Well, getncontrol, I'm glad I'm not alone. I know that I should never say "never" but I just feel so very confident that I have my eating habits and my weight under control for good. I know I will not reagain the weight I've lost (I give myself a 5 pound cushion but I don't think I've gained more than 2 REAL pounds before doing something about it). For some reason, that gives me an attitude of "there's always tomorrow." But, I really, really, want (and need) to lose another 20 pounds. I go back an forth - one day I'm gung ho and the next, well, not so much. Here I am, having been losing weight steadily for more than a year and I feel completely lost - like I have no idea what to do. I said it in the post above but I think I need to stop trying to control myself so much. I need to relax and just do the things that are mostly natural now - eat less, move more - and stop overthinking these last few pounds. I know these will be harder to lose than the others but, surely, it can't be THIS complicated!

Arrgh, I'm in the same place you are. Earlier today I was thinking about where I was a year ago in terms of exercise and eating, and I must admit that I'm not quite as vigilant about either. I was going to the gym six or seven times a week without fail, taking a belly dance class, and walking more than I do now. Now I'm lucky if I go 4-5 times a week and don't stay as long or work as hard. No wonder I'm not losing as much or as quickly!

Yeah, the fire is gone, and I don't know how to get it back. It's not so much that I'm terrified of gaining at this point - it's more that I fear I'll never lose the last little bit. On the other hand, what I see in the mirror is starting to bug me more and more...

I'm so glad I've found you guys.

Atchoo!

I'm sick. I feel sick thinking about eating... I MUST be ill! :rofl: I hope I'm better for the weekend, I'm going away.

Hellooooo dawlings!
Well, I've made some unwise lifestyle choices in the last few weeks, had some family things dumped on and well just poorly conflicted with shtit in general. So I'm a little further from 'there' ... I don't know how much cuz my scale croaked.
All I really have to do today is run some errands while the house is being shown, so I should be able to exercise and eat better (two restaurant meals yesterday).
I'm keeping an eye on all of you for motivations :)

Welcome back Susan. I wondered where you had been.

2frus, I hear ya. I have managed to contract pink eye and I am miserable. I haven't lost my appetite though. I just can't see what I'm eating! Hope you are feeling better soon.

Well, I woke up this morning feeling really good about keeping my head screwed on straight. I had talked to my sister yesterday (a perky little 115 pound soaking wet thing - and OLDER than me to boot!). I have been on her back lately because she has been ordering phentermine over the internet. Something about having gained 7 pounds since she went back to work. She had taken it once before not long after her daughter was born to lose her pregnancy weight and it worked for her. Other than that, though, she's never had to lose weight before in her life. Now, I'm not totally against the use of diet aids but they aren't for me. Still, if someone needs them as a jumpstart or something I certainly don't judge their decision. In her case, I am especially concerned because she suffers from high blood pressure. It reaches stroke levels if she is not on medication. Plus, two years ago she had a heart attack and needed bypass surgery. She was only 38 at the time.
She is NOT a good candidate for speed. Anyway, after I'd given her a good fussing at I hung up the phone and started thinking. She has lost weight - and I do only have 20 pounds to go - I wouldn't be on it for long, blah, blah, blah. I even went to the website she orders from. I must have known deep down it would be a mistake to order it because I told my DH I was thinking about it. I knew he'd tell me what a bad idea it was. So, I woke up this morning feeling a lot less desperate and *gasp* the scale had even moved down a pound. Whew, just in time.

That attitude was a real wake up call. If I want to lose this weight I have to do the work. I have to commit to exercising on a regular basis again (my eating is still mostly okay) if I really want to reach 115-120. My commitment has been coming and going on a regular basis. It isn't about motivation, or desire, it is about commitment. I either have to make one or learn to like weighing 140. And while I might not mind weighing 138-140 and wearing a size 8 I do not think I will ever LIKE it. So, I have my answer. I fully expect to feel complacent again before this is all over but feeling it doesn't mean I have to give in to it. Remind me I said that, will ya?

Have a great day!

Welcome back Susan. We missed you!!

Wow, lucky, you hit the nail on the head!

Originally Posted by :
If I want to lose this weight I have to do the work.

I was toying with the idea of going back on Atkins just to lose the last 15. I successfully lost on Atkins in 2001 with not much problem but the diet is not maintainable long term for me and I gained back most of what I had lost when I went off of it. So there I was toying with the idea of going back on it for a month or so when I realized that I'm looking for a quick fix again. When did my brain come back to that way of thinking?? When I committed to counting calories and exercising it was for a lifestyle change and to get away from all the fad diets and other tricks. Now that I've hit a bump in the road all of a sudden I'm looking to the quick fixes again that I KNOW don't work. Not long term anyway. So my new mantra, thanks to a very insightful lady is

Originally Posted by :
If I want to lose this weight I have to do the work.

Thanks Lucky!!

I was also down 1 lb this morning. 1 more to go to get back to my ticker being correct.

Have a wonderful day ladies!!

2frus Hope you feel better by the weekend!

Gaylyn

Yep, a quick fix is what I was looking for too! I have to keep reminding myself that every minute I spend working towards my goal serves a purpose and plays and important part in my keeping this weight off. Even the couple of extra pounds that have snuck up on me here and there were a lesson waiting to be learned. I wouldn't be doing myself any favors if I found a way to quickly lose these 20 pounds only to gain them right back. The last thing I want to do is fight these last pounds TWICE! I think I'll just roll with the punches and deal with them one pound at a time. One ounce at a time if I have to!

I'm back at work but I'm still feeling a bit iffy. It's snowing like billy-o here! YIKES! It's a good job I can get a lift home :D

:wave: I'm BETTER :hyper: BOING! Tigger's back! WOOOOOHOOOOOOO!

Hooray I'm better :D And I'm excited because I'm going to visit my friend tonight who lives up north and I'm going to go back to my old school to do a careers day thingy. Tell small children that it's good to get a career rather than going on the dole! And I get to see my parents WOOOOO! And I get presents (late birthday and Christmas ones :chin: ) and we get to eat out for Sunday lunch and try on pretty WEDDING DRESSES :eek:

Oh and another exciting thing... I was my highest weight when I left school :o so THAT will be fun! :rofl:

Oh and I've got my eating under control a bit. I've decided on a 50% carbs minimum regime, then the rest either 25/25 or 30/20 however it works out. I'm feeling like I have more energy already. I think I needed carbs :yes:

Oh and I have the greatest lunch with me, caramelised pork and apple with wild and brown rice. :T I bunged it on last night because I had some pork medallions to use up.

Oh AND I get to leave work early today. :carrot: (sorry Susan ;) ) We've got an assessment to do at 2pm, so we are going straight home from there. I convinced them since I do have a train to catch :yes:

Oh AND... everybody have a GREAT WEEKEND :spin:

Thank you all for the welcomes and lovely comments.

Lucky – I am just like you in thinking that I may need to lower the calorie intake for a while. I’m sitting around the 1600/1700 mark at the moment and exercising for 25 mins twice a day, with 10/15 mins of weight training every other day. Only just started the weight training, so only doing a little.

I’ve only recently even started to look at calories. Up until now I have just eaten well and exercised. I started to check calories at Fitday simply out of curiosity. I’m not sure I like the pressure calorie counting puts on me, but it may be how I’ve got to go for a while. I, too, am looking at lowering my intake to around 1300, but I feel exactly as you do and don’t think I would be comfortable there. I’ll have to see how I go.

I’m hoping that the cause of my plateau (and to be truthful, a recent 1lb or so gain) isn’t that my drive has gone. It doesn’t feel like it, but you never know what is going on INSIDE my head. It is often scary to try and work out what I am REALLY thinking.

My dietitian friend has told me to just forget about losing weight for a while. I have decided to try and get my brain into ‘maintenance’ mode for a while and see what happens. My weight may go down, but if not, I’ll deal with it a little later. I can cope with where I am at the moment for a while I think.

I am SO glad you decided not to take the pills to help you. I’m not sure about you, but I know that I get a wonderful sense of power when I make a decision like that.

SusanB – I hope you had the great day you had planned. I haven’t had a ‘messed up’ day for over a year, but I’m sure there will be one coming up some day. I’m hoping that I will not kick myself over it and will simply get up, brush myself off and get back on track. It sounds as though you have done exactly that.

2frustrated – It is SO good to see that you are better, and looking forward to a wonderful weekend by the sound of it. It is also great to hear that your appetite is back. Your dinner sounds delicious!

getncontrol – Well done on deciding to just keep working on this yourself. You have to find something you can live with for the rest of your life… as we all know that this isn’t a short-term thing… and some of those plans can be very hard for the long haul.

Well, it’s been a long Friday for me. I’m just off to bed. I’ll try to post more tomorrow. We have a long weekend this weekend, so I should have no excuses not to get lots of catching up done.

Take care all,:hug:

Zelma

Yesterday was much better. Not really emotionally but my exercise and food were good. So when I checked back this morning .... I feel more ooomph for today.
I'm going grocery shopping and I'll stop by later to see what's up.
Have a good sleep Zelma ... that's important too.

Well I'm happy to say that I'm finally back down to my ticker weight! Now onto new lows!! Hopefully. ;)

zelma~~Enjoy your long weekend. Our next one isn't until Easter. :(

2frus~~Enjoy your weekend also and bask in all the wonderful compliments you're going to receive!!

Susan~~Good for you on having a good food day and exercising. Grocery shopping fun, fun.

Have a great weekend ladies!!

Gaylyn

I did not know about this thread until now. I thought I knew everything on this site.lol. Wow, I know what you guys mean. Its been drag for me to lose the last few pounds. I feel like it will never happen. But that doesn't mean I am ready to give up. I will do my best to reach that goal hopefully its sooner than later. I am at the same place since November, and I will give in for food on some of the days and it goes up a couple of pounds. And then it comes down to where I was but never less than that.

Hi Tsots!

Hi to you too SusanB.

Hi tsots :wave:

I only had a couple of Oh My Gods, but it was worth it! :D A few people didn't recognise me! Ha!

I went shopping for wedding dresses :tantrum: and almost all the samples that were a size 12 (US8) fit :D I didn't find one I liked though.

Managed a clean eating day on Saturday, but Sunday tripped me up since I was tired and people were talking weddings which stresses me out because we haven't even registered our intent yet!!!! Argh!

I'm back to kickboxing today. I think I will reintroduce exercise slowly. I'll be kickboxing this week, then I'll add weights or running in next week and see how it goes from there.

Feeling slow today, still a bit tired but will cope! :D

:welcome2: Tsots!

2frus, try not to stress over your wedding plans. Everything ALWAYS comes together in the end. Even if something goes awry on the big day (although it probably won't!) you are still married when it is all said and done!

Well, I've finally bitten the bullet and dropped my calories to 1200-1300. I've gotten a few days under my belt and am starting to redefine my comfort zone once again. I'd forgotten how good it felt to have that empty (not hungry, just empty) feeling. I get an overwhelming sense of control that I absolutley love. Also, I'm eating much better food. 1600-1800 calories a day leaves a little room for junk every now and them. But, if I want to be satisfied on 1200-1300 I have to pay special attention to the quality of my food. I've still been horribly inconsistent where exercise is concerned. I haven't gone to the gym since I've had pink eye but there is no reason I couldn't have taken a walk/jog around the neighborhood. My eyes are clear now, though, so I have no excuses not to get my butt back to the gym. I am in desperate need of some weight work. I feel like such a weakling if I go too long without them. Our weather has been awesome so I'll be taking walks in the mornings and evenings in addition to my actual mid-day workout. Summers in the South are killer but I love that spring comes so early!

Here is to a great day!:high:

[RANT]

I'm not really stressing out about wedding plans but I got SMS messages from DF on Saturday night talking about the bar and how much we could spend and whether we would buy people drinks. All while I was out clubbing with friends, which was a BIT annoying, then on Sunday I had the 'rents trying to get me to scrimp and save. Like I'm going to splash out a grand for a dress or anything. I'm looking for something cheap, but these flamin things cost money! :mad: And the fact that the dress I want is proving so hard to find, oh and THEN today I tried to put a hold on the dates we want and there's other people with a hold on those dates. Gah!

I know it will all work out in the end, and I'm not going to be really anal and want things just so, I just want to have a flamin party with lots of flowing wine and a pretty dress. Is that too much to ask? :tantrum:

[/RANT]

2frus~~I feel for you on the wedding plans. It's been almost 10 years and I still have nightmares. Our big issues though were dealing with two different religions. I bought my dress from a rental place. I got it cheap because it had been rented before. It didn't bother me at all because it looked brand new and the only people that knew it wasn't were myself and my mom. Just an idea. It's not for everyone.

Hope everyone else is doing well. I'm still at ticker weight after the weekend which is progress for me. I usually come out of the weekend a pound or two heavier. Hope to see a loss this week.

Gaylyn

I wouldn't mind getting a rental dress, but I don't think there are many places that rent them out over here. It seems to be that people buy their dress and that's it. I've even started keeping an eye out in charity shops or just ordinary pretty white dresses!! Anyway, I've seen a reasonably cheap one that I will have to try on some time.

Our main problem is the drinks, I'd like to treat everyone to a drink without being stingy but the drinks prices are obscene at the place we've chosen. I really want to have the reception there and the food isn't bad value, but they are averaging the equivalent of $6 per drink! Anywho, we kinda decided that we would do a first drink paid for by us, then free champers with the cake and that's enough.

Anyway enough about weddings! I've still got the scales hidden and hidden they will stay! They are staying hidden because... This time last year I weighed about the same as I do now. At the weekend I managed to get hold of some trousers that I wore to work. They were a size 18 (US 14) and they were slightly baggy, but wearable. I sometimes put a pin in them, but most times the belt thingy held them up. So I tried them on last night and they fell to the floor :D :D

Also a dress (of my mum's from the 70s) That I had to be squeezed into in December zips up perfectly now. Hooray! So inches not pounds :D It's all good.

Went over calories a little bit yesterday, but am cutting back today to zig zag, so it should be ok.

Hope everyone's having a good day :D

Have you all been to www.stumptuous.com
Click on 'iron' and enjoy!

:yes: I was there yesterday looking for a 2 day whole body workout. I am rearranging my workouts so I burn out less! :lol:

Had a GREAT kickboxing class last night, I really pushed myself and managed to nail some more back kicks. Albeit slowly, but they still rock! Hurrah!

Had a great eating day yesterday, DF brought toffee pecan danish pastries home from Tesco :doh: and I had 2 bites of the two pastries he bought. He is taking the other one to work today :angel: Oh bless, and he also bought me some miniature daffodils. :D Although there is a pepperoni pizza in the fridge, so that's one of my free meals of the week tonight! :D

Calories are looking good so far, had a slight slip on Monday to 2150, but down to 1450 yesterday and probably about 1500 today. Hurrah! It might all even out.

Keep on keepin on everyone :hug:

2frus~~ Good for you on only having two bites!

I have company coming tomorrow so today I baked a pecan pie, apple pie, strawberry cheesecake squares and tonight my dd and I are going to do the chocolate chip cookies. I've went and figured out calorie counts on everything so I'll know what I'm getting into if I decide to have some. Did you know that 1/8 of Pecan pie is 500Cals??? A whole pie is 4000.:devil: Wow!!

Gaylyn

I had a piece of pecan pie while we were south and it was bigger than 1/8th. oooooooo!


Oh I forgot what I came here to say. I actually, honestly did a decent 25 minutes of weights today. I did!

Since I'm forever tellin' folks that it's cardio, weights and eating less that works ... I figured I'd better get about it.

If someone came to you and asked you how to 'kick it up a notch' to lose the last few pounds ... what would you tell them?

Ugh. My eating has been terrible - not overall calories but too much junk. I've been busting my rear end around the house. Our new furniture was delivered yesterday so I had to do some rearranging. An antique rocking chair of DH grandmother didn't match the new stuff so I got busy refinishing it, that lead to me refinishing our front door (still in progress). The twins are at my mother's house spending the night so my oldest son and I went and bought some new accessories for the den and front porch. I found the furniture I want to put on the porch but can't find the swing I'm looking for.

Anyway, all that to say that I haven't taken the time that I should between projects to eat like I should or exercise. I actually forgot about dinner last night and so we had to order pizza and tonight we took DS out to his favorite Mexican place for a little one on one dinner. I made good choices and ate reasonable portions, but blech, even small portions of that stuff is so heavy these days.

Spring Break starts next week and DH will be off of work. That means plenty of "me" time. I may just see if they will let me spend the night at the gym. I have some catching up to do there. If I'm MIA next week you know where I am!

:wave: Hello!

I have learned that pizza is not filling... :doh: I saved myself for pizza yesterday. Had a quarter, then another quarter an hour later, then was still hungry, so had a happy apple, 2 ryvitas and an oatcake with honey and peanut butter. Oh crap and I remembered I had the last of my Ben and Jerry's frozen yoghurt! :o

It seems that my calories are naturally going up and down, eg 2150 Mon, 1500 Tues, 2150 Wed, approx 1500 Thurs... How crazy is that?! Also I seem to be eating less on crazy workout days, which makes sense because I find exercise reduces my appetite, but I think I should be eating more on an exercise day to fuel me through, but (I'm going to start talking deficits and things) surely, if I have a small defecit (if any) on Mon & Wed, then a HUGE (about 1000kcals or more) defecit on Tues and Thurs, well that's going to keep my body guessing isn't it? :dunno: Well I'll see what happens :crazy:

Hmmm yes, so anyway, what would I recommend to someone wanting to get the last few lbs off? Eat clean and do HIIT! Is that going to work for me? Yes. Is that going to happen? Probably not... ;) I'm trying to nix free days and have "free meals" eg the pizza last night. I really don't have a workout day free for HIIT, but a Thursday circuit class is about as good :D

Oh I'm reading a women's boxing book at the moment, I started it in the bath last night... It's enlightening but not as good (yet) as the other boxing book I read. It hasn't made me want to hit people yet!

Okay off to fuel myself with orange squash and start the day - :goodvibes:

What's orange squash?

I think you guys call it Kool Aid :dunno: It's a concentrated juice drink, you put about half and inch in the bottom of a glass and add water. It's better than plain water, and the non-added sugar ones are still tasty! :D

I woke up to a very nice scale this morning!!

150!!!!

After a month of bouncing around 155-153. WHOOHOO!!! AND my waist measurement is in the 20's for the first time. Now hopefully I can keep my food in check while my company is here.

Susan~~I have no idea what I'd tell them. Maybe just to keep it going and keep a close eye on your food intake. It's so easy to slip in a few extra bites here and there and they really add up.

Have a great day ladies!!

Gaylyn

Woooohoooo! Well done Gaylyn :cp:

Go Gaylyn!

I'm kickboxed out! Double class last night. First class was wicked, second class was more serene but I still did stuff to the best of effort!

Eating's not been too bad. I did have a banana protein bar which was nice, but left a horrible aftertaste to ride home with! :lol: I'm considering taking creatine, since I am off the scales at the moment. I'm still not sure though...

That is awesome, Gaylyn!

Susan, I've been thinking about your question of what I'd tell someone who asked how to lose the last few pounds. I think I would suggest they clean up their eating if they haven't already, increase their resistance training but not to compromise their cardio, and to put the scale away and concentrate on inches lost instead of pounds. In addition, I would tell them to take a little time to consider the progress they've made and revamp their overall goals. IMO, that is really important because now is the time that we can really see what is physically possible and we need to adjust our expectations accordingly. Otherwise, we'll be striving for something unattainable for the rest of our lives. Not to mention that now is the time to be honest about what you are willing to do for the rest of your life so that you can maintain what you've worked for. I know I'm learning that there is a difference between what I am willing to do NOW to lose weight and what I'm willing to do forever to keep it off. Somewhere there is a balance but I haven't found it just yet - I'm getting close though!

Okay, so it has become imperative that I get back to a truely committed exercise routine. I am really, really, struggling with this and have been for a while. I know what to do. I know what I would tell someone who is having the same problem. Not making time to exercise every single day is impacting my mood, my body, my attitude. The sad thing is that I don't even have any excuses. I've just gotten cocky and started taking how far I've come for granted. In fact, reading 2frustrated's post about losing inches made me think, "THAT SHOULD BE ME!" But, I'm right where I have been, if not a little squishier. And, quite frankly, that pisses me off - not in a beating myself up way but in the WTF! are you thinking way. So there it is. I sure hope it is true that admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. I think I'll go check the aerobics schedule for today (sadly, I used to know it by heart!).

Take care, all!

Thanks Lucky! I'm so glad you took the time to think that through. It's very insightful and helpful.
I actually posted in the exercise accountability thread today and I think I'll go back to the Ladies Who Lift weekly thread too. Come with me? We really just need to buckle down, right?



I found and bumped this thread from maintainers.
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/show...ht=complacency

OK I've thought about it ....

I've been floundering lately. I've called it back-sliding ... binging ... time just getting away from me ...
But thanks to a nudge I got from Lucky and a thread I read by Mrs Jim ... I've come to realise that my problem is complacency.
I'm somewhere in between "figuring out how to start" "finding what works"and "maintaining".
I'm not at goal but heck this is pretty good ain't it? I'm here in my x-small jacket and size 6 jeans. I've lost 30 lbs oooh aaah give me a medal. I don't need the folks who want to pat me on the back. I've been doin' it myself.
So, if it's going to be hard to lose the next 9 or 10 lbs ... maybe I just won't bother.
I can always replace the size 3's and 4's in my closet.
I don't even need to fear the old regain 'cuz I got the losing thing figured out, right?

That's all the complacency talking. It's not the strong me.
The strong me knows that cardio and weights aren't hard ... they're hard to start. The strong me knows I choose what goes in my mouth and when. The strong me knows that at 122 lbs I looked good, felt good, had some definition starting and fit in all my clothes.
I'm wallowing in this vacuous space of I'm no longer fat but I'm not fit either. Even the complacent me knows that's not good enough.

Thanks for bumping that post Susan. I had read it a while ago but now that I'm getting close to goal it has new meaning.

I find myself wondering though am I going to be happy once I get to 140? Or will I want to go lower? How will I know when I'm done losing?

Gaylyn

Uh, Susan, you just read my mind. It is complacency that has me starting and stopping every other week. I've been out refinishing all this furniture and it has given me some quiet time to think. Just a minute ago it occured to me that my problem isn't that I make excuses not to exercise or that I have any reasonable obstacle keeping me from it. I just flat out don't want to do it. I don't want to make the time, I don't want to think about a routine, I just don't want to. What my mind wandered to, though, was that wanting or not wanting to exercise really has nothing to do with whether or not I choose to. Just like at 214 pounds I didn't WANT to cut back calories or get off the couch. It was just the only way to get to where I wanted to be so I did it. I have been falling into the mindset that where I am is good enough because it is so much better than where I've been. Since when was good enough acceptable? I mean, that kind of thinking is what allowed me to justify getting all the way to 200+ pounds. I don't want to be good enough - I want to be at my best. It is the whole reason I started losing weight more than a year ago and it is the reason I must continue on whether I WANT to or not.

My we're a pondering bunch today :)

Gaylyn? I don't know. It might be some cosmic alignment of things. You look good, feel good. Clothing fits without special undergarments. Whatever you have to do to maintain is doable ....

I refrained from saying 'when it's easy to stay there' because it's easy to stay here.

Gaylyn, I can't answer your question but I can tell you what my experience has been. I started out thinking that 135 was going to be awesome. I had been that weight before and was happy there. But that was a long time ago, 135 wasn't the same at 37 and after 3 kids. I knew that I would want to lose more but I took some time to maintain and think about what it is that I want and, frankly, what is attainable at this age and point in life. I haven't drawn all of my conclusions yet but I'm getting there. One thing that I have decided for sure is that I will never have the body that I WANT but that doesn't mean I can't love what I have and work to make it the best it can be without compromising my overall lifestyle. I have to accept that I am not going to be a gym rat anytime soon, even if it would get me the body of my dreams. I have three small children that have no intention of cutting time with just so that I can be "cut." Maybe one day I will be in that place but, for now, it has to be about balance. Like I said before I've let complacancey throw my balance off but I know what to do to get it back - I just have to do it.

Anyway, I guess that was the long way of saying getting to where you want to be is a lot more complicated than the number on the scale. And it does take quite a bit of thought. I sort of think it is one of those things that we know once we get there (but I could be wrong!). We have to be flexible too, because what we want and what we can have will surely change as our lifestyles do. We'll probably have to rethink these things every few years!

I've been pondering these things a lot lately, too, especially since I've been doing most of the right things and still am not seeing a loss (in fact, even gaining a slight bit, although that seems to be under control now). I must admit, though, that when I compare my habits now to the ones when I was losing like gangbusters, voila - I HAVE gotten somewhat complacent! The big difference for me lately has been exercise. I've still been going to the gym 4-5 days a week, but had sort of lost my gumption for getting up in the morning and going. I know it sounds silly that it would be that different, but this week I've committed to going in the mornings again, and it's made a HUGE impact! There's just something about the discipline of getting up in the morning to go, whether I *feel* like it or not (lucky!) that makes me feel more energized to make the right choices the rest of the day. I honestly believe it's better for me emotionally as well, as I have more energy and just feel better about myself when I've gotten it out the way. It's a little thing, but fulfilling that commitment to myself as the first thing I do in the day makes the whole struggle a lot easier.

Also, this week, my husband has been out of town, and my eating has been SPOT ON. I realize that I'm going to have to be more forceful about making better choices for dinner (my danger zone during the day) and not let what he wants be an excuse to do what I want at the moment, which frequently means eating out. I have learned that I just don't control my portions as well when I eat out, and I can't log properly since I don't know the ingredients.

Those were my big a-has this week. It hasn't made a difference on the scale (I still think the generic birth control pill is messing with my weight), but it's made all the difference in the world to my mindset.

Thanks, you guys, for giving me things to think about today!