You can do it rockinrobin! Trust me...I'm just coming off a bad couple of days as I'm sure you saw in my post yesterday... it will pass.
Today is better...I stuck to everything from yesterday so today I'm going to try to mix it up with a new style of commitments!

1. I will get off the train a few stops early and walk to my class tonight after work, I will also walk back to that same train station on my way home. This should give me a solid 30 minutes of walking

2. Sticking with my water, and my healthy calories and not straying from the meals I packed for today...NO VENDING MACHINE SNACKING DURING CLASS!!

3. I will not go out after class. I will not go out after class. I will not go out after class. I will not just 'swing in' to my regular watering hole (which I will need to pass in order to walk to the t stop) to say hey to everyone because I know that if I do that I will stay all night

4. I will get plenty of rest tonight....I'm starting to feel the onset of the inevitable New England weather change December cold and I want to head it off before I get sick!

5. I will get out of this 'down on myself' mood I've been in all week!

Good luck everyone!

Yes Miss Sunshine from the college town of Boston, where my daughter is currently attending college I see that you have bounced back nicely - WTG!!!!! Love, love,love the idea of getting off the train a couple of stops early. And darling it sounds as if passing up on the ol' watering hole is a grand idea. Good luck on today's commitments!!!!!

As for me I just want to say:

Thank the lord, the beasts and the children and anybody the heck else that will listen that I DO NOT HAVE ANY UNHEALTHY FOODS IN MY HOUSE.


Ahh, see I feel better already. Thank you and do have a nice day.

Hello!

I had a great day in San Fransisco yesterday! It was so beautiful and I got in lots of walking and managed to keep my food in check. I had cereal before I left and avoided eating on the plane (downside, I could not ask for a seatbelt extender out of embarrassment and rode for the quick trip without it. Ugh. I cannot wait until that is no longer an issue. The anxiety, shame, and fear are enough to keep me motivated to lose). For lunch, an arrugula salad with beets, chicken, and avocado, dressing on the side. New discovery: I love beets! Why have I never eaten those?! I didnt eat the roll. Woo hoo! In the afternoon, we rested and had a drink and appetizer (I had sparkling water and we split a balsamic grilled artichoke), and for dinner I had green salad, fish with broccoli and white beans (again, no bread!). I have to say I've never felt so out of shape as in that city. The walking is a challenge and my foot still hurts. I don't want to feel so tired next time.

So for today:
Drink a lot of water: I feel dehydrated and have a headache
Go to the grocery store for some more healthy food.
Stay motivated - make these behaviors a habit. It'll be worth it.
Stop looking at the long road ahead, and focus on right now.
Take a walk tonight.

Glad to see you're hanging in there Robin and NESunshine! Nalynn, CONGRATULATIONS on the one pound!!! It all starts with one!!

How is everyone else doing: Nicolen? DramaQueenLucy? MookieMunchkin?, Charbar? Welcome, Casey Gail! How did you do?

Oh, and Robin, my friends call me C.C.

CLCSC145, I just have to give you major kudos! You are doing so well while eating out. I know this is going to be the biggest challenge for me, my familiy and friends eat out quite often and I am a fried food adict! I did fairly well on my commitments yesterday. I didn't get to eat more fruit. Me and my boyfriend took a last minute shopping trip so I didn't get my walking in, however, I felt like I got lots and lots of exercise walking all over the mall!! We went out to eat, I had to face my fears and I gotta say, I did alright. I got the grilled chicken and shrimp fajitas off of the light menu yay! I didn't go over on my calories yesterday! My boyfriend got some delicious looking strawberry cheesecake and he kept trying to get me to take a bite and I didn't. I'm really suprising myself this time around! Anyway, thanks for the warm welcome everyone! I'm happy to see everyone is doing so well!
Here are my commitments today:
Do my pilates video (it is way too cold to go on my nature walk today)
EAT YOUR FRUIT!
Drink at least 8 glasses of water (I better get started)
This doesn't have anything to do with my diet but I really need to start on that short story in Lit.
HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT DAY!!

Hello Everyone!! As they say, better late than never. Today has been extremely crazy, so this is my first chance to post. Things are moving right along for me, I wouldn't say yesterday was a victory day, but it wasn't a bust either. Today I got A TON of walking in. I'm actually extremely sore as I sit here and type this (how sad is that.... it's not like I ran a marathon or anthing!). So, I do feel great about the exercise, but the food choices left a little to be desired. I didn't do horrible, but not great either. Hopefully all the exercise helped.

I have to tell you, I actually missed being able to read everyone's commitments and results earlier..... you are all such inspiration to me!!

NESunshine - I can relate to drinking away as many calories are you eat! The only sport that I've ever participated in on a regular basis is bowling.... and I think that's because it's more of social thing.... you know, hang out and have a few drinks. That was one of my commitments last Saturday.... no alcholic beverages while bowling. I can totally relate to "being social"... I think we just have to learn to do it while drinking water. Here's a toast to being the designated driver

Rockinrobin - I like your commitment to get through the day without strangling your hubby I'm sure he appreciates it too! We all have days like that so I can totally understand!! My husband and I decided to start our own busines about a year ago, and while it has been exciting, it has also been very stressful. For the past year I have handled that stress by eating... I'm finally trying to change that. So, I can definitely relate to everything you said. If you're ever having one of those days and you want to chat, you can look for me on MSN messenger.... my address is [email protected]. For now, here are some hugs This too shall pass, and eventually, so will the need to deal with things with food!

CLCSC145 - I laughed when I read that you discovered you like beets. I have found a few things that I kinda like now that I'm trying expand my tastes... but I don't think I'll be adding beets to the list I'm glad you had such a great time in San Francisco!! I am so proud of you for doing so well on your diet.... you deserve a victory dance You are doing so great... you WILL NOT be as tired next time you go, and very soon you will say goodbye to seatbelt extenders FOREVER!! You will just be a lean, mean, beet eatin' machine

Well, I'm getting a head start and posting my commitments for tomorrow:
Water, water and more water
Restrict carbs
Take Vitamins
Stretch
Walk on treadmill
Clean my house (unless there are any volunteers )

Okay ladies.... good luck to everyone!! Lets not let our momentum fizzle

Sorry, Caseygail21, I missed you in my last post. Congratulations on facing your fears..... I'm so proud of how well you did! You SOOO deserve a victory dance Passing up strawberry cheesecake... it doesn't get any more committed to change than that!! Congratulations again.... you are inspiring me to work on my willpower!

Thanks, Nalynn and Casey Gail! So far, food has been the "easier" part for me. The exercise is a huge uphill battle. At every turn, I'm trying to find ways to get out of it. So far, I've stuck to it, but GAH! It's hard! I did well again today and met all of my commitments. I went for a long walk and grimaced through the last half. Everything hurt. But I can't give myself an inch knowing the way I feel about exercise, or I'll take a mile. For now my rule is no excuses, no whining, every day. Someday it will be easier and, dare I say it, fun. I have to believe that will be true for my own sanity! And without exercise I won't be successful at taking this off or keeping it off; that's just fact.

As for tomorrow:
Eat sensibly
Walk. No excuses, no whining.
Do something fun for myself. Sometimes this weight loss journey just feels so serious! It may be life or death, but that doesn't mean we can't be goofy and have fun!

Nalynn, are you pshyic or something? You hit the nail on the head!!! He has his own business and I do most of his paperwork, contracts, invoices and the such and that's where the problem started. Very, very difficult working with your husband, although my parents have been successful at it for over 30 years. He later apologized, which is a biggie for him, but I'm not ready to forgive just yet. Although he is under so much pressure right now and has been not feeling 100% for just about 2 months now. I know should overlook it and he did apologize.......we shall see. And I too have sooo many days that aren't terrible, but aren't great either, but you know what those absolutely, postively count as progress. MSN messenger, I don't think I have that, I have AOL, or since I'm computer illiterate is it possible that I do? I should ask one of my computer experts - my kids. I will ask them. You are soooo sweet, why can't I meet any people like you or any of you here for that matter in my neighborhood?

CC, can I call you that? I am so proud of you, you have no idea. WTG with the food, just fantastic!!! I dread going out for meals, but because of you I can't wait to test myself to see if I can do as well as you did. and I am identical with you on the exercise, foods been easier, exercise not so much. Your trip to SF sounds really, really nice. But umm, can't you please wear a seat belt next time as hard as it is to ask for that stupid extender, I don't know why they just don't make them longer in the first place. But your safety is really, really important. And we don't want you G-d forbid getting hurt. And what's the story with the beets, I'm always looking for new foods, how are they prepared? I don't know...........beets? Really? But that's what people say to me when I rave about cauliflower.

Caseygail, great will power with the cheesecake, you are a better man then me, that is one of my weaknesses, big time. Hmmm, why do I seem to have so many weaknesses?? And ordering from the light menu? WTG. These are all "tricks" that I MUST learn. Because that's the ONLY way this weightloss thing is going to work forever.

As for getting in yesterdays' commitments, could have been better. But whatever, umm did not exercise much, stuck to my food calories wise which was difficult since I had a run in with a box of bran cereal, good thing that it was practically the only carb in my house,which is where I work from, but I cut back on other things, so although I stayed on track calorie wise it wasn't with my usual proteins, too much carbs, whatever. I didn't strangle hubby, or clean house much or do paperwork.

Today's commitments:

drink lots of water
stay within my calorie allotment, eating the right foods
going to the mall today, should be walking a lot, will still attempt to do more exercise at home at least 30 mins, I'm not too hopeful
clean thy pigsty
Try to stay on track for the upcoming weekends, don't like the weekends, I find them MUCH harder.
Try and forgive hubby
Rember that I want to be thin more then I want the food

Am going to a comedy club tomorrow night, with drinks, food and nasty comedians that like to pick on fat girls. Should be interesting. I hope I make it out of there with out to much damage, food wise and comedian bashing fat girl wise. Have a great day everyone, filled with right choices.

P.S.I really, really know that if we stick together we can do this. I really truly believe that. We have a great support system going on here, let's keep it up.

I couldn't agree more! With a long road ahead, I think we all need eachother to stay accountable... and cheer each other on when the scales not moving as quickly as we might like. I see lots of victory dances in our future

Rockinrobin - You can download MSN messenger from msn.com. It's really easy, I'm sure you're kids can help you with it! I see that you're making progress in your goals.... yesterday you didn't want to strangle your husband, and today you want to forgive him. I can totally relate!! Maybe you can suggest that something extra nice in your stocking this year may help you feel better Now, about the comedy place you're going to this weekend.... are you going because you want to??? You seem a little nervous, and you shouldn't go just to make other people happy... especially if you're scared that you may become the topic of some of the jokes. You are making so much progress, and you DO NOT DESERVE to have any jokes made at your expense!! If you're not comfortable, maybe you can suggest some other venue for the night out?! I know that sometimes it's enough to just go out on a Saturday for fear of what people are thinking.... let alone to a place where you fear they'll say it to everyone. Either way, just go out and have fun. Remember what your mother told you, and what you told your kids.... Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

MORNIN LADIES!!!! Alright here goes....
Well lets see ...where to start....I'm still going strong and that is a good thing. I pretty much stuck with my commitments yesterday. I stuck with my food that I brought with me all day at work and during my class. I stayed away from vending machines during class, and late night coffee or diet coke. I also got off the train and walked to class and then walked back to that same station after class. I found myself arguing with myself mentally on the train....do i get off and walk, its so much easier to just stay on....well the angel won and I got off and stayed on the opposite side of the street from the bar both ways taking the temptation to stop right out of the picture! I tell you it got damn cold in Boston too but it was worth it!

So I did not go out after class, I even turned down an offer from the girls. I did my walking, stuck with my food during the day and got a good amount of rest...although I totally did not want to get out of bed for work this morning....it was dark and cold and snowy and my bed was just that perfect warm cuddly temperature...I would have given anything for another hour! I've also finally pulled myself out of this real crap down on myself ' i'm a big fat drunk failure' mood that I've been in all week! God sometimes being depressed is just boring.....I'm aiming for happy!

My only slip was last night and it wasn't anything bad. I had a bite to eat before bed last night when i got home from class (at about 10:30pm) and that is fine cause I planned it into my day but i could have made a better choice than the left over noodles in my fridge. Its my own fault for not having something healthier on hand. Even so it put me at just about 1600 calories for the day, just heavy on the carbs cause of the noodles.

So here goes for today, and I'm off to a good start!

1. Stick with my calories and on plan....try to eat less carbs today!!!

2. Its Friday, the gym is open until 10:00PM, I don't have to work tomorrow so I don't have to get up at 5:00AM...there is no reason why I can't go there this evening for an hour tonight!

3. With the Wind chill its about 15* in Boston today....and I'm volunteering to be the gofer to run around and drop everything off at our box offices today even though its freezing out....no more exercise for my intern!

4. I will keep up this good mood and keep building momentum and keep on movin forward!!!!

5. I will not fear the weekend!

Thanks ladies, I look forward to reading how everyone is doing!!

cheers

Hello hello, everybody!

Well, I've already posted my commitments for today so just some "woo-hoo's" and chatty things to pass your way.

Robin: Of course you can call me C.C.! I tell ya, if you make the restaurant thing a game to see what's the healthiest thing you can order it's sort of satisfying to order well. As for the beets, they were so good on the salad! I bought some fresh ones at the store yesterday to give them a try. I hear they stain ANYTHING they come in contact with including your hands, so watch out. Apparently you cut off the leafy parts and simmer them with the skins on for 30 mins, then drain, cool a bit and rub the skins off (remember stains!). Anyway, the ones in the salad were cold and sliced into 1/4" half rounds. They are a little sweet and almost like a firmer potato. I'll try them this weekend. Also, apparently the greens are edible too and good for you. I'll have to look up how to cook those. As for the seatbelt, I know better, but I was with a friend and my dad who are both thin and the embarrassment was too much. You should be proud of yourself for sticking to your calories yesterday! How to put this delicately... the bran cereal probably won't stick around long enough to do much damage... and it's healthy fiber!
Good luck at the club, I'm sure no one will make fun of you! Have a glass of red wine - good for your heart - and let the others poison themselves with fatty appetizers.

Nalynn, I can hear the pounding of our soon to be lighter hooves doing victory dances too!

NESunshine, YOU deserve BIG APPLAUSE! You said you were going to get off the train and walk and you did! I'm realy proud of you! I know how loud those voices are that are telling you, "Don't worry about it, you can try again tomorrow, it's cold, you're tired," etc. And you did it anyway. Woo hoo!! And you stayed away from the devil's dispensers, er, vender machines! Double woo, triple hoo! I've suffered from depression for as long as I can remember, but I am finding that these small victories are helping me to feel good. So let's both keep aiming for happy.

Okay, onward weight loss soldiers! And I say the more the merrier, so if anyone is reading this and wants to commit to doing some good things for themselves today, do!

I just thought I'd let you all know that I now have my own personal trainer.... my 20 month old son, Brennan!! He LOVES to dance. Last night that's all he wanted to do is turn on the music and dance around the kitchen. He cried when we had to stop because it was bed time. And wouldn't you know it, as soon as I got him out of bed this morning he said dance and started moving his arms up and down.... so, we started off our morning the same way, dancing in the kitchen. I have to tell you, there isn't a more enjoyable way in the world to burn calories than to dance around with your child

Rockin Robin: Good Luck at the comedy club tomorrow! Make good choices, I know you can!
CC: You are doing so good... such a good inspiration
Nalynn: thanks for the victory dance.

Thanks everyone you guys put a big smile on my face!! I don't know what I would do without 3FC I deffinately would've already gave up and given into temptation. This place just motivates me so much that everytime I get a craving I automatically think "nope its not worth it!" I did ok on my commitments yesterday. I got all of my water drank and did my pilates video(very sore today). I didn't eat more fruit though. This may sound kind of weird but I don't think I'm getting in enough calories. According to my fitday I'm barely getting 1000 calories. I've heard that if you don't get in enough calories then you will not lose. I guess it's just a combination of my metabolism getting higher and eating whole foods, but I just don't feel hungry. I never was a big "snacker." I just ate A LOT at meals. But now I am having small meals and snacking on fruit and veggies in between meals so I feel like I am eating a lot! Maybe my fitday isn't accurate, I dunno!!
Anyway, it's kind of late in the day but here are my commitments for the rest of the day:
-Drink nothing but water for the rest of the day
-2 miles on the treadmill
-FRUIT FRUIT FRUIT!
-We may be going out for dinner tonight so: DO AS WELL AS i DID A COUPLE OF NIGHTS AGO!!
Good Luck everyone!!

I've been ill with a bad cold (thanks to my DH who is good at sharing), and when I don't feel well, I revert back to self-medicating with food. It's my biggest problem. Anyway, for the rest of the day, I'm committed to:

Eating clean and balanced. No more self-medicating with food!
Drinking lots of water
Taking my vitamins

I hope you feel better really soon, Sheila!