Well, the scale didn't reflect my hard work, but I'm not going to get down on myself since I know that I was doing really well with my eating and working out. I'm assuming my muscles aren't used to the pain that I put them through, so they are holding on to that water. I know that the # on the scale will go down, just have to be patient....what else can I do?

Birthday was good - I did splurge a little, but paid for it later. I had a seafood bisque that was to die for, but didn't eat it all and then I think it was so rich and creamy, it upset my stomach later on. Guess I learned my lesson.

It's snowing a ton here, but I already made plans to work out with Jeff again tonight right after work. Hubby is being really supportive and picking Maddie up on the days that I want to work out. Works out for all of us - Maddie loves when he picks her up from school.

I'm feeling better about myself now that I'm working out again. Back on the wagon, even tho I did splurge a little and had some chicken fajitas at lunch today. I figured since it was pretty much my only meal today, I was going to make it worth it. I didn't have a ton of sour cream, mostly fresh salsa and onion and pepper. Not super healthy, but not super horrible either. Back tomorrow wiht my super healthy meals.

Work hasn't slowed down yet, in fact, I'm waiting for my trainer right now since he decided to ditch me. We have so much work to do, but he's so concentrated on getting stuff done for his new job, my new job falls to the side, and now we're rushing to get everything completed. I was supposed to meet with him 30 mins ago, and he still isn't here! Just more stress that I really don't want to cope with. What can you do? His old boss (my new boss) knows that he is a slacker, but that shouldn't mean that I get punished! (ok tangent over)

Hope everyone is doing well, I had a few minutes so I thought I would check in.

Hope all your weekends were good & warmer than mine! It was -33 here so didn't get out sunday. Woke up sunday morning feeling worse than before, sore throat, upset stomach, sniffly, and sneazy.
Did a great job with meals, stuck to minimal snacking, and I even got in 6-7h of sleep a night. All & all I think it was a good weekend (minus the sickness)

Still feeling under the weather so I'm not sure I'll get a full workout in tonight.
Goal for this week is going to be to try and beat this nasty lingering cold. So lots of extra rest, tons of liquids, and at the least 30mins of cardio a day.

maddiesmom -I hear you I think my scale is on strike haha! I read somewhere recently that sometimes results can fluctuate a lot depending on stress levels, lack of sleep, and consistency of exercise. Then there is of course strength training you're building muscle so you might lose weight and gain a bit of muscle at the same time. It’s good your staying positive, keep up the hard work I'm sure you'll see something soon

Marmalade-2 lbs is great and January isnt even over yet. I thought it was cold here, would not want to be there with you. Hope you feel better soon!!

Dance-did you get in miles this weekend? I got in 2, wanted to do more but my SIL came over at 4 and stayed til almost 6 and my gym closes at 6 on Sundays. I made up for it by working out on the wii twice yesterday though.

Vicky-50 hours, you have to be exhausted and to still make it to the gym. You're awesome!!!! Good call on not having a cake. The scale will cooperate soon, you just have to let your body get used to everything again. Glad you had a nice birthday.

I got 2 miles in this weekend. Worked out yesterday with wii sports twice. They were both good workouts. Chris went to the gym with me today. I walked 2 miles and did some weights. Came home, had a nice dinner and worked out again on the wii. I am trying my hardest to get back under 190. Getting close.

Glad my workout is done for the day. Now time for some hubby time. We got Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Jeopardy for wii, gonna play for a while. Hope everyones week started off great.

Hey girls! Sorry to be MIA for a few days - still recovering from my sinus infection or whatever I've been fighting but I have been getting in my miles each day - at least three Sat, Sun and Mon. And a shorter walk today.

marmalade - how are you feeling today? Hope your cold didn't turn into an ugly one.

maddiesmom - happy belated birthday! so nice to hear from you but totally understand how busy you are. Hang in there, kiddo! Any news on the hiring for your old position?

burgundy - sounds like you are doing great! Send some of that great motivation my way!

Well still feeling cruddy but my voice has now returned. Had cough syrup for the first time in 4ever it was utterly appalling yuck but it worked. Drinking lots of liquids & trying to get lots of rest, this cold has gotta go away sooner or later.

So far so good for the week doing 30-40m cardio each day, I did get in some weights last night so I'm good with that.
Met with my scale this morning & I am back to mid December weight so I'm going in the right direction

Dance - Sorry you’re still not feeling well good for you getting in your miles anyway! I'm doing ½ - ¾ a mile a day for now, I’m still really stuffed and have a sore throat so breathing is an issue haha Hopefully you start feeling better soon.

Wow ladies, some kind of sickness is going around - I finally got over whatever it was after 3 weeks. Something is still going around the office. People are missing days off of work. Really took me off my feet.

Marmalade: Hope you feel better soon! Don't over do any type of workout until you feel better - don't want to wear yourself out. Great job on being at your mid December weight.

Dance: Impressive that you still got all those miles in when not feeling 100%. Are you still working from home a bit or are you back in the office full time?

Things with me are well, still not feeling 100%, but I'm getting through. Still can't take time off from work because of the year end reporting plus I still have the 2 jobs. The bosses still aren't finding anyone to replace me. They've interviewed a few people but their reaction is "That person isn't Vicky." It can be flattering, but at this point, I just need some help here! Lol.

Worked out Monday night and tonight. Tonight's workout was insane - Jeff really kicked my butt. I'm averaging 3 classes a week with Jeff: Monday/Wednesday/Saturday. I also enrolled Maddie in a gymnastics class, so that's another workout in itself. Food has been good too, just had a shared piece of chocolate cake from the restaurant on my birthday. Gotta get these pounds off! I think the water weight is starting to coming off, so I'm going to try and base my weight loss on the fit of my clothes rather than the scale.

Hope everyone is doing well.

GIRLS-Sorry you are all sick!!!!

Dance-Impressive on the miles. Is it super cold there?

Marmalade-thats a lot of workouts when you dont feel well. Good job. Bet you are glad your voice is back.

Vicky-that is flattering when they cant find someone to replace you but has to be really tough juggling both jobs. I need Jeff!! I do workout almost everyday but i could probably push myself harder.

I had the boys from 4am to 630pm. Long day. The 4y/o was up at 515 looking for his helmet(they dont even have it yet, had to special order it) He talked about it all morning after we got up.

It snowed almost all day and was in the teens so I stayed inside most of the day. Went to the gym yesterday and did a mile and a half. Wanted to do 2 miles but Chris picked me up early. Went the day before and did 2 miles and some weights. Gonna go again tomorrow.

Have a birthday party on Sat. Gonna stay away from the cake. TOM is here and I want to eat everything but I controlled myself today and I can do it then too.

Allison: trust me, if I didn't have Jeff (and all of you), I would have given up a long time ago! He has me doing circuit workouts, this was tonight's (in case you want to do it at home)

5 rounds total:
50 squats
40 sit ups
30 push ups
20 pull ups

I was definitely sore afterwards, and my cool down was planks for 30 sec on, 30 sec off 3 times! Definitely a workout and I know I'll feel it tomorrow.

TOM is not fun when you are trying to watch what you eat. I swear it is a curse. Weather is super cold here as well, luckily the hubby is supportive and picking Maddie up from daycare so I can go straight to the gym after work, so I have no excuses (gym is 5 min from work - 30 min from home). Great job with your working out! So proud of you!

Yep, work is super stressful, I've been working at home as well as putting in 9 hour days. My trainer has been MIA and I let my boss know I've been on my own. The reports are due tomorrow and I'm worried, but what can I do? I'm only one person.

Wow, the gang's all here! how fun, nice to see a busy board.

maddiesmom - can you talk the bosses into getting a temp for a month or two to fill in in your old job to take some of the pressure off maybe? No idea if that's an option for you guys - just a thought. I'm so impressed with your workouts - I second burgundy's 'I need Jeff'!!

burgundy - sounds like you are doing great keeping up with your exercise and avoiding temptations.

marmalade - hope you're feeling better. good for you for sticking to some light exercise even when you're under the weather.

I *think* I'm finally normalish. Still a little sniffly but I can definitely work with that. I'll be working from home tomorrow which should give me a chance to fit in some daytime exercise and then we leave for tucson for the weekend to get some sunshine and hiking in. I'll work from home again on Monday so I should get some decent exercise 4 days in a row if everything goes well.

Will check in again soon...

Hey ladies! Sounds like everyone is feeling better today. I'm down another 1/2 lb today probably from the lack of food the last few days. Feeling a bit better today a little coughy and sneazy but I can breathe whoo!! It was chill this mornign but warmer so I went for a 20minute walk. Think I'll be able to get in a mile on the elliptical and some weights.

maddiesmom - wow that is quite a circut! Maybe I'll join in and say I need Jeff too haha I'm going to give your circut a "try" on monday need to spice things up next week get the week off to a good start.

Well Ethan is at a friends for 2 more hours so I'm going to get a workout in now rather than waiting until later.

burgundy - how long does it take you to do 2 miles at the gym? I feel like I'm taking too long when I do a mile but I don't have anything to compare to

marmalade - glad you get some time to workout today! That's half the battle, right? Don't worry too much about speed - as long as you get in the mileage, it almost doesn't matter (in calorie terms) how fast you're going. It's roughly comparable to walk three miles and jog three miles if that makes sense. Of course, walking takes longer. It's definitely a motivator to increase your speed over time - I think we're all wired that way

It's not too cold here today (around 40) so I think I'm going to head out for my first run in about three weeks - wish me luck!

ETA - woohoo! Made it the full 3 miles of the loop running although probably a few minutes slower than when I was running all the time this fall. Nice to be back in action

Dance- ya i guess that makes sense I feel like I'm really slow. I'm just impatient I think that's my issue haha I'm sure once I get into better shape it'll be easier.
Congrats on the run!!
Our weather is the same here about 5, I think that's close to 40 such a nice change from -30's


Down another .5 lb today!! So excited first 10 down

Didn`t get in weights that I planned last night I was too tired, so I went to bed early but it is only 2:30 and I am in for the rest of the day. I plan on getting in some weights and a mile before dinner. Taking a day trip to a super huge mall tomorrow so I should be getting in a lot of walking but the food court is what I am afraid of. I`ll make sure to get in a really good workout tonight to make up for any bad food tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a fantastic week!

TOM is getting the best of me today. Its not that I have eaten a lot, just not made the best choices. Will I ever be out of the 190s for good. Doesnt seem that way. Once TOM is gone, I will get back on track, hopefully that will be tomorrow.

Vicky-you are lucky to have Jeff. I need to try your circuits. I was gonna do it last night but ended up doing a dance workout instead.

Dance-exercise-good, temptations-bad I so want to get outside for a walk but it was 12 here today but felt like -6. I kept my butt in the house. Have fun in Tucson, a hike sounds wonderful.

Marmalade-you are doing great, all the half lbs will add up fast. I usually do a mile in about 17/18 minutes but like Dance said, its not the pace it the distance you go. I have been slacking and not made it to the gym the past couple days(I have been working out here)

Birthday party tomorrow, I WILL CONTROL MYSELF!!!!!!! I have to, the 190s are driving me insane. No other plans for the weekend. I'll have the boys Mon, Tues and Wed, so Im gonna relax at home on Sunday.

Hey Ladies,

The weekend was good the mall was huge and exhausting oh my goodness! Walked forever and ever and didn't cover the whole thing, we were there for 4 hours. Stopped for half hour for lunch, I really wanted sesame chicken mmmmm but had a chicken flat bread from subway instead.

Down another .5 pound so yaay hoping to loose another 4lbs before the end of the month.

So this morning my jeans felt a little loose so I tried on a pair I bought last month that were too small hoping they'd fit by my birthday and they fit!! Whoo!! They are a lower rise so I have a bit more to loose before they fit perfect but still exciting.

The week is starting off very well

burgundy - ya I have to keep that in mind. If I have the resistance off I can do a mile in about 30mins so I guess it's not that bad. The resistance is a killer though for the first time in a month I turned it down from 7 to 5 during the middle of my friday workout just couldn't do it I was so tired haha

Dropped Ethan at a friends and just got in a great workout!

maddiesmom - Did your circut minus the pull ups (can't really do that at home haha) and my normal weights and abs took a little over an hour now I'm so tired! Feels great that I'm done.

burgundy - How was the birthday party?

Going to try for 4 miles and 1 hour of weights/abs by Saturday...going to try and exceed my workout goal for January