I am comfortable doing the exercise I do. I don't think I could do the 10 miles everyday, and it works for me doing a lot on days when I can, getting in much as possible when I don't have time. Last month I did 103 miles total, and that was a shock to me. I didn't realize I did that month, and if I keep on schedule i'll do even more this month!!! I am comfortable and always stop when I think I need to, even if it's short of my goal, so I will just keep on going and not worry about it. The thing is I just like doing it now, so when I feel I want to keep going...I do!

Now I just need to get going with strength training again. I want to be firm as well as skinny! There's really no excuse for this since we have one of those big weight machine thingies out in the garage, which I had hubby clean off and move things around so I can get to it...and I have the 2 DVD set of Lift Weight to Lose Weight and it is GREAT, it's also like cardio. I need to get going again and now that I can get to the one in the garage there is NO excuse!

And Mel, 4 mile walk, 35 min. strength training, and a 20 min. job...I don't think you can get down on yourself if you don't have the energy to do kickboxing LOL girl, that's a lot of moving :cp: YOu deserve a bubble bath!

Hmm I 'm not sure about the exercise thing as I am not knowledgeable enough about exercising- But I know I am doing 15 minutes of bike riding in the a.m. and either biking another 15 minutes or doing a shaping / weight resistance video I am using the bands for now (good old richard simmons videos are 99 cents each at good will LOL) I agree with mel tho on listening to the body..
Dr. told me that was good as a start and I should alternate cardio with weight resistance to help burn fat and build muscle. Seems to me I did read something about 3 -10 minutes walks a day was better than no walking..but again I am no expert on exercise. But I have gone from 5-6 minutes up to 15 now and maybe next month I can do 20..
macdeez- YAY on the 2lbs! that is so awesome!
Purple - I hope hubby can fix the car.
Well I am off to look up tofu recipes again and ride the bike, make chicken salad for hubby's lunch and finish my last load of laundry for tonight
Night all ! :yawn:

melissa - that's cool about your baggy jeans! Purple, I think maybe your friend was talking about lifting weights. I don't really think you could get enough cardio. On a side note, I can't believe how much you're doing! You go chica! Melissa, I was just rereading you post and thought to myself, "if she can get out there with her son then I can get off my butt and go for a walk!" Thanks for the inspiration.

Yep my son and two toddlers in a stroller! The girls love it. Each time I get close to the house, Odessa starts saying No No No cause she wants to keep going. I think she would walk me into the ground if I let her. Now that I have gotten out there and doing it, kind of look forward to it, although would enjoy it more if mr. crabbypants would get with the program.
melissa

that's awesome kayelle!
my friend said something kinda like that to me the other day and i was pretty surprised. i joked that if i was involved with the drama-rama with her "chat room," i would be in the "fat faction" (which is now dueling with my friend and the rest of the opposing group). she said i was not fat and would have to be allied with the hot chicks. i have always been fat, and it is nice to know that now at least someone thinks i am hot enough to do battle online on behalf of the world's oppressed skinny people. lol.
well, i am so jazzed because i lost that durn pound that popped up last weigh-in, plus two more. yay! now i'm :crossed: to fit into those cute "skinny" pants i have been hanging on to by august 23 so i can wear them to my big job interview. well, mostly i'm just hoping to get the job, since i have wanted it for seven years. but the pants would be a good bonus.

Wow! Everyone is doing SO good! Woohoo! :grouphug:

Cadwell, just keep those skinny pants in mind and keep going...you will be surprised when you slip into them for the interview.

I got six miles in last night, but the scale is still in the same place. I have to get serious on eating healthier because exercise is not going to carry me through alone. I'm going to stick with my plan of cutting out meat and count calories as well. I wanted to do SB again, but it was just so hard to do that with the kids because I was buying all my food, plus things they need and like and the food bill was so high, then a lot of times cooking two separate meals or extra things to add to theirs, and keeping straight what was for me, what was for them...it's just too hard with small kids! I don't want to put them on a diet with me because...well cause they're children and they are healthy and need lots of things that I don't, like fat.

Anyway, I'm going to just keep to cutting out the meat one month at a time and count calories. Even though counting is hard for me, I have to get over it. Otherwise, I just keep switching from one diet to another and gaining weight in between. Counting is the best thing and i"m just sticking to it...that's it! Now to figure out how many calories I need to eat. I tried 1500 and i was starving to death all the time and didn't have enough energy to all my exercise, which made me grumpy. So, I guess I'll up it to 1800 and see how I feel on that. Everytime I use one of the online calculator things it gives me over 3000 and I know that is way too many.

The eating part is just so hard for me, I feel I will never find what is right for me. :?:

The emails look so good -WOW
I had to redo everything cause I got a new scale-digital and it is 6.5 pounds heavier than my very old, probably inaccurate one which is now in the garbage.
so I weighed in on both, the old one said minus 2 and I just added 6.5 to my starting weight and redid my tracker and it shows the 2 pound loss.
I can't figure out how you change your slider from week to week. Do you have to do the whole thing over each week?
Laura

Hi Laura - No you don't - Just go into your User CP and hit edit signature - the text of your signature will come up and look like this 178/172.5/145 it shows your starting weight /current weight/goal

just go in and change the middle number (current weight)
and it will change your tracker w/out having to redo it every time.
Hope that helps!

I just had my first meal for the day, kinda late but the kids were not hungry this morning and I hate making food only to have it thrown on the floor. While counting out the calories I was thinking that it actually gives me more control than just eating whatever I want. Control is an issue of mine, I don't like following a diet and being told what I cannot eat. So, I kinda rethought it and realized that with counting calories I can still eat what I want, just long as it fits into the calories for the day. It will hopefully teach me portion control. I can control not only what I eat but how much and how I allow it to affect my body.

So, now I am wondering about fat grams. Does anyone else count those, and what is a healthy limit? Right now I'm just writing them down to see what they come out to be when I stay under my calorie limit. I might worry about limiting them later, but right now I jus want to see what I come out at naturally. I'm doing 1800 calories today but it still might not be enough on days that exercise a lot. Last night I burned 700 calories doing 6 miles on the gazelle, but on some days I do even more than that...then add in all I burn during the day playing with the kids, chasing them around, doing housework and yardwork, and I am burning a lot. That is why 1500 just wasn't enough to keep my energy up and belly full.

Okay, I will stop rambling. I need to go get some water...very, very thirsty after not drinking anything but a glass of kool aid all day yesterday. I know we people have to drink, but when I get really busy I tend to forget and just not drink anything at all. I have to stop that!

Purple - I think it's good that you're dropping SB and counting instead. The reality is that all these diets are just another way of doing the counting for you. I don't think you should worry yet about fat or carbs. Just do your best for a while and then start to think about balancing fat carb and protein. It's too much to worry about all at once. That's what I'm doing now. fitday.com helps cause at the end of the day when all my calories are done I can look at it and see what was worth it and what wasn't. For example, bread, for me takes up too many calories, except on Sunday morning when we go to the farm market and buy is so fresh and delicious. So it will be a Sunday thing. I want the things I do eat to be terrific, no quantity, but quality. Then maybe I won't feel so deprived.
Laura

Wow great email responses this week and thank you for the tips and encouragement. I am so thrilled at the encouragement and advice everyone is so willing to give. I think it is invaluable for us all. Everyone keep up the good work!
melissa

Wow! I think it's great that there are so many posting regularly here and keeping the board busy. Hope everybody is having a great day! We did have a very noisy thunderstorm here yesterday evening and it's still grey and rainy so I got up this morning and did 20 min. on the NordicTrack and 30 on the stationary bike. Hopefully I can get a walk in later, too. I'm going in to work tomorrow and we will be working on getting the llamas ready for another fair in the evening so I don't know how I'll get much exercise in. I may have to start getting up even earlier than I do now.

IcePrincess...Can't wait to hear how you like Curves. There is one not far from me but I've never really looked into it.

Purple...hope you get good news on the car. Glad you made it home ok. I need to get started with strength training as well, and we also have one of those big machines gathering dust. I've been putting it off for fear of setting off my back problems again, but I do need to give it a try and see if I can do it without pain. I don't count fat grams but I do make sure to keep fat intake under 30% of total calories. I look at the fat calories for the foods I eat and take that number times 3. If it's less than the total calories for that food, then I know it's ok. If it's much over total calories, then I know I'll have to compensate with lower fat foods the rest of the day.

Melissa...baggy jeans feel so good! You'll be giving them away before you know it! Hopefully your son will enjoy the walks more after it becomes a habit for him to go for a walk most days. Good for you getting out there and doing it even with the protests from him!

Mel...sounds like you got lots of exercise even without the kickboxing! I like jogging, too, it's hard for me but it always makes me feel like I really did something good for myself.

Sandi...soundsl like you are making great progress with exercising! Great job!

cadwell...good luck with the job interview! I bet you'll be able to wear those pants to it....but what if they're too loose by then? I'm always surprised at how fast my clothes go from tight to huge...it always happens faster than I think it will. I pulled out some of my old smaller clothes yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to find that I can comfortably wear some of my generously cut 8's.

Laura...I had to add 5 pounds when I got my new scale. Seems they must get less accurate as they get older.

Well have a great day everyone and I'm really enjoying reading all the emails and seeing everyone's progress!

Ok Ladies I have joined Curves, first work out is tommorow. Here are my starting stats,
Weight 264 lbs
Bust 52.25
Waist 47.25
Abdomen 54.5
Hips 52.5
Thighs 31.75
Arms 16
Body Fat % 43.8
BMI 40.2

Starting Stats, Ending stats will be great
Price $100.00 to jion membership fee (one time)
and $39.00 a month