Ok, Lorraine's feeling like a laptop widow, so I'm going to have to make this short -- just the facts, ma'am. (I promise I'll spend more time tomorrow.)

Gen, I'm right there with you....same story on the plateau, the period (I am period girl, but you can call me Countess Crampula.....) and the low calories. I was feeling discouraged (still focused, but discouraged, nonetheless) till I read your post! Seriously, I definitely feel better! We'll get there, Gen....we've just gotta stay the course.

I've definitely been a good girl, though:

Saturday: the monster weights session, plus I think minutes cardio in the morning on an empty stomach and then for 15 minutes after the weights to cool down.

Sunday: 2 - that's TWO! - 20 minute HIIT cardio sessions.....I'm telling you, I almost caught on fire! I was going 22 mph for the love of heaven!

Monday: 20 minutes HIIT cardio.....I knew I was doing it right when the thought of going another minute at that top speed was going to cause my quads to burst through my skin! Burn, baby burn!

My eats are on plan, but today was another light day....things are so hectic at work I had trouble eating all my meals.....I'll really try to do better tomorrow. It's a sad day when you're struggling to meet your 1500 calorie commitment. Very sad indeed.

Summer, I wanted to mention that I love, love, love my software....it's called dietpower and you can try it out for free with no commitment, no cc info or anything, for 2 weeks. It does much more than fitday, and is a real timesaver. I love it. You mentioned that you were going to look into some software, and I'd highly recommend mine. Check it out here.

Later, girlies.....keep up the good work, and don't forget to treat yourselves with kindness.

Hey girlfriend -- if you need any help with it, just let me know....you might find that it's timeconsuming at the onset as you enter the foods that are not in the database, but it definitely gets easier once you set yourself up and have your bank of frequently entered foods. It takes me like 10 minutes a day to log my food and analyze the data. I know some great timesavers, like for instance, create a recipe for the eats that you KNOW you consume every day, and then you have only one entry for all those items instead of entering them individually. (Unless you want to track your ratio's throughout the day on a blow by blow basis......but who has the time for that??) Let me know if you need any help at all.........I LOVE DIETPOWER!

Hi all!

Is it really only Tuesday?

How are you two doing? I am on track with the exercise so far. Today is Tennis! get some aggression out, yesterday was yoga and walking Fenway, tomorrow is more yoga - but 90 minutes worth and Thursday will be more Tennis. My DH is teaching me how to play and I love when exercise is fun because it makes me want to do it more.

Gen the end of the year show sounds fun! Yellow submarines and big shoes and naps! what more can a girl want? way to go on finding a groove with the exercise and weights - that must feel great. Keep it up girl!

Sarah thanks for the download - I will most definitely check it out. It sounds like you are the queen of the weights Way to push yourself! I hope you hada great weekend with the step daughter and boyfriend!

I am taing a break from work - so I must get back...

Quote:
You've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction. - George Larimer

be well.

Summer

Hi All,
I would like to get in on your group if possible. I am just back from California and am trying to get back into my routine. I am joining a gym probley Monday, I found on that I like who offer child care onsite ( I have a 10 month old daughter thus my weight gain) Anyway, if you have room let me know,

I guess it is my turn to reply...

Hi ladies

kaliu welcome! please join. We are here just encouraging each other and sharing. We just ask that this be kept on the smaller side or else people get lost in the shuffle and get discouraged. So tell us about yourself...

I'm the Green Eyed Monster but you can call me Summer...Gen and Sarah do...

I hope all are enjoying their Friday night...I have a wedding, my brothers are being baptized and Father's day of course! And next weekend my one brother graduates from high school and my sister comes into town woo hoo! I cannot wait to see her.

My best friend from high school called (she lives in the big easy) our 10 year HS reunion is in 3 weeks...I don't want to go - I hated high school but she is begging - any advice??

I spent 350 minutes this week exercising...I am just going to enjoy and garden tomorrow. I topped today off with Tennis and walking Fenway.

Sarah I LOVE DIETPOWER! Thank you for sharing it. Though my calorie level is low 1200-1320. The added bonus if I exercise - I can eat a little more. It will take little more getting used to...for instance - they say "Too much Copper" - and I'm like I didn't even realize I was eating that at all!!!! I got an A today!! How is Lorraine and are you still loving the crossbow?

Gen congrats on the bar-b-q success! Salon certificate! Treat yourself well girlie! I think it is a great idea to reward yourself for every ten pounds...I need to think of something for myself that I do not usually get ...
As for the diet - are ou 3 meals or are you a grazer? change it up whatever it is and do fun things - Spinach Artichoke dip with raw veggies, Hummus, baba ganouj with pita, tomato and fresh mozarella, light wheat thins and spreadable cheese, taco dip, cuban sandwhich, grilled veggies... I can go on and on... I want to eat again I made myself hungry...sigh

Well ladies - I hope you have a wonderful evening!

Quote:
"Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger (wo)men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks." - Phillips Brooks

be well. do well. live well.

Summer

Summer you are being so cute! You GO with your A! I'm feeling such fondness for you, I'm sitting here with a big smile on my face! Ok, so what you want to do to figure out where you're getting that copper is to left-click on the copper field on your nutrient summary page. Then it will list all the foods you've eaten that day that contained higher levels of copper. For more information on that nutrient, right-click on that same field, and, if you're online, you'll be directed to the Diet Power website to get gobs of information on it. Also, if you go up to the top under "Options," click on "Edit PDA's" and then you can adjust your levels of stuff to meet your specific nutritional goals. Like protein/carbs and more.....very cool. Make sure that if you decide to purchase it, you buy something -- that serves you obviously --at the online store at the same time because you can get some great savings when you make the purchase at the same time you buy the software. (I saved a bunch on my Tanita body fat scale.) You'd think I worked for them, the way I sound -- I just love that software so much, I can't help speaking about it positively! Hey, and great job on your exercise this week! You go with the minutes, and enjoy your gardening tomorrow! As for the reunion, I don't know what to tell you. I don't see why you have to go -- just because she wants you to doesn't mean it's right for you or that you have to. But did you end up agreeing to go? If so, well then go you must, and I just advise that you approach it with a sense of humor and think of it as just one night in your life and hope for some really amusing discoveries or revelations! Who knows -- you could end up having a really great time. Either way, it's just time......and that passes. Good luck with it, and keep us posted!

Gen, you poor sweetie, keeping the home fires burning while Summer and I were away! I felt so bad reading your posts without giving an update myself, but I kept thinking I'd find time between work and home (I almost have this site loaded and waiting on my toolbar) but every time I started I'd get pulled away. I'm really sorry, you guys! Ok, regarding your eats, if you can name some foods that you like, I'd be happy to think of some basics that you could easily prep so that you wouldn't have to invest a lot of time or energy cooking, and you'd still be able to eat on plan. Just think about it, and then if you want to, post here, and I'll come up with some ideas. (I'm thinking chicken and turkey breasts to just throw in a salad, stir-fry or rice, or nibble on for an afternoon snack; meal-in-a-bowl dishes that are super easy and store well and you can nuke them; and easy meal plans that don't require lotsa cooking. Or I can just tell you what works for me and you can pick out any parts that work for you. I definitely advocate the 5-6 meal plan....that's what I do and, unless I miss a meal because of work, I am never hungry -- so I'm able to resist temptation and my energy level stays pretty constant and my metabolism stays fairly steady. (Or at least it used to.) I also recommend sticking to low-gly carbs and never eating carbs alone but instead combining them with protein. That's a really important one for the energy, metabolism, blood sugar, and fat loss.

I've been getting home late from work and it's affected my exercise. This week I've only done cardio 2 times so far, and weights once. Not good. But I plan to hit both of them hard this weekend, with light cardio and heavy weights tomorrow, and killer HIIT sweat-blood-and-bullets cardio on Sunday. I've got a bit of work travel (car) scheduled for next week but nothing that should rock my workout schedule like this past week has. My work doesn't typically present any obstacles to maintaining a consistent schedule, but this is just a really busy time. I'm an HR Generalist for a technology solutions provider, but if we were retail, this would be our Christmas season! Crazy workload, but this is the worst of it, and will level off to a dull roar pretty soon.

On the upside, I've been able to pull out some old clothing that I haven't been able to wear in a few years, and that's pretty great. My energy's up, my spirits are great, my partner is completely impressed with me and makes me feel like a total hottie, and my thighs simply rock. Life is good.

Hey you guys, just checking in......I flipped my cardio and weights days, so yesterday was cardio and today I did my cardio first thing on an empty stomach, and will do weights later this afternoon.

I'm down another 2 1/2 pounds since Monday, so I'm feeling good about where I am! Busy week ahead, but I'm very focused on staying on track and maintaining my momentum, so I look forward to reporting continuing good news. Isn't it great when things just click?

Happy Birthday, Gen!!! Great job staying on track during your party weekend, too, you strong woman. I'm so proud of you! About your food and feeling frustrated....why don't you post your diet and we can take a look at it. You mentioned planning what you eat -- I think that's pretty critical, so I'm so happy to hear that you're doing it now! It might take some adjustment at first, but once you get up and running with it, you'll find that it runs on auto pilot. A dorky but relevant expression that might make sense to you (it did to me, anyway) is "A failure to plan is a plan to fail." I found -- and still find -- that if all my meals are planned and prepped, I have no choice but to stick to my intentions, and of course I intend to succeed. So I sort of micromanaged all of my eating behaviors at first, and now it's no longer necessary. Anyway, I'm not trying to tell you that my way is the only way, but you sound frustrated and my experience has been really positive, so I offer it up to you. I'd love to help you in any way I can.......just let me know! Good for you for realizing that the steak is pretty high on the fat side....saturated fat is sooooooo not our friend. I still have it once in a while, but it's a treat, not the norm. I'd say I have it like once every nine or ten days. And I buy the leanest cut I can get, like tenderloin, and even then, I cut off any fat I can find. And I'm careful to minimize the rest of my fat intake for that day or the surrounding days to balance it out. Ok, I think now that I've beaten that topic into the ground, I can move on....

Summer? Summer? Sum - Merrrrr.......... Hmm, she doesn't seem to be around. I sure hope she got out of that reunion in one piece!

Ok, here's my update:

Yesterday: I think I said the cardio was great already. I did 30 minutes at a brisk, steady pace on the exercise bike.....first thing in the AM, on an empty stomach. Buh bye, fat cells! Then in the late afternoon, after 10 minutes on the treadmill, I had a great weights workout too -- I upped my weights in the routine's exercises, and was also really pleased with how well my squats have improved! I can go so much deeper now than when I first started. I can also do more standing calf raises, so yay for that too! Overall, very good workout....and I'm hurting today, which is only a good thing.

Today: Did 20 rockin' minutes of HIIT cardio -- on the bike again, and on an empty stomach again -- and. it. was. good. (Spoken with a very serious, important-sounding voice.)

Plan for the rest of the week?

Tue: AM Cardio; PM Weights
Wed: PM Cardio
Thu: AM Cardio; PM Weights
Fri: PM Cardio
Sat: AM Cardio; PM Weights
Sun: AM Cardio; PM Cardio

I'll try to check back tomorrow.....I'm pooped! (4 hours driving in DC beltway traffic is just sooooooo not my cup of tea! I reacquainted myself with my inner angry New Yorker, and I think she's verrry unpleasant!) Bye, darlinks.....now go out there and run around or lift something heavy, why don'tcha?!

Hey Ladies!

Sorry sorry sorry. Work has been so insane that (granted not a 4 hour trek in beltway traffic) that I am off the computer at 5:30 and won't touch...except to log in my food for Dietpower...did I mention I love it??? never thought I would like logging my food - but it is kind of a game...No decision on the reunion yet - I hated high school...but I would like to see a few people but is it worth the cost of wading through hundreds I don't care to see?

Schedule:
Sunday - nothin'
Monday - Walk Fenway 40 minutes
Today - Interval training in the morning 35 minutes, Yoga tonight for 90 minutes
Wednesday - Walk/Run Fenway 30-40 minutes
Thursday - Walk Fenway (weather permitting in the morning) and Tennis for 60 minutes with DH
Friday - Walk Fenway (weather permitting in the morning) and more Tennis
Saturday - 60 minutes yoga


Gen belated happy birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Way to stay on task this weekend and to drop the bag of chips! Good for you! Wait until August to measure or do it once a month and see your progress because that is the biggest motivation to fit better into your clothes and see actual inches come off. Good luck with the exercise plan...I know you can do it!

Sarah i'm here, i'm here...very cute the way you search for me! I am going to start calling you Dear Abby-Sarah! you have great advice and I am glad that your experience has been so positive. Great exercising - soon you'll be the drill sargent saying "Get down and give 30 - I can do it and so can you!"

Am I weird to say I love new york driving Very liberating to honk the horn and yell sometimes. I think it is another way to releive stress...strange I know...

The only heavy lifting I am doing is me...in yoga!

be well my friends.

Quote:
"Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway." -Mary Kay Ash

Summer