Okay, meeting cancelled... picking back up where I left off!

Bayzee - I'm just throwing the question out there, but what is the point of working so hard to lose a bunch of weight if you can't relax and enjoy it? If you do gain a few pounds over your vacation you know it's not the end of the world and you can work it off again if you choose. Maybe I'm just thinking out loud, but my own recent gain has shown me that the scale really DOES NOT MATTER and you only live once. Nobody but you will know if you are 111 pounds, 115 pounds or 125 pounds. What you remember about your vacation won't be your exact weight but what you did over the vacation. You are totally right; Relax, enjoy it, and don't stress over the food. Workout and keep active but don't kill yourself over it.

Again, I think I'm just reflecting on my own experiences here, but I'm so tired of stressing over what to eat and how much to workout on vacations when it ends up being a drop in the hat when all is said and done. Look how crazy mottainai drove herself before she left for Japan... she does have BED, granted, but the point is the same. She got there and realized all that worry was just getting in the way of her enjoyment.

Anyhoo... just my two cents. Regardless you have been working very hard so congratulations on the loss!

I haven't yet felt like I was missing out on the kiddos or like I was under any pressure to have any but I know there might be moments in the future when I do. IF that time comes, I'll go to Toys R Us and I'm sure it will pass. Hahaha

I don't feel at all bad about skipping the Unit Holiday party really. I've been here four years and due to deployments I missed the first two, and then last year I was with my husband. This year the party is before I leave town to see the hubby but I guess nobody really expects me to be there anyway.

Domlacha - Aw, tough break about your scale! With how great you have been doing lately I can't see how you wouldn't continue to progress and see your happy number again... well, depending on how much of that pizza you eat.

I'm sort of particular about my pizza... I only like semi-crispy thin crust, and I really like combinations with chicken; BBQ chicken, Chicken Bacon Ranch, Chicken with roasted veggies... anything too heavy just isn't appealing to me. My husband likes Canadian Bacon and Pineapple but something about hot pineapple grosses me out. He also loves all of those super manly meat-tastic pizzas with like 7 kinds of animal on them and again, I'm just not a fan. What kind do you prefer?

Alexis - You were the appetizer pusher?! LOL yeah, I've done that as well... guilty! I LOOOOVE to bake, and generally I don't eat what I bake so I push it on other people, especially my husband. Something about making some goodies and watching other people enjoy them just appeals to some womanly part of us I think. We like to comfort people I guess.

Nicely done on the loss too! I'll admit, I generally plan to attend parties and eat all the food as opposed to attending them and trying to stay on plan. To me, I might as well not even go if I'm having to deny myself all the goodies. I know that about a billion people would disagree and say "go enjoy the company" but I do that with other non-food-centric occasions. I know myself and as much as I would like to I simply cannot fully enjoy myself if I'm eyeballing the snack table all evening long.

Thank you for the encouragement about my party decision. I KNOW I am so much better off without that man, and since splitting with him I met my husband and life has been peachy so I don't for a split second regret it... but really, we had a lot of fun, we're still friends, and I miss some of the good times we had. Thats true of a lot of my relationships though; family, friends, etc. I tend to get comfortable with certain people and when those relationships change due to time, distance or otherwise I always mourn them.

How did the get-together with the church group go? Oh, and cookies for breakfast?! You naughty thing you! I actually have Trader Joes Cookie Butter with my oatmeal a few times a week... have you had it? OMG, heavenly. If you can get some, do it. In fact I actually prefer the Biscoff Spread and you can find that at Walmart and such. You're welcome.

TheBunneh - Congrats on getting things back under control and, just as importantly, seeing that pay off on the scale! Sometimes a bit of postitive reinforcement goes a long way.

Krampus - How was the Greek dinner with your eating buddy? Lemon potatoes sound delish... how are those prepared? Roasted potatoes with lemon and herbs?

I want to spend a weekend hanging out with you... maybe you can talk me out of my fear of Karaoke! I tried it ONCE and of course I was HAMMERED and it was a couple of us really badly belting out "Pour Some Sugar On Me", which is like the drunken white chick anthem apparently. It was horrendous. Good lord.
The ironic thing is I have a decent singing voice! I'm no Kelly Clarkson but I can hold a tune well enough for karaoke I think. "Do Karaoke" was on my bucket list but I feel like that experience was a cheap cop-out so I need a do-over.

You should get massages, especially since you weight train. I've noticed a huge difference in my recovery and how I feel overall depending on how good I have been about getting them regularly.

Hmm, so we're both dealing with seeing stupid ex's huh? I would mention it to your BF just so he isn't caught off guard, assuming that he knows this man is your ex. If he doesn't know that you dated the guy, it might not be worth mentioning. It's not like its going to be a topic of conversation right?
If nothing else, an exasperated "Ugh, (so and so) is going to be there. I can't believe I ever dated that guy... I'm so lucky to have you" -- or something similar. Yes, it sounds corny and like something you'd see in Cosmo but a little thing like that could go a long way toward asuaging any fears he has. After all, if the roles were reversed would you rather your BF say "Ick, stupid-face fatty-butt is going to be there tonight. Man, I can't even believe I ever bothered with her, especially looking at what I have now..." or just act like it's no big deal? You know him best of course so I'm sure you'll do the right thing.



OK, did I get everyone?? I hope so! Whew!

This thread moves so freaking fast! I'm determined to get caught up this afternoon. Right now? Heading to the obgyn for my annual. Wooo! :/ Last night was my husband's Christmas party and I felt comfortable in the dress so that was nice. I'll come back for personals later today... TGIF!

Joss...True...I want to enjoy the holiday without worrying about weight and will! That's my point. After 2.5 months of really giving 99% (I leave 1% because of wine, LOL), I'll be back here complaining about the damage I've done, the guilt I feel and be obessed about being back down in weight.

It is not easy at our weights to lose those last 10 lbs or lose more bodyfat. I know that people don't care what weight I am...I care. When I don't feel my best, I certainly feel it; Emotionally and Physically. I'm sure you can relate because from your posts, I know you feel the same. While everyone tells you you look great, it's how you feel. Even when I don't count the scale, I still have clothes that don't fit like they did before. That is my true indicator and I really don't like that feeling. When I see pics of myself on the trip, I know I will be critical becasue I don't look as good as last yr. That's just the facts.

Either way, I plan on enjoying my vacation.

Hi Feathers,

I feel like a gross bloated sack but weighed in at 125.6 this morning after a wings-fueled poo. Greek restaurant was closed for a private party so we went to "The Gastropub" where I had 2 fish tacos (pretty good!) and a chocolate stout beer (VERY good). My friend has been having issues with his girlfriend - she was sending him PISSED OFF walls o'text the whole meal. Poor guy, it's his first relationship and I'm not sure he believes that he deserves/can easily get someone who isn't that caliber of psycho needy!

I took yesterday "off" from the gym and miss it a lot. Friday nights are quiet and the stupid kids and "personal trainers" are nowhere to be found - I love working out on the weekends!

More sad news - the guy who is the "social glue" in my local group of friends (who is seeing my roommate...) got a job offer 2 hours downstate and is moving on Monday. He is a mason and work is scarce up here, so his winters are often spent bored and broke. Obviously we're all glad he is going to be making money, but he might not move back here in the spring like he says he will. I hate change.

Also my medical and dental insurance through work kicked in, so my biweekly paychecks are $89 less out of pocket. Sighhhhhh. Why do I have to turn 26? At least my buddy gave me a Metallica beanie for no reason yesterday - that's something to be happy about.

TheBunneh Hooray for being on top of your game and feeling more in control!

Alexistrophic I made some pretty awesome cards if I may say so myself...I tend to draw lots of Krampuses on things and write "HAIL SATAN 666" juxtaposed with Hello Kitty stickers and carefully crafted six-sided snowflakes, because most of my friends share my dark and macabre sense of humor. Take a picture of your hairstyle that you go with! It's fun to actually style your hair on occasion - I can't remember the last time I did, maybe I'm overdue.

Bayzee Nice weigh-in! love how you are worrying about your WEIGHT for an upcoming beach vacation of all things. I mean everyone likes feeling sexy in a bikini but it's a vacation and it's "all you feel like eating/drinking," not "all you can eat before you vomit from overeating!" The power is yours. What about long beach walks or Baywatch-esque jogs?

Domlacha What kind of beer is that? I haven't heard of it but it is definitely impossible to keep up with every region's huge selection of local beers! Enjoy pizza and fries, mmm!

kakers You have a deep fryer at home?! I need to run out and get one of those! It's really cool that you'll have a balance beam at home now. You'll be the best in your class soon.

LeilaJey HUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuggssssssss. I can definitely relate to eating too much and then going "f@$k it" and eating a LOT MORE and then getting near the end of the binge where you realize you aren't even tasting it any more and get the sads - that said it sounds like you have picked up, dusted off, pooped (constipation is a terrible trigger for me!) and are deflating. Not saying this happens to everyone but I definitely got to a low weight and then struggled with binging on and off for a while there.

TurboMammoth You're not having a baby yourself, are you?!?!?! Don't drop your cousin's baby - people don't like that for some reason. Hope the scale will be kinder to you in the coming days! Looking forward to your Yule log photos. The only Yule logs I can make are made of poop.

olehcat Welcome!

JossFit The Greek place was closed so no lemon potatoes, but this is approximately what I was anticipating: Roasted Lemon Potatoes.

DO NOT FEAR KARAOKE, seriously what is it about it that scares you? (A) Everyone at the bar is drunk (B) Few people are actually great singers and (C) Anyone who judges people for giving karaoke a go is a gigantic dingdong. You should definitely do it - maybe start out at an Asian style place where you are in a secluded room with your group and "work your way" up to performing in front of the whole bar?

As for the ex stuff, as usual you make sense. More than anything I'm embarrassed at how...not smart or attractive or cool the 2004 guy is, and we were never serious/long term. I will mention it before we're in the car on our way, I promise.

OhThePlaces Good luck at the OB/GYN...every woman's very favorite time of year for sure. It sounds like the Christmas party was a success - are you going to post dress photos?

Good! You've been working so hard I would hate to think of you being worried about it during your vacation too.

Hey guys!

Just wanted to pop in and say, I am having the time of my life over here!!!

I seriously do not want to have to go back in just a few weeks.... it's such a wonderful environment here.

Wishing everyone else well!! I'm keeping up reading everyone's updates, for the most part. (:

edit: I'm also seriously not planning on losing any more weight....because I'm buying tons of clothes! Haha. xD If I can wear a Japanese S size (well, length dependent!), there's nowhere left to go anyway. Only sad thing: I am too big for shoes here. Haven't found a pair in my size yet. ):

LeilaJey : I prefered when we were 136 buddies too! lol

I told my cousin that I'll have to learn how to hold her kid and her answer was ''hey, IIIII will have to learn how to hold it. I just want my mom to come live with us for the next 6 months to put the baby on a pillow in my arms where I'm already sitting in a chair where the baby can't escape anywhere'' LOL

I squeeled at the pictures of racoooooons!!! And as you say, pfff, amateurs!

ohlecat : welcome

JossFit : Yeah, dropping babies is an issue... I never held a baby younger than 6 months. That is gonna be so cool, I already planning to bring the kid to the zoo, in 4 years :P And then I can just hand them the kid when he poops or stuff like that

My period is actually kinda regular, I just always forget it is coming -_- Usually I get massive cramps during the first day (like ''lying on the bed clinging on my blanket I want my mom'' bad) but today I got nothing... Just the swollen boobs. It's the first time the boobs are getting that. I prefer that to the cramps, actually :P

We did sooo many things... I don't have pictures or everything yet but we did :

Gingerbread cookies
Gingerbread biscotti (and they are low fat YAY) for coffee
Some soft cookies with nuts
White chocolate/pistache/pretzels/cranberry squares
Some meaty (pork and turkey, lean meat, YAY!) spread to eat on toats
Gingerbread (that was a popular theme) truffles
Nanaimo bars, but I'm giving my part to my brother in a nice Christmas box

Blondie fudge : it was the first time I was doing some, I was super stressed, it turned out so well, I was like F*CK YEAH, I ate a ton while I was cutting it, and after realizing what I ate I was like F*CK NOOOOO



The Christmas yule were a 50% success. I did one I already brought to my lab last year that they were asking for which was a ''tiramisu-style'' yule with a chocolat cake brushed with strong coffee, mascarpone stuff inside w/white chocolat whipped cream. The second one was a egg nog one, it was a new recipe and the cake was BLEEEEH.

The christmas log and the ''don't know why I can't sleep at night for the past 4 days'' girl



I LOVE the picture you posted!!!! The raccoons are SO CUTE! They're almost too cute, I would not even eat them LOL

Bayzee : you are not totally at your goal, but you are so close! you should focus on that

10 lbs heavier after the holiday, good lord. If I look at the way I've been looking for the past 2 days, count 20 pounds for me. YIKES

Ohtheplaces : Feeling great in a dress is so good on the self esteem glad you felt great!

krampus : Chocolaty stout beers are my favoriiiiiite. They feel like dessert but with alcohol. Yummm. Sorry to hear about your friend moving away. That is also sad for you friend and the psycho girlfriend! P.S. Can i joing you in the I feel gross/bloated club?

I'm sooo not having a baby, TOM hit this morning!

POOP LOG bwahahahaha. I honestly laughed out loud and had to explain why to the boyfriend.

mottaini : I'm so jealous of all you shopping I'm glad to hear you are having a great time!!!!

***

I feel gross, I ate so much, oh god oh god. But it was so god, there was like meatpie and a super wonderful good rice/chicken plate a guy from Iran of our lab brought and it was typical and I wanted to eat it all. *sigh*

We are having a Christmas dinner at our place tomorrow and a girl asked if we could dress up, that it'd be fun. I would have been fun 3 days ago when i was still at 137.2. Now at 140+++ I'm not so sure how I will fit in my dress lol. At least it has some kind of an empire waist to hide my growing-food-baby.

I'm super excited it,s friday even if I am not working any days of the week hehe. YAY FRIDAY!

Just because I almost die when I saw this picture :

Krampus - I love going to the gym on Sundays... same reasons you like Friday gym sessions; it's nearly empty! LOL I usually do cardio on Sunday and it's nice to be able to turn on the TV and watch whatever I want to and hop around from machine to machine without worrying about cleaning up until I'm done. I also just get tired of having my ear buds (from my Ipod) in my ears but if I don't people try to talk to me. Not a problem on Sunday!

I'm not really 'scared' of karaoke per say, but I suppose it is a bit of fear of embarassment. I also don't go out to bars hardly ever and on the rare chance they do have karaoke I just don't think to participate. I know I'll do it again eventually!

That sucks about your friend moving, but it sounds like he really needs the change of location so that he's not bored and broke anymore. You'll just have to keep in touch and throw him a huge going away bash!

Turbo - I'm not a huge gingerbread lover, but I think gingerbread truffles and gingerbread biscotti sound delicious! You weren't kidding either... you guys made a TON! I'm surprised the blondie fudge was the only thing you got into because I would be elbow deep in those truffles and white chocolate pretzel bars. Om nom nom...

I picked out a dress for Christmas dinner that has an empire waist too! haha They say that if you wear more form-fitting clothes it will help you not to overeat, but who do they think they're kidding? I for one will overeat ANYWAY and then I'll just be uncomfortable because I have a massive food baby. At least I can wear something cute that lets me breathe and not feel self conscious. I don't want to be trying to cover up all night or hide from pictures.

At least you overate last night on stuff that was worth it and tasted good. The worst is when you eat too much and realize you didn't even enjoy it all that much. My goal for Christmas this year is to only eat the things that are REALLY amazing, which shouldn't be hard based on last years dinner; OMG seriously the most decadent meal I've ever had -- stuffed lobster, prime rib, roasted potatos, wine wine and more wine, gourmet cheeses and spreads, every cookie and baklava imaginable, bouche de noel, croquembush... all made from scratch and AMAZING. We are having dinner with the same friends this year but I'm going to TRY not to have seconds of anything and be a bit pickier about what I choose.

The kitty picture was ADORABLE!!

Leila - It wasn't called a racoon roll, but it should be! Write a letter to Swiss Colony and maybe we can get it changed. By the way, logging on to their website to search for it was seriously hard. I want to eat ALL THE FOODS! LOL, I hope you appreciated that! It had nothing on your picture though.

yeah, 5000 calories? WTF? I'm talking like, 15,000 on Christmas! Go big or go home! (*sigh* thats actually really gross and kind of sad but, meh, whatever... haha)

How did the last day or two go eating-wise? A little better?

Mottainai - Glad you're having fun!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Did my weekly weigh-in this morning... I lost 2 pounds, thank God! I am not freaking out about the exact numbers but it's nice to see a little drop after seeing nothing but gains for the last 3 months! It's also nice to be back in the one-teens, even though at 119.6 lbs I'm BARELY in there... that's OK by me!

Does anyone else like watching infomercials? I don't know what it is, but they're sort of my guilty pleasure! I like to watch them in the morning while I'm drinking my coffee and checking my email and 3FC. I just love how dramatic they are, especially the weight loss ones.

I'm watching a commercial for Nutrisystem right now and it's hilarious!

Good morning feathers! I'm sitting at 148.0 this morning. Not my happy 146.6 or less but its all good, I'm still on track to hit goal this month. I'm kinda wondering if my scale was playing tricks on me as it was slowly dying. Maybe I'll see 146.something by Tuesday. Which also happens to be the day of my last final of the semester, everyone wants to go to happy hour after. We'll see how that goes. Didn't workout on Thursday and only had a so so workout yesterday but am planning to hit the gym after I finish these personals.

********
JossFit So good for you the scale is finally starting to reflect some of your hard work! I know it can be so frustrating to only see gains when you are working hard. Keep up the awesome work. Lucky you not getting any of the typical symptoms of PMS. However, I would hate not knowing when my TOM is coming! Careful with that au natural, that's how babies get made . Though you are probably not ovulating regularly so you probably have nothing to worry about.

AlexistrophicThat snuggie sounds awesome! I think I need one of those, my house has old leaky windows and its never very warm. I'm cheap and don't want to turn the heat up too high if its just going to seep out the window. I am happy to read that your get togethers were successful.

Bayzee You've worked hard, vacations are for a bit of relaxing. Just try to enjoy yourself, stop eating when you're full and try not to drink yourself too silly. At least that was the plan I had when I went to an all inclusive resort this past Feb. I think its a good plan to get a workout in most days while away. I worked out 4 of the 7 seven days we were away and tried not to drink alcohol until after lunch. I still gained like 7 pounds but it was tons of fun.

Krampus The Bell's brand of beers come out of Michigan. Super good beers. Website bellsbeer.com

Turbo I was totally cheated on by those damn brownie bites. All your baking looks like so much fun. Now get some sleep. I love that picture of the cat by the way, too freakin cute.

Mottainai Glad you are having a great time!

Kakers I hope you are feeling better.

Olehcat Come on in, you are definitely welcome here!

TurboMammoth, your baking extravaganza looks amazing... I wish I could enjoy baking without eating most of what I make! I'm making chocolate covered Oreos and pretzels for my co-workers this week and I don't know how I'll resist eating them all. Thank God for Empire waist dresses to hide food babies!

Mottainai, I'm glad you've realized that you have nothing to worry about and you're enjoying your stay in Japan. You are absolutely itty bitty.

TheBunneh, glad to hear that your weight is dropping back down and you're feeling more in control of your eating.

Kakers, the pancake batter sounds awesome... I had to scroll through quickly to stop the drool. Haha. Your post about your day has me curious about what you do for work? Some type of therapy?

Alexistrophic, I would be thrilled to get a Pink Floyd snuggie, or really any snuggie at all... Glad you had a great time at the party!

LeilaJey, sorry to hear about your binge... I have so been there, where you mindlessly consume X amount of calories and then in frustration say F it and end up doing a lot more damage. The number on the scale IS scary after a few off days, but it will drop down after a few OP days, so no worries!

Olehcat, hi and welcome!

Bayzee, Woohoo for 114.8! Enjoy your trip and try not to worry too much about calories or weight gain... It's only a few days away and any gained weight will drop off quickly!

JossFit, your comment about going to Toys R Us made me laugh because it's SO true. That place is a nightmare and I have two preschoolers and teach! I had a horrendous karaoki experience last month on a cruise ship... two friends and I singing Salt and Peppa's Whatta Man. Good LAWD it was bad. Woohoo for a whoosh on the scale!

Krampus, sorry to hear about your good friend moving. My husband is in the Navy and it sucks so bad to feel like your friends are always leaving... I hope yours comes back in the spring as planned.

Domlacha, Yay for new scale batteries! I hope you're back to your happy weight soon.

After the Christmas party dessert splurge on Thursday night, I had a good eating day yesterday and today has been great so far... Went to the gym this morning and I think my husband and I are taking the babies to the zoo this afternoon. I've been at 130.something for the last two days which makes me very happy to be so close to the 120s.

Ok let's see if I can figure out how to post (crappy cellphone) pictures of THE dress that I was worried about wearing to my husband's Christmas party.




Sorry if they're big, I'm posting from my phone.

Joss : Yeah, I red a lot about the theory that if you wear something more fitting, you will eat less because you still want to feel okay in your dress... THAT IS A LIE lol. That leads me to your saying of focusing on indulging on things that are really amazeeeeballs : I can't really do that. I was eating out a lot with a friend who was always criticizing what she ordered while I am ALWAYS ''woah, this tastes really good!'' Pretty much everything taste awesome to me when I eat out/or at someone place, so it is really hard for me to focus on just a really few amazing things... not sure if it makes sense LOL

So I guess my plan will be mainly to focus on salad and veggies stuff :P Ahahah!

YAY on the drop of 2 pounds! that rocks!!!

the boyfriend and i will watch infocommercial for 5-10 minutes but do voiceovers on them... ''Get those fantastic abs for 2000$ and it MIGHT help you bang your wife more frequently than her gym coach!!'' they would totaly sell more of them.

Domlacha : I wish you your 146 lbs by tuesday! Good luck

Ohtheplaces : chocolat oreo pretzels?? YUMM. I love the salt/sweet taste. You and your husband are so cute! I loooove your dress. Is it black or dark blue?

***

Down to 138.6 this morning! Still don't like 138, but I like 138 more than 140!

I skipped lunch today but I'M so busy cleaning the house thaat I'm not even hungry. 4 friends are coming over tonight and we are having a Christmas-theme-buffet-night.... tons of food in perspective. I'm glad I skipped lunch :P

Have a good weekend ladies!

OhThePlaces, WOW, gorgeous dress!! And gorgeous girl (:

Just a quick drive-by before heading out for dinner. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Weighed in at 114.2 today...more dehydration from wine Friday. I don't imagine it will stick but I'm happy to see more change. I changed up my workouts in the past week and I think it's making a bit of a difference. I've also stopped tracking calories, carbs etc....I know what I need to eat, and just stick with it. I am pretty much eating the same things everyday anyhow...just switching out the name of the proteins. I think that has taken some pressure off and I feel less like I'm dieting and more like a lifestyle change. In fact, after the holidays, I am really looking forward to going back to eating clean and trying some new workouts.

But now...Heading to an Italian restaurant tonight with friends, then coming back to our place to watch UFC. I love their eggplant parmesan so I already know what I'm eating I know tonight is a "cheat night" with dinner and drinks, but oh well. It's only my 2nd cheat meal in over 2 months. I just hope I can stay away from the chips! I purposely bought some shrimp and mixed nuts to put out later so if I get the munchies, I'll have options.

Be back tomorrow with a damage report and personals! But I have to say Ohtheplaces...you and hubby look so cute! Love the dress too