PS--Where is Nancy? I know she said she had surgery this week--hope you are okay!

Hi all!!!! Had a good eating day today. Treated myself to an ice cream bar. Only 350 calories. Positively sinful but I did alot of housework today and hardly ate a thing I was so busy.

Snow - glad to hear you are doing better!!! Keep it up and I'm sure you can lose the weight for Christmas.

Evening ladies, i am doing okay today for a saturday. My weekend cals are always a couple 100 higher than weekday cals. I made it to the gym and got in a good workout. Even though i had a naughty (but delicious) 2 slices of quiche for breakfast (yes, i said not one but two slices of quiche, i figured one 500 calorie slice just wasnt enough...good greif what was i thinking?) Never again with the quiche. Anyway, while i was at the gym today i looked around wondering if i am the only one there who hates exercising as much as i do. I know that is aweful, but honestly...gosh i hate working out, i hate planning to work out, and i hate getting dressed to work out. Once i am there i am okay, then once i leave i am just tickled pink that i made it through that torturous necessity they call exercise. Does anyone else there say to themselves the whole time they are doing cardio, "Oh my gosh, get me off this thing, someone just kill me now?" They dont seem to bothered by it at all, surely they dont actually enjoy it.

Anyway. I am just keeping my eyes on the prize and taking one day at a time.

Sno- So glad your getting your motivation and wellness back. I am just exhausted today, wonder if i am fighting a cold. Amazing how sickness of any kind can just zap any energy or drive you have. My back injury is better. Thank you for asking. I dont know what i did, but it was still sore this morning when i would bend over but it didnt hurt at all during my workout...i was a little apprehensive about it...afraid i would reinjure or screw my back up even worse...but it seems to be fine once i get going.

Card- That is really cool that you said i motivate you. That is so nice to hear. I am really trying not to give up this time around, to stay focused. I keep telling myself, if i quit now, i will end up with diabetes or heart disease, both are SUPER strong in my family. Plus, i just dont want to go back to that "heavy and tired" feeling all the time. Even though i havent lost that much, i can tell a huge difference in the weight in my knees and just my overall well being. Sounds like you are having a tough week though, TOM AND the flu...good greif. Keep your chin up gal...this too shall pass.

Dollypie-Thanks for all the congrats. My arms do like yours, i can always tell when i have really done a workout in my upper body. I could work my lower body all day long with not one bit of soreness, but my upper body tells on me pretty quick. Keep on keep'n on nuturing that bicep...i bet your arms look amazing.

Ok, hope you all are having a great weekend. Lets make the best of it and stay strong to our convictions.

Hi everyone:

I spent most of the day listing stuff for sale on ebay--I have a bunch of plus-size suit jackets and stuff that I am selling for dirt cheap in case you are interested!

I finally had a great eating day. Okay--the day is not over yet, but I think Im gonna make it. Yahoo! I must wear those shirts by xmas--I have a bunch of xl and 1x shirts (that fit the same) that dont quite meet in front and are tight in the arms. I know I can do it in about 15-20 lbs and I can do that easy by xmas.

Stacy: good job at the gym! I am glad you are not hurt. The quiche sounds yum! sometimes just eating one doesnt do it. Yes I hate working out--sometimes--if I think about it. When I go for a walk I need to focus on other things.

Card--congrats on a good day--I envy you the ice cream bar but I am havent had enough good days to have a reward day.

Okay--one more day to weigh in--hope I make progress this week!

Hi all:

today is going as well as yesterday--I had a little breakthrough on weight just thinking about what I want to wear etc. Also just not liking the feeling of being overweight.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend--I especiallywant to hear from Nancy--hope you are doing okay.

sno

hello ladies, well i am just exhausted today. I didnt even think about going to the gym, although i did feel guilty about not going. I was tired yesterday and today is even worse. I laid down and slept for about 3 hours today. Woke up, ate dinner and now i feel like i could go right back to bed and sleep. I must be coming down with something. I have been sneezing and blowing my nose all day but thought it was just sinus issues. I start my new job tomorrow...i really wanted to be on my game...hope i am feeling better by morning.

I try to introduce a new food each week, one that none of us have ever tried. Last time it was star fruit, which i liked okay. This week my dd picked out some asian fruit...rambutan...very weird but good. I picked broccoli rabe as our "new" veggie to go with dinner. I really liked it, big change from the normal salad we usually have with dinner. I will probably buy it again when i need a change.

Sno- Good for you for not giving up and getting back on track. I have a couple of button up shirts too that are just shy of bottoning...i also hope to be in them around Christmas.

Ok, guess that is it for me. Gotta get ready for tomorrow.

Good morning chicks! So I didn't make it to the gym this morning, it was raining and thundering so hard. I did pack my stuff in the car to stop by the gym on the way home today. Goal today: Go to the gym! I have been so tired lately. Yesterday I woke up did some grocery shopping and laid on the couch. Took a nap from 1p-5p, had dinner and then was in bed by 9pm. This the most I have slept since I can remember. Maybe my body just needs to catch up on sleep. I hope so I need my energy back. I did get a flu shot last friday and DH said that will make you feel tired, but I have never heard that before. I did weigh in this morning at 164, down two pounds!

Well I have three more weeks until my trip to Washington D.C. My goal is to be at 160 by then. I want to have pictures where you don't see a double chin. Also I am going to have to go buy clothes. It's amazing that I hardly have any warm clothes to wear...even a winter jacket. Texas will do that to ya! I want to be able to fit in to size 12s, but we will see.

Sno: Good to see you are feeling so much better. We have missed you around here...glad to have you back!

card: housework will definetly burn some calories. On Saturday I vacuumed the whole house and was sweating most of the time.

GetnHealthy: Two pieces of quiche...just think of it as your cheat meal this week. I made pizza last night, it was my cheat meal. When you workout at the gym to you listen to music or watch TV. This seems to make my workouts breeze by and more enjoyable. Have you thought about getting a book on tape. I do this when I am getting worn out at the gym. I sometimes then even look forward to the ellipitical so I can listen to the next chapter.

Okay ladies--11 weeks to go--I have been through a lot and so have you but some of you are doing fantastic--and posting a lot which is great. I am back down to 248 which is 6 pounds since we started. So that feels good and I feel pretty motivated to eat within my plan.

Like you all I am pretty tired--some of that for me is still recovering from the longest cold ever, but also since I am low carbing it I get kinda tired initially. I guess I can hang with that for a while.

My goals for this week are to stay focussed on my goals--I have 4 shirts, a jacket, a pair of PJ's and 4 pairs of pants all about 20 lbs away that I can visualize when I get the cravings!! So far my plan is to keep low carbing and slowly work back to getting exercise going when my energy gets better.

Take care everyone and good luck!

I am going to visit my family next week so I need to supercharge my motivation--so that is another goal for this week--planning and motivating for my trip.

Okay so I made to the gym yesterday after work, yeah me! It was so crowded though. I did go again this morning just for a brisk walk on the treadmill to stay in my normal routine. So I am going to try and up my protein to around 100g per day. I am currently reading the The Abs Diet book, actually very interesting and the advice is to always eat protein when you eat carbs. So I am try this with all of my snacks as well. Adding more nuts and dairy.

Sno: Way to get back on track! I have a pair of jeans in my closet that I am dying to get back into. Everytime I look at them I realize why I go to the gym all the time. Remember to take some healthy snacks when you go see your family like fruit and nuts. If you do go out just remember portion control and you will be fine. Maybe you can take a walk with some family members after eating to get moving.

Hey there gals,

Well i have been sort of "off" my game since friday. Nothing really bad but just not my usual self. Avg about 1700 cals a day instead of my target 1350, AND i have not been exercising really. Shame shame. I was fighting a cold or something over the weekend. Then yesterday i started a new job. So i hadnt been to the gym since saturday and it just didnt feel right saturday...so i lost my motivation or something. I FORCED myself to go workout today....and i mean FORCED. I would have rather been beat with a horse whip but i went anyway. When i got there, guess what i found hiding in a corner???? My motivation. I guess i had left it there saturday. I feel SO much better today than i have been feeling. Finally feel like i am back on track.

Thought i would throw some goals for the week out there:
1. Eat less than 1400 cals a day (had too many over 1400 cal days in a row)
2. Exercise at the gym for one hour, 30 minutes of that cardio on tues, wed, and thurs.
3. Drink lots of water...i have really been slacking on this for the past week or so.

Dollypie- Good for your for making it to the gym AFTER work...that is quite a feat. Hey, what book did you all pick for your bookclub? I am on the prowl for a new book too. I took a nutrition class a while back and their biggest thing was that you should never eat a carb unless you have a protien to go with it. I really try to stick by that rule...glad you brought it up and reminded me of it. At the gym they have TV's and you just have to bring head phones and plug them in to the equipment and you can hear their tv, whichever channel you want. Then if you dont want to watch tv, they have music playing pretty loud in the gym...fast paced, get you moving music. But i like your idea of book on tape. I might have to go by the library and pick one up and give it a go...i am a book freak anyway.

Sno- 11 weeks to go...lets make the best run of it. Hope your energy goes up soon. I had a big battle with energy over the weekend. I HATE being drained and tired. I get so depressed and i start looking at the scale and hearing that little devil on my shoulder saying, "see, your not losing weight, just give it up". But then i see someone heavier and more miserable than me and think, well if i give up, that will be me soon...so better keep on trucking. I know that is terrible for me to see someone bigger than me and it gives me motivation. But i have been heavier and i felt miserable. So when i see someone that is heavy it rings an all too familiar voice in my head of just how bad i felt when i was heavier...so good for you for sticking to it, even though your energy is down. I am so glad to hear you are feeling motivated to stay on plan.

Well i guess that is it for now. Just so happy to be back on track.

GetnHealthy: We actually didn't pick a book yet. We couldn't decide on one. We are throwing out ideas and then will vote at the end of the week. I could go for a Steinbeck or Hemingway right now. I love to read and reread their books. For right now I am reading Shopgirl by Steve Martin a quick novella and The Abs Diet on the side. I still need to read the sixth book of Harry Potter before the 7th comes out, but just haven't been that interest lately. I think I will probably read it over Christmas Break.

I glad you found your motivation at the gym, don't you always feel great after working out? I totally understand about seeing overweight people and them motivating you. Down the hall there is an office with four women who are always on a diet, but you would never guess it by the way they looked. I am guessing the plate of cookies and brownies in there reception area is the dead giveaway....lol!

Hi everyone:

well it is going well--eating low carb helps me with cravings right now so I guess this is the plan for me. I had a free day yesterday and had a few things off plan but it felt right. Now back in the saddle today.

I am having fun buying stuff on E-bay--some things I cant find in my size in my area are showing up in auctions for less than in the store! And I am selling some of my office clothes I dont need anymore!

I like your suggestions for my vacation dolly--I think portion control is the key. Actually my family eats fairly healthy--I just want to party when I am out of town. I need to figure out how to have a few little treats but not get crazy. The main thing would be to not overeat and then get right back on plan when I get back.

Stacy--you are doing so good--iI admire how you had your little dip in motivaiton and then got it back. Somtimes it is good to take a break tho--the body gets used to working out a lot and eating less so when you go off it can jump start things.

I agree about seeing people who are large or just larger than me--it is motivating because I dont want to keep doing that to myself. I dont look down on them--I sympathize because I know what they are going thru--it is painful and hard and so difficult to get out of. It is like being trapped! It isnt about looks so much, tho that is part of it, it is just dang hard on the body to be big! And I dont want that anymore so in some ways it is like looking in the mirror.

Dolly--say more about your book club--I love to read and write a lot of reviews on books on Amazon. I always want to know what people are reading!

Goals--I hear today is the perfect day astrologically to set goals and intentions for the future. So I re-iterate my goal:

I will 218 by New Years, and change unhealthy eating habits. I will be more healthy and tuned in to my weight and get through this quickly easily and safely. I will be at my goal weight by August of 2007 and will have no trouble maintaining my weight.

Okay here goes...my goals:

1. To reach 150 by New Year's and keep off the weight
2. Try to eat healthy meals and portions and exercise daily
3. Enjoy the holidays and all the food, but with portion control in mind
4. Learn to make some low cal side dishes for the holidays


Sno: we just started our book club about 3 months ago, just a group of girls who hardly see each other that decided we would have to set a date to see each other. We have read The Devil Wears Prada (then went to see the movie), My Sister's Keeper, Into Thin Air, and The Lovely Bones. We are looking for something a little more uplifting after the last three. If you have any suggestions throw them out there.