So I have realized that inside me there will always be a fat chick trying to get out. I know some people say there is a skinny person inside them but that's just not me. I was a fat kid, a fat teen and an obese adult and my body will always move in that direction (or so it seems. I keep hoping that will change). Case in point, after more than three years following SBD principles with very few off plan days (one food here or there but not even many of those) the last month has been dicey. It hasn't been completely off the rails but there's been full fat cheese, too many grain servings and and occasional unfortunate baked item. No big surprise that I was up 10 lbs as of Saturday. This is what my body does. It happened last fall for different reasons but fall does seem to be my time to bulk up for the impending winter.

This thread is a bit self-indulgent but I'm hearing from more of you that it's a tough time and I'm not the only one sliding right now. For me this is it, time to get back to basics and back on track. This is my reminder to myself of what works because I do know the answer to that. I just don't always pay attention.

My basics:

• Get at least 4.5 cups of veggies in every day. MurphMitch is right, it's hard to overeat other stuff when you have all those veggies to eat. My personal side note - at least half of those should be high density veggies like cabbage, broccoli and greens. All that fiber is filling and does wonders for weight loss and stable blood sugar.
  
• Drink enough water. While it may or may not be true that water helps in general, it definitely makes a difference for me.
  
• Eat beans. While they aren't required on SBD getting at least 1-2 servings/day really helps me. Once again the fiber and the good carbs both help me say no to things I should avoid.
  
• Measure and weigh limited foods. This is huge for me. That fat chick inside cannot eyeball a serving size ever. That's just a fact. I absolutely must measure or weigh cheese, peanut butter, hummus and grain servings. That extra serving of cheese or PB will show up on my hips quickly.
  
• Plan, plan, plan. Plan the day and plan for the unplanned day. I always need to have emergency food because some days there just isn't time or a good choice when I'm away from home. I've got a cooler bag and it needs to have raw veggies, a serving of lf cheese or hummus, chickpea crunchies, 100 calorie bag of nuts and some fruit.
  
• Read labels and avoid all sugar, especially HFCS. Once again I know some people can have a little but I'm not one of them. It will set me off every time.
  
• Move every day, even if it's only 15 minutes of walking from my car to the house and back.

So what are your basics? What are your absolute must rules and your tips fro staying focused when the whole world around you is indulging in a food frenzy?

Then let's let this thread be for self-indulging. I've found myself straying a bit off track once too often this past week, and even thinking sabotaging thoughts for the weeks ahead. I need to get a grip NOW, before things get out of hand. My body was letting me know it wasn't happy with me last night, after I ate yet another piece of pumpkin pie, and starting feeling very queasy and nauseaus. That, alone, was a red flag.

My basics are going to be exactly the same as yours, and let's root each other and keep each other accountable.

OH, how I love you ladies. I was just thinking I need to clean up my act, I lived like I used to over the break. Christmas won't be as bad since it will be at our house and I'll probably have a lot of food and most of it south beach friendly. Probably mashed taters or something the DH likes that doesn't do much for me. I'm going to have to ignore the best I can all the goodies clients drop off at work.

My biggest thing is to make myself some soup. If I don't plan stuff for lunch, I don't get nearly the veggies that I need, and I eat more calorie dense things.

What scares me is, they say it gets worse after 40....that's next year!! Hopefully that's because people are less active, which I'm not. However, I'm sure menopause will make it much worse....

I need this so badly. I found myself sampling Christmas cake last night and this morning my ticker is lying by a pound. I'm going through a difficult time but food IS the one thing I can control.

Right now I am going to make a firm food plan for the day and stick to it!

Me too!

And I can so related to Cyndi's list. My veggie and water consumption has been slipping a lot this past week as my off-plan snacking increased. Funny how that works.

I really, really need to cut out any off-plan eating. It is a slippery slope and I have fallen a long ways lately. I'm glad I don't have a ticker!

It doesn't have to get worse. I didn't discover SB until I was in menopause and it was the answer to all my dietary woes. I consider myself very lucky to have "figured it out".

That said I am probably up a few pounds after last week, but I know if I stay on plan for at least a week, it will settle back down. The pant-o-meter was not kind on Saturday.

My basics are pretty much the same as Cyndi. Especially to have the veggies. I also find I need to keep certain things in the house to eat when I haven't planned a meal. Yesterday it was a can of chopped tomatoes and a can of black beans. Warmed some up with a little taco seasoning and it was very satisfying. Beans seem to be my "convenience food" for me now.

I always measure my cheese and almond butter, but eat freely of the hummus. Probably shouldn't do that. I'm pretty good with the veggies most days, better when I'm at work and have access to a fantastic salad bar.

I also do better when I can have small goals in the future to work for. My middle daughter is getting married next year, so I want to work on maintaining, but toning up for the wedding. I also have several new pairs of jeans I love wearing, so if I gain a few, I really notice it.

I have two group baking sessions coming up the next two weekends, so that is my next challenge. All the more important to be stricter with my daily plan.

This is a great thread Cyndi! I agree with all of your basics!
Another one of mine is I really need to cut out all the Wine-ing. Since it is the holidays I will allow myself just 2 glasses on the weekend... I have several events coming up so that will be the biggest challenge for me.

I certainly needed this today too. I've been struggling emotionally with the idea of policing myself and my eating. I need to just make a list of my own basics and make sure I eat those each day and then not worry so much about the other stuff. Once I get down all the water, veggies, beans and yogurt there won't be room so much junk.

Thanks Cyndi, I think we all need to do this, especially this time of year. Even though I've been very strict on myself and am doing alright weight loss wise and have eaten only on plan items, I know that I see a pattern here where I am slipping a little by not making sure I get all of my vegetables in or having too much cheese and/or peanut butter on a given day. Plus I haven't been getting my water in and I know that is one of the main reasons that I'm having leg cramps at night. So I need to (no, scratch that) I WILL straighten up and get back to hard core basics too. I'm doing ok exercise wise but have been having thoughts about slacking off so will try hard not to do that.

My basics will be the same as yours too.

This is a wonderful idea to get a grip in the middle of the holiday season, rather than giving up and waiting until Jan. 1.

Last year around this time was a disaster for me. I bumped up something like 7-10 lbs in December last year and it was a months-long struggle to get back to where I started.

Recently, I have been too busy to allow myself to exercise enough and I have been relying far too much on prepared foods. I haven't been completely off plan, but man o man did I discover how easy it is to slip this weekend when I was out of my own house and surrounded by goodies.

I am still not back in my house, so that makes the challenge greater, but personally, if I stick to the simple rule of 4.5 cups of veggies that can pretty much keep me in line. Not much room for anything else! Other "rules" that I'm going back to:

• No alcohol at home, only ONE glass of wine if I am out with friends.
• Maximum one grain serving/day and usually none.
• One cup of Greek yogurt/day
• No diet sodas (for some reason I slip up with this one when I am eating out a lot. Don't even like them.) Drink plain tea if I am sleeeeepy
• Walking more than one hour/day
• Yoga classes 3-4x/week
• Plan and post meals daily
• Keep a supply of "emergency food" with me
• No sugar. (Duh. But somehow I have let this one sneak up on me. I will allow super-dark chocolate but that's it)

That's it for the basics. I am trying to kick up my exercise so we'll see if I can ever develop a plan for that.

Thanks for starting this!! It solidifies my plan and definitely makes it easier to stay on the right path amidst the holiday frenzy. I think if I can seriously stick to that no sugar rule it will save me around the onslaught of cookies, candies and pies

yes! Cyndi's basics are mine as well. Another is to get ENOUGH food! I find that if I don't get enough food, I snack all night long.

I was up this weekend, but two days of good food and some exercise brought me back to where I was supposed to be. Now, let's see if I can lose 5 lbs. and get that ticker down to 170 before we leave for vacation on Dec. 15

Ugh me too. Moo. Definitely fat chick here. My MUST list consists of:

- Drink water, especially with dinner and until a couple of hours before bedtime. For some reason, I do ok when I'm at work but then stop sipping when I get home.

- Eat veggie-loaded soup.

- Limit foods higher in fat (cheese, nuts, etc.)

- Limit grains, and eat the majority of them earlier in the day.

So far so good today! Thanks for this, Cyndi!

I'm In!
Work Stress Vacation and Holidays are Lots of excuses none of them good
I've been doing detox for 3 days so far
Rules for me
No refined carbs exceptions are Christmas Eve and Day so far I've resisted tortilla chips soft tacos and a plethora of cake
I know you don't need to on SBD but I'm Keepign my carbs around the 50 mark
eat my veggies
drink my water
get in my PROTEIN A mega concern for me!
Move my buns every day even if its 15 min
No adult beverages unless we go out then 1 that I can nurse like a baby

get my vities in another Mega concern for this chick

food is the 1 thing I can control right now everything else has hit the fan
so I'm building a better Kierie and not becoming the blob

My biggest stumbling block these days is getting enough sleep.

When I'm well rested I feel really good and I'm a lot less interested in fatty, sugary foods. Exercise is more fun (and I have more stamina) when I'm well rested, too.

I haven't been able to figure out how to squeeze more hours in the day, so I guess I'm going to have to buckle down and decide what to cut from my days to ensure I get to bed on time.

I will drink my water, chew gum if I want something off plan and eat the way I've been eating that led to a loss of 25lbs!