Hi Liz,

I'm still here but haven't had much to say for the past few days. I guess everyone was just too busy with holidays to post.

I, myself, did OK with the holiday. I ate and drank some things that I normally do not but I did not have any candy (other than about 4 jellybeans) and did not over-indulge that much.

I did the cooking on Sunday so I was able to make the dishes a little lighter than the traditional recipes. Granted, there is no way to make leg of lamb and leeks au gratin totally health conscious but I cut fat and calories where I could by using light ingredients and keeping a close eye on how much butter I used in the dishes. I even went to the gym on Thursday, Friday and Saturday so that I could make up for the holiday goodies BEFORE I ate them.

I don't know that I lost any weight this week but I am hoping that at least I didn't gain any...that is the short term goal for my Wednesday night weigh in.

Good for you on handling the holiday without candy and with a run to boot. I'm with you...staying away from the clearance aisles this week!

I thought I'd poke my head in and say hello. My in laws are here for a visit so I haven't had much free time. I have not been logging my food or going to the gym since they've been here. They will be leaving tomorrow and I'll be dusting off the scale. To be honest, I'm really nervous about it. The dress I wore Easter Sunday was much more snug than it was when I got it several months ago. Since our weather has gotten warm I've been mostly in gym shorts and t-shirts. They are much more forgiving than jeans or dresses. I fear I've done more damage than I thought (not just this week but over the course of the past month or so). So, tomorrow I'll face the music and have an official weigh in. I must commit to something more than the "two weeks on/two weeks off" mentality. Otherwise, I'm not going to be Almost There anymore! I'll post my weight tomorrow no matter how embarrassing it is. Otherwise, it will be too easy just to go along pretending none of this ever happened.

Take care, all.

Phew well I am glad you're still alive. I feel so far from my goals sometimes and it is discouraging. I know my problem is not with exercise because I do plenty of that. It's just my terrible eating habits. I have logged every single thing I've eaten so far today (something I've been slacking on) and I am really buckling down. I have a wedding back home in 2 weeks to go to and I don't want to look heavier than last time I was there and everyone remarked on how great I looked since I've lost weight!

Hi! I'm here!

I ate terribly, but I managed a great gym workout on Sunday with the future in-laws!

DF and I walked for MILES yesterday round London, I ate lots then too! I'm back to it today with some chocolate sneaking in, just so that I don't stuff my face with it NEXT weekend!

I'm off to the gym at lunch, then perhaps gym again or a run just before kickboxing tonight... I WILL shift this flabby stuff that's full of not-so-healthy grub!

I am still here also, I am still at the 160lb mark, with 5lbs to go. Which is pretty good, I stopped counting calories and started just being much more aware of what and how much I was eating and this seems to be working. I have found that if I take in tooooo much sodium I retain like 7lbs of water!!!! That was crazy, it took 3 days of NO salt and PLENTY of water to get that back out of my system. But thankfully it is gone now.

Thank goodness Easter is over. Unfortunately I was unable to avoid the clearance candy at Wal Mart. No damage done though because of all the work we were doing in the basement. The drywall is almost done. Maybe another day or two. Dh and I aren't the fastest workers but d*mn does it ever look good. I'm quite impressed.

You should be impressed! Drywall is NASTY!
I keep thinking I should stop by and post here but I instantly become empty headed and have no idea what I'd say. I've had no lightbulb moments lately.
I think I may be in a state of shock. I guess I figured that I'd always be almost there ... you know ... the old doubt thing. But I'm losing. If it sticks I'll change my tracker tomorrow.
We've been busy and I haven't been planning my life around my weightloss plan and I think that's the most surprizing part. I can be a bit obsessive compulsive about things and I guess I'm still a little amazed that the kettle will boil even if I'm not watching.
This may be a valuable lesson for me about maintenance. That I can be mindful without being tunnel-visioned.

Go Susan! Can I have a bit of your boiling kettle???

I need a good although I'm LOVING the exercise I'm doing at the moment! Hooray for gyms, even if the free weight area is a bit small and the staff are dopey...

Holy, freakin' cow! 149 pounds this morning. 149- only one pound away from my absolutely, positively will NOT cross that line weight of 150. Talk about a jolt back to reality.

Now, I am not going to make any excuses. I ate poorly while my inlaws were here and I visited the whole time without stopping to exercise. I expect that a decent amount of this gain is water. I cooked with much more salt than usual since they were here (I've pretty much stopped seasoning with salt when I cook and adding only what I need at the table). Also, I didn't drink even one glass of water. So, between the extra salt and diet coke coupled with no water, some of this weight must be water, not fat. But, I feel I must assume the worst and tackle this problem full force. If some of it is water then I'll just have a big loss this week, that's all. And, if it is pure fat, so what? I won't be sorry for having given 110%. The thing is, with every extra bite I was perfectly aware of what the consequences would be. At least I own my decisions. I believe that will make it easier for me to get back on track and start losing weight again.

Susan, I know what you mean about having tunnel vision. It goes both ways for me. For instance, this week, I think I focused too much on eating in a bad way. I gave myself permission to overeat and did so with the idea that I'd have a week of food, food, food and then it would be over when our company left. I can see now that I must do a complete turn around and focus soley on losing weight. That is going to mean close attention to the foods I eat and intense exercising in the most effective ways. But, you are so right. I clearly still have a lot to work out about maintaining and finding balance once I reach my goal weight.

So, back to the grindstone. I'll be taking a walk around the neighborhood each morining then hitting the gym in the afternoon for extra cardio and weights. The kitchen is getting a food overhaul and all the junk is out of here. And that's, that.

Have a great day everyone!

Coming for tea, are you darling? Green tea!
I'm glad you're enjoying the gym. That's half the battle don't you think? Whether it's exercise or a favourite low cal food ... if you enjoy what you're doing ....

Oh Lucky we posted at the same time. You can come for tea too. Let me read what you said here ... I'll edit ...


At least I own my decisions .... very very wise!

This may sound a bit airy fairy but I honestly believe that there is a purpose for everything. And I think the reason I haven't got to maintenance yet is because there are a few little things I don't 'get' yet. And while I don't expect maintenance to be a breeze once I get there, I do think it won't have to be obsessively stringent.

Lucky - I just read TFL key #5 - nip it in the bud on maintainers. It makes a lot of sense. I can identify with you, although I have no idea what I weigh today I know it's bad! I can feel it jiggling with every bump in the road! UGH!

Something else that might help too... I've been reading a thread in the Chicks In Control section, about not being "perfect". Because I place a lot of pressure on myself to have a "perfect" eating day, a "perfect" exercise day, then it all goes out the window on a weekend and I have a terrible weekend, never an ok weekend, or an average weekend, or a good weekend with a couple of treats. It's bad and it stays bad right through to Sunday night (or Monday this week) when I end up moaning at DF about how bad I've been and how ill I feel and how messed up I think I am. So today, I'm not trying to be perfect at all. I've eaten 3 chocolate hob nobs (chocolate coated cookies) and ENJOYED them, but I've also moved my butt to the gym and back, I'll be running and kickboxing after work, so I think I may have deserved them.

Phew! What a workout I had yesterday! I ran to the gym, did some weights, ran back at lunch. Then before kickboxing I ran round the block for a bit, then I kickboxed, then I slept for England!

Today I have a gym induction at 7.30, however I finish work at 5, so I will nip down to the gym, do some more weights, then do a body conditioning class at half 6, then get induced at the gym! BLIMEY! I'll be rock solid after a week! I'm really loving it though! I hope I can keep up!

2F -- Just your posts make me feel like I'm burning calories ... You're just too darn busy girl, BUT keep it up

I feel almost buoyant these days girls. I feel so empowered, I feel like I could float! I actually know I'm almost there. It's awesome ... frightening ... and awesome! I can hardly sit still.