Robin... it's like... I know how to lose by now... but if I stop being so strict... will I be "struck fat"?

So I've felt that same pull... maybe I should just keep losing... but I know that's just putting off maintenance. This isn't my final weight, but I do need the "rest" from losing. I feel like I've been pushing for so long. But I don't want to go backwards.

I skipped my snack before the gym today "by accident." Now that's not good...

Meg, I know you folks can help!

Jay

I like that! Intellectually I know I should hover up to about 1800 cals/day. But ... but ...

Thanks, Meg. I just don't know for sure...they seemed like they were fried -- it seemed like more oil than the non-locally made packaged ones, but maybe you are right!

Wow, I'm gone for a couple of days and look what I've missed.

Lil~so happy to hear DS will not be deployed without coming home first.

Meg~good news about NWLR. I'll have to check my charts when I get home. I might be a candidate. I've lost 30 pounds and I think it's been at least a year. Of course there are 12 to go til goal, but I've kept off at least 30!

Anne~so very sorry to hear about your loss. :hugs:

DS and I took a submarine tour this morning and then walked to the International Marketplace where we shopped and had a light lunch. Of course he wanted ice cream on the way home! We stopped at a Haagen Daaz (sp?) and I bought him this ridiculous concoction (mint chip ice cream layered with broken oreo cookies and hot fudge--3 layers in all topped with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles). I had to sample it (I had about 6-8 small spoonfuls). I can't even imagine the calorie count in that thing! Thankfully HE doesn't have a weight problem!!!

The tournament is in full swing and he has to be back at the convention center at 7:30 AM tomorrow. I'll drop him off and head back to the hotel and hang out at the pool. I've GOT to have some sort of tan when i get home!!!

Everyone take care!

Anne-I am so, so sorry for your loss. Prayers for you and your family.

Yup, exactly. But there's only so long I can keep pushing it off and continuing to lose.

Robin ... for what it's worth ... I did that once. I shimmied on down to 119, it was soo much easier to do what I knew I could do (lose) but couldn't maintain that. I went all scattered and slack
There was a notion in the back of my mind that smaller was better. As if I knew I would regain but if I was very very light it would take longer and I'd be able to catch it. Or if I was small enough, even if I regained 20 lbs it wouldn't matter. Bordered on disordered thinking IMHO. Which I think is not unusual.

This time I think I'll pause here ... in my range... see if I can tighten up this body. I need to be more vigilant in my weights, if that's the case and I need to clean up my diet. It's good to still have a goal of some kind.

When I switched from losing to maintaining I kind of didn't do much of anything at all. I had been losing so slowly and at a relatively high calorie level (1600, I know many on here lost at 1200), that it just kind of evened out. I went down to 127 and then just magically stopped losing and figured it was okay since I wasn't actively trying to lose anymore. Pretty much the only thing I changed was not monitoring what I ate as strictly.

OTOH, now I am up a couple pounds and am stuck trying to get back down to 130 or 127. I guess I'm thinking you need fewer calories to maintain less weight, so if you eat the same amount, eventually you will stop losing and maintain. Theoretically. But I don't really know.

Tara, welcome back!

Allison - oh man, now I want ice cream. Mint chip is my favorite.

Yesterday when I was at the gym this guy came up to me and tried to recruit me to his spinning class! I guess it was the first class and nobody showed up so he went down to the fitness room and started asking everyone if they wanted to try it. I declined, mostly because I was halfway through my workout and wanted to leave at 6:30, not 7, but I felt kind of bad about it. I think he managed to recruit one girl at least. Spinning just never sounded like fun to me. Maybe I'll give it a shot next week though. The classes at my gym are funny since pretty much every time I've tried to take one, nobody shows up (including the instructor). Once there was one other girl and the instructor showed up 15 minutes late. I showed up on the very first day they were offering a ballet class, and I was the only person there and the instructor never came.

I'm totally excited because one of the peppers on my pepper plant is starting to turn red! Soon I will be able to harvest it! We also have a squash or pumpkin or something growing at an alarming rate. It was there when we moved in so I don't know what exactly it is, but as of right now it's got a kind of oblong shaped green fruit that's about a foot long and six inches diameter. Plus my zucchini is blooming finally and I'm hoping it's self-pollinating. No harvestable tomatoes yet . . . we had to throw a couple out because of blossom end rot.

For once, there is free food at work that I don't feel guilty about! Yesterday they had cookies and brownies. Today, someone brought in a basket of zucchinis and squashes from their garden! Now I have some fresh veggies to take home for dinner.

Hi everyone,

My house will be getting a little quieter as of today. My 18 yr. old SD is leaving to the Coast Guard. My son will be home this next Monday.

Last night my 15 yr. old DD and 15 yr. old SD decided that they don't want separate bedrooms. So, they cleaned Lacy's room and moved Shelbey's bed in there too. LOL, I wonder how long this will last?

My garden is really growing and we are eating a lot of corn on the cob. I've got so many ripe tomatoes and squash that I have been giving them to neighbors. Plenty of green beans to use every night. LOL, the only thing I've had to choose at dinner time is the meat since we have corn, green beans and fresh salad fixins to use each night. Last night, I pulled a few jalapenos and made mexican cornbread. I didn't use any butter and I did use skim milk in it, but I'm sure it was still fattening. It's amazing now that I love fresh corn on the cob without salt or butter, just a little pepper on it.

I hope I'm not getting sick. DH has been sick with respiratory type infection for quite a while and started antibiotics (finally) yesterday. I woke up all stuffy this morning.

I'm taking the 2 fifteen yr. olds to the swimming pool at the golf course today. It should be fun and I'm SO glad that I'm not too embarassed to wear a swimsuit anymore.

Welcome to maintenance Jay! May you stay firmly at this weight until you choose to start losing again.

This morning I did the happy dance on my scale since I'm still at my secret wish goal even with the 4 slices of sausage pizza I ate on Sunday.

My private disability insurance is trying to find a way to get me off their policy. My doctor and I have had to fill out forms to prove I still have a mental illness twice since the first of the year and now they've asked for my Social Security Disability records AND my 2006 tax returns. I made a little money on the side as the editor of an art magazine and it may have but me over their maximum allowed. I'm trying not to get stressed over this latest round of requests because that could trigger an episode.

It's less hot than yesterday (notice I didn't say cooler) so I'm off to mow the yard.

Jay, I'm here cause I need a break too

Carolyn, messing with the Disability Insurance people is a real hassle. I had private Disability Insurance that I had been paying for many yrs. When I filed my claim, the company kept denying me even though my Soc. Sec. did eventually (it took a full yr) kick in. I was supposed to draw 85% of my Gross income until the Age of 65 when I would be eligible for my full Soc. Sec. I never saw a single Penny of that money. All total, it was over $650,000. The disability company went Bankrupt. I'm part of a Class Action Lawsuit against them but I still doubt I'll ever get any money from them. The part that made me so upset was I paid premiums of $120.00 per month for yrs. before I got sick. I thought I was being responsible and had it taken care of financially for if the unforeseen happened (which it did). Obviously I was wrong.

Sometimes I think I'd like to work as an RN again. But, realistically I know I can't. My ammonia levels are too high and I have problems with getting confused and simply not being able to remember stuff. I do not think I would be a Safe nurse anymore. My hepatology team has said they will Never allow me to work again. I'm also much more prone to infection than a healthy person and stayed sick all the time when I was working.

I hope everything goes well with you with this latest round of the paper trail. Be kind to yourself and try not to get upset. I do know that I'll be facing a similar paper trail next yr. as my SS review is every 3 yrs.

Hi guys,

Jay! Welcome to maintainers! It's great to see you here!

I'm having a bit of a crisis at the moment. I've been toying with the idea of losing a few more pounds for a while. I'd like to try being 140. But my body seems to really like being 143/4 and I'm really conflicted about all the hassle involved with dropping my calories. I've been lifting for a couple of months and people have started to notice my muscles and comment on how I'm looking and a big part of me knows that I would look much better--and more sculpted--if I would just make myself lose a few more pounds... Oy vey.

I think part of the trouble is that I have no problems maintaining my current weight with a very high number of calories. I eat off plan more than I should (without tracking those calories) but my body is just happy to stay where it is. I guess I'm just trying to find the motivation to DO it.

But I'm pretty much torn.

Blah blah blah. Sorry for the monologue.

Hi!

Lily - my DH has been on disability since 2000 (cancer, related spinal fractures, stem cell transplant), and now that he feels better and is not taking narcotics, he sometimes thinks he'd like to get a job, but (a) he's much more prone to infection, (b) doesn't have stamina he used to, and (3) would mess up his SS payments. He'll be 62 in August, but we've been told that they won't "convert" his disability to regular SS until he reaches full retirement age (66), so he goes on with his volunteer stuff. One place he volunteers for offered him a paying gig teaching some classes.

Baffled, you will look smaller without losing weight as you continue with weight lifting. Maybe a focus on clothing size, not weight?

Jessica - much better food choices today! I have a lovely zucchini I got at the farmer's market (mine are not even blossoming yet) that I'll cook for dinner tonight. Yum. We have a ton of spinach, lettuce and chard that DH picked yesterday, too. We're off camping for 4 days starting tomorrow, and lots of salads figure in the menu.