JUST GIVE ME 10 Days - Round 49

Hi, everyone!

Round 49 SW 224.4

8/6 / 225.4 / Goodness, I'm retaining water like crazy. But I'm eating well and it will all shake out in the end!

8/7 / 223.6 / That's better. As part of another challenge, I did cardio and jumping jacks and drank SO MUCH WATER yesterday. Note to self: Do not drink a lot of water and then do jumping jacks.

8/8 / 225.2 / That one is a bit of a surprise. Hmm. I am back to tight rings and retaining water. But I'm still eating well, still getting my butt moving. Jumping jacks, crunches, and water, along with something that will amuse people of around my age: I decided to dance yesterday as a workout so I learned how to do the Hustle! I was a line dance of ONE.

8/9 / 224.2 / Bouncy bouncy! Still eating well, still exercising. Jumping jacks, crunches, 3 miles walking, and water.

8/10 / 227 / Goodness gracious! Well, I am a broken record but... still eating well, still exercising. Crunches, a boxing workout, a krav maga workout, and more line dancing. Lots of water. I am a little sore across my shoulders, but in a good way. I'm in a great mental space and bouncing around the scale is something to talk about not something to panic about.

8/11 / 226.4 / Inching down after bouncing up. I don't predict an improvement tomorrow. I got a promotion and raise and we had a celebratory lunch today. Worth every bite.

8/12 / 225.4 / Nice, unexpected drop. This past week has been very odd. I can't repeat my mantra about how well I'm eating after yesterday's fandango, but I exercised a ton and am enjoying life.

8/13 / 222.2 / I didn't predict that one!

8/14 / 223.6 / I am a human trampoline! Okay, that sounds weirder than I meant. I feel a bit like my scale results are like a random number generator this week. If it says 350 or 120 I'll know something's really odd!

8/14 / 223.6 / And on the last day of the challenge, my weight settles down.

Round 4
OW 230
Round 46 SW 178 EW 172.6 (-5.4)
Round 47 SW 172.6 EW 170.8 (-1.8)
Round 48 SW 170.8 EW 168 (-2.8)

Total loss 10 pounds!!

Round 49
SW 168
GW 165
UGW 125

8/06--170 well that's not good. I went to a barbecue and thought I did well in eating and also walked the majority of the time so I wouldn't be sitting ...guess that didn't work too good. I'm disappointed in myself but that's another lessoned learned. Back at it tomorrow.

8/07--171.8 this is really weird, I had a rest day yesterday when it came to exercising but I ate good and stayed under my calories...This is crazy!!! 3 pounds in two days....wwwwoooooow. I guess the rest of the week I am going to have to work extra hard to get back to normal. I also noticed my TOM is in a couple of days and I do tend to get bloated and retain water, so I am hoping it is at least half the reason I have seen such a drastic gain in a few days. Sunday was the only day that was questionable, so this is pretty ridiculious. Had 1 liter of water. Well we will see..

8/08-- 169.4 ok well that is a nice drop. My TOM arrived this morning, 2 days early, so I was right about it being half the issue. Lol. Now to work off the rest of the excess and get back to my start weight and continue my downward trend. Ate well yesterday stayed below my goals, exercised and drank 1 liter of water

8/09--168.4 another drop and close to being back to where I started. Between the water weight and last Sundays off day, it's crazy how many days it takes to retake it off...shhhheeeesssh. I ate under my calories yesterday, ate mostly salad but exercised very little. My apartment was flooded after an extremely heavy down pour Tuesday night so right now I am all turned upside down. Today I am will be getting back to my exercise routine. I also need to remind myself to drink more water. Lately I have only been having about 1 liter.

8/10 -- 166.8 what is this???? I am hoping this sticks around but I am not sure lol. Due to the flooding in my apartment it was harder to get my exercises in then I thought but at the same time the clean up is involving a lot of stair climbing and lifting, so that will probably just have to do. Right now I am staying in a place that has stairs everywhere. Just To get a pan or go to the fridge requires climbing stairs before reaching the stove...not to mention me feeling displaced has put me in a walking around mood... I can't seem to stay still.i was under my calories yesterday but with all the concern about the apartment I haven't been feeling all that hungry (which is weird because it tends to be the trigger for over eating) and 1 liter of water. I really hope this stays!!

8/11--166.8 I never see the same number twice (there is always a slight gain or drop) but I am not complaining. I will take it. I hope in the next four days I can drop another pound to hit my goal for this round. Ate within my calories, walking mostly yesterday and drank 1 liter of water. I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

8/12-- 169 THE SABOTEUR HAS STRUCK AGAIN so last night my sister in law comes by with homemade sushi and chocolate (yes all home made) it was a little gift for me and my hubby because of our recent flooding. If she had purchased them from the store I would have turned them down but because it was all homemade I felt rude for saying no (well at least that's what I am rationalizing to myself) I wish it had stopped there. I have this terrible mentality that whispers to me "well you already messed up your day, so who cares about trying for the rest if it" so for dinner we went out for burgers and fries to top off my horrible day. I always do this! The minute a loss hits, I do something to sabotage it. I am grateful I stayed within the 60s though. But don't count me down and out just yet!!! I know I only have three days left but I am going to fight for those three days to undo this damage. I noticed a pattern of at least one day during the 10 day challenge where I go off the rails. I want to fix this!!! I'm tired of taking 5 days to loose three pounds and one day to gain it all back. It isn't fair to me and the effort I put in everyday. This slow trickle effect is killing me too. Everytime I have a little bit of a gain, my mind starts calculating the losses I don't experience everytime I undo my work. Between the gain from going off the rails and the days it takes to re loose, it's just so many days of wasted effort where I could have been decreasing my weight rather then fighting the maintenance. Anyway sorry for the rant. I am obviously feeling ashamed of myself. I don't even know if anyone reads these but I needed to write this journal log for more myself then anyone else. Lol

8/13--167.8 forgot to post

8/14-- 166.9 so I guess I was feeling bloated from the sushi on Saturday because the weight came off faster then I expected. I don't know if I will make my ten day goal but at least I am back on track. My only goal now is for the next round to yield better results then this round drank 1 liter of water. Moving day so worked 4 hours on packing and throwing things out from the flood last week and 3 hours unpacking and moving into the place I am staying in for now. The only headache being in six weeks (give and take) having to do this all over again from scratch...sheesh.

8/15-- 166.8 back down to the lowest weight of this round. This round wasn't great for me and although I didnt hit my goal I still had an overall loss. So I will take it!!! Next round I want to work harder and strip a good amount of weight off, no "cheat days"!! Ate below my calories yesterday, had a great exercise (though I want to be doing a little more and bring my deficint back up to where I was last round) and had 1.2 liters of water. See you all next round

@deepwoodslady I had to smile at you marching in front of your bed. I jogged in place the other night to reach my goal. Not even close to 10,000. I’m a slug.

August 2nd

For all struggling to get out of your current weight decade and at a loss for how to proceed, these are the things that have worked for me BEFORE intermittent fasting and keto. Maybe they will work for you too. Try to find the right water consumption balance. It changes. I don't know where drinking one gallon of water a day came from, but I've found that when I've slacked off drinking at least 10 glasses a day, drinking a gallon a day forces a breakthrough and increases my hydration level in about 1 week. Drinking half your bodyweight in ounces of water or 100 ounces, used to be what everyone was doing. It works. 8 glasses of water every day works also. The point is drink it. Other fluids, coffee, green tea, count for your hydration level too, as long as they are not laden with sugar and add ins. Your environment affects your thirst. We all know, exerting yourself through exercise or working, walking, just being in hot weather increases thirst, but in an air conditioned environment, your thirst decreases. You may not feel thirsty at all. That's when you really risk becoming dehydrated. So you have to be mindful of drinking enough water. I use insulated cups with a straw. One 16ozs and one 20ozs. I drink one cup (16 or 20 ozs) of plain water every hour upon waking. Sometimes I add lime or lemon juice if I need it be more palatable. I drink sparkling mineral water, flavored infused sparkling or flavor infused purified water with meals. There are times that I really struggle with drinking water. I just do not want any. I don't understand why that is, but it happens with me at least twice a year. Once I've gotten through this period, that is when I drink a gallon a day to force a breakthrough.

You really have to let go of the junk food, at least long enough that it is no longer a problem, could take up to a year. Any food can become junk food if you're eating it and you are not hungry or eating it just because it tastes good. There are several "foods" that I gave up eating, because eating them was causing a problem. Don't eat your stress and emotions. I know it's difficult not to do. I used to do it, but I realized that I only hurt myself more by doing it.

Don't leave calories behind thinking that it will make you lose quicker. It will backfire. (I only do that now because I pay attention to my macros since going keto and I am sure that my nutrition is being met.) In previous years, that would just make me plateau. If you feel hungry, eat. Your body needs the nutrients. Just be sure to give it the nutrients, not junk food. If you have left calories behind during the week, have one high calorie day of good nutritious food. (MFP message: XYZ's food and exercise diary was completed and was under XYZ's calorie goal. NOT a good thing, especially if exercise is not being factored in. YOU NEED ALL OF THE CALORIES. Get as close as you can. It could budge a minor stall. That still works for me.

Don't go hard in the gym EVERY DAY. ( My son laughs when I tell my niece that. He remembers that I did exactly that 7 days a week for years, even before he was born. He's 29.) Two days of HIIT cardio, 20-40 minutes, depending on your fitness level. If you are doing it right you will be drained of energy, you will physically not be able to do anything after your workout (meaning another workout) and the next day should be an active rest day. Full body stretching, yoga, easy walk. Strength training, two or three days. One hour of exercise daily IS enough. Two hrs is good depending on what the exercise is, like strength, paired with light cardio/flexibility. Please REST! Completely! Do nothing for one day of the week. Sometimes you need two days. Listen to your body. Once in a while, you need a break of one to two weeks, depending on how intensely you workout. I'm telling you this because I have done a lot of things right, but I've done a lot of things wrong too over 40+ years and my battered body shows it.

**Regarding the who reads the posts discussion during round 49: I read everything, but I don't always comment. Well, TBH, some days I type comments in my tablet notepad app, life gets in the way and I forget about it. Case in point, this post. Lol

Good luck to everyone in Round 50! Let's continue to be supportive, caring, kind and considerate to one another. This is by far, the best challenge thread on MFP.

I am a 49 year old 5'4" woman. I am trying to get healthier to avoid diabetes and all of the problems that come from being overweight.

5th Round
Round 40 - SW - 193.2 EW - 190.2
Round 41 - SW - 190.4 EW - 190
Round 42 - SW - 187.8 EW - 188.2
Round 43 - SW - 188.2 EW - 188
Round 44 - SW - 188 EW - 187.6
Round 45 - SW - 187.6 EW - 186.6
Round 46 - SW - 186.6 - EW - 186.6
Round 47 - SW - 186.6 - EW - 183.2
Round 48 - SW - 183.2 - EW - 185.4


Start Weight Feb 2018 - 202
Goal Weight July 2019 - 140


8/06 - 185.4- starting up a bit, had a lovely weekend away that involved adult beverages, little water, lots of sodium. a road trip with my love, a visit with my best friend and her family. Pure happiness!
8/07 - 184.8 - Still a little heavy on the sodium and carbs yesterday. Also no exercise at all.
8/08 - 184.6 - Made a poor choice on supper last night. Did go for a walk to try to get rid of calories, but it was slow and not quite 3kms.
8/09 - 184.0 - Had a fairly decent eating day yesterday and managed even amongst the smoke and heat to get a walk in.
8/10 - 184.6 - High carb meal last night because we went out so we could eat in air conditioning. I was not cooking in 38 degree heat.
8/11 - 184.2 - No exercise yesterday except for a short walk in the afternoon. Just too hot and smoky. Not a great eating day, I seemed to be hungry all day long. Did manage to only be over goal by 150 or so though.
8/12 - 184.6 - not the best day for eating or exercise.
8/13 - 183.2 - This was a bit of a surprise, yesterday wasn't the best day either for eating.
8/14 - 182.2 - Well I wish today was the end of the round! This is officially 20 pounds gone! It's been a slow process and I've had some bumps along the way but it seems pretty sustainable. Onto the next 10!
8/15 - 183 - Didn't have a good day yesterday eating or exercising. Come to think of it, it just wasn't a good day yesterday period. Still ended the round with a loss though.

Female, Age 51 5'6"
Round 49
SW 171
mini goal #1 150 by 8/27...reward spa day
mini goal #2 140 by 10/8...reward maui trip
GW 140ish not tied to the number Goals for this round:
*weight goal for this round 155.X
*log every day
*30 day challenge every day

8/06 157.6 So camping was 2 days on plan but 2 days off, I feel dehydrated and bloated but happy to be home. I should see a good drop this round since we have nothing on the books.

8/07 156 Still dehydrated, thirsty and headachey. Will have a better day today. Starting back on the 30 day challenge today after vacation.

8/08 158.6 Ouch. 140g of carbs. Must...do...better!

8/09 156.4 I have learned that if I want to meet my macros for protein, there is not much wiggle room for indulgences. So sad my beautiful fluffy puppy went running after a deer and got completely coated with tiny velcro like stickers and we had to shave him. He is so sad and naked and looks like a new dog. The positive is that now he is cold at night so he snuggles with me instead of laying out by my feet!

8/10 156.8

8/11 156.2 Prelogged yesterday and though I had a little variation I got my protein in (123g), will do the same today and stay the course. I still feel bloated for some reason. The initial *high* of losing some mass has worn off, and I find myself struggling to get back on my exercise routine after the camping last weekend. I keep putting it off one more day. But...my son convinced me to order a fitbit to encourage me to move more, and it arrived yesterday, so I'll get that going and see how it motivates. I'm a data geek so I am sure I'll be obsessing!

8/12 155.4 First day wearing my fitbit and just a normal day no exercise was 6000 steps. Not sure if this is good or bad, but good info for me, a baseline to improve on. I know 10K is considered a minimum so I better step it up! One thing I am not sure of is that it added 252 "exercise" calories to my budget. I ate them it appears, but not sure how this will impact my progress towards my weight loss goal if I do this again.

8/13 155.6 progress=happiness

8/14 156. Hmmm...I will take this and move on. No other choice. I will not let these daily fluctuations bring me down or stray me from the course. Goals for today are to drink lots of water, take dogs for a long walk, eat my protein goal

8/15 155.6 Well that day did not quite go as planned, though I did take the dogs for a long walk. Had some stirred up emotions due to a work/family situation, so I could not get to sleep due to the churning around and around that was going on in the processor that is my mind. I tried prayer, warm m ilk, meditation, releasing it to the universe...finally got to bed with sand in my eyes, and woke up with an emerging headache. My inbox this morning contains an opportune reminder from the universe in it's message "When your painful emotions seem to be caused by something outside of you, you are in an illusion. The illusion pulls your attention outward and demands that you change the world. In order to grow spiritually you must direct your attention inward and change yourself. The illusion is that someone or something outside you is responsible for your emotional pain." Not sure why this message came today, but there it is, directly to me.

I'm back...I was away for the last couple of rounds. My kitchen has been under renovation since the first week of July and I have been without a kitchen and in an upheaval since then. I have basically been eating at maintenance as I lived through the renovation. Considering all the stress and the difficulty in making meals, I am happy to say that I am basically at the same weight now as when I started the renovation. Even though the kitchen won't be completed until tomorrow, YAAAAA!!!, and we still have to get the kitchen organized, I am ready to get back at losing. (I thought I had posted yesterday, but I can't find my post.)

Goals:
1. Beat sister-in-law in weekly step competition
2. Do some form of intentional exercise 7 of 10 days (6/7)
3. Get water in


Day/Weight/Comment

08/06--222.8 Went to the in-laws this weekend, so there is definitely an uptick due to increased sodium from eating out. The positive is that my sister-in-law and I, we both have Garmin watches, are now in a weekly step competition with each other, so that will definitely be a motivation to get more steps in this week. I'm going out for a walk at lunch and then Zumba tonight. Making sure to get my water in today.
08/07--221.3 Got to use the fridge in the kitchen yesterday! Who knew these small things in life could be so exciting. Today is the last day of kitchen renovations and tonight I will be able to use the stove for the first time in 33 days. Went to Zumba last night and so far I am ahead of my sister-in-law in the steps competition. I will go out for a walk at lunch again today, but as tonight I will mainly be spending my time going food shopping and organizing the kitchen I'm not sure how many steps I will be getting in today.
08/08--220.6 Sister-in-law is currently about 100 steps ahead of me, so the competition is tight. Was hoping to organize the kitchen last night, but quickly realized what a daunting task that was and quickly lost motivation. I did organize the utensils, so I'll take that as an accomplishment and will do some more work this evening. Tonight is yoga and with the mini heat wave we are having in the PNW, not sure how much extra walking I will be able to get in tonight; however, I will go out for a walk at lunch when the weather isn't so bad.
08/09--220.0 Yoga was great last night. Sister-in-law is currently 5k steps ahead of me, ARGHHH!!! Today is the last day of the heat wave, so I plan to walk at lunch again and depending on how bad the weather is tonight I plan on going for a long walk tonight. Still working on organizing the kitchen, but considering how hot it will be inside the house this evening not sure how much organizing I will be doing.
08/10--220.4 Did not get a chance to walk during lunch, work got busy. Also, didn't walk in the evening as the heat was still bad. Sister-in-law is now 9K steps ahead of me with 3 days to go, she lives about 2 hours away and it is always a few degrees cooler where she lives. Luckily the heat wave has broken and I will be a walking machine over the next 3 days. I will walk at lunch and then take the dog out for a long walk this evening. Last night I unpacked 4 boxes of kitchen stuff, 1 more box to go, and placed most of the stuff on the kitchen counter while I tried to figure out where to put everything and what to throw out. I packed away about 1/2 of the stuff before I lost motivation, so my counters are still covered with kitchen stuff. I will finish the rest tonight and over the weekend. Last night I was so excited to find my kettle while I was packing things away. So, last night I had my first cup of tea in over 6 weeks. Then my husband unexpectedly decided to make us some lemon blueberry scones, he has been wanting to try out the new stove. Tea and homemade scones made a great evening.
08/11--219.3 Kitchen counters are still a mess, but living with the kitchen for the last couple of days has given me a better idea about where to place stuff. We are getting a very large wood cutting board delivered today, so I need to get the counters cleared off so we have somewhere to put it. I didn't get to go on a walk at lunch yesterday, work got busy again, but I went out on a long walk with the dog later in the evening. Even though it wasn't as hot yesterday as it had been over the last couple of days, it was still a little hot for my very furry dog, so I had to cut my walk a little short because I could tell she was struggling a bit. I am now only 6K steps behind my sister-in-law. Planning on a bike ride and long walk today. My sister-in-law texted me yesterday and thanked me for the step competition because it has gotten her to be more active...that made me extremely happy.
08/12--220.9 Went out for dinner last night, I can feel the salt. Did not go out for a bike ride yesterday, but I did go out for a long walk. However, I am still 10K steps behind my sister-in-law and I don't see how I will make it up. Over this past week of the step competition I've noticed that I've eaten better and I've slept better and it's forced me to get off my butt and exercise, so there have definitely been positives so far. Kitchen is 90% organized, so goal for today is to finish the rest of the organizing. I still need to buy some type of organizer for the under the sink cabinet. I bought a closet organizer for the front entry closet, it's a mess, so today my goal is to install and organize the entry closet too. Kettlebell class rounds out the rest of the day.
08/13--220.4 Sore from Kettlebell yesterday. Step competition ends tonight, I thought it ended last night, so my goal is to get more steps in. Finished organizing the kitchen. I started on organizing the hall closet and started to install the closet organizer, but need to finish the rest tonight and/or tomorrow. I will walk at lunch today and then Zumba tonight.
08/14--220.4 No walk and no Zumba yesterday, I had a major sinus headache from all of the smoke in the air from the wildfires. I spent most of the evening just laying on the couch. Of course because I felt bad I wanted to eat a lot of carbs and I did a lot of snacking after dinner, even though I wasn't hungry, so I am happy that the scale stayed the same today. The bad air is supposed to continue today, so I will probably continue to take it easy for the day and be more aware of any cravings I may get later this evening and make sure that if I eat anything it is because I am really hungry.
08/15--221.3 Oh, there's the extra snacking from 2 days ago. This was a great round. I increased my activity, I started taking walks at lunch, and I got back to tracking. The air is still bad here today, but the weather is not supposed to be as hazy tomorrow, so hopefully the air is good enough tomorrow that I can get out and exercise. Tonight is yoga with the hubby, I definitely can use the extra stretching. See you next round!

R49--Avg wt: 220.7

Female 5’1” Age 68.5 years
Started Keto WOE 7/17/17 (mid-Rnd 10)
*Travel no scale part of the time
Weight on 1/17/17 174.5 UGW 135
SW Rnd 49 134.0 AW 133.85

Recommended viewing on Netflix or YouTube: The Magic Pill

Recommended reading: The Obesity Code by Jason Fung, MD

Recommended for the ladies https://www.facebook.com/JamesSmithPT/videos/1494099927361618/

What we need to succeed is a sustainable way of eating, not a DIET we go on and off.

This is NOT A DIET. It’s a LIFESTYLE.

8/6 133.5 Happy to be back at this number. Working at maintaining since April and leaving on a 2 week cruise the last day of round 50.
8/7 134.0 Going to the movies and then Golden Corral for OMAD
8/8 134.0 Water fitness this morning and being a taxi service for DGD this afternoon.
8/9 134.5 lowest calories in a week yesterday -the “sins” of the few days earlier showing on the scale. I think I have a migraine, possibly from the smoke blowing in from California. 2nd in a week.
8/10 133.5 Well, that was a true migraine! Just as I did back in the days of hormonal migraines, I was craving a giant Hershey bar. Didn’t have any of those around, thank God, so ate 1/2 of a chocolate coconut Endulge. I took a 5 hour nap, got up and got ready for bed and slept through the night.
8/11 134.0 Felt better yesterday and met friends in Pahrump for BBQ lunch and pleasant visit. Went to nearby casino for live music in the evening.
8/12 133.5 Did nothing all day yesterday. Had BPC in AM, ate BBQ leftovers mid morning, butter coffee early afternoon and wasn’t hungry but ate something around 6 because we were going out. Joining friends for champagne brunch this morning.
8/13 133.5 My gut was not happy with me all day yesterday although after 2.5 glasses of champagne and some food it was better for awhile. Tummy grumbling all day and finally ate about 3 oz of hamburger at 9PM. Still not settled and don’t know if grumbling is hunger or anger!
8/14 133.5
8/15 134.5

Don’t forget to join us in Round 50! Thank you @GrandmaJackie!

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10688546/just-give-me-10-days-round-50/p1?new=1

Hi Everyone! *This is the lowest I have been in awhile. See you next round!

08/10 165.6
08/11 164.6
08/12 163.8
08/13 164.4
08/14 164.0
08/15 163.6*

R38 SW 212.6 GW 210 EW 207.4 (-5.2)
R39 SW 207.4 GW 206 EW 206.2 (-1.2)
R40 SW 206.2 GW 204.6 EW 203.0 (-3.2)
R41 SW 203.0 GW 202.5 EW 200.4 (-2.6)
R42 SW 200.4 GW 199.9 EW 199.0 (-1.4)
R43 SW 199.0 GW 199.0 EW 197.6 (-1.4)
R44 SW 197.6 GW 196.5 EW 196.6 (-1.0)
R45 SW 196.6 GW 195.6 EW 196.2 (-0.4)
R46 SW 196.2 GW 195.6 EW 196.2 (-0.0)
R47 SW 196.2 GW 195.6 EW 192.0 (-4.2)
R48 SW 192.0 GW 190.6 EW 191.2 (-0.8)
R49 SW 191.2 GW 190.0 EW 189.5 (-1.7)
Total Lost to Date: 21.4
Daily Goals: Smarter choices, that I still enjoy
Long Term Goals: A healthy lifestyle I can maintain
Short Term GW: 199.9 by 6/2
Short term GW2: 182.6 by 11/1
UGW: 155ish - by April 2019

8/05-191.2
8/06 - Monday - 192.8 - Late night emotional eating got me last night. Got a little overwhelmed by all the boxes and moving and change and just mindlessly snacked on anything I could get my hands on after dinner. Logged it all and moving on today. TOM still imminent. Chocolate cravings are slightly less thanks to magnesium lotion. But I'm pretty moody and letting my food choices get the better of me. Lots of water today! I did manage to make dinner for tonight while food prepping last night. It will also be lunch for tomorrow. I know I'm stressing because I woke up with a costochondroiditis flare up - aka feels like an elephant sitting on my chest. And my sciatica flared up yesterday but that is feeling better today. But man, stress really does manifest itself physically for me if I'm not mindful! Taking today and tomorrow relatively easy while we await more moving boxes to be delivered and final word on closing date. I'm really happy I feel physically fit enough to do the move ourselves - 4 months ago I would have laughed at the thought.

8/07 - Tuesday - 192.4 - Well yesterday was fun. Had a full blown anxiety attack in the car out of the blue. Tried some self soothing techniques in the car, but with my painful chest it got to the point I couldn't catch my breath and I was beyond help for about 5 minutes. It was not fun - thank goodness DH was driving. It's funny to me that I'm in a better head space than I have been in a long time but my body insisted on a meltdown. Took some kava tincture when I got home and it helped big time. Emotionally ate a PB&J. Feeling a bit better today. Closing is scheduled! Many stressful days ahead so I REALLY need to be mindful, kind to myself, and as prepared as I can be moving. Had protein shake, brought lunch and chicken defrosting for dinner - still heading in the direction of my dreams!

8/08 - Wednesday - 190.8 - The heat was brutal yesterday. We grilled chicken thighs for dinner but I just had no appetite - so we saved those for lunch today and had some snacks later in the evening when I was a little hungry. Thought about eating a meal just to eat a meal but I just couldnt stomach it so I had some calorie dense salami and cheese - calories were not bad at days end. I feel better today - good morning with protein shake, packed lunches, and I can cook something for dinner - pigs in a blanket probably. The next few weeks I am on a strict financial diet too. I've been practicing small habits over the past few months; no coffee drive thru except Sunday, no take out for lunch, and only one take out/week at most. I'm going to extend that to no clothes shopping for the next month (at least - trying to hold out for a whole new wardrobe come spring). I also want to stick to a strict(er) grocery budget - we typically spend $100/week for 2 people including all home products too (toilet paper, cleaning supplies, etc) but I think I can realistically get it more towards $75 on the regular with some smarter shopping. I'm realizing that the next few weeks my priorities are going to shift to 1. mental health, 2. finances, and 3. Healthy eating. This is OKAY, this is GOOD, this is preparing! I've been so focused on the healthy eating and I've been lucky and privileged to be able to do so without much hinderance or distraction, and every opportunity to buy what I need to help me along. I will absolutely be continuing with my habits, but I'm trying to be realistic in what to expect in the next few months moving into a new house - being as on point as I have been will probably be hard, so I will NOT beat myself up over it. Trusting the process more than ever now and excited to build more healthy habits in all aspects of life.

8/09 - Thursday - 190.4 - Got a good amount done yesterday. I made a packing station with boxes and supplies, purged the pantry (of under used accessories - food purge will be another day), and DH did the back hall! Another car load of stuff to the dumpster/donation bin. I prelogged dinner - I was full about half way thru it but I just kept eating because "I had room in my calories." I finished eating and was like ugggh why did I eat all that - so that was a lesson is paying better attention to my hunger/full ques. Took some french apple sausage out of the freezer - no idea what to do with it - but dinner at home! I was originally thinking stuffed zucchini or other fresh veg - but don't have any of that! I'll figure it out. Leftovers from yesterdays lunch I didnt finish. Had protein shake for breakfast and woke up 20 minutes earlier - progress!

8/10 - Friday - 189.0 - Ahhhhhhhh!!! HELLO 180's! I'm sure I'll be bouncing back and forth from 190's for a bit longer but how exciting to see a new set of 10's! Went to the lake last night - had enough thought to eat a snack before I left. Ate pasta and salad up there. PB&J at home. Not a lot of headway on the house last night but the rest day was lovely. Didnt cook my french apple sausage last night but I look forward to this recipe this evening - https://iowagirleats.com/2013/10/14/sweet-apple-chicken-sausage-pasta/ . I really wanted to believe we had nothing to bring for lunch today so we needed to get a steak and cheese, but realized that is false and packed my quinoa cup and tuna and reminded myself that I NEED to cook that meat tonight so no ordering out tonight either! Yay! Sticking to my food changes and financial changes!

8/11 - Saturday - 188.6 - that recipe last night was so good! And friends stopped over so I got to share it and not have 900 calorie per serving leftovers! Up early packing but had to be out of house for showings most of the afternoon. Ended up at a farmers market and ate a homemade cinnamon roll. Worth it. Stopped at the farm to get some meats and they had homemade bologna so fried bologna sandwiches for lunch. Also worth it. And an afternoon nap I'm also not feeling bad about hahaha. Aiming to get at least a dozen or so more boxes packed up tonight so that will be a good workout to add! Based on what we picked up the next week is more about convenience than nutrition but im all about simplicity this week so I'm going with it within reason.

8/12 - Sunday - 189.0 - Well I got 12 boxes packed between yesterday and today (1 left to do). Most of that was done tonight as last night I cooked dinner and rested in the evening. Today was busy, and eating was leftovers. Did food Prep for lunches or easy dinners. Closing tomorrow!!! Trying to find a balance thru it all! Moving truck day is Saturday so there will be lots of living in between this week. Pizza for dinner tomorrow night so packing my lunch to eat between appointments. Heading to bed early tonight!!

8/13 - Monday - 188.8 - CLOSING DAY! Officially became homeowners! It was a relatively painless day. Opened the door to our dream home with DH and had our family over for pizza. Took a sauna and turned on the hot tub. Sat on the porch and thought about our future. One of the happiest days of my life.

8/14 - Tuesday - No Weigh In - Stayed the night at the new house. There was a scale there that said I was 190.something - but I took it with a grain of salt since I have nothing to compare it to. I'm working today - but managed to pack a lunch. Uhaul could not deliver on the reservation I placed almost 3 weeks ago! So we have to move Friday instead of Saturday but no big deal! I'm expecting hiccups, road blocks, and problems to arise - It is moving afterall - but I'll keep a positive attitude and have a problem solving approach rather than getting discouraged! Final weigh in tomorrow so I'll make sure to bring my scale with me if we sleep there again tonight. Living in limbo for the next few days before the big move.

8/15 - Wednesday - 189.5 (NOT my home scale) - Well I forgot to bring my scale with my last night in all the flurry of activity. So I just hopped on the one at the new house, which I think only measures in .5 lb increments. Overall I'm super happy with this round! Still no TOM, dang hormones! - hoping now that the stress of closing is over it will show up. I just logged my last two days of eating pizza as a main food group and seems I managed to eat at my normal deficit still, give or take 100 cals. We have started a new nightly routine that includes a 20 minute hot tub and a 20 minute steam shower - I'm definitely going to get used to that! Packed my lunch and even got some protein powder for snacks! NO idea on dinner tonight. Planning to unpack whats at the new house tonight to make room for more stuff in the staging area. So, maybe a frozen something from the grocery store to make things simple. See you all next round!!!