fitmom, That is AWESOME. I am so envious of your dedication and running success! You're an inspiration to me to get off my butt and actually start running again. (And doing planks.)

Magalo, I still dream of cropped tops -- I don't think I've talked to you at all before, but I think we have similar body shapes/builds (I'm also a rectangle when bigger) so I'm excited to look more like you soon

Aw we should share some photos Have you posted pictures of you ?

I haven't -- afraid to be found But I might take some soon and crop them so that they don't identify me -- will definitely let you know!

Weighed in today at 112 at the gym -- it's my TOM though, so hopefully some of that is retained water? Hopefully? :/ Anyway, I updated my ticker and after thinking about it (and also because I can definitely identify more than 7 lbs of fat that could go on my thighs and tummy alone) I think I'm refreshing my goal weight down to my original unrealistic goal of 105, which is where my body has been happiest in the past. We'll see how well not-calorie-counting but keeping relatively free of grains, high-fat animal products of any kind (including cheese), and refined sugar helps me manage. I'm fairly well aware of most calorie counts by this point anyway.

I'm starting to become a really big fan of Egg Beaters. I worry about what they put in it, but it's so easy and delicious... I should really get back to using real egg whites from real eggs, but I'm lazy about things like that. What do you girls use for quick lean protein?

skinnyminnynow- Don't fret, I have too had days like that...as in Saturday, I went out to Golden Corral...oh goodness. If you have a bad day, just bounce back! Eat good the next day, exercise and move forward, don't get wrapped up in slip ups!

cantgetenoughchoc - My best friend has lost 30 lbs in the past year and (in my mind) didn't need to at all! She is tall probably about 5'7 so now she looks like a freakin model! At times I am jealous (she didn't exercise AT ALL and I work out 5 days a week) but others, I am so happy she made a good change for herself.

My weekend was ok. I have worked out 4 days in a row and I am taking today off (though I wanna go to the gym REALLY bad). I have been thoroughly enjoying going to the gym. I enjoy the alone time, there is no chaos from the kid, the ex, a messy home, etc etc. I can really get my mind clear. Its such a good feeling.

I have set up a goal in my head, and I have been doing ALOT of reading on it. I don't know if it will be attainable, I think I will re-evaluate when I get to my goal weight. BUT I want to do a Bikini Competition through Fitness Universe. When I reach my goal weight, I will speak/work with a personal trainer to work with my problem areas (belly, etc) and go through my diet to see what can be done to reach the ultimate fitness & physique to enter on of these competitions.

Good news: A stylist fixed my hair (I tried to put another darker blonde on it to counteract the yellow and it went orangey-pink! omg!) sooo now its honey blonde and very pretty.

Bad news: I yet again ate and ate all weekend. Sheesh. It wasn't quite as bad as last weekend, but I still did some damage. August just isn't my month!!

But I'm determined to make this week count so I look good at my boyfriend's friend's wedding. The last time I saw everyone in this group of friends I weighed 140lbs and hid behind jet black hair so no one noticed me -- so it will be nice to have a bit more self confidence around everyone this time.

Have a great day, feathers!

cantgetenoughchoc: You're so sweet! Thanks for saying that. I guess age is just a number, lol. And I'm sure you're just as fit.

magalo: Ooo, a cropped top. I'm sure you'd look great in one. A couple of my nieces wear them and they all look so nice. Very 'fashion-forward', lol. Although at my age, a halter top is the equivalent.

skinnyelle39: You've become my cheerleader now! Thanks for all your support. Hope this week is better for you. I'm pulling for you!

lackadaisy: Running+planks=flat belly. Seriously though, running has given me confidence that despite being middle-aged, I can transform my body and become fit. I hope you start running again. TOM stinks. I'm getting over mine. I've got to try Egg Beaters. I eat tons of egg whites.

mamamorgan: Totally do the fitness competition. If I was ten years younger, I'd do it too. LOL. But I think I'll live vicariously through you. For me, walking around Disney's hotel pool clad only in a bikini that rode low on my hips (as opposed to the high-waisted ones) was probably as daunting as a fitness competition for me, seriously. It sounds like you're doing better so that's nice to hear. Keeping busy and staying focused definitely helps.

Dorian5: Honey blonde? I think you'd look great like that. I'm getting my hair done in two weeks too and can't wait. Don't beat yourself up, remember today is a new day and week. Just look forward, don't look back. You're still doing awesome in my book. And you do look like Sarah Michelle Gellar!

Well, Saturday's run was a bust. It rained and stormed all weekend long. Planned to do my sprinting this morning but rained again. So, I did it in my basement. Ran really fast in place for like 25 seconds and walked in place for 35 seconds. Did this for 20 mintues and boy, was I beat! But it felt great. I'm gonna do my sprinting on Wednesday and bring my older son with me, can't wait. Tonight is Pilates and I'm looking forward to that. Quiet me time.

On the diet front, TOM is almost over. Scale is at 118 lbs. Hopefully, it will be at 117 lbs. when it's totally gone. I've made a new resolution to eat oatmeal every morning (weekday). I'd been eating Cheerios but I need to tighten my diet even more, I think. So for the past three days, oatmeal it is. No sugar added, dried cranberries and walnuts as a topping. I still have that darn two-inch section of loose skin below my navel so I'm hoping that adjusting my diet even more will help this along with the planks and running.

Looked at some new exercise equipment over the weekend. But it's a tad bit expensive so I may have to wait a few more weeks. I need to get a 25 lb. kettlebell, 12 or 15 lb. dumbbells and a weighted jump rope. Hoping to have all this in place before I take my workouts inside for good (in November).

My younger son finally, finally knows how to tie a shoe and ride a bike sans training wheels. These have been my little projects this summer. I'm so darn proud of him. He was shouting as he rode by me, "Mom, I'm doing it! Look at me!"

Last night I had Chinese food so I considered that my cheat meal. I had pork fried rice and wonton soup. I ate cleanly all weekend long so I gave myself permission to cheat, lol.

Have an awesome week, Feathers!!

BTW, this is a photo of Tori Spelling - focus on her arms (I'm speaking of the photo in the background with Tori in the white strapless dress because her in the green dress is pregnant Tori, lol), toned but not much muscle. These are basically my arms so you can see my dilemma, lol. I want sumire's arms!! I need to purchase the bigger weights...like yesterday.

Good morning feathers! My weight bounced up 1.5 lbs to 127 for no apparent reason on Friday. I checked my calendar, and exactly 28 days before that, I had a similar bounce upward, and then 7 days after that I got my first post-pill period. Since Friday the depression, rage, acne, and hunger have come... so I must be PMS'ing! I find it fascinating that my weight seems to be my first warning bell that TOM is approaching. I've been on plan as usual, but I must say, my hunger/cravings were insane yesterday; that was the hardest day I've had in ages!

Tomorrow I leave to visit family for a week. I put a new workout playlist on my iPod to motivate me for some basic maintenance workouts while I'm away from home. Going to eat intuitively and be reasonable. I had a similar diet break in mid-June (took an exercise break as well) and didn't gain anything (beyond some initial water weight that came off in 2-3 days). So I hope to return with a similar report this time.

Got to get everything ready to go so no time for personals, but I hope you all have a great week. I look forward to catching up on everybody's posts when I return!

Back to say, fitmom, I think that Tori Spelling's arms are nothing to sneeze at! A lot of gals would kill to have them. (Of course we all want what we don't have, haha. ) Have a great week!

Not me but a worthy substitute back then:

This is basically what I looked like (although slightly thinner than above photo) before I got serious with my diet and exercise about four years ago. I didn't take many photos of myself for a good number of years because I was deeply ashamed so this photo is the closest representation of my former belly. I'm not kidding. I was miserable. Anyway, there's one photo of me looking like this in a high-waisted orange bikini on my honeymoon back in 1997! I was in some deep denial about how I really looked. Yep, even prior to having kids I had a pooch just no loose skin. After kids, my stomach was a train wreck! I've got to hunt around for it and you would laugh your collective heads off. I mean, I was twenty-five and looked much older because of it. I even considered going for a tummy tuck at one point, that's how desperate I was. I just hid it well; I was the master of disguise. Besides, I wasn't really that overweight so people assumed that I was slim all over. Not true.


ETA: Okay, so I took some photos of my stomach now but the pictures barely show my abs at all. I obviously don't have the proper lighting in my bathroom and my skin is super-light so they look all wrong IMO. My sister (love her) suggested that I google around and try to find a photo of a woman's stomach that resembles mine now. She said this photo was the one most closely resembling mine currently: http://fitnessblackbook.com/six-pack...session-begin/

BTW, my hubby and best friend confirmed that this woman's stomach very much looks like mine does so therefore it's not just wishful thinking on my part, lol. To reiterate, this is not me but the closest thing I could find since my photos (and bathroom lighting) are just not cooperating. Everyone's been asking me what I kind of look like now so I posted the link above. It's not crazy definition like Dara Torres, obviously but IMO slight definition...just enough, lol. It's weird because even the belly button in the link photo looks exactly like mine, lol. But compared to how I used to look (a.k.a. 'muffin top')? There's no question in my mind, worlds away from where I was for most of my twenties and thirties.

Hi feathers *sheepish wave*

I've been off off off off off plan for almost a week now - I was doing great for a bit there, walking and running and Zumba-ing every day, but then I got busy with visitors and a weekend away and a new part-time job and it all went to heck. Not an excuse of course but that's just what's been going on.

I'm so proud of all of you for fighting the good fight and getting fit. At this point I feel like I weigh over 140 even though I don't (just weighed myself, about 136 after a stupidly indulgent weekend of nonstop buffets at a resort). When will I learn? Feeling fat is gross, and feeling happy/fit is great.

I was very good yesterday, I ate a healthy breakfast and 350 calories for lunch, drank LOTS of water and even picked up something low calorie for dinner on the way home and planned my run.

But when I got home Mom SQUEALED because she was so excited to give me a giant square of lasagna she saved me from a dish the neighbors brought over. I could have said no, because I didn't really need it, I could have passed it up. But she was sooo excited. So, I ate it. And it was really, really delicious. If I had just eaten half of the big square, or eaten it and then continued to do my run I would have been OK. But the "I've already cheated so I might as well keep eating" mindset crept in and I ate handfuls of cookies and all sorts of crap. So, so frustrating.

So this morning I made myself get on the scale and LOOK at what the weekend and the lasagna and all of that translated to on the scale. 126lbs. I was 122 two weeks ago. I'm up FOUR pounds. I know a lot of that's water, but it was still important for me to see that I am not just "maintaining" 123-125, that it's slowly creeping up.

I'm not done losing, I hate how slackass I'm being. I'm sabotaging myself.

I feel like maybe I need to do some kind of cleanse or detox or something. I'm ready to get back in the saddle. I want to look good at this wedding on Saturday, I have a beautiful dress to wear. I want my boyfriend to think I look good and for his friends to think that I'm pretty and all of that vain, shallow stuff.

krampus - Welcome back! Feeling fat IS gross. :P But the best thing to do is get right back on that horse. I'm sure a lot of that 136 will fall right off within the first few days back on plan.

fitmom - that picture made me want a muffin. and WHOA I would sell a kidney to have my abs look like that! That woman's belly button is super cute! (Is that totally weird?) My belly button goes way in, like the one in the muffin top picture. And I agree with sumire, Tori Spelling's arms are totally awesome in my book!

sumire - Sorry to hear about TOM and PMS, but think of the WHOOSH you'll see! I LOVE throwing together a new workout playlist, it definitely motivates me to workout. I hope you have fun visiting family!

KEEP GOING!

Dorian5: As far as the four lbs., could it be TOM? If not, check your weight in a day or two as it may just be water weight. Don't stress, today is a new day. I'm sure you will look just gorgeous in your beautiful dress with your new blonde hair, Buffy, um, I mean Dorian5! And by the way, I'm positive your bf thinks you're pretty at any weight - a few lbs. here and there is not gonna make him think otherwise. That's so funny that you think the belly button is cute. Now don't go selling any body parts, lol. Hope the rest of the week is better for you.

krampus: So sorry to hear you're feeling blah instead of not blah. Give yourself a break, you've just moved back to the States. Sometimes it takes time to adjust to everything. You'll find your groove again and it'll be better than before. If anyone knows about falling off the wagon, it's me, lol. Been there and done that many times before. Just don't give up, you've come too far to quit now. We're behind you 100%.

sumire: Hope you have a terrific time visiting with your family. TOM does stink, I wholeheartedly agree but it'll be gone before you know it. Have a safe trip too. P.S. Tori's arms are okay but yours are way better.

The whole oatmeal thing is going well. I'm eating it without any sugar at all and it doesn't taste that bad. It's raining here again so luckily this is not my running day. But the rain is so depressing. It's hard to stay motivated when it's storming outside. My two boys are going crazy inside too.

I was reading an article online last night about the 'shrink wrap effect'. I think this is what's happening with the small bit of loose skin below my navel. Basically the gist of the article was, when you've lost a fair amount of body fat and/or weight, the skin needs time to adjust to the leaner muscle. They say it takes a few months but generally it does bounce back. Also, age has something to do with it. So it may take me a bit longer plus I've had two kids. But I'm not gonna let myself obsess about it, just continue onward and upward, lol.

Hopefully, the rest of the week goes well for all you Feathers!! We need to stay strong.

fitmom Thanks for the encouraging words! Rain really is depressing and discouraging but it's clearing up here and I hope it clears up there too. Glad you're enjoying oatmeal.

Dorian5 Guess who just snarfed down three McDonalds chocolate chip cookies? We'll get this right. You'll look hot for the wedding no matter what though - isn't your profile pic 126?

***

My eating buddies visiting from Japan (but they're from Dublin and London) get in tonight. Hanging on for dear life - going for a run NOW. Hold me accountable!

124.0lbs -- I was retaining a lot of water! 2 pounds in one day is crazy! Although yesterday I was eating all raw fruits and veggies and protein shakes, so it makes sense. I got in a very brief jog and then walked the dog around the neighborhood until he decided he was done. (That tornado that ripped up our house has made him terrified of being outside, poor thing)

AND can I just say that I got home last night and Mom had bought a box (12!) of Krispy Kreme doughnuts (they make them on site at a shop where I live, she had picked up some hot, just-cooked doughnuts) and bought me 2 of my favorite ones -- boston creams (310 calories a piece.) And I did NOT eat them! And in order to avoid hurting her feelings, I told her I was going to save them for breakfast today. Instead, I sent them to work with the boyfriend before she woke up and I am sitting here happily finishing a protein shake.

The dress I'm wearing to the wedding this Saturday was way, way tight on my boobs over the weekend. I think it will fit much better if I'm not retaining water. Whenever I gain, whether it's water or fat or whatever, it boosts my chest a cup size -- it's terrible! They are already too big! I'll never forget a few days after Thanksgiving last year my boyfriend coming into the bathroom when I was taking a shower and then exclaiming that my boobs had gotten even bigger. UGH.

---

fitmom - I'm on BC so it's not TOM, but now that you mention it I had forgotten to take my BC pill on Sunday and had to take 2 on Monday, so it could have been that my body was getting ready to start my cycle when the hormones dropped, so I started retaining. Being a girl is rough. I'll have to look up this shrink wrap effect, I've lost most of that little pooch under my belly button but the skin hasn't sprung back into place yet. I used to think I was an hour glass since I was 38-28-38 at 130lbs, but now my hips are a 34, meaning that the extra inches weren't from my hips, they were from that pooch!

krampus - Mmmm, McDonalds. Big Macs look so small to me now, haha. I could eat 2 if no one was watching. My profile pic from my vacation, I was 126.6lbs when I left and that was taken towards the end of vacay, probably closer to 129 after all the eating I had done. Thanks for the reality check, I do like that picture of me. I hope you had fun with your friends, nice work on running before you even go out! You've got this.

Keep going, feathers!

Dorian5 - Just keep drinking that water and stay away from any extra sodium and you should have no problem fitting into that dress on Saturday!


Hello Feathers! I am trying my absolute hardest to stay positive. Monday on my way home from work, my truck broke down. Yay. Same day, I got a call for an interview for a full time job with benefits. I guess life likes to close one door and open another (at least that is what I am trying to think of it as). My roommate works nights, so he is letting me use his car during the day so I can get to work, go to the gym etc. I am really trying my hardest to take things just one day at a time. I have been trying for the last 3 nights to transfer my son from co-sleeping to his crib and he wakes up every morning at 4 am, he isn't upset or anything, he is ready to go. Ugh. I dont' get up until 5:15 and that last hour is SO valuable. This is just one more struggle to work through.

I have been sticking to the gym (today will be my 6th time at the gym since joining last Thursday) but my back is so sore....I have a huge knot in my shoulder that has been there for weeks (maybe even 2 months) and won't go away. When I run, I can feel how tense my shoulder is and it makes it really hard to enjoy doing my cardio.

Hopefully all will be well in time.