Sapphire723

Quote: Originally Posted by sunstarsmoon LeAnne, WOW you are half way to goal! Congrats!!!! Thank you! I've been working on it for a few seasons now, so please don't think that it magically fell off so quickly. However, seeing the number move in the right direction can be done. And what I find to be most important is just sticking with it and letting the girls hold you accountable. You wouldn't believe how few people there are at the end of the season. And I'm sorry to hear about FI. I'm sending best wishes your way. I'm not going to lie to you guys... I lost control this weekend. I was feeling sick and I ate some stuff that I'm not exactly proud of. I'm afraid to even step on the scale right now. But, my FSIL who is also a bridesmaid confided in me that she's looking to lose 60 pounds before our wedding, so I'm going to take her to the gym on a two week guest pass. Hopefully that will make me go more often, because I have been slacker central lately when it comes to the gym.

Mmmm, that frittata looks good. Great Job, Jenny!

Oh, and people thinking you're cheating? It's not like you get anything for winning other than recognition from the other forum members.... and we congratulate anyone who has worked hard and stuck with it. Plus, we send before and after pictures AND pictures of the scale itself. So, anyone who would even consider cheating for this competition is really only going out of their way to lie to people they only know on the internet and hurt their own weight-loss goals. I like to assume that all of you ladies are awesome and honest and just be happy for you when you do well. I'm guessing that the other girls have a similar mind set and just take you at your word with no explanation needed.

Jenny - As long as you know you're being healthy, then you've got nothing to explain! Weight fluctuates for a bunch of different things like hormones and water retention, so we all understand that the weight might be off from what you expect at any given time. And we're all happy to see the scale moving for you. My only concern when I see REALLY high losses would be that there's some sort of unhealthy, non-sustainable habits, because yo-yo dieting is actually more unhealthy for you than being slightly overweight. But I would assume that the ladies in this competition are committed to healthy weight loss, so I don't worry if I see big jumps during BDW BL. Congrats on seeing big results on the scale this week, but don't get discouraged next week when you don't see a loss of water retention in addition to all of your hard work.

Natasha - I'm sorry to hear about your grandfather. I'm down about 2lbs this week. More importantly, my BMI is now back into the "healthy" weight range. Great job to all of you ladies who started strong this week! Make sure to keep up the good work.

Hmmm... Maybe mine should be sticking to my diet. I've been allowing myself little cheats by having a bite of whatever FI is having, which isn't completely derailing me, but I'm sure it's not good! We've also been going out to eat once or twice on the weekend, and even though I've been trying to make healthier choices there, I'm sure it's not as good for me as staying in. The only other thing I can think of that I've been guilty of doing lately is having a drink on occasion, but my friend is having a wine and board game party tomorrow night, and I don't know if I want to abstain completely from the wine.

Quote: Originally Posted by elifrigo Girls! I'm loving Free Diet Plans at SparkPeople !!!!!!!! this website is great to keep track of what you are eating, how much you are exercising, etc! I can't remember who posted the link to this site, but I love it! Today I've done everything well! only two days before the actual weight in I started my diet... better later than never... I believe that would be me. I'm a huge fan of SparkPeople! They have an iPhone app... if you have one. I like that they ease you into dieting by having you set small achievable goals that promote a healthy lifestyle. I discovered SparkPeople because of my work. They give me a $150 rebate every year for using SparkPeople for two months! Can you believe it? On a side note, Nutrisystems is working out pretty well for me, I think.

I'm really sorry that you're having to go through this. On the bright side, it seems like you may have a little extra free time to tackle money-saving DIY projects and to research ways to have your dream wedding without spending as much. I'd like to be able to spend more time doing both, but it's hard to fit that into a day if I'm working 17 hours! Good luck with the job hunting. I know it's tough out there right now, but if you can keep your spirits up, you'll get through it.... or become a reality TV star! (just kidding... I wouldn't wish that on you!)

Quote: Originally Posted by Smacd Hi, My name is Sarah and I am getting married to the father of my two beautiful children in Punta Cana at the Gran Palladium in January 2011. So excited that I found this website...looking forward to wasting many hours (something to do besides Facebook! WOOP, lol) Haha, I love your title. Yes, if you're looking to waste a lot of time (in a helpful and productive way, of course), this is DEFINITELY where you do this. And you posted your "hi there" post in the correct section as well... Welcome to the forum!

For the guys: I would decide white vs ivory depending on which is the dominant color of your dress. It's hard to tell which shows more from the description. For the girls: I think it's a great idea to have the different colors and some plain some patterned if you can tie all of the girls together somehow. For example, maybe have the girl in fushia wear a damask sash and have a damask purse for the girl in black. Or have fushia ribbon around the non-fushia girls' bouquets. I love that you gave them an option to do whatever they want, and I definitely don't think they have to match, they just all have to not clash. Having the girls wear a brooch (if you can find one that's saucy and not granny) would be another cool way to help them flow together. I think it would be cool if your daughter could find a dress that some how incorporates the black, pattern, fushia, and grey, because she seems like she might be too old to be monochromatic with the bride (to clarify: I think a 5 y/o can get away with wearing white to a wedding because she's small, cute, and the flower girl; a 15 y/o seems more bridesmaid age and might be distracting from the bride a bit). Really, I think you can do whatever colors/patterns/accessories you and your girls like best. My only major advice would be to have a common thread so they look like cool, fun, and unique bridesmaids instead of non-wedding party guests who are randomly standing next to the bride. Kudos to you, by the way, for being such a generous bride and letting them have free reign over their outfits!

Quote: Originally Posted by Mere You go girl! It is end of the school year for me (teacher) and we have so much going on-aaahhhh the temptations. 2 baby showers, secretaries day, a wedding shower, and a retirement-oh dear! You know what I've been doing for parties lately? Offering to bring a dish and then bringing crudites with hummus or a low fat dipping option. That way I'm being thoughtful AND if I'm feeling snacky I can position myself next to the veggies instead of next to the mini-quiches.

Quote: Originally Posted by vdaybride Good for you for defending the post!!! We should assume that everyone who posts here have good intentions. We all know that is not the case, but... But... it's hard to determine the validity of posts when users who are not active in the forum decide to only post negative comments...especially if the same exact story is copy and pasted into several different threads. It doesn't necessarily make what the poster is saying untrue, but it makes the content seem less credible than a review from someone who has been a long time contributor.

Okay, to help put things into perspective: Dreams and Secrets are in the same chain. Secrets is the higher-end, adults only one. Gran Bahia Principe Tulum is where we're getting married, and it's nice but it's not super one-on-one romantical, imho. I don't have first hand experience with the others, but I can say with confidence that Secrets would be a great choice.

Quote: Originally Posted by butterfly4kathy2 Holy crap! these stories are C R A Z Y! Makes me very thankful for my sane (and VERY nice) MIL!! I dont know if I could handle it! I know! I want to call my FMIL up right now and tell her how awesome and not crazy she is! She's a talented seamstress and she even ran her fabric choices for her dress by me before she started sewing. I think they love me a little bit extra because I'm the one who remembers birthdays and presents. For those with the Monster-in-Laws, maybe try taking a stand in front of a group of non-biased people next time they're being rude. I wonder if they would just die of embarrassment if you stood up and said loudly, but calmly, "You know... it really hurts my feelings when you say things like that to me. It makes me feel as if you don't want me to be a part of your family and that you don't want your son to be happy." Of course... it seems like some of these women don't have souls, so they might not feel badly at all if you call them out! I agree with everyone who says that your FI needs to draw a line in the sand. He needs to be firm that you are to be treated with respect and any disrespect will NOT be tolerated.

Quote: Originally Posted by Cindy* So since starting the BL9, I have been doing well. Doing my cardio and P90X. Yesterday, I step on the scale and I was up 4 lbs from the day before (naked so it wasn't what I was wearing). After nearly having a major meltdown, I decided to just take it in stride, went on with my day, did my normal routine, did my P90X. Got up this morning and just as sudden as they appeared, the 4 lbs are gone again. What the hell was that? Could you imagine if that was my wedding day. I guess there is a reason people say only weigh yourself once a week. Thank goodness yesterday wasn't weigh in day. Cindy, don't be discouraged. Your body can fluctuate several pounds during the course of one day. It all depends on when you last ate, when you last went to the bathroom, how much fluid your body is retaining currently, how hydrated you are. So, I would recommend weighing yourself at the same time wearing the same thing (or lack thereof) every week. That will be the best representation of how you're really doing.

My default response when someone presumes to tell us how they think our wedding should be is to say "Oh, you're going to pay for our wedding! That's SO KIND of you! Thank you SO MUCH!!" It's stupid for people to think you should go into super-debt to finance THEIR dream wedding. And your father is no exception. I'm sorry that he's being a PITA, and I really hope he realizes that not going to your daughter's wedding (even in Mexico) is pretty unforgivable unless you're in the hospital or not allowed out of the country.

Quote: Originally Posted by jennypenny23 Does any one else do Zumba Is it really as good of a workout as it feels We are halfway through the first week ladies!! wooohooo!! ;0) Zumba can be a VERY good work out. But it all really depends on your instructor. It can range in the 600 calories per hour area. However, there are easier steps to slower music and harder steps to faster music, so depending on the mix your class uses, you may have a good work out or a really awesome work out. I also find that doing it in a class is a better work out than using the DVDs, but it may just be my "I've got to work hard because I don't want to look like a joke in front of other people" mentality. You might want to get a heart rate monitor if you REALLY want to know how much you're working out. Or occasionally measure your heart rate during class... or just monitor your RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion). A good rule of thumb (but not the kind you beat your wife with) for cardio is that you should be exercising to the point where you can spit out a full sentence but not much more.

Quote: Originally Posted by mnh1983 I love Turbo Jam! One of my dvds won't play though. I may have to order new ones. Let me say, I am sore today! I guess those extra pushups and arm exercises yesterday are working! Makes me want to go exercise more! Oh! Make sure you do rows or pull ups if you're doing a lot of push ups. I accidentally did too many of one muscle group and not enough of the other, and my shoulder started to hurt really badly. My masseur and sister (who is now a personal trainer, but unfortunately lives a few hours away!) both said that I need to balance out my muscle groups better. PS I'm still hankering for Papa Johns... but now I want some goat cheese on it. Or some California Pizza Kitchen. Does anyone else have really bad food commercial hungers? Like when you see it on a commercial and you want it REALLY badly? It's so bad for me that I can see a glimpse of it while I FF through commercials and I still want to eat it.

GM Ladies~ Since we were talking about guilty eating the other day, I thought I would share this article with you: Stop Feeling Guilty about Every Mistake Stachr: I like Turbo Jam! I'm also trying the Coach to 5k workout plan, because I've never been a runner, but I kinda wanna do a 5k.

OMG, you girls are making me hungry. Thankfully the Papa John's near us closed. To whomever asked, Papa John's is yummy chain pizza. The best (and worst!) part about Papa John's is that their pizza comes with a butter garlic sauce to dip breadsticks or crust in.

I have to agree with those who voted "tacky." I have a friend who invites me on occasion and after I say that I'm free, she'll throw in a "by the way, can you bring xxxx?" I have a few things that I make as "bring a dish" foods that are really yummy, but they're also really time consuming and often expensive to make. On times when I've been invited over and I have the time and budget for it, I will ask my host "Would you like me to bring anything?" But it's tacky to ask someone to be your guest to your party and then ask them to supply refreshments for your party.

Quote: Originally Posted by Oryx Totally agree! It's often called the "what the hell effect". Like after eating that first cookie, the diet is already ruined, so might as well eat the box. Very dangerous! Every moment is a new opportunity to start over and do better. Something that was a HUGE eyeopener for me was watching my diabetic father make excuses for what he ate. I went home to celebrate a Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday combo, and he ate a lot of not very good for you food with the excuse that it's a holiday. And then I noticed leftover pizza that had bacon, italian sausage, and pepperoni on it with a butter Parmesan crust. His reasoning? It had protein, carbs, and dairy on it, so it was within his diet!! I realized right then and there that I have the same tendencies to excuse frequent unhealthy eating behaviors and I needed to open my eyes to it. Yes, starvation and deprivation are not the key, but I was giving my self too many free-for-all eating passes to the point where eating a healthy meal was the exception. Do you ladies ever find yourself in moments like that? I know they show them on the TV Show Biggest Loser all the time... the A-HA moments where people realize what it is that's keeping them from reaching their ideal weight.

Quote: Originally Posted by sunstarsmoon Today is a new day! You have to live a little to! Just walk an extra mile today and that should take care of some of it lol Plus, remember, it's not the first donut that adds the pounds, it's the rest of the dozen that you ate because you felt guilty about the first one!

From what you've said, it seems like he won't come anyway. So, as long as you won't be upset if you invite him and he declines, I think it would be good to invite him. I mean, if he only contacts you twice a year and doesn't tell his family about you, it's not like he's going to expect that he'll be the one to walk you down the aisle (unless he's delusional). And hopefully if he does show up, everyone can suck up their true feelings for a week and focus on your happiness.

I wish there was a directory for this. I'm trying to google to find a place near me for it, but I'm not seeing anything!