I weighed in this morning as planned. I wasn’t jumping for joy by any means. I’m sort of indifferent to the scale right now.

Weigh in #5 = 161.4

Last weigh in I was 162. I think I definitely have a handle on maintenance. The whirlwind of holiday parties and December birthdays has begun and I’m just taking it one event at a time. I attended a retirement party for one of the doctors at work last week and I enjoyed a small plate of food and I passed on the cake. Tonight is a coworker’s birthday. Nurses are notorious for bringing in tons of food for any celebration. Thankfully I only work with two people on my unit. Usually we just bring a cupcake for the birthday girl or some other treat they enjoy. On my birthday the girls brought a fruit platter! I thought that was so thoughtful.

I have to say that I have the most supportive coworkers and husband when it comes to trying to lose weight. If I say no to a sweet treat or other food they never try to coerce me into eating it nor do they say things like “come on it’s just one,” or ” you have to live a little.”

Growing up we were always encouraged to eat more. Seconds were normal and portions were huge. To this day my mother will try to make me eat the last piece of something or offer seconds despite knowing how much I have struggled with my weight. I don’t think she’s trying to be malicious. I just think she is set in her ways and to her offering food and nourishment is somehow equated to offering love and caring..

I received an email the other day from Amanda, a graduate student at Clark University. She is doing a study about people who experience a spouse trying to sabotage their efforts to eat healthier. Fortunately for me I don’t fit the criteria to participate in the study because my husband does not exhibit sabotaging behaviors, but she has asked me to pass the information along in hopes of possibly finding others who might be able to take part in the study. The following is from the email Amanda sent to me:

While it’s hard losing weight on your own, it’s not necessarily easier with a spouse or partner.  Sometimes partners/spouses undermine weight loss through acts like complaining about healthier food, gifting high-caloric foods, or even through abusive language/acts.  I’m creating an anonymous, online survey to assess for partner undermining and to learn more from those who experience it.  To be eligible to take the survey, participants need to have experienced this in their current relationship (of at least the past 2 years), and have been participating in a weight loss program for the past 5 consecutive weeks.  For more info, you can check out http://tinyurl.com/Clark-Study or Google PUBS-WL.