Hello girls! I am just checking in real quick and signing off for today. We have company coming in about 1/2 hour and I still have to get the little people in bed. Food was good today. Dinner was awesome! DH made cajun spiced, smoked salmon and basil mashed red potatoes with steamed broccoli and a parmesean, garlic loaf of bread. Yes, he is quite the cook and I was very careful with my carbs! Our company is bringing dessert tonight, so it will be a small...whatever for me and lots for everyone else.

I truly had a great day...got lots done, and didn't give in to my emotional craving for chocolate!

Here is hoping you all have a fabulous weekend that is chuck full of healthy choices! Cristin

Snack:
8 wheat thins
1 oz fat free garden veggie cheese

Dinner:
2 slices light oatmeal bread
2 slices provelone
12 slices 50% reduced fat salami
7 no sugar added sweet gherkins

I did the 2 mile WATP, with the ab belt around 6:30. Each time, it seems the belt can be tightened just a leeeeetle bit more, so I know that something's happening at the waistline. But those traveling kickbacks with the arm movements are going to be the death of me....hey Mary.... (bleeeeeeeeeeeeep!) I think this is a tape better suited to after work & weekends, because I still get very red in the face- I'm ultra-fair skinned & blond, so I look like a stewed tomato for about 2 hours afterwards.

After all that sweating, I wasn't hungry at all until about 8:45, so that's when I made my sammitches

I told hubby of my March goal, and he went & found a yoga mat for 15.99 online, and bought it, saying that he's proud of me already, and believes in positive reinforcement. Awww...what a sweetie he is. I am going to have to do something super-nice for him. But now I need to re-think my bribe for meeting that goal.

I'll be on sometime this weekend...everyone have a good one...make better choices, and put yourself first a few times

that's one for each lb I lost in 17 days. most of them in the last ten days. I was getting concerned. But I stuck with it and joined this challenge and started to exercise (watp video). So thank you for the motivation. I'd probably do better if I didn't eat so late, but at least it's foods op.

Hello ladies

It sure seems like everyone is on the same page, with our water intake, positive spirits, great support and helpful hints. I wanted to run a few days meals by you and see if I'm on the right track.

lameducklucy thank-you for the lemonade idea I find it hard to get down all the water, I'm happy to hear that you could exceed your water intake, it will give me something to work towards. Sorry to hear about your rib/back , take it easy til you feel 100%.

hiken2005 I am glad the snow is melting there, here in south Ontario it went from snow to rain and now it's blown snow. Your right about the downward spiral we all have to keep from doing that. But it was this thread that keep me from it. My kids are all teenagers and older so any time they want to spent time and talk to mom is great. You enjoy your mommy time and always make it first on your list of to do's the rewards are great.

mamamia Weekends are usually heaven and **** for all of us. If you work you can't wait for it to get here but, once it's here we all have to work doubly hard to stay on track. I guess it's just one more struggle for each of us.

hotcupojava So happy to hear your great niece can come home and if you are bias about her all the better. We have all been there with our own children , nieces and nephews and I sure we were bias too.

velmakelly ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND GIRLFRIEND!!!!!

Cristin I happy to hear that you could down all that water, it's something I'm still working towards. Sure sounds like your dh is a keeper with cooking abilities like that(my can't make toast)you enjoy those meals they sound yummy.

DonnaD Bravo on that great loss. You should be so proud of yourself . Keep up the GREAT WORK.

Jennifer Thank-you for being there when I was down on weigh-in day .Here is a mini menu from this weeks meals. I do ride the bike, quick 30 minute walk outside, sit-ups and run stairs each day ( change up each day which excerise I do) Good luck on your house search, your house is just out there waiting for you to find it, Keep looking it is worth the wait.


day 1
b tea-oatmeal-water
l turkey wrap on whole wheat pita-water- yogurt
d 1/2 can of beans-2 slicesww bread-1/2 choc milk (skimmed)
s cup of baked skinny corn chips

day 2
b tea- water- oatmeal
l yogurt mousse-tomato on ww bread-grapes
d apple- tuna w/no fat mayo on 2 ww bread-water - banana
s 1/2cup peanuts

day3
b tea-water-oatmeal
l- decaf coffee-turkey wrap- yogurt-banana
d-1/2cup skimmed choc milk- fish- 1/2 cup mashed potatoes
s grapes

day 4
btea-oatmeal
l- decaf coffee-lean ham wrap- yogurt -water
d -salad-1cup spagetti- 1/2 slice veal- reg slice of rye(2)-1 glass wine
s cantelope1/2

day 5
b tea and oatmeal
l salmon1/2cup with 26 low fat vegie crackers- apple- decaf coffee
d fish and 1/2cup mashed - skinny cow ice cream sandwich -1/2cantelope
s banana

day 6
b tea and oatmeal
l turkey wrap-yogurt mousse-apple-grapes
d- 1/2 slice pork tenderloin-1/2 rice- squash1cup
s grape tomatoes1cup

I did a (almost) 90 minute workout this morning. I wish I had time for that every day! It felt really great! And...the good news is I actually got up to my targeted cardio heart rate for about 6 minutes! I did 35 minutes on the bike and then did my free weights and muscle strengthening. I am geeked! I feel so good about doing that workout that I am going to make a new goal!

New Goal for the upcoming week:
I will be up by 6am on work days to do a 45-60 minute workout 4 days a week and do one 90 minute workout on the weekend. If I do more, it will be a bonus! Here's how I am breaking it down:
*30 minutes cardio (bike or my new WATP tape, which I am going to buy this weekend! Yoohoo!)
*15-30 minutes muscle strength
OR
*45 minutes cardio with no muscle strength

Anyone got any ideas on what works well for them? I need to get a consistent workout going. Do you think I should do a workout every day, just for consistency's sake? I am looking forward to warmer weather so I can go out and walk without worrying about falling on the ice!

So anyway...food and water is good this morning. I am making my coffee with less creamer (my daughter noticed when she took a drink of my coffee and said "yuck, that's not coffee!" LOL!) and drinking more water.

I need to get my butt in gear this morning and get a shower, go get my haircut, make a grocery list and go grocery shopping and pick up my WATP tape! I am so excited. I also have mega laundry to do. So why am I sitting here on my butt? Cause I really LIKE you guys!

Northern: I looked at your menu plan. It looks good, but I don't see much protein on it. Have you checked out to see how many calories that all is? It doesn't seem like much. Just a thought...I am NOT the expert on food, but it was just what occurred to me when I looked at it!

I am so glad you are with us here and are kicking butt. It's great to have this support. I know I look forward to reading everyone's post when I get home every day! I need to work on bribing myself like Jennifer does before I get on this site! I spend way too much time here, I am sure!

I hope you all have a great weekend. I want to comment on everyone's post, but Ijust don't have time. Sorry! It's cold again here in West Michigan...darn it! The snow covered up the yucky stuff and it looks pretty again today, so that is a bonus! I think that is God's way of making up for the cold! LOLOL!!

Hugs to all!

Well, yesterday wasn't so bad. We did go thru the drive-thru at McDonald's for dinner, but I ate only 4 chicken nuggets and a couple handfuls of fries. Also, I have hands the size of a 4-year old, heh. So, it wasn't that bad.

Today I'm doing okay... haven't eaten much, just don't feel like it today. Not sure what dinner'll be... who knows. I've been doing OK with water today, and we might go on a walk with the dog later, but I'm just tired. Had a bad headache yesterday and I'm just kinda icky today.

BUT THE AWESOME NEWS!!! I've lost 5 lbs!! YAY!! I'm down to 159!!

Next week, my goal is to up the protein intake (gives me more energy and I feel WAY better) and lower the carb intake a little bit. My workout goal for next week is 5 days... mon-fri, 20 min bike each day, 200 situps each day, and balance ball 3 days if I can handle it.

My back is back to normal now! Yay! I'm still gonna hold off on that bike, though, till Monday. My butt is awfully sore, still...

Oh well. Hope tomorrow goes as well as today has. =)

Hi everyone! I very rarely get to post, working full-time and having 2 little kids, but I enjoy reading your motivational posts when I do get a free minute (literally, one minute). I'm so glad everyone is doing so well!!
I've been sticking to between 1200 and 1500, only going over once or twice. Tonight I even put half my shamrock shake back in the fridge for tomorrow...and I LOVE shamrock shakes!! I've been doing well with water and working out too, except the weekends are a lot harder. I've heard (seen) a lot of you talk about WATP tapes...do you really like them? What does she do? I'm thinking about trying them. I'm with Hikein2005...I can't wait to walk outside again! I'm so sick of snow and cold!! (I'm in Northeast Ohio).

Anyway, my minute's up. Thank you all again for your motivation and good luck to you! My weigh day is Tuesday, so keep your fingers crossed!!

Karen =)

I am ready for bed but remembered that I needed to post an entry with my food for the day. So here it is!

Water: Good. I got in 64 oz. today! Yea for me! When I am home, I don't tend to drink as much as when I am working!

B-fast: Oatmeal, 1/2% milk, 1/3 c. raisins/cranberries, sweetner
1/2 cup coffee with Fr. Vanilla low carb creamer
Lunch: 3 oz. chicken breast, 3/4 cup broccolli, 1/2 cup FF/SF pudding, 1/2 cup grapes

Snack: 1 tootsie pop (went grocery shopping and brought a couple for DD who ate one, I was having a meltdown so had one too! It helped!!! )

Supper: Low carb spinach tortilla sprayed with butter spray and grilled with 2 slices deli turkey, 1 oz. swiss cheese, 1 oz. cheddar cheese. YUM!

Feeling good today. Got my hair cut! Looks cute. The stylist was so impressed with my hair and the style I picked works great with my hair! Yea! Grocery shopping went well. I chose lots of fresh produce and DD helped me pick out some fresh green beans (her idea). Also got some green & yellow summer squash! Can't wait to cook that up! Got some cabbage to make my famous cabbage soup (lots of veggies and I could eat it every day...for a while!)

I am working on some sort of sinus thingy today, so took a late afternoon nap (which was interrupted several times by a certain 4 year old!) I am going to bed now and hope that this thing is gone by morning! Oh, the pressure!

Hope all are having a great weekend!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

First things first...it's award time!
Click the links to locate your award. You can print your award from that page. Or, right click on the award, and select "save as" to save to your computer. Or, copy the link to use the award as your avatar here on the forums (User CP area)

DonnaD- 6 pounds....great work!



NorthernClipper- 1 inch loss- losing fat and building muscle- always wonderful!


Lucy- 5 pounds- great job, too!




Okay, now for the less interesting stuff...lol

Been on track...I took Saturday as my rest day, and today I am going to do at lest the 1 mi tape, and I want to preview & try some of the FIRM sculpt tapes I have- see if they are too advanced for me right now. If so, I'm just going to rotate them to the back of the box. I've got enough Leslie Sansone stuff to keep me quite busy, and keep things varied. I went through all my exercise tapes & the few DVDs I have, and got everything sorted out & now it's in a box, all nicely organized. Between the WATP, the FIRM, and the 3 different TaeBo series' I have to work my way into, I should be set for quite some time. Add a little Pilates or Yoga for stretching/flexibility/core strengthening/balance and I've got my own home gym once my yoga mat comes. Oh- and hubby still needs to put my bike together. I'd do it, but then I'd hear it for ages.

NClipper- I looked at your menu, and the thing that stands out to me is that your breakfasts & snacks seems to be all carbohydrates. My suggestion- at each meal, and each snack, try to balance the carbs with some protein & a little fat. Your lunches all look nicely balanced. For breakfast, maybe with the oatmeal, you could have a few slices of turkey bacon, or turkey sausage, or even a hard boiled egg. Snacks- I'm a fan of wheat thins or other wheat crackers, and turkey pepperoni (Hormel makes a great one that is 70% reduced fat & tastes better than the real stuff) or fat free hard cheeses. Cottage cheese & fruit... or yogurt, since that has carbs & protein combined. Or a slice of ham or turkey or cheese with your fruit.
Personally, if I have carbs by themselves, I know I am spiking my blood sugar, producing insulin, and storing whatever I eat as fat. My mom is diabetic, so I watch the carbs, and the glycemic index. And balancing with the protein- protein takes longer to digest...you don't get that energy spike followed by the drop off like if you had a candy bar, or a big pasta meal. Maybe play around with your menu a little bit, and see if you feel a difference in energy level, or if cravings start to fade. And we'll keep tweaking it with you! We'll get this right...it's a work in progress.

Julie- 90 minutes...wow- that's great! I'm trying for 30 minutes of cardio a day, and then however long my weights tapes take (usually 30 mins). You asked about routines...Here's my goal/plan: Every work day, I do the 1 mi WATP tape (15 minutes) before I shower & head to work. Then, when I come home, 2 days a week I do upper body weights (Shortcuts UB workout-Leslie Sansone, or the FIRM, upper body-both 30 mins) and 2 days I do lower body (Shortcuts LB workout-Leslie Sansone). Depending on how good I feel, or how far in the week it is, I will add another 1 mile in the WATP tape. If I'm not doing any weight work, I like the 2 mile WATP after work.

Saturday/Sunday- I need to work more exercise into those days...I really want to start those days with the 1 mile WATP if we're doing something, and the 2 mile if we've got no plans other than housework, laundry, and my schoolwork. I'm trying to come up with an Excel spreadsheet chart I can use to track my daily stuff- I'll email you a copy if you want to try it...

Karen- Shamrock shakes...man, I haven't had one in over a year...those were my favorites! I worked at McD when I was 15, and lived for those shakes! I wouldn't have been able to put the rest of the shake away. I'm a slave to their french fries, too. So I have to steer clear of those arches, in a big way! LOL. You asked about the WATP tapes- Walk Away The Pounds. It's a series of walking tapes by Leslie Sansone- they are low impact- no jumping, no real bouncing around...Click here to check out some of her stuff. I really like it, because you can choose 1 mile, 2 mile, 3 mile, or 4 mile workouts, depending on your time, and fitness level. She's a little cheezy & predictable in the 1 mile tape- after 3 or 4 times, you'll be able to gauge where you are by the dialogue...but it's really been effective for me. When I started them on 1/1, I could hardly get to the half mile point without wheezing & feeling my heartbeat pounding in my temples. Now I can do the 1 mile, with the ab belt without trouble (still raises my heart rate) and I get through the 2 miles, but find that challenging right now. She does a few sculpting tapes (the ShortCuts series) and I can do the Upper & Lower body, but not the ab work, yet. You can usually find them for much less on ebay- especially now that people who have given up on new year's resolutions are getting rid of the evidence

That's it for now....hopefully I'll have more time to get back here today, and if not, I'll "see" you all Monday. Have a wonderful rest of your weekend!

First of all, Jennifer...girl you rock! You are doing so awesome on your exercising! And thanks for the input on what to do as far as a routine. I will take you up on the Excel spreadsheet for exercise. I was thinking today that I need to better track the routine I am doing with weights, etc. I may even do one myself today if I have time! I did another 60-90 minute session today. I feel great after doing it. Lots of energy! Only thing, I have this crazy sinus thing going on and now my chest is a bit congested. I asked God to take it (the head sinus thingy) away last night and he did, but now I can feel it in my chest! Enough whining!

Onto the good news:
First off, I have a chart for body measurments that I did last year around January (2003) and so I decided...since everyone says when you are exercising you need to take measurements because the scale is really not measuring the successes like we would like (which is so true!)...So I took them...(drum roll, please!) I am down in EVERY area by at least two inches! More in some areas like hips-4", bust-3.5" & thighs-about 3" each thigh! Wooooo Hoooo! This was the motivation I needed this weekend. I am also down 10lbs from last year at that time, so of course my measurements are going to be down a bit, but I didn't imagine it would be so much!!

Now Jennifer, I don't expect e-rewards and it really doesn't count toward this challenge anyway, but I just had to share this with everyone!

OK, now for suprise #2...I have had some pants hanging in my closet given to me by a friend who was in another weight loss "class" with me last year (same time I took all the measurements). The pants did NOT fit...I couldn't even get them buttoned. So I dug them out today thinking they would still be tight. Lo and behold...they fit...a little snug, but I would wear them with a long shirt like I do with many of my other clothes. Once again, I am pshyched! So, needless to say, I hung them in my "to wear" section of the closet and they are there for me to wear to work this week! One of the pairs is a size 16 which I haven't seen on my butt since 1987-88...when I lived in Hawaii and walked EVERYWHERE! The other pair SAYS it's an 18, but seems to fit about the same as the 16. Go figure! Can't tell until you try them on, I guess (that's what my MOm always told me!)

So that's about it, chickies. The sun shone here today until just a short time ago and some of the snow has melted again. My dogs (2 Siberian Huskies) have enjoyed romping in the woods today (naughty dogs!) as I forgot to put their invisible fencing collars on! I guess they are feeling the Spring Thing, too!

Oh, before I forget...my food for the day (not OP, but what the heck!)

B-fast: 1 Grands biscuit, 2 slices bacon, 1 scrambled egg, 1 slice cheese,
8 oz. NEW SF V-8 fruit juice.

Lunch: Salad w/ cheese & deli turkey (1 oz. each) and 3 T low fat dressing
and about 1/2 cup mac & cheese (I couldn't resist!)

Snack: 1 choc. chip cookie (frozen, yummy) and 8 oz. 1/2% milk

Supper will be: Marinated steak on the grill, baked potatoe, steamed veggie

Side note: We eat a lot of red meat (which I try to balance each week) because DH bought 1/2 cow in November. The meat is very lean and very good! The cow was not grain fed but was in a pasture for the summer.

Have a great week. I won't be weighing myself this week. Will wait another week until the 2nd of March and then once more on the 16th and then the 30th. Can't do every week...it's just not healthy for my brain!

Thanks Jennifer! =)

I'm pretty proud of myself, and because of my success over the past two weeks here, I rewarded myself last night. We had chicken and fries (that one fried meal a week I am still allowing because we both LOVE that for dinner) and I had a lot less than usual, but was stuffed! Yay! I've also had about 4 sodas this weekend, but I think I'm going to allow myself 5 cans of soda per weekend, and 2 per week. Considering I usually drink around 4 cans a day... that isn't bad. And then, on the weekend, i don't feel completely deprived. Like with the fried food thing -- most nights, we have super healthy food with salad or fruit. I think weekends are going to be a little more lax than the weekdays, but that's how I lost 50 lbs before. And since I'm only going for 3 sizes down by July 1st... that seems fair to me. I have to remember that I can't treat my weight loss like punishment, or I'll get upset and say "Screw it!" and just eat whatever I feel like and never work out.

I know that if I keep working out, and I keep drinking the water and eating healthier foods, I feel so much better, sleep better, and have way better (and more even) moods. I want that! I miss being able to deal with the stresses of normal life without automatically, for some reason, thinking that it is related to my weight. (Does that make any sense at all? Maybe I'm just crazy....)

So... food this weekend was kinda weird, had weird schedules. Tonight for dinner I am thinking some hot dogs, grilled outside. It's so warm here -- 65 degrees and BEAUTIFUL!! Rain comes back tomorrow, so I figure I should enjoy it tonight while I can.

Tomorrow's meal plan:
B - Tuna melt
L - Chicken Noodle Soup (yum)
D - Tacos/something with beef.

Tomorrow's workout plan:
20 min on the bike (if my poor butt can take it!)
200 situps

Gotta keep it positive, girls! Think of how much better you feel when you work out, if you get sick of it. And then, think of how great your butt will look in those jeans after you get down to that goal weight!! (My butt is definitely my motivation).

Happy weekend!

Yikes!

I just sat down and totalled up my calories for today. I know that I decided this morning it would be a free day
, but geesh...I didn't expect to exceed 1400 calories!!!

Drum roll please....1695 was the grand total. I did guess on some of the calories, too (hopefully on the high side). Good thing I did my exercise routine again today! I was going to skip it, but I had the time, so I did it! Another 90 minutes! Yea me!

Good thing it was just ONE day....tomorrow I will be back on plan with a plan!

I need to go nighty night because I think I am really coming down with something!

"See" you all in the morning!

SO. No working out for me this week. My dog just rammed my kneecap, something went POP!, and I hurt a bunch. (I posted the whole story, which is LONG, in the member journals -- take a look there for the story).

Anyway... I won't let it discourage me. It's just the way this world works -- Murphy's Law, right? "Anything that can go wrong, WILL go wrong." It certainly applies to me!! haha! I'm still going to see this as a positive, though. I'm all pumped up to get my knee healed so I can get back on my darn bike and kill those calories!! This week is going to be a low-cal week for sure, since I can't work out at all.

So... no fried food next weekend. *sob* It's okay. I'll just be looking forward to it even more the weekend AFTER next!! When I get my awesome yarn braids put in!!

I'm going to focus on cleaning up the house, this week, instead of doing my workout as normal. If I can do a little every day (with no impact on my bad knee!), then I'll still end up burning calories AND our horribly cluttered apartment will be cleaner! Yay! Sounds like a plan...

Everyone whose animals/family have not maimed them over the weekend (haha!): KEEP UP THOSE SPIRITS! You guys are all doing an AWESOME job and I'm massively proud of all of us. (especially myself for not getting all upset about my stupid knee). Keep drinking that water, keep pushing yourselves to get healthy, and keep up the awesome work!!