Hi, Krampus! Good to see you.

Megan hasn't been here since July.

Hi Krampus, also good to see you back, and really glad that you're maintaining comfortably. What does your tag line mean ("eating big to stay small")?

Jessica, I second JayEll on the cooking-dinner-is-not-a-favor department, but then, I've always been a "militant" feminist :>) And, in addition to frozen veggies (and veggie blends) which are a godsend, you can get a variety of bagged precut/prepped veggies in the salad section of many large supermarkets now. Things like broccoli, shredded cabbage, baby kale-spinach, snap peas, etc. I usually buy those and take them to work to eat raw, but they work equally well cooked for dinner. Or you could treat them as an afternoon snack of nearly-zero calories. And my DSs loved to much on sugar snaps and baby carrots when they were toddlers. And, FWIW, yes, I will have a 3rd bar mitzvah in 3 1/2 years.

I'm in Washington DC now, attending the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting (JZJ, do you do neuroscience? Are you here?). Since today is a low-carb day (every M-W-F, just like Michele), I had to buy my lunch despite them serving sandwiches. Honestly, I paid $230 to take an all-day course and all they can give us for lunch is a cardboard box with choice of meat-and-cheese sandwich plus chips and cookie, plus choice of 3 types of soda. Not even a piece of fruit. Had to go get water from the water fountain. Left the entire thing and walked 5 blocks to a "Chopt" gourmet salad store and spent $10 for food I could eat. At least I'm in Washington DC.

Andrea, I love Washington DC. Hope you have time to see some of the sights. In a way, by offering such an unappealing lunch they helped you out by making it easier for you to decide to opt for a lunch that you'd really like instead of trying to make do with whatever they offered. If only you could get a small rebate to cover your extra cost!

I think DH and I have worked out a pretty good system, with each of us taking on the tasks we like most/dislike least. Since we do different things, it's hard to compare apples and oranges, but we both work part-time (by choice) and have substantial, but different, home responsibilities. Given the way we divide things, we don't view our tasks as favors, but we do appreciate the things the other person does, especially since those are the things we don't want to do!

Hi, Krampus! Glad you are having an easy time maintaining. There's another thread asking people about whether/how long they've maintained that I hope you will post in to help provide examples of success. I'm also having a relatively easy time of maintaining (for the first time ever) but I haven't been doing it a long time.

I am also starting to get a handle on a maybe-MWF light days/low carb approach to drop a few vanity pounds or at least build a little Xmas buffer. Yesterday went well. I had cantaloupe (which might be a little carby for a low-carb day, but I'm just not going to sweat that). I had an egg, spinach, and cheese scramble for the entree with a handful of cashews for healthy fat and a "pro pudding" for dessert. I had tried different protein shakes for my Wednesdays and found that this "pro pudding" is the one I like best. It lives up to its name: it has more of a pudding consistency. It's a frankenfood, but I am willing to use those in moderation to fill in niches.

Yesterday, the scale was at 138.6 and today it was down to 137.6. Again, that's just probably the low carb/light day talking and if I ate normally for a few days I'd probably be back at the high end of my range.

But I've recently been noticing my stomach looks slimmer. Maybe I just needed to stick with maintenance for a while to start to redistribute some of the tummy pudge. Or maybe my self-image is jut catching up to reality. Unfortunately, I don't recall any measurements so I don't have good empirical data, but I just checked and at the smallest point I'm measuring 28 inches.

Great to hear you've stayed on your path, Krampus, even when silent.

My goal today is to get out for some exercise even though temps are just above freezing. I do own a coat, LOL.

I have been wearing layers for a long time now - 15 years? When I first started walking dogs I used to be numb and red from the cold by the time I finished a 4 walk day. Now the only things that sometimes get cold are my face (can't cover it because I have to see and breathe) and hands (gloves are a necessity even though mitts are warmer). I increase the layers' bulk when it gets colder.

Right now temps are around 0 C or 32 F. I'm wearing Smartwool socks (no itching) and hiking boots, fleece pants under Gortex windpants (unlined), and a polycotton turtleneck and fleece hoody under a Gortex shell.

Bill This is probably a little extreme for what you need but I stay warm and dry when I'm out there from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Dagmar

We did go to Salem yesterday and saw the Calder exhibit. We walked around Salem a bit, but less than we probably would have if the weather had been warmer. I wore a down jacket but was still glad to get to the warm places (museum/shops/restaurant/car). DH was wearing a light jacket and a tolerant expression. We had dinner out (with dessert) in a Japanese restaurant. Not going to weigh in again until tomorrow.

Stayed "on plan" by eating empanadas for lunch today (really delish), and a banana-nutella crepe for dessert after dinner. Yes, it's "Sunday Funday" on the carb-cycling plan. Tomorrow, however, will be challenging, as the conference goes pretty much nonstop from 8:30 am until whenever you're too tired to process anymore (official end-time is 8:45 pm). I'll just have to walk out of some interesting lecture or another in order to forage for a low-carb lunch.

Today at the SfN meeting, I saw a poster on "interoception" of smooth muscle/autonomic functions. The researchers were measuring your ability to tell when your stomach was full, and when your rectum was full. Really. They were using a (high-tech) balloon on a hose which they could insert into the proper location and then distend to different levels. Again, really. Their conclusions were almost beside the point. Can you imagine trying to "sell" this study to prospective volunteers?

I wonder how much subjects were compensated. They must have offered something to recruit volunteers, right? That may have been an interesting IRB review.

Oh, and no, I'm not in neuroscience. My fields are hematology/immunology and infectious disease. The second I hear a phrase like "motor neuron", I know that I likely won't understand whatever follows it.

I have been so busy I didn't even notice that Megan hasn't posted in forever. I sent her a PM.

Andrea, LOL, I too consider myself a militant feminist, but I also feel that part of feminism is appreciating the massive amount of work that goes into being a stay-at-home parent. DH really does do massive amounts of work in our house and taking care of our family, even if he doesn't make dinner.

Hi Krampus!

For those who don't follow the other threads, I figured I should drop a note here that Saef has been hit by a car and is recovering at home after several days in the hospital. See the exercise thread for details.

The weekend's eating was terrible at best but the scale showed no gain so something must have gone right.

Now it's back to the old grind.

I'm working to get back on track. Well, working is optimistic. I had a healthy protein shake for breakfast and have yogurt for lunch. Will I eat it? Who knows. I have had a hard time food wise since I got back from my trip - nothing but bad choices. Trying to make good ones today at least.

Apparently I am bad at maintaining, as I lost a little over a pound the past week. Guess I'll be drinking hot cocoa every night from now on

When in maintenance, you won't stay the exact same weight week to week. You will fluctuate up and down by small increments. Unless you are continuing to lose, you may not need to adjust anything-- unless you're just craving some hot chocolate in the evenings-- I know I do!

So far, I've been fluctuating about 4 pounds in my range since I started maintaining. This morning I was at 139.2, so I clearly haven't made a lot of progress in terms of building a buffer for the holiday season. I guess if all I can do is maintain, I'll be happy enough with that. My food universe may be pretty different next year as an empty nester.

Yeah, maintenance is really just a small range (depending on your height, lol). A bit up or down within that range is just normal. But it's definitely important to pick what I call a 'scream weight.' The weight you get to and know that NOW is the time to seriously buckle down and work to lose it. For me it's at 136. Range of 131 -135 is ok... 132 is my preferred happy weight. After all, it's so much easier to lose 4 or 5 lbs than 15 or 30 or 60!

I check in & read once in a while here just to see how you all are doing, but I realize that you all have 'known' each other for quite a while, so I don't butt in much That is too bad saef was in an accident! I hope recovery is quick!

Liana