Yeah... What it says!

It's NOVEMBER! Wow!

Sandy report:
Power came back on last night (exactly 48 hours after we lost it). I was actually halfway to my fiance's house with my brother because we literally couldn't take it anymore. My mom called, couldn't get through (cell service is still really bad here), then texted us. We turned around and I thanked my fiance but most of Long Island is still without power so the roads were scary and I wanted to get home.

We're really, REALLY lucky to get power on. Most of our block doesn't have power and I know that 80% of the island or so doesn't have power either. We're very grateful and I've already offered up my outlets to friends who need to charge things.

We had a friend who didn't lose power offer up her second freezer for our food, but my mother picked a good freezer; things were still frozen and stuff was still cold in the fridge. It's good we got power back...today was going to be the day we were going to throw all the food in coolers and bring it over there.

I'm a NYC public school teacher, so each day I waited around the radio to see what was going on with work. My mother threatened to take away my keys if I attempted to get to work on Monday, but I'm sure you all know that schools were closed throughout the week. Staff has to report on Friday, but I texted my principal to let her know that I really couldn't give her a definite yes until today or even tomorrow morning as the status of the roads from here to Brooklyn. Apparently if we can't get in there will be no penalties, but I do want to start getting everything ready for students' return. Word is my school is fine and had power.

Sandy ruined halloween. I did manage to carve my pumpkin, but even during daylight hours it was pretty dark and made it difficult. I wanted to make a new design but I couldn't print anything out. Sooo I recycled a pattern I made from a couple of years ago (nothing else to do, so why not carve a pumpkin?)



No trick or treaters AT ALL. A lot of the village mayors simply canceled it and warned parents to keep children inside. With trees fallen or threatening to fall AND the downed power lines...it was probably for the best.

I feel like a blob. I need to get to the gym! Both of my gyms apparently still have no power so they are closed. I've been pretty good with my eating despite the boredom, but I really do need to start up again. I know a week off is good and I've been doing bodyweight exercises, but I'm almost dying to lift something heavy! I'm afraid to go jogging around the neighborhood because of all the hazards left over from Sandy.

All in all though, I can't complain. I have friends who have no home to return to So much of my area was hit hard by the storm. It was so weird seeing stores closed, some using generators to just power registers while the rest was in the dark...

I certainly hope this isn't a yearly occurrence.

Everything sucks on my end...PMS, the beginning of SAD, I lost my passport just in time for my Monday flight to London...

Worst of all I got a Dear John letter (text) from one of my long-time college friends because I've not been good at keeping in touch and didn't check on her after the hurricane (she lives in Upper West Side Manhattan). Yes I think it's passive-aggressive and stupid for her to be all "WE'RE NOT FRIENDS" but you know, if you mention stuff that bothers you along the way you can patch things up before they get out of hand. She has lots of her own issues and I had been kind of avoiding her maybe because I don't want to deal with them, so I wrote her a pretty honest and heartfelt email. Haven't heard back.

That combined with passport hunting and calling everywhere I've been in the past few days to no avail has got me on edge. I'd been carrying it in my purse as ID since I misplaced my driver's license somehow. Everything is falling apart!

Eating and exercise hasn't been great as a result...bowling alley pizza and Halloween candy makes for a pretty mediocre dinner.

sontaikle Thank you for the update - I really hope things return to normal as fast as possible so people can return to their lives (and your gyms re-open!). The Sonic pumpkin is amazing!

JossFit Solid goals! Hope you meet them!

Happy November!

krampus - Oh no, I'm sorry you've lost your passport! I really hope you can find it!! Sorry to hear about the situation with your friend too. That sounds really stressful, but it sounds like you did the right thing letting her know how you feel.

sontaikle - I'm glad to hear you got your power back! It sounds like you were spared too much damage, food saved, school OK and all that. My heart really goes out to everyone over there who is dealing with all those hardships. ): Your pumpkin looks great, and I hope you're able to get to a gym soon! I'd be going crazy too.

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Busy day for me today, with work and a big school assignment to complete. At least I should have no trouble staying OP. Stress and busy-ness has always wrecked my appetite and made me cling to routines even more than normal.

Just found out my only class today was cancelled too due to a union strike thing. I'm so glad I've no money because normally this would have been too good a binge opportunity to resist, but I can't, so it's got to be business as usual!

Anyone else have any goals/plans for the month?

My plan's going to be to just stick with my very moderate habit-changing. So far it's been going very well, so I'm not changing anything for now! Also going to allow for the possibility of one huge planned "binge" day a week, with the hope though that I won't want to use it. Being and staying OP feels so freaking much better than even a planned departure from it and having to get back on again. Depending on how good shape I get in this month, I'm planning on getting a bit more strict in December to finish up strong before going on holiday, just upping the exercise and further cutting out indulgences, but we'll see.

My lessons learned from the previous month:

-Having restricted quantity binges doesn't work, doesn't satisfy and just makes me more frustrated and likely to do it again the very next day

-Staying off the scale is VERY good for me, but I've also got to include avoiding other body-checking things or trying on my "progress pants" too often. I think that was a factor in me deciding to take that big binge/refeed day. So I'm committing to only trying on the pants on Monday/Tuesday. I'll check my weight once the holiday begins and use it to monitor during vacation, but while I'm sticking to my plan I know I've got to be losing and there's no need to make sure of it.

-Simply not having money with me during the day is amazing for preventing unnecessary and unplanned binge days. If I've got the money and I know it, the more I'm going to think about it, the more I'm going to start wanting it, the more likely I am to do it. That's all.

Sontaikle : I'm glad you're safe and okay, but it is still so sad for people who lost their homes, or heaven are just without electricity. On the other hand, may I say that your pumpkin ROCKS!???! It's sad (but so much safer) that they asked for the parents to keep the kids in for Halloween. All those poor children were probably bummed, I remember how Halloween was a big deal for me as a kid!

Krampus : Oh god, did you find it yet? Did you took another purse somwhere or something like that? Really hope you can find it. In Canada, you can go to a special office (there a few in every province) where they can deliver you a passport if you wait there. Can you do that in the States too?

Mottaini : I love the part of your ''lessons learned from last month''. It's cool to be able to pin point what is working and what is not. Hope November is gonna be a better month for everyone one us!

***

Hey Feathers! Woke up at 138.4 this morning. Another 1 pound up from yesterday, it's like 2 in 2 days. What the...!! The more frustrating part is that I don't feel I was behaving SO bad. LIke maybe not for losing weight, but at least casually maintaining. Now I'm like 3 pounds of my upper happy range. My stomach feel huge, but I don't think I'm PMS... I drank a lot of water yesterday, so I am no dehydrated. I had chicken pot pie last night, but a small portion with a green salad on the side.

With November, leading to December and parties and stuff, I have to do something (saying the girl who just ate 4 mini Halloween treat caramilk chocolat bar).

Goals for November :

- Come back under 135. We'll start with this.

- Start running 4 times a week, but slowly to feel if the foot is okay with it. I've been told that you can had, when you start running, one more day of running every year. I have been running for more than a year, 3 times a week. It's now time to push it a bit more!

- Stop munching stuff around the house. I think my big problem is there. I eat a handful of cereal there, a cracker here... Need to stop it, or if I am really hungry, eat carrot or celery.

- Bring the healthy back. With all the time I have to me at home, I have been cooking like a mad woman. And I don't consider chicken pot pie SUUUPER healthy. It's okay to indulge once or twice a week, but from now own, it's healthy dinner for the week days.

- Try to design some kind of a program of bodyweight weight training I could do at home. I really want to get more muscle endurance. I'll probably get inspiration from the tough mudder website.

***

On another subject, it's my birthday in 8 days and friends are writing to me and my boyfriend to know what we are doing for my birthday this year. And I so don't know what I want to do. I wasn't really willing to celebrate this year, at the start I just wanted to do something with my boyfriend, like go hiking or something (we had problem with celebrations of my birthday for the past 2 years that let me BLAAAH). I can't invite my friend to come hiking because one of them just got surgery, so... I really don't know what to do. because of the surgery, we can't go hiking, or bowling or stuff like that... Don't know what to doooo.

Just doing a quick drive by! My modified RFL is proving effective on the scale, but not my mood or body! Headache again today, and I've been cranky! DH told me to eat a piece of bread already! Lol! This is my 3rd day of being strict and I followed most of the rules Monday..but I had a fruit (berries). I'm not hungry though..which was the part I was more concerned about! No kettle ell workout due to Halloween yesterday..studio was closed. Going tonight instead! Tomorrow I will eat fruit, but stick to the principles! Worried about "wine Friday ruining my progress...and no, I'm not planning on skipping wine! Lol!

Eek, I can't believe it's November!

I'm a little groggy and all stuffed up and sniffly, eugh, and I'm stuffed up in the other way too, agh, this keeps happening even though I'm a fibre machine. Not sure what's up. Aaaaanyway.

I weighed this morning at 136.8 which isn't great or terrible really, I haven't been doing anything to actively lose this week since over eating a lot of Sunday (and not enjoying it either). I'm stuffed up though so maybe it'll drop again when I deliver this poop baby. Eww.

Other than that things are pretty good going over here, just tired and trying to sort out my stuff - Autumn cleaning I suppose.. I'm accumulated a lot of crap.

Oh and super cute costumes you guys!

sontaikle I'm really happy for you and your family that your house is ok! From the photos it all looks really crazy. I know some people in NY & NJ but they seem to be mostly ok too. Just wet and in the dark.

Your pumpkin still looks great! Making a candle holder while the power is out is a pretty good move too

krampus Hugs to you! That really sucks, is there an emergency passport thing you can get like Turbo mentioned? There's something similar here I believe. I hope you find it, it's probably just in another bag/pocket or something.

Sorry to hear about your friend too - lots of hugs.

Mottainai I think having a planned "binge" day is awesome for you, once it's not forbidden and something enjoyable and your body can clearly handle it. Not taking money seems to be working really well for you too.

Turbo Do you also have a poop baby maybe?

Hmm that sucks about your birthday plans, remember your birthday is about you though so I think just do what you want - like go for a nice hike with your boyfriend and then have another little celebration with your friends? Dinner party or something? I've gotten more into just having dinner (and all of the wine) with friends the past year or two. I love food.

Chickie I'm glad you survived Halloween! I don't know how I could survive if I had kids, I'd be eating everything. I was having flashbacks earlier of how much crap I ate when I was younger. I'm also not a scary movie person, can't do it. Costumes however..

Joss How did Halloween go for you? It's so hard when the people you live with buy lots of sweets. My boyfriend has the fridge full of chocolate so I know the feeling. (it's not for any trick or treaters either haha)

How are you finding doing RFL a few days a week?

OMG is it November?? My goal was 149 by today :/ I'm at 153/154. Whoops! Still beats the 158/157 I started at.

I had a good day for calories. Well, I guestimated a bit (home made garlic cheese bread and estimated oz of rum) so hopefully I didn't go over. But I am holding steady weight wise today and even if I guestimated under (which I try not to do, I know how we tend to underestimate so I always put in more than I think it would be) I should be at a small deficit. Yesterday I quit counting after gymnastics, I admit, I shouldn't have gone too overboard though. If I wasn't in a deficit, I am sure I broke even but didn't go more than a few calories over. AND gymnastics yesterday was AWESOME. All but 5 kids were out trick or treating so we had free reign of the gym. I was in heaven. I also did my flyspring (front handspring from 2 feet) on the regular spring floor with a skinny mat (a sting mat, which is like 3" of springy memory foam, IDK how to describe it). OMG. It was amazing. The first one I did was SO good too! I landed on my feet and had forward momentum out of it (a good thing) which is something I can't say for ANY of my handsprings in my life. I have always landed them really low. I can't even begin to describe how amazing that feels. Especially weighing more than I ever did before while trying to throw my body through the air.

I am trying, in addition to counting my calories, to limit when I eat them to after noon. It worked well for me last year to not eat until 12:30 (when our lunch break was at my old job) and have a small lunch, minimal snacking, and a big dinner. I am trying to do that again but also counting my calories so my big dinner doesn't go overboard. Still need to get more active, though. The VERY different work schedule this year is kicking my butt as far as workout out every day.

In other good news, Saturday my coach is having his birthday party and the first half of it is a 4.5 hour open gym!!!! Can you imagine how excited I am? An hour and a half every week is never enough. Saturday I hope to hit every event, and I haven't vaulted in a couple years and haven't done bars in weeks.

Imagine how many calories I will burn in 4.5 hours too! *dreamy happy face* I can't wait. If I could be in the gym doing gymnastics every day for hours, I would.

~Katy

sontaikle - Thank goodness you're okay! I know it's probably going to be a long time before things get back to normal and you can get back into your routine, but good on you for trying so hard to do what you can. I actually saw someone in another thread say "I'm stressed out with all of this and I'm going to go binge until it's over... see you guys later". I can't blame someone for how they feel, but that seems extreme to me. Surely eating your way into a larger pants size is NOT going to help you feel better on the far side of the hurricane situation.
But, I digress...
Keep us posted as you are able!

Krampus - I'm sorry to hear about your friend getting all weirdo on you, but she obviously has some things going on and is probably just reaching out (in her own weird way) for your attention and support. It sounds like you did all you could by writing her a heartfelt letter and maybe it will work and she'll get back to you. Just send her good vibes in the meantime.
Any luck with the passport yet??

mottainai - I think that your plan is very sound! It took me a long time to get out of my mind the idea that eating a lot of calories one day was somehow 'bad' even if I genuinely enjoyed it, it did not hurt my progress (in fact, generally the increase in leptin from all the calories and carbs HELPED me... not only in my workouts but usually I would see a big whoosh of a couple of pounds!). You have the freedom to eat in a way that works for YOU. We all do our own thing! I personally LOVE breakfast and cannot hardly wait to eat when I get up, whereas Krampus isn't a breakfast kind of girl and chooses a more IF approach to her life. I reserve my treats for 'treat days' whereas turbo bakes often and works those things in much more frequently. Some calorie cycle, some do low carb, some (like myself) limit their diets to natural foods and some do better with small (or large) amounts of their favorite boxed snacks. Don't let society or your friends or even people on this forum tell you what is right or wrong.

Turbo - That looks like a pretty solid list of goals! Totally doable and measurable. I definitely know how it feels to be a few pounds above your ''happy weight" but at least it's only a few pounds! I have to keep reminding myself that it won't disappear overnight, but it will disappear fairly quickly if I just keep things under control. I know it can be so much easier said than done with all the holiday events coming up (and surgery for me) so that's why I'm trying to fix it now so that I can just focus on maintaining it.
As for your birthday, I agree with [b]Leila[b]... can you go for a hike with your BF and then perhaps meet your friends out for dinner or drinks later on?

Leila - I too eat a lot of fiber but even though I'm pretty regular I do have my "OMG I have a poop pregnancy" moments. Usually a little jog helps clear that situation up RIGHT away, if my morning coffee doesn't take care of it first! Maybe try a cuppa joe and go for a dash around the block?
Halloween turned out just fine for me, thanks for asking! I went with my roommate to take her daughter out around the neighborhood, so not only did I NOT eat any of the catered goodies at work that day OR candy afterward, but I did two workouts earlier in the day (weights first then more weights at Crossfit) AND walked for about 45 minutes around the neigborhood. Not bad! I won't lie though... I kept waking up all that night thinking about the PILES of all my favorite chocolates sitting downstairs, leftover from the evening.
The two days a week of RFL is okay... today is my second day for the week in fact. It's not my favorite, that's for sure, but it's doable. I might stop after this week though (more on that in a minute).

I hope your stuffy cold gets better!!

Kakers - I love how excited you are over gymnastics! That is how I feel (most of the time) about lifting weights and I wish everyone could find something physical that they get so amped up about. It makes exercise fun!
Congratulations on the losses! You're down, what, 4-5 pounds for October? That's fantastic! What is the goal for November?

Chickie!!!! - HI.


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Well, day 2 of this weeks RFL and I don't feel my best. My workout today was lackluster to say the least, so even though I feel like it's helping me shed some fat I may skip the RFL days next week. It's more important to me that my workouts don't suffer.

Tomorrow I do my weigh-in... I REALLY hope that I made my goal for the week, considering I ate a good bit on Saturday after my last WI. We'll see!

Wasn't it just August!? How is it November already!?

Joss - Hope your weigh in goes well! I keep wanting to do RFL again, but I just don't think I can do it. Been voting for you everyday!

Kakers - I can't fathom the gymnast stuff you do! I am afraid to be upsidedown, I never even could do a cartwheel! I think we will both hit 140s this month! We are almost there!

LeilaJay - Hope you get un-stuffed up soon (both ways).

Brayzee - That's pretty much what I ran into, just felt like crap! Glad the scale is treating you well though!!

Turbo - Sounds like you have a good plan for yourself! Could you guys go see a play or some other type of show, for your birthday?

Mottainai - It sounds like you have a good plan in place as well. You have really been paying a lot of attention to things, I think that makes for good long term success! Also, I remember seeing progress pics of you skinny jeans (that was you right!?), looks like you are almost there.

Krampus - Yikes! Sounds like you are really having a rough time right now. I do kind of think it's silly to write a friend saying you no longer want to be friends, seems like she could have just let things fall away. In any case, I hope your weekend is great! And I hope you find your passport!

Sontaikle - I'm so glad you are safe, and that your power is back on. I can't even imagine how scary that must have been! Your pumpkin looks great at least!

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So I had decided to just have my goal be to maintain between now and the end of the year because I've been driving myself absolutely insane with it all. Lo and behold I start dropping weight again after this decision AND it's right smack in the middle of TOM, which for me is totally unheard of. I do kind of wonder if allowing myself to let go of the stress did something magical. I will not question it though! I've just never accidently lost weight in my whole life! NOT COMPLAINING!

Hope you are all doing well!

They do say that cortisol really hurts in terms of water retention. I am trying to really slow down and carefully lose just a couple (like literally 2) pounds, but more or less trying to maintain primarily. Losing a couple would be fantastic, but NOT GAINING during the holidays, all this stress at work and in my life AND the lack of movement after my surgery -- That is the real focus. I suppose the few pound loss leading up to the holiday heydey and surgery is just my way of trying to create more of a 'buffer' in case I do put on a bit.

Anyway... I'm rambling... but my point is that perhaps easing up on myself will yeild positive results just from that stress release! LOL with all the other crap going on I sort of doubt it though.

Then don't! I actually like incorporating it 2 days a week but that is the MAXIMUM I can do it for. Any more than that and I'll start losing my crap.

Random thought; I'm giving myself 2 allowed 'treat days' this month (I usually have somewhere between 2-4) with one of those being Thanksgiving. Depending on how the WI goes tomorrow... it might be my other one!

I don't really want to have one too soon before my photo shoot and this would give me a full 2 weeks between a treat day and the shoot, PLUS we are having a birthday party at my house so it would be the perfect time. Hmmm... thoughts?

Should I stick it out and save my other 'allowed' day for an emergency regardless of how the WI goes? Either way if I don't hit my goal I'm not taking it, but if I do...

Hi Feathers,

Your support and well wishes must have reached SOMEONE, because some engineering student found my passport on the ground (and called my mom - the emergency contact inside), my roommate found my driver's license which was also MIA, and in my hunting for the passport I found my favorite pair of glasses that I hadn't seen since March/April! All that excitement resulted in more healthful eating and a good gym session, so I'm down < 125 again today. Today is my last full day of work before I head out Monday afternoon for London, and my weekend appears to be full of fun. Who's complaining? Not me.

TGIF!!!!!!!!

JossFit I like your timing for said treat day. Very well thought out and makes perfect sense. See how you feel the day of - if you don't feel you want/need a treat day, stick it out. Who knows when the urge may strike?

LockItUp You know, the day I said "f counting calories" was the day I started to really lose the weight I had gained since moving. There's something to be said for loosening up and trusting your intuition after months of tracking!

kakers 4.5 hours of open gym sounds SUPER FUN! Weight never comes off at the exact speed we want it to, but you have lost a solid 4-5 lbs of fat - that's awesome. I am a big proponent of the "eat nothing until you're starving" ideology - sure I'm hungry for an hour or two before I have lunch, but I know I'd be the same if not hungrier if I ate breakfast. That's just me though!

LeilaJey Good luck unclogging...I hate being backed up (face and intestines). I know you're in IR not England but I wish we could hang out when I'm over your way next week!

Bayzee Don't pass out/die from RFL! Maybe 2 days/week would work better? I'm not sacrificing my liquor drinks today either, ha!

TurboMammoth Those are all solid goals. Let us know how they go! As for your birthday, couldn't you hike or something with your boyfriend (maybe he'll PROPOSE bahaha) during the day and have a less-active party at night?

mottainai You have made so much progress in terms of binging/taking a step back from weighing and measuring. I hope you continue along this path of feeling better and being healthy! Good luck with all the stressful things in your life - I stress eat and stress starve and can never tell which it will be.

Krampus - So glad to hear you found your passport and other things! Your trip sounds so exciting. Why are you going? I can't remember if you've said before. Have a nice weekend, and thanks for the encouragement!

Joss - Thank you very much for your input, I really appreciate it. Yeah, I realize that I do eat in an unconventional way (like, kind of extreme IF plus really extreme calorie and carb cycling, lol), but maybe it's true that what works for me works for me and end of story. Earlier this year I lost about 20 pounds and was during one period having my "binges" or whatever once, twice, sometimes three times a week, and of course a couple years ago I maintained doing like this for quite some time, so I know it can work for me. We'll see how it goes! About the treat day, personally I think I'd try to save it, but if you're anything like me, if you have a really great weigh-in tomorrow that might turn into the "emergency" anyway, lol!

Lockitup - That's very cool that you've lost weight once you decided not to! What a nice surprise, huh? Thanks for your encouraging words. I hope you do well starting off the new month!!

Kakers - I've got to say, it is SO COOL that you do gymnastics!! It sounds so incredible, I wish I could do it! I'm such a chicken though, lol, for things like flips and such....my parents let me try out lessons when I was a kid but I totally failed. Anyway, hope you have a fun time at the gym!

Leila - Good luck with that cleaning, and I hope you feel less stuffed up too! That's no fun. /: Sounds like you're doing pretty well in general anyway!

Bayzee - Hope you survive wine Friday OK! That sounds pretty sucky with the headaches and moods, but if you're determined to stick it out, it sounds like you should see some great results, eh?

Turbo - Your goals all sound great, very healthy and very achievable!! I hope you can accomplish everything you want. Oh, especially about the snacking! I know you bake and cook a lot- do you snack while you're cooking?? I realized that I do it so bad...mostly it's vegetables, but I feel like a lot of times it's still enough that I should be concerned. It's a hard habit to break! For your birthday, hmmm, maybe you could split it up a bit, do something active with your boyfriend and then have other friends over or go out just for dinner or drinks or something else low-key like that?

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Whew, all those updates!
I'm having a sub-average day...just kind of one of those where I'm not feeling or seeing any progress (DUH I can't expect that every single day, I know, but still), and I start going "why do I need to lose weight anyway, why can't I just be satisfied now, etcetc," so I'm just going through the motions basically. /:

Have an exam today, going to try to study for about half an hour before class, half hour between classes, and then a bit right before. Gosh, I hate studying so bad.
And after it's over, as a reward I'm going to go to the store and try to find some tops to go with my new leggings...they have a very unusual pattern and color scheme and I literally have nothing to wear them with at the moment!

Happy Friday, everyone!