Me personally? Like it or not, for me, food really is part of the fun. I would bring something really healthy that I (and others) can enjoy, and then sample the things that look truly worth it.

We don't have any plans. Probably just a glass (bottle?) of wine leading up to midnight. No food temptations. For New Years Day, I will make a family brunch: scrambled eggs, bean salad, pancakes, pumpkin-chocolate bread. I don't eat pancakes, and I'll just have a taste of the pumpkin bread. I've never made it before -- I'm making it to test out my new hand mixer.

I am leaning towards eating there, in moderation.

I am making super unhealthy, fat laden, calorie heavy dip; no I won't be touching it :) Plus my peppermint bark I am famous for (no I won't touch that either). Perhaps I will bring a veggie tray. I love munching on veggies. I could eat them all night long and be happy :D

We have another heavy steak house dinner coming up on Friday. So I really need to be mindful here tonight that I won't go overboard.

Why is food such a big deal for me (us)? -- I guess we would not be here if food was just a necessary thing to survive each and every day. Sigh.

I'd do one of 2 things, either eat nothing at the party because it isn't one of the rare times I want to break all my rules -- or -- eat nothing all day and then enjoy bits of everything at the party.

It is very day indulgences that kill me, so I pick and choose my indulgence times carefully.

June M: sorry to hear about your MIL.
Thank you everyone for the sympathies. We had an Italian funeral today. My husbands ex sister in laws father died so we went to support his niece and her family. I refused the extra pecan pie that was offered me. I had a piece of it. I was not taking the whole extra pie home. Probably over ate but I was down by 2lbs today from yesterday. We have a neighborhood party to go to tonight. Hoping to see some veggies there. I am bringing shrimp cocktail and those meatballs you do in Chili sauce and grape jelly. There will also be cannoli cake and dip. I should hit my 10000 steps. Going to walk while waiting for the meatballs to be done. There will be no alcohol so as long as I stick to diet soda/water I should be good.
Sum: I go by the skip dinner philosophy. I know me. I would eat dinner and still see the food I like to eat and then just eat extra calories. Better to eat a little of everything. One day doesn't kill you. It's the one day that doesn't stop. PS love the quote. Do you still use your fitbit?
Shrink: What is the JUDD diet?
Heidi: glad the scale is moving down.
Leeh: Baby steps are good. I just added the Happy scale app which is breaking down my weight loss for me in 10 manageable weight focus's. I was down as low as 199.8 but gained back some with all the stress. Really annoys me that I was there but forgiving yourself is the first step blah blah blah. I won't be out of the overweight range until I drop down below 155lbs I think. I want to be out of the obese category that is now 30lbs away.
Mezmerelda: Love call the midwife. Glad your starting to feel better.

:newyear:

Dinner was really good. I grilled steak and lobster and made a huge salad. For dessert I did crème brûlée and blackberries. Tiny portions of everything and I didn't feel cheated.

I'm alone this evening. Talked to husband earlier, he is in London with older daughter. Younger daughter is out with friends & staying overnight. Wont show up here until tomorrow evening. Already talked to my mom too.

Tomorrow, I will either work on my husband's business accounting or go to my office & organize paperwork before tax season hits. Nothing exciting...

Sorry that you had to spend the new year alone MarleneV. Did your DH and DD do anything special for New Year in London? -- I lived in London for 3 years :)

Well New Year's eve was a challenge; I won! I decided to eat at home and only snack on veggies. There was so much yummy food and I did not touch any of it! I decided that these "one time events" have gotten me into the condition I am at, so I needed to stay strong. Once this weight is off, I can go back enjoying extra calories and snacks (in moderation) once again. -- I am really proud of myself! I am off to a better start this year than I was last year :) I remember stuffing myself at the party, yay me!

Happy New year my friends. This will be a healthy year for all of us!

Sum, they went downtown to watch the fireworks. They could have done that from the apartment they rented, but decided that getting in a crowd of 250,000 people sounded like more fun. They are now on EuroStar to Paris.

GOOD JOB on your win at the party! Doesn't it feel great when you meet these challenges like this?

Happy New Year to all!

I hope everyone had a nice NY celebration. We stayed in, made a nice (and healthy) dinner. My virus/cold/whatever decided to show up again, so I really didn't do much of anything other than walk dogs (in many, many layers) yesterday. We sat on the couch and watched HGTV for about 10 hours and had leftovers. And now I think I have a sinus thing going on. We leave in 3 weeks, so that keeps me going.

I've kind of stalled on the diet. I have gone a little off plan, and I was thinking of going back to phase 1 of SB for a few days. But the thought of it makes me want to hurl - I don't think I could handle eggs again for a bit. Unless I could go out for breakfast every day. Not sure what to do now. I'm considering moving over to an alkaline type diet, as it works pretty well for me too, but I'm just not sure. I'll stick in phase 1.5 (so I can have apples, but avoid the grains) until I can figure things out.

mezmerelda I am doing phase 1.5 on southbeach. I gave up on phase one after 4 days on it or so. I added butternut squash and quinoa to my diet. I will be eating very few grains though. I have lost nearly 3 pounds in a week :) I am hoping for a bit more that I can say 3+ pounds...not greedy here at all :lol: -- I do like SBD though. I like that fact that I am eating regular foods and this how I will be eating for the rest of my life.

Happy Friday, everyone! Anyone doing anything fun this weekend? I think that after tomorrow, I'll be a shut in until the temps climb above zero again.

Well I don't know about fun, but I have an enormously busy day ahead.

1. Have to go to Kohl's and spend my $40 Kohl's cash before it expires. (I know, I know: "have to". But seriously I wish wish wish I could wait until Monday; this day is soooo busy.)
2. Post Office to return an eBay item - wrong size
3. 1 1/2 hours round trip to pick up tee-shirts my 16 y.o. son had made for his band, Seminole. He can't do it because he's out of town and the need is urgent to have them tonight.
4. Grocery shopping
5. Pick up my 16 y.o. son from our church's winter camp.
6. Mad rush after camp to pack up the van with all the band equipment and three very exhausted, unwashed, sleep deprived teenage boys because tonight is their first BIG gig at a sizable local venue (>1000 people) with paid tickets. DH's truck is in the shop and I am playing roadie! :D
7. Haul said smelly boys and band equipment to the venue, help unload.
8. Most likely someone will forget something important and then I will have to drive back to the house to get it. (Please bring the microphones and all the cords, boys!)
9. Have to stay for the entire show. It's four bands. Loooong show. Looooud show. Must remember to bring earplugs.
10. Supervise gaggle of teenage girls whose parents wouldn't let them come unless I was there to "watch" them.
11. Hopefully will be able to keep said gaggle of teenage girls out of trouble since it is a 13 - 24 y.o. "secular" concert venue and there will be a lot of unsavory teens there, up to all sorts of shenanigans.
12. Load up the van and come home at about 2 AM.
13. Sleeeep.

Did I mention it's a DownDay? I am eating two hard boiled eggs, broth, and a cracker today. I am sure I'll see a loss on the scale tomorrow morning with all the running around I am doing. Sheesh!

Yikes shr1nk1ngme, that is a full day.

mezmerelda Fun...hmm.. does going to the gym count? :D -- Tonight we are going to a Brazilian Steakhouse to celebrate my FIL's 75th bday. I wish I could skip it, because I am doing so well with my diet and it will be a LOT OF FOOD that will be available.
Tomorrow, hopefully weather warms up a bit and I get to do my 4 mile walk plus gym (weights and swim)....my life revolves around house keeping duties, cooking duties and workouts...those three items take up my entire day :lol: -- Weigh loss is a full time job I've decided.

I made my SB menu for the upcoming week. I will follow phase 1 for the most days, there will be a few days when I am having quinoa and butternut squash...those will be P2 days. -- I am really loving this diet. I have lost 3 pounds since I started it some days ago (I lost 5 pounds in a week).

Gym is fun. Well, the working out part is. I don't like gyms, so I workout at home, and I enjoy it. I used to like gyms, so I'm not sure what happened.

Holy cow, shr1nk1ngme, that is a seriously busy day.

Off to the grocery store.

Let's see, for fun we are watching a movie tonight (or some animated series my hubby got from Netflix). Then probably a bike ride together for Saturday followed by sailing since there is supposed to be a strong straight-out-of-the-East wind (perfect for sailing up and down the Intracoastal).

Sunday will likely picking out a roofer to give all our money to for re-roofing the house (not that fun) and vacation planning (more fun than roofing) -- hubby wants us to sail down to the Keys soon, and we are trying to figure out how to make that work for all involved (including my back).