Good morning sleepy heads! I'm off to a meeting this morning! Yesterday was great...I even drank ALL of my water!!!
Soooo.... what's happening on your beach towel this morning?!

Hi there Fab! I slept until 6 this morning! It was glorious.

After I get DH up and organized, I'm going to soak in the tub a bit and then go to town to get some dog food meat for the Girls who are grumbling a lot when I give them store-bought! Planting has to happen this afternoon - weather permitting.

Happy Friday, chickies!

Good Morning ALL!!!
Well STILL gloomy weather here in the Northeast ARGH! I am doing my best to not let this weather get to me, BUT I now have woke with a sore throat and sinus drip! We are going away next Thursday so this needs to be short lived!!
OK enough complaining!
How are all of you doing today? Aside from the above all is great. I am feeling better, for the most part, I am really encouraged by my chopices and my attitude this time around(first time on the beach, but not first diet or attempt to lose weight) So I am determined today, despite my obstacles to get in 30 minutes of exercise of one sort or the other. It will probably be running after and playing with my kids exerting more energy being it is definately NOT walking weather. Since we have only a few days of May left and I only started on this board at the beginning of this week, I was looking to start a June challenge.

So here are my June goals....
1. To exeercise 30 minutes a day 4 times a week, mainly walking but finding an alternative on non-walkable days
2. To drink more water at least 48 oz a day
3. To continue making good choices for my food consumption
and finally...
4. to lose another 8 pounds to make a total lost of 20 pounds.

So until later I wish you all a fantastic day!

Well, I'm cranky as heck. I've had two REALLY bad eating days, and the scales have moved up two pounds. (I'm not changing my ticker) crap.

I'm going to start the day off with a healthy breakfast, and drink lots of water.
Pardon me for being so anal this morning... I'm just ticked at myself.

love and hugs to all of you...

Ellis, my darling, get your head out of your butt and let's get on with it! I'm crabby this morning too although my weight didn't go up. I'm feeling pressured by my poor dear innocent garden and have decided to plant this morning in case it rains in the PM. Maybe that will lift my mood.

Happymom101, we usually do start a monthly challenge. It'll be called June weightloss targets. If you want to do another type, go right ahead. There is also the usual Exercise challence. I may as well set them up now although we've not finished May.

Into my gardening duds and outta here ~~~~~~~~~~~~

morning.

i'm grouchy this morning. DH and i had a fight before we left for work. it was over stupid stuff, as usual -- i couldn't find a clean water bottle. *sigh*

anyway, i'm still 100 percent OP as i head into day 5. no huge cravings yesterday. the peanut butter cup took care of my ice cream craving.

for those of you who use fitday, what do your averages look like? for example, most of my days are around 1,500 cals with about 40 percent coming from fats. is that normal? it freaks me out a little, even though i know there are good fats and bad fats. my saturated fats are about 20 percent of the total fat.

just wondering how i stack up. so far i've lost two pounds.

I'm grouchy as heck this morning too, stupid scale! My weight was up 1 lb.
I have tried very hard this week to stay OP. My DH doesn't understand why my scale moving up made me mad...he expected me to just be happy with it. He's like, Oh, come on, I gained a bit this week too. Of course he did, he isn't eating like I am! He eats JUNK. It's been a very stressful week, and I realize that there will be fluctuations. I just didn't want to add weight! I have had more trouble staying OP this week due to different circumstances.
Well, I'm gonna go eat my breakfast, and head to the gym and work my butt off!
I'll post later, maybe I'll be in a better mood!

OK ladies. Some of you guys are such early birds!

I finished planting my garden last night and I think something about playing in dirt does something to me........................I'm calm and content. I LOVE dirt! Now for the flowers!

skysque, congrats on making it past a craving! I think that every time you do it should be one of those "pat yourself on the back and do cartwheels" moments.

soon2bfab, if I bring my water over will you drink mine too? I know I need to drink more.

Ruth, wow sleeping in until 0600, you lazy thing you............NOT! So, you ought to post your dog food recipe, let's see if it's SB friendly!

happymom, any exercise is good, but even better than that I think sunshine is great! I'll think good thoughts to your weatherman!

ellis, hugs to you back. I detect a bit of "beating yourself up" ness! You don't want to do that! I don't want you to be cranky when you finally make it to my place with that bracelet! (I have a great memory)

I took my bike in to get tuned up before my ride next week. I hope it's fun, it should burn a few calories!

Looks like it's a crabby day all around, eh ladies? I am crabby because I still crave all the stuff I used (I use past tense lightly) to love. I know it's only day 5 of Phase I for me but yesterday, I wanted a bagel so much I had to drive an entirely new way home to avoid Dunken Doughnuts on my usual route. I am having a really hard time eating in the mornings lately, and at dinner. I manage to eat some veggies and V-8 usually, but I feel really full all the time (which I suppose is good?) and at dinner I usually cook something great (like the recipes from here) but last night I had no motivation and I was really cranky (my poor bf didn't know what hit him!). I mean, I love that I am seeing results (good bye double chin, you won't be missed!) but does the general feeling of misery and "blah" go away soon?
Also, not to be gross, but is there anything that can be taken to increase or help regulate..er..bathroom visits? I don't know much about any supplements to take but I haven't had a visit since Monday, except for numero uno. Is it just my body adjusting?

Morning, early-bird Soon! Congrats on drinking all your water!!!

Ruth, about sleeping in until 6. I consider sleeping in not getting up until 12:00 p.m. at the earliest. Have a wonderful time in the garden!

HappyMom, I'm so sorry about the weather and the cold, but with a positive attitude like that, you'll overcome both quickly, I bet! Where are you heading to on Thursday?

Ah, Ellis! We all have those days. Were you craving or just emotionally eating? Maybe a couple days of Phase 1 will put you back on track? You'll be in my prayers. Think about how you would respond if one of your kids did something like this. Then treat yourself the same way. We are often more forgiving of our children than we are of ourselves. You are a special, wonderful woman who deserves much love.

Sky, try to get your fat down to 30%. Might mean cutting out some of your cheese during the day or less dressing on salads? If you stick at 30% and try to get your saturated down to at least 15 (or even 10% if you can do it), that would be healthier. It's great that you are tracking it! I need to get into it. Any hints for those of us who haven't used fitday regularly yet? Any easy ways to enter all that food? Sorry about the fight with DH. That can make for a tough day. Maybe you can make up over the phone today?

Me:
Weight was up today, but last night was a really late night, so I'm not stressing. DH slept in with me, and we went for a short walk with the dog before I went to the gym. That was nice. On the way past our house, I noticed that a 'lil grey critter' had dug up one of my 'tunnies' and it was lying on the walkway dying! Oh, I am sooo frustrated with those destructive squirrels!!! I'm not sure if it would be better to put out food for them and destract them, or if I should just put down mothballs around the bed? I'll post more in the gardening thread, since I'm sure most of you are by now.

Very, very excited to see Ange and Ethan this weekend. Looking forward to being done with school next week though I'm not feeling very motivated to do the work I need to do. I need to kick myself in the butt! I think my depression/anxiety meds are working too well because I feel like I'm floating around above it all...

We don't get Monday off...but DH does. He's looking forward to getting somethings done around the yard. He'll also pick up our new patio table set and swears it'll be set up by the time I come home for lunch. He put the new grill together last night, so we're all set to have a great grilled dinner outside that night!

Have a wonderful weekend chickies, and travel safely, okay?

Hi guys..
Okay so, I went to the gynecologist yesterday and I weighed in at 143.25--I was WAY OFF!! with what I thought I was...so, I changed my ticker...so, today I weighed myself and I am at 140.00--did I mention I bought a new lithium scale yesterday...I need to face my scale probem...! And...I bought a little book to journal my foods and my weight...so, now I can get motivated by weightloss and not just "perception of weightloss" This will be good!

Okay, doing the Abby Challenge starting May 30th. I was good yesterday eating...and this morning it showed. I am upping the exercise too.

The doctor thinks I might have a thyroid condition too...I kinda hope that they can fix whatever is bothering me...

So, talk to you all later..it is going to be a shorter work day 1:30-6:30 today..not bad.

See ya,
Sarah

Wea re just heading to Portland for a 5 day vacation on the beach, of course will not get much beach time if this weather does not improve. It will be nice to get away for a few days anyway.

Hope you all have a better day!

Ok Chicks I received a special alert from my horrorscopes this morning. I think it applies to some of us who are feeling topsy turvy. Read on..

Intense, intense, intense! From May 27 to June 2 we値l all be under the influence of a T-square between Venus, Mars and Pluto, meaning everyone will be on their biggest, loopiest emotional roller coaster.

The T-square is a concentrated, dynamic three-planet combination. It's created when two planets -- in this case, Venus and Pluto -- form an opposition (think standoff), which is difficult enough. But this aspect is further complicated by a third planet, combative Mars, who will make a stressful square to the other two.

When Venus, the planet of love and emotions, and Mars, the planet of action and aggression, both meet up with powerful Pluto, the entire world can feel topsy-turvy. But your focus will be on interpersonal relationships. Who exactly is in control here anyway? Even the smallest issues (like what movie to see or what to have for dinner) can trigger major power struggles. Jealousy can raise its ugly green head, and sexual energy (shall we call it tension?) will run high.

Hang on - sounds like a wild ride.

I ate my Vlasic splenda sweet pickles instead of Atkins Ice Cream bar last night. They only have 5 calories and 0 fat. The Atkins bars have 170 calories and 16 grams of fat.

To those of you who are struggling with weight loss/scale issues - I re-read my exercise book last night (Escape Your Shape) and he has great insight into losing weight. He said that if you have 15 or less pounds to lose you should only weigh yourself once a month. 15 or more pounds only once a week. He said to lose one pound you need to burn or cut out 3500 calories which comes out to 500 calories a day per week. In order to figure out where you are caloric wise take your weight and multiply by 9. This is your daily caloric break point. You need to either burn 500 calories with exercise or reduce 500 calories out of your diet - below your caloric break point - or the best is a combo of both exercise and diet to reduce calories by 500 per day/per week. Whew - that is a mouthful. I'm testing this theory right now using Fit Day.com to track my progress. I have to exercise 3 days this weekend and stay below my caloric break point in order to make my 3500 goal.

Luckily I have no plans for the weekend. Except for exercising and cleaning since it is going to be crappy here in Michigan. Hopefully it will be nice on Monday so I can go to the Flea Market.

Wow...I took a long time writing, I guess... there's a ton of posts I missed!

Phins, I'm sorry about the pound. It'll fall off...in fact, it's probably falling off as you work out! Guys never get it. Losing weight is just SO different for them. DH lost five pounds two weeks ago, putting him underweight, so he ate like a pig to gain. I just try to ignore it. Feel free to come here and complain about it...WE understand.

RNMom, a FEW calories??? Yes, I think so! I'm so proud of you for doing such a vigorous and healthy activity! I think it would be fun to do one of those bike tours in French wine country and such. Especially since they have a van you can ride in if you get tired that's stocked with wine and cheese! The 'heart' of a fat person still lurks in me!

Gryff, constipation is a big problem in Phase 1. Here's what you can do: EAT BEANS!!!! They will help SO much. They also will help with the cravings and misery, as they have both good carbs to satisfy your blood sugar and protein to keep your blood sugar level. Also, you can try metamucil, stool softeners, and suppositories (Eww...but they work! )...all three are safe to use in the long term, but feel free to check with the health center or your doctor to be sure. In Phase 2, you'll find it's less of a problem. Also, make sure you are drinking your water. If you can manage it, do some gentle exercise--it gets your intestines moving. The general malaise and cravings should go away by day six (in the morning). If they don't, sugar is sneaking into what you are eating--check ingredients and the updated lists to make sure. It does go away. I think it's great that you drove a different way to avoid DD. Good for you, girl!

Morning...

quickie here to say hi. Work is hectic but if I can get it all done by 3p, I can leave early!!! Then I am off for 5 glorious days with HB.

I was thinking about eating right (And going to the gym) but not starting PH1 until the 1st. That way I can get my 1st 2 weeks in there AND have others to chat with, lol, as I am sure some will start on the 1st.

Is that a bad plan? I feel like I wanted to start on the holiday because if I can do it then I can do it anywhere. Or am I just talking myself out of starting NOW?