I did it. I effectively maintained over my birthday weekend while eating away from home three times and attending two major sporting events, usually death traps for weight loss. I'm up a few ounces but I will definitely take that, this is the first weekend in a long time that I haven't been up a good bit, bloated and fighting my way back down. On top of that a major excuse zone (birthday) and I am feeling pretty pleased.
In two weekends we go to Tulsa for Easter and that will be a major challenge. I would like to be 150 or lower by then but we will see if that happens. Either way I'm sticking with my workouts and good eating. Before we leave I'll make up a game plan and post that here, I know there are plenty of others out there that have to deal with well meaning (we hope) saboteurs to our healthy lifestyles. Drinking will be the main thing that will be hard to resist without rocking the boat. It's my choice and my body and my life though in the end.
Legs today with 30 min cardio-if I can't do it during the day I'll hit our garage "gym" as soon as my Husband gets home.

I weighed and measured this morning and I am in SHOCK. My waist is the smallest it has been since I became cognizant of the size of my waist. I dropped an inch and a half in the last two weeks of eating with common sense and trying to slow it down and actually taste things, but with a major slack in the reins, and trying to do 4-5 quality intense workouts focusing on weight training, interval cardio, and yoga. I felt that I had moved past the point of being destroyed by the scale and I have-it had actually gone up half a pound from two weeks ago and yet I am smaller. This means muscle. This means happy Erin! Spark has you measure waist, hips, and neck. Down 1.5 inches on waist, same on hips and same on neck. The hip measurement indicated I've added muscle to my rearview which makes me very happy-the women in my family tend to have flat asses and that does not mean they stay small either. Picture a large pancake when left to molder minus exercise. I had also developed the weird love handle things that hang over people's jeans and they do exposes on with blurred faces, and those are pretty much gone. I noticed that yesterday-no big humps sitting on the top of my rear, hard to properly explain.
Anyway, things are changing, for the better, and I am most pleased.
My weight has gone from 145 avg to 149.5 this morning, and yet my waist went from 28.5 at 149lbs to 27 at 149.5. The smallest my waist got was 28 inches at 144.5 lbs obsessing over food and not having enough energy to workout. Guess which way I'm going to keep heading...

Victories so far on Common Sense Plan:

• I resisted the urge to weigh myself even though it has only been two days. Weighing constantly and shooting up and down in mood because of it is NOT common sense. It is crazy, and afflicts many people including myself. We all know it is bad to feel negatively towards yourself because of a number changing by half a pound, etc. but I think it is detrimental to feel GOOD because of the same thing too. I'm trying to focus more on feeling good that I ate only nutritious foods, or I exercised and blessed my heart and lungs. It is very hard to think this way personally, that angle has always been part of this whole weight loss/fitness thing, but I'm an honest person and vanity has taken precendence. Vanity and pride, not really good things to make friends with on a daily basis for years. Pride comes into play because I always try to be the best at any thing I do, even though I sort of hate that quality sometimes, and I especially wanted to prove I could lose the weight after having our son.
• I HAVE eaten only nutritious whole foods, no diet drinks or goldfish crackers, Halloween candy, or tortilla chips. I am very proud of this because I had definitely slipped up as far as that is concerned. I think I had landed in crappy food land due to focusing so much on points/calories and dropping scale weight. It is not impossible to do that and stay true to what is actually good for your body, but it is hard for me.
• I have gotten in two really good workouts so far and am feeling like I can get back in a groove. Treading lightly is the name of the game at this point so I don't stress out and drop it altogether again. Any movement is good for me, and I am striving to really believe that-it is working I think. Yesterday was an hr of power yoga (I am so SORE today) and today was 20 min of elliptical training at a speed that kept my heart rate at target or a bit over the whole time. 4.5 miles.

• Some of my friends have secretly planned a girlie night this Friday, partially to cheer me up about my grandma's health situation. I requested that we make something healthy for me to eat and also piped up and stated my no alcohol/smoking policy. I always feel like a huge tool when I say anything to my friends/family in that area, but it needed to be said and I'm glad that I did. Why should I feel apologetic and lousy that I am trying to be the best me possibly?

So anyway, good things are happening, I am super tired as usual and think I may go have a lie down for a bit before my little buddy wakes up and needs some Mama time before I leave for school. Here's hoping for a tiny nap.