Lori - maybe you're gaining muscle? Don't get discouraged! The scale doesn't tell the WHOLE story!

Shawn, how do you make cheeseburger soup? Please share.



Hey you guys want to have a cheat day if we all do well on the challenge? Maybe next Thursday we can have one just all out splurge meal or something??????

Alice, I didn't end up making it last night b/c my mom gave us some of her roast she made; and I haven't made the soup before, so can't say if it's any good or not (I bet it is, though!). I got the recipe at allrecipes.com -- type in a search for it, and let me know if you have problems finding it -- I think it's actually called Cheeseburger Soup II or III..... *shrug*

Hey Alice...
I like the idea of a cheat day if we all make it. What say we hold off, though, and have the cheat day on Sunday instead of Thursday. It will be MOTHER'S DAY! I know we are all mothers (at least two times over, lol). I know my hubby and kids always make me breakfast in bed...then we have a special dinner at my mom's...cake...lots of yummy food. Sigh. I am doomed. Do you think that could be our cheat day???

Lori

oooOOOOhhhh - good idea Lori!

i like that idea!

Well, it's 6:30pm, I've had dinner, and I'm only at 1000 cals! yay!

I'm going to a National Scrapbook Day crop tonight from 7-midnight, and I'm heading by Starbucks for a hazelnut latte on the way there..... and I'll still be under my cals for the day! hooray!

........ now I hope I can stay out of the goodies tonight, like I plan to! I guess I ought to get a Venti (Large) NF latte, so I can sip on it for longer, thus keeping me out of the goodies!

change of plan: I went to Starbucks.com, and for the same calories, I can get a Venti NF Mocha (with no whipped cream), as I could the hazelnut latte -- so I'm going for the mocha!! Yay! it's 290 cals, and will put me right at 1300 for today

Is this still the right thread? It looks like the other one is just to track the challenge you all started last week but there were a couple of regular posts too so I wasn't sure.

Anyway, today went really well. I was glad to get back to the gym this morning. I went in for a 45 minute step class and then hit the weights for about half an hour. I was a little nervous about going because after a week off I was sure it was going to kill me. But, it felt great. I must have needed that little break because I had more energy and stamina than I remember having in a while. If you can believe it, I actually caught myself SMILING all the way through aerobics.

Foodwise I did well today. I'm only at 920 calories but I'm just not hungry. I don't know why but I'm not going to argue with my body. I figure that more often than not it is the other way around and I have to talk myself out of eating so it is just as well that I go with the flow until my appetite comes back around.

Now that my vacation is over, I've decided to stop logging every single bite I eat as I eat it. While we were a way, I realized that I can trust myself to eat when I'm hungry and do so within reason. It was really very empowering not counting every calorie and still losing a couple of pounds. So, I'm still going to log everything in fitday but not until the end of the day. If I see that I'm going off track I'll go back to being super diligent. But, what I noticed was that I was actually more cautious when I wasn't keeping track throughout the day so as not to go overboard. Keeping up with what I eat while I eat it tends to keep me focused on how many calories are left and how much I can eat and still be within my limits. This way, I'm paying more attention to whether or not I'm actually hungry. Plus, I'm getting close enough to my goal weight that I feel I should start weaning myself from it all. I'll always have to be aware of what I put in my mouth and certainly fitday/journaling will always be a tool I use but I don't intend to sweat every morsel of food for the rest of my life. I guess I am trying to plan ahead for the maintenance stage. I'd rather find what works for me now than reach my goal and have to play around with my strategy which might include a slight weight gain. A slight gain now I can handle. But once I see that magic number on the scale I don't ever want to see it creep up again!

I hope everyone is doing well and keeping on plan. It seems as though we are all progressing nicely. I'm off to make my menu/grocery list for next week. Goodnight!

Tricia

I am here --- and yes, this is still the right thread. Super busy weekend here, and we're going to try to watch a movie tonight & I'd like to get my life (aka - desk) reorganized before bed. Yesterday I TOTALLY splurged (like I haven't since I've started at the first on March), but today I've been super-good, so maybe it will balance out. I'll report more later. TTFN!

Yesterday was my "official" weigh in and, low and behold, I lost 3.4 pounds last week. I also had my measurements taken at the gym and I've lost 4 inches in the past month. I don't know if that is considered much or not but it's DOWN so it is fine by me!

The last couple of days my calorie intake has been relatively low. 920 on Sunday, 1079 yesterday, and so far 486 today. It seems to help not going to fitday as I eat. I'm much more conservative with my portions not knowing EXACTLY where I am for the day. And, if I'm not hungry, I don't eat. I think I've finally gotten to where it is natural to distinguish between "not hungry" and "full". It is the strangest thing but I have come to actually prefer feeling a little on the hungry side. Maybe it is a control issue, I don't know.

I cleaned my closet out and got rid of all of my "fat" clothes. There is nothing in my closet bigger than a size 10. That is a pretty big motivator for keeping up the good work. At this point out growing my pants means buying new ones. No bigger sizes to fall back on - even put away all those big, comfy warm ups, etc. I have to say that it was very empowering. Sort of like having a ceremony to declare that I am NOT going to be fat again. As an added bonus getting dressed is so much easier now. I know that anything I pull out is going to fit properly and look nice.

It seems as though lots of congratulations are in order this week. So, I'll just say hurray for all of us!

Have a great afternoon.

Tricia

^5 Tricia - woohoo - My weigh in was today and I lost 3lbs - Can we do the happy dance together?

Hi ladies!
Thanks for moving the thread up, lol. I posted to the other one too. I just wanted to pop in and say hi and tell you that I am on track for today. My goal, however, is to exercise and I haven't done that yet. It's next on my list.


Happy Day!

Lori

Good morning twin mommies!
I am super happy because I'm down another half pound this morning (I gotta get my husband to take my scale away again, lol). I have not been doing as well as I should so I am assuming that I am just losing the water weight I retained last week. I had a TERRIBLE day yesterday and TOTALLY blew the challenge. I ate EIGHT chocolate chip cookies! Eek! I shouldn't have had the first one because I just couldn't stop after that. They were warm and soft and right out of the oven. Anyway, they put me up to 2000 calories for the day (before that I was at 1250). Oh, well. Today is ANOTHER new day. Good thing I have so many new days! I need them. The good news is that I DID exercise yesterday so I was back on track in that regard.

Gotta go
Lori

SW: 193
CW: 161.5
GW: (pregnancy) 148
Ultimate GW: 125-130

I had an eye appointment this morning and took the twins to McDonald's as a treat afterwards. I had the Grilled California Cobb Salad, with Cobb dressing (no croutons or crackers) and a diet coke. Only 380 calories total and very filling. We don't go there often but that is about the only thing I ever get there. I have to say that the smell of "fried" was pretty yucky. I felt like I needed to wash my face after we left. Anyway, I catch myself being amazed that those things bother me now - I used to thrive of fast food.

Shawn, I think it was you that mentioned how little you are able to eat. Once you really get into the swing of things (you probably are already) you will probably find that you are surprised by how MUCH you can eat for so few calories. It takes some planning and thought at first but pretty soon it is routine. I've always been a "big" eater. In the beginning, I put a lot of effort into finding recipes and menus that allowed me relatively big portions but kept me within my calorie limit. I started back in December (the 26th) and after only four months I am surprised by how little I have to eat before I feel uncomfortably full. Like I said before, I've come to prefer feeling a little on the empty side of hungry. I don't know, I just feel "lighter" and more energetic if my stomach isn't packed. I am sure you will get to this point as well and you'll find that it was worth the pain and suffering of these first few months. I still get those nasty binge and splurge urges but now I can compare how I'd feel if I ate all that I am craving to how I'd feel if I don't. I can honestly say that I haven't come across a food yet that is worth the physical discomfort of gorging - not to mention the gulit. All that to say, hang in there. You are doing great and pretty soon it won't be as torturous as it seems right now.

Lori, you are exactly right that every day is a new beginning. I think that is the case whether we slip up on our diets or not. There is always something I can do better today than I did yesterday. I am glad you aren't beating yourself up over eating 2000 calories yesterday. I know it feels bad when you've been eating so much less on a regular basis but it is still a very reasonable level in the overall scheme of things. I also find fresh from the oven cookies irresistable. I made sugar cookies for the kids yesterday. I cooked them a little longer than I should have so they came out edible but not the warm, ooey, gooey consistency that I love. I decided not to have one since I figured I had probably subconsciously overcooked them so that they wouldn't be quite so tempting.

Today is going really well. I am at 600 calories and have an aerobics class tonight. I've been to the gym everyday since Sunday and feel really good about the work I've done.

I'm off to help DS with a school project. Hope you all have a great afternoon!

Tricia