Hi all,

I'm back from my trip--weight up :-( and appetite up :-(, but back on plan today, so credit for that. My walking partner and I did our two walks today and carting things down to the basement was additional spontaneous exercise.

I went to bed early last night and didn't do my week's meal plan--but I planned it in my head and went shopping after work today anyway. I've got tomorrow's dinner defrosting in the fridge.

I just go crazy--binge crazy--eating cookies and other sweets like popcorn--when I'm presented with a display of sweets. It's as if something flips in my brain and I just eat them and eat and eat--it doesn't have anything to do with hunger and I don't seem to register 'full'. It's what's keeping me from making better and faster progress.

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Lunch was a tomato sandwich with Basil picked from the garden. CREDIT moi for knowing how to enjoy life.

Walk, CREDIT moi, was to return the last three library books before I head out for our nine day vacation on Friday of this week. We're off to see the Redwood trees in California - they've been on my Bucket List since I was a kid and saw the picture of a car driving through one in Life Magazine. The California fires are a serious concern in themselves, but also could impact our journey even though we'll only be on the coast.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – I have one friend who spends every minute while in the hospital lobbying for folks to come visit; I received one phone call begging me to come over to spare her the loneliness even though I could hear a group of friends chatting in the background in her room. And I have another friend who sends out a constant stream of messages for folks to stay away. Go figure.

maryann - Ouch for the unpredicted visit of the blues, with Kudos for taking responsibility for finding your way out. Sending supportive thoughts.

Beth (bethFromDayton) – Welcome back. It tickles me how much exercise there is in just carting stuff down to the basement and back. A "display of sweets" is a trigger for me, too.

ForMyGirls - Busy does seem to happen when kids are about.

Readers -

Exercise is done - so glad I had committed to you all as there is no way I would have done it otherwise. Lots of credits today - said no to cake (again!) and then was faced with the leftovers in the tearoom at lunch time. Ended up moving it to a side bench out of sight because I didn't think I'd be able to resist. Did a big long stretch session. Noticed I was eating standing up. Resisted pre-dinner snacks.

BBE - yay for realising a childhood dream!

Gardener joy - how valuable to be able to distinguish between the positives of being able to visit your MiL and the inconveniences

Maryann - hope the blues are lifting. It is very impressive that you stayed on track

Beth - credit for getting straight back into the groove after your time away

Hi Coaches!

I'm off to work yet need to check in. I've had a rough couple of days...started Sunday night when the DD and new hubby took us to dinner at an upscale all you can eat sushi place. I got caught really off guard...had thought I could order just what I wanted but everyone at the table had to do the AYCE....I ate more than I would have yet less than everyone else. I do have a plan for next time. credit. We'll sit at a table right next to them and order off the menu with a separate check. It seemed the "act" of unplanned/off plan eating kicked the gears in and I ate my way through work yesterday, too. I did contact my diet buddy expressing a willingness to stop and ate my planned dinner. I'm not really liking not having a scale, either, may buy one Thursday...I'm finding my daily weigh in to be an important barometer. So, another day, with a plan, determined to follow it.....off to read my cards and exercise.

MaryAnn,

MiL is still in the hospital. She felt horrible yesterday but she was passing all the tests they threw at her and all the numbers they were worried about were headed in the right direction. I half expect her to go to the rehab center today, but we'll see. They're treating her well at the hospital, though, so I suspect she'll be happy to stay as long as they're willing to keep her.

WI: +0.55kg, Exercise: +40 1200/1500 minutes for August, Food: 90%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

bethfromDayton: With your sweets table, have you tried setting a goal like "I'll eat three things" and then checking out the whole table to choose the three you want?
If that doesn't work, could you enlist someone else to fetch you one plate with three things that they think you'll like and never go to the table yourself?
I eventually decided that some things aren't worth trying to moderate my behavior. In some places, all or nothing works better for me when I opt for nothing. Would it be possible to just say "no sweets" in certain situations, while allowing an occasional treat in other situations where you have more control? I refuse to eat snacks at social gatherings because I don't know how I'd stop. Meals I can handle, but snacks set out on the counter for people to take as they want all afternoon just trigger non-stop eating for me. Better to not start in the first place.

BillBlueEyes: I hope you get to see the trees and aren't overly impacted by the fires. I heard some groves of very old Sequoia are threatened by the fire near Yosemite.
MiL, fortunately, doesn't want constant visitors. We are finding that family members need to be there a couple of times a day because she's just not understanding her own medical situation and needs people who aren't sick around to ask questions and be prepared to help with decisions should the need arise.

maryann: wishing I could send you a bouquet of warm and comforting thoughts.

Hi all,

OP for breakfast, lunch, and exercise. Not for dinner--personal worries and stress (being a parent of an unhappy child is hard)--we ended up going out for dinner and I ended up about 200 calories over for the day.

I did successfully resist birthday cake this morning, though--it was for my walking partner, so I did the happy birthday part and exited as the cake was being cut, so credit for that. My walking partner had a horrid meeting schedule today so I ended up walking alone, but did both my 20 minute walks.

I'm changing jobs in 2 weeks so I'm going to have to work out a new exercise regimen--the two 20 minute walks isn't going to work at my new job.

I'll be eating breakfast on the run tomorrow after my morning doctor's appt--time to do my semiannual blood work--here's hoping the 40 lbs I've lost shows up in the sugar and cholesterol tests!

I feel broken. But I'm here.

I don't think I'm ready to talk about everything that has kept me away for the past few months.

I'm up 7 lbs since my last visit here.

I don't know what my first step is to getting back on track, because I was once ON track, so I know I can do it.

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Had two folks over to discuss some volunteer work we're doing. Discovered that everyone loves Polar Cranberry-Lime sparkling water. I thought I was the only one. A whole can of delicious for zero calories and zero sweetener. I think I could become a salesman, LOL.

Got to the gym, CREDIT moi, for a short visit since I was in a rush. My other exercise was carrying buckets of sand and dirt for DW who is planting some stuff that needs to be in containers to be outside over-winter. Seems that some plants want winter as part of their growth cycle. Our patio is looks like a nursery waiting for the snow to fall.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Kudos for staying your path despite MIL's stay in the hospital. [It's always helpful to have another person listen to medical information. We don't seem to be able to hear everything when our body is the topic.]

Debbie (Lexxiss) – All You Can Eat places are off limits for me - they suck me in. Ouch for it being a trigger for you after you left.

Beth (bethFromDayton) – Sending supportive thoughts for your task helping an unhappy child. BTDT - it hurts. Good luck on your job change.

happyhoustonmommy - Posting here is a superb first step to getting back on track. There's no need to have a tale to tell for time spent in the wilderness. Glad you're finding your way back.

ForMyGirls - Kudos for "no to cake (again!)"

Readers -

Hi Coaches!

Yesterday was much better, foodwise. I ignored the food temptations at work and will do the same today. I've got to run....I did get my exercise in before work yesterday and will try today for after...not any time here now.

happyhoustonmommy, agreeing with BBE, just getting here is all that is needed. Find your spot to start and start. We're here to support you.

oP today except for stretches. Nothing very remarkable to report - but I figure it is important to give credits everyday so ... Credit for not claiming chef's privilege when cooking with creme fraiche; credit for saying "no choice" when contemplating afternoon tea with kids at the shops; credit for measuring my smoothie ingredients. All that said there was some 'rounding up' on the kitchen scale today. Will improve on that tomorrow.

Lexxis - yay to you for your determination to get back on track

Gardener joy - really helpful to hear your thoughts on some things require a "none at all" approach, while others can involve moderated behaviour. Reminds me that this process is about learning what works and what doesn't

Beth - good luck at the Dr tomorrow. And well done on resisting birthday cake!

Happyhoustonmommy - lovely to meet you. looks to me like you have made the first step to getting back on track by posting here. Well done! My suggestion for the next steps would be to post tomorrow telling us two things you deserve credit for :-)

BBE - big time credit for getting to the gym even when in a rush!

Hi coaches!
I've gotten back on track with eating and have lost the 2kg that I gained from binging. I think I'll try to think of other ways of dealing with stress next time, like watching one of my favourite dvds or something like that.
I find the most effective way of motivating myself with my advantages list is to discuss the advantages with my husband every day. It never seems to work when I read it alone.

We unexpectedly ended up at the hospital most of the day yesterday, including through lunch. I was pleased with my responses to the food there. I noticed the bad choices that others (including hospital employees) made, noted that some of the items looked good, and immediately went into a kind of defensive mode. If I didn't want to make a bad choice, then I needed to be very careful. The solution felt instantaneous -- the same plan that worked last Thursday at this same venue would work now. And it did -- a salad bar, with some chicken & cottage cheese for protein, and a serving of mixed fruit.

The scale took big jumps two days in a row, even though I was on plan. I'm going to assume it's stress and not get stressed over it!

WI: +0.4 kg, Exercise: +40 1200/1500 minutes for August, Food: 90%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

happyhoustonmommy: happy to have you back on board!

Hi all,

The doctor was thrilled with my weight loss. He joked with me about having had gastric bypass and not having told him. I won't know blood work results for a few days, of course. The nurse even noticed the difference before I stepped on the scale! Oh--and my blood pressure has gone from "pushing being high" to being low! (102 over 70)

I did one of my walks alone today and the other with my walking partner. Breakfast and lunch and worktime snack were great (see a trend here?) and I overate about 200 calories for dinner and evening snack. I know I would have been satisfied with less--I need to start entering everything into MFP the evening before again--that keeps me in better check.

DH is having retinal surgery tomorrow--he's hoping this will resolve his worsening eye problems.

I've gotten away from reading my ARC in the morning--I think I moved it and haven't put it back to its reminder spot yet--I'll do that right now.

Have a good night, all.

Hello coaches,
100% OP today. Some credits - stretched! (Came to this realisation that at the moment stretching is more important than meditation so stretching happens first so no risk of it being missed). Resisted the call of the kids' chocolate treats (no choice is sooooo powerful). Took the time to make myself a fresh fruit and vegie juice which felt like a treat and was totally OP.

Random cool thing - had to wear a belt with a pair of jeans today (notably they were never tight - but still, nice to have that "these are too big for me" feeling). And very not random cool thing - down another .6kg this week. 200g from my next reward. (Planning a hat stand so I don't have to choose between a tidy house and a hat at the ready with the warm, exercise outdoors weather arriving)

VioletDolphin - what a great idea to talk about the advantages with your DH!

Gardener joy - nice work handling the unexpected hospital meal so well

Beth - what a great Drs appt. I could just feel the delight in your words. Week done!

Diet Coaches/Buddies – An OK day. I ticked off some items on my to-do list preparing to leave tomorrow for our nine days visiting the Redwoods out west. My mind is slow to accept that I can't have access to every item of rare-use clothing that I own. We won't go into a formal restaurant, period. Just won't. So all I really need is a bag of outdoor clothes with some range for temperatures and rain.

Exercise was getting to our community garden, CREDIT moi, for a final watering. We're having so little rain that most stuff is likely to die. I do want the Kale to survive so we can harvest that through November as we did last year.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Admiring your ability to step up a level so as to not get stressed over stress. Good move recycling your hospital cafeteria plan. Hope your MIL is on the mend.

Debbie (Lexxiss) – Yay for food ignored at work.

VioletDolphin83 – Major Kudos for figuring out to read your Advantages with your DH. Congrats on those 2 kg gone forever.

Beth (bethFromDayton) – Cheers for low blood pressure with Kudos for staying your plan to get you there. Best wishes to your DH for his retinal surgery today.

ForMyGirls - Fortunately, creme fraiche hasn't made it into our life. "Fortunately" because it's so good I think it'd be a challenge.

Readers -