Alright Andi.. bend over... KICK... now do you feel better.. I dont think so. Honey, this is a long journey. It's not one that ends in 6 months to a year. It's not one of those diets you can start and stop. It's a lifestyle change. This is also a very hard time of the year. It's cold, dark and things that we would normally be able to do are not there for us. Our bodies are cold and they store more fat during this time as well. We just finished a major holiday sequence and I know I am struggling cause I was eating cookies and all kinds of bad things during that time. Reigning myself back in now has been really tough and sometimes I just want to scream... why cant I have these things.. I've been good. Than I sit back and remember.. it's a lifestyle change. Today I got on the scale and found an additional five pounds staring up at me and I have no idea what I did to get that. so for the last 4 hours I have been freaking out trying to understand what I did and wondering if I should do something crazy to get back down. the answer is no. I will stay with what I am doing and it should come back down. I have to have faith in my plan and know I am doing things right to maintain the weight I want. Now for you, I am not sure if you are still trying to loose those last few pounds still, but, you gotta sit back, look at the overall picture. Are you sticking to the lifestyle changes you need to. No one can kick you in the butt but your self here. Take the time to set up a plan, make a schedule and stick to it. You are waiting the the gym. Hey they have programs on cable all the time you can work out to. Do that until the gym comes through. I know you dont want to hear it, but get back to basics. Get that protein in, avoid those carbs and see if you start feeling more energtic. I know when I over do the carbs I am very tired all day. when I stick to proteins I have energy to burn and it's hard to keep me sitting down. Look at you intake. What is the ratios like. Set up fitday or sparkpeople and really take a good look at what you are doing. I know when I started doing that I realized that I could make better choices and some choices I thought were good wherent so good. as far as PMS .. oh yeah I have that.. when I have my period which seems to be about every 4 motnhs right now. dont know why. So I dont even know if i can blame the five pound gain on that because I am so irregular. I can tell you when I am gonna start I feel like i am five months pregnant. I look down and see a big belly swelling right in front of my eyes. As you know, I have no boos so I dont have your problem there but I know soreness sucks. I do get cramps and backpain which tylenol doesnt help much for, but hey.. its what we are allow to take now. Like I said, this is a lifestyle change not a temporary fix. For the rest of my life at least, I know I cant eat sugar, bbq, overly dry meat and many other things cause I will dump. Is that a good thing. I dont know but it is my life now. I know we have all been in this now for almost 2 years and it's tiring to a point. I think does it end, will I ever be able to just eat without thinking about what I am putting in my mouth. Will I ever be normal again. I dont think so, so for me instead of stressing over it, I have just decided to go with the flow which is how I live my life. Accept and embrass it even if its not always what I want. I am glad you are seeing someone to help you with your inner self. thats a good thing. Take care of yourself and know that I am here for you whenever you need me. I care about each and everyone on this site. I think it's getting tough right now for a lot of us. we are tired of this diet thing. When was the last time we every stuck to one this long... NEVER... so have faith in yourself my friend.. it's gonna be ok. Hope to get to feeling better real soon. Carla

I am going to stop stressing about every little thing that could come up in the next 6 months and worry about the next 6 minutes. I am going to relax and enjoy each day instead of worrying about how many chores I have got to get done. I am going to giggle at least once a day. I am going to lay off the junk food. I promise. (if it is home made from scratch, is it really junk?

Andi, Someone once told me (and not to long ago at that) it wasn't about perfection So don't be so hard on yourself. Heck, we have the rest of the world that will do that for us Diane

Oo, yes, nuts and cheese...I used to add some raisins in there too - I'd forgotten those, yummy. Thanks everyone - I should be well away now. here's to healthy eating!!

OK Andi you and me are gonna kick our bodies (and butts!) into high gear. My body too has 'rested' long enough and it's time to get back onto the slide downward again. I too don't have the time, energy or inclination to weigh, measure or count what goes into my mouth, so we need to find some other way to increase our loss. As you say, any kind of exercise is gonna do it - I've just got to 'do it' (ala Nike). Even positive thinking will help at this point...I'm going to do the PMA post - hope thats ok with you as for the pms - those around you will just have to put up with it like I'm sure they do anyway, as they love you and you can live through it like you are and have been. hugs