I had a pretty decent week healthywise -- but nothing special to report. In some ways I think that is the best update I could have. My healthy behaviors are becoming the norm -- second nature. I do need to up the effort here soon but for now, I am happy to continue to make consistent progress.

I do feel much stronger emotionally and mentally after a very rough few months. I have actually been upbeat for the last few days... so my focus this week is to keep it going despite what is sure to be a stressful work week.

I couldnt find my jump rope so I ordered another from Az. I was recently reminded (here?) that jumping rope is great exercise (10 min burns as many calories as jogging 30 min) and I enjoy it! My plan is to step outside and jump after each annoying or contentious meeting this week lol!

How are you doing? What will be your focus this week?

Well, I have lost 5-6 lbs now and I am not entirely sure how. I dropped the ball over the last 1-2 weeks on tracking calories, protein and fiber but still lost a couple lbs.

My goals for this week are to continue being conscious of what I’m putting in my mouth, and to remain calm while waiting for some test results! And lift weights at least 2x.

I got a lot of exercise last week, but ate poorly. When I am busy and/or tired I revert to less healthy food choices. I still have a lot of emotional triggers that are satisfied with food. I did just place a big grocery pickup to do some meal prep for the week, so hopefully it will go better this week.

The weather is so nice right now, so being outside and playing lots of pickleball helps everything.

Sue, that is super -- is that for the month? the year? Whatever timeframe, what you are going is working!

Legomom, I still have emotional triggers too... both up and down. When really stressed or upset, I tend to not eat but minor stresses or successes I tend to reach for things I should avoid. It is getting better -- but it is something I still need to work on.

I realized this am that I am getting close to 100lb down since I hit my all time highest weight right before c-vid. I dropped a lot that first year at home and then slower in the 5 years until now. It is very likely I will hit that 100lb mark this month-- maybe even this week. I am trying to decide if I want to mark it in some way. I still have a ways to go -- both in weight loss and fitness-- but wow, 100lb. I have lost weight before but never this much. What would I do to mark the achievement? A lot of my better jewelry is tied to something important to me so that is an option. A trip? I like the idea of a trip but not sure what? It would make sense for it to be a gym membership or peleton or similar... but that isnt exciting me lol. Or maybe I should wait until I feel like Ive landed at a healthy place. I need to give it some thought.

@Sueb20 Make sure your MD knows that you have lost weight without really trying. Hopefully, it is because you have changed habits. Sometimes weight loss takes a while to appear so maybe that is just it.

@Funkyart OMG, that is quite the achievement! You absolutely definitely 100% need to reward yourself with something. Please. Do not wait until you hit your final goal. That achievement deserves a very large reward! If it were me, I would do a trip AND (yes, AND) a material something that has meaning or that you've wanted a long time. Sounds like jewelry for milestones if what you love and nobody can argue with that!

Go you! Also good to hear your mental health/attitude has been good.

As for me, nothing major (again). It's going to be difficult to work out this week (and probably for a couple weeks). The renovation of our guest bath started today. It is right next door to the guest room that is our workout room. I don't really feel comfortable working out with big burly men right there. Yes, there's a door (at the moment; we are also replacing all the bedroom doors upstairs so at some point there won't be). I'm probably just making excuses. I could get up extra early and do it before they arrive at 8am. Or do it when they leave at 5pm. Neither is appealing to me.

Thank you, Jsk .. and yes, it is a big achievement but it was a major fail that I allowed myself to get that out of range. It wasnt all pigging out (though plenty, I am sure) but I didnt respond to the life changes that allowed me to hit that all time high weight.

I guess I need to come to peace with myself after the fact before I can celebrate. I have the time it takes me to lose 3lb to figure it out.

Congrat's Funky. And kudos to you for your tremendous patience and focus on health. I would celebrate now and and goal, and whenever you feel like it in between!

Congratulations, Funky. That is an amazing milestone.

PS brain MRI was normal, woohoo. Heart monitor gets mailed in tomorrow. The mystery continues.

That’s great news Sue!

Glad to hear it Sue, how are you feeling?

Good news, Sue! Waiting for test results is excruciating.

Funky, I agree you need to celebrate, but don't make the decision how to do that be too stressful! Make sure it's fun and positive. A gym membership/peleton are tools, not rewards, imo.

All is good in my corner of the world. Since I started tracking macros, I've lost 5 lbs. It's been slow, but that's ok because I'm still lifting heavy and maintaining muscle. Progress, not perfection.

@Funkyart I hear you about how you got there to begin with. But hear this loud and clear - IT DOES NOT MATTER. What matters is what you're doing about it NOW. And your accomplishment should not be diminished. Please do not let those negative thoughts intrude. Treat yourself, girl!

And I agree with feathers. Memberships to gyms/equipment are not rewards. They are great to help you make even more progress and are important, but they are by no means a reward for your hard work!

@Sueb20 great news on the brain MRI. I'm sure the waiting was very stressful. Hoping they figure out what this is, or that it passes quickly.

Thanks! I appreciate the support ... I am definitely battling some negative thoughts.

How crazy that I have the negative thoughts now so close to an achievement-- and not when I was gaining!

I think I say the same thing most every week. Feeling frustrated at my sloooooowwww ... and slowing progress. I am here to tell you that calories-in/calories-out is failing me. The math is not mathing. I worked out for an hour every day last week, and my eating was flawless. Actually no, my eating was extreme. Unsustainable at least. I ate very lightly and mostly lean protein and veggies. I just want to get to my goshdarn goal already and am willing to do what it takes. Scale did not budge.

So I asked ChatGPT. One insight was spot on for me:

Watch for the emotional swing from control → rebellion

After long dieting periods, many people oscillate between:

• tight control,
• then exhaustion/frustration,
• then overeating/regain.

You seem aware that you may be approaching that edge.

They also referred me to some research that helped me understand that I could be doing everything perfectly and still not getting what i feel are commensurate results. Years ago I had a Dr. who said eating less doesn't really slow your metabolism down except in very extreme cases. But the research article went further.

Beyond Calories: Individual Metabolic and Hormonal Adaptations Driving Variability in Weight Management—A State-of-the-Art Narrative Review

Variability in weight outcomes is influenced by factors such as genetic polymorphisms and epigenetic changes in hormonal signaling pathways and metabolic processes, as well as lifestyle factors, including nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress. These factors impact the ... extent of lipolysis and muscle proteolysis during caloric restriction, through complex mechanisms that involve changes in the resting metabolic rate, metabolic pathways, and hormonal profiles.

I found AI to be helpful.

I get your frustration, Mtn! I have long been aware of the fallacy of calories in/calories out for some of us ... it feels so unfair!

But I have also learned that thinking that way doesn't help me. I do my best to remain aware (and sometimes track) calories. I do still find ways I am unintentionally loading up on calories. I try to control the things I can -- sleep, stress, water intake and I am working on increasing exercise/activity. Still it is a slow go-- but I continue to make progress.

Even with Ozempic, I am not seeing huge losses. I am ok with that and most days I prefer this pace. I am losing at about the same pace I lose when I am being most vigilant and restrictive ... but I don't need to be vigilant and I don't feel restricted. The trade off is that I just dont get the joy from planning, cooking or eating that I used to. I am ok with that for now as I improve my health ... but I hope, with time, some of the joy returns. I did have some delicious tomatoes a few days ago-- and I appreciated them as delicious so that is something!

ETA I have been on Oz for about 2.5 months. I have lost 13lb in since starting. About the same that I lost from Dec-Feb ... but prior to that I lost barely 10lb from January-Nov last year. I was not steady and consistent without the Oz.

Also .. just want to be clear: I am not pushing Ozempic at all! Just sharing my experience with and without Oz. I have lost the majority of my weight without.

I worked out for an hour every day last week, and my eating was flawless. Ummm... clearly, you're building muscle, Mtn! You've been strength training, spinning, Zumba, etc. in recent weeks/months. Are you seeing more tone and definition, even just a bit? Clothes fitting a little differently? Even walking with a more sound gait?

Since my late 40s, I've gone through distinct periods of muscle building, and during those times, my weight stalls or increases. But my body composition slowly changes for the better. I recently realized this is what I've been going through the past 8 months. Last fall, SO started going to the gym with me, and had me doing weights and machines that I hadn't been doing before. I've been tracking macros the past few months, and while my weight is down just 5 lbs, my measurements (I keep a running tally of my hips and waist) have reduced. Not by much, but enough to make me realize that it's not just the scale. My muscles continue to grow (I PR'd on the pull-up machine this week!).

Research "body recomposition"--the initial AI results include:

Body recomposition is the process of losing body fat while building lean muscle mass simultaneously. Unlike traditional weight loss, the number on the scale may barely move. Your physique transforms as you swap out body fat for muscle tissue, resulting in a more toned, defined, and stronger appearance. [1, 2, 3, 4]

How It Works

• The Scale Lies: Muscle is denser than fat, meaning it takes up less space in your body. You could lose 5 pounds of fat and gain 5 pounds of muscle, leaving your scale weight identical but dropping pant sizes. [1, 2, 3]
• The "Newbie Gains" Effect: Beginners, or those returning to fitness after a long break, experience the greatest success. Their bodies respond rapidly to stimulus, making simultaneous muscle gain and fat loss highly achievable.

Oh yeah, I have a long post to update on weight loss and body composition with and without GLP-1 from my conference, but I need to transcribe the notes I took on my phone and in the conference app. Still working on body composition but two take-home things from the conference are challenging: building muscle as we age which is why resistance training is a MUST and building muscle while being in a calorie deficit while losing. About 25% of weight loss with or without GLP-1 is expected to be lean body mass (which is NOT just muscle mass). This is pretty consistent from the studies.

Getting ready for birthday dinner so more to come on this. Gotta go get dressed!

Funky, I was a super slow loser. It took me 97 weeks, almost two years to get to my goal and lose about 50 lbs. Without GLP-1 I had lost about 8 lbs. in a year. Some people lose 10 lbs a month and that was not my experience. There are genetic differences in receptors in people, and in general people with T2D do lose slower.

Thanks, GS ... have a great Birthday dinner!

Well I am hovering 1lb above the lowest weight I hit on Monday. Eh ... whatever. LOL. I tend to hit my lowest weights on weekends/Mondays (better sleep? less stress?) so still hoping I hit the 100lb down mark this week. If not, it will be next week. No biggie.

I need to take a deep dive in my closet this weekend .. I loathe trying everything on but it is past time and I expect to be surprised to find fav items from years ago that fit again -- I think most of them are in boxes in the basement but I know there are some gems in my closet too.

Congratulations, Funky! What a success and wonderful reflection of you. Now you get to shop your closet. Don’t let it become a stress—just enjoy seeing and realizing what you’ve accomplished.

Update on my medical mystery. One symptom that started a month or so ago is a tender swelling under my right ear, behind my jaw, often when I eat. Then it goes away usually in a matter of minutes, but I also have a very weird sensation of a sweet taste on the same side of my mouth, sort of flowing down from way up inside my cheek. So weird. I googled and it seemed like maybe a salivary gland issue. I mentioned my “google diagnosis” to my PCP, but she seemed unconvinced. So I went to see my dentist the other day. He checked all my teeth, poked and prodded inside my mouth, glands in my neck, etc…nope. Nothing. So NOW I have an appt with an ENT next week. Then my PCP again two days later.

This is making me a little crazy. I think the headaches are starting to subside. I didn’t have one for a few days, but then woke up with one this morning. It finally went away after I took a short nap after lunch. So they aren’t entirely gone. The funny thing is that the headaches are primarily around my left temple, while the weird jaw/mouth thing is only on the right side.

I keep wondering if all the MOHS activity around my nose somehow ”tripped” something…like a gland or lymph node??…but, the first surgery was way before this started, and the second one took place a few weeks after the headaches started. So that doesn’t quite make sense.

Oh, and 1-2 lbs came creeping back because I got distracted from my tracking. So I’m not wasting away.

Hopeful that the ENT might help. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

@Funkyart, thanks for the reminder to take a deep dive into the closet! I know I really need to do that. Most of the clothes fit me, but I don't love them anymore for whatever reason and I end up wearing the same 20% of what is filling the closet. Need to go through shoes too.

@Sueb20, I hope the ENT can find what is wrong. Not knowing what is causing pain/symptoms is the worst feeling.

I had surgery scheduled for next week for the large kidney stone, but luckily my latest scan shows that is has passed on its own without causing any new symptoms or pain. Meeting with urologist in a few weeks to figure out how to avoid more of them.