Burgundy - great to have you back! Glad you had fun.

I've been slacking this weekend and am ready to be serious this week - I ended up watching a kajillion episodes of CSI:NY yesterday instead of going on my run or doing anything productive. I'm exercising when I get home tonight (walking the dog and rowing) and tomorrow will go on a long run first thing. You girls have to hold me to it! And enough already with the lazy eating - back to PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!!

Hope everyone is doing well and has a skinny week in mind : )

Morning girls!

I am pumped up today, I feel focused and ready to be on plan - tit for tat. Also, I thought about it last night and I am going to be freinds with Mr. 16 but pursuing anything romantically is on hold - indefinately, whne in doubt...go with your gut. If it changes...good, if not...fine...right now, its all about ME!!!

Burgundy - glad you had a great vaca. Its almost in possible to stay on target perfectly when your on vacation and with uping your anty on the soda, of course that is going to have an affect on your sodium levels...so, dont worry about that 5 pounds, just get back on track. Who knows, maybe this was the kick start you needed to see an extreme loss this week.

Mygrits - ok, so you did grocery shopping...and picked out some very good, healthy meals-right? RIGHT?! lol...sounds like you are in better spirits, at least I hope you are. I know its hard, but just remember the power of positive thinking. You WILL rebound from everything and you WILL look awesome while doing it.

Dance - you SO better stay on plan. Remember your little chart?! Uh-huh, I dont make me rewind to your goal for this week, lol. You can do it girl! You got the exercise in, now its just time to stay in your calorie range. Which you always seem to amaze me in being successful with that part of the weight loss journey. A veg weekend is fun, lord knows I had one yesterday, but its time to get on point now! No more CSI for you missy!lol

Ok, I just have to let you know, I hopped on the scale again this morning and was back at 185! lol...I realyl should just stay away from the scale for a while, it has such a tremendous affect on me and yes, I do know better! Next time I weigh in willbe on Sunday, in fact, depending how Im feeling, I may even push it back 2 weeks, just for kicks and see where that gets me.

Ill check in later. I too want to wish everyone a skiiny week! hee-hee

Hello there,

Dance: I know you'll get back on track...you are soooooo close to your goal...no self sabotage! You can do it!

Lindy: Good decision with Mr. 16. Taking it even slower and just communicating is probably the right pace for you right now.

Burgundy: Glad you have you back! I bet you had a blast on your vacation.

Well, last night, I did go to the gym. I really didn't want to because I left later than normal. I had to get some new gym shoes, and I also wanted to spend some time with Madeline, so I didn't get to the gym until almost 9:00. I did 45 minutes on the eliptical, burned 350 calories and got home at 10. Didn't get to bed until 11:30 (ugh) and now I have Mr. Hott the trainer at 5 pm tonight. Busy busy. Plus, my body can't decide if I have a cold or not, so I'm in the in-between mode where I kinda feel cruddy, then I don't, but then I do. Fun times.

Had a little scare last night at the gym as well. Let me know if I'm being paranoid (which is what my hubby thinks). I was at the gym, in a row of empty eliptical machines. There were at least 5-6 empty on each side of me. Then, a man comes and uses the machine right next to me, even though there are at least 30 empty in the row, with others working out as well. He had on a hooded sweatshirt, but the strange thing was, that he had the hood up the whole time. Then, when I got to the lockerroom to get my stuff and go home...I noticed as I walked towards the door that the same guy got off his machine and was walking around towards the door as well. Needless to say, I hightailed it out of there, and locked the door as soon as I got to the car. I didn't see him in the parking lot, but I was kinda unnerved by the whole thing. What do you guys think?

Well, the hubby's interview is in an hour, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and saying some prayers. Talk to you ladies later!

Maddiesmom - scary! I would totally be causteous. Um....the hoodie thing wouldnt worry me so much, a lot of the guys at my gym do that to sweat more (at least, thats what I concluded, lol). THe thing about 100 empty machines is what bothers me. Remember I told you that guy asked me out at the gym and it was uncomfortable for a while? no?..lol, well that sums it up...anyway, thats how he started. He started by working out next to me, then eventually started conversating. Just be careful. When leaving the gym, try to walk out with someone else or have your hubby on the phone. Not to distract you, be aware of whats going on, but to make sure that he knows that if something happens to you...someone else will know immediately. Maybe Im a bit extreme but I have had some very bad experiences with men (I might elaborate at another date and time) but it just makes me such a skeptic. FINGERS CROSSED on you rhubbys interview. I must have missed that in a previous post...so my apologies. I know how big this is for your family.

maddiesmom - how weird! Totally agree with Lindy on the getting company on your walk to the car or getting your hubby on the phone - I've used that trick before with my bf lots of times. Also, if it happens again, it might be a good time to go switch to another kind of machine for the rest of your workout and then if he follows you right away, you'll know it's beyond coincidence. Or take a water break and start using a different machine of the same type, whatever you're comfortable with. Keep us posted on the interview! And congrats again on your great workout discipline - you rock!

Lindy - glad the scale is behaving better! And thanks for the push!

Hey girls - just saw this and thought some of you might be interested.http://www.freedieting.com/tools/wei...calculator.htm
It tells you when you'll reach your weight loss goal based on what calorie deficit you keep. (For example - my maintenance level of daily calories for my exercise/age/weight/height is 2100ish. If I keep a daily deficit of 700 cal - that is, keep daily intake to 1400, I'll be at 145 by mid-Jan.) I'm sure it's far from perfect but it's definitely thought provoking! I think it would also be a helpful sanity check as to whether one's goals are halfway reasonable, you know? Curious to see what you guys think if you have time to play with it...

Burgund - So glad to have you back, and yes.....water, water, water - steer clear of the soda ;-)

Maddiesmom - Good for you going to the gym and yes, I would have to say that might give me the creeps a little. The only good thing was that there were others working out in the gym as well. Let us know about your husband - good luck!!!!!!!

Well, I did great all day and at 7pm my daughter-in-law surprised us with a Pizza Hut Delivery full of pizza, wings, pizza rolls and cinnamom bread sticks with glaze....NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..... ..LOL..
....crap. Well, I ate, and ate, and ate. I will be honest and tell you didn't want to, but I knew it would hurt her feelings because she was just trying to help. So, yeah, yesterday sucked with calories. I decided not to check my weight today because I didn't want to be 'emotional' about the gain.

I will check in later today. I hope all of you have a great day.

mygrits - yikes - that's a lot of temptation! Maybe after the wedding when things calm down, can you talk to her about what you're trying to do and get her on board? Maybe that way if she does bring over food, she'll bring a veggie tray or cut up fruit instead. In any case, sounds like you're planning on being back on track today which is great!

Mygrits - holy crapola! That is a yummy buffet of FAT!!! lol...I probably wouldnt have done much better to be honest, so I cant fault you too much. HOWEVER - we need to get you focused! Think...think...think...what can we do to get Mygrits back on track? I say this with love...your having one too many "binge days" and we need to a get a grip on it. Its too soon for you to maintain, we need to keep you losing. You can do it! Heck...if I see you on Facebook, Im gonna start giving you the 3rd degree. So, my question to for you today is - HOW ARE WE GOING TO FIX YESTERDAY? No, yesterday is not a day that just passed and we will forget about. What exercise do you have planned? What meals are you eating today? What support do you need to get there? I played the empathy card the past couple weeks because you really do need a BIG HUG, but gaining or maintaining your weight is not going to get you to goal, is not going to take away stress and it WILL make you feel worst...my job, here and now is to assure that you stay focused, keep your eye on the prize!

OK - I forgot to mention one teeny little thing...I am going to try to do a cleanse for 21 days...yep, a cleanse. And Im not doing it to lose weight, I really think that if I want to keep pushing with my weight loss, I need to rid my body of all toxins and then start fresh with a mainly fruit and veggie diet (within reason). So, each day I am going to let you know how its going and if I feel any better. Its funny because I was just telling AJ how I couldnt do a detox but I think Im in the right frame of mind right now, I want it.
SO, Ill keep you posted.

Lindy - wow! Ambitious but cool - what's your plan exactly? Is it as simple as all fruits and veggies (no caffeine, no alchohol, no sugar) for 21 days?

Hello Ladies!!

Sorry I can't post personally. Busy Busy still with school and book stuffus! But I am down below 185 so I am happy!

September starts tomorrow! And I'l be hopping on board!!

Do we start a new thread for September? Or keep posting here?

I will catch up on the pages I've missed tonite!

See everyone tomorrow!

Dance-I am in the same boat as you. I need to get back to working out. I did take the dogs for a short walk yesterday but my cousins dog was loose and they are out of town. So I ended up trying to catch him instead of walking. I am going to check out that site you posted.

Lindy-glad the scale was back down for you. Sounds like you have your head on straight with what to do with mr. 16. What kind of cleanse are you doing?

Maddiesmom-that does sound a little weird with the guy in the hoodie. All the advice given sounds great, just be careful. If there is anyone around have them walk you out.

Mygrits-WOW, too much temptation. I am so glad I am not a big fan of pizza. Get back on track and exercise today to work it off.

Hotsplashes-just wanted to say HI!! Dont think I have talked to you yet. I was on vacation. Cant wait to get to know you, we have a very close wonderful group of women here. And to answer your question we just keep posting here until we get close to 500 posts.

I couldnt help myself and got on the scale this morning and it was down to 220. So 4 more to go to get back to prevacation weight. I am drinking lots of water and eating better and getting my workouts in. Having a lazy day today, its pretty cold here in MI today. I will get up and workout though. Hope everyone is having a great monday. I will check in later.

Burgundy - can we be workout buddies this week? And make each other stick to plan? I'm expecting Wednesday to be a rest day but here's my plan otherwise
Mon: 30min row/30min walking the dog I'm sitting for
Tues: 60min run/30 min walking the dog (unfortunately I can't take her running - she's on the older side)
Weds: rest day - maybe situps and pushups or something
Thurs: 60min run
Fri: 30min row
Sat: 60min run
Sun: 2hr hike
I may need to flip thurs and fri but that's basically it. Good for you for getting back down closer to pre-vacation weight! You'll get back to 216 soon, I'm sure.

Hey girls...well, the cleanse Im on is the "Master Cleanse", its a lemonade concoction (sp?) for 21 days. You can do it for longer but I dont think I will. I have seen 100 videos on YouTube, read a million articles on it, and they say that if you stick with it, it removes all the toxins from your body. The bad thing is...its pretty much as bad as starving yourself. But...they say that you are getting what you need to survive, so lets see. I also saw on YouTube that after day 3 its not as hard. I have NEVER done anything this extreme, so heres to will power. I look forward to sharing the end result...providing I get there.

Dance and Burgundy - I will jump on your exercise band wagon, just for kicks, Im pretty disciplined about that anyway, but here is my agenda:

1.5 mile run everyday, both morning and night...Monday - Sunday
Monday - weights, arms
Tuesday - spinning class
Wednesday - body works (AM & PM)
Thursday - weights, legs
Friday - weights, arm + 30 minutes on the dreaded stair climber and PM body works
Saturday - 1 hr. of cardio
Saturday

Lindy - I know you'll make your own decisions anyway but there are an awful lot of reputable doctors that think the master cleanse is a bunch of hooey and is harmful to your metabolism because of the extremely low volume of calories. http://www.everydayhealth.com/blog/z...t-master-scam/ I'm throwing in a link in case you want to hear a little of the anti-master cleanse side of things but I'll support you all day long whatever you decide to do. As long as we don't think you're risking your health that is! Also, on another note - what a killer workout schedule! If you notice that you're getting shinsplints again, you might want to allow for a day or two a week of no running (something else not ballistic is fine) as shinsplints are an overuse injury. I'm so impressed by your workout plan - yowza!