Sounds like everyone is doing great. I have been trying to get back into the exercise thing after taking a lil break over the holidays. My boyfriend has gone home to London for a month so this leaves me plenty of time to workout and get back into a routine. I think I am going to try some pushups next workout.
Is anyone else a chocolate addict? It is the one thing I cant resist...I wonder if there is a Chocoholics Anonymous..

Hey everyone, welcome to the mid-week hump! Just means that we're halfway to the weekend as far as I'm concerned. This weekend I'm heading down to Oregon to spend a week with my best guy friend - after being separated from him for almost 3 weeks of Christmas vacation, I'm starting to actually miss school! While I'm down there, I'm finally going to get my bellybutton pierced! It's something I've been wanting to do for a while, but I would never do it until I had a tummy that I would be willing to show people (otherwise, what's the point, right?) I think it'll go along nicely with my goal to wear a 2 piece bathing suit - for the first time EVER.

Clarita - I actually think there is some group for chocoholics. Maybe we should both join, have you tried the new mint chocolate Hershey's Kisses? Oh. My. God. They could be the end of me.

choci - Hang in there! It sounds like you're totally on top of things, and I'm really glad that you've found the kind of relaxed encouragment that you need. You're doing great with the excersize too! Keep it up

Rusty - Yeah, isn't it always the "little tastes" here and there that get us? I swear, you'd think that sticking your finger in the batter of taking a bite of someone elses doughnut shouldn't add up like it does, eh? I really need to watch that too.

Well, it's nighty night time for me. Goodnight everyone and have a successful Wednesday!

Guinever

Ciao Ladies,

Clarita, I love chocolate myself, although I'm very picky about the types i eat. so to avoid giving it up completely I include at least one slim fast chocolate brownie bar into my daily diet. It's a meal replacement bar but I'll give up a hearty meal for my daily chocolate fix. That way i can live with chocolate without the guilt.

This morning the snow had the gym packed because folks didn't want to trai outside, so we had to do our basic push ups and sit ups in an empty room on a dirty floor

The advantage is that this evening people are going to go home to avoid being on the roads in bad weather so I'll have the gym practically to myself tonight. I made myself a cd so I can have some bumpin' music to work out to. It did wonders, I hit that elliptical machine like a pro!

Well the middle of the week already and I'm praying that the snowfall doesn't stick. I don't want to be buried like rusty.

Chocolate is my big downfall too! I can not get enough of it. sugar free chocolate pudding is very good and low in calories.

Dips, Have you noticed how many Angie's there are on this websight? Just about everyone with a journal is named Angie. I have only known one other Angie while growing up and I come here and it is like Angieland. LOL

It is snowing outside here too. I hate winter. We just got our first snowfall that stuck this Saturday but I am all ready for spring again. HAHA

Have a great day everyone!!!

Aside from Pizza...yep chocolate would be the next pitfall. I am an Aries and that is best way to get an Aries to keep quiet and to keep still. LOL I read somewhere the best gift to give an Aries is chocolate but beware an Aries will eat the whole bag/box in one sitting. That is me all over.

Well I am sitting here waiting for the bus to come for my oldest and then back to work I go. I am so happy but also twisted. I am not a morning person until I get the blood flowing. I am not a coffee drinker so I have to find the natural boost. Usually I get exercise in before going to work but DH let me sleep in a bit. So anyway...here I am kind of sleepy but ready.

My pants, that i was so excited about getting into, are feeling a bit tight this morning. Hmmm...maybe salt retention? My breasts are feeling tender?...I still have weeks away til that TOM. I don't understand. DH is all excited over baby talk that he keeps hugging me tight and saying "Siempre estas goda'?" He only says it in spanish so the kids won't understand him. In English it means "Maybe (or It could be) you are pregnant?" I think once I am back at school this will dissipate(sp?).

On the side of the coin...does anyone know what a rowing machine would workout other than arms? I guess once I get on it I will feel it . I would like to get out the school gym once in a while and use the row machine.

Oh Angie...speaking of the commoness of some names at work there are SO many Mary's that we have to add their last initial to their name or a middle name. It's hillarious. I dread when they bring a new person to find out if there will be a new Mary. I am so glad my name is uncommon...Corina...I use to hate it because I wanted be something else like my friends.

With that I will let you all go. My little girl should be leaving soon. bye.
Kina

I just got on this morning and I see chocolate everywhere! lol
I only really crave it when TOM is around the corner! But Pizza ,pizza,pizza makes me nuts! I can have such willpower for certain things but pizza? Oh man! This monday my daughters wanted to go to Pizza Hut to get a personal pizza for each of them. Well they had their own money saved so I took them afterschool. We get there and there is a big sign that says " Mondays :get a medium pizza with 1 topping for $4.99! Both personal pizzas would be $6 and change. So my daughter was like " Mom! we can both put our money together and have enough pizza left for dinner too!,pleaseeeeee? I was like sure ok.
Well we get the pizza in the car and the hot,cheesy sauce,soft baked dough smell was killing me! I literally opened my window ! lol I'm still feeling in total control at this point! We get home and I start serving it to them! Oh God help lol... My 6 yr old hates the crust so I volunteered to eat the crust for her! Ackkk 2 crusts for me , Icould taste the cheese. I felt so stupid! All the while knowing there were 4 more slices in the box. But that was it and I put the 4 slices in a tupperware and stuck it in the microwave for them later. My 6 yr old can be a little brat! She tells me " Mom stay on your diet stuff for ever so that way you dont eat any of our stuffs ! Meaning the chips,hotdogs ,honeybuns etc...
I agree with Kina that any food I buy weekly is for EVERYONE!
none of this is mine or yours stuff. You cant simply do that when you have more than one child! My 10 yr old went to the supermarket with me and she had her own money ( now that she goes with her dad and helps delivery on weekends) The party rental stuff we do part time. Well she gets $10 for each delivery she goes with her dad. So she was in the store with me and she's picking out certain things she wants ,like notebooks,pens and some of the fish shaped tiny crackers. Well we get home and she hides the crackers and something else so her sister wont touch it. I know she paid for it with her money but it was a whole entire bag she was planning to have for herself and that is something I dont go for! Oh I got so mad when I see her hiding it in one of the shelves where we keep tools! She's totally outgrown
her school clothes that we bought her 3 months ago. She's using my clothes to school and this doesnt bother her...
Well that's all for now , I have to force myself today to go to the gym like within an hour! I have so much to do in the house but it's an excuse cause I always fixed and cleaned everything as soon as I came back from the gym. lol

ttyl,
Gen
194/130/to lose that single pound again! That's my goal

Gen, That is what Brit does. Hides the food so the twins can't get it. I don't understand why they do that. I buy plenty of food and she still feels like she needs to have things so they can't. It is so frustrating to try to figure out.

Do you think they are doing it just because they are siblings? LIke I said before I don't have any kids so I really don't know how to answer you guys.

Kina the rowing machine is going to really work your legs too. I would take it slow. When you use those large muscle you will get tired out really fast.

I have a problem with chocolate too. Yesterday one of my members brought in some Italian cookies and some of the were chocolate balls. I ate one but I had to seals them up and walk away b/c I wanted to eat all of them. I'm sure that would look good in fron of all of the members as they are working out. I am ther shoving chocolate into my mouth. I am glad that I had the will power to walk away. I knew it wasn't worth the taste.

I wish I could say that we had snow here but we don't. Our high today is 67 so I don't think we will see any anytime soon.

I got up this mornign and did pilates so I got off to a good start. We I got to work I got on the scale, I lost 3.5 lbs. I know it is water but I don't care. It is off and i want to keep it that way.

AAHHH...CHOCOLATE

When I'm working hard at watching what I eat and don't want to go for the chocolate, I've found that chocolate/caramel creme savers can sometimes counteract that craving. I think somebody on this thread brought them to my attention last summer. Anyway, 3 of them are 60 calories and since they're hard candy, they last a lot longer than any candybar or brownie.
I didn't do my video work-out this morning, but I did load up half a pick-up full of junk from my backyard. An old kid's school desk, and old bulky chaisse lounge, an broken vacuum cleaner, etc. I bet the neighbors just loved looking at that stuff. I had it up close to the house so only the next door neighbors had to look at it. Since I'm going to be going through my house in the next couple of weeks getting rid of things I don't need or use, I figured I should start with the backyard. Borrowed my dad's old pickup which he's giving to me in April after he get's his newer one fixed up the way he wants it. It took me about 20 minutes to get it loaded and it will probably be a little less than that to unload even though there's a bunch of stuff from my brother's house in there to dump too. Dad said he'd pay for the whole load if I took it in myself. Anyway, I'm counting that as my excersize for the day.
So far so good on my food intake. Bye for now.

Jen
238/233/140

Oh my! Now we're onto pizza.

Thanks a lot KINA and GENNEL. I wasn't even thinking of pizza until you two brought it up. I love pizza hut and Dominoes but fortunatly for me there aren't any in my immediate area. Italian pizza is different from american pizza and I never really got into it. On post we have anthony's pizza which is just plain bland. So ( not by choice) I have no problem staying away from pizza

I have to go to the gym today I don't feel like it but I will go! The hardest part is always just going, it feels nice once you actaully get there and start sweating.

Later gals

Oh man... don't even get me started on chocolate and pizza! By now I think you all know my problem with pizza! Seriously, though -- after last Friday I don't think pizza is going to be a problem for me any more. It's a non-issue. The homemade pizzas I make are tasty and take care of any craving for it I may have. I also happened to try the chicken parm Lean Pockets yesterday and for me, those are a good pizza substitute.

Chocolate is a whole 'nother story! I loooove good chocolate and I do indulge on an almost daily basis, in the form of miniature bars, kisses, or small pieces from the larger bars. I find that almost every time one or two does the trick, and there is no major damage. I also like those fat free chocolate puddings, AngieME!

One thing I have been working on cutting down severely in my diet is cheese! This has been relatively painless even though I looove it... I just find that there are lot of things that I used to have cheese on that really don't need it... sandwiches in particular. When cheese is involved, I ask myself: "Will not having cheese on (or in) this really make a difference to me?" If the answer is no, then I just don't have it. At the very least, I cut down on the portion.

I'm just not a fan of anything but the real thing when it comes to cheese, so I have to pick and choose where it is best to indulge in it. My overall fat intake has gone down considerably with very little effort since I've been keeping an eye on it!

Well, I should be getting to work now... have a great day, everyone!

~Amy

Amy, You sound so committed to making it to the end. You are doing awesome!! I usually make the Chef Boyardee pizzas on Fridays and I load it with veggies and not to much cheese. YUM! Got me craving it now!! I am craving pancakes so bad but since I'm not big into morning eating.(I only eat a little breakfast, just enough to take away the hunger) I am going to make pancakes for supper tomorrow. Strange aren't I?

Angie, thanks for saying so... I'm glad I come off that way because it is absolutely my intention to make to the end and beyond! Especially now, at this point, when I have put so much work into it and really made a lot of progress -- not just in weight loss, but in my attitude and behavior toward food. Before I decided to embark on this journey, I really felt that I was a slave to food. But now, I am happy to say that I'M the one in charge.

I look at this whole journey as a learning process. To me, if I don't make a new realization or learn something new every day, then I am not trying hard enough! Yep, it's going to take a long time, but I am going to get there. And everyone here is a big part of it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I've been massively busy at work so i haven't had a chance to post here for a while, but I've been reading all the posts. You guys are really great! Has anyone ever mentioned that?

As far as food (chocolate and pizza and cheese cheese cheese cheese) goes, I found I had to go completely cold turkey off chocolate in particular becuz i had no idea of portion control where it was concerned. I now can have it small quantities - but i find myself VERY picky about the quality of it when I eat it now. Darn it, if I'm spending the calories on it it better be the best darn chocolate on this planet! *L*

I'm a firm believer in the power of exercise as a weight loss tool - but mostly becuz it just makes ya feel so darn good when you are done. Better than turning down any food item does. *S* Hey and chest exercises will help lift what you got, so that is good. I really hate doing triceps... I would like to pay someone to do them for me...

Well most of you know that the past few months my hubby & I have been going through **** over this constructionloan! Well after 3 months of the bank and mortgage requesting the same information we decided to cancel the whole thing! My brother went with a different builder who offered the finance at the same place. Everything went super fast with him. SO we decided about a week ago to go see this other builder. We chose a home the same square footage as the first we chose, we just chose the standard fixtures instead of all the optional stuff. So our mortgage will be $900 a month! And that's including taxes and insurance! So the approval letter will be faxed tomorrow to the builder's contractor so they can pull a permit to start next month! Everything takes about 4 months until the house is ready to be moved into. I cannot believe how smoothe things went after all we've been through . I had a lump in my throat when the mortgage guy shook my hand and my husband's hand and said the words " Congratulations on your approval , tomorrow I'll fax the approval to the contractor" I was so upset when he told us that the other bank had pulled my hubby'scredit info a total of 77 times! Yes almost 80 times! For what reason I dont know because we had been approved a long time ago already. Even with that our debts are only 2 credit cards so that was something that impressed the mortgage company.
Well I better get to bed, we had a 90 minute drive back home and its late!

ttyl, Gen