So had the interview....I was a little nervous and wordy...but felt confident about it and rocked my suit! They did tell me that it was a very competitive position, so I am not getting my hopes up...but I would love it.

And thank you all for the support of kids and going away! Laurie and Toasted you made me laugh but you are both right....and even if they have a diet full of candy...LOL

Wow saw a freaky cool number on the scales this morning 244.5! So with a fast day today hopefully it sticks til Monday weigh in. I'm in that great week after TOM when you feel light.

Yes Laurie I do need to get over my hang ups about being seen in public in my togs, we are going to get a key for the local school pool which won't be as busy as the main town one. I love to swim so really need to suck it up and stop being a wimp.

Lol thats funny you looked up there names Toasted, yes I knew thier meanings but didn't know about the significance of the ash tree.

Hope the results of the interview goes well jenni, and that you ricked your suit!

Off to playgroup for me, and resisting the cake

So just a flash check in from bed because I said I would. I wanted to go to bed early and it's already past midnight. D'oh! As munchy as I felt today, I held strong and stuck to the plan a.k.a. work got hectic and by the time I had time to eat, it was too late in the day. I couldn't stomach the nasty cardboard soup but I also didn't order any unplanned food AND it was a successful fast day in the end. I'm suspecting I was really thirsty because I hydrated a lot when I got home and what d'you'know, munchies more or less disappeared. Well as much as they do for my food-loving self... Okay G'night all. I'll do a full read tomorrow. Jenni I thought of you today and I'm glad your interview went well. If this is the job for you, you'll get a call back. And if you don't, oh well, there's better down the line. Prayers said and fingers crossed for you though!

Hi all.

I had another super exhausted, sickish day. And when I tried to exercise, I got really light headed about 5 minutes in, and I don't know if that's from the sick (though I'm only annoying sick, not like deathly ill), or from the fasting. It happened last time I did a fast day and tried to exercise, but not nearly as bad. Hubby was home at the time, and told me he doesn't like the fasting for several reasons (probably because he saw me sitting on the floor crying)... and I had a hard time disagreeing with him.

I think I could do the 5:2 if I wasn't exercising as much as I have been lately, but the last couple days I've just felt really tired. That could be the sick, but I don't think so. I've never felt quite like this when I'm sick. I was trying to power through it, but today it fought back. So, I had a carb fest lazy day and I'm actually starting to feel a little better.

I'm going back to my regularly scheduled 1550 calories per day, but I get to add some extra back when I exercise. I've been using my heart rate monitor, and when I do the 3 mile workout, it's almost 350 calories... close to 600 for the 5 mile workout. SO. I'm gonna go with that. I can't have more days like the last couple days have been.

I'm gonna change it up, to accommodate my exercise, because food is fuel, and I don't just want to be not fat, I want to be fit and healthy... and to do that I need to properly fuel myself for my workouts.

Food is fuel. Food is not the enemy. I was starting to think otherwise, and my fasting habits were starting to creep into my other days, too. I didn't even see it until my husband pointed it out to me. I looked back on my food logs, and it says I met my calories for the day (on the high days especially), but I would log food... then not eat it. That's not good.

I don't know if I should feel like a failure or not here, but mostly I feel relieved.

I'm going to bed now, and hopefully tomorrow will be 100x better.

Hey guys, good morning! Yesterday panned out pretty well for a fast day and today so far seems alright vis-a-vis munchiness. I got a Turbo Fire HIIT workout in this morning before work and hydrated pretty well after so maybe that's helping. I did a weigh in this morning and I was down a pound from last week's weigh in- I mean a WHOLE pound, in ONE week... Cue in the trance dance music :ntz ntz ntz ntz ntz: This is unprecedented in recent times. Although of course today isn't my official weigh in day but you better believe I don't care and I'm owning it. For a moment, this week, I weighed ALMOST in the 170s (180.0) and it's mine! And it's motivating me to stick to plan today.

Laurie: From your trainer boy challenge successes, I can only imagine the fat has melted away. It's tough to see in people you see everyday until it smacks you in the face and it's like OMG! However, in fairness to your progress, if you worked out hard and were on plan, the likelihood is 194 is a weight affected by all the water weight gremlins that affect us as women. I mean with the strength training you do, your body is probably changing faster than your weight is. I'm still blown away by the BF% change!

Slashni: Yeah, yesterday was one of those push through/hold on days and as always, however hard it is, I've never regretted making a healthy decision like I do an unhealthy one. I've never woken up the next day and thought, you know what, I wish I had binged, rather it's a little joy that I stayed strong and stood by what I wanted to do. Yay on your son's new old truck and on getting the workouts in. Fingers crossed you don't catch anything from your husband and that you stay healthy!

Mandy: It sounds like it's been a busy couple of days for you. I hope you ankle feels better and that the sickies flee your system. Good job recognizing that your WOE wasn't working for you and adapting so quick and yay your husband for recognizing the unhealthy patterns that the 5:2 WOE was causing and supporting you to change them! Being healthy and strong is the most important thing and you SHOULD be relieved, you've fixed something that was working against these goals. Not every WOE is suitable for everyone and often we stick to something unhealthy just because it works and we're losing weight at the detriment of our long term success, our health and our sanity (side eye my one week attempt at very-low-carbing in 2010). Well done to you for being decisive and adapting. Again, I hope you feel better soon.

Jenni: Lol. I hope you have a wonderful weekend away!

MissLoud: Yayyyyy on the scale!!! That's awesome! I have body hang ups to about bathing suits and general body exposure. I mean... My gym has communal women's changing rooms and because of that I change into my gym clothes the tiny toilet stalls and wear my grotty sweaty clothes home so I get it. But in fairness, it took a lot for me to get to the point where I would work out in public even though it was my dream to be a runner. There is VICTORY and STRENGTH in taking over something you love to do and doing it in spite of nerves and hang ups and you never know who you're inspiring when you do this. I'm glad you weren't too weirded out by my name nerdiness. I love cake but #SNTTC (#SayNoToTheCake) for the fast day.

Okay people, hopefully I can check in later but here's wishing you all a fab day!

Mandy - I echo what Toasted said. I've come to believe that this journey is not just largely psychological -- it's primarily psychological. Good on you for recognizing what is not working for you and changing it. And good on your husband for recognizing and communicating with you about it.

Toasted - YAY for conquering that hungry day! And for recognizing that munchy days might be related to hydration. Drinking more water tends to be one of the easier solutions available. (And I was going to tease you about the caffeine in your Coke Zero being dehydrating, but decided not to go there.) And WOO HOO on the scale moving! And almost into the next decade. The Great Baking Regain is being snuffed out. And I am hardcore impressed by the great exercise renaissance.

Jenni - Glad the interview went well! Have a great time at Disney!

Kelly - Another scale victory to celebrate here! Yay! Congrats! Please don't mistake my encouragement to buy and wear togs as me not understanding how difficult these things can be. But I really want you to do something you enjoy, and it sounds like you have a great plan.

I, too, finally got myself a scale whoosh! 191.4. Down 2.6 from yesterday, and 1.6 down from my lowest previous weight. I was perfectly on plan yesterday, and supplemented that with a 3.5 mile run. I am very tempted to skip my weight lifting today and ride the cardio easy (okay, easier, at least) results, but I committed to trainer boy that I would try to build a pound of muscle over the month. Given my calorie restriction, building muscle is almost impossible. (Even body builders tend to cut, then build, rather than try to do it simultaneously.) I need to continue the calorie restriction to lose the fat, but there is no excuse for me not doing what I can to maintain muscle. My shoulder is still a bit sore from Wednesday's work-out, but I don't think it's sore enough to justify making today a second cardio day. Lifting heavy today it is!

I am committing to have a newly-revamped work-out schedule for the month by tomorrow. I think I have also decided on a new way of eating. Rather than do the all-day fast so I can concentrate my calories in the evening, I am going to eat during the day and then accept that, occasionally, I will go over my calories for the day in the event that a family dinner does not yield calorie-friendly options. For now, I think I am going to go extremely low-carb. I have been allowing myself some carby treats almost daily, but I think lately it has triggered either mini-binge behavior (like the Frosted Flakes freak-out) or seriously craving a binge. I can live without both of those things. I am not going to worry about carbs in fruit or veggies, though I plan on rarely eating starchy veggies, and I will allow myself oatmeal whenever I really want it - so maybe once every few weeks. I am only committing to it for a week, then I will reevaluate.

Have a great Friday and a great weekend everyone!

Hi all! Went to spin class this morning. It is the one with the heart rate monitor. They hand out the "routine" before class so that you can follow along and know what to expect. Well, this week is endurance week, and I saw that of the three levels of heart rate, we were much more in the lower one and weren't even going into the highest one. I thought that would make it easier. Hmm. Nope. It was the lower heart rate range, but there also was only one one-minute break. Very intense, big-time exhausting. It was a great workout! Very happy. I probably will skip my Saturday workout again, and that's ok!!! I have lots to do tomorrow. Especially going to the last football game of the year for my son. At least next year he'll be able to play... hopefully. The redshirt season will be over after tomorrow.

Laurie: Great news on the lower scale number! I think it is definitely worth giving a new food plan a try. Maybe shaking things up will be good for the scale, too.

Toasted: Great! You're almost to a new decade!! That's so exciting! That can definitely keep you going through tough workouts and eating plans.

Mandy: That's good that you are changing your food plan. I love what you said about wanting to be fit and healthy in addition to losing weight. That's what it is all about!! You don't want to feel weak and sick, so I am glad you are moving forward with a new plan.

Jenni: Tough to have to wait to hear back on the interview. Hang in there!!

MissLoud: Nice weight loss for you too!! Good news!

Hi everyone.

Happy to see a lack of judgmental crap here (not that I expected it)... But I'm so used to being griped at for what I'm not able to do, that it's kinda nice to come here and see positive reactions for what I *have* done. So, thanks y'all for that.

I've had a pretty good day. Much more energy. Much less congestion. I worked out, and I wasn't stressing food nearly as much. The relief I feel over that is insane. I didn't realize I was stressing the change in daily calories so much. I guess I am a creature of routine and habit.

I'm currently sitting here stuffed full of a super yummy (if sodium heavy) dinner. My husband has wanted smoked sausage sandwiches for a long time, so I made them tonight. And he got a seasoned pork smoked sausage for it, which is twice as many calories as the turkey sausage we usually use. He also picked up some rolls to have them on. The sandwiches ended up being about 640 calories each. I only had one (I used to be able to eat 2 of them), but it was plenty filling, so I'm okay with that. And I managed to pile on peppers, onions, and some wilted spinach on there to bulk it up. So, I am stuffed, and it was so good.

I'll probably regret it with the sodium bounce likely to show up from the sausage, but right now, I'm happy.

I just wanted to stop by and let you all know that you guys being so positive has made my day, and my plan reset, so much better. I'm so happy to be a part of this group!

Just a quick check in. Not much to say yet today.

Mandy: I'm so glad you are feeling better! It's hard to make changes, and you are making some good ones. Your progress is simply amazing and I, for one, am proud of you. Love that you're rocking the workout!!!

Mandy - Happy that the plan reset is going well, and that you are really enjoying the food that you are eating. Your relationship with food is creeping into normal territory, it seems. Let me know what the view is like if you get there. =)

Diane - I love your description of your spin class routine. That's sort of how i intend to shape my cardio. I want to plan for periods of very high effort interspersed with lower effort periods. I'm very interested to see how it goes.

I am 192.0 this morning, up .6 from yesterday. It seems like making the extra effort to life heavy may be resulting in some water retention. I like seeing the number decrease every day, but let's be real. It doesn't, even under the best circumstances. Just trying to be patient with the predictability of the number going up every morning after a lifting day, especially because I lift every other day.

Funny (sort of) gym story. I have been trying to lift very heavy/low reps on squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. For me, very heavy on bench presses is not heavy at all, and I hate that, so I was doubly motivated to increase the weight. I decided to increase the weight by 10 pounds, so I was benching 85 pounds. Again, not impressive. I did one rep, and I knew it was heavy, but I thought I could do 3. I was wrong. I could not get the second rep off my chest. I was slowly working it to the side when a kind soul lifted it off for me. I am grateful that he did it, of course, but I was so embarrassed. Not that I tried to lift more than I was physically able, but that my stretch-too-far weight was so low. Ah well. ain't nothing to it but to keep pushing and maybe I'll get a respectable bench at some point. =)

Diane - thank you so much for your kind words! <3

Laurie - I don't know that I'll ever approach normal with my relationship with food... At least not until I can get past the slight shame I feel when people see me eating, and the desire to eat ALL THE FOODS when I find myself home alone. I'll get to test that on Tuesday, when my hubby has to go to an over night thing in Indianapolis. (P.S. when I started lifting back in 2011 the highest I ever got with a bench press was 85 on the free weights, and 100 on the machine)

Today was a busy day, so I planned for a quickie dinner (frozen pizza oh the sodium craziness in my life right now). 900 calories worth of pizza. Excited. It will be going in the oven soon.

Going on the docket tomorrow for the Relay for Life dessert auction at church will be:

- Mint Chocolate Poke Cake
- Cookies n Cream Crispy Treats
- Sea Salt Graham Cracker Pralines

Hoping to bring a lot of money in with those treats! I was thinking I might also make my apple peanut butter cookies as well, since they were so well received at Halloween, but then I thought I better not make *too* many... too much supply brings down the demand! I'll make those and send them over to the church for some other event. Maybe the next council meeting.

I'm kinda tired after all of that running around in the kitchen today... almost 2.5 miles just to prepare the desserts, but I'll see if I can't get in a decent workout with Leslie after dinner settles (maybe sweat out some of that salt!?). I'll be happy with 3 miles, but I'll put in the 5 mile DVD and hope to get all the way through.

But for now, I'm gonna go chill in the recliner for about a half our. Then I'll get the pizza in the oven, and get my pralines cut into squares.

Quiet here this weekend.

Mandy - So impressed with your culinary skills, as always. I love how happy you are about your choice to eat frozen pizza, too. Maybe not normal in every aspect, but I think making a reasoned choice to enjoy food you love and fitting it into your plan is the definition of a healthy relationship with food. I, too, fight feeling ashamed when people see me eat. And fight shame when people see me eat healthier things, or when I choose not to participate in eating the donuts or cake at work, or do choose to participate in it. I HATE it. Intellectually, I know it's ridiculous. Eating or not eating is not a source of shame, unless, as I recently read on here, I am eating people I have killed. It's tough, though, to remember it.

I am loving my new plan. I am in the total honeymoon phase, and I am seeing good scale results. I have not had any real temptation to eat the garbage that is always at my house. I did take a small piece of an Entenmann's donut - not tasty enough to prompt me to eat any more - and I did eat a couple of bites of one of the cookies my husband made - though I did the "Is this worth the calories?" calculation and didn't finish the cookie when he left the room. But even that is encouraging for me. In the past several weeks, I have been tempted to eat all kinds of food I don't even really like because it was sugar or other junk carbs. Overall, though, my lack of temptation makes me remember why getting rid of the sweets altogether has been a good strategy in the past. Not eating it makes me crave it far less. But I know it's also not a long-term solution for me, since I have social eating obligations that I want to honor and a raging sweet tooth. However, as part of a push to get me through to the next level, I am excited to embrace it.

I did HIIT yesterday as well, since it was a cardio day. On my intense efforts, I was running at 6.5 mph for a minute at a time. My normal speed (and this has improved over time -- that's how slow I am) -- is 4.8 mph. My increased effort in the weight room means I am gaining a little bit every morning after my weight lifting, so I was grateful to see a huge dip (for me, lately) on the scale this morning. I was 193.0 yesterday morning, and 189.0 this morning. I am anticipating it to go up tomorrow (cuz today is weight lifting and I know I didn't really lose 4 pounds overnight), but it is great to peek at the new decade! Thanks, Mandy, for the reassurance that an 85-pound bench lift on free weights is pretty good. Not that I could do more than one on Friday. ;-) I am hoping that since my period is over, I will be stronger today, but I think that's just wishful thinking.

Have a great rest-of-the-weekend, all. I look forward to the thread picking up a bit tomorrow.

Hi all!

Laurie - I had my husband bid on the desserts at the auction today because I didn't want people being snarky with me about that! I did get in on the bidding eventually though and had some fun.

The dessert auction went well, and now my husband is out playing laser tag with the high school kiddos in the congregation.

My desserts brought in $52, all told, and the pralines were renamed "Christmas Crack" - apparently they were well received. It's nice symmetry, because I spent $52 on goodies to bring home, so I have some things here to share with family coming to visit. I got chex party mix in a cute tub, some bourbon balls, sausage balls, and chocolate chip peanut butter cookies. I also got a gift certificate for the carrot cake (a 9x13)... that divine carrot cake that I have raved about previously.

I'm glad I've started working out, I'm gonna need the extra calories burned if I'm gonna keep losing weight with all of this deliciousness in my house. So far, I've had 1 bourbon ball (my excuse was it wouldn't fit in the storage container... legit right?) and a handful of the chex mix.

And speaking of working out, I managed to fit in 4 miles yesterday, at the end of the day, after all of that baking. I would have done 5, I could have done 5, but it was already 11:45, and I needed to shower and get to bed.

I'll try to do 5 today, too, because it's taco night! And if I work out, I can have 3 tacos, instead of 2. And I love me some tacos.

Eerg the curse of the monday weigh in! Down to 245.5 so a 2.5 pound loss, but a pound up from the other day. Only reason why its got me annoyed is thats 9.9kg, scale gods couldn't even give me 10kg lol. Oh well this week I might just get to my first mini goal. So another 7 days on track here I come

Mmm all this talk of desserts has got me drooling, I'm on my first fast day, not sure how it will go I'm soooo tired. This child better sort his sleeping out soon or I'll be a zombie! Not use to kids waking up - come on molar!!

Hi to everyone

Well, football is over now. I thought I would freeze out there yesterday, and I did. But, they won and it is over until next year. It was a fun season, but looking forward to Andy getting in some playing time. He still might not next year, because he is still young, but he's a big boy and they are losing some of their bigger players, so maybe!

Mandy: Really cool idea, a dessert auction. I think you did well!! And good thoughts on getting some exercise in so that you can enjoy some food! I think that's some smart weight loss thinking!

Laurie: Good job with the exercise and the running! I can't run that fast at all. I've kind of put running on the back burner. I still want to run/walk a 5K, so I'll need to get back to it at some point, but for now, I don't feel like battling it.

MissLoud: Good weight loss!! That's awesome!!! Hope you get a more restful night soon.

Have a good weekend all!