Wedding today and I need to stay on plan.

Saturday and Friday was a lost day. Sigh. Just re-read my post where I felt that I was in control of my eating. Evidently the don't-get-too-smug-with-your-feelings fairy decided to whap me up side the head with her wand because I was totally out of control with eating. So, in addition to realizing that I want to eat when I'm just finished with working out or working probably due to just being tired or low sugar, and when I'm bored, and when I'm lonely, I get to add another one to the list of reasons that I lose control: avoidance. There is enough yard work to be done here to keep a crew busy for 3 months and yesterday was the last sunny day for probably the next week. Instead, I "took the day off" (hard to rationalize when one is retired as every day is off) and then ended up in a popcorn and mashed potato splurge/binge.

OK. Back in control today. Must string together more than 20 minutes of good habits.

Ubee, have a wonderful time at the wedding and just don't have any of the wedding cake -- they don't usually taste all that good anyway in order for them to look fantastic. Good luck.

Friday and sat I did great! Today I ate to much at lunch.

Hi all. Just read through the whole thread (after having been AWOL from the site for about 2 weeks).

Lots of inspiration here. I really need it. I basically gave up a couple of weeks ago after getting frustrated with no loss for a year when I felt like I was working pretty hard. But I know if I give up I will re-gain.

Fi, you asked for motivation for walking. Have you been getting out for your walks? You already know that there's scientific evidence about how exercise reduces stress--did you know there's also evidence that getting outside in itself improves mood? So two benefits for one activity.

In fact, that motivated me: I'm going to walk in the state park today and look for something to take a picture of. Unless it rains, which wasn't predicted but boy it looks like it. In that case I'll just walk around the square with an umbrella. It's not cold, so I've got no excuse.

I did not have a piece of wedding cake. I had two. I was the only one at the table who did that and of course I was the largest person at the table. Sunday I did not have a doughnut I was offered and I did not make the cake my daughter wanted. Still this is just keeping me maintaining. Like you Angela, Betsy and Debbie I want to see the scale move down much lower.
Fi is consistantly losing so I didn't include her.
Betsy the popcorn got me too.
Why do I feel so deprived if I can not have what I want? I am not like that with the rest of my life. Why with food?
Angela it is so true about being outside. I am a totally different person when I get outside. Glad you are back. Don't do that again!

Ubee, I totally understand on the wedding cake. Made cookies for my nephew yesterday as he came out to fix my computer and get my iphone working right again so I fixed him his favorite dinner (meat loaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, applesauce, and a jello salad with carrots for my BIL). Not a bad meal if eaten in moderation -- did ok with the meal. But ate enough of the cookies to fill up 3 people -- both raw dough and baked. Aaaarrrrrgggghhhhh!

Plus, why once I've cheated for the day do I think that it's a lost day and therefore I might as well have whatever I want. And the real kicker in the I-don't-understand-what's-going-on-here routine is that I woke up this morning and had lost .8 of a pound from yesterday. Of course, that was after gaining 2.8 pounds from Friday's little veer off course so it's obviously just water weight, but I feel like a just got an undeserved reprieve.

Back at it this morning. Back in a can-do frame of mind.

Betsy we need to figure out a saying about not throwing in the towel for the rest of the day or week.
Deb where are you? What is going on with you?

Vitamins-Check
Water-Check
Food OP-Check
Exercise-Check
Posting-Check

Sorry I was missing last night. I was outside til dark working in my flower bed and garden. I spent at least 2 hrs working outside. I love gardening. I am a bit tight this morning from using muscles that haven't been used lately.
Food check
Water check
Exercise check
Vitamins check
Positive attitude check
Sunscreen. Not check but will from now on. I spend a few hrs a day in the sun and need to wear it.

Scales are back to my low point last wk so here is pushing for a loss this wk.

Good job Debbie! Bend, move, and work on your garden and your body at the same time.
I am having a hungry day today. Going to really have to watch my portions.

Activia for breakfast. Lunch was a open faces burger and a small serving of warm peach cobbler. I don't like it cold so no temptation for me now. Dinner will be a grilled pork chop and salad.

Betsy, Ubee, I did what the two of you are talking about yesterday. Ate something at the office that I shouldn't have, then even bought something healthy for dinner but instead ate too much of something else. Here's my "saying" for this situation:

Every hour is a new opportunity.

I recognize that I'm depressed and that's part of why I'm having a hard time sticking to things. I'm feeling like there's not much point to *anything* I'm doing--so why would I feel different about weight loss?

This won't all change if I don't deal with that core issue. Finding ways to help myself care again, to find some joy in life again instead of just meeting my obligations and then vegetating the rest of the time.

Ouch Angela! Made me think and face the music. Thanks.
Now that is tough love.

Angela, hugs my dear friend!! I have been in your shoes. For me finding a hobby helps. Now that it's warm I am getting outside and it's really helping. Is there anything we can do to help?

Food check
Water check
Exercise check plus( garden work and mowing)
Positive attitude check ( even though I felt weepy at times)
Vitamins check
Sunscreen check. Need to reapply after sweating

Had a terrible day yesterday and realized that I was just plain exhausted from getting up literally in the middle of the night to get my BIL to the airport. I have narrowed down my "triggers" and surprisingly they're all mental/emotional -- tired (not sleepy, but truly so physically tired that I have trouble functioning), bored, lonely, and procrastinating doing something I don't want to do (such as cleaning).

And I know that when I'm "happy" (i.e., doing something I really enjoy) then I lose weight. So, I'm going to set weekly and monthly goals for myself in terms of staying on plan and weight loss and have really good rewards for them. One day a week will be doing something fun in the area. And on a monthly basis, it will be something "big" which for me usually means getting to go camping or take a road trip. Time to get me back in a more positive mindset.

Thanks for the warm thoughts, Debbie.

Ubee, I'm glad my rambling was helpful.

Betsy, sounds like a good plan. Hope you caught up on your rest.

For me, there are big issues and little ones--some I can control and many I can't. I need to, you know, do what I can with the things I can control and let the others go. I've had a string of deaths over, wow, the last 11 years, and now I'm facing other losses. The result is that I feel very isolated. DH and I maintain two households, for a variety of reasons, so I mostly see him only on the weekends or when one of us takes time off work. My dearest friends are moving across the country, and other close friends are retiring because of crazy pension problems in our state. I know worrying about the people you work with might seem strange, but given my job and where I live, work is the logical place to find friends.

Anyway. I need to re-connect with extended family, since I've lost everyone in my nuclear family. It wouldn't hurt, either, for me to do some things to honor all the people I've lost. I know everyone thinks after a year or two you should be "over" grieving, but when you've lost so many people your life changes completely, and I think that acknowledging that more might be helpful. And I need to work on building new friendships here. That latter part is hard. The younger people I work with are not friendly, and because we haven't bought a house I'm not big on throwing parties any more.

But I have a lot to be grateful for, and I need to focus on that, too, and try to make the most of it. As bad as things are at work sometimes, I really have a great job and a fair amount of job security. I'm finally at a point in my career where I make enough money that I'm not always stressing about making ends meet. And, even though my friends are moving away, they're still good friends and if I make the effort I'll still have a relationship with them.

Sorry for the long post. I just think I need to spend some time thinking these things through. Thanks for listening.