@2020pinktogo oh my gosh, you can't wear boots! That is strict! Our dress code is kind of loose. I try not to wear shoes that look anything like flip flops because you never know if they will be acceptable. Now that I'm so cold natured I haven't worn sandels in a few months. We can't wear jeans on Friday which is almost unheard of in our town. Crazy thing is you can wear dark dress jeans anytime. Most people in the admin building where I work seldom wear them. Also, some people will wear colored jeans anytime and get by with it. I try to stick with slacks or dress pants.

The high temp today was about 70. I wore jeans, a camisole, and a long sleeved tee. I went to lunch and shopping with friends. I was so cold I wore a jacket most of the time and was still cold in the restaurant. People everywhere else were in shorts and flip flops. I used to be one of those people, but wore capris.

I read that Old Navy had a sale on cardigan sweaters so I went there for a sweater today. I ended up buying four blouses and no sweater. I got a deal on the blouses at least. I ventured out and got a long blouse to wear over leggings to work. I wear leggings to the gym and shopping but I haven't worn them to work. A skinny chic wears them. I think it will be okay since the blouse reaches below my fingertips when my arms are at my sides. I heard the CEO wants blouses to be good and long if a woman is wearing leggings. I tried on a swing dress to wear over leggings but decided to wait. I felt like I was dressing too young. People in the dressing room said I wasn't. I was also concerned it wasn't going to be warm enough for my office. I knew I would have to wear a cardigan with it.

@2020pinktogo gosh! I don't do well with things like dress codes that I find overly strict. I get passive aggressive toward them. I guess that's one more reason to be thankful that I work where I do.

So sorry you don't feel well. I hope you feel better soon!

I'm not feeling as well today. I ate grilled fish and veggies yesterday AND fritos. And oh yeah two bites of oohy gooey cake. I guess my food choices have my stomach acting up this morning. It's still much better than it has been. I guess I need to take a pill to settle it down. I feel like it's not bad enough but I'm going to church so I want to be able to sit still for an hour. I had a banana smoothie for breakfast so maybe that will help. Good health to all of us .

my goodness. Sounds like everyone has been having the same kind of week/month I have. I have completely gotten off my healthy ways of eating, neglected my exercise and basically been a slug. I made my husband promise that if I lose 10lbs by thanksgiving, he'll take me to Buffalo Wild Wings where I can play trivia for as long as I want. We'll see if that helps my motivation.

Last week we were having to deal with a driver's delusional wife and eventually getting an emergency detention warrant after she began threatening to shoot anyone who came to talk to her. Now, I have a suicidal patient in the bulding that we are trying to get into an inpatient facility but so far, no luck. It's so draining dealing with someone who is so far down that they can't seem to find anything worth living form. The fact that no one else sees the urgency we do with him being in the building and "safe" makes me want to hit my head against a wall.

However, I have to admit that it is days like this I am truly thankful for the profession I am in. That I am surrounded by people who handle emergency warrants with great adeptness and all I have to do is keep them occupied and talking while things are going on. (Thankfully, the gentleman that is here is completely voluntary but hospital is just slow getting screener over here.).

I'm desparately wanting to go get into the birthday cake left over from last week or even a few more chicken strips but so far I have avoided it....... I'm on an every 15 minute atta girl routine at this point.

Hope all is well for everyone

@blitzbis God bless you for what you do. I couldn't do it but good people are needed on your field to give people hope and help them find peace.

@JanolaBarbara I am so sorry! It sounds like you have a good plan. Hormones wreak havoc when not balanced.

Have you considered having your doctor running a hormone panel blood test? My psychiatrist recommended this and it helped me so much. It can tell a lot and the doctor can help regulate your hormones with meds. You can take chocolate out of my life before you can take my hormones.

I hope you start feeling better about yourself. Eight pounds isn't that big of a gain. You stayed aware of your weight and are doing something about it. I think that's something to celebrate. I would have been in denial and just bought bigger clothes. You have great support in your husband. I have confidence in you that you will lose the weight.

I am having a major busy and stressful week. I left work after 10 pm last night. I get off at 4:30. I wanted to stress eat but I managed pretty good. I did eat one Hershey dark chocolate kiss. I'm trying to figure out what to eat that won't cause diarrhea. It's tempting to eat only oatmeal. I have realized I don't have time to go to the gym this week. That bums me out. I just have to keep my nose to the grindstone so I can get it all done and hopefully get back to the gym next week.

Thank you all so much for you positive energy! This is why I enjoy this group! And, you are all so right: I am filled with gratitude when I think about how supportive my husband is. I've heard too many tales of sabotaging and/or unsupportive spouses.

Yesterday was Day 1 of the New Plan and as of this morning I have lost 3 lbs!!! Of course, I know it's water weight, but that's what I expected because of the hormones. I knew it couldn't be "real". Also, I know that I'm not going to lose 3 lbs every day, but what a great start! Totally kept me motivated through today. Ugh, I am glad I decided to put a stop to it now instead of waiting until I gained 10 or 15 or 20 lbs!

It's 7:05pm and I'm at 1356 cal. Just a little bit over, but I'm really happy with it. I also walked about 4 mi so I'm sure that will take care of the extra 56 cal. XD I did buy a couple of new outfits, just to cheer myself up and feel comfortable in my clothes. They were on clearance at Target.

@1skholloway -- Yeah, I totally cannot relate to forgetting to eat. I'm almost always wondering WHEN can I eat next, lol! My dr did some bloodwork several weeks ago and she included checking my hormone levels (I kept insisting that I was premenopausal) but everything came back as normal. I am following the advice in the book What Your Doctor Won't Tell You About Premenopause, which includes cutting out certain foods, getting regular exercise, making sure to take enough vitamins, and using a natural progesterone cream.

@blitzbis -- I cannot imagine how many people you help in a day. I am very thankful for people like you. Glad your hospital provides you some nice walks. I hope you managed to withstand the siren call of the birthday cake!

@2020pinktogo -- Good luck with all your training. I know you can do it!!

@2020pinktogo You know, If we didn't know what sort of job you did, we would think that you were some ninja or special ops military... good luck with disaster training! I hope they treat you right at the new location or we will say bad things about them in this semi-private thread...that should scare them!

@1skholloway sometimes I forget I have to use the restroom. Then it becomes an emergency... Now that I am increasing my water intake, it doesn't happen as often as obviously the need arises much faster. @CaptainBoing I know what you mean when you say the desire to eat comes mainly when you are being lazy or just not as active as usual. Also, on super busy days I will forget to eat but then I have (at times) used that as an excuse to eat terribly). Getting better at making better choices thought (most days). It's still a struggle not to go overboard.

@JanolaBarbara wow so happy you are feeling better and positive about this new plan. 4 mile walk that's great considering how badly you were feeling recently. Take care.

Today appears to be another easy day. Going to an inservice with an elder law attorney. However, they are serving Frito Pie. GEEZ. Thankfully I have my little salad I'll tak along and my infused water. I've been loving the strawberry/mint I made.

Have a great day all!

I, too, get busy and "forget" to eat. Then, pounce on whatever food crosses my path. Not a good thing. This month has been terrible at school, too many goodies. I work at a small school now and find it hard to stay away from where the food is. Plus, since the school is smaller, I've been getting less steps in.

I envy all of you who forget to eat! There are times I'm not hungry but I don't forget to eat. @CaptainBoing I can't imagine doing intermittent fasting on a daily basis. WOW! We each have to find what works for us and follow that. I'm glad you found it.

@Blitzbiz I'm proud of you for eating a salad instead of frito pie. Frito pie would be tempting. I also have increased my water intake and I can't wait too long to go to the bathroom or well, it ain't pretty. I do have a bad habit of putting off going to the bathroom.

@2020pinktogo I hope you enjoy this new location.

@NewOR2015 it seems that we have unhealthy snacks in our break room all the time. I almost gave in and ate a donut yesterday. I am so glad my office is no longer next to the break room. Our office is relatively small so I don't get many step in either.

@JanolaBarbara yay!!!! Whatever you are doing is working great for you!

I went back to the doctor yesterday. It was not a good visit. I have a UTI which I knew I had since Monday. That meant I got another strong antibiotic. The doctor didn't think I was any better than when I was in the hospital because I was still having so many bowel movements. I think the bowel movements were due to the previous antibiotic I was on and finished Tuesday night. Now I have to drink powerade or gatorade everyday and the only fruit I can have is bananas. I had never drank powerade or gatorade because they didn't sound good to me and the doctor got very stern and said drinking it wasn't optional. He said I must have sugar. He told me no weight loss for the next week. Ideally he would like to see me gain a pound. He said I could lose the weight later. : ( I am to focus on getting well and not concentrate on my weight. I finally gave in and just started telling the doctor yes, whatever you say. I was honest and told him I had been working over a 14 hour day this week. I even told him he could send me home for the day and he did. I slept 11 hours last night. I will try not to work so long today. I have to go back to see this doctor next week. The diarrhea was better yesterday. I ate a few more calories yesterday and I didn't eat any veggies. I even ate an Arby's jr. roast beef sandwich for lunch and a toostsie roll midge. For me, that is progress. I ate more but I didn't go hog wild. Back to work today. I'm ready to be well!

@2020pinktogo -- *whew* All done! What sorts of things did they go over? I hope you get to work the branch of your choice. Also glad you are listening to your body and taking a break. Everything in moderation! I think we forget that this journey is long term.

@1skholloway -- I know it's hard to believe that there are some things even more important than our weight loss journeys, but it's true. Getting your overall health back on track is way more important. Like he said, once you're 100% well, then you can continue losing weight. I am sure you are frustrated, but take heart and be strong! I sincerely hope you get better soon. It's too bad our WL journeys are never a straight and easy path, right?? Also, wtg on getting in all that sleep! Looks like you needed it. I hope you are able to work less, too.

Today is day #4 of my calorie restriction, and I have to say it's getting hard. The first day, there was the success of staying between 1200-1300 cal (and surviving, lol!) to motivate me for a bit, but now it's less novel and I am chafing at these restrictions. I am not starving, but I am not getting that much enjoyment from my food. (Maybe that's another problem??) I am unwilling to go out, as most meals (even salads) are almost as many calories as my entire day!

On the plus side, I quickly learned the importance of planning my entire day, when to eat each meal, what to eat, and when to have snacks so that I don't let myself get too hungry and eat too much! I'm also drinking a lot more water and tea, just like you @blitzbis and @1skholloway !!!

NSV - I realized yesterday I now I have a thigh gap! I never thought that would happen.