Hello ladies, I have been completely focused on studying the last week and a half and my whole diet and exercise routine has taken a backseat to it, so I am not doing great on the planning ahead exercising and eating right. I take my exam on the 5th of July so heres hoping I don't gain 20lbs from stress between now and then LOL :) Hope everyone has a great week!

week 7

Holy smokes I'm down 1.6... next week is "the" week of the month to test if this is a fluke, or more. My mantra "keep going". Honestly I have weeks like this week where I feel pretty good and then I just eat horribly because I think I can and that results in that good feeling feeling like its unreachable again. I'm also WAY stressed at work... must... keep... going...! Not because I'm so determined to lose more weight, but I am determined to make it a REAL loss. I've lost 5 pounds before. I joke saying I can pee that out. But it is true. Its not a real loss unless it stays off. I'm pretty comfortable not losing anymore (though I haven't cracked that one number I'd like to crack) if I can keep feeling good. My worry is that I'll binge when this is all over, must keep going even after the challenge. Must make real life choices, easy choices, this can't be all diet food all the time, its got to be balance. Because if its not, its not going to work. Keep going!

reading about calories...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/health/19brody.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 http://m.dummies.com/how-to/content/setting-a-reasonable-calorie-level-for-weight-loss.html http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/weight-loss/weight-loss-myth-the-more-calories-you-cut-the-more-weight-youall-lose.html#b Some easy to read articles about calorie cutting. Still no closer to an answer of what to tweak for my plan. I do know people who work out a lot and it wasn't until they increased their calories that they lost significant weight. They were pretty well educated on the topic though and refined their exercise with weights and cardio as well as their diet. They also had about 20-30 pounds to lose to be fit. (they also just had twin baby girls yesterday, yay babies!)

Hello, I was also up .6 this afternoon. I was shocked that it suggested more calories for me on the American Heart Association website. Last week I was on vacation so, I knew I wouldn't be perfect all week, so being up only .6 and I did get exercise in, so I feel good about it! Hopefully tomorrow I stay within my fat grams and earning the extra 2 points should be easy. Hope everyone has a great week! Here is another recipe I got from weight watchers, sounds good so, I wanted to share:

Mango Salsa!

Larger Image

Weight Watchers Recipe

Ratings (479)

1PointsPlus Value

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 0 min

Other time: 0 min

Serves: 8

This homemade salsa will add tropical sweetness to grilled fish and meat. Or serve it with a store-bought roasted chicken for a flavorful no-cook meal.

Ingredients   1 large mango(es), finely chopped      1 medium sweet red pepper(s), finely chopped      1/2 medium uncooked red onion(s), finely chopped      1/2 medium jalapeño pepper(s), seeded, minced (don't touch seeds with bare hands)    1 Tbsp cilantro, fresh, chopped    2 Tbsp fresh lime juice    1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste    1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste    Instructions Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl; toss to mix and coat. Yields about 1/3 cup per serving. Notes Omit the jalapeño if you do not want the salsa to be spicy.

week 6

Week 6, up .6 pounds. I feel stagnant and like I'm not really doing what I should be doing to lose weight. Not sure how to break out of that and really CHANGE.

Like Megan, I noticed my calorie suggestion was higher then what I'm consuming most days and the fat was a bit lower. Maybe I need to mess with that balance too? I'm honestly not sure.

Stacey's Week 6

Hello Everyone.  Well, week 6 was definately better in terms of weight loss.  I am down 2.6 pounds since switching back to South Beach (YAY)!  So I am back down to my pre vacation weight.  However, from a life perspective, I was really thrown off schedule last week.  It is amazing how much of a routine oriented person I am.  I love being spontaneous but when it comes to daily work life I really am a creature of habit.  I had to go into the office two days last week (as most of you know I work from home 99% of the time) and that just threw me off of everything.  I'm sure you noticed I completely forgot to send out pop challenges last week plus I didn't post much.  Then I Thursday I woke up with a summer cold.  Not to mention I felt behind the 8 ball all last week trying to play catch up at work after being on vacation.  I'm feeling better now and I feel I'm definitely back to normal.  I am bummed that because I was sick, I couldn't do my mid point challenge of the 5k.  I really wanted to earn those points!  Even though I won't get points for it, I am going to do it later this week so I can get a base time in preparation for the end of challenge challenge. :)  I hope everyone else had a great week and am looking forward to seeing all your points and weight loss.

Stacey's Week 5

Well, as expected, while on vacation, my eating habits weren't so great.  I think fundamentally, I'm OK with that because sometimes I just get so tired of having to think about what I'm eating and just want to sit back and enjoy my food.  This was one of my goals with doing the 12 challenge was to continue to learn more so I don't have to think about it.  Clearly, I have a ways to go.  We did alot of exercising this week.  Walking and mostly hiking.  We hiked about 11 miles last week and it felt great.  I think the celebratory lunch and beers after the hike may have had something to do with the 2.6 pounds that I gain!  UGH!  I knew I would gain some but didn't know I would gain so much.  I'm a pound heavier then when I started the challenge 4 weeks ago. I think I had post vacation blues yesterday because I didn't have motivation to do anything.  I just felt blech.  Of course, it could have had something to do with the 500 (literally) emails I had facing me when I got back and that I worked 12 hours yesterday.  But today, I'm forcing myself to get away from my desk at lunch and hit the gym.  I NEED to get back into my running routine.  I have really noticed the difference in how I feel because I haven't worked out since our last hike on Wednesday.  I am also rethinking my diet plan.  I just can't seem to find one that works for me.  With Weight Watchers and MyFitnessPal I have to do a bunch of counting every single time I eat something and I'm tired of that.  Sanjay and I did South Beach a few years ago and I loved that.  I lost 30 pounds and then for some reason just stopped doing it.  I am thinking that this week, I will do another week of MyFitnessPal and then switch to South Beach starting Monday (need the weekend to stock up on the right foods).  Either way, I'm still making strides learning about myself and getting more into my running.  Hopefully, this week I will lose the 2 pounds I gained on vacation.

How is everyone else doing?

week 5

Well, I really loved the challenge list this week and yet - did not a one. I did, however, close the sale of my home, clean out said home, attend field day at my daughters school, fly to NY for 2 days, attend last day of school parties at my daughters school and who knows what else inbetween that falls into regularly scheduled events. Needless to say I logged some decent exercise points. NY was my downfall, not on day 1, but on day 2 when I stopped at Burger King after my plane landed. Gah! I almost made it. Then Friday was end of school celebration dinner, Saturday was carnival and Sunday I just gave up. So very few points for me this week. BUT, I'm down 4 pounds. BUT, aunt flo is leaving the building and I know full well those 4 mean absolutely nothing in 4 weeks when she comes back around. If history proves, those 4 days off will show themselves in a weeks time - not immediately - so I take little comfort by the scale. I've been here before, its not success until it stays off regardless of the time of the month. Today, I did really awesome in my eating despite not feeling very prepared for the week. My clothing isn't fitting as well as it did this time last month even with the friendly scale, so I know I've got a lot of work ahead of me.

healthy Recipt for Thursday's Pop challenge

I haven't gotten the opportunity to earn any pop challenges this week but I am prepared for tomorrow. I love visiting the Self.Com website, I get emails each week for a recipe of the week, so I knew I could share a healthy dish with everyone! Sea Bass With Citrus-Olive-Caper Sauce The skinny 231 calories per serving, 11 g fat (1 g saturated), 5 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 26 g protein Serves 8 INGREDIENTS 8 sea bass fillets (about 5 oz each), skin on 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 teaspoon salt, divided 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided 2 lemons, peeled and thinly sliced, segments halved Juice of 2 lemons 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed 3/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped PREPARATION Place broiler pan as close to heating element as possible and heat 5 minutes. On a plate, coat fillets on both sides with 1 tbsp oil. Carefully remove pan from broiler and place on stovetop. Arrange fillets on pan, skin side down; sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Broil fish 6 minutes. In a bowl, mix together lemon slices, juice, oregano, capers, olives, remaining 2 tbsp oil and remaining 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Place fish on platter; top with citrus-olive-caper sauce. The skinny 231 calories per serving, 11 g fat (1 g saturated), 5 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 26 g protein

Running a little behind on posting things this week, but better late then never right :-) I was up a tad again .2, but last week I expected it, due to girly things. I'm on a teeter, totter I think. I stuck to my water and did great on my eating up until Saturday night. This week has started out better, we'll see how the rest of the week pans out. Next week I am on vacation, but I am actually just staying home and really looking forward to getting into the gym almost every day next week. I can't wait to have nothing scheduled and do just what ever I want. I think it will be a great way to re-evaluate everything and start to plan ahead better. Good luck everyone!

week 4

Well, stuck to my diet pretty well - which is good. Down .6 pounds, which, I'll take considering AF is due any day. Just sort of hanging out, trying to figure out what I'll be eating the rest of this week - I'm flying to NY for 2 days and have a feeling I'll be eating at least 1 meal I shouldn't, maybe more :)

I did eat fast food for the first time since this started (other then subway or bfast sandwiches) on Sunday - but in my defense Bobby and I spent the day moving crap out of our old house. I took the full 2 points for exercise and treated us to Mr Hero. If I figure right, I burned it all anyway.

My big thing is I really need to cut out the wine at the end of the day. Who knew it carries so many calories?! and here I thought I was doing good by switching to red... humph! If anything throws my calories off, its that.

Otherwise, my body seems to be getting used to 3 meals a day - I guess thats good?

This makes two really sucky weeks food-wise. I think I'm tired - and lazy! It's a pain to read labels all the time and to watch sugar and salt and fat and yada, yada, yada. And let's not forget exercising, which is something I've never been fond of, even when I was young and in (relative) good health.

However, contrary to my kvetching above, I have done decently.  I did eat right several days and exercised several days and bought healthy food when I went to the grocery store - and read the stupid labels! :-). Most of all, I tried. I might not have succeeded every day, but I did try. And now here is another week, so here we go!!!