toastedsmoke – I’ve done the exact same thing with the French fries so you’re not alone! I’d love to be able to visit every continent in a round the world trip.

stucky1987 – Wow, sounds like you have been incredibly busy. Good Luck with the rest of your exams.

ferretgirl – How was the Tamale Fest??

princessdi86 – 1.8lbs is a fantastic lost so don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re doing an awesome job!

southernbelle102 – CONGRATULATIONS!!! Reaching 299 must be incredibly exciting. The thing you need to remember with the pizza is that it was “within your calorie limit”. You didn’t eat the whole pizza so that’s a victory in itself.

Jelbelle – I’ve never seen any of the Twilight movies or read any of the books either. I also didn’t get on the Harry Potter bandwagon.

Don’t forget to weigh in everyone!!

ETA: Sorry for the length, I was just trying to reply to everybody!

Katybelle: Going to the Harry Potter theme park sounds completely awesome! You should definitely ask your parents if they’ll help out. If you think that they might not want to fund your weight loss reward, then you can always present it to them as a reward for something else (perhaps doing well your first year at college, for example).

Stacylambert: Just wanted to reiterate what others have said; everything will be okay! If your calories are within your plan’s range, then you just need to wait this gain out. Weight loss doesn’t always make sense in the short term, but if you stick to your plan, then you’ll lose it soon enough. That being said, I hope that you’ve lost some of the gain and that you’re feeling better now!

KimL1214: Wow! I’m jealous of your upcoming trip to Hawaii. It sounds amazing! Do you know where in Hawaii you might go and what you’ll want to do? In response to your note to me, I like the sound of going and doing something crazy as a reward. I already have lots of travel plans for the next year or so. I’ll have to think about it a bit more, but something like skydiving does sound intriguing. As long as I don’t get super scared and pee my pants or something!

Princessdi86: Thanks for explaining what you do for mini goal rewards! I’ll think about maybe getting some jewelry or something for mini rewards, but clothes are definitely out! It seems more like torture than fun to me, even when I’m feeling good about how I look.

oOPeanutOo: Some countries I've been considering of late: Tunisia (though I’ve lived there before, so the appeal is somewhat less than other countries), Morocco, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, England, Mongolia, Canada, French Guiana, and Argentina. Or maybe, in terms of US states, Oregon, Colorado, or North Carolina. Right now I’m kind of on a French or English speaking kick. I love living here, but it’s sometimes frustrating not to understand people in shops and such. I’m learning, but it’s slow going. Not sure if I should stay another year here or not. Or what I should do in terms of a career! Teaching English is nice, but I don't think I want to do it long-term.

Toastedsmoke: I like the sound of that round the world ticket! Where do you think you might try to travel once you get it?

Stucky1987: I hope that you’ve been able to get some more sleep lately! You sound overworked.

Southernbelle102: Congrats on reaching such a challenging mini goal! That’s truly wonderful!

Ferretgirl: Mmm, tamales! Now I really, really want some. How did it go?

Jelbelle: I feel you on the not wanting an Edward or a Jacob thing. I prefer men who don’t secretly watch me sleep without my knowledge or permission! If I had to choose a literary romantic interest written with teenage girls in mind, I think I’d pick Gilbert Blythe from the Anne of Green Gables books. So much more drool-worthy!

hello everyone,
what a bad week ive had!.. sorry ihavent been around, daughter has been very ill with a virel infection. i wasnt getting any sleep because she was been sick in her sleep running back an forth to the bathroom, she also stoped breathing in her sleep at one point so i was so scared to leave her side!.. im just really glad that she is better now and ive had some rest!..not looking forward to the weigh in urgh.. done no exercise an eaten everything in site!!. plus TOM...

Hey ladies sorry for my lack of posts over the weekend. Had a lovely visit from some kind of a virus and I'm just now feeling somewhat alive lol. I dreaded getting on the scale this morning as I have not been watching calories or exercising since the flu hit Thursday. Surprisingly...I didn't gain anything this week, but I didn't lose anything either. Heading back to bed to get the rest of this bug out of my system so I can get back on the horse tomorrow feeling 100%.

I have to admit...Friday night and yesterday I was a LITTLE careless for the first time since I started 12 weeks ago! No drinks or anything but man I did eat popcorn at the movies (a bit) AND I did get somethign I def shouldn't have gotten to eat...but alas...I only went over my calories by about 400 and I'm not upset about it =)

I weighed myself this morning and it says I lost about 1 pound. Better than gaining, but I know I could've lost more had I stayed on track the entire week =) We'll see what my official weigh in is tomorrow morning!

Good job to all of you who lost and to those that are having a rough time, I feel you! We just gotta keep on keepin on!

oOPeanutOo: I read all the Twilight books, with the exception of Breaking Dawn which made me want to throw up my own intestines, so I couldn't finish it. But I decided I'd read the series so that I'd be able to back up my opinions when I told people how much I hated it. I'm a big Harry Potter fan, though. Even though it definitely lost it's charm books 6+.

Nienna: Haha, I think it's sad to consider Twilight geared towards teenage girls. But that's all I'm going to say on the subject as to not offend anyone here. Usually I wouldn't have a problem, but I like all of the ladies with us here =D

bbg20: Wow, that is a bad string of luck =( I hope you both feel better!

excitedtolose: I guess it's just that time of year. I started off with a bug too but luckily worked through it. Hope we can stay clean for the rest of the winter season!

Krizstyling: You sound just like me! Yesterday I was all over the board, eating bad stuff, no exercise. It was just a rotten day, I want to avoid being that way again because I regret and feel cruddy afterwards. Grats on the loss! I lost too and wow was I relieved. If I gained I'd just be so much more angry at myself!

Kim: Welcome back! I know what you mean about connection problems. Back when we had AT&T I was disconnected more than connected! At least you had a good week despite your friend passing away. I hope that phone call isn't more bad news =( And to answer your question, I would do barbells. Mostly because I like the look of them better, but I also don't know how often rings are used for hip piercings. But even if they were I'd still choose barbells =)

Question of the Day: Well, I think I'm also a little of both, but I lean more towards the off-plan version. I feel like I could make up for a bit of a splurge with exercise, and staying on plan all non-holiday days. Thanksgiving usually gets me full quickly anyways, and after being on a diet so long I'll probably get full faster because now I'm used to eating small portions of food. Christmas Eve is the dinner to look out for. It's a tradition in my family to order Chinese takeout. Yep. That probably sounds really bad, but it was sort of a funny joke and it became a tradition. Like I said, I think I could make up for it. I'm a firm believer that if something only comes around once a year, take advantage of it. It's not like my plan is going down the drain entirely, I'll get right back on the wagon after the holiday season and continue my journey just as I would.

I had a 2.2lbs loss this morning, and while I'm happy that it was at least a loss, I'm a little disappointed I couldn't get 3lbs or higher. I just really want to be in Onederland!

southernbelle: CONGRATS on making it to the 200s!!!!!!!!!!! Like I said before! Your journey so far has been amazing. I wish you the briefest possible stay in "twoderland" and all the grace and weight loss karma in the world as you go for your goal! Well done!!!!

princessdi86: I totally understand being disappointed at 1.8 lbs. I lost 1.5 lbs this week and whilst I'm not unhappy (because at least I DID lose and didn't gain), I see other people losing like 3 lbs or more in a week on average and do feel a little envious or like "why can't that be me," especially since I've been pretty strictly on-plan (even though to be honest I've always been a -1.5-lb a week type, it's just gotten tedious recently). Anyway, we need to be patient and appreciate the small things! Any loss at all means we're definitely on our way!

Jelbelle: Oh dear! I'm thinking of giving Zumba a go. I was hoping to get the Beto dvd set at Christmas even though I've had a few reservations because I don't typically do wonderfully with choreographed workouts... ah well... I'll still give it a go.

Nienna: I totally get you about wanting to live in a francophone country for a bit. I sometimes am so saddened about the depletion of my french-speaking skills and the funny thing is even when I meet people I could speak to in French, I get shy and don't even take the opportunity to practice unless they speak to me in French first. It's funny that we anglophones, we're shy/ashamed to sound non-native in other languages, but we don't really mind when non-native speakers don't sound perfect in English. Anyway I get the need to be in an immersion situation because it forces you to practice and improve and all that great stuff! As far as where I want to go on each continent, I'm not really sure yet. It's tempting to want to revisit places I've been before and liked or places where I have friends or family, but then I feel like "well if I know people there, I can always go there anytime and so maybe I should go to places that I'm unlikely to ever go to otherwise." So far I know I want to go to New Zealand and Madagascar, and maybe Brazil or Argentina, but the rest, I'm not sure yet. Where would you go, if you could have one stop on every continent? Re: the appropriate crush for the adolescent girl, I lust after Carlisle from Twilight, but I'd definitely marry Gilbert Blythe, but only if Mr. Knightley from Emma, was already taken.

bbg200: I'm soooo sorry about what you and your daughter have been going through! I'm glad she's feeling better (and by default you must be too!) You're both in my prayers and thoughts.

excitedtolose: Sorry you haven't been feeling well! Please look after yourself and feel better soon!!!

KimL1214: I haven't started yet with the Carrie Jones. I'll load them up this evening or some time tomorrow and get started some time this week. I'll definitely let you know how I liked them. Re: finding love: I have the same exact concerns as you. I think part of the issue is first loving ourselves and believing we're deserving of love, this a.) makes us not only more attractive, but b.) also ensures we can be in healthy relationships. As far as Team Edward vs Team Jacob, I must confess, I'm actually on Team Carlisle (that's who I WANT <sighs>. lol!


Today's Question: I think for Christmas dinner, I'm going to give myself a free pass. The thing I've found recently is that I get full faster and I also think I'm developping a food guilt sensor that let's me know when I'm being piggy. So i won't necessarily be on plan, but I'll definitely try to not go mental and end up in my usual Christmas day post-prandial stupor. That'll mean probably no second helpings and drinking lots of water to aid the feeling full faster feeling.

princessdi86: I've always wanted to get an industrial, but I was afraid that it would hurt. I'm just sensitive on my ears and scared because I had bad experiences with my ear piercings as a child. The tongue however is virtually painless. I don't think that's just me, it's ranked like number 2 on the list of painful places to pierce (right above ear lobes), with 10 being most painful. The hardest part of a tongue piercing in about 5 seconds worth of lightheadedness and the swelling afterwards. But getting it done you really won't feel anything =) My friend has the part under her tongue pierced and I remember the first time I saw it and I just thought it was the dumbest thing XD I still do. I think it's the most ridiculous piercing ever! Sorry if anyone here actually has that XD ha.

Jebelle! Great GREAT loss! But I def feel you on the crummy feeling after we have a slip up! At least we lost right? I would have been EXTREMELY angry had I gained! But my goal was 3lbs lost this week as well =( Eh, here's to next week for both of us! Let's try and push each other to those three pounds!

Krizstyling: I agree! Let's set ourselves a three pound goal for this week! I want to know that I can do it, and be 100% in everything I do. Last week I floudered a bit at the end. I don't know if that's entirely the reason why I didn't lose a bit more, but I know that I definitely did not give it my absolute all. I want to have a rockin loss this weekend, and I'll support you and help to keep you on track so we don't feel cruddy again =P

LOVE THIS! I think we both are in the same boat def! I did so great Sun-Thurs and then Friday night it all went to **** lol! So, I'll def be checking in w/ you and you do the same! Maybe we can even PM each other what we eat to make sure we are staying on track!

Nienna – If you’re thinking of Australia, plan on Melbourne or Sydney. You’ll love the atmosphere of culture/arts and great restaurants in Melbourne.

bbg200 – Sorry to hear that you’ve had such a bad week and that your daughter hasn’t been too well. If your new avatar photo is of your daughter, I have to say she is absolutely adorable!!

excitedtolose – It sucks when you’re sick!! How are you feeling now??

KimL1214 – I’m glad you’re feeling much better! I think it’s an awesome idea to get a tattoo that has that kind of meaning behind it. I’m a bit of a needle-phobic so wouldn’t be able to handle getting a tattoo.

Jelbelle – “throw up my own intestines”... hahaha. That really is dislike for the series. It’s good that you wanted to back up your opinions though. If I was honest, the only thing I know about Twilight is that it involves Vampires. Congrats on the 2.2lbs btw!!

toastedsmoke – how are the exercise minutes shaping up this month?

princessdi86 – I totally spat out my drink laughing. Sorry! We don’t actually keep Kangaroos as pets in Australia. The guy was probably having you on. It’s a bit of a long running joke in that we say we have Kangaroos, Koalas & Wallaby’s roaming around in our backyards. I have a friend who has a photo of himself with a Kangaroo from the Zoo and when he’s overseas for work shows it to people and tells them he’s had the Kangaroo since it was a Joey. No one has ever questioned him on it.

Sunday/Monday’s Question – I’m lucky in that I only have Christmas & New Years Eve to worry about. I won’t be completely on plan for Christmas but won’t be overdoing things either. I’ve already decided not to count calories for the day but I’ll watch portion sizes. It’s one day so I’m not going to be hard on myself.

Thanks everyone for the congrats on making my mini goal

bbq - I am sorry to hear that your daughter was not doing well. That has got to be so stressful and scary! If that is her in your profile pic, she is absolutely adorable!!

Ladies, I think that 3 lb goal for this weigh in is an awesome idea... Im in! I don't know if I can do it because I have been slowing a bit lately. I knew it was coming ... after 81 lbs lost in 4 months it was bound to happen. I did have a low week this week though so I am expecting a 3 lb or more loss next week. We will see

To everyone else ... hope you are having a great weekend/week!!