Good Morning!

I did very well this weekend up until Sunday night. My mum made roast beef with gravy, roast potatoes and corn followed buy a dessert of apple blossoms and custard ...burp! Delicious, but I was up by 1lb this morning when I weighed myself

How did everyone else's weekend go?

Oh, YUM, Mauvais! That sounds wonderful!!

I got a little off-track, but I think I'm still OP for the week. Hoping to see the scale go down again this week...

Doing pretty good- haven't lost any since last week but haven't gained either so that is a plus. Down below 160 even if it is only by 1/2 a pound. Praying to stay OP this week. Don't think I can lose the other 9.5 pounds by December 25 but I am gonna dang sure try. Got to get in gear and hit the Wal-Mart.

Well it didn't turn out as badly as I thought.....I went to my WW meeting last night and I actually lost 1/2 a pound despite my decadent dinner on Sunday Night!

Things have been going well in the sense that I am not gaining. However I am not currently losing either. I lost the will to journal for about two weeks but I am now back on track.

So, does anyone have any brilliant suggestions for dealing with the holidays? This is my frist time dealing with trying to lose weight and get through the season of candy, cookies and other such temptations.

Hmmm..... one of my strategies is to make sure I eat a proper meal before going to people's cocktail parties so I am not tempted to eat as much. I usually have a glass of red wine in one hand and my evening bag in the other so I don't have a hand free to grab the appetizers that are being passed around

I also try to limit my alcohol to 1 or 2 drinks and drink water or diet soda for most of the evening. I also avoid any thing with cream or milk like baileys or white russians because although they are delicious the calories do add up. A rum and diet coke is a nice treat too or a white wine spritzer are good alternatives.

A couple of good ideas from my WW class were to stand as far away from the food table as possible so you are not standing there mindless munching, stay away from the chip bowls, load up on anything like fresh fruit and veggies. Circulate around the room chatting to people - if you are busy chatting you won't be snacking, offer to help the hostess serve or set up so that you are kept busy and not eating

For buffets - take a walk around the buffet without a plate first to scope out the healthier choices, don't feel rushed into picking things up, fill up on salads and veggies and just have a little meat and a small scoop of rice or potatoes. If there are several desserts just pick one treat - you don't have to sample everything!

If you are hosting a party make sure to provide the option of non-alcoholic drinks for your guests and keep some diet soda on hand too. Some great ideas for party snacks are fresh fruit plates with low fat vanilla yogurt for dipping (I did this last Christmas and no one noticed the difference ) veggie platters with low-cal dressing or low-cal dips such as hummous, roasted red pepper dip or dips made with low fat sour cream - again I do this and no one is the wiser. I also put out a cheese platter with a mix of a few fancy cheese and a few low-fat cheeses (havarti is a favorite as well as a low fat salmon cream cheese spread) and a mix of whole wheat crackers like Bretons and Stone Ground along with some low fat crackers.

The 3fc main page has some great dip recipes under the low-fat recipe section and one for bruschetta and mini pizzas which I may try out this Christmas.

Hope this helps!

Anyone else have any ideas/strategies?