I am so exhausted! But will definitely respond to everyone in the morning. Glad to see that some of you are staying on plan, and the rest are working on it =) I had a couple cookies today. Buuut... busted my butt in the gym. Ran two miles in 20 minutes which is awesome for me... wanna try to build on that to at least run a 5k this summer, then I had 30 minutes of personal training that was upper body and abs, and then 45 minutes cycling. Like I said, beat! Having the fiance's family over tomorrow but picked up some yummy veggies for a veggie tray.

Lindy- what a difference. That is so incredible. You are doing awesome girl! You look great. Love the single life!

Just working all weekend.. suppose to snow tomorrow. ugh. My husband's flight got cancelled. Baltimore is suppose to get between 10-20 inches... of course the one day he's suppose to fly back. just our luck.. oh well... On the upside... gives me one more day to clean up the house before he comes. Will check in later

Aaargh - I can't sleep. I woke up after 4 hours of sleep and decided I may as well get some of my work done and go back to bed later. We had a nice night though and walked to sushi and the grocery store to pick up a few things.

hope - holy cow - that's quite the workout - good for you!

neesy - I hope your hubby can make it out of the DC area okay - sounds like a major storm for them. We'll keep our fingers crossed for you!

lindy - hope Gabby feels better so you can go play today.

Back to the spreadsheets.... Will check in later. There's such a strong link between the amount of time I spend here and making progress with weight loss that I'm going to just hang out here all week to improve my odds!

Good Morning! Can't stay but a minute, heading into work... on a Saturday
Hope everybody has a spectacular weekend!

Rocky - good luck at work - I'm plugging away at it too if it makes you feel better to have virtual company

I'm down another pound so that makes two this week which means I'm finally back in the game after holding steady for 3 or 4 weeks. I went back to sleep for a couple more hours around six so I'm actually doing okay and am planning on a 3 mile run in a while - anyone want to join me in getting in the mileage today?

Lindy - I'm hoping no news is good news and that you are playing away today! And getting all that exercise walking around in the sunshine.

Hi chicks,

Sorry I have been MIA...Thursday was a gong show at work and then I went out for our xmas party and it was - well what I remember another gong show But totally worth it, I had the best time. Needless to say I have been in recovery most of the week and feel like a bloated whale. Back to the grind tomorrow, the parties are pretty much over. Tonight is my last one for a long time.

Tomorrow I look forward to catching up!

S

Hopefalls-this is hard this time of year but I am really trying. Congrats on your loss, you are doing great. Thats an awesome workout. I need to do that.

Rocky-yay for getting to 10 lbs.

Dance-you are plugging right along. 2 lbs this week, right.

Lindy-That is such a HUGE difference from last year to now. You look great. did you get to go to Universal. Hope Gab is feeling ok.

Popcorn-are you feeling better, it stinks to be sick around the holidays.

Neesy-hope your husband makes it in tomorrow and you two have a great time together.

Staccie-sounds like you had a good time but the hangovers suck. Feel better soon.

Doing ok here. The scale was up a little this morning, so dont know if it will be at 199 tomorrow. I am not gonna worry about it though. I will get there soon enough.
Now some good news. We rent our house from my hubbys uncle. I stopped by yesterday to drop off the rent since we will be gone at the end of the month and he said he wanted to come by and talk to us. We got all freaked out and thought he was going to kick us out. He came by and offered to sell us the house and a few acres. We will do it on land contract and our monthly payment will be $100 cheaper than our rent. SO EXCITED. I didnt really want to buy a house in MI cos I want to move back to AL, but it is a great deal and he is selling it to us cheap so we are gonna do it. Also my hubby is looking to buy a motorcycle and his uncle has one for sell and will sell it to us for 2500. So good deals all around. Just had to share my good news with everyone.
Hope yall all have a good night.

Where is Sandy???? and Tiff???

woohoo, burgundy - that's exciting news! So glad things are working out!

staccie - glad your parties are over and you can focus on being the healthiest you can be!

Well, I have to apologize for being MIA again.

Burgundy: Hope you reach Onederland today! Keep us posted! You are doing sooooo good!

Lindy: You can totally see the difference in your pictures...you are a smoking hot lady!

Dancer: Hope all is going well with the renovations in the house. After you do all these upgrades are you sure you want to move?!? Or maybe I'll buy your house! LOL

Neesy: Hope your hubby makes it home. I know how much you have missed him. Also, I want to thank you for starting this forum, without you ladies, I would have definitely failed by now.

AJ: Glad you made it to CO safe and sound. How was eating on the drive? Is your tooth feeling better? What was the diagnosis?!?


Life here has been busy for me...lots of work to do. Luckily I have this week off from work, but I'll be doing more work at home than I would if I went to the office. Madeline has an echo cardiogram tomorrow morning, followed by me going to the doc about my back. I just hope they can figure out what's going on. My sciatica is going bonkers and I can't sit too long without it hurting. Tuesday is Hott trainer, Wednesday is manicure, Thursday is my family's Christmas, two Christmas parties on Friday, and 1 on Saturday! Crazy.

Good news to report....I'm down 5 pounds this week! I know, amazing. Well, I think my food poisoning had a little to do with it, but at least I feel better now. I got sick on Thursday, had our office Christmas party on Friday (which was totally decked out...fresh seafood, sushi, crabcakes, prime rib, every appetizer you can think of, chocolate fountains and a TON of desserts). I was so sick, I couldn't eat any of it. Which is probably a good thing considering the amount I probably would have eaten!

That makes 55 pounds lost this year. Totally crazy! Hope you ladies are doing well...I will try and check in more this week since Maddie naps in the middle of the day.

So I didnt reach 199, but maintained at 200 so thats ok. This will be my week. I will be able to get some walks in since the weather will be so much better in Bama. Only have one christmas party down there planned and my nieces birthday. Shes having a bowling party so that will be some exercise. We are heading out tomorrow morning so I may not be able to check in here as often the next 2 weeks. Wish me luck in at least maintaining while on vacation.

Maddiesmom-glad you checked and hope you get things straightened out at the dr for you and Madeline. Congrats on 55 lbs this year!!!!

maddiesmom - wow - 55lbs!!! Just imagine how many bags of potatoes in the grocery store that would be! What an accomplishment - you should be very proud and I bet your body is thanking you for it every day!

burgundy - how fun to time your journey to onederland as a christmas present to yourself!

2lbs down here after a long stretch of maintaining and hoping to get going on another losing streak, although I have a feeling that the last 15-20 will take much longer to get off than the first. Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Quick check in. After a week of being sick I am starting to feel more normal although I still have to take the occasional antihistimine to combat the drainage.

No surprise I am up 1 lb. this week but it could really have been worse. I am hoping to maybe get some exercise in this week.

It sounds like everyone is doing pretty well even though it is the holidays. I hope to join you soon. Today is going to be somewhat crazy for me as I have to do a four hour volunteer shift of gift wrapping at the mall.

Talk to you all soon (hopefully).

Dance - congrats on another 2 pounds, I am really hoping after the new year that I can get to goal rather quickly, Im so frustrated at maintaining and I agree with you, being on here more than less helps me stay focused so thats also on my game plan. Ok, so I know you are going to think Im a total panzy but it was 38 degrees when I went out to the gym this morning but I made it out there for my 2 mile run, Im so happy and I plan on going again tonight. I need to beef up my game because OMG...I look freakin huge today. My stomach is BEYOND bloated. Anyway, whats the weather like there? How is your knee holding up these days with your exercise and the weather there?

Burgundy- you got so close and did so well, 200 is awesome any which way. Just be careful while your on vaca, who knows, when you visit family sometimes your so busy you get distracted, maybe this will work in your favor? Congrats on all the good news too as far as the motorcycle and house, thats HUGE! As far as you being away from AL, who knows what the future hold but that could always be an investment property down the road.

Maddiesmom--woot-woot, 55 pounds, girl you are killing it! Heres to a year of meeting goals and being accomplished. Sorry to hear about your food poisoning episode, but you sound like me. I kinda get happy when I get sick, lol...because it helps with weight loss, geez-am I sick in the brain or what?!

Stacie- you have a crazy busy (and fun) schedule, Im waiting for you to elaborate on your FB post....hmmmm, lol. Time to get into the daily grind to work off those holiday party goodies (and drinks) hee-hee.

Neesy - did your hubby make it yet? It looks like that bad storm is keeping more people grounded longer than a day. How are you doing on the diet and exercise? Your probably busy prepping for the hubby, Im sure.

So, I did go to Universal on Saturday and had a blast. And my god did I do some walking. I also consumed pure garbage though: nathans hot dog, soda, funnel cake, caramel apple, cherry slurpee and turkey leg! I split everything with my friend, but still---SOOOOOO bad! I woke up this morning and looked freakin huge, like a beach whale, lol...bloated and disgusting, ugh. I know...its just "fat girl brain" but still, Im not feeling hot. So, Im going to buckle down and stay focused this week. I did an hour at the gym today and my 2 mile run...yay me. I have plans to go running again this evening, I really need to get moving, I see my hard areas getting soft now from slacking at the gym. Ok--have a skinny day girls!

popcorn - glad you're over the worst - you'll be back in gear in no time.

Lindy - sounds like you are re-inspired! I'm right there with you - I just got the next size down in my favorite jeans as the current ones were getting that un-cute baggy butt look and am DYING to fit into them. I'm hoping to be able to wear them on New Year's - we'll see how it goes as that would take a lot of buckling down between now and then. I'm only running fairly short distances (3 miles or so) a few times a week and trying to make up for the cutback with lots of long walks and work around the house. I'd like to be able to pick up the pace on running again but am trying to do the exercises and stretches I've read about for me knee to get it strong first. Clearly whatever you've been doing at the gym is working - I keep thinking about your before and after pics - wow, wow, wow!

Another killer day at work and then it will all be much calmer, thank goodness.

Hope you are all thinking skinny thoughts!

Lindy: Great job on the run this morning. 38 degrees? That's nothing! Try living in Chicago for a winter...that's cold. A couple of weeks ago it was -20 with the windchill!

Dance: You will be in those jeans by New Years! Good luck! Glad work is getting calmer for you. I have the week off and boy do I need it. But, taking care of Madeline is usually more work than actually going to the office!

Ok, doctor's visits...Madeline had an echo cardiogram of her heart, she was born with a small hole that didn't close, so they wanted to check if it had closed. (I guess this is extremely common, but since I met my deductible for the year, the doc had us do one). After 30 minutes of crying and kicking and screaming, we gave up and rescheduled for Wednesday. the funny thing was that as soon as I got her dressed and off the gurnee, she was talking, laughing, etc. etc. Little booger.

As for me, I have degenerative disc disease (less fluid in between the bones of my spine...it's genetic...thanks dad!). Well, I had an MRI done years ago (pre baby, etc) and that's when I found out I had it. So, my doc wants me to get another one done to see what shape my back is in. Then they will decide on the best course of treatment: cortisone shots, acupuncture, chiropractor, or...gulp....surgery. Hope it doesn't lead to that, but if it helps in the long run, I'll do it. So now we'll see if the insurance company approves the procedure and see if I can get it done by the end of the year since I have met my yearly deductible. Keep your fingers crossed!

Oh, my doc also mentioned, that since losing all this weight, that my body was used to compensating and adjusting my center of gravity because of my weight. Since I had lost weight, my body has to readjust to the "new weight." Something I didn't think about...but if any of you ladies are having back issues here and there, that could be the culprit as well.

Have a great day ladies!!!