Weight Loss Buddies

Vicky-thanks for pulling Jillian out. I cleaned up my eating somewhat, still needs a little work. I tried to run 20 minutes at 4.4 today, but by 15 minutes my back was hurting(TOM is still hanging around) I was happy to make it to 15 though. I can build up to 20. Im gonna have to follow your meals, you are doing great.

Sandy-I would love to be in FL right now. Its snowed a little more today. I am ready for spring.

Dance-I need an air popper too. I love popcorn but stay away from it most of the time. Get that scale and let us know how you are doing. Seems like you are constantly going, going going.

Tiff-welcome back. Im sure the weight you were up was water, since you are already down 1. Oh and to answer your question, I am down another lb to 198. TOM is here so hopefully it will be lower afterwards.

Made it to the gym today for 3.2 miles but I split them up between the treadmill and stationary bike. Gonna dance tonight. I need to use the wii fit, havent done it since I was in Alabama.

Gotta go to work tonight, I'va had it easy the last few weeks and only had the 3 year old on Thursdays. A couple more days a week would be nice, but the time at home is always a plus.

burgundy - wow - 198?!?! even during TOM? You rock! Will let you guys know what the scale says in the morning...

Dance-I was really shocked this morning to see a loss right now but will gladly take it.

Burgund holy cow......198? Dang, I need to get a move on or there is NO way I will catch you! I am sooo proud of you!!! Woo Hoo!!!!!

Tiff good to see you back and I am glad the wedding went well. I have been in those situations where I knew no one (really) and Bubba and I kept to ourselves. Kindof strange, but we got through it. I know you looked gorgeous and would love to see the pictures. Size 30?? Those wedding and dress sizes are just weird... Thanks for your kind words for Bubba. He was better today and honestly I don't think he has completely gotten over us losing everything and in the same years his father and best-friend passing away. It takes time and I just need to be patient.

Maddiesmom you need to start weight loss and nutrition classes........LOL.........Your my hero too. I'll hire you! LOL.........oh, and Mr. Hott! LOL.....

Dance so glad you doing well despite the craziness in your life right now. Have they started the repairs to your old house? Any time for running lately? I know.....a joke right? LOL

Neesy we miss you and I am so sorry to here your husband is leaving next week and for 3 years?? My thoughts are with you. How soon can you join him?

Well I am doing good and actually passed up homemade Carrot Cake (all made from scratch). Gosh it almost killed me to say no..........grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Anyway, I am off tomorrow so hope to work out. I don't think my weight has moved anymore (not weighing), but I think TOM is around the corner, because I am starting to feel puffy, or should I say my jeans felt tighter....LOL.

AJ, how's is going? How's work? I hope your feeling better.

I'll check in tomorrow.

You ladies are so sweet! You have all helped me get to this point, so THANK YOU! I got on the scale this morning (yes, I know, I weighed in yesterday, but hey it doesn't hurt to check!). AND........... I was 216.4!!! YIPPEEE!! Hopefully the plateau is gone.

Sandy Enjoy your day off. Maybe take Bubba on a walk outside, fresh air and a bit of exercise may help pick him up a little. I think that he was so focused on finding a job, perhaps he didn't have the proper time to grieve all of his loss in the past year. It's a lot for anyone to go through and I'll keep you both in my prayers.

Burgundy Good job on the run! You'll be catching up to me in no time! Now I have to catch up to you weight wise!

So, I was in my gym clothes last night, walk outside and...it's snowing! My hubby cleaned off my car for me and I get on the road, thinking the main roads wouldn't be affected by snow. Boy was I wrong. It was pretty much a whiteout, you couldn't see out the windshield and couldn't see the lanes of the road. So, after 30 minutes and getting nowhere, I turned around and came home. I'm still sore from the 100 squats from the other day, so I did some calistetics and did my physical therapy stretches for my appointment today. No hard workout, but at least I tried!

Hope everyone else is doing ok! Hope everyone signs in soon!

Morning, girls!
Finally weighed myself and I'm at 168 (a few pounds below my last weigh-in) but after not being particularly good for the last few days, I'll take it! Did I tell you guys that I got back my cholesterol test from January and my results were way way lower than 2 years ago? And bp is back to low-normal after inching up a bit the last few years. Really nice to see a solid health benefit from all this effort. I'm sure you guys are seeing the same kinds of things.

mygrits - thanks for the push - I'm going to try to sneak in a run today. I'm glad you mentioned it - working out is important and if I go too long without running, it'll be like starting all over again. House stuff can wait! Good job on the carrot cake - I'm so impressed with your healthy eating plan. Are you noticing any differences in the food you crave now?

maddiesmom - woohoo for 216! You are zooming on your way to onederland!!

I saw some old friends last night that I hadn't seen in ages and they all wanted to know 'what I was doing' to lose weight. My first thought was you guys!

Wow, lots of weight losses this week!!! Congratulations to Dance, Maddiesmom, Tiff, and Burgund!! WOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Everyone seems to be on the move!

Dance I have no cravings anymore since changing my eating. I can't say 'never' but I haven't had any in the last two weeks, and have been around my favorite 'old' foods such as the carrot cake, and pepperoni pizza, ice cream, hamburgers and so on. I just have no desire for any of it anymore. I wasn't a big burger eater the last year, but when Bubba would have one I would keep thinking about it and eventually endulge. Since changing my eating I do feel so much better. Bye the way, GOOD JOB on taking the run......don't you feel better now?

Well, I have been lazy so far today, but that's alright, I will get moving here shortly. The dog did get his long walk in earlier, so the morning isn't a total loss. Hopefully I get some exercise in, plus reading time with my book before Bubba gets home ;-)

I'll check in later............oh, and Dance, yes, I have tried to watch the Olympics as much as possible. I love it, just wish I had more time to enjoy.

Oh and Maddiesmom DON't rent Couples Retreat......it was horrible and a total waste of money. ;-(

Hey girls,

Congrats Maddiesmom on hopefully breaking that plateau! Yikes about the snow whiteout!

Mygrits, hope you have a great day off. That's amazing about the cravings. Now if I could just stay on plan long enough to get rid of my cravings as well.

Dancer, congrats on the loss! Doesn't it feel great when friends notice? I still haven't had it happen too much.

Burgandy, awesome job on 198 AND running 15 mins straight! The best I have ever done is 15 at 4.0, but I can't seem to replicate it.

Well, for me, the bbq chicken didn't work so well last night. We put the crock-pot back on when we got home from work to cook it the last bit, only problem is that we didn't notice until like 9:30 that we didn't plug it in. It was finally ready about 11, but I didn't want to eat that late. So all I had for dinner last night was some green beans I had sauteed with soy sauce and brown sugar. So I was WAY under yesterday for calories. Only about 700. But it sure helped the number on the scale! I was down to 277.8 this morning. Woohoo...new low weight. I'm really hoping this week will be a big loss week. I think I'm starting to see a pattern in my weight loss. Lose a bunch the week after TOM, like 5 lbs usually. Then maintain or lose a lb a week the other 3 weeks. This is the week after TOM, so lets see if I'm right.

Food plan today: B: 3 egg whites scrambled with Mozzerella with a banana/strawberry smoothie L: Grapes & 6 oz. Shredded BBQ chicken S: 100 cal pak of popcorn if I need it D: More BBQ chicken and a side, not sure on that yet.

Hope everyone is having a great day.

AJ...WHERE YOU AT GIRL?

howdy, all (well, maybe not all these days more like a few)!
Thanks to mygrits I had a great run at lunch and it looks like the few weeks off from running didn't set me back at all - I was very happy with my pace, around 12-13 min/miles as far as I can tell.

I'm having some girlfriends over for dinner tonight - rotisserie chicken, quinoa, broccoli and salad - should be pretty healthy. Hope you all are having a nice evening.

I found a picture on Facebook!


I'm on the end, obviously...

gorgeous, tifftiff!! love that color and even more when it's on you! You look beautiful and your efforts are definitely paying off. Hope you're basking in the glow!

tiff You look great! I agree with Dance, that color really suits you. I saw the other pics on FB, you and your hubby are so cute together. I loved the renovation project you did in your yard, what a difference!

Sandy Did you get your walk in? How was your time off. Hope you got some relaxing in! How is Bubba doing? Thanks for the movie review...I won't waste my time. Started watching Public Enemies with Johnny Depp. It's actually pretty good. Only an hour into it though.

Dance How is the house situation going? Closing on your old house on time? I know you said you needed to get some work done.

Ok, so did really well food wise yesterday. B: 2 egg whites, cup of fruit, 1 sausage link L: Salad and 1/4 cup of cream of chix/rice soup. I was going to eat the whole thing, but wasn't really enjoying it, so I through it out since it wasn't worth the calories. Snack: almonds Dinner: 1/2 of a Lean cuisine and 1/2 cup of turkey chili. Then I went to the gym, ran 2 miles, then did my arm exercises and went home. Late night, but I'm glad I got it done. I averaged a 13 minute mile. NOt too shabby for someone who absolutely hates to run.

So, trying to stay on plan again today and hit the gym tonight. I have Maddie's gymnastics and other errands tomorrow, so I'm fighting to stay on plan all weekend.

Hope everyone is doing ok. Where is everyone?

maddiesmom - sounds like you did great on food as usual!! What a bunch of runners this group is becoming! What do you wear to workout? I run outside in running tights and I've got to say they make me feel like a real athlete

burgundy - how are the workouts this week? Did you do three miles with me yesterday?

mygrits - what's on your delicious eating plan today?

tifftiff - how are you doing in the work crush right now? Hope you're catching up okay after some time away.

Things are going well here - everything is ticking along with selling the old house. I'm cringing over having to replace the furnace and stuff but I keep telling myself that it could be so much worse. I had a great time with my girlfriends last night at dinner. One of my buddies is starting to make serious progress on her own weight loss efforts and it's great to see her starting to feel better about herself. Tonight I'm going to try to meet up with some friends for a happy hour - the only problem is that the food is way too good at the place we're thinking of going. So my plan is to eat a big bowl of canteloupe before going to meet them so I won't be able to eat much pizza. On Saturday, I'm having my aunt and uncle (and their adorable pug) who are in town for a visit over for dinner - I'm going to get kebabs from my favorite take-out place and do a bunch of mediterranean salads and whole wheat couscous along with. What are all of you up to this weekend?

Dancer, yum, your dinner last night sounds delicious. i've heard of quinoa, but never tried it. I heard its kinda difficult to make? You have to soak it and then cook, right? Awesome job to both you and Maddiesmom on your running! I really need to get back to it. I haven't ran since the 5k, lol.

Maddiesmom, awesome job with the food and exercise yesterday, like usual Good luck staying on plan with all of your activities this weekend. I am going to try to make this weekend different than the past 5 and not go over my calories. Gotta break the pattern!

This morning I was shocked to see I lost over another lb! 276.4! Wohoo! I swear, going off plan helps me, as long as I don't go off plan for too long...cause once I go back to eating right, the weight just falls off.

My legs and butt are absolutely killing me. Wednesday night I did like 6 minutes of 30DS, then like 4 minutes of Cardioke, and like 3 minutes of another cardio video, and 3 minutes of some hip-hop dance video - ADD much? I just didn't really like any of them too much. But I think the 5 minutes of 30DS is what got me sore...they are aching everytime I stand up and walk!

Mygrits, how did the rest of your day off go?

Hope everyone else comes and checks in soon. If you are reading this, POST! Even if you are running away from the wagon, we still want to hear from you as our friend.

wow, tifftiff - you are just cruisin' along - congrats on another pound!!

Tiff love your photo, you look beautiful and yes, I agree, that color is good for you! Thanks for sharing your photo's on FB too. Well, you are just cruising into high speed with the weightloss and workouts! You go girl! Congratulations on the loss

Dance Couscous and (Tiff for you too) Quinea are really popular in our health food store. We sell a ton of it. Great for health and weight loss. Dance good job on the cantaloupe before happy hour food Your kabobs and mediterranean salad dinner sounds scrumptous!

Maddiesmom how is the job going? Are things better around the office? Thanks for asking about my day off, it was nice but too short!

Yesterday on my day off I didn't work out. I don't know why, as I was planning on it, but just got wrapped up in other things. I was going to start running today, and took a shower early before I realized I had plans to run........LOL......subconcious thoughts maybe?? LOL..... Back to work now for 5 more days and only one day off next week.......ugh I am bummed because I thought I had Sunday off to go see my parents, but it ends up I work 10 to 6......totally sucks.

Dance my good today, I'm not sure but I think it is going to be peanut butter Ezekial bread with a dab of honey, plus a small bowl of organic fruit. Lunch possibly whole grain rice with field peas and beans, plus a salad. Dinner maybe Miso soup, and a sweet potato with cinnamin and then later if I want a snack a Mint Cookie Rice Bar (like ice cream, but healthier). I may not eat all that food, but if I am hungry thats probably what I'll have.

Hope everyone's day is great. Any news out of AJ? I know Neesy's husband leaves in a few days, so she is involved. Burgund whats up with you???????????????? Lindy I know she is AWOL, from her facebook page...LOL.

Have an awesome day girls and I will probably be on here in the morning, because I won't get home till late tonight.

tifftiff - mygrits' post reminded me - I forgot to answer your question about quinoa. The kind I get is pre-soaked so it's super easy to make - no harder than rice. I get mine at costco and I know you guys are big costco shoppers. I think it's near the rice usually. Curious to see if you like it - it's much higher in protein than most carb-y side dishes.

mygrits - your food plan sounds so yummy!

Mmmmm...girl scout cookies! Everything in moderation right? I am allowing myself one serving a day and today I am having 2 Somoas. Delish! Maybe this year they will actually last quite a while since I ordered 5 boxes.

Dancer, I think I may get a small box (bag) of Quinoa from like Publix rather than a giant container from Costco before even trying it! LOL. I'll put it on my shopping list.

Mygrits, your meals today sound AMAZING...MMMM. Do you make or buy the miso soup? I love miso soup and would love to have it at home rather than just when we go to the Japanese restaraunt.

You girls are so sweet with the compliments. They made my day

Sandy- I just wish the scale would stay at 198, its been fluctuating 2-3 lbs the last few days. TOM is almost over and eating is better, so I am hoping for a loss soon. So proud of you for passing up that carrot cake, me and chris absolutely love carrot cake but I havent had any in SO long. I was thinking of renting Couples Retreat too, so glad you mentioned its not worth it.

Vicky-woo hoo, you got over that plateau. Your eating is always so good and your gym routine! WOW. I want to try to be your shadow and work out 6 times a week. What are your arm exercises? I need something for my Bingo arms.

Dance-yea for getting past 170. I cant wait to catch up to you, I am trying, just 30 lbs, lol. Thats awesome that your BP and cholesterol are lower. I checked my BP the other day and it was really good. The health benefits make all this hard work feel great. I'll have to give quinoa a try too. Need some new foods, the same ole thing all the time gets BORING. I had the 3 year old all day yesterday so I didnt get my miles in. His dad works 3rd shift and usually comes home and is up by 330, well he decided not to come home yesterday day til later and the mom didnt come straight home from work so I was there longer than expected. Its probably only gonna get worse, I think they are getting a divorce.

Tiff-you are smoking us all lately losing so much. Great job. You look great!!! Your hard work is paying off. Probably doing all the combo of workouts made you sore. I want to give 30ds another try but the last time I did it 30 days straight I only lost a few lbs, I know I lost inches but I like seeing that number on the scale move too.

Been at home all day, going to dinner with some friends. This is just local place so no online menu to look and decide beforehand but I will make good decisions. Not sure if I will go to the gym tonight, I may give that Jillian dvd I got another try.

No big plans for the weekend. My husband wants a night away so we may do a little mini vacation this weekend or being of the week. We were gonna go see Ralphie May(comedian)but I think Chris changed his mind.

Have a great day girls!!

Burgundy Bingo arms...I call mine the "Bat wings." LOL I do a few different exercises based on the workouts that Mr. Hott gave me. I can send it to you via email if you want. It gives 90 days worth of workouts, and gives descriptions of the exercises and pictures. If anyone else would like the workout sent to them, please let me know.

Doing well food wise. Breakfast was the usual: 2 egg whites, 1 sausage link, 1 cup of fruit and a ton of water. Lunch: 6 inch sub from subway, oven roasted chix, with veggies, provalone cheese, and light mayo. BBQ baked lays. Then I had a smoothie from Orange Julius, it's mixed berry & pomegranate. It's at least 20 oz and it's less than 250 calories. It's like a drink and a dessert. Then I'm having grilled chicken for dinner with some type of veggie.

So lately, when I'm about to snack, I stop myself and think...am I really hungry? Why do I want this? Most of the time it's because I'm bored, etc. so I get up from my desk, walk down to the cafeteria and get a big glass of water. Come back, more focused and then I don't snack. It's working so far...we'll see how long I can keep it up.

There's a baby shower at work today, and they may have carrot cake (my downfall). Hopefully I will be good like Sandy and say no. But, not likely, so I will have to limit myself.

Hope all is well!

burdundy - sounds like a tough day schedule wise yesterday. And a tough situation with the parents. Hope you have a nice relaxing weekend! I may walk after work with a friend but am shooting for another run tomorrow - are you in ?

maddiesmom - your will power continues to impress me! Love your approach to snacking.

My bf is in a funk again (poor guy) and I probably won't see him for a week or so. Since that always makes me a bit sad too, I went out at lunch for some retail therapy and got some cute jeans for $12.99 in the JUNIORS (!!) dept at Ross. Too fun - and they are seriously cute! I think I may have to wear them for my dinner party tomorrow. Much better to go jean shopping then do a bunch of comfort eating, right? And I bought a hot air popper the other day so that when I can't live without a big bowl of something salty and crunchy, I have a lighter alternative. There's a yummy (but probably fairly artificial) white cheddar powder in the grocery store right next to the popcorn stuff that makes the popcorn taste like smartfood and supposedly has zero calories. I like it as a treat but I doubt it's super nutritional. Let me know if you check it out...

So, now that I'm not going out to dinner with the bf, I'm planning on repainting the bathroom. Oh boy is my life exciting and glamorous, I tell ya'. Happy Friday all!

Vicky- I would definitely like for you to send me Mr Hotts workouts. Email is burgundy.rayne@gmail.com. Thanks a bunch. I am going to try your approach to snacking, I have been doing way too much snacking lately and I know that is why my weight is fluctuating those few lbs.

Dance-I am in for the miles tomorrow, gotta get off my butt and get in the gym. Hope the bfs funk doesnt last too long. Who knew jean shopping could be so much fun when the sizes are smaller. I like that white cheddar stuff for popcorn too, but dont have it too often cos youre right, its probably not that nutritional.

Good morning girlies!

I am not sure how it's happening, but I lost ANOTHER two pounds today, and weighed in at 274.6. I have officially passed the 75 lbs lost mark and I am racing towards the 260's. For some reason 260's sound so much better to me than 270's. LOL. Since I have finally lost 15 lbs since my last set of progress pictures, I am going to take some tonight. I have been doing them about 15 lbs apart since I started. I'll probably be posting those soon.

Maddiesmom, that is a great tip for snacking. For me right now at work, I don't even have time to think about food. I was immersed in a tax return for 5 hours yesterday and completely forgot to eat or drink anything. I finally finished it and had lunch at 4. I actually don't mind it, because I know if I am truly hungry that will make me snap out of it and eat something, but if I'm not hungry, I don't want to eat. Last tax season I had a different problem, the same thing would happen where I would be so busy I wouldn't have time for lunch and I would finally be starving aroung 3-4, so I would run out to burger king across the street or somewhere else that sounded good to my ravenous belly and would just order way too much. This season, I am trying to bring plenty of food to work and be prepared so that doesn't happen. As we always say at work, I guess I am a year smarter Oh and my "bat wings/bingo arms" are probably worse than yours and burgandies combined! I am almost positive I will have to have a brachioplasty when this is all over.
Lastly, that orange julius gave me a great plan for next wednesday when me and some coworkers are planning to have dinner and go to the mall. I LOOOOOOVE panda express or chickfila when I go to the mall. So rather than having 1,000 plus calories at one of those places, I can just have one of those orange julius's. Thanks for the idea!!

Dancer, do you and your boyfriend know what causes his funks? Or is it completely unpredictable? I'm sorry that you (and him) have to go through that. How long have you two been together?

Well, back to work! Talk to you all later!

Tiff-thats amazing, you will be in the 260's in no time. Whatever you are doing is working so keep it up.

This place slows right down on the weekends. I'm boring and have no plans on Saturday night.

Dance-I made it to the gym tonight, but only got in 2.4 miles. My calves were starting to cramp, so instead of pushing myself and finish, I called it a night and came home and did wii fit plus.

I'm really hoping to see a lb loss tomorrow. I want to get to 196 so bad. That will be 40 lbs for me.

Have a great weekend.

Burgundy I'm pretty boring too. I just got back from the gym at 9:45 p.m. Wild and crazy life, let me tell you. My day was spent cleaning the house and I began the first step of organizing the house...I cleaned out the pantry and organized the shelves, etc.

Tiff You are rocking this weightloss. Congrats! And I looked up that mixed berry smoothie and it's only 200 calories. It was also quite filling.

Dance CONGRATS on the juniors jeans!!! I'm so proud of you. Can't beat the price either!! To answer your question, when I work out, I wear loose yoga type pants and a t-shirt, I'm not too comfortable wearing the running pants that you wear. I actually bought a pair that was on sale, but need to lose some weight before I'm comfortable wearing them in public.

So, yes, I did go and work out tonight at 8:30, even though I have a training session tomorrow at 9 a.m. I also did my workout last night. So, in the course of the week, I worked out 5 times. That's a record, I think. Not sure how the scale will respond, TOM started, but I'm hoping for something lower than 216. We'll see.

So, food was good today, B: Fiber One apple bar, L: 6" oven roasted chicken breast sub (Bought the footlong at Subway yesterday since it's a better deal to by the footlong rather than a 6"). Had that with baked lays. Snack: Fuji apple with reduced fat chunky peanut butter. Dinner was grilled chicken made into a quesadilla with low fat cheddar, green onion, fresh salsa and light sour cream. Had that with my green giant veggies.

I'm averaging about 1300-1400 calories a day, I'm not sure if that is too low. Guess I'll ask Mr. Hott tomorrow.

I'll be back tomorrow for the weigh in. Hope we all see loses!