Thanks for the welcome everyone!

Congrats to mothermavis, beachluvr79 and staffing chick for recommitting themselves. It's never easy, but from what I've seen in my short time here, you've come to the right place for support!

EarthShaker, good luck with Gustav. I can't imagine how frightening the prospect of another storm is to the people in your community. You'll be in my thoughts.

I was very worried about yesterday. We had long-standing plans to celebrate my daughter's 16th birthday by taking her and 3 of her friends into NY City for the day. I was committed to making the best food choices, but I didn't like the fact that I wouldn't be able to weigh or measure anything and I knew I wouldn't be back in time for my daily walk. Well, turns out, I did ok. I did have a piece of bread (always my downfall!), but didn't put anything on it. And that was the only "bad" choice for the day. No sauces, no dessert, etc. Plus, we walked everywhere. There's this nifty site that let's you map your walk to measure mileage and I found we walked almost 5 miles yesterday. (I'm too new to post the link, but you can google "Google maps pedometer" to find the site.) The moral of this story? I've lost 2 lbs since starting the challenge.

Welcome back beachluvr79 and staffingchick! Join the fun!

mothermavis, I know all about that depressive mode. Hate it. Here's a hug!

rmc9142, Wow! 2 pounds! Congrats!

EarthShaker, sorry for my ignorance, I don't know where you are located but I hope things will be OK for you with this next storm!

Dixiamae, how's the new plan going? I love eating the YOAD way but I have to admit, I do enjoy the occasional foods. I figure if I allow myself some here and there then maybe I won't go overboard and fall off plan for want of something off plan. Just have to get creative about how I eat it. For instance, eat something not on my plan (but within calorie count) before bed so I don't have to be awake when the cravings for more hit!

Enygirl, are you out there? How's it going? Hope you've found your way back on plan!

Hello to everyone else I haven't mentioned!

Oh, and me (almost forgot me ) ... I've been on plan the last two days and even managed to get on my treadmill too. Scale was up a pound (which was actually down from the 3 pounds my recent binge was good for). So that put me at 189, but I'm holding out until the end of the month to get an official weight before changing the tickers. (I still have hope the scale will move down again, tho I am retaining water and I could be wrong about that!) Not gonna worry too much about it. September is upon us and I'm ready to focus on the next goal! Lets go girls!!!!

Everyone has their bad day (or several days!), Blue Serenity. Being up one pound is not bad at all, especially when you've gotten right back on plan! Great job!

Pardon my ignorance, I'm still trying to figure out some of the acronyms on this board. What is the "YOAD way"?

Hope everyone has a great day!

Hi Everyone~Hope you all are having a good day!

rmc~YOAD is short for You On A Diet. Another thread board here.

Shaker~Please Post and let us know how you weathered the Huricane!!

BlueS~C O N G R A T S on your weight loss!! WTG

MM~Sounds like you have a plan going on! I need to get cracking too!

Eny~How are you today?? I didn't realize I didn't post yesterday. OMG!! Sorry.

I have been a busy chick this morning. As Fly Lady would call it I did a 27 fling boogy and a 15 minute power cleaning. I moved the sofa and 2 recliners and cleaned behind them. I put my magazines and clutter corner back in order. Filled up a waste basket with old Womans World and other magazines, tossed old mail items. I don't know if that counts as exercise or not, but it felt like exercise!! I need to eat some breakfast and get some dishes washed. I will check in later. Pat

Hey, folks just checking in.

I don't have a lot of oomph, I can't seem to shake this depressive mood. I don't think the possibility of a hurricane is helping, either. Especially since there's yet another storm brewing out in the Atlantic. I haven't had a full-blown panic attack, but I've been really weepy and miserable, so I'm kind of in hiding, I think.

I'm still exercising, but I'm expecting a gain on Monday, which I'm not looking forward to.

Ah, well, it'll pass, sooner or later.

Shaker~Hang in there, you are in my thoughts and prayers.

I am taking a short break here. I have been doing chores when ever a commercial comes on. Thanks Eny for that wonderful idea! Dishes done, sinks are shinning. Some of the trash is out. I can't stand a messy waste paper basket!!! Vacuumed small stuff. It is almost lunch time. I will catch ya all later. Pat

Hi Everyone~I found this in My Arthritis Today Magazine that came in the mail today. I would like to share it with you. I hope it helps.

"Self Efficacy has a strong influence on whether they decided to eat healthy or exercise more. That's the finding of a research at Queensland University of Technology in Australia~~Self efficacy is the belief that you can change what you want to change, no matter the circumstance. It means, for example,that you feel confident you can eat a healthy diet even when you are pressed for time, faced with a holiday dessert table or bored and unhappy.Your level of self belief helps determine how long you stick with your plan-even when you run into a bump in the road. In the Queensland study, researchers surveyed more than 500 women about their eating and exercise habits. About two thirds of them were over weight, and this group was more likely to have low self effciacy and not believe they would be able to stick with a weight loss plan.That, in turn, made them less likely to succeed and reinforced their beliefs about failure. So how can you increase yourself belief? Ask for encouragement from your friends and family, and find a realistic role model so you can tell yourself, "If she did it, I can too!"

What they state is true. Their findings are right on target. If you think you can, you can. But I had to laugh also. Because we figured it out before they did. We didn't spend all that time and money on research. We joined 3 Fat Chicks! Catch ya all later Pat

Don't be too hard on yourself, EarthShaker. At least you are still exercising; that's really important and way more than I'd probably be doing. I'm horrible in that if I fall off the wagon even one little bit, I use it as an excuse to ditch everything. Like, "I ate that piece of cheese already, so I may as well eat a box of crackers to go with it and forget about working out." You should be proud of yourself for exercising and promise yourself that you'll get back to good eating habits as soon as you're feeling better. You'll be in my thoughts this weekend!

BlueS~I like the YOAD diet. I do good for a couple of days, then blunder, then do good for a couple of more days. If I can just get the mind set to make it through one day, then start over the next day I could get 14 straight days. I have the foods here that I need. I L O V E the turkey salad, I add chopped apple slices to it and no dressing. I fill a big bowl with romaine lettuce sprinkle the walnuts on top, then shop (chop) a small apple on top of that. YUMMO. I love blueberries with yogurt for breakfast. Catch ya all later. Pat

Hi Gals,
Can't report anything today, as my official weigh in is Monday. But I've really pushed myself this week at the gym so I'm hoping to see results. This weekend will be a test for me. Football season is here and the food and beer flows freely. Trying to stop smoking on top of that is going to be a challenge.
We'll see... Go Dawgs!!!

Just wanted to check up and see how everyone was doing!

Dixiemae - that article really struck home with me. It makes me realize that I have what it takes to reach my goals. No excuses any more!! Thanks for sharing it.

Earth, I hope you get to feeling better soon. I'll be praying for ya.

Earthshaker, you are absolutely right, this too shall pass, I am hoping that I am coming out the other side of it right now. Hang in there, keep up with your exercise and keep at it! You have come such a long way already!!

Dixiemae- love that sentiment, I think I can do this!

I am back to ticker weight (well, .8 above, so almost back to ticker this am)
Also 10% of my starting weight will be gone at 147 and 15% at 138.
I promised myself an Ifit to go with my Ipod at 140. Really like to get there by the end of September, want to get into the Ifit for running before it starts to snow and I have to go back to the dreadmill for the winter.

Gotta stay focused, weekends are often my downfall. 3 days to stay spot on!

I'm down almost a pound. It has not been quite a week, so I can't say for sure, but I am not yet on target for the Christmast challenge.
My goal is to lose 2 pounds per week on average. Since I just joined the list a few days ago, I am down a bit, but not as much as I wanted to be. However... I am lifting weights every day, and have been for two months now, so I know I am building muscle and losing fat. It doesn't show on the scale yet, but my clothes are getting looser, so I know things are changing.
I need to do some body measurements to compare monthly. Does anyone do this (body measurements) instead of or in addition to body weight?
also... where do you get the arthritis magazine? I could use that.

thanks.

Although I do weigh myself everyday for motivation, I don't think the scale is always an accurate judge of how you're doing, Wanting to. I used to take measurements weekly - chest, waist, hips, bicep, and thigh. It really helped me stay motivated for those times when the scale isn't moving as quickly as I'd like. Now that you've mentioned it, I'm going to get back to doing that again. Thanks!

Ok I'm here - I'm checking in... I've been SLACKING despite how many times that I've said that I'm getting back on the horse... Well Now I have a HUGE reason to get my A*s moving! JOE AND I ARE GETTING MARRIED!!!! We decided that we're going to do it in a couple of weeks! AHHH!!!!

So I need to REALLY stick to this and make a HUGE DIFFERENCE. We're looking at October 4th right now! AHHH!!! That's 4 WEEKS!!! Can I lose #30 in 4 weeks???

I'm going to weigh in tomorrow - because I haven't in a few days - and I've been slacking BIG TIME! I wouldn't be suprised if I see a #19x on the scale. Which I won't be happy about - but I'm prepared for it! I'm really going to have to WORK for the next month! I'd LOVE to be in the #170's on my wedding day!!! Which is a FAR stretch!!!! AHH!!! Pat - You best be on me!!!

Congratulations Envy!!! Talk about your motivation! Sometimes having a short-term deadline is just the kick in the butt you need to step things up. I know you can absolutely stick to it over the next four weeks!