still doing good!
 

Man, I just seem to have actually gotten my focus and motivation back - I had yet another good day! :dancer:

Did well on food, water, cardio, and the evil trainer.

Plan for today - cardio at lunch, stick to food plan, do my water, but no trainer again until Saturday. I'm going to a friends house tonight (unless he cancels on me), so there may be BAD food temptations there! I'm going to eat beforehand and resist eating while I'm there.

Have a lovely thursday ladies!

psm

Congrats, Brunissen. It feels great to have a couple of positive days under our belts, doesn't it?

I had a good day as well, met my targets on all counts, did really well with water, and had my aerobics class today. Got out and moved the lawn too, which helped. Eating went well and I have calories left over which I should try and use before I go to bed.

I heard a great thing today about exercise and movitation: if they were giving out $1,000 bills at the gym, would you find the time to go? It is all about the motivation to get there. I am going to keep this one in mind when I am having those "I don't wanna" days.:)

Have a good one girls.

ummmmmm...
 

Yeah Sim!!!

Well, Thursday was both good and bad...

Good: I did fabulous (4th day now) with food, water, and did my cardio at lunch! :cp:

Bad: Just my drama around one friend who I wish was much much more than a friend. I don't even want to go into it.

Good: Although I was VERY UPSET last night and in need of a Ben&Jerry 3some, instead of eating I went on a closet cleaning frenzy - okay, I also put away some stuff that was all about "him".

Bad: The closet cleaning frenzy didn't start until about midnight, and it lasted a couple hours, and I still had a hard time falling asleep when I went to bed. Needless to say, I am buttass :tired: tired today.

Plan for today - cardio at lunch, do my water, stick with my eating, and finish the closet cleaning frenzy. At least Goodwill will benefit from my drama.

Happy Friday the 13th!

psm

Moving us up!

It feels like food has been bad for a couple of days. Maybe its because I just had dinner. :p

I've walked the dog everynight but haven't been on the spinner or bike much this week. Tomorrow my plan is to make a plan for the week - more veggies!

Today, I spent almost all day with my MIL doing some shopping with her. We hit several stores trying to find all the odds and ends she needed for her new apartment. It was hot too and we were in and out of the hot car. I am absolutely wiped out. I feel like I'm the one who is 83! I think the humidity is making me feel like a slug - an unambitious slug. Must get out of that funk! :yikes:

Everyone, have a great Sunday! Weekends are our toughest challenge so lets rise to it tomorrow!

Hello Ladies. Well another weekend past and did fine. I do not usually record my progress on the weekends, but sort of keep a mental track of how I am doing.

Tomorrow morning (Tuesday) is my weigh in day. I have no idea how this will go, because my plan has me weigh myself everyday and I have been all over the place for some reason. Oh well, we will just hope for the best. :dizzy: Have a great day.

monday morning checkin
 

I did pretty well this weekend, and I'm happy to say I'm down 2.4 pounds! Only 2 pounds away from 300! :D

Plan for today, I wrenched my back yesterday, so I'm home taking it easy today so my goal is pretty much to NOT spend the day on the sofa eating. My trainer wants me to do cardio 5x this week, and if my back is feeling better later I'll hit the gym.

Hope you ladies all had a wonderful weekend!

psm :)

Congrats Brunissen....you are going to make it, I know you will!!:cp:

I had a good day eating and am looking forward (?) to aerobics class tonight. Will report in on what the scale says tomorrow.

Tuesday...
 

I hope the scale is very good to you on your weigh in today Simcoe!

My Monday didn't go so well, I ate a WHOLE lot more than I should have. But, today is another day, and I'm not going to dwell about it.

Plan for today - cardio tonight, then the trainer. Food-1500 cal, 192 oz water.

psm :)

Had weigh in today and am the same as last week weigh in. This did not surprise or bother me because my weight was all over the place last week :dizzy: . I think that it is just one of those things.

My plan is to stay the course, eat properly and stay active. Same thing as always; not very romantic but in the end it seems to get the job done!

dietpower....
 

I'm with you Simcoe - as long as the numbers aren't going up, I'm fine with maintaining for a week or so....Since you and I are both using DietPower, I have a question for you - do you use their estimated calories for the amount you should be eating, or do you follow your own course. I pretty much ignore their suggested calories and follow what I believe is right for me, so I'm just curious about what others do....

psm :)

I did not realize that you were using the same progam as me. I use the daily calories they provide as a guide only. I am actually more interested in my mix of fat/carbs/protein. I don't think I have ever used the amount of calories they say; I am usually a bit under. I do like the act of recording everything I eat though. This I find keeps me on track more than anything. The one thing I find frustrating is that when I am in a plateau, like now, I hate watching that line on the graph stay the same and watching my projected weight go up. That being said, this is the only plan that has worked for me because I am totally accountable for what I eat; it is not a diet, but a tool for having a "healthy" eating plan.

Yeah, I hate seeing the line go flat...that's really the only reason I started weighing myself daily, so just I could see that I was doing something, good or bad. I asked about the calories, because it seems to think I need a whole lot less calories than I think I need, and it annoys me that I see how "overdrawn" I currently am...

psm

I agree about the calories. I am usually working off of a positive balance. That is why I asked a few weeks ago about how many calories you guys were using daily. Sometimes I feel that my biggest problem is not eating enough too.

WOO-HOO!!!!!
 

Well, even though today isn't my "official" weight day, I do weigh myself daily, and this morning for the first time in I don't know how many YEARS I am under 300 pounds!!!!! 298.8 to be exact!!!!

:dancer: :dancer: :dancer: :dancer:

I just stood there on the scale looking at the number, then gave my puppy a biscuit to celebrate!

Needless to say, I'm all jazzed, happy, and focused today on the weight loss! Also, worked with the evil trainer last night, and he and I made a bet - he wants to lose 7 pounds and put some more muscle on and I just want to lose, lose, lose weight and inches, so we have a 6 week challenge running. There are points for every pound lost and every change in measurement, and the most points at the end (the winner) gets taken to dinner by the other one. He's got the same bet going with two of his other clients. I am going to be the one to kick his ***!

Simcoe - I was trying to stick to 1200 calories/day, but I actually wasn't losing as much weight and was hungry all the time! So I bumped myself up to 1500-1800 calories/day (I try to stay on the low end) so I'm not hungry, and I have the evergry to get through my workouts. And it seems to be working, I'm losing at a reasonable pace once again.

Have a great Wednesday!

psm :D :D :D

Way to go Brunissen...I will do the happy dance for you :dance:

I did the aerobics thing last night and was at the gym this morning. I just recently upped the amount of weights I was using and am really feeling it now. Food was fine too and stayed within the calorie range. Brunissen, I would love to increase my food intake, but am nervous that I will start to gain again. Are you increasing your protein, carbos or what?

Simcoe - Actually, I decreased my protein, and increased my carbs and fat (yes, my fat intake). I try to stick with the healthy fat (nuts and fish, very little red meat and dairy), and the healthier carbs (fruit, veggies, whole grains). Right now I aim for 20% protien, 50-60% carbs, and 20-30% fat.

Thanks for the help, B. It is nice to have someone else on this plan to hear ideas from.:)

I am soooo sorry, ladies! :sorry: I didn't realize so many days had slipped away since I had last reported in. I've been reading and I've been working my plan so I have not given up on the challenge.

The scale is dipping down so I believe all this concentration on increasing exercise (and just plain sticking to it) is paying off. I hope to have a good WI on Saturday morning. I need to go drink a bunch of water tonight to help ward off water retention that always seems to happen at WI time.

Bruissen - :bravo: for such a great reward on the scale. Unofficial or not, it happened!

Simcoe - holding steady on the scale can be frustrating but looks like you've got the right attitude about it. It will happen if you stick to your plan and it can't happen if you don't. It will happen for you soon!

Thanks ladies for keeping the challenge going. Even though I have not reported in like I should, I do believe this challenge is making a difference for me. I know my stamina is improved and the scale has moved down in the last six weeks. While I'm not on the pace I had wanted, its better than holding steady at where I was six weeks ago. I believe we have six weeks left. Now's the time for me to set my plans to kick it up a notch and see if I can't get more pounds off. No time for slacking!

Where are all the other recruits?? I hope Aramantha is doing okay and that its just computer problems.

Take care!

Wednesday
 

I did well yesterday IN SPITE of the two donuts I "HAD" to have, and you know as I was eating them I realized I just didn't enjoy the taste of them as I had in the past. I also didn't drink enough water, and TOM is banging on the door trying to get in just in time to screw up my weighin and measurements for the bet with my evil trainer. *sigh*

Plan for today: Cardio at lunch, 1500 calories, 192 oz water!! I may be working with the evil trainer tonight - he's going to call if he has an opening in his schedule, otherwise I "may" go swimming depending on TOM of course.

Determined - Welcome Back!!

Have a great day ladies!

psm :)

Welcome Back, Terri. I agree....where are all the others??? Just the small but mighty left I guess.

Today I have the dreaded PMS monster and am STARVING!!!:devil: So far, so good though and I am staying on track. If I eat a bit more, I will just increase the exercise. I have aerobics tonight which I never feel like doing, but am always glad I did.

Take care Ladies, and talk to you soon.

Hi! :wave:

I'm glad to report that food is good for the day and I just finished 20 minutes on the spinner. I'll take the dog for a 30 min walk before bed.

Good luck ladies with beating that PMS hunger monster. Its a tough one to overcome. Do either of you take soy? I drink soy milk and take a calcium, magnesium, and zinc supplement. I think the combination has help alleviate some of the symptons of PMS. I also tried upping my water intake around PMS time and it did help - once I got focused on it.

For me, drinking soy milk would be worse than the symptoms of PMS:lol:

I don't drink soymilk (yuck!), but I do eat soy protein bars and shakes. And my current favorite snack is baked soy pasta chips - mighty tasty, good source of protein and low fat, and they satisfy any chip cravings I may have. I do find I need to really watch how much soy I eat, too much and not only are my cramps WORSE, but I get them the entire month...

Thursday...
 

I did really really well yesterday on my food, water, and cardio in spite of TOM banging on the door!

Tonight is the weighin/measure with the evil trainer to mark the start of our 6-week bet. I'm almost disappointed that I'm not really bloatee because that'd be a SURE FIRE way to have lost inches when the bet is over.

Happy Friday, and I hope you ladies have a great weekend! I'm going shopping tomorrow for some smaller sized girlie clothes!

psm :)

Well shoot, I just hit some combo of keys and all my text disappeared. I'll start over.

Okay, I guess the soy milk is out. :lol:

Today was Employee Appreciation Day at work so they provided a picnic for us - shredded beef sandwich, potato salad, slaw, and beans. I got small portions because frankly, the food looked yucky. Wasn't bad except it was too soupy. The bad thing was the Drumstick ice cream. Yummy! Tonight, DH is making chicken, peppers and a small amount of pasta. I need to get up and spend some time on the spinner. I know I'll walk the dog later on.

Tomorrow is WI. Its also our department picnic so food will be bad tomorrow night. Its just going to be that way because I haven't had so many picnics yet that I'm sick of them! :lol:

I think DH and I are going to try the South Beach Diet. Well, I'm going to tailor our WW plans towards that philosophy. Since he is diabetic, I've done a lot of reading on the glycemic value of carbs and stuff trying to figure out the best foods for us to eat. Breads & starches have always been a downfall for me so I have been trying to limit those. The S.B. diet is geared toward the same type of eating plan. I'd like to help him jump-start and have some success.

Bruissen - Have fun shopping! How great for smaller-sized clothes - that always makes it more fun.

Have a good weekend!

hey all
 

well, i haven't been doing good with dieting or even with my posting (coincidence, i think not) anyways, i need to catch up on things before monday. I'm gonna start an official bfl challenge and i don't want any excuses. My eating and exercises so far is sporadic at best and i need to do something, maybe doing the pics and all required will kick me in the butt.

Hey girls! :wave: Sorry I kinda dropped out of the challenge. I started BFL (Day 12 today), and my focus has been on that. I haven't lost any weight on it yet, but I'm getting stronger and building muscle. I can already see the difference in my biceps! The changes will come soon, as more muscle means more burn.

Congrats on the successes you are having!

Well, I was very busy yesterday, so I did not have time to report. My daughter just graduated from High School and has a job as a camp counsellor for the summer, so we had to make the long trek up north last night to drop her off.

I was eating on the run all day yesterday, although did fairly well. I am so happy to report, that even though today is not my official weigh in day, that I have broken my plateau. Weight today is down to 183 which is down 1.5LB. Also I did my measurements, and my waist is also down 1 inch. Now that I am moving again, I am so glad that I persevered and stuck with it. You know those days when you think "what's the point"? Thanks girls for supporting me through another, with I am sure, many to come, dreaded plateau. :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend. The weather here is wonderful, very warm and sunny :cool:

I had a good weekend program wise as well and was able to maintain my loss from Friday. Off to aerobics tonight, although this and Thursday are my last formal classes for the summer. I will have to make sure I find some other aerobic activity that I can do consistently to see me through until September. These classes are held at our local public school and do not run during non class times.

Thursday is our last day of school here, and since I drive a school bus, I am really looking forward to it. The summer off can't come soon enough!!!:p

Monday....
 

I hate Mondays....just didn't feel like dragging my butt out of bed this morning. BUT at least the scale said happy things - I'm OFFICIALLY under 300 pounds! I weighed in at 298.2 this morning! :cp:

Plan for today, 1500-1600 calories, 160 oz water, 1 hour plyometrics with the evil trainer, do my stretching.

Hope you ladies had a good weekend.


psm :)

Hi ladies,

Time for Monday's report. DH and I started the South Beach phase 1 today. Wow, this will take some getting used to - worth it once we get used to it, I hope. I need to do some better planning for small, more frequent meals. I only had the energy to do 10 minutes on the airdyne. That's because DH had to take a ride tonight instead of fixing dinner and I was starved. But, food is good today and I will take the big dog for a nice walk here as soon as the sun goes down.

Congrats, Bruissen! :bravo: Congrats, Simcoe! :bravo: We just have to hang in there long enough and the results will come! Keep up all the great work! We're on the downhill slide of this challenge.

So Terri, what exactly is the South Beach diet? I've heard of it, but I have never looked into it.

Did okay on monday, didn't drink enough water, and my trainer had to cancel our session. Plan for today, the usual, and GET SOME SLEEP tonight! :tired:


psm

Congrats on everyone's continued success.

I am with you Brunissen...what is the south beach diet?? I tend to stay away from so called "diets", because I find they only work in the short term, but I am always interested in getting ideas to incorporate into my calorie reduced plan.

Everything okay here but it is HOT :devil:, so there is no working out in the outdoors during the day. Made a stop at the gym this a.m. to get in the weights and will go for a walk tonight when it is hopefully cooler.

I read about the SB diet in the prevention magazine. Their website has the article.

www.prevention.com

It is basically a healthy version of Atkins. It promotes lean meats, vegetables, the good fats, and low-glycemic fruits. It was designed by a cardiologist for his patients with triglyceride and diabetes. This is supposed to be good for both of those - which my DH has. Phase 1 is where you eliminate the starchy, high-sugar foods from your diet - rice, bread, potatoes, most dairy, corn and fruits. Phase 1 is supposed to achieve a resetting of how the body metabolizes the carbs and how insulin reacts. Then in phase 2, you can add back the carbs and dairy in small amounts - preferably low-sugar, high-fiber. You add back at a level where you are still losing weight and staying satisfied. What you should get to is being able to eat lean meat, lots of veggies, moderate fruits, yogurt, milk, and occassional high-glycemic carbs.

In reality, it is a well balanced nutrition plan that focuses on lean meats, good carbs, good fats, and healthy dairy products. This could be done by any nutrition program such as Fitday or WW. I don't think of it as a "diet" that focuses on total reliance on one food (cabbage soup) or permanently eliminating something (low-fat or low-carb). It just emphasizes the best foods for someone with blood sugar and triglyceride or those who have too much belly fat leading to higher risk of heart disease.

This is how I've been trying to get DH to eat within the WW program for a long time. He just refuses to even try to understand WW - says its too complicated. He understands this program so I'm letting him plan and cook around it while I use the WW tools to make sure we're getting enough calories and not too much calories.

Sorry - that turned into a small novella. :o

Terri - The diet sounds interesting - you'll have to let us know how it works for you. Has phase I been very painful? I remember back in the 70's when the Atkins diet first came out, I tried it and all the protein with no carbs just made me miserable!

Did well yesterday, aiming to do well today. I haven't gotten in my cardio at all this week, and let me tell you I see the difference in my daily weigh-ins!

Have a great day ladies!

psm :)

I agree....tried the low carb thing and just had the worst headaches! I was struggling back in January and did Suzanne Somers for a couple of weeks just to get me kick started. This worked, but is not something I could do long term. Too much denial!!

All going well here...staying on target with the food and exercise. Only one more day until the end of school........:D

Well, Wednesday was okay. But I haven't been doing my cardio AT ALL this week, and let me tell you girls, the numbers on the scale show it! If I don't get my butt in gear, not only will I NOT lose this week, I may even gain. :( And I've got lunch with friends today and dinner with friends Saturday night to get through before the next "official" weigh-in. *sigh*

psm

Hi ladies!

I've had four really good food days. I've walked the dog each night but in this phase 1, I have not had the stamina to hit the cardio very hard. Which is okay, my body will adjust and next week will be better.

I am down four pounds so far so this has helped me break past a plateau area.

I did ride my bike 20 minutes tonight and will take the dog on his 40 minute walk later on.

Keep up all the great work!

:bravo: Terri! So the SB diet is working out for you so far then??? Hasn't it been really hard to stick to? I read about it on that link you posted, and I think no bread for 2 weeks would kill me!

I am not doing as well :( ....I haven't done ANY cardio this week :nono:, and believe me I won't be making this mistake again. I weighed myself this morning as I was back up to 301.8....it was so sad to no see the number start with a 2, but I hope it was the kick in the pants I need to get my butt back in gear.

A friend who I haven't seen in probably 2 1/2 months stopped by last week, and he did notice how much I have lost, so that was nice. :)

This weekend I'm going do my cardio, so some swimming and go a bike ride with a friend Sunday Morning - so hopefully that combined with watching my eating will at least mean I don't gain for my official monday morning weight.

Congrats on the loss so far Terri. I agree with you Brunissen, if I don't do any cardio I can kiss any weight loss good-bye. It does not matter what else I do, cardio is key. Remember, weight training builds up muscle, but cardio burns fat.

I did a muscle conditioning class last night and my aerobics this morning. Tomorrow we are going to go to the zoo, which will be alot of walking. This time we are packing a lunch instead of buying lunch there, which will definitely save a few cals.

I know we all struggle on the weekends, so lets try and stay positive and just do our best. Let's not strive for perfection, but our best on any given day is pretty darn good too.