Good morning!

Today is my off day from exercise. It seems weird, but I know my body needs to rest! Last night I did 30 mins on the treadmill, and 15 on the elliptical. My knee started hurting, I figured I would give it a break, VERY happy to be able to do that! LOL

Breakfast was my usual, lunch will be turkey chili with butternut squash, dinner will be grilled chicken, steamed broccoli and alfredo sauce. My snacks throughout the day are carrot/celery sticks and an apple or banana. I drink 100 + oz of water a day.

I hope everyone has a good day!

Jackie: Good for you! You are so motivated! Do you have significant other or kids? Just wondering how you find time to schedule it all! Your meals sound yummy as well! I did the protein shake thing for awhile but then got bored, so now I try and change it up from time to time.

I gotta tell you, I'm liking this paleo diet. I'm trying foods I would have never eaten before! Lots of new spices too, which keeps me from adding salt. Last night it was chicken currey (diced chicken with indian curry sauce, fresh spinach and cashews together). It was a smaller portion but very filling.

Here are meals today:

B: eggs and nitrate free sausage (1 link), fruit
L: Steak stirfry salad (super good as well, steak sauteed with red onion and gluten free soy sauce and green pepper) over mixed greens
S: fruit
D: Ground pork with spinach, coconut milk, cumin and garlic

Working out with Jeff tonight, we'll see what "fun" he has planned for me. I find that I'm not getting sore as much...not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Hi Maddiesmom, Thanks! Yes, I am married and have 2 teenage children (17 and 19 years old). My husband and I are doing it together (he does P90 and goes to the gym, not Shred). So far he lost 30 lbs. In our house I am the trainer, he is the chef (most of the time). I do all of the meal planning, shopping, food prep (cutting/slicing veggies, making salads etc), and clean up (before/after). Today, I decided to give him the night off. I am making spaghetti sauce with chunks of onion, zucchini, green/yellow and red peppers, celery and carrots served over spaghetti squash, grilled chicken, and a side of breaded zucchini (sliced zucchini dusted in a mixture of 100% whole wheat flour, oregan and pepper, fried in a pan with Pam). I never heard of that diet before (I will have to check it out). I am the same way, I do not cook with salt. Everything is seasoned with herbs/spices. Your daily menu looks great! I love seeing what everyone is eating, gives me ideas! I hope you have FUN with Jeff!

Gezz lady you are my hero are you kidding me I could maybe do the push ups and kettlebell squats but there is no way I could do half that many knee ups or pull ups and we won't even talk about the box jumps wow is all I have to say, fantastic job I think if I did that I wouldn't be able to walk the next day haha

Hey ladies sounds like everyone is having a good week!
jacki!! Oh my you too gezz you and vicky are crazy with workouts I don't know how you do it! ooo spagehtti squash I have one of those think that'll be dinner tonight mmm

It took most of the month but I think I'm finally settled into a good workout schedule. I'm starting to feel a bit tired so I think I need to start going to bed earlier.
Dance I'm having that problem too I slept for 9.5 hours Sunday night no clue what happened! I'm going to have to start working out a little earlier so I can get to bed a bit earlier I've been exhausted all week.

Any of you have Just Dance2? We have a wii my son has been asking me to buy it for a few weeks, it's a little advanced for him but I'm sure he'd have fun trying. I read that it has a calorie burn calculator which is always good. I was thinking about getting it for an extra something to do on weekends plus I could make my husband do it and that would be funny

Marmalade: Thanks! The workout was interesting to say the least - was able to finish everything in under a half hour. I'm proud of myself that I could finish and happy that my trainer thought I could do it. And...I wasn't sore the next day either - go figure! Guess I'm building my strength back up.

Jackie: I see you are from IL - whereabouts do you live? I'm up in Round Lake (near Gurnee / Great America). Just curious.

Went to workout tonight to find that Jeff had car trouble, thought he'd be back in time to meet me, and then didn't. I did a small workout at the gym and then came home. Disappointed I didn't get my hour in, but at least I did something. I'm going to do 30 Day Shred tomorrow night after work and then go with Jeff on Friday.

Still doing well on Paleo, I had a super yummy lunch today: Stir fry steak salad and fresh fruit. Dinner was chicken and veggies. It's getting easier being away from the bread and other carbs - but the desserts in my work's cafeteria is insane! Turtle brownies, are you kidding me?!? Haven't had a cheat since the chicken finger on Sunday - gotta stick with it.

Anyone have plans this weekend? I have gymnastics with Madeline, a much-needed haircut and then some major home cleaning. Still have to ebay about 1/2 of my "fat clothes" so I can get rid of them. Don't want them as a reminder anymore!

Good morning girls!

Finished Day 6 of P90. It was nice having a day off. Tonight is strength day at the gym. I can't wait! Breakfast was my protein smoothie. Lunch will be turkey chili with butternut squash. Dinner will be breaded cod (cod lightly dusted in a mixture of 100% whole wheat flour, cumin and chili pepper, cooked in a pan with pam, and 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil) with black beans (dry beans cooked in water)) topped with salsa (diced tomatoes, diced onions, chopped cilantro, chopped jalapeno pepper, and lime juice) and guacamole (avocado, chopped onion, tomatoes, jalapeno, lemon juice and pepper).

Thanks Carvedmarmalade! It took me a couple weeks to get into this mode. I have been doing P90 for 1 week, before that I was doing Shred and the gym. My body feels great after working out, may be what keeps me going and wanting to do more. I have a Wii, but don't have Dance2. I love your idea about your husband doing it for your enjoyment! LOL I will have to get it and have my husband do it! LOL

Awesome job, Maddiesmom! Sorry to hear that about your workout, I know that was disappointing! Good thing is, he is/was ok! Another IL member, nice! I live in New Lenox about 50 miles SouthWest of Chicago (I was born and raised in Chicago, moved out here about 9 years ago). I love going to the outlet malls by you (Gurnee Mills and Kenosha outlet mall).

We are doing some cleaning this weekend too (garage and basement). Only other plans are working out, and food planning/shopping for the week. Nice boring but productive weekend!

Hey chicklets! Did not go to bed early like I wanted actually I was up until midnight I'll try again tonight.
I am down 1lb this morning so happy about that going to weigh in and take measurements tomrrow can't wait I know I down " my dress pants are loose today might just get the nerve to pull out my too small clothes and start trying stuff on...that's a scary thought...
Got a workout in last night did lots arms, abs & of squats I hate my thighs haha lots and lots of squats 80 pile and 40 regular it just about killed, me I have only lost .5" on one thighs so I'm adding extras in hoping to finally see a change I can actually see. Did 1 mile last night on resistance level 5 started out at 2 in November then did a ranging program that went from 2-6 in december/january. I'm going to look back and see what I burned more calories on the program, or last night did almost 800cals it was really hard to keep up the pace. I was doing level 4 this month but I thought I'd try out 5 and I managed to do it
Not sure what lunch is but think I'll have haddock & left over spaghetti squash for dinner tonight mmmm Alright I think my phone is charged so I have to run hope you all have a great day

Hey guys my name is Hannah Thompson, and I just joined 3 fat chicks! Im currently on weight watchers trying to lose 45 - 50 lbs and it has been hard. there are days when i feel like giving up, and days where i feel like i just dont care about losing the weight anymore. right now ive hit one of those spots where i cant seem to find the motivation, i was doing great and now im declining again. any suggestions on how to keep myself motivated and on the right track. i WANT to lose this weight!!!! (esp. before summer!)

hannah - welcome! I hear you - some days are really really tough to get motivated. I think we all go through that sometimes. You look like you've made some great progress - I bet you're wearing different clothes than when you started your weight loss program. Do you have a near term special event coming up or an outfit that you almost fit into but not quite? Sometimes when it all seems like too much to tackle, a small concrete goal helps me.

marmalade - congrats on another pound! Go for it - bust out those smaller clothes and dazzle yourself with how many of them fit now! It's seriously the funnest thing ever, even if it's only a piece or two. Come back and tell us all about how great it feels!

jacki - I'm so impressed with your workout schedule. You are amazing!!

maddiesmom - I can't even believe how well you're doing on Paleo. Such discipline!

I'm still having some trouble beating the sleepies but maybe I'll catch up this weekend. Planning on a good run tomorrow morning and am going to work from home all day.

Any fun plans for the weekend?

Good morning everyone

I need to re-adjust my P90 days. I am suppose to count off days too (1 off day a week). Today I finished Day 8! Talk about a workout! Now I know why they named this part of the exercise Sweat! LOL I feel great! My body feels so strong, I am addicted to that feeling! Love it!

Going to Chicago today to see my niece in a H.S. Musical. Falls during my cardio workout, but figured she is worth it. I am packing my gym bag to go afterwards, hopefully I feel up to it (10pm), if not I will be doing 2 hrs at the gym tomorrow plus P90! LOL

Awesome job, carvedmarmalade!

Hello and welcome Hannah! Sorry to hear you hit a bad point! I know how frustrating all of this can be especially when you don't see progress. Just know if you are eating healthy and exercising, you are going in the right direction. At times the scale may not move, you need to take measurements too. Sooner or later the weight will come off, it has no other place to go! You can do it! In the beginning, it was hard for me to be 100% focused and motivated. I just asked myself " what do I want more?" It really worked for me. The thing I want most, is to be fit and healthy! I don't want anything more than that! That is what keeps me going! It took time to gain the weight, it will take time to come off. I wish you the best!

Thanks so much, dancerindenver! Sorry to hear you have trouble sleeping, hope you can catch up this weekend! Hope you had a good run today!

My plans for the weekend are cleaning the garage and basement, fun huh? LOL I will also be working out to P90 and going to the gym. I am hoping to fit Shred in there too! LOL Tomorrow is my weekly weigh-in day, can't wait to see that number. I hope everyone has a good day and weekend!

Hannah! I am pretty ocd when it comes to keeping track of everything
I have a calendar on my fridge that has a dry erase board on the bottom that keeps me ubber focused. I track my daily workouts and I also use it to plan dinners for the month. On the dry erase I keep track of weekly & monthly losses for pounds & inches, my goal for workouts (miles & minutes) and then of course a running tally of miles & minutes...I have issues but it really works for me, and it's good to look back and see where I need to improve. My husband and son could care less really but it gives me an extra push to try harder because it's out in the open haha
I have a biggest loser dvd the trainer says something like "if you give up your body doesn't have a reason to change" also someone on hear has a signature that says "nobody ever says I wish I didn't workout today" I try to keep those in mind when I am having a tuff day.
I agree with jacki it took time so it'll take time, a big key for me is to be active everyday even if it's only a walk around the block or playing wii sports/just dance 2 with my son...days off are too hard for me.
Good luck & come back and share it helps a lot to know you are not alone especially when your in a rut, a plateau or just having a bad day

Thanks for the encouragement dance!
I put it off until today and it was sad in the beginning because so much it all almost fit. However I have moved all my 16's into my closet they should all fit by end of March.
I found 2 shirts and my favorite pair of jeans that I forgot about! I am so psyched I haven't taken them off Sizes & brands are funny or stupid haven't decided yet. I have 16's that are too big and 16's that fit perfect and 16 that are an 1-2" too small...I don't like that haha

So down 5lbs for feb & 8" only 1.5" this past week but I binged over the weekend so I wasn't expecting a big loss
Going to get in a super big workout tonight & again tomorrow my husband is working an extra shift for him bonus extra long workout for me haha then pub/bar/dancing tomorrow night. I will dance extra hard to help with the food/drinking. I will behave in March no more "dinners/lunches/going out" no birthdays to celebrate..well my sons and my friends but he's 7 and she's almost 8mths prego so they will not bring out any "bad behaviours" it'll be good.

Okay now that I wrote an essay I'm off to workout.
Have a super good weekend everyone

Hey ladies, I will do personals tomorrow. We got home yesterday from our mini vacation. Had lots of fun. Walked tons but other than that no workouts from me all week. Plus I have been eating bad food. I just cant get into good habits this year. I've lost almost 50 lbs so I know I can do this, I just need to refocus. Im gonna hit the gym tomorrow and hopefully the grocery store for some healthy foods.

Talking to my sister in New Zealand. They had another big earthquake a few days ago. So glad she is ok but her house is only like 2 miles from the worst hit area.

Hope everyone is good(better than me) Im going to weigh tomorrow to see what damage I have done.

Good morning girls

Today is weigh-in day! I about 1.5 hrs, just waiting on my husband to wake up! I can't wait to see the number! LOL

Carvedmarmalade, I know how you feel. I am wearing size 16 and my jeans run different, on a great note, I fit into my smallest 16's on Wed, I couldn't believe it! Bringing my 14's out and buying some 14's to be ready! That will not be for about 15 lbs. Hopefully April 1st! Hope you have fun tonight!

Burgundyrayne, you are doing great! I know how hard it is to get back on, and refocused, you can and will do it! I hope the scale is kind to you today, and you are able to adjust back to your regular eating habits/workout routine.

I hope everyone has a good day!