tmac

You'll appreciate this, Shaaraway. The look on my husband's face the first time he tried a warm, buttery lobster roll was priceless. He said it made up for having to give up grits and Bojangles biscuits. I think I'm going to mount the bar in the basement for that reason. Not that my house is all perfect, but I hate to add any more weirdness to an already weird house. I think I've got a doorway down here that would work.

MQ: I haven't weighed myself in a while, but my regular bras are now too big. I'll go get one tomorrow, and will just stick with that and some less supportive sports bras for a while. Hate to spend money on clothes I hope will only fit for a month or two. My shirts will just get looser, which is fine, and I've got a couple of pairs of smaller jeans to work through before that becomes an issue. 1. Food plan for today: Coffee, plain yogurt, a pear. Tuna salad on Romaine. Dinner is my weekly "free" meal, which tonight will be fried clams, french fries, a beer, and either a chocolate milk shake or a brownie. I've been craving french fries and chocolate, so that should take care of it. 2. I told my husband that I wanted to get a pull-up bar, and he didn't seem to think I'm a weirdo, so I'll make that happen this weekend. Just have to figure out the best door to mount it in. Today, I'll go to the gym after work and errands. First, sprints on the rowing machine... 3. Then yoga class. LQ: Showered, dressed for yoga, eating breakfast. Ready for the day.

Exactly! My previous yoga practice was all about stretching and relaxing. I'm trying to ramp it up during this challenge, and get more comfortable with more muscle-engaging poses. Like down dog, my nemesis. It's getting better, but still hard to hold for any length of time. I've started tracking food again for a while, just to make sure I don't let our current emotional state push us too far over the line. I'm focusing on cooking family favorites this week (curry, beef stew, enchiladas, roasted chicken, etc.) so we at least can avoid the inevitable squabbles when I try new or too overtly "healthy" recipes. My oldest is having some trouble sleeping, due to the loss, so I'm super glad he has a therapy appointment scheduled for today. That always helps him smooth the rough edges. The two little ones are doing better. They're coping by lavishing attention on the cat, which she isn't used to yet, but I think will start to enjoy eventually.

1. Coffee, eggs, and grapefruit for breakfast. A veggie-loaded cheeseburger (no bun) with a side salad for lunch. Chick pea and cauliflower curry for dinner. At some point, there will be a snack of almonds and an apple. Macros and calories: check. 2. Bodyweight today. Angry Birds, level 2. I haven't yet figured out how to do the inverted rows, so I'm still doing one-arm rows. I could do them under the coffee table, but honestly, I'm just embarrassed to try it in front of my husband, and he works in the living room all day. I'm also embarrassed to buy an adjustable pull-up bar that I can put low in the doorway. Ridiculous. As if just owning the thing implies that I think I'm "all that." I've got to get over it. 3. Yoga. I'll just do some stretching after the bodyweight work. Yesterday's yoga was fairly strenuous and I'm still feeling it. LQ: All dressed and groomed, but I haven't yet started the dishes or laundry. I'll do that now, and then get to work.

1. Coffee, grapefruit and a piece of cheese for breakfast. Tea later in the morning. Lunch will be homemade chili and dinner is roasted chicken, baked sweet potato, and salad. 2. No bodyweight today, as planned. 3. I read the yoga class schedule wrong. There is no noon-time class. Normally, that would be a problem, but my standing evening appointment has been cancelled, so I'll go to the evening class instead. Next week, I'll start going to the Tuesday and Friday evening classes. LQ: Got up and dressed into yoga clothes this morning. Ran the dishes. Not a full load of laundry to do, so not today.

So, she's gone. The kids are upset, as am I. But rather than comforting ourselves with food, we'll just hang out together tonight. Maybe watch a stupid movie. I was going to go out with a friend, but I think I'll pass. 1: Eating is fine. 2: Did bodyweight exercises today 3: Did some light yoga after that. LQ: Morning routine got done, and I put beef stew in the slow cooker for dinner tonight, since I knew that I wouldn't be in the mood for cooking.

I moved from NC to CT just this past summer, but I grew up here and am used to it. A friend of mine moved from CT to MD at the same time. She was so happy that she'd get to avoid the worst of the snow, not realizing that 1" is still bad when people don't know how to deal with it. I'd rather drive in a blizzard up here than a snow shower down there.

It's also a good reminder that it's a mental game, not physical. Not really. If you focus on getting your head in the right place, the physical progress will follow.

Thanks, shaaraway. It does help to know we're not alone in this. It's bringing up bittersweet memories of our other old dogs and cats that we've had to let go over the years. It seems like it doesn't get any easier.

"Me? Get into the garbage? Never!"

Mini-Challenge: Get through the next few days without emotional eating. It looks like we'll have to put our old dog Sam to sleep tomorrow. I'm having a hard time not going for the comfort food, and maybe even worse, trying to comfort the kids with food. Not something I want to pass on to them. So I'll be struggling to find ways to comfort each other in a healthy way.

Thanks for the update. You know we're all worried and proud of you at the same time. And looking forward to the day when you can look back and say, "Wow, that REALLY sucked, and I'm glad its so much better now."

Tell me about barre class? My YMCA offers it, but I haven't tried it.

Happy New Challenge Day! Reports: Main: I'll weigh in every week after my Friday evening yoga class. Last weigh in (2 weeks ago) was 226. 1: Food on plan. Need to go shopping today. Ran out of time this weekend, and my available good food choices are dwindling. 2: Bodyweight 3x, Sprints x1. Did a bodyweight workout yesterday, otherwise known as "shoveling snow." Today, I'll do Angry Birds. I've gotten to Level 2 on push-ups and rows and Level 3 on squats and planks, but I think I'll keep doing Level 2 until I've moved up in everything. I'll plan for rowing sprints Friday before yoga class. 3: Yoga. I can feel my back muscles today, after the shoveling, so I think I'll do some more significant yoga after lunch. I've committed to attend classes on Wednesday afternoon and Friday evening. Life: Morning routine is done for today -- dressed and groomed, laundry rebooted, dishes run and awaiting my son to unload after school.

Oh, Bekah. What an incredibly difficult thing to go through. We're rooting for you. ((Hugs))