Goodmorning! It's very beautiful day here in Seattle, definitely warrents a walk along the ocean. Oooh, and maybe I'll get a slight tan on my face (even tho I always put an spf on it)... I look sickly when I'm all white, altho I never get too white thanks to some native blood in me.

I've been sleeping SO much since I got here, 11 hours both nights! I must really need it. No exercise yet, I had some crazy headache yesterday. My body is detoxing I figure, I've started drinking like 3-4Litre's of water a day to combate this nasty antibiotic tasting metal thing.

Alright, I must confess I am buying a meal replacement shake thing for my 2am antibiotic taking, heh. I just can't eat at that time, but can't take the antibiotic on an empty stomach... there must be something in the air?

I am off! Have a good one

-Aimee

Great job, Kimberley!

Jen, I hear you, those TOM lbs are coming off of me now. even though I know they're coming, I expect them, and the whole bit, I still hate seeing it on the scale numbers.

I've thought about the slimfast shakes but never got around to trying them.

Hey, how's Seattle, Aimee? You're lucky to have some natural coloring, let me tell you! once spring really gets here (not this chilly, still wearing coats spring), I'm going to be a ghost. Luckily here on the east coast there are many of us ghosts, so at least I'm not alone heh heh. In California (where I grew up) it always seemed like everyone was tan, while I stayed pale.

I was a bad worker and put some spread sheets on a to do pile that I never got to. I've been working on that on my own time to try and catch up. Eeek.

I'm aiming at getting out of the 50s by the time I go to Washington in mid April. If I don't overdo it with my friend coming next weekend, I think that's a reasonable goal.

Did you all see the Prime Time on ABC where they had a group of heavy people put on skimpy bathing suits, took pictures of them, then had them sign a contract that if they didn't loose 15 lbs in 60 days the show would air the picture of them on national TV? heh heh heh. All but one person did it (no, they didn't show her bikini pic, it turned out to be an empty threat).

Here's hoping for a good Monday tomorrow!

Ya know, I wish I had worn tighter-fitting clothing in my progress pictures. When I see the contestants on The Biggest Loser, the losses are so obvious. I don't know that I'd have wanted to be in a little bathing suit, though!

Glad to hear you're catching up on the ZZZ's, Aimee. Sounds like you could use it. There's nothing like decompressing and finally getting good sleep.

If my jaw does not loosen up and quit hurting soon, I'm about ready to do the Slim-Fast route, just to save on chewing. I have an appointment at the dentist's tomorrow to have my permanent crowns put in, and I'll talk to him about the jaw thing then. The last several days, it's escalated again, and I find myself unconsciously chomping down - kind of like a muscle spasm. Sometimes, just out of the blue, my jaw kind of jerks slightly to the side, making my front teeth knock into each other. It's the weirdest thing, very frustrating!

Morning ladies....

UGH...day 3 of TOM and I feel pretty sick. I'm here at work with 800 mg of Ibuprofen in my system and a heating pad on my belly. I'm going to do my best to stick it out, but if things don't improve, I'll be home at noontime.

My official weigh-in today was 316.5, so I am down 5.5 lbs. It bums me out though, because I was down as low as 312 before TOM. Oh well, that means it will be a big loss next week!

TOM can be brutal, a real abuser. Hope you feel better soon. You'll lose that water gain, no problem.

Thanks Kimberley....I hope your jaw gets sorted soon....

About meal replacement shakes/bars: I think there are some better choices out there on the market now than there used to be. The best thing about using EAS AdvantEdge is the 15g of protein in each shake. Yes, your calories may be low, but your protein is definitely high! Slim-Fast seems to keep improving their products as well.

Seems to be a running theme...my TOM has not yet started, but my PMS sure has

Yeah, the Slim-Fast shakes I picked up have 10g of protein. The thing that really kinda bothers me is just the trans fats (even though it says 0 on the label). They are cheaper than the EAS ones, though--same price for 6 SFs as for 4 EASs. I ended up not having a shake for lunch--by the time lunch time came around today, I was RAVENOUS for some reason (PMS?). I had some baked Doritos and a tuna wrap (no cheese) from the cafeteria instead. I still accounted for all the calories in my fitday, though, and am still lower than I have been lately for the day, so not all was lost

I am SO over this job. I am SO glad this is my last week. I am SO ready to move on. I am SO sick of some of the people in this office...

Wow, it's really a Monday today. The phone hasn't stopped ringing for the last 5 hours. I think people save it up over the weekend and just explode come Monday.

Gotta go to the post office, it's a nice 1/2 mile walk. Kind of chilly here for the first day of spring, 40 degrees. The sun keeps trying to come out at least.

Hey, go hold a 5 lb bag of sugar, it's heavy. That's a good loss. I'm sure you'll lose mega lbs after TOM too.

Maybe the doc will have some idea what to do about the jaw problem. When I was young I had a high tolerance for pain, now.... not so.

Yeah, I get hungry like a hibernating bear the day or two before my TOM, hate that.

The new job sounds exciting.

I have been listening to some... different music lately. I got some spanish rap and have been throughly enjoying it. Even if I don't understand what I'm singing to. heh..

Jen - 5.5 pounds? Thats GREAT!! Wow, I'd love to lose that much! I am hoping for a hefty weight loss with how much I've changed my eating! Josh will be bringing me my scale on Sunday, I am very much looking forward to that. I was so silly to think I could live without a scale! Have you ever tried taking Essential Fatty Acids, aka fish oil pills during your period? I think I've mentioned this before.. but I get CRAZY cramps, to the point where I'll stand in a boiling hot shower and just cry until some of the pain goes away. I strongly encourage you to take some fish oil pills, and cal/mag suppliment!

Jill - hehe, I can't help but giggle at all the "SO"'s in your post. That last week reallly drags, eh? I know last week I wanted to just call in sick for the rest of the week, it was brutal. And everyone expects you to be MORE productive because it's your LAST week.. pfft.

Kimberley - you gotta get that jaw thing sorted out... that sounds completely painful. I know I sometimes eat lightly when things are hurting, lots of yogurt and smoothies. I tend to drink all my calories. The funny thing about my sleeping is that I was sleeping very well in the past 4-5 weeks, I get into bed, and am out until the morning. No waking in the night, I was very happy with that. There really isnothing like sleeping soundly.

Marge - I try to the least amount of calling I can on Monday's, I hate being put on hold! Did i tell you that we signed up for Netflix? We are getting 3 unlimited I believe, and I'm gonna get some workot DVD's! Just to mix things up.

On the exercise thing, I don't quite know how to get lots of exercise in.. I'd like to do about 3-5 hours of exercise a day. Sounds excessive, but I've got the time and ability.. so why not! I'll do an hour of walking a day, and am going to do some yoga.. which is like 30-45 minutes. Which leaves me with another hour and a half. Every second day Ryan (my bro) and I are training, running/walking, which is 45 minutes. I am also weight training, phew, this may be a challenge! It would be nice to have a stationary bike here, I could bike and watch the ferries and boats while listening to music. Well I am just babbling.. so I'm going to go read for a bit.

-Aimee

Morning ladies!

Aimee you know alot about supplements! Do you work in a GNC store? LOL I'll find some fish oil caps.

Cramps aren't as bad today....I headed it off with some ibu and am currently using my heating pad at my desk. I may switch the pad to my back in a minute....

Jen - I don't work for GNC... altho... maybe i should

TOM arrived for me today, I was expecting it, but not prepared for cramps. I am heading mine off by starting a new pill package today.. I don't really want to deal with 7 days of cramps and other ickyness, the pill stops it after day 2 or 3. I will definitely be taking it easy today though... I'll do some exercise, but it'll all definitely be at home. I find I have to pee more this TOM.

My first batch of Netflix arrive today, I am pretty excited, and on the next round I have a workout video coming, WATP 3 or 4 mile running/walking one. I am excited for that!

I am off.. why is it so quiet in here today??

-Aimee

Anybody else having a heck of a time posting today? Keeps asking for my password.

Aimee, you already sound super energized! Sounds like you have real plan for the exercise too. Let me know what exercise DVDs you like. Our library carries some, might be an interesting way to kick up my routine. Seattle sounds so pretty. I've always thought it would be cool to live in a houseboat for a while.

I've been gnoshing a little bit too much lately. No excuse except for I had such a craving for cheese and crackers last night. Gotta get back into the swing and out of the 50s. Onward and downward.

Marge, I wouldn't go so far as to say I have a real plan for exercise, I have made a plan... but it's very crude, and I'm not sure if I'm overworking myself or whatnot. I'd like to get an opinion from a personal trainer, but who wants to pay for that. I'd say I'm more full of energy than I have been, especially when it comes to exercise. Altho for lunch I had a mini pizza with 8 grams of fat, and an apple.. I am trying my BEST to stay away from bread as it doesn't do good things in my body. But you jut can't beat the fullness it provides.

I was reading somewhere about snacking, I find myself eating every 2-3 hours, and sometimes more frequently. Sometimes they are just a cup of grapes, but when will it become too much? Also, is it really bad to snack on fruit and veggies? I eat them plain.. I don't know. It's too complicated with what everyone says, and I have a hard time because I don't want to do anythign wrong and want to lose the max amount of weight I can.

On the lines of that, I might have to invest in a stationary bike, I enjoy watching tv, and spend too much time doing that... but if I could be exercising at the same time, that would solve that!

Phew, I've talked all of your ears off. BTW, where IS everyone? I know I had a few issues this morning with the site but everything has been working smoothly for me all afternoon.

-Aimee

Hey, everyone - The dentist went fine today. He didn't want to replace the crowns today since my jaw's been so bad. I brought my night guard with me and he said he'd hoped I would. The fit was good, but it needed some of its bulk shaved back and smoothed. I'm to try it tonight and see if I keep it in while I sleep. If it ends up out or I wake up chewing on it, then I probably do need a custom splint (mouth guard) made by him. I *really* hope the adjustments he made to mine work.

Good news: My size 16-junior Levi's are now getting loose. I can't believe it, but I'm able to slip them off without unzipping them. When I got them, they were very tight...Very, very tight.

We walked at the arboretum today, but I couldn't stay out long. The wind was really strong and the cold was more than I could take in my face. Still, we walked for 30 or 40 minutes, so that was good.