Ilene! I know you're up and was waiting for you to start the new thread!

Happy Monday, LWL!

JC - Be sure and keep us abreast of what's going on with the jerk.

OK, new week, new month and I'm ready for it. I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK. Just trying to psych myself up for my tree/wood hauling today which will be a work-out in itself. It's in the 20's this AM but going into the 50's later so I will have plenty of time this morning to get my lifting in, and then I'll do cardio after I get my chores done. My goal is to get the yard into shape before a) it gets too hot and b) the boat is painted and in the water. There is still much clean-up out back from the Labor Day flood. When the creek went over, it really made a mess. I was too busy with the basement to do anything about the yard last fall, and it was when I started lifting, so it took a backseat.

On with the day! Hope everyone has a healthy and safe one!

Meg - how you doing today? When do you come out of the compression bandages?

dip

OMG!!! You caught me!! I was just posting my pics at MSN... BAck later...

Top 'o the mornin' to you Dip!... And everyone else lurking!

Woke up to a Winter Wonderland this morning..:P... yuk!!

Posted a collage at MSN...I'm pleased with them, of course it could be better and I'm kicking my behind for those days I gave in, and think if I wouldn't have how much better the progress would be... but... What can ya do! The back fat is SLLOOOOOWLY leaving the building... Nothing like a total backside view to give you a reality check... I am so not sorry for taking the first pics, although difficult they were to take, I love seeing the progress... So next session is July? Bikini season? That'd be the day I wear a bikini! HA!!!!

Today LEGS Meg! See you at the gym... Then several errands... Be back later...

Hiya there Jack! Cardio first vs. weights - a much debated question. In the past I would lift first and then do cardio and I built muscle and lost fat and was pleased with my results. However, I found that over time, I would be less enthused about doing my cardio after lifting and would come up with "reasons" why I couldn't do the cardio. When I felt that starting to happen this time around, I switched it up and now I'm doing cardio first, then weight lifting (except on leg day). This way, my cardio is out the way AND I can ride that cardio endorphin high into my weight lifting and get more accomplished. What it comes down to is what works best for you.

I GOT to get over and see the pics. From what I'm reading, the results are BEAUTIFUL!

Meg - rest up and get well. I did legs on Saturday and am sending sore leg muscle vibes your way.

JC - Try this. Forgive, but don't forget. Sit down and write out what happened to make him need to send the apology that he sent. Keep that with his email and going forward document everything - both positive contact and negative. Oh yeah, don't discuss the happenings with your other co-workers. It would make YOU look like a gossiper. Good luck girlfriend.

Greekgrl - Is your cat named Tika? I got confused reading your message about your pet.

Hiya rest of the gang. I'm still in a food rut of sorts. Saturday was almost clean but Sunday was another story. On the good side, the crew and I cooked all of our food for the week - yeah JC, I'm giving it a try - but on the bad side, that meant I was in the kitchen ALOT and I always munch when I'm in that room. Tonight starts DS' football training so I will try to get a few laps around the track with the team. Scale was up 3 pounds this saturday but I'm not surprised. Between last week munchies, poor workouts and PMS, it was expected.

Peace. Tiki

No snow here like some of you other Northerners report having, thank God!

I saw all the pic's before, at Fit Day? How do i get there again?

Legs still in pain today from Friday's deadlifts, but i'm on schedual to do some more today! and i WILL! Did upper body yesterday morning, i think i'm back in the game girls! Just took a couple workouts to get me remembering how GOOD it feels! My ole workout buddy to get together with me sometime this week for a walk/hike. She has lost over 10lbs in the last couple months. she had been working out with me since early fall to prep for her wedding this November, well she hadn't lost much and was talking about switching her antianxiety med to one that she heard was good for weight loss too. I encouraged her not to do that, to keep to the diet and exercise. Well she DID switch, to Wellbutrin, and she got braces (only for 6mo cause her teeth were shifting- had braces as teenager) and between the two she started eating less and lost over 10lbs! Clean eating is my biggest challenge, i've been doing very good during the day but then at night i've been pigging out! I wonder if i need to eat more in the day so i'm not so hungry at night? Any suggestions?
Well gotta go watch Dr. Phil
-E

Oh, Jack: i agree with Tiki, i think it's a matter of personal preference, although i struggle more with the weight routine and tend to skip THAT if i wait till after cardio, so i do it first. Weight lifting definitely important to make your cardio worth while, ask anyone here.
About the belts , i would say if your a beginner, STUDY FORM. your back might hurt cause of too much weight too soon and bad form, my lower back never hurts after a workout (unless i REALLY worked the lower back extensions) and i don't think that's normal.

Good Almost Afternoon Girls

Elasky -- here is the site where we post our pics...http://groups.msn.com/3FCLadiesWhoLift ... Good for you for getting back at it E... Did a few deatlifts this morning myself, and I know I'm going to feel them tomorrow...

Suzanne and Jennifer -- I completely forgot that we have a place here for pics now...

Jack -- Personally I think that if you are not going super heavy it's better not to rely on a belt if you don't seriously have something wrong with your back, because I think that you come to rely on it... on the ole question of cardio first or whatever... I do both. Like Tik I get lazy sometimes after weight I don't want to do cardio... then I get lazy after cardio I don't want to do weights... I just keep switching things around, a couple of weeks one way then a couple of weeks the other way... Keeps your body guessing too...

Meg -- Today we did:
Tri-setted: Squats, Sissy Squats, Leg Extensions - 4 sets / 10-12 reps
Tri-setted: Deadlifts, Legs Curls, Standing Leg Curls - 4 sets / 10-12 reps
Tri-setted: Abductor machine, Adductor machine, Donkey kick machine - 4 sets / 10-12 reps
Are you sore yet?! Cause I know I am...

Dip -- You were sounding full of P&V in your post of this morning. How are ya doing?

Have a great afternoon... See yas later!

Hi everybody! Wow, 10 shopping days left until the inauguration. Right now, I have a choice: I can TRY to catch up on several days worth of LWL posts OR I can dash across the street to the gym. I better do the latter. So, later gators ... I'll catch up later.

Happy Monday, and it's almost over.

I did a bear of a leg workout this morning when 2 clients cancelled on short notice. I'm sure they knew last week that this week was spring break for thier kids, but I seem to be at the bottom of the respect heap. Oh well, at least I got my workout done early and got home at a reasonable time to have the homework arguement with my son. This was my "weird leg exercise day" rather than heavy standards, so I'm really going to be sore. I like to do 1 day a month of just wacko stuff- 1 legged squats, plie squats, leaping lunges, treadmill lunges, side lunges- stuff not on the regular menu, but fun and useful.

Clean eats so far and on track with water. Yahoo! Yesterday I felt like I was having the last supper- I had 2 desserts because I said I wasn't going to have any for a month. That's not in my carved in stone plan, but a mini personal goal. At least that was my rationale for 2 desserts. I will NOT get on the scale until Friday since I know what 1 day of eating like that will do. And what the number will do to my head is even worse.

Jack- I always try and break cardio and weights into 2 sessions. If I have to do it at one time, I do no more than 30 minutes, after lifting. On the weight belts: if you have a previous back injury, you should probably wear a belt. Remember "heavy" is subjective. If you have no history of injuries, wearing a belt will prevent you from strengthening your core muscles and abs along with your back. It essentially does the work of strong abs, obliques, and and spinal erectors. I know Meg wears one, so she probably will say the opposite. When she's coherent, that is.

Hi Tik, Dip, Ilene, JC how are things? Robin, good choice on reading vs. the gym Hi to everyone I missed.

Mel

Hello,
I've been MIA, totally busy. I'm applying for teaching jobs and its crazy, I'm being so particular about my resume/portfolio, I know its a good thing to be picky about but I think I'm going overboard. I've been all over the state today. Had a great workout this a.m. but cruddy eating today...totally pms and also stressing about the job hunt. I need to relax. Sorry, I'm venting.

Hello to everyone.

Mel - I have a personal goal of totally clean eating for a month, starting right now, even though I ate some stuff I shouldn't have this afternoon. I hear you on the scale issue, I'm not going near it til Friday. Funny how one day I feel totally bloated and huge and in three days I'll be feeling so great if I stick to my diet. I tend to let my eating set my mood. Ergh...but anyway, I'm a dessert person and I do pretty well avoiding them. But when I get into sugar, its baaaaaaaad. So, no more as of right now.

Jack - I don't have much input on your belt question. However, I almost always do cardio first because I like to get it over with. If I leave cardio last, I tend to do a shorter session or blow it off altogether. But if its abs day, I always do abs before anything else. Otherwise, forget it. So my advice is just do what works for you, but just do it!!

Meg - I'm thinking of you. Hope you're feeling OK.

Ilene - your pics look awesome. Great progress.

Anne

Hey guys,

Well I had a long think about it last night and spoke to DH as well. We did a pro/con list for leaving/staying and it was pretty even so I had to delve into the strength of the reasons. Leaving won out in the end and both of us are happy for me to resign.

I am submitting it later on today once my boss returns from a meeting.

I went through a lot of stuff personally yesterday and resolved a lot of feelings but at the end of the day it came down to whether I would feel comfortable working with this guy anymore and my answer was a resounding 'no' - that was the clincher for me. I don't get paid enough to be depressed everyday at work and not enjoy the environment and life is too short to be unhappy.

I thought about forgiving him and then I decided what the **** for? We aren't in a relationship together for goodness sake - we are paid to have our butts here and do a job. It comes down to the fact that his behaviour was unacceptable in this environment and I can actually do something about that by leaving the environment - so why not? So that's what I am doing.

JC

Hey gals - still working on my progress photos - will get them up soon.

Dip - you look great - I'm jealous! I'll have your collages done soon as well.

Ilene - your back looks fantastic - great progress in just 3 months! And, I can definitely see more definition in your arms!

Got my new furniture today - I love it, but it's bigger than I thought it would be - will take some getting used to. I have to practically crawl into the chair, it's so deep! Makes me feel nice and small!

JC - glad you've come to a decision that will make you enjoy your life better. Good luck with the resignation and finding a new job.

Going to keep this short - want to get my photos done.
Cindy

Good evening all!!

Things continue to go well. I have continued to lose with this WOE, and it is great!! However, I am going to shake things up a bit by finally getting back into a workout rutine. The trick will be listening to my body for knowing how many carbs to add back in. I have been doing so well with this that I am almost afraid to go back to the gym, in fear that I will stall. I know that temporarily I may and that this is for the best, but still! So, here I go I will be doing a BFL-style workout, focusing on circuits/giant sets. I also plan to incorporate Pilates into my workout. So now I can look forward to inches as well as weight coming off

Robin

Good evening girls!

JC -- Good for you on your decision, I'm sure you will not regret it you are such an intelligent girl that something great will come along shortly...

Tiki -- good for you on cooking everything on Sunday! That helps tremendoudly when in a rut... Hang in there, you can muddle through this one too...

Cindy -- I luv getting new furniture, you'll get used to the largeness of the pieces. Enjoy!

Anne -- Nothing like stress to test your resolve! Hang in there too!

Mel -- Side lunges, I haven't done them in ages. Thanks for the reminder I'll do them next week...

I've had a very good day... Did the gym thing, workout was awesome as I mentionned before.... Then went shopping I desperately needed black dress pants. I tried several styles and took in with me sizes 12, 10, and 8, and do you know which size fit in every style? "8"... I was in shock! I asked the sales clerk if they looked ok and she said "Must be nice to be so petite!"... I looked around to see if she was talking to me! I was the only one there, so I guess she was! I was doing the HAPPY HAPPY let me tell ya! I just tried them on again to make sure they still fit! Honest, there must be a mistake! Anyways I'm happy, to say the least!

Well I must go, need sleep ...Nite all....

Robin -- Nice to see you again.... What program are you doing? No exercise at all?