Hi ladies -- Jenny, sorry about the pinworms! And, yes I stayed away from the pie...BUT went to an event last night where there no great food to eat, and I ended up coming home and having leftover pizza late at night. Almost 3 pounds up this morning -- yuk. Have done a P2 day today so far, though now have another night out (though with more food choices, I suspect). Amber -- I agree with you that it's nice to have the safety net of P1/P2 -- nice to read your posts while you go through a similar thing.

Liana, from what I've heard from so many friends, I bet a huge part of what you're going through is menopause. Hang in there -- have read enough from you to know how skilled you are at managing all this. Think long term, not short. And DD, I have not been running much either, though getting lots of tennis in -- I love it, and it makes getting the cardio in so much fun. Conversely, I need to keep making myself do the strength training.

Andrea -- quick recovery karma being sent to you!!!

Back down another lb this morning - only one lb up from my regular now - sigh of relief.
Today was just a normal day - lots of running around and the usual calories - but hopefully over the next week will drop the last lb - in two weeks my life eases up a little and hopefully also some rest and less stress will allow my body to balance back out, maybe get a few lbs under to handle the next little TOM cycle etc.

Liana good luck…. it seems like it’s so much to work with mentally right now.... As you say, your body is healthy. Maybe give yourself two weeks just to be happy staying steady, without stress or feeling like you need to go hungry and lose, until your body and cortisol and catch up some from all the emotional upheaval?
Easier suggested than done I’m sure….

Hello to everyone else, have a good weekend

Had a nice walk and coffee today with a friend I haven’t seen in about 5 years, he lives in Europe now, it was nice because he had nothing to say about how I looked, and we just started right where we left off as friends, and it was nice just to be with an old friend who is so accepting of me there was no attention on surface looks. It felt refreshing.

Liana and Grateful - Hang in there with the scream weight issues. It's so unfair that meds and hormones mess with us!

I am up alittle but only a pound. Today is my birthday so I am going to have cake and some special treats. We went to a very fancy French restaurant on Friday and I had a huge fun meal and it wasn't so bad. The whole weight gain thing is so weird. Given what I ate it should have been bad (baked Alaska, butter on everything, bread, speciality drinks). The next day I was up .5 pound.

Yay, Shasta -- Happy Birthday to you!!!

Happy birthday Shasta 💛

Hi ladies!

I had no internet this weekend so I felt like a fish out of water. We've had more rain than usual and it's wreaking havoc with our infrastructure.

Liana: Sorry about the scream weight. I wish I could give you some insight on this but I was fat for most of menopause and this last year I was on IP P1 for 10 mos. of it, which was the last phase of menopause for me. I do know my hormones were way out of whack and when I take my estrogen now, weight goes up and down. Could your up lbs be attributed to that long road trip, stress from that as well as a work schedule change?

Shasta: Happy Birthday!!!

Grateful: Glad you're back down to calm weight.

Mimi: Thanks for the healing thoughts!

I was supposed to rest this weekend, but with no internet I couldn't watch TV or use my computer much. I got an invitation to go to breakfast with a friend so I did that. Then I did some knitting on Sat. and finished my son's beanie but Sunday I was restless so I did some shopping. I found some really cute dresses to wear to work and some crop cardigans to wear with them since it's so ridiculously cold at my work. Still not back to P4 yet. Have been doing P3 breakfast, but really not paying much attention to fat/carb separation for lunch and dinner. I'm averaging a little less than 1400 calories a day. My weight has been stable at 138.6 for over a week. Now that I say that, I'll go up several lbs tomorrow! My waist is till a couple of inches bigger than I'd like but I attribute that to the surgery/swelling. I'm feeling quite a bit better today than I have been. Tonight is Book Club and it will be my first night to stay up later than 8. Hope I make it!

I added a photo of the beanie!

Good lookin' beanie, Andrea!
Thank you gals, for pulling me back to reality.... perhaps it is all just a culmination of many stresses from travel/work/families. Anyhow I am down two pounds again (despite using bags of Crispy Minis to scoop full fat cream cheese out of it's tub - twice this week?!!) Still no bloody period (pardon the pun unintended) but all the lovely swelling and sore breasts etc...
One positive is no more hot flashes, so I guess perhaps the Udo's 3-6-9 Oil is working. Back to five lbs above happy weight...but I keep on plugging along....

Rodeo was fun, I took my Dad (DH was working on a Gov't bldg. this weekend) because Mum was doing OK that day and Dad could relax a bit away from home. Lots of peppy animals (including Canadian Finals rodeo stock) as well as some very talented cowboys and cowgirls (some of the top placing in the country and in the National Finals in Vegas last year).
Warm & sunny, and fresh cut fries were shared with Dad. It was a fund raiser for First Responders (emerg first aid and search/rescue) so how could I say no.

Tonight's my last night of work after 6 straight (including a 9.5 hr day on a firesite) so I am looking forward to connecting with a friend tomorrow and also getting some much needed rest & 'me time'.

Liana

Hello ladies,

Liana - rodeo sounds like it was a hit and great that you got to go with your dad. Good work on getting lbs down and menopause sounds like it sucks. I will have to remember the oil when my time comes.

Andrea - hope your body is recovering. Cute beanie. I have no skills for knitting and am overwhelmed at the two stitches I have to do to keep my daughtes belt on her dance costume. I will look at Amazon for those heal supports. I have orthotics but they don't seem to be enough in the flats.

Amber - your lbs are coming down nicely.

Shasta - happy birthday!! Hope you have a great birthday.

I just got back from my folks cottage where it was just me, the kids, and my dad. Really easy weekend and lots of fun. Did P1 but not totally without cheats. Have not been on the scale since Friday which is so unlike me. Thinking it will be P1 and 2 all week to get back on track.

Andrea - Glad to hear your recovery is coming along without major incident.

Liana - also following your meno adventures with interest - I'm 47 and my time is coming.... already this week a little hormone problem and weight fluctuation. Grrrr....

Hello to all others - as always great reading along with your lives- Jenny, Shasta, etc....

For me so far weight is back to goal or within 1 lb.
Of course these things always happen when I have a full-on week. Barely time to exercise until next week, I'll probably get two workouts in,three if I'm lucky, and in our part of the world it's raining cats and dogs and I can't even walk outside during lunch. A few days ago I found an big empty room and put my headphones on and listened to music jumped up and down for a while and ran around. It made me feel better mentally anyway

My food is overall healthy, just working with feeling hungry because of the extra stress/cortisol, lack of sleep and not blowing off energy through exercise. I think I'm balancing out OK, just not dropping down weight back where I wanted to be, but if I spend the rest of my life just working out the ups and downs of a few pounds, I'll consider myself highly successful. All of this brings a little water retention, but negligible to anyone but me.

I think also I have built some muscle the last two months, and my tummy and overall body is actually firmer and more solid than it's felt for over a year during P1, and I think I'm partially mistaking that solid feeling for feeling "big", but my clothes fit the same, just a little looser in some areas and a little tighter where I have a little more muscle. Too bad I haven't learned yet to see that as a positive thing!... .but I'm getting there. I think after feeling big for so long I liked the feeling a little bit of being a bit frail, but am re-training myself again to remember I like to feel lean and fit, not just gaunt.

Trying to work with the stress and stay calmer than I usually do, breathe, stay relaxed even in the busy schedule. I'm doing much better than I used to do, and still certainly room for improvement.

Hello Everyone,

It seems like people are doing steady and well. Catlady, I'm glad you are recovering well from surgery.

My work has been quite intense for the past few months, and will be through at least the middle of June. I keep reading posts here and there to keep up, but will not be quite up to date or posting much. I am trying to keep up on my walking during this stressful time so I'm not so completely sedentary.

I seem to be getting my thyroid meds figured out, my weight has started to stabilize and other symptoms are reduced.

I've been experimenting with how frequently I can drink a glass or two or so of wine. We'll see....I really like WA wines from Chelan.

While I have not been keeping up as much here, I do log all my food into MFP whether I'm behaving or not If you want to share food ideas you can look me up at murrcat67 over there. I've logged my food for about six months straight at this point.

Have a great week everyone!!

Nice to hear from you murrcat, hope it eases up a little later in June, and glad to hear your thyroid meds are starting to get figured out. When that stuff is off it's hard for me, so I understand.

Hi everyone -- great to read up about each of you. Need to go make dinner for the fam, but wanted to check in here quickly. I think I need to be more regular about it to keep me accountable.

Those pizza pounds came off, and now I am sorta struggling with too many peanut butter cravings! I am used to having it with my breakfast everyday but now am finding myself incorporating it into a snack or lunch as well. I recall a couple of you (Liana and Amber?) saying your found nut butters problematic -- was that because they put on the weight or because they're triggers for cravings?

And, murrcat, I am also experimenting with wine with dinner.... So far, the numbers seem fine, though I do feel poufier around the belly. Think I need to up the water intake a bit.

Also, finding MFP tracking to be very uneven the past week as well. That's what happens when I go a few days cooking meals for the family and not really keeping track of what goes into things like chili or homemade recipes. Must get back to it.

Cheers to you all!

Well, in an interesting aside... I took a closer look at my weight report in MFP for the past 180 days and my scary 'high' weights all happen on the same day of the month, every month... That should tell me something, lol.
*hormones....sigh*
I got a new hormonal balance composite herbal 'remedy' from the drugstore to see if it will keep me on a more even keel and maybe get rid of weird symptoms. Will report back after a few months of 'scientific trial', lol.

Mimi47, it wasn't me with the nut butter cravings... I really prefer the nuts themselves and feel I get cheated with a dinky tablespoon of nut butter so I don't eat it very often at all. Raw nuts themselves, though, ARE a big part of my fat meals on maintenance. Nothing better than blue cheese & walnuts on a salad. Oh, and macadamiaaaahhhhs lol. Your post reminds me, I need to make a pizza breakfast again. That's the good part about maintenance, pizza fits our breakfast macros, or so Dr. Wilkinson said when I asked on the MyIdealProtein video & interactive discussion board when I first hit maintenance over a year ago.

Murrcat, glad your thyroid issues are coming along.

How goes the son's health (& rest of family) Jenny?

Mimi, it was me with the nut butter and sometimes Andrea mentions it, so she may have more to add.

I don’t notice any cravings triggered, and I haven’t yet gained problematic weight because of it. I just have to watch it really close, because it’s so dense, a reasonable 1 or 2 TBSP (100 to 200 cal) easily become 6 TBSP (600 calories, yikes) if I’m just sitting dipping celery and apples into it without measuring it first and just not wanting to cease and desist. I sometimes mix it with yogurt or cottage cheese to make more of a dip but not using so many calories. The dipping and eating has a really calming affect for me sometimes at night, but I have to be careful because if I’m under stress and don’t measure it out, it becomes an issue. I’m OK having food be calming and pleasurable and even part of stress reduction as long as the choices are healthy and well portioned - it’s the overeating to calm stress that I have to watch for, as that only adds more stress. Once I’m done with my snack I need to go onto something else relaxing that doesn’t involve more food

I do like having nut butter in my daily routine. I get pleasure from eating it, and it seems like my body likes having it and feels satisfied by it. I usually try to get it ground fresh and raw at one of the health food stores. I also switch off with nuts, like Liana, I find the nuts really good and a nice add-on in yogurt or a salad - I eat them raw so I can get all the nutrients (I haven’t developed the motivation yet to soak them, though I’m told the nutrients are more easily absorbed that way)… but even a sprinkle of them can make something so much more appetizing. Same thing for me with the nuts though - I need to measure them out, because the density of the calories is high, and I can’t eat them mindlessly.

Mimi - hi my name is Jenny and I'm addicted to PB and nut butter! I love the stuff. PB It was a bigger problem before IP, I would consume by the spoonfuls. Now I limit to a lick from the knife but I find almond butter easier to limit myself but it becomes a slippery slope. I can do one spoonful a day but it can easily become more.

My mom found powdered peanuts that you mix water into and it is 1/3 the fat of PB. I tried it, not horrible but not the same.

Amber - it sounds like you are doing really well with the inches which is great. Do you take measurements? Reshaping how you think can be hard work. It sounds like you are very lean and fit.

Liana - that is very smart to go back and look at the days your weight is higher, I'm super impressed with both murrcat and you for being so consistent with MFP. I hope the new remedy works! My son is better, we all take on more pill next Friday and that should be it. I have stopped freaking out

Murrcat - keep up the good work.

I looked at the scale, yelled out lid in horror (didn't help that it was at night) and got my butt in gear. I'm still up one lb from last Friday so sticking to P1 and breathing. I am motivated to fit into the dress I got for my sisters wedding next weekend. Went for my first bike ride yesterday, 17km, felt nervous but really loved it. Hoping to be able to start running tonight s my foot is better

Hi to everyone!