Hehehe...Hi Red. I havn't gone anywhere's! I usually only check in here once every day or two when I get a break from my daily life (work, mothering, my fiance, pets, the house and my Daisy girl scout troop).

Anyways: I am still getting in more fruits & veggies. I would like to be getting more servings in, but I am already getting about 2-3 servings more than I was before, so I suppose I am keeping with it. I'll keep adding more every day, though and maybe by the end of this challenge, I will be up to where I wanna be with it! :)

Good Monday morning to you all!

I was so tired lastnight the computer hurt my eyes, I didn`t do the elliptical til after 9 (brother here all day). I got in 40 min., plus did arms and crunches. Didn`t get the salsa tape in, but I did try some of the other one, the matwork part. OUCH! Hey I was able to do some moves I thought I couldn`t, but some I have to improvise! Going to try very hard to do 30 minutes DVD every night, it`s on my "schedule" to do so, I`ve done 4-5 a week so I shouldn`t beat myself up I guess. The elliptical is my challenge, the DVD`s are the icing on the cake right now. I think my next challenge I`ll get stricter instead of just changing my challenge, like elliptical and a dvd every day! We`ll see how many times I start that one over!! lol I gotta do it that way, if I drop the elliptical from the challenge and move to something else, I know I`ll slack on it.

Okay- Turtle! I hope you have a wonderful day 1! You can do this!! I hear ya on the "bat wings". My big problem area . I heard Oprah call them "her flags" lol. Another good move for that area, my brother just showed me this yesterday after I begged for some moves for the jiggle... (I do the behind the head thingys too!) but heres another one that you can do. I forgot the name (STM short term memory kickin in) so I`ll explain the best I can.

Standing up, bend over and place one hand on a chair for balance. Hold your arm with the weight straight with your upper body, keeping the upper arm in place, raise the weight towards your shoulder, and back down to the starting position. He yelled at me for moving my upper arm at first, lol, but once I got it I really felt it! If you need me to explain more just drop me a pm, I know I`m not good at explaining things. :D I`m making it a point this week to learn these technical terms, the moves and the muscles. I`d never thought I`d EVER want to learn about strength training.

Red- you are doing great! You seem to really be paying attention to your body and what makes you feel good, and what doesn`t. I know you`ll get through this challenge... I have faith in you! And I`m with you on the new thread, this one works fine but I think it`s a great idea to start a new one when you reach your challenge. ;)

Curly- Im so jealous! Hazy gray skies here almost all week, so my once almost golden tan is quickly turning back into a milky white shade! Oh well, never been much of a sun worshiper really, I`m VERY fair skinned. I don`t think the 30`s are a time to start baking myself though. But I do look great with some color! I`ve been lazy with my self tanners as well, finally got some that look great and non streaky, I`m just too lazy to do it! hehe

jkg, mscat, happy, dkk... hope I didn`t miss anyone...Lets all have a great week! I wish you all lots of luck, and you can do it! Keep that in mind. WE CAN DO IT!!!! Have a great start to the week everyone. Day 14 to get through for me, I`ll catch you all later! :)

Well, day 1, and so far so good. I already got in 40 oz of water, and it's not even 2. And I went for a walk today - not what my goal is for this challenge, but still is a postive thing.

I'm already thinking ahead to my next challenge and I think that will be exercise. I'm so excited that I found you guys - I'm looking forward to getting to know you all a little better.

Kelly

Day 14 down! I hit a new personal record of 47 min. on the elliptical. :)
Got through 20 minutes of Salsa, and did the lower body portion of the toning DVD, about 7 minutes. Not too bad I guess! I can do more of the exercises than I thought, we should never underestimate ourselves. No push ups though... I hate the pressure on my wrists.

Anyway, I searched more and found the name of that exercise, it`s a kickback. I googled "tricep exercises" and it was all over the place. I could`ve done that a long time ago! lol I found another I haven`t tried yet, so I`m excited about doing arms tomorrow!

Weigh in tomorrow morning. I`ve been good, no peaking at all since Fri. morning. I`m going to try hard to stay off a full week starting tomorrow. Water was much better today too.

Kelly- Great job! You should be proud of yourself for getting out there and walking. :) I thought I did good on water, you did much better I think! Keep up the great work.

Anyway.... slow day here so not much else to say. Hope you all got through the day and met your challenge! Be back tomorrow, hopefully with my weekly goal of 212 met. :D

Good night all.... and have a great Tuesday, Red! ;)

just got my day 8 done!! running behind cuz i gave my dog an oatmeal bath.. i am hoping it will help with his itchy's

What a DAY! Oh yeah, I lost two pounds at TOPS
 

I exercised A LOT with my sister, showered and went shopping and running around with Pooh Bear. We went to a few thrift stores and you'll never believe what I bought. I found a pair of sneakers with push buttons on the sides that pop wheels out! Yeah, roller skate/sneakers. Look brand new and only ten bucks! I also found some more ankle weights for my weighted vest (although Pooh says he thinks it's a belt). Then at Goodwill, I found two more exercise tapes, comedy DVD's for fifty-nine cents a piece. And then, in Walmart, I bought a set of ten pound weights and a set of five pound weights AND Hoola-hoop! :lol: I have no idea why I bought that, but I think it might be some "fun" exercise. Oh and I lost two pounds at TOPS. Yeah, I decided to go after all. I guess I sort of glossed over that. I LOST TWO POUNDS! :)

I allow myself one meal of my choosing after weigh in. This time was Applebee's. I didn't get much in me before I was uncomfortably full, but had a few bits of Jay's triple chocolate cake mess. Well, I ended up terribly sick and actually had to make an emergency stop at my office. Not a good end to a good day. Man was I ever sick!

But once home, I felt much better and decided to call my sister (yeah, the Exercise ****) and see if she wanted to join Jay and I on a leisurely stroll on the rails to trails/trail. Well, it started off innocent enough. I took my new Cabela's walking stick and we were clipping along nicely. It was nearing dark and before we knew it, we were attacked by mosquitoes. BAD! My sister couldn't take it and made a run for it, but I was not only being eaten alive, I started feeling ill, my legs were rubber and I felt weak as if I'd faint. I had to walk as fast as I could to avoid the bugs, but slow enough to keep from collapsing. Ugh. But I started picking blackberries for my turtles and putting them in my Barenaked Ladies ball cap. And that made it all worth while, because there's not a berry one left in the tank. They love them! :s:

The coolest part was near the end of the trail when the bats came in to rescue us. They were swooping right at our faces, picking bugs right out of the air that were trying to bite us. I'd never seen so many bats together in one small, confined space, nor swooping THAT close to my face. It was almost unsettling, but they never hit us. Close calls! I think bats are neat. Yeah, I love snakes too. I'm not normal in lots of ways. But that's Da Turtle. I've got at least two bad bites on my hand that are itching and countless ones on my neck and shoulders. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

Okay, so my week end went *POOF* and it's gone, I have to get up early and exercise with my sister again and then I have to go back to work. And it's for five days in a row! How am I going to act, having work five days in a row? :(

I made an appointment to get Squeaked spayed. The quickest I could get her in was on Friday. I have no idea how I'll work it, I have to work that day and I work alone, so I can't take it off. But I'm hoping my sister and/or Jay "Pooh Bear" will come through and help me out. Squeak and I BOTH need this for our happiness. Poor thing, it's not her fault she's in heat or piddling on my bed. I've had to lock her out of there and to my knowledge, she's not peed anywhere else, but her litter box.

In order to fulfill my goals, I had to chug 64 ounces of water in the last hour or so. But that's what you get when you run around all day and wait until the last minute to get your water in. But it's going down the hatch as I type. I also had coffee, Diet Pepsi (with dinner) and a Crystal Light Sunrise Classic Orange in a 16 fl oz bottle... I just read that it's caffeine free, so it counts towards my water intake. Doing good Turtle. Doing good!

Day 15 Barely Done!
 

Oh my ladies - I finished my 35 minute tread workout at 12:15 a.m. and my last bottle of water too! :faint: I am counting it as day 15, darn it! I hope I can get on in the morning so I won't be doing this again at the stroke of midnight.

Nighty night!

moving right along.....with some rough spots...
 

Hi guys, feeling bummed out again. I've got to be patient! It's that syndrome again, the look-too-close-too-soon syndrome we spoke of before...I think it was Caro, right? AND, the pants I'd been using as a measure are tighter than ever! Scream! But heck, I try something new for a day and I'm searching for results, expecting to see the fat melting off me or something...I don't know...I think it's because I'm just hating the fat and hating that it got there, so much of it, where it wasn't before....sob, sigh, sob, sigh....oh, what the heck, just move the butt a bit more, that's what I need!
Ok, so far, so good today, but I just had some sugar and I wasn't wanting to eat that anymore. Still, my challenge is about moderation and exercise and the exercise has been gotten today to some extent. Got to see my horse. I'd been missing her and beating myself up for being too hungover to go see her on Sunday. She gave me a huge whinny of a greeting, wondering where the heck the grass has been! Well, I'll try to watch the food....stay OUT of my mouth. Gonna make some coffee after this and try to kick my big A to the gym! :coffee2: Oh, and heh, check out my newly incorporated "quote of the moment" at post bottom! :dancer:

curly -- glad to hear Day 8 is done! :cp: You're on a real roll, aren't you? Hope your dog feels better. By the way, is this oatmeal bathing something new in the States. It seems like I've been hearing about it a lot recently and I had never before.

jkg -- Good for you for getting in the fruits and vegetables! :sunny: Glad to hear you're still doing well on your challenge. What day is this for you?

dkkrf -- Congrats on liftoff! :spin: I'm sure you'll get in all your water today. Just how much are you aiming for, by the way? Do you have a specific number in mind? Wow, already thinking ahead to the next challenge! Sounds like you've gotten some enthusiasm. Excellent! We love having you here, too, Kelly. Glad you found us! :)

Caro -- Hello! My, you are a prolific poster, aren't you? Great! I love long posts. :flow2: Really, love 'em. They're like birthday presents! Mine, my birthday, by the way, is coming up Aug. 8. Oh, Caro, and is that you worrying about turning 30 soon? :lol: Girl, you're just a little chick like fresh out of the shell! :lol3:! So, love hearing you're hitting the weights. I'm a major weight lifter, been doing it for over 20 years now, am surrounded by bodybuilders! I was going to tell you about the ole kickbacks but you beat me to it. Good work with all the cardio too! :bravo: Love your attitude with the possible future challenges. Starting over is us! BUT, we stick with it!


Java -- Mega post! Wow! :eek: And so interesting! :yes: Bugs and bats and turtles and berries! Oh, I love bats and snakes too. They are both so neat. And yes, bats rescuing you! Peaceful and mutually supportive coexistence of the species! Hurrah! By the way, I forgot, is Pooh Bear the boyfriend? Oh, and yeah, listening to Barenaked Ladies right now, the song with your quote there at the end. So far, I've found two songs I like. I'm kind of a hard rock, metal kind of old head-banger so I like the faster songs, but sometimes a quiet one is nice, especially with good lyrics. Thanks for introducing me. Okay, getting around to a :bravo: for you and your weight loss. Now, even though we know we DON'T ;) allow ourselves to be yanked around by any numbers, (Caro, you listening?) I am applauding your downward slide! :goodscale: It's gonna come off at some time! Great going! But, sorry to hear you got sick. Hmm. Too much sugar, perhaps? :shrug: Hope you're okay now! Good luck exercising with the sis. And I wish Squeak well. It's the only way with the female cats. You gotta get 'em spayed. They go insane. I have three, two girls. Well, I gotta run. Good luck!

mscat -- Hello! :wave: Oh, man! excellent stuff, you! :tread: Treadmill after midnight! Oh, sure, the day don't end till we call it done! :lol: No prob! Keep it up, girl. Your enthusiasm is getting me all tingly! :lol3:

Quote of the moment:

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you sow."

Robert Louis Stevenson



:kickcan:

Day 15 is a wrap!
 

I have completed day 5, though I must say I am not happy with myself, I got in a small portion of fruit and that's it...but it's still more than I was doing last week, so I will still count it and be sure to eat more today!

Day One done. Ahhh that felt good.
 

Yeah. Strong start for Da Turtle. :s:

Caro: Thank you very much for that move. I think I know which one it is, I call it "lawn mower pulls." Now that I have these weights at home, I'll be doing even more weight lifting.

RedBalloon Yes, Pooh Bear (Jay) is the boyfriend. We've been together nearly five years and I met him on line. :o He's actually the best friend I've ever had and that's a good thing. I'm glad you like BNL. Honestly, I'm thrilled that you went to the lengths of actually seeking some of their music out. They've got some great songs. I myself like heavier stuff better too, (Jay is a complete metal head-THE HARD STUFF) But there's something about BNL's music and clever smart lyrics that gets to me. Thanks for taking the time to check them out. It was one year ago yesterday that I went to their concert. I won the tickets on the radio! I hope you feel better soon.

MScatGreat job on day 15 and that work out. Whoo hoo!

CurlyLocks: You go gurrrl. Hope the oatmeal bath worked.

JKG: C'mon gurl. You're doing really good. Get those fruits & veggies in.

Dkkrf : Are we both on day one? My day one was Monday the 18. You too?

Well, my sister is here to exercise, I've got to go. Will check in from work.

Hi everyone, have not had any time to post lately (or even through everyone's) sorry. Miss you girls though and will commit myself to logging on more.

My daugther is away at horseriding camp right now and I am spending the evenings getting my house in order again. Starting to feel alot better about things and have gone out a few times to socialize, it's getting easier.

Exercising and eating right. I can't remember what day I am on so let's say it's day 1 because I did not go to the gym like I should have yesterday. I had taken my daughter to camp on saturday and was in the car for about 8 hours. It really made my legs sore and I could barely move around yesterday so I took the day off.

Went to the gym this morning and my legs actually felt better AFTER the workout...weird. I have been good with food and water so I am happy about that. At Curves I get weighed in once a month and have stayed away from the scale since last weigh in so i don't know how I am doing weight wise but I feel the clothes getting looser. My ex took me to take my daughter to camp because I dont drive and he said I was looking great and could see the difference. (I was like HA, in your face)

Must get back to work, gee I wish I could figure out what wrongs with my stupid computer at home so I could spend more time on here.....oh well it's on my list of things to do.

Take Care.

Day 16, here I come!
 

Day 16 Done - 5 more to Go!
 

Hey Chickies - well I was very challenged today - couldn't get up this a.m. to exercise again -the late night workouts are hurting me. Busy all day and then our June Toastmasters meeting was a barbeque at our treasurer's house. Needless to say there was too much of the wrong foods - so I am pretty sure I blew my WW points for the day (my bonus goal). But I came home, got on the treadmill and belted out 30 minutes - variable inclines up to grade 5! And I just finished my 4th 24oz bottle of water :woo:

Red - loved your quote of the moment! I am certain we will both finish this challenge on top together. I am pulling for us. I am in the same place as you with the scale - I am trying not to be a scale junkie - I find it co-productive right now - so I am trying to stay off it. Going to take my measurements tonight and see if that inspires me. Hang in there - we're in this together.

Trixie - welcome back!
Good night everyone - have a great Wednesday!

Hello ladies,

It's been one of those "life happens when you're making plans to do other things" kind of weeks. I got sidetracked but am ready to start again firm in my committment.

I was going to do water, just water and I did good for 3 days but drinking my water wasn't satisfying enough when I was making less than stellar choices with my food. I went grocery shopping tonight and am ready to hit the bricks now.

My challenge - restarting with day 1 tomorrow is to make intelligent choices about what goes into my mouth. Not a diet thing as much as THINKING and planning. Two things that sabotage me all the time. If I think and plan ahead, I do good and I don't feel deprived. I have fresh veggies and lean protein and fruits for snacks. If I start the day out right at breakfast it seems I do better all day long.

Red, put that scale away and focus on meeting your challenge to the end with Mscat. Sometimes I think we shouldn't indulge at all as it makes us just backslide. Prove that's not the case with you and you'll come through grinning and giving us the thumbs up to report on day 17? Ok?

Oh man, I should have been in bed 40 minutes ago. I swear I don't know where the nights go - do aliens capture me and take me up to the mother ship? :dunno: but it seems like I walk in the door from work and next thing I know it's almost midnight. I've got to get to bed before I wake up groggy and mess up my whole day before it starts.

Good going to all you ladies on your individual challenges. You are inspiring!