Hi everyone,

Once again I am waaaaaaaaay behind on my posting.

Thursday night Dan and I went to Outback, where we split wings, salad, steak, and I didn’t eat any bread nor dessert! Only problem was for some reason I had a horrible (and I mean horrible!) upset stomach later that night. The only thing Dan didn’t share with me was the bleu cheese dressing – I’m wondering if that was the trouble.

At any rate, after being up all night, I called in sick to work and slept all day Friday and most of Saturday. It really wore me out. The good news is I lost the 2 lbs. I had put on, so according to the scale at home, I’m 180.

Didn’t stay OP Sunday – too much time running around, so when Dan and I met for dinner, I was starving. That’s never good, because I don’t plan what to eat. Ended up with a huge hamburger and fries. How come my stomach didn’t complain about that?

But here’s the best part of my weekend: I BOUGHT AN ELLIPTICAL trainer/machine! *happy dance for me*

I gave up my gym membership. Figured after 11 months of not going, that it wasn’t working. So I’m a slow learner! Dan and I tried to figure what would work the best for me, and I decided that having something IN the house, where I can’t make ANY excuses, is the ticket.

I am planning on joining Curves for Women – I want to supplement the aerobic exercise with something to tone and firm my muscles. I am just SO excited that I have this thing in my house, waiting for me to come home and finish assembling.

That’s about it for now. Having a bad day at work, so I am trying really hard not to say, “Heck with it.” Don’t want to head for the cafeteria at lunchtime – that’s about as far from healthful eating as you can get. I’m trying to keep in mind the 25 lbs. I want to lose by Labor Day.

Hugs,

Jenn

Good afternoon all! I spend far too much time on this thing. But I love it. It's been encouraging to read everyone's post this morning. And to see how we share so many similiar thoughts and trials on this journey to our goals.

It is sooo hot outside. I mowed for about an hour before my son called and they brought me in the house. So much for motivation. It's gonna take a steam shovel to get me back out there.

Gracious Love those garage sale bargins! Good hunting. Those new "used" shoes that my girl friend found at senior citizens for 2 dollars cost 60 dollars at academy yesterday. Kinda neat to be sportin' some high dollar shoes for free.
I know exactly how you feel about feeling like you are maintaining. I'm praying that you start that downward trend again real soon. I think when we've been doing this for so long we tend to need to find new motivation. When I started I just wanted to get healthy. But to be honest...now I want to reach goal and look good.

Jack-K You are doing soooooo good! And you will find just the right swim suit to wear and feel good in. My daughter is a tiny little thing..size 1-3 and she doesn't like herself in a swim suit either. I truly believe it's a girl thing. I even branched out today to mow in shorts and a swim top...It's scary but I'm out in the middle of the country. The world is safe from my casper the ghost tummy...LOL

Deb I am in awe of your 4.5 miles in the time that you do it in. I sit her and drool....one day....one day.
My little pup is doing pretty good. Her name is baby. We named them the second day they were born. And it truly suits her. She is blind and deaf but we are gonna try and give her a good life. If she continues to grow and thrive we will do what we can for her. She has a blossoming personality despite the handicaps. We are starting to tap the floor so she will get use to knowing before we pick her up. She loves to play. It's sad and sweet at the same time. She will just bark at imaginary playmates till she finds were we really are. When she finds you, she just licks you or gnaws on your fingers. Loved the pictures. Thank you for sharing with us.

Monet You wear me out woman...you are one busy lady. Praying for your sister's complete recovery. ((hugzz))

Beth Have you tried the triscuit crisps yet? There are 14 to a serving and 10 less calories..or 10 more. What I find neat about that is you can spread them out to a couple of snacks.

Music I am praying for your momma. You will do great with your recommittment to being OP. We are all here cheering you on.

Melf Mean ole librarian Have a super day!

Tranquil Too cool! How neat to have your own personal trainer.

Toni 20 minutes is good girl! You will be doing more in no time. Yesterday on our walk about a mile from the house we ran into another neighbor that has started walking..maybe it's catching on.

((hugzzz)) to everybody. And howdy to those that aren't at the board yet. Hope you are all doing well.

Love,
Crystle

235/150/135

Afternoon All

Thought I'd get in a post before I get too far behind.

Made a delicious lunch, baked eggplant parm. Only problem was that I didn't realize the sauce had fat in it, usually get ff sauce, but not a big deal, still legal-just have to watch my fats the rest of the day. It was good, but didn't fill me up-should of had something more filling like chicken, and could of saved a lot in the calorie/fat dept. Oh well.

I can't complain, my eating has been wonderful recently and I can feel the difference, not only how I physically feel, but mentally as well as in my clothes. Can you believe, so far today, I've had 29 grams of fiber-no dookie troubles on this end, or the other!

Next week (June 10th) will be 1 year since I reached my original goal weight. I want to make sure that I have a good yearly goal weigh in, so I'm really sticking to things 100%-hope body cooperates, should be almost TOM that day-how fun. Hoping for a good WIW this week as well

MONET, I honestly don't know where you not only find the time, but the energy to do all you do. You and SEF must be on the same drug!! LOL!! Good luck with your sister's surgery tomorrow-hope all goes well. Please let us know when you get a chance.

MUSIC, glad to hear about your recommitment-I'm sure you'll do fine. Good luck to your Mom today, as I said to MONET, please let us know how things go for her when you get a chance.

MELF, glad to see you made it to hot and humid but hopefully sunny Florida! Can't wait to see HAPPY'S post after you all meet up. Can't wait to see those pictures you have!! Nasty librarian!!!!!

TRANQUIL, you haven't had a true nightmare until you've experienced my kids bedroom on a mediocre day! Good luck!! I'm afraid if that's a typical day with your eating that you are going to stall out, get discouraged and then... You really need to make sure you eat more, you have to plan ahead, it's really not hard to do. Can you even imagine that anyone would ever tell you to eat more!! Good luck with the trainer tonight-wish I could do that one-on-one!

TONI, I'm with you on getting in enough veggies, fruits I have absolutely no problems with. Good going on the walking. You WILL get there one day, it didn't happen over night for me you know. When I was at my heaviest it took me about 22 minutes I believe to do one mile, as the weight dropped, caring around less weight enabled me to go faster-it will happen for you, and you will be not only amazed that you could do it, but proud of what you've acheived. I think bargain hunting is in my blood! Plus the fact, I don't have the money not to find bargains!!!

JENN, not sure if blue cheese dressing would cause you to have an upset stomach, could be from something you ate earlier. Did you know, you can get sick up to 5 days after eating something not good? When I go to OUTBACK I get the salad, minus the croutons, cheese and onions and get crumbled blue cheese instead of the dressing-delicious! Try not to let yourself get to the point that you are so famished that you'll attack anything, whether it's on plan or not-take some things in the car to always have on hand to counter attack this from happening-it will help, in more ways than one Good going on the eppy machine, hope you enjoy using it.

COUNTRY, happy to hear you are keeping Baby! I'm sure you'll get love back from her tenfold. Triscuit crisps? Haven't seen those in the store, may have them though, never looked for them as I really don't eat them. When I want something like that I get the WOVEN WHEATS from Whole Foods-still have an unopened box that is most likely expired in the house

Okay, I'm caught up for now. Will check in later this evening at some point.

Toodles

Debbie
194/12?129
SB since 3/22/00
Reached goal 6/10/01

I SURVIVED!!! ONE HOUR OF NON-STOP WEIGHT TRAINING - USING MUSCLES I HAVE NEVER, EVER USED NOR DID I KNOW I HAD THEM!!!!

My trainer is very soft spoken, but thorough in the routine, and encouraging. I am glad I got him to help me - I just have to get over the panic attacks I have when I think people are watching me... oh well......I will just have to get over it Cardio every day - walking or biking - but weight training is M-W-F only....

Country - I bet that puppy is just the sweetest! I know they have sign language for deaf puppies, and blind puppies can get around by sounds, but will she have to learn signals by touch?

Toni - Be proud that you did 20 minutes! Don't discourage yourself - because after you keep doing 20 minutes, you will find you are doing 30 minutes, and then more!!!!! Keep up the good work - and I am with you - need to get those fruits and veggies into the daily intake rather than my desire for triscuits

Jenn - Congrats on your loss!!! Sorry to hear about the tummy trouble though! Could be the dressing - dressings are pretty iffy - they can go bad easily!

Deb - Well, I will try to eat more What do you suggest I eat more of though? I am not discouraged with how much I eat - I am not really a big eater - I am a big girl, but it is not how much I eat, more of what I ate..... I am not going hungry is what I mean..
But tell me - should I just add more little snacks of fruit? I can add cottage cheese instead of triscuits.... or some tuna salad with light mayo?

I am going to try and post a picture....it is at Wendy's in St. Augustine - by the outlet mall - Melf is the tiny little one, I am the big one and just think, I was almost 20 pounds heavier 2 months ago!

Sabrina

I am going to forward the photo to Deb and have her put it on the site because it is not working for me....sorry....

Sabrina

Toni - Torani syrup (the SF kind) is a syrup you can add to your coffee (or ice cream, or italian sodas, and apparently to pudding)! I bought an SF Caramel to add to my coffee instead of sugar, then I switched to using fructose. They come in a lot of flavors, and of those a lot are available in SF too. Another brand is Davinci syrups. You'll usually see them in coffee shops (for some reason at Starbucks they only have Raspberry or Vanilla in SF). I've seen them online too. I think Torani uses splenda. They used to use nutrasweet, but it varies now between splenda or sorbitol.

*****
Someone asked about SF or NSA ice cream.
I can't stand Breyers NSA - yuck! I get Healthy Choice NSA in vanilla (just tried the choc mint chip one, not too bad - vanilla's better). I notice that if I eat a little more than usual, the sorbitol becomes VERY apparent and I don't want the rest (talk about portion control).

Well,guys. We had a nice time. Went to Pensacola and Santa Rosa Island- the water was beautiful. I am so sunburnt! As for staying OP- it didn't happen. Three whole days of indulging with fast food. I don't want to step on the metal monster to see what the damage is!

pic of Ashley at the beach

Sand....not too tasty

Boogie and I playing in the sand. The second day was actually cool on the beach-very breezy.

Robby,Ashley, and Boogie

Hey Gang,

Boy has it been a crazy day here at work. I have not stopped. I could hardly get to read all the posts.

Getting ready to head for home. Chicken salad (breaded) for the family. Chef salad for me. I'm pooped.

Deb, Glad Lauren had a nice time at her dance. Thought of you Sat. The subdivision across from us a a huge yard sale. As I took my walk, I checked out all the goodies. Didn't buy anything. Not a serious yard saler. But I know you would have been in heaven. We don't have flights into Ft. Lauderdale yet. Hopefully, we can get together. Is that close to you?

Monet, You wear me out. I bet you are one of those persons who cannot stand still for a minute. Keeping your DS in my prayers. Hope all goes well tomorrow, Let us know {{{{Hugs}}}}.

Music, Glad you are back posting. Sounds like you will still be busy even with school out. Prayers for your mom.

Melf, have a great vacation. Sounds like your visit was fun.

Tranquil, Boy you think your muscles are sore today, just wait until tomorrow after your trainer. Hope you enjoy it. I really do. Best thing I ever did, (after SB). Have fun with it. Glad to hear you aren't missing DS too terribly bad. You posted before I got mine done. WTG. Hope you enjoyed it.

Toni, You are right there with me as far as weight goes. I think I am smaller now than I was at this weight before and that is due to the exercising and weight training. I won't miss a day withmy weight training. I just wish I could walk faster. It takes me 50 minutes to do 3.2 miles. Keep it up and it will get easier. Good luck to you.

Jenn, WTG on your eating at Outback. Sounds like a bug bit you. You could have eaten the burger w/o the bun and salad in lieu of fries. I can't believe that didn't make you sick. Great going on the machine. Wish I had one. What is Curves for Women? We have one here, but I have never looked into it.

Country, The little puppy sounds so cute. I'm sure it will be a challenge, but so enjoyable. Be careful cutting that grass inthe heat. Keep drinking that water.

Deb, I'm sure you will be at a good weight in time for your anniversary. You are such an inspiration to all of us. You have done so well.

Heartmom. Glad you had a great vacation. Pictures are precious. Jump right back on that wagon and enjoy the ride. You can do it.

Tree, I love my NSA ice cream. I love Kroger's brand. Now I know what is causing my "problem" LOL Never thought about it being the ice cream.

Have a great nite everyone. See ya tomorrow.

Jackie
257/191/145
10-10-01

Hello Everyone. Does anyone know if buckwheat is legal? Are most cheeses legal? I have the book but I think I need to reread it, I missed the part that specified how many legal carbs you can have. Is there a specification on anything else that I missed. For breakfast I had one scrambled egg and a small glass of OJ (100% juice). For lunch, I ate lowfat cottage cheese, and 5 small pretzel sticks for lunch (wasn't hungry for the rest). For a snack I had 2 pieces of part skim mozzarella string cheese. Am I doing this right? I have trouble with protein, is edimame (soybeans in shell steamed in water and salt) legal? thanks for the help!

Hello!

Well I have made it my second day. The eating and exercising has not been to bad but figuring out how to post a message has been the challenge. Tried posting one this morning but it did not seem to take. Please forgive me if this shows up twice!

Thanks for the hospitality. You guys are terrific. So supportive and encouraging to others. I am glad that I stumbled onto this site!

Some have asked me a few questions so briefly I try to answer. I teach in a private school here in Alabama. We are actually from Va. Beach Va, then New Orleans and Houston each for a year and now here in Alabama. I have been in medical research but when an opening for a science teacher for the jr. high come open at my daughter's school, I changed careers. It has been a joy working with the kids. Looking forward to my first summer off! So my goal is to lose some weight.

We eat out alot since my husband travels along the gulfcoast for his business. Any suggestions of how not to lose my will power when the waiter brings the dessert tray?

Have to run to my daughter's gymnastics banquet. Good evening to all!
Gumbo