Morning all Thanks for the encouragement.
My headache is pretty much gone this morning - it's only a 3 on a 10 scale
I'm eating well over 1800 calories a day and down 4lbs. since Sunday.
I was eating probably more than 3200 calories a day before I got back on the wagon
No wonder my body is balking and I have a headache.
Hope your day is a good one

Please count me in! I'm at 222 and my goal for Jan is to lose 5 lbs. Thanks!

I'm with susiemartin and my weight is dropping like a rock. Four days in a row of weight loss at this stage is a big deal! It's amazing how well it works to actually follow my food plan!

Susie - glad to hear the headache is getting better

RoadtoFifty - Body shock is not necessarily a bad thing, it means it still works :P

Chickadee - I am with you on the menapause complaints. Mine isn't full blown menapause, almost wish it were to get it out of the way, but peri-menapause is my curse. This year isn't as bad as last year though - at least this year the hot flashes are brought on by triggers, whereas last year they just spuratically happened because they wanted to. Monthly has lighter, but WAY unpredictable! I say.... complain away, but wait til you wake up a bit,

We are so going to nail our goals this month!!!! I have come <> this close too many times... not this month, not for the start of my new year... this month, we surpass those goals!

Way to go, GardnerJoy! What is your food plan?

Hello again!
I wanted to update everybody on what I'm doing. Maybe it will help somebody else as well. So 2 things:

1) I'm Putting down my fork in between bites and counting 15 seconds between bites. I was skeptical when I first read this tip, but it really does make you leave some food on your plate.

2) I am eating vegetables with each meal. For example, with my breakfast I cut up some tomatoes and cucumbers and eat that before my meal. Then with my lunch I had a salad first, so I had only 1 piece of pizza afterward (I never stop at one, or 2 or even 3 lol). And I roasted some veggies in the oven to have before my dinner.

I'm not letting myself weigh in before Friday which is hard for me because I'm used to weighing in everyday But 2 more days and then we'll see. I am definitely eating healthier, and even if I don't lose weight, I know that at least I'm doing my body and my health good.

Good luck to all!!

Hello Everyone,

Thought I would pop in and see how everyone is doing today and to give a shout out to all!! I am doing great with drinking my water and watching what I eat.

Good Luck to everyone....

KMme, welcome! I've added you below.

susie and gardenerjoy, awesome on the weight dropping so quickly this week! It's SUCH a nice feeling when that happens and you know it's because you're doing all the right things.

ItsMyTurn - I really feel for you! My poor mom started peri-menopause at 38, and she has suffered through hot flashes for 25 years now. I hope I take after my grandmother and never have them, but I have a feeling my mom's fate will be mine in a few short years - yikes! Kind of funny though - I was on some hormones recently for the fertility stuff, and they told me that the meds might make me have hot flashes... but I've been so freaking cold all the time lately (I think from the many months of calorie restriction) that the meds mostly just made me feel more comfortable, lol. I loved not having goosebumps at all for a few weeks! The night sweats were rather unpleasant though.

brunette and CANi, it sounds like you're both doing great! Keep it up!



Updated January Weight Loss Goal List

KimL1214: Lose 8 lbs
RoadtoFifty: Lose 8 lbs
LeslieB: Lose 6 lbs
Live Laugh Love: Lose 8.6 lbs
ClaireBear: Lose 10 lbs
miniDoodles: Get to and maintain at 148 lbs
tavvy: Lose 12 lbs
gardenerjoy: Get to 168 lbs or less
loose seal: Get to 160 lbs
GoldfrostDazzlefluff: Get to 154.9 lbs
LIL'JJ: Get to ONEDERLAND
chickadee32: Get into the 140s
omgzitsmiranda: Lose 10 lbs
Floriduh: Lose 6 lbs
CaliforniaDreamer: Lose 13 lbs
AzJade: Lose 5 lbs
mystical: Lose 6 lbs
dandk0204: Lose 15 lbs
brunette8787: Lose 6 lbs
Koshinogi: Lose 7 lbs
ferretgirl: Lose 6 lbs
susiemartin: Lose 10 lbs
Nature Girl: Lose 5 lbs
CANi2012: Lose 8 lbs
bliss3244: Lose 10-15 lbs
tyedyegoddess: Lose 10 lbs
Delphi: Lose 8 lbs
Matilda08: Lose 10 lbs
Bones1928: Lose 10 lbs
ItsMyTurn: Lose 7 lbs
Caramel33: Lose 5 lbs
Jester: Lose 8 lbs
awwtina: Lose 8-10 lbs
KMme: Lose 5 lbs

Good Morning!
Looking forward to another OP day.
Hope your day will be a good one too

Bones1928: My food plan, at this point, pulls everything together I've learned while losing into an exchange plan of my own invention. While I was losing, I switched things up every few months. I started with the government's food pyramid tools (taking into account that the meat and dairy lobby have too much power there) -- that's now been replaced by ChooseMyPlate.gov, and has the same caveat. Then, I did the DASH diet for awhile. Then the plan in the back of the book The Complete Beck Diet for Life by Judith Beck. And, finally, Richard Simmons' Food Mover. I guess I'm still using the last as a plan, but I don't need the tool anymore.

Day to day, following my food plan means that I eat what I planned last night. That's a big part of what Judith Beck advocates. Plan ahead. And, it's really made a difference for me. Especially with another piece of her program which is don't expect perfection!

Hello everyone I am on the road to trying to get my ten lbs off this month so far I am down from 249 and wi at 248.1 today so I am heading in the right direction I had a on plan day yesterday hoping to have another one today!

Matilda - Great job; the right direction is always encouraging!

Chickadee - My doctor said we usually follow our mother's pattern. I was astounded I was going through this so young, but he asked when mom did and I told him she started at 34... he said "yea, not that unusual for you to be within range"... ummm.. recount please?

I was feeling much better from the pain I have been experiencing last night, so decided I was going to go walk. My 2 oldest decided they wanted to go with me - my daughter on her bike, and my son on foot. Keep in mind, she is 15, and he is 18... motivation, craziness, and soreness are what they added to my adventure, My daughter says "look at Kevin go!"... so he was trying to show up the "old lady", so I picked up the pace... we ended up jogging most of it (real good with my RA, lol, not!) but I didn't let him show me up, LOL! Matter of fact when we got back he complained to my DH, LOL!!!! THAT is the way it should be Hope everyone is having an awesome day!!!

Long time, no post! I'm hoping to be able to get back on here on a more regualr basis.
My goal this month is to lose 8 lbs. Hubby is doing it too with the same goal. I jsut went grocery shopping today (payday) and restocked all the good stuff...fruits, veggies, and lean meats.
I've gained 20+ lbs in the past year since I've gone back to work from being a stay at home mom. It's a huge challenge for me to balance everything, but I'm certainly gonna try and keep trying until I get back to my goal weight!

Sorry about the headache-aggravating post, RoadtoFifty. You aren't the first person to have that problem with my writing. I would put parentheses inside of parentheses if I could get away with it!

I may be ahead of you on that road to fifty -- I'll be there in five months and a few days. So, being young hasn't helped my quick start in January. Overeating in December contributed, though. I'm working on how to make that not happen next year. It helped me realize that it's easier to stay on plan than it is to get back on plan.

On plan so far. I've lost 2 lbs - my first loss in many months, so quite excited to be back on track!