It's great to hear from you Beth! I'm glad you had a nice vacation and that you already are back on plan.

Today I had a little slip up with cashews and raisins. I think I'm at 1700 for the day but I have to double check. My goal was to be about 1300 but I was SOOO hungry. So i ate. i'm trying to be okay with it, even though I was hoping to keep the cals low until Friday. Such is life....I have to just stick with my overall plan of trying to eat clean, exercise, and laugh lots. :D

jeez, i actually had 430 cals from cashews and raisins. i'm closer to 1900 for the day, not 1700...:(. time for a walk!

Julia, I liked your post about not worrying so much about the scale numbers. I do let that dictate how I feel for the day, and I don't want to be controlled by it anymore. So, today I am focusing on how I feel overall and that I was able to put more weight on the squat bar this morning and how I ate a healthy breakfast and the positive things, not some number flashed at me by a piece of technology. There must have been something in the air last night, because I was so hungry too! I too ended up higher calorie wise than I wanted to, but like I tell myself all too often "Today's a new day". Hope you have a good one, and don't let those cashews and raisins call your name to loudly. Of course, I would have put some chocolate chips in with mine.:D

Beth- Glad you are back.Hope you enjoyed your vacation. It's really hard to be out of your own environment and to be surrounded by things you wouldn't normally eat, but it sounds like you did well by walking everyday and not stressing over it too much. Good for you.

Mambo, I didn't actually listen to my own advice since I jumped on a scale this afternoon at a WW meeting. I decided to go to a meeting when I realized that I can't make it next week bc I'm in a conf. in Pittsburgh all week. Plus, I was feeling less bloated so I went for it. Well I am up 2.2 lbs. I was really surprised and I felt a bit defeated too.:(

All I can say is that I'm not giving up on continuing to (try to) eat healthfully and feel my best. Eventually, even though it will feel like an eternity, my weight will hopefully drop down if I exercise, don't binge, and make healthy food choices.

Sometimes more than others I struggle with being happy with my weight. Even if I weighed 10 lbs less I'd be struggling with feeling good about my body. I'd be self-conscious that people thought I was over-dieting. It's so hard to find the middle ground. I really need to be more flexible in terms of what I think a "success" is. I think that staying in the healthy weight range for the last 5 years is a success. I used to be over 150. I'll weigh-in again in two weeks...until then, there is no scale in my life, just my own judgment!

Newbie here
 

I'd like to join this group--I've lost 12 pounds in the last 8 months (family problems distracted me for several months in the middle), and I have 8 more to go.
Starting weight: (in November) 155 :(
goal weight: 135
today's weight: 142 :)

Welcome Yehudit.. Only eight more pounds, that is great!

Julia- I know exactly what you mean. My husband is always telling me that I will never be happy with my body because once I reach a goal, I want more. I obsess about having a stomach and being 130 when I know am I healthy now and have stayed below 150 for two years (my heaviest weight was 200). I am trying to work on my idea of success as well. We can encourage each other in gaining positive outlooks. Not being proud of myself has caused me to sabotage my efforts several times and has put me on this 10 pound coaster for a year now. I'm tired of it and want to be proud of who I am everyday. It's a battle to change my thinking but I am taking it on. We can do it!