Sunday morning and it's weigh in and vlog day. Well, not a good week. Gained 1.6lbs due to my lack of activity (well, besides walks at work) and not so great eating habits. Yep, I hit a bump in the road. Time to reboot and refocus.

Carol, not sure I mentioned this to you but I finally listened to the Whole 30 podcast. Great show. I really like Caroline. No wonder you two are bffs.

Time to upload my vlog. Everybody have a great Sunday. Laundry and such to do here today.

Heron, Bravo is a beautiful boy! It is wonderful what you do for those furbabies. Bless you guys:) As for the cone, I remember bringing our boy home after getting neutered. He came in and fell to the floor, unwilling to move with that darn cone on his head. Didn't help that the cat spent awhile growling at him. Oh the humiliation:) Our cat the bully.

Jen, You are rockin' girl! Just a speed bump. Super proud of you:) I did a couple piles of laundry today. Joy

Kim, Congrats on CarbNite. What the heck is leucine for. Heard of it, but have no idea. With you on NASCAR, but that is pretty much any sport or hobby on TV (dare I say NASCAR is a hobby??? Forgive me!) Close friends of mine do drag racing. We have the nightmare called "The Woodward Dream Cruise" every year. People from all over the states and abroad come around to watch old cars. You can't do a darn thing around here for a few days. Not my thing and I curse for an entire week. haha

John, Thought of you today as I poured another Diet Coke. Yes, I am back at it. Here you are kicking a tough one and I find myself unable to stop the Diet Coke. Made me think of my addictive personality and that there has never been a time in my life where I haven't fought something. I quit Diet Coke with the challenge and found myself back to hitting on cigs. I quit cigs and can't put down the Diet Coke. Been on and off smoking again and it is tough. Some of it is stress, but really it is just the cycle. You are inspiring me to get a handle on all of this:)

Not much for me this weekend. Did some treadmill and some weights. Had to put StrongLifts on hold for a bit as the balance has been pretty bad lately. I was loving SL, but weight is too high. I will be back at it.

Have a great week all!

Who knew I would lead such and exciting life...doing laundry every weekend?! I just so happen to be "fluffing" a load right now. I was too lazy to take it out last night.

GOOD Morning. Got an incline walk in and some squats. My dislike for Monday's told me I better do something in the morning since I will be useless later tonight. I had a weird dream last night. I dreamed I was in a trail race and came in second (no, there weren't only two of us!) Funny thing is I was arguing with them because I said it wasn't possible. Speaks volumes about me. haha

Have a great day and week everyone!!!

Good morning, everyone! My trainer just gave me a "diet" to try - it is how I've been eating for two years now. How to break that to him....

Yesterday was fantastic. The temp got to 39, so my pup and I did a lot of walking. I got to spend time with my nephew before he deploys in March, and played board games with the family. Yay! And, yes, I did a load of laundry too.

Today is my annual gyno exam, joy of joys. I'll be interested to hear how my bones are doing. I was diagnosed with osteopenia when I was 41, and have been on medication (Actonel) since then. I'm wondering if things are improving and if I could go off that med, since I don't like anything longer term than it needs to be. With the lifting of heavy weights, I might have made some progress. Fingers crossed.

Sad to say, we're on our way back down to zero tonight. Can't wait for spring!

And thanks for the kind words about that video Jen! I give all the props to the other whole 30 folks!!!

Kim, Thanks for all of the awesome info. The after effects sound a little like those niacin flushes that were popular years ago. You got me to pull out some of my supplements and forgot that leucine was in the BCAAs I took when I was heavy into strength training. I cut the dose in half. I think it was 4 grams, twice a day. I also took the pills which wouldn’t give that immediate hit. Sounds like it has the nasty taste of I believe it was creatine. My brain isn’t working so I can’t remember. Although I have not gone low carb, I have cut them significantly since trying Whole 30. Rarely have bread now and when I have something like quinoa, I only have a small spoonful. It is working. Who knows, maybe eventually I will give it a go. It will be far easier now that I have cut down. Thanks again for the info and proud of you for going strong!

John, Thanks for the encouragement and inspiration. Have to tell you that I logged in and saw your post and sat with it. I have now been a day free from all the stuff and didn’t have a snack last night as I am afraid of finding yet another replacement for them. I feel a bit silly, but I was already feeling the effects last night and the poor boyfriend had to witness some crying. Woke up this morning and did it again and then went outside, sat on the stoop and did a little meditation and did it again. As the great Betty Davis said, “It’s going to be a bumpy night.” Except I would change that to week! Haha Just need to get past the desire to get away from myself. The darn monkey mind. Thanks again!

Tomosguitars, Those pounds will come off before you know it!

Cynthia, Glad to hear you had a fabulous, warm day with your nephew and hope all goes well with the exam.

Jen, I am totally emailing you a bunch of training stuff. Time to start burpee-ing! Oh how I miss them:)

Carol, Super jealous over your upcoming trip. Soak up some sun for me and have a blast. BTW, I was just chatting with one of the teachers I work with on Spanish stuff and every time I give her something she follows it up with how much she loves doing it. You are all CRAZY!!!

Wishing everyone a great day. And this one goes out to all of you. Thanks for the SPARK!

Bones are good. We're giving the Actonel one more year before making a decision. I'm fine with that. I need to be cautious. My Grammy lost 8 inches in height before she passed away at 96, and my mom has shrunk several inches. My 8-years-YOUNGER sister has full osteoporosis which cut short her career at NASA (they won't send her into space).

My kid is trying the Whole 30. She made it through the first day. Better her than me! I can't wait to have the podcast to have her listen.

Has anyone looked at Trim Happy Mama? (men or women?) My secretary is following their plan and is having great results. The Biblical connection makes me giggle a bit (sort of Paleo = Cave Man), and it seems to have a bit of "magic combination" stuff, but is fairly sensible. Curious...

Forced myself to walk to work at -2 degrees. The sun is shining, but it sure is cold! The long term forecast has today as the last of the awful days. We'll be in the 20s soon.

As we come into tax season and you feel bad about your taxes, remember to be grateful that 1) you have an income on which you pay taxes, and 2) you're lucky to be in the USA where we have relatively low tax rates. Just my public service announcement for today! (and, yes I'm a CPA but, no I don't do taxes except for me and my dad)

Hey everybody. I blew it last night after the match. Why???? I have no idea. Stopped on the way home and got a can of Pringle and proceeded to eat the whole thing. Grrr!!!!!! Last weigh in of the FB challenge is this week and I'm sensing complete failure! Not sure what's happen but apparently I haven't fully 'recovered' from last week's debacle. I'm not sure how the weather is going to be today but I think I need to get out and walk when I get home from work. This lack of activity I think is really hurting me right now. Walking at work is good but it's just not the same type of workout (since I really don't want to be sweating at my desk - ewwwwww). Spring can't get here fast enough, that's for sure.

FOCUS JEN!!!!!

Jen, Pringles are the spawn of the devil. I am not sure there has ever been a time I did not eat the entire can in a sitting. That long tube just pulls you in! Are you getting salt in? I crave those things when I am not eating enough salt. Hang in there babe. It is one day and today is a new day. I am with you on the need to keep working out. It feeds my desire to eat clean. Without movement, the other stuff sneaks in. We need to discuss our mud run training. I am excited to do it with you and pulled some stuff out last night. Give me some feedback on what kind of stuff you want to do. Body weight moves? Do you have weights for upper body stuff? How much time during a week do you want to devote to it? We can start with a teaser. This is going to be a blast! Was thinking I could create some shared Google docs. Look what you started. We need to get in a little before the master trainer "The Hammer" gets us:)

Kim, WOOHOO!!! What an awesome NSV! I love reading your posts. The tidbits are not "weird" to me. One of the things I love about this group is that everyone is doing "their" thing and I can pull from everyone. "Sustainable" is my goal.

Cynthia, Great news! A friend of mine struggles with it and is always nervous around the time she gets checked. All the ladies in her family began seeing bone lose young. Taxes are done and no complaints here:)

I did some treadmill last night and my legs are sore, but in a good way. Trying to focus on building my legs as much as possible to prepare for surgery. Still dragging on setting the date. There seems to be no perfect time.

Have a great day all!

Thank you John and all the brave men and women who served.

Kim, That's a great NSV. The scale can say whatever as long as you are getting smaller And thanks for pointing out the positives of your new way of eating. Ive been in a slump, losing weight at a snail's pace but its still progress. I'm just feeling discourage and annoyed. I am "that person" at a social setting that has to eat "differently" and doesn't drink. I don't care what people think but it annoys me that I'm not seeing more of a progress to make all this worth it. With CNS even if I am strict for 14 days and I slipped on a couple days then all those other days goes out the window. So right now I am choosing not to participate in social functions unless I absolutely have to. Which also means I have food issue that I can't deal with right now. See, annoying. Arturo thinks I am not solving my food issues and that I am just avoiding it. He's right and I will deal with them when I am at a lower bodyfat %
I am also annoyed at myself for not having enough will power to face these situations.

Cynthia, sorry no ideas for low carb salty snacks. However if you eat legumes try crispy chickpeas. They are salty and crunchy. http://www.chow.com/recipes/30368-spicy-oven-roasted-chickpeas

Jen, Pilates is very challenging as well. I mean just look those ballerina, they are all muscle just shaped differently.

Well my short journey to Muay Thai has ended. My knee is done. 12 years ago I was told I would require knee surgery some point in my life and that has not changed. Even with all the PT I don't think I can do that kind of high intensity activity anymore. I am bummed since I love training. Sigh, oh well. The bright side is that it could be a lot worse. This is why I am always nagging others who had injuries to rest and/or see a doctor. Otherwise they will end up like me who in her early 20s was told by different doctors that my knee is basically done. Oh Oh and my shoulder isn't all that great either, dislocations, hairline fracture, sprains resulted to a bone spur. Those are just some examples, I am pretty wrecked lol. I have finally accepted that my body is "older" than my mind and I have to take care of it and be mindful about doing too much. I like to push and see how hard I can go so now I have to learn to turn that off or at least waaaay down.

My new foster.... What can I say... he is a one year husky that has been bred to run long distance and be with the pack. Here I am, a stranger telling him "no you cannot even walk much" and "no, you cannot play with the dogs" I can only sedate him so much in a day, plus he mentally fights the meds!! I can tell the sedatives are staring to take hold and him fighting it. I can't give him certain chew treats as well because he has a cone on. So Argggg. But I am lucky, I was talking to another foster mom and her foster is healing from a broken leg as well but she was given no sedatives. Her foster broke out of a metal crate that was padlocked!! And the leg isn't healing as predicted because he's using it too much. So I am grateful, extremely grateful.
So, if you pet needs any bone/joint surgery insists on sedatives. Its for their own good.

Sorry for the Loooong rant, I think I'm a little stressed and down... I'm just getting busier is all.. Thank you

Thanks Kris and Heron for the idea of roasted legumes! I do like those, and forgot all about them. They're a better substitute than peanuts when I need a nosh!

Heron, it takes a special person to foster a dog (or a child!). I can't imagine being able to give him up to a forever home. Thanks for doing that kind of work.

Jen, if you are starting with light weights, things like cans of soup and water bottles work great. Go with half-gallon or gallon jugs, but be sure to use screw-top and not pop top unless you also want to clean your floor. One pound = one pint.

New legs workout today, so I'm a bit nervous. They always surprise me, sometimes in ways that I don't love. I have two months left on my contract. I think I'll take a break after that. I feel like I can do a lot of this on my own now (but not the stuff with spotting), and when the weather improves I'd rather be outside. I do know a much less expensive trainer who I could work with for the heaviest moves like bench presses.

Down two pounds in two weeks. Amazing how it works when you stop eating as many treats. Candy is my devil. Now I only have 2 Rolos after dinner for my treat, and that's that!

Heron, Kris & Cynthia. Thank you. I loved Pilates when I was doing it regularly. I stopped for a while and when I was about to start back up, my instructor told me she was moving. I have heard great things about another place in town, so it's just a matter of getting comfortable with going somewhere new.

Cynthia, wouldn't cleaning up the floor though be more activity?

Kris, I've done yoga too but I will NEVER do hot yoga. I swear enough just doing a gentle class. I've heard of studios where the instructor will lock the doors so you can't leave! That's completely unsafe to me! I loved the yoga instructors here because the first thing they tell you is if you can't do a move or you feel any pain, make adjustments or stop. That's the way it should be, not being forced to 'push though the pain'. I miss the flexibility I had (which wasn't great but at least I could touch my toes!).

Heron, poor pup but like you said, at least you can keep him sedated so he can heal properly.

Oh, it's 'Friday'. Tomorrow is the final weigh in for the FB challenge. I'm not looking forward to it. However I'm trying to think positive, knowing that I've lost some weight over the 8 weeks. My goal was 12 and I think I'm at 13, so I'm hoping I gained less than a pound. There is a maintenance challenge planned but not sure if I'm going to do it yet or not.

Carol, you talked about a challenge in March (and yes, I forgot what it was already). I don't see anything planned out for us here for March, so time to think about something. I have one more new thing to try for this month and I can say I've completed another challenge successfully. New things (foods) I tried this month: jicama, brussel sprouts and kiwi. Still have to give cauliflower a try. Not sure yet but might try a pizza with a cauliflower crust tomorrow night.

Ok, I've rambled on long enough. Hope everyone has a great day.