That's what I keep telling my dad...she's got to find out on her OWN that her plan may not be what's best for her. And then again it might...who knows?

Right now I'm trying to remind myself that it's my TOM, and I've been bloated and retaining water more than normal. Scale has jumped up to 145 for the past couple of days and I don't like it!! After this week's over I'll weigh in again and re-evaluate...may be time to increase the workout intensity or length again....we'll see where the numbers stand in a few days. I can't imagine that I gained weight, though that'd be about right. I finally start getting my snacking and extra eating under control and NOW gain weight, while I didn't during the whole time I was shoveling chocolate into my mouth...

I wish my scale would just budge! But, it has decided it does not want to move at all!

That stinks about the scale! Mine finally crept up a little..which is what I deserve for all the overeating I've been doing. Cutting that out 100% as of today! I weighed in at 142.8 this morning, rather than my normal 140. Not worried about losing those two yet, as they could also be the result of water retention, etc. If I hit 145, though, and STAY there beyond my TOM...time to get back into the losing frame of mind, just for those 5 pounds.

Just keep it up and you'll make it!

Well, I had an ok weekend. Went to the renaissance fair with my sister. She had a blast...it was ok for me. She was more than ready to leave when it was time, but was so tired she couldn't even walk to the car. I worry so much about her. She said she'd lost about 10 pounds, and weighed in that morning at 345. I've tried and tried to give her advice, but she won't listen to me. Don't know why...guess it's that older sister/little sister thing that tells her I don't know what I'm talking about.

She overeats so much and doesn't even realize it. She thinks she's eating ok. For example, for breakfast Saturday on her way to meet me, she went to McDonald's and got a sausage, egg and cheese biscuit, hash browns and a large coke. Then at the event, she had two deep fried, breaded crab cakes (probably 6+ ounces each) and a spinach pie (even bigger than the crab cakes). THEN on the way home we stopped at Chick Fil-A. I had a grilled chicken sandwich and medium fries (650 or so calories all together). She had a 12 piece chicken nugget meal, large waffle fries, two large glasses of sweet tea and an oreo milkshake. And thought she did great for the day.

I know there's nothing I can do if she doesn't want to do it...I just worry.

Mindi, you're right if someone is ready to take advice, then they are not going to listen.

I'm not surprised that she eats like that a lot of people who are over weight are in denial about how much and what they eat.

Have a great week!

Ok, so my nephew is missing. They live about an hour away from where I live, and he's an 18 year old high school senior. Over the past year his entire attitude has changed. He went from a goofy, lovable guy who was in advanced classes and had already been accepted to college due to massively high SAT scores to this standoffish, angry sort of person. He's been fighting a lot with his mom and dad, and rather than deal with whatever is wrong (I suspect a drug of some sort) they pretty much let him run off and do whatever he wanted to. So then he starts skipping school and gets caught. In order to graduate he's got a lot of work to make up, and he's doing it. Then he all of a sudden stops.

Last week my brother got a call from the counselor about him skipping again, so he went to a friend's house and found him. They had a talk (according to my brother's side - the only one I know right now), and my nephew said he'd go to school and finish out. He was supposed to graduate June 1, so he said he could make it that long. He went to school the next day - and hasn't returned. They talked to his two best friends, who said he told them they were "backstabbers" and cut them out of his life entirely. So they don't know where he is or who he's with. He wasn't answering his cell phone or text messages, and his voicemail box was full. They tried and tried and finally had it cut off, since it could be lost or stolen and who KNOWS who might have been using it?

So that's where we stand...went from being excited about his graduation to worried he'll be gone forever. SO disappointed he won't be finishing high school. But it's not the end of the world...if he'd just come back, there's always a GED. One of my best friends got her GED and is now a happy and successful elementary teacher after attending a good college. It's all in what you do with it. Just wish I could tell HIM that.

I hope he is found soon. I wonder if he is getting anxiety over graduating?

I will say a prayer for him and your family.

Thing is...he wasn't going to graduate. He started skipping school and was trying to make up the work. My personal theory is that he realized it was too much to do and rather than go home and tell his parents he wasn't going to make it (and totally disappoint them), he skipped out. I hope he'll show back up after graduation is over, and realize it's not the end of the world!

At least that's the best-case-scenario, so it's the one I'm praying for...

Hello Mindi,

Did your nephew ever show up? I'm still praying for him.

Yes! Friday they got a call from the counselor, saying his diploma was THERE at the school and all he had to do was show up on Saturday to school and he'd graduate. So they got on the phone, started sending emails and messages and somehow the message got to him. He called them from the school on Saturday, and went home last night. I'm leaving for his GRADUATION this afternoon!!!!

SO excited!!

And on top of that, we found a house we want to buy, so I've also go to go to the bank this morning....lots to do!!!

Wow, it's been a busy few days!

First, graduation! I got to see my nephew and the entire family, he walked across the stage and I took a TON of pictures. They're going to give him the summer to figure out what he wants to do, and keep talking to him about either college or the military. He took some military-type test several weeks ago and scored MAJORLY high on it, so they're really after him. He's thinking about the Army, but my brother wants him to go more toward the Navy or Air Force. They're going to try not to be pushy, and the recruiter isn't being pushy either (even though HIS boss is after him non-stop to sign my nephew up), so maybe he'll get on the ball and make a decision soon.

After talking to my brother, I found out that a lot of my nephew's problems came from being involved with a bad group of people, and he got into drugs of some sort. My nephew told my brother, when asked, that he wouldn't pass a drug test, and that's probably what's keeping him from doing anything at this point. He didn't say WHAT drug, so we just hope it's not something he's hooked on.

The only BAD thing that happened that night involved my shoes. I wore a skirt and a pair of heels with a strap that fastened around my ankles. I haven't worn the shoes since I lost weight, and didn't realize how MUCH I lost around the ankles. The straps were entirely too loose, so I poked holes in them to make them tighter. It all went ok until we were walking around the graduation, looking for my nephew (I'm talking half a mile in 3 inch heels), and things started rubbing. I've got deep holes in the backs of BOTH feet, right above my heels, that are KILLING me. I didn't work out at all yesterday, and did the bike today because it didn't pull on the area too much. But OUCH it hurts!!!

Then on to the house. We came to an agreement with the owner on a sales price, and have started paperwork with the bank!!! Turning that in today to see if we qualify, and then they'll go walk through the house to see what they'll loan us. I HOPE that we get it...we love it so much!!!

Oh that is good news!

Cool about the house!

Ouch about the heels. I hope you're feeling better soon. Good luck with the house! I hope all goes well!

Well, the feet are nearly better, and better enough to where I can where my good workout shoes again. Yay!

I've been working out same as always recently. I wonder, though, if you burn more calories working out in a warm, non-air conditioned room as opposed to one with a lot of fans or the A/C on?

Here's why I ask...the other day I went to work out, and did 35 minutes of cardio on the elliptical and bike, then weights. I burned about 355 calories. Then today, I did the same thing for the same amount of time without the fans or A/C on (it was pretty warm) and burned 412 (all according to my heart rate monitor). Maybe the intensity was higher today than the other day, but who knows? Just curious...if it helps, I'll keep the A/C off unless I absolutely HAVE to use it!

Side note...I LOVE LOVE LOVE the "Eat This, Not That" website. Looking at it now! Great info on there...