Back for personals.

I am the Best Girlfriend Ever and picked up my boyfriend's paycheck for him on my lunch break. Had lunch at home - tempeh and salad and Greek yogurt - and then my roomie and I dug into our monstrous Christmas package from our friends in London. They did a great job - roomie got a cute scarf with a fox on it and I got a mug with a kitten making a hugging motion with its paws. AAAAAAAND we got two packs of cookie bars (BOOST and Twix), so R.I.P. our waistlines - roomie just hit a new low weight today and all!

Bayzee Nicely done on the weigh-in! Do you still have the flu?

TurboMammoth I hope you actually bought, own, and wear that "I POOPED TODAY" shirt. I always get really excited when I poop (average 5 days a week if not 6 or 7) and announce it to people. As for the BUBBLES craving...do you like seltzer water? I hate it but a lot of people swear by it and it's not sickly sweet/has no calories. So far I'm still feeling OK!

JossFit I have noticed that too...there are definitely trends that happen, or maybe that's just the part of our animal brains that look for patterns in things where there aren't necessarily any. I'm glad you haven't been feeling the urge to BINGE - I felt a creep of that on Sunday because I was so hung over and totally preoccupied with what I was eating instead of hanging out with my friends.

kakers Sorry life has been throwing so many frustrations at you lately - it's great that you don't have to worry about your weight creeping up and measuring and weighing all your food too. Patient souls like you help a lot of troubled kids - you are doing some of the most difficult good work there is. Thank you!

Alexistrophic Boo yeah down a few pounds! Haha I graduated high school in 2004 and my teacher is the head of the music department for the entire district, so I don't expect him to instantly recognize me (also I look SO MUCH BETTER than I did at age 17). My boss is 36 and he says his metabolism shat the bed around 30 - he's probably only a little if at all overweight but he has the belly (and doesn't even drink alcohol...).

oleh Oh hello fellow string player! I have played violin since age 10. I was in orchestras from age 10-19 or so and now I still like to noodle around with friends playing open mics and the like. I recall most of the teachers at my schools being overweight and when I worked at a Japanese high school there was an endless supply of snacks around at all times/tons of "mandatory" social events revolving around meals. It's an uphill battle but you're doing great!

OhThePlaces The best time to bake is when you're not hungry and not craving sugar - otherwise it's a very risky activity! Those pretzels sound good, mmm!

mottainai I never got into tabi socks but they look cute as heck. You are the perfect shape for yukata and kimono! When I was a bit heavier wearing them made me feel slimmer :P

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Krampus- Wow, those pics are GORGEOUS!!! You're beautiful and those kimono are so stunning!! Very cool. I wanted to try on some of those furisode too but apparently I missed my opportunity by going and getting married already, lol.

olehcat- As to your question: I'm not sure exactly how difficult it is to get larger sized clothes (except for shoes, I'm only a 9 but can't find any shoes anywhere! boo), but definitely not everyone is like super amazingly skinny over here so I doubt it'd be too much a problem! Well, I take that back: when I say "larger" I mean more like "large average but healthy looking still." Overweight is pretty rare, I guess, so it might be more difficult...

Everyone else- Thanks for the encouragement!! You guys are awesome. I owe everybody here for helping me get back on track earlier this year when I was so stuck...being in at least a pretty good place before coming here on my trip is part of why I'm enjoying myself so much. That's why I'm still going to keep up coming here to a "diet forum" even though I have no interest in dieting anymore, haha.

edit: As an aside, I just wanted to add, since everyone here knows my weirdness with inhaling large amounts of ice cream on a regular basis: I've noticed that in fact there simply are NOT any half-gallon sized containers of ice cream that I've seen so far here, none. It's rare to see a pint! But there are tons of interesting flavors of those mini-sized Haagen-Daaz tubs everywhere.... of course, I would be noticing these things.

In my experience, Japanese "plus size" starts at US size 8-10.

And Krampus knows better than me! I've only been here a week. (;

I'm sorry to have turned into a fair weather feather.
Some stuff has been going on in my personal life and as of Monday things really suck, and I'm having trouble keeping up here on top of everything else and I hate taking more than giving so I'm going to have to take a break (geez, more taking ;)) and come back when I'm able to keep up. I'm not sure where I am weight wise. Some mindless stuffing going on sure but not binging at least. For now I'll take it. I'm just so freaking tired, I'm barely holding it together.

Thanks for everything, you guys rock. Happy Holidays yadda yadda yadda xox

Got home late from shopping and did a HITT workout at 9 pm. It was a good workout (I had to dig deep again), but I feel wide awake now.

Need advice here:
I think I mentioned I belong to a fitness studio. They offer a variety of classes and usually only have 3-4 people in the "harder" classes I take. I like the personal service, it's not a snotty place and the workouts are challenging enough.
But it's pretty pricey and I think my body has hit a plateau with my this type of exercise. I am trying to decide if I should do weights at home and follow a program (something like ChaleanExtreme). We have a lot of free weights and a bench in the basement. Hubby works out at home so we have a lot of equipment. I really want to reduce my body fat and lose more belly fat. I still feel "skinny fat" and really need to tone up (not easy at my age). My favorite type of exercise is a circuit with weights and cardio and HITT type workouts.

Has anyone had luck with weights and following a more structured commercial program? I'm curious what you all think.


Krampus...I didn't have the flu. I just had an upset stomach..and I think it was from something I ate more than a virus (although there are tons of people sick where I work). DH has a sinus thing...been going on for a couple weeks.

Losing weight in your mid-late thirties is sooo different. You have to work twice as hard. I am close to 40 and I will say it sucks to not be able to drop 10 lbs quickly anymore. I wish I was more serious in my 20's and early thirties, but I yo-yo'd all of the time.

Size 8 is plus size? YIKES! You look amazing in your pics btw!

Turbo...love the shirt. As for the bubble cravings I get them too. I hate pop, so I drink Perrier. I like the grapefruit one...and it's especially good with vodka in the summer:)
And who doesn't like getting gift cards? I love them!

Kakers...Sorry your life seems hectic these days. I hope you a restful Christmas with family and friends to make up for it!

Leila...It's nice to hear from you. Sorry to hear about your personal problems. I can relate to those tough times for sure. Stay strong and get through the holidays. The holidays can be tough when things aren't great in our personal lives.

Mottainai...Your posts are so much more relaxed. Good for you! It seems like Japan is a good fit for you.

Ohtheplaces...I used to make a recipe with pretzels...Put some pretzels on a cookie sheet. Put a mini rolo (or regular) on top and bake for a few minutes until the rolo is soft. Press a pecan on top. Tastes almost like a Turtle! Yum!

Joss...I would still give up all of my weight loss to have abs like yours! You look fantastic and like you're always telling me...the scale is not the true indicator of fatloss! Hang in there and soon you will be with your husband!

Wow, yeah, can’t miss a moment around here, lol. Must whine again, because that’s what I do after I am foolish enough to weigh myself in the middle of this holiday stuff (also posted this bit in another chat thread, just in case someone thinks they're seeing double).

1. I weighed myself this morning, even knowing this was foolish. See, I had made gumbo last night and it turned out not so great (usually it’s one of my signature dishes) and overly salty AND so I know the sodium was out of the roof. But I was really hungry after I made it and had like two bowls of it. Blech. I also had like a glass and a half of wine. I’m also on the last few pills of my birth control pill cycle (I take them to stop my periods since my periods are so bad) and I always bloat up a little those last few days, almost like PMS. Anyway, the weigh-in was grim, and it was about what I had suspected, at about 144. :(
2. I haven’t gotten back into exercising. I got sick over 2 weeks ago. I’ve had a lingering cough and chest congestion. It threw my routine completely out the window. Plus, I’m being indecisive about what I really want to do for exercise. So many people are telling me to throw cardio mostly out the window and do heavy lifting. But as I've mentioned, I don't feel confident yet and don't really know what I'm doing>
3. The weather is promising to be atrocious today and tomorrow with possibly our first snowfall of the year coming. So I have no plans to go to the gym.
4. I made soft toffee last night. I don’t like the hard stuff at all, so I purposefully don’t cook the butter/sugar nearly as long as you’re supposed to and so it’s very soft, melt-in-your mouth and beyond delicious. Why do I sabotage self like this? But I did show some self-control at least and only had one piece instead of eating the whole pan as I would have wanted to do.
5. Today is our holiday luncheon at work. I don’t know what to do about it. On one hand, I would rather save all the extra calories for Christmas Eve/Christmas, but on the other hand, I don’t know if I’ll be able to resist it today. I have no strength.


@Bayzee – I’m totally going to be listening to whatever advice you get about weights because I’m still trying to learn as much as I can about what I should start doing as far as weight training. And our staff does that, too. People bring their gifts and dump them in the lounge. Luckily my fellow staff members are vultures and everything’s usually GONE by noon! :)

@Leilajay – Good luck with whatever is going on in your life. I hope things work out. Yes, sometimes a break is just what we need. I plan to take one over part of the holidays.

@krampus – Interesting! I’d probably be RIGHT on the border of plus size in Japan. WheN I’m not bloated up as I’ve been since summer (lol), I’m normally a 6-8. Right now I’m an 8 in some things and a 10 in others. And especially right now with the higher number on the scale the last few days, thanks to bloat and a few days of bad choices. And yes, so many teachers are overweight. Not so much at my school because we have some very young newer teachers and they still have their 20-something bodies, lol. But anyone over the age of 40 as a teacher seems to look dumpy, and I made a vow that I was NOT going to be a 40-something dumpy teacher-type!!!!! I refuse.


@Turbomammoth – LOVE the t-shirt!!! Gave me a BIG laugh this morning. Thank you!

@Jossfit – definitely weird about the package!!! :) And yeah, group craziness! I love it! I actually often do have good restraint around desserts. I have to. It’s the only thing that I have going for me sometimes, lol. I can sometimes just take a bite of something and walk away. Although that toffee I made? Not sure how that’s going to work…not sure at all.

@Alexis – I hope you have a GREAT trip.

@Kakers – ooh, we have similar careers. I used to work with kids with autism. I am now a reading teacher and work in an elementary school with struggling readers. I love my job, really, but it can be really stressful sometimes.

Good weigh-in today...114.0! I'm at work and there's already a crap load of treats all over the place. Nice!

^ Ditto! I just finished up my workout and walked into the office and am getting doughnuts shoved in my face. Uggggghhhhhh...

Bayzee - Congrats! So, that means you officially hit your goal, right? None too soon either... what a great send-off before your vacation! I'm hoping for a 1.6 pound loss this week to put me at a solid 118 pounds before I go on vacation too, but even if that doesn't happen I'll still be happy. Things are looking pretty good these days. :D

As far as your inquiry about fitness programs, I'm afraid I can't be much help. I have P90X, Insanity, Brazil Butt Lift AND Zumba DVDs, but those are my 'emergency' stash that I keep around for when I can't make it to the gym. I've never actually followed any of them for more than a couple of days, or any other program for that matter. I make my own workout routines and plan them out a week ahead of time, but even then I'll often switch them up depending on how busy the gym is, or what I feel like doing that day.

The one thing I can say is that switching things up absolutely makes a difference for me! I never do the same workout twice, and I mix a lot of different styles of exercise into my overall program. I've never hit a plateau.

Olehcat - whine away lady, thats what this forum is for. This is the place you can go and celebrate or grumble about those seemingly insignificant gains and losses that you can't always share with people IRL. We get it! :hug:

Add toffee to my lengthy list of things that I adore... English toffee is my favorite; all covered in milk chocolate with the little bits of nuts... nom nom nom. I can eat my weight in almond roca and that's the cheap stuff! Don't even get me started on the high quality English toffee you can get from craft chocolate shops. mmmmm.....

*snap out of it*

You DO have strength though, so don't give up on yourself. Even if you do eat too much at work today or have more toffee than you would like, so what? You'll dust yourself off and get back to the grind, and THAT is what matters and makes all of the difference. We have all seen about a million posts with quotes about perseverence; "If you slip while climing a mountain do you throw yourself off the side?" or "If you are driving along and you get a flat tire, do you fix it or do you slash the other three?" or the simply put; "perseverence, not perfection". Sometimes I get tired of seeing the same little nuggets of wisdom regurgitated over and over again but sometimes, like now, they're worth taking another look at.

Leila - Whatever it is that you have going on, I hope that you are able to deal with it and it gets resolved soon! Personal struggles can seem to permeate every aspect of our lives sometimes and the ability to compartmentalize can help so much. If putting this little community aside for a while helps you to do that and to lighten your load, I wish you the best of luck! We'll be here lamenting our bloat and lack of poop whenever you get a chance to check in again. Good luck, and happy holidays!

Mottainai - You seem like a different woman! I'm so thrilled you are able to enjoy yourself and are having so much fun. Appreciate it while you are there, and see what you can take back with you to help you adjust your life once you get home!

Oh, and... mmmm... ice cream... haha. :) I haven't had any in what seems like ages!

Krampus - Oooh, fun Christmas package! I haven't gotten anything in the mail yet, save for one Christmas card. :( I think I have a few things waiting for me at my husband's house though, because people knew I would be out there for the holidays. I'm finally in the Christmas spirit and ready to get my party on! :)

You ARE a great girlfriend, and I'm still holding out hope that you don't get sick!

Your pictures are gorgeous, as usual. Even if that was you a 'bit heavier' you still look radiant.

Turbo - Sometimes I almost wish I were a daily weigher just to see the drops! haha

I seriously hope you get that shirt because it would be a shame not to! LOL you and Krampus can each order one and take pictures! hahaha

Yeah, my hubby does have a history of getting me kind of weird things but they're always nice. I tend to be more practical and get him things he'll use and then maybe one or two things that he normally wouldn't buy because thats what you do at Christmas time, buy people things they won't buy for themselves!

What did you get for your BF?

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So, what do we think... is the world going to end tomorrow? Are all the crazies going to come out of the woodwork?

If it does, I'll be pissed I didn't take today and eat carrot cake. :) I'm still craving it like mad!

Joss ~ I think I probably meant Bragg in NC. Thought of you last night as I made a crustless pumpkin pie. I've seen people talking about the wonders of pumpkin, but have never had a reason to try it... Oh, what I was missing! End of the world tomorrow? Pshaw. I don't think I would be so lucky. Have you seen that shirt that says "God put me on earth to accomplish certain things and right now I am so far behind I will never die?" That's my feeling on the whole matter.

Turbo ~ lol @ that shirt. And Christmas at the bf's mom's chalet sounds lovely.

Krampus ~ You ARE the best girlfriend ever. ;) And also "ridiculously photogenic" as you say. Some skills, girl.

mottainai ~ I'm about a shoe size 9, too, and had the worst time finding shoes in South Korea (I taught English for 2.5 years). Women's shoes only went up to an 8.5 and men's shoes were butt ugly. I could squeeze into the 8.5s but they were usually uncomfortable so it was like "so close, but soooo far..."

Leila ~ Sending hugs and hope that you are able to sort out whatever's going on in your personal life.

Bayzee ~ Love your talk of "digging deep". And it seems like quite a few ladies on here have good things to say about strength training/interval variation. I've heard about the "whole losing muscle mass as you get older" phenomenon and I might think about adding in weights myself. I tend to bulk up super quick, though, even with more reps at lower weights.

Olehcat ~ You DO have strength... YOU are the only boss of you! People say to focus on the social aspect of the party, rather than just the food. Would this work in your case?


~~~
I managed to keep it a minimal yesterday and was down to 152.2 this morning. Don't know but will hope to be down a bit more by the time I leave late tomorrow night. Normally I do tend to waver a bit and eat more the closer I get to a big event, but I seem to be doing OK. I'm excited for the indoor pool at the hotel.

Sorted out most of the packing last night, so I have a good idea of what I'm going to wear on which days. Also made a list and did a pretty solid grocery shop, so we can bring most of the non-perishable groceries with us and not have to worry about going shopping while we're down there.

I probably won't be posting in as much, either, but wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas (happy belated Hannukah) and wonderful new year!!! (Hopefully I'll check in before then, though.)

Have a great Thursday, everyone!!!

Chatty, chatty feathers!

krampus : so, was is the pill or you really got your boyfriend's bug? Hope you were high on the flu pills ;)

I am really considering buying one, when my credit card won't be in such a despair. Your pictures with the kimonos are so prettyyy

Bayzee : Lowest weight since summer!? that is awesome!!!!

I can't really help you on your fitness training things, I never really did serious lifting..

But grapefruit bubble water? My boyfriend buy lemon ones all the time, but grapefruit must be awesome!

Joss : hey, you're talking about us jinxing you, but don't jinx us either! ;) Next week, you might see a drop as we'll all be 20 pounds heavier ;)

Ah, at least your hubby still give you nice things, and not something that could end up on the ''whydidyoubuymethat'' website. LOL (it's a real website and it suddenly make you feel so much better about all the crappy stuff you got in your life!)

Well, the boyfriend and I were lacking ideas of stuff to get each other, actually, so we decided we are only doing Stocking things (we usually get funny things in the Stockings) and save the money to rent a chalet in the wood this winter around our 4th year anniversary. So his gift is (okay, he loves geek stuff :P) a Tshirt with Darth Vader emotions (which is like confused, happy, sad) but with always the same photos of the mask underneath and a silver like steel USS Enterprise (ship from Star Trek)-shaped izza Cutter LOL. The worst is that I KNOW he's going to jizz in his pants for the pizza cutter bwahahaha. (last year, I got him a bunch of really cool stuff, like really good hearphone so he can play PS3 with his friends, and in his stocking he got brain-shaped ice tray. When someone was asking him what he got for Christmas he was pointing out the ice tray first. I expect to score big time for the pizza thing LOL)

What did you got for your hubby? :)

mottaini : I love how you notice ice creams ;) I love that you are having a blast and are able to put all the ''omg but what will happen if I eat that'' aside. Very inspiring attitude! :)

LeilaJey : Aww, it's sad to hear you're going through rough stuff :( No need to ''give/take'' in a perfect 50/50 way, you know. Sometimes you needmore stuff, so you can be ready to give back later. Take care of yourself *hugs*!

olehcat : Well, that is quite a list of things that might play against you on the scale ;) Finding inner strenght to go through holiday season is haaaaaard, I feel you! (soft toffee? oh goddddddddd)

Alexis : Indoor pool at the hotel! niiiice! Have a Merry Christmas you too! :)

***

Still 136.2 this morning, I only hope I won't be at this same WI for dayyys like last week and then just go up (even if it would make sense, we are having our first Christmas dinner on Sunday...)

The boyfriend finally did not go Christmas Shopping last night, he decided to go to the pub and get a beer with his collegue, which leads him begging me to go with him tonight because he can't pick earrings for his sister by himself. We have to eat at the foodcourt and the hamster is already spinning hard in my brain to figure out a not so damageable thing to eat.

To answer to JossFit for the worldend tomorrow, I'm just coming back from the hairsalon and I'm ready to die alone with my cat (because boyfriend's gonna be at work)(yes, I expect the end of the world to be during the working hours) with a new rocking bang. Always keep it classy.

No but seriously, I really want to beleive my pink-umbrella-mexican-lady-guide who, when I visited ChichenItza, told us that the end of the world was not really predicted by mayas, they predicted big change (someone with a pink umbrella obvisouly KNOWS what she is talking about) but I'm still ''SH*T WHAT IF IT IS REALLY HAPPENING''.

(plus my cat has been acting crazy for 2 days. he might senses it, you know, the way dog can feel thunderstorms are coming..?!). I miiiiight need a drink lol.

Alexis - Oh yeah, I know the whole thing is bologna... some people are freaking out about it. I won't get into the religous aspects of it because I don't want to offend anyone in one direction or the other, but being in the South... LOL, Wow. You should hear some of the things people are saying, and even on the radio! It's nuts!

I was actually just chatting with Steph (LockItUp) earlier about the whole phenomenon of eating a bit too much leading up to an event that you'll be overeating during, and I think that's what happened today for me. I finally went "Meh, its the holidays now, right? 5 days until Christmas? Close enough." :D If nothing else some extra calories will help me push out some awesome workouts the next few days. Maybe the little boost will give me a whoosh! As long as I get back on plan tomorrow (which I will... I have ZERO desire for any more sugar!) it usually works out okay.

Turbo - Geeky gifts are the best! I am sure he'll love what you got him! I actually saw that pizza cutter online the other day so I know exactly what you're talking about... it was awesome! You need to set it up though; make some homemade pizzas that need to be cut, and then make him open his present before you eat! Obviously ordering a pizza wouldn't work because it's already cut, but you could call them and request that they NOT cut it (they'll do that for you) and then you can make a big scene about how weird it is that it wasn't pre cut for you... then he gets to come to the rescue with his new cutter!

:D

I got my husband a new pair of 2XU compression pants he wanted (seriously, these stupid things are $100 for THE CHEAPEST ONES THEY MAKE!) and a set of compression sleeves for his workouts. He asked for the pants but the sleeves (also stupid expensive) are a surprise. :) I also got him a gift card to The Buckle (it's a clothing store, not sure if you have them in your area) because he's been saying for 2 years now that none of his jeans fit because "my *** got big" (he gained muscle... it's nice!) but of course he hasn't gone shopping for new jeans. I figure he can take me and his card and we'll go get him some.

As for the non-practical stuff, I got him a bottle of Kenneth Cole Black, which is like an amazing fragrance that I adore. He never wears cologne, and maybe has like one bottle that he's worn once or twice, so I thought he might like it. If nothing else he can wear it when we go out and I'll like it, so it's more of a gift for me! haha

The last thing I got him is pretty extravagant, but it is Christmas after all... I got him an engraved bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label. He isn't a big drinker but when he does drink he just has whiskey straight up, and usually drinks Jack Daniels. Blech. I figured a $225 dollar bottle of whiskey would be a little more enjoyable. :D

Now you can see why I hardly bought gifts for anyone else! haha I got a couple of gift cards for my parents and BFF but everybody else gets coal in their stocking!



EDIT: Confession time! I was doing so well staying within my calorie range until today... I totally ate too many goodies, but they were worth it! I finally fell to the pressure of the holiday goodness! haha Some of the ladies at work brought in some treats, which normally I'm not tempted by but they looked so good, I've been super on plan for the last 3-4 weeks, and it was all home made.

I'm going to be a good feather and actually weigh in tomorrow instead of just burying my head in the sand over it. It's just a scale, nothing to be afraid of. :)

Oh, in case you're wondering; 1 red velvet cake doughnut with cream cheese icing, multiple handfulls of peppermint bark and chocolate drizzled caramel corn, 2 big pieces of English toffee (that's what hooked me!) 3 milk chocolate truffles, and a few candied pecans. Ugh... I have sugar tummy rot now, but it was delish.

Sup Krampus invited me to join y'all!
I had a wonderful workout yesterday and it has put me in the best of moods :) I am doing C25K and its not been nearly as scary as I thought. I am not a runner AT ALL, so that has been pretty rewarding. I also ate really well which has been a struggle for me lately. I leave for my trip to Vietnam on the 25th. I am not sure how I am going to eat healthy!


mottainai I used to live in Japan and am a size 9. Do you live near a forever 21 or h&m? They have size 9 shoes, sometimes.
Krampus you rock your kimono much better than I ever did. Gorgeous!
JossFit You sound like an awesome wife! The buckle is the place to get clothes for men IMO. I have been thinking about buying some compression tights, but WAYYY out of my budget.

@elleohelle - hi!

@Joss - holy crap, your treats sound MARVELOUS! YUM, so worth it, especially when they're homemade! And great gifts for your hubby -- wow! Oh, and you are so inspiring in your words. Good point. We don't jump off the cliff when we stumble. Must repeat that to self!

@Turbomammoth - go you on the good weigh in! And oh, forgot about the end of the world. I guess that's why my cats are being crazy, too! It couldnt; possibly be the huge wind storm we're having outside, :)

@alexistrophic - thank you! The social thing is complicated. I tend to get fidgety and want to munch. Sometimes just having a glass of wine in hand will help. Sometimes making sure I just am situated near a vegetable tray will help. It's sometimes nervous munching, sometimes it's that I get so darned excited about food in general! Especially when it's not food that I normally keep at home. Ah, I shall survive, I shall survive...

@bayzee - congrats! I need to be inspired by you and what you eat and I need to stop stuffing myself, ugh. :)