MBN- He has been pretty excited about the gifted program so far, calls the work in that class his 'real' work, etc. He was out with his mom until almost 10 Thursday night, so might have been tired. He should have been at our house, so he might have been disappointed with that, too. Boys in general ont always verbalize, much less at 7!

Jessica - I was the do 110% kid in my gifted classes. I'm having a hard time understanding the do nothing attitude. I agree - home is a big part - he doesn't get the message that where he is now is important. Rather, he says 'I won't learn nothing until at least 4th grade because I'm so smart and already know the young stuff.'

Becky - oh, I hope we aren't still here at 11. My sympathies to your friend. :(

Bargoo - Intersting sentiment from your grandfather. Mine said something similar to me when I was that age.

Thanks for all he thoughts, everyone. :). You guys help keep me straight.

My folks didn't tell me until college that I'd qualified for the gifted programs. :lol: Nor did I find out my IQ til college. I have no complaints; I found my way to the AP courses, and found plenty of smart people to hang out with. Looking back, my parents were all I really needed - they took me EVERYWHERE - to the museums, libraries, theater, science and engineering expos, took weekend trips to big cities, worked on the car with my dad ... I think I had one of the richest childhoods possible, and I'm grateful as heck. That being said - I was a kid with way too MUCH impulse control. :D I was put into competitive swimming at 6 to defuse some budding hyperactivity, and then swam year-round programs til I graduated. I was probably too tired to misbehave! :lol:

Hmmm. Maybe instead of a word-for-word food journal, I should keep track of food groups, i.e., getting in x servings of greens, beans/legumes, animal protein, etc. And definitely to red list any fatty sweets. Like an excel spread sheet (is this a bit OCD?)

Hope everyone's having a good health day...

Exhale, that's a really, really good idea! I failed at WW because I hated the low-fat emphasis (and it's not healthy for me), but what you're thinking sounds kinda like the points system, but one that's targeted more toward your own unique plan? Cool!

Exhale - I have so many different excel spreadsheets that i need new ones to track my spreadsheets. Exercise, food, steps, miles on my running shoes, nutrients and macros, and on and on. A little OCD maybe, but it keeps me on track.

Becky - I didn't find my IQ until late high school. And I wish that DSS hadn't been told now smart he is yet. DH and I wanted to just tell him that he made it into ALP, but his mom has filled his head with "you're the smartest kid in the school" nonsense.

Opening day over. I made it through with much less food consumed than last year. Whew.

I really enjoyed my NRLW workout yesterday! It was one of those workouts that's tough but when you're finished you're really glad you did it. The scale is happy with me right now and I'm focusing on that feeling for the weekend. I would like to have a nice quiet weekend at home getting my garden going and hanging out w BF. I was invited to Easter dinner Sunday and turned it down. I'm not religious so I'd pretty much be going for the food. Which I don't need.

Exhale, excel spreadsheets or whatever works... I was trained as a scientist so I don't hesitate to whip open a spreadsheet. Your exchange plan sounds like a good idea, a good compromise between not tracking and counting each calorie.

I was put in the gifted class but not told what my IQ was, ever. I actually found my test much later when I was helping my mom go through some of her files. I enjoyed the gifted classes in elementary school but by the time I got to high school and was placed in AP after AP (did I mention my dad was an administrator at my high school and my mom a teacher?) that I wasn't choosing for myself, things didn't go so well for me mentally/emotionally. I was expected to get straight A's and I did, but with that many classes, extracurriculars and sports year round, I never had time for friends and would stay up studying until 2 AM every night. I sometimes wonder if my NEED for 8 hours of sleep a night now is my body's rebellion for the abuse I put it through as a teenager.

Shannon, that story probably isn't at all helpful for DSS. Hang in there. At least you and DH are being consistent. :hug:

Becky, I am a numbers person, too. I have heard that everybody has a little bit of OCD in them. Numbers are mine. If you look at my desk you will see lists of numbers. They don't have to mean anything. One of my favorites is when I take a road trip. Before I leave home I will write down my mileage, how much gas I put in and how much it cost, I do this for the entire trip, both ways, it is meticulous and when I come home I never look at it again.
The other thing is counting, how many steps to the car. how many steps in the stairs, doesn't have to be accurate, it just seems to be important that they be counted, heck, I can even carry on a conversation and be counting something at the same time. Now you know my craziness....hmm wonder what I can count, now or should I be making a list of numbers for something,oh well it keeps me out of the refrigerator.

I knew my weight would be lower when I got on the scale this morning, and it was. I'm down by five pounds. Some of this is from my hormones relenting, but some of it is due to hard work on my part. I've been limiting snacks, eating based on my level of hunger rather than the clock, and enduring hunger a little longer when I'm within an hour of a meal. But not enduring it for too long. Ignoring hunger and walking around ravenous and unfed was one of my eating disorder habits, and in me, definitely triggers binges.

Having dropped that much weight in a week makes me weirdly nervous. Like now I've got something to live up to, or something that could be taken away from me or lost. I'm reminding myself that's probably the initial "honeymoon" week of any weight loss effort.

Exhale, your plan sounds like the way I eat -- only I don't record it, just keep it in mind as the day proceeds. But if a spreadsheet works for you, you should use that. The way to succeed at this weight loss and maintenance thing is to tap into your strengths and your uniqueness, just as you would with any other kind of project. So if you're mathematical, use your interest in numbers. If you're a bit OCD, make it work for you. Do whatever you can live with.

saef, congratulations on the weight loss. Relax and enjoy it !

Congrats!!, when will I reach that number or it is going to be my dream?

This is perfect. And when I see how many different ways folks have taken off/are taking off the weight it makes sense. Thanks!

And thank you to all who've posted help/support to me. I'm off to make up some graph paper to put on the fridge. I was thinking this morning that there's 2 parts to this : exercise/movement, and eating. Eating is like exercise, but with food. It needs some time dedication and organization and some form of feedback.

Of to my graph paper! have a great weekend and :easter2:

Saef - high five on the weight loss! Yay!

Exhale - enjoy your graph paper! LOL

I'm at 132.1 today - that is the lowest I've been in almost a year. I'm hoping that high keeps me going on a good path through the weekend.

Checking in on Good Friday. For three days in a row, I've weighed exactly 150. No blip up so I'm hoping for a loss to record this weekend. But it's Easter weekend. I bought Reese's PB eggs for DS. Two packages. He ate the first one already and I don't think he's even seen the second one! (I keep them in the fridge in the garage.) We won't be having anything special for breakfast on Easter as we've moved our usual Saturday afternoon golf to Sunday morning. I'm going to do Easter dinner that evening: lamb chops with a pomegranate/port reduction sauce, green beans (don't know yet how I'll prepare those) and scalloped potatoes (as per DH's request). I'm also making a lemon ricotta bundt cake that sounded wonderful. My plan is for 2 lamb chops (they're usually so small), green beans, a very small serving of potatoes and a sliver of the cake. Should all be good.

Saef, congratulations and good work! 5 lbs is great! I knew you were due for a "whoosh". :cp:

Allison, the lemon ricotta bundt cake sounds heavenly, I always prefer citrus flavored anything, cake, pie, cake, pie, etc. I even have liquid hand washing soap in lemon, love it, I look for excuses to wash my hands.
Still in a holding pattern on the weight.