I posted this over in the Newbie thread, but I think I also fit in here.

Hey there.

I'm new to the boards, although I've poked around here and there.

I'm Athena, and I live just north of San Diego, along the coast. I'm 39 years old, and will turn 40 this December. I'm married and a SAHM to two sons, age 12 and 2.

Back in 2000, I lost a whole bunch of weight the old-fashioned way with strength training, cardio, and clean eating (lean protein, complex carbs & healthy fats). I achieved my goal weight of 110 lbs. and eventually settled around 115 lbs. The summer of 2001 I was right at 115 lbs.,, 9/11 happened (lots of comfort eating) and then I got pregnant with my second son weighing 130 lbs. I gained 40 lbs. during the pregnancy and came home weighing 159 lbs. In the 2.5 years since then I've piddled around and got my weight down to 144 lbs. for one day, but most recently (a week ago!) I pegged the scale at 161 lbs.

Last week I began doing what I know will work to rid my body of this excess weight. My goal is 112 lbs., with a range of 112 - 116 lbs. for maintenance. I'm down four pounds so far.

I look forward to being a part of this community here.

Welcome Athena
 

Good morning ladies. I just got in from my 50 min walk in the freezing cold. I was going to come home, change and go and run my errands but I think I'm going to unthaw now first. At least the sun is shining.
I did terrible with my eating last night. Hubby came home from work, depressed and miserable. Job related...and I'm not going to go into details, but he was pretty much told if he can't make the numbers by then end of this month, he's out of a job. So that made me miserable and stressed and all I did was snoop through the kitchen for things to eat. So this morning...I said...the **** with it. We'll deal with that bridge when it comes and I can't control what happens, but I can control what I put in my mouth. (knocking on wood) So far so good today.

Athena--Welcome to our thread. Good luck with your weight loss journey. Post here often and you can talk about everything and anything. Ups, downs, highs, lows, family matters, recipes, food finds etc.

Lisa--Welcome back! Good luck with your unpacking! I don't know what's worse...packing or unpacking! Once you get fairly settled...get back in the game woman! We're here for ya!

Robin--We get to building your house and you need to eat out...just remember to make good food choice. Wendys has all kinds of salads and now they have the fruit cup to boot! Just watch the dressings.

Sherrie--I guess you should count your blessings...you're right, it could of been alot worse than what it was.

Well, I think I'm thawed out now. Time to go run my errands before it's time for lunch.
I'll check back in here later.

Kelly

Hello ladies! I hope you are all having a great day so far. I did O.K. with my eating and workouts yesterday and today. I ended up eating app. 1800 calories yesterday and burned about 400. Today, I'm planning on eating 1400 and I burned about 600. I was at the gym for almost 2 hours. I did 20 minutes on the bike, 50 minutes on the treadmill (ran 1.5 miles again, yeah!), 20 minutes on the stairclimber, then weights.

Lisa-Congratulations on getting moved in. :cb: I would be so excited to have my own exercise room. That will be great.

Loren- Sorry for spelling your name wrong on the last thread I posted. Stick with that elliptical. It's a great workout. I started out doing 5 minutes, then worked up to 70 minutes. If you can stick it out for 10 minutes, it starts getting easier. I guess it's when the endorphins kick in. I tried Atkins, and I was miserable on it. I'm a carboholic though. It also made me weak and it made my vision blurry. My body was telling me that is wasn't good for me. By the way-
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! :gift: :balloons: :hb:

Kelly-That's awesome that you were able to maintain over the weekend. :)

Robin-You are doing so good with the walking girl. :dancer: Keep it up!

Sherry-That stinks about the insurance. :sorry: I hope things get better for ya.

Athena-Welcome!!!It's great to meet you. :wave: If you don't mind my asking, which plan are you following this time?

Originally Posted by kimberlydrn:
Athena-Welcome!!!It's great to meet you. :wave: If you don't mind my asking, which plan are you following this time?

Hello!

I'm doing what I did before because, you know, it worked!

I'm doing intense strength training 3x a week, and heart-thumping, sweat-inducing cardio at least 6x a week. For food, I'm sticking between 1200-1500 calories, with the breakdown roughly 40-45% complex carbs, 35-40% lean protein, & 20-25% healthy fats, with four or five meals spread out through the day, every 2.5 to 3 hours, with no meal later than 7:30 p.m. I'm drinking 3-4 liters of water a day.

Nothing glamorous, but it's what I did before and it worked well and relatively fast as long as I stuck to my plan (which I did). In the years since I had my second son, I really struggled to get back to the place in my head where I was ready to work this hard. I kept hemming and hawing, and just got fatter. I had a slap upside my head about 10 days ago, and I'm now on day nine of committed action.

I have an weblog detailing all this here.

It feels good to be back in the head space where I know it will work for me. I just wasn't there until now.

Welcome Athena! I'm sure you will find a good fit with this group! I also have 2 kids the same age as yours. I know how intense that can be! Whew!

Sherrie, I'm so sorry about your studio. I know you were really ready for it to be done. Keep the faith that something good will come from all this mess.

Well, I started the day off right with turkey bacon and eggs. I'm drinking my water too! My daughter is napping so it would be a great time to do a little treadmilling but I'm unpacking the office right now. Maybe I'll get a chance to hop it later today.

Ladies, you are all doing great. Each day is a new one!

Lisa

Good morning everyone
 

I hope everyone is doing well this morning. :) I'm thinking work is getting entirely in the way of my having fun, not to mention losing weight. And I'm pretty sure I was meant to be independently wealthy, but higher powers obviously don't feel the same way.

I checked in yesterday, but didn't have time to post anything. I was able to do my walks, and even got in some crunches and pushups. But it was a hard day diet wise. :mad: I had bought some chocolate Easter bunnies for my niece and nephew, but they melted in my car. When I picked them up, I got chocolate on my hand. Of course the first thing I did was lick it off. It wasn't anything but just a few spots. But it left me craving chocolate the rest of the day. Then I went into Wal Mart to get them a couple of other little items to ship off to them. (They're in TX.) I went down the Easter aisle and thought I was going to have a stroke fighting the urge to grab one of each of Easter candy and just binge. I was strong and didn't eat any thing, but it was a hard battle. The only thing that kept me going was that I have a very small box of Robin's eggs Easter candy that I can eat if I have lost weight on my next weighin this next Monday. It's sort of a tradition for me. For as long as I can remember, I've eaten Robin's eggs at Easter, except in the past I ate a really large box, and probably more than one. I'm allowing myself to have that one treat if I can stick with my good eating and lose weight. I don't want to deprive myself entirely, but I have to be good for it. Discipline sucks sometimes!

Welcome Athena. :wave: This forum has been really a great help for me. I'm sure it will be for you as well. I've been here less than a month, but the support is wonderful. And it helps to post regularly. For me anyway, it sort of helps to keep me accountable. Mostly, though, it helps to know that I'm not going through this alone. And no one here is going to judge you for falling off the wagon. We've all fallen off and been run over by it several times.

Sherrie: I'm sorry to hear that your insurance isn't going to help with the flooding. Insurance companies can be really frustrating. We can pay into them for years, but try to make a claim, and they don't seem to know who you are. Was any of your artwork damaged? I sure hope not.

Also, thanks a lot for the info on the bowflex. I shared it with one of my coworkers. I like the idea of being able to change exercises easily and to move it when necessary. And I'm thinking the expense is just an investment in my health and future. And my husband's.

Loren: You'll have to let me know how it goes with the eliptical. I've tried one only once, but like you could only stick with it for about five minutes. It made me so tired. I hope it gets easier.

Kim: You are doing so well. Keep it up! :cp: :cb:

Everyone else, have a great day and drink lots of water. I'll check back later.
Robin

I'm up late, I know, but I'm trying to readjust back to nightshift schedule. I work the next 2 nights. I'm happy to report that I've done very well today, even with my eating. I did 90 minutes of cardio and ate 1130 calories today. I usually eat 1200-1800, but I ate too much yesterday. Tomorrow, I'll do weight training and a step aerobics class before work. I'm feeling pretty motivated again. Summer is getting closer and closer and I'd really like to be down to 140 by June. I can do it.

Athena- I'm so glad you joined us. It sounds like you're very motivated, and it helped me to read some of your weblog.

Robin-You go girl, resisting the chocolate! WooHoo!!!

Hello. Where did everybody go?

I didn't go for a walk this evening, but I did take my two walks during work. I think they're about a mile each, up and down hills, so that's no too bad. I just don't feel like going tonight. I didn't eat the best either. My mother-in-law took me to lunch at Pizza Hut. I had a salad and a mini pizza, but I ate only 3/4 of the pizza. I guess I ate okay otherwise, but I just feel like a slug today. My next weighin is on Monday. I'm pretty sure I've lost some weight, but I sure hope it's more than just one pound. I weigh only every two weeks. I'm tired of looking at the bar on my signature. I need to get my armadillo moving.


Have a great evening/night ladies. Until, tomorrow...
Robin

I just got home from work. I'm in weight loss mode again. I had 1220 calories yesterday and did 80 minutes of cardio and weights, and I did 70 minutes of cardio when I got off of work this morning. We're having a potluck at work tonight, so I'm a little worried about that. I can have the best of intentions and get up there and end up pigging out before the night's over with. It's such a high stress environment. I just try to remind myself that nothing tastes as good as thin feels. Wish me luck.

Good morning
 

Hi Kim. I'm very sorry. :( I didn't mean to exclude you when I asked where everybody is. I guess you and I are the only ones left. Good luck with the pot luck tonight. I have a hard time at those. There are usually so many dishes that I haven't tried, and so I want a little bit of each. And then I want to go back and get more of the ones I really like because I took only a little bit the first time. By the end of the dinner, I've eaten like 4000 calories. :mad: :) But you are doing really well with the workouts. I wouldn't so much about the calories. You're boosting your metabolism with the exercise.

Enjoy the night shift. Do you work rotating shift, or just occasionally have to do nights? Have a great day/night, anyway.
Robin

Hello Ladies! :wave:

No... I didn't go MIA again...just been busy getting back on track! I've been reading all of your posts but hadn't had time to post myself.

Thank you all for the birthday wishes! It was a good day!

Welcome Athena! :grouphug: You sound "pumped"! You also seem to have a lot to bring to the table...will look forward to "picking your brain"!

Robin...I know exactly what you mean about people calling us maam...My DH & I like to hang out with our neighbors accross the street... & when their son comes by, he says maam to me all the time. I finally asked him... if we had met when I was 10 & you were 6, would you have called me maam then? I think they all got the point! lol :devil:

Lisa...You are soooo lucky to have your own exercise room! I'm jealous!!! ;)
My DH & I were just at Sears the other night looking at all the exercise equipment. We are now going to "Anytime Fitness" & plan on only doing that for 1 year. After that, we hope to have space in our home to have a room for exercise stuff! We have 4 boys...2 have already flown the nest; one graduates in May & is ready to try his wings :angel: !! We will finally have a large room we can turn into an office/workout room!!

Kelly...we have another cabbage ball game tonight! It's just like softball. The ball is bigger, softer, & doesn't go as far when hit. There is no need for gloves & the guys have to hit opposite of how they would normally hit. Batting order is boy-girl or girl-boy & same is true for field positions. It's a lot of fun!

Well, it was bound to happen...I gained 2 pounds :( . I can't say I'm surprised though...a month with little to no exercise...I'm lucky that was all I gained! :o . I'm getting back on track though...that's a promise! :yes:
Worked out this morning doing strength training & 6 whole minutes on the elliptical monster :flame: . I will get some additional exercise playing ball tonight! I did okay with my eating today...I missed breakfast except for :coffee: ! Had a grilled chicken ceasar salad from McDonalds - have already had over 40 oz. of water! :cp:. For dinner, my DH & I will be eating boiled crawfish with our team mates!

You probably won't hear from me again till Sunday...I have a field trip tomorrow...it's expected to last at least 12 hours! :^: but the money is good!

What's up Sherrie? How are you holding up with the flooding problem?
Hang in there girl... :balloons: we're here when you need us! I'm praying for you.

Good luck ladies...we'll chat again soon,
Loren

http://www.3fatchicks.com/weight-tra...b/150/125/140/

Thanks for the great welcome. I've been peeking in and out of this site and it's been a bit confusing to me because there are so many niche groups. Please give me a little while to get situated.

My week is going very well. I had to revise my workout schedule for the week to accomodate a rest day because my body was screaming at me to, well, rest. I've been on target with the revised workout schedule and my food, save a stray Cheeto or 10. Heh.

I'm feeling really good!

I hope the weekend is going well for everyone else.

Hello Everyone! I'm not ignoring you -- just lots going on right now. Will check back when I have more time to read the posts and to post myself once my feet are flat on the ground. Thanks for thinking about me Loren.

Doing good on a weekend!
 

Well, as I'm sure most of you have figured out by now, I can be doing so well with diet and exercise during the week, and then the weekend comes and I blow it. It's been that way for almost 2 months. Well, I'm actually doing good this weekend. I've stayed barely under 2000 calories each day so far, but I can at least maintain on that. I really do have my mind made up. If I can keep my calories below 2000 on the weekend and between 1200-1300 during the week, the weight's going to come off. :snail: Lookout summer, here I come!

Robin- I always work the nightshift on Thurs, Fri, and Sun 7p-7a. On the next schedule I might schedule a few Thurs off though. I'm getting pretty burned out right now. We have so many sick people in the ICU right now, way sicker than usual. It keeps me on my toes though. At least I'm burning lots of calories. :p

Loren-Did you have a good birthday? Cabbage ball sounds like a lot of fun. I wish we had something like that around here. Don't worry about the 2 pounds. That's not bad at all. My weight varies by 2 pounds from the time I get up, until the time I go to bed. :spin:

Sherry-Hang in there girl. I'm praying for you also. :angel: :grouphug: :goodvibes

Hope everyone else is having a great weekend. If I can just make it through tonight, I'll be off for 3 days. Yeah! :cp:

Happy Sunday!
 

I love the weekend, but they sure don't last long enough. My dh, dog, and I went for a nice long hike this morning, about 10AM. I'm not a morning person, to is as early as I will do a hike. We hiked on an old logging road, and we saw lots of turkey, elk, muledeer, and whitetail tracks. But all we saw animal wise were two ducks and I think a whitetail deer. But it was sunny, and about 50 degrees. And absolutely beautiful. I'm glad we did it this morning, because now I'm chained to the washer and dryer for the rest of the day.

My bi-weekly weighin is tomorrow. If I've lost weight, I get to eat my Robin's eggs Easter candy. I'm so excited. I'll let you know how it goes. I was able to get into one of my practice pants yesterday, although they were a little snug in the waist. I was able to zip and button them while standing.

Loren: Cabbage ball sounds like a blast! I love softball and baseball. And don't worry about the 2 pounds. I agree with Kim. My weight can fluctuate by a few pounds in a single day. Maybe you just weighed at the wrong time of day. Did you enjoy the crawfish? Do you like crawfish e'toufe(sp)? That stuff will melt the fat right out of you.

I hope your basement is drying out, Sherrie. And that nothing was damaged beyond repair. I know the sheetrock will have to be replaced, probably, but I hope nothing else does. Take care. We're here when you need us.

Take care everyone! Have a great week!
Robin