Woot!!! SO VERY MUCH TO CELEBRATE HERE! I rarely do emoticons on this site, but this occasion is worth it.
:cong rat:
First, huge kudos to . . . MANDY! Under 300 pounds. Decade changes are incredibly cool. Century changes - well, definitely worth a snazzy pair of shoes. I know you're in a funk, Mandy, and you're not required to be super excited, but dang it! I am super excited for you. Yep. You still have a long way to go to get to goal, but how much better is life at 299 than life at 330? For me, just being on plan makes a world of difference in my mobility, my ability to play, and my general health. A long way to go until goal. And after goal, a long way to stay that way for the rest of your life. But you have accomplished and are accomplishing the most important goal -- you have figured out a way to take care of yourself and your health.
And, with a FIFTY pound loss, DIANE! So much to congratulate here. Not only did you hit the mark in advance of heading to your parents, but you did it while increasing your fitness level and your physical strength. I'm so excited for you!
Uber - What a great plan you implemented in response to unexpected life stresses. Could you have done better? Maybe. Did you need to do better? Heck no. You dealt with a very challenging situation in an incredibly sane manner. And you're grappling with a frustrating set point to boot. I love celebrating the successes, but I also really appreciate watching someone deftly handling the struggles that precede the success.
Martini - You crack me up, woman. "I've spent hours at tables 'nibbling' thousands of calories because there can be no survivors from any meal." I love the solidarity ticker. Trainer boy won't know what hit him. (I have seen him at my gym the past two days, BTW. He has no idea how determined I am to beat him. And I just laugh.)
Jessica - I know exactly what you mean about not wanting guys to think I'm perfect. But that's if you're in a relationship with them, and they expect perfection forever. For a casual admirer, keep up the facade, baby, then see yourself through his eyes! Hopefully, you work out your "Missouri"-related feelings, deal with getting the divorce behind you, and find yourself ready for a great relationship soon.
LotusMama - Great to have you on here regularly posting again. Yay for defeating internet issues!
Sunny - I love reading about your homesteading lifestyle. Slightly jealous of your supa coolness. Really jealous of those blueberries.
Lisa - Breast feeding is hard, partly because of the constant hunger. (And it's wonderful, too, in countless ways. Yay for you for doing it.) I also remember seeing pics of your husband from back in the day. If I remember correctly, he's pretty hot. =) We get so many social cues indicating that men "deserve" thin women (regardless of their own hotness, but particularly when the men are hot) that I am more concerned than I should be about my guy getting "hotter." Thanks for the reassurance.
Ajonas - So glad to have you! You've gotten great advice, and I won't add to it, except to say that you should keep coming here. We'll encourage you, even when your choices aren't stellar, and help you get through the hardest parts. We're not a judgey group, but there is a lot of collective wisdom and experience here, which I find invaluable.
I am not having scale frustrations on a par with Uber's, but I seem to be stuck at 228.8/229.0. Remarkable consistency for three days now. =) So, I am doing two things.
First, I am taking a relax day (which I planned to do anyway). I will eat what I want, and not do any formal exercise. I will almost certainly take a walk this afternoon, and I'm excited about that, but I will not push my heart rate up. I will not do running intervals. I will not think about burning calories. I will enjoy our lovely weather. I have also given myself permission to eat whatever I want. Period. I started out this morning by eating the two small pieces of fried chicken in my fridge. I stopped at the gas station that sells the best. cookies. ever. And I gave myself permission to purchase and eat as many as I wanted. I didn't want any. I passed by the frozen yogurt place. No desire to stop. The greasy chicken is still keeping me full almost six hours later. I'm not craving sweets. Contemplating a late lunch, but will probably just keep it to a light snack so I can have an appetite for dinner with the fam. Who knows? But even if I find myself going crazy later this evening, I will be able to get back on plan tomorrow and even defeat the trainer boy challenge.
Secondly, I am taking a 1-week hiatus from the scale. It hasn't hit me between the eyes yet, but I know that this mini-plateau part can be very discouraging, so I'm not going to be a daily witness of it. Two weeks into my trainer challenge, and I am down 11 pounds. The official bet is 12, with a goal of 20 in order to give me a cushion for time of day and time of month randomness, but I still have 6 weeks to make that additional 9 pounds I need. So, to stay out of my head and keep my focus where it needs to be (healthy changes to my lifestyle), I will continue to be on plan, but will trust the laws of thermodynamics, as Uber very eloquently noted, and stay off the scale for now.
And a quick side note - Things with the hubby are very, very good right now. Lifestyle changes can be tricky, but, at least for now, the adjustments are working.