As the lone northerner here, let me just say: BRRRR. It's crazy cold here today. But my new office is horribly hot, so it sucks all the way around.

I had a decent day but not great. I hit a few bumps at the new job and did some snacking, as I do when I'm stressed. I was tempted to skip my workout, too, since my leg hurts but I did a Leslie Sansone program (Rennie - they're free on You Tube!) so I'm happy about that.

Kris, last time I "saw" you, you had just moved into your new home. Are you happy there?

Ona, good job with keeping away from the bad food.

Laki, you'll get back on track. I know how hard it is to fear the scale.

I'm sooo glad tomorrow is Friday. Even with a day off, it's been a long week. And I should be getting my new exercise mat and Pilates DVDs on Saturday, if Amazon is to be believed. Yay!

Hey everyone. Been lurking for the last while. I've read and looked at posts, but stepped back from daily weighing in July of last year. I joined a gym, and found the scale was creeping up. It really freaked me out so I weigh in only once in a while. I am up around 10lbs but am ok with this. The gym energises me, I am more toned and my clothes fit better. I'm still riding my lifestyle change, and despite some heavy meals over the holidays, generally stick to it.
Lovely to see you old friends back here and nice to meet new ones. Off to the gym with DD now- check in later

Good Morning Everybody

Hay Starbrite,Rennie,Steph and everyone I missed

Just wanted to post this quickly and will be back later.If I don't get off the computer now,I'll never get to the gym. it seems to take up a lot of my time anyway..

I'm tired but don't want to miss 2 classes at the gym will just push and go to them anyway.WI @ 160.0 this morning,down .8!!.That's weighing in while still half sleep and weighing in 2 hrs earlier.I got so tired of peeing yesterday It wasn't funny.Everywhere i went I had to pee

gmornin yall~
TGIF! rennie my carb count is kept at 10% of my daily calorie allowance and i keep those as close to complex carbs as possible. I took an 8wk course on diabetis eating/treating n really honed in on carb facts which was great cuz i am a carb junkie! Ill pop back in later after my workout w menu details n such its so easy that i cant believe i didnt do this sooner!

January WI:

02: TOM
03: 243.2 - TOM
04: 244.2 - TOM

I did okay yesterday, but not great. Much improved, but still not great. I will be glad when I look forward to stepping on the scale again. I remember the excitement when I knew I was doing everything like I should and couldn't wait until time to weigh. Hoping I get back to that place soon.

Things I know I need to do (or not do) today and every day:

Water, Water, Water
Some sort of exercise
No cheating!
Check in with 3FC - be accountable, be supportive
Count Calories - log my food and watch my carb intake

When I first started this journey (before my several detours), I didn't put anything in my mouth that wasn't accounted for and I didn't have anything that was a trigger food for me (sweets, chocolate, carbs). I was diligent. There was no "cheating." If I am ever going to reach my goal weight or be healthy I need to become that diligent again. I am so tired . . . exhausted . . . all the time. Even though I'm still fighting some serious depression and I am still fatigued from a bad case of pneumonia a couple of months ago, I know if I were to take better care of myself - watch my diet and get some exercise - I would feel better. I am so tired of the tears, pretending to the world that I'm fine, when in reality I'm barely functioning . . . time to be proactive and take an active role in life and start taking care of myself.

I haven't been on 3FC much for quite some time. I love the house - I feel like I'm where I belong. I still haven't gotten it all unpacked and organized though. I wish I could park in the garage - it's frustrating to be scraping car windows when I have a garage. Right after I moved I had to focus on getting my mom's house cleared out and ready to be put on the market and her estate sale. I spent a lot of time running back and forth between my house, her house and her apartment and wasn't home much - except for sleeping. Looking back, I wouldn't have it any other way though. I got to spend a lot of time with my mom and help her with some hard decisions and created a lot of great memories too. She had a massive stroke on September 8, just a few hours after my grandsons and I left her (we had surprised her with dinner). I was holding her hand when she passed away on September 29. There was a lot of work to be done after that (clearing out her apartment and taking care of the rest of her things). And since then I've just been trying to adjust to life without her. It's difficult because she was such a huge part of my daily life. I lived across the street from her for 2 1/2 years before she moved to assisted living and then I still talked to her nearly every day and saw her several times a week.

I have tried to come back to 3FC a couple of other times without much success - I think I am ready. I hope - lol. It's nice to "see" some familiar faces.

YEEHAA! i'm back in ONEderland today! lets see if i can keep it going in the right direction cuz i aint changing my ticker in opposite direction lol!
Rennie~ No im not on any meds for sugar cuz it's perfect at this point but my father has it, his mother had it and i had gestational diabetis with my 1st pregnancy 26yrs ago but didnt with my last 2 babies so like i said i am predisposed for it. The class i took was actually free thru my local health dept. so check in with yours and see if they are offered at different times thru out the year. my gym membership is thru the YMCA so its based on my (hubbys) income is the only way its possible for me and i go while my kids are in school. my menus consist of almost nothing white, only whole grain breads, brown rice, whole grain pastas, white potatoes i will have occasionally and sugar for my coffee and everything portion controlled. i keep fresh and dried fruits around and seasonal veggies at hand which i get from farmers markets cuz they are cheaper. i buy walamart brand non-fat light yogurts for snakes and fruit dips in place of ice creams and sweets. no sodas of any kind but have to have my coffee and teas lol! and lots of water which i drink alot of anyway and occasionally a sf flavor pack for a change. i rarely if ever use processed foods (loaded with sodium) anymore and if im using canned veggies i rinse them in cold water for cpl minutes to wash up to 42% of the sodium off. i dont really need to watch my sodium but i do love the non bloated n no extra water weight feeling! ill get into more later its time to pick my son up. WE can do this!

Your Omelet sounds great Rennie very filling. Thank you I guess the water weight comes off when it's good and ready cause I didn't do anything different.Hope you get to exercise a little this weekend.
I n.e.v.e.r. thought I'd like to exercise everyday but once i saw how it made me feel..all th energy..and how now this roll,above my stomach is leaving!! and all i have to do is just push myself a little everyday to do something,It's amazing.
Have you thought about buying some healthy crackers and when your DH is eating his and you want one,you can just grab your healthy ones I have to keep healthy stuff at Mothers

Good to see you MamaP I know it's rough to get back in the losing weight mode.,I had to get back to basics like on that list you posted.
I knew what worked and had to just fight to get back there.I could feel myself slipping back into old eatting habits.Craving junk food! I started thinking.."I've lost all this weight and now it's coming back!! "I liked myself,everyone was so proud of me and probably said that I wasn't going to keep it off anyway". I was just depressed.I never stopped working out. I couldn't exercise away bad eatting habits and thinking that I could do this on my own was wrong.
You're back posting,getting your mind right and know what you can do..Everything's gonna be alright.

Great job getting to onederland Dangerous

Thanks Steph you know? once I cleaned my system out by staying away from bad carbs for awhile,the craving stop and I really don't Want any bad foods.I now that I have no control over some foods and that if I even get started with them it's a downward spiral.I'm constantly listening to my body, really trying to only eat when I'm hungry.Trying really hard not to eat just to eating.It get rough sometimes but just taking it one day at a time.
And now that i know how easy it is for me to gain weight back from eating just a little something,thinking about all the hard work it takes to get it off,the bad bloated feeling...At this point,It's not worth it when there are so many good,healthy,tasty foods I can make or have.

Oh, all you low-carb gals are making me feel guilty for the bowl of Amy's Organic Cheddar Bunnies I just had for dinner. I need to buy some nuts for snacks. I don't eat a lot of high-fat foods, so I should be able to work nuts into my plan.

Rennie, that omelet sounds deelish. I'm going to see if I can make something like that.

Sam, I'm glad to hear you're feeling good about where you are. At one point, you were talking about writing a book. Are you still pursuing that? Your story is quite inspirational.

Kris, I'm sorry about your mom but how wonderful for you that you were with her and got to spend so much time with her. It must be a huge adjustment for you, so give yourself time.

Ona, I'm with you on the fear of gaining it all back. I went from 245 to 125 back in my 20s (30 years ago) and gained it all back over the next 10 years or so. Every 5 years or so, I'd lose a chunk but then gain that back. This is the first time I've gotten so close to my goal again, and I'm too old to keep doing this! Occasional indulgences are fine for me, it's the pattern of continual overeating that I need to stamp out because that path is just too slippery.

dangerous, congrats!

I've done okay this week, feeling more in control of my eating. I'm trying to be more social because I'm a bit of a recluse and that tends to lead to more eating for me. I miss my friends from my old job so have made plans to see some of them next week. For lunch and dinner, though - eek!

Steph we were typing at the same time . I like this ----> it's the pattern of continual overeating that I need to stamp out because that path is just too slippery. humm meeting old friends for lunch and dinner, that would scare me but I think you have got it in the bag ... I will add carbs back in little by little next month how exciting

Our daughter will be nine on Monday and her cake will be my test. Those of you that know me from before remember how I use to be with, out of the box (no bowl) frosted flakes and store bought birthday cake with white icing (not butter cream) are my weaknesses We are celebrating on Sunday after church with all of her cousins. We shall see how I do. I don't even want to cut that cake because if the icing gets on my fingers I will probably have spasms wanting to eat it ... can't let it pull me in

AND Steph please stay with us and continue to be social you HAVE DONE and ARE DOING great