Hello,
I hope everyone is having a wonderful day.

I just wanted to get on really quick to say that I have lost another
3.5 lbs which brings me to 12.5 lbs lost so far.

I'm so excited. Well I will be on later to talk to all you lovely ladies

Have a Great Day!!!

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Chrystie! You are doing GREAT!! I am so excited for you! Have you gone down sizes yet??

Tammy- sounds like a full morning. And your salad sounds YUMMY. I have the fixins for a salad too..I may make one tomorrow since tonight we will eat leftover roast and veggies I made in the crockpot yesterday! I normally use all spinach for my greens in the salad and it is YUMM-O! Plus I know the darker the leaves the better for you it is. Makes me instantly feel better when I eat it. You are doing AWESOME by the way. Deosn't your life feel better? Oh and what did Alyssa think of the yard and sandbox??

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Thanks Karen! Alyssa loved the backyard. Our backyard doesnt have a gate so she can run out of the backyard into the drive and out to the front of the house - which we hate btw. Our neighbours were out yesterday since I cleaned up the backyard and we all are getting along now ( is how I really feel). But Alyssa was really just liking the freedom to run around and sit on our chairs & go up and down her slide and climbing into her sandbox and saying "hi" to miss mama dove above the garage LOL. . Mama made a foot and hand print with her sandtoys ( same as how you make a sand castle - she has a foot and hand shape to make things in the sand) and she would try to pick the sand shapes up, it was so funny and then they would break of course LOL. I'm just about to put her in the bath since she is really dirty and made a mess of her oreo cakester ( are those the things Riley likes?)cause they are just NOW onsale in Canada. I might take her out again and BBQ our dinner.

oh and dh also let her sit in the car and she was honking the horn and didnt want to come out of the car. Dh took her to his dad's yesterday also and they all drove down to his friends farm and she got to see baby lambs and lama's and LOVED IT!!

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Karen- I can tell I'm losing and my size has went down a little.
Having twins really took a toll on my body even though it was almost 4yrs ago. I got really bad stretch marks and my skin didn't fully recover that well, so I have some loose skin on my stomach.
I told my hubby that I am going to look into a tummy tuck.
I bet getting rid of this loose skin would take me down a size on it's own. But, I'm going to wait and lose all my weight first.

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Chrystie- I didn't have twins but I can relate to two kids taking a toll on the body. I have stretched muscles on my tummy( they buldge out and are flabby) and the surgeon said they will never go back without surgery no matter how many ab exercises or running I do....Dh offered to let me do the tummy tuck when I do the Breast Augmentation BUT the scar from hip bone to hip bone Scared me. I do agree though if you got all that skin off it would take a couple sizes off I bet. You will get all this weight off and then you can do some "repair" work like me!

Tammy- No Riley just likes plain ol reduced fat oreos. She won't even eat them anymore. She won't eat ANYTHING these days. It worries me so much but I just keep trying...

It is nice that yall are trying to get along with your neighbors now. Better for all parties involved. I am not a person that holds a grudge. Forgive and forget is the right thing. But if they start acting stupid again that is another thing.

Girls another day with no time for working out. I swear this is so unlike me!!! I have my pre-op appt tomorrow at 8:30 then Riley has her post-op appt right after that then I have to go pre- register and talk to the Anesthesiologist(sp?). Then dh has a dinner program and another interview Wed and a program Thurs so the next three days are going to be tough. And what did I do? Bought a bag of Dove Dark Chocolates at Target while I was there tonight. UGHHHHHHHH! Someone come STOP me!!!! I feel like eating the WHOLE bag....What a day!

Love ya girls!

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Chrystie~ WTG on the weight loss, mama! Good job! And I am with you - my guts are toast. Stretch mark city and my abs aren't nothin' like steel! (I even do the d*mn abs of steel work out!) I guess it doesn't work for everyone.

Karen~ I am SO not the one to stop you! I'm not working out today, either. And Dh and I went OUT to dinner....granted I got a salad, BUT we also had an apetizer (spinach, atrichoke cheese dip, yum!) AND DH got a dessert (caramel bread pudding with ice cream!) I only had 3 bites of dessert....man was it good. But I am OFF to bed now! Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for us.

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Well, it seems like the more weight I lose, the more it is obvious how much skin there really is.
I'm not going to let it discourage me though. I am already so proud of myself and I'm not going to stop now

The way I look at it is I'll just have to lose a little more weight to get to the size that I want, THEN when I do get to have the "Nip Tuck"...it's just icing on the cake

I told my Dh that I am too young to have flabby skin everywhere...I mean I will only be 23 this year...KWIM?

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Karen - Here is the blinkie you requested

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No exercise for me either...I forgot we were going to the IL's for supper. Dh's dad came home, he was in MN for 3 weeks. I actually thought he was going to be there all summer, so it was a suprise

MIL cooked red beans and rice & they got fried chicken. I am SOOO not doing good at this.

My coworker is supposed to bring her tennis shoes today and we are going to go walk on the Levee at lunch time. I'll let you know if we make it out there. LOL!

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Morning Ladies!!

Off to do my morning routine . I just got my 60+ oz of water ready for the day. I fill a jug up so I know when I've reached it. Yesterday I had it all gone by 5pm . That is a BIG WOW for me .

Karen if you like starbucks I can add a starbucks coffee cup to that blinkie too!

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wow, this thread is hopping!! Hard to keep up!

Tammy and Cassie-you girls are doing so great with your weight loss already, keep it up!!

Karen-I love using spinach in salads too, yummy!! Not as yummy as that brownie I ate yesterday though.. I think it is ok to indulge these next few days since you are gearing up for the big TT surgery! I also think it will be GREAT for Dh to have to step up, he will appreciate you even more! I know that pasta casseroles (hamburger, tuna, etc) freeze well, as does chicken pot pie. You could also plan a few crockpot recipes for Dh to throw in since they are so easy?

Jenna-54lbs!! YOU are awesome!!! We need some pics of you! And WTG on only eating 3 bites of that dessert, I am such an all or nothing girl and would have scarfed the whole thing down.

Kelly-you are doing amazing with your new jogging routine!

Kalya-4lbs in a week is great!!! I forget which diet you are doing?

I have been semi-following my diet, so am still maintaining and walking when I can. If AF shows next week, I am going to get super STRICT with myself because I am ready to lose the next 5lbs which should get me back into my pre-PG pants! Dh and I have given up diet coke (at least not drinking it at home) which is a healthy step.

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Well, still struggling with my eating. I am up 3 lbs. which puts me at 6 lbs to my goal weight. I agree with you Bina, now that I feel "good" in clothes it is harder to be motivated. Grr.. I am going to make a ticker and make myself look at it every day. I want to feel GREAT!

Yall are doing awesome and you are a daily reminder/inspiration to me.

Chrystie- I know it is frustrating to have that skin. That's awesome that your Dh is on board with fixing it later. Will you wait until you are completely finished having children to do it? How is TTC going?

Tammy- Keep it up girl. Water consumption is a weakness of mine. I know you especially need it with Atkins to flush out the yuck.

Keep it up girls!!

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Hello all! I've been kind of avoiding this board b/c I knew I was being bad over the past few days and didn't want to admit it to y'all. That being said, I HAVE been more focused on what I am eating, and making better choices than I have in the past. Really, the whole budget thing is what gets me the most. We are so broke, so I am having to pick "cheap" foods (pasta and such) over healthy ones (greens, fruits, etc.). The farmer's markets open next month, and I really look forward to it, b/c I will be able to find fresh foods for SO much cheaper than the grocer!

Look at my ticker, though... I lost another couple pounds! So I am feeling confident at the moment. DH is still a source of weakness, but even he is trying to change, I know. With gas prices so out of control, he decided he wants to get a moped to ride to work each day. I suggested he ride a bike instead (it's 9 miles each way.) He thinks I'm crazy and threw a fit at the idea, but I told him I think it'd be a great workout for him. He suggested we sell the van and get me a bike with a little tot-trailer to pull the kids behind me instead.

Anyway, this week my eating will be lousy... I have pasta salad made for lunch, have spaghetti planned for dinner (maybe we'll get some turkey for meatballs), and lots more pasta for the next few days. Since I'll be taking in so many carbs, I will try to get up and move a lot. I found my Firm Workout series, so I'm going to get started with that again (it's been a LONG time.)

Chrystie- Sounds like you are doing great. I know EXACTLY what you mean about the "twin skin". I have the same flap. And TERRIBLE stretch marks. Have you ever seen Jon and Kate +8? Have you noticed she doesn't have ANY stretchmarks?! I got mine the moment I got pg, and they were so bad, DH joked that I was getting stretchmarks on top of stretchmarks. I try not to feel bad about them, though. I call them my battle scars!

Sorry for the novel, all. It was a half-week's worth of posting I needed to do!

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Sarah-don't be discouraged, you are doing great!!! Each day is a another chance to make good food choices right?

Christie- to those 3lbs. Just think about that personal trainer you will have to face soon, maybe that will help keep you motivated

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Sarah- Pasta isn't too terrible as long as you use lean meat and red sauce. Stay away from white/cream sauces and you should be fine. I am having spaghetti for lunch! LOL at the mental image of you "Hey boys lets go to Target.. here get in the baby pod and I'll pull you with my bike" That deserves a picture if it comes to fruition (sp?). Hey, it would be awesome excercise though right?

Didn't Kate have a tummy tuck after delivering her babies?

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Sarah - I totally understand where your coming from. We dont have that much $$ either for food each week. We just cut out some "other" expenses so we can NOW spend about $90 a week ( compared to $60 for 3 people!!)and that is including diapers if we need them that week. Atkins is a lot of $$ also, I've been planning our groceries around coupons and looking at flyers to find where the cheapest deal is. Your doing the best you can. I made a recipe last night for dh from the stuffing box and really ITS CHEAP CHEAP and DELICIOUS. 1 lb ground beef, 1 box of stuffing mix, and frozen mixed Veggies, 1 cup cheddar cheese etc( I will repost it again below in a second). I figured that meal cost around $5 to make and I would still have half a bag of veggies left and most of the block of cheese left. Try to look up recipes that are "healthy" and "cheap to make" its really not that hard once you get the hang of it. Yes I buy pasta also for dh, a cheap can of spaghettie saucse is like 70 cents and 2 bags of ravoli (meat & Cheese) around $3.50. Out of the pasta meal since Im low carbing will last about 4 meals for dh and same with the stuffing mix one I mentioned. I have 3 servings of the stuffing casserole in the freezer for his lunchs. We also get a really good deal on chicken legs at one of the "cheap grocery stores". There is 20 legs for $10 ( unless there is a "sale" around for them cheaper that is the best deal here!!). We would ALWAYS buy bacon, eggs & a bag of potatos(when we need potatos) each week, cause they are a cheap meal. You can even try making chili also, that is a cheap meal and you DONT need to add everything or overadd things to make it taste good. 1lbs ground beef, 2 cans kidney beans, can of sause and seasoning. Have you tried shopping at the dollar store for things you use a lot? Just make sure to check your flyers each week, use your coupons & hit those sales! It might seem like a lot at first but like I said you will get the hang of doing it each week and it will save you $ and should be able to buy a head of lettuce, or some fruit etc.

Sorry I didnt mean to ramble..



edit: Tuna is also really cheap to make tuna sandwhiches and you could have a salad with it or some veggies.

I just thought of something do you guys in the states have a "liquidation world"? THey have some good deals also on foods from time to time.