The Three Part Challenge!!!

Good morning,

I had a fantastic weekend exploring the wonderful state of Minnesota with my boyfriend!

On Friday night, we had a turkey dinner with all the fixin's for his dad's 60th birthday, which was fun but exhausting getting his son to bed after he had the sugary cake. Whew!

Saturday morning, we headed out and explored Charles Lindbergh State Park, which is a better park for summer exploring because the museums there aren't open this time of year. Then, we headed to Lake Carlos State Park where we snowshoed for about 2.5 miles and had a great time. The trail was quiet and went through a bog that cannot be accessed any other time of year. Then, we found a cheap hotel in Alexandria and had dinner at Tennessee Roadhouse. The restaurant is owned by the former Conne Lee Stitch, who sang at the Grand Ol Opry and was an opening act for country greats such as George Jones. Because of the two delicious strawberry margaritas (the best I've ever had), I ended up falling asleep as soon as we got back to the room. Alcohol on top of being physically wiped out from snowshoeing does this to a person, I guess. Needless to say, we never spent time in the pool so I'm glad I bought a new jacket instead of a swimsuit.

We were on the road again by 10am Sunday morning and explored almost a quarter of the state! We visited five more state parks and our trip in total took ten hours. Of course, this included exploring parks and stopping for lunch and dinner. We learned some fascinating facts about Minnesota's history involving the Sioux Uprising in 1862. Fort Ridgely State Park has the remains of an old Civil War training facility that was the site of the Sioux Uprising battles. It was all pretty interesting. Many of the parks we plan on visiting again this summer because the museums and historical sites will be open and some even have re-enactments.

We had an absolute blast I can't wait to have another state park exploration weekend! We ate more than we should have and didn't burn as many calories as we'd like, but we had fun, were active, got out of the house and even learned something.

I hope you all had a great weekend, too!
Heather

Stephanie: Glad to see you're back!!

Good morning!

I'm going to keep on writing here until you guys get annoyed with me and tell me to go away!

So last night I figured I'd be way over my calories because I just HAD to indulge in a Dairy Queen Reese's Blizzard after the spicy chicken texmex dish that my boyfriend made for supper. When I logged my calories this morning, I found out that I had 11 calories left over. Wow!

This morning, when I weighed myself, I was at 193.2 when I was at 195.2 yesterday morning. I didn't believe the scale, so I stepped off it, reset it and tried again only to have it show 193.2 again. So, it must be right! I'm super excited and am so looking forward to be under 190. I still don't think I'll hit my St. Patrick's Day goal, but I keep inching my way down. It's so much fun to see my ticker moving along.

Okay, had to ramble about my morning excitement. Hope you're all off to a good start to your day!
Heather

Shredder: I'm so glad you stopped in. I've missed you! Just remember to take care of yourself. Like you, I find myself sabotaging my weight loss sometimes and I need to remind myself that the next time I try to take it off, it will only get harder. Hang in there and keep checking in. There's no need to record your weight, just keep track of what you're eating and what you're feeling when you're eating. You'll figure it out and as they say, "This too shall pass."

Allie: I completely understand being busy, but I'm glad to hear you're still on track! I'm glad you checked in!!

The Weight Loss Challenge is going okay, but as of this week I wasn't in the top three in either category. I'm hoping everyone else hits a plateau soon, since we only have a few weeks left to the final weigh in.

Last night my family had chinese for dinner and I was expecting a gain this morning but was actually down another 0.6 lbs., bringing me to 192.6! Tomorrow's weigh in is going to be bad since we're going to Olive Garden for my boyfriend's sister's birthday tonight. I've already logged what I plan on having and will be over by about 600 calories, unless I can convince myself I don't need one of their delicious daiquiris or glasses of wine. But what fun would that be??

To make up for the naughty eating two days in a row, I'm planning on actually riding my horse this weekend since the weather is supposed to be in the 30s and sunny. We'll see if I can stick to my own plan, though.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!
Heather

Stephanie: Welcome back! I'm glad to hear you're back on track. It's been a bit quiet in this thread, so maybe you'll you help spice it up a bit!

This weekend I was very naughty (yes, again) with the eating. We went out to dinner at Olive Garden on Friday and I didn't eat half of my meal like I planned; instead I ate all of it and had a slice of cake I wasn't intending on. Saturday night brought a trip to the casino buffet, but I actually don't think I did too badly there. Yesterday morning, the scale told me I was up two pounds, but even I know that I didn't eat enough surplus calories to gain two pounds of fat.

Yesterday I had a terrible sinus cold, so I didn't ride my horse like originally planned but at least my appetite was down since I couldn't taste anything. Sometimes being sick isn't sooo terrible.

This morning, my scale said I was back where I was on Friday morning, so it's like I hit the reset button for the week. Thank goodness! So far the sinuses are feeling a bit better today (thank you, Nyquil) and my boyfriend and I have plans to go snowshoeing for about an hour tonight after work. With the warm weather we're having, we'll probably be out of snow by mid-week, so I better enjoy it now. However, the forecast is calling for more snow next week.

Happy March!
Heather

Shredder: I'll take your challenge with you! I had a margarita with dinner last night and actually felt bad about it afterward, even though I don't drink often anyway. Mostly, I felt like I should have had the beer for fewer calories instead of the higher calorie margarita. At least I didn't have the second one that I really wanted (my checkbook told me No and I listened!)

So last night I was really naughty with the eating because we did wings and chipotle chicken wontons and a margarita. I thought that snowshoeing before dinner would help, but I forgot to factor in that my daily calorie limit has changed so I can't eat as much of the stuff I love and stay within my calories. When the scale said I was up two pounds again today, I told myself that I hope I've learned my lesson.

Again, I know I didn't eat enough calories to gain two pounds and that I can most likely blame TOM again, but it's still a bit frustrating. I know it will be gone in a few days, so I'm trying not to get too down on myself. I need to kick it into gear with the exercising and yes, I know I've been saying that for a few weeks now...

Last night was very sad for me, as one of my snowshoes broke and I had to walk half of the trail carrying them to get back to the car :-( At least they have a warranty and can be fixed, but I won't have them back in time to enjoy them anymore this season. So, it looks like I'm done snowshoeing until about November or so. Now that the snowshoes are out of commission, I'm hoping spring comes very, very soon so the trails can dry out enough for hiking.

Have a great day!
Heather

Stephanie: Good job joining a Biggest Loser challenge. And going to Vegas? That sounds like so much fun! I KNOW you'll be able to be below the 200 mark. We're here to support you every step of the way!

Yes, I still burned 321 calories in 36 minutes of snowshoe (carrying) last night, so it wasn't a complete loss. Tonight I'm going to recommend to my boyfriend that we at least get a good walk done tonight to burn some more calories. He's been gung-ho for being active since he's lost about 22 lbs. now as well. Between the two of us we've now lost over 50 lbs. since November. We've almost lost his 6 yr. old son! What a crazy thought.

I know the sodium is what really killed me on the scale this morning. I'm supposed to do my weigh-in for the weight loss challenge tonight (I opted for snowshoeing last night instead) but I'm scared and I don't want to pay into the pot! I'll probably go anyway even so. I really need to kick it into gear for these last couple weeks of the challenge because the money would be a huge step toward the money I need for my therapeutic riding instructor certification class I want to take in June. I need someone to chase me around with a cattle prod to get me to exercise the way I should be doing!!

Yay, time to go home for the evening. Have a wonderful evening!!

Heather

Shredder: I LOVE the idea about having a meet and greet for our group in Vegas someday. Unfortunately, this year is probably out of the picture for me due to other trips and my certification class (too much money to spend!). I actually had a dream the other night that you and I met at a laundromat by accident....I'm weird, I know.

Anyway, I also love the idea of using the bracelets to keep track of where you're at. I should definitely use that trick for my water intake as that's what I struggle with the most...well, that and sodium.

Yesterday I went over on calories, but lost one of the pounds gained this week anyway. After a healthy dinner, my boyfriend and I went for a walk around his neighborhood. Unfortunately, it was after the sun went down, so everything that melted during the day was a bit icy so we didn't walk as fast as I'd like to. I also slid on the ice and landed on my left knee but it doesn't hurt to walk, only a little tender to the touch. Such is life in Minnesota.

I fully intend on going to work with my horse after work since it's another lovely spring-like day. I'm thinking I may even ride tonight since I have the option of both the outdoor and indoor arenas. I do know that I need to spend quality time with her either way.

Oh, I forgot to mention that last night I went to Maurice's to try on jeans and was able to pull a size 10 on, button AND zip them. About five pounds to go and they would be *gasp* comfortable enough to wear! Holy schmoly! My boyfriend and I have decided that we're going to hold off on going to dinner with our friends (who we haven't seen since November) until I lose another five pounds or so. I'm hoping that will be about two weeks....at that time, I would be wearing the size I graduated high school in and he would be a size smaller than he graduated high school in. Fun!

Well, back to work. Have a great day!
Heather

Shredder: Actually we were folding clothes and chatting about the most random stuff. Your sleepwalking story is hilarious; too bad you don't have it on video!

My knee is doing fine, I'm just apparently a bit of a klutz lately. Yes, my boyfriend is super sweet and supportive but he tells me when I'm being ridiculous and doesn't give in to my sometimes crazy demands. I guess that's why it works. Doing the weight loss journey with him has been the best experience because we keep each other motivated, remind each other when we shouldn't eat certain foods and support each other through the successes and setbacks. I honestly am not sure I'd be as far as I am on the weight loss if we weren't doing it together. Previous boyfriends hindered progress because they would eat junk food in front of me and talk me out of exercising (as if I need help doing that!). I'm super lucky I have him and I remind myself of that every day. This is the one guy I've ever met who could completely and utterly break my heart...that's pretty scary and wonderful at the same time.

Okay, I'm rambling now. Time to get back to work...at least until I'm bored again!

When I finish the Diet Cherry Coke I currently have open, I just may have some tea as well. One of the consultants we have here at work is a Caribou Coffee Mango Tea addict, so I've been thinking about tea all day long.

I just walked outside to get the mail here at work and it's so beautiful outside that I want to run away to go spend time with my horse. Two more hours left....ugh.

Shredder: Way to go on Day 3. As you said before, this challenge is fairly easy for me, at least until we get to the weekend. I'd say working on your office and walking Belle count as a work out!

I went slightly over my calories last night, but not as bad as I have been doing. I completely forgot to weigh myself this morning, which I just realized freaks me out because I feel like I need to be monitoring myself constantly. It's the not knowing that worries me more than the actual fluctuations in weight!

Yesterday after work, I went to see my horse and she let me catch her in 7 minutes, which is a record. I was so happy with her. I didn't end up riding because she was wound up and I didn't want to be in the way of the girl who was taking lessons in the indoor arena last night. My horse and I got some good ground training done and even played our old game of follow the leader. I think my horse needed that to trust in me and settle down because after that she was much more relaxed. I then fed her a handful of treats and let her back out with her buddies. In total, we "played" for an hour. I plan on going out again tonight and since there are no lessons this evening, I want to ride! I definitely have the itch and am also anxious to see if I fit in my saddle better since I haven't ridden since I've lost the 27 lbs.!

Have a fabulous day!
Heather

Christine: I'm glad you're back with us! I've missed you, too!!

Give us an update on how you're doing.

Um... I need an intervention.....

I'm so sorry, I'm weak. Weak and pathedic. . . . Don't give up, keep going.