Hi all ... just getting set for a new week here. I am looking out the window and the light is definitely shifting towards spring but we've had two snow/ice storms in the last 3 days and 2 forecasted for this coming week. So many mixed messages lol but Spring will be here soon!

I am feeling good about maintaining the weight loss from the flu ... but I am not ready to call that a success yet. We'll see how i do over the next month.

Note: I do appreciate the support and praise for my losses in the previous thread.. but the only thing I did to make it happen was to fail to get my flu shot. :(

Work has been super challenging and some unexpected schedule changes messed up my travel plans in April. I will push to May but it is more than a little frustrating.

My appetite is mostly back but any kind of eating routine was lost-- this week I am focused on bringing back more balanced plates and more veggies. Raw veggies/salads are not sounding good yet but roasted veggies and stirfry sound good so that's what I will go with that and a big pot of soup at some point.

How are you all doing? Anything special going on this week? Any special focus for the week?

All is good here. We are still in Florida so getting plenty of sunshine and lots of walking. Eating is pretty good. We’ve been staying in for breakfast and getting salads mostly when out. I try to stick with the 800 gram challenge in my head and choose fruits and vegetables and fiber whenever possible and that seems to mostly keep me on track, especially now that I’m not drinking at all. That always led to more snacking.

I wore my CGM for 10 days and it reminded me to walk a lot after meals and especially after dinner so I’d be steady before bed. I do think it keeps me on track a bit seeing the black and white numbers in play.

Today was my 1000th continuous day of tracking food intake on the Lose It! app. I started using the app in May 2022 and it has become second nature. Although I am no longer on a diet per se, I am very careful about what I eat—- I only eat food that to me is delicious AND nutritious. Keeping the log keeps me on track; looking at the weekly macro report helps me adjust when I’m not getting enough protein or fats. One of the kids asked when I was going to stop tracking and I said, ”Never.” My general template for success is pretty simple: start, and keep going. So far it’s worked!

Amazing, Kswl! I admire your consistency.

All is going well this week, although my meals are getting boring. I'm generally preparing the same couple of rotations all the time. I rarely get bored with food, but I've reached a limit, perhaps just due to winter.

Today is supposed to be gym day, but we have a major snowstorm coming in. I may just take a long walk, and do some exercises with weights I have here at home. I made homemade soup stock overnight, and I could easily just sit under a cover on the sofa and be a lazy slug.

Up 2 lbs.

Down 2 lbs.

Up 2 lbs.

Down 2 lbs.

That has been my YTD pattern.

Ha! Sue, my BFF and I have a theory about lbs similar to energy--that there is a set number of them. (I'm not a scientist--my wording there is probably not accurate.) But for years, when she would lose a few lbs, I would gain a few lbs. Then I would lose a few lbs, and she would gain a few lbs. We joked we were just trading the same lbs back and forth.

A few weeks ago, she texted me that she had lost 2 lbs. I text back that I had, too, and I wondered who had them?

Good for you, kswl. I know that tracking is important but I find it such a chore. I really should do it because when I do, it does work for me. Or I should just join weight watchers again. That has always worked for me in the past.

I did get my treadmill on Monday and used it Mon and Tues. I like it. I burn more calories on that than on the bike in the same amount of time.

I know I've only had it for 2 days, but in the couple weeks since being home from vacay I have been working out regularly, eating less and making better snack choices. Yet the scale has not budged. I'm dumbfounded. I am usually able to lose weight by eating less/smarter and working out. I don't know what's going on but it's beyond frustrating.

I feel like my stress is through the roof these days, and I can feel that it's not good for me physically either. We are under contract on a house to buy, but are concerned it won't appraise and will require re-negotiation, and it is contingent on the sale of our house. Our house is going up today (yikes) with hopefully showings starting tomorrow. I have the utmost confidence in our team of realtors (who we've worked with before and become friends). We also have our undeveloped land up for sale, though that will take longer. It's incredible just how much work has to be done to get a house ready for sale (photos 2x since the first photographer did a terrible job) and I am very stressed about showings. Not to mention we are in the middle of annual review cycle at work and I have a manager who needs some critical feedback (new report of mine) who hasn't seemed to have had any kind of critical feedback from his manager(s) in the past.

All of this chaos has been impacting my exercise and eating. There have been numerous days I've had to skip exercise to work with our realtors or to work morning to night on getting the house ready while working a (more than) full time job. I'm trying my best, but I just have not been able to stay on routine. I spent my lunch time today (when I'd normally exercise on Wednesdays) making phone calls, dealing with earnest money, etc. Tomorrow I will (hopefully) have showings and will need to work from a family member's house with my dog. I probably will have to be tidying up the house in the morning to make it spotless instead of exercising (again).

On the eating front I am trying to stick to at least a normal 2x/week partial fasting day (aiming for one 500 calorie meal in the evening and no breakfast or lunch). I haven't been able to manage even one 36 hour fast in the last week and I'm constantly stress-hungry. I'm sticking to my guns on no weekday alcohol, but it doesn't mean I don't daydream of sitting down with a glass of wine on a weeknight to relax. I'm positive I've eaten more calories than normal just from feeling so stressed out.

Hopefully this will all calm down and I'll be able to move somewhere with more outdoor space and fresh air. Nearby hiking trails. But I'll be much much further from swimming pools which is making me very stressed out too. I don't want to lose my momentum, but we're trying to move out of the city to somewhere a little more peaceful.

It took a month to get rid of the flu. I lost 8lbs. I notice NO difference unless I'm on the scale. What I did was...drink McDonalds iced sugar-free vanilla coffee instead of eating a meal. I decided to keep it up. Purchased an instant coffee, coffeemate vanilla creamer & splenda with monk fruit. It's VERY filling and half the calories of what I'd been eating. I'm skipping breakfast, eating around 1pm, something like an egg sandwich(300 calories), then a small plate of nachos for dinner, topped with guacamole. A glass of apple juice before bed.

3x a week: I'm running/walking, about half and half, for an hour. Then ride a stationary recumbant bicycle for 40 minutes, burning about 300 calories.

I think the chlorine in the hot tub is irritating my skin. Temporarily have stopped ending my workouts with a hot tub visit. I've started rewarding myself with new clothes & jewelry. I purchased a Vera Wang waffle material dolman sleeve top. A 9 West black cardigan. 3 new bracelets. A HUGE full length mirror placed next to my dresser drawers in the walk-in closet. Get to see myself in the mirror...often...to remind me of my goal.

Good job everyone! Keep counting those steps! I am!

Wow, active thread this week--awesome! WTG, kswl, on the tracking. I'm at something like 410 days tracking so over a year. Tracking the food from Austin was a little challenging, but I did my best to estimate what I ate. I tend to eat a lot of the same things, so it's easy to look back on previous meals. I just need to be sure to keep my protein up.

I've done Pilates twice this week, so always good for my mind and body. Then weights, Zumba, and treadmill. Tonight we will cook in for Valentine's Day. I will pick up some lobster tails and either seafood or steak and have some wine. We just prefer to stay home.

Had my weight management doctor appointment on Wednesday, and he is happy with my progress. I've lost 10 lbs since my visit in the fall. We talked a little bit about goal weight and where I might want to stop. I'd like to lose about 15 more, but my body may say otherwise, and that's okay. I feel great. They don't do bloodwork there which is odd, but I have it coming up in a few weeks--they have a reduced cost screening here at work, so that is what really matters. Can I get my A1c down finally. I also am wondering if my thyroid meds might need to be adjusted with weight loss. I've been on the same dose for many years, but I haven't been this weight in many years.

pricklypear, I cannot even imagine moving. I hope things move positively for you.

Posted this in another thread, but I was able to wear my fleece-lined leggings this week, and where have these been all my life? Constantly varied gear (CVG) brand.

Weekend will be rainy so not much outdoors or Mustang driving.

Hang in there, everyone.

Several days ago I made a big batch of Bob’s Red Mill 10 Grain hot cereal, and have been eating it every day for breakfast. It is a bit like Cream of Wheat texture, which at first I wasn’t thrilled about. But I started adding about 1/2 c of frozen berries — quickly defrosted in the microwave and then mixed in. The juice from the berries, plus the fruit itself, totally transforms the cereal into something really yummy. Oh, and I added extra chia seeds too.

Feathers, if you’re wondering where those lbs went, I have them! I’d be happy to return them.

The state of the world is making me crave chocolate. Anyone have a healthier substitute for chocolate?? Sometimes a square of dark chocolate with a smear of PB does it for me (like a faux Reeses cup) but I’d love other ideas.

I am figuring out that cardio doesn’t have to be part of every workout, which makes me more likely to actually work out. It’s not a lot, but every day I am trying to do 30 minutes of weight bearing exercise and/or yoga, adding a 15-20 min bike ride (Peloton) on alternate days. The Peloton app has barre classes that are kinda hard but I like them, even tho I am only doing it for 10-20 min usually. For example this morning I did 20 min barre and 10 min arm weights. No bike, but I will probably brave the cold and go for a walk in a bit (just arrived at our beach house for a few days — being able to see the ocean is great motivation to get outside even when it’s blustery!).

Definitely spending too much time sitting during these cold months!