Anne:
HUGS to our Mommy to be any minute now....
Thanks for checking in, please keep us posted as often as possible.
Welcome Kayelle!!!We love new friends at the maintenance forum. Good going on the weight loss...
Robin good to see things are going well for you. You have the right outlook, one step at a time.

Anne- Just keep hanging in there !! The 16 days don't say all that much. My GP once explained that the the distribution of chance for the baby's birth is just a flat horizontal line 2 weeks befor and 2 weeks after the expected date. So it can come with equal chance on any day in those 4 weeks, so maybe even in your case in 2 - 3 days! And sometimes they even turn themselves into a good launching position.

Don't worry about the mind degradation. This is totally reversibele in my experience. I felt like I went totally dumb in the last month of pregnancy. I literally was too fazed to drive a car. This all turned out to be hormonal, and most of it was gone 3 months after the birth. And what remained in both cases was absolutely the loveliest, cutest baby in the world. I find it one of the miracles of nature, that it always turns out to be ones own babies are the best of all.

Take a lot of rest. You are going to need it.

rabbit
(mother of 2)

Went to the gym this morning and was delighted to find it sparsely populated; this is obviously an evening-workout community. If there were 50 people in the whole place, I'd be surprised. Whipped through a lifting routine in 30 minutes. Of course, I wanted to do more reps and try heavier weights, but just this once, I'm following the PT's orders, and starting out very slowly and very gently. Didn't get any cardio in, but we spent 40 minutes ambling around the blocks with the dogs, and that always feels good.

Sandy, I succumbed to impulse yesterday and bought a copy of Pamela Peek's "Body for Life for Women." I think it's going to be a great book, and it comes at a time when I'm already thinking long and hard about how I want to live my life. Thanks for mentioning it; I might not have noticed it had you not said something.

Anne, rest easy my dear. You're one of the most coherent people here; you're just momentarily deranged That precious baby is coming into a wonderful family. I'll bet she shows up in tiny running shoes!

Hey SusanB, good job on those jeans. and greetings Reg4242 and Rabbit!

KayElle, welcome. You ask, "What is the secret of staying put??" Well, actually, one of the secrets is that you DON'T stay put; maintenance is all about up and down; up and down. I suggest you go to the sticky on favorite threads, and then dip into some of the other threads on this board. There is so much combined wisdom about maintenance here that I can't even begin to summarize it. Let us know how you're doing!

And with that, gotta go. Be careful out there chickies.

Hi,

Airegrrl, I have to report that my BFLFW book did not arrive to me yet! Like I've got a notice that I can pick it up tomorrow after 1PM - obviously they brought it when nobody was at home!

I however did Baptiste yoga challenge workout and I have to say it is meaningful and pretty challenging. Like I can do almost everything but not quiet yet, so which is good as I am not going to give it up until I can do it, on the other hand, I am not as discouraged as if I would be if I could not do half!

On the other note, I am in whining mode now! As I mentioned before, my weight went up about 4 pounds after my triathlon, and it is still there. I had a bit of progress about a month ago, but again I am 4 pounds above my 4 pounds which I was above the goal anyways! I noticed also that my mid-section started to widen - like I never accumulated weight in the mid-section, mostly in my hips and upper arms - so here it goes, I am turning into apple! That is with doing cardio every morning! I got really frustrated and to add up to it - two of my coworkers said that I look pale, and my jeans are tight, and after all of this I decided that I will go and check with my doctor! Like I am so pale and can barely recognize myself in the mirror, I am tired, frustrated, and I am gaining weight which counting calories and exercising about 6 times/week! I also have race in november and want to be fit enough to make it!

Enough whining!

Anne - hang on there dear! One of my babies was breech and he turned the moment doctor wanted to turn him! I had difficult pregnancy with him, but he was actually later than due date! go figure! About degradation - I had to pass my last exam in the university (it was hereditary deseases) and I completely failed it 3 weeks before delivery of the baby! Like in 6 years in Uni I NEVER failed anything, and I had to fail my last one! I felt so stupid and inefficient! After I delivered the baby, I went to redo the exam without any studying (I guess after arrival of the baby there is no such thing as studying for the exam) and guess what - I got my A!!! So you are not alone, it is fine, brain will come back, you do not even have to count calories for that

SusanB - those jeans - I always used to tuck my shirts in, and recently I stopped as my teen daughter said it is not a fashion. And here it does - my mid-section exploded! I guess I better start to tuck them in!

Cheers,
Sandy.

Sandy, I hear the same thing from my kids. I'm no longer listening. It does make me feel taller and slimmer!
I was going to take the bull by the horns and wear a tank top tucked in my little jeans to the Plowing Match today but I got called to work. I tucked my t-shirt in my scrubs instead!

Hi All:
Hope everyone is safe in the face of RITA.
Thanks Sandy & Robin for the Body for Life for Women talk. I bought it yesterday after hearing you guys discuss it. For me at the time in my life there is some important mind stuff that I need to address.

Sandy did you get to the DR. hope your feeling better. Take care of you.
Here to tucking!!!!
Off to work,

Hi maintainers,

Gina, Airregrl, Sandy - I already read the BFLW book, and apart from the food section (which I found too complicated to be able to take in at one go) I found it great !. There is loads of info about the female body at various ages that I really needed to know.

Gina - about the mind issues I also found the Kabat - Zinn book on the full catastrophe living extremely helpfull, more so than the mind section of BFLW.

Excercise yesterday: 30 mins stationary bike, LBW and shoe shopping with my daughter. We finally came home with nice red shoes after 5 or 6 shops. This must count for excercise in something.

Excercise today: 30 mins stationary bike + 30 min srun outside + stretch for 10 minutes.

I have reached my 7 hour excercise weekly goal already, so I might treat myself to a day off tomorrow!. And the scales went down a teeny bit again.

Have a great weekend,
rabbit

Hi,

I am half way thru BFLFW book and I love it! Surely recommend it here!

About kids and their cruelty towards us! Here I am doing Kathy Smith cardio challenge tape - and our TV is wide screen and for the heck of me I am not sure how to do it normal screen (I never use TV except for taped exercises) and so kathy looks very square and about 20 pounds overweight as she is kind of squished by the screen. And here I am in my sports bra and 16 y.o boys shorts (I look ridiculous in them - bought them for my DD and did not look that they are boys and they are not really comfortable but lost receipt and could not return - so they are "mine" now). My DD walks by and says: Mom, you in your shorts doing those weird squats look as weird as those people on the screen! Teens!

Cheers,
Sandy.

Hi maintainers,

I've been MIA from this forum for several weeks for a few reasons. I've been busy, I was on vacation for 1 1/2 weeks, and I'm embarrassed about my backslide of 10 pounds. There I've said it. I've been "fighting" it without much heart for 2 months, but for the past week I've actually started to pull myself together instead of just intending to do so (my 'good intentions' got me nowhere in August and the beginning of September). I hit, or re-visited, the 150 pound mark. I usually try to fight a backslide by being 100% strict but that just hasn't been working this time. Since I got back from vacation 6 days ago I've actually been keeping up the good habits for the entire time with little changes. I've been getting all my dairy in without having to supplement, cut alcohol entirely (actually done that for 3 weeks), cut diet soda, am slowly re-upping my protein intake. This is the longest 6 day-period in about 3 months when I haven't overeaten calorie-wise or binged, which is the biggest accomplishment. Where taking it one meal at a time hasn't helped me in the past it is working now. So I'm taking it by small changes right now, and this morning the scale already had me 1 pound down. I've finally committed to a goal and am working to get back to 140 by Thanksgiving.

I went home 2 weeks ago and saw a lot of people for the first time in over a year, long before I finished losing and went on maintenance. Their reactions were kind of surprising b/c even though I still have the "fat mentality" I forget how I must have looked before. I also went to my doctor of 15 years for the first time in 1 1/2 years (no health insurance lately) and had a good talk w/ her about the changes my body's been going through. Being home, spending time w/ my family, and actually taking a vacation was SO good for my mental health.

I'm glad to hear everyone's doing well and it's good to be back with you all.

Welcome back Megan, I recognized you AV right away!! Getting back on track is very difficult after a hiatus, but looks like you've got your healthy lifestyle mentality back and that's the biggest battle...

I got into the cookies last night but I was able to stop myself at 4 ... in the old days I would have eaten the container!!. I *KNEW* I should have gotten DS to bring them to the basement but I *THOUGHT* I could just have one!! NO WAY! The up side is that my daily calorie total wasn't that bad even with the cookies, but I really could have made a much healthier choice like oatmeal and raisins which I love just as much as the cookies, yeah, imagine loving oatmeal and raisins as much as oatmeal and raisin cookies, who woulda thunk! It's just to *THINK* of the right food to eat when these scenarios happen... Practice makes perfect!!! So I'll keep practicing...

Hiya maintainers,

Just a quick note to let you all know my daughter was born on Saturday, 9/24. She is very healthy and beautiful. I'll check back in a week or so with more--I had a c-section and am recovering nicely, but just so much to do right now. Escpecially sleep when I can.

Anne