Monday June 19

Liz, wow! It is amazing how much we have changed! I continue to regard WLS as a medical miracle. We have all been so lucky -- but I know we've also made our own luck.

Still beautiful though!

Beautiful photos Liz. And I think both are beautiful :)

Weight: 154.8. I knew it was bound to catch up with me. I didn't help myself this weekend. We bought a knockoff of the big green egg smoker this weekend. It's the one Sam's sells. For my dad's father's day we celebrated on Saturday. They had a couple of their best friends over to eat and watch an outdoor 16mm movie and as part of his gift I cooked the meal for 11 and took it over. I even loaded the dishes and took all my dishes home! I cooked a rib roast on the grill, twice baked potatoes, corn and lima bean succotash, my aunt brought fruit salad, and I baked my daddy his favorite chocolate meringue pies. It was a fun but long day of cooking. But it was nice hearing DSD and DH laughing and swimming while I cooked.

Yesterday was DH's turn. DSD did a lot of it with just some help from me. She cooked chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes and I made green beans. We saw the Mummy--not too good.

I did get a back and bis workout yesterday. It's the first time in awhile that I felt motivated/excited to go to the gym and I actually had a good workout where I felt like I was pushing myself adequately but not overdoing it. So hopefully that excitement carries into this week!

Thanks BB! Sounds like you had a good weekend.

Great pics, Liz. Just gonna say it - you were cute when you were heavy.Yes, you look great now, but don't knock yourself. You were attractive 5 years ago, too!

Weight is up a pound today. Not pleased by that, but I'm going with "It must be the heat!" It got up to 107 yesterday. The little German place was a steam bath! The food was great, but boy it was wonderful to get out of there. Their AC just couldn't handle the outside heat coupled with a full house of hot, sweaty patrons!

Lots to do today starting with an Airedale client. Started a "to do" list last night to get me through this week. I feel more "on task" if I can focus on my list and get those things accomplished.

I need some on track mojo sent my way, please. What I really need to do is start tracking again. I have taken a break for several months and I LOVE not tracking, but it's not conducive to getting this extra weight off. It's proving to me that I can maintain, though! LOL

Happy new week, all!

Devon, I swear I LUV tracking. :) I really do. The sense of control it gives me is like a drug. I am someone who likes a plan, even if I deviate from it. And especially if it's MY plan. ;)

I also adore the data I collect from tracking. I'm such a data addict. I can put the data into Excel, graph it, even do (blushing) some correlational studies between intake and daily weights. I know everyone's bodies don't react the same to macronutrients in the same time frames, but my morning weight moves up two days after I go significantly "over budget." And the real cause-effect relationships show up on on weekly bases. In my case, my weight today is much more visibly affected by what I've eaten during the last week than yesterday.

Anyway ... you're such a thoughtful person. However you determine to explore and manage your intakes to produce the outcomes you want will be YOUR most effective tactics.

I tracked pretty diligently for a long time - years, in fact. There came a point for me as I hit 5 years out that tracking started to get old. Also, the change in meds has made me a little less concerned about tracking. I'm more about being accepting of my disordered eating. Right now I'm trying to find a balance between understanding the emotional drivers behind emotionally triggered and recreational eating, acknowledging those triggers without guilt, judgement, or reprimand and the desire to lose some weight.

I'm accepting that for years my eating has served a purpose, and on deep levels the eating continues to fulfill an instant gratification need in a subtly rewarding way. Happily, it's no longer an issue of getting back on track for me. Getting "back on track" only changes the symptom for me. I'm working on changing the issue that is causing the symptom.

I'm doing some soul searching about the need to track. I know that if I truly want to lose some more weight, I will need to be more accountable for my intake than I am today. I have a few rough decisions in my upcoming future about my approach to eating over the long haul. It's a discussion I don't want to have today, or probably tomorrow, but I know it's coming. It's one I've had before, but the meds have helped me understand a deeper complexity to my food issues than before, so the conversation feels more ominous than it has in the past.

Oh, dear Lord! I do ramble on about this! Your reply followed my shrink session today. Both caused me to think about what lies ahead for me on my food and weight journey! So, thanks!!!!!!

I used to think tracking was what everyone should do -- because it has been so useful for me. My own shrink continuously lobbies me to trust myself to build "more mindful in the moment" eating behaviors and rely less on planning/tracking. So far I've held him at bay. ;)

BTW, it's pretty hard to be my shrink. I treat every session as if it's my meeting and I've prepared the agenda.

Lordy!

107! I think I would melt!