Hello Ladies,

TeaRose.......ohhhhh I hate Algebra......LOL...sorry . I did well in College, but the class that ALWAYS got me was Algebra.....I mean come on...Y x C = M...what the ****? Sorry, but just made NO sense to me whatsoever. I know you'll do well, and I give you BIG KUDO's for going back. I went back twice. Too man credit hours and degrees........LOL Congrates on having the Greek Salad after a busy day. That was a good, healthy choice!

Vicky.......Woo Hoo! Good to hear from you and YUMMMMMMMMMMMMY foods! LOL.......Sorry, but I was drooling reading your food intake. LOL... You didn't gain 6lbs, and I am sure it is sodium, which you will get right off. Sounds like you had a much needed fun, family time weekend.

Well, I swam my laps. I didn't go as long as I would have liked, but dang you can get winded and tired swimming laps continuously for awhile. Food has been good so far. I am full right now as I just downed homemade Macaroni & Cheese and a big salad. I love Macaroni & Cheese so have to make it from scratch so it's a bit healthier. Anyway tomorrow is the bike riding......sweating, crunches......sweating, weight lifting.......sweating....Day.

Hey Burgund..........whats up??? Dance........How was today?

Hey girls! I'm back from Boulder and had a great time with my sister. We did some discount shopping on our way there and I got a few more summery skirts which was fun. We did a great four hour hike yesterday but I was kind of blah when I got back last night from post-trip let-down. Tons of work to do today so I may not have time to write much. Will catch up on posts and write personals later. Hope you all are doing great!

Dance: Glad you had a great time! I was never one for wearing skirts, but hopefully I'll catch up to you and we can look fab together! LOL You'll have to post new pics - haven't seen updates in awhile. We'll all have to do that.

Sandy: Great job on your laps! You are definitely kicking some major butt on the workouts! You'll have to tell me how you make the mac and cheese.

I had the kraft deluxe mac and cheese last night for Maddie and ended up eating a few bites myself with 2 of her fish sticks (I reverted back to childhood - used to eat that all the time). Of course I ate some more chips and dip (my total downfall), but after a few, I threw them all away - I didn't want it in the house. Oh, and I ate 1/2 a brownie too. Not good! I brought the desserts from my BBQ to work today so I won't have them in the house. Other than what I mentioned above, that's all I ate for dinner, so I guess that's not too horrible, not too great either.

The scale went down 3 pounds, so I'm pretty confident the rest of the salt just needs to leave my body. Only 3 more to go. I'm going to Jeff's class tonight, so I'll be sweating a lot! It's super humid here so I know it will be warmer than usual at the gym (we work in the performance area that only has 1 large fan, no A/C, so I sweat like a pig. At least I know I'm getting a good workout!

Here's the food for today:
B: Protein shake (super good: chocolate whey protein with skim milk, ice and fresh strawberries and bananas - keeps you full for hours!)
L: Chicken breast on flatbread with lettuce and cheese, fresh veggies (cucumbers, carrots, cauliflower and cherry tomatoes) and baked lays
S: fresh blueberries, strawberries
D: Not sure yet - I don't eat until after my workout, so something light

Hope everyone is doing well!

Welcome back Dance! So glad you have fun with your sister and got some new skirts. Sorry about the post trip letdown. I know when I used to drive back from North Carolina each summer I would start tearing up and just be depressed, especially when I hit the Florida State line. Ughhhh. Reality. Anyway, I hope today isn't too bad at work, and you get some relaxation in later today.

Vicky - I use to eat the Kraft ALL the time, the kids and Bubba loved it too. I quick cooking it a while back, because I was trying to get away from the sodium and other stuff. I started making the homemade kind like my mom used to make. It is real easy and just a Southern recipe. I think Bubba and the kids preferred the creaminess of Kraft, but they'll get over it. LOL........I will forward later today.

Weight was the same today, but late last night I was starving and couldn't go to sleep because of it, so I had a small snack at midnight. I am fine with my weight staying the same though, as I don't want to lose to fast. Today is the 'workout' day and getting ready to head out on the bike in the dreaded sun & heat. It is suppose to be 94 today............UGH! Totally sucks. Anyway, will write more later.

Burgund.............Hello! ;-0

tearose - congrats on the great losses and good luck in algebra - sounds challenging!

mygrits - I have that late night 'I'm soooo hungry' feeling sometimes too and it's really hard for me to get satisfied. What do you recommend for a midnight snack?

maddiesmom - sounds like you're turning things around after a tricky weekend. Sometimes I think it's good to mix things up a little - lindy always used to say you don't want your metabolism to get too used to anything.

burgundy - when do you leave? is it later this week? Hope your trip preparations are going well.

nichole - woohoo for 2lbs!

Well another weigh in and lost 0.6 pounds since Monday!! Keeping on track and haven't really had any terrible cravings like I normally do (butter chicken....sooo good and chips and salsa).
Dance: Glad you had a great trip!! Love discount shopping!! Welcome home!!
Vicky: Chips are my downfall too!! I could eat chips and dip all of the time! Awesome on the 3 pounds loss!! I am sure it was just the salt intake as well. Have a great workout today!!

Hey Dance - Good to see. Are you all settle in now? As far as late night snacks I found a new love Crunchmasters Healthy Gatherings Multiseed Crackers. I love the Garlic and the Rosemary & Olive Oil. They are delicious ;-) It was weired last night, because I have had a problem going to sleep hungry lately, but last night it was like I was ravenious. I fought it for 2 hours and finally caved. LOL.......... So how are you since you have been back? Food going good? Workouts?

Vicky - Dance is right you have to keep your body guessing or it will become complacent. Change up foods and workouts constantly. I am sure you are back on track today!

Nicholeg - Congrates on your loss again. It sounds like your doing well. Chips yes, I love them so I stay away from them. My favorite is Tortilla with cheddar cheese melted on top and them dipping them in salsa......Yummmm

Well, bike ride is behind me - thank god! Thought I was dying out there - literally. I also did 30 crunches and arm rows with kettlebells. I am done. I am tired. The rest of the day I have a feeling I am going to be quite lazy. LOL................

mygrits - good job on the bike ride! And thanks for the tip on the crackers - those sound wonderful. Do you think I would find them in whole foods or a health food store? Food so far today is fine (last night however... not so good - late night munchies!) and I'm planning on a walk in the park tonight with a friend to loosen up my legs after our hike. Tomorrow should be a run day - I'm shooting for getting it done in the early am before work.

nichole - sounds like you are doing great. I don't really know anything about LA Weight Loss. What's the main idea of the program?

Hey Dance, thought I would peek in to see if anyone had stopped by. Yes, I first found them at the Health Food Store I worked at, and then got totally excited when I say them at our grocery store we shop at regularly (Publix). They were in the Deli area where they have the Pita Chips, Hummus, Salas and Deli Cheese, etc.... I am sure Whole Foods would have them. Right now I am addicted to them with Artichoke Hummus Dip. OMG....delicious ;-)

Well, I guess I will call it a day. I am planning tomorrow. I ususally logg just 'workouts' in LiveStrong, but know I need a down day. I decided to vacuum up and downstairs and mop tomorrow, so I thought out of curiousity I would look up the calorie burn on it - WOW, I am amazed at what I will burn! Now I'm excited to clean! LOL........

Bye for now.

Wow.......way too quiet in here....... I am missing everyone........

Hope everyone is doing good. Any word on Neesy leaving yet? I haven't seen her on FB in about a week or so.

Going to do housework.

Hey girls! I didn't bring my laptop home with me last night (for the first time in ages) so I haven't been able to post until now. I went for a walk as planned last night but decided not to run as I'm still a bit shin-splinty from the hike. I'm walking again tonight with another friend so that should be good enough and I'll try again for a run tomorrow. So excited to have A/C installed tomorrow

mygrits - I'll look for those crackers at whole foods - thanks for the info. I haven't seen them at my local grocery store but maybe if I go to a bigger one I'll get lucky. I'm all about the salty crunchy. I noticed TLC has some new heart healthy crackers that are like triscuits but with extra plant sterols and stuff to help reduce cholesterol. Worth a try if you haven't checked them out.

The scale is holding steady so clearly I need to kick it up a notch again to get things moving. I'm going to try to really stick to plan today.

B: yogurt and strawberries, half grapefruit
L: fruit salad, chicken skewers, brown rice, peanut sauce
D: rotisserie chicken, spinach, broccoli, half grapefruit

Okay, this is strange but I wondered if it was happening to anyone else. I get tons of compliments on my hair these days but my hair is EXACTLY the same as it has been for a few years at least. I think people realize something is different but they don't know quite what so they go with the hair thing. Too funny. Anyone else noticed something like this?

Good morning Ladies!!

Dance: L.A. is all about portion control which I know nothing about. They basically tell you what kind of portions and what should go with what. For example: I get 1 protein, 1 fruit and 1 starch or the same combination with 1 fat. It just makes it easier for me because I LOVE FOOD!! Especially bad foods. So this diet keeps me from eating the really bad stuff and focus more on getting happy and healthy.
Congrats on the A/C being installed. Not much need for that here... We just got rid of the snow that came on the weekend I wish summer would come already

Dance: I haven't gotten a compliment like that, but I'm sure as I get closer to goal, I probably will. Now I hear "wow, you've lost" which makes me feel like I was a huge heffer (sp?) before. Oh well, at least I'm doing something! Good news on the A/C - I wouldn't be able to live without mine.

Sandy: I'll have to look for those crackers as well. I need something healthy to snack on, I'm afraid I'll get sick and tired of the fruits/veggies and need to change it up from time to time. When you're done cleaning your house, can you come by and do mine?!? LOL

Nicholeg: Does L.A. have you counting calories as well or is it just portion size? I had a friend who did that diet and loved it, but she didn't want to to the exercise. What are you doing for exercise these days?

As for me, I'm getting back on track. Food yesterday was really good. I went to Jeff's class and he had me doing circuits. I also mentioned to him that my ankle was bothering me and since I was the only one in the class, we ended a little early and he ARP'd it for me. And guess what?!? It's injured. It's swollen, and he mapped it to find where the pain was, and boy did Jeff find that pain!! It was like my old treatments all over again and since it's my ankle, it's all bone and very painful. I go back tomorrow for more of his class and then he's going to ARP it again for me to rid the swelling and strengthen the muscle.

Food today is good so far. I'm going to lunch with some friends, so I already looked at the menu and found what I'm having - a salad. This place specializes in good for you food and has the organic produce and antibiotic free meats. Should be good. Dinner is pork probably, but I'll probably make that for the hubby - I don't care much for pork these days.

So, I had a heart-to-heart with the hubby last night. He mentioned that our relationship (the intimate part) is severely lacking, which I admit, it is. We had a really good talk and I think I found out what is partially going on with him. He thinks I care about what Jeff thinks more than I care about him--which isn't the case. He said that I mention that I have to give my food info to Jeff and I'm afraid to eat junk food because I have to report it to Jeff, etc. I told him that Jeff motivates me and nothing more. He's never seen a picture of my trainer, so it's not like he knows that Jeff is a good looking guy. And I heard one of his fears last night....he thinks I'm going to lose all this weight and get where I want to be, and then leave him for someone better. I think this is part of our issue as well. I reassured him that there's no one else I'd rather be with, so I'm hoping our relationship will improve after this. We agreed to start having date nights and time away from Madeline. We'll see how it goes.

Forgot to mention, I saw some friends over Memorial day, who I haven't seen in over a year, and they didn't recoginize me! They couldn't believe the transformation (they knew it was me because I was carrying Maddie) but it was nice getting the compliment.

Sorry for the long post, I'll check back later!

Hi Vicky!!

No I don't count calories at all, just portions. I am HORRIBLE when it comes to health and counting of calories. I just write everything in a diary and weigh in 3 times a week. I haven't been excercising at all because I am lazy. Plain and simple I pay for a gym membership monthly and haven't been in at least 4 months. I was working 3 jobs so I was so exhausted I could never bring myself to go. I am starting to get a little more motivated and just need to get the energy to go.
I am sorry to hear about your relationship. Guys just sometimes need reassurance, especially when there is another man in our lives helping us with our goals. My guy was getting the same way but I just kept telling him that I loved him and we went out on little dates just to show eachother why we were together in the 1st place. I bet it is hard when you have kids. You don't really get the alone time that you deserve. I think date nights are a great idea!! Good luck!!

Sandy-you always have the right words to say when someone needs a boost. Not taking the pups cos its so hot down there and Bostons get overheated so easy. They are staying at a great kennel. The lady lives right next door. So glad its a woman. Bandit isnt a big fan of men he doesnt know. I'm really gonna miss them though. You are one lucky girl getting to swim all the time. I've been wanting to snack a lot at night too. Last night I grabbed a piece of gum and that kept me outta the kitchen. Dont get yourself overheated on your bike rides. Can you go earlier or later in the evening?

Vicky-I know, I wish we could come by and see you. Maybe if we get to go alone again we can reroute and come your way. See that weight was sodium. I had the same problem the other day. Chips and dip, man oh man. I wanted some so bad the other day but didnt give in to temptation. Chris was gonna get me some but I told him no. I want to see 189 sometime soon and that wouldnt get me there. Hope your ankle feels better soon. Chris has said the same thing about getting skinny and leaving him. He is a big guy, but when I married him he was a lot bigger. I love him no matter what and you probably feel the same way about Matt. I think date nights without Madeline is a good idea. If I lived closer I would keep her for you. Thats awesome about your friends compliments, you should be very proud of how far you have come.

Tearose-Good luck with school. How are you liking it? I loved algebra and any kind of math, but would need a refresher since its been so long.

Dance-glad you had a good time with your sister. My sister wants us to visit her in NZ. I want to so bad but will have to save for a while. Havent seen her since 2007. We're leaving out Sunday afternoon. We are so excited to be able to go alone. Its been 4 yrs since its just been me and chris. We both need to kick it up. Ive been skipping the scale some days, a hard feat for me.

Nicole-you are zooming right along. .6 might not seem like a lot but in the big picture it is getting you closer and closer to your goal.

Got my house clean, now we have the yard to finish. Its been raining so much but Chris said hes gonna work on it rain or shine, dont want that jungle when we get back. I cant wait to get outta here. Almost done packing. Have a birthday party for my niece and nephew tomorrow, they turn 14. Then Saturday gonna get some molding and baseboards for my moms new home(did I mention that, probably gonna be working on her new house the whole time on vacation) Thats ok though, she needed a new house. There was an earthquake down there a few years ago and her house leans a little, plus she found out she has black mold. Then Sunday I have a baby shower to go to, then we are gonna drop the dogs off and get on the road. I still have a list of things I want to get done before we go. Guess I should get off here and get to it, lol. Have wonderful evening ladies.