Onederland!!!!

okay, I had to weigh naked to get there but then it was 199.8 and i don't care I'll take it!!!

65 pounds down. 50 to go. I know the next 50 will be much harder but I can do it. Even a pound or two a month is fine. I can do this!

Vladadog, that is HUGE! Congratulations on this amazing milestone!

Pirate, good to see you back!

Nothing to report here...still stuck...making the appointment with doctor today. It's 4 hours away but hopefully I can get this fixed once and for all! Until then, I have to be content with maintenance.

Vladadog :bravo: Congratulations!

My weight still bounces back and forth and up and down. Saturday it said 286.5. Sunday it said 284.5. This morning it's 286.5. It's sooooo annoying. But, it's not 306. So - win! :D

'Happy' Monday Ladies!

I had a good weekend food wise. I made a huge batch of Gazpacho which I highly recommend! It is so tasty and light and perfect for hot weather. This is the recipe I used: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/a...recipe-1937573 It makes a HUGE portions for not many calories.

My new mantra "weight loss is not linear" (thanks Frances!!!!) is helping me stay sane watching the scale bounce around. Luckily it is always a downward trend even when there are daily bumps. I want to stop weighing daily, but I actually feel guilty if I don't, so mantra it is.

Vlad : WOOWOO You go girl! Getting into Onederland was such a big deal for me last time around; I think it might even feel already like it is a bigger deal. I'm super proud of you and can't wait to join you :)

Just a lurker on this thread but had to say :congrat: Vladadog!

Vladadog: Nice! What a great accomplishment! You should be so proud!!

Ubee: How sweet!

PacificaBee: Gazpacho sounds so good! What a great recipe. You have to love it when it makes lots, but little calories.

Lilion: Frustrating, yes. But you are still winning, I'll second that!

Frances: Hope you get in to the doctor soon. That's no fun!

Dread: Hang in there! Hope you get some rest soon!

For me, not much to report. I'm just trying to keep on track. I'm doing ok, but the weekend wasn't helpful. Even though it is a big weekend coming up, I'm going to try to remain steady. Went to Body Pump this morning. Spin tomorrow.

Hey Everybody!

Have been swamped, swamped, swamped with work, so I haven't been around much. Just checking in and I see so much good news!

Vladadog ONEDERLAND!!!!! That is absolutely awesome. May I be the first to officially announce that you are TINY! :-)
[
B]Diane[/B] Good job with keeping up with your workouts and resolve for the weekend ahead!

Pacifica I love gazpacho! Was just thinking about making some yesterday.

Lillion So great that you are hanging in there!

Frances Good luck wth the doctor's visit.

Dread Busy is hard. Hope it's good hard, not bad hard! Hang in there!

So, what's up with me? The whole month of June was more or less of a weight loss bust. It started with me driving across the country with my daughter, which led to a lot of French Fries. Since then, I've been sort of in and out, but the super-duper good news is that i finished June one pound lower than the day I started the road trip, so I regained none and lost one more-- I feel like that's progress. I'm down a total of 28 since January. Not great, but it could be worse. On another note, I've still been following along with the possibility of going through the weight loss surgery. Went for my psychological evaluation, and I was told, not surprisingly, that I'm not a good candidate for the WLS due to my "disordered eating". So, I'm completely and totally aware that the big contributor to my weight gain is that I have binge eating issues and I tried to be as honest as possible with the psychologist. Her recommendation was therapy as she said that the WLS would most likely not work over time for someone with my psychological profile. Don't know if that was good or bad news, but it did force me to contend with the idea that I may need to take a different approach. So, that's about it for me right now. I'm feeling really good about not regaining, losing a little bit, and not bingeing at all. So, a win! And I'm hoping to buckle down and get back to losing now.

Uber - Driving cross country without a significant gain is a real NSV in my book. And then to end the month down a pound is really impressive. I don't know if the WLS thing is good or bad news but it is nice they aren't just pushing surgery as the be all and end all of weight loss options. An honest eval is really valuable and mabe that'll help you figure out your next steps.

Slash - Weekends are hard and holidays are harder. I think we'll all sneak back to our scales with a worried look around about July 10... I'm working the Fourth so I'll be spared many temptations though (plus getting holiday pay... win-win for me)

Ubee - thanks for the congratulations! I hope thinks are going well even though you aren't around much.

Pacifica - Last time i weighed daily. This time it's once a week (ish) and I don't even have a regular weigh in day because of my weird work schedule. It's just a morning after I've had a good night's sleep. I am losing at about the same rate as 6 years ago but I have to say it's much less stressful not weighing every day. Weightloss isn't linear but daily weigh-ins tend to reinforce the need of linearity and i think the juxtaposition is a bit crazy making.... at least for me, anyway.

Lilion - 20 pounds down is totally a win! And like Frances noted: weight loss is not linear. The blip ups wouldn't bother me near as much if i just knew why. Still, even with the blip ups there's a slow and steady stream of lower numbers - those are what to focus on!

Frances - I hope your doctor's appointment is soon and he has some answers for you because a long stall when you are doing a good job being on plan just plain sucks.

Dread - extra shifts last week and this one so I totally hear you on the "exhausted but alive". I hope there is light at the end of that work tunnel. It's summer! Our all too brief summer. And I hope you get to get out and enjoy it. Good job not gaining huge amounts while being crazy busy.

Thanks for the congratulations on reaching Onederland! I look forward to returning the sentiment for all of you sometime this year! It was only a one pound loss but psychologically it is so much more. Fitting into my new shorts is also a biggie. I wear men's jeans cuz I just like the fit better and I've worn Levis 560's for a decade or more. At my biggest I was a 48 but these shorts are 38's - so five sizes smaller - but like the move to Onederland the change from size 40 to size 38 is so much more than just one size smaller.

I'm pretty excited about both. But still have my eye on 150 eventually. Slow and steady.....

Just a quick pop-in. Trying to stay on target, trying to get in my exercise, trying to keep my eye on the prize...trying trying. :) I'm TIRED. My hubby and I are just the worst at getting to bed at a reasonable hour. I swear, if I could just get 7 hours - 8 is better - every night I'd be SOOO much better off.

Oh! I totally forgot my NSV! Sunday I wore a pair of dressy jeans to church...jeans which have been in the back of my closet for AGES - at least a year if not two. Instead of the Woman's 24 I bought at Dress Barn last time...(Same style, but those literally fall off now) the old ones are a 20! :yay: They're a stretchy 20...but fit like they were made for me!

So yeah...new old clothes! Don't you love closet shopping? LOL

Good morning, everyone!

I have arbitrarily decided only to read the most recent page, at least for today, as I am still completely and overwhelmingly swamped at work. I worked until 11:30 p.m. yesterday, was back at 8:00 this morning, and am still not even close to surfacing for air. But I couldn't let a third day post-cruise go by without a check-in here.

Lilion - I DO love closet shopping! I am thrilled when I can lose enough weight to fit clothes that I used to love wearing. And a jump from 24 to 20 is INSANE, if you believe the paper towel theory (which I totally do). Huge congratulations. And I am all about trying to get enough sleep. If it weren't for weekends, I don't think I would ever see 8 or more hours. In fact, I recently had a week where my Fitbit told me I only averaged four hours of sleep a night. Ugh.

Vladadog - :carrot::carrot::carrot::carrot::carrot::carrot::c arrot::carrot::carrot::cb::cb::cb::cb::cb::cb::dan ce::dance::dance::dance::dance::dance::dance::danc e::cheer2::cheer2::cheer2::cheer2::cheer2::cheer2: :cheer2::cheer2::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer ::cheer::cheer::belly::belly::belly::belly::belly:
ONEDERLAND! So much congratulations to you!

Uber - So glad to see you! And to hear your great news on June maintenance. Glad you were open with the psychologist. I did therapy for a while, and it was helpful. I hope that you find it useful as well. And I am with you. I was pretty lax the last part of June. I haven't weighed for a while. Perhaps I should join you in "buckle down July."

Diane - The weekends are so challenging. Holidays -- which almost always celebrate food, it seems -- can be even tougher. Glad you're back at Body Pump and spin, though. Your fitness is always inspiring.

Ate too much on the cruise. Didn't walk/dance nearly as much as I had hoped. But had a good time. I am back on track as of yesterday. I will weigh tomorrow, if I get a decent night's sleep. I have had two very low sleep nights in a row, and the scale is always unkind when I haven't gotten enough sleep.

So glad to be back here, though!

Hi All

Nice to see a lot of people popping in to say 'hi'.

I had a great week on the scale! I lost -drum roll please- ... 3.6 pounds this week!! Huzzah! My crazy TOM weeks are definitely made up for now. I am hoping to hit my -10lbs/month goal for June, but only have 48 hours in which to meet it by losing another half pound, but hey, miracles sometimes happen. I find it so amazing that I am losing at the same rate as last time, but without any exercise at all. Weight loss really is all about what you put in your mouth (but of course I know fitness is mostly about exercise. I never claimed I was getting fit HA!)

Laurie so sorry to hear about the tough time at work. I get a couple of days like that a year and they are the WORST. Hang in there :)

Lilion YAY old,smaller clothes are the best clothes IMO. I have a chest full of stuff I haven't been able to fit into for YEARS that I am hoping I will be in by this time next year. Good on you

Vlad I don't know if it would be less stressful for me, or more stressful not knowing what is going on with my weight on a daily basis. I will say that I love being able to look back on my daily 2010 numbers and see that my body is following the exact same pattern of loss as the last time, so I feel fine seeing it go up and down. I also think that seeing it up on any given day makes me work a little harder that day on staying on track. I think I would have less stress on the one hand, and more on the other, if I switched to weekly. Oh the trials and tribulations our brains put us through when it comes to issues of the body :(

Uber 28 pound loss is nothing to sneeze at! Go pick up a 10lb bag of potatoes next time you are at the store and imagine that x3. You are awesome! And I am happy to hear your road trip didn't get out of control for you.

LaurieDawn...I'd asked what the paper towel thing was, but I couldn't wait and googled it. LOL

It's funny, because I took my first "progress" photos and really, I can't SEE any difference that 20 lbs made. But those pants sure show that it exists. I've got a T-shirt that I bought from our office wellness committee (buy a shirt and agree to take a 15 minute walk each week and you get to wear it with jeans on Wednesdays). When I bought the shirt, I got my boss to agree I could wear a department polo shirt until it fit, because it was too tight. I mean, it physically went on my body, but I would never wear a T that tight in public. I'm wearing the shirt. So while my eyes don't see it in photos...I can feel the loss in clothing, big time.

The important thing is you don't keep eating like you are on a cruise :lol: and that you had a good time!

Pacifica! :yay: :bravo: :yay:

Hey all. Just a quick post. I'm needing to take off on Friday for a friend's funeral, so I need to get stuff done today and tomorrow. Just wanted to say hi to all.

Hey all! Still here and plugging along. A little NSV for me: I've really let things slide in the past week because, as I've been telling myself, "It doesn't REALLY matter because I can't lose weight anyway until I get to the doctor. So might as well skip the veggie and have some carbs..." A very slippery slope indeed. I had a couple of 1800 calorie days, and it was surprisingly difficult to get back to a proper mindset. But I wrenched myself back without doing any real damage. Phew! Hope to get an appt with the naturopath within the next 2 weeks. Then I can finally get some answers and, hopefully, start losing again.

LaurieDawn, now I'm going to have to look up that paper towel thing! :D Glad you had a good time on your trip.

Slashnl, Sorry about your friend!

Lillion, isn't that a great NSV? The scale might lie, but clothes never do! Have fun shopping in that closet!!

PBee, congrats on your great loss!

Ubergirl, road trips are TOUGH. And I hear you about the disordered eating. I had a friend who had the surgery despite her disordered eating issues and it was a nightmare for her. After a ton of physical pain from her binge attempts she ended up moving her addiction to shopping and smoking. :( Are you going to talk to a therapist? Anyway, not bingeing is a huge victory - especially when you're out of your comfort zone!

Good afternoon!

Long work day, and it feels like it's just getting started again.

Pacifica Bee - I am so excited for your continuing scale success. I keep thinking that I am going to buckle down and get similar results, but I haven't. Maybe I need you to keep proving to me how great it feels to keep achieving. ;-)

Diane - Glad to see you pop in for a quick hello. Hope the work goes smoothly and the funeral is good. Sorry for the loss of your friend. It's always hard.

Lilion - I always wonder why people would ask a question that they could just google and get a much clearer and faster response! Honestly, in the mirror, I still think I look pretty much the same as I did 120 pounds ago. I feel lighter, but even that's quickly becoming status quo. But yes, the clothes remind me that I have lost weight. I wore a size 6 suit yesterday, and was a little dismayed at how loose the jacket was.

Frances - I don't know why, but it often seems like the "wrenching myself back to routine" days rank as the most challenging part of this experience. I think that the really terrible days in terms of nutrition and exercise are just going to be part of it, and can't be eliminated entirely. If I can just get back on track after one or two days of mistakes, I think I'll be good. So, at least in my mind, it's the "get back on track successfully" challenges that are the real key to long-term success. Glad you pulled it off without much difficulty. Hope things go well with the naturopath and that you get things figured out.

I have still not weighed. I overslept this morning and had to rush out the door to make an early meeting. And the workload just continues to overwhelm. But I'm sort of at peace with it. I just am not going to get everything done in the way I would prefer it to be done. And that's just how it's going to be. Sadly.

I need to get fully committed again soon. But I don't think I will just yet. I need to check in to make sure I haven't gained a large amount, but if I haven't, I think I'll just stay casual with it for a bit.

LaurieDawn...I think as long as a size 6 is loose on you, you don't have to be too concerned about your weight. :) Granted I have 5 inches on you, but the smallest size I even remember wearing in my adult life is a misses 18...some 16's sometimes. Back then I thought I was fat. :lol:

The scale said 284 this morning. So tracker is going to 285 - since I've only seen 284 1x. This pleases me because I haven't been great lately. I won't be today or the weekend either, because I'm eating out and going to our forest property (we have 17 acres off the grid for hunting, etc.) and will be doing campfire cooking. But I will log and own every extra calorie. Going to the Y tonight and work off any extras, hopefully.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Laurie - I lost 100 pounds once and never heard of the paper towel analogy but it is sooooo perfect!

Lilion - I went closet shopping (another "new to me" term that's perfect). Mostly I found too big things to donate to Goodwill but I also found my "goal jeans" from last time (I don't think they ever fit last time and certainly don't yet, but I could pull them all the way up! It's so depressing to try on a pair of pants and not be able to get them more than halfway up your thighs....). And I found a pair of size 36 jeans from my low weight in 2011- and they fit! Okay, so they were no doubt super stretched out from wearing them as I regained weight but still, it was nice to squeeze into a pair of 36's.... Anyway, thank you for the "closet shopping" idea.

Frances - congrats on getting back on track. Even if you can't lose right now we all know how easy it is to gain. So pat yourself on the back for taking control.

Diane - I'm sorry about your friend. Saying goodbye is hard but I hope you got to share good memories with other friends.

I was worried about a bounce up for today's weekly weigh in - not because I haven't eaten well but because I know bounce ups can happen and I was only just barely into Onederland. But today was 199.2 so I'm still heading in the right direction.

I'm preparing myself psychologically for the fact the next 50 pounds are going to come off much slower than the first 50. Making healthy food choices is the reality of the rest of my life and the weight loss will eventually follow....

Good morning!

Vladadog - What you said is really what I needed to see this morning. "Making healthy food choices is the reality of the rest of my life and the weight loss will eventually follow...." The acceptance that the rest of our lives are going to be about consistently making good choices is not a revelation to me, but it is really nice to see the common sense acceptance of it. Thank you. So glad that you didn't have to deal with the bump out of Onederland. It's a challenge to cross back over a milestone the wrong way, even when we know that bumps are just a part of this.

Lilion - I have just accepted that I will always think I'm fat. My thighs will always be thick. My butt will always stick out (which I guess is now a good thing?), but won't be the firm sticking-out because of the amount of cellulite I have. My calves will always be abnormally large. It's just a part of my existence. But I want to move to where I can be chill about it all and be proud of the body I have, regardless of size, regardless of deviation from the "ideal body type," and regardless of the fact that I will never be the fastest or the strongest at the gym. Acceptance is hard. I am super glad that you're embracing that you will enjoy extra calories over the weekend and holiday, doing something to offset the extra calories to a degree, and enjoying life. I honestly believe that this is the key to maintaining the lifestyle long-term, which we all need to do.

Hope everyone has some great plans for the Fourth! Because of my tummy tuck, the extra nine pounds is making my stomach feel very tight again, to the point where laying on my stomach is incredibly uncomfortable. This is both good and bad, I think, with the good part of it being that I am hoping it will keep my weight in check. I buckled down over the weekend, and had some great work-outs and some pretty reasonable calorie days, with the exception of eating too many cookies both days. The cookies are gone. I am going to toss the cake out that is in my kitchen. And I am going to stop eating all this sugar. With apologies for TMI - eating too much too close to bed makes sex less enjoyable than it should be, and even though my calories were still pretty reasonable, I really regretted the post-8 p.m. food.

I could be happy at 154 for the rest of my life, honestly, so I'm not overly concerned about the weight gain. I am alarmed at the trend, though. I seem to have adopted the "I turned a cookie down, so I saved those calories, so I'm doing okay with food today" attitude. In other words, rather than evaluating how much I can eat and still be at a reasonable calorie level, I'm justifying overeating by acknowledging that it could have been worse. NOT a good sign.

So, retreating to a healthier place. I'm really feeling my work-outs lately. I am not nearly as strong as I want to be, but I am recovering strength. I ran both Saturday and Sunday. Two miles on Saturday at about 5.5 mph. One mile on Sunday at 6.2 mph, as a warm-up for my strength training. And I am going to make better food choices. Back to daily goals, though.

1 - NO more sugar today (unless I want my "fake ice cream"). I started the day by eating cookies. It needs to stop now, as do my late-afternoon candy raids on the jars of candy all over my office.
2 - Put together a work-out plan.
3 - Run 2.5 miles today. Still trying to ease back into it, but I know I could have pushed harder than the 2 miles. And run outside.

I do want to get at least four or five pounds back off to ease the tension in my stomach, but mostly I want to learn how to maintain.

I agree. Moderation is key and keeping your eye on the ball. After all...if you aren't enjoying life, what's the point of living?

I could eat perfectly, work out like crazy, be thin and fit and live to 100 - and be miserable. I could keep eating junk, sit on my rear and die at 60. All in all, I'd rather eat what I enjoy, work out enough to be healthy, and live to 80.

Sure, if I suddenly developed life-threatening allergies to all things unhealthy, I'd quit eating them and be fine...maybe even quite happy...but short of that? I like food too much to be too restrictive. I've BEEN restrictive before. I've cut out foods I loved and never had a single cookie for months on end. It didn't last! I couldn't keep it up forever. I'd just get so TIRED of worrying about it that I'd just STOP. I've never been a "binger" but my husband is. We were talking about it just yesterday and he said, "I know myself. I could go without any candy or ice cream or whatever for months...then I'd cave and eat all I could get my hands on. OR I can occasionally, once every couple of weeks, have an ice cream or a candy bar and that stops me from craving them to the point of binging." For him and me both, moderation is key. Eating healthy food in reasonable portions and having the OCCASIONAL treat!

It's July 3. I live in the state capital and work for the state. RIGHT outside my window...the food vendors are setting up for our 4th of July festival. At 3:00 - there WILL be a funnel cake eaten. Probably the only one I'll have for a year. I've already gone on MFP and looked up the calories...760. If that means I have to spend extra minutes at the gym or have salad for dinner, so be it. :lol:

***Update*** Make that 570 calories! I couldn't eat it all - too greasy! I'm officially over funnel cakes until next 4th of July!

YOU have a great incentive to not overeat and keep the weight down with the surgery actually making it uncomfortable. But with or without that push...you have done SO well and continue to! Yes, women are supposed to have thighs and butts! What constitutes the "ideal body type" changes like the weather. From Kate Moss and "heroin chic" where people all thought they needed to be a size Zero to Marilyn Monroe and pinup girls to the Italian Renaissance painters who's models would be considered obese, it's a matter of perspective. Be healthy and make yourself happy! That's what's important!

All right, I'm crawling back today... :( I totally lost it last week and had a week-long binge. I'd been doing SO well, having no cravings, working my plan...but a series of mishaps just made me lose it.

1) was discouraged about the intermittent flare-up of my medical condition that stops loss. I can't get in to see the doctor until late July...so no loss 'til then, at least.

2) developed tendonitis in my ankle and have to stop going to the gym for a while. That was the biggest blow. I am not from this area and work from home, so not only is the gym my main social outlet, I feel SO GOOD after working out. I have tons of energy, motivation, and not much of an appetite. Days where I do NOT work out = I drag, I'm starving all day, and generally cranky. I also have been fighting a shoulder injury for MONTHS so truly need to just give it a rest for a while too.

3) holiday week! Husband off work, gave in to baking, eating out, etc.

I haven't weighed and I feel terrible, but I'm going to get back on my plan today. Not much else to say, no grand declarations, just...I'm going to keep trying.

Hope everyone had a great Fourth of July holiday!

Lilion - Your decision to live until 80 cracked me up! But you're exactly right. And I find it interesting that you work for the state AND you have an office where you can close the door. You must be way more important than those of us who reside in Cubeland. ;-) With few exceptions, my fellow state employees and I work out of tiny cubes and involuntarily listen to everyone else's phone conversations. And yay! for enjoying the funnel cake and for being able to stop eating it when you stopped enjoying it. That last part is a skill that I am still developing. Sometimes, I have no problem remembering that I don't have to eat all of it just because it's there.

Frances - Those medical struggles have to be incredibly frustrating. Glad you're able to get in to your doctor, and I hope the medical intervention is both effective and fast-acting. When I get frustrated with the scale (for far more mundane reasons than yours), I try to enjoy the process. Of course, your inability to use your ankle at the gym is an obstacle there as well. I wish it was easier for you. Can you still lift weights, though? Bench pressing, shoulder presses, etc. don't require the use of the ankle. And we have a rowing machine at my gym. Maybe there's some cardio equipment at yours that doesn't require the use of your ankle? But your "I'm just going to keep trying" declaration is absolutely inspiring. There's nothing harder to do, sometimes, and nothing more important. I hope it gets better for you soon.

I have been doing decently. I forced myself to weigh again, something I don't see happy about. I'm back down to 152. I ate pie and ice cream yesterday, but I also restricted my other food enough that my calories were contained. I also hit the weights pretty hard yesterday, and ran a mile as warm-up. It still amazes me that I can run a mile as a warm-up, when I used to struggle hard to be able to approach that. I am also getting used to packing a gym bag and leaving it in the car at all times again, a habit I lost when I was recovering from surgery. Things are good. And, if y'all don't mind a bit of bragging, can I say that, for the first time in my life, I have some definition in my abs when I "suck in?" My stomach is flat even without effort, but I see two vertical lines when I suck in my gut. Maybe I can get me a six-pack if I work hard enough? =)

I still need to create a new work-out log, and I will try to do that today. I'm also going to try to do seven days of no sugar. We're doing a short road trip starting tomorrow for a family reunion, so I will be hanging out with kids and hubby a lot, and that can make the 'no sugar' thing a bit tough. But I think it's time.

Hope everyone has a great post-holiday day!

Just a quick check-in from me today. I am not too pleased with how the weekend went. I had guests over on Saturday night where I made a decision not to count calories and def overate because of it (but it was all whole food, plant based so at least I have that going for me). Then I had a last-minute surprise visit from my brother and his family and ended up out to breakfast with them where the only thing on the menu I could eat was hash brown potatoes and a side of fruit. I haven't had a single drop of oil since February and then basically had a plate of grease for breakfast. I still feel disgusting. I have been so tired, queasy, grumpy, and - tmi - pretty bad digestion issues for 3 days in a row. Even Smooth Move tea didn't help move things along. So 'bloated' is an understatement and constant tummy discomfort has become my reality.

LESSON LEARNED.

Hi all. Just wanted to let you know that I'm back at work. I need to catch up today, so I'll just have a quick post. Hope everyone had a good 4th!

Welcome back Frances! No crawling…head held HIGH! We’ve all been there and there’s no judgment. Health issues can be so rough, I'm sure...you keep trying and you’ll win the day!

LaurieDawn – YAY on the 152, even with pie and ice cream! And YAY on the 6-pack-to-be. You can do it! In my office the clerical workers have cubes, but everyone else has an office. So yeah…it’s pretty nice. I even have enough seniority I have a corner office with a nice view of the capitol. Unfortunately, the other window wall faces a pizza restaurant, so those windows have to stay firmly closed to avoid pizza smell wafting in all day and making me starve! :lol:

And big greetings to everyone else too!

4th of July is over and the strange food with it. After my funnel cake my hubby wanted me to pick him up a bison burger from the same vendor and they had elk burgers so I thought, “Why not?” Biggest waste of $7 (each!) ever! Nasty, dry, overcooked hockey pucks of some form of ground meat. Really…I’d have not given $1 for them if I’d had a choice before I went home with them. So after we choked down our mystery meat we went to the Y and had a good workout…then hit Subway because real food was needed. I finished the day with calories to spare – even with the funnel cake.

The actual 4th was just at-home day. I lazed half of it away then cleaned house the other half while dinner crock-potted itself to tender goodness. Venison and wild mushrooms with noodles. :T In case it sounds like we have a thing for wild game…not really. But husband and I have a piece of forested property and he got to go hunting last year for the first time in ages and we have two deer in the freezer now, so we don’t eat beef. Venison is cheaper, since all you need is to have it processed, and healthier – lean and low fat, and anything you can make with beef, you can make with venison. Pretty much all we eat is venison and chicken now unless we go out.

Today I’m back to work and it’s raining, but I still did a walk. I was interrupted by my veterinarian, and my little girl dog is having an ultrasound later today to check for possible bladder cancer. I’m very worried and so sad. If it is, she has a maximum of a year and I don’t know what I’ll do. Our little boy dog will be devastated without her! They're litter mates and have been together since birth, now they're senior dogs and he's gone blind. He won't understand her suddenly being gone...The whole thing has me quite upset.

If you’re the praying type and inclined, a little prayer for my Suzie would be appreciated.

So….I best get back to work. I’ve been at this much longer than I should.

:cry: We did not get good news on our pup. Will be taking her for a second opinion, but the vet was sure. It's just so sad, as she's such a sweet little dog and only 11 or 12 years old. Boston's live quite a long time in general and it never occurred to us we could lose one this way.

I've never had to deal with this with a pet. Feeling kind of lost.

Oh Lil I'm so sorry. As a fellow dog-mom I really feel for you. Dogs are the best people and for a lot of us, make our lives complete. Give her a lot of love and spoil the heck out of that good girl. She knows she has been loved and will be loved forever. Hang in there, my friend. Side note about your earlier comment about the boy dog not understanding; when the time comes, let him be with her after. His nose will tell him what he needs to know and will be easier for him to adjust.

Thank you. That's her in the back and Mac in the front in my avatar. I'm just having a harder time with this than I expected today - weepy and emotional. Got her home from the vet yesterday and I swear she was like a puppy, bouncing and barking and playing. She still feels absolutely fine. Had she not had the symptoms of a bladder infection, we'd have never noticed anything amiss. I did some digging since we couldn't remember how old they are and turns out they just turned 12 four days ago. I'm working on getting an oncologist appointment, but it's really just a formality to get a second opinion. From what I've read of this kind of cancer, it's just generally not operable and even medication gives you maybe a year.

I need to go walk. I skipped my morning workout, but I'm just SAD today. I'm really not working either. :( So much to do and no desire to do it.

Lillion, so sorry about your pup! :(

Aw Lilion! I'm sorry about your pup. I have lots of animals and I know that going through something like that is never easy. They're just special little creatures.

Thank you Ladies. Sorry to be a downer there. I'm just much more bothered than I want to be and I guess I have to go on with my life here...but I'm sad and it's affecting my work and exercise both. But I shall put on my big-girl (very big) pants and carry on.

So...yesterday my scale said 281. That's a 4 lb drop so I ignored it...following my "see the weight 3x rule". Today it said 280! I haven't seen that weight in a very long time! I really want to log that weight, just so I can see that loss in my slider...but by my own rule, I really should wait to make sure it's not some weird fluctuation. Unfortunately, I have dinner out tonight at a place NOT known for it's healthy choices and I can see that scale not being back down here for a few days. :( Decisions. Decisions.

Today I WILL exercise. Overslept (again) and skipped the elliptical...so I MUST walk at lunch. It's going to be hot...but I have the coolest place to walk; the interior of our state capitol building. ;) Open to the public seven days a week...two laps around each floor and back to my office is about 1.7 miles of air-conditioned, smooth marble comfort. Power to the people!

My Track!
http://media.connectingstlouis.com/5...terior-003.jpg

Lilion: Nice track! I love floors like that! And it looks so nice and cool. Very smart walking there.
I also need to work on my oversleeping issue. I'm going to use this weekend for planning and regrouping. I do a lot of that lately. Just too much going on and I need to find my discipline.

Lilion - I'm so sorry about your pup! And where you work is gorgeous.

Slash - regrouping - yeah, totally on board with that. Sometimes you need to stop and take a big breath. I'm soaking up the sleep this weekend too. No oversleeping, but I have been going to bed before it gets dark.

Laurie - abs! Six pack! you go girl!

Frances - no crawling! You've had a lot on your plate and some real medical struggles. Be proud you are not giving up! Even if you can't lose right now you will be ready to lose again once you're healed up.

Pacifica - I hope your tummy has sorted itself out after your holiday visitors....

Friday I had pizza and ice cream. I was a little worried I'd wake up Saturday and find it impossible to not have more pizza and ice cream but other than craving sugar, Saturday was fine and I'm doing fine today (still want sugar, but it's less compelling). That's always my downfall - going off the rails and then totally forgetting there was a track I was on at all. But I seemed to have managed okay this time. Earlier this week I had a cake pop at work. It wasn't very good. As I was eating it I thought "yuck, this is kinda weird" but I still had trouble all night long not going and eating the other one. Sugar is just insidious. So no sugar for me for a bit till my brain recovers some equilibrium.

Good morning!

Lilion - I am so sorry to hear about your furbaby. And I disagree that you are feeling more than you "should." It is hard. I hope you find a way to be at peace again, though. I am excited to hear about the scale dropping, though! I appreciated you 3X rule, but that would be so hard for me to follow. And you have inspired me with your walking plan! At our Capitol Complex, we have tunnels that connect the buildings, and I often walk there during the very cold winters, but it's too muggy during the summer. Our Capitol is open to the public as well, though. I might spend some time walking around there to avoid the heat today.

Diane - I have been talking about planning and regrouping, and it feels like I really need to do that today, with both exercise and nutrition. I, however, am never disciplined enough to get up in the morning to exercise, and have just learned to accept that about myself. =) I do very much admire that you manage it so consistently in general, though. Word on the motivation tapes, though, says that compliance with goals is better when you commit to it out loud to someone else, so here it is. By this time tomorrow, I will have created weekly planners for the next four weeks that include the specific exercise routines for when I am lifting weights, and have check-offs for my running days.

Frances - Hope things are going well, and that your health issues are improving.

Vladadog - Yes. Yes. Yes. You are exactly right. Sugar is insidious. And I find myself searching for it regularly, and accepting less than optimal sugar options (read - stuff I don't actually like very much) because my drive to consume sugar hits a high pitch so easily. I am going to follow your lead and try to resist sugar entirely for the next week.

I had an up-and-down weekend with food compliance / exercise. I feel okay about it, but I know I need to do better. I had a "no sugar" plan that went really well on the drive down, but I actually forgot that I had resolved to not eat any sugar, and ended up eating a way more of it than I needed. Ugh. So, as I committed to Diane above, I will create four weeks worth of planners for my exercise routines. I am a little more on top of it at work, and not planning on taking any additional time off until February, so I should be able to handle do better. I am still doing okay with maintaining, but I caught myself AGAIN eating the raw cookie dough that my husband had purchased, and realized that I had eaten half the tube over the course of the day. This is the kind of "casual bingeing" I find myself doing when I am just not paying attention to what I eat. Imma do better.

Goals to accomplish by 10:00 a.m. on 7/11/ 2017:
1 - Map out four weeks' worth of exercise plans
2 - Toss out the cookie dough / things in my house that I have difficulty resisting
3 - Weigh myself
4 - Purchase appropriate food for the next week
5 - No sugar (except for the fake ice cream) for the next week. NO sugar. I need to put this on my "to do" list. No sugar.

Hope everyone has a fantastic week!

Hello all. I appreciate the kind words about my baby girl. It's so odd because she seems to be just FINE right now. But I guess that's what we want for as long as we can have it.

It was a weird weekend. My husband and I (well, really my husband) have volunteered to clean our church as we've lost our custodian. It's about 10 hours per week (5 hours per person) is all, but it seems to take all our free time. Anyway, we forgot we were supposed to start on the July 2nd! So we had to do all of it Saturday, spending our whole Saturday cleaning. I don't clean my house for 5 hours straight! At least I got plenty of activity. Sunday we did our usual routine, which is church, YMCA, and housework. But at the Y my husband started feeling cruddy and I got 4 minutes on the elliptical...so off we went home. I did go shopping and got all our housework and laundry and such done, but no real exercise..AND I skipped the elliptical this morning! So I've had VERY little exercise. Got to get moving today but it's HOT. The heat index is supposed to be in the 100's all week...so the marble halls of the capitol are calling. The only down side is I hate to change into my workout gear and go there...so I don't get a real good workout in...but moving is moving.

Hope you all have a good Monday!

My body still has not recovered from the poor choices I made last weekend. It is very defeating to go from a steady loss of 2-3 lbs per week to hovering at the same weight +/-2 lbs for 10 days in a row. Seriously... this is such an eye opening lesson I have unfortunately taught myself. I am trying very hard to stay on track. Seeing the numbers on the scale has also made me decide to take the plunge to the weekly weigh-ins instead of daily. Driving myself crazy is giving me a defeatist attitude and I am not really on board with my inner saboteur taking over after only 5 months back on the wagon.

Vlad: sugar has the same addictive power as heroin and other hard drugs. How crazy is that? Interesting article from last month: What Cookies and Meth Have in Common.

Vladadog: I get what you're saying. I have continued to eat sweet things even if they aren't the best! I would have struggled with the cake pops too. It is definitely something to be aware of all the time.

Laurie: Yeah, I think when there isn't a plan, it is easy to slip away from good exercise choices. I know I've done that, especially lately. So, I have also committed back to doing what was working before. I don't think I have anything coming up that would give me the temptation to skip days. Nothing big planned until hunting season, so should be set through the rest of summer.

Lilion: You may not have had formal exercise, but sounds like a lot of cleaning! It's so hard with the heat right now!

PacificaBee: Shaking it up with how often you weigh might be a good thing. I change my mind all the time, sometimes it is every day, sometimes it is once a week. Usually every day works for me, but lately, I have been using the avoidance technique. Not working well. :)

For me, I went to spin this morning and I packed a good lunch. So, should be much better than last week. I plan to go to Body Pump tomorrow and I also want to go back to the gym after work to get back to running. Not sure what I'll do with running. I might pull out the C25K and backtrack a little on that. I've been recording on myfitnesspal again, so I hope to get it back on track and get back to being consistent.

Good morning!

Lilion - I agree with Diane. Even in the absence of formal exercise, it seems like you killed it on the activity front. When I grew up, my dad was the church's custodian (in addition to two other jobs!), so I spent a lot of time folding chairs, vacuuming, dusting, etc. It's hard work. And you and your husband are fantastic for volunteering to do it. Hope the marble track works well for you again!

PacificaBee - My body will lose for a while, then hold on to a certain weight for a period of time. I don't track food (with few exceptions) because it makes me crazy, so I don't really know if it's me inadvertently sabotaging my efforts or if it's just my body rebelling against the steady loss. Either way, what is happening with your scale is pretty typical for me. I love that you're being proactive, and I love that you're keeping the mental aspect of this in mind. I tell myself that I am not racing to the end, because there is no end, and as long as I don't give up, I'm better off than before. Thank you for the article on sugar! I'm starting Day 1 of my 7-day sugar challenge, and I really needed the inspiration.

Diane - Woot! You are on point, my love. You are going to be so ready to rock that hunting trip this fall! I still think back to that post you shared from a few years ago about the functional fitness you had achieved making the hunting trip so amazing. It continues to be an inspiration when I worry that I am "wasting" time on fitness. It sounds like you are achieving your goals with nutrition, too, this week. Gonna be a fantastic week!

I met my goals from yesterday, and I wouldn't have if I hadn't written them down. The exception is that my mother-in-law brought over delicious, gourmet cupcakes, which are now sitting on my counter. I asked my husband to either eat them or toss them by this evening, but he won't. However, I won't feel guilty when I do, as I gave him warning that I will be struggling through my seven days of sugar, and having those cupcakes on the counter will cause me to struggle. Sometimes, I feel really guilty about it. My husband can have those cupcakes sit on the counter for days and not be tempted, but he loves sugar and would be sad if I just got rid of them. I just can't do it, though. The article Pacifica posted makes me feel a bit less guilty. I know it is a chemical drive. Maybe seven days sugar-free will help increase my D2 receptors and decrease my desire for sugar. Maybe. It will be a challenge to do it, though. I have failed many, many times. But I have also succeeded occasionally, so I know I can do it.

I did run yesterday, though. I ran a 5K in about 32 minutes, but I did have far too many "breathing breaks." Still. Gotta start somewhere, right? Today is lifting, and I am going to take it more seriously than I have taken it for the last six months or so. I'm back on the fitness wagon. Finally!

Thanks ladies...

I was surprised when I looked at my Fitbit activity log and saw it gave me a "walk" on Sunday. From the time, I suspect that was when I was vacuuming. :lol: We aren't really volunteering...we volunteered to do the job - which we're getting paid for. I think I'd actually really rather volunteer to do a part of the job than get paid to do the whole job. I really hate it. You're just never really "off duty" when you're doing the cleaning. I'm sitting in church looking at the spots on the window thinking, "I have to remember to clean that." :dizzy:

Anyway, marble track worked well yesterday and I'm sure it will today. I got off track last night when I got home, tired and crabby, and found my hubby had bought pizza and pastries - which I ate. But I'm back to it today and even managed to get up and get in 20 minutes on the elliptical. All is well.

LaurieDawn, good for you resisting the cupcakes and that 5K! I can't actually imagine running a 5K...or you know...running. :p

Pacific - those 2 lbs will be gone before you know it. You can do it!

Slashnl, MFP has been an invaluable tool for me. If I don't track my food, I may as well give up entirely.

...and now, time for me to maybe do actual office work for a bit before I head over to the capitol for my walk. The guards at the metal detector have gotten used to seeing me. I wonder if they'll ever mention my daily visit. lol

Lilion: Vacuuming should be more than walking. It takes effort!!! And I totally understand being tired and crabby, then giving in to temptations. It is hard enough when we're in a good frame of mind, let alone when we're vulnerable. I think you handled it fine!

Laurie: Sometimes I think we get so caught up in the weight loss part of it, we forget that the really good stuff comes from being fit. I know that right now I can really tell the difference between now and from when I was fit and doing the right thing with workouts. It's not worth it to let it slip too far.

For me..... so that's what I really noticed today. Working out this morning (Body Pump) was such a chore. Granted, it was hot and humid in the gym, so that didn't help, but a lot of it is just losing some of the progress I had. The good thing is that it strengthened my resolve to get that fitness part back. I don't like feeling that weak and winded. So, back to spin tomorrow. I won't be going running tonight, I don't think. I might have to wait until Thursday to start that up again. We'll see how it goes. While I want to get it back now, I don't need to risk injury.

Good morning!

Lilion - I agree with Diane. My Fitbit didn't give me any extra love for mowing the lawn, and that was a struggle! Vacuuming and lawn mowing should be walking plus. And good on you for letting the pizza and pastries be in the past. Hope that you enjoyed them, though! Also, husbands should be less volunteer-happy with our time.

Diane - Yay for another work-out down! Especially if you had to deal with the heat and humidity. I'm reading a book about greatness, and a woman who has won a whole bunch of extreme running competitions spoke about how she embraced the runs in the heat and the rain and the cold, as she knew it gave her an advantage over people who refused to train in those conditions. I am not there, or anywhere close. But it does help me to push a little bit harder, and that's the important part. I am guessing you are going to recapture 80% of your lost fitness within just a week or two. It always surprises me how quickly it comes back. And I don't mean - you used to be able to do 100 push-ups and you'll be able to do 80. I just mean your body will feel fitter and stronger, even at weights higher than ideal.

I am back on a fitness motivational high. I am doing a Fitbit challenge, and I am determined to beat the guy who keeps trading leads with me. (He works in a warehouse, so it feels a bit cheaty, but it's a great motivator for me.) My husband and I went to the gym while the kids went to judo last night, and he was making noises like he wanted to skip. I have been guilty of indulging this almost every time, but I was not having it yesterday. I created my plan, and I wasn't going to punk out on day 1 of the strength training. =)

I got through my first sugar-free day. I struggled some, but it wasn't too difficult. Day 2 now. I also bought some more health-appropriate food for work, so I have lean protein, veggies, and fruit here now. I do better staying away from sugar when I have fruit. (Yes, I know fruit is very high in sugar, but I am using "sugar" to mean processed sugar.)

Goals for today.
1 - No sugar
2 - Run five miles by sneaking out after my 9:30 meeting to go to the gym
3 - Respect and appreciate my body instead of focusing on the excess skin on my thighs

Hope everyone has a fantastic day!