My husband gave me the shock of my life when he announced a few weeks ago he needed to start going to the gym! Knowing that he probably wouldn't do anything about it, I decided to grab the bull by the horn and began researching gyms in our area. Low and behold, I found the perfect gym that will allow our entire family to really enjoy the whole fitness/ getting in shape thing. While the hubby and I are working out, the kids get to enjoy activities such as rock climbing, gymnastics and basketball. When the classes aren't going on, there's still a gigantic play gym to keep them entertained and active.

It took a little more time to finally convince him it was worth the money, but after a one week trial run and the kids being more excited about it then me, we bit the bullet and joined the gym about a week ago.

So far our trips have been mainly more of a playing around with the equipment there and figuring out just what exercises my husband will actually be able to handle (three back surgeries and some extra hardware has him limited in what exercises he can safely do). We've started off slowly, with more of a low weight, high rep workout until we can gradually work him up to the weights he really need to be at and so far so good. After 3 workouts, he's had a little DOMS, but nothing serious and he actually seems to be enjoying it.

The nutrition front is another story, but at least he's made a few changes for the better and maybe as the year goes on, I can convert him even more.


As for me, the end of 2007 turned out to be a major season of change. Some family issues that have surfaced has lead me to decide to sit out football for this season :cry:. It was a hard decision to come to terms, but looking at the silver lining, I'm actually now starting to look forward to being able to enjoy a bit more quality family time that is usually in limited supply for me during the spring.

Of course during all of this and stressful work situations, I did a bit of a backslide. Whle I struggled through December to try to get back on track, I did managed to stop the slide and am looking forward to getting the momentum going in the right direction and even finally hitting my goal this year!

New journal, FKC! :D
Good luck with all your goals in the new year :gl:

Happy New Year FBChick :tucool:

and good luck with the family fitness stuff ;)

I decided to grab the bull by the horn and began researching gyms in our area. Low and behold, I found the perfect gym that will allow our entire family to really enjoy the whole fitness/ getting in shape thing. While the hubby and I are working out, the kids get to enjoy activities such as rock climbing, gymnastics and basketball. When the classes aren't going on, there's still a gigantic play gym to keep them entertained and active.Wow, how exciting!

Sorry you can't be playing football this year, but it's so good to hear that you found something exciting to put your energy towards. :D

Good luck with your new Gym and with your family's efforts! :nod:

New journal, FKC! :D
Good luck with all your goals in the new year :gl:

Happy New Year FBChick :tucool:

and good luck with the family fitness stuff ;)

Wow, how exciting!

Sorry you can't be playing football this year, but it's so good to hear that you found something exciting to put your energy towards. :D

Good luck with your new Gym and with your family's efforts! :nod:


Thanks everyone! It'll be intresting getting EVERYONE going on the same page, but for now seems to be going well!

Wednesday had a great day. managed to hit the gym at work and got a great 30 min HIT workout in on the elliptical.

Wed evening we all headed up to the gym. The kiddos had a ball rocking climbing for a solid hour and a half. My daughters first couple of climbs, she was a bit antsy getting so high off the ground, but by the end of the night, she was making it to the top ringing the bell. My son pretty much took off right from the start and was having fun trying to tackle some of the harder trails. I have no doubt they will be hanging upside down by the end of the month!

While they were climbing, I spent the time torturing the hubby with the weights. I think we've hit enough to finally get a solid routine down, though there are still some lifts we need to work him up slowly on. We finished off the evening with him doing a 30 min HIT on the treadmill and I did more of a LISS on the ellipitcal. All in all a good workout.

Yesterday though.. I woke up feeling like crap with a throat so sore I was pretty much on a liquid diet all day. I pretty much took the day off and just rested. Thankfully feeling much better today, though the throat is still sore. The hubby actually went up to the gym on his own and did about a 45min LISS workout. :eek: I'm taking this as a good sign that he really wants to do this!!

The idea of getting everyone involved is fabulous! Not only will you and your other half be getting in shape but you will also indirectly influence your children by exposing them to the "world of fitness". Good luck on attaining and exceeding your goals!

:confused: I wonder how many of my co-workers and close family and friends I can pursuade to make a change in '08?

:gl:

FBC, that great the your whole family is now involved. Your persuasiveness is paying off as Mr. FBC has taken the initiative to go on his own and the kids seem to be having a fun time. Talk about multi-tasking, getting to work out and spend time with the family is a fine example of it.

Also, you're setting a great example for the kids and hopefully it will be a life lesson that they will carry with them as the get older.

Good luck with these efforts FBC!! It sounds exciting, and congratulations on having the whole family doing something good for their health, while having fun all together.:claplow:

I hope your sore throat is short lived. BTW how old are your children? I can't wait for the day I workout alongside of my girls. We have a family membership but the club policy excludes having children under 10 in the weight area.

I hope your sore throat is short lived. BTW how old are your children? I can't wait for the day I workout alongside of my girls. We have a family membership but the club policy excludes having children under 10 in the weight area.

Thankfully yes... by Saturday morning the sore throat was completely gone! I was actually amazed at how fast it came and went, but I won't complain.

My kids are 7 & 9. Our gym actually has the policy of no kids under 13 in the weight area, but they really designed the gym as a "Family" fitness center. In the same building, the have a huge rock climbing room. On Monday and Wednesday they actually have a class designed for the kids to go climb for an hour and a half (perfect workout length). They also offer gymnastics, cheerleading and karate there on site and the classes are built into your family membership. The "daycare" room has a HUGE indoor playground in it as well. The way the facility is setup, you can pretty much look into all the rooms from the weight area without moving much, so we can easily look in on them all the time. So we aren't actually working out together.. but we do all go into the facility together and then go our own ways, get our exercise/fun and then leave together. I just really like the idea that my kids get to spend the time being as active as we are. So many other clubs, the kids area is small and setup for the kids to zone out on movies or video games. My kids always got so bored too fast it was hard to get a workout in at all.

Glad to hear you are feeling better!

Enjoy your week!

WEEKEND RECAP

Saturday I was flying solo, as Hubby was out way too late partying with his nephew (just got back from Iraq) and had to go into work after he was finally up and moving. Though he spent the afternoon moving furniture and running cables.

So I had fun doing some lifts that have been currently off the schedule working out with hubby. Squats, deads, decline bench, seated rows, pullups and dips. I think I over did a bit as I was pretty sore for the rest of the weekend. Finished off the workout with about 45min on the bike.

Of course the rest of the day was spent watching football and crying as my poor Skins really came up short. It was almost hard to watch realizing our biggest glaring need is to shore up that O-line. Hopefully they can keep the team together one more year and find 1 or 2 upgrades for our line and see how far they can go! Admittedly, it was cheat day and I save the cheats for a serving of chips and cheese dip. Otherwise it was a good day diet wise as well.

Sunday, I opted to switch going to the gym for a DDR (Dance Revolution on the Wii) battle with my daughter. 2.5 hours later, I had worked up quite the sweat. Not quite cardio per say, but it was a lot of fun!

Sleep last night really sucked for both hubby and I. While I finally managed to get about 4 hours, he didn't manage to get even a full hour. Today will probably be the first day I struggle getting him to go. The gymnastic classes start today, but he has to work a little later then normal. The plan was for him to just meet us up there, so I could get my daughter signed up and into class, but I have a feeling my phone will ring with him bailing out from just being too tired. We'll see!

That sounds like an ideal place to workout in. My facility is geared more towards tennis with some children amenities. The workout area is large with plenty of equipment. Unfortunately my oldest has already outgrown the children's play area and refused to go anymore.

I'm glad that you're feeling better.

The more in depth you get describing your gym, the more impressive it is, especially the way it's geared toward a full family experience. Hopefully your family continues to buy into the idea and keeps going.

That sounds like an ideal place to workout in. My facility is geared more towards tennis with some children amenities. The workout area is large with plenty of equipment. Unfortunately my oldest has already outgrown the children's play area and refused to go anymore.

I've been through that phase with the kids already. The last gym I used outside of work, could only keep the kids entertained for about 30mins tops and my oldest really started throwing a stink about having to go. It was sad too as through the football team I got a 1 year memebership for only $100 and it was a great facility. This one is really geared more towards the overall fitness and seem to have done a great job of balancing it all.

I'm glad that you're feeling better.

The more in depth you get describing your gym, the more impressive it is, especially the way it's geared toward a full family experience. Hopefully your family continues to buy into the idea and keeps going.

Thanks

Yeah it had me sold pretty quickly.. it's funny too cause the gym isn't much to look at, but they made it so functional. As weird as it sounds, the place actually started off as a martial arts studio and grew into what it is now.

I hope the whole crew keeps this up, cause we are locked in for 2 years! :doh:

So, to keep me a bit more honest with everything,, it's time to admit to the backslide that occurred and post the weight

179.2 :mad: today

I swear yesterday the stars were trying desperately to line up against me! Thankfully I did manage to sneak down on my lunch at hit the ellipitcal for a 30 min workout. It was suppose to be HIIT, but ended up more of a LISS and the fatigue from lack of sleep really took over quickly.

And as expected, Hubby backout on gym night, though probably the right call with how little sleep he had gotten. I still had plans on getting me and the kiddos there. But when I picked up my daughter from the daycare she was in tears due to an ear ache. The warmer weather has been playing havoc on her sinuses. So I ended up staying home last night. Did sneak in about a 20 min walk and did some body weight exercises and hit the hay early last night.

Of course now I'm left trying to figure out if it's worth trying to sneak in the weight workout missed later this week, or just call the body weight workout good enough.

Calories yesterday were right on track coming in at 1568. Amazingly the munchies were not an issue either, which is a first in a long, long time!

The last two days have gone well. Tuesday was another crazy day at work with meetings running all day long, so the cardio scheduled came in spurts as I could sneak it in.. but got done! Food actually came in a bit on the low side.

Yesterday food wise was a bit off. A little high on calories, but still under maintenance.. though the macros were WAY off. The workouts on the other hand were right on target. Another busy day at work, so instead of a lunchtie trip to the gym, I managed to sneak in 2 20 min walks. Then we all made it up to the gym.. the kids off to the Rock climbing, us into the weightroom. Solid workout and it looks like we finally have a routine set. Ended the night with a good 30 mins on the elliptical.

Weight is still on it's way down as this morning came it at 177.6, so nice steady progress on that front too! Of course we both managed to wake up this morning sore and a bit stiff.

Weight is still on it's way down as this morning came it at 177.6, so nice steady progress on that front too!
sounds good!
when you talk about the diet, is it just your own or is the whole family included into that too?

sounds good!
when you talk about the diet, is it just your own or is the whole family included into that too?


The diet front is still just me :( It took me three years and hubby's spare tire to convience him that he needed the workouts.

On the diet front, he just isn't ready/convienced yet that calorie counting is a neccesary evil. He has cleaned his diet up over the past year, but it's still not quite where it needs to be. He used to do the skip breakfast/ fastfood (supersized) for lunch and then dinner was whatever I cooked. Now he eats a senseable breakfast, though it's special K with berries, lunch is usually sandwiches, fruit and maye some baked chips (though he'll still do the fastfood once or twice a week)and dinner is still the same. He has dropped the soda for the most part, but he still drinks 1-2 beers most nights. He won't touch ANY vegetables aside from corn and potatoes and I'm still working on getting him converted to more whole grain options for bread and pasta.

The diet front is still just me :( It took me three years and hubby's spare tire to convience him that he needed the workouts.

On the diet front, he just isn't ready/convienced yet that calorie counting is a neccesary evil. He has cleaned his diet up over the past year, but it's still not quite where it needs to be. He used to do the skip breakfast/ fastfood (supersized) for lunch and then dinner was whatever I cooked. Now he eats a senseable breakfast, though it's special K with berries, lunch is usually sandwiches, fruit and maye some baked chips (though he'll still do the fastfood once or twice a week)and dinner is still the same. He has dropped the soda for the most part, but he still drinks 1-2 beers most nights. He won't touch ANY vegetables aside from corn and potatoes and I'm still working on getting him converted to more whole grain options for bread and pasta.
*sigh* they're all the same:rolleyes: i struggled with my boyfriend for a while, but i gave up finally. it's just so frustrating to have to watch him stuff himself with junk all the time. he's still very fit, but the way this is going, and the history of cardiac disease in his family. i don't know what to do.:cry:

Nice going with the weight loss FBC and for being flexible enough to get your some exercise in around your work schedule.

Just checking in... the gym sounds great and I'm glad to read that your DH is hanging in there. And as for you... we both know you'll do just fine. :tu:

*sigh* they're all the same:rolleyes: i struggled with my boyfriend for a while, but i gave up finally. it's just so frustrating to have to watch him stuff himself with junk all the time. he's still very fit, but the way this is going, and the history of cardiac disease in his family. i don't know what to do.:cry:
I seriously don't know any guy in Dalmatia that eats clean. In the whole of Croatie for that matter. Must be a cultural thing.

The diet front is still just me :( It took me three years and hubby's spare tire to convience him that he needed the workouts.

On the diet front, he just isn't ready/convienced yet that calorie counting is a neccesary evil. He has cleaned his diet up over the past year, but it's still not quite where it needs to be. He used to do the skip breakfast/ fastfood (supersized) for lunch and then dinner was whatever I cooked. Now he eats a senseable breakfast, though it's special K with berries, lunch is usually sandwiches, fruit and maye some baked chips (though he'll still do the fastfood once or twice a week)and dinner is still the same. He has dropped the soda for the most part, but he still drinks 1-2 beers most nights. He won't touch ANY vegetables aside from corn and potatoes and I'm still working on getting him converted to more whole grain options for bread and pasta.
At least he made steps forward. :)

I agree with E that your husband has made some positive modifications to his diet. From a health standpoint he still has a long way to go. But as long as he is willing to change than keep encouraging him to do so.

Hey, just peeking in here.... that gym sounds great! how come your hubby doesn't touch any veggies except for potatoes and corn?

*sigh* they're all the same:rolleyes: i struggled with my boyfriend for a while, but i gave up finally. it's just so frustrating to have to watch him stuff himself with junk all the time. he's still very fit, but the way this is going, and the history of cardiac disease in his family. i don't know what to do.:cry:

Don't give up. It took me years to get the changes out of my husband that I have gotten. I gave up on the nagging bit, but just made comments/ drop hints and when the health issues started popping up (higher blood pessure and cholesterol) and when the weight started really creeping up on him, you could see him making the changes slowly. As the results became positive (lowered his cholesterol, off the blood pressure meds, lost about 10lbs) he started listening more. I like to think I planted the seeds.:D

Nice going with the weight loss FBC and for being flexible enough to get your some exercise in around your work schedule.

Thanks!

Just checking in... the gym sounds great and I'm glad to read that your DH is hanging in there. And as for you... we both know you'll do just fine. :tu:

Thanks for the vote of confidence.. though I didn't hang to well by the end of last year and the scale is showing the damage:bang:. Though with the two gym option plus the flexability I am virtually out of every excuse possible short of being laid up in bed with some illness or malady! :o

At least he made steps forward. :)

I agree with E that your husband has made some positive modifications to his diet. From a health standpoint he still has a long way to go. But as long as he is willing to change than keep encouraging him to do so.

He really has and the weird thing that I've notice is each little step he takes, makes it easier for me to stay the course and hopefully get to where I want to end up. It's possible to do it alone, the first 30lb loss taught me that, but it makes a difference when you have a bit more consistant support on the home front too.

Hey, just peeking in here.... that gym sounds great! how come your hubby doesn't touch any veggies except for potatoes and corn?

Just doesn't like them. I give him credit for trying from time to time. once for a week straight he tried to do the salad thing, but by the end of the week he was still choking it down and never aquired the taste for it, so he gave up. He'll get down cooked carrots, which is on the dinner menu once or twice a week, but he doesn't really like them and won't eat enough to even count as a full serving. Some of my dishes I can get away with sprinkling in finely chopped broccoli and get away with it. But he will usually at least try some new recipe once but I haven't found any that he is willing to repeat.

For now though, I'm pretty happy with the amount of fastfood eating that he has cut out and getting him more active on a consistant basis. Like Buttersweet, there was a point in time I had sort of given up on him from the health stand point, so it's nice to see that walking the walk is paying off a bit. We lead pretty active crazy lives and I would prefer to keep it that way for a long time to come!

Weight this morning came in at 177 even! The loss is starting to slow down, which is usually the sign that the xmas excess is gone and I'm now just left with the extra fat I've put on. :bang:

Calories came in right on track yesterday at 1645 with a 30/40/30 split (little high on the carbs, but not too bad). Managed to hit the gym for Step class and then added about another 20 min on the elliptical.

Sleeping has been a problem all week. I've been struggling to fall asleep at night, so I've been running on about 5-6 hours a night. One or two days of that I can usually handle, but a week straight and I start feeling like a zombie. Made the plan last night to hit the hay early, actually got there and then tossed and turned till 4am. I'm just glad it's Friday and I don't have anything to get up early for tomorrow!

The weekend went only soso. Woke up Sat morning to 176.4 on the scale!! :claphigh:Saturday's workout got sidelined by having to run to the rescue of a good friend of ours. Long story that isn't mine to tell, but needless to say there may be more interruptions in my future. Foodwise Saturday actually went well. Stayed on track all day and dinner was my cheat meal and the hubby and I went out to on of our favorite resturants. Kinda had to giggle after getting back on track with the food, I wasn't even able to eat want I usually do at this place, so not even sure how much of a cheat it really was. We met some friends out at a bar and had fun dancing the night away. Though I did end up drinking a bit too much :o.

Sunday had the scale bumped up to 177.6, which was actually a lot less then usually happens to me on cheat day. Unfortunately I had trouble sleeping again and managed to only get about 4hrs. While I was completely tired all day, every time I tried to lay down I just could not fall asleep. Made for some not so hot food choices, though I did try out a new recipe for a pumpkin soup that was delicious!!

This morning the scale creeped up to 178 :mad:, but thankfully I managed a great nights sleep! Getting everything back on track, though food supplies are running very low as I was just too tired to hit the grocery store :o

Often restaurant food is higher in sodium than what you would normally eat at home so your recent gain may be a result of that because I doubt that you had over 3500 calories over maintenance. Up your hydration for a day or two and see what happens.

Often restaurant food is higher in sodium than what you would normally eat at home so your recent gain may be a result of that because I doubt that you had over 3500 calories over maintenance. Up your hydration for a day or two and see what happens.

Yeah, I know the weight is almost purely extra sodium intake. But really the resturant did very little damage and it was the cheat meal and actually a pretty good cheat as far they go for me.... it's Sunday's eating that has the aggrevated smiley going on. I'm noticing the my usual food MO, which is to be good and strict during the week and sort of fall off the wagon on the weekends. I still make progress, but it really slows it down to more of a crawl. While I'm not trying to sprint to the finish line, after 2 years of tracking and losing weight I'm ready to try and make this the last push to get all the weight off I've been trying to lose and finally get into more of a maintenance/strength building program.

I'm noticing the my usual food MO, which is to be good and strict during the week and sort of fall off the wagon on the weekends.

Weekends are the most important two days of the week... if they weren't, why would we look forward to them so much?
Treat them with respect and they will reward you with progress. - PhillyDude

Hey! New journal! The gym you go to sounds great, though I'm sorry to hear you're not playing football this year. :(

Weekends are the most important two days of the week... if they weren't, why would we look forward to them so much?
Treat them with respect and they will reward you with progress. - PhillyDude

Love the quote, but I have to admit.. trying to figure out the "respect" you mean :doh: These days it seems like our weekends are packed with fun, which I believe they should be, but sometimes I think I try to pack in too much fun in just two days :p. One of these days I'll find the right balance!

Hey! New journal! The gym you go to sounds great, though I'm sorry to hear you're not playing football this year. :(

It's good to see you back around these parts!! Yes, I'm still bummed over the no football this year. When you get into something like that, I swear it sort of defines a big part of who you are and I was feeling a bit lost without it. But with all the stuff we've taken on already, I know it was the right decision and I am enjoying all the extra family time and not stressing over the team drama that is already starting.

Weight this morning dropped to 177.6, not quite the big drop I was expecting after all the water chugging, but at least it's going back down again. Food was on track yesterday coming in at 1645 (30/40/30). Unfortunately I didn't make it to the store last night and the cupboards are officially bare, so today will be a bit intresting trying to keep it on track.

Workouts went great yesterday. The corporate gym has added some new classes and I'm planning on having fun checking them out. Yesterday was kickboxing, which did a pretty good job of kicking my butt!! Talking with a few of the ladies that made it last week, they actually said the class was actually harder last week. There were less people last time, so the instructor had worked in some jump rope intervals that left them crawling out the door. Today is the Hip-Hop class, so we'll see how that one goes.

Then the family managed to make it to the gym last night. The kids had their fun rock climbing and my son is really wanting to get the equipment like climbing shoes and tape to try and get a bit further up on the harder walls. Hubby and I managed to really work ourselves good on the weights

Bench Press 65x15, 85x15, 95x15, 105x8
Leg Press 180x15, 270x15, 320x15, 340x15
DB Row 20x15, 25x15, 30x15
Leg curl 60x15, 70x15, 80x15, 85x15
back ext 110x15, 150x15, 160x15, 165x15
Abs mach 60x15, 75x15, 80x12, 80x12
Db curls 15x15, 20x12, 20x12
Tricep Pulldown 50x15, 60x12, 60x12

Afterwards followed it up with 30min on the elliptical (Hubby did 20 min on the treadmill then switched to 15mins on the bike)

I also managed to crashout at a decent hour and finally starting to feel a bit more human again.

Weight this morning dropped to 177.6, not quite the big drop I was expecting after all the water chugging, but at least it's going back down again. Food was on track yesterday coming in at 1645 (30/40/30). Unfortunately I didn't make it to the store last night and the cupboards are officially bare, so today will be a bit intresting trying to keep it on track.

Workouts went great yesterday. The corporate gym has added some new classes and I'm planning on having fun checking them out. Yesterday was kickboxing, which did a pretty good job of kicking my butt!! Talking with a few of the ladies that made it last week, they actually said the class was actually harder last week. There were less people last time, so the instructor had worked in some jump rope intervals that left them crawling out the door. Today is the Hip-Hop class, so we'll see how that one goes.

Then the family managed to make it to the gym last night. The kids had their fun rock climbing and my son is really wanting to get the equipment like climbing shoes and tape to try and get a bit further up on the harder walls. Hubby and I managed to really work ourselves good on the weights

Bench Press 65x15, 85x15, 95x15, 105x8
Leg Press 180x15, 270x15, 320x15, 340x15
DB Row 20x15, 25x15, 30x15
Leg curl 60x15, 70x15, 80x15, 85x15
back ext 110x15, 150x15, 160x15, 165x15
Abs mach 60x15, 75x15, 80x12, 80x12
Db curls 15x15, 20x12, 20x12
Tricep Pulldown 50x15, 60x12, 60x12

Afterwards followed it up with 30min on the elliptical (Hubby did 20 min on the treadmill then switched to 15mins on the bike)

I also managed to crashout at a decent hour and finally starting to feel a bit more human again.

That's one positive fitness/health day you had. Nice going. You're fortunate to have access to the corporate gym; I'm sure it makes getting those extra workouts in much easier.

Sounds like hubby is keeping up with his committment. Good, good.

That's one positive fitness/health day you had. Nice going. You're fortunate to have access to the corporate gym; I'm sure it makes getting those extra workouts in much easier.

Sounds like hubby is keeping up with his committment. Good, good.

I love having the corporate gym right there in the building with such easy access to it. Actually contemplating giving up my memebership after we joined the family gym, but at $16 a month.. I figured it was worth keeping to allow me to be more flexable.

And yes, he is still going. Though now he is having a bit too much fun telling all his friends, family and co-workers what a slave driver I am at the gym!:evil:

Finished today right on track! Calories at 1564, protien a little bit low, but overall I'm actually quite impressed with what I managed to scrounge together at the lobby shop and what was left in my fridge :tu:

The HipHop class was fun, but really didn't push me very hard at all. Not to mention the class only last about 20mins. Heard it suppose to extend to a full 30 next month as long as it stays popular enough. I ended up doing a 20 min HIIT session on the elliptical, so overall a good workout. I think I may go ahead and stick with the class to see if it gets a bit more difficult once the crowd clears out and it settles into just the usual regulars.

Spent the evening moving around funiture, as we bought both kids new beds. We ended up upgrading my son to a fullsize bed. Never knew a kid could be so happy about having a bigger bed and more pillows:lol:. But he did look awlfully cute buried in all that stuff when we tucked him in for the night!

Also managed to hit the grocery store and get stocked back up on everything I need.. so no more scrounging through the cupboards to try and piece meal together a decent diet!

I love having the corporate gym right there in the building with such easy access to it. Actually contemplating giving up my memebership after we joined the family gym, but at $16 a month.. I figured it was worth keeping to allow me to be more flexable.

With such a low membership, if your budget can handle it, even if you go only once per week I think it would be worth it.

And yes, he is still going. Though now he is having a bit too much fun telling all his friends, family and co-workers what a slave driver I am at the gym!:evil:

I'm sure he's saying it in the nicest way possible. :lol:

Finished today right on track! Calories at 1564, protien a little bit low, but overall I'm actually quite impressed with what I managed to scrounge together at the lobby shop and what was left in my fridge :tu:

The HipHop class was fun, but really didn't push me very hard at all. Not to mention the class only last about 20mins. Heard it suppose to extend to a full 30 next month as long as it stays popular enough. I ended up doing a 20 min HIIT session on the elliptical, so overall a good workout. I think I may go ahead and stick with the class to see if it gets a bit more difficult once the crowd clears out and it settles into just the usual regulars.

Spent the evening moving around funiture, as we bought both kids new beds. We ended up upgrading my son to a fullsize bed. Never knew a kid could be so happy about having a bigger bed and more pillows:lol:. But he did look awlfully cute buried in all that stuff when we tucked him in for the night!

Also managed to hit the grocery store and get stocked back up on everything I need.. so no more scrounging through the cupboards to try and piece meal together a decent diet!

Having good food choices readily available goes a long way toward making better decisions. Otherwise, it's just too easy to eat whatever's around because you're hungry.

I'm sure he's saying it in the nicest way possible. :lol:

Suuuure he is! The funny thing is half his friends are already a bit scared of me over the whole football thing, I can just imagine what they think now. Though hubby swears I'm the best excuse when he's not in the mood to go out with the boys or wants to call it an early night. None of them tease him about being whipped, most of them will help in out the door to keep him in one piece!:D


Having good food choices readily available goes a long way toward making better decisions. Otherwise, it's just too easy to eat whatever's around because you're hungry.

Of course in my world, there is also the other reality of having too many choices and wanting to eat them all at the same time.:o But it did make for a very good food day today! :eat:

Another good day in the books! Scale today: 176.0, so weekend bloat is gone and time to start seeing new numbers.

Food right on track at 1656, 35/35/30 ratio. Actually hit a point today I had to delay a meal as I was just not hungry at all (actually still felt full from the last meal). Of course the workout took care of that and had a nice hearty dinner:drool:

Ended up passing up on the lunchtime workout. Had a few meetings that ran over and by the time I could actually get down there, it would have been too close to my other gym time, so I figured one workout was plenty anyway. Hubby got stuck at work very late, so me and the kids headed off without him:( Missed him being there, but it did allow me to get in the compound lifts I miss doing.. so all good!

Incline chest press 50x15, 70x12, 80x12 (could have used a bit more on the last set)
SLDL 80x15, 100x12, 100x12
Seated Rows 60x12, 60x12, 70x10 (biggest loss from my bad habits:o)
Lat pulldowns 60x15, 60x12, 70x12
Squats 115x15, 135x12, 145x12 (wasn't sure I was making it up on the last set)
Front raises 10x15, 15x12, 15x12

Was a little ticked at having to move the squats to almost the very end as both squat racks were full (at least they were being used correctly) and the guys took over 40mins to finish their workouts in there:mad:

But the time I went to hit cardio, my legs were still jelly and the elliptical was torture. I pushed through for about 15 mins, then switched to the bike for about 10 min (which just didn't feel like much of a workout at all) and then finished up with about 10 mins of sprint intervals on the treadmill.

Hopefully I can get hubby to hit the gym tomorrow on his own. This could be a bit of a trick, so we'll see how it goes.

Sq

Weight: 176.4 :mad: Never like seeing the scale go up. Though I'm just chalking it up to a good hard workout last night. Better see a big drop tomorrow!

Workout today is done. Step Aerobics class today, which is always fun.. though my thighs and lower back are sore from yesterdays workout and by the end of classes my back had tightened up so much, it was getting painful. Almost opted not to do anymore cardio afterwards, but then talked myself to getting on the elliptical for just 5 mins to see how it goes. Actually felt better, and ended up going for 15mins total.

I'm feeling a bit moody today. Not really sure why either. I've been getting some pretty decent sleep all week (thank goodness!), but right now having constant battles going on in my head. Lost one and caved in for a brownie at the lobbyshop when I went to get my water. :spank: Now I'm having trouble drinking down the water and I'm way behind schedule. Kind of ready and waiting for the day to be over so I can go home!

Weight: 176.4 :mad: Never like seeing the scale go up. Though I'm just chalking it up to a good hard workout last night. Better see a big drop tomorrow!

Workout today is done. Step Aerobics class today, which is always fun.. though my thighs and lower back are sore from yesterdays workout and by the end of classes my back had tightened up so much, it was getting painful. Almost opted not to do anymore cardio afterwards, but then talked myself to getting on the elliptical for just 5 mins to see how it goes. Actually felt better, and ended up going for 15mins total.

I'm feeling a bit moody today. Not really sure why either. I've been getting some pretty decent sleep all week (thank goodness!), but right now having constant battles going on in my head. Lost one and caved in for a brownie at the lobbyshop when I went to get my water. :spank: Now I'm having trouble drinking down the water and I'm way behind schedule. Kind of ready and waiting for the day to be over so I can go home!

One of the downsides of daily weighings is that there will be counter trend fluctuations that are not reflective of the choices being made. I had one of those this morning as well and while I wasn't pleased about it I know that aside from minor transgressions that I wrote about this morning I've been on target and that my weight will continue to show positive improvements. And I'm sure that yours will also.

Now drink your water!:D

Yesterday finished pretty well, though water intake never quite caught up to where it should be (but I did get more then the "recommended")

Moodiness is all gone, and life was much sweeter today.

Weight 176.0, back to the starting line, but still no progress for the week. A bit frustrating. Did spend sometime looking over the calories out vs calories in equation and I may need to dial back on the calories to actually get closer to the 2lb a week mark instead of the one. May be the biggest reason I didn't really see much movement. For now I'm going to keep it as is and see what next week brings. I'm still trying to up the cardio amounts to a full 60mins a day and I keep missing that 3rd weight workout each week.. so that might be enough.

Not really sure where calories today will end up. Due to meetings/workout/running late I was shifting things to more of a 4 meal instead of my normal 5 meal. Ended up a bit low on calories, but was stuffed heading to bowling league. Did fine most of the evening till the last game. Started getting that dizzy headachy feeling that lets me know I need food NOW. SO I ended up with a Hotdog (healthiest thing they had) and had a few chips with it. Still think the cals are on track though, but that'll teach me not to eat a bit more before going.

On a fun note... we have decided to spontaneously take the kids up to Wolf Lodge (http://www.greatwolf.com/Locations/mason/)in Mason Ohio. They don't even know we are going yet. Planning on taking them straight there after we pick them up from their Tae Kwon Do practice in the morning. It does mean I'm missing my gym time this weekend... but I think I'd much rather get my workout chasing my kids around this place. Hopefully the bathing suit still looks ok with the few extra pounds I'm carrying.

Yesterday finished pretty well, though water intake never quite caught up to where it should be (but I did get more then the "recommended")

Moodiness is all gone, and life was much sweeter today.

Weight 176.0, back to the starting line, but still no progress for the week. A bit frustrating. Did spend sometime looking over the calories out vs calories in equation and I may need to dial back on the calories to actually get closer to the 2lb a week mark instead of the one. May be the biggest reason I didn't really see much movement. For now I'm going to keep it as is and see what next week brings. I'm still trying to up the cardio amounts to a full 60mins a day and I keep missing that 3rd weight workout each week.. so that might be enough.

Not really sure where calories today will end up. Due to meetings/workout/running late I was shifting things to more of a 4 meal instead of my normal 5 meal. Ended up a bit low on calories, but was stuffed heading to bowling league. Did fine most of the evening till the last game. Started getting that dizzy headachy feeling that lets me know I need food NOW. SO I ended up with a Hotdog (healthiest thing they had) and had a few chips with it. Still think the cals are on track though, but that'll teach me not to eat a bit more before going.

On a fun note... we have decided to spontaneously take the kids up to Wolf Lodge (http://www.greatwolf.com/Locations/mason/)in Mason Ohio. They don't even know we are going yet. Planning on taking them straight there after we pick them up from their Tae Kwon Do practice in the morning. It does mean I'm missing my gym time this weekend... but I think I'd much rather get my workout chasing my kids around this place. Hopefully the bathing suit still looks ok with the few extra pounds I'm carrying.


That's a great suprise. I think the kids will be thrilled! I wish y'all a great time there :)

That sounds like a good reason to miss your weekend routine. I'm sure your kids will enjoy themselves.

awww, i wanna go too:cry:

Have a great time. I'm sure the kids will be thrilled.

We had a BLAST!!! The kids were completely surprised by the whole thing. We ended up taking our nephew with us as well, so he was in the car when we picked up the kids. They were wondering what he was doing there, so we told them we were heading to Ohio to stay at a hotel with a swimming pool (this actually would have been enough to excite my kids anyways). The hotel itself was HUGE, and when I pointed it out all three kids were just stunned with amazement.

When we went inside to check in, the kids and I spent about 20mins checking out the place while the Hubby waited in the check-in line. The main lobby was soo elaborate, that it actually took the kids about 10mins to find the waterpark. Once they did.. their faces were glued to the window except to ask me every 30 secs about when we can finally go swimming.

The room turned out really cute, as it had a little kids room that was in the shape of a tent with bunkbeds in it, though admittedly, we spent very little time in there, other then sleeping.

The water park was pretty amazing how they managed to pack so much stuff in such a little space. I was surprised that the waterslides were actually pretty long and about on par with the slides in the actual King's Island park. They even had one of those water coasters in there, that was a lot of fun, though was the one slide that the water was actually cold on. The water slides then dumped you out on the lazy river, which was a bit short, but full of water spouts and a fun fast current. They also had a wave pool, the rope river crossing obstacles, water basketball and a Gigantic Fort full of water rockets, fountains and various other silly gagets to get you wet. Of course when Mommy and Daddy started to get worn out, there was a nice jacuzzi for us to relax in a bit. We ended up spending about 5 hours in the park on Saturday and about another 4 hours on Sunday and never once did anyone seem to be getting bored.

While we spent so much time in the water park, we did manage to take advantage of some of the other activities around the hotel. After supper we let the kids spend about an hour in the Arcade and Sunday morning we spent about an hour in the arts in crafts room so the kids could earn their Snowman University diploma :lol:

All in all a very good family weekend! Admittedly though, food wise was not so hot for me.:o Saturday went well until Suppertime, when we opted to eat at the Buffet resturant in the hotel. The food turned out to be excellent and I was so hungry from running around the park all day that I pigged out on Crablegs and Steak :drool:. I had packed breakfast, so did well there, but we did Burgerking for lunch and again, it was so late from playing in the park so long.. I ate a bit too much of that too :spank:

So today, scale is back up to 178.6. My goal this week is to hit all my workouts and keep the weekend clean and see if the weight can make better progress... if not, I'll think I'll need to rethink the plan a bit.

Weight: 177.2

Foodwise, yesterday was going well, until the hubby and I decided to run off and go see the new movie "Cloverfield". I started off with good intentions, Bought a smaller then normal popcorn for him, figured I'd take just a couple small handfuls. But then halfway through the movie I realized I ate about half the bag :spank:. Still less then I would normally eat there, but I'm sure the scale would have come down more had I not eaten so much salt :o

Ended with 1770 cals.

Workouts went great though. Missed the lunchtime workout due to meeting overload yesterday, but the family made it up to the gym after work.

Bench Press 85x12, 95x12, 105x12
Lunges 40x12
Leg Press 270x12, 320x12, 350x12
Lat Pulldown 70x12, 80x12, 80x10
Leg Curl 80x12, 90x12, 100x10
Back Extension 150x12, 160x12, 170x12
Ab Mach. 60x12, 70x12, 80x12
Lat raises 10x12, 12x12

We then played a 1 on 1 basketball for about 20mins, though I think we got an extra ab workout with all the laughing, when I had to take to cheating just to get a few scores on the board. 1 on 1 is a bit difficult when the person you are playing has about a 7inch height difference, and much bigger arm span and you only have a whimpy 3 inch vertical:o. After the game we did sprints on the treadmill for about 15mins waiting for the kids to finish up with rock climbing.

Today is going well and workout is already done. Made it to the HipHop class this morning, which was a bit faster pace then last week, which was nice. Afterwards, I added another 20mins on the elliptical

Weight: 177.2

Foodwise, yesterday was going well, until the hubby and I decided to run off and go see the new movie "Cloverfield". I started off with good intentions, Bought a smaller then normal popcorn for him, figured I'd take just a couple small handfuls. But then halfway through the movie I realized I ate about half the bag :spank:. Still less then I would normally eat there, but I'm sure the scale would have come down more had I not eaten so much salt :o

Ended with 1770 cals.

Workouts went great though. Missed the lunchtime workout due to meeting overload yesterday, but the family made it up to the gym after work.

Bench Press 85x12, 95x12, 105x12
Lunges 40x12
Leg Press 270x12, 320x12, 350x12
Lat Pulldown 70x12, 80x12, 80x10
Leg Curl 80x12, 90x12, 100x10
Back Extension 150x12, 160x12, 170x12
Ab Mach. 60x12, 70x12, 80x12
Lat raises 10x12, 12x12

We then played a 1 on 1 basketball for about 20mins, though I think we got an extra ab workout with all the laughing, when I had to take to cheating just to get a few scores on the board. 1 on 1 is a bit difficult when the person you are playing has about a 7inch height difference, and much bigger arm span and you only have a whimpy 3 inch vertical:o. After the game we did sprints on the treadmill for about 15mins waiting for the kids to finish up with rock climbing.

Today is going well and workout is already done. Made it to the HipHop class this morning, which was a bit faster pace then last week, which was nice. Afterwards, I added another 20mins on the elliptical

Another full family session at the gym! Excellent.

Being seven inches taller than my opponent and having a bigger arm span and a higher vertical leap are three of my prerequisites for taking anyone on in BB. It's how I can still take my kids. :lol:

Another full family session at the gym! Excellent.

Being seven inches taller than my opponent and having a bigger arm span and a higher vertical leap are three of my prerequisites for taking anyone on in BB. It's how I can still take my kids. :lol:


:lol: Yes but when one's wife plays football and has no issues with the occasional body check to even the playing field it can create new dynamics to a basketball game!:D Of course he still whooped my butt.. but little does he know, I control the weight workouts and Wednesday is just around the corner!:evil:

:lol: Yes but when one's wife plays football and has no issues with the occasional body check to even the playing field it can create new dynamics to a basketball game!:D Of course he still whooped my butt.. but little does he know, I control the weight workouts and Wednesday is just around the corner!:evil:

If I were he I would be :scared:!

:lol: Have a great evening!

Bench Press 85x12, 95x12, 105x12
Lunges 40x12
Leg Press 270x12, 320x12, 350x12
Lat Pulldown 70x12, 80x12, 80x10
Leg Curl 80x12, 90x12, 100x10
Back Extension 150x12, 160x12, 170x12
Ab Mach. 60x12, 70x12, 80x12
Lat raises 10x12, 12x12



Some very decent lifting:tu:
how are you adding so much weight to your back extensions? the most i can add is picking up a 10kg weigth and hugging it to my chest:confused:

Some very decent lifting:tu:
how are you adding so much weight to your back extensions? the most i can add is picking up a 10kg weigth and hugging it to my chest:confused:

Cause it's actually a machine and not the "hang upsidedown" thingy. With Hubby's limitations, hanging upside down with a weight on his chest is not a good thing, but he has pretty good control with the machine. I'm actually surprised at how similar the two actually work muscles (machine doesn't quite get full ROM on the hammies, but does make my butt sore!).

Weight: 176.4 Foodwise went well yesterday, ending at 1676. Spent the evening putting together a fun little family website to share trip photos with everyone. Keeping the hands busy did a great job controlling the munchies all night for me.

Today of course not so good. Stayed up too late playing with said website and have been a bit on the running low on juice all day today. Made it to the Cardio Medley class, which while the class usually kicks my butt.. I can always make it to the end of class. Today however, I was trying to figure out how I could slink out of there at about the halfway point :whistle:

Hubby ended up having to work late tonight. With me feeling tired and needing to run a few errands rather desperately, we decided to switch gym night tomorrow and ended up taking the kiddos to Tae Kwon Do tonight. Need to get to bed earlier tonight and get a good night sleep. Brain is beginning to not function well

Weight today 176.6 :mad: Calories were a little high yesterday, but nothing major at 1876. Been feeling like I'm spinning my wheels for the last two weeks and it's driving me nuts. Trying to remind myself to stay the course and not do something drastic.

I figure try keeping this weekend a bit ceaner then the last two and see if it helps in the overall numbers, but if I end up with another no loss week, I'm going to have to shake things up a bit.

Weight today 176.6 :mad: Calories were a little high yesterday, but nothing major at 1876. Been feeling like I'm spinning my wheels for the last two weeks and it's driving me nuts. Trying to remind myself to stay the course and not do something drastic.

I figure try keeping this weekend a bit ceaner then the last two and see if it helps in the overall numbers, but if I end up with another no loss week, I'm going to have to shake things up a bit.

Do you watch your macros or just calories? Sometimes just playing around with a different balance for a couple of days is enough to get me moving again. I'm not talking about anything really strict, but more loosey goosey such as, "Mmmmm, I've been really carb heavy lately and I'm feeling bloated, I think I'll consciously have a day or two of lower carbs."

Plateaus can be frustrating, that's for sure, but don't let your current one derail you. You've been doing really well lately and, as you wrote, maybe it's just a matter of shaking things up a bit.

No, I don't really watch the macros too closely. I do pay attention to them and try to make sure I have a good protein intake and enough fiber. Other then that.. I haven't gone the route of trying to hit a specific macro ratio. Usually I fall somewhere around the 30/40/30 split. But admittedly, that is sort of the drastic change I referred to. Trying out the lower carb diets has been in the back of my mind.. it's just that everytime my carbs get low, the head gets fuzzy (from day one), which makes doing my job extremely HARD! Not to mention trying to run a very fast paced household.

Though some of the "panic" is just self induced too. I set a goal to try to be 10lbs lighter for our spring break trip this year then last. Last year I was 172, so I was aiming for 160 (Spring break is the first full week in April). At the beginning of the year, it worked out to just over a pound a week and figured it was an easy managable goal. With the weight stalling... it's now over 1.5 a week and climbing. :eek:

Honestly though.. I am a mesomorph and when I'm rational, not seeing much change on the scale isn't new or unheard of when I get back into lifting after an extended break. All my lifts are pretty much back up to where they were before my "break". I have lost 3 inches off the waist, an inch off the hips and an inch of the chest. That actually has me awfully close to the same measurements I was before (though a few pounds heavier). I'm just at a point where I'm frankly tired of the snails pace that my weightloss moves (2 years and 40lbs) and I want to see if I can find a way to strip off these last 25lbs and stop having to deal with the calorie deficit.

I have been looking at the AD diet that everyone seems to rave about, though if I'm reading things right.. it says I should be eating about 2200 calories a day, yet any calorie calculator says I'm at maintenance at 2200-2500. Even my own expirence usually shows very little/no weightloss at anything over 1800 cals. So I'm feeling a bit skeptical and not sure I want to stall the weightloss further trying to do this right. Of course then there is the flip side with ones like Atkins and such that all want to start me at 1200-1300 cals a day from the get go. Personally, I think I'd get results without watching my macros if I dropped 500 calories a day regardless of what plan I'm on.. I just don't think I'd ever stick with it.

So I'm contemplating slowly lowering the carb intake this coming week but not changing the calorie amount for now and see how I fair at work. Next weekend the Hubby and I are running away for an early valentines weekend getaway. After we get back, then maybe giving this AD thing a try for Feburary and see how it goes. :confused:

No, I don't really watch the macros too closely. I do pay attention to them and try to make sure I have a good protein intake and enough fiber. Other then that.. I haven't gone the route of trying to hit a specific macro ratio. Usually I fall somewhere around the 30/40/30 split. But admittedly, that is sort of the drastic change I referred to. Trying out the lower carb diets has been in the back of my mind.. it's just that everytime my carbs get low, the head gets fuzzy (from day one), which makes doing my job extremely HARD! Not to mention trying to run a very fast paced household.

I experienced the foggy head for a short period as my body adjusted to low carbs. I've been low carb for close to 2 weeks so far and that sensation has deminished greatly.

I have been looking at the AD diet that everyone seems to rave about, though if I'm reading things right.. it says I should be eating about 2200 calories a day, yet any calorie calculator says I'm at maintenance at 2200-2500. Even my own expirence usually shows very little/no weightloss at anything over 1800 cals. So I'm feeling a bit skeptical and not sure I want to stall the weightloss further trying to do this right.

I don't think I could possibly eat the suggested amount of calories recommended. I had been averaging 2,000 prior to AD and although I've upped my daily intake I haven't seen any increase in weigh gain. So at the moment I've been able to maintain doing something closer to 1.4 X BW.

So I'm contemplating slowly lowering the carb intake this coming week but not changing the calorie amount for now and see how I fair at work. Next weekend the Hubby and I are running away for an early valentines weekend getaway. After we get back, then maybe giving this AD thing a try for Feburary and see how it goes. :confused:


That sounds like a good way to ease into AD. Gradually lowering your carbs should limit the fuzzy head feeling you described.

I experienced the foggy head for a short period as my body adjusted to low carbs. I've been low carb for close to 2 weeks so far and that sensation has deminished greatly.



I don't think I could possibly eat the suggested amount of calories recommended. I had been averaging 2,000 prior to AD and although I've upped my daily intake I haven't seen any increase in weigh gain. So at the moment I've been able to maintain doing something closer to 1.4 X BW.




That sounds like a good way to ease into AD. Gradually lowering your carbs should limit the fuzzy head feeling you described.


So how long did the foggy head last for you? I couple of days is not a big deal. A full week, and I'll be doing some serious catchup at work once the fog clears, but doable.... just hoping it doesn't take the full 12 days:eek:

And I did a bit more reading and finally found the "female" numbers. (15xbw for maintenance and 12xbw for loss) They make a lot more sense to me. That puts me at about 2500 cals maintenance and 2000 cals for loss. We'll see if it does the trick, but at least I'm not feeling like I'm going to start adding on pounds.

At this point though, I'm guessing I need to throw the springbreak goal out the window and just focus on getting into the 160's first. If I do this the right way.. I may not lose much at all the first month, but it's not worth trying if I'm just going to goof it up out of the gate!

So for this weekend/week Just focus on lowering the carbs and upping the protein (the fat always comes along for the ride with the protein). I'm going to keep the calorie count at around 1800, which is just a hair above where I've been most of this week anyway. Then enjoy my weekend away with all the carbs I want :evil: and kick off the AD that Monday morning.

PS.. we did make it to the gym yesterday and got a pretty good workout in. We were a little late getting there, so it was a bit shorter, but still good. Hubby goes back and forth from complaining to talking about the differences he already feels! I think he's almost hooked!

Weight this morning 176.6 Exactly the same:mad: At least it's not going up!

This weekend ended up not going anywhere near as planned. No real excuse other then I got hit by the lazy rock and just didn't "feel" like doing, let alone cooking much of anything all weekend.

scale thankfully was too unkind coming in at 178.2 :o

Today going better. Carbs at about 60g so far and the fish eye effect is in full mode. may take in a little more before I have to get in the car to drive home.

Heh seems like AD is becoming the in thing on JSF right now :)

Today going better. Carbs at about 60g so far and the fish eye effect is in full mode. may take in a little more before I have to get in the car to drive home.

My carbs are around 60 grams and although I'm supposed to be taking in 30 grams on AD I think I'm very close when I subtract fiber for net carbs. Then again it's to much math for me to actually calculate. :blank:

Heh seems like AD is becoming the in thing on JSF right now :)

It does appear to be in fashion these days.

Heh seems like AD is becoming the in thing on JSF right now :)

It does appear to be in fashion these days.

:lol: Yeah.. it's the new FAD!

Actually though, I may not be so quick to hop on the wagon just yet.

The week has been a weird expirence. I've probably been somewhere around 80-120 net grams of carbs each day this week. Fish bowl effect everyday, very sluggish feeling yesterday, and DOMS more extreme then I've expirenced in a long time. I admit to caving a bit more to the carbs today and already up around 125 net grams already and dinner yet to come.

The other issue that is driving me a bit batty is trying to plan out the full week, so I can get the shopping done, cause my life has proven I don't have time to run to the store every couple of days. It actually got to the point where I stopped planning so closely. My cals have averaged about 1800 for the past few days. weight has been relatively steady at 177 (up a pound, but from a bit of bloat).

Of course right about the time I'm getting pretty frustrated with all of this, lo and behold we get a "deal" from my employer for a "diet" site. It had a three day trial run, so i figured what the heck.. I'd check it out.

They actually had what they called a "healthy" carb option. Which basically looks to be about 100 net carbs, all from whole grain/fruits/vegtables. The macros actually work out to about 35/35/30 and the meals actually look pretty decent and easy to prepare. The protein is a bit lower then what I've been doing, but not bad. The only downside is they seemed to want to stick me on a 1200 calories diet, which I'm pretty sure will lead me to passing out within a week with my workout schedule. (though it was tempting for a min as a "maybe I can get to goal in a month and stop the whole "losing weight crap")

But then I figured adding in a protein shake bumped the cals to 1400 and kick the protein back up to what I'm used to... so I figured I'd give it a try for the month and see how it works out.

If the weight doesn't start moving by then... then it's AD here I come!

In a rush to get the above post in.. realized I forgot to mention workouts, which have been coming along well!

Monday - Was just a few walking laps around the building with a co-worker. Needed some venting and my lazy weekend still hadn't fully shaken off yet!

Tuesday - Managed the hiphop class, but workload kept me from doing any extra.

Wednesday - Hubby had to work late, so it was solo night at the gym. Had fun doing all the lifts I can't do with him... but ended up over doing it a bit.

Chest press - 60x12, 85x12, 95x12 (nice little increase and actually felt I could have done more)

Squats - 115x12, 135x12, 145x12, 150x8 (did an extra set to see if I could push a little farther then last time.. and I did!)

seated rows - 70x12, 85x12, 95x12 (almost back to top form!)

SLDL - 90x12, 110x12, 120x12 (Finally seeing new numbers now that I have equipment that can go higher!:claphigh:)

bent-over barbell rows - 60x15, 90x12, 100x12 (wasn't sure where to start on these.. but fun to see where I ended up!)

Front raises - 10x12, 15x12, 15x12

Situps - They have this fun little setup where you do the situp with an 8lb medicine ball and at the top you actually throw it at a basket, and pick up another one. I hate sit-ups, but this made it a little less tedious.. at least until my abs started screaming at me! Ended up doing 3 sets of 20.

Afterwards, I think I was trying to make up for lost time while waiting for the kids to finish up with the rock climbing. Ended up doing 30mins on the elliptical and another 20 doing sprint intervals on the treadmill.

Thursday - Tried to do step class.. emphasize the word TRY. My back was a bit sore from the workout the night before... but nothing really bad. Started into the class and about 10 mins in, my lower back started to litterally lock up on me. Toughed it out for about 5 more mins, but it became unbearable. Tried to stick it out with a more low impact variation, but it got so bad, I couldn't even lift my leg to get on the stepper. Ended up walking out early and spending about 10 mins stretching it out until I could finally stand up straight. Thankfully, about an hour later it had relaxed enough to grin and bear it for the rest of the day

*** note to self - Do not follow a heavy back day with step aerobics! Stick to long walks along the river!

Tomorrow, the hubby and I are heading to the mountains of Tennesee for a little alone time. Looking forward to hiding in a cabin all weekend, with just a Hottub, pool table, air hockey and darts!:p

Tomorrow, the hubby and I are heading to the mountains of Tennesee for a little alone time. Looking forward to hiding in a cabin all weekend, with just a Hottub, pool table, air hockey and darts!:p


Heh some great workouts :tu: and have a GRRRREAT weekend with hubby ;)

Have a great weekend!

Long time, no post!

The weekend turned out great! We had a great timing hiding in the woods and only managed one foray into town for dinner on Saturday night. I think in total we spent over 8 hours in the hottub and got all caught up on our sleep! I was 2 for 2 on the air hockey games, we split on pool and never got around to darts. We had steak dinners delivered to us Friday night that we're actually very good! Saturday night we found a pizza brewery place, where I think we spent more money on the beer then the food! All in all a great getaway for the two of us!

At least until late saturday night when I got hit with the nastiest stomach bug. It was an awlful ride home (thank god it was short), but I slept most of the way, which meant we only had to pit stop whenever I woke up. I've been pretty much down for the count all week, with today being the first day I'm feeling close to 100% normal.
Of course it also meant no exercise all week as up until yesterday I was pretty much confined to the bed or couch. I'll probably take it easy for the rest of the weekend as well and try to get back into things slowly next week.

Foodwise has been all over the map. I was finally able to eat late Monday, but had to stick to mainly breads and pastas as it was the only thing that didn't set my stomach off. I was finally back to eating a bit more normal yesterday and today trying to get it all cleaned up and back on track.

Another week, another post! :lol:

So much for the house hold getty healthy! The hubby has been sick the last couple of days and today as the day wore on, my throat has started to get scratchy and sore. Though right now, other then the constant hacking, I actually feel fine.

Foodwise last week actually went pretty good. I did end up eating closer to maintenance levels on the calories in a effort to try and get a bit healthier, so not really much to note on the weightloss front... still hovering about 177. Workouts were a bit sketchy this week thanks to the sickies and mother nature (nice snow/ice storm that closed things down for a day and a half). Did manage a couple good workouts though.

Other then that, we are just trying to slow things down a bit more as we try to get everybody healthy again. I've spent all weekend scrubbing down the house trying to get rid of all the germs.. but I'm not sure if I'm accomplishing much! Hopefully this thing in my throat doesn't hang around and I can get everything back on track next week and actually try to start losing some weight before our spring break trip!

Unfortunately the throat thing went into full blown Flu which decided to make it's way through the entire family. The past week has been pretty much another wash as I spent three days pretty much stuck in bed and then another two taking care of sick children. On top of that we've had some nasty weather going on around here which actually managed to shut down work for a couple of days. Still playing catchup with all the work stuff as well as trying to get a handle on the household chores.

Foodwise, things have been actually going decently well. Though eating better hasn't seemed to save me from the illnesses, the scale did budge down another pound and I've been hovering about 176 these days. Thankfully, I had nothing but good foods stocked up when everything hit, which allowed me to survive through it all still eating right.

I haven't been to the gym in about 3 weeks until today. I finally made it down for a bit of cardio. I managed about 30 mins of MISS, but breathing started becoming difficult at the end, so the last 10 mins I had to slow things down. It's amazing how zapped I still feel right now. We are hoping to get up to the gym tonight to get my daughter signed up for the gymnastic classes. Hubby and I planned to get a weight work out in, but the weights will be light and we'll be taking it easy for our first day back.

Unfortunately the throat thing went into full blown Flu which decided to make it's way through the entire family. The past week has been pretty much another wash as I spent three days pretty much stuck in bed and then another two taking care of sick children. On top of that we've had some nasty weather going on around here which actually managed to shut down work for a couple of days. Still playing catchup with all the work stuff as well as trying to get a handle on the household chores.

Foodwise, things have been actually going decently well. Though eating better hasn't seemed to save me from the illnesses, the scale did budge down another pound and I've been hovering about 176 these days. Thankfully, I had nothing but good foods stocked up when everything hit, which allowed me to survive through it all still eating right.

I haven't been to the gym in about 3 weeks until today. I finally made it down for a bit of cardio. I managed about 30 mins of MISS, but breathing started becoming difficult at the end, so the last 10 mins I had to slow things down. It's amazing how zapped I still feel right now. We are hoping to get up to the gym tonight to get my daughter signed up for the gymnastic classes. Hubby and I planned to get a weight work out in, but the weights will be light and we'll be taking it easy for our first day back.

wow sound slike you guys were kncoked for six! You are right to ease back in gently. Thank goodness you were stocked up with good food too when the bug hit ;)

Glad to read that you're feeling better, but it sounds as if you still haven't kicked the darn illness completely. With being away for so long and still not being 100%, it's probably a wise idea to go a little easier than usual with the weights. Good thinking on that one.

wow sound slike you guys were kncoked for six! You are right to ease back in gently. Thank goodness you were stocked up with good food too when the bug hit ;)

Yes.. usually I manage to gain weight when sick.. even with stomach bugs, cause i don't feel like cooking anything and I start reaching for quick easy comfort foods! This go around did much better, though I did eat a lot of chicken noodle soup a I still didn't feel much like cooking, but I ended up munching on things like grapes and oranges and whole wheat muffins w/PB

Glad to read that you're feeling better, but it sounds as if you still haven't kicked the darn illness completely. With being away for so long and still not being 100%, it's probably a wise idea to go a little easier than usual with the weights. Good thinking on that one.


Thanks! You're right.. I'm not completely back to 100% yet. Still a bit of a lingering cough and the energy levels are still pretty low. But I do feel about 1000x better then I did! :D


Weight this morning was 175.8. Another minor tick down. Food yesterday was spot on, though calories were up around 1850. Though I figure it's probably good to keep it up a bit higher while getting back into the swing of workouts.

Speaking of which... we did manage to make it to the gym last night. We were both feeling very weak doing the weights as pretty much everything fell a good 20% overall. I still woke up this morning sore, but actually feeling better.

My daughter really enjoyed the gymnastics class. She had a ball bouncing all over the place, though when class was over she decided she was just too wiped out to think about rock climbing, so she opted to just go back to the play area while we finished up.

She also came home from school yesterday announcing she was becoming a vegetarian... which made me giggle a bit as my kids hardly eat any veggies at all. But not to squash her ambitions, we had a long talk about what a veggetarian was and about trying new veggies in a variety of ways. I'm actually a little excited to see how far she is willing to take the expirement. We started off last night with raw broccoli and carrots with a little ranch dressing and that seemed to go over well. This morning we tried out some sweet peppers and cantaloupe, which did not! :lol:

My daughter really enjoyed the gymnastics class. She had a ball bouncing all over the place, though when class was over she decided she was just too wiped out to think about rock climbing, so she opted to just go back to the play area while we finished up.

She also came home from school yesterday announcing she was becoming a vegetarian... which made me giggle a bit as my kids hardly eat any veggies at all. But not to squash her ambitions, we had a long talk about what a veggetarian was and about trying new veggies in a variety of ways. I'm actually a little excited to see how far she is willing to take the expirement. We started off last night with raw broccoli and carrots with a little ranch dressing and that seemed to go over well. This morning we tried out some sweet peppers and cantaloupe, which did not! :lol:
:lol::lol: this does sound exciting! i hope that, if this doesn't last long, she will at least get int habit of eating more veggies.:)

Nice job on not discouraging her regardless of how long you think she'll keep at it. And, like Buttersweet suggested, at a minimum it may open her eyes to vegetables that she might not have tried before.

One thing that always concerns me with children who want to become vegetarians is getting them to eat enough protein, but I'm sure you're going to be on top of that.

:lol::lol: this does sound exciting! i hope that, if this doesn't last long, she will at least get int habit of eating more veggies.:)

That's what I'm hoping too! Right now I live in a house where other then corn and potatoes, I'm the only one that eats vegetables of any kind. Hopefully I can get her to try the same veggies in a couple of different ways as well, as I know I'm pretty picky on how I eat my veggies.

Nice job on not discouraging her regardless of how long you think she'll keep at it. And, like Buttersweet suggested, at a minimum it may open her eyes to vegetables that she might not have tried before.

One thing that always concerns me with children who want to become vegetarians is getting them to eat enough protein, but I'm sure you're going to be on top of that.

Actually during the talk, it was pretty evident that she had no real idea what a vegetarian was (She's only 7 and I think she just thought it was someone who ate a lot of vegetables).. so she really isn't looking to cut out the meats, just start eating more greens.

So this morning she actually asked for carrots in her lunch, which I of course was happy to give her. I'm going to need to spend some time this weekend figure out a few veggie dishes for her and I to tryout together. It may not be perfect for my diet right now, but I think it's worth the sacrifice to get her to expand a bit more.

As for me.. weight this morning 175.6, another slight tick downward. It's been nice to have the scale moving again (especially in the right direction). Foodwise went well yesterday other then a very small sering of icecream and calories ended right at 1848 for the day. Part of me wonders if the increase in calories did the trick or if the illnesses shock my system so much it's forgotten to fight me on this whole weightloss deal. Not really sure, but I've decided to keep the calories up there until the scale stops moving again and see how that works out for me. I have 5 weeks left till Florida and I'm still determined to be lighter then last years trip (171).

Workout wise... made it down for the Hip Hop class yesterday and followed that with about 20 mins of the elliptical. Today made it down to the Cardio medley class (which seriously kicked my butt... I feel so weak still!) and should make it to the gym tonight for weights barring some catastrophe happening between now and then!

Just the fact that your daughter's willing to eat more vegetables is a victory.

Nice going on the downtick in weight. Your goal for Florida translates into a weekly loss of slightly less than a pound per week or a bit more than one half of one percent of your present body weight. Very doable with your eye on the ball.

As long as the weightloss doesn't flatline like it did in January.. I should make it just fine! Of course I can't have too many nights like last night.

Weight this morning holding steady at 175.6. Of course the slight bindge on sunflower seeds right before bed didn't help any! Calories were right on track and then the can of sunflower seeds litterally jumped off the shelf and into my hand (OK.. so I helped it a bit). I tried to be good and only take a small handful.. which would have been OK and not thrown me off too badly. But somehow I just couldn't stop till I had gone through about 4 handfuls. I guesstamate that put my calories somewhere between 2200-2300 calories for the day. Not devastating, but not helpful either.

So it was a good thing i dragged my butt to the gym last night. I really wasn't in the mood to go, feeling very run down and tired. When I picked up my daughter from daycare though, she pretty much wouldn't stop about how badly she wanted to go to the gym until i finally promised her we would make it. I knew this family thing would prove to be a good thing! :D

The hubby was off at a basketball game, so I was flying solo last night and ended up having too much fun with squats. It's been so long since I've done them, I wasn't sure where to start out. Turned out I started way too low and ended up doing 6 sets full sets to finally get to failure. The fun part was ending at 155lbs on the last set, which I haven't done since right before football season kicked off last year. Of course this morning my legs decided to tell me they didn't appreciate being put through the ringer and right now it's difficult to get out of my chair!

Rest of the workout went OK. Even after the squats, I still really wasn't in the mood to be there.. so the rest of the lifts kind of went so/so. I did end up adding a 45 min walk/jog on the treadmills afterwards.

Fun and squats are two words I don't usually put in the same sentence, but they are effective. :) I'll be cursing them tomorrow AM.

Glad to read that you and your family are still enjoying the gym. 155lb squats! :tu:

Fun and squats are two words I don't usually put in the same sentence, but they are effective. :) I'll be cursing them tomorrow AM.

I know.. I'm weird about them, but I've always loved them since the first time I started lifting back in highschool. It probably comes from the fact that it was always my best lift when I was competing and could usually outlift all the other girls (regardless of weight class) by a good 100lbs.

Glad to read that you and your family are still enjoying the gym. 155lb squats! :tu:

We really are. It's still been pretty packed, which requires me to be flexable with our workouts, but generally I can managed to get on every piece I need to, if not in the exact order I want. Squat racks are about the hardest one to get. Even though the gym has three of them, there are a couple sets of guys that seem to workout the same time we do and they do 80% of their workouts in the squat rack.

The kids are loving it and usually beg to go, which makes it easier to make myself go. Between the classes, rockclimbing and the huge playgym, they really have a blast there. The hubby has been another story. Usually work or some other function seems to keep getting in the way. He's been averaging only about 1-2 nights a week, but at least it's more then he used to do.

I can't beleive it's been over a week since I've last updated. This past week has been very busy and a bit on the stressful side. It just seems like a lot of little unexpected things have been thrown at us this week and it's made it difficult to really stay on top of the whole workout/healthy eating thing. We've had weddings, house guests, school issues, vacation planning, and hospital visits all pile up on us this week.

The weddings were nice, though the food was very much back home country cooking. My Step daughter and her boyfriend came along with us to one, so it was really nice to get caught up with her and really get to know him better. He seems like a very nice young gentleman.

The house guests were a bit unexpected. My brother had a last min trip scheduled for him. While it was crazy to get schedules rearranged enough to be able to enjoy a nice visit from him.. it was very nice to see him again. The other was a good friend of my husband who is having some family issues and needed a place to stay for a couple of days while getting some things worked out.

The school stuff has mainly been navigating the chaos of our public school system to try and get our daughter and son back in the same school and on the same school calender. My son last year, tested into the advanced placement program which required him to change schools to one that operated on a year round calender schedule. We had decided to leave them in seperate schools for this first year so we could fully decide if we liked the new school and to see how my son adjusted to the program. Now that we've decided to move my daughter over, I've spent a lot of time this week filling out a lot of paperwork and taking it all over the place.

The hospital trips have been tough. In just one week, my husband's dad, step-dad, grandmother and sister were all admitted for various ailments. A battery of testing, couple surgeries and one near scare, everyone but his grandmother are back home and doing well. His grandmother, unfortunately, is still in and struggling. While she is 94 years old and has done extremely well up until this last year, she has been deteriorating fast these past couple of months and we're not sure she'll even manage to get out of the hospital this time.

The vacation planning has admittedly been our stress relief in all of this. With our first trip about 4 weeks away, we've started the process of getting listed everything we'll need and started doing a bit of price comparisons and shopping to start getting stocked up. We're pulling the camper out of storage today to start getting it de-winterized, fixed up and clean-up for our trips.

Last but not least, there has been some issues surrounding the company my husband works for and has prompted us to have him start job hunting. It's looking like he may have a few offers coming down the pipe, but all of them look as if they may require relocation. Though if things pan out, staying in his current job may require relocation as well. Nothing right now is for sure, but I'm finding it a bit hard to not get a bit stressed about what may come.

WHEW!! I knew it was busy, but typing it out was just crazy. With the upheavel this week, workouts have been a bit hit or miss. I've managed to get a decent cardio workout in just about everyday, but only managed the weight workouts Monday night.

Foodwise has been all over the map. Some days I've had enough time to get things together and I've managed to eat right on schedule. Other days I've been having to get by on the best option I can find at what ever resturant we've ended up at. Saturday and Sunday got a bit out of control, but other then that the rest of the week has been fairly good. Weight has been all over the place though thanks to all the eating out I've done.

We went ahead and unscheduled everything this weekend and hopefully I can play a little catch-up and get back on top of things and on track next week.

.


Gee FBCH! WHAT A WEEK! its hard to imagine you could have had more going on; Its certainly enough to stress even the most phlegmatic. Well done for coping! Sure hope next week is a little calmer for you guys although I realise withe severity of grandma's illness this concern will remain ....

Wow, that's a lot to read about let alone experience. I hope that everyone's health issues are resolved and that things in general calm down for you and your family.

I can understand how eating properly was a major challenge; just do the best you can and don't add another stress inducer to your already full plate.

:eek: what a week! hopefully everybody will have recovered soon! and I can imagine what a nice break it was in between to plan your holidays :nod:

Thanks everyone. Thankfully the weekend was the complete opposite and a nice way to refresh!

This weekend turned out to be one of those times where I enjoyed pretending to be a kid again.. and according to my husband, I actually did a better job at it then my own kids!

You see... we actually got SNOW!!!! Now, I'm not talking the measily 1-3 inches we normally get in these parts... we managed to get a full foot of snow to fall at one time:claphigh::claphigh: I was always a bit of a snowbunny growing up. Scraping together every penny I could earn to head up to the ski hills and have a little fun. I went to college out in Colorado, just so I could ski more and made my ski money shoveling snow!

But since college, I've been stuck in warmer climates and I haven't seen more then 3 inches on the ground without having to go somewhere. So when I woke up Saturday morning to a foot of snow on the ground and a beautiful sunny day, I woke everyone up with my screams of excitment as I got dressed and raced outside. I have to admit to spending the entire day playing in the snow! The kids helped me build an igloo and then two forts in the front yard. Which was followed by a snow ball fight (boys vs girls, I think we girls won!). after a quick lunch break, I proceeded to sled for 5 hours on three different hills. I actually had to start rotating my kids inside, so I always had one with me as my excuse. We raced, bet on who could go the farthest and when the snow at the bottom started turning into a giant mud puddle, I even dared to see who could get across the mud! I wouldn't even come back in until the sun went down.

We were all so exhusted and completely worn out, we all went to bed after dinner and baths. I didn't realize how exhusted we all were until no one made a peep until after 1pm the next day! I did manage to get back out and build two smowmen before the snow got too slushy to play in anymore!

Needless to say, I'm still sore and was having way too much fun to over eat on anything. Not to mention all the stress from last week seems to have melted with the snow!

Wow!!!! :eek: I'm so jealous of your snow! Sounds like you had a great time out there. I hope you took pictures of the igloo....

I finally backtracked and caught up reading your journal. I didn't realize you weren't going to be playing football this year, but it sounds like the family time is much needed and mostly enjoyable!

It's so funny to hear your experiences with the novelty of a major snowstorm. We get our fair share of snow living in New England and after the 3-4 storm I'm ready to pack my bags and move to a warmer climate. Then around mid-summer I get amnesia and forget why I would ever want to move in the first place.

FBC, I'm glad to read that life was more "normalized" last week and the degree of stress dropped considerably.

Your day in the snow sounds like a blast; I don't share the same love for the cold and snow that you do, but your narrative almost made me want to join you!

Wow!!!! :eek: I'm so jealous of your snow! Sounds like you had a great time out there. I hope you took pictures of the igloo....

I finally backtracked and caught up reading your journal. I didn't realize you weren't going to be playing football this year, but it sounds like the family time is much needed and mostly enjoyable!

I took a bunch of pictures of the igloo, sledding and the snowmen! It may be the last good snow fall my kids see before they get too big to enjoy it anymore!

It's so funny to hear your experiences with the novelty of a major snowstorm. We get our fair share of snow living in New England and after the 3-4 storm I'm ready to pack my bags and move to a warmer climate. Then around mid-summer I get amnesia and forget why I would ever want to move in the first place.

:lol: I keep trying to talk my husband into moving to a place that gets more snow because I miss it so much! Unfortunately he's a warm weather boy. At least while living in Georgia and Hawaii, you knew you weren't getting any snow. But here, they love to tease you with the idea of snow. At least three times a year, the weathermen will all start forecasting a big storm with up to 6+" of snow. But by the time the storm actually comes we usually get rain, ice or only an inch or two of snow. After 8 years, I've gotten a bit pessemistic when it comes to snow predictions. So needless to say, I was a bit giddy to discover they were actually right for once!

FBC, I'm glad to read that life was more "normalized" last week and the degree of stress dropped considerably.

Your day in the snow sounds like a blast; I don't share the same love for the cold and snow that you do, but your narrative almost made me want to join you!

Things have eased up a bit so far, so now we are just spending a lot of time getting ready for the camping trip. Lot of shopping to do and hopefully we can get the camper out of storage this weekend and start getting it ready.

:lol: I keep trying to talk my husband into moving to a place that gets more snow because I miss it so much! Unfortunately he's a warm weather boy.

I grew up in a place where we get lots of snow and I hate it. I don't ski, so there's nothing likeable about snow for me. :nope:

:lol: I keep trying to talk my husband into moving to a place that gets more snow because I miss it so much! Unfortunately he's a warm weather boy.

I am sooo lucky that I have the best of both worlds! I moved to a warm climate two hours away from ski slopes. Here I have learnt to ski, snowshoe and crosscountry ski so for the first time ever I enjoy winters :)

I grew up in a place where we get lots of snow and I hate it. I don't ski, so there's nothing likeable about snow for me. :nope:

I do think the skiing adds a bit of fun for the snow, but really I like ALL the snow activities! In college, we almost always had a snowman in our front yard from the first good snow fall until almost May. I lived off campus in a house that was in more of a family neighborhood then a college neighborhood. It wasn't unheard of for the neighborhood kids to come knocking on our door after a good snow storm to get me to come out and help build forts and have big snowball fights. Sledding to me is almost as much fun as skiing! I loved taking the dogs up to the park and letting them chase me as I took off down the hill!

OK.. Can you tell I miss snow???

I do think the skiing adds a bit of fun for the snow, but really I like ALL the snow activities! In college, we almost always had a snowman in our front yard from the first good snow fall until almost May. I lived off campus in a house that was in more of a family neighborhood then a college neighborhood. It wasn't unheard of for the neighborhood kids to come knocking on our door after a good snow storm to get me to come out and help build forts and have big snowball fights. Sledding to me is almost as much fun as skiing! I loved taking the dogs up to the park and letting them chase me as I took off down the hill!

OK.. Can you tell I miss snow???

I always loved playing in snow... but I'm happy that I don't LIVE in that type of climate anymore... snow is fun in short doses... but I don't want to have to drive in it, shovel the walk, shovel the driveway... shovel the car out... scrape ice off the windows, etc, etc, etc,... I'm VERY happy that I don't have to deal with all that :p

I am sooo lucky that I have the best of both worlds! I moved to a warm climate two hours away from ski slopes. Here I have learnt to ski, snowshoe and crosscountry ski so for the first time ever I enjoy winters :)

Hard to find that here is the US. We have ski slopes 2-3 hours away, but they pretty much suck and most of it's snow actually comes from machines and not nature. The good skiing is closer to 4-5 hours off, requires a full weekend and several hundred dollars to take a family of 4, which is probably why we haven't gone!

But summers around here can be pretty good. We have a lot of lakes within an hours drive and a huge system of really nice state parks full of things to do. We've been having fun planning out about 10 different camping trips for this year and should have a lot of fun with caving, canoeing, boating, water skiing, fishing, hiking and a ton of other stuff to do!

But I still miss snow! :o

The last couple of days have been a little OFF to say the least. Tuesday was going along just perfectly. Got in a great cardio workout, ate right on target... and then got hit with a bad bout of insomnia that kept me up until 5am. I was doing fine with staving off the munchies until around 3:30am when I finally caved to a bowl of cereal and then a bag of popcorn

Yesterday, I pretty much felt like the walking dead and diet decisions were a bit hit and miss. Overall, it wasn't bad. I did cave for a doughnut during my morning meeting and ended up having a couple of full leaded sodas for the caffinee to make it through the work day. Other then that, I was almost too tired to really feel hungry, so I just sort of snacked on my healthy snacks for most of the day.

Ended up falling asleep last night around 7:30 slept for 12 hours straight. Feeling much better today, but have that sleep hangover feeling, so still moving a bit slow this morning. Unfortunately, it means I didn't have time to get food packed up for the day, so I'll have to do the best I can to get by.

This seems to be such a constant for me these last couple of months. The first half of the week goes really well and then starts falling apart by the end. I know this is why the weight has been pretty much standing still.. I'm just feeling a bit lost as to what to do about it.

I know the answer is to just really buckle down and make this the top priority... but honestly, mentally I'm having a hard time deciding what I'm willing to give up to do that. The weekends and weeknights are almost too full for me to keep up with all the cooking and prep work to keep the diet and exercise on perfect track to make progress. It's almost frustrating at how near perfect things seem to need to be for me to really make any headway. For now, I guess I'll just keep plugging away. At least I'm not losing ground and hopefully a solid week or two sprinkled here and there will at least allow me to get a little closer.

Well today has ended on a pretty good note. Not sure where calories ended up, but the choices were relatively good ones, at least the best options I had available. Then spent the evening playing DDR with the kids for almost 2.5 hours. If the calorie counter in the game is close.. it was over 800 calories burned!

Sounds as if you are having the same weekly battles that I go through. I had been feeling a bit run down Thursday and to make matters worse I ate poorly when I got home from work as in a whole bag of potato chips.

Sounds as if you are having the same weekly battles that I go through. I had been feeling a bit run down Thursday and to make matters worse I ate poorly when I got home from work as in a whole bag of potato chips.

I've always found the eating seems to fall apart when I start feeling tired. Usually try to keep up with sleep, but lately bouts of insomnia have been playing havoc with me lately.

Friday, overall, went pretty well. No solid workout as work was in overdrive with back to back meetings. Friday night was bowling night.. and I just can't call bowling a workout. :p After bowling we all stayed up a bit too late at our neighbors house waiting for the UK game to start (which never did) and then turned around and got up earlier to get the kiddos of to their belt tests.

I also did a quick run by Football practice. My first visit since deciding not to play this year. It was nice seeing everyone again and of course got a ton of "you coming back?" questions. Though I'm amazed at the large turnover in numbers that we've had this year. Other then about 6-8 veterans... the whole team is a bunch of rookies. The total team numbers are still pretty low and I suspect they'll end up having a repeat of last season all over again!

The kids belt tests went great. My son had to write an essay for his test this time. While I had helped him get started on it and my husband proof read the essay, he pretty much wrote the whole thing on his own, and I have to say.. I was extremely impressed with it. It went over well at the testing and he got an A+ on it. Scary to think how high up they both have gotten already. My son's next belt will be his black belt and my daughter is only one belt away now.

Saturday night we let the kids invite over friends for the night.. so I spent the evening and Sunday morning dealing with kids running amuck throughout the house. All good fun though.

Eating didn't go so hot over the weekend. Little too much eating out on Saturday as we were running all over the place and the cupboards were very bare. Sunday went a little better, but after the kids left, I ended up taking a 3 hour nap, so I still didn't make it to the store to restock. Need to tackle that after the gym tonight!

Gym last night went well. Squats have been slowly going up.. which is nice, I've already match my high weight back when I was doing HIT training, but this time more sets/reps going on! Hoping a new weight within the next week or so!

Also manage to hit the grocery store and get restocked up on everything. Now I just need to spend some time tonight getting things prepared for the week to try and keep on track!

Today has been going well, save for the small piece of cake at the baby shower during lunch today. I resist all the other temptations, but couldn't skip the cake. :o

Finishing up a busy day at work.. but leaving to make sure I hit the gym today as well!

I've already match my high weight back when I was doing HIT training, but this time more sets/reps going on! Hoping a new weight within the next week or so!:claplow:

Heh I read in another thread that you were a powerlifter, how cool :) When was that and what were some of your personal bests?

:claplow:

THANKS!

Heh I read in another thread that you were a powerlifter, how cool :) When was that and what were some of your personal bests?

I actually got started back in Highschool kind of accidently. I hated the normal PE class and our school offered a weightlifting class as an alternative, though it was an unwritten rule that it was mainly for the football team and was taught by the football coach. I petitioned to transfer into it mid-semester my freshman year. The first day of class the coach took me through learning some of the basic olympic/competition lifts and then the second day we did maxes on all the lifts to see where I was and he was actually stunned at how high I came in at. I sort of turned into his pet project after that. He started lobbying to get a women's division put in the area lifting competitions and ended up having to host one the fall of my sophmore year just to get it started. We onnly had one women's division and that first competition I (at about 138lbs) had to compete against some rather large girls. I still remember getting beat pretty badly on the bench press by all of them, but then actually managed to win the squat by 5lbs and blew them all away with the deadlift and won the division overall. I was pretty much hooked at that point and my coach was litterally addicted to training me.

My personal best were 185 bench (always my weakest), 295 squat and 410 deadlift.

I sometimes wish I had taken it more seriously after college. I never really took the time to find a trainer and stuck with it seriously. While I kept up with the lifting for a couple of years and even competed some, the late night partying all the time, coupled with my ROTC and soccer commitments, my lifts stalled out. After awhile I just kind of gave up on the competing part and switch to just lifting for fun/fitness. Actually managed to stay pretty strong until my first pregnancy, when I unfortunately let everything go by the waist side. Been fighting to try and get it back since.

Today has gone rather well. Foodwise, breakfast was a bit higher on calories and carbs due to a breakfast meeting, but made up for it the rest of the day being spot on. Now I just need to resist the urge for the cookies that are calling my name!

Made it down to the Cardio medley class after missing it for the last couple of weeks and then added about 20 more mins on the EFX machine afterwards. Came home to find some new workout DVDs I had ordered finally came in, so I may give them a whirl a little later.

Spring break trip is now only 2.5 weeks away and I'm still hanging around 176lbs. Still going to try and make a push to lose a few pounds before the trip, but we'll see how it goes. At least I'm not gaining

wow those are amazing numbers for the squat and deadlifts!

#1 - STRONG WOMAN YES!!!
Next, enjoy some cake and/or cookies please.:D

THANKS!



I actually got started back in Highschool kind of accidently. I hated the normal PE class and our school offered a weightlifting class as an alternative, though it was an unwritten rule that it was mainly for the football team and was taught by the football coach. I petitioned to transfer into it mid-semester my freshman year. The first day of class the coach took me through learning some of the basic olympic/competition lifts and then the second day we did maxes on all the lifts to see where I was and he was actually stunned at how high I came in at. I sort of turned into his pet project after that. He started lobbying to get a women's division put in the area lifting competitions and ended up having to host one the fall of my sophmore year just to get it started. We onnly had one women's division and that first competition I (at about 138lbs) had to compete against some rather large girls. I still remember getting beat pretty badly on the bench press by all of them, but then actually managed to win the squat by 5lbs and blew them all away with the deadlift and won the division overall. I was pretty much hooked at that point and my coach was litterally addicted to training me.

My personal best were 185 bench (always my weakest), 295 squat and 410 deadlift.

I sometimes wish I had taken it more seriously after college. I never really took the time to find a trainer and stuck with it seriously. While I kept up with the lifting for a couple of years and even competed some, the late night partying all the time, coupled with my ROTC and soccer commitments, my lifts stalled out. After awhile I just kind of gave up on the competing part and switch to just lifting for fun/fitness. Actually managed to stay pretty strong until my first pregnancy, when I unfortunately let everything go by the waist side. Been fighting to try and get it back since.

How exciting to have won that first meet! with some amazing weights. I am assuming that with muscle memory even after your pregnancies you have been able to work up pretty quickly to shifting some serious metal :):) Did you not do much weightlifting in the army then? is it more calisthenics?

Those are some very impressive numbers FBC.

With vacation two and a half weeks away you have a great short term motivational tool.