rainbowsmiles - I'm glad your first 5K was such a great experience for you. And Congrats on making all three of your goals. My first one was a bit of a disaster...rain, first time on hills, etc...I wanted to punch something by the time I made it through the finish line! Lol

westcoastrosa - Glad you are going to be fit for your 8K! Too bad about your partner.

Riddy - Good point, but I don't really treat goals that way. They are more something to celebrate with ridiculous exuberance if I make them, not really a downer if I don't. I'm pretty easy on myself that way. But I am down another pound... Good luck on your 5K and the new meal plan. I'm sure you'll do an awesome job.

CanadaMel - Congrats on your race.

Ok, not to sound like some kind of annoying popup ad, but I started taking acai berry supplements about 10 days ago, just to see what it was all about. The results were almost instantaneous, and absolutely amazing. I have energy like I haven't had since I was back down in the 160s, my attitude is better, and I've been sleeping like a baby. I'm not sure if they are really having any effect on weightloss, but I did manage to lose a pound during TOM, so it is looking good. But the main thing that has me hooked is the energy. It is like I'm having a fantastic day, every day. I waited this long to mention it in case it was just a fluke, but it has been 10 days now, and it is still working. I take the Gaia brand stuff, ordered off Amazon, which is about $14 for a month's supply.

I've also started a personal challenge to complete 90 days of exercise (at least 20 minutes). I'm currently at day 2....

thank you!!! i think i can "fast walk" faster than i can run!! haha but i will get there!! the more weight i lose the more stamina i find!!

riddy....YOU CAN DO IT....YOU CAN RUN THE WHOLE THING!!! one day i want to be able to do that! i have never been much of a runner...i can swim a mile non stop and bike 20 miles at a stretch but walking and running are more difficult for me. i suppose as i lose more weight, i will improve in those areas because they are so weight bearing.

WOW!!!! your 10K time is awesome!!!!!!!! you can do a 10 k as fast as i do a 5k!! gives me hope that one day my time will improve!!

thank you elizabeth!! he is a good man, my dh!!! i was thinking right about that time...what did i get myself in to!! he is my number 1 supporter!!!

thank you monte!! woohooo on your 90 day challenge!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Elizabeth - my "real meal" is lean protein and low carb veggies. Today was the 3rd full day, and my calories have been around 1400, versus 1100-1200 before. I like leftovers, so I've been doing some double duty cooking.

Monday was shrimp on spinach salad for lunch, grilled turkey tenderloins and grilled zucchini/squash for dinner.
Leftover turkey and zucchini on spinach/tomato salad for Tuesday lunch, taco soup for dinner (chicken/rotel tomatoes/broth/kale/seasonings).
Scrambled eggs with spinach & shrooms for breakfast today, leftover taco soup for dinner.
Cottage cheese & salsa, spinach/shrooms/tomato salad for lunch tomorrow, tofu scramble (kale/shrooms/tomatoes) for dinner.

I'll get back in the swing of packing lunches in a couple weeks.

My finger is pretty good - good enough that I want to try a yoga class on Friday. I've been carefully doing my dvds at home, so I think it's ready.

Rainbow - no running today - it was raining! Waaaahhh!

Montecristo - glad your goals are not hard deadlines. I'm the same way, but I've seen other folks get all upset when they don't meet their goals "on time". I figure progress is progress, and while I want it faster, I don't always get what I want.

Mel - nice job on the 10K! I can't even imagine running that far yet! Maybe next year.

Which reminds me -
Experience is what you get, when you didn't get what you wanted

Happy hump day, girls!

Just finishing up my dog walk. I need more hours in the day, though I'd probably end up sleeping. Lol

Tomorrow morning is our school's muffin breakfast, sort of a get to know the other families & teachers. I'm helping set up so I have to be there bright & early. I have to pack the kids lunches tonight. Better get my act together.

No personals tonight... Catch you on the flip side

Hi team sorry I haven't been posting lately. I have been crazy busy with work. I'm on call so some weeks I hardly work and then other weeks I work a lot. I'm really hoping to get a regular position as it's really hard to plan things when I'm on call.
I have been doing well with my eating but I haven't exercised in over a week. I think it's actually a good thing though because I was having some pain in my heel and now it's almost gone.

Congratulations to hanj for being our BL this week and also to rwquilts, WC Rosa, Rainbow Smiles

Mel - Awesome job with the 5K. Impressive time

Riddy - Glad your finger is better. Have fun at yoga class today!

Elizabeth - I have been experiencing pain in my left heel for the last few weeks and when I googled the symptoms plantar fasciitis came up. How long have you had it for? Do you have any tips to help it heal faster or prevent it from coming back? I have been doing a lot of stretching and that has seemed to help, but I'm worried it's going to come back as soon as I start exercising again.

WC Rosa - Have fun on the mainland this weekend! Great news about the 8K, but sorry about your friend though.

Rainbow Smiles - Congratulations on the 5K- that is awesome

Monte Cristo - That's interesting about the acai berry supplements. My friend swears by the juice, but the juice is expensive. $14 for a month's supply of the supplement is good though.

Have a wonderful day everyone

Hi team! Hope everyone is doing well.

Narnia -good to see you. Do you gets lot of notice before you have to go to work? I mean, it must do a number on your sleep cycle. I can't even imagine?!
One thing that is critical with PF is don't walk barefoot. I wear crocs while puttering in the house. That and rolling my foot on a tennis ball or a foot roller.

Monte- interesting about the acai supplement. Never tried it myself. My husband thinks I'm silly to take my weight-loss multi vitamin. It has green yea extract in it. I take it for the vitamins and hope I'll have a positive side effect on the weight loss.

Riddy- your meals sound yummy!

I'm walking the dog and I will finish this when I get home

Narnia - if it's plantar fasciitis, I have lots of suggestions (I've had it over 15 years). For your sake, I hope it isn't - PF is a biatch.

Stretch your feet first thing in the morning, before you even get out of bed. I used to use a rolled up bath towel, and slowly but firmly pull on my arches a few times each foot.

If you can take ibuprofen or Aleve, it helps.

Freeze a water bottle and roll the soles of your feet over it when they're hurting.

You may want to get fitted for new sneakers, and possibly arch supports/heel cups/orthotics. My PF is caused by extremely flat feet, so I need super arch support. That means Birkenstocks, Danskos and Orthaheels for everyday wear, Brooks Adrenaline GTS for running. At my worst I had custom orthotics, but now I've got it under control enough to not need them.

I also have a night splint for flare ups. It keeps your foot gently flexed, so the plantar fascia can't tighten up as much while you sleep. This is the one I have - http://www.amazon.com/Thermoskin-Pla...s+night+splint

If it gets awful, a podiatrist can inject your heels with steroids. I had each foot injected a few times at the beginning.

Good luck!

On a happier note, I did go to hot yoga today. I sure have missed it! There were only a few moments where I had to adjust my hand or lift my finger up off the mat, so I think I waited just the right amount of time.

Happy Friday, everyone!

http://www.amazon.com/Darco-Night-Sp...s+night+splint

i can so relate to the PF!! it kept me in tears for months!! i use dthe night splint which was surprisingly comfortable. i agree with riddy, aleve and a frozen water bottle helped! even so, it took a long time to heal completely and not i have to limit my daily walking to prevent it from flaring back up.
my thoughts are with you as it is a painful thing to deal with.

Having a rough week food-wise. Old habits die hard!!! Going on another vacation next week (and I rarely go on vacation), so will have to pace myself with the good eats, and definitely get some walking in. Should be relaxing though, so stress eating shouldn't be a problem. And that, I've decided, is my problem. Back to basics, though! Everyone's posts are inspirational!!!

Another idea for the plantar fasciitis is to put a tennis ball on the floor and roll the bottom of your foot on it - massage for your foot. I managed to get rid of my PF the last time I had it by utilizing all of the ideas posted by everyone here (stretching, ice [had the frozen soda bottle "for foot use only" in the freezer], ibuprofen, taping, silicone heel cups in my shoes - all to avoid going back to the doctor for injections which are VERY painful, but they do work. It takes time, but, with persistence, you can hopefully get it to pass.

Thanks so much everyone for all the suggestions regarding PF! I've copied them all down and will be using them so
I took a peak at the scale this morning, and I am the same as I was last week which actually surprised me, as I thought I would have gained a pound or two. I guess all the walking at work is helping more than I thought. I really need to get back to working out though. I can definitely feel the difference in my energy level since I stopped I bought the Biggest Loser game for my Wii so I will probably try that out tonight - depending on how my heel feels.

Riddy - The night splint is something I am going to look into. I find the pain is the worst first thing in the morning. I barely can put any weight on my left heel for a few minutes. Thanks for the link
That's great that you were able to complete the yoga class without your finger bothering you.

Mel - The call-ins vary. Sometimes I am pre-booked for shifts, which is nice, but most of the time it's a last minute call-in, especially for the overnight shifts. I find those the hardest as I am always playing catch-up with my sleep. Thanks for the tip about not walking barefoot as I do tend to do that.

Rainbowsmiles- Thanks for the link to the night splint

Dahlia - I hope you have a wonderful vacation - I'm jealous

I was a bit discouraged at weigh-in on Tuesday when I only lost 1/2 lb. I had a Starbucks Skinny Vanilla Latte on Wednesday and I'm not really sure why. I haven't had one of those in months but maybe it was due to stress at work. Anyway, I was pleasently surprised at weigh-in today when I was down 1.5 lb, which takes me into the 140's. WOOHOO, I haven't seen the 140's since the early 2000's. My drivers license says 140 and I want to get back to that weight by Christmas. Hopefully, it will be sooner, but I have to be realistic. Congrats to all the challenge participants, we can do this together!

Guess I never made it back nine last night. Whoops.

Rainbow- great quote & so true!

Rwquilts- hooray for the 140s!! I too had a skinny vanilla latte last week. It had been a while- but it tasted awful- not sure why, i used to love 'em,but didn't like how it was flavored. Guess my taste buds have changed- 90 calories saved for me-lol.

Dahlia- lucky you n the vacations. Where are you off to? Try to make healthy food choices. Portion control comes in handy when you eating out a lot. You can do it- oh & have fun too!

Riddy- glad you're back to the yoga & that our finger is cooperating.

Elizabeth- how are you doing?

We had a family bike ride this morning, then I finally got a haircut. I think my last one was in June. Feels so good. Time for some k tithing and then I will crash hard.

Hope everyone had a great Saturdya & remember to weigh in tomorrow!

What a great quite rainbow! And an excellent source

I've had a crazy week and let it get to my workouts. I have to do week two over next week of C25K since I only did one day this week. My mother was here visiting and somehow the days kept going by with no workouts in sight

Tomorrow is a new day though and a new week too! I can see a weight drop in my future!

GRRRR, my big long post just disappeared into cyberspace.

Rwquilts - hooray for the 140's! I can't even imagine.

Dahlia - good luck on vacation. Staying close to plan on vacation is doable, but not easy. I've done OK so far, but I have a big trip to Ireland coming up in November that I'm anticipating gaining during. It's basically a drunkfest, complete with 3am takeaway.


Although I'll be a much cheaper drunk than 18 months ago!

I'm down 1.5 pounds this week, so the extra food seems to be agreeing with me.

But, I got completely F-ed at the drive through today. I had to be up & out early today, so I treated myself to a flavored coffee at Dunkin Donuts. It was cold and rainy, so I went for the pumpkin spice. I always get milk & 1 splenda. It was super sweet, but the cup was clearly marked 1 splenda. Something didn't seem right, so I looked up the nutrition info online when I got home. A large black pumpkin spice coffee has 210 CALORIES!!!!!! What the F are they doing putting that much sugar in just 1 flavor of coffee?!!?!???! If I wanted 1/2 a cup of sugar in my coffee, I'd put it in myself!!! I am SO mad. They are getting an email from me as soon as I collect my thoughts.