SWEET TEA! What beautiful candles - I wasn't expecting something so extravagant! I had a "craftier" look in mind - but only because that would be about the most I could do. I lack creativity for much more than that. It must feel a great sense of accomplishment when you finish one. Really, I'm impressed!

Hi Girls,

I've been away. Went out of town to DC and unfortunately gained 2 lbs I'm so upset with myself!

It sounds like you're all doing so well. I'm behind on this thread and having trouble keeping up. I'll try to do better bc I need to!

Going to the lake today to see my family. I'll check back soon.

Hey Kerry - 2 lbs? Hey it could be alot worse. Don't be so hard on yourself, ok? You will knock that 2 lbs back off in no time! We ALL know how much easier it is to gain than lose. You will take it back off, don't worry! We are here for you whenever you need us!!

Glad to see you checking in! I am a lil behind myself so I just jumped back in the other day and started posting and read back through to get caught up whenever I get a chane.

Morning Everyone, Hope you all had a wonderful, productive weekend. I know everyone ate healthy and exercised, right? Everyone but me! I worked all weekend and didn't do so hot! Had a pt. code and that makes me so stressed I can't eat and couldn't sleep! But I'm off work for the next few days so it's back on the wagon! I wanted to go for a walk this morning but it's raining. I don't mind going for a walk in the rain if it's light, but it's poring out! I will still go if it slacks up some.

Remember, today is a new day, a new start.

Go make it a good one, Freda

Saturday morning I woke up at 9:30. I wasn't hungry at the time, and then started cleaning my room. Then it was naptime. By the time it was time to go shopping with my mom at 3:00, I only had time to grab an Oats N' Honey bar.

That was a really stupid idea. The entire time we were shopping, I had no energy. I wanted to go back to sleep, and I couldn't think at all. Thankfully, we grabbed a bag of apple slices for snack, which made me feel better.

It's amazing how cruddy you feel not eating enough. How to ana's do it?

BTW, I mostly did pretty bad this weekend. But, I usually manage to do well during the week, and I can only hope I'll do better next weekend.

Good morning all, It has turned COLD here. From one day to the next you don't know how to dress. I just keep a sweatshift in the car just in case.

It is good weather to walk in thought. Better than those summer days when it was so hot you couldn't get out.

Yes, you do have to eat for energy. Food is fuel for our bodies. Unfortunateally, we also use it for a lot of other things too. Like recreation, stress relief.....

I will check in later, hope to see more posts, Freda

Wow, things have been super busy here, so I have little time to chat. Just wanted to say that when you don't eat when you're hungry your body goes into safe mode and starts to store fat/calories b/c it thinks you're starving. My PT said to eat lots of little meals to keep myself from getting hungry and it will keep my body from storing extra fat and bump my metabolism. He said keep it between 1500-1800 calories a day. He also said that for every 1lb of lean muscle your body burns 50 calories without even doing anything. You can burn 500 calories a day for every 10lbs of lean muscle! WoooHooo! So build that lean muscle, watch how much you take in compared to what you burn, and make healthy choices!

Thank you for that info Melissa!! It's something that I have not kept in mind but I should. I think I should print it out and put it on the fridge. I often don't eat when i need to because I don't put my needs high up on the list. The kids get taken care of first most of the time.

I got up this morning at 6:00, just so I could walk on the treadmill before work. Well, I walk into where our treadmill is, and my sister's already using it! She doesn't live at home, but she comes over 3-4 mornings a week to use our treadmill. I asked her how long she'd be on there, and she said, "Until about 6:45."

So, I ended up taking a shower, putting my hair in a ponytail, and making my lunch while she was doing that. As soon as she was done, I jumped on it and hauled tail to get in a mile. I ended up doing a mile in about 18 minutes, which is very good for me. I actually had time to eat breakfast, and wasn't even late!

Next time, though, I'll use the Bow Flex while she walks. That way I'll be able to utilize the time even better!

Oh, also, The Slim Me, I'm sorry you had such a difficult weekend. I have trouble eating when I'm stressed or worried, as well. Just remember, if you don't eat enough, on top of anxiety from the situation, you might make yourself sick.

Have you tried things like drinking tomato soup, etc? Sometimes it's easier to when it's not real heavy or dense.

HI Everyone, I got my walk in early this morning. Ended up walking for an 1 1/2 hours because I went with a friend and walked around the lake. Next time we're talking our bikes and biking around. Good to change up like that.

Ruby, I usually keep a can of slim fast in my work bag for times when I just can't eat but in this case even that wasn't an option. Doesn't happen often, thank you God! Does your sister work the same hours as you? Could you ask her to come over a little later so you can get your exercise in? How about after work?

It is always a good ideal to think of food as fuel, and Sarah is right, we put ourselves last on most things. We're so busy careing for every one else we don't take the time to care for ourselves. But who's going to care for everyone else if we're sick or unable to do it! That's why on the plane they always tell you to put your air mask on first. You can't take care of the kids or put their masks on if you pass out from lack of oxygen! I'm not talking about a selfish "it's all me" attitude, i'm talking about meeting your needs as well as everyone elses.

Hope everyone has a great day, Freda

Hey girlies!! Sorry for my absence thsi week. I have had to kind of regroup this morning and set my new goals and plans for October. I yo-yo'd on 4 lbs this month with only 2 staying officailly off. That is great but I wanted to do at least 1 lb a week. I am restarting phase 1 of SB tomorrow to get rid of my cravings for sweets and I have set an exercise goal of 1000 minutes for the onth of October. That's slightly over 30 minutes a day of exercise. My goal for October is to do well and celebrate at the end with a wonderful anniversary outing with my dh on the 31st.

Today I have a teething little one and a very clingy boy taking up my lap space. I'm glad it's still big enough for the two of them . I will be doing house cleaning, laundry, and some candle work today. I have a wedding set to mail out today that turned out really well last night. I need to take pictures before packing it up. I still have 8 candles to make to clear out my order box... that is my weekend goal. I know I will feel so much better and in control if I get them out.

So -- How are you all???? Everyone has been really quiet lately. Check in and give us an update if you get a moment today or over the weekend.

Hugs to all!!!

I see where all you southerners are hiding...lol. I live in Florida..parts of florida are considered 'southern', while others are just 'florida'..lol. I live in the boonies. smack dab between jacksonville & gainesville. anyhow...
I'm Mindy, 26y/o. I'm mommy to a 4y/o daughter, Zoey. and, live with my SO, Shawn, who is also on this 'diet' a.k.a. lifestyle change.
We are doing the atkins thing..so far so good for me. giving up sweet tea was tough at first, but, I'm good. I just do the unsweetened thing and sweeten it with whatever is handy(other than sugar).
I look forward to chatting with you ladies.

Welcome Mindy! You'll love it here

Hello southern belles! How has everyone been? Good I hope. I was gone all week too, sorry! I had two newspapers to get out at work and I was too pooped at the end of each night to get on the computer. I will try to do better!

I'm doing ok although I feel like I could be a little more strict in what I am eating. I am steadily losing weight it seems but I feel like I'm not taking in enough calories and I haven't really had braekfast all week, or my snacks and I know that's bad! I'm going to try to do much better next week. I have noticed that without my breakfast and snacks I feel a good bit more sluggish and I don't like that at all. When I do everything like I am suppose to I feel so great. So...I will talk goals with Sara sometime this weekend so I too can make October great!

I really need to work on the excercise. I will have my first epidural shot on the 12th and I am really hoping that will help the nerve pain in my leg some so that I can become a little more active and do something. That is the most frustrating thing for me bc I can see the weight coming off but I can also see flabbiness and I don't want that...LOL

I hope everyone has a great weekend and I will pop back in again this weekend!

Hey, everyone!

I did horribly last week. I just had a lot going on w/ school, work, etc.

But, that's okay, I'm not going to beat myself up about it. I'm just going to start where I left off.

I actually have managed to do well today, once I managed to stop eating the bacon and biscuits we had for breakfast!

The Slim Me, as for my sister, I think if I get as much ready as possible beforehand, and warmup and stretch while she's walking, I'll be able to get on and immediately kick it up higher, instead of doing my warm-up on the treadmill, then getting off and stretching. That seems to allow for more time.