As a European mainlander with metric system (hah), my FIRST goal is to get rid of a 1, instead of seeing that 1.

You know, the 100 kilos... My god, talking about my weight in pounds is so much easier, despite the number being larger...

But yes, despite the 100 kilo-thing, the 90 kilo-thing (198 pounds) is still quite HUGE as well. But aren't they all, in a way? I don't know, will it make me happier than losing the 1 in metric? Will it make me happier than the 84 kilos (BMI finally under 30)?

They all make me happy. I'm savoring this losing weight and every kilo or pound or inch or cm that wants to go and stay off, is a party on its own.

But I'll bite. If only because berryblondeboys (OP) is also named Melissa and was also born in December. Three cheers for sagittarian Melissa's!

Sorry to have disappeared for a few days. Life is just CRAZY this week!

But, scale is moving down.

I did bloodwork on Monday and found out that now my thyroid has moved too far the other way - I'm hyperthyroid, so the dosage is lowered and we'll check again in 6 weeks.

Cholesterol, fasting blood sugar, and A1C were all perfect. BP is getting better, I'm lowering and lowering the dosage. Soon I'll be off it.

Weight is coming down too. As of this morning, it's out of the 21Xs. Yay!!!

Thanks Sassy. I have added cardio into my routine this past month. I think I will start doing some yoga again (used to but stopped for while). I'm a little intimidated by weight training, I just don't really know where to start. I did a beast fit program at my gym 3 months ago for about 3 weeks and stopped because I ended up injuring my knee and aggravating an old spinal injury (I broke my spine in 2009 and the muscles still need some work). I'll look into more strength training routines tonight and mix it up. Thanks for the ideas! Sometimes I get tunnel vision about what I'm doing and get frustrated when it doesn't work, it's nice to have a group of people to bounce ideas off of!

204.4 today. My husband and I have had messed up stomachs the last couple days, so possible stomach bug in our house. Just hoping that goes away soon!

You might want to look into some weight training dvd workouts - then you have someone else designing the workout for you, giving you form pointers and keep track of reps.


If you're just starting out and are a little concerned, start with light weights until you feel comfortable with the moves. 3's and 5's is a good place to start. Expect to be pretty sore after the first couple of workouts, but once you've put in a week or so, your body adjusts pretty well and you won't get sore like that again unless you significantly increase your weight. (Which you are likely to want to do at a certain point)

Some good basic ones are:

Any weight training videos by Kathy Smith. (I like Lift Weights to Lose Weight)
Tamilee Webb's I Want That Body
Kelley Coffey Meyer 30-Minues to Fitness Weights (that's her original one and the only one I'd recommend for a beginner. She uses heavier weights, but you could use lighter ones to start and then grow with the video - the moves are relatively simple and basic.)
Possibly Jari Love's Get Ripped Slim & Lean. (this one is also a serious workout, but with basic enough moves that it would be beginner level with lighter weights - and also one you could grow with.) (I LOVE this one)

There's a lot of great stuff on Youtube for free also. Jessica Smith is an awesome instructor with all kinds of stuff (including lots of wonderful walking workouts), and much of it is at a beginner level. You can pretty much count on her stuff being safe and well designed.

Just ignore their urgings to up your weight all the time until YOU are ready.

208.2 today... CREEPING DOWN!

Thanks! It helps so much! We had a great time and ate very well with homemade hummus, TONS of veggies and fruit, and even some cheese and crackers. And wine, of course.

I'm very happy to say I'm at 207 today!! It's weird, I *felt* thinner all day, even before I weighed myself. Weird how that works. I'm loving the long walks I'm taking lately. I struggle with depression and it's been a tough year. Getting active has helped. (Not a cure but I'm certain I'd be much worse off without).

I wish everyone a fantastic, fun, healthy weekend!

Took a break from working out yesterday and ate 1450 calls instead of 1350. Down to 203.4 today which is nice. We will see if I can break the 203 and stay lower! I have hit 203 three times now without staying there. Hopefully it will stick this time.

I'm going to check in again this weekend just as a sort of reminder to myself to stay on track.

Today is one of those blessed days where I have nothing I NEED to do. I'm going to stick close to home, was planning on walking to the library though not sure with the weather. The air is fresh from the rain but the breaks between showers don't seem to be very long. I'll keep an eye out the window and cross my fingers I can fit in the walk there and back. I'm not sure how I'll get in the rest of my steps- I'm considering a Leslie Sansone DVD, it's been a while. We'll see!

Food is a hodgepodge from the back of the fridge and cabinets as I'll be travelling early in the week. Yogurt, leftovers, and a really random but not bad salad. I'll pick up some healthy snacks tomorrow to keep me on track while I'm not at home.

207 again today and I expect I'll stay here for the next week.

222

22.5 to Onderland!

202.6 today. SO close!!

Yesterday I did a yoga sequence instead of cardio and did 3 minutes of planks as well. I'm a little sore today but not a ton. It ate about 1200 calories.

I'm still having stomach pains, and so is my husband. Whatever this buggy thing is, I can't wait for it to be over. It's been 4 days and I'm waiting for it to either go away, or know whether I need to go to the doctor.

I just finished breakfast (oatmeal with coconut oil and 50 grams banana on top) and I'm going to walk/jog in a bit. I'm a little nervous about jogging/running. I've never been a runner, but I want to try something new. Hopefully it will feel good!

Today I weighed in at 210.2lbs. so close yet still so far away. I just want to hit Onderland so so badly already.

202.2 today. It's definitely been nice to see losses the last three days after this past month.

I made my very first attempt at running yesterday, and realized my "running shoes" are awful! I went to a running store and I'm investing in some saucony triumph 11s. I couldn't run too far, but I liked the feeling of being able to do it! I'm starting zombies run couch to 5k once my new shoes come in. Today I'm going to do yoga to stretch out. My muscles are sore today so I think I need to give them a rest.

My husband and I are going on a vacation With my family to Cuba on the 22nd. We are very excited to go since our family hasnt been able to visit and it means a lot to us to see where we come from (my fathers family is from Sancti Spiritus). I want to enjoy the experience, so right now I'm not planning on counting calories while I am there. I'm not planning on bingeing, but I don't want to deny myself something special I can only have there because of my calorie counting. I will bring my running shoes and workout posters to do there so I don't stop exercising, and Im sure we will be walking a lot. What do you guys think?

202.6 today, but my % body fat is down and my % body water is up, so that probably explains the fluctuation. My legs are also still super sore from my first jogging experience the other day in bad shoes. Yesterday I did 20 minutes of yoga to stretch out my super tight quads and calves, and then hopped on the elliptical for 30 minutes to keep them from tightening up too much. I think I pushed a bit too hard because I was really shaky by the end, eating helped a lot though.

I'm hoping to see a whoosh soon. I havent seen one since I started working out last month. I miss them!

Claygirl1518 I would also set aside counting calories while in Cuba. Enjoy yourself, enjoy your family, enjoy the experience. Once in maintenance, you're going to be living in the "real" world, right? You will be making healthy choices and being active every day. Just like you will in Cuba. It's good practice. And I say that as long as going off plan for a vacation won't steer you directly off course when you get back. I have a difficult time getting back in the swing of things after I travel, but it seems like you have a good plan bringing your workout stuff with you. I think my own personal issue is that I often go completely off the rails and yeah, it's understandably hard to get back to normal after that. Anyway, have fun and best- you're so close to under 200!

I'm back home and so glad. The rest of the week will be busy and off my normal routine so I'm trying to make good choices to keep myself healthy. I've done well the last few days- I've enjoyed myself but I've also made good choices and been active. I've been thinking a lot about how a healthy me is/will be the result of many actions over time, not just one. Many ripples creating a wave and all that.

Today I had a quick breakfast of coffee and a banana. I made a tasty tuna salad for lunch, a bunch of cherries for a snack. I have a good bit of vegetables I need to use so I'll probably roast them and eat them with leftover tuna salad for dinner. I'm a little nervous about tomorrow- I'll be eating both lunch and dinner out and have no idea what. I'm going to start the day well with fruit, yogurt, and carrot juice. I'll pack snacks of cherries and walnuts and see how I feel at mealtimes. I'll probably have to remind myself of the importance of many good choices over time

203 today. I think I'm going to take a rest day from working out today because I haven't rested all week.