March totals: 7.6 pounds down, 70.4 miles walked
I'm committed to walking more in April. I'm fine with my weight loss staying in this range. Mostly right now i'm focusing on feeling more healthy and I know exercise will help with that. I'm also just feeling *blah* about everything... 6 new inches of snow last night did not help with this feeling. But I'm hopeful about April. Exercise should help with the blahs too.

Here's wishing us all an excellent April!

Amanda I love salty-sour things too, and I really love pickles! Especially good ones! Luckily they are super lo-cal. HATE waiting for the scale to move, but it will!!! Never fear!

Vlada 7.6 pounds and 70 miles is AWESOME! Six inches of snow. Wow! That's Vermont for you.

Bit of a frustrating day today. I live in very beautiful area and it is JUST GORGEOUS right now-- lots of wildflowers!!! (sorry to those still dealing with snow) but it is hilly and so I dont' get out and walk much but instead stick with a treadmill in the garage. Not too lovely, but it gets to the job done. Have been very steady on the treadmill since January. I've really upped both incline and speed and finished day 3 of C25K-- slowly, but without any trouble. So, I get it in my mind to go for a short hike with my son today. I live on top of a hill, so if you hike down, the entire way back is UP. I warned him that I might have to take breaks on the way back... well, I mean, I REALLY had to take breaks. Walking down was fine but on the way back up, I had to stop every 30 yards or so to huff and puff and that included 3 longish breaks where I actually sat down for a while. Now granted, it's uphill, but we're not talking climbing a mountain here. By the time I was within a 10 minute walk from home I was so exhausted I was not sure I was going to make it up the last hill. I ended up taking a nap afterwards. This is the same thing that happened to me a couple of times on the treadmill, about ten days ago. So, I don't know if I was dehydrated again-- it was pretty hot and sunny and I didn't take water with me-- or if I should have eaten breakfast, (I just drank coffee with milk) or if I'm just so unbelievably out of shape that exercise just is beyond me. So weird.

278 even this morning, so I'm hoping to see 277 soon, but went out to dinner for a family birthday-- had fish, salad, baked potato, so nothing too crazy, but more than I would normally eat.

Happy April to all!

Warning - Super long post coming. TL: DR - I need to write out what I'm thinking to help "this time" become the "last time" I lose significant weight. Don't feel guilty about skipping my rambling. It's mostly for my benefit. Then again, the same could be said about all my posts, really. But first - personals. Cuz I love you guys!

Amanda - First, the pickles. My (unsolicited, and easily discarded) advice - Eat as many pickles as you want, as often as you want. Unless you have sodium issues or serious water retention issues, pickles are a great weight loss tool. They are pretty close to ZERO calories, and they are filling. I also despise them, so much that when I order a sandwich, I always ask the server to make doubly sure they get nowhere near my plate, as the pickle juice ruins the sandwich for me. But what a great food for those who enjoy them. Secondly - I am loving this attitude of yours. Taking imperfection in stride is pretty critical, IMHO. It's also good that you're committed to 100% on-plan week. This seems to me like the recipe for long-term success. And finally - Yay for the fitness improvement! I get so tired of the assumption that fat people aren't fit. Let's keep proving them wrong, eh?

Diane - I kind of feel like you and I are in the same place right now on a couple of different fronts. I, too, am feeling slammed and overwhelmed at work. And I, too, have committed the weekend to recalibrating and getting my head back on straight. I don't think it's coincidental that being overwhelmed at work often coincides with difficulty staying on plan. Sometimes, it's just really hard to fight on two fronts. Glad you're taking the time you need to figuring out how to make it work for you. I also totally agree that injury frustrations don't go away when the injury improves. Hope work gets more reasonable for you, and hope your weekend is productive for making the day-to-day of weight loss easier.

Vladadog - You are such a fantastic addition to our little group! So glad you decided to join us, even with your challenging internet issues. I love, love, love that you seem to just be plugging along day after day, with significantly less drama than I bring to the process. You keep saying that you are looking to me for an example on how to maintain, but I hope you know that I absolutely count on your input in figuring out how to do it. Clearly, I still need to figure out how it's done, but I am still in the fight, and hope to be able to emerge victorious on the other side of it.

Uber - OOF! The pre-diabetes diagnosis is a killer. Not that it, in and of itself, means terrible things. Just that it's a strong signal that a serious illness could follow. I am so proud of you, though, both for going to the doctor to get a bead on where you are and for taking those steps over the past few months of doing what you need to do to improve your health. Not for nothing -- gastric bypass surgery is considered a cure for type 2 diabetes. Please know that I am not encouraging you to get the surgery. Just reminding you that it is a viable option. Too often, those of us who have been fighting the good fight for some time (and having success with it) think of surgery as giving up. It's not. It's making a difficult decision that may be the right one for us. But I also have every confidence that you can accomplish this without surgery. I can pass up a lot of foods, but bacon is one of the hardest. I also kind of love biscuits. It's pretty indicative of your determination that you were able to do so. Finally, the cramp issue. I don't have good advice, but thought it might be useful to share my experience. A couple of months ago, I started to cramp on my left side, and while it wasn't excruciating, it was definitely painful. I just ignored it and tried to "push through it." Since it wasn't excruciating, I could still run with it, and I actually finished my longest run (10 miles) with it bothering me a bit the entire time. Don't know if it's the right thing for you, but when I asked a few of my runner friends, I was told that it just happens sometimes, and as long as it didn't feel like "sharp injury pain," it would probably go away. And it did after a few weeks. So excited that you survived Day 2 of C25K! Hope Day 3 went well.

So, I felt much better and more motivated on Friday than I have been for some time, and posted to that effect. Almost immediately after, my paralegal brought me a cookie that she had snagged from a food day they were having upstairs. I took it and ate it without much thought. After all, cookies are no big deal. I also knew I had a meeting scheduled at 3:00 by the food array. I thought about it for the few hours between the cookie incident and the meeting. I intentionally left a few minutes early for the meeting so I could snag some of the foods. I ate a piece of cold breakfast pizza (that had to have been there for six hours or so), some cookies, and intended to go back for brownies. I got ready to leave for the night at about 5:30, and decided to stop by and see if anything was left. There was a box of donuts there, and I knew everyone else had gone for the night. So I took the donuts home. And proceeded to eat portions of them until I finally threw them away for the evening. Yesterday started out pretty solid, but deteriorated beginning at about 6:30. By the time I weighed in this morning (despite not wanting to), my weight was up to 159.6. Just short of the 160 that I had vowed never again to cross.

So many thoughts have been going through my mind lately. I listened to the book The Blood of Emmett Till, finishing it a few days ago. It was an exceeding well-written book, IMHO, and I have a lot of thoughts about it that aren't pertinent to this conversation. But the part that is relevant hit me harder than I would have imagined. The author (who is no sprite) described Emmett as 14 years old, 5'4", and 160 pounds. He said, roughly, "Emmett was what might be described as "stocky." Ummm... I'm a woman, so have less muscle, and those are roughly my stats. And it hit me, once again, that I will never be "normal." And, of course, as Uber mentioned, I likely eat far, far less than even the women who share these stats with me. I honestly was a little shocked at how hard this hit me, and part of me wanted to just wallow in despair. I believe that it might have contributed to my lack of discipline over the past few days. It's really ease to sink down into the "I'll never be able to maintain a normal weight, so why shouldn't I at least enjoy eating the food" attitude that often overwhelms me. (Also, please don't think that this random comment was my primary take-away from the book. I am not that shallow, and obviously don't consider my weight issues to be even remotely as serious as the problems people of color faced in 1955 and still face today. But it's been on my mind because weight is genuinely a serious issue for me.)

So, I am doing a couple of things today to try to get back on track before the 160 barrier is broken. First, I am going to map out an exercise plan and stick to it. I will commit to three runs for the next four weeks of at least five miles each. The long runs are the most difficult to schedule, so I am not committing to doing one each week, but I'm going to make an effort to do one. But I am also going to acknowledge that my marriage needs nurturing and my work needs my attention, and the long runs just don't priority right now, even though I am in my last four weeks before my half-marathon. But my goal is just finishing, and finishing does not require the long runs, just the consistency.

Secondly, I purchased pre-cooked lean proteins (chicken and beef) in various flavors, and portioned them out. I never portion out, but I am tired of tuna, and I know that I am inclined to want to finish a portion even if I am already full. I also purchased a few protein shakes and bars in the event of an emergency, and will keep a few at work and in my car. Finally, I purchased and portioned spinach, sugar snap peas, and blueberries. I don't have any binge issues with any of these foods, and they're so low-calorie that I wouldn't be concerned if I did. But sometimes, I find a big container pretty overwhelming. All of these pre-portioned foods are in the fridge at work right now.

Finally, I am creating a new mini-goal to get down to 150. Losing is more familiar to me than maintaining, and I am just going to embrace it, at least until my tummy tuck surgery, scheduled for May 10. That way, I have less chance of having loose skin if I decide to go to a lower weight. I am hyper-aware of what you said in another thread, Uber, about always staying in loss mode and feeling like a failure even at maintenance weight, and I am absolutely vulnerable to that. But I feel like, right at this moment, it's pretty crucial for me to get a handle on all of this, and I am not doing particularly well at maintenance. After my tummy tuck (not sure how far after, as I will need recovery time), I am going to try to figure out a good calorie range to maintain between 150-155. Even though that weight, apparently, makes me something more than "stocky" to certain authors. ;-)

I also came in to work today to try to get a handle on all of it so that I could be able to escape during the work week, as that has been pretty crucial to my success as well.

Carter and Mandy - Even though you haven't posted lately, know that you're still in our thoughts. Hope you're continuing to build on all of the success you've had. And if you're struggling, I know you know that we've all been there.

Almost forgot to report that I did, actually, get in a "longer" run today. I ran 8 miles in 84:30. So, my pace was 10:34 per mile, or 5.7 mph. And the biggest obstacle was the to-do list beating in my head. Physically, I felt pretty great, and I tried to savor the fact that I can run. It was a hard-fought battle to get to this place, and I need to spend more time enjoying that I am here.

I am out of control! Three entries in a row.

Since I overposted yesterday, this will be quick. Apparently, one day of being on plan and pushing water caused an overnight drop of four pounds. Since it only took two days to push it up those four pounds, I'm going to hope that this number is more "real" than yesterday's number. But who knows? The scale is so fickle. I have been flirting with 153-155 for about a month now, so it's time for me to push down to 150 and see if I can keep the scale number around there. I am super excited about my pre-portioned foods in the work fridge. I have started my water consumption for the day, and I have my gym clothes packed. I have a hearing and two meetings today, in addition to the mass of projects that I still have in the queue. I also forgot my Fitbit today. But. . . today's goals will be to escape after my final meeting of the day for a late afternoon run, and focus on just working diligently to get through my projects.

Hi. I'm Lilion. This is kind of a cross post from the 300+ club...hope you don't mind. I was here a thousand years ago. Well, okay...looks like I joined in 2005 and stopped posting February 10, 2011. I wonder why? I truly don't remember stopping, but long and short of it is this:

I lost 100 lbs. I weighed 228 at my lowest and was 28 lbs from my "goal" of 200. It took me two years to lose it. Then, it was over. It was like a switch flipped and I just stopped trying. I maintained for a short time and then slowly (though much more quickly than I should have) I gained it back. Now I'm back to 305 and starting over. A while back I found a letter I had written to myself that mentioned 3fc and I thought, "I wonder if that site even still exists?"

And here you are.

So...any old-timer's remember me? Probably not.

It doesn't really matter, because as of now I'm back on track. I'm happy to be here!


Lilion

Lilion: Welcome to the group! I love your dogs, btw! Cute little faces! I am not sure if I am thinking of a different person, but I do remember a Lilion. Did you have a picture of yourself at that time? My weak memory is thinking that you did. Anyway, welcome!!

Laurie: Well, there you go! Sounds like you had quite the weekend, and quite the revelation. I'm glad you're getting a plan together. I think that is always a good thing. It sounds like you won't have too far to go to get to a new goal weight. I do think that the eating off plan that you had wasn't too bad. Well, it wasn't great, but it didn't last long. So, that tells me that you haven't slipped as far as you thought. You should not keep feeling guilty about it, but I am glad that you stopped it and regrouped. That's the thing we all have to learn, how to move past the slip up and get back on track. And yes, I totally agree that being overwhelmed at work can lead to ignoring staying on track. It is so much easier to let it all go when you're trying to deal with stress at work. It certainly has taken me off my track a little.

Uber: Hills are hard!!! I'm sure it was disappointing to you to not be able to make it back up the hill without stopping. But, I wonder if you took smaller walks and started working on building up your stamina. I know that I improved so much over the summer with hiking 2-3 times per week. It was hard to get going at first, but at the end of the summer, it was going really good. Hang in there!

Vladadog: Congrats on the weight loss and the walking you did in March! Very nice! I think it is great that you're hoping to add more in April. Fitness is a great goal.

Dread: Love your attitude! You can see the good things happening without focusing on the scale. Feeling better and doing well with the stairs are huge!!! Those are awesome things!!

As for me, I didn't get as much planning done over the weekend as I wanted. But, I am going to try to put it down on paper sometime this week. I went in to work on Saturday to try to get caught up. It helped, but we're still busy. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to get a hike in, but the weather wasn't great and I just didn't have time. Oh well. I ate some stuff on Saturday that I shouldn't have, and that was disappointing, too. HOWEVER! I read something about someone who was coming back after an injury and they had also gained a bunch of weight, actually more than I did. They talked about how long it took to get back to the level that they were before the injury, so that made me feel better. I just have to keep trying and I'll get it back... someday... So, very much focused on getting my workouts in, and logging my meals.

Good morning!

Lilion - Welcome! I am trying to place you. I think I may remember you, but I am interested to see as you post more things. The things I think I remember are kind of personal, and if you are the same person I am thinking of, you may or may not want to share them at this point. Regardless, I am thrilled to have you join us! I think all of us on this thread have lost significant (at least 50+ pounds) amounts of weight and regained all or some of it, but also have the benefit of long-term experience to rely on as we tackle it yet again.

Diane - Glad you were able to get some perspective with reading about someone else working to recover from an injury. It is easy (and sometimes maybe even important) to push ourselves and then feel like we fall short, but it is critical to remember that we have limitations beyond our control. The one critical thing, IMHO, is the thing that I always most admire you for -- your persistence. Sorry you didn't get all your planned planning in this weekend, but it sounds like your plan to get your workouts in and log your meals is solid. Sorry that both you and I ended up going in to work on the weekend to try to get caught up.

As for me -- I'm pretty much back on track for now. Yesterday, I really wanted candy at work. I ate, and completely enjoyed, the pre-portioned blueberries I had brought. Not that I was 100%, but I felt really good about my food choices, and I wasn't white-knuckling. Enjoyed another small drop on the scale.

It is nice outside, so I am going to try to get an outside run in. I may try to run about 8 miles again. I have a lunch date with a friend, which I always sort of want to cancel, but I love this friend and I am looking forward to having a little bit of time with him. It's just that I could really use the time to catch up on work and leave myself plenty of time for my run.

Hope that everyone has a great day today!

Laurie: Glad you are having an easier day of it! That's always a good thing. I know what you mean about meeting someone for lunch. It is good to be with friends, but you also lose a little time to do the other things you want to do. Congrats on the small loss!! Small is good!

For me, I went to Body Pump this morning. It was a new "release", so new moves and music. It was pretty hard, but I liked most of it. I kept getting a cramp in my hamstring on the one move, so I'm going to try to get more water today. I thought I did ok yesterday, but it wasn't as good as it should have been. I am planning to go running tonight after work, too. I need to make it there today so that I don't lose too much progress. Staying on my food plan fairly well. I didn't make a lunch yesterday, so had to go get something. I think my choices were good, but I do better when I bring my own lunch. I have it today!

Hey All

Lillion Welcome! Just want to say that I totally and completely know where you are coming from with the flipping switch. Honestly, that is how I would describe what happened to me too. Between 2009 and 2010 I dropped 110 lbs. Kept it off for about two years-- long enough to get completely used to my new life, buy an entire new wardrobe, take up running, etc. etc. and then it seriously felt as if one day the switch flipped and I ran out and ate every single thing I had passed up during the weight loss. I gained back about 2/3 of the weight and then managed to stay there for another 3 years, until once again I went on a six month long binge that got me back to my original weight. So, Since then, I've dropped 19 (as of this morning)In the meantime, my weight, which had never affected my health in the past, is starting to take a toll on my health. So frustrating, and yet, we do what we can. So welcome!

Diane I'm glad you are feeling a little better about your recovery from the injury. It is frustrating to work really hard to get something only to realize that it can slip away so easily. It seems like the fight to get back to where we were should be quicker the second time, but it isn't! And I'm sure the fear of reinjuring yourself is also coming in to play. But I think you are doing great! And the great thing about exercise is that if we do our part, our bodies will respond. I appreciate your hike advice. I decided that since the trail is right behind my house, I'm just going to go down it every single day and just go a little further each time. So, yesterday, I walked down for about ten minutes and then walked back up, which made me a normal type of tired. I'm just going to go down a little further every day until I can do it!

Laurie I really have to smile that after reading a book about Emmett Till your take-home was about his height and weight. LOL. That is SO ME!!! But, I really need to caution you here that a neutral outsider might suggest that you not take your maintenance weight goals from some offhand comment about Emmett Till being stocky. :-) Did the author actually know how much he weighed? And even if that's accurate, you have got to remember that height and weight are so arbitrary-- the same weight can look really really different on two different people. I don't know your best weight, but I suspect that however you picture yourself in your mind, it is fatter than other people would perceive you! But GOOD FOR YOU for working through your issues. The worst thing in the world is to go through all this only to gain it back. Also, thanks for your thoughts about WLS. I do know that it can reverse pre-diabetes, and that gives me food for thought. What bothers me is that they simply can't give me good data about long-term outcomes because they don't have enough years of data. I know what DM looks like long-term bc my mom is 82. She is on insulin and has been really good about managing it, and so she has staved off the complications-- she outlived my tall, thin, athletic, non-diabetic father. I absolutely DO NOT want to get full-blown DM, but I don't know what downsides of gastric sleeve they are going to discover start cropping up after 15 or 20 years, and that is my dilemma. I'm trying to keep an open mind and see how my blood levels do after more weight loss.

Vlada and Amanda Waving! Hope you guys are doing well!!

So, as for me. I'm doing fine. Of course I'm frustrating that I finally started to show some of the obesity-related health problems that I had managed to fight off so far, but it also is good for me to face reality. I've been kind of going along thinking, "well, I'm fat, but it's not really affecting me, maybe I just won the health lottery." But, it figures that having a BMI of 42 at age 55 would not exactly be healthy! So, I'm dealing with it and moving forward as I contemplate my options. Forgot to weigh in this morning and hopped on the scale later-- where I was happy to see 277! One more pound and I hit the 20 pound mark! Hooray! Really looking forward to getting out of the 270s-- when I get into the lower 260s I start fitting into some of my smaller clothes.

Hope ya'll are doing terrific! Have a great day!

Ack, lots of posts to catch up on. I love it when we have lots of posts!

Vladadog: Always glad to here from you :) Man, I can't even imagine like an inch of snow, let alone six! LOL Hope that "blah" feeling abates and that healthy feeling continues, and congrats on the weight loss and miles!

Uber: OMG, walking around outside is soooooo different than walking on a treadmill. It's so much more intense. Everything always seems way more exhausting to me. I think it's the sun that does me in lol. Also, yes, you need to drink more water, and yes, you probably should have eaten breakfast lol. I'm glad you got outside, though. Just think, this is the hardest it's ever going to be, ever again! Congrats on your weight loss, here's hoping you get out of the 270's soon!

Laurie: Yeah, I can't be too mad at the pickles. They're so delicious. I do have real problem with salt, though lol. I love it and I get so easily dehydrated. Congrats on the weight loss! Congrats on getting in a longer run! Congrats on portioning out your protein and foods. :) I'm glad you're not having to white-knuckle it through the day, and I'm glad you're settling into the routine again.

Lilion: Welcome back! We're glad to have you :)

Diane: Sorry the injury set you back so much. :( I'm glad you're not letting it get you too down, though.

Hey, everyone! It's been a minute since I've posted, wanted to check in.

Diet is going pretty well, I think. I'm definitely more relaxed right now, mostly because I'm not tracking my weight and my rules are pretty lax. No fast food, no soda, nothing too sugary or salty. I'm eating baked chicken breast and baked fish for meat alongside various combos of fruit, veggies and proteins. If I eat bread or pasta, it's whole wheat (I know it's still bread and pasta, but it's a tiny step closer to healthy). I also may have eaten about three handfuls too many cashews just now...although, honestly, if my binge consists of cashews instead of french fries, I'll still take it any day (and not count it as really cheating). I'm not counting calories in or out, mostly because it seems super intense and I'm still trying to focus on not picking up food from the Whataburger I have to pass to and from the gym and work.

Exercise is also going well. I've gone twice this week - 45min on Sunday (which consisted of 30min on the treadmill and 15min on weight machines) and again today (30min on the treadmill). We're slowly upping our time at the gym, and have been doing 30min 5x/week thus far. Starting this week, we're doing 45-30-45-30-45, with the extra 15min being spent on weights. I'm also upping the speed and incline while on the treadmill (my butt and calves are FEELING IT right now).

Haven't weighed myself in a few days. I'm curious about it but the goal is to hold out until at least Friday or Saturday. I want to see what a week of this kind of dieting and exercising will do for me. I feel good eating and exercising like this and I can see myself getting a tiny bit stricter and more intense at the gym week by week. It feels more natural and not so dramatic and forced for me...all that being said, I hope I manage to hit a new low lol. If I don't hit a new number Saturday morning, I'm probably going to start food logging on Sunday.

Thanks for the warm welcome. �� I don't think any of you actually do remember me...but that's okay. It was a long time ago. It's funny...I allowed myself to just get lost. Hubby did too. We had some trials with our son...turning 22 tomorrow and still causing stress...but we had no excuse.

But no more dwelling on the past. I'm finally back on track. Every morning, up and on my elliptical. Walking a mile at work. Logging every bite on my fitness pal. Cooking more healthy food. (You'll find a number of my recipes on a sticky post on the 300+ group. Tickled me that they're there still.) I have to admit, I feel better alread and it's only been a month. As of Sunday, Im down to 299.6.

Funny, I wrote a letter to myself in 2008...I guess I knew I'd backslide and gain. I'll post it if anyone wants to read it. I suspect anyone on their 2nd time down the scale will relate.

Welcome back Lilion! I thought i recognized your Boston Terrors (as "VladaDOG" I always notice the dogs first...). nd welcome back to the 200's!

Uber - Back in 2010 my brother, 12 years my senior, was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. And I was MUCH fatter than he was so that was a wake up call for me and one of the things that brought me to 3FC and my first time round losing 100 pounds. He lost a little weight and never developed diabetes. Boys are different from girls (in soooo many ways) and we're all different but I refuse to see your current diagnosis as predicting anything as inevitable.

Dread - I'm a big fan of once a week weigh-ins. I may hop on the scale in between times but i don't let it fuss me. Part of that is cuz I work the graveyard shift so 4 mornings a week mornings are the end of my day and the worst time to weigh in. And a bad weigh-in can just set a rollercoaster going... I hope this weekend brings some positive results for you!

Slash - I admire you keep on keeping on despite work and injuries/soreness. Work is a big cause of my regain and still something i have trouble setting boundaries around. I feel so lucky to a) have a job and b) have a job I genuinely love but finding a balance is also sooo important. And hard. But i have hopes yours will get a bit easier soon.

Laurie - aiming for 150 makes sense to me. And I only dream of being a stocky 160 pounds. Last time my goal was 160 but i hit the 100 pound down mark and never lost the last 20. I'm still aiming for 160 this time hoping that "100 pounds down" will be my magic mantra. Getting back to my dog theme - a 60 pound Greyhound and a 60 pound Labrador are about the same size and yeah, the Lab is "stocky" by comparison. But the Lab is a Lab and is supposed to be stocky. Maybe you'll never be a greyhound but I bet you are a really great Lab!

For me.... I'm over the blahs, the rains have come, the snow is melting! I'm doing the Wii fit during my lunch break at work to work on my balance and core muscles. Not a real work out but last time I found it very helpful. I packed up a couple boxes for the town rummage sale and put my old "fat" jeans in the boxes!

Good morning! Good morning! Glad to see so many new posts. So much energy and forward momentum, too. It's fantastic!

Vladadog - I love it! Who even wants to be a greyhound? Glad that you are progressing toward nicer weather, and glad to hear you're over the blahs. And yay on your Wii fit workout! I need to do more for balance and core muscles, especially as I grow older. Ain't nothing better than getting rid of clothes that are too big, and as someone who almost exclusively buys clothes secondhand, I hope that someone who has struggled to find jeans in that size finds yours and loves them. Even more, I hope it's because she is also losing weight, and doesn't want to pay full-price for transition clothing. =)

Lillion - I would love to read your letter! I am on my fourth or fifth serious time down the scale, and any perspective would be much appreciated. I also completely agree with you about how amazing it is just to be on track. Especially when we're at the beginning of a new effort and see all the distance left to go, it is so gratifying that our bodies react so quickly and favorably to eating well and taking care of ourselves. So glad you're reaping those rewards. They make it so much easier to continue this very long journey. And so cool that your recipes are still where you left them.

Amanda - Check you out. Chilling and making it work. I hope the scale is kind to you. If you are having success and able to be as relaxed about it as you are, that's the ultimate! Not that you will never struggle again, but the struggle is so much easier when it's not constant and when you don't feel like only misery will lead to success. And I freaking love cashews. I buy them periodically. If I kept them in the house consistently, I would eat all of the calories in cashews. But I agree. So much better to get some great nutrition out of your indulgences than a big mass of grease and salt and simple carbs. And you're rocking those work-outs too! Full disclosure -- I'm a little jealous that your bf works out with you. My guy will sometimes, but I have to plan gym time around him so often that it can be frustrating. In fact, my biggest challenge to getting in my runs/work-outs is often squeezing it in so that I have plenty o' couch-sitting time with him.

Uber - I have actually thought a lot about the "health lottery" and the connection between obesity and health issues. I have read a number of studies on the question of whether obesity is actually a cause of these issues, or whether it is a symptom of other issues. For example, there is certainly a correlation between obesity and diabetes. But, is diabetes caused by obesity? Or are diabetes and obesity a reflection of some poor eating habits? I know the question seems pointless, but I have semi-concluded (in my own mind - not anything I could defend in court without some real digging) that my long history of making consistently good choices over extended periods of time have helped insulate me against some of the health issues associated with obesity. In other words, are you sure that you just got lucky that you are only developing health issues now? And, thus far, only a single, still-relatively-minor, health issue? Or is it that your focus on good nutrition and exercise have assisted with preventing some of these health issues? And, ironically, this spins back into the question about calorie-cycling. The thickness of our bodies may be largely related to our metabolisms rather than our food and exercise decisions. This is my very long way of suggestion that your "luck" in the health lottery might just be a manifestation of your determination to offset your lack of luck in the metabolism lottery. Regardless of the reason for the new diagnosis, however, the reality is that you have the tools and the experience to make this work, and to make it work long-term. Thank you for sharing the value of that experience with me as I, too, struggle to make it work long-term. And thank you for relating to my superficiality about the offhand weight-based comment in a powerful and meaningful book. If you have not read it, I would recommend it. And know that whatever you decide about surgery, know that we are completely in your corner.

Only managed to squeeze in a short run yesterday, and I have countless meetings today about countless issues that are all "urgent." Starting to feel a bit burned out on work. It 's hard to recapture the magic of wanting to succeed at work for the satisfaction of a job well done, something that I am geeky enough to love when I have and chase when I don't. But between kids and a husband who really needs a hobby that is not watching TV with his wife and a demanding job and marriage counseling, scheduling exercise time is making me crazy. But getting that exercise time really helps reduce the crazy.