Hope everyone is having a wonderful, well-controlled portioned Easter today!

I did not consume one piece of Easter candy this year, and am not planning on it either! Woo-hoo! And I made it through today easy as pie. I'm working on upping my resting metabolism, so I'm doing an odd calorie/day pyramid kind of a thing, and today my limit was 1100, which is really, really low for any day, and especially for a HOLIDAY! But it was no problem, because the meals at both my family's and my fiance's family's were very meat-based (fried chicken, ham, bacon & potato salad, pork kabobs...) and I don't partake in the eating of the meat, so I was GOLDEN. It was just me and the relish tray basically. And ONE serving of potato chips. My fat intake was probably high today due to olives and chips, but calorie-wise I came in at 1147, which was quite the accomplishment. How'd everyone else do? (Or perhaps, did everyone enjoy a delicious, full Easter dinner?)

I spent the holiday alone I couldn't make the trip this weekend due to lots of schoolwork. BUT, that was good because it meant no candy and no ham dinner with mashed potatoes and all the "fixins". I baked some chicken and some broccoli and cauliflower in a cheese sauce for dinner. Jeni - I'm really interested in your odd calorie plan. I read somewhere that alternating your calorie intake can help fire up your metabolism, but I haven't been able to find anymore about it. Is that what you're doing?

Hey everybody...

Last week I really fell off the wagon. Hardly did anything cardio-wise and didn't really watch my eating. I miss that great feeling I had a couple weeks ago when I was exercising everyday and drinking a lot of water. Today I make the comittment to start again. I doubt I'll make my May day goal, but I'm just going to start working at changing my body day by day. I've got to keep my priorities straight!!

Here I go!!!

You can do it, Dee! Sometimes falling off the wagon for awhile and realizing that it makes you feel icky is JUST the kick in the butt you need to get going again! You'll make your May Day Challenge - I have faith!

I blew it on Saturday and Sunday. Even with all of the dog walking and painting I did this weekend, I know I screwed up big time. I'm not a scale junky. I usually go weeks without weighing myself, but just out of curiosity I weighed myself on both Friday and Sunday. I was down to 152 on Friday then jumped up to 158 on Sunday. I know your body fluctuates a lot, I know on Sunday I had just eaten a big meal, and I know that I didn't drink enough water this weekend, but 6 pounds?! I suppose it should motivate me to work harder this week.

Next week, I have to go out of town from Sunday through Friday. Eating out 3 times a day for a whole week will probably not be good for my weight loss. Luckily I won't be able to afford eating at any great restaurants or go out drinking. This week, I will be glued to the computer since I have 20 more hours to do on my software before I'm able to go to my class out of town.

My best option is to eat right, exercise a lot, drink tons of water and hopefully get the most out of this week as possible and just start off next week with a positive attitude and maybe a lower number on the scale. Sorry to rant and rave, have a great day everyone!

Emily - I had read some stuff about that too, so I looked for some more info online and I ended up basing my plan on the WW's Wendie Plan. (I don't count points, but points are basically worth 50 calories, so the conversion is really simple). Here's an online doc with all the info: http://www.pointsforlife.com/PDF/wendie.PDF (It's in Avant Garde with a really low tracking, so you'll have to read carefully).

Dee: Good luck with your new start! It's okay to fall off, as long as you get back on ASAP!

Meredith: Your body can EASILY change 6 lbs. in one day, especially after eating a big dinner. I bet most of that weight is water/food/exercise related. I weigh in the morning to give myself the lowest weight possible. If I were you, I'd stay away from the scale unless it's your scheduled weigh-in time - so that you'll be comparing your weight in the most correct way.

Hi Everyone...I was extremely busy w/ school and work and just didn't make it online last week at all.

deeloser: I'm with you, Im making a new commitment this week, I was off last week as well.

Jenicra: thanks for the posting the link for the Wendie Plan. I'm crossing my fingers this will work!

Hey, ladies! I'm joining the group who needs to refocus and restart. I went home from Tuesday-Sunday, and my eating wasn't the best. Somehow, I still managed to lose a 1/2 pound this week. I'm not sure how... I've got to get back into exercising. I always have a hard time keeping it up while I'm traveling. But, the good news is I had a great time! I got to spend quality time with friends and family, which is more important than exercise any day.

It hit me that summer is quickly approaching. I was hoping to be further along in my weight-loss journey by now, so I have a renewed sense of motivation. I've been hanging around the same weight for too long. It's time to get that scale moving downward again.

Hope you all have a great week!

Take care,
Jina

I'm also in need of some motivation. I haven't been able to shake my vacation habits, but I haven't been walking all day long. I need to get back into the gym and into my running training.

This week my goal is just to get myself to the gym (or out for a run) 3 times and drink at least 2 L of water a day. Next week I'll take it from there!

Today I woke up, walked to the kitchen, and I wondered what day it was so I looked at the calendar on the fridge. I am substitute teaching this afternoon and I had completely forgot about it. Thank God its not until 1:00. That will be a nice break from working on the computer.

I finished painting yesterday. My muscles can tell I've been painting for 4 days. It looks good. I have a lot of anxiety right now. Its giving me an upset stomach, I'm not sleeping well and I'm even a little shaky. I'm nervous about this week long real estate class and my licensing test, but I think the real reason is that my ex-husband is in town. I knew he was coming to the state for Easter but he was supposed to stay about 4 hours away from my town. He showed up at the auto repair shop that my boyfriend's dad works at and said that he's staying for his sister's wedding. That is supposed to be in September. He's staying with his dad who lives right up the block from my appartment. I feel icky. It makes me feel like I'm being hunted or trapped. I'm scared of him. He's supposed to be in Alaska and never coming home. The only contact I want from him is to send me the money that he owes me. The whole situation makes me very uneasy. I know rule #1 is to avoid the bars, but there's no way to avoid him during the day if we both live downtown. Icckkk. Sorry I'm freaking out. I just have no idea what to do.

Oh Meredith! It's not good to hear you are so stressed out. I am praying that this will pass quickly and easily for you and that you would feel God's peace. Don't forget to exercise as that can be a stress-reliever.

Hi ladies! I'm back from my spring break/Easter trip to SD--just flew in last night. It was a great time with family, but like many of you, not-so-great on the eating front. I basically threw all restraint out the window, which is rough. I am back on it now though, will be working out hard today through Friday, and then weighing in Saturday morning again. If can just maintain right about where I was at my last weigh-in, I'll be happy! I truly deserve to gain, with the eating I did. But life goes on!
I got lots of work done on the house that DH & I will live in in SD. It's so beautiful--such a blessing that we get to live there! I painted, sanded, caulked, cleaned, you name it--I did work muscles I didn't even know existed! It's hard to believe we'll be moving across the country in just 2 1/2 months. WOW.
I hope everyone's having a good week, and I'm excited to be back on board & up-to-date with you ladies' lives. Have a great night! (-;

Sounds like everyone had a great Easter! I also went home for the weekend and with all the traveling I feel wiped out. It was a very busy trip (wedding planning stuff). I'm now back and trying to get everything together again.

So who here is on the south beach diet? Have you been on Atkins before? How does it compare? Should I get the book even if I already own the Atkins book? (I have found the food charts online and read the forum on here so I sorta get the basics about SBD).

Its a beautiful day out today. I hope it lifts my mood. I am sure poopy today