Long time away; need to refocus

Ive been absent here for several months. 2018 was a challenging year. Stressful job, a flood in my house and my mother passed in July after living with me the last 10 years. I'm up about 20 lbs and it's killing me that I let it creep on. Coming back here to focus and regain control. Any inspiration is welcomed.

Welcome back. I'm so sorry about the death of your mom and everything else that you dealt with during 2018.

I highly recommend contacting your local hospice (if you haven't already!) and taking advantage of their bereavement services. I attended a bereavement group at my local hospice and it was very beneficial to me after my dad died in 2016.

I also gained about 20 pounds after he died, but was able to lose it again so I believe that you'll be able to as well!

Thanks Gwen. I did go to a group for a while and it helped. I'm trying to regain my motivation and being here will help. Did you take your Norway trip? I didn't end up going but I hope to next year.

Good memory - especially since I'd pretty much forgotten that I went to Norway this year.. this year has been, um, challenging.

It was a great trip. We flew into Copenhagen and were there for three nights. While there we went to Legoland, which was freaking amazing, and also had dinner at Noma, which was also freaking amazing. Then we took the night ferry to Oslo and much to our surprise, Lance's brother and sister-in-law met us at the bus to the ferry on the Copenhagen side!! So we got to spend the evening on the ship with them as a great bonus. Then we were in Oslo, with Lance's family, for four more nights before flying back home. We drove over to Sweden for tax-free sugar shopping (since Norway now has this huge sugar tax that drives Norwegians to Sweden for soda and candy... clearly this trip was motivated by his parents, not my desires!) and we saw a super neat museum in Oslo as well. Plus catching up with his parents and siblings. It was a super trip.

I hope you're able to go in the future! Is "next year" 2019 or 2020?

Welcome back! I am sorry about your rough year, especially your mom. I agree with Gwen, a bereavement group would be so helpful. I noticed that a lot of our churches have them as well, you can come whether your a member or not. It's just a place to find others that understand. Re-join the Watcha Eating VSGers menu thread too:-)

Thank you Kristi. Joining the thread is a good idea. I can't believe how easy it was for me to get off track from how I was eating when I was losing! Seeing what others are planning will help. I'm sure they won't include chips or wine.