well, today has just been terrible. I am very tired and I still had to clean. I DID NOT get a break yesterday.

Instead my friend asked me to watch his son and his dog, I cooked dinner, and I had to clean up MY messy house. So i am even more tired now.

Plus, I woke up to the boys having destroyed my living room. my whole house is a mess. My SO didn't go get an ornament yesterday for an ornament swap at work, and I stupidly told him I won one before...so he expected me to find one in our stuff for him, which I Did, but I WANT my ornament. It's a metal worked cross, with a rose in the middle and really pretty smooth shiny stuff in the cross points...it has an irredescent hue..but it's all we had for HIS ornament swap...so I let him take it cry!!! oh well!

Then my friend from the hospital called. She sounded like she wanted me to pick her up. So I made arrangements to pick her babyseat up for her. And then packed the boys in the car, and then headed off to the hospital. Well, she only wanted me to come and help her pick out baby names. gah!!!! I was parked in a no parking zone. So I admired her beautiful daughter. Picked Alyssa ( she had already liked that name) and left with the boys to pick up Meals ON Wheels stuff. It is 35 degrees and pouring rain! i couldn't cancel on MOW--alot of other people already had.

I may be a bad mom, but the boys were eager to run the meals to the residents, and I wasn't going to stop them. My son did trip and roll across the ground several times, but he cried when I told him he had to stay in the warm car with me instead.

now, i'm back at my messy house, which needs to be cleaned, but I just want to lay in bed....i was supposed to go finish my friend's laundry, Which I have already put in 20 hrs of cleaning for the $100 we originally agreed upon for this week (which peeves me that he thinks I Need to put anymore time into it) AND his son and dog is at my house!. ..but I called him and said NO WAY am i going out into this weather again....and he should be happy with what i have done so far, I have already went above AND BEYOND what others have done when he paid them $100.


Now that I'm done unloading, I can write my plan for today.
my weight was 172.8. this morning. So still in the 172's which is an awesome improvement from the 174-176 i was in.

Clean my house. Do my laundry. Kid and dog are spending another night.
Calorie goal: 1721
Activity goal 1039

So far:

Breakfast:
Banana 100 cs
breakfast shake: 180 cs
walnuts: 50 cs

Snack: 1/2 c cottage cheese: 120 cs
3/4 yogurt: 130 cs

snacks:
1 apple
homemade waldorf salad: (370cs divided into 3 servings) 124 cs.
1 apple
2 tbsp mayo
6 walnuts (chopped)
1 tbsp cottage cheese (for protein)
5 grapes cut up.
celery seed (no celery ]

Dinner: Deer meat and 15 bean soup: 440 cs
1/4 cup icecream 65 cs
tea w/milk/honey 50 cs
gingerbread ck 45 cks

snack:
herbal tea 40 cs
2 gingerbread cks
1 tbsp 1/2 F egg nog icecream 30 cs
walnuts 100 cs

UGH...i forgot about the chicken nuggets that SO brought home late last night...I couldn't resist.
6 chicken nuggets : 312 cs
1 tsp ranch 30 cs.

Total Calories: 2066
Activity: 580
AMR: 2165
Daily deficit: 99 cs (maintenance day!)
expected loss: .03 lbs

Great calorie goals Jen ^_^ Keep this up and I think you find even more results from your strength training as well :-)

Thanks Sacha. ..I was thinking of doing some strength training today because I haven't done it in 3 days...but I'm still so whooped! your avatar is soooo cute.

Jen, believe me I feel your pain with the dreary weather and messy house! Some days it is so hard to keep trugging along. 172 sounds so awesome to me. Keep it up and I bet you will be in the 160s before you know it. Sometimes to me, just seeing the scale say 169.5 is enough to make me feel like I have achieved success. I am praying I can get to 179.5 sometime this week. We'll see? If not, I will take another pound down and try to be content.

I managed to hit workout #4 this week. That in itself is a minor miracle. I ate like crap Wednesday. My husband and step daughter baked cup cakes at 9pm and I decided to devour cream cheese icing by the spoonful

Yesterday was better. A) I worked out and B) I didn't go hog wild late at night. I think those two things were key. My husband made enchiladas....three pan fulls in fact and I only ate 3. So not too awful. I think overall I had about 1400-1600 calories for the day, including 2 glasses of wine. I have been not eating until late afternoon or early evening. Just having coffee in the morning. I know most people would say that is not a way to diet, but the thing for me is I ALWAYS gun for the food in the evening. Whether or not I have eaten breakfast and lunch earlier in the day. So if I consume 600-800 calories before 6, and then fall off the wagon again in the evening, I feel screwed. It's almost better to try and hold out till 6 and then see if I can manage to not go over 1000-1200 calories in the evening and then I am somewhat ok. The overwhelming urge for bread and sugar has been doing me in. I guess that's probably typical for most people. If I could somehow curb those cravings, I'd be set.

I am going to try and remain focused until Tuesday for the next weigh in. Whatever happens, I don't want to gain 5 lbs over Christmas week.

hugs alicia...I actually WANT more food in the evening so I plan for that too...i hope you see 179.5 lbs too!

lately I have been drinking chai tea..and it seems to help with my sugar cravings.

all you need is
green tea bags
ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice
or pumpkin pie spice,
pure vanilla extract
honey
milk.

I like this drink, and have maybe 4 or 5 cups a day.

TGIF Everyone! I hope I can sleep late tomorrow.

Jen It sounds like you have had a frustrating day. Will you be able to relax some tomorrow?

Confessions
Breakfast (340 Calories + coffee)
Spinach Omelet
spritz olive oil in pan
egg 70 cal
egg whites from carton 60 cal
Handful of spinach
2% cheese 40 cal
high fiber english muffin 100 cal
1 teaspoon strawberry preserves 20 calories
coffee w/sugar and cream
juice 50 cal

Lunch Chic-Fil-A
Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich no butter on the bun 300 calories
Honey Mustard Sauce 30
1/2 Fruit cup 50 calories

Dinner Panera
Cup Broccoli Cheddar Soup 190 Calories
1/2 Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich 340 Calories

Exercise
Tamilee Webb I Want Those Arms w/tubing instead of weights
TJ Punch Kick & Jam w/weighted gloves

i think i rested yesterday, except for the mental stress. I didn't do quite as much activity as I planned.

Did you sleep in Diana?

I didn't lose any weight from yesterday either, but I didn't gain. So that's good. I am exactly on target with what I should have lost from my calorie deficit overall though.

plan: jogging 20 min HIIT
resistance training w/ pull up bar
calorie goal 1650
activity goal: 680

Breakfast:
1 banana 120 cs
6 walnuts 60cs
1 c milk 120 cs
3 tbsp brkfst powder: 30 cs
1 slice orange 10 cs

preworkout: 1 lemon whip yogurt: 170 cs
workout: 4 min hulahoop, 20 min jog HIIT. 15 min HR 118 (65%) and 5 min 164 (87%)

post workout:
cottage cheese 1 tbsp 30 cs
pineapple 70 cs

SNACK:
Egg Nog ice cream: 1/4 c 65 cs
1 gingerbread cookie 45 cs
milk 1/2 c 60 cs

SNACK:
Waldorf Salad 1/2 c. 100 cs
Apples
Canola Mayo
celery
walnuts
grapes

snack: chai tea and gingerbread cookies: 170 cs

Dinner:
Jazzed tuna helper: 450 cs

snack: waldorf salad (above) 100 cs
chai tea 35 cs
2 gingerbread cookies 90 cs

Total Calories: 1657
total Activity: 17422 steps 842 cs
jogging calories: 118 HR = 84 cs
164 HR =53 cs
total calories burned: 949
AMR: 2534
Deficit: 877
expected lbs lost: .25


pull ups with rebounding 20
swing down arm, chest presses: 12
under hand body lifts: 12

leg lifts holding pull up bar (front) 10
side: 10
side 10
plank (old favorite) 30 sec, 5 pushups (mod), plank (20 sec)

Jen DH woke me up at 10 AM, but there is more to it than that. Last night we went to Panera for dinner. Afterwards I did my workout. I started feeling really full and not right. I had to go to the grocery store afterwards. I was feeling progressively worse. While I was in the store I went to the bathroom, thinking I was going to be sick. Nothing happened. I checked out, got to my car, and off loaded the groceries. No sooner than I finished that I got sick in the parking lot. I am so glad that didn't happen in the store and no one was around when it happened. When I got home I took 6 pepto bismols. I put the trash can by the bed in case I got sick again since I was still feeling weird. I haven't gotten sick anymore, but I feel like I could, I feel exhaused, sore, and chilly. I just took my temp and it's 100.6. I never get sick!

Here's the kicker. I believe in supplements. I also believe the major part of your immunse system is in your stomach. The week before last we ran out of our multivitamin and my probiotics. I ordered it and everything came in on Monday. I always put our supplements in a one of those medicine holders. I decided to wait to take it again when I refill everything. Is it a coincidence that I have not taken those supplements for over a week and I got sick? Kinda interesting, isn't?

i don't think it is a coincidence. I also use probiotics or yogurt. It is wierd you would get sick immediately though.

I might have to chalk it up to food poisoning it if it was at least 30-45 min after you ate. I hope you get better.

if it is a stomach bug, probiotics would help keep it in check...if it's fp..they could make everything run out faster, but that is good.

I haven't been sick since that one time last night, but I don't feel well. My fever got up to 101.2. I remembered about my Hyland's Flu homeopathic stuff and have been taking that. I am also back on my supplements. I doubled up on the probiotics. 101.2 is not high, but it has come back down since taking that. Oh yea, I forgot to mention, that I get Dr. Mercola's newsletter. He had a newletter about in the old days, baking soda was used to get rid of the of flu. I have also been using that today.

Cool, Diana, Dr. Mercola has awesome tips.

You don't happen to have any coconut oil on hand do you? If it is the flu that could be useful against it. I just don't know why you got ill AFTER eating, but if you are not having more digestive issues, it probably is a virus.

bakingsoda creates a more alkaline environment.

here is a link about this..for others wanting to know how Baking Soda would work.
http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/...512090712.html

I am feeling a lot better now. Hopefully tomorrow I will be even better.

Confessions

Breakfast
Coffee w/cream/sugar
English Muffin 100 calories
1 piece bacon 25 calories
2% American Cheese 50 Calories
1 Egg 70 Calories
Juice 55 Calories

Dinner
Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings 731 calories

Turtles made with:
1/2 pkg Rolo's candy 110 Calories
pretzels 25 calories
walnuts 25 calories

Exercise
No exercise, today was my day off

Jen Something interesting happened with my weight. Friday I (think) weighed 254.8 and then Saturday I weighed 251.4. I thought it was interesting that I lost 3 pounds overnight. I was sick, but it's not like I was sick for days. I only got sick 1 time. It will really be big accomplishment for me to get below 250. Over 250 feels closer to 300, where as under 250 feels closer to 200, LOL. It's one of those freaky mental things, I know.

hmmm.. if it sticks that is called a whoosh. I hope it sticks. I whoosh 3 lbs then go up 2, then start falling back down again..

yeah..Diana...that's the whole rounding thing....251 would be 300 rounded to the hundreds.

I want to get as farrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr away from the 170s as I can. I really do believe it is my body's "set point". As I have always failed trying to get below with every diet attempt...BUT not this time!

ok, today's plan: I was down to 172.4 this morning.

I am kind of wondering if I should go lower or higher today. I WANT to go lower, but I don't want to trigger the stall again...so I am going to go higher...

Todays goals
calories:1880 { didn't make goal...blah)
exercise: 980
exercise: 20 min jog HIIT; 10 min hula hoop
4 min advanced step (warm up)
10 min hula hoop! did it![omg! that is so hard]
20 min jog . Did it! 2.75 miles in 20 min. HIIT 60 % 15 min 87% 5 min

so far:
breakfast shake: 150 cs.

preworkout: banana 120 cs
post workout:
1/2 c cottage cheese 120 cs
pinapple: 35 cs

Lunch:
chicken nuggets 300 cs
waldorf salad 250 cs
orange slices 50 cs

tea 65 cs

snack:
tuna helper: 150 cs

Dinner:
hamburger helper w/deer 450 cs
cheese 100 cs

gingersnaps 90 cs
1/4 c ice cream 65 cs

snack:
tea: 35 cs
gingerbread cookies: 180cs (could have halved this!)

Calorie total: 2172 cs
Activity total: -1348 cs
1125 pedometer 23,083 steps
hula hoop 66 cs
jogging: 137 cs
other 20 cs
AMR =2933
Deficit: -761
expected lbs lost:.22