quinnesec

Mern,

You're doing such a great job on your goals this week! I'm sure you'll be seeing that "new decade" very soon!

taubele

Mern: That veggie soup sounds delicious and is making me hungry even though I just ate breakfast! Mmmm...I suppose I'll just have to keep working on proper confrontation. I don't do very well with that, or with people looking over my shoulder as I work. I'm very much a "solo' type of worker ( though happy to teach if ASKED ) but I think in general I just have this personal bubble I don't like popped, and I have a lot of respect for others' personal bubbles, and I also generally see two sides to every argument immediately and have trouble taking my own side when I KNOW how flawed I am. Standing up for myself is very hard when I immediately see the opposing view... Also, your reports look GREAT! All those green numbers and letters!!

Cybervox: Goodness, I love reading about your chickens. There's love in every word, and it's just a joy to hear it in my head! I'm so very happy that Aki is back to her usual self! Your ordeal with your Mom sounds like it was painful and bitter, I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that, and that it ended the way it did. As Julia said, though, you made it through, and I'm sure your Mom was grateful for all that you did for her. My heartfelt sympathies, even though I know it's passed.

Julia: The scale sounds pretty good, and even though you had those brownies, you maintained yourself active - give yourself a pat on the back, girl! You'll rebound like no one's business

almeeker: Ah, penance. Don't chastize yourself too much, but I'm glad that you're keeping up with your resolutions

Mike: I'm glad your back feels better, and that you're going to keep an eye on it - maybe the muscle relaxer did some magic!

quinn: So sorry to hear about the stress with your Mom. I can't even imagine what the must be like; a helpless feeling to be sure. It sounds like you're doing an amazing job with her, don't beat yourself up for getting emotional from time to time. I think you're awesome every day!

Reading all of these stories makes me feel very humbly blessed and lucky since, for the most part, my family has dodged the bullet on series health issues thus far. My Dad is held together with duct-tape but lives day-to-day with a clear head and only moderate physical discomfort. I don't see him every day as he deals with his issues (emphysema, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, damaged nerve in his arm...) but when I do visit he's really remarkably well-adjusted and active, and while I can tell he's in some pain and discomfort, it's not overtaking his life. I hope he turns it around and has a lot more years left in him, turning 66 this year.

Cassie: Sounds like you did great at that Mexican place. I feel like I'm on a highwire all the time - luckily I have you guys here to help act as the balancing beam and keep me walking!

Wednesday Report Card

Food, Exercise and Lifestyle Goals:
1) Achieve a 7,000 calorie deficit by the end of the week M: -701 T: -786 W: -1,313 (Week Total: -2,800)
2) Do not take off two days in a row from exercising. M: Day off, though I did go grocery shopping T: No gym W: one hour HIIT cardio
3) Achieve a 30% protein average for the week M: 38% T: 24% W: 24% (Weekly average: 29%)
4) Carbs at or below 50% average for the week M: 38% T: 56% W: 51% (Weekly average: 48%)
5) Protein powder after every workout in a smoothie M: N/A T: N/A W: yes
6) At least 104 oz. water daily M: yes (120) T: yes (112) W: yes (112)
7) Report here each and every day M: Day after T: Day after W: Day after
8) Eat out/take out no more than twice for lunch and once for dinner M: Had take-out for lunch T: No takeout W: No takeout (Lunch Total: 1 Dinner Total: 0)

Other Life Stuff:
1) When stressed, don't take it out on myself, or anything that does not have to do directly with the source of the stress. Deal with it directly, even if I don't want to. M: Yes! T: Big yes! W: Yes
2) Make an effort on my appearance every day M: Yes T: yes W: yes
3) Work on my embroidery for at least five hours M: 1.5 hours T: No W: No (Week Total: 1.5 hours)
4) Don't worry, be happy! M: Mostly T: Stressful morning, much better evening W: Some afternoon stress, but I shook it off somehow!
5) Try two new recipes for dinner M: not yet T: tomorrow W: Meat wasn't thawed enough for some reason; tonight for sure!

I think there was a chocolate epidemic yesterday. I didn't have any convenient brownies, but I did let BF convince me to put some triple-chocolate fudge ice cream into my after-workout smoothie yesterday. Not even a full serving (about 2/3 of a scoop) but criminetly, it made my post-workout smoothie from a 300-calorie indulgent snack into a 500+ calorie overboard meal!

We've got some awesome thunderstorms today and a tornado warning, though I think it lost effect about 10 minutes ago. Snug as a bug in a rug in my big concrete academic building though, so I think I'll be ok!

I managed to whack my arm pretty terribly yesterday and now my whole forearm is sore, which is awesome, but I did FINALLY get to the gym yesterday after much dragging of feet. Once I make a habit (2 days in a row) of not going, for some reason it's doubly hard to make myself do it. But I was rewarded for my efforts with an empty gym, which I always prefer.

Also - my rebate I was waiting for came through! So less money stress for me this month. Couldn't have come at a better moment!

Happy Thursday!

~Terri

01gt4.6

Mern, you can get under 220 by then.

I just woke up and I'm still in pain (not as bad). Yesterday I thought it was pretty much gone b/c I rolled out the bed and on to my computer chair to post. This morning I actually moved around a bit.

01gt4.6

Health & Fitness
1) Gallon of water per day yes, yes, no (not even close)
2) Remain injury free yes, yes, not sure
3) 2100-2400 cals/day yes (2133), no, (1730)yes (2183)
4) Macros (+/- 2%): 50%P, 30%C, 20%F yes 50/31/19, no 48/26/26, no 45,32,23
5) P90X at least 6 days a week (even do Yoga) yes, yes, no
6) Eat clean every day (no cheat day) yes, yes, no (had 2 slices of pizza)
7) Floss 7 times yes, yes, no
8) Weigh in and take pictures on Monday yes
9) Daily-
Vitamin: yes, yes ,yes
Fish Oil: yes, yes, yes
Glucosamine + MSM: yes, yes, yes
L-Arginine: yes, yes, yes
Z-Force: yes, yes, no
10) Make a new YouTube Videos for the launch of my next 90 days yes (posted earlier)

Non Health & Fitness
11) Smile more, bitch less yes, yes, yes
12) Get daughter a graduation gift no, no, no
13) Make money no, no, yes $2900, should have another $6800 coming soon
14) Get appt. for Chloe’ to see the Vet no, no, no

almeeker

"They" must be lousy cooks then, because me and my taste buds completely disagree. I happen to think there are a ton of things that taste as good as skinny feels, must be why I'm a fat chick eh?

Mern

Golly, Quinn, you surely have good cause to vent and I'm glad you know you can do that with our group any time you need to. I can understand your frustration with being the sole care giver of your Mom. "Unpleasant situation" is putting it mildly. I see that Julia asked about your getting some help--in my county and in my church we have respite care volunteers who provide a break for care-givers. I would recommend looking into that if you haven't already. Holy cow! With all you have going on in your life, you reach out with encouragement for me to reach my "new decade" as well as encouraging and reaching out to all the other members of our group. Big hug to ya, girl!

Mike, "can't stand erect"...I'm not going to say one word. Nice that your pizza fit into your macros! Occasionally, if my macros are good (thanks for teaching me that word) I can make myself a low carb pizza with a low carb tortilla as the crust, tomatoes, herbs and spices, cheese, and pepperoni. It's as big a treat for me as one from a pizzaria. Yep, my DH is crazy--and he gets soooo insulted when I suggest stopping to ask for directions. LOL A GPS (I download it from Verizon on my prepay phone plan) saved me last November when a got the same incorrect directions from a relative and MapQuest. It was on a Sunday and the street I was to turn on was not where the printed directions said it was. Luckily I also had the GPS download turned on. Had it not been for that I'd have been very, very lost because I was not familiar with that part of town at all. So next time we get lost, I'll download the GPS and save myself some grief of DH driving me around in circles. Thanks for your encouragement. You did great on your calories and supplements yesterday. I see a lot more green than red in your reports. Be careful to not overdo it until you can see your doctor about that pain.

Cassie, I'm so glad to be here with all you fabulous women and Mike. I'm glad your Mexican food fit in with your preferred ratios and calorie allowance. Sometimes I do feel like I'm on a tightrope, trying to balance in the middle, but then I wonder if it's worth the stress allowing myself to feel that way often. So, recommended or not, if it's not a problem that needs to be addressed and solved immediately, I allow myself to play Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind: "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow." You did great on goals 1-7 yesterday. Way to go!

Cybervox, my heart goes out to you after reading how you lost your mother. That is so very sad. What a heartbreak that had to be for you! My mother lived to be 81 and died of dementia, but what was harder was losing my older sister to cancer in 2005. To this day it still doesn't seem like her death should be real, but rather a sad piece of fiction. At only 64, I'm the oldest living relative in my Dad's entire family except for one cousin halfway across our country who I have seen only once since 1962. I had no idea ANY chicken would be that comfortable on anyone's hands or lap. Personally, I think it's really neat about how your eyes change colors. My 15 year old granddaughter has one brown eye and one green eye. Sounds like you get a big kick out of your canine teeth. LOL As we say in America, "Whatever floats your boat!" (makes you happy). My mouth was watering as I was reading about your Dominos Pizza and the chocolate Easter eggs. LOL

Almeeker, good for you for dragging out old exercise tapes. A change of pace often softens the monotony of exercise. LOL on feeling like a clumsy dancing elephant. I'm usually pretty embarrassed to do my exercise in front of DH because I am not the slightest bit graceful, not flexible at all, but today when he saw me exercising I invited him to join me saying, "It looks easy, but I can feel every silly-looking move working my muscles. Wanna try it with me?" He just said no and went out to the kitchen. LOL I get to some points where I can't duplicate Richard Simmons' moves because my body just doesn't DO that. I just do the best I can and move on. I'm expecting a package from UPS today--I hope the delivery guy looks like Bob Harper's hotties. LOL

Terri, gotta brag--I DO make yummy soup, if I do say so myself. Whenever I cook a roast in the crockpot I cool the juices, skim off the fat, and pop it in the freezer to use as future soup stock. And I simmer ham bones and chicken and turkey carcasses for soup stock, too. That helps add those layers of flavor that make soup so satisfying. Ah, I see why I feel the same way as you do about work situations and confrontations. I love solo work, too, without someone looking over my shoulder. Come on now, who do you know that DOESN'T have flaws? Methinks you need to give yourself more credit and less doubt. Big hug to ya!

Jjeand, just put the Easter and cinnamon roll cheats behind you and move on. You certainly had a lot of company from our group members here--more of us had Easter cheats than didn't, I believe. Best wishes with DD--luckily the end of some of the stress is in sight. Best wishes on your checkup and blood work. Let us know how it went.

quinnesec

Terri and Mern,

Thanks for the kind words. Today is going much better. After completing the $#@!*& dress, I took the rest of the day off in my sweats and a pony tail since it was a cold, rainy day anyway. Daughter is out of town and husband just called and invited me out for an early date night. Instead of my calories being off by "10 malted milk balls and 2 peeps", it may be off by several vodka sours tonight. But, hey...a girl has to do what a girl has to do! I declare them to be a "medical necessity". lol

Hey Mike,

How are the ovaries???

cjohnson728

Yay, Quinn, congrats on finishing the dress! I know you are glad to have it done and I agree, medicinal use of vodka sours coul do you a world of wonders after the week you've had.

Mern, you've totally made me hungry for soup now. Sounds delicious, and we're having a bit of a cool wave after the storm front, so maybe that's my dinner idea. Good luck cracking the next decade. You can do it!

jjeand, I hear where you're coming from, sister. I know there are stressors all around and chocolate just seems to make everything better. The good thing is that it's all gone...right? So you can move on. Can't change it; just move forward. Good luck ramping up till graduation; you will be a knockout in your dress.

Mike, feel better soon. Such a southern phrase: "out the bed." Made me chuckle, even though I hate when folks butcher language.

Terri, hope your arm is better soon. Am thinking about you in the sturdy building, complete with a sign "This facility has gone 476 hours without an injury or accident"...oh, wait, Terri's got us back to square one again...

Cybervox, I love hearing about your chickens. Not having any experiences with them, it's very fascinating. And you thoughtfully provided some food porn in one of your posts, too, lol!

almeeker, hope Mr. ScreamyPants gave you a bit of peace today. Screaming in his sleep...oooh, he's got it bad. Maybe HE needs a few brownies . How do you make your salsa, btw? I've been trying to replicate the restaurant style and nothing I've tried has been quite right. Mr. Picky likes it pureed as opposed to chunky.

Having an okay day today so far. I had a 4-hour eval no-show me, so I went to lunch with a friend unexpectedly. I think I did well for not planning for it; we had Italian (two plates of salad, whole wheat penne with marinara and NO bread- that's a first!). So, I need to pump up the protein and fat at dinner and for snacks tonight. That is my mission and I choose to accept it!

Rock on, everybody!

01gt4.6

Cassie, did I butcher it??

Quinn, not as bad today, thanks.

cjohnson728

No, that's how people say it! Out the bed...out the car...out the house...is it really so much trouble to say "out OF the house?" Sorry, I'm a grammar ninny .

But from you, it's cool!