Hi all,

After a lackluster gym visit (I did it, but my heart wasn't in it) and stupid Christmas cookies yesterday that I'd been resisting for weeks I fear my weight is creeping up... gah... food has been better today but I'm tired. But I'm still going to the gym today! Last night my roommate and I had "fashion show" to pick my outfit for BF's real estate office Christmas dinner on Thursday night. I'm getting my haircut Thursday, so it will actually be nice and styled for the dinner. Anyway I was trying on my few dressy outfits and some of hers and I had on my girdle and still had girdle rolls. The things we do for appearances...

Shane, awesome job on your test! Woohoo! Treat yourself to a great new interview outfit. Tell us what you find! BTW I was going through the end of last week's post and your dream sounds really funny. Isn't it strange how such random things will pop up in your dreams?

Sheila, I hope your dad is feeling better soon. And build your iron back up!

WaterRat, mmm, your produce selection sounds delicious!

Carolyn, I love decorating the Christmas tree! I have such great memories of my family's traditional trip to the tree farm every year. My roommate is allergic so we have a fake tree at my house, but I'm going to visit my parents for the actual holiday, and can't wait to see their tree with all of our family ornaments.

Allison, I think I'm with you - I'll be on the diet-zilla wagon when I get back from visiting my family. I've been up a few, down a few, averaging out to holding steady so far, but the real temptation hasn't even started yet! It's hard at such a busy time of year.

DGAdDawg, yes, what Carolyn said - I missed it - which boyfriend is this? Mmm enjoy your Starbucks.

Kim, I notice huge scale fluctuations now, but I honestly didn't pay such close attention when I was heavier.

Lily, I hope you feel better soon. How nice of your daughters to tell your SD not to wake you. Take care of yourself!

Is it really only Tuesday? It feels like the end of the week! Just a few more days...

Hi everybody,
I reigned in my fighting weight yet again, so I am thrilled with that. Infact today is my 9 month maintaining my 25 pound weightloss, so I was thrilled seeing 145. I am doing it even though it is a yoyo maintenance some months, it still is nontheless my maintenance I guess. I am learning and that is the main thing, I am not perfect, but I am rather consistent most days.

FYI, I am so bloated today and in full blown monthly mode, so to see 145 on the scale today, makes me very happy. I just came back from the dentist, and he said to me, Wendalyn every time I see you, I swear you get skinnier. Then the lady who cleaned my teeth asked how many kids I had and when I said none, that I was too old for kids now, she said your kidding right? you don't look a day over 31 she said, and I when I told her, I will be 41 in 6 months, she said are you serious? Yup. Needless to say, I went in to the dentist a bloated mess, and came out feeling like I was on top of the world hearing 2 compliments in one day.... Nice.

Way to go nite in nailing the interview, hate to say told ya so, but I knew you'd do great. Wow em with something great in the business attire selection, are you gonna hooch it up a bit and showoff your girls?

Megan I am sure you will wow everyone with your new do and any outfit you pick, your hotness will shine, so work it lady, I doubt your as buldgy as you think, we are our own worse critic, own that party and have fun!

Everyone else, hope your doing great, I don't have time to read it all, just a few, gotta go workout, priorities ya know...

~Wendalyn

Wendalyn, those are some great compliments!

I'm still eating too much, and I didn't run yesterday. I plan to do a short easy run today, probably on the treadmill to avoid the cold. Treadmills are dreadfully boring but I'm ok with it as long as my run is 3 miles or fewer.

Tried to do some Christmas shopping last night but it didn't work out too well. I just can't seem to figure out what to get anyone, especially kids. I'm having LOTS of trouble figuring out what to get my 5-year-old nephew, and it seems like that should be easy. Nothing looks right, though, or I'm afraid he already has everything! Any ideas for a rambunctious 5-year-old boy?

I also need to get something for my 18-year-old niece. She's not your usual 18-year-old, because she's engaged and has a 6-month-old baby. She's definitely got different concerns than most young girls!! I'm proud of her, though, for how she's handled having the baby and now she's finishing high school and going to college at the same time. She's an amazing girl. Anyway, what do I get for her? Sigh... I'm terrible at Christmas shopping.

Lisa, for a rambunctious five year old boy, how about something Nerf? My son loved all the Nerf weaponry when he was that age.

As for your niece, it sounds like she really has her hands full and probably no time for herself. How about a gift certificate for a treat for her, like a manicure or pedicure? Or a gift card for clothes or makeup (like Sephora)?

The week is flying by! I've got way too much to do before I fly to my parents' house Friday.

Wendalyn, those are wonderful compliments! You must feel so great.

LisaMarie, I don't know much about 5-year-old boys. Could you call either of his parents and ask what he might like? After all, they know what toys he does or doesn't have. I agree with Meg's suggestion that b/c your niece probably is too busy for pampering and gets a lot of baby things, something indulgent just for her would be nice.

Tonight BF & I are exchanging gifts/celebrating "our" Christmas alone at his house, since this is our last free night together before I leave for my fam's (his office party is tomorrow). Thank goodness he doesn't like sweets - that's one area in my life I never have to worry about 'sweet' temptation . We're just eating pork chops and asparagus. Yum.

My workout yesterday was just ok again, but today I'm feeling more enthusiasm. Today I'm sitting here trying to stave off the desire to eat fudge and haystacks. I think I'll drink some more water and brush my teeth.

Have a great day everyone!

Wendalyn - don't you just love it when going to the dentist is a POSITIVE experience??

LisaMarie - Hmmm... When I was 5 my favorite things were stuffed animals, dolls, and picture books. Then again, I was a quiet little girl, not a rambunctious boy! I think picture books are good gifts for kids though, since they encourage reading and learning. As for the 18-year-old, how about something like a voucher for someone to come clean her apartment/house for her, or babysitting services or something? Something that would take a load off her hands for a couple hours.

I had a no-go at the gym last night. We got there, went into the locker room, then DH calls my cell phone and says he forgot to bring his gym shorts. So, back home! We said on the way home that we would do an exercise DVD when we got home, but it didn't happen. Today we double-checked that his gym bag has all his clothes in it, so hopefully today we'll actually go. I'm having trouble getting motivated at the gym since I have had a lot of random sore muscles lately (like they are sore for no reason at all), and my knees and ankle have been hurting which makes cardio hard to do. Hopefully things will improve soon.

In other news I had a totally yummy cooking light dinner last night -- barley risotto with roasted winter vegetables. It had cauliflower, parsnips, red bell pepper, onion, barley, ff ls chicken broth, and some parmesan cheese and spices. Yum! I am looking forward to lunch so I can eat my leftovers. Tonight will be stuffed portobello mushrooms I think.

Hi everyone,

Shane, WTG on aceing that test.

Wendalyn, WTG on the great compliments at the dentist office.

Lisa, when my son was 5 (and very rambunctious) he loved things that you put together. Like those Connect sets. As for the 18 yr. old, yeah, something very personal would be great.

Jessica, your food sounds yummy. Heres hoping your gym visit will work out better for you today.

Megan, sorry you feel like you are gaining. My scale shows I'm OK, but I feel bigger. The new jeans I bought the other day were tighter this morning after their very first trip through the washer and dryer. Right now I feel like my face looks rounder but it may be from my increased prednisone. I will truly be happy when I'm well and can hit the exercise hard.

Late yesterday the pharmacy called and had gotten in my Urso that was on backorder. So, I feel like I should start to improve soon.

DH is now home for the week. I've got him a list of honey-do's for this week. I need to spend today wrapping gifts. The girls will have some cleaning chores to do. They are already out of school until Jan. 3rd.

LisaMarie~Legos. My son still plays with Legos (he'll be 13 on Christmas). And a Target gift card for the 18 year old. That way she can either get what she wants or what she (or the baby) needs.

Wendalyn~great compliments! Last time I went to the dentist, I was told that I won the award....for hosting the most people for Thanksgiving of any of their patients (so far). My appointment was about 2 weeks after Thanksgiving.

Jessica~I think I would have told DH to go to the juice bar and wait for me to work out! LOL Hope things are better today. The risotto sounds great. I have a recipe for steel cut oat risotto that I'm dying to try.

Megan~step away from the treats!!!! You'll feel so much better tonight if you don't give in. It's called willpower!!!

Shane, great job on your test!! My dad is the same age as your grandmother. Hey, no need to dread old age if you stay fit and eat right. My gym has a bunch of 80 and 90 year olds who are doing aerobics and lifting weights. One 96 year old woman in our water aerobics class took a trip to Peru. I want to be her when I grow up!

Megan, I'm betting you'll look absolutely lovely for the office party. Hope you were able to resist the goodies--brushing your teeth sounds like a great idea.

Wendalyn, two incredible compliments! Nice!!

Lisa, when my DD had a 5 year old stepson I had only met once, what I did for presents was to google something like "best toy for five year old boy," and I'd find a toy that was rated highly by customers. He absolutely loved everything I gave him.

Jessica, dinner sounds yummy! Do you get the magazine or the cookbooks or go online for those recipes?

Lilybelle, glad the pharmacy got your prescription. Wrapping is in my future, too. I started the other day, but got sidetracked. This year I bought some reusable cloth gift bags from my church's holiday craft fair. I really like the idea of reusing stuff--good for the planet and my pocketbook.

Allison, sounds like your son is a budding architect or engineer.

My Dad got called up for jury duty. I just had to laugh. Up until two years ago when we moved him to a place near us, he'd lived in Seattle his entire life and had never been called to jury duty. Hopefully, the court will accept my written statement that he's physically unable to do the job. One of the caregivers at his place said that an 86-year old resident was called up not too long ago, and the court gave him a hard time before accepting his excuse. I served on one jury when I lived near Portland. Spent three days listening to testimony, then the case was settled before we got to vote. Nobody would tell us how it was settled, however, which was frustrating after sitting there all that time.

Managed to do 30 minutes on the elliptical and 30 minutes of weight lifting, but didn't want to try to do the 45 minute aqua jogging class. I think I should be back to normal soon after the bloodletting, er, blood donation.

Sheila - I get the magazines, then I tear all the pages out and file the recipes by category (poultry, soup, veggie, etc). Then I can do stuff like say "I don't want to eat too much meat this week" and flip through my veggie section. I usually pick out 3-4 recipes per week, buy all my groceries on Sunday, and eat leftovers the rest of the time! LOL about the jury duty. I got called to jury duty back home after I had moved out of the state! TWICE! I was like, didn't I send you a copy of my apartment lease and drivers license for a different state last time??

Allison - I love legos! If I had them at home, I would still play with them too.

Lily - glad to hear they got your meds in!

I made it to the gym last night. 35 minutes + 5 min cooldown of the "hill" program on the treadmill, level 5. But I couldn't make the speed over 3.3mph or my knee started hurting, and by the end I had to slow down to 3.0. OTOH it looks like the weight gain has finally stopped, and today the scale was actually down by 0.4 lbs!

Morning all!

Today is the 5 year anniversary of my lifestyle change. I almost forgot! I have no new words of wisdom this year--I think I made a long post last year if anyone feels the need to search for it.

Five years of (mostly) healthy living. I'm officially a long-termer.

Anne

Anne,

As a newish person working to maintain, I'm particularly moved by your fourth year post, so I'll insert a portion with a pointer for whoever wants to read the whole. Thanks for posting it.
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Completed Beck Program-day 41. 1 to go. Keep going!

Morning all,
I am 9 months in on maintaining my weightloss and I just realized, holy moly, I coulda had a baby in this time frame..... Ok, NOT, but yanno I certainly could have, Eek! So I am thrilled that I am a maintainer and have been doing it for awhile now. I'm doing great foodwise and exercise, feeling on top of my game and I am fit for sure.

I did not bake one thing this year for the holidays, figured we didn't need it nor did others... Today my hubby asked to make some ants on a log as he had a hankering for those. So I just made some up, in case anyone doesn't know what they are, it is just celery cut with peanut butter smeared into the stalk and then you add raisins on top. I good snack that is fairly good for you in my opinion, beats candy or cookies that is for sure.


Anne, congrats on 5 years, super duper lady that is AWESOME!

Thanks blue eyes for posting, anne's thread, good read anne..

Congratulations on your five-year anniversary, Anne! I'm sure you know that statistically, the odds are that you'll continue to successfully maintain your loss now that you've hit that magic five year mark. We here in Maintainers say: phooey on statistics! We've never doubted you for a second!!

Bill, thanks for pulling up Anne's 4th year anniversary post. It's well worth reading in it's entirety here. Anne, you are an amazingly wise and insightful woman.

I know that you're having a tough time with your pregnancy right now, so let me remind you of what you said last year: "Sometimes when things are very hard, the best thing to do is just survive, do the best you can, and clean up the mess later."

We're looking forward to celebrating your sixth anniversary with you next year!

And Not-So-Evil-Woman (), congratulations to you on your nine-month anniversary.

Morning all!

Jessica, congrats on the little loss! Things are turning around for you finally!
You're very organized with your CL menu planning! We get Cooking Light and a mag called Fine Cooking that bf loves. I stick post-its all over the place while I'm reading them and then usually forget all about the recipes. I tend to do many searches and much browsing on the CL website. Bf is better about cooking from the magazine recipes, but he doesn't cook as often as I do. I did make the ancho and beef chili from the most recent CL though. It's really, really good. I added extra veggies to it (of course) and a bit more seasoning and it was delish. I have leftovers in the freezer for a rainy day.

Shane, congrats on the test results! You're a rock star.

Megan: have a great time at the party tonight.

Congrats Anne!! 5 years really does make you a long-term maintainer! Hope the side effects of the pregnancy wear off soon. All this sickness sounds very unpleasant!

I've been called up for jury duty once or twice. I guess they get the names from the driver's license register, because I'm not a citizen and thus am INELIGIBLE for jury duty. It's too bad, really. I'd love to do jury duty.

I finally finished my xmas shopping the other day. I can't do any wrapping yet, however, because I've had everything shipped to my mum's house so that I don't have to transport it across country in my suitcase. I love the wrapping part though. There's something very satisfying and meditative about settling down with a pile of colorful paper and ribbons and making a stack of pretty packages.

We're leaving for Mass in a couple of days. No doubt I'll return a little chubbier than when I leave. My mother is pretty balanced about food. She's not a pusher or at all inclined towards excess. My step-dad and step-sister and her husband are all obese, but that doesn't really affect the family food culture. Nonetheless, I'm going to be away from my house and my kitchen for a week, so my eating schedule is going to be completely out of whack. Bf and I are cooking the xmas dinner, so I'll be able to keep the unnecessary fat to a minimum, but even so, I expect I'll come back with a pound or two that I don't really need.

Happy Thursday everyone!

My post overlapped with Meg's and Evil's. Hi guys!