Thanks for the tip lmb. I think I actually did buy something like that, although I can't remember if it was Covergirl or Loreal, but it made my skin look yellowy, orange! lol

So for now I think I'll stick with just waiting to get my new stuff, but like I said, I don't need to use it daily so I can afford to wait.

Did more soccer last night (helping my husband's team with scrimagging) and it was a ton of fun. So by Monday I have earned 13 of the 15 activity point goal I set for myself, so I'm sure I will go beyond it!

Feeling good about this week, looking forward to a good loss by Saturday!

Also, lmb, not TMI, it's a part of life for all us chicks.
So on that note, you are probably right, that is a huge water retaining pain in the butt!!! Good luck!!

Haha no problem, you sound like me when it comes to finding the right hair color! I swear on the life of me I cannot find the right shade so I've decided that I'm done trying to be cheap and do it on my own and I'm getting professional highlights next week lol unfortunately I scheduled the appt over a month ago or I would have held out and made that my 149 goal.

Congrats on the soccer again! I think you will definitely get past your goal of 15 exercise pts since today is only Wednesday!


I was down to 160 this morning, still not happy about it but at least I was down. I definitely didn't drink enough water again yesterday which is a bummer. Sometimes my job makes it very hard to drink as much as I need to...when I'm dieting I need to drink 4-6 litres of water a day depending on my thirst to see the numbers move and recently I've been so busy I haven't been able to even get 2-3 drank in a day and 2 is the minimum recommended amount for the average person.

I'm in a much more focused mood though. I was frustrated there for a little but I'm feeling better and feeling more on track which is good and was the whole point of this challenge!

Oops..I didn't realize that the site didn't email you every time someone responded so I signed in and saw a whole bunch of messages! I had lots to catch up on.

To try and make sure that I drink enough water a day, I have a big water bottle that is 64 oz so it holds the 8 cups a day that you are supposed to drink. It is easiest for me to monitor how much water I drink then and I always carry it around with me so that I drink that vs. a sugary drink.

lmb..Yay for being less frustrated and more focused! Thats one of the hardest parts I think. And I totally know what you mean about missing gymnastics and cheerleading! I started cheering when I was 5 years old and when I went to college that was the first time that I hadn't cheered. I missed it so much and still do. I'm hoping to coach one day but its hard because I'm a special education preschool teacher in an elementary school so the times don't line up with high school times. I'd also like to be a little lighter so I didn't look like a fool trying to do jumps and cheering along with the girls. And I'm definitely not as strong as I was then either to do builds. I wish they had open gym type things for cheerleading...that would be super motivating to keep me on track.

Jade..good for you for doing soccer! That is such a fun way to get in exercise and it is definitely more fun. I thought it might be fun to join a kick ball league for some fun exercise and to meet new people but I'm too self conscious for that right now. Do you like WW? I had thought about doing the online one too but figured I would try to do it on my own before having to pay for it. I'm a healthy and balanced eater for the most part and now I'm trying to eat even healthier and less and cut out all the sweet/bad stuff for right now. Thats probably what is so frustrating because i see my skinny perfect figured little sister who eats like crap and lays around on the couch all day and then I'm working out at least an hour a day and eat right and def don't have the cute little figure she does. Now, yes she is only 16 so she won't be able to do that forever but I've always been overweight and never been able to do that.

Oh well...I'm a hard worker and want to stay determined to keep up with this. I think my main motivation is that it is that time where my friends are slowly getting engaged and planning weddings and I'd like to be smaller so looking for bridesmaids dresses is fun rather than stressful. I'd also like to be smaller when I'm the bride..I've been with my boyfriend for over 5 years so hopefully reminding myself of all that when I start to loose motivation will keep me going. I like the minigoal incentives so I'll have to think about and set some of those too.

Off for workout #2 today! Pilates! I actually like that workout DVD...maybe because I've done it so much that I just turn down the volume and listen to music or watch tv and can completely zone out. Its also a good stress reliever during the school year.

Oh and I changed my little picture because it was confusing me too lol

Hi gals!

lol to ashmalee on the profile pic! But it is much easier to tell you and lmb apart now. lol

Anyway, I had a pretty good day today, got some walking and biking in. Walked my English bulldog pup (although he is huge and does not look like a puppy anymore).

Stayed within my points and did not feel starving all day.

Figured out, lmb, that I DO have a reward for myself if I lose 10 pounds within the 20 day challenge. It is this great rose pendent necklace from Torrid that I have been eyeing for awhile. It's under $15 and is actually a great motivator for me because I just love the way it looks and is very much my style!

Sorry to hear lmb that you have been having trouble reaching your water intake goal. I have been trying to be more conscious of drinking more water and have used Crystal light to help when I just don't want plan water. I love their lemonade and peach ice tea flavors!

Kudos to your water plan ashamalee! That is a great way to not have to worry about tracking throughout the day. You just know you hit your goal when you hit the bottom of the bottle! lol

To answer your question, yes I do like WW. I will admit frankly that I have never once been able to follow it consistently enough to see super significant weight loss. However, after trying a number of different things it works the best for myself and my husband because he can help me with it. Once he learned how to calculate points and got involved with creating a tracking sheet in excel for us, it was much easier for us to be on a consistent plan TOGETHER.

Which I think is so important since I am the primary cook in our little family (just him, me and the pup) but he can help with tracking and looking up points. Plus we have the same type of goals and can relate to each other. Also, it does not deprive us of anything, we just have to account for the points we eat, whether it's a super healthy meal, or a treat meal.

I have signed up and quit meetings twice, just not finding the motivation there that I needed, but really motivation and determination are up to me and with my hubby's support and encouragement I felt I did not need to pay to go to meetings. But that is me, you may enjoy the meetings or even enjoy the online tools available.

They have a WHOLE new points program now that I have not bothered to sign up to learn about because I didn't feel the need, but of course people have been having success with that as well. If you decide to join, of course let us know what you think.

Almost to the weekend ladies! Looking forward to our successes!

ashmalee- love the new pic, very pretty!! and yes it is much easier to tell us apart now LOL Your water plan is excellent! I have a smaller bottle, exacly half of yours, just 1 litre/32oz, that I use during the day and fill up as many times as I can.

ANND, yesterday, I finalllly got to drink enough water, almost 5 litres! ANNNNNNNNND guess what the scale said this morning?!?! 156.8!!!!!!!!!! I almost jumped up and down for joy! I knew I was holding onto the weight because I wasn't drinking enough water and it's just more motivation for me to get enough water in me again today!!! Can you tell I'm very happy!?!?! LOL

Jade, I use crystal light as well sometimes, it's so yummy! Sometimes it gets a little too sweet for me, especially when I'm drinking the water in such large quantities so I normally just put a splash of lemon juice in the water. It makes it less boring than normal water but isn't too sweet so I can drink a ton. I'm already 1 litre in this morning and it's only 10am!

You guys have been doing so much better than me when it comes to working out. I've just been so tired lately and if I'm being honest, quite lazy. I'm going to force myself to do a workout video when I get home because you guys are motivating me to get my butt off the couch!

I hope you both are doing well!!

YAY!!!! :-D Congrats lmb! Thats great! You made it past that plateau!

Believe me, I know how hard it is to get off the couch and workout. I'm always exhausted during the school year and just want to veg. when i get home..little kids are exhausting!

Since this is my first summer off in I can't remember how long, I decided that i was going to use it to get in a workout routine so that it was easier to keep going once school started again. I prefer getting up in the morning and working out because I have so much more energy for the day and feel more productive...but its soooo hard to get out of bed during the year!!

I read somewhere that it takes 21 days to make something a habit and only 1 day to break it and have to start all over again! Thats always been my issue..I do really well working out on a consistent basis and then I get sick or something and get out of my workout routine and become inconsistent again. I do always feel so much better and happier when I'm working out though. Gotta love those endorphins!

I leave in the morning for my family reunion...I brought workout clothes in hopes of getting up and walking in the morning. I shall see...

I've had good will power this week and want to keep it up this weekend. I was out really late with my family one night and they got Taco Bell for a quick dinner and I came home and ate a salad with salmon and then last night my family ordered pizza and greek salads for dinner and I got chicken on my salad and only ate half a slice of pizza. Its a good thing that I really like salads because pizza is something I think I could eat almost everyday.

I'm actually excited to get on the scale this weekend (well I prob will Monday morning since I won't be home Sunday morning and its always more rewarding to get on the scale in the morning). I hope that my hard work this week has paid off.

Keep it up girls! Almost the weekend!

Awesome job lmb! That is so great! We are very proud of you. Keep it up
Also glad that we could motivate you to move more!

I was fortunate to get most of my activity points acquired during the very beginning of the week (which for me is Saturday since that is my weigh in day) and we go to play soccer on Sundays and Mondays.

As of last night I am up to 17 activity points earned so I am resting today because my knees have been SUPER sore. It is so painful to go downstairs! I'm hoping they are just hurting from use and that after resting them from exercise for one day they will feel better.

I've been doing well with my eating, getting to eat what I want and not feel deprived is soooo nice, which is why I really like WW.

ashamalee- good luck with the family reunion! Just focus on visiting with your family and making that the central part of the trip and I think it will help with the food temptations! You have already been grooming yourself this week to make good choices in the face of temptation so keep it up!
Also, good idea about building the new habit while you have the time to do it, just make sure you're building it around your school schedule!

Can't wait to see how we do this weekend!

I apologize, this is going to be short since I'm using my phone lol but, good job to both of you for working hard n keeping up with this!

Ashamalee- good luck this weekend, you CAN do it. I don't know if you've ever heard of Bethenny Frankel(sp?) but she was a housewife of ny (the tv show) n she wrote a book called 'naturally thin'. In it she lays down 'rules' to live by to watch your eating n a few 'rules' really help me in social situations. She says 'taste everything but eat nothing'. Basically eat very small portions of your favorite things at the gathering but eat them each lightly, n don't avoid your favorites just be very aware of the portion size. Also, 'lose your membership to the clean plate club'. Just make sure to not completely clean your plate every time these help me enjoy my time n not feel like im depriving myself but it keeps me from overeating. And from my own advice, try to watch the drinking because for me at least, it causes me to loose my focus n eat like a pig! You can definitely do this! Stay strong

Jade- congrats on the exercise pts! I'm sry to hear about your knees but you are right, they probably just need some rest. I'm excited to see your results!!

Lmb, thanks for those tips! i will definitely keep those in mind this weekend

Jade, i hope your knees are feeling better today! you got your extra activity points so don't push it too hard or maybe just do some upper body and abs to give your knees extra time

I'm on my phone to and this short post has taken forever lol have a good weekend

Hey gals!

So I couldn't wait and I weighed in yesterday! 2 pounds lost!!!

So that is 5 pounds in 2 weeks!

5 more pounds to go.

Have not had a great start this weekend considering I decided to have pizza for lunch, however, since it was my first meal of the day (slept through breakfast) I can use those points and be good.

Anyway, I'm super excited to see how you both do!

My goals this week:

Lower points to 25 a day and use flex only if necessary (like today with pizza lol)

Get 20 activity points!

Here's to an awesome new week!

Congrats Jade!!!!

I hope you both had better weekends than I did as far as staying on track. I was such a bum this weekend and I totally lost it with my eating and ended up binging pretty bad yesterday on pasta. I swear between my TOM and the weekend I seriously lost it. I didn't get on the scale because I do not want to see what it has to say.

Needless to say I woke up this morning feeling pretty bad, both emotionally and physically because of all the bad eating. It's days like today though that make this so hard. I let myself down and I'm really bummed but I have to pick myself up and work hard to get back to where I was.

Today is August 1st. A new start. I can do this. We can do this!

OK well, as you can see by my previous post I was feeling really down and out this morning. Well, I got to thinking, you always do this. Always. This is why you are in this situation in the first place. You always try to 'diet' and fail. It's quite depressing actually but I've made up my mind. I need to re-focus. I'm NOT failing this time. I'm going to do this and I'm going to keep the weight off after I'm done.

I know our challenge ends on 8/13, and don't get me wrong, I'm still trying to meet my 8/13 goal but I'm setting up a personal 30 day exercise challege and you can join me if you'd like. I'm going to complete the 30 day shred, and the Brazil Butt Lift 30 day program. I'm doing the shred dvd in the morning and the BBL workout after I get home. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. I'm going to complete these 30 days and keep myself accountable on here. I'm going to watch what I eat but not deprive myself. I am going to stick to a 1200 calorie limit, eat healthy but allow myself the occassional unhealthy food so I dont do what I did this weekend and binge. By sticking to this, by the end of the 30 days, I will have lost anywhere between 8-12 lbs and lots of inches. And frankly, any loss is a step in the right direction.

I don't mean to get side tracked on our original 20 day plan, and like I said I still have that goal in mind, I just need to get myself on track and I woke up this morning feeling really bad and I realized it's a Monday and it's August 1st. The perfect day to get myself out of this rut. I have certain tasks that I must do at work at the beginning of the month and each month I think "Wow I can't believe the month went by that fast. Gee, if I only had kept up with eating right and working out I'd be 30 days closer to my goal. But no, I failed again." No, when Sept 1st rolls around I'm going to look back and be proud of myself.

I get so impatient, I try to hard to lose the weight quickly, and I refuse to be logical and look where it has gotten me? Depressed and back where I started. Not this time, this time I'm doing it right.

I hope you both had great weekends and I hope you'd be willing to continue this challenge after 8/13 with me.

LMB, I definitely think that your new outlook is on the right track. One of the tough things about weightloss is being patient enough to loose the weight in a healthy way that will keep it off in the long run and not feeling like you slipped up.

I would definitely be up for continuing past 8/13 with you. I actually have the 30 day shred DVD (it is currently stuck in my DVD player). I will do it with you every day (time to take apart the DVD player so I can do it). I have done the DVD several times but not consistently. One of the things I like about it is how the work outs are only 20 mins so that I can't use the "I don't have enough time excuse" and it also KICKS MY BUTT!!! Even the easiest workout. I've done the easy and medium one but haven't gotten to the hard one yet.

I did not do as great this weekend as I had hoped but I didn't over eat at the reunion like I would have done in the past. I was never uncomfortably full but I ate unhealthy things and paid for it when I got on the scale this morning. I was at 237 still but I'm hoping that getting back on track now that I'm home and have healthy options and get back into my workout routine that I will blast through what I ate this weekend and more so that I'm not so sad after stepping on the scale this coming weekend.

I was very mad at myself this morning because I had worked so hard last week and apparently blew it this weekend. This week I want to continue to eat as well as I had last week. I never really felt deprived and didn't have trouble keeping it up while I was at home at least. I also want to work out every day and work out twice a day at least 5 days this week. I also think that I'm going to look into WW online because I'm able to do well when I'm home but when I'm out I have trouble knowing whats best and sticking to a diet. I'm hoping WW will help with that because I can't be stuck at home forever.

Heres to an even better week!!

Hey lmb, good for you! Way to pull yourself out of the rut!

I think it's great that even though you are in the midst of one challenge, you are already setting up another. I agree, when the 1st of the month is a Monday, it's a great day to start a new challenge!

In fact, I did just that! I have a book: 8 Minutes in the Morning by Jorge Cruise.

In it he outlines a workout that consists of two moves per day and you do each move 4 times (1 minute for each set) so you get 8 minutes in . It's a great way to get moving and set the tone of the day.

Now, I am not planning on following his specific eating plan as I like the way WW works for my husband and I. But I have set myself the challenge to FOLLOW THROUGH and do this EVERY MORNING.

Whether it itself does wonders for me by the moves or like I said just setting the tone of my day by helping me focus on health and well-being, I have set the reward that if I accomplish all 4 weeks I will reward myself with a new adjustable set of dumbbells!

From reading your post I feel like this 20 day challenge has already been a great time of reflection for you. Whether you accomplish your goal or not, you have already grown by readjusting your thinking and your attitude and THAT is a great accomplishment.

Most of the weight loss battle is won in the mind so keep it up!