Good morning ladies. I am in a fog today. We had my in-law's 80th birthday party Saturday. I drank more red wine than anticipated. Then we had all the brothers and sisters over (10 in all) to eat the leftover food yesterday where I again drank more red wine than intended. I literally went to bed at 7:30. :blushing: BUT! I did 70 burpees Saturday to catch up and ran 4 miles on the treadmill yesterday before everyone came over. I ran 10 minute miles and felt very good; I have gotten faster over the last year. However this morning I am in some pain. I think I am going to go see a therapist. My sister has been seeing a McKinsey certified therapist and is running pain free for the first time in her life. So we'll see. Anyways, I was only 1 lift short of my goals last week. I didn't indluge too much on food at either party. I skipped buns for bbq and only had 1 dessert Saturday and a couple bites yesterday. I feel thinner today than I have in a couple weeks. I think this is testimony to my theory that my body responds well to running and not so well to carbs. So sticking with my goals this week:

1. 2 runs
2. 3 lifts
3. Finish burpee challenge!
4. Macros 40/30/30
5. Whilst drinking, do so moderately.

Have a great week ladies!

Hey Ladies! Can't say I did great this weekend and I am feeling the effects today for sure!

I worked out Friday and did pretty good at our dinner out. Saturday I took a planned rest day, but the eating and drinking were just ridiculous. Yesterday I was a big lazy bum, I'm not sure if it was a food or booze hangover, but I did not feel great. So no workout and ate alot of carbs. Back at it today though and loading up on water. This week I am going to do a no sugar challenge. I did that 2 weeks ago and it really helped with the bloating. I figure this will be a good week for it too because it will keep me away from the Halloween candy! So I have my meals planned through Friday. I have dinner plans with the girls Friday, but I have a favorite ahi tuna dish with a salad that I love at the restaurant we are going to, so I shouldn't get into too much trouble that night. And no plans for the weekend, so I should be able to stay on track.

Well, I just finished my last "A" work-out in Phase 2 of NROL4Abs....so, Wednesday I'll bang out my last "B" work-out and then it is onto Phase 3!! Woohooooooooooo!!

I'm pretty excited.

Got in a good lift last night. I was having a sh*tty day and it made me feel mildly better. I ate reasonably well, but had pasta and felt all bloaty this morning. I don't know what it is with the carbs lately. I feel like I've never been this carb sensitive. Weird.

So I am debating what I want to do next. My plan was to finish out my strength at Thanksgiving. That would give me almost 8 weeks of strength training. I am doing about 3 days. This is what my routine looks like:

A: Incline bench, Chest flies (laying on bench), Dips, Dumbell Pullovers
B: Military Press, Upright Row, Clean and Press, 1 Legged Deadlift
C: Bent Back Fly, Bent Row, Sumo Deadlift, Squat

I mix some core work in too but I feel like I need more. I was going to do 6 week 6 pack next, but feel like I'm jumping around a lot. I like to switch it up every now and then, but maybe I should lift through the end of the year and incorporate some other moves? My main problem is I am working with limited equipment (dumbbells ranging from 5-25 lbs.). Since I don't have a bar, I can't load up on lower body, thus not "really" lifting heavy. I am increasing my weight on upper body and am actually sore today after week 5 of this routine, so I know it's doing something. Gosh, this happens to me every time it's time to make a change. What to do next? I want to tone up, which I felt 6w6p helped me do. But I want to build some muscle too. Stupid exercise ADD. Starting end of January I start my mini training. Hmmmm......So it's really only about 2 months I'm looking to fill. Maybe I should just stick with lifting after all. All that running is sure to burn some fat off, right?

Ashley- I found this plank core workout I am working on doing twice a week. It only takes about 10 minutes, depending how long of a break you need in between, but it is HARD work. Just though I would share

http://healthnewsandviews.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/10-minute_plank_workout.png

Amy- still thinking of you!

Just checking in, nothing new to report. I had a good day eating yesterday, some strength training (chest and triceps) and 3 miles on the treadmill. Same plan for today, but will be working shoulders, back and biceps. Keep up the good work ladies!

Amy - I think you look fabulous!!!!! I'm glad you enjoyed an evening out! Still praying for you!

Reese - good luck with the last legs of LP! And yes, did do a Halloween outing...we were Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler (see profile

Good goals everyone! I am little late to the party this week...Monday was just sheer act of will to get through and Tuesday was better but I wasn't ready to get proactive until today

That said, more bad scale news...up more! If I keep going at this rate I will be out of the 140's in no time. Maintenance is experiment...which is not going very well. I have decided to eat at deficit for the month of November and see if this helps stall the gain in weight and inches. Then I will re-evaluate in December. I don't feel terrible because I haven't been trying to lose but I am not super happy with where my body is at right now. One month of crossfit and eating a bit less will hopefully remedy that. *Sigh* Execute, reiterate, execute, reiterate.

Goals for two weeks:

1. Eat 1600 cals a day (~20% def) except for one day a week
2. Do Crossfit 3-4 times a week
3. Walk 5 times a week (even short ones)

I want to try to eat clean for for now I am going to put the majority of my energy into these things!

Chui - yes, EVERYTHING ends up being an "experiment". Sometimes it just feels like the "tweaking" just goes on-and-on-and-on-and-on-and-on. I'm WAY more scared of "maintenance" than I am of "losing", frankly.

Chloe - I totally agree that all the calculators in the WORLD, may not work, for YOU, because the plug-ins are based on an "average", as opposed to the "unique". I really do believe that if the scale number is going up, it's just that you are ingesting too many calories. Period. Whether that's because weights/measurements on the food side are wrong, or your starting formula was wrong, etc, who knows??

For me, October was good. I completed my month-end photos today, and tape measurements. I still have to step on the scale - hope to do that at the gym, today. I think I'm down 5 lbs for the month, but will verify on the scale. The measurements that went down: natural waist, hips (over bum), and chest-under-breasts. I think my biceps, thighs, calves also went down about 1/4", but I never "rely" on that - it's probably just a different measuring spot my husband used than 1 month ago (frankly). My belly button waist stayed the same - this SURPRISED me, because I've been pretty darned low-carb all month and I really thought THIS measurement would come down - at least an 1" and hoping for more.

For November, I'll still eat at a calorie deficit. I move into Phase 3 of NROL4Abs. I will continue to utilize the 18:6 eating window, and will continue to try a 20-22hr fast one day per week. Overally, I'd say what I am doing is working.

Also, I only late-night snacked 3 times in November - and I'm pretty sure that none of those were the last 15 days! So, I'm overdue for some popcorn and some treats. Tonight is Halloween - tonight I feast!

(Now that photos are done, I do plan on enjoying tonight and enjoying my birthday this upcoming weekend - I've earned 2 days of decadence, I figure!)

So I was attempting my no sugar challenge for this week. I made it through Monday and Tuesday fine. Made it through the entire day yesterday and evening. Then when trick or treating was over I was having a strong urge to have something sweet. Of course we still had candy left over from trick or treaters, so I had 1 almond joy and 2 laffy taffys (and they fit in my cals....went over carbs though). I have to say for Halloween I am pretty proud of myself, especially because there were treats everywhere at work yesterday and I didn't touch anything. Now I just need to make it through tonight not having anything and then I will make the hubby take the rest of the candy with him when he goes back to work tomorrow.

Have gotten in all my workouts so far this week and feeling good. Tonight is 3 miles and a leg/butt workout I made up and doing for the first time. Also feeling pretty confident about the weekend plans, hopefully I can get to Monday still feeling like I do today!

Great job everyone! And happy birthday Beeps! Sounds like a nice indulgent 24 hours or so. Enjoy your weekend and I know you'll be back at it Monday.

Chloe, good for you. I can't say the same. I was 600 cals over on Halloween. Oh well.

The scale did move down for me this week (1.5 pounds) and I am feeling better. I think carbs for me are key. They make me fell like crap. Last night I skipped the English muffin on my turkey burger, added some extra veggies and an extra piece of cheese, and I felt great this morning. So I think I'll experiment with trying to have most of my carbs earlier in the day. This becomes hard when I cook things like pasta, this peanut noodle dish my husband loves, etc. but I can work around those things and eat in moderation. I have to say, I am feeling very motivated. I ran 2.3 10 minute miles WITH stroller yesterday which is unheard of. So 2/2 runs done, 2/3 strengths done and burpee challend over (Thank God!). And I think I have made up my mind that I am going to stick with strength training till the end of January (along with 2 runs a week) when I start mini training. I already made up my new strength routine. And I'm going to PT next Friday to get my pain issues worked out so I'll be all good and hopefully running pain free.

Everyone have a great weekend!