Since I joined Maintainers I haven't really changed the number on my signature with every minor fluctuation. I think most of you are doing the same?

But the 5 lb. gain told me I had to "come clean" in public via the signature. So the number on that will be changing once a week until I hit goal or stall at whatever weight my body wants to be under goal.

This 5 lbs. has kickstarted things again for me. I was coasting through most of the winter and am now starting to rev up for the spring/summer season again.

And spring IS coming . My cats have been outside for over 30 minutes this morning, something they haven't done since November!

Have a great day all!

Dagmar

Lily, congratulations on the good news about DH and Shane coming home. And congrats also for maintaining your weight during this difficult time. Funny about restaurant portions ... the last time DH and I ate out, I found myself scanning the menu and rejecting choices because they would be too much food. And it was unintentional! I just kept thinking, no, that's too pasta heavy and no, that's too much food, or no, too rich a sauce and I genuinely didn't want to eat it. How bizarre! I find myself ordering an appetizer as an entree a lot.

Off to my long day at work. And yay for spring, Dagmar!

Good morning! Well, afternoon I guess...

Lily - glad you got good news about DH! Hope you find out something, too. And good job on dinner and maintaining weight! I know it is hard to hang tight with stressful times.

Dagmar - I gave myself a range in my sig so I wouldn't feel obligated to change it, otherwise I would feel like I had too change it every week. I've discovered I move up and down too much to do that! My anitvirus talks to me when it updates if I forget to mute - I hate that! Scares me to death every time!

Pat - lots of stress I know, but 'acting city manager' does sound pretty cool! Good luck!

Kery - I've found myself thinking I'd rather be running than do 'xyz' myself lately... It is interesting, isn't it? And I love love love IKEA. I have to avoid them altogether for now, my budget just can't handle it...

Meg - did your part time person decide to go full time or are you still working the long days for a while?

I'm feeling pretty good today - MIL is doing fine, I ran on Tuesday, did some weight training and kickboxing last night, planning on running again today, I've screened about 200 resumes for an open accountant position and can still make my eyes focus which is a surprise, DH and I are having a date night dinner at Longhorn tonight, I just got a new bra at VS yesterday so I'm comfy for the first time in six weeks, and I've gone two days without laffy taffy. I'm in a pretty happy place. Now, if Comcast no-shows on my service appointment this afternoon or comes too late for me to run that might change. My beating on the punching bag in that case would be while envisioning Comcast, whom I despise but have no choice but to use...

Have a good day everyone!

Hi everyone! Just popping in quickly. Work has been crazy busy and I haven't had a moment of free time. I'm in LA right now, working remotely because they wouldn't let me have vacation. :P All I can think is that April 1, this will all be over, because that is our final deadline.

I'm planning on going for a bike ride when I'm done with work today though so that should be good for my triathlon training. After the bike ride, NRLW workout.

I'll probably be barely here until April 1. Weight is stuck around 145 still and will probably go up while I'm here in LA, unless I can exercise myself crazy.

Lily, glad to hear your DH's tests came back with good results!

Hey maintainees! Just buzzing by to say Hi!

I have been swamped with stuff, and this thread goes so fast.
Joined the Y a week ago and have been having a blast there every day. Too bad the scale doesn't cooperate, but I am feeling fit and feelin fine

I am laughing at myself because tomorrow I am having both a mammogram done and I'm getting my first tattoo! What does that say about my age?!?! I wonder which will hurt worse?!? I know the answer to that one. I am so nervous about the tattoo -- not at all about the mammogram. I'll try to take photos and post afterwards. I was up late last night trying to find images so that I can explain to the artist what I want. I can see it in my head but I don't think he'll be able to see it there too!!

My weight is up 3 pounds and it is making me GROUCHY! Dd is coming home from college tomorrow for a week and we have several decadent meals planned. I am fairly worried but I'm going to try to enjoy things within reason and make sure I exercise!

Allison-- we got the scat mat and it seems to be working well on the couch. The dogs are staying far away from it and acting really weird if we go near it so I'm guessing they've been zapped! We bought a dummy one for the other couch but I want to make sure they are trained before I put that one out. Thanks for suggesting it (it was you, I think?!)

Michele Sorry I missed the post about the dogs on the couch. If you have loose seat cushions you can take them up and lean them against the back of the couch on an angle. That keeps most dogs off.

Doesn't work with cats though. My two have taken over the amrchair in the living room (Mudpie) and the recliner in my office (Mishka). Mud shares "her" chair but Mish gets all hissy when I try to sit in "his".

And DH has claimed just about all of the couch! Maybe I should get a "scat mat" for that . We have the blanket on the couch (most pet/guy homes have this, yes?) so I could hide it under that and - ZAP - whenever DH got a little too spread out on it. I love it!

Dagmar

Lily - That's good news about your husband and Shane's return. I hope things will be more positive regarding your own health as well.

Shannon - I suppose that's the beauty of relativity in chores? Either that, or running has become sort of fun. (And now, if I could avoid combining very rainy weather + being sick, I'd probably go run again this morning. Even though I never run for long.)

Lori - If you have fun, that's IMHO the most important thing!

I'm re-reading "Thin For Life" in the evenings, as a change from my ton of books about the imperial presidency, and oddly enough, some things seem to hit home way more than they did about 2-3 years ago. Especially the part about "most of the masters had to do it a few times before finally succeeding". Somehow, I wonder if I wasn't in some sort of "dieting superstar" mentality before, which meant that I unconsciously viewed any lapse as a failure? Because now that I don't really care that much about eating "perfectly", now that I've made my own trial & errors, things have become much easier. (That, and my POV about some foods has changed, too.) Go figure.

Kery I hear you about the 2-3 times of practice before the actual performance. I think losing and keeping weight off is kind of like quitting smoking/drinking/playing computer solitaire etc. You need a couple of try-outs before you actually get it right. And it's not right all the time but that's ok as long as it is right most of the time.

I'm still trying to read my way through "Thin for Life" the first time. I just made a typo and I think it's quite fitting:

"Think for Life"

Dagmar

. . . and I'm in the best shape of my life!

Pretty good for 52. And that other number (the more important one) is now 134.8

I'm sure things on the pants-o-meter front will be much improved over the weekend too .

I'm working in the rain today but that's ok. DH and I are going to a play tonite (my requested birthday gift from him) and I'm treating myself tomorrow by going to an art show in the afternoon, rather than running errands and cooking dinner.

Have a great day all!

Dagmar

Hi,

I'm back again, after a long absence. I felt like a fraud every time I posted here, because I had gained some weight back. This is the site for maintainers, right? But I guess we are all human, and have lapses. The important part is getting it back together. I think I have, finally. I missed you guys!!

Freda

Happy birthday Dagmar! LOL about your cats and your husband!

Our dog stays off the couch if we put a sheet of tin foil across the seats. Well, usually -- once he pulled the foil off and went up anyway!

I am missing my dog since we went out of town. He's staying with the in-laws and having a sleepover with their doggie. We called to check on him yesterday and apparently he's doing fine. They're taking both dogs out to the country for the weekend and I know my dog will love it, I just hope he doesn't get into trouble!

Happy Birthday, Dag!!

Great news Lily!

Hi everyone!

Freda, maintainers sometimes gain a bit of weight back (or more). No one here is perfect and stays magically at goal forever and ever and ever amen. Stick around!!! This place would be empty if we all left everytime the scale went up.

Happy Birthday Dagmar!!!

Michelle~I'm glad the scat mat worked for you. Have you tried zapping yourself? I wanted to know just what it was like. Basically it is a lot like getting shocked after rubbing your feet on the carpet and touching something metallic. Enough to scare you without tremendous pain. We lent our scat mat out to someone and they haven't returned it. So far, we aren't in need, so it's okay.

Freda~count me in as a fraud as well. But at least I haven't gained it ALL back. And I won't, either.

Happy Birthday, Dagmar!

I update my weight in my profile every Friday morning, as a way of keeping myself honest. Add me to the "have put on a few, working on taking them off" crowd. And you guys are making me want to get a dog.

Have a great week-end! It's beautiful here today and I hope it lasts.