Still no declared challenges, but working on a couple by stealth. Tomorrow it's back to work, which is good (busy, busy; lots of walking) and bad (easy access to food porn). But I think the little binge is over, and if this morning's scale was right, no real harm done. But I won't change it until Monday's weigh-in.

Jolly, if it is a tapeworm, rejoice! Because it'll get fat while you just shrink to nothing. This is seriously OT, but the French for tapeworm is "vers solitaire", or lonely worm. It always make me grin.

Tia, I've got my fingers crossed that your concerns about your fiancé are ungrounded. Wouldn't it be great if we could take our emotions and put them into maniacal dieting instead of inhaling food porn and carbs? My marriage breakdown was responsible for about 40 of my excess pounds, and I don't wish the weight or the experience on anyone. It's near impossible to remember that the best revenge is living well!!!

Apple, I'm on for a side bet with you - one pound a week. Now Red , put away your whip! I'm not suggesting a non-conforming challenge. This will be between me and Apple. Only owners of small siamese-type cats need apply. Speaking of which, Apple, I haven't forgotten the pics of Lily's points, just haven't done it yet.

Curly, once again galloping along, now at two thirds of yet another challenge. Way to go!

CBETA, you're moving along at a good clip too. A challenger for Curly's relentless push to success.

Chai, I not only can't get up in the morning, I never want to go to sleep at night. When I work I get rather sleep-deprived. Yawn.

Night all!

woohoo for a friendly scale dont let the others get you down, and hey they mighta been loose at one time, but there was a time after that they didnt fit at all, and now you can get them on... thats what matters, keep up the good work and they be falling off again in no time !!

and no i am not off my water challenge today is day 13 COMPLETED SUCCESSFULY (i been freaking floating today, cant stop running to the bathroom constantly gotta pee lol ) just when my 21 days is up i am going to start it all over again, becuase i have the feeling if i aint coming in here and reporting to ya'll i'll go right back to my old habit of no water after a few days...

i will be starting the new challenges after i finish this one so i can start everything at the same time so they are all on the same day to keep me from getting confused...

i will have to track down that weekly challenge thread

as for freaky... she is around i yelled at her for not being in here, shes still doing good when i talked to her earlier she was on her way to the gym... she got a new cellphone the other day and has unlimited messaging on it, so instead of being straped to the computer all day she just has been signing into yahoo messanger and going mobile and using her phone to message, well cuase shes on the phone she cant get on here...

the computer she uses is her cousins and its upstairs in the cousins bedroom, and she baby sits her cousins lil girl all day and does the domestic goddess thing so she needs to be down stairs, and then after her cous gets home in the evenings she obviously wants her room and her computer... so its just easier to be on the phone instead of running back and forth up and down the stairs all day to go back and forth to the computer... she promised me she'd be online tomorow tho, cause i have some stuff to tell her and show her that i cant do over the phone messaging she needs and actual PC

Finished with all of my challeges for today. Goodnight.

I used to do this, and learned the hard way how I get depressed when I have to undo the damage. Instead of going that route, pick up whatever is left on your menu and challenge yourself to a 3 day trial for example...that way you are not hurting yourself in the long run!

Red, don't be so hard on yourself. I know how it feels to say something like that and then noone is believing you or simply could care less, because they've never been faced with a problem like this. Same here with the guys, besides as you chugged your beer men would tend to think "oh she's losing weight, no way! she is still having that beer!", hence no enthusiasm from them.
But keep your nose high, say no to that beer next time, I know you can, I have zero doubt....
As far as jeans, don't do that to self on such days when you are already down, it is simular to making the wound deeper, and you should concentrate on gaining strength over this...MIND OVER MATTER...remember, someone said that once in my presence and I often when I am on eliptical and it hurts and I am panting repeat to myself, as a mantra.... it works, serious it does.
go get'em tiger..(lyoness....) :-)

Today
Wednesday
A: Food (3-1) -Day 16 (Feb. 1) Done
B: H2O (3) - Day 17 (Feb. 1) Done
C: Gym (3-2) - Day 15 (Feb. 1) Worked out at the gym. Feeling better today.

So now about that thing that i did at the gym yesterday.
When I bought my membership I got with it included 4 personal trainer sessions. I tried to use them wisely, but spreading them over time. Once a month, I did not need someone standing over me for a cost of $60 bucks an hour, instead I wanted 4 distinct routines as I progressed in my weight loss. So now when 1.5 after that I've returned to workout ways, I knew 2 solid routines. My gymnastics friend added more execises to the first one, and I was good except, when I am on my back on the floor, there is a huge arch around lower back...why is it big, it is bigger than normal due to my butt that is too round..so I feel how my disk inside is moving when I raise my legs and let down, I am scared to damage it...so
As I walked I inqured if someone can answer my questions about workout, and was told yes...no personal trainer needs to be purchased. So she suggested this guy and he turned out to be finishing his PHD in chiropractical science...He showed me several simple execises and suggested increasing cardio, as well as commit to eating cottage cheese that I despise...Why did it make it excited, because I felt like I was taking control.... I like controlling things that are in my reach, because I can better position and react, I am trying this now, but suddenly all the food in the cafe seemed so uninteresting today...I got sushi rolls, though he suggested avoiding rice, I felt it was better than two slices of bread in a sandwich, or some indian cream full stuff, with soup I felt full for entire day, only eating an apple, a cup of green tea for snack, and a dry cracker with 2 slices of turkey and cheese, for breakfast. Seems like record, but it felt great.

Though it is a great strategy I'd want to advice you against it. I found for myself that if I did that, then once 5-7 days into challenges I screw up the water one, I just decide to skip the gym instead. Sort of what jolly was saying, but instead if you mess up one make up with another one for it.
A simples analogy I can come up is from school, when you do badly on the test, you don't skip the next text or the next homework you continue on trying to correct, same mentality.
(just my two cents)

wow I must admit I blushed and feel honered when I was compared to curly, I am way off from her...only can be wishing that I lose that much in 5 months!

Thanks, people, for all your support! And curly, thanks for the welcome. Carla, no, I understood about you and Apple getting together for a little private challenge. Shad and I had done that too. As it is, I am moving along on my challenge....oops!...nearly forgot about the crunches. I got some work that needs to be done by tomorrow evening, but if I want to get to the gym tomorrow morning before work, I need to do it NOW. So, no time to post at length. Tay, glad to see you're still with us and thanks for giving freaky a kick. Tia, you are super for having gotten on the bike instead of binge eating or something! Love you, too, kiddo! I was just thinking today that I want a way of saying "emotional eating" like we do for food porn. I will think of something. Any suggestions are welcome. I want something short and snappy, kind of cool, kind of hip, just like all of us! CB, you are on a roll! Love your cool thinking and clearheaded perspective on things. You know, I never thought that the guys could have been thinking, oh, yeah, losing weight with a huge beer in front of her...I mean, heck beer isn't the only reason I've got extra pounds...no way, I can dump it in in many varied ways! Course, they may not know that...I don't announce the sugar binges, the beer binges are usually done in their presence, the sugar ones in private... well, gotta get this work done, rewriting lame writers' work...ugh, but it's work..so I eagerly and pleasantly accepted it! Hurrah. I am learning after all!! Ciao a presto! And hang in there, all of you!

I awoke this morning with a vague memory of my alarm clock having gone off some time long before - it was 6:52. I thought to myself - oh good, 8 more minutes of sleep, *snore*....then, it began...a terrible hacking noise just above my head. The noise came from the little grey furball that keeps my ears warm at night. Through my sleep-fuddled brain came the horrible realization that I was about to have a hairball on my favorite sheets and my HAIR! I bolted upright, fully awake, and gave the poor, still mostly asleep kitty a gentle nudge off of the bed. I looked at the clock: 7:00 - My challenge was saved by a hairball!

Thanks to my cat's finicky digestive tract, Day 1 of AM challenge is complete.

The cat, by the way, is fine - the promised hairball never materialized.

Keep on Truckin!
Erin

CBETA... you will do it ... its just taking one day at a time.... make it thru 1 day.. and they add up before you know it! and never give up! I have my bad days also... but thank you for the compliment..


Carla: i am sad to report that "zellie" is back to holding the coats again " hahaha


ummm emotional eating = EMO ? like did a emo

I had to take my one and only pause day on Monday. But I walked 40 minutes on Tuesday, and 30 on Wednesday.

I am sick, and busy, and don't have time to chat right now.

CBETA, I don't really have time to post, but thought I'd toss in my 2 cents worth on the cottage cheese: I firmly believe it is a mistake to eat ANYTHING we dislike. It doesn't satisfy our taste buds, but does add to our calorie total. Couldn't you find something else you DO like? Maybe some unsweetened yoghurt?

Curly, I don't know about the EMO idea. In my misspent youth I had a boyfriend who always talked about his EME - early morning e****ion. Of course the image might be enough to put me off my food...

8 (ish)/21 done! I've been so busy this challenge has been flying by. I guess this is the way to do it for me!

If anyone is looking for a challenging ab workout, try the one on Denise Austin's Personal Training System DVD. It kicks my *** every time, I still haven't "conquered" it.

Also, I jogged for the first time yesterday in years! Whoopie! I am definitly on a workout kick (making this challenge way easier than it would have been otherwise). I coughed up a lot of junk (sorry tmi) - I doubt that's from smoking, yuck! Maybe I'm still getting over that bug. I liked it.. but it wasn't amazingly fun for me. My chest hurt. I dunno. I know that running is extremely good for your mind and body, so I'm going to try to keep pushing myself until I get "addicted" to it the way I am to yoga.

Red - I have to tell ya that I have never fully adjusted to life without caffeine! I felt great those months without and I believe it helped my mood. Eventually the cravings went away too. But I would get so sluggish some days that it was a battle to make it through the day without it. But I always did it because I believed it was better for me. I have been bad about sugar and caffeine since the Holidays, but I'm working on getting better again. I guess my next goal would be to find away around the sluggish hours of the day that does not include caffeine. I'm sure hopping up and doing a little running around or working out at those times is the best remedy, but like you, sometimes I need something to get me to workout even. :P Well, I hope it goes better for you!! Keep me posted!!

Also, it was great to read all that you have said about journaling!! So it has been a real eye opener for you? I know that I do all of the things you talk about - but it really is hard to recognize it most of the time. More often I notice it in retrospect - after a week long binge! Perhaps the best way to learn not to eat for all the wrong reasons is to, like you, analyze it hardcore for a while until it becomes second nature.

Tay - I am curious to see the milk studies! Please post the link - or private message it to me, I don't know what the rules are either. I love milk, cheese and yogurt can't get enough of it, so any excuse...

I just want to say, for the last time, Sometimes I feel a wee bit guilty for not acknowledging everyone. I read what everyone writes most days and comment when I get the urge. That's what I've decided to do from now on, otherwise this group is just too big for me. Just FYI, I'm not snubbing anyone!! Phew! Now I can go back to guiltlessly typing about myself for most of my post, tee hee.

So much weight loss and challenge completing going on lately - kudos to everyone!

I'm off to motivate myself to jog or something - hopefully sans caffeine.

Oh wait, I asked this before... sorry if you answered already. CBETA - what does your quote mean at the bottom of your posts? I think I get it, you don't want it to be your husband picking on you for being imperfect or something? I'm a little dense sometimes and it's driving me nuts!

And one more thing - has Physdom been around lately?

:P Talk to y'all later!