Weigh myself. Done. Daily fluctuation -0.75lb

Make food plan for the day. Done.
B=muesli, cc, banana, semi-skimmed milk, wheatgerm.
MS=blood orange, three walnuts.
L=sardines, salad (lettuce, carrots, celery), 4 oatcakes. Putting a number by oatcakes is very useful. I used to have 3 but 4 feels better at the moment. I can always go down later.
AS=blood orange, three almonds.
T= either sausage/apple/potato bake (using some more of the apples which arrived on the doorstep last week) or something with mince. +greens (we always have them here) & carrots. My mother attributes her excellent health at 89 to milk as a child and daily greens.

Weights, flexibility, some walking. Looking forward to weights shortly. I didn't manage to get out for a walk yesterday because of the weather so I'll take myself out today to organise my university library pass and to return books to the county library.

Keep to food plan as far as I can, and as appropriate. Yesterday I changed to a blood orange in the afternoon. It felt warmer, somehow, than an apple and they're only around for a few weeks. They're coming in from Italy. That was a good thing to do.

Shannon, how delicious is sludge protein shake? Tell me the truth.

Jessica, good work packing food so you can work out and not die or go all trembly afterwards.

Mrs Snark, you've probably gathered that my 'home gymn' is all over the house. The weights are stored under my side of the bed. I do the exercises in the kitchen, usually, as that's the only place with enough space. When we've finished painting the sitting room it will be possible in there again but only with moving furniture. In the better weather there's always outside. Weights are flexible! I don't know anything about the bowflex but if you don't like it, well, don't use it, is my advice. (I know you didn't ask for my advice but there it is, all the same!) I think I've read about your discombobulation elsewhere. Exercise has got to help with all that.

Allison, you're going to be on the television?? Will it be on YouTube?? Good luck.

Quite a plan you have their, silverbirch! Makes me think of muesli, which I haven't had in years. Naturally I would focus on that...

Jessica, true enough, one does have to be hungry sometimes. Not all the time. As I read in the Beck book, I think, "Hunger is not an emergency."

Last Tuesday I had a light breakfast--a little too light--and when I came home from Tai Chi class, the house washing service arrived before I could eat anything. So, I set the man up with what to do, and then when I got into the house, I was dizzy and faint-feeling. It took awhile after eating for that feeling to go away. Anyway, that is beyond hunger and I intend to avoid it.

I've identified circumstances where I overeat:
1. Dinner out with friends, where it's easy for me to miss the clues that I'm satisfied.
2. Bored and reaching for a snack as something to do.
3. Feeling slightly anxious about a task I'm trying to do, or sometimes, just free-floating anxiety, and trying to change my feeling state.

All of these respond to my paying better attention and watching hunger cues.

Love the determination here! This feels much more like a "loss" thread to me - more focus and more bending life around needed changes. I'm a little late getting on board, as usual.

Jay, your Big 3 list mirrors mine. That whole "paying attention" thing works well, but I'd have to amend with one detail that's been missing for me - I have to care about the negative consequences of the choices. That's been a more difficult ship for me to turn around for the last couple of years.

Silverbirch, I agree with you that the blood orange in season is a wonderful treat. Beautiful on the plate and so spicy sweet ... something to really enjoy!

Allison, our household is going through the same thing - feeling like "something" is trying to get a foothold. How did the interview go?

Mrs. Snark, I'm your polar opposite with the shy bladder. If someone is using a phone in the restroom, I feel almost obligated to be as noisy as possible. Behind a closed stall door, of course. Ew.

Jessica, with you all the way. I could probably maintain where I'm at right now nearly indefinitely with very little effort. As you said, unfortunately it's not a place of contentment.

Shannon, I'm taking my quart jar of change to Coinstar today to get my Amazon credit and buy the spiralizer. I found a highly-rated cookbook to go with it and I confess to being irrationally exuberant about messing with broccoli stems.

Made a huge pot of cabbage soup yesterday. Lots of nutrients, filling, and tasty without much in the way of calories. With the threat of illness lurking (ain't nobody got time for that!), I threw in quite a lot of ginger, garlic, and cayenne. I was a little concerned that I overdid it on the cayenne, but my guys didn't even flinch. I noticed they did add a little less hot sauce than usual.

Exercise has been all functional these last few days. We just had a hardwood floor put in our bedroom, so there's been a lot of furniture moving and reassembly. And a lot of stairs, since DH and I have been sleeping in his office for the last few days. Painting's up next. We did get an opportunity last weekend to sleep in DS's new bed - this is the one with the natural latex mattress. O. M. G. - I am officially jealous. This isn't a bed - it's a nest. And I want one for myself!

Still no exercise, still getting all stuffy at times and sneezing more than usual. I did sleep well.

Weight down 1.1 pounds. Eating very well on plan with only approved snacks.

My interview took all of 30 seconds and then the newscaster and her cameraman stuck around for another 15 minutes as they loved on my dogs. If the story ends up online I'll post a link to it. Basically it is about ordering flowers online and the results being far less than what was expected.

Allison - I'm glad the interview went well, or at least that they like the dogs.

Becky - the brocolli stems are fantastic! They stay firmer than the zucchini and the squash do.

Birchie - the sludge protein shake is horrific, it really is. It is a vegan raw meal powder with a little protein powder added in for kicks. I used to make it with water, so much worse. Now I use milk. Still bad, but better. I keep doing it because I feel really great when I have one 4 or so mornings a week.

Jay - I have those same cues, sometimes when I'm not really hungry. The reaching for a snack is worse at work when I'm in a low point. I need to read the Beck book - I like the 'hunger is not an emergency' concept.

Mrs. S - ouch! Sorry the sprints kicked back so hard. I went for my first run in a while this week and it is kicking back at me, too.

Jessica - I don't do well with the eat when I'm hungry thing either. It makes sense that it leads to more maintenance than loss, I've not thought of that.
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Last night I made a sausage, pepper and onion stir fry in a red sauce and served it over spaghetti squash. It wasn't bad and I would eat it again, but I like the spiralized veggies better.

To Jay's point about eating while with friends - we went and played trivia with our neighbors last night and they had a Christmas candy bowl out. I mindlessly ate 5 hershey kisses, two of those little lindt squares and a small bowl of microwave popcorn that he made later. I wasn't hungry at all, but it was there. With my food during the day it still didn't push me past my 500 cal deficit per my Fitbit, but geez.

I plan to either run at lunch or walk on the elliptical after work, but tomorrow I HAVE to take a day off. The 2.5 mile jog at lunch on Tuesday didn't count as an off day. Or do I have to take an off day? What do you guys think about exercise every day without an off day versus taking the off day?

Feeling good so far today. Chicken thawing for my stir fry for dinner. Leftover turkey stir fry in the fridge at the office for lunch. 40 ounces of water down.

Forgot to weigh in today. Oops. I'm still getting back in the habit of daily weighing.

Yesterday's report: general success, mitigated hunger with some hot tea during the workday, did my workout successfully although I skipped the cardio after the weights portion because I didn't have time. Limited myself to a few chunks of honeydew after dinner and did NOT have the glass of wine I was craving.

Today's goal: don't eat after dinner. No workout today (had lunch with a friend), and I had a cup of hot cocoa at work when I got hungry, so probably best to avoid any additional snacking. Hopefully DH cooked something healthy!

Tomorrow's plan: bring 2 snacks so I don't die before my workout. No skipping the cardio this time! Allowing myself a glass of wine tomorrow night but only if I really need it (i.e. the kids are nuts all evening or work is nuts all day).

The weight training is going pretty well so far I think. I already upped the weight on some exercises and it's only been a couple weeks. I'm having a little trouble managing my tendency to tendon problems though -- I'm going to have to swap out step ups for something else because they killed my feet last week, and I'm wondering about an alternative to a dumbbell row because the amount of weight needed to exercise the rowing muscles is more than my wrist can handle gripping for that long (I'm using a 20# dumbbell). Really I should just add some wrist exercises in but I feel like I barely have time to work out as it is.

Ok, gearing up for night shift (7pm - 7 am) this week. I'm not expecting that I'll get much exercise in, but I am determined to keep my eating under control, which means packing "dinner" for overnight and not getting stuck with vending machine or bodega offerings. I have some leftover veggie stir fry for tomorrow night and I'm going to make some lemon chicken orzo soup in my crock pot. I think I should definitely make a little grocery run tomorrow before I have to go in so I am all set to go for the week.

JayEll, I'm definitely with you on mindless/over eating when I'm anxious or with friends. I've been aware and am doing better with the social eating but the anxiety munchies still get me every time... I will definitely have to be more mindful of that.

Weigh myself. Done. Daily fluctuation – none. Weekly change: down 0.75lb.

Make food plan for the day. Done.
B = muesli, cc, summer fruits, semi-skimmed milk, wheatgerm.
MS = blood orange, hard-boiled egg.
L = cheese and lime pickle sandwich, salad (carrot, celery).
AS = blood orange, three almonds.
T = something with mince. +greens & carrots.

Movement-based flexibility. When I do this every day I soon start to feel much more alert and cheerful. Which is a good thing.

Keep to food plan as far as I can, and as appropriate. I like this part of my plan.

Yesterday did not go according to plan. Coffee plus holding in abs led to a tummy upset whilst exercising. The result was I didn’t do all the weights part of the workout and I didn’t have my mid-morning snack. I did walk to get my library pass, going via the very steep hill. Credit for that.

I'm thinking aloud here, JayEll, when I put the plan together. Once it's done I have the structure and I can get on with the rest of my day without interruptions to my flow of thought. I like the connection between planning and freedom. Good work on identifying the times when you might overeat. I sometimes eat when I don't need to when I'm waiting (to hear something, to do something - usually with high emotional content).

Becky, 'bending life around needed changes' is good. It just takes a little flexibility. 'Just' - yes, I know ...

Allison, I do approve of 'approved snacks'!

Oh Shannon! I don't know what to say! I could not have that sludge thing. I understand liking feeling good (of course!) but I think I'd try to find that another way. For me, it's doing movement-based flexibility most days. So re off days, yes, I have them. I either plan them in or life deals them to me on a random basis (e.g., when I'm on a train most of the day or similar). In an ideal world I do weights three times a week and walk (a good distance, more than I usually do each day) three times a week. I need to rest to regroup and rebuild muscles, and also so I don't feel hounded and timetabled by my programme. N.B. My ideal world rarely happens at the moment.

Jessica, how about a quick farmer's walk around the office, or somewhere like that? Gives you a break from the screen and strengthens your wrists, all in one.

Iris, I've never done night shifts. It must take a shift (!) in mindset to organise food properly. Packing food sounds so very much better than the alternative. And lemon chicken orzo soup sounds lovely. Is the 'orzo' barley or tiny pasta?

Morning all. I am a cranky pot today. Breakthrough menstrual migraine and a load of other poop happening at and around chez Snark. Cranky, cranky, cranky. Sigh.

Silverbirch -- I love your detailed planning, I am in awe and envy. I have located my dumbbells and have some space in the guest room available for me. I'm good to go. But I have held off starting my strength routine this week because I trashed my back so bad with speed work that I need to recover before I do anything else besides walk. I feel stupid, and also really stupid.

Shannon -- The shake really sounds horrible. But if it has payoffs then kudos to you for getting it down. Too bad it can't be made more palatable somehow! Pre-vegan I always preferred the spaghetti squash with olive oil, garlic, and a bit of parm cheese versus a red sauce. When I'm lazy getting out the spiralizer I've been known to just shred the zucchini, which creates more moisture but still tastes good. I have not even tried broccoli stems, I must do that.

Regarding the OFF day -- I think you can skip off days now and then if your exercise wasn't too strenuous and you're not hurting, but don't go weeks on end without taking a true rest day. Now and then, though, when you're in the groove and feeling good I think you can skip it. Listen to your body.

Becky -- I need to look up natural latex mattresses, because that sounds wonderful. I currently have about 6 inches of different kinds of foam on top of my bed in order to be able to try and sleep, and it doesn't work that great and I end up on the couch alot (which also doesn't work that great, either).

I'm down a pound this week over last Friday. I'm not consistent yet with weighing every day, but trying to get back to it.

Yes, the shake is horrific. LOL I put in cinnamon and sometimes cocoa, and DH throws in chocolate milk for his.

Today might be a rest day. I'm up and in exercise clothes while working, but going up and down the stairs is really hard, so I don't know if more exercise is the right call. I'm drinking some coffee and will check back with myself in an hour or so. Working from home today.

Mrs S. - Hope you feel better. Yick. I've been getting those migraines the last few cycles, and I don't like them. The spiralized broccoli stems are lovely.

Birchie - I also love your plans! Good job mking the best of yesterday even when you didn't feel well. Hope today is better.

Iris - I can't imagine working overnight. My mother did it for years when I was in junior high and I remember ironing her nursing uniforms and packing her meal and snacks bag. I would be much more tempted to snack on bad at 3am I think.

Jessica - could you wear lifting gloves with wrist support?

Becky - I didn't see the bit about the latex mattress. Must investigate. We got a memory foam topper for Christmas and I love it.

Silverbirch, forgive me if you've explained before and I missed it, but what is "movement-based flexibility?" that you are doing? Being more alert and cheerful sounds like something I could also benefit from.
For the lemon chicken orzo soup I did get the tiny orzo pasta, but barley sounds like a good idea - I may have to try that next time!

Iris - want to share your soup recipe? I get a lemon orzo soup from a local restaurant and love it.

My heart has been racing today. I normally have a 68-70 resting heart rate, and today it has been racing a lot. It keeps jumping up to 115, bouncing between 100-115 for a few minutes, back down to hover between 88-95. I can feel it racing. I've been sitting at my desk still all morning, not doing anything other than typing and reading. What would cause that?

PureLatex Bliss was the manufacturer. They have 3 different lines for different firmnesses - we picked the firmest and then added a 2" topper. DS literally thanks me every week for it. Thinking that the 2" topper might be exactly what we need to reinvigorate our old SleepNumber bed - the thin pillowtop is very tired and the service part replacement is major $$$.

I think I'm making some headway on the scales. The first couple of weeks of attention and dedication are always the fun ones for me, since there are relatively quick drops. The long haul, not so much. I'll be happy to see .5/month.

ETA -- Shannon, I will get that exact situation if I overdo it on caffeine. What it takes to "overdo" seems to be dropping as I get older, and it sort of snuck up on me. When I started to cut back, I almost immediately noticed I was having an easier time going to sleep at night, too.

Becky - I have had no coffee today. I made some, but held off on drinking it when I noticed the racing. I sometimes have this happen when I lie down for bed at night, but have never noticed it during the day.

DH was sick for over a week a few weeks ago and is still not feeling great. We noticed for the few days before he got sick, the week of the actual illness, and most of the next week that his resting heart rate was higher. I better not be getting sick!

I think this might cement my rest plans for the day, though.

Shannon~I've had the racing heart thing, too. My doctor said it was caffeine so I stopped caffeine and it didn't help (this was years ago). I drink caffeine again (2 cups of coffee per day) and I rarely have the racing thing. The worst was when I was trying to sleep--it was scary! My sister has it, and has it bad enough that she's under a doctor's care for it (supraventricular tachycardia). Personally, I think it is due to stress. But I've been under stress lately and haven't had it happen, so perhaps I'm wrong.