Ok, Cyan....I'm in too. Do we post them here?? Can't believe I"m gonna do it since I'm bigger( wayyy bigger) than all of you, and some of you combined. lol :o BUT I'm working on it, and as big as I am I'm still 5 lbs smaller than I was last week:D Maybe the horror of doing this will MAKE me keep up so in January I can be proud of posting a lot less :smug:

I"d love to see pics of everyone. Kinda strange you mentioned it tonite because I had just thought this morning that I was going to bring that up. I even took a "before" one of me this morning. Decided I wanted a recent one to compare with another one in a few months. Sometimes in pictures we see our "real" selves more clearly. It's funny how in your mind sometimes you dont look as bad as you really do lol.

Ohhh, goodness, where are my manners?? WELCOME LISA!!:balloons: Great having you join us!!!

Sorry I cant post more tonite but just got home from the ballgame and need to get off here and get some things taken care of before bedtime. Take care everyone! :grouphug:

PS....Really sorry to hear about your bro-in-law, LadyRider. You and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers. Somehow I missed that post when I read thru the first time.

and Precious One...hope you get to feeling better SOON:)

Hello everyone,

LadyRider, my thoughts go out to you in this time. I am sorry to hear about your brother in-law. We are all here to support you through challenges you may meet.

Cyan, here is my account from last night's outing. A group of friends from my old work went out to the restaraunt and it turns out that we showed up on the wrong night--we had no idea that tonight there is a Fireman's Calendar signing!! Darn. It was a lot of fun. We laughed a lot and exchanged a lot of stories. All of the girls knew my friend's mom who passed away so we talked about those memories as well.

Just before the end of the dinner one of the girls mentioned aside that another of my old co-worker's father had passed away yesterday. They had no idea that I had been on this co-worker's volleyball team for a year and that his dad came out to every game we played and was an avid cheerleader and a wonderfully chatty man who I had spent time knowing. It was very sudden and sad news yet again. Needless to say when I got home I looked up the funeral information on the newspaper web site and there is a visitation tonight at the same funeral home as the one I just went to recently. So the evening ended on a sombre note.

I made myself a healthy lunch yesterday, taken a nice walk at lunch and had a grilled veggie and feta (no mozzerella) pizza at the restarant and only had 2 pieces and brought the rest home for lunch and for my boyfriend to snack on. It wasn't too greasy and overall I think I did fine calorie wise because it was also a thin crust one. I was going to have a chicken salad but the chicken was the breaded deep fried kind. In fact, all of their salads had lots of deep fried stuff.

I am coming down with a cold and overall my body is feeling very low energy. I have a feeling that the next day or so may be walking days or yoga relaxation days as opposed to pool days. Oh well, they just started a Saturday and Sunday swim time slots, so I can make up for it at the tail end of the week!!

I am up for the challenge between now and Christmas. It will definitely be hard because I have 4 Christmas parties booked so far---all potluck!! (one at my current work, one at my old work, and two run by friends). Any one got any good low-fat potluck recipes???? The lists are already circulating.

I will definitely need to re-review strategies before these 4 nights!!! Some are coming up soon as they are in early December!!

My boyfriend's family has a Sushi Christmas Eve gathering and so that is a guaranteed healthy eating night--yum!!! My mom cooks Turkey on Christmas day but she also makes me crustless pumpkin pie because she knows that I don't like the taste of pie crust and usually end up throwing it away anyway. I have no idea how people can eat that stuff!! For me the tough part is the stuffing!!

So I guess I am on for the challenge with plans for strategizing mapped out with help from the group?? My goal will be to maintain as I think my body is in that phase right now, but if I lose that would be fantastic!

Sorry I didn't get a chance to reply individually to each threads--there were so many!! Keep up the great work team and we can start our challenges soon.

Cjunk

Good Morning Ladies
 

Last night, I exercised for 50 minutes on the bike for a distance of 14.6km at an average speed of 17.5km...I burned 530cals. It was tough getting started but once again, after a few minutes of pedalling...and listening to good music...I get into it...I must agree...there are days that are sure tough...but my demon seems to be food...I always have a tougher time staying within my 1500 cal range....and my fat grams are too high...I need to get them down to 50 grams per day and often its higher even if I am at 1500 cals. So I exercise for a longe period to balance out my cal consumption.

Cjunk...were there lots of cute single fireman? Hmmm? send them over to Montreal...:lol:

Hey Mikki...dont worry about the temporary size that you are now...you are slowly shrinking...the results are happening and that is the key...the focus of this journey you are on. You show a lot of courage to air your insecurities and I admire you for that. This tells me that you are dealing with your goals head on...pat yourself on the back.

I am excited that we all agree on this pre new years resolution...We need the extra motivation to keep us on track...we will be surrounded by lots of tempting foods, lots of family that are not on health journeys...who will want you to try their special desert or food dish...that is why we should prepare for these upcoming challenges and think them through before it happens.

For instance, if I have a special dinner to go to that evening...I will have a low fat, low cal breakfast and lunch inorder to have more cals for dinner available. I will definitely be exercising that day....before the dinner. These are some strategies I will be using to help maintain or possibly lose some weight during the holidays. I wont be leaving it to faith....Has anyone given it some thought as to what you will be doing in social situations? What are your plans of action? Also, I suggest posting regularly here and to discuss your worries or to come in for extra support. Like if the cheesecake is talking to you....or if that extra turkey leg has ambled over to your plate....think of all your health nut buddies here that are supporting your every wise choices!

I know for me it is going to be very tough to stay within my 1500 cals....but my challenge is to do exactly that...I will do it...this is the promise I make to myself and you are my witnesses.

Talk to you later

Cyan

Good morning all. I hope everyone had a great day.
Boy did I have a hard night, On my way home from work, I went to pick up my food for the week, and I need a McDonalds cheesburger!:devil: I yelled at myself the whole way home, people looking in my car, must have thougth I was nuts. Well, I didn't stop at McDonalds, I went straight home and had my healthy dinner. Around 8pm, I just got some horrible cravings for cake, I don't know why, but it was killing me..
Fruit didn't look appealing to me or anything healthy.
I decided to make me 8 oz of chocolate milk. And that took it away.
Then, at 11:00 at night, it hit me again, I was hungry and crabby and I needed to eat. I just didn't know what it was, but it was fierce...So I took a long hot shower instead of eating and I went straight to bed. :?:

Cyan - I really like this challenge :high: I don't want to go into the New Year thinking that I wasted 2 months working my butt off to lose weight, to gain the weight after the holidays. I would like to maintain where I am at starting weight - 2 days before Thanksgiving. If I lose, Haleluya. If I don't and stay the same, I reached another goal. Good Idea!

LadyRider, I am so sorry to hear about your brother-in-law. I will pray for him, and for you, so you keep the strength to stay focused in such hard times. Congrats on the weightloss... With our goals being the same, I just can't wait to say the same thing you are, 34 lbs to go... That sounds great. Keep up the good work.
PreciousOne, Congrats on passing up such a tempting moment to indulge in some junk food...Me, I would have easily chosen the chocolate bar still...Yes, I am still having my bad moments where I do want to indulge in junk, but I do have to say that I am getting better.
Hope you feel good soon....
DeterminedAnnie, Another good idea, is to spice up your low-fat cream cheese spread and add some pineapples or strawberries to it. and spread that on your wheat toast or bagels..
Posting has been kind of tough for me, especially on the weekends, and there are so many great ones, it is hard to keep up when you are out on the weekends. I lost a couple of posts before, now I type it on a blank word doc as I read through the posts, then when i am ready to reply I just copy over, this way if you lose it, you still have a copy to retry with.
Have a great day!
MikiG, Congrats on the 5lbs loss :bravo:. That is a great accomplishment....I couldn't even think about writing my measurements down before I met this group. So I am going to take the leap!
Cjunk-Wow, I am so sorry to hear you had such a somber evening. Kudos on keeping your healthy eating habits through all this. Good luck on those PotLucks. I am also trying to figure out how to handle these to maintain the weight. I will post some lowfat recipes during the week for everyone.
Keep up the good work everyone. Have a blessed day
:grouphug: :balloons:

Hello everyone and good morning. It's 10:45 am here in Kansas and I've been to the gym where I did 12 minutes of cardio and then did the Body Defined Class which was awesome. I'm so sore already. Since I knew my cardio time was going to be cut short so I could make the class, I really upped the impact and went .85 miles, which for me is really good. I've come home and showered and now I'm ready to face my day and study study study.

Now, I need some advice. On Tuesday's and Thursday's I leave at 4:25 pm ( as soon as hubby gets home from work) to go to my class that starts at 5pm and is 30 minutes away from my house. I don't get out of class until 8:30 and I get home about 9pm. What on earth am I supposed to do for dinner on these days? For the first hour and a half of class we can eat in class, and then we get about a 10 minute break. Then we're in the lab where no food or drink are allowed. I've got to stop going to the bookstore and getting a candy bar and a pop and stuffing it into my mouth before lab. Help!

I'm really enjoying reading everyones' posts and it really is motivating. You are all so great! I'm really excited about our Holiday Challenge. I need to sit down and look at my calander and have a mental plan of how I will deal with all the food at all the fun things I get to go to. I have a hard time finding more joy in fun conversation and visiting then I do in the food. I need to reverse that. Can you imagine being at a holiday party and not really noticing all the food because you're having so much fun talking with your friends or family or getting to know a new person? Hmmmmm......

One more thing, I wanted to tell you about some software that you can download online. It's called Diet Power. I don't know if anyone of you have heard of it. It programs a daily calorie intake plan for you after you tell it how much you weigh, how much you WANT to weigh and when you want to weigh that much. Then you enter in what you eat and most of it is in their little system or if it's not you enter it in and will tell you all about everything. You can check and see how much vitamins your getting and so forth. It's not free forever, but I think it gives you a 30 day free trial and then just stops working if you don't buy it. I have found it helpful in the past.

That's all for now. I hope you are all having a great day!
Lisa

Good afternoon Ladies. Hope everyone is having a good day.

Cyan, believe me my body is not changing before my eyes. Every morning when I get up the first thing I do is look and see if by chance during the night my roly poly tummy has disappeared :lol: I'm losing in the waist department but I've still got lots of work to do on that tummy roll going on below the navel. I'm going to try and lose atleast another 10 pounds or so before I get down and dirty with the tummy exercises.
Miki, you and I have been the ones all along alittle shy about posting measurements, etc. So together we will do this. Only way to reach our goals is to be honest with ourselves. I know what you mean about pictures. I started back on Sept. 15th, thought I was doing great. Clothes started fitting a lot better by mid Oct. So by mid Oct. we had a dinner and party here celebrating a birthday in the family. I got the pictures developed a couple of weeks ago. Ugh! I remember that night well, everyone was saying how good I looked. Well if I looked good that night I would hate to see what I looked like before that. I told my husband why was everyone saying I looked good, look at my stomach in these pictures. So this weekend I'm going to put those same clothes on and have my son take a new picture so I can see if there is a difference now. Lord I hope so. It's been a month since those pictures were taken so I'll see if there's any changes now. Stay strong Miki, it takes time to see changes in our body. I feel that all of us here are very understanding of each other. If we didn't have problems with our bodies we wouldn't be here. That's the bottom line. If we had perfect bodies, perfect weight, etc. we wouldn't be here. And I don't know about the rest of you but I think the majority of us are emotional eaters. When we reach our goals, we will need to be strong, motivated and try to maintain our desired weight. This isn't an easy process.
I knew it wouldn't be when I started out. I knew I loved food too much to think that this would be easy. All of you have helped me in so many ways.

Cjunk, I have already set in motion my plans for the holidays. Hopefully I can stick with it. The two big dinners, (Thanksgiving and Christmas) will be taking place at my home. In that respect I will have an easier time of it. But there are a lot of parties that we will be attending. I love those buffets that are set up. That's when my plans will come into play. I plan on eating during the day as I usually do, I'm not cutting back on any meals to contemplate what I might be eating that night for dinner. I feel if I do that I will be starving when I arrive for the festivities. So far during my new eating habits I haven't allowed myself to become hungry. I have lots of small meals plus some healthy snacks in between. My downfall would be if I'm hungry, I know I would eat everything in sight. I plan on eating a small meal before I leave for the parties. Once I'm there I will search out the veggie trays, fruit trays, etc. I've also been asked to bring a few appetizers to some of the parties. So I know already what I will be taking, healthy ones that I can enjoy. I know of a real good shrimp dip, very low in calories that I will be able to take and enjoy that night. I have been working on appetizers for the last month in preparation for the holidays this year. I have always offered lots of appetizers and desserts at the events held at my home. This year I'll do the same, but have learned ways to fix them that is healthy and tasty to everyone. Learning healthier eating habits doesn't mean that we have to give up a lot of the foods we love. But learning to prepare them healthier is the key. I know there are going to be times that I will want to induldge in some of the foods I know that I shouldn't. I'm keeping an open mind about this, if that does occur I will keep it in moderation. A taste of this, a taste of that won't kill me or sabotage my diet. But sitting down and eating a whole cheesecake is not something I should do. I baked some loaf cakes the other day. I bake a lot of things and freeze them for the holidays. I did really good in not eating anything. My husband and my son had several pieces of an apple crumb loaf cake I made. I took a bite, didn't seem to care to sit down and pig out. That's the hard part to me, is baking and cooking and smelling the foods. I've learned a little secret that tends to help me. I make sure I sit down and eat a bowl of cereal when I'm baking. It fills me up and I don't seem to want to eat the baked goods when they come out of the oven. I know you all are probably thinking well why doesn't she just have a piece of whatever she's baking. It's not that simple, I would have to have a piece of everything. So far I'm doing good, haven't binged on anything I've baked so far. But when Thanksgiving Day comes, and especially Christmas Eve I'll see how I do. Part of my plans is to have alternatives for me to eat. When everyone else is sitting there eating dessert I don't want to be sitting there eating on carrot sticks. I would start screaming or something, I know I would. So I've made desserts that I can also enjoy. The holidays are coming, it's a time for family and friends. My goal is to stay relaxed, if I should happen to grab a piece of cheesecake and crawl under the table with it, I will deal with that later. I'm afraid that I will get so bent out of shape with trying to stay with my healthy diet through the holidays that I will ruin the holidays. I don't want to feel guilty about anything I eat during that time. But at the same time I want to stay on track. So hopefully I can keep in mind the key word, Moderation.

Cjunk, I don't know what type of potluck events you are attending. If you are to take a main dish I have some suggestions for that. Vegetables or side dishes I also have some ideas for you on that. Just do like me, think Moderation whatever is served there.

Lisa, I see the dilema you're in. I used to do the same thing, grab for the fastest things. And in every case it will always be those foods served that contain high fat and high calories. You might try eating a small meal before you leave. And then that night when you come in have a salad that you prepared earlier that day. You can also take numerous things along with you. Ex: turkey on low calorie wheat bread, friut cups, veggies cut up and packed in ziplock bags, a couple of pieces of fruit, anything with fiber, fills you up. Takes longer for the stomach to digest those things, therefore you don't get hungry as fast. That's why I eat cereals, oatmeal. If there is a microwave where you are you could always take a prepared frozen dinner with you. Also a meal you have prepared the night before or during the day taken on a disposable plate or one that you take back home. Also a big piece of advice offered in the kindest way, if at all possible try to get the pop or soft drinks out of your daily eating habits. WATER is the way to go. I think everyone here will vouch for that. The first thing I did was give up soft drinks. Most of us here take water with us everywhere we go. I've even learned to drink it room temperature. Didn't think I would ever be able to, but I'm doing it and don't mind a bit.
I've heard about that also, I'm going to give it a try this year. Hope people won't mind too much if I munch on a carrot while I talk with them :lol:
Thanks for the info about the software. It sounds like you're on the right track. You're already into the exercising, that's a big step and it sounds like you're doing great with that.
Others here will have some great tips for you about you're not being able to eat dinner at home. Wish I could help you more with that. Keep up the good work, glad you joined us.

reina_mia, thanks for the tips on the fruit. I hadn't thought about doing that. I usually only have thoughts of the creme cheese :s:
You did great on passing up McDonalds. But you know if that craving gets really, really bad might not be too bad if you went and had a small cheeseburger. Sometimes we can push ourselves to the limit and then we usually end up binging on something else. I think that's why my son brought me the potatoe chips that night. I think he knew I was about to blow a fuse. Alittle moderation goes a long way. You might be surprised at how having that small cheeseburger changes your outlook about your diet. That handful of chips helped me greatly. I haven't had a craving for them since. I think it's the old scenario of wanting what you think you can't have. You hang in there, you're doing great. And you know what, you handled those cravings in a good way. I've always heard that you should wait a few minutes to really see if you want the food you're craving. So far after waiting for a few minutes my cravings usually go away. A bowl of cereal works wonders. ;)

Cyan, the picture idea is a good one. Me and my roly poly tummy all decked out for the holidays. I'm up for it if everyone else is. Would you like us to hold up a sign with the year on it in the picture? I'll go for that, I can hold the sign in front of my tummy!:lol:

Stay Confident Ladies, Stay Motivated!
:grouphug:

Hi ya’ll!! J

Well, as far as calories, today hasn’t been bad, but as for exercise, I haven’t done one thing yet. Got too full tonite and didn’t have the energy. Hopefully I can muster up enough to do a little tho before bedtime.

Cjunk….Wow, you’ve really had some tough times lately, but seems that even through it all, you’re making good food choices. Sorry to hear you’re not feeling well. I find it next to impossible to exercise when I feel that way. I’m sure even just the walking would be more than I would do so I think you’re still doing great.

Cyan…So far I’m not having too much problem staying within my calories but you are kicking my butt with all the exercise you do!! LOL I need to get as motivated as you are with that. I have found that I do much better if I get mine done in the morning BEFORE work. I just don’t seem to have the energy once I get home, cook, help with homework, and everything else that seems to always need done around here. That’s the mistake I made today. I had to be at work earlier so I didn’t get it done. I am NOT a morning person, and I try to get every minute of sleep I can in the mornings lol. Because of that, tho, I ended up rushing around just to get to work.

I want to thank ALL of you for all the supporting comments and compliments you give to me so much of the time. Any time I am negative about myself at all, one or all of you come right back with something encouraging to cheer me up. That’s what I love about coming here. I just hope I can make ya’ll feel as good as you make me feel.

Reina_Mia…..Congrats on passing by McDonalds and not stopping!! That shows definite will power. I think the chocolate milk was a good idea too. Satisfying but not like getting a slice of cake knowing there’s still plenty to cut into. Too easy to go back for more of things like cookies, cakes, etc. Drinking a glass of milk tho seems different. Once you hit the bottom, you’re finished. I do agree with Annie too, tho, about not totally depriving yourself of things you really love. Doing that too much sometimes makes you eventually just get what you want anyway but MORE than you would have if you had eaten it in the first place. I think moderation really is the key. One thing I realized tonite….altho I stayed well within my calorie limit, I ate too much!! I was sooo full tonite. I later thought, “You know, this is just as bad as eating too many calories. It’s ridiculous to eat so much I feel bad even if it is low in calories.” This is the first time in 2 weeks I have eaten past the natural full feeling and gone into the miserable feeling. I feel YUCKKKK now too.

Lisa, have you ever checked out Fitday.com?? It sounds similar to the one you talked about in your post, it is also free, and there is nothing to download. I think Cyan ( or maybe Cjunk) told me about it, and I have been using it ever since. It has really helped me keep up with everything.

Annie…you have the same problem I do. That part BENEATH my waist is the WORST part! Well, that and the part directly above also. I always say mine has a lot of to do with 2 C-Sections, but that’s just my excuse. LOL You seem to have it all planned out for the holidays. I need to do that too, to think it all out beforehand.

LadyRider…missed “seeing” you here tonite! Hope things are ok with you.

Precious One…I hope not seeing you here either doesn’t mean you are still feeling bad. L If you are, hope you’ll be LOTS better by tomorrow so you can join us again. Not the same when we arent all here.

Well folks, if I’m going to fit in a little exercise, I better get myself off this computer, and get on with it. Take care all!!

I hate Anatomy and Physiology
 

Good morning ladies. How are we all doing this morning? I am doing okay. Last night was my Anatomy and Physiology class and I had a lecture exam. I got a B, which is okay. This class is sooooooo hard. I have a Lab Test tomorrow night, but I've decided I cannot study for that anymore than I already have. Besides, If I have to look at one more dead, cut open cat, or a plastic penis model, I'm going to go crazy!!!
Thanks Annie for the advice. I took a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich with me to class (I know, not very healthy) and a glass of milk and I ate that on the way. I also took a big glass of water and drank that during class. I didn't go and get a candybar, infact I didnt' eat anything else all night.

MikiG, I think I will take a look at Fitday....sounds cool. Thanks!

Today is Wednesday, and my son is begging to go to the gym. He loves playing in the nursery. I have a Site Counsil meeting at my daughters school at 12:20 and I really need to clean this house! I also was going to attempt to donate plasma this afternoon. We'll see.

I hope everyone has a great day! I am going to try really hard to eat perfect today!

Lisa:dizzy:

Good Morning
 

Hello Ladies...last night I had a steak dinner...it was lean meat about 4oz and green beans...but it didnt sit well with me. When I started to digest the food, I started getting intermiten sharp pains in my stomach...nausea...and a general unease....But I still mananged to exercise for 25 minutes, for a distance of 7.6km and burning 260 cals. This morning, I still feel sick...my stomach still hurts and I dont really feel well. :(

So I will check back later if I am feeling well. Ladies stay strong and dont lose focus of all of your accomplishments

later
Cyan

Happy Wednesday Everyone
 

Good Morning all!
I hope you are all having a great day. I got through another day without any massive cravings and I didn't splurge on anything either.

I haven't been exercising this week. I have been so tired lately:tired:, I just feel that I constantly have to get up and do something. I just can't seem to stay awake. We have been on the go, and I guess that is what contributes to me not really sticking to my weekends... How do you all get past that? My husband and I are always out, and I get tired of having to eat out on the weekends, I would like to make a nice meal at home.

I told my husband about our challenge last night, and guess what he said. "If you want I can take your measurements, so you don't lie to yourself" Am I at the point still where I would lie to myself:?: :?:
I guess I have done that so much in the past, I never even noticed. But I said ok, I could use the support.

Lisa, Congrats on not grabbing for the candybars. A PB&J sandwich better than a chocolate bar. Another good thing, would be the PB & Banana. Sounds like a kid thing, but at least you get another piece of fruit, and not all the sugar from the jelly.
And I must say, I think you should talk more about the cut-open cat. You totally made me lose my apetite this morning:lol: . I don't think I would want to eat after class if I had to work with that. :dizzy:
Another good thing is the Campbells, Soup on the Go bottles, you warm up in the micro and drink right out of their plastic container. Here is the site for all of you: http://www.soupathand.com/?cpovisq=g...4mZhoCZS%2Fqxn

MikiG, I can totally relate to overeating. I realized now, how much of a horrible feeling that is. I am miserable because of it. I tend to overeat rice when it is available. Then I am so tired and full that I can't breathe. I reach for a bottle of water and chugalug, to try and rid myself of that feeling. The water does help. I will admit, that one time, I was so disgusted and sick with myself, that I did have to rid myself of that food, and it freaked me out so much, now I am very cautious of listening to my body tell me when it has had enough.

Annie, crawling under the table with the cheesecake is priceless. That is so me, and I really do want to enjoy the holidays this year, so I will not be thinking about losing, only maintaining...I especially look forward to making my grandma's recipe of homemade tamales on Christmas, I can never, ever, give that up. I have been carrying on her tradition since she past 7 years ago. So that and that only will be my weakness. But I will make sure, I work every bit of maza(cornmeal) off right after that.
SO PLEASSSSSSSSSE remind me of the work MODERATION.

Hope everyone is doing okay, hope to hear from you all soon,
Have a blessed day.
:grouphug:

Where does everyone get the cute little clip art in their messages?????

Also, that is an AWESOME idea of the soup, Reina_Mia!!!! Tomorrow is shopping day and I will look for some.

later!
Lisa

Lisa,
The clipart is located to the left of the message box when replying to a message. It is titled Smiles, and inside the box there is a "Get more" Button to click on.

I hope that helps. Hey, how do you get that journal feature under your name. I would love to be able to journal at one site also, I visit 3 different sites.

Have a great one...
:wave:

Hey, Reina_Mia, thanks for the info on the clip art.
If you go to the top of the page there should be a link for Member Journals. Go there and click on "my journal". From there, you should be able to add entries and stuff. Then, you would probably have the Journal think under your name. You can choose if you want your entry to be public or private. Mine are all public. ;) :wave:

See ya later!
Lisa:moo:

Have you heard?
 

Hey all,
Have any of you ever heard of Equal's Perfect Pleasures Candies?
They are little hard candies, that are really good. They come in 4 flavors
Mint
Chocolate :cb:
Creamy Carmel:dance:
& Fruit
They range from 45-50 calories for 5 of them, and can easily take way the craving of chocolate. As you all know, I crave chocolate cake often....

I hope you find this as exciting as I did. If not, I must be a loon:lol:
Hope to talk to you all later,

Oh, I almost forgot, here is the website
http://www.equal.com/SimplyLites/

Lady Rider, our thoughts and prayers are with you. Looking forward to your return to the board. Stay Strong. :grouphug:

Cyan and Cjunk, sending thoughts your way, hope you both feel better soon. Get Well Wishes to you both. :balloons:

Precious One, hope you're doing ok, come back and post soon. WI-wide, hope to see you posting soon. :)

Miki, sounds like you have a full load going, I applaud you for being able to keep things running smoothly. You seem to stay very active, you are probably burning a lot more calories than you think you are with all the things you do in a day. Sometimes there's not enough time in a day to get in "scheduled" exercise. Being active burns calories also, housework, shopping, walking back and forth through the house, or keeping up with children. Sounds like you are burning calories more so than I am. Try to take some time for yourself. I know that seems impossible sometimes, but you deserve a little time for yourself.
It appears that you and I both have that same problem area. I've been reading up on exercises and things to do for that area. But I'm going to get rid of alittle more of this fat before I start on that. Some of those exercises I've read about make me want to bury my head in the sand. I'm not looking forward to doing those, but it's all part of it.

reina_mia, you and I must have been having the same thoughts lately. I was in the grocery store late this afternoon, for some reason I was looking through the hot chocolate section. Every box I picked up seemed to come in around 170 calories a serving. But then I spotted one that was Fat Free with Calcium, it is 25 calories a serving. I struck gold! :) It doesn't have the mini marshmellows in it but they melt right away anyway. :lol: So atleast I found something for a beverage that is nice and warm during the cold months. It will be a treat, not an all day type drink. I've been only drinking water all day, so atleast now that I've found this I can treat myself once a day with a nice hot cup of cocoa when it's cold outside. I tried it when I got home, it's really good. Very chocolatey tasting. Oh yea I guess the name of it would be helpful to those of you who would like to try it. It's made by Nestle, Fat Free Hot Cocoa Mix With Calcium. It's delicious.
Thanks for the tips about the candy. Where do you find that at? Candy aisle, or where the sugar free items are sold? I know that Equal is a sugar substitute. Just curious where you found it at.

Lisa, great going on the food choices. It takes a while to change eating habits. You're on the right track. You're welcome, anytime you need help or support any of us will be glad to offer to help. Great group of Ladies here.

Hope everyone has a great day tomorrow. Hope Lady and WI-wide and Precious One joins us soon. Get well Cjunk and Cyan, miss you Ladies.

Stay Confident, Stay Strong.
:grouphug:

Bad as I hate it, I only have about 2 minutes to post tonite. I ate too much today but did extra on my Air Walker. ( 60 minutes) Burned around 500 calories I think. ( Calories by the way were like 2100 :( )

Cant address individual posts because short on time but all of you who havent been feeling well, I really hope you're lots better SOON!!

Everyone keep up the good work! And remember when you mess up ( like I did today) dont do the way I used to do and say"Ohwell, messed up..may as well forget it and eat" I did that sooo many times in the past. Just forgive yourself and get back on track:)

Ya'll have a great Thursday!!

MIKI

Good Morning Ladies
 

Thanks for all the well wishes Annie. I am on the mend and my tummy is starting to feel normal again...I will head back to work this afternoon. I got a stomach virus...Tuesday evening after eating, I started to get stomach cramps and I thought I had eaten to much steak...although I had 4oz...which is not alot but I am not a big meat eater...So I chalked it up to that. Well during the night, my cramps continued and by morning I wasnt feeling any better. I had a low grade fever and slept most of yesterday away. I consumed about 300 cals coming from one meal which was bread with peanut butter and water. And no I did not exercise:lol:

So today, I will eat more bread and peanut butter and perhaps a banana so as not to irritate my stomach any further.

Mikki 60 minutes on the glider WOWOWOWOWOWOOHOO so 2100 minus 500 is 1600 calories..I'd say you did pretty good!;)

Annie how have you been doing with cal consumption and exercising?

Hey Cjunk, how are you feeling?

Well girls dont forget to post your measurements or weight this coming nov 23 rd here on this thread....Together we will make it through the holidays and not sabotage our efforts and successes thus far.

Cyan

:wave: Hi All, Happy Thursday!
I just got back from my run and wanted to post before I head out to meet a friend for a lite lunch. I’m telling ya, being semi – retired is tough. :joker:
Lisa– I am also a nurse, and hearing about your studies brings back lots of memories. A&P is tough, but I found it fascinating. On the other hand, we didn’t get to practice on dead cats or a plastic Penis! :o Seriously, a big congrats on getting a B on lecture exam, that’s no easy feat. You had asked for suggestions on something to eat during class. Have you tried the soy energy bars? Cliff and Luna make some that are really healthy and filling. That with a personal sized bottle of chocolate soy milk (or regular milk) is my choice when I’m running around and don’t have time to eat. You can buy them in any grocery store. Just don’t get regular granola bars, they’re high in calories and fat and have no nutritional value. BTW, that peanut butter and jelly sandwich wasn’t a bad choice. Just go easy on the jelly, or like Annie suggested, try substituting a banana for the jelly.

Cyan – So glad you're feeling better. I was afraid you had gotten a hold of a bad piece of meat. You take care of yourself and don't over do it.

Miki, you’re doing great! 60 minutes! WOW! Exercising ia a great way to balance when you over eat. Keep up the good work!:dancer:

I really like the idea of pictures to go with the names. We could do "before and after", or we could just post face shots. What do you all think?
Another good hot drink for those cold evenings: Alpine sugar free Spiced Cider. Or Alpine Original Spiced Cider (80cal per cup) It comes in a box like the hot chocolate. It’s usually found with the hot chocolate, but one of my stores keeps it in the health food section. Also, Lipton makes a Diet Raspberry Ice Tea Mix for cold tea, but it’s excellent hot – and only 5 calories per serving.
Gotta Run – You all have a great day!

:grouphug:
Lady:)

Annie,
Thanks for the hot cocoa idea;). I can't wait to go buy it. I am having a very hard time giving up coffee in the morning.
Hear this though, I used to put in 6-7 sugars and 1/4 of milk to it. Now I use 2 packets of extra and I am looking for a creamer substitute that is tastie. I tried silk, and YUK!

The Extra candies, I first tried at my dentist this weekend, and I like them so much I checked it out on the web and on the web, it says you can purchase them at any Walmart. I would think it would be by the candie section still. They come in a box.

MikiG - I hope you are having a better day today :flow2:. You have a great mindset, keep up the good work, and burning 500 calories was great. Don't forget that brings your total calorie intake down to around 1600. That is awesome. Can't wait to get there.

Cyan - I really hope you are felling better. Take it easy the next couple of days, I am sure you are very weak from the low calorie intake. Take care of yourself...

Cjunk, hope to see you posting soon.

I am counting down the days to posting my measurements on the site...:lol:
I hope everyone has a blessed day.
:wave: :wave:

Hey there girls. I don't have alot of time because I have to run have lunch with hubby and then go grocery shopping. I just wanted to say a couple of things. I tried on a pair of jeans today that are usually pretty tight and they came on loose!!!! And then, when I put on my shirt, which has also been a little tight...I noticed I didn't have to pull it over my big tummy. It just slid down! That feels so great!! So even though my weight has stayed at the exact same spot for 2 weeks, I am seeing a difference and that is AWESOME!!!

Also, I'm all for putting my picture on here to match my face, but how would I go about doing that? I have a dig cam and a scanner...but how would I put it at this sight??? Just wondering!

You all are so encouraging! Thank you so much. I'm so glad I found this website! I'm going grocery shopping today for HEALTHY food! BYE:wave:

Lisa

Lisa,:bravo:
Way to go! :cb: I can 't wait for my clothes to show that I am really losing the inches. Keep up the good work and have a great day.

:balloons:

Hi Cyan :) glad to hear that you are feeling some better. I thought maybe you had some food posioning, I know you must have felt horrible. Those stomach viruses are awful. Have you tried the BRAT foods? Banana, rice, applesauce, toast(dry). The last time anyone in my family had a stomach virus that's what we started off with. Very easy on the stomach and digestive track. I hope you start feeling lots better very soon. Nope, we didn't expect you to continue excercising, I'm surprised that you didn't though. You are a tough one to keep up with the exercising with. I was in hopes you wouldn't ask me that, get that foot ready:lol:
But my cal intake is holding steady at 1200, but um...um...I have slacked off alittle in the exercise department. Yesterday I only did about a 31 minute session. :( I'm having a hard time getting used to the new resistance level, it's kicking my behind. I'm not going to give up though, the burning in my legs and arms will once again go away. I'm glad to see you posting again, hang in there, you'll be feeling better before you know it. Get plenty of rest.
Worried about you Cjunk, hope you are feeling better. Get well soon.
Miki, so proud of you. You're doing great. Whenever you're ready to start on those tummy exercises let me know. I'll let you go first and then you can tell me how rough they are! :D
Lady Rider, glad to see you posting. :) Thanks for the tip about the cider, I forgot about trying that. I'll have to go back to the store and check on that. Glad to hear that you are still going for your runs, you keep up the good work. Hang in there.

reina_mia, a big applause for giving up all that sugar in your coffee. I almost fell off my chair when I read how much sugar you used to put in your coffee. I wish I had a tip for you about the creamer, my husband uses a Lite version. I gave up coffee years ago, also caffeine. If I do drink coffee I drink the decaffienated type. Every now and then I might have a cup. I drink hot tea sometimes, decaffienated also. I was thrilled when I found the hot cocoa, now atleast I have a special treat for myself with a hot beverage. The cocoa is 99.9% caffeine free. I'm also going to try the cider that Lady suggested. Especially around the holidays.
Thanks again about the candy tip, I will check at Walmart. I've been wanting to find some different little treats for stocking stuffers. I hope the candy is individually wrapped.
Keep up the good work reina_mia, sounds like you are doing great. I think letting go of the sugar definitely shows you are serious about getting on track with healthy eating.

Lisa, You Go Girl! Cyan was talking about this not too long ago. How sometimes looking at the scale doesn't really show what you've lost. But putting clothes on and noticing a change says everything. The other day I got out some clothes that I haven't worn because of my weight gain. I was very pleased that I can now button my jacket and also not have to lay down on the bed when I try to zip my jeans!:lol:
I'm very happy for you, I know the feeling you felt. To some it might be minor, but to those of us who have struggled to get into our clothes it's a great feeling. I've still got lots of work to do on my tummy area, but so far so good. You are reaching accomplishments every time you put on something and you don't have to wrestle it on. I'm finding as time goes by, I'm a lot happier when I'm able to wear something that I haven't been able to than to see that I've lost more weight on the scale. But don't get me wrong, I'm not parting with my scale. I practically sleep with that scale.
About your question about putting your pic on this thread. When you reply to a message you will see at the bottom of that page some advice about that. If you have webspace it's a lot better to use that instead of attaching an image. You can use the img tags when you have you pic stored on your webspace. I think the other way you would hit the browse button and find your file on disk or on your computer. I've never put an image on a forum thread before either, so I will have a trial and error deal with it also. I'm not sure if this forum has a test thread or not, I will check and see. If so, I will practice there.
Cyan,thanks for the heads up about our weight, measurements on Nov. 23rd. on this thread.
Precious One, WI-Wide, hope you two are doing ok. Check in and let us know how you're doing.
Hope everyone has a great evening.
Stay Motivated, Stay Confident.
:grouphug:

Thanks for all the well wishes
 

Just a quick update...I went to work this afternoon but I am not feeling 100 percent. I dont have stomach cramps anymore but now I have intestinal cramps..they come and go in waves.

Thanks Annie for the food info...I will be have toast tonight ...my appetite is not back yet...have consumed thus far 600 cals...yeesh, all I had was a peanut butter sandwich with a banana! I dont think I will be exercising again tonight..I will take it easy and rest.

Cjunk where are you:?: I sure hope you are well..I send you good energy.

Over the weekend, I will replace my avatar with a face shot of me and once the holidays are over, sometime in january I will post my holiday pics of me and my friends. I am so looking forward to you girls doing the same.

Lisa, in the initial stages of weight loss, measuring yourself is actually more accurate than the scale, expecially if you are exercising thus building muscle which weighs 4 times more than fat! So kudos on you for your accomplishments.

LadyRider how was your run...and your lunch meet with your friend?

Reina_mia thanks for the candy info...we have walmart here in montreal..will take a look for those treats.

So, girls, hopefully by tomorrow, I will be exercising again, the funny thing is I weighed myself for fun ok curiosity and I lost 3 pounds in a day...whoaaa ..to bad its water weight loss...oh well, I wont give up...:lol:

Stay strong and motivated

Cyan

No time to post individually again today but saw this little poem at work today and had to bring it to share with you "chicks."


Twas the nite of Thanksgiving, but I just couldnt sleep
I tried counting backwards, I tried counting sheep.
The leftovers beckoned, the dark meat and white
But I fought the temptation with all of my might.

Tossing and turning with anticipation
The thought of a snack became infatuation
So I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door
And gazed at the fridge, full of goodies galore.

I gobbled up turkey, and buttered potatoes
cornbread and carrots, beans and tomatoes
I felt myself swelling so plump and so round
'Til all of a sudden, I rose off the ground.

I crashed thru the ceiling, floating into the sky
With a mouthful of pudding and a handful of pie.
But I managed to yell as I soared past the trees
"Happy eating to all, Pass the cranberries, Please"

May your stuffing be tasty, May your turkey be plump
May your potatoes and gravy have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious, May your pies take the prize
May your Thanksgiving Dinner stay OFF OF YOUR THIGHS :)

I thought it was PERFECT for all of us. Dont ya agree??

Hello Everyone!! Sorry I haven't posted in so long. It was great to hear all of your postings and I felt bad for not being able to reply sooner. I have been suffering from funeral overload and also grieving with friends and connecting with them to support them through this challenging time.

I have been doing moderately well this week otherwise. I had a cold at the start of the week which my body seemed to fight faster than usual. Cyan, I am sorry to hear that you also were not feeling well. There was a bug going around in Ontario, perhaps it made its way to Montreal.

Near the end of the week with the funerals we went out for meals a lot as a way of meeting up. I didn't eat badly (mostly vietnamese and sushi which is all pretty healthy) but consequently did not really exercise either. I am going to have to spend the tail end of the week making up for it. I also have been having some evening mini-binges which is kind of like a little pattern of mine trying to sneak in and return. It is often a pattern when I am a bit blue and I definitely have had reason to be a bit down. I never had time for these before because I was usually at the pool, so I guess that means that this is a sign to get my butt back there!!!

I am worried that my jeans will stop fitting me again and I have been feeling so proud of my accomplishments so far that I would hate to screw it all up over an accumulation of mini-binges and inactivity (that would do it!).

So, here is the plan:

My boyfriend and I have plans for this evening, so before we go out I have to exercise at least 40 mins--probably my pilates tape because it is damn hard!!

Saturday---1 hour swim from 12-1pm
Sunday---1 hour swim from 12-1pm

And if I can make it to the climbing gym for a few hours that would be great too!! I have a lot of exercise catching up to do!! By this time this week I have usually put in about 3-4 hours of exercise and also eaten less than I have this week (argh!).

I will also go light on the eating. Weekends are usually the hardest but frankly I have had enough of restaurants lately and they are usually what brings my eating up higher---otherwise I am pretty good.

I will remove the snacky--bingey foods from my cupboard this weekend and restock my fruits and veggies.

It's back to boot camp!!!

Talk to you all soon when I have time to post more individual replies

Cjunk

Good Morning all!
 

Hello ladies! TGIF!!!! I'm so glad it's the weekend...if only I didn't have anything to do! I have a lifetime fitness class tomorrow morning and a wedding tomorrow afternoon in which I'm singing and I'm in charge of the flower girls since my daughter is one of them.:p Will I ever get a break?

Thanks all for the congrats on my clothes fitting better! I felt so good all day yesterday and was motivated not to overeat! Wow, it's amazing how success motivates us to do even better!

Annie, thanks for the info on putting pic up. I will try to do that this weekend.....probably with hubby's help.:lol:

Miki...I LOVED that Poem! I think I'll show that to my mother in law. She would love it.

CJunk..glad to hear your ready to get back into the swing of things. Sounds like you have a good plan. You've had an emotional time lately and it sounds like you've been pretty good about your evening. When an event like that happens in my life, I tend to just curl up in a ball and eat eat eat. I'm definitely an emotional eater.

Well, I wanted to share a couple of things. I bought some of the Campbells Soup at Hand. I took one with me and ate (drank) in on my way to class last night. It was Cream of Broccoli. YUMMY! It was so filling! And, it's 160 calories and 9 grams of fat and 3 grams of dietary fiber. It's only 3 weight watcher points if any of you do points.:)
Also, I bought some Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop Kettle Korn. I was looking for the butter flavor Smart Pop, but they were out, but the Kettle Korn is such a good snack when you're craving something a little sweet. It is 0 points! It has 20 calories, 0 grams of fat, and 6 grams of fiber!!! WOW!:love: :T

Well, I'm off to the gym. I hope everyone has a GREAT day!!!:wave:

Lisa:moo:

Still under the weather
 

Morning Girls....My stomach is still bothering me so I went to go see my family doctor who told be that if might be a few more days before I get any relief...my stomach lining has been inflamed so now I will take antacids and Milk Of Magnesium to help...and so far it has been helping with the horrible pain I have been experiencing. So needless to say, I have not been exercising and I have not been eating either excpet for water, gatoraid and some noodles...so my cal consumption is at about 800 cals. I have been keeping hydrated so that is good and I have been sleeping lots too.

Cjunk sorry to hear about your blues...and I know you will get back on the exercise wagon...and those jeans will continue to fit.

Hey Lisa...your exercising in inspiring and taking care of your family and going to school and being on this health journey...I am glad you have come this thread to keep us all motivated. I also admire your willingness to try new things and solve your dilemas...ie: the soup for when you have classes and cant eat a normal meal

Mikki thank you for your poem...it put a smile on my face

Reina_mia, LadyRider, Annie and PreciousOne keep at it, you all inspire me so much and I so enjoy knowing that we are all in it for the betterment of ourselves.

Have a great day
Cyan

Happy Friday
 

Good day everyone!

Annie, Thanks to you and everyone in this thread for making me see how really dedicated I am to make this work finally.:spin:

To answer your question about the candies, they are individually wrapped. I also went out and bought the cocoa last night. I bought the diet with calcium which is only 25 calories. I really like that part.:T

Cyan I hope you feel better fast. Try some crackers too. They will help the stomach cramps.

MikiG - I am going to post that poem on my fridge until Christmas!


Cjunk- I am sorry to hear how hard your week was. From reading your post, you will be able to fall right back into your good pattern in no time.
I have to confess, I had a bowl a cereal last night, and not the good cereal. :nono:I had sugar cereal(Lucky Charms). I still have my nights of craving snacks. I guess that really does take some time to break huh?
I can't wait to get into those 15 pairs of jeans at the bottom of my drawers that I haven't been able to feel comfortable in. Have a great swim this weekend. How is the Pilates. I want to start that?

Lisa, I also bought the campbells soup yesterday. I bought the Veggie Medley. It is only 110 cal and 2grams of fat. I have to get that popcorn too. I haven't seen a break yet, since I had my son. Is there such a word in our vocabulary anymore?:fr:

Well all, I was awakened about 4:30 this morning by my mother:yikes:, who called to tell me that my niece went into labor. So I am waiting to hear when I become a Great-Aunt......
I plan on keeping with my food this weekend, and no eating out. Ok, not eating out as much!...
have a great weekend, and I will check in. It is too hard to try to catch up on Monday's
:grouphug: :wave:

A mexican recipe
 

Hi I was surfing the net for food ideas...since I cant eat much, the next best thing is to look at food...oh those colorful pictures...yum
Anyway, I found a healthy appetizer which is low in cals, it looks like it might be very tasty....so here it is:

Diet for brain repairs
As part of a NASA study on nutrition needs in space, older rats in his laboratory were fed blueberry, strawberry and spinach diets.

Only the blueberry diet was effective in restoring short-term memory, and the rats showed marked improvement in balance, co-ordination and speed in finding their way through mazes.

The good news, said Joseph, is that there is hope for people 60, 70 and 80.

"We may have a tool for going back into the brain (to effect repairs)."

Cheese and Vegetable Quesadillas with Avocado and Tomato Salsa
The combos of beneficial compounds in this dish can't be beat. Carotenoids, the pigments which provide colour to fruit and vegetables, are plentiful as are nutrients such as folic acid and vitamin E. And it's delicious to boot!

Vegetable oil cooking spray
3 large flour tortillas, preferably whole wheat
1 cup (250 ml) shredded light cheddar or Monterey jack cheese
1 small red pepper, diced
1/3 cup (75 ml) chopped green onions, green parts only

Avocado and Tomato Salsa

1 avocado (preferably California), peeled and diced
1 tomato (about 6 oz/150 g), diced
3 tbsp (45 ml) finely chopped red onion
1 tsp (5ml) finely chopped jalapeño pepper
5 tsp (25 ml) fresh lime juice
2 tsp (10 ml) extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp (25 ml) chopped fresh coriander, or cilantro
Salt

Avocado and Tomato Salsa:
In a medium bowl, toss together avocado, tomato, red onion, jalapeño pepper, lime juice, olive oil and coriander; season with salt to taste. Set aside. (Salsa may be made a few hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

To make quesadillas:

Prepare a baking sheet by spraying with cooking spray.
Spray one flour tortilla with cooking spray and place sprayed side down on baking sheet.
Divide cheese into 1/3-cup (75 ml) portions.
Spread half of one portion on half of the tortilla, leaving a half-inch (1 cm) border at edge.
Top with one-third of the red pepper and green onion
Top with remaining half of the cheese.
Fold uncovered side of tortilla over filling and press down so that tortilla will remain folded.
Repeat with remaining two tortillas.
Bake in 400 F (200 C) oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
Cut each quesadilla into quarters and serve with Avocado and Tomato Salsa.

Makes 4 appetizer servings or 2 main course servings.

Main-course serving nutritional information:
Calories: 416, Protein: 25 grams, Fat: 15 grams, Carbohydrates: 59 grams, Dietary fibre: 10 grams, Sodium: 760 mg.

Appetizer-serving nutritional information:
Calories: 258, Protein: 14 grams, Fat: 11 grams, Carbohydrates: 32 grams, Dietary fibre: 7 grams, Sodium: 450 mg.

-Recipe by Rosie Schwartz.


Ok, gotta suck back for pepsid ac....ack

Cyan

Hello There!
My run yesterday went well, and lunch was at a small independently owned resteraunt that advertises "Eat Healthy, Live Happy". Everything is made from scratch and healthy. I had a cup of chicken noodle soup and a Sunshine Salad. That's cubed grilled chicken, slivered almonds, kiwi, cantalope, grapes and pineapple on a bed of mixed greens, with a wonderful mango dressing served on the side and 2 home made rolls. :T Yummy!
I got out of work early today and have the house to myself tonight ... so, here's the plan. I'm going to ride the bike for 30 minutes, then after a hot shower I'll get into some comfy sweats. And, because it's getting down into the 30's tonight, I'll light a fire:flame: in the fireplace, dim the lights a bit, turn on some mellow music and bury myself in a good book. Ahhhhh ... I'm starting to relax all ready. :cloud9:
Have a great Friday, and I'll meet you all back here tomorrow to post our measurements!

Lady :dance:

Here I am!! :)
 

Well, I took so long figuring out how to crop a picture to make it small enough to fit in here, I dont have time to post much. lol I hope everyone else is able to get a pic on here also. It's nice putting a face with the names.

Cyan and LadyRider....nice pics!

Had Mexican food tonite, and too much of it. It's all I had today tho. Didnt find time for breakfast or lunch. Kids are both gone tonite so hubby and I are about to hit the couch for a nice quiet relaxing nite.:D

I'll be back tomorrow to post the measurements and weight.:o :( :?: :^: Not looking forward to that! :fr: LOL But gonna just take a deep breath and going for it! :faint:

Well, the couch is calling my name!! Hope you all have a very nice weekend!! :wave: Bye for now :)

MIKI

PS I did at least fit in 25 minutes of exercise.

Hello Gang,

Not much to post tonight mainly because my boyfriend is doing a lot of programming lately so our computer has become a commodity!!

Great to see all of the pics!! Gotta find a recent picture of me. I went to Mexico during the hurricane (not intentional) and I have a few pics from there, so maybe I will scan them.

Well, I sorta got back on track. I ended up missing out on Friday evening exercises, but had a 3 hour climbing gym workout (some of it was socializing!) on Saturday and then a 1 hour swim today (full hour). So other than my usual walking I really only worked out 2 large workout days out of 7 because of the funeral blues. I also had a good weekend for eating and getting back on track.

I have plans to swim tomorrow night, climb on Tuesday night with some girlfriends, and I have already packed a healthy lunch for tomorrow.

For some weird reason I have been craving peanut butter this weekend and I had a little bit but the craving stands so I am going to have to fight it!!

Gotta go--Cyan, I hope you are feeling better soon.

Individual messages to all when I have a chance to spend more than 10 minutes at the computer!!!

Cjunk

Hello to everyone. Hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was very, very busy. Staying on track with the calories, but exercise time this weekend was at an all time low. But I was very active, so hope that accounted for a big help with burning some calories. Tomorrow I will get back on track with the exercise sessions.
Cyan, glad to hear you're starting to feel some better. I know you've gone through a rough time with that stomach virus.
Everyone's pics look great. I was surprised when I came on the board and saw that some of you had posted your pic. I'll get mine on here tomorrow. I don't know if the date has been changed about the weight and measurements for the holiday focus. Perhaps with the forum changing servers everyone has decided to wait until Monday. So I'll wait and see what everyone else is planning to do.
Miki, that nice quiet, relaxing evening sounded great. Hope you and your husband had a very nice evening. Don't worry about the weight and measurement posting. My measurements aren't great, takes some courage for me also to post mine. But that's why were here, to help each other. Monday is my usual weigh in day so I'm crossing my fingers that I have lost another 3 pounds.
Tomorrow is also a doctor's visit for me. :stress: I dread it. My appointment is in the afternoon, so I will try to come in and post before I go. If not, I'll post tomorrow evening sometime.
LadyRider, glad to hear that you are staying on track with your goals. You're an inspiration.
Cjunk, reina_mia, Lisa and Precious One, hope you all are doing great and staying on track. All we can do is try to do our best. Every day situations sometimes changes what we wish we could do but don't have the opportunity to. Stay strong and stay true to yourself.
I will talk with everyone tomorrow. Have a great day.
Stay Motivated.
:grouphug:

Here goes Nothing!
 

2nd Attempt.
I just had a great post, and my pc froze up.

Who would have thought I would have gone through with this but here goes nothing.

First off, let me start out by saying that I had a pretty decent weekend. I stayed within my calorie range and we even went to Hooters Friday night. We went to visit my new Great-Nephew. He was born on Friday and weighed in at 7lbs 13oz.
He is just a doll..

At Hooters, everyone had their world famous fried buffalo wings. I had streamed Crab legs and shrimp. Not bad huh?

Ok,
here they go. To be honest with you all, I didn't think I was going to go through with this challenge. Once you start talking about posting our weight and measurements, I screamed...:fr:
But here I am, getting ready to post and not feeling too bad about it.

Hey, if I can't be true with all of you, how can I be true to myself. My husband can't believe how "highly I think of women on the internet"
But you all have been my inspiration and motivation to continue with this journey to a new life for me.

Drum roll please!:yikes:
Measurements as of 11/24/02
Weight 193.4
Waist 43
Arms 14
Thighs 26 1/2
Chest 43 1/2

Well,
I hope you all have a great week and don't kill and forget to celebrate Thanksgiving! Have a Blessed Day

:bravo:

Good Morning Ladies
 

Thank you for all your well wishes...I am well and feeling so much better. Last night, I exercised on the bike for 30 minutes for a distance of 9.3km and burned over 300 cals.

I will post my measurements again...the original got lost when the servers were changed...so here goes

chest 38 inches
waist 32 inches
hips 42 inches
upper arm 13.5 inches
upper leg 26.5 inches

I weigh 169 pounds ...but I may have lost a couple of pounds...my scale in on the fritz.

We are brave ladies and together we will be victorious over the buldge.

LadyRider, Miki and Lisa...your posts of your measurements were lost too....:o

And its so nice to put a face to everyone who has posted their lovely mugs on this thread.

Reina_Mia...kudos on your food choice...very hard to do...I probably would have ordered something fried:lol:

Annie good luck at the doctors...I dont like doctors too...they scare me.

cjunk wow ...all that exercising...amazing...you always encourage me to keep at it...I follow your example often...your actions speak louder than words.

Has anyone seen PreciousOne?:?:

I hope posting weight and or measurements hasn't scared anyone off. The point of this challenge is to keep us on track...so as not to go sabotage our successes....it is not to be nosey...We are a great group of ladies and we are on this health journey for the betterment of our health, body image, self esteem. We each have our own personal reasons too. So, if you need help, post here and all of us will support you in your stumble...no one is perfect, there will be good days and bad ones...together we will see you through the bad ones.


I havent had any binge crazes lately...especially in lieu of my stomach virus...but when I was binging, you ladies walked me through it with your advice and support...I thank you

Well, gotta get back to work

Cyan

Curves???
 

Do any of you belong to a club called Curves? I am interested in hearing what you think about them. They are just popping up here in Chicago, and I am considering signing. But that is a huge committment on my part, and I am not sure if I am ready for that. I signed up for Bally's once and my husband :fr: out on me...

Considering I never went and we signed up for 4 years... Ouch.. He is not ready to pay for something that I won't commit to.

Am I ready? Do I really have the determination to get my butt there for their 30 minute program?
What do you all think?:o

I want this, and I think it will work, but that is money out of our budget that I can't justify yet. Can you help me?

Thanks

Anyone There???
 

Where is everyone today? I feel abandoned:shrug:
I miss the afternoon chatter amongst ourselves..

Hope everyone had a great day!

:grouphug:

evening girls
 

Tonight was so hard...I had a spaghetti dinner and afterwards, I didn't want to exercise....it was sooooo hard but I got on that friggin bike and cycled for 25 minutes for a distance of 7km and burned off 250 cals. So my total cal consumption is 1771 minus 254 for a total of 1517 cals. I love food...its so hard to control myself...had a flan pudding for lunch and another one for dinner...:tape: that was 280 cals and 8 grams of fat! That's why I had to burn it off.

Reina I dont know much about Curves except for what they say on their website. It seems cool...so long as you go...if you think it will motivate you to exercise...I would do it. Its a committement on your part not to be taken lightly...if you feel you are ready to join a gym...more power to you. And I am glad you are in for the pre-new year's resolution challenge:D

Good night

Cyan

I think they've been scared off
 

I hope this challenge didnt send everybody off and running...that was not the intention...we are all human...but together we will be strong!

Reina...I too miss the chatter...come back girls...continue to post regularly...it will help you stay motivated and focused

bye again

Cyan