Good to see you still here Val! You look amazing. Are you on low carb for good now?

I'd like to join in. I know I'm kind of late, in my defence my term hasn't even finished yet!

I would like to lose 10 - 15 lbs which is quite a lot (3 - 5 lbs a month) realistically I'll be lucky to hit 10 let alone 15 but I'm going to try really hard.

I skipped my morning workout. It's hard to get up before work. I will make up for it after work!
What kind of summer jobs do you all have?

Good luck everyone!

basementcat - Welcome That's a good goal! Hope you enjoy this thread~
Rocki - OMG I can't wait until I have the money to travel. NYC is just over the border (I think, apparently I have horrible geography) so I don't have to save up too much, but I've always wanted to go to their New Year's celebration Good luck with Atkins!!

summerlove - One day your body will literally just DROP those 3-4 pounds. I've seen it happen with other members. Just gotta be patient and keep working at it! My mom's friend told me that in University she would jump rope for an hour several times a week, and lost 30 pounds! It's a really good exercise!

PeaceNLove - wow! nice loss! Camping is so much fun, I love camping, but rarely do I go REAL camping. As I child I was part of Girl Guides, and we went as close to real camping as possible alot. I love summer camps too, but that's just for fun Glad to hear that your schooling is settled!!

ValRock - Oh no, hives are horrible!! I actually have to get food sensitivity tested because I'm noticing that there are times where my eczema gets alot worse, and it may be due to food. Or hormones... ahaha. But I've heard that plain popcorn isn't that bad for you, My mom also bought some that are packaged in 100 calorie snack sizes, which I like.
delyn - I know EXACTLY how you feel about your knees. I have torn cartilidge in both knees, but my right one is the worst. Squatting isn't too bad, but when I have to do stuff ON my knees that's when it really becomes impossible! When your knees hurt, maybe try swimming. I never get knee pains from it swimming, but I have also not tried swimming WITH a sore knee. So I'm not sure? Either way, I feel like swimming is the best full body workout there is

TheManekiNeko - Welcome!!! 10-15 is a nice goal, keep at it and keep posting!! And it doesn't really matter when you join, because we set our own goals here right? Good Luck

raspberry13 - It is so hard to do that before work LOL. I work at a call centre for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra doing fundraising. And I also have another job for People Against Youth on Drugs, mall fundraising, but I haven't started it yet.

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So yesterday was a BLAST! I went to Canada's Wonderland (amusement park) . I spent the whole day there, it was 29 degrees celcius, SO HOT! I left the house at 8:15, got there around 10 am, met up with my friend and stayed until 9:30pm, a FULL day of walking, waiting in line, riding the biggest baddest roller coasters ever. My feet hurt SO much in the end. But it was all worth it, except food was ******edly expensive. Subway was there, their classic subs were 7 something for a foot long, the most expensive listed was 12.49 for a foot long, and there were 2 subs not even listed. Pop/bottled water there was 3.75 everywhere (regularly 2 bucks), even pop machines. I drank like 10 bottles of water and sweat it all out I swear LOL. Before I got there I indulged in a Tim Horton's Iced Cap (small, with milk) and a cheese tea biscuit, because I didn't want to eat at Wonderland due to the food prices. But I did end up getting a sub there. And after wonderland we went to St. Louis acrossed the street, and had sweet potatoe fries, and a roast beef dip. DELISH! I guess I didn't eat too well, but heck I wasn't going to travel all day with food in my purse lol, sometimes you just gotta eat out!

I also weighed myself this morning, 148LBS!! YAY! Can't wait until I hit 145, regular BMI for my height. I definitely need shoes still, next on my list lol. And I keep saying that, so it must happen! Hope everybody has a good day

TheManekiNeko welcome to the thread! (:

raspberry13 i've never been one who was able to wake up early to exercise. i would always try either before work (when i worked during the summer), or before classes, but could never drag myself out of bed to do it. i dont have a summer job now, but i used to work retail @ LOFT.

spiritualflow i want to go swimming! but unfortunately i dont have access to a pool near me but the amusement park sounds fun! food at amusement parks are always ridiculously expensive though..but i'm glad you enjoyed yourseldf~ congrats on reaching 148. you'll see 145 in no time!

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so i started insanity yesterday! well i only did the fit test yesterday & even that kicked my butt. kinda nervous about today cause i know it will be intense, but i have to just push through it! i realized i should change my eating though, so i'm trying to figure out how to add more protein & more (healthy) fats to my diet, & eat less carbs. its hard though when you're asian & you eat a lot of rice....

Rocki - You can do it!! Thanks so much for the compliment! Yeah, I'm IF/low carb/paleoish. I just seem to feel best when I eat this way. I make myself sick trying to eat during the day and starch makes me feel awful... so I'm done. I'm sick of fighting my body. I'd rather forego cookies and chips than feel like total arse all the time.

Delyn - Good for you for finding what works best for you!! You'll get there, I know it!

Summerlove I'm hovering around the same place!! What is it about the upper 160's? They're cruel! I think I might dance in the street if I see 165. I also need to clean my house.... It's stressing me out but I just don't have it in me to tackle it right now. Maybe tomorrow.

PeaceNLove- Hi! I'm sorry you were sick! Camping is AWESOME for weight loss! I wish I could go hiking and camping right now. My 2 little ones are making it rough for me lately... zapping the life out of me! Congrats on the lbs down! Here's to an awesome Senior Year for you!

Delyn- I'm right there with you. TOM has been mean to me this month, too! I'm so sorry about your knee . Try to get some low impact stuff in.. yoga, pilates, swimming... just keep your blood pumping while it heals. I hope that's soon, for you!

TheManekiNeko Welcome!!! You can do it!

Raspberry - Get back up on the wagon and get it done! It's worth it! I'm taking 16 credits over the summer, and moving twice, and playing single mom for a few more months... no time for a 'job' for me!

Spiritualflow- Yeah, go get tested! I know I need to... but I keep putting it off. I've been playing a lot of trial and error and I think I have most of it down. Corn, Wheat, Brown rice, Sugar... pretty much any starch. Bla!

I'm so glad you had fun at the amusement park! That sounds like a blast. Amusement park food is horridly expensive! I used to get so angry with my parents for toting a cooler of food with us everywhere as kids. I totally understand why they did it, now... and I find myself doing the same thing!

But yum on the roast beef! That's what we had for dinner, minus the buns for me . Au Jus is sooooooo good.

You're nearly at 145!!! And buy yourself some shoes!

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GAHHHH Summer school is kicking my ***, in the worst way!!

I have Stats, 2 Biology courses, and English Comp. I busted out my stats course in less than a week, to get it out of the way and have a 91% - so I'm cool with that. Bio is RIDICULOUS! I'm having to conduct 3 experiments a week, in my house. I had to hatch brine shrimp and analyze them last week. They smelled and I couldn't keep my kids out of them... it was insane. I'll have to extract DNA out of something next week... UGH. I haven't even looked at English Comp. It's not all due until August 2nd, so I have a minute to deal with that one after Bio gets done in Mid July. What was I thinking??? This would have been so much easier if I'd just done it when I was 20 and had no responsibilities. You live, you learn!

Good news is, I got our plane tickets to Hawaii, and a date for the moving truck, and gave my apartment my notice to vacate. I'm scared and excited and stressed all at the same time! I can't wait for our family to be together again, for a few weeks! We've been apart for 15 months now! Man, you don't know what you're capable of until you have no other choice.

I think I pushed it too hard in the gym on Saturday. My *** is so sore. Like I seriously can't even bend down. Squats are no joke. I'll be doing arms tomorrow, if anything haha.

Eating as been eh.... I'm struggling to eat enough. It's bad... I went from being the person who eats her stress to the person who can't eat when she's stressed. I'm having a really hard time forcing myself to eat at all, again. Nothing tastes good . Any advice? All I've been able to get down is some salad, cheese, fruit, a protein bar, and a little roast beef, the last couple days. I know I need more protein and fat... but I just feel gross. *sigh* Hoping that passes quickly.

The scale isn't moving anyway . Maybe when AF leaves... stupid biatch.

So anyway... everyone keep it up!! I'm about to go lock myself in the closet... my kids are screaming at each other and throwing books all over the place. YAY. Not a good week. I hope you all are having a better one than I am.

HI guys.....

This weight loss thing is not working for me. I'm at the Gym 5-6 days a week doing some sort of 1hr cardio class OR 30-40 minutes elliptical + 1hr pilates class. Occasionally I hit the weight machines but the cardio and pilates classes have a lot of emphasis on strength training and that's a lot more fun than sitting in the torture room
I feel great and am so much more fit and flexible than before! I'm also restricting my calories getting between 1200-1500/day. With exercise, some days I find it difficult to get over 1000 calories net but I am trying to keep it higher to avoid "starvation mode".

Not sure what to do... from everything that I've read, I am doing everything correctly. Why is my body not changing?!

neenie how much weight have you lost in the past couple of weeks? or have you just been maintaining? & what kind of food are you eating? it may just take time for your body to catch up. also, have you been taking measurements? sometimes our body measurements may change, but weight could stay the same. don't be discouraged! you'll break through in a short while (:

congrats on getting to 148lb spiritualflow! and valrock, the experiments sound so interesting, and it's great that you're seeing your family again . do you think it would help if you just took a little bite of everything here and there?

I lost maybe about a 1lb but I'm not sure because the scale seems to tell me different things... It seems more like I am simply maintaining though I am getting a bit more muscle tone. In my Pilates courses I am really able to notice how much strength I've gained throughout my body.
Could it be that because I'm not trying to lose great amounts of weight (10-15 pounds) that I'm already somehow in this plateau point? As it is, I have a calculated BMI of 24.something which is healthy but trimming down a little bit wouldn't look too bad on my body

As for my meals, I'm eating oatmeal with low-fat milk for breakfast, grilled salmon or chicken with vegetables for lunch, veggie soups, lentils, beans types of meals for dinner.
Snacks usually are something like a low fat yoghurt, hard-boiled egg, fruit or raw veggies, a handful of nuts, rice crackers with light cream cheese or peanut butter. I drink a lot of water and herbal teas. Occasionally I treat myself with some 100% juice, but I usually mix it with half water so it's not too sweet.

I did get my hands on a measuring tape yesterday so I am going to try that approach...

Neenie - I agree with what delyn said, but possibly another thing to consider is muscle confusion I know that you are alternating your types of workouts which is great. It's possible that you may want to add in, or swap in, something you NEVER do. Like swimming, or skip rope, like the specific kind of cardio/strength work out. It may help. Also, I'm not 100% sure of this, but I heard that this concept of "muscle confusion" also applies to the food you eat. I'm the pickiest eater so I don't really change my foods alot, but I've heard eating new things, not necessarily better foods, just different, can actually help as well. Maybe something else to try?

Omg, I've been sick for the past 4 days absolutely horrible. Thank you boyfriend I have not eaten alot, and I weighed myself, the scale is saying something between 145 and 147, so I am apparently losing weight. Cannot wait to get back to exercising and losing weight the healthy way lol. I've missed 3 days of work too I hope everybody is having a better week than me

I just saw this and I'm joining right now! I hope to be under 120 by the time I go back to school (fingers crossed). So far the weight is just not coming off no matter how little I eat.

Sonia Banana - Welcome! Keep in mind that eating little isn't the only thing required. Or necessary at all actually. You need to exercise as well, to burn the calories. But I'm sure you know that. If you don't eat enough, your body wont have the fuel it needs when you exercise, so keep your intake above 1200 cals, probably between 1200-1500cals. And also consider what, when and how frequently you are eating. These things can change how you lose weight as well

It's really a combination of diet and exercise. Exercise will help you feel better and look better / slimmer / fitter at the same weight since muscle is denser. However typically the number of calories burned in a workout is pretty low compared to what you can easily eat, so watching your diet is most critical.

TBH, I've lost 50 pounds with very little / no exercise, by carefully monitoring calories and keeping them between 1200-1500 (with the occasional 'off' day). It does get harder as you get closer to goal, so exercise might help you get over that hump!

I'd like to join too!

It's been quite some time since I was last here due to some big life changes (all good, just a lot of change fast). I'm so excited as I've dedicated myself to getting this weight off for good. I actually feel ready now.

I'm actually in my gym clothes now and I'm going to take my script and get my lines memorized while I'm on the elliptical. I'd like to be under 200 by the fall but I know that's kinda crazy so I'm just going to keep myself on the goal of happy with my body.

Lots of love and best wishes to everyone!