I'll join back in for "no excuses" too, Michele. I'm just tired of being where I am and my yo-yo's string has gotten longer than it should. I was back at 162 again this morning and I'm getting annoyed by my inability to keep my own promises.

Silver, I am familiar with the Bates method because DS uses it to slow the progression of his many-faceted vision issues. Mine is definitely related to too much screen time - as soon as I reverted to the old habit of putting on my glasses in the morning when I get up, I went right back to where I started. Must add that to the list of habits that must be crushed and replaced!

Michele, we were on the NCL Escape. I was pleasantly surprised by the mega-ship! I think the trick is to take all the advice of the cruise line and the reviews, and just to get as many reservations in place as you can before you go. I swear, they are almost as good at handling large groups as Disney - there was rarely a wait for a reserved event, and even the embark/disembark was very smooth. Entertainment and food, top notch as always. We found a very cute nook on the Waterfront (midlevel continuous promenade) that gave us all a point to meet. Literally, from 10am - 5pm, there was at least one of our group of 11 sitting there! The teenagers roamed for hours and fed at will; the grownups sunned, drank, and read copiously. And even spotted some whale action! We all agreed it was a fantastic vacation. Snorkeled in St. John, visited Virgin Gorda and the Baths (so cool), and broke even for a couple hours at the Atlantis casino in the Bahamas. Glorious! Now we are noodling about a 4-day cruise to Cuba in December. :chin: There were few places where it became obvious just how much humanity was on board - the pool, of course, and the first and last day. No complaints.

Saef, I'm not a fan of hunger either, but it tends to be a good indicator for me as well. I used to deliberately leave my wallet in my car when I had a long walk from my desk to the parking lot. It was very effective at keeping me out of the vending machines or visiting the cafeteria. I've also messed up that routine and felt that anxiety of not being certain about where it was. Hope your presentation went well!

Shannon, I'm late to the comments but good grief, I was tired reading your post about last week! We'll be commiserating about dental stuff shortly. While I did get a lot of compliments about my teeth, the Xrays showed two very tiny cavities forming in opposite quadrants, and I'm electing to do them both at once. And having a consultation to see what can be done about my drifting lower teeth. Well, it was a good run of more than 15 years between invasive dental things involving Novacaine. :p

Yesterday started well and then went downhill with a boundary dispute in the afternoon. It will develop today as the associated planning dispute gathers momentum. I don't need this as there are plenty of other things going on at present.

Lots of driving tomorrow so today I'll prepare food to take. Talking of driving, I hope you've been able to recover a bit from last week, Shannon.

Tuesday morning, after waking at midnight with my mind unquiet, reviewing my own performance on yesterday's call. I presented to a dead silence on the phone. There were questions afterward, which is good. Even as I spoke, I could hear myself saying "um" too much and I forgot to pass along one piece of information. That's what kept me up.

I'm at 157.8 and probably going lower, as I feel stopped-up and crampy with sluggish digestion.

I'm late for the gym in spite of being up for just over an hour.

I am down another pound. That's 4 pounds in 4-1/2 months. I am not "dieting." I eat what I want--but I don't eat to overfull. I exercise pretty much daily: A 1-2 mile walk, some weights every few days, plus Tai Chi twice a week and yoga once a week. This is slow but better than what I've done in the past.

I'm older than most of you here, and I no longer have to work for a living. I think stress reduction is another important key.

Becky-- do you want to be my "no excuses" partner?
I did well yesterday-- had a hard workout (body pump), ate on plan and went to be a little hungry.... was 136.4 yesterday and 134.6 this morning. I realize that happens post trip/ flying but I'll take it. I'm still 10 pounds over my "red line" and I just want to be able to see that in the distance. I'm ready for my clothes to fit as all of my extra weight goes a couple of places-- basically everything below my waist-- stomach, legs, butt.... I'm stuck wearing loose skirts and dresses for now.

One more cruise question for you Becky-- what can you reserve on the ship? On ours, we could just do dinner reservations and shore excursions. Well, we also tried to book the serenity area (private adult area with loungers and service) but it was mostly booked by the time we got on-- you couldn't book ahead.

Hi guys - I'm around, and somewhat recovered from the week last week. It slept 10 hours each night Friday and Saturday, still feel a little sluggish but getting better.

I'm also working on no excuses. I'm above my red line. Actually, above where I was when I joined this forum. Sigh. I've lost 5.8 pounds in three weeks, working to keep it going in the right direction.

While I'm over my beginning weight myself, I am not pursuing loss until I get back from my cruise. I'm not out and out not trying or really giving in and eating copious amounts of food, I'm just not actively trying to lose because realistically I cannot lose enough to matter before the cruise and I'm not going to restrict while on my cruise, so there's that. What I'm hoping is that in not trying, perhaps when I do really go for it in about 4 weeks, my body will actually respond and I will lose some weight. That's not hoping for too much, right?

So, in the mean time, my brother is coming tomorrow for a short visit (we'll go out to dinner Wednesday night), it is my in-law's anniversary (we'll go out for dinner Friday with them) and we have a car trip a week from Saturday with lunch included and then we leave on May 1st, returning the 19th.

I'm also toying with a different food delivery company. DH has Type 2 diabetes and is NOT controlling his sugar well at all (double doses of metformin as well as Jenuvia). He has an appointment with an endocrinologist in August (really? it takes 6 months to get into one?) and so I'm thinking of having a company that specializes in diabetic meals deliver to us. I've been doing my homework on this and can't decide to do it or not.

Wednesday morning, and as I'd predicted, down a pound to 156.8. I still feel backed-up and vaguely sore in my gut. Those roasted brussel sprouts that still had a tough part to them at the heart seem to have done a number on my innards.

I was bored and restless yesterday while working from home, and not as productive as I'd have liked. I felt like I was making up tasks for myself. But I did comment on two of my writers' documents, which is the minimum that I ought to do each quarter. Also, I got a load of laundry done.

I'm also down another pound, but I'm worried that I'm getting sick. I started feeling queasy in bikram yoga yesterday (but I've only been once in 3 weeks so I'm out of the habit). Just felt weirdly tired last night and now today, I feel queasy and exhausted. Could be a stomach virus but I don't feel poorly enough to stay home-- especially on Kindergarten day at school. Hoping I feel better.... I'm also all kinds of sore. I really pushed it in body pump (weights) on Monday and now I can't tell if I'm just sore all over or achy from illness, or both.

I was the same way as you about the cruise, Allison. Unfortunately, I gained quite a bit on mine so now I have more to take off. At least it is coming off for now. I'm hoping I feel well enough later for some sort of a workout so I can continue my "no excuses" for at least 3 days!

I exercised this morning. No excuses. I did let myself have a cocktail last night after dinner, but DH made it and his are often lighter handed than mine.

Michele, sure, I'm in! I'm figuring out some good boundaries to use, but yes, about 10 pounds over redline for me as well. I will start from there with tomorrow's weigh-in and will make a ticker for that 10 pounds. Bottom line is, I need to move every day like I mean it and I need to quit eating like a pouty toddler. Some of it comes from my bff having lost 35 pounds since last fall (I'm the fluffy friend now), and some is a desire to invest some energy into getting more energy. I'm starting to feel like I'm almost 50 ... and I don't like it.

To answer prior question about what can be reserved ahead of time on the ship: evening entertainment, excursions, all dining rooms including just the regular ones, group exercise classes, and spa services. The reservations opened up 90 days prior to sailing. I got locked out of one of the musicals I wanted to see, but just went to the stand-by line and there were enough no-shows to have no problem getting in. Best to book - you can always cancel if needed. And one thing that was COOL about our ship is that we could adjust those reservations on the TV in our cabin! Hope you feel 100% very soon - it has been one long series of winter and spring misery for a lot of people.

Shannon, in my world a glass of wine makes this whole project tolerable. Whether I want to admit it or not, I'm starting to have some rather odd reactions to some beers - and my beer savant friends think it may be related to malts. They are designing experiments so I can figure out what to stay away from. :lol:

Saef, sorry your tummy's distressed. Brussels sprouts were something I avoided for decades until the spouse introduced me to the joys of roasting. I am sure I could eat enough to cause myself some problems!

Allison, I love all the new food delivery services that are springing up! I would hope that they catch on with the younger crowd as a way to take steps toward learning how to cook. And from what I've seen they don't necessarily cost a fortune; a few even point out that between waste and being forced to overbuy on a lot of products, they can even be right on par. :chin:

I am eating sanely today. When meeting a friend for lunch I passed on a parking spot that was directly in front of the restaurant and went down two more blocks. I have been getting more than usual done at home. Kaizen principles ... just a little bit of improvement. :yes:

A long day behind the wheel yesterday but there were benefits. Seeing spring unrolling across the country - it is the loveliest spring for blossom for years. Taking a picnic made food choices better than the alternative, even if they weren't fantastic. Having a walk around a town with a lot of Georgian architecture.

Today is busy but I'll plan out my food so I don't nibble, move some garden compost and rescue some plants from a building site, possibly fit in my exercises ... and all the rest.

Yes, that's what I'm working on. It all adds up.

I must be missing something about roast Brussels sprouts. I've tried them and thought roasting brought out all the bitterness and lost all the sweetness. I like small sprouts steamed or boiled. The big ones are no good. Anyway, tell me more about roasting them, please.

Looked up "Kaizen principles". Thank you Becky :)

Dagmar :beach:

My "no excuses" didn't quite work as I definitely have a touch of a stomach bug. I stubbornly put my workout clothes on after work and took my dogs for a brief walk. I was doubled over with tummy cramps so decided that did constitute an excuse. Still got over 12,000 steps so at least I was active.

Tummy is still somewhat queasy today but no vomiting or diarrhea (none yesterday either-- just feel queasy)-- so I'm hoping to exercise today but not making any promises.

Thursday morning, down just a fraction to 156.7. I'll take it. A little bit less was the way I lost 100 pounds in the past.

I felt unusually good this morning, even though I heard yesterday we're in for another round of musical chairs, as they're moving us once again to another part of this floor. I will lose my shared cubicle and get my own cubicle, but I'll have to work in the office one additional day each week.

I got an assignment to turn around in the short term, which gave me more of a sense of purpose. My team is going to pull off publishing six important documents that will be disassembled to create "a client experience" (translation: web pages). I've been monitoring those through nearly two months. I'll be glad when the pages are posted.