I'm the opposite. My days are pretty much same old, same old, week in/week out. I tend to chafe at that and welcome different things. I try to do something different to routine each weekend - even something as simple as walking Trixie somewhere new - and that seems to help me overcome the frustration and predictability of my life.

Dagmar

I like to have guidelines that I can use no matter what. That way a change in plans doesn't mean everything is up for grabs. For example--going out to lunch instead of eating at home? I follow my guidelines even if it means not eating everything on the plate. Skipped a meal? Eating late? Guidelines.

Does this always work--well no, nothing does. But I can't possibly have my plan depend on the predictability of life.

Oh yes, I've got those kinds of guidelines too, JayEll.

Life is unpredictable, of course, and full of change. Perhaps what I'm talking about is that I'm picking up the opportunities change offers quite often at the moment - for various reasons - and running with them. There's a fair amount of emotional content.

It's all about growth. I'd just rather it wasn't growth of my waist, hips and thighs!

Sitting in my hotel room on the last evening in California. I've been to the gym twice in the hotel, and plan to go again tomorrow morning. (The Beverly Hilton has a nice gym, even with free weights and three benches.) I have eaten too much at the buffet though I've held myself to protein, some fat and vegetables.

I am trying to get my suitcase rearranged and to get to bed early. I'll need to take a cab to the airport because my flight is unusually early and the shuttles don't start until later in the afternoon.

No idea what I weigh. Based on my pants, about the same as when I left.

Doing different things at the weekend sounds good, Dagmar. Do you think having a fairly steady week has helped you to maintain? I remember you used to post here about various struggles but you seem to have got through those. I think I remember an idea of yours about putting xxx in a bowl - and only yyy of xxx allowed. And perhaps family struggles have subsided. I think it's those that are really rocking the boat here - I've been handling unexpected developments on three fronts for a good while now.

Pantsometer sounds as though it's giving a good reading, saef. I've started measuring my waist rather than getting on the scales.

I have my "eating" routines during the week. I eat the same stuff every day except for dinner, which varies. I am now eating a small bowl of any evening snack, rather than straight from the bag or container.

The family struggles are different ones but they evoke less fear than when my dad was still alive. My big problems occur at sleep-overs with the pets. Then the routines are disrupted and i usually binge eat a couple of times.

But the binges are much smaller - just don't want to go there any more it seems.

So it all works to keep me in a weight range that's comfortable for me.

Dagmar :

Friday morning, home in my apartment.

On a scale for the first time in a week, and I'm 156.5.

To bed at 3 AM because I still had energy from the time difference between NY and California. Now it's just about 8 AM. I feel like my legs are bloated up from plane travel.

I'll be interviewed for that job at 10 AM, so I need to wake up.

The good news is that I have lost the two pounds I gained from my last vacation. The bad news is that I still have so much more to go.

In the last few weeks I have had my annual physical, my mammogram, and my annual gyn exam. We left Kaiser effective 6/1, so I went back to my old primary care doctor. Saw a new gyn as mine had retired. I expected my PC to say something about my weight. I came in at 174 on her scale, dressed with shoes on. This is 19 pounds more than what I weighed at my last physical with her in May 2016. And nothing. She asked about my exercise, my diet, how much I drank did I smoke, nothing about the weight gain. I brought it up and she says "well, you are only 12 pounds more than when you first started seeing me in 2006." Um... Yes. I was 162 in 2006. I had already lost a little weight when I first went to her. I got down to 120 by early 2008. Now I'm back to 174. I pointed that out. She says "In the long run it is just over 1 pound a year from 2006 though." ????? How do I process this? What about the 35 down and 54 back up? What about the 19 from last May?

Shannon, I am like you. I haven't been to my doctor yet, but it is due soon. I just have to make an appointment. I don't know if he'll question my weight or not, but the last time I was in, we discussed exercise and he recommended HIIT on the treadmill (which I do). Since my last visit, I think I'm up close to 15 pounds. That's up from my previous years. At one time, I was at about 140 and he was recommending 135 (this was back when I was jogging outside) to prevent knee issues. I'm 7 pounds higher than my historic high listed here. I haven't weighed this since I was pregnant. My BMI is 27.4 (overweight but not obese). I think I hit my low in 2007, so 10 years ago. So 40 pounds in 10 years. My "usual" weight is about 160 (I weighed this when I was married and before both pregnancies), so if you look at it that way, 20 pounds in 10 years, it just doesn't take into consideration that extra dip that we know is there and should be accounted for.

Shannon and Allison - would both your doctors be looking at your current height/weight and thinking you are well within the "average" weight for women in your age groups?

Dagmar

Saturday morning, still at 156.5, and feeling like I've got a bad case of the flu, though it's jet lag. I slept more than 10 hours and I still feel tired.

I'm heading for the usual round of grocery store, gym and stuff to do around my apartment, like batch cooking and laundry. My goal is a bedtime of about 8 PM. If I can make it.

I'm off to urgent care today. I don't know what happened, but yesterday I got in my car to run to the bank and immediately felt a horrible pain in my right elbow upon resting it on the armrest. It was so sore all the rest of the day that I babied it and when I got home, iced it continually all evening. That at least numbed the pain. All night it hurt and woke me from my sleep. This morning it is red, swollen and still very sore. DH wonders if I was bit by something. I don't remember hitting it or using it in such a way as to injure it. All I know is it isn't right.

After that, we'll go buy a new kitchen faucet. DH wanted me to get a new one months ago and I ordered one on Amazon without reading the full description. Well, we both read it but didn't understand the implications. "conforms to California eco standards" or something like that means it has absolutely NO FLOW. It cannot rinse food off of dishes or rinse food down the disposal. I practically have to fill the sink to do anything and that is not economical in my book. I hope we can find the right thing.

Dagmar - mebbe so. Though at this point I'm above the normal range and back into overweight.

alinnell, what happened at urgent care?

Shannon, how was the rest of your exam? Do you have ongoing health issues?

I ask because I'm in the obese range now. My doctor certainly knows this. But she looks at my perfect blood values, including HDL, triglycerides, cholesterol, blood glucose, and my normal blood pressure, my awesome resting EKG, etc., and says to "continue with good nutrition and regular exercise." Oh, and take vitamin D.

So because I have no health issues, I take it that my doc is not that concerned about how much I've gone up and down over the years.

You sound disappointed because your doctor didn't get on your case--maybe there's no medical reason to be.