I don't post very often,but visit every day keeping up with everyone's progress.
It has been 6 months since I reached a goal of 135-140 lb and have maintained it.
I still feel a little nervous that I will blow it all and regain,but have kept it in check so far.
I count calories every day and weight myself everyday.
I find that I am less hungry on low carb and restrict myself to 1400-1800 calories a day.I plan ahead and cook everything from scratch.
I do have a weekend away to Niagara on the Lake in a couple of weeks and am sure I will able to control myself.
The daily struggle just becomes part of the routine and reading about all of your successes and efforts just keeps me going.

I use Lose It and would be happy to be your "friend". I can't recall how you friend someone though. Do I need your user name? Was your iPad scanning barcodes before? I've only used my phone but you might want to delete the app and add it back. That often works for me when apps suddenly stop working.

It sounds like you have a great plan for maintaining your weight loss. Remember that even if you do slip up, you already know how to lose weight.

I've managed to maintain my initial weight loss (I've lost more since declaring a goal--lowering carbs did that for me) for 8 years in October. Many people call maintaining "dieting on a short leash," and that's kind of the way it is for me.

Hi Sheila! I think of you at the start of every college football season and wonder how you are.

I'm feeling better today, have come up a little from my absolute failure place of last week. My weight is down, I feel like I look good, all the new clothes I bought fit and the skirt I wore yesterday was loose. Thus, happy. Now, if I can just figure out how not to constantly be pulled emotionally up and down by weight and appearance fluctuations....

Boy, if you do figure it out then please let me know. I'm glad to hear that you have some new and well-fitting clothes - that is a major mood lifter for me but finding clothes that fit very well (regardless of size) can always be a challenge.

JZJ - I don't know that I will ever figure it out, I've been working on it a while. Still at it, though.

I'm on plan this week re my calorie goals - lost a few really quick and then for some unknown reason I'm going back up again here at the end of the week. I have a swim planned for Saturday morning; it's a new season and I'm ready to get back to it.

Down 1lb this week even though I took the week off from intensive exercise since I had a nasty cold. Having stuff I want to do in the evenings is helping me avoid mindless snacking, and keeping my rule of no seconds is also going well.

I thought I'd done well this week. And I had some decent weight-bearing workouts, too. But no. I'm at a high of 159.7.

And yet my shorts fit exactly the same.

The scale completely reversed my feeling of being strong and progressing in my training, if not in other areas of my life.

Saef - if your shorts fit exactly the same you are doing fine. Don't let it pull you down.

This is cause for pleasure and congratulations. Well done, saef!

Jessica, that no seconds rule is a good one. Also no mindless snacking. They work.

Becky, have a great swim tomorrow!

Everyone, let's try and remain positive!

Trying to remain positive is a worthy goal.

Saef, I understand entirely. I put on a pair of pants this morning that appeared to fit exactly the same (and they are not the slightest bit stretchy), yet my weight was up 3 pounds and is now the highest it's been for over a year.

I had made a determined effort to engage in an intuitive eating approach in the last few months. I stopped calorie counting and weighing regularly for over a month and tried to focus entirely on what I wanted to eat, how it made me feel, and how my level of hunger/fullness changed in response. Then I got a bit panicked and re-started calorie counting and weighing regularly over the past few weeks.

What's interesting is how my response to my weight is different based on my approach. When I'm in IE mode, when I see a weight I don't particularly like I think "ok, I deserved that, I ate a heck of a lot of bread recently". When I'm in hardcore calorie counting mode, I see that same weight and think "that's not fair, I'm really trying!" Or, "it's hopeless - I can't lose weight even when I really try, I am a worthless human being". All a matter of perspective. Which makes me think that I need to go back to IE, if a healthier frame of mind can result from it. But to surrender rigid control now that I've "mastered" the art of calorie counting... it's not easy.

Hi folks... just checking in again. I've been bouncing around a bit (been under 138 and over 141, but that was due to pampering from a cold). This morning I was at 138.8. Still feeling good about my WOE and eating out pretty frequently without gaining on average.

I'd like to lose a little more but I'm not interested at the moment in sacrificing anything, so I'm hoping it will just happen now that vacation is behind me and I'm over my cold.

JZJ - I love your statement about seeing a scale uptick when you are in IE v. calorie counting. I'mm exactly the same - when I'm working really hard and see a swing, even when I know sodium or some other real thing caused it, I freak out. I've never thought about that before at all.

yoyoma and everyone

JZJ... Those are interesting insights. I've never tried IE. I don't think it'd work for me but I guess I won't know unless I try.

I know many of you have followed or put up with my pet posts over the years. I'm sad to report that Jozi has taken a big turn for the worse this weekend. I'm waiting to take her to the emergency vet this morning, and I'm not expecting to bring her home. She's had a great life. We got her as a baby when we lived in South Africa. Jozi is the nickname for Johannesburg which is where we lived.