I came on here this morning to post, but things heated up at work before I was able to do so. And I'M SO GLAD! Otherwise, I would have waited until tomorrow to see that Toasted is back!!! And that would have been tragic.

Lilion - So glad you found time to post, and excited that you've found your way back to the elliptical. Not as exciting as the marble track you consistently walk at lunch, but morning work-outs are pretty great. Glad to hear your puppy's feeling better as well, and that your food is good.

Diane - I actually am hoping to get to the point where I'm just plugging along. At that point, the weight loss thing won't be so central to my life, and maybe I can avoid the drama and the angst of it all. Cuz it feels like it's been decades since I've felt reasonably chill about my fitness and nutrition issues. Hope that the dog-induced injury is merely a thing of the past now.

TOASTED! - I am really glad you're back. I have missed your humor, your common sense, your wisdom, and your example of seriously long-term maintenance. It's interesting that you talk about the "kinder attitude" to yourself. I am struggling with making this a routine part of my life rather than a focus. I don't know that I'll ever get there, but I love that you're so many years into maintaining a huge loss, and you are just looking at making a relatively small correction rather than a major overhaul. It's a beautiful thing! Welcome back!

I finished Day 2 of my new morning work-out schedule. I am not sure that I am loving it. I chose to run again, and I usually don't run two days in a row. I might mix it up tomorrow morning and stop off at the gym on my way to work. Last year, I drove kids to school. This year, two of them spontaneously elected to ride their bikes to school while the third decided he wanted to ride the bus. It feels so freeing to not have that responsibility, though part of me feels guilty that I am not getting the "car time" with them. This morning, I decided to run my route backwards, as I thought it would be more challenging. But I am not sure it was. I ran 4.2 miles in 43.25, so within about 20 seconds of yesterday's run. I also tried a new playlist, and really liked it. Gotta tell y'all. In terms of fitness, I always sort of just wanted to be able to run five miles -- not even within a certain amount of time. It feels good that I can do that now. I think the increased carb intake is actually helping a lot with the running energy, though it's taking a small toll on the scale. But I also am finding that I am struggling with only eating a limited amount of carbs. Maybe I'll figure that out shortly.

Goals -
1 - Hit the gym to lift weights in the morning.
2 - Weigh in in the morning.
3 - Limit my irresponsible carbs to 1/2 cup of grape nuts and 1 FiberOne brownie
4 - 20K steps (okay - I have already hit that one)

Have a great day, everyone!

So today after I knock a few things out, I'm likely starting my vacation early. I have - AFTER my vacation, nearly a week's worth of leave to take or lose. What an odd problem to have.

Anyway, I have so much more problem staying on track when I'm home. I get snacky there - and then it's nibble, nibble, nibble until I have no calories left for real food. Have to work on that. At least I'll mostly be busy getting ready for our trip. Hubby and I are planning to take snacks with us in the car, packing a bag and cooler with things like fruit and trail mix (already portioned into servings with the calories written on the bags) and venison jerky and sausage sticks, etc., so that we'll be less inclined to shop at convenience stores on the route when we stop to stretch our legs. It's a 12 hour drive we'll split up over two days and I know since we've stopped smoking...snacking in the car is a close second. Must find a way to curb that too!

For actual meals, I intend to eat as good as possible, but with restaurants being the only real alternatives we expect to go over. This too will be survived. Vacations aren't any fun if you're constantly worried about gaining weight. Everything in moderation tends to be my motto. The upcoming meals will be no exception.

I likely won't be back until we're home again after the 9th. So I hope you all have a great week while I'm gone and keep up the good fight ladies!

I was ready to post, when I saw that Lilion had ninja'd me! It's a hazard of taking forever to write posts -- a consequence of my tendency to drag on and to get interrupted.

Lilion - Hope your vacation goes amazingly well! Your road trip snacking plan sounds so disciplined and brilliant! Hope you have a fantastic time. I agree with your thoughts on moderation. Eating should be a pleasurable experience, especially with family and friends.

Late afternoon check-in followed by check-in at my regular morning time equals back-to-back posts. =)

I am still battling the loss of control at dinner and the "have to have candy in the late afternoon" issues. I resisted the candy until about 5:00, and only had a few small pieces, but I still want to rid myself of the habit. I would rather save those calories for something occasional that I can feel enthusiastic about, rather than squandering them on mediocre items because I lost control. Speaking of which, I got home late last night, and was starving, only to discover pop chips on the counter that my husband had purchased. UGH. If they are in the pantry, it's easier to avoid them, but they were right in front of me when I was hungry and didn't want to wait until everyone had assembled for dinner. So, I ate 3/4 of a regular-sized bag of pop chips for dinner, supplemented by a few pieces of chicken floating in the chicken and rice soup my husband made for dinner. Bad, bad call. I could hardly eat dinner with my family, I felt completely out of control, and I missed out on the delicious soup in favor of pop chips, not to mention the nutritional deficiencies. I am actually not sure how to address this, but my first thought is to not take the entire bag with me to sit on the couch and chew through. Instead, if I decide to indulge in something like that again, I will put a handful in a bag or a bowl and enjoy it that way. It is SO HARD to put it down when I'm still hungry and have started plowing through it already.

I am actually kind of loving the morning work-outs, though. It has inspired a new discipline in me to get to bed at a more reasonable time. I went to the gym to lift weights this morning, and had a great work-out, including a warm-up of a half-mile run at 7.0 mph. To be more precise, I ran for 5:02 minutes at a rate of 7.0 mph (it takes about 15 seconds to ramp up to that speed, though), and covered 0.58 miles for a pace of 8:50 min./mile. Then, I hit the weights hard. I am a little worried about the relationship with the husband, though. He is going to bed much later than me now. I have told him that he is welcome to wake me up (wink, wink), but that hasn't happened yet. Going to have to work through that challenge, but assuming that can be negotiated, I think maybe the morning work-outs might become a habit for me.

Goals -
1 - Get my 20K steps in.
2 - Weigh in the morning.
3 - No candy today.
4 - Manage any snacks appropriately. (I'm thinking about the pop chips, of course.)
5 - Run tomorrow morning. I have been running 4.2 miles because that's the length of the route I run, but I think I'll add a bit to the end of the run to get to an even 5 miles.

Hope everyone has a great day and a great start to September!

Ok, let's try this again. Darn work keeps getting in my way!

Lilion: Have a great vacation!!! We'll miss you while you're gone, but hope you have a wonderful time!

Toasted!! So glad to see you back here. You don't have a lot of weight to lose, but since we talk so much about workouts and fitness around here, you'll fit in for sure! I feel like it is such a big part of the whole picture, and feeling fit makes me so much happier.

Laurie: You know, if those pop chips are the same as what I'm thinking of, if you count out a serving, you get about 15 chips and the calories are not too bad on them. I like them a lot, so I was putting them in my lunch. I don't have them around much anymore because I was the only one that liked them. I like to have others help keep the supply low. Glad you are liking the early workouts!!

For me, not much to discuss. I took a couple of extra days of rest for my little tweaked knee. I just don't want to push it just yet because I need it to be ready to go for the weekend. I can't wait to go on the hike I have planned. It is going to be such a nice weekend, weather-wise.

Hi Everyone,

Lilion: Wishing you a wonderful vacation and hoping the packing (officially the worst part ) isn't too stressful. I agree that vacations are really hard on a weight loss journey especially with food. Usually I consider a win, if I eat maintenance calories and can just stay within a pound or two of pre-vacation weight. There are lots of people who manage to lose weight on vacation- usually by eating super restrictive, like just vegetables and grilled meat at whatever restaurant you eat at; also easily achieved by bunless, cheeseless burgers and the token plain salad with dressing on the side. And of course no dessert welp. So it is achievable, but for me a big part of the enjoyment of vacation for me is the food, so I've never been able to make things that fraught. When I was actively losing, I just let the chips literally fall where they would (mostly in my mouth) and then got my act back together when I got back. One thing I've been doing more recently when I travel for work is intermittent fasting and having an eating window of like 8 hours and only allowing myself 1 "enjoyable" meal per day within that window. So I may have the much maligned plain salad or protein pudding (I like a brand called Nuzest which is a powder that becomes pudding with just water added- so easy to travel with) or something "light" as one meal and then I have my proper restaurant meal later. I know this is more or less unsolicited but just wanted to share. Your plan to take your own snacks sounds fabulous and I totally agree, moderation trumps perfection and is so much more sustainable and enjoyable.

Laurie: I woke up this morning and didn't want to get out of bed to work out and procrastinated and procrastinated till it was almost too late but then I thought of my check in today and just KNEW you would be on it and would have worked out and so I got my act together and did a 30-minute HIiT workout. Which means I still have to do something for at least 15 minutes today but I'm inspired because you're smashing fitness goals all over the place!!! Yay running 5 miles like it's nothing! I'm so inspired and I want that to be me someday as well. I'm also struggling with my eating as well. Last night totally unnecessarily, after dinner, I went ham on some dried figs even though I knew better. Sighhhh. Re: making this whole journey a routine, I think I've made peace with the idea that I'll never be "normal" with food- I compulsively log everything I eat- even the binges, I also constantly have a weight loss goal. So even when my mindset wasn't really to lose any weight, my brain was still always: hmmm wouldn't it be nice to be 140lbs. Now in reality, my boobs should not be less than 160 (otherwise they're wrinkly crepey and just sadder than your average weight loss boobies) but having a goal makes it easier to make better decisions- even if it's a goal I don't intend to meet. Its like I may have the goal to be Bill Gates wealthy someday (wouldn't it be lovely???!!!) but I also realize how unlikely it is but because it is a goal, I get up and go to work because even if I'm not Bill Gates wealthy, I like nice things and that is the goal. I'm seeing now that this is kind of an odd analogy but all of this to say, when one loses the kind of weight we 100-lb-club ladies lose, it's never a perfect HEA and it is always lowkey or high key a focus and there's always a consciousness or an awareness of monitoring yourself even if you choose to do it kindly. So in short, you're not off-track in making the transition.

Diane: You're so right feeling fit is the most important thing. Not just great for health but so good for your mind as well. I'm sorry your knee is hurting. I started doing an at home walking DVD (Jessica Smith) at the beginning of the month and I hurt my knee so badly (doing an indoor walking DVD I know!) and even when my knee hurt initially, I persisted well it's the end of the month and I'm only just recovering so I'm totally sympathetic to all kinds of knee pain and subsequent knee babying. My knee is better and I'm still babying it. I hope you have a wonderful hike!

I like Laurie's idea of daily goals although it's now 7.20pm my time and I'm in traffic in my commute home so kind of late for goal setting, but I'll do evening goals. I had to drag myself through my workout this morning but I have no regrets, I'm so happy I set my day up that way. For me, I also find that morning workouts work best for me if I'm going to be excuse-free. I also have walked over 5000 steps everyday this week which is my minimum goal everyday- I even hit my real target of 10,000 steps yesterday thinking of you all. I hope everyone is doing okay and having a fab day.

Rest of the Day Goals
1.) No pre-dinner snacking
2.) Only 3-dates and kombucha or chamomile-almond milk latte post dinner
3.) Hit at least 6000 steps before midnight. (Yes I'm so sedentary that this is #stepgoals ��)

Toasted: Yep, that's the kind of post I love to see! Lots of good stuff there. Sounds like you're getting back on track and love that you share your thoughts and ideas!

Heading into the weekend, so excited! We have off on Monday and I took off on Tuesday. Just a little mental health time!!

Toasted - I think I've told you this before, but you were one of the 3FC members that originally inspired me to run -- in 2007, I think. Since that point, I hit my highest weight of 278 and have done multiple stretches of not being able to run for more than a minute at a time, but I have never stopped having being able to run as a goal. Thank you, past Toasted, for inspiring me. And thank you, present Toasted, for continuing to inspire me! I should also make you aware that when I got down to 160, I totally had a tummy tuck and a breast lift. It means my boobs are way smaller, but I don't have to heft them to put on a bra in the morning. I also thought of you this morning. I actually woke up at 5:30 (that's the hardest part, right?), and after I saw an unexplained 2-pound bump on the scale, even though I was starving this morning, I decided that eating just a few pop chips would take the edge off my hunger. Those "few" turned into about 15 -- enough to make running seem like it would be uncomfortable and difficult. But I was already up. And I thought about reporting here and explaining this ridiculous self-sabotage, and decided to accept a bad run this morning. And what do you know? I finished at almost the exact same pace (took me about 30 seconds longer to run the 4.2 miles), despite doing some walking. Glad we are inspiring each other to do it when we just don't feel like it.

Diane - I am so excited for your extended holiday weekend! Hope you decide to tackle the big hike you have planned and that your leg is 100% back so that you can enjoy it the most!

Feeling good about maintaining the morning exercise routine. I think I will plan an extended run for tomorrow. Instead of exiting the bike trail for my usual route, I will just continue on it until the next exit. No idea how much that will extend the run, but it feels like an adventure! I met my goals yesterday, and still saw a 2-pound increase this morning. Cuz that's how it works sometimes. And while I was running this morning, I thought about it. I definitely still need to be vigilant about accepting less-than-my-best and sliding back into bad habits, but I can't really be upset about waking up at 5:30, running 4.2 miles, getting dressed in my size 6 jeans, and going to work feeling energized and accomplished (cuz of the run). Still don't know the balance between "maintenance vigilant" and "accepting the win," but I think it's a good thing to start to really feel out.

Hope everyone has a fantastic holiday weekend!

Hey everyone.

Laurie: All the hugs to you!!!! You're totally winning the mental battle and that's the hardest part- the doing what is necessary when the scale slaps you in the face and you don't feel like! Not having to heft your boobs and saggy belly into underwear is TOTALLY living the dream!!! #Goals in every way.

Diane: I'm sooo looking forward to the weekend. Today's public holiday has been epic and I've mostly hung out with family and lazed in my pyjamas. Yay taking an extra day off for mental health! Soooo necessary!

Re yesterday evening's goals: I won at no pre-dinner snacking and hitting 8500 steps before midnight. I failed woefully at my post-dinner snacking. I had both kombucha and a chamomile-almond milk latte AND a dried fig AND a couple of Simple Mills crackers AND half and ounce of pecans and it was so unnecessary as it wasn't like I was hungry. It wasn't a binge, it was just unnecessary grazing. Sighhh. I'm periodical today so maybe that's why I'm so munchy... I felt the urge to bake some paleo treats but I resisted. I'm considering doing a Whole 30 to get my head in the right space again and really should have started today but I didn't but I might do a Whole 20 or something and start next week. I dunno. It didn't help me lose weight last time I did it, but I WAS less munchy...

Today I slept in and by the time i got up it was too hot and sunny for a run but it's about 5.30pm now and I'm about to head out for an evening run. Food-wise it's not been great. The grazing has continued and I've not yet had dinner and I'm already at 1200calories.

Goals For the Rest of Today:
1.) Run at least 5km and/or Hit 10,000 steps
2.) No 2nd helpings at dinner. Stop eating immediately I feel almost full.
3.) No post dinner snacking. Plain ginger tea pre bedtime is allowed.

Wishing everyone a great weekend.

What the crap??? I'm gone for like five days and Toasted comes back???? I'm so excited you're back on here again!

Brief update in preparation for longer update later today: I'm doing good, guys! Been helping with donations and stuff for the recovery efforts from the Hurricane. It's ugly, but we'll be alright. Texas is full of people who take care of each other.

I've also gone vegetarian since the last time I was here! Dramatic, but surprisingly easy.

Been terrible about water and exercise.

More details to come! Was so surprised to see Toasted that I had to post right away LOL. Hope everyone is well!

Amanda!!! heyyy!!! How are you??? I'm so sorry about everything that's happening in your state, but so glad it's filled with people like you who are volunteering so much to help others! Truly inspiring and important! Vegetarian, how's it going, how's the adaptation to the new way of eating? How do you stay motivated to stick with it?

The weekend has not been fabulous staying on plan wise. I've hit my step targets but my eating has not been great. I'm trying to make the best decisions I can from right now. I'm a little stressed and cranky because I'm periodical and because I am very introverted and I went to a wedding yesterday and tomorrow I may need to go visit my uncle and aunt because they moved 30minutes away from me a year ago (tomorrow) and I've never been to their house, which I know is awful because I do love them dearly but my commute is soooo long and I don't want to drive 30 minutes past home. The very last thing I want to do the one day I don't have to be around people is to go visiting. But my mother has guilted me so I'm assuming that's my holiday weekend gone being around people endlessly (wedding + visiting) or working on something that needs to ve submitted tomorrow by 1 pm that I haven't even begun work on. I'm thinking of all the stress eating but I'm not going to. I'm going to give myself another 20 minutes to throw a tantrum then I'll pray for an attitude change, listen to a podcast, and start work. Sighhh.

Goals for the evening:
1.) Don't stress eat
2.) Get to 5000 steps
3.) Stop whining, count blessings and do work.

Wishing everyone a fab day for tomorrow.

Hi guys, I hope you all had a great labour day weekend (and for those with extra days off, I hope you're all enjoying them). Diane, how was your hike? Amanda, how's everything going with the hurricane response? Lillion I hope your vacation is going well. Laurie, how's running? I imagined this long weekend would be filled with ALL the long runs being a lady of leisure but for me it wasn't like that at all! How did it go for you? I hope you're doing well.

As for me, I met my deadline for the proposal I had to submit with one minute to spare AND then I went to my uncle and aunt's place. They were really excited to see me and made me food which was nice but super spicy and so now I'm suffering and my digestion is shot. I had champagne, spicy food, a fanta, beans- any of these things singularly, is normally enough to hurt my stomach and I did them all at once. It wasn't even the quatity, it's that they don't at all agree with me and I didn't want to be awkward and say I can't have any of the things you've made me. I SHOULD HAVE BEEN awkward. I'm 31 years old, if there's ever a time to speak up for myself it should have been then. Anyway, now I'm filled with recrimination and regret and downing all the Gaviscon and anti-nausea. By God's grace, this too shall pass. Even though I was whiny about it, I'm glad I went to see my relatives. I could tell they were really happy and I'm happy I could do something to make them happy.

Goals-wise, it wasn't fabulous. I stress ate chocolate (which I don't even like that much). I did hit all my fitness step goals and it was 50-50 on the stopping the whining and counting my blessings.

Goals for the Rest of The Day:
1.) Stay within set calories (shouldn't be too hard as my stomach feels awful).
2.) Hit at least 5000 steps (whelp! I feel so nauseated, I'm dreaming of going home to lie in bed but I'll try to do at least 5000).
3.) Make a meal plan for the rest of the week.
4.) Think of 3 things I'm grateful for and thank God for them.

Wishing all of you a lovely day!!

Good morning!

Amanda - So glad you checked in. Been thinking about you and the other people I know in or with ties to Houston. Harvey did not play. Vegetarianism is a great choice, I think. It's tough for me to do, but I have been toying with the idea of returning to it.

Toasted - I have such similar inclinations as you. I can totally see myself hitting the goal of no pre-dinner snacking, then concluding that I was so good I can do some "light" post-dinner snacking, and then having it not be so "light" after all. Not saying that this was your mindset, but it has too often been mine. And I am totally with you on the visiting people thing. I make plans with people with such excitement, but then when the day comes, I wonder how I could use all of my precious time on doing something that I don't absolutely need to do. Hopefully, you get a chance to catch up with your uncle and aunt. Once you do it, I suspect you'll be glad you did.

My husband surprised me with a staycation weekend! He sent me the confirmation of the hotel reservations, and I scrambled to make arrangements for my 13yo and just put off everything I needed to get done. Feeling a bit of the stress of that right now, but it was really lovely to reconnect with him. I also told him about my fitness goals, and he seems like he's more supportive than he has been in the past. I am also going to work very hard to make time for him and let him know he's a priority for me. I am also back up to 148.8 this morning. I will never see the 13x on the scale again, I'm afraid. **sigh** It will never be easy. But it is definitely worth it.

I woke up later than I should have, and had a truncated work-out as a result. I am not going to "make it up," but I am going to make sure I get my steps in and do my body weight exercises (3 sets of push-ups, planks, and wallsits) today.

Goals for the day
1 - Get my 20K steps.
2 - Do my 3 sets of body weight exercises at work.
3 - Weigh in the morning.
4 - Get up at 5:30 to run five miles before work. Set out my clothes / be prepared so it's easy.
5 - Quit eating too much.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Toasted - You Ninja'd me, which doesn't surprise me, as I've had the screen up and have been slowly working on finishing this most of the morning. Glad you went to their house, but I know exactly how you feel about not wanting to be awkward about rejecting food. I've eaten lots of food because I didn't want it to be awkward. I am better about it now, but I still fall victim to it. I don't know if it's the same for you, but when I feel like crawling in a ball and dying because of bad food choices, sometimes walking it off is the absolute best thing I can do. I don't know if it actually aids digestion, as all the Victorian characters in old English books I read seem to believe, or if it just distracts me while my stomach deals with the damage I've wrought, but it tends to be helpful for me generally. Thank you for asking about running over the weekend. I did run 5 miles on Saturday morning, extending my time on the bike path enough to hit the goal, and miraculously, did it in about 50 minutes. I also ran about 3 miles Sunday and 3 miles yesterday. I am using today as a rest day, then I am hoping to start running five miles in the mornings regularly. Hope you recover from your digestive woes quickly.

Toasted: I get it that you ate some things that you normally wouldn't. It is hard when people are trying to "treat" you, but it isn't what you need! I think one day of it isn't too bad! Nice goal setting again for you!

Laurie: How nice of you to have some reconnect time with your husband! Occasionally they can figure out some nice things to give us!! Ha! I wouldn't worry so much about getting down in the 13x's. It may not be worth the extra stress. Being fit is a great thing to strive for!

Dread: Glad you checked in! I hope all continues to improve for all of Texas. Hopefully, this new hurricane stays away!!

For me, just enjoying my extra day. It is nice to have time alone! I have a few things I want to do, so need to get going on that. My legs are a little sore today after my hike yesterday. It was a good hike, about 4 miles up the mountain and down the mountain. It has been pretty hot here, so even up there, it was pretty warm. Lots of sweating! I felt pretty happy about it all and just need to keep my head in the game. Hunting is coming soon, about a month away, so I can't stop now.

Ha! Turns out the long post I wrote out didn't actually go through, so that's fun.

Toasted: I'm doing well! Honestly, the entire outpouring of effort across the state and country going towards those affected is inspiring. There's so many natural disasters happening, it's overwhelming. Hopefully the next hurricane (maybe two now, according to the news) isn't anywhere near this level of damage. Literally everyone is awkward with their relatives, especially if they're older than us. Hope your stomach is doing better!! More on the vegetarianism below!

Laurie: Dude, your workout schedule is insane. Honest to God, I'm super proud of making it over 10,000 steps in a day, let alone the rest of what you're doing! What you're doing is amazing! Glad you and your hubby are scooping time away from everything for each other!

Slash: In my head, hiking always sound great and ideal - being outside in the fresh air, lots of sunshine, maybe take my dog out. But then I actually go outside in the South Texas heat, and I just want to fall over and die LOL. It's always so nice to see other people enjoy it, though. I think I'm going to try again when it's not so hot out. It should be cooler here in the next month or two.


So, let's start with biggest news of the day: I went vegetarian a few days ago. It's technically called "flexitarian" or also pescetarian/vegetarian, but what's really happening is that I'm vegetarian most days and I eat fish seldomly and meat not at all. I'm still eating dairy and eggs (ovo/lacto), but once I've settled into the new routine a little more, I'm going to start cutting those out a little more as well. My reasons for going vegetarian is both health and ethics (but definitely more on the health side, as much as I love animals).

The big questions I'm getting asked:

Is it hard? Yes and no. It's surprisingly easy to cut out meat from meals. I always tended to take a much smaller portion of meat to begin with, so it's not a huge issue. What's hard is the random cravings for specific dishes...if I can't just hold out for like an hour it usually passes. So far I haven't caved, but it also hasn't been that long lol.

Am I seeing any differences or feeling different? Kinda gassy, tbh, but apparently that's a thing that happens the first couple of days. It's already passing (haha, see what I did there) and I'm feeling much better now. I don't feel so heavy all the time. I have neither lost nor gained weight (I was 255 the first morning and I'm 254 now) but I just feel *good*. So there's that.

What do I eat if not meat? Everything I was eating before without the meat in it.

Hope everyone is doing well!!!