I'm having a hard time getting on Chicks again. I switched to Firefox on the admins advice then it didn't work yesterday, I kept getting a 'webpage has reset', I tried on IE which worked but was slow. Weird.

I found my lost lb! That didn't take long.

Hubby and I are having my parents over for dinner tonight for my Dad's Bday, that is unless someone gets sick again!

Beverly, glad you are up and moving, but take care of yourself, don't over do too soon.

Kristen, welcome glad to have you join us.

Caroline, good job on the 14lbs.

Penguin, it seems like the forum's been wonky for everyone the past few days. I use Chrome exclusively and I've been having trouble on and off myself.

I'm sorry your pound found its way back. I'll keep my fingers crossed it's temporary.

Beverly, so glad you're feeling better. Take care of yourself! (I still find it kind of hilarious that we're marching toward onederland at the same time again.)

I have had a good few days. Its sunny and cold here today. Im so ready for spring and getting outside.
My plan for the week is to eat lots of veggies and some fruit and lean meat. Im limiting my carbs to only veggies.

I didn't post Friday's workout! I did 45min cardio then I did 50 min weights.
Today I did another 45min cardio

Hubby and I are having my parents over for dinner tonight for my Dad's Bday, that is unless someone gets sick again!

CAROLINE ~ Congrats on losing 14 lbs on that 30-day challenge. So what exactly did you do differently from before, that resulted in such a huge loss? Did you keep track of what changes you made? I'd really like to learn from your experience ...

PENQUIN ~ yes, this site has been acting up on me also; sometimes I couldn't even get in -- other times I couldn't post, nor even jump from one forum to another. Today, all seems well; hope they got it all straightened out for us. Glad you found your lost pound ...

BEVERLY ~ yes, one of my favorite Mottos is "Plan, Plan, and Plan Some More; and then, Plan to Stay on Plan" ... what a great reminder.

I had a small munchy snack yesterday afternoon but still capped my day at 1635. That is part of my plan -- to get all my snacks to stay well within my daily total. Plus, I did some extra dancercise last night to bouncy music. I did feel a bit hungry, but I had a coffee (instead of a tea) and no evening snack. Yahoo!

KRISTEN ~ I often think that I dieted myself right into obesity. I started out 155 lbs and ended up well over 300+ lbs. Every time I dieted, I gained back more than I lost. Finally I thought -- hey, what gives here? That is ... until this last time. My plan now is to never go back there again!!!

dGRAMIE ~ sounds like a plan; we have lovely here too, although the temps have dropped a bit this weekend.

Have a great day, everyone ...

Thanks! I feel awesome (most days) which is probably the best part of the challenge.

It's kind of extreme, I guess, but what the challenge entails is giving up alcohol (which is why I've been going on about wine all month!), all grains (this includes wheat, corn, oats, etc.), dairy, and legumes, including soy and peanut butter. That last one was hard for me, but I'm in love with almond butter now, so it's all good, even though it's more expensive. Luckily I only feed myself so I don't have to cook two sets of meals/buy extra groceries.

Oh, also I gave up all sweeteners, natural and artificial, so no Splenda or anything. It's based on the paleo diet, except a bit more strict to detox your system. Going forward I will follow the paleo diet, more or less, which just means I can have a little sweetener if I want, and occasional red wine and dark chocolate.

I've been low carb before so I didn't find it as difficult as someone who eats a lot of whole grains, but I'm super carb-sensitive, so it's what I have to do to lose weight. In the past I've lost weight so slowly (at the rate of .5-1 pound per week) so this is a huge difference for me. I'm committed to following this WOE for life, with occasional 'cheats' on special occasions, because it makes me feel good, and also I'm convinced it's the only way I can get to and maintain a healthy weight.

PS: I still count calories. I work out twice a day, usually about 75-90 minutes total, both cardio and strength training, six days a week, and I eat 1400-1600 calories. For strength training I do P90X with my sister, and for cardio I do a combination of DVDs and the spin bike. I've added back Insanity workouts recently, but those are pretty extreme. I don't always get in a second workout, but most days I do. Today I did 45 minutes on the spin bike and 45 minutes of strength training.

I have to pretty much kill myself to lose weight, yes. I lost the genetic lotto, unfortunately! Most people don't have to work this hard. I'd say I'm hoping that I can ease off a little when I get to goal, but easing off on the cardio is how I gained back 68 pounds, so I'm not holding my breath.

my arms feel like noodles and i love it

it's kinda awesome having a hubby that's done all this weight training stuff before when he played baseball. he's been helping me use the machines.

I lost 1.2lbs last week. woo hoo!!Im counting it as a good week. I want big numbers but know that a lb a week is all I can expect.

That's awesome, dgramie, way to go! 1.2 is way better than nothing, that's for sure.

I am VERY SORE this morning, partly because I really pushed in my strength training workout yesterday, but also because I experimented with some wine last night and that's certainly not helping this morning.

Yesterday I also had a serving of dark chocolate (worth it!) and the creamer I mentioned in my coffee, but other than those three things I was pretty much still right on plan. No, wait, I skipped the Cobb salad and made steak salad for dinner instead, but I put some goat cheese crumbles in. Those weren't allowed on Whole 30 either.

I'm only down .2 this morning, but I was expecting to be up, so I'm not complaining. Today I'm back on track with the same thing I've been doing for the past month. No reason to fix what isn't broken, I figure. I might make it a light workout day, considering how sore I am, but I'll decide once I get home from church.

Have a great Sunday, everyone!

Oh, Caroline! Have you been listening in on my conversations with my husband? We were just talking about how the average person doesn't have to work this hard to lose weight. I'm in your camp and I feel your pain. But I also say to myself, I've been so blessed in all other areas of my life, that if this is my worst problem, I am thankful! I also follow a very strict way of eating. I need to to lose and I need to stay there to maintain. I'm okay with the occasional meal out or special event but when I don't get back here, I gain it all back in a minute! Seriously. So, I don't eat wheat, gluten, flour, salt, sugar, sweeteners, dairy, and beans for now (while losing), and no carbs for 2 weeks. Then I'll add in some sweet potatoes on weight lifting days. I'm following fat flush becasue it worked before until I stopped following it. It's just what has to happen. So, good luck to us most difficult losers! I just had to comment. Your post hit home! And thanks all for the warm welcome!!!

CAROLINE & KRISTEN ~ I surely admire your tenacity and wish I could to do that kind of program again. Who knows, maybe down the road, some day. Right now, my blood sugar levels plummet to China, if I don't eat any carbs. So for now, I am just eating a lower carb program, minding my portions & calorie counting too.

dGrammie ~ Congrats on the 1.2 lb loss; hey, I'd be glad for that -- so take it!!!

MANDY ~ you are very blessed to have a hubby that is so supportive and helpful with all aspects of your program. It took a while and some explaining, but my "very slim" DH now tries to keep his junkies away, but some times, I still have to remind him.

I am still tweaking my plan; finding ways to lower the calories and carbs in a way that doesn't send my body into a panic. One step-at-a-time is the order of the day ...

Roast Chicken with loads of veggies for dinner tonight. Have a Super Sunday, everyone ...

Justwant2Bhealthy - i am very lucky to have him and i know it! he doesn't complain about the food plan or the exercise when i drag him to the gym. he knows it's good for him too! he's got crohn's, so we're supposed to keep him on a high fiber diet according to his specialist. lots of veggies and grains here. though i do make sure there's room for the occasional treat so neither one of us feel deprived!

Bleh . . . I'd gained back 20 of the 40 pounds I'd lost since I moved to Vegas, but I'm still down 95 pounds overall still so I feel I can't complain too much. Did great last spring and hit a stall in the summer heat, then started gaining throughout the fall before finding out I was pregnant. Had a lot going on. Been trying to straighten out long-distance family issues and had to deal with not having a car. Adopted a new puppy, had to put my kitty to sleep soon after. Was going through my first trimester and was completely exhausted.

Then I lost the baby last month (was 12 weeks along).


Ready to get back in the saddle again though. Doing much better with my eating and my energy level is rising, and am doing better emotionally. I realize these things take time, but each day gets easier.

Here's to trying again! It's been a struggle all my life to even get under 250. I was there last year and know I can get back to it.

This too- I agree! Well, we can 'hold hands' and enter onederland once again. I know we'll get there.

Yesterday was a day of healthy food. I am always grateful for that. I planned/measured/logged, lots of water and more. I am adding a couple of different foods each day to see how my tummy does.

Remember, everyone, to treat yourself as well as you'd treat a good friend.

It really is unfair! I spent a lot of time the first time around moaning about how unfair it is. Then I figured out that feeling sorry for myself wasn't helping me lose weight, and if I wanted to do it I was just going to have to suck it up and do it. It took me a really long time to get over that.

Anyway, I'm sorry you lost the genetic lotto too. I guess at least we've figured out what works. I do eat sweet potatoes, but only at breakfast. I put them in a frittata and I seem to be able to get away with it as long as I eat them before noon. Go figure.

My blood sugar is finally even now that I've given up grains altogether, so I don't starve all the time anymore. In fact, I have to remind myself to eat sometimes. It's truly unprecedented after spending 30+ years hungry all the time, no matter what.

Funny how bodies work in such different ways!

Having said all that, I am paying for going off my plan this weekend. I didn't even stray that much, but I had two days of a little higher carb than usual and I've been at 204 for three days in a row. Today I'm back at work, back on my schedule, and back on plan, so hopefully by the end of the month I'll see a little more loss. I'm determined to get below 200 soon, so I'm going to stick to my plan like glue until I leave for Florida in the middle of the month.