You all had such good days -- with good news, renewed resolve or positive actions ... it's wonderful to come online to read (and one of the benefits of coming online, like Noelle in Hawaii, hours behind the east coast). I'm going to Virginia next week and sooo looking forward to it!

Thanks for adding me Gen. 6 months at goal -- that's worth celebrating

Dips, I hope you remain safe and well over there. My nephew spent a few days in Italy, but is now somewhere near Baghdad with Fox Company 2/5 (being covered, thankfully, by a Nightline/ABC news reporter). Like you, my sister is watching the tv, looking for the faces of her son and his peers.

Thanks to you all, I took Kenji (my dog) on a 30 minute neighborhood walk, drank about 40 oz water, and ate moderately. Not a bad day.
~Shimmers

Hi... just thought I would toss my two cents in here also! Amy, I agree... I love it when people notice my weight loss! Sure not going to offend ME any!!

Sue

Hi Dips... and thanks for the great avatar! Just to say THANKS for your service and to let you know I am praying for you and all your friends!! You are appreciated!

Sue

Ciao Ladies,

I want to thank you all for your continued support for me, my friends and the countless sons and daughters defending freedom overseas. Now i would like to address you individually,

Corina, aka kina- First, your latest avatar is awesome as well. You have such a beautiful face and smile. Thank you for your prayers, I feel them everyday when i wake up.

Jen- always good to see you too. I know drinking water seems like a simple thing but it really isn't. In fact in Boot camp at the end of the day we'd be ordered to hold our canteens over our heads and if the tiniest trickle came out we'd have **** to pay. So all day we're drinking away. So don't beat yourself up over it it takes major practice

Angel- Good to meet you. I appreciate your support and encouragement. I'm in Vicenza, that's no where near rome but venice is pretty close. Italy is just beautiful and the people are great, so is the food. You and your hubby to be will have a great time. Congrats to you and good luck

Yoyo Mom- I'm praying right along with you for my friends in Iraq. But they are doing well and they're keeping eachother in good spirits. Way to go on keeping the arteries clean

Shimmers- Another newbie to me. Welcome and thank you for your kind words. Your nephew is a part of an elite group and I Salute him and you for your dedication. Great soldiers come from great families and though i don't know him I'm honored to be serving with him.

Dance4joy- what a cool screne name! As you appreciate me i appreciate you, for it's the spirit of americans like you that make us soldiers feel honored to serve.

While you all continue to pray for the troops remember to go out and enjoy the freedom for which they are fighting. It's what they want for you, the great americans who make it all worth it.

With that ladies lets get to it and do well this challenge. We have our own battels going on if you know what i mean. Our troops will win theirs so make sure you win yours!

-Dips-

Hey Dips, glad to hear from you again. I really hope and pray that you and every other soldier fighting on our behalf are kept out of harms way. I don't think we've ever "met" but I feel privliged to read your posts on this thread. I am so grateful that our military is so prepared and confident going into this war. My hubby was in the Army Nat'l Guard for 10 years but got out about 3 years back. In a selfish way I am glad he's not in anymore. I just wanted again to say thanks to you and all your comrades in arms for defending our freedoms. It is a privilege that most of us take for granted too often. Keep smiling and stay safe out there.

Aloha from sunny Hawaii

Dips I love the new pic. Do you work for a radio station?

Shimmer thanks for the PM it really helped my day get going.

YoYo good work on the lower numbers. It is great when tests come back showing that you have been wokring hard.

I am not doing well (I don't think at least) My eating has been kind of bad so I am trying to kick myself in the rear to get going again. My gym is having a party tomorrow and we are honoring those who have done well and lost the most body fat % so maybe that will give me the kick that I need.

Kempy, Have fun at the beach party tomorrow. That sounds like so much fun. You helped me so much while I was going through my week of bad eating. If there is anything I can do for you just let me know. KICK ( I )!!!! haha

Hey folks,

The weigh-in is tomorrow so behave yourselves tonight!

My hubby brought home some supermarket sushi for me and while it was a thoughtful gesture, it contained a nutrition panel that gave me a shock. The 8 pieces (which in non-diet days I would consider a snack) contained 520 calories!!! I had it for dinner but it put me 60 calories over budget for the day. Sigh. I was hoping to catch up today; I'm just a smidge behind on the challenge to date, calories-wise. The scary thought is what the total must have been for the party day. Oh, well, I'm not going to look back, but I'll be a lot more careful counting calories in the future!

Till tomorrow!
-Deborah

Weigh in tomorrow? and I just had Ben & Jerry's, argh. ... Took Kenji for a walk though and ate well otherwise though the day. Had a flattering moment when a friend I used to date introduced me to a friend of his -- a man he's been telling about me. ... I'm 34, a teacher and a happy dog owner. When will I stop feeling silly over little compliments?

Deborah -- 520 calories for 8 sushi? eek. Sounds fishy to me

Kempy -- a gym that throws a party? That's great! Mine just collected my money. An good gym is vital -- it's gotta be one you want to go to, one you feel comfortable in. Sounds like you have that.

In addition to weighing in, do we track our inches lost too?

Night everyone!
Shimmers

Happy Saturday everyone!It is 5:20 here and i couldnt wait to get up and jump on the scale this morning. looks like i am down only a quarter of a pound this week, but "down" is the operative word here.heehee. I dragged my butt back to the gym on thursday(i havent been there in a few months) and it did wonders for my psyche. I wish I understood why i would so readily quit going somewhere that makes me feel so good. The hard part is getting motivated to go there. anyway, cant wait to hear how everyone does today, and congrats to those who have already weighed in.

Well, I'm an early riser too so I'm here to report that I lost 1.5 pounds this week (for a total of 2.5 pounds so far on this challenge). That puts me a half pound ahead of my goal!

I was down another half pound earlier this week, but that sushi (actually, it was maki) and soy sauce may be causing some retention. OTOH, according to my calorie logging, I only "deserve" to lose 1 pound.

Oh, Shimmers, that was a good one about the sushi!

I'm amazed that I can still be blind-sided by some foods that I assume are reasonably low calorie. I've gotten past the major gotchas, but I guess I have to stay diligent. I remember my brother once telling me he couldn't figure why he wasn't losing weight because he had given up munching chips watching TV and switched to lettuce... with a jar of full-fat dressing. I think this was in the days before standardized nutrition labels (and our awareness of them) so it wasn't as obvious then.

I hope the scale is nice to everyone today!

Later,
-Deborah

Good morning everyone!

I'm in good spirits today after having a pretty crummy day yesterday. Amazing what a good night's sleep can do for your perspective. Also, I managed to get exercise in TWICE yesterday -- an unprecedented move on my part. I sure kicked some butt, and reaped the benefits on the scale today -- I am down to 257.5, a 2.5 pound loss for the challenge so far, and halfway to my challenge goal. I'm psyched!

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Keep up the great work!

~~Amy

Loss for this week is 3.5lbs. I think my fat is finally on the run!!

I've had a long hard time of it but having 3FC's for support is I think just what I need to keep me motivated.

Venetia

Dips- great to see you again! I'm glad you're doing well. Well everyone no loss for me this week. TOM has really kicked my butt this week. That's the only thing I miss about being the size I was-TOM rarely visited I'm going to work extra hard next week to get a loss. For some reason when TOM is here it doesn't matter how hard I work nothing happens so I'm not letting myself get down- I'll just keep on truckin'. Shimmers I loved your post- boy that was motivational . Hi Kina hugs to you too! Well all gotta run. Take care. Di

No weigh in for me today! I have been so bad for the last week and my period is here so that I know I am bloated up and I don't need to see just how much. I am back on track and trying to undo the damage so hopefully next week I can show a good loss.Time to stay away from the Chinese food! CONGRATS to all the losers! Those of us at a standstill, we will have better luck next week!