[beesknees]

Don't be too hard on yourself! I took my first Stage 7 workout pretty light last night and I still have mad DOMS. It's a crazy, crazy workout.

Hey. Knock it off. Yes - you - Bree. Knock it off.

You aren't a loser. You're figuring out your goals - that's a good thing. Making sure you know where you're going is a GOOD thing. Otherwise you could spin your wheels forever and not go in the right direction cuz you don't know WHAT direction to go in!

I have to agree with Bytsi. You're figuring out your goals, and that's great. So what if you didn't join the challenge. It doesn't mean you're going to stop all of your hard work. And I'm guessing that even though you're not in the challenge, you're still going to get motivation from other people and continue to motivate and support others as well.

Thanks guys. I didn't mean to sound whiny. I am so excited for everyone in the challenge! I considered it, but then was gone for a week and wasn't around a camera or computer (lots of mosquitoes though - maybe my loss last week was BLOOD!) and just let it slide. I will continue what I am doing and hopefully be able to encourage everyone here as much as they have me!

Onto TMI:

I knew it was a topic of controversy. Most things I have read say there is no relationship. But I wonder if its just a matter of it affecting everyone differently. For me, it coincided with starting a new serving job and school getting harder aka less time to be my former cardio junkie self. Whether it was that or the pills (or both) I will never know. I guess my biggest problem with them is the cycle of bloating. Its been a long time so I don't remember my t.o.m. well enough to remember if it was as bad. Another thing I have wondered is what their effects are on gaining muscle. Sometimes I wonder why I didn't go into kinesiology, nutrition, sports medicine etc, because it really is a passion of mine! I would have loved to research stuff like this.

Thanks for sharing your experiences Bytsi. I know a few people who gained a lot on Depo Provera. But I think that is more widely known than when on pills. I stumbled across a post (on someone's log I think) about a woman who has made training programs for women based on their cycles. I wonder if the same protocols would be followed with the pill? Probably not because there is less fluctuation. These are things I ponder....

Oh I forgot to say how excited I am for my latest purchase - A Swigg water bottle! Its so much more fun to drink water out of