Down to 152.9 from a busy day at the office, with my upper left arm a little sore from yesterday's flu shot.

I need to get more serious about losing weight, that is, if I really want to. The discomfort of a little hunger is what I've wanted to avoid because I feel stressed out by so many other aspects of my life.

Almost my thoughts on this bright November morning.

For me, it's not quite the discomfort of a little hunger. It's anxiety that if I am hungry enough to lose weight then I shan't have enough energy to be able to do what's necessary in my/our lives. And those things are necessary rather than desirable, I'd say. Food, shelter, care, money things.

I suppose it's another way of saying that you need to have [can't quite remember what people say] time and space to lose weight. You have to put it first, front and centre. And that's not quite possible for me at present. So I'm doing all I can to remain healthy (mind, body, spirit) but that's not quite enough to lose weight. I'm maintaining and well done, me.

I can imagine this may not wash when I see the nurse in a week or so.

PS November? How did we get here? Was I not paying attention?

Oh, heavens, no! There are some snacks in there (cheese, nuts, etc.). My daily goal is around 1450 and I'm usually right there or slightly higher. Granted, since starting the carrots & celery instead of my usual breakfast, I haven't put it all in MFP to make sure. I ought to do that. I will today and give you all a count tomorrow.

I am proud to say I did come home and work out yesterday. I will do again tomorrow (and perhaps today, too). And a longer workout on Saturday. Weight is still too high to mention. And ongoing stress from my assistant isn't helping. I gave her an ultimatum this time--no coming into work without a note from her doctor and of course she leaves me TWO voice mails at work (last night and this morning because she doesn't want to talk to me) saying she can't get into her doctor until the 16th. Pity party. Won't work.

Andrea-- that's a lot of celebrations-- I know you're not happy where you are, but I'd call that a win at this point. And congratulations to your parents! That is a big milestone! Wow!

I also need to have a little discomfort to see any movement on the scale. Probably doesn't help that I suggested to dh that we drive up to Napa on Saturday and have an indulgent lunch (and dessert). I need to buckle down the rest of the week to offset Saturday.

Allison-- no doctor visit till the 16th. Sounds absurd to me. Have you considered firing her and being done with her once and for all. Give her a severance of whatever you deem fair and move on. It would remove so much stress. Doesn't sound like she is giving back a fraction of what she is taking.

When will you stop playing this game, Alison?

Ask yourself what you are getting out of this. You might be surprised.

You got plenty of action items from me, Allison. I've said my piece. I ain't got no more to offer.

Also, there should be a statue of me erected on some public square for the restraint I have shown in NOT posting about the election here, because I don't want this place to look like every other place, real or virtual, that I frequent.

Dogsitting again - another 4-day short stay. Had no time to grocery shop - dinner walk with a different crew before starting here.

It amazes me how little "real food" a lot of my clients have on hand. I will be having dry cereal and a banana (that I brought along from home) for breakfast tomorrow. The alternative is salsa and chips.

I also brought dinner from home - a frozen bag of beef stew which is not too bad and which heats up nicely in a pan in 15 minutes. Had my choice of tonic water or plain water as a beverage - or 200+ bottles of wine.

They live a very different lifestyle from me. They will, no doubt, be having a very good expensive dinner in Manhattan complete with several different bottles of pricey wine. Nice!

Dagmar

I plugged my calories into MFP for yesterday (1360) and today (1490). I think I'm doing fine. But you'd think with all the extra fiber I'm getting I'd be more regular. Um, less so, in fact. Weird.

As to the situation with my assistant. I told her that due to her continued cry of dizziness, I need a note from her doctor stating she is okay to work and drive (she often takes deposits to the bank and picks up payroll). Her latest is she can't get into the doctor until the 16th, to which I said she is free to go to urgent care to get the matter taken care of. I reiterated the exact reason for my request. Fine by me if she doesn't come in until after the 16h, but it's she who suffers, not me. I basically told her she is a liability and as such I cannot subject my business to a possible lawsuit should she fall at work or get in an accident while driving for work and that she needs to understand the seriousness of her plight. No word from her after I sent that email.

Down a little more to 152.6.

The contractor says work will start up again on my apartment at the end of the week. On Monday, he showed me cabinet samples and stone samples, all of which I rejected, telling him that I wanted back what I had, not this stuff. I hated what he showed me. It all screamed, "My big new house in the New Jersey suburbs."

If I had enough money and time, my kitchen would all be salvaged & repurposed & vintage. Failing that, it's bead-board for me. I do not want a formal kitchen. I've got a NY kitchen, which means it's really narrow, almost a galley kitchen. I do prep work on food there, or take things out of cupboards or from the stove, and that's about it.

It is not one of those many hundred square feet faux-Tuscan spreads where a family of 12 hangs out around the kitchen island, all ignoring one another while they text those not present.

He said it would delay work, to get what I wanted.

I said I'd let him know within 48 hours exactly what I wanted. And I came in before then with instructions: I was able to track down the manufacturer of my former cabinets, and I made a quick decision regarding the countertops.

I keep hoping I'll be home before the snow flies. If they could be done for Thanksgiving, I'd be even happier, but I suspect that's cutting it close.

Saef-- considering I think you said 5 months for construction at one point, anything close to Thanksgiving sounds good. I hope you get what you want and fast!

I thought my weight would be considerably down. Tons of exercise yesterday (including body combat-- kick boxing class), low calories, and went to bed starving. I'm down .2 today. Oh well. Down is down. I just wish when I had an excessive meal, I only went up .2 and not 2!

Allison-- I have "issues" despite great quantities of fiber taken in. I put Miralax in my daily decaf at night and still sometimes have to take something additionally. I think it's mostly due to my low fat intake.

Still at 152.6, and feeling it, since my clothes felt tight yesterday. I was wearing a shirt with slim-cut sleeves, because women are supposed to have slender arms, and could feel how my upper arms filled it out.

I'm still wrangling with the co-op's management and superintendent. Now they say my insurance has to cover replacement of the kitchen cabinets. I don't understand this, since after the flood caused by Hurricane irene in 2011, the kitchen cabinets were covered under the co-op's policy. This made sense to me, because they seemed like a fixture in the apartment. After all, I would not uninstall them and take them with me like a piece of furniture if I moved out. Anyway, now the work is stalled again until my insurance adjuster sends out a guy to reinspect the property and probably disburses funds.

Down a fraction, to 152.3.

The co-op president thanked me for being patient, and I thought he was being ironical, since I walk around feeling rage and despair, wishing I could just *go home* again, as I haven't slept in my apartment since August or had any peace about it since I left for vacation that month. The insurance adjuster said she was sorry I have to go through this. Neither comment helps.

The election also makes me unhappy because it frightens me.

I need some sort of pleasure today to remind me of what I am slogging toward. I plan to see a movie this afternoon and I have a theater ticket tomorrow. I hope both these events will salvage my mood.

Your election frightens us Canadians too. And, judging from the world markets, the rest of the world as well. We will all be holding our breath next week to see if democracy and decency prevails.

Dagmar

Weight back up, such that I wrote it down immediately afterward. Weirdly, it's transposed the last two numbers, to 153.2.

It didn't help that I holed up in my hotel room yesterday and found myself heavily overcaffeinated. When I've had too much coffee, my shoulders and neck tense up rigidly into blocks and I start to get a headache. Also, I have to stop reading news sites and watching cable news, or I might freak out.

Saef, I've given up news etc for weeks at a time over the last year. When I've got too much going on in my personal life I just don't have the resilience to deal with all the nastiness. (Have I said all this before? I can't remember. Must actually be as tired as I feel.)

More travelling this week and I've finished the six-volume series about C15th Europe. Not sure what to do next. Perhaps coast for a bit and see what comes along.

Weight is not down any more but I think maintaining is good, in the circumstances.