WTG Northern!

I'm up a little early today, so that means I get to work out a little early!! Yay! (what is wrong with me, you guys. I WANT to work out?!)

Gonna go do 20 min on the bike, 4 on the stepper w/ freeweights, my legs-o-steel thing, and 300 situps. Yay! Yesterday I went through almost 2 full bottles of water working out! WOW!

Meal plan today is easy, because I feel lazy today and don't want to spend an hour cooking again, haha!

B - Veggie burger w/ cheese, pickles and a yogurt container.
S - Popcorn or pretzels... not sure yet.
L - Club Salad w/ turkey, 2 kinds of cheese, and peaches on the side
S - Granola Bar
D - Leftovers of some sort, as my fridge is chock full and I must eat some of them!

Keep up the good work, everybody!

Also... my calorie count today will come in just around 1250, and that's before the bowl of low-fat, light ice cream I've entitled myself to for the workouts this week.

Hikein - that sounds like a great idea. We'll have to start tomorrow though, because I have a b-day party for my friend tonight.

Jennifer - What a mean lean biking machine you've become. That's great you've found an exercise that you really can get into.

Mary - Good luck with the job search, I'm doing the same thing so I sympathise .

Norther - great job on the weight loss, I know it was be very frustrating when you're not losing.

Lucy - sounds like you're getting are really good diversified workout. Keep up the good work!

Not much going on here. My calories were about 1400 yesterday. I did pretty good all day and then about 5:00 I got really hungry and ATE. Not a big deal, I can live with 1400 calories. Would prefer 1200, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it. I have a b-day party to go to tonight, so I'm making today my off day. No point fighting an uphill battle. Still going to keep it reasonable, but I'm not gonna pass on cake

Well I hope everybody has a great day!

of NO sugar!! Yipee! I have (almost) made it through another day without sugar! I can't beleive it! I guess I need to really set these challenges for myself more often. It was a little easier today. Could it be that PMS has something to do with the fact that I was really craving some chocolate the other day?

So here's how my day went:
Exercise this morning.
B-fast: already posted
No snack
Lunch: My famous soup with rice, 1 oz. cheese & 1.5 oz. turkey and 1/2 cup scalloped potatoes (that was the veggie at work--LOL!)
PM Snack: Diet Coke (had a really bad caffeine withdrawl headache)
Supper: 2 pieces homemade pizza (ground chuck, ham, onions & gr. peppers w/ mozzarella cheese).

No weights yet tonight, but may just do them in a few minutes here if DD will let me finish this! She's all over me tonight! But sooooooo cute! Have I posted a picture of her yet? OK, here ya go! I don't know if it will work or not because I haven't sent one yet, but here goes! This is one of the Christmas pictures we took in our studio. Of course the clarity of the picture isn't what it was originally to fit as an attachment!

You all are doing so good. Congrats on the 1# loss, Northern! I know how it feels when you work hard and the scale shows it! Its a great feeling! Here's for you!

Angie...we will start tomorrow with the "No sugar challenge". Shall we call it "Sugar Busters Challenge"? I am going on day 3 without sugar, so you better catch up fast! Anyone else care to join us??? I am thinking we need to have a NF reward for whoever makes it to the first 5 days without sugar. I will start tomorrow as well just to make the playing grounds fair! What do you think we should do for a reward? I like Jennifer's rewards but I'm not that savvy with the computer!

Jennifer...got any ideas???

OK, need to go do my weights! Catch you all a bit later!

OMG, Julie, is that your little 4 year old?????

I just want to give her (((( huggles )))) she is sooooo darn cute!

Hey...I need to try that thumbnail thing...then I can attach the awards better. Sneaky, Julie, sneaky! LOL

Hmmm...a Sugar Free Award...I think I can come up with a few things...let me try my hand at a few. Julie, want me to email them to you & you can tell me if you like them, and want to use them? Or post them here & get everyone's opinions? And if anyone has suggestions, please, keep them coming!

Ok...my day today...
I had ambitions of coming home & doing the 2 mile WATP tape, but when I came in, and flipped on the hall light, 2 bulbs blew. Hubby's office had 2 blown bulbs, and there's one out in this room. You'd think he'd change them, since he works from home and would have to be sitting in the dark most of the day. Nope! Well, now I know why...seems all the lightbulbs are gone...so we go shopping- and Walgreens is having a great sale, so we have to get 2 carts, for double the things we need to get at super-bargain prices- like 4 packs of lightbulbs, on sale, with the coupon for .99. So, now I could change every light in this house 4 times over, before it's like living underground.

After spending a good 45 minutes in the store, hubby decided we needed a treat- so we went to dinner at TGI Fridays. Not bad- no appetizer, no horrible fried mozzarella sticks, or the chicken tenders and fries...I was good.

We both had the Jack Daniels chicken breasts. Mashed potatoes (I left half on the plate), veggies (squash & zucchini- which I didn't eat- bleah) 1/4 pineapple slab, 2 small breasts. I also had what amounted to 1/2 cup of baked potato soup, and 1 small breadstick from hubby's salad that he gave me. Not a bad dinner- but I was so full afterwards. Still sitting here feeling distended- and really want to ride, but not with a full stomach. I will feel guilty if I don't at least do something...but I don't want to get myself sick..and it's nearing 8pm- if I wait to digest, it'll be too late for me to do a full workout and not be bouncing off the walls until 2am. I think I need to just suck it up and take the day off from exercise totally. My first "rest" day since late January...I think it's not going to be that big a deal.

Tomorrow, I'll do something to make up for it- it doesn't matter if I'm up to O-God O'clock on Friday, since I don't have to get up for work. I can spend an hour or so on the bike, even later at night.

Ok, so- dinner was a little more than usual, but not a write-off

So Happy It's Thursday....only 8 more work hours to get through, until it's my time...I hope my tushie forgives me- if I keep gazing longingly at that bike, I'll end up putting 20-30 miles on it this weekend....and then I swear, my husband will commit me, because this is not the wife he knows!

Hikein: What a CUTIE!! You're one lucky mom. =) I hope my kids are that cute when I start poppin' 'em out! =)

I did half my workout today, based on the fact that I felt like a pile of goo all day. I didn't sleep much last night, and my tummy is fairly unsettled, so not much energy. But I climbed up on that bike, did 18 minutes, and did 4 minutes on the stair stepper, and 100 situps. It's something, anyway.

Dinner tonight is a boring old club salad, and I think I'm going to make some top ramen for the side. Just sounds good, and I am freezing my butt off!

Today, I'm taking it easy, but keeping decent with food. =) Tomorrow, I want to do 25 min on the bike w/ weights, 5 min stepper, and 300 situps (like I WANT to do! agh!). Saturday is my fun fun hair day, getting my yarn hair put in! I am SO excited about it, hehe!

Hope everybody had a nice Thursday!

Hello ladies

I've had a great but busy day and I'm ready to wind down. I have drank my 480zs of water and stayed under my points allowed.

Mary I hear you , I think we have all invested in equipement and not got our monies worth. I could open a gym with the stuff I have and I only use 1/4 of it but, my boys use the rest and someday I told them when you leave home take a piece with you. Good luck at the meeting and Job hunt.

Jennifer you're on girlfriend I did 3miles walking today, I'll go for the 50 to your 100 on the bike. I hope we can hit the target by the end of the month. Jen you have been so busy since you started this site a day off is what you need and earned. ENJOY, ENJOY!!

Lucy you do like excerise 300 sit-ups, I can't do more than 100-125 and I've been doing it every other night for years.

babsangie I've heard if you want it, eat it (cake or whatever) then you won't crave it. Just remember to control the size of it. Enjoy!

Julie dd is BEAUTIFUL! enjoy she looks like she's full of fun. I'm sorry but I don't think I could cut out sugar all together but, I have cut down in my coffee and tea. Good luck to you the way you're going I don't think 5 days without sugar will be hard to do.

I really did have intentions of doing my weights tonight, but alas the more important stuff (that little cutie pie) got all the attention tonight! She's been kind of needy the last few days. She's changing daycares next week and I think that is on her mind, although she won't talk about it...she's 4...what do I expect??? In case you wondered, she is adopted (from China) at 9 months old. My personal opinion is that she still has some insecurities with change/new environments, but we do try to downplay it and try to talk about the good stuff, even though the yucky feelings still come up. So I do what I can to talk her through her feelings. Sometimes it just comes out in the form of tears and that's what happened tonight, so we just sat together and she cried and I held her. It's what she needed.

I just want to thank all of you for your comments about her. I, of course, think she is the most beautiful little girl in the world!

OK...onto other things!

Northern: You rock, sistah! Doing great today! Keep up the good work. And thanks for the encouragement on the sugar thing. I never thought I could do 2 days either, but here I am...going on 3! Woo Hoo!

Lucy-today may have not been what you wanted, but tomorrow you will rock! You are doing so great. And BTW, a club salad isn't boring to me!

Jennifer-Of course you deserve a day off. You have been a rock for so long. I'm sure it felt good to go out to eat and to just plain ole not exercise! Sometimes our bodies just need a rest so it can realize just what it is it needs to do! Your body is saying "thank you Mama!!!" whether you know it or not!

Go ahead and post here to the list about your ideas and I hope you figure out that thumbnail thing! It was easy once I figured it out (and found a photo small enough! It has to be under 50k and some other specs!! I'm so ignorant when it comes to all the techie talk...DH is the tech whiz in this family ..thank God! I can maneuver through if I have to, but don't ask me what I did after I did it...ya know what I mean??? LOL)

I need to get to bed so I can get up and work out on the bike in the AM! Need to do my weights, too. I'm feeling weak!! Gotta get feelin strong again!...

Hugs to all! I love this group.

Hikein: Kids are wonderful, creative, adaptable creatures. =) I was a daycare lady myself! Change is scary, especially for kids who've been thru a lot of it... but if you're supportive, and if you keep her reassured that everything will be fine, she should be back to normal (After the initial change) in around 2 weeks. =) She's got a great mom, and I'm sure she'll be fine!

You guys amaze me, ya know it? All of ya! Everybody is always so POSITIVE! It is such a help to come here and see how supportive we all are of each other!

Yay for everybody. =)

Just a quick note to let you all know I did my bike (10 miles in 30 minutes) this morning and a few weights. I didn't have time to do the full set, but got the muscles that are important to me!

No b-fast yet this morning...running late. Drank 16 oz. of water already..going on the second glass! I will probably bring a banana for b-fast with some peanut butter and eat it on the way to work!
Lunch: Leftovers, maybe...maybe lunch out today! Hmmm! It IS payday, afterall!
Supper: No Plan yet

Looks like this is not going well so far. No plan, which means for me, possible failure. So gotta get my plan in order! will work on that!

Wish me luck today with the first day of the NO SUGAR CHALLENGE! Ya ready, Ms. Angie??? Let's go!

Say NO to:


Happy Day! Happy weekend!!!

Yes!!! Friday!!! We made it through another week! Wonders will never cease!

Today is a day of cleanup, paper chasing, and just all around reclaiming my desk. LOL. And if I get another loan or 2 ready to close, I'll be thrilled.

Ahhh...it's amazing what 1 day with no exercise, and no regret does for you. I slept- didn't want to get out of bed this morning. I'll be doing my workout today once I get home... I have to do the 2 mile WATP, and then I'll do another lesson for school. Dinner while I work, if it takes longer than I anticipate, and I will be on the bike tonight. Friday night it's not such a biggie if I'm up until 2am- I can read, or watch TV, and not have to be up at an ungodly hour the next day.

Saturday- gotta do some housework...probably a load or 2 of laundry- strip the bed & stuff like that- we've been on top of the wash the last week. And I need to get hubby to either fix our vaccuum, or break down & buy a new one. Probably ride more...several times during the day to keep the body burning that fat...

Burn, baby, burn... LOL

And that's about it...nothing exciting planned- maybe look at a few houses, if anything pops up....but not a really hectic pace like some weeks/weekends have been.

Today so far:

Breakfast
1 pineapple cottage double
2 slices provelone cheese
1/3 cup smart start
12oz diet coke

Nearly done with my first 24oz of water...need to get that all in early, and make up for missed glasses yesterday.

Lunch:
3/4 cup chili
3/4 cup elbow macaroni
1/2 oz shredded cheddar cheese (to sprinkle on the chili)

Dinner- maybe pasta & meat sauce, or chicken breast...depends on hubby's schedule and schoolwork.

Have a wonderful day, ladies! (((( challenge chickies )))) We can do this- keep up the great work- you all kick butt!

Looks like I'm not the only one who skipped some exercise yesterday - but I'm the only one without a good reason ! I was tired (hadn't slept much the night before), so I swapped Thursday and Sunday (rest-day). Today I've got Curves and treadmill.

I think I'm teething. I've had a toothache for a few days now, and I've only had one wisdom tooth come in so far - so it could be that. (Right now, I chewing on my fingertip, since I don't have a teething ring .) The pain gets worse when I eat something warm or after exercising, so that might be part of why I didn't do any yesterday.

Well, back to work.

PS Julie, your daughter is soooo adorable

Well... today, I am claiming as a rest day. I'll do a workout on Sunday instead. I worked out 4 days this week -- that's good, right?

So... what am I doing today?

Cleaning my icky, filthy, gross house!! It's so stale in here... it's super stormy outside, but I'm going to open all of the windows, and clean every inch of this darn house! I want it to smell GOOD again. So that means... deep-cleaning everything, doing all the laundry, vaccuming (ugh the worst part!), and washing the darn windows, too. I hope I don't break the vaccum. Every time I touch it, it tackles me or bites me or just falls apart. Argh.

Anyway, meal plan for today is nice and easy.

B - granola bar. (not very hungry)
L - Veggie burger w/ cheese, pickles and some leftover pasta.
D - I think we're going to do... *dun, dun, dunnnnn* Fries & chicken tonight. It's been a long week, and we're having ppl over tomorrow.

So... tonight, I think we're going to go out and try to find me a good corset-type thing for the photo shoot. We're also going to HAVE to put my foosball table back together!! I can't live without it anymore...

Well, gonna get my water in today (all 84.3 oz of it!), and I'm gonna get this house to SPARKLE. Off I go!! (hey, wait, cleaning in a workout, right? YAY!)

Have an AWESOME weekend, girls!! You guys are doing AWESOME!

Crap, Crap, Crap.

Add a few choruses of the F word, and that will describe my evening so far.

I'll save you the gory details. The "super-duper-heavy-duty-high-capacity" scale was delivered by UPS at 5:30. Hubby got the batteries in, and did his test weight on it. Ok, seems like it's super accurate.

And then I got on it.



It's worse than I imagined. It's horrible. And I really, really, really feel like everything I accomplished in the last 65 days isn't as much as I think it is. And for me to have lost all those inches, what must the # have been in January before I started this???



Of course, hubby hugged me while I cried. And I'm still feeling miserable. And I'll probably cry through my WATP tape, and cry while I'm on the bike & try not to short out my MP3 player, because then I'll be screwed & have to pedal while listening to myself cry.



I'll be back- I promise- I just need to mope

Hi girls...
Let's all give Jennifer a big CHEER for all that she does for us, but mostly for herself! Sometimes we just need a good cry and all will be better in the morning...really! Don't lose hope just because of a piece of metal. It's just a tool to help measure your success, Jennifer. OK...by tomorrow you better be done crying because we all NEED you!!!

Lucy & 2sw--More exercise for both of you later this weekend! Am I going to start having to crack the whip??? C'mon you two!

OK, now for the good news! Yep! You guessed it! Made it through the whole day (again with no sugar!) I had sugar substitute in a few things, but no sugar! Yea me! Here's the run down:

B-fast: banana w/ 1 & 1/2 T Peanut Butter
AM snack (a real treat!) 16 oz. SF Raspberry/Vanilla (easy on the syrup) Latte
Lunch: OUt for Chinese, but I ate much less than normal and stuck with mostly veggies. Had a plateful of steamed veggies, one crab rangoon, some seafood bake with cheese melted over it, some Spinach Bake (it was so good I had 2nds on that!), and a couple of bites of misc. stuff. Not too bad for a buffet!
PM Snack: Stopped at the Dollar store on my way out of the building and got some of those cashews I have been craving! Yum!...and had a handful (or two) on my way home.
Supper: Salad w/ chicken strips and cheese & lite dressing. A diet coke with lime.

Water: 48 oz. so far plus some Diet Coke (doesn't that count???) I need to get some more water in tonight!

Exercise: just what I did this AM. My back aches tonight, so I am going to take it easy. Too much filing today! ARGH!

I am going to go down and spend some time with hubby. DD is watching a Land Before Time video (she's a movie junkie!) and I need to lay down! Hubby & his best friend is taking her to the circus tomorrow. Mommy is going to have some time to herself! Yea!

Will check in AM after my exercise workout! So glad it's the weekend!

Weather report: This morning at 11 am the sun was shining and it was a balmy 65 degrees. By 1pm it was cold and rainy and down to about 40 degrees. Stick around....it's supposed to snow tonight and we are expected to have a couple of inches by Sunday! That's Michigan weather for ya!! Anyone want to come for a visit??????

Have a great weekend all and stay with your plan and plan to stay with it!

Angie--How ya doin' girl! The first day is the hardest!!!