I lied I supposed none of you noticed I wasn't calm and I did eat cheerios with brown sugar. But I still had a deficit and did some extra abs!

How close to the surface those old habits are! Your head gets spinning and you head for the kitchen!

Hi everyone!

I don't even remember if I posted on March chat. Whoops! In any case, things are moving along here. I'll be done with my masters degree in about nine weeks. My fiance and I put down a deposit on an apartment in Carmel, Indiana. We both have jobs lined up, so now it's just a matter of waiting until we get there. I can't wait! We are totally sick of Rhode Island and graduate school has been a very unpleasant experience for me, so we are really looking forward to the move.

Also, once we move, I can finally start planning our wedding!

I'm really looking forward to the summer, so I can get some more outdoor exercise. I'm hoping that I can get a chance to try canoeing or kayaking this summer. It's always good to change up the exercise schedule a little!

Good job, Susan!

I've signed up for another half marathon 10k just isn't a challenge any more...

Clippy -- congrats on the upcoming nuptuals and graduation and job and home, whew you have a lot of things going on ...

Susan -- I think you did great even if you did

Hi Anne,

How are you and your DD doing ?? I hope you are both well.

Rabbit

Hi Rabbit,

The antibiotics are helping quite a bit, though I still have a hacking cough, and I can't take anything for it since I'm still breastfeeding. Hopefully it will get out of here soon. DD is fabulous. I wish I had her immune system. She is just too cute!

How are things settling down in your life?

Anne

Oh yeah, go Helen go!

Hi everybody else! I'm going to get my head back in the game here soon!

Hi guys - just wondering if this is a good place to be posting.

I'm one of those people who has never been terribly overweight but struggle with 10-15 pounds. Right now I've just finished about 6 months of a healthy eating period, used the Sonoma diet and have been doing various exercises and feel extremely excellent. My clothes all fit and I just feel so good.

The tricks for me are:

1) Eat less (duh).

2) Stay off sugar especially when I'm hungry. A bit of dessert doesn't bother me after I'm mostly satiated with healthy food, but nothing makes me feel worse and sets me into overeating like donuts or candy when I'm really hungry for food.

3) SLEEP. It's the best coping strategy for me when I'm stressed, better than exercise, reading a book or whatever. I find just going to bed and then waking up refreshed with the joy that I didn't eat ice cream or potato chips is highly successful.

4) Reasonable exercise. I tend to be all or nothing and it's been a challenge to get to where with a busy schedule I do it in reasonable amounts. Walk sometimes, elliptical sometimes, exercise bands sometimes, workout video, etc. and if I miss a day or two, so be it. I can get so into it and I do look great, but I burn out.

I also have to strive for the satisfaction factor - I tend to pick myself apart and find places I'm not happy with and then I get kindof down. Overall I just feel so good.

I'm nearly 53 now - you'd think I would have figured all this out years ago, but older but wiser they say. I just want to keep on keepin' on and avoid those bad overeating patterns that set me up for yo-yo thing.

Hi Anne,

Things are settling down a bit...passed the 1/2 year marker last friday. Up to the next 1/2 year! All in all I think we are better off without XH, we can be our own persons more. it is a pity that we couldn't be with XH in the house. All the same I wish him & NL a lifetime of unhappiness, because I think that he treated me and the kids shabby, and looking at his proposal for the financial arrangements, he is continuing this

bye,
rabbit

Hi Cindy, and welcome I think you've come to exactly the right spot. It doesn't matter whether one has taken off 10, 20 or 200 pounds, we all have to cope with maintenance. Although each of us has some individual demons, I think everyone would agree that there are a number of commonly shared issues, and we all derive great strength in learning how everyone else deals with them. I suggest you stroll through the stickies at the top of the main maintenace page ... there's LOTS of great information there. And then, come on in; the water's fine

Clippy ... here's a warm Hoosier welcome from one transplant to another. I think you'll like Carmel (and for all you non Indianans, you'll want to know that it's pronounced CAR-mel -- like the candy -- and not car-Mel -- as in California). Let me know if I can pass on any info about your home-to-be.

Anne, I hope you and DD are feeling in the pink asap. Sounds like you've been through quite a siege.

I think I'm going to join a poster over on Ladies Who Lift in a 12-week BFL for Women challenge (the program outlined by Dr. Pam Peeke, which is a great book if you haven't read it). I seem to need a little more structure than usual these days, and that seems like just the ticket. Should carry me right through Commencement season and into the summer.

Other than that, I'm happy to report it's an absolutely glorious day here, so I think I'll go out and enjoy some of that sunshine. Have a lovely Sunday.

Cindy this is the place for maintainers or maintainer wannabes, like me , because being a maintainer isn't much different than when you're regularly losing weight...

Hi all, I am coming out of lurkdom on this thread, as I am determined to "maintain" my weight loss, and continue the downward trend. I find this thread very inspiring, and would like to join in.

As a number of you know from LWL, I was doing well last year, but then tore my miniscus jumping rope. 15 pounds later, with a knee that still isn't totally honkey dorey, I am trying to get back on tract. In the interim, I have also begun doing personal training at Bally, which has helped alot to keep me on the straight and narrow. I figure at age 63 I should serve as an example of what is possible to many of the women (and men) who come to the gym.

So, here I am....on a bright, semi-warm day in April, determined to maintain and move on down that road...

Artmaker

Gosh Artmaker - a personal trainer. I keep thinking that would be a good idea to really get in a good routine. Do you like your trainer?

I've had a pretty good day - I fixed an interesting dinner, sauted a seasoned halibut filet and put it over baby greens with avocado, grapefruit, and raspberries - a light vinaigrette dressing. Quite interesting combo of flavors, it called for mango instead of the raspberries which I didn't have on hand. It was a nice meal before my walk, though. So PRETTY here - got out and did 5 miles. I'm now very ready for a hot bath, lavender spray on the bed linens, perhaps a little self-tanner on my legs. Getting ready for spring - tomorrow it will be 72 here. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.............FINALLY.

I like to cook and find that planning and fixing a nice meal that really pleases me makes me so much more satisfied. If I don't really eat a meal, have this and that, I pick around and nibble and eat a lot more and enjoy it a lot less.

Ilene - thanks for the well wishes! Life is about to get busy busy busy around here!

Anne - glad to hear that you are getting better! It seems like you and your DD sure have been sick for a while now!

Cindy - Welcome!!

Robin - thanks for the welcome! Where are you transplanted from? I'm originally from Los Angeles!

Artmaker - Welcome (out of lurkdom)!

Things are moving along over here . . . I am counting down the days until I will be done with school (the end of May cannot come soon enough!). We're enjoying the spring weather though, I am so glad it's warmer this year than last year! I am really looking forward to the farmers markets starting up again! Mmm, fresh fruits and veggies!

Hello ladies,

I haven't been in this neck of the woods in a while. I hope I find you all well and in good spirits! I just returned from Boston for a long weekend of playing tourist (usually in Colorado, I'm playing tourguide so it was a nice switch!) What a cool city! I've been to other east coast cities before, but this one made me feel right at home. I was able to tour Symphony Hall- by myself!- before a show. It was a Mozart program, which I wasn't too wild about and the tickets that were left were over $100! A very nice usher who asked me over and over if I was a terrorist (I said, "No ma'am, I'm a tourist", maybe it was my wester accent? ) let me in to look around- how sweet! I also stopped by a firehouse to get a shirt for my boyfriend and ended up taking some pics with the most adorable firefighter who in turn groped my butt when we took the picture! Certainly a highlight of my trip...

I did have a "mainainer" realization. I went out there t see my best friend and she has put on about 65 pounds in the past year. A lot of it is due to drinking and of course, taking terrible care of herself. I took a look in her fridge and there was absolutely nothing clean, maybe some yogurt (but the bad kind). She whined about all the weight she had put on, but made no indication that she was doing anything about it. i'm not the kind of friend that's going to harass her about her weight. Lord knows I know how that can backfire. But she was the person that I lost MY weight with. It just sucks that instead of maintaining it, people lose weight only to put it back on and lose it again. The 8 pounds I fight with is such a viscous cycle, I can't imagine what it's like for her to lose the same 70 pounds. Perhaps I'm still incredibly naive. But I did have a bit of an "a-ha" moment of my own. I know maintaining is difficult, but I've gotten to a point where the decisions I make about what I eat is so natural now. It actually HAS gotten a bit easier. When we were in line for coffee, said friend ordered a venti caramel latte, extra whip, extra syrup, etc... Something about that horrified me. That's a meal, folks!!! I realized that I could just never do that again. I don't know, it was a small moment, but one that speaks volumes to you i suppose.

Thank you for letting me vent. I really feel like a mental weight has been lifted