Hey Margaret,
I have visited daily, just not posted, because... well I never had time or anything smart to say. Still don't have anything smart to saybut at least I have time !

You got back on your feet in no time, even with that setback of the surgery you are getting ever so close to catching me! And considering the boobie-skin you probably caught me weeks ago!

Personally I think you should go to greece, what you have learned about eating and cooking won't be forgotten, all your hard work won't be in vain and you did not put that weight on in a few months, even though the years seem to have gone fast when looking back on them!
I know this project of yours is currently among the most important things, and you have done so well, but isn't part of the whole "this is for life" being able too apply to it to the life you used to live and love? And you won't always be in your safe environment where you control it all, you wouldn't want to always be there! So I say you go and you have fun, eat yummy food, just in small portions and greece is beautiful to walk in! And if it is too hot to walk, swimming in the sea burns tons of calories!

I understand why you feel resilient to go, I am currently at home (for just 9 days) and I am a bit scared of putting weight back on, of not exercising enough, etc... but at the same time I am really enjoying this! And that was partly why I wanted to lose the weight, to be able to enjoy things again without it weighing me down!
Camy

Thanks for visiting. Well - weighing on both Wednesday and Thursday has both seen my weight start to climb from Tuesday's new low. I am now nearly 2 pounds up from it. Today (Thursday) is day 20 of my cycle - and I normally start to retain water pretty soon now - so would not be too surprised if I dont see many more new lows for a while. Maybe the water retention started a day or two early - certainly my last period came early whilst I was in hospital so it means that my cycle is less predictable than normal this month.

Kimberly
My weight loss is predictable more than consistant - I say that because there is most definitely a skewed pattern to it. I would agree that I am very consistant with my habits (eating and exercise). I always admit to being a creature of habit. Apart from when I binge for emotional reasons - when the rulebook goes out of the window - I would say that it is easier for me to stick to the plan rather than veer away from it. I get very twitchy if I dont know how things are likely to go - if I stick to the plan I can convince myself that I have done my bit and if it doesnt work it isnt my fault. I am really good at beating myself up if I think that things are going wrong and that it is all my fault.

Kelly and Dawn
Thanks for the new low congratulations. It is always nice to reclaim the territory - even if you go up again afterwards. I will be so pleased when we get the plane tickets booked for Greece.

Dawn
Too true - not eating the food would be seen as an insult. It is easier to eat the food and lose that gain weight again than to mend the fences when people think you have refused hospitality. People in villages can have very long memories.

Camy
I hope that you are enjoying spending time with your family. I am sure that they will have been impressed by your slimmer figure.

You are right - weight management in general and weightloss in particular is so much easier at home when we are in control of most of our actions. We cannot always live our lives in a plastic bubble - we have to learn to live outside and deal with things as best we can (dealing with consequential gains in a timely fashion is part of that). We have to remember that many skinny people grumble about putting on weight on holiday and at Christmas. I have to learn that I should view it as a normal experience - not something for the obese and recovering obese.

Take care
Love
Margaret

Wednesday 07/05/08

General Data:

Morning walk = about 6.6 miles
Round the block = 3 times
Extra exercises = none
Weight = 10st 6.2 lbs (i.e. 146.2 pounds)
Steps = 24,959
Distance = 9.65 miles
Remembered to take normal vitamin / supplements
No creaming regime – apart from morning / evening moisturising face
No ankle exercises

My Food / Drink:

Basic eating plan

1 banana
3 weetabix, sweetener, 350 ml skimmed milk
1 handful honey shreddies
1 handful honey shreddies
1.5 handful honey shreddies
1 pear
1 pear
1 apple
1 clementines
1 clementines
40 grapes
2.5 litres of cold water
some diet cola

Roast pork, carrots, celery, broccoli, spring greens, cauliflower, gravy
1 plums
1 plums
1 plums
1 plums
1 peach
7 strawberries

I hear ya on the weight going up. Unfortunately, mine is due to eating too much--my fault. You have a much better excuse.

Have you and Rod worked out what kind of seats you'll be getting on the plane? I remember there was some discussion of him flying biz class and you in economy now that you're smaller, but you not liking that idea (understandably) as it rewarded him for not losing weight, and punished you for doing so.

Hi Kimberly

Mine might be a better excuse if I could lay off the honey shreddies. At the moment I am having more and not less. The fact is that (and we all know that I dont count calories) I can rationalise the fact that an extra handful of honey shreddies is never going to amount to enough extra calories to move from losing weight to gaining weight.

As far as the flight goes - it looks like it will be business class. We toyed with the notion of getting him two economy seats - but he seems to prefer business class. The fact that the hospital incident could have all gone so very much worse has put us both very much into the "life is for living" frame of mind so I think that we will spend the money and see our friends.

He is currently just awaiting a ruling from his HR that the time that he took off when I was in hospital can be classed as dependency leave. He has his manager's support in this. That is unpaid - but would mean that he still had as much annual leave left. He is going to speak to HR today on the subject.

Take care
Love
Margaret

i have to admit, like camy i read most days but dont post (i do that a lot lol)
I gain weight usually too at the wrong time of month. And i have to admit ive caught myself many a time justifying what ive eaten, but the scale always tells the truth

I think ive finally found the right combo atm though and those last bits are sliding off nicely.

Hi Liz

My period makes my weightloss so skewed it is silly. I go from losing to gaining on the same food literally overnight. I went through it on page 108

http://www.weight-loss.fitness.com/w...urney-108.html

Since I weigh daily - seeing the big gain (as oppose to the day to day fluctuations that we all have) actually makes me check where in my monthly cycle I am.

My body seems to just love retaining water!

It's great that your last bits are sliding off nicely. You got great weightloss this week and I have to say again that your photos are stunning. You must be so pleased with them.

Take care
Love
Margaret

HI

You will be fine in Greece, everyone puts on a bit of holiday weight but you will have it walked off in days when you get beck into your routine. You wont be sitting there the whole holiday doing nothing you will still be out and about walking around and a good swim to keep cool will burn off that treat you had im sure!
But you know yourself your limits and its all about making the healthier choice but not depriving yourself

Im very jealous i really want to go abroad but cant afford it at the mo silly house needing new windows lol

Sarah

Hi Sarah

Hopefully you will have some much better things to spend your money on by the end of the year if your baby plans all work out quickly.

I really dont see me depriving myself in Greece!

Take care
Love
Margaret

Thursday 08/05/08

General Data:

Morning walk = about 7.5 miles
Round the block = 3 times
Extra exercises = none
Weight = 10st 6.6 lbs (i.e. 146.6 pounds)
Steps = 27,189
Distance = 10.51 miles
Remembered to take normal vitamin / supplements
No creaming regime – apart from morning / evening moisturising face
No ankle exercises

My Food / Drink:

Basic eating plan

1 banana
3 weetabix, sweetener, 350 ml skimmed milk
1 handful honey shreddies
1 handful honey shreddies
1 handful honey shreddies
1 handful honey shreddies
1 pear
1 pear
1 apple
1 clementines
1 clementines
2.5 litres of cold water
some diet cola

Salmon fillet, sweetcorn, peas, small amount of olive spread
1 plums
1 plums
1 plums
1 plums
1 peach
1 kiwi fruit

I think it's great that you're both going biz class. I'm sure the tickets are outrageous--so it's nice you can afford it. There are a few websites that advertise 50% of biz class seats. Do you know what I'm talking about? That might be a way to save some more money, which is always nice.

Sorry your weight is going up still. I'm with you on the honey shreddies not responsible for the gain. One handful isn't gonna do it. I'm sure it's all TOM related. I can't say the same for myself..lol.

Hi Kimberly

Rod has been checking with opodo for ticket prices. We firmly believe in getting discounts where they are available. Rod has been doing the investigating as he has said that he will pay for the tickets (well he is the only one who is earning money!)

The good news is that HR have agreed today that he can have the time he took off when I had my operation as dependancy leave so it goes through as unpaid but he still has as much holiday left as if the operation hadnt happened.

It's a good job that I know it cannot be down to the honey shreddies - my weight is just zooming upwards. I could eat a box of the things and not get enough calories to justify today's gain! If I only weighed once a week and didnt know the way my body is - I would be having kittens at seeing a 2.6 pound gain since last Friday. I would also have no idea that I was losing steadily up until and including Tuesday. People wonder why we weigh every day!!! I couldnt cope doing otherwise!!!

I know that the gain is not sodium - I am really good with that. My blood pressure proves it. My blood pressure on leaving hospital (despite all the saline drips and associated weight gain) was 102 over 64. The concept of a pre TOM climb all fits in with data from the past - I am sure that is what is happening.

At least you probably had some great meals and treats to get your gain. I know that I would prefer a treat / feast to the whim of the calendar.

Take care
Love
Margaret

i hope that the weight stabilises itself for you soon!

Hi Kelly

Thanks for your good wishes.

My weightloss is always very skewed. I basically get all my weightloss over two weeks of the month and then spend the next two weeks trying to get back down to where I was at the start of that two week spell. It is all due to the water retention that I get around my period.

If you count the first day of my period as day 1 and count up from there - I tend towards a regular 28 day cycle. My weight normally starts heading upwards about day 22 and doesnt get back to where it was on day 21 until about day 8. Last month my period came a few days early when I was in hospital so I cannot predict things as accurately as normal. Things started heading upwards about day 19 so I am pretty sure that is what is going on - just offset by a few days because of the operation upsetting my cycle.

In all honesty - I really dont expect to get back to where I was on Tuesday for another week and a half. I will naturally keep on trying as hard as ever (like I do every month) but I have very little expectation from the scale.

If I wasnt aware that my body does this I would be quite upset by the way my weight suddenly starts to gain - but as it is I know that in many ways it is outside my control. Every month my weight does come down and I do get nearer to goal - it just doesnt follow the regular downward pattern that we all would like to see.

Most women retain water to some extent around the time of their period - but I think that I get a longer "weightloss dead spell" than most.

Take care
Love
Margaret

Hey Margaret,
It's great that you know your body's cycle like that, my scale hasn't moved much since I started eating more calories, I'm up to about 1400 right now which seems about right. It's ok, though...at least this way I may actually stay on the wagon this time.

Glad to see you're kicking butt as usual, and I'm glad you're not worried about the weight gain, because what's 2 pounds when you've already lost SO much more?