Amber: That's a tough one - I have been there and had issues as well. Not that I am perfect w/this whole diet, I have found that if I have them in the house, and if I see them - then all of a sudden the WANTS happen. What I am learning, and working with, KEEP THE BAD STUFF OUT - yep - out of the house, the desk, the car, the fridge, the freezer, your purse, in your secret hiding spot (hey we all have them to keep someone else out in my instance the kids and DH). I know you said you like nutterbutters - keep them away. Ditch them all. In fact the last few days there was a chocolate bunny looking at me from the freezer - I haven't been interested in it since I put it in there in the spring - guess what jumped out because I happened to run across it? That darn rabbit. So, if I can pass on one thing I am learning to work with, though having one here or there is ok now and then, just beware those pesky things lurking wherever you have them - they call your name, especially if in eyesight. I don't know what to tell you about the office, I always snacked as I worked, maybe I was bored, maybe I should have had a glass of water, but that too can get to you too quickly.

Ok - that's from this 40 something that still gets cat calls from chocolate bunnies! Hope your evening goes easier and you feel better about yourself, it's a journey that can be filled w/angst sometimes, do the best you can and tomorrow is another day to try again!

Les: Oh I hope someday they all fall off. I was folding my jeans as they came out of the laundry yesterday - not that I am out of them yet, but geez - talk about a wide load. It'd be lovely to start leaving those behind, but sadly they don't seem to be leaving me. I do hold out hope it will be sooner than later.

Hello Violets!

AM: Have a beef veggie soup on simmering. Smells good! I used the soup bones (or the cows cankles as I like to think of them) and cooked them down, then separated the fat and used some of the stock from that and made my soup. It's loaded w/veggies and I am using rutabagas - which have a nicer taste than a potato in my soup. I'd sure like a crusty loaf of bread - but we know my story on crusty bread - I'll keep on eating. So I will allow myself 5 ritz crackers - whole wheat with it.

Tomorrow is weigh in for those doing the turkey challenge. I don't know where I will be, didn't bother to hop on this am. Haven't gotten to gym - I cough when I get moving and it's hard to stop - yes OTC meds seem to help some, but still can't get it going w/o a good coughing fit. Hey, even if I am down 2 lbs - that's better than up 2.

Wishing you all well, I do hope Mam comes back and joins us - sorry if I may have said something in my rambles, I don't mean to offend.

Horrible I failed my own challenge again. I'm up today. TOM Is wrapping up and so is me not counting calories the last few days. Ugh! I've been busy with trying to get out of state family gifts and a website done and dealing w the cough from hades and I haven't tracked my meals. Excuses! I'm full of them today! I'm heavy it looks like I lost a pound in my challenge that's all after a promising start the weight went back up. ICK.

So today I hope to do better this weekend I need to do better and I hope I can get a bike ride in here somewhere. I've just been bad on everything that has helped me up to this point. I wish I was more committed to being strict on exercise and diet but of late I am not. I've a friend who's super strict on herself she's got a nice figure but she's almost crazy nuts on making sure she runs 5 miles a day and eats only so much each meal. That's not me and I don't know if I could ever get to that realm. I'd just like to be able to stick something that just becomes normal and easy for me to do. I know we all have our foibles today mine is hitting me in the face.

So I'm off to have an egg and a bit of avocado. Hopefully you all are doing wonderfully! I am here to cheer you all on and hopefully collectively we went down in weight!

Amber- I am the same way. I am totally allowing myself to have some junk food, but I try to limit the amount and keep it under my daily total. But sometimes it is really hard. Sometimes I can eat one donut, but sometimes I eat 4, haha. I am trying to stay away from pizza, because I want to eat more than one slice, and it's hard. The couple of times I have eaten it, I've tried to have salad with it to fill me up. I have been doing zucchini pizza bites when I want a lot of pizza, because they give you a ton of food for under 300 calories.

Lemon- TOM is so hard for me still. I still track my calories but find I tend to go over more at that time (or just before, different each month). I just find that I'm hungry all the time. My TOM has been much shorter the last couple of months though, so at least it's not as many days where I feel like that. Sorry you didn't make the challenge, but I'm sure you will drop even more weight as soon as TOM is over, most likely. And hopefully as things slow down you will have more time for exercise and yourself.

Turkey Day Challenge

SW: 191.6
CW: 185.8
GW: 186.6

Barely made it after a week of gains and hovering around 188. Had a two pound drop overnight, which is just one more thing to be thankful for, haha. I knew I was eating under my limit but gaining all week has been tough. Very glad to finally see a decent drop.

I'm excited to spend tomorrow with family and am excited to eat at maintanence calories for a day, haha. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Happy early- thanksgiving!

I know I won't have time tomorrow morning to wish you all well. Enjoy your time visiting with your family, enjoy the meal, and enjoy that you are still lighter than you were a month ago!

I have gotten the out-of-staters Christmas gifts done, just not wrapped yet, need to wait for my kids to go to sleep before I drag gifts out of the closet, less they figure out my new hiding place. So I will stay up this evening to get that done. My sewing has been fairly successful. That's a plus! I feel like I am accomplishing something as opposed to nothing.

Now to deal w/the weight issue. I do aim to be good this weekend. I just hope the scale reflects such. I aim to keep up with the water and avoid the sweets less my piece of pie. I plan to make most of our meals in when we are there as well, so that should help to. Ah - the intricacies of weight loss, can drive one BATTY.

Happy holidays to you all!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday! I am up 2 pounds but it was worth it. Although after all that food over the last couple of days, I am actually happy to be back on the diet, haha. Trying to drink a ton of water today, and hoping the weight drops back down. Enjoy the weekend!

Morning - well I was up when I left for Thanksgiving, and manage to come back down and maintain at 236.6. So though it's not my lowest per my ticker, it's also not in the 240s! So for that I am glad.

I aim to begin well this week and take off a pound or two more. I do hope that works. the cough thing is dwindling thank goodness and I should be able to get back to exercising. I do feel the difference when I don't the joints get achy where you don't want them to be!

Is anyone else noticing a spike in prices for fresh produce? I went to get some romaine and it's usually 1.89 for 3 hearts, yesterday it was $4.00 for 3. I left it, cauliflower was $4 a head too. Usually it's all under $2 here so I don't know the spike. I thought in CA where a lot is grown was finally getting the rain they needed. Who knows, gas prices are finally under $2 again - it should stay there!

Hope you all had a wonderful Turkey day with family and friends. Frankly I have had enough of my siblings to last me until next year. Yeah, Christmas comes first. Otherwise, it was an ok time. Both houses we went to left me stressed. I think I should just stay home next year and do our own thing. I have never cooked a turkey on my own. Will have to see. I go because of my mom that's about all.

Happy day to you all. I do hope your scales all look good this am!

Gas prices have dropped to just under $2 here as well, Lemon, thank goodness. Also you will be happy to know that butter has dropped in price a bit here as well, haha. Got some great sales right before Thanksgiving. I haven't noticed a big jump in produce but I will start paying attention, haha.

Glad your cough is easing up and hope you feel good enough to exercise soon. I know it makes me feel better when I make myself do it. And good for you for staying in the 230's. You will be back to your lowest and even lower in no time.

I managed to drop to 185 at some point, but thanksgiving brought me back to 188, and today was my first drop since at 187. For the last three weeks in the Christmas challenge, I have been at 187 point something, haha. I am hoping to see more drops this week, as this can be a little frustrating. But we all knew that already, haha.

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday and families. I definitely did, and I can't wait until Christmas!

Les: I just want it to go, but those darn sweets have been calling at me from all places - the freezer, pantry and mixer! Darn things! I keep trying I told DH to ENCOURAGE me to go ride the bike tonight. Though I did put the caveat that he needs to ask how tired I am first, but then encourage me to do so My body feels better when I do move it, and I like the scale going in a downward trend, so I guess I will not be tired come 8pm this evening when things slow at this house.

Good for you for enjoying your family - did the situation for your sib get worked out? I bet you had fun w/the LOs.

Eh on the weight - I expected mine to go up, but if it did I didn't weigh myself until Monday, so I was back to where I started last week. It will come off, even if you loose a pound, that's better than putting back on 5!

Hello violets!

AM: Quiet place here - I do hope you all are doing well, working toward your goals and getting ready for Decembers festivities in all shapes and forms. I looked at my calendar until Jan - NUTS. I have lots of running, not sure when we'll go get our tree, let alone decorate it. I have so much to make - heads spinning! I did get the out of towners their gifts made. i just need to sit on my duff and do it and quit giving myself extra projects!

I would love to be in the 220s by Christmas, so I am beginning this week in earnest to leave the 230s. I need to count and stick to that as well as moving. I just looked out my window and we have snow. We were to get hit last night, but it just rained instead. Does it make me want to move, no. Does it make me want to eat salad or cold produce - no. So I need to change my attitude and just find a good spot and work on it as best I can.

Hope to get the outside decorated when LO is napping today, though the day is kind of messed up as his therapy got shifted to what would be his nap time. Argh. So instead of being outdoors in the yuck, I made my Christmas list for DH, some years he's at a loss of what to get me. So I thought I'd help him out. Who knows - it's a smattering of things. I'd love to say get me a size large - not there yet, but maybe next year!

Hope everyones Thanksgivings were good! Today is day 4 of staying on track for the most part and I feel so much better - SO much better. No stomach aches no craving junk food its amazing what just a few days will do.

lemon that's awesome youre in the 230s! Ive noticed a price in almost all foods within the last 2ish months its getting ridiculous. 50 cents here 75 cents there, it adds up! I cant belive its December already, where has the time gone? It really does fly by.

Amber: Tell me about time! I just scheduled family photos for the year - I can't do a higher end photog, so JCP is it. Crazy! Good for you on the diet! You can do this - just remember how you feel when you are doing the correct things - that's what spurring me to just not attack the sweets constantly. I like the smaller body. Good going! Keep up your good work!

Doing poorly on diet last few days. I guess I am panicking w/all that Christmas time offers and after filling in my calendar for December, it's worse now that all sporting events for DD are in, including practices, I might as well live in the car. And she's under 10, I will hate to see what 16 brings in terms of scheduling

Wishing you all well and hopefully doing much better than I. Anyone keep loosing? What are you finding is keeping you on task to do so? I am busy enough that I even keep forgetting to take my daily medicine. I feel totally scattered and not with it. Here's hoping my brain catches up with my feelings and they all settle down.

Happy day to you all!

I am finally losing again, and just this morning made it back to my pre -Thanksgiving weight. I was having a hard time sticking to my deficit as well, it was like Thanksgiving just opened the food floodgates, haha. But I've been better the last few days. Hope you can get it all sorted and feel better, Lemon!

Well, I had a laugh this am. My LO had been playing w/the scale (it was upside down when I found it this am). Well I righted it, stepped on it and it said 220. Though the fleeting feeling was fantastic (hey I lost 20 lbs in a week!) I knew it wasn't right. So I let it sit while I showered and came back on it, and it was back to normal. Oh well, but hey just for that moment 220 felt delicious!

My scale otherwise wasn't as bad as I am feeling. So that was helpful. I hear you Les on the floodgates to food. Oh Lordy - can sugar scream any louder at me? And chocolate? I wish we could turn things off easily. With time, maybe I will get it.

It's been quiet here - I do hope the other Violets pop back in.

I have stalled, I know why, I am not tracking this week, I am not exercising and I have been stressing about stupid family stuff (extended). I aim to right the ship this weekend. I have been frazzled w/thoughts of getting the Christmas season together for this house. From gifts, to projects to wrapping - when the heck am I going to find time? I think that was my issue yesterday which in turn made it so I couldn't think.

Anyone else dealing w/being overwhelmed and ready to throw the diet out the window? I'd love to right about now.

Happy Friday!

The entire diet/lifestyle change can be overwhelming at times, especially when your life gets busy in so many other ways. I think it's totally natural to feel like just giving up on the whole thing. You just have to decide how bad you want to lose the weight. I know for the first time in my life, it is a big priority for me to get this weight off. I know I will feel better and look better, and it is finally time for me to take charge. Nothing is going to make me give up, even if I get stalled for a week by a holiday, haha.

Had to shop for funeral clothes and ended up with some nice pants and several sweaters to get me through the winter. Ended up in size 14 pants. The last time I bought women's pants, they were a size 20. It's nice to see a big difference there!

Wishing you all the best of luck this next week and making it through December.