Good morning, chickies! Another bunch of on-plan days under my belt, and I'm still sticking to my new plan. Of course, I'm looking forward to this coming weekend, which is my 3 off-plan days (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). I peeked at the scale this morning after the weekend (since weekends are always most difficult for me), and I was at 290 flat--the lowest I have been in about a year, and that's even having had a Burger King bacon cheddar ranch burger for dinner yesterday . By Thursday (my official weekly weigh-in day), I'm sure to be in the 280s! I got NO exercise all weekend long, but I have my clothes and sneakers in the car so I can go to the gym right after work today.

I'm thinking of adding weights to my workout twice a week, too. Right now, I go and do 30-40 minutes on the elliptical, 3-4 days a week. I have been doing this because of my job schedule (not a lot of time between jobs, which is when I hit the gym), but since I got a huge raise at my full-time job, I have cut back on hours for my part-time job to 2 nights a week instead of 4. Therefore, I'm thinking I'll do cardio all 4 days still, but on the 2 days I don't have to rush to job #2, I'll also do a full-body weights routine (when I did weights last year, I did upper body one day, lower body the next, then upper, then lower for 4 days a week). I'll just have to make sure my days off aren't consecutive--need to rest muscles for a day betwen workouts. I think it'll be like this week most of the time from now on, though, which is job #2 only on Tuesday and Wednesday, so I can do weights on Monday and Thursday. That should be enough to at least make sure I keep the muscle I have instead of burning it off as I lose weight!

Morning!! Weights are a good idea Jill, I was doing just cardio and yea I was losing weight, but when I started weight training my clothes were getting loser around my arms, and I could see them toning up and it ooks awesome.
This weekend wasn't bad, no excercising really, but my eating was awesome no over eating. And I went shopping and tried some clothes and I fell sooooo good! I usually wear a XL just cause I dont like tight things, and I bought mostly L and even some M!! WOOHOO and I was at NEW YORK and lerner. not to mention I bought a pair of pants, a size smaller then I was in last weekend.. SOrry Just EXCITED!!!
Hope everyone else had a good weekend!!

Morning Ladies!!!

Jill, great idea on lifting weights, you'll love it. Plus, I like the fact that when you lift weights, you continue to burn calories up to twelve hours later! Now, you can't beat that!!!! Plus all the other benefits, of having stronger bones, and looking more tone and svelte!
Justforus, Congrats on the uplifting shopping experience. Those days of being frustrated in the fitting room are in your past!!!! Woo Hoo for that!

I've been off on my eating and working out, but am back in motion this week. I also started a modified Southbeach diet, mostly am just going to stay away from carbs for the next two weeks, just really doing this to get my eating back under control. NOt really looking at this as I'm on a diet, because diets don't work for me.

Everyone have a great week of working out and eating right!

Hi everyone,
well this weekend, I was pretty lazy. I was acutally on the go most of the time so I wasn't sitting around doing nothing but I wasn't able to get any formal excersise in.
I did really well at WI, I was down 3.8. I havn't seen a loss like that since week one.
Jillybean, I'm trying to add weights in to my routine as well. Let me know how it goes. I get bored and then dont' do it. I think I need to get some one to give me a routine to do and then try and stick to it.
Justforus, that is so great aobut your shopping trip, I still havn't gotten small enough for that feelilng but soon.
ttyl
Jennie

Jill -- sounds like you've got it all planned out for exercising! Congrats on your raise, it must be great to cut down your working hours.

JustForUs -- that's great! I love fitting into smaller sizes!

Beans -- good luck on the new plan! I don't think I'd be able to stick to a low-carb diet for even one meal.

Jennie -- WTG, that's a great loss!

I am back on track now that I'm home from vacation. It's weird how comforting it was to make dinner last night after not cooking for a whole week. It's also weird how differently I eat than my bf's parents. While I was there, we had a lot of veggies and grilled meat/poultry, and some bread and a little bit of potatoes. Like, a typical meal might be corn on the cob, green beans, and some steak (I really watched my portions on the meat, so I didn't eat too much). Lunch would probably be a sandwich, or a bagel w/cream cheese or something. While I was eating dinner last night at home, it hit me that I was eating rice for the first time in a week. I'm not sure if I have EVER gone a week without eating rice before in my life! I also ate no pasta the whole week I was there (which I normally eat ALL the time).

Something else weird was watching the way his family eats. His sister is 17 (I think, maybe 16?), and is a vegetarian, so she usually had different food from everyone else. It looked like she ate MUCH smaller portions, which worried me a little. But then, she would eat just as much dessert as everyone else. Like, if we had a hamburger, green beans, and corn, she would eat a veggie burger, and maybe two green beans. But then a big slice of pie. I don't think she was eating little enough for it to be a problem, but it was kind of weird, especially because she would complain that she had eaten way too much afterwards. Also, I swear his dad's favorite food is mayonnaise. They ran out of ranch dressing for salad, so he just opened up a jar of mayonnaise and dumped it in. Weird!

The final thing that was really different about their eating from mine and my family's in general is that dessert immediately followed dinner. Normally, the only time I eat dessert right after dinner is if I'm at a restaurant. In my family, if we have people over for dinner, after eating we will go to the living room and chit chat for a while, then come back in for dessert maybe an hour later. That way there is some time for dinner to get moving in the digestive tract before you shove anything else into your stomach. What ended up happening at my bf's house is that they eat dessert right after dinner, so then I was totally stuffed, but a couple hours later we might have MORE dessert! Very weird.

Sorry for writing so much, I just had never thought about different eating habits like that before. Anyway, I'm glad to get back to my own standard eating plan. I'm also glad to be feeling this way, because it makes me believe I can eat like this in the long term!

Paperclippy, It is weird to visit other people and fit into their eating habits. My friend that I stay with in Maryland, eats no veggies at all, they have pasta, and meat and bread and maybe corn but never a fresh veggie in sight. The weirdest thing about that is that when I was in college and we were roomies, she was a vegetarian. At my family down south, everything is a cassarole so I have no idea what I'm eating or how many calories to count. its always nice to come home and be in control.

It sounds like everyone is making progress.

Jill - Strength training is the highlight of most of my work outs. It makes me feel powerful!

Papperclippy - It is always interesting to see how other people eat/deal with food. In my family we are the "Maybe we should have 2 desserts tonight" kind of group. I haven't ever heard of people waiting for dessert, but it makes a lot of sense if you are entertaining.

Last week I was half on/half off which is about 50% less than it should have been. I have a lot of excuses (pms, stress with an ex, work..) but basically I just wasn`t trying hard enough. Yesterday I got in a really good workout that I think kind of set me back on track I hope. The stress with the ex (we've decided to cut all contact for a while) has only gotten worse and it is the kind of stress that actually makes me less hungry.

However!! I am leaving for my cruise tomorrow and I'm not going to think about him, or work, or school or anything else while I'm gone. My plan for eating on the ship is to try lots of new foods, especially fish & veggies. I'm also going to continue to stop eating a few hours before bed and my goal is to try to get in a few workouts while I'm gone.

Small success: I looked in the mirror today and I actually felt like I looked better than I have before. I'm not going to weigh myself until the beginning of August probably, but I'm starting to feel like my hard work is paying off.

I hope everyone has a good week! I'll miss these boards when I'm away!!

Have fun Lizzie!! The cruise sounds exciting..I cannot wait until I go on vacation.
Isn't it amazing the effect food has on different people. I for one, when stressed, never eat while my baby sister will eat a box of donuts. Today was one of those stressful days. My bf told me today we have yet another wedding to go to(that will be 5 for this summer)...whic his exciting and all but this is seriously becoming a financial burden for me. New dresses...traveling costs...gifts...ahh! I cannot afford all of this. We have a couple of fun vacations that are coming up in the next several months (NOLA, and the bahamas) and I am trying to purchase a place and all of this money stuff is stressing me out! Well atleast thats good for my waist...bad for my overall health. see ya!

it's been a while since i posted here. actively lurking though. sorry no caps, nursing the baby.

i just started going to the gym again. this is my first time working out there as a non-smoker since i quit smoking while pregnant. i've gone twice a week for two weeks now and i am really enjoying it. the babe is in daycare in the afternoons so i have been leaving work an hour early on tuesday and thursday and working out. i'm self-employed so its no biggie to leave early. i have been losing this baby weight a pound a week for about 3 months now. i am two pounds away from pre-pregnancy weight and seven pounds away from my wedding goal. i am still a size bigger than i was at this time last year, but i am ok with that.

paperclippy-my boyfriend's family cooks everything with butter. the first few thanksgivings and other holidays i went there, i honestly got sick to my stomach. i threw up the first time. my system is not used to fats like that since my family eats so healthily. because of my family's eating, my portion control is way off. i know what you mean about coming home and cooking the food you usually eat.

sounds like everyone is doing well. i definately need to become a more regular poster. it always makes me motivated seeing people that are ten times busier than me that still manage to workout twice as much! thanks for helping me get my butt in gear.

All this talk about vacations--I'm so jealous! I haven't been on a real vacation since I was a junior in high school, and even then, it was actually a school trip we took to the bahamas, so we hav chaperones and rehearsals and curfews--not really a vacation. We went to Georgia a few weeks ago, but I don't consider it a vacation if we are visiting family. Otherwise, I'd be on vacation all the time (my sister lives in Va Beach and my parents live in CT, so I travel frequently). I just want to go someplace where I don't have to do ANYTHING--no grocery shopping, no working, no cleaning, nothing. I want to stay in a cabin or a hotel or on a ship or whatever, so long as it's not just family's house. Maybe someday...

Anyway...back to the task at hand: losing weight. I have been feeling really NOT hungry lately. It's weird--I only eat 4 times a day, but I am never hungry. I only force myself to eat as much as I do because it's all on the plan I'm following, and I know I need to take in enough, ya know? For breakfast today, I had egg salad (3 eggs, ff mayo, mustard, and paprika), and 4 hours later I am supposed to have a snack, but I wasn't even close to hungry. I had my snack anyway (mixed nuts) because I knew ifI didn't eat it at the right time, then I wouldn't get my 4 meals in for the day cuz of my schedule. So, I ate the nuts, and now I'm supposed to have lunch at like noon, but I know I won't be hungry (it's chicken and fruit). I have been packing all my food still, but I find I end up throwing some away, which I have never done before. I haven't really changed my exercise routine or anything else, so I don't know why I just feel like NOT eating all the time. If only I'd had this problem all my life, eh?

Jill, I am i the same boat. Im just NOT hungry anymore. I can eat a little bit, but sometimes I have no taste for anything, and Im forcing it, then I feel like a fatt butt, and dont' wan to eat my next meal. Funny how that happens. Im wondering if its because Im not eating enough period. I almost feel guilty when I eat when Im not hungry.

Talking about in-laws (or bf's parents) meal habits - the first time DH and I spent time with his parents his father made these enormous steaks with hashbrowns (or a HUGE baked potatoe) and green bean caserole (sp?). Everything tasted great, but at the time I was stationed in Ft.Riley, KS living in the barracks with almost NO money - so my fridge was filled with frozed veggies - I ate a big bowl of peas everyday for lunch and my meat was almost always chicken or canned tuna.
I got SO SICK at my in-laws after I ate that steak - and it tasted SO GOOD - but like
She-Mullet - I got sick after eating it - I thought I was going to die!!
Anyway - I just wanted to let everyone know that I am down to 193.5!!! I am SOOO happy about that. Anyway - I have to get going to class.
I hope you all have a good day.

Hi ladies,

It sounds like everyone's on track today, which is great! Congratulations

My weekend was non-existant, since i worked my second job the entire time. I would say I didn't eat horribly, but I split a calzone at the pizza place, and got burrito on Sunday afternoon (w 3 cookies). Grr... I hate that. But you know when you're so tired, you have no food in teh house, and you had a few beers the night before, it's just exhausting to think of anything tha thas to be eaten with a fork.
My problem lately is that I'm never home, so all my produce I buy goes bad. So, I stopped buying it. I'll buy bananas and apples for work. My lettuce is slowly rotting.

I worked out yesterday and actually learned a few new moves to jazz up my routine. My gym is at work, and usally I don't workout after work b/c that's when all the guys are down there adn they obviously know what they're doing. But, last night a friend from another dept showed up and we were talking and he and some of the guys showed me new moves. I mean, the buff boys certainly know a plethora of workout moves! (definitely a perk of my Monday afternoon)

This week is a mess. Tonight I'm going out with a friend to a local bar in hopes that Dave Matthews Band may show up. They have a concert in town on Wednesday (that of coures I have tickets to) and rumor is that they come to this bar sometimes when they get in town early. Luckily, it's right down the street from my house! So, I'm going to stalk and wait...
So Thurs some of us from my day job are trying to get together. I don't go out with people from work, but we're trying to get something goin so that we all mingle. Friday - Sunday's the pizza place all nights. So, I can't see the next time I get to relax until next Monday. Uh oh.. So, my plan is to eat well, not to go overboard.

I'm trying to workout during the week, I've got one day down. If I can get three more, that would seriously rock.

Okay, I need a little advice. When you're seriously busy, and going out and either having fun or working.. food is going to be involved. But it's not always the best kind of food. What do you do? Watch portions or bring your own? What kind of snacks do you bring that don't spoil and fill you up? Maybe that will help my junky eating problem.

Happy Tuesday everyone! Work's kind of slow today so I'll post more later

Thanks!

Diamond, a good one is to eat healthy before you go, that way you are already satisfied and the temptation won't be as strong to eat something horrible.

I think will power is half the battle. If I can go out and eat something healthy or not eat at all sip on water because Im not hungry is a great feeling in its self. The way I look at it, is I can go out with my friends and they can eat, if Im not hungary or its not time to eat then I don't. Or get something healthy, put half of it in a to go box. Its a lifestyle that you have to adjust to, and WILL POWER to say no to all of that bad food is half the battle. Which by the way I am still battleing it. I try and give in sometimes, but think about it that way, maybe that will help.