michele, I am a half inch shorter than you and size 6 at 142 lbs. If your avatar is correct, I can't imagine that you are overweight at all, even accounting for variation. How about doing some body measurements? The scale does NOT define you!

No, I'm not overweight at all. I'm right in the middle of a healthy weight range. However, I was much lower and stayed that way for a couple of years (118-120). I'm happiest under 125. At or above 130, my clothes are very tight and I have some problem areas (I was 131.2 today).

I decided to be in a good mood today regardless. It's funny that I can decide that and make it happen. I've been cheerfully telling people hello and complimenting coworkers. Seems to be working!

I'm happy too that dh is returning from China today. Part of my black mood was/is frustration that I try to work on my weight (supposedly) when dh is gone so when he comes home I can relax a bit with him. Obviously, I made zero headway this trip. Oh well. There are definitely more important things in life.

I concur! I can maintain, but it is murder to get down lower. I just don't have the stomach for that much strictness. Correcting a small regain? Sure. But I'm making a push for the last twenty or so pounds and then I'm DONE. I simply don't have the patience or mental stamina it would take to get lower than a higher-range normal weight for my body. I'm buckling down and doing an intensive weight loss round for as long as I can stand it (or until May, when I have a conference, birthday, anniversary, and Mother's Day all in a two week stretch) and will not survive without doing maintenance eating instead of loss-eating. But while I want to comfortably get the weight off, the actual process of doing it is just miserable.

Maybe I'll have more mojo for it in a few years. But right now it's more duty than anything else. Fortunately that's enough for me.

Good luck, Saef! You will be great.

The scale is hardly moving, and I'm 151.1, so definitely down from last Friday. I'm about where I was at this time in December.

Woke up at 2:30 AM fully awake and ravenously hungry, with the same problem that I had two weeks back: A head full of song fragments, imperatives about work, and several tasks on my mind. I'd had lentil soup for dinner and apparently that wasn't enough to hold me. I had an early breakfast. Of course, I'm ravenous. I may as well get to the gym before 5:30 AM, to get that essential to-do crossed off the list, since I know I will fade badly just over noon.

I feel like eating a big steak or something is the only thing that will keep me from feeling famished all day.

So eat the steak saef. Certainly better than downing a chocolate cake or a big bag of Cheetohs or similar.

Dagmar

That was my feeling when I saw your post, saef, at just after 10 this morning. Then I got waylaid before I could post.

Please eat the steak, you cave-person.

No butter or peanut butter on Wednesday or Thursday. Streak is 23. It's starting to show on the scales now which is very pleasing indeed.

I'm going back to calorie counting on Monday. Apparently I need a full-on return to the weight loss mindset if I'm going to make headway. Ah well. It was worth a shot to hope that the easier path might be successful.

I am counting calories. And tracking them on My Fitness Pal. This afternoon, DH and I went to lunch and although I "know" that my lunch was not as high in calories as the one I picked on MFP, I'm keeping those artificially high calories to reign in anything I might do tonight. (I had a BLT with avocado and turkey. Um, 1 thin slice of turkey, very little avocado, 1 slice of bacon served on a savory "waffle"--no sugar added. With fries. I chose the Dave & Buster's BLT w/avocado plate with fries. I probably ate 10 fries.)

love steak!

I'm joining you! I've never calorie counted before but I need to see what I'm really doing.

And birchie... You've inspired me to start a streak of my own. I'm giving up grapes. I said it.

Michele, that's wonderful! Very good luck!

I focused on butter and peanut butter because I could see that eating them was where things started to go wrong, leading to eating too much. I've found that stopping eating butter and peanut butter has lead to my eating normal amounts. What's also helped enormously is that the SO and I have found time to sit down on Saturdays to plan our week's menus and associated shopping. This has meant focused shopping, and less anger/frustration on my part when I come to make the evening meal. We have also worked out a way whereby he makes the meal over the weekend and on Wednesday. All in all, my life feels as though it has much more space in it and that's very much how I like it.

Good luck with the calorie counting, everyone! I can't do that as I find it rather clogging up and irksome. And almost everything we eat is made from scratch and varies every time.

No butter or peanut butter on Friday. Streak is 24.

Congrats on your streak, silverbirch! It's interesting how giving up certain foods I love actually gives me more peace of mind--nothing calling out to me nonstop from the kitchen. Great that you have worked it a routine with SO---that's half the battle imho.

Mayonnaise is one thing I can't have around. Fortunately the butter over here that's in most stores is bland, so not much of a temptation even when I do indulge. As for peanut butter, I sometimes buy Roasted peanut oil (as opposed to regular peanut oil)--it tastes like peanut butter but it doesn't tempt me to keep eating it.

One of the many nice things about calorie counting is the company! OK, I do agree with Silverbirch - it is cumbersome and somewhat annoying. Fortunately over the last four years I've done it multiple times, so my LoseIt database has everything in it already. I was chuckling a little when I opened it last night ... they have upgraded it and it looks quite a bit different. What is funny is that you can now see a "lifetime" graph of your weight. I clearly have a setpoint right here where I am now, at 153-154. I get to 156, decide to get tough, lose down to about 148-149, and then slowly meander right back up to 153. Let's tilt at that windmill one more time! It tells me I can have 1736 per day to lose 1/2# a week, and that I'll be "done" (ha) on May 17, my birthday. Ladies and gents, I have a plan.

Trying not to take the weather personally, but 3 of the last 3 available practice times this past week have been under "winter weather advisories" or "special weather statements." Much as I want to swim, it's a 20 minute drive on some historically hazardous roads.

In the spirit of going cold turkey ... I am saying farewell to chips, pretzels, and crackers. Day 1 in process.

I am brainificating on how close "streak" is to "steak".