Good morning! It snowed last night. We've had snow predicted 3 times this winter and gotten nothing. We've gotten snow twice this winter with none predicted. Current weatherperson average is 0 for 5.

No weight today, still on the steroids.

How is your week going?

Busy this week mom, taking 3 classes simultaneously plus a busy work schedule.  Below zero again this morning - 4th day in a row that we started the day well below zero.

Yesterday was a day off of exercise.  Intense intervals tonight.

172.6 today (my current maintenance range is 169-174)

You seem to be doing well with maintenance, especially with your heavy schedule. I got my degree while working full time and well remember what the schedule felt like! The feeling when you finish is amazing, though.

I did all of my traditional degrees while working, so I know exactly what you mean.  I dropped out of college the first time i tried (right after high school). I simply wasn't mature enough at the time.  I worked for 10 years then went back and finished at night, and went on to earn a MS and PhD while working.  

I'm taking classes for fun right now - the new technologies are sure helpful.  I have two going on at Coursera.org - both covering aspects of Data Analysis being taught from John Hopkins, and I also am doing private French lessons from a teacher in France via Skype.  I'm trying to keep my brain from aging - and the best way seems to be keeping active with challenging mental activities... (I'm 55 - so trying to keep what little i have left still going!) - I also completed a Coursera.org course a few months ago on "Obesity Economics" that was fascinating.

There are so many cool options now - I don't need more degrees, but the availability of interesting classes taught by "rock star" professors is really intriguing! Especially since it's free!

If you're at all interested in this idea, you might check out this course by best-selling author/professor/research Dan Ariely coming up in March (you can enroll and jus****ch the videos, or do the homework and "earn" a certificate of completion): 

A Beginner's Guide to Irrational Behavior

Dan Ariely

In this course we will learn about some of the many ways in which people behave in less than rational ways, and how we might overcome these problems.

https://www.coursera.org/course/behavioralecon 

About the Course

1. To introduce you to the range of cases where people (consumers, investors, managers, and significant others) make decisions that are inconsistent with standard economic theory and the assumptions of rational decision making. This is the lens of behavioral economics.
2. To help you think creatively about the applications of behavioral economic principles for the development of new products, technology based products, public policies, and to understand how business and social policy strategies could be modified with a deeper understanding of the effects these principles have on employees and customers.

About the Instructor(s)

Thursdays are my day off, and for the first time in months I have nothing planned outside the house! Inside is a different story- lots of batch cooking, cleaning, etc.. but no timelines to keep- feels nice!

136.4 today, did some lifting yesterday and sauna.. though I pounded the water I still dropped a lot- so I will give this a couple days to see if there's a bounce before upping cals again. Scale showed I was fine hydration wise, as did other signs this am. Getting in as many cals as I seem to need to maintain may require some nut butters and nuts I think.. Already eating pretty cal dense as it is, we shall see..

Weight was actually 157.2 yesterday - today back up to 158.4, OK.

Weird weather today in Texas - it's already 63F and is expected to reach 80F - in January?

179.0

Why does weight go down much slower that it comes on?

Busy Busy Busy.  Someone drove into my garage door yesterday and I had to fix that - Yuck.  Looking for silicone mold making materials.  

Last night had some interesting insights.  I was practicing making milk chocolate from cacao mass (I am making hubby some custom chocolates for valentines day that reflect his passions - music and cooking). It was a 38% milk chocolate so I had to add 44.5% of the finished weight in sugar (The other 17.5% is milk solids).  I took a small taste and the addiction center in my brain lit up like a firecracker.  The rest of the night I was manic for that chocolate.  I didn't give in past that one taste, but My brain was laser focused.

The resulting filled chocolates and chocolate truffles have been boxed up and were delivered to friends and neighbors before work this morning.  Thank god I will be out of town the week of Valentines day - I can leave those for DH on 2/11 and he can have them eaten by 2/14 when I get back home!

Some carbs have that effect on me: candy and crackers, but not cakey texture things. It's odd!

I would not be able to do the cooking you do and maintain my plan. I do no cooking at all any more - hubs has completely taken it over - and I'm thankful for that.

This was really weird.  I made a ton of cookies for christmas and it never affected me like this.

What has happened, i believe, is that since Christmas I let carbs creep back in too much - I was having bread with breakfast and lunch meals rather than just my sandwich at lunch.  I had birthday cake and desert during the holidays.  All of that acted together to make me more carb sensitive.  I am going strict on my carbs again and letting myself detox again.

I found out an interesting bit of information in talking to one of the doctors this morning.  Apparently in the presence of sugars and carbohydrates our taste buds will change shape.  The elongated shape of these buds increases their surface area and makes them more sensitive to simple sugars and less sensitive to things we should like, i.e. vegetables and more complex carbohydrates.  That coupled with the addiction centers in our brain can make us very susceptible to these kinds of issues.

Its not an excuse - I had let myself get lax with the carbs - weight in maintenance range or not.  But the engineer in me likes knowing the mechanics.

I'm actually higher on carbs than most here - had to be to stop the loss. I range from 100 - 150 most days, with about 40 of those being fiber. I do try to stay away from simple carbs except for periodic treats, though, for the same reason. The carb monster is not my friend.