Pour me some more coffee, will ya? I am having the hardest time waking up this morning! And I can't type at all (morning fingers), so help!

I think I'm still tired out from the whirlwind wedding planning week. And it all starts up again today with a list of phone calls, but overall we are in really good shape.

It felt so good to get back in the gym, crank up my iPod, and sweat yesterday. I realized I never really sweat in normal life otherwise! Geez, what's a day if you don't soak through a T shirt or two?

My three-pound wedding tasting weight gain is gone, so I guess it wasn't real fat. I'm still thirsty, so I must still be dehydrated. So much for that "dry heat" - it just bakes you. It's going to be hot here today - 94 - and in Pittsburgh, it's NOT a dry heat. I'll do my watering and weeding early in the day.

How does your week look? How are our moms-to-be feeling in this heat?

Hello hello!

Meg, I'm sure those unwanted extra pounds had a very difficult time staying attached to you, realising what a maintainer pro you are, so in the end they gave up and left you alone.

Gothenburg, Sweden, is famous for its rainy weather and it's definitely living up to the stereotype. It's been raining for days now and the temperature is hovering around 15°C/60 F.. It feels like October.

I had a major (weight-related) revelation today. In November 2005 I reached my goal weight and I was thrilled to bits. However, I didn't stay very long there and since the beginning of 2006 I've been pretty much steady at 15 lbs above my goal. And I've felt like an utter failure, I felt like I belonged to those 95% who regain all the weight they've lost. But today I realised (I mean REALLY) that I might have regained 15 lbs, but more importantly: I have maintained a 45 pound weight loss for 1.5 years! I have never maintained any weight loss for that long and 45 pounds is quite a lot to me! So I don't really think I belong to those 95% who regain everything.. I might just belong to those mythical 5%...

Major insight for me. I mean, I was aware of the fact that I didn't regain all my weight but since I didn't stay at goal it felt like failure anyway. The good ole black and white thinking, where if it's not 100% it's 0%. Luckily I've managed to break down that toxic thinking style bit by bit and I'm very happy about that.

What a way to start the week. Now the 15 remaining pounds don't feel so scary anymore and I am convinced that they will disappear soon as well!

Good morning maintainers!

Meg - I also don't sweat unless I'm working out! I guess that says something about my sedentary lifestyle. :P Thanks for starting the "Oh (censored)" thread, I'm going to pop over there in a minute!

Silvernight - wow, that's pretty chilly for July. I wonder if Pat has similar weather in Alaska? Great job on maintaining a 45 lb loss!

Rabbit - thanks for the RSI advice. I have a program that makes me take microbreaks and longer breaks too. I usually have it do a 30-second break for every 5 minutes of typing and a 5-minute break for every 20 minutes of typing. It detects keyboard strokes and mouse movement so it will pause the countdown if I'm not actively typing. How often are your breaks? I have a referral to PT so hopefully as soon as I find one my insurance accepts I can see about getting some exercises to do. My work has health insurance but they don't have any ergonomics people. They had a health & safety guy come and see my desk, and of course since I have had this problem since before I got this job I had already set up my desk correctly. I keep my keyboard down low enough that I don't bend my elbows much, and I keep it tilted so that the back of the keyboard is slightly lower than the front. I also have a touchpad and a mouse that you grip more like a joystick, which are way better for me than a regular mouse.

The tasting with our new caterer went well so I am feeling good about finally getting this last major thing on our wedding checklist taken care of! Just waiting to hear back from a couple of her references and then we'll sign a contract.

Good morning everyone.

I think I am ready to join you gals (and guys?) here at maintenance.

Although I'm not sure if I'm still trying to lose - or maintain.

The thing is and I know this is incredibly - ummm .... stupid. I had set a goal of 135 for myself, but actually thought that at 138 I was looking pretty good. I'm wearning size 4's. XS shirts. I've lost my hips, butt and boobs and I figured any more weight loss and I will begin to look scary. I'm not sure why at only 5 feet tall I'm looking this way - but I am.

Here's the stupid part, I am disappointed that I looked this way at 138 lbs. I really don't want to change the way I look, but that 138 bothered me. I wish I looked the same way - but weighed 127 (normal weight for my height). I know those stupid bmi charts are outdated and don't take EVERYthing into consideration, but for some reason I want that 127. I thought I could handle the 138 - but I can't. I know it's not normal to feel this way, but nevertheless..... So after maintaining the previous week, I kind of tightened my belt a bit and wound up losing 4 lbs this past week - taking me to 134.

And of course, I'm just bonier then ever now. Whatever.

Anyway, I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm pressed for time and will sum it up quickly. My name is Robin and I'm 43 years old. I have 3 teenaged daughters and have been married 21 years. Was a tad overweight through high school and a few years beyond. Started packing on the pounds the second I met my DH. And 21 years later ballooned up to a whopping 287 lbs. On September 4, 2006 I made my lifestyle change and here I am 153 llbs down.

I look forward to getting to know you all. And to MAINTAINING my weightloss.

Welcome, Robin! I'm glad you recognize that those numbers are all a head game. Keep in mind that BMI charts don't take into account our very dense, heavy bones resulting from years of obesity. And increased muscle masses. Remember, we were lugging around a lot of extra weight and it build strong muscles and bones (about the only thing it was good for!)

Silver, speaking of head games, I have the same problem of feeling like a total failure if I'm up a few pounds. Crazy, huh? I think when "they" talk about 95% regaining lost weight, they mean regaining every last pound and clearly you haven't done that. I absolutely agree that you're part of the 5% -- and you'll stay there!

Funny how it's so easy to ignore 99% of what we've accomplished and let that single 1% that's not to our satisfaction be all that matters to us. There's a fancy term in CBT for this type of thinking but I can't remember it right now (and the not-remembering probably also has a fancy CBT term ).

If it had been someone else who said they felt like a failure because they had gained back a few pounds I would have told them straight away that they are NOT failures - look at all that's been accomplished. But I guess we have a whole separate book of rules for ourselves.

I guess that is part of why I have been feeling so lousy about my self lately.
Silver - you hit it on the head, regaining makes you feel like a failure.
My lowest weight was 140 - 141 about a year ago - here I am one year later averaging 155 and up.
I can feel it in my waist - muffin top is back....very sad
But I am not going to give up - Thanks to all the inspiration and encouragement here at 3FC.
Monday morning - new resolve.
Going for a run and planning out my weekly menu.
I did it once - I can do it again.
Have a great day all

-S

Hi everyone,
Robin I'm glad you are joining us here on the maintainers forum. I understand about your dilemma with maintenance. I had a secret goal of 135 lbs. (my high school weight) but I finally decided that I really was happy with my size at 145 lbs. (although just the pure number of 135 sounded better to me). LOL.

Silvernight, great job on maintaining a 45 lb. loss for 1.5 yrs. I also feel like I'm a failure when I see a gain above my maintenance range. Then I begin to realize that I have kept off a lot of weight since reaching my goal and I should be darn thankful for what I've accomplished.

Meg, it has been hot and humid here. Temp's in the 90's with 80% humidity. I used to sweat just going out to my car, but now it takes a good workout to get me sweating.

I got good news yesterday about my DS. His Army unit is coming home. There were a few men in his unit that aren't "up to par" to be deployed. They are scheduled to redo their Desert Training in April . So, they shouldn't be able to get deployed for a while. That being said, he did mention that his Unit might still be going to Iraq in September (as that is where and when the other Unit he has been working with is going). He sounded really upbeat on the phone and it was great to get to talk to him. He should be home next Monday.

As far as wt. loss goes, I gotta get back totallly in gear today. After chasing around grandkids this weekend and Not eating right, I sure feel bloated. I see a lot of walking in my near future. LOL.

sznn, Don't feel bad. I'm right there with you. My lowest weight that I maintained for quite a while was 141. Now, I keep creeping back up towards 152 and then I work really hard, cut my calories to 1200 a day and get back down near my goal and shoot back up again. It is frustrating. But , like you and Silvernight, I'll get there again because we aren't giving up. I certainly understand about the muffin top. Even with 5 extra lbs. I feel like it all goes to my tummy and my clothes still fit but don't look as good as they did look.

Wow did I call it right....forecast for tomorrow is 102 and 101 for wed....and my a/c went out again, cant get a check til tomorrow, any parts ordering would push it out past the heat wave.

I didnt run this morning, I was feeling ultra fatigued and a little sore-throaty...and I knew I had 4 other runs scheduled this week since I found a babysitter for my tuesday night team run.

Except now it is going to be 102 for my tuesday night team run.

Welcome Robin!!!! Dang you are tiny--I'm almost 5'4 and 131 and a size 6/8 ---go by the clothes size, not the scale.

Congratulations silver on such an amazing weight loss maintenance!

Which leads me to a q. about the NWLR....I know you have to maintain for a year before you can join, but at what point do you start counting? Goal? (I dont have one yet) When you stop losing ? When you hit healthy BMI? Whenever you want?

Ennay, it's whenever you want. All you have to do is lose 30 pounds and maintain that loss for a year. You don't have to be anywhere near goal or a "normal" BMI, though I think most people wait until they're close to where they want to end up. I hope you sign up too! Hey, we here at 3FC are going to skew the statistics "our" way!

Probably both to some extent....look at them as the angel and devil on your shoulder...who are you gonna listen to today

I thought of signing up for the NWCR as well but I wasn't sure if it was Americans-only but I saw somewhere in a thread that you can join even if you're not from the US. It would feel good to contribute to the research, since so little research is done on weight maintenance. We need moooore!

Good morning maintainers.

Robin-You sound tiny, but those numbers will drive you crazy.
Jessica-I hope the PT gets approved and glad you're checking stuff off your list.
Lily-I'm glad you're feeling better about your ds.
Silvernight-Isn't it funny how we "talk" badly to ourselves when we would be supportive of our friends. I'm glad you realize what an accomplishment you've had.
Ennay-Ack to the heat.

It has been 95 and about 95% humidity here. It doesn't make moving this preggo body around very pleasant. I've still been doing my yoga but it keeps getting slower and slower, LOL. On the bright side, I went for my first ever pedicure yesterday (courtesy of my dh who thought I needed a lift). How wonderful and now my toes are pink. Who knew it would feel so good. Of course, the fact I can barely reach my toes might have something to do with it. I have an MD appt today. I don't think I've gained any the last two weeks. It's been too hot to eat anything but berries and yogurt.

Well friends, my sonogram from yesterday did not give happy results and this pregnancy will be coming to end very soon. This one is tough, since we thought we were past the danger stage after the first sono three weeks ago showed that everything looked fine. I'll probably be away for a bit while I get my head together.

Anne

Oh Anne, I'm so, so sorry for your loss.