Jessica - I took adult lessons last fall. It was about improving your stroke rather than learning to swim, and it really did help. I got some faster just - as ICU said - being more efficient in my stroke. I still have problems breathing to my right side (i.e. left ear in the water), so I end up breathing every other stroke vs. every 3rd, but since I have no inclination ever to be in a race, I don't think it matters. :lol:

Looking like Dara Torres :cp:

Okay, I was posting in the old thread before and didn't even realize it'd gotten locked!
I was not eating so well the past few weeks but this Monday I somehow hit 159 (only lost 2 pounds in October but part of that was from eating badly too!), which is the lowest I've ever weighed before! And I got back on track, doing it because I know I have to, not because I happen to feel like it. It might take me a while to lose my final 14, but I WILL do it!

:wave:

Yesterday was AOP (almost on programme). Today is working out well but the difficult time is yet to come. After I get home and as I'm making the tea. The number on the scales is edging, edging downward.

Yoyo - I'm too sometimes and I must stop. If I do it will make all the difference.

Midwife - Yes, that's very good. I must read, learn and inwardly digest that statement.

Jessica - :hug: No veg! What kind of place is this Dave and Buster's?? That is outright cruelty. You poor thing.

Kittycat - you are awesome. Keep on running. Hope today is not as nutty. (But nuts are chock-full of EFAs, you know!) Thanks for the reminder about smelly, fermented cabbage (see below).

Wishing - we have some sauerkraut in the cupboard. I'll make something with it one day this week or next. Thanks for the idea!

Pat - :wave:

Meg - :wave:

Megan - :wave:

4 down, POP. 1420 cals for the day, 2100 yds in the pool. I guess it's good that I'm so freakin' busy, I don't have time to misbehave! :lol: Scale is not being friendly - workout weight, TOM, and 3 nights lousy sleep. Expect it to resolve by Monday, sigh.

silverbirch - "edging" down is my story too. Funny how it "explodes" upward, though. :D

megwini - :wave:

More later - need to attempt to get some work done. After all, it IS what I get paid for ...

Keep up the good work ladies! :high:

POP yesterday for me. My run was short (just over 1 mile), but I did it. Somehow I thought I was going faster than I actually went though. :lol: Calories on track at 1380.

Today will be POP as well. Workout is set for lunchtime, so just about an hour until I go off to do it. Healthy lunch is in the fridge, afternoon snack (a pear) is on my desk, and my recipe for dinner is already picked out and on the counter.

Is anyone else having more trouble with workouts now that the days are getting shorter? I hate running in the dark but it's dark in the morning AND dark in the evening now. I still would rather go outside than use the treadmill at work though, mostly because I take the dog running with me since he needs exercise too.

Been to the gym 2 days so far this week, plus one outdoor workout, on track to go for the next 3 to make my goal of 5. I could use a good kick in the pants to get my energy up, though.

It seems like daylight savings hasn't affected me as much in the mornings. I'm always sort of tired and don't like to get out of bed in the mornings. It's the evenings where I'm sleepy earlier. BF and I were exhausted and feel asleep at 9 last night! Usually 10-10:30 is my bedtime.

Jessica, I was on the treadmill at the gym Tuesday, looked outside, couldn't believe how dark it was, checked the clock - 6 PM. Yeesh. I was very glad I was at the gym. Do you have well-lit sidewalks to walk Carter and jog on in the dark? I guess it's just that time of year but the dark really does sap energy!

I can barely get up in time to get ready for work! I think back to summer when I was up and out before 5:30. This year the darkness seems to be bothering me a lot more.

Megan, great job on the workouts! Some of the streets are well-lit, some not so well, but we bought Carter a PupLight, which is a collar with an extremely bright LED lamp on it. Even with the lamp on I don't go into the really dark areas though (like the woods).

Pat, I think if I ever moved to Alaska the darkness would get to me much more than the cold!

Ah, it's the whole combination Jessica - cold, dark, snow/ice from Oct through March (and sometimes April for the snow), though Dec/Jan are the worst. I grew up in New England where we had all these things, just not as long, more like mid-November to mid-March.

OK, so I figured out this morning why I've been sloppy about eating. I've been trying to address my sleep issue, so I am cutting out caffeine after noon and I stop drinking any liquids in the evening (to avoid waking from full bladder). But caffeine suppresses appetite and drinking tea has been one of my strategies for avoiding the night-time hungries. My eating generally goes off-kilter at the time I am vulnerable from these changes (during/after my last meal).

I'm not sure what I am going to do about it, but at least I know the enemy now!

On the bright side, I picked up a frozen 22 lb turkey on sale (which we will eat before Tday), and was lugging that awkward, heavy weight into the kitchen, when I realized I have lost two turkeys! So, when you heft your Thanksgiving turkey around, think about how many of them you have lost!

POP vibes to all!

Yoyo, are the caffiene and liquid changes helping your sleep at all? That's a good point about the turkeys! I've lost a couple turkeys as well! :lol: :thanks2:

I fell off the wagon yesterday. TOM showed up a day early, not sure if that's related or not. Breakfast was a little bigger than usual (about 50 cals extra). Lunch was leftovers from the previous night and was also a little higher cal than usual, maybe 100 extra cals. I was still hungry after my snack and made a poor choice and ate a brownie, for another extra 250 cals (at least, according to online calorie calculators, it didn't have info on it). Dinner was about the usual number of calories, but it put me over my budget by 200 cals, probably thanks to the brownie. Then I was still hungry after dinner, argh! So I ate some raisin bran. Total cals for the day were 1900. That's maintenance level for me, but still. :sigh:

Today is a new day. I may not have a loss this week but I'm still on track for my thanksgiving goal.

I have made it 25 straight days on plan! woot! The bad news is that my ILs arrive tomorrow and I will probably erase the 9 lb loss in one week. boo! I will do my best to stay on here as much as possible and power through but I don't have high hopes. I will start on a good note, though. Spin-a-thon tomorrow! Three hours! It's a benefit for the American Diabetes Association. I have done it before and it's great fun. :carrot:

I hope everyone has a great, on-plan week-end.

Ward, 25 days OP in a row is AMAZING!!! Bravo! :cp: I'm sure your ILs visit won't be so bad. Stay strong! Great job!!!

Day 5. Not POP with what I planned to eat, but still came in under the calorie limit. Back to the pool tonight - bought new fins and paddles to help spice up the workouts.

Ward - best of luck! When the crap gets too thick, lace up the running shoes and go screaming into the outdoors! Food won't help, but if your legs are too sore to drag you to the kitchen, you might be OK. Breathe!

paperclippy - is today going better? TOM's a ******. It's mindblowing how powerfully hormones affect the brain - definitely an extra challenge.

yoyo - yikes - I didn't know caffeine was an appetite suppressant, but it does make sense. You figured it out quickly ... could you try green tea instead of coffee?

WaterRat - I visited Alaska July 2008 and just fell in love with it. I did notice though, that when I got up at 2am to "rest", that there was so much light in the sky, that I could navigate the room easily. Light can be blocked out, but wow - the darkness would seriously get to me. Denali inspired my whole family to start backpacking - someday we want to come up and get a backcountry permit.

Soldiering on. Some excitement here at work today - between some upcoming time off over the next two months for factory furloughs, and a new VP for my group, it should be plenty interesting!

Ward, you need more positive self-talk and strategies. :drill: You've already given yourself permission to gain that weight back. And you are right to be proud that you've had those 25 OP days, and lost 9 lbs. Pat yourself on the back, and think positively that you will maintain that loss while your ILs are there. :)

ICU - people certainly have to cover the windows for their kids in the summer. It's not unusual to see kids out playing late into the evening. The golf courses love all the light, however! In the dark times, I really try to get out during the daylight, but I also take Vitamin D supplements, because even when it's light, from November to February the sun is still very low. I'm not far enough north to be without daylight thankfully. I couldn't stand that! If you went to Denail, you passed within 10 miles of my house, driving or on the train.... :wave: