Good morning! Coffee's on -- Does anyone get the day off for Presidents Day? DH is blissfully snoring away, so I'll have to sneak in and grab my gym clothes in a minute.

Be sure to read about Glory's magazine article here! We were visiting my MIL yesterday and I started flipping through her magazine collection and of course, went right for the weight loss stories. As I was reading, I first thought: wow, I need to tell Glory that there's someone just like her. And then I kept reading and said: this IS Glory!! So I PMed her as soon as we got home and, yep, it's our lovely Glory.

I've got a gazillion things to get done today and it's supposed to snow again. This is getting old. I really could use some spring!

I can't get my scale to budge (and it needs to) so this is really going to be a Back To Basics week. Step one is off to the gym!!

Check in and let us know how you're doing and what's going on.

Yay! A new week and a new chance to keep up with Maintainers' Chat. I haven't quite been able to lately, and I miss it! It's rainy here, no snow (I wish there was snow), and I don't have President's Day off. Some school systems around here do, but we don't.

Yesterday was nice. We went to church for the first time in ages. A student asked us to go because he was playing the banjo as part of the youth service. Then we got to see more of our students actively involved in the service, even doing the sermon. I was proud of them. After that, we went to see the movie "There Will Be Blood," which was pretty interesting. Certainly different from anything I've ever seen before. Daniel Day-Lewis is amazing.

Enough rambling -- time to find some clothes to wear. Nothing fits anymore!

Good morning everyone.

The weather is STRANGE here. It's rainy and in the 50's. One day it's bitter cold, the very next not so bad, the very next bitter cold. Weird. I too say bring on spring!

No day off for me today . But I don't have to be in work til later. Will probably hit the mall early with my 3 daughters. Oh that should be fun - NOT.

Lisa, I remember when I was first expecting. I couldn't WAIT til I was showing and I was ready for my new bigger clothing. Gosh, that sounds strange to say now. I really loved being pregnant, enjoy this time, it's so special.

And Glory is amazing. She didn't even tell us about the article. Meg, I'm so glad you spotted it and she was agreeable to have you tell us. I will definitely be purchasing it today.

Taking a phrase from our dear Glory, I have crossed over the "red line" and need to head back on down. Yikes. Yesterday was a good day and this week had better be more of the same. Fridays and Saturdays have been messing me up and I need to rethink them. I know what to do, I just haven't been doing it.

Have a great day everyone.

Hi everybody,

I'm just digging out from under last week. After the great kidney stone episode, DH had to leave on a business trip, which pretty much maxed me out. I spent the weekend lying around reading for the most part. I was going to go out shopping to try to find some less hideous maternity shirts, but it didn't happen. DD and I worked a lot of puzzles together as well.

I'm toying with the idea of going back to a near-vegetarian diet after the baby comes. Well, after the survival period after the baby comes. I've done a lot of reading on kidney stones and one of the causes, at least in some people, is too much protein of the animal flesh variety, which can cause your body to leak calcium if you are so biochemically inclined. I have no idea if I'm one of these people, but I usually feel better eating that way anyway. We'll see how it goes; at this point I'm playing with ideas.

I actually tracked my calories for the first time in a couple weeks yesterday. I think the break from it helped some, and I actually cared what I had to write down for once. After 5 years of doing it pretty much religiously, I'd become sort of numb to it.

Meg, I hope spring comes soon for you.

Hi LisaMarie.

Robin, you loved being pregnant?!? Wow. I love my kids, but it would be nice if there was a way I could make biological children without having to go through all this. I actually prefer being morbidly obese to being pregnant. Hands down, no contest. Let's see, 119 more days to go, and with the scheduled c-section, it is more like 115. I'm starting to feel a little weird joking about this because I actually had pre-term labor with DD, and I want this little guy to cook every one of those 115 days, no matter how miserable it makes me. Better me than him.

Hi to whoever posted as I write this--always happens.

Anne

Sounds like a lot of red-lining going on I have to confess I'm in the same boat. My spring clothes are going to be very tight unless I come up with some magic new way to lose some of this chunk I've put on. Some of it is muscle, mostly in my back which I could do without, but the stuff around the middle is NOT muscle Amazing what 5-6 pounds does on a 5'2" frame!

Anne- hang in there! How long is dh gone? Have you looked at some of the vegetables and nuts which also contribute to kidney stones? Spinach, carrots, peanuts, among others. My dh's doc told him to have at least one glass of lemonade or lemon water per day as well.

Meg- I wish we had snow here. It's 61 degrees and raining. I need to go push my daffodils back into the ground. My new skis are sitting in a corner unused It's 55 degrees and raining in the Poconos.

LisaMarie- I really want to see that move. Daniel Day-Lewis is one of my favorite actors.

Day off here- some things about working for a bank are great! I went for blood tests early this morning, need to have some liquids and meals before working out, and will work on cleaning and painting the basement. The fun just never ends

Good morning! I introduced myself here a couple of months ago, but never seemed to have time to post. So I'm trying again. I really need a home base and I want to be a successful maintainer, so I know I need to be here.

I'm another one that loved being pregnant. I actually started wearing maternity clothes before I needed them. Looking back, I'm not sure what I was thinking! I sure wouldn't do that now. And LisaMarie and Anne, the clothing I see for pregnant women now looks cuter than it used to. Then everything seemed to have giant bows on the tops. And it was so hard to find the larger end of plus sized maternity clothes, which I was wearing even then. But that's NOT a problem you two have, is it!

Meg, thanks for letting us know about Glory's article. I love seeing the articles about different losers at 3FC. I would have hated to have missed this one!

I'm one of the lucky ones that is off today. I work for the state and it's a state holiday. Even DH is off today, but that is coincidence as this just happens to be his 3 days off and he starts his 10 days on tomorrow.

We had a stressful weekend dealing with my father. He has some mental illnesses and is having a bad reaction with some steroid shots that he has taken for back pain. The doctor seems to think that once those wear off he will be back to his normal. After spending 13 hours in the emergency room Saturday, we finally got him checked in to the psych ward. Although this weekend went smoother than some, the mental health system here leaves so much to be desired. I have a brother who is also mentally ill, and nothing is ever simple or long term.

The good news is that my eating has still been good this weekend. Even a little under my usual yesterday. It helps to have been doing this long enough that much of it is habit.

Hope you all have a great week and that we can all get comfortably below the red line!

I am just starting maintaining. I see long term and short term maintainers talking about reaching the "red line" (thank you Gloria for the term) What got you to the red line? Is it the same thing every time? Does it happen often? Does it take you a long time to get back to maintaining?

I am afraid of yo-yoing my weight. I would like to think that if I stick to the plan, that it will just work. Is this not the case? Or will I find more excuses to go off plan cuz I am maintaining now? What have you all experienced with this. I am more scared to maintain than I thought I was going to be. It is easier to lose! Jelly

Mel, I've seen the lists of foods. Green beans, strawberries, coffee (gasp) in addition to the ones you've listed above. The general advice seems to be reduce consumption and not to avoid entirely, and I'm going to have to figure out some way to find a balance I can live with. Probably rather like weight management. I'm trying to have either lemonade or cranberry juice every day now too. I am struck by the unfairness of having spinach and strawberries on the watch list, and not something like giant, sugary, fatty cinnamon buns so I could kill 2 birds with one stone! Have a great day off--I'm so jealous.

Tammy, unfortunately the maternity clothes people did not seem to get the vanity sizing memo, so my size moved up rather dramatically, coupled with the fact that now everything is very much into enhancing the breasts and my breasts are, um, more generously proportioned than they are designing for. So, it's mostly just stretchies for me. I'm sorry to hear about your father, and hope the situation resolves soon.

Jelly, I always yo-yo. I find the trick is not to let the string break.

Did I mention DD has discovered "Why?" OMG, over and over and over again. I found myself saying "Because I said so" less than a week into it.

Anne

Good morning ladies!

I am in kind of a funk the past couple days. I already posted another thread about why I need a kick in the pants. Weight loss is just not happening right now. I've been getting more depressed about my joint pain. I'm afraid they'll never figure out what's really wrong and I won't be able to do anything fun for the rest of my life. I know I'm being kind of irrational -- the doctor has said that if they can't figure it out they can at least give me pain medicine. I think it's partially PMS causing mood swings. :P

We had a good weekend overall. Went to the symphony and out to dinner at a nice italian restaurant. Didn't overeat too much. Got a lot of chores done around the house too, started planting seeds for the spring.

Does anyone have any advice about seed starting? We're doing ours in the basement with flourescent lights. We don't really have any sunny windows in the house. They seem like they sprout, grow to about two inches tall, and then just sit there.

Hi everyone,

I'm over the red line too. My tummy feels ginormous (and to add insult to injury, I got my period on Friday, so I'm bloated as well as fat. See that Meg? Not pregnant!!!). I need to whip things back into shape around here. I also need to find a solution to the grazing problem I have developed between 4 and dinner (7-8). Aside from social activities and things, most of my unwanted calories get consumed then.

Jelly, life just happens and maintaining weight, like everything else, requires constant attention. A million things can happen that can result in weight gain--the trick is to keep a handle on it and swing back into vigilance when you gain more than a little.

I don't have to teach today but need to work anyway. I need to take the dog for a run, have a shower and then head off to the office.

Thanks for all the well-wishes for Buddy. I'm waiting to hear from the specialist to see if they can save the tooth. Meanwhile, his eye isn't getting any better.

It's a holiday here, but not a day off! I have so much work to get done around here it's disgusting. And I "have" to go shopping. DD needs shoes and DS needs shorts. And I failed to get to the grocery store this weekend, so that's on my agenda as well.

Hi everyone,

Add me to the list of being over the red line. I've been maintaining closer to 152 than to my 145 goal. Seems I do great for a few days, then horrible for a few days. Exercise is good, my eating is the problem.

Last night Shelbey baked a cake. I was glad to see it was Devils' food cake cause that is something I don't like. Didn't matter, I ate one piece anyway! Today will be spent trying to resist eating more of it.

I'd like to hit the gym this evening . I have a ton of laundry to do since both girls cleaned their rooms yesterday. The girls are out of school today. DH is off work and moaning about the cold, rainy weather cause he can't go play golf.

I have a houseful of closets that need cleaning, but I don't want to haul junk out in the rain!

Oh boy. So many above red-liners here. How I wish I were the only one.

Jelly, don't let it get to you. It's no mystery to me how I got ABOVE my red line. It was by having one too many "off" days. I'm pretty sure that I've mentioned that my way of maintaining is to stay very strict during the week and have a splurge or 2 on the weekends or at an occasion. The only problem is, It's been more then a splurge or TWO. And I've had a bunch of parties to attend as of late. Oh and the weekend comes around too often. So, yup, I will have to rethink this plan. I think when I have a bunch of parties to attend, I will have to pick and choose which ones I will SPLURGE at. And I also think I need to not splurge EVERY weekend and when I do splurge, it's got to be a tad smaller of a splurge.

And yes, Anne, I LOVED being pregnant. Mind you that hasn't occured for over 16 years, but if my memory serves me correct, I really enjoyed the experience. I was VERY fortunate to have little or no morning sickness, so that right there is a big boon for me. I loved having a REASON for being overweight, sick, I know. I loved how others treated me. I loved just KNOWING that a baby was on the way. I don't know, I just thought it was a phenomenal experience. Having my kids was really the most exciting times for me.

Tammy, I'm so sorry to hear about your dad and the frustration you must have/still are experiencing. That can't be easy.

Sadly, I went to find Woman's Day this AM while at the mall and they didn't have it. I will check elsewhere.

TTYL folks.

After a couple of weeks break from 3FC, I'm back to say I'm at least 5 pounds over goal. I was afraid to step on the scale after this weekend's eating out and having desert more than one.

Now that I'm completely off the medicine that caused my weight loss, my appetite is back with advengence. Plus my love of chocolate has returned.

We've been doing a lot of dancing and have taken classes and workshops to improve, plus we've been practicing a lot in our 'dance studio' - our family room with the new wood floor where we have not moved the furniture back in.

On Saturday, we leave for St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands where we will pick up a 46 foot catamaran sailboat and sail around the Spanish Virgin Islands near Puerto Rico. We plan to go to Culebra and Vieques. We've ordered new snorkle gear and fins and the sailboat will have a kiyak and windsurfer on it.

Hey Carolyn! Nice to 'see' you. I had wondered where you had gotten to.