How is it going Lila?

I am still doing well at the grocery store. Mostly avoiding bakery clearance and various snacks on sale.

I'm keeping too busy to snack much and the physical labor demanded by spring is helping. I moved the nuts to the back of the basement pantry, stopped baking except with Bean and I send everything home with him, and only buy Dh and Bean treats I don't like. My weight is trending down again.

Like the hoarding, the biggest helpers are "don't go to places that you will be tempted, don't bring it home" and "keep doing something."

Perhaps we will have "the great wardrobe project of 2024" by the end of the summer.

Fresh start is working. I am just trying to say no to junk most of the time, and drink more water. I stopped putting sugar in my coffee. Down 1 pound.

1/25

Okay, time for a fresh start.

I can't even remember where I started on this thread, because I was too embarrassed to share my actual weight, so I only posted pounds to lose. I need to be accountable so I currently, as of this morning, weigh 250 pounds. This is not the highest I have ever weighed, but it is close to the highest in recent history. My goal is 225, at least short term, if I could maintain that weight I feel so much better and many more clothes fit. I got down to maybe 230 a few months ago. So I am starting again, today, cutting out 90% of sugar and sweets, and junk. And trying to move more and take walks.

0/25

Wow, that's great SubC, to not really gain from that trip! Excellent.

I am in bad shape about back to where I started. My doctor says my TSH is very high and my ESR is elevated, inflammatory markers high and my blood glucose is 102, a bit high. I really need to edit the way I have been eating, and start moving more.

Easter is a hard time to cut sugar but I am cutting it on Monday. Back to black coffee, maybe a splash of cream but nothing sweet.

This morning it looks like the weight I gained at my son's house was basically water - because it is gone already! probably more salt in the cooking. A pleasant surprise.

I stopped at the grocery store yesterday and bought fruit, nuts, cheese, mushrooms, and some easy vegetable ravioli. I resisted everything in the bakery section and the discount Easter candy.

We are keeping a lot less in the fridge these days. Dh likes it. I need to clean the freezer out soon before I start milking goats again (mid to late April).

Well, I got on the scale this morning, and much to my pleasant surprise, I only gained 3 pounds at my son's house.

Time to get back to work.

Lila,

When you are that sick, you don't keep many calories, but you don't move much either, and your metabolism cranks down for survival. Sadly most of the lost weight was probably dehydration.

I stayed close to my new set point for a while, but I have been at my son's house for 5 days, exiting meals with rich sauces and lovely fluffy cakes. There is no scale there, so I have no idea where I am, but I am not optimistic. Probably starting all over again.

How's it going now, SubC? It's been a few weeks.

I don't know what I need either. Inner healing, probably. Practically, a personal chef. Or someone who locks up all my food and money and comforts me while I wail about how starving I am.

You would think that someone who threw up nonstop for two days and then only ate a half sleeve of saltines and one Gatorade for the next 2 days would lose a ton of weight. I was down 8 pounds but as soon as I had some salty soup (with basically nothing in it but a few noodles and broth) it was back. How can a body hang onto weight so staunchly against the laws of physics? There is something wrong with me.

I have been stuck just above my most recent low point for some time, and slipping back into some bad habits.

However, I think I have several advantages today in getting back on track - I am interested in a lot of things that will keep me busy, and I have done something to my jaw. Dh thinks I slept on it wrong, but it hurts - just a little, when I bring my molars together. Everything I like to snack on is either crunchy or chewy.

Good morning.

Lila, I would intervene for you, but I don't know what you need.

I do know that my eating habits go downhill when I have less sleep and more stress, and you are definitely in that situation. Unfortunately easy food, comforting food, and healthy food are not usually the same, and it's hard to put energy into making good food choices and denying yourself when you are already taxed and worn down.

I basically fasted yesterday (I had one low carb, high protein meal at dinner time.) and my weight is back down at my low this morning. I also gave myself an extra diet soda yesterday.

Today I am home all day and it will rain, which makes things harder. I'm going to try to get out in my studio where I can't snack, and maybe add some extra exercise - we'll see.

Dh and I have plans with friends Saturday night that include a restaurant. Restaurants kill me. There are so many hidden calories.

SubC, I know you're frustrated, but you are doing well. Not backsliding, and your hubby noticed your weight loss! That is great. Keep going. I like reading what you are doing.

Me, I am so fat. Someone needs to do an intervention.

Well, yesterday I had a "no dessert" day and was active with Bean and the scale moved in the right direction again. Not quite back to my most recent low, but at least I'm no longer feeling discouraged. Attitude is important.

I stopped at the grocery store to restock Dh cereal for him and also bought more apples, crackers (whole wheat)(which I'm trying not to eat too many of, but they are salty and crunchy and a few with cheese or hummus are a good complex snack.) hummus, and some more diet sodas.

I'm still feeling conflicted about the sodas, but I've been down to one a day lately. I'm trying to drink more (mostly herbal) tea, but the soda feels like a treat, and I think for now I need to hang on to them.

It's hard to set your "new normal" too far off your former normal.

I resisted the clearance valentines candy (and toys) and the bakery clearance.

I am getting frustrated.

I've cut out all but one "dessert" a day - and by "dessert" I mean less than 150 calories of wine, chocolate, or sweetened/jam/butter bread.

I've cut way back on nuts and carbs, and I am eating mostly whole foods. (I am also now really angry at the number of times and ways I had to edit that statement to keep the computer from turning my words into a grocery store with capital letters.) I am hungry a lot. but my weight is still creeping up.

I'm probably sitting too much - I did do all that computer work the last few days, and it has been too cold and wet to do much outside, but I am also going to pay closer attention to my food. Maybe I'm doing something counterproductive without realizing it.

Yesterday was difficult.

It was a craving comfort food day and Dh brought home pizza. I also skipped yoga. I had a lot of tasks to do that sapped my executive function.

I am still "carrying around" cookies and donuts from Valentine's Day at school. (My dad calls them "dough-guts")

But today is a new day and I have already done yoga and am ready to refocus on new good habits. My banana, apple, and grapefruit are lined up on the counter in case I need a snack and even though there is leftover pizza, I have put it under other things in the fridge and cleared away all signs of pizza eating.

Cheese and crackers is such a delicious thing. I bought some extra sharp white cheddar on sale the other day and might have a few thin slices with crackers and fruit.

I weighed today and am back down a hair, to 3 pounds over my START point (at the beginning of this thread. I will keep working at it. This morning I had coffee and a small lowfat yogurt for breakfast.

Onward.

+3/20

Lila, I hope you home gym helps you! It sounds like you have great support for working out!

I'm not actually swimming yet. I still weigh three pounds more than the last time I squeezed into my bathing suit for laps. I also dislike being cold. Getting into the water is always hard. Getting out of the water is always hard. but after the first two laps swimming is heavenly. I can get lost in the rhythm and lose all track of time. I also often lose track of my laps, which is annoying.

I can't see the clock from the pool. Actually, I can't see the end of the pool from the pool. Or the part of the lane lines that are blue and white.

You have to drill into your brain that those treats belong to your grands. You would not take their treats away from your grands, right?

I made some extra effort for a student to get a piece ready for her mom's birthday this week and when she came by to pick it up yesterday she brought me a chocolate. I stopped at Trader Joe's and bought cheese I can eat and some spicy nuts on my way home and ate about 3x my allowance of nuts. Then I had another chocolate from the treat bowl at the place where I got my summer job offer, and I had a small glass of wine with Dh with dinner.

The scale this morning says I didn't do any notable harm though. I can't just give up all my treats. I need to find a way to live sustainably.

I bought the cheese as a potential reward. When I lose one more pound (new low) I get to either pick up breakfast at Starbucks again (if it's a school day) or have cheese and crackers with a diet soda for lunch.

hi SubC, you are doing so good! Swimming is a wonderful workout. I like to swim but hate being cold, so my preferred exercise is walking when it is warm enough, or the machines in my downstairs.

TotsDad took half the family room we cleared downstairs and made a gym! He is very fit and strong, runs on the treadmill and lifts weights every day. We moved Teen's elliptical in there, so there is a row or: bike, elliptical, treadmill, recumbent stepped, all lined up. And the on the wall across from them, TotsDad mounted a big TV! He brought it from his house and it is so nice with an arm so you can move it. When he gets it connected to the internet, we can all go in there and exercise and watch tv! Isn't that cool? I am excited and hope it motivates me. He has his weights on the other side but probably too heavy for me. I have small ones in the garage that I could add.

My eating is terrible. Kids here = lots of snacks, like cereal and crackers. I need to just tell myself to not eat their food at all, even when they offer it. And to not buy sugary things or bake a lot of cookies for them.

My jeans are super tight. I have not weighed.

I know 'start Monday' is one of those not-always-helpful things, but I am going to try to do better over the weekend, but start cracking down making a strong effort on Monday.

Good morning!

Stop at the grocery store last night. I resisted the sweets in the bakery clearance even though I did check it for rye bread. (No rye bread)

I bought apples and bananas (trying to eat one of each every day as snacks) and healthy expensive rye bread that has fewer calories per slice but is more filling than the store brand sandwich loaf I've been buying, and no hfc. The difference in cost is less than the cost of one bakery clearance treat. I'm very proud of myself for making good choices even though I was hungry!

I also bought three kinds of cookies for Dh. Two kinds I don't like, but his favorite kind I do, so that is a temptation. I only ate one out of the last package though.

My weight is back down to my previous low for the rolling year (least I have weighed since last February) so I am getting a sense of progress.

I'm working on making the least healthy options in the house limited treats, and then not replenishing them when they are gone. (Exceptions to the replenishing for things I make from scratch - like biscuits with jam or tea bread) I'm hoping that my kitchen will become more orderly as it starts to contain fewer packages of processed or high calorie/low nutrient foods. There is one cupboard for Dh snacks and treats.

I enjoyed my day of reckless carbohydrates yesterday and am happy to report that the scale claims most of my weight loss is real.

Also, I woke up hungry this morning, so the easily accessible sugar I gave my body may have bumped my metabolism back up (since when you limit calories, your metabolism cranks down to adapt.)

I am getting close to trying to squeeze into my bathing suit and thinking about rejoining the health center to swim.

Hoping that by the end of February I may be ready to revisit my closet.

My problem with the flavored water is that it all tastes so thin. I like the thick cola taste and the bite. I would probably like carbonated apple cider vinegar. I prefer balsamic vinegar to salad dressing.

I'm currently eating broccoli and brown rice with a sauce that is maybe 3/4 lemon juice, 1/4 tahini.

I almost have my weight back to where is was before we headed east for the Christmas holidays.

I'm going to eat a thin slice of very bad for me cake tonight though. I've made pretty good choices for a week, and I really want the cake.

I will also probably eat too many carbs tomorrow - I'm going to an all day workshop with breakfast and lunch provided. Sunday I will refocus.

I've done really well at making good choices at the grocery store though. Besides the cake. Bean begged for the cake. I should have sent it home with him, but his daddy is trying to lose weight and has no will power. So now Bean only gets cake at my house. Tomorrow I need more apples.

hi SubC. I found a new sparkling water to try. It is called Spindrift and instead of zero calories and a flavor essence, it ahs a splash of actual fruit juice in it and has under 20 calories. I got the grapefruit. I expect it will be more tasty than the La Croix since it has actual juice in it, but just a bit. A friend told me she buys sparkling water, is used filtered water, and adds one tablespoon of pomegranate juice or other juice to it in her glass or water bottle. She likes how it gives it flavor. You might try that with a juice flavor you like or some sliced oranges or other fruit in it.

I have gained back ALL the pounds I lost and 3 more. I am so frustrated.

+3/20

My kids drink those la croix. I don't like them unfortunately.

I think the artificial sweetener messes with my metabolism though. And drinking the soda makes me feel full at the time, but keeps my stomach stretched out so I don't feel full as quickly when I eat.

I relaxed my guidelines while Dd was here this weekend, and ate several treats and a lot of good meals. Plus I didn't move as much because of weather and company. I bounced back up, but I am still down a couple of pounds. Back to it today.

Moderation in food and stuff are so similar for me - you have to have some of both, but both can quickly become too much of even a good thing.

It's a Bean day, so lots to do besides eat!

ugh, my scale went up.

SubC, I used to drink a lot of sodas, not even diet. Mostly Coke. I was almost 300 pounds, can you believe it? That has been a long long time ago though, almost 20 years. I am still over 200 but closer to 200 than 300! I don't look as much as I weigh.

Anyway I switched to La Croix sparkling water with no sweeteners at all. I have those when I crave soda, like, if we have pizza. It has no sugar and no artificial sweetener, just a bit of fruity flavor and carbonation.

I think the lemon bars, which are excellent and used up some lemons that were not looking great, are the reason for the uptick. But at least I only made a half batch (8 by 8 pan).

I had avocado toast this morning for breakfast.

I have made good food choices for three straight days. I had a salad and sweet potato fries at the restaurant last night. I avoided the school bake sale even though the cooking class contributed and the whole building smelled like chocolate.

I've been doing yoga.

The needle made it's first jump, but I think part of that is that with smaller meals and less frequent eating, my digestive tract is less full.

The impact on the house is not really notable yet, but on Thursday there was a break in the rain (it's been raining so much here, all my pastures are flooded) and I got out and set up a flower bed behind my "new" shed. That used up some of the cardboard that was leaning on the wall in the garage, and I cleaned out a stall.

I also moved my diet sodas up to the loft in the shop barn. So I have to walk out (in the rain, a city block) and climb stairs to get one. I was drinking too many.

I'm going to keep focusing on the "now".

This is great to read! You are doing good things, SubC. I love that you are doing something productive when you get the urge to snack at night. I will try that, too. I also try not to eat after 7 (heartburn). If I really crave something sweet at night, I have some "natural" hard candies in fruit flavors. A little sweet pomegranate or grapefruit candy (the size of a lifesaver) is often enough, and only about 25 calories.

I love oatmeal with pumpkin. It takes like pumpkin pie to me. This week I made a baked oatmeal because I have a lot of apples going soft. I diced them up and mixed with raw oats, a couple spoons of chia seeds, some almond milk, cinnamon and nutmeg, a little maple syrup, and a couple spoons of vanilla yogurt and 2 eggs. I made it a little soupy looking and baked it until it was firm. So then all week I could take a square of that, put it in a bowl and heat it up to eat. I added things to my bowl like walnuts, canned pumpkin, and pomegranate seeds or blueberries.

I am going to make broccoli soup today with Teen later. It will have fresh broccoli and onions, grated carrots, vegetable broth, some soy milk and real cheese. I might put spinach in my bowl before I ladle in the soup. I try to add more veggies to things.

I also need to steam a couple of artichokes I need to use.

I do love my pasta, SubC. I even bought some Vodka sauce yesterday. But I'll add veggies to mine and also a salad on the size.

I also fluctuate and am up a pound or two but hopefully that is just stress or whatever. I will probably go back down this week.

Yesterday I did yoga. I ate healthy food all day - fresh fruit, baked veggies, cooked whole grains and not too many nuts.

I have also started to try to declutter eating after 7 and evening snacking. Yesterday I succeeded in both. The after 7 is going to be a target, not a routine, because sometimes I don't make it home until nearly seven, and at least two nights a week Dh doesn't make it home until after 7. I enjoy having dinner with him, but I hate being fat - out of breath and in pain.

Tonight I will say no to pizza again. Dh will be sad because he likes our pizza nights, but pizza after 8 at night is just not going to work for me.

But here is a thing I did to leverage the not snacking after dinner - every time I started focusing on the urge to snack, I got up and did a thing. I glued the Velcro back on Bean's mushroom and put the glue away. I carried the empty jars down to the basement and put them away. I made a separate trip (stairs) down to the basement to put the egg carton away. I rinsed the cans for recycling.

So my body and my environment both benefitted.

I have discovered that I cannot make good decisions for a whole day. I can't lay out a plan and stick to it - by the end of the day I go off track. But, I can make good decisions for half an hour. Half an hour is enough. 5 minutes is enough. Because all I really need to do is make good decisions "now". Because everything actually happens in now.

I have a "landing pad" at the top of my basement stairs where I tend to pile stuff so that I can carry it all down when I go. Much more efficient than making all those trips. But then, a lot of time I just set the pile down on a surface in the basement because it goes too many different places. So I am not really being efficient. Also, I don't need to save trips up and down the stairs - I need the exercise!

There was a time when I was working on the basement when I set myself a goal like clearing an item out before I snacked. (I don't remember the exact goal.) I'm realizing now that that was a bad plan. Besides the fact that it didn't always work, I had committed to the snack. I was just moving it a few minutes. And now it had become more important because it was my reward.

Yesterday I made one good decision at a time. And this morning, instead of a scale needle that didn't budge and a counter that looked the same, I started my day with a scale needle that moved just a hair in the right direction and probably a whole square foot more of clean counter.

It's small, but there are 120 days until the end of the school year. It's possible that I could start the summer with shorts that fit and a clean counter.

All I have to do is keep asking myself 1) Do I really need food or have I eaten enough (so far) today? 2) What can I do instead?

The default "I have no motivation" answer to that second question is going to be - go upstairs and look around - if you don't see anything, go in the basement and look around. Then at least I did some stairs. Also I should see something. Also, I realized last night, at minimum, for a long time - I can dust.

Lila, that is a really impressive menu!

I would not have thought of putting pumpkin in oatmeal.

You eat a lot fewer grain based carbs than I do! (Bread, baked goods, and pasta are my downfall!) ask yourself what you want when you reach for cookies and chips. Salty? Sweet? Crunchy? Fat? Maybe you can come up with a list of healthier alternatives that satisfy those and plan them into your day.

Dh and I ate at home instead of going out before our date last night. I am now down 2lbs. Still not really meaningful - I fluctuate, so until I hit 5 I will just feel like at least I am not adding new highs.

I did not do yoga yesterday or today. I probably won't do it today, but I will get back to it tomorrow unless Dd and dgs spend the night. I am doing well on the nuts and have not bought more milk. I am thinking about adding not eating after a certain time at night. I've done really well not snacking while Dh and I watch movies, even though he snacks.

You said no to pizza and cereal. Both hard and good things! Keeping control over high density/calorie snacks is a good plan. I like your scoop method.

I worked so much the last couple days I ate less. So am down another pound. But today I have been stress eating. I will try to stop it.

I also went through the fridge today and looked at produce that needs to be used. So I am eating that stuff. So far:

Breakfast: oatmeal with canned plain pumpkin, a few walnuts, cinnamon, a bit of real maple syrup, some pomegranate, and almond milk. Coffee with Silk creamer.

Lunch: one medium yellow summer squash roasted with a bit of shaved real Parmesan and garlic salt. A small bowl of Brussel sprouts, halved and tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper and roasted.

Snacks (where the stress eating began): 6 gummy worms, a few potato chips, about a half cup of sesame crackers and rice crackers mixed, another mug of coffee with Silk creamer but also sugar. Four small cookies that I don't even like (the kind that come in a Christmas tin). Then I took five fresh dates, cut open, inserted peanut butter and roasted peanuts, topped with melted chocolate and froze. I read online that this tastes like a Snickers. Nope, it did not, but it satisfied that urge. I could have just made two and it would have been enough.

Teen would like me to make some butternut squash soup for dinner so I probably will. The squash is cooked already and thawed from frozen. Easy soup. I might make a grilled Swiss, sauerkraut, and marinated tofu sandwich to go with it. Not exactly low cal, but I am hungry. Will drink water and eat fruit/veg if I get hungry before dinner.

5/20

Oh, I forgot the other thing - Dh has guitar tonight and offered to bring home a pizza (our favorite pizza place is right by his lesson.) I said no. We already had pizza this month and I feel like I can cook again.

- less money spent
- fewer calories/healthier food
- no pizza box to store in the garage until it warms up enough to lay mulch.

Two days of not snacking on cereal, and this morning I did yoga for the 4th day in a row.

Yesterday I skipped breakfast and had three "100 calories" nut packs for lunch/after school snack with plain, unsweetened tea. This made me realize how many calories of nuts I have actually been eating. I have salted almonds that I like to snack on. I buy them in bulk and usually keep a pint jar in the kitchen. Then I tend to snack straight out of the jar. So, I'm going to not refill the pint jar and when I want them, I am going to take a dedicated 1/4c measure down to the basement and just scoop out that many. - decluttering one pint jar from my pantry and helping my waistline. Then when the measure is empty, I will put it in the dishwasher. I will only use that container, so I will either keep up with the dishes a whole lot better, or eat a whole lot fewer nuts, or both.

I also cooked a healthy dinner last night. I was very hungry, so I ate too large a serving too fast and my stomach was uncomfortable. I also used too much tahini sauce. Next time I will use a small bowl and let the food hit bottom before I go back for seconds.

I am currently down one pound, which is really just noise. But I feel like I have made three good steps this week. (Milk, nuts, yoga) that might be enough to keep up with for a few weeks.

Good job, SubC! That is interesting about the milk. Ahhh, cereal is addictive! I buy cinnamon Life for Tot and Acorn but I love it, too. I eat it with almond milk. Acorn eats it dry.

Well the other day I weighed and was sad to see I was back to 2/20 pounds gone instead of 16/20. Regained 14 pounds since October, ugh.

Today I am down a bit.

4/20

Ok, good morning Lila! And anyone else.

Last night I decluttered the A2 milk carton from my fridge (full disclosure, I ate the last of it on a bowl of sugared cereal for dessert)

So, step one. I'm not going to buy more A2 milk. It is easier to have willpower in the grocery store. This will reduce my sugared cereal consumption and if I do eat it (I still have two boxes) I may eat less just dry, or almond milk (which Dh uses) has fewer calories. Also, I won't have to wash and recycle the milk cartons.

Step two - I did yoga yesterday. I am going to do yoga again now. That will be two days in a row. Poco a poco as CM says.

Well it's been over a month since I last posted. Three months ago I was down 15 pounds from my start weight. I have not been weighing, but I would hazard a guess that I have gained back ten or more of those lost pounds :(

I am so sad about this, and I feel fat and tired, my clothes are tight, and I am sure my health is suffering. I am going to use this space to make a few goals. I will weigh tomorrow morning and start from there.

- drink more water, plain tea, black coffee. I can add a little something to my coffee sometimes but will try to be mindful of what I really want instead of habitually adding stuff.

- STOP eating all this junk food! Don't buy it. And just because a friend or one of my kids brings over sweets, does not mean I need to ingest it.

- more fruit and veggies. more homemade

- stop spending money on fast food, pizza, and junk!!

- move more, stop laying around so much

- smaller portions of anything that is not a fruit or a vegetable

Good job!!! I don't know where I am at SubC. I have not weighed in about a month but I am probably up a few pounds from stress eating. Is there a way to convert this to stress decluttering? Or stress cleaning? I remember a young mom one time telling me that when she is stressed, she cleans, as that is something she can control. I have wished for this to be true for me for decades, but I have been unable to make it happen. Even trying to make myself "clean one thing" or "declutter one thing" before I can eat a snack does not work. I just get p'ed off and eat more, in defiance.

Anyway, I am on a liquid diet for a medical reason but will weigh myself in a couple of days after that is over. And I will attempt to shed any regained pounds at that point.

Thanksgiving knocked me back a little, but I am still practicing good habits. I'm trying to limit chocolate because of the migraines, but I'm also adding soy milk and dropping (reducing honestly) diet soda.

I'm back to only one pound over where I wanted to be on the 30th, but I expect the Christmas season will be difficult.

I keep reminding myself that the easiest place to make good choices is the grocery store, not the kitchen.

I am still on pace!

I'm decluttering a lot of stress this fall as well, which I think is also helping. Although aside from fewer work hours and commitments, a lot of it is out of my control.

Things like the zoning hearing being over and likely to go in our favor (one last hurdle, but Dh says it's a rubber stamp), my dad's heart surgery going well, the garden being frozen to death, (I did try to do a lot less canning this year), and my dd1 being in a relatively good mental space right now, have all helped and are all out of my control.

Otoh, I finally got vaccinated for shingles (off my list forever now), am prioritizing yoga and pottery (I don't snack in the pottery studio) and have decluttered eating before I am hungry in the morning and most of the wine I was drinking.

I gained back a pound, and I need to hit my goal this month. Working on it.

15/20

I have decluttered the idea that I have to eat breakfast early in the morning and am now eating breakfast on the way to school or when I actually get hungry (I almost never have lunch at school, so I have to eat something before classes start) I have actually lost some weight. In fact, if I continue at this pace, I will hit my goal weight by the end of the school year.

Lost some pounds while I was sick. Only 4 more to go to reach my first goal!

16/20

Down 2 more pounds since last time I weighed!!

13/20

Yay for another pound gone this morning, although it feels precarious and like it is an up/down pound... I do hope it stays gone.

11/20

oh FINALLY. A happy thing this morning, another pound down! Halfway to goal.

10/20

Okay, I am back to my low point. Let's see if I can hit 10 pounds gone this week.

9/20

I am not exactly sure where I am but I have bumped up a couple of pounds. When I eat badly, I might hop on the scale and sort of glance at it but not get a precise number (it is a dial). So I know it is up a bit but not all the way. I am still down between 6 and 8 pounds. I will get on it and start trying to get below that 9 pounds gone point.

I am doing pretty good but need to increase my exercise or even general movement. But I am down another pound, so am celebrating that.

9/20

SubC, keep at it! I was working on this for many months before the pounds actually started to shed. Maybe we are changing on the inside for awhile before the outside reflects the effort.

I went to a couple graduation parties, food-centered events, and ate lunches and dinners out with people this week. I made good choices: small amounts of 'indulgent' foods (like a slice or two of cheese on crackers, only a few chips if any - like 4 chips - and the rest raw veggies sticks, raw broccoli etc from the appetizer trays. Fruit where it was available. Small small amounts of anything that is not a fruit or vegetable. Like maybe 2 bites of potato salad.) Going out to eat I stayed vegetarian and since there were some sauces, cheese, etc involved, I only ate half the food I was served and brought the rest home where Teen finished it off. Lots of water.

Also have had little time for formal exercise so I am just parking a bit farther away and walking, and am trying to be intentional about walking a little faster and not sauntering.

Down another pound!

8/20

Hi Lila!

Nice job!

I feel like I've been doing pretty well on my food choices, but my weight won't budge. Maybe with time..

hi SubC!

I went up a pound and then started back down and today am at a new low. Will keep plugging along and trying to be more active as well.

7/20

Today's treat - low sugar chocolate cake.

Today's snacks - banana and almonds

(I did have egg salad for lunch, so mayonnaise...)

We did not do yoga because I woke up feeling horrid.

Today I limited my treats to a small serving of m&ms (around 1T) and one glass of wine with dinner. I snacked on a banana, some almonds, and some cherries. Dh made a really yummy sweet potato curry for dinner.