Good morning, chickies! Back on plan today after my 3-days of being off-plan (my diet calles for 14-day cycles where you go 11 days on plan, then 3 days off). I would just like to say thank you to you guys for being supportive--I was talking about my plan on another board and mentioned that I was doing my 3 days off plan and just about got attacked! They told me all kinds of reasons about why I should NEVER go 3 days in a row off plan and how horrible it was for me and blah blah blah...as if I don't know what I am doing. Hello, I lost 10.5 pounds in the past 2 weeks, so even if I gain 1.5 this week (which I highly doubt that I will), that's still a total loss of 9 pounds in 3 weeks, which is 3 pounds a week, which is awesome! I just kept saying that I wasn't trying to get anyone else to do it, that it was a plan that seems to be working for ME, but jeez, did I take some heat! So anyway, thank you guys for supporting me and not jumping down my throat for trying a new plan, however unconventional it may seem

One thing I did notice on this weekend of "eat whatever you want" is that I can't eat as much or even the same stuff as I used to. I can't stomach as much greasy food without *ahem* running to the facilities, and I left some food on my plate at every meal, even if just a few fries or whatever, whereas I used to just about lick my plates clean every time I guess my point is that even though I wasn't making the best choices I could have this weekend, I was still doing much better than I used to before starting this weight loss journey. I'm sure you guys have noticed things like this, too, but this was the first time it as really apparent for me

Good morning Jillybean.. How was your weekend off?? I bet it felt so good to know that it is your weekend off, and you were still able to make such good decsions. almost like its no fun because you're "allowed" to have whatever you want.. LOL..

My weekend was not the best in the drinking department.. One too many beers on fri and sat night. Oh well, no excersing either. Thats ok though, because I know where my downfalls are, and they are getting better! I wanna know if anyone does any at home work outs, I know there is a seperate thread for this but my question is... I go tot he gym 4-5 times a week, and thats the only time I feel motivated to work out. Are there any at home DVDs I can buy that aer faster paced to keep me interested, or even just fun. pilates I think is to slow, I like to move fast, even at the gym I ahve to slow myself down with the weights and what not, because Im just so pumped. Not to mention I get bored quickly. Anyhow, any ideas would be great!!

Morning Ladies!

A great morning it is, I weighed today and have finally broken the plateau of 170!!!!
I almost don't believe it, like it's going to go back to 170. (I will try my best to make sure that doesn't happen though) It's like my brain is in constant rebellion with me! Argh!!!

Have a greast week everyone!

Happy Monday, ladies!

Jillybean - how do you have the willpower to stop for 3 days and get right back on! I always have the feeling that it's like running, once I stop.. it's so hard to start again. But, congrats for how well you're doing with it.. you're definitely learning new things about your body and what it needs to survive!

Justforus - I feel you on the drinking department. Mine wasn't from this weekend, but last week b/c I went to see the DAve Matthews Band concert (my fav ever!) and enjoyed my beer wayyyy too much. Then I enjoyed my Krystal even more. I hate it, cause that never makes you happy the next day.
I'm sorry, but I don't have a lot of home suggestions. I'm a gym girl.. and I'm even getting sick of that.

Spillthebeans - CONGRATULATIONS! Getting into the next 10 is such a great feeling. Just think.. the next one you'll focus on is 160 (woohoo!) A huge congrats.. you deserve it

As for me..
I went to the store and got some frozen meals for the week. I've worked out my abs and did cardio so far today and hope to do weights this afternoon.
I'm totally depressed and being out of shape is only making it worse. I think I'm feeling a quarter life crisis or something and I hate it.
My best friend in the world, who lives in ATL also, just told me she's moving to Tampa to "try it out" with her pseudo boyfriend. I really want her to because she needs to know if they're goin to work out, but I'm so sad b/c she's my bestest friend and I don't have a lot of other ones here.
It doesn't help that her bf is best friends with my ex-bf (ex of 2 months ago.. when he moved out )
So, needless to say, things are kind of rough lately. I'm trying to get healthy so that at least I feel good about myself.. instead of feeling fat, bloated and lonely. Oh and premenstrual doesn't help.

So, I'm trying to jazz up my Monday to make at least my waistline happy. (and I want to move that darn sliding scale down from 183!!)

Diamond - that is sooo funny - I feel like I am hainv my midlife/quarter century crisis - maybe that is why I started the thread -depressed I think?

def hating being out of shape and feeling old (I know im not the oldest here - but u gotta know what i mean) its not even as if i should be married or anything at my age - but i feel old my parents were already married by now and had their first kid at 26 (so they would have already been pregnant with my brother )

ok, time to go eat some grub -more later.

hehe, I have no willpower! I go off for those 3 days and am able to get right back on plan because I know that in 11 days, I will have those 3 days off agian, ya know? Those 3 days off are kinda like a reward for me being perfectly good for 11 days in a row. As long as I keep that in mind, I'm good to go
Justforus--have you tried any of the Tae Bo tapes? I used to do them all the time, and they have a workout for every fitness level imaginable! Billy Blanks is much less annoying than a lot of other workout video instructors, in my opinion. It's also more fun than crunches or jumping jacks or whatever cuz you get to punch and kick, so it's even a good way to work out a bit of aggression. Just a suggestion!

spillthebeans--congrats on the new decade!!

bida--so many things make me feel old, even though I know I'm not! For example, a bunch of my little cousins who I used to babysit for are now in COLLEGE I still picture them as these cute little brats, and then I see them and it's like DAMN! My little cousins have bigger boobs and better figures than me! NOT FAIR!

Good morning!!! What a tuesday, hot and sticky humid.. BLAH!!
Jillybean I might go buy some. Sounds upbeat and fun. THank you!
Bida~ I feel old to. Im in bed every night by like 9 pm or so, and Im only 23 !! I use to party till like 4 or 5 in the morning and make it to work the next morning by 7. And now after my daughter, its hard to stay awake past 10 and thats on a good night!! LOL then agian I look at some of these older people that kick butt!!
Diamond ~ Dave matthews band??Sound like fun. I have not been to a concert in AGES!!!! That calls for too much drinking and some fun!! WHOOHOO!!
other then that not too much goin on here, just another busy day at work!!

I almost forgot to add, I am down 2 pounds this week, even after having not a so good week!! WOOHOO!!! Now Im going to have my morning

Good morning everyone! It is a nasty muggy Tuesday here in Providence, ew! Yet another day that makes me homesick for LA, where "muggy" could never be used to describe the weather ("broiling inferno," on the other hand . . . ).

Diamond and Bida -- I think I'm having a quarterlife crisis too! I *know* my bf is (he's actually 25). Except with us it's less about how we feel about ourselves and more about where we are going career-wise. I realized once I got into grad school for CS that what I really want to do is own a small business and work with dogs. Too bad I didn't think of that in high school, when I had to apply to colleges! My bf on the other hand (he's a software engineer) is deathly afraid that his job is going to be outsourced to China or India, or that in 15 years nobody will need software engineers anymore. And he is under a lot of pressure at work to hire new people, because if he doesn't he'll probably lose his job. He especially has to do it this year, since if I leave grad school we will be moving and both looking for jobs next summer, and he can't really let down his company by disappearing when they are counting on him to get an office started out here.

Okay, way too much info there, sorry! Just wanted to say that we are also having quarterlife crises over here.

Beans -- that's great! Congrats on breaking 170!

JustForUs -- congrats on the 2 lb loss!

Jill -- I'm really interested to see how your diet works out!

As for me, I am down another pound to 143! Woohoo! I think it is kind of a crucial part of my diet to have my cheat meal/cheat day each week, because it seems like the more I eat on that one day (this week it was dinner at TGI Friday's -- fried shrimp and steak and potato skins! ) the more likely I am to have a loss a couple days later. I ate about 2000 calories Saturday, 1250 Sunday and 1250 yesterday, and today I am down a pound. Weird how that works!

This morning, I weighed myself and I have officially hit my pre-pregnancy weight. I was giving myself 6 months to do it, so I'm happy I did it in 4. Now to work on that extra 30 I had before getting pregnant...

I had a pretty lazy weekend. It was Harry Potter weekend. It was a lot easier to read before having a baby! I finally went grocery shopping so I have nothing but healthy food in my house. Shaun has lost a total of 5 pounds, so he has started to feel better about the process of losing weight. We both have about 5 pounds to go to meet our wedding goals. 6 more weeks to do it.

Have a great week everybody. Time to pick up the babe.

Congratulations She Mullet!!!

paperclippy - LA is still very gloomy it is july - and its still june gloom - I swear, oh and there will be a need for software engineers for a long long time - though I can't promise they won't all be outsourced sooner and thats where the jobs go haha - jk - I was a programmer for 3 years (and have a very useless degree in CS in my opinion) and finally followed a dream of mine and went to film school (had I only known this dream before my last year of college but seriously - programmers will be around for a while. just move to India - but I assume like other things, there may be a medium met at some piont - I mean, can we forever pay small wages to other countries? Won't eventually there be some kind of equilibrium? ok that is my rambling on that topic.

onto weight and me - so I am working on set all this week - and not resisting enough. A bit too much chocolate went in to me today - I don't usually crave chocolate - but someone told me on set today, that soemtimes chocolate cravings come from a depletion of magnesium - so maybe I will have to try that soon? oh but on set I was complemented twice for my looks which made me feel so good. one was when I was just sitting next to the really stylish wardrobe women - I rarely wear makeup (when I go out) and she, unprompted, told me how good my features were - and how I so didn't need makeup - and was really beautiful...score one - then another woman told me also that I was really pretty today - it was soo nice, because I am rarely told that by people (other than myself and my mom of course ) so it felt really good. oh and later we were talking about plastic surgery, i was like, i want a boob lift one day - haha. another woman was like - ah you don't need anythign (I was like yeah - this time you are just being nice I need to drop to a healthy weight!) anyhow, as much as I am not enjoying 14 hour days plus 1,2+ driving time, (and not running like planned tonight) its been good self esteem days.

Good Morning!! Happy hump day! for some reason I just want this week to be OVER!! I really wanted to go to the gym this morning, but makayla was up last night around midnight and didnt go back down till about 3:30 am, so getting up for the gym at 5 am was not ahppening, and now the start of my day is just plain BAD! GRRRR... just a little irratated tihs morning. Hope everyone else's day is goin better. Maybe I just need my coffee... hmmmm....

Good morning everyone!

Bida - good self esteem days are definitely the key to all of this. Congrats! I like to take strangers compliments to heart b/c you know that they don' thave to say anything. They don't know you, so their complements are sincere (most of the time). If you get a bad haircut or something, they don't have to force a smile and say they like it.. they just don't notice. You know?

As for me... I braved the scale today and am down 1.5 (finally!). But.. I'm considering tomorrow my true log in day, since I checked last Thursday. And, I have to work the pizza place tonight so 1) it will be motivation to not eat pizza and 2) I will be running around all night and burning off any dinner I eat.

I'm pretty bored and lonely right now, which makes my weight loss journey kind of my own battle. I'm restless in Atlanta and am serioulsy considering moving to Chicago. My family's in Kansas so I'll be a little closer to home! But, that's a big move.. so we'll see. Regardless, it's something to look forward to!

No working out for me today though.. I can't make it through the pizza shift when I workout. But, right now that's a big workout in itself. Whew.. I hope everyone else is having a good hump day!

I'm really hoping to move that weight tracker tomorrow. C'mon weight loss!

JustForUs, I am with you, I want this week to be OVER already!

This week has had a lot of good and bad in it for me so far.

The good:
* I got my copy of the new Harry Potter book, and read it.
* This morning I grabbed a skirt I bought last summer to wear, and it has a drawstring, and I had to tie the drawstring so tight that the waist bunched up in order to get it to stay up!
* I will be going to the beach with friends this weekend, which is something to look forward to
* I lost a pound this week
* Circuit training yesterday was easier than last week, which means I must be doing something right.

The bad:
* I've been having trouble drinking all my water this week.
* The HP book, while good, was really depressing.
* Someone claimed I didn't put a spoiler warning on my LiveJournal when I talked about the book, even though I actually did have a spoiler warning there, so there was some conflict.
* I have been really homesick for LA lately.
* I've been in a funk all week, and I don't know how much is because of the depressing book, how much is homesickness, and how much is the fact that I really don't like grad school and am stuck here for another year. I feel sorry for my bf, he has had to try to tell me it's going to be okay all the time, because I have been crying on the way to school every morning this week. And I know it's not PMS, because TOM was last weekend.

Well, I feel a little better looking at that list, since there lots of good things. I need to find something to pull me out of this funk though!!