Congrats to everyone making their goal...early too!!! That's great

Congrats to all who lost and for those who didn't keep going it will happen

I had my weigh in last night, I was down 1 lb.
I am hoping that is was because of my injury and I am hoping that I will lost more than 1 lb next week.

Hey ladies! I'm glad to see so many sticking it out to the end of this challenge!

I've been getting my workouts in all this week, plus running one of the dogs each day, since it's a short trip from the Y to the trailhead. I'm sore and tired, but it is a great way to start the day. This afternoon, my ds11 and I have plans to go exploring at a local park, so that will be some more walking for me.

I have been doing really good so far. I went to the doctor and I was down a pound. The pounds are coming off slowly but nevertheless they are coming off. My pants are sooooo loose now. The only reason why they haven't fallen down around my ankles yet is because of my gut. I had two children by c-section in 1992 & 1999 and cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal) surgery in 1989. I now have a pouch (the difference between my waist and my pouch is 10 inches), but I'd forgotten over the years that I had to change the way that I eat because of my missing gall bladder. I learned this summer that alot of patients who have had their gall bladder removed have gained weight. My gut/pouch has gone down some inches. (It was 52 inches when I started and now it is 49.5 inches). I will buy new clothes when my pants fall off of me.

Good morning Challengers, and a good morning it is for me. I just weighed in and another pound has melted away. 6.5/9 on the challenge. I guess I'll carry the challenge over for a few more weeks yet until I get the whole 9 pounds gone. Ah, well, one more week left so I'm hoping to see at least one more pound gone by Halloween (or Nov. 1 when I weigh in again).

I weighed in this morning and was down another 1.4 pounds, weighing in at 212.4 lbs. I really want to hit the 210 mark by Halloween, but it might have to be held off until the first couple days of November because I am going away next week for the weekend starting on Thursday. It's so close LOL

i was up 2lbs this morning. I am sure its due to being on pain meds and having a 2 teeth surgically removed yesterday. I know i didnt gain 2lbs from eaitng mashed potatoes and drinking jello water.lol Oh well maybe i will have a huge loss next week.

DG -- Sorry to hear about your teeth, but you're probably right about the gain being water weight. Hope you feel better soon & the weight comes off fast!

Nice to see so many folks making good progress. Jammy, your challenges rock! And good for you on focusing on exercise!

I'm down another pound this week myself .

At this point, my focus is less on weight loss, and more on health. Despite having a good BMI, I still have an unhealthy waist/hip ratio (too much belly). I plan to lose a little more weight and see if it improves.

I've also taken a initial few steps to reduce my cortisol which might help... tweaked my diet a little (it was already pretty clean), exercising a *little* more, watching my sodium, and switched to decaf coffee (sigh!). I'm spending time researching what other steps I should be taking.

Morning, ladies!

I've been sticking to my workout plan, but it is wearing me out! I run out of steam in the afternoons. I'm thinking I may try splitting the cardio and lifting, maybe do cardio first thing in the morning, then lifting closer to lunchtime or early afternoon, when my energy starts to wane. Maybe that will give my metabolism a boost to get me through the afternoon with some energy. I'm also thinking ahead, since it is starting to freeze in the early mornings. Normally wouldn't be a problem, but my van doesn't have heat/defrost right now, so the early morning trips won't be possible once the hard freezes start. I'm thinking maybe I can just do running at home in the mornings, then when things are more thawed, I can load up dogs, hit the Y for lifting, then the trails to run dogs. As long as it's really cold, I can run the dogs a little later in the day without it being too warm for them. Anyway, I'm determined to keep tweaking the schedule until I find what works for me.

DG - hope your mouth is feeling better.

Yoyo - Sounds like a great plan. Cortisol is something to do with stress hormones, no? I have been trying to watch my sodium, and have found that to be the biggest challenge I've encountered while attempting to get healthier.

Jammy, I split my cardio and weights, which works well for me. Weights I do in the morning, cardio in the evening. I do think that splitting boosts metabolism as it's what broke me through a stall.

What's next???? Christmas? Woo! I love you peeps and the challenges. Oooh, I'll start thinking on my next goal. Woo!

Hey ladies! Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I find myself doing crappy since the weight isn't coming off...this is the point where I end up failing every time and say SCREW IT!!! And get back on eating unhealthy. I have had a rocky couple of weeks...partaking in all the morning work doughnut and cheesecake meetings. I have been doing good with my working out though, which is PROBABLY the reason I haven't gained anything either since my diet has been absolute CRAP!

I do have to say though, that thanks to this forum...I won't give up this time. I'm going to forgive myself and get back on it today. Thanks to all for your support! Great job to everyone who has the will to do such a great job at this challenge!!! You guys definitely inspire me that this can and will happen for me eventually. I couldn't be happier for all of you succeedors!

scales are back to my lowest..I am still taking a pain pill at night. I am starting back to exercising today. I am doing the 100 pushup challenge.I was suprised that i could do 15 knee push ups first time out. I am doing the challenge with a lady from the 300+ forum. I am excited about starting it today. I am also getting back on the minitrampoline today. My daughter isgetting married in 18 weeks and i need to get this weight loss going again. Still 6lbs from my halloween goal.
hugs to all

SGirl -- you can do it! Sometimes the scale is very aggravating and we have to ignore it for a while. That's why I don't pick a number for my challenge, just actions that I can control. But good for you on keeping with your exercise program!

FB -- yes, cortisol is related to stress, and high levels are often the culprit in storing disproportionate visceral (belly) fat. But I think most people have stress these days (including folks losing weight) and I am looking for safe and easy measures that make sense for me to adopt. One additional step I am taking now is drinking more green tea instead of black (actually, I make a pot and use 2 bags green, 1 black). Green tea contains theanine, which is proven to reduce cortisol levels. That's in addition to all the other antioxidents and other good stuff it has in it.

I'm also thinking I should set up a physical with my doctor and getting my cortisol levels tested. I'm long overdue for a checkup anyway.

Thought I 'd share a victory of sorts... In the past, I've often gone off-track after eating a meal that wasn't "on program". This weekend, I had my favorite sort of meal for my birthday celebration (cart service dim sum). I almost certainly ate more in that one meal than I budget for a day. After a show, we also went for dessert and I had a piece of ricotta pie (which I ordered with a decaf latte made w/skim out of habit, lol).

Then, almost without even thinking about it, I was back on program! It's such a big change from the mindset I've had in the past, where I would feel like I'd "blown" my diet, and I might as well eat whatever I want for another few days before going back on my diet. I feel like I am really in this for the long haul, for a change !

Yoyoma, getting out of the "diet" mindset makes all the difference, doesn't it? In the past, I tried dieting a few times, usually something completely drastic for me, and I think my record for staying on any plan was something like 4 days, lol. No, I take that back...last year I tried CC, but with a diet mindset, and lasted about 17 lbs worth, then just petered out. This time, I decided, no "diet", just small changes I could handle, and if I wanted something like pizza or dessert, I was gonna have it, guilt free. Technically, I haven't really counted a calorie this time around, except to do some planning ahead online and get a ballpark figure to shoot for. It's not the fastest way to go, I'm sure, but it's something I can live with, even around holidays and special events, which makes ALL the difference to me! I'm so pleased to hear that you are really living it this time. I don't know about you, but it makes me feel almost "normal", lol!

DG, good luck on your push-up challenge! I haven't gotten brave enough to try that one, yet!

Sgirl, when I'm feeling like I might give up, it helps me to read something inspirational, like a book or good blog, or the goal stories on this forum. Helen (YP1, is her username, I think), on the Cool Runners thread (Exercise Forum) has a great blog online...go back and read the archives of the old blog that tells of her weight loss journey. It's good reading, and she had to deal with a lot of those types of temptations at work, when family came over, and on trips...you might find it helpful. Also, it helps me to sit down when it's quiet, and go over my priorities. That's something I've been working on for 2008, and it's actually how I stumbled back on the weight loss wagon, just taking stock and setting a simple, simple task or goal each month for myself, in the areas of health (eating, exercise, medical care), finances, social (getting out with a friend), educational (learning/trying something new or reading), etc. In the busy day-to-day, it's easy for me to put my own needs at the bottom of the list, so this is a way for me to try and strike a balance. I figure, if I take better care of "me", I can take better care of my responsibilities. Sorry, I'm rambling this morning...too much caffeine! You'll find your own way, but I just thought I'd toss some ideas out, in case it helps.

FB, it's funny you should say that, because yesterday after looking at my schedule, I decided to try lifting in the mornings, then cardio in the evenings. That will work out better, since skating is in the evenings, and that's definitely a cardio workout, with the dancing. I'm also going to try switching to an upper/lower split for the lifting, and just do Mon/Tues, Thurs/Fri, and see how that works for me. I seem to do well for 2 or 3 days in a row, then I'm just wiped. I think the weights/cardio all at once was just too big a jump after being off, plus I am a little out of shape on the lifting, so more rest days should do me good. Even doing a bodypart split was just too much, because I couldn't keep myself from making every workout a killer, and was doing probably way too many sets and too heavy, for that many days of lifting. So, after I get off here, I'll do my lifting, and tonight I'll do my running. I'll let you know how it goes!

Yes, I think Christmas will be our next challenge. I don't think I'll set a pounds goal for next time, but go Yoyoma's way and just try to stay on track and record what comes. With the lifting, I know the scale is not going to be my friend, so I'm going to TRY to just focus on enjoying the lifting, eating on plan, and keeping up the cardio.

Speaking of challenges, I met my Halloween Challenge goal this morning! Dehydration is my friend, lol! 184.4! 50 lbs gone, baby! I'm lifting lower body with weights today, so I'll probably be up 4 lbs tomorrow in water weight, but I'll bask in the glory of this morning's weigh-in, anyway.

SGirl- You will do it - you ARE doing it. Good on the exercising, good!

DG- cool on the pushup challenge! I have never, in my life, been able to do a pushup. I've about given up. I'm going to ask my trainer to try to teach me. My problem is that I can't help but stick my butt way WAY up in the air.

Yoyo- Interesting. I need to read more on this. I have an extreme lack of sleep, which is a huge source of bodily stress. I get by on about 5 hours a night. The green tea I do as well, with a little black tea mixed in. I haven't had it lately because my freezer is stuffed full of seafood and veggies, to the bursting point, and I like it iced. I miss the tea so much I've considered getting a small fridge just for ice, but that would be over the top, huh?

Jamster! 50 pounds?????!!!!!!!!!!!!! You know what that means - one of your flamey awards!



How did splitting the workouts work? I personally like weights in the morning because I like doing that much better than cardio and think I have more strength at that time. Upper/lower split will probably work better than the body part split - you're right. I couldn't pace myself either, would be a constant sore mess and don't know if I'd have enough time for that.

I aim for two workouts a day 4 days a week, with 1 on the others. I only train 3 days a week, so one of those days is a cardio day with two shorter sessions. I started that recently, also started taking a BCAA supplement at my trainer's insistence to help prevent muscle loss while I'm doing the weight loss/cardio gig. I don't love popping pills but will see if it helps make a difference. I really look forward to maintaining and lifting more, cutting some cardio out. Cardio bores me so badly now that it's getting chilly.

A funny muscle story... I had my friend look at my back yesterday because it has been itching like crazy mad crazy. She freaked out and wanted to schedule me a doctor's appointment because I had large lumps all over it. After a little investigation the 'lumps' turned out to be my new back muscles. Silly girl.