Motivation, Success and Frustration Sharing!

Hi, count me in! I'm back. I lost 70 lbs over the course of 2 years a while back, and ended up getting into running as part of my journey. Becoming a runner helped me maintain for several years... and then I had a couple of injuries last year, got side-lined temporarily. But now I'm good to go again, the running shoes are back on, and I'm here to take off 20 lbs that I re-gained. Let's do it! MFP rocks!!

@janetay01 Thank you for posting the Hogwarts Challenge. I'm all signed up and really excited! I only worked at that branch yesterday. I'm back at the Point Plesant branch today. But I only have until the end of June, and then I will mostly be at the Brick branch(the one that I love). I just have to make it through the next month!

@Locolady98 Welcome welcome! Enjoy your stay! This really is an awesome group!

So I'm back at the Point Pleasent branch today(the one I dont like) and have a meeting with my Market Manager and my Branch Manager for a follow up for my write up two weeks ago. I can already tell you it's going to go poorly. I did a major screw up on Friday that will definitely be brought up. So who knows what will happen. Everyone has been talking to me like I'm not going to get fired so we'll see what happens. The DH has said that he'll stand by me no matter what, so that is a nice feeling. So send me some prayers if you will. They would be much appreciated.

I ate like total rubbish yesterday, didnt log it all, worked late and couldn't get a walk in because it was pouring out. So work was great but everything else was pretty bad. I just have to make it through my five-hour shift at work today and then I am off until Thursday! I have so much I have to do around the house tomorrow. I want it to clear up so that I can get a walk in and that it's not so dreary out. I like the bright sun and happy skies. Lol. Not this yucky rain! It's been a super wet spring, which is good for the wildflowers but not so great for us. Lol

Well have a great day everyone!

@clicketykeys I hope you are enjoying your “Weekend”.

@hgsmith0920 Thank you! That M is still too tight, but I will make it to a comfortable M one of these days. Yeah, I hate when I can’t walk at lunch too. The break room is indeed boring. I try and keep a book with me for those times. Glad you will mostly work at the branch you like.

@evamutt some days I am just exhausted. I think we forget how much stuff we really do.

@janetay01 I remember that feeling! I worked in emergency services during the terror attack at the World Trade Center (9/11) Believe me I came home and held my daughter so tight and so long. For many days, she was my saving grace from that terror. Cake sounds delicious! Maybe just a small tiny piece?

@hgsmith0920 Prayers sent. Good luck today. Come back and let us know how it went.

@ngolden3320 I am glad to hear you are doing okay. Good job preplanning for what sounds like a lovely dinner. I love that you are going to celebrate your dads live, rather than mourn his passing. Work is always interfering with everything.

Yesterday, I did 2 workouts! A walk around the lake in the morning, and a walk during lunch. Plus our power was off at work for 5 hours, so I did a little more walking in my down time. My whole job is on the computer. I wish they would have sent us home, but they didn't. I also, managed to not snack too much. By time I got home from work I was exhausted! I managed to make dinner, but after that I was done. Went to bed the same time my little kids do and slept great. I am sore, but feeling so much better.

This weekend was rough. I literally went to the worst bachelorette party I've ever been to. Everyone was so uptight and uncomfortable and I had to babysit my drunk friend. Between that and poor food choices, I got 4 hours of sleep and way too many calories.

Sunday was much better, I had a great day celebrating my SO's birthday. But with birthday's come eating out for every meal of the day with various friends, alcohol, and cake so I was way over there too. Summer is seriously my hardest season for not gaining weight.

Monday my system needed a serious recovery day. I worked out, grocery shopped, cooked, cleaned the house, walked the dog, and got to read for a bit out on the patio. It was fabulous. I got a ton of sleep and woke up this morning ready to tackle the day with a kick butt workout! I hope everyone had a great day!

@janetay01 - Woot! Signed up! Hoping I get into my house Good for you for being honest in your food diary, even if maybe it wasn't fun to look at those numbers.

Hi @Locolady98! What got you into running?

Keep us posted on your job news, @HGSmith0920. We'll have our fingers crossed for you!

Fortunately ice cream isn't a weak spot for me, @ngolden3320. I like Halo Top pretty well, though, so I'm able to satisfy my sweet tooth without being too tempted to go overboard - and even if I did, it wouldn't be terrible. Sorry to hear about June being a rough month. But I think if you manage your calories so that you can eat more later... that isn't actually cheating, is it?

Grats on the workouts @jdelaroy!

@Rachel0778 - My costume is going to be the animated version of Maleficent. The designer suggested layering fabrics to get some cool effects, and I said that could work well, and I trust her judgment, but I also want to make sure that it moves well. A swirling, billowing black cloak is kind of iconic for villains and anti-heroes: Darth Vader, Snape, Batman... you know? Sorry to hear about the bachelorette party. But it sounds like you enjoyed yourself on Sunday and got back to good habits on Monday! So good for you

Let us know how you liked the class if you make it @Evamutt!

Met up with the trainer at Planet Fitness for an ab class. YOWZA that was hard. I couldn't do most of it, but I tried, so... it's not nothing? lol! Plus I got my regular strength training in, which was good. After the ab class we went over my progress and tweaked my plan a bit. I've got rehearsal tonight for Hairspray - choreography. Kind of nervous. But since I'm an adult, I'll probably be in the back. Fingers crossed!

Tomorrow I've got an 11-hr day at the amusement park, and then it's employee night on the water slides. Already got my water gear packed and my food pre-logged and in the fridge waiting to go into the cooler!

Glad you had a good day HGSmith. I know father's day can be hard , I'm so sorry for your losses I lost my father in the 90's. He was an alcoholic all my life. He wasn't mean, he would just have "fantasies" while drinking & put it on me, like he would read in the paper that teenagers are taking drugs & he would think I am. Things like that. Also he would say things to hurt my feelings, "imply" things. Hard to explain. He made our lives pretty miserable but The Lord gave me some understanding of him a few years before he died & I felt reconciled to him. I don't think he knew how much he hurt me tho. I can't say I really miss him. I do have some good memories. He would sing & tell me stories alot. He loved me in his own way. After my mom died, we were there every week taking him grocery shopping, mowing his grass, etc. One night he said there were gypsies in the closet. We all ended up moving in with him, since he always asked that he never be put in any kind of home. Me, DH, 4 kids & 2 dogs moved in. He was in bed most of the time. He passed out once & DH did CPR on him till ambulance got there. We were there a month when this happened. He never came to at the hospital. He was 78. I guess I got carried away thinking about him

I'm frustrated how slow the process is. But can't speed it up, cause I already have enough stretch marks.

@clicketykeys True. Patience is the hardest muscle to train.
I just feel bloated at the moment as it's TOM, can't wait for it to be gone, so I can step on scales. Quite annoyed I can check my weight progress only like twice a month

@rachel0778 Sorry about the party, Great job getting back on the horse though. You make me tired just listening to your days.  Good job on the cupcake. I award you an award for resisting the cupcakes. It is an invisible medal you can hang on your wall.

@evamutt Hope you find a class that works for you. I have the same problem with my gym. The classes they offer don’t really work with my schedule anymore.

@clicketykeys Yes just going and trying counts for something, and I bet if you keep it up those abs will get stronger. How was employee night?

@hgsmith0920 Glad your day went well, and you aren’t fired. Keep up the great work.

I had a great day yesterday! Made almost all my goals. My BF texted me right before I left work and asked if I wanted him to pick something up from work instead of cooking. I told him that would be great. He knew I was irritated at work, and with cooking the previous night. So went home, and instead of making dinner, I cleaned out the dang pantry that has been driving me nuts. He picked up McDonald's. He was pretty good, he got me the grilled chicken with none of the sauce on it (How I order it.), the unsweetened tea, and fries. Normally, I get the fruit parfait. He even refrained from getting himself a shake so that he wouldn't be drinking it in front of me. I ate my chicken, no bun, and half the fries. So made it work. Even had room for Sorbet afterwards. Having a great support system is such a blessing.

I can relate to your prior shifts HGSmith. I was always a morning person & used to get up at 5:30, before my kids did. I used to go to bed at 9pm. When I first started working at the hospital, I started at 5:30am & loved it, but got on full time in ICU & switched to 3-11pm, mainly so I have the morning free to take my dogs out. Stated getting up at 8am. I lived a whole day before work. dogs, cleaning & cooking & did that for 15yrs.I'm still not a night person but still go to bed at 11-12 mn. I would run to bed when I got home & went right to bed.

Morning everybody!

@janetay01 - Welllll... a day and a half. We're doing a dinner show the first evening, and then it'll be breakfast and lunch the next day, and probably dinner on the way home if not at the park. The buzz is that the dinner show overfeeds you, so my plan is to bring a cooler, pack up some of the dinner, and raid the ice machine at the hotel. Then hopefully that will keep until the next day, and we can nosh on that instead of eating out on the way home. Good on you for voting! I know sometimes it doesn't exactly inspire confidence. *sigh*

My shift at the amusement park was GLORIOUS yesterday, @HGSmith0920! It was low-80s and mostly clear, just a few puffy clouds floating across a blue sky. It might have been uncomfortably warm, but there was a good breeze all day. The crowds were light, I didn't have to do too much rule-reminding, and when I did, people changed their behaviors without a fuss. I got to walk around in the section of the park that has loudspeakers all day, so (a) I got in about 25k steps, and (b) I had music all day! Then after the park closed, the water park was opened up for any employees who wanted to stay, so I changed into my swim gear and rode water slides for about half an hour. I only did the big one once... it was a lot of fun, but dear sweet baby Jesus that was A METRIC BUTTLOAD of stairs! But I got to go on all the other slides at least once, and I rode my favorite one three times! Congrats on the book! What's it about?

@jdelaroy - Employee night was super fun, even though I didn't stay the full hour. My legs went "WE ARE DONE. Go home now and give us a hot bath with your Epsom salts!" I was kind of bummed that nobody else from my department (security) stayed, so I was there with a bunch of people I only knew a little bit. Maybe I would've stayed longer and been more social, idk... as it was, I was laser-focused on getting in my slide time! And what a lovely treat from a lovely fella! It's so awesome that he remembers what you get and how you get it, and that he went without a treat just out of thoughtfulness for you! Sounds like a special guy ^.^

Well @Rachel0778 it's not an event per se... I'm something of a Disney junkie, and Maleficent has always been my favorite villain, so I think it'll be a fun costume to have. I'll probably wear it to every convention and Halloween party I go to for the next several years, hahaha! Did you make it through the pole dancing class? I know what you mean about screaming muscles... it's two days after my abs class and I'm STILL sore! Good on you for striking a balance between strictness and indulgence. That's so awesome! Which flavors did you decide to try?

Amen, @gymprincess1234! I've never been the most patient person, and trying to lose weight just seems to make me even more impatient than usual ;D

So it's back to the pool this morning, and play practice tonight! And in between I've got to try to get the laundry and dishes finished up, because I've got long (12-13 hr) days at the park tomorrow and Saturday. Sunday's only 9, but that will probably be the day we get packed, because Monday we head to Dollywood!

Oh, and I'm going to tryyyy out some ab exercises at the gym. We'll see how it goes. I'm ... well, let's just say I'm not setting my expectations super-high XD

@PinkBuffalo Glad to have you in the group! Juggling weight loss and frequent job travel is definitely a big undertaking, it's tough to have to eat out constantly!

@clicketykeys I went with vanilla oreo and butterfinger cupcakes: both were 100% worth it! Today I have the cupcakes out of the house so it's back to my regularly scheduled programming What kind of conferences do you go to? I attend our local version of Comicon every year and love it! I did make it to pole and I'm so glad I did. I hope you're able to fit your ab workout in.

@janetay01 That is exactly how I felt about our last election, but I agree that voting is important no matter what. I'm glad you had a wonderful birthday!

@Evamutt I used to work a 12-8 shift and loved having that full day before work. I would almost rather go back to that schedule that what I am now

@jdelaroy Great job adjusting your intake so that you could fit in the delicious fries and sorbet! I'm glad your SO is being so supportive!

@HGSmith0920 You're publishing a book? That's amazing! What is it on? It sounds like you had a fabulous relaxing morning. I hope you accomplished everything you set out to do for the rest of the day

I went to pole class last night and accomplished a new move I've been working really hard on, I was so excited!!! Today my day is filled with appointments and meetings (groan) but I decided that tonight I'm going to stay home, do laundry, read my book, pack, and relax solo before my crazy busy weekend. I'm heading up to spend a night at my girlfriend's and then a night at my Mom's before heading back down for a volunteering event with my SO. I literally went through my calendar and booked "me" days since I have been so overbooked lately I haven't been making time for myself. I love everything that I'm doing, but all put together it is just too much! Balance has never been my forte so I'm working hard to add it in and make it a reality.

@hgsmith0920 I am envious of your time with the hubby. I get to see my SO every evening, but most days he is to worn out to do anything after work and the weekends, all it seems that we do is go go go…

@janetay01 Happy belated birthday. Sounds like you had a great time with your parents. Great job voting.

@clicketykeys Sounds like it was a great time. I dislike it when I don’t really no one, and I am super shy so that would be hard for me to do. Looks like you have a busy week ahead of you. Good luck.

@pinkbuffalo Welcome! You can do this. It sounds like you set a very reasonable goal for yourself. Start with baby steps. Remember no one is perfect, it is just a matter of getting back up and doing it again. I once lost 50 pounds and gained it all back and then some. Now I am down 55 pounds! I have had some really bad weeks since I started trying to lose weight, but here I am still working on it.

@rachel0778 Those sound yummy! What move did you accomplish? Great job! I love that you have scheduled in some “me” time.

Had a pretty good day yesterday. Took it easy, as I have been working really hard, and I don’t want to get burned out. Checked our official times on the 7k, turns out I beat my previous time by almost 6 minutes not 3! Woo, that means I am 6 minutes from less than an hour. My goal for the next 7k is to run it all and be below 1 hour.

Sigh - so the UK wakes up to a hung parliament, a governing party in the minority and months more of political and economic uncertainty and upheaval whilst a desperate Prime Minister tries to restore her credibility. And all this whilst we try to extricate ourselves from Europe - what fun

Anyway, it's Friday!! Husband is working both mornings this weekend so Alistair and i have a couple of playdates lined up and we will go swimming on Saturday afternoon. Hope Friday is good to you all and that you have lovely weekends lined up.

@pinkbuffalo Too true-got to fit it all in!

@clicketykeys Chia seed tea, sounds like a new health food craze lol

@janetay01 Think on the bright side, at least you don't live in the US...

@Evamutt That is a huge drop in size! Congrats!!! Sounds like you deserve some cute new clothes

@jdelaroy I did a tuck during my climb prep so I'm one step further on getting all the way up the pole. And 6 minutes off is a huge accomplishment, way to go!!!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!! So glad it's the weekend. I'm going a bit stir crazy to get off work today to head up to my friend's house for our girls night but I'm trying to be patient. I woke up early this morning to get my workout in and I'm currently trying to plan a fun trip for my SO and I for later this summer. It has to be a weekend since he can't get anymore time off, but I'm thinking maybe booking a room at a casino with the waterpark/swim up bar and a river cruise. It sounds like the perfect amount of exciting and relaxing (and I really want to play in the water this summer!). I realized that it's already June and I've barely done summer things yet. Next on my list is scheduling a kayaking date! I've never been but have always wanted to go and we've got a rental place in town so I have no excuse! I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!