200+ (Week 16)

akasullengal

Last week of our Valentine's Day challenge! I mentioned this before, but didn't get feedback on it. Final weigh-in for the challenge on Friday, even though it's not technically the holiday yet? That way we stick to our Friday weigh-ins and can start a new 6-week challenge next week.

4 months into our journey! So very proud of all of us!! :flowerforyou:

Good luck with the weigh-ins gals!

pinbotchick

Friday is great for me. Good luck in the morning.

KendalBeee

man, they switched up the Zumba schedule for February so I didn't get to go tonight. Instead I will have to go Thursday next week, Monday night the following week, and then Thursday for week after that (this week they had it on Tuesday)...wtf mate? So I went over to my bff's house tonight and we played Just Dance on the wii. I wore my heart rate monitor and it said I burned 700 cals in an hour so that was a pretty decent workout. Plus it was a lot of fun!!!!

We are about to get another snow/ice storm starting tonight and it lasts through Saturday. Hopefully being snowed in will give me time to start editing all my pictures

and yeah, I think we should keep our Friday weigh ins. Six weeks from this coming weigh in will be the last weekend of March. Theres not really a big holiday we can associate with it unless you want to use April Fools Day, but thats closer to the next Friday. I need to think about what I want my next goal to be. I'm not hitting these 10 pound goals, so I think I'm going to change my focus to something more like, I challenge myself to work out 4-5 times a week....unless I get a second job and don't have time...then there will be a formula....5 minus the number of nights I worked during the week equals the number of workouts I will do for the week

anyways, I will check in with you ladies in the morning!

pinbotchick

Good morning gang, TGIF. I only have to work a half day today then am off til Mon:bigsmile: I discharged 4 clients this week so unless the phone rings with new evals, next week should be easy. Which is good since I need to get all of the tax stuff in order:sad: I dislike tax time. No, I just dislike paperwork and file shuffling.

So the good news is I was 202.25 this morning. That's down a pound from last week. And means I hit my goal for the challenge as long as I don' t gain this week. It's the first time I actually made one of our goals.

DH is in a snit. Tues is our 19th wedding anniversary but I want to go out with my book club. A local author is having a meet and chat to promote her new book and my crew is going for dinner. Our favorite restaurant is closed on Tues anyway. He wouldn't even have known it was our anniversary if I hadn't told him the date. I am trying to get DH to go celebrate on Mon or Wed. *sigh* Men:grumble: I will have to be extra sweet all weekend and make his favorite foods. I think he just wanted to c/o.

cds2327

weighing in at......
209!! Two pounds down from last week ladies!!!
Officially out of the teen now!!! Yippie!!!!

I'm in for always weighing in on Fridays, no matter when the holiday lands.
Hope you all doing well!!

akasullengal

Today's weight: 206.8 (-2.2 this week)

Success! I'm surprised considering I ate out twice this week not super healthily. I won't make my 10 pound loss goal unless I lose like 3+ pounds, so that won't happen, but I'm perfectly okay with that. Sure, I'd like that to be what I lose, but I know I've pretty much steadily lost 1-2 pounds per week since we first started (16 weeks ago! eee!), and that's exactly the way to do it. It's just a goal that I'd like, but am not torn up if I don't reach it.

So, yesterday was the big c25k day. 20 min running. It was a success... sort of! So, I never completely stopped, but it wasn't pretty. I did briefly step to the sides to get a couple sips of water, but that's it. I was hoping to start at 4.5mph, as I'm finding it's a good middle ground between my best stride (5.0- but get tired quickly) and were I feel most comfortable (4.0-but shorter stride and shins will start hurting), but 3 minutes in (yes, 3) I was totally pooped out! I don't know if it was because I was just tired, or if it was a mental thing, so I decreased to 4.0 and did my run, which is more of a shuffling walk at that speed for the majority of the time. For the last 2 minutes, I upped it to 5.0 and felt good. Because I felt like I sort of cheated the run by going so slow, I did an extra minute of running, totaling 21 min, then I walked 2, and ran another 2 before I cooled down. I actually burned a bit less calories than earlier in the week because I wasn't going as fast, but my distance was a bit longer (by like 0.1mile). Glad to have made it through it. I don't feel as accomplished as I thought I would. I think because I didn't do it quite the way I wanted to (consistent 4.5mph). PLUS, the only treadmill open was the one in the front, so everyone could watch my fat booty as I was struggling along. Blech!

Pinbot- way to go!!! Reaching the 10 pound goal a week early? You are the group superstar this challenge! And what's more exciting... next challenge, at least you (hopefully some others as well) will break the 200 pound mark which is SO EXCITING! And I feel you on the taxes. I need to work on them over the next week or so. First I need to get my w2 in the mail. It's in there... just hasn't come yet. The federal government doesn't move at lightning speed, let's say.

cds- I'm SO happy for you this week! I know you've been discouraged with not losing as much weight as you would like (and totally deserve to!). You think the extra calories this week and eating more of your exercise calories helped? Doesn't it feel great to be out of the teens? Last week I was the same way. Never going back!! And less than 10 away from breaking the 200s!

Hope you all have a fabulous day! I'm really only working a half day. Am at the clinic this morning, but have a talk on campus (lunch provided!) which should be interesting (at least to me... then again, i'm a nerd). Then I'm going to go home and nap. I think I'll try and do a dvd this evening. Last time at the colloquium series, they had jimmy johns, which if I just eat the veggie sandwich isn't HORRENDOUS, but if I eat the chips and cookie that come with it, not very good.. in fact over my daily calories (w/o exercise) alone. I need to refrain from that, but we'll see. As long as I'm good this weekend, I won't beat myself up too bad over it.

pinbotchick

Congrats cd on your loss!!!! I think it's because you ate more.

Kristina - I think your counts. I'm proud of you sorry can't do smilies from the iPhone. Nice job on your loss too. Well gotta run to see my next client.

makeitallsue

O MY Gosh, would you look at us super heroines dropping these pounds....YES!!! I fianlly lost 2 pounds, 2 pounds in one week...you have no idea how long I have waited for that scale to cooperate!! I do think eating more helped...cds, looks like you tried that this weeks too...heck ya, eat those calories..you know it does make sense..lots of those 2 hour workout days I was only eating maybe 1500 at most of 2200 calories, my gosh that would be I was only taking in like 500 calories, heck I did that a lot over the past year...I'm surprised my body even gave me the little 1/2 pound here and there, heck last summer I was running 3-4 times a week and then I was only eating 1200 calories, I didn't have a HRM then so not sure of the burn, but it had to be up there, running for 45 minutes or so really burns the calories.....I'm just very happy right now, sorry to be so glushy....
my weight today is 211.2, down a solid 2 pounds....I will not make the goal either, but I feel it is priceless that I finally learned something and it sunk in my head enough for me to see a difference! Thanks Pinbot, you were a big help there...you know I also noticed you break up your exercise, morning and evening and I have been reading that is good to do also...your a powerhouse calorie burning machine all day that way....:bigsmile:

Thanks for all the support ladies...I so appreciate it!!

AKA, great job on your running, you are a very smart girl, doing what your bady needs you to do is very important...and you will only gain strength from it...keep at it, your doing awesome!!

cds2327

I think eating those calories does help. Hopefully I'll keep on this downward success! It does feel great to be out of the teens.....though only by one, but still IM NOT GOING BACK IN THERE!
aka, great job on the running. i go between 4.0 and 5.0 also (but im dying at 5.0. right now for me i am just trying to make it the 2 miles, and i dont care about the speed.
love to all, and to all a great day!!

pinbotchick

Debra (flowers for you) congrats! Gush all you want - that's what we're here for. I know just how you feel. Next week you will be out of the two teens as well. I hope you like chocolate - I made virtual (calorie free) cupcakes to celebrate all of our successes. I plan to pig out and have two. Anyone else want to join the party?

Nikki143

Hey Ladies!
I am down to 222 for this weeks weigh in!! I think my scale is cooky.. & the battery is dying, I'll probably buy a new scale...
But I did loose! & it looks like everyone else lost too! :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: I'll have 5 coronas to that!! Good job ladies!:flowerforyou:
I am cool with the friday weigh in for our valentines challenge... I definetly won't make my goal though, but thats ok, slow & steady wins the race.. (I hope!!)

pinbotchick

Hey NIkki - I was just entering the weights into the chart. You are actually 1 pound from away from losing 10 pounds this challenge. I have you starting at 231 on Jan 1st. The rest of us only set 10 pound goals but you set 15. You are right in there with the rest of us. Nice job.

pinbotchick

So Debra - now you get the double post

I just finished the best desert. Well to me it was a sweet treat. Microwaved apple.

Core apple and place in microwave safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Nuke on high for 3 min and let cool for 5 min. Sprinkle with cinnamon and enjoy. My apple was 122 gr for 63 cal If you need more sweetener, the directions noted you could add honey or brown sugar but that will up your calories.

Nikki143

Hey NIkki - I was just entering the weights into the chart. You are actually 1 pound from away from losing 10 pounds this challenge. I have you starting at 231 on Jan 1st. The rest of us only set 10 pound goals but you set 15. You are right in there with the rest of us. Nice job.

oH, wow! never noticed!! Thank you for pointing this out! I felt that my goal was too high, but I definetly thought I could achieve.. Hopefully I'll loose 1 lb by next week to have lost 10! Tahnks Pinbot!

Nikki143

You know what? I haventbeen loosing & I'm like WTF!?? I was thinking today... I haven't been drinking but more than 1 cup of aqua a day.. So, Duhhh! Thats half my problem right there!

makeitallsue

Nikki, you are doing great 9 pounds in 5 weeks is super!!!!
CDS, great job on your running, you should enter a race soon...they are so fun and exciting and runners all seem to be really nice..I think they just all feel great:laugh: :laugh:

Not for sure if everyone received a virtual cupcake from Pinbot....they were awesome:bigsmile: Thanks Victoria!!

Yum, the apple sounds great, I think I'll try that for breakfast tomorrow!

It started snowing here today....so I made soup to warm me up...thought I'd share, it was pretty easy!
Double post Pinbot


Italian Vegetable soup

Serving 1 cup
Calories 99
Protein 5 gm
Carbs 20 gm
Total fat 0.5 gm
Fiber 4 gm
Sodium 140 gm
Iron 2 gm

Ingredients
4 cups water
4 teaspoons vegetable broth
2 large tomatoes, chopped and seeded (1 cup)
2 medium carrots, sliced (1 cup)
1 medium stalk celery, sliced (½ cup)
1 medium onion, chopped (½ cup)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons fresh basil or ½ teaspoon dried
¼ teaspoon salt
1 whole bay leaf
½ cup uncooked macaroni…( I used whole wheat…which would bump up the fiber and protein content even more)
1 15-ounce red or white kidney beans, rinsed nad drained
¼ cup green beans, cut…(I used much more than this amount)
2 small zucchini, cut into 1- inch slices (2 cups)

In large pan, heat water, broth, tomatoes, carrots, celery, onion, garlic , parsley, basil, salt and bay leaf to boiling. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.

Stir in macaroni, green beans, and zucchini. Heat to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 -15 minutes, or until macaroni and veggies are tender. Remove bay leaf. Serve warm.

Enjoy….I loved this soup, my kids…not so much, but they don’t care for the zucchini….they ate it but picked it out.

akasullengal

Yummy food ideas! That apple sounds super tasty. I do eat an apple a day... I'll have to try that! And that soup sounds fabulous (and vegetarian!)

Congrats on the weight loss everyone! we were superstars this week! No surprise there. Looking forward to the last week of our v-day challenge!!

pinbotchick

Hey superheros - I've gotten in 2 workouts this morning. A quick 36 min walk on treadmill with inclines as high as 10%:noway: and 24 min of Zumba. My abs hurt today from doing the Zumba. I guess I don't rotate my core enough with regular ex. It's time to shower and start cooking - turkey pot pie, spinach soup and waldorf salad. I'm hungry already. I am heading out with the dog for a walk in the woods at 4. I love having nothing to do on the weekends but workout. We have a movie planned for tonight.

edited for sp:blushing:

makeitallsue

Hello everyone...hope your all well....:flowerforyou:

Pinbot, I had my apple for breakfast with my oatmeal and it carried me all morning!!! Yummy

Turkey pot pie sounds yummy too, I have extra chicken breast out, I might have to keep a couple back and make a pie for later in the week.

How many of you plan your meals in advance?...I have been trying really hard to do that this year and it is really a big help and I have been freezing any leftovers right away and it has been nice to pull something out and defrost, especially on nights when I run the kids....

Just wanted to shout out a Hello....enjoy the weekend!:flowerforyou:

akasullengal

Debra, I try and pick out a couple of recipes a week to make, try and make them over the weekend or early in the week to carry me through dinner and some of my lunches. my breakfast is usually pretty much the same every day, so I don't need to plan. Lunch contains many of the same items as well. I get into a bit of a routine. haha!

Zumba is sounding more and more fun. I might need to investigate the dvds. The rec center has classes, but there aren't many people in them... I think that doesn't bode well for the instructor's amazingness. I might try one out though.

Good eating today. Another nice weekend drop in weight, which I hope to just hold through weigh-in. haha. While I was pretty much right at my goal with calories, I popped in the nyc ballet dvd I have. I had no idea how to count it as exercise, and I would say it's more stretching and lengthening than cardio. I said 100 calories for the hour I did it. Might be high.. might be low, but whatever. I feel all tall and lengthened. I need to mix that or some of my pilates dvds more into the mix, as they always make me feel long and lean afterwards.

Tomorrow- nothing exciting planned. sleeping in, reading, and rec center are on the agenda. day 1 of week 6. Wow.. time flies! Neither the first days of this week should be bad, as there are walks breaking up the runs. The last day (no walking) still seems daunting to me, but I know it'll get easier. Might try and do some elliptical or bike afterwards to pump up the calorie burn a bit.

I would like to start swimming some laps, but I need to invest in some goggles, and the times that they have adult lap swim set aside are early in the morning, mid-day (weekdays), and last thing in the evening... none of which I'm super feeling, but I'd like to give it a try. Nice lean exercise. I want to mix my exercise up a bit. If I actually start doing it relatively frequently (1x/week), I'll treat myself to a new bathing suit. haha.

dixiegal2484

hi everybody. My name is Amber. i was wondering if i could join you all in your next challenge? i am not new to the site but i was off track for a while and i am back to try changing my lifestyle again. i am over 200 lbs and need something to help motivate me to lose more weight.

thanks
Amber

pinbotchick

Welcome Amber:flowerforyou: We are always interested in new people and look forward to getting to know you. We weigh in and start new treads on Fridays. Our Valentine's Day Challenge ends this Fri and we will start a new challenge - generally to lose 10 pounds. We call ourselves super heros:bigsmile: You can get to know us better by looking at our archives (the first 15 weeks).

It was cold on my trail walk today. Only 20 outside - brrrrr. Last weekend the snow shoes seemed silly since the snow was so packed down. Today we realized they really do help:blushing: I recorded our walk as trail walking (3.5 mph) - it was up and down hills and in/out snow drifts. Next time back to snow shoes. I got up in the middle of night to download audiobooks but DH put us over download limit today so the rate slow - its back to bed I go.

makeitallsue

Welcome Amber:flowerforyou: Good luck with all your goals!!! Looking forward to getting to know you.....

Pinbot, that is dedication...up in hte middle of the night to download books....did you say that they were free or reduce during those hours? I might have to try one if that is the case ...what do you listen to?

AKA, I would love to swim laps too!!! We have a swimming pool in the back yard, but with Indiana weather...I'm waiting for Summer:bigsmile: I live out in the country, so I have never joined the Y or anything like that...I would have to drive 20-30 minutes to get to anywhere:sad: :sad: Are you close to your Rec center?

I seen a treadmill in the paper last night for $100, I might call and check on it...
I have no idea where I would put it, but I'd love to be able to run more. There is an 8K coming up in March and I asked my Husband if he would like to try it with me...he just raised his eyebrows at me......:huh: :huh: , told me that..."that's more than 3 miles, you know"...:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: , 3 must be his limit:laugh: :laugh: but I think I can get him to try it...I might do it, now that I'm thinking about it I need to check schedules....
have a great Sunday, we are getting ready to get an hour stretch in and then I might take Bella for a walk in the woods...looks cold out yet, hope the sun comes out today...but I haven't watched the weather yet.

pinbotchick

I made creamed spinach soup yesterday. I did sub vege bullion for chicken, used fresh spinach, and soy milk instead of reg. Mine came out to 6 cups of measured soup at 144 cal/cup. Here is the original recipe:

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups water
* 3 cubes chicken bouillon
* 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 3 cups milk
* 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
* salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine water, bouillon, and spinach. Bring to a boil, and cook until spinach is tender.
2. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour, and cook for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk. Season with minced onion, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir in spinach mixture.

Nutritional Information open nutritional information

Makes 4 servings - Amount Per Serving Calories: 224 | Total Fat: 12.6g | Cholesterol: 38mg

Nikki143

ugh, i am having a bad food weekend! haven't done this in a long time... how is everyone else? the chinese food I ate last night made me gain 4 whopping lbs! I gotta work real hard this week..

KendalBeee

ugh, i am having a bad food weekend! haven't done this in a long time... how is everyone else? the chinese food I ate last night made me gain 4 whopping lbs! I gotta work real hard this week..

I wouldn't worry TOO much about the 4 pounds...I'm sure most of it is sodium/water weight and will fall off in the next couple days as long as you drink water.

akasullengal

Chinese food is notorious for some serious sodium. You did not gain 4 pounds from it. Pound some water back and they'll fall away.

pinbotchick

Mondays suck. I don't want to go to work:sad: I would much rather stay home. Who needs money. Well, I guess I do have to pay the bills. Oh, well. I plan to take it easy today doing only 1 workout this evening and to drink extra water. My foods must have had extra salt since I am up 2 pounds this morning *sigh* It seems to be a never ending battle with the scale. I'm sure it's water weight. I enjoyed watching the commercials last night. I got up during the game to clean, do work, etc. I'm not much of a football fan. I promise to be extra good with food, water and exercise the next few days. This is the last chance week since the challenge ends Friday.

We could call the next one "Fling into Spring" challenge. 6 weeks puts us to March 26th. Spring starts March 20th. Or we could go 7 weeks and make it Easter or 5 weeks and make it St Pattys. Or, just call it a Superhero Challenge. Any other ideas?

How was everyone's weekend?

Nikki143

tHANKS kRISTINA & BLOMBIE.. yOU'S ARE RIGHT.. i ONLY DRANK 1LITER OF WATer (sorry 4 the caps) yesterday, and today I was an hour late coming in, so I didn't stop & buy another water. I definetly need water, so I'll wait til my coworkers break is over so I can go to the cafe for some water.. I definetly feel like crappy crap, eating all that junk made me feel yuck, but thats my punishment for splurging...:grumble: & yesterday I ate a 800 cal lunch/dinner, but didn't eat much else... blahhh
Pinbot; I like the fling into spring challenge.. I LOVVEEE the spring!!
I feel real down today, like I just wanna cave in & buy that sausage egg & cheese biscuit. but I will not. I will keep my head up & continue to drop these lbs!! I can't wait for my stationary bike to come in!!!!

akasullengal

Lovin' the "Fling into Spring" challenge idea for the next round. Can you believe it'll be challenge #4 for us?? Way to stick with it!!

Monday do suck. Pretty much always. Today shouldn't be horrible... the week shouldn't in general, though that TOM is rapidly approaching, which could seriously do damage to the final week weight-loss (and my grumpypants-ness).

I haven't decided on what to do in terms of exercise today. I brought my gym clothes with me, so I'll either go to the rec center or do a dvd when I get home. I'm leaning more towards the dvd, as I worked out pretty hard yesterday, and would like to do a little cardio and then maybe some strengthening/toning exercises tonight. Gotta work on those long and lean limbs (i'm pretty stumpy). Day 1 of week 6 (I can't believe i'm that far in!) of c25k went well yesterday. No real problems. Not a surprise as it included a walking period, even though the total amount of time of the exercise continues to increase. I burned more calories than I did last week when I ran the full time as when I was running I was able to go faster. Then did another 35 minutes on the bike, so I good day for me.

Watched part of the superbowl, but I'm not a huge pro football fan and in this day and age of the internet, I can catch up on the commercials later. Now, get back to me when March Madness rolls around... I made some sweet potatoes last night which will be a good compliment to my dinners this week and marinated a triple bean salad to bring for lunches this week. Looks yummy, lots of protein and fiber and low calorie. That's what I like!

Hope all of your Mondays go well!!!

makeitallsue

Oh Super heros...I'm so frustrated this morning. I had a headache last night and just felt really runned down over the weekend. I thought it was the extra calories and a couple of drinks that I had over the weekend.

I got up with My husband this morning at 4 to get him off to work and I just felt so bloated...I jumped on the scale and it had shot up 10 pounds????? I thought I was going to die when I seen that number, I know in my head I couldn't possibly gain 10 pounds over night...but OMG that dam* scale was saying that.... then about 5am or so I went to the bathroom and I passed a couple of clots...so sorry TMI I'm sure, but I am on the pill because I had some problems last year and this was an option instead of a surgical procedure that we are trying. I am on the third week of my active pills and I am supposed to start my period next week??? I have that familiar hormonal migraine and I can't even really see well it hurts so bad....I got the kids off and layed back down for an hour until I could call into the Docs to see what they thought........... I think I need to see a specialist because I am just not getting the right answers or anything useful. I had forgotten to take my pill on Friday, (I know..my fault) so when I remembered on Saturday morning I took 2 of them...which is what I am suppose to do, well....they are thinking that is why I am having the break through bleeding now today...and they can send a script to the pharmacy if I want something for the migraine?????? I don't want more drugs I want to feel good.
Sorry for venting and thanks for listening....I just have been keeping a journal like they asked, I have been reporting the results and it seems like the only solutions they ever give me are surgery or drugs:frown: :sick:

Heavy sigh.....I'll try to drink more water and I'm going to get on the elliptical and break a sweat and see if that helps any.
ARG!!!