You're right Birchy! I'm back to my lunch salads and morning treadmill workout. I managed to gain a couple pounds between Christmas and New Year's and so far (granted it's only been four days) my weight has remained the same. But same is better than a gain.

We have to remember this--it's small steps.

You all have no doubt noticed that I haven't jumped in here. I don't know how much I have to lose but I think it's in the neighbourhood of 7-10 lbs. I am eating sugary junk food most nights, not sleeping well, not able to do any weights due to injuries, etc. etc.

It sounds like I'm in the same place as a lot of you. 30 lbs. or 10 lbs. we all know what maintenance is here in this forum. And we all have dieted to get there, whether we've lost 100 lbs., 8 kgs., 4 stone, etc.

So why not share everyone's experiences in the same forum? I think we decided some time ago that weekly chat would be a bit more non-weight focussed and this thread would be more about the weight.

My vote is we all stick together. There aren't many of us and, for me, it's eye-opening to hear a variety of experiences so the more of us are here the better. This is IMHO of course.

Dagmar

Another person chiming in to stay together in one weight loss thread. I realize I'm one of those who is doubtless annoying to those of you who have 10 or more pounds to re-lose. But, 4-5 months ago, I had 10 pounds to re-lose. It is only through real dieting, and the encouragement of the folks on this thread, that I am now in the "almost-at-goal" group, bemoaning my battles with the last 3-4 pounds (yes, over and over). And even though I am a veteran dieter and maintainer, I really had to learn a new approach (carb cycling) to make a dent in my regain, which I learned from another maintainer/loser on this thread. So, that's my argument for keeping all of us in one place. Considering we're at 407 posts on this thread, we could agree to start a new one a bit early, and name it something like "Maintainers re-losing unwanted pounds" or some such thing.

I like the idea of sticking together as well. I have something to learn from all of you.

I'm on an early train for most of the morning so can't fit in a walk first thing. Will have a salad for lunch and will fit in a workout in my hotel room now (6am). No weights here but no other people either so there's enough space.

Glad the consensus is to stick together because I'd hate for our small group to splinter apart! I'm currently in the group that wants to lose 5 or so (technically 7 as my weight is still creeping up) but I've often been in the over 10 to lose category. I find everyone inspirational and truly consider you all friends. In this world, we need to stick together IMHO.

Now I'm really ready for dh and dd to leave so I can focus on my extra pounds. Last "off" meal tonight to celebrate dd's birthday. I intend to stick as closely to low carb as possible but I know the sodium and portions will still kill me tomorrow-- and tomorrow is my weekly weigh in. My jeans are already tight.......

The sun is out today but its cold and windy.I am in a funk...dont want to do anything.I am sad about the activities in France.My son is a cartoonist and something like that hits home.At least I dont have to work till Sunday and can be lazy.Sigh
One good thing and it is big....I am maintaining my weight at 135.

Unpopular opinion here probably, but the maintainers weekly chat used to be a place that we talked about weight maintenance. Now I get confused because often this chat has non-weight related content (for example when Saef was injured) and that one has weight-related content. Why not move the general weight maintenance discussion back onto the weekly chat thread, and have a separate one devoted just to weight loss? I think part of the issue is that people who had weight to re-lose, and succeeded in re-losing it, keep posting on the weight loss thread for the social aspect which really ought to be in the chat thread instead. There's no real process for "graduating" from the loss thread, know what I mean? And when nobody ever "graduates" then the thread turns into just another maintenance chat thread.

I'm probably just grouchy because I have a lot of weight to lose and I'm jealous of those who have only a few pounds, so feel free to ignore me.

The way different threads go changes, that's for sure. For example, it would be nice if those who want to talk at length about their dogs did it in the weekly chat, which has always seemed to me more general. (Dagmar, dogs are your work, so you are exempted. )

This thread has always seemed like it should be more focused on weight issues for those who have some to lose. But, as we know all too well, people will post whatever they want to post wherever, and the general feeling has always been that that's OK.

I'm also grumpy in general right now, so everyone hear that before they read. I know I've not posted as much lately, and part of that has been my own embarrassment/denial/avoidance, part has been feeling like I didn't fit anymore.

This thread has evolved and changed a lot over the years. When midwife started it, we had a debate then - whether it should really be here, what we would talk about in it, similar questions to today. Later, we discussed the pet chat, wondered where to put it - I think we settled on here, because we wanted to keep it separate from the weekly chat as some people were bothered by it there. I always saw the weekly chat as somewhere to talk about our week - general weight maintenance, what is going on in our lives that might impact that, stressors, happy things, general chit chat. This thread seemed to me to be more about weight loss specifically, and I remember in the past people saying that they had met their goal and were leaving this thread. Jessica, you are right that it doesn't seem to be as delineated now.

We did wander into a challenge place - the verbiage we used lent itself to that, I think. We didn't have a specific challenge with dates and deadlines, but we had 'make this by October!' kinds of discussions, and that turned some people out.

We went through a period where this thread got really negative, I wonder if some people backed out or started chatting on other topics to try to bring that back up. I know I did both, and left often rather than adding to it. A lot of us weren't in good places.

I like the idea of general discussion and weight maintenance on the weekly chat, and specific weight loss discussion on this thread. I need places to discuss the things that are and aren't working, to bounce things off other people. 42 year old me isn't responding like 35 year old me and I don't know how to adjust. I've gained 19 pounds since October 17th, and I wasn't at my goal then even. Like Jessica, I'm grumpy. And I'm overwhelmed.

I don't want to split the group - as has been said, there aren't very many of us here, and I really love everyone of us. We all have something to share, even in general, unrelated to weight chit chat. I don't want to lose any of that from anyone.

So in summary of the rambling there, I like the idea of weight maintenance and general chit chat in the weekly thread. More focused weight loss discussion in this thread. And I really don't want to be grumpy any more.

I hope we all stay together.

As for keeping the chat thread and the weight-focused thread completely separate, it's hard to manage. I think I know why. For me, anyway, I've got to take a holistic view of the daily events in my life, my preoccupations, my coping mechanisms, my weight and health. They're inextricable. I have tried looking at my weight as a simple, emotionless math problem (calories in, calories out) and discovered instead it's an emotional, social and behavioral issue. That said, I am willing to try, once again, to separate topics of discussion, as I like the idea of having a place where we're more task-focused rather than free-form and random.

Probably I have weight to lose. But I haven't known what I weighed since I stepped off the scale on November 11th. I can't tell from my clothing since my body has been changing from leaving off the familiar exercise routine. I can't tell from my eating because while that has been far more disciplined than it's been for years, I've been unusually sedentary and my calorie needs are probably the lowest they've ever been. I am sure I'll start monitoring closely but first I have to be able to stand on two feet.

This is the only "safe" place in my life to talk about weight issues. For various reasons, I don't want to confide as deeply and continually with any other friends or family members -- and certainly not with casual work acquaintances.

I'm down with whatever thread will have me I don't get this particular type of support, advice, and camaraderie anywhere else in my life.

Jessica, I fully sympathize. I maxed out well over 160 pounds in late college and it horrified me (mind you, this weight gain was not because of some fantastic accomplishment like creating new human beings; I was a anxious gluttinous blob, period). That was the first time I seriously undertook the task of regaining control over my weight and eating. I asked my roommates for a bit of support. One roommate was very enthusiastic to join me... except she was trying to get from 125 lbs "back down below 120". She and I are exactly the same height. And every time I would make a small amount of headway, it would be in stark contrast to her complaints of "only" losing 2 pounds from her already-slender body. It sucked, frankly. I recited self-help mantras like "comparison is the thief of joy" but I didn't have the self-confidence to believe them. I do think that part has come (or is gradually coming) with age.

But I digress. What I meant to say when I started this post is that I was in the 5-lbs to lose category 6 months ago, but now am solidly in the 10+ category. It doesn't take much, or long, for weight loss goals to change. Let's just support each other regardless of where we currently reside on the number line, and keep one thread very focused on these goals and the related challenges.

Weekly chat to be about Maintaining and general chitchat (to include dogs)?

Weight loss thread to be focused on Losing Weight, however much or little?

There is a whole series of "Regainers Relosing" threads over in 100 lb Club.

But that's a different situation in that people over there have lost 100 lbs, or have that much to lose.

I think there's no stopping crossover.

May I suggest that the next iteration of this thread be titled, "Get Back to Where You Once Belonged"?

Re weight loss, then, I shall be using the Allison Approach to get myself started properly. That's the salad for lunch and daily walk routine.

My salads are quick affairs, usually. There are three main components.

Protein: leftovers like cold salmon if there are any, otherwise a tin of fish in olive oil, most of which I drain off.

Vegetables: carrot, celery, anything else with some taste (so not tomatoes at this time of the year here).

Further carbs: two or three oatcakes usually, sometimes a slice of bread. I've tried not having oatcakes or bread and it seems to backfire very badly about 4pm and I run out of energy completely.

What do you have for a salad at lunchtime? Can you suggest anything new and delicious? Any comments?