Hi Ladies

So after a slightly longer absence than i wanted I am back and properly motivated to continue to the next phase of my health and fitness. I had the *best* holiday and i think that was part of the problem! I was very lucky and most of the holiday was paid for by my parents as my 40th present and coming back from such an amazing time I definitely got the post holiday blues knowing that we can't afford that kind of holiday again :sad: And then i get cross with myself because i know i am pretty lucky to have everything we have and shouldn't complain - *sigh*

Healthwise the holiday was the easy part - we walked an average of 6 miles a day round the parks and didn't really get a chance to have lunch (just some fruit or cereal bar) so even though i ate what i wanted i didn't gain a single pound! And having so much fun stuff to do every minute meant i really wasn't thinking about food that much - yay! Sadly since we got home it has all gone downhill, blues + obsessing again = bad choices. I downloaded and started Fitness Blender's 8 week plan (number 4) but i didn't enjoy the workouts (there was only one with weights) so gave up :sad: As a result in the two weeks post holiday i have gained 4lbs and lost the definition i worked so hard for, particularly in my abs

Still ... as of yesterday i am taking responsibility for my choices and have started this week well with good food choices and back to the FB workouts i was doing before that i enjoyed. I also re-visited Jillian yesterday with RI30 L1 Still don't know what to do to stop obsessing though - any ideas greatly appreciated

So fingers crossed i can get back to the happy place i was in before the holiday. I do seem to work better to a goal so my new goal is 25% bf by Christmas. Currently at 30% (according to my scale and i guess as long as i continue to measure by the same device it will be ok) so i think that is do-able.

Sorry for the general reply to everyone, but hope you are all continuing to do well with your plans, TX i really hope you get some answers from your bloodtests

Looking forward to continuing this journey together, hope you all have a happy healthy day and thanks for reading my very *me* post!

Di :happy:

Morning Ladies,

Sorry for the re-appear/disappear, been a crazy busy week as we wound up to finish school (i'm a teacher) but today the 5 and a half week holiday starts - hoorah!

Sarah - I'm so sorry you have having such a hard time at the moment, I really wish there was something useful i could say to help! Do you find the number on the scale is what is really important to you? I mean if you felt as good as you do when you're in your happy 116-117 range, but you were actually 125 for example would that bother you? I am just wondering if you could concentrate purely on what is most important to you, it might help? I really hope the no dairy works well for you, i had to go dairy free after both my babes were born (due to breast feeding issues) and found it really hard! But then i love greek yog and berries and found it so hard to give up I agree with you about the 'creep' though, it is very hard not to panic when the scale keeps creeping up and you've spent so much time and effort trying to keep it down! Totally agree with Lobster though - you do look fabulous, i'd love to have your abs

Lobster - so sorry about your shoulder, injuries suck! I have never heard of a compression shirt! I will google it later but i hope if you do get one it really helps! Great that you are back to 6w6p - how are you finding the results? I always feel bad if i'm not doing a specific ab exercise even though i know many other weight training exercises target abs! Are you still eating the increased protein? If you don't mind me asking how much in grams do you eat - do you use the 1g per 1lb of lean muscle thing?

Jmht - I think that's a great idea to give Jillian to your mom, I really hope she has excellent results with it. Are you following any particular program with your lifting? I too wish MFP would give us a way to track BF%, I try so hard not to focus on the scale number yet still get happy when it's low and sad when it is higher! Absolutely love your comment about the weight between you and the doctor and swimsuit you and the world - I may have to steal that and use it as my new mantra!

Going well here, as i mentioned it is the beginning of the holidays for me so i'm hoping to get a few extra workouts in if the children will let me! Food is going well, back on track and am eating mostly salads re-created from my favourite restaurants on holiday. Current fave is a grilled pear, feta and walnut combo - yum! Exercise wise i'm back to focusing on total body strength instead of upper one day and lower the next - hoping for more of an after burn! No science to it, just me hoping! I have added one HIIT workout to my schedule though ( I really don't like HIIT!) And in good hydration news I have discovered that i like green tea as long as it has some milk in it! (it looks awful, like really watery hot milk but tastes fine) and i'm having about 4 mugs a day which i think counts towards my 'water' intake right? I hope so because i'm so very bad at drinking!

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy Wednesday, Di :happy:

That's great that you are finding things that work for you breakfast-wise...is the one you had today a blended drink? Sounds delish! Also good that you can still see how lean you are, really hope you will find the right thing for you very soon. The non-dairy seems to be going well, are you going to continue it indefinitely?

AFM - well something i ate yesterday definitely didn't agree with me in a big way. A whole night of sickness, fever, chills and aches like i've never felt before Feeling very delicate today and can't face anything other than ice-water which i am trying hard not to overdo! Silver lining is that i'm my lowest weight ever this morning of 128lbs! Absolutely not the best way to lose weight though! Going to take it easy next couple of days, maybe yoga tomorrow, see how i feel. Hate not doing my workouts though

Hope you are all having a great day, Di :happy:

Morning Everyone

Lobster - that's great, well done to you for finishing the 6w6p - great that you can see a difference, i'm sure you will rock your swimwear on your beach holiday, where are you going? Thanks for the info on your protein intake, that's pretty much what i'm doing, my lbm is about 90lbs so i'm trying to get 90g of protein in per day and letting the rest of the macros fall where they may (within calories). Thanks for the kind thoughts, i'm feeling a bit better today thank you, still delicate and tired but the sickness feelings are much less frequent!

Here's to a happy Healthy Friday to you all Di

Thanks for the congrats Not the easiest way to get there, but i'll take it Really glad the no dairy is working for you, got to say though i've never heard of cheese curds! I'll have to google it Also great that you think you might have identified what is causing your mood swings - at least now you can keep an eye on how you're feeling from cycle day 14-20 and then maybe the docs can help with the hormones? Fingers crossed it is the beginning of some answers for you :happy:

or my husband may pay for a beachhouse for those 2-3 days I go almost bi-polar..either way its a win win for me..LOL

:laugh: Love this! Definitely do that, in fact i think we should all do that!

If i see any cheese curds this side of the pond i'll give them a try, they kind of sound like Feta in my head, is that anywhere near close? That is really sweet of Hubby to have his meat cheese-less in solidarity and that apple pecan (one of my favourite flavours) salad dressing sounds delicious

Hope you are all having a great weekend :happy: Di