STRESSFUL work day here. I'm about at my wits end doing 2 jobs.

Just about 3 more weeks of this. It should get better next week as my replacement will be with me full-time and she will be executing my current position's duties and I'm just there to answer questions.

Both of my positions require keeping a lot of data and information straight and current so it will be nice to focus on one batch of info.

I worked out last night but came home and napped tonight after work. I just was so mentally and physically tired.

My food is going pretty well this week.

Dee: So glad to see you back. We are here to help you get that 2 lbs back off.
I don't have a nook or a kindle fire so I can't help with that.

Carri: Good job on packing your lunch! That really is a NSV.

K-Fy: Good job for starting the running on the treadmill

1600 calories on the foods today. and an hour in the gym!

i'm back on track, for real this time, and it feels great!

I've been focusing this week on not snacking and not counting calories. So far it's going well. My meals usually aren't too bad but I have a bad habit of starting snacking that turns into grazing that turns into binging. This has really been a problem the last couple of months.

Morning everyone !! Hope everyone is having a good day …I myself am not …well got TOM this morning …and if any of you remember I am on the three month pills so I only have one every three months so when I do get it I whine terribly, haha …and of course I am overly hungry , wanting soda and chocolate, and have two pimples on my 38 year old face….so fun, fun, fun ….just waiting for the cramps to get here and then all will be complete. Lol

Dee – I don’t remember where I got that but don’t you just love it ? I sent it to my dad one day and it really made his day…I go online a lot for quotes…there are several sites that are just quotes, so go on there and you will find a lot …don’t worry about your two pound gain, you can get that off easily enough, plus you had some good times with the hubby too, right? I don’t have either a Kindle or Nook, I still like the feel of a book in my hand so I can’t go to one of those…but I know a lot of people love them.

Susan – Sorry you are so stressed at work, hopefully that lets up soon. Hugs.

K-fy – good job on the calories and the gym, keep it up !!!

Cherry Pie – I hear ya on the snacking, I tend to have quite an issue with that as well …I need to have good things around me to snack on if I am gonna do it anyway….right now it is little goldfish crackers…but I know I probably need something better for me, haha …good luck

Hi to everybody else….where has Arabella been?

Have a great day everyone !!

Carri

wow ....ghost town huh ? haha ...Hope you are all doing okay ...have a great weekend !!!

Hi! I survived the work week and had a .75 lb loss at TOPS. I have lost one of the .75 lbs I gained so next week I want to get that .75 ld off and 1 more lb so I can be at my average of 1 lb a month. If I loose more than that a month I am happy but right now, until I can totally focus on the weight-loss and get myself to the gym more than a couple days a week I am ok with that average.

I feel I should have things in place by March 1st to get start getting to the gym more consistantly. I'm shooting for more before then but I know with closing my old role at work out and starting my new role at work that it will not be consistant.

What can be consistant is staying in my calorie range. So I will start reporting that daily again. Keep me honest ladies!

Carri: Sorry to hear that TOM arrived. Thank goodness you only do it every 3 months huh? Be strong with those cravings and give yourself more protein..you need it anyway at this time and it will keep that hungry feeling away.

Cherrypie: Good for you for finding the area where you are struggling and focusing on that. I would recommend that if you do snack, or want to, add up the calories and see how many extra ones you got invested in that snack before hand.

Carri & Cheery Pie: I know how it feels to just "want something" and they say we should eat every 3-4 hours to keep blood sugar even and keep the metabolism going. I've been snacking on try ceral like Oat bran or Quaker Oats. I feel the exta fiber is a "good" thing for me. Just besure if you increase your fiber you increase your water (which is also good for you) or you end up with "concreate" :o

K-Fy: Applause for you for getting back on track and for real?! Keep it up.

Arabella: We are looking for you. Miss you!

Dee: It was good to see your post the other day, and I got your email. Hope to see you here again soon. I got my new TOPS News in the mail today...did you get yours?

Liz: How are things going in "Maintence Land". We always love to see you here. Miss you!

Auntie G and Mel: I'm about to send out a search party. Where are you guys?

Visionary: I think I saw you pop in a while back..hope to see you again soon.

I better get back to cleaning the house, then going to the grocery with my DH...and he said we would eat dinner out--I'm thinking Bob Evans.

:hug: Hope everyone is doing well.

i totally thought that said applesauce...

Morning girls, hope you all had a good weekend, I did have some regular soda so wasnt so good but hey :D

Dee - I won't do diet soda because I wont do anything with artificial sweetner in it ...long story about why...but I just don't have it ....but I do drink a TON of water all day long at work and if I have a soda I am really only having one in the evening...in the summer I always have a pitcher of water infused with lemon or lime, love that ...and yes you are right soda is better than all of the things you mentioned, hahaha...I also like to make a lot of things ahead and portion it out, makes it so much easier for me because if it is going to be hard I wont do it, especially after a long day at work....

Susie - TOM is over thank God as of yesterday...and now I am free of it for three whole months...gotta love modern medicine, haha ....I too like to snack on cereal at work...because I do just sometimes want something...I do try and have something substantial though every three to four hours ...keeps me going.

Hi to Liz, Mel, Arabella, Auntie G, Visionary, Cherry Pie and K-Fy ( is there something else we can call you? haha )

Hope you all have a great day !!! I know it is hard because it is Monday, but try :dizzy:

Carri

satine - you can call me mandy. it's my name and much easier :P (it's up there under my screen name if you forget!)

Hi everyone !!! And thanks Mandy that is easier ...haha ...hope everyone is having a good morning...so far I am ...I got a really good night of sleep last night and that has made all the difference, feeling good...actually shaved my legs last night too, haha ...I have a hard time doing it in the winter because I normally who think "who is gonna see them?" but I think dh was getting sick of seeing them, so I caved and shaved lol

this is just a drive by post ...hello to all !!!!

Carri

morning everyone!

today is my first weigh in in MONTHS (aside from a quick peek on a random bathroom scale a couple weeks ago) and i'm crazy nervous. i know it's gonna be a huge regain and i don't want to see it :(

i've got all my spread sheets at the ready to keep track of my weight and measurements and i'm seriously excited about getting back on track. i get the feeling i'm going to have to work crazy hard to see onederland by my birthday in october. it's 8 months. and i think i'll have to lose between 8 and 10 pounds per month to make that happen. i'd like to hit that goal by my birthday simply because i know in the months after my birthday through new years it will be a food fest free for all. i'm hoping i handle it better than i did in 2011. yikes.

Morning everyone ....really quiet in here lately, hope all are okay ...:hug:

Mandy - so how did the weigh in end up going? I also would like to lose 8-10 pds a month...I will be going on vacation in Sept to see friends so I would LOVE to have off 50-60 pds by then ...would be wonderful. Yeah unfortunately for me the holidays thru New Years is usually a free for all with food too ...gonna try and be better in 2012 but we will see :D

Not too much is going on with me ...trying to make my grocery list for next week...getting sick of lunch meat sandwiches and baked chips for lunches here at work ...seem to need more protein ...might switch out the chips for cottage cheese and maybe the bread with a higher protein ( lower carb ) wrap...gotta re-tool my menu ...my main snack staple is this spicy hummus I buy at Kroger...it is SOOOOOOO good ...I love spicy things...I make my salsa super hot too ...

Well hope you all have a great day, miss you guys. :(

Carri

also forgot to ask did anyone watch My 600 Pound Life last night on TLC ? Very interesting ...definitely made me feel better about myself or a while

I feel like the "groundhog" peaking my head out! But I'm finally here!

This week has kicked my butt. I have been helping my brother out for about 4-5 hours after work with his boys as his partner is traveling this week and that left him at home alone with a 2 yr old a 10 months old and a Great Dane.

I finished my "babysitting" last night, I have my replacement at work executing the daily jobs in my old role and I've just about got things and a system set up for part of my new role.

It feels good to see a little "light" at the end of this transition tunnel. I feel like I can now get back to me!

I have no idea what those scales will look like tonight at TOPS.

Carri: I didn't get to watch that show last night and forgot to DVR it. I'll have to see if I can find it online.
I haven't watched Biggest Loser for this week yet. I plan on catching up on it tomorrow night.

I like your lunch time swap idea with the cottage cheese.

Mandy: How did it go at the scales?

Both of you have special dates in the fall of the year that you want to show significant weight-loss for and so do I. We have a wedding to attend in PA in October and I would love to have 30-40 lbs off by then. So, let's keep these Fall dates on each others radars and keep one another on track.

I think I will add a ticker for mine.

It's good to be back with you guys and I hope we hear from the others soon!

heh the weigh in was worse than i thought it would be. i gained exactly 30 pounds from october through january. which is always a bad time for me. it starts with my birthday celebration, then halloween, then thanksgiving, then christmas and new years, then NFL play offs and the superbowl... (football is big in my family) and all of the church and campus events and travel that go along with the holidays. it's a wonder i didn't gain it all back! (i gotta hold on to somethin, since my net loss is now 23 pounds instead of 53 pounds)

if i want to lose 76.6 pounds (to get me to 199.9) by my birthday, i have 36 weeks (ish) to do it. which means a little over 2 pounds per week. (2.12 actually) and i know that's really super ambitious but i know it will come off faster than that in the beginning. which means it can come off a little slower than that at the end. I WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN! heh. and if not, and i only lose 60 or so pounds... hey, i will still have lost 60 pounds by my birthday. i can't think of a better present to myself :)

Morning Girls, TGIF !!!!! I want to relax this weekend …of course I will probably be staying close to home base all weekend because of the superbowl here in Indy…crowds will be crazy …I made reservations at a steak house we like to eat at on Sat and they could only get us in at 3:00 …so late lunch I guess …places are crazy busy around here right now …good thing I am north of all the real craziness…don’t know who I am rooting for …I guess I would say the Giants …because of Eli Manning being the brother of our Peyton…haha …so GO GIANTS !!! We will watch the Superbowl and probably just make wings at home with celery and blue cheese …something we can both have and by making them at home I can control my portion and calories …and also gotta watch because I am a huge Madonna fan ( don’t know if I have ever shared that or not ) …so gotta see her at the half time show!!

Mandy – I hear ya …I gained 20 pds between Halloween and New Years …usually always happens, nasty cycle …so right now I am at 236 …and I want to lose 8-10 a month to get to at least 50 pds lost , to get under 190 before we go …preferably I would like to be under 180 but we will see how it goes …I know we can both do it if we put our minds to it …who is more powerful ? Us or food? We run our lives, not food !!

Susan – great to hear from you again, haha …yes please find that show on TLC and watch it …apparently it is a 4 week series, so on again next week with a new person…it was truly eye opening…her visit to the grocery store in the beginning brought tears to my eyes for her …people are so cruel sometimes…and yes I LOVE cottage cheese, I like to top a serving of it with a tablespoon of sunflower seeds …give me some crunch for texture and some extra protein…tastes great too …

I probably won’t hop on here this weekend so hope you all have a great weekend and enjoy the Superbowl if you are watching. See ya !!

Carri

Spending the weekend quietly. My DH can't believe we aren't going to or attending a Super Bowl party. We will watch the game at home, or rather DH will watch the game and I will watch the commericals and the half-time show.

Mandy: You can so make that goal and like you said..if you get to 60 lbs or 50 or even 40 by your birthday..it's still a great present to yourself.

Carri: You can make your goal...get tough and do it! I will be looking forward to the Madonna half-time show as well. I will share that I even had a black lacy glove and wore it to clubs when I was out dancing in my 20's! :D

Ladies, I have a big fat 1 lb GAIN on Thursday night....wake up call for me. I need some tough love here.

Hi Liz, Dee, Visonary, Auntie G and Arabella! You are missed.

Mel you are missed to...I KNOW you are on the computer..so come and visit us.

Oh ladies too much to catch up on, so a hello and how are you all doing post from me!!

Susie - I'm sure you saw my post on facebook but thinking of you!! :)

Things are going well here, I took the day off yesterday and Jacob and I went swimming - so much fun and he's getting so good! He had his 4th birthday Jan 13th and I am so impressed by my little guy and how fearless he is with doing lots of stuff - he is very physical and loves to be active, so we definitely want to nurture that! Honestly there is usually at least a moment everyday, especially with him running circles around me, that I am so thankful that I lost weight, I have no idea how I would keep up with him otherwise!

We also had Katie's 2nd birthday so lots of partying last month! I can't believe they're 4 and 2 now - time flies. Sigh. :) Other than that maintenance is going well, I've very consistently been floating arond 133-135 which I am very happy with. Still counting and weighing daily!

Hope everybody is doing well!

hello ladies!

wednesday is my weigh in day, and i am happy to report that i am 3.1 pounds closer to onederland :D it's awesome that during a week that was more offplan (food wise) than on.... i still managed to lose. i'm thinking it was the extra workouts i threw in knowing i was gonna go over my calorie limit thursday thru sunday.

WOO HOO Mandy!! It probably was the extra workouts, I know when I am more active I can definitely eat more and stay the same weight. :)

Hi Everyone. I am sorry to have been MIA for a few days.

Work got really busy and I have been working about 12 hour days and then not feeling well--my IC seems to be flaring up.

I haven't counted calorie one or exercised this week. I will start fresh this weekend. Starting next Wed, Feb 15, I will be working only one position. Praise the Lord!

Liz: So good to see you. You inspire me with how well you have stayed on course and I love your comment about why you are so happy you lost weight--great reason! Your little ones are growing up fast!

Mandy:Congrats on a fantastic weight loss!

How is everyone else?

Morning Girls....hope all are doing well :)

Liz - You inspire me too ...to think you started where I am ( and I was there with ya then ) and now are 100 pds less and have been keeping it off ...I look to you for my example :hug:

Susie - Hope things are getting better for you...I am in your same place as far as not having counted cals the last week or so, but also like you I look forward to re-committing this weekend when I get my groceries.

Mandy - AWESOME job on the loss !!!!!!!

Hey Mel and Arabella - miss you

Not too much going on here, working, eating, sleeping, farting, burping, etc ...hahahaha, there is your laugh for the day.

See ya

Carri

Carri - lol nice thanks for the laugh!! :D

Susie - I didn't know you were working more than one job?? ouch! Glad you'll be down to one (which is normal, btw ;)) very soon. Hope you're feeling better very soon!

How do you ladies work your meal planning? Do you plan things out in advance or just rotate through the same kinds of meals? I find I am in a rotation, and not a very interesting one at that. I am OK with things I guess, but sometimes I wish I was more creative and bought different things at the grocery store. Any favourite recipe websites you might use/know about?? Looking for some inspiration! :)

Morning Girls !!

Liz - I plan my meals for me and dh a week ahead ...usually I do fRiday night or Saturday, then grocery shop on Sunday for the week...that way I only have one weeks worth of food at a time...and can stick to my 100 a week budget better...my dh does low carb eating and I tend to do the same with him at least at dinner ...so I visit a lot of low carb recipe sites, which probably wouldnt be helpful to you, haha ( Linda's low carb is the one I like the best ) ...I also like to go to allrecipes.com, they have a lot of great recipes and ideas...

Dee - GREAT job on the loss !!!! I was starting to wonder why we hadn't heard from you in a little while ...I am also doing the no candy for Valentines this year...I would rather have a low calorie lobster meal anyway. :)

Hi Susie, Mel, Mandy, Auntie G, and Arabella !!! :hug:

Hope you all have a great OP weekend !!!! We need to start telling our losses again once a week ( if we have any haha ).

See ya
Carri

hey kids...

i'm on day 3 of the yuck. yay winter colds :( it's really messing up my workout schedule. it's awfully hard to go sweat and breathe heavy if you are freezing and congested and coughing. BLAH.

on the flipside, i'm not very interested in food, so i'm staying within my calories. heh. oh sickness. you are a poor diet.

dee- that might work if i liked spicy foods and could eat them without having major reflux lol... but we're doing much better now. between the hot tea with honey and lemon... the diet soda for the carbonation.... and the water that i had to keep near me because of my dry throat, i'm sure i stayed hydrated! heaven knows i had to pee a lot.

anyway, my weigh in this week (on weds) probably won't be all that great because i'm making a yummy dinner for my husband for valentine's day. lasagna, red lobster cheddar bay biscuits, apple caramel upside down cake... i let him choose the meal and the dessert and promised him i wouldn't be calorie police on valentine's day. i told him i'd eat my yummy dinner and the chocolate he bought me and like it. :P though i'm hoping to make it a double workout day (tuesdays usually are) to help fight some of those calories.

hope ya'll are having a good day!

Happy Valentine's Day ladies!

Dee - thanks for the website suggestion - I'll check it out sounds like what I need!

Carri - I wish I had the discipline to do it a week ahead - I try to plan meals and then when the time comes I'm like oh no I want this instead. lol I like allrecipes though - I go there quite a bit but I should check it out more!

We're having DH's mom over tonight for pizza dinner (how romantic, lol)....I don't really want pizza because it is a trigger food for me but she is insistent she wants to get it for us. I'm going to use this as a test to see if I can hold myself to 2 pieces!! Wish me luck! :)

Hope everybody has a great day.

decided to weigh in today instead of tomorrow for a more realistic number. i know tomorrow will show a bump because of my husband's choice of lasagna for a valentine's dinner, and my promise not to be calorie police today. so, good news... another 3.1 pounds closer to onederland! :) 270.3 today... 6.2 down, 70.4 to go. 34 weeks to do it (my 29th birthday).... 2.1 pounds, average, per week. i can do it!

HI GIRLS !!! Sorry I have been MIA but I have been so sick ( as those of you on my fb know ) ...bad sinus infection, was off work Monday and Tuesday and would like to be home now but what are you gonna do ....I did however start back strictly on my diet Saturday like I said I was going to ( despite feeling like utter crap ) and guess what ?????

drum roll please .................... I am down "4" pds as of this morning !!!!!!!!!!!!
:cb::dance::cp::dancer::hat::high:

It has been SOOOOO long since I have been able to come on here and report a loss and I am thrilled !!! I wasn't happy with the starting number though, I was up to 238.6 ....but only going down from here !!! :cheer2:

Mandy - congrats on your loss !!!! :cheer3:

Liz - pizza is DEFINITELY my biggest trigger ...I can't have it and only have a pce or two, so if you did, great job !!!

Dee - I didn't get Lobster after all, too sick to enjoy anything expensive so I just made dinner at home ...exciting huh? :lol:

Susan - Hi :wave:

HOpe everyone had a good Valentines Day , you know I didn't due to the sickness but I figure another one will come around next year...haha

Hope you all have a great day !!!!

Carri

I have been missing you all! I am in a meeting at work and we took a short break so I thought I would use it to jump on and say Hi.

My plan is to read through the posts tonight when I get home and get caught up with all of you and get my "mo-jo" back in swing...you girls always inspire me.

Dee - thanks for the congrats ...

Your Valentines Day sounds very romantic ...I have been married for 18 years and we just sat on the couch and watched tv ...haha ...very sweet ...

Hi Everyone,

LONG work day here. It was my first official day in my new role. I felt like a fish out of water.

I am still working at the same company that I have been with for 5 yrs but working in a different Global Business Unit than I have been in so it's like being in a differant country for me. While we are all the same Company, each GBU has its own products and slightly different ways to accomplish the work.

I am also in a different building than I have been in for the past 5 years so I don't know to many people or where things are. It will all work out..just have to give it time. I am still excited about the role---and it was a promotion for me! :D

Dee: That is a GREAT loss! Good job. That system is really working for you. I will share it at my TOPS meeting.

Liz: We plan meals for the week (and I have a cook who comes 2 times a week and fixes our meals) so that helps me to stick with what we plan at least Mon-Thursday (we do leftovers on Tues and Thursday); we try to cook on the weekend but end up going out a lot.

Carri: I hope you get to feeling better soon but WOW and I am proud of you for sticking to your guns, while sick, and it sure paid off at the scales for you!

Mandy: Hope you are feeling better..so much "stuff" going around.

I have no idea what the scales will look like tomorrow night but it will be what it will be and to change them going forward is up to me (it always seems to come back to that doesn't it? lol ;)

dee - the only reality show we watch (i say 'we' because hubby and i rarely watch tv separately) is the voice. i will confess that i only started watching it because of a crush on blake shelton :P but it is actually pretty interesting, and the 4 judges are pretty funny (cee lo green is entertaining like you wouldn't believe).... and i love that the hosts watch the prerecorded stuff (that's on now, the blind auditions) and they post their tweets during the show across the bottom of the screen. other than the voice, mostly we watch crime dramas (castle, bones, white collar) and hubby really likes royal pains, so i watch that with him. they are our exercise shows... we go to the gym to watch them because we don't have any kind of cable in our apartment.

susie - i'm feeling much better, thanks! the only issue i seem to have as right when i wake up. but getting up and moving seems to clear the rest of the fog :)

carri - congrats on your 4 pound loss... even if it comes at the expense of comfortable sinuses. i hope that gets better soon, and makes work easier for you. i hate sinus infections, i think they are the worst sick you can have!

Morning All, had a good OP day yesterday :)

Mandy - I LOVE The Voice ...my husband and I always watch it ...I like it because they don't bring people on who can't sing just to make fun of them ( like American Idol, haven't watched that in years ) ...and yes Blake Shelton is a cutie. :D

Susie - You have someone come to your house and cook? Wow, that sounds nice...that would be so helpful if you worked a lot. Hope you get acclimated
( did I spell that right ) quickly...I am sure you will do a great job. Good luck on the scales.

Last night dh brought me home some fresh tulips from the flower store and a small bag of Bugles ( love those things ) because he knew I wasn't feeling well ( those of you on fb already know this haha ) ...it was sweet and I was able to only have half of the small bag of Bugles and put the rest up which is a big accomplishment for me. :)

I am feeling better today, things are definitely starting to loosen up and come out ...getting more snotty day by day, haha

have a great day all !!!

Carri

Carri - those tulips are beautiful!! I love tulips. Glad you're feeling better!

Susie - Congrats on the promotion!! Hope the scales were good to you! I'd love to have a cook.....sounds like a great time saver!

Dee - That sounds really nice, to change a favourite pattern into another outfit altogether! I wish I had talent like that. :)

Well I didn't stick to my 3 slice limit :o - I made it to 5 slices. Naughty! :) So I've been trying to be good - but I've been a bit more snacky than usual, so up to 136 right now. Oh well just have to be a bit more careful and get it back down again. We have a holiday on Monday (I think you guys do too, for us it's family day and I think you have president's day?) - and we're headed down to Rochester, NY on Sunday and we're going to stay overnight - we're going to go to the museum of play there, I am so excited! Hope everybody a great Friday!