I'm Still Here

Well, I hope my co authors of this blog are doing well in their challenges. I'm doing better, I've discovered a little known program called "Weight Watchers", heard of it? No. Yeah well supposedly its the world's best kept secret. LOL. I joined up with a co worker of mine and am resposible for getting our chunky butts to the meeting every Wednesday at 12:00. I've been doing ok, got up to 6.8 pounds lost before my first gain...then started to lose again. Now I'm just working on recommitting myself to it so that I can keep seeing minus signs on the weigh in card.

I've started school, training to be a court reporter, and also I'm writing new material, I need to get something recorded if I ever want to become a one hit wonder. LOL. Anyway, if there's anybody out there reading this, I'm glad, if not...then I guess I'll just keep the hope alive that my friends on here are doing well and will return soon.


Kia

Wow, I guess everyone but me and mray have given up on this blog.  It's kind of disappointing and sad.  Well I'll just post my progress here, and if like two people will read, they hey that's enough.  I will be inviting new people from sparkpeople.com and self.com if you don't mind.

Well, I've plummeted in my efforts and successes.  I'm an even 200 lbs., give or take with my clothes on.  I'm so disappointed in myself,  I've told myself a long time ago that that number would be my rockbottom and when I get there, I have to put my every fiber into getting rid of all that weight.  It's just not working for me.

It's amazing how life gets in the way so much, your efforts are sabotaged, and your body doesn't seem to be working with you.  It's quite disheartening.  I wish I had you guys support on here like I used to.  But on a brighter note...tomorrow I start my Low Carb lifestyle again.  I've tried Atkins, Sugarbusters, and others and I lost weight on  Curves and Atkins, but they are really restrictive, and I just don't believe they work for my lifestyle, so I'm doing one that I found in a cookbook.  A low carb cookbook with a three stage plan in the beginning of it, it's pretty liveable.  I'm also reading a few more books, like the Carbohydrate Addicts diet, just to learn a little more about what's going on with me and the rest of the low carb community.

Now I realize that most of you guys are following a low fat diet, which is pretty much the opposite of low carb dieting but that does not mean we're incompatible, its just another method, and some of the principles are similar, like cutting back on the processed foods, eating more fruits and veggies, and cutting sugar.  So we can share some recipes.  And we should all be adding fiber into our lives, it's some good stuff!  Anyway, I surely hope to hear from all you wonderful ladies sometime before this summer is out.  I will talk to you soon.

Kia.

Don't!

Ok everybody, don't lose your momentum now! I've missed u guys, where is everyone? Are you all doing ok? Have you relapsed? Succeeded, etc? Let us know please? I for one am having a really hard time getting the scale t budge. I could use a kind word.


Kia.

It's been awhile

Hey ladies,
I'm sorry about not being around for a while - my boyfriend's brother got married and I've been pounding away on my thesis.

The good news: I haven't gained any of the 20 pounds I've lost back
The bad news: I've not lost anymore yet either

My goals for this week are to start following my eating plan again so that I can start dropping weight again. I've been eating too much junk food lately. I'd also like to start working out again with two cardio workouts this week and two strength training ones, taking long walks on days I don't have a workout planned.

Mhray

its me again

I just know I'm the only one posting here because all of you are at the gym (smile).

Anyway, this week was pretty uneventful, no significant weight change, no significant anything. Ate pretty well, and went running out in the park yesterday morning with Samson, first time in about 3 months, my entire bottom half is very sore. But its the good kind of pain right?

Anyway, I'm looking to follow this routine all the time, the 7 am runs that is. When I get up to take Sam out for a tinkle and move my car, I just keep moving it, and keep moving it until I reach the park. Sounds like a plan right. Well lets just hope the gas permits it! Lol.

Kia.

long time.

Well, I don't know whether I should be surprised or disappointed that there have only been two posts since I was last here? Where is everybody? How are you guys doing? Michelle, welcome. Losethelard? I'm worried. Layla, luv ya as usual, Erin? Where are ya? Anyways, I've been goodnbad. That a word? No? Well it is now. Lol.

As I said before, I am taking the Alli weight loss supplement, and if anything, it helps me keep track of what I'm doing because if I eat a little too much fat, I'm running to the potty! Lol. Luckily, I'm able to do my thing once I get home. I've lost 4 more pounds, could have been more, but I've been cheating a lot. It seems like McDonalds adds something new and great to their menu everytime, I've sworn them off for good. Plus I love their iced coffee.

I've been doing my workouts, but I have not been running, I've been walking, and walking, and walking Samson to death. I've been on my gazelle and stepper a lot too, but I miss my precious spinning classes. We had a major heat wave here in NYC so the one time I actually made it to the park, running would have been dangerous!

Well, just checking in on you guys, I figured we could exchange emails, just to nudge eachother when we disappear, mine is SpecialK13342@aol.com and my aim screen name is Journey2thepast2. I'd love to hear from u guys soon.


Kia.

Hi! I'm Michelle!

Hi!!

I found this blog through the self boards and I wanted to join in...

I am 25, I live in Southern California and I am looking to lose about 35 pounds!!

I will post more tomorrow!! I'm going to catch up on some of your posts!!

<3
Michelle

Crazy week!

This week has been chaotic! I have been slammed at work, we have been negotiating on a house, and I found out my mom got a job here and is moving to Houston! Whew! Too much excitement for one week!! I've eaten really well but have had ZERO time for exercise! This weekend I should be able to get some kind of workout in. It's killing me to not have time to work out when I want. If we get this house, it will be great because I can make one room into a gym and there are sidewalks in the neighborhood and a park a block away. Wish me luck!!!! And good luck to everyone with their food choices and workouts!

~Layla

my new "alli"

My friend Martha has talked me into trying Alli, the fda approved weight loss supplement. Anyways, I've researched it and I have the book.and the menus all look doable, just need some adjusting, like whole wheat pastas instead of white, and splenda instead of sugar, etc. Other than that it looks great. There is also a nice walking program which I have already incorporated into my dog walks. So this will actually be like an extra boost of cardio along with the gym. I'm so excited! I'm starting tomorrow of course because Memorial day is a scheduled cheat day. I've been bad already with the ranch dip and the sprite. I hope everyone has a great holiday. Talk to you all soon.

Kia

What a week

My mom was in town over the weekend and left yesterday. I had so much fun with her... I didn't stick to all of my goals like I wanted, but it wasn't too bad. Plus, we did a lot of walking so that helped. I lost another pound over the weekend, but I have probably gained it back by now! By next Monday, I will correct that. :) So today I got my financing finalized and I put an offer on a house. So we will see! Hopefully everything will work out like I want... I'm distracted by other things in my life so it is getting hard to focus on my weight goals, but I have to do it. I need to do it. A co-worker of mine just had lap band surgery... it kinds stinks because I'm trying so hard to lose weight and she will be dropping double what I'm losing. But I guess everyone makes their own sacrifices and choices. A/w, hope everyone is doing well. Good luck!

~Layla

On track

I'm so pleased with myself. I've been eating mostly good, but more than that, I've been getting in the runs that I told myself I'd do this week. That is the single biggest thing I've been doing to reach my goals. I always feel guilty when I don't do a workout, but the feeling I have after going running, especially when I hit the mileage marker I wanted to, I love it. Come out and play little endorphins!

It seems to me that each of us has an eating plan that we tend to follow. I really think that having some type of structure really has helped me there. If I'm not eating well, now, I know it, but I know how I'm not eating well. Does that make sense?

Have a good weekend ladies and I'll talk to you all again on Monday for the weigh-in

Mhray

Pig Out!

Okay Okay, so there was an office party tonight at work. Worst diet trap in the world...we're talking my devilled eggs (which are low in carbs so I'm not so threatened by those), my co workers mac and cheese (which was slammin by the way, I only had a little slab...I'm patting myself on the back!) spanish rice and beans, bbq chicken wings, popeyes chicken, nachos with cheese, swedish meatballs, sweet potato pie, yams, corn bread....carvel ice cream cake! Ughhhh! Now I didn't do so bad, my plate had a large helping of greens with small slices of the mac and cheese, a few meatballs, a chicken thigh, 2 bbq wings (I ate one, my eyes were bigger than my head), one devilled egg, and some salad, and I didn't clear the plate either....the worst was the ginormous slice of carvel ice cream cake that my co worker cut for me. I wanted to barf after all that food! But I walked around, did the rest of my work standing for a while and did my best to work it out. Oh yeah, I also had two cups of contraband non diet orange soda...sort of a weakness at these office parties. But all is not lost.

On the brighter side of things, I have been on track with all of my workouts, I missed a cardio today because I had to cook, but it was an extra session anyway, no biggie...maybe I will double up tomorrow. I did my strength training today and I'm wearing my pedometer again which causes me to be concious of my walking as opposed to driving everywhere and taking the ele......but I live in 3 inch heels and higher so bear with me.

I also read in Allure magazine...and I'm totally adopting this method....to put a dollar in a jar for every workout I do. Its a variation from what was actually printed but I figure I will put a dollar for days I go out to workout, to the gym or park....and 25 cents or 50 cents for at home workouts....and another dollar for a week of unflawed dieting. I'll have the money for those Vera Wang Jeans in no time! Well hope u guys are doing well. Talk soon.

Back from Florida

Hi Ladies,
It's good to see so many of you back on here! I have been away on business for the past 12 days, and before that I had a 20 mile charity walk and two finals. Needless to say, it was hard to stick to my regular diet & exercise routine. I was in sticky, hot Florida (I don't know how you gals down in Houston deal with that kind of heat/humidity!) and ended up swimming twice (the pools were not very big, and I didn't always have time to get my hair wet, AND I'm a sucky swimmer), and I went for a run down by the water one evening. As far as eating, I was pretty much on a take-out/eat-out diet the entire time, but hopefully didn't do too much damage (other than VERY CRITICAL ice cream. It was 94 and humid.) Fortunately, I didn't drink any alcohol or other empty calories. Haven't weight back in yet.

I've got a 5-mile road race on June 7th. I really, really need to get back to running so that it doesn't kick my butt. One good take-away from that trip to FL was that if I can run in 86-90 degree humidity, a sunny 70 degree day in Boston is not an acceptable excuse. When I landed, I did a big grocery shopping trip and made sure to stock up on fruits, meat and veggies. I've managed to keep myself to egg-white omlettes & turkey bacon for breakfast with a slice of bread for breakfast, and a salad with grapes and string cheese as a snack for lunch. I think we're going to grill either shrimp or turkey burgers tonight.

Goals: run tonight, tomorrow afternoon, Sunday. Bike ride on Saturday.


Take care,
Beth

Back to WW

So a year ago I did Weight Watchers at home for about 2 months. It seemed to work for me, but it became inconvenient because it wasn't on-line. I quit following the plan eventually. In January, I started using the Self Diet Club because of the easy on-line access and flexibility of the program. As I mentioned before, I can no longer access the website while at work. For some reason, that has really thrown me off track. Being held accountable for what I'm eating and seeing the numbers just really benefits me and makes me behave, lol. So Sunday I signed up for Weight Watchers on-line. I'm not that excited about it, but hopefully it will help me because I can access the website while at work. Numerous friends and co-workers have used WW and it has worked great for them. The only problem I have is I like to pay more attention to calories and fat, not just points. If I'm basing everything on points, I don't feel like I'm learning how to eat better or moderately. But we'll see how it goes. I've actually been comparing what I track on WW to what I can track later on the Self Diet Club. It gives me the real numbers for what I've been eating. So this will be a new beginning for me... I hope it will help me in the end. I'll keep you updated on my progress. Looks like everyone has good goals for the week. I'm sure you'll reach them all!

~Layla

If you slip and fall off, get back on board

Like Kia, I slipped a bit with the healthy eating this weekend. My boyfriend's father passed away in Feb., but they do not do winter burials in Northern MI. So the actual burial was this past weekend. Like the funeral, there was comfort food, and I was not the cook for the rest of the weekend. I didn't eat near as well as I should, and had several more sweets (several cookies, an extra piece of carrot cake, etc) than I needed.

So today I decided it was a new week and I'm starting out fresh. I had my usual bowl of special K for breakfast (one of the flavored ones, not the regular stuff). For lunch I had a huge salad with chicken, chick peas, lots of veggies and Italian dressing. I think I'm going to make some homemade turkey meatballs and pasta for dinner.

One thing I did learn this weekend with the bad eating is that my body is no longer conditioned for it. On the drive up north we stopped at a McDonald's because we needed dinner. I had some chicken selects, fries and a shake. I couldn't finish it all - and only made it half way through the shake before I started feeling icky - which goes to show how much better I have been eating in the last few months. So at least that was a positive thing from this weekend.

I did gain a pound over the last week, but I figure that if I eat better and run three times this week that I'll take it right back off again. I'm still super excited that I've lost 20 (well, 19 as of now) pounds so far, but I still have a long way to go before I get to my goal, so I keep reminding myself about it. I have the ability to eat lunch for $4 every day in a cafeteria on campus, which is cheaper than buying a lunch unless I have leftovers from the night before. I just need to make sure I'm eating well.

Also, does anyone want me to post some more recipes? I have a few good ones, but I'm not sure what types of food everyone likes to eat. Just let me know and I'll post some good ones.

Goals for this week:
1. Eat healthier again!
2. Run 2 miles, three times this week. Do not let rain be an excuse.
3. Clean out my apartment from finals week
4. Start planting my garden with slightly cold-tolerant plants until frost danger is over (peas, radishes, carrots and some of the heartier herbs and flowers)

Good luck with goals this week everyone! Remember, if you fall off the wagon, all you have to do is start better tomorrow.

Forgive Me!!!

Ok, first off, I'd like to wish anyone who is a mother a very Happy Mother's day.

Now down to business. I've been a very, very, very, bad girl! Today, I had a rather carb heavy breakfast consisting of corned beef hash, home fries, wheat toast, and scrambled eggs, topped of with a diet coke with lemon for irony.

Then, I proceeded to eat NOTHNG BUT JUNK FOOD FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE DAY!!! I was at work, I had my usual skinny latte from Starbucks, but totally negated the "skinny" part with not one, but two packs of their shortbread cookies...that's only four cookies but it's two servings...and they are rather rich. Then I walked with my co-workers to this bakery...in Chinatown, and purchased a piece of raspberry cheesecake, which went in the refrigerator at work, because at mealtime, my friend Janine and I decide it would be a good idea to get a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake for the office for mother's day! And we each had a piece! Then for dessert...I finally at the cheesecake later on in the night.

So what am I? Insane....still dealing with my depression from my loss by eating emotionally...excuses all. The bottom line is my self control totally went out the window when I didn't plan and control every morsel that I put into my body. And I had every intention of doing so. Had a can of healthy choice soup handy in my locker, a jar of olives int he fridge...and some yogurt....even som strawberry pieces that I sliced up...and didn't eat any of it. I did drink a good amount of water.

So, time to reevaluate...and recommit. Starting Monday...not tomorrow because we're doing dinner and a movie for my mom....and the movies is just a trap for me! I can order my talapia at Ruby Tuesdays...and forgo the nachos that I love so much at the movies, but I'm going to want some popcorn with that great powder flavoring they have now! EEEK!

So, again, starting on Monday, I am putting myself on a strict recovery diet. for lack of a better word.

I pledge to:
1. Complete my required 3 cardio sessions and 2 strength training sessions as dictated by the 2008 self challenge.

2. Give up the pastries at Starbucks...hell I've even switch my Venti Skinny to a Grande.

3. Take my lunch everyday....AND ACTUALLY EAT IT AND NOT STILL ORDER OUT BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE IS! unless its to ad a side salad.

4. Go for a walk on my mealtime.

5. Wake up at 9 sharp everyday and do my workout....running hopefully, if I can afford the gas to drive to the park.

6. Make some progress cleaing my room/house.

That's a good start. Now I'm going to email this to myself so that I can read this on my phone whenever I need to reassure myself.

Well, good luck ladies...and I hope you did better than I did this weekend.


Kia.

Bad me

On Tuesday my boyfriend and I had some friends over. We made cupcakes. I had a few of those. Then I had more snacks. And some more. I pretty much ate a bunch of junk food. My body punished me the next day. I really need to hit the grocery store and get some more fruits stocked up. I also need to go back to planning several dinners for the week on Sunday night and then making sure things get made. The biggest key for me is making sure my lunch is healthy - if it is I'm more likely to eat a better dinner.

My exercise has suffered this week too. I was going to go running yesterday, but it was pouring rain and windy before a doctor's appointment. After the appointment I didn't want to go because I'd had a mole removed under my arm, and didn't want to open up the hole. I need to go today. I signed up for a half marathon in October, but if I'm going to do it I need to start running now.

Strength training is something that I'm having the biggest problem with. Does anyone not go to a gym for strength training? I don't have the money to spend and I would love some tips or advice as to how to do an effective workout at home.

Mhray

Best Thing about this blog...

You know, the best thing about this blog is that it's a great way to log and keep track of what we do to reach our goals. It's more effective, to me, than logging numbers all the time. It's hard, and sometimes, counterproductive to be a slave to the numbers. How many reps, how many miles, blah blah blah. I like just posting what I did and letting you ladies read it and glean inspiration from it, as I do from all of your posts. That said....WHERE ARE YOU GUYS NOW????

Today, I did pretty well eating, the worst thing I had was a large banana nut muffin, but I just needed something to go with my coffee. I usually have one of the sugar free pastries from Starbucks, but I was a little short on funds today. LOL. Anyway, I had a B.L.T. on rye, and a diet Dr. Pepper today, and I was a little hungry when I got home so I just had one of the boneless pork chops that my mom made and some applesauce with diet root beer.

I'm starting to plan my meals again. Tomorrow morning I'm going to have two eggs, hard boiled, with a few sausage links and some apple juice to start....and after my workout, my Activia light and maybe a Slimfast shake on the way in to work so I won't be tempted to sample anyone's cookies at work. I already have my can of healthy request chicken noodle soup in my locker, I'll just pop that in the microwave. And I'll have to force myself to sustain on just water because I'm short on funds. Did I mention I'm short on funds????

Anyway, hope you ladies are all doing well. Talk to you soon. Bye


Kia

Busy busy!

Hi Ladies! Sorry I've missed out on posting and reading.. been very busy lately! I did the 5K Saturday which was a great experience. Hopefully I can do another one soon! I totally splurged yesterday on food which eliminated all the good I'd done all week long, but I will make up for it by Wednesday! I redid my measurements and I have lost another inch around my hips and about a half inch in most other places. I can't wait to keep losing pounds and inches... it's such a rewarding feeling. Hopefully I can keep the motivation up! I'm still trying to lose 8 more pounds by May 25h... or as close to it as I can get!

So I think I'm taking a trip to Lebanon at the end of July to see family I haven't seen in years.... that's going to be another motivator for me. I definitely want to be fit when meeting everyone again. For now, I'll keep focusing on smaller goals to get me ready for that point.

Lately house stuff and work has been stressing me out... I just want my housing situation to be settled! Hopefully everything will fall into place soon... Anyways, good luck to everyone! Thanks for your posts... you keep me focused!

~Layla

Summer!

I'm so happy because all my finals are finally over! That said, I no longer have any excuse for eating poorly and not working out. I haven't been terrible about the eating - but I definitely need more fruits and veggies. These will start getting more and more abundant though. I'm not sure where you're all at, but in my area there are community gardens for apartment dwellers so that we can rent a little patch of land and grow some good food. I pay $10 for a 25' x 30' plot. Last year I grew a bunch of tomatoes, green beans, peppers, onions and radishes - not to mention some beautiful zinnias. I felt like a rich woman, always having fresh cut flowers around my apartment. If you have the time and can find a space, I highly recommend a little bit of gardening - even if you only have a few pots on your patio. Nothing better than some fresh brushetta from your own tomatoes!

On the exercise front, I actually ran today. I REALLY am going to schedule myself to run three days a week, with one longer run on the weekends. Today I did a mile running and a mile walking - my asthma was kicking in otherwise I might have done both miles running, but I have to start somewhere. That to me has been the worst part about getting back into shape - it's so hard when you're so out of shape to begin with.

In response to Kia's mention of real women that inspire, I always liked Kate Winslet. I love her curves. I definitely do not have the body build to be a twig, and being 5'9" I tend to be able to hide weight gain a little bit better. Which is a bad thing, but I have been slowly shedding weight.

This week I'm still at 225, although I think my jeans are a little bit looser again. I may not have lost weight, but I'm feeling better, especially with summer weather heading in.

I'm making ice cream cone cupcakes tomorrow to celebrate a close friend getting a job, but aside from the one cupcake, I'm planning on being pretty good eating wise this week.

Goals:

1. Don't eat lots of non-nutritious food.
2. Run/walk 2 miles, three times this week.
3. Run/walk 3 miles once this weekend.
4. Bust out the grill and start cooking up lots of tasty veggies - with grilled pineapple for dessert - yum!

Best of luck this week ladies! Keep up the hard work!

Mhray

Hey girls! Kia-good to see you back and in full effect posting! I was genuinely worried about you for a while there with your loss and everything, I was just praying that life didnt get you down, and that you would hang in there. Well, you did and you are so much stronger for it too! I posted the other day restating my goals, and well, I need to do that again. LOL, I didnt blow it badly with eating, but there is no structure that I followed the last few days. I ate sherbet in bed last night. Boo me! I mean, it's very low fat and all, but boo to eating at night in bed! I weighed myself the other morning, and I was down to 150, so I guess I just coasted with that, and slacked off. I am very happy to have lost 3 more pounds, I just really need to get back on the exercise.

Here I go, my goals from now to next Monday:

1. Work out 6 times

2. Don't eat closer to 3 hours before bed

3. Pray/meditate daily

4. Eat healthfully

Hope to see more posts from all of ya!!

OOPS! Sorry....and where is everyone.

I'm sorry about the multiple posts, they were sent from my cell phone and it must have had a glitch...I hope it doesn't do that all the time. And where is everyone? I've been checking to see how all my girls are doing and I'm the last post! LOL. Anyways, ummmm...let me weigh myself right now....194. That's a four pound difference. Still have 56 more pounds to go. Anyway, I've been eatin just OK...not good...not bad. I had Sizzler for lunch today, ceasar salad and fried shimp and a baked potatoe. The breaded shrimp and the baked potato are a no no to my style of eating. But other than that I've been ok. I had few more oatmeal cookies than I needed last night but my mom's delicious spaghetti just called for some sort of desert!!!

I also wanted to just add something to my blog entries and others can follow suit but there are just some women that I see on television, in real life, at my gym, or at work who just inspire me and I think they are noteworthy. Right now I'm watching an episode of CSI:Miami and I love the two actresses Eva LaRue and Emily Proctor. I admire that they are both similar to my body type and they appear to be very healthy women. Neither one of them are skeletal like alot of woman we're left to look up to can get, and they both seem very comfortable in their own skin. And I love the fact that Emily Proctor is short and curvaceous....I'm only 5'3".

Anyway, that was justs a little sidenote. I like to read up on these people just to see what their methods are. I've actually gotten some great tips from some of the articles. I'm starting the Self Challenge all over again today. Usually if I miss a workout, I double up. But I've missed a months worth....ain't that much double and tripling in the world!!! Anyway, good luck to you all and I'll be looking in for all of your amazing progress! Bye.

Kia

JUST AN UPDATE.

Well good morning everyone. It'S 4:30 am here in NYC and I am in the middle of some much needed overtime. It will be tough tomorrow because Samson and I are doing the dog walk for cancer at 9 in the morning...so we're talking an hour or two of rest tops! Lots of coffee though. Anyway, just wanted to pop in and say hi...also I am testing out this new blogger by mail thing I set up so I can update this blog on the go. Anyway..have a good one ladies. talk to u later.

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Sent from my Verizon Wireless LGVX10000 device.

JUST AN UPDATE.

Well good morning everyone. It'S 4:30 am here in NYC and I am in the middle of some much needed overtime. It will be tough tomorrow because Samson and I are doing the dog walk for cancer at 9 in the morning...so we're talking an hour or two of rest tops! Lots of coffee though. Anyway, just wanted to pop in and say hi...also I am testing out this new blogger by mail thing I set up so I can update this blog on the go. Anyway..have a good one ladies. talk to u later.

----------
Sent from my Verizon Wireless LGVX10000 device.

JUST AN UPDATE.

Well good morning everyone. It'S 4:30 am here in NYC and I am in the middle of some much needed overtime. It will be tough tomorrow because Samson and I are doing the dog walk for cancer at 9 in the morning...so we're talking an hour or two of rest tops! Lots of coffee though. Anyway, just wanted to pop in and say hi...also I am testing out this new blogger by mail thing I set up so I can update this blog on the go. Anyway..have a good one ladies. talk to u later.

----------
Sent from my Verizon Wireless LGVX10000 device.

Little By Little...bit by bit.

Hey ladies. Sorry I've been absent from the blogosphere since my loss. I've also been very absent from my diet and workout routine...my gym..everything. Bit I'm recommitting with the start of a new month. Just in case I have not met you all. My name is Kia and I'm from New York City. I weigh at this present time 198. I'm used to weighing about 138-9. The last time I weighed that and was a size 4 to a 6 was in about 2001 or 2. Alot of things have contributed to my weight gain. I was one of these girls who ate whatever and stayed pretty small...I would never be able to say I was 'skinny" but I was small. I was always self conscious about my weight even though I was a size that women killed to be, with a curvy figure and large breasts. That runs in my family...both sides unfortunately. So last time I was happy with my weight I was about a size 6 and wearing a size 36D. Now jump forward to 2008, after the stint with depo-provera (which I believe kick started this weight battle), I am now at a size 12 and pushing a 14 and weighing a 36ddd or F or whatever comes after a DD! I am not happy in my skin. I can't say that I feel exactly "fat" but I'm just not..."me". So, I've fluctuated over the last 7 years or so. At first I gained like 30 pounds in the 6 months that I was on depo back in 2001. Then dropped it and all forms of birth control altogether and dropped weight. I was around a size 8. I was also working right across the street from my gym and spent my lunch hour there every night. And I also worked out during the morning before work. I've slowly gained weight back. I am finding it increasingly frustrating to buy clothes and I'm becoming depressed.

I was in the Police Academy in 2006 and I did not become a police officer because I could not run the required mile and a half in 14 minutes and 21 seconds. I was only able to get my time down as far as 16:13. I am so grateful for the fun experience and it will always be one of the best 6 month periods of my life. I took away some great exercise moves that I have used since then.

So anyway, my usual workouts consist of spinning classes which I am very addicted to, jogging and running outside at the park with Samson, my dog. And the Self.com strength routines and calisthenics. And as far as my diet, I tend to work better on a lower carb/sugar diet. I don't count calories as most of the research that I have done suggests that restricting calories does not work in the long run. However, when you lower you ratio of empty carbs, refined sugars, and processed foods, naturally you eat a healthy amount of calories in a day. That is fine for me. I've tried Atkins, Curves, Sugar Busters, and just basic low carb diets and I find all of them a little too complicated for my life. But reading up on these, I have all the books, does educate me alot and helps to keep me in line. So basically I've taking portiions of value from all of them and created sor t of a hybrid diet of my own liking. This works for me along with exercise. When I plateau or find myself gaining again, I may adopt one of the more extreme methods, I may start counting or whatever, just to kick start my metabolism again.

But anyway, enough about me. I'm slowly reading through all the entries that I've missed. losethelard...you're in my area maybe we could sync up. Mhray..keep up the good work and you will see really good results. As far as the low cal salad dressing goes, be careful, when they take out the fat and add sugars and chemicals to replace the flavor lost, you might end up having something worse than the full fat version of the salad dressing. Stick to Vinaigrette which is great or italian you wanna go rich, go all natural. Anyway ladies....I'm off to start my day...and my journey.

Oh yeah visit me at upoc.com/liyahsnmber1fan and sign up for my self challenge group so we can encourage eachother on the go. And calorieking.com's diet diary for pam os is a great tool. Check it out. My best regards to you all...

Kia.

Re-stating my goals

Things have just been sorta fuzzy for me lately as far as eating and exercise. I am not all-out binging, and I am still working out a couple of times a week, but I have totally lost the zest and commitment I had in the beginning. For example, I had committed to NOT EATING after a certain time of night, but lost sight of that, and justify eating because my total calories for the day are still usually under 1500. I have stopped losing weight however, and I'm just maintaining.

Here are my goals for one week:

1. Not to eat ANYTHING less than 3 hours before I go to sleep

2. Work out 6 times between now and next Wed.

3. Go to the gym at least twice

4. Ace all 5 of my finals : )

5. Pray/meditate every day

I guess that will be good for now... hope everyone is having a great day, let's keep it up girls!

recommitting

I wanted to check in and reconnect with you all, who seem to be doing a great job sticking with your weight loss plans. I've had two really crazy weeks, and have had limited time to post, let alone exercise or manage to eat well. I was away on business this past weekend, but weighed myself in- no weight loss, but surprisingly no weight gain.

I've got a very busy week ahead and another crazy weekend followed by a business trip to Florida for the week. Any advice those of you that have been traveling recently have for staying healthy would be much appreciated. I'm planning on doing a lot of swimming (all the hotels I've booked have pools) and hoping that the weather will be cool enough for an outside run (though I'm not sure what sorts of neighborhoods I'll be in...and I don't want to end up lost, or dead!)

On Saturday, I'm working from 9-4, than babysitting from 6-late. I'm getting up at 8am Sunday to do a 20 mile charity walk, which will count as my exercise for the day. I've got a final exam on Monday night after work, and I will need to spend a lot of time studying for it.

Since I've been working like crazy for the past few weeks, I've decided to take a half day on Friday, so that I can get myself out and running before the baseball game in the evening. Over the weekend, I ran 2.5 miles, which is great, but it made me realize that I've still got a lot of work to do if I'm planning on running the entire 5 mile road race I've entered for June 4th. AAAH!

Now that it's springy outside, I'm going to have to fully recommit to exercising, and get myself out of bed to run in the morning. Or it's not going to happen. Wish me luck! I'm trying to put together a schedule to force myself to build up endurance to run for more than 3.5- ugh.


Hopefully, I will have some interesting updates for y'all soon. Good luck!

Beth

RoadID

If anyone is thinking about getting a RoadID, let me know. I have several coupons for $1 off that I can give you the code for - they are good online, over the phone, etc. They are valid until the end of the year, so plenty of time too.

My last final is in a few hours, and I've been studying like mad for it. My plan is to go for a nice long walk or a run when I'm done as a stress relief. I'm also hoping I'll eat better because yesterday I dove into the candy bag while studying, which wasn't great.

As for new clothes, I've been saving a lot of old favorites so I could wear them again, which I'm doing more and more, but I want to buy a few cute things for summer too. Some of the staples (tank tops and the like) I'm always the same size, because I'm fairly tall and don't have the bone structure to be a small - I was a very curvy size twelve at my best - which was running 6-10 miles 5 or 6 days a week. For the cute summer dresses, if the lines are simple, you could always buy what size you wear now and then get it taken in as you lose weight. If you're handy with a sewing machine it wouldn't be difficult to do yourself.

Mhray

New week

I lost another pound this week so my total lost is 13 pounds. I feel like I have my motivation back again. I will measure again tonight since I never did it last week. My fiance has committed to working out more with me and watching his own diet so that has helped me a lot. He might even do the 5K with me Saturday. Btw, this past weekend it poured so I didn't participate in the 5K. I didn't feel that guilty since I have another one this weekend. I still worked out Saturday to make up for it however. I bought pistachios and trail mix to keep at my desk while I'm at work. I also have some canned fruits in the fridge. It's helped me curb all my snack cravings. I made the recipe below tonight and loved it. I used light Ragu instead of tomatoes and it turned out great.

Quick question: What are you guys doing about new clothes? I want to get a few new items for the summer but I'm hesitant to buy anything because I'm losing weight.

Well it's been kinda slow on the blog... hope everyone comes back soon! Good luck with everything!


Chicken Capri
Serves 4
.
1 cup reduced-fat ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup crushed tomatoes
4 slices reduced-fat mozzarella cheese

InstructionsIn a blender or food processor, combine the ricotta with the oregano, salt, and pepper. Process to blend.
Rub the chicken with the garlic powder. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 12 minutes per side. Place the chicken breasts, side by side, in a large baking dish and allow to cool.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Spoon 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture and 1/4 cup tomatoes onto each chicken breast. Top each chicken breast with 1 slice mozzarella. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted in the thickest portion of a breast registers 170°F and the juices run clear.

Recipe from The South Beach Diet® Cookbook. For information on the book, click here.

Nutritional Information:340 calories 15 g fat (5 g sat) 115 mg cholesterol 6 g carbohydrate 44 g protein 1 g fiber 470 mg sodium



~Layla

Monday weigh in

Weigh in stats - same as last week. No loss, but after some of the ice cream binges, no gain either.

My goals this week:
1. Do well on the one final exam I have
2. Go running three days this week
3. Really stick with my eating plan as much as possible (I have a wedding shower and a party to go to this weekend, so I'm going to try and eat some healthy snacks before I go, but we'll see how that works out)

Also, for anyone running, walking, biking, etc. outside - have you heard of RoadID? It's fantastic! You can get wrist IDs, ankle IDs, shoe IDs even dog tag style IDs that have your information and emergency contact numbers engraved on them so in case you get into an accident people can figure out who you are. I bought one last week and it's so much nicer than having to find a place to put my license when I run. I got a wrist one to "balance" out the watch on the other wrist. If you're interested it's www.roadid.com

Layla - How did the 5k go? I hope the weather wasn't terrible for your whole weekend.

Mhray

Ups and Downs

Hi everyone! Hope your week has been going great. I've managed to get in 2 workouts and food has been okay for the most part. I've had problems tracking my eating because I can't access the tracking website from work anymore. That was really helping me stay on track more than anything. Oh well, I'll try to figure something out. It's going to storm here all weekend so I have no clue what will happen with the 5K on Saturday. I guess they'll still have it but I'm not sure I'll want to do it! The ironic thing is it's called the 'Rise and Shine' 5k... the sun definitely won't be shining! A/w, I'm ready for Friday! Well, hope everyone else is hanging in there!

~Layla

Running

I've been running twice lately. The first two times in 7 months. It isn't pretty, but it feels good to finally be out there doing something. The first night I did 1.2 miles, last night I think I did 2. I'm still terribly slow, but you have to start somewhere, right?

Eating has been going well. I definitely feel skinnier. I'm starting to fit into more and more old clothes which is fantastic. With summer coming up I'm looking forward to getting some pretty, new, smaller clothes.

Layla - I'm sorry about your exercise ball. I use mine all the time, even if only a chair while playing video games.

Mhray

What a weekend!

I had an incredible weekend... so much fun hanging out with friends and my man! I didn't have time for a real workout, but I did get a lot of walking in. I did pretty good with food, but lack of time for exercise has really hurt me! I am swamped this week with work so I have to be very careful with food and try to sneak in a workout at some point. It's unfortunate I'm so busy now because I have a 5K on Saturday. Oh well, I can only try to do my best! No weight loss this week, but I didn't gain either. My fiance says that I look leaner and my muscles feel firmer. I'm going to measure sometime this week to see if I've lost any more inches. My exercise ball has a hole in it so I'm sad about that. I love that thing.. guess I need to get another one soon.

Good luck, everyone... do better than me!!

~Layla

Mhray's Monday Morning Weigh-in

Goal: 160
Start: 245
Current: 225
Lost: 20
To go: 65

I hope you all had wonderful weekends! Mine was drama full, and totally unexpected. I'd like to think that I lost weight because I've been good (which I have been to an extent). But the truth is I haven't been eating a lot because I'm in shell shock. One of my best friends (or so I thought for the past 6 years) sent out an email to a group of close friends about how much everyone in said group dislikes me and that my boyfriend (this all went to him too) could do so much better and he shouldn't propose to me. Emails flew back and forth with me and the bf pointing out half of her argument was lies, and if people dislike my behavior so much, then the could tell me and I'd work on it. Seems straight forward to me. Then she went on to attack everyone else in the group for not standing up and saying they didn't like me, when I was getting calls from them all saying that they did. The funniest/saddest/oddest thing is that 3 hours before she sent out the first email she was on the phone asking me to be a bridesmaid for her. The situation was a little more complicated, but that's the basics. Needless to say, I was hurt by the whole episode and in a funk all weekend because of it. *sigh*

That said, the drama has given me a strong desire to go burn off energy, so I definitely think I'll go for a run today. I sincerely hope everyone else had an enjoyable, relaxing weekend.

Mhray

Hey girls, I have totally been MIA, so I thought I would touch base. I have been doing pretty well, very good eating-wise, and I have been so slammed with work and school, that I haven't worked out besides some lame walking trips to the store and stuff since MONDAY. EEKKK!! I do like that it makes me this uncomfortable NOT to work out, I am really looking forward to getting home this evening and getting in some exercise, at least a good 45 min cardio session. Then tomorrow morning get my ass to the gym! Anyhow, life is good, the semester is almost over, and I have lost 32 pounds since the end of January. I am blessed.

Good to see that everyone is steadily working out and posting on here! Everyone have a GREAT weekend, and hopefully some of you are lucky to be enjoying gorgeous weather like here. And I live in Houston, TX, we NEVER get pretty days!!

Erin

Friday!

I hope all of you are having weather as beautiful as where I'm at right now! It makes me want a hammock, a beach hat and a book.

I've been doing pretty well eating wise, although I need to run again. I'm at work until 9pm tonight though, so I think that will have to wait until tomorrow.

I'm really glad to see that some of you are doing well with working out! I'm even gladder to see those of you who have fallen off the wagon getting back on it.

Mhray

Still out of commission

Hi ladies,

Ugh, I am officially off the wagon!! I don't know what is wrong with me, but I have not been caring about what I'm eating, and I haven't been making going to the gym a priority. I haven't even weighed myself for this week, but I know there won't be a minus next to the number. I am stressed out with a lot of changes in my life (changing my full-time job, and also adding a part-time job and taking a leadership role in my church group). Sorry I haven't been the best buddy! I am hitting the gym tomorrow and am determined to try and turn myself around....good luck this weekend everyone!!

--Lins

late week weigh in

I've finally gotten around to weighing myself on a scale where the sliding part isn't broken. Good news!

Current: 165
Lost: 3
To go (short term): 8
To go (long term): 15

I have to say, I'm a little surprised that I've lost anything since my eating hasn't been great and I haven't been to the gym since Tuesday. However, maybe it's all the work that I've put in last week catching up. I'm going to hit the gym late this afternoon, then I'm babysitting for a friend tonight which should keep me out of trouble at the bars. I'm working on Sat. evening and Sunday afternoon, so I'm planning to do a longer run on Saturday morning again and try and do something physical on Sunday. I don't have to go to work on Monday (Yay Boston!!) because it's "Patriots Day" a.k.a. the day of the Boston Marathon where the city shuts down and no one has to work since the runners clog the main streets. So instead of sitting along the sidelines of the marathon with a daiquiri like everyone else, I'll probably go for a bike ride if it's nice, or to the gym if it's rainy. I'm also planning to use that day to make some meals to-go later on in the week and hopefully keep myself better on track with dinners. Breakfasts and lunches I've managed to work out pretty well, but that dinner is what always kills me.

Speaking of portable healthy dinners, I think I need to buy stock in Gladware. Since I've been dieting, it seems like my poor dishwasher is always filled with that stuff- salads for lunch, veggies and meat for dinner.... oh well.

Enjoy your weekend and keep me updated! Layla, enjoy the crawfish!!

Beth

One more day til the weekend!

Not much to report here... my week has been so busy. I've gotten home relatively late every night. Tonight I got home a little earlier so I will definitely have time to work out. I plan on letting Tommy Deters kick my butt in a kickboxing cardio workout. The dude is so annoying, but his workouts are killer! I even skipped a work happy hour tonight to make sure I could wok out! Saturday and Sunday is slammed for me... car goes to the shop that morning, then afternoon at a friend's housewarming party, then casino night at another friend's house. I'll definitely have to watch myself Saturday night.... then Sunday my fiance and I are going to a huge crawfish festival... hopefully I'll be good and we'll be walking a lot so that will help! Only one more week until the 5K... I need to kick it in high gear! Well, hope everyone is doing good... Have a good Friday!!! :)

~Layla

I Heart Lara Bars

Can I just say that I LOVE these bars? If you're looking for healthy calories to keep you energized before or after a particularly tough workout, you should give these guys a try. I've decided that any time I do a huge cardio workout (running 3+ miles outside or biking 15+), I get one that day. While they are 220 calories, they also have 5g fiber(20% daily recommended), 5g protein (10%), and 250mg potassium (10%), no cholesterol or sodium, and count as a daily serving of fruit (they have a fig base).





While they may have a similar calorie count to a small brownie or a few cookies, they're great for energy. I like the Larabar Coconut Chew and the Jocalat (same company) Chocolate (supposedly tastes like a brownie, but I think that's not accurate but equally delicious).





What else do you guys like?


Beth

Sorry to be M.I.A. I've been checking the blog but don't really have much to update since my last post. I haven't lost any more weight, which is strange, but I don't really mind since my clothes are all fitting much better and i'm getting some noticible definition in my shoulders and sides, so I won't complain.

I had an o.k. diet day Monday; I ended up snacking on healthy snacks all day which put me over my goal calorie intake. Tuesday, I dieted and worked out like a rockstar . I had a doctor's appt. at 10:30, so I went to the gym and got a good workout in beforehand. Then I had time to make myself lunch, snacks, and dinner, since I had to work job II from 5-9. I got to work around 11:30am, had a short day, went straight to work II and had dinner there, then got home and went to bed and was well under my caloric goal.

Yesterday, I had planned to go to the gym but had a family crisis (my baby brother decided that he was going to move out/run away [he's 17 so I think it counts as running away, but it wasn't that dramatic] and I spent the evening on the phone with my dad, who was trying to track him down, and my mom, who is on a business trip in Florida and freaking out). Not to mention that my boyfriend's grandmother sent us an enormous box of homemade chocolate chip cookies. Anyway, so I had a couple cookies, had chicken cooked by the BF for dinner, then went out to bar trivia and had one beer all evening (and no snacks!). So, given the stress level of yesterday, I think I fared pretty well, except that I normally get to sleep around 10pm and managed to keep myself up worrying until around 2:30am. Yuck.

Anyway, the eating plan for today is:
[home]Breakfast: kashi go-lean crunch with vanilla soy milk
[car] coffee with skim milk.
[work ]Snack: fat free yogurt
[work] Lunch: salad, string cheese
[home]Dinner: ? probably chicken sausages with veggies- TBD.
[class] flavored water.

I should be home by 9:00 and do not plan to eat anything before bed. I had been planning on getting a quick work out in between work and class, but since I'm running on 4.5 hours of sleep and have to make it through class, I don't see that one happening.

So I might not weigh less, but at least I can see some definition in my muscles!!


Beth

Where are you?

Weight loss buddies - come back! You help keep me motivated and I need you.

I didn't eat the greatest yesterday, but I did go running for the first time in forever. It took me 15 minutes to jog 1.2 miles. But I did it all without stopping, which I consider pretty good.

How is everyone else doing?

Mhray

Only Tuesday?

Is it really only Tuesday? I've been immersed in the world of term papers and it feels like it should be Friday already. Only a few more days to go...

My biggest triumph the past few days has been figuring out good snacks that I can eat while working on aforementioned term papers. I do best munching on things. It's really hard to sit at the kitchen table, working on my laptop and NOT want to snack.

I've been sticking to the eating plan - paying very close attention to portion sizes so that I can continue dropping weight. I also worked out a little yesterday. Not much, but I got in a few minutes on my bike and some crunches. I'm hoping that tomorrow I can get more in - my goal is a 1-1.5 mile run. I need to start now if I'm going to be in good shape for a half-marathon in October.

I hope everyone else is doing well with the quest to be healthy.

My boyfriend and I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious. It isn't my recipe, I modified it slightly from the Roman Style Chicken recipe on foodnetwork.com. I took the picture after I made it last night because it looked nice. Tasted good too!



Roman Style Chicken - Slightly healthier
3 large chicken breasts
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1-2 TBSP olive oil
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 yellow cooking onion, diced
3 ounces prosciutto chopped (I didn't have any, I used deli ham finely diced instead)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can of chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup white wine (Didn't have any, used cooking sherry)
1 TBSP fresh chopped thyme leaves (Used 1 tsp ground thyme)
1 tsp fresh oregano leaves (Used 1/2 tsp dried oregano)
1/2 cup chicken stock (Used 1 chicken bouillon cube)
2 TBSP capers (Didn't have, didn't substitute)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leave parsley leaves (Didn't have, sprinkled on dry at end)

Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a heavy, large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When oil is hot, cook chicken until browned on both sides (it may not be cooked all the way through - this is ok) Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

In same pan over same heat, add peppers, onion and prosciutto. Cook until the peppers are browned and the prosciutto is crisp (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, wine and herbs. Stir everything together, scraping browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Return chicken to pan, add chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through (about 20-30 minutes).

Add capers and parsley and serve!

Is it really Monday again?

Oh Mondays.... not the best times for me! LOL. So no weight loss this week, but I didn't really expect it. My life was just too crazy the past couple of days! At least I maintained the weight loss tho. Fortunately, I think I finally have my fiance on track with me! I made a bet with him... we're competing to see who can lose the most weight by May 25th, our 5-year anniversary. His support is going to help me so much... now I need to think about what prize I want when I WIN! HA!

I'm still thinking about going on the 'Flat Belly Diet'... it seems like an easy enough diet. One thing I've already tried is the sassy water.. Here's the recipe:

Sassy Water
2 liters water (about 8 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 medium cucumber. peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium lemon thinly sliced12 small spearmint leaves

Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher and let flavors blend overnight.

It's not bad.. a good alternative to plain water. It's supposed to help cleanse your body. I'm not sure about that, but I still like it.

So here's some goals I have in mind!

Long-term goals - Lose 10 pounds by May 25th
Run 3 miles without stopping

Weekly goals - Lose 1.5 pounds
Do 3 cardio workouts, 2 strength training workouts
Drink Sassy Water

That's it for me! Good luck with your goals, everyone! And congrats on losing weight and sticking with your plans!

A Life Changed, an effort DERAILED.

Hey ladies. On April 1st 2008, I lost my father. It was a shocking and devastating event that was horribly unexpected. He did not have heart disease or anything like that but it appears he died of some form of cardiac arrest. Anyway, I don't mean to gloom up everybody's day as I see you are all making great progress, but I need you guys right now. I need you to get me motivated again and get me back on track. I know you all know the nature of funerals and the like and how all the out of town family flies in and all we do is eat out. And I know you guys know how it feels to want all that comfort food. So right now I need to get back to work. I need to undo this damage and get right again. Help me out you guys.
Now I did not gain anything, but I haven't lost anything either over this two week hiatus. And I know that it takes two weeks of being off schedule to lose cardio fitness levels. So I have to start...once again...from scratch. Well here goes nothin........

Beth's Monday Morning post

Good morning! I can't do an official weigh-in until tomorrow morning (I've been using the gym scale since my office scale is sort of broken), but I thought I'd check in and re-group.

I had a pretty good weekend- relaxing, got two great cardio workouts in, minimal alcohol consumption. I strayed a little from my planned diet (I got taken out to dinner on Saturday night, and had more carbs than planned on Sunday) but at least on Sunday, my body really needed the extra calories from the 18 mile bike ride that my boyfriend dragged me (almost literally by the end!) along on. But, it was worth it and I slept very, very well last night.

Last week's goals:
Week goals:
-fully recover from Friday's workout trauma: done and done.
-do one outdoor longer run this week without damaging myself: 4 miles total, less than one of walking on Saturday
-Bring my bike out of the basement: went on an 18 mile ride on Sunday even though it was rainy. My body is definitely feeling that today.
-plan dinners: not so much. We ended up going out for pizza on Saturday night because there wasn't anything in the house and we were exhausted. To make up for it, I ordered a side of broccoli so the night wasn't a total wash.
-No alcohol, except for one light beer at Wednesday's red sox game: and two glasses of wine on Friday night...but I did some push-ups to even things out :)

All in all, not a bad week. Unfortunately, my weekend was really busy so I feel as if I'm hitting the ground running and don't really have any time to plan, much less cook, dinners at all this week. I made a delicious crust free broccoli quiche (I added in some ham for extra protein, used 75% fat free cheddar and added a little feta for taste. I also think egg substitute is gross so I used 7 egg whites and two whole eggs instead- worked fine) last night which I plan to eat for breakfast all week long with two slices of turkey bacon. I had some almost three hours ago and am not hungry at all this morning. This recipe is great- low fat, really high in protein, lots of vitamins, minimal carbs, minimal calories, and VEGGIES FOR BREAKFAST!

If any of you have a chance to try it, let me know what you think!


I'll post soon with a weigh-in and goals for the upcoming week.

Mhray's Monday Morning Weigh-in

Goal: 160
Current: 229
Lost: 16 (1 more since last week)
To go: 69

So I've been doing better with some of my goals from last week, which is good. I went on an hour walk yesterday with the b/f and then played DDR on my Wii for a little while. If you have DDR it's great because you can set how many calorie you want to burn and off you dance.

I've also been eating and writing it all down. Which I know helps because it keeps me more accountable. I tend to fudge things a bit when I don't. I also got a new water bottle so that I can keep water with me when I'm at work. It makes it tricky because I can't keep it at my desk, which is in a lab where no food or drink is allowed, but I can keep it just outside lab. Then I have to get up and walk to it, which isn't a bad thing anyway.

Goals for this week:
Get in a few runs - even if they are short.
Make sure to really be drinking enough water.
Write down everything I eat.

Good luck this week!

Mhray

I love Saturdays

I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend as much as I am. My fiance and I had a picnic at a park and hung out by a creek all day. We walked a good bit (in sand and on trails) so I did get some exercise. My food wasn't very healthy so I have to do better! I normally start the day out doing pretty well, and I slip up later in the evening. Since I've recognized this pattern, maybe it will help me control my evening food choices.

Review of goals for the past week:
Workout 4 times - cardio and some strength - got 3 workouts in
Keep water bottle at my desk - check!
Try to eat in as much as possible - I had a half and half week with this... the car trouble threw some kinks in my plans so I didn't have as much time for cooking. I can do better next week!

I'll check back in tomorrow with new goals. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

~Layla

Weekend update

So at this point I haven't lost anymore, but I haven't gained anymore either. I need to be better about what I'm eating - and I have been for the most part, just not totally. We're having people over for dinner tonight, but it's a grill out, so I figure I can make sure to get more veggies (the biggest thing I've been ignoring).

It's sounds like several of you are doing much better as far as working out. Good job!!

Mhray

Happy Weekend!

Happy weekend everyone! My week was pretty crazy but no major (unplanned) strays from my eating plan. I made it through Wednesday's baseball game with a light beer, hot dog and pieces of a pretzel, but that was both my dinner and the VAST majority of my carb intake for the day. Also, since I had no time to work out on Wednesday, I walked to and from the baseball stadium which was about 4 miles round trip. I called it even.

I managed to get to the gym on Tuesday, but had class and a work emergency on Thursday and some weird health problem yesterday (I took a three hour nap after work, did some quick push ups during the red sox/yankees game, then went to bed at 9). Fortunately, the same things that kept me from working out also kept me from eating anything but what I had already packed for myself (except popcorn during the game).

This morning, I went fora long run outside (it was one of my goals and it's already Saturday...so now or never!) and did 3.5 miles in 40 minutes, then walked another mile home for a total of 55 minutes. Now I'm exhausted and will be going to my side job all afternoon and evening (retail) which is usually a great way to get in some walking.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I'll post again on Monday with a weigh-in!

Before:

After:

Weekend!

Hi Ladies,
Hope you all had a good week! Mine flew by really fast and had a few ups and downs. Traveling went well and I didn't fall of my diet. But I didn't get to workout with my friend.. she cancelled. Maybe next time! And I've had car trouble all week.. but I think it's all fixed now. I forgot to report Monday that I was down another pound. So that's a total of 12 pounds. It's coming off slowly but at least it's coming off at all! I haven't worked out as much I would have liked this week... just been really busy with work. And it's only going to get worse. In 6 weeks we will be on mandatory 55-hour work weeks for 3 months... no fun, but it's gotta be done. I signed up for another 5K for some more motivation so now I have one on April 26th and another on May 3rd. The weekend should be nice here so I will try to go hiking and enjoy the weather. Besides, the dogs need to get outta the house!

I'm so glad it's the finally the weekend! I hope everyone has a great weekend and can control their temptations. Keep up the hard work... it's going to pay off!

~Layla

Snack attack

So I got hit by a snack attack yesterday - big time. And I was bad about it too. I came home about 2pm and was hungry, having not had lunch yet. There was a bag of tortilla chips on the table because I'd made taco salad for dinner the night before and I went to town on them. I finally stopped myself and made a tuna-curry wrap but there was some damage done.

The bad news: I think I used up my 150 calories of treats and at least one 85 calorie block of grains.

The good: I felt guilty even as I was eating the chips and finally stopped.

But then I started snack on pretzel goldfish rather than eating fruit. Again, I recognized it and went to eat an apple, but even as I was enjoying the taste I felt guilty eating them because they weren't giving me anything nutrient wise. There was a reason I always keep a limited amount of bread products in the house - because I'll eat them all.

But, because I feel guilty I'm going to pack a bag, leave early and go hit the gym after work. So maybe this will be the beginning of truly getting in shape. I just hate the feeling of knowing that I'm eating badly when I don't have to be. Although, a few months ago it wouldn't have bothered me, so I guess that's improvement.

Ltl- I know you aren't where you want to be weight-wise yet, but I've always thought that saris are so beautiful! How lucky you get to wear some!

Stay strong everyone! Beware the snack attack monster.

Mhray

lose the lard post #6--the pre wedding freak out.

Wedding stress has full on smacked me in the face. a phone call last night from my best friend who asked me to wear a sari to all the wedding events.

i'm trying not to freak out, and admittedly this wasn't entirely out of the blue, but the actual reality of having to be fit for the top and showing a little bare midriff has me ALMOST over the edge.

so...i'm increasing (or trying to) my workout time by half an hour (cardio) which makes me want to slit my writsts. to top it off, i'm leaving town for a mini vacation on friday and will be gone for 5 days...hoping i don't do more backsliding there, but how can i travel to the netherlands and not indulge in some cheese and beer?!

on the upside, i've just finished cooking for the next few days and am really enjoying my diet. what's everyone's favorite diet meal/diet food?

mine has turned out to be roasted veggies with just a tad of olive oil, salt, and pepper. i pretty much roast everything---broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, etc. they're just tasty and easy to prepare. it takes some adjustment to get used to eating vegetables without sauces and and other condiments, but i'm feeling nicely de-toxed.

also...is anyone taking fish oil pills? any suggestions for brands that won't give you fishy burps?

lose the lard-post #5

today's post is on the virtues of cleansing.

i'm not sure how many of you are still eating processed foods. but i've switched over entirely to whole unprocessed foods. i cook everything myself, so that when i go out to eat and have less control over the pieces of the puzzle, it does less damage. first of all, i'm eating a lot more veggies--broccoli, spinach, mixed greens, watercress. in general, i feel much better when i eat greens, but i knew i was getting enough of them per day. combined with drinking more water, it has a very, ahem, cleansing effect on the body. and i'm telling you, you will never feel so good.

i've indulged several times in mashed potatoes this week too. :(

back to exercise.

glad to see everyone making progress! we should set up a private flickr pool and post before and after pictures (without faces or heads or whatever) once we get to our goals! that would be good motivation too.

Inspiring thoughts....

I read this today and decided it belonged in my journal....I'm sharing with all of you as well because it applies to what we are trying to accomplish!

The Virtue of Patience by Denis Waitley (from The Psychology of Motivation)

While persistence is the dermination to strive to ahieve your ultimate goal, there is another virtue of equally great value. Persistence keeps us moving in side ourselves to see the purpose behnid the purpose, but patience is the wisdom behind the persistence.

Patience cautions us to focus our efforts on what we can change while accepting what we cannot. When external cicumstance rains on our parade, patience is our umbrella. Rather than blaming what we cannot control, patience is the wisdome behind persistence.

It is when a goal is distant and difficult to reach that patience is an ally. Time changes everything, but with patience you can keep your desires relatively constant. If you can just hang on long enough, time will finally create the conditions in which you can succeed.

____________________

WOW - does that sum up my journey in a very eloquent manner. Hope you can find a piece of this to hang on to!!

Dawn

Taking the plunge

So I've decided that in order to make myself really taking working out seriously, it's time to invest - both money and time.

For Christmas my brother said he would pay my entry fee for a half-marathon anytime this year, I just had to pick which one. So I've signed up for one in October, which gives me 6 months to get back into running shape. I've been there before, I know how to do it, now I just need to make the effort. I'm nervous, but I figure it's best to jump in with both feet rather than dipping in a toe.

Here's hoping that I don't fall flat on my face!

Mhray

Lins' Weigh In

Hi ladies!

Once again I have been MIA...I am such a bad blogger! Well, I have good news to report...I am down another 2 pounds for a total of 11 pounds lost over the course of 9 weeks! Now I am at 226. Woohoo. I am very pleased with myself, although slightly confused since I haven't been eating the best since the last weigh in. I guess that means my metabolism is up! I have some good things going on in my life that are making me motivated and happy...I got the part-time job at the grocery store!!! I also have a full-time job interview tomorrow...and I am so psyched/nervous!!! I will let you know how it goes. Tonight I have to go sign my paperwork for the part-time job and then I want to hit the gym. I went really late last night (about 830pm-930pm) which worked out because I was EXHAUSTED by my bed time and fell asleep quickly. Going later you also have fewer people and more access to the machines so you don't have to wait. My trainer has been out of town for 2 weeks so I am supposed to be doing strength workouts by myself...but I haven't made it much of a priority. I read in Lose the Lard's post that you are allowed to work your abs every single day? Is that true, and why is that? Tonight I want to do some lower body strength training along with some cardio. I have been kind of stressed out about my personal relationship with my bf, and going to the gym really helps deal with the stress and anxiety. Because of this, I want to really hit the gym 5 times this week! No excuses!!!!

Keep up the good work everyone! I am going to go through everyone's postings and comment on them. Talk to you all soon!

Lins

This week 217.2
Last week 218
Goal 175
Yet to Lose - 42+ lbs

As I expected - not a lot of movement on the scale. But, I wasn't expecting much - it's the one week out of the month I can't lose. I'm feeling good about my sense of focus so that is keeping me in the game.

And, Beth inspired me by signing up for a 5k and that got me looking into what my options were locally. When I googled for training for a 5k, I realized that most training programs are about 8 weeks long. Then, I happened to go on a local news site and found a 5k on June 7th in the town I work in and that is just about 8 weeks from now. I took that as a sign of fate and decided I should do it!! So, today was my first day of training - not to bad. It felt good to accomplish it - even if it was only for 20 minutes!!!

It's cool to see what everyone has for goals this week - gives me some ideas!

Let's have a good week!!!

Dawn

Beth's Check In

Good morning, Ladies!

Last week: 168.5
Goal weight (short-term): 160
Goal weight (long-term): 150ish
Current: 167

So I had a great week of diet & exercise last week. I "cheated" and weighed in after my friday afternoon 3 mile run (which I finished without walking!!) workout at 166, which was a loss of slightly over 2 lbs for the week. Unfortunately, that's where the good news ends...

In the process of my noteworthy run, I managed to do some damage to my foot on a hill. To compensate for that, I guess I started putting more weight on my other leg, so my knee was incredibly sore all weekend and with one bum foot and the other leg out of commission (think braces & bandages), that was all the exercise I was getting for the weekend. Add a planned "break" in my diet (I had old college friends visiting and did dinner/drinks/hangover all afternoon on Friday and Saturday), and I gained at least half of last week's weight back.

I finally had the feeling that those of you who have non-dieting friends/boyfriends have had- only this was my houseguests! My boyfriend very on board with the Get Healthy plan, but loses weight very quickly and therefore breaks the dieting more easily. Luckily, these distractions left on Sunday afternoon and won't be coming back before my short-term weight loss date of memorial day weekend.

I guess, all things considered, I'm still doing okay. I have class tonight so I won't have time to hit the gym, but I think I need this last day to rest my foot/knee. Hopefully I can pick up where I left off last week and avoid any major relapses over the weekend. The Boyfriend and I are going to a Red Sox game on Wednesday right after work, so I'm going to try and get to the gym in the morning before work since there will probably be a (light) beer and dinner at the game.

Week goals:
-fully recover from Friday's workout trauma (I'm such a drama queen- it's really not that bad, but I really can't exercise with it).
- once recovered, do one outdoor longer run this week without damaging myself, and get the rest of my cardio doing something low-impact (probably ellipticalling, which I hate).
-Bring my bike out of the basement and start to enjoy the sunny weather we've been having!
-plan dinners better so that I'm not stuck eating scrambled eggs & bacon for lunch AND dinner because I don't have time between work and class.
-No alcohol, except for one light beer at Wednesday's red sox game. No more. What a huge waste of calories. I got really grumpy after I figured out how long I'd have to work out to make up for Friday's night out!!


Take-aways from last week:
-I can do this, as long as I keep myself fully dedicated. If nothing else, I managed to get rid of over two pounds (fair enough, some of it was probably water) and work out 4 times AND run three consecutive miles.
-I officially registered for the 5 mile road race--there's no backing out of it now!
-my pants fit a little better, so something is working.



To everyone- good luck!

To those who are aiming to add more H2O to their daily routine: I suggest carrying around a Nalgene bottle filled with water at all times. They hold 32 oz of water and if you keep them alongside, you can finish off 2-3 in a day. Plus, think of the extra exercise walking to & from the bathroom!! Also, I have a 24oz water bottle on my desk all day that I put a little crystal lite in for extra fluids but no extra calories.


--Beth

Monday, Monday

Here's my Monday morning weigh-in information:
Goal: 160
Current: 229
Lost: 16
To go: 69

I've only lost one pound this week, which disappoints me, as I was losing more before that. But I think there are two reasons for this. First, I was at a wedding shower and a birthday party this weekend, both where food choices were limited, but I made do with what I had. Second was that I have started eyeballing food measurements, and I think that my eye isn't quite as well trained as I thought.

On the plus side, I took a 30 minute walk yesterday with my boyfriend so even though it wasn't much, it was still getting out and doing something. I'm also back at home now, so eating better shouldn't be a problem.

My goals for this week:
-Drink more water (my cross country team in high school had a slogan "pee clear!" to make sure you were drinking enough water - a little over the top in that you were going to the bathroom all the time, but I need to get back to carrying a water bottle with me)

-Really try and stick with the Self Challenge eating plan blocks - and not changing them around so I can have more ice cream, rather than eating veggies.

-Go to the gym or run outside three times this week. Currently scheduled for Tues, Thurs and Sat

-Do strength workouts on days not going to the gym

-Get back to writing down everything I eat. When I do I lose more weight.

Good luck on the week!! I hope everyone had a relaxing weekend.

Mhray

anyone else here a----

SMOKER trying desperately to quit???

Lose the Lard - Post #4

Alright. It was another week of eating poorly for me, but I've (sort of) kept up with the exercise.
So that's two weeks of kind of effing things up on my part and undoing whatever progress i made.

but seeing as how it's sunday, and the beginning of the week, i'm not going to dwell. i did add on extra cardio to the workouts i did last week and will continue to do the same thing this week. and i'm back on track with the diet as of tonite.

Mainly what I plan on doing with food:

1. breakfast--2 egg whites 1 egg yolk fried or lightly scrambled, 1/2 grapefruit
1. nuts (almonds, walnuts) and fruits (apples, 1/2 grapefruit, grapes) as snacks throughout the day
2. lunch--Salad with home made balsamic vinaigrette (light on the oil), which includes sliced roasted chicken breast, dried cranberries, sliced pear, and slivered almonds.
3. at least 64 oz water per day
4. iced green tea for when i get the munchies. i make a big batch, stick it in a pitcher and keep it in the fridge.
5. iced mint tea for when i get a craving for diet soda. do the same as above
6. Dinner--more roasted chicken breast with a side of veg--roasted cauliflower, roasted broccoli, wilted watercress or spinach with garlic.

My resolution is to exercise at least 5 days this week with cardio and abs (remember, abs are the one muscle group you can work every day) each day, then alternating upper body and lower body workouts.

good luck to everyone! and thanks for the words of encouragement. ditto what mhray said -- i find everyone else's progress and struggles inspiring and the word of encouragement are, well, surprisingly encouraging!

New week!

Hi Ladies! I hope you all had a great weekend! Looks like everyone is still hanging in there. Sorry I haven't been able to post much... work has been busy and I've been looking at homes to buy. Talk about stressful! I had a horrible experience with a realtor on Wednesday, but I think I have found a much better one that will suit my needs. Hopefully it will make the process easier. I haven't tracked my food much this week, but I've eaten pretty well. I've worked out twice by jogging/walking through my neighborhood and doing some ab exercises. Before the night is over, I am doing a kickboxing/cardio workout. Tomorrow I'm working out with a friend. I have to go out of town from Tuesday -Wednesday and then I should be able to fit some exercise in at other points during the week. Social hours at work have been hurting my diet, but I'm trying to overcome that! Anyone else dealing with after-hour work events? Any tips on how to stay on track? I don't like to make it so obvious that I'm watching my weight/diet. Call me paranoid!

Mhray - I bought some WW giant chocolate ice cream cones... yum yum yum! It's the perfect way to get my ice cream fix! ;)

Dawn - congrats on the weight loss! Keep it up!

Gonna be busy this week, but I am determined to stay on track.

Goals for the week:
Workout 4 times - cardio and some strength
Keep water bottle at my desk
Try to eat in as much as possible

Well, gotta go get that workout in. Talk to everyone soon! Keep working hard!

~Layla

How was the weekend??

Hi all,

Looks like it was pretty quiet here all weekend - hope everyone is doing okay. I have had a lot of good movement this weekend and a pilates class this afternoon (Sunday...) and I also kept food in control (with the exception of pizza on Friday evening...I could have cut back on that)

On the positive, I have lost 2.25 inches from my hips since joining all of you. My arms and thighs are also tightening up - I can feel it!!!

I'll post my weigh in on Monday, but here are my other areas of focus for the week:

1) Drink 64 oz of water each day
2) 3 trips to the gym this week
3) Record my food intake each day
4) Stay in control on Friday evening (4/11)

Hope you're all holding together - we can do this!!!

thecic
Dawn

Checking in

Hey girls, I am so excited to see that people are actually blogging on here every day! Very cool, and keeps me inspired and focused on our common goals. I NEED TO WORK OUT! Okay, I just had to get that out. I did not do anything yesterday or today so far, and it stinks! Tuesday, I went to the gym and did 30 mins of good cardio on the treadmill, then a little ab work, but that's it. I don't really remember the last good strength session I got in. I feel like I'm slipping after being waaay more consistent than that for so long, but in perspective, it has not been that long. I commit officially (you guys are my witnesses), to do an Exercise TV workout tonight. Jillian or Billy Blanks or something. Eating wise, I feel guilty due to the no exercise, but yesterday I only ate 850 cals, and today I am at 500 so far. Bad news, it's like I compensate for no working out by undereating. I don't go an extended period of time or anything, I just eat tiny when I do eat. I know this is not healthy in the least, especially considering that the heavier stuff I eat at the end of the day, like last night I had about 500 cals up until 9pm, then went home and ate a Lean Cuisine meal and a 100 cal bag of kettle corn totalling 350 cals. Whatever, just like the working out, I will get back to eating healthfully again too. As you can see, Lins, I am in your shoes too... the husband is often the reason I choose to skip the working out, so we can spend time together on the couch or what not... boo.

Dawn, I am quickly falling in love with Pilates as well! I haven't even gone to the class at my gym yet, I got a book, and there are a bunch of on demand Pilates on tv too. We should stay in touch about how it's going. I really do like it, I can already do a hundred... the first time I tried, I was like 'are you kidding?! I can only do that for maybe 30 seconds...) but I got up to 100!! I am still in the modified form though (knees bent)

Amber - just hang tough baby girl! Our bodies are stubborn! If you keep it up, the results will come. Maybe you could try calorie cycling... it is very possible that your body has plateaued.

Mhray- I hear you on the cleaning!! I love spring cleaning type comprehensive cleaning, it's the day to day stuff like dishes and vacuuming I despise!

Kia, hope you are having a great day, hit me up on the text!!

Talk at you ladies soon!!

Checking In...

Hi ladies,

I haven't written in since Monday--sorry! Work has been so crazy and ridiculous that I haven't had a chance! Things are going well this week eating wise. however, I have not pushed myself hard enough to make exercising a priority. For that, I am a bit disappointed in myself. I have also been eating out a lot this week, which is expensive AND not the healthiest thing to do. Ugh. When my schedule gets crazy, i can't seem to get myself together. I would love to get up early in the morning to work out, but i don't have the energy!!!! I was psyched because on Tuesday I bought a 3-pack of Tae Bo DVDs and I have yet to try them. They seem like a lot of fun and I can't wait to get started on them. I guess right now I am just feeling a lot of pressure from my boyfriend to hang out with him, and then just to avoid the bullshit guilt trip, I am skipping out on my exercising. I need some support and encouragement because right now, I am NOT motivated to work out today after work...

Sorry this is so cynical. There are some happy things happening though--I have been quite unhappy with my job lately, and so I have a phone interview today after work AND I have a part-time job interview on Saturday morning. I just want to get out of this work environment that I'm in because it's not healthy to be stressed out and bitter all of the time!!

I will check in tomorrow probably...

--Lins

I know, I know!

Hello ladies-
I am trying not to get stressed out about the numbers, but it's really bugging me out that I've gained back 3 of the 12 pounds I've lost, because I'm being so good! My body is definetly changing, and that's great...but you know how it is....gaining weight sucks. I've been eating right and working out consistently for about 6 weeks now, so I think that's when they say results really start. I do have my occasional birthday outings, social gatherings, etc...but that's like twice a month (compared to twice a week before, sadly!). I just feel like although I am not being perfect, I have so much to lose you think it would come off a little easier. I used to starve all day because I was so busy, then pig out on a huge meal at around 4...not good for the metabolism. Now I eat a small snack every 2-3 hours (granola bar, yogurt, slim fast, etc.), and my meals are probably half the size they used to be.

Does anyone have any ideas or pointers for me? Like I said I'm eating much more often, doing cardio 5-6 times a week, and strength training 2-3 times a week. I've replaced about anything I could in my house with a fat free or light version of itself. I'm more active than I've ever been...and I'm probably eating about 1600-1800 calories a day. My muscles are sore, so I know I'm doing something right....a little motivation, please!

Thanks!
Amber

Spring is here

And with spring comes spring cleaning. I spent two hours this morning washing dishes - this after running the dishwasher twice. At least it worked my arms out some with all the scrubbing. I never before thought of cleaning as a way to lose weight, but it should help to tone my arms. I don't know about anyone else's housekeeping, but mine has been terrible lately because I've been so busy with work and classes. I snapped this morning and told work I'd be in late and spent three hours cleaning.

And then I bought some pretty tulips to put on my newly cleaned kitchen table :)

On a side note, when starting this blog I never thought that it would be so helpful and that there would be so many great comments. You are all helping me without me even really knowing you. So thank you!

I actually worked out a bit yesterday - both riding my bike and doing some strength training. I even ate pretty well. But the best part of all? I wanted ice cream and so I was able to eat a little bit without breaking the calorie bank. I used to think that losing weight required you to give up everything that tasted good - but it's so nice to still be able to eat ice cream.

Hope everyone is doing well
Mhray

Pilates anyone?

Evening all - I just returned from a pilates class and I can't believe what a great workout I got!! It is amazing to feel my muscles respond to the moves. The class was an hour long (could anyone survive longer???) and it was great. I will be going twice a week and I'm curious if others have tried pilates? They told me that "results" will come quickly if I stick with it (that's good news for those of us with no patience....

Beth - good for you on the commitment to a 5K - I aspire!! Running has never been of interest to me - I blame it on bad form. I do enjoy walking and would certainly consider a walk a thon - I'll have to keep my eyes open for one.

The scale voted in my favor today and I had great "food" day. I am satisfied that I did all I could toward my goals today - that feels good.

I am going to take a long hot soak.....my muscles are screaming!

Dawn

I may be out of my mind but...

I've just signed myself up for the Harpoon Brewery 5-mile road race on June 7th. I don't think I've ever ran 5 miles consecutively, but I've been consistantly a solid 2 miles at the gym, 2.5 if I really push it. It's a little more than two months away, and the weekend after my 24th birthday. I'm trying to find a local friend to run it with me, since my boyfriend is running too, but can already run four miles in 30 minutes and will leave me in the dust.

I will keep you all posted on my progress. I'm going to have to come up with some kind of fabulous reward if I manage to run the whole thing (very unlikely). Suggestions?

I'm also doing the Walk for Hunger on May 4th. It's a 20 mile walk through the greater Boston area. I did it last year with friends, and we made it a pub crawl, which sort of negated the calories burned on the 20 mile walk :). It was exhausting. But, it's for charity, and this year, my pub drinks will be water.

Have any of you done road races/charity walks before? It seems like a great way to incorporate exercise, spending time with friends, and raising money for charity into one event. If you're looking for something in your area, maybe there's an AIDS walk, a Breast Cancer walk, or a Relay for Life that you could do. My family has always supported the Cystic Fibrosis foundation, which does the Great Strides walk each year. I can't participate this year because of a wedding, but maybe there's one in your area!