[Lin S]

Hi, Turtle Buddies,

Here it is - my "official" version of the fable:

The Hare and the Tortoise

A hare met a tortoise one day and made fun of him for the slow and clumsy way in which he walked.

The tortoise laughed and said, "I will run a race with you any time that you choose."

"Very well," replied the hare, "we will start at once."

The tortoise immediately set off in his slow and steady way without waiting a moment or looking back. The hare, on the other hand, treated the matter as a joke and decided to take a little nap before starting, for she thought that it would be an easy matter to overtake her rival.

The tortoise plodded on, and meanwhile the hare overslept herself, with the result that she arrived at the winning-post only to see that the tortoise had got in before her.

Moral: Slow and steady wins the race.

This comes from a book handed down from my grandmother to my mother to me. The book is so old it doesn't have a copyright date or an author/editor's credit.

That fable has been the motivation for us turtles for about two years. Someone on the ancient WW forum mentioned the fable and I discovered it was very motivational for me. I talked about it in posts and other people said that the tortoise philosophy worked for them, too. So, I started a thread for us turtle types.

We work toward accepting that our bodies have a natural speed of weight loss when we choose to live a healthy life, instead of "going on a diet". Many of us have experienced "the diets" as go on/lose weight-- go off/ gain the weight plus more back.

We choose to perservere with each choice we make throughout the day. We believe that choosing to be slow, steady turtles helps us to learn the skills we need to learn in order to not only lose the weight, but keep it off and become the healthiest people we can be.

So, welcome to all who realize that losing and maintaining a weight loss is a lifestyle change. And who want support as we all learn the skills we need to successfully make the changes that will allow us to reach our goals.

Happy turtlin', everyone!

Lin
272/235/135 or so

PS--Please read the last posts on # 44. Judy has some great news to share and I don't want that to get lost in the process of switching to a new thread. And I wrote a short (Really, it is short! ) post at the end, if anyone is interested in how I'm doing today.

[mousie]

Yay Judy! Sounds like you've found what works for you! And during the holidays, too, that's so impressive. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the holiday season and what has worked for you.

Lin, my theory is that when something ood happens, you don't go around asking why because knowing why might make it stop! Just enjoy the easy time you're having right now, goodness knows you've earned it.

Big day yesterday--in more ways than one. I finished my finals (and knew the stuff better than I thought I did, actually) and got a total grade for Kinesiology--B+. Then I went up to my family home, my brother, his wife and son arrived the night before last from Texas. So I played with Dayton--he's 3 in March--and we went to dinner. Come home to our place, and a friend is here using our computer. SHE wants dinner, so I agree to go and sit with her and talk. DH went to bed and I went out. We spent the evening talking and raiding bookstores, fun fun. So I had a busy but happy day.

I also ATE my way through the day. I've been trying really hard to figure out what I need, and give myself that instead of food. WEll, yesterday I needed sleep, couldn't get it. Needed a stress break, couldn't get it. Needed quiet time, couldn't get it. I had to keep going. So, I consciously made the decision to give myself sugar to keep going. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time, anyway.

End result, I ended up eating an amazing amount and my stomach hurts! But, I've accepted that to get through that day I had no other options that I could see. I've been really steady and controlled for 3 weeks, one day isn't going to blow it. So, pick myself up and move on.

So, I'm keepin' on. Going blading this morning after I take DH to his car (We left it at my parents' house) and then we'll see.

[Lin S]

Hi, Turtles,

Wow! Mousie, a B+ in Kinesiology. Way cool! Glad finals are over and you feel good about them. Now you can focus on enjoying your family and the holidays.

It sounds like you chose the sugar as the best of what was available, but aren't really happy about the result. I'm sure that you know that sugar causes a blood sugar spike and, in the long run, leaves you feeling even more tired. Maybe, for the next time this happens, you can prepare something that doesn't need refrigeration that you can keep with you for times like that. Peanut butter and celery or an apple. Trail mix or granola (homemade or carefully chosen, since most of the ones in the grocery store have little more nutrition than a candy bar.

I don't believe in jinxes, Mousie. I am very grateful that whatever I've done over the years has resulted in the program being easier to follow. My thinking is that if I can figure out what I did, I can be sure to continue doing it and then WW won't become a stressful part of my life. It has been, in the past, which is one reason I've never got to my weight loss goal. Meantime, I'm thankful for the ease in which I'm fitting this into my life at this busy time of the year.

We had a huge thunderstorm yesterday, so I didn't get my walk, but it's sunny today. Yay! I'm OP and doing fine.

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
272/235/135 or so

[mousie]

Come to think of it, maybe I should clarify. I didn't exactly choose "Sugar", I misspoke myself. Mistyped myself. Whatever. Anyway, the decision I made was more like, "the only thing that's going to get me through this day is eating to get the energy spike. Not a constantly good idea, but it'll get me through today. ONLY for today!" I didn't actually have much in the way of sugar, just a few cookies that my brother had made (I realized I haven't had a homemade cookie in *literally* years! I'm not a big cookie eater, and not having a standing mixer has meant that I don't bother). My choices were almost as "spiky" though--carbohydrates.

In the future I plan to have things with me, as you've said. My level of exhaustion took me by surprise. I was on campus, could not leave, did not have the time to leave. I was going to be on campus for at least 6.5 more hours. I had physiology and philosophy to review, and the finals to take. I was also falling asleep. So I did what every college student does: caffeine. Diet Coke. I made the decision to have breakfast at the Diner, and that's what got me to the decision that the only thing that was going to help me was food. In the future, I will not be caught out.

I've found a couple of other books to read on the subject of "demand feeding" (I love reading nonfiction) and plan to give them serious study. The blading did not happen today as the heavens decided to burst. I'll go tomorrow. Eating, though, is back to "am I hungry." Nice to see that yesterday didn't knock me completely off course!

Hope everyone else is fine and enjoying the holiday weekend!

[Itryharder]

Mousie,
Hooray that you're through finals with flying colors! Way to go.
Also glad that you and your friend had a chance to get together for dinner and that all was OK with dh. I love to hear you talk about eating only when you're hungry and I must say now that you're tuning in to that and you and Lin both talk about that part of weight control, I'm focusing on that a little better than I have in the past. Often I am hungry--plain old hungry--and can't wait till my next snack or mini meal. But you're right, there are times when I don't have to eat and it's *time* to eat and I do. HMMMM.
Definitely something to think about here.

Lin,
Always glad to read your posts. They're filled with good advice and deep thoughts. Keep it up.

Lauren,
I bet you're up to your eyeballs in company right now. I seem to remember that you might be away from the computer for awhile because of company, etc. So, you're in our thoughts. I must also say a major thank you to you for stating your goal of breaking 200
and being kind enough to post it for us to see. It is a major part of my jumping on the band wagon and figuring out how I could be successful in WW. Thanks again.

To all the lurkers~Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Let's all work together to figure out new ideas in controlling our weight, knocking off some pounds, and making it almost fun in the process. Let's get this lifestyle change into our systems and have a fabulous 2002!!

About Me,
I hope I didn't mislead people in my last post about losing weight over the holidays. I don't have any magic formulas and I'm actually up a pound from Wednesday. Having said that, let me explain what I meant.
For many years I have been able to lose weight around the holidays, and somehow manage to blow the weight loss right after the new year. Call me weird, I don't know! All I know is that the mere knowledge that it's *hard to lose weight* during the holidays somehow spurred me on to tackle weight loss seriously and I found the inner strength to stay OP during this time. It is not unusual for me to lose a pound or three during the month of December due to conscious, hard work on applying everything I know about food management and my body. Then, I have also relaxed and let it all go year after year after year in early January. Since I typically lose one pound a week only with extreme effort, and since I typically put on three pounds by inhaling good smells of foods, it got very discouraging. I would undo in two to three days what had taken me three to four weeks to lose. And that weight does not come off easily for me either. So--struggle to meet the challenge of the holidays, accomplish that, then let it all go for nothing in the immediate time after the holidays. I personally don't think it has anything to do with depression after the holidays because I don't get depressed. I just think I'm contrary and I don't like to deny myself food for any length of time. Well, isn't that all as clear as mud.
This year my challenge is to plan and prepare--making soup to eat before I go to my niece's tonight. Bringing Impossibly easy veggie pie with me to avoid some of her more caloric choices. Also bringing a dessert I can eat for lower points than what she'll have available. I have control of the foods being served on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day because I'm making them! So, wish me well as I charge through these days making the right choices and ending up 2001 lower than I entered it! T hen send me a big hug for holding onto that weight loss *because I deserve it* and continue to chip away at the pounds till I reach goal.

Sorry this is so long. My holiday tips are--count out your points to make room for the holiday goodies you don't want to do without.
Have a taste instead of a serving. Only eat fabulous things. Plan and prepare and make sure you're full before you head out to holiday functions.
Love you all. Have a Merry Christmas~

[Lin S]

Hi, Terrific Turtles,

I'm really glad to see you all posting such thoughtful letters during this holiday season. They're really helping me keep my focus this year.

Mousie and Judy, your explanations of your earlier posts show how deliberate your decisions are. By being so deliberate and thoughtful, you're showing the stuff that has given you such great success.

Mousie, I'm glad you're back to eating according to hunger. I'm starting to think that learning to recognize our body's hunger signals, and responding appropriately, is one of the keys to successful weight loss.

Judy, maybe you should convince yourself that it's hard to lose weight all year long! You mentioned that you're contrary and don't like to deny yourself food for any length of time. Maybe you ought to think about why you feel as though you have to deny yourself food. Is it larger portions you're missing? Or do you stop yourself from eating food that you really want? Or what? Then think about how you can work this program to avoid that feeling.

It's a hard one to answer. Each person is so different. I found several keys to ending that deprived feeling. First, I took WW at their word and when I want a particular food, I fit some into my day. Or week, depending on how many points it is.

Second, I worked really hard on learning about what's hungry and what's not. If I want something, and I'm not hungry, I wait. Often, I end up wanting something totally different when I actually get hungry. The other thing I learned is that much smaller portions make me full than I thought.

Third, I got picky. I don't waste my points on food that's not fabulous. If I take a bite and it's not worth the points, I don't eat any more. I've also discovered that as I choose healthier foods for my everyday diet, I don't want large portions of rich foods. A small portion is enough. And with desserts, one or two bites is usually plenty.

I don't know if any of that will help you after the first of the year. But keep coming here and we'll do our best to boost your motivation. Here's a {{{Hug}}} for starters.

I ate a lot of points for dinner last night. Just couldn't pass up that second biscuit. But, I had the points and chose to use them that way. I need to make biscuits more often so that I don't think of them as "special" and want to eat more than I should. I wasn't hungry when I ate that biscuit. That's why I feel that I shouldn't have eaten it.

But that's my other trick, I guess. Fitting in food that might be tempting for me to overeat often enough that it feels like an ordinary food. It makes it easier to decide on the basis of hunger instead of "Gee, I haven't eaten this in so long and I want a lot."

Anyway, that's what I've been able to figure out about how I've managed this issue. I sometimes worry that I sound like an obnoxious know-it-all (not that you lovely ladies would say so), but I hope you realize that my purpose is just to share what I've learned in about 30 years of dealing (off and on) with this issue in my life. I'm hoping to firmly implant in my own brain the lessons that helped me in my journey by writing them down. And I hope that maybe some of the things that helped me can help someone else. Either by giving you something to try or by giving you an idea, a twist on what I do that will help you. I want to see all of us who currently post here to gradually be maintaining turtles, and maybe some losing turtles will join us over the years, too.

Everyone, have a splendid weekend, preparing and enjoying this holiday season. Happy whatever holiday you celebreate. I wouldn't assume what anyone is celebrating this season. (One of my kids celebrates no holiday and the other celebrates a different one. They're religions are different from mine. We celebrate Christmas.)

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
272/235/135 or so

[Lauren H]

Hi, Turtles. Just a quick check-in here. I am indeed "up to my eyeballs" in company at the moment! My brother sleeps in the computer room, and he sleeps until after noon most days, which is also when my mom gets up and is ready to go. (I come from a family of night owls.) So I haven't had much (read: any) computer time and don't know when I'll have any again, at least not before New Year's!

My eating has been fine, and I'm even down a bit more (I snuck a peek a couple days ago), though now with TOM, who knows. I also seem to have gotten a cold -- what rotten timing. Ah, well. I'm enjoying our company and this wonderful time of year. And it's finally cold here, too!

I love reading what you're all writing -- what a thoughtful group you are. Judy, I hear you about doing well through the holidays and then letting it all go to pot afterward. I was concerned I might do that with my goal of 199 -- hit it, and then stuff my face. It hasn't happened; my motivation is still very high. But the holidays are tough! Let's help each other out in the new year.

No time to respond to everyone, unfortunately, but here are my best wishes for a very merry Christmas for each of you.

Onward and downward,

Lauren
274/198.5/199 by Christmas -- done!

[Lin S]

Hi, Turtles,

Good to hear from you Lauren. I understand about people who aren't on the same schedule. My dh is the earliest riser of anyone I've ever known. And my oldest son is the most devoted night owl. Sometimes, dh is getting up just as ds is going to bed! Me and my other son prefer a night owl schedule, but we're more flexible about it. Look forward to hearing more from you as you manage to get some computer time. (An issue here, with everyone home, too. I'm typing this at 6:45 am, before the troops awake.)

I've been doing OK. Had a difficult situation last night. I was really tired and didn't solve the problem as well as I could have, but it's one meal and I can move past it. I also know what to do next time.

I'm up a pound this week. I don't think I'm going backwards, though. I think it's one of those glitches in the scale. I may need to change the batteries in my scale. I got two different readings this morning and that's unusual. So, I'm going to keep doing what I know is working and make the best choices I can during the rest of the week.

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
272/236/135 or so

[mousie]

Glad to hear from you, Lauren. Hope your holiday is going splendidly, with all of your family around.

Judy, I agree with Lin--convince yourself that it's hard to lose all year round! Goodness knows that's MY experience!

Lin, I love what you said about your meal last night--it didn't go as well as it could have, but it's one meal and you learned from it. That's what we're ideally supposed to be doing, right?

Got up later-ish this morning (for me, that's 8:30) and ran a couple of errands before I decided that I was hungry. I decided I wanted a bean burrito (yes, for breakfast) so I heated up tortillas and vegetarian beans and am happy as a clam. We're going to my parents' this afternoon for an early Christmas, as they leave for Pennsylvania tomorrow. I don't envy them the snow, even if they are going to see my sister!

I got another grade: my final for Philosophy was 90%! According to the way he grades I've got a total of 88.3%. If he does the strict 70/80/90 grading, then I've got a B+. If he curves a little (pleeeeeeeeeeeeease) then I get an A. Just brilliant, that's what I am. And not in the least full of myself!

DH and I are having a very small, very quiet Christmas. No company, no big dinner, barely any decorations. In the middle of finals, I just couldn't cope with it. DH isn't bothered either way, so we decided to just leave it for this year. No family around this year, either. So we'll have our cozy Christmas and it will be lovely. I hope all of you have wonderful Christmases!

[Itryharder]

Mousie,
I'm so glad you did well with your finals and that they're over.
Having a comfy cozy Christmas with your husband sounds lovely.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to us all.

Lin,
You never sound obnoxious and I'm always glad when you detail how you are feeling and /or approaching food because I can almost always find a bit or a lot of your approach and apply it to what I am doing. (See--I didn't say *trying to do*.) How smart of you to satisfy cravings by working excellent foods into the points you have and spreading the points out over more than a day if necessary. Have a wonderful Christmas with your dh and sons. You've been through a lot this year and it's a great time to settle back and count our blessings.

Lauren,
I am so thrilled that you lost another half pound. My goodness~who ever thought this was possible. You lost weight up to the holidays and with perserverance lost more again! I'm glad you were able to get to the computer, and yes, we will certainly help each other in the New Year with hugs and great ideas and inspiration and kindness. That'll work!!!!

Everyone,
Merry Christmas and a Happy New YEar! I have had a social start to the holidays. Friday and Saturday nights my dh and I headed to different nieces and nephews to exchange presents and to celebrate a birthday. The eating challenges were huge, but I kept writing a journal, planned and prepared and although I went up a pound, I've knocked off one half of it already. Yesterday was a tough one because my son, his wife, and children were flying in. With the extra alert for Christmas travel and the culprit on AA, I had too much to think about. As far as food, even though I ate cookies, I counted them in. Then for dinner , the kids love White Castle, so I found out how many points in the things I wanted, ate accordingly, and was fine. I also listened to my tummy and realized I wasn't so very hungry and didn't need volume this time. I have today figured out too.
Believe it or not, thanks to a brainstorm my dh had a long time ago, our traditional Christmas eve dinner is cold cuts and salads.
I bought lite rye bread for myself and I'm going to try the FF bologna that my niece recommended. Then I'll have points left for the potato salad I adore. Yay! I figure the desserts are fine because I have lowfat yogurt in the house and I also bought a batch of Silhouettes.
Tomorrow I have a comfort food type of dinner that I'll be able to calculate. With any luck I'll come through Christmas without a gain! This is under my control and it's up to me to do the right thing. I'll have smidge amts. of the things I really want and fill in on wonderful substitutes for the others.
Right now I want to send all of you hugs and good vibes for a lovely Christmas that helps us to count our blessings and love our family members. Merry Christmas to you all, my second family!!!

Judy
234/207/199soon

[Lin S]

Merry Christmas, Turtles,

Happy Holidays, too. Everyone pick your holiday and have a great one, or two or however many you and your family and friends celebrate. (One of my sons celebrated two different holidays this year.)

I fixed my scale and discovered that I actually am maintaining my weight. YAY!

Mousie, congratulations on doing so well with school this semester. Every post is a triumph!

Have a great Christmas with your dh. It's really cool to spend it all cozy and by yourselves sometimes.

Lauren, hope you're enjoying your Christmas with your family.

Judy, congratulations on knocking off that half pound. You're doing really well, planning and meeting your challenges.

I'm doing really well today. I walked my feet off doing last minute errands, plus my dailly walk. And I have some banked points. But, tomorrow, I'm not counting points. I'm just eating normal size servings of all of the food I cook. I want to focus on the celebration and my family.

Then I'll be eating low in my range on Wednesday. Thursday, I cook a second dinner for my extended family. I'm not counting points that day, either. As long as I eat sensibly and get as much exercise as I can during the week, I'm sure I'll end the week either maintaining or up a little, if I start retaining PMS water weight. Sometimes I start retaining water a full two weeks prior to TOM, so we'll see how that goes. We don't do much for New Year's, so I'm not worried about yet another food challenge. By New Year's all we want to do is SLEEP!

My goal for the week is to maintain and then when everyone goes back to work and life gets back to the everyday routine, to start losing again.

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas!

Happy Turtlin'!

Lin
272/235 /135 or so

[Lauren H]

Hi, turtles. I'm showing my mom our discussion group. She's trying to become web-savvy.

Yesterday we went to Eagle Tavern, an 1850s tavern, where we had a holiday dinner. It was a lot of fun -- there were traveling singers singing carols, and a magician, and everyone was dressed up in period costume, and the meal was traditional as well. But it was a TON of food! (A cheese and bread course, followed by a cream soup course, followed by a fish course, follwed by a corned beef and cabbage course, followed by a chicken pie course, followed by a veal course, followed by rice pudding, followed by nuts and dried fruit!) Even though I only ate parts of things, I still ended up 10 points over for the day! Ah, well. It was fun. I did a good workout today, and I ate fine. Tomorrow I will count points, but I won't neurose about going over if I do.

We're getting SNOW tonight -- it's beautiful! Feels so Christmasy, with the snow and the carols playing, and the candles ...

Have a wonderful Christmas, everyone -- Christ is born!

Lauren

[mousie]

Lauren, that tavern sounds like a blast. I miss going to RenFest so much! Truly, I don't think going over by 10 points is that big of a deal. You had fun and you were with family, and that's what matters.

Lin and Judy, you both sound truly sane! I can only aspire to such level-headedness.

Two nights ago I had a hard conversation (sigh) with DH. We've been having a lot of those lately, and I don't want anyone to think that it's our marriage. We love each other immensely. We are newly married, though, and we're trying to get things worked out for our future together. So anyway. This conversation.

It began with my mentioning offhand that I had actually returned a book that morning, as opposed to buying another (I love books). He asked why, and I said that I didn't think it was going to help me. So he asked what book, and I told him the title--The Unofficial Guide to Eating Disorders. Beat. Then he asked if I thought I had a problem, and I honestly said that I didn't know, but what I had been reading lately (in the last month) really was hitting home, and I wanted to try talking to someone about it.

We talked for awhile and at first he was dismissive. Then he tried to give me answers--tried to "solve the problem", as it were. Finally I said, "Dearest, these are easy answers for you but they're not easy answers for me. They're obvious to you but they're not obvious to me. I need you to accept that I am struggling with this, and accept that for me it may not be as simple as you think it should be. Can you do that?" He was quiet and then he said of course, he'd support me no matter what, and give me whatever help I needed. I asked if we could look into finding me a counselor, at least for a couple of sessions, and he said of course. He was sad because I hadn't come to him sooner with this, I hadn't felt comfortable talking with him about it. I said it wasn't that I didn't want to talk to him, I wasn't ready to talk to ANYONE (aside from my Turtle buddies ). He accepted that, was still a bit hurt but accepted that it's painful and real for me, and I needed to process it myself before I found words for it.

So, here's another step on my journey. I don't know if I have what would be classified as an eating disorder, all I know is that I've gained 30 pounds in the last year and I eat for emotional reasons. We'll see where this goes.

Sorry to add such a downer to the holidays, Merry Christmas anyway!

[Itryharder]

Merry Christmas to all our Slow Turtle Buddies,

Lauren,
You paint a wonderful Christmas picture. Snow and carols and family around you--what could be better? And you're losing weight. Weigh to go, girl. That Eagle Tavern dinner sounded amazing. Only eating 10 points over for such a feast must have been difficult. It sounds incredible. Glad you and your mom had such a nice time together.

Lin,
Now let me get this straight. Do you mean if I fix my scale, I'll end up maintaining too? Hey, WW should know about this! LOL
I don't think it will work for me because my scale isn't battery operated. You sound good and it's absolutely great that you're maintaining during this tough time of year.

Mousie,
I'm sure you and your dh love each other to pieces. I happen to think it's nice that you're so interested in each other that he inquired about the book you returned. It sounds like the discussion it provoked was tough for both of you to get through, but good discussions that aren't hurtful lead to greater love. You know, men don't want women to hurt, and they love to solve problems for the women they love. He doesn't mean to belittle your problem, probably doesn't even see it as a problem, but it's great that you and he decided that a few counseling sessions would be fine. I don't want to shoot my mouth off too much here,
but just know that your e-mail wasn't a downer, that this is an open forum for all of us to vent, and that gettting these things in the open is what eventually leads to getting on top of our eating concerns.
Thanks for calling me level headed. I like that a lot! Here's a huge hug for getting through these times. gaining thirty pounds is not fun and I know you can turn that around.

Everyone,
Well, here it is the day after Christmas. It was a good Christmas.
Everyone got along--there were nine of us here from Christmas Eve, staying overnight, and then through late Christmas Day. My dh got sick--hopefully just a horrible cold, but probably a sinus infection/miserable cough--and had a tough time enjoying the day he had worked so hard for. He did an awful lot of the shopping this year which helps tremendously. I have to rethink retirement plans because I've been running too tired lately and it may be unrealistic to think I can teach another two years--there's time to think about that, however. So, poor baby went to sleep even before our youngest daughter and her husband and sister packed up and left. He's still sleeping this morning and I hope that helps him a lot.
Yesterday, even though I had figured it all out, I worked much too hard. I made a huge breakfast without a speck of help--no one even buttered the English Muffins! Then I spent almost four hours in the kitchen making dinner. I don't know how that happened because it was a simple dinner, but I hadn't had a chance to do anything ahead because of all the social commitments we had and also because I was running so tired, so when I had a minute, I rested. So--I have had Christmasses that were more fun, but this one was still good. Thank goodness there weren't any flareups. My daughter-in-law can be inappropriate at time and is still pretty self-centered. Her son is a real handful and although I feel sorry for the kid because he lives with his dad and doesn't get to see his mother so much, He also drives me crazy. There--that's honest. So, when we all get together, it has been and can still be a powderkeg of emotions easily set off. I just told my daughters that the best Christmas present for me would be to have everyone get along and I have to say that that is exactly what happened. Hooray!
As far as food, I'm up two pounds today. I'm going to a WW WI, but I should show as maintaining because this is a morning WI instead of my usual five o'clock WI. I feel very salty and I am hoping that this is a very temporary gain of fluids, etc. I was careful yesterday, but certainly had lots of goodies to eat. I also did not write down beyond breakfast what I ate and I had cookies, etc. In comparison to other holidays I did a fabulous job and I'm very proud of myself. I am counting on my meeting this morning to give me an uplift to help me *plan and prepare* when I would rather keep on eating! My dh and I celebrate our anniversary tomorrow--eating dinner out--maybe we'll just get Chinese in because that's easy to figure out points and we do enjoy that too. Then on Saturday we're heading to our friends'
house for dinner and an evening together. She has the most incredible hors douevres and serves dinner late, so I'll have to think about that as well. But for now I'm thinking just about today, getting through it and doing the right thing for myself.
Well, I have gone on here.
Everyone do well and enjoy the holidays. They are here at last.
Judy
234/209today/199soon

[Lin S]

Hi, Turtles,

Lauren, I envy you your period dinner. I absolutely love that stuff! One of these years, I'm going to make a costume and wear it to the Renaissance Faire they have during the summer and fall in Northern California. It's been out of line with our budget, what with raising two kids and then facing so many layoffs over the past few years. But I have high hopes for the future. (I really am an optimist at heart, despite my depression earlier this year.)

I don't know if I told you all, but we found out that my dh's contract is for six months and they plan to hire him when it runs out. So, he should be getting benefits starting in mid-February. YAY!

Mousie, your post is NOT a downer. It is simply an honest post from a lady who needs her friends to be there for her. We are. Here's a {{{hug}}}. Your dh sounds like a terrific guy. Hang on to him! But, do remember that men are programmed to "rescue" women. Which means they're pretty uncomfortable with problems they can't solve. So, be patient with him, but don't stop clueing him in to what's going on with you.

Hope the counseling helps you to work out what's going on regarding your relationship with food. We're here to help in any way we can. Certainly we'll add you to our prayer lists and listen via cyberspace when you need an ear.

Judy, I think it's the curse of the middle-aged woman with a family. We all end up doing the work without help, unless we nag them to death! I don't usually have to nag too much, though. My dh nags the kids, too, when he thinks they're being too lazy. After all, adult kids are old enough to do some of the work. Mostly they play scullery team for me, so I can focus on cooking the food.

I had the same problem you did yesterday. Things kept interfering with my plans to cook a lot of the meal in advance. So, I spend a long time on my feet cooking and we ate fashionably late. My family was super understanding. Of course, had they complained, they would have been put to work chopping veggies and stuff.

I haven't been tracking since Christmas Eve and won't until Friday. But, I know how I'm doing. I'm eating a bit over my range, I'm sure. But I'm also spending a lot of time on my feet. I'm sticking to my supplements and water. So, on the whole, I'm pleased with how the holidays are going, as far as my weight management efforts are concerned. (And everything else, too.)

I need to get busy and do the advance prep for Christmas dinner in SJ. My brother decided to come down tomorrow rather than Friday, so I ended up with one less day to do the work. It's not difficult because the meal is so simple. I'm just a little tired from yesterday, so my energy level is down. I may take a half hour nap, then get started.

Hope you all continue to have a great holiday season as we move into a new year. Let's resolve not to make ridicuolous resolutions we can't keep. Let's resolve to be kind to ourselves and do the best we can do with what life dishes out. And to continue to turtle on, losing weight at whatever rate our bodies give it up in response to our ongoing attention to choosing a healthy lifestyle.

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
272/235/135 or so