hello!!
today makes 6 OP days in a row for me, YAY!!
feels really good to put days together as that is where results lie.
my weight is down, happy dance!!

I took it easy at the gym last night, only worked upper body and abs and did light cardio on the elliptical.
I should have iced my knee when I got home but I just hate ice on my skin.
I know I should do it anyway, but I didn’t.
oh well.

I’m grateful to be on this journey again and I’m hoping for better results.
not as much weight-wise but in the space between my ears . . . a dangerous neighborhood sometimes!!
peace is the ultimate goal, peace around food for once in my life.
the weight loss will naturally follow.

I made a terrific Asian salad for lunch today . . . shredded green and purple cabbages, scallions, red pepper, beansprouts, pea shoots, blanched broccoli and peapods.
then I made a homemade dressing with sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, minced fresh garlic and ginger and a bit of spicy garlic chili paste.
OMG, SOOOOOOO DELISH!!!

I look forward to tonight, my night off from the gym.
I’m just going to go home and put my jammies on, make myself my planned dinner, maybe take a hot bubble bath, read some of my pink book, and climb in bed and watch a little tube before getting a long night’s sleep.
sounds heavenly!!!

nationalparker, Congrats for stringing together a few days, NICE!!! Good job resisting the chocolate!! Oh my, you sound so busy . . . hopefully you can take some time for yourself to relax. Your pioneer tree sounds so warm and inviting. Yeah, I don’t let guilt run my life anymore, what a waste of time that is. About five years ago I really worked really really hard at virtually eliminating guilt and worry from my life, a much more peaceful place to be. Good for you, eating one cookie!!!

Lexxiss, Great news that you are having your best holiday season, ticker-wise!!! Hope you and DH are feeling better soon. Thanks for welcoming be back!!

bethFromDayton, Sorry to hear you are struggling. Just keep at it, keep in touch, and the motivation will find you. I’m re-reading the book too, just finished the introduction and reading Day 1 today, so we are pretty much on the same phase!!! I’m planning to use the first 14 days as a refresher too as I’ve been there done that and already have loads of really helpful ARCs, diets picked out, etc., just gotta cement those habits discussed the first two weeks, tough stuff. Hopefully we’re on this journey for real this time . . . for good!!!

seadwaters, I hear ya about the dancing and the bum knee. I thought of that last night and I was discouraged as I don’t think I will be able to dance. Either that, or after a couple glasses of wine, I’ll dance anyway and pay for it the next day. It will be hard not to dance as I love to dance and will be with a bunch of friends who love to dance too, and friends in the band. Oh well!!!! Hey, congrats of another weight loss yesterday morning, YAY!!!

LoseToAll, Looks like you, Beth and me are all at the same point in our journey . . . starting a new with Beck. We all know it’s great stuff, just gotta work it to make it work!! What kind of fast do you do? I occasionally but regularly fast too and enjoy it.

ForMyGirls, I just LOVE LOVE a night in the kitchen all by myself cooking and creating wonderful healthy foods. It’s my passion, my hobby. Good job putting those nuts down, WOW.

Bill, Good choice to get back at it and get those pants to fit better again!! You are amazing, all the perfect OP days you are putting together. I’m gonna do the same thing, right along with you. Fortunately for me, the cook that does the “fat fat fat, carb carb carb” prepares things that I don’t eat anyway (meat/fish/dairy, etc.) so it’s fine with me. Just not sure I want to spend my Sunday at that party. I like to carefully think about how I want to spend my time, as it is very precious.

gardenerjoy, Question . . . when you say you broke your streak due to your DH’s whim, does that mean you didn’t necessarily eat bad foods or heavier foods or more calories than you would have . . . you just ate different foods? If so, you should feel liberated and ok with it because you are still focused on your goal.

pamatga, I’m typically like you “taking it too literally and working one day for every calendar day” because I can be such a perfectionist. I’m doing it differently this time and just reading it when I read it. Sometimes instead of spending time with the book, I spend time with my ARCs and will do some writing on what comes in my head while reading them, sorta talking to myself on paper.

Dear coaches

Yesterday was an on plan day with no real temptations except for some amazing cherries. I managed to avoid them. Very quick check in today. Rack up those streaks!

Progress
Checked in 3 times in a row
Weight
-1.0 lb (today) / -1.4 lb (total for week)
Steps
7287/5000;
Kilometres
4.9/3;
Food
On plan yesterday and have a plan for tomorrow to eat at yet another work function as well as dinner out

I didn't have a solid plan for dinner--and the resulting 'ate too much' happened--however, I only ate half of the meal I ordered (DH gets the leftovers for lunch), so credit for cutting my meal in half before even starting to eat.

Breakfast, lunch, and snack are planned for tomorrow. I have to stop at the grocery store tomorrow evening so I made a dinner plan, too. I'm not sure I'll be ready to shop for the whole weekend, but at least I have a plan in mind.

I recorded all my food today--I ate way more than I thought I was going to -- but I recorded it, so credit for that. I weighed this morning. I wrote a new advantages list. I read success skills 1 & 2 in the green book.

I am considering finding a daily phone-call level coach--It's not an easy thing to ask a friend to do, especially since many of my friends also have weight issues and I don't want to make anyone feel defensive.

Success skills:
1--Read advantages and response cards
2--Weighed. Will start recording the weights in MFP again tomorrow.
3--Ate everything sitting down. Was about 80% at desired slowness and savoring.
4--I gave myself credit

And I have a plan for tomorrow already entered in MFP.

I am not beating myself up for the struggling I'm doing now. Last year at this time, I weighed 230 lbs. This morning I weighed 186. Yes, that's more than the low of 177 I reached one brief shining morning--but it's a lot less than I weighed a year ago--my work and journeying this year has been successful and I have accomplished a lot.

I need to not let myself slide backwards any further and I need to start moving in the right direction--but I don't want to lose sight of how far I've come since I first posted here last January.

Personals again, soon...

Hello, all! Good to see you again in here, Beth! I know you'll reset your thinking or whatever it is that many of us need to reset now and then, but DANG, 34 pounds lighter than last year is a superb accomplishment, and you have made wonderful health improvements along the way!

I knew I would be on errands for a few hours immediately after work, so I took a serving of cashews on the way home. It was smart and staved off the hunger for a while. Ate a small dinner at 9 p.m. Wondered how many calories I burn by shivering. It's freezing tonight (and I'll hush up, my Canada friends - I know this is nothing) - I just can't get warm. It's in the single digits and dropping to 3 tonight.

Streak = 5. I went back and looked and my last off track day was Friday. If I feel this much self-satisfaction after only five days... bring it on! :) I'm not sticking my head in the sand to pretend that I won't be enjoying a few unique treats over the next few weeks, but I've been cutting portions.

Evening is passing me by quickly, so I'm going to cut this short and still aiming for personals. Lulu - your evening plans sound heavenly tonight. Hope it was every bit as relaxing as it sounds.

Bill - I contine to be impressed - 8 years and 3 months being on track is amazing. I'm looking to starting a line like that of my own by the midpoint of the new year, give or take. Great plan for the dinner with the outing!

Whoa- 53 points. We rock!

Sitting in 7 points personally tonight - broken my previous record :-)

Had a shift in plan today. Disappointing weighin again this morning - down from last week, but last week was the "up" week in the monthly cycle so down really means no movement. Which means my weight is exactly where it was a month ago. Which was not long after I did a diet change so I decided to review what I am doing, be stricter about measuring etc. in process of thinking that through I revisited my fitness pal and I think I will use that for a while. I like how it gives basic nutritional info too - realisation for the day was I have too much sugar - and today didn't even seem like a sugary day!

Some credits - killing two birds with one stone and making my morning walk a trip to the grocery store to get the things I forgot yesterday - which also meant it was slightly longer than regulation. Not having seconds of a very yummy dinner.

national Parker- thanks for "If I feel this much self-satisfaction after only five days... bring it on!" I do love the upward spiral :-)

Beth - what a great idea to organise a daily phonecall level coach to get you through this bit. You are doing a really great job of turning things around - your determination is so very apparent. And you are very wise to remember to give yourself credit and remember what you have achieved. Well done!

Thursday
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies – It's the season for too much food offered. Last night was a party for a non-profit that I support that stages a huge Christmas party to celebrate that it will need more money next year to keep going. I ate moderately, CREDIT moi, from seven tables of food and beverages. I avoided all cookies (including dark chocolate covered shortbread), desserts, liquid calories, cheeses, crackers, Italian pizza squares, Thai noodles, and Japanese Sushi. I even turned down a bite of the cookie that DW offered with, "These are really good." They were from a local specialty market and I could see the whole platter of them. From the abundant remainder, I ate more than a normal dinner, but within my party plan and so much less than I used to eat at this affair; I kept reminding myself that most of the food is food that I'll see again. For some reason, folks who can well afford fine restaurants choose to stuff themselves at this party each year. So I increment my no-extra-snacking streak to 22.

Exercise was a walk, CREDIT moi, to the library to get War of Art that I'd ordered many weeks ago when onebyone suggested it. I'm trying to write some stuff and find the blank sheet of paper staring at me.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Meal planning with a partner with free will is a challenge. I ducked that one; my dinner plan is to eat whatever DW prepares - she's a constant 120 pounds and a diligent nutritionist. That only works for those of us lucky enough to be the recipient of someone else's meal planning and execution. Kudos for juggling your own plans with your DH's.

Cheryl (seadwaters) – Good Grief - cherries are so good. Kudos for avoiding them.

Pam (pamatga) – Yep, "rare and unusual" is easy to use as the excuse to wander. When I was over snacking, I found myself using it at Whole Foods for a cheese that I hadn't tried. WRONG - the cheese would be there next week and was only a minor variation of the other hundreds they sold. Kudos for already having your Christmas meal planned.

nationalparker – Yay for sunrise. Kudos for finding joy in it. Kudos for "a serving of cashews" from someone who doesn't do a bounded serving well.

Beth (bethFromDayton) – Thanks for the demo that planning can be done quickly, "<think think> Dinner is now known." Yep, some parties don't have the concept of sitting down - I don't have a solution to that one. Kudos for realistically seeing yourself and giving yourself credit, "my work and journeying this year has been successful and I have accomplished a lot,"

Lulu (LuLu01801) – LOL at "the space between my ears . . . a dangerous neighborhood sometimes!!" Super Kudos for making a homemade dressing that makes you love your salad.

ForMyGirls - It's the little things that add up, like "Not having seconds of a very yummy dinner" - Kudos.

Readers -

My 100%OP Day streak count is up to 1. Credit for the willingness to allow my lunch to be late when that was the only way to eat what I planned.

WI: +0.1 kg, Exercise: +45 505/1400 minutes for December, Food: 100%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

LuLu1801: Yes, I count 100% OP as eating what I wrote down on my plan. A 90% day means I made an equivalent substitute. An 80% day means two equivalent substitutes. I lost most of my weight on 80% and 90% OP days, but I'm finding this attempt to string together 100% OP days has been helpful and educational.

bethfromDayton: good for you for recognizing how far you've come. I think the big secret to my success this time was catching those 5-10 pound rises in weight before they got any worse (they happened a few times on the way down, and once or twice a year since I got to this weight -- although I think I'm getting better and have some hope that I'll prevent that from happening in 2014). What helped me get back on track was exactly what you're doing.

Good morning all! I'm doing a good job of reading my ARC at least once a day - just not always at the planned times. Goal for tomorrow is to read it at 9am and 3pm not just "in the morning and in the afternoon".

I've spent the last few days researching weight watchers. I think that this is going to be the route I take. My first diet will be WW online and my second if that doesn't work will be WW in person - I imagine I'll get extra support from that if just the online version doesn't work for me.

That brings today to Day 3- Eating Sitting Down. Oddly this has been one of the easier ones for me to adapt to every time I've worked on this journey. It feels odd to eat standing up now. However what I am prone to doing is eating in the car. It tends to be junk food like chips and it's always mindless and always unhealthy. Therefore I'm expanding it to mean sitting down somewhere NOT the car. I'm taking a page out of gardenerjoy's book and nixing that dreadful habit.

LuLu01801 I'm so glad to see you popping back in around the same time that I am! You're one of the main reasons I popped back in here. Do you mind if I send you an email later?

seadwaters Major success on vanquishing the cherries. Something I always struggle with is remembering that the POINT is to follow a plan. Adding extra healthy fruit defeats the point of following a set plan. Thanks for that good reminder.

bethFromDayton Excellent job giving yourself credit. Here's an extra helping from me.

ForMyGirls Congrats on the week OP! Excellent job!

sure veganasaurus . . . email me.
do you have my gmail address?

I am doing really good this week but I ate standing up taste testing dinner. I counted the calories and still was within my limit but still.... I have to stop it. I am going to visualize what I will do next time.

Fast day today. And I get out of the family party tonight because DH has to work. I was thinking that I would do better this year with the Beck solution helping. No bread, no dessert and I would just give up on the cashew/shrimp noodle salad. I always take a large serving and go for seconds. Not this year. I get to skip the angst.

Hope you are all having a great OP day.

Day 26: Recognizing Thinking Mistakes
 

As I said a few weeks back once I hit Days 25: Countering Sabotaging Thoughts and then this Day 26: Recognizing Thinking Mistakes, I knew that this would be where I would need to spend the majority of my time and energy "working on" developing and eventually mastering these skills.

Although this is from Day 19: Stop Fooling Yourself. I do think that this is fertile ground for areas of "thinking mistakes" that I could work on from here until "forever":
*I'll eat this only this one time.
*I'll make up for it by eating less later.
*It won't matter.
*I paid for it.
*It'll go to waste.
*I'm celebrating.
*It's free.
*I really want it.
*It's a special occasion.
*I'm upset and I just don't care.
*I'm craving it, and I'll probably just eat it eventually anyway.

Those are my "biggies" that I need to work on. Again, I am beginning to see that the real secret to successfully losing any amount of extra weight is simply to get your mind in the right thinking and then just follow through on that until you have accomplished your goal. Nod to Lulu who also "gets this".

I had yet another opportunity of tackling this when eating out yesterday afternoon. As many of you are doing, DH and I were doing a lot of pre-holiday errands including grocery shopping. I have a firm policy that we do not grocery shop on an empty stomach nor without a list (that harkens to the impulsive side of me---if it looks good, I'll buy anything once!). So, I decided to test some of my rediscovered Beck skills eating out at favorite restaurant. I ate slowly and mindfully. I didn't over order simply based on "what looks good". I set my dinnerware down after 2-3 bites, took one sip of water and then picked up my fork again. I really looked at my food, enjoying it visually as well as taste-wise (Dr. Beck goes into this in the pink book about satisfying sight being equally important in knowing you have "enough" food). It was a resounding success!

ForMyGirls: You can add 6 points from me thus far for this past week.
I seem to have a pattern of 6 days OP and then 2 days off with 6 days OP. I hope that I can break this pattern but that is where I am at right now.

bethfromdayton: I would be willing to be a phone coach if you need a back up. I have been on both ends of this in the past. It is a great life line and it does work.

Major Credit for your renewed efforts to "get this down". You are doing great.

nationalparker Great Job with the continued streaking.

ForMyGirls: For every 4 grams of any kind of carbs, that equals 1 tsp. of sugar. I learned this piece of information this past summer. All of us eat a lot more sugar (how our body breaks down carbs into glucose) then we realize. Thought I would share that. Good job in realizing how insidious this can be even when we "think" we are eating relatively healthy.

BBE Although I can not say for certain that I have moved to an "alternate universe" when it comes to holiday food consumption, the scenario that you mentioned with food being the center of the event does not appeal to me at all any more. I am now diligently seeking non-food celebratory events at this time (or any time) of the year. I like this "new perspective" I have and I hope that it sticks. It will certainly make my "parallel universe" that much easier to live in.

Great Job on 22 days of continual streaking. Your pants should fit by the end of this month at this rate.

gardenerjoy: I agree with you 100% on setting the imaginary line at 5-10 lbs "going over your goal weight" with me it being 3-5 lbs at given time during my weight loss journey.

I have found keeping myself on a short lease works. Period. Also, to back that up anything that is too big on me is out the door. Alternately, anything that is a tad too tight I try on right before I plan to work out. It reminds me why I am working out. I want as much reinforcement as it takes to remind myself that this is not a whim or temporary. I fully and completely plan on being my end goal weight.

Great job joy in finding what works for you and then working it. You too are an "old timer" in this group and your lead is much appreciated. Thank you.

vegan..rex: Glad that you are seeing the value of sitting down. I can not stand longer than 20 minutes because of arthritis in my spine so I have to ask for a chair at any event or simply avoid those that can not accommodate me. I never thought that there would be "upsides" to being disabled but there is. This is one of them.

Well, take care all, including the " readers" and "lurkers". Love you all, Pam :hug:

Another great day for me!!
I think I’m 7 days OP now.
YAY!!

I just did a little shopping on my lunch hour to reward myself for jobs well done.
I quit smoking on October 7th and I’m still 100% off them, that was a huge huge hurdle for me to get over, but I think I’m done with it . . . I hope.
I was trying to lighten up my alcohol consumption and haven’t had a drink since November 24.
so I’ve saved a lot of money not buying butts or booze so I decided to treat myself.
I bought myself these fabulous pajamas that I’ve had my eye on in Lord & Taylor and I splurged and got them!!
got myself a pair of silver hoop earrings too!!
I also got myself a knee brace for my bum knee, as recommended to do so by some friends.
hope it speeds along the healing . . . UGH!!!

tonight is gym night, working with my trainer, and again I will do only upper body and abs and give the lower body a rest to help the knee.
then I will look forward to my planned dinner which is a little homemade pizza with dough that I made.
for my dough, instead of using flour, I use cream of wheat . . . sooooooo delish!!
I’ll use 1 oz. of vegan cheese and pile on the sliced tomatoes and mushrooms, onions, peppers and bake it until it’s all crispy and melty . . . YUMMO!!
then I’ll climb in my new jammies and call it a night!!

life feels so good when you have your act together, huh?
it’s all about the boundaries and doing what you say you’re gonna do.
being a woman of my word . . . to myself.

seadwaters, Good job avoiding the cherries!! Although I understand the importance of sticking to plan, I have a hard time with the concept of not grabbing a couple of delicious nutritious cherries. I know the drill, that the cherries will soon turn into the chocolate or potato chips. But it still bugs me about this program. Just sayin’ . . .

Beth, Yes you sure have accomplished a lot and should feel good about that. I feel good about the fact that I used to be 241 pounds at my highest weight, but this last bit of weight is very important to me to get off. Together we can all do what we can’t do alone. Stick with it!! If you want a daily phone call coach, I would consider it. I would enjoy giving support . . . and getting it too!!

nationalparker, My evening was FABULOUS, thanks for mentioning it. Five day streak, YAY YOU!!!

ForMyGirls, Yes, we do ROCK!!! Good job on the walk and not having seconds (not always easy).

Bill, What a great job conducting yourself OP at that party. WOW!!! Don’t you just love that feeling when staying OP is a priority over everything and we wish that feeling would last forever? Enjoy it!!

gardenerjoy, Your 80/90/100 system seems like a good way to have a little flexibility and still feel good about it. I like it!!

veganasaurusrex, I can’t wait for it to feel odd to me to not eat standing up. I pick while I cook, I love doing that. This is a huge challenge for me. Lucky you for having it licked!!! I follow WW too, love it!!!

LoseToAll, I eat standing up without even a thought, it’s such habit. This will be a tough one for me, for sure. I think I need to put gum in my mouth while preparing food so I won’t pick. Does anybody else do this?

pamatga, I’m pretty much with you on all those “thinking mistakes”. I can justify anything because I’ll bring it to my attention that I’m 5’7”, a size 8, formerly a size 22, and then I’ll say “LuLu, why are you so hard on yourself?” Then I’ll have what I want and feel awful, up 5 pounds . . . a vicious cycle of mental angst. Getting these last few pounds off means just as much to me as when I needed to lose 100. Does anybody get that? I hope so.

Checking in a bit early because I'm psyched having literally stared down the temptation of a second slice of cheese pizza at my desk this afternoon. Breakfast was OP but lunch was an office-wide recognition for a major project (not mine) and free pizza. I went to the buffet and chose two slices of cheese, feeling rather self-righteous when others were going for their seconds, or walking off with plates stacked high. Enjoyed one, and then thought, let me just check the calories on these. 290. OH. Hmm... Okay, one was all I needed. But then spent about two hours debating what to do with the other piece. I struggled HARD with tossing it out because of the family we've adopted for the holidays needing EVERYTHING from toilet paper to gas to get to chemo appts. So throwing it out was a real struggle. I did, around 4 p.m. ... BUT now wish I'd have just moved it to the kitchen because I honestly believe someone would have taken it and eaten it. This actually feels like a more credit-worthy decision than just a regular lunch on plan for me. All that because I ate only one slice. But Bill, I must confess that of all the food, your Italian pizza squares were the ones that would have called me.

Scale was 170.6 today. Slowly trending down... Anxious for the 169.x's.
Streak=6

Hi everyone,

Today was a 100% OP day for me. I ate exactly what I planned to. I feel pretty darned good about that!

I've switched back to water for my afternoon drink, so credit for that as well.

I weighed this morning and am right at my ticker. DH and I were talking about it and realized that we've been pretty stable for the last few months--my weight has been 180-185 since August--a few drops below, a few blips above, but in that 5 lb range for about 4 months. (I guess it's a good thing that I let myself buy clothes in this size :-).

My plan for tomorrow is a bit uncertain--breakfast--fine. Snack--fine. I'll plan dinner when I'm done here--I bought some frozen meals tonight so that I'd have easy things to make when I come home tired from work--that's been an issue, and frozen OP foods are better than fresh things I end up not making. I bought enough produce to have fresh fruit and salad with each lunch and dinner, though.

Tomorrow's lunch is a carry-in at work, though. I'm bringing caesar salad. My plan is to have ONE plate of food. Just one. And that'll be my meal--no seconds and no sweets. I did buy chocolate for the white elephant gift exchange--but someone else will get it!

I ate slowly and sitting down today (lunch, snack, dinner), enjoying the eating. Breakfast, was on the run, in the car. I need to drag myself out of bed earlier so I can have a more leisurely breakfast.

I'm feel good about today--and confident I'll make good choices at the lunch carry-in.

LoseToAll: Credit for having a good week! I know that I sometimes have to taste dinner while making it--sloppy joes, spaghetti sauce--those require tasting. The best I've figured out is to concentrate on the tasting of it, and not allow any "eating"--just tasting. I'm also compulsive about using a fresh utensil for each taste, so that keeps it under control as well.

nationalparker: Congrats on a streak of 5. Major credit for realizing that a snack was necessary and using it to keep yourself from overeating or make 'hungry NOW' decisions! Awesome job on the pizza!

gardenerjoy: One in a row is an essential step to 2! Looks like your exercise plan for December is right on track! You're right about catching those 5-10 lb rises--it's encouraging to me to know that I'm tackling it--and knowing that forcing myself to weigh keeps me from putting my head in the sand.

pamatga: 6 days in a row OP is a good streak. Fooling myself is exactly what I've been doing--I found the pink book so perhaps Day 19 needs another read through for me! (I'll send you a private message about phone info)

Lexiss: I've been starting to dream about those oranges but I can't remember what they're called--how soon do you think it'll be before they start appearing in the stores?

BillBE: Fantastic 22 days of no extra snacking! Buffets are my downfall--I'll have to borrow the thought of "eating the way BillBE would".

ForMyGirls: I've started using MFP again, too--today is day 2 of entering everything I eat. I'm jealous of your walk to the grocery store. Even in warm weather, that'd be quite a hike for me--but it's freezing here!

LuLu: Every pound matters--we all have our 'gotta reach' points--it's amazing how much you've done, but that doesn't make your 'shorter to go' journey less important. I'll PM you phone info.

veganasaurusrex: Eating in the car is hard--credit for recognizing it's an issue for you. Even when it's the planned foods, I know I don't eat mindfully when driving.

BTW, for those who are on Yahoo! instant messenger, my yahoo! id is 'bethohio3'.

Take care, all.

Friday
 

Hi Coaches
I had a day yesterday where I had to go to a work lunch and go out for dinner. For the lunch I had a plan and stuck to it - some protein with a salad. Dinner was at a Japanese restaurant and I stuck to gluten free, low carb options, but there is a lot of sodium I guess hence the weight gain today. I don't think sodium is bad but it is certainly a variable in the picture. I have a plan for Friday which I have logged. I have exercises ordered by the Physiotherapist that I am supposed to do daily so have added them to my progress log - I didn't do any of them yesterday :(

LuLu - healthy the cherries may be but they are really high in carbs and at the moment I am trying to stay under 20g a day to kick start. So as yummy as they were, I bought them before I decided to do this for 2 weeks so I took them to work for everyone. Yay to being a woman of your word and meeting your own standards. I am going to have my favourite salad tonight which is very like the one you mentioned - but I will have salmon with it - Yum; Beth - how is the phone coaching idea going? I often think having an ally would be helpful - someone you report in to and talk about the blocks and successes, the obsessive thoughts etc. But as you say difficult to find. Congrats on a 100% on plan day; Nationalparker - Yay for defeating the lure of pizza - I get a bit tense about throwing out food but as the book says - I am not a garbage disposal. But your quandry was a little more philosophical. You did best by yourself in the end; Pamatga- well done with eating out - I find it difficult to pass up opportunities for food when I am out so you are a great example; LoseToAll - I taste food as I cook - I have to if it is to turn out OK - but tasting isn't eating so not sure it is a problem; Veganasaurusrex - I like one of Michael Pollan's Food Rules- if it comes in through a car window it is not food. I find anything I can buy at a drive through probably isn't too good for me; BillBE - Kudos at avoiding party food - I find it so hard. Credit for listing what to avoid and having a practical plan. I need to work on that more; ForMyGirls - I like MyFitnessPal too - has lots of Australian foods and good breakdown for macronutrients. And I too am surprised by the amount of carbas and sugars in things. Yay for a 7 point streak

Progress
Checked in 4 times in a row; 198.4 - +1.2 lb (today) / -.2 lb (total for week); 7480/5000 steps; Physiotherapy exercises Not done; 5.0/3km; Food On plan yesterday but a lot of salt and sneaky sugar