to the December 2018 daily weigh-in/check-in, everyone! This is an open invitation to one and all to join our little holiday party, make some new friends and enjoy the support of some really fantastic folks


Here you can:
To call upon a timely cliche, I can't believe it's December! Are you like me and struggle to remember how you have spent the year, or are only capable of capturing specific moments over the last eleven months? I hope so because I don't want to be alone in this . December sparkles for so many reasons: the snow, icy windows, holiday lights and displays , the anticipation of the holidays, and wrapping up not only but putting a bow on the past year. We've worked all year on improving our health and wellness. Some days are better than others and that's to be expected. Did you spend too much time on perceived failures and "could've, should've, would've" that you forgot how much progress you've made? That's in the past. Now it's time to put away the disappointments and missteps and revel in the joy of the season and the accomplishments we've experienced this year. Let this be a season of generosity; a time when we can show some personal kindness, appreciation and gratitude toward ourselves.

Wishing everyone a lovely and peaceful holiday season, and may the splendor of December remain with each of us long into the new year.

Hello all!!! Happy December! Don't get me wrong I HATE winter haha, but still I love the holidays so much!!! December is a whole month of non-stop fun if you ask me, if anything it can get overwhelming.

RunningRedHead I saw you made 50% of your goal! WOW. That is a huge accomplishment, you should be proud!

For myself I think the most stressful part of the semester is over for me. I do have 2 projects and a final exam left, but the projects are nearly finished and I imagine I'll get an A on the final exam seeing as I have a 98 in the class. It feels great to be over the hump, and my last day of class will be December 13th. Weight progress has been super blah. I was so bloated up after Thanksgiving weekend, and now it's shark week SO GEE THANKS WORLD. Again, I imagine I won't see any progress till late next week. In the meantime I am looking forwarding to tomorrow's feast day. Jason is making Cantonese duck and I'm thinking about making some mac n' cheese for lunch. I'm making sweets for my family too! I'm making our family's traditional chocolate fudge and fruit cake recipe. I wanted my Grandma's recipe , but she can't find it anywhere (she's 91) so I'm trying my best to recreate it. We decided to start cutting back on restaurant trips, it seems like we had been going every weekend. (To save $$). So this weekend, no restaurants.

11/30: 168.8 (Shark Week) (1200)
12/01: 169.2 (Shark Week) (feast)
12/02: 170.4 (Shark Week) (900)

GW: At least 166 by 12/22

Curvy: A big thank you again for keeping this thread going, especially during this very busy time of year! I often refer to December as the marathon month, but as you stated, it is also a wonderful time for reflection.

Bloominbutterflies: <10lbs away! I’m very excited. Best of luck to you on your exam and as you wait for your final grades! I have one paper left, but other than that it’s just the usual discussion postings (I’m in a 100% online program). Mac and cheese sounds delicious and comforting, please enjoy some for me! It’s so awesome that you want to make your grandma’s recipe! While I was cleaning for Friendsgiving last week, I found an old metal box and when I opened it I found all of my late grandmother's recipes. I can’t wait for the semester to be over so I can go through them all.

VickiLou:

I’m hoping to be consistent with the last few months and lose around the 5-8lb range. I was 0.3lbs away from my goal last month, so hopefully, it’s in the cards. I did find my weight-loss “journal” (if you will) and saw that I missed getting a second set of holes in my ears with new earrings and getting a new tattoo (the design I’ve talked about getting since I was in high school and shocked all my friends by not getting as my first design ). Best of luck to everyone on their journey this month!

SW: 235.3
GW: 228

Week 1:
12/1: 237.9 (+2.6)
12/2: 237.2 (-0.7)
12/3: 237.9 (+0.7)
12/4: 238.5 (+0.6)
12/5: 235.0 (-3.5)
12/6: 234.3 (-0.7)
12/7: 233.9 (-0.5)
Total for Week 1: -1.4
Total for December: -1.4

Week 2:
12/8: 233.6 (-0.3)
12/9: 234.0 (+0.4)
12/10: 234.0 (+/-0)
12/11: 232.4 (-1.6)
12/12: 235.1 (+2.7)
12/13: 234.6 (-0.5)
12/14: 234.6 (+/-0)
Total for Week 2: +0.7
Total for December: -0.7

Week 3:
12/15: 233.3 (-1.3) SW
12/16: 235.2 (+1.9) SW
12/17: 234.3 (-0.9) SW
12/18: 236.1 (+1.8) SW
12/19: 235.0 (-1.1) SW
12/20: 234.3 (-0.7) SW
12/21: 233.4 (-0.9)
Total for Week 3: -1.3
Total for December: -1.9

Week 4:
12/22: 231.0 (-2.4)
12/23: 231.0 (+/-0)
12/24: NWI
12/25: 230.6 (-0.4)
12/26: 230.6 (+/-0)
12/27: 230.6 (+/-0)
12/28: 231.0 (+0.4)
Total for Week 4: -2.4
Total for December: -4.3

Final Days
12/29: 229.4 (-1.6)
12/30: 228.6 (-0.8)
12/31: 228.9 (+0.3)
Total for Final Days: -2.1
Total for December: -6.7

I’m up a bit today thanks to pre-shark week bloating and water retention from eating a whole apple yesterday while occupying the time of a tiny human (aka babysitting my friend's 7-year-old daughter). So, while I’m bummed about the gain, I’m not bummed because it was eating something relatively healthy and doing something fun (we baked apples with cinnamon for a snack to warm up after going for a walk with Loki). I just purchased a sample pack of Keto Chow (weird-sounding name, surprisingly good product), which are meal-replacement/protein shakes specifically formulated to meet keto-friendly macro ratios and micronutrient requirements. I’m wondering if they’ll be good in a pinch or for days that I don’t feel like bringing dinner with me to work. I hope everyone has a great weekend, and happy December!

SW: 235.3
11/30: 235.3
GW: 228

Week 1:
12/1: 237.9 (+2.6)

So far so good with the new shakes. They are a very thick texture, though, which I was not expecting. Work again tonight and then back to the school-week grind tomorrow (and scouting bridal shower venues with my friend’s mom). I’m planning to go to hot yoga this Tuesday at noon, as I really did feel great after the last class and I need to remember to build the time in my schedule to exercise and take care of myself during the marathon month that is December. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

SW: 235.3
11/30: 235.3
GW: 228

Week 1:
12/1: 237.9 (+2.6)
12/2: 237.2 (-0.7)

Welcome back ophelia! We've all been there, and you've got a LOT of dragonflies girl. I'm sure you'll know what to do to get yourself right back on track.

I ended up having a really great weekend. Jason and I took a break from social plans, which is what I really needed after Thanksgiving and all the stress of my screwed up team projects for school. I've never had a problem with my team projects before, but this semester....*phew* oh boy. I have the team that literally fell apart (people dropping the class) and now it's just me and one other person. Then I have team "procrast & crap" who waits till the VERY last minute to finish their work and doesn't do a good job. I'm sad I'm stuck with procrast & crap again, I got them for two classes taught by the same professor who thought it was a clever idea to keep the teams the same. Tonight's my presentation with team procrast & crap, oh boy.

But oh yea the happy stuff. We did lots of shopping and holiday baking. We did end up eating out (I know, I know) because Ima had their grand opening and Jason gave me the saddest puppy dog eyes for his Japanese food lol. We SWEAR though, no eating out this weekend! My fruit cake turned out super great! My fudge...now I know where the expression "oh fudge" comes from. I'm sad to report I fudged it up 3x. I am sooo looking forward to this week being over. Then my team projects will be done and my hair will stop falling out. I'm also planning on dyeing my hair medium blonde this week. I'm going to have to over shoot it to lighten it up and then dye it the actual color I want afterwards. I haven't had blonde hair in a few years and I'm really excited.

12/03: 169.8 (900)(Shark Week)
12/04: 169.8 (1200)(Shark Week)
12/05: 168.8 (900)(Shark Week)

GW: At least 166 by 12/22

Hi all! Hoping I can join you guys! My accountability group seems to have faded, so I need to find one that is more active and you guys look like you keep things going well. Do you all weigh weekly, daily, or whatever you want? December is certainly not the best month to be weighing in, but I have to keep on track!! I was down at a lower weight a couple of years ago, but then had a regain. Not all the way, but bad enough. I'm not as far down this year as I had hoped, but down from last year, so little victories!

Casey: Welcome back! Sorry to hear you gained, but life can definitely get in our way, don’t be too hard on yourself Great news is you caught it early enough and are turning it around before you gained more back, which is great! Glad to have you back How is school going? You must be near the end of your semester?

Bloomin: Glad to hear you and Jason took a much-needed break. Just reading all you do in your posts exhausts me Your description of things that can go wrong with team projects is exactly why I dislike them for school. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the importance of character building and promoting collaboration as much as the next person, but I don’t think that is the best way to do it.

Slashnl: to this thread!! You’ve definitely come to the right place! Weigh-in as frequently as you like or feel free to track something like exercise/activity or hydration instead of weight. I like that you point out appreciating the little victories. Heading into such a busy season, this is very important to be mindful of, so thank you for highlighting that! Best of luck to you this month!

SW: 235.3
11/30: 235.3
GW: 228

Week 1:
12/1: 237.9 (+2.6)
12/2: 237.2 (-0.7)
12/3: 237.9 (+0.7)

Casey: back! Good to see you posting again. I can't tell you how many times you crossed my mind during these last few months. However, I knew that with your husband, children and nursing school, you were very busy. Sorry to hear about your regain but it happened and it's in the past. You know exactly what you need to do be successful so I have no doubt that you'll start seeing the pounds dropping again very soon.

RunningRedHead: Glad to hear that the shakes have proven to be a good move for you so far. Will keep my that they continue to help with your efforts.

bloominbutterflies: It's refreshing to hear that you and Jason took a break. You both seem to be on the move and have very active and busy lives so I imagine it takes being deliberate to slow down a bit. Regarding group projects: as one who has an extensive college teaching portfolio, I rarely give group project assignments. Your list of frustrations are exactly why I don't. It's a roll of the dice in terms of who you are assigned to a group project with. Usually it is a range of folks with their own talents and motivations. Talent and talent limits I'm always happy to accommodate because I have my own strengths and weaknesses. It's the motivation part that drives me crazy. I'm a "get it done, start immediately and don't let your foot off the gas until the project is complete" kind of gal. If you're lucky, there is at least one additional like-minded soul in your group. My experience though has taught me that once folks know who the motivated ones are they are more than happy to leave the heavy lifting to them. Yes, your frustration is completely understandable! Glad to hear your fruit cake was a success! What do you think was the misstep with your fudge?

VickeLou: Always enjoy seeing you check in and getting your monthly update. we've all had months like November. Hang in there; if you can be successful in December you can be successful during any month
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Weight was down to 206.6 this weekend. Not bad but I definitely feel like I'm not eating well in terms of good eating choices. I'm also drinking more caffeine than normal. I think I wrote in my last November post that I bought a Body Pump type weight set a few weeks ago. I should be receiving it on Thursday so I'm thrilled to be adding to my home "gym" arsenal. Last night I made chicken tortilla soup and it turned out delicious! Now that the weather is decidedly and my goal is to be making broth based soups on a regular basis.

Curvy: Your tortilla soup sounds delicious and like such a great idea right now, as I sit here shivering at my computer. Your goal of regularly making broth-based soups sounds like an excellent idea, I may have to copy you. Let us know how everything goes with your weight set, that sounds like a great addition to your home gym

Casey: I hear you on paper-procrastination! Way to go on your grade in your math class, that’s awesome! Glad to hear the rest of your courses are going well, that’s great news All is well here, my semester ends this week for one class and next week for the other; I’m looking forward to the break (although I’ll miss the orchestra rehearsals that run on university-time). Way to go on getting hydrated again, hopefully the extra water is helping you whoosh and you don’t bounce back up today.. if you do, at least you know what works for you and how to get back on track!

Today started dark and early; I had to take my dad to his appointment with an oral surgeon this morning—he needed a ride because they gave him sedation. All went well and he’s snoozing in his recliner at the moment, while I procrastinate some homework. Up a bit again today. I’m getting back to tracking calories before I consume them because over the last four days I have not been so strict, and I think that’s also part of why my numbers are creeping up. Hoping everyone is having a good week so far

SW: 235.3
11/30: 235.3
GW: 228

Week 1:
12/1: 237.9 (+2.6)
12/2: 237.2 (-0.7)
12/3: 237.9 (+0.7)
12/4: 238.5 (+0.6)

258.0

RunningRedHead: You aren't kidding about it being a busy time of year, which makes it difficult to stay on track!! I am easily swayed, but I just don't want to wait until the first of the year to get things going. A lot of damage can be done in one month!! Ha! Hope your Dad is doing well!

Casey: I usually go with daily weigh ins too. Just need to keep looking at that number, so that things don't go too wrong in one week!

Curvy: Love chicken tortilla soup! I'm actually a lover of all soup, in general. But like you, I try to stay away from the "creamy" or "cheesy" variety. Those calories add up in a hurry.

As for me, I'm up in weight from last week (my official tracking day is Monday, but didn't weigh until today). I need to turn that trend around by next Monday. I missed Body Pump this morning, so I might stop by after work to make the after work class. It was so cold this morning, I just couldn't do it. Spin tomorrow morning!