Kelly -- Hey, we've got similar plans! I try to keep my cals under 1500 and my goal is to bike half an hour 3x a week.

cdtobehealthy -- Nice costume? That's a great goal.

NluvwithJesus -- Isn't it kind of weird being the biggest one of your friends/family all of a sudden? Competition definitely helps. I hope your relationship with your sisters stays strong.

Drazen -- Yep, got to WO before snacking. That makes the snacking not count, right?

Birdiegirl -- Welcome! Chewing slower is definitely a good trick. You feel full at about the same time you would if you had chowed down, but you've only eaten half the food. Very smart. And I'm with you on the denial thing. Why do we look so different in pictures than we do in our mirrors?! And ice cream with nuts... mmm. Especially pecans. Evil.

Michelle -- Hey, ice cream isn't so bad. Yeah, it's annoying to mess up at the end of the day. Maybe if you think about it in terms of a week rather than a day, you can remember all the good stuff you did over the week.

Lisa -- Can I ask what WATP is? And you must be floating w/ 96 oz. of water inside you.

Donna -- Good for you for getting back on track. They say keeping it off is the hard part. A lot of people would just gain it all back and then some. But you're taking the steps to avoid that. That's awesome.

Jen -- I like your goal of two-days-a-week fast food. It's a realistic goal, rather than trying to cut it all out when it's been a big part of your lifestyle.

Lameducklucy -- You must have abs of steel. How long did it take you to get up to 200 situps?

Dill -- Hee hee, I like how you described your trip to France: Eating cheese. Isn't that the truth?!

Jennifer -- Sounds like you have an evil chocolate fairy visiting your jar. Maybe you could sprinkle the jar with fairy-be-gone?

Julie -- It's awesome that you have a positive competition with your sister. Too often those things are spiteful. Yay, healthy competition. We have about the same starting weights and goal weights. Good luck to you!

Jaymi -- That core program makes a lot of sense. It sounds like it would "train" you to choose healthy food, and then have occasional treats.

Elisha -- Hey, even if you don't comment a lot, you're QODs are cool.

Roseanne -- Welcome! I bet your kids will love the walk and keep you on track for doing it often.

Gabwill -- Hi there. Five miles in a stroller has got to be good exercise.

Redzam -- Good for you, too, for stopping the regain before it gets too bad.

MsRD -- Ooo, I like the term "transformation." It's not just change, which is kind of fleeting. Transformation sounds deeper and more permanent.

***
Daily Question: How do you feel when/after you exercise? Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too.

Proud. And motivated to eat well. Ya think it would be rewarding enough to stick to, huh?


Wowzers, it took me 20 minutes just to respond to everyone!

Yesterday was a good day. Stayed under goal for cals, ate several servings of vegetables. Again, the key was eating well during the day. Even though I didn't binge at supper, I ate a good deal then. But the low-cal eating throughout the day kept me under my goal. It's kind of like doing SlimFast, but with real food instead of shakes!

Daily Question: How do you feel when/after you exercise? Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too.



What a great daily question, these daiily questions really make you think about yourself and how to stay accountable for different ways to stay on your own exercise and weight loss plan.

I feel like a totally different person after I exercise, I am so much more energized and feel great mentally and emotionally. It seems like when I come home from my workouts, I feel like I can accomplish anything that I put my mind too, because I have such a great mental attitude. I am on top of the world after my workouts.

Redzam (Lisa)

Aquareggie, WATP stands for a series of videos titled "Walk Away the Pounds". There are 1mile, 2mile, 3 mile "walks", along with a variety of other low-impact workouts. I just love them! I have a bad back, and I can do these videos without hurting myself, while still feeling like I did a lot!! I would recommend these videos to everyone!

Good Morning Everyone!

I'm so glad it's Thursday (I work Mon - Thurs). Yesterday afternoon I had a dental appointment...had another cracked tooth crown prepped...a 2 plus hour appt. I was zonked by the time that was over at 4:10PM. Too much novacaine! I layed low last night, but I did managed to exercise for about 15 minutes. I do toning exercises (floor) for my thigh, butt, stomach...once I get in better shape this will last about 30 minutes tops. It really has worked for me in the past, so I know it will work again.

After that I curled up and watched TV and stayed on Ibuprofren for jaw/mouth pain.

I feel pretty good today despite my mouth! I'm upbeat to know I am on a "plan" to be in control of my "emotional eating" habits. No more denial...doggone it!!

Daily Question: How do you feel when/after you exercise? Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too.

The muscles are burning a little bit, but I feel much better emotionally. It's like a battle against the establishment of "junk food being ok for us"...all the crap you watch on TV promoting FOOD FOOD FOOD!! (Always being consumed by skinny models that probably go throw up after the set...anyone sense any bitterness?? NAW!!)

IN any case...regular exercise, even if not very much, really helps me!

Birdiegirl

Woohoo!

Just checking in to report that I actually DID my exercise for today! Yay! I did 40 minutes on the stairclimber, then I even did a short UB circuit--I've got to work in more weight training! It just always seems like "extra," so it's usually the part that gets cut out. But I hate seeing skinny chicks with flabby bodies. I'd much rather be fat and flabby, at least if I'm completely out of shape I feel like I have an excuse. (Boy, that's a demented way to look at things...) When I finally do melt this layer of fat off my body, I want it to reveal nice toned muscles. Yeah, so kick my butt and make me do my weights!

Ok, off to get ready for work! We're open late tonight, so I won't get home until almost 11. Bleh. Oh well, hopefully not much longer for this job.
Have a healthy day everyone!
~Elisha

Well, I had all the best intentions yesterday, but things fell apart when I got home. We had a very bad storm- they say it was one of the last bands from Hurricane Frances, but I don't know if I fully believe that. We took a bad hit from a lightning strike, and the phone line went down. We lost power for an instant, but it was enough to mess up hubby's computer & blow out the cable internet connection. Is this crap ever going to end???

We tried to troubleshoot the phones & the computer, but had no luck. Was up until nearly 2am thanks to that. Dinner was grilled cheese sandwiches & potato salad from the last hurricane stash, and of course, my exercise became running around the house, trying to plug & unplug phones and make anything work.

I got less than 4 hours of sleep, so there was no way I was losing any of that time to get up & exercise. This may be a rocky week, exercise-wise, especially with this new hurricane, Ivan, which appears to be sucked into the path of Frances, and will be hitting us by Monday. We'll know by early this weekend if we need to evacuate. I'm trying to keep a positive attitude, but I am really, really, really getting fed up with this damn rain & wind & crap already. And this is a category 5 hurricane- worst you can get. If you want to panic, Click here to check out the National Hurricane Center and check out the 11am advisory & map.

Any takers for 2 adults & 4 cats? LOL.

Food & water are on target so far today. I think exercise will be the one area I struggle with today, especially if I have to go home & deal with more fanagling & troubleshooting. And I have to get to bed early, because I feel like I'm going to conk out & go face down on the desk. Ugh.

Julie- in the contest with you & your sis, I hope you win. then again, I'm kinda partial. A Milky way? gasp!

Jaymi- thank you for the summary of the Core! Sounds a lot like South Beach basics....should be very doable.

Roseanne- Welcome to the group! Good to have you here!

Gabwill- Welcome! The more the merrier! Wow- 5 miles- great!

Redzam- Welcome to you, too! It's never too late to join in! Goals look great- welcome aboard.

Tired- Welcome to the challenge! Good idea to break down the mileage that way- makes it seem less daunting, huh?

MsRD- Welcome aboard! Those situps that Lucy does....she puts us all to shame. I say she needs to do them for all of us....she could be at it a few days.

Drazen- I worked at the Stroud Mall before it was 2 stories, and before they even had a food court. Back in my high school days, I worked at Claire's Boutiques, and Afterthoughts, and worked holidays at Things Remembered. I even did some holiday seasonal work at Lane Bryant- they had a great employee discount there! I haven't seen the mall in at least 8-9 years, and I know they added a parking garage & 2nd story...so much change...

Lisa- Way to go with the 2 miles & getting all your water, and then some! Kick butt, girl!

Elisha- awesome with the stairclimber & UB. I still have that @&!*# treadmill that I'm willing to part with- and if I have to evacuate, I'll be that much further north. Come on down!

Aquareggie- fairy dust, rat poison, maybe a mousetrap- anything I can put in that jar at this point, you know? I can go for weeks & weeks & weeks & not care that anything is in there, but then a bad day comes, and other people have chocolate, and then, whammo!

Birdie- yowwies! Hope you are feeling better this morning. Ouch- never fun.


I'll come back after lunch to post my answer to the Daily Question...hope everyone is having a good morning!

I saw this thread when it posted and now finally have the time to post myself Still time to join? (I'm still pretty new here, so I'm not quite sure how this works...)

Brief introduction and hello to everyone, I'm Molly, 26, and every few years I renew my commitment to losing weight. When I graduated from high school, I weighed about 200 lbs (I'm 5' 2") and my weight has been up and down between 140 and 170 for the past 8 years. But, every time I lose I never gain it ALL back, so I remain hopeful

Current weight: The past week I've been hovering between 150 and 152, up from 139 in November of 2003.

Goals for the next 8 weeks:

to stick to my 1500 cal plan- I don't follow anything formal, but I find the counter at slim-fast.com to be very helpful in recording what I eat... even though I don't use their products

Stop picking at the junk food laying around at work and pack healthy snacks instead

Measure out the correct serving sizes and eat more slowly

Exercise for 30- 45 minutes every day, either at the gym or going out for a walk.

Get back into my weights routine, 2 days a week minimum.

So far:

Tuesday- did 30 minutes on the treadmill and lower-body circut... then ate pizza and wings for dinner. 1790 cals. oh well.

Wed- 45 minutes on the treadmill and upper body circut. Unfortunately, will have to adjust the weights back down, my shoulders and pecs are killing me. My meals turned out to be exceptionally veggie-filled and high in fiber, so I actualy came in at 1290 cal.

Today- so far so good. I had lo-fat cottage cheese, fruit and dry All-Bran for breakfast and a half cup of chex mix for a mid-morning snack. Verdict: fibertastic! After work 45 minutes at the gym, no weights tonight. (Ow.)

Anyway. Nice to meet you all

Aqua -- Not long. I gained 135-ish lbs in 3 months (in 2001) from steroid injections for a medical condition, but I'd always worked out or been active and eaten halfway healthy, for a teenager. (Salads for dinner and whatnot is good, right? hah!) When I was in high school, I used to do about 400 a day, for fun, when I got bored. I've never had abs of STEEL, per say, but they are better, now. After I started losing weight, I'd just force myself to do a few hundred, whether it felt good or not. I'm a weird workout kind of girl. But it's not hard. Basically, if you want to get up there with 'em, just push yourself for a few after you feel like you have to stop, and eventually you'll be able to do a ton, and your lower back will feel AWESOME from it. I have a bad back, but -never- lower back pain. NEVER. Welcome! I'm glad to have some new faces around here!

Jennifer -- If y'all really feel like coming all the way across the country, haha, you're more than welcome. But I must warn you... it's supposed to be stormy here (wind, rain, under 60 degrees) for the next 5 months or so. My sis-in-law (whose hubby, in the air force, just got shipped out somewhere in iraq ) is stuck up in N. Carolina by herself, too, and they might get evacuated. *hug* i hope you don't get hit by that one! Let's hope Ivan chills out a bit before you guys get hit again, huh? A Cat-5 would SUCK right now.

Jay - Sounds like a good diet! My 'never-home-long-enough-to-eat-just-there-to-sleep-and-busy-all-the-time' plan seems to be working... but I don't suggest it. *hug* You are doing so well, chickie. If this one works for ya, let me know!!!

Ate somethin' really not good yesterday or Tues. night, not sure which. Either way, it stayed angry and made me sick last night, so I had to come home early from work. BLECH!!! That's aright, though. Only left about 2 hrs early, and I needed it, I guess. Gonna grab myself a bite for breakfast, now, and then hit the showers!

Workout today -
15 min on the bike (didn't feel like ellipitical -- my muscles were sore from sick, bike was a sit-down thing haha)
200 situps
7.5 hrs walking around today.

Food will be somethin' like this:

B - cream of wheat perhaps?
L - nutrigrain bar (need to eat fast at work)
D - salad w/ grilled chicken breast on it & some watermelon

yay! Hope you're all having a rad day, and I'll check ya later!

Jennifer, I am fed up with what we have gotten in the upstate of SC I can't even imagine the frustration and all you are going through being in Florida. I'm so sorry and I hope that Ivan will just go away which would be living in a dream world but we can always hope, right?!

I appreciate the fact that I'm not alone in this need a kick in the butt and get back on track that I am reading from you all who have joined this challenge. I did not do the best food wise yesterday but it's in my mind set so that is good. I know that doesn't make any sense, but it has been not in the back of my mind to get back with it for a while so this is good. So far today I am doing very well. My Dh's birthday is today so I will probably have some ice cream tonight but maybe I'll do good and exhibit good self control.

I am debating what "plan" I should venture. The new CORE plan that Jaymi was telling us sounds interesting. Since I know WW works for me I may look more into that but would love not to have to PAY AGAIN.

Question of the day, how do I feel after exercise? Most of the time energized, ready to take on the world but sometimes it's a beat up feeling and ALL the time I'm hungry afterwards. LOL (wonder why that is)

Have a great day you all and keep up the great work!

Exercise does make you feel fantastic... you are absolutely right! It does make you feel as though you can accomplish anything. When I exercise I feel better about myself, walk a little taller, sleep better, have more energy. It is a great feeling.

Marla
252/195/155

And back for my answer to the Daily Question..

Daily Question: How do you feel when/after you exercise? Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too.

Physically, after a good workout, I feel muscle fatigue, I'm hot & sweaty & red in the face. My hair is usually pretty damp, and I feel skanky. Well, just grimy, not really totally skanky. Mentally, it feels good- on the stationary bike, I play my music & can just get into the groove & pedal to the beat, and that becomes the focus for me. Doing the WATP, I concentrate on lifting my knees high, and curling the full way up on the kick backs. Once I get through the first 15 minutes, I can pretty much resign myself to feelilng the benefits & not whining. Emotionally, right after exercise, when I cool down a little, but can still feel the blood moving, and the endorphines, it's like "Wheeee!" and it feels good, but I always have to convince myself to get up & get moving. When I get a few weeks strung together, or see the numbers adding up, it gets easier. I know that's my biggest problem- I can get the food & water on track & then go home & plop on my butt & do nothing.

Molly- Welcome! There's plenty of room in the challenge. I think we've all seen those cycles- and every January, I have that 3-week resolution that usually falls apart. One of these days we're going to get it right. Make yourself at home- we've got an amazing group here so far!

Lucy- I think I'll take your rain & cold weather over being blown off the planet Got room for the kitties? Anything I can bring you on the trip across the country?

Donna- I feel so bad for you all in SC, too. Whatever misses us seems to hit you, or TX. I keep looking for the bullseye they have painted on the state so I can move it. I've never minded the occasional storm, but this is getting to the point of ridiculous. I swear, I have mildew growing on ME as dang wet as it has been. Grr. I'm beginning to lose my perky, positive attitude & I'm getting cranky. We haven't had a season this bad in years, and I'm thankful that we had as little damage as we did...I'm just getting storm crazy from being stuck inside, and wet.

Tonight as soon as I get home, we've got to go to Best Buy or circuit city to get new cables for our internet router, and a new network card. Hopefully it isn't the wireless hub, or the internet cable router that got slammed. We've got to get hubby back up & functioning. What fun, huh?

I might be able to check in from home, if not, it will be tomorrow morning. Have a great afternoon, chickies!

Yes, I think it is an accomplishment! Go for it. Your post caught my eye, transformation is exactly how I see myself, not just in weight lose... I see many changes, I feel as though I am shedding the person I use to be and becoming a better me. I have lost 50 pounds but have gained self respect... recently I have hit a plateau and even gained a little, I am back on track again. Remember why you started on the path you have chosen for yourself. Even if you are not quite to the point you want to be, enjoy your daily progress. Honor and celebrate where you are right now. If you don't have fun with the steps you take forward, what is the point in continuing? You will not be 100% complete with your goal if, at one time, you did not finish the first 25% of it. Embrace the plateaus of accomplishment. This can be a natural resting spot. Keep moving in the direction of your goals, and enjoy the journey. You will get there!

Marla

Hey people!

Gosh what a busy group! Thanks for all being so welcoming.

Heya aquareggie. I feel the same as you about exercise only I often feel so proud I sit around for hours and don't get any of my uni work done and then I have to spend a few days working solidly and get no time to exercise!

I'm starting a new temping job next week that's too far to walk to and I'm not sure when I'm going to fit in any exercise

Wayward girl- you're sticking to plan so well, I'm dead jealous.

Jennifer and other who do Walk off the lbs isn't is it really dull? I'm not sure they do it in the uk anyway. Why do you Americans have to have a different format everything?! he he.

Lameducklucy- I must go do some sit ups.

Jaymi- I kind of guesstimate calories if it isn't on fitday, so long as you over estimate it should be OK!

Also I wondered if anyone wanted to be buddies, I could use some extra motivation right now.

Dill

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!

Dill: I'm looking for a buddy too- wanna team up? I always start off the week with the best intentions, but by (ahem) thursday by the time it's 5:00 a nap and a slice of cake starts sounding better that a trip to the gym and a salad


Daily Question: How do you feel when/after you exercise? Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too.

Exhausted, but invigorated. On one hand, I feel like I've "actually" done something, and that motivates me to accomplish other things during the evening. But, I'm also usually ready to go to bed by about 9:00. I also tend to sleep more soundly and not need as much sleep to function the next day.