Friday, on which, thankfully, I am working from home, and will not have to call on my acting skills in feigning business as usual in front of many aisles of people whose lives will soon change.

Weigh in: 139.3, which ought to make me happy, and doesn't, because it's from the opposite of bingeing -- eating less from being so stressed, I'm shutting down a little. Oh, and I got compliments at the gym today for having slimmed down. I ought to be happy to hear that but I have lost several pounds of muscle

Today's Meals:

Breakfast: Cranberry banana muffin; spinach, broccoli & mushroom egg bake; blueberries with cinnamon & yogurt
Snack: MacIntosh apple, sliced up, didn't even taste it, was so intent on an email that I was writing
Lunch: Baby arugula salad, roasted vegetables, roasted pecans, half an avocado, Craisins
Snack: Small bag of Bare Fruit Granny Smith apple chips
Dinner: Chicken leg quarter in cacciatore sauce on top of steamed French green beans
Dessert: Cookies n' Cream Quest Bar

Now please let me not eat my head off on Friday night by popping into the kitchen continually. It won't help with the stress. Really, it won't.


Exercise for Today:

At the gym: Walked on the treadmill, trying out an incline at certain points, for 20 minutes, trying to get better at walking, which I'm still focused on getting right. Then Workout 1A of the second phase of Strong Curves' Beginners program. This included lunge step-ups, of all things. I am not physically capable of doing that, with badly compromised balance from the weakened left side. I had to modify: I did them while touching or leaning on machines on either side of me for balance. Which is better than nothing.

Physical therapy: 12 minutes Cybex arc trainer, hill program. Then leg press, alternating with calf raises, each 4x12, and hamstring curl/quad raise machine, each 4x12, abductor/adductor, 4x12. Finish with eight minutes back on the Cybex, fairly steep.

TGIF!

Sorry you are stressed, Saef, but I'll cheer your weight-- hooray!!

Countdown to puppy time here! Dd is on a plane now to come home for the big occasion. Poor thing had a horrible stomach virus yesterday and still had to power through her classes/ presentations in her college classes. Hope she's better now!

Not sure how my eating and exercise will be affected by the puppy in the coming days/ weeks. Tomorrow may be a wash exercise wise (we are leaving about 8 am to drive to get her). Dd leaves Sunday and dh leaves Monday so I'll be on puppy duty. I have my pet sitter lined up to come mid-day during the week on the days when dh isn't here but I know I will likely have messes when I get home from work which may affect my routines. We will see.....

Plus dd found out she got a job next semester as a substitute in the schools (Fridays only as she'll be in classes M-Thursday) so we may celebrate tonight-- so dinner may be off plan....... That's if she feels better. She also has an interview today here for a summer job so I'm hoping she is up to it and it comes through!

Saef, now that you've been at the new exercise program for a few weeks, may I ask what you think of it? How does it compare to NROLW?

Also, is it my imagination or are Saef, Michele and I the only 3 people left in this thread? Is anyone else reading/posting here? Is it possible that we are the ONLY maintainers who have just a few pounds to lose?

Andrea... A few others have posted but not lately. We can't be the only ones with a small amount to lose.

Yesterday I found my weight watchers weight record in my car. I haven't weighed in for a year. I'm up 7 pounds from last year. Not what I wanted to see...

Saturday, waking with my mind still churning. It's because I'm frightened. There. If I admit it, if I say it, maybe I won't pretend I'm okay while surreptitiously eating to try to block myself from feeling anything.

What a relief to interrupt my thoughts by doing something purely physical & going to the gym. I had a lot of tension that needed to be released in some way. Sometimes calming down won't do it, there has to be an explosion of energy instead, and that's what I do with exercise.

Andrea, yes, I am liking the Strong Curves Beginners program, as a lot of it is bodyweight, if you want, and I feel comfortable doing that or modifying a little for my issues. My upper body strength is also coming back gradually, which I wondered about, since this program is all about that bass, that bass, no treble.

And yes, I think this thread is just about a couple people. Who's reading it? I don't know but it gets an astonishing number of views, and it's not all from me updating my food consumption as a sort of continuing live bulletin. (Or is it?)

Weigh-in: Out of curiosity, I'm at 139.2.

Today's Meals:

Breakfast: Cranberry applesauce muffin; turkey bacon, broccoli & mushroom egg bake; cherries with yogurt
Lunch: Baby arugula salad with roasted vegetables, toasted pecans, half an avocado and a can of sardines
Snack: MacIntosh apple, mealy and tasteless
Dinner: Chicken leg quarter on top of collard greens
Dessert: Chocolate chip cookie dough Quest bar

Exercise for Today:

At the gym: 20 minutes on the recumbent bike, upping the resistance to nine, then Strong Curves 2B workout, then a Pilates mat class. Honestly, I needed all of this to re-set my nervous system.

Me. I read it. I like to keep up with how things are going for you all. I also try to learn from you.

I read here; I'm fighting the fluffy in a covert sort of way.

I gave up the fight for awhile but am back at it now. First weekend with no cookies, jellybeans, chips, beer, or any other junk. May will be my month to reset!

Dagmar instead of finally!

Sunday, which is all about creating a fortress around myself, defending against the onslaughts of the coming work week. I'll have to commute into CT every day, which means I'll lose six hours that I usually spend doing other things. Nearly every night, I'll do nothing more than go to the gym, eat and go to bed.

No weigh-in this morning.

Today's Meals:

Breakfast: Cranberry applesauce muffin; turkey bacon, broccoli & mushroom egg bake; cherries with yogurt
Snack: Two fresh apricots
Lunch: Sauteed spinach and chickpeas, Spanish style
(I love this recipe for some reason:
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1...h-baby-spinach
Dinner: Baked parmesan tilapia, steamed green beans, collard greens
Dessert: Quest peanut butter cups

Exercise for Today:

At the gym: 30 minutes on the Cybex arc trainer, hill program, resistance at eight, then leg work: 3x12 Smith machine calf raises alternating with 3x12 single leg presses at about 35 lbs, just on weak leg; abductor and adductor 4x12 each; and hip thrusts with a 30-lb kettlebell sitting on my pelvis, 3x20.

I read this thread, though I now post in the 10+ lb thread out of reluctant recognition of my current situation. And Saef, this is it exactly for me.

That looks good, but I'd probably use navy beans instead. I don't know why but I'm not a fan of chickpeas.

Sunday-building a fortress. I love this image, thanks Saef.

My plan is to eat a volumetrics-friendly dinner all 5 nights. I will also eat a nightly dessert, as I love this. It is usually ice cream and is very portion/controlled without doing exact measurements. Here are some options for dinners.

Spaghetti with high veggie content sauce and meatballs
Veggie stir fry with rice
Greens and onions with rice
Salad with fish and olives

I'm coming up dry in thinking about other options...those who use volumetrics, what can you recommend that are fast to make?

Georgette - I usually think in courses. Make sure to have either a large veggie salad with low-fat dressing, or a large bowl of vegetable soup with a 1/2 tbsp dollop of pesto or sour cream as a first course. And save room for a piece of fresh fruit after your main. You now have a 3-course meal for only ~150 extra calories.

Dagmar, May is indeed a good month to reset, especially here in the northern hinterlands, where the weather has finally warmed up enough to go out coatless, and there is enough daylight in the evenings to take an after-dinner stroll/bikeride/gardening activity instead of huddling in front of the tube. Can't drink beer and eat jellybeans if you're not holding still!

Bill, I have to say I didn't even realize that you're trying to take off a few pounds again, as I never see you posting anywhere except the weekly chat. I just see you writing about resisting the urge to snack, but I assume that you are largely successful. So, while I wish you didn't have to deal with the pain of re-losing, it is good to know that there are more than 3 of us reading this thread.

Finally, Saef, I wish you renewed equanimity at work. And, recognizing a fellow pessimist, I have to say: stop seeing the glass half-empty! You have broken the 140-pound barrier that a few months ago seemed nearly unattainable. You have done this by doubling down on your food choices and maintaining enviable exercise habits in the face of tremendous challenges. To diminish your hard-won accomplishment by saying the weight loss is probably just muscle loss is simply unfair. Please accept my congratulations that you are now essentially at your goal weight. Woo-hoo!! Go Saef!

I'm finally in the beginning of a Monday in CT, after enduring one of the worst cases of Sunday night blues I've ever experienced.

I put myself to bed around 8:30 PM on Sunday, but woke up again at 1:30 AM, which is my own personal witching hour for insomnia, and I had trouble getting back to sleep before 4 AM wakeup alarm for a physical therapy appointment at 5:30 AM.

And yes, that's a lot of times listed one after the other, but that's exactly how I feel: Like I'm trying to hit my marks to get done all that I need to do and at the same time retain my equanimity, as Andrea put it.

Weigh-in this morning: 140.3, so just up one pound from Friday.

Today's Meals:

Breakfast: Cranberry applesauce muffin; turkey bacon, broccoli & mushroom egg bake; cherries with yogurt
Snack: MacIntosh apple, so hungry at 9 AM that I barely tasted it, since I'd eaten breakfast at about 4:15 AM
Lunch: Spring mix salad, long thin string beans steamed, tuna, olives, sunflower seeds
Dinner: Huge piece of salmon with black bean sauce, steamed asparagus
Dessert: Chocolate chip cookie dough Quest bar

Exercise for Today:

Physical therapy: I didn't have Pete today, the former personal trainer, so they went lightly on me: 12 minutes recumbent bike, a tough hill program; 3x10 bodyweight squats; 4x12 each eg raises & leg curls; 4x12 abductor/adductor; 9 minutes walking about 2.1 on the treadmill, working on my gait.

At the gym: 20 minutes recumbent bike, hill program, then Strong Curves 2C Workout, which worked off my adrenalin but sent me home limping. The two slightly protruding screw heads in my lower shin are bugging me.

Great suggestion, Andrea. I've always been a 1-pot meal kind of cook...but I'm willing to branch out. I live 1/2 a block from a good sized grocery store, and I'm so grateful for that. I need a goal of going in there every day to buy produce. That's what keeps me healthy!!!

Saef, good luck this week. I'm sure all your prep will carry you through this minefield. Sorry about the poor sleep. I always get insomnia on the full moon. I had a touch last night and thought I was in for it, but happily it didn't keep me up too long.

B: eggs and spinach with cheese
S: Orange, fruit and nut bar
L: corn tortillas with cheddar and black beans and lots of salad
D: Spaghetti and meatballs with lots of veggies in sauce. Starter salad and fruit after ( Andrea)
Ds: Ice cream sundae (small)


My thinking this week: If I can plan for a very volumetric dinner, will I drop a bit of weight this week? I know I did a few weeks ago, then I lost momentum for this.

I thought of a few broth soups I like to make that I haven't made in a long time. Minestroni and shrimp gumbo. Both are yummy and I can load both with veggies.