I want to start posting more on this thread as I'm trying to get through the holidays without stuffing my face.

I teach preschool and OMG, the holiday food is everywhere! Not only are parents bringing in treats, but I cook/bake with my class once a week and it's really hard to resist. So I totally can relate.

Hotaruchan - I would definitely take that as a compliment! Sorry about your scale shattering.

Riestrella - Welcome back! Enjoy your time back in England.

Namaste - Congrats on the engagement! A wedding is definitely a huge motivator. My best friend is getting married next month and I'll be the MOH. It's definitely helping me to keep focused on eating well and exercising.

Lisa - I'm glad your little one is home and feeling better!

Ok, I am really going to try to stay on top of this thread. I'd love to see the 120's by the new year (for the first time ever!), so I'm trying to stay as OP as possible. I calorie count (1200-1400 a day) and have made it my goal to hit the gym 5 days a week for the month of December.

lisa Yes, it did. Thankfully! And today has been much, much better. That sounds like a good idea for a grandma visit. Bet they'll love getting some time together too!

OhThePlaces Good luck with your plans!

I need to push myself back into a good eating/exercise routine.

To everyone who said so: Thanks! We're very excited. Here's my ring:

ring.jpg

And here's me with it.

shellyengaged.jpg

And yes, that is my real hair. I got it dyed the day before I got engaged, but all the color has faded to a not-altogether-unpleasant blonde. I might get a little toner in it though so it's more white than yellow, or just redye it with a different dye.

QB- Thanks! Finals have gone great so far, all A's as far as I know. Should pull off another 4.0 this semester.

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It's interesting times in my household. As mentioned above, close to pulling off a second 4.0, getting ready for my fiancé's birthday and Christmas, and other things. Getting along relatively well with my parents, they still drive me batty but what can you do? Only a few years of it, until I graduate and get married. Then I'll probably miss them like crazy, lol.

Not much to report. I did have a slight weight loss today which I was excited about. Keep hoping for a big drop eventually.

Well, must dash, got to finish a study guide. Have a good evening all.

Had to pop in to brag: This is my BIG moving weekend (movers came today for my heavy stuff) and right now it's only just after 2pm....I've walked over 11,000 steps! I bet yesterday was a good day too, but I haven't synced so I don't know what it was.

Edit: Alright, I've been up since 5:30am today, but as of 10:30pm (as I crawl into bed, totally exhausted) I have walked just over 17,000 steps! Holy cow!

OhThePlaces - Oh my goose, I know EXACTLY what you mean. I teach kindergarten + and all the Mums are buying us food as a Christmas gift and it's so hard to say no when you've got a high energy job and you're feeling so LOW on energy!

namaste - Good luck with all the busy things happening in your life! Amazing ring, huge congratulations again.

QB - Good luck with the move! Hope everything goes ok and you settle in nicely. Amazing on how many steps you've taken! Maybe I'll invest in a pedometer to see how much I walk around in a day!

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Well I posted up a thread in the main forum which has described what I've experienced lately, but I'll repeat it here - I think I'm a comfort/binge eater. I never had these problems before but since getting a full time job (first one in my life) I've found my relationship with food becoming an overly dependent one.

I'm going to try and use my time off when I go back to England to re-evaluate my lifestyle, to try and come up with a plan that I can stick to once I return to Japan, and try and use that New Year spirit to get me going again.

I think I might set up another bikini ready challenge like I've done for the past 2 years. We'll see!

hiya guys!! i'm also making a big return to 3FC XD

trying to just eat clean, no/low carbs, work out 3x a week and a cheat day every once in a while to not make myself too crazy! so far i've lost 10lbs, most of that probably water-weight but still!!! i'm trying to be good this time around.

namaste: omg! congrats!!

I've been gone a few days and I thought Id missed a terrible lot, but looks like you gals have been kinda quiet!!!!!!

Hotaruchan SoMuch beahawkins Where are you ladies????

As for me , I think im doing great! I am down to 205!!!!!!! SO I would say that Onderland is very reachable for Jan 1!!!! This fitbit is my extreme motivator and the other user who keep me motivated to out step them! Well as far as food , I plan to have a very lean week to compensate for whart may happen 24-26. I am going to ensure we have tons of vegetables at Christmas Dinner, this will make it easier on me! So this week, lots of tilapia and green beans, carrots and brocolli.

Quiet- What are you using to track your steps?

I'm using my fitbit Lisa! I'm so bummed though! In my rush out the door this morning I forgot to put it on. I've been moving like crazy today and I was really hoping to get to see that progress.

namaste He did a great job with that ring!! Wowza!

Rie At least you know what your eating habits are; right? I'm a boredom snacker. So difficult for me to break that habit.

lisa 205? That is awesome!! Congrats! Onederland is totally attainable.

Heyyy Everyone!! I have missed so much! I gave myself a break during finals week and then the weekend to recover, so Tuesday is going to be the start of this week! Although, today I baked all day with my grandma and we have plans for baking next weekend! ughhhhh so many cookies!

I was having milk earlier and tripped, nudged the table and milk flew everywhere. I thought I got it up but now my mom's living room smells like sour milk.. arg! She's so anal... Kinda nervous.

Namaste:It's great to see you too! The ring is gorgeous!! I love rings that look like that. Perfect size for your finger!! And I love love love your hair. I have never had the balls to go all color, well once but it damaged my hair really bad and it didn't get light enough to go below a cherry red. But I did have a big chunk for awhile....Anyways. If you go to Sally's they have a brand called Ion. They are always my go to and they recently brought out an intensive color line. And just use a 10 developer! Like once a week or so. The tube of color should last a long time like that!

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I haven't checked my weight in a while, but thats ok. I am starting everything from tomorrow morning. Why must exams be so stressful??!!

2 of my grades have come in. Both of my math classes and I passed!!!! I will never have to take math again, in undergraduate at least. And I think I passed my science class but won't know until Wednesday.. So if I don't pass it will suck major a$$ because Wednesday is my birthday!!!!! I think I have mentioned how much I hate mathes and sciences. I have zero analytic brain cells.

I sold my first thing on Ebay tonight. Which is awesome because I have a pile up my hips of old clothes to sell.

Ok, I need to decide between showering and watching the last rerun of Friends of the night... Sadly, I don't think hygiene is going to win.

night all. Good to be back.

Hey everybody, long time no see! Took an unplanned break, but I'm trying to get back in the groove now.

beahawkins- YAY! Congrats on no more math!!

Bea- GLAD to see ya back! We all have been slacking here, nothing like november! I really hope you pass your science!

Quiet-!!!!!! I didnt know you had a fitbit, I thought I was the only on here! What is your user name so we can be friends! Im Prettybrown1913. I have some really big stepper friends and it keeps me so motivated to step!

penmage- Welcome back! Good luck!


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I am very proud of my eating lately, I have been staying on target, its not quiet as planned as I like, but fridge is full of good stuff!

Good to see some new and older faces.

Kawaii- It is awesome to see you again! Thanks for the well-wishes. I know you can do it. We're here for you.

Bea- Thanks! My hair is red-orange now, I redyed it and I love it! It is a rich, beautiful color. This isn't the best pic of me but this is what it looks like:

hurrs.jpg

It was meant to be candy-apple red but I liked the color so much I decided to keep it. I LOVE Sally's, I go there all the time. I love their nail polish.

Lisa- Good job on staying on track!

QB- Good job doing so many steps! Moving will do it, lol. Thanks, my fiancé did an amazing job!

Rie- Thanks! Best of luck to you on sorting everything out, I can totally relate.

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I am finally done with finals. I have 3 A's but one professor is taking his time posting the final grade. I hope it is an A as well, but it will be at least a B.

My fiancé and I celebrated one of five (yes, five) Christmas celebrations last weekend. Thankfully, we didn't get much in the way of food, but I got all kinds of beads to make jewelry with (I make jewelry and scrapbook... I'm a crafty type). I will probably have enough jewelry making supplies to last me for several weeks and pieces of jewelry. And I am probably going to get some scrapbooking supplies from my in-laws. So I will definitely be set for awhile. We also celebrated my fiancé's birthday by going out to eat and seeing The Hobbit. It was so good, if you haven't seen it you definitely should.

Well, that's about all I have to report. Have a great day all.

namaste: thanks ^^) congrats on being done with finals! and crafty gifts sound fun! oh, was the movie good? really? i've heard mixed reviews... mostly from uber fans of the book.... but i really wanna see it!

bea: congrats on finals to you too! lol. i am so glad i'm done with school... i hope you didn't get in too much trouble from your baking shenanigans... and good luck with the scale!

Hi guys! well it's wednesday night over here and i am pretty peachy cuz i just had my last day of work for the year! it's also at my "least-liked" school (i teach at 2, one that i adore and one that kinda annoys me...) so it's always a little victory when i finish my time there, lol. so i'm on vacation for like 2 1/2 weeks now! woot!

then after school i went swimming for 30 min at the gym and felt pretty good about that. my back has been absolutely killing me for the last couple of days and i think it's either bladder or kidney-related but i didn't have the chance to go to the doctor because the medical system here in japan is f*cked and only open during work hours, basically. (even emergency at the hospital... if you chop off a limb on a weekend, too bad!!) so anyways... but i also don't wanna go because my new insurance doesn't kick in til jan and i don't wanna pay cuz it's soooo expensive... gah! well anyhow, i was glad that i was able to swim!!!

i weighed myself this morning and my weight was up from my last weigh-in, which made me a little depressed. i know i had a cheat day on saturday and i normally only weigh myself only on saturday mornings, but still i was bummed. oh well. i guess i will just continue to be extra good all week!! i just wish this weight-loss malarkey was a lil bit easier... T_T

hope everyone has a good day!!

I'm alive! I've been stupid busy and trying not to be so crazy about everything since it consumed so much of my life.

I need to find a middle ground of focus, yet healthy focus. The Holidays are definitely a struggle; however, I tend to be doing well Mon-Friday (for the most part) I'm still cooking from my month of Cooking Light Menu which has been fantastic! I haven't weighed in since Thanksgiving and I'm sort of okay with that. I'm measuring success by the way my clothes are fitting and how I'm feeling. My rings are lose, which is always good.

The true battle will be this coming week as I'm baking a triple chocolate mousse cake, heaven and **** cake, tuxedo cake, NY Style crumb cake, chocolate cheesecake and a sweet potato souffle - all while PMSing.

I havent been to the gym as faithfully as I should be this past week, but I am still being somewhat active.

<3