Hi everyone! I have been off plan for a while, but I have decided it's time to re-commit to this!

iammare, welcome! :wave:

Lauren, you are doing so great!

raven, congrats on the 2.6 loss and the ticker that is very exciting!

blue, congrats on not going with the cookie dough! Running is definitely a much better stress reliever!!

Diana, I'm with you. I can see how your losses would slow down, but not stop all together. I would say what abidabbi said and just stick with 1700 for a bit and give it some more time. Good luck!

Vixsin, congrats on the loss!!

Roxanne and abbidabbi, hi! :wave:

I hope everyone is having a good Wednesday so far! :)

9/15/2010 Check-in:

Breakfast (375)
large cup of coffee w/ 3 tbsp cinnamon bun creamer- 105
1 pkt apples & cinnamon instant oatmeal made w/ water- 130
1 tbsp peanut butter- 95
1 small (4.65 oz) gala apple- 45
H2O- 0

Lunch (380)
2 slices 100% whole grain low cal bread- 90
2 tsp spicy mustard- 10
6 slices deli ham- 45
1 oz spiced pretzels- 155
1 string cheese- 80
H2O- 0

Snack PM (175)
3 oz baby carrots- 35
4 tbsp chipotle hummus- 140
H2O- 0

Dinner (435)
4 oz baked chicken breast- 100
3/4 cup brown rice- 150
1 cup sauce (made of 98% ff cream of mushroom soup and spices)- 140
1 cup steamed broccoli- 45
H2O- 0

= apprx 1,365 calories

Goal is 1,450-1,550 calories. Going grocery shopping tonight, so might add another small snack.

Blueridge, I was watching a healthy cooking show and the host said that crunchy foods relieve stress. {or we think they do, anyway}. You have a very interesting job.

iammare, Mare? Glad to have you join us.

fashin, good to have you back!

Yeah.....what SHE said!!! :lol:

Welcome aboard!! We're glad you're here!

Raven: Congrats on the loss and the ticker! That's very exciting!

Fashin: Good to see you! Glad you're back and with some pep in your step!! :hug:

fashin! We've missed you around here! Glad to you back :hug:

love2b150! We've missed you too! Nice to see you! Hope everything calms down for you soon :hug:

Thank you Penguin, Vixsin, and Lauren! It's great to be back!

love, I'm sorry you are feeling out of whack but I know how you feel. You are doing great though! :hug:

I may have accidentally discovered the best curry in the world:

Quorn chicken-style pieces, potatoes, peas, green beans and chickpeas with a jar of low-fat dopiaza sauce dumped over the top of them.

SO GOOD! Had it for dinner last night and also for lunch today.

Haven't done too bad today - breakfast was the usual, and then my nummy lunch. I had a Twix at about 3pm, but that's only because I'd been trapped in the worst meeting EVER for two hours and was dying for some sugar x.x

Tomorrow is shaping up to be tasty - my mother has discovered a range of chunky organic soups that are quite delicious. Tomorrow's soup is tomato and Cheviot cheese pesto - and the best thing is that the pesto has no pine nuts in it so I can eat it!

Tired now, I had an hour of abuse at the hands of my lovely personal trainer. Goodnight girlies!

Wysteria - HaHa! That happens to me sometimes! Accidents that turn out to be delicious :) That Tomato and Cheviot cheese pesto soup sounds yummy :drool: :hungry:

9/14: 1197 cal, 42 min elliptical
9/15: 1554 cal, 30 min 3.0 outside walking, 20 min 3.5 treadmill walking, 24 min 4.2 treadmill jogging

Good evening! :D

therex--I love smoothies!! We also buy some organic papaya juice to add a splash of flavor. With fresh fruit and ice it's nice and healthy. And I say go and post!! I'm always worried that my weight loss won't be noticeable, but my dh assures me that it is and that I probably am not the best judge of my shrinkage.:mag:

Penguin--Ugh, my dh would do the same thing. Yay for the cake being gone, though!

Lauren--Oooh, you drink soy milk? I just bought some to try today.

Raven--You go girl!!! Way to go!! :carrot:

Blue--Great job on resisting that cookie dough. I think a slight indulgence (the chips) and then the run was a much better idea. ;) Your hike sounds lovely. The leaves are changing here too. :( I don't like winter, so it makes me sad. Yoga was so frustrating. I did try a beginners one, but I think it was beginners only in that they explained the poses. I kept finding that my belly and my thighs got in the way all the time. :o But, whatever I did keep up with must have worked, because my muscles are scolding me this morning!

Roxan--I love your use of the smilies. They make me laugh!! :spin:

iammare--Welcome!!! :D

Diane--Ugh, I understand your frustration. I wish I had some wise words of wisdom to help you bust through. I agree with what the rest of the girls have said about trying 1700. Good luck! :goodvibes

Vixsin--Sweeeeet on the loss!! Congrats!! :carrot:

Abbidabbi--Hiya! :flow2:

Ashlee--Have fun grocery shopping. I always find a small snack helps when shopping helps me behave and not buy the bad stuff.

love2b--Ugh, sorry about TOM. What a drag. But, yay for still having a loss! :dancer:

Wysteria--Yum! I love a good curry!:hungry:

I'll put my update in the next post.

Weight: Back up .8. Blah. I blame the yoga. ;)

Exercise: LS 4 fast miles

Breakfast: Lowfat keylime yogurt

Snack: String Cheese

Lunch: whole wheat 100 calorie flat bun thingy, slice of turkey, lowfat cheese, avocado, chipolte hummus, lettuce, tomato

Snack: 100 calorie snack pack

Dinner: Spaghetti squash, tomatoes, onions, garlic, olives, feta cheese

So, when does exercising get a little easier? I'm starting on my 4th week and it was a struggle to finish today. Whew! Hurry up and catch up, muscles! :wl:

Hi Everyone! Thank you for all the suggestions to my problem. I appreciate it. Something else that I thought of today. I have been doing a Turbo Fire rotation. The last 3 weeks were mostly HIIT workouts along with light toning. I only did 1 or 2 longer cardio workouts per week. I have always felt that I got better results with longer cardio along with my light toning workouts. This week is suppose to be my Recovery week. I decided to do mostly longer cardio workouts and see how it goes. I am also going to look at my foods and see if I can shave a few calories off. I'm not going down without a fight. ;)

I don't have a lot of time for personals tonight. I'm getting ready to watch the start of Survivor. YAY!

Fashin Hi :wave: I'm so happy to see you back with us.

Total 1500 Calories + Coffee = Approx 1700 Calories
I'm going to analyze things and reduce my calories where I can.

Breakfast (365 Calories + coffee)
spritz olive oil in pan
egg 70 cal
egg whites from carton 60 cal
Handful of spinach
2% Reduced Fat Cheese 40 cal
high fiber English muffin 100 cal
1 teaspoon jam 20 calories
coffee w/sugar and cream
juice 75 calories

Lunch: (350 calories)
Earth Grains 100% Whole Wheat Thin Buns 100 Calories
1 slice Reduced fat cheese 60
4 slices Hormel Natural Choice Cooked Ham 60 Calories
Romaine Lettuce Leaves
Grey Poupon Mild and Creamy Mustard 0 Calories
Sliced Apples 40 Calories
Oikos Yogurt 90 Calories

Dinner (785 Calories)
Bread with butter 160 calories
Steamed veggies 100 calories
Grilled Chicken 525 Calories

Exercise:
~TF Fire 60

Hellooooooooooooo :hug:

Today was an awful work day only because of the dreadful TOM. I was cramping all day, which doesn't occur often but when it does, I feel terrible. Thank God for heating pads. I went home and did my Biggest loser yoga and felt loads better after. I love the benefits of exercise. :D

I also want to say that this week I see MAJOR changes and I have only lost 14 lbs. I woke up one morning, looked at my stomach and it looked GREAT in my clothing, no bulges. I can see the hourglass beginning to take shape. I think it has been the Callanetics and yoga/pilates. It's greatly reducing my tummy! My work pants are also getting a little baggy in the butt area. I am elated!!! :carrot:


shellsbrood- I also had difficulty when doing yoga for the first time. I felt like I was near death because my legs and arms were burning and I could barely hold the poses. I took it a little more easy and did my own modifications at first (lowering my arms a little, not going so deep when doing some of the positions, going easy on my wrists) and now I am much better at doing it. I have learned to love it deeply once I pushed harder and realized how relaxed and energized it made me feel. I'm still not perfect but at this point, I can bend down and touch my toes with no effort! I can almost comfortably bend down and lay my palms flat on the floor.

Lauren- Yes, its basically cheese with zucchini in it. When I make it, I usually use a skim mozzarella. Ummm you can make a zucchini "bready" crust, but it would be a totally different recipe, maybe adding some flax meal or specialty flour of some sort. I tried the one with the cheese because the flax meal at my local grocery store is about $5 for a lb and the cheese was cheaper. I don't eat it that often because its quite fatty. Actually, you can just put some zucchini slices on the grill and top it with pizza toppings! I saw that on a recipe blog and it looked so good.

Love2b- :hug: welcome back!

Diana - I think you should reduce calories just a tad and see what happens. I say this since I kinda look at exercise like a supplement and we put in our bodies is of the most importance. I hope you find a solution soon and get further and further into onederland!!! :hug:

MamaP, Vixsin, Roxanne, dallasgirl1, ravenjeh, penguin, therex, abidabbi, Jer, nicolewoods1, blueridgegirl, fashinjunkie, Wysteria, meggoat... you guys are going a great job!!! I read all posts and everyone's progress is so inspiring! :carrot: (I hope I didn't forget anyone, sorry if I did)

iammare - Welcome!!!! No need to worry about who's doing what plan. You are welcome no matter what!!! The support and love will just always be there! :hug:


Ok, time for today's stats:

B- "Bean muffin", two plain eggs
S- 20 peanuts
L- Tilapia w/ green beans
S- cheese stick
Post Workout - protein shake
D- Tuna fish salad, broccoli
Dessert - two 20 cal creamcicles

8 oz cup of crystal light

Water: 64+ oz

Exercise: Phase 3 Biggest loser weight loss yoga (1 hr)

iammare Welcome to the family! :welcome3:

fashin Glad to see you back and thanks! :hug:

Vixsin CONGRATS on the weight loss!!! We seem to be on the same weight loss track :carrot:

Diana Good idea trying more cardio. That just might do the trick ;)

blueridge Great job resisting the cookie dough! I used to grab a "tube" of it sometimes in the past when I got stressed too, lol. Glad those days are over :D

shells I would also love to know when exercise gets easier! Or at least more enjoyable, lol :woops:

abidabbi, Lauren, roxanne, love2b, mamap :Hi:

I found a couple of interesting things at the grocery store today. BACON SALT, lol! It was low sodium and on clearance... so I had to get it! :D Guess what- it tastes just like bacon, lol. I also found a new extract to add to my shakes: Vanilla Butter Nut. Haven't tried it yet, but it sounds good. I also bought a popsicle mold and poured my shake into it. Tastes just like fudgepops :) I'm having to get reeeeeeeally creative here... shakes are getting a little old, lol

Here was my day:
"Eggnog" shake (my vanilla shake with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves)
Lean Cuisine Pizza- outside my plan, but not TOO bad... I caved, lol
Pasta Faglioli Entree
Shake TBD

Total calories: 850

Quietstorm Sorry about TTOM! My first day this time was painful until the Advil kicked in. ;) It's so exciting when you can see changes like that. Great job!

Raven Does your plan have a pizza that you can get? What is the difference in protein/fats/carbs, etc between your meals and the Lean Cuisines?