I'm late to the party as well! The next few weeks are going to be really busy ones, but I'm determined to stay on track. Mid to upper 40's for my area this week so I have absolutely no reason not to hit the trails. Got out hiking on Sunday to test the hip and back and I did very well. Congratulations, Cassie, on getting back to your pre-Christmas weight... no small feat! I still remain on the worlds longest plateau...:mad: I guess with the injury, I should be glad to maintain and not gain. Enjoyed a piece of cake that my husband brought me yesterday from a friend of mine who's an incredible pastry chef. Will not be weighing in today! Keeping things simple as this is going to be a crazy week or two. On to this weeks goals:

Food & Fitness Related:

1. Limit calories to 1200 and log everything.
2. Continually drink fluids all day long.
3. Balance pie chart.
4. Trail walk at least 3 times this week, weather permitting.

Personal Goals:

1. Continue with "do something nice each day". (It's actually getting to be fun!)
2. Continue with growing mound of daughter's applications, letters, etc. (Every time I catch up, she brings me more...:()

That is correct, no blood on my shirt.



http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...RRMNO20112.jpg

Just in your shoe?

lol

I'm not sure if this is a look of joy or a look of pain.:eek:

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i.../RRMNO2011.jpg

Health and fitness:
1) drink a gallon of water per day yes 140oz.
2) 400 cals deficient for 6 days nope (cheat day)
3) workout 3 days no
4) play tennis at least one time no
5) no cereal for the week no
6) stay off the scale until Friday didn't get on it

Other:
1) make 50 calls to prospects 0 (took day off)
2) clean my car nope

Great photo Mike!

review of my goals:

-track, stay w/in WW points allowance

I tracked everything but went over my points allowance by 12 bc my roommate decided to have people over for a milkshake making competition. wow. those tasted really good but I was so pissed that I ate it. I only had a total of 8-10 oz, always could have been worse. i was angry at myself though.


-aim to have the majority of my food journal be healthy, power foods
everything but the milkshakes was a power food

-cardio workout for 30 min 3X per week and put equal effort into doing weights
not yet, but I needed a rest day bc the last two days I worked out pretty hard

-note that Fri. and Sat. night will be spent out at restaurants with friends and leave extra points for those meals. Also, eat something before dinner so that I am not too hungry when reading the menu.
-still working on mentally preparing

Thanks, Quinn. I'm about a pound, pound and a half away from my lowest, but I'm in my comfort range and the clothes fit okay, so I'm going to let it go for now. After all, if you keep trying to beat your lowest, where does it stop? That messes with my head too much.

Congrats to you on your ONE YEAR of maintenance! That is awesome. I also really admire you hanging tough at 1200 calories. Seems like once I hit my goal, even if I messed up on a vacation or a holiday, I never could get myself back to limiting the calories that much. You have willpower of iron, seriously!

Dang, Mike...I'm really impressed here! Hope the recuperation is going well.

Way to plan ahead, Julia!

You must be talking about your expression, the woman in front of you is clearly in pain.

Julia, congrats on your weight loss! Welcome back and best wishes on your goals.

Jennybeeb, you have come to the right place! Almost everyone in this group is highly motivated and I've found it's contageous. :)

Kumochi Mary. I'm also 64 and just retired this year from babysitting four of our seven grandkids as the youngest started first grade this school year. Now I only have them on school holidays and during the summer months. I love them dearly, but I always had kids to babysit since 1976 and after 34 years of babysitting I cherish my independence. Good for you for checking out physical activities for when the kids are in school.

Mambogirl, welcome back. To log homemade foods that aren't in the Fitday database, I advance to the next day's food log, enter all the ingredients, and then divide by the number of servings, weight, or measurement of the food. Then I enter the nutrition facts for the servings as a custom food and when done, I delete where I let Fitday do the calculations for me and return to the current day's food log.

Jess, good for you for finding a new exercise and for being such a good influence on your boyfriend.

Stacey, I HATE losing posts! Big hug to ya!

Hi, Mike. You can clean MY car, too! LOL

Mai, good for you for trying to getting back on the wagon! We're rooting for you to achieve your goals.

Rhoda, get well soon!

Jacqueline, wow! Thanks for the great motivation: "Another week, another opportunity to succeed..."

Rose, thanks for the congrats on my weight loss. I see you plan to work really hard on your goals again this week.

Cassie, you posted another great motivation: "Even if we weren't altogether successful, at least we learn something every step of the way, right?" That's one of the keys to success. Bleeding nipples! LOL LOL LOL

Quinn, I have to log every morsel of food that goes into my mouth. Lot of work, but it's so worth it.

Almeeker, your post about mascara reminded me of a happening way back in 1985 when my son was in first grade. I have always hated makeup. It looks great on others, but washing my face and then putting makeup on made me feel not clean anymore, even though I knew I was. I'm the same way with my hair--can't stand to wash my hair and then use hairspray or mousse. LOL In 1985 my son asked me why I never wear makeup and I explained ladies look so pretty with makeup and I jokingly told him "but I don't need makeup because I'm already beautiful." But he took that seriously. That same school year, for Mothers' Day the class made cards with fill-in-the-blank sentences. For the one that started "My Mom is beautiful when..." he wrote "...she doesn't wear makeup becaue she's already beautiful." LOL

My achievements Monday--nutrition counts low because I wasn't feeling good from early afternoon until late this morning. Must have been a mild virus. But I'm fine now.

Calories 1101
Protein 90g
Carbs less fiber 12g
Water--not good--only about 35 ounces as I recall.
Exercise spectacular :D--glad I did it in the morning before I started feeling bad! Goal was 21 minutes aerobic walking at 4MPH and I did 22 1/2.

Not so good
 

Thanks Mern and congrat on your weight lost.
This is my report:
Calories :mad:
workout ;)
water :)
log in food:o


Today is a new day. I am doing ok so far.
Mai

Mike, Congratulations on the race! The most I've done is a 10k and I am trying to talk myself into training for a 1/2, but I haven't been running much this winter because I am a sissy when it comes to running in the cold :D

Quinn, Wow! One year of maintenance! That's fantastic.I joined Fitday right after you hit your goal weight and remember telling myself that I would be you someday since we are around the same height and starting weight. Well, I never got to my goal and I've gained most of what I lost back, so sigh..BUT I still hope to be you someday :)

Aww....:o Thank you so much! That's so sweet. I haven't been much to admire lately, that's for sure! Trying to take off 4 measly pounds and I've come up with a big FAIL. lol I think I'm back to some of my old tricks... being strictly at 1200 all week long and then, on weekends although I eat healthy, my portions are too big and I throw away the progress that I made all week. Lots to celebrate lately, too which, although wonderful, messes me up. But thank you for the wonderful compliment!!!

Mike, I really admire your running. Although I used to be a distance swimmer, I was never any good on land! lol I trained to swim for miles on end but couldn't run for 4 blocks. (Never quite figured that out.)
Now, with the SI thing, I can't take the jarring. But know how completely jealous I am of the awesome freedom to run like you do.

Cassie, Thanks! You're right behind me, girl! (And at your skinny weight, too!!!) :D

Mai, thanks for your congrats. I smiled at your smilie daily report. Good to make a little light of the situation. Nice that we can start with a clean slate daily, feel good about each accomplishment, and put the goals we did not achieve behind us and start anew.

Ugh! Struggle struggle this week! My chest cold went to my head and now appears to be a sinus infection. Trying to tend things as best I can, and still maintain some moderate exercise. I can manage weights, but the cardio stuff is pretty wimpy.

On another note, I'm sure this has happened to others - - - I've eliminated ALL junk food (cookies, chips, candy, flavored lattes) and unhealthy fats (thick butter smeared on saltines!). At the end of the day when I calculate my nutrition (all meals being consistent), I end up under 1000! Imagine that, I've been eating an extra 1000 calories a day in junk. I have absolutely no energy, possibly a result of eating less sugar or my low-grade sinus problem. So now I need to go and scratch around the fridge for an apple or something equally wonderful. (Last night my husband and I shared two 1-1/2" cheesecakes from Whole Foods--soooo tasty.)

It seems like many of us on this thread are sick or have been recently. So I'm glad you all are here keeping me focused albeit sickish. Thanks everyone!

weight:
~ food wise stick with my plan yes
~ log all foods i've eatenyes
~ do cardio 6 days 1 yes
~ do strength training 6 days, yes, yes
~ get 90 oz of water in yes
~ continue to not emotionally eat. be real with what i'm feeling at the moment & talk to someone, write it down, come here & vent, but don't stuff my feelings down with food.yes
~ be honest to myself when weighing myself
non weight goals:
~ put effort in every day in what i'm wearing & how i look.yes
~ get back to my routine in organizing my house. not yet

made an edit to my goals this week as i think this one is important for me. to be real about what my weight is. going to weigh myself only on the same spot on the floor EXACTLY & not move it around to get the lowest number. going to just stand in the middle of the scale i know where to stand to get the lowest number. it's not about the lowest number it's about being real & honest to MYSELF.

Cassie ~ i WILL have fun at bellydancing. i get to wear a jingly hip belt, socialize a little & get some exercise.

mambo ~ your bagles i would do what cassie suggested make them a custom food doesn't take long & then they are there always.

quin ~ wish we could go hiking here jealous. it is cold today trying to snow MORE & tomorrow so be back around -15 C ~sigh~ congrats on the one year maintenance.

mike ~ i think the pictue looks good

julia ~ great job on the plan woo hoo that's how you get it done.

i've been having trouble with my I.T. Band it runs from the top of your hip down the outer side of you leg to you knee. mine acts up due to my osteo-arthritis, but last night i made it feel much better. got one of those noodles kids used in the pool cut it about 2/3 in size & the start at my hip with pretty much full body weight & roll my body along the noodle & when i hit a point of tension i just let my body stay there. there wasn't much rolling & lots of staying in one spot as my I.T. Band was really tight, but it doesn't ache today woo hoo. i'll do it again tonight.

LOL I wish I could run 4 blocks too! Seriously after a minute and a half I'm done. I feel so out of shape when I run, and even worse the next day.

If I can do a 1/2, anyone can. But the 1st step is to find one and commit by signing up. You can do it!

Thanks. Yep, plan ahead for the weekend, you know it's coming, If you have to, look online for the nutritional information for the restaurants BEFORE going.

Thanks... you must be easily impressed. ;) I feel must better today, so that means it's time to hit the gym.

Yeah I was looking at the picture and I think she may have Down's Syndrome, which was odd b/c I was wearing my work shirt that has the logo about helping special needs families.

I probably won't get to mine this week, but that for the offer. :D

have fun belly dancing! Thanks, the picture would have looked better if I wasn't bringing up the rear though.

There must be a "computer virus" going around since so many of us are sick. Y'all gave me something. ;) I'm feeling better today, but don't have much of an appetite. My stomach isn't upset, but I had to force myself to eat something to keep my strength up.

Sandi, just be sure you are getting enough calories so your body doesn't go into starvation mode and start hanging onto every little calorie you consume. Also be sure you're getting the recommended daily requirement of vitamins and minerals if you're not taking a multi vitamin.

Stacey, congrats on that wonderful report! I have a certain spot where I put my scale, too. But even then it's fickle, varying as much as 3 lbs. on the same weigh in. I step on it three times in a row and to err on the conservative side of weight loss, I take the highest weight I see as my official weight for that day. Using the pool noodle for your IT Band problem was really interesting to me, but I got a little lost. Was the point of using the noodle that way to be able to apply uniform pressure yourself to get pain relief?

Cassie, when is the pedi? Did you find a color for me? Oh crap, I think I posted something about that if I didn't make my 2:38 goal.

Stacey, your #'s are looking great! Sometimes when I lose a post I click the back button to recover it. I hope we gets that fixed soon. You are right about being real with yourself. Fudging numbers will only hold you back.

mambogirl, don't underestimate the power of sleep! What kind of dance competition?

quinn, better late than never. I've been plateaued for a year. :(

Julia, that milkshake will last about as long as bathing if you don't let it get you down.

Mern, 12g net carbs?? :eek: I'd be happy with 200g. NICE!

Mia, I like the smileys (sp?). How much water are you drinking?

Sandi, being sick doesn't help with energy either. Are you taking a good daily vitamin?

[copies and pastes in word before I dare click Submit Reply];)

Mern, you hit it spot on. I was going strong and then woke up horribly ill this morning. I'm all for calorie reduction, but this whole nausea bit can kiss my calorie-coated-fanny for what I care. :mad: Though this just goes to show me that as I age, I just can't eat the things that I used to. I've decided to take this as a good thing and use it as motivation to eat better! No more fastfood meatballs for me!

All I can say about this thread is that you are all wonderful and motivating.

mhibdon, Fast food meatballs? Oy, I'm getting heartburn just reading your post.

Mia, keep the smilies coming. It reminds me of this job site I used to have, the GC on the job had a thumb sign, when things were good the thumb pointed up, when things were bad the thumb pointed down. I could always tell as I pulled into the parking lot what sort of meeting we were going to have.

Mern, I have to say you are a true inspiration, and I love to see your aerobic progress, from 5 minutes to 22 1/2 minutes in just a few weeks, girlfriend you're rockin' it.

Mike, I think it's time to man-up and get that mani-pedi, in scarlet. It'll match your blisters...

Stacey, the neighbor lady and I are going to sign up for a Zumba class together, I told her about your costume and after Zumba is over maybe she and I should find a belly dancing studio.

Cassie, congrats on getting back to "pre-holiday" weight, I'm jealous as all get out, but happy for you all the same.

Tuesday Report Card

Health and fitness goals:

1. Keep calories to 1,500 weekdays and 2,000 weekends. NO 2,266, Almost 1,565
2. Workout 6 hours. 80 min, 32 min (total 1:52)
3. Drink 96oz water. YES, YES
4. Calorie deficit 3,500 for the week (average 500/day). -505, -910 (Total 1,415)
5. Limit grain based carbs to 2 servings/day or less. NO 3 YES 2
6. Eat 5 servings of fruits & veggies/day. NO 4, YES 5 1/2
7. Keep carbs to 45% or less. NO 47%, YES 40%

Non-fitness goals:

8. Apply mascara 5X. YES NO
9. Average 6 items/day from the "LIST". NO, NO 1
10. Clean out one small area of the basement. NO, NO
11. Clean out car, the forecast says 50ish on Friday, so hopefully then. NO, NO
12. Clean 2 rooms daily (15 min each) and 1 load of laundry. 2 out of 3, YES
13. Get 2 pieces of DD's bloomer dress finished!!! NO YES Bloomers are done, bonnet in progress
14. Call Grandma. NO, NO I'm so lame
15. Register for race and call SIL about same.NO, NO

Today was much better than pretty much all last week. Made some progress, and was even able to keep the carb monster in check for the most part.

Reporting for Monday and Tuesday
 

my goals for this week are:

• Use a water bottle at work and home :)

• Upgrade my workout on the elliptical from manual to 'intervals' :D

• Balance ball workout 5-7 times/week - Yes Tuesday
• Balanced pie chart 30/30/40 - Yes Both days
• Make sure my DH knows he is appreciated and loved - actually I think he is the one who is appreciating me and treating me like a princess...;)

Almeeker, congrats to you on your health and fitness achievements today! I can't tell you how good it made me feel to get kudos on my exercise. Thank you SO much! :D 22 1/2 minutes might seem lame to many, but it's a real challenge for me. I told my husband today I'm not sure I can add a whole minute at a time from here on out to work up to my goal of 30 minutes, but I'm going to try hard. I may have to add just half a minute, but even shorter baby steps will still get me there.

Mike, unfortunately those 12g carbs yesterday and 19g today were not in nutritionally balanced meals because of not feeling well and having a poor appetite. For some reason whatever hit me gave me a temporary aversion to protein.

mhibdon, I totally agree with you. It's so important to eat nutritionally balanced meals, less fast foods and less convenience foods with all their preservatives and ingredients I can't even pronounce. I'm not a nutrition expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I cook MOSTLY from scratch now so I know what I'm eating. But, then again, I don't work outside the home, so I have more time to cook than most of the members here. Good for you: when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. Happy more healthful eating!

Jacqueline, you go girl! Two fantastic days to report and a husband who treats you like a princess!

I survived!
 

Phew! I made it through today. I lost myself in the beginning, did my exercise and got to work and felt a bit depressed but I think that’s thanks to the lovely mood swings of my period… (sorry Mike) =P

I thought I went overboard on Calories since I ate more in my lunch meal than usual but I still have 200 to spare so I’m doing good!

Muna – I meant with the game that I bought lol I just got it and I love it! and Stacey it’s actually for the Kinect- the upgrade of the Wii for the Xbox 360 and it’s so fun! It’s easy to get into and I just wish I had more time to play with it but I’m either sleeping or working but tonight I’m going to try to squeeze some more exercise in =P

Mern – yea I am proud of my boyfriend too, and he’s actually keeping me on track too lol because I wanted to try the Special K diet and this morning he yelled at me for not eating the Special K cereal =P well not really yelled but said “Hey! We’re on the special k diet!” lol.. kind of =P


Diet and such:
1. Drink 96 oz of Water a day, try for an extra 32- 1. Yep, got an extra 16. 2. Got 96 for sure and working on the rest before midnight
2. Exercise once a day (at least) with Biggest Loser 1. Did 4 times that this morning! 2. Yep
3. Workout with the Ab Lounge 10 min a day- add more minutes later 1. Not this morning.2. Not sure about 10 min but 5 for sure!
4. Stick to 1,300-1,400 calories per day. 1. Yep/ 2. Yes
5. Burn more Calories than eaten by at least 1,000 Cal difference 1. Definitely/ 2. Pretty Sure

Non diet and such:
1. Buy a scale - Looks like exercising is rubbing off on the roomies! They're going to buy a scale and look into getting more things for the basement and pretty soon the basement will be the work out room! Woo!
2. College and blaah stuff - I really need to find that paper lol
3. Sort out the room - (iffy) Maybe this weekend =/ I have Friday off woo!

well tomorrow I am going to try and go to the gym ....:eek:I need to

My goals got a bit whacked today, but I was sickly so I'll give myself a pass for the day. Poor SO had to (almost) literally drag me to the doctor, I'm just too stubborn for my own good since I feel 5000X better now and just hit my cal max with Gatorade.

For any of you ladies who happen to like cultural weight stuff: When I was avoiding my studies I came across a Youtube video of "Super Skinny Me" where an English woman challenges the "Size Zero Mindset"


Health:
1. Drink >1L H2O: Yes No
2. 1300<Devour<1800: Yes Yes! (1800 exactly!)
3. Multivitamin, Vit. D, & Metformin: Yes No
4. Go to Gym (Even if I promptly walk right back out) No No

Life:
1. Sit in the sun for 2 hours: 30mins -
2. Go to Crew Practice: No No
3: Sort Clothes: No No
4. Donate clothes: This is a weekend goal.
5. Finish CITI training: Just added- Working on it!

Wow, there certainly has been the share of folks with nasty bugs going around. I hope all who were laid low are feeling better.

Thanks to everyone who gave me some positive feedback. I hope I can stay at my goal now. Somehow maintaining is just as hard as losing, but in a different way. I have come to realize over the past year that you don't get to goal and stay exactly there...it's back and forth, but keeping the variation small is important (we'll see if I can do that NEXT time).

Mern, I was glad to see that you mentioned cooking mostly from scratch. I think that's important if you can do it. I do work outside the home, but I can also work a lot at home, and make my own hours, so I'm able to do that a good bit. Over the past year, it has really hit home for me how many additives and preservatives are in processed foods and I've started making frm scratch things I used to buy out of convenience...like granola, granola bars, muffins, rice, pancakes, trail mix, popsicles, fruit syrup, even rolls and bread and pizza. Maybe if there is some interest we could get a thread going with ideas; almeeker does a lot of scratch cooking too and probably has a ton of thoughts.

Well, gotta do my progress report and get off, since I have that half-hour before bed goal to abide by!

1. Balance the pie chart (no numbers, just balance). Yep, Yes-not great but acceptable
2. Sleep 7 hours a night. Yep, Yep
3. Turn off all the electronics at least half an hour before bed, and read. No-report from last night, since tonight hasn't happened yet Yep
4. Exercise outside one day this week, preferably two. Not today, Yep
5. Exercise at least once this week with friends and/or family members. Not today Yep
6. Incorporate a stretching/flexibility workout into the mix twice this week. Not yet
7. Dress nicely and make an effort at minimal makeup even if not working that day; the pushed-for-time grad student look is old now. Yep, Yep-worked today, but left on the nice clothes and makeup to run to the store after dinner
8. Do an at-home mani-pedi this week (this is something I won't spend money on). Not yet
9. Use my gift card from Christmas to buy something for myself that is not entirely practical. Will be over the weekend
10. List two things daily that I didn't/couldn't/wouldn't do before that now I do, can, and will. Yep, Yep-putting them in the journal

And of course, with a nod to reality:

11. One office organizational task daily. Nope, come on; it's Valentine's Day! Yep
12. One room's trim painted by the end of the weekend. Will have to wait for the weekend
13. Keep working on short, mid and long range financial plans with hubby. Will also wait for the weekend

Wednesday challenge
 

Stop whatever you are doing right this second (and let's be clear here, I know you are sitting on your butt looking at your computer monitor), drop down and do as many push-ups as you can for one whole minute. It's okay if you have to drop down to your knees, but don't let up for the whole minute.

Okay now how many did you do?

I managed 15 regular and 17 more on my knees. This was after I'd done planks, so my arms were already shaking, I expect your numbers to be higher, now get to it.

Almeeker, I chuckled when I saw your instructions. At 64 my problem is that it's hard to begin with to get down on my knees, and when I do, I need help getting up. I can't do even one pushup alone, but I did 22 slow AbSlide contraption reps--akin to rolling pushups.

Jess, let us know how that Special K diet works out for you and your boyfriend.

Rhoda, did you make it to the gym?

mhibdon, glad you feel better. Just curious since you're on Metformin--how many net carbs (grams of carbs less grams of fiber) are you allowed to have in a day?

Cassie, I've heard from others who have reached goal weight that maintaining is just as hard, if not harder than losing weight. I'm glad you have some time to cook from scratch. Let us know if you start a recipe thread because I don't normally venture out into other threads--I'll certainly contribute. What's great is that for those who cook, it's easy to adapt a low fat recipe into low carbohydrate and vice versa. And for those who don't usually cook, they might be surprised to find how easy some recipes are or get some ideas to try some new foods to keep their menus from getting so boring that they give up trying to lose weight or maintain.

My Tuesday achievements were not too good because I was still recovering from a mild virus or something that created poor appetite, aversion to protein, and horribly unbalanced meals. But I'm perfectly OK now.

Food:
Calorie limit 1600, actual 996 (I don't like to go under 1200)
Carbs less fiber limit 25g, actual 18g (not 19 as I thought last night) but 18g is not good with such low protein intake.
Protein goal 110g, actual a dreadful 26g.

Water-dreadfully low. Had to force myself to drink even hot tea.

Exercise-repeated 22 1/2 minutes aerobic walking, but that's still great because my goal today was to reach 23 minutes.

Permission To Hijack, Please!
 

Good Morning All!

Just wanted to take a moment to sincerely thank each and every one of you on this site for helping me reach my one year of maintenance. Although it may seem easy, maintenance is, as others have said, sometimes harder than getting the weight off in the first place. I have humbly learned that it takes several things to come together, cosmically, at once. :o

First, it takes a permanent change in the way that you view food that doesn't end the day that you reach your goal. On other weight loss attempts, once the weight was off, I said "Boy! I'm glad that's over!" and I returned to my bad habits over time. Within a year or so the weight also returned.

Second, I look at food as an addiction much like alcohol. I can't have a little bit of deep-fried or a little bit of this or that. Once I let the forbidden food back in, it's really tough not to want more and more of it. People hate to hear this, but maintenance is dieting... you just add a few more calories of the same healthy foods to keep your weight level. Does that make sense?

Third, IT'S ALL OF YOU!!!
I have taken off big chunks of weight before, but I've never kept it off. The total difference is surrounding yourself with positive, friendly, motivated people with similar goals. I have met so many incredible people on this site over the last 14 months! Some have been with me from the start of my journey. To you I say thank you so much for sharing your journeys with me. You really inspire me. I feel a warm friendship with you all and thank you for keeping me on track (and listening to me bitch when I'm down! :o) Sometimes even people within your own home just don't get it, but I always know that you do. Others that I've gotten to know over the last year, are no longer posting and I sometimes wonder how they are doing. Yet others I have just met and I love getting to know you. Your posts remind me of where I started and keep me focused on where I am.

One last thing. Thanks so much for being a group who allows everyone to share their ups and downs in life as we do this together without someone screaming "OFF TOPIC!!!" I think most of us are here because we are emotional eaters... we eat when we are happy. We eat when we are sad. We eat when we're lonely or bored. When you have a place where you can share what's going on, you're less likely to turn to food. It's all part of it. Talk things out and get it off your chest. Sometimes we can't pull our own "wagon" out of the ditch... we need a little help now and then.

Again, thanks. You're an amazing group!

Looking forward to today. It's sunny and beautiful and temps will reach the upper 40's compared to 30 below windchills last week. :eek: (Our record for today is 52.) Have a few hours of paperwork to do, then, sorry dear daughter, mom's hitting her favorite hiking trail! :cool: I'm excited to talk about "scratch cooking"! I have a culinary background and I do 100% scratch cooking. Nothing boxed enters my house. Even when I had little ones at home and worked 58 hours a week, it all started with fresh ingredients. It's not hard and you don't have to be a great cook...it just takes some planning. :D

Food and Diet Related:

1. Limit calories to 1200 and log everything. yes
2. Continually drink fluids all day long. yes
3. Balance pie chart. no, carbs were high
4. Trail walk at least 3 times this week, weather permitting. today

Personal Goals:

1. Continue with "do something nice each day". (It's actually getting to be fun!) yep
2. Continue with growing mound of daughter's applications, letters, etc. (Every time I catch up, she brings me more...) UGH...yes

HAPPY MAINTENANCE ANNIVERSARY, QUINN! CONGRATULATIONS!

and thanks for your heartfelt and informative post. :)

Quinn,
You're a real inspiration! I haven't been participating this week, but trying to keep up with everyone and everything. I hope to be like you some day!

Quinn, congrats on your one year. It's truly an accomplishment and I totally agree with everything you said. Thanks for putting it out there.

Nottango, congrats to you on only 9 pounds to go! I don't know if that recently changed, or if I am just noticing it, but that's fantastic!

I think we need a thread for scratch cooking. I am doing a lot of it but I'm always confused when people say they have no processed food at all; maybe someone can help. How do you make your own pasta, your own cereal, pretzels, things like that?

I'm going to run over and start a thread in the Food section, then run to work (well, not literally!). Have a great day!

Health and fitness:
1) drink a gallon of water per day yes 140oz., yes 140oz.
2) 400 cals deficient for 6 days nope (cheat day) yes -317
3) workout 3 days no yes
4) play tennis at least one time no, no
5) no cereal for the week no, no
6) stay off the scale until Friday didn't get on it, still doing good

Other:
1) make 50 calls to prospects 0 (took day off)11
2) clean my car nope, no

nice job. I managed 56 regular.


Jess, the period talk doesn't bother me. I'm an adult, I deal with them too and soon will have to deal with hot flashes. I hate when it's my "time of the month", I feel so bloated, moody, I can eat the house down and my nipples get tender... when they aren't bleeding, and damn it sometimes I just want to be left alone so I can watch Lifetime or WE. ;)

All right! I will do this once I get to my work :p I'm currently at the dentist while my boyfriend is getting drilled and hopefully can make it home to work out before I go work but I have Friday off! Woo!

Almeeker, I would love to take on your push up challenge--later. I'm STILL sick! Amazing, since I never get anything. Last night's temp was 101 again, and I'm thinking I might have a secondary infection (sinus?). I've felt good enough to maintain some exercise, esp weight training. But no high-end cardio, just cycling on errands and commutes.

Goals are to drink, drink, drink and continue eating clean. Still trying to add in some calories with healthy foods. Discovered I was eating at least 800-1000 calories a day in junk food! Essentially, I need to replace some of those calories with clean foods.

Diet/Fitness goals
1) 1600 cal/day, under 30% fat (yes all week)
2) 400-600/day calorie deficit through exercise alone by doing: (more like 300 a day)
a) cardio 5X/week
b) weights, 2X/week-full body (yes for the week)
4) 8+ glasses of water (yes all week)

Personal Project Goals:
1) Spend more time in my studio--4 days/wk minimum (only 2 days but productive)

Height: 5'4.5" (and shrinking!)
Start Weight 1/1: 135
Weight 2/16: 127.5 (already met next Monday's goal!)
Goal 2/21: 127.5
4/1/11 Goal: still 125!!!

Hey all I'm on my iPod so I can't do multiple quotes or anything and glad I'm not the one being seen by the dentist lol ugh I hate the dentist

Mern- will do but it's difficult for me to follow because I'm at work most of my days but I try to eat K every chance I get but I'll let you know if the scale moves from it lol

QUINN- Congrats!!!!! :) It's always wonderful to hear some one be successful with their goals and I agree that having others around to encourage you definitely helps!

Mike- Bleeding nipples?:eek: I hope you're just joking but not all women watch Life and We :p I actually watch Spike and G4 lol but I'm a nerd :( lol