You had much better control than I would have had. I am a pig at Chinese buffets. It isn't pretty at all.

This saved my BUTT tonight! I left work just craving chicken nuggets, but sat on the bus repeating "don't get off the bus for a product. it's not a food." in my head. Stopped for a few groceries without going to the nearby McD's, and avoided the crap at the grocery. I just kept thinking of you all, and how kickass of a first week we've had, and didn't want to wreck that for week 2!

Also, I want to change my answer to the trainer/chef question - I want a personal masseuse! I think if I was less stressed, weight loss would go more smoothly.

Chelle - You did much better than I would have at the buffet. Brace yourself for some sodium/water weight tomorrow, but know that that will go back down again.

zinke - Don't forget we all get two freebies, so they won't be lost if they don't weigh in this week. Hopefully we can get them back on track for next week if they miss this week!

Anna - That was brave for you to confess. Sometimes life just calls for us to hunker down with our families. What's your plan for tomorrow?

Amber - Congrats on stocking up on healthy foods (for mind and body)!

onthetee--You don't suck! Just get up and get moving now, no use beating yourself up. Sometimes you just need a break, you will be stronger as you get back to working out now. Get up and get going this week!

Chelle--I think you did pretty good. I don't think I could handle a buffet at this point, still too weak to pass the desserts.

practice--Great job passing McDs! I know how hard that can be...you are STRONG

I didn't get all my exercise in tonight, but still got 97 minutes in...not bad. I also didn't make good choices on eating really, but stayed in calorie limits. Tomorrow is a new day and I will do better.

Thanks for the note, Theresa! It took SO much effort to resist!

Glad to see we only need TWO more Bluesers to weigh in - although we are RIGHT down to the wire... ckatgo and bluepapillon - where are you ladies? Hope everything is okay for you both!

OK, I'm finally finished with a very, very busy Monday here! I had to FORCE myself to go out to the gym after dinner. I don't know why I struggle so much with late PM workouts. I'm sure some of it is in my head. I really enjoy going in the morning, but on M and F that will not work unless I am home by 6am when DH has to leave...not happening!

It's was an unbelievably beautiful winter day here in Seattle today, complete with a colorful sunset. Very cold and crisp, but gorgeous. And you can see the Cascades and lowlands all covered in snow, but be surrounded by bright blue skies. My girls were a little confused by the bright sunshine and cold together though!!

Sounds like our team is off to a great start! WTG everyone. All the efforts will pay off. Even if the scale didn't show it this week - we all have experienced that - it'll come off if we stick to doing the right things over and over again.

Good job at the buffet, Chelle! Buffets are a bad, bad place for me. I order off the menu and things go so much better. I don't even have to entertain the voices in my head regarding seconds... I'm getting hungry for some Schezuan Broccoli now.

Oh yeah, and to answer the QOTD, I'd take a personal trainer. I like to cook and I love to play around with recipes to make them more healthy. My family is pretty easy to prepare food for. My girls will eat almost anything and DH's only gripe I ever hear is when I use BLSL chicken breast for 3 nights in a row!!

Hi guys!

I haven't been to the pages since this weekend, so I'm a bit behind. Just wanted to check in and say I'm still here! before I go and catch up!

Good morning, Bluesers! Is everyone excited to hear about our marvelous team weight loss percentages? I sure am!

Sonya - Congratulations on your loss!
Zinke - glad to hear that you have a plan for making this week a terrific week by counting calories.
Dee - Congrats on getting through your first workout at the gym
Cristina - Hope your back heals quickly. I know you're anxious to get some exercise.
Dionne - I am keeping your FIL in my prayers.
Marianne - "Self" dates are a wonderful idea. I'm just sorry that I don't have some great new ideas for you. A nice relaxing bath does it for me. Looks like we'll both benefit from some feedback from the team on this one. Also, great job with avoiding McD's!
Tee - I can tell that you're aggravated with yourself for not getting any exercise for 3 days. Can you do something in Great Wolf? Use your aggravation to motivate yourself.
Fran - You're right...your big number is on the horizon!
Amberelise - Looks like you're all set for a great on-plan week. Keeping trigger foods out of the house sounds like a very wise move.
Michelle - all in all, I think you did great, too!
Amber - Hi there!
Nori - Great job with making yourself workout despite not wanting to!
Purple - 97 minutes of exercise is awesome!




Yesterday, I did great with exercise. I walked on the treadmill for 60 minutes and I really pushed it by varying the incline and the speed. At one point, I even broke into a run! (well.....maybe more of a slow jog! ) The calorie counter showed I burned 452 calores. I know, the calorie counters aren't really accurate on those things. But, I do enjoy trying to get the number a bit higher each day. I wish I could say that I did great on my eating plan, too. I didn't overeat. However, I didn't count my calories like I had planned and I was too hungry last evening. Today, I need to concentrate on tracking my calories. I'm also going to watch the dvd that came with my resistance bands and incorporate some of those exercises in my daily regimen.

Hope everyone has a great on-plan day!

GO BLUE!

Both me and my dog are getting cabin fever. The high here for the last few days has been sub-freezing. Today, the ice is so thick on the roads that the University is on an opening delay of 2 hours (first time I can remember that happening in the 4+ years I've been here). The police department has actually issued a statement saying that there are so many accidents around town that they cannot respond to them all and that folks involved in minor accidents should just swap information and not expect police assistance. Argh!! If I can't get out of the house soon, I'm going to start running laps around the couch with my dog!

Tuesday's Question of the Day:

Now that we have finished our first challenge week, let's take some time to reflect. What did you learn about yourself and about what works or doesn't work for you? Are you doing anything differently this week?

Last week, I exercised for three days and stayed on-plan. It worked fairly well for me as I lost some weight I had gained. However, I'd like to start having slightly higher and more consistent weight losses. This week, I will be doing some form of cardio exercise for 6 days. I'm also going to start working out with the resistance bands so I can build some metabolism boosting and very attractive muscles. In addition to the exercise changes, I'll also begin calorie counting and varying my daily calorie totals. I'm hoping for a 2-3 pound loss for next week.

I learned that despite my worries, I was able to overcome my diet woes of horrible eating by busting my butt moving, packing and painting. I also learned that chinese buffets, while tempting, have some good choices but for the most part is one big sodium retention pool to stay away from!

This week I've planned and I'm currently eating healthier to clean my system out of excess salt. Trying to exercise will be a challenge with it being cold, but I plan on improvising like I always do.

Now that we have finished our first challenge week, let's take some time to reflect. What did you learn about yourself and about what works or doesn't work for you? Are you doing anything differently this week?

My learning is that nutrition definitely makes a difference. While I had a good week with working out (6 cardio days and 3 lifting days) it doesn't offset mediocre eating. I cleaned up my eating for the last half of the week, but don't really remember the first half, which means I wasn't focused. Yes, I managed to break even with the gains I had seen since submitting my weight, so I guess it was successful - 4 lbs off. But I realize too that I could literally GRIND myself into that treadmill track, and it's all for naught if the eatin' ain't clean! If I'm going to make myself ache and be sore, don't I owe myself the good nutrition to see what a perfect world it could be????

Well, after speaking with my personal trainer, I have decided to up my carbs and lower my fat. I had been doing a 40c-30p-30f and keeping calories under 1800, and not losing as quickly as I'd like. I'm trying to switch to something more like 50c-30p-20f and still an avg of 1800 calories for now. If it doesn't help with the weight loss then I'll know it's something else. I'd love a consistant 2+ pound loss/week, especially since I'm this heavy, that should be happening. I started almost 8 weeks ago and have lost 18 pounds - with 7 of it the first week. Not complaining, just thinking that for the effort i'm putting in, it could/should be more. In the end it doesn't really matter how long it takes me, I am doing this forever. Seriously though, if I wasn't in this competition, I think I'd give up weighing my self every week for awhile.

Off to wake my kiddos and go to the gym. Trainer is working on lower body with me today. Here I come lunges, squats and deadlifts!

Well we didn't win the whole weigh in.... but we had the Biggest Loser overall for the first week!

Make sure you check out the Blue Team motivation I left in the weigh in thread!

I made a little banner for Jenn since she did such a great job this week. I didn't make it too big cause I didn't want to get her in trouble!

Love the banner chelle, what a great reward that people will want to fight for every week!

I think my hoop is either 4 or 5 pounds. My mother has one that is 3 pounds and much easier to do than mine. more weight means more work, but since the inside of the hoop is wavym it also means more concussion (beating) on me too. I think it is a combination of both the motion and the pounding. I believe you can get them up to 6 pounds.