I'm new here and would love a buddy to work with to get this weight off.

beila- you're doing great! It's all about baby steps.

Bananarunts- welcome! We'd love to have you join us here. This is a very supportive group. By the way, love your name...and love banana runts. Those and strawberry are the best flavors.

Thanks Ann
The banana ones are the best! yum..however I have a feeling they will be replaced shortly with celery lol

Good morning girls!

Back to work today, being off for a week was nice, went by too fast! LOL Today is my off day, no exercise! Seems weird, but I know my body needs it! Last night we had fish tacos for dinner, shockingly they were good! I havent had fish in over 10 years. Got the recipe from my new Mexican Cookbook!

Breakfast will be my usual protein smoothie, lunch will be turkey chili with butternut squash, and dinner will be grilled chicken, steamed broccoli w/ alfredo sauce. Snacks through out the day (2 veggie servings, 1 fruit serving) are carrot/celery sticks, and apple or banana.

Ann, Happy to hear you are back on track! Take one day at a time! You can and will do it!

Beila, sorry to hear that. I know that the scale can make or break your day! I hope you are feeling better today! You can do it girly!

Hello and welcome bananarunts!

I hope everyone has a great day!

Hello girls

Looks like all of you are busy this morning! LOL Decided to change dinner plans. I am making (giving the chef the night off) spaghetti sauce with chunks of onion, carrots, celery, green, red and yellow sweet peppers and zucchini, served over spaghetti squash, grilled chicken and a side of breaded zucchini (sliced zucchini dusted with a mixture of 100% whole wheat flour, oregano, and pepper, fried in a pan with Pam). Really looking forward to it!

What are you girls having for dinner?

Good morning!

I am trying to talk myself into getting on the treadmill this morning. Not going so well. I need to walk away from the tv. I know I will feel better. I know it will help me lose weight. I hate the treadmill. I can't wait till I can run outside.

So after I post I am going. Even if it is just for 30 min.

Jacki - Sorry to hear vacation is over. I feel weird on my off days too. Sometimes I will walk on the treadmill just to do something.

Ann- Still on track? Just checking in with you.

Beila - rant all you want. That's why we are here. Sometimes it just feels better to get it all out.

Welcome bananarunts! Chat often.

Okay......I am going to the treadmill now.....

Hi there,

The scale showed a drop of a half a pound this morning, so here's hoping that I've turned a corner and will drop a little more before my official weigh in on Monday. It'll be a hard week though since we're going to Disney from Friday to Sunday and it's always hard for me to eat healthy there with all the bad amusement park food. There are healthier options, I just have to convince myself to choose them.

LT--Hope you got on that treadmill. It's so hard when you just don't feel like doing it. I always find that just getting on is the hardest part. Once you're on for even a few minutes you start to feel better.

Jacki--dinner sounds yummy! Set a plate for me. LOL. I'm making beef and barley stew with lots of veggies. Last night I made a healthy shrimp jambalaya that was yummy too. I think my plan for thursday is to make lentil and potato curry, but I may not get to it since I work late and we might wind up doing leftovers.

bananarunts--Yes, celery is much better. LOL. How are you doing today? Eating and exercise going OK, or are you still easing into it slowly?

Talk later

LTsgirl, great to hear, you got on the treadmill! That is ok, with my schedule, I get a full week off every 2 weeks. I love when that happens!

Just put the baby down, now I have some quiet time. Yes, I am spending it on 3FC's!

Hi Ann, I will! Your dinner/s sound good too, I will have to check it out! Congrats on the weightloss, I hope you have a good week, and weigh-in. You are leaving for Disney in 2 days? Land or World? Where are you staying? We are huge Disney fans, go to Disney World at least twice a year. Mainly stay at Disneys Animal Kingdom Villa or Lodge. Beautiful place! I am SO jealous! LOL Wish we were going this week! haha This year we are not going til Oct and Dec. My husband and I are going in Oct for our anniversary, going on a 4 night Disney Bahama cruise and staying 3 nights at Animal Kingdom. We are going the first week of Dec for our family trip. I love seeing the Christmas decorations, and going to the Christmas party! Beautiful time! I hope you have LOTS of fun! Yes, eating on plan will be hard, hopefully you don't do too bad!

Jacki--Disney world. We go often cause we have FL resident season passes. They expire in 2 weeks, so I think this will be the last trip until late this year. It's a 3 hr drive for us, so very easy to get there often. We've stayed at a lot of the Disney properties. Love the animal kingdom resort. I'm so jealous of your upcoming cruise. We are considering trying it out with DD. The ships look amazing!

Ann, 3 hours? Nice! I would love that! If we were 3 hours away, I would be going there at least once a month! haha We are 18.5 hours away! Use to fly out, but drove the past 2 years, I REALLY enjoy it! Majority of the time, we go commando, drive straight through, my husband drives most of the way. The last couple of times, stopped in Nashville, went to the Grand Ole Opry (I love that place), and stayed in a hotel over night. The only bad thing is paying for the gas in our SUV, my husband is buying me a hybrid Camry for my birthday this year, so you know what we will be driving down there in, it will be so nice to save money on gas (more money for Disney). We have resident season passes too (GREAT deal!), own a timeshare with Disneys Animal Kingdom. Looking to move to FL in the next few years, just need the economy to pick up, in order to sell our house. I can't wait!

We took our kids and my godsons 2 years ago (at the time my son was 15, daughter 17, godson 18 and godson 4), at that time we were on the Wonder, they LOVED it! Yes, the new cruise ship looks amazing, I can't wait! You, and your family will love it! How old is your daughter? Lots of activities and great food, a nice relaxing time!

Just one word: JEALOUS!!

Hello Girls!

Today I'm doing much better. Been drinking lots of water.

I'm planning to hit the gym soon. I've been too much of a couch potato lately. Just one day off from the gym seem weird for me now, and I have to get back into the swing of things.

So for food today, I planned out my meals:

Breakfast: 2 egg whites, cup of grapes, and some strawberries.
Snack: 1/2 cup nonfat yogurt, 1/2 banana, 5 almonds
Lunch: Raw veggies, 3 oz. canned tuna
Dinner: Salad, 4 oz fish

I think the total number of calories for the above comes under 1200. I'm using calorie count dot com and keeping track of things in my journal, and also writing down my weightloss goals with future dates. I know this all sounds obsessive, but for the time being, I really need control over things due to the binging. Just until things seem to become habitual, binges decrease and I no longer need to write stuff down.

Did anyone watch biggest loser last night? Jen GAINED 2 pounds! Hard to believe, since they are working out with trainers daily, eating the right foods, and not really leaving any room to cheat. This made me realize how complex our bodies are. Metabolism needs to be tricked sometimes, and of all things, PATIENCE is key.

For now, my goal is to just not binge for a week. I'm going to focus on that, and not so much the scale. Today is day 1, and it's looking good so far!

Tomorrow, I'm working out (or hiking) with my friend. She's super fit and will motivate me further.

Ann-- Sounds like you have some fun times ahead of you at Disney World! And way to go on the half pound lost! For the weekend, might I suggest to pack some healthy food options. Think about the money you'll save that way too, which could prevent you from buying the food there. Amusement parks can get expensive.

Jacki-- I love reading all the food you make, and how you're able to plan it all ahead of time, that's awesome! I'm going to also try to adopt that habit. Planning and writing it all in my journal. Even my snacks.

LT-- I am a horrible couch potato. The TV is so hard for me to get away from. I know I read a research study that said the majority of people that lost weight and kept it off averaged less than 8 hours of TV per week. I watch that much in a DAY! Anyways, it's true what they say, once you start to exercise, you feel so much better.

Think of all the times we have told ourselves that. We dread the exercise beforehand, but once we have finished it, we are so happy and feel so proud of ourselves for doing the exercise.

Talk soon!

I was reading someone's signature the other day and it said "no one ever says I wish I didn't work out today" So true.

Of course I watched Biggest Loser. lol. Thought they were all a bunch of crybabies last night. Guess the emotional stress got to Jen.

Watching Shedding for the Wedding right now. Going to walk on the treadmill while I watch.

Beila - Not sure I could survive on that meal plan. Please don't take that the wrong way, but I know for me by 7pm I would be pulling my hair out trying not to cheat. I have to be honest with you...I don't see 1200 calories. Depending on what you put on the salad (fatty dressings, cheese, etc.) or if you are adding mayo to the tuna, I only see about 800-900 calories if you are lucky. This would lead me to binging. Just something to think about.

Well ladies, need to get on the treadmill. Chat with you all tomorrow.