I'd like to join in this Challenge, it'll be my first of hopefully many. My first goal is to keep to a 1400 calorie plan daily, second to exercise at least 45 mins for 5 days a week, and finally to lose 10 pounds by St. Patty's day. May the luck of the irish be with all of you! lol

Oi! I did myself no favors yesterday. Lunch went really well. I ate and drank what I had originally planned. However, we decided to head to the bar where my friend's wife works and that's when things went downhill. I huge piece of ice cream cake, several more drinks and then a couple of slices of pizza to try to absorb some alcohol (I don't know about the rest of you but my alcohol tolerance is miniscule compared to what it was before the weight loss). Missed the gym this morning with a hangover! But I have no eating out plans until next weekend so I am going to have a good week! Be diligent about my eating and working out! I have less than three weeks to get to my original goal and while it will be tough, I'm confident I can do it!

So it's back on the wagon today, though with one less meal since I haven't been awake for that long.

- Brunch: Cheese omelette made with 1/2 cup egg substitute (60) and 1 wedge LC garlic swiss (35) topped with 2 tbsp Pace Mild Picante (20), 2 slices 45 calorie bread (90) with 2 tbsp of Smucker's Sugar Free Strawberry jam (20) and 1 medium orange (64). 289 calories total.

- Afternoon (After Workout) Snack: 1 apple (80). 80 calories total.

- Dinner: 4 oz grilled chicken (110) with roasted veggies - broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, mushroom caps and potatoes coated with 2 tbsp olive oil (467 total). 577 calories total.

946 calories total for the day. While I would normally eat more to not have my calorie count be less than 1050, I don't find it quite a necessary to do so since I will have a shorter day than normal. Yeah, still a little embarrassed by that.

Didn't make it to the gym due to my sleeping in so I'm going to head out for a walk. Looking to get 4 laps in which I should be able to but my muscle aching from the new weight training has moved from the butt and thighs to the calves. I really like it though!

Hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful Saturday!

Sounds like you have a great plan and a successful week coming up!

Rode the bike for 30min. Lost 1.5lbs. finally. I'm eating better, so I'm not even wanting junk food. I'm filling up on veggies instead. Had 1475 calories, 200 more than I should have. I estimated how much cooked shrimp i was eating, I under estimated & went over my limit. I'm never doing that again!

Food has been atrocious this week. I can keep within the weekly calorie average if I stick to 1300 today, but I can't believe some of the choices I've made this week! I have had 4 fast food burgers since Monday. That is pretty bad. I'm not going to lie.

My weight is back down to 62.9kg / 138.6 pounds today, which is good...but the food thing needs to be sorted out! Needless to say, as well as craving things like pizza...I'm also craving vegetables since it's been too long since I had any in a decent portion.

Hey everyone. I've read over the last couple of days' posts that I have missed. I know a couple people were upset over what they have been eating, but at least you are able to get back on track. I can't seem to even get started with the calorie counting (sigh). And my exercise isn't consistent enough. I watch infomercials for exercise programs that I could have done years ago, and think to myself, "there's no way now.."

I don't know what I need to do to get motivated. It just seems like there are so many things I need to accomplish (family, school, work, housework, and exercise), that exercise gets bumped off the list all the time. (It's not alone. My house looks like a disaster area at the moment. )

Well, maybe today will be better. I'm visiting my sisters this week, and one of them may let me borrow her P90X for a few weeks, so we'll see how that goes. Take care everyone!

OMG ~Have I been busy.~Anyways so cool Fruit about 25 years~Certainly a rare thing now days for people our age! I am proud of y'all!

Off "tom" Finally today ~still have after bloat LOL~I weighed 131.0 this morning which was fine with me.~I am just trying to get the hang of my maintaining amount & I think I am getting super close to it all.

Anyways....Got a LIKE NEW(USED) SOFA & LOVESEAT ON OUR ANNIVERARY(For $275 delivered~ Which was sooooooooo cheap for the condition & style)~Was so happy~It was meant to be ~goes well with my decor & My other stuff was falling apart.~LOVE THE FURNITURE WE GOT~SO COMFY & PRETTY. I am super proud of it & the hubby likes it too.Plus we was getting desperate & ready to go in debt on a 90 days same as cash & I am more of a pay cash for it & own it if possible if it's something kinda expensive~It would have been 250 to 300 a month for a few months & a headache! So I am thankful.

Anyways off to finish my exercises I am a little behind today ~I went to every other day now~Seems to be working out great for me though.It's 55 Degrees in OHIO TODAY SO THAT A SMILE~COME ON SPRING! SO CLOSE!

HUGS TO ALL ~HAVE A SUPER SUNDAY!

After days of trickling TOM did arrive full force yesterday. I was starting to get frustrated bcuz I just wanted it to start already so an end would come. So far the weekend has been good eating and working out. We walked 3 miles walking around the outlet mall in North Georgia. Today I have a baby shower to go to...I'm determined not to screw it up!!!

On an even better note: I have on a skirt today that I haven't worn in a couple months and there is so much room I can twirl it around on my body without sucking in my stomach and my hubby said it's time for a new one!!! Despite what's going on with my legs I feel great and appreciate my challenge buddies that go back with me to my first challenge...much love and thanks for the encouragement...most of all, Lori You ROCK and thanks for keeping these challenges going

Hi all. I've read over this entire thread to catch up, and am really amazed at how so many of you are able to keep positive and keep working through the stress and weigh loss difficulties. I don't feel like I've encountered any true challenges yet in my weight loss, but I know they will come - and I know that if I follow your example I'll be able to make it through them.

I got back from my business trip last night, and overall am decently happy with how I did while away from home. The parts I'm not pleased with are that I drank way too much on two nights. The only times I typically have more than 1 drink is when out at a bar, and that seldom happens unless I'm travelling... but on those occasions 5 drinks is not unusual. This trip was not an exception. However, I fit the alcohol into my calorie allotment for the day. That meant I didn't go off-plan, but it also meant I didn't really get enough actual nutrition on those days. The other part I'm not pleased with is that I didn't drink nearly enough water yesterday.

On a positive note, I did exercise in the hotel fitness room on every day of my trip except for yesterday, when my schedule was crazy and there was just no time. When I finally got home last night at about 1am, I weighed on my home scale - and was shocked to see 254.0. The number was the same this morning. There's no way I lost 5 lbs. in five days, and so I can only surmise that I'm dehydrated from the alcohol Fri night and not drinking enough water yesterday. Hopefully I'll normalize over the next few days before my official weekly weigh-in, and have more confidence about the number I'm seeing on the scale.

The weekend is going much better. Stuck to 1395 calories and did an hour of Spin. And I ran my 5K on the treadmill today! It felt so good. I actually ran a little more, because I increased my speed to 4.7 for the last 10 minutes or so. Now I can focus on increasing my speed, and trying to start running outside now that most of the dirty snowbanks have melted! I've only had 555 calories so far today, so I should have no trouble staying in my range.


chickadee, travel is really hard - I give you loads of credit for all the positive things you did while away.

jiggle, that's awesome that your clothes are getting so big!

lori, congrats on the new furniture - glad you're having fun. TOM is just about gone here too, thank goodness!!

amanda, there is a way - you can do this! Find a way to track your food - many people here love doing it online, but I like to just carry a small notebook around. Right before you bite - it will make you think about it twice. It's saved me a few times. BUt even if I screw up, I write it down and track the calories as best I can.

rainbow, hope this week goes better for you. Good for you for tracking even when things aren't perfect.

fruit, glad you're feeling better.

Hope everyone has a great day! Only 17 days to go - yikes!!!

natamars- thanks! I'm feeling great. I can't wait to start running again, spring can't come fast enough for me.

I felt like a powerhouse today, rode the bike for 30min at racing speed( 17-20mph) did 8 mi. Then went to the Game Preserve & walked up & down hills for 30min. I was right on track w/ calories, 1274. Eating a better diet is making me feel energized like I did when I was dieting and eating the same way. I shouldn't have cut out alot of the foods I ate then because they had sodium, I wouldn't have gone through all this crap if I just would have kept eating them. Lost 2lbs. I'm losing the right way this time!

Hello all again.
Been hanging in there. Started doing JM the 30 day shred (again) with my cousin four days ago, and feel great. I lost 2 pounds in 10 days.... thought it would be more... I just have to remember that every pound counts. I find it doubtful that I will reach my patty's day goal.... As long I come darn close..
I'm glad to see how many are in this challange and staying strong.

natamars Your exercise is impressive! Thanks for the props on tracking...I can't stop tracking my calories haha. They're definitely far from perfect though...

~So my weight is up again today, 63.5kg/139.9 pounds. I'm on the verge of wanting to throw the towel in and call it a day. I'm the smallest I've been in my adult life and this up and down pattern of my weight over the past 2 weeks is frustrating me to no end. So is my control/the foods I've been eating. A lot of it is me trying to make choices without much pre-planning, which I can't really avoid at the moment.
Right now, I finish work in an hour and then have a meeting with the group of artists who are starting a collective that I'm involved in...so I have no idea when or what dinner will be - unfortunately, I'm considering just skipping it...I don't trust myself to make healthy choices while out at the moment. And I think it would be bad to eat a full dinner after 8pm (which is when I envisage getting home). I've done it before, many times, but for some reason I feel like now I have to follow all of these "diet" rules that everyone else has talked about.
I know I'm being unreasonable. I've lost 48 (or something..) pounds in 7 months, so clearly I must be doing something right...I just feel so stuck and frustrated right now. I know it's my fault too.

I had a major whoosh today and dropped 4 pounds to 270. This makes me one pound away from my St Patricks Day challenge to get into the 260's.

Larry,

Hi guys, was MIA again this weekend.

I didn't do quite as badly with my food choices as I did last weekend, but I'm definitely slacking way too much (seafood buffet and Mexican this weekend.) Fortunately we don't have any social obligations this coming weekend, so it will be much easier to stay OP. Hoping I can maintin my usual 1 lb loss for this week, they hopefully step it up the last two Fridays of this challenge!