I am another who needs to prevent nighttime eating by going to bed earlier. I still haven't figured out how to accomplish that. Guess I need to make a list of everything that needs to happen before I go to bed, then make sure I have it all done by 9:30. Somehow it feels too much like punching a clock and being at work!

Birchie, I want to hear more about your new decluttering business. When you visit the clients, do they declutter under your guidance, or do you perform the actual sorting and organizing?

Dagmar, I hope you pick up some new clients very soon. Four clients gone in a week is too many

Tomorrow I'm seeing my general doctor about my pinched nerve. The pain is somewhat better, but I still have weakness in my right bicep and shoulder. My arm is far from useless, but definitely not normal. From curling 15 lbs I'm down under 10 lbs with the right arm. Lateral raise is suffering too. My right tricep seems to be okay though.

Alice Take it easy until you know what's wrong. Hope it's something that will heal quickly!

Dagmar

Alice, hope all goes well with the arm - it's good that it seems to be improving.

Dagmar, best of luck with the business issue. Do you think summer is a difficult time to retain clients because the combo of good weather and maybe more free time (or kids that aren't in school and have free time) makes them motivated to do it themselves? Do people tend to sign up more come fall? Good job with the night time eating! I love reading more than watching tv/movies also, while DH is more a couples-watching type, so we have a similar situation.

JayZee My business slump isn't really seasonal. This is a combo of things.

I was expecting one client's dog to be away because she is a teacher and takes the summers off. One other client is moving and I had a lot of notice.

It's the other 2 that came out of the blue. One dog is terrified due to sales and moves of both cottage and house and he's now too afraid to leave the current house. He's always been really timid and now he just reached meltdown point. I told the client I'd contact her after the move to see if we can get him out of the house again. Initially it took me 3 weeks to get him to come out of the house and yard. Hope this time it's less time. Their move keeps getting delayed due to reno delays so no idea when/if he'll be back.

The last one is the one that annoys me. One of the couple quit his job to become a realtor. This is not a decision he would make in a day yet they gave me 4 days notice. I've been walking their very reactive boxer for over 3 years now. I expected a bit better treatment.

And I also have 2 dogs who have been away for vacation for 2 weeks. So it's been a cumulative thing.

Dagmar

Good to be back again! :And thank you all for the warm welcomes!

More traveling this week. Many steps. Many stairs, LOL. Does exercise at high altitudes burn more calories than the same activity at low altitude? It sure feels like it.

Down 10 pounds as of today. It's been 7 weeks.

Keeping with my "nonprogram" of eating less and getting workouts 5 times a week. I think the antacid medication my doctor recommended is helping with this--what I was interpreting as "hunger pangs" may simply have been excess acid.

Dagmar, sorry about your loss of work. Does DH still have a job? Hope so.

We work on it together and then perhaps split up. Currently, I'm shredding and cataloguing the art collection and the client is going through years of reports and paperwork. I keep him company in the same room with the shredder.

JayEll, great work! Interesting observation about excess acid. I had similar thoughts a few years ago when I worked out that 'hunger' was probably just the digestion process in operation.

Becky, steps and stairs are good.

JayEll It seems that when my wages decrease DH's increase. He is now the Comptroller of the company he started with almost a year ago. He's due for another raise. It took him a lifetime at work to finally land a really good job but he's there! Our shared finances are kinda complex but I do benefit from his success.

Dagmar

JayEll, congrats on the 10 pounds! Great job! I will take motivation from your success.

Becky, you may burn more calories at high altitude due to having to breathe more. I read somewhere that your basal metabolism may increase 10% initially, but this effect goes away as you become acclimated.

Birchie, your new career sounds rewarding. I always feel good when I throw away "stuff".

Dagmar, so I won't worry about your cash flow, but I do hope you pick up a few more clients!

Advice to myself and others: Don't weigh the morning after eating salty food late at night. (Or if you do, don't panic).

Well, last week was kind of a bust. I was in a solid three-day meeting at work that had snacks and lunch provided and involved a lot of stress, and I did not handle it well. Somewhere in the middle of all that I also realized it's been almost a year since my dad passed away and that didn't help with the emotional eating issue either.

However! My fridge is stocked with fresh fruits and veggies and this week will be less stressful at work. I haven't skipped any of my runs, even on the day I woke up late and was short on time. I've been pushing for slightly farther distance and my time has been improving a little bit. I saw MIL the other day and she complimented me on losing some weight but honestly I just felt kind of bad about it. Like that by telling me "good job" for losing weight it implies that I was bad at my previous weight? I dunno. Also I'm at the same weight I was last year before my dad's decline, so it doesn't seem to mean too much.

So, last week was last week, and this week is this week, and this week I will do better.

Added a third set to my weight routine. Next up - in August - is increasing the hand weights to 6 lbs from 4.

Dagmar

Jay - high five!

I'm having a rough time this summer. I have zero willpower when it comes to food. I'm not sure why. I'm tired all the time, up and down stress, and I am probably using all of that as a crutch to lean on takeout and crunchy snacks. Exercise and yoga are going fine, it is just the food that is beating me in the face.

Has anyone heard anything from Saef? I haven't seen her post here in what seems like a couple of months, worried about her.

It looks like saef's last post was in April. I don't follow her anywhere else, or even know what name(s) she uses. I sent a PM to her awhile ago and got no reply.

DH is going to try to get up at 5:30 a.m. all next week. I'm curious to see if he can do it.

Dagmar