It's my Friday!!!!!

Lemon:. Yes it's crazy and with my immune problems I am not wanting to take a chance. They knew about this well before the informed us. I'm so sick of the government keeping us in the dark then expecting us to be able to jump right on it. It's the city's fault and shame on them! It's hard to bounce around in weight and it's hard when you lose slow but keeping your eye on why you started is the best thing, I know it helps me.

Sakai:. Yes I am still mad at them hiding it or holding information! I love biking! I started with trying to get 9-10000 steps a day and I think I'll up my game in a couple months!

Uber: that sounds so much fun! I can't wait til our trip although I don't like the good part. Are you planning ahead for food? Do you have any ideas on good good to take to stay on plan?

Diane: yes not good at all. Lucky we have piles of bottled water. You can live without food for sometime but not water!!!! Enjoy the games while you can!

I taped the ceiling for painting last night. I will be a busy girl getting the drywall and painting done this weekend and then on to the floors! Let's hope I stay focused and finish one project at a time I can be ADHD with that. I did finish under the sink last weekend but all this work to do is making me crazy. Having no kitchen sink is also a lot harder than I thought lol!! I know I will be happy in the end.

Ladies just remember that we got this and never give up. Someone said to me 6 months from now where do I see myself with my healthy lifestyle??? I just want to say the scale does NOT define us......keep on and never give up no matter what that Lil scale says!

Grocerying done! And so was a quick IF as it just dawned on me I only had my coffee before I went. Woot! Good when I can sneak those extra hours in. I just unloaded the car and taking my break from running up and down the front porch into my kitchen from the car. Plus the little should be getting home here soon too and I have to meet the bus or they’ll keep them!

Wait - that might be a good idea :P

Jen: sounds like you have a weekend full too! You sound like me w the ADHD when you do projects. I find i do that often because I have what I need to do but then I might pass something that needs to be done and I’m like I’ll do it quick and in the end up forgetting to go back to my first project waylayed by like 50 other things! So I hear you! Good luck with all the home projects. I’m looking at some things that might need to be painted in rooms and my homes foundation. Funny how spring and summer kick us into gear.

Hello all!

I am happy I found all sorts of good for me foods. I did kind of roll my eyes as all the foods you’d like for grad parties are sky high - $6 for a watermelon? No thanks and the strawberries I got for $1/lb are now $2.25. Nectarines, blueberries and plums $3.99 hah - I left them! I know gas is high but come on now really?

As I said above I got a 16:8 fast in and will eat once little hops off the bus. Then I may go mow a small section of yard (new grass) but weeds are taking over instead and we all know weeds are not welcome when growing. Then I’ll reseed so some More hidden exercise.

I mean it won’t make me lose weight but st least I’m doing something today while the suns out and before the big rains again.

Happy day all! Bus is here.

Diane It's good that you are getting to the point where you want to get back to your familiar food and exercise routine. That's why it's awesome to take a break sometimes. We need a vacation from everything, including our good habits.

Jenni So stressful about the water! I hope everything is okay for you and it's NOT OKAY that you weren't told immediately! As for food on the trip, I've been thinking about it and trying to come up with a good plan. I want to pack a lot of stuff because the cost of the trip will go through the roof if we do much eating out, but we'll be on the road for a while, and the stuff in the cooler usually gets a bit gross after a couple of days. Am thinking bread and peanut butter, beef jerky, nuts...

Lemon It is soooo hard when you have to face an unwanted number on the scale, but my advice is not to focus on the lower number you were at before but instead spend a lot of time thinking about the higher number that you once were and remind yourself, kindly, that the distance between you and your low number is much smaller than the distance between right now and your higher number, and that's where you want to keep it. Everyone fluctuates and goes through spells of emotional eating, or times when our body is just not working with us for one reason or another, but as long as your weight is staying within a 10lb range, in my opinion, that's still totally workable and normal. It's the big 20+ lb gains that can be really tough to backtrack.

Toasted Happy trails!!

Had kind of a bad day foodwise yesterday. I've been having some trouble with heartburn, especially late in the day, so I've been trying to be really careful about what I eat, especially late in the day. So, last night, since my diabetic mom left, I decided to treat my son with pepperoni pizza, but since that's greasy, I planned to eat cottage cheese instead. Well, I ate the cottage cheese, but then, I ate a piece of pizza. It's not so much that one piece of pizza will kill you, but I KNOW that greasy food in the evening is a no-go and I did it anyway. Still 227 this morning. I'm going to be more careful today. Getting a little nervous about eating while traveling. Car trip food is always so hit or miss, so I'm trying to think of healthy stuff that also can sit in a car for days.

Uber: for the drive: almonds, water or water bottle (keeps you away from soda!), jerky is good but how much can you eat w/o issue?, string cheese (at least here we have it at most gas stations), gum, hard candy if you can have a few for the sweet factor - I always need sweet, sunflower seeds if you like bird food, if your taking a cooler - freeze yogurt tubes. But make sure you have enough proteins it will keep the other car crazies at minimum for the sweets and coffee if you are inclined to stay awake. Sounds like fun planning! I’ll be making the trek to my moms again soon and we’ll be doing some local hotspots for the kids and I have to finialize those plans - all within an hour of my moms but something each kid can enjoy.

Avoiding putting groceries away. I still have to eat but that’s on hold too. My one main goal for the weekend and of late will be a huge one to hit: NO SODA. That’s been a big chunk of my problem. It’s hot and that’s what I grabbed - how dumb!

Well I best get to it now that I gave Uber some of my thoughts for car travel food. I know you have to be mindful of your bypass yes?

Busy group since yesterday!!

Uber: Yeah, not detoxing just yet. I'll still go tonight and tomorrow at least. Friday should be the championship game, depending on who wins. It may head into Saturday. It is double elimination, so there is one team left with no losses. As for your road trip, I can imagine that is a little worrisome. It is hard to travel and keep on track with food. If you slip up a little, though, don't worry about it!!

Lemon: Ugh on the 230's. Maybe you'll stay under it. I know that I am probably back above 250, but I hope not. I've just been so off my schedule lately.

Jenni: Sounds like your projects are coming along! That's great! You'll be busy, that's for sure.

Sakai: Fires are so scary. We've been so dry that we've had a few around here too. Hopefully it isn't a sign of things to come!

As for me, still not doing too well on exercise. I've just been staying up too late to get to the gym. Hopefully, tomorrow is the day! If not, for sure on Saturday. Food hasn't been great, but I've also noticed that I'm not really craving any of the really bad stuff at the ball park. So, a little off course, but not completely.

I also want to echo what Jenni said. I was reading some thoughts on MFP about people who have successfully lost over 100 pounds. The majority said to be patient and keep going. Even if there are plateaus, or your commitment wanes a little, you need to keep going. Even if you aren't losing a lot of weight, you keep going. If you stop, then it can get so much worse. So, if we have those times when it just isn't going as fast as we would like, we need to persevere. It can be done! It may take longer than we want, but it can be done!! Stay positive everyone!!

Hi All!
Lemon / Slashnl- Yes our Fire danger is very high right now. it's been high for the past two months. It's very dry and windy and that means fire danger around here. Everyone is jumpy because last year our mountain (A huge mountain range sits about 5 miles away from the town) Caught fire from dry lightning and burned for almost a whole month. The fire was getting close to cabins and the federal prison and much-loved camp sights. I have not brought myself to go up there since. I know much of our favorite places were saved, but other parts of the forest were not and it's heartbreaking that it will never be the same in my lifetime.
So we in town are pretty edgy about the fire hazard.
We haven't had any real rain in months, which is pretty normal. Tomorrow kicks off the monsoon but there's no rain in the forecast for about 2 weeks. Hoping some surprise storms will develop.

Lemon- I've always felt sorry for Marie Antoinette. Married so young into a much different court than she was used to. Her husband ate all the time, every animal possible stuffed in other animals and Marie was set on her figure so she would only drink lemon water, weak broth and perhaps biscuits to dunk in her water. That sounds like a diet worse than some today do. @.@ Anything for that famed 23 inch waist. Issues in the marriage bed, And then that whole "Let them eat cake" Fiasco (Which she did not say)
But she was spoiled and filthy rich and powerful so I don't feel too sorry for her. But I do love the clothes. And I think with the style of the overly large hips, any waist would look tiny with those costumes.

I haven't joined my coworkers in the run/jog. I haven't been doing any exercising except some body weight type exercises. Squats have always been my favorite. but I know I need to get movie if I want this weight to shift a bit faster.

I really wish nuts didn't have so many carbs. They are the perfect keto snack with the protein and fat amounts, however, they also come with carbs. Even my favorite sunflower seeds are off limits. First they take my popcorn, now my nuts and seeds. I struggle with a easy and quick to grab Keto snack. I literally have to make everything. We never really went out to eat much, I was always cooking our meal, but now it seems like i'm really ALWAYS cooking meals. our menu has narrowed down to about 10 items of easy meat and veggie. I'm not complaining, the weight is coming off. But I'm just getting a bit bored of it, you know? I really need t look up more ideas.

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Thank goodness it’s moved back down into the 20s. Of course I did drink 4L of water and ate a big salad for dinner. Will see how today goes.

Sakai: can you do a piece of string cheese or almonds? I know the almonds are lower in fats then cashews or other nuts. I haven’t done too much reading on keto so I apologize about such. As for the French - can you imagine being the seamstress to make those dresses and then the corset gal? My goodness - I’d be like - tighter I know I can go a whole day with out breathing! I want to see a waist! And the hair - i think I recall those hairdos weren’t washed often and it wasn’t uncommon to have spider nests in them. How true that was I don’t know but - can you imagine?

As for the fires - please stay safe. I was watching video on fires in OK and how it was way in the middle of a field and a gust of wind caught it and moved it to the other side of the road and went boom w combustibles and took off in a raging fire. I can understand your fear and sadness. Stay safe! And maybe those beautiful areas you lost will spring w beautiful unsuspecting new growth - didn’t it in ca this past year bloom with so many wildflowers? You might be surprised.

Diane: do you live near a river that’s kind of wild and big for rafters? When I was on Amtrak after Denver we went alongside a beautiful fun looking river but I can’t recall where that was if it was close to boulder or not. That was years ago that I went and I’m not sure anymore where but it is a beautiful sight to see.

Jen: did your flares settle down? Will they become more frequent with age or weight? How’s the painting going? Do your girls help you with it? How old is the house your working on?

Uber: how are the edits? Did your scale move on down too? One of these days your walk is going to surprise you with ease and you’ll crest it in no time flat.

Toasted: did you get home yet? Tales of your travels?

Lil: how are you doing?

Hello all!

Am: well finally the scale moved on down. I’m going to try and do my best today but it’s a Friday which leads into the weekend and that’s been my downfall big time. But I have a list of things to do - throwing mulch, cleaning the garage, planting new shrubs. So activity in there that’s for sure but it’s my incessant mindless snacking, drinking soda and eating heavy that’s killing my weekends so if I can keep that in check I will aim to loose one pound by Monday. Here’s hoping that can be achieved.

Oh and it’s national donut day! Hah! How’s that for diet friendly?

Happy weekend all!

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Lemon So terrific that the scale went down for you again! Sounds like you have a very busy weekend ahead! Have you tried substituting flavored water or flavored sparkling water (if you like bubbles) for soda? I used to be a big old diet soda fiend, but now I never touch the stuff, but I still like a little flavor in my water so I put in the flavored drops. It takes a while but I think soda is more of a habit than anything and if you concentrate on breaking it you will probably be just as happy drinking something else.

Diane Well, you definitely need to continue your baseball vacay until the finals!! Hope you have a great time and nice weather for the weekend. It is so true what you say about sticking with it and weight loss!!! My instinct is always to want to gun, gun, gun for it and then it bites me in the butt when I can't maintain that forever. Losing weight should be more like driving down a highway and less like walking a tightrope!

Sakai I'm not too familiar with keto either, but I hear you on the nuts. I think nuts are hard because it's hard not to eat too many-- that being said, raw, unsalted almonds aren't all that good so it's easier to just eat a few. Stay safe with the fires! As a Californian, I get how scary the fire threat is!

Jenni Hope you are having a great weekend. Is now the time for monthly weigh in? Fingers crossed that it's a good one.

So, happy uber had some crazy NSVs yesterday. First, I decided to go in for my Brazilian blowout hair treatment. Yes, that's the one with all the chemicals, LOL, but I have just really frizzy, awful hair, it's fine and curly, but it doesn't really curl, it just stacks up and frizzes, but when I do this treatment it's silky soft and lays nice as you please. I love it because it always makes me feel pretty! Last night, I decided to try on clothes again, and so weirdly enough, even though I haven't lost much more, all this stuff was fitting that didn't fit a week or so ago!! My 1X tee shirt that was a little too small to wear? No more. But even more crazy, my favorite jeans that I saved from the last time I lost a bunch of weight because I couldn't believe I was ever that little? I tried them on a while back and I couldn't even pull them over my butt, and then about two weeks ago, I could actually zip them, but there was no way I could wear them because I had a huge 360 degree muffin top?? Those jeans fit now!!?!?!?! It's crazy because I've only lost about 3 or 4 lbs since last time I tried them on, and I really haven't been working out very much that would explain it, and yet, there is no doubt, I've shrunk! And, I got the first "you've lost weight" comment... only had to drop 60 lbs to get there, LOL. So Uber is pretty happy right now!

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Expected it was fire pit and s’mores night at our house last night. And yes I partook.

However today I did mulching, weeding and cleaning the DREADED garage. But it’s all done now and as clean as unattached 1940s garage can be.

I wonder how many calories I burned but haven’t entered yet AND I did IF until 1115. So all is good in that front as long as I don’t eat like a famished rabbit. Well swine maybe!

Uber: how exciting! Isn’t it funny when the body changes shape vs no weight change?! I’ll take that! I know a the IF my tum always appears flatter. Take those new fitting clothes and rock them!

Hello all!

I’m tired and need to shower off all the dirt and dust I accumulated. I’m glad those jobs are done but still have lots more weeding and mulching to do. But those are back beds and I did the places people can see from the road easily. Plus we’ll be traveling to visit my mom for a week soon and I wanted that chore out of the way. I can do the back beds as time permits.

It’s almost feeling like a May type day - cool, breezy and threat of rain all day. Thus far no dice on rain. But after all the late snow and August heatwave of last week this is a beautiful change. Windows open and air off.

I just have been laundering in between. I have more to go but at least the bulk is done. At the same time I’m trying to rid myself of the 20w’s and bras that were never right sized in the first place I’m eyeing you playtex/cacique with your weird method of measurements for cup sizes! Out it all goes.

So that’s my weekend. Maybe tomorrow’s scale will look better than today but we made memories last night and had fun w the kids. And that’s more important then a lousy number on a scale. Besides they were having fun learning to roast marshmallows with lout them becoming flaming balls of goo.

Enjoy your weekends all! I’m hopeful tomorrow or Monday for a nice number!

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Just dropping by to report my shopping trip to Old Navy! Went with my son who needed a pair of pants. Let me be clear that I have never shopped at Old Navy for myself because I only shop plus stores, but I thought well, let me take a look around. Well, I was surprised and pleased to find that Old Navy XL fits just fine. Bought a tee-shirt and a pair of joggers! I guess I could have taken a hint from the fact that not everyone shopping there is so skinny, but boy is it nice to be able to go into a regular store and buy stuff just like everyone else!

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Uber: yeah for you! Yep I do old navy too, their talls (which generally aren’t in store) are a good length for me and I’m not always tugging and they aren’t tunic fit at the bottom. However they have been doing cheaper fabrics then 5-10 years ago I haven’t looked this year - their t-shirts used to be a heavier retain the shape type. Of late they have been thin and get wonky in the wash as time goes on but they still work. I have been known to grab pjs (even in xx) bottoms, wobven tops - though not super fitted ones those never work, sweaters and Lycra exercise leggings. Check out their clearNce rack often as you can sometimes find the talls there someone has returned from online order. Enjoy new fits!

Am: still tired and the allergies are back today. Ugh! My eyes are the worst so I hurried and took the Allegra. Will be heading to mass here soon and hen off to the ils for lunch. Yes it’s kind of old school the hanging w family on Sunday but it should be ok today and the accusations at a minimum.

Weight is a bit better today not great but better so will try my best by end of day. Who knows it’s a Sunday but I’ve had no soda at all! Yeah me. I’ll be hauling my water up w me for lunch that will help floor me more honest too.

Happy day all!

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Lemon I know what you mean about the tee-shirts. I feel like that with tee-shirts from a lot of stores! They just don't wear well. I have a thermal shirt that it a size 3X and every time I washed it (in cold) it just got shorter and wider. When I started loosing weight I though I may as well throw it in the dryer, and now it's not just short and wide, but it's 3/4 length sleeves!! Makes me nuts.

I just did the math and realized that I'm down 73lbs from Jan 2017! That is an amazing feeling!:D:D

Uber- Whoo! 73 pounds! Way to go! That's an amazing accomplishment.

I had a heck of a weekend. I finally got my trees. An apricot and a fig. They are both already in the ground but I noticed today that my fig was showing signs of sun scalding. So I covered it with burlap until it hardens up a bit. They're supposed to love hours and hours of full sun, but this little guy isn't used to Arizona summer sun just yet.
Lemon- I recall you had some great tree advice. I treated them with root stimulator, but I forgot if I was supposed to retreat them once a month?

My Man's relatives came down for a visit suddenly. I had spent the whole night washing and painting my living room, so the house was a disaster @.@ and still smelled of fresh paint. So we opted to go hang at Denny's for a while. Which I'm thankful for because really, my house was a train wreck. My man went full off diet, Which I don't blame him, Although I do not want to encourage emotional comfort eating, which is what this was. But he's in such a better mood. Not sure if it was the change in food or the visit from his family or both.

Lemon- Yes! Cheese! I forgot all about cheese. I can have it as long as I keep track of my carbs because dairy still has carbs. I normally have at least one string cheese (Or 1oz of cheese cut from a block) as a fast snack. Cottage cheese is always a nice treat too and still within my carb allotment.

Because of the crazy weekend, the visit to Denny's and having a few drinks (which I was careful in making sure they were not mixed with anything with sugar) My scale shot up 2 pounds. Which was better than I expected. It's all water weight from the uptick in carbs and It'll go back down in a day or two. But I seem to always do this on the weekends, even when I stick to my diet. I wonder if it's because I'm not moving as much as the days I work? Hmm.

Sakai: stimulator once a month and a 5 gal pail of water only once a week straight down to force the roots deeper. It can get residual water from rain, sprinkler etc. keep up with both until frost (do you have that in az)? I think we did both for our autumn blaze maple for the first 2-3 years.

Cheese is a big help in moderation. I come from the dairy state (too bad ca) and we have huge cheese aisles at the grocery so I’m apt to see what ones are lower cal and try new tastes. Sometimes that mixes it up enough for me to change the taste or creaminess feel (not a fan of the drier grittier cheeses).if you are limited mix up the ages to a sharp or like a pepper jack (spicy), provolone is a good one too. I sometimes do a chicken breast and then put a piece of provolone, prosciutto and fresh basil under the broiler when chicken is done for a gooey tasty main dish. Did I say gooey good? :)

Uber: 73 pounds?! That’s one 9 year old you have lost! Fantastic! You have reason to celebrate. New hair, new clothes and a trip - you are on your way! I wish my scale was chasing yours but it’s pretty stagnant. I’m going to try and dodge raindrops and maybe the little and I can go out for a nice walk. It will not be as long as I need to because of leg difference and tired factor of keeping up for them. But we can go and do what we can. When do you leave for your trip?

Jen: how’d your weekend projects go? Is it all ready for the fixit dudes to come back w the tops? How fun!

Toasted: did you get home?

Hello all!

Am: didnt weight have been up since 2 as my DH stole all the covers and then my worries woke me and wouldn’t leave me. Everything from diet to wanting to renovate or dream of renovate (more like it) my budget can do small amounts right now not the grand that’s in my mind.

Weight and diet wise. I did not accomplish IF this morning. I’m tired and hungry. Weekends do this to me often. And I overeat and don’t drink my water and I sure as heck guess even if I do yardwork or massive cleaning it doesn’t much matter to my scale. So I’ll keep trying whereever I can.

And my ring still fits just fine. So I’ll keep trying and maybe that ring will get looser sooner than not.

Happy day all! New week new ideas and thoughts. Wishing you all well! I’m off to check a few products in the house that have recalls on them. Ugh!

Hey guys, how goes? I tried to check in over the weekend on my phone but then it lost my long post and then I got mad and didn't. So here I am, first day back at work, checking in. I've done my post vacation weigh in- it was pretty much as bad weight-wise as I estimated it would be- 199.5lbs, a weight I've not been since 2011. That said, I'm very much back on top of things and even though it's hard, I've been on track and within calories since Friday. My next big goal is to start exercising, but I want to get my eating to be a proper habit first- so at least a week of eating this way. I'm trying to stay low-ish carb (by which I mean under 100g a day) or a carbs with only 1 meal a day (not counting vegetables).

Travel-wise, my trip was pretty epic. I went to 8 Caribbean countries (9 if you count the French and Dutch sides of Saint Martin/Sint Maarten differently like the locals do- even though the rest of us are like ;) surrrrreeee. They do have completely different citizenships, laws and governmets) and explored colonial history, walked around old towns, visited monuments and forts, went to museums, hiked a mountain, did a rainforest trek, bathed in volcanic mud, went down a submarine, trekked the bottom of the Caribbean sea and played with fish, went to markets, shopped, and tried new foods and local cuisine. And that was all before I got back to the US. I was in DC but I've been many times before and so done all the tourist-y things except the Museum of African American History but getting tickets to that was a lot more effort than I was willing to put in. Fortunately, my room/suitemates from college made a trip of it over Memorial Day weekend and we hung out and one of them is local and took us to the foodie-est spots. I went for a meal that was actually called the "Endless Carnivore's Brunch," went to a pie restaurant (yes a restaurant that serves ONLY pies; savoury and sweet; a hipster tea shop with ALL the goods and tea-blends which was my DC food/drink highlight since I don't drink coffee and so Starbucks and Costa and Nero and all the coffee shops are kind of not my jam- but this was the cooler better, healthier version of that. Also, my friends made up for their failure to indoctrinate me in American ways when I lived in America and took me to play skeeball and mini golf for the first time in my life. To summarize, I really suck, but it was fun.

In other news, I got my hair done on Friday and hated it so much that on Saturday, instead of just untwisting my hair and washing and restyling it like a normal person, I walked into a barbers and shaved my head. Because I suppose that's the appropriate reaction to a hairstyle you don't like. Mind, I'd never in my life been to a barbers to cut my hair but oh well, you only live once. I now have a tapered haircut with short back and sides and a curly high top (I took off about 9 inches off the top and the back and sides are cut close to my head). I love it and think I might keep my hair short for a while, maybe grow the top out a bit or cut it down further, who knows? My family is a bit shocked though and my mom thinks I escalated crying to her about my hairstyle to shaving my head a little too fast.

Jenni: I'm horrified to hear about your bad water. That's terrible. We had contaminated water as well when i was young- both from a petrol pipe leak and a sewage leak and it's incredibly unpleasant and somewhat frightening. But at least here, being 3rd worldly, we were aware the city water wasn't safe to drink out of the tap, in America, I know lots of people just drink the water straight as it's supposed to be safe. That's so wrong. I hope your weekend home reno plans went well and you accomplished all you wanted.

Lemon: Heyyy! I'm with you on everything! The shooting up a decade and now the hopefully equally quick slide back down and beyond. I weighed on Friday at 199.5 and today at 197, so I'm encouraged but weekends are HARD. Weekdays are hard too, who am I kidding, everyday is hard! It took 2 days to get home, which was my fault. I don't live two days away from America- more like 14-ish hours. But I flew a middle eastern airline which took me beyond home and then half way back so it was really nice, but it was a long journey. I spent the first 2 days back dealing with jetlag and hair drama so food wasn't really a priority. But yesterday and today have been a challenge trying to overcome the munchies and wean myself from months of bad eating habits and not sticking to plan. I wasn't going to but since you asked, I summarized my trip above. It's funny how putting stuff away is the hardest part of any chore- whether it's putting the laundry away or putting the groceries away. I'm praying that you can have a nap today or at least a good (full) night's sleep tonight.

Uber: 73lbs is AMAZING!!! Well done!!!! We all know it's not an easy journey and appreciate how fantastic it is to have stuck to it so long! ALL the NSVs as well though!!!!!! :flame: :flame: :flame: I feel you about laundry misshapen clothes- the short and wide is THE WORST!!!

Diane: How've you been? I hope your team is doing well. I love live sporting events. Football (soccer) is my favourite and it's my dream to live near my team and have a season ticket. You say ball park, so I'm assuming you're referring to a baseball team? Are they in MLB? Are they good or are they frustrating you to tears? How into it are you- do you know all the stats? I always hear baseball people speaking in stats. I watch cricket sometimes which is similar and likes a stat as well but not as much as baseball. I've never been to a baseball game or watched a full match, what kind of snacks are there? At football, it's meat pies or sausage rolls or occasionally sandwiches and a warm drink (because English weather) or a soda, what's the food like in baseball? Are you back on a normal sleeping schedule yet? Did you get back your workout mojo?

Sakai: I hope you get some surprise rainfall as well. This is the rainiest month of the year where I live and it rains heavily every single day so I'm mentally willing some of our rain to you. How scary to live under the threat of forest fires. Re: nuts, there are these amazing nuts called Pili Nuts, they are delicious and basically taste like buttery magical goodness and they're pretty much all fat, no carb. I found them on Amazon when I was looking for keto snacks for my mom last year but I'm more in love with them than she is. They're kind of spendy, so as delicious and no-carb as they are, you're not going to want to eat that much of it because $$$, but they might be worth a try and they'll bump up your fat and add nothing to your carb. I got the sprouted kind from a brand called Hunter Gatherer Natural Foods from Amazon but I think it might be slightly cheaper on their site and there are other brands. Also, if you're bored with food and you're on Instagram, for sure check out @lchf_italian - her meals are simple and doable but they are super delicious looking and even non-keto me gets an attack of the noms. I like Instagram so when my mom was doing keto, I basically followed all the people with yummy, doable-looking food- so maybe check that for inspiration if you haven't already. How exciting about the trees! When do you begin to get fruit? By the way, I'm glad to hear that your man's surgery went well and he's feeling better about the whole situation- I remember you saying the apprehension was causing him a lot of stress. Thank God, all was well in the end.

Alright guys, this has already been pretty long. I hope you guys have wonderful day.

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Sakai: I think you did well, with just a couple of pounds increase. I'll bet that most of it will fall off since you're back on track. Sometimes weekends just suck us in!! Ha!

Lemon: Smores sound really good and really fun! It is good to do that sometimes when you have kids. It also sounds like you have been keeping busy with lots of yard and garden work! Oh, and to answer your question about out river... The Colorado River runs right by where I hike. In our area, it is not very fast or treacherous, so if you raft near us, it is more of a relaxed float trip. Up higher in the mountains, they have the rapids, with much more exciting rafting.

Uber: How nice to have some great NSV's. And then to top it off with a great scale victory of 73 pounds. Very awesome! You should be so proud and excited as you are moving forward!

Toasted: Yay, new adventures and a new haircut! Way to go! Your trip sounds wonderful and I'm glad you had a good time. And, I'll bet that your hair is kind of a fun change for you. That's pretty cool! As for me and baseball, I do love it, but I'm not much of a stats gal. I prefer college sports over the professionals, so learning their stats is just not on my list of things to do!

As for me, the tournament ended on Saturday. It was a fun time, but I'm glad it is over. It kind of wears me out, and then the food ... bad. Exercise.... not at all. So, time to get back to normal. So, two weeks of being away from my normal routine put me back above 250. But, I'm feeling invigorated and ready to tackle it all again. I need June to be a good weight loss month. So, I went to spin today, and I've packed a good lunch. Normally tomorrow is a rest day, and I might just go with that. Or I'll try to go hiking after work. We'll see.

No weigh in

Running with kids as last day of school this week. So it’s all that craziness of finishing on up.

I’m also cleaning out my freezer of fruits and making fruit leather in the dehydrator and also making it so I can get new fruit in as they come into season. So this leather is all strawberries and apples. Problem is some of last nights got a tad too dry on the outside edge so I need to back off the heat. But it’s still good! And the kids are happy to have it.

Toasted: I’m glad you had a wonderful time! Oh the weight will come off you can do this! As for the hair - my usual first course of action is to just wash out the crazy styling they did (I always feel guilty to say I don’t style or part it like I do etc) but never have gone your route. If it was all braided how long did it take? I’m just thinking all the time involved and shaving was probably a heck of a lot easier!

Diane: sounds like you had lots of fun with your games. Hey - sometimes we need that rest to just have fun and enjoy time with those we love. You’ll get going once again and make progress!

Sakai: how’s your tree today? Speaking of we need to plant two of them this evening - only arborvitaes and I have to fence them around less my neighbors lawn man lows over it as for some darn reason they both believe my back yard is hers and yes he ran over one of my dogwoods and hostas a few weeks ago. And too, the rabbits like to munch on the branches which is part of the whole problem of why I have two to plant as they girdeled the one we bought last year. Anywho - those are my tree issues of late!

Hello all!

Happy day to you each and maybe we can all find one thing to be successful with.

220.6

Lemon:. Cabinet guys come today and countertops go in Monday. I have been running around like a chicken trying to get things done! Dried fruit sounds amazing!

Diane: Wishing you a great loss month! I need it too.

Toasted:. Sounds amazing!!! I want to go to St Thomas do bad!

Uber: I was late in posting been so busy!

Hello all!

Sorry for the short posts trying to get out to training but I had to try and get one in today! This last weekend I finished painting the front room, tore out all bad drywall, and replaced sanded and missed the new drywall in the kitchen. Starting downside floors this weekend. I'm tired and SO sore!!!! Also another 4 pound month. I really need a good loss this month. I'm going to cut all sugar again and watch bread and stick to the IF and see what happens. Right now I'm a turtle with weight loss and working on being okay with it!

252.2

Lemon: Yum! The fruit leather sounds great! And pretty soon there will be some fresh fruit available. I think our first one around here are the cherries. Love those things! So ready!

Jenni: Four pounds a month is pretty darned good! Good for you! With all the work you are doing, you might be burning lots of calories!

As for me, no change since yesterday on weight. And, I was actually glad for that. I didn't do well with food yesterday for some reason. I guess it is hard to get back on track. Whatever.

I didn't go to the gym. Tuesday is usually a rest day. I might go for a hike, though, after work. We'll see how it goes!!

Hey guys, quick check in. Yesterday didn't go as planned food-wise, because I JUST had to have a piece of cake. It wasn't bad though. Because I'm trying to stay quite on the lower end of my calorie range, it ended up being not horrible calorie-wise as it was a teeny 2-ounce piece of cake, just on the higher range of my target. I also had sweets today which wasn't totally on plan, but I'm still within carbs and smack dab in the middle of my calorie range rather than my preferred lower end. I meant to weigh in today but I got dressed before I remembered and was running too late to strip back and weigh- yes I do that sometimes.

Diane: The hair IS a fun change. I'm trying to go with the flow but it's still a little unpredictable how it will react to the elements since I don't know it too well yet. I hear many people like college sports more than the professional leagues. Why is that? It is super hard getting back on track so yay being more or less back on track with your workout mojo. One step at a time, I'm sure you'll be back on track food-wise as well soon. Hopefully, you can get your desired post-work hike in.

Lemon: I think washing a style you don't like out is probably the more rational decision. The braids took about an hour to get and I did take them out before shaving my head which was part of what my mother couldn't understand. But I was just done, I guess. Nobody messes with a woman who shaves her head on a whim; I've felt very weighed down (not by hair) emotionally and spiritually and mentally and the hated hair do, such a tiny thing, was just the straw that broke the camel's back, because I was a crying mess all night on Firday, so I think it was my "Britney" move of just being done and starting afresh more postively. Or something. I've never had homemade fruit leather- it sounds delish! Are you looking to having your kids home all summer? Any major plans?

Jenni: I went to St Thomas! It was very green and very hilly and tall with those freakishly narrow winding roads- it's gorgeous though and has beautiful beaches. I hope you go! Wow it sounds like your weekends are pretty busy. Are you almost at the point where you can have a relaxed weekend yet? What are you planning this weekend? Booo the slower than desirable weight loss but YAYYY getting a loss for May. 1 lb a week is pretty respectable and is supposed to be a healthy, sustainable rate to lose weight so that's a plus. It IS frustrating though but well done persisting!

Okay guys, I've got to go. It's 7.36pm and I'm still at work. At minimum it will take me an hour to get home because traffic and best believe, I'm still going to eat dinner which is carby (reasonably so because now watching carbs) and not light because I saved up calories today for it. So I need to leave. Hugs to everyone and wishing us all good weight loss karma.

Diane You always have such a great attitude-- being reinvigorated instead of discouraged. I'm a great believer in taking a break from all things once in a while, and sometimes changing up the food and exercise helps the scale get moving again when you restart! Cherries, yum! Those are my favorites!

Toasted You trip sounds absolutely divine and fun! And the hair, well, in my view, taking decisive action takes courage and being courageous is always good for the soul. You are rocking a cool new look and you will grow into it. Clearly, something was up and you were ready for dramatic change! Now, we'll see what unfolds not just in hair, but in life... because isn't that always how it is?

Jenni Oh my gosh! 220!!!??? That is fantastic! And I know that it is probably frustrating that you wish you were going faster, but you are steadily marching downward, and that means you are doing everything right! And wow! All that work you are doing must be burning a ton of calories. And you are shrinking-- into a size large top. So excited for your kitchen to be done! That will be so nice.

Sakai I love fig trees! We had one when I was growing up and I used to go eat the fresh figs all the time, but my mother hated figs and one day she just ripped the whole tree out and planted an orange tree in its place. I was so mad! We have navel orange, valencia orange, blood orange, lemon, and tangerine! All of them have been there for a long time-- but the last few years with the drought we got very little fruit and then this year a bumper crop!

Got headachey yesterday and woke up with a migraine this morning. Went back to bed after I took my son to school and am feeling better now, but kind of teetering still. Lots of work to get ready for the trip, and wouldn't you know I'm going to end up jammed up on a deadline to finish last batch of edits and I still haven't received them back yet so I can't start working on it yet. Ugh. I hate that! Weight bounced up to 226 this am, I think it was because I ate a lot of salt yesterday. I didn't eat a lot of FOOD though, so I assume I'm okay. I have not been exercising at all. No hikes, no trips to the gym, just running around gathering up all of the odds and ends I need for the trip. We leave on Friday!

Hey guys, I hope everyone had a good Tuesday. I'm alright. Dinner went better than expected because my protein weighed less than expected so I was back on the lower end of my calorie range. The scale also cooperated today so I'm feeling good.

Uber: Where's your trip to? Where are you going? I hope it's not super stressful getting prepped for it and thatt the edits get to you ASAP so you're not scrambling to effect everything or having to take work with you in the end. I love salt quite a bit so I know what you mean about the bloat for sure.

Alright guys, wishing everyone a great day!

Uber: oh the crazy things like salt that catch us up. Mine was my DH bringing me an ice cream cone. He means well but my weight goes up w what he brings home. And if I don’t eat what he brings he goes into a fluke (how do you all navigate that?) And ugh for the last minute edits. Hopefully you can get them all done before you leave for your trip.

Toasted: my goodness - what’s going on that you feel so blah? I hope it’s something easily dealt with to lift your spirits again. So any further travels anytime soon? And cake? Well I too have been eating all things bad and adding up in calories. We’ll get there - you are always fairly focused and can get those numbers reigned in. Btw- what are your thoughts on the royal wedding? We haven’t dished.

Diane: I know it’s hard to make yourself get back on track. I’m kind of just blah about it all as the kids finish school this week and I KNOW I eat with them. Except they move lots and I’m sedentary as the best of them. I hope you find your gym mojo and enjoy!

Jen: look at you facing a new decade! Keep it up. And enjoy your new kitchen. How fun. Will you be redecorating on top of it all? Or just new towels and curtains?
Or just the paint and cabinets/counters?


Hello all!

Am: I’m just frustrated and have a sour diet outlook right now. My DH brings home ice cream and pizza and he’s getting bigger and I’m just reinflating. I sat here last night eating grapes much later than I should have (of course by then my calories were out the window w the ice cream) and I looked at him and here he sat with both a granola-ish bar (150 calories) and a pack of snack crackers (220calories) and I said hey - you now have had a 3rd dinner today - and he said he was still hungry. I guess I just felt defeated by bed time as I didn’t do well yesterday and then I watched him just keep eating. He’s getting larger I’m getting larger - things hurt more when I’m up in weight. On top of it neither of us carry our extra weight well (my observations) he looks like big pads of fat where fat shouldnt be that have a mind of their own when he walks and I just look oozy and blobby on top right now. I know we are own worst critics when given the chance. And I am currently in that beautiful chance window (ugh - no).

Next week I’ll be visiting my mom w the kids and eating there is always hit or miss. I plan to take salad goods and chicken with for me but I am thinking it will be best to just try to be mindful, see if I can get some walks in (sidewalks are plentiful there!) and try to pull myself back on track when I return.

I’m just frustrated in myself of late and of my lack of desire to want to diet. It shouldn’t be this much of an issue.

So with that this Debbie downer will sign off and see if I can find the spunk I need to continue on and deal with this all and right the ship once again. Thank you all for listening to my pitiful outlook right now. The word bleak comes to Mind ;) I’ll try my darndest to find my innerpolyanna. And to top off that, figure out how it will be to have a car loan again to the budget - is it doable or a big stressor. Who knows.

Off to eat and get kids to school and then youngest to therapy. Happy day all - may the mojo fairy find us all! Or the world quit sending us all crappy vibes!

219 ladies!!!!!!

So I had frequent trips to the rest room yesterday and decided to weigh again today. This puts me in a great mood! I haven't been under 220 since a long time. 216 is my next mini goal which is my 60 pound mark!

Lemon: It is hard to get back on track. I notice when I lazy eat on the weekends getting back on it is SO hard. Every weekend I lazy eat I kick myself for it in the end. I am really going to try to stay away from sugar this month to see if it helps me lose more this month. I love sugar or anything sweet so this is really going to be very heard for me! Especially since its getting hotter and I love frozen yogurt! I am going to paint the kitchen and get blinds (we currently have nothing in our kitchen windows). The blinds I want were $40 each, so not so bad and I can paint the whole kitchen with less than a gallon because I am doing backsplash up to the cabinets. We have all the decor so we won't need all that. I hope your spirits do raise! There are two sayings I repeat to myself.....I cannot worry about what I cannot control, and stay positive in all my thoughts.

Toasted: Oh I am so jelly!!!! I hope I get to go too, there is something about the Carribean and relaxing that I think about. We wanted to go to Hawaii at the end of the year but are waiting on the volcano progress. I guess the smoke is traveling to the other islands as well. So wait, did you shave your head? I have bright red hair to my butt and literally thought of shaving it all off last month....I mean shave. My skin gets so irritated on my scalp that I really just cry sometimes! How easy to be a man and not worry about all that on the head...LOL I am probably not going to get many restful weekends all summer. I really want to get our downstairs finished....painted, floors, hardwood on the stairs, and refinish the stair banisters. I have decided that I am going to take one rest day on the weekends. I get 3 days off due to working 4 10 hour days, so I am committing to that one day of rest!

Uber: So exciting that you leave on Friday!!!!! I bet you are anxious and excited all in one! I think you will have a blast! I hope your head starts to feel better, migraines are the worst. I sure hope I am burning more. I have committed to no sugar in June. I really want to see how that affects my numbers in weight loss. Slow is frustrating but I am really trying to see that no matter the number at least I am going downwards. My mom told me there is no time limit on getting to your goal weight.....I was like wait what? LOL....It got me really thinking, why do I put such a rush on it????

Diane: 4 pounds is great and I am getting to frame my mind around that. It takes a lot of work. I told Uber above that my mom told me that there is no time limit on getting to the goal weight. I don't know why I focus on the timing of it. I am cutting sugar this month.....and honestly if I do lose more great, but I am really thinking that losing slower may be better because I get to keep food things and not deprive!

So my kitchen is has plastic all around it like it is contained LOL He will be done Friday and my countertops come Monday. Then I need to put the sink together and get to the flooring. I am so excited for this to be done because that means I am in charge of the rest getting done. I am making myself commit to a rest day on the weekend. I work 4 10 hour days so one rest and two working on the house!

Happy Wednesday!

Toasted: I think it is pretty cool that you're enjoying your new look! Even metaphorically, you have had a weight lifted from you, and maybe it gives you fresh perspective for all aspects of your life!! As for why I like college sports more than professional... it is all about the attitude of the athletes. In general, there is a lot more excitement and hustle with college athletes. Sometimes, I think that the professionals start making the money, getting the glory, and then they lose themselves as true athletes. It becomes more about egos, in my opinion.

Uber: Ugh! I guess once you get those deadlines done, you'll really need a vacation then! Hopefully you can get through them quickly. And, Friday is almost here! You must be so excited.

Lemon: I'm sorry you're having a rough time of it. It is just a tough thing to lose weight and stay on track. And with a spouse having the same issues, I would think it would be tougher. You just don't want to sacrifice your health and you don't want him to sacrifice his health either. Hope things will change for you soon!

Jenni: Boy, cutting sugar is a good way to go. I SHOULD do that. I seem to be having trouble staying out of the ice cream. Ugh! Congrats on the 219!! That is so awesome! At one point I made it to 214 and it was such an amazing weight to be. Good for you!!!

As for me, I'm doing well with exercise. I went to Spin this morning. It was tough, but it was good. Staying on track with food... not going quite as well. But, working on it. I went down .2 pounds. Woo. Just gotta keep working! I'll go to Body Pump tomorrow. And, since I didn't get the hike in yesterday, I hope to go tomorrow.

Diane: good for you for getting back to exercise. I hope it came with ease for you and it’s just like putting your shoes back on daily. I’m glad you do this - one day I’ll get my own figured out! You are lucky to like near your river - as I said what I remember seeing was beautiful!

Jen: hermetically sealed kitchen? Well that’s one way to keep it cleaned:). If you can figure it out post a picture. If you have an iPhone you can adjust your photo size before you take them in settings. Just make sure to switch it back to your normal setting. Yeah for 219! You did it! I’m not even sure where I am today I have decided to not weigh in until I get back from my week long visit w my mom. She has a scale but I don’t feel like schlepping into her bedroom to drop my clothes in her bath every morning.

Toasted: I’m sorry all is cloudy in your world and your Brittany move came forward. I think from what I read here you are spunky enough to pull off the new hair and not really care what others think. Maybe you’ll even have started a new trend! And I’m hopeful your spirit feels unburdened soon. I have found hanging out in nature seems to help sometimes, also becoming simpler - phones and tv off, maybe listen more to music if needed. Try to find some balance with all the noise I may have in life. I try to look at my kids with different eyes every now and then and then I see them and how they have changed so much into nice little people. And I take fresh fruit as a gift! Nothing better than a sun ripened berry to say the world is ok. I know sounds schmaltzy but really - sometimes we get so busy w work or family or life or the nonsense that propels our days we forget about making ourselves happy. You’ll find your toasted mojo Soon and maybe you just need to meet your dad for coffee and a piece of cake. I lost my dad long ago to cancer and I’d sure as heck would think just sitting and talking with him might give me a bit better outlook. Anywho - I’m here to send you cheer if you need it! Now go rock that ‘do and be beautiful!

Uber: are you knee deep in edits? Have you started your newest book? Will you be traveling for inspiration and research? How are your cloths fitting now?

Sakai: what are you doing since your man went off his diet? Do you find it a struggle for you? Suffering from that here!

Hello all!

No I’m not weighing today and I’m just putting it off until I get back. My mom lives in a more populated area and lots of walking opportunities are nearby so I will try to go for that each day. Maybe I can right my diet while away from DH for a week.

I stopped at goodwill yesterday and they had zero size 18s in ladies shorts and so I thought ok I’ll try the 16s. I left w nothing fitting me. And just holding up the shorts I had pulled and the size differences between them?! Nuts anywhere from a 1/4” to 2” and those were all 16s. Nothing’s worse feeling then pulling them up and getting stuck on your thighs.

Well my hope is to return w a better outlook. Slow to get there I’m sure but hopeful. Did any of you see that article that said people who fail to stick to a diet have issues because we are missing something in our noggins? Who knows if that is really true.

Happy day all! I’m off to feel good about at least one thing in my day.

Lemon: I will certainly try to post before and after pics. I don't have a iPhone, I have a Google Pixel 2. I know it is probably the resizing as I have to email me the pics then try and post them on the computer. It does not give me the paperclip on my phone. Yeah, I would not want to get naked in my mom's bathroom either!!!! I hope you have a fun and relaxing trip. As far as the hubby. My husband use to be a lot like yours where he would bring me the food and get mad if I ate it. I really had to have a heart to heart talk with him and really tell him that I do not want those things unless I ask for them. I told him that I needed to do this for my health and he is really detouring me from what I need. Then I told him what I did need. I told him if you really want to go out and get me something food wise....get healthy fresh berries or what not. It has seemed to help but I was very frustrated at the point of the talk. I am not sure if that will help any but I thought I would let you know!

Diane: Cutting sugar is SO hard for me. I was catching myself last night trying to find something sweet. I finally got out some cherries and ate those. I do not know what is wrong with me but I do know that sugar is like the devil for me. If I even let it in one weekend I find it VERY difficult to cut it out. I cut out coffee and now I think I am going to add it back. I really need that bump some morning and I realize that it also helps when I am retaining water. Weird! Getting back on track is really difficult. Give yourself goals like today I will drink this much water, then add to them everyday. I have found that helps me anyway :)

I am tired today....not sure why as I have only done work and been lazy when I get home. I am still getting in 9000 steps a day. This weekend I am going to finish the trim and start the floors in my house. I am trying to prepare myself as the floors tend to be rough on my body. I am also taking Sunday as a rest day.

Anyone know the perfect lighter gray? I am having a hard time finding that perfect color....LOL

252.0

Lemon: Well, maybe having some time away from home will help give you new outlook on things. Sometimes making a little break to your routine will give you an extra boost. I'm looking forward to the fresh fruit and veggies. Our farmers' markets start next weekend. I know there isn't a lot there at first, but it is enough to get me excited!

Jenni: Yeah, that sweet taste is hard to get past some days. I still didn't do well with it yesterday. But, mini goals... day by day I try to do better, until I'm back on track completely. I also wouldn't know what to do without my coffee. I do drink it black, so it doesn't screw up my calorie count!

As for me, I did not make it to body pump this morning. Just so tired! I might go for a hike, but I am really dragging today, so we'll see how it goes. I will make it to spin tomorrow.

Not a great food day yesterday. I need to try to focus more on getting that part right. So tough for me!! But, working on it again today.

Jen: Gray is not one I have in my house but maybe this willhelp you. PAINThttps://www.apartmenttherapy.com/col...-colors-246554

I’m an art-person so keep in mind that some grays read blue or red depending on their undertones. The best thing I can offer you is to get a few chips of the colors you like and place them on each wall so you can see how the light hits it throughout the day (or the sample pint). If I were to do gray I’d keep it light enough to still read a very neutral gray but not too light to read white. I have a well lit windowed stairwell that reads cream but the paint is really a very light greenish taupe. So the extra was used in closets and it looks greenish with reduced lighting but it’s the same color. Hah!

Good luck w the color selection. Remember that you either like cool or warm and that is reflected in those colors unless you light on that perfect neutral gray. Good luck!

Just quick - shout out for a nice weekend. I’m so far behind in cleaning and packing for our leave today. I have to get kids to the doctor and thats an hour each way and I woke early to get things done and instead sitting on my couch with a coffee seems the way to go right now. I’d really like to know why my energy level is about as dull as a case knife.

Happy weekend all may you all find it go along easily and no over indulges!

251.4

Lemon: Hope you have a great time this weekend! And hopefully all the stuff you have to do today doesn't drive you crazy before you go!!

As for me, I had a nice little drop on the scale. Not huge, but at least it is down. I did much better yesterday with food, but still not quite there yet. No spin this morning, so I need to work on getting back in my routine next week.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Hey guys, I hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine was alright. I had errands etc but it's okay- I delivered a 2-month late birthday present to my aunt for her 50th birthday and then I went to help my dad pick out a new tv for the World Cup. It's gorgeous and giant and I want to watch it (even though I tried to talk him down from the size and specs) and I don't really watch much tv. In fairness, the old tv that this fancy new giant bells and whistles tv is replacing is 13 years old and not HD or LED or smart with wifi or anything- remember that first generation of plasma/flat screen tvs from the early-mid 2000s, it's one of those. It wasn't the most relaxed of weekends, but it was pretty awesome. I've been feeling a lot better and a lot more hopeful about things and closer to God. I think that's helping a bit with staying on plan as well. It's hard to be depressed and care enough to be on plan, but then again, I suppose if you're me, it's also hard to be happy and stay on plan. It's just hard to stay on plan, in summary.

The scale has been cooperating. From being at the cusp of 200lbs, I'm now back in the early 190s, well early-mid 190s (193.5). I however think my body has finally caught up to my weight gain as I decided today I was not going to wear elasticated waist pants to work (the most glorious invention for grandmas ever. Look like proper pants, feel like sweatpants). So I wasn't ambitious or anything, I wore a pair of my formerly chubby size 12 pants from Banana Republic this morning and they were indecently tight. They were "girl you know this is not your size"-tight. "Stop tripping" tight. "Pants-are-side-eyeing-you" tight. You know what I mean. So I put on my worst-case-scenario-last-resort largest pants from Mango which are also a 12 but a vanity 12 because that's how that store rolls and those fit perfectly. So yes, I can say I'm a 12, but I know I'm not really because even at the beginning of these year, those pants wouldn't stay up on their own over my hips without me rolling the waist a few times. So in essence, the scale is giving me one sort of reinforcement, but my body is giving me another. Fun times. I'm still encouraged and trying to stay on plan. This was probably my BEST on plan with food weekend in literal YEARS. Yesterday, I tracked and even though I at at maintenance calories- I didn't go over that, I felt good, not overstuffed, not sick or indigested or uncomfortable, and it was FABULOUS. I would ideally like to be back on the lower end of my calorie range today but I'm thinking I might land smack dab in the middle in the end which is also fine.

Lemon: I hope you're having a good trip. I'm feeling a lot better and lighter of spirit, thanks be to God. I've got no further travels planned till December/New Years, unless fingers-crossed, something comes up for work. Re: royal weing... it was A LOT, wasn't it? I have ratchet ways so I was engrossed in the family drama leading up to the wedding, poor Meghan. But on the day itself, she looked absolutely beautiful. I love her love with Harry- it was sooooo swoontastically romantic. The news/media coverage was a little EXTRA for me- like they're adorable but by the end of the day, I was ready to stab my eyes with forks because it was unescapable. Anyway, back to the wedding itself, I really like that Meghan didn't get steamrolled into having a blah typical royal wedding but brought some.... culture. That was different. Woke people up, I think. What did you think of it all? I hope you get a bit of your diet mojo back. I agree with Jenni about the need to maybe have a heart-to-heart with your hubs. Just like it wouldn't be fair for you to force him to eat your way if he's not ready to, it's not cool for him to make your journey harder with emotional pressure. I get it because I come from a family that shows love with food and food gifts, but if it's throwing you off and making you unhappy, I'm sure he wants to support and help you achieve your goals, maybe some real talk about what you need and don't need and the kind of support you'd like from him is in order. Preferably before he goes out to buy all the temptation and includes a share for you in it. I'm sorry about the loss of your dad- that's really hard; my dad and I are kindred spirits (if you speak Anne of Green Gables) and it would be incredibly devastating to lose that advice and love and closeness. ALL the hugs to you.


Jenni: Yay 2-teens!!! How was the weekend renovation??? Hawaii is definitely a bucket list desination for me as well. I hope the volcanos there settle down for everyone's safety but also bonus, would be you getting to go. I shaved off my sides and back of my hair down as in literally buzzed them off. I'm down to maybe about 1/4-inch in the back and sides and 2-3 inches up top. You should definitely be taking that 1 FULL DAY off a week, just for sanity. Do you have a timeline for when you think you'll be done with all the reno or is it like a lifelong/ongoing project sort of situation?

Diane: You're so right about the fresh cut giving me a fresh perspective. I also really like your point about college athletes. It kind of reminds me of grown up life in general. I think adulting sucks out a lot of the youthful optimism and joy of doing things just because we love them from many of us- and doing it for the payday becmes the order of the day. Yay exercise mojo and scale victory!!! :carrot: :carrot: :broc:

Alright guys, I've got to go. Uber, I imagine you've left for your trip and I'm praying you have journey mercies and safe travels. Have a great day everyone.

Lemon: Thank you for the advice, I will take that will me when I go. I am doing a light gray. I did a two toned gray in the front room and decided to do a lighter gray throughout the kitchen and living room. I sure hope your trip to your moms went great!

Diane: I so get it. I go off track for a meal and the next day I have the munchies. I hope it is going well for you!

Toasted: Sounds like you had a great weekend. And I know those pants that are too tight. I try and avoid trying on until the last minute, which doesn't work out all that well. I am glad you are feeling less depressed, that is always a not so fun life situation to be in. It really does affect all areas of life. Reno....I am hoping to get the downstairs completed by the end of the summer and then I will look at where I want to go. After the kitchen is done its just painting and flooring in the downstairs. I want to redo the stairs in wood too and reface the banisters. Then its basically painting upstairs and the two bathrooms. The house was built in 2004 so its not bad. I just HATE tile on the counter tops and I hate the prefab showers. So we are just customizing it to us. It is a lot of time but hopefully worth it in the end. So this year I am just focusing on the downstairs. When the refaced cabinets are paid off we will focus on the upstairs.

Busy weekend. I worked on the house. I had to organize everything I pulled out of the kitchen. The cabinets are refaced and the counter tops are going in today. I lined all the kitchen cabinets yesterday and scrubbed them out. I organized and cleaned out the pantry. I put in the flooring in the front room. I am not looking forward to pulling out the old laminate. Next weeks project is the back splash in the kitchen.

I hope I can jump in here. I've been away from the site for a long time. I've always been active in the "Getting out of the ..." groups but it looks like it hasn't been active for a few months. Anyway, two years ago i went from 299 to around 245. Since then I've gained back to a high of 283, which was this March. I'm currently at 263. My current goal is to get to 250. Ultimately, I would like to end up around 150-160.

I tend to be successful on a low carb diet so I'm trying that again. So far, so good. I need to start exercising.

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Toasted: I'm so happy you are feeling better now. It is so hard sometimes getting out of that depressed, funk feeling. I know I try to just keep out of it by minimalizing things that make me frustrated... like weight loss... but sometimes it just catches up to you and you have to take a moment and regroup. Being patient with yourself as you get back on top again. Glad your scale is being nicer now. I had to laugh at your description of the elastic waist pants. I have to admit to wearing those a lot. Part of it is because of weight, but the other part is that I get so tired of having to repair buttons on pants, or worse yet, those hook things they have now. UGH!

Jenni: Ah yes, the tile countertops. I have those. That is one thing I would like to redo when we have money/time. I hate them!! I haven't decided what I would want to go with, being that we have a very old house, with a country house style to it. I really like the concrete countertops, but that would probably not look that good in my house. :)

gagirl1: Welcome! Looking forward to getting to know you better. I know what you mean about the "Getting out of the..." groups. I was frequenting those often, but then I found that you would lose track of "friends" as you moved out of a group, or they moved out of a group. And, I would feel so competitive, too, that it wasn't a healthy thing! Anyway, WELCOME!!!

As for me, I had a decent weekend, but yesterday I was not feeling well at all. I think it must have been something I ate, because I feel fine today. I had lost some weight already last week, but I think that being sick acted as a good "cleanse" (sorry, TMI), and the scale was looking good this morning. Hopefully, it won't jump back up!

I skipped spin this morning to make sure I was feeling ok. They have another class after work, so I think I'll go to that. I don't need to get out of my routine...

At moms and it’s been raining every freaking day. So - my walks have not been there. But I did scrub floors and carpets for her; so it’s jot like I’m totally sitting on my duff!

I’ll post more later once phone is charged and kids relaxed into evening. I hope you all are well!

Well my shorts still feel loose so that’s a good thing I’ve room yet in the waistband and seat. It’s raining again on and off. So much for the outdoor pool w the kids today!

Gagirl: welcome! I’m sure you’ll notice I get stuck often. I eat. ;) join in and I hope you find this group helpful!

Diane: go you! I saw a headline they find injuries in spin are reflective of those in car accidents. Frankly what do you injure unless you pitch off a bike?or is it just the stress on joints. I didnt read the article fully I’ll admit but I thought I’d ask an active spinner.

Jen: I hope you enjoy and use your new space tons! How fun making he whole house your families own. Oh there are always things at my house I’d love to do. However right now it’s all the maintenance outdoors and washing almost 30 windows (old house but darn that old girl has lots of windows) to wash which I never got done last year. And eaves cleaning out (love hanging on a ladder reaching out icky cruddy wet leaves). So one day I’d love to join your decorating endeavors (weight numbers too!).

Toasted: my dd and I dvr’d the wedding and had a “breakfast and tea” for dinner while wearing tiaras and watching. I simply found it hilarious the faces the royals were caught making during - Zara’s eyes told a lot. If you want a laugh watch this video which is a spoof but these clips always make me laugh:

Bad lipreading. I particularly laughed hard with the unicycle comment.

I’m sorry your spirit is low. Yes I love Anne of green gables! Did you ever watch the films w Meghan fellows? And did you know there man who played Gilbert died in the last couple of years? So I understand the kindred spirit comment! Enjoy your time and visits with dad - so important as you continue to age.

Hello all!

Happy day there! Raining and somewhat humid here. Plans are fluid anyway as this is more a kids visit to know grandma. We’ve been doing this since our first was little I’d come for a week and just let them be with each other. Even if it’s just learning personalities and getting daily hugs and kisses. My ILS are a town over so they see them often.

My diet is out the window but I’m trying my best on eating - sandwiches I’m doing only 1/2 ones and limiting the other craziness that food presents.

But I’ll weigh in Monday and see where I’m at.

Happy week all!

Hey guys. Yesterday went okay. I ended up on the higher end of mid-range in my calorie and it's looking like it will be that way again today, although we'll see. My estimates sometimes differ a bit in weight when I've actually cooked stuff up and weighed it so it's always a bit of an adventure discovering what my calorie total actually is. And I suppose all of that could be fixed by meal prepping but really who wants to eat Sunday's re-warmed fish on a Wednesday- not me, I say, so I live dangerously.

Diane: I'm with you on the convenience of the elasticated waist. I hope you're feeling better for sure after the weekend "cleanse." Probably a good idea to skip rigorous exercise and not jostle your insides too much until you're sure everything is really settled down.

Jenni: I now see why you're super busy every weekend. There's a lot of projects to do to get things how you want. I mean if it's your home, you may as well make it your dream home. I'm not a fan of prefab showers either. Are you and your husband very handy, generally? Or are you learning as you go?

gagirl1: Hi! Welcome! Good to meet you and looking forward to getting to know you. Congrats on losing so much of your regain. We all here know how real THAT struggle is! After maintaining more or less for 5 years, I had a significant regain in the past year and I'm trying to get back to my all-time low at least before deciding my maintenance weight. How low carb do you prefer to be? Like keto extremism or just moderately low? I'm a carb-aholic but right now I'm trying to stay under 100g of carbs a day which for me, is LOW for my carb-adoring self. What's your carb goal?

Lemon: I'm sorry the weather has been poop but at least you're staying active- even if it's not in the most exciting way. How's everything going otherwise? YES I've seen THAT Anne movie and YES I knew about Gilbert! I was obsessed with Anne! I can't stop laughing at the Bad Lip Reading!!! It's too much!!! I also particularly enjoyed the faces the royals were making. I mean I aspire to be THAT shady! What's the forecast like where you are? Is it going to rain all the time before you leave? Or are you at least promised one pool day before you go back home?


Alright guys, I have to go. I wish you all an amazing on-plan day and favour in whatever you're striving for today!

Gagirl1:. This is a great group jump in!

Diane: Concrete countertops are so cool! I was going between concrete and quartz. I decided on quartz eventually because I wanted gray cabinets. Yes tile I can do on floors or backsplash but not countertops!

Lemon: I hear you on outside work! Work never stops when you own a house! I'm sore every weekend from working on it! I will be happy when the downstairs is done. Probably take a couple months off and start again! It's not nice on the money we have had to give up stuff to keep going!

Toasted:. I'm the handy one LOL!!! My husband is ADHD and he does not do handy work. I learn on YouTube. I have amazed myself at what I manage to do!

So I will attempt to hook my kitchen sink up tonight. The garbage disposal is on the opposite side so piping has to be reconfigured. I put away the kitchen last night. The countertops are mostly in but the messed up on the two littliest counters and have to come back. Other than that it looks amazing! I will attempt to put in the backsplash this weekend!

251.2

Lemon: Sounds like you are keeping busy with cleaning anyway! I'm not sure how the spin injuries would compare to car injuries. There was one time that I was going faster (they call it "running") on the bike while not sitting, and I hurt my knee. I think it was from not being careful to not hyperextend it. You need to keep your knees bent most of the time on the bike. Other than that, I haven't seen many injuries.

Toasted: Yep, I'm with you on the logging calories. Meal prep isn't my thing. I like taking sandwiches or salads in my lunch, and to me, if you do them too far ahead of time, everything is soggy. Yuck!

Jenni: Quartz is a great choice! I love some of the styles/colors they have in quartz. I actually think that is probably better for my house than the concrete. While I like the concrete, it just doesn't seem like a good fit for me.

As for me, I ended up going to spin last night. It really is so much harder to do after work, so I need to keep going to the morning class. But, it was good to get it done. Tuesdays are usually rest days, but I'm thinking about going for a hike. We'll see how it goes. My weight went back up some, but I'm still down from last week. Little victory. :) I had a feeling that drinking more water yesterday would boost it back up. Oh well. I just need to focus and lose real weight. Ha!