Well, I'm back in town. Had a really good time seeing everyone while I was gone, but it was kind of a food fest. I thought it might work out that way. So, back on track today. I'm ok with what happened over the long weekend, but can't let it continue. Next weekend starts the Junior College World Series, and we'll be there for that. It can be tough staying disciplined through that week, but I want to really try.

I talked to my cousin who has recently lost a lot of weight. She had surgery, putting on a sleeve (?) I think. Not gastric bypass, but similar. When I first heard about it, I was kind of mad. Why do I have to work this hard, but she loses so much so fast, with the surgery? Well, I talked to her and while I agree that it might have been what she needed to do, I am so glad I didn't take that route. What a crazy thing that is. And, she absolutely could not eat all that she wanted to eat last weekend. It would have made her sick. I guess I prefer having that choice. I don't always pick the best way to go, but it is still my choice.

I also thought about it all and I realized that while I feel good about how far I've come, it isn't over yet. I need to remain diligent and get the rest of the way to my goal. It's time to hit it hard again.

Laurie: Good for you for getting back to the C25K! I think you can do it now. It might be a little bit of a push for more weight loss too. Oh, and I ran one morning in Nebraska when I was there over the weekend. Although it was really humid and I was really sweaty, I improved my time by a lot. I think it is because of the lower elevation! Ha!

Dread: Glad your Mom is doing better!!

Ennay: Sorry about the bloat. You can win, though. Just outlast whatever it is that's causing it. With time, you will win!!

Good morning!

Ennay - Good on you for staying consistent through the bloat. When there are so many variables we can't control, sometimes it's easy to fall into the trap of believing we are powerless. (At least I am vulnerable to it.) Glad you are just keeping on keeping on.

Diane - Welcome back! Ah yes. The surgery dilemma. I have written on here before that I am considering the surgery, and it is definitely something I am educating myself about and flirting with. It is terrifying to get 90% of your stomach removed (the sleeve), and even more terrifying to have your intestines rerouted. On the other hand, I have gone up and down so many times, maybe I need to have the option of eating more removed. Either way, it's really hard. But, from my understanding, after a year or so, it becomes easier and easier to eat large portions and high-sugar foods. The whole remaining diligent is true regardless of the route you take, and you have been diligent for a very, very long time. It's very, very impressive.

My jogging bra seemed to work! I may try to do day 1 of C25K today. I am torn. I really, really love to be able to run. But I really don't love to run. And I can burn calories and get great cardio with other methods that don't threaten my knee. I know I want to run again when I am down 20 or 30 pounds, and I don't want to risk my ability to do that by blowing out my knee now. #FatGirlFitGirlProblems

I suffer from late-evening can't-stop-eating-itis, so my strategy has been to eat my largest meal at dinner and to stop eating altogether at 8 p.m. Last night, we finished dinner at around 7:45, and I stuck with my strategy. But I woke up at 2 in the morning because I was too hungry to sleep. I got back to sleep, but it was fitful. Any thoughts? I ate a reasonable dinner, and was almost too full when I stopped eating. And if I start eating late in the evening, I really have a hard time stopping.

Have a great day, everyone!

Laurie: Glad your new bra is working out. I'm like you with the running. I dread going running, but I like it when I'm done. I love what the workout does, but gearing up for it is almost more than I can stand. If you don't feel comfortable running yet, that's ok! I went last night and it wasn't a good run at all. Those are the times when I wonder why I try to do it! Ha! But I just hope that the next time is better.

I got on the scale today. It wasn't pretty. I have to really cut back now. I just have been way too lax.

Whew, finally got through it, down to a new weight this morning!

I had the urge to run the other day. I surpressed it. I know not to tempt fate on the scar tissue while I am this heavy. But for a moment it sounded glorious.

Good morning!

Ennay - Can't wait to hear about the glorious runs you'll accomplish when you're where you need to be so you feel safe running. And yay for breaking the stall! Such a fantastic feeling!

Diane - For me, just knowing I have the ability to run is everything! I think we all have subpar gym days. What's awesome, though, is I am betting your run last night was hugely better than your first day of C25K. That last night's run was a disappointment is a testament to your commitment to maintaining your fitness. As you know, I often think about your hunting story, probably from a couple of years ago, where you were so much more fit and had a fantastic time compared to the struggle you experienced the prior year. I certainly am far less fit than I was a year ago, but your persistence means you never have to start again. It's amazing. As for the scale and food backslide -- it's fantastic that you're jumping on it. Onward and upward.

I weighed this morning. 249.6. I have FINALLY broken through to a new decade! And this weekend, we plan to hit the amusement park Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. This translates into tons of walking, so I can combine exercise with family time. WOOT! There will be junk food, but I will pack a few tuna packets and a protein bar so I can balance a bit of indulgence with some more nutrition-dense options.

Hope everyone has a fantastic, fun-and-family-filled weekend!

Ennay: Congrats on the new weight! Always good to be going down with the scale.

Laurie: Funny that you still remember that hunting story. I'm kind of glad you reminded me of that. It was a glorious feeling to be able to do that! Sometimes, you need to remember how it was to feel a little better about yourself when you're not on track! Ha!

Getting ready for the weekend. We aren't going anywhere, but we go to a bunch of baseball games throughout the weekend and next week, with the tournament going on. Can't wait!!

Hope you all have a good weekend!

Back from the long weekend with a short week ahead. Woot!

I allowed myself to weigh this morning. I have to make a decision -- either take the weighing seriously and do it same time/same clothes/scale in the same place -- or don't do it at all. Took the family to the amusement park this weekend on Sunday and Monday. Logged almost 20K steps on the fitbit without taking into account the huge number of water park steps on Sunday, and logged the requisite 10K on Monday without water park steps counted. Since I did lots of rides (and climbed an exhausting number of stairs), I know I got tons of exercise. But no real scale pay-off on the initial weigh-in. Then I moved my scale to be more level, and dropped 1.4 pounds in a matter of seconds. *Sigh* But we had lunch at McDonald's on both days, and I packed a protein bar for both lunches. And my formerly-tight pants continue to get looser. So I'll be satisfied. I did get kicked off one ride for being too fat, so I am looking forward to never having that happen again!

Diane - I know you struggle to stay on track with food, but you are so on-target with your fitness. But you know what? This week, we are both going to be on point with the food AND the fitness. And we will feel fantastic by the time next Monday rolls around. Hope you had a great time at the baseball games!

Lots of stuff to do today, with work and not-work stuff. I have a hearing at 10:15, and I am going to try to get it finished in time to go to my daughter's boat races at school. I really want to make the boat races, and the hearing should theoretically only take a few minutes. But the other litigant is very inclined to ramble, so we'll see if the judge cuts him off and avoids wasting everyone's time. Here's hoping, anyway.

Have a great day, everyone!

Laurie: Wow, that's lots of exercise this weekend! It might take a couple of days to see a full effect. You're better than I am, I did not get on the scale this morning. I know I said I would, but I didn't. I had a lot of fun over the weekend, but food choices weren't always the best. But, I have a nice salad for lunch today and this morning was good.

I'll still be going to baseball games at night, so not sure how good choices will be at night, since we won't be home, but I'm going to be careful. I wasn't really careful this weekend, and I need to be better this week.

Here we go!

my lowest was 162 but now I am 236.7 and 15 years older, so I could use the support to try again & maintain

Keepnsane - Welcome! Support. That's what we do here.

Diane - You are right. Sometimes, it takes a few days for the scale to catch up to the progress. I always let myself forget that. Hope the baseball games were great, and that you are having a fantastic week.

I have missed a few days of posting. I did great through Wednesday, and had rough days Wednesday and Thursday. But I am back on today, and excited about it!

We have ice cream and cookies in our house, which is a challenge, but it was the last day of school, and I want to save these things for special occasions.

Goals today are to get my 10K steps in and to not eat stupid stuff. Not easy, but I am in the habit, so I need to put in a bit of effort to maintain the habit so I don't have to start over again. I was down to 248.0 on Tuesday. I bet I'm back up some, but I don't think I'm going to weigh in for a few days. My jeans--which I used to unbutton the second I walked through the door when I got home at night because they were so tight--are still floating around my waist. I'm going to embrace the success I am still enjoying, and recommit myself.

Such a long process. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Keepnsane: Welcome!

Laurie: Definitely a good thing to celebrate the progress! Good for you!

I'm still going to baseball games. They'll finish up tomorrow night. I have missed working out this week, so I'll be glad to get back to it next week. Need to get back into my routine! But, I'm going to enjoy the games while I still can!

Have a good weekend everyone!

keepnsane Welcome!

Lauriedawn nice on the jeans!

slashni - yup, all baseball here too. dinner was off last night because they added a scrimmage at the last minute. I think it will be sunday before we get a family dinner again. dd is getting lots of exercise though. She hates baseball and last night was so last minute that we went to the "by the slice" pizza place for a quick dinner and we were running late, so I told her I didn't have time to take her home before the game. She informed me that she knows quite well how to get home from the pizza place on foot. Which is true, and she is always willing to do extra chores if she doesn't have to go to the games. So my dishwasher got unloaded and she had a nice walk.

Ennay: How nice for you! That's great that she was willing to step up like that, get the exercise and help you!

My baseball is over now, and that's probably good. I need to get back on my schedule. I am really working out on being dedicated to staying on plan with food. No excuses now to keep me off track, so hopefully I can make a difference. Still working out and going running tonight. I should be dropping weight like crazy!!! If only it was that easy....

Good morning!

Working half a day, then headed on a road trip with the fam. I had two days in a row where I ate "normal" meals -- that is, meals that I tend to eat when I'm not calorie-restricting. Monday night, it was a kids meal at a BBQ restaurant. Kids meal or not, though, I knew it was more food than I could comfortably eat, and I was still so full when I tried to go to bed four hours later that the second I got horizontal, I wanted to throw up. Then, yesterday, for lunch, I ate a larger-than-needed lunch. Five hours later, I hit the gym. Several exercises on my list were horizontal -- like a bent-over row and bench press. Again, I felt like the unneeded food was going to come rushing up, and I needed to go to the car for Alka Seltzer to finish the work-out.

So, for this trip, I am going to be much kinder to myself. I am not eating the craptastic fast food that will be part of the 10-hour drive. Instead, I will eat protein bars. Not the ideal food source, but they don't have to be kept cold while traveling, nor do they have the invasive smell of tuna packets, and I will be taking walks when the crew is gorging on junk. My digestive system just needs to avoid the starve / gorge pattern that exists in my life.

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week and a fantastic weekend!

Laurie: Probably a good plan to go with the protein bars. I eat them a lot for breakfast. I do think that they work well to keep calories down and still helps you feel satisfied for a long time. It is crazy when you overeat like that, you only pay the price later. I know when I went to Nebraska for the family time, I was always overeating, and it never worked out well. We all need to get past the gorging and free for alls.

As for me, I'm having a pretty good week so far. Once again... I recommitted to being disciplined. So far, I feel better and weight has been coming off now. The focus needs to last and I can't give up during the weekend. It is always such a process, and I guess no one ever said it would be easy. Workouts and running going well.