Good morning, beautiful friends! I am getting ready to go out for a walk with my hiking sticks ... temps are pretty mild today, finally, so it's a great time to get some walking in. Also, today is a packing day for -- I don't actually leave until Friday morning but work is going to be a bugger this week and I don't want to pack in a rush.

As for healthy habits, I am reevaluating my eating. Something is not working-- not sure what it is but i need to change it up. I have not been losing weight even though I've been in the calorie range.. and I have been very bloated lately. I have been eating a lot of salad but also toast and open-faced sandwiches. Maybe it's the carbs? Maybe I need more fruits and veggies? I haven't been eating my oatmeal and berries lately-- that's the first thing I'll add back in.

I am not pleased with my progress but I am proud that I have stuck with it and that I continue to monitor progress and adjust my approach. I am especially looking forward to a couple of weeks of increased activity with the help of my hiking sticks and vacation. I think it will go a long way to helping me to feel safe and confident on my own streets when I return home.

What's been working well for you-- what has you motivated this week?

Great news on the walking sticks Funky! I hope you are out enjoying your day.

This was a good week for me - 3 sessions of pickleball, a couple long walks, and 6 sessions of weights/resistance training. DH bought us a leg machine so that should help get me some extra weights for my quads and hamstrings. We are starting the 800 gram fruits and veggie challenge at work tomorrow. A little friendly competition should be motivating. Or maybe the group support:) 800 grams is really a lot when you aren't just eating it in watermelon all day! It will take some changes to my diet.

I hadn't worn my CGM in a couple months so I decided to put it back on since I have been eating so much more fruit lately, and will be for this challenge. So far, so good. I am really pleased. I haven't had a spike from berries, apple, or a peach. I can also eat a normal serving of beans without an issue now. Today I'm going to try watermelon. See if I can find a safe serving size. I LOVE watermelon, so I tend to eat a lot of it.

My goal this week is to stick with the daily 20 minutes of weights/resistance. I'm thinking a short period every day will be easier to make myself do. But, maybe not. Still looking for the perfect combination of time, place, and routine to make it a habit.

Hope everyone has a happy and healthy week ahead!

Every year when I visit my sister, I come back 3 pounds lighter. Truly, this happens every visit. I eat plenty of great food, fun treats, and used to drink alcohol. I’m active, of course, but it doesn’t seem to be that much more active than when I’m home.

This year, between seeing her and visiting Iceland, I returned home closer to 6 pounds lighter. And more amazing, it hasn’t changed in the week I’m back. I know I shouldn’t put such importance on a number but seeing it lower is a bit inspiring. Hoping to maintain this change, I have been more deliberate with my eating all week.

Exercise-wise, I decided I’m not pushing myself hard enough at the gym so I made a few changes there. This time of year I prefer biking, over walking, and have 2 evening groups to occasionally ride with in addition to my solo morning rides.

Here’s to staying on the path to good health for all of us.

So glad to hear everyone had a great week last week-- I love hearing what's working for you and all the emphasis on activity! Most especially I love the positive energy! Thank you all for sharing-- it makes a difference in MY motivation when you are motivated!

And seriously, if Mtn comes back from iceland 6lb lighter, I am booking a trip!

I weighed this morning for the first time in a number of days-- and I was down. In fact, when I logged my weight in Myfitnesspal, I see that I am down 11 lb since 5/11... a little less than three months. I have been whining about not losing weight-- but I am losing at a healthy and reasonable pace.

I am a little embarrassed about my whining ... I should be/need to be more realistic and more patient. I have a long way to go yet and I can't give up or be discouraged now. I saw the losses more easily early on ... I know that to see them better now, I need to increase my exercise. I have been increasing my activity in the last few months but I am not very regimented and I am not working on increasing muscle. I think that is key in this next phase of weight loss. I will certainly be more active on my vacation starting later this week but I need a plan for when I return. I have been balking at ubering to a gym but I think that's going to be my best solution. I think I need a gym and a trainer to get me started. I was an athlete many years ago so I am sure I will take to it quickly. I just need a kickstart ... or more like a kick in the pants!

65 lbs. lost. 7 lbs to next major milestone. Came back from family reunion with a gain of about 4 lbs. even though I did not eat off Keto plan. Very depressing. After a week now back to original weight minus 1 lb.

I think the gain was due to two things: burgers from Burger King, but did not eat the buns and I stepped in a mound of fire ants, which I believe both led to major inflammation. They are finally clearing up but appears to be leaving scars.

While I want the process to go faster, I cannot go down any further on the daily calories. The only thing I can do is to increase the exercise/moving. That's the goal for the week. Oh, add more water.

Begin rant.

Darn it is tough tough tough to not go on a roller coaster ride every time we step on the scales. I have tried so hard to learn not to go on a roller coaster ride emotionally as an adult. I have fought tooth and nail against my proclivity for going off the rails emotionally when something goes wrong. I have succeeded mostly with that. But then I get on the scales and those little numbers send me into a tailspin if I am two or three pounds in the wrong direction. It is awful.

End rant.

Things are going well enough and right now the numbers are behaving themselves on the scale. I am still fighting with me because who else do we fight with the most about stepping up my exercise program. This is the week! Weightlifting or at the very least body weight exercises must increase. My goal is not to fight the pound problem too much but to gain muscles in as many spots as my body has them. Wish me luck. Best of luck to everyone else.

Continue rant :)

It is crazy how obsessed I am with the number on a scale, a number that really only tells us our gravitational pull to the earth at that moment. It's made up of bones and fat and muscle and water, and the food we ate today. It's ingrained in me for sure. And it is such a small part of our health. I don't know how to get over it either. I think because I am somewhat taller - 5'8" - maybe, DS says I'm shrinking :) But of course I'm going to weigh more than someone 5'2" or so. But I still hate that number. It seems like a number a man should weigh, not me. In fact a lot of men weigh it and less! And that makes no sense, just to compare myself to random men, but it's always been my thought process. Even now, when people say I look good - I think to myself, can I really look good if I still weigh XXX?

The worst part is, I think about throwing out the scale and just going by NSV like clothes and bloodwork and energy levels, but then I think how weirdly happy I get when the numbers go down and I don't want to miss that. Ha! Zero sense for sure.

Aww I am sorry, I sometimes feel that my focus on pounds lost has a negative impact to others here-- but I do realize that the obsession with weight is complex and has a long history in all of our past lives. It isn't about me. We all struggle with the same to some degree or another.

I DO think for those of us on a major weight loss journey that it is valuable to keep track of pounds lost -- but not in isolation. We need to track weight along with a range of other healthy improvements. Had I been paying attention to the numbers, I'd have never gotten so far off track!! Still, I agree that the obsession with weight doesn't help any of us. I wish that the NSVs were enough to keep me going -- and some weeks they are-- but not all weeks. I need to know that some day I will be much closer to my goal weight. The numbers can be motivating... and just as quickly they can work against my motivation.

Legomom, I do get the frustration with a weight that seems like it is higher than it should be... but who decides what it should be??? I got over this for the most part many years ago. I was an athlete for 30ish years of my life and mostly fit and active for 45 years. I have always carried extra weight but I was strong and I had/have a large bone structure. Muscles and bones add weight just like fat does. We need to shift our thinking to good health, good behaviors and we need to stop beating ourselves up for our appearances or the numbers that stare back at us from the scale .. we really do need to be better to ourselves.

Still ... I do and will hold myself a little more accountable to the numbers. A complete disregard of them is what allowed me to hit a crazy high weight before I took serious action. I can't let myself do that again. Twice in my life I gained a lot of weight in a short time and that's no longer acceptable to me. I need to be accountable ... but not obsessed. It's a fine line.

Yes, I saw something that if you are working on your fitness/muscle mass, you will probably weigh more than you want. This is true, and probably something good to keep in mind. But I have real weight/body fat to lose so seeing some change in numbers is something I need to be seeing. And I'm having difficulty tracking, which I had been doing. I'm keeping my streak alive, but to have to go back and recall the previous day is not good for me either!

Yay for better weather. It is supposed to cool down a bit here this week, so it would be nice to take the Mustang out. I did mat Pilates today and weights.

MIL and I participated in a neighborhood yard sale on Saturday, and she brought over a large container of cut cantaloupe, which is nice, but I just cut cantaloupe the day before. So, I am up to my eyeballs in cantaloupe. She also brought some kind of banana nut muffins, which are high in calories, carbs, and sugars, so I am going to pass on them. We tell her not to buy us stuff, especially food--especially food that is not part of my eating plan, so it's a little frustrating. She needs to watch her budget in retirement, too.

Sorry, Justdoit! I meant to congratulate you on your losses to date .. and getting back on track after your travel!! You've made great progress and I know it takes a lot of work and focus!

I DO find that a lot of food causes me to bloat/retain water.. sometimes it is unavoidable but I try very hard to stick with fresh made food and as many veggies and fruits as I can now that so many are in season.

I have a trip coming up and have decided to just do the best I can.. no stress around food or eating. I'll double down when I return.

I am a scale junkie. Yes my health is important but I feel like this is my last opportunity to get to goal weight for once in my life. So hyper focused on the scales

Same -- and still, it works against me sometimes.

Or I work against me sometimes.

hhireno, can we visit your sister too?! I rarely come back from travels lighter than I left, How wonderful for you!

@gardener123 I’ll check with her! 😆 She was a caterer, and her husband and kids are also great cooks. The annual weight loss is the icing on the cake, so to speak, of a wonderful visit. 🎂 I should make note of what happens to my weight when she visits me. Since I’ve never given that a thought before now, I’m guessing it doesn‘t change or I would have noticed.

I should make note of what happens to my weight when she visits me.

This made me laugh! I used to be a notorious food pusher when I entertained. Visiting DDs would regularly ask "how much butter is in this?".

But now I work off a vegetarian charcuterie board theme (I know, I know...and no, not exactly a crudité board) and have upped my game to appetizers like lemon hummus board with cucumber rounds instead of crackers, and other healthy variations. Simple to prepare, gorgeous presentation, and less guilty pleasure for me and guests. Trying to be mindful and dropping in as many fresh fruits and veggies as possible, whenever possible, including when entertaining.

a favorite restaurant used to have a veggie charcuterie board that was so good we'd plan shopping trips around a stop for drinks & nibbles... they don't offer it anymore but if i remember, it included a lovely hummus, grilled brussels sprouts with a spicy glaze, pickled vegetables and some kind of grilled cheese (which I didn't eat so I don't remember the details).

I learned to accept "charcuterie" to include any interesting assembly on a board.

I’m still maintaining the weight loss. Yes, I’m a scale-slave too but not every day anymore like I used to be. Some days I’m down a pound or two and other days it's back up those 1-2 lbs. I'm OK with that right now as I feel healthy and fit.

My Pilates instructor is on a long vacation overseas so my classes are down to 1/week instead of 2 since she couldn't find someone to sub. It's ok but we all miss her classes. We have workouts she created in the Trainerize app we can do and I've been doing those at least twice a week.

One thing that has helped both of us is eating a very small meal in the evening. We are actually eating less for all meals but occasionally have a larger meal at lunch instead of dinner. We also have more fresh veggies from our garden…lots of tomatoes, squash, cukes, peppers. So I've been trying to cook with those and supplement from the farmer's market. And my favorite fruit, peaches, are in season, so that is usually breakfast.

Funky, if we need a group trip to Iceland count me in!

Congrats to everyone doing so well in your weight loss and healthy life progress!

Checking in. Had a good Pilates private session today. Did the reformer and i also used the stability chair which really kicked my butt (and hamstrings). It’s such an odd piece of equpment but it works. Also did some prone tricep presses and then side-lying movements with leg lifts. . Outsideplaying, yes, there is definitely a shortage of people who can sub, especially for equpment. I am actually thinking of getting mat certification. It would be a journey to get everything.

I’ve gotten back on track with tracking, so I am feeling good about that. I did not eat any of the muffins, but I’m thinking i’d like to make steel cut oats tomorrow.

My coworker went to Iceland over our spring break. There is a nonstop flight from Raleigh. She had a good time but it was still pretty cold. She was pregnant so couldn’t try any of the hot springs.

Good morning all. Love hearing how everyone is doing and what is working each of you. I have had a difficult couple of weeks motivation wise but seem to be getting back with my program now. I am also a scale slave, but I seem to go off the rails if I do not use the scale as my guideline.