Made it to this week's goal a few days late again....

June 8:190: 190
June 15:188: 189
June 22:188: 188
June 29:186: 187, 186 on 7/1
July 6:184
July 13:182
July 20:182
July 27:180
Aug 3:178
Aug 10:176
Aug 17:176
Aug 24:174
Aug 31:172

LABOR DAY Sept 7: 170

Yay dancer! We all knew you would. Congrats!

Thanks, Takingcharge!

Hey - is anyone else a little surprised that they're meeting their goals? I'm so used to failing at this - wondering if anyone else is in the same boat.

I was totally thinking about that this morning! I stepped on the scale and saw 137.0! What?? I know it's part of my pattern of being stuck for a week or so and then rapidly dropping 2 (or 3, in this case) pounds over a few days, but it was still so shocking. I literally thought I was dreaming! Funny how that whole eating right and exercising thing actually works! I feel like I "just know" that this time is it. It's gonna stick. No turning back or going back now and I LOVE it! Not sure where I'd be without this forum and this thread, so thanks for all of the support, encouragement and butt kicking everyone!

Dancer and Taking Charge - I know what you mean. Now that I've lost my 10% it feels official, like I'm really doing this. After attempts of trying to do it, and losing 3 or 4 pounds, then gaining back, etc, it's kind of incredible that I'm really doing this. Even though I didn't lose as much as I wanted to in June w/ medication changes and things, the scale has consistently been going down for 6 months now - wow! The support and accountability make all the difference!

Was up a lot of the night with an upset stomach, so slept all morning and have had only ginger tea and a slice of toast today. Kind of yucky, but not horrible. So no exercise for me today, but really no eating either. Hopefully will feel better tomorrow - I am flying to Boston Sunday morning for a month there and definitely want to be in top form.

Hi Everyone,

It seems like everyone is doing so well. Keep up the good work. I have a tendency to log in and read this blog when I am feeling really weak and want to eat badly or not exercise. Everyone here gives me such hope.

Still doing Zumba 3x a week. (GOOD) I did have two bad days this week with eating and I ordered pizza because I was too tired to cook and then ate it the next two days for lunch. (VERY BAD)

Someone on this thread had asked me last week about Zumba. It's an hour long dance class that I go to at my gym. I honestly get so bored with most forms of exercise except dance. If you really work hard you can burn up to 400-500 calories in on hour. It takes aspects of latin dancing, hip hop, bellydancing and other forms of dance and it is set to different songs. It's super fun. I never get bored and I am always highly entertained so it's more fun than exercise.

June 22: 260
June 29: 259
July 6:
July 13:
July 20:
July 27:
Aug 3:
Aug 10:
Aug 17:
Aug 24:
Aug 31:

I now everyone here is working hard and going to do amazing by Labor Day!

Hope - thanks for the info on Zumba - it sounds great. We have some classes locally it looks like but I may save it for when the weather gets bad and I need an alternative to running outside.

Pizza is so tempting - I can relate. I've been buying a lot of rotisserie chicken lately when I'm too tired to cook. That plus microwaved broccoli in a bag are my saviors! Anyone else got tips/tricks for those nights when you don't feel like cooking at all?

When I don't have energy to spend in the kitchen, I'll do a frozen whole wheat waffle topped with berries, or throw a bunch of stuff in the blender (flaxseed, berries, cocoa, skim milk, fat free yogurt, walnuts, etc) to make a smoothie. Canned soups and frozen dinner are convenient and portion controlled - I try not to do them too often b/c there is a lot of sodium, but it is fast and easy. Whole wheat pasta topped with canned spaghetti sauce is another fast and easy one, though I have to be careful with portion size and actually measure out my pasta or I end up eating more than I intend to.

Feeling better today, more energy and no more upset tummy. It's a beautiful day out so I think I'll go for a nice long afternoon walk.

Happy weekend, all! Had a bit of an NSV today and wanted to share. One of the reasons I joined this challenge is that the timing worked out well for when I need to wear a strapless bridesmaid's dress in September. On 5/25, when I first went to try the dress on, I couldn't zip up a 16. Today, when we went to order, I fit comfortably into a 14. Not bad for 4-5 weeks later : ) Since the wedding isn't till 9/12, I'm hoping I'll need to take in the dress a bunch once it arrives in August. Thanks so much, chickies, for being such a great support network and helping me achieve my goal of not looking quite as bad as I would have otherwise : )

Sorry I have been MIA for a while. I was visiting my sister in the keys. I then came home to do some physical therapy and started back down to the keys for the holiday weekend. Alas, nothing ever goes as planned. I was riding down with a friend and we got in a 5 car pile up. We are all fine and there were no injuries. But needless to say it was stressful. My parents came to get us and so we are not in the keys. I am heading back down to the keys on Monday with my mom and aunt.

I have gone up a couple pounds since I last checked in but I have lost some of it. I will weigh in on Monday. I found this new salad dressing. It is an italian vinegarette with romano and basil. I have fallen in love with it and I plan on enjoying many salads in the near future. I just had 2 heaping helpings of salad for dinner. This dressing only has 25 cal and .5 g fat per serving. LOVE!

I will catch up on reading posts later, but I wanted to let you all know why Ive been gone.

Gator - great to hear from you, we've missed you! So sorry to hear about what happened - sounds really stressful and scary. Glad that you and everyone is fine, and that you are back with us. A discovery of a tasty, low-cal dressing is something to be excited about.

Dancer - I'm sure you will look fab in your bridesmaid dress!

I fly out early tomorrow morning for a month in Boston, taking classes towards my masters degree. I've gone up 2 summer before so I know the pitfalls I can fall into - going out to the ice cream place down the street, sleeping in and skipping breakfast, getting into the habit of having a glass of wine or two most evenings. So I'm planning ahead and am packing food and making plans to cook healthy, simple stuff in my grad student apartment. Also bringing my walking shoes and ipod and 30 day shred video to keep on track with exercise. Every year I have gained in Boston, so even if I could maintain my weight loss the month I am there that would be a big success.

I'm looking forward to Monday's weigh-in. My daily weigh-ins this week have gone well and I am confident that I will be down, even if only 1/2 or 1 pound. The exciting thing about being where I am at now is that every few pounds seems to make a difference in how I look, feel, fit into my clothes. When I was at my heaviest, no one would even notice a 5 pound loss, but I am getting to the stage where it is starting to be noticeable, which is rewarding.

Happy 4th of July, everybody!

Hi, ladies, can I join you? I've been losing weight at a snail's pace the past few years, then gained 20 lbs over the fall and winter, due to travel, stress, hormones and stress hormones . I've stopped growing, hooray, and I'd really like to get as close to 215 as I can by the early fall. If I lost at least 10 lbs by Labor Day, I'd be one happy camper!

I'm tracking my food, working out more (and harder) and avoiding overeating at night, which is my primary challenge. Oh, and managing stress a lot better....

I hope I can be inspired by you on this thread!

judy

Judy - Welcome! We're glad to have you. As you've probably gathered, we tend to do our official weigh-ins on Monday. Your 10lb goal sounds like a good one!

Gatorgirl - great to have you back! So glad you guys are okay after the car wreck - that must have been awful. Congrats on finding a great way to enjoy more salads! I'm sure you'll be back on track in no time.

Blueridge - Sounds like you have a great plan to tackle the temptations during your time in Boston. Breaking routines is challenging but I know you can do it. And totally understand what you mean on the noticeable weight loss stuff - at my heaviest, my clothes are so not body conscious that people don't tend to notice the initial loss. I'm looking forward to the next 10-15 as I think that will start to show up in my face as well as my waist : )

Whoops - posted a little too soon. We just got back from a nice hike (only an hour and 45 min) just in time before it started raining. A major difference for me is that it didn't feel like enough exercise so I'm planning on meeting up with a friend for an hour exercise walk this afternoon. The old me would definitely have called it quits after the hike : ) Hope you are all having a good fourth!

Welcome, Judy! Glad you can be with us for the remainder of the challenge. Stress definitely impacts eating and weight loss and metabolism - I think a big part of my success is that I changed jobs and am in a work situation where I am happier.

Emailing from the airport waiting for my flight. Already getting off on the right foot - I brought some lowfat granola in my carry on and bought a small carton of milk to have for breakfast instead of getting a pastry and some fancy coffee drink at one of the airport cafes. Hoping to get a nice walk in today when I arrive in Boston - to the grocery store to buy my staples for my time there.

Had an interesting experience yesterday - I made plans with some friends to meet up for ice cream on the 4th, so I had a planned splurge. I look at nutritional info online and found something that was about 400 calories, which seemed reasonable since I went a little lighter on breakfast and lunch and skipped my midafternoon snack. So I went, and did it, and it tasted good but afterwards felt heavy and yucky and like I'd had too much sugar. I guess as my eating habits have changed I need less sweets to feel satisfied...I remember when I could eat a medium blizzard at DQ with extra candy...so I guess the moral of the story is to get a kids' size cone or sundae, or get something and only eat half. Anyone else had a similar experience on the weight loss journey?