Evening Chicklets

I was up and going early this morning. Hit the polls at 7am....only to find 50 people in line in front of me! Zowie! That is unheard of in our little rural township. Did my civic duty and then commuted off to work......an hour late due to the polls.....no matter, they started without me.

I have decided to try counting calories as a method to control the food problem. I clocked in today at 1325....lot more than I realized! Water was good today.....don't know as I will get my exercise in either, as I plan to be glued to CNN for the election results (I am one of those who get totally geeked by the political process)
All of you are doing great! You will get more personal replies when this election stuff is over.......

Ah!
Your blummin election made me mess up my diet already... or maybe it was actually all my own fault Hmm well I cannot be trusted with friends and finger food especially when my day is going well
At least it was going well or it would have been worse
I think I have to admit to myself that I cannot do moderation with crisps and chocolate and popcorn. I should just not eat any.

Tomorrow is another day (well actually it's kinda today here!)

Dill

Wow.... a day late in setting my goals for this challenge and you guys are all ready on page three... I couldn't seem to keep my eyes open last night. Kept falling asleep.... probably a good reason for it.... So...... on to the business at hand
I've already celebrated thanksgiving (Canadian) but I think we should count our blessings more than once a year anyways.

Daily Goals
1. Eat within my points allowance everyday.
2. Journal everyday.
3. Exercise at for at least 20 minutes each day.
4. Drink 8 glasses of water each day.
5. Eat more protein through the day.
Nope sorry - not givin' up my NF lattes

Monthly Goals
Lose 8 pounds before my anniversary on Nov. 29 (29 years)
Lose 6 inches in November.

Day one: check, oops fell asleep, check, check and check.
Day two: check, check and check, check and check.

Mary -- does that help with slivers of glass? I have a few shards of glass in my fingertip, and I'm kinda scared to pry 'em out because they'll probably shatter into more, tinier pieces, and I tried cutting them out with my surgical scissors, but that hurt like ****. I am DEFINITELY trying the glue!

So I feel renewed faith in my ability to lose this stupid weight on my own, chickies! The long talk (half hour or so) with my doc today made me feel really great. He said he's proud of what I've done, and that I am doing a great job and that he suggests increasing my workout to 1/2 hr per day, which is fine with me. I'm also meeting with a dietician, as I already mentioned, and I'm going to work out a plan with her. I don't like to eat lunch while I'm at work. Makes me feel tired. I work from 1pm to 10pm, so I can effectively eat breakfast & lunch at the normal times (8amish & 12pm-ish), but dinner is super late. Doesn't bother me, but maybe it'd be good to hear his/her opinion. I am assuming a her, as all previous dieticians have been female.

In other news...

My hubby was officially offered the manager position for his team today! OMG!!! Our families are so proud of him. He works non-stop and he really deserves this. This, however, brings a salary increase for him. Which led us to speak about our rental of a house in March of '05, which led us to speak about our future children.

And we decided... 1 1/2 to 3 years. 3 years being a seriously extreme waiting period. So probably mid-2006, we will start trying. I have 20 lbs left to lose. I should be able to easily do that by the end of this year, for pete's sake. I am excited and scared.

We've talked about having kids before, of course. But not like this. As in, we are financially able to support ourselves plus a child in a little over 3 months, here, chickies. Gotta run.. but craziness all around! *hugs to all* YOU GUYS ROCK!

well first of I want to say congrats to Lucy for getting a better grip on your future. That is what we want here. To know where we are headed and be financially stabble. Good job on that.

Today besides all that I did before I also got 3 miles of walking. Of course Jasmine didn't want to allow me to walk while she was up so I went walk once I put her to bed. walked 3 miles. Feels good to. I am just up for a while which isn't a good thing.

Morning ladies!

Motivation level: 6

Ok, so yesterday evening didn't go exactly as planned. My best friend came over, bringing tortilla chips and guacamole, and then we sat and watched election (non-)results. Stupid election! You'd think in this electronically advanced day and age they would be able to figure out a faster system of counting. I mean, type it into a computer and it should be instantaneous, right?

Anyway...

There was no exercise last night either. I only managed to log a measly 1.51 miles on the pedometer yesterday, and that's pretty bad for me. However, I have a feeling I'll make up for it at work today, and then exercise tonight. *sigh* I'm tired already.

I intend on talking to my pharmacist today to see if there's a supplement that could help me with my metabolism. This is driving me crazy. My friend was telling me that chromium helped stoke your metabolism, but instead of taking her word for it, I think I'll ask a professional. Any thoughts?
The other option I am considering is going low-carb, and that is only because I've found myself seriously craving carbs--especially sweets--over the past few weeks. And that is really odd for me, because when I crave carbs it's almost always the crunchy, salty kind as opposed to the sweet kind. I don't want to do Atkins, but the South Beach Diet seems relatively healthy. The problem with that is, my family isn't going to follow the SBD, and it's going to be extremely difficult to follow any particular diet in this house without them on board. Especially low-carb. I mean, you look in our pantry you see about 8 boxes of cereal, pop tarts, 5 kinds of crackers, twinkies, chips, pasta, bread mixes, etc. We're a very carb-oriented family.

I don't know. I'll have to think about this some more. Any suggestions or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

Ok, gotta get ready for work now. Have a great day, everyone!
~Elisha

Morning, chicklettes! Day 3, and I am totally feeling this! Got up with only 1 snooze alarm, and did the 2 miles WATP. Yeah!!! 8.54 miles so far on the Turkey Waddle, and I'm really getting back into the groove. It is amazing how much better you feel when you are actually moving & not laying around like a lump.

Dinner last night ended up being 2 small chicken breasts, some fajita rice (rice, fajita seasoning, diced red & green peppers, onions, and corn) and a teeny bit of garlic mashed potatoes. I ate a little later than I had planned, but hubby & duty called.

This morning, breakfast was 1/3 cup Kashi Strawberry Fields cereal, 1 fudge graham Zone bar, and 12oz diet coke. the receptionist here took pity on me, and brought me 3 cans of diet coke- enough to last the rest of the week. I am her personal tech support/IT guru here, so it's a mutually beneficial arrangement. LOL. I guess she didn't want to be growled at if she called me with what she calls "yet another stupid question." So, glory, glory...I am caffeinated, and also nearly done with my first glass of water. Yippie!

Lunch today- my shadow keeps trying to get me to go out to lunch with her. I once again explained the whole "need to behave myself, especially with Thanksgiving coming, and all the family events & holidays where people will be trying to shove food at me." I just don't think she gets it. Anyhow, lunch today is whole wheat rotelle pasta, 2 meatballs, and 1/4 cup of sauce. Also pineapple chunks. Yummy.

Today after work, I am planning on another 2 miles WATP, and then a little spin on the bike. I'll do UB again tomorrow night, when there's at least something entertaining on TV. Oh wait- is tonight CSI NY? Or more election coverage? LOL. I'll figure something out, but I WILL be in double digit miles today.

Dill- ok, you can blame us & the election...as far as your question, if the teas have no sugar and no caffeine, you can count them as water. And for the protein, lean deli meat, hard boiled eggs, lowfat or non-fat cottage cheese, turkey pepperoni, fat free cheeses (hard cheese, or string cheeses) are all some ideas. Nuts are good, but also high in fat, so that may defeat your purpose. Tofu. Soybeans, too, like edamame.

jaymi- Welcome back, chickie. I know 17 pounds seems like an insurmountable #, but you can do this. Look how far you have come already. Now it's just practicing for the future. Maintenance...every single day, not going back to the destructive behaviors that we all keep lapsing into. I'm glad you are back with us.

Lucy- Want me to mail you a can of the soup? LOL. I know some stores will special order it- it used to be very hard to get it, and the stores would only carry it during "Italian Week" when all the pasta & sauce stuff would go on sale. I guess when we'd clean them out during that week, they got the idea. My mom once ordered a case from her local Italian deli & had it sent to us. We're an odd bunch- we once had a case of Shop-Rite brand Iced Tea mix sent to her, since we can't get it in FL at all. Way to go with the dr- 20 pounds left is awesome. You better stick around here during maintenance, and beyond. And even bigger congrats to hubby on his promotion, and raise!

Mary- I've never heard of that trick with the glue. I am going to have to try that. Well, I'm not going to go pick up a splinter right this second or anything, but that's a neat trick & I have to see if it works! LOL. Poor dog....did you end up eating in front of him last night, drooling the whole time? LOL. I know I'd also be quite lost without the chickies here & being able to check in. Thankfully here no one is really concerned with our web-spent time, so I get to check in & get my fix.

Gabrielle- You are doing great with the workouts. Heck, I can't do 1 pushup, so the fact that you are building on what you can already do...can we hire you as our official chick personal trainer? Seriously, great job, girlie!

Elisha- what are pickled ramps? Sounds interesting. You know, isn't it amazing how much more energy we have when we are exercising? Last week I was dragging butt, and now, well, it's like someone zapped me in the butt & awoke the inner athlete.

Lisa- It is so hard to be performing at 100% when you aren't feeling there yourself. Sorry you are feeling so sore. Does your doctor have any other options for you besides Vioxx or this new medicine? Hope you feel better. Now drink that water, you whiner!

MsRD- were you up as late as we were watching the election results come in? I was so relieved to see that Florida didn't screw everything up this year...now I don't have to pretend to live somewhere else. LOL.

Squabb- Well, Happy Belated Canadian Thanksgiving, and I say celebrate with us again! More blessings, more things to be thankful for....like the wonderful chickies we have here who make this easier with their suppport.

Yeah, that took about an hour with all my phone calls and interruptions....if I miss you, I promise it wasn't on purpose! Ladies room calls & a refill on this water!

Well... after a very long, depressing night with the election and a ton of stupid stuff that went on in our state, to be more specific, I actually slept!

Last night, dinner was not too great, but it was celebratory for the hubby. We had burgers & fries (onion rings for me haha) and watched Starsky & Hutch, which was absolutely hilarious. I love Ben Stiller & Owen Wilson together. I don't care what anybody says, Zoolander was freaking AWESOME. I am such a dork!

So we talked about a lot of stuff last night, especially that having kids thing, and that was awesome. I feel super-magically renewed in getting back down to my 150-lb goal, which is only 20 lbs away right now. 20 is a lot less than 60, which is what I THOUGHT I needed to lose.

Yesterday, the doc said my BMI was definitely lower, and I was -NOT- categorized as OBESE, but simply OVERWEIGHT! I'm down to a BMI of around 28 or so, and if I can lose the rest of it and get back down to my size 8/10 stuff, I'll be at a BMI of around 24-25. WOOO!!!! Victory is finally near!

So this is my new set of goals, chickies. I toldja I'd have 'em!

Workout goals:

4 days per week:
- 10 min stair-stepper machine with 2-lb weights
- 30 min ellipitical (which works out to 5 miles)
- 200 situps
- 30 squats w/ 5 lb weights
- 25 pushups -- NOT the girly knee kind!

Food goals:

- Stick to a plan of no more than 1700 calories per day. (This was upped by the doc).
- Eat a breakfast high in protein and lower in carbs, even if I have to eat icky eggs.
- Allow 1 can of soda per day.
- Allow no more than 4 caffeine pills per day. (Nobody whine about my caffeine intake. It helps you lose weight and it ups the blood pressure, which I need.)
- TAKE MY STINKING VITAMINS!!

Water goals:

4 bottles per day. Even if I have to pee every 5 minutes, I AM DOING IT!

And my weight-loss goal for the month is 10 lbs. I want to go from 171 to 161. I think I can do that quite easily, chickies!

Anyway, hope y'all are having a good day!

Jennifer -- I might search around at the stores up here. I LOVE that kind of soup... YUM! That's the stuff I make at home, with fat-free chicken stock and lots of veggies, but with chunks of white meat chicken in the soup instead of meatballs. Sounds AWESOME. It's not weird that you'd order it. We order cases of Jolt from the three delis in this state that still supply it. Such geeks!

Take care, chickies!

Geeks of a feather, Kitten. The soup has white meat chicken AND meatballs! LOL. How can you go wrong there!?!? LOL. ANd I'm sooo glad you got the support you needed from this doctor. Awesome. Now go chug another bottle of that water.

Lucy, I must say I was so happy to see that you actually liked Zoolander. LOL My dh and I have watched that a thousand times it seems and we crack up every time!

Quickly, I need to post and then go pick up my DD at school. I went to my weekly weigh in a day late. I lost (drum roll please) 1.4 pounds!!! I'm so happy! This has finally put me over losing more than 5 pounds in now my 8th week on WW. ALmost 6 lost now.

Turtle??? Where are you ?????

I'll catch you all later!
Donna

Donna - Congratulations on the weigh in!! You go girl!! I'm proud of you .

Lucy - Glad to hear your appointment went well! You are doing such a good job, and your goal is just right around the corner! Way to go!!

Jennifer - WTG with the WATP!! You're kickin some butt with that, chica! Gotta hurry to catch up to you...don't wanna be left in the dust !!! LOL!

Gab - Great job on the 3 mile walk!! You, too, are going to reach your goal in no time flat!!

Squabb - Hi there!! That's super about your upcoming anniversary!! Wow!! And, your goals sound really good .

My day so far has been good! I'm drinking my water, eating my exact points, wearing my pedometer....I want to get in the WATP (ahem...let me amend that....) I am GOING TO GET IN MY WATP. The kids are hogging the t.v. I have to wait to kick them out of the living room until my baby wakes up from his nap. I am so energized about this challenge!!! Thanks, guys, for being so awesome!

Lost 3.5 pounds. That makes 15 total. I'm so trying to to focus on the possibility of the birth control pills being the reason I lost. I'm just accepting this loss as a gift and moving on. I keep losing, then maybe there's a pill connection. Hitting the track tonight after work. Hope it's not snowing. Brrr
Happy Wednesday night to all ya Chicklettes.

Hello chicklets!

I had the best intentions of staying up to watch the election news.....but lack of sleep the night before changed that! I was asleep by 10pm......and I guess my absence didn't change the results anyway.

Jenn......ty for the great avatars.....I picked one with lots of fruits and veggies...I try to get inspiration where I can!

Sparked.....you have hit the ground running and are doing great!....da.da.da.da.da.da.da

Lucy.....so happy to hear the doctors appointment went well. sometimes we just need a little affirmation that we are still in control and headed in the right direction. Let us know if the dietician comes up with any new 'tricks' to keep us focused! Congrats to hubby on the promotion!

Squabb.....Belated Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! Do you celebrate it like we do....big meal.....turkey....cranberries....pumpkin pies. Perhaps you should give us some hints on how to get thru the holiday without blimping out!

Donna......you lost again! Great job! :

Elisha.....please be careful of so-called metabolism supplements. I just read an article on chromium (webmd? mayo clinic?), which said it was NOT effective and could be downright dangerous.

Didn't get the exercise in last night........so better give it a go now!

Well done on losing everyone. Yay!

Hmm I dunno if 1200 calories is feasable with an essay crisis, I'm up to 1500 now and I'm still hungry. I'm always sooo hungry in the night

Dill

Just finding it hard to find time to post! Last night I was sooo tired and went to bed at 9pm. Fell asleep around 10 and woke up super early this morning...so I'm tired again tonight! LOL!

Food has been ok! I had trouble with staying away from the chocolate yesterday, but managed to do so today! Yea me! I could have easily had another snack bar attack, but I just talked myself out of it!
I've been logging my food in a write in journal. I'm thinking I need to start posting it here too...for accountability! I also need to figure out soon what "plan" I am going to use. Right now I am using nothing! Not counting calories, not really doing the Zone, not doing WW or anything...just trying to eat healthy, but you know how that goes...

Water is on track...so far only 56 oz., but will have 64 in by bedtime!

Walking...got in 13,628 steps including a 1.5 mile walk this morning ( According to my calculations, that's 6.19 miles!! I'll tell ya...something's not right...I felt very light headed when I walked this morning and wanted to go to sleep when I got back! I'm not sure what's going on with this, but if anyone knows, please shed some light here! It was quite disturbing that I didn't even know if I would be able to get back to work after 1/2 way through my walk! I just kept on though!

Elisha...if you find anything out about some sort of natural remedy for speeding up metabolism, please let me know! And I'm glad you liked the questions I sent you!

Mary...Congrats on the 3.5 lbs!!! That is just great! Perseverance, chickie! Keep it up!

Lisa/Jennifer (and anyone else!)...could you send some energy this way, please? I'm having hard time finding some here!

Donna...Yea you on the 1.4 lbs! That scale is just going down, down, down for you! I'm proud of you...you are working hard!

Lucy...Awesome on all the good stuff happening in your life! I know how much you have wanted all of those things for so long. I'm just proud of you! And the goals look great! Keep up the good work! Good luck with the dietician!

Jennifer...Way to go on this challenge, girl! You are kicking some serious butt! Let me know on the email I sent you, please!

Squabb...great job on keeping your goals!

Dill....I'm with you...I don't do well with moderation...just gotta stay away from that garbage! And hey...don't blame us for our election!! LOL!!!!

MsRD...I think counting calories and keeping track of fat & protein is what I need to do, too! Oh, I so hate keeping track of anything! Why can't I just eat when I'm hungry and eat until I'm satisfied! Why, oh why can't that work for me??? Well let me know how it goes fo ryou!

That's about it chickies...Its getting late (HA...only 9pm!) but I turn into a pumpkin soon...and I"m sooo tired! I know it's the time change that is screwing me up at night, but geesh...give me a break!