Wow, 2Frus those are some funky shoes! Enjoy them along with your red belt.

I am back after spending the past week being a total PIG! I'm probably right back where I started a few weeks ago...I've gained back at least 4 of the 5 lbs I lost, but I have been exercising so I am hoping that at least a lb or two are muscle (wishful thinking?). I do notice that my middle is a bit leaner so I guess I can't complain too much. I bought a bathing suit on Saturday for my vacation and didn't leave the store crying so I guess that is a good sign (lol).

Anyway...I need to get back to the business at hand which is sticking to WW core plan but eating less. I am a volume eater so I find that even though I am eating foods that are on the plan I am eating a bit more than I should. Goal for the week is to get my portions in control....also NO drinking. I've been having wine with almost every dinner this week and that is nothing but empty calories so that must go too.

I hope that by putting the above goals down in writing I will be more inclined to follow them. If anyone cares to give me a kick in the pants I can certainly use it!

I'm good at kicking....

I kicked my own arse out the door and down the street to run for 44 minutes! YAY! It's the longest I've run. I think last time I ran 36 or so minutes was the longest, so that's good. However the speed is down, but that will change soon.

I'm off to get my pork stir fry now. See youse lighter

Wow, seems like we are all on the same page! Thank goodness I'm getting back to feeling in control again. I even went to the gym at 5 this morning and did 45 minutes of cardio and almost as much on weights. It felt great but, boy, could I tell I hadn't been in a while. I bounced in there thinking I'd just pick up where I left off. Ha, the joke was on me. It was a real eye opener and motivating to say the least.

So, I've been pouring over all of my fitday records from the past year. It has been interesting to see how my portions have increased over the past few months. I increased my calories when I took my first maintainence break but my exercise routine was going strong and my weight was steady. Then I start noticing that MOST days are okay but there's an extra high calorie day in each week and my exercise is declining from 6-7 days a week, to 3-4, to 2 to rarely. The wierd thing is that my weight is going up ever so slightly week to week. Hmmm, you don't think my diet and exercise (or lack of) could have anything thing to do with these 8 pounds do you?

Well, I guess that is what happens when you don't pay attention. Acutally, I've paid attention I just ignored the consequences. Shame on me. So, I'm with you 2frus, back to the drawing board.

SusanB, I have to do the exact same 4 things as you. I'm going to focus on clean eating. I've got the other three down. Eating cleaner is the one area where I have the most room for improvement and requires more planning on my part.

Liz, we went and saw V for Vendetta this weekend. My husband really liked it. I thought it was just okay. It wasn't that I didn't like it, it just wasn't what I thought it was going to be so I was caught a little off guard by my expectations. DH was familiar with the comic book so he knew the premise beforehand.

Gaylyn, congratulations on those size 8's! That was the first size that was a big enough deal to me to chunk everything else in my closet and start my wardrobe from scratch. For at least a solid month I'd find myself wandering into the closet just to look at them! For a while there mine were actually getting too big and then I got a little cocky and now, with these extra 8 pounds, they are back to fitting just right. And, like you said, I don't feel thin in them anymore. Perhaps gaining these extra pounds is a blessing in disguise. Now that I have something "thinner" to compare to my 8's they don't seem so slim anymore. No more complacency for me!

Daisimae, it sounds like you have a plan. But, I understand needing a kick in the pants every now and then. Maybe 2frus will use some of those kickboxing moves on us when we need them!

I'm kicking my own pants at the moment!

I've just been down to the kitchen to get a drink and I realised that I feel flabby! I think my trousers are a bit snug... Best get the scales back out and check out the damage! I'm onto damage limitation today after the weekend. I'm going to try and cut my calories a little bit lower and really try to sleep more than I have been doing. I've taken Thursday off work to rest and recouperate, so that should be a nice lazy day!

I'm aching from my run and kickboxing yesterday and I realised that I've missed running. Got more kickboxing tonight - I'll be practising for my next belt.

Ah jenfrus ... the old balancing game! I have to be very careful that I do 'all' the things I need to do. A little of this, a little of that .... I'm learning that attractive slimness is an intricate recipe.
So Lucky? What are your a, b, c, d's for today?

I haven't posted in a while, because I was getting very discouraged with the f*&$#@g scale... doing what I needed to be doing at least 85% of the time but not seeing any scale movement at all -- except occasionally UP! I find that it gets roughest for me when I'm actually on plan, exercising regularly, but still seeing nothing on the scale (and I'm not talking one day here -- it can be *weeks*, as I'm sure you guys understand.) That's when I feel like throwing in the towel and really have to watch myself.

Yesterday morning I stepped on the scale to see a whopping 152. Today, of course, I step on the scale and see 148. What the HECK is going on with my body?

Anyway, this is another wake-up call for me not to depend on the scale to give me the constant positive feedback it once did. I'm going to have to find new ways to measure these things, especially once I do hit my goal. Is this what maintenance is like?!

Anyway, I've been getting a lot of wisdom from your posts. Keep 'em coming!

That's why I threw my scales in the wardrobe!

I think Susan, there should be a Z in your abcds! For the extra sleep!

Everything else is going ok for me at the moment, lifting down to one full body sesh a week. I'm trying to concentrate on kickboxing and not burning out! I'm not too bothered about cutting back my weights since we do a lot of body conditioning in kickboxing classes, like push ups and crunches and plyometric leggy things.

I'm badly wanting a danish pastry! When our buying dude goes to Costco we usually get pastries. I was looking forward to resisting one and being good, but he hasn't got any and now I want one!

I really struggle with the need to see some "measure" of my progress. The scale has not moved lately. I feel slimmer. There's not much of an inch to pinch. But I find measurements to be as fickle as the scale. I can change my waist by about 5 or 6 inches depending how I stand.
I wonder if we belong to some personality type that needs factual affirmation. It's not OK that I just know I'm doing well. I want a percent or number or letter or something concrete.

I also think it's that the # on the scale is so loaded with associations. I love that my measurements are still going down, down, down, but that stupid scale number still means that I'm "overweight." And most of all, it still means that I've not hit even my initial goal after almost two freakin' years. I feel like a failure and I've lost over 115 pounds!

I wonder if that's true about our personality types? For what it's worth, I'm an INFJ on Myers-Briggs .

I'll have to look that up. I'm Choleric Sanguine on whatever that one is ... oh but I wear a Melancholy mask.

Hang in there gals....we are all getting there no matter how slow the progress may seem. Just being here and working on ourselves (even with the slip ups and occasional gains) is a positive thing and nothing to sneeze at.

I am trying to adopt the mind set that even if the scale doesn't always show me what I want to see, I am working toward a healthier me! That philosophy seems to help me when it comes to making decisions about what to eat. Sometimes I just don't care what the impact will be on the scale but if I keep the "healthy" factor in mind I am more prone to make choices that are better for me. (Did that make any sense? lol)

Anyway....Happy Tuesday...please let me know when Friday arrives

ISFJ .... what's the difference between the N and the S?

You've lost me completely now!

I'm with daisi - wake me up when it's Thursday (a cheeky day off for me )

Oh you people and your TGIF! On Friday I start three day shifts. I just don't get the Friday thing at all

I did a quick personality test here .... http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

The other one is a book I read years ago. Fun.

Susan, my a,b,c and d are the same today as they were yesterday - stay at or under 1500 calories, make those 1500 calories count, exercise, and to work towards getting my mental/emotional gumption back. Yesterday was great and renewed my faith that I will reach my goal weight.

Jennifer, I don't know what to tell you. As much as I advise against it, I am a scale watcher. It isn't the ONLY thing I gauge my progress by but I'm not one of those people who can give it up all together either. I hate to admit it but the number on the scale IS important to me. Part of the deal for me is that when I started losing weight it was strictly for health reason. Physical appearance was secondary. But, I've met my health goals and, frankly, it is all vanity from here on out. As silly as it sounds, I just want to be able to say I'm 125 pounds (or less!). Inches lost are cool, but it isn't like I'm going to the doctor's office and having my measurements put on the chart!

Daisimae, I like your "healthier" me philosophy. It is true, I know. Lately, though, these extra pounds I've put on have made me feel unhealthy. That is okay though because I'm doing something about it. It the long run I suppose that is all that matters.

2frus, When my weight loss first started to slow but my measurements were still shrinking I put my scales away. There is no telling how many calories I burned pulling out a chair and climbing up to get it then climbing back up to put it away again! Finally, I made my DH hide it from me. It was like a movie when someone locks themselves in a room with the monster/bad guy and instructs the others not to open the door no matter what they hear going on in there. I told him not to give it back to me for 1 month and after about a week and a half I was begging him for it. He'd just laugh at me. That was probably the closest we'll ever come to divorce!

Well, here is to a great day for all of us!