I'm doing well so far with the challenge. I've been tracking all of my food for a week and the scale is cooperating! Hooray! I'm wondering how much a pint of blood weighs though??? I donated blood yesterday, and the scale was down over 2 pounds this morning. I'll see what happens tomorrow.

Great job to everyone else!!

A pint is not a lb. Think of a pint sized container of milk....a lb is 16 oz. So your loss is definitley all from giving blood

A US pint is 16oz, and yes, 16oz is indeed a pound.

Zumbachica, are you possibly thinking of a quart of milk and comparing that to the half-pint of milk they give to children at school?

According to the Red Cross, it takes 48 hours for your body to replenish the blood you donate. They also say, "You won't notice any physical changes." Whatever that means to how much you weigh is anyone's guess.

But you wrote that it was a good week - maybe you simply lost weight! And to that I say - YAY!!

This reminds me of a conversation me and my pal had recently about obsessing over seeing changes on the scale...and how we will weigh ourselves after going number 2. We figured we can't be the only two women who do such things... we went on to compare other times when we might weigh ourselves and when not, and donating blood is definitely a situation we didn't consider! lol!

Good Morning ladies!

Another 1 1/2 pounds of water weight gone. Oh why oh why, did I slip so bad last week. -- I am up still 3 pounds from last Monday (all time low during this weighloss round). TOM should be here any day, so I know I am up a bit because of it, as well.

I had a great weekend. I did a 24 hour fast on Saturday; just to cut my eating cycle. Sunday I did all veggie and fruit day; I allowed myself some rice noodles for dinner and some chocolate chips in my (homemade) trail mix as a snack. I ended up at 1465 calories for the day.

I drank over 10 glasses of water and took my vitamins and walked 5 miles on Sunday. So back on track

Today, I am keeping up my water intake, walking 7 miles. I am aiming for higher protein day today, around 1500 calories.

traveling michele Congrats on staying OP! And thank you for donating blood! (You may be a bit dehydrated from it as well).

Zumbachica Sorry about your bad week I had one as well...I asked myself if I felt "good" after my horrid eating and the answer was simply no. This time I have decided, I am better than this. I deserve to get back in shape. -- So let's do it together this week! OP all the way! And just think of that bikini....

guacamole Oh bummer!!! I hope MRI will bring some answers! Back ache is the worst!!

Beverage10 Lots of great support and accountability here!

GemIAm We are fab in our 40's Welcome!

fiona46 I upped my calories as well. I think I was eating too little (well not last week ) -- I started cycling different days; one day all fruits and veggies (with guacamole and olive oil for calories), next day high protein day...usually between 1400-1500 calories. I dropped 5 pounds after two weeks...I had stalled 6 weeks prior. I use myfitnesspal.com...if you are there, feel free to add me as your friend.

Espressowhip AWESOME...3.3!!!

Anyone else I forgot







Everyone have a fab day!

Glad that everyone is on track! I kind of feel like I am slipping off plan and becoming bedridden and housebound because of my back. I'm not eating too horribly, but definitely had off-plan foods, although I have basically stayed within calorie range. Hopefully, my eating will get back on track this week even if my exercise won't.

Good luck, everyone!

Just wanted to do a quick share about my dinner - because it was so yummy!

I broiled salmon with Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb, pepper, and paprika. I made cucumber dill sauce by blending together 1 cucumber, 1/4 cup light mayo, dill weed (used the dry spice because I didn't have fresh), pepper, and Mrs. Dash Original. I put the salmon on a bed of spinach (1 cup) and poured some of the cucumber dill sauce over the whole thing (maybe about 3 or 4 tablespoons). Yummy, filling, and easy! I plugged it into my calorie program and it came back:

Calories - 327
Carbs - 6
Fat - 25
Protein - 20

I still have over 700 calories to use. Maybe some fruit or yogurt in a bit....

Well, I'm down a lb. and a half from yesterday, probably because of being bloated yesterday. Still, I know that I am so NOT near where I want to be....its sad really that I wound up in this place after working so hard to lose ten lbs last year.

I hear a lot of buzz about the Paleo diet...anyone know what this is? I also hear about gluten free even if you don't have celiac disease. I"m just not sure what my plan is for trying to lose this time. I just can't get back on the Atkins diet like I should.....and winging it obviously isn't working. I feel kind of helpless, like I can't do this on my own right now.

Hey everyone. Had my WI today and am at 184.2. That's now 18 days of being on plan & stuck right around 184. It gets pretty frustrating.

I know that it's probably just because I've added weights to my workout & am building muscle, and I know I've actually lost inches in the last two weeks. But....................... I want the stupid scale to move down. I swear I hear it giggling every day. LOL

Vent is over now.

Guac, hope you're feeling better. Zumba congrats on your loss. It's downward movement, no matter how small. Don't get discouraged. Kristiina, great job on getting back on track. We will all stumble, it's just dusting ourselves back off & getting back to work that counts.

Everyone else, keep up the good work & keep moving.

Kim

So I'm still on track for my goals. I've lost 3 pounds since the V-day challenge ended with 7 more to go in a month. I should be able to make that, but I've definitely slowed my progress through my lousing eating the last week.

So, I was reading some of the other posts and while it's close, 16 oz of volume of water doesn't weigh 1 pound. I know it's confusing but volume is not the same as weight and 16 ounces of water actually weighs a little more than a pound. 1.040 pounds (at sea level, 25 degrees celcius). Now that might seem like hair splitting but if you drink a gallon of water, that actually weighs 8 and 1/3 pounds.

Hello, everyone! Nice to see everyone participating and trying! That is a success in and of itself. TOM came early this month - Ugh! On the upside, I am down to 163lbs (from 165 of bloat last week) - on the downside I am still losing and gaining the same 4 or 5 lbs and can't get past 162, so it's not real progress. Hopefully, in a few days when TOM is over I'll start losing again. I need to get into the 150s already!

Went for my MRI today and it did not show spinal stenosis or a bulging disc - which is great! It did show that I have some kind of a small growth at the base of my spinal cord that might be responsible for nerve pain. I am probably going to have to go back for another MRI with contrast dye this time. I also have an appointment with a neurosurgeon later this week. I hate going to the doctor! In the meantime, I am still in pain, and on the last few pills of my steroid treatment.

On the way back from the MRI my husband and I went for breakfast. Let's just say I have about 500 calories left for today.... I hate it when that happens!

Good luck today, everyone.

Guac, I am not a doctor but I have heard from many that taking steroids can halt the weight loss process..so try and cut yourself a break. I hope that they get to the root of your problem and you can be pain free soon.....

Andrew thanks for explaining the 16 oz vs. lb. thing, I always wondered about that.

Kim...when you start lifting weights your muscles hold on to glycogen...inflammation happens....muscles hold water ...keep lifting and you'll see the results you want to see soon!!!

I'm in. My goal is the same - to reach 199 by the end of March. I think it's doable. Being more active and exercising every night is my secondary goal.

Welcome, cldwv! Good luck on your goals.

Zumbachica - I have thought about what the steroids will do to me this week - between TOM and steroids? Oh boy. I'll just try and stay on my eating plan to the best of my ability and hope to get through it. I'm more worried about the longer term effects of not moving and staying in bed so much.

The latest news is that they think I have an ependymoma of the L1 (vertebra) - a benign lesion, but will likely need to be removed surgically. I will know more after my next MRI and doctor's appointment with the neurosurgeon on Thursday.

Thanks for your concern!

I had kinda a bad night last night, not really bad - no cake or ice-cream or anything like that, but I was disappointed that I didn't try harder to talk myself out of eating more than I should. Something poked at an emotional soft-point, so I know why it happened, I simply regret that I didn't fight harder against it.

It's been 10 days since I started this challenge and I've had 10 yogurts, which although is an improvement, still isn't optimal. And I haven't been to a class yet, in spite of removing the obstacles which "seem" to prevent me from attending. There might be more to this than meets the eye.

I keep forgetting to weigh myself before my morning coffee/water, so I can't give a mid-week update on my weight-loss goal -but I've been working out as usual, and I feel good, so I trust things are continuing to move in the right direction!

Oh...feel good! Feel GREAT! My next goal size - 18W, fits much more comfortably this week than it did last week! Exceedingly happy about that! I'm a firm believer that just because you can stretch fabric across your body, does not mean it fits and can be worn out of the house...so these aren't ready for public viewing just yet...but they are getting closer...YAY!

Espressowhip - try not to be too hard on yourself! We all have those moments. As far as the yogurt goes, yogurt is healthy for you in moderation. What kind of yogurt do you eat? If you are eating a high sugar/calorie kind, maybe you can switch it over to Greek yogurt or another healthier variety? Take away the guilt but still get the enjoyment - plus the calcium!

I also follow the rule that just because an item of clothing can be stretched over me and pried shut, does not mean I should be wearing it in public!
However, when I have an item like that in my closet, it does serve as an incentive to periodically try it on at home to see if it is getting looser! It is a great visualization technique to imagine myself wearing the item and having it fit perfectly.

I am still hanging in there and doing what I can with my back - carpools, cooking, light straightening up. I have been sticking within my calorie range, although my carbs were higher than I wanted them to be yesterday, thanks to breakfast with my hubby - but it was worth it!

Tomorrow I have a day filled with a 2 hour MRI and a doctors visit. Ugh. I will enjoy the relaxation of being at home today.

Hang in there, everyone.