Hi everyone - I'll get the new week results up later today. Hope you all had a good weekend. The birthday party went well and I made exceptional choices (no pizza and a splurge of bday cake as planned). I got lots of compliments from friends who had not seen me in a while. I wore a mini skirt and tank. I am officially thinner than I was when I got married 7 years ago. Was DOMO all weekend and kept it in line overall. No gym over the weekend but went to the gym 6 am yesterday and ran all over the park in the heat wave. Last night, off track with wine and some hagen daz in addition to my JC cheesecake, just in time for WI. Oh well, hopefully not too much damage.

How funny that Vickie and Sue live near each other.

Sue, how'd the toning go? Maybe try a video or on demand (if you have it) exercise show on t.v. Might help with the structure. I remember my Jane Fonda workout book that I used as a teen to do leg lifts and such. I also do better with structure and am motivated by other people. Hope you feel better.

Vickie, how was your unexpected day off? I like your plan to swim - great exercise - and I bet it will shake things up. Great idea.

Donna, good for you for getting back to the gym. Those two lbs will come off.

More later. Got to get ready for work.

I just got back from my WI and stayed the same. I have to say that I was happy to stay the same because I had a very off program week. I am a teacher and this past week was the end of the school year which meant parties, parties, and more parties. I had my classroom party on Thursday, an end of the year teacher trip to Orlando on Friday, and the end of the year teacher party on Saturday. I felt like I was from party to party just gaining and gaining. Luckily I got back on the program and took my big butt to the gym. I weighed in this morning and stayed the same...lucky for me. My counselor will be out over the next 2 weeks but I am still going to my centers for my WIs. I don't know how it is going to feel weighing in with another counselor for two weeks but I think it will go well. Good luck everyone!

Hi all! I'm back from Disneyland and our camping trip. I did tons of walking (of course) but didn't do well with my eating. I haven't weighed yet, I'll jump on the scale first thing in the morning and see what the damage is! We did have a great time with our niece from Nebraska. I'll write a bit more later after I get settled in here!

Hi Everyone!

I have 1.6 pounds to go. Once I make that, I get to make my hair appointment and I'll have met my goal for this challenge. I hope I can make it in time to get my hair done before we go on vacation. I am having my TOM this week so hopefully soon the scale will drop.

Hi everyone, I did my weighin today.

Happy Dance

Down 2.3 and I am at 194.9

So busy, and no time for exercise, I really have to work it in somewhere, just not sure what has to give so I can do it. I hate the thought of less sleep.

Hey all! I need to catch up with how everyone did last week, but I am back from my trip to Los Angeles for my high school reunion! I had an amazing time, and I looked soo good, people! I will post a pic, but first I need to figure out how to do that ;-) I am not looking forward to my WI on Saturday, but it is what it is, I won't go into a tailspin. I had ALL of my favorite foods, think burgers, hot dogs, Mexican Food, Pancakes, not to mention the alcohol... the WORKS. I enjoyed myself, but today, I am back OP, and doing fine with the adjustment back from lala land. Oh, and I changed my Challenge goal weight. I want to be in wonderland on July 15th, so that's up a little from the 195 I was planning on, but I want to be realistic, as to not let myself down. It's about 3 pounds per week (IF I didn't gain in L.A.... BIG if). I know 3 pounds is a lot, but I have not been 100% since the beginning, and it was possible then, and I still have a ton of weight to lose, so gosh darnit, it's possible now. I am focusing on working out 4 times a week, down from 7, and going with lower intensity. I think that my 2 hours a day, everyday was too much for what I am eating, and, well hey... I can use the sleep! I'll let you know how the WI goes on Saturday!!!!!!!!!!

Great news Oscar, 2.3 in a week is fab, keep up the good work! You'll get the exercise in, even if you just do some extra walking throughout the day, but really... great job without it!

Hey Angie, WOW, you are soooo close, you'll make it.... water weight be dammed. I had my hair done in Los Angeles, and got extensions (which will account for a portion of my weight gain, 8 ounces of hair to be exact), and I feel like a million bucks. I hope that you get to make your hair appointment soon.

Luv2clog, your trip sounds great, hopefully all that activity counter acted any liberties you took with the diet. I wish I coul dhave squeezed in some activity with my debauchorous weekend, but alas, I ate a ton just the same.

FutureMommy, I am so glad that you didn't gain.. those parties can be a killer. You seem to know exactly how to bounce back. I was too tired to go to the gym today, but I will try tomorrow, I'll feel a lot better. I don't know if you are real close with your counselor, and you are bummed that she won't be around, but it may be a learning experience to take to your substitute some of the challenges that you have, and see what solutions she has for you. Interested to see how it goes...

Ready! That party sounds great, and your outfit sounds hot, that must be a real confidence booster , and you are sure to stay on track for more compliments to come. You deserve it after all of your hard work! I can't believe you ran in the heat, I am in D.C., and it was like 110 with the heat index. I found it hard to walk to the metro, let alone run! Kudos for making your workout a priority, and not making excuses!

Catch you all later.

Hey girls,

Well, it seems I'm BACK on antibiotics again for yet another sinus infection. This is the 4th round of antibiotics in 6 weeks. I've been told no more exercise whatsoever - nothing! Going to see the specialists next Friday and I'm hoping to get some answers then. Meanwhile, I feel lousy and I'm on 7 different prescriptions, 5 of which list "dizziness and drowsiness" as the main side effects. You can imagine how well that goes with my lifestyle.

So, I gained this week. 1/2 pound, but it feels like 10. I am watching everyone else do so well toward meeting their goals and while I'm thrilled for you, I'm really feeling sorry for myself since I'm going in the opposite direction. And as for my running/bootcamp/5K goals? Faggetaboutit.

Sorry for the whine.

Everyone, congratulations on doing so well! Your mini skirts/tank top/reunion/going to the gym/consistent losses are wonderful and I'm so happy for you.

Sue

Oh Sue, don't be so down on yourself. You've got so much to deal with. All you can ask of yourself is to try your best with what you have. First and foremost you need to focus on getting better. Once your healthy everything else will be easier. Hang in there!!

Karmen Bear- Sounds like you had an awesome time! And I think you have a great idea in adjusting your challenge goal weight. I should probably do the same since it is totally unrealistic of me to think I'll lose 14.2 lbs by July 15th. But its weird, I only think one week at a time to begin w/. 1 lb, 1 oz at a time for me. I am fighting tooth & nail for every ounce of loss. Good luck this sat!

Oscar- Keep up the good work. As far as exercise, I try to work in little things everywhere. I park on the other side of the parking lot from the entrance. I make frequent trips to my office copy room on the other side of the office instead of waiting for a pile of things to make copies of before going. The little things have got to add up at the end of the day.

Angie- oh you are so close...I'm sure you'll get your hair done before you leave for vacation.

luv2clog- Hope you enjoyed your trip! Camping has to fit in as physical activity, right? I'm sure you did fine. Let us know how goes it.

FutureMommy- Sounds like you've been very busy! No loss is still better than a gain. Good for you for continuing to wi even if your JCC is not there. It is weird to get a different JCC's opinion at wi. Sometimes good, sometimes not so good.

Ready- compliments from friends are awesome. Really a motivational factor. And woo hoo sexy Ready in a mini skirt and tank. Your DH must have his hand all over you. Wow thinner than when you got married 7 years ago? Good job!

My OCD was in high drive, so I continued to go to my Bikram yoga in the heat wave. I couldn't stand the thought of missing it. It wasn't too bad, since the room was 105 degrees & outside it was 90 something degrees, it was kinda okay. Just the humidity was very high since everyone was sweating more than usual in class. I had my wi yesterday and no gain and no loss. I am exactly the same as last week. My JCC thinks its because I had skipped meals and some snacks. She thinks I may benefit from having more splurge days. Thinks I am probably borderline between needing 1500-1700 calories to lose weight. Hmmm...interesting.

Anyways, time to eat lunch. Happy Thursday everyone.

Chris

Thursday night we went for a family walk, about 40 minutes.

Sunday morning I took the kids to the pool, and chased after them. LOL.

Somehow I never think of the extras we do as exercise, to me it has to be specifically designed to be exercise. KWIM? Over and above what we normally do.

Hi all. I gained 0.4 last week and haven't been much better with eating this week (bad choices with momos over the weekend) but I have made it to the gym 5:6 days thus far. The scale has been all over the place so we'll see Weds what is what. Here is a picture from the birthday party the weekend before this past.



Futuremommy, it is tough to keep on track when there is continuous temptation. Just think what would have happenned if you weren't doing JC the other time. I consider staying the same a victory under those conditions.

Welcome back luv2clog. Looking forward to hearing about your trip.

Angie, sounds like you are doing well. Congrats.

Oscar, I join you in your happy dance. You are rocking it. I have to admit, I've been waking up at 5:30 every morning, going to the gym rather than trying to fall back asleep, and on the elliptical machine by 5:50 AM this week. I am pooped by the end of the day but it feels great.

Hi Karmen Bear, glad the reunion went so well. I skipped mine last summer because I felt so unattractive that I didn't want to deal with seeing people I hadn't seen since the last one. Good for you for enjoying yourself and getting back on plan. Take it one meal at a time. If you follow it, the lbs will come off.

Hey Sue, arggh, sorry to hear that that you are back on antibiotics. Hope you feel better soon. If it is any consolation, I didn't lose last week and I was exercising so what the hey. When you feel good again, you'll rev it up like no one's business and then we'll all be jealous.

Skinny Chris, you are so motivating with your yoga. I really must try that, too. How did the splurges go?

xoxo to all.

Ready- you look awesome!! Isn't it crazy how our weight could fluctuate so much? I am always +or- 2lbs within a one week span. Its weird but I am finding it hard to "splurge" especially since I've become regimented on what I eat every day and also because by joining JC I'm already eating more than what I've been used to. I've changed my salad dressing from the balsalmic to this spicy thai peanut dressing which should be an additional 60 calories. When I first joined JC I was eating approximately 900- 1000 calories each day, so on JC I am now eating 1500 calories which was hard to eat everything I was supposed to and now to try to add in more is oddly hard to do.

Oscar- I agree that it is hard to think of all the little activities we do as exercise but it is. Every step that we take, every chore that we do, even the naughty things we do with our spouse is actually exercise.

I actually am changing my gw for this challenge from 115 to 125 since I think it is more realistic w/ the pace of my losses. I'll probably reach 115 by Labor Day at my current rate of loss.

Have a great Tuesday!

Chris

Hi everyone,

As usual, I've been missing for a week. I didn't weigh in last week because I was too busy at work. I went in this morning though. I am up 1.4. Not too bad, but obviously not great. I've decided to switch up my eating. I've been doing this for 9 months now and am getting pretty near done with it to tell you the truth. So, I talked to my JCC and we decided that instead of doing 3 full days on my own I am going to do all my dinners on my own. I will have JC lunches and will continue to do the breakfasts and snacks on my own since I have from almost the beginning. I think this will help a lot. I am also going to get really dilligent with my food journaling so that I can keep track of my exchanges for my JCC... and myself. I'll also include my exercise in the journal. She thinks that I'm likely gaining a lot of muscle since I'm doing 3-4 fairly intense work-outs every week (not including my cardio). That said, I thought it was kind of funny that she tried to give me the 1200 calorie menu. I was like, "Step back, sistah! There is no way I'm only eating 1200 calories a day." LOL! The 1500 calorie plan totally works for me (when I stick to it), so why mess with it? The key is the sticking to it part... which I am totally going to do.

Only 23 pounds to go... I can do this.

Oh... Ready inspired me... You look so good, Ready!!

So, thought I would post some new pics... Here is my before pic, my half-way pic, and now.

before @ 229 pounds:


Half-way @ 188:


now (almos full body) @ 178:

Sorry guys I have been missing too this week and I am bummed that I can't see the pictures - until tonight.

I decided I am seriously gaining some muscle too since I added in new weight work-outs. I feel better; clothes fit better but scale is not moving. I know it will soon so I am trying not to worry about it. The swimming lessons are going great. Hard to believe I have been doing it wrong for all these years. With a few tips, it really helped. I tried a yoga class this week (I tought of you Chris as the instructor was fixing my basic pose ) and added a 5:30 a.m. weight class since the kids are done with school now. I was shocked to see it was packed. I had no idea that many people got up at 5 a.m. I thought my 5:30 runs were crazy. Geez.

Sue - Hope you are feeling better. Thinking about you and looking forward to our shopping trip when you feel better. Just PM me.

Chris - I'll keep at it with you. Maybe we will both get to goal by end of August.

Ready - You always inspire me

Lisa - I can't wait to see your pictures!

Hope everyone else is doing great.