Lindsay Brin's 60 Day Slim Down and workout videos

jennieodwyer

Sounds awesome. Is the preworkout something like Jacked with caffeine and such? Or just BCAAs and protein, etc? Either way glad to hear it gave you a boost and you were ready to hit it :laugh:

Weigh in was so so. I was back up to the dreaded 130 uggh. I hate that number, seriously. It is like the number of no return. I am sure it is the extra carbs since my diet was spot on and I was at a fairly high deficit even without working out so we know it isn't fat. The BF on my scale went down about half a % and 2 measurements (arms and lower belly) went down slightly so I am ok with it. The thing I was pretty pleased with was that according to the CLX calipers I am now measuring 9mm. The conversion on the chart is 19% (which would be awesome) for my age but come next week the conversion will be 19.6 haha. I don't know if I believe the % but I started CLX in December at 11mm and now I am down to 9mm so I do feel like I am losing BF. Just incredibly slowly. I also took pictures since I am sure I will be blowing up on the scale on Friday after my birthday festivities. Minor improvements if any since I took pictures 3 weeks ago when I started the Lean phase. So that was a let down but I really need to compare them to when I started CLX and the LP plan to see what changes have happened. I have only lost about 5 pounds since I started (most was also still holiday weight).

It is still progress but as you know it is just sort of a let down. When you work this hard with everything you expect miracles :laugh: Thankfully I am overall happy with my general appearance so it isn't that hard of a pill to swallow but it is still a bummer. Especially since I know that I will be "blowing it" this weekend with all the festivities. But come Monday or Tuesday I will be hitting it hard until Easter and hoping that I see some magic with such low calories and high protein. Fingers crossed!

Oh yeah and hopefully I don't get a call from daycare. Even though Josie wasn't running a fever she had a rough night and was up fussing A LOT. So she isn't 100% but who knows if she is really suck or just feeling under the weather. With all the weather changes Mike and I have been downing allergy pills like no one's business. I myself woke up in the middle of the night with a raging headache. So who knows. I will be excited to get back to working out tomorrow and partying like there is no tomorrow! Have a good weekend :drinker:

mamareese

Happy birthday! Hope the weekend was eventful and fun! :flowerforyou:

Yesterday was an insane day at work, though I don't have high hopes for today either!:noway: I ended up being able to hit up a right after work workout thanks to my loving husband who wrangled the kiddos until I got home. (yeh for Basketball being over!!) Then it was time to prep all our meals for the week (1.5 hours in the kitchen after a workout stinks!) since we were out of town this weekend. On top of that, I thought I'd be smart pack all lunches, lay out all pre-workout necessities (even prepped the coffee pot) so that I could have a successful 5am workout. Only to not set the alarm after all of that. I'm bummed. Not sure how I'll finagle this since I can't get to the gym later on Tuesday. My mom did just get an elliptical so maybe a pre-bed cardio session with lower and upper days switched the rest of the week? I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it. This time switch has me exhausted...well, something has me exhausted that much I know!

We took of Saturday afternoon for the in-laws. They live in the middle of no where so it's peaceful. But I didn't bring food with me. I am afraid to insult my mother-in-law. She ordered pizza Saturday night, which I could fit into calories and macros since I'd been so busy Saturday running around and it was a cardio day. But Sunday morning she prepped breakfast (very nice gesture and the kids enjoyed it) but I opted for a protein bar which I think insulted her. And then skipped the carbs at lunch (again, not sure that went over well!) to stay in my macros for the day. Overall, I physically was able to make the weekend work but I'm just going to have to lay it out to everyone that this is how I'm operating because my guilt just impacts me way too much. Why I let it, I don't know?! But it does. So I have everything laid out except dinner tonight and tomorrow. I figure I can eat whatever meat and vegetable my mom makes and skip the carb. I was surprised how ****ty I felt during my workout after work yesterday. I spent the day in court advocating for a client so my meal timing was way off and my calories were down. So I about dropped the 20lbs for overhead triceps extensions right on my melon! :blushing: The postive- Dan worked out with Mitch (nutrition guy) and brought home a new 'butt' move. Best way to explain it is to kneel on your knees lean forward as slowly as possibly engaging your glutes and then essentially allow your upper body to fall to the floor, pop back up and repeat. I'm sure there's a name for it but Mitch worked the hell out of Dan yesterday with dropsets and supersets so he was too beat to remember when he came home! :laugh:

What did the weekend turn out to be for you?!

mamareese

PS. I don't know if you've tried it but I was given a free sample of shakeology when I ordered from iherb.com the other day. :sick: :sick: :sick: I thought it was terrible!!!!

jennieodwyer

Sorry I don't have much time today but my weekend was awesome. Had a great but went way overboard on food all three days so I am sure I will be way up on the scale on Friday. Oh well. Not feeling so hot today so I wasn't able to get my cardio in this morning. I am hoping to get it in tonight if I am feeling better but if not I will just start fresh tomorrow. Diet is back on as of today though. Glad to hear anything went well over the weekend. Sorry so short. Trying to catch up with work I missed yesterday. Will be back on fire tomorrow for sure

jennieodwyer

Back on track today 100%! Feels good to be back and with all the protein I am not feeling very hungry with the lower calories so I am happy about that. Staying away from the scale until Friday since I know it will not be good and I don't want to make myself cry. haha!

mamareese

Nice job jumping back in. I know Friday will seem frustrating but you only have one birthday! :drinker: And you aren't a weekend sabotage girl (like I can be! :blushing: ) so the LP plan will end well for you - I am positive!!!

Dan left the scale out in the middle of the bathroom again today. I stayed off it but when I see it it makes staying off it more difficult. I was feeling leaner (even though I'm TOM) up until this morning...now I'm feeling good and heavy. :noway: I'll blame leg day and the protein shake. I've got a while before I review (or Dan reviews) measurements so I'll just keep trudging away. Made today lower day since Tuesday was a wash. Will do upper tomorrow and then lower again Saturday forcing me into a MISS cardio day Sunday (I think). My parents just got this elliptical so although I had been using Wednesdays as a rest day, I'm now considering 1 weekend day instead. We'll see. I may just roll with whatever each week. I am kind of digging the flexibility of this. :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

I do have to whip up some more meals tonight. Dan is playing volleyball Saturday and I'm going girl shopping Sunday with my mom and sister. If I plan ahead, I'll be fine, right?! Right!! So that's what I'll do. I altered the egg muffins that I usually make to just egg whites, a little bit of turkey bacon, a touch of cheddar cheese and broccoli. SO yummy! They were an alright recipe before. Now, I'm ready to whip them up again. Much better suited to my taste buds!!

Have you experimented with any new recipes as of late?

jennieodwyer

Great job staying off of the scale! Looks like you are up for the challenge of no scale! I have to admit, when I looked at the pictures from Friday in comparison to the start of LP I didn't see very much change at all. Not nearly the amount I was hoping for and I am not going to lie that somewhat played into why I went even more nuts on my birthday. It is like, it makes so little of a difference why bother? haha. I am back on track and feel good and I am keeping the faith and seeing the plan through but I have to stay I am a bit disappointed that I haven't leaned out more considering the deficit I am running and how careful I have been with my macros. Maybe I have unrealistic expectations but I thought this would be my magic bullet to get the last 10 pounds off. It started out well but the last few weeks I have seen little if any progress and I don't know why. Oh well. I will keep the faith but I have to say that I am seeing about the same results so far that I got by eating 1800 calories and not worrying so much about my macros when I was doing all my rounds of S90. Seriously, how do these bikini girls do it? They lean out in like 8-12 weeks! Oh well. Can't get my panties in a bunch.

Those egg muffins sound good! There is only one new recipe that I have tried lately and it was really good. It was simple to make and tasted so fancy haha. I used a big bag of frozen scallops we got at costco and it was impressive how fast it was ready (and it hit all our high points: low fat, low carb, low sodium, high protein ). here is the recipe: http://lowfatcooking.about.com/od/fishdishes/r/scallopsspinach.htm

I can't tell if I am getting sick or just having allergy issues but I have a sore throat and lots of drainage. Other than that I feel fine but it makes cardio harder when I feel like I need to hack things up! haha. Hoping it is just spring allergies. Saturday we are going to our annual trip to take photos with the live bunny rabbit. Should be interesting! haha

mamareese

Bunny trip sounds fun! I just booked our weekend get away. I'm excited. It's just one night up in a bigger city but we promised the kids as soon as Daddy finished basketball we were getting out of dodge. And so we are! So I plan on keeping things tight until that weekend and my cheat meal will be on that trip. We are thinking Buffalo Wild Wings so I'd love a little splurge!!

DEFINITELY get that frustration about being able to eat more and do a workout you love = same results as trying to master the art of macro manipulation!! I am excited to see your next journey and what it brings. I think it will be a good experiment seeing how far you can push your intake with how hard you hit those exercises!!

I saw you decided it was a bug and not just allergies. I hope it's a 24 hour thing and passes quickly! :flowerforyou:

I have an odd ball sort of work day today so I'm actually getting to sit down and drink my coffee after my workout as opposed to running around like a maniac trying to get out the door. I have a bunch of meetings down the road from our house so I get to slow down my AM routine, take the kids to school, and still get work done. It's kind of a breath of fresh air. I'm enjoying it.:flowerforyou: Of course, once I wake up my beautiful babies it'll be on like donkey kong!!

Tomorrow is lower body day again since my schedule is tilted a little in the wrong direction. Dan's playing volleyball so I might 1) take kids to gym with me 2) wait until he comes back 3) do S90 legs since it is a hell of a workout. Tossing around all of those ideas right now. We'll see which one sticks! Have a great Friday and feel better!

jennieodwyer

Thanks! Yeah it is definitely not allergies. I feel like I was hit with a mack truck yesterday afternoon. I am hitting the zinc and vitamin C hard but not feeling great today that is for sure!! I am going to suck it up though for the pictures tomorrow and we are also hosting a healthy turkey dinner for my parents tomorrow night (complete with cauliflower mashed potatoes) so I have to keep it together until then.

Well the scale was up 1.4lbs honestly it isn't as bad as I thought but I think the 130 number last week was a fluke (or just a result of all the carbs) since I was at a deficit the whole time and saw a small gain. So it is more like 2 pounds but still not that bad. I am definitely not going to hit the goal of losing 10 pounds (to get to 125) in the next 2 weeks since I am sitting at 131.4 right now. I seriously don't get it though. My body just loves the 130 number. Even though I am down a little bit of body fat, it constantly wants to be at that 130 number and my measurements have stayed about the same. Grrrrr. Oh well. It is what it is. I will finish strong then go back to "regular" eating with more like 1800 calories and enjoy life a little more haha.

Sounds like a fun weekend! Oh and my husband is a BBW fan all the way! You have been killing it in the gym and doing an awesome job of staying off the scale. You are stronger than I! Have a great weekend!

mamareese

How was the bunny shoot? Wait...that didn't sound right?! How was the photo op? :bigsmile:

Are you feeling any better??? And how did the dinner go?

My eating wasn't as clean as could be this weekend. Definitely off on carbs, calorie wise no worries but I can definitely feel the effects of not keeping protein up over the weekend. The upper body workout this morning I stole off Fitness RX for women. It was great but the added set (4x15) took FOREVER. Also random thought...why is it even when I get my booty and hamstrings sore...the impact of that soreness does not last nearly as long as the quad soreness?!:huh: The intervals this AM sucked because my quads were sooo tight!!

Do you use a big food processor for the cauliflower mashed potatoes? I wanted to try the cauliflower pizza crust but don't have a food processor. It's on my to buy list but I haven't found a good deal yet!!

jennieodwyer

Everything went really well! We got a good shot and surprisingly I was able to use a bunch of coupons and we got out of there with 11 prints for less than $20. I will never be able to repeat that for sure since it was all "new customer" coupons for this studio. We had a great day. I was still sick but my mom came with us and was a HUGE help and while we waited for the picture viewing we went shopping, got lunch, rode the carousel (it was at a mall if you couldn't tell, haha) and it was a great time over all.

I wasn't 100% on the diet this weekend since I felt so crappy (and when I am sick I am soooo hungry) but I kept it in reason and don't expect it to effect my weigh in this week. Dinner went well too. Love me some delicious turkey and the cauliflower is more than acceptable. I do use a food processor to make them. I love mine. It was a cheapy that I got for mother's day when Mike was out of work but I use it a lot. I rice cauliflower in it (as well as the mashing them), grind oats to make oat flour, use the blades to shred and slice veggies, and back when I could eat bananas is was great for making that frozen banana fake ice cream :happy: I would say it is one of my top kitchen appliances.

Well I am feeling weird about my body lately. I know I have been sick but I have been eating at quite a deficit (and still am working out like normal) yet I have been feeling really flabby and "fat". I am sure it is mental but I don't get it. I have been feeling strong and tight this whole time (even when the scale was going up) yet all weekend I just felt really giggly and flabby (particularly my stomach). The only thing I can point to is that I have been drinking alot of diet soda since I have been sick since it helps with the congestion and to flush my system. I know it isn't the best but it makes me feel better and keeps me from eating crap. That and maybe just being bloated from being sick is what is causing it, but I can't figure out why I feel like this. I haven't felt prolonged flabbiness like this since I have been on the "diet" meaning over 2 years ago. I mean sure I have felt chunky some days but it is over in a few hours or by the end of the day. It has been going on all weekend. Oh well hoping it goes soon. That or maybe I am flabbier and it is just the squishy fat and I am ready for a whoosh. haha (yeah right!)

mamareese

You are a bargain hunter! Nice job on the bunny photo deal!!

So glad the dinner went well. Sounds like you put some time in the kitchen! I'll have to watch for a good deal on a food processor. Seems like I could use it for a lot more things that I originally thought!

I have to giggle in an ironic sort of way about your last paragraph. I've been feeling lean, tight and good to go. Even made the comment to DH that I'm feeling good. Come yesterday I felt bloat city and puffy. I know I didn't eat as clean or get enough water in while shopping but I still made calorie and definitely took in more water than normal on a weekend. Yet, I still am slapped with that same feeling. It's annoying to say the least! I'm sure it'll go away for both of us if we just continue to persist. But it is a let down! :grumble: :grumble:

I packed up the foam roller with me since today was leg day but I also have elliptical (at the parents) scheduled for tomorrow. Definitely need to take the time to get that in. I'll be needing it soon. I'm praying my 'bun cakes' (as LB would say) are sore because I tried to hit them every way I could this morning. The weather smacked us with a wintery mix all day yesterday through this morning. I made it to the gym and the positive out of the weather was it allowed me more time at the gym. I had to move some things around at work given the cancellations so I got 90 minutes of Mommy time at the gym. Ah the bliss.:bigsmile:

I also bought some plain Fage greek yogurt. Mixed it up like usual. It'll be an adjustment but I think it's doable. I can't believe how much that 'snack' keeps me full through the night into my 'fasted' workout. I love it!!

jennieodwyer

Yes the plain Greek yogurt is amazing for its stats and satisfaction. I find it to be quite filling for sure! Lately I have been mixing mine with the jello and then adding berries and it almost seems like I am doing something bad, haha.

Well I do feel less flabby today which is good (also might be from the lack of soda) but I am back to the soda gods today as the congestion as come back with vengeance. Not cool:grumble: I still feel ok (other than all the phlegm and headaches) so I am going to try to keep working out through it. If it gets worse like it was on Friday and Sat, I will need to take some days off of working out. Some bugs I just can't seem to fight when I am working out. It is rare but there have been a few times that I have had some nagging upper respiratory issue that doesn't seem to go away until I take several days off (not just one, haha). Hoping that isn't it because I will finish LP strong!!!

Random side note, I have no idea what it is about carbonation, but it works miracles to help work out my congestion. I got a Big Gulp of Diet Dr. Pepper at lunch today and within 10 minutes of just starting it the nastiness starting moving out (gross I know :laugh:) I have no idea why it works but it also helps my mom so we just don't question it.

Oh and I think I have found a new use for the processor! I have been seeing a lot of ground chicken recipes and I see that you can just grind up chicken breasts in it instead (cheaper since we buy breasts in HUGE bulk and healthier since a lot of ground chicken is light and dark meat). Once I do it I will let you know how it goes. I am now on the prowl for pasta free casseroles. Since we are looking to move quite aways from my job, I will need to start making more dinners on the weekend since we will be getting home right when it would be time to eat. Casseroles seem to do the best for freezing. Need to find some without pasta since I am not a pasta fan in general. So low carb casseroles it is :laugh:

90 minutes of Mommy time? that must be heaven :flowerforyou:

mamareese

It was heaven. Given that I only had 30 minutes to bang out a quick cardio sesh this morning, I'm still going to revel for a few moments in that 90 minutes. There something about ear buds and no one in the weight room at 5am that makes for bliss (if I can just GET out of bed to get to that weight room!) :laugh:

My Mom, bless her heart...I asked my Gram the other night if she ever had brussel sprouts and what they tasted like. I'm trying to expand my 'greens' and heard roasting brussel sprouts is a decent veggie option. DIdn't my Mom pick up some for dinner last night?! :flowerforyou: She's a sweetheart. She even bought some of the "Food Should Taste Good" Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips that I LOVE for the family to try. Now, no one else but me liked them :blushing: but it was nice that she did that!! She's an awesome Mama & Nana!!

Cardio was rough this morning...between my HRM fighting me, my legs not getting enough apparent foam rolling last night, and the fact it was snowing again so I wanted to stay in bed- I'll admit to a rather weak session. I've got big plans for the next two days though. A good upper body & HIIT day tomorrow. Then Dan and I are taking a vacation day to 'enjoy each other's company' on Friday so we'll be hitting the gym on leg day together. WHICH means, some of the new exercises I've been wanting to try but need assistance on, I can do! I saw this Smith Machine donkey press and a vertical press on the Smith Machine that I want to give a go. But I want him to check it out with me before I go crawling under the smith machine solo!! :blushing: Things are going well...and I'm relieved. Just gotta keep up this stride. I thought about picking out new swim wear as some incentive...you know, try it on here and there as sort of a progression to goal thing. But I'm just not sure what the 'end product' will be. Even if I get the flat tummy...I don't know that it will be enough to get me past the damage to my belly button so that I'm comfortable in a bikini. I hope so, but I have my doubts that abs and a flat stomach will be enough to distract from the massacre that pregnancy caused on my naval!! :blushing: :blushing: We'll see...I'm still eying swim suits here and there.

Please keep me up to date on the ground chicken. I buy the bulk stuff at either BJs or grab a bunch on sale at Walmart. But if grinding is an option..I will follow you into the depths of grinding my own! I love the stuff way more than ground turkey...the Jenny O Lean ground turkey just goes on sale way more often then the ground chicken!!

I didn't realize the carbonation had that effect...but heck yes, if that works why not?

jennieodwyer

Hey I am here. Just barely! I was home sick yesterday since the coughing took a major turn the night before last and I was running on no sleep and still had to do three hours last night at the Ronald McDonald House. Sooo.... I tried catching up on a bit of rest (and I squeezed in a short weight workout but shhhhh....don't tell my hubby) but I still feel like crap and am coughing up all sorts of nastiness so I am giving myself a true rest day today and tomorrow to try to kick this thing once and for all. If not I will have to go to the Dr. and will probably need a round of steroids to clean out my lungs.

That is so sweet that you and you hubby have a vacation day together. And that is awesome that you go to the gym on it

Yes I will definitely let you know how the chicken goes. It isn't a grinder per se but people say you can just shove the breasts in there and it works the same. So why not give it a whirl?

mamareese

How are you feeling?? :flowerforyou:

Friday was great...lots of 1-on-1 with the hubster. Heck of a gym session and got lots done. It was awesome. Wish we could do it more often! Of course this weekend we have Friday off for the holiday and I'm thinking of taking Monday off too. <---This is what happens when I take one long weekend...I want more!! :bigsmile:

Weekend was eh. Workout was good Saturday but my food was poor after allowing myself to eat Pizza Hut. I'm just not moving forward mentally with allowing for one cheat meal, it turns into poor choices the next day. It's still a struggle for me. I did make spaghetti squash, I'm hoping it turns out and that I like it because it was super simple. It's my dinner for the next couple of nights so we'll see. Then it's on to eating out 2 days this weekend so I'm trying to keep the calories and carbs tight. It's going to be a struggle. I was ready to get back into the gym this morning though after a day of on Sunday. So much so that I woke up 3x from 400-500a so I'm sure I'll pay for that later!!

jennieodwyer

We are opposites this week. I wish I could work hard core like you but the bronchitis is just giving me fits! My diet has been very good (it has to be since I can't work out) but I am dying to get back to it and really kill it this week! I have been on antibiotics and steroids since Friday and while I see definite improvement, I am not back to normal for sure. The biggest thing is the cough that keeps me up at night. That is the worst. I have been trying to squeeze weight lifting in here and there just because this is my last few days of LP but it isn't consistent or that effective. Was hoping to be back this morning but since I was up at 4am hacking I decided I needed the sleep more. I will try to get in another weight training workout tonight (without my husband's knowledge since he is constantly on me about not taking enough time off when I am sick). I am sorry, if I can go to work and clean the house for showings and do all sorts of other stuff in daily life I can do 30-40 minutes of weight training. Its not like I am running a marathon :laugh: I haven't done any cardio since Tuesday. I am sure he is right but I am finishing this out

Glad you had a great Friday. I have to say, even if LP doesn't get me where I wanted to be weight wise, I am glad I did it since it taught me a lot about different macros and how I respond to it. As I said before I was surprised but how filling an extra amount of fat was (yolks, higher fat dairy) and I have to say I thought this high of a deficit and working out these last few weeks would make me horribly hungry but it really hasn't. Granted I haven't been 100% with workouts so that might have changed things. But I am surprised to know that as long as my protein is up the lower calories are quite manageable. I don't plan to keep them that low after this week but now I see I can do that low when I want to cut again as long as I keep my protein up. I think after this I will slowly increase calories and instead of worrying about keeping a perfect ratio I am going to have a goal protein amount and goal fat amount and let everything else fall where they may. We will see how that work out :laugh:

mamareese

Very true...it seems we were opposites. Now hopefully we can both get back on track (you with your medicine and me with putting my head back on right!! :blushing: ) and kick the crap out of the rest of March. Last week of CLX eh? Nice work lady! Awesome job!! Add that to your profile as ACCOMPLISHED!! :drinker:

LP is definitely a learning game. Heck, it all is. I've definitely learned alot this March and I have some ideas heading into the next 6 weeks. I am going to look at changing things up slightly at the beginning of April. One full week of April to finish out this 'plan' and reassess where I am at. Overall, I am pleased with how things have went. Sure, I've hit some roadbumps that I placed in front of myself but overall I've followed through. And that's the point of all of this...continue to learn and move forward!!

I did make the spaghetti squash and tried it last night. It wasn't wonderful, it wasn't awful. I think it's one of those acquired tastes that I'll just keeping whipping up and altering as need be. I will say that the spaghetti squash broccoli combo filled me up and I couldn't finish my plate of food. <---Never happens. :laugh: But it was very filling. I have 2 more meals out of that concoction and then I'll need to prep more food. Still trying to figure out what to take with us on our overnight. We have a microwave and a fridge...we will eat out one meal and eat at the hotel for the free breakfast (which hopefully means some eggs to sustain me). It should be fine. Though we are going to Chuck E Cheese for the kids, we aren't eating there which is good because they don't offer much in the way of staying on track. Sure, they have the salad bar but that all just looks a little to wrinkly for me!!

I did miss my morning workout. We have been having issues with the thermostat so Dan has been resetting the electric to try and fix it. But in doing so, I forget to adjust the clock so it was 6am before I got out of bed. It's leg day too. So I've got to see when I can fit that in. I should have grabbed S90 to take to my parents but hauling the weights over is so much work! Maybe plyo? We'll see...I don't want to miss a complete workout. If all else fails, I might double up tomorrow. We'll see what work brings!! Hopefully I can find time for something.

jennieodwyer

Oh I know you will get it done no matter what! I am still fighting this cough but I was finally allowed to work out this morning without my husband all over me about not taking enough time off. So that was nice. Yeah I am glad I will be finishing out. I am curious to see the results. I will keep CLX but I don't know if I will ever do another full rotation of it. I am not ready to throw it out like I was with Insanity but for some reason I don't think it was as effective for me as S90. I think the faster pace gave me more of a cardio effect I needed but I don't want to jump the gun. Definitely worth keeping but not jumping right into another round of it for sure.

I am off schedule with CLX this week with the sick days but I am getting all the last weeks workouts in (I did all three leans in a row in the last 3 days) and then I will do the cardio ones. I am actually going to be calling the whole thing on Thursday instead of Friday. Friday was my actual finish date to take measurements, etc but we were invited to my niece's birthday party on Thursday night and though I can make sure I eat healthy I can't control the sodium,etc so I just am calling it a day early so my final numbers aren't screwed up. Although Mike is going to love me when I make him take pictures of me at 5am on Thursday before I start my workout. haha I always like the pics to be right when I do my official weigh in when I am all dehydrated from the night and low on sodium from the day before. I know it makes very little difference but I like eliminating all possible variables. Since we usually do measurements/weigh on Fridays (which are my rest days) he gets to do it right when he wakes up at 6 but with the schedule being all messed up.

Then we leave on Friday for a three day lodge retreat, which should be alot of fun. It is for Mike's mom's 60th birthday that we are all getting together and doing this package:

http://www.roughcreek.com/specials/PDF/RC_EASTER-2013.pdf

It is expensive (glad his parents are paying) but it looks like a good time for all. Have fun Easter plans?

I can't wait to see your results in April. You have been doing a great job staying off the scale! I just joined another challenge with the group that I did the Easter one for. I wasn't going to since I didn't want to have to post when I gained over random trips and while I was increasing my calories a bit but I did like seeing the overall weight loss of people in my group and even though I had up and downs and didn't think I lost a lot, I could look at the numbers and see that I was still one of the highest % lost. So it helps put things in perspective. So I signed up

I don't know what exercise plan I am going with just yet. I have a few random youtube sets I have been checking out and I toy with going back to S90 but we will see. I was researching all my numbers and macros for the last time I have the most success of keeping my weight under 130 (last April, wow its been a year with very little progress, grrr). My average intake for that month was 1816 a day with a 35-40c/25f/35-40p. So I will play around with similar macros. I find this 50p/20f/30c very doable but it requires so much more planning to keep the fat down and the protein that high. I think for everyday life I want to increase the fat alittle and decrease the protein, but when I want to start cutting again I would go to those ratios first since they kept me pretty full on low calories (for me).

The one thing I am already starting to do is to just use the BMF to determine the calories burned during workouts. I was using the off body edit feature and manually entering in the activity since I felt the BMF wasn't really getting all the workout activity when it was like weight lifting. I wanted to err on the high side when I was doing such a big cut. Now that I am switching to a smaller deficit I would rather err on the lower side so I am just wearing the BMF without the HR for workouts. I will also be syncing it with MFP once I finish this week so I can work directly from those numbers. Should be interesting :laugh:

Yeah as for the squash, I feel like it does take some getting used to. I certainly isn't pasta and if you think of it like pasta you will be disappointed. You have to think of it as a healthy alternative that gives your twice as much food for half the calories. For me pasta itself has very little taste and it is all about the sauces you put on it. I treat the squash the same way. It is more like filler than main course Honestly, that is how I like to eat almost everything. I am all into volumetrics. I pour my small amounts of meat and sauce all over veggies (like I do with my broccoli and lean cuisine) and I feel like I am eating like a king. I am all about the volume. Tonight is a great example. I made my crockpot fiesta chicken which is supposed to be used in tortillas but I like to but it on a huge bed of lettuce/salad and let the juices be a bit of a dressing with a little sour cream (maybe I will try the greek yogurt instead :laugh: ). For half the calories of a tortilla I get to eat 4x as much. haha What can I say, small amounts of food make me sad :laugh:

mamareese

Yep, missed it. Worked late, traveled cross counties to get children, get broken vehicles to the shop, all things that inhibited a late workout. It happens. I got mine in this AM, i'll just have to move rest day. So be it. Onward and upward.

Your get away sounds fun! Definitely a nice little family get away! Enjoy yourself! I am counting down the hours until we leave. Granted its only a one night jaunt but the kids are excited, I'm excited, and with all the things going wrong lately- we need it as a family! Of course, everyone is healthy and we are thankful for that. And you try to keep that at the front of your minds but with 2 vehicles that need major shop repairs, a heater that's taking a crap while we continue to get snow, job searches, and money issues...it all piles up to getting you to a point you need a break. Even if it's a one night hotel and Chuck E Cheese! :bigsmile: I'm down for it as long as everyone is excited and together!!

Poor Mike. LoL. Props to him for getting up to do it! I've always got night pictures because Dan wouldn't be able to operate a camera before the sunrise. :laugh:

Stayed at the parents house- they had pizza and boneless wings...I had spaghetti squash and turkey sausage. Everyone made light of it so it wasn't too bad. Granted I wanted some damn pizza! But I got mine over the weekend...and will be overboard I'm sure on our dinner this weekend. It's all worth it in the end, right?! Moment on the lips, forever on the hips- or whatever mantra I need to repeat to myself this week!

I definitely think it'll be a nice transition to utilizing your BMF and really seeing what it can assist you with. I'll be interested to follow that journey. I'm not too worried about what comes next, but I am eying what to do for that final push before our little vacation. Exploring some options so we'll see. I think after we get back I'm going to cut back on # of exercises weight wise to increase cardio slightly and see what that impact has. If it's a good one, I'll have a better idea of what to do during those last few weeks. I have time to experiment as long as I stick to the plan!!

I am trying to rack my brain about what to prep to travel with. We are going to leave in the AM but be eating out of the cooler for lunch Friday...kids-simple sammies, they are happy...Dan-as long as it fills him up he's good...me, something that doesn't involve a microwave is a little more difficult but I'm wondering about just breadless sandwiches. Then it'll be up to me to make responsible (<---cough, cough) choices while eating out. I won't pretend I'm not going to eat the pasta if we end up at Outback or some wings if we go to BWW, but every other meal does not need to happen! Head on straight, head on straight!!

Did the cough hit you again last night? Or are you coming around the bend on the final stretch of it?! Fingers crossed it'll be the last one of this season!! :flowerforyou: