POP today!! We had lunch provided (with a visiting speaker) and aside from what kind of sandwich, the boxes weren't labeled so I figured everyone got the same "dessert." I took a turkey wrap and to my very pleasant surprise it was packed with a fruit cup rather than a cookie! But the woman next to me got a cookie... so somehow I picked the right box lunch. =)

Yeah, Iris!!

Jay - no weight on vacation is just great! If this is a bit of a trend, I'm pleased as I'm going away next week (DB's half-term holiday). I'll follow my own rules, get in exercise and stretching and all will be well.

Midwife - you are below your redline?? Fantastic. Step away from buckets of Hallowe'en candy. (Having not been brought up on them, they sound quite disgusting. Um, you're a health professional, aren't you??)

Lori Bell - that is a great idea about not weighing yourself. Just edge into a lower weight.

Jessica - good going on the calorie count. You and me and Megan are going to lose 5lbs by Thanksgiving, aren't we all??

Megan - please don't slink away. You welcomed me to this thread so nicely, and invited me to join you and Jessica. It's just a phase; it will pass. Just wondering, does your job have any progression built into it or is it more of the same for ever and ever? I like hearing about your work because it's so near and yet so far. Some of your water ends up here (NW Wales), we are rural too and there are quite a few marine scientists knocking around.

Kittycat - enough mindless. Engage brain before opening mouth!

Iris - Let's reframe it: pnb contains healthy fats. AND - you knew how to pick the correct lunch box without looking inside it? That is impressive.

Yoyoma - I tried valerian years ago. It had a terrible smell, I seem to remember. I sleep well now. Looking back, I think poor sleep was to do with caffeine after late morning, alcohol and (probably) too much food too late. But I was younger then and finding things out.

Amanda - sending sympathy on loads of meetings.

Shannon - how are you feeling? Very smart home gymn, btw.

I am still painting windows and getting a bit fed up with it. In between times, I am networking! OT, any comments about LinkedIn? I'm not sure how useful it is but that could be because it's only just building critical mass in the UK. Do let me know (PM if you like).

Stay on track, everyone!

Let's be POP!

Ok, not slinking! Snacking was minimized yesterday and didn't include any candy, Halloween or otherwise. Going for none today, other than what's planned. Yesterday I walked 2 miles on the treadmill and started to warm up for a legs workout, and my knees were bothering me. That's always been a sensitive area that "flares up" when I'm overdoing it, so I decided to let them rest and will try again today.

Silver, you asked so politely, so I can't just slink away. lol. My job doesn't have much progression, though at other institutions the position might, and that is certainly frustrating to me at times. My new boss of 1 year has made it abundantly clear that unlike her predecessor she won't be advancing anyone without Masters degrees, no matter how long they've worked here or what they've accomplished, which is what might occur elsewhere. It stinks b/c I really enjoy my job, but morale (including my own) is really down in our office. And since it's so rural here, I can't just run over to the next marine science place down the road and get a new job. There isn't one! I'm not ready to move 1 1/2 hours, minimum, away right now. I will definitely admit that job/career frustration has caused some emotional eating on my part! I haven't used LinkedIn but good luck - I've learned life is all in who you know!

kitty, yes, I try tea sometimes too. It's finally cool enough to enjoy it! I'll have to start drinking it even if I'm not "feeling it"! Gum occasionally helps too.

Silver, thanks for the tips. I don't drink -- I'm not opposed to any drinking, but I just don't like it. I take resveratrol supplements bc I gave up trying to drink a little wine years ago. My largest meal is breakfast, and my smallest is dinner, which I eat about 6:30 and I don't eat after that. I guess I can take another swing at the caffeine, but giving it up before didn't seem to make a difference. I think the problem is my stressy personality, but that is not easy to fix.

Great job picking the right lunch Iris!

Silver, we can do it! My scale is stagnant this week but I think I've been making decent progress toward my 5lbs goal. When I came out of the shower this morning I walked past the mirror and actually thought, "Hey, I'm looking pretty slim."

I just signed up for LinkedIn last week, after going to a conference and trying to keep up connections with the people I met there. It seems to be pretty popular in my industry (software). What industry do you work in?

Megan, sorry to hear that your boss is being a jerk. Good job avoiding the candy yesterday! Take care of those knees.

Yoyo, is it just that you wake up super-early? My DH suffers from depression and when he is having a "down" time he will also wake up extremely early and not be able to get back to sleep because he is too upset/worried/stressed. Unfortunately there's not much we can do about it, but luckily those periods usually only last a few weeks with him. We've found that regular exercise helps keep the depression at bay. For example, he's super-stressed at work right now, but because he's been running several times a week he hasn't slipped into too much of a funk about it.

That's not to say that I think you are depressed, but since you mentioned your stressy personality I thought it might be another point of reference.

Accountability for Wednesday:
Snacks: fail, I had some cream of wheat after dinner
Workouts: semi-fail, I took the dog for a nice brisk walk but skipped my planned run
HIIT: N/A
Calories: close, 1420.

Work has been excessively boring lately, and it's draining all my energy. After spending an entire day accomplishing essentially nothing, I really don't feel like working out. Why is it that when I have nothing to do at work I end up more drained than when I have stuff to do?

Well yippee...2 days down POP! I can feel that committed drive coming back into my body! Unfortunately it hasn't stopped raining for for over 24 hours so I'm already way behind on my outdoor projects and my excercise...so I did something I swore I'd never do again. I spent money to lose weight...well actually not to really lose it, but to maintain it more than anything. I bought a workout DVD yesterday while I was doing my grocery shopping. I have a few old VHS tapes from way back, but they are getting really old, and in not very good shape anymore. So today while it pours buckets outside, I'm going to attempt the 30 day shed. I'm looking forward to a good sweat!

Here is to day 3 of staying POP!

Oh and girls...about that crappy Halloween candy...remember how old it already is...months of sitting on the store shelves. I'm seeing Christmas candy already too..YIKES, it old and full of cancer causing preservatives and chemicals. I bet you wouldn't swallow a pill that contained just the chemicals in that candy now would you???

I wanted to scream yesterday...but I didn't There is now candy in literally every isle at walmart except for the automotive, DIY and sporting goods sections.

Good morning everyone. I've been pretty under plan this week with the whole stomach sick thing. I did slip and have some chocolate milk when I got to work this morning, but I can fit that into today since I did it so early. I'm hoping the medicine I'm taking has everything under control for a while, tired of being sick! I'm starting to shed some of the water weight, back down to only 2.7 pounds up from the 8 pounds of earlier this week.

Silver - painting windows... ick. I hate to paint anyway, I would imagine windows would be worse. On the LinkedIN question, I took a seminar on how to use it as a recruiting tool and am just getting my profile setup. I haven't used it much, but I see that it has potential. There is a place to get people to write references and recommendations for you that can then post to your profile, neat feature.

Megan - I drink a lot of hot tea also. Yesterday I think I had 32 ounces of hot cinnamon tea...

Lori - on the POP days!

Midwife - under redline, woo hoo!

Jessica - I feel the same way sometimes if my day has been uneventful or boring. Is it because we spend all day being 'on' at work and then have nowhere to expend the energy, so at the end of the day we just deflate like a balloon? I felt that way pretty much every day when I worked at The Home Depot, I used to come home beaten down and had done nothing all day.

Iris - good job on picking the right box! You must have been able to 'feel' fruit cup instead of cookie!

Kitty - I snacked a lot less yesterday when I was full of tea all day, the same thing happens to me if I don't have that beverage. I might as well just start pouring in the snack foods...

Amanda - hope your Thursday is calmer than your Wednesday!

Yoyo - I wake up a lot during the night as well. I've started doing some light yoga before bed some nights and find that I sleep better and stay asleep easier on those nights. I'm sure the soup was the reason for the 2 pounds - I can grab 2-4 with a cup of soup...

Good day everyone!

Sliver, yes. Thin people do not eat mindlessly. Nor do they eat 950 cals while avoiding tidying and housework to prepare for one's mother's visit.

Scale up but I know if I stay op it will go down. The thing is, tho, I am done with up down up down in the above where I want to be range. I want to be a thin person. I am buying all this adorable clothing and I want to wear it. I want to be a thin person. Why do I not remember this when I am not acting like a thin person??

Sorry for the whining. Please accept apology.

I must and will remember that I am a thin person. What is Robin's tag--- what you do determines who you are.... uh huh!

Haha, thanks ladies - you are right - I must just be THAT GOOD that I intuitively knew to pick the right lunch box!

Today is going to be a long day and I am already considering not going to my friend's concert tonight - silly idea. I need to go and support her.

I'll try to catch up later - need to get out the door quickly this AM!

I have been POP for the last 10 days and today I am rewarded by my scale! 134.4. Unfortunately I have lots of challenges coming up for the week-end, but today I will celebrate with a good long workout and another POP day!

Well, some of them might, but then they're not hungry for a while so they "just skip" their next meal. As in, it's not a big deal at all, whatever. I've given up trying to figure out what makes "the thin people" tick and am just trying to figure out what makes me tick (tick the fastest? tick the most efficiently).

I did not munch yesterday, woohoo! Even though I'm feeling that I'm in a way better place food-wise, I'm scared of the weekend. Sunday I have plans to go see a play with some friends, but Friday night and Saturday are wide open. BF's working all day Sat & Sun so I'll be home alone... with my pantry. It seems that no matter my intentions I end up snacking when I'm home feeling "bored". I'm making a mental list of chores that need to be done to keep me busy, phone calls w/ family & friends to catch up on, etc. etc. but I'm still scared. What are everyone else's plans for the weekend, and plans to get through the weekend health-wise?

Ward, great job! Keep up the good work!

Lori, great job to you, too! Enjoy your new DVD.

Iris, I'm laughing at your fruit ESP. How was your friend's concert?

Kitty, it's ok, we all whine once in a while.

Shannon, I hope your stomach issues continue to subside.

yoyo, sorry you're having sleep troubles. I have bouts of insomnia once in a while, usually associated with stressful things going on. You're already taking sleep aid so I can't suggest that... Do you do something to help yourself "wind down" before bedtime? Reading? A warm bath? Yoga, stretching? Drinking some hot decaf tea? Maybe a relaxing activity would help you shut down that stressy part of your brain. The other thing I'd suggest is be very certain you're not taking anything that's keeping you up. In the past I've mistakenly drank crystal lite iced tea in the evening, thinking it's mostly caffeine free, and it was enough to keep me up. Also I discovered that Sutafed keeps me awake so during allergy season I have to be careful... things I totally didn't think of and didn't understand why I was having such trouble sleeping. That is all of course if you can't do anything directly about what's causing you stress. Good luck.

Hi silver, midwife, Jessica!

Megan - that's not so good in the work dept. I've been thinking about powerlessness and eating. You know, when nothing you can do will change the situation so you just eat. Another way of looking at things (which I've heard here) is, when you can't control anything else in your life, you can at least control your eating. Well I don't know ... Good luck this weekend.

Yoyoma - I don't drink either. Just stopped a few years ago and I don't miss it at all.

Jessica - I'm an 'independent research professional'! Last contract was the growth of internet banking, current is rural housing needs, and I've just put in for digital healthcare and wellbeing! My SO is in computers (I scored huge points, btw, by casually dropping the Grace Hopper conference into conversation - thanks!) and finds LinkedIn quite useful. There are a couple of people, in particular, who seem to know or know someone who knows all known people in the universe and probably beyond. PM me if you need to know these people!

Lori - that candy sounds completely vile. It's a by-product of the petro-chemical industry, isn't it?

Shannon - keep going!

Kittycat - you are my favourite person.

I have had to change my description under my name <---

Good luck with your mother's visit.

Iris and Ward -

Have a good weekend, all. I shall be scarce for a week as we are away for the half-term holiday. Be good. I hope to follow the good example of all those others who lost weight when away. Wish me luck.

Megan -- good job avoiding muching yesterday! If you are afraid of your own home, it's time to change your home. My tall hubby puts hi-cal snacks on top of the cabinet. Maybe you could even resort to a locked cabinet for off-limit treats that the rest of your family eats. In the mean time, I like to leave out a pint of grape tomatoes for me to munch on. Maybe celery or carrot stix (keep crunchy in a glass half-filled w/water?) I always have a pot of tea made and I microwave a cup at a time to reheat it. Anyway, I'd suggest you make it *easy* to grab something munchy that is very low calorie and *hard* to get at the carby, fatty snacks.

On my own front, I've decided to try going decaf in the afternoon, and also cut down/stop drinking any fluids in the evening. I think a full bladder may be a contributing factor to waking. I'm also deciding to kick up the exercise. I'm going to try adding HIIT (slowly!!!), which I just learned may be the best exercise for reducing waist/hip ratio. Maybe it will also help me sleep better!

Silver, have a great holiday and good luck staying on track!

Ward-- Congratulations!!! And good luck with those weekend challenges. We will be celebrating my birthday this weekend, but I have the food planned so I think I've got it under control.

Iris -- hope you had fun at the concert!

Kitty -- acting like a thin person takes practice... we all need more of that practice!

Shannon -- Hope you're feeling better!!!

Paperclippy -- I am planning on trying to kick up my exercise in part due to your suggestion -- thanks! I've been caught in all-day teleconferences myself, and you'd think I spent the day exercising, I'm so drained by the time they are over!

All-- Hope you all have a great POP weekend!!!

Lori, great job being POP! It's raining here too. I'm thinking I'll replace today's run with the swim I planned for yesterday, then maybe run tomorrow morning.

Shannon, glad the acid blocker is helping. I hope you feel better!

Hi Kitty and Iris!

Ward, great job staying on plan!

Megan, I think what your weekend needs is some major planning. You plan all your meals for during the week, right? How about planning out exactly what you will eat while you're home alone this weekend? Maybe you could pick something fun you could go out and do alone if you need to get out of the house -- go for a walk, go to the gym, go shopping, something like that.

Yoyo, good luck with the exercise! Isn't it funny how doing nothing all day makes us so tired?

Silver, that's pretty cool! What sort of education do you need to be an independent research professional? Is it like statistics, or history? I'm not currently looking for a job so I don't need much networking, but I will keep you in mind if I need to meet those people! PM me if you want to connect on LinkedIn!

Accountability for Thursday:
Snacks: check! Just my apple in the afternoon.
Workouts: sort of, I did 15 mins on the stationary bike at lunchtime but then didn't go swimming when I got home.
HIIT: N/A
Calories: almost, 1415.

What's everyone's plans for the weekend? DH and I are going to the symphony tomorrow night and I think we're going to make reservations at a Moroccan restaurant for before the concert for my cheat meal of the week. I Moroccan food! Not sure what the rest of the weekend will involve. I'm a little worried we might end up at DH's parents' house on Sunday to watch football and whenever we go there there is always junk food around. OTOH the game probably will be boring because our team hasn't lost yet this season and the guys they're playing haven't won yet this season so it will probably be a blowout.