Good morning Lifers, Soon-to-Be-Lifers, and anyone else lurking around who would like to join in. We started this thread a number of years ago for those of us who were maintaining, having trouble maintaining, and support as we continue our Lifetime journey.

Lisa: I've been remiss in checking in. I've been a little busy here but not to the point that it's crazy. This time of year continues to get quieter and it's pretty much boring by the time November hits. I'm still struggling horribly with my weight. I called the doctor yesterday because of the two significant gains and the fact that I'm so tired that I can't see straight again. I went for blood work this morning and hopefully it will tell us what's going on. I hate this game of trying to get my levels stabilized. I was feeling good and then she messed around with my dosage and now I feel woozy! Ugh!!! How are you doing???

Melissa, So sorry to hear about the gains and the problems with the levels. Why did your doctor change the dosage?? I don't understand that. You sure have a time with that thyroid issue. You are in my prayers.

I'm fine. Just struggling with my food intake. I have a huge appetite lately and don't know why. I keep my exercising up, but I'm so hungry all the time. Ugh.

I'm getting busier for some reason. I have friends in plays, parties, golfing, volunteering...but you know I like to be busy.

Lisa, the doctor changed my dosage because the one level was "too low"; I had even asked to wait and see what my next blood draw showed and she switched it. I just got my latest results and one level jumped up high and the other dropped, which is not good and that's why I'm feeling so crappy. I didn't get a chance to talk with them today but I did start the higher dosage of my thyroid meds. I'll be curious to hear what she says when I talk to them tomorrow. I do have an appt with my PCP on Dec. 1 and may just work with her to get my levels straightened out. She was good with working with how I felt vs. what the levels were. It's frustrating. My weight was up again this week and I've cut back quite a bit--no major extras.

I have a quiet weekend ahead of me. One of my good friends is having a baby in February and there is a shower for her on Saturday and that's it for me. We'll probably do some work outside since the temps are supposed to be in the low 60's.

Talked with the doctor's office today and was told "your levels are just fine and within range so don't change anything" "it would not cause weight gain, etc." I told the nurse I felt terrible and she couldn't offer anything. I'm going to talk with my PCP about getting my levels straightened out. I know I feel better with a lower TSH and higher Free T4. At least my regular PCP listens to me and treats the symptoms and not just by the numbers (off of my soapbox now)

Lisa I'm looking forward to a somewhat relaxing weekend. Baby shower tomorrow afternoon and some house stuff but for the most part it should be kind of laid back. I need it!

Melissa, I'm so sorry about your levels getting goofed up. Another gain--that is very frustrating. I don't know much about thyroid activity at all, but why does it keep changing? The nurse sounded very unsympathetic if you ask me. I'm glad you will see your PCP.

How was the baby shower? I've been buying lots of baby gifts lately, so something must be in the air!

I had a busy weekend. Worked at a 15K race; DH ran it and I volunteered. Bought a used car; mine was getting pretty old (10 years). Had company for dinner. Auditioned for Fiddler on the Roof. I should hear if I got the part by Friday, so that will keep me busy if selected.

I've been OP for almost a week now and on my scale, I've dropped 3 pounds. It's progress, still not where I want to be. I would be very comfortable with another 5 pound loss, but I know that will be difficult (for some reason--keep blaming menopause.)

Lisa: My levels keep changing because the endo kept changing my medication strength (i.e. decreasing the dose = levels increasing) and you're right the nurse was not very sympathetic. I was pretty mad when I hung up the phone. I decided to take my original strength and wait and talk with my PCP on Dec. 1. I hate the way my clothes fit, how I feel in terms of tiredness, etc. I just want to feel better and have my clothes fit again! I'm limited with what I can wear and feel good in

The baby shower was really nice--all of us brought something to share. I made a pumpkin dip with gingersnaps. It was fun and relaxing--no games just some socializing.

We were busy outside all weekend. We did a lot of yard work--cutting down the shrubs, trimming trees, etc. I washed windows and put in the storm windows in our doors, mopped, vacuumed, etc. It was productive and the weather was perfect--low 60's.

I would LOVE to have a 3# loss...not sure what's going to happen at the scale today. I've been tracking but then it doesn't seem like it matters lately.

So, went to WI this morning and I was down 1.5# from last month's WI, so I was happy. I would love to see more, but this is how I am nowadays. Remember I said I lost 3 pounds? That was to show how much I had gained in the last couple weeks. I hate it.

I sure hope you get the levels straightened out. Yes, my clothes were not fitting properly and I'm not buying new clothes!

Ah, your weather sounds nice. What are storm windows? LOL We had a hot day yesterday, but it will start cooling down tonight. That will be refreshing.

BTW, it was a good idea to have a monthly thread--I don't know where everyone else has gone. I think people like Facebook & the like. I'm just not into that. People put too much information out there.

That's great news, Lisa on your WI. Congratulations! I'm up 8# since last month at this time

I'm at the point I'm going to have to buy a couple of skirts/slacks...my clothes are tight and I don't feel good at all! I'm at the point of saying "what the heck?"!

I figured it'd be easier to do a monthly thread--it seems as if our regulars have gravitated to facebook. I don't like to put my "feelings" about my weight issues out there but rather share pictures with friends. I like our thread for that purpose.

Melissa, 8 pounds? I'm so sorry. You know that is not normal. You know how to be OP, so it's got to be your thyroid issues. Don't give up. You're one of my inspirations. Soon you will see your doctor and get straightened out. You're in my prayers.

I drifted away from WW (long story short, worked for WW, was a bad experience, stopped attending meetings after being unceremoniously fired.) Lesson learned. Aint broke, don't fix it. I maintained my weight for 2 years, worked for WW and derailed. I sit now at 158 (as of Thursday, but I think I was retaining water, my own scale says 152.) I'm back in though, I'm determined to be at 145 or less by February 12, 2010 when I go to Denver to see my boyfriend, and maintain 140 or less after that. I lost 45lbs (ish) in 2006.

Arianwen, Welcome! Sorry about your bad experience with WW. Melissa, our thread starter, works for WW, but I think has had good experiences. Well, you know what you need to do to get back to your desired weight AND the good thing is you've set a reasonable time goal. We're here for you.

Arienwen, It's too bad you had a horrible experience working with WW. I've been lucky to work with a great group of women and leaders. I was able to maintain my weight pretty much for the last 10 years and then I started having trouble with my thyroid (gains, then losses, then gains) and it's been a struggle to get my levels straightened out. Like you, I have a goal of getting back to 145. Right now I'm sitting at 154 and not happy with that at all!

Lisa, I had a fairly good weekend with the exception of a few beers but heck I should be able to enjoy a couple and not stress out about it. I did get up this morning and actually feel good...no tiredness, fog, etc. I went out for a walk at noon and am making it a point to walk as much as possible. The rec center is offering yoga and Nia classes and I thought about signing up but I don't know; I'm on the fence.

Melissa, Glad you are feeling better. I really like yoga. I must admit that I tried it years ago and did not get anything out of it. Now I love it. There are actually studies that show yoga helps with weight loss. I like that I am more flexible and have better balance.

Lori, So good to hear from you. Glad you are OK--hey a loss is a loss, right? Phoebe is 6 months old? Where is the time going?

The irony is, I get mail from WW asking me to work for them again. Um, no. I will not risk this happening again. I actually want to weigh 140 or less, but I consider 145 to be sort of a mini-goal, that I think is achievable by Feb 12, 2010. I'm having some SERIOUS craving issues for...something. I'm PMSing so that doesn't help. I think I need to go buy one of those 100 calorie Cadbury's bars to help with the cravings. Today is my "crazy" day, too. I have a night class from 6:30-9:20 that not only makes me feel totally exhausted (not a night person) I will be ravenously hungry, despite having eaten dinner at around 5 pm.

I'm not noticing my weight shifting down much, been back since Friday. Official meeting weigh-in is Thursday. I hope to be down 2 lbs but any loss is better than a gain.

I'm having a hard time surviving on 21 pts a day. I have increased my walking a lot (7km+ today) started doing more Yoga. Plus I walk around college campus a lot. I'm having to eat my AP and dip into my extra points for the week, which I basically never did my first go-around. I'm worried this means I will lose weight at a snail's pace.

Lori: The pictures of Phoebe are priceless! I miss the "baby" stage...six months is so much fun. I'm looking forward to when my GF has her baby at the end of January. Congrats on your loss! I'd take any sort of loss these days.

Arienwen I traditionally WI on Wednesdays and my weight has pretty much been going up over the past 2 months (9#) and it's been really frustrating. I'm working on tracking and watching the "extra BLT's" that quickly add up. I walk over my lunch hour for my activity and I saw that you walk around college campus--are you a student or do you work on campus? I work at a local university although we're located within the downtown area but it's a nice spot to walk when the weather is nice.

Got a fun weekend ahead of me--tomorrow we're going to a Cleveland Cavalier's game with my sons and daughter-in-law and a friend of my older son's. It should be a lot of fun. I've never been to a pro game and my son says I'm in for a treat. Sunday will be a catch up day and getting stuff ready for Thanksgiving. We aren't having a big group over so it'll be on the quiet side.