**CLOSED** FRIENDS with a few to lose but a fitness focus.

Well, basically...we're not quite maintaining but not quite losing. Just here to support one another with the goals of:

• Eating healthy-without loads of deprivation
• Staying active- to sculpt the sexy body that we want
• Support one another in LIFE and not just health/fitness (we are friends after all)

So, let's post, joke, give support, and have fun as we take this journey to a better body and more self confidence!

I know how you feel.. We went to Rome in 2009 and I want to go back soooo badly.. Someday I really think I want to live there..

Have you used this calorie calculator before? http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expend iture-advanced

This was what I was basing my numbers on for upping my calories..

Stefanie...well, that calculator seems a bit high for me but I'm sure you're not eating 100% of what it shows you burning... here is a calculator that I would AVERAGE it with...don't just use the lower number...err on the side of caution and average. It's the same concept really but different calculations...for me it's about a 300 calorie difference. So I take the median...I was eating 2100-2500 for a while...based on the one you posted I would need 2466, based on the one below I need 2042. So in actuality I should've been eating closer to 2250 (if i average) when I was actually eating more like 2300-2400 on average. I was slowly beginning to gain.

http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/calori e-calculator.html

Chrissy - So that one said 1850 about.. and the other said 2400.. so middle would be 2000 - 2100, so I should be eating about 1800 in order to lose.. Am I doing that right?

stefanie...there's no way that it should be that off...are you counting your standing/eating/walking/cleaning accurately?

stefanie..if that is correct then the average is 2125...I would subtract 250 to arrive at 1875 and lose 1/2 pound a week. Slow and steady! this will make it more likely to come from fat instead of muscle!

@Chrissy - IT WAS SO GOOD. A teensy bit spicy, but more flavorful than painful, you know? Delicious and it was really fresh - I could tell nothing had been buttered up or anything. It was about two normal servings of brown rice (300 cals), a cup and a half of steamed broccoli and carrots (60 cals?), and about 6 oz of mahi mahi (190 cals?). I'm thinking 6 oz because I've always been told 3 oz is about the size of a deck of cards, and it was like two decks of cards haha.

@Stefanie - If I couldn't have found a healthy option I would have gone and enjoyed myself anyway, but if I can be smart about my menu options then I feel better doing so! You should try HIIT if you don't like cardio/get bored!

sara...so my calorie estimates were still rather on point! YAY! glad you enjoyed it..but for me there is no too spicy. i love the heat :)

kaley!! where are you? i miss you :)

Weighed in this morning and I lost 0.8 lbs from last Wednesday, putting me at 115! :)

Sara...way to go girlie. You must be ecstatic. Still eating 1600 and doing ~ an hour of working out most days?? I am slowly inching my calories back down. Aiming for 2000 daily...maybe more on Saturdays we will see

Morning ladies...so I am still going to bet that my weight is up. This is going to take done time to get back to normal. I think I have bulk in my system permanently because I gained these pounds virtually overnight when I decided to eat fewer processed foods. Soo....not sure what's going on exactly but I'm going to be patient. I should be able to maintain on 2000 with 1 hour of exercise (burning 400-500 calories) plus walking And stuff. If I continue to gain then I'm going to have to reduce to 1800. I don't want to ruin all of my hard work.

So full body circuit and 10 minutes abs today :)

@Chrissy - Thanks! Yep, 1600 calories most days (although on average I have one "bad" day I week where I go over my calories by quite a bit - probably why I don't lose that consistently), and I try to go to the gym 6 days a week doing at least 20 minutes of some cardio and 20 minutes of some strength (alternating body parts), but sometimes more if time permits.

Sara...well, you're living!! I think having a treat day is amazing...for a while I was planning them. It was effective too but now I'm just trying to get my intake under control. Not sure I could follow your plan but I know it would work. You get great results. I mean .8 pounds in a week...that's like a 375 cal avg deficit...so you could theoretically take in 2000 to maintain...that makes me feel better about eating 2000 right now. You're a teensy but heavier than me but i have stairs in my house and usually get about 45ish mins cardio on most days with abs/strength added--some days more, sone less. I love that you're my size...you seriously keep me motivated. Thanks girlie.

Sara - Great job on the weight loss. Your meals sounded great :) I'm with you if you can prepare you want to.. As for HIIT, I used to do that but I'm trying to increase my endurance as of late. At least intervals break up the time a bit..

Chrissy - I love how you are so patient with things, I could learn a thing or two from you :) Not my strong suit. But I am going to continue to stay around 1900-2000 and see if that will give me weight loss. I'm with Sara a bit though cause on the weekends I tend to have a bit more and I think because my deficit is so small I end up maintaining. Or in the case as of late gaining :)

stefanie...the things is that "gaining" is about more than what the scale can tell you. if i have a bulky day or eat late at night then the scale will most definitely be "mean" to me. sometimes the bulkiest days are the lowest in calories if I'm eating lots of veggies...lately i've cut back on processed snacks and have been making my own--still having treats like apple crisp and cheesecake but less things from a package. Since making this transition my weight is up 1-3 pounds on any given day...now that just doesn't make sense so it can't be fat. I just have to monitor my weight to make sure it doesn't go up even more.

Chrissy - That makes sense.. the weight of food in your system plays with what is on the scale. I'm trying to think of this holistically a bit with several things combined.. so scale, clothes and fat % (though this only gets done every 2 or 3 months).. What I would like to do now is actually create some goals but I'm having a hard time doing so.

I know I'm about 25% on body fat.. and would like to be about 21%, what is hard is trying to figure out a realistic goal for losing that.. 1% seems steep.. Plus I can only get it measured like I said above. I need short term goals. I could measure myself but then I have issues making sure it's the same place each time. I could do clothes but I'm not sure how to apply that cause I really don't have a particular size I want to be.

Thoughts?

Went to my kids daycare holiday party and managed to not eat any sweets :) YAY me.. I didn't want to cause I was already at my calorie limit (not that I couldn't have, just didn't want to). Last night was super busy.. Looking forward to having a slower night tonight.

Meals planned for today:

B - Chia Tea and Donue

S - 1 cup chocolate milk

L - ?? (I haven't decided yet)

S - 1 cup chocolate milk

D - Hamburger Pie (some call it Shepards Pie)

Workout: I think I'll do the stairclimber again and goal is to get 150 floors today.

stefanie..you could get a scale that measures BF%..they aren't very accurate but it will show you that you're making progress. They aren't super expensive either. You could also go to the store and find something really cute....that's a tad snug...buy it and try it on every 2 weeks. It gives you something to focus on aside from the scale. You could also measure yourself with a tape measure and take measurements every 2 weeks. That is a great way to stay motivated and to see if changes are happening despite no scale change.great job on the party. Wow, your days are not very "Bulky" at all..I think I'd starve on that. LOL. How long does 150 floors take you?

Chrissy - putting lunch in there will increase it a bunch.. That should take me to about 1900 calories for the day. :) When I did the 145 floors on Monday it took me 40 minutes, so I'm hoping to do 40 minutes again today but see if I can increase the amount I do..

stefanie..that thing makes my butt HURT! lol. that's awesome. I wasn't really talking calorie wise for your day, i was talking BULK wise...my meals always make me bloated and heavy it seems. Today I was ravenous. I've had 3 breakfasts already and it's not even noon.

@Chrissy - Haha no problem!

@Stefanie - Oh alright, I was just thinking of other things I like to do haha.

Gym plan:
-20-30 minutes cardio (maybe elliptical so I can study)
-Ab Ripper (15 minutes)

Food plan:
- B: 1 one-a-day vitamin, 1 slice whole grain bread, 1 oz sharp cheddar cheese, 1 large egg, 6 oz coffee and 1 tbsp creamer... and my advent chocolate :) (35 cals)
- L: 1 slice whole grain bread, 2 tbsp homemade hummus, 1/4 cup sliced carrot, 1/4 cup sliced zucchini, 1 container 0% Greek Peach yogurt
- L2: Brown rice + salmon + celery + green beans + soy sauce + garlic... stir fry I guess?
- D: apple cinnamon oatmeal

I have been more focused on A. finals and B. enjoying this beautiful weather, so although I'm doing well with food and exercise I haven't been planning out much.

sara..good day of eats. are you dipping your veggies into the hummus. what is the advent chocolate? do you take 1 a day gummies?