[lunarsongbird]

...so I'm glad I decide to get off the hill.

I had a rather uneventful vacation in Seattle with my mother in-law. There was no real sightseeing to be had, but it was nice to get out of the office for a bit. I got home Sunday evening and we had a fabulous dinner at one of my favorite restaurants. Once I got home, something felt a little off. I ended up getting the stomach flu from Andrew's Aunt's granddaughter. From Sunday night to Monday morning- I lost 9 pounds in water weight. Yeah.... Awesome.

So for the last 3 weeks I have just been chilling at 204.8 pounds.

Peacefully floating. Not influenced by the tides. Not at risk for being carried out to sea into my previous bad habits.

And I think this has a lot to do with the fact that I completely decided to get off the "Standard American Diet Hill." I've lost weight before. There are SO many different ways you can do it. One of the ways I did it previously was to eat the same things, but in diet fashion... a happy meal at McDonalds, 100 calorie packs, skinny cow ice cream sandwhiches, sugar free diet beverages...different versions of the same old foods.

And for me...that is a slippery slope. I never got over desiring Wendy's french fries. I could easily eat half a dozen packs of those little shortbread 100 calorie packs.


And when life got stressful or sad or hard...that's exactly what I did. And who cares about a happy meal? I just got sick 12 times in the last 12 hours...what else in this moment matters? I want and WILL have a regular size...maybe even "large" size meal.


...and then I'd find myself drifting out to sea. Farther and farther away from the shore. Until the pounds I lost were a distant memory. The happiness and comfort I felt from my old foods filling the void... until they couldn't anymore and then I'd have to swim back to shore- heartbroken and sick.

But now I don't even desire those old foods. It's INCREDIBLE. Even in vacation where I love to eat to celebrate and be jovial....and even when I'm moderately sick and want to eat for comfort- I have zero desire to revert to old habits, because I know that a McDonald's french fry would no longer bring me comfort or happiness.

Instead on Monday, Andrew (DH) brought me home coconut water (SUPER fabulous natural Gatorade), pure fruit protein drinks, and all natural saltine crackers (yeah...I had no idea they existed either.) And the next day when I could eat again- I went back to my new (old) eating habits... I had a brined pastured raised pork chop with some mashed potatoes.

I am finding great comfort on this new path I'm on. I'm taking the flat road...the road less traveled by dieters. And I'm loving it. I love that when I'm not around in the boards, that you all don't have to worry. I probably won't come back any heavier then the last time I posted, because I'm just floating.



But I feel rested and I'm over floating at the moment. I want to actively work on walking everyday (I think I let my gym membership lapse. I'm looking into that. Oh finances.) and I'd like to hit a nice number this month (Wednesday, June 19th- my lowest before I will jump up before TOM. Yup. I'm figuring myself out.)

So I'm glad to be back! I missed you all!

[charliee]

Woo hoo! I'm so glad you're back. We missed you and you're awesome insights and the pictures... oh the pictures. LOL.

Congrats on not giving in to temptation. French fries are a weakness for me. How are you finding coconut water, I had my blood checked recently and the doctor told me I was low in salt. She said that I was actually drinking too much water lol, (who knew) and that she wanted me to substitute some water with Gatorade. Unfortunately sugar free gatorade tastes like @ss. Coconut water has me intrigued...

[thnknthin1]

Glad to see you back Lunar! We've missed you!

[lunarsongbird]

I seem to only use coconut water when in a situation where I will get dehydrated...being sick, prepping for a colonoscopy- so I'm pretty sure I associate it with some pretty negative feelings. LOL.

It's alright though..I always go back to it, so it can't be too bad. Andrew likes it.

I'd also recommend some "real salt." I used it this week, as well.
http://www.re-lyte.com/
http://realsalt.com/

I'd also look into making your own beverage like this one- http://www.cheekybumsblog.com/2012/0...ver-pedialyte/

[Mozzy]

I'm glad your back and feeling better!

[Pink Hurricane]

I am super glad you are back!!!
I was like you, as far as trying so many typical diets and allowing so much of trigger foods then beginning to fall down the slippery slope.
I no longer desire all of those foods anymore either, and it's nice that whenever I do eat them, I don't binge or keep going for days, weeks, months, etc.

I am glad to hear you had a good time and that you have reached this point in your journey as well. The bottom 200s is a great place to be!

[HelloNurse]

I'm about to toe the edge of that slope tonight. Birthday party at a restaurant; I can't put my entire social life on hold, but I am nervous as all get-out.

I already checked the menu online and found an entree and salad combo that I worked into my calorie and carb allowances for today. I am going drink either unsweet tea or club soda, depending on what they have. I will do it without drawing attention to myself, and I will have fun and tomorrow I won't use it as an excuse to do even worse. I hit a new 3-year low weight this morning and I can't wait to keep going even lower.

[betsy2013]

Glad to have you back -- and your post is interesting (as always) in so many ways.

Sorry the Seattle visit was so low key. There's so much to do around here. But I didn't discover that until I moved here because when I came out to visit my family, we never seemed to end up doing any of the sightseeing things.