I feel tremendous today! My scale was "nice" to me, I got in 30 minutes on the elliptical, I made it out of the house with a reasonable breakfast, and I think things may be turning around!! DS is off school this week, so I'm going to do the elliptical every morning this week (I won't have to get up early to do it, either). If all goes according to plan, I hope to drop a couple pounds this week which will be the "starting" point than I need.

Kitty - interesting question. I might say in the middle of your range, too?

Kitty, I think you should be fine in the middle of your range. I'm sure the doctor will know the right amount to take out, and if he takes out a bunch, then even if you add a little back at the top of your range it shouldn't be as visible.

Weight is up a pound today but I am feeling excessively dehydrated. Not enough water yesterday!

Megan, time to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and face that scale. It seems pretty obvious (to me at least) that putting yourself on a super-strict diet led to a fallout. Being on a really strict diet and not seeing any progress is enough to make anyone give up. It may be time to consider either (a) a different type of diet plan, maybe calorie cycling or something, or (b) making peace with your body and just focusing on maintaining instead of losing.

Well, Saturday was not too bad, but Sunday definitely included some splurges at Easter dinner. Mostly of the Cosmopolitan variety :o

Back on today, drinking lots of water to flush out the sodium.

The weekend wasn't bad. Today, however, was atrocious! A fine reminder of how close the bad habits still are. It WILL be better tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after ...

I have to go shopping on Thursday, even though I feel "not quite there." I have been tossing/giving away the fat clothes as quickly as I can, and that's left me with very, very little (my spouse's clothes now take up 4x the rod space in the closet that mine do - I measured!). And of those, 25% are dressy, 25% are winter/fall ... and what's left is old. :) Time to bite the bullet and face the dressing room mirrors.

Okay, I fell off track yesterday. Unexpected chocolate bunny in the mail.

Becky, how is the swim training going? May is coming up soon!

Good day chicks!
I was POP yesterday and had no scale love. Thinking sodium and hormones are the culprits here and I refuse to be bullied into going off plan.
Onward and forward!!!

Jess, I would have also indulged in an unexpected chocolate bunny ;)
Becky, are you still doing the 5am training?
Allison, glad to hear you are in the groove!
Amanda, I would have also indulged in Cosmo spulges ;)
Shannon, I lurked around recently and noted you to be a major running phenomenon!! :)
Midwife, Megan, Ward, Silver, lurkers, c'mon back for some operation maintenance posting!

No scale love here either, but it's hormonal. Got 8 cortisone injections in my shoulder this morning - gross. Will prevent me from lifting, but won't prevent cardio, even if I have to put it in a sling.

I had no scale love today either, but as yesterday was a planned off-plan day I didn't expect any. :) I'm glad I went with the shrimp salad and only two wings instead of the ten wings I originally planned. Didn't feel all icky like I think I would have felt from all those chicken wings. Scale was down yesterday, and not as up as I expected this morning, so I'm figuring tomorrow will be higher.

Becky - you are going to be at Tech in May, right? Enjoy your shopping! If you feel like you aren't where you want to be just yet only buy enough to get by for now and go back when you do feel 'there'.

Megan - feeling any better?

Jessica - bunnies in the mail... that is just cruel. But contained at least. :)

Allison - glad you are having a good week!

Kitty - don't know that I feel like a phenom, but my next 12 months running schedule will either make me one or kill me! :dizzy:

Amanda - hope you feel better soon!

Would anyone like to trade scales? I could ship mine to Kitty, who could ship hers to Amanda, etc. Maybe a second opinion would be helpful? :lol:

The big news today is that a drug rep brought Applebee's for lunch. I'm hiding in my office eating my planned salad (salsa for dressing!), meatballs, and yam. So neener neener neener. I am allergic to Applebee's....it makes me swell up!

Hi all, I'm here. I've been mulling over everything... I'm just not certain how to go about trying to accept my body at this weight and size, but I think if I can, maybe it will be best for my sanity...:dizzy: For the next week and a half I think I'm just trying to eat healthily and "clean" and stay under 2000 calories/day and work out until after my play and lifting tournament are over (umm, "maintenance"). I'm still not drinking alcohol either. Succeeded yesterday and today is going ok as well. I'm also not feeling scale love as my scale says I gained 7 lbs over 4 days. Are you kidding? Who does that? Hoping it will calm down.

I need to run and won't be around much, but I'm sending everyone support and :dust: that everyone's "5-10" goals are going well!

Am here. Or rather at my mother's, the other end of the country. Her scales are untrustworthy so I don't use them.

I am eating pretty much OP tho' the yummy beef casserole was made with a stock cube so I'm too thirsty. Have decided to be careful with exercise (broad defn) as it triggers my appetite and that's just too tricky away from home. (Long experience of both at this location!)

V proud of DB who bodyswerved yet another Cadbury's creme egg at a hotel. He says he's allergic to them (rash, tummy etc). We all (extended family) agree they're much too sickly. So that's all good.

Megan - it's a v busy time for you. Maintain for a bit and then commune in earnest with yr bod.

Becky - I'm in a similar place re clothes. I keep going to charity shops but I haven't really got enough that way. I say that I'm wearing clothes from the dressing up box. I do look v chic in my father's old Royal Navy coat with the hat from the Feral Cat Society but these are not spring clothes. Do let us know what you find.

Megan, sounds like a good plan to just concentrate on maintenance until you get through your super-busy next few weeks. As for how to make peace with your current size, I would probably start with buying some clothes that fit you well. With well-fitted clothes you will probably actually feel and look smaller.

Silver, good luck with the time at your mother's place!

Midwife, good job avoiding the Applebee's! It is so weird that drug reps can do things like that. I work for a medical device company and we have very strict rules about how we are not allowed to give gifts or meals to healthcare professionals.

Shannon, good job on the shrimp salad!

Amanda, I hope you feel better soon.

Kitty, no scale love here either, but it's my own fault, I've been slacking.

I feel like such a slacker lately! Because I am. :p

Jessica, gifts and lunches really are unethical, IMO. So that's another reason for me to avoid them!

I'm officially declaring war on my poor habits. Back to basics. I packed my running clothes to run at lunch. I packed on plan food for today. You guys are all doing great things, sticking to plan, exercising in the face of difficulties. I'm just being lazy. No more excuses!

Midwife, it's interesting, apparently in some states (I think maybe Massachusetts or Vermont, somewhere in new england) it is actually illegal to give gifts and food. At least, according to the training documents I had to read. In fact it is illegal for us to provide anything to practitioners from that state even if we meet them in another state. The only things we ARE allowed to do are sponsor meals at conferences (only if all conference attendees are invited) and provide boxed lunches if we have people in for training longer than 4 hours on-site.

I need to get back to basics next week (since this week is pretty much over already). I'm maintaining right now, not losing, and that's okay with me, but I have been eating too much junk this week. I think it was the buildup of carb cravings from a week of no grains for Passover.