[Mudpie]

NaNoWriMo - interesting. I could never put together a plot longer than a short story. Again I was a better technician with the language than at actually crafting something that would hold a reader's interest with character development and a plotline.

So much stuff to occupy oneself with online. Whew!

Dagmar

[xty]

saef - I think feeling an undercurrent of anxiety when an aspect of your life is in upheaval is 100% normal and expected, if totally uncomfortable. So don't feel anxious about being anxious at least yoga and breath work are great as are massage and anything that refocuses you on the physical experience of life. And I hate inconsisten scale readings! I want to buy you a scale or something, seriously! It would drive me nuts.

ICUwishing - yay! You are doing great. Keep it up!

JZY - the cost of living is very very high here. If I didn't work in tech I'm not sure I'd live here longterm.

My numbers are doing well. Down to 131. It's been a hard fought mental battle. Physical issues subsided quickly after I got back on track but mentally I'm often anxious for a binge or an indulgence of some sort. Holding tough!

Tomorrow night I go to a muti day offsite in Napa for work. Will hope for healthy options, given location that should be ok if I can control quantity.

[ICUwishing]

Back on track after a rough weekend. I fell apart at a birthday party and had a piece of cake with ice cream, courtesy of low willpower from having a couple beers, TOM, socializing ... same story played out again. Well, the scale shot up 4 pounds. Probably the food coloring in the icing. I know better than this. I owe myself better than this. There's no point in wallowing; I am moving forward and will take my annoyance out on my hall bathroom. It's nothing that a few hours with a wrecking bar can't cure. And I am giving up beer until the end of the year. Period.

[alinnell]

I had a good weekend, however things are getting out of control. I gained a couple pounds during my vacation, lost them the following week, but now they're back. This cannot continue!

Beer isn't my problem. DH likes Michelob Ultra Amber, which is super low in carbs and calories, so my one on Saturday and one on Sunday isn't (in my mind) bad. What I ate with it (burger/quesadilla and fries both days) is.

I MUST, MUST, MUST reconcile myself BACK to no alcohol on weekdays. Wine is my go-to after work comfort and I can't be doing that every day. And an after dinner cocktail is not necessary, either.

Tonight's dinner will be time intensive (which I like)--I'll just need to remember that cooking does not equal cooking with wine.

[ICUwishing]

Beer definitely is my problem, sigh. I love beer - am even part of a group that does a monthly microbrewery tour/sampling. Inevitably, good beer results in horrible food choices for me, and usually puts a bad spin on the next day or two as well. I need to string a lot more good days together than I have been doing.

Allison, I'd rather have a glass of wine with dinner than bother with a dessert. Seems like current science is actually in my favor with that one!

[silverbirch]

Hullo all!

I am back from the Grotto of My Period. I do understand why some cultures might arrange things so that women withdraw during this time.

Anyway, I’m here again now and I can tell you that prioritising my sleep is working well. I’ve moved on to my second priority which is exercise. I am at the gymn, dutifully doing my physio’s exercises and strengthening my back. I want to be able to test drive new cars without niggling my back and having a mini flare-up. That is no way to carry on and it’s a waste of time and energy. So the plan is to be dutiful for two weeks and then see where I am.

I have been focusing on breathing and form. And …

… today someone approached me and said the words “Just Wow”. When I asked what I’d done, she told me that my balancing on one leg, stretching out my arm in front and my leg (held in my other hand) behind was wonderful.

Gosh. And that has really cheered me up. I’ve been doing this for about six years and she has seen me do it for at least three (but probably not seen me, if you know what I mean). So instead of thinking about my dodgy back and fat tummy, I am now thinking about my wonderful balance.

[kittycat40]

Nice, Silver

Happy to see everyone posting again, even if everyone is not nec happy to be posting again

Re: alcohol. Have you tried Skinnygirl Margaritas? 37.5cal for 1.5 oz serving. Nice bang for caloric buck.

I realized that I am in maintenance for more than 3 years. Feeling pretty fab about that! Have been behaving (read: remembering what works for me) and seeing some slow improvement on the scale. Yesterday was a slide back into poor habits day. Nope, cannot have bakery cookies in the house. And cannot eat them after 8p, while watching Grey's Anatomy...nope. And, nope, just really must stay away from the carbs- that means you, Carmine's rigatoni with bolognaise...Even if you come into my house as leftovers...

So, okay. Onward

[Shannon in ATL]

Onward, upward. Yes. Definitely.

[alinnell]

Shouldn't it be onward, downward (as in downward on the scale)?

I use Baja Bob mixers which are zero to ten calories per drink plus the calories in the alcohol. Too bad they don't have calorie free wine! Someone ought to invent that!

[Shannon in ATL]

Originally Posted by alinnell

Shouldn't it be onward, downward (as in downward on the scale)?

Hehe - yes, onward and downward! This is weight loss, not the Air Force!

I would be all over calorie free wine.

I'm still struggling, and having a hard time talking about it. I've been getting a lot of 'you look great, why are you fussing about five pounds' feedback from a couple of my friends so I've been somewhat reticent to talk about it lately. Even here in a place where I feel safe talking about it. I'm working on that.

[silverbirch]

Downward as in downward dog, Shannon!

You can talk about 5lbs here. (Or more!) I sometimes find posting here helps to clarify my feelings and then I move on from that.

[Mudpie]

Beer. I used to be a wine drinker but now I find I really prefer beer. And we can buy one or two at a time at the LCBO which is great. Except that whenever I have two beers I then eat everything carb/salty in the house.

No beer 'til Christmas. SIGH.

DH seems to really be on board with the dieting/exercise this time. We had an hour-long conversation about it yesterday and he emailed me again today. And he set up a new "fat chart" for the bathroom, using my suggestion to change the orientation so that we can track our progress without having to turn the chart sideways.

Downward, ever downward.

And I love the "grotto of my period" phrase silverbirch. When I was still plagued by this (post-menopausal now) I wished I'd had a teepee to retire to for the duration.

Off to the dentist (yes I am one of those weird people who enjoy going to the dentist - probably because I get to lie down for the duration and don't have to talk)

Dagmar

[saef]

Originally Posted by xty

And I hate inconsistent scale readings! I want to buy you a scale or something, seriously! It would drive me nuts.

I bought a scale at last! A Weight Watchers scale from Target, which had been on sale two weeks before. (Oh well, you snooze, you lose.) I stood on it today, but this was after breakfast, spin class & a long drenching shower. This thing claims to measure your body fat and hydration level and bone density. I am skeptical but curious about whether I can learn anything from it that I can't already feel or see in my body.

My mother raised the subject a few days ago of my getting too thin. I am not too thin, I'm just over the edge from overweight to normal. But my mother was badly spooked by my having an eating disorder, many years ago, and hearing me tell her I needed to lose weight when I was at 106 pounds and getting skeletal-looking, so she always watches anxiously for signs of its re-emergence. She can't see that I've lost weight but a neighbor at my apartment building who hadn't seen me in a month asked her if I had. I probably have, but as I said, the scale will be the impartial judge of that.

NaNoWriMo -- is that the equivalent of Couch-to-5K, only for people who want to be writers?

[ICUwishing]

Saef, NaNoWriMo is probably more of a couch-to-marathon, in 30 days. The idea is to produce a draft of a full novel in the month of November. I've always wanted to try it and I have two plausible ideas that I am outlining. I've just signed up at nanowrimo.org. (eek!) I am happy to hear you've found a new scale at last! I have some empathy for what your mom is going through. It's difficult to endure a child's suffering (even if she is a mature adult), and for something life-threatening like an eating disorder, she will likely forever be on the lookout. Annoying, I'm sure ... but I doubt she could stop doing it even if she wanted to.

Dagmar, we shall triumph over beer together. It sounds like we have exactly the same problem with it. Something about it just sets up the palate for food that I wouldn't look twice at any other time, or at least be able to resist with little effort. Glad to hear DH is getting on board with you; I know that's been an issue. Best of luck! It would be GREAT to have in-house support!

Silver, I too like the "grotto" idea. Unfortunately, if I were to choose to withdraw at this time, I would likely be missing two and a half weeks out of every three and a half weeks. Best wishes for finding a great trainer who can get that niggly back properly supported and healed!

Shannon, this thread is the perfect place for talking about those 5 lbs. Shucks, it's devoted to exactly that! Lay it out on the table, sister, and we'll help you dissect it and compost the remains.

kitty, I've had to become a bit of an alcohol purist due to my sensitivities to colorings. In the process, I've adapted to preferring non-mixed drinks, with the exception of the gin/tonic. Beer is fun, with its long history, and varied techniques and divergent flavors. 3 years of maintenance - wow! Congrats!

Allison, big "yes" on the calorie-free wine! I can deal with the calories it has; they can fit in my plan when I leave out the stuff I shouldn't be eating anyway. I figure it's like an antioxidant boost, and hey, enjoying a good glass does drop my stress.

Scale creeping back down; I am just about back to my ticker (again). Still faithfully logging, and following my LoseIt's recommendation of 1780 calories/day for 1/2 pound per week. That's quite a lot of calories. I just don't want to get back into a "sneaky hate spiral" (link follows if you want a huge belly laugh: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.co...te-spiral.html), and get all deprived and resentful.

[ICUwishing]

I read back another page and am trying to catch up.

Allison, LoseIt is an Apple product - I have it on my iPad and like it much better now that I have the bigger screen. It's as ... least inconvenient as anything else I've run across. I had my best success with a good old paper journal and pencil, but I am trying to reduce the paper in my life.

Midwife, agreed it would be nice if NNWM could move around a bit. Knowing myself, though, I would continually put it off til "next month" if given a choice. November is OK for me; the spouse is usually off hunting, and the yard work's been done by then, so I'm going to give it my best try and see where I get. If you use the official website, PM me with your ID if you like, and we can collaborate. I think there's a thread in General Chatter every year for it, too. Should be ... interesting, and a lot of work, and who knows from there?

bronzeager, thanks for the good thoughts about the job. Agreed, too many people are still waiting for something to open up. The "recovery" seems to be limited to certain fields, for sure! I have been very fortunate to have stumbled into one of those - a line of work that pays well because it has to, or nobody would do it.