Hello all, and thanks to those who offered good suggestions for my dilemma. I kinda clutched after posting because I didn't want to be bringing my drama here or making a mountain out of a molehill, but "knowing" you all over the past weeks, months, and in some cases, years, I realize that each of you is very insightful and I have gotten a lot of value from watching the way you think through things.

If I am being honest, I admit that part of what is stressing me out is that my one and only child is growing up and starting to have to handle things like this by himself; I want to jump in and handle it, but that's not right, either. Between that, hubby's procedure, work stress, and today being the anniversary of the death of a close relative, I've been unexpectedly emotional.

But, the long and short of it is that I know what I need to do to take care of myself. On that note, who is ready to be a weekend warrior???!!!

Weekend goals:

1. 1300 calorie limit.
2. Exercise 3 times.
3. Get some annuals in the front flower beds and deck pots.
4. Quiz the boy with AP exam flashcards.
5. Catch up administrivia in home office (send letters, log AR, do billing).
6. Clean out emails.
7. Sleep well.
8. Drink water.
9. Log everything and post often.
10. Don't rip my boxers.

I know I can't catch up with everyone, but the posts from nobe and HKG somehow merged in my brain and I recalled a message board discussion I was involved in several years ago about whether or not people should bathe their cats (really, people have very strong feelings about this, both ways). It went back and forth, back and forth, then someone posted, "My cat sat in a paint tray. Enough said."

Hope you all are having a great day and that you have a wonderful weekend as well :).

airbabygurl, welcome! :) We're glad to have new members to our group any day they are able to jump in. I'm guessing you know we start a new thread each Monday. Are you a student or a teacher? Wow, you surely are motivated on exercise! That's wonderful! Kudos on your weight loss so far.

Jeanne, yes, you did very nicely bouncing back. Way to go! Nice thing, too, is that water weight from too much sodium can be drained off quickly. Best wishes on your life goals, too. :)

After my last log on wednesday I finished getting the boxes to the basement and then seriously thought I was dying! I pray that none of you get this flu that is hitting us here in Ontario (watch out Nobe!!). BRUTAL - I didn't even cry when I was having a baby but Wednesday aft/night I was in soooo much pain I was blubbering like a baby - every inch (including eye lids and fingertips) of my body was in pain, after that severe fever - my face felt like the worse sunburn ever! after that more pain, dizziness blah blah blah....same thing thursday - HORRIBLE - woke up today and I'm Fine! Just a sore throat! So I'm back in the game!

Stager came in the middle of the Flu's appearance and worked her magic! It looks amazing! I would post before and after pics but hubby left my camera at work. STUNNING!! (I still want to move though...lets hope this works!) We've arranged the photographer to come on Monday then the house is once again back on the market! yay

Mern - you deserve all the kindness in the world - sorry if I was hard on you - I feel bad now! You are the most hardworking person in here! And you always have so much green! You are doing amazing! :)

Cassie - your thought process amazes me in your posts - I love that you make such informed decisions!(Goal8) You've got a lot going on hun! Hang in there! I will warrior it out with you as best I can!

Mike - awesome story!

Nobe - I totally "get" your freaking out with blood - it always looks much worse than it really is when blood is involved! Hope he is doing better!

Did anybody watch Greys - Awesome episode!

Jho, I appreciate the sentiment, but it is really the wisdom of all the folks here. Thanks for the encouragement :).

I really feel for you being sick, but here's hoping that what happened to my niece happens to you...they were hit by a stomach bug that ran right through the family the weekend they had an open house! Ugh! Her husband slept in the car with a bucket while parked at the mall. BUT, they got an offer, so the general thought was that it was worth it! I hope you get an offer on your home soon, and I can tell you're really excited about the improvements from the stager. Do you know where you want to move? It's an exciting time, but stressful, too, I know.

I just had a ginormous bowl of delicious soup that my friend left me for my lunch break. I know it's healthy because everything she makes is healthy, but I'm going to totally have to guess what's in it and how much. Mostly just chicken and veggies anyway, but is that brown rice? Barley? I don't know. It'll have to wait till I get home anyway...logging food on my phone is a pain in the butt (Android app? Helloooooooo). Having a productive day, listening to good radio shows. We're going out for dinner tonight but if we go where I want to go I think I can keep it under control.

Back to the salt mines!

I'm going to be around all weekend so I shall set some goals and hopefully be able to stick to them!!!!

Saturday:
Log all food
1600 calories, max
Drink at least 2lts of water
Take Magnesium supplement
At least 3 servings of fruit and veg
2 slices of bread, max
Eat breakfast
Push myself in Body Pump!

So after dinner yesterday I just collapsed into a bowl of Cheerios ( my weird obsession) and was too exhausted to post. So here's yesterday's (red) report:

Diet:
Calorie deficit 600+ N, N, Y, N
Stick to meal plan N, Y, Y, N
stick to exercise plan Y, Y, Y, N
No cereal Y, Y, Y, N
8 glasses of water Y, Y, Y, Y

Life:
Write daily (who cares how much) N, Y, Y, N
Do 1 thing on my chores list, daily Y, Y, Y, Y
Don't stress Y, Y, N, Y
Be positive Y, Y, Y, Y
Train kitty 2-3 times a week N, Y, Y, N

It feels as if I'm always complaining about the weather on these posts. Am I just that whiny or do I really never get sunshine here?:p

Nah, you are just so close to spring you think the weather should be nice by now. Hang in there!

Boy, did I ever fall off the wagon tonight. The restaurant we went to (White Spot) has a "Lifestyle" part of the menu that has healthier options. I figured I'd get their Lifestyle chicken burger and salad and be ok. Except all I ate while working was the bowl of soup and by 7, when we ate, I was starving, which isn't conducive to making wise decisions about food. Oh, fettucini alfredo with chicken and garlic toast? Ok! Sigh. The wise choice would have been to have a snack in the afternoon so I wasn't fainting by dinnertime, but no. Anyway, what's done is done, and I'll just make it my guilt-free calories day. Back on the wagon tomorrow.

1) 1,600 calories max/day (allow myself 1 guilt free day over 1,600) - 1554, 1596, 1529, 1738, 2613 (guilt free!)
2) do 2 exercises on days I don't work (walking/weights/Richard Simmons/stationary bike) - walking (don't know how long all together - at different paces and some standing, almost 5 hrs)/weights, stationary bike 40 mins/weights, walked 55 mins/stationary bike 20 mins/weights, painted 7 hrs, painted 7 hrs
3) 20% protein minimum - 27%, 21%, 22%, 17%, 21%
4) 64oz water minimum - trying for 48oz by the end of the evening, 64oz+, 64oz, 48oz, 40oz
5) calorie deficit 700+ - 898, 790, 793, 976, 180
6) take vitamins - yes, yes, yes, yes, yes
7) lights out by 11 the night before (except Sunday night because apparently I'm hooked on Celebrity Apprentice) - no, no, no, yes, yes
8) log all spending daily - yes, yes, yes, yes - didn't spend anything, no
9) clean one room of the house each non-work day - no, no, no (but kept the house relatively tidy, just no proper cleaning), worked, worked
10) get out at least one day to work in the garden - no, no, no, no, no

Very energetic day for me, probably because it's Friday. Very green too. Except in the evening I got strangely dizzy and had to lie down for a while. I thought that maybe I hadnt eaten enough (1000 calories today, didn't feel hungry) so I had some applesauce but I didn't have any appetite and it didn't really help. It's wierd.

Diet:
Calorie deficit 600+ N, N, YN, Y
Stick to meal plan N, Y, Y, N, Y
stick to exercise plan Y, Y, Y, N, Y
No cereal Y, Y, Y, N, Y
8 glasses of water Y, Y, Y, Y, Y

Life:
Write daily (who cares how much) N, Y, Y, N, Y
Do 1 thing on my chores list, daily Y, Y, Y, Y, Y
Don't stress Y, Y, N, Y, Y
Be positive Y, Y, Y, Y, Y
Train kitty 2-3 times a week N, Y, Y, N, N

Cassie You're probably right. But it's supposed to be sunny on Tuesday! :)

Week of April 30th

Drink like a fish – 70oz H2O or more. Y, Y, Y, Y, Y
Log daily. N, Y, Y, Y, Y
1500 cals max. ?, Y, N, Y, Y
Figure out a way to make it to the gym!!! Thursday Y, otherwise N
Lose 1lb this week. So far N...
Plan/execute/clean-up DS birthday party on Saturday. Venue, menu, shopping, baking, cake decorated, so far so good!

Happy Weekend! :D Ama

Thinking of all the weekend warriors and am rooting for you. I didn't read all the posts.

I've been in bed all day--nothing serious--just several small things adding up to a giant PITA of discomfort and less than two hours of broken sleep last night due to rain and five hours straight of loud rolling thunder, tulip poplar tree pollen, someone burning brush or something else that's causing my "wood smoke allergy" to flare up, an upset stomach (doesn't seem like a virus or flu) and arthritis in my neck and shoulder. Aw, I know there are tons of people with serious illnesses and way more pain. This will pass. I took allergy and pain meds my doc said are OK together and am using a muscle/joint rub cream that's rather soothing. It's not helping enough to allow me to sleep at all, but I should feel a lot better tomorrow. I should be tired enough to sleep tonight.

Jho, OMG, I'm so sorry to read about that stomach flu that hit your house. Sounds awful! Glad you're feeling better today. Just caught your comment in quickly skimming: I didn't find anything you said to me that was "too hard" on me at all. You're always so encouraging and I truly appreciate that you have faith in me when I mess up that I can do better. Don't feel bad--accept my thanks! :)

Wishing everyone a successful day on food, water, exercise, and life goals.

1. 1300 calorie limit. Nope, it was homemade pizza night and Otto and I rocked the crust
2. Exercise 3 times. Nope, crashed out early, so have to double up
3. Get some annuals in the front flower beds and deck pots. Going to get things this evening
4. Quiz the boy with AP exam flashcards. Hubby is doing this; he loves history and geography
5. Catch up administrivia in home office (send letters, log AR, do billing). Did about half
6. Clean out emails. Did work on this
7. Sleep well. Yes, and it was amazing
8. Drink water. Fair
9. Log everything and post often. Nope
10. Don't rip my boxers. No ripping

Well, mixed report so far; it's been a good day. I've gotten a good bit accomplished but in a relaxed kind of way, hubby recouping well, and hopefully have found a resolution to this two-places-at-once business.

Mern, eek! Hope you are past that mess soon. I hope you can get some good sleep; that helps speed the healing along. I'll send some virtual soup to you, although you are the queen of healthy soup, so perhaps just best wishes for feeling better would be in order.

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend and that you all get some beautiful weather!

Mern, I do hope you feel better. It sound so uncomfortable and I do hope you get some good uninterrupted sleep.

Jho I hope you are better; I hear these tummy bugs are going around.

Cassie, I'm interested to hear how things resolve with DS. Never feel you can't share; think of how much you have supported us.

I have fallen off. This has been a weird week. The high point was DH's birthday, which went well. DD got him a balloon almost too big to get in the door, so funny and cute.

DH went to Fla to help his Dad who is losing his vision and is so depressed.

And I went to two funerals and got into a car accident after one of them. Luckily no one was badly hurt that I can tell though I am having headaches (stress I think but I will get it checked); it was so intense. My car turned totally around and I am still freaking out.

So know I am thinking of you, trying to drink water but stress eating like crazy...

Couldn't read most of the posts but I am with you guys in spirit...

Still trying to catch up to the wagon and hop back on. The day's still salvageable, but I had a bit of a carb attack. I had a sudden paranoia that I didn't lock my friend's door when I left yesterday, so I made hubby bring me down there (it was locked - of course it was). She lives in a nice neighbourhood, and the sun came out, so we went for a walk and ended up at an outdoor market. I was buying anything that looked tasty; it's kind of a hippie market so I knew everything was made with good ingredients, but it was still a bunch of baked goods. I had half a scone, a giant cookie, and an empanada for lunch. I'm currently sitting at 10% protein for the day.

I'm all swollen from the salt in last night's dinner; the ring that I wore yesterday and was kind of loose was too tight to wear today. Didn't even check the scale because I knew I would have some sodium pounds. I have a pretty upset tummy too - I think I'm more sensitive to foods now. I'd better guzzle some water and try to flush out my bad decisions.

Why do we do these things when we know they feel bad?!?!?

Kept within my calories today, though a few other things faltered. Had delicious organic free-range chicken from my step-aunt (is that a word?)'s farm for dinner with salad. Drank tons of water.

Where is everyone? I hope you're all well.

1) 1,600 calories max/day (allow myself 1 guilt free day over 1,600) - 1554, 1596, 1529, 1738, 2613 (guilt free!), 1539
2) do 2 exercises on days I don't work (walking/weights/Richard Simmons/stationary bike) - walking (don't know how long all together - at different paces and some standing, almost 5 hrs)/weights, stationary bike 40 mins/weights, walked 55 mins/stationary bike 20 mins/weights, painted 7 hrs, painted 7 hrs, walking 1 hr+/stationary bike 20 mins
3) 20% protein minimum - 27%, 21%, 22%, 17%, 21%, 17%
4) 64oz water minimum - trying for 48oz by the end of the evening, 64oz+, 64oz, 48oz, 40oz, 88oz!
5) calorie deficit 700+ - 898, 790, 793, 976, 180, 785
6) take vitamins - yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes
7) lights out by 11 the night before (except Sunday night because apparently I'm hooked on Celebrity Apprentice) - no, no, no, yes, yes, no
8) log all spending daily - yes, yes, yes, yes - didn't spend anything, no, yes
9) clean one room of the house each non-work day - no, no, no (but kept the house relatively tidy, just no proper cleaning), worked, worked, no
10) get out at least one day to work in the garden - no, no, no, no, no, no

Have just been racing through the last couple of days posts

MERN. You poor thing, I truly hope you will be back on top form soon. Take care of yourself and let your family spoil you a little for a change.

HOPE. that accident sounds scary, thank goodness you weren't badly hurt. Hope the headaches subside soon.

I'll be back tomorrow to start a new week.

Thank you, Lizzie. Motly I am angry at myself, bad judgment. Hopefully it will be resolved but it definitely woke me up. I could see it ending much worse than it did. I swear, someone must ahve been watching over me.

Just trying to get back on track in more ways than one and like you am looking forward to starting a new (and better) week.

Mern. Jho, everyone, you OK? Couldn't keep up with the posts; we are quite the chatsters!!!

Hope - sorry to hear about your bad week. Sometimes everything seems to be bad all at once. How is your head? Here's to a better week coming up.

Mern and Jho - how are you both feeling? Hope things are getting better for you.

Tori, Mike - where are you? You'll never beat each other to 170 at this rate.

HKG - I know how you feel. It rains six months of the year where I live and by spring I've just about had it. We've had a couple of nice days so far, but mostly it's still cold and windy and damp.

Here's my goals through Saturday. Overall for a busy week I am somewhat satisfied with my results. Two days of unwise choices - Wed spontaneous dinner out with friends and Saturday - too tired and ended the day with a pepsi and cheese curds. I pulled an all nighter Friday nite to finish up a job for Saturday. Did well until about 8:30 pm.

My goal 3 for the week proved to be a good exercise. I think I will do a couple more weeks of it. Even though I had a calorie deficit on Saturday, I know that my food choices were bad and most likely detrimental to losing weight yesterday. My pie chart for Saturday was all out of whack - Fat 46% / 116 g, Carb - 36% / 204 g, Protein - 18% / 97 g. Good protein day, bad for fat and carbs. My bad - lesson learned. But one thing I did notice is that my sodium very low and I am not really feeling the bloating with as many carbs So maybe the scale is good today - but I doubt it. No scales for me this morning - too scared to see what the ultimate outcome of yesterday's choices were. Back on track today.

I'm going to grade myself this week on how well I did on my goals
A - 100%, met the goal every day
B - 1 day missed goal
C - 2 days missed goal
D - 3 days missed goal
F - 4+ days missed goal

In reality to me, 1 day of missed goal is a failure, but to set a "reasonable effort" grade I came up with the above. To me it refects how hard I am trying and what effort I put in towards making that goal.

Health & Wellness
1. Walk everyday - M:Y, T:N (exercised), W:N (exercised), T:N, F:Y, S:N 2. Bed by 11pm - M:Y, T:N, W:N (midnite), T: N, F:N (worked all nite), S:Y3. Log activities daily to get true lifestyle calories burned - M:Y (2,133 cal burned, 1,501 cal in, 632 deficit), T:Y (2110 cal burn, 937 cal in, 1173 deficit), W:Y (2,221 cal burn, 2,764 cal in, 543 excess), TH: (2,368 cal burn, 772 cal in, -1596 deficit), F: (2,555 cal in, 1160 cal burn, -1395 deficit), S: (2,953 cal burn, 2190 cal in, -763 deficit) - Total wtd -5,016 deficit4. Water / Tea 120 oz daily - M:112, T: 128, W:120, T: 72. F: ?? lots, S: 605. Lose 3 pounds this week - M to T:-.4, T to W: -1.6 (wtd -2.0), W to TH: +2.4 (over calories and way too much salt!), Th to F: -2.4 (wtd -2.0), F to Sat: -.6 (wtd -2.6), Sat to Sun - no weigh inLife Goals
1. Set up fabric shelf (old to do) - NO
2. Old project out - NO
3. Signature blocks out and mailed by May 1 - Late but done May 4!
4. Put in 5 hours towards 2010 taxes - NO
5. Get lumber from storage (prep work to build shelves in garage) - NO

Just no time this week to put towards other goals that I would have liked to accomplish. Next week will not be any better so I am just not going to make any Life Goals next week.

Nobe that old saying when it rains it pours is true. My head does feel better today; thanks for asking. How are you?

Jeanne, I looked at your accountability. I think you should grade on a curve. :)

I am going to try to keep my goals simple this week, too many and I get overwhelmed.

That's what I was just telling her! She needs to get back on the wagon so I'm forced to do so.


Yesterday was our (my GF and I... not Tori ;)) 9 year anniversary so we spent the day in NOLA. We had fried skrimp poboys with french fries, took a paddle boat cruise, went by the French Market and got some fancy deserts then stopped and got some Mexican food... since it was Cinco de Mayo. We both ate way too much but I look at it as me giving Tori a chance. Next week will be rough because there will be cake and ice cream involved... for a couple of days. After that... it's on like Donkey Kong. She better get busy or she'll just have dust in her face. Oh wait, I'll be so far ahead of her that the dust would have settled before she comes along!

PMSing like crazy, but otherwise good (although I don't know how there's any good when you're PMSing like crazy, haha). Luckily the kid is out of the house for a couple hours so I don't have to feel bad about being annoyed with him every time he acts like a toddler.

Seems like a lot of us are going to simplify this week. I was thinking the past couple of days that I'm going to get rid of my life goals and focus on health. Not that I'm throwing them out the window, I'm just leaving them out of here. Keeping it to food, exercise, sleep and water this coming week.

So it was a race to 170 pounds of food eaten in one day yesterday?

Don't talk about Mexican food; my mouth waters at the mere mention of it. Now I'm going to be daydreaming about it all afternoon and end up with a burrito or three, haha.

aww you guys...why'd you have to mention Mexican food? Never mind po'boys, shrimp fajitas anyone?

Thanks to all for your get well wishes. They worked. :)

Woke several times last night but was relatively comfortable, and was able to sleep as late as I wanted. I feel a lot better today and was able to eat a light brunch but then for dinner I had half a serving of low carb chili spaghetti (regional USA thing) and a few raw snowpeas/sugar snap peas in the pod and some fresh from the garden spearmint tea. An hour later my tummy feels fine. Arthritis bothering me so little today that when I don't think about it it doesn't hurt. Sinus conjestion all cleared up. :)

Cassie, I welcome virtual soup. Other people's food always tastes better than my own--except for meat loaf which I make exactly like my Mom did and no one made/makes it better. :p I'm so glad your day went well yesterday and that DH did OK. Prayers will continue to go up for your FIL.

Hope, how are you feeling today with the stress and headache? OMG two funerals in one week plus a car accident is just horrible. So sorry! Yes, good to get the headaches checked out. Wow, your car spinning around like that is scary! Intense is probably putting it mildly. Best wishes on the headache diagnosis and relief. Did you sustain much damage to your car? Huge hug to ya!

Nobe, I'm glad you enjoyed your walk and the outdoor market. Sounds like a lovely time. I hope you can wash away the salt quickly. I used to not crave salt, but since I've had low carb under my belt for a few years I now enjoy salty foods more. BUT at home I always use salt substitute, sodium free and low sodium versions of foods whenever possible. I guess we do things like enjoy too many carbs or too much sodium when we're in the instant gratification mood. Thank goodness we're all working on that. But we're all human and an occasional slip isn't the end of the world. We know what to do and how to do it. Yes, step-aunt is a correct word. I've never had organic free-range chicken but I've heard it's really wonderful. What a treat that must have been. You did GREAT on your food and fitness this week! Kudos! I don't do my life goals on here because of time limitations on the computer. I have hard enough time finding time to do my daily report on food and fitness.

Lizzie, I just raced through the posts today, too. Sometimes the best we can do is let the others know (as Hope said) that we're with them in spirit. That works. :)

Jeanne, Pepsi and cheese curds sounds good to me. LOL Wonderful job analyzing your pie chart. I hope your scale is nice to you when you next get on. I like your grading chart. It is more reasonable than expecting perfection all the time. But I'd like to know if you found your "report card" ENcouraging or DIScouraging or do you see it just as a valuable tool without getting down on yourself?

Mike, so glad you enjoyed your ninth anniversary with GF in NOLA! Your birthday is this Wednesday, the 9th, isn't it? How are you going to celebrate that?

Mern, how did you remember? I plan on doing 41 consecutive pushups first thing in the morning. Last year I had to do 40 and I think I was in better shape then. It'll be tough. I think I may take the day off and go for a walk.

1) 1,600 calories max/day (allow myself 1 guilt free day over 1,600) - 1554, 1596, 1529, 1738, 2613 (guilt free!), 1539, 1547
2) do 2 exercises on days I don't work (walking/weights/Richard Simmons/stationary bike) - walking (don't know how long all together - at different paces and some standing, almost 5 hrs)/weights, stationary bike 40 mins/weights, walked 55 mins/stationary bike 20 mins/weights, painted 7 hrs, painted 7 hrs, walking 1 hr+/stationary bike 20 mins, walking 1 hr/stationary bike 20 mins
3) 20% protein minimum - 27%, 21%, 22%, 17%, 21%, 17%, 26%
4) 64oz water minimum - trying for 48oz by the end of the evening, 64oz+, 64oz, 48oz, 40oz, 88oz!, 64oz+
5) calorie deficit 700+ - 898, 790, 793, 976, 180, 785, 722
6) take vitamins - yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes
7) lights out by 11 the night before (except Sunday night because apparently I'm hooked on Celebrity Apprentice) - no, no, no, yes, yes, no, yes
8) log all spending daily - yes, yes, yes, yes - didn't spend anything, no, yes, no
9) clean one room of the house each non-work day - no, no, no (but kept the house relatively tidy, just no proper cleaning), worked, worked, no, no
10) get out at least one day to work in the garden - no, no, no, no, no, no, no

Like I said, I'm leaving off the life goals in the next thread. I want to concentrate on the health goals, rather than feeling bad about the red in the life goals. Has anyone else noticed that they're having trouble finding balance in their life while they're losing weight (actually I think someone mentioned this a couple of weeks ago [Jeanne maybe?] but I wasn't able to respond at the time and never got back to it). I'm trying to just accept that other things can take a bit of a back burner so I can be more successful with my weight, but I also don't want to neglect other things that need to get accomplished (like keeping track of my finances, and keeping my house relatively clean). I don't know. I know I'll be happier when I'm smaller, and have more energy for the rest, and sticking with this is important right now. Trying not to stress.

Mern - I didn't find my report card either encouraging or discouraging. More of a reality check of where I am and what I need to work on. It tells me I am not putting the effort in that needs to be put in to get rid of this weight.

I gave myself a pep talk / lecture after seeing how I did on my goals. I almost posted this yesterday but decided against it. It really applies to all of us. Here is just a portion of it:

This journey is not only weight loss, but life altering as well - choices in what you eat, how you treat yourself, how much you value yourself, what amount of effort you will put towards yourself and your surroundings to name a few. This is all about you - not others - just you. Only you can change you. You may need to ask for help from others to change you. You may need to report your actions to others to hold yourself accountable for what you do - but in reality you need to face your actions head on and accept the results and be accountable only to yourself. It's you that matters the most.

Off to a killer work week - I have more work to get done than there is physically time to do. EEK!