Faerie: Thanks a bunch for the info You're a doll!

How is everyone doing? Hope things are going great with everyone. Drink lots of water/liquids and stay OP

Not too much going at this end. We came back from vacay sunday and I've been OP since then. Our vacay wasn't too bad food wise but it wasn't the best either. Too much salt in food and eating out every night took it's toll. I had taken breakfast and lunch food with me so at least part of the eating was controlled. Next time I'll plan better probably. The only good thing though was that we got loads of walking even though it wasn't fast paced...my sensewear recorded about 20K + steps on average per day.

However, I am trying to undo the bad stuff for last week now. I've been working out every day. I just added weights and squats to my routine and now I'm sore Tonight is day 2 of weights and squats...boy! am I looking forward to it I am working on my exercise plan right now that I know I can follow everyday and I know I can manage without excuses cuz believe me I can come up with all sorts of excuses to get out of exercise. So keep it going team! We can all do it!!! Stay OP

QOTD: What are you doing or planning to do in the next few weeks to insure that you stay on plan?

- I will workout every day no matter how tired or lazy I feel
- I will eat healthy home cooked food every day
- I will reach my goal
- I will sleep on time and get enough sleep to feel rested
- I will log my food and exercise every day.

Djay, I walk at work as well. I have come to realize that every bit helps and I try to walk as fast as possible as my legs can handle. I am working on being consistent with these walks. I work on the 4th floor so now I take the stairs down too when I leave and anytime during the day if I have to go down I take the stairs up and down. So keep up the good work remember every bit helps

Dora, thank you again for the inspiring words. It makes perfect sense.

Tawnya, I hope things are getting better. I'll keep you and your family in my thoughts. Please keep us posted when you can.
Jen, doing the dance for you!! For you taking the first step to walk today at work. I am sorry about walking outside I totally understand. Is there a place you can maybe walk inside? Maybe walk around the building?

Irishkatt, here's a butt kick for ya (with all the love of course ) Go run!!! You'll regret taking the time off once you start. GO DO IT! even if for 15 mins but do it...today will be little hard but tomorrow will be easier!!

Rhonda, keep it going girl!!! You're on a roll. Lemme know if I can do anything else to help to keep you
OP.

Scarahjs, Yay!! for exercising. Keep it going!

Manick, you go girl for staying OP!! woohoo! and what you said in your exercise log - (5 moaning, stretching & catching breath!)I can totally relate to it.

I'll try to find you and add you. I'm Nori there too! http://www.plurk.com/user/Nori It'll SUCK you in once you understand it!

I am doing VERY well right now. I don't have the same feelings I had at the beginning of other challenges though. Not very rah-rah!! But, I'm doing what I need to do and doing it day after day! Some things are just a habit. Some things still need to become a hbit! I was reading in Skwigg's Blog today and liked this:

Q: How do you stay motivated and on track? I tend to lose steam on a new program after the first week or two.

A: Motivation, as in being all rah-rah excited, doesn't happen to anybody, or if it does, it's fleeting. I'm not motivated to workout. I do it both because it needs to be done and because I'm emotionally invested in it. Very much like bathing and brushing my teeth. I may not always enjoy the process or the time it takes, but I do it at the start of every day because it makes me feel good about myself and gives me confidence. I don't want to be all scary and stinky and have people run from me. :-) However, at no point do I feel "motivated" to haul myself out of bed in the morning and get in the shower. I just do it and don't entertain the idea that I might not. I'm someone who bathes. You can be someone who exercises. It's just that matter-of-fact.

In the beginning, until your cruise control kicks in, you can focus on the emotional investment part of it. Find a dream or aspiration that you want to make real and then spend as much time as possible visualizing your new life. How will it feel? What will you look like? What will you wear? What will people say? What will you do? What will you eat? What will your day be like? That's powerful stuff because it creates the mental shift necessary to pull off just about anything. Without the mental shift, you can make as many lame-*** attempts as you want, but nothing will ever stick. Your mind has to change before your body can. You have to know that this new reality is possible, and you'll know it's possible because you'll see it every day in your head. http://skwigg.tripod.com/blog/index....try_id=1771070

I requested friendship, Stacy! (On Plurk.)

Morning Bluesers!

Got home last night and started getting the kitchen organized to make dinner when DF got home and told me he was taking me out for dinner to celebrate my job offer! We went to my favourite sushi place, and I think I did alright since I avoided the alcohol and tempura, which are my two biggest weaknesses at that restaurant.

Question for the bike riders in the group: I think I want to buy a bicycle, but I don't really know where to start. I want something to just bike around my neighbourhood with, and *maybe* to bike to work on in the spring. It would need to be fairly lightweight so I can cart it up and down a flight of stairs. Any suggestions on good brands/models, or about how much I should budget for? I'm also open to suggestions about GOOD bike locks because bike theft around here is crazy.

Nori - Glad to hear that you are doing well, even if the rah-rah isn't coming yet. Is there anything we can do to help you get the rah-rah back?

Rhonda - Congrats on Day 4! I find the same thing about getting enough sleep. If I don't get enough, I find I'm constantly "feeling" hungry the next day.

irishkatt - Get exercising!! Also, I think you should be proud of the progress you've made, binge-wise. While you maybe didn't make perfect choices, you made better choices, and that's something to feel good about in my books. It's all about the baby steps! You still better get that exercise in tonight, though! :P

Dora - thanks for the reminder about "I will" vs. "I want"

GirlyGirlSebas - I just looked at the Daily Plate Website and decided to give that a try. So far it is working great. It's nice to see the breakdown of everything. Thanks!!

Pintobean - That's awesome that you've been OP since vaca. It always seems to take me about a week to get back into the routine.

Ok...I went running, first time in 2 weeks and first time since I pulled what ever I pulled in my chest. Managed 1.5miles in 15 minutes, so have held on to my 10 minute mile, but thats as far as I managed before my chest/shouldar started to hurt (Im not a big fan of pushing through the pain, especially pain I know has gone on for a while) so walked after that. I think I need a new sports bra...my boobs have shrunk and my sports bra is now too big, which I know isnt helping.
Thank you everyone for the a$$ kicking, I know there was no way I could have pushed myself out the door, but now Ive gone the first time, the rest will be easier.

Pintobean, I know how you feel about vacations and eating. Its hard, and its no fun if you cant enjoy yourself. I find it hard to be really good, but I find I can manage not to be terrible and so long as you are active it helps. I was away last week for 10 days, in Montenegro, the land of fryed ham and cheese and potatoes...dont get me wrong the food was amazing but it wasnt great for my hips. So I ate what ever I wanted, but the boy and I mostly split a main meal, didnt eat the baskets of bread and went walking/hiking everyday. So no weight gain...no weight lose eight but I can cope with that.

Practiseliving..the one thing I would say about bikes is to make sure it fits correctly, especially if you are going to use it a lot. I really like Specalised as a brand. They make good frames and I find they fit well. It is worth checking whether a mens or ladies bike is better for you. I personally prefer a mens bike, mainly because I have a long back and on the ladies bikes, the distance between the saddle and handle bars is too short and gives me back ache. I would suggest finding a good bike shop and testing as many bikes as you can.

From the type of biking you mentioned, you would do best with a touring bike/hybrid. They tend to have a little bit of front suspension, but come with skinier tyres etc. Finally money wise...not sure about actual prices of bikes in Canada, but with mountain bikes and road bikes where you will improve and use your bike on harder terrain/ for faster times it is worth spending a wee bit more and getting a good basic bike to see you through. However if you are going to use it to potter round town, ride some paved paths and on roads then you dont have to spend a lot of money..you shouldnt need things like disk brakes etc. With bikes the framse tend to be more or less the same in all price brackets for a particular style of bike, as you go up in price you get better brakes, shifters, shocks, rims, gears etc. But all of those can be replaced if you find you want push you and your bike further and need to use better quality parts, but the frame stays the same.

Sorry, thats a long reply, shutting up now.

I'm actually OK with it. I'm 100% committed - it has nothing to do with committment to being/getting healthy. I just don't feel like a cheerleader anymore...

I also attemped running yesterday. Over a 15 min period I ran for 4 of them. It's a start. I still LOVE the StepMill and weight lifting the most!

Yay for the running and the stepmill and the weightlifting! It's ALL good!

good afternoon everyone.. i js did my weigh in for the first week and lost 7.6 lbs... GO BLUE TEAM

Holy schmoly!!! Congrautlations!!!

AMY ! Whoo hoo!

amyx33 - Congrats!!!!