Hi everyone! Last week was a big success for me. My official weigh-in for last week was 136.8! Plus I'm only up 1lb over the weekend which is extra encouraging. I'm in for this week too, and every week until I get back to my comfort zone!

Wow.....
Like so many others, I am having no issues with the exercise, but am having food issues.
I made a lot of great choices, some good choices, and some not so good choices.
The scale is not my friend. I am up almost 4 pounds from last week. That is truly discouraging to me as I wasn't THAT bad and I worked out every day. Of course, I am back on plan 100% (even at a potluck today). Sunday will be my one challenge (hopefully the only one) and that is a ways off so I'll worry about it later!
I am going to a book signing tonight for the Hungry Girl book. I am excited to do that but it is going to make it tricky to get my exercise in. I am determined to try though!

There is just no excuse for this weekend. I had a plan.

Food is good today, no problem. Exercise, I still need to workout when I get home this evening, the plan is resistance training.

I was really upset with myself when I started thinking about posting. Then I realized how far I've come in the past 3 weeks. When we started this challenge I wasn't making through a single day. I've built up my confidence to where I'm pretty consistence on my eating and exercise on weekdays. Now I need to get a routine in place that works on days that aren't as structured as a work week. I'll get there.

Boy was it hard to come back and admit I went face down again, but I did it ... or I will have once I hit the submit button. So this thread is really helping me.

Sheepishly I slip back into the thread, head hanging low ...
My weekend with my parents was great - planned off-plan consumption at some of our favorite restaurants. Then they left Sunday, DH went into his office to do some work, and I - well I apparently went insane. Loony. Institutional. Not pretty. I can't even start to describe the carnage. AND I was unable to get back today, despite Monday's usually being a good "reset" point.

SO. That's it. No excuses. There are no more visitors coming anytime soon, and I am back to my good habits. I will be at the gym at 6:30 tomorrow morning, and I will eat on plan all week. And I'll post every day to let you all know I'm doing it.
(Sorry to see a number of us are struggling right now - I KNOW we can all get it back together and soar into Memorial Day weekend and beyond!)

Debbie

I averaged under 1400 cals. I did cardio 4 days and weights 3. In two weeks I have gained 6 lbs.
I'm going to need to think on this.

Susan, you can't possibly have gained that much. That would take 21,000 calories! Must be water.

Chalk up a POP day for me! I am particularly pleased by the fact that, as I cooked bacon for quiche for my DD's French finals (she made the rest), I did not snitch a single bite. Woot!

I also had a killer shoulder workout at the gym tonight.

PAT ~ about the "Lutheran 's"...it's not only the food but the alcohol...running joke "What do you always have when 4 Lutherans get together?...a fifth!".....must be the mid-west food thing though. I will say here in southern California the potlucks have become much healthier in the 25 years I have attended my church!

Up a pound...alcohol not that good yesterday! It was hot!!!

Working in Hemet again this week ALLISON....pretty darn warm....yep!

About to dish up my bowl of ice cream to finish up my OP day.

Planning for tomorrow:

B - Pizza Muffin (100 cal english muffin with pizza sauce, 1/4 cup mozzarella, and a couple slices of deli chicken breast)
S - Apple, small peach
L - Leftovers - Lean roast beef, dijon herb potato wedges, roasted asparagus
S - Popcorn
S - Greek yogurt w/ strawberries
D - Frittata w/ chicken sausage, tons of veggies, mostly egg whites, and laughing cow. Delicious Amanda signature!
S - NSA Vanilla Ice Cream, Strawberries

E - 60 min elliptical

My day was anything but on plan. I nibbled at the leftover sweet potatoes I had in the fridge. Bought grapes and ate a HUGE amount of them, darn they were so good and sweet and crunchy. Then I ate some frozen biscotti I had leftover in the freezer from this past weekend.

To make matters worse, I am barely able to move. Went back to the doctor to see what's going on with my foot. He changed up my antibiotic, a stronger one and hopes that will do the trick. So far - it's not. He wants me off of it as much as possible. I feel so horrible, absolutely horrible not walking and exercising. I did get in a bit of upper arm and ab work. But it's not cardio. And it stinks. Big time. So what did I do? I ate. See above.

So that was my not on plan day. I have a big wedding in 6 days and the outfit that I want to wear is an extremely fitted one. And I will look like a stuffed sausage in it. Actually I was hoping to buy a new one, but can not buy something new right now while my weight is - up. What a difference a week makes.

Today I am vowing - THAT NO MATTER WHAT I WILL NOT VEER OFF MY PLAN EVEN ONE IOTA. NOT ONE EXTRA TEENY TINY BITE. Not one extra grape tomato, string bean, grape - not nuthin'.

Yikes! Good luck with the foot Robin! Listen to your doc.

I had a POP day yesterday after a not so good weekend. I calculate that ALL the cardio I do during the week will equal my excess calories last weekend. so I'll be happy with a maintenance number on Saturday morning.

I have a good friend who is losing weight rapidly on the "break-up diet". I look at her and think that I would be gaining at an equally alarming rate. Amazing how differently we are wired.

Mel

So today is planned out and I'm off to a great start. Got in a good workout, and had my steel cut oatmeal with blueberries and almonds. Packed my snacks for work, and will have a healthy salad for lunch. Dinner is planned out. I feel good to be back in the right mental space.

Robin - ouch on the foot. That sounds horrible. Does your gym have one of those arm spinner things? Those machines are a good way to do cardio when you can't move your legs. You sit and move these peddles with your arms. Regardless, hope you're better soon.

Debbie

Robin I know it stinks but listen to your doctor. The faster it heals the faster you can get back to exercise.
MelYes, it is strange how we are wired. I do lose weight when I'm miserable but being skinny and miserable is no trade off.
Another POP day yesterday. I'm planning today and already thinking about what I'll do Saturday when we are going out with friends. I just wonder why I can't do this unconsciously. Oh well, no plan equals a disaster for me so I'll just consider it a disability and plan away.

It's amazing what a single POP day can do for your mental health. I feel so much more empowered that I can stay on plan now. Last night I was in an experimenting mood so I finally tried Meg's Baked Pumpkin Custard recipe that I've been wanting/meaning to try since she posted it a few months ago. Mmm! It tasted so much like pumpkin pie filling but has so much healthy stuff, I was in heaven.

Today's plan:
B - protein pancake, skim milk, coffee
S - small banana, 1/2 oz. raw pumpkin seeds
L - 1/2 oat bran pita, 3 oz tuna, 1/2 T light mayo, 1 c carrots & 1 c celery
lunchtime walk?
S - 1/2 oz. raw pumpkin seeds, small apple, 6 oz. lf yogurt
gym - running day - my goal is to run 4 miles today, even if they're not consecutive (lately I've only been doing 3)
post-gym snack - lg salad w/ 2 T lt dressing, protein bar or string cheese

Sushi night w/ about 12 friends - This is always HARD for me, b/c we just make sushi and eat as we make it, and I always eat and eat and eat. My goal is to wait until sushi is made, put pieces on a plate, and just eat those. Even knowing how many pieces I eat would be a major victory.

I haven't heard of the break-up diet. But it is so interesting how all bodies work differently. I have no idea how people can subsist on some "diets" that include so little food. I'm a hungry woman!

Keep it up, everyone, we can do this!

WOOHOO - I succeeded in completing 24 hrs w/o excuses ..POP

Now on to a new 24hrs.

B- oatmeal 1/2c + pbutter
S- 1/2 luna
L spinach/ salmon burger /tomatoes
S- -other 1/2 luna
D - Chicken + ? (need to go shopping)

E - elliptical 40 min

Have a great day all.

-S