LemonThyme - yeah, cooler weather definitely helps with the ice cream issue. I'm going out to dinner tomorrow night but then it's ack to the straight and narrow for a while.

Diane - I hope you are enjoying your vacation. I'm just finishing up a 2 week staycation. I soooo needed it and I wish it was longer. But I'm feeling refreshed enough to head back in tomorrow night at least. It beats unemployment anyway.

Laurie - depression is awful and I have no answers. I drink a pint of kefir every day because it's been proven to help with depression (the gut to mind link LemonThyme mentioned). It does help and I really really know if I miss a couple days. But I'm still often depressed. I think the kefir doesn't alleviate the depression so much as it makes me less bothered my it, more able to live with it. But it's still there....

232.8

I went up a bit but expected to as I had a beer, slice of pizza and breakfast out topped w TOM I may or may not hop on scale for the next few days as I know it gets crazy w that and my mood and outlook will swing to the bottom if I see high numbers which inevitably I do. So avoid scale and eat better the next few days. Fasting yet about 1 hr 15 left. Having my coffee right now as my belly warmer.

Today will see me dangling off a ladder cleaning eaves troughs. Good thing we only have 3 runs that need clean out and they are just straight runs. Of course the leaves are still falling but it’s still warm enough to deal with water to do the clean out. So a bit of exercise with that. However it’s still raining so it’s on hold at the current moment.

Need to deal w that darn equi*** mess. Hesitant to do so - seems they still have issues and your trusting a company to watch out for you when they didn’t watch out for you to begin with. It’s not the first time we’ve been involved - I think between DH and I with all the last big hacks in the last 5 years we’ve gotten “those” notifications of compromise multiple times. It’s to the point in thought what the heck do you do to protect anything anymore? I think it’s ridiculous.

Ok enough of my soapbox on inept companies and their practices. Will find something to enjoy in my day and get on with it. May you all have a good day in whatever you are doing. Maybe the weight will come of for each of you.

Well I did pretty well today for it being a challenge time Body wise. I’m watching the game with DH and downing 32 oz of water before bed. It kills me middle of night and I wake. But I find it I don’t drink it before bed my scale stays a bit more static. Not sure why that is.

I steamed fresh broccoli for our veg tonight - I haven’t had for a few weeks and when I do I have forgotten how fresh and green it appears and how it tastes. Sorry but this weekend I am enamored by the simple things.

May you all have a good start to your week. I’ll be traveling w/the end of mine so that always gives me opportunity to hate my scale when I return. And I’m hopeful it won’t be a lot of hate 🙃

Happy evening

If I post first thing I do better with my day. Sorry for being wordy it helps me with my thoughts about it all and allow me some adult convo.

Did not weigh in

Nope will not for the next few days. I will walk, bike if I get out of bed early enough and count calories. Once it’s moved on then I’ll weigh in. Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised. Who knows. TOM drives me batty w cravings and it’s craziness associated with it. And you can check my weight tracker and the line always looks like a speed bump or a zit for that time and then heads on down again eventually.

I added a 1/4 mile to my walk. I’m just keeping it within the neighborhood - I am not a fan of large dogs and my little town is heavy on pit bulls and lab/pit mixes. When I was little and walked to school I was scared by a German Shepard who could leap over his 3 ft fence and I think my apprehension goes back to that. So the route I walk, all dogs tend to be inside at school start time so thats a help and I don’t have the larger dog anxiety.

Have to finish up the Halloween costume I have a jet pack and to spray and paint a space man helmet. Then it will be done. Yeah! I also need to finish decorating the house. I’m so behind. One day I’ll feel on top of it all but then it will be Christmas.

I’m a sewer so I was perusing patterns last night and I might try another never tried on my body silhouette and embrace whatever changes I’m seeing. I’m looking too for a different wrap dress pattern - no iron and knit and I’d love to find a print that sings. Thus far I have not found what I have in my minds eye. But the weight loss allows me to try something a bit different.

Ok well I’m off to fast on and get the day underway. Enjoy your day and may your scales all be doing well!

Good morning, All!

LemonThyme - So glad you joined our group! I love your daily, chatty posts. Although, until I saw the context, I wondered why you were calling yourself a sewer. Because I read it as a place where filth and refuse collects. =) You asked about weight lifting. Both Diane and I lift weights, though I don't know for sure whether Vladadog does or not. I'm not a big fan of the machines, though, so I am not well-versed on them. What I would recommend is that, if you can, you buy yourself a few weight plates or handweights as a starting point (maybe 10 pounds at first, and then slowly add?) and do some basic lifts, like squats and deadlifts and dumbbell raises. I use the book New Rules of Lifting for Women, and there's a spreadsheet someone created that you can Google to track the lifting. I do recommend that you read and use the book, but you could also just use the spreadsheet and YouTube the lifts. The principal of the book is that it's intended for overall health and strength, rather than specialized lifts for body building. In other words, if you are committing hours a day to lifting, it makes sense to do bicep curls, which isolate and train one particular muscle group. If, however, you are more like me, and only commit to 45 minutes or so every other day, full body exercises make more sense. A deadlift, for example, requires you to engage your core muscles, your legs, and your arms. I also do bodyweight exercises almost every day. I do a series of push-ups, wallsits, and planks. These are tough, at least for me. Thank you for the information about probiotics and prebiotics. It is definitely something I will try.

Vladadog - I am so impressed (and perhaps jealous!) that you've found a maintaining pace. I have NEVER been able to sustain my weight over a longer period of time without concentrated effort. You give me hope. I also appreciate the tip on kefir. I Googled it, and it looks like it would be like drinking milk. I hate milk. But I also drink a green drink that is not delicious. I am going to try it. I enjoy yogurt, so this might not be too bad. And if it alleviates the depressive symptoms, that would be a godsend. SO glad to see you back and posting, BTW. Glad you're getting your computer issues straightened out.

I'm still mired in some depression stuff. I went out to lunch with my husband on Friday, and the server messed up my order, and never came back to check to see if it was okay. I could not muster the energy to find someone and ask for it to be changed, nor could I make myself eat something I didn't want, even though I was really, really hungry. So, I paid for food that went 100% untouched, and was angry at myself for doing it. I was also doing the silent, unbidden tear thing that I could not manage to stop. I walked my husband back to his vehicle after lunch, and he said a brusque, unkind, but relatively minor thing, and I had to walk away to find someplace not on the public street where I could sob uncontrollably. I got it together just enough to go back to my office, but soon found myself crying there. Ugh.

So, this weekend was putting one foot in front of the other, making deliberate choices. And I decided not to weigh this morning, and did not get up to run. I decided that today was my day to put it all back together, and I made myself go to work. I came in to a cornucopia of sugar for Bosses' Day. Donuts. Cookies. Candy. And I don't want it, and may not want it later. But what bad timing. **SIGH**

Goals.
1 - Do the first five things on my work to-do list
2 - Walk 20K steps
3 - Stay away from caffeine and Mio drinks (I worry that the artificial sweeteners and caffeine are messing with my moods.)
4 - Stop at the store to buy some kefir.
5 - Weigh in tomorrow morning and log the weight. Same with fat percentage.
6 - Make deliberate and thoughtful food choices.
7 - Do a better job regulating my self-talk (tell myself stories of capability and accomplishment rather than denigrate myself)
8 - Three sets of bodyweight exercises.
9 - Print out and check off my goals

Lots of goals today to honor my need to be very careful with decisions, as the wrong decisions can throw me into painful relapse.

Good god - peanut butter - I have had a craving for peanut butter today. What the heck? I normally can have a serving once a week and be perfectly fine except - today! I have a low fat version (anyone care to venture a guess what pea protein is, it’s ingredient 4) and I shouldn’t be enamoured with it by any means!

Laurie: I sew, seamstress, creative w/sewing machine, fabric cutter outer - but no waste removal pipes 😄 one of my kids always gets frustrated with spelling tests as we have so many words spelled or pronounced the same all with different meanings and then she asks why we do this. I have no real answers other than when we sit and realize we once again understand it makes no sense. No worries - in the end you got it! Thanks for the info on weights I’ll have to do more research and see what I can come up with.

Ok I’m off. And trying to avoid peanut butter. I’m hoping it’s a fleeting moment stuck w only today.

LOLOLOLOL. I also sew but even in reading in context I first read sewer as "a place where filth and refuse collects". It's just one of those funny words.

I don't lift weights as an exercise, but I stacked a cord of firewood this weekend. A cord is 4 feet high by 4 feet wide by 8 feet long - so moving that from point A to a point B about 15 feet away is some amount of weight lifting.... I'll have another cord to move this coming weekend. And then 2 more after that. Then all winter there's the daily armload or two into the house. That's really all the weightlifting I want to do...

I make my own kefir and have never tried store bought stuff. I think mine if a bit thicker than standard because I tend to let mine ferment 3-4 days rather than the traditional 1. But kefir tastes like yogurt and presents as just a thinner yogurt. It is, however, much more complex set of organisms. I think it makes a great smoothie base and a tasty, filling smoothie. A lot of claims get made for "health foods" but kefir is one where the claims have actually been tested and proven. It has been shown to reduce the growth of tumors. And it has been compared to prozac. The study that caught my eye was done with mice - the control group were put one by one in a tub of water. They could not escape and became frantic and either drowned or would have drowned if the researchers had not rescued them (I forget which and hope it was the latter but I know the life of lab animals is sad....). The mice given kefir didn't freak out and panic. They just kept swimming and swimming. They also would eventually drown from sheer exhaustion but they stayed calm. Were they depressed at the end? Who knows... but they weren't stressed out about and I figure that's a start....

Do not mention peanut butter... I caved tonight and had a PB cookie from the stash of donated baked goods here at work. *Then* I checked MFP... 370 calories. In one cookie. Ai yi yi.... It was a yummy cookie but not 370 calories yummy.... I tend to not keep PB in the house since I have been known to just eat it with a spoon...but I do buy it occasionally for a Thai dumpling recipe. I try to use the jar up quickly so I don't get tempted....

I hope you ladies have successful and temptation free days today!

Also, Diane is hunting but where is Lilion? And ToastedSmoke? And DreadPiratePanda Amanda has been missing even longer than I was there for a while. And Uber and Pacifica and Frances.... come back! Check in! Let us know how you're doing!

Vlad: I’ve only made my own ricotta and yogurt. I find it amazing when you read on fermented foods and what benefits they offer. Makes you wonder if this was on the first line for defense for health issues and they would be easier to solve or help with before a med. I had a problem w/ a boney bump on top of my foot which was preventing me from bending my foot easily into a shoe of any height. My doctor was like it’s a bunion and surgery will be needed. Well telling me elective surgery I’m like - dollars flying out the window not to mention healing w/active kids! So I went and looked online to see what could be done - massage or heat or the like. I found magnesium oil. What could I loose besides a few bucks on a bag of salt. I made a batch and began using and in two weeks I went from no range of motion to being able to wear 2” heels. I guess what I’m babbling on is sometimes it pays to try something that most doctors would say is a no - I’ve even had them tell me use of natural items was hocus pocus (no lie, 2 different doctors/clinics). As long as it doesn’t interfere with your meds and helps you out - try it.

Oh stacking wood - totally avoid. My ILS heat mainly w/ their wood stove. And I noticed my FIL had wood delivered and now all neatly stacked and I think he thinks he’s planning for the deep freeze! I think he’s added an additional row this year - his cord lots appear lots larger than previous years. Maybe he knows something I don’t.

Laurie: how are you doing today? I hope your mood improved greatly for you. I’m sorry you are battling everything at once. I can only offer the thought to take a bit more time for yourself - something you enjoy immensely and makes you smile large. Oh and work food - I was one of those guilty ones when I worked - I was known to be a stress baker at the time - my coworkers knew when I was super busy treats would be traveling in with me at some point.

Diane: did you get your deer? Up here it’s always the thrill for the large buck. Most generally, if it has any rack these men in my family will take it. I have my share of mounted antlers I inherited w/marriage. At least the large mount is at my ILS - I live in the north woods and I’m an anomaly w/not having a deer head starring at me in my living room or a camo recliner in the house.

Hello all!

AM: still avoiding the scale maybe tomorrow and will see how I did. I won’t mention the aforementioned food from yesterday. Nope - got me in trouble I think! I had thought to eat upon wake up today but will see how long I can fast instead. I’ve got my coffee next to me.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be in the new decade?! I can only hope and work toward that goal. Here’s a new question - when do you start getting rid of your larger sized clothes? I know when I was on the site previously some of the ladies would immediately get rid of and others hung onto. Currently mine still fit me - looser in odd areas - a bit fuller on my legs etc. I’m just curious. I don’t have a huge clothing budget (hence the sewing with an existing fabric stash) to keep shopping so I’ll wear things a bit longer and maybe swim in them.

Ok I best end and re-read, I type on my phone and sometimes miss what I meant to say - so no waste stacks today for any of you! Hah! You all gave me a laugh with your responses. Enjoy your day - I’m off to slay mine somewhere. Oh I did measure the standard areas and that’s looking good so YEAH! Something is working.

I hopped on scale post coffee and it’s 232.8 - ok not as bad as I thought! Still doable here. 229 might be a possibility soon.

Good morning!

Taking a page from LemonThyme, I think I'll record my weight up top for a while.

152.6 - I was hoping never to get above 150 again. Refocus is needed.

Vladadog - I totally neglected to get the kefir yesterday! I just wrote it on my hand, though. Even through multiple hand-washings, it should be there faintly when I leave work, so hopefully, I will not forget again. I want to be the mouse who keeps swimming and swimming and swimming, and I will try to better manage my workload so that I don't actually drown from exhaustion. As a long-term maintenance strategy, I am also trying to integrate exercise into useful things. So, instead of just walking for an hour, I might try to mow the lawn. Moving cords of wood sounds like a great, functional way to build muscles. I, too, miss some of the voices who used to contribute regularly to this page. I would love to hear from the women you mention, and Carter and Uber and Mandy and others who I find to be so inspirational.

LemonThyme - The clothes thing. I find that, at least at this point in my life, clutter makes it harder for me to make good choices for myself, so I am trying to get rid of clutter. As a result, I am pretty ruthless about the clothes in my closet -- maybe too ruthless. I shop thrift stores and clearance, and sometimes even clearance at thrift stores. My goal is to get rid of any clothing that doesn't actively make me feel good about myself. So, I may get rid of something if it's too boxy, for example, even if it fits. Or I may get rid of it if the slogan on the T-shirt doesn't resonate with me. I definitely get rid of clothes that make me look like I have no shape at all. This is easier for me because my budget is not super tight and I have ready access to many thrift stores, so it might not work for you. But, for me, I think the temptation to keep clothes where I swam in them was that I thought it would telegraph to the world, "I know I'm fat, but I am working on it. See how much fatter I used to be?" Not that it was easy to admit, even to myself, that this was what I was doing. I now strive to wear clothes that accentuate the good things about my figure. I try not to hide my "figure flaws," but I also know that my thighs being exposed makes me self-conscious because of their disproportionately large size and the huge volume of loose skin on them right now. So, I make sure my shorts and skirts don't expose too much leg, as I don't need my focus to wander to that when I'm trying to get things done. Maybe this helps? I admire anyone who can sew, BTW. I have been searching for some time for a "wow" dress that I can wear for special occasions. I can't bring myself to spend more than $20 or $30 on a dress. (I have gotten gorgeous dresses at thrift stores for $2 or $3.) But I really want a dress that exposes my flat midriff, but doesn't expose the loose skin on my upper arms or thighs. Hope you finally break out of your sticky decade, and hope it happens soon. Maybe a thrift store outing would be a good way to celebrate that huge accomplishment?

Thank you both for your thoughts and suggestions about my depression stuff. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the kindness and helpfulness of your responses. Things are better. I am still not as productive as I would like to be, but I am actually doing stuff. I haven't actually cried since Friday, nor have I needed to hide in a corner or a closet and weep since then. I feel really fragile still, but am so relieved not to be dragged under right now.

Goals -
1 - 15K steps
2 - Hit the gym for a mix of cardio and weights
3 - 3 sets of bodyweight exercises.
4 - No sugar until 4 p.m.
5 - Fewer calories

Hope everyone has a great day!

Laurie: if my weight is in my face then I keep it my forefront of thought and then also spur myself in to get rid of that number. I so loathe TOM because I know my eating pattern which I don’t or haven’t been able to shake the whole time. All I can do is work with it and just get going.

I like your idea on clothes. Your right, my budget is slim so when I hit the GW it’s a few pieces (ours has the 50% off tags weekly per a color). Sadly of late they have raised their prices to $8 for a well worn t (because I suspect most people are like me and tend to shop the 50% off tags as a result of the increase - hey I have standards for used&#128522. When a used T Use to be at most $2.49 - it’s a bit nuts to all of a sudden be $8. Alas - I have been keeping my shirts fitted as I’m on this journey - sure I’ve back fat - but it’s reducing and I have the tummy but it too is smaller. With entering sweater weather here I tend to be hidden a bit more then usual. I think it was ubee who mentioned in the spring we can be like butterflies showing off our loss (but she too was from this state so she sounds accustomed to the winter bundling and layers!) as we unfurl in lighter clothing.

I just brought up a few of my smaller sweaters from the basement to try on and see how they fit. One of my new challenges is to mix up my profile of styles - try something new and it can surprise me. I made a shingle dress - strangely it looks nice on me (vogue pattern - look up shingle dress). I’d never had tried it a while back but if we live life with being fearful of showing the bod we have in the now it gets pretty dull. So I do try with little spices of surprises to my look. My daily uniform tends to be jeans and a t with a cardi - something I can run w the kids in, pop to school in or feel halfway normal to my day and still do home things.

Still on the search for a nice knit to make a new wrap dress a different pattern as the one I have used in the past tends to make me a bit square around my middle - the skirt is to be a-line but tends to look boxy (box pleats will do this to
me). I do like how the top half fits. Sadly the bulk of the prints I’m finding are leopard spots, snake skins or tribal (too definite with horizontal lines, not my favorite look on this body). I’d love a wild abstract or nice ikat print. Hah - it might just require a trip to the huge fabric warehouse in the cities.

Sorry for the clothes ramble - it helps me think through what I have or what I can look for. I am hopeful to keep the scale moving down - because when you fit into a 2x for a top and shop the GW it’s hit or miss - a lot of well worn and roamans. However there is what I view as 1 lady who cleans out her closet seasonally and drops at the GW - a fan of Christopher banks and a bunch of fitted tops (can’t recall label) but I always find something then when I strike upon them. I call her the lady that doesn’t like to repeat any of her seasons. So I’m thankful for her dispersing from her closet when I find them. Yes I shop the GW a bit more faithfully then I probably should. Sometimes it’s fun to wonder who wore it last.

Thanks for my coffee break - off to clean some more and find some things with fresh eyes!

No weight prior to coffee as I’m sprinting w the kids this am and have a brief moment before the bus. Yesterday ended up with me and homemade bread so I’m sure the scale went up as I’ve been avoiding bread products mainly. But I made a big soup and sometimes you just can’t live your life avoiding everything around. I found a recipe for a loaf made in a Dutch oven so it was good and crusty and totally soft on the inside. A lot of flour though. Well I’ll have to get that walk in today and see about doing better today.

Everyone here is starting on colds and whatever crud gets mixed in at school. I hate the great crud exchanges that always happen but it’s all part of the school year. So we deal with it.

Hope you all have a good start to your day. I’ll try not to think too much today yesterday I was. Today I have a meeting and to start a project that should have been done over the summer but the planners weren’t ready so it becomes a hurry up get it done project instead. And it never helps the main one who is to help is forever busy and never gets their end completed w/o a lot of nagging by everyone. Oh joy - we’ll heres to finding some sort of good with it.

Happy day all!

Good morning! Crazy day at work, so only a quick check-in.

LemonThyme - Really? $8 t-shirts at Goodwill? Gross. You can get new t-shirts for that much, and often less. I get what you mean about limited options in 2X, though. I admit that when I am gaining weight, I struggle to even want to get dressed, so I just find something to cover my body that won't be too embarrassing. As a result, when I am gaining, I tend to wear my clothes into the grave before donating or discarding, so it doesn't surprise me that there is a lack of selection in those sizes. It's weird to me, though, that 220 (for example) looks great to me on the way down, but awful on the way up.

Yesterday was disastrous. I am behind at work, and not making good food or exercise choices. That will continue today. But I am going to try to err on the "drank too much caffeine" side rather than "couldn't stop eating garbage" side. My paralegals are taking me out to lunch, and my husband is making "fancy dinner" tonight. He found some good-priced steaks, so he's making those and baked potatoes and bread and some sort of dessert. Apparently, love this week comes in the form of fattening me up. =)

Hope everyone has a great day!

laurie: love food - we struggle with that at our house too! Enjoy the meal tonight and the time with your DH.

I hear you on the clothing and what we look forward to and what we don't depending on the size. God blessed me with extra wide shoulders so even if my torso was back to 150 I still had to wear an XL. And too, I was still a size 12 at that weight on the bottom. I read these women that are 150 lbs and fit a size 4-6. Of course that's been ages ago for me, so maybe w/the newer sizing of the last 10 years . . .

Yes, $8 t-shirts - there should be some sort of investigation for what they charge for items they get in kind/donation. I get they need to pay their local workers and all the things that go with that, but still they need to look at what they are charging to begin with. So yes, I stick to the 50% off color of the week tags and the clearance section (which is just really that stuff that's been there too long before it goes to the bins). It's always best to hit up the tag sale on Sunday otherwise by Thursday it's seriously picked over.

hello all!

AM: This site is darn quiet! Maybe people didn't want to deal w/the time between now and Christmas dieting and instead turn to eating. I know I dropped off the face of the earth last year in that time for those reasons. HOWEVER I strive to do better this year. I did hop on the scale after my shower today before I sprinted out the door - and it was 232.8, so factoring in water on my body and my coffee drinking, that might be a better scale read out there tomorrow? One can hope.

My meeting was ho-hum and a big mess to clean up, but what is new. Aren't they always. So that will be my project for next week and get on with it.

Took my little one on a walk with me today after school and the question was a long walk - and I said sure = well we got a 1/2 block into it - "I'm tired . . . my legs are sore" - oh the joys of short legs at a younger age! We kept walking and did the shorter of my two routes. It's just a beautiful day here - blue sky, a bit of a breeze and sun galore. I hate to know that the leaves will all fly soon and then snow and cold will replace them.

I will be silent this weekend unless I have a moment. We'll be traveling and visiting and I hope my diet doesn't end up too terrible on the scale when I return. I will try to keep to my IF and hope it works out for me. That and staying away from soda. Oh - that wicked stuff can be the death to my diet! I can't do diet soda -so fully sugared as the sweetners in the other give me intense headaches and horrid after taste. I best stick with the water or coffee(heart palpitations if too much). I sound ancient describing this. Water it is.

May you all have a lovely weekend. Hopefully we all have good scales. I will try to get my weigh in tomorrow. Heres to hoping for good things!