How was everyone's weekend? It didn't seem much like a holiday weekend for me because I was still trying to catch up on cleaning and cooking from being on vacation. I heard the fireworks in the distance but didn't see them. The good news is that the house is finally clean and I have a ton of food prepared and in the freezer. It will make the week a whole lot less stressful!

Now we have a few months off from food holidays until we hit the Big Three at the end of the year. I don't even have a family birthday for a while. Whew!

I'm off to the gym as soon as I finish my coffee for a back workout and cardio. I got the XM Sirius streaming radio app for my iPhone and am using that (with an armband) for workout music. Love it! Speaking of iPhone apps, I spent too much time checking out new apps last night instead of going to bed and almost downloaded one that let's you organize your closet with photos of all your clothes. But even I decided that one was over the top.

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying summer, if it's summer where you are. It's somewhat doubtful here in Pittsburgh!

Good morning! I ate too much on July 4 and I am once again climbing back on the wagon on Monday morning. Let's make this a great week!

Summer is somewhat doubtful here in Toronto too.

There was quite a bit of discussion last week about what our bodies want us to weigh and what our brains want us to weigh .

I think my body wants to weigh around 135 (has since I was 15 years old) and my brain wants me to weigh 125.

I've been trying to average that out to 130 for the past year. I think one year of trying is plenty. I think I'm going to let my body decide, instead of fighting with it. I'm probably going to have a range from 133-136 as my maintenance weight.

I am now going to concentrate on healthy maintenance instead of semi-dieting for 3 days and then pigging out for one and then starting the cycle over again.

Have a great week all!

Dagmar

Dagmar, who knows, maybe if you stop your "semi-dieting" you will lose more weight?

I've given up my semi-dieting and dieting. You guys were right -- there's no use beating myself up over being 145. It's time to accept it and move on and focus on maintaining. I'm still thinking about whether or not to see a nutritionist. Right now I'm eating healthy, working out, not counting calories, and the 145 is holding steady without much effort. I need to get a new tape measure and do my measurements. I figure I'll actively maintain where I am for a few months, then maybe think about losing again.

Overall, I had a pretty good weekend. We went to see symphony on the prairie Thursday night (the orchestra plays in an outdoor concert shell and you can bring a picnic), and there were fireworks then. DH and I spent the rest of the weekend chilling out. We took the dog for a hike, I went for a nice long bike ride, and I sat my butt on the couch and read a book for most of the day Saturday.

The only thing that put a damper on the weekend was that Thursday afternoon I had a much-delayed performance review at work, and it did not go well at all. The crux of the matter is that they say I'm a great employee in terms of the actual work I do, but that I apparently have some sort of attitude problem (too argumentative, too defensive, stuff like that). However, nobody will actually tell me what specifically I've done wrong, so it's nearly impossible to fix. I talked to a couple friends about it and found that apparently a lot of women in tech jobs like mine (I'm a software developer) end up having performance reviews where it feels like your personality is under review more so than your work ability, and one friend of mine said she has been surprised that most of her female friends have magically developed "attitude problems" when entering the male-dominated working world. Sigh. I'm trying not to let it get to me too much but I did spend a good portion of the weekend crying about it. Luckily that did not translate into eating.

Hi everyone,

I had a really fun weekend... but I ate way too much at the parties I went to. Moving on, right back on the wagon. Like Meg said there aren't many "food holidays" until the fall, but my birthday is in 2 weeks and I know it will be somewhat drawn out into a weekend since it's during the week. And I will enjoy myself and eat some chocolate, at least a little bit, so it's POP until then!

Saturday morning BF & I went scalloping with some friends & their kids. It was a beautiful day on the water and tons of fun. I was even smart and wore a t-shirt over my bikini, because when you're in the water snorkeling/scalloping for 2 hours sunblock washes off and then your back gets burned. Well, I should have worn shorts too, because my rear is very red and hurting from sticking in the air while I snorkeled! Oops. You'd think I've never scalloped before. I cleaned the scallops yesterday and we'll be eating them tonight, yum.

Jessica, I think part of the equation to "maintaining" is that it is at a weight/size/measurement etc. that is something do-able. I know that wherever I fall in my maintenance this time around, it will have to be at a place that allows me to have the occasional treat and glass of wine. Not frequent, but occasional. Sorry about the performance review. It's tough when people are critical but don't give you something concrete that you can try to improve. Don't take it too personally! I'm sure you're a great employee.

Yes, all this talk about maintenance weights and being realistic about one's body strikes many chords in me. Where I am is not where I want to be, but I realize that my "maintenance weight" of 135-140 might not be realistic either. Of course I need to get there (or try really hard) to figure that out. I also never really figured out where my "maintenance calories" were b/c even when I "maintained" for 2 years it was up, down, on, off. I would like to do it more carefully this time to figure that out.

Who else is jumping back on the wagon with me today?

My Monday morning workout is done! 2.1 mile run (22 min) , spin class , barbell class

I am starting to think my goal weight is too low for me, too. My body seems to want to weigh between 135 - 140 but I really like to be between 125 - 130. I am not sure that 10 pounds is worth the fight and hopefully I can make peace with it one day.

I am sorry about the performance review, Jessica. Sometimes it's hard to be a smart, assertive woman in a male dominated field.

I'm back on the wagon with you guys today, too! 2 back to back weekends of too much junk along with a less than diligent week in the middle have taken their toll and I'm retaining so much water today that my wedding rings are snug... Ouch! Note to self - just because you keep it within your target calorie range doesn't mean it is good to eat cake multiple times in eight days!

Meg - I am dying for an iPhone... I haven't been able to pull the trigger and spend the money on it, though. Every time I read about some new app for it I want it more...

Dagmar - easing up a little on the "semi-dieting" sounds like a good idea. I know you've been frustrated with the pattern of OP-OP-OP-backslide-OP that you've talked about. Taking some of the 'gotta be 125' pressure off might help keep the days more even. I'm beginning to think my body wants to weigh several pounds more than I would like as well, and I know that fighting with that has made me more likely to overeat on some days as well - I have the 'I'm already over where I want to be, what will it hurt if I have ice cream' problem...

Jessica - sorry about the performance review. I will tell you that after fifteen years in HR I have seen that same pattern repeatedly with women in male dominated fields, particularly when the reviewer is male. The reviews often focus on personality related issues rather than job performance - the women are described as 'overly assertive', 'aggressive', 'argumentative', 'defensive', etc. I believe that a lot of it comes down to the difference in communication styles between men & women - the women in these positions often have to be assertive to be heard in the male dominated field, a lot of people (men & women) see an assertive woman and think the 'b' word. And, there are still some men in these fields who feel threatened, consciously or subconsciously, by women in the field.

Megan - scalloping sounds like fun! I wouldn't have thought about wearing shorts, either! I still haven't figured out my actual maintenance calorie range either. I know that I went up a couple of pounds when I got to a higher calorie level, but that is the same time I noticed significant differences in my muscle appearance as well. So, did I gain weight from the eating or the exercise? Trying to figure that out now...

Hey there Ward! Wow, run, spin class and barbell class all by 10:55! Woo hoo!

This weekend was alright - my AC went out again on Friday, so we spent Saturday hanging ceiling fans, leading to dehydration and dizziness which then led to chili dogs, tater tots and ice cream for dinner. Sunday was better. I have an AC guy coming this afternoon - AGAIN - so he darn well better find something other than 'you are low on Freon, but there isn't a leak'. He was just there on the 11th - more Freon so soon says leak to me...

Have a good day everyone!

Meg, sounds like you had a busy weekend. It's always nice, though, to have everything ready for the week ahead. My friend used to cook a whole week's worth of meals every weekend.

Wardhog, you had quite a productive time at the gym already--good for you.

Jessica, sorry about the performance review. My DH used to get "communication issues" at his performance reviews with his female boss. Wonder if it's just male/female styles of managing? I don't know, but it would be nice if your boss gave your some specific examples and some remedies. My DH's boss never did either--it's frustrating.

Megan, had to giggle at your sore rear--sorry! Hopefully it didn't get sore in vain, and you have lots of yummy scallops to show for your hard work.

Shannon, July is not the time to be having AC problems! Hope he can figure out what's wrong and fix it so you don't have anymore issues.

My son and his GF came over on the 4th, and we watched the neighbors shoot off legal and illegal fireworks. Those illegal ones are pretty darn cool. I thought about getting some next year and giving them to my neighbors, but my DD pointed out that I'd be contributing to something illegal, which is just as illegal. Oh, well, I'll just watch the neighbors break the law.

Off to lift weights and take my Zumba class. Oh, for the people who said they were uncoordinated, that's the beauty of Zumba, IMHO. You can just move around and have fun and if you aren't doing the steps right, who cares? I looked at the videos online and thought, those people are a lot more fit than the ones in my class and a lot more coordinated, too.

Happy Monday, everyone. Go out and make it a great week!

Shannon, that's really interesting about the HR pattern. I am tempted to blame the issue on male/female interaction, but since I don't know what kind of reviews my male coworkers are getting it's hard to say whether it's related or not. I do get those words -- argumentative, defensive, need to hold my tongue, etc. From my perspective at least my male peers act in much the same way I do and in many cases are also argumentative and defensive. Maybe they are getting the same feedback on their reviews, I couldn't say. If they're not and I am, then I would bet it is gender related. My department has 32 software developers, and only 3 of us are women. My guess would be that the people who have complained about me are the older men on my team (older meaning their kids are in high school and college) rather than the ones who are closer to my age. But for all I know the other woman on my team complained about me too. I wish they would just tell me!

In other news, I succumbed to my craving for cafe mocha with a "ghetto cafe mocha" this morning -- sf hot cocoa powder mixed with coffee and some hot water. I'm regretting it because even though I thought I wanted the caffeine, I am reminded yet again that I'm just not used to as much caffeine as there is in coffee, and now I feel really weird and over-caffienated. I probably only had 4oz of coffee! I don't know how you ladies can drink coffee all the time!

Megan, sorry about the sore butt! Sounds like you had a fun weekend though.

Sheila - LOL about the fireworks. I'm not sure what all is legal or illegal around here, but DH was convinced that someone's house was going to catch fire last night! Partially because people were shooting off these huge fireworks near us, and you could see the sparks bouncing off people's roofs -- including the roof of the house that was just built after the previous one burned down! (It burned down when the roof got struck by lightning.)

Sheila-- I agree with you about Zumba and other classes too. There are always people in my classes of all different fitness levels, body types, coordination levels, etc. and if I look around everyone is just doing their own thing. I tend to try to focus so much on the steps that I rarely look at anyone anyway-- which is what most people are doing-- so don't be afraid (not you Sheila-- but anyone else) to try a class out. I think they are the BEST way to get my exercise in. I'm going to try to get to as many classes as possible while I'm off work (my full time job anyway) for the next month. I did cardio Friday and Saturday and was too bored to force myself to go Sunday (so I went for a long walk instead). The classes just fly by....

Shannon-- hope your AC gets fixed! It is freezing here-- my heat keeps coming on!! I came back from Houston on Thursday where it was HOT and HUMID. So weird that different parts of the country can be so different! I *think* I want an iphone too. I'm just not sure if I want to delve into the iphone or blackberry world. I got a macbook a year ago and am loving it though.....

I am impressed by your early workout WardHog! I love to get my workout done early and know that it is done.... I have my boxing boot camp class tonight at 7:30 though. I hate that it is so late but I love the class. I had a HORRIBLE headache last night so I hope it doesn't return to interfere with my workout plans.... seems like a dull ache this morning.....

Megan-- I'm going to show my ignorance about scalloping. I've only seen scallops at the grocery store and restaurants. How do you catch them? And my real ignorance-- are they in a shell? I never used to like them but they have grown on me.....

Jessica-- so sorry about your performance review. You certainly don't come across as defensive or argumentative to me. I agree about the difficulty of women succeeding in male dominated fields. My dh is an engineer and while he respects some women in his field, I know that he and others feel some of them get promoted because they are women. While we would like to believe our country is without racism or sexism, the reality is that we aren't there yet.

Dagmar-- sounds like a good plan to work on healthy maintenance rather than beating yourself up. Like so many others, I keep playing around with maintenance and trying to figure it out. I seem to be able to keep my weight down but it is definitely hard work. I'm afraid to see what my weight would do if I wasn't so diligent with working out and eating healthy. I went and had my blood drawn for the endocrinologist next week. I'll be curious to see if my thyroid is where it should be now. The lab didn't know what one of the tests was that the doctor ordered so I was there forever while she tried to figure it out. I hope she ordered the right test......

Meg-- what kind of apps do you have for your iphone? Are they free or do you pay for them? Still debating getting one.... my phone seems to be dying and I have a "regular" phone......

My weekend was pretty good. My house is still a wreck. I can't get motivated to do what I need to do to get it in order. My dh has been painting my dd's room so her furniture and stuff is all over the house so that is my current excuse. At least I got my suitcase unpacked. We walked to the park for fireworks on the 4th (at least 2 miles each way)-- it was freezing and we had blankets and sweats on! Crazy for July! The fireworks were great though. Dd and I saw My Sister's Keeper. So sad.... knew it would be though, so we had a good cry! Dd and I are planning a road trip in a couple of weeks to go visit older dd at her camp so we are trying to figure out where we can stay, what to do, etc. I HATE driving and haven't driven myself for more than an hour in years. It will be at least 7 hours each way so I need to mentally prepare myself! We have Harry Potter (finale) on tape to listen to and I have GPS in my car so we (hopefully) won't get too lost. We are going to go by Pepperdine in Malibu first as dd wants to see it as a possible college choice. Then we will pick up older dd from camp and drive to Ontario (California). Anyone been there? I know they have a huge outlet mall but that's all I know. I booked a nice looking boutique hotel to stay at there for 2 nights.....

I need to get to my school work for the summer class I'm taking and I have to work Weight Watchers this afternoon.

Have a great day everyone!!

I'm back home from the week in DC and I feel horrible. Why is it that conference centers feel the need to keep the conference rooms at meat locker temperatures? After 4 or 5 days I started coughing and on the 4th I had to buy cough medicine as I couldn't stop coughing. I got practically no sleep last night and I've now been up for 15 hours and it's only early afternoon! My head is stuffed, I'm sneezing to beat the band and I got an earache as well. I don't think I've had a cold (let alone a summer cold) for over 2 years! It is not nice.

But the fireworks in DC on the 4th were spectacular. You could feel them! And the echos off of all the surrounding buildings sounded like a constant band of thousands of bass drummers. It was a lot of fun (except we didn't buy the box lunch from the hotel and we ended up standing in line for 1.5 hours for a HOT DOG!). I don't know if you remember me saying this on another thread, but hot dogs are a food that I could forgo for the rest of my life and I'd never miss them. But by the time we got to the end of the line, all the other things were sold out and I was starving.

I have no idea what my weight will look like in the morning, but I'm sure it won't be good. The hotel served all the meals buffet style and I tried my best to be good, but you never really know what goes into things.

I doubt I'll be able to exercise with this cold--just the walk from baggage claim to our car in long term parking caused my lungs to ache like crazy. I think I'll wait until this cold is over before I exercise.

I have my itinerary for Italy!!! But I need to know if my new super cool netbook will work over there....It has built in wifi, but how many places have wifi? Will it be worth it to take along? Anyone have any ideas?

Someone tell me that going out for ice cream won't make the $500 I'm about to have to spend on a condenser coil for my AC unit sting any less...

sorry Shannon but no, ice cream won't make it better!!

Allison-- where are you going in Italy? When we went through small towns in the Sienna area a few years ago we saw zero internet or wireless but we weren't in major cities. When are you going? Hope you feel better soon!!

Ouch, Shannon, that hurts! But no, ice cream won't make it better. This sounds nutty, but when I'm tempted to eat off plan, I go to my closet and look at all my cute little clothes. And somehow I always decide that they're a lot more fun that any food could be!! So take a field trip to your closet and maybe you'll feel a lot stronger!!