[Slashnl]

Kayla: So cool that you play viola!It sounds like you really enjoy it and that’s great to have something like that!And then, helping plan a wedding… that kind of stuff is not my thing at all, so I wish you well on that!

Curvy: Sounds like a great challenge ahead of you when your staff member leaves.Sometimes, it is just time to move on and restructure it all.You’re probably so ready to take full control!!I hear you on the inconsistency of eating.I’ve been good with workouts, but not so much with eating.It is always a struggle with me anyway, but worse now.I’m starting this Monday, hoping to reel it all back in.

Casey: Glad you have your finals squared away.Sounds like you will be busy with getting ready before the next semester!Hope all goes well with your youngest.

Bloomin: Looks like you are so close to your goal weight, by the 22nd!Very nice!Hard to keep diligent when you’re so busy on weekends!!

As for me, it was a bad food weekend. My birthday was on Friday, and my family is wonderful, wanting to treat me! But... oh the food. Oh well! Back to Monday, and back on track. I went to Spin this morning, and it was needed! Body Pump tomorrow. I did get a little bit of a hike in over the weekend. We had a tree permit for the National Forest land, and there was quite a bit of snow on the ground, so that made it a little challenging! So beautiful up there though.

[opheliaphoenix]

bloomin: Thank you! I did well on the exams...all As, even on the math test, which I was pleased about because that's my worst subject! (Still didn't bring my average above a high B for that course overall, though...booo, lol.) Fingers crossed for a great week for you this week and good luck with your last exam!


Kayla: Thank you, and thanks for the advice as well!! I will definitely put it to use, lol. About the fan, I could have mine going year round because I grew up in a family that all used fans to help them sleep. My husband hates it though, so I usually only have it on low for air movement, and I have to turn it off when the weather changes, because he's convinced it makes him sick. Haha. On some nights where I've had particular trouble falling asleep in a quiet room (especially on nights when he snores), I will admit I have even YouTubed "fan sounds" videos to go to drown it out and get some sleep...not even lying. I guess one benefit of having to sleep during the day is I can actually have it on, because he will be at work...lol. I'm glad the concert went well and that the dinner out was delicious...I'm craving some roasted asparagus now, yum.


Diane: I just noticed you have your name there...I've still been using Slashnl, whoops! Haha. And, happy belated birthday!! I think a birthday night out is a perfectly acceptable reason to have a cheat day -- even if it sometimes turns into the whole weekend. It's a new week, and you're already back on track...so, kudos to you!


-----------------------------------------


Weigh-in was 175.0 today, which means that water whoosh helped me hit my goal for the month already...lol. With TOM coming sometime in the next couple days, I'm just going to stick with my original goal and try to maintain under it for the rest of the month. Side note, since I'm posting so late in the evening, I can report that today was also my first fully on-plan day since coming back....hit my water and calorie ranges and got in 20k steps! Hoping to do it again tomorrow. Not sure about the steps part. I think I'm going to need to replace my shoes soon...there's a ton of miles on them now, and the little bits of the foam that are wearing in the sole rubbed a couple sore spots on the pads of my feet. Maybe for Christmas, lol.


Week Two
08: 176.8
09: 175.4
10: 175.0
11:
12:
13:
14:
----------------------------
End of Week One: 176.6
Total Loss for Week Two:

[opheliaphoenix]

Popping in really quick to say that my weigh-in today was 174.6. Not much else to report since I posted right before bed last night, so just going to say hiiiii! Haha.

Week Two
08: 176.8
09: 175.4
10: 175.0
11: 174.6 - (tom)
12:
13:
14:
----------------------------
End of Week One: 176.6
Total Loss for Week Two:

[RunningRedHead]

Diane: Happy birthday!!!!! It sounds like you had an eventful weekend! Thank you very much for the well wishes regarding the wedding stuff—it’s not my thing at all either, but I’m learning a lot!

Casey:That’s too funny! I can’t sleep with it on if I’m sleeping at night, but I need it during the day; so weird to the YouTubing “fan sounds” videos.. I totally get it though! That asparagus was so good I just bought some when I went to the store today!! Way to go on you whooshing!! You’re killing it!

After poor sleep Sunday night into Monday, I ended up falling asleep around 8:30 pm and managed to sleep until 6:30am! (Usually, if I fall asleep that early, I end up waking up at some ungodly hour like 3am ) Today has been productive, I got the yard cleaned up and the patio furniture put away. I also got the Christmas decorations out of storage. Now to decorate... tomorrow... Have a great day, everyone!

SW: 235.3
12/7: 233.9
GW: 228

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)

[RunningRedHead]

The prospect of water retention did not disappoint today with a 2.7lb rebound with today’s weigh-in, bringing me to 235.1. Shark week is right around the corner, so my body will either hold on to this water weight with a death grip or I’ll be back down tomorrow- it's rarely consistent haha. Today’s plans include catching up with a friend I haven’t seen since Friendsgiving. Wish us luck; she’s trusting me to low-light her hair I told her she’s very brave and she has to sign a contract that she won’t unfriend me if it doesn’t come out according to plan Now to go finish up my last discussion post for school and YouTube hair videos and proper lowlighting technique Also planning to get the tree up today Happy Humpday, everyone!

SW: 235.3
12/7: 233.9
GW: 228

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)

[opheliaphoenix]

Kayla: I put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving, but I didn't actually put ornaments on it until today! I usually have it decorated the same day as I get it put up, but it was pretty with just the white lights on it for awhile...lol. I also just put on the porch decorations today. Not sure if we're going to get to the lights up on the house this year, but I'd like to...a lot of houses on our street are lit up this year, so it feels kind of dark in our spot without them, haha. I hope the low-lighting experiment with your friend's hair goes smoothly and that your bloat bump flushes back out ASAP. I just typed out the same frustration with not ever knowing what to expect with the monthlies each round in my check-in, so I feel you...lol.

-------------------------------------

Weigh in was down just a smidge to 174.4, but I'm happy because at least it's down...TOM is always a mixed bag of bloated ups and random downs, so I never know what to expect during these weeks. Yesterday was all on-plan again, but the steps were in the 13k range instead of 20k. I wasn't as busy throughout the day, so I wasn't expecting to hit anything higher. (When I'm actually doing my walks, 11k-15k is the typical range.) My cals were a little on the higher end as well because I snuck some leftover macaroni and cheese I'd made the other day, but it was still within my limit for the day. Homemade mac & cheese is just one of my ultimate comfort foods, so it's a little dangerous to have sitting around. I could have easily eaten enough to make myself sick and have actually done so in the past, so I'm happy I was able to keep to just a few nibbles...lol.

Week Two
08: 176.8
09: 175.4
10: 175.0
11: 174.6 - (tom)
12: 174.4 - (tom)
13:
14:
----------------------------
End of Week One: 176.6
Total Loss for Week Two:

[love2b150]

Hello Everyone

Curvy, Casey and VickieLou Hello my friends and How have you been?

I am hoping to start my journey again and see some progress. I don’t know where to begin. I really wish I could find my journals from 2010. I did so well and then again in 2014. I got down to a size 12 and in the time that I’ve been gone I have just blossomed (big sigh). I have about three pairs of jeans that I can comfortably fit, the rest if I get them up my thighs I can’t make the closure touch and you know the part under your belly??? It feels like it’s cutting into my skin (big sigh). It is definitely time to reign it in again. I don’t know what I weigh but will get on the scale in the morning to see. The last time I got on the scale it read 213 ... so not what I was expecting.

[Wannabehealthy]

Hi Rennie. So happy to see you back. Hope you are able to stop by more now. Posting here is helpful to keep you on track.

[bloominbutterflies]

Slashnl Happy belated birthday! I know I'm like a week late lol, but I hope you had lots of fun! <3

RunningRedHead how did the hair turn out? Sounds like a blast. I'm always jealous of what you are your girlfriends are doing. Right now I only have girlfriends who go to the salon for color, which I don't get because I get great results at home! But, for highlighting and the sort it really helps to have a buddy. My wish for 2019 is to make a new girlfriend I have more in common with. I'm one of those women who have had a million male friends, and idk why because I'm not even that big of a tomboy.

Rennie Hiya! Nice to meet you, cheers!
O
So the moment of truth to see if I lost anything is tomorrow. So far it's not looking great, but not impossible. If I lose 1.2 lbs by tomorrow, I could consider my diet to be going in the right direction. However, if I don't see 166.2 or less tomorrow, I'm really REALLY going to have to control myself this weekend to make sure I make it clean by 12/22. It's hard because everyone in the world wants to eat with me (OK I'm exaggerating a little ). Last night I decided to stay home instead of eating out with Jason's friends who came into town. It was a 900 calorie day and it was just too hard. But, on Monday a very close friend wants to get together to do our little gift exchange lunch thing and I just couldn't say no. Saturday is dungeons and dragons day which is always a lot of food and I'm hosting. Sunday will be a special day where me and Jason eat our own Christmas dinner since we won't be together Christmas. He is making a duck. Oy, and today I decided it was a bright idea to make margherita pizza tonight which will be SO hard for me not to inhale on my feast days,

I think I might need to rename these feast days as "eat slightly more days" Finals are done and I've been enjoying watching the chilling adventures of sabrina on netflix. I'm getting a massage today to celebrate which will be soo nice.

12/14: 167.4 (1200)
12/15: 167.8 (eat slightly more)
12/16: 170.2 (eat slightly more)
12/17: 171 (eat slightly more)

[RunningRedHead]

Casey: This week got away from me just like the few have, so our tree is not quite up yet I guess it will be going up on Sunday Way to go on your continued downward trend despite tom!

Rennie & Carol:

Bloominbutterflies: It came out really well, she loved it and next time wants her whole head the color we did I’m one of those girls who only goes to the salon for color, I’ve tried my own hair at home several times with disastrous outcomes; luckily my colorist is a good friend and she doesn’t charge outrageous prices. I definitely consider myself lucky regarding my friendships. My Thursday homework/breakfast date friend also has mostly male friends, but is not a tomboy. Sometimes I wish I had mostly male friends, I feel like it would have lessened the drama that our early 20s were fraught with

SW: 235.3
12/7: 233.9
GW: 228

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

[bloominbutterflies]

RunningRedHead I'm glad your friend's hair turned out awesome. I'm in the process of lightening my hair at home without straight up bleach which is a patience game. I've gotten to somewhere between a dark and medium blonde, and I'd like to make it to light blonde. I dyed my hair medium brown in July, so I had to wait a while for it to fade and then just lift a little over and over with light blonde dyes. I lift every other month and pick a color to match the roots. I think it's totally worth avoiding bleach though, I find that stuff terrifying. Going darker is always a lot more fun, it's going back to blonde that's a b**** lol. Hanging out with boys has it's perks, I almost never drove anywhere. The video games and board games get a little old after awhile though unless you are like REALLY into them because it was all those guys did. I was always excited when me and my girlfriends made plans. That was about once a week vs. practically everyday for the boys if I wanted lol.

Oy, I did not lose anything today! Errgh. So I am spending this weekend trying to eat more responsibly. I may be hovering around here more than usual just to keep myself more accountable. So far this morning I had a small piece of fudge and told myself that is it! I do plan on drinking today, but will keep away from the candy! I've been binging on candy on weekends lately and I'm pretty sure that is my undoing. Trying to stay strong!

[curvynotlumpy]

Rennie: So glad to have you back posting on the thread, friend !! For those who may not know this, Rennie (aka, lovetobe150) started this particular thread several years ago. I just picked up this wonderful thread where she left off. The close and beginning of the year are upon us so I think you've chosen the perfect time to begin again . Your clothes dilemma is so relatable One of the things I'm doing over the holiday break is taking everything out of my closet and purging--throw away, give away or keep. Love reading your updates so don't be a stranger. You've been missed!

Casey: Homemade mac and cheese There are few comfort foods that beat it. Pair it with some homemade fried chicken and I'm down for the count ! Glad to know I'm not the only one behind putting up Christmas decorations. Every year I tell myself I will jump on this early, and every year I don't .

bloominbutterflies and RunningRedHead: I'm one of those salon gals. I'm so impressed that you have the skill and confidence to color, high and low-light your hair and the hair of others! That is awesome I have naturally curly and very dark hair so I'm wary to have anyone but my hairdresser do it.

Carol!

Diane: Aww, your family sounds like my family; food means love Nice to see someone else who enjoys Body Pump. My work schedule is so inconsistent that it's rare for me to make to a class on time and when I do, the bars are all taken. I finally decided to invest in my own set. What a luxury to be able to do it at home!
********************************
Happy Saturday! The week has flown by and this is the first time I've had a chance to check in all week. This was final's week and yesterday, the last day of the quarter. Since Wednesday the campus had become increasingly "dead" of activity and students. I always love this time of year, and enjoy seeing the students lugging big suitcases to either the train station or various buses that will get them to the airport. My eating has been off but weight was down a pound for the week. My health and wellness class continues with our last one for the year this Wednesday. I know I've posted how the accountability portion of this program is tedious but has really helped me. I mentioned this to our facilitator in passing outside of the group and she said that for whatever reason, our group, out of the several she's led, has been least likely to turn in their food journals each week. I found that interesting because one of the consistent comments that comes up in class is how little weight or progress some folks have made. It was an eye-opener to me to see what and how much I'd been eating but it immediately provided options for me to change. I saw it as a positive, but maybe others don't. We also live very different lives with different responsibilities so I'm sure that can be challenging also.

[bloominbutterflies]

Heya CurvyNotLumpy I love this time of year too. It must be nice to see all the smiling students rushing off home to see their loved ones. This time of year always makes me feel lucky that I have family.

On that note of family, I've been feeling very lucky in the last day that my new little family with Jason and Ct. Dumpling has been working out well. The year is close to the end and I feel closer than ever to both of them. Idk if anyone remembers but dumpling is my first ever "technically mine" pet I rescued in August. He's a black cat that is derpy, happy go lucky, and so stinkin' cute. Jason and I have been living together a year now (dating four) and it hasn't been the easiest transition frankly, but I think he's worth sticking to. I somehow kind of took this year as a time to decide if we are a good idea, because I know he wants marriage and a house down the road. I'm one of those people who likes to make a conclusion and have things "decided". I'm not that into the idea of marriage in general, so I really wanted to figure out if I could be on board with his plan. He's a an odd mixture of this really gentle, generous, and kind person who somehow sucks at being affectionate or considerate. He's working on trying to show me that he loves me more, and I'm working finding my inner chill. I tend to let things fester until I can't keep calm about it anymore.

But yea, on to dieting. I consider yesterday a win. I am all bloated up now at 170.2 lbs, but I had about 5 drinks yesterday, so no duh I'm dehydrated. I did not eat a lot in general. Before the Dungeons and Dragons party started at 1 pm I had two small pieces of homemade margherita pizza, a piece of bacon, and small piece of fudge. When they came over I slowly snacked on some chips, and had about 200-250 grams of pasta for dinner (eyeballing it). Yesterday was kind of my bigger calorie day with all the drinking, and I intend to keep my eating responsible today and tomorrow too with no drinking.

[RunningRedHead]

Bloomin: I hear you on the lightening being a patience game, you’re absolutely right! One of my disastrous outcomes involved bleach and an emergency trip to the hair dresser Hanging with boys is definitely a different animal lol, but there’s something nice about making plans and getting all dolled up (or not depending on your preferences) to go out with the girls; I actually got cancelled from work last night at 11pm and was able to make impromptu plans to go out for some drinks with some girlfriends. The night was a bust, but the people watching was hilarious!

Curvy:My friends hair is very thick, very long and very curly; it was definitely a challenge getting used to the foiling process. I wish I had the coordination to do my own hair… but at the same time, there’s something nice about the pampering involved in someone else taking care of it You make a great point highlighting the correlation between journaling or tracking intake and progress. Being made aware, as you said, definitely provides you with options for change. It’s interesting how the tracking relates to accountability though.

Between shark week and over imbibing a little bit last night, I went over my calories a fair amount; my carbs were still within limits, but it just goes to show weight loss will always come down to CICO, it’s just whatever WOE you utilize as a tool to manage CICO. Staying 100% on track today and will see if some of this water weight flushes out tomorrow. Hope everyone is having a great weekend so far.

SW: 235.3
12/14: 234.6
GW: 228

Week 3:
12/15: 233.3 (-1.3) SW
12/16: 235.2 (+1.9) SW

[opheliaphoenix]

Rennie: So good to see you again!! I agree with Carol, I bet posting here with us again will get you right back on track...being here always does wonders for me, too.


bloomin: We watched the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, too...I like it more than I expected to! We just watched the mid-break Christmas special last night, lol. Hoping your post-drinking bloat flushes back out ASAP, by the way! Alcohol gets me retaining water just as bad if not more so than a sodium overload.


Kayla: I'm glad that your friend's hair turned out great and that she was happy with it! I've only helped friends out with their hair a few times, and it's always nerve-racking when you're helping them make a major change...I don't like it, and I've never even done something as complicated as highlighting or lowlighting, lol.


Curvy: The mac and cheese came back to haunt me when I ended up sneaking more than I should and finished it off...I had a two lb bloat up the next morning! Thankfully, it's already come back down now that I got back on-plan after my "mac attack". Also, I'm glad to hear the accountability of the health class has been beneficial for you! I know when I started tracking all my food on MFP, it was an eye-opener for me as well.


---------------------------


I haven't posted since the middle of the week but I've still been keeping track of my weigh-ins, so I will post all the ones finishing up last week as well as this week's to catch up. Today's weigh-in was 173.2, so I'm still chipping away at it little by little. I had a big 2 lb bump up after I ended up binging on what was left of that mac and cheese the night after I posted how I was so proud that I was able to resist it. I guess I spoke too soon, lol. Thankfully, the effects of my "mac attack" flushed back out once I rehydrated and got back on plan right away. Whew! My activity has been hit-or-miss this week, but I'm still working at it. Hope everyone is doing well today!


Week Two
08: 176.8
09: 175.4
10: 175.0
11: 174.6 - tom.
12: 174.4 - tom.
13: 176.4 - tom.
14: 174.4 - tom.
----------------------------
End of Week One: 176.6
Total Loss for Week Two: 2.2 lbs.

Week Three
15: 173.8 - tom.
16: 173.2
17:
18:
19:
20:
21:
----------------------------
End of Week Two: 174.4
Total Loss for Week Three: