mygrits - very cool about the discounts! How was work today? Or was it your day off? Woohoo on the paycheck!

mygrits - oops - looks like we crossed posts. Yikes about the black eye - good luck with the concealer tomorrow...

Dance-Only 250cal! OMG! I am definitely making a trip to panera bread today. That is sooooo great to know. Panera bread is only 10 minutes from my house. I will be making frequent visits now. haha. Thanks!

LOL.........Oh my gosh I DO have a black eye and a bit swollen..........LOL.....I have to laugh, but am trying like heck to cover it for work. Can you even imagine Retail Health Store and a women with a black eye working???? Ok, pray the owner doesn't notice and 'think' something.

Wanted to peek in here before leaving (woke up early so I could), but it is quiet. Neesy what is 250 cal at Panera Bread? I have steered clear of that because I LOVE Panera Bread but heard the sodium was high. Let me know!

Well I was down 1.6 pounds this morning, so I hope I can stay on this trek and catch up with everyone. Hope all of you have an awesome, fun, eventful day!

mygrits - neesy was reacting to my telling her that the yummy french onion soup at panera (while majorly high in sodium) isn't that loaded with calories. Too funny/sad about the black eye - hope it doesn't hurt too much. Your poor husband - hope people don't think he's been treating you badly! And congrats on the loss - you're doing great!!

The usual travel insomnia hit me last night so I'm seriously bleary-eyed today. Luckily I'm almost done with this trip - just a few more site visits today and I should have some down time this afternoon (maybe sneak in a walk or run on the treadmill then) and I head home tomorrow first thing.

Sandy: Sorry about the eye! The same thing happens to me. I tend to bruise easily and Madeline treats me like a jungle gym, so I have bruises all over my arms and legs. Good thing I wear suits to work or people would start to wonder!

Sandy, to answer your question, things are going well with Hott trainer. He's been working me really hard and now that I wear my heart rate monitor (he figured out how it works), he really gives me a workout. I was doing sumo squats last week with a 25 pound weight for 2 minutes straight as part of my circuit. That really got my heartrate up! He's a really nice guy and really gives me a great workout.

I seriously love Panera bread as well, I usually have their low fat chicken noodle soup, but have it with 1/2 a sandwich, so I'm not sure how that is as far as healthy. Oh well, I'll steer clear, just in case.

Well, I kicked my own butt at the gym last night. (Hott trainer is Friday at 5, right after work...ugh). I warmed up by walking 1/4 mile, then jogged 3/4 of a mile (yea me, I haven't done that since high school!). Then it was 2.25 miles on the elliptical machine, then it was 1000 meters rowing. My hair was literally soaked when I left.

Anyways, hope everyone else is having a great day! Check in later.

Hey girls--

Ok, let me do the good with the bad. Bad news first...I have been out of control with Pepsi and Cheez Its for 3 days now. Each day, I am consuming 250 calories in Pepsi and 210 calories in Cheez Its, including today! AND...its definately showing on the scale. I am up 2 pounds and as much as I would like to believe this is water weight, I really do think its true to size, so to speak. Ill get focused tomorrow. I have decided that I am getting this stuff from the snack machine so to help me through it, I am going to leave my wallet at home tomorrow, so Im not tempted and use some good ole fashion will power, ****, Ive had a enough thus far, no reason to give up now. Ok...good news. I went bargain shopping and bought a "lot" of Hollister, Abercrombie and Fitch and Aeropostale clothes for my vacation. This is the style I always loved but could never pull off. Well, I decided to be overzealous and buy size 10's and M, now...I am wearing 10's already but in skinny clothing world like those brands, a 10 is really like a 7/8, well...guess what?! THEY FIT!!! All of them! And I look hot! Haha. Im going to take tons of pics on the cruise and post them. Im sooooo excited.

Now, back to you all....lol

Neesy- knee high boots---awesome!!! With my moment of glory, you can see that I can totally relate, Im so happy for you. Are these possible the boots that you will wear to see your hubby? PS--thanks for sharing your dads weight loss, I was wondering how he was doing. That is fantastic news. Im so excited for the both of you.

Mygrits - awesome on the discount front, not so awesome on the black eye story. That happened to me once, it was quite embarassing. I was actually sleep walking and walked right into a wall fixture...go figure. Anyway, its funny thinking back on it, but at the time, yeah...a lot of people do speculate. What made it even worst was 3 weeks later, John, my husband got a black eye from playing football and we both worked in the same place, so I can only imagine what everyone was thinking and saying, lol. Im glad to hear Bubba is eating healthier. And although its hard to tell him this, there is nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to this job market, I mean...everyone is feeling it, and its not indicative of him as a provider. A big hug goes out to him, as I do understand. How is Alina doing these days, you know...being a new wife and all?

Dance- you ropped it back in with your calories yesterday, good job. In your travels, are you able to do any gym time or is it just not possible? As far as Diet Pepsi goes, no...yuck, I cannot do any diet soda, the only one I can tolerate is diet cream soda or diet dr. pepper and neither of those are much better. In reality, no soda is the best choice, I just need to get a grip.

Burgundy - I would go with the doctor scale. If the weight was measured accurately, then thats the most accurate scale. Furthermore, I dont think it really matters too much, as long as you stick with one scale for consistanty purposes and use that as a measuring tool. Have you...or for anyone else for that matter...taken measurements? I never thought about doing this, but I think for the tail end of my weight loss, I should. Hmmm...maybe after my vacation I will.

Ok, got to get back to work, Ill catch up later.

Dance-you did good calorie wise yesterday. I am glad there is no panera bread around here, I think I would be in trouble. Maybe you will get that down time tonight.

Sandy-the discount will help out when you want to splurge and treat yourself. Hope your black eye doesnt hang around long. Congrats on being down 1.6 lbs.

Maddiesmom-a mile on the treadmill and jogging most, way to go. I need to get out for a run later. The doggies will thank me.

Lindy-I think leaving the wallet will help, then you have no way to get the snacks. Do you have extra change at your desk?? If you do, take it home too. You can get those 2 lbs off quick when you get back to plan. Yay for all the clothes fitting you.

So I have decided to stick with my digital scale for now. I got on the medical scale and it said I was 201 today, that is down 6 lbs from yesterday according to it. So it has to be wrong. Even if my starting weight was 231 or 236 I have still lost 24 lbs. Got day 3 of 30ds done. My sister had thought about taking weekends off, but have decided to keep going, 7 days a week. Its only 20 minutes, so we can do it.

Gotta go pay some bills. Have a great day everyone.

Oh Lindy to answer your question. I didnt take my measurements at the beginning of this. The last time I took them was a few years ago when me and my twin sister were losing weight together. I still have those written in a notebook. I should take them again and compare to those measurements.

GRRRR....today has turned into a god awful day, I need someone to slap the skinny back in me. Here is my walk of shame:

Bowl of frosted mini wheats with milk: 450 calories
big bottle of Pepsi: 250 calories
Cheez Its: 210 calories
Starburst: 100 calories
Jelly beans: 100 calories
Footlong Sub: 600 calories

Thats 1700 calories already and I havent even had an afternoon snack or dinner! Grrr...ok, so I might do a peach around 3 p.m. and some egg whites and turkey bacon for dinner, that will at least put me at 1900. I also plan on incorporating a 3 mile jog tonight because frankly, this whole day has been full of pure crap and worst yet...I dont feel full.

Sorry I had to go off on my tangeant. Constructive borderline mean criticism would be much appreciated at this time, as that is the only way I usually get with the program. Hmpf...

Lets add an Almond Joy at 220, for a grand total of 1920. GGGRRRREEEAAATTT!

I know Im doing bad, yet I continue on my downward spiral....sigh....

Add bag of Cheez Its 210
Add a bag of CHeetos 250



Today is a sad, sad day, I dont know whats wrong with me.

Lindy: Here is your intervention....STEP AWAY FROM THE SNACK FOOD!! What is going on? Is there additional stress, etc. at work that is causing you to grab? Just thinking there could be an emotional component to this. You know what you need to do SO DO IT!! Even though the food is good at the time, the guilt, etc you feel from eating it is going to make you feel worse. I know how strong you are, so I know you can get back on plan. Work out tonight and back on that wagon tomorrow! If not, I'll be on a plane to Florida (or send Mygrits since she's closer...LOL) to give you a kick in the keister!

Ok, now that my alter-ego is gone...

As for me, I'm doing ok. I had a sweet and salty bar for breakfast with water (gave up on juice, too many calories, and if I do the WW points, 1 cup is 3 points!). Lunch is a healthy choice meal with a diet dr. pepper and I'm having a small cup of turkey chili. I actually turned down food at the mall and thought that it wasn't worth eating. I got in my car and came back to work and had my frozen meal. It's turkey burgers tonight for dinner (yum!). Tonight is day off from the gym, so I will be home with my medicine ball.

I figured, I got to the gym 4-5 times per week, so on my off days, I can do crunches with my medicine ball and do a little strength training at home. I have the trainer tomorrow night, so we'll see if I am too sore to work out on Saturday. I'm finding that I'm not as sore as I used to be when I leave the gym which is a great feeling. I also bought a new suit at the mall today (size 18, down from a tight 22!), so I'm feeling good.

Hope everyone else is doing well!

Hi ladies.



Well I left work yesterday and I had a few halloween sized mm candies - three to be exact - no four (I have to be honest). I felt so crappy, lightheaded, headachy and scratch, hiss, howl miserable. I ate a stir-fry that was probably at least 1000 calories and then a bag of animal crackers, later a lot of grapes. Now I was happy that I didn't give in to a coke zero, a big bag of chips and chocolate bars but I am still disappointed in my choices. Being tired, grouchy and sick seems to strip my pride and motivation. But, I try to look at the positive side of everything if I can and I could have done worse. But I am feeling better today (I got 10 hours of sleep) and I cooked chicken last night and made myself good meals today. But still sad that I messed up and haven't gone to the gym in four days. I needed sleep and I knew it, but I promised myself that I am back hauling arse tomorrow. As for drinking, well I am sure that I shouldn't do that anymore. I was reading through my journal last night and I noticed that I got sick like this last time too. So that does that. Losing almost four days for a few hours of fun (and I am fun enough without alcohol) is NOT WORTH IT!!!!

Does anyone know how I can see the posts while writing this, I think I lost some - I'm in advanced mode? Sorry if I missed someone.

Burgandy - I echo Dance's comments about the scale - if the calibration is off, it's an issue. I got so frustrated with scales that I just use the same on everyday at the gym - there is one in the washroom and another one upstairs and I do both to make sure it's right and they are exact. But the othe option is always trying on an outfit that is too small every week

Dance - pickles - oh yum - I have not had pickles forever - I think I might just have to get some of those this weekend!!!

Mygrits - oh no about the black eye - no one is going to mess with you - I guess you could always wear heavier make-up on the other eye, but maybe not - your job isn't in a bar about the weight loss!!! That is so awesome you are doing that with getting all set in with a new job and stuff. Hope you gave yourself a high five. Me - I give myself a high five on my arse - hoping that it's smaller and more firm whenever I do it lol

Maddiesmom - love the sound of your workouts - they make me salivate - and my heart do a bit of a jump. I so have to get back to the gym - tonight even if it's just for a quick cardio session!

Lindy - sorry to hear about your cravings!!! Leaving the wallet at home is a great idea - I have used that in the past and it's worked for me everytime. And the clothes - that is so awesome and I am so happy for you!!! I can't wait to see pictures. You need be be proud of yourself. And just think everytime you want a pepsi or those cheese things about not being able to shop there anymore!!! Hopefully that will help. I just read your post about today - STOP IT WOMAN!!! No food is worth how awesome it feels to look and feel HAWT. Chew some gum, load yourself up on water and brush your teeth - maybe some and/or all of those will help. I also thinking writing it out for you and us to see should help. You've come so far, now is the time to get back on the wagon and keep being healthy!!! Look at a picture of your old self - it's eating like that which will make you that way again. You've come soooo far - don't let it get you!!!

KILL THE CRAVING BOOGEYMAN

Lindy - you know you don't want a muffin top on your cruise in those skinny new clothes so *PUT DOWN THE SNACK FOOD* and back away slowly! You are an amazing study in contrasts - so crazy disciplined as to give up food altogether for over a week (was it two? three?) but then occasionally vulnerable to the siren call of the vending machine. Totally understand if you're hungry - none of us thinks you should starve but you definitely have a pattern that when you start eating some junk food, you eat some more and some more after that since it's not nutritionally rich and filling in the high fiber, high protein way that keeps you full and satisfied. Frito-lay is so not a charity - they are making products that you will want to eat the whole bag of so that you will buy more and they'll make more money. If you could just it a few and walk away, they wouldn't have much of a business, right? Congrats on the amazingly tiny sizes - I bet you'll look smokin' on the cruise! Can't wait to see pics!

Doing okay foodwise so far today (oatmeal, tuna sandwich, carrots, grapes, raspberries and am planning on chicken and veggies for dinner). Will write more later...