Allison - I was way beyond ticked about it. I've recovered, but it took a while. If something is wrong with this one though the ticked will come back with a vengeance.

New sofa should be here any minute. Driver called and said he was 30 minutes away at 10 minutes til 3. Fingers crossed.

Shannon So how is the sofa? Inquiring minds need to know!

Dagmar :?:

You made me look :devil: Becky :devil:. Karamel Sutra Core :faint: - probably not available in Canada.

Enough of the ice cream porn. Time to eat my home made curried cod chowder - not as gross as it sounds.

Dagmar :eek:

The new sofa is awesome! Love it. Very pleased. I'll have pictures up soon.

The Karamel Sutra Core has been around for a while, the new ones are peanut butter and jelly, salted caramel and something I can't remember. I've had the Karamel Sutra - it is lovely.

[averting eyes] This appears to be the Ben & Jerry Porn Thread, LOL.

My problem is that the pint looks like a single serving. How else would you deal with properly dividing the core?

I'll stop now. Really ... I WILL STOP NOW (I mean that in several ways) :) Apparently, I'm not as afraid of spiders as I'd hoped.

DH comes home tonight and I need to have a stupidly productive weekend. I made the mistake of creating a need to do/should do/want to do list. :eek: The need-to-do's require more hours than are available. What's the saying - "life is what happens while you're making other plans." Yep.

In my world, all those kinds of things are connected. Too much to do; too much to even make priorities sometimes; not enough time => hacking out time for myself. Hacking out time for myself can sometimes or often => eating food which isn't needed or which isn't good for me.

I weighed myself this morning after not doing so for a month. All that illness etc meant I just didn't do it. Yes, weight up.

I've probably mentioned that when my hair gets to a certain very annoying point my mother will say, "Your hair's looking nice, silverbirch." It's at that point now (two clips to keep it out of my eyes) and it's adding to a rather chubby feeling/look I've got. Add to that, putting on the wrong (too small) workout top this morning and I'm feeling/looking less than gorgeous. And rather middle-aged which is not a good feeling for me. At all. I'd better go and run up a tree like next door's cats. Or mow the lawn or something.

:grouphug: is in order, I think.

Last week, I thought I'd gained weight, and wrote that here, but my just-woken-up brain didn't remember the number that I wrote down -- I was down .3 pound.

This week, though, I am actually up just about a pound.

My weight is just like a sadness that I carry around with me always. Okay, some of it's muscle. Some of it isn't. But why is it that I, who successfully lost 107 pounds, feel so weary when faced with trying to lose 10 lbs, like that is absolutely unattainable?

Anyway I'm going to try to use my vacation to recalibrate and think this thing through. I think it's a long overdue break. My worry is that I've forgotten how to relax and that it will unhinge in some way.

Saef-- I missed what you're doing/ where you're going. I hope it is relaxing and you take good care of yourself.

Jen-- I have a question for you that I keep meaning to ask. I follow your blog and you often ask for comments. How do I comment? Do I reply to the blog or do I have to log in or something?

Michele - at the bottom you should see something that says "no comments" or "1 comment" - If you click there, you can leave a comment!!

I'm going to Savannah for about a week. Taking my mother along.

Haven't taken any days off since January, and I feel weary to the bone, mentally and physically.

Safe travels. Sounds lovely!:hug:

Enjoy yourself saef!

Dagmar :beach:

Hi gals,

I've been lurking.

Feeling blue blah bah humbug, overwhelmed with all and want to get under covers for a while.

Weight staying mostly stable - small yo-yo- so that's good.

Want to get in on the :grouphug:

Kitty, love you. Take a break, as I should have done, long before now.

Can't believe how mentally "off" I am feeling. Like, "Is this allowed? Am I going to be punished for not being on alert?"

Usually I'd be freaked out at the break in routine and control over eating. Instead I'm welcoming it. Not as an opportunity to binge or indulge, just as a change and my not being responsible this week for grocery shopping & menu planning & food prep, nor with keeping up my exercise schedule.

I am so done with it all, which is what tells me that I am getting a taste of what being burnt out is, what it must be like to be too far gone to come back from it or care. I think I am going to be able to come back from it. But I desperately need this break.

:wave: kc! Good to see you! Get under the covers again, if you can. Take a torch and a book (or a Kindle). That's what I do.

Saef, have a great break! It's definitely allowed.

I've been forgetting to tell you all how my ancient windcheater fits better round my bottom this year than last year.

But.

I took some rough measurements yesterday and they were a bit shocking. As in several-inches-wrong type shocking. But I wasn't starkers, I just fiddled around under my clothing, so they aren't scientifically accurate to several decimal points. All the same, all this taking it steady over a few years to get my back in order has taken its toll elsewhere. (Becky, thanks for noticing! It's been a few years, as you'll remember. I haven't heard anything much about yours either for quite some time - which is good news, I'm assuming.)

Must dash, baths to run and all that. Be good! I will if you will?

Silverbirch, you must have injured your back before I joined this maintainer's forum because I don't recall every knowing what happened. But, speaking for a moment with my medical hat on, the less you do, the less you can do. Since you used to lift weights, may I suggest a book called "The New Rules of Lifting for Life" - a wonderfully comprehensive and well-written manual on getting into (or back into) weight lifting in a way that is safe for middle-aged bodies, even ones with a history of prior injuries. I'm a HUGE believer in regular, vigorous exercise, especially for folks who are on the mend after an injury. Starting with physiotherapy for a month or two (which I think you are way, way past), and then moving on to regular conditioning and strength training, so that you build up the "core" muscles that are what protect you from reinjuring your back. The longer you take it easy out of fear of hurting yourself, the more the disuse will make it difficult to do much of anything without twinges of pain.

137.8 this morning. No surprise there. Had 2 slices of home made veggie pizza for lunch Saturday, an ice cream cone, and sushi and half a chocolate bar Sunday. Apparently that's enough to make my weight stay the same, rather than drop.

I will have to seriously get into calorie counting and weighing food and logging into the food journal again when the weather gets warmer. I am quite determined to get down to 132-134 range for the summer.

Dagmar :(

Andrea, agreed (use it or lose it) and agreed (NRLW).

I think my "taking it steady" has perhaps got lost in translation.

I’m a former heavy lifter but I found myself on a merry-go-round of niggly SI joint / recovery / re-occurring niggle. At present, I’m taking a different and highly successful path of tiny, tiny steps forward which are ensuring that my body becomes realigned and stays realigned. This has been my focus for the last few years rather than weight or inches. I challenge myself physically most days of the week with workouts from my trainer (movement-based flexibility, corrective exercise and beyond), walking and general daily living (which is rather physical here - we live some distance from the road and also have a wood-burning stove).

I think I could be on the brink of a new phase which might see more focus on cardio and looks – thus my post about inches.

Have a lovely Passover / Easter / Ēostre, everyone. I’m on tour, so I’ll be lurking not posting.

I'm ready to get back to work on better eating. My good friends and usual bad influences just came back from a cruise and are signing back on with WW. My spouse has found to his surprise that even though he's doing interval training on the treadmill 6 days a week, traveling on business 5 days a week is negating his efforts - so he is acknowledging that when he's home, he needs to eat better (even caught him exploring a Cooking Light magazine). And my mom is going back to WW as soon as she comes home from her trip. I believe that the stars are now properly aligned for me to get back in the saddle. My first clear benchmark is that anything in my closet that does not fit on June 1 is gone. Today is the day!

kittycat - good to see you again! I agree with Silver's recommendation about the flashlight and the book. :hug:

saef, I have never had the vigilance and intent that you've displayed over the years, but I have found taking a break to be very invigorating. I hope yours does the same for you!

Dagmar, our weather appears to have turned the corner finally. Everything is easier when it's warmer!

The good in Savannah: Walking and walking, a really decent elliptical at the hotel and a great set of iron hexagonal dumbbells, my eschewing the awful choices at Paula Dean's restaurant (I know, I know, but my mother's friends told her she had to go there) for salmon steamed in parchment and in the evening, having a great spinach salad with a crabcake on top

The "bad" -- but I'm not sure I want to call it that: Eating more than was comfortable at Mrs. Wilkes' Boarding House. I rarely ever do this -- can count on one hand over the past year, like apple pie at my cousin's house last October, and a home-made Indian dinner at a friend's last summer. This was another occasion, a fascinating venture into vernacular Southern cooking. My first piece of fried chicken in maybe six years, a wing, and my first white biscuit and chunk of cornbread in maybe a decade. I live in NY, for God's sake, we don't eat cornbread. I'm slightly conflicted but mostly feeling like it was worth it, because I'm unlikely to eat this food again, possibly ever.

I am GREEN with envy over your meals at Mrs. Wilkes' Boarding House! Hopefully, the cornbread wasn't too sweet. Cornbread doesn't need sweet when it's dipped into the juices of Collard Greens.

Stay healthy with all that walking. May the slooooow Southern style give you calm.

Apparently collard greens are now "the new kale". :lol3:

Dagmar :D

For the first time since ?Nov? I saw 128 on my scale. Considering how utterly devastated I was when I got up this high back in the fall, I should be pretty underwhelmed by getting back here, but I'm nearly giddy with relief. I was becoming convinced that I was doomed to be 130+ from here on out.

But man, is it HARD. I am eating a pre-measured, pre-packed breakfast and lunch of 300 cals each, STARVING from 4 pm on, and then eating a wholly inadequate 600 cals for dinner. Nothing passes my lips after dinner is done except for tea or decaf coffee. I'm nearly constantly thinking about food and very fearful that the instant I let up, it will all come rushing back on.

Bill, Dagmar, I love me some leafy greens. Spinach, kale, collards or swiss chard, I'll eat it all, the darker the better. The rest of my family thinks I'm an alien, because real humans don't eat cattle-grazing crops.

You guys are cracking me up. This forum could almost make it a pleasure to be attempting maintenance.

Won't go that far, but given the constraints of the human condition, I'll buy that this is is good as it gets.

neurodoc - Thanks for "real humans don't eat cattle-grazing crops."

Dagmar - Thanks for 'collard greens are now "the new kale."'

Saef, it's good to see you reconsidering the application of the word "bad" relative to your considerable restraint. ;) As you mentioned, they are local specialties and not foods that will tempt you when you head home. It is definitely worth it to check out what makes that area unique and unfamiliar - that's why travel is cool! Years from now, when someone says "Savannah", it shouldn't bring up memories of things you wish you'd been able to enjoy, or any other forms of negative stuff. Sounds like you're doing a great job of going with the flow and maintaining very reasonable limits!

Andrea, the 1200 sounds really challenging. Glad to hear it's getting you in the right direction, scale-wise; I hope it gets easier with time.

We're learning our way around the greens. Swiss chard and spinach have always been faves; DH planned some space in the garden for some new stuff, including several varieties of kale. Our local store carries dandelion greens - I am surprised that they've gone mainstream. I generally buy them for the bunnies and sometimes will add a little to a salad. Still working on developing a taste for them.

It's been a rough couple of days getting back on track, mostly because of some lingering poor habits. I made a few changes back to things I did when I was in loss mode, like saving a bit of lunch for late afternoon so I don't hit the door completely starving - which leads to rooting for fast snacks and way too much nibbling when preparing dinner. I am still sitting at 154, a number that appears to have settled in and decided to act like a setpoint. I suppose it won't change until I do. ;)

Better day yesterday. Saving the apple and mozz stick til 3:30pm worked just as well as it did in 2009/10. Funny how the simplest things are the easiest to forget! Practice last night was grueling - we now have split workouts that are geared toward folks going on to the national short course competitions in mid May (Santa Clara, I think?), and those for the triathletes and open-water swimmers who are training for distance and endurance. I fell into the latter. 4200yds in 85 minutes. Yow. I'm sitting at my desk here, vibrating.

Two separate walks yesterday with the dogs. I even managed to get DH to go with me last night for a long walk. It was nice.

I had cottage cheese at 3:30 yesterday and it helped me not want to snack when I got home. Soup and salad for dinner last night. Felt pretty good.

No change in weight however.

I love collard greens. My grandfather grows them in his garden - fresh ones are just lovely. I diverge from the southern tradition of preparing them with bacon, bacon and more bacon and instead use fresh garlic, diced onion, hot pepper and olive oil simmered in with them.

shannon - :drool: That sounds like something I could attempt to overeat. :D

:rofl: Me too! I didn't get on the kale bus but DH and I DID have rapini with pasta for dinner last week. Funny what you can devise when you read the recipe on the package of stuff you've just bought out of interest. :dizzy:

Last singe digits cold day today I think :dance:

No booze or Easter chocs in the house :yay:

Long weekend looks to be shaping up well so far.

Dagmar :wave:

Further "normal" eating like a person on a vacation tonight, on my last night in Savannah. (Warning: Food porn to follow.) At Huey's on the River, I had a cup of file gumbo for an appetizer, with the most amazing slices of sausage in it, and then an entree of shrimp & grits, which was deeply comforting to eat, and I felt like a kid spooning it in like ice cream. I also broke off a corner of a cornbread square, and had a bite of white French bread sopped in the residue on the plate. Also several forkfuls of my mother's crawfish etouffee, which she couldn't finish. This is not food that I ever get to eat. (I've never been to New Orleans.) I will remember it for a while.

I'm struggling with guilt and fear, but I don't care -- but I do care, and I'm dreading the scale -- but still I wanted to eat this food. Nevertheless, I'm sure my weight is up at least seven pounds, possibly 10 pounds, from all this salt, butter, bacon grease or whatever else.

This is another world. I cannot believe all the Coca-Cola consumption occurring around me -- the regular stuff, the bright devil-red bottle, not the diet stuff. And also how I've always got to tell the servers I want my tea unsweetened. The default is sweetened. And oh, the aroma from the candy makers when we were walking down River Street. They were making these things called pecan pralines, dropping them in on slabs of marble. Oh my God. They hand out bits of the broken ones. I didn't dare, even in the mood I'm in. Handed it to my mother like they'd given me a crack vial. The smell was enough ...

Back to New York tomorrow. I've had a good time, but it was not restful. I'm conflicted. How am I going to live after this? Back into harness, probably. Back to the routine.

saef - I do need you to get back to New York. I've read your last post three times drooling over every word. Just can't order crawfish etouffee around here.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Dagmar for sending me to google 'rapini' to replace the images from dining in Savannah.

Shannon - My DW cooks our collards as you describe. I've had that "bacon, bacon and more bacon" style. It goes down sooooo smoothly.

saef I think we all feel a little guilt when we eat off plan. But you were on vacation and got to sample foods you will probably never eat again. Or prepare for yourself. You know how easy it will be to lose the "vacation weight" if there IS any (it sounds like your indulgences were quite civilized). You've said it already - you'll get "back in harness".

For the record if it were me I'd have bought and eaten a bag of the pecan pralines. Life is too short to spend it eating kale every single day. :rofl:

Dagmar :dizzy:

Had my "long weekend indulgence" last night while watching "Wallander". Two beers and a big piece of lower fat cheddar cheese. No measuring or weighing - just broke off a hunk and ate it. :p Very satisfying.

Now I'm going to lower my caffeine intake from today - Friday - to Monday morning. :coffee: One coffee per day and one energy drink - that's it. The caffeine dependency is driving a lot of the rest of things - lack of sleep, overeating, crashing, etc. etc. And all the cr*p in the energy drinks is probably setting me up for some kind of physical manifestation of illness.

I wish I had a week of no work to break the dependency but I don't. So I will chip away at it on weekends. I CAN do this. :strong:

Dagmar :bunny2:

I've always wanted to go to New Orleans--especially for the food. We'll get there one day for sure. In the mean time, I'll have to find some recipes. I have one for gumbo that is quite good and very easy.

Not much to report here. My weight is slowly dropping, but still not down to what I acquired in February. Close though.

Saef: good on you for enjoying your time there - sounds like you avoided the stuff that's not worth eating (at least to me - pecan pralines can be found in a lot of places, but shrimp and grits from the source? You gotta go for that). I hope the transition back to being "in harness" isn't too rough.

I'm stalled out for weight loss over the last month. It looks like if I want to try to lose more before the wedding, I'll have to dig down to about 1200 calories per day, something I've NEVER tried before. Neurodoc is currently grinding it out at that level, but it sounds very difficult. On the other hand, I tried on my dress and it looks pretty bulgy in the middle.

I was at a conference yesterday, and I successfully avoided a whole lot of high-calorie food and candy (though I caved and ate a cookie while stranded for 90 minutes at a train station). A man sat down next to me during one of the talks. He systematically opened and ate at least 20-25 small bags of M&Ms during this hour-long presentation. I was completely distracted by this - he would finish one, wait maybe 30 seconds, then slowly lean down, quietly open the next bag, then mechanically pop each one into his mouth every 5 seconds. He was a candy eating machine. At the end, he got up and left.

JayZee Jay - the M&M guy would have driven me totally insane.

Saef - I found that I didn't gain on my trip to New Orleans because I walked so much while there. Sadly, I didn't keep up that pattern when I got home. The food choices you made sound delicious. I hope you enjoyed some of your trip. you sound so stressed when you talk about it. :(

That's a lot of M&M's! We buy huge bags of mixed fun sized candy for the office and it's usually the M&M's that I'll eat. But I'll eat ONE fun sized package and be done! That's like less than 20 candies. That guy had to have eaten several hundred! Yikes!

M&Ms. I used to be able to eat a ton of them (minor exaggeration, not major). Sometimes I miss them, but only if I don't have great dark chocolate lying around.

saef - one word: Yum!