Amy

I haven't been doing too bad. I have done a walking tape the last two days and have met my goal of drinking 2 mugs of water a day. I have to go to the bathroom like every 5 minutes. Anyway, I am feeling good about exercising. I have been watching what I eat and have been pretty sensible. I know it can be a challenge with sick kids, and just wanting to relax when you have a few minutes. Just remember tomorrow is a new day and you can continue what you were doing before!! Keep it up!

Susan

I'm here. I haven't been doing very well, so it's hard to post failures. I'm still down 4 pounds, which is good, but I haven't exercised at all this week or writing down my eating habits. The girls are sick and trying to stick to exercising is pretty tough. I will make sure Saturday and Sunday I go for 30 minutes on my elliptical - and I'll make sure Tim makes me do it. I have no other goals for this week right now other than sticking to my one pop or less a day. Sorry, I'm pretty lazy right now, I think I'm catching what the girls have and it doesn't make me very motivated.

Karen - Wednesday

Haven't been sticking to my goal for this week. Seems like after the kids go to bed is the perfect time for me to sit, relax and have a snack in peace. Will be working on that goal.

Weighed myself today...up from last week! Disappointing...but not enough to make me give up :)


Susan? Where are you? :0)

Karen - Tuesday

Eliptical: 31 minutes; 3.6 miles; 389 calories.

Feel like I'm working my butt off and not seeing results. I weighed myself today and I was more than last Wednesday. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Every Excuse

OK, OK, I have been making every excuse to putting off starting on this blog (moving, kidney stones, having a new baby- how long is a baby considered new?). I have thought about it everyday, but I know that doesn't count. So, I need to just do it. I am going to make some goals that are realistic for me now...they aren't going to be anything major, but they will be ones that I can meet with some effort and it will be at least a step in the right direction.

Goals for this week: drink two mugs of water everyday (I still have my big Weight Watcher's mug), eat at home every night but Saturday, exercise 20 minutes 3 times a week.

Everybody keep up the good work! Amy

Karen - New Goal

My new goal for this week is no eating after 8 pm.

Karen - Monday

Eliptical: 30 minutes; 323 calories; 3.1 miles.

Not sure yet of what goal I want to add this week. I will think about it this morning and add one when I get home from work.

Karen - Saturday

Eliptical: 26 minutes; 323 calories; 3.0 miles.

Karen - Friday

Wednesday I weighed myself. My original weight ended in 4.8. I was down 2.6 pounds. (New weight ended in 2.2) I was happy...I lost one pound the first week and 1.6 the second week. It's coming off slow...which I have to keep reminding myself is what I want. (Because I REALLY want it to come off fast...but know I NEED to take it off slow.) Since I haven't altered my eating habits TOO much...I think that is pretty good. I have been reaching my 25 grams of fiber a day. Ok...I can say that I am a regular girl now :) I would never come even close if it wasn't for the Shredded mini wheats that I eat for breakfast every day! (12 grams)

Did not exercise Wed or Thurs because some of the kids did not nap on those days. I exercised before work this morning because I know I won't be able to this afternoon - development appointment for the boys. I would really like to try to get 2 more 25 minute exercises in this week.

Eliptical Today: 25 minutes; 2.4 miles; 226 calories

Not sure what my goal will be for next week? Sit ups, fewer fat grams, fewer carbs? Not sure yet.

I failed again by eating out for lunch three times this week. Breakfast is going well...still continue to not eat out for breakfast. Supper is ok. I think only once this week...went to Burlington last night for Jamie's dad's birthday and ate pizza.

Sara - Thursday

I have actually been sticking to my plans. Part of my motivation is the Biggest Loser Contest. I was surprised when I walked into Curves last night to find our "before" pictures posted on the wall with our weights right there for all to see! Ugh!!! For the last two weeks, I have worked out on the circuit, elliptical, or treadmill for an hour each day. Today I took Jack and we walked around the mall to add another 30 minutes to my exercise for the day. I have been sticking to 1700 calories a day and limiting my diet pop. As of Tuesday, I had already lost 4 pounds just since we weighed in at Curves on Sunday. Even though I am experiencing some success, when I look at the total number of pounds I need to lose, my goals seem insurmountable! I have such a long way to go!

Susan

Today was a good day for me. I did the elliptical for 21 minutes. I did 30 situps and some push ups, I won't say how many because it's a pretty sad number. Had a small bowl of cereal for breakfast and haven't really snacked today. I have a couple cookies in my lunch tote calling my name, but I'm going to wait until after dinner to eat them because that's when I really crave sweets. Feeling more motivated today.

Susan

I'm failing this week! I have been watching my portion sizes but have not exercised! Tomorrow I will for sure get on my elliptical and do at least 20 minutes. I have been staying to no more than1 can of pop, today I shared a can with Tim - so just half a can today. I've been snacking on string cheese and fruit - so that makes me feel better. Haven't written down what I eat - I'm pretty sure it's right where I should be. I need to keep better track. You're doing great Karen, if I read the blog daily I know I'd better!!!

Karen - Tuesday

Just finished the eliptical - 26 minutes, 275 calories, 2.9 miles.

I was able to get my 25 grams of fiber in yesterday. Today I ate Frosted mini wheats for breakfast. I had 2 cups that had 12 grams. I normally don't eat much cereal...but when I do, it's Fruit Loops.

Day 2 that I ate lunch at home. I was REALLY craving Taco Johns today.

Thanks for the Invitation

Karen asked if I would like to join the blog. I was excited to say yes as I am trying to stay motivated and what a great way! I have been going to Curves regularly for two months. The first month I lost 7 inches but no weight. I tried to look at the positive and concentrate on the inches. This last month, I didn't lose weight or inches. At Curves I signed up for a Biggest Loser contest. As part of the contest, we are given a Shapescan at the beginning and the end. During my beginning Shapescan this last week, I found out I wasn't eating enough calories. Since I have upped my calories, I have lost some weight! I am also reading the Best Life Diet by Bob Greene, Orprah's trainer. I am following his three phases. I have also given up a lot of the Diet Pop I was drinking and am only going to have it away from home. I have replaced it at home with water. I'm grateful for the accountability!

Karen - Monday

I just finished exercising: 26 minutes; 2.9 miles; 200 calories

I've gone 2 WEEKS without pop!! I'm very excited about that!

I've gone 2 weeks not eating at McDonalds for breakfast!!

And last week I exercised 4/7 days. Did not reach my goal...but I feel good about it.

My goal for this week is to add fiber. I read we should have 25+ grams of fiber a day. So my goal is 25 a day. Boy...I think this is going to be hard. I did buy some "Benefiber" to help me get enough...I'm going to start adding a little to my food. Ultimately I'd like to reach the 25 grams without any help from a supplement.

Thanks for encouraging me and keeping me accountable Susan:)

Susan

I was hoping no one would notice that I haven't posted this week!
I didn't write down everything yesterday or today. I'm pretty sure I'm over.
I did exercise for 20 minutes each day all week though. I was planning on quitting pop this week, but that didn't happen either. I was going to cheat and have a bottle on Wednesday whileI was at work, so I went to get one out of the machine - but a diet caffeine free pepsi came out instead of coke. At that point I figured it was fate, so I just drank water!!! I'm still down 3 pounds from when I started, but I think it's because I'm exercising, not watching what I eat. I have definitely started taking smaller portions, but I snack all day long. I have to get myself more psyched to eat better. I did figure out that the chili I made only has around 300 calories a bowl, so I ate that for lunch and dinner 2 days in a row and that gave me more calories left to snack on, yeah! I definitely get more motivated when I read how good you're doing Karen. Keep it up - awesome that you get so pumped up to exercise and not drink pop or eat out for breakfast!

Karen - Thursday

I didn't exercise last night. I got up this morning and did my workout for yesterday...if that counts?! I will still plan on doing 20+ more minutes today.

21 minutes; 2.1 miles; 150 calories

I have not had any pop.

I have not eaten out for breakfast yet.

This week I have eaten out for lunch 3 of 4 times :(. Plan on eating at home today.

Susan...how's your week going?

Karen

Ok...12:20 am and just finished exercising. 24 minutes; 200 calories; 2.6 miles

Still no pop...had two nights where I craved it. First at a pizza party last night and tonight at the movies with popcorn. I really wanted fruit punch or lemonade...but they didn't have it. So I settled for water.

I was down only one pound from last Wednesday...which surprised me a little because yesterday I was down 2 1/2 pounds...but it just shows how much your weight can fluctuate from day to day. I guess my biggest goal at this point is to always way less that the week before...even if it's only a tenth of a pound. (Yay for digital scales.)

Already thinking of my one thing to add next week. So far I'm considering adding sit ups or adding fiber to my diet. Pop was a big one because of my risk for diabetes. Exercise also is a big factor in diabetes. I've read increasing fiber will decrease my chances of another diverticulitis attack.

Going to bed. Feeling good about myself right now :)

Karen

Just finished working out. 21 minutes; 185 calories; 2.5 miles

Ate lunch at Quiznos yesterday. Ate lunch at home today (leftover spaghetti). So 1 day down and 2 to go this week.

Had Spaghetti for supper last night and a Ham in the oven for tonight.

Feel like I've broken the McDonalds-for-breakfast habit!

It has completely helped me to work out knowing that I have to come in here and blog my results every day. Ok, I'm only on day 2 this week of exercising...but I am hoping the blog continues to motivate. I am being held accountable to the whole world - or at least the 2 or 3 other people who read this blog!!

Susan - week 1

Week 1 went pretty good. I wrote down everything I ate Tuesday - Friday. Didn't go over on calories at all. I exercised every day. The weekend was not so good though. I didn't write down anything I ate, so I cheated myself because I know I went over both days! Went to Buffalo Wild Wings on Saturday for lunch and thought I'd be healthy and ordered a wrap with grilled chicken - there was so much sour cream on it though that it wasn't healthy (or low calorie) AT ALL. Did order water though and still only had one can each day.
My goals for week 2 are pretty much the same.
Write down everything I eat and count calories
Stay at or under 2100 calories a day
Start doing 20 minutes of cardio a day - even on the weekend
Substitute fruit and veggies while snacking.
I've changed my goal of not losing weight while breastfeeding to SLOWLY losing weight. Otherwise I feel like I'm doing all this work without seeing any benefits, and that will get me down about it and I'll quit.

Karen

I did fairly well over the weekend. I've survived one entire week without pop. (Excpet at the mall Jamie and I shared a cup of pop...until I realized we were drinking pop and then I threw it away and got a water :)! )

Today I exercised on the Eliptical Machine
20 minutes; 2 miles; 150 calories

After the weekend, I was 1 pound down since last Wednesday.

Karen - Week 2 Goals

My goals this week are:
1. Not eat fast food for breakfast.
2. Do not drink pop.
3. 20 Minutes on the Elipitical 5 days.
4. Eat lunch at home at least 3 times.

Karen

I don't even know what day I'm on. I think 5? I have done really good in some areas and not so good in others this week.

I haven't had any pop for 5 days now. Yay!

I've eaten fast food for lunch 4 out of 5 days. Boo!

I normally eat at McDonalds for breakfast every morning and but haven't even once this week. I've been normally eating a banana for breakfast. Which is really weird because I'm not a big banana lover...but they seem to be the least messy of fruit. And the only thing I've had to bring. I need to start bringing some granola bars or something else so that I can have a mid morning snack.

Jamie and I haven't eaten out for supper at all this week. Wednesday I almost caved when we went grocery shopping. Ended up not eating until 9:30 that night. But at least it wasn't fast food.

I've only exercised two days this week. I think I'll set a goal of 4 days next week. I still have tomorrow and Sunday that I could exercise so we'll see.

I weighed myself Wednesday and have lost 2 pounds. Happy about that. Want to really not focus on the weight though. I know that by eating better, cutting out pop and exercising I'm on the right track. So I need to really focus on those three areas.

Day 2 - susan

Today I decided I will forever have to write down everything I eat and put the calories next to it. I've lost 2 pounds in 2 days, and the reason is because when I write it down, I don't eat as much. I think I must have been eating like, 3000 calories before. I'm eating way less and I'm still at 2000 calories. It's funny because I used to think, why is everyone else skinny, I don't eat any more than anyone else - I was wrong!!!! I've been cutting WAY down on my portion sizes and snack sizes. I know when I'm done breastfeeding I'm going to have to cut down on my calories again - so maybe I'll just breastfeed until Jaden is like 18!! As far as my goals, I'm going to increase my calories to 2100. Because even though it feels good to lose weight - I don't want to lose it quickly and I don't want to lose my milk supply.
I exercised on my elliptical for 17 (?not sure why that number) minutes today
So far have stayed on track with my calories.
Had pears for my morning snack.
Still have those carrots in the fridge at work taunting me to eat them. Maybe later!
Haven't done the stairs today yet - but I will before I go.
I'm actually feeling less tired since I started exercising yesterday. Maybe it's in my head because I read an artical that said exercising boosts energy and you require less sleep then.
Had a can of pop today - going to attempt to go off pop next week.

Day 1 - Susan

Was a good day for me... sort of. Was able to get on the Elliptical for 10 minutes before Caitlin got up this morning. Jaden laid in my bed and watched me, she was probably confused because I was exercising! I did keep under my calories today, but I had a bottle of pop at work instead of a can. Walked the stairs twice with one more time to go. Feeling good about this whole thing. It helps knowing Karen is doing it too, so I'm not alone. So at least when her and I are together we can keep each other in check. Didn't have my veggie serving today, brought carrots to work, but they didn't look too yummy, I really need to force myself to eat them even when I don't want to!

I Did It

Just finished exercising on the Eliptical for 20 minutes, 2.2 miles, 151 calories.

I feel good!

Karen

Day 2

Well...I met 1 out of 3 goals yesterday!! I didn't drink pop. That's my biggest goal right now so I'm glad that's the one I stuck to. I didn't exercise at all and I had taco johns for lunch. But, I still feel encouraged and motivated since I didn't drink pop...that's how I gained so much weight after the boys were born.

I finally remembered to weigh myself this morning. 4 pounds more than when I got pregnant with the boys. So, 4 pounds heavier than the most I've ever weighed.

I'm going in to exercise right now!

Karen

Alright - me too

Karen, you got me inspired, so today I weighed myself and started writing down everything I eat in a notebook. So that made me think what I want my goals to be. Long term, I'd like to lose 75 pounds! But if I think like that I know I'll fail. So until I finish breastfeeding here are my goals.
This week:
Eat and drink less than 2000 calories a day (I know it's a lot, but I don't want to really lose a lot because I don't want my milk supply to drop off yet)
Walk the stairs in my building 3 times a day
I've already had pop this week - so no more than a can a day.
Journal every thing I eat and count every calorie and not cheat! So I guess I'll be adding that piece of cake I had for break Greg brought in that was left over from his son's birthday. I'm so weak!!!
For my snacks - replace one with a fruit and one with a veggie.

Karen - Day 1

Day 1 went pretty good. No fast food. No pop. Only 10 minutes of exercise though. I got interrupted by a crabby Vaughn and never got back to it.

Forgot to weigh myself. Now I don't get to count the 5 pounds I probably lost yesterday :)
Karen

Karen's Goals for Week 1

Longterm Goal:
Lose 5 pounds a month.

Plan:
Set realistic goals on a weekly basis that I can obtain to help me achieve my longterm goal.
Evaluate my goals on a weekly basis and adjust based on my accomplishments.
Make changes to my lifestyle and not try to lose a bunch of weight quick. I want to lose it slow and keep it off.

Goals this week:
No pop.
Exercise at least 20 minutes per day on my Eliptical machine.
No fast food.

Here We Go

I've been planning on starting a weight loss blog for several weeks now. Originally it was going to be a personal blog that no one else had access to. But the more I thought about it, I decided that I would love to have other women who also need to lose weight join in to encourage me and each other.

Anyone is welcome to join this blog. You can include as much or as little information as you want to in your postings. You can make your own goals and try to lose weight the way you want to...there are no set rules to follow. This is just a support system. This is going to be my accountability system.