Day 9 of SBD here. I will not do 2 hours of exercise again anytime soon. I felt like I had weights tied to my limbs this morning. After a cup of coffee and some ispiration form the posts, I did get back to the gym this morning. Glad to have it done for the day. Still doing good on SBD. I need to start planning better though cause when my husband gets back, he needs a real meal. I can grab a cheese stick and a salad and be happy, but that would not go over too well with him.

Jacky-Good to see you still going strong. Twice as far as me and it gives me hope.

Kelly-Almost a full 2 weeks under your belt. I can't wait! Then I can have fruit!

Mez, What a beautiful baby! Gettin healthy to take care of that precious one? You have done amazing. Don't let a step back stop you-now take two forward!

Java-sorry you are having health issues. I hope that all gets taken care of soon. The magazine sounds interesting. I will look for it online.

Red-wow. 4:30. I am enjoying staying in bed until 6. But I will be on the same sched as you when my husband returns. Crazy. Sorry you didn't have sweet dreams-maybe lack of sugar? I hope it passes soon.

Caro- I hear ya. The older I get (42) the worse my cramps are. I used to breeze through them Now it's an 800mg motrine and call me in the morning! I am a bit anxious about my huband coming home as well. I hope I can stick with it. At least I will be on phase 2 by then. Should be a bit easier to plan meals around that.

Curly-Again, great job. So you are sticking with the same challenge?

Well, I need to get breakfast in me before I really hose up my schedule again today.

Have a great day!

I am ready to start over, tomorrow (August 2nd) will be Day 1.
I am going to make a slight change to my challenge though. Initially it was to eat my veggies and get to bed by 10:30 pm at the latest.

My re-designed 21 Day Challenge will be:

1) veggies: eat a salad or a bowl of greens or an average-sized vegetable each day (carrots don't count, as it's a lunch staple)
2) herbal tea: brew and drink the (unbelievably disgusting) cleansing/weight-loss-aiding tea
3) improve my sleep schedule on an ongoing basis and aim to achieve a set, routine schedule


Thinking about the herbal tea makes me cringe and shudder, so wish me luck! Eeek!

Day 8 done. Strange dreams last night that I had "forgotten" about the challenge and was enjoying a nice chilled glass of white wine... Maybe I'm missing it more than I consciously realized! Just 13 days to go.

Day 1 - Went well (Stay didn't go over my allowed points) joining this thread sure made me think about how and what I wanted to use my points on. I did give myself a treat and used an activity point.

Curlylocks, congratulations on hitting day 21 yesterday!!

Welcome, Apple Blossom. Nice to "meet" you.

red, I'm glad you're feeling better. I'm glad you got some cleaning done, and some exercise. Protein really does help with feeling full.

1ceagain, the stairclimber is really a tough one isn't it? I think the elliptical is actually a harder workout than a stairclimber, but it's a lot easier on the knees. I have really weak knees (thanks Mom!) and I can't do the stairclimber for very long at all.

Welcome, mezmerize. I hope this thread is helpful for you .

Caro, sorry you had to start over . Your challenge was to exercise daily, right? That really is hard, especially if it's cardio every day. Back on the horse, though, right? How did today go for you?

Good luck, SushiPenguin!

Day 5, down! I haven't gone to the gym in a couple of days though. My husband's work schedule just changed and it's going to be a lot harder to fit my exercise in now. I'm going to go tomorrow morning first thing before he heads in, because I don't know when else I'll get a chance otherwise. I'm going to need to figure out how to get some cardio in at home until my kids start preschool. This is going to be challenging for a little while.

I do have something to celebrate, though. I went through my closet today to try on all my previously too-small pants, and they ALL fit. I am in a very loose 18 now and I actually put on and zipped up a pair of 16s! They're too tight to be comfortable enough to wear right now, but I'm so close. I'm predicting that within 10-15 pounds I can wear my 16s again. I had one pair of pants that I recieved as a christmas gift. At the time, they were 2 sizes too small and I never even took the tags off. I put them on today and they are LOOSE. Almost too loose, they won't fit for long. All in all, I gained 6 new pairs of pants and jeans today after going through the clothes I've stubbornly refused to throw away these past 4 years. I KNEW I'd fit into them again.

Awww...don't worry about me Red! I'm not giving up!

Day 19 down and working on day 20...WOW! Where did the time go! 2 rounds down and already time to start working on a 3rd! Summers are way too fast!

Speaking of round 3, I don't know what I want to do. I will think about it and post it soon!

14 down, and only 7 left! I'm thinking maybe I should have challenged myself a little more than with just water, but over 1/2 way done now, so I will save that for the next challenge. I was very impressed with myself last night, I went shopping, completely bi-passed the chips and soda! Actually come out with a case of water instead of soda! That's a big step for me!

Caro - don't doubt yourself! You can do this!! Keep up the good work!!

Grey_eyed_girl - Congrats on getting into a smaller size jeans!!! It's so exciting isn't it! When I started I was in size 20W, and now I'm just in regular 18 - I was able to drop the W in most cases! I will admit that the 18 is a bit snug, but I can move and I can breath and that's all that matters! lol!

Red - as always thanks for the encouragement! My eyes are definitely focused forward! I'm getting excited for the next challenge!

Hey caro! Hang in there!
Gray-isn't it great when pants fit again. That is the best feeling!
I have a whole closet full of "skinny" clothes because I can't throw anything away. They are probably out of style by now. I have a shirt that I can't wait to fit into. My arms are too fat right now.
Well, the bad news is that I didn't resist ANY temptations yesterday and it was just a bad eating day all around. Back to day one. I was visiting a friend and I kind of thought it would be impossible anyway.
OK, see you tomorrow!

grrrrrr this water challenge is tuff... i feel waterlogged all ready and I WANT MY DIET PEPSI!!!!!!!!

Good morning, all. Wednesday here and the start of my Day 5. I'll be glad to get out of these low numbers. I don't like them. And I must remember I have two whole days free this round, my second. I was wanting sugar badly yesterday but had a lot of watermelon. That, grapes and pineapple are usually more than enough to satisfy that craving. And then I try to get some complex carbs and/or protein in there too. The cleaning part of my challenge is the hard part, but I know this is going to have a great effect on my weight. It gives me hope to see the cumulative effect of the cleaning, which is exactly what I need for the weight to come off. I mean, it takes quite a while to see the difference in your body. Even a good rate of a pound or two a week is not going to be visible for a while, especially if it was not all fat. I have often wished I could just blink and go back for a bit to where I was and then do a fast forward to the present. That way I wouldn't get discouraged that nothing was changing in my body. Of course, this could be a heart-stopping shock if things were going the other way!

jkg -- Well, sure glad to see you weren't giving up on us. I had forgotten you already did a round. Way to go! What is your challenge by the way, I mean, what was your challenge. You only have a day to go! You're inspiring!

curly -- So, are you through Day 1 yet? I thought you were doing exercise too this time, right? I can't believe you still find the water part challenging after two whole rounds. So I can see what a hard challenge it was for you. I consume massive quantities of water, especially in the summer. I am literally dripping sweat constantly, which people says shows what a good metabolism I have. I am like the horses I ride, they are drenched. But, damn, that metabolism just knows how to hold onto the fat. Oh well, I should be proud I have such a super machine for a body. It is a survivor's body. Well, curly, good luck on this round. If you have added exercise, it'll be tougher. But I know you can do it!

Apple Blossom -- Oh well, back to Day 1, is it? Well, you should have seen me on my first round. I took about two weeks to get moving. I was totally embarrassed because I'd started this thread and then couldn't get past Day 1 for a good week alone. I really like your challenge. There are always temptations out there and it'll be a great habit to get into to turn your back to them! Good luck. You can do this!

dkkrf -- Don't worry about your challenge being too easy. You're probably just getting cocky 'cause you got this far! You see, you being impressed with yourself about the soda/chips/water save just proves it! You're doing great! Challenge rules say you can't change your challenge partway though without going back to Start... .... but you could always add a "training wheels" addition, just to get a feel for something new that you could do in a later challenge. And, I'm so glad to hear you're looking ahead and getting excited about the next challenge! It's kind of like Star Trek or something, going where you've never gone before! Cool!!

Okay, where is everyone?!?!? I have time here to respond to you all and you're playing shy with me? Come out and tell me what you've been up too and where you are, whether it's chugging right along or back to Start, I want to hear from YOU!!!

hi guys


Day #2 yes.. i am continuing my exercise, but it had been my same challege for 2 rounds... so now thats just habit... To challege myself i am doing the water thing also...

so far today I have had NO DIET PEPSI... and 100 oz water .. slosh slosh run to ladies run.... lmao and went to the gym and did 45 min..

Hi Red! I wouldn't want you to feel lonely...

The stinky heat is back here, but my cats got me up early so I went to a gym to do a little cardio, and then went for a walk down to the market and bought wonderful strawbs, raspberries, green and yellow beans, tomatoes... I can't believe this is my first time down there this year. I went with a friend who also likes veg and fruit, and we split the rather large containers to get more variety. Yumm.

My good friend, who is diabetic, has been infected by my gabbing on about challenges, and he's decided to do a 21-day no sweets challenge! So 3fc has a good influence well beyond the actual members.

And you, Red, have had a good influence on me. I spent about 40 minutes today reducing/consolidating 4 baskets of Stuff into one. One tiny step at a time. Maybe the bathrooms will win the cleaning lottery tomorrow.

So far today I'm on target for day 8 (9?). Still no booze or chocolate.

Keep on trucking!

Red, it does make me feel good, both to succeed myself and to be a positive influence to someone I care about. I was sure my friend, being a guy, would just tune out the whole challenge/diet babble. (He is gay, but not at all the feminine type.) But it has been 3 years since his partner died of a heart attack, and he's finally starting to care about his health and his future again. We spend a lot of time shoring each other up and just being good pals.

It's 8:10 pm here, and I just realized I have rather a lot of water to consume before I sleep. I'm also hoping to introduce my Bigboy to the dog upstairs - if they get along I may have someone to take the kitties when I'm away. (My next trip is two weeks from now, so I have to get a move on...)

ttfn