Planning & Chat for Dec. 31 - Jan. 6
 

Happy New Year!

I think most of us are going to start anew tomorrow. Are you making any big changes? New goals?

What do you want to achieve in 2008 in your personal weight loss journey?

Dagmar :D

Good morning!

I only have four shifts left and then we're going south. I am sooo looking forward to plain old no pressure relaxation.

My best bet will be to eat clean and be active each day. I'll weigh myself the last day before we go and plan on not gaining. Seeing as how I've still got holiday blub to contend with, I can trade it for vacation blub and should come out even.

And then ... when we get back home ... I'll get back into that abs improvement plan.

The "Michael Clayton" plan
 

Saw the movie "Michael Clayton" - George Clooney stars - last night and a lightbulb went on.

The protagonist is a lawyer who is the "fixer/janitor" for a high powered law firm in Manhattan. He is a highly intelligent man who has found a niche (that he really, really doesn't like) and who just deals with it, and any dirty business thrown at him, every day.

That is how I'm going to treat my "eating for the rest of my life" plan from now on. I'm just going to deal with it every day. No more whining or beating myself up for bingeing. No more throwing in the towel and eating all weekend.

I will just deal with the fact that I have to diet away my final 8 remaining lbs to goal, exercise daily, and watch what I eat for the rest of my life.

My immediate goal is to get the ticker down to 125 by the end of March.

Long term goals include replacing about 5 lbs. of that lost weight with muscle, maintaining my stretching plan and exploring further possibilites along that route (Pilates, yoga, etc.), and eventually eliminating caffeine from my diet.

Happy New Year everyone! Good luck to all of us in our journey in 2008!

Dagmar :coolsnow:

Weighed in and I am down to 125!!!!!! That was my goal weight to start the year. I haven't been this low in about 18 months. However, this is where it gets tricky: last time I was at this weight, I was trying my hardest, and couldn't get below it. I wasn't on any kind of regimented plan then, just trying to eat healthy and exercise more, but I wasn't as clear on what "eat healthy" meant. So if I can get below this, it will be a HUGE breakthrough for me. Good goal for 2008!

Hope everyone has a wonderful night tonight :)

Good morning and Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all the Featherweights!!!

I got DH on board with me! He will lose 15 pounds with me (now to convince DD to join us). We're going to walk each night after dinner (at least 4 times a week) and once on the weekend for a longer walk (I'll still continue my morning running). 11 weeks--15 pounds. Sounds "do-able" in my book!

Family dieting rocks!
 

Allison Great news about your DH. Mine is also joining me. He wants to lose 10 inches from his waist in a year and a half. His plan is very sensible too. Although we will have less "heat n eat" food he is volunteering to cook more. He's all excited about this new project. Hope we are all successful this year!

Dagmar

Off to a great start in 2008
 

People wonder why I love living in Toronto.

I just spent 2 serene marvelous hours wandering with Casey (the dog) in a meadow filled with fluffy white snow. All of the trees, shrubs, and grasses were tipped with snow. The air had that soft, just after snowfall quality and the light was muted and made everything glow just slightly.

Ours were the first footprints, aside from one rabbit and one racoon. The only other living creature there was a red-headed woodpecker pecking at some red sumach. I have never heard a woodpecker's call before but I got to within about 15 feet of this one and listened to him chirping away.

Casey sensed my serenity and matched it. He loves to run and sniff but he was quite calm and just tooled along about 20 feet away from me. On the way home we spotted 5 bunnies quietly feeding on a hillside and we stopped and watched them for a bit too.

We were in the Don Valley, about 200 feet from one of the busiest highways running through Toronto. I love this city!

Hope everyone's New Year's day has been as happy as mine.

Dagmar (the queen of serene)

Dagmar - Your walk sounds like it was so amazing and serene! :)

I am so happy that I weighed myself only to find I am at 147 this morning! I am thrilled!! My goal weight by Jan. 31st is 140 pounds! :carrot: I am going to lose this weight this time - I just know it!!! :woohoo:

Happy New Year to all! :celebrate:

I did my four mile race at midnight, and it was very successful :) I came in with about a 10 minute pace, which is much better than I expected since I was drinking while running. The bad news is, I went over my calories for the day by about 600 :( I was under 600 the day before, so it shouldn't matter, but trading calories each day never seems to work with my body, so we'll see. Today I'm trying to eat light again, because tomorrow I have a business lunch that is sure to be high cal. I WILL stay on plan and I WILL lose weight in the new year!!!

Hope everyone had a great day :)

Originally Posted by :
What do you want to achieve in 2008 in your personal weight loss journey?

Dang I just want to lose those last 15 and STAY down :rolleyes: ...

Happy New Year, everyone!

My plan is to first of all, lose my Christmas re-gain - not even sure the exact number yet - will weigh in Friday. After that, I want to lose 5 more, then will re-evaluate going for another 5, which was my original goal. I'll just have to see how I look and feel, and see if my body will cooperate, and can sustain that weight without feeling like I'm "dieting" for the rest of my life. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about the permanent lifestyle changes, but if it means I can't have a beer or a cheat meal here and there without gaining weight, then it's not worth it.

I'm trying not to think about timelines - I have always felt that they set you up for failure. But if I could lose the 5 by Valentines, then the next 5 by St. Patrick's (my b-day), that would be great. But I'll have to stay on plan VERY consistently to do that.

I have, as of today, resumed calorie counting - that worked well for me in the fall.

Happy New Year, Featherweights!

Here's to a great year for all of us... meeting or exceeding our goals, feeling and looking healthy, and much happiness!

Grrr, can I just say I'm so mad at myself right now? I was at my calorie limit for the day and indulged in a small slice of ice cream cake at my parents' house. Oh, well. I'm still under 1900! Daggone NYD!

Evening dears! I'm almost tired enough to go to bed. Thi shift just messes with my rest!

And I wish folks would stop feeding nurses! I have carried the same healthy lunch to work two days in a row and brought it back home. Somebody brought cabbage rolls today ... and home made ice cream .... cake .... Oh dear!

I should find the little tantrum smilie ... that's what I sound like :D

Susan, places of employment always seem to be home to delicious cuisine!

Susan - I don't know how you survive those night shifts! My sleep would be all out of whack! I had to DRAG myself out of bed today to head back to school for the first day. UGH.

Have a healthy day everyone!

Good Morning all!
 

I'm back at full work today. Well almost, since 4 of the dogs are away until Monday. It'll be a nice sliide back in , rather than a big jump. I always surprised by how much I look forward to seeing all of my "kids" after I've been away. Have special cookies for them and everything.

Have a great day!

Dagmar (still not sure what day it is :dizzy:)

I think it's Wednesday and I have to get the recycling out.

Don't listen to me whine gals. I'm anxious to be on vacation. And that makes every day seem long and tiring.

And Claire ... I'm not even on nights, just 3-11 :) See, I am just whiney.

Good morning ladies :wave:. Hope everyone is doing well.

I had a pretty good day yesterday food wise and I actually walked on my treadmill for 30 min :o. But, it's back to work today and I didn't pack a lunch so hopefully I can make some good choices for lunch (I seem to have a problem with that).

Hope everyone has a great day!

Originally Posted by Ilene:
Dang I just want to lose those last 15 and STAY down :rolleyes: ...

Me, too! But I have 17.....

Okay, starting today I am back on plan. So far so good, but then I've only been awake for an hour and only had breakfast, so things would be pretty bad if I was off plan already.

SusanB: Maybe you should make a sign--"Please Don't Feed the Nurses!" ;)

Dagmar: Your walk just made me feel cold. Ugh, I hate snow. I wish it were a little warmer where I live but I thank God that it at least doesn't snow. But I'm glad you enjoyed it--someone has to live in the snowy places.

Originally Posted by alinnell:
Me, too! But I have 17.....

Don't worry somedays I have up to 20 to lose :rolleyes:

Good one, Ilene! Since I chose to backslide BIG TIME I have to lose about too at least, but right now I'd be thrilled to see 140 again. How does it go up so fast??

I'm having a little surgery tomorrow, gals. I'm having a polyp removed from my uterus. Wish me luck (I'm a little nervous because I've never been put to sleep, but I'm sure it'll be fine).

When I'm done with that, I think I will set a mini goal for myself and make a little ticker for motivation.

Susan -- I am a natural night owl, so that might not be terrible if I could sleep till whenver! But still, since the rest of the world doesn't exist on that schedule, it would be tough. Enjoy your vacation!

Claire - have you stopped to think about how much a polyp weighs? LOL. Best of luck with your surgery though!

Ha, ha! Well, I know it doesn't weight 8 lbs which is what I've gained in the last month or so...ugh.

Good luck Clair, I'm sure everything will be all right :hug: ...

I had a so-so day... ate some leftover cookies with tea tonight then I had a glass of wine ... can anyone say LOSER!! :kickbutt: Those cookies are leaving the building tomorrow and the wine too :yes: ....

Ilene~I was able to stick to only 2 glasses of wine last night. I hope to be wine free by next week. See, if it's in the house, I drink it. As long as MIL doesn't bring more, it should all be gone by Sunday night when I have a small dinner party here. The cookies at work are almost gone (thanks in part to me)--then I just need to stay away from the candy.

Claire~best of luck with your surgery.

I ran this morning for my 2 miles--it felt great to get back out there. I was really afraid that taking a couple days off would derail me for good. I'm glad I have a little more discipline than I originally thought. My weight is still 150, though.

Hello all! I haven't checked in since last May or so, but I'm back and trying to be a good girl. Last Summer I gained even more weight, that put me about 155 and I HATE the pics of myself in a swimming suit! I managed to lose around 10 when I started working part-time a few months ago, but have once again stalled out. I actually did ok over the holidays, but then my great-grandmother died on Christmas and we had to take a road trip to Ohio, which meant eating-out and all that comfort food when we got there. I was about 143 before we left, and today was 148.5. Scary! I ate the last of my mother's rum cake today and I'm ready to purge my house of junk and get started. I also quit smoking (started up when I started working), so that'll be a challenge too. My husband is on the fitness path with me. He wants to lose 20-30 pounds by his birthday in July. So I think we'll be joining the Y and hopefully using it!

Good luck to everybody!

midearthseeker - :welcome: BACK!!

I've had a very good day food wise :D ..... But now the dreaded evening is upon us and my toughest time of day *sigh* ....

Welcome back Midearthseeker! Good to see you.

Well today wasn't one of my best days but it wasn't one of my worst either. I did make some good food choices to go along with my bad choices. Does that count? I did have salad instead of fries and I did decide on fat free dressing instead of full fat. :shrug:

I know, I know - I'll keep trying :rolleyes:

Hope everyone had a great day!

I'm really happy that the past couple days I've seemed to be pretty diligent with calories.. Hope I can keep it up!

I did terrible today. Margaritas and cheesecake. But it's almost the last of the junk food we have left in the house, so hopefully not too bad. Hubby says we'll start next Monday, so I guess we're going with his plan.

I ate some cottage cheese and mango as my snack tonight and about 10 cashews... I had to eat I was so hungry I had a pain in my stomach...

Midearth, I am doing the same thing and trying to use up the junk food that I have left from the holidays. I have about 700 calories of junk food left, so I'm hoping to do a 10 mile run on Saturday, eat it all, and then it will balance out :) However, that only works if I then go running on Sunday, because I seem to only lose weight if I get in a long run and one massive calorie deficit for the week. We'll see how it goes...

Tomorrow I have training for work and they're supposed to be providing lunch for us, but I'm going to bring my own salad with low-cal homemade dressing, because I have a feeling it's going to be something bad for me and not even tasty enough to justify the calories. I can't feel too virtuous though, because we have a cocktail hour with hors d'oeuvres later in the day, and I will probably not be able to resist some of that! Again, we'll see how it goes...

one choice at a time
 

I think it comes down to making one positive choice at a time :angel:. Each time I do that I feel good. So the more I do that the better I feel (do I hear the theme music from a commercial starting? :p).

I make less :devil: bad :devil: choices because I feel so much worse when I make them, in comparison to how I feel after the good choices.

So eventually the good choices become good habits and the bad choices still happen occasionally but are no longer a "lifestyle".

Dagmar :dizzy:

Okay. All the bad food is out of the house. Well, there are still some chips and cookies, but I can leave those alone. No more pasta! We'll have soup for dinner tonight.

DH is going golfing today, so our traditional Friday lunch is a goner. Well, sort of. I asked the kids if they wanted to go out to lunch and they did, so they'll join me instead. I don't know where we'll go, but I'll try to be on plan.

Sunday I have a dinner planned, but it will be on plan, so no problem (other than wine). After that, no more wine! My weight hasn't budged this week, so I need to do the drastic measure (no wine).

Yikes, no wine! LOL!

Well, despite the gorging of last night, I'm still down a pound and a half. Honestly, there's no way I actually gained 6 pounds in a week, so it must be mostly water. I'm about to workout for the first time in months...wish me luck! ;)

Originally Posted by Ilene:
I've had a very good day food wise :D ..... But now the dreaded evening is upon us and my toughest time of day *sigh* ....

That's my hardest time too! After dinner is cooked/cleaned up from and before bedtime. Too tired to read/do anything other than brain-dead chores and the TV beckons.

DH is addicted to the TV. His whole family is too. He does turn it off when I'm around during the day but it goes on after dinner and stays on until he goes to bed. I've come out on the weekend and found my little zombie staring at the screen at 2 a.m.

Dagmar (TGIF!!! and TGHAO - thank goodness holidays are over :D)