Diane: I so understand the stress. I had that big rock in my tummy with my hubby and what he went through. It's funny how stress can make us eat one time and make us not eat another time. Sounds like you are keeping on track with food and exercise even with the stress. I am glad the scale is moving in the right direction.

Uber: I don't know how people survive in California. Granted, jobs probably pay more, but everything is expensive and driving anywhere is so difficult. Where would you want to move? That is so cool you can live anywhere!

Sorry for double post my computer was acting weird!

Lemon:. Good job on not weighing daily it's difficult at first but you get used to it! My husband just has to rest when tired. He is on full duty now he just needs to pay close attention to how he is feeling! I think my dad is BBQing steak. I'm just gonna have a salad with it.

I was up at 2am today had to take my son to the airport he's going to Atlanta to compete in a gaming competition. I'm still getting bloated but my flare from fibromyalgia has eased. Lots of Epson salt baths and stretching and CBD oil did the trick! Someone told me to try biofreeze. Anyone used this before?

247.8

Uber: That is awesome that you can do what you love, without having to work for someone else!!! The discipline that you must have to keep on task with research and just doing the writing part is impressive. Good for you! Oh, and Omeprazole saves my life! I never have problems with heartburn and acid reflux since I've been using it.

Lemon: That risotto sounds so good! Sometimes you just need something other than the veggies and good-for-your-diet food. I think that you and Uber are right about coming down after the adrenaline rush. And I needed to get out of my own head for a while.

Jenni: Oh, I can imagine the stress you felt with what your husband went through. The effect on your mind and body are astonishing to me. As for the biofreeze, a friend of mine uses it and swears by it, so it might be worth a shot!

As for me, I'm doing much better today. I didn't go to body pump. I actually slept really well last night and when my alarm went off, I just decided it wasn't the morning to get up and go. It felt good to sleep a little longer and ease into the day. Such a pretty morning, too. I'm going to go on a hike after work. I think that will be way more beneficial for me right now. I feel really hungry today, but I think I can stay on track anyway. I would like to push a little lower before the end of the week. We'll see how it goes.

Lemon Oh that risotto sounds delicious. I've never made it but I sure do love to eat it! I've never been to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons so this will be the first time. We are planning on doing some whitewater rafting, hiking, and horseback riding. Fun!

JenSigh, that's the trouble. I don't really want to move anywhere. I love SoCal, but I can't live with my mom forever (she's 83) I lived back east for 20 years and I didn't really like the weather and the people were kind of uptight but it was just a lot more affordable... so, I fantasize about different places, but nothing concrete. Not familiar with biofreeze but I do love a nice epsom soak. Do you use the lavendar? That's my favorite!

Diane Glad to hear you are feeling better, sleeping well and enjoying beautiful weather! All of that will probably help you lose more!

I don't know what is up with me, but I'm was sort of antsy all day... I hate being between projects and having too much down time, but I didn't really feel like getting started because I have a lot of filing to do which I ended up not doing... didn't have the most productive day and skipped gym again. NO GOOD! And really, the underlying reason I didn't want to go swim? Pure vanity because I got my hair done on Saturday and I've been nursing along the lovely blow dry that I got, so I didn't want to get in the pool. Food wise, nothing much happening. Weight stuck at 233 and I haven't seen 232 again. I dropped from 240 to 233 really fast, but now the pay back is I'm sure I'll have to sit here for a while.

Uber: I’ve known quite a few who have moved to TN - you get all 4 seasons in small parcels on the extremes if that’s your thing. And from what I understand it’s not hot humid like Florida in the summer nor troubled by hurricanes. Fairly close to lots of points. I’m sure there’s something tax wise too - these people tend to be somewhat shrewd with their monies but live well as a result. I’d have to think though you’ve the ocean and all and that would be hard to leave. I read Vancouver is lovely temperature wise (never been either). Oh you are unlimited. I suppose you could even go overseas!

As for weight, you’ve done well and I can’t offer great tips on exercise because I’m more an avoider then hurry up let’s go for two hours and do HIIT the entire time and still at high school weight - introducing my sibling who doesn’t understand why I don’t do something like that daily. I’ve never liked working out even when I was in sports. Per their thoughts I should love the endorphin release and feel totally stupendous. I tend to feel beat up when I’m done with a catch in my craw and then my big joints hurt something fierce. When I swim I don’t have the joint ache but we know a pool is not an option.

Jen:never have tried the bio freeze. If it’s not hugely expensive and not a med interrupter then try it out. You never know until you try and see what happens. I’m always one who things work differently on. And steak - sounds good! Strangely at this brunch what my FIL loves is the lox that’s available and we always have to go early so he doesn’t miss out on. And no, it’s not something he grew up with - just a late in life love. I pass!;)

Diane: oh the sky I’m sending you is beautiful! Punks and hot purples as I per out the window! I hope your hike went well last night! We are to be deluged in rain today and cold - like a high of 40! I brought all the plant babies in. This weekend I’ll begin planting! How’s your daughter recuperating?

Hello all!

AM: up even before the birds! I’m baking today one of the last few things. I have a batch of cookies and then the cake the day of travel. I love the smell of baking bread with cinnamon. Fabulous!

As I sit here knocking flour off my belly because with that darn thing it’s still ther and it bounces just like the dough as I punched it down. I have dough belly! And it doesn’t feel smaller but that it all slid to make it bigger. This is where I feel our bodies should be self modified like the templates in playdough sets. Presss your body in shear it off! No issues and life goes on. :)

I’ve got a Mom event at school today and my youngest brought me a plant he started. I’ll have to get it out in my garden this weekend. They were so proud of their garden skills. I love it! My oldest will be helping me plant the garden and get it growing well. They have a desire to learn and I will try to teach the things I was taught and some new ideas.

I think my neighbor thinks I’m nuts I was outside taking a picture of sunrise. The sky is so hot and orange and fuschia now. The camera never gets it perfect but lovely nonetheless. They were hopping in their car for work. Here I am on the porch in my pjs. And hair looking like :broc:

Ok wishing you all well! I hope scales are kind to you today. I’m trying not to hop on mine. I don’t know if this is a good experiment. I may hop on tonight to see where I am. So my best to you all for your end of week!

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Lemon I love the image of you out on your front porch in your jammies taking pictures! Again, kudos to you for being a morning person! I don't know why I dislike exercising so much. Funny enough, I was really into sports as a young person, and I wish I had a sports hobby, because just exercising for exercise sake is just not something I find it easy to get motivated to do, even though I do enjoy it when I'm actually doing it. And about Tennessee, funny enough, I was just talking to a friend who moved there from LA to escape the high prices and she said that where she lives is one of places that is getting super expensive really fast... :-) But it might depend on where. She's near Nashville.

Diane I hope you had a nice hike. That is the worst when you are feeling really hungry, but I find that I alway am hungrier before I see the scale move, and then when I sit for a while, I get less hungry again.

So, the scale went back down to 232 today, and for real this time, I think. Plus, in the NSV department, I took waist, hip and bra band measurements, and I was down 2" in each place. Last night, lying in bed, I brushed my hand over my shoulder and it felt weirdly bony to me. So, I like those feelings of progress because I can't clothes shop all the time to get validation and plus, according to the latest size chart I looked at, I'm still a couple of inches away from dropping to a 1X, much less getting into normal sizes.

Uber: I think that with the work you do, I would have the most trouble with the in between time. I think I do better with more of a schedule. Maybe it is a self-discipline type of thing. Ha! I do get more antsy when I'm not working out. But, I also have a desk job, so if I don't workout, I then up sitting lots.

Lemon: How cool! Sounds like a beautiful sunrise. My daughter is getting better. She's still a little sore, so I told her that she could go back to the doctor, if she is concerned. She asked what I would do, and I told her that I wouldn't tell her that, because I'm not feeling what she is feeling. She has to determine that. :) Enjoy your planting!!

As for me, I'm not recording weight today. I got on, and it was going up higher than I wanted. We ended up having fast food last night and I knew I was feeling a little puffy today. I had to run my husband around with getting his truck from the repair shop to the tire shop. He suggested we just grab burgers. Ugh. So, more water today and hopefully some retention will go away. I hope!

The hike yesterday was good, but it was pretty warm and windy. It was good to do it, and I was glad I went. Today I went to Spin. Tomorrow is spin and upper body weights, if I want to keep in my groove. I'm pretty sure I'll be hiking on Sunday!

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

diane: I am glad she is feeling better. I can imagine the jolt to the body. It may take a bit longer if she is bruised some - deep tissue to work it's way forward. If she's worried, then she should go in, unless she fears the bill thereafter - and there is ALWAYS a bill! I am arguing w/mine right now - really the charges are nuts - my kids pt bills about $10-12 a minute!

uber: I think the bulk of my people in TN tend to live in the suburbs or communities within a 30-40 min drive. It keeps them in a rural-ish type setting. I don't know if that would be where I would move, but it seems a lot from WI enjoy it - weather is milder but as I said they still like to see those 4 seasons and this gives them that small opportunity in hurried up windows to warmth!

Yeah for your NSV! Isn't that weird to finally feel bones that have been there all along? I know - I have a collarbone again! Enjoy it! You will probably cruise way past me much sooner than my own sluggish self.

AM: Well today's big baking is done - and they were tasty - but now all wrapped up and in the basement freezer so not in front of my face tempting me by yelling :broc: EAT ME :broc:

I still have the other two items to bake - cookies and the cake. Cake is late next week and cookies maybe this weekend. I will see.

Yes i have been an early bird most of my adult life - but on the flip side that means I am in bed earlier then my DH likes. Oh well - our bodies fire when they fire. I seem to get a lot more done when the house is quiet and asleep - always did too with work - early in for me because of that and loosing daylight to nonsense issues. That I don't miss!

It's been pouring here today and cold - it's been 38-40 all day thus far and all my plant babies are in my front entry - I feel like a ankle high jungle! If I were a tweedleug I'd be happy. Name the show the tweedlebugs were part of?

ANd I just dated myself seriously bad!

Happy start to you weekend all! Please post if you can - I think I will be fighting the urge to just eat this weekend if left to my own devices. AND

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

:congrat::congrat:

Hiya again!

I am a serial regainer. I think its because the amount I need to lose to be a healthy weight is so large that I get discouragd and think I'll never do it when in fact if I had just worked on losing a few lbs (literally 2-3 lbs) every month I would have been at my goal years ago.

I'm currently 225 lbs and need to be 160 to be under bmi 25. 65 lbs seems like an eternity.

I'm going to break it into chunks and take it a lb at a time. Will try to weigh in daily here.

Vagabond: I’m a serial slow dieter partly because I hate micromanaging and exercise. But I’m still lighter than I was a few years ago and seem to be stuck at a number I was when I was last at a high point in my 30s. Since I’m closer to 50 now - any weight I can get off and keep off I’m happier with. So join in and just keep going as best you can. We all have had issues with the scale of late. I’ve slowed back on weighing daily, though helpful if it went up instead of down so did my outlook. You’ll have to find what works for you too! Good luck!

Am: my family surprised me this morning and took me to breakfast. I indulged in an extra slice of sourdough (it came with the meal) and I had bacon but split it w my youngest. And some vanilla creamer in my coffee. So I’ll have to be mindful the rest of the day. That’s doable I’ll begin planting some things today after DH mows for the first time. We have a ton of long grass as he had seeded and wanted new growth first. And I don’t want an increase in ticks as those things are too prevelant up here!

So this weekend I’ll have to keep on track as best I can and then into next week an awful lot of planting and weeding my yard. So that will be good too! I’ll get exercise under the guise of garden and flowers. I like hidden exercise.

So happy weekend all! Look forward to your daily hellos!

Adding to: I had DH start bringing up the seasonal clothing totes - youd all be proud of me! Every piece that was a 20 is going to goodwill to another lady on the journey! I’m throwing it out there I’m not taking tucks in the too big shorts or skirts, they are going! The 20w tops - going w the exception of one short sleeved polka dot blouse that makes me smile - it’s a good knock around too for rummaging and flower planting! I’m getting rid of the things that don’t fit me well. And perhaps that will help spur me on for more loss! Is anyone else doing this? Actually getting rid of these clothes out of the house, out of totes, out of
Closets OUT OF YOUR PERIPHERY?! I’m doing it and being brave - I don’t want to go back.

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Vagabond Welcome to the loser/regainer group. It is discouraging to look at a big number to lose, but as long as you're heading in the right direction that's all that matters! Welcome!

Lemon Hooray for giving away those icky 20Ws!!! You don't want to go back and having those clothes handy just makes it easier! I love your confidence! I love your "hidden exercise" theory! You're lucky you like gardening. I like the idea of gardening, but when I walk into a garden I have no idea what to do besides smell the flowers or sit on a bench and read a book.

So, I had a great weigh in this morning-- I can't believe the 220s are actually in sight. Also, nice NSV, I took my dog for a walk on a nearby path-- it's downhill from home and then uphill back-- really steep. Last time I tried it I got so tired I almost couldn't make it. Had to stop and pant, and actually sit down for a while. Today. No sweat!

Just a quick check in. Hope you are all enjoying your weekend! Welcome to Vagabond!!

I have off tomorrow too, so I'll check in with you all then.

Diane: I hope you had a lovely weekend!

Morning all!

Am: well let’s just say my DH gave me chocolates yesterday. He kept it to a small package of dark, however I still probably had a good time eating ;)

Mother’s Day went well - I received many complements on my dress I had made that I rewore from the other weekend. I haven’t had something like that in a long time. I was at church and so many of the ladies mentioned it. I had one who doesn’t belong to our parish but a neighboring who waited afterwards until I was done talking w one of the others who stopped to tell me how much my dress made her happy. I guess I did something nice for myself! I told my DH that maybe I should try and wear a dress every other Sunday. I’m not sure I want that many dresses but maybe shaking it up some is what’s warranted. And maybe trying some other out of the box fabrics is where I need to be.

I can’t sleep so I am up. I had been reading on the ring of fire they think is going to take off w the Hawaii eruptions being so much. Evidently an uptick in rumblings all around. How does one prepare for an earthquake? Uber: are you by the San Andreas fault? I know the bottom of my state has felt tremors from the new Madrid fault - I have felt three of them in my life - weirdness only as here it just shakes a bit and the last one the power dipped to off and then it was like someone turning it back on slowly and it felt my bed was moving in a strange way. Alas - I know how to prep for tornadoes or blizzards or even floods but not an earthquake. And from what I know the last one that did anything remotely to the land in the area caused the Mississippi to flow backwards (1800s I think) and the earth doesn’t crack open rather mounds up due to our type of land underneath. I’m not worried about them, however fascinated how the earth changes In that way.

Anywho I should hop on the scale but I’m not going to. At brunch I had a bigger salad and baked chicken and a slice of ham, mashed potatoes and why does everyone have to make green beans in a casserole? I’d prefer the beans on their own. :) However this is old Wisconsin supper club brunch - so green bean casserole it is. Otherwise they always have lots of deep fried, pasta, ribs, meatballs and prime rib. These I avoided - never hard - I’m not a fan of most. It was a good day spent with family.

So today will find me doing blood work to see if my body did indeed return to normal from the od of synthroid w weight loss. Now granted I havent lost since changing my dose and I hope that can begin again as summer rears up. But I do hope they find my levels at a comfortable and well functioning place. I loathe frequent testing ($280- 320 a time) and I hate being stuck (I usually get a newbie who freaks when I say I’m a bad stick - but I am - I get the butterfly needle as a result and of late stuck in my hand:( )

So I send you all well wishes and hope you had nice weekends and really that celebrating w your families was more enjoyable then micromanaging what went in your body. Happy day all it’s monday!

Once suns up and kids on bus then it’s off to clinic and back home to plant! I hope that goes well and the darn rabbits that spite me are out of my garden.

Enjoy your day!

Uber: I just think it is cool that you could live anywhere with your work. Many people don't get that perk very often. So were thinking of being in LA around the week of July 4th. Anywhere you can think of that would be cool to take the kids? Were not doing amusement parks this year. Looking for something different.

Diane: Hope you had a great Mother's day too! How is the daughter doing? Hope you all were able to celebrate.

Lemon: Sounds like you got a whole lot done! I am still needing to get my butt in gear and finish painting. The demo fort he countertops in the kitchen is on the 23rd so I need to get in gear!

Vega: I am right there with you...been hanging out in mid 220s.....I am beginning to hate my body it hasn't been cooperating with losing but on a bright side even if it is slug slow I am still losing! You got this!

I hope everyone had a great Mother's day. I went on a 3 mile walk with the kids well they rode their bikes. Then we went to my parents and had a BBQ and the steak was SO good!!!! My diet is once again bland, calling the doctor this AM because I met my deductible with my hospital stay and now I can get referred to a gastro! Happy Monday!

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Lemon I love that you got so many compliments on your new dress! I think you should definitely try out wearing dresses more often. Nothing cheers up my mood like wearing an outfit where I think I look sharp! And it does help motivate to keep working on weight loss! I think LA is right on the San Andreas fault. I've felt lots of earthquakes in my life, but I live in a one-story house and we've never had any significant damage.

Jen One of my absolute favorite places is Huntington Gardens in Pasadena! It's just these giant gardens of all different kinds. My kids liked it when they were younger and they still like it now. The other thing my kids found interesting was the Sony Studios tour-- it's not as exciting as Universal Studios, because it's more like a traditional tour and there are no rides, but it's interesting to look behind the scenes. Griffith Observatory is fun, and Venice Beach is a great place to walk around. It is kind of a cool perk to be able to live anywhere I want to live with my job, but really, I love where I live now...but I also like moving around.

Diane How was your Mother's Day? Did you get in any nice hikes this weekend?

Everything pretty good on my end. I've been really headachey since yesterday, which I hate, but otherwise, I'm doing fine. Had a pretty cool NSV which is that I have this pair of jeans that I bought during my great weight loss of 2009. I saved them because I really loved them, but they were just TINY. Size 38, but a brand that is very much not designed for plus sized ladies, but they looked especially great on me because they are designed to give you a nice little "thigh gap" and my legs are my best feature cuz I carry mot of my weight in my middle. So anyway, tried them on a fews months ago, and I couldn't even get them up over my butt, much less even think about zipping them. Tried them on about a month ago, and I could get them over my butt and lying down on the bed, I could actually zip them, but I mean, it was ABSURD because they were low cut and there was so much me hanging out over the top of the jeans 360 degrees of muffin top. So, tried them on yesterday and they are still too small, but not ridiculously small-- if I wore a loose top I could probably wear them now and I'm sure that they're going to fit pretty soon!!! It's a great feeling bc when I used to look at them next to my size 22s they just looked impossibly tiny. So, I'm definitely hoping to see the 220s soon! I've lost 12 lbs in the last 5 weeks, which has been awesome! But I'm sure I'm due to slow down again soon. I just hope I don't skid to a stop before I get to 229. :-)