[yoyoma]

I was another kid with the whiskey/lemon/honey combo, but now we don't drink much and don't have any alcohol on hand.

It did help my throat, but I find hard candies (even sugar free) help too. In fact, eating/drinking anything helps temporarily. I had a cold a few weeks back and temporarily went off my eating window to help with that.

I also swear by echinacea supplements to help reduce symptoms and duration. I also want to get the family flu shots ASAP, but schedules are hectic (DD and DH at a fencing tourney this weekend). DD's boyfriend just got over a run-in with the enterovirus.

I really feel like a maintainer now, but my weight still bounces around a bit. This morning it was 138.2; the last time it was 140.0. At least it seems to stay around my goal weight.

Hope you feel better soon, Becky!

[apo9]

Well,I am back from a lovely weekend at Niagara on the Lake.The weather was beautiful and I was able to pace myself with my eating and drinking.I ate sensibly at meals and limited myself to 1 wine at lunch and 2 wines at the evening social functions which included a tour to a winery.The wines were 5 oz glasses.I resisted all deserts and stayed with salads and proteins.We walked a lot in the beautiful parks.My weight this morning is 135 and I am proud to say that I was able to successfully take part in life's functions and still maintain my weight.I passed my first test.Thanks all for your encouragement.

[ICUwishing]

I'm definitely on the downside of this cold. I didn't need to cough up half a lung this morning, my nose is mostly clear and I can clear my ears if I yawn big enough. Ten days - good grief! I had a few moments of doubt that this was truly a cold and wondered if it was time to see a doctor. Had I not woken up this morning feeling more like I'm supposed to ...

Thanks for all the good wishes, everyone! I am really looking forward to getting back to the pool on Wednesday.

apo, congrats on the successful navigation of a weekend out. Practice does make, well, confidence. Perfection is a myth.

yoyoma, the simple math of maintenance is that it is an average. Which means it goes up half the time and down half the time. Just like ... a yoyo! I forget which long-term maintainer coined the phrase, "Maintenance is just yo-yoing on a shorter string." So very, very true - which is why a 5 lb range with a "red zone" is very popular here.

saef, good to hear you've got things moving in the direction you want to go, scale-wise. I'm in the same boat - as much as I love the extra hour and a half at home that I burn on commuting each day, I have not figured out the path of not nibbling my way through a telecommute day.

michele, a world without grapes is a sad place, I am happy for your success this time around!

[Shannon in ATL]

Good job, apo!

[ICUwishing]

Went to swim practice last night and muddled through it. I can definitely tell that my lung capacity is down! The humidity seems to have helped, but wow, I was really, really worn out when I finished. This morning less coughing and almost zero nose drip, so I am calling it done at 13 days. Ack! Guess who's going to be really anal about handwashing and cleanliness for the rest of the winter?

I've had 3 consecutive days of 155-155.5. Getting back under 155 is my next target as I resume life as a non-sick person.

[paperclippy]

Becky, DH and DDs are all sick and somehow magically I haven't caught it so I'm happy, but I have a feeling with these two kids we'll be sick on and off all winter.

In other news, I'm at my ticker weight again now that TOM is finishing up, and I finished my 12-week program! Trying to get back to running now, since I feel like it's better for my weight loss efforts to have some of that mixed in with strength. Ran twice this week, intervals of basically putting on music and walking for the verses and running during the choruses for about a mile or so. It's been a long time since I ran much so I'm trying to ease into it. Also did some lunges/squats/dips/push-ups mixed in.

[saef]

I dread tomorrow's weigh-in, as I'm pretty sure from how my body feels that I lost all of my gains from last week, or rather, gained back my loss. And maybe some on top of that. This week, I've been hungry and also stressed out, as I usually am when I am attempting to attain escape velocity for some time off.

Remind me again that I should never promise to rewrite 10 pages of Japanese English in one day. It's at least a two-day job. I am so tired, I'm missing the small important things like articles and subject-verb agreement.

[Mudpie]

Originally Posted by paperclippy

In other news, I'm at my ticker weight again now that TOM is finishing up, and I finished my 12-week program! Trying to get back to running now, since I feel like it's better for my weight loss efforts to have some of that mixed in with strength. Ran twice this week, intervals of basically putting on music and walking for the verses and running during the choruses for about a mile or so. It's been a long time since I ran much so I'm trying to ease into it. Also did some lunges/squats/dips/push-ups mixed in.

Jessica! You rock lady!

Dagmar

[saef]

Jessica, good for you.

And as for me, about that weigh-in: Yep. Right back to where I was. And now about to head to Las Vegas. I am going to eat sensibly. My goal is to decompress as much as possible. This is my summer vacation, really, and it's a victory just to take it.

[traveling michele]

Hope you have an awesome vacation Saef! You deserve it!

[bargoo]

Originally Posted by saef

Jessica, good for you.

And as for me, about that weigh-in: Yep. Right back to where I was. And now about to head to Las Vegas. I am going to eat sensibly. My goal is to decompress as much as possible. This is my summer vacation, really, and it's a victory just to take it.

Let me warn you, Las Vegas is full of of food. and all of it is delicious..

[alinnell]

Vegas is buffet city. Just don't do the buffets and you should be okay. It's even going to be a bit cooler than normal there for a couple of days. Not so sickly hot as in the middle of the summer.

We moved DS back to UCI yesterday. It's very quiet here. Even the cats aren't as vocal as normal. Surreal.

I have a plan in my head that I am putting into action in the morning. This should get me back into exercise mode. I kind of slacked off last week. Ok, more than slacked off--I stopped altogether after Monday. And the previous week I was spot-on.

[traveling michele]

What's your plan, Allison?

[alinnell]

I got up at 4 AM and got my workout done. No excuses. That's the plan and I succeeded this morning.

I actually got up a little before I intended to (my alarm is set for 4:08) and my workout was done before the coffee was brewed so I had to get that going and busy myself with little things until it was finished. Tomorrow I'll "sleep in" until the alarm goes off rather than stare at the clock and finally get up, albeit early.

[yoyoma]

Allison, I'm a morning person, but 4 AM is early even for me! I hope your plan works well for you.

I slacked off on exercise last week too. My exercise is just walking (I did go walking a few times, but not regularly). I think that making sure I get in enough walking helps me sleep better, which is a big issue for me. I don't usually have much trouble falling asleep, but I do have a lot of trouble saying asleep for a decent length of time.

I think my lack of sleep has contributed to my struggles with weight over the years. At the moment, I am taking both time-release melatonin and time-release valerian. I think they both help, but I still only got 6 hours of sleep last night. Well, I'm on the treadmill now and hoping for a full night of rest tonight. I was 140.0 on the scale this AM, but that was after I drank some coffee so that might read a tad high.