Young Working Women (career, not corner) *CLOSED GROUP*

twistyBee

I started eating Activia to help become more regular. However it didn't really help but the taste grew on me, so I was eating it just as my daily yogurt for breakfast. I do find that the mornings I eat oatmeal instead I am fuller longer. I am thinking of trying those probiotic pills, I used to take a supplement to help stay regular but when I moved I couldn't find the brand anymore. Long story short, no more Activia for me and I've made the switch from the sugar filled Quaker oatmeal packets to a (hopefully healthier) Oat Revolution which from what I can tell is all natural and less sugar.

purpleprose

30DS is killing me! I'm on day 2, though I didn't have proper hand weights yesterday, so this morning it felt even more intense. I know it's a good thing, and doing it at 6:30 before I'm fully awake is smart, but it is definitely nice and challenging.

The only problem with working out that early (for me, anyway) is that it revs up my metabolism and then I'm hungry ALL FREAKING DAY! Trying to up the protein and good/healthy fats to compensate, but it's hard. The munchies are out of control! :laugh:

Drunkadelic

I have been working out in the morning for a week now - and I LOVE all the extra time it gives me in the afternoon. But I have been soooo bad with my diet. I don't know what my problem is

Like seriously ladies, I went at the nutella jar with a spoon last night Someone please, kick my a**

osucristina

Sooo... I'm thinking about getting off MFP for a bit, I don't even know if it's possible to just go "inactive" but I am really over counting calories. Plus, when I cook almost everything I know my things aren't completely accurate. I'm tired of the mindset that "I have to work out so I can eat dinner."

Just thinking for now..

Drunkadelic

don't leave us!

CaseyBee

What about continuing to log in, share recipes and chat with us, and just discontinuing the actual calorie logging? I feel like you're an integral part of the group and I know we'd all miss you, but it really comes down to what you know is right for you. All any of us wants is sanity and a little bit of happiness, right?

laurad1406

i have to admit....i'm taking a calorie counting hiatus. i'm keeping up (or trying to) with the message boards and what MFP's are up to, but i was going a little crazy and starting to resent my diary!

how was everyone's weekend!? I moved into a new apartment this weekend, so I am SORE today! but it's worth it, I love my new place

osucristina

I agree- I think that will just take a break from calorie logging! Man, I had a whirlwind of a weekend and I'm glad to don't weigh in today! Can you believe we're going on 34 days of 100+ heat?! It's the surface of the sun, and it is not fun.

Well- it is Monday and it is time for new challenges! How did every bode with the temptations challenges last week? I did pretty well, I turned down a few things, including my fav mexican restaurant and a pizza place. Buttttt my boyfriend was visiting this weekend and we did go for BBQ (his choice, not mine blech) But really I didn't do too bad. I had a flop with a black bean burger recipe. But success with homemade chicken fried steaks!! I'm currently debating on attempting "fried" green beans, because I LOVE LOVE LOVE real fried green beans. I hope everyone enjoyed a leisurely week of workouts, I know i did! My body took advantage of it too and slept slept slept lol.

So- here are our new challenges

Health challenge: Go to the market and pick up something you keep wanting to try and haven't, or something you just haven't tried at all and find something to do with it. I don't know about you guys, but I hate getting stuck in food ruts. My coworker inspired this one when she told me she bought "jickama" at the store. haha. I died. (it's pronounced hickuhma). I need a pick up a few staples, so I'm going to spend some time perusing the produce and see what I can find.

Fitness challenge: 5k. I think it would be really cool if we all found a 5k in our areas in the future (fall please, summer is BRUTAL this year) and then trained for a 5k! Let me know what you think, and I can post some links to some great training plans!

Happy Monday everyone!

charc16

Christina, I just spent the week in Kansas City and I seriously left the hotel three times. I do not understand how anyone can survive living there. We are in Oklahoma City next year for convention, but hopefully it won't be so HOT!

I did not do any workouts while at convention. I was literally up at 6:00 am every morning and went to bed at 11:00 pm. It was the convention for my organization, so I didn't get to pick and choose which seminars and workshops I wanted to go to, skip a luncheon or anything. Oh no...my time was accounted for every hour of every day. I did not weigh myself this morning, but I'm sure that 7 days of hotel food has not done anything for me.

I am heading to CT on Wednesday after work but I think I will be better about eating and exercising. I am excited to see my family and my dad and I already have plans to go running together.

Also, something super awesome and exciting happened at convention. Remember when we were talking about our dream jobs and I said I wanted to work for ALSAC/St. Jude in Memphis? Well there were two people from ALSAC at our convention, and they both said to me, at separate times, that if I would ever be willing and interested in moving to Memphis to work for St. Jude to give them a call because they want me to work for them. Yay!

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great week. I was thinking of you all!

osucristina

Charlotte- that is so freakin awesome about St.Jude!!! How cool. Also, I happen to LIVE in OKC, so um... yeah, it's just as hot. Lol.

osucristina

Man- we must ALL be busy this week- lol.

Keshia- I'm curious as to how the settling in is going?

Update on me: I liked not counting my calories so WHY am I still doing it damn it?! I have got to shake that mindset for a while. I started 5k training yesterday. I try not to let myself get down because I once said "I'm starting half marathon training" but I did complete the 15 minute easy run, and today it is onto 20. My body is sooooorrreeeee. Waaaahhhhhh.

I found an awesome organic local restaurant I'm trying to lunch today! There also an organic local cupcake place near (coincidence? i think not! lol) I'm really doing my best to find local healthy spots! One of our pizza places uses veggies from their own garden, it's awesome.

What local places do you guys love? Is there a good mix of healthy places, or do you just assume your going to splurge when you go to eat?

AmberM6912

Happy Hump Day!

I've had a crazy couple of weeks. I started the new job and I LOVE it. SO different from my last position in every way possible and so far so good! I have had a hard time keeping up with calories and stuff the past couple of weeks between moving and starting a new job plus a week in florida. I havent gained (well... a pound while I was at the beach, but that came back off pretty quick) but I haven't lost either. I guess maintaining is ok but starting today I'm back on the wagon. Here's to making it the rest of the way to my goal! I still haven't started my 30DS but hopefully I will do that on Monday. Life is starting to settle and my boyfriend (whom I am now living with) and I are getting our routine down pat. We are planning healthier meals and things are looking great. I'm excited for this new chapter in my life!

I bought a new melon this week, a casaba. It's in the honey dew family and seems pretty similar to me. Yummy, though. Branching out on my fruits and veggies is something I've wanted to try so that was my first step. My boyfriend and I have actually been talking about doing a 5K when it gets cooler so I plan on bringing it up to him tonight and maybe looking around online to see if we can find one in maybe October/November-ish... although since I live in GA, it's still bound to be in the 80s then. Whew.

I hope everyone has been doing well! I've been keeping up with reading the posts for the most part but haven't had a lot of time to reply. I miss my girls. You are all seriously my biggest inspiration!! Hope you're all doing GREAT!!

KeshiaV

Hi from Virginia I'm finally semi settled in my brand new city and I love it. The first few days, I literally walked EVERYWHERE just because I could. It's a total change from living in middle of nowhere Louisiana, where my old town had one stoplight. I'm so excited to actually get settled and make this feel like home. My furniture is being shipped and hasn't arrived yet, so I'm existing with an air mattress and pots and pans. It feels a bit like camping with the internet lol. I don't mind though because I've been so busy finding my way around that I haven't spent much time in my barren apartment. My furniture is due to arrive today, so things should finally start to come together.

Restaurants around here are so much healthier than ones in Louisiana. I'm always surprised when I look at menus and see vegetarians sections and nothing fried. What a concept! There's a frozen yogurt place about a block away that specializes in fat free, no sugar added frozen delights... I haven't tried them yet, but I'm more than excited. There's a fresh foods market right down the street from me, and I'll definitely scour that for a new fruit/veggie to add to my list. I've always wanted to try dragon fruit, but I've never been gutsy enough. I saw some last week, hopefully they'll still have them when I go back and I'll keep ya'll updated

I started the 30DS a couple of days after I moved in. I think today is my day 7. My knees hurt (is that normal?), but the rest of me feels pretty good. I just can't stand Jilly's voice anymore (if I hear her say that even 400 lb people can do jumping jacks one more time I might explode!!:explode: ), so I mute her and blast my iphone and jump around like a crazy person.

Okay, that's it for now, not that it wasn't long and rambe-ly enough. (is ramble-ly a word?! )

Cheers!

Keshia

osucristina

I have to complain for a moment. My PMS symptoms are A RAGING RIVER OF FIRE AND WHATEVER ELSE INFLICTS INSANE DAMAGE AND PAIN. OMG. I actually went to the doc because I thought something was wrong and what did I pay him to tell me? "Take some Aleve, it's really the best." AND wearing spanx and feeling bloated really is NOT a good feeling. I want to put on an xxl tshirt and lay on my couch for possibly days at a time. It's not fair. Wasn't I just AT this time of the month and now it's time again?! ::sighs:: 2-3 weeks just isn't enough of a break. DAMN IT.

OK, that is all.

purpleprose

Hi from Virginia I'm finally semi settled in my brand new city and I love it.

Hello from Virginia as well!!! I love it down here (I'm originally from up north) and don't ever plan to go back to the snow and cold.

Is the frozen yogurt place Sweet Frog? It's a local-ish chain based in Richmond, though it's been expanding across the state. I've had to limit the Sweet Frog because otherwise I'd be getting it every day.

CaseyBee

Hey Keshia, that's great to hear! Sounds like somewhere I need to travel to.
My knees felt pretty awful for the first week or so after beginning Ripped in 30, but I know it's not the same program, so take that for what it's worth.

laurad1406

hi ladies, did everyone have a great weekend!?

and ugh, I FINALLY started 30DS and I struggled. my legs feel like they're on fire and my knees are killing me, but I'm staying positive that it will be worth it!

KeshiaV

I'm originally from up north (Chicago) too! Snow and cold just isn't for me. The yogurt place is called Skinny Dip... is that larger chain? I had turtle frozen yogurt from them this weekend and it was DELICIOUS!! I need to make sure this doesn't develop into an addiction lol.

Casey, you should absolutely come to Virginia. I'm anxiously awaiting the fall, because I hear it's beautiful around that time of year. Really, I'm just excited to experience fall again, Louisiana only has 2 seasons- severely hot and warm.

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one having knee problems w/ the 30DS. My knees started to kill me on like day 6. I took a few days off because I was out of town, but I seriously need to get back on it today. I think today will be my day 8, level 1. Almost to the dreaded level 2....

AmberM6912

hmm... was today supposed to be a weigh in day? Oops! I think we all missed it! I will weigh in tomorrow morning!

CaseyBee

Amber, I thought so too - only it JUAT occurred to me... at 9:30pm... oops.
Oh well. It's my husband's and my 2nd Wedding Anniversary - looking forward to at least 73 more of these bad boys. (Anniversaries, not husbands.

purpleprose

I'm having one of those really ravenous days, where you're inexplicably hungry for no reason at all.

sigh.

Drunkadelic

I'm having one of those really ravenous days, where you're inexplicably hungry for no reason at all.

sigh.

Is it close to TOM?

Try to drink lots of water and eat fibrous veggies to help fill you up. Other than that, I know how you feel and I'm sorry

purpleprose

Nope - I wish I could blame it on that. I think it's because I had an intense workout yesterday and my muscles are in there yelling "FEED ME" to my stomach.

Drunkadelic

Try something with a good mix of protein and a complex carb. When I'm really hungry, a snack like apple slices and peanut butter works wonders. Also... water water water water!

purpleprose

Try something with a good mix of protein and a complex carb. When I'm really hungry, a snack like apple slices and peanut butter works wonders. Also... water water water water!

LOL - I seriously just ate an apple with peanut butter!!!!!

osucristina

I was feeling like that last night (for me, it is TOM) and I drank an entire Brita pitcher of water in an hour and it didn't help jack crap. Lol. I was STILL hungry. I was stuffed my face with everything as non-healthy as I could. Which in my house is organic ginger snaps, beef jerky and Annie's Bunny Grahams, so nothing even off the charts kill your diet kind of food either! I was miserable lol.

I was super swamped yesterday, although i did manage to weight in- 152.4 which is AWESOME since it' s TOM, means basically no gain, or I am actually under- which would mean I lost weight, well once it's over.

For challenges this week (sorry again for missing yesterday) we're going with a "You Pick Two". That's right. Pick your own challenges and stick to it. Or try. Ha. I swear, my downfall is always motivation. Here are mine for the week:

Health- I'm trying to eat a salad everyday, or until I run out of my salad makings.
Fitness- Um. Seriously. This week- my fitness goal is to just get up and DO something. I've been lethargic. ::sighs::

PS- Anyone seen all of our missing folks? Gayle? Morgan? Sally? Katie? Kat? I hope you all are well! Or you changed your screen names and I missed it lol

twistyBee

I am weighing in this week at 146, gained back 2 lbs...I have a feeling that I am not being strict enough with my diet, but I am trying to change my eating habits over all for the long run and not just for a few months to loose some lbs. While I wouldn't mind loosing 10-15 lbs, I am somewhat comfortable at my current weight and as I experience my weight fluctuations I am able to see what food choices I'm making are having a good/bad impact on me. As long as I keep a positive attitude and not get down about not dropping lbs quickly, I think this will work out for me. Does this make sense to anyone or does it sound crazy??

laurad1406

i think that makes complete sense! I'll weigh in when i get home from work in a little bit. I have a feeling I've gained :ohwell:

I'm in the same boat though, i'm not terribly UNcomfortable with where I am now, I'm just also not completely comfortable. But, this also means sometimes I lack the motivation i need, because i could DEFINITELY be healthier.

Speaking of, I met a friend for lunch today at a tavern that has THE best chicken tenders (which if you've read my profile, you know i'm a sucker for good chicken tenders).....so I guess i've been doing better with food than i thought, because I haven't eaten anything fried in a while, and my stomach was KILLING me!!! May be TMI (sorry, that concept doesnt really exist in my mind) but I had to RUN to the bathroom at work as soon as I got back!

CaseyBee

While I wouldn't mind loosing 10-15 lbs, I am somewhat comfortable at my current weight and as I experience my weight fluctuations I am able to see what food choices I'm making are having a good/bad impact on me. As long as I keep a positive attitude and not get down about not dropping lbs quickly, I think this will work out for me. Does this make sense to anyone or does it sound crazy??

Oh my gosh, I'm the exact same. While I'd really like to get to my goal weight, I'm struggling with putting real effort in because I feel pretty good, I look pretty good, and it's awfully tempting to start floating. Okay, so I've been floating for like 3 weeks now. Heh...

Cristina, I was really excited because last week I walzed into the store and bought a package of (brand new fresh) "stir fry beef" from the meat dept, and proceeded to make a (tasty!) pineapple beef stir-fry - two things I'd never done before and had always wanted to do. Thanks for that challenge.

I think these next two weeks, I'll also be focusing on excercise. I've been adjusting to working 11-12hr days 4x/week, and finally coming to the realization that I actually have to enforce a bedtime on myself, in order to have any hope of working out on work days. Health-wise, I'm going to go back to logging everything I put in my mouth - and not eating it if I can't log it. I'm so close to my goal weight, and it's really a shame to start slacking just because I wanted a cookie AND a beer... you know?

Oh, I was up .9lbs this weigh-in, to 134.9 (my scale obviously employs scare tactics... not 135! Anything but that!

AmberM6912

so... I weighed in at 138.7, a little bit of a gain but still pretty much in maintenance. I have got to get my butt in gear and start losing again. I'm getting out of my routine and I'm not happy enough with my weight to keep slipping. AHHH. It's hard to keep up the motivation when I'm SO busy all the time! Finding time to work out is rough!