Yikes! I woke up this morning and the first post I read was about Lily hitting a deer last night (here)!! You are SO LUCKY that no one was hurt! OMG, I get the chills just thinking about it and especially considering how fast you were going. I'm glad your guardian angel was watching out for you! How's everyone feeling today - bruises and bumps?

I struggled last week, food-wise. It's still hard for me to get back on track after being on vacation and getting a taste of sweets and other foods I don't usually eat. I guess that I'm just not a "moderate" person when it comes to certain foods! I know it's not everyone's style, but I do so much better just avoiding certain trigger foods entirely. I hate fighting cravings, and that's what a little bit of sugar or bad carbs does to me -- sets off cravings. But I'm now happily settled back into the land of apples, chicken breast, salmon, and green beans.

Saturday was a cook-a thon: I made chili; roasted a whole turkey, sweet potatoes, and green beans; pumpkin custard (with cottage cheese, egg whites and Splenda, but it tastes like the inside of pumpkin pie); salad dressing; and grilled salmon. So I'm set for the week, at least, and there are no excuses for off-plan eating.

Yesterday I did something fun! A former client of mine opened a spa and had a spa party with makeovers (and snacks and mimosas, but I skipped those ). Perfect timing for me because of DD's wedding in a month. So I had a one-hour makeup lesson for the wedding and learned so many good tricks and tips! Today I need to practice my techniques so I don't forget all she showed me, so I'll probably end up going to Home Depot in full wedding makeup.

So how did everyone survive the weekend? What's going on this week? We're sneaking up on Halloween - is candy (going out or coming in) a problem for anyone?

Good morning/afternoon everyone!

Lily - I'm glad you and your family didn't get hurt! (It's sad for the deer, okay, but I'm still relieved you were allright.)

The week-end was a little harsh for me. I was all alone at home trying to catch up big time on homework, and I can be thankful that a friend phoned me yesterday afternoon and put a smile on my face, else it'd all have been gloom and doom with a raiding of cupboard in between. Mostly due to cold, though. I always get really hungry when days are colder, and I knew that it was hunger and not cravings, because green beans would've done it just as much as anything else. Still... Yikes. I must admit I barely managed to fend off serious overeating. (Well, I must've gone overboard by 200 calories or so, which I'm 'compensating' for today, since I calculate my calories as an average over the week rather than every single day.) But it was a close one.

The good thing is that I did extra cardio to warm myself during these two days (I'm too proud to use the heater in october). Of course, the downside is that after so much cardio and lifting weights on Saturday, I'm really tired and sore today. But it's a soreness I like. Ain't I a glutton for punishment, huh.

Anyway -- How's everyone else doing? How has your week begun? I hope this thread will find eveyrbody allright, or a little better than next week for those who had rough patches to go through.

Morning, maintainers!

Weigh-in this morning: 130. Clearly, I suck at maintaining!

Lily: glad everyone (except the deer) was OK. Just be thankful you don't live in Alaska, where moose vs. car meetings typically turn out much, much worse for the humans.

Meg: a week full of salmon and apples sounds like just the ticket for getting back on track. It also sounds delicious. When can I come over?

Kery: The best thing about "good sore" is that you're reminded every time you make a move for the kitchen of all your hard work. If you keep off-plan foods in the house, store them way up high, so every muscle will complain when you reach for them!

Have a great day, all.
Kim

Good morning all.

Meg, sounds like lots of fun at the spa. I'd love a make over! I'd also love a mimosa. Neither are happening any time soon.

Lily, what an experience. I'm so sorry this happened to you. And so thankful everyone is OK.

Kaw, moose? Hey, what's the plural of moose? I'm thiniking it's - moose. Anyway, doesn't sound like I'd like to have an encounter with one of um.

Kery, I know just what you mean about using heat in October - it just seems wrong for some reason, not sure why. 200 calories over - awww, that's nothing, especially on a weekend.

Speaking of which, hmmmm. I had a great, great on plan week. And then killed it, murdered, pulverized it this past weekend. Was good all day Saturday and then had a party of sorts Saturday night. Not good. Then on Sunday, of course the night again, I dove head first into a box of these new Cheerios things - Cheerios Oat Clusters (don't EVER buy them folks). Anyway my daughter loves them (as does her mother). I started out measuring a cup ful, and then another and then another - and get this - then another. Whatever. Thank goodness for Mondays is all I can say. I think about once a month we should just skip right over the weekends. Might not be so good for catching up on things and relaxing, but I'm thinking it would be very beneficial to weight loss.

Have a great day/week everyone.

I had a weekend filled with cleaning and cooking and a bit of fun. Friday night I made White Chicken Chili (I think I stole this from a post by Allison recently - thanks! and yum!). Saturday BF was inviting people up to his house in the woods for a bonfire, local haunted house, etc. I'm a clean freak, he is more "normal guy" when it comes to cleaning. Normally I don't touch his house until I tell him to clean or I'm not coming over anymore. Well with people coming over I couldn't take it and went to town on his house, interspersed with a gym visit and a trip to my house for some emotional rice crispy treat eating. Had a lot of fun at the haunted house, and some drinks and junk food too .

Sunday I decided my house also needed cleaning, and I also cooked steel cut oats, roasted chicken in yogurt curry spice wraps for my lunches, a bunch of cut veggies, and roasted autumn vegetable soup - I need clean, tasty eats ready for the week! I finally have almost 2 weeks with no big social events coming up, and I am ready to stay on track. I am happy with myself that I went to the gym 6 days last week, including 2 early morning visits since I knew I couldn't go at my usual afternoon time. I need to keep that up, and get food in line!

Meg, mmm, salmon! Maybe I will get some this weekend. Sounds like we both had our cook-a-thon over the weekend. Your spa day sounds like lots of fun.

Lily, ahhh! So glad you and your family are safe.

Robin, I am totally with you: "thank goodness for Mondays." I feel you sister!

Kery, I try to make big batches of filling/warming veggie soups to help me deal with the cold. That and my collection of workout leggings and fleece pants (for my poorly heated/very badly insulated house) are my armor against the cold. Glad to hear you fought off the impulse to overeat.

Welcome lisao!

Good morning everyone else!

Rockinrobin: the plural of moose is, as you guessed, moose. Seems like it should be meese, as in goose/geese, but, well, it isn't.

Weight of an adult deer: 125-200 lbs (F), 175-300 lbs (M)
Weight of an adult moose: 600-800 lbs (F), 850-1050 lbs (M)

Moose can derail trains. (They walk on the tracks in winter because the snow pack is lighter and they can feed easily.) You can imagine what they do to cars. Or, for that matter, garden fences.

Kim

My sister-in-law once hit two horses. She and her DH were okay, but it was the middle of the night in a rural area in southern Utah and they tried in vain to make the next vehicles stop, unfortunately, the motorcyclist didn't heed their warnings...Lily, I'm glad you're okay.

DD came home from her weekend in Long Beach with mother-loving stories! She said that in no way would she ever want to attend Cal State Long Beach because it is too much of a party school. Then she talked about the parties that she attended and how she had to kind of babysit one her her friend's roommates because the roommate was drunk. I'm awfully thankful that DD has no desire to drink (or do drugs for that matter). I'm glad she came home when she did--one of the fires down here was really close to an area she had to go through and it jumped on highway. As I understand it, one fire jumped I-15 sometime over the night and that freeway is closed. I hope no one here lives anywhere near the fires and that everyone is safe.

Hey everyone!

I don't think I'm going to be able to meet my Halloween goal, and this saddens me. I've been working out every day (even if just for 30 minutes or so on the weekends) and eating mostly healthy things (though I do see a little room for improvement), but I keep being hungry, which is pretty bad for me, especially during the work week, because it's difficult to concentrate... so, when I'm hungry, I EAT until I'm NOT. Hah. When I was overweight, I didn't do this... I had set amounts of food that I would eat at set times, and that would be *it* regardless of whether I was hungry or not.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can keep myself from being hungry and still continue to lose these last few pounds? Should I just entirely omit processed foods from my diet? Should I eat less sodium? I already don't eat too much fat and I try to eat mostly good carbs, so I think processed foods and sodium may be the culprit.

Lily - glad to hear you're ok! Hitting a deer must have been beyond creepy; I've heard horror stories. Looks like something out there was looking after you

Meg - daaaaamn girl, your mentioning of your cook a thon made me think, "Whoa... is it Thanksgiving already? Wait... no... that is not until November." Last year, the girlfriend and I ordered Chinese take out on Thanksgiving because we didn't feel like preparing a feast. This year, we will probably buy a store-made turkey roast from Publix, instead!

Kery - I think most people start to get hungrier when it is cold. I've also heard that you can get away with eating more when it is cold (as long as you spend some time outside) because being out in the cold temporarily increases your metabolic rate for the day. And I agree with Robin - 200 calories over is no big deal!

kaw - WOW, you just continue to keep losing. I want some of your weight loss dust! I have a few more pounds to lose, and they're being absolutely impossible... I need some of whatever you have. Good job, though.

Ali - out of curiousity, how old is your daughter?

Lily, I've been worried about hitting a deer for years now! They're all over the place where I live, and I see them particularly late at night. Scary!

Well, I knew the scale wouldn't be kind to me today, and it REALLY wasn't. I was 174, which is an 11-pound gain over my lowest point last week. Yep. ELEVEN. Most people eat too much for a day or two and have a couple of pounds to deal with. For me, last time I did it I had NINE, and this time I have eleven. Amazing. Doesn't even really seem biologically possible, but there it is. I imagine some of it is water weight and all that, but still. Jeez. Back up to 174 of all things. I'm worried that my 5K will be a disaster. I'll see how the running goes at cc practice today.

I'm at work now, on my planning period, desperately trying to catch up from being out a few days. Let me tell you, missing a day when you're a teacher is the WORST thing you can do. That's why I never miss unless it's absolutely necessary.

Hope everyone's day is a good one!!

Shane, my daughter is 16. She's a senior in high school and will graduate at 17 and head off to college. So even if she were to want to party, she'd be underage (which we all know isn't that difficult to get around).

Thanks everyone. I'm so happy the kids and I are OK. (except my back and shoulders are awfully sore this morning). I guess I was all tensed up and bracing myself for the impact. I called my insurance and left a message, so I'm waiting for them to call back and tell me how many estimates I need. This is definitely deer country and it is hunting season, so the deer are moving a lot at night. I do feel very lucky that we escaped any serious injury. About 2 miles after hitting the deer, there were 2 cows out in the road. Hitting one of them would have been a million times worse.

DH is still at work til tomorrow, so last night we left him a text message explaining what had happened and that we are all OK. He called me this morning to see how we're doing. He wasn't upset at all about my new car, just worried about us. He has hit deer several times before and I always thought it was cause he is a fast driver. But, maybe I was a little rough there on judgement cause sometimes it is totally unavoidable.

I am so proud of myself for refusing the cake and ice cream at my MIL's b-day party last night. I just know how hard it's been to get myself back on track and didn't want to screw up again. Now, DH is having b-day this coming weekend and I hope I can stay just as strong.

Lisa, I've also posted about huge swings in my wt. when I go off plan. I don't even know how it's physically possible to gain so much , so quickly. But, know that you aren't alone in this.

I am weighing myself daily and I'm pretty frustrated right now. Last Wednesday I was 151 lbs. On Thursday, I was 149. On Friday, I was 146, On Saturday, I was 147, on Sunday, I was 148 and this morning back up to 150 lbs. What gives? I'm exercising every day. Eating 1300 or fewer cal's per day along with staying very low-carb and I've gained 3 days in a row. I'm only guessing here , but maybe that big 5 lb. loss in 2 days was just water and now the water is back for some unknown reason.

Yeah, I'm not too worried about the extra calories themselves. If anything, I probably just burnt them back today, biking for more than one hour with a heavy laptop on my back to and from work. I'm just glad I managed to catch myself up before it was too late.

Shane -- I don't know if it'd be the same for you, but in my case, one thing that absolutely keeps me filled up for hours on end is soy steaks. Granted, you may likely classify them as "processed foods", but combined with leafy veggies and some brown rice, they're the kind of food that will allow me to ward off anything. For instance, that's precisely the meal I eat before going to friends' who like spending a whole afternoon snacking on plenty of stuff, because I know I won't be tempted if I'm not the least bit hungry. Tofu is good for that as well, by the way.

Megan -- Thanks for reminding me about soups. I don't know why I never think about them. Perhaps because I can't do them myself, and I'm always hesitant to buy premade soups at the supermarket (they always seem loaded with so much sodium and crap ).

Speaking of heat, guess who turned on the heater briefly this morning before work all the same, and then forgot to turn it off when leaving home... I won't touch this thing again before December! I can't believe what an airhead I am.

Kaw -- Excellent idea. There are plenty of places in my flat where I can store stuff at heights that demand me to use a chair and a pile of dictionaries just to reach them.

Lisa -- Maybe you tend to store water more than other people? I don't know either why you'd gain that much. At the most, I'll gain 2 to 4, which already sucks as it is, so I can imagine how this must suck even more...

HI MAINTAINERS ~

These fires are out of control here in my area. I am safe but many folks within 15 miles of me are in danger. There is a lot of smoke around though, many people have lost their homes....so sad Right now the report is 100,000 acreas burned and 200,000 people evaquated so far!

Well, I weighed in at 174 this morning. I seem to keep going from 172 to 174, seems like when I get to 172 I get that "all confident strut" going on and blow it like I did last night after the Jersey Boys play. We had mexican food at a local restaraunt, I did pretty good with my order of grilled chicken tacos on wheat tortillas, I even brought half of it home ....I blew it by also ordering and eating a cheese enchilada (my nemisis!) and as much as I promised myself I wouldn't...I could not get away from the chips and salsa bowl! Dang they were good! And the cute little waitress just kept coming by with the old trick question of "Would you like another beer and more chips, Sir?" How in the world could I say NO?

I did get in 5.25 miles today between treadmill and dog walking this morning. I seem to be able to find time, by pushing myself, to get the miles in. It helps having my "personal trainers" meet and greet me at the door I am such a push-over!

In case you didn't see my shout out for the play Jersey Boys, I highly recommend it, if you enjoy Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons music...a great show!

LILY ~How scary! I am so glad your family was safe. I have a friend who hit a deer a few years ago in Oregon, late at night, out in the middle of nowhere, by herself....it is hilarious when she tells the story now....she says that eventually 2 trucks with men came by....they were (although she said they made sure she was ok) more concerned about the deer and how to get it home for "eating." Great job on your ...but seriously...taunting you...lame...just lame!

SUSAN ~I have been on Lipitor for over 5 years. My high cholesterol is genetic...just came on all of a sudden, my doc says I can help it with diet but not fix it. Good luck.

LISA ~ That is an awful lot of weight gain in such a short time! WOW! I am sure you will get back in focus as this tough time for you passes. Good luck in the 5K on Saturday, you will be fine! I am pretty sure Angie and I will be doing one on Sunday....although now that I think about it maybe not...it is in the area of one of our local fires...hummm.

ALLISON ~Ouch! The 405 at rush (what a joke that is...rush..) hour! I try to, if at all possible, get through all that Los Angeles area before 3:00 every day. One reason why we start so early when we work in the L.A. area.

So, Long Beach State is a PARTY SCHOOL huh.....no wonder Angie loved college so much It is pretty wild around there, not to mention NO Parking! I have been there many times for track meets and tennis matches. I actully know several kids that have gone/are going there....they actually like it!...oh yea...the party part I hope your DH's knee heals so he can continue his Couch to 5K training. Just tell him I said to "sack up"..... ....just kidding!

SHANE ~One thing I have found that helps me, when I am just starving after dinner....or think I am....is too eat just a couple of potent olives with blue cheese or garlic and just a few, 5, wheat thin crackers....not too many calories and just enough to allow the "hunger pain" to pass.

MEGAN ~Wow! Were you ever busy this week-end. Good for you...give that BF of yours a on his housework! Glad you had a good week-end.

KIM ~ on your maintaing! You can do this!

ROBIN ~Now that is a lot of cereal! Lucky you know how to fix that little detour and get back on track!

MEG ~So YOU were the smokin' hot one I saw at Home Depot this morning.... Lookin' good girl! Way to get back on track!

KERY ~I go for the comfort food too when the weather gets cold...like that really happens where I live . But still, winter is winter! Good luck with that homework and exercise.

HI to all MAINTAINERS! I hope all is well with you!

LOL, Gary, you forced me to post this. But, one of the men that stopped to see if we were OK, asked if he could have MY deer. I said, "go right ahead" and he tossed it in the back of his truck and took off with it. LOL.

My son was with me last night and once we were all OK, he couldn't quit laughing. He said "mom, that was an awesome hit , I bet you punted that deer at least 90 yards and I never saw one fly 40 feet up in the air before". LOL, kids , you just gotta love them seein the humor in everything. Oh and Lacy said "I could have swore I saw Santa Clause". LOL

I'm thinking just out of spite, I may cook up some deer meat tonite from the deer that was legally taken and given to me on Friday
night. LOL.

My insurance company just returned my call and they are sending out an adjuster on my car. I'm glad now, cause it's pouring rain today and I didn't want to be out running around getting estimates. Plus, I'm a little sore and a little spooked to get behind the wheel today. Plus, it's rather embarassing to be driving around in a car with the hood bashed in and the front grille and fender hanging down on it. I guess I could go duct tape it all back in place, LOL, after all this is Oklahoma. LOL

Gary, hope you and your family stay safely away from the fires. How scary!

Afternoon everyone!
I'm assuming DH got in touch with the dr's office because they've not called here today.

On a brighter note ... I (for one) am enjoying this Mediterranean experiment. MMMM some of this stuff is good. Chickpeas, chopped shallot, lemon juice, olive oil and pesto mix ... makes a nice little salad -and- I've eaten it on a wrap with grated cheese. Very nice!
The library just called and my French Women books are here too!

We're having unseasonably fabulous weather here! It's great.