Hey everyone!

Well, I've lost 21 lbs in 8 weeks (as of Friday)--I slowed down week 6 & 7 on purpose. It's time to give my skin a chance to catch up, so I've read.

This weekend I had my first cheat day so far and it wasn't that big of a cheat--I counted breakfast & dinner at 600 calories. I ate lunch on the road (Drove from St. Louis to Memphis & back) at Wendy's and I had no urge to go crazy. I ate my favorite meal: spicy chicken sandwich, regular fries & small frosty. 1150 lunch total, which actually kept me below my limit. Woohoo!

Envelope--those hills are worth it--good for the booty.

LemonZest--it's okay. Try again, go gently & treat yourself good--you're worth it.

H82Sweat--Any good suggestions for dining in Louisville? Going in 2 weeks for a dog show!

fruitlady---wooohoooo

CorinneIrene--What is your favorite exercise?

BigChiefHoho--Yay for the running! Isn't it amazing to build up to 20 whole minutes?

jigglefree--congrats on ONEderland! Fan.Tas.Tic.

I went to see my doctor again today and explained to him what's been going on with me. He prescribed me some take-as-you-need ativan for night time (has anyone been on it before?). I'm going to give it a try if I need it tonight and see if it helps me. Fortunately most of the weight gain I had seems to have been water I'm only up a pound from last week as of this morning, that's certainly helped my mood.

RealMeSomeday - Thank-you. It's always nice to hear words of encouragement whatever they may be. Congrats on the five pounds, that's incredible for one week!

Corrine - Thank-you for being so supportive, I'm trying to stick it out and had a better weekend than the week preceding it. I feel okay today, and a little better that I have something to fall back on incase I can't handle it by sheer force of will. I think calorie counting is one of those things that just sticks with you. Whether I've been at 277, 163 or anywhere in between I've always been aware of the calorie content of anything I eat.

BigChief - Thank-you. Everything in life worth having is hard right?

Jigglefree - My triggers are almost always stress related, something bad happened at work, my fiance and I had an argument. I've never been the type of person who can just come down when they're stressed out, I need whatever it is to be resolved. I guess I just need to look at trial and error for what can work for me to manage stress better when something comes up.

ScottieMama - Thank-you! I'm trying to take it one day at a time again, we'll see how this week goes.

Hey chickies,
It was a crazy weekend. We had family in town, so eating was pretty poor, but I enjoyed myself and I didn't feel sick from eating too much, so that's good LOL.
Today is back to normal healthy eating. I feel much better! I didn't do my programs that I normally do since I was cleaning the house all day. Tomorrow I will though along with 30DS..
It seems like everyone is doing well! I'll pop in more throughout the week
Later chickies!

Hi everyone! I'm joining in. I am new to the board but have been ghosting it on and off for a few months. This is my first post, and of course my first challenge.

My goals for labor day:
-drink all my water each day
-enter my calories each day (I use the mynetdiary app)
-weigh only once each week
-continue with the c25k program (I am on week one for a second week). Aiming for 5x weekly, with an absolute minimum of 3x.
-notice a difference in my progress pics
-lose 5lbs


Looks like everyone has been doing great so far, so keep it up!

Sarashrinking: I love your screen name!! You have some awesome goals!!

Last night I ended up fitting in the strength programs. I did a total of 74 pushups?!?!?!? What?? I can't believe it!
Today is eating good and getting in a 30DS. I'll be around chickies! Keep it movin'!

Thank you all! hit my 2 yr. mark on 8-15!

The past 3 days have been bad, as far as calories go. I am gaining weight slowly, but today was great at 1220 cal. & walked for 67 min. my knees are hurtin. Hopefully I can stay with this 1200 calorie range for a few days and get this weight back off!

Good evening ladies!

I've been doing really well, feeling so satisfied and happy. I burned it up big time today in my workout and have been doing some physical activity as well. I have planned out to have my first apple cider doughnut of the season tonight- yum!

I've been eating a little bit under cals so far this week, but haven't been getting hungry so I didn't want to force myself to eat when my body didn't want it. Could be all the fiber I've been eating, ha. I've always been good about getting my fiber, but I've been going a little overboard the past few days, leading to some major gas, hahaha. TMI, I know. Thank god for gas x!

Fruit- You're still rocking it! Major congrats all around. I'm sure you'll work those extra cals off in no time.

TDI- Woah! That's amazingly inspirational, hope I can get there some day! Keep it going!

Sara- Welcome welcome! Sounds like some really great goals! I love your nsv goal of noticing a difference in your pictures.

Lemon- Glad to hear your doing better, and you have something that can give you a little reinforcement! It's so tough to struggle with ed's, and you're doing beautifully! I know, once I started cal counting in earnest, I always find myself thinking and guesstimating calories, even on days I'm suppose to "not count". I wonder if I'm a bit obsessive, but hey, only does good!

Scottie- You go girl! That's excellent progress. I would have to say I don't have a favorite exercise- I love to vary it, or I get bored! That being said, my go to's are probably Debbie Sieber's Slim Series Express vids (cardio core, cardio sculpt, and a nice half hour stretch segment), varying that with her Burn it Up! video. When I don't do that, I run on the treadmill/walk with high incline. I love to run, but not distance- I like to run fast because I get too bored with a sustained pace, so I'll do a quick mile and then vary the rest. Those and just keeping moving in general, like dancing while I'm cleaning, haha.

Jiggle- I do have pictures of before and after, but I still get disappointed that I don't quite have the rock star body I FEEL like I have, you know? Like, I feel so healthy and energetic, etc, but I still have work to do, ha. I think it is time for another round of pictures, though, to reinforce how well I've done. Crazy as it seems, I think I'm also terrified of maintenance still, as though I should always see numbers on the scale go down instead of normal fluctuations. I'm getting there though! Love your nugget! for onederland at the Doc's office! That means you have TRULY made it! Keep going!

BigChief- Hmm, sounds tasty. I don't tend to get huge cravings for pasta except once in a blue moon (I used to!) so I probably wouldn't try to replace my carby friend. But mmm I love any food I can add tomato sauce to, so I'm excited to try it! So glad to hear you've been doing great! I know what you mean about exercise junkie...I definitely have become one. I blame it on the endorphins!

I've never heard of Debbie Sieber nor does my awesome library carry any of her videos. I'll check her out on Amazon. Thanks!

Corinne- Thanks! I know what you mean about fiber, I eat alot everyday too!


Walked 37min. & had 1459 cal. I've upped my calorie limit to 1300 and I still go over it! Ate some extra fruit, so I went out and did yard work for an hour. Didn't gain as much as I thought I would from those three high calorie days, guess I burned some of it off. I'm on track now eating all healthy food til the weekend comes. That's when I eat junk!

Busy, Busy, Busy!!! Still on track and hoping for a good loss this week. It seems like there is no rest for the weary!!! Looks like you ladies are doing well. I will be getting on the Kettle Bells this evening!!!

Today's Nugget: Life will continue to happen without regard to your eating habits. Make sure you are rooted and grounded in your plan and committed to your goal so that you don't cast aside your health when trouble arises!!! We will be persistent and will get to our goals no matter how many days, weeks, months or years it takes. WE ARE COMMITTED!!!

SaraShrinking - A belated welcome to the challenge!!

Corrine - Thanks. It's easier some days than others. Apple cider donuts sound delicious, I've never seen them for sale around here though.


I've been doing good most of the time since the weekend, right now I'm baking some sugar free saskatoon berry pie (271 calories for 1/6 a pie isn't bad, right?)and I just finished stewing some crabapples. My scale's been telling me I'm losing, I even checked my auxiliary scale to see if it was lying and both say 185.6 today. I'm not counting it until Monday though, so we'll see what happens!

Hey all! Seems like everyone is doing pretty good. It has been a few days since I posted. I did 30DS on Tuesday, plan to do it later today. I've been keeping up with the strength programs, I think I may repeat this week for the pushups since I've been struggling to keep up with the program. It recommends repeating a week if you struggle with it.
Eating has been allright. Yesterday was a family dinner, I ate a bit high. I didn't finish counting my calories yesterday, but I ended around 2000-2300 at the most. Not horrific.. Today is back to normal eating though.
Thought I would check in though, since it's been a couple days. We're pretty busy around here. Getting ready to go camping on Sunday, the in-laws just got home from Mexico (we all live together to cut costs) so we've been staying up later than normal and just trying to get things done around the house.
I'm off to detail the inside of our cars, exercise, and teach later on. I'll stop by later on!!
On Monday I weighed in an extra time in the morning to hold myself accountable for the weekend and realize the need to keep going. I was at 160.8. I weighed in Wednesday at 158.8, I think some was water weight, but I did eat like complete junk over the weekend. It felt good to get back to the right direction for now!!

Corinne: Sounds like you're trying to find a balance with maintenance. From what I've read, it seems to be the most challenging part of the journey. But, you will learn a balance. I like your idea of not counting calories during the weekend. This gives you a little freedom. You will find your balance, but don't forget to enjoy yourself too!

fruitlady: Congrats to the 2 year mark!! Keep up the awesome work, you are doing really well!!

Jiggle: It's funny, the idea of a kettleball scares me LOL!! Have fun! You are doing really great! I also appreciate the nugget, this is a lifetime journey, not just a lose-weight-quick thing goin' on!

Keep it movin' chickies!!

tdiprincess- thank you, that water weight will be gone soon!

Walked 46min. & had 1344 cal. So far, so good! Seems like my body found a happy weight, I'm fluctuating between 114-117lbs.& eating a daily average of 1798 cal. If i have too many higher calorie days mixed in w/ my lower calorie days, my weight is at the higher end of the range. This weight range is giving me more freedom with food and is worth being 10lbs heavier!

Quick drive by update:

Made it to 117 today! (well, +4 ounces, but as long as I'm under 118!)

Keep it strong today ladies!

Corinne- Congrads! Great job!

No walk today, had stomach pressure & bloating from the moment I got out of bed! It felt like a rock in my stomach & under my ribs, I couldn't breath right. I hate it, after several antacids it got better, but it took 3 hrs! Eating all whole foods, adds up to way too much fiber sometimes. When my fiber is under 38g. a day, I don't have a problem. I know my limit and don't pay attention sometimes, well I learned my lesson, this was the worst ever. Still having problems even now cause I had to eat.

Weight is down a little more, usually is before the weekend comes and then I blow it. I don't think i'll be eating too much over the weekend, i've been forcing myself to eat today. Have to take it easy, my stomach is too sensitive right now. Hope everyone else is having a great day!!