Viking

So I give myself a C- for the rest of the day. There were mini eclairs and Ferret Roche's and sandwiches at my bridal shower, and I indulged some. On the flipside, it was my bridal shower and willy only happen once. And we did get out and do the circuit training. Repeated 3x: Box jumps - 20 reps Medicine ball toss - 20 reps Dorsal rows - 25 lbs./15 reps Tricep dips - 25 lbs/7 reps

OK, so the weekend so far has been really good. Friday - got some really stressful financial news that actually endangered the whole wedding. This is prime binge eating territory, and trust me, I wanted to really bad. However, I pulled on my big girl panties and ate a big bowl of raspberries soaked in some skim milk instead. This isn't as good as not binging, but it's a better alternative and leaves me some room to work on things. Saturday - Got the Mongol paper and 5 of 7 pages on my Anglo-Saxons paper done. I also did not eat too badly. I went to bed weighing 238ish lbs., which is down for this week. It could just be water weight, I don't know. Sunday - Gonna go to the park and do circuit training since I'm a lousy runner off an elliptical. (Heel/knee pain at my current weight stops me before I really get any kind of fat burn going when I just jog.) There's an adult-sized jungle gym, and I'm thinking squats, box jumps, etc. Maybe some ball slams with my medicine ball, though I don't have one at home that's heavy enough for me anymore. (Mine at home is 6 lbs., I need a 15 lb. one at this point.) Also going to try very hard to be careful this afternoon. The bridal shower is today and God only knows what terror my mother has in store for me, though I specifically requested "healthy" fruits and vegetables.... so wish me luck!

More positives... I just had my last bowl of pasta. As much as I've been resistant, I'm going to start eating more primal. Slow changes. Those I think I can handle. And planning on some elliptical tonight at the rec. So that's good.

Thank you for the positive feedback to my whining, SpiralGalaxy! That does mean a lot. I think for my "reward" I'm going to get a nook subscription to Muscle & Fitness magazine. It's maybe $3 a month, which is pretty affordable.

So today is the moment I woke up frustrated. I have been eating clean and working out like a fiend for three weeks now, and the scale has not budged. At all. In fact, I've gained a little weight. Am I frustrated? You bet your butts I am. /grits teeth This is normally the stage where I get pissed off, say f*ck it, and eat a giant cake. However, I am going to succeed at not binging on junkfood and just brooding instead. Lol. *Edit* My personal trainer suggested that I both need to see my PCP and also possibly up my caloric intake (I've got it down to around 1700-1800 right now). I've been wondering about my thyroid, personally, considering that my weight has ballooned rapidly without much change in my eating habits over the last two years, and that my body underwent a lot of stress several years before that through low-carb starvation dieting + appetite suppressants (both prescribed by a medical doctor... be careful who you visit for medical attention, and BEWARE weight loss clinics, guys, they're dangerous.) So I am going to try upping my calories to about 2000-2100 to see if I can get my metabolism kicked up. That's below maintenance for my body weight, so at the very worst, at least I won't be gaining weight... hopefully. And hopefully a visit to the doctor will clear up any other questions.

It is a pretty awful schedule. Work keeps me hopping and I work a lot of overtime, and I have to maintain 40 hours on top of school to keep my salary... so I work a weird very early-noon shift a couple days a week and work late the rest of the week to keep my hours kosher. Not fun, but necessary, and hopefully temporary. It does make getting into the gym interesting, at least. And my campus is a 1 hour drive away from my house, so transporting food is a pain in the butt. If it isn't something I can eat as I walk, it's not really an option. Yes, it is crazy. Or I'm crazy. I haven't decided yet. As for the steaks, I don't know. Haven't eaten them yet. Waiting to the fiance to get home so I can cook.

Sounds like a great challenge ahead. How are you doing the last couple of days?

Congrats on the eating, sounds good. I've also had trouble at the gym on the days when I wasn't "feeling" it... and honestly, I find it really, really frustrating to be at a workout, feeling crappy, knowing I'm not performing as well as I "should." But look at it this way, you are there. Instead of letting feeling crappy be an excuse to stay home, you are out there, working out, powering through it. And that's to be commended. Heck, I know I read somewhere that those are the most important days, because they're the ones that change your habits. Also, gotta love Art of Manliness's Movember. I want cool mustache pictures! Preferably with the ends twirled up in little curls! Good luck over the next day or so, hope to hear from you soon!

Love Jeeps. We had to sell our wretched old '02 Wrangler last February... fiance rolled it down a mountain and ripped the front axle out and messed up the CAM sensor, and what do you know, it was never right again after that. I miss it, though. Sounds like your goals are all very good and specific. Good luck on that half marathon. How are you doing with them otherwise?

These all sound like great goals. How've you been doing the last few days?

Hey dude, how've the last few days been for you? Looks like you've made a good start.

So how are you doing, dude? We need news!

Thanks a lot Andrea! (Banana Andrea? Love your user name!) So yesterday was okay, eating-wise. Class days are always hard because I work 7-12 and then go to school 1-9, pretty much, with no dinner break really. So it's usually a case of eat and run, or in the case of yesterday, just run. I'm very sore and feel pretty worn down from all the extra exercise and limited sleep this last week, but I had a really good night of sleep last night and am hoping to get my quads and heels to stop screaming at me every time I stand up in time for circuit training tonight. So here's to working out! Gonna try to eat clean today as well. I have some swordfish steaks soaking in a marinade as we speak...

Ah, the joys of eloping... no craziness until the reception when we get back.

Monday I was down with a migraine, which sucked. Tuesday, however, rocked. Improved my 1-mile time on the elliptical (shaved it down to 11 minutes), and got two long and tough circuits in. My pushups were cut short by strain on my left tricep, but hopefully that quits by Thursday.

I have also discovered a slight, but not huge, problem. Tried on my wedding dress... and it's too big. It's a strapless gig that has to be tight enough to hold on to the lady curves on its own, so I may end up safety pinning myself in or something by next week. Oh well, worse problems to have!

Hey Coopen, sounds like you've made a great start. Look forward to hearing more!

Awesome book goals, amiga! I'm also trying to finish an overdue book manuscript, so I feel your pain. (At least you're meeting your deadline. >_>) Anyways, congrats on the baby, and good luck with the challenge. Looks like you're going strong so far!

Hey, Azk4. Good luck with the new job app you put in. Looks like you're doing great!

OK, so time for an update over the weekend. I've been eating a lot better lately, mostly due to soon-to-be husband's efforts of feeding me squash and other veggies til I want to explode. Did 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical on Friday, and I ran circuits at the park with the fiance on Sunday. Circuits: 4x 20 jumping pullups 20 elevated pushups 20 body weight squats 20 hanging leg raises Managed to get through it without too much suffering. However, today being Halloween, I have slipped and consumed some candy. However, I haven't "binged", per se, (ie eaten until I feel ill or overfull), so I'm going to call today neutral instead of a success. Was going to go to the gym and run on the elliptical, but I have a blinding sinus headache. So we'll see how I feel in a bit if I go or not.

Thanks! Honestly, I am looking forward to dinner. I am thinking some sea salt, a little olive oil, and some kind of spicy/light tomato sauce would be delicious and nutritious and wouldn't taste much like chicken. But I could put chicken on top...

Good luck with Nanowrimo!

Today's been pretty good. Kept my calories pretty well and going to be cooking pasta made by shaving squash tonight for dinner, which should be both healthy, tasty, and adventurous... also have an hour of circuit training plan. So. Yeah. Good day so far.

Hey all. Jumping on the bandwagon for this one. My goals this time are pretty simple. I'm getting married on 11/9, so I'm looking forward on accomplishing a few goals while on honeymoon in Colorado Springs. (Will share pics, I promise!) Health goals: 1) No junkfood binges for the next 6 weeks 2) Cardio 4x a week 3) Get down 5 lbs. 4) Do pushups on top of Pike's Peak Life goals: 1) Turn in all my exams/papers/make-up tests before I leave for my honeymoon 2) Climb the Cobb Railroad. Current stats: Weight: 242 lbs. Bodyfat: 38% Height: 5'4''

Signing up. It's been almost a year since my last one... but it's time to get back on the old horse, as it were. Health goals: 1) No junk food binges for the next six weeks. 2) Cardio 4x a week. 3) Climb to the top of the Cobb Railroad in Colorado Springs. 4) Do pushups on top of Pike's Peak. Life goals: 1) Turn in all my papers/makeup exams/tests before I leave for my honeymoon. 2) Get hitched. (That one shouldn't be too hard, but sometimes it feels like a challenge....)