Well I fell off my routine.... didn't log my food, exercise, or weigh the last few days and this AM when I got on the scale I was back up to 151. I know I want to lose more but I'm just not motivated to do what it takes. I need to change my mind set and get excited about my eating and exercise again.

This morning I am going to go through my closet again and purge the stuff I had planned to get rid of before I went on vacation. I don't want ANY "just in case" clothes around to fall back in.

I had my biopsy on Tuesday and it wasn't bad at all. I'll get the results back next Thursday. How messed up is this.... I need yet another referral for the "follow up" appointment? Wouldn't it make more sense to approve a follow up at the same time as the procedure?

I'm off to get on the treadmill, catch up with everyone later.

Cat: glad the biopsy went well, that certainly is a messed up process! I've fallen off the wagon myself and am afraid to get on the real scale, based on the crazy one at the house it looks like I've gained 2-3 lbs.

Our temps took a huge dive here, 70's yesterday and back into the 50's today. Hope the clouds and rain clear out in time for our bus-hopping. I have to go retrieve my atm card from the bank and take ds shopping for a bookbag and some school supplies. Waiting for a determination from unemployment for him, if his former employer doesn't respond by midday tomorrow it should be approved. Meanwhile he's still pounding the pavement to find himself a job. The week's almost over, hope everyone has a great weekend!

Kathi

I've been in a rut too but something is different for me this time. I'm hoping this is a good sign because this has never happened before. I haven't been tempted to eat off plan even though I'm not feeling overly excited about my weight loss program at the moment. I'm still packing my lunch everyday. I'm still keeping my food journal. I'm just not obsessing like I usually do. I'm hoping this is a sign that I have made the jump from thinking of this as a "diet" to thinking of this as my "life". It doesn't feel quite right cause I know this usually spells some sort of disaster around the corner and only time will tell if this is really different but I'll just go with it for now cause my scale is still moving in the right direction and I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

Petra and CAT - me too with the auto-pilot mentality! I'm not yet good enough at this to get away with it, though. I'm going to make an effort to write down every bite for the rest of the year, if for no other reason, than to see what it is I actually eat in December. And I'm still trying to figure out what it is that I still eat occasionally that makes me bloat - I think I've got it narrowed down to an artificial color, actually. December just has so many things to deal with. It's a struggle to put any of my own needs in the top priorities.

wlw - woohoo! Sounds like DS is on track ... that should relieve some stress and help you get it together!

CAT - yes, very screwed up system. Glad you got the biopsy over with and that in a week it'll all be history. :hug: I like your plan to get rid of the fall-back clothes. I need to do the same. I've got all the 12's and the Larges bagged up, but they haven't left the premises. There's a certain range of 10's that should be sifted out - like the ones I'm wearing right now. They don't fit well at all but I consider them the "bridge" clothes to the ones that are, as of today, probably 5 pounds out. 5 pounds, or some really heavy-duty control tops. :D

Well, I had my glass of eggnog last night. We forgot that we threw out all the tree lights last year :lol: so it's off to the store later. The reality of the eggnog didn't live up to the fantasy - not sure why. I'll have to try with a different brand at some later point, I suppose. Wonder if it was the idea that half a cup was 220 calories, even before the rum? :x

Passed on the swim last night due to the weather. Now I have to figure out how/when to get the replacement workout in (jugglejugglejuggle).

WLW - oh, that makes sense..that's frustrating - hope you get that nice bonus you're hoping for

Marie - cool you get to ski on the 24th with DD - glad you're figuring out the journey, and congrats on the elliptica time...you know how i feel about that evil machine! LOL

ICU - it's exciting to see our children push thesmselves when they realize they CAN do more...Good luck on the oatmeal...i have issues with the texture of oatmeal..wish i liked it!

New Leaf - great job on choosing the tea instead, and yeah on getting the exercise in

CAT - that's what I'm slowly going through...I need to weed out clothing that are my safe/security stuff, and let it go. Too easy when you have 3 sizes of clothing in your closet...weird you need another referral after all of that...i'll keep you in my thoughts (regarding results)

Petra- what can you do to excite yourself again? Can you change up something you're doing? Find a new activity to stay moving - or shift your eating some? Let's find some NEW motivation...

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Scale moved again - 24 pounds lost. Sometimes it feels like a dream. For so many years, i'd get on that scale to see nothing...and now it's actually moving. It's keeping me in the zone, which i need. I think signing up for the 1/2 marathon also was the added kick to keep me moving. Nobody can make me move, and exercise at home, alone...it's a head game to get yourself going sometimes.

I did NOT want to run yesterday, but i reminded myself that while this is 3 miles, I have a 13 mile trek in March, and if i don't train now, i'll hurt then...so away I went. I was so proud when i finished...and glad I did it...so why struggle so much fighting it before hand? LOL

I hate cold weather...blah.

CruiseCAT, ICUWishing, Petra: you all are doing so well, don't lose your focus!! Not to say that you have... just get back to doing what you know works well...

LambChop, awesome on the scale movement!!

CruiseCAT, good luck with the biopsy results; let us know. I hope all is well and this was just a scare.

ICUWishing, sorry that the egg nog was a bust.

The oatmeal was a big bust this morning. Neither of the boys liked it. I haven't talked to DH yet so I don't know what he thought. I thought it was just okay. But that may be because I put in brown sugar to make it to everyone else's liking (ha ha) so it was a little too sugary for me.

I'm off to the city to do a little shopping, then hopefully home in time to still exercise before the boys get home.

ICU, ah you touched on my soap box. I hate the lowest common denominator factor in ours and everyone’s public school district. The concept of No Child Left Behind is wonderful – no child should be. But when you look at real life if you don’t want anyone left behind you have to lower the standards. Not all people are alike in intelligence. So to teach to the masses, you have to lower standards. My daughter was one of the extremely gifted students – she dropped out of HS after 10th grade, took her GED that summer and started college that fall because she was bored to tears. That was our only option in the public school arena. She’d just turned 16 when she started college. Now she’s a successful software engineer and proud of herself. The private school path is a smart one. I worked for the district and it’s hard to put your child in private while collecting a paycheck from the public. My co-worker does it and he’s taken to task for it but I applaud him. And the doggies love that they have fluffy husky tails to tuck their noses into to keep warm. And it sounds like my fun winter storm has knocked on your door. It was a massive system.

WLW, YEAH for you and DS on the financial stuff for education. My DS23 still had to have me complete FAFSA because he was unmarried and lived in the same area. That he’d left for the military didn’t make any difference. Their rules are so convoluted.

Newleaf, excellent job on the calories and exercise. And also for turning down the bourbon. I think the tea would have been more enticing regardless! Bummer about the oatmeal!

Cruise, LOL at the stupid insurance merry-go-round you’ve been on. That is just plain ludicrous to need a referral back!!! You’re in my thoughts and I hope the follow-up turns out excellent. Perhaps you need to choose one healthy option (logging, exercise, weighing) for a week and get back into that one cycle. Then add the others. BTW, when I’m at your place, I choose logging because that makes the others fall in line but I only “require of myself” the logging. Good luck!

Petra, you aren’t alone on that thought of disaster around the corner when not obsessed with the process. It just may be that we’re all growing up and not a disaster in the making.

ICU – hungry girl email this morning had recipes for eggnot swaps that sounded wonderful. Google hungry girl and their website carries the emails that they sent out. It might be more fun to make your own and know it’s not a diet saboteur.

Lamb, it is not EVIL. It’s my weight loss savior!!!! And all of the weight loss components are a head game. You find the key to yours! And CONGRATS on the pounds disintegrating. And I hate cold too!

Our frigid temps are due to leave and we’re to get near 30s for highs/lows. Of course that brings more snow storms. But the white stuff means more skiing fun. The cocoa bean has been dogging my every step again. I stay in the calorie goal but too much % is on cocoa bean. As this happened 1 month ago too and TOM is expected, I’m thinking there could be a correlation. :o


Marie

Just a quick note to let you know I'm still around! I've had a crazy week and I'm so glad to see the weekend approaching! I've been up and down on the scale lately with TOM. I'm hanging in there and will try to post more in the days to come! Happy Friday!

Happy friday chicks! I hope everyone has a great weekend : ) Today's my monday so it's back to work. DS has orientation today and starts classes on monday. Trying to get back on track with my food plan.

wlw - yay on DS! Sounds like he's had his breakthrough and is on the right path! Now you can focus on YOU again!

newleaf - sorry the oatmeal didn't work out for you! I've always insisted that it be cooked "naked" and that any of the sweeteners go on the table. I'm definitely not the type to start the day with something sweet - ick! Hope you can convert the leftovers to something that works ...

OMW - I'm in the same boat. Hoping to climb out of the hole by Sunday night. Tonight I have a wine tasting (trip to Whole Foods - oh boy!!!), tomorrow is a piano recital (my mom and I are doing a duet of White Christmas - it's my first public "performance" -eek!), and Sunday it's church to watch DS10 sing in choir and then we have to entertain the inlaws.

Marie - DS10 is probably no genius, but he's got plenty of brainpower and he has figured out that if he extends just enough effort to be 5% over that lowest common denominator, everybody thinks he's doing great. I was horrified that he got all A's in the first quarter - grade inflation really is alive and well! I just lose it over the idea that he could very well graduate and never know what it is to really be excited about learning and to have the FREEDOM to do his best. Spouse tried to suggest a parochial school, and maybe I might step on a toe here (please forgive!), but my answer to that is that US kids aren't getting their butts kicked in religion. If I'm going to shell out $10K a year, I want 7 hours a day dedicated to his academic education and his learning how to achieve. I'll check out the Hungry Girl ideas - thanks!

LC - The scale SHOULD move! You're in the groove!

It's so cold here that my low tire pressure light is on. :rolleyes: Not like I'm going to take the risk and put more air into them right now - it's going back into the 30's this weekend.

ICU I got a chuckle over your line that the US isn't getting their butts kicked in religion... We were in a mediocre school system in Massachusetts, so when we moved to the Pittsburgh area, we used it as a way to really assess what we wanted for a school district and moved into one of the topic districts in the state, so we're actually pretty happy with. My DS8 is in the gifted program and gets lots of challenges from it, and my DS10 is a more typical student, and his day is full of challenges and high expectations, too. When in MA, we were considering private school and saw those tuition levels -- ack!

Exciting news, my sister and I are considering doing another hiking / trekking vacation together. A couple of years ago we did this in Peru; now we think that we'll do this in Copper Canyon in Mexico, hopefully next October. That would be a lot of fun, and also gives me something to plan for re: being physically fit.

Nothing much else going on here. Tonight is the first night of Chanukah so I have a bit of a scramble ahead of me, but will still exercise. AND, I've budgeted in having a nice drink with my DH at the end of the day... Something to look forward to.

ETA: Oh, I remember something else. I'm officially 5'7" again. I went to the gyn. the other day, they measured me since I was a new patient, and that's what they came up with. I'll take it!

New Leaf - hope you got a lot of shopping accomplished. I just realized that Christmas (what i celebrate) is 2 weeks away. Not sure what planning i've been living on, but it generally took me by surprise when I noticed!!!! Wow on the trekking thing, that's cool. I know having a plan (1/2 marathon) has really motivated me to keep moving and push myself, hope this fires you up too!

Marie - wow, college at 16 - impressive she was motivated to push herself like that, congrats to her!
pssst- it is too evil. i met one in person...hahahahaha (Cheesy grin) maybe yours has a better personality, mine was pure evil.

OnMyWay- it's FRIDAY! You made it...the weekend is upon us :)

WLW - good luck to your son, i hope this works great for him

ICU - here's hoping warmer temps find their way to you...though seems like everyone is in a freeze right now

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I have a 35 min run on dock today - i'll be doing that shortly - then i have some cleaning up to do...going out for awhile. Looking forward to hanging out with my son this weekend. Not sure what we're going to do, but hopefully we'll find something interesting.

silly little thing...i'm a major chocoholic, etc...and sweets, etc..but i've been so on point...anyway, not sure if you're familiar with MrsBeasleys, but they have great gift baskets, etc...really good quality - i got my husband who has a major sweet tooth a big package of goodies from them on his birthday...and i picked out one small brownie - was like a butterscotch/chocolate chip gourmet brownie - and we wrapped it and froze it - and i'll have it at Christmas as a special treat...anyway, how it's still in the freezer, and i haven't touched it - not sure, but just knowing it's waiting for me is nice....silly. we got the stuff in november, but i said...no, not yet...save it. so...for some reason, New Leaf talking about her budgeted drink made me think about my budgeted - planned ahead weeks in advance brownie!

TGIF!!! I Love Weekends!
 

OMW, I hope you have a relaxing weekend!!! I am so thankful it is nearly weekend as well.

WLW, I’m sorry it’s your Monday. They are always so fun!:hug:

ICU, how fun to do a duet with your mom. My sister and I used to do Angels from the Realms of Glory for a Christmas duet. Those were fun memories. BTW, I can definitely see your point in making the education change.

Newleaf, your trek idea sounds wonderfully fun and a great motivator! Have a great evening tonight and congrats on your height being what it used to be. Too funny!

Lamb, yes mine is not evil. Actually I bow to it every morning because it changed my life. Not only did it give me a little metabolism (walking hadn’t even remotely done that), but when I skied for the first time this season, my quads never burned at any point. No pain on Monday either. That is a novel experience and it’s all due to my elliptical. And way to go on the brownie budget. :carrot:


I’m a major chocoholic as well. Right now the office has Moose Munch and the Moose is calling me. I can actually hear the chocolate covered popcorn chanting my name. Last time I walked by I chanted to myself, “walk away from the moose”. It helped on that occasion as I didn’t stop.

Marie

Yay, me! I just got back from a holiday coffee, laden with treats. I had a small cup of fruit and a diet soda -- I'm estimating 50 cal for the affair. Hooray!

And, I did the elliptical (no evil relationship here, I love mine). Life is good today.

Marie - oh, Moose Munch! I didn't need to remember that stuff existed - I can already map in my head how fast I could get to our local Harry n David. Powerful stuff. The Boy Scouts have a similarly evil conconction that involves dark chocolate, peanuts, caramel and popcorn. I am certain that there are drugs in it because once the lid comes off, I was unstoppable til I hit the bottom of the can. I did a little better with the last round, and just got a nice tin of plain yellow popcorn.

newleaf - I'm not all that good with the one-liners, so I surprised myself by coming up with that one un-rehearsed. :D Congrats on growing an inch! And fantastic work with dodging the 400-calorie coffees and other goodies - isn't it a wonderful feeling to be in control? :cheer: Go you!

lambchop - That brownie is EVIDENCE of a lifestyle change! When you're ready, it should go on the fine china along with some candlelight and good music. :D I know when I'm hardcore on plan, I love to add some extra pizzazz to a planned splurge, probably because it helps remove it even further from the uncontrolled, standing-up-at-the-fridge, panicky type of snarfing that thankfully, I've not done in a LONNNNGGGGG time.

Rehearsed the duet one last time over my lunch hour w/Mom, and made a run down to the Friends of Foster Kids to drop off our presents. I don't know Anton, the 4 year old, but I think he'll have a little happiness on Christmas morning. I'm just stunned at the NEED out there - one county with 880 kids that have uncommitted foster families and may still be in shelters. Next year, with more planning, I will do more.