Wow, time flies when I am off plan.
I need to be more accountable and check in here daily.

Quick check in, still surviving and trying to make better choices.

Lots of work for my course and report cards are due next week for my job.

But my job gets easier once report cards are done.

Hope you all are doing great!

Quick check in for me as well as I am at work. I've had two on-plan days in a row and working on my 3rd today. The scale tipped 300 Monday morning and I said that's enough, so back to basics for awhile to shed what I gained and to keep going.

Loving the treadmill. I am up to walking 25 minutes, still at a slow pace, not even a mile an hour but I will get there. It hasn't even been a week yet so I'm ok with my slow progress. Each time I'm on it I add a couple minutes and increase the speed a little too so I will get there. DH is not as diligent as I am, but he is trying and I love him for that.

I hope you're all doing well. I miss being here more and hoping to try to check in more often soon. Keep trying. Glad you are all here.

Time4me2change ~ I'm glad your trying to make better choices

Cindy ~ I'm sorry you hit 300 again, You will go back down on your weight I have no doubt about that. Good Luck!!!!

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Good Evening Everyone,

I had Music and Movement class today and It went really good, The time also went really fast. We wont have class next week but we will have class week after next. I'm looking forward to weighing in on Monday. I hope I have a good loss, I've been working really hard on keeping my cal's at 1200 and I'm been working really hard on working out as well. Well I hope everyone is having a great night.

Hi Everyone,

Glad to see everyone is posting a little more often...let's keep it up! I have had such an exhausting week. So glad it's the weekend. My only plans are to get my workouts in and relax...maybe go looking for pants again this weekend. I also seriously need to stop putting off going through my closet. It's time to purge the crap in my house lol...I've gotten rid of a lot of it over the year but there is still a lot that either needs a better place to be put away or just gone completely. While the clutter of the stuff that needs to go is there I can't put the stuff to stay in it's rightful place.

Even though this week has been so exhausting I've still managed to get my workouts in. It has caused me to have some late nights getting to bed....Well late nights to me is 10:30-11:00. I'm used to being in bed no later than 9:00-9:30. I know I'm an old lady lol. I'm steady going and hitting everything as hard as possible. Eating more protein and pushing the weights around more than usual I think are going to help me on this last leg of my journey. I'm slowly getting there...**** maybe I'll even end up having to crawl to the finish line but I'm going to make it there I can promise you that!

Well I still have some work to finish up here at the office but wanted to check in. Hope everyone else is well!

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Looks like it's been pretty quiet here this weekend. I hope everyone is doing well and have been staying on plan. The weekends can be so hard to fight temptations, but don't forget your end result if you stick to your plans. It is SO hard, we all know that...but what is going to make you happier? Eating donuts to satisfy your sweet tooth that will only provide you with a few minutes of fake happiness as you indulge, or getting to do things you never dreamed you'd be able to do because your weight has hindered that? Just some food for thought.

As for me, things are still going well...my only downfall recently is I have been drinking too much diet soda. I'm still getting my gallon of water in a day but in the evening I've been drinking sodas. I'm sure this has hindered me slightly with my weight loss goals for each week so I'm starting to wean myself off of sodas completely again. I need to get back to drinking the flavored soda water that has no sugars in it. I killed all of my workouts this week...Got all 5 days in and all of my major muscle groups worked. I've changed up my routine to do mainly weight lifting with only a little bit of cardio now. I break up my muscle groups so I'm not working all upper body one day, all lower body the next and mid section like I used to. I usually do one day for abs, then legs, back/shoulders, chest and arms. I get a lot more weight lifting done by breaking it up that way so hopefully I will begin to get more muscle built and maybe that will help with some of my excess skin. I've only been doing about 20-30 minutes on the treadmill and that is always done after all of my lifting unless DH is with me and he insists on doing it first. He's been slacking a little bit with going to the gym with me over the past two weeks. He hasn't been feeling his best so I don't push him too hard. He also needs to work on his eating habits a little bit better...I wish he would stop drinking soda all together but I doubt this will ever happen. He also has been having issues with making fry bread again. This too shall pass and I don't want to get on him too harshly because I know he will do the rebellious child thing and just hurt himself more if I say anything....He could be eating a lot worse so at least he is putting his best food forward and making small changes. I don't think he weighs himself regularly and I know he doesn't do measurements at all but maybe I can help him change that little by little. He never tells me how much he weighs or how much he's lost. I think I noticed yesterday he typed in his weight as 251 on the treadmill. So I think that's pretty good. I believe he was a lot heavier than that back in August when we had to go to his Granny's funeral. He does look like he's slimming down to me, and his suit his dad got him is already too big....So I guess that will have to be tailored because that was close to a $500 suit. Speaking of exercise...I want to get back into doing HIIT at some point. I know I am focusing a lot on lifting but I am finding out that HIIT is also good to do when you do a lot of lifting. I should know this already since I did a lot of HIIT early on in my weight loss. I just need to figure out when to do it since I lift all 5 days of my workouts. I could just work out 7 days in a row and do the HIIT on what would be my rest days, but I don't know if my body can handle that much. If I don't give myself at least 1 day of rest I know my body will get run down very fast.

I'm doing more and more research on carb cycling like I've mentioned before. The only trouble I am having is calculating exactly what I need to take in on my high carb days and my low carb days for my body. Each person is different and this does require a lot of math in the beginning. Being bigger they say it is best to go by your LBM (Lean Body Mass), but the only way to correctly calculate it is to either get a scale that does that, or use calipers. The other methods are either too expensive to do on a regular basis, or is way off on the calculations. There are a lot of calculators online but those too can be inaccurate. The scale is about $50 so I am eventually going to invest in it but I think for now I may try the caliper method since it is a lot cheaper. I just need to buy some calipers. This sounds like this is something I really need to jump start my losing again. This week I had a decent loss considering I did indulge at a birthday party last weekend which brought me up to 214. I weighed in this week at 211.2 so that is a total loss of 2.8 pounds, and only .6 pounds from my previous weigh in, so I guess I can't complain.

I am very much enjoying my rest day today. This is the first weekend in almost 2 weeks that I have had a Sunday to rest. I do have some cleaning to do and laundry and meal prep for a few days until I can buy more groceries, but for the most part everything else is just relax time. DH is taking a nap so I'm able to get most of the housework done.

This is a extremely long post lol. I know, but I really just have not had enough time to do too much posting lately, or at least a thorough one to let you guys know what's going on with me.

Thank you guys for being here...You help me out more than you'll ever know. Please take care of yourselves....I love my fit fam!

Hi everyone.

Just another quick check-in from work. I'm doing well. I had a good week last week with eating and even over the weekend I stayed on plan for a change. Yesterday my scale said 297 and it was good to say bye-bye to 300 again but then this morning I hit 301 again. Ugh. I think it's probably water weight. I had ham last night so I think the sodium made me retain water because I tracked everything I ate and I was within my calories. I'm not going to worry about it. I'm sure it will be gone again soon.

I hope you're all doing well. I miss reading about everyone and seeing how everyone is doing each day, but I'm glad we're here together, even if we can't post every day.

Good Morning Guys and Gals,

I woke up at 4:00 a.m. cause my back was hurting and I had to use the bathroom. Its now 6:40 a.m. I might take a little nap later on this morning but I'm up for now. I'm going to a job fair with a friend today. I already printed off my resumes. I'm gonna wear my purple interview suit today. I sure hope it still fits me. I dont know what I'm gonna do if it doesnt cause I only have jeans and sweats besides my suite and they will not work for a job fair that may do immediate interviews. I should of bought a nice shirt and some slacks earlier this month for the job fair but I totally forgot about the job fair until I was reminded on Wed. the 21st by then I didnt have the money. Living on a fixed income sucks. I cant wait until I get a job. Once I get a job I'm gonna keep it as long as possible instead of quitting after 6 months like Scott did. Anyway wish me luck while I'm at the job fair.

Cindy Great job on staying on plan! Don't worry about the fluctuations. It happens to me all week long. I usually weigh myself every day to see where I am throughout the week, but my official weigh in day is Sunday so that is the day I actually record my weight and measurements. You can do this! I believe in you!

Terra Good luck at the job fair!

So far so good this week! I am slowly easing into the carb cycling thing. I don't have my exact number of what I should be taking in calories wise, and fat, protein and carbs wise, but I'm still following the simple guidelines by doing no carb, low carb and high carb days. No carb days just means no starchy carbs, carbs from other veggie sources are ok, but no fruit carbs and your fats are higher on these days. Low carb days you eat a little bit of starch and a little bit of fruit but still want to keep them on the low side and keep the fat slightly higher. Which reminds me I forgot to eat my avocado with lunch today lol. High carb days you eat starch at every meal. These days are for your hardcore lifting days, ie: leg day. You can decide how many of these days you have a week but for fat loss they usually suggest having 3 no carb, 3 low carb, and 1 high carb day a week. So that is what I'm doing for now. We'll see how much this helps this week. I know it will take several weeks for me to see how this actually helps me, but this is good enough for now until I can get my calipers. I eventually plan to by the LBM scale, but that's later on.

Tonight is abs at the gym and maybe a little bit of cardio if I have the energy after weight lifting. DH is supposed to go with me tonight, we'll see. He skipped last night because he was having tummy issues.

How is everyone else doing? We had a little fluctuation with people posting a little more....let's keep it up guys!! Missing you all and miss the help and support. It makes it a lot less motivating if I'm posting alone all by myself.

Take care all!

Sam ~ Thanks, I hope I get a call back

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Woke up at 5:25 a.m. Its now 8:14 a.m. I need to get ready for school at 9:00 a.m. my friend is going to put me up at 9:30 a.m. We have to be at school by 10:00 a.m. and then we'll leave there at 3:00 p.m. Tomorrow I have an appt. and then I wont leave the house again until Sunday. I hope everyone has been having an on plan week.

Hi everyone.

Terra, I hope the job fair went well and I hope you get a call back.

Sam, thanks for the kind words and encouragement. I believe I can do this too, if only I would get out of my own way sometimes lol. Sunday is my official weigh in day too but I also tend to weigh every day or every other day too. The carb-cycling sounds interesting and a little confusing, but I wish you the best of luck with it and hope that it helps you.

I've been exhausted all this week and did not walk as much as I wanted to. Last night I forced myself to but could only do 15 minutes, but hey that is better than nothing.

I found a Fitbit zip in my nightstand drawer last weekend. It's the kind that you clip on, not the new watch type one. I really don't remember when or where I got it, but I decided to use it and I really like it. It counts my steps and when I walk on the treadmill I end up being able to eat more. Imagine if I did even more exercise. Hmmm.

Anyway, I'm using it to track my food and like it so much more than the other trackers I have been using. I have not walked nearly as much as it tells me I should (10,000 steps a day) but Sunday I got close to 5000. I will get there. My work days are so long and tiring that I give myself credit for any walking I do at night. I'm hoping to start adding in some other exercise soon, too. It has me on a 1200-1400 calorie a day diet (depending on how much I move) to lose 2 pounds a week. So far I haven't lost anything except the few pounds I gained back earlier this week but I'm hopeful.

Halloween candy will be quite tempting on Saturday. We get lots of trick-or-treaters at our house. I am waiting until tomorrow morning to buy it and will hopefully keep it out of sight and mind until it is needed on Saturday. Wish me luck people!

I hope you all have a great day tomorrow and great weekend if I don't check in before it's over. I will try though.

Hi everyone.

Although I have not been posting, I have stuck with my plan 100% for 193 days now. Unfortunately I hit the dreaded inevitable plateau and for the last three weeks until this Wednesday I was not losing. Then a solution came to me. Although on Atkins my main emphasis is on carbs, calories still count. I lost a lot of weight but did not change my calorie goal. I was still eating like I weighed 307 lbs. So on Monday I reduced my calorie goal by 400 and on this Wednesday I started losing again. YEA!!. Had blood work done two weeks ago and my cholesterol numbers are perfect in spite of the fact that I am eating a high fat diet. My family doctor is pleased but she asked me to set my goal at 200 and evaluate it when I get there. I have adjusted it to that number.

Cindy ~ I hope I get a call back too

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Slept in late this morning, I usually dont sleep more then 9 hours most of the day but I slept until 7:30 this morning and I went to bed at 7:00 p.m. last night. I'm looking forward to watching horror movies with Scott tonight while kids knock on our door for candy. We got trick or treaters already today. I told some of my friends that they could bring their grand kids to get candy. I'm not sure if any of them are coming yet cause they havent answered back so we'll see. I hope everyone has an awesome Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Down 2 lbs today!!

Hi Everyone!

Tried to post on Saturday but DH and I got in a tiff when I tried to and needless to say it didn't happen lol...But I'm here

Cindy Great job on pushing yourself! Even though you only walked the 15 minutes like you said, that is better than nothing! Keep going you will do this!!! I am wanting to get one of those activity trackers as well to see how I am doing with my workouts and stuff like that. I feel like I'm pushing myself to the next level but to see it on paper would be nice too Hope you weren't too tempted with the Halloween candy.

Larry Thanks for checking in! What a way to rock your weight loss some more, awesome job on the 2 pounds!!!

Well I think this carb cycling thing is helping me...I lost 2 pounds this week!! The cool thing is I was able to eat healthy carbs and healthy fats and still lose weight! I have officially lost 130.8 pounds!!! YAY!!!! ....I'm only 49.2 pounds until goal....This is seriously becoming unreal to me...I may just make my goal this year and possibly surpass it! I think doing more weight lifting is doing me good as well....I've lost a good bit in my measurements this week too.

I also have a NSV to share with you guys. For the first time in my ENTIRE life I have been able to purchase my first pair of tall boots! AND they aren't wide calf boots either!!! Target had a really good sale on Cartwheel this week so I got a pair for $25.00. Now that I can wear a smaller shoe size I am slowly feeling an addiction to shoes coming along LOL. I've always liked shoes but not to where I felt like I need to have 100 pairs or anything. Really I only own 6 pairs of shoes that fit me and that includes the boots I just bought. I'm REALLY diggin the boots thing and will surely get more pairs!

Another cool thing that happened to me this week is my mom and grandma gave me an early birthday present. My birthday is not until Dec 26, but they said this was something I needed now...They got me a hockey jersey for my favorite team and player, Washington Capitals, Alex Ovechkin!!! It was such a nice surprise and I didn't want to accept the gift because I know those things are VERY expensive. They got a good deal online for jerseys and that's why they bought it. I'm pretty sure it's not an official jersey, maybe a knock off....But it is still very nice and I couldn't care if it was "official" or not.

I've been working on my hair this afternoon. Trying to achieve a pastel purple. After bleaching and then toning my hair twice because the person at Sally's gave me the wrong information for the toner I bought, I now have the color on. It's a mix of the purple I usually do but diluted with conditioner. Hopefully it turns out!!!

I'm off to prep my lunches for the week...Take care everyone!