Well, I hit a new low today - 134!!! Amazing. My new size 8 (US size 4) jeans I bought last Saturday were extremely tight around the crotch area and now feel much more comfortable with 2 pounds gone off me since I bought them.

However, this week I have a family meal out tonight for my sister's 40th birthday, a boozy night out for my sister's birthday on Saturday, and then Easter on Sunday. Then on Sunday night we are off to stay with my partner's friends at their pub in Wales for a few days so I'll be on pub grub till Wednesday. His friends are both of the larger persuasion so I don't know if they'll understand how much I can eat on essentially a maintenance diet.

I really will have to try very hard not to splurge too much - god knows what I'll weigh after that lot.

You can do it. Pub food will just sit in your stomach all greasy like. keep telling yourself that.

I'm seeing a downward trend in the scale again, which is awesome. I weighed in at 142.6, which is still a pound above the low i saw a month ago, but better than i have seen in a long time. I've also been lifting weights and running for about 2 months now, so is it possibly I've built up some muscle and that's what it is?

JadeBlue, I find that when I start weighttrianing after few months off my body hangs on to an extra few pounds for a while, someone once told me it is a bit of water retention. Who knows. That is why I sometimes cut the weighttraining completely when I want to lose a few quickly... but not this time around because no manner of running that I do can take care of my mummy tummy at this point ...LOL

Sadly, moving my ticker up again...back up to 154. Good job Robsia...at least someone was OP this week!

Had an okay weekend. Calories were a little high Saturday night, but my weight stayed the same. I actually ran outside yesterday for only about the 2nd time this year, & it was good I did, b/c we're having a snowstorm today.

Goal for this week is to keep my protein up!

linniet- that makes sense. I'm actually getting that line on my thighs from the muscles, too, which I never thought I would acheive.

Well, the first of the dangers is past. It was my sister's 40th birthday yesterday and we all went out for a meal. I had scampi and chips and shared it with my 16 month old, and there was a sliver of birthday cake for dessert which was very nice, but surely far fewer calories than if I'd got the chocolate orange pudding I was eyeing up!

So this morning I weighed in at the same as I was yesterday - 134 - which I was very pleased with!

I'm so jealous, Robsia! You are where I SHOULD be. But I'll get back there! I had an off day yesterday, but so far today I'm making good choices. Now to keep it up for the rest of the week.

Good for you Robsia, unfortunately I got derailed last night, I had a friend for dinner and I was already tired so of course (!) I had wine and then well the rest is history.... up a pound today and I feel like I have eaten everything in sight.

Am I the only one who is starving when she is tired??? or stressed???

JadeBlue I know that line on the thigh has a name, can't remember it now, not surprisingly as I haven't seen mine in a while

Oh well, tomorrow will be a better day - I will, however, go for a good 5mile run when hubby gets back. That should cheer me up a bit, or at least guarantee a good night's sleep!

Have just been making cookie dough and only had a small spoonful!!

Can't speak for the cookies though. I making two edible cookie bowls and filling them with iced flower shaped spiced cookies, one for us for Easter, and one for the couple we are going to visit for a present.

I made the same recipe at Christmas in trees and bells and they are divine!!

Robsia, How do you make a cookie bowl?Care to share or tell us where we can get the recipe.

You take your favourite cookie recipe and make up a shedload of dough first of all. Cut it into shapes that will fit well together like rounds or flowers or something.

Then take an ovenproof dish - we are using a pudding bowl - cover it with foil and grease lightly. Then turn it upside down and layer your cookies all over it, sticking them together with beaten egg.

Bake upside down for as long as the recipe calls for and, when it is totally cool, gently ease your cookie bowl off the foil and turn right side up and voila - edible cookie bowl.

I will be filling mine with more cookies and some small hollow chocolate eggs as it's Easter.

I've never done it before but I've been dying to try it ever since I first heard of the concept some years ago. I'll let you know how it goes and post pictures!

That sounds amazing, Robsia!

Ooh, I just had a very dangerous idea...I am making cheesecake dip for Easter dessert (actually not NEARLY as bad as it sounds, diet-wise!)...I usually just serve it with graham crackers or vanilla wafers, but what if I were to serve it IN the cookie bowl? I bet if I didn't put the dip into the bowl until just before serving, it wouldn't get too soggy...

Let us know how the cookie bowl turns out. What kind of cookies are you making?

Sounds like you could do that - you'd need to make sure there were no holes in your bowl though.