Woohoo! Yay fitness.

I have a Fitbit which I use to count steps, I find it very motivating to help me get up and move throughout the day–especially at work! I also use their food tracking so that I have a cal in/cal out measure, which is the only way I have ever been able to lose weight.

When my bf was on deployment last winter, I lost 13 pounds. It was difficult but I was really proud of myself. Unfortunately I am having some trouble maintaining that weight. I looooove food and eat ice cream almost every day and so even though I also am very active, it is still a struggle. Like today, I ate two pieces of cake for breakfast, which was almost my entire day’s worth of calories. So I had a small lunch and dinner, and the damage wasn’t too bad–but then I ate ice cream and had a chocolate bar!! I wasn’t even hungry. Ah, self control, I do not have it…

I just did a half-marathon a month ago and had some knee trouble after so I haven’t been running. Just started to slowly build that up again, and I have started commuting to work via bike. That helps me stay active, but I need to make more of an effort to get some other workouts in.

Anyway, my goal is to reduce the amount I overeat (there is really no excuse for going 3000 calories OVER in a single day!) and maintain my weight at 150 lbs.

My goals are going to probably be a bit weird but then again I need to lose this weight to be a heck of a lot more healthy: 

1.) I weigh in at about 330 lbs on my body, I know that I need to lose at least 100 lbs for my diabetes.  I also have found out that I might have thyroid issues and need to get that checked out by my doctor. 

2.)  My first weight goal is to get down to 280 lbs.  Then down the other half to 230 lbs.  Once those are reached for my desired weight loss by the doctors, I then want to get back down to a health 140 which is actually the best weight for me since that is what I weighed through out high school. 

3.) I need to stop eating out so much!

The hubby and I have been dieting/exercising since September, I went from 165lbs to 132lbs, I’m 5’6″. This is pretty much my target weight, but we’ll keep doing what we’re doing since it’s a big part of dealing with the hubby’s diabetes.

You guys talking about candy, ice cream and pasta makes me have horrible cravings! I haven’t had any of that for a long time. Don’t feel bad about slipping up once in a while, though. I know if it wasn’t for my hubby I wouldn’t have as much self control. If I was doing this just for myself, I would fail constantly. Doing my best to support him makes all the difference.

I think one of the best things you can do is to drink water. All we have is water, and sugar free almond milk in our coffee (no sugar in the coffee either). If we go out to eat we have unsweetened tea. Watching what you drink can make a huge difference (it’s crazy how much sugar is in a little bit of soda).

We have a heart rate monitor that we use while working out on the elliptical, we do that for 20 minutes a day, hopefully we’ll get it up to 30 minutes before long.

Fitness thread, alright!

I’m not actually working out at the moment. I’ve been toying with the idea for quite a while now, but I’ve always lacked the motivation. Hopefully hearing about what everyone else is doing and achieving will help with that.

My main goals with fitness would be to lose my belly. I’m a pretty thin person everywhere except my belly. It honestly looks like I’m pregnant and I have had people ask me how far along I am. I’ve lost some weight recently by being more mindful of what I eat, but nothing significant since I have a weakness for tasty food.

I think I’d like to start small at first and maybe try my hand (body?) at yoga before moving onto more psychically demanding activities but I don’t know where to start with that. I can’t afford classes and I don’t want to buy any DVD’s so if anyone has any recommendations for online yoga videos, I’d love to hear them!

What’s a fitbit?

My weight loss goals.

1.  Weigh less than 130 lbs ( I am currently 151).  My BMI is i believe in the obese catagory as i’m just 5ft tall

2.  Stick with my couch to 5k

I use my fitbit and the my fitness pal app!  I had been trying weight watchers from march-june and only lost 4 lbs. (argh!)  I have found that I struggle  with the days I know i’m going to be over my allotment and Just stop counting. 

Also my downfall is night shift.  For instance tomorrow  will probably get up around noon and wont go to bed until 9am the next day.  How do I Track those days.

And now for a little smile..

My bf is a junk food addict, even more than I am, and it makes it so hard to be healthy when we both love desserts and he is always eating them!

This is great!
My goals:
1. Try to commit to over 10,000 steps per day, and try to do at least one structured form of exercise per day (running, swimming, etc.)
2. Try to eat less and healthier food.
3. Start running more often to improve distance and stamina.
4. Do more stretching and ab etc. workouts to hopefully help with body fat.
5. Drink more water!
6. Maintain my weight.

Today we took a 6.5 mile hike so I am counting that as my structured exercise for the day. I didn’t do too well on food, besides not eating breakfast I had pizza, ice cream, a salad (yay!) and pasta. That needs some work….. I think I’ll aim for running tomorrow, and hopefully lap swimming on Wednesday. As far as drinking more water, does anyone have a recommendation for a water bottle that holds a large amount of water but also isn’t huge and heavy? I don’t drink a lot of water probably because it’s inconvenient having to refill bottles or carry a huge jug.
I need to get some sort of fitness device. I use my phone for now but I think ill go for a fit-bit or apple watch, they are just all rather expensive, lol. MissG, a fitbit is like a little fitness tracker bracelet that tracks your steps, heart rate, etc.
LBJ, this idea is a bit far off but I have seen people replacing their desk chairs with exercise balls to burn calories at work. LOL

Nora- I have a meat and potato obsessed fiancee over here. He hates all kinds of veggies, I love my veggies and fruit. I cannot seem to be able to cook at home without me having to cook two separate meals because I can seriously go without the meat. He is also diabetic so its a work in progress but since the new stove got put in, I get to start cooking here more at home than eating out. 

I am 139 lbs and just 5,5 tall. I would be so happy to lose like 10 lbs. I’d rather lose 20 but that’s like wanting to marry Matthew McConnaghey: not gonna happen.

I haven’t been to the gym in 10 days. Have been doing quite a lot of hiking in those days though since we finally got summer here. It’s over now though (lasted the whole of 5 days!) and back to the normal cold hard winds + intermittent rain.

I like ice cream way too much. I eat when I’m worried and when I’m stressed out and when there’s icecream in the vicinity. I can’t keep candy or cookies or snacks at home or I’ll eat it.

Fitness thread! YAY

I lost my workout regime about two years ago, when I had a stress fracture. I guess it wasn’t the best regime either, since I ended up with a broken tibia… To add to this, last term I was doing my thesis, 2 part time jobs and taking an extra class. There was a lot of frozen pizza, poutine and ready to go pasta sauce to deal with the stress. And a very thin boyfriend that eats a lot and gives me good chocolate didn’t help either!

I’m 160 cm (5’2) and I don’t know how much I weigh Last March I was about 57Kg (127 pounds). Weight itself isn’t my problem, it’s where extra fat lands on my small frame. I have hips (which I’ve learned to love!) and now I’m getting a tummy so I can’t fit in my pants anymore. Boo. And I feel sluggish and less strong… sucks.

I worked out pretty hard to do my 10K last May but after that I slipped again. I know that if I have no proper goals exercising just doesn’t happen! So, here’s what I have been trying to achieve:

1. Be more active! Get off the couch/desk and just go for a short walk every day.

2. Do yoga daily. Yoga makes me happy and more pleasant to deal with, even if I’m stressed. I’ve been doing good so far, following Adriene’s 30 Days of Yoga On day 12 today!

3. Run 2-3x a week. I’ve been running 1-2x month, so I need to up it. If anyone has any good 10K plans that don’t make you run 5x a week please share. And also ideas on how to not eat the whole fridge after a race would be lovely!

4. Keep doing a dance class. I love dancing I’ve restarted bellydance 5 weeks ago and everything was so tight and rusty!

I don’t have a logger except my Ipod nano, which works as a pedometer and running logger. I’ve also been food journalling for a year now, so I know exactly what I eat and when a week goes horribly wrong. I’m lactose intolerant so it helps me keep track of the symptoms and causes.

MissGabster, I totally recommend Yoga with Adriene! She is funny and totally gets beginners. You can start with the 30 Days of Yoga, or with her Yoga for beginners series. Here’s a link to her channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene/featured

What do you guys do to stay motivated? Do you use rewards? Do you make yourself accountable?

I started posting yoga pictures on social media to keep up with my practice. I feel like if I skip a day and don’t post someone will call me out on it, and that works as an incentive I have to try doing rewards, just have to find some that don’t involve food. Hmmm food

Posted By LBJ10 on 7/06/2015 11:25 PM

Hazel – OMG, I am addicted to soda. I just watched a video where I dissolved a dead rat with Mountain Dew. I see the video and think perhaps I shouldn’t drink it so much. But even when I try to cut back, I’m still drinking one per day. =\

Wow, it dissolved a rat? That’s scary… I got a tip for you. My hubby was addicted to soda as well. What really helped him get over it was Seltzer water. Getting that “bubbly soda feeling” took the edge off the cravings just enough to stay away from that stuff. He didn’t like it at first (I actually prefer it), but if you give it a try it might help.  The cheapest we’ve found are the big bottles at Food Lion. Walmart used to have it, but not anymore, at least not around here.

I totally get that you end up bored doing the elliptical. We put it in the most awkward spot in Bubble’s room, just so we can watch TV while working out. It looks horrible, and we can’t close the door anymore, but oh well… If it keep us exercising, it’s worth it! Is there nowhere else you could put it where you could set up a TV? It’s so much easier to get through your workout being distracted rather than having your eyes glued to the timer… Exercising outdoors can be great, but it gets way too hot and humid here, so we really had no other option than to find a way to do it inside if it was going to be an every day thing. So far we haven’t missed one day. Maybe one of your coworkers would walk with you?

Concerning uncontrollable snacking: It’s like bam said, you can’t eat what you don’t buy. We have our meals planned out for the week, so we only buy what we need for breakfast, lunch and dinner. No extras, no snacks. Except the occasional small bag of beef jerky. I know this is hard to do if you’re living with someone who’s not dieting. Try to get them on board, tell them they’re making you fail by eating bad stuff in front of you! If they don’t want to do it with you, maybe they could have their junk food somewhere you don’t have to look at it, at work for example.

So FLuffy Bunny: I get how hard it is to convince your husband to start getting healthy. You wouldn’t believe how long it took me to even get mine to go to a doctor, he was very stubborn about it. But now that determination has become a good thing, he won’t allow himself to slip up, no matter what. That helps keep me accountable, too. Potatoes are so so bad for a diabetic, i know it’s hard to quit, I LOVE potatoes. Maybe you could get him to read a little about how food breaks down and turns into sugar, all those starchy foods like potatoes turn into tons of sugar. You think you’re doing well eating a vegetable, but they are sugar bombs! Same with bread. We try to eat as little bread as possible, and when we do, it’s always 100% whole wheat. If you want to go that route, be careful, just because it says whole wheat doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Look for “100% whole wheat”. Otherwise, it will just be a small amount mixed in with a bunch of white flour. Your husband could still eat meat but it would be great if he could quit the potatoes. We usually have some sort of lean meat and vegetables for dinner. Those steamable veggie bags for the microwave are great for dinner, so convenient.

Glad to see you started your thread LBJ!

I have already lost the weight that I wanted to loose. Like I mentioned before I am 5’2 and was 153 last June and now weight 103 as of Monday. I am just trying to stay in shape and on track. I didn’t watch what I ate on the fourth and my brother was kind enough to order me a pizza that evening. I ate I think 4 pieces and on Monday I had gained almost 4 pounds. So for me I have to count calories or I gain weight easily. I will say that I am pretty sure I got a high off of eating that pizza. I was in a hyper mood after that.

So when I decided to loose weight I found a weight loss calculator. I got it off of http://www.caloriecount.com. They have BMI tools and other stuff. If anyone wants to do what I did this is what I did to loose a little over 50lbs. On Monday mornings I weigh myself without clothes and at the same time. I then log that weight. I decide how active I am going to be that day and use the calorie target tool and all you do is enter your current weight your target weight, your height and age. Then choose your activity level and it will then calculate how many calories you need to eat to loose 1 to 2 pounds that week.I woulddo that on every Monday. It was pretty easy. I will be honest I ate whatever I wanted just within my limit. I know calorie counting isn’t for everyone but it works for me. I also write down everything I eat and I plan my daily eating in the morning and night before depending. I will usually have one day a week I don’t count any calories but it wasn’t that way in the beginning.

When it comes to fast food and eating out I just tried to find the best choices.I cut out a lot of junk food. A lot of places have calories listed on their menus. I plan ahead and get an idea of what I am going to eat before I go somewhere. I love soda I mentioned my love for Pepsi and I would have one a day. I have since quit buying it because my son is drinking more of it then me and I got tired of buying it. I do have a naughty new addiction and its Bold 10 Doctor Pepper. I will have 1 maybe 2 of those a day. I drink 3 cups of green tea a day as well. I decided I will buy a single 20OZ Pepsi for myself on the weekend on my no calorie counting day.

As for fitness I walk 6 days a week and lift weights to workout my upper body. I do that twice a week. I also have an elliptical machine I sometimes use. I also found various workouts off of Youtube. Its been really helpful. I have mentioned I like doing FitnessBlender workouts. They have some low impact workouts that are great for those just starting out. I still do some of them. I get bored easily so I have to keep mixing up workouts. I do a lot of HIIT workouts they have. I take one day off a week.

When it comes to Fitness and you are just starting out don’t push yourself. If you over do it you will end up getting burnt out and or injured. I always find modifications for things I cant do. I suggest that to anyone. I think the big thing to sticking with fitness is try and find something you love or at least like. I love high intensity interval training (HITT) workouts because they are short and burn a lot of fat. I get more out of those than my walks to be honest. So when I walk I try to turn that into a HIIT workout by walking at a normal pace for a bit with intervals of walking really fast or even running for 30 seconds to a minute.

Anyway if anyone has any questions about anything that I wrote you can ask me. I am willing to give advice. I wish everyone luck on your weight loss and fitness goals! I am glad you started this thread because support is very important when you are trying to loose weight.

Fitness thread!

I’m 5’9″ and I weigh about 280lbs….boooooo. I gained 45lbs when I was pregnant O_o It’s been a fight to get it off, but I’m determined. My first goal is 25lbs down. It’s so hot and humid here, it’s almost impossible to exercise outside during the summer, especially for someone who’s overweight…I just get too winded with all the humidity. PLUS, my pregnancy left me with tachycardia, which I need to drop some pounds to get rid of. It’s no fun.

I’ve given up carbonated drinks, but I can’t seem to shake sweet tea and coffee. I’ve cut it down to one cup off coffee and one glass of tea a day, and I’ll see where I can go from there.

I don’t have a fitbit (I really want one!) but I do have a plain old pedometer that I’m going to start wearing every day. I was using a step counter app on my phone, but I wear dresses with no pockets most days, so I don’t have anywhere to stick my phone when I’m wandering around the office. This office is one of my main problems…I’ve seriously gained SO MUCH weight since I started working here because I just sit all day. 8 hours a day, sitting on my butt. I have to make up reasons to get up and walk around, but I can’t go too far because I run the cashier window too, so I have to stay in sight, lol.

For my exercising, I’ve recently bought WiiU fit, and I’m going to start doing AT LEAST a half hour of that every day. I know it’s not hard core, but right now my tachycardia won’t let me do anything like Zumba or spin classes. If I can get that 25lbs off, then I can start doing more intensive workouts.

Hazel- I love the steamable veggies, I barely have fruit now( maybe once a week since I am diabetic as well), but I rather have a plate of vegs then the meat.. I grew up in a family where meat was used very sparely for dinner or anytime really. I don’t eat bread so yeah, I should be losing the weight but I’m not so its to the doctor that I go to get my thyroid checked out and make sure that its working.

LBJ you can work some more movement into your day at work by having some small hand weights at your desk and lifting them from time to time. My receptionist at my last dentist office did that. She said if she got a free moment she would lift them.

So Fluffy Bunny My mom has thyroid problems and has had issues with her weight because of it. I hear its harder to loose weight. I hope the doctor can help you out with that.

BunsandDolls a half hour of exercise a few days a week is a good start. The longest I exercise is when my husband and I walk and its usually around 45 to an hour. I personally don’t think you need to workout for any more than an hour. Walking to me is easy but when I do something more intense 20 to 30 minutes is good enough.

Hazel we have our elliptical machine in our rabbit room with an xpen around it. We also have a tv in there it does help a bit with the boredom. We don’t use it much. Its gotten really hot here so we started walking early in the morning. Today we went at 5:30.

BubblesJo for motivation I rewarded myself with better fitting and smaller clothes here and there. Sometimes I would celebrate a mild stone with of course my favorite thing pizza or go to a restaurant that serves good rolls. I love bread. I stay motivated because I don’t wake up thinking about how fat I am and that I need to loose weight and tell myself not to over eat stuff like that. My mom is very critical of me about my weight she always was. I am either too fat and of course now I am too skinny to her. I actually have gotten some pretty mean comments from family members since I have lost weight. I don’t understand why they are so concerned about what I weigh and what I eat or don’t eat. I am over it. I had that problem this past 4th of July when I saw my family. I barely got into the house when my mom started in on me about how I looked. I don’t care what other people eat or drink or what they weigh I just care about seeing them and having a good time.

I’m trying to lose some weight I have put on since I stopped working (no car to get to a job! But now I have one, so wanna get back into some shape haha)

1) Cut out soda and tea – sugary drinks are so many calories! And empty ones too.
2) Try to cut down on eating out – it’s surprisingly difficult to stay UNDER 1,000 calories when out
3) Try to exercise more

So far, 1) I have been mostly successful at. I am buying only water, so no way to drink sodas and stuff (luckily, my partner likes fake sugar and it gives me migraines, so I can’t even drink his).

2) and 3)… eh. He likes to go out so we go out and it’s usually buffets… which it’s really hard to not eat too much at those. Meh. And I drink soda when out, cause I hate tap water (it tastes like chlorine). And exercise is difficult, because I fell the other month and I think I broke a rib or something, it’s still sore if I try to do twists or anything. :s

Stickerbunny are you wanting to only eat 1000 calories in a day? The minimum amount a woman should have in a day is 1200 and for a man its 1500. That calorie target tool that I use will tell you how many calories a day you need to loose one to 2 pounds safely a week. When I first started to loose weight I was allowed to eat around 1500 a day. I just looked I started out with 1520 calories a day and that was with moderate activity. I hope you didn’t break a rib. Its painful. I once got some out of place somehow and the doctor had to put them back into place.

No. I just don’t want 1,000 calories in ONE MEAL lol which is really easy to do when you go to a restaurant. :s The calorie charts on the menus make you go o.O .. I remember my friend was shocked when they put them on the Ruby Tuesday menu and many of the salads had over 1,000. 

For LBJ

I don’t suffer from the problems of office work, As I’m a nurse my ownly struggle is night shift munchies.

However I have heard some suggestions from my family members who are office dwellers!

1. Instead of sending emails/making intraoffice calls get up! Walk to that person’s desk and exchange the information!
2. Get to know some of the people on the first floor and walk with them! (who doesn’t need more friends!)
3. If your office allows you could replace your chair with an exercise ball! (you burn more calories trying to balance and it improves your posture!)
4. Stretch!

Love your suggestions, Shannon!

I’m quite proud of myself tonight for not going down to the local grocery and buy f ex choc chip icecream, pistachio chocolates and a pound size bag of cashew nuts, which I felt entitled to do for a little while seeing that I have a sick bunny to worry about.

Shop closes at 11 pm so now it’s too late! Promised myself I’d not cave in to the temptation and then I would reward myself by writing about this grand achievement in this thread =)

That’s great Bam! We are proud of your achievement. I really miss eating cashews! Braces really have stopped me from the snacks I loved. No nuts or beef jerky and hard crackers for me. I really hope Yohio gets to feeling better soon too!

Shannon those are great tips!

Posted By bam on 7/07/2015 4:06 PM

Love your suggestions, Shannon!

I’m quite proud of myself tonight for not going down to the local grocery and buy f ex choc chip icecream, pistachio chocolates and a pound size bag of cashew nuts, which I felt entitled to do for a little while seeing that I have a sick bunny to worry about.

Shop closes at 11 pm so now it’s too late! Promised myself I’d not cave in to the temptation and then I would reward myself by writing about this grand achievement in this thread =)

Success!  Sometimes it’s the little things, haha.

I’d love to loose LB and not British pound currency.

I fall asleep watching exercise videos.

I used to be 24 stone (336 LB)  I couldn’t move sometimes, I cut out pizzas fried food and cola, cola is VERY bad, I cut out take away meals too

bam yay ! It’s so hard to NOT get that sweet reward, so good on you.

I bought slim fast protein shakes and kashi granola bars. That way I can have a semi-healthy sweet shake and / or snack bar when I need sweets. The granola bars are only 140 calories and have chia and flax seed in them, so extra aminos too. Much healthier than ice cream and still tasty and sweet. And lets be honest… I am NEVER going to cut all sweets out lol also been buying grapes when I want to buy chocolate bars.

Also made a GIANT pot of home made veggie soup, so I can have a quick reheatable meal when I am too lazy to cook. Rather than fast food and/or microwave foods like hot pockets (or those frozen pizzas!)

Some more office tips:

1) Park further away from the building so you get more exercise walking
2) You can buy a mini-bicycle thing to put under desks for office exercise, if the boss lets you (also mini-steppers). Exercise while you sit at your desk!
3) Take the stairs instead of elevator where you can

How much was the one you saw? I got one for while I am watching TV / movies for $20 from amazon.

Oh this is a fun thread!

I’m on a diet too, I’ve crossed the line from normal to chubby, I think.
Plus, you know, its summer and the time when I’ll be wearing a bikini is getting closer and closer, haha!

LBJ: I think your goals are totally on point! Eating out is absolutely the hardest part. I research everywhere we go beforehand and usually decide what I’m having before I get there. Sometimes I don’t even look at the menu there as its too tempting. I use the Fitbit HR and it connects to my Weight Watchers account to tell me how many points I’ve earned to eat. For sitting all day–are you alone? Could you do some sit ups, push ups, or squats?

Nora: I can’t imagine how hard it is to have an injury after being so active! It’s crazy but losing weight is way easier than maintaining!! I have ice cream EVERY DAY too!!! I buy the Weight Watchers and Skinny Cow ice cream bars

SFB: I love how you broke down your goals!! It can get so overwhelming otherwise.

Hazel: How wonderful of you to support your hubby in such a big way!! My hubby is supportive but not all about a lifestyle change right now. He’s a great weight though.

MissG: Aren’t disproportionate bodies so annoying!!!??? Yoga would be a great place to start and the stretching feels so good!

Shannon: I used the Couch to 5k app and am now training for a half marathon. You can do it!!!!

LEL: I need to go hiking! It’s so fun an scenic, you don’t realize you’re getting a workout!

Bam: I don’t buy any junk food but somehow (hubby) it winds up in our house!!!!

BubblesJo: I used the Couch to 10k app; running 3 times per week.

That’s all I have time to read right now! I have to go to work! Will back later to add my goals!

Yay perfect timing we just got home from a trip down south (picked up my bun!) and we have 2 weddings in Sept and Oct so I would like to lose the weight I have put on prior to those!

Goals
1) Get back down to 62/63 kgs I was just over 60kgs for a long while and then bam relationship weight! Im not sure how much I weigh at the moment and TBH I dont want to know I have a feeling it may make me spiral into a bit of weight depression so going to try and lose some before I weigh myself at this stage.

2) Cook more often and healthier

3) More exercise, more intensive exercise. I walk the dogs almost every day but it just isn’t cutting it, so need to up the ante to some running and maybe some at home high intensity stuff.

4) Get the OH on board! This is critical, really struggling as Im not single anymore and it was easy to eat the same thing each week when it was just me, not so easy with a partner, especially when they buy and bring home junk, I never kept junk food in my house before.

So those are my goals, I am going to try and check in each day to report what I have been eating (and PLEASE tell me off if I eat junk!)

Posted By Little Lion Head on 7/08/2015 6:53 AM

Hazel: How wonderful of you to support your hubby in such a big way!! My hubby is supportive but not all about a lifestyle change right now. He’s a great weight though.

Thanks LLH! I do hate dieting, I dream about candy all the time. But diabetes is something you can’t ignore, so if I can help keep him motivated, I’ll do it. I was getting a bit heavy anyway, so I’ve definitely benefited from our lifestyle change, as well.

Thanks for the tip LLH! I downloaded an app today and started running again. Intervals actually help a lot  

Sindriona, I can’t do clothes (so broke and so many clothes in my closet…), but I like the idea. Maybe I can reward myself going to the movies or watching something I’ve been wanting too on Netflix

I’m doing ok with my goals. Daily yoga and running 5 to 10K again! Food on the other hand… I’m having issues with portion control. Being more active makes me hungrier and I wanna eat lots more :X I’m drinking plenty of water and home made iced tea to compensate, but I’m still getting hungry all the time. I’ll find a balance eventually, I guess

BubblesJo reward yourself with something you like such as the movies and Netflix, that sounds great to me! I didn’t have many clothes and my old clothes were too big so I needed them. I am good on them now and I am down to size 2 and extra small and small now.

I am having the hunger issues myself. I am just trying to time my meals better. Its kind of hard I just seem to be thinking about food a lot. Maybe I am drinking too much green tea. It does up the metabolism a bit. Check out that calorie target tool I mentioned and look up your activity level and how many calories you should have for that level.

What a great thread! I hope everyone does well with their goals to be healthy!

I have become a gym/weightlifting rat over the past year or so… It helps to clear my head and feel less sluggish! I am a ‘fat girl’ and always will be (I mean this in the same way that alcoholics are always alcoholics regardless of how long they have been sober) and I love food way too much! I need to work really hard to get to where I want to be. I’d like to lose another 5-10 pounds, but more importantly I want to be stronger. Any additional weight loss would just be a bonus.

I’M BACK!!! LOL

I NEED to lose weight. *Sigh* I currently don’t have a scale, but I weighed myself at a friend’s.

I am about 5’4” and weigh 155 pounds. My goals:
1) Lose 25 pounds before the end of summer
2)Get in shape (AKA not dying after running a mile or two)

I need to do some getting back in shape, but I have given up on relying the scale. I’m 5’4″ and for the last 13 or 14 years I’ve been between 150-165lbs… I’m currently at the high end of that scale. I’ve only dipped back down to 135-140lbs during periods of extreme illness and/or stress… and honestly I don’t feel myself until I get back up to at least 145. I find my weight plateaus but my muscle mass and body fat fluctuate… so here are my goals:
1.) Get back into walking, dancing, and doing yoga regularly.
2.) Get back into eating fresh: buying raw meats and fresh or frozen fruits and veggies, not canned or processed.
3.) Tone my arms and legs. I don’t care about what the numbers are as long as it’s more muscle than fat.
4.) Go back to my rule that if I want sweets they either have to be full of fiber (like fiber-one brownies/cookies), or I have to make it myself (aka, do you really want cake bad enough to make it from scratch?)

Would anyone be interested in doing the couch to 5k with me? We could start our own support thread “Run Like a Bun”. I just started last week so I’m not too far ahead!? I

http://www.amazon.com/Exerciser-Aerobic-Pedal-Arms-Legs/dp/B0002DMK80/ref=sr_1_21?s=exercise-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1436407965&sr=1-21&keywords=Exercise+bike

http://www.amazon.com/Stamina-15-0125-InStride-Folding-Cycle/dp/B0027ZNH2O/ref=sr_1_19?s=exercise-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1436407965&sr=1-19&keywords=Exercise+bike

Some cheaper ones, LBJ The taller ones will be too tall for under a desk, but the shorter ones should be OK.

LBJ–it sounds like you might want to add some fruits and veggies throughout the day. A typical day for me is:
Breakfast: oatmeal w/ berries

Mid-morning snack: Banana and fat free greek yogurt
Lunch: Frozen meal (like Healthy Choice or Smart Ones) with some raw veggies (carrots, snap peas, broccoli, etc.) and dip that I make out of plain fat free yogurt and a ranch dressing packet mixed in (I use fiesta ranch for some spice)
Afternoon snack: Apple and/or string cheese
Supper: Veggie burger w/ roasted veggies or a protein, but always w/ roasted veggies

If you really think about it, I eat a lot during the day. The more fruits and veggies you add throughout the day will help so you are not so hungry when you get home. I always have peaches or oranges on my counter so that when I get home its the first thing I see. Or grapes all washed up and ready in the fridge.

Sindriona–your weight loss is awesome!!! Honestly, your family is probably jealous. I go through it w/ my sister-in-law all the time. She’s heavy set and makes rude comments about how I look since I lost weight.

If anyone is looking for a great, quick strength training video for beginners, I love this:
http://hasfit.com/workouts/home/easy-beginner/beginner-weight-training/
All you need is a set of dumbells and only 15 minutes!

I told my husband I want a tattoo when I get to my goal weight. The funny thing is, by the time I get to my weight and maintain it for a few months, I’ll be trying to get pregnant lol!

So here’s a bit about my weight loss journey.

At 5’8″, I was my heaviest in college at 222 lbs. My husband (who was my boyfriend then) is 6’2″ and weighed 150. Not very good for a girls ego that’s for sure. I worked out a ton and counted calories and lost 70 lbs!! But I was depriving myself my counting calories and eventually gained about 35 lbs. back. Then I started doing Weight Watchers, which is way more doable for me (fruits and veggies don’t count against your points, where I had been tracking them while counting calories) and I can eat whatever I want. Plus its fun to earn the activity points! I lost 33 pounds w/ WW but have been fluctuating with 10 pounds up and down the last couple of years. Right now is the healthiest I’ve ever been though!

My goals:
1) I currently weigh 154(ish) and I would like to be at 145
2) Run 4 times per week. I’m training for a half-marathon in September. Life goals (in this order): Do half-marathon, turn 30, get pregnant!! haha
3) Go to Yoga Sculpt (hot yoga w/ weights) twice a week
4) Alcohol-free until August 5th (maybe longer?!)
5) Do the strength training video I mentioned above three times per week

I actually eat really healthy during the week. The weekends are HARD though!!!! I’m thinking this journey is going to be MUCH easier if I’m not drinking.

Oh, also goal 3) is to drink more water and less flavored drinks (like kool-aid, soda, artificial juices), and hopefully cut that right out of my diet.
I have a particularly hard time with eating healthy though because I am not the one buying groceries and we are on a tight budget here with another whole family (relatives) that are visiting for a while. So yeah ergh. lol

Ugh I forgot about your fridge issue LBJ!! I don’t know how you do it!

My favorite lunch during the summertime around here is tomatos and cottage cheese. I can chomp down on that every meal if I was able to then again salad comes in second place.

LLH I would hurry and get that tattoo before you get pregnant. LOL I don’t have a tattoo I wanted some script on the inside of my wrist a few years back but it was going to cost way more than I wanted to pay and I was scared of how bad it was going to hurt so I didn’t get it.

Good luck to everyone I hope you all reach your weight loss or fitness goals. Its a lot of work but if you are determined you can do it. You will have days where its tuff. I have had days like that especially with food. I love food and I use to get a lot of enjoyment out of eating naughty things. I have had my days where I would over eat but all you can do it start right back up. I also find that eating high protein and or fiber each meal helps with keeping me full longer. So try adding more protein at your meals. Since I got braces a few months back I eat greek yogurt as a snack. Yoplait has 100 calorie yogurt that tastes really good. I really like the apple pie flavor. Dannon also makes 80 calorie greek yogurt as well. Both brands have around 12 to 14 grams I believe of protein a serving. The sugar content is lower too with these brands. I haven’t eaten sweets in 3 and half years so this isn’t too sweet for me.

One other tip I want to mention is portion control. If you are really craving something buy the smallest serving of that item. If I cant control myself with a food or drink I wont buy it or just buy the smallest serving size I can. About a month ago I had huge cravings for chocolate milk. I sometimes will buy a single as a treat for myself. Fairlife milk came out. It had 19 grams of protein for a single serving bottle. I thought that would be a great after workout snack. When lifting weights or working out really hard for a long period of time its good to have some protein afterwards to help build muscle. Anyways I saw a bigger container of this milk and looked at it and it was a better value to buy the bigger container verses the single. I thought I would have a single serving of it on my weight lifting days. One day I didn’t stop at one serving I had 3. I drank one serving and its like I got thirstier for it. It took 3 servings for me to be satisfied. I told my husband I cant buy the big container of this again because I had a hard time not wanting to finish the whole container. That’s how I use to be with food. I since started taking a calcium supplement and do not crave milk any longer. My husband told me to start taking calcium that maybe my body was trying to tell me I needed more of it. I think he was right.

LBJ Just start over and try to stick with eating better. I know its hard. I couldn’t resist pizza if my husband tempted me with it. My husband doesn’t like to eat at restaurants he would rather me cook. I am the one that suggests us go eat. Saturday is my son’s and my grandson’s first birthday.Since they both have the same birthday I call them The Birthday Boys. I am taking them out for lunch and making them a cake. I am trying to be good so I can eat something naughty that day. My son doesn’t know where he wants to go yet. I hope you get your fridge soon I think that will help you out.

Moxie I try to drink just one soda a day then I make flavored green tea. You could try that. I sometimes by those drops that you can add to water as well. They got some good flavors out there. I have bought sparkling water to give me the feeling of drinking a soda when I am actually not. You could try that as well.

Hahaha, my weight loss reward is going to be a tattoo as well! I refuse to get one until I drop the pounds…I have a friend that works at a shop in Tennessee, and I want to drive all the way to her to let her do it, and I’m not making that trip and spending that money until I’m happy with the rest of my appearance.

I’m doing well so far…I pick up my son from my mom’s house 3 nights a week after work and I ride her exercise bike for at least 20 minutes while I’m there. I bought a pair of 2lb weights and they sit on the table next to the couch, so I lift them while I’m just laying there watching Netflix (I figure that’s gotta be better than just sitting there!).

Is anyone else like me where they need complete and total structure to lose weight or stick to a plan? I’m totally OCD which I think is why WW works for me. The structure of tracking points is good for me. And I’ve typed up my half-marathon training schedule so I can check off the workouts every day. Without that I would fizzle out. I’m nervous about AFTER my half-marathon and how I’ll motivate myself to keep working out.

LLH I need structure when it comes to my calorie counting. I know some people aren’t big on that method of weight loss or weight maintenance but it works for me. So I take it seriously 6 days out of the week. I write down everything I eat and drink and how many calories it was. I try to cook or buy foods that list the calories so I can figure it better than trying to guess. I don’t write down my workouts but I plan what type I am going to do ahead of time.

You can keep yourself motivated to still workout by remembering your other goals you mentioned like getting pregnant. I don’t know how old you are currently I know you said you wanted to turn 30 then get pregnant. Staying in shape before hand will definitely help during your pregnancy and you will recover faster after if you still exercise while pregnant. Even walking will be a good thing.

BunsandDolls sounds like things are going well. I exercise sometimes while I am watching Netflix. I hope that you reach your goal of getting your tattoo. I know you said you didn’t want to make the trip without being happy with your appearance. It will definitely take time. So hang in there. I am 42 and use to have a lot of body issues when I was a younger woman but I have to say that I am the happiest with myself now than I ever been even with all my flaws. My body will never be perfect but I feel the best I ever have. Just know that we all have flaws and love yourself now and I think it will help you reach your goal even faster!

I hope everyone is having a great day and trying to stick with their plans that you all have mentioned. Today I took a walk with my husband. I mentioned in the chat thread that I was taking my son out today for lunch. So today I will have my I guess “cheat day” and I will have something yummy. My son wants to eat at a place called Texas Roadhouse or a Mexican restaurant called La Huerta. I have already planned out what I want to eat at the Roadhouse. I am not sure what to have if we go to the Mexican restaurant.

This is a great thread, and I would love to participate!
Goals:
1) 6′ 0” 193, would ideally like 180.
2) Would like to be able to do 10 pull-ups (currently at like 1 )
3) Ability to run half marathon within 6 months (long term).

Method: I use a hybrid of p90x and Insanity Monday-Saturday. LLH this tends to give me my structure.

Since I reached half way of my 30 Days of Yoga challenge yesterday I rewarded myself by taking the night completely off from work and watching a movie it felt so good!

Today I kept going and did day 16. I’m also going for a run later today, once it’s my phone is charged and it’s not super hot outside. Thankfully there’s a nice breeze so it shouldn’t be too crazy. I was soaked last run, with the humidity being over 90%.

I like structure a lot. That’s why I enjoy food journaling and challenges with set tasks for days. Helps me keep everything in check. Once I finish my 30 day challenge I’ll probably choose my yoga routines videos for the week and go from there.

A great side effect of being more active is my mind is much clearer and I’m writing my thesis more easily and with better results. Things are actually clicking in my brain and I can put them down on paper. It’s very exciting

I cheated today. We went out to the local pizza place, had soda and cinnamon streusel pizza (and ravioli). But, it was that or go out shopping, cause I was actually struggling to get even 1,000 calories yesterday (veggies soooo don’t have a lot of calories and I ran out of quinoa/nuts and stuff) lol got up to 960 calories after 3 meals and a snack… and I wasn’t really hungry but my body was doing that fuzzy thing of not enough nutrients coming in. Must go shopping tomorrow!

LBJ – Tell your hubby to stop ruining your plans!

This morning isn’t off to too bad a start;
I slept in, snuggled Tilly, then came down to BB and am having my coffee. I started a while back substituting my vanilla creamer for vanilla slimfast. It works great as it tastes great and has lots of vitamins, minerals and some protein to boot.

Yesterday, was not good though. No one wanted to cook and I had errands to run out til 9pm… so we got KFC. I had a chicken breast from it, but not much. Does anyone else lose their appetite when they get tired?

My doctor has told me to loose weight, I told him I had lots of nice clothes but they are too tight, he said that I should eat more fruit and veg and exercise more, I said no and that I was going to put a lock on my wardrobe door to stop fairies from going in and sewing up my clothes at night.
I can’t go out cycling and running anymore due to my disabilities, I might ask if I can join ‘Gentle exercise’ it is really for pensioners, but if they don’t mind me there I’ll go, I might end up helping out at the end making cups of tea because I’ll be the youngest and can walk a bit, I wouldn’t mind, better than sitting all day in my wheelchair in front of the PC.

CT I slept in today too. The first time in WEEKS! I usually run my long run of the week on Saturdays b/c I like to get it over with. I have a fun run tonight though. After dark a 5k thats all lit up (glow necklaces, etc.). Should be a blast!

I like your slimfast idea! I may try that one too…I just bought Lite Vanilla Almost milk (got the idea from TanLover who does WW too) for my coffee. I like it but there’s not as much flavor as I was hoping so I’ve still been putting in a tiny bit of sweet cream creamer.

Pinky that sounds like a good workout place for you if you can go!

LBJ–I HATE when I’ve planned everything out and then what you said happens….some days I have no will power and go completely overboard. Other days my willpower was strong (like last night) b/c I knew I have a race today. I ordered a flatbread and only ate half (ask for a box right when you get to the restaurant!) and a side salad. I resisted the urge to get blackened chicken dip with chips OR white cheddar cheese curds! I only ate two of hubby’s fries!

OH and hubby got a tall, ice cold, blue moon with an orange slice…it look SO GOOD. I drank my iced tea and didn’t even have a sip!!!

Oh, I’ve done badly…
I went to the gym and swam on Wednesday, but since then I’ve been pretty lazy. I’m going to try to swim and go to the gym on Monday again. I need to run. I am going to have to update this thread more because otherwise I will forget.

Haha my lunch was probably worse My partner wanted to go out for chinese … and it’s a buffet… plate of broccoli, butter potatoes, spring rolls, fried rice, veggie lo mein and pepsi. Probably waaaaaaaaaay over the calories I should have eaten. But, I hate barely eating at buffets and spending $11 on practically nothing.

I also mentioned I want a treadmill again (my favorite workout is walking/running). He insisted there were tons of workouts I could do without equipment just off youtube. So… he was like ” I bet you can’t do this martial arts stance for 2 minutes”…. did it. “I bet you’ll be sweating if you do some punches with it” .. nope. “You need to force yourself to use more muscles by flexing when you punch, so it’s a workout” erm, how? I either use what is natural or I don’t. My heart rate was barely even increased after his supposed “workout” idea. So, again, I could really use a treadmill eventually so I can work out for real. lol I have a cardio thing, but it’s hard to force myself to do it every day.

I would love to walk around town, but I really hate dealing with people doing it. I’ve had guys: Yell across the street comments about my pants being tight, pull their cars off a busy street to cut off my walking path (which had people around worried they were going to try to abduct me, to the point they kept a close eye til the car drove off again), bark, follow me around and into a store and around the store creepily, yell “Oh yeah girl, run more for me”, etc, etc. If I somehow avoid all that nonsense, I have also been chased by dogs barking/growling because no one believes in fences and lets them run the street, had people stop me to chat about NONSENSE even if I have earbuds in and am OBVIOUSLY not interested in stopping to chat.

*sigh* I wish I could just put a sign on my head “Out walking for exercise. Leave. Me. Alone.” I like walking, when I was living in England I shed weight down to 118lbs just walking around the country side. It was gorgeous and quiet and no one bothered me. Just horses mainly wanting to know if I had treats or a nose rub to give. This town people just won’t leave you in peace. lol

Wow Stickerbunny that sounds awful!!! I don’t experience anything like that, but I live in a smaller community and there are a lot of runners/walkers out. Also I run between 5AM and 6AM so the only ppl are ppl going to work or ppl execising themselves!! You definitely need a treadmill!

The bad thing is we live in a small town. But, not many people out walking/running other than occasionally a 13-14 year old cheerleader from the local school, or the male football team from the same school. So, anyone out and about is odd and oddity means attention. :s Between 5-6am would be bad for me, because 1) Not a morning person and 2) That’s when all the factory workers are passing by to head to work

I’m going to try and go “Vegitarian” (I may still eat fish/shrimp now and then). Wish me luck… But if it doesn’t work I will try and only eat meats that I know were treated well when they were alive.

Moxie – Fish with no meat is called pescatarian Good luck switching! If you need advice on how to avoid the weight gain pit falls of carb loading that many people go through when they switch, just ask. Several of us are vegetarian/vegan and can probably share some recipes/ideas.

Woah. This thread jumped from 600 to 900+ views in what seemed like minutes. (Probably was an hour )
Popular subject!

Sorry to be off topic and not add anything useful :/.

Okay thanks StickerBunny.

I have been naughty this weekend and ate too much. Usually I have one cheat day but yesterday I made a package of Red lobster Cheddar Biscuits and I had a couple of them. The box says 1 biscuit is 220 calories. I had 2. Those things will not be in the house again unless I buy them for a big get together. I made them for my son and his friend. Thank goodness I didn’t make them just for me. In my opinion they were better than the ones that you get at the restaurant. They tasted so good.

Today I am trying to not over do it. I made a tuna pasta dish today and messed up the serving size measurement so I ended up eating more of it than I was suppose to. At least I have been exercising this weekend. So theres that.

LBJ BBQ sounds so good. I almost got ribs when I was at the Texas Roadhouse but told myself no and that I didn’t eat pork anymore so I got chilli and a small plain sweet potato. I ate a few bites of chilli because it didn’t taste very good. I ate most of the sweet potato and ate 4 rolls. Rolls are my weakness. I still kind of wish I had the ribs. I have had them in the past and the bbq sauce they use on them is so good.

Sin – Ohh, bread is one of my weaknesses too. My partner is always wanting to go to Golden Corral cause they have unlimited steak & shrimp … they have so much yummy bread. The dinner rolls are brushed with like a honey butter glaze and nice and fluffy inside. *drool* And the local pizza place has good breadsticks. And Olive Garden unlimited breadsticks… omg. I can even buy an italian loaf and just eat the whole thing plain. lol And when you go out, so many places have UNLIMITED FREE BREAD!

LBJ – BBQ doesn’t sound too bad. At least you didn’t have a bloomin’ onion!

I think I did well this week! Yoga every day and I ran 3 times I did ok with food (no frozen pizza or fries!), but overate a bit on Saturday. I went to the Lebanese Festival and the food was just so good. I ate a huge portion, but I didn’t snack so maybe it wasn’t that bad. I also got another portion for Sunday dinner but shared with the boyfriend.

Let’s see how this week goes! Good luck for this week everyone

This weeks weigh in was better than last weeks. I am back to 102.8. Last week I weighed 104.The week before that I was 99 which I thought was weird and too low. I am trying to maintain so I am doing well I think being I ate poorly those 2 days.My son needs to either eat the rest of his and his son’s birthday cake or I will have to throw it out. I broke my 3 and half years without sweets and tasted it. Now I am tempted to eat more. I did fine with exercise. Food is always my issue. Today is my day off. Its such a habit now I keep thinking I need to workout today. So today I am taking it easy.

BubblesJo it sounds like you did great! Keep up the good work. Its good you treated yourself to some good food at that the festival from what you did you totally deserved a treat!

LBJ Yea I agree with BBq being bad. I think its the sauce. The ribs I wanted to get this past weekend were almost 900 calories for half a rack of ribs. That was also a big deciding factor for me. It sounded like the salmon and veggies were a good choice. I also almost got salmon. I order it a lot when I am out.

Stickerbunny its nice to know I am not the only one that loves bread. My love for bread is the reason why I think I like pizza so much. I so wanted pizza this weekend I cant remember if I wrote about that. I even got fussy when I didn’t get any and ate a Lean Cuisine instead. I will say though the Lean Cuisine I had was really good. It was sesame chicken. I wish they had used rice with it instead of pasta though. I hear there is a Korean beef flavor out now but cant find it at my local store.

Like BubblesJo I also wish everyone luck with your goals this week! As they say in most of the Korean dramas I watch “Fighting!” Keep up the good work all! I am a silly person btw. =)

I love pizza, the oven baked crust is my favorite. And pasta and rice… *sigh* Why can’t there be no carb pasta and bread that tastes the same? lol

It’s kind of annoying trying to diet as a vegetarian. There are no lean cuisines or anything that are vegetarian in our store. So, I have to cook every single meal from scratch. And I am not really that big a fan of cooking. So I have to measure and find the calorie counter and try to get it all set up. Only easy meals that are veg are frozen pizzas.

The chain stores here carry lean cuisine for example, but don’t stock the vegetarian options. Or healthy choice, but don’t stock the vegetarian options. Never seen Amy’s here. And even things like evening star, which I’ve always seen in the stores, I haven’t been able to find here (I don’t like the fake meat anyways though, so no big deal).

I know how you feel Stickerbunny about finding vegetarian options. I have one grocery in town and I don’t shop there because they keep out of date items on shelves. Our Walmart goes through phases of selling things I like and then totally getting rid of them. I do have some Amy’s black bean soup and one of the Amy’s frozen dinners. They did add some new ones to our store but really cut out a lot of the Lean Cuisine and healthy choice meals. I also buy Smart Ones but they also cut out a lot of those to make more room for crappier frozen dinners that are really bad for you. I live about 45 minutes from another Walmart and groceries so I also am limited.

Stickerbunny do you eat dairy and cheese? I know some vegetarians do. Aren’t there different types of vegetarians like some who don’t eat any type of animal related foods and some who eat dairy and eggs still? If you do that helps finding more non meat options.

I love the morning star veggie burger things. Don’t usually like that kind of thing but those are great. Don’t know if any of you veggies have tried it, but we roast large mushrooms and use them as substitute for hamburgers. Yum!

I make my own lentil burgers – I make some lentils, then mush in vegetables of various types and add in spices to make the patty. Really tasty on an onion/poppy bun. I just don’t like soy much, so the fake meats aren’t that good for me. lol Plus I hated meat, so trying to flavor it like meat doesn’t help me either.

Hrm. The nearest target is 20 miles away, in the busiest part of a city a few towns over. So, can’t say I have ever really been to it. Walmart/dillons and the local little grocery store are typically where I go (as they are within 10 miles). But, I guess I could go over there one day and have a peek to see if they have any.

I went out to get tea for my partner and they had cake on sale… so I bought one. But, I was good and only had one little tiny slice. Even though I wanted the whole thing. Now, to struggle to NOT go eat the rest of it and ration. lol

Brownies sound good too though, LBJ.

Why can’t they make healthy food taste as good as unhealthy food?

At the gym currently. See how long this lasts. lol

Good for you, LEL!

I weighed in at 150 (my goal weight) yesterday! Of course, it’s just a water fluctuation, and I would put my actual weight closer to 152, but it’s a good sign that I am doing okay. Probably another couple weeks until I hit a “true” 150, and then I can maybe relax a little about weighing/measuring/logging every single thing I eat!

I love Morning Star veggie burgers and pizza burgers!!!! I eat the pizza burgers on a mini bagel with a slice of cheese, peppers, onions, mushrooms, and pasta sauce. So yummy!

Sindronia if you are craving pizza try making one out of a tortilla shell. That’s what I had last night–super quick and easy and you can customize for your hubby. i make mine w/ all veggies and put pepperoni on hubby’s. I use the Carb Balance or low fat shells. They are only 2 WW points.

Stickerbunny–that sucks you can’t find the vegetarian frozen meals or Amy’s (I think Amy’s is even vegan). I’m not a vegetarian but I eat a lot of the vegetarian meals b/c I don’t always like the processed meat. There is a new brand I came across from Target: Archer Farms evol (love backwards). The one I had yesterday was really good (Chipotle Chicken Mac and Cheese). It might be worth a trip for you if you can stock up! I know I did!! haha But I eat a frozen meal every day.

Good for your exercise this week Bubble Jo! I have to say, I tried to do some yoga at home (the 30 days w/ Adrienne)…I just couldn’t focus and it was painful to sit cross-legged for so long

Nora–I know what you mean about fluctuations. Since giving up alcohol I think I’m starting to see my “true” weight. Otherwise I’d fluctuate between 8 pounds from Monday-Friday!!!

I may have said this, but giving up booze has left me so many extra food points to eat. Which is fun and exciting and I don’t ever feel like I’m depriving myself!!

Ooh, I don’t need to loose weight because I’ve only just reached 50kg (110lb) which has been my battle for the last year but at the moment we’re trying to balance the health needs of my wife and I who are pretty much opposites.

I think we’ll probably go with some slimming world recipes and some of the sports-focused recipes our friend who has lost and maintained being ~50kg lighter with hypothyroidism. I’m fairly convinced she’s a unicorn but I ought to eat more variety and it seems a good way to find new recipes and make sure that I eat well for my lifestyle.

I currently play roller derby. I typically do 7 hours of exercise a week, but owing to special circumstances around a hall booking I need to go to the extra session which makes it 9 hours for the next few months. And hour and a half of this is off-skates fitness training. I’m also helping out a bit for another two hours for our beginners cause but I do little actual exercise.

We’re meant to get fit for derby, not use derby to get fit, but I think I do enough exercise as it is.

I’ve now played 5 games, plus a 20 minute qualifier. It’s scary that I’m no longer elligible for rookie games. I’m on the B Team and we played our first ever game on Sunday. I injured my shoulder on the Tuesday before and was rostered for jammer. I usually use the shoulder I crashed into a wall with, so I was anxious about using it and it completely threw me off. I did terribly and it made me really upset. The second game in the tournament I did less jamming and more blocking and that made me happier because my blocking is quite good these days (usually I’m better at jamming than blocking). Unfortunately, 3/4 of the way through the game the opposing jammer pushed me over and fell on my head with their knee so I had to sit the rest of the game out. My beloved polka dot helmet as been replaced and I now have a blue one. This was unfortunate because usually we barely get any injuries but another one of our team mates broke their ankle in three places.

LLH was the tortilla crispy? With braces I can’t have crispy crunchy things. Thin crust pizza is off the table as well. I am suppose to not eat the crust of pizza but if its soft enough I eat it. I really wanted to have my son who works at a pizza restaurant to make me a pizza with artichokes, tomatoes and mushrooms but it only sounds like it would be good on thin crust. He said he could try and under cook it a bit for me and put lots of toppings on. It might make it soft enough to eat with less calories than original or pan crust. We shall see. Its cool you have extra calories to play with now that you have given up on drinking. I know the feeling I gave up my daily Pepsi and its left me with an extra 150 calories to eat real food. I can say for once I don’t miss my Pepsi at all. I didn’t even get any this weekend as a treat as I said I would do. Now I usually drink maybe 1 Bold 10 Dr Pepper and 4 cups of green tea sometimes the green tea is decaf. I of course drink lots of water usually iced.

Last night I was really bad I mentioned I broke my 3 and half years without eating sweets. I helped my son finish off the rest of his birthday cake. I am so glad that is out of the house. Now I can get back to working out and eating right again. I really had an addiction to sweets in the past I don’t want to go down that road again.

LBJ I saw this tip that you can use while sitting at your desk. I copied and pasted what it is. You can train your core anywhere. Sit up tall, lift up your chest and drop your shoulders down and back. Now, think about bracing your core and draw in the spot two inches below your belly button towards your spine. Hold for 10 seconds. Rest for three to five seconds and repeat. Sneaky core training! You can do this driving, at the office, watching TV, or during overdrawn conversations.
I thought you might like that little tip. I reminded me that I tend to slouch while sitting at my desk.

I’ve been pretty good for like a week and a half now and I haven’t lost any weight at all!

Tessie have you noticed your clothes fitting any differently? Sometimes you wont loose any weight and then the next week you will loose a few pounds its happened to me in the past. Also I noticed that you are trying to find a job right now. Stress can also keep one from loosing weight. Just try and relax and keep up the good work. I wish you luck on both your weight loss goals and finding a job!

Thanks for the encouragement Sindriona!

Yeah, don’t focus as much on the scale as you measurements. Sometimes when you start out, the weight doesn’t change at first cause you’re building muscle from exercise and such, so your weight can actually go UP but your waistline goes down.

Sindriona, tortillas can get crispy but another, softer option, is pita bread. It’s usually pretty soft

LLH – I can see that, it’s hard to focus on the first yoga classes. I used to do Ashtanga (I think some places call it power yoga) and that helped me focus, because there was always so much to do! Did you try the beginner/fundamentals videos? Or blocks for sitting? I use a big book when I need a block

I decided to reward myself with homemade poutine at the end of this week, if I keep doing yoga everyday and run 3x! Really looking forward to that. I might also be in training next week, to learn how to facilitate low ropes courses That will be so much fun!!!

Sindriona–Thank you for posting that core tip! I’ll be using that one! Also the tortilla can get as crispy as you want. I usually throw it in the oven for a few minutes on its own to get it crisp, but if you didn’t do that and put enough toppings on, it would actually be almost soggy (but still good!)

Bubbles–I’ve done Core Power Yoga Sculpt (with weights) and that’s easy to get into b/c there’s a lot going on like you said. I think I just have a hard time shutting my brain down.

Paradigm–I might have mentioned this before? My hubby and I went to our first Roller Derby match a couple years ago on a total whim. We happened to be downtown, saw a sign, cheap tickets and went in. We were googling the game and the rules beforehand b/c neither of us had really even heard of Roller Derby. It was so cool!!!!! Really interactive and fun to try to keep up with everything going on!

Thanks for the suggestions of Pita bread and the tortilla to make a pizza with. I think I will over time try both options and even flatbread I just want heat it up as much. Flatbread seems like it would go well with the tomato, artichoke and mushroom flavors that I want.

I have been using that core tip to remind myself to sit up better at my desk and of course work my abs. I really have a tendency to slouch and now I know just how much.

BubblesJo I had to look up what poutine was and it looks delicious, what a nice reward!

Flatbread pizza, that sounds like an awesome idea! I should try that

Poutine looked so disgusting to me when I moved to Canada. I didn’t even know what gravy was! But I tried it and OMG! It’s so yummy. There’s a poutinery in town that has around 20 different varieties of add-ons, like chilli, guacamole, bbq pulled pork, etc. My favourite is still the original, but with chicken gravy. Yum

As with all things there are wins and there are losses.

Wins: Worked out every day this week so far and last.

Loss- Dad brought home a fresh bag of assorted chocolates. Lets just say, they may be minis but they start to add up after 10 LOLOL.

I haven’t checked in for awhile. My family went away last week and I stayed home and while they were gone I ate so good. Lots of fresh fruit, hearty salads, and very little carbs.

I tried Yoga with Adrienne and I’ve been enjoying it so far. I did the 20 minute beginner video and day 1 & 2 of the 30 challenge. I might do the 40 minute beginner video tonight. I’ve decided I’m a serious weakling because I am so sore after just 3 days of consecutive yoga. I’m working muscles that haven’t been worked for years, if really ever. So much for yoga being nice and easy! haha

At least none of ya’ll have to take a medicine 30 minutes before eating, or you won’t be eating much food for that meal.  I hate having to Reglan but since I have gotten one complication from the diabetes it would have to be that my stomach not moving food from my stomach to my intestines until four to five hours pass is not fun. 

I also have an appointment to check my thyroid, more blood work done and I have only one arm that is easy to draw blood out of.  I also got on the scale and since I hadn’t been eating much the last couple of months ( due to the fact that I was always full) I somehow lost 17.2 lbs.. yeah I was a on a liquids only diet it seemed like.  

LLH: It’s scary how much your life is like mine! I told Sam that I want a tattoo once I get in shape too (I want it on my side) but after we move we are going to start trying to have a baby so… Lol

I’m sad I’ve missed this thread so far!
I want to lose 10 pounds and tone. My husband and I want to try to have kids near the end of this year so I want to get in shape beforehand.
I am horrible at eating healthy. Justina you are my food hero! I have the worst sweet tooth and no self control with sweets and chocolate. We have a gym at my work and my hubby and I are trying to make it a point to work out during the week

Omgosh Jennifer I’ve thought the same thing!! I remember you said awhile back in the chat thread that we have so much in common–its really true! Houses and babies and bunnies! Maybe once you get in your new house you can start a garden? Or is it too dry/hot in Arizona?

Today I did a workout a little different than what I normally do. I was proud of myself and surprised that I could do some of the ab exercises. When I saw one of the moves I was like Holy….. and then I did it and I was thinking this is actually easy. So I am lot stronger than I thought I was. So everyone just starting out keep at it you will get stronger and it will get easier. I even got a workout high. I haven’t gotten one of those in a long time. The instructor in the video said she always feels pumped after a good workout. I made fun of her in my mind but afterwards I felt really good and could barely sit still. It was like I had too much caffeine. hehe

LawBun congrats on working out everyday. Its hard for me to take a day off. I am so use to a schedule that when its the day off I keep thinking I need to exercise but remind myself that my body needs a rest. I really did enjoy my day off I had this week. So its okay that you take a day off btw. Its good for your body to have a rest. Now the chocolates that’s another story. LOL My mind goes back to the birthday cake I ate. hehe

MissGabbster glad you are enjoying yoga. I noticed others that mention they do yoga. I have done it several times in the past. I am a cardio girl myself. I would find myself cussing during yoga most of the time. I unfortunately do not have the patients for it. I did however like the Kundalini style of yoga the best.

BinkyMom getting in shape before and exercising during your pregnancy will help you during your pregnancy, birth and recovery. I did a lot of walking. Having a strong core to start with is a definite plus.

Sindriona–whats the workout you did? I love a good workout high!! It’s so hard to take rest days! But I know I need them. I try to sit in the whirlpool tub on myrest days!

I have to celebrate my non scale victory today!! When I started running last November, I hung up a pair of jeans that haven’t fit in 6 years and a football jersey that hubby got me for Christmas over a year ago that I was bulging out of. Well the weather got nice and I started running outside and I forgot that I had hung them downstairs for motivation.

Tried them on today……..they fit PERFECT. I really wasn’t expecting that. I did a happy dance and almost cried!!! So exciting!

I never get workout highs. Even when I was walking all day, every day, I didn’t. It was just… it wasn’t hard anymore, but that was it. It wasn’t something that felt good. Which hurts the motivation – I will NEVER feel good after a work out haha just “bad, bad, not as bad, slightly less bad, only a little bad, neutral”.

LLH This is the workout I did. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oegRlg9V4q8 It wouldn’t let me do the clickable link. You will have to cut and paste to your browser. I am really sore now even though I stretched really well. I definitely worked hard. It says it will burns 400 calories but I know that calorie burning varies from person to person because of weight and height. I like the trainer though she can get a little annoying at times. I have done some of her smaller workouts before. I usually do Fitnessblender stuff and walk but I wanted to switch things up a bit. I am glad I did.

Does anyone own a calorie counting type tool like a body bug? It would be kind of cool to know how many calories I actually burn during a workout. I just don’t know what to buy or if its really worth the money some of these gadgets are expensive.

LLH congrats on fitting into your jersey and jeans! That’s a good way of knowing you have made progress that a scale cant tell you and good motivation to keep up the good work!

Stickerbunny I know what you are talking about when you say it just gets easier. I guess challenging yourself might help with motivation? I have to keep mixing things up or I get bored.

LLH This is the workout I did. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oegRlg9V4q8 It wouldn’t let me do the clickable link. You will have to cut and paste to your browser. I am really sore now even though I stretched really well. I definitely worked hard. It says it will burns 400 calories but I know that calorie burning varies from person to person because of weight and height. I like the trainer though she can get a little annoying at times. I have done some of her smaller workouts before. I usually do Fitnessblender stuff and walk but I wanted to switch things up a bit. I am glad I did.

Does anyone own a calorie counting type tool like a body bug? It would be kind of cool to know how many calories I actually burn during a workout. I just don’t know what to buy or if its really worth the money some of these gadgets are expensive.

LLH congrats on fitting into your jersey and jeans! That’s a good way of knowing you have made progress that a scale cant tell you and good motivation to keep up the good work!

Stickerbunny I know what you are talking about when you say it just gets easier. I guess challenging yourself might help with motivation? I have to keep mixing things up or I get bored.

Grr sorry for the double post I am having issues with BB.

I would love to have a garden but there are two things that will prevent me from having one:
1. It’s way too hot and dry as you said
2. I kill every plant I own lol

Sindriona: that’s exactly why I want to start now! Hoping I can get on track, I have a bad motivational problem with working out lol

The calorie trackers apparently have to have a heart rate chest monitor to work well. The ones that track your heart rate just on the wrist etc aren’t accurate. Seen good reviews on some, but, yeah, expensive. So not tried.

I try to challenge myself, but it kinda … if my heart rate really goes up from a hard workout, I feel terrible. So, it’s hard to push even though I feel awful. lol Also hard to feel like I am doing anything once a workout gets easy. So it’s like, rock meet hard place. I force myself anyway, but not fond! I envy people who say working out makes them feel good emotionally/physically.

BM14–I kill everything too! I killed all of the plants and flowers we planted when we moved in last year. My mom and Jared thought planting the garden would be a waste of time but as you’ve seen on FB, it’s doing really well!! If you wanted to, you could try to do a few things in a long rectangular planter (like for flowers) and see how it goes!

Sindriona–that workout has a lot of similar components to what we do in Yoga Sculpt!! It looks like a good workout!

SB–that’s a huge bummer I wish working out made you feel good after!

My grandmother has a green thumb, I call mine an acid thumb – if I touch it and it’s living, it dies lol Glad you managed a garden anyway though, LLH. Supposedly it just takes researching how to care for each plant. There is so much info online now. And they sell those “at home garden kits” too if you lack sunlight locations (UV lights in them). So, probably much easier nowadays.

Alright LLH I need some help with healthy foods that taste good. Sam and I tried to eat healthy but got bored with the same meat and veggies deal. Had a dr appt today because I had kidney stones (ouch!) and had a full blood work up done. I have hypothyroidism but not bad enough to require hormone replacement at this time (I knew I would at some point since its hereditary and all women in my family have it) and high triglycerides so I’m supposed to watch my carb intake. I also have a vitamin D deficiency which my dr said is easily substituted by taking vitamin D supplements. Long story short I need to get healthier and make some changes. Mainly in my diet (and working out!)
Anyone have any good ideas for healthy meals that are not redundant?

Depends what you like, really. There are a TON of recipes that are pretty easy. Since you are supposed to be lowish carb, for pasta you could try replacing spaghetti noodles with spaghetti squash (or, if you dislike that, there are noodles made from legumes that are lower carb / higher fiber). A nice tin foil wrapped chicken breast can be BBQ, or basted in a honey mustard sauce, or lemon/pepper, or cooked alongside mushrooms and onions and seasoned to give it flavor. You can do “one pot” meals in a slow cooker – your chosen meat, with veggies and seasoning added and cooked slowly overnight. There are some easy curries you can do. Stuffed peppers or mushrooms make a tasty, low carb meal. Various soups you can do, which mainly is just chopping things up for prep and then just letting it simmer til done. You can do a lot of stuff with beans – chili, tacos, soups, salads. You can make vegetable chips and/or fries. Stir fry isn’t that bad for you, just be careful of how much oil you use. You can make a kale salad – the trick is to massage a little salt into the kale to make it darker/smaller and tastier before you make the salad. You can bake most fried foods to cut out most the fat (french fries, spring/egg rolls, even chicken). Not to mention SMOOTHIES – great on the run breakfast you can make the night before and grab on your way out the door.

Healthy doesn’t mean you have to lose flavor. There are so many “healthy” meals that still taste yummy.

BM14–To be honest I still eat a lot of carbs, but I make sure to eat whole grains and never white bread. Since I bring a frozen meal to work for lunch everyday, I never get bored because I buy so many different brands and flavors, so lunch is easy. One little frozen meal will not keep me full though, so here’s what I do: I buy plain fat free greek yogurt and mix in one packet of those ranch dressing packets. I use the fiesta ranch for a little spice, but really you could use any dressing packet you like. This makes the most amazing fat free dip! I switch up what veggies I bring…broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas, baby carrots, etc.

I never have steamed veggies with dinner anymore. I roast just about everything. Sprinkle your veggie of choice with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the crispiness you desire. I like mine a little bit burnt!

Do you like seafood? Like LBJ, I was going to recommend seafood? Do you like salmon? I can give you an AMAZING and easy salmon recipe. Cooking fish generally scares me but this recipe is easy. If you DO like fish there’s a brand called “Morey’s Fish Creations” and they sell already flavored, frozen fish filets. We like these on top of a big salad with all your favorite salad toppings (bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc.).

As soon as your house is done, I’ll just move in and cook I’ll be wanting to head south here in about 3 months anyways!

Has anyone heard of the app Weilos? It’s an awesome weight-loss motivation app. People post pictures of before and after or just words to express what their struggles are, etc. I love it! If you join I’ll give you my username and we can follow each other!

Has anyone heard of the app Weilos? It’s an awesome weight-loss motivation app. People post pictures of before and after or just words to express what their struggles are, etc. I love it! If you join I’ll give you my username and we can follow each other!

LBJ we do like to grill it’s just not easy to do during he week all the time. Once we move we will be grilling more!

Sticker bunny: That’s a lot of good ideas! I like the chip veggies idea. I think the main thing I need to do is find good recipes and plan and prep for the week. I’m bad that that. I like crockpot ideas since it’s super easy and we work long days so coming home and having to Prep and cook sometimes makes dinner way too late which is why we don’t keep to healthy foods a lot.

LLH: I’ll make a permanent guest room for our new cook! Haha! I do like seafood and salmon! Never done a fish salad before. What kind of frozen lunches do you get? We were doing frozen dinners but a lot had a ton of sodium. I LOVE your idea of the ranch packet and veggies with yogurt! I love those ranch dips but never thought it would taste good with yogurt.

Sticker bunny do you just make a smoothie and freeze it? Does it end up too frozen the next day? I love that idea because I love smoothies but don’t have the time in the morning to make them

I make smoothies for my partner, I don’t particularly like the texture of chopped up fruit (I’m weird lol) but what I do is add fruit (he likes banana/apple), a little bit of milk (I use almond milk) and a protein powder he uses to give it extra nutrients and blend well. Then stick it in a “blender bottle” and put that in the FRIDGE rather than freezer. It’s not as “milkshake” like as making it with ice, but if you use something to give it a thicker texture (the banana for me), it is still thick. And the fridge keeps it cold. I make them the night before (around 9pm) and he takes them to work at 6am when he leaves.

http://authoritynutrition.com/101-healthy-low-carb-recipes/

http://allrecipes.com/recipes/everyday-cooking/special-diets/low-carb/main.aspx?mxt=t06dda

There are some recipe sites for low carb. Some are healthier than others, so just pick the healthiest sounding ones that sound good to you.

The pre-prepped meals do often have a TON of sodium in them. I don’t like that. And, as I mentioned earlier, no veg options anyway here! lol But, you can make your own also. A lot of foods store just fine in the freezer and/or fridge for a few days and then you just pop them in the microwave to reheat. When I make soups, for example, I make a giant 13 quart pot full of soup and eat from it the rest of the week (great way to use those veggies that are not quite as tasty due to age, but still good enough to not throw away). You can get tupperware and start making salads to store during the weekends. Or, cook enough chicken or whatever for leftovers the next day when you do cook dinner.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/melissaharrison/freezer-friendly-meals#.aykpZEElk <– some recipe examples for freeze ready meals at home

BM14, you could always prep the fruit and veg you want to add to your smoothie the day before or buy frozen fruit. Once the ingredients are ready to go it doesn’t take long at all to make a smoothie.

Getting them out of the freezer, blending, then washing the blender to avoid coming home to dried, spoiled fruit mess does take a few minutes. And if you’re rushing around to get to work on time at 6am, it’s understandable to not want to have to deal with all that.

I always just rinse the blender to get the worst of the mess out then clean it out properly later. Or I’ll use a single serve blender and just take it with. Usually takes 5 minutes or less. I don’t like “old” smoothies so I’ve found it easier for me to just prep the ingredients the night before and quickly blend and rinse in the morning as opposed to making the smoothie the night before.

Obviously, you gotta do what works best for you!

Now I want a smoothie.

Has anybody ever tried kick boxing? I’m kinda interested in it, but I am not sure if it is worth it. Is it fun? Do you get good results?

Thanks stickerbunny for all that info!!!
Also now I want a smoothie right away!

Congrats LLH! That’s awesome   I saved up a pair of pants I really like that I can’t button up to do the same. I know what you mean about shutting the brain down. It took so long for me, and it doesn’t always work. It’s a work in progress I guess

MissGabster, I was so sore my first week of yoga. My legs are pretty strong but my arms are not, and just doing table position made me want to cry. It got better, and Adrienne is really good at mixing up the days, so when you hit a really tired spot she usually brings in a restorative yoga day. I’m doing day 25 today, yesterday was restorative and today is a short 15 min practice!

This week went quite well, specially considering my bf was here (he was gone for 3 weeks and left today for another 2 weeks, boo) and we spent so much time together that my schedule was very off! I did my yoga everyday and ran twice. I’m waiting for the weather to clear so I can run another time today – it’s pouring rain! I’ve been tracking all my exercises on my journal, here are the last 8 days:

Food was also ok, I ate quite well. Mostly home made food and not too many unhealthy snacks. I did have pizza yesterday, but I had a kale salad before so I feel like it’s ok. Gonna be my lunch again today  I did outdoor movie night on Friday and took popcorn with me instead of chips! Proud of myself for that one. So my reward for the good week of working out and eating good will be poutine tonight

BM14–I buy Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, and SmartOnes mostly. I just started buying Amy’s Light and Lean (which I believe are all vegetarian) and a new brand called EVOL at Target. I just stock up with whats on sale.

We also buy those meals for two when we know its going to be a rushed night for supper. There are pasta ones and PF Changes makes some good chinese ones. They come frozen in a bag and you just throw them in the skillet for about 10-15 minutes. Which the chinese ones I buy either single serving rice bowls or bags and make sure to give Jared more rice so I don’t over-do it. Some of these are REALLY high in fat and calories but I’ve found quite a few that I like that are within my WW limits.

Another thing we buy are these frozen, stuffed chicken breasts. They have like Chicken Cordon Bleu, Chicken Parmesan, Broccoli and Cheese, etc. These are low WW points as well and literally just throw them in the oven. They take about 35-45 minutes but it’s hardly any work. I usually make a baked potato with them since thats really easy and roast some veggies to make it a complete meal.

The biggest problem with the above is that it’s all processed and high in sodium. I actually need more sodium in my diet due to my low blood pressure. Jared has high blood pressure so it’s not so good for him.

As for the stir-fry–this is a go to for me! I buy turkey sausage in casings. At the store here there is one that is sweet and one that is spicy. It’s lean meat so it’s good for you. I will cut up the sasauge into bite size pieces and cook them in the skillet in a tiny bit of olive oil. Then I remove them, add more oil and stiry fry my veggies. I use onions, peppers, snap peas, mushrooms, and tomatoes (or any combo of what I have on hand). You get so much liquid and flavor from the veggies that I don’t use any kind of sauce. Serve over a little bit of rice!

Ok don’t babbling!

I found a place to buy some Amys products. They didn’t really have many though. And some of them were OPENED – why would you go open a frozen meal? lol But, I got a couple to try.

LLH you eat a lot like I do. Its interesting to me. I eat a lot of the frozen dinners you do and the dinners for two for quick dinners. I really am trying to get back into cooking more. I have found a lot of different recipes online I have tried that are healthy an vegan. We eat blackened salmon and half a sweet potato quite often.

I did my usual weigh in today and still managed to loose a pound. I weighted 101.2 this morning and couldn’t believe it. I ate horribly most of this past week. I am quite disappointed in myself and ashamed for eating cake and then Friday I had a horrible morning after weeks of a lot of stress. I haven’t drank in ages. I tried to have a drink at my brothers on the 4th but I didn’t have a taste for it. It was around 10:30 and decided a drink might make me feel better. So I had a couple of shots of whiskey we had left in the house and a beer which I don’t like. I spent most of my day drunk and I didn’t count calories that day. I actually didn’t eat badly that day but its not good to spend your day being drunk like that. Its not me to do that. The next day it was my husbands 25th year of being together. We celebrate that day as well as our usual wedding anniversary. We ate at a local Italian place and I ate way too much. I did exercise this week it must have helped.

Hopefully I will have a better week. I will get back on track from my bad week.

BubblesJo I like what you have written up. I keep track of my food that way but not my exercise. Good Work!

BinkyMom did you make a smoothie yet? Those are a good idea.

Moxie I have done kickboxing before but not in a class its fun if you can keep up with whoever the trainer is. I think its fun. If you try it let me know how you like it. I have just done workout dvds.

Sindriona I’m glad your weigh in went well regardless. I think if you’re doing the right things most of the time it all evens out! I wish I could be drunk off two shots and a beer! lol but you know it’s funny how much money we’ve saved with me not drinking this month. When we go out to eat I usually have at least two tall beers, that alone is like $15 or more per time!

I managed to get down to 146 this weekend–I don’t think I’ve EVER weighed that low!!! I did eat a lot this weekend, but choose an Elk burger over beef on Sunday and ate ALL of my wedge fries and seasoned sour cream…soo good and soo worth weighing 149 Monday morning!!!!

I went shopping yesterday. Anyone go to the Limited? They have a HUGE sale right now, probably online too. Anyways, I bought three pairs of dress pants for $35~!!! Insanely cheap and they are modeled after Olivia’s wardrobe from Scandal so super cute. I fit into a size 6 which is a new one for me too!!

For you runners–what apps do you use to map your runs? This morning I used the Zombies, Run app. It was so fun! You are on a mission to get supplies while being chases by zombies. If you don’t speed up when they get close, you lose some of your supplies!

LLH: That zombie app sounds awesome! I wish our elliptical had something like that.

The other day I made some healthy ice cream. It turned out better than last time. I think the important thing is to eat it right away. It freezes solid in the freezer and trying to thaw it enough to make it eatable totally ruins it. It’s not quite like real ice cream, but still a good substitute.

LLH that app sounds really fun! My hubby runs now I will have to tell him about it. I do not think he currently uses any apps. I will have to ask. Your dinner sounded yummy! I usually treat myself once a week. I need to get back to just one day of that. Its definitely worth it! Saving money is awesome! Drinks out are definitely expensive. My brother bought me a frozen margarita last year it was bigger than I had expected it to be. It was $14 I really tried hard to drink it all because of the cost but I didn’t even drink half of it. They made it strong. He bought one for my mom as well and we both were drunk and couldn’t finish our drinks. Everyone thought it was funny. We were idiots. Shopping after that was quite an ordeal. heheh Oh and I haven’t shopped at the Limited I will have to check out the sale.

Hazel I am thinking you could use the app on the elliptical as well. If it is a type where all you do is vary your speed. You could just go faster. LLH could answer that question for you.

Stickerbunny I just noticed your comment about getting some Amys. I have no idea why people open up stuff. I have noticed that myself. Its weird. Sometimes my store will carry a lot of Amy’s products and them only sell one or two frozen meals. They were carrying the pizzas at my store but quit selling them. Once I talked to a stocker and she said she didn’t understand why they do that. We were talking about one item at the time and she said it sold really well. She was surprised it wasn’t up for being restocked and ordered.

Just saw smoothies mentioned and I must add to this:

I make smoothies for myself and my boyfriend the night before, and distribute even amount in mason jars with covers and place in the fridge. All you have to do in the morning is mix it and drink.

I personally am a fan of buying bunches of bananas, peeling, cutting them, throwing them into a gallon plastic bag and throwing into the freezer. Frozen bananas make smoothies very creamy. One of my go to smoothies is:

2 handfuls of greens (spinach, kale, chard, or just one combo)
1/2 cucumber or 2 stalks of celery
1-2 whole frozen bananas
1-2 cups coconut water for hydration and potassium
3 TBSP hemp seeds (10g of protein, plus iron, all of your omegas, a very good source of plant protein that is easily digestable)

LoveChaCha thanks for the smoothie recipe I will definitely give that one a try! I have found a lot of different smoothie, mason jar recipes and other recipes on PopSugar website under the fitness category and some under the food category. I have tried a few out and liked them. I found a recipe for a quinoa enchilada casserole off of http://www.Damndelisous.net. She has some really yummy looking recipes that are vegan and non vegan. Her pictures of her food are amazing. Have you made any mason jar quinoa salads at all?

The internet is a good way to search for healthy recipes.

Well I’m booked in at ‘Gentle Exercise.’ Was supposed to be going tomorrow, but I’ve fallen over, so I can’t go, yeah was getting my washing in tonight, fell over the neighbour’s cat, sprained both my big toes.

Posted By Sindriona on 7/21/2015 3:37 PM

LoveChaCha thanks for the smoothie recipe I will definitely give that one a try! I have found a lot of different smoothie, mason jar recipes and other recipes on PopSugar website under the fitness category and some under the food category. I have tried a few out and liked them. I found a recipe for a quinoa enchilada casserole off of http://www.Damndelisous.net. She has some really yummy looking recipes that are vegan and non vegan. Her pictures of her food are amazing. Have you made any mason jar quinoa salads at all?

The internet is a good way to search for healthy recipes.

No problem

Yum! I’ve made quinoa, black bean, veggie enchiladas once and it was soooooo good and filling! I love recipe sites! I highly recommend: minimalistbaker.com (some have some desserts, a lot have really tasty, plant based, and easy recipes), ohsheglows, plantbasedonabudget.com.

Yeah! I have made some mason jar salads for work My salads tend to be bigger than my head (I put many things in them) so I use the big mason jars haha! I tend to use a lot of chickpeas, quinoa, hemp seeds, flax seed, etc for good protein.  

I should make more smoothies! in fact i have some bananas that are going to go bad so i should cut them up!

I’m not sure if the app would work on an eliptical or even a treadmill. i think it bases your speed on the gps and how far you’ve ran?

Ahhh pizza I bet that was good.

LBJ I am sorry things arent going well for you thus far. It does sound like hubby is tempting you with yummy things. I couldn’t resist pizza! As a matter of fact my husband tempted me to eat lunch at his favorite new place its a coffee shop here in town. Its unusual for him to want to go out to eat somewhere. I was naughty and ate pork, pulled pork bbq sandwich to be exact. I will say it was really good though. It came with chips but I cant eat those thanks to my braces or they would have been eaten. I was still hungry because it was a really small sandwich I went home and made ramen. I went on Amazon and bought some and I found a healthier version of ramen called GreeNoodle. They are made with a super vegetable called Moroheiya. These noodles have a lot of protein and fiber in them. Most of the flavors are vegan as well.

Anyways I got sidetracked. I remember you saying something about your kitchen is it being remodeled? I was going to suggest trying some recipes like we were talking about or trying frozen dinner but if your kitchen is unusable I can see that being a problem. Did you guys get your fridge yet? The hardest part about trying to loose weight is the diet. I wish I had some great advice to give you. All you can do is keep trying. Try not to think the word “diet” because I think it makes the process even harder. Its a life style change. That’s how I look at it for me. Lately its been tough so I can totally understand what you are going through.

We had a small remodel last year and could only eat out of our microwave for about 2 months. At least we had that. We did eat a lot of fast food then. Perhaps for now at least don’t try so hard loosing weight. It sounds like you got your hands full with all that’s going on in the house. Maybe refocus when your kitchen gets back to a more useable condition and just try to pick the healthier options when dining out. Sometimes we can put too much pressure on ourselves to loose weight that it actually backfires. I know that from personal experience. For most of my adult life I have tried to loose weight many times.

Hang in there we are here to offer you support and or at least understanding!

I hope you are feeling better Pinky!

Does anyone use Avocado? I don’t usually because I can never figure out if they are ripe. I bought one the other day and cut into it and it was perfect! I just made a wrap with leftover chicken breast, tomato, fat free cheese, avocado, romaine, chives, and lite caesar dressing. It was really good! And bing cherries on the side!

I’ll have to look into those noodles Sindriona…could you use them for like spaghetti with sauce?

They do sell a package that is just the plain noodles and I am planning on trying it with spaghetti sauce. I got a sample pack of almost all the flavors they sell. It came with 2 plain packs. I just need to get some sauce or make my own.

I use avacados. I think its just best to feel it, you want it to be soft to the touch when you press it but not too soft. Your wrap sounds amazing!

Pinky I didn’t see what you had posted earlier. How are your toes feeling? I hope you get to feeling better soon!

LoveChaCha I checked out the site you mentioned. When I got shopping this weekend I plan on making a couple of recipes I seen, thanks for the info!

LBJ I was also wanting to tell you to make sure you are drinking water and make sure its cold. From several articles I have read if its cold it helps burn a few extra calories. I know for me in particular if I drink something cold I get cold so my body is working on trying to warm back up again. I think that is what is suppose to happen. I cant remember the exact data I have read. I also drink 3 to 4 cups of green tea a day which also helps burn 80 to 100+ extra calories. It has a lot of good health benefits and I find it ups my metabolism. Those are some small and simple things you can do. I get mostly Lipton flavored tea some caffeinated some that aren’t. I like the Blackberry Pomegranate flavor the best. A lot of times I will buy the Lipton Tea&Honey to go packets in the same flavor which are 10 calories for the whole packet. I will add that to the regular tea bags that I have brewed to sweeten it. I will take 2 to 3 regular tea bags and steep them in about 2 to 4 cups of water and then when its done I will stir in a packet. I then pour into a big glass that I have left in the freezer with ice and drink it iced. Its yummy. When its cold I drink my tea warm.

I don’t really feel like I am being successful at any of my goals!! *Sigh* :^/ It also doesn’t help that our scale broke so I can’t even weigh myself at the moment. I really need to work out an exercise plan. I think I’m going to start out something like this:
Daily:
Jumping Jacks: 100x
Sit Ups: 100x
Various Stretches: 15 minutes
Just Dance: 45 minutes
Jog all 4 dogs seperately.

^Does that sound Okay to start out with?

MM that might be a lot for one day just starting out. Why not switch it up? Do the jumping jacks, sit ups, and just dance one day. The jumping jacks, situps, and jogging the next? So you don’t get burnt out and sick of it right away.

Moxie I think that is a lot too. Start out with shorter workouts and do what LLH suggested. If you like to dance that sounds good for sure.If you can access Youtube Xhitdaily has a lot of short workouts. Just make sure you warm up a bit before you do one. You have dogs right? You could take them for a walk that’s exercise too. You can also tell if you lost weight or are shaping up just by how your clothes fit since you don’t have a scale.

LBJ Green tea needs to steep no longer than 3 minutes or it gets bitter. The water shouldn’t be boiling either. I have a kettle that has options of how hot the water will get so I am kind of lucky there. It has green, (oolong which is also considered a weight loss tea), white, French press and boiling setting. I have never made sun tea before. I just read the side of the box of lipton tea. Don’t follow those instructions. It says boil water steep for 1 to 1and a half minutes. I have been making green tea for so long that I finally got mine the way I like it. It would be bitter and you wont get the nutrients out of it that way. So if I were making it on top of the stove I would just get the water to just about boiling and take it off the burner then add your bags and set timer for 3 minutes. I forgot you cant make it because your kitchen situation…. well when you can that’s how I would try and make it. Or if you have a beverage setting on the microwave you could make it that way too of course microwaves vary.

Yeah I’m kinda a go-big-or-go-home kinda person when it comes to my own work-outs. I like to feel like I am doing something that’s working.

Sindriona—Yeah we have 4.

I’ve been pretty good with food lately, eating less especially, and trying to eat healthier. I’ve been experimenting a little in the kitchen to make healthy stuff that actually tastes good. I love lightly seasoned couscous with grilled vegetables, and for dinner tonight we had baked zucchini with millet, grilled tomatoes, garbanzo beans, and cheese. I was a little wary of millet (that’s what I feed Stevi!) but it was quite good. I am a sucker for healthy fresh vegetables and fruit but finding ways to make them a meal is a bit harder.
I haven’t been great with exercise, though I have gone running and to the gym a few times. Just too busy I guess.
I also need to remember to drink more water!

People keep buying me treats and I have no will-power not to eat them. Plus, I ate very badly over the weekend when I stayed over a friend’s house. We had a movie marathon and I pretty much ended up eating nothing but swedish fish, twizzlers, popcorn, and snickerdoodle ice cream. I had oatmeal for breakfast but that was the only proper food item I ate in the 24 hour period I was with my friend. I felt so horrible after eating so much junk. Remind me never to do that again! Eugh.

I would be back on track with my healthier eating but like I said, people keep buying me treats! I definitely feel your pain, LBJ. Other people make it so hard to eat healthy. Not having a kitchen makes it so much harder!

I love avocados! I buy them when they’re still green then gently squeeze them every other day until they have a slight squish to them, then I put them in the fridge. They barely ripen once put in the fridge so they’ll usually last a couple of weeks until you’re ready to use them. I like to put them on my go-to sandwich recipe.

I should buy some hemp seeds. I usually add chia or ground flax to smoothies for the omegas but hemp seeds sound like they have even more goodies packed into them.

Maybe you should try the P90X workout series, Moxie? I’ve heard those are pretty grueling.

LEL it sounds like you are did pretty good even with a busy schedule! That’s the hardest b/c there’s never enough hours in the day!!!

MissG–we’ve all had those days where are tummies are just angry with us all for all the abuse!!! haha but I bet you had a blast at your friend’s and that’s what really matters!! You know ppl don’t bring me treats anymore. I’ve turned down so many that they just don’t. Fine by me though! Whever hubby comes home w/ sweets I make him take them to work or hide them somewhere!

Thanks for the avocado tip!!! I used mine up in 2 days so it wouldn’t go bad! I’ll try the fridge! It was so good in my wrap and then my salad last night.

This will be my 3rd weekend with no alcohol. I’m on day 19 of 30. I feel really good. Have lost over 7 lbs. since July 5th. It’s so nice to be able to eat more without the alcohol as well!

Anyone have weekend plans that make them nervous food or exercise wise? Maybe we could talk about them and create a plan of attack? Mine will be pretty low key. Only work 3 hours today then spending the afternoon and evening in the garden and cleaning. Running 8 miles tomorrow and might go to the Running store to look at new shoes. A movie with hubby Sunday and my friend is staying Sunday night w/ her kids after they go to the One Direction concert. So Sunday night is the only night that makes me nervous, but I’m never tempted to drink on a worknight.

LEL you definitely sound like you did great with food. That’s really the most important thing when trying to loose weight.

MissGabbster I ate horribly last week and I really felt it. I was so tired and and didn’t feel like doing much of anything even though I pushed through it. It sounds like you had a great time with your friends though. That’s good for the mind. I own the orginal P90 I did it many times over the years. I actually have a Beachbody workout I haven’t even done that’s sitting in my coffee table drawer. I guess I should do it sometime. Its called Piyo. Its a Pilates and yoga hybrid workout. I watched the video where they demonstrated the positions but haven’t actually done any of the workouts I should try that out. I like CHalene’s other videos like Turbo Jam I did those dvds years ago for about 2 or 3 years. I also have the Turbo Fire workouts but I didn’t enjoy those.

LLH Good job with the not drinking! It sounds like its really working out for you for the better! Congrats on the great work! As for weekend plans we are taking my son out to look for cars. It was too hot to do our walk this morning. We are going to try to go around 8 tonight. I think the rest of the weekend is low key for us as well. I will do some shopping and that’s about it. I am a little nervous about the weekend because that’s when I usually have my no calorie count day. I already had a no count day when I ate lunch with my husband on Monday. So I guess the plan for attack for me is to remind myself I already had one and remind myself of how sick I felt last week. I don’t know why weekends seem to be harder than week days when it comes to eating right and exercising though like I said I am good about the exercise part. The food part is the hardest. For me I just try to make sure I drink plenty of water and get lots of protein with my meals so I am feeling fuller for longer. I have been eating high protein instant oatmeal with soy milk and it keeps me full for around 4 to 5 hours. Then I also try to keep busy to take my mind off of wanting to eat. So there are some ideas for plans of attack. Don’t let yourself get too hungry. When I let that happen my blood sugar drops then I tend to over eat to feel better.

I did have fun but my stomach did not. Next time we have an overnight movie marathon I’ll have to bring some better snacks so I don’t feel like trash afterwards.

You do have to use the avocado within a couple of days once you cut into it but yeah, the fridge trick is great if you buy a ton of avocados at once. Which I have a tendency to do. I love them in wraps! I’ve never tried them in a salad?

Congrats on your 3rd week of no drinking!

I wish you both luck with your weekend!

I know the pain of eating too much at a friend’s, and not so good stuff… I’m kind of dreading it for the weekend. I have a get together with my volunteer team for the convention, to meet everyone, and we’re supposed to bring snacks. I’m good at not eating crappy stuff at home, but having it in front of my is harder.

LLH, congrats on your 3rd week You’re going strong!

I follow thekitchn.com for yummy recipes. They have a lot of healthy food and a good selection of vegetarian dishes, or alterations to make a dish veggie. I have yet to make a bad recipe from that site! Also, avocado toast is the best We’re finally getting fresh berries in my neck of the woods, so I ate a lot of strawberries and now moving to raspberries. Berries are pretty much the only fruit I like.

LBJ, no working kitchen is the worst there’s really not much you can do about healthy eating. I agree with Sindriona, don’t focus too much on the food for now. Just try to get a bit more activity during your day.

I finished my 30 Days of Yoga challenge today 30 consecutive days of home practice. The next challenge is figuring out what to do for a sequence each day. I really like structure so I’ll probably plan which videos I want to follow for a 2-3 days. We’ll see how that works. Waiting for a delivery to arrive so I can go for a run after!

Also, I did a low ropes training course this week I’m now certified to run a low ropes course! It was so much fun but seriously physically taxing. And having to travel over an hour to get to training didn’t help with the tiredness. But so worth it, I’m so looking forward to facilitate people doing the activities!

BubblesJo congrats on finishing your 30 day challenge! That’s great. I also like berries. I have frozen blueberries on hand atm. I added that site you mentioned to my favorites. Its looks good. With all these new sites you guys have mentioned I have a lot more healthy recipes to try. I have been doing a lot more cooking lately too and am finding it a lot more enjoyable. I really was to a point of not cooking much. I hadn’t really enjoyed it. I did enjoy salads but since I got braces I find them difficult to eat. I do like to cook with a lot of veggies though.

LBJ I was thinking about you making tea. I mentioned I had a kettle that I made my green tea with. I didn’t know if you had a plug in electric kettle for heating water but you could get something like that in the mean time to make your tea with. I thought I would mention it since it was on my mind.

That’s how my mother-in-law makes her green tea. You could try that.

I have decided on a new mini goal. I stopped drinking my daily Pepsi and switched to Dr. Pepper Bold 10 a while ago. I really liked drinking it however it wasn’t something that I drank on a daily basis. I decided starting now that I will try and drink only water and green tea and get a Bold 10 once in awhile or a Pepsi. I want to see how that goes.

LBJ good luck at the in-laws house. I know the feeling my mother-in-law always has a lot of food at the house when the family gets together and everyone brings stuff too. There is always tempting things to eat and a lot of it.

I’m working on giving up pop. i’m doing a trial run on a product called Thrive and I cant have any caffeine while I do it. I also quit buying Diet Sunkist because I was drinking one every night before bed. I need to drink more tea. I have a Kuerig and a cute tea kettle, lots of tea options and adorable tea cups (I collect them).

Congrats on completing the 30 day challenge, BubblesJo!

I like tea but I’m still trying to figure out how to make my teas taste like the teavana samples. I know they mix a couple different flavors together and ice them but I haven’t gotten the right ratio down.

Chocolate caramel sea salt ice cream with brownie chunks in a waffle cone. Worth. Every. Bite.

I feel like I’m doing bad at my goals, but also that I’m doing good at the same time. I’M SO CONFUSED!?????

Like yesterday I lugged wood for this upcoming winter, did some Just Dance and rode my bike a little. But I don’t know, I just don’t feel like it’s ENOUGH. Know what I mean?

MissGabbster I use buy Teavana tea all the time. I need to order some. The blackberry mojito green tea is my absolute favorite. I forgot about that tea. I haven’t ordered from them in a couple of years. I haven’t ever tried the samples they make before.

So today is my first day without having a soda and its already hard. I went and bought several different flavors of tea to help keep me from bordom of tea drinking however its still not the same as a soda. My husband told me to just buy some yesterday. It was on sale. I was bad already this weekend. I bought some King Hawaiian bread. Not the rolls but the round loaf. OMG it was so good. I ate half of the loaf, not all at once but through out the day. The whole loaf was 1440 calories so I had half that. It was worth it though. I gave the rest of it to my son. He likes bread too. I told my husband don’t let me buy that again. Its too naughty to have in the house.

Moxie its sounds like you were pretty active yesterday even though you didn’t feel like you did a lot. I worked out on the elliptical for 45 minutes and did some random cardio moves after I ate the last of the bread. I haven’t exercised today yet its just so hot. I have been doing a lot of cleaning the past couple days. I will exercise this evening when it cools down some.

I was doing REALLY good all week, and then I ate about 1000 calories of ice cream on Friday and Saturday nights, on top of my normal calories. Sigh. Fail, Nora, fail. This morning I went to the farmer’s market, and while I ate a ton, I think it was mostly healthy. Had to guesstimate my calories, but it ended up only being about 900, which isn’t bad since it was both breakfast and lunch.

Sindriona, you could try sparkling water too, it is a little closer to soda and might satisfying your cravings. I like La Croix, although I only buy it is it is on sale. But it is nice, it doesn’t have the artificial sweeteners that some of the other no calorie waters have.

Nora Don’t be too hard on yourself about the ice cream. All we can do its try to eat better and keep being active. I really enjoyed that bread. I am sure you enjoyed that ice cream. I love and I miss Blue Bell mint chocolate chip ice cream. I and my husband would eat a whole container of that stuff it was so good. I loved the texture of it. I have been drinking sparkling waters too. I have had that brand. I got some awhile back. I got the berry flavor which flavor do you like the best? I am sitting here drinking Ocean Spray Pact cranberry pomegranate water right now. I got it at a gas station. Its pretty good. It has 10 calories and sweetened with stevia extract. It tastes pretty good. I have bought it twice now. I haven’t tried the other flavors yet. I would like to try Dasani Sparkling Water but I cant find it in my area. Its suppose to be totally all natural flavored water. I am considering ordering some online.

LBJ I understand where you are coming from. There is nothing worse than buying a container of something and it going to waste because you didn’t like it. I once bought a tin of a type of oolong tea. It was filled with tons of tea inside. It would have taken me 6 months to make all that tea and that would be if I used it everyday. I never had oolong tea before I had no idea what I was in for. Oolong tea is not for everyone. It was Iron Goddess Kuan Yin tea. It tasted like iron, rocks and I don’t know how else to describe it. I plaid about $40 for it. I kept the tin but I threw out the tea. I now have a taste for that type of tea but I don’t buy it often. I like to drink it mainly when the weather is cool because I like it hot.

I just bought some Bai juice; a whole case. Tastes delicious. Brought it home and realized it’s full of caffeine which I’m trying to avoid. Ugh.

Oh and can we have a weekend do-over? Mine was supposed to be laid back, easy, no pressure. I ate SO MUCH! And then I went and bought a Pina Colada cupcake to share w/ hubby. Tomorrow is Monday. Reset, Re-do. Start Over!

Had a nice salad for dinner. Feeling pleasantly full and trying to convince myself to just leeeeave the ice cream in the freezer!!

I think my favorite La Croix flavor is the peach-pear. I’ve had the grapefruit and cran-raspberry and they are both pretty good as well. I’m trying to try them all, but it takes me a while to get through a case!

So in the last month and half after figuring out my own digestive issues, I have achieved the halfway to fifty goal.  I’ve lost 26.7 lbs and am now down to 304.3 lbs.   Yay, for actually finally losing the weight and keeping it off. 

Congrats So Fluffy Bunny! I am happy for you! Keep up the good work!

Its sounds like a lot of his had some set backs this weekend. my workouts must have paid off because I didn’t gain any weight. I am happy about that. I did sneak off yesterday and go to the gas station and get a Dr. Pepper Bold 10 along with that water I got.

LLH I didn’t know the Bai products had caffeine in them. I have been wanting to try some but I haven’t as of yet. I need some caffeine but not as much as I had been getting that’s another reason I wanted to stop having soda in the house. The cans of the bold 10 are like 51 mgs of caffeine and if I have a second one that’s more than double what I was usually having in a day. I could tell. I would get dizzy sometimes.

Nora I will see if my stores sell the peach pear flavored water it sounds good. I have tried the other flavors.

Good luck to everyone this week! I hope we all do better! I do know I am going to get pizza or go out and have lunch somewhere with my son today. I have planned it for awhile but I already have my kitchen stocked with healthy items and no soda. I am excited and more motivated to do better this week!

Congrats So Fluffy That’s pretty awesome!!

For the tea people: Do you guys have David’s Tea in the states? That’s my go to tea store for loose leaf. The quality is really good and they have anything from plain different types of tea to mixes and herbal. I usually drink a cup of flavoured black tea in the morning (chocolate chilli chai yum!) and 1-2 cups of herbal during the day. It helps me with hydration, which I struggle with.

So green tea helps with metabolism? Good to know, I’m sure I have decaf green tea in packets somewhere…

I did better than I expected during the weekend. I didn’t overeat, although I did get cookies. I had bacon and eggs for dinner yesterday, since when I logged in my run Nike told me I ran more than 25K this month It deserved bacon!

I also rewarded myself with a new pair of yoga capris and shorts. I found a store that has gorgeous discounted yoga gear – $40 for both pieces! I payed more than that for my last sports bra. This will also help with my laundry, no more washing stuff by hand so I have clean clothes for daily yoga

Good luck for this week, everyone! I started my day with 40 min yoga and I’ll be doing bellydance tonight

BubblesJo I haven’t noticed if David’s Tea is sold in the stores but I have bought that brand off of Amazon in the past. I got Prime so I buy a lot of stuff off of there. I had white tea chia this morning. It was my first time trying chai before. It kind of tastes like Yogi tea detox tea to me. It was good. Oolong tea is considered a “weight loss fat burning” tea also. I don’t drink it often though. Its got a higher caffeine content than green tea. Oolong for me at least is a tea you have to buy good quality.

It sounds like you are doing great! $40 for your yoga gear sounds great! I love getting a good deal on something. I am glad you have found things you like to do and fun rewards! Keep up the good work!

That great SFB!!!

Sind–the Bai juices have over 70 mg in a bottle! Yikes!

Bubbles–I love rewarding myself w/ workout clothes! Check out http://www.cozyorange.com…….sometimes they have awesome sales! Spent $120 and got 2 pairs of pants and 8 tops!

LLH that’s a lot of stuff for $120! I am gonna check out that site too. Wow that’s a lot of caffeine. I guess I wont try those. hehe

Was going to tell you all about my dessert last night. Got some fat free chocolate pudding and topped ot with fat free frozen cool whip drizzled with a tiny bit of hersheys syrup and caramel sauce topped with a few chocolate chips. It felt super fancy and was about 5 WW points so maybe 250 calories.

That sounds yummy. I just bought some Danon light and fit greek yogurt with chocolate on top. I got cherry and vanilla. I like the cherry one. You might like it. Its only 100 calories too.

I didn’t know David’s was sold on amazon! That’s pretty cool They have pretty good teas, I have a lot of teas from them. Surprisingly I don’t have many green teas – they’re my boyfriend’s favourites and I guess that I’ve been running out of the ones I had here without noticing!! Chai is one of my favourite teas, I adore chai latte. I need to get them with milk substitute though, since I’m lactose intolerant

Thanks guys! I do have some good yoga staples from lululemon, but their stuff is so expensive. And I refuse to buy anything that isn’t dark there, because of the sheerness issues. The ones I got now are a lot funkier and with cool patterns! LLH, cozyorange has very cool stuff! I’ll keep an eye on them for sure. I think some might show up at the store I got my stuff this time. A couple of the patterns seem familiar.

I had to share that I’m so happy that I’m not having crazy cravings this week! I always end up with my face shoved in a large bag of chips before my period, but this time I’m doing ok and craving healthy stuff I guess being active really does change things up.

Hope the week is going well for everyone! I’ve been mixing an matching my yoga workouts and it’s been fun. I’m taking a slower day today, I’m a bit sore

BubblesJo I just looked on Amazon and they don’t sell it anymore. It had been awhile ago that I bought some and with all this talk of different tea I went to go buy some and there wasn’t any. That’s too bad too.

Ah period cravings. I read something recently about that you burn extra calories while you are on your period and that it might explain cravings and being hungry. Here something I read…A few days before and during the time you are menstruating, you do burn more calories due to the additional cellular activity taking place internally. Some female metabolisms may increase up to 15% during this time due to hormonal changes and loss of blood. The increase in metabolism can lead to an increase in appetite in order to compensate for the greater calorie burn (in the same manner that as exercise can lead to an increase in hunger), which is why some women tend to eat more or crave different foods during this time of the month. Cravings can also be caused by the hormonal changes that affect taste or thought processes. Additionally, certain foods can help sooth difficult times, thus leading to different or unusual food choices. I found that to be interesting. I do think though that when you make better food choices your body no longer craves junk so that could be why you aren’t craving your chips. hehe I myself get pretty hungry and I am glad I read that article because I was going crazy. I told my husband I am starving and what I usually ate wasn’t satisfying me.

Glad you are enjoying your workouts! I am going to take the day off today from exercise. I am pretty tired today despite the fact I slept really well last night and actually got to sleep in today. I wonder if that is making me feel tired? I don’t usually sleep in.

It’s been a pretty good week here! I’m using Thrive with has a protein shake for breakfast. It’s really yummy mixed with cashew milk and frozen berries. I think it’s been helping with muscle recovery after running so that’s really nice!

I’m finally on some good allergy and asthma meds which helps a lot when it comes to working out!

LLH I am glad they got you some meds to help with your allergies! It will improve your workout for sure. I haven’t heard of Thrive before. What is it?

I don’t think I have been eating bad this week but I have been eating more than I usually do it seems. I am still feeling a bit tired and run down but am working out. I just took that one day off. Today I am going to do something simple like the elliptical machine since its so hot outside. I have lots of housework to do so I will count that as exercise as well.

I did have some diet soda this week. I am cutting back but I couldn’t stick to my all tea and water plan like I wanted to. I hope everyone has a good weekend. I don’t have any plans to eat something special since I had pizza with my son earlier in the week.

One of my heels finally touched the ground during downward facing dog! Maybe I’ll be able to touch my toes one day. I’ve also noticed that I’m not getting nearly as sore after a session as I was in the first week.

Those are some great deals on workout clothes! I’ll have to check out some of those sites eventually. As of right now, I’ve been practicing yoga in my pjs before bed.

I was given some yoga pants about a week ago and I’ve been wearing them an embarrassing amount, but I haven’t worn them for yoga. Between yoga pants, leggings, and those super loose pants I may never wear jeans again.

Hahah MissG, yoga pants are just amazing!!! I have so many pairs. My hubby got me these nice under armour sweatpants for running outside in winter. I’ve never worn them to run….but they sure do get worn a lot!

Sind-Thrive is a combination of things. There is a vitamin pack, the protein shake full of vitamins and nutrients, and the theres this DFT patch which you put on your skin for 24 hours at a time and the best way to describe it is like a slow release of energy. So you get extra energy w/o the crash from pop or coffee. The patch–I’m just not sure about that yet. But I really like the vitamins and the shake is really good! My hubby is going to let me try out the regimine for two months to see if it truly makes a difference. I have noticed its easier to get out of bed and i’ve been waking up before my alarm. so we’ll see!

I ran 10 miles yesterday as part of my half-marathon training. I’ve got blisters and I’m a little sore today! Will probably take a nice hot bath later!

MissG I have the same issue with my feet not touching on downward dog sometimes I just reposition myself and my feet touch. I love yoga and fitness clothes in general. I just ordered 2 tank tops. One has a cute otter wearing a headband holding some dumbells and it says something about asking “would you be my Sp otter?” the other one says “Workout now Pizza Later”. I got it because I love pizza. When I get them I may take some pics of me in them. The otter one is so cute. I got it off of a site called Zulily. They have daily deals. I first started shopping on there to get baby stuff cheaper but I mainly buy stuff for myself on there now.

LLH I will have to look up that Thrive stuff. It sounds interesting. I bet you are sore after a run like that. Ouch! Good work though! I wish I was a runner but my old knee injury is not going to let me. So on my walks I will walk as fast as I can and mix it up with running here and there.

LBJ I am glad you got your desk cycle! I hope you like it. Its been pretty hot here we have had horrible heat indexes so we haven’t walked much this week. So I understand about not wanting to get out and exercise.

I guess I did okay this week. I managed to maintain my weight. I weighed 100.2 last Monday and I weight 100.8 today. I am fine if I weighed more too. I wasn’t too concerned. I do walk around at 102 to 103. The 100 weight is my morning weight before I eat anything. my main concern now is maintaining weight and eating better. I have to make a doctor appointment for sometime this week. I think I have a hernia. I hope its nothing too serious. I have suspected it for awhile now. I took one day off from working out this week. I mainly did the elliptical and HIIT workouts because it was hot. We only walked 2 times this week. I need to lift weights today.

This weeks goal is to eat better and try to lower my caffeine intake and I didn’t buy any soda again. So hopefully I can have even less of it this week. Last week didn’t go so well with the soda situation. So I am going to try again. I got a really nice tasting tea. The brand is Revolution and the flavor is Blackberry Jasmine Oolong tea. I got it off of Amazon. The caffeine content is 30mg for a cup. That’s not bad at all compared to the soda I was drinking. This is really good tea its a oolong and green tea hybrid. So I finally found a great tasting oolong. I will definitely buy this again. If you like tea this is a good one to try. I like blackberry too.

I wish everyone good luck with your goals this week! I am especially excited to see how you like your bike LBJ!

You can take it home and use it while watching tv or something perhaps? Using it in short burst will work too.

That looks good, LBJ. It’s a shame you can’t use it while typing though.

Sind–that otter top sounds so super cute!

LBJ I like your bike. Did you decide how you were going to use it?

I haven’t gotten my Otter tank top. I hope I get it soon. I have seen other ones on different sites but I can only find the one I ordered off of Zulily. This is my second order of this top. my last one was lost by the UPS. I wonder what happens to these lost items? Anyway I got my pizza one. It has a picture of a slice of pepperoni pizza on it and it is says “Push ups now Pizza Later.” I need to wash it. Its from the brand Chin Up Apparel. I haven’t bought that brand before. The picture was more faded than I expected. I am hoping it fits my chest better after I wash it. Its size small and fits great everywhere else but my chest. Its big in that area. I joked with my mom that I am reverting back to a preteen with my braces and now my training bras. I had to buy new bras awhile back and I had to buy training bras because the store didn’t carry anything smaller than 32B.

So my diet and workouts this week are pretty good. I have only went one day without soda though…sigh that isn’t going so well. I was just so tired today I had to go and buy a soda. I got a Bold 10. I am truly addicted. I felt so much better after a couple of sips. Tea just isn’t energizing me in the same way. At least I am not drinking 2 diet sodas a day or a full calorie soda a day. That’s something I guess.

LLH btw what Thrive products are you using? I went and looked them up I guess they have several different products.

I’d like to see pictures of your tops, Sindriona! They sound fun.

LBJ. I don’t know what size you are or where you’re at but I can always find good deals on bras at Target or H&M. I’ve lost a cup size so I had to go bra shopping recently and I was able to buy 5 bras at H&M for $40. H&M isn’t good for sports bras though.

Ugh I feel ya on with your bra woes Sind…hubby told me if I lost anymore weight it has to be below the waist. I think sports bras are the only ones that actually fit. Honestly I think I go w/o a bra and no one would ever know! But I’m pretty glad I don’t have the opposite problem!

I am really enjoying the Thrive products. I did a sample of them for 10 days (the multi-vitamin, shake, and dft patch) and was feeling really good. I didn’t drink any caffeine during that time as there is natural caffeine the products. I was waking up feeling really invigorated and not exhausted after work. I ran out and just got my new supply today. Hubby said I could try it for two months so I just started again today. I could feel the difference in those few days I wasn’t using it…just felt kind of run down. If you decide you want to try it, let me know. I think I might get some kind of deal? Like if two people put I referred them, I get a month’s supply free. Oh and I definitely think it was helping with muscle recovery!

I used to have a sit/stand station at my old job. I never got a chance to enjoy it before I moved offices though! I’m jealous of your bike LBJ! I force myself to get up and go to another building work every chance I get.

I’m sure you are all interested in healthy eating and exercise, well I’ve been eating oven baked rather than fried and had a shock this morning, my tummy was a funny shape on one side, I panicked thinking it was something wrong from my operation 20 years ago, thinking it was this I was worried about Olly if I had to go to hospital because my carer goes away soon, I phoned everyone I knew, Olly jumped on the bed and sat on my knee and licked my chin, he must have known I was upset, I said to him. “Mummy is ill baby, if Mummy goes to the big Mummy vets who look after my baby?” I went to the walk in clinic, waited 4 hours in tears thinking is it this? Or maybe it’s that, I was called through and explained what was bothering me to the nurse, I said I couldn’t go to hospital I had a rabbit to look after, she asked to look at my tummy and told me to calm down, she got my records on her computer and then weighed me, she said that there was nothing to worry about, she said that from the last time I was weighed I have lost 2 and a half Kg and that is why my tummy is an odd shape and a little sore, I don’t know what 2 and a half Kg is in pounds, it was very scary this morning but I’m glad I lost all that weight, its going to help my Arthritis too, because weight on bones is not good, might try my jeans in a few days if my tummy isn’t sore,

I am at my goal weight! Woohoo. Now to keep it here this time!

Nice that you lost some weight Pinky. I think its the equivalent of 5 lbs? I’m sure you were relieved to find out that you were ok!

LBJ–I think if you get into a routine of exercising and eating right and keep at it but don’t see results it could be hormone or a thyroid issue or whatnot. But even if that happens at least you would be doing the right things and would be “healthy” even if not losing the weight you want. I think then it would be easier for a Dr. to figure out what the issue is vs. not doing anything at all. Does that make sense? I have a friend with a thyroid issue; she would work her behind off without really seeing results. She got on the the right meds and now she’s doing great!

I went for a run this morning. It was 90% humidity at 5AM!

Free bras would be awesome. I spend about $18 a piece for mine, because I like the comfort fit ones that are designed to wear while you work. I can’t handle no bra, or “fancy” bras, not enough support!

I’ve lost around 4lbs since my video game started a new server (2 weeks ago) ha. I really just need things to distract me so I don’t boredom eat junk apparently.

LBJ – Yes, hormone imbalances do make you gain weight / make it impossible to lose. Medications can also make weight loss very hard, if you’re on any. Thyroid issues. Even certain nutrient imbalances can do it. If you think something might be blocking you, always a good idea to get a checkout at the doctor to make sure everything is balanced.

Ah. Yeah, the pituitary can mess with your hormones and give you trouble with your weight. If you can’t afford the treatment for it, can you afford a blood test to see if the BC is doing enough to even out your hormones?

I will try and take a pic of me when I get both of my tops. I think the otter order is going to come up missing again. It seems that the tracking isn’t updating like it did the last time I ordered it. I really want that shirt. I wonder what is going on there with that.

Nora congrats on reaching your goal weight! I am happy for you! Maintaining is tricky I know from experience. I am sure you will figure it out with a little trail and error.

Pinky I hope your stomach is doing better. Speaking of that I thought I had something wrong with mine and went to the doctor and he said it was fine. I thought I had a hernia or something.

LBJ yea hormones can cause you to gain weight and harder to loose it as well. I have polycystic ovarian disease. I gained a lot of weight because if it and certain foods like sweets in particular would make it worse. I am a type of person who has to count every calorie I eat and exercise regularly or I gain weight since I started getting cysts. So I think there is something to that for sure. My husband’s older brother has a pituitary gland problem and when they finally started to give him shots to help him with the issue he lost a lot of weight. He was heavy. I am pretty sure there are tests for that being my brother-in-law found out he had problems. He and his wife were trying to have children that’s how he found out about his problems. I am sorry you don’t have insurance and cant afford the treatment.

It sucks that you are stuck at your desk all day. Are you still using your bike? I read what you said about taking a stroll. That would probably be a sight to see you carting gravel around. hehe I hate walking when there is a bunch of men around. I was at the park a few weeks ago and there were some construction guys working at a train track that was right next to the park and these guys were standing around. During the first round on the trail I walked with my husband. After that I walked alone because he was running. I came around that second time and one of the guys yelled at me and said ” You enjoy that walk Honey.” Why do they have to act like that? They live up to the stereo type they get for cat calling. I jokingly told my husband about it and he got extremely angry. He said he was going to call the company when he got home. I took a shower when we got home I am not sure if he called them or not. He said it was unprofessional of them to act in that manner which I agree but I just wasn’t going to let it bother me it wasn’t a big deal to me.

LBJ I also saw you wrote that you worry about starting a diet and exercise program because you might not see results. Its worth trying. I am certain you will see some results. I know given your situation it could take more work. Try not to loose faith in yourself. You may do what I do and count calories. Its really the only thing that works for me. I didn’t count calories for several days this past week and I gained nearly 2lbs. I haven’t tried Weight Watchers that might work for you too. I believe LLH said she works there? She might could give you some info on that.

I do work for WW–I love the program. It’s a total lifestyle change!

Sind–I’m not sure why men act like that! There was a guy who stopped outside his house to stare at me while I ran by. I mean I get glancing over b/c someone is coming by, but to completely stop and GAWK looking like complete idiot? I wanted to stop and say “its called exercise–try it sometime” ugh. gross.

LBJ Glad to hear you are getting your refrigerator plugged in. How did the blue wall color in your kitchen turn out? Did you end up liking it?

LLH I know what you mean. I get stares when I am at the park all the time. Its crazy how men can be. I have been cat called before when I was heavier and they weren’t nice things being said.

My doctor said I need to exercise, so I get this on Tuesday and a trailer for shopping, he said I am walking better now and lost a lot of weight, so now its time to bike it everywhere, I hate waiting for buses, taxis and trains. 

Awesome Pinky!!! Good for you!

I had a rough weekend foodwise. Kind of lost control yesterday and rather than correcting myself I kind of said eff it and continued to binge. I wish I would have remembered the wise words of one of my Weight Watchers leaders. She told this story one time….if you were driving down the interstate and realized you were going the wrong way, would you spend the rest of the day driving in the wrong direction? Or would you make a u-turn and get back on track? Well, I’m back on track today!! Nervous about tomorrow’s weigh in but going to try to not let it get me down!

Pinky I love the bike! I am glad to hear you lost weight and I hope its making you feel better.

LLH I had a day like that this weekend. I find myself in binge situations a lot more lately. I had yogurt on night and then I wanted to eat more which I did. My husband said don’t feel bad there are worse things you could be eating than that. I said it wasn’t the point its that I am starting to fall into old behaviors and I don’t like that. I also ate a cookie that day and ate part of a meatball sub. I had wanted a peanut butter cookie and got one from Subway. It was gross. I didn’t eat it all. It wasn’t the type of peanut butter cookie I wanted. So I felt bad for wanting to eat more later in the day. All we can do is get back on track. I like what your leader said. I need to remember that. Some days are just really hard. Btw I hope your training is going well for your marathon. Perhaps training is making you extra hungry?

That’s a cute bike, Pinky!

I need to get back on track as well. I haven’t done any yoga this week and I’ve been eating a lot of unhealthy foods. I liked how I felt while doing the yoga and I hate how stiff and janky I feel now. I’ve also noticed that the more junk I eat the more I break out. My skin was looking so good when I was taking care of myself more.

Hey all,

So a few updates on fitness. I found out that my training for JAG has been bumped from April of next year to October of this year . So needless to say, I am having to kick it into gear lately, but its pretty difficult.

1) I have really been focusing on running lately, both distance and short 1 milers (for my PT test). I have gotten my 1 mile from about 9 minutes to 8 minutes, and may be able to beat that but that was my last week try. In terms of distance, I am consistent with 3 miles now and really want to run 5 miles. Little bit torn on how best to improve distance. Whether it be more running, or more focus on leg workout to build those muscles.
2) My upper body strength has been another focus. I despise pull ups, but its improving.
3) My trouble point lately has not been food, but alcohol. I have been able to forgo all beer but liquor is killing me. Since finishing the bar its been like a 2 week binge haha. Seeing all of my friends on the lake again, phew, its been a pretty wild ride. Nonetheless I have been able work out every day, i just drink all afternoon and night. Either way, this is a big step for improvement.

It looks like all of you are doing super well though! Love the bike pinky! Hope everyone is well, and I will try and update more frequently now!

LBJ I had almost half of a medium pizza for lunch yesterday. I had lunch with my son. I gave all the pepperoni to my dogs. The other topping was diced tomatoes which I ate. I kind of agree with you don’t feel bad about eating the pizza it sounds like you didn’t eat a lot.

The Law Bun I think some drinks after the bar exam are definitely deserved. Having fun with friends sounds like a good thing. It sounds like you are getting back on track though.

MissG I love that you used the word janky. I use that one myself sometimes. hehe I am trying to keep up with workouts because I hate that feeling. Food is another story. Food does have an effect on your skin. I hope you get back into things. Maybe just do yoga a few times a week.

The Law Bun–do you have to join the Military to be a JAG lawyer? Am I saying that right? I don’t know how any of that works!

For running, if you want to increase your distance, I would do intervals. Maybe download the Couch to 10k app. It’s 6.2 miles and starts off with the undestanding that you can do a 5k already. Leg strength is important too, so I would do both!

Booze was killing me too!!! Today is my 45th day of not drinking!!! It’s made a huge difference for me. I do think I’ll have a couple glasses of wine this weekend for hubby’s bday though!

Sind–training is going well. I have a 10 mile trail run on Saturday!

LLH I was wondering if you were still not drinking. 45 days is great! I am sure you will really enjoy those couple of glasses of wine. hehe

I agree, I think a bit of wine will be a good treat. As they say, distance makes the heart grow fonder.

I’ve heard of Couch to 5k, a lot of people have an success with it. I don’t know if you have a dog, Law Bun, but if you do they even have a version you can do with them. I think it’s called Pooch to 5k.

I don’t think there’s any harm in treating yourself with food or having days where you eat a lot. For me, I really tend to binge and eat worse the more I try to restrict myself. Which is exactly what I’ve been doing and it’s backfired on me completely.

Pinky has made me want to get my bike fixed even more. The stupid thing has had a flat for like 5 years but I don’t have a car to take it somewhere and I can’t figure out how to fix the back tire no matter how many tutorials I watch. It needs completely new tires as well as new innertubes. Maybe I’ll try to find somehow who’ll come over and fix it.

MissG I hope you can find someone to fix your bike. Maybe call a bike shop and see if they know someone who could come over to fix it for you.

I have been eating way too much this week too. I am like you if I restrict myself too much I binge or if I have trigger foods in the house I get too tempted. I decided to buy bagels this week. Its the first time I bought them in a long time. I cant get them again unless I can find the ones that they made that were thin with less calories.

I have been having a hard time with weight issues lately. I went to the doctor a week ago and the response that I got from the nurse and my doctor upset me greatly. Perhaps that is why I am eating more this week. I cant remember if I wrote about that. I cant comprehend what I look like I guess. I am 5 foot 2 and weigh 103lbs. I am wondering do I look anorexic or what? I am not I know this because I had anorexia from the end of 7th grade to 10th grade. Its like now that I am thin I get skinny shamed. I didn’t get that when I went to the doctor when I was overweight. Not once did he tell me I needed to loose weight even when my blood pressure was getting high. During my visit which was for stomach issues he started talking about my weight. He asked if I was trying to get six pack so I could look hot in a bikini. What kind of thing is that for a doctor to say? He didn’t take my stomach issues seriously. The nurse said wow you lost a lot of weight since you were here last. In a mean way she looked at my chart and said are you sure you are who you say you are because I don’t think we have the same person. She looked at me like I was trying to pretend to be someone else so I could use their insurance.

I have to go to my mom and step dad’s for his birthday. They always say stuff about how I look when I see them. I am really dreading this visit. I just cant take anymore comments about my looks. I don’t comment on other peoples weight. I don’t comment on their looks unless its a compliment. I just don’t understand how people can be so concerned about how other people look.

I finally got my otter shirt. I need to take some pics and post them.

I hope everyone has a good weekend and sticks with their goals!

I am sorry if I complained too much in my previous post. I hope you all have a great weekend!

You did not complain too much! That is why we are here! I am so sorry that your doctor was that unprofessional. I truly think that when people tell me I’m too skinny it hurts way worse than when I was overweight and people would judge me for that. I think I feel this way because I know how hard I work to get to where I’m at today. I went through a similar situation at work the other day where supervisor stared at me the entire time I walked down the long hallway. She didn’t say anything but she was looking me up and down and was not trying to hide it. Then she said well you’re kind of wasting away aren’t you? A little sarcastically I said well no not really I’ve been running a lot but I haven’t really lost that much weight. And she goes yeah sure sarcastically. Honestly that hurts way worse than anything why can’t people just say hey you’re looking good you must be working hard. Or don’t say anything at all?

Yikes not sure where I should jump back in? lol! My eating healthy is going horrible though. :/ It was really rainy today (yay! it cools off!) and after running one of my dogs I almost died because my knee hurt. I think it’s because of the weather though because whenever we have storms coming my knees hurt. It’s like a little weather detecting device lol! (is that strange?) erhg. Anyway, I guess I am just going to continue to exercise and try and eat less. I’ve just been dealing with so much stress lately (relatives visiting then leaving, a pet dying, a Pet getting sick, school started, redoing bathroom, disrespect from the people I babysit for ect.) that weight loss has been on the bottom of my radar, but now I am feeling depressed because I have made no improvement. :^/ Okay I am going to stop complaining and leave you all alone now.

Sindriona— I think that that is very unprofessional of the doctors. If they were truly concerned about your weight loss they should handle it in a more professional/respectful way. I know doctors (and people in general!!) can be rather rude/annoying/hurtful. (((hugs)))

LLH— I think it’s honestly because people are jealous/discouraged and they don’t think that they could ever get that skinny or to their ideal weight. So they are hurting too, and are taking their frustrations out on the wrong people. Right now I’m not at the weight I want to be, but I’d never shame others for being skinny, but it’s not totally out of my comprehension why others would do so. I’m sorry for how rude people can be, I’ve had a lot of mean comments too, even when I was my ideal weight (5’5” at 120 pounds. We were going to the beach and a guy I know looked at my 1 piece bathing suit and very sarcastically said “hope that fits.” Implying that I was too fat for it >:/) I wouldn’t take it to heart to much, you are doing something great for your health, are an amazing person and I’m sure you look great! (((Hugs)))

Good on you Pinky! Have fun with your bike. I love to bike but we have nowhere to bike here.

Moxie you are so awesome for not letting that boy get you down!!! And you give good advice, thanks for your hugs! I think you’re totally right that people try to put other people down to make themselves feel better. Its ok to judge me, I’d just rather they do it in their heads! lol!!

I hope you all have a good weekend! Remember my saying about driving the wrong way down the freeway. I’m going to try to keep that in my head all weekend!

Ha ha thanks LLH. I try not to let people get me down, sometimes they are just talking out of their rear end so you just gotta move on lol! (even though I know it can be very hard) And I know, why can’t people follow the simple saying many people are told as kids: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all!”

I like the freeway analogy.

I absolutely don’t understand why people feel the need to negatively comment on anyone’s appearance. It does nothing but hurt the person being talked about. Talking crap about other people doesn’t improve your own life in any way either, it just makes you more of a bitter person.

Yay! You got your otter top!

Thanks for the comments everyone. I do feel a lot better.

LLH I have experience with people all the time that act like the person you talked about. There is a woman that works at our local Wal Mart and one day she said to me that I looked like skin and bones. I and my husband don’t think I look that way. It didn’t really hurt my feeling because she is really over weight so to her she probably views me that way.

Its just weird to get looks and comments when you do work so hard to get in shape and loose weight. I definitely didn’t get that when I was heavier. I do think part of it is jealously. I live in an area where there are a lot of overweight people.

LBJ I remember your story about your experience with the guys talking about your butt. I can understand how that feels being you deal with body issues. I am sorry that you experienced that. Those guys are total dumb butts.

I managed to get through my visit with my family without them talking to me about my weight. I think that only happened because my mom had her own issues going on and I brought my son and grand baby with. I am glad that visit is over.

I gained 2lbs this week. I am ok with it. I ate pretty badly last week so I expected it. I told my husband today that it is pretty easy to gain those 2lbs but so hard to take them off. I don’t know why its that way.

I will take some pics of my shirts today. I think the otter shirt is cute. The pizza shirt is a little too faded looking for my liking being its grey. The words and pizza slice blend into the background a lot.

I am definitely going to eat better this week. I am over my pity party and I have been feeling really sluggish and weighed down. Eating like I did is making me feel crappy. I want to eat really clean this week. I don’t even want pizza or soda.

I did a 10 mile trail run on Saturday. I was really happy with my pace and had a great time. I’ve been using my running as an excuse to overeat though and I need to work on that!

I did a good job food wise today. I love Mondays for starting fresh! I did have 2 glasses of wine for hubby’s bday and i felt ok about that. We have a wedding this weekend so I’m sure I’ll have a few more.

Haha I am waaaaay late to the party here. I read the first few pages…so here’s my two cents

I am not actively trying to lose weight, though I should be. My goal currently is maintaining. But honestly I’m a hot mess. My current weight is around 265lb and I’m 5’2″. Short and round! Genetics have not been kind to me. On my moms side, all the women are short n’ round. When I was a teenager, I was diagnosed with Bipolar. I gained around 80lbs in about a month because of the meds. So meds have packed on a ton of weight. When I was 21 I had a complete hysterectomy. Yay menopause and more weight. Now, because of my mental health, I’m no longer working. Yay more weight.

I have tried gyms/YMCA many times. I loved zumba, but I ended up hurting myself lol No more of that. Walking bores me out of my skull, even with an iPod. I was really getting into water aerobics/lap swimming, but I had a bipolar episode then my husband got sick and I had to quit going.

The only good thing I can say about my eating habits is I love unsweet tea and I don’t buy sweets at the store because I have no will power. Otherwise, I’m bad about fast food (taco bell!) And pop. Especially when I’m stressed.

Hubs and I are thinking of rejoining the YMCA this fall. I’m looking forward to swimming again.

I should add my goal:

I’m not so much worried about losing pounds, but staying active. I’ve come to terms with “I’ll always be fat”, but I would like to work on flexibility and being more active.

With everything that is going on here, I’m losing weight fast, and scaring my other half. I’m stressed, my gastroparesis is acting up and finding natural ways to help that is helping but meh, I can only eat a small amount of food or else I throw it up. I weighed today and am at 287 lbs, which means I’ve lost 43 lbs and only have seven to go for the first fifty of the hundred lbs I need to lose for my diabetes.

BM-good for you for not buying sweets!!!! I have no will power either and have to re-teach myself that its not good to have that stuff in the house! I like your goal–it doesn’t put so much pressure on you, its about being happy!

Thanks LLH it can be tricky sometimes, because we live with my mom. I do her cooking/grocery shopping and she always wants desserts! Lol Plus my husband snacks all the time. Fortunately, he’s happy with healthier things like popcorn and pretzels and veggies.

So Fluffy I hope your gastro issues get better. Congrats on the weight loss.

BM I hope you get to do some swimming again. I finally got to swim in a pool this past April and I really missed it. I am not the best swimmer but I think it would be great exercise. Like I say find something that is fun to do.

LBJ I remember a few years ago my husband and I went on a hike for the first time. I couldn’t believe we made it through it. It might go easier than you think. I hope you have fun on your trip.

I had my son take a couple of pics of me in my shirts. Fair warning I look HORRIBLE in my picture but my shirts are cute. I just wish they were not so big. I will try to get the pics uploaded now.

I was naughty yesterday and had something called a pumpkin gooey bar. It wasn’t gooey I ate the pumpkin part off and shared the rest of it with my grand baby. I was craving pumpkin so bad. I can’t wait until they start selling the seasonal pumpkin greek yogurt again.

Sigh… I cant get the pictures to download right. I will try again later I need to get back to work. I am pretty busy trying to get this place cleaned up and ready to be put on the market.

It was my birthday last weekend, and I celebrated all weekend by letting myself eat so much. Totally worth it, but now I have the prospect of tightening back up my diet and getting used to not eating sweets every day again. (She says, after eating 3 donuts for lunch…)

Sorry about not coming back and posting my pics. I could not fix my issues and couldn’t even find the pics after restarting my computer. I gave up.

LBJ If you did some hiking during your trip you could have lost some weight or got more in shape perhaps. I know that drinking water is good for your metabolism so watermelon could have been helpful its full of water.

I have been partaking in too many sweet things again. I am going to try and not eat sweets as much. My husband took the week off and we did a lot of eating out and I ate a few sweet items. I also started drinking Pu- erh tea. Its suppose to help you loose weight and help with lowering cholesterol and blood fats. On Friday I weighed myself and I gained 2lbs. Today I weighed in like normal and lost almost 2 lbs. I still over ate over the weekend so maybe the tea does help. I will see I just started drinking it. I got some tea bags of it. It comes in another form. I read the best time to drink it is an hour after you eat. I only drink one or two cups a day. I read you shouldn’t drink more than 3 cups a day.