Gloria...sounds like a great way to get people on the bus! Couple of questions for you....how about financially, how are we going to help you with this? I dont think you should be responsible for purchasing these gifts alone. Should we all take turns? I would be completely ok with sending out gifts to everyone every couple of months. This reward system may get a little pricey if we accumulate more members? Right now, I think there is like 8 or 9 real members in our forum....could get a little out of control quickly once people catch on to our motivating system. I mean, we are the best group out there....they should all want to be in our group ;). Fill me in, and let me know if you want me to take over a month for you.

This challenge is going to be tough for me. I think I eat white sugar in most of the things I eat. Oatmeal? Yogurt? Those are my two main foods. I will pay closer attention to my nutrition labels and see what comes of this!

Off to a date with Mr. Blanks. Ek. Wish me luck.

"Life is to short to spend it overweight and miserable" ~Ryan Kelley

Gloria, I'm with Morgan on this money matter. I don't want anyone to have to be solely responsible for the gifts. Is there a way we can divide them up, and limit them to so much money so no one goes way overboard? We are on a pretty strict budget, but I would be happy to help if I could. Let me know what I can do.

I know this isn't the time to say this, seeing as how we are trying to omit the sugar right now, but I was reminded of something yesterday at the dollar store. For those of us who can't prohibit the use of chocolate in our diets, I have found a pretty low cal option. You probably already know this....around every holiday, a company called Melster, puts out a small package of chocolate covered marshmellow somethings, like now it is hearts. I know they are not a really healthy choice, but the hearts have 1.5g of fat and 60 calories each. They are a great treat for me when I feel that I have to have something chocolate, but they have 9g of sugar, so stay away til our challenge is over!

I have found out that if I totally "ban" something from my diet, I just wind up wanting it even more. So, I try to find a better way of having the "bad" stuff, and then I don't feel too guilty and deprived.

I have lost two pounds, but I can't seem to get it put on my tracker thing. Will try again and see if I can get it to work next time.

Hope you all are having a great week, and watch out for that sugar!

Gloria- I love the idea of gifts. I agree with the other gals we should all pitch in somehow. I know I don't have a ton of extra $ laying around...but it's worth it if it helps us all with this battle. Just let me know how I can help.

Sounds like we are all kinda coming out of our slump...I am so happy everyone has stuck it out.

Great job Wiley on the loss!

Off to do homework. I still can't walk so exercise is out again tonight...but I will still do ab and arm work!

Have a great night!

Hi Girls, It's good to hear you sounding cheerier. I'm trying, but still pretty down. At least this is killing my appetite!
I've found a nice treat--it's a sugar free, hot cider mix. Only 15 calories for a cup. I add cinnamon and fix a mug of it at bedtime to sip while I watch TV. Yummy and soothing.
Any ideas for favorite low calorie snacks? I liked Gloria's frosted grapes. I slice apples very thin and dust the slices with cinnamon.
Living alone, and just fixing meals for myself is a drag. It's too easy to go off my program and nibble mindlessly or eat what I shouldn't. So, that's my biggest obstacle and challenge--loneliness.

I think the gift idea is good also and I agree with everyone else...We should all take turns each month...I think it will be good for motivation and gives us another challenge to reach our points...We will be excited with points we earn along with weight loss etc

I really don't mind buying the gifts. God knows I am NOT rich. All my money goes into my gas tank these days. I'm one of those "taxi" moms. I think I'll start charging a small fee...LOL..... :D But if you girls really want to help out and take turns, I'm all for it! We can start on the first of February...I'll take the first month. Everyone needs to keep track of their own points...remember: 1 point for each successful challenge day, 1 point for each weigh in week, 1 point for each pound lost. I think that's all???

Tomorrow, I am going treadmill shopping!!!!! It seems everywhere I went today, I saw a treadmill. So I decided it was time to get one. I am starting to bore myself to death with DDR, simple pilates, and simple areobics. I need a "boredom breaker." :dizzy: I hope to find a light weight, wide walking area and inexpensive one!

Has anyone tried that new "weight control" Quaker instant oatmeal yet??? I bought the cinnamon one and I really like it!!!! Tomorrow I really need to go shopping so I am going to see what other flavors they have. It's expensive but my kids won't touch instant oatmeal...it has to be cooked on the stove and out of the container..picky, picky kids. I think I paid like $4.99 for 12 envies...that's expensive!!!!! But I don't eat it everyday and there's 12 days worth so I should have it for at least 3 weeks in my cupboard.

Yeah, I really like the frosted grapes too! Sometimes my kids just like them plain frozen They like frozen watermelon cubes also. I put some into the blender last summer and it was like a slushie!!!! Very cooling drink for a very warm day.

My son surprised me with take-out food...PIZZA!! I told him, "You know I can't have cheese." He handed me this mini sized pizza and I opened it...it was a veggie pizza with no cheese!!!!! I cried. :^: It was like 4-5 inches round and 4 tiny slices...so I figured it was 2 small slices. It's so great to know that you have a teenager in your house that really has faith in what you're trying to do. I LOVE him!!!!

I have noticed I haven't drank hardly any water in the last 4 days. I really don't understand. I have never had a problem drinking it before. Now it's like, "Do I really have too?" But I haven't drank sodas or juice lately so I don't know what's going on. There's the flu going around and I hope I don't get it!!!!:cool: Don't want it, don't need it. Tomorrow I will have to fill my water jug and drink to my hearts content! :D

Okay, my husband did a real "crappy" thing to me today. He went to the bank, er, credit union, and he took out the money I was saving up...$1,200.00!!!!!!!!!!! I asked him why he took out the money. His reply, " It's my money. I can do whatever I want with it." I told him "No, it's my money and I am the one who has been saving it." He then told me next time not to save it in our joint savings account. What an A**!!!! He went out and bought himself a PS2, a 20' flat screen tv, and a salmon fishing pole. I could have screamed!!! I was saving that money to send my daughter to California for 1 month when school got out. Her best friend moved there 2 years ago and we had it all planned out. Now it's going to take me another year to save that much!!! Darn! MEN! That's all I can say about them. By the way, this isn't the first time he's done this. My son told me to go by a small fire-lock box and put my money in that. So I bought one tonight. It's super heavy for such a little thing. I'm determined to get that money saved again!!!

Well ladies, I got to go........................... It's 10:41pm and I need to get up in 5 hours. Take care and stay strong!!!! Together we can do it; together we will make it!

Love ya' all!
Gloria

Hi all!

Gloria- how wonderful of your son to think of you like that...that is one amazing teen! Sorry about what your hubby did...that stinks big time. I wish I had some great advice...but I don't. I can only offer my empathy.

Kristy- sorry to hear you are sick again! I have been battling a cold on and off for a few weeks now too...it's the pits! You can do this...don't let this slump get ya down...you can certainly make progress from here on! So glad you are back with us!

Hope everyone has a fantastic friday! This weekend is busy, busy for me...so I may not be able to visit back here until Monday...I am hoping the scale budges then as its my next weigh in!

Oh Kristy...I am so sorry to hear that you aren't feeling well. I do hope that you shake that cold and get better very soon. I know what you mean by your body not wanting to "eat right" when your sick...I'm the same way, and that's ok. Just try to get better soon, and then you can jump back on the wagon to eating right again. I'm drinking a giant Dr. Pepper right now...I think that it probably has enough sugar in it to kill someone whose allergic to it! I had a bad day with the baby, and no help from the daddy - he had to work late, and it was either a stiff drink or a Dr. Pepper, and the fast food place was on my way home, so I splurged....will pay for it, I know....

Gloria, I can't believe that your husband would do that to you. He should respect you more than that! He needs a good konk on the head if you ask me...maybe knock some sense into that ole' hard head of his. Bless their hearts, they just don't get it do they? Well, hopefully you can hide this next stash better and don't let on that you even have it. Maybe he will surprise you and give it back later?....by the way, good luck treadmill shopping!

Hope you all are doing well with the challenges, this sugar thing is kicking my you know what! Didn't realize that everything I eat has sugar in it!

Well, I did get my treadmill today anyway! :carrot: It's very nice...AND HEAVY!!! I had to assemble it and when I pluged it in, I got shocked. :o I forgot to screw in my ground wire to the metal side...I learned my lesson. I got on it and walked for almost 2 miles. It took me 43 minutes but I have to get use to it; break it in and me as well! ;) The lady at the equipement place took a $100.00 off the original price! :carrot: She told me someone ordered it and when it came in, decided she didn't want it. She had to sell it quick to get newer 2006 models in. So I got it for a very good deal.

Yeah, I have one of those husbands who go to work and decided since he works 40-50 hours, sometimes more a week, he doesn't have to do anything around the house and all the money in our JOINT account is his..........:devil: It irks me but he does make good money. I put some money away already and my son..I have 4 boys, gave me $100.00 today to help out with trip to California for his sister. She was happy!!! :) I have good kids; they got it from me! LOL!!!

Kristy. Why don't you take a little breather and not worry about losing weight right now. You really need to get to feeling better. We will always be here for you. Please keep coming by and keep us all in touch to let us know how you been doing...okay? You are very beautiful and I am positive when your wedding day comes, you'll look AMAZING!!!! :hug: Please be good to yourself.

WileyB....Girl, step away from the DP!!!! LOL! :p I would rather have the soda instead of the drink too but do you know how much sugar is in a regular soda????? 16 teaspoons of sugar per 20oz.!!!!!!!! You're honest...I like my friends who are honest. :D Tomorrow, behave yourself! I mean it! Snack on a banana, some baby carrots or 1/4 cup of dried fruit/trail mix...that's trail mix minus the M&M's!!! Don't forget the water.... You know I care about you. So, If you grab another DP or any other soda, I will come over and we will walk, walk, WALK away the sugar!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!! I hope I can afford the plane ticket! LOL!! ;)

Hey Dakota!!!! I hear ya' when the word "BUSY" buzz's my ear! I have my 9 month old grandson all weekend starting tomorrow, we're going out of town on Saturday, plus, with all the wet, wild weather we've been having, I found mushrooms growing in my van!!!!! All the moisture from everyone going in & out with their wet, muddy feet (we live on a farm) has made a crop full of them! I got to go "pick" them. LOL!!! EEEwwwwww!!!! My van isn't an old clunker either...it's a '96 and in almost perfect condition.

Well my "peeps", I got to go to bed... Everyone is gone today....don't know where they all are. But I am glad to see at least 3 of you here! :) Take care and hopefully tomorrow's weigh in, for some, will be a good one! :D

Hugs,
Gloria

Gloria, way to go on the treadmill deal! Sounds like a good bargain. You have the most amazing kids, and I know that you must be very proud of them. I can only hope that I am raising mine to be as thoughtful. We live in a really small town, and there is only one fast food place, and the only diet drink they have is diet Coke, which I can't stand! If they had diet DP, I would be a happy camper. I don't drink a lot of sodas, but I like to have one every now and then.

Tonight, my husband wants to go out and eat...probably Mexican food, which I love. The good thing is that I don't care for the chips and dip....I'm a little worried about how they prepare everything else. I always get fajita meat of some kind, and I think that is better than something loaded in sauce. Going to try and have a light lunch so tonight's meal won't "hurt" so bad.

I made me a vegetable tray with low fat dressing right there in the middle of the container...just like a party tray. I love it. I can go and snack anytime I want because it is already fixed and ready for me. Should have thought of this way before now. Wonder if I can fix a dessert tray?????? Well, it dosen't hurt to think about it anyway!

Well, I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend...ya'll be good! ;)

Hiya ladies...what a day yesterday was! Work was CRAZY and after getting home at 4am this morning, 8 o'clock came quick!! So, I am basically a walking zombie today. Forgive me if none of this makes sense!

Aw Kristy honey, I am with the others, sounds like you need to take a breather and regroup here. Your health is most important and you cant lose weight and get healthy if you keep getting sick. Please keep in touch....we miss you being around.

Gloria....what is with men?! I just dont understand them at all. My hubby does the same thing about taking money and spending it on ******ed things. Not at much as your hubby took (I might have killed for that!! He would be in the doghouse for months as far as I'm concerned). Its like they just dont think about things. Anyone get the whole drop the clothes inches from the hamper on the floor?! Thats my number 1 pet peeve and he still does it every single day regardless of how much I piss and moan about it. Like he blocks me out or something.

Congrats on the wicked deal on the treadmill!! I love discounts!!! Way to go with the 2 miles, you will slowly start to speed up, thats a great start!

Vanessa, we had a student nurse last night at work and I was thinking about you. She was a tool (not that you are)!! Not sure really how far shes going to make it but she was trying at least. I was thinking, jeez I hope my Vanessa makes a better student!! Of course, I am sure I was like that at one point to....I shouldnt talk. lol, but she was kinda slow. (she came to me for help with a catheter so I went to observe her, and she didnt know how to pull back foreskin WHOOPS) Sorry if that was TMI for everyone else. I'm done now. Keep up the hard work in school hon and of course keep up the hard work with this weight loss journey.

Today was my weigh in day. I'm down 4.5 pounds this week. Yippie skippy. Tonight my bestfriend is coming in to town for the weekend. Tonight is Mexican (must be mexican food night) and lots and lots of margaritas. So maybe I should say I only lost 2.5 pounds?! lol kidding

Take it easy ladies!!!
Hope all is well today with everyone!!!

Hello on a Friday night! I'm turning in early as I have a long day tomorrow--I have my class from 9-4. No weight loss yet but I've stayed the same--steady at 140. If I got more exercise it would help, I know. I need something to rev up my metabolism, because I certainly don't eat very much! Kristy, be gentle with yourself and take a break. Eat healthy stuff, but don't be too rigid. Take time to heal and get well.

well I'm only down 1lb this week..I figured it would be the same so I'm happy with the 1lb...I didn't get as much exercise in as I should have this week but I'm managing two stores right now and it's killing me...I'm ready to pull my hair out..

Gloria - Glad you found a treadmill...great job on your 2 miles...How do you like using it?

Morgan - great..4.5lbs is awesome

Kristy - sorry to here you are sick again...I agree with everyone else..just get plenty of rest right now...and get well soon

Hi all! :)
I LOVE my tread mill but can't get on it until Sunday evening...I am watching my grandson and don't want anything to happen to him so yesterday I went MALL SHOPPING!! That's like a 20 mile walk!!! :o Well, it felt like it. My poor feet were throbbing sooo badly last night I ended up rubbing them with hand lotion for 1/2 hour.

Great loss Morgan! :carrot: I am so proud of you! :hug: Keep up the good work. I weighed myself yesterday morning and still am at 183. I don't know what I am doing wrong...I don't think I am doing anything wrong. I do know I am losing inches around my waist because my clothes tell me. I haven't been exercising faithfully; that could be it. I have this horrible cold and my grandson has that "croopy" cough so I think my body is trying to tell me something. I'll have to work harder on my exercising. It is hard with a 9 month old running around. He goes back home Sunday night. Oh, my husband is an A** anyway so it doesn't matter what I say to him, he'll do what he wants. He only thinks of himself and what's best for him. I got tricked into marrying him...that's another chapter of my life...LOL! One of these days, I am going to tell you girls my life story.... It could possibly become a "movie of the week." LOL!!!

Fig, you and I are in the same boat. I am not worried about not losing, it's the gaining I'll worry about if that happens to me. Hopefully with all the healthy eating I have been doing will kick in soon. Keep on going though...we'll get to our goal! :)

A dessert tray....Hhhmmmmm. sounds good to me!!! :carrot: I love Mexican food too. I try to stay away from the fried foods....but most places fry their food so I try to stick with a taco salad, or something with fresh veggies.....sometimes the resturants are willing to please their customers and go far & beyond their duty. I hope you enjoyed your night!

Well, I don't know if I can get back on tonight. My grandson is asleep and I am hoping he'll get to sleep around 7:30pm like he did last night. he slept until 7:30am!!!! 12 hour sleep!!!!! I wish I could do that. :^:

Take care and I'll try to get back on tonight.

Hugs,
Gloria

:) Hello!!!! Where's everybody at???? I had an electricity problem today and couldn't get on my computer until a few minutes ago. :devil:

Well, I better go and check out the "newbies." I miss you gals!!! :( :hug: I don't know what's going on...maybe you're all busy, but please come back. ;)

Hugs,
Gloria

Kristy---welcome back...we've missed you...you sound so motivated again....I can feel your energy...glad your back and ready to go..you are going to do great and your wedding is going to be wonderful...Have a great day and we are all looking forward to seeing you joining in with us again

Well hola ladies! Long time no chat....seems like its been an eternity! What a crazy weekend I had....my bestfriend came down from the great North to visit me for the weekend, what a blast! We bought Kelsey her first swimsuit....its so damn cute! Check my profile, I put up a new picture of her in her suit and sunglasses. lol.

Glad to hear your back on the bus Kristy! Congrats! We will make this happen!!

So, I tried my first actual veggie burger today....and I loved it. I may end up going vegetarian, I'm loving the veggies lately! My hubby would die if I stopped eating meat lol. hmmmm, on second thought....lol kidding

Alright, I need to Dr. Phil it here and feed the baby. I will come visit again tonight, hope all is well!

Welcome back, Kristy! You know, you inspire me. I admire your courage and determination. I just KNOW that you will succeed, so you hang in there, honey.

What is our challenge for this week? And where oh where is everybody?

As for me, I'm having some rough going. Having lots of pain from my arthritis and lots of headaches. And, I must confess, doing a lot of emotional eating. (mostly carbs--toast, chips, etc.) I've got to get out of this spiral. HELP, please!!! I'm just tired, lonely and depressed.

Well, time for meds, TV and bed. Goodnight and hugs. Marion:hug:

Your daughter is too cute! My daughter is now 15 and I do remeber her first swimsuit....it was pink w/ lots of butterflies all over it. I do miss those days. :( I LOVE veggie burgers also but do love my beef burgers when I want one.

Kristy!!! I was just thinking about you this morning! I was going to send you an e-mail asking for your home addy to send you something in your mail to cheer you up! I hope all is well???? You sound very motivated and ready to go. :D

Oh Marion...you know we all love ya'. I have arthiritis and I do know some days I can't do much of anything. Take it easy and relax. As for the lonliness and depression, I wish I could come over and we could go for a walk, go to the movies or ???whatever. Why are you depessed???? I'm wondering why you feel so lonely??? I feel lonely alot here but it's not because of what some might think. My husband put me over the edge last night and I told him me & the kids were moving out. He didn't care. I found out he cheated on me...AGAIN!!! This is the 5th. time. I had enough of it. So I have been looking for a house all day. There...you gals are the first to hear my personal problem. I'd thought I would never tell anyone. I feel better now. Marion, please go for a walk, or get together with a group of people. I worry about you and my "peeps" when they feel bad. I'll say a little prayer for you if you don't mind. I am not a "religous freak" but do believe in prayers.


WileyB got chosen to pick a challenge for this week........ I'll wait until tomorrow night before I e-mail her. She might be having problems with her computer, or a storm like I had.

Got to go ladies..... it's 6:50pm Pacific time and my daughter made dinner tonight.....


Hugs,
Gloria

Hi all,
I finally have 5 minutes to write to everyone. It was a crazy busy weekend here with work and a huge school assignment. But I am down to 232.5 pounds!!!! That's about 2.5 pounds down from last week! I am back to exercising and boy am I sore! I tried out the Biggest Loser DVD last night and it kicked my butt! A great workout though...I can understand how they all lost the weight.

Morgan- sorry to hear about your yucky student nurse...trust me I am getting pretty good by now. I am thoroughly enjoying my psych rotation although I have clinicals at 6:45 am this week...yuck! If you like veggie burgers...be sure to try vegetarian bacon. It is sooooo good and much less greasy!

Kristy- glad to see ya back girl! Hope this is your best week ever.

Marion- so sorry to hear you are having such a rough time. I know how tough it is for me to watch what I eat and to exercise when my fibromyalgia flares up...it always makes me feel a bit sad. Just do what you can do...but don't risk hurting yourself. Just remember this is about changing for the long run...not just one day or one week. If you need anything let me know...I am here for you!

I hope everyone has a fantastic week!

I'm so glad to see that everyone is so caring for everyone in this forum. You can definately feel the love!

Marion - I'm so sorry to hear that you are feeling depressed and lonely. What a challenge to be eating healthy while feeling down. Thats when I have the most problems eating. I am sure you are struggling. Just keep in mind that if you have nobody else in this world, you have us ladies here at the Mixed Nuts! We are there for you any time of the day....just drop us a note and we will help out the best that we can! Please hang in there, this too shall pass.

Gloria - Sounds like you are a very strong woman. I admire that. I applaude you for not putting up with your hubby's BS anymore. I dont know what I would do if my hubby cheated on me. It would be completely devestating. Over here, we have a problem with chatting with ladies online....searching for ladies on various websites and porno. I confront him often, but it never seems to stop. What is it that makes men the way they are? It seems to be such a selfish trait that most, if not all, men have. I cant imagine seeking out other men?? Whatever it is, it sucks for the person on the other end. And my heart goes out to you Gloria. Keep your chin up, your gorgeous inside and I am sure you are outside too....we're here for you in whatever decision you end up making.

Vanessa - I bet you are a great nurse, I wouldnt doubt it for a second! You keep on trucking, soon it will be over and you will wonder where the time went! I'm glad to hear you love your psych rotation! Theres nothing like a whole bunch of crazy people to help you realize how good you have it!!! Chin up chica!

Alright ladies....me and billy have a date and its time to change into my *shudder* exercise clothes. Keep smiling girls, you are worth it.

Sorry ya'll, had a death in our family, and just got backtoday at 2:30. Had to feed baby girl, and am off to get the boys from school. The challenge....how about 10 ( or at least up to) situps on the first morning, then add 2-3 each successive morning. I know that we all need to work on our abs- me big-time, I haven't seen them in ages! Will talk to you all later. Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Did you all know that they list the birthdays? (My hubby reminded me that it was my birthday this afternoon, how ******ed am I?) They listed me! I feel so special!! Another year older....and I have to work tonight, I think I need to retire soon ;) hehe.

Sorry to hear about your loss WileyB. If you need to talk, we are here for you. Good challenge, my abs look like....well....they dont look like anything but rolls :) I will start that tomorrow morning.

Kelsey got one of those Jumperoo things for Christmas....and this afternoon she was jumping in it while I was tiddying things up around the house. It got really quiet so I came out to check on her, and she was SOUND asleep. I grabbed my camera because I thought it was cute that she jumped herself to sleep and all of a sudden, she started jumping like a mad woman....still COMPLETELY ASLEEP! I have never laughed so damn hard. She would stop jumping, and lay her head down....then start jumping all over again with her head straight up and her eyes shut. It was cute and all on video. Wish I had a way to share it with you all, its the most hysterical thing I have seen in months.

Off to work...hope its not a crazy crazy night. Ciao Chicas.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MORGAN...I can't believe you forgot your own b-day..Hope it was great...ooohhh I wish I could of seen your baby...I bet it was really cute....I remember my daughter love her jumpier...

WileyB-sorry to hear about your loss..hope your doing okay....I love the challenge..it is actually what I was going to say for mine....you know what they say....Great minds think alike..

Happy b-DAY morgan!!!!

I can't stay on long...we are storming again!!! Hurricane strength winds and my whole house's electricity keeps going in & out. So I'll try to get to you gals tomorrow......sorry!!!

Gloria

Thanks for the birthday wishes guys....Its been so crazy that I'm lucky if I remember what day of the week it is let alone my birthday. I ended going home early from work last night because my blood pressure skyrocketed and my pulse did the same. My head felt like it was going to explode so I spent most of the evening in the ER with morphine on board. Yuck. Needless to say, my headache is gone. Thank god. Otherwise, it was a great birthday lol.

Time for me to go lay on the couch and watch a movie with the baby, today I'm going to relax so no Billy for me. Have a great day gals and I will check back later to see whats going on with you all.

Ciao

Okay... I haven't been on here in forever.... I havebeen super busy and traveling out of town over the weekends etc. I will try to have the calendar updated by tomorrow and have our totals for the month... our goal was 20 pounds... think we are close???

I am starting back at the Body Shop (our local gym) today. I am SOOOO excited I can't stand it. I got out my old gym bag ( a REALLY nice Nike one, I must say...lol) and it had my old journals and workouts in it....WOO HOO... I am ready ladies.... I gained a pound last week so I am like at my starting point AGAIN (I think)... I haven't looked at it, I am frustrated...

I told hubby that my main goal is to get into the lingerie that I bought LAST year for our honeymoon... I have 8 things that still have tags because I don't like myself in my skin right now.... He bought me an outfit TWO YEARS ago for Valentine's Day and I STILL haven't had the darn thing on because I don't like myself in it.... Sad sad thing...

Will talk later, I am in the middle of class....

Hey everyone I just realized that today is Feb 1st...so don't forget that starting today we start our new points challenge...so start keeping track of your daily points..

Thanks for your sympathy guys...I spent most of my childhood at my aunt's house because her daughter and I were best friends. They found out she had Parkinson's about 8 years ago. It's an awful way to go, but I am glad that she is no longer suffering with it.

Morgan, hope that you had some bright spots on your birthday. Sounds like you need a do-over on your special day there....I think your little one and mine are close to the same age. Mine turned 4mo. on Sat. the 28th. How old is yours?

Deanna, at least you kept your clothes. I gave all of mine to Good Will. I said that if I ever got back down to my original size, that I would spend the money for a whole new wardrobe, despite the cost! Besides that, by the time it takes me to lose what I need to, all my clothes will have dry rotted!

Gloria, move down here to Texas, and you won't have all of that awful weather! Hang in there! Sorry to hear about your trouble, but please be sure and take care of yourself because those kids need you!

Donna, you know, we are both from Texas, so what can you expect? Sorry I got your challenge, I had been thinking about it for quite some time. It's something that I use to do every morning before work, and have let it fall by the wayside. Just haven't started it back up yet til now. I need to get out my TX map and see where you are. I know that I have been through you town before. I am from a small town close to Nacogdoches, if you know where that is, and I think you will....

Hope that you all are having a great week!

Hi all!
Morgan- happy belated birthday! Thanks for the encouragement with school...I am sure you can understand how tough it can be at times.

WileyB- I am so sorry about your loss. If there is anything I can do, please, please let me know. You are in my thoughts and prayers. On a happier note- great challenge. I got the DVD for 8 minute abs and have been doing it every other night....I am actually noticing a difference- I can feel the muscles now even though there is still a bit of fat over top them!

Deanna- I think your goal of fitting into specific clothes is a fantastic one. It kinda helps get your mind off the scale. I am trying hard to remember that the scale weighs fat and muscle so the real way to gauge my loss is that my clothes fit soooo much better...I think I am gonna HAVE to buy new clothes by the end of the month...else I might end up mooning someone as my pants are beginning to fall down!

I hope all is well with everyone...keep on truckin ladies!

I did my challenge for yesterday...I did 20 sit ups, 30 mins of walking and 45 mins on the bike...

WileyB- did you want us to do full sit ups or just stomach crunchs?

Have a great day everyone

Way to go Donna on your exercise! I just want everyone to do what works for them. I like sit-ups, but will do crunches as well. I like to hook my toes under the bottom edge of the couch and do my sit-ups and crunches that way. I'm sure everyone has their own "style", so just do whatever works best for you.

Hope that you all have a great day!

OMG! You are a mean exercising machine!!!
I could never do that much! Way to go!

Well, I started back to the gym last night... had a great workout and now... I have a little swelling around my patellar tendon... (swelling around and to the left and right of the bottom of the knee cap) so I think I should hold off until tomorrow to go to the gym. I may end up down there after taking some Ibu to see if the swelling goes down. I am actually supposed to help hubby "process" a deer that he got the other day.... My ex used to do it all the time but, it's been years since I did it... I hope I remember how..lol

I am going to go... still trying to get caught up!

Ahhh Kristy....you will come out of this slump soon. Lets see here...I think you mentioned to me that you were really chugging the H2O. Thats a big thing. You've already uped your calories to prevent survival mode...how about soda? Are you doing soda or have you kicked that out? Thats a big difference right there. Exercising everyday....this could explain that you may be losing body fat and gaining muscle? Which is just as good as seeing the scale go down! How about switching to all whole wheat products, breads, wraps, etc. Losing all the white flour? Sugars?

I dont know how open minded you are about going and getting a seaweed wrap? These wraps not only feel wonderful and are totally relaxing....but they literally suck the fluid out of you! It literally dehydrates you....so you need to drink crazy amounts of water before, during and after the treatment. For like a week following the treatment, you arent able to do caffeine, alcohol, nicotine etc. because its a detoxifying treatment and flushes all the nasty toxins out of your body. You will lose inches instantaniously, and if you are following a diet, you will keep them off and even lose more in the few days after. This may be the little push that you need? They are WONDERFUL. I am going to have one done this month as its my reward for good food choices during a 12 week time frame. Please research it, I know you will love it.

No matter what, you WILL and CAN do this. Also, I take a green tea supplement during the day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. This really and truely helps to curb my cravings for food throughout the day. Its all natural but it you are a tea fan, you can try that too! I just cant hack the tea taste. Blek.

Donna, you are nuts! Thats a crazy amount of exercise! Where do you find the time and energy? WAY TO GO GIRL! Keep it up!!

Today was my weigh in....and I was only down a pound and a half. I guess its better than nothing. Heres to another week girls CHEERS!