The greatest responsibility entrusted to man is that of developing himself. ** William Ross

Talk about being motivationally challenged......I haven't posted in at least a couple days I think and it is a pure lack of motivation. I didn't work out Monday or Tuesday but did walk over an hour yesterday & today. I'm doing my short power walks twice a day at work, making sure I get 10k steps a day, and then an hour power walk in the evening. My food has been decent. Not perfect in terms of nutrition, but I don't see where I can eat any less food. Well maybe not that uncalled for bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch last night..... but you know what I mean. That was an isolated incident. TOM is over and I expected the scale to return to its lower point of 171-172. Its more like 173-174. I'm tired. I only want to lose 10-12lbs and it is harder than when I had to lose 40lbs! Every month is the same thing. I lose a couple of pounds and then lose it during TOM. Yes there is bloating involved, but there is also me just plain losing it during that time period and taking 2 steps backwards. So I'm feeling low. Not like giving up or anything, just low. My walks have been feeling good. I feel good physically. My clothes are fitting nicely. Its just that darn scale! And although I know muscle weighs more than fat, I'm not gaining any muscle because I haven't been doing any strength training at all. So that's not it. Its just me being stuck. Well, so as not to depress everyone, I'm going to sign off. If I don't post tomorrow, rest assured I'm here lurking, while possibly not feeling like typing. Sorry I'm being such a sour puss. There is absolutely no reason for me to post over on the Labor Day Challenge thread since that goal seems very far away.

We succeed in enterprises which demand the positive qualities we possess, but we excel in those which can also make use of our defects. --Tocqueville

Morning ladies!

Motivation level: 6

I'm motivated to do well today, but I am NOT motivated to exercise. I think today might just be my second day off. For some reason I am just plain tired. Not, not "for some reason," I'm tired because Mother Nature has to go and play nasty little tricks on us like PMS. Which is also causing my weight to hover at 205... grrr. I'm a little upset about that. I just keep telling myself that it will drop at least 2 pounds after ToM, so it will all work out. It just seems to stall for 2 weeks before hand, in which time I should have lost about 4 pounds, then it only drops 2. It's frustrating.

This challenge of mine has been really good for me though. I almost didn't exercise last night, then I thought that if I didn't I couldn't meet my challenge goal (which was wrong anyway), and then I told my friend at work that I was getting on the stairclimber, and she would hold me accountable (which is a very good thing). So I got on, saying that I would do at least 20 minutes, and after that I could decide if I wanted to go for 30. And I ended up doing 30.

Ok, so to completely change the subject, I've been thinking of moving this thread to the Support Groups Forum. We're all on the Labor Day Challenge board, and I think we get tired of posting and reading the same things twice. So the theory is, if we move the board to a different forum, we'll get some different traffic, maybe some new conversations, maybe even some new motivation. Also, I plan on setting up a daily or weekly challenge (like the one I did this week) along with my daily quotes. I might need some help with the creativity though, so if you have any challenge suggestions they're more than welcome (PM them to me please). I'm planning on setting it up Sunday. I'll post a link here so you can find it easily.
Let me know what you think.

Anyway, that's it from me today. I'll be back this evening to let you know how my day turned out. Have a great day everyone!
~Elisha

It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn't. ** Anonymous

Morning chicks!

Motivation level: 8

Believe it or not, I've already done my exercise for the day! Only 20 minutes though, on the stairclimber. I told myself I'd do 20, then if I felt like it go for another 10. Well, after the first 10 my head was pounding to the rhythm of my steps, and the next 10 didn't help, so I stopped there.

So exercise is good today. Food probably won't be. Jerry is taking me out to dinner, then we're going to the drive-in. I'll have a light breakfast and lunch to make up for dinner though, and I'll do my best at the restaurant.

Anyway, I don't have time to sit and chat, so I'd better go. I hope everyone is having a great day, and is doing awesome with their challenge! See you this evening!
~Elisha

Good Morning! Well I’m good and sore today. I exercised yesterday.. But then I got upset and ended up cleaning up the whole house….. Packing up everything! I still got some stuff to do today. I went ahead and just put up her toddler bed… she sleep in it all night!!! I barely slept though…. I kept being afraid she would fall out! I’ve already got a great hour long workout in for this morning! Although I am SICK to my stomach… for some unknown reason. Today is also weigh-in day. I have lost 4 lbs!! Yay! Almost back to where I started! Hopefully I can keep it up! I didn’t reach my goal for the month of July.. But that’s ok! Here’s to next month! I DID however lose inches off my hips, waist, and thighs, arms, and leg from two weeks ago! Total inches lost from 7-17-04…. 6.5!!! So for me.. The pound goal doesn’t matter that much! I still ended up losing 3 lbs for the month. It definitively is slowing down… but I like the inches dropping though! That makes me excited! Today I guess I’ll cook Spicy Onion burgers.. I don’t have any wheat buns.. so I’ll make me some burgers with ground turkey. Here is the recipe if you want it.. It’s pretty simple though:

Spicy Onion Burgers
from: Campbell's Kitchen
Prep/Cook Time: 20 min.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup Pace® Picante Sauce
1 pouch Campbell's® Dry Onion Soup and Recipe Mix
6 hamburger rolls
Lettuce leaves
Tomato slices
Avocado slices


Directions:
MIX thoroughly beef, picante sauce and soup mix. Shape firmly into 6 patties, 1/2" thick each.

GRILL patties 10 min. or until done.

SERVE in rolls with lettuce, tomato, avocado and additional picante sauce. Serves 6.


Well that’s all I got planned for today. It looks like it’s gonna be rainy day. The sun is out… but it’s still raining pretty hard. Well I hope everyone has a great day! I’m just gonna finish cleaning and cooking for the day. Maybe record some of my Murder She Wrote Episodes.. Or read the book I never started. I hope everyone has a great day today!

Hi all
It is pretty quiet around here, so Elisha you may be on to something with moving this thread. I'll go where ever. Glad to see you're motivated to at least exercise some, even if not for a long time. That's a great deal to make with yourself - to at least do the minimum with the possibility of going further if you feel like it. I tend to think in terms of all or nothing. If I don't feel like walking for an hour then it hardly seems worth the effort. But I know that's not true. Have fun on your date tonight! Can't wait to hear about it.

Jaymi - Thanks for the encouraging words. I don't know why I"m in such a funk. Congratulations on 4lbs down as well as the inches lost! In spite of the bad food days here and there that you've had you are doing awesome! Great recovery!

Food today was ok, although I did have a Twix. I can still salvage the day however. I didn't exercise at all. I just wanted to sleep in for once so that's exactly what I did. I so rarely get the opportunity to. My husband had to leave early for work at about 8 I think and after he left I just laid around on the sofa watching cartoons, eating cereal, and then dozing. It was a wonderful morning. Then by 1pm it was time to start running my errands (drug store, grocery store, car wash, gas station, hair dresser). Its been a full day. But even with all of the errands I ran I just checked my pedometer and I'm only at 3,081, so I'll be lucky to break 5,000 today Not good. Well I really should sign off and do a little more around here.

Well ladies...I am once again motivated to continue with this journey! I did manage to lose those extra pounds and am back down into the 160's! Phew! OK, so it's only 169, but hey...maybe by Tuesday I can be at 168 again! So...once again...another month with NO weight loss! I am not discouraged though!

My day today was as follows:
Up early to hit the County Fair to see the horse competition this morning. My sister spent the night with her littlest son (same age as our DD-4.5) so we could do the Fair together!
After the fair, dropped DD and DN off at my sister's house so BIL could watch them while we hit the sidewalk sales in Holland (where she works)!
***So far, lots of walking casually but pulling a wagon through sand has to count for something!***

Here's the BEST PART OF MY DAY!!!! Remember that my goal is to hike the Adirondacks next Summer. Well, I have been looking for some good hiking/walking shoes AND a backpack! I found the deal of the century today! Tevo walking/hiking shoes regular $80 (probably more, but these were year end close outs) for only $30.00!!!!! AND....I'm so excited...I now have my very own Eureka Back Pack (it's a 3-day pack with enclosed aluminum bars vs. big bulky frame). OK, now guess how much I paid for it????? ONLY $30.00!!!!!!! They had that marked $80.00 too, but I know they go for more in retail stores!!!

I think I'm going to take my Tasha dog tomorrow and go for a hike at one of the local state parks to try out my new shoes. I won't go for too long, just incase they need breaking in some! A good 30 minutes, though or more! Probalby more because once I get walking out there, I may not be able to stop!!! It's right on Lake MIchigan and is so beautiful!

I know I haven't checked in here most of the week partly because I've been so busy but partly because there hasn't been much to tell. I didn't exercise on Friday morning (got up too late!) and todays wasn't aerobic, but plenty of movement which has to count for something! Food has not been good today (Fair food-part of an elephant ear, part of an order of french fries, a couple of bites of corn dog and then I split a NON sugar free Latte with my sister when we went shopping!) , but the rest of the week has been ok! I had more than the alloted brownie, though....so I am going to attempt again this week to steer clear of those kinds of goodies! OK, I am rethinking about what the scales might show on Tuesday if I don't get cracking tomorrow and Monday!!! Where's that tazer?????

Michelle...sleeping in sounds good. I told hubby tomorrow that if he decides he doesn't want to go to church int he morning, I may just sleep in too! I haven't done that in so long! Sleeping in for me means anything past 8am!!!! I can never sleep past that no matter howlate I stay up at night! But usually my body clock wakes me up between 5:30 and 6:30!! UGH!
Keep doing those little bits of exercise because every bit helps...really!

Jaymi...so glad you got the baby's bed put together! I knew you would do it! You are super human, girl!!! And I'm glad she didn't fall out but sorry to hear you didn't get any sleep! Isn't that the way it goes...mother instinct kicking in! Great job on the inches and the pounds. And even though they aren't what you wanted, you had a rough month getting back into the groove and you succeeded to get off what you gained, so that counts for something, doesn't it? No one said this would be easy, right??? Geesh, don't I know that!!! Hope you feel better too!

Elisha...just let me know where and when you move the thread! I will try to find you! Can't be without my Motivationally Challenged chickies! We gotta stick together! I have some questions for challenges for you and will PM them to you later! Hope you are having loads of fun on your date! A drive in movie sounds so cool! I am glad you are enjoying each other! So happy for you chickie!

Hold me to my walk tomorrow, girls! I may find a million reasons (like laundry, housework, etc.) not to go...but I really need to do this!

Hugs to all!
JUlie

I can't imagine a person becoming a success who doesn't give this game of life everything he's got. --Walter Cronkite

Ok, here's the link for the new "Motivationally Challenged" thread I set up in the Support Groups forum. You can read my actual post for the day on the new thread. I hope to see all of you there!

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/show...154#post639154

I'm over on the new Motivationally challenged boards! Looks good Elisha. Thanks for setting it up.......and how was your date last night?
See you later!
Julie