Skipping over the spam to wave hi to everyone

Laurie: I think cake at lunch is ok! Honestly, I think it is better to live your life, and try to be on track the majority of the time, without beating yourself up if you aren't on track for that day. That's not helpful. I just know I need to be on track more than I am off!!

Ennay: Hi!

Not much new here today. Yesterday's food plan wasn't great. I found myself looking forward to the trip out of town, with the little thought that I could regroup after I get back. But I also realized that I could regroup for today through Thursday, too. Oh yeah... :)

Hey, everyone! Slowly easing myself back into losing weight. Still haven't made any gym trips, but I'm focusing more on my diet for the time being. Did a major grocery trip last night and overhauled the food in my kitchen. My goals for the next week are to not eat out at all, minimal caffeine and plenty of water, and to eat healthy(ish) at home. Got rid of the processed foods like Cheetos in my pantry, but I did eat a grilled cheese sandwich today (made with I can't believe it's not butter, swiss cheese, deli ham, and whole wheat bread). So...healthy-ish. Baby steps. :)

Ennay: Pleasure to make your acquaintance! :) And boy, can I relate to the gain-loss-gain-loss, let's throw some medical issues in there for fun, cycle. We all can, really. Glad you're here!

Diane: Great to see you back! You're such an inspiration, always working so hard and doing so well.

Laurie: Congrats on getting back into the swing of things! Not-so-tight pants are DEFINITELY progress! I know you were feeling pretty down and out for a while. I'm glad to see you getting back into it. :)

Good morning, good morning!

Ennay - So glad you stopped in to say hello!

Diane - Lol. Yup. Every day is an opportunity to put it in the "win" column. Then, the trip out of town will be even more enjoyable. At least in my experience, if I'm on track prior to a planned "looser" day, things tend to be better in general.

Amanda - So glad to see you here! Yes. Healthy-ish is a great first step. Hope you're loving your new career, and can't wait to hear about you rocking the gym soon.

I went to the amusement park on Sunday. I barely fit into the roller coaster. On one of the rides, I needed the attendant to help me push the bar down. Sigh. It's not my stomach. It's my thighs that were the problem. But I honestly believe that I will be keeping with my new lifestyle this time, and that will be the tightest it will ever be.

I also am really, really loving the lightness I feel when I exercise and eat lower calories. It feels like such a relief to be back in a healthier eating / serious exercise routine.

Hope everyone has a fantastic day.

Kind of crazy busy today. Just saying hi!!

Wanted to say hi as well!

I traveled for work today. I ate a bigger lunch than I had planned, as it was complimentary with the presentation I gave and looked so. good. I desperately wanted to turn it into an all-day binge. But I will not. I will not be so extreme any longer. I have a planned work-out tonight with my husband. If I stop and get (insert all the things I am craving, but will not spell out because I don't want to put them into anyone else's head) on my way home -- like I desperately want to -- my work-out will super suck.

So, I am posting here instead. Cuz that's the difference between having a bad meal and giving up entirely. At least, I'm counting on that being the difference today.

Hope everyone else had a fantastic Thursday!

Good for you Laurie!

Good news, you guys! My mom is probably going home sometime next week!!! She's finally doing well enough to be able to continue rehab as an out-patient! I'm so excited for her. She's been in different hospitals for about 6-7 weeks now and I know she's going to be so happy being home. I'm trying really hard to find a good balance between working and spending time with her, but it's difficult and it'll become more so when she's discharged.

So I haven't weighed myself since doing the big grocery trip, but I'm actually not very interested in doing so right now. I don't feel any different yet, so I don't think the scale will have budged. I want to eat well for another week or two before I check to see where I'm at. Really need to drink more water, though.

Laurie: Congrats on the progress!!! I'm not even sure I can fit into a roller coaster seat at this point lol. I can't wait to feel that lightness and just general goodness you have going on. :)

Good morning!

Amanda - The roller coaster seats are a definite gamble for me! I am hoping to win more and more of those gambles. =) I am totally with you on the weighing in issue. I did weigh in at the doctor's office, and I was the same as the prior weight a week and a half earlier. No matter how much I self-talk, it's always discouraging when the weight doesn't come off, or doesn't come off fast enough. So, I'm with you. I am going to fight the mental daily war of staying on track, but will not add the baggage of what the numbers are doing. So long as my calories are right and my exercise is good, I am going to avoid the scale.

Ennay - The encouragement is deeply appreciated! Also - you qualified for the Boston Marathon? You are awesome.

So, I wanted to skip the work-out yesterday. Even though I avoided the pitfalls of fast food / convenience store junk on the way home, I felt headachy and nauseous when I got home. I thought it might have been my system reacting to the sudden influx of crap after avoiding it for so long (by which I mean -- a few weeks (= ), but my husband felt poorly as well. But the kids have to be at judo at 6:30 no matter how we're feeling, so we got up and went to the gym. And kicked a$$. And felt way better.

Things are looking up, even if the weight isn't falling off like I want it. I feel better. I am making better choices. And I am focusing on bringing good food into the house and limiting the not-good food, and that's good for the kids as well.

Hopefully, this weekend will be fantastic for everyone!

I went for a walk around lunch time and came across two of my coworkers at a cafe downtown. These are thin, very pretty women. Woman #1 said, "It's good to know that when we drop over dead someone will be there to cover for us because you're taking care of your health." Woman #2, after a discussion that I'm trying to be more careful about getting exercise in / keeping calories down, "I know what you mean. I am working really hard to lose some of the 15 pounds I've gained since high school."

Then their huge bacon cheeseburgers accompanied by their respective stack of french fries came, and Woman #1 said, "You're welcome to join us, but you'll have to order your own food, because I will eat every one of these fries."

<Sigh>

I almost don't even begrudge them the ability to eat like that and to (according to them) never exercise. But it represents to me a huge flaw in the way we look at weight and exercise in this country. Thin people can joke about eating a lot and never exercising, and it makes me, as a fat person, feel even more flawed.

On the other hand, I packed a delicious lunch, which I will enjoy guilt-free soon enough.

Just checking in to say hello! Spent the day at work doing training online and babysitting a new nurse...which means I did a whole lot of sitting around and doing NOTHING. Ugh. I'm gonna do it again for at least half a day tomorrow, and then it's off to spend some time with my Mama at the hospital. I haven't seen her in like four days! Feels like forever. I've just gotten so used to being with her all the time for the last two months. Ate healthy-ish, until I had Chick-Fil-A for dinner. It was delicious, and I regret nothing since I've eaten pretty healthy the rest of the day.

Laurie: It's those damn genetics, is what it is!!! ***fist shake*** Some women are blessed with long beautiful legs and slender waists...I, on the other hand, am blessed with the ability to hoard every last single calorie and survive starvation in an apocalypse at least a few weeks longer than everyone else! LOL

Amanda - Kinda cool that you are training new nurses now! I remember when you were just a student. =) a Glad you get to go see your momma and that she's recovering.

Had a really rough Friday evening foodwise. Had a great day yesterday. But decided I either need to weigh or track to reduce my chances of going completely off the rails like Friday. My weight this morning was 254.6.

Hope everyone's weekend is going well!

Good afternoon!

I had a great weekend food/exercise-wise (except for Friday night, which I only sort of count). 253.6 this morning. (Yay tiny whoosh after holding at roughly 255 for 2 weeks.) Debating whether to continue the morning weigh-ins, but think I will do it for a few more days at least. I really hate tracking, and I feel like I'm at a stage where I need to do one or the other.

Thinking about getting some sort of protein soft drink. Special K used to have a pink lemonade protein/fiber drink that I liked. Not a lot of protein or fiber, but not a lot of calories, and it sort of broke up the water routine. I have googled it, and found a few options, but I don't want to order a huge tub without tasting it first. Any recommendations?

Hope y'all have a great day and a great week.

Good morning!

Yesterday was not an ideal day -- I ate more than I should have at dinner, then indulged in two cookies after dinner. But I walked away from the cookies. And I did not eat any additional cookies this morning on my way out the door.

I am not really "feeling it" today. I don't really want to eat well. Don't necessarily want to exercise. And so today is a determiner for whether or not I can make this happen long-term. Thus far, I have allowed my newly-adopted better habits to govern. I did not eat on my way out the door or stop at a gas station or fast food place, though I kind of wanted to. I am drinking water and have my healthy food prepared for lunch. I am determined to take my short 15-minute walks today, and scheduled to hit the gym this evening with my husband. I also have a therapist appointment scheduled today to talk about my food issues, and am wearing pants that I could not wear a month ago because they were too tight. Now, they are comfortable, on their way to being loose.

And I'm here. And all of a sudden, I feel better and more committed. What I lost last night in my cookie haze I am regaining as I write about the struggle.

We can do this! Oh, and Diane, I tried to do Day 1 of C25K Saturday, even though I was planning on putting off running until I'm down to about 230ish. I was inspired, though, and made an attempt. However, my jogging bras from before are way too tight to wear, and my current bras are not nearly supportive enough, so running was painful. So, I bit the bullet and purchased three (cheap) jogging bras. Gonna give one of them a try at the gym tonight during my warm-up, and might do Day 1 tomorrow. (Tonight's a lifting night.)

Hope all is going well for everyone else!

I've been super bloated the last 4-5 days, but staying on plan. Eventually whatever this is has to resolve itself .

Linda - writing about it is often the best way to get over it.