I'd like to join you please? I'm on day 7 of a no soda challenge. I'll have to decide on an exercise one too I think.


Ok I decided on my exercise challenge, I'm going to do ab work every day, so I'm on day 2 for abs.

Hi everyone! I made it through days 6 and 7 of ACE I really wanted a glass of wine with my bath last night, but i told myself that I had already kept my calories low and had done my exercise, so did I really want to use up a pause day for one glass of wine? And, the answer was, NO!!!

Plus, as of this morning, my scale, which is normally evil and, i think, a liar, said that I weigh 140. My official weigh-in day is Tuesday, but I am going to be on extra-good behavior so as to not make mr. scale angry at me and tell me a higher weight The weekend is when i usually end up eating too much because I am just hanging around the house. But I am getting closer to my goal weight and don't want to backslide. Only 47 more days until my cruise!

I will chat more with everyone tomorrow!

Well, Boy howdy! (as a woman from Tennessee once said to me). This thread is getting busier all the time, and so many success stories.

Fish, way to go on the lower weight, and the even bigger victory of not wasting that pause day. You'll be the hottest sober redhead on your cruise.

Stagemom, welcome to the club. Abandon hope all ye who enter here, and all the usual warnings. Even if you don't lose weight or get in better shape, you will be entertained.

Shad, will your DS1 be serving tofurkey with those sprouts? A vegetarian Christmas. Hmmm. Is he TT as well? If so, you'll come back rail-thin and make us all jealous as we sit belching roast beast and mulled wine...

Derry, I know what you mean about the whole slug thing. I've always considered myself a basically horizontal person, which is surprisingly imcompatible with the whole concept of core muscles. (My inner critic just piped up with a round of raucous laughter and some dig along the lines of "core muscles? what core muscles?" )

Shad, I was about to get up after spending much of the morning reading the paper and now catching up here, but your recital of all you've accomplished has simply exhausted me. So I think another nap may be in order...

We don't get rugby here, at least not without seriously looking for it on obscure channels in the middle of the night. But I did stumble on a match once and have to admit I thought it was quite a hoot. All these big men running at each other and getting all muddy and looking so happy and healthy and pink cheeked. Very different from Can or US football with all the padding and glitz, or hockey which I used to watch with my ex.

A little note here for all those concerned that racing through airports will harm my Manolo Blahniks or Dolce and Gabbanas: my wardrobe and footwear are a source of great dismay to my fashionable colleagues. I have very large feet that are in bad shape, so alternate between two pairs of dowdy black flats that have seen better days and some giant clunky red suede clogs. As for the clothing, even more frightening: assorted black pants that don't quite fit right, often with a safety pin or an elastic band to bridge the gap at the baggy tees shirts that nonetheless cling to my lovely midriff rolls, and assorted grandmotherly jackets to camouflage the afore-mentioned waistband horrors. And it's a good thing life has made me celibate, because no one should have to ever see the state of my underwear. Even when I've been thin, I've been no fashion plate, but can fake it with loose sweaters and slim pants/skirts. So no Manolos or fancy-shmancy clothing designers around here.

Red, we're only worried about HK because you made it sound like some kind of bacchanale (where do I sign up?) and of course I didn't realize you'd have time to complete this challenge before you left. So I, at least, vow to lighten up. Unless you seem to need a touch of the old whip, of course. Even needs a sometimes, right?

I don't know that this counts as a rant, but it should certainly be long enough to annoy anyone who hates windy posts. So I think I really must get up and eat and do a few errands and GET SOME EXERCISE. Bye for now.

Oops. I forgot to say a hello to Curly, our quiet achiever. You just keep on keeping on, only posting a long post when you have something to say. What a concept. I hope my babbling doesn't drive you too ...

Babble, Babble, Babble...BUT WHAT are you doing wearing your mother's shoes? I only own 1 pair of flats and my flip-flops and sneakers.....

racing through the parking deck in 3" pumps had nothing to do with falling in the concrete expansion joint....my lawyer says it's an unsafe condition....

I'm slowly regaining some mobility...and am rehabing the broken wing with Pilates to gain some strength and flexibility....I will NEVER (well almost) complain about exercing again, because the opposite end of the spectrum truly SUCKS.....I've been laying around for 4 weeks and it is really making me insane.....

all those good pain-killers suck the life out of my skin too, no matter how much water I guzzle.......

so I am working the Pilates and I tried the rebounder and lasted 2 mins.....it seems to pain my scapula....

wish you all a happy turkey day, be back soon.

Completed Day 5 yesterday by running around the backyard. Not sure what the precise timing was because I messed up my stop watch, but about 9 minutes with breaks.

Today will be tough - I won't be home until 9 pm... ouch!

Better keep an eye on it now otherwise I may go over the alloted challenge. I think my slip must have been caused by Red who had a day off earlier. Anyway I'm blaming Red because otherwise I would have to blame myself and that aint on.

Derry - Hey give yourself another star for pushing yourself to carry on even though you didn't feel A1. That's all to do with discipline and it seems you have it!! Slug indeedy. Hope you feel better soon.

Curly - Goodonya - that's the highest accolade you get round here. Means the world. Anyway you're doing great - just carry on.

Stagemom - Welcome. Couple of stiff challenges there. Good luck.

Fish - I had your couple of wines for you. I'm sure they were better in me than you. Anyway I enjoyed a little Italian number in a rose. Yum Yum. It's almost my favourite Italian wine. I say almost because I also like a good Soave, Frascatti, Trebianno, Montepulciano etc.etc.etc. Shut up Shad, doesn't matter where it comes from, you like it.

Then of course there is Carla - otherwise known as Brook (as in babbling brook). Where would we be without you. I'm not sure about the tofuturkey Carla - he even turns his nose up at bacon flavoured. And no he is not TT - he lives very close to the vineyards of South Australia - MacLarenvale and Barossa and the Clair Valley. In fact which ever direction you choose to drive from Adelaide, within an hour you will be deep into wine territory - all with sampling rooms and cellar door sales. He likes Reds and I like Whites and I am told the new lady friend is also a white fan and she eats meat. A girl after my own heart.
Rugby Union is a good game - know as the game they play in heaven where I come from. Believe it or not, Canada has a team. They were out in NZ and Aus a while back get some experience for the next World Cup in 2007. They are not all hulking great men, some are quite slight, but the shape is not bad!!!! Worth looking at anyway. My niece falls in love with one or the other regularly, All Blacks that is - She and her brother - they are half Aus and half Kiwi and known as the Kiwaus - but they won't have anything to do with the Australian Rugby team!!! - come to my house to watch the games (when it doesn't interfere with her social life) and we gawk shamelessy.
I must say that Carla's wardrobe sounds divine!

Marble - good to hear from you. Take it fairly easy now. It's boring but must be done for full recovery to take place. You don't want pain forever, do you.

Been here long enough. See you. Day 11 up and running. However due to change of gym and having to try to find all the usual equipment I haven't done any abs work yet. I'll be back to do them tonight.

I'm back guys. I know its been ages since yall have heard from me. I got really ill after that last msg I posted. What started out as a cold also gave me an ear infection which caused my ear drums to burst. Then my cold turned into pneumonia along with strep throat. Then battled that for a bit only to have the cold left from the pneumonia turn into pink eye. Now that that is all gone, I just have this MEAN cough I can't get rid of.

Anyhoo,

I slacked off on my diet and exercise. I just didn't have the energy for it. Aside from forcing myself to work until they MADE me go home, all I did was sleep. But I also barely ate. Although, I did gain 3lbs. Oh well.

Off to a new start in the morning. Get paid my tiny little check for the few hours I have worked tomorrow. Gonna pick myself up a stability ball and some groceries. So I can start this off the right way. Hope everyone is well. I didn't forget about any of you, I just have not been on my computer AT ALL!!!

But I'm back now

Day 7 for me! Yesterday I raked leaves for about an hour and a half, more than enough activity for me. I'm so glad it's done and I'm so glad to have been outside in the sun for awhile. It was definately the right thing for me!
Tolday, I plan on the treadmill and perhaps a body toning workout. I'm feeling more energetic. Funny how exercise does give you more energy and if you reason it out, woudln't you think you'd preserve energy if you don't exercise? Whatever!
Fluff, sounds like you've really been down for the count. Don't overdo quite so soon after being so sick. Maybe your body was telling you something?
By the way, sounds like you might need to be checked for Lyme disease.... I went through that years ago and just about exactly what you described happened to me. So, if you start to not feel well regularly, get headaches and feel a bit arthritic, go get checked please!
Linda in NH

It all worked out... I was contemplating taking a free day because of the long hours, but then I ended up going home not feeling well and thought I might actually have to take a free day because of that.
But by the evening I was feeling good enough to go for a run outside, and it felt great. I don't really run a distance, don't feel up to it yet, just running along a dirt road from one tree to another. Today I increased the distance a bit more (from a tree to a hole in the ground), and it was actually better - didn't have to put so much energy into turning around. :P
I'm also going to keep precise records from now on.
Today was almost 11.5 minutes, 8 mins 14 seconds of which was running, and I only took two breaks, the first one at 3 min 41 sec. On to Day 7 tomorrow!

Day 11 done,
Exercise
Food
Water
Abs and Crunches challenge

But where oh where is Red?

Bed calls. Another early session tomorrow.

Fluff, it's great to have you back. Amazing how we can gain weight just lying around being sick and barely eating! Back in the days of living in caves, we would have been champion survivors, that's for sure.

Marble, good to see you posting! But it's not nice to mock Carla's sensible shoes. I'd love to wear stylish little pumps, but it's just not an option. Even when my feet were still in good shape, heels at work were soooo uncomfortable: I have to sit at a table with a mike and console, and since I have long legs I can't fit them under the table with heels on. Very uncomfortable. Get well soon and get back here! This is Carla speaking!

I decided to bow to your collective wisdom ( )and count my travel day for CREAK. Which was a good idea, as I probably would have pooped out yesterday if the challenge had already been lost. Instead, Day 11 of CREAK and Day 10 of DETOX completed yesterday. (Including a quick walk to the bank machine and around a few blocks at about midnight to hit 5000 steps.) Exactly half-way home! With luck and persistence, it'll be a new (easy) challenge to start December with.

Shad, thanks (I think) for the addition to my moniker. And I'm a little curious: the next to your situp challenge... does it imply FAILURE , or are you just laughing your way thru the challenge?

Derry, it's great to see your enthusiasm, and I'm trying to internalise your very true comment about how invigorating activity is. Not that I don't already know, but...

Sushi, I envy you the ability to run. I'm getting new orthotics soon, and with that and possible weight loss, I hope to be able to get back out there myself. I hope you've got good running shoes - they can make a world of difference!

Tonight is spinning class - how quickly the week between classes flies by! ttfn

Good Morning

Day 7 No Soda completed
Day 3 Ab work done

Happy Monday Everyone!

Happy Monday! Unless it is already Tuesday where you live . . . Happy Tuesday to you all! Made it through day 7 of ACE.

DH and I got into a mini-fight last night. He basically accused me of starving myself and being obsessed about my weight. Then he says "I just don't want you to become bulemic." I'm like, since when does watching what I eat count as bulemia? I have never thrown up except for when I have the flu! And I am certainly not *starving* myself. For the previous five weeks I have averaged 1330 calories per day. I will admit to being sort of obsessive, but that is a personality trait I have always had. He thinks I look fine, and I think I need to get down to the mid-range of my bmi. I don't want to buy bigger clothes, I want to fit into what I already have. I have a $150 pair of citizens for all humanity jeans I want to get back into! Okay - end rant!!

Carla - I have no intention of being a sober redhead on the cruise! I mean, I will be a redhead, but not a sober one My plan is mimosas for breakfast, frozen margaritas for lunch, and wine for dinner. Mix that in with some girly umbrella drinks on the sun deck for my snacks! (And then mix all that in with sea-sickness for gauranteed fun and adventure!!) All right, that may be a little overboard (get it? "Overboard"?!) but I do intend to have some alcohol on the cruise.

What is this about no Manolos?? Heaven forfend! and shapeless black baggy clothes? We are going to have to sic "What Not to Wear" on you if that is not fixed immediately

Poor Marble - I hope you are starting to feel better It is good to hear from you. Hang in there. And be very, very, careful! No more breaking stuff!

Shad - Soave is a great wine. I buy it all the time. It is way better than Chardonnay. I mostly drink white wine, but occasionally sike a nice red. I like Shiraz/Syrah a lot.

I would like to join the challange. I have a real issue with water - I hate it! So I am going to drink at least 64 ounces of water per day if not more. So today is day 1 for me. Wish me luck!! If you hear a big "BOOM" is it probably me exploding from all the water. My system might go into shock with this much water. I normally only drink water when I brush my teeth.

So here goes -

Betty