Biggest Loser 10 Fall Challenge -- for losers and maintainers :)

We had a nice time at the bbq tonight. I ate one hot dog and had a single bite of 2 different desserts, but decided that neither was worth the points so I threw them out :cool1: I think that is a success.
You have great self control - I need to learn how to be more disciplined!!!

I was going to post my own feeling sort of down post tonight. I think many of us are a bit overwhelmed at the start of the school year. It seems like so much is going on for everyone with jobs and families and just life. I hope that things settle down for all of us.
I am right there with you and anyone else who is feeling this way!!! This September seems to me to be harder than previous ones, and I am feeling so out of control of my life as well!!

I'm sick of my house being a wreck. I'm sick of being short tempered. I'm sick of worrying about money. I'm sick of being hit for $150-200 everytime I turn around for something, (gymnastics fundraiser, school field trip, glasses, tires,ADHD meds, DOG! and accessories) and yet Sophie needs shoes and I need clothes. I'm sick of trying to corral Sophie for 3 hours at gymnastics. I'm sick of trying to figure out what's for dinner with our crazy schedules. I'm sick of DH's boss making him miserable, and cutting his overtime! I'm sick of feeling sad. I'm sick of trying to work on homework for grad school. I'm sick of feeling jealous when I read BL and everyone is getting in serious workout time, seeing results. I'm sick of feeling like a whiner. And yet, I'm not totally sure what to do about any of it. It feels so out of my control. I hate not being in control. I know I have to step up and take it back.

Taryn - I feel your pain as well - I have company coming tomorrow - house is a mess and I am not done shopping - I work nights - worked Sun/Mon night - tried to regroup and get back on a daytime schedule Tues - Wednesday they called me to do OT - couldn't pass it up since my husband has been out of work for a few weeks now - so back to the night time schedule - Slept about 3 hrs on Thurs - water heater broke Thrus afternoon - flooded part of the basement - the girls playroom is pretty trashed :( - middle daughter having some anxiety issues about her middle school - life is just so overwhelming sometimes, no? Hang in there -
QOTD for Wednesday, September 23: Are you motivated to get healthy because of an upcoming event (i.e., reunion, wedding, vacation, race)? If so, how will you deal with the possibility that you may not get to your goal by that date? And how will you stay on track on your weight loss journey (whether it's continuing to lose or maintaining) after the event is past? Finally, if you aren't losing for a particular event, what is motivating you each day? Do you have some reward planned for yourself for interim goals or your ultimate goal? (For those losing for a particular event, that event may BE your goal)?
Cam - thanks for the work you put in this past week - I have enjoyed your questions - I do not have an upcoming event - just pretty much fed up with the weight I carry around and dismayed b/c it isn't getting any easier with each passing year - I had my yearly checkup last week - some background - I had a hysterectomy when I was 36 - they left my ovaries - I assumed that as long as I had my ovaries I would continue making hormones until I approached menopause - well my primary care doc told me that even if they leave your ovaries you will go through menopause within 5 yrs of a hysterectomy regardless of age - I don't feel menopausal, but the doc seems to think I must be - she told me that I can expect to have a very difficult time losing weight - not sure if I believe it or not - anyway she said I would have to do an hour of cardio a day six days a week and cut calories to 1500/day in order to see any loss - that was very overwhelming news for me - right now I can't seem to find the time to spend that much time exercising -so for me I have been following the calorie recommendations, but between my work and home schedules I am only getting in 30 -40 minutes 4 -5 times a week - hopefully I will still be able to lose, maybe just not as fast . . .
I was laughing to myself and thought of the song, "You're gonna miss this" by Trace Adkins . . .
I love this song!!! I cry almost every time I hear it - and it is the honest to God truth -
My grandma, who has been living with us since I was 6, was told she would be needing dialysis sometime in the future. Shes 84 and I know this will definitely drain her physically and mentally. Shes not as strong as she was before. I just dont want to see her get weaker.
My prayers are with you and your family -

I am going to finish up a few things here at my office and then head home to pack. We have to be up at 4 am to head to the airport. I will read if I can over the weekend, but won’t get a chance to check in again until Monday. Have a great weekend, my friends!
Hope you have a great trip - and thanks again for the coaching!!

I am taking over as the new coach for this week. Friday's Question of the Day I know that is it still 9 weeks until Thanksgiving but my Oct/Nov issue of Tast of Home magazine came today. I sat there thinking about all the great things I could make for Thanksgiving. Then I got sad becasue if I made anything different for Thanksgiving I would never hear the end of it.

My question for you is: As we get closer to the holidays do you think your family will accept new recipes that will help you keep on track?

Thanks for taking over the coaching Dona - looking forward to your QOTD's
Friday's QOTD - I don't know if it would matter to my family if I made anything different for Thanksgiving - but I usually try to stick to a traditional mean for my children - I want them to look back on their childhood holiday meals with happy memories, not "Remember the year mommy made that awful XXXX recipe??" LOL - I have incorporated new side dishes over the years, but I always make the same general meal, and then maybe add a new dish to the table -
And as for incorporating recipes that woul help me stay on track - I would rather just have a bite of the traditional stuff than make some healthier substitution - I know that might sound counterproductive, but honestly, in my case, I hardly have time to sit down and eat most of the food anyway, so I don't think I would feel deprived, if you know what I mean . . .


PART TWO

A quote by Winston Churchill ~ Never, never, never quit.

For part two of the challenge, all you have to do is post that you will never quit. You can add to that if you want to but by posting that you will never, never, never quit....you are making a promise to yourself that you will not give up on yourself.

Here's to a happy and healthy week!
Jen
I will never, never, never quit - 'nuf said ;)

Also wanted to share a triumph this morning--I am a SLOW walker--usually at abt 20 min miles. Well - earlier this week I timed a 1/2 mile with walking to the song 'Buenos Aires' from the Evita movie--and it turned out to be at a 18:30 pace for me. So this morning I started at a 'normal' pace--and then that song came on and I decided to keep up with that song as long as I could--and I kept it up for 2 1/4 miles!!! (12 times through the song) Of course by the end of that I felt like I couldn't breathe and I wanted to fall down on my bed--but I was still over a mile from my house--so I just kept swimming all the way home :) There is hope for my time after all!!
LOL!! First of all great job on increasing your speed!!! I am laughing because that is my go to song everytime I need to get moving, and not for excercise alone, I most often use it when I am cleaning my house . . .
I usually bring my Ipod to work and we have a portable player that we keep in the locker and if the night is not to crazy sometimes we will put some tunes on . . . well . . . I keep seperate playlists for different types of music, but one time it was a really quiet night in our ER and I must have just been playing my whole library b/c this song came on and one of the patients was like "I can hear songs from Evita" - my coworkers were a little surprised that this was on my Ipod.
Honestly, I've lost in the neighborhood of 70+lbs since my last ID picture, and 2 of 3 chins and the last 1 looks betterAnd amazingly enough, at the end of the month I have my 10k coming up on Halloween weekend. I'm excited about that too. I can dress and do it in costume if I choose and actually came up with 1 today.
Congrats on the awesome weight loss!!! Good luck on your 10k - it sounds like a lot of fun to run in costume, it must be some sight as people are starting the race!!!
Mom's in the hospital so I'm running around like a maniac taking care of her, her house, working full time, kids activities, etc. (You all know the drill! LOL). So my house is a mess, but I don't care. I'm losing weight. :rotfl:

Hope your mom is well soon - we all seem to have a lot on our plates right now -
I am going to adopt your attitude - I need to stop sweating the small stuff and just focus on the priorities . . .

Well, in the time it took to do these replies my new water heater is almost done being installed . . . I am not happy about the cost, but it is what it is . . .
Very confused about the insurance end of the damage to the playroom. Had one person here today and he was going on and on about ripping walls down and stuff like that - I mean the walls weren't even wet - we caught it early and there was only about 1/4 - 1/2 inch of water in the closet where the water heater was and the wetness in the carpeting only extended maybe 4 feet into the room - I think he was looking to over-inflate the job - I have another guy coming in about an hour - I'll see what he has to say and then go from there . . .
Still need to do my weight for today - I hope I am down at least a little . .
 
Good morning everybody

Brain is kicking in on my day off, so its time to post and say hello.

This week I resolve to do the HH challenge. Will be keeping track and send my points next week to you Jen. I swear i will:yay:

Thanks for all the kudos about the dropping. It is nice to be in that mode and I hop I stay in it until my trip comes around. Wish I were leaving tomorrow:rolleyes1 Gotta work though.

tggrrstarr: Glad your dog is doing ok. I think I'd go off the rails if I came home to see Onslow's eye looking like that. They really are our furbabies.

Cupcaker: Lots of prayers for your Grandmom. I hope she gets better.

QOTD: I confess, that I have no plans for Thanksgiving. Working at Target and my family living in a different state means that it is spent here at home just DH and Me. We do not cook, and since I traditionally go in to work at O:Dark something, I intentionally overload on carbs for the day so I can hit the sack an an unnaturally early hour. IF God does not have mercy on me and grant me a new job by then after I get the license, I will do the same thing this year. If he does, it will still be an off program day for me. I just want to enjoy it.

Dreamer: Glad to see you have a plan for today. DO not worry about gaining too much to set off the challenge. There are so many of us that it really is not a big deal as a group. And we all have periods when we gain. That was me in the summer challenge. I gained more than I lost in the summer challenge and by the end I think I'd dropped only 4lbs in 12 weeks between the ups and downs. Just aim for a better place overall and eventually you will get there. :thumbsup2

Now onto the rings suggestions: Can't borrow my mom's rings as not only does live in a different state her fingers are larger than mine. SO that's no help.

The cubic zirconia idea might be doable, if i can 1 that looks really really close to my engagement ring. Don't know if that's possible since I have the simplest diamond on the planet and I like it that way. they always seem to try and dress up the zirconia.

And I should mention that even though my rings look beautiful with each other, they are actually not a set at all. My diamond is just a 1/4 carat on a gold ring. As basic as it gets and my wedding band is a Celtic shield motif that was made in Dublin. The gold in both matches perfectly, but there is no resetting the wedding band, and even after 7 yrs I don't want to change a thing about either 1 of them. Except the size. I learned this last year after my original engagement ring flew off my finger in a book store and it was lost. (I was waving to my DH through the window and it flew right off) I'd known it was loose but didn't think it needed resizing just then. The ring was never found and when went to replace it I chose the exact same ring. I just wanted what I had lost. And now it feels like I never lost it. As small as the diamond is it suits me to a T.

And I really really miss having them on my finger where they belong. I guess a trip to the jeweler's in is in order to see what they can do for me.

CC: I am sorry to hear you fractured your foot. I completely missed that with everything going on here. I hope you don't have a long wait for recovery. I have been there with a broken ankle and it is horrible. I still have effects to this day. In fact my ankle is the least comfortable thing about driving. It just doesn't like the switching from gas to brakes. What page did you originally post that on? that way you don't have to repeat the whole story.

momof2gr8kids: I hope that your mom is not too ill and can come from the hospital soon. I'll keep you in my prayers. Its always rough when a parent is in the hospital.
 
MacG, your so lucky that your mom has such healthy cooking!

CC, I'm so glad your dad helped out! I hope that behavor continues. I got a little protein at breakfast, my coffee drink has 1 cup of skim milk, I also have 1/2 cup in the cereal, there is som protein in my cereal. How much should I be getting in breakfast. I'll ask a more general question of how below. My two "typical" cereals are eating right brand banana nut crunch and frosted mini wheats. I also love honey comb, lucky charms, and life but since they are primarily sugar, I have them only occassionally! With what I listed, I feel like I'm eating all day! I wouldn't know where to add in more! When I overeat, it's because I do it all at once and have big portions of bad food. With this, I will be full all day. How do people eat more than that without it being guilty pleasure binges? Maybe I'll throw in a fiber one bar while I'm making dinner. For the potatoes, I'll cut them up and throw them in a basket that is for the grill. It's shaped like a frying pan but it is a basket with a handle that comes off while its on the grill so the handle doesn't get hot. It's for small items or things that would break apart.

Joanl - I'm in the philly subarbs, I do most of my walking at lunch, other than that, I walk about once a week with my mom and sometimes with my husband!

How much protein does everyone get at breakfast? I find that most of the common things for protein, are not things I like. The only eggs I like are hard boiled and I only like the whites. I don't like red meats, fish, I HATE yogurt and beans. I do like peanuts and almonds but not at breakfast time and I don't like peanut butter. I have such horrible unhealthy likes/dislikes!
 

Hi everyone,

Well I am not officially part of the challenge but I have been following the thread which I hope you don't mind. I have lost about 15 lbs since I have started to work out and get healthier for my wedding in November :lovestruc I am still trying to lose as much as possible! :thumbsup2 I have been lifting free weights, doing the C25K (on the third week), also walking at least a mile more a day with my mom to get her out and exercising since she has high cholesterol, making healthier food choices, and drinking lots of water! phew!:laughing:

Anyways I had a few questions and though maybe I could get some good suggestions here.

Does anyone know of a fat free sour cream and a fat free shredded cheese that actually still tastes good and not fat free? :rotfl: I know sounds dumb but sour cream and cheese are two of my favorite things on food and I have yet to find a brand that is fat free and still edible! I have mastered the fat free ranch but the sour cream and cheese still eludes me :confused:

Thanks in advance everyone for letting me read this thread and post my question here :flower3::flower3:
 
The reward comes EVERY MORNING when I wake up and realize it is NOT a dream.... I really have lost almost 90 pounds and wear a solid size 6.... I can run 5 miles without dying. I don't cringe everytime I get dressed or look in a mirror. I'm not afraid of embarrasing my kids.... all of that is reward enough.
Not sure what the scale will bring tomorrow. I was feeling pretty good earlier in the week, but feeling a bit bloated today. Oh well... what will be, will be, right? Talk to you all later!.........................P
Very well said! Hope the scale "cooperates" today.

Tracey--I love holidays around the world! I love the different santas and hearing all the stories!

Cam--thanks for coaching last week. Dona thanks for coaching this week!

QOTD--It is usually just the three of us for Thanksgiving. We get a take out rotisserie chicken (I'm vegetarian) and I pretty much just plan on eating small portions of everything. I might make deviled eggs as an appetizer just so I get some protein, since most of our favorite dishes are very carb heavy. We have the same thing every year, and I'm ok with that, because it's very important to DS. I suggested going out last year, and he was very upset.

So for today, I had planned my evening out ahead of time to try to get more accomplished. (I am still a little behind reading here). But, things don't always go quite as planned. My DH and I got home from work about 6pm and as we came in the house, I caught the cat (as usual) as she tried to escape to the basement. As I was holding her, I noticed the dog was a little more insistent on greeting me than usual. I looked down and saw her blinking, quite a bit. I immediately dropped my stuff (and the cat) and got down to check her out. At first it looked like her eye ball had been scratched. I freaked out! As I got a closer look, I realized the inside corner was just badly swollen. She couldn't keep her eye open, and it was watering badly. I called the vet and got an emergency appt, thank God. She didn't seem to be crying though, so that was good.
At the vet, he said it was badly irritated but ok. He mentioned there was on or near the cornea. I probably didn't even come close to repeating what he said! I didn't know you could get an ulcer in your eye. He gave me some pain meds for her and ointment for it, and we have a checkup in a few days. I had assumed the cat did it, but he said it might have been something else.

I was so scared when I saw her eye, I am so relieved she is ok. We'll just keep an eye on her for a few days. I decided to skip my stretch workout, but I can still take my walk. I was still able to cook dinner, but a little later than planned. I had salmon on the grill and mashed sweet potatoes as above. I had all my fruits & veggies earlier at lunch.
Tomorrow will be dangerous, we have club seats for the Indians game. A full buffet is included. If my weigh in goes well, I might splurge on a hamburger!
That must have been so scary. Glad she is doing better.:hug:

Well it is such a sad story: She is 31, has 2 kids ages 7 and 5. She got divorced 1 1/2 yrs ago and it is messy. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor 2 years ago. We were together one weekend and that week her husband now ex called to tell me she had a grand mal siezure and was in ICU. They found the tumor and it is inoperable. It is complicated and i dont understand it all but its cancerous but not the kind that is growing.:confused: Like its sleeping and hasnt been awakened yet. Well the worst issue she has had is siezures. No meds were helping and about a month ago she had one that lasted 3 hours. They have decided to do chemo and radiation to see if they can shrink the tumor to aleviate the siezures. She is in week 3. She has lost so much weight, and now she is loosing her hair. She is on a medical leave and ran out of her short term disability payments. She had to move back with her parents and only gets to see her kids every wed. and every other weekend. It is truly heartbreaking to see my friend go through this. I was so upset after talking to her today. I wish I could do something to help her. This has been on my mind alot today and I think just talking about it helps.
Lindsey--this was so sad. Thank you for reminding me how much I have to be thankful for.

A quote by Winston Churchill ~ Never, never, never quit.

For part two of the challenge, all you have to do is post that you will never quit. You can add to that if you want to but by posting that you will never, never, never quit....you are making a promise to yourself that you will not give up on yourself.

Here's to a happy and healthy week!
Jen
Jen--for some reason this had me in tears today. I have been struggling mentally this week with the fear of regaining. I will never quit. I deserve the chance to be happy and healthy.:hug:

Also wanted to share a triumph this morning--I am a SLOW walker--usually at abt 20 min miles. Well - earlier this week I timed a 1/2 mile with walking to the song 'Buenos Aires' from the Evita movie--and it turned out to be at a 18:30 pace for me. So this morning I started at a 'normal' pace--and then that song came on and I decided to keep up with that song as long as I could--and I kept it up for 2 1/4 miles!!! (12 times through the song) Of course by the end of that I felt like I couldn't breathe and I wanted to fall down on my bed--but I was still over a mile from my house--so I just kept swimming all the way home There is hope for my time after all!!

So today I have spent every spare minute going through all of my CDs and loading them onto my computer so I can load them into mixmeister's bpm program to get the bpms for them--so that I will have some choices in my music
Thanks for letting me share

Liz
Great job Liz!!! Music is the core of my workouts. I am so miserable if I forget my ipod. Glad you found it so motivating!

CC--have a great time tonight.:goodvibes

Evening everybody:cutie:

And amazingly enough, at the end of the month I have my 10k coming up on Halloween weekend. I'm excited about that too. I can dress and do it in costume if I choose and actually came up with 1 today. I'm feeling like She Ra the Princess of Power. Only question is where do I find the dang costume If anybody knows any good places please let me know. For a reasonable price I will pick it up and even post the silly pictures here:rotfl: Sadly it must be a women's sized costume.
Very exciting about the 10k. I hope you find your costume! I think 6 miles is such a great distance. And :scared1: on learning to drive. One of my very irrational fears:rolleyes1 is that we will move somewhere and I will have to retake the drivers test.

QOTD:
My big worry is this crazy wedding in two weeks. The rehearsal dinner is at an Italian place and we have to choose between three choices - none of which I want to eat. But I have to be really careful because the bride (my niece) is very overweight and also pretty sensitive. It's her weekend and I want it to be everything she needs it to be. I have no clue what I'll do - eat a half portion maybe.

The wedding dinner will be just as bad. I'll survive.
I think that half portions is a good idea. I don't know what the setup will be, but you could ask for an extra plate, put half on it and have them get rid of it or box it up immediately and put it under your chair. I would also immediately move the bread basket or anything similar out of arms reach. I am big on out of sight out of mind. You don't want to make a big deal about any of this, just discreetly make sure that you have what you want to eat in front of you and only what you want to eat. At stuff like that I tend to eat out of nervousness, and I can totally see myself going a little crazy. Good luck!

Kathy--hope you had a good run.:goodvibes

Good morning everyone.

I'm feeling a little guilty because I haven't been able to get on here and post. Mom's in the hospital so I'm running around like a maniac taking care of her, her house, working full time, kids activities, etc. (You all know the drill! LOL).

I do sneak on at work here and there to read your posts and want you to know you all motivate me. I'm glad I got started with the healthy eating and exercising before all this was going on. No matter how busy I've been, I almost crave that time for me on the treadmill or doing my weights, so I am now programmed that I have to do it. And I want to do it. It makes me feel so much better, and helps to destress.

So my house is a mess, but I don't care. I'm losing weight.

When I get a chance to cook again, I can't wait to try out some of those recipes people have posted.

Have a good weekend, and I hope everyone did great with your weigh ins!
I'm sorry your mom is in the hospital.:goodvibes I think it's wonderful that you are keeping up with your exercise! You're right, it is such a good destressor.

It's been a really rough morning for me. I gained nearly 2 pounds this week which puts me up from the starting weight. I feel like I should drop out of the challenge. I am hurting the overall weight loss that you are all working towards. I've been making such horrible choices. I do well with some of the healthy habits, water, 20 minutes exercise (usually walks), 5 fruits/veggies - mostly fruits for me. It's everything else. Bad meals, bad other snacks, eating when I'm not hungary, getting to the gym, portion control.

This morning feels like a "rock bottom". I knew I've been eating bad all week, but for some reason, the tears still came this morning. I can do better for this and there's no excuse.

I am feeling so bloated. At the risk of sharing too much info, I went off of BC pill 2 months ago for medical reasons. I was never regular before I went on the pill and had been on it for many years so I don't know if I ever will be but I haven't had that visit yet. I have been feeling that just before bloated feeling for over a month! It's very frustrating.

What is an OP day? I keep reading it!
I say you posted later, but I just wanted to say :hug::hug::hug:. I hope you don't quit. And I agree your hormones are probably a mess right now, which is probably making weight loss harder, and everything else seem harder as well. I'm in perimenopause, and this spring I was getting a period about every 18 days. It was horrible, and my weight was all over the place. Eventually things straightened out. Just pick a couple of things to focus on and do the best you can.:hug:

I'm still down 2.5 for a total of 8 pounds lost this challenge and more than 3 inches gone in WIN! The Biggest Loser challenge at the gym starts tomorrow so it should be a good week next week. It will be interesting to meet the other folks. One of my neighbors is doing it but she is not on my team. I'm on the green team -- go green! :cheer2:

Have a great day all!
Woohoo! Great job Lisa. Go green team!!!


Actually, I think fracturing my foot has motivated me even more. I've been really trying, although it may not seem like it, to get my eating in check. I'm really going to dedicate myself to tracking on WWonline and Sparkpeople this week and trying to get in all the WW GHG, even exercise, plus all my SP goals for calories, fat, protein, carbs, sodium, calcium, fiber, water, etc.
You know CC I was thinking this earlier. It's kind of an awful way to be forced to watch you eat, but you have such a good attitude about it.:goodvibes

I will not give up. I have a plan for today and my husband realized how upset I was and said that he will help more with going to the gym. The past 2 weeks have been bad for him also as he is just starting a full time MBA program on top of work. He said that both Saturday and Sunday, he will take full responsibility for getting us to go to they gym and I'll take full responsibility for healthy dinners.

I have planned all of my eating for the day.
Breakfast - Cereal, a banana, and my coffee drink
Lunch - 3 hard boiled egg whites and strawberries
Dinner - Grilled chicken with BBQ sauce, Broccoli and Red bliss potatoes, also grilled
Snacks during the day - Apple, baby carrots
Dessert - Skinny cow cookies and cream ice cream cup

I will be able to stick to this because it's planned out and having a planned dessert will help me resist any temptations that come up at work!

For my exercise: I'll walk about 3 miles at lunch time. I do not want to go to the gym because we are doing saturday and sunday and I don't like 3 days in a row so I will do W1D2 on C25K.

I.
Here are my thoughts. First great plan on the exercise!

I know you listed some of the foods you don't like, but I definitely think you need more protein. I have learned that sometimes I have to not worry about whether I like something or not, but worry more whether it is what my body needs. It has really helped to increase what I will and won't eat.

Kashi cereals have a decent amount of protein without a ton of sugar. I am not a fan of yogurt, but I eat my cereal on top of greek yogurt (usually plain, sometimes honey, sometimes chocolate). I see it as a necessary evil--because I KNOW I need the protein. Look at hummus or nuts (almonds, walnuts) as a snack addition. You could have an apple with some walnuts or w/pb or almond butter or a small amount of low fat cheese. I know you don't like them, but beans make everything better--in my opinion. You can add them to salads, casseroles, etc. I like to just eat black beans sometimes. If all else fails you could look at a protein smoothie for the morning. Tracey might have some ideas about this. And FWIW--I eat the whole egg. But I'll only have one. A lot of times for lunch I will have one egg or two string cheese, nuts, fruit and a whole wheat mini bagel. Hang in there. It's a process and through trial and error you will find what works for you!

Down 2.2 for the week!!!!:woohoo::yay: I got up and did the elliptical and then ran/walked a mile before and after putting DD1 on the bus!

I'll send in my weigh in a bit later! At work now. No clients but watching the desk and then getting my nails done for the weekend. Looking forward to Redwalker's and her Dh's party tomorrow night! After every drink I have I will have a large glass of water!

Be back later! TTFN :tigger:
Woohoo! Have a great time!

Finally...now for the good news....I lost 3 lbs this week and made it to my 10% at ww. Now on to the next 10% :banana::banana::banana:

Kim::MinnieMo
Woohoo!

Taryn - I feel your pain as well - I have company coming tomorrow - house is a mess and I am not done shopping - I work nights - worked Sun/Mon night - tried to regroup and get back on a daytime schedule Tues - Wednesday they called me to do OT - couldn't pass it up since my husband has been out of work for a few weeks now - so back to the night time schedule - Slept about 3 hrs on Thurs - water heater broke Thrus afternoon - flooded part of the basement - the girls playroom is pretty trashed :( - middle daughter having some anxiety issues about her middle school - life is just so overwhelming sometimes, no? Hang in there -
What a week! Hang in there!

Well I slept until 8 this morning. It was awesome! I finally feel caught up from the weekend. We had a good run last night I haven't downloaded the garmin yet. We decided for w&d to run a mile walk a minute. And we are not planning on being fast. I fully expect to be slower than the 1/2 over labor day. (Ok, I really want to be faster, but I have to keep telling myself it's not realistic. It's going to be hot.)

I did strength class this morning and found out my favorite instructor is leaving.:sad2: I did 30 minutes on the elliptical afterwards. It's supposed to start cooling off tomorrow! Thanks goodness!

Have a great afternoon!
 
Good morning everyone. I am feeling better today. Being friday totally helps. Im down 2.2 this week :cool1: gained .2 from yesterday's "food fest". I dont mind because Im still down 2.2. Im really happy to see these weekly numbers close to 2 lbs. Thinking about the HH question, I think I can truly say for myself that I will never, never quit. Even when I reach my goal, Im not going to go back to eating what I used to eat or not exercise anymore. Its fun seeing my BF and I turning into our slimmer selves. He actually started exercising too and lost some weight. I am so proud of him-he went from a size 44 to 40.

Off to work!

He said that both Saturday and Sunday, he will take full responsibility for getting us to go to they gym and I'll take full responsibility for healthy dinners.

What a great husband you have to help you. I think youre on the right track with planning your daily meals. It definitely helps keep you on track and avoid last minute bad choices.

Good!
Oh, thanks everyone for the well wishes for my dog, she is doing much better.

Great to hear!

Well I am not officially part of the challenge but I have been following the thread which I hope you don't mind. I have lost about 15 lbs since I have started to work out and get healthier for my wedding in November

Good job on the loss and congratulations on the upcoming wedding! I have only tasted fat free cheddar cheese slices and low fat mozzarella. I get the mozzarella from trader joes.
 
/
I am really trying to find something else to do other than my BL addict thing. Really, I am. :rolleyes1

I should probably eat lunch now. Lunch is chicken breast from the deli on a 1 pt thin roll with tomatoes (my dad really went all out) and some baby carrots with 2 pts of guacamole. I think I'll have some broccoli and a banana too. I really didn't have much say in tonight's dinner menu and I'm pretty sure there won't be any fruit or veggies available.

Have a great afternoon!

CC

I am down 2 lbs. I will take it. Hoping it was more but any loss is good.

:cool1: Congrats!

I have been doing a lot better with tracking food on SparkPeople. So that is good. I've even started calculating the points as I write things down to input on SP later on. :goodvibes I've been getting short walks in the morning but really need to increase the length or add more walking by dvd to see if I can get this going back the other direction. :cool1:

:thumbsup2 Good plan!

Taryn - I feel your pain as well - I have company coming tomorrow - house is a mess and I am not done shopping - I work nights - worked Sun/Mon night - tried to regroup and get back on a daytime schedule Tues - Wednesday they called me to do OT - couldn't pass it up since my husband has been out of work for a few weeks now - so back to the night time schedule - Slept about 3 hrs on Thurs - water heater broke Thrus afternoon - flooded part of the basement - the girls playroom is pretty trashed :( - middle daughter having some anxiety issues about her middle school - life is just so overwhelming sometimes, no? Hang in there -

:hug: to you too! Sorry to hear about your basement. Hope the next estimate is more to your liking.:goodvibes

Sending :goodvibes for DH and DD in middle school!

QOTD: I confess, that I have no plans for Thanksgiving. Working at Target and my family living in a different state means that it is spent here at home just DH and Me. We do not cook, and since I traditionally go in to work at O:Dark something, I intentionally overload on carbs for the day so I can hit the sack an an unnaturally early hour. IF God does not have mercy on me and grant me a new job by then after I get the license, I will do the same thing this year. If he does, it will still be an off program day for me. I just want to enjoy it.

The other side of Black Friday :scared1: that's all I have to say. Well, that and I'm sorry.

My foot is a pretty simple story: I fractured it on Tuesday morning. I was walking from my bed to the bathroom and I didn't know my foot was asleep. The dr at the ER said that my ankle rolled. All I know is that I heard the dreaded "crack." I am in a partially hard, partially soft cast that cannot get wet and I'm using crutches and a rolling computer chair to get around. Oh well. There are much worse things in life.

You definitely sound like you know what you want in a ring! It also sounds like DH has been great about all of this! :thumbsup2 Hope you get something perfect soon!

CC, I'm so glad your dad helped out! I hope that behavor continues. I got a little protein at breakfast, my coffee drink has 1 cup of skim milk, I also have 1/2 cup in the cereal, there is som protein in my cereal. How much should I be getting in breakfast. I'll ask a more general question of how below. My two "typical" cereals are eating right brand banana nut crunch and frosted mini wheats. I also love honey comb, lucky charms, and life but since they are primarily sugar, I have them only occassionally! With what I listed, I feel like I'm eating all day! I wouldn't know where to add in more! When I overeat, it's because I do it all at once and have big portions of bad food. With this, I will be full all day. How do people eat more than that without it being guilty pleasure binges? Maybe I'll throw in a fiber one bar while I'm making dinner. For the potatoes, I'll cut them up and throw them in a basket that is for the grill. It's shaped like a frying pan but it is a basket with a handle that comes off while its on the grill so the handle doesn't get hot. It's for small items or things that would break apart.

Joanl - I'm in the philly subarbs, I do most of my walking at lunch, other than that, I walk about once a week with my mom and sometimes with my husband!

How much protein does everyone get at breakfast? I find that most of the common things for protein, are not things I like. The only eggs I like are hard boiled and I only like the whites. I don't like red meats, fish, I HATE yogurt and beans. I do like peanuts and almonds but not at breakfast time and I don't like peanut butter. I have such horrible unhealthy likes/dislikes!

I am so with you on the peanut butter and definitely beans! :scared1: Most nuts are not my thing actually. I do like soy nut butter though.

I didn't realize that you were drinking so much milk at breakfast. :thumbsup2 I am hoping others will comment, but I'm guessing know that, that you are probably eating enough during the day. As for enough protein at breakfast, I'm not positive. Do you like cheese? They make preportioned ones in reduced fat. (I know you mentioned concerns about portions.) That might be something you could add in as a snack mid-morning. Not sure that I helped too much. Hopefully, someone else will pop in and add. TIA!

Best of luck! Keep chatting! Thanks for the info on grilling potatoes. I definitely have to try that!

Does anyone know of a fat free sour cream and a fat free shredded cheese that actually still tastes good and not fat free? :rotfl: I know sounds dumb but sour cream and cheese are two of my favorite things on food and I have yet to find a brand that is fat free and still edible! I have mastered the fat free ranch but the sour cream and cheese still eludes me :confused:

I apologize. I cannot help. However, you are always welcome to join the challenge at any time. And, if you do not want to weigh-in, you are also always welcome to join in our chatter. Really, just jump right in! :goodvibes
 
So, in the last week I have:

Walked 39.03 miles and 135,305 steps

Eaten 8560 Calories

Burned 21,058 Calories

Done 1141 minutes of Moderate Activity

I've exceeded my water intake daily and journaled every bite.

And lost......... .6!! :confused:

Oh, well! It happens! All too frequently with my weird body. At least it was a loss! And if that is what it takes each week to lose .6, I'll still do it!
 
So, in the last week I have:

Walked 39.03 miles and 135,305 steps

Eaten 8560 Calories

Burned 21,058 Calories

Done 1141 minutes of Moderate Activity

I've exceeded my water intake daily and journaled every bite.

And lost......... .6!! :confused:

Oh, well! It happens! All too frequently with my weird body. At least it was a loss! And if that is what it takes each week to lose .6, I'll still do it!

You said it..It's a loss:banana: I've had those kinds of weeks too. (I hate it but we just keep going and it works eventually.)
It may not say it as loudly as you hoped on the scale but it looks like you've accomplished a lot this week to support your healthy livestyle:thumbsup2
 
P-- You are living my dream come true. A size 6? I was larger than that at age 10. I know you have worked your butt off for every single one of those pounds you have lost. You deserve to be living this dream come true. You are such an inspiration!!

Thank you for your nice words...and thanks for taking the time to be a great coach! Enjoy your trip!

Friday's Question of the Day I know that is it still 9 weeks until Thanksgiving but my Oct/Nov issue of Tast of Home magazine came today. I sat there thinking about all the great things I could make for Thanksgiving. Then I got sad becasue if I made anything different for Thanksgiving I would never hear the end of it.

My question for you is: As we get closer to the holidays do you think your family will accept new recipes that will help you keep on track?

Have a nice evening everyone. Talk to you tomorrow.

As some of your know, we celebrate most of the bigger holidays twice... once with my family and once with DH's family... so holiday eating is a double whammy for me.

For T.giving, we spend Thursday with DH's family at his brother's house in MA. His wife is an over-the-top fabulous Italian cook. She tries new things every year, so making something different would be FINE. The problem is, she cooks SO MUCH FOOD, that anything additional I bring is usually overlooked and I end up bringing much of it home. That said, I often do bring a "lighter" side dish and low fat dessert to share.... even though I'm usually the only one enjoying it!!:lmao:

For my side of the family it would be a bit more touchy. (We spend Friday of T.giving weekend with them.) No one would say anything, of course, but a few of the members of my family struggle with their weight and I wouldn't want it to appear that I am trying to force my healthier lifestyle on them. I would have to be casual about it and not emphasize the fact that it is a lower fat or lower calorie food.

That said, as long as the "traditional" foods were there, they would be very accepting of something new.

But if it tells you anything about my reputation as a cook, I am usually asked to bring the soft drinks!! :rotfl2:

Tomorrow will be dangerous, we have club seats for the Indians game. A full buffet is included. If my weigh in goes well, I might splurge on a hamburger!

Hope the dog gets better quickly! Enjoy the hamburger... but make sure it is just the way you like it. I tried to enjoy my first real burger in over a year this summer.... and I was only having a half... but it was cooked too much for my liking and that really spoiled it. If you're gonna splurge, make sure it is JUST RIGHT!

Well it is such a sad story: She is 31, has 2 kids ages 7 and 5. She got divorced 1 1/2 yrs ago and it is messy. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor 2 years ago. We were together one weekend and that week her husband now ex called to tell me she had a grand mal siezure and was in ICU. They found the tumor and it is inoperable. It is complicated and i dont understand it all but its cancerous but not the kind that is growing.:confused: Like its sleeping and hasnt been awakened yet. Well the worst issue she has had is siezures. No meds were helping and about a month ago she had one that lasted 3 hours. They have decided to do chemo and radiation to see if they can shrink the tumor to aleviate the siezures. She is in week 3. She has lost so much weight, and now she is loosing her hair. She is on a medical leave and ran out of her short term disability payments. She had to move back with her parents and only gets to see her kids every wed. and every other weekend. It is truly heartbreaking to see my friend go through this. I was so upset after talking to her today. I wish I could do something to help her. This has been on my mind alot today and I think just talking about it helps.

Otherwise I feel better. Not sure what my weigh in will show tomorrow I think I may be about the same. Which aggrevates me. I need to plan and not get lazy. I did a bit of over eating and mindless eating yesterday and today.

Theres no better time then now to start. I am going to drink a big glass of water and head to bed.

I will definitely add your friend and her family to my prayer list. I agree... it is heartbreaking to see someone going through SO MUCH.

About the bolded part.... good for you!! Right attitude!

I just hopped back on to say my DH is so wonderful. Those dishes I was talking about on Tuesday? I never got them done.
But, when I got home from work yesterday, they were all washed! He did them all for me! (This coming from a man who rarely washes dishes) He is amazing. But now he is waiting for me to finish typing so we can watch Grey's (not patiently!!) He is encouraging the kitten to come jump on the keyboard....I should go!

Nice work DH!!

Well - I'm gone for a day - and there's like 7 or 8 pages--not gonna have time to read them tonight... but had to post for my goal.

Also wanted to share a triumph this morning--I am a SLOW walker--usually at abt 20 min miles. Well - earlier this week I timed a 1/2 mile with walking to the song 'Buenos Aires' from the Evita movie--and it turned out to be at a 18:30 pace for me. So this morning I started at a 'normal' pace--and then that song came on and I decided to keep up with that song as long as I could--and I kept it up for 2 1/4 miles!!! (12 times through the song) Of course by the end of that I felt like I couldn't breathe and I wanted to fall down on my bed--but I was still over a mile from my house--so I just kept swimming all the way home. There is hope for my time after all!!

So today I have spent every spare minute going through all of my CDs and loading them onto my computer so I can load them into mixmeister's bpm program to get the bpms for them--so that I will have some choices in my music. Thanks for letting me share.

Can you share more about that mix meister thing?? Do I have to buy it somewhere or is it something I can download? I really could use something like that!

Also have 1 more question. My engagement ring is pretty loose now, and I currently have it and my wedding band hanging from a chain. Since I am still in losing mode I don't really want it sized right now, but would like some good alternatives so I can wear them right. I tried a ring guard from my store the other day and could tell right off the bat that it wasn't going to work. So if anybody has some ideas I'd appreciate it.


Well.... might not be the best solution, but how about just putting the rings away for a while? That is what I did. Actually.... after struggling to wear my rings for years after I gained weight, I finally broke down in about 2006 and had them made bigger... it made me so mad and sad. But I was tired of not being able to wear them comfortably. Lo and behold.... a few years go by and I lose the weight and they are too big! I continued to wear them for a while, but I was swimming on vacation with the kids one day and it was chilly and my hands were shrunk. I nearly lost the rings right off my finger into the lake!!:eek: I went in and took them off right then and there and didn't wear them again until I got them resized back to my original size! It took many months and I suppose there were times when people questioned whether or not DH and I were having marital troubles.... but honestly, no one asked. When I got within 10-ish pounds of my goal weight, I had them resized and they fit like they did on my wedding day.

If this isn't an alternative for you, ask the jeweler. They may be able to put a little gold filler in the back of the inside of the band to make them a bit tighter.

QOTD:

One good thing (the only good thing) about our fractured families is that we generally don't see them on major holidays. My husband's side has a lot of drama and my side is still figuring out a new normal after my parents died in '02 and '05. My sister can't deal with holidays without them so we never get together on the actual date - usually a week later. For example, our "Christmas" get together is always on January 1st.

What that means is that we don't have to deal with traditional food.

My big worry is this crazy wedding in two weeks. The rehearsal dinner is at an Italian place and we have to choose between three choices - none of which I want to eat. But I have to be really careful because the bride (my niece) is very overweight and also pretty sensitive. It's her weekend and I want it to be everything she needs it to be. I have no clue what I'll do - eat a half portion maybe.

The wedding dinner will be just as bad. I'll survive.

Do you know the restaurant where the rehearsal dinner is being held? Perhaps you could call them a few days in advance and request a special meal... it wouldn't have to cost the host any more. Sometimes if you fib a bit to the chef about being on a "special diet" (hinting at medical issues) they can provide something for you..... like perhaps one of the entree choices without cheese or sauce or something like that. It might be worth a try. Or ask what they offer for a vegetarian meal (although those can be laden with cream and/or cheese, so watch out). Or eat a healthy filling salad before the rehearsal and eat just a small portion of one of the offered choices.

I'm feeling a little guilty because I haven't been able to get on here and post. Mom's in the hospital so I'm running around like a maniac taking care of her, her house, working full time, kids activities, etc. (You all know the drill! LOL).

I do sneak on at work here and there to read your posts and want you to know you all motivate me. I'm glad I got started with the healthy eating and exercising before all this was going on. No matter how busy I've been, I almost crave that time for me on the treadmill or doing my weights, so I am now programmed that I have to do it. And I want to do it. It makes me feel so much better, and helps to destress.

So my house is a mess, but I don't care. I'm losing weight.
!

Take care of yourself while you are spending this time taking care of others. You will do them more good in the long run if you are healthy!

It's been a really rough morning for me. I gained nearly 2 pounds this week which puts me up from the starting weight. I feel like I should drop out of the challenge. I am hurting the overall weight loss that you are all working towards. I've been making such horrible choices. I do well with some of the healthy habits, water, 20 minutes exercise (usually walks), 5 fruits/veggies - mostly fruits for me. It's everything else. Bad meals, bad other snacks, eating when I'm not hungary, getting to the gym, portion control.

This morning feels like a "rock bottom". I knew I've been eating bad all week, but for some reason, the tears still came this morning. I can do better for this and there's no excuse.

I am feeling so bloated. At the risk of sharing too much info, I went off of BC pill 2 months ago for medical reasons. I was never regular before I went on the pill and had been on it for many years so I don't know if I ever will be but I haven't had that visit yet. I have been feeling that just before bloated feeling for over a month! It's very frustrating.

What is an OP day? I keep reading it!

Don't you DARE drop out!! It sounds like you need to be here more than ever! You need to think back to what motivated you to start on this journey. Draw from that initial motivation. REmember that feeling of determination. Use it.

Most of all... remember that we are all here to help you over this bump. Chances are we have ALL been there!! Let us help you as much as we can. Ask questions, look for motivation, find a virtual "exercise buddy". HANG IN THERE! :hug:

Hi Everyone,

I got some sleep last night. The weather has been changing too much for me to sleep as well as I would like. Plus, I am having nightmares again. Have to take those in stride too.

Today is a busy day. I'm kind of embarrassed though. My sister is coming home to help my mom wash my hair. :scared1: I can't wait for my follow-up appt on Monday. I am hoping for a removable cast so that I can be more independent. I'm sure my mom will still feel more comfortable with my showering when she is home, but at least I'll be able to shower with the curtain shut and not one leg hanging out of the bathtub while I am sitting down. Okay, probably TMI. You get the point.

Okay, so after that "experience" is over, my mom will be taking me to my undergrad reunion. I helped plan tonight's event and I really want to be there. My mom was great and somehow got me a wheelchair to use so I could move around more easily and actually help set up.

I'm off to eat breakfast. Lots of stuff was left out for me and I get to microwave my own food today!

:goodvibes for weigh-in and WIN!

Have a great day everyone! CC

I'm so glad you found a way to attend the reunion. You will have so much fun!

Don't feel bad about Mom and Sis having to help you wash your hair. You would do the same for them if they needed it, right? Enjoy the pampering!!
Pretend you're at the spa!

I have planned all of my eating for the day.
Breakfast - Cereal, a banana, and my coffee drink
Lunch - 3 hard boiled egg whites and strawberries
Dinner - Grilled chicken with BBQ sauce, Broccoli and Red bliss potatoes, also grilled
Snacks during the day - Apple, baby carrots
Dessert - Skinny cow cookies and cream ice cream cup

I will be able to stick to this because it's planned out and having a planned dessert will help me resist any temptations that come up at work!

For my exercise: I'll walk about 3 miles at lunch time. I do not want to go to the gym because we are doing saturday and sunday and I don't like 3 days in a row so I will do W1D2 on C25K.

I will not give up!

You've made a GREAT STEP by posting a plan here! I find when I do that it helps me really stick with it, because I know others will be asking about it!

I will say that breakfast should have some more protein, unless you are eating a high protein cereal like Go-Lean or something like that. And lunch.... okay on protein, but not enough food... assuming you are eating 1 C of strawberries, your lunch would only be 2 points on WW.... even on my low point days I have at least 3 or 4 pts for lunch. How about adding some high fiber whole grain carbs to lunch??

And apple and baby carrots for snack isn't adding any protein either. Maybe you could look into some lowfat cheese sticks or lowfat cottage cheese? Those would give you both protein and calcium.

I see 4 fruit servings (one banana counts for 2 servings), but only 2 servings of vegetables (assuming the baby carrots is 1 srvg). You should strive for another vegetable serving... possibly with breakfast or lunch.

Anyhow..... I'm not trying to be critical of your plan. I LOVE that you have a plan and you shared it here! That is a HUGE step... ask any one here... I am kind of the "planning queen"! Just be sure your food is keeping you full and fueled!

I have a strategy for staying on track....Since we put it all on a buffet I can select what we want. I can take only a little of the items that are higher in calories and load up on the lower calorie items. Another strategy I have is to serve myself last and not to load up too much. I can always go back. I'm thinking if I eat slow and take my time I'll be able to feel satisfied after the first plate and not go back.

My mom was a home economics major in college in the 60's so she always prepared light food....you know no fat on the veggies, skinless chicken breasts(and boneless, skinless chicken breasts were not available like they are now) , lean cuts of meat etc. I learned from her and generally mealtime and cooking methods have not been a problem for me. For me it's all about the portion size, between meal snacking and the fast food. :rolleyes:

On another note....both my DDs are allergic to nuts(peanuts and tree nuts) and one is allergic to eggs. No donuts, cakes, fried dough, store bought bakery items, etc. allowed here.
I look at their allergies as a positive thing....because God only knows how many home baked cookies and other baked goods I would have eaten if I would have been able to make them during the holidays and throughout the year. I know I would have been even heavier.

Finally...now for the good news....I lost 3 lbs this week and made it to my 10% at ww. Now on to the next 10%

Kim::MinnieMo

Like me, you are SO lucky you had a Mom who taught you healthy things early on! I am constantly astounded by people who NEVER eat vegetables because they never had them growing up. My Mom was ahead of her time, healthy food-wise.... whole wheat bread was a mainstay in our house... Wonder Bread never crossed our threshhold.... neither did soda or store bought cookies (except for Fig Newtons... Dad loved them). Dad has always had a huge organic vegetable garden and we ate from it in abundance all the time. I need to remember to thank my Mom and Dad !!

Also, my DS has tree nut allergies, so we avoid lots of bakery things in this house too... and I hate baking, so no problems there!!

You T.giving plan sounds spot on!! And a big round of applause on reaching your WW 10%... that is a reason to celebrate!

You have a great plan for the day! I'm guessing pjlla will come by and mention that some protein at breakfast would be a good idea. I am going to concur with her now. Which cereal to do you eat? I am a huge fan of Multigrain Cheerios. There is just enough sweetness, but still fiber and filling. I also have my cereal in milk. I should be the last to talk, but I'm also thinking that you are not eating enough. You have great snacks built in, which is something I envy. I cannot seem to get myself to snack during the day.

:lmao::rotfl: OMG!... am I that predictable??!:rotfl2: I just about spit my seltzer on the screen laughing when I saw this! Have I become the "protein police"??

And CC... good call on the protein for breakfast!

QOTD: I confess, that I have no plans for Thanksgiving. Working at Target and my family living in a different state means that it is spent here at home just DH and Me. We do not cook, and since I traditionally go in to work at O:Dark something, I intentionally overload on carbs for the day so I can hit the sack an an unnaturally early hour. IF God does not have mercy on me and grant me a new job by then after I get the license, I will do the same thing this year. If he does, it will still be an off program day for me. I just want to enjoy it.

I totally understand about the O:dark something. I worked in retail for years and that Black Friday was truly BLACK for those of us who had to open the store at 3 am or so! Truly puts a damper on enjoying T.giving day. Hopefully you can find a new job.

How much protein does everyone get at breakfast? I find that most of the common things for protein, are not things I like. The only eggs I like are hard boiled and I only like the whites. I don't like red meats, fish, I HATE yogurt and beans. I do like peanuts and almonds but not at breakfast time and I don't like peanut butter. I have such horrible unhealthy likes/dislikes!

How about almond butter?? Or Nutella...high in fat, but protein like peanut butter and SO yummy (just be sure to measure!). Lowfat cheese is an easy protein for breakfast. And there is no rule that says you can't have chicken for breakfast.

Hi everyone,

Well I am not officially part of the challenge but I have been following the thread which I hope you don't mind. I have lost about 15 lbs since I have started to work out and get healthier for my wedding in November :lovestruc I am still trying to lose as much as possible! :thumbsup2 I have been lifting free weights, doing the C25K (on the third week), also walking at least a mile more a day with my mom to get her out and exercising since she has high cholesterol, making healthier food choices, and drinking lots of water! phew!

Anyways I had a few questions and though maybe I could get some good suggestions here.

Does anyone know of a fat free sour cream and a fat free shredded cheese that actually still tastes good and not fat free? I know sounds dumb but sour cream and cheese are two of my favorite things on food and I have yet to find a brand that is fat free and still edible! I have mastered the fat free ranch but the sour cream and cheese still eludes me :confused:

Thanks in advance everyone for letting me read this thread and post my question here

Nope.... I've never found a FAT FREE sour cream or cheese that is decent. I use low fat sour cream and 2% cheese and just use a bit less of them. And fat free mayo...might as well be white jello... EWWWW!:eek:




Well, Happy Friday afternoon all! Do you believe I sat down here almost 2 hours ago and I'm not finished yet!! Of course, I kept interrupting myself to go make lunch, hang laundry, etc.

Weigh-in this morning was not what I hoped for.... I was up .1. Trying to take it in stride. That said, I'm going to stick with it today and do another weigh-in tomorrow. I've only ever done that once or twice... it feels like "cheating" but I'm just curious. Plus it will help keep me on track today... and usually Friday is a big splurge day.

Had a good WOG this morning (6.4). I was able to run 4 of the smaller hills that I walked on Wednesday. Only cut my time by about 2 minutes, but still... I figure I am walking a .5 mi warm-up, a .5 mi cool down, and probably another .5 on the big hills and I am running the rest, so not too bad. I was really dragged out by the time I was done. I really need to keep myself hydrated without having those pesky bladder issues.... I'm sure that some water would have made it a more bearable run.

I'm brewing another recipe in my head to share.... great for fall. Not specifically a "diet" recipe, but healthy and delicious. I'll try to get it post on the recipe thread later.

Tonight's dinner was scheduled to be take-out pizza. I need to plan something else for myself.... maybe Subway? DD is going to a football game with her boyfriend (YUP.... she officially has a boyfriend:eek:), but DH and DS will be looking for pizza. Wonder if they would be okay with a take and bake from the grocery store?

I absolutely MUST hit the grocery store for some essentials today. The fridge is getting bare! The only fresh produce left are a few strawberries, three potatoes, and 3 onions! Nothing else... no apples, no grapes, no broccoli, no spinach!! :scared1: And we haven't had a loaf of bread in the house in a week... I've been sharing my Sandwich Thins with the family.

Well... it is a beautiful early fall day here and I have spent enough of it inside! I'm going to finish up here on the DIS and head out to the sunshine! TTYL.......................P
 
Here is one of my 5 ingredient(not counting olive oil and curry powder) things I throw together, I don't really follow a recipe just kinda go with flow.
quinoa, kidney beans(or chicken if you prefer), carrots, onions and garlic. I use olive oil and curry powder.

I use a little olive oil and saute onions add in some fresh garlic and shredded(or as I do it peels with peeler) carrots and combine curry powder while it cooks. Add 1 can of kidney beans(could be dry cooked or chicken is really good too) and then add the cooked quinoa with some more curry.

Its so yummy even eating it lukewarm or cool has a great boost of protein.
 
What kind of scoring job? What do you do? just curious.

There was a Pearson scoring center here and the last 2 springs I have scored standardized tests 4 hrs/night for about 8 weeks. They are 'going green' and closing down physical scoring centers and having people score at home. I scored a project for 2 wks late spring (50 hrs/week) and just got this one for another 2 weeks. They basically score every standardized test out there from the elementary school ones, to the ACT, SAT, GRE, MCAT, etc. Pretty interesting and can be good money for a temp job. Most pay by the piece.

Good morning everyone.

I'm feeling a little guilty because I haven't been able to get on here and post. Mom's in the hospital so I'm running around like a maniac taking care of her, her house, working full time, kids activities, etc. (You all know the drill! LOL).

So my house is a mess, but I don't care. I'm losing weight. :rotfl:

Prayers being sent for your mom(& You!) Hope she is better soon! Your last line is my new favorite quote!! :love:

Julie, congrats on the scoring job! But I am really wondering how you figured out your dog liked coffee?!? :laughing:

Since she was 6 wks old when DS21 got her, I have walked her. And my walks over about 5miles usually involve a 'potty' break at Starbucks as I can hook her leash over one of their umbrella stands & she is safe. It started out that I would drink my latte & give her the foam stuck inside the lid. Then she would stop & refuse to go any further at the spot where I would give her the foam. If I get her a glass of water, she snubs it and waits until I dump it & pour coffee into the cup. Anymore, it's like her radar is set on Starbucks as she will pull to go there if anywhere near. She loves coffee here at home, too. When she smells it brewing, she sits staring at the pot until I give here a bit(decaf, fortunately!) She also loves Cherry Dr. Pepper, won't touch regular DP or any other soda, just Cherry! STRANGE DOG!!

Okay, so after that "experience" is over, my mom will be taking me to my undergrad reunion. I helped plan tonight's event and I really want to be there. My mom was great and somehow got me a wheelchair to use so I could move around more easily and actually help set up.

I'm off to eat breakfast. Lots of stuff was left out for me and I get to microwave my own food today!

Hope the hair washing wasn't to difficult! Have fun a the reunion!

Thanks Kathy, Lisa and Joanel. I know that at the end its nice to look back at how successful the challenge was and I do not want to be hurting that for everyone.

I will not give up. I have a plan for today and my husband realized how upset I was and said that he will help more with going to the gym. The past 2 weeks have been bad for him also as he is just starting a full time MBA program on top of work. He said that both Saturday and Sunday, he will take full responsibility for getting us to go to they gym and I'll take full responsibility for healthy dinners.

I will not give up!

Thanks CC for your support! I am 27 (soon to be 28), married for about 1.5 years and no kids. I honestly don't have a set calorie goal, it's more of a goal to make healthier choices. Eat when I'm hungary not bored or stressed, have the majority of my food be good for me instead of the majority being bad, healthy portions, and try to get more into the mindset that food fuel, not fun.

Don't ever give up! You are worth this and even if you gain this challenge, if you learn even ONE new, healthy habit, it will be a success!

I hope everyone is having a good Friday! It is beginning to feel like Fall here! I had to abandon my tank top & wear a t-shirt out walking this morning! I Love it!! Sashi & I did 4.48 this morning & will likely take the little ones tonight. Didn't run at all today as I feel a twinge of shin splints coming on & I want to discourage it.

Down .6 here and .4 at WW. VERY SLOWLY moving, but at least it is something!
 
Rose – Thanks for the advice! I am working hard to incorporate new foods that I don’t like. About a year ago, all of my carbs were “white” and now whole wheat/whole grain. 6 months ago, I wouldn’t have touched broccoli and now I eat it several times a week. I eat potatoes other than French fries, I have tried aspargus a few times, have tried to force down baked beans a few times, have tried yogurt alone, the hard boiled yolk, and have tried breakfast sausage, meatballs, roast beef and Italian sausage. I seem to have a problem with textures, not tastes and there are some things particularly the baked beans, peanut butter and yogurt that actually make me gag. I have not tried forcing myself to eat the seafood because the one that I do like, crab, I am allergic to and I’m afraid to find out I am allergic to more. I’ve also started adding benefiber to my water to help. I’m continuing to try but because it takes time, I’m hoping for some additional suggestions of things that I either already eat, or never thought of!

CC, you’re such an incredible support here!

Goldcupmom, I’m sorry that your hard work didn’t “show” and I hope it does soon.

Pam, thanks for sharing more suggestions. I do have 2 servings of the carrots set aside as my snack and usually double the broccoli at dinner so even though its only 2 vegetables, it’s 4 servings. I love cheese! My favorites are cheddar and mozzarella. I usually stay away from cheese because I feel like even low fat varieties are high in calories but maybe I should start adding them for the protein? Don’t worry about being critical of my plan. I posted for feedback. I truly don’t know how to do a healthy meal plan. I find myself on one extreme or the other, fat and sugar overload or too little with mainly fruit all day! Nothing wrong with being the protein police. So how much protein should I be eating?

Yogurt is a tough thing for me because of the slimy-ness BUT I am trying to slowly learn to eat it. I put it in smoothies which is great on the weekend when I am at home (no blender at work) but sometimes I don’t feel full without eating. I was thinking I would take yogurt and freeze it and try to eat it that way. I’m hoping it would make it less slimy. NOT frozen yogurt like ice cream, just regular healthy yogurt. Has anyone ever tried this?

Thanks for all of the support today! I’m off to the rink and then I will go to the park for W1D2!
 
It's been a really rough morning for me. I gained nearly 2 pounds this week which puts me up from the starting weight. I feel like I should drop out of the challenge. I am hurting the overall weight loss that you are all working towards. I've been making such horrible choices. I do well with some of the healthy habits, water, 20 minutes exercise (usually walks), 5 fruits/veggies - mostly fruits for me. It's everything else. Bad meals, bad other snacks, eating when I'm not hungary, getting to the gym, portion control.

This morning feels like a "rock bottom". I knew I've been eating bad all week, but for some reason, the tears still came this morning. I can do better for this and there's no excuse.

I am feeling so bloated. At the risk of sharing too much info, I went off of BC pill 2 months ago for medical reasons. I was never regular before I went on the pill and had been on it for many years so I don't know if I ever will be but I haven't had that visit yet. I have been feeling that just before bloated feeling for over a month! It's very frustrating.

What is an OP day? I keep reading it!


I understand your frustration. I did the same thing this week. Up 2 pounds and I was actually good until last night when I said, Screw It! Not a good attitude, but the plateau was driving me nuts.

Don't drop out, we all have our bad times and everyone here completely understands. Who here has lost weight without struggling? It's a marathon, not a sprint! We can do this! Unfortunately if you have hit "rock bottom" then there is nowhere to go but up! Let's do it together!

Keep the faith and know we are all here for you!
 
Hi Everyone,

I got some sleep last night. The weather has been changing too much for me to sleep as well as I would like. Plus, I am having nightmares again. Have to take those in stride too.

Today is a busy day. I'm kind of embarrassed though. My sister is coming home to help my mom wash my hair. :scared1: I can't wait for my follow-up appt on Monday. I am hoping for a removable cast so that I can be more independent. I'm sure my mom will still feel more comfortable with my showering when she is home, but at least I'll be able to shower with the curtain shut and not one leg hanging out of the bathtub while I am sitting down. Okay, probably TMI. You get the point.

Okay, so after that "experience" is over, my mom will be taking me to my undergrad reunion. I helped plan tonight's event and I really want to be there. My mom was great and somehow got me a wheelchair to use so I could move around more easily and actually help set up.

I'm off to eat breakfast. Lots of stuff was left out for me and I get to microwave my own food today! ;)

:goodvibes for weigh-in and WIN!

Have a great day everyone!

CC

Replies to follow in a separate post or 2!



At your follow up appt. on Mon. IF you do not get a removable cast, then ask for a cast protector for the tub. Your Dr SHOULD have given you 1 at your first appt. It will enable you to have your foot in the tub without ruining the cast. Instructions say to put pantyhose on the cast first but you really don't need to do that. Do you have a bench for the tub? That will be so much easier cause even with removable cast you won't be able to put much weight on it.

Glad your mom got you a wheelchair. I broke my ankle in the wintertime, and there was NO way my parents were letting me anywhere without it for the first couple of weeks because it was so icy. Which is how I broke it. HAH!!

Any advice you need, tips etc. just pm me or ask here. I spent approximately 9 weeks in the cast and about equal time in PT afterward. Oh, and the cast weighs a ton so if you haven't already ask Shannon for an excused weigh -in until you get it off.

Oh and as long as you aren't sporting stitches under the cast, if you itch scratch it. Not too much mind you but enough to take the edge off. An untwisted coat hanger should do the job nicely. People lie and tell you its the bone knitting:rolleyes1 It is because you can't clean under the cast!.

I got you covered because I've been there. I remember. Boy do i remember:sad2:
 
Rose – Thanks for the advice! I am working hard to incorporate new foods that I don’t like. About a year ago, all of my carbs were “white” and now whole wheat/whole grain. 6 months ago, I wouldn’t have touched broccoli and now I eat it several times a week. I eat potatoes other than French fries, I have tried aspargus a few times, have tried to force down baked beans a few times, have tried yogurt alone, the hard boiled yolk, and have tried breakfast sausage, meatballs, roast beef and Italian sausage. I seem to have a problem with textures, not tastes and there are some things particularly the baked beans, peanut butter and yogurt that actually make me gag. I have not tried forcing myself to eat the seafood because the one that I do like, crab, I am allergic to and I’m afraid to find out I am allergic to more. I’ve also started adding benefiber to my water to help. I’m continuing to try but because it takes time, I’m hoping for some additional suggestions of things that I either already eat, or never thought of!

Thanks for all of the support today! I’m off to the rink and then I will go to the park for W1D2!
You are doing great! I have some texture issues too. I don't eat mushrooms-ever, and did not do fish or seafood even when I ate meat. I am not a fan of baked beans--too soupy. I rinse my beans (usually black) and just add them to things like I would chicken. I also don't really like yogurt--greek yogurt is more like sour cream if that helps. I stir my cereal in it and add a banana. I think freezing the yogurt is a good idea. How about string cheese? Part skim mozzarella makes a good snack. I also really like mini whole wheat bagels. When you toast them they almost taste sweet.

And I am very impressed that you are trying asparagus--I like asparagus, but not if it's really stringy. Cauliflower has a very similar texture to broccoli as does broccolini. I know a bunch of people do protein shakes, so hopefully someone will chime in. Also, there are some cereals that have significantly more protein than others. I find that if I eat fat free yogurt and cereal for breakfast, I get hungry quickly. I think my body needs a little bit of fat in the morning. My morning snack usually has some fat in it.

I think you have made some great changes already.:goodvibes
 
QOTD: This Thanksgiving will be rather quiet as it will be the 4 of us and DSIL. We will be meeting my parents at Disney the next week so they're not coming up. We will probably do a small turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole and mashed potatoes and honey glazed carrots. Will make some sort of pie. We will watch the Macy's Parade and play games all day. I may do a 5K at 8AM that morning so that will help me stay focused!

Been OP all day. I had my healthy breakfast, a Special K bar, a Lean pocket and I just had 2 small peppermint patties. I had a small bag of chips with me at work but skipped them since I will be eating a lot of sodium tonight with the Chinese food. I came home and watched Private Practice while doing my 5K and then I went and picked up a few groceries and got gift cards and cards for the b'day parties tomorrow. I then picked up DD1 and we are waiting for DD2 to come home. We'll order Chinese food at 4 and then go get it! I'm so excited to eat it and have my Friday drink. I have earned it.

I made a plan for the 2nd party tomorrow. Each drink I have will be followed by a big glass of water! I don't want to get dehydrated with the race on Sunday. I'm planning on getting in 2-3 miles in the morning.

Gotta get the kids packed for their overnight and clean up bedrooms. Can't even walk in either room!!!

TTFN :tigger:
 














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