Dance: As far as the "good one day, good for another" and vice versa, I think when eating poorly, I feel that "oh well, I already ruined myself for the day, might as well enjoy it" so I go all out. That's why I'm trying really hard not to splurge on ANYTHING. No mini chocolates, nothing until I'm in Onederland. It's been hard, but I'm getting used to it. Glad you are feeling recharged and doing well. Yes, we will definitely be running buddies! I need that extra motivation!

Sandy: The heat is coming our way as well, it's supposed to be close to 90 this weekend, and I'm volunteering outside, with no A/C. My hubby is bringing a canopy so we don't get fried. But heat and me, do not mix. We'll see what happens! Glad to see you are waiting a little longer for your foot to heal, riding a bike in the heat is a good workout too!

So, yesterday I had the day off. I went to the gym and worked out with Jeff at 8:30, then went home and kinda vegged. Ate a healthy lunch and ran some errands. Then I had to drive 1.5 hours to meet with some friends who are running a Poker Ride and Run (motorcycle thing) this weekend with the proceeds going to our friend with the triplets whose hubby passed away last year (not sure if you girls remember me talking about that). So I'm a volunteer lead at one of the stops, so I have lots of work to do before Saturday! Got home really late and was ready to crash. Poor Madeline was with me and had to spend 3 hours total in the car too. Felt so bad. It was raining so she couldn't play outside, but I took her to McDonald's play place so she could run around. We visited with my family and then went to the meeting.

So, food has been good, workouts have been great. I'm still exhausted today but I'm going to Jeff's class tonight. I was on the scale this morning and I must have burned all those calories and/or the bloating is gone because I was at 203! That's 4 pounds since the Saturday weigh in of 207. I'm definitely claiming the 203 this time! Onderland by 4th of July!!

Hope everyone is doing well. What's the plan for today??

maddiesmom - That calls for a whole bunch of dancing vegetables! Congrats on the new number - you are a rock star! That doesn't sound like the easiest day off at all but glad you got in your workout.

mygrits - you are a trooper for biking in the heat! And I think you'll be glad you waited on your foot. Overuse injuries just suck - I'm so sorry you have to deal with that. I'm in plateau-land too - maybe we can bust through together - I'm still not actually at ticker - aargh. But I'm not moving it up - it can just wait there until I get back down a few and catch up with it Psychologically it would not feel right to move it back up, ya know? Silly but we all have these little headgames we play with ourselves.

Food is good so far - breakfast was lf yogurt and yummy raspberries. I brought grapes for a snack but haven't decided what I want to do for lunch. Maybe sushi. And I'm shooting for making it to the zumba class at 6:15 after work. Dinner will probably be fish and a salad. Tomorrow I'm planning on running again and maybe also fitting in a walk with a buddy.

You know what I'm looking forward to? When we have all reached our goals and can hang out on the maintainers' forum and look back on years of successful maintenance. This is definitely a long term life change for me - no more up and down. I'm going to have a redline weight that I'm not allowed to go above (don't know what it will be yet) and will take steps as necessary.

Even though we're not quite as chatty as we once were, you girls still make such a difference to me. Having the accountability of this group is huge as I don't talk to anyone else about this level of detail of what I'm doing, etc. A few of my friends have either gained weight recently or have weight that they say they want to lose but they aren't interested in doing the work so I just don't talk about it at all socially. So good to have this thread....

Hope you all are doing great!

Maddiesmoms holy cow!!!!!!!!!!!!! You rock!!!!!!!!! Dang!!!!!!!!!! I'm jealous!!!! LOL............Had to add that! LOL........I am sooo happy for you girl and you sooooo deserve this and much, much more. I would venture to say you broke through your plateau or sodium, huh? ;-)

Dance, I have never had sushi, but know everyone raves about it, so it must be good. I too am proud that us four have stuck to this forum and friendship. I too vent on here, I never speak of at home or with friends. Possibly when we are all healthy and at our goals, we can finally get that trip for a weekend getaway? I hope so. That would make it perfect. Hey maybe in the meantime a Skype get-together......;-) I have never done Skype, but know friends that do and love it. Hey Oprah does it! LOLOLOL.... Anyway, you ticker will move back to where it is, just stick with it and realize all the hard work you have done this last year to be there. So, let's make it a reality!! How was Zumba? How many calories burned?

Alright, I need to get to bed, 5:30am is early......ugh. Thanks for always being there, and oh, remind me tomorrow to tell you about Bubba.

Thanks for the congrats ladies! It's been a rough 2 weeks, Jeff even sensed my frustration at our workout on Saturday. I too am so glad that we've stuck together, don't know where I would be without you all! I hope that we can meet sometime soon, perhaps in a central location, but with Burgundy and me in the midwest, Dancer in Denver, and Sandy in Florida, that would probably be Nebraska or something!! LOL

Dance: Did you make to to Zumba? How were your meals the remainder of the day? I'm giong to go jogging tomorrow night, want to join me for some milage?

Sandy: yes, 5:30 does come fast! I have to get up that early to get myself ready and then wake Madeline up for daycare. It's a crazy life, but wouldn't have it any other way. I have just enough time to throw a lunch together and make my protein shake. I haven't tried Skype, but friends of mine just bought it for their son who's going away to college. Have to see what they think of it.

So, today was good - food and exercise wise. I had all healthy foods, even for snacks, and had a snack of fresh veggies at 3:30 so I wasn't hungry for dinner - until just now - 10:15. Had a wasa cracker with laughing cow cheese and some roasted chicken, just enough to tie me over to the morning, my stomach was growling!

Workout was good. I went to Jeff's class and I was the only one there - not sure where all the others went. I mean, it's a tough workout, but the benefits of it are definitely there. He's stepping up my workouts and making them harder, which I need right now. I'm going again on Friday and then having a training session on Monday. Tomorrow is a running day as I prepare for the 5K.

Hope Burgundy is doing well in the Alabama heat. have a great night ladies!

Hey Vicky - You definitely sound like your in a good place right now, with home, foods, workouts and overall balance. That awesome! Nebraska........lol........funny to think about because that is where I was born, lol....of all places! My Dad was an AirForce Pilot and we were stationed in Omaha (AirForce Base) twice. I think it would be great to get together even for a 3 day weekend or something. Maybe we can decide, each put some money away gradually and make a plan - even if it's a year from now - thats ok. Skype I thought was free. I know on my phone it's free and I thought over the net you just download it. You good to go with a camera and microphone, which most computers have loaded anyway. I know you can talk Worldwide for nothing. Pretty cool - I just haven't used it.

Dance how are you today? How was you day off yesterday - did you get everything done?

Burgund - Are you sweating???? Miss you bunches ;-)

Well, let me tell you about Bubba, he made a plan and started yesterday. He got in his LiveFit, which is tremendous weight loss supplement for all over health, and good for body building, yesterday. We then went to the store and he got certain foods he is allowing himself to eat - all low sodium/low sugar and he wants to join the gym today or tomorrow. OMG, I thought I was hallucinating - seriously! He says he is on it 'strick' for 3 months and will go from there. I kindof laughed within myself thinking all of this I have been telling him for over 3 years, but hey......whatever works - right? LOL.... So, I am thrilled for the fact I won't be at it alone anymore, as far as workouts. To me is so much easier to have someone to 'bounce' off of.

Moving on..........no weight changes, which I have to admit I was a bit bummed this morning for the fact my workout yesterday was hard and my foods were intact. I decided to check my LiveStrong data and my fats were a bit higher than they should have been, as was my sugars...........soooo today I am going to keep them all below and see what happens.

Morning, gals!

Zumba was good although I had trouble sleeping last night so I'm kind of loopy today. Maybe evening exercise doesn't work that well for me - not sure.

Maddiesmom - I'm up for miles today! My plan is to run 3 and walk 3 with a buddy. If the run is going super well, I might stretch the mileage a bit - we'll see.

mygrits - what's going on with bubba? And what are you doing so early in the morning? Is that when you go for your bike rides? I'm impressed - I'm not super functional that early


ETA - OOPS! looks like I missed your post, mygrits

Sandy: WOW!! Bubba is probably trying to keep up with YOU at this point! You are doing so good with your bike riding and eating well. Glad he's taking the steps that he needs to in order to feel better. My hubby is doing it as well, but it drives me nuts that he's weighing 1 pound less than me and he eats hotdogs, fries, and doesn't work out! Soooooo, not fair! It's funny that I mentioned Nebraska, I didn't know you were from there. We should get together at some point and celebrate all our success. We can bring healthy food and try new recipes.

Dance: Still having trouble sleeping, huh? That's horrible - any extra stress (work, bf) that is keeping you up at night? I know you are working out, so not sure what's causing that...hope you can get a good night's sleep soon!

So, as I am typing this I'm eating lunch - roasted chicken on an arnold flatbread and some crunchy carrots. My splurge is my baked lays. Have an apple and banana for snack. Doing well food wise. I actually made it through TOM without any chocolate! Wow, that's a hard one! LOL Figured if I can make it through one week, I can do another. Dinner is going to be grilled chicken and veggies.

I'm going to go for a run if my legs will let me. I did over 80 meters of sprints and lunges last night, so I'm a tad sore right now. I can probably push myself and run at least a mile. I have to be ready for that 5K in less than 2 months, so that's my motivation. Hopefully the bugs and humidity won't be too bad tonight, but we'll see.

maddiesmom - I'm really not stressed at all, in fact I just turned in a major deliverable and my bf seems to be doing just fine and is coming over for dinner tonight. Unfortunately I think it's either just part of the fun of not being so young or it runs in the family as my mom struggled with odd bouts of sleeplessness when she was my age. It seems to come and go and I can't figure out any triggers. Oh well - luckily my work is quite flexible so it's not too big of a deal.

mygrits - congrats on bubba's new plan - that sounds very exciting!! I'll look forward to getting updates on his progress Things are pretty good here - I'm gearing up for another bout of disruptive house projects when my construction guys become available again next week, I think, so that will be *interesting*.

I have my 12-year old niece coming to spend the night tomorrow - should be fun. Can't believe this week is almost over! Anyone have fun plans for the weekend?

hey chicks. I have read everything and BIG congrats to you Vicky. You are gonna pass me. I have probably gained a little while here but I am not stressing about it cos I can get it off when I get back home. Havent been able to get much done on my moms house. Shes needs to get some permits and find an electrician. The guy she wanted to do it isnt available. We've built a few walls for the addition she is putting on and cleared the yard behind the house some, it was overgrown. We also got a porch put on it and built a trellis so she can put morning glorys on it. So we have done a little, but I was hoping to come down and help out a lot more. Oh well, it will get done. Maybe I can come back down sometime and help. We're heading back home on Monday. Its flown by as usual. Going to visit my cousin on Saturday, maybe do a little shopping. Went to Rue 21 with my mom and niece yesterday and got some cute summer dresses for $6 a piece. I'll have to take some pics sometime. Trying to get some pics of all of us. Maybe I can put them on photobucket or FB to share with all of you. Well my niece is waiting on me to paint her nails so better do that before her bedtime. Shes hasnt spent one night at her house since I have been here, shes too cute. Night girls

Hi Ladies,

Burgund soooo good to hear from you! Maybe you didn't get everything done you wanted to do but heck you did ALOT! I was reading what you wrote and it was very impressive and I know your mom has to be thrilled. What a great daughter you are!

Dance I know if I exercise after 7pm I toss and turn at night. I don't know if that is you, but with me it kicks in my metabolism and I just can't get a sound sleep. I hope you have a good time with your niece, that is a cute age before the hormones really start.....LOL......I remember when Alina turned 13-14...and she was an alien until she returned to my daughter at 19! LOL...........

Well Bubba joined the gym today and get this he started 2 days ago and is down 7 pounds........now 'What the ****?' Sorry, but damn that ticks me off!! I am so happy for him, but you know that is so not fair and he hasn't even started working out yet!!!!!!!!!!!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Well we are both going to the gym tomorrow, so I am hoping I can run on the treadmill and my heel won't act up. I was thinking it being softer than the road might help. I much prefer exercising outdoors, but for now this may be a good idea.

Well going to bed. Talk tomorrow......;-) Oh Dance, I was up at 5:30 to make sure Bubba got up on time. Once up, I just stayed up.....;-)

Dance: Did you get your miles in last night?? I went out at 8:30 last night, even though I didn't want to, knowing that I would have to report back to you. So here I am, checking in with you! Hope you have a great time with your niece - how fun! Sounds like the sleep is a genetic thing, so sorry about that! Hope you can get a good night's sleep soon!

Sandy: Glad to hear that Bubba is doing well and off to a great start! That quick loss will keep him motivated to continue. How was the gym? Did you go on the treadmill??

Burgundy: Wow, you are working out like nobody's business. All that yard work is a great workout for you. Sorry you didn't get as much done as you wanted, but sounds like you sure did a lot! Thanks for the congrats, I'm really trying!

So, last night I had a small dinner: roasted chicken, steamed cauliflower and an apple with reduced fat peanut butter. Then, I went ahead and ran at 8:30. I ran my mile and beat my Sunday time by 30 seconds! Pretty darn good! So, I started walking as my cool down, and just like Forrest Gump, I thought "well, I went this far, might as well run some more!" So, I ran another 1/4 mile. Finished it off with another walking cool down and called it a night. So, feeling like I accomplished a lot.

Food is good today:
B: Protein shake
S: walnuts and banana
L: Salad with fresh fruit
S: Apple
D: Grilled chicken and veggies

I'm heading to Jeff's class tonight, so that's the 4th day in a row I worked out. Tomorrow is the benefit ride for my friend's family, so I will be roasting in the sun for the majority of the day. Sunday is Father's Day, so we're having a family day. Should be fun.

Hey girls!

maddiesmom - I ended up walking 5 miles instead of the run/walk combo as my knee was being a bit uncooperative. So I was with you in calorie-burning spirit - just not doing the mileage quite the same way. I'm planning on a morning run with my sis tomorrow and am looking forward to it! Sounds like you are doing great on your training runs - I'm so glad to hear it. Do you get a runner's high at all? I definitely float around on endorphins for a while after each run - doesn't seem to happen after other kinds of exercise unfortunately.

mygrits - guys are so different than we are with weight loss - I'm always hearing things like 'yeah, I cut out sodas and lost 40lbs' from them. I'm thrilled for your hubby though - that is such a good way to get started - major positive feedback! Did you already do your treadmill workout today? How was your heel?

burgundy - cute dress for six dollars? You are a shopping goddess!! It sounds like you are making major progress at your mom's - what a good daughter you are Enjoy the rest of your trip!

Will check in with you guys later...

Dance: How is your knee feeling? To answer your question, I do get a slight runner's high, which is probably why I kept running after my initial mile. I plan on getting up early and running tomorrow morning. I was going to go tonight, but after the poker ride, I was too exhausted.

So, here's my good news. I went shopping with the hubby today at Ann Taylor and...........I'm down a size!!! That's right - I'm now officially a 14 - don't remember the last time I was in that size. Only 1 more size to go before my goal for the SIL's wedding. So, I treated myself and got quite a lot of clothes - almost everything was 40% off, then there was an additional 25% off if you opened a card - so I did. Couldn't pass up that good of a deal!

Poker run was ok - very disorganized. A few volunteers got upset because this was supposed to be a fundraiser, but they really didn't advertise and the place where the raffle, etc. was to take place didn't even know we were coming. Kind of a shame. Only 8 bikers came to the rally - normally you can get well over 100 bikes. Hoping there was more of a turnout tonight, I came come early since it was a 90 minute drive home and I was running around all day. So, I do have some nice sunburn as a reward.

What's everyone doing Sunday?

Maddiesmom - woooohoooo for 14s!!! That's great news - you must have been thrilled to be down a size. You are going to be GORGEOUS at that wedding! Sorry the poker thing was a bit of a bummer - that must have been frustrating.

Knee is holding up, thank goodness. I had a great run with my sis yesterday morning after a fun sleepover night with my adorable niece and then later, my parents came over and my bf and I walked to a funky little asian place with them for an early father's day dinner. So pretty good on the exercise front overall and doing well on food choices as well. I'm giving the scale a break for a few days but I did notice that a skirt that wouldn't quite zip up that last inch or two a few weeks ago, zipped up easily last night so I think even if the scale isn't moving a bunch, I might be gradually replacing some of the squishy bits with denser muscle.

Not sure yet what I'm up to today - may go for a run before it gets too hot and try to get in some yardwork.

What's everyone else up to?

Dance: So glad you had fun with your family. Yea on the run! Congrats on the skirt fittting!!! That's such an awesome feeling. I think you are definitely losing inches, I know it's hard when the scale isn't going down, but at least you have the gratification of your smaller clothes fitting! There's always an up side.

So, my good news continues! I was at 202 this morning! Sooooo close! That's 5 pounds since last Saturday. I know some of it was the water weight, but there was some definite "fat pounds" lost too! So, I'm happy.

Still on plan today. Had my protein shake for breakfast, went to a buffet for lunch for Father's day. I did really good - huge salad, a little roasted chicken, tiny piece of prime rib and tiny piece of ham with some steamed veggies. NO DESSERT! I held firm that I will not have any sweets until I'm under 200 pounds. So, I stuck to my guns. 6" subway sub and apple for dinner.

I did get up this morning and went for my run - beat last Sunday's time by almost a minute and a half. So, now that I'm doing the mile no problem, I am upping my distance this week. We'll see how that goes. I have a personal training session with Jeff tomorrow and then I'm going to his class on Wed and Friday. Going to try and run the other days and then take next Sunday off.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend!