*nods her head in understanding*

Lmao

I can't get to it :(

Click the "skip this ad" in the top right corner....then I saw it. :)

OK, this is maybe one of my silly little advances in this process: A week ago I was asked if I would give a talk to a group of people today ... for 10-12 minutes ... talking is easy for me, no fear of public speaking whatsoever, but I was hugely concerned about having to stand up for that long ... when I first started this process, standing in one place was a maximum of about 2-3 minutes and then my back would feel like it was seizing together - very painfully and my knees would stiffen totally so that my next couple of steps would be like me being a toy soldier ... no bend whatsoever, but I would have to move to get to a place where I could sit down so I wouldn't soon start to cry from the shear pain of it ... (I know I can be a bit of a drama queen sometimes!) Well all week long I've been practicing, spending 10-12 minutes standing upright (not always without some walking as well) trying to do it at least 2 times a day ... except yesterday when I wasn't feeling well enough to do so ... I gave my talk today and had no problem getting through it!! YAY!!! :)

I don't even get that.

Congrats fzzy! Feeling better, isn't that the main reason we are all doing this???? It is becoming obvious that you are making big progress especially in the "feeling better" area!

thanks Lil ... somedays it feels like I'm making no progress and then I'll realize that some specific thing is different and better ... I love those moments!

Ending today on the high side of my calorie count, but that's only 1 day of the Fri, Sat, Sun grouping where that is the case this week ... that's very positive for me! :) Happy monday everyone!

OK. So I'm up a lb this morning, and I am still waiting on the $%&# period to start. I've been crampy and feel bloated, but see no progress yet. And in 3 more days I go back on BC. So who knows???

I've been right around 2000 calories, and probably will be again today. No matter how much I starve myself during lunch, we're headed out to dinner with friends and I know that means t-r-o-u-b-l-e. :D

The positive side is I am still off of the arthritis meds, and that is starting to look like a very permanent change.

((((fzzy)))) ~~ 'grats on a great weekend!

I'm very excited today ... yesterday's advance was great, but it wasn't something that was on the top of my list to get fixed, I knew it that over time my ability to stand upright for longer periods of time will increase ... but I've been getting a little discouraged because I didn't feel like I was making any progress in a particular area of my body that I hate and of course it's the slowest to have any positive change (always the first to expand when I'm not eating healthy though :( ) to be specific ... the lower abs and belly area ... today however, even though I'm starting the particular belly bloating of the week before my visit to the hut ... I reached a milestone in my progress and I'm so HAPPY! Up til this point, all my progress in that area hasn't been visible really and hasn't even been noticable in the fit of my clothes ... but from this point forward it will begin to be .... YEAH! Thank you so much everyone for your efforts in this process we are going through together .. and thank you for your gentle and caring support of me and others! :) Doing the happy dance so everyone close your eyes ... it's not a pretty sight ... but one day it will be! :)

I'm glad to hear of your victory in the "battle" fzzy, positive reinforcement is incredibly powerful.

Excellent news on the meds, osuche.

As for me, I really wanted to get back on the treadmill today, but I'm not. I'm absolutely exhausted today after a very restless night of sleep and a long day at the office. I'm charging and updating my iPod overnight and will get on the treadmill tomorrow night.

My weigh in was not accurate this morning, so I'm trying again tomorrow. There is no way possible I gained two pounds yesterday!

maddy, just a thought--did you weigh in before or after breakfast? Believe it or not, eating beforehand really does add weight on--the weight of the food you've just eaten. And we all know the perils of that dreaded water retention.

osuche, you're doing great. I know you're a lot like me in that you're your own worst critic but trust me--progress is progress.

fzzy, unfortunately we're not in control of where we lose the weight, you know? I mean, I'm bemoaning the loss of some...padding on top, while at the same time my hereditarily-determined curse still rules and won't shrink my abdominal area at a rate I'd appreciate. Still, I know that I HAVE lost some inches in my problem areas, just from the fitting of clothes/smaller clothes, and I have to believe that I am doing the right things overall to continue to lose in the spots I'd like.

As for me, it's Day 3-in-a-row for heavy (for me) gym time. Tonight I went to the "real" gym (Gold's, vs. the little gym here at my apartment complex's clubhouse) and did an hour on the treadmill. They obviously have better equipment, and I was very surprised to see that, to keep my heart rate in the target range, I was doing 3.4 mph at inclines between 3-7.4%. When I was done, I'd spent 45:09 in my target heart rate zone with an average heart rate of 126. If what I've read is correct, that's incredible progress for someone who admittedly was nowhere NEAR that three months ago. :D

Yay IAKG ... great news on your workouts ... and thanks for the encouragement!

maddy ... good to hear you've recovered from your fire drills ... you might have had that restless night because your body is used to a lot more activity and doesn't feel like it's done enough the last couple of days ... I know my mom ... ("Mrs healthy" - lol) walks pretty much every day at a fast pace for 3-4 miles .... which she does outside .. she lives in a small community where everyone knows each other ... so on the rare days that the weather makes it impossible to get out and walk .. she will always have restless nights ... wish I'd learned to be like her more! :)

osuche did I say how proud I am of your success with the meds ... HUGE accomplishment!!

Reporting in for my day before I go to bed tonight ... made it and ending the day at just over 1700 calories. g'night everyone!

Well the scale was still up this morning so I'm going to suck it up and record the 1 lb gain for last week. I'm less than pleased about it, but now I need to get back on the treadmill tonight and do my thing. I would like to shed 7lbs in ummmm just over two weeks time to meet a goal I initially set for myself. It's not looking very positive now, but I'll give it a shot still.

And I think I'm the only person who can get sick and gain weight during being sick.

I don't know, maddy. Knowing you, I can't imagine you ate an ADDITIONAL 3500 calories for the week, you know? Regardless of whether your treadmill time has decreased. I know how frustrating it is, though, but maybe you'll be surprised come next Monday.

maddy, I have to think it's water weight. I always gain water weight when I am stressed, and I think I'm detecting a bit of stress in your posts. :) Don't sweat it -- maybe watch your salt intake and see what happens.

fzzy -- I understand about the problem areas. For me, it's my butt. If I could make weight come off of my butt at the same rate as everything else, I'd be so happy!

IAKG -- It's great when you *know* you're more fit than you used to be. For me, it's good to know that I no longer get out of breath at all when going up the 4 flights of stairs to my office -- and I am one of the few who can carry on a conversation while walking up! 'Grats on your BIG victory!

As for me...I was right about yesterday. 2700 calories, and I was only at about 850 after lunch. Two beers and some BBQ threw me over the edge. So I'll have to watch the calories and the workouts for the rest of the week to get back in range....but I had soem MUCH needed R&R time with a very good friend, so it was worth it. Work has been stressful -- I've even considered quitting (even though I've only been there 2 months) and I needed to blow off some steam.

HA! I did it... even though I didn't get home until after 9pm today - I ate a quick dinner, listened to my father ramble on the phone and then did my 2.5 mile routine on the treadmill. I really wanted to skip it since I got home so late, but am really glad I stuck to it. It was a good workout (sweating still!) and I feel better for doing it.

I received a couple more compliments today which always feels good. And I swear my ass is getting smaller. So there ... screw you scale, I am losing weight :b My eating sucked today. I haven't tallied it up yet, but I'm pretty sure that I did not get my veggies in... and I'm certain I'm under points for a second day in a row.

maddy ... wonderful ... way to stick to your treadmill goal!

LOL at osuche ... ever since I read that I can't get that song out of my head .. you know .. "I like big butts and I cannot lie ...." the funny thing is that the only time I've ever heard that song is from the Friends episode of Ross singing it ... I'm sure it lost something in the translation! :)

ending my day between 1700 -1800 calorie ... I count that as a success ... headed to bed now ...

No, no, fzzy, I think Ross and Rachel caught the spirit of the song just fine.

(I love that episode!)



:D


Congrats on your successful day!



maddy, that's great that you stuck with it and made your treadmill time a priority. I'm so proud of you (again)!

osuche, sometimes our spirits need as much rejuvenation as our bodies. Hopefully you're feeling a little less stressed than you were. ((osuche))

I decided only one of 2 things can happen (1) we clear the air, or (2) I get fired. Either one I can live with. I have $$ in the bank and recruiters calling me. So I'm trying not to stress over it. :)

Yesterday I stayed in my calorie range, but I ate crap. Not a veggie in sight...and of 1800 calories I spent 400 of them on cupcakes. :p But I *did* work out, and lift weights. So I'm just going to try and do better today.

maddy -- I know how hard it is to work out when you're exhausted. 'Grats for doing it...but I hope you can spend some more relaxation time on yourself later this week.

IAKG and fzzy ~~ I liked the episode too. Although, fzzy -- I personally think Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls" is an even better song. :) Either way, I think I made my point. :p

I went out tonight and ate with reckless abandon.... including dessert. I'm allowed a splurge every now and again, right? I had not ate like that in a good three months. It was refreshing to do so and know that I made the choice and tomorrow I can make the choice to go back to lean protein and veggies :). I will be getting back on the treadmill just as soon as American Idol is over.

I'm tired again tonight and am looking forward to my extended weekend that's almost upon me.

absolutely allowed maddy ... sometimes you got to bust out and break lose ... I'm planning a dinner/dessert like that after I have completed 20 weeks of being good ... just the one dinner/dessert of what I want to eat ... trying to keep the portions in normal sizes, but since as I've mentioned before I've never really made it beyond 10 weeks .. I figure 20 weeks will mean that I'm going to return to the proper type eating after the one meal ... so that's may plan for now anyway... haven't thought yet what it will be that I have then, trying not to focus on food like that until the goal is completed.

Glad you had a good time of it!

Going to bed now ... made it through another day in my calorie range. Night all!

I'm not down this week, but I am maintaining...and I still have a day or two left on my period. So who knows?

Yesterday I ate fairly healthy -- except for the piece of cake I had at work. But overall a good day....I had a great long workout too. I've added weight lifting back into my workouts...and it feels good.

I also discovered Aleve. One tablet works for 12 hours...so if I take 1 a night, I can get up in the morning and feel fine. I used to pop 2 ibuprofen at night and another 2 in the morning because the dose had worn off over night. Now (instead of 4 pills) I'm taking one OTC dose. I find that if I can get myself up and dressed in the morning, I am fine without meds after I get moving...so one at night is fine for me.

I think that's all for now. The boss bought me a present yesterday (work-related) -- so I suspect I am back on track. Whicjh is one stress relief.

Now all I have to do is work on my homework for the week. No pressure...just 2 days left! :p

I hope it's alright if I join in this thread. Two years ago I decided to do what I could to lose weight. I need to lose a lot.....a whole person, so to speak. Between cutting back calories and going to Curves I lost about 50 lbs. I was still losing when my car broke down and I had to quit going to Curves. That was a bit more than a year ago. My car is still down and don't know when it will be fixed or replaced. I've tried not to get back into bad eating habits, but it's hard. I've gained a bit back, about 15 lbs. I need to get back to watching what I eat, even if I can't get back to Curves for the forseeable future. I think if I can do it with the support of my friends it will be a little easier. I'm not getting any younger and I don't want my weight to shorten my life.

((((SS))))
Of course you can join in. It's what this thread is for. That's great you were down 50 lbs... but it really sucks you had a setback. Don't give up though.

You can get back to it.... and it'll be great hearing about your progress in this thread!

((((SS))))

Are there exercises you can do at home to help? One thing I've noticed about my body is that cutting calories isn't enough -- I need to exercise too or it's hopeless. I think it has something to do with metabolism.

Either way, welcome to Pixies Power!

YAY SS ... glad to have you join in .. we're here to offer our friendship and support to anyone who wants to be part of the group ... for as long as you want to be part of the group ... I have about 2 people's worth to lose, so it's good to have ya with us ... use the thread in the way that works best for you ... I make myself report in every night ... it's my way of making sure I'm being accountable for my decisions ... and I also report my oop's and my aha's when I have them ... that helps me to stay on track as well .... and most of all, the great support of the Pixies Power players :) has been really great and very helpful for me. Welcome!

Thanks for the warm welcome to the group. It means a lot.

Is anyone else using Fitday.com or the Fitday software program to help monitor their caloric intake and expenditures?
I used it before and it really did help me. I just fired it back up and entered my current weight and my goal weight and target date. It gave me the number of calories I should take in each day that will help me reach my goal. I'm going to stick with using the program......it helps me be more accountable for what I eat. Although I have quite a bit to lose, I've set a temporary goal of 90 lbs by Dec. 31. That will require a loss of 2.25 lbs per week. More than the program recommends, but only .25 lb more.....so I'm not too worried. I know I didn't gain all this overnight, and I'm sure as hell not gonna lose it overnight.

I'm going to try to do a bit of walking every day. And maybe see if there are some exercises I can do at home. As long as I don't mind my cats staring at me and wondering if I've lost my mind, I'll do fine. LOL

I use fitday too! osuche intriduced me to it.

Excellent!! Nice to know I'm not the only one. I spent the $ and bought the software and I think it was well worth it. I just opened it up again today and adjusted my goals. I'm limited to about 1,700 calories a day. Makes me wish I hadn't made a "good breakfast" for hubby and me this morning. Used up a lot of my calories there. But I guess that's better than eating the bulk of my calories at night.

I'm having a salad for a late lunch, and will probably have some soup for dinner. With hubby working afternoons I can really control what eat at night.
That will change in a couple of months, darn it, but only over the summer, then it will be back to afternoons once school starts again.

I want to join too please!! I have peeked in here from time to time and saw how great you all are doing and how great the support and advice is. I have been going through so much in my personal life over the last several months I wasn't ready until this week.

I started my diet on Monday and on Tuesday started going to the apartment fitness room to work out. I have done three days of 20 minutes on the treadmill and worked out on the weight machines yesterday, will do that every other day. I have my honey dieting and working out with me, so it is much easier now then it has ever been.

I have been a big girl it seems my whole life. I have yo-yo dieted for over 20 years and this is the first time in my life where I really feel I will succeed and reach my goal. I have a lot of weight to lose, but I am keeping my eye on the prize. A whole new wardrobe!!! :cool:

So far, I have lost 4 lbs since Monday. We all know that the first week is mostly water, but I am still excited! :D

Grats Tess. So glad to hear you are making choices to make your life better. ((hugs))

Awesome Tess! Glad to see you in here and working on making changes for the better. :)

C'mon in Tess.........join in the fun! LOL The more the merrier! (((TESS)))

Yes Tess!!!! ... congrats on the good beginning ... welcome to our group ... so happy you'll be with us now! :) ((((Group Hug)))) :D

I am desperately trying to get my fat ass back on track. I was gaining it back twice as fast as I lost it. I think I have my motivation back.

Just sitting down to dinner.......no more meals or snacks the rest of the night. Totalled up my calories and I went over my allotment....but by only 100 calories or so. Tomorrow will be better. And I'll be working a lot more calories off tomorrow. It's grocery shopping day......and since I have to shop for a month at a time, I'll get a workout. I dread it, because it's so exhausting, but looking forward to it to burn off some extra calories.

Thanks so much for the welcome everyone! I am so happy to be here and know that my life is finally taking a healthier turn for the better.

Lilith, you do have to get back on your program and don't let discouragment set you back even more. I had lost quite a bit and then put it all back on over the last three months do to stress and a huge life change. I was so pissed at myself for failing. But, I am back on it again and if I mess up I will again restart.

"Never Give Up" is my motto!!

Gosh, I go away for a day and the pixie power multiplied :) Today was pretty miserable. I woke up highly congested, I think I caught osuche's cold that never goes away. So I think I'll be spending another three day weekend sick and am not too excited about it. I didn't get on the treadmill like I said I would last night. I got into my workout clothes, got on the treadmill, took about five steps and just felt physically exhausted. This probably should have been my first clue I was getting sick.

Tonight I had things to do after the work and just got home (much later than I had planned) - and wouldn't have done the treadmill anyway since just breathing is enough of a challenge for today.