Kari
They didn't find out what was wrong with me until they put a camera down my throat ( ya real fun but at least you are kind of in la la land ).

ksk
Nice going with staying on plan today.

Terapet
Part of my success is God. He is there with me everyday. Part of it is using fit day. I can make sure I get the required amounts of the four basic food groups in. Part of it is planning with fit day. I generally plan my meals out for tomorrow, tonight. That way, I can not only get in what I need to eat but I can stay within the general ranges I allow myself. I don't always eat what the family is having. They shouldn't have to do without things they like just because I don't want to have them and yuck I do not like spaghetti. Gosh, part of it is the support I get from my husband. Nothing is kept in the house that I don't think I have enough control not to eat a ton of like cookies lol. Part of it is you all. I come here and chat and read. You all give so much support in ways you would never believe. Just little things like being here for me. You give me encouragement and let me rant on my down days lol. Part of my success is will power. Someone has on their tricker " Nothing tastes as good as thin feels " I think about that. Today the kids had de dejorno pizza ( or how ever you spell it ) lol. Oh my gosh it smelled good. Could I have had it? Sure I could have. Did I really want to eat all that fat and carbs in a piece of pizza. Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. I also have become very good at saving up a few grams of fat and carbs for when I really want something. Just a gram of fat a day and a few carbs a day add up. Took me about 2 weeks but we are going to have BBQ ribs this weekend and I am going to enjoy every gram of fat and every carb in them lol. I don't mess around when it comes to eating ribs. There is no such thing as 2 small ones or 1 large one. Give me half a rack lol.

Tina
Those urges do happen. At least they do for me. I keep celery in my hands and mouth lol. I started doing hook rugs and embroidery again. Keeps the hands busy, keeps the mind busy. You don't think so much about food and are productive. They are helping. So far we basically have ( by the end of today )the living room, dinning room, enclosed porch ( where the rabbit lives with the summer furniture ), the kitchen and the entrance room and family room done. We will do windows and sills when the weather gets warmer. Their sister will be coming up again in July so they don't want to have 2 weeks of constant work before she gets here. This is the time I get all the cleaning done before she gets here and they are busy for tennis and such. They are helping to get stuff done now.

Hope everyone is having a great day. For those of you not having such a hot time. REMEMBER tomorrow is another day.

The spinning that I do is not in a class per say... I go to a Boot Camp that is put on by Marty & Amy that were on The Biggest Loser Season 3 which during the colder months is held indoors at the Y and is outdoors during the warmer months. I don't actually belong to the Y, my membership is with 24 Hour Fitness. I would think you would be able to walk into a class and sit down (mount) a bike, at least that is how it is done at 24 Hr... no need to register for the class, you just have to get there early to make sure you get a bike. The first few times you get on the bike expect a hard workout and a lot of adjustments to be made as you get used to the bike. It definitely is an awesome workout!

Another POP day for me The break room was FILLED with donuts and brownies and cookies and candy. Someone must have brought in the remnants of an awesome feast. I wasn't even tempted to nibble. A big change from a year ago!

Tina - we are so proud of you for joining OA and staying OP. There WILL be temptations and struggles along the road. But you have come so far in such a short time. Go back and read your posts from the beginning of this challenge. You are so strong now! Your progress is so inspiring!

Muse - you are doing so great with your exercise! You should be thrilled with your new muscles! They were hard-earned with lots of dedication. It is exciting to see you doing so well

Rhonda - I like you too! I'm glad you keep coming and posting over here - we love having you with us!

Hun - congrats on the workouts! You are back in the groove! It IS gonna be a great week I so appreciate your faithfulness as a team leader. Even when life gets crazy, you find time for us - it means a lot!

Tera - I am so proud of you for staying strong through all of your trials right now. It IS hard to put yourself first when family issues are looming. Keep it up! You CAN do this!

Laura - I find your energy for exercising absolutely amazing. You are doing great! And - unlike me - you have figured out what works at a very young age. I love reading about your runs and your dedication to working out while traveling. It IS hard to do, and you make it sound so easy

Karen, have you tried the Morningstar Farms and other meatless products? They can help you eat less red meat, and they are pretty tasty (of course being a vegetarian, I really can't tell you if they taste like meat or not). They are lean, full of protein and I think they are grand

Kari - maintaining is really hard! You have figured out how to do it! Just a few tweaks, and you will be losing again! This is the week

To all my other red teamies - stay strong! POP this week! Spring is around the corner - we can make it!

When you say "adjustments" does that mean adjust something on the bike or do you mean modify what the instructor is saying to do. They do tell you to do stuff, right?

Thanks for filling me in on this. We have this new studio for spinning at the bike and it looks like fun but I don't want to get to much attention the first time I attend. That is probably silly but I feel kinda stupid if they point out in front of the entire class what I am doing wrong.

Shy,

No wonder you are losing so much weight! I have planned meals in advance a few times and found it was very helpful but I have not tried doing that on a regular basis. You have a lot of good ideas. Thanks for sharing your secrets!

IdealMuse
It is really cool to read about your progress. I love getting stronger also. I had spent a lot less time at the gym during the winter holidays and it has taken all the way until now to get even close to where I was. Admittedly I am getting a bit old, so it is taking longer then it used to but I am not worried about that. I just keep working at it. That's the great thing about running and weight training, you always get better then you were if you just stick to it. Now tennis or bowling or anything that involves a ball, I am hopeless at that stuff.

Adjustments to the bike. You'll have to make sure the seat is the right height for your legs, you have to make sure the seat is back enough or forward enough for your arms to reach the bars. You'll also be adjusting the resistance on the wheel throughout the class as they will probably have you make it looser and tighter multiple times throughout the class to simulate going up or down a hill or strolling through the park or racing in a big race. I think the first class I went to I had to adjust my bike seat about 5 different times because it just did not feel right and I couldn't find the right height or tell if I needed it closer to the bar or farther away. The last class (my 3rd or 4th) I only had to adjust the seat at the beginning and that was it! Don't worry about feeling stupid in front of the entire class, remember, you are there to learn and if they do point something out, someone else in the class may be doing the same thing wrong and will learn how to correct it. Also I'm sure you wouldn't be the first one that has had something pointed out in the class. They want to make sure you are doing it correctly so that you do not hurt yourself Give it a try and let me know what you think? I have tomorrow off from work so I think I will go to a Spin class at 24 Hour.

Good morning ladies,

Just a quick minute to post while i'm on a break at school. I was sooo excited to see my scale down to 217.6 this morning. That means 3lbs down from last week with today and tomorrow still to get through. Hopefully it stays down like this. I did a great cardio kickboxing class yesterday and tonight I hvae my 4.5 hour class. TORTURE! ugh!!! But, i'm happy to report that today is our last day of school this week because we have Good Friday off! WOOHOO!!!! I can sleep late tomorrow and then get a few workouts in during the day. DS has a basketball game tomorrow night so I won't be able to go to cardio kickboxing so I'll be sure to take a great power walk, maybe do a DVD and even hit the gym. Saturday weigh in, here I come!

Good morning ladies~ Well the sun is out today and I LOVE IT I always am in a fantastic mood when the sun is shining...how can ya not be?!? My meeting went well yesterday. It felt good to go there and tell them that this week was shaky. Just to be accountable felt good. I went to the gym afterwards and had a great cardio workout. I feel much better today, and back in a good frame of mind. Today I'm helping out in Madison's class, and then after today their Spring Break starts that means sleeping in for me! What else...oh I went to the mall yesterday and bought a few things. I found a pair of jeans and shorts for Kev. Kev has no rear end, so it's hard to find him jeans that don't look silly. They had the kind he likes on sale though, so I picked him up a pair. I found a tank top on clearence for $8.00 for me and then I bought myself a pair of jeans. I was so happy in the fitting room...I grabbed a size 5 because my 7's were getting a little loose on me. Well the 5's actually went up and button and zipped...now I wouldn't wear them in public just yet, but they were on sale and I thought they would be a good motivator and gauge of how I'm doing. I love this brand of jeans. They are at Penny's in the junior dept. and there called Vigoss, ever heard of them. They just fit me really nice. I can't wear any of those low rise jeans, my bottom doesn't allow it So I was pretty happy. I also got almost all my Easter shopping done. I just need to pick up a game for Joey and Mattie wants a word search book. Do you guys know if they make them for kids and where I could find them at? She has really been into them lately! Joey and Kev have their father/son sex ed meeting at school tonight. Kev is a little uncomfortable about it, but I told him it's time. That is about it for me though...just finishing up some laundry this morning. Hope your all having a wonderful day~

Tina
I am the same way. If the sun is shinning I feel better. Nice that you found some things at the mall. You should look at book stores for those puzzles. I know they have a few different ones for kids at our book store. Nothing special going on here today. Going to finish up the downstairs and then do laundry.

Melissa
Nice going on the loss, that is terrific. Kick boxing looks like great fun but I am not sure I could do that without an ambulance standing by lol.

Hey girls!! Just finished my exams and ugh I'm exhausted! My neck is all funky now so I'm gonna find my heating pad and hopefully get it relaxed. One more class tomorrow and its spring break! Yay!!

I've worked out 3 days straight, gotta get there tonight or at least get on the elliptical. Feels good to be back in control and hopefully it'll net me a loss on Saturday!!

I'll be back to catch up with everyone again! Oh I'm so glad to have some time off! Yay! LOL! I hope everyone is doing GREAT!!! What am I saying we are the red team...of course we are!

Way to go to those of you who were still doing the Vacation Challenge! I'm sorry I flaked out on that a few weeks back when I lost my mojo! But I'm proud to announce that you've earned enough for the trip Grand Total earned: $5791!!!!

Excellent job!!!

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