know how hard it is to get out of that cycle and just start eating healthy, so I'm gonna nudge you a little more....just do it. We can do it together. Today I'm making quinoa and vegetables to take to work, I've never tried it before but it's supposed to be really good for you. I'll let you know how it tastes.

Sweetpeas- Let me know how you like the weight lifting book for woman. I just bought it too, but haven't done anything with it yet. I haven't "crossed over" to that part of the gym yet. Oh, and thank God the courts found in your favor! What a relief that must be for your family.

Chellez - are you feeling any better? Hope you are feeling better.

Selina - I am convinced there are angels on earth and it sounds like you are one of them. How wonderful to have made a difference in so many lives. I am in awe of you.

Purple - Woohoo on the size 16's being big! I haven't gotten the nerve to try on a new pair of jeans yet. I've been wearing running/yoga pants all the time. I do know that I need to get some new scrubs. I'm wearing large now and they are way too big, medium here I come!

Okay so I did my first personal post on here. I'm just starting so please don't be offended if I missed you. I just went by the people I could scroll down and see. To everyone else, have a great day I'll let you know how my first dish of quinoa tastes! It's supposed to be a "superfood", so I'll let you know how super it is.

If any of you have read my blog....you KNOW how much I love my job....NOT. I have to work the whole weekend 7a-7p, so I pretty much have to pack up a cooler to go to work in order to eat healthy. Gah....being healthy is very time consuming. I wish I had a little elf for a sous chef!

Have a great day everyone!

I finally broke down last night when DH said he could SEE my swollen lymph nodes. There always is a point of surrender. That was mine.

I have the most amazing/expensive probiotic that I take with meds in addition to my daily three capsules, so I am so hoping to keep the candida at bay. The only sugar I am allowing myself is Will's b-day cake tomorrow. DH is making an R2-D2 for him.

Missing--I am with you on the hesitation for antibiotics. When my son had chronic ear infections, I asked them to culture the fluid when they put in tubes. I had gone rounds with his doc about antibiotics. I could tell when his was viral (rapid fever onset) or bacterial (slowly getting sick). I finally got an otoscope and checked him myself. If it was infected and he was showing signs of bacterial infection, I would take him in. The fluid they retrieved at the time of surgery had both.

As for the quinoa, if you cook it in broth, it has more flavor. You can make something similar to a pasta salad. I don't really care for it as a hot side dish. But I like it with some cubed grape tomatoes, diced peppers, carrots and celery. Then add a little of your favorite dressing and toss. Yum. (hope you get that elf to do this for you)

Chelle-How are you feeling?

Sweet peas--Excellent news!!!

Purple--rock on about the pants.

Selina--Gerber and you deserve to be together.

Okay girls, I have to brag for a moment. I had my first ever race today and it was more fun than I ever imagined. I had two goals, 1) finish and 2) don't do anything stupid. Well, I finished. I ran the stupidest race ever, though, but it worked out. I knew that I was going to have to be careful not to go out too fast or I would die out in the second half so I thought I was going at a fairly conservative pace. I passed the 1 mile marker in less than 8 minutes. I was momentarily quite proud, but I put the brakes on real quick because although I felt good I knew I couldn't run a 5k at that pace (hey, I didn't even know I could run a mile at that pace!). I slowed to a very deliberate pace of roughly 9 minute miles, and I figured I had to stay at that pace through the 2 mile mark, then I could see what I have left. So I did, and then at 2 miles I sped up again. I did the last mile in approx. 8:30, so although my first mile was really really not smart, it didn't kill me too bad. So, that is the race report! I don't know my official time yet as they used chips that attached to your shoe, so I am anxiously awaiting the times being posted on the internet. I'm so glad I finally got over it and signed up for a race, it was such fun. And let me tell you, there is nothing quite as motivating to get back on the healthy eating band wagon than being in a mass of really skinny people! If you have ever considered signing up for a race, DO IT! There were tons of people who walked it as well. Plus everyone gets a t-shirt

hi Blue Team!!! How are we all doing this week?

I'm just checking in real quick. Took son to Tball game this morning, then took kids to library and checked out a couple books for myself. I have started reading again...laying off some exercise to get back to other things has opened me up to reading again, and I have to say I am glad. I missed it! I don't get in much, but I am making time for it as I can. I am writing again as well...well, I never actually stopped but I am back to really, really writing, not just scribbling in the middle of the night because it won't let me sleep

tee, glad to see you on the meds. get well soon

jordan.... on the race! You are amazing, I am too chicken to even try something like that. Feel proud, you deserve it.

That is so great. I have been running since June, and I have yet to come close to a 10-minute mile. I am a putterer. And kind of a ninny. The two races in which I have run the whole way ended up with me at about a 11:30 mile. I did much better when I ran with my sister whose inseam is about three inches longer than mine!

I actually felt fine all day yesterday. I got quite a bit done and only needed the briefest of naps. Today, I have been getting ready for the preschool rummage sale, cleaning out closests and helping DH with his massive (some would say crazy) cake project. I plan to run later. Hard to believe I am the same woman who thought she was having some sort of cardiac malfunction Wednesday afternoon!

WOOHOO JORDAN! That's so cool - that you went and that you had FUN!

Lisa - I'm all about the planning too! I will fail (or at least fall short) if I don't plan my food for the day on my working days. Yeah, I'm excited to read this book. I've been doing weight training for a couple months now, but I feel like I flounder a bit instead of being on a steady course. I know the weight training and core work I'm doing is doing wonders for my muscles. 10 years ago when I lost 100+ pounds I didn't start WL until I was closer to 200 pounds. All my emphasis was on cardio. This time I decided to start if from the beginning. Why not?

I hurt my back this morning at the gym. Some fool didn't restack his weight plates and something popped in my low back as I unloaded and lifted the last of 4 45 pound plates. Shouldn't have happened. I lift them all the time. But still... So, I'm doing the whole ice pack thing.

Anna - what is the cake going to be? You'll have to post pics. Does DH bake too?

jordan- CONGRATS ON YOUR RACE! What was the race called?

Hi All,
I really hope to see a good loss tomorrow... I will let you all know. I am going to a baby shower tomorrow, so I will need to eat mindfully, or not at all while I am there.

KELLY!! You are so close to meeting your challenge goal! You rock!!!

Hey girlies (I think we lost JOhn awhile back according to the w/i threads, so.....)

Anna, so glad you told the strep to scram. Lisa, so sorry you are having to work away such a beautiful weekend - well, maybe not tomorrow, but today was pretty good.

i have a cool NSV. I volunteered to help with the scholastic book fair. Maybe you guys have seen this - it's where the scholastic panel truck shows up at the school with about a dozen metal trade-show type folding displays on wheel full of books and about one hundred small packing boxes full of books to stack on top of the trade show trunks. The day I volunteered for happened to be the pack up day, and I figured, sure, what's packing a few books. Well, I didn't realize we'd also be pushing the prementioned trunks to the front of the library and stacking all the heavy boxes on top of the 6' trunks to get ready for the pickup guy, AND, move all the tables and chairs back to teh original place in teh library. 90 minutes of packing, overhead lifting, full body sled pushing, and dragging of chairs. Breaking a sweat, purple faced fun. Like sweat beads on my face. I'm thinking the other ladies (who chose the mundane jobs of folding the table top displays or running the receipts report off teh computer) thought they were going to have to call 911 for me. But what the heck, might as well stay active and get your heart beating than to just wait for the time to pass. I thought I was going to be absolutely crippled getting out of bed this mornign, but I wasn't!!! Totally fit. Thanks to working out & staying active!

Have a good rest of the weekend everyone!

Hi all, I just got back in town from my grandma's funeral. It's been a very long and exhausting 3 days for me and all of my familiy. The five of us slept in one hotel room (me and DH in one bed, the oldest in a pull-out sofa, and each of the babies in their own pack-n-plays!). It was wall to wall and very stressful but we tried to make the best of it. I swear if one more person had said to me, "It's really the best way to go isn't it?" about my grandma (she died in her sleep) I was going to slap them silly. Seriously. It's true, I think we'd all like to just grow old (she was 73, not OLD old) and go to bed one night and pass away, but still... I just got sick of it. I had to be a lot of the backbone and taking care of things for my mom & sister (my sister is the one who found her and they were pretty close). So now that I'm home, away from all of it, I can grieve on my own.

I have no idea what the scale will hold for me on Monday. I ate a lot of junk at the funeral home of course but then at other times I've had no appetite. Almost no exercise though - THAT is going to hurt.

Hey everyone. Sorry I haven't posted although I have been reading. I'm having problems with sabotaging myself. I finally got to what I weighed when I quit the first time. That was a few months before getting pregnant and putting it all back on. I really want to get out of the 220's but I know that's only going to happen if I start tracking what I eat again and not overeating or going out to eat. I know I look better than I have in a long time other than those months before getting pregnant and I have no plans for another baby anytime soon if ever so I don't know why I'm doing this. I really want to be out of plus size by this summer and its totally doable. Right now my size 20 jeans are fitting really good. On the side of loose so if I can just get a handle on myself I'll get out of plus. I don't binge or anything I just eat bad. Plus its too expensive to eat out even if it is easier. Well that's enough whining.

Karen, I'm sorry that I don't know how old your baby is, so this might be totally useless information. After my first, I found the pounds and more than I had gained FELL off me once she got mobile, so at about her first year I started melting and by 18 months, I was less than when I had gotten prg. Chasing a toddler around (esp her, she was sooo adventurous and constantly on the brink of danger) is excellent exercise for weight loss - lots of sprints! How old is your little one?

Karen, nice to 'see' you! Glad you posted. I know what you mean. I sabotage myself too. I bet you'll be outta plus size in no time!!

So sorry it's been hard for you this week Heather. I hate that you had to endure so much all at once. I hope it gets better for you and you can grieve now. Bless your heart.

Thank you all for the kind words. We are praying and will keep you all updated on the Gerber situation. I also wanted to tell you that Gerber is his nickname because he looks like the Gerber baby. LOL!! Round little head, soft blonde hair, rosy cheeks, lol. Adorable little sweetie. I got him an outfit and a bunny to send to him thru his child advocate. I miss him!!!

I'm doing ok on eating but not as good as I'd like. Trying to keep it as sane as possible.

Well, gotta go get them to bed, big hugs to you all, hope it's going well for each of you as far as losing lbs or inches, can't wait to get back to it and hit my 100 lb mark,

Selina

Selina - I always assumed that Gerber was his nickname for the very characteristics you mentioned about him...round little head, soft blonde hair, rosy cheeks... Adorable little sweetie.

Karen - I hope you get your groove thing back soon! Those "happy numbers" - or whatever they are where we get stuck are crazy. I remember I had 2 of them from last time around - 219 and 182. I don't' think I've tracked my calories for the past week, and although I lost over 2 pounds this week, I'm feeling like I'm on shaky ground whenever I don't track.

I just had a yummy dinner of maple garlic salmon and steamed artichokes. My dd's (but not dh) love artichokes as well, so it made for a fun time around the table seeing how high our pile of leaves could get.