Just wanted to drop by and share my weigh in... 284.2!

Also, I'm going to be going to the local annual BIG DEAL festival thing. Wish me strength and will power here, ladies. There will be food booths with all sorts of tempting fair/carnival-esque treats. I've already told my husband we are only allowed to stop at TWO booths, and whatever we get, we are SHARING, because I'm not gonna eat a bunch of it. I want to try it, and he gets to finish it. This will have 2 benefits. 1) my calories won't skyrocket for the day, and 2) my cash won't disappear!

Have a good day!

I'm baaaaack!

LotusMama - You said you went to law school as well? Does that mean you're also an attorney? Regardless, you have a really demanding job, so you must have been hit hard by your illness. Hope you are feeling better and getting caught up.

Mandy - Woot on the great weigh-in! That birthday goal is looking well within your sights. And, the festival food? My protection from that is that I'm way too cheap to buy it. =) But I do the share thing too. I usually don't want more than a few bites anyway.

Uber - Solidly in the 240s now! I love remembering how you powered through your 260 mental block. 50 pounds to Onederland! More alcohol-fueled dancing for our little group then! And the anti-burn-out thing. I am desperately trying to focus on sustainability, so I appreciate the reminders of the things that can cause me to want to give up.

Jenni - Look at how uber-accomplished you are! You have gone through so much and done so much for so many people, and you are still doing it. It's a challenge for all of us to figure out how to prioritize weight control when there are so many other legitimately important things happening in our lives. The fact that you are figuring out how to do it now only makes you that much more amazing.

MissLoud - I totally love one-year-olds! They are so much fun! But I am relieved that I am no longer dealing with one full-time. I think we have all experienced the inclination to lose momentum after 20 pounds or so. I remember a couple of times where I was struggling to stay on track, and I came here and posted to keep myself accountable. One day, I even posted multiple times because I knew that I could only handle committing to small chunks of the day. It works for me. And if that doesn't work for you, and you don't know what will, this brain trust can help you figure it out. =)

Jessica - I literally laughed out loud when I read your comment yesterday. I am less than 9 pounds from Onederland. (7 today, actually.) I conveyed your message to that hooker telling me that I "wasted" the last few weeks. I am going to value those weeks as a learning experience that will inform my ability to get to my goal. And you know what? I'm coming for you. ;-) I may gain faaaast, but you're right. I have also been incredibly fortunate that I have held to a steady, productive pattern of holding for a bit, and then whooshing, then holding for a bit, then whooshing. I have not truly gotten stuck yet. I am blessed to have been able to lose 33 pounds in 2.5 months, even if that included a 13-pound gain and re-loss. Gonna try and beat that in the next 2.5 months, though. =)

Life feels good today. I have officially lost the 13-pound regain. (I am actually 0.2 pounds above still, but I'm calling it good.) And I have recaptured my momentum. This feels very much like the first 20 pounds of a new effort feel. I feel fed up with my fatness and ready to do what it takes to get it off. When I hit 206 before my regain, I felt very thin. This time, I don't really feel that thin. It's a two-headed coin. I prefer to feel good about my thinness, but I also know that my headspace right now makes it easier to forgo binges or high-cal foods and hit the gym hard.

Weekend, everyone! Toasted, I know you have struggled with weekends in the past. But maybe the plus side of working so hard to fit in exercise is that you will rejoice that you have time to do it this weekend, and get it done. And for me, if I exercise, I find it much easier to stay on plan with food. Don't want the exercise to be wasted on a single donut, y'know?

Have a great weekend, my friends.

Missloud...I know how you feel I usually have 3 little ones fighting naps...well one is in Kinder now but I have a 2 year old and 3 year old too with 3 teenagers...this house gets crazy sometimes! And I am glad your voice is kinder to you...I struggle with it sometimes and I have to tell that hooker to back off!

Lotusmama...I am glad the worst is behind you!!!!

Jessica...thank you made my day! I think lots of people hide behind many things and it takes a long time to come out of hiding and realize truths. I am a lot like Laurie I hide it from my kids because I never want them to feel the down times I have. I hermit a lot and have to focus to pull myself out. But I will not let it control me. It took a hard toll on my second girl and I never want to get that deep again! I just have to say this again I LOVE seeing you blossom!!! And I am on teamJ too but mostly Jessica teamJ and I cannot wait to hear about you and more of your blossoming!

Diane...Love to you back!!!

Laurie...awwww your post made me tear up. I have felt that so many times of all the support here and hearing such great support! I am sorry you dealt with that and I am glad it got better. I so relate to many of your experiences. Step kids all that. My husband doesn't mean to but constantly shoves food in my face...here try this.....I finally broke down and told him you do it again and the ginger will come out in this redheaded chick and I will burn all your snacks yes ALL...he hasn't done it since...LOL Maybe I was a bit scary! Who knows! But you are awesome and you prove it everyday!

Uber...YAY I am so proud of you look at the scale moving so good for you now!!!! What a victory and how good does that feel????

Toasted...I hope you get your routine down...I think that will be the best feeling when it does happen!!!

Martini...Hope you are doing amazing!

Mandy....look at you setting limits that is so awesome...what a great idea and look at the scale moving for you! Yay you are doing amazing!

For me scale showed the same...hope I don't have a bit of a jump up like I have down in previous weeks.....that's why I love tracking! Still feeling really tired...think I might take a hot bath tonight and put the kids to bed early. I feel like I have so much to do! I do have another interview next week. It makes way less so I am not sure if I would take it. I have applied for 3 or 4 jobs that more fit my degree and experience...I am hoping those result in interviews. Wishful thinking

Laurie...you ninja'd me...LOL thank you so much and look at you 206 wooohoooo!

Happy Friday, All!

Uber--congrats on your progress! You are a star.

Mandy--congrats to you as well! Good luck resisting temptation; sounds like you have a solid plan in place.

Laurie--I am sorry about your tough night. I am so incredibly proud of the way you handled it, though. And, if I was there, I would have said how much I admired you, so you were right about that! To answer your question, yes, I am an attorney too. I have been practicing for about 15 years.

Diane--I was happy to see your message. Whenever I see your avatar, it always just cracks me up!

Toasted--TGIF indeed!

As for me, I am starting to feel almost human again...and just in time for the weekend (although I imagine I will spend part of it in the office trying to catch up).

Like so many here have expressed, I am very grateful for this group and so happy I found you all.

Have a great weekend, friends!

Erg you know how my 'hooker' is kinder ... well she just convinced me to have peanut butter in toast as well as my museli ... grr. Its Saturday here so going on a big walk with my new shoes.

Yes I have two littles one and three, I'm a stay at home mum so its full on! Very excited my oldest starts kindergarten next term so I'll have 4 whole hours with just one in the mornings.

Sorry I don't feel I know you guys well enough yet to pass comment in personals. Just know that im feeling loved!! So nice to be part of a forum that posts heaps, I need that

Oh now I'm from New Zealand so please let me know if any of my isms don't make sense!

Hi all!

Feeling better today. Could be because today is Friday, especially because it has been kind of a bad week at work. Just glad to be done. I went to the grocery store today so that I don't have to go tomorrow. My son has a football game and even though he can't play, I want to go. So, tomorrow will be full. Looking forward to seeing the game. It was hot here today, but they say it will be cooler tomorrow, with a chance of rain. Well, ok. Go ahead and rain. I don't care!!!

I've had a lot of people mentioning my weight loss lately. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the good comments. But sometimes, I just don't want to talk about it anymore. Yep, working hard. Yep, really trying. Yep. Thanks. Whatever. It is just personal to me and I don't really need to share everything with coworkers. But, I know they mean well. So I fake nice. It's a good cover for the truly b-word things I'd like to say. Ha!

LaurieDawn: Sorry about the bad day/night with hubby and his kids. But I'm super proud of how you handled it with not giving in to bad habits and just burning off some of the rage! Good for you!

MissLoud: Looking forward to getting to know you. I have 2 kids, but they're 20 and 18.

Lotus: Ugh. Working on the weekend. It is not fun, I know! Hang in there!!

Jenni: Good luck on the job interviews! How exciting!

Mandy: Have fun at the festival! We have a fall festival here this weekend too. It can be fun, but I think I'll skip it. Too many vendors and like my college aged son said, too many middle schoolers. Ha!

Uber: Yay for you on the scale victory! You're doing great!

Toasted: Yep, that's why I like morning workouts so much. You have that accomplished and you don't have to stress about finding time to fit it in.

Jessica: Love to hear you working through the issues with M and J. Sounds like you are making good choices.

Hi everyone!

I just wrote a long post that I erased because I was being ridiculously hard on myself. I have this nasty habit of assuming there's something pathologically wrong if I am human rather than perfect. I've been kind of on plan, kind of not. More not, but not in a binge-y way. It's been a "pasta/chips/chocolate-for-dinner because I don't have time to shop for vegetables" week. The bad thing about all of that is that I completely ignore serving sizes and just eat everything I cook.

I'm still getting a lot of stuff thrown at me but at the same time it's also serving to strip away all of those things that really don't matter. It's hard but ultimately cleansing. So it's good and challenging at the same time. I stepped on the scale for the first time in a few days today and there's been neither gain nor loss. I think that means I ate the woosh I would have otherwise had with my period starting. So be it, then.

I'm on plan now. I'm about to go grocery shopping for the week. Food safety and access to fresh food is an issue where I live. They're not insurmountable problems, but they make shopping a production. I think it's important for me to get myself organized because my sloppiness with eating just isn't working, regardless of what the scale does or doesn't say. I need to be at my best right now and potato chips for dinner because that's all there is doesn't do a whole heck of a lot to contribute to my confidence and peace of mind.

I'll send much love to all of you and hope that everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Just a quick check-in this morning. I am off for my little 4.2-mile jaunt. Then, I think I will spend the day at work. I have not worked a weekend in a long time, and though I don't urgently need to work today, there's a project that I would like to tackle, and I love working when no one else is there.

I am at 206.8 today, up 0.2 from yesterday. I was at 206 when I started gaining all the weight, so it's making me slightly antsy to be here for a third day in the row. All is good, though. Going to stay on plan today. Run in the morning,lift in the afternoon. And make good food choices. And if I'm 206 tomorrow, I will be celebrating that I am not 209, which I saw the day after seeing 206 for the first time, or 219, which I saw less than 2 weeks ago.

Martini - Glad you deleted the post inspired by that nasty inner voice. You are dealing with some significant challenges, and you don't deserve abuse on top of them. Hope it gets easier to find safe, healthier choices soon, or that you get more comfortable with portion control.

Viva la revolucion! Have a fantastic weekend, chicks!

I just wanted to pop in and wish everyone a wonderfully fantastic weekend! My Kinder girl has cheer camp and we have a birthday celebration....will be a busy weekend along with just feeling plain tired and still out of it...this thing is hanging around and won't let go of me ugg!!!

227 even today.. a little closer to 225 my 10% goal!

Oh wow jenni! 2, 3, preschooler and teenagers!! Hats off to you my friend.

Well daylight savings started last night and its a beautiful sunny day, looks like summer is just around the corner, makes a girl feel great

Hi all. Went to the football game today. It rained at the end, and they lost, so not a great game, but it was fun to be out there. Even though my son is redshirted and won't be playing, it is fun to be there. College football is a good thing!

Had a totally awesome NSV today. I have been just trying to buy very little right now for clothes because I just don't want to keep buying stuff. But, since the weather looks to be changing a bit this week, I figured I better get one pair of nice jeans for work. We all wear jeans on Fridays. I've been wearing my jean capris. So, I went to the store with my daughter so that she could help tell me what looked good, not just what might fit. I figured I would probably be in 18's in the misses section. So I grabbed a pair. They looked too small, but I tried them on. They fit. But my daughter said they looked a little big. So, I went and got a 16... and they fit! Wow. The last time I bought jeans, they were women's size 22's. So exciting! I will admit that they are just slightly tighter than I would normally buy, but I hope to keep losing so that they fit just fine. Happy days!! Oh, and she told me to buy new underwear so it didn't keep bunching up and falling off.

MissLoud: So funny that summer is coming for you and ending for us.

Jenni: Getting closer and closer to your goal!!

LaurieDawn: Hope you have a great time today.

Martini: Hang in there and keep buying the on plan food! I'm glad that you didn't let a little bit of off plan take you too far out of the game.

I could have sworn I posted yesterday but I might have started to and then gotten distracted. Today was ... well to be honest it was full of anxiety. The last few days have been, actually. I know that there is a lot of stress and pressure that I'm putting on myself about starting the new job on Monday. I also know that mentally, I am so worried about how exhausted pulling my last two weeks at Home Depot is going to make me. My supervisor is really hoping that I'll decide to do both but I think that, deep down, he realizes how much of a toll that would take on me. Especially when you add in all the driving I'd be doing.

I was hoping to be able to hang out with J while I was in town - I had to get nice shoes for the new job - but that didn't happen. I don't know the next time we'll be able to get together, either. I mean, if I'm lucky, I might be able to do my first week at Verizon Mon-Fri which would give me Sat and Sun off still but I don't think that's likely to happen. Given that he's got Fri-Sun off, though, I might be able to at least chat online with him one of those days. I'm not going to hold my breath, though.

In other news, I'm at 197.



Oh, and Laurie you're doing incredible!! <3

Hi all!

Weekends are always so busy! I don't have a regular 9-5 job, so my week days are usually pretty free (for now) but weekends seem to go nuts on me.

Hubby has a conference thing starting tomorrow evening through Tuesday, and I have nothing planned. Looking forward to free time (me time!)

I hope you all are having a fantastic (on plan!) weekend!

Diane - Congratulations on the size 16! That's a really terrific NSV!!

Jessica - New jobs are just like the first day of school. We're super nervous before, but then after a few days everyone is hanging out and finding their groove.

Weekends are usually wide open for me and full of free time to post. During the week there's much, much less time. I'll try to figure out some sort of regular posting time that jives with everyone else's so I'm not lurking during the week and then talking to myself on the weekend.