Whew, Christmas week for the Journal Buddy Thread! I know a lot of us are insanely busy this time of year, but I hope those who need to can still make it in to post!

Myself, I had a bad weekend (following a bad week, which followed a bad weekend...). I keep saying I need to get back on track, and I have good intentions, but the partie's and the stress and the business is all getting to me. Enough excuses, though. I may have higher calories for a while, but my current goal is to NOT gain betwen now and New Year's. Here's how Today is looking like:

• granola cereal w/skim milk
• Special K bar
• instant oatmeal
• salad (lettuce, egg, cheese, cucumber, onion, and honey mustard dressing)
• mini pierogies and Healthy Choice smoked sausage

Total: about 1800 calories. And I am glad to report that we have NO ice cream or shebet in the freezer at home, so smoothies are not an option this week!

Christmas week, and I'm on a business trip. Ugh.

Monday

Breakfast: Oatmeal, grapefruit, Morningstar breakfast patty
Snack: Chocolate fudge cookie
Lunch: Shrimp creole over wild rice
Snacks: Soy chips, and TGIFriday potato skin chips on the plane
Dinner: Au Bon Pain mediterranean chicken salad, with lite olive oil vinegarette dressing

Exercise: 46 minutes on the stationary bike
Calories: About 1600

Well, just my luck NYC subway and buses are on strike. I got up at 5:30am to take a taxi to work, I may need to walk the 2 miles home tonight...

I've been flying w/all the compliments on my weight. I've also been going down in sizes. I started this @ 20W - we're talking pants, then to 18W, then 18 - which was like 2 weeks ago, now the 16's fit and are a little big!! I'm thrilled!

Here's my food from yesterday:

2 - coffee
1 - egg whites
3 - luna bar
1 - soup
1 - chocolate
1 - coffee
10 - grilled chicken and feta salad
19 points

Exercise: 400 cals - Precor, upper body, abs

Have a great day everyone!

Hi there everyone! I see I'm not the only one who's abandoned this tread for the holiday week. I've had too many eating out functions to even dare to count what I've eaten. My scale says I'm maintaining, which is a good thing. I've decided to just try and maintain for the next couple of weeks and if I lose a pound - wonderful if not, no big deal.

Dishyfishy, Jillybean, Rabidstoat & BethC - excellent job for sticking with it. I'll be back in the new year in full force to join you again.

I hope you all have a very special and safe Christmas with your families.

~Dee

Boy, is it ever hard to keep focused during the holidays. Party after Party after Party!! The next 3 days are party free, so I am going to really try and stay focused. I don't want to be too far off the beaten path when the Holiday strikes!

I lost 2.4 last week, so I am pretty excited to actually be losing during the holidays. I can't wait to see what I can do once everything settles down. That said, I had a run in with the candy store on Monday...

12/19/05

290 – Egg McMuffin
105 – ½ zone perfect
I had lunch with a friend and ordered the grilled chicken…with cheese and mayo. And as if that weren’t enough it came with a mound of wedge fries which I ate ½ of!!
520 – Grilled Chicken Sandwich
500?? – potato wedges
Then after work I went by Fannie May to get 2 gifts. I left with 6 trinadas because I was going to have on each night!! Ha ha ha ha – I’m so funny!! We all know how well that worked!
80 – trinadad
340 – chicken
150-3/4 cup rice
80 – trinadad
80 – trinadad
80 – trinadad
90-1 cup skim milk
80 – bite of Steve’s peppermint bark
2395? – Total

After such a bad Monday I didn't feel like being on plan on Tuesday, but somehow I made it through under my 1800 calories!!!

12/20/05290 - Egg McMuffin
450 - Grilled CHicken Ceasar Salad with garlic bread (no dressing)
290 - Bag of cookies (what was I thinking??)
440 - 2 slices of pizza
270 - 1 breadstick
1740 - TOTAL

I feel more focused today. Thank goodness!!

Wow. Monday was bad. I logged. It was like 2911 calories, estimated. About half of it was in sweets -- brownies, gumdrops, ice cream... so I won't put it here, but, yeah. Not great. But I was sensible on meals, anyway, and got some semi-decent nutrition in outside of the sweets.

Sandi, that's so awesome! You're doing such a great job! You inspire me, so you'd better not disappear during the holidays like so many already have

Well, I definitely overate at yesterday's Christmas party. It would have been easier, I think, if it was a sit-down lunch like last year. I would have had my 1 plate of food (a little bit of everything) and been done. This year, though, it was finger-foods in a conference room, so we all stood around the tables "grazing" and socializing--what a dieting disaster! I had a brownie, 3 cookies, 6 little meatballs, 2 cheese wedges, a slice of chicken quesedilla, and bread sliced with spinach-artichoke dip. Oh, and 2 little plastic cups of punch It was one of those times where you just don't even realize how much you're eating until the damage has already been done since you take such small quantities at a time, ya know? I guess I need to be more conscious and aware...

Okay, yesterday was bad too, though slightly less bad. I'll record what I ate. Positive things about yesterday? I skipped dessert at dinner (only thing I skipped, but...), I only had half a burrito for lunch and no chips, and I skipped morning hot chocolate in favor of tea with Equal sweetener. I think today will be a little better, dinner should be more reasonable. Still no exercise (travel day) but I'll be home tomorrow with a day free before my long drive.

Wednesday

Breakfast: Oatmeal, mini yogurt cup
Lunch: 1/2 a humongous steak burrito (okay, the bigger half) and 1T sour cream
Snack: Peanut butter cookie
Dinner: 2-3 pieces of bread dipped in olive oil and parmesan cheese, salad with too much vinegar and oil dressing and a bunch of cheese crumbles on it, and broiled scrod with a breadcrumb coating and, again, cooked in tons of butter

Calorie estimate: about 2450 (more than half of it at dinner)

I'm still here, the transit workers are on strike. One of the new guys said it best. New Yorkers are walking around NYC like nomads moving from place to place. I've been lucky to get taxis in the morning to work, but there's easily a chance I could have to walk the 2miles too. I just want this to be over!

The good news it that it hasn't effected my food at all.

Here's yesterday:

2 - coffee
1 - egg whites
3 - luna bar
2 - soup
5 - zone bar
2 - coffee
5 - chicken
1 - salad w/dressing
3 - baked potato
2 - sour cream
26 points

Exercise: 40 mins Precor - 500 cals, upper body, abs

We're closed until next Wednesday, hopefully they'll settle this by then.

Happy Holidays everyone!