Biggest Loser--SUMMER 2011 Challenge for Losers & Maintainers!

[cclovesdis]

Happy Birthday Pamela!

 

[aamomma]

Well, I clearly should be trying to reduce stress. I admit I haven't given this much thought or attention. I think for me that it's part of a whole package of "getting my life together". When I'm eating well and exercising, I have to plan, and I need to be moving -- so I end up keeping an orderly house, taking care of errands, not jumping into my pajamas and bed the minute my feet hit the door after work -- I guess the habits form a whole to create the life I want, I just never thought about them as individual activities before Very thought-provoking question!

Sounds like you have given this a lot of thought. For me, understanding where I'm getting off track is always the first step! Good luck!

I ran 3M in the middle of the day (completely out of character for me), and I journaled all my food. I set up the journal for next week, tomorrow is my usual start day so it will be nice to kick things off. I went out tonight while dh was doing our finances and bought the foods where I like to pick -- my yogurts, hummus and ice cream. He's out right now doing the rest of the shopping, so we will have plenty of oranges, carrots, cherries, peppers, blackberries, blueberries, dates and cantaloupe. We have our menu made for the week, and unlike our usual eating out on Saturday night, we're going to have burgers on the grill. I made dh put the specific vegetables on the menu, so they have a better chance of getting made. I had a Subway BLT for dinner tonight -- I was very pleasantly surprised to find they were only 9 WW pts, with cheese! That will become a new staple, I'm sure.

Tomorrow I'm going to do my scheduled training run for my half in August -- 8M. I'm looking forward to my recovery chocolate milk! And I got enough hummus to have as my lunch tomorrow, so no need to eat out. Sunday I will have a good breakfast -- I expect to grab something quick for lunch because we are eating before we go to the theatre -- I'll probably have a turkey sandwich with wholly guacamole. Sunday night is marinated chicken breast on the grill. Sunday's my rest day, so no workout.

And I can't work out Monday before work, so I'm going to commit to running when I get home. I am determined to make my workouts more of a priority, and eliminate mindless eating. Heck, just scaling it back would be huge progress

Maria

Sounds like a great plan!! Have a wonderful OP weekend!!

 

[aamomma]

I am getting myself back on plan immediately.
Oh, I am down 2.9 lbs for the week!

Good for you!!! Yay!! for the loss.
PANCAKES - would love to see the recipe when you're finished!!!

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

6/17 QOTD: What is your plan to avoid the temptation to fall off the wagon as we head into the weekend? Are today's meals planned, exercise scheduled, etc...

Hello, everyone! My name is Linda, and I am your coach for the day. I hope everybody has a great OP day!!

I saved up 20 extra weight watcher points to help with the wkend eating. Im not sure what the meals will be because we will be out and about but I feel like I can make good decisions.

i know yocco's! when we drive to york, pa to visit my grandpa we always stop in trexlertown (sp?) and there is a yocco's right there! i've never been there but i'm going to pretend that you said they are the most disgusting hot dogs so i won't start going!!

First let me say that trexlertown is in my hometown area so that is so cool. My friend lives there and that is where ryan stayed this week. Oh and we also have one of our peds offices there too. Just thought I would share how close you get to me when you stop.

Anyway those hotdogs are horrible so just keep driving....but there is a chick fil A a min up the road.

I've done pretty well the past 2 days, and the scale was down 2 pounds. So I am thrilled with that.

Horray Kathy! See I knew we could do it.

Oh, I am down 2.9 lbs for the week!

Great Job CC. Sorry about the rough day but tomorrow is a new day and a fresh start.

**********************************************************

I am happy to report I have lost 3lbs this week. I was very excited. It motivates me to do even better this week.

Otherwise its been a long day so I just want to go to bed. I will catch up more in the morning.

 

[aamomma]

I saved up 20 extra weight watcher points to help with the wkend eating. Im not sure what the meals will be because we will be out and about but I feel like I can make good decisions.
Way to plan ahead!!!
I am happy to report I have lost 3lbs this week. I was very excited. It motivates me to do even better this week.
Yay!!! for the loss!

I do NOT know what happened - but when I posted a response to CC, it posted back at 10:20 AM I am not psychic - I did not know what CC would post this evening. Well, anyhow - I am ending my day as coach. It was fun, and encouraging. Have a great rest of the weekend!

 

[Disneywedding2010]

It has been a crazy last few days. OYE!

I'm stressing out and well its not really helping me make the right food choices. However, I still was able to lose a pound, HMMMM don't know how on earth that happened (AGAIN!) .

Tomorrow I have to finish cleaning up the house. Sunday is Father's Day and considering the last few crazy days I've had I'm still debating on going to the cemetary to visit my late husband Josh. I guess it will depend on how I feel when I get up. Monday and Wednesday I have training sessions with my trainer. Tuesday we have to take the cats into the vet. Taylor needs to have a spot removed from her paw. We are thinking once that spot is gone it will help her foot heal faster. Dublin (along with Taylor) is getting groomed and a flea bath.

Wednesday night we are packing up the car. Where are we going you might ask? I'll copy and paste the post I made on my navy wife support website:

We got hold of a Keller Williams agent yesterday and I was telling the agents (they are husband and wife) what I was looking for in a house down in Florida. They sent me an email of about 20 houses that are on the market right now. There were a few that I liked and I sent out another email today asking about a few more that I had found.

Well, Alan and I were talking and out of the blue he says, "Well why don't we just go down there and have them show them to us."

**After picking my jaw up off the floor because he's NEVER one to say "Hey let's jump in the car and drive 2 days to FL**

"Um, honey you do realize that it takes 2 days to get there right? You do remember I can't sit in a car for 18 hours straight while you drive, it is not good for my leg."

"Uh huh, yeah I know"

**Chuckling** "Um, you sure that is tobacco your smoking and not crack?"

"Why do you sound so surprised that I brought this up?"

"Um, maybe because you NEVER bring up something like this, I'm a little shocked."

"Well, what do you think?"

"When have you ever known me to turn down a trip to FL?" I jump up and go to get on my laptop and start looking up hotels in Pensacola (where we always stop and stay the night. Then continue onto Orlando).

After booking our room in P-Cola (we always stay at the same hotel) I started looking for a hotel in the general Orlando/Kissimmee area. After picking which one I wanted to stay at I went and hunted him down (He always seems to disappear when I'm trying to do something that I need his input on, LOL.)

When I ran the hotel by him and asked, "Okay how long? couple days? or what? I'm not going to drive two days to get down there and then only be there like 48 hours. Can you say waste of gas?" So we decided we'd be down there for 4 to 5 days and then head home.

I did ask the realtor about if we found one that we absolutely loved if we could put money down on it and they would hold it because I still have to get this house sold in TX. He said "Yes, it will hold it and we'll take it off the market."

Now, I realize that we may not find anything this trip. We have a longer trip planned in August for this exact same reason. I wasn't expecting this and so I was blind sided when he said "Oh let's go down there." I kind of did a double take like "Huh, what? Say that again.." .

Got love being in a relationship where we both are totally spontaneous but that's what I love. I'm not much of a planner anymore and just go by the seat of my pants sometimes. It definately makes for an interesting life.

Now, call me crazy but I'm thinking this little road trip is what I need. I'm on the verge of going out of my mind right now. I'm on the verge of strangling our landlord who we rent our auto shop from, we have another mechanic who is trying to be flakey on us, and the list of my stresses goes on and on. Is it next summer yet? I'm ready to get the heck out of TX!

 

[donac]

Good Saturday morning everyone.

Happy Bithday Pamela (sorry it is late)

I had my last day with students yesterday

My room is almost cleaned out. All exams have been graded put away. Grades are done. Guidance have been notified about honors students not being able to go on. Just some last minute things to put away, some signatures to get and paper work is done. Monday I don't have to go in. A college in the town I live in ( I work 20 minutes away) has a beautiful new atheletic center that my school is using for graduation. I just have to be at the college at 1 to wait for the buses and help the kids line up before the graduation at 2. Then one of the teachers have invited the staff to her house after graduation. Then Tuesday is a barbque for the staff. It is almost done.

This is the first summer in I don't know how long where there is NOTHING planned. I usually take a course or do some curriculum but nothing this year. It feels kind of good.

Off to eat something for breakfast and to mow some lawns.

Have a happy and healthy day.

 

[dumbo_buddy]

good morning everyone! i'm up ANOTHER pound today

i did have chick fil a yesterday but also exercised and drank all my water. one of these days i'm just going to have to let the weight thing go. once baby is born i can get back on the dieting wagon. still, i was really hoping to keep the weight down. i'm not giving up on trying to make better choices though!

we have a busy day today. our new bedroom furniture came and i need to put all the clothes away (didn't feel like it yesterday!). DH has to volunteer at our park. the community is updating the park and laying down all new mulch. while he's doing that i need to buy a graduation card, wedding card, and dh is father's day card.

we're going to an open house that's just about two blocks away. we really need a bigger house. part of me really wants to stay here in our neighborhood but it's just so expensive. the house we're looking at is for $400k and is only 1300 square feet and needs ALOT of work. ugh. the friend i saw yesterday lives out in the 'burbs. the house across the street from hers is going for in the 4's and it's like 2500 square feet! and NICE! it's not that far at all but still wouldn't be across the street from family! decisions decisions...

hope everyone has a great day! what are your father's day plans for tomorrow??

 

[mikamah]

I do NOT know what happened - but when I posted a response to CC, it posted back at 10:20 AM I am not psychic - I did not know what CC would post this evening. Well, anyhow - I am ending my day as coach. It was fun, and encouraging. Have a great rest of the weekend!

Wow, maybe you're have a magic touch. Think you could abracadabra my weight back to 140? Thanks for coaching yesterday.

I
I am happy to report I have lost 3lbs this week. I was very excited. It motivates me to do even better this week.

Hooray!!! Now to keep the focus a little longer this time!! We can do it!!

Now, call me crazy but I'm thinking this little road trip is what I need. I'm on the verge of going out of my mind right now. I'm on the verge of strangling our landlord who we rent our auto shop from, we have another mechanic who is trying to be flakey on us, and the list of my stresses goes on and on. Is it next summer yet? I'm ready to get the heck out of TX!

How exciting! Have fun.

This is the first summer in I don't know how long where there is NOTHING planned. I usually take a course or do some curriculum but nothing this year. It feels kind of good.

That sounds wonderful for you, Dona. Enjoy every sunshiney summer day you can.

we're going to an open house that's just about two blocks away. we really need a bigger house. part of me really wants to stay here in our neighborhood but it's just so expensive. the house we're looking at is for $400k and is only 1300 square feet and needs ALOT of work. ugh. the friend i saw yesterday lives out in the 'burbs. the house across the street from hers is going for in the 4's and it's like 2500 square feet! and NICE! it's not that far at all but still wouldn't be across the street from family! decisions decisions...

that is a tough decision. I bought my house when michael was 2, and was 2 miles away from my mother, bro, and sisters. At the time, I could have gone 15-20 miles further, and gotten a much bigger house with a much bigger yard, but I'm so glad I made this decision. A 20-30 min drive doesn't sound like much, but in the day to day life, it is a lot. After working 8 hours, it was nice to just swing by my mom's but if I was further away, that wouldn't have been so easy. I'm not trying to sway your decision, but I know how close you are to your aunt and uncle, and with the kids being so young, it is nice to have family close by who could help just for a little while. Good luck. And I agree, let the weight thing go, don't worry about it too much, and enjoy watching that baby grow in side you.

Good saturday morning friends.

Ds's play off game is at 10, and I'm nervous for him. They're playing a team they've never beat, and michael is starting as pitcher. The past 2 games have been great, and the coaches have been better, so I'm just hoping that the coaches will keep a positive attitude if they are losing. Sad, but I'm worried more about the coaches reactions, and not the kids. Really the kids definitely have more team spirit than the coaches. If they win, they have the final game next week, but part of me doesn't want them to win because that will make the coaches think that being hard on the kids and negative made them improve. Such drama for 9 year old baseball. Plus, I'm over thinking it. I may put some bailey's in my coffee this morning to relax. lol. not really. well maybe.

Off to shower and get him to practice. Have a great saturday everyone!!

 

[lisah0711]

Good morning all!

I will be your coach for the next couple of days. I'm in the Pacific time zone so it may seem like I am late to you east coast folks but I am really early here! Thanks Pamela for coaching last week and aamomma for coaching yesterday.

And BTW Pamela

Happy Birthday!

Inevitably as the excitement of our lifestyle changes wear off, things are going to slow down and some day the scale will show a number that you don't like. You may start to feel like this:

Frustrated. Disappointed. Hopeless. Skeptical.

Whichever you choose, these emotions are enemies of people trying to lose weight—especially when you feel like you have done everything right. For many trying to shed pounds, the elation from that initial weight loss is brought to a screeching halt when the scale stops moving. But instead of viewing this as a setback, look for other ways to measure your progress besides the scale. After all, good health isn’t always measured in pounds.

That was an excerpt from a sparkpeople article called Measuring Your Progress Without the Scale. Here is a link to the whole article if you would like to read it:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/motivation_articles.asp?id=487

Which leads me to the QOTD Saturday, June 17, How do you measure progress without the scale? I measure progress without the scale by...
* How my clothes fit
* Using other numbers (body fat, BP, etc.)
* Monitoring my energy levels
* Assessing my emotions and self-esteem
* None of these- I only use the scale

I will be back later with my own answer and to do a few replies.

 

[SettinSail]

Hello friends, I am off to a good start today. I've done 45 mins on the elliptical and had a good breakfast and lunch. Well, I did have a cookie after lunch. We were sort of last minute invited to a going away party at a Biergarten in the next town over but DS who went ahead of us reported back hardly anyone was there. He left with his friends to go see X Men. It's very cool out today so we are probably just going to skip it. Also supposed to go to a street fesitival tonight but I don't know, it's really cool out. Feels good to just stay home. We got a verbal OK from the listing agent on the rental house She still has to get the OK from the landlord in Calif and will give us the definite answer by Monday. There is another person interested behind us but we were told we could have first right of refusal so hopefully it's a done deal. We offered $100 less than asking rent so not sure if that will hold up. It is a fantastic location and my realtor says it would be a great house for us but we haven't seen any pics of the inside! So, it will be a new adventure if we get it.

Lindsay - great job losing 3 lbs Hope you got good news on the new pay scale!

Kathy - good luck to Michael. I've got many good and nervous memories of LL baseball

Linda - thanks for being our coach No, I do not have a definite plan in place for the weekend with 3 end of year parties to go to. Atleast we skipped the one today so that will save calories. Tomorrow, I need to make wise choices. And, tonight if we go to the street festival.

Nancy - enjoy the open house. I used to enjoy looking at houses but after my last house hunting trip, I've had enough I second Kathy on staying close to family To me, it sounds like you are doing well with the pregnancy weight gain. 11 lbs in 17 weeks would be 22 pounds after 34 weeks with maybe 6 more in the last 6 weeks for a total of 28 - not so bad I gained 53 lbs with my one baby and never lost all of it

Dona - enjoy your summer Something tells me you'll find a way to keep busy

Happy Birthday weekend Pamela!

CC - great job on losing almost 3 lbs Your bfast sounds yummy! A package went in the mail to you today

Maria - enjoy your run, wow 8 miles How do you guys figure out where to run such a long run in advance? Do you drive around and map it/measure it out first? Also, for those who run/walk, how do you know when it's been 3 mins/1 min? I could use the stopwatch feature on my phone but I'd have to keep resetting it. Inquiring minds want to know!

Deb - it must feel good to be down to only 1 job, I don't know how you did it all those years.

Hope everone has a great weekend and make the best choices you can

Shawn

 

[aamomma]

Wow, maybe you're have a magic touch. Think you could abracadabra my weight back to 140?

Just in case!! LOL

Good morning, Lisa! QOTD: I also go by how my clothes are fitting, and I try to remember what I used to see in the mirror, but truthfully - I let the scale set the tone for the day, something for me to work on. The scale was working better this week
Have a great day, everyone!

 

[SettinSail]

Good morning all!

besides the scale. After all, good health isn’t always measured in pounds.[/I]

Which leads me to the QOTD Saturday, June 17, How do you measure progress without the scale? I measure progress without the scale by...
* How my clothes fit
* Using other numbers (body fat, BP, etc.)
* Monitoring my energy levels
* Assessing my emotions and self-esteem
* None of these- I only use the scale

I will be back later with my own answer and to do a few replies.

Mornin' Lisa

I am really stuck on only using the scale to measure my progress so my emotions go up and down depending on the number. But, I also like to see how my clothes fit and how much energy I have too to keep me motivated.

Great question

Shawn

 

[my3princes]

Good morning all!

I will be your coach for the next couple of days. I'm in the Pacific time zone so it may seem like I am late to you east coast folks but I am really early here! Thanks Pamela for coaching last week and aamomma for coaching yesterday.

And BTW Pamela

Happy Birthday!

Inevitably as the excitement of our lifestyle changes wear off, things are going to slow down and some day the scale will show a number that you don't like. You may start to feel like this:

Frustrated. Disappointed. Hopeless. Skeptical.

Whichever you choose, these emotions are enemies of people trying to lose weight—especially when you feel like you have done everything right. For many trying to shed pounds, the elation from that initial weight loss is brought to a screeching halt when the scale stops moving. But instead of viewing this as a setback, look for other ways to measure your progress besides the scale. After all, good health isn’t always measured in pounds.

That was an excerpt from a sparkpeople article called Measuring Your Progress Without the Scale. Here is a link to the whole article if you would like to read it:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/motivation_articles.asp?id=487

Which leads me to the QOTD Saturday, June 17, How do you measure progress without the scale? I measure progress without the scale by...
* How my clothes fit
* Using other numbers (body fat, BP, etc.)
* Monitoring my energy levels
* Assessing my emotions and self-esteem
* None of these- I only use the scale

I will be back later with my own answer and to do a few replies.

I can measure my progress by the way my clothes fit and by whether I have heart burn or not. I just realized that I have not made any significant weight loss progress in the last year. I know that I can list a page of reasons why I haven't been sucessful as life has certainly thrown me some curve balls. I do feel like I'm making progress on simplifying my life right now so hopefully I'll be able to move me up on the priority list. Next week should be the last week of chaos then I need to be a priority in my life again.

I need to get the kids ready to head out the door. We have an all day fundraiser for Lacrosse today. We'll be doing parking at the balloon festival. Hopefully the possible thunder storms will not happen as a wet field means a muddy field which means no fun at all. On the bright side I should get lots of walking in today. Maybe that will help with the 2 frosted sugar cookies that i had for breakfast I should know that I can't have them in the house, but Hunter absolutely loves them and he needs every calorie he can eat.

 

[bellebookworm9]

Which leads me to the QOTD Saturday, June 17, How do you measure progress without the scale? I measure progress without the scale by...
* How my clothes fit
* Using other numbers (body fat, BP, etc.)
* Monitoring my energy levels
* Assessing my emotions and self-esteem
* None of these- I only use the scale

I do use the scale, but I'm noticing other ways that I am succeeding as well. My clothes fit a teeny bit better, and when I'm exercising my stamina is already improving. I feel more fit. My energy seems to be a little better.

I had a "true" weigh in this morning and I was down another pound! Which is really amazing because I had a tiny ice cream binge last night. Although, I did keep putting it in a dish instead of eating it straight from the carton, so that's an improvement. Today I have a ton of errands to run and then I will definitely do some Zumba and possibly cut the grass. I really wish my new glasses would get here-I think I'm allergic to the new nosepiece they put on the old glasses last week, and my eye is still really itchy and a bit swollen. If that keeps up, no lawn cutting for me, cause I'm allergic to grass too.

I hope everyone has a great OP day!

 

[lisah0711]

Back with some replies.

Kathy, great job with a 2 pound loss, especially with your crazy, busy week!

Connie, that little number will bounce back where it needs to be soon! It is a bit frustrating but my scale does that all the time -- notice I said it's the scale and not me.

Zhoen, I'll be interested to hear what you come up for your recipe. And I do love your chant to the scale!

JacksLilWench, a steady 1.25 for the challenge would leave you with a super number at the end of the summer -- keep up the good work!

Deb, glad that you are making some progress slowly, but surely. I'm sure it's tough to say good-bye to the restaurant but you also need time for yourself and your family.

Laura, the road through the C25K program is not a straight one and there are lots of ups and downs. Don't judge how you are doing by these first few days, wait for a few weeks and you are going to be amazed at how well you are doing. And repeating weeks is a great way to build a good base. Enjoy the staycation!

bellebookworm9, deep breaths, remember the number on the scale is just a number, it's not who you are! Sounds like something triggered an allergic reaction in your eye -- hope it wasn't the scale.

Please pm donac your CURRENT WEIGHT. Do not send her how much you have lost. She has a spreadsheets to do the % calculations and needs your current weight. You can put it in the subject line.

Please pm cclovesdis your HH points.

Thanks to Dona and CC for all that they do.

Thanks for the reminder, Rose, and enjoy your newly cleaned closets!

I was just wondering if anyone has tried the Dukan Diet. I just wanted to get some feedback. I started reading the book and it looks pretty easy to follow. The scale showed a loss this week but I'm getting a little bored and figured I would shake things up a bit.

I haven't tried the Dukan Diet but I think shaking things up and trying new things is a idea. What worked for you before may not always work for you and it's fun to try something new!

And I can't work out Monday before work, so I'm going to commit to running when I get home. I am determined to make my workouts more of a priority, and eliminate mindless eating. Heck, just scaling it back would be huge progress

You go, girl! You can do it! Enjoy your run today.

CC, let those encounters go and concentrate your efforts on being OP today!

Lindsay, great job on the three pounds this week! Now the next time Nana pushes you can say sweetly "last time I stood my ground I lost three pounds, Nana."

Kristina, sounds like Alan feels like he need a break, too!

dona, I hope that you can have a peaceful and relaxing summer doing the things that you would like to do for you and your DH because as I recall the last couple of summers have not gone that way. I'm sorry about your friend.

Nancy, the house thing is a hard one. Does your family help you with Thomas? With another baby coming it might be better to stay in your current neighborhood for another year or two. We live far away from all our family. There were several times when DS was little that I would have killed to have help closer, although we did have friends to help us.

Shawn, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you on the house!

I have a tendency to forget to answer my own QOTD

Which leads me to the QOTD Saturday, June 17, How do you measure progress without the scale? I measure progress without the scale by...
* How my clothes fit
* Using other numbers (body fat, BP, etc.)
* Monitoring my energy levels
* Assessing my emotions and self-esteem
* None of these- I only use the scale

I should have added an answer that said "all of the above" before the "none of the above." I've learned that just like you have to have an arsenal of tools to help, that you need an arsenal of ways to measure how you are doing, because the scale alone can be frustrating over the long term. What I really need right now is that tool that helps me to consistently, all day long, day after day do what I should -- actually I have that tool now -- it is me!

I was a samer this week and I know exactly why so will do what I need to do to make that a loss again this week.

I still have company so will try and get on again later. Have a great day all!

 

[pjlla]

It was great having you coach last week - some very thought provoking questions - and especially liked the vow you suggested we make to never give up. Yay!!!!! for the great weigh in today And have a great SPECIAL day for whatever reason (????)

You are welcome! Thanks for the good wishes for my "day"!

Pamela- Thank you for coaching last week. You did a fabulous job as always, and even thought I didn't have the time I would have liked to post more, I did get on most days and read the thread. I get so much inspiration from everyone here.

I know there was more to say, but time's up. I've done pretty well the past 2 days, and the scale was down 2 pounds. So I am thrilled with that. Journalling is what I need to do to keep on track. Connie, you are right, as long as you keep track, it does keep you in some type of control. Congrats on 7.5 pounds gone! That is awesome.

have a fabulous friday!! Drink that water, move those bodies!!

You are very welcome! Sorry you didn't have more time to chat this week!

Woohoo on the two pounds!!!

My scale has gone kaput. I was able to nag it into giving me one last reading this morning-- after many attempts-- but apparently it is sick of me and my constant asking I feel like the wicked queen from Snow White "Scale, scale on the floor... tell me I weigh less than I did before..."

So stinking funny!! I think Disney needs to create a new princess with a weight problem! Rather than battling an evil person, she could battle the evil scale!!

So I'll have to get a new one, but now my numbers will never be "certain." Grr...

But according to the old scale, I did post a really good loss this week. Yay! So to answer the QOTD-- My weekend survival plan is to remember that a lot of that loss was fluid, and not get too high on myself, to remember that I don't want that number to go back up, to AVOID MY SISTER's HOUSE (aka-the den of wicked eating), and to try to keep so busy that I'm too exhausted to snack.


Avoiding the areas where you have trouble staying on plan is a perfect idea (if it is practical).

It seems like many of us end up with scale issues at some point in time during a challenge. It is a PITA, but you usually just need to take the number from the new scale and move forward from there. It will all work itself out in the end.

Oh, but speaking of snacks... a lady I work with asked me to pick her up something while I was out shopping for our work snackbar... (Chubby girl runs the snackbar... yeah, that's not stereotyping...) So here's what she asked for (and mind you ,she's a living barbie...)

"Something chocolate-y and carb-y, but like 100 calories... Something that feels really dirty, but isn't"

So I really wanted to tell her that if that existed, nobody would have weight problems.. But last night I came up with a really good idea, and I beta-tested it on DH and 4 children and it got thumbs up... I'm going to work on it a bit more this weekend, but I'm really excited... Once I have the kinks worked out, I'll let you know and sent the recipe to anyone who wants it.

I think I'm going to name it "Peanut Butter Kelsey" (because that's her name).

Seriously? Does she expect you to perform MAGIC??? There are food companies that pay people big bucks to develop new foods.... especially "diet" foods that are yummy and decadent and delicious and practically calorie free ( ). If they can't come up with something chocolately and carby and super indulgent for just 100 calories, what does she expect from you???

Tell her to go home and make some sugar-free/fat-free chocolate pudding (with skim milk). Top one serving of the pudding with one serving of Cool Whip free and stir it in then sprinkle just a TB. of mini dark chocolate chips or mini M&Ms on top... that is the best she is going to do for what she has requested! But of course, she might die of all of the horrid chemicals from all of that stuff!

... just brought in donuts... and, being a true gentlemen, came to me and said "Ladies first.." I demurred, of course, and then he said he's easily insulted... it was very charming (and he could totally be a face-character at the world, if you get my meaning...)

BUT!

I resisted!!! My diet virtue remains pure! (I had to show him on my computer where I keep my points tracker up at all times... but no donut has sullied my lips!


(I found out the hard way last Friday that once I start down the road of "just one", baaaaddd things happen...)


And Jack'sLilWench... thanks, always makes me happy to make people laugh... especially since it took me a little while to figure out a rhyme for "floor."

I HATE food pushers! Good for you for standing up (politely) and sticking to your guns!!

Good Morning. Physically I feel better today, but I still sound awful. I noticed that my nose started running last night and my cough is more productive so I hope we're at the end stages.

I had an awesome weigh in this morning, but not eating for 3 days will do that for you.

This weekend we are doing a lot of volunteering at the balloon festival so not sure what we will do for meals. I know that I will spend a at least 12 hours on my feet walking around though.

I need to run errands this afternoon and grocery shopping is on the list.

Glad you feel a bit better.... especially since you have a busy weekend! Enjoy the balloon festival.... hopefully the weather will stay sunny.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAMELA!!!!!!!!!

I hope you have a fantabulous day!!!!!!!!!

THank you! I hate the number, but I had a great day with DD!

Happy Birthday To A

OH my gosh.... is that for me?? It is BEAUTIFUL!! Thank you.

I just realized. A beautiful young man just offered me chocolate--Insisted even... and I said "no."

Goodbye, friends, I'm checking myself into the loony bin...

You could tell him that you would take kiss over a piece of chocolate! (How cute are we talking here???)

So yesterday was Week One, Day Two of my attempt at the Couch25K program – as with Day One, I couldn’t run the full 60 seconds at any point – maybe did around 30 seconds or so each time. I’m going to continue with the plan to do each week twice – I think that will work better for me. I have been sleeping much better on the “run” days, though.

I did “OK” with the food this week – scale showed a 1.5 loss for the week. I’m currently unemployed so I am home during the day and the temptation of kitchen/pantry is always there.

Next week will be tough – I normally take the week off each year and head up to Cape Cod with two girlfriends. Since two out of three of us are out of work – we can’t justify the cost so we are planning a little “staycation” for the week. We have something small and local planned for each day, to include quite a fwe meals out. Eating out is always difficult for me – I know the choices I SHOULD make, but don’t always follow through. It doesn’t help that my friends will, no doubt, be ordering appetizers and desserts and my willpower has been less than powerful these days. I’m going into the week hoping to maintain – that will be a victory for me.

Hope everybody has a great weekend.

- Laura

Have a great time with your friends! I'm envious.... I've always wanted those kind of friends and never really had them.

Eating out a lot is tough. If you have a "schedule" of meals out for the week, perhaps you could pick one restaurant to order something really decadent and then stick with the healthy basics at the others (grilled lean meat, green vegetable, salads... that kind of stuff). Have you tried talking to your friends about helping you out by sticking to healthy meals and sharing stuff??

Well, I know I won't be going out to dinner on Sunday so that's helpful. While today's meals are not planned, I do have a general idea of what I want to eat. We don't have a lot of junky stuff in the house at the moment either. I do hope to exercise today.

I forgot to weigh myself before I ate this morning, which is what I've been doing. So I'm up .8 pounds, but I'm going to re-weigh tomorrow. Last night around 1:30 my left eye started itching like crazy. So I kept rubbing it. I had taken Benydryl before going to bed but I finally decided to put in some eyedrops. When I went into the bathroom, under my eye was hugely puffy. So I put a cold washcloth on it for about 15 minutes. Woke up later and it was still puffy. Took more benydryl. Fell asleep again. Awake now and it's still puffy but getting a little better. I blame that on the lack of weighing myself before eating!

Sorry you forgot to weigh. HOpe the eye is better. DId you maybe get a bug bite or something??

Pamela--I did not know it was your birthday! I missed it some how. I hope you have a wonderful day!!!!


You didn't miss it.... didn't send it in to you. I was kind of a "birthday ninja" and I left hints for people to try and figure out yesterday! A few of the ladies got smart and found checked my DIS profile and confirmed it was my birthday! So don't feel too bad! And I did have a great day, but my stomach just cannot handle a full day of "fun" eating any more!!

**************
Well, the car and camper are packed. Except for the last minute stuff, we are ready to roll - and we're not leaving until Sunday evening - think we're excited??? Have a great evening, everyone!!!

Have a GREAT trip!!

I was just wondering if anyone has tried the Dukan Diet. I just wanted to get some feedback. I started reading the book and it looks pretty easy to follow. The scale showed a loss this week but I'm getting a little bored and figured I would shake things up a bit.

I've never heard of it, but I will google it later. I do a lot of reading about dieting, weight loss, exercise, healthy eating, etc. I'm surprised I haven't heard about this. I'll give you my opinion later. But I will say, sometimes changing the way you eat to "shake things up" works great... but sometimes it backfires.

You have the best sparkly smilies.




Happy Birthday, Pamela!!!!!

Happy Birthday Pamela!

Thank you, thank you!! Love all the smilies!

I am happy to report I have lost 3lbs this week. I was very excited. It motivates me to do even better this week.

Otherwise its been a long day so I just want to go to bed. I will catch up more in the morning.

Three pounds!!!!

It has been a crazy last few days. OYE!

I'm stressing out and well its not really helping me make the right food choices. However, I still was able to lose a pound, HMMMM don't know how on earth that happened (AGAIN!) .

Tomorrow I have to finish cleaning up the house. Sunday is Father's Day and considering the last few crazy days I've had I'm still debating on going to the cemetary to visit my late husband Josh. I guess it will depend on how I feel when I get up. Monday and Wednesday I have training sessions with my trainer. Tuesday we have to take the cats into the vet. Taylor needs to have a spot removed from her paw. We are thinking once that spot is gone it will help her foot heal faster. Dublin (along with Taylor) is getting groomed and a flea bath.

Wednesday night we are packing up the car. Where are we going you might ask? I'll copy and paste the post I made on my navy wife support website:


Now, call me crazy but I'm thinking this little road trip is what I need. I'm on the verge of going out of my mind right now. I'm on the verge of strangling our landlord who we rent our auto shop from, we have another mechanic who is trying to be flakey on us, and the list of my stresses goes on and on. Is it next summer yet? I'm ready to get the heck out of TX!

Wow! Things are moving fast! What an exciting time for you! Keep us informed about all that is happening!

Good Saturday morning everyone.

Happy Bithday Pamela (sorry it is late)

Thank you! I consider it a full birthday "weekend", so you are not too late!

I had my last day with students yesterday.

My room is almost cleaned out. All exams have been graded put away. Grades are done. Guidance have been notified about honors students not being able to go on. Just some last minute things to put away, some signatures to get and paper work is done. Monday I don't have to go in. A college in the town I live in ( I work 20 minutes away) has a beautiful new atheletic center that my school is using for graduation. I just have to be at the college at 1 to wait for the buses and help the kids line up before the graduation at 2. Then one of the teachers have invited the staff to her house after graduation. Then Tuesday is a barbque for the staff. It is almost done.

This is the first summer in I don't know how long where there is NOTHING planned. I usually take a course or do some curriculum but nothing this year. It feels kind of good.

Off to eat something for breakfast and to mow some lawns.

Have a happy and healthy day.

How about working on some sort of project that you might enjoy? Maybe a sewing project or a house project? Or maybe take a course on something fun? How about tracing your family's geneology (although admittedly, that would take more than just a summer)?

Of course, you could just RELAX for the summer!!

Good saturday morning friends.

Ds's play off game is at 10, and I'm nervous for him. They're playing a team they've never beat, and michael is starting as pitcher. The past 2 games have been great, and the coaches have been better, so I'm just hoping that the coaches will keep a positive attitude if they are losing. Sad, but I'm worried more about the coaches reactions, and not the kids. Really the kids definitely have more team spirit than the coaches. If they win, they have the final game next week, but part of me doesn't want them to win because that will make the coaches think that being hard on the kids and negative made them improve. Such drama for 9 year old baseball. Plus, I'm over thinking it. I may put some bailey's in my coffee this morning to relax. lol. not really. well maybe.

Off to shower and get him to practice. Have a great saturday everyone!!

Hope the game goes well. Isn't it too bad when it is the ADULTS you have to worry about with kids sports, and not the kids?? DD was SUPER frustrated with her coach after last night's practice... but I'm trying to chalk it up to a long stressful week of finals, hormonal issues, and being overtired. I'm sure that the coach was tough on her, but maybe she just took it the wrong way? Regardless, it was so sad to see her SO DEFEATED after a practice. She loves swim SO MUCH and nobody pushes her harder than she pushes herself. So it is difficult when she feels like the coaches don't think she is trying hard enough. Oh well.

Good morning all!

I will be your coach for the next couple of days. I'm in the Pacific time zone so it may seem like I am late to you east coast folks but I am really early here! Thanks Pamela for coaching last week and aamomma for coaching yesterday.

And BTW Pamela

Happy Birthday!


You're welcome and THANK YOU!

Inevitably as the excitement of our lifestyle changes wear off, things are going to slow down and some day the scale will show a number that you don't like. You may start to feel like this:

Frustrated. Disappointed. Hopeless. Skeptical.

Whichever you choose, these emotions are enemies of people trying to lose weight—especially when you feel like you have done everything right. For many trying to shed pounds, the elation from that initial weight loss is brought to a screeching halt when the scale stops moving. But instead of viewing this as a setback, look for other ways to measure your progress besides the scale. After all, good health isn’t always measured in pounds.

That was an excerpt from a sparkpeople article called Measuring Your Progress Without the Scale. Here is a link to the whole article if you would like to read it:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/motivation_articles.asp?id=487

Which leads me to the QOTD Saturday, June 17, How do you measure progress without the scale? I measure progress without the scale by...
* How my clothes fit
* Using other numbers (body fat, BP, etc.)
* Monitoring my energy levels
* Assessing my emotions and self-esteem
* None of these- I only use the scale

I will be back later with my own answer and to do a few replies.

For the most part I am strictly a scale girl. I've never taken my measurements, so I can't go by those. I've never kown my BMI, so can't go by that. ENergy level is usually pretty good, even when I'm heavier.

But I will sometimes go by how my body is feeling (especially around my midsection)... but that can be deceiving, especially if I've had a lot of fiber or if I am having hormonal issues.

Hello friends, I am off to a good start today. I've done 45 mins on the elliptical and had a good breakfast and lunch. Well, I did have a cookie after lunch. We were sort of last minute invited to a going away party at a Biergarten in the next town over but DS who went ahead of us reported back hardly anyone was there. He left with his friends to go see X Men. It's very cool out today so we are probably just going to skip it. Also supposed to go to a street fesitival tonight but I don't know, it's really cool out. Feels good to just stay home. We got a verbal OK from the listing agent on the rental house She still has to get the OK from the landlord in Calif and will give us the definite answer by Monday. There is another person interested behind us but we were told we could have first right of refusal so hopefully it's a done deal. We offered $100 less than asking rent so not sure if that will hold up. It is a fantastic location and my realtor says it would be a great house for us but we haven't seen any pics of the inside! So, it will be a new adventure if we get it.

Keep us in the know!

Happy Birthday weekend Pamela!

Thank you!!!
Hope everone has a great weekend and make the best choices you can

Shawn

Good, better, best!


Well friends, Happy Saturday!! Thanks to so many of you for my birthday wishes! I was kind of being sneaky about it.... just trying to make things fun! And I had forgotten that I was done coaching Thursday night..... I had a birthday question ready for Friday. I'll save it for next week.

Sitting at the lobby at the MIT sports facility right now. Had a nice healthy low carb breakfast, plus a diet coke mid-morning to settle my stomach after yesterday's junk.

I've got my cooler full of healthy foods sitting next to me, so I know I'll be making healthy choices, at least for most of today. Hopefully I can hold myself together at the party this afternoon too. Probably shouldn't be too hard, considering how I am feeling after eating some junk yesterday.

DS is sitting here bored to tears, so I'm gonna be a nice Momma and let him use my laptop. I'll be back later to chat again!................P

 

[dumbo_buddy]

thanks for everyone's advice re: house hunting. i think you're all right - staying by family is a really nice thing. you know, they don't really help me but that's not because they haven't offered! when thomas was an infant i think i was too proud to ask for help. but now with a new one coming i think i'll ask for more help.

you know, that's really true either. they do help. they help by coming over and just hanging out. they help by just being there when i'm walking around the neighborhood and i know that i ALWAYS have people to say hi to. does that make sense? they aren't babysitting per se but they helping by being there. we wouldn't have that in the 'burbs.

QOTD: i measure my weight loss efforts (other than the scale) by how i look in pictures, particularly my face. when i was 35 pounds heavier it looked like someone had slabbed pancake batter over my face. it was so swollen and when i smiled i had no eyes! when i lose weight i have definition in my face. you can see my eyes when i smile.

ok, please don't judge me in the first picture - i was heavy, depressed, and just looked terrible. i had just gained 40 lbs in THREE months. ick. the first pic is Jan 2007 at WDW. the second is Jan 2011 also at WDW (duh, all my pics are from there). you can really tell in my face.

i can tell i'm getting heavy when my face looks puffy. you should have seen me when i was nine months pregnant with thomas! shoo!

 

[glss1/2fll]

Good morning Losers!

I am caught up on this thread now. Will try to read one last time this evening before I head to the airport. Then it will be trying to catch up on a week's worth of conversation!

My mom's surgery went well and her new pacemaker is working nicely. DH got DS1 where he (and a ton of teammates) needed to be for his basketball camp. DS went out the night before and I was already in bed when he came home and then he was in bed when I left for the hospital in the morning, so didn't get to hug him goodbye. At 17, I'm sure that didn't break his heart! DS2 had chosen his clothes for the trip back east as instructed. I think he's making a mistake taking t-shirts instead of tank tops. Looks hot and muggy in DC/NY to me. He didn't bug the neighbors for their refundable/bottles cans as instructed nor did he empty the dishwasher so I'm a little miffed. But it's hard to stay miffed when you know you have a group of middle schoolers to chaperone and packing to do!

The dog woke me up at 6:30 this Saturday morning. I thought he had to go out but he gave me a sleepy, you-are-crazy look from his crate when I came flying out of the bedroom. I think I've mentioned he's a big dog, so definitely don't want to clean up his accidents! I went back to bed but couldn't sleep. Too many things to get done today.

Used up the older bananas in bread this morning, but baked them in my mini muffin tins. DH and DS1 want lasagna while I am gone so will prepare that in a few minutes for them. Then I realized we may be out of deodorant! With 4 people in 4 different places we need 4 of those and 4 toothpastes. Could be trouble. Gotta start that search/shopping trip.

DS2(14) declined to participate in all-star baseball this year. It would have been his last chance and he's been doing it since he was 9. Many texts/phone calls from his coaches who are very sad. We call him our Renaissance man since he tries to do everything, which is actually the problem. He's a bit worn out at the moment. It will be strange having a free(ish) summer.

It's been lovely catching up but I better get going.

Happy birthday Pamela and good job on the weigh ins everybody.

 

[susieb16]

QOTD: I use how my clothes fit in addition to the scale. Although I am pretty addicted to the scale.