Good morning Cari!

Determination is so much more valuable than a quick timeline, and I'm glad you're celebrating that today.

Today I'm celebrating things being a little bit quieter in my life. I was super busy and then laid out with chronic pain issues for a couple of days, and I just felt my time slipping away from me. I was feeling better yesterday, though, so I walked home, went for a walk with my husband, wrote some thank you notes, and still had time to watch Veep and Brooklyn 99. It felt wonderful to accomplish some things while also having time to relax.

I haven't yet gotten back to the gym, which is something I want to do. It should be so much easier, shouldn't it? I had the time last night, but I prioritized other things. I miss running, though. It's strange. There's a lot of fear that I've completely lost all of the progress I made, but the only way to get over that is to go back to it. I'm working on not letting anxiety make decisions for me, but it's difficult.

First of all, Cari - if weight loss surgery was easy, everyone would do it!!! Also, for that back, look into Hylauranic Acid.... My friend on here has used it to aid her recovery from compressed discs and some other back issues to get back moving again. She loves it. Her name is @Dragonwolf if you want to send her a message. Just tell her I was the one who suggested it. She's an amazing resource for homeopathic remedies - she's a research hound!!

Norah, RELAXATION and stress management are critical to our overall physical and mental health!! Plus, as long as you're still mentally in the game, your body will catch back up with you, and probably faster than you expect...muscle memory is awesome.

Wendy, My allergies have always prevented me from mowing the lawn (done it maybe twice, ever), but that is fabulous!!!! You didn't even need a break until twice your previous STOPPING POINT - not break point, STOPPING point!!!

I posted mine sort of on my wall/blog today, but here's what I'm celebrating:

So, a few NSV's from yesterday. I thought my friends were crazy when they said that hunger could be legitimately quelled.

Yesterday, I drank my LOADED TEA for breakfast at 7:30 am.
Lunch was around one, a small portion of leftover chicken with my homemade alfredo sauce.
Due to some odd circumstances, I wasn't home to eat dinner until 11:30 pm, and then I still had to cook, so I whipped up some bacon and eggs.

It's now 9 am, and I'm still not hungry, and I wasn't overly starving at any point yesterday either. Surreal.

Also, finally hit a new personal best weight, though reluctant to say it out loud because it always ends up resurging a bit at that point, but there you have it. Two months ago, I was at 241.8. Today, I finally dropped the lingering 6 pounds that had been torturing me since then, and I'm at 241.0.

Tomorrow, I'll probably be at 245 or something again, because weight is random like that, but for today, I'll celebrate it. I'm always nervous to measure when I drop like this, because it is a brain-game where my brain tries to convince me that the measurements will undo my scale progress...LOL. Trying on that previously too tight pair of jeans this weekend though.

carimiller7391 wrote: »

Norah- yes, determination is quite important and somedays I just celebrate having that. Sorry to hear about the chronic pain. I definitely know the feeling. I agree with Carly...you will be running in no time as though you never stopped. Muscles are a wonderful thing. I too wish the gym was something easy to get to. Reggie and I are working to get to the gym together. YEAH.

Wendy, I gave up with the pictures. I figured I wasn't seeing a significant change so I wouldn't see it in pictures either. Maybe I should rethink this. Way to go with the 3 acre lawn. That right there deserves huge KUDOS. I can't do the lawn yet, hopefully be end of summer I will be able to.

Carly, Thanks for the suggestion for the homeopathic remedy for my back. I'll try just about anything at this point. It's great that you were not hungry yesterday. I bet something kept you extremely busy though. And to wake up and not be hungry is a total win. Congrats on the weight loss. Keeping fingers crossed that those jeans fit perfectly...

I wasn't busy AT ALL aside from my physical therapy appointment. I was bored and not doing anything from 5:30 pm until 10:30 pm. I was NOT at home, though, so I didn't have access to snacky stuff, but since cutting out all the fake treats, snacks have not been much of a thing for me... It's been nice. I had some macadamia nuts in the car, but really, I wasn't hungry enough to need anything but water!

I would take the pictures even if you don't see anything. Because they are a progress marker. Resize the pictures until your facial features are the same exact distance (eyes from each other, size of eyes line with nose line). Sometimes we think pictures are the same size when they aren't at all. We think we can mentally size them, but we don't do it well... I can help if you have two pics you want me to resize for real comparison... and even if it shows NOTHING, at some point, you may look back and wish you had chronicled more of the journey. Hindsight adds such perspective!!!

carimiller7391 wrote: »

Thanks Carly, I'll get my mom to take some pics this weekend in my "picture outfit"

Looking forward to seeing them. I bet we'll point out all kinds of differences you don't see because you've watched the daily changes.