I found this post from one of the MFP' on a topic; I can't remember her name to give her the credit, but I thought it was a great reminder about not getting discouraged on our journey and staying on our path! :bigsmile:

Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. You can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You can not make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

Morning Hatters!

I had great intentions of posting last night; but ended up falling asleep shortly after dinner lol; will grab my coffee and catch up on the posts! :embarassed:

Glad to see all the lanterns being lit – and good to know anytime one of us has to detour for an obstacle, there will be lights everywhere along the path, to make it easy for us to find our way back! :flowerforyou:

A couple of notes to start:

CB: how are things oming for the ECOH? It’s getting close… you hanging in?

Kobie: when is the surgery? It must be coming up soon if you had all those blood tests.. hope you’re not still a human pincushion?

Time2: I did Steps 1,3 and 5 this morning! Might have to change my planned dinner menu from scalloped potato with the leftover ham to avoid #7 tonite tho! Love those steps! And your stairs…you are doing an awesome job of hitting them every day; you must be so proud of the changes you’ve made my friend!!:drinker:

TA the pep rally/court where your daughter gets presented is on Friday right? I Bet you’re all excited and so proud! And happy birthday to your daughter today! Glad to hear you’re on the mend; hope the students are o operating this week and being angels instead of the little horned creatures lol:devil:

Tonya: having been caregiver for both my parents for many years, I can attest to how wonderful it was for your friend Loretta to have you and Cassie give her a breather. While I considered it a privilege and a gift to care for them, being human, all caregivers have moments and having someone competent and who you can trust take over for a while is a beautiful gift; I am sure Loretta will always remember your kindness! Am very glad to hear J was in good shape for the visit too! I was totally jealous of your Octoberfest feed; we used to go every October and I’m sorry the reuben wasn’t up to standards! And KUDOS to you for recognizing that all the walking took care of any little indulgence; proves our mindset IS changing and knowing that if we can be consistent with healthy eating 80% of the time, and keep up a little daily movement, we no longer have to “freak” over a little indulgence here and there! Well done!:bigsmile:

Mary: you’re doing so great on your path…IPOU!!

Linda: what a lovely sentiment! So good to see your post; hope all is well in your world these days! :flowerforyou:

Janet: I’m going ot pop over and look at the pics as soon as I finish this! LOL @ the “destination wedding being what you’re body needs” – I guess so!! Congrats on the wonderful pounds lost and yes, while it’s not about the actual numbers so much as overall health, it still must have been great to see the numbers hange for the weddings! So glad the day went so beautifully, and did chuckle at your daughters “plan” to make sure the sun came out.. bet you had a minute of panic at first though wondering what was wrong! :noway:

Seehee: Lovely to see you back!! How was the week at the ranch.. specially the exercise part? I know you were a little apprehensive; did you get a chance to speak with the instructors afore hand? Sounds like you’re in a great place right now, mentally and physically – so no worries about the metabolic rate.. it’s just another tool like the scale; your positive attitude and motivation will take you far! :flowerforyou:

GSP: looks like you’ve been doing great too .. so happy for you! And yes.. its so good to know when those moments hit, we have our friends here ready to lend a hand and light the way when we need it!

Patrice – great to see you!

And a big welcome to our newest members Terri and Pam… feel free to lurk at will, or jump in anytime so we can get to know you and offer any support and encouragement we can – just bring your sense of humour, that’s all ya need!! :laugh:

Ok, I think that’s enough for this morning LOL.. have to decide whether to spend today tackling the much needed house work and laundry, or go shopping to find a dress for a dinner on the 18th…. I hate shopping about as much as I hate house cleaning… so it’s a toss up right now; but if I don’t go looking soon… I’m going to end up panicking the day OF. Hmmm.. decisions, decisions! :sad:

Have a great day Hatters…. Aiming for the best choices we can today and moving our bodies for a few minutes in some way will let us put our heads down tonight with a “it was a GOOD day” smile!!

And try to get one good belly laugh in .. remember it burns calories!