Maintainers Staying Slim for the Summer
 

The old thread was nearing 500 so I made us a new one. Whether staying slim or getting slim is the goal, we're all in it together!

Summer for me is synonymous with beer and BBQs, which is problematic as far as the "staying slim" department is concerned. There's not a whole lot to do after dark where I live besides drink or sit watching others drink. I must ramp up my activity.

I am going to buy a bikini this year, which is terrifying. I'm floppy and squishy in some spots but dammit, I'm not getting any younger and this is the best shape I've been in - not "in shape" but not "too fat for a 2-piece" either.

Good for your Krampus!
I only buy bikinis now. Even though I have stretch marks and extra tummy skin, I feel pretty good about my body. Nobody is perfect, right?

Krampus - GO FOR IT!!!!

michele - totally agree. I have not joined the bikini crowd ... I merely admire those who do. And I have yet to see a "perfect" body in one. I just see a lot of perfect attitudes. ;)

Thanks for starting the thread, Jessica!

Lucky you, Krampus! I doubt I'll ever buy a bikini again. And it's not due to the flabby tummy, either. I have inherited, from my Dad and his Mom, I think they're called cherry angiomas (if it's not that, it's similar). Basically they look like moles, but are bright red. I have a proliferation of them on my stomach (and elsewhere, but they really stand out on my pasty-white belly!). At my last doctor's visit, he warned me against trying to have them removed. I guess they bleed a lot and can really scar.

bargoo~step away from the crackers and peanut butter! They really are crack!

My headache is waning. Not completely gone, but at least I can concentrate enough to get the end of the month work done.

Thanks for starting a new thread, I was hoping someone would.

I'm drinking water, which I haven't been doing, and squirming like a junkie, since my mid-morning snack of a banana and some unsalted dry-roasted peanuts is in the past, but lunch is still an hour ahead.

I'm just going to keep drinking that water. I am not really hungry. I just want some kind of stimulus, or something to focus on.

I also feel psychologically unsettled, which is one trigger for putting stuff into my mouth. My mother's house is in disarray. Well, I should say, further disarray, since all my stuff is being stored in various rooms. Now, however, it's been pushed away from the walls, as the contractors are coming by to fill in the nail holes in the crown molding that they installed throughout the house. I will have to continue working on my laptop through this. At least they won't be setting off the humungous nail-gun today while I'm on the phone in a meeting at 1 PM. They'll just be quietly spackling. Or not so quietly. This contractor is a talker. He talks so fast, for so long and so emphatically, he gets breathless. My mother is a talker, too. They will engage in duets, I am sure.

Hey, I just bought a bikini yesterday and I'm 55. If I can do it, you certainly can! I'm sure you'll look fabulous. I also bought myself a pair of sandals with 3-inch heels, which is the first time I've bought high-ish heels since my early 20s (I'm 5'11"). The jury's still out on whether these purchases are a sign of midlife empowerment or just midlife craziness.

Freelance

Got a wedding reception coming up it will be held in a French Restaurant, think good thoughts for me, please.

Hi guys,
I'm in a good place right now. "Remembering what works" to coin a phrase from our own Kitty.

My abdomen has 8 scars on it from all of my adventures in the OR last year, but they seem to be inspiring me to get a flat abdomen underneath them.

Back later!

If you are new to this thread I'd like to paraphrase something Kittycat40 said in our old thread
"we are here for balance and validation (for each other)"
Thanks, Kitty.

I realized this AM that the part of the bachelorette party that includes "going to the pool and beach" also includes wearing a bikini and I should pack one! Airhead alert, Megan. I just hadn't really thought about it. I got my first bikini after I lost the weight and I haven't gone back. I look far from perfect but I'm in my 20's now. If I don't wear one now, when will I wear one?

Next week I start phase 2 of NRLW. I will also review my food planning, as the seasons are changing and so must my routines. (That is not to say I am going to blow off this weekend, I will of course still try to not overeat or overdrink and stay active.)

Krampus, I hear you on the beer & BBQs, it's already started here. I find them much harder to combat than the "I want comfort food and beer" feeling I have in winter. The social element makes saying no harder for me. Buy your bikini! Go for it!!!

We can do it everyone! Go us!
:cheer2::cheer3::cheer2::cheer3::cheer2:

Oh my god. Let me join in on the "buying a bikini" group. My fiance has generously offered to buy me one for several months now. I think we're finally going this weekend.

First time in my life I am even CONSIDERING wearing one, let alone going shopping for one. My stomach and back are riddled with stretchmarks and I have some extra skin but I just don't care. I want to wear a bikini and feel like a hot babe on the beach :)

bargoo Good luck. Don't worry about it too much! French people are thin. So are you. It will work.

midwife Glad you are in a good place! I hope you can take some time and stay there.

freelancemomma Rock that bikini! I say midlife empowerment. You've lost 50 lbs - that's something to stand on the rooftops and holler about. A lot of people would just give up and say dumb things like "who cares, I'm not young anyway" but not you!

saef Sorry if you've answered this in other threads but is the end of your Central NY exile in sight? It sounds like all it will take for you to refocus and feel better is a change of environment.

alinnell May your headache disappear ASAP!

traveling michele It's not about being perfect - it's about having the chutzpah to just be without being externally self-conscious. I hope I can convince myself that it's ok not to be airbrushed in a bathing suit come the summer.

Lol, and I had Just subscribed to our old thread. Well, then, I'm really on top of things for this new thread :) Thanks for posting it.

Re: bikini- YES, just do it now, for it only gets harder ;)

So psyched to hear from you Midwife, and wild with joy, that you're in a groove :):):) share the vibe, baby...

xoxo to all,
k