Kime-lou

Hi Kime-lou, I love the title of your post -- so powerful to be in reality vs. the land of fog or pretend. You are doing beautifully -- THAT is the reality. Thanks for a great post. Sugar is such a tough one. I am pre-band and currently outlawing some foods in order to get weight off before the surgery. Once banded I hope to not have that on/off or dieter's mentality but to be able to have a bit of something once in a blue moon. Ice cream, however, appears to be a no-no in my world. Just too easy to say yes, yes!

Was last night ice cream night? I sent my husband out for soft serve. They didn't have the flavor I like so instead he brought home wonderful mint chocolate chip, hard ice cream. No one told me to eat it. I was bad.
Today is a new day. We can all do it. I am not as bad as I was, having a lot of ice cream every night.

You can TOTALLY do this!! And fyi- you are NOT failing!! You've managed to maintain your weight despite life handing you a big plate of stress and you've done it for months. That isn't failing, that's a huge accomplishment and something to be proud of.

I am so sorry you're still dealing with asshatery at work. I'm even more sorry to hear you're struggling so much. But really, considering all you've been dealing with? It think it's awesome you've managed to maintain your weight despite recent obstacles. I think that's a huge accomplishment.
Please hang in there. We're with you in spirit and pulling for you!
((hugs))

Thanks all! We have a 3 day weekend coming, but it is full. The normal - grocery time and cleaning the house. My BFF had a baby yesterday, so we are going an hour north to see them and meet our new godson. Sunday we are going to my moms, because we haven't seen them in a couple of weeks. Monday I hope to get a little rest and go out for our anniversary dinner. The hubs and I will have been married 4 years on Sept 5, but we know we won't be able to celebrate during the week.
I hit the bed about 8:00 last night and got up at my normal 5 am. I however, feel tired already. Don't know what's wrong with me. All I want to do is sleep and eat. Have a doctor's appointment next week, hopefully they will do blood work and see what's up.

Thanks all! We have a 3 day weekend coming, but it is full. The normal - grocery time and cleaning the house. My BFF had a baby yesterday, so we are going an hour north to see them and meet our new godson. Sunday we are going to my moms, because we haven't seen them in a couple of weeks. Monday I hope to get a little rest and go out for our anniversary dinner. The hubs and I will have been married 4 years on Sept 5, but we know we won't be able to celebrate during the week.
I hit the bed about 8:00 last night and got up at my normal 5 am. I however, feel tired already. Don't know what's wrong with me. All I want to do is sleep and eat. Have a doctor's appointment next week, hopefully they will do blood work and see what's up.

Please know that you are worthy of all good things. It's so easy to get down on ourselves when we're exhausted. Please be gentle with yourself and take good care -- you are worth it. Thank you for posting. It really helps me to read what others are going through. Life can be so stressful. When I'm able to step back and view things from a distance, sometimes I gain insight.

Kime, it is so easy to fall back into our old ways and into our comfort zone. Here are a few suggestions from someone who works a lot of long hours. Plan... Planning snacks and meals is key to being successful and staying on track. Yes it takes time and energy to get this started but it pays off in the long run and than you are not tempted to migrate to those comfort foods and allowing your head hunger to rule you again. On your days off take the time to sit down and plan some meals that will allow you to take the left overs for lunch the next day. Make yourself some healthy snacks and place them in snack bags in a container and keep in the cabnet or fridge. I keep my protein bars in the freezer, this forces me to eat them slowly and take the time to enjoy them. I place my nuts or chocolate in individual bags that are my serving size. I never trust my self to know when to stop eating because honestly who sees it but me and if no one sees it it does'nt count RIGHT. That was my old way of thinking and it is so easy for me to go back there if I don't stay focused. I like snacking as much as the next person so I plan. I have also found that if I allow myself to eat Pizza or a pasta dish I am soooo hungry in a very short period of time and this makes it hard. I work hard to eliminate carbs at night and focus more on protein and green veggies for nights. I always try to save some calories for night time because when I watch TV I want a snack some nights and I figure planned snacks are better than just eating anything and everything in site. My last comment is don't give up on your self, you have done a good job of losing weight and will continue to lose. Stress is unfortunately part of our daily lives and there will always be something that triggers us to eat or graze.
Good luck and I know you can do this and reach your personal goal.

I am very happy to hear from you, again. The beginning of the school year is always very busy. Sometimes you just have to walk away from your desk and say it's me time for 15 minutes.
Have a great Labor Day weekend and relax with your wonderful husband.

I am so sorry you are feeling this way. I wish I had some wisdom to share... It sounds like you need a break, some time to re-focus on YOU.
Don't be too hard on yourself, you haven't gained and that is a big victory. Forgive yourself and move forward.
I hope it all settles soon.

Kime - being able to maintain the same weight for a period of time, is success as well! Seems with this affliction, we're either going up or down. Staying the same for more than a week, hasn't really been in our repertoire. Finding comfort while coasting on calm waters, is (what I believe) the long term key to success. You are doing GREAT!!

Thanks all- I am my own worst enemy. I had hoped I would have lost more by this point. I have been at the same zone for 3 months, I feel like I may be stuck. OH, well- the stress of my work life at the moment isn't helping much. My NUT said that I need to try to maintain for now until the stress level dies down and then try to start losing again. I guess I need to take that advice.

Great post, and such a great way to look at it!

seeing my clothes get smaller and me being more mobile is worth more than a over in a moments food/drink
great post

So, a challenge to us all- equate calories to dollars- is a milkshake worth $1000- NOPE
LOVE THIS!!!!!

you really should stop downing yourself by saying (you only lost 60 pounds)..that is an incredible feat... be proud of that

Yea....what CG said!
This is your life....not some race to see how fast you can get to some magic number. (although I'm guilty too!) Hell, I'm coming up on four YEARS and not at that scale goal yet.
Some days I eat MUCH more than others...and I'm fairly "tight". But thats life with the band for me....and its working that way.
Be proud where you've come so far.... Try going and carrying around a 60# bag of concrete/whatever for a while..

You sound like me except I am down around 74-79 pounds depending on the day. i know if I was 100% I would be down more. I am very happy, it's not a weight gain like the many many years in the past.
For dinner tonight I am having my 1oz of pasta with my chicken and salad. I know I can not do without everything. Last night I had a wonderful salad and salmon but ate a big ass warm crunchie roll, the insides dug out.
Be happy with what you have done, lost weight!!

You talk like 60 pounds isn't a lot of weight! Let me put this in perspective for you: My 10 year old son weighs 67 pounds. You lost almost the equivalent of a 10 year old boy. That is no small feat!! That's A LOT of weight!!
Don't ever compare yourself to others. No one is doing "better" than you are. Your journey is uniquely yours and you're doing beautifully at it.
Don't be so hard on yourself

You will definitely get there!!
I've never been a fan of exercise, either. In fact I historically avoid it like the plague lol. Like you, I much prefer to actually "do" something. For instance, mowing the lawn is my job and I actually (oddly) enjoy it. The cool part is, according to my pedometer, I walk almost 2 miles when I mow it, too. I also do all the weeding, hedge trimming, etc.
I think that's why my main form of exercise has always been walking. I actually enjoy walking. I live in a really awesome spot for it too so that helps a lot. There's a lot of wooded paths and beautiful scenery. Because I enjoy it it's never a chore and I never feel like "ugh, I have to go walk a couple miles now". I look forward to my daily 2+ mile walks and get bummed when I can't for some reason.
Perhaps that's what you need to find- something you truly enjoy doing?

This is great motivation. My surgery is in a few weeks, and I do not want any doubt that I can do this! Great reminders! Thanks for sharing!

I can really identify with this. I get the signal (tightness in chest, long sigh, hiccups) and I ignore them sometimes bc I still feel hungry in my tummy. Im trying to learn how to heed these warnings but its so hard.

Smart man!! My hubs didn't even propose - we got engaged during an argument- actually we really haven't argued much since. Go Fig.
My hubs also, does buy gifts. I've never gotten flowers, EVER!!!! I keep giving the hubs not so subtle hints- hell I even sent him the damm number in an email, still nothing.
Recreate the way you proposed, or propose all over a gain with a ring or necklace. I would fall out if my hubs did that.

I mistyped- the hubs never buys gifts. The only thing he purchased for me is a pair of footed pj's - they were way big and uncomfy and they were for Valentines.
Maybe one day I will get romance, but I doubt it.

Smart man!! My hubs didn't even propose - we got engaged during an argument- actually we really haven't argued much since. Go Fig.
My hubs also, does buy gifts. I've never gotten flowers, EVER!!!! I keep giving the hubs not so subtle hints- hell I even sent him the damm number in an email, still nothing.
Recreate the way you proposed, or propose all over a gain with a ring or necklace. I would fall out if my hubs did that.