Oh, well, midwife. Stuff happens. Well done for telling us. Now upsy daisy and off you go again.

hi chicks,
midwife i ate overly big meals today because i just wanted to stuff down my anxiety... And I knew I was doing it.

I said to very long time friends this past saturday, {while wearing my super hot dress}, who know me thru all weight phases and personal woes, "it has taken me forty years to figure out how to be both thin and healthy. But I do now know."

we know. we can and will do.
now, let's get back on the wagon

So I have this box of confetti cake mix and a tub of pink frosting that have been sitting in my closet for about three years. I have a heart-shaped cake pan I got as a present and have never used. The frosting and cake mix are expired by at least six months, probably more. My planned Valentine's Day treat is to attempt to cook that cake. The idea is that if the cake mix and frosting are actually bad, then I'm safe because I won't eat it. If they're still good, I will have a reasonable portion as my treat for the week and take all the leftovers to work on Monday.

In other news, I think I've plateaued. Or, at least, I haven't lost any weight in about a month. Could be from not being able to run due to the weather, although I hate to think that for the rest of my life, unless I run intervals three days a week, I will maintain on only 1400 calories.

I'm happy to be under my new "red line" of 140, but 139 is close enough to it that I still want to lose some more weight. If I get down to 135 I will have more of a buffer available.

Yeah, Jessica, for being under the red line!
Be sure to check that mix for weevils.....ask me how I know!
Kitty, where are the pix of the super hot dress?
Back to basics for me....again!
How's your trip, Silver?

Jessica, there is some internet warning going around about pancake mix expiration dates and mold and fatal outcomes... let us know how it all goes!

Got pix today, need my it guy,/dh,/to help me get 'em up.

It is always about the basics, isn't it?
Happy V Day

We're leaving my ma's tomorrow for Old London Town. Just in time as food is getting rather shaky.

It's because my routine is out of the window, specifically morning and afternoon snacks. I'm always somewhere else when it's time to eat them, I miss them and then I overeat at mealtimes.

35 glorious days OP. 3 pathetic days off.

Will be cat-sitting for a week (with some work and, yes, a hair cut) so should be able to get back on track.

You know, routine means relaxation to me nowadays. When a lot of stuff comes at me from out of the sun, I find I tense up and that's not so good. Planning really helps.

The cake mix and frosting were still good. At least, I haven't gotten sick yet and it's two days later.

Anyway, I made the heart-shaped cake and 9 small cupcakes with the remaining batter. Gave the heart-shaped cake to the in-laws. DH ate a bunch of the cake and 3 cupcakes. I ate the other six. Plus the 10 chocolates he gave me for V-day yesterday. Oh well, I'll live.

Hey, Jessica, I had more birthday cake yesterday than I should have. Today is a new day, new week!

One of my friends is getting married at the end of March. The dress I would like to wear fits me beautifully at 155. I haven't tried it on the last few months (it is a spring dress), and I want to feel sleek and trim in it. So that will be my motivation for the next ~ 6 weeks or so.

Bumpetty bump

How's everyone doing this week so far? I've been POP, just got back from a workout I really didn't want to do (but I'm glad I did). I can't wait for the snow to end so that I can go outside more again. The poor dog is very upset that he hasn't gotten many walks lately.

Hi, everyone! I've been stupidly unfocused and scary busy. Spouse has been working 7 days a week, and will be doing so until spring. So, I am single-momming, and I am NOT good at it. Work has been nonstop (I've even been working through lunch), I've had to manage all the cooking/shopping/laundry/cleaning (ok, I have people for that, but still ...) and bills and snow removal and chauffering.

Did you see swimming in there anywhere? No. Any pride in how well I've been eating? No. I give my poor bod all the credit in the world - it's managed to keep the scale in a good spot despite my less-than-stellar choices. I did eat a red gumball yesterday, and yes ... it must have been the "bad red", cuz I soared 4 pounds overnight.

I am *trying* to be sympathetic to the spouse - it can't be fun to do nothing except work and sleep. But I am having an awful, awful time not hating his ever-living guts for bailing on me right when I actually need training time the most ... the next 3 months. It's a total flashback to 10 years ago, when he "had" to spend 10 of our newborn son's first 12 weeks in Mexico due to work - truly the lowest point in my life.

Phew. I haven't expressed that before. So now what? Do I give up sleeping? Go buy cases of Lean Cuisine? How does one burn the candle at both ends, plus the middle and the 4th dimension, and neither collapse into a self-pitying puddle or murderous rage? I'm in pure reactive mode, and I figured if anyone can help me out of this trap without putting the 30 pounds back on, it's you peeps!

Is he an accoutant? Sounds like my sil these days!
First, a cause that's a lot!
Second, do what's easy! Can you cook in bulk on the weekends? Buy those previously cooked frozen chicken breasts? Squeeze in even 2 swims a week? You'll feel like a new woman. I promise! And give yourself a lot of credit, a ton of slack, and a pat on the back.

One day at a time. Eggs for dinner. Clean underwear is enough---everything else can be worn more than once. Simplify, plan, let it go, make it through....those are my strategies anyway!

ICU - It's tough when your spouse has to work all the time. I'm sure he's as unhappy about it as you are. Here are my tips for time saving, although I'm not a mom so I don't know how feasible they are for you:
- reduce food shopping to one trip per week
- to help with that, pick out recipes for the week in advance so you know what to buy
- don't pick any recipes that take more than 20 minutes to make
- pick recipes that make 8-10 servings so you can have leftovers for future meals
- only do laundry once a week. Whatever doesn't get washed on that day gets priority for the next week's laundry day. Don't bother washing sheets and towels until they really, REALLY need it. While your laundry is running do your weekly food shopping trip.
- grocery store rotisserie chickens provide enough meat for a couple different meals, including quick chicken sandwiches or salads, and they're cheap
- Stock up on canned and frozen veggies. They make for quick, healthy meals.
- Slow cooker!

I don't remember how old your kids are. Are they old enough to help out at all? I agree with midwife that if you can squeeze in one or two swims a week, it will probably help you feel more relaxed and capable of handling the situation.

I had a funny a-ha moment today. I have been feeling like I still have a massive amount of weight to lose, and like it's some kind of huge insurmountable obstacle. Then today I looked at my ticker and said, wait, I've been freaking out about 3-4 lbs? That's pocket change! So I only lost 1lb last month. So what? I will be back at my "new" goal by summer at that rate. And you know, that's good enough. I can handle my current diet for that long. It's close to my maintenance eating anyway, the only difference is that I'm measuring more carefully to cut those extra 200-400 calories that manage to squeeze in by taking seconds or slightly larger portions at dinner time. My breakfast, lunch, and snack are all exactly what they would be if I was doing maintenance eating, and my exercise is what I'd be doing anyway to train for the triathlon season.

The fact is that I have come a long way from the bad place I was in the past two years after the thyroid weight gain that just seemed to get worse and worse until I was 20lbs over goal. 20lbs is a lot. 3lbs is not. I've got my metabolism back under control and since my medication is correct I will not have another 1-month 10-lb gain like I did before, so I should stop being afraid that I will.

Becky When it's too much, sit down for 5 minutes. Relax your shoulders. They're not meant to be up by your ears! One day at a time.

Jessica - great realisation!

Midwife

Becky, sorry to hear how stressed you are. I think everyone's given you some good tips already. I definitely give into more convenience foods, even more processed foods, when I'm crunched for time. I don't think there's anything terrible about eating lean cuisines, pre-cut veggies, or those rotisserie chickens... or cooking in massive bulk and freezing half, etc. Even if DH is working 7 days a week, can he not do anything at all to help you around the house? Not sure what your situation is, but maybe you could ask him to continue handling one or two things (can he buy some rotisserie chicken and pre-cut veggies on his way home?). Hang in there.

Let's see, I was POP Monday, then OFF Tuesday. We've been out on the boat, and it's actually pretty cold when it's 50 and windy and you're sticking your hands in icy water. I was too cold to eat almost anything, literally, on the boat, went home and ate my planned chili and asparagus and then just could not stop eating while I thawed out. I told myself this is ridiculous. I was doing well for a while and now it's back to on again, off again, my weight is back up to 155... so one more try to lose some weight. If I don't, then I'm just going to try to be healthy where I am and do some major work on "being happy with how I look even though it's not perfect". I saw another picture on facebook of me last summer and I just look awful in my eyes. Wed I was POP and went to the gym for a long run.

Sorry to just dump that but I'm getting disgusted with myself and this needs to stop, one way or another (by that I mean either lose the weight or learn to be happy where I am).