Wowser, where did November go??? It was a good month for me I stayed on plan more often than not, but I still didn't lose weight, I didn't gain any though ....

Ahhh! I'm new, but I really need support this month to avoid regaining fifteen pounds during exam period (essentially the next 10 days) and delicious holiday food once I go home.

Goals:
1. Don't gain any weight, and maybe lose 2-3 more pounds
2. Don't eat past comfortable at *any* point
3. No meat and less than 2 servings of dairy in a day (I'm pretty recently vegetarian)
4. Exercise at least three times during exam period (over 10 days) and three times a week at home

Hoping to ring in the new year healthy, happy, not-failed-out-of-college, and under 115 lbs... here's to not waiting for New Year's resolutions!

Good morning!

Lackadaisy ... welcome!

New Year's???? Shhhh ... I haven't got my head around it being December yet.

I am having no trouble getting on the elliptical lately and don't mind walking uptown but ... I can't seem to get around to lifting. I think about it and plan to do it later but ...

Finally, a fresh new month for me.

December goals:
-start working out regularly again, i miss running!
-shed 7 pounds.

so far so good, ran and did mu whole routine yesterday, am very sore today, but will be back out on the track tomorrow! Ate reasonably well yesterday (except for the brownie!) feeling good about December so far!

I took a nice jog yesterday after work and it felt sooooooo good! I can't believe how much better I felt getting out there after a week of no exercise. I'm finding that it seems to be great stress relief for me. My new running shoes did great, my knees didn't bother me at all. I ate really good yesterday too, and have all my meals planned out for today and tomorrow so I feel pretty good about this week. I was at 105 this morning...we'll see if I can hold steady and not bounce back up this time!!

I'm back down within a half pound of my low weight, so I was content with the scale this morning. I've also decided to change my running to the afternoons for now. It's just to darn dark and cold at 5:30 a.m. I have no treadmill and no access to one nearby at this time, so it's outside running for me here in NW Wisconsin...which is a little brisk sometimes!
Anyway, it worked out well yesterday. I hope I can continue throughout the winter, but I do have a "plan B" for the days I just can't ahndle the weather outside. Thankfully, as of February, I will have access to a workout facility including treadmills and other cardio machines. So, I'm exercising patience right now. LOL

All's going well so far this week. Having the weirdest TOM ever, complete without the usual expected weight spike ... what's up with that? At 42, I guess I'd better brace myself for all sorts of odd changes. As long as it doesn't make me hungry, I don't really care.

Found an absolutely awesome streaming radio station for Christmas music, all contemporary rock artists - it's AccuRadio's HolidayRock channel 88. I am GROOVIN' through the day!

Off to the pool tonight to start the December yardage. Wow, this is the busy time of year, isn't it? I think I'm sending electronic Christmas cards this year. I'm just tired of the constant pressure to spend money - between gifts, decorations, and ugh - the TIPPING!!! Can I just leave the country til January??

All is well here too... Ran this afternoon, tonight it's the gym...
Food was good although it was in the 1700+ but it was mostly clean foods ...

What a weird week! It's Thursday already!

I'm having one of my sloooowest hovers in a couple of months. I hit 135.2 on Nov 20th and have never been that low since. I'm trying not to become discouraged. After all, I perkily come on here and encourage other folks about that sort of thing all the time
I haven't been careful lately. I'm letting too many overeating opportunities arise. A few days of diligence should help.

Here's to a few days of diligence!

Susan, I'm right there with you.

My goal this month is to lower my higher weight range of 137 to 135. Today, I'm 135.5, which is ok. I don't know if that is unrealistic or not. Last year I lost 5 lbs over the holidays, but now any weight loss is super slow. Tonight is my last water aerobics class until January. It's a really good stress reliever for me, but I need the extra time to prepare for this month anyway.

This weekend I have got to do my holiday baking for a cookie exchange with girlfriends for next weekend--good luck to me with staying away from those. I also have to decorate and we need to get our tree (real) up because the next two weekends are booked. DD22 is graduating from college on the 12th and yes, we am having a small party for her, a taco bar. We'll probably have about 12-15 people, including her BF's parents. I'm really nervous about meeting them. DD has been dating her BF for 1.5 years and I do think that an engagement is in the works here, but he still has 1.5 left in school. The next weekend we are visiting my sister for a combination Thanksgiving/Christmas for my extended family. And before I know it the big day will be here. And no, I'm not done shopping and haven't even begun wrapping. I'm feeling that there will be some serious delegation happening in my house over the next few weeks.

I have to add that I LOVE the NOG! I look forward to it every year, but never buy it. I usually have it at a party.

Susan and ICU, weight training is my favorite exercise. It was what kick-started me on my journey. I love the way it makes me feel and look forward to it. I usually do it 3x a week. I also ride my recumbent bike 30 minutes first thing in the morning 5-6x a week, in addition to water aerobics 2x a week(Man, my hair is getting really dry from the pool). I will keep up the exercise during the month to hopefully combat the stress I'm feeling.

losermom - best wishes with the baking! Funny, I can usually resist a cookie, but cookie DOUGH? Omg. We've got a similar schedule this month, I see - I'm still compiling Xmas lists, will do ALL the online ordering this weekend, the tree HAS to go up this weekend ... but I was successful at wiggling out of hosting all holiday parties. At least there's that! And I am also a lover of nog. Might be buying a lighter version, and I might actually measure the dark rum ... but it absolutely defines the season for me and I'll have a couple. In a few more weeks - it's too early to wake that monster now. Our local store carries it in pint containers, so if I make one for me and for spouse, that will leave no remains.

SusanB - thumbs up to diligence! I'm a little concerned about the 9 days of unsupervised not-at-workness coming up at the end of the month. Going to have to lay in a BIG supply of sugarless gum! A slow hover is better than a slow rise, right?

Ilene - keep it up! Cruisin' thru the holidays!

Ms. Per - We haven't seen our first snowflake yet - could be tomorrow. I'm not ready! Winter outdoor running ... wow! You Cheesers are tough, but, still! I'd imagine it would be good motivation to run fast?

lack -

maenad - good to see you again!

ICUWishing-That's the problem. I don't map my runs, I do them based on my "slow" training pace of a 10 min mile. So, if I'm supposed to run 5 miles, I just run 50 minutes. I'm sure my pace varies some, but running faster doesn't help me be done faster with this method. I am doing shorter runs, 4 days a week instead of 5, for about a month (mid Dec-mid Jan) after I finish my current program and before I begin my marathon training program. So, I'll briefly have less freeze time. LOL What event do you swim? I have done a couple sprint triathlons and plan to do one or two this summer. I'm not a swimmer, but do it during training obviously.

losermom-You're brave to do a cookie exchange. I occassionally feel the need to try each variety...you know, quality control and all! LOL I'm fortunate in that my big temptations with cookies and goodies are primarily at my grandma's and my mil's. I don't go too crazy with the holiday baking at this point. I LOVE to cook, but the problem is I LOVE my cooking! I leave most of the holiday baking to others for now until I can safely maintain and perhaps one day control myself better around the treats.

SusanB-Maintaining through the holidays is quite an accomplishment IMO. I realize you don't want to maintain just yet, but on the bright side, as someone else already mentioned, at least you aren't really gaining!

As for me, so far the afternoon running is working our fine. It is certainly getting colder fast here. I seriously need to invest in some better running gear. I may do some online browsing after my time on 3FC today. This morning I did my STing and 30DayShred and then it'll be another afternoon run today before rest day tomorrow. Yay! Also went down a bit today, to almost get back down to my low from last week (only .2 away). I might've had a better weigh-in had I not indulged in a bit of Chex mix last night. Woow...that stuff is SALTY! But all in all, I'm glad I had some and in moderation. I felt like I didn't have to deprive myself since it fit into my cals for the day.

My weight is climbing.. or rather, it climbed over Thanksgiving and now it's hovering. Yesterday didn't help - over the course of the day I ate a bagel with cream cheese, a little slice of pumpkin bread, a piece of birthday cake and a tiny spoonful of ice cream, and we went to Moe's for dinner (I got a salad, with tofu and beans, and without dressing or cheese.. but with the edible shell, which I of course ate ALL of). I didn't bother to add up all the calories. I'm angry at yesterday-me and don't really want to think about it anymore. Just use it for motivation.

We've got a friend in town visiting... he's one of our less picky friends so I probably could cook for us... but we never go out to eat when it's just the two of us, so I think DH likes to take advantage of it when we've got company. Tonight he wants to try out Five Guys.. I've been to one in DC and wasn't impressed, but the place is always packed with people. I did the math and I can eat a small hamburger with no bun (with plenty of low-cal toppings) and be in great shape. I could even add cheese and still be under my limit, or I could save those calories for dessert at home.

I'm in a rut with my eating and I think my boredom is leading me to reach out for junk food. I think I need to shake things up but I'm still trying to decide what to do. Cut down on sugar? Lower carbs? Go vegetarian for a while? As weird as it sounds, I think limiting/restricting myself will make me more creative in choosing foods, or at least give me the "something different" that I want right now. I'm lucky in that the balance of carbs/fats/proteins I eat doesn't seem to matter much - I can feel good and lose weight on just about any plan.

Sorry, that post was kinda rambly (that should be a word), I just needed to get my thoughts out there. Maybe I need to start a blog.

Mayness, I would definitely recommend going vegetarian out of those options -- I did quite recently (it's been 3 months now) and it has been a huge catalyst for me to lose weight. I know exactly what you're talking about when you say you want to avoid boredom and you think restriction will help -- it really does! But IMHO it's healthier to restrict a category of foods that can be effectively replaced, nutritionally-speaking. You can get vegetarian protein without really shocking your body all that much -- carbs are a source of food for living (and important for exercise).

Also, I've found that the ethical justification for vegetarianism is a *great* way to stay motivated -- you can think about it as more than just doing it for you, which helps you stay on plan *every meal and every day*.

This is more radical, but you might even try to be as close to vegan as you can for a couple weeks just to see what new foods and habits it forces you to try -- I'm not vegan right now, but when I tried it I discovered a lot of great foods that helped my weight loss and that I still love:
-- Salads without ranch, honey mustard or other cream dressing!! I now use a combination of heirloom tomatoes, beets, onions, and various vinaigrettes for flavoring.
-- Fresh fruit and granola instead of cake for dessert.
-- Organic peanut butter and fruit preserves instead of cream cheese on my bagels -- for me, it was much more filling. But obviously peanut butter is still fatty, so in small quantities...

Mainstream American diets are so reliant on making meat, bread, and butter the centerpieces of the meal that it becomes hard to "untrain" yourself from them. It looks like the foods that made you go off-plan were mostly carbs of the kind that include dairy, so maybe cutting out dairy entirely for a few days would help you figure out substitutes you can keep in general! (Of course, do NOT do what my vegan friend did and buy vegan desserts -- that would be counterproductive, because then you'll feel pressured to eat them... )

lackadaisy, thanks for all the advice! It was really quite helpful. I like your point about the ethical implications - I would love to eat a primarily plant-based diet for sustainability/ecological reasons, and that should help keep me on track.

I've got a lot of meat in the house (I tend to buy things on sale and freeze them) but I think from this point on I'm not buying any more meat. I'll come up with some plan/schedule for using up the rest of it. In the interest of not hijacking any more weekly/monthly chat threads in any of the forums, I'm gonna re-start my diet blog to "talk" through this stuff.