I am still here, but very tired after my 20+ hour day yesterday. I slept okay last night, and today my weight was up to 158-something. I have been OP for over a week now and no drop in weight, but for some reason I am unphased. Probably because I'm not really minding eating less. I'm not starved or irritable. If anything, I am dreadfully fatigued. I am sure it will drop at some point, and eight days OP for weight-loss isn't long enough yet to raise the flag of surrender. I am also mid-cycle and tend to get more PMS-type symptoms then than at the end, so I'm blaming my lack of loss on it as well. I might be seeing 159 or 160 if I trying to stay OP for weight-loss. Who knows? My jeans felt looser last weekend but now are feeling tight again.

Andrea - I feel your pain on not enjoying logging everything. No brilliant words of wisdom for you at the moment other than empathy.

Seems silly-- but yes. I just keep going back for more until they're all gone. Since they are "healthy" I'll give myself permission, but I always gain after eating them.

Went to Bikram Yoga last night which usually gives me a little woosh the next day (dripping sweat and burning 1000 calories) but the scale was up slightly today. We had the pet sitter come last night so we didn't eat dinner until much later for us so I'm hoping that was the reason. Sigh....

Not looking good for another drop this week. Last week was a biggie so I guess it makes sense that there'd be a little bit of a bounce back up. It shouldn't be more than a couple of tenths. No matter - plodding endlessly forward. Life's a little too crazy to spend time contemplating weight loss right now, so I'm glad it's more or less in an autopilot kind of mode at the moment. My tracking fell by the wayside a few weeks ago, and my strategy isn't much more thought out than simply eating less than I really want to.

Right there with you Becky. The dog was out with me today from 7 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. (with a 1 hour break in the middle for her) and she's racing around the house right now. SIGH. I know I can't tire her out but geez, ya think she'd at least pretend?

It'll be over Sunday night and we have our Thanksgiving on Monday. I will be giving thanks for real for the first time in a long time re the situation with my father finally starting to resolve.

Although he seems to have gotten hold of a phone and called my own home today, asking me to come see him. I will grit my teeth through this on Saturday. He's in a room with several other people so I'm hoping at least he won't call me the c-word again.

And something completely unrelated and kinda nice - I was able to notice all the leaves that were turning today. Haven't really lifted my eyes from the ground in over 6 weeks so that was a pleasant sight. Brilliant burning maples and beautiful yellow ash (?) trees - little leaves that resemble bird feathers. And crimson sumachs and something small that was kind of reddish brown but really interesting in its pigmentation.

I'll have to get DH out for a hike at a local conservation area next weekend if it's at all nice weather. I have a photo of purple wildflowers from that park on as my screen saver right now and would like to get some new fall photos.

Off to make the dog's dinner (kibble is easy to cook ) and then off to have dinner made for me by DH.

Dagmar

I got my time of month this morning, so now I better understand the tight sports bras and the tight gym top.

It's looking like a good day. I managed to make a kale, cannellini and turkey sausage stew in the crockpot while on the phone for my weekly one-on-one with my boss. And my mother just went to the local race track & casino tonight, which means I can head out to Pilates mat class at the gym in peace.

And it was nice to have Fritz -- who's also here visiting -- jump up on my bed and curl into my hip last night. Even if he is leaving occasional fur tufts all over the place.

Most cats are not such polite visitors. They are very "home" oriented and tend to go berserk when taken to other places. Dogs are all about where their humans are - they don't much care about the place as long as their people are there.

Oops - I think the roofers are back to pick up the rest of their stuff. Dog just went nuts!

Dagmar

My immediate challenge is to eat mindfully for a three day trip to visit my DW's mom. Snacks will be easier since my favorites won't be visible, but meals will be the typical extended family, long duration, multiple dessert extravaganzas. Fortunately, there'll be some young kids to distract from just eating.

Good luck on your trip, Bill. I know how those go, all the favorite foods come out, but you have a lot of determination and will come home unscathed, I am sure.

Pleasant surprise on the scale this morning. And frankly I gave up trying this week--too many home cooked meals to accurately count. But I guess the soup and salad last night was a good choice. That and walking the dogs.

Have a nice visit with your family, Bill.

pageta, "unphased" is the perfect word. I've had times when it took the scale a lot longer to recognize that I'd cut back than it did for my pants. It's not like quitting is an option, so what's left? As Krampus says, "Push on some more!" Maybe tomorrow's the big day for a significant drop - hoping for ya!

michele, late dinners always screw up the scale for me the next day - 100%. A three-hour processing window before going to bed is mandatory. Another one of those little oddities that only something like journaling can reveal!

dagmar, I'm so glad you found a moment to soak up a bit of the fall beauty! There is nothing more glorious to me than a sugar maple that just looks like it's a roaring fire on a big stick. I doubt your dad's going to have any more inhibitions just because people are around. I suspect that the "censor" switch is the first thing to go in the brain at the end of life. One never knows - maybe he's had some sort of epiphany, or maybe he actually does have something important to say. That being said, you're perfectly within your rights to turn around and leave as soon as the first profane word is out of his mouth. Ugh, what a rough situation.

saef, your stew sounds outstanding! Very glad that the cat hasn't decided your territory is his, in that special way that cats do.

bill, "mindfully" is as good as it gets! Little kids are often released from the table as soon as they're done, and *somebody* has to supervise, right?

allison, yay for the drop!

I'm up this week over last, but only by a paltry 3oz. The weekend has a few challenges for me too - my bestest buddy/latent soul mate/old work colleague is coming out from Toronto for the weekend and I'll get to have dinner and a few brews with him tonight. Haven't seen him for, wow, probably close to two years - his wife died a few years back, he's been getting the house ready to sell, and I think he's got a new girlfriend. DS has a birthday sleepover to go to on Saturday; I'll have to stop and chitchat for that (another beer/2/3) ... more going on than usual. As Bill says, mindfulness will be the way to go. The ONLY way to go!

Dagmar, my mother's oldest sister in some 90 years of life never uttered a profane or obscene word. Never. Until she had Alzheimers. Wow ! What a change, my mother would go and see her and out would come words that truly shocked my mother. My mother wouldn't even repeat them to me, she would spell them to me.

hi chicks! new, tighter controls on work computers..making it hard for me to get over here. also, I am working with a student, so there is no alone time.

miss you all!
mostly stable, here. in general

Another crazy week. The AC went out at my house. A service tech comes out and the evaporator coil is cracked and needs to be replaced. For those who remember my AC trials over the years, this is the same piece that had to be replaced three years ago. Everyone tells me that these parts never go bad, they last 8-10 years or more. And now I lost one after two years, then another one three years later. Something is wrong with my system, I have to figure it out. The part is $2k, but is under warranty so I only have to pay the $500 labor charge. I can't pay this every three years for the rest of my time in the house, this is ridiculous.

DH and his XW adopted a cat when they were married, she retained him in the divorce. Now he is facing some ill health. He has stopped eating, isn't grooming, isn't drinking much water, has been lethargic and when he does eat a little he throws up. He's been at the vet several days this week, and they are trying to ultrasound him today. They found something on his kidney apparently, and he might have an abdominal infection. We're worried.

Suffice it to say, it hasn't been the best week for me. I have however exercised the last three days in a row, so I'm calling that a victory.

And now I've talked about pets myself.

And just found out it is stomach cancer for the cat. DSS is going to be beside himself over it. That cat has been in that house longer than he has, he has no memory that does't have him in it. I'm sad.

I'm up another pound, but now that I can blame it on hormones, I'm not unhappy and self-castigating. Not yet, anyway.

Here is the small dude, grooming on the loveseat, which requires yogic poses.

Shannon, I can't even tell you how sorry I feel about your husband's cat.