Diana3271, good morning to you! Loks like that rice/sodium wasn't a big deal after all! Good for you!
Berry, for the size 14's! I am taller than you and weigh less than you and I still fit in some of my 16s and a couple 14s! You brat!
Milesaway, for the no binging. Not sure how to help you on the coctails front. Maybe give yourself a calorie limit for coctails, like 300 or something and that's it, make them last. I love wine, but for the most part have given it up, wasn't worth the extra calories to me, but I know if I was going out, I would make room for a light beer or a glass of wine, just trying to avoid too many calories from alcohol.
Sum, I hear ya on the rain thing. Good for you getting your walk in! When do you leave for your trip? You must be bursting with excitement!

Stacy, I think I need another kick in the pants to get going with my workout today, not really feeling it. . . [bending over now]

Berry - Did I miss it? How'd the doctors appointment go?

Diana/Berry - It seems like everyone is in the bathing suit frame of mind. When I get some pictures ready, I'm going to post them here for advice. And speaking of advice, Berry, Lands End has lots of options where you can buy suits for specific bra sizes. Makes a HUGE difference.

K9 - Jealous of that weather. We still have nothing but rain. The friend I sometimes walk with at lunchtime just suggested we take up swimming instead.

Diana in LA - WTG! New low! Woo-hoo!

Stacy - If you know you're right, than the scale is just wrong, that's all there is to it.

Pint - I have weird cravings, but not that weird

Larry - I'm pretty near Albany too, about 45 minutes NW. We'll be in Estero, FL for a few days next week.

roadbikerchick - I'm totally making that soup! Mmmmm.

aggie - I use fitday and don't want to change because it's got info on me going back years, but you're right, the foods in there are oddly limited in someplaces and absurdly specific in others.

still - I've never had the opportunity to be a SAHM, but if you think you can pull it off, go for it. At the very least, you need to lay down the line with that boss of yours! You'll have opportunities in the future to do what you love again.

rachelj - Take care of yourself! You sense pushing yourself so hard that you can't keep going.

jomatho - Some days are just like that. And the weather doesn't help. You'll have more energy another day. I do a stirfry pretty often, and I never can tell how much I've eaten either. I just estimate the best I can.

vixsin - I hope you catch him/her/them. What an upheaval!

MzJuicyD - Congrats on being back down!

Sum - Mmm, blue cheese. I'm really looking forward to hearing about your trip!

Lindsey - I'm sure you did the best you could out of town. There'll be some bumps starting maintenance, but you'll work it out.

TXGirl487- You need to eat more, girl!


OK, I hope I didn't miss anyone!!

I sort of fell apart yesterday, although all told I ended up with about 1850 calories. Definitely high, but not insane. There are a couple of factors making me feel blah: the #@#%*& rain that just won't quit isn't doing me any favors. I've still managed to get bits and pieces of exercise on the elliptical at lunchtime, and I pulled out the wii fit plus and have been playing on that some, but I don't enjoy it as much as a walk or bike ride or working in the yard.

The other problem is that I've got almost nothing to do at work, which means time goes slow, I'm bored, and snacky. Not a good combo. This is an big issue I have at this job. My supervisor pays absolutely no attention to me and only a small fraction of my work comes from him. I've asked him if he has anything for me, and a few other people. I'll get a days worth of work and then go back to next to nothing. Yet last winter I had so much to do that I was working nights and weekends. I'm pretty new here, and the company as a whole isn't doing too well right now, so I don't want to make too much of a stink. But it is an issue I'm not really sure how to handle.

Jo OOPS! I normally forget to put my weight on this check in. I always put it on my weigh in thread. The sodium did jump on me. I'm up 1.4 pounds. It could have been the rice, since I don't normally eat that many carbs. Back on plan and back to business as usual.

Grr! Back up to 192! Had a celebration this weekend and kind of pigged out on bday cake and rich food, so there's no surprise how this happened. Though, I did exercise a LOT this weekend, too, so I was hoping for some offset there. Boo!

On the plus side, all the walking/jogging I've been doing lately has, I think, started to reveal some visible progress on my legs. They seem to look a bit more toned. Not to mention, I feel a lot less stiff in both my legs and lower back since I've started this weight loss/exercise change. So, it's back to business as usual for me, too.

About to go have some breakfast (a grapefruit and a cup of green tea) and then tackle the massive weeding project that is my backyard. Hopefully a jog later, too!

Claire

Jo: KICK KICK KICK KICK KICK... go get started and you'll be glad you did!

------------------------

Quick post to let you know the SCALE FINALLY MOVED! It weighed in at 173.2 this morning. Let's hope and pray it sticks! This has been a hard time! I'm off to the gym to try to take some power away from the scale and put some power in my own hands!

Hi All
So, if it’s not a tornado siren waking me up, today it’s my neighbor getting a new roof! And the guys that are doing it are banging every SINGLE nail in—one at a friggin time!
I need more than 5 hrs of sleep! River is having no probs sleeping right through it!

No for me today or for that matter
I have the P90X-Ab Ripper and some HIIT I’m doing instead.
Tomorrow is WI, and I will probably gain (buhu, I wanna cry)
However, I think I am losing like Melissa, as in around ovulation time, I will stall or gain a pound—then WOOSH. Push on some more, right? The numbers still don’t add up!

VIX: Gosh, that really stinks about all that vandalism. People can be so cruel. It wouldn’t be enough for me to have them arrested. They’d have to buy some tires, a windshield and ˝ for the security system, +extra for endangering me & my family. Hey, a girl can have high hopes, right!

LINDS: on the 4 mile run! Hey, whatever works to get and stay motivated, right??

MELISSA: I highly recommend a 2 piece separate! They have adorable skirts, shorts, skorts, and different tops which comes in handy when choosing the right one for the girls! It is bothersome to me with all of the selections around that busty women (me included) choose to walk around with the girls dragging around in a poorly-designed one piece. IMO, adjustable straps are defo the way to go—not the “one size strap fits all summer” deals—EWWE!

MILESAWAY: I am prob the LAST one to ask for advice on cocktails
I don’t really binge eat, but I am defo a binge drinker! Only advice I can even try to give you is this, “Stay away from the Pina Coladas!” It usually takes me 2 weeks to lose the pound or 2 I gain from Merlot (sigh) Such is the life! That’s even when I include it in the cals for the day too!!

JO: YOU GO GIRL on your running. I made a running ticker too, but I added it to my blog. I may add it here. I have been guestimating the miles and when to purchase new running sneakers, but I think I buy to soon. Hopefully the ticker will help me be more mindful of how many miles I am putting on them

Kristiina: I so wish I was planning holiday across the little blue pond! You can defo lose that weight if you keep on track everyday! What a great challenge! Here’s a little to help!

ZooDoo: Hate to hear that about your job. This economy just stinks! Sorry to hear about all of your I so know the feeling! We are STILL rowing!!

STACY: on your loss! FINALLY!! hoping it sticks for you!!

Back from the doctor's appointment which went over my blood work. Seems I made an 'oops' with the last appointment. Well, that and he didn't TELL ME... Seems they give you a check out sheet you are supposed to take back to teh front office. They then make an appt. for 3-4 months then and there. I then just need to plan my lab tests so taht they have arrived by the time I have that appointment. So, maybe I won't jump ship quite yet, but... I'm leary of this guy.

So, the appt. First, the lady who is his assistant is ALWAYS his assistant, so I think she remembers me from my super scary high blood pressure. Today it was perfect. My weight was 46 pounds less than the last time I was there in January. She said, "Wow! You've lost a lot of weight! Congratulations." And then I sat and sat.

Doctor finally came in and went over the results. He was quite pleased. Especially, he was pleased with the A1C results. He said, "These results are a dramatic improvement. You don't usually see such drastic changes. What did you do?" I said I ate low carb with no rice, bread, simple sugars and very light on pasta and potatoes. He looked at me and said, "see how much difference some exercise and changing the diet can radically change our medical situation. Look at you - you were out of control diabetes numbers and now with just eating differently and exercising, you are right on the cusp of normal (5.7 is top normal for that lab, I have 5.8... though I've read and anything under 6.0 is fine. It was 8.7 before).

So, I go back the end of August with new lab tests to go over. This time I'm not worried. I just have to keep doing what I'm doing which is easy enough because I feel SO MUCH BETTER and it's working and I'm not tempted to mess it up!

So that's that!

No, Jomatho andDiana in LA I definitely still fit in plenty of 16s. I have two pairs of 16s (not 16Ws) that fit me perfectly. The size 14 linen-like pants I'm wearing are 13 years old from a Laura Ashley store. I think they are Misses, but I could be wrong. The Land End Skorts and the the North Face athletic skort I have say 14, not 14W, so I'm assuming their Misses? For the Lands End I bought those at Goodwill so who knows. The 14 North Face skort (none elastic) are definitely Misses as I got those at REI.

Yet, I have ONE MORE PAIR of size 14s that are too tight to look nice. I can button them and zip them, but they pull too tight across the butt and thighs. Those are a Lily Pulitzer I got from Goodwill. They are Misses. They say for that size these are proper measurements: 33 waist, 43 hips. I have a 36 waist and 45.5 inch hips right now. Lands End size chart gives this for size charts: 34 waist, 43 hips. But I've always noticed I can be larger than their states sizes. When I AM those measurements, they are falling off me (or seriously baggy in the butt - I have a flat butt when not fat - just wide).

I'll have to take some pictures.

Stacy, thank you very much for the kicks, I did get myself down there and pounded out another 5 miles running and 1 mile walking (only counting the running this month), so I am super pleased with that. I was trying to make up for my low mileage yesterday. I am sooooooooooooooooooooooo happy that your scale moved today . You soooooooooooooooo deserve it!!! You go take control of that gym today!
K9, seems we have a theif on our thread robbing many of us of our sleep! Great idea with the ticker and the running shoes. I figure loosely that mine have about 200 miles on them. What is it, about 4-500 miles for the life of them? I can usually tell when I need new ones, I start to get shin and ankle problems. I feel mine are in a sweet spot right now, love em.
Claire, good for you for keeping up on the exercise even though your eating wasn't what you planned for. Just get right back into your eating plan, drink lots of water and you will be back down in no time.
Diana3271, sorry, I thought your ticker was a low for you, but it is probably another days number. Yup, right back at it to flush out that sodium. So has it hit you yet that you are MAINTAINING?????????? Wow! Are you going to post a story on the goal thread?
Zoodoo, I like the swimming comment, not a bad idea! Is there something else you can work on at work? Meal planning, recipe tweaking, writing letters. Something that looks like work, keeps you busy and takes your mind off being bored/wanting to snack? That would drive me nuts too, I like to be busy at work, but not too busy.

Berry, congrats on the good Dr. appt! Makes it all worth while. It's funny how people can have different measurements, have different weights, and heights and wear the same pants. It's like the sisterhood of the traveling pants!

Ladies,

I want to get my mom some clothes... She is very short...maybe 4'10...and her weight is around 135 pounds. -- What size do you think she is...14 or 16 petite? I am 5'3 and 155 pounds and I am 10/12...

One thing Finland does not have...clothes for short and "round" people. Everyone is usually tall and thin.. So I tend to get her pants from Lane Bryant. She has lost around 50 pounds...

About to post some pics (which, you would NEVER know it from this site, but I ABHOR photos and avoid the camera). You have not shared ANY PICS YET!!!! Girl!!!! Post some!

Melissa Wow!!! That is fantastic!!!

Sorry for the flabby arm shots! I have TERRIBLE arms - my arms and gut are my worst areas.

OK: First, me in the Laura Ashley pants - Size 14... hard to see as they are black, but you can see some bagginess in the butt:



In the Lands End Size 14 skort. SLIGHTLY tight, but straight from the washer, so would probably be fine in an hour:



And the definitely too tight Lily Pulitzer size 14 slacks/jeans. Maybe another 10 or 15 pounds:

WooHoo Berry! One hot mama! I LOVE your waistline!!