More pool time yesterday, after a truly POP day of 1500. I didn't go in planning for a hard workout because I was a little sore from Sunday ... but everything loosened up nicely so I cranked it and had the 2K in 40 minutes. Woke up in the middle of the night just STARVING - tried a big glass of water and it didn't help a bit. Made the growling stomach even louder. :lol: I need to remember to eat a cheese stick or some nuts after swimming. It's good to be back in the losing mindset again!

Yoyo, glad you had a good night's sleep finally!

I am extremely concerned about being able to meet the christmas goal. I feel like since it took me the whole 10 weeks to lose 5lbs for Thanksgiving (assuming I get there this week), there's basically no chance that I'll lose another 3lbs in the 4 weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, especially since all the holiday parties will be happening. I already feel my holiday resistance willpower eroding. I dreamed of eating cake and cookies last night (and I'm not even joking, I really did).

Oh well. I made a good decision today. My boss's boss took us out to lunch at a mexican restaurant, and I researched the menu beforehand. I ordered the dish I had decided on yesterday, which was a tilapia fillet with a couple shrimp and scallops and a tomato veggie sauce, with a side of veggies and rice. I ate the veggies and the fish but only a couple bites of rice, and I only had three tortilla chips. Still probably not as low-cal as I was hoping since I could see the oil on the plate, and it was definitely salty, but still probably the best choice of all the options available.

Just calling in very briefly at bedtime to report a not-very-good-at-all day. This is my second day back after that virus & I'm very tired. Too tired, really, to do all the planned and unplanned activities of my daily life. And we know where tiredness leads, don't we, everyone?

Well, I'm putting out the light half an hour earlier tonight and tomorrow is another day.

Jessica - please don't run before you can walk! The TG goal comes first. Focus on that. Then think about a realistic goal for Christmas. It could even be maintaining over the festive period. We're all at different stages so we don't all have to have the same goal.

I'm hoping things will look better tomorrow with more energy (but less sugar) in the tank.

Hi guys! I'm here!!! :wave: It's been a crazy 10+ days.I'm so proud of all of you who are marching toward your Turkey day goals. I'm looking to be at my redline (and that would be a positive change from yesterday am!).

My turkey's been defrosting on the counter for a few weeks now. The package is inflating. Is that a bad thing? ;)

I think I can smell it from here, midwife. Is that bad?

Midwife - I'm no expert with turkeys but can you see anything moving inside? If so, what colour?

Hey everyone :)
Midwife, how is nano land, are you writing furiously?
Silver, hope you are well rested and feeling better today.
Jessica, I also have a tendency to avoid the immediate by focusing (positively or negatively) on a longer term prospect. You are doing it just keep doing what you are doing :)
ICU, I am a impressed by your swimming!
Yoyo, thank goodness you got some quality sleep. congrats :)
Ward, Megan, and everybody..... hello :)

let's all rock this thang :)

I have changed my ticker to an official weight loss focus, not a maintenance focus so that I might remind mself to lose the one day on, one day off plan plan that I have been recently unsuccessful with. Time to change things up a bit! (go. me. ;))

Kitty, my ticker says the same thing - 2 down, 6 to go!

Nothing much to report here. I've been good this week, and have erased the 3# of bad-food fluff. I wanted to get back down under 150 for TG, and I'm optimistic again. More pool time tonight - thank goodness I can swim the same time as DS10 - it beats sitting in the bleachers!

I think I might be coming to grips with a bit of the Maintainer mindset, finally. Veterans, please let me know if I'm getting close to turning the corner.

I hit goal 10/14 and apparently couldn't handle it, began to get sloppy with logging and letting misbehaviors with things like chips and candy sneak back in. Been doing a LOT of thinking lately, what with relationship issues, general need to find fulfilling work, and getting back to the pool. Sunday, a month and a day after goal, I was 5 pounds up. I got pissed off. Since Monday morning, not a bite has not been logged, and the processed crap food is gone. Much water and green tea has been consumed. And today, 3 days later, 4.5 lbs are back off. This tells me that I didn't overconsume on the calories - what I did was eat things that cause inflammation. Low level chronic inflammation is now being correlated with nearly every degenerative disease out there ... and if the newest studies are right, could even be the cause of aging itself. For candy and chips, I very well might have risked shortening my life. Stunning. I have too much left to learn and too many things to do, to voluntarily give up one more single minute. It's all about choices, and this week so far, I am happy with the ones I'm making. :) It's a better kind of happy than was in the potato chip bag.

ICU, your ticker is now different from mine! :)

Thanks, ICU! Very interesting about 'low-level chronic inflammation'. I'd just not put that together with 'being bloated' but, clearly, they are part and parcel of the same thing. Very, very interesting.

Still on early bedtimes here. My work has suddenly got very busy (good as I run my own business) so I have to make sure I've got enough time and space to unwind. Or else I'll nibble ... or worse.

Wow -- I know I've already made this point, but light therapy FTW!!! I got 7.5 solid hours last night. It's game changing!

I am starting to figure out my strategy for Xmas->New Year's at the in-laws...

1) Pack Happy Light and timer!!!
2) Get Curves travel pass (and go every day possible)
3) Pack emergency food/drink supplies (green tea, etc)
4) Weigh every day
5) Check in at 3FC every day
5) Try to steer restaurant meals away from trigger cuisines (Pizza, Thai, Chinese)
6) If possible, research restaurant meals online beforehand.

More to come. I need to get a better handle on what I will be eating on a daily basis.

Silver -- sorry you're busy, but glad you are getting to bed early!
ICU -- thanks for the tip on inflammation -- I am amazed at how much important stuff I keep learning!
Kitty -- keep switching it up till you find something that works... you already rock maintenance!
Paperclippy -- choose a goal that you find motivating but attainable. My goal for Xmas->New Years is just to gain less than last year! The goal doesn't have to be a scale weight either.

Hope everyone's week is going well!

yoyoma - so glad to hear you're getting the sleep you need finally! I'd like to try the light therapy - would you tell me more about what/how/when? I'm a terrible sleeper!

Hi all, I've been MIA once again but it's NOT because I've been off plan. I've been out on the boat every day at work and not anywhere near a computer, but I'm proud of myself for sticking to plan - work, get in a workout, and to rehearsal. I've packed healthy foods for all my meals every day, have managed to get around 8 hours of sleep each night, and have not let "I don't have much time" be an excuse not to work out. Today will be day 13 OP, and the scale is cooperating! It's reading 157, which means I've more than met my 5-lb Thanksgiving goal (started at 164). :carrot:

I feel really good, too, very energetic (at least for me) and my body feels pleasantly sore from my workouts. I just need to keep it up!

yoyo, I'm so glad you got a good night's sleep! Your holiday plan sounds like a good one to keep you on track.

ICU, I can't remember if I've mentioned that I love your new avatar picture! I also definitely see a connection between "clean" and "not-clean" food and bloat/inflammation/whatever it is... It seems to make so much sense that what we put in our bodies effects how they perform, yet many people don't even think there's a connection, our bodies can just handle anything. Nutrition science has been a very interesting subject to me for several years now. Good for you for working right to get rid of that inflammation!

kitty, way to re-focus. You can do it!

Jessica, don't get too far ahead of yourself! If you're overwhelming yourself by thinking so far ahead, don't. Just think one day, one meal, at a time. I occasionally have the "binging on cake/cookies/sweets" dream myself, I had one the other night. When I have them I do have to do a quick check on making sure I'm getting proper nutrition (e.g. that I'm not low on my healthy fat intake etc) or that I'm not too hungry, might need to bump up the calories by 200 for a few days. Or maybe I need to buy a little square of dark chocolate and enjoy that, that I'm not depriving myself too much. And it's also totally fine if we say we have a Christmas goal, and we have different goals - if you say between Thanksgiving and Christmas you want to lose 1 lb, or maintain, or whatever, that's fine too! One person's goal doesn't have to be all of our goals, we all know our own bodies and capabilities best. Don't stress out. Breathe. :)

So glad I live so far from midwife and can't smell that turkey :p

Hi Silver, Ward, everyone else! Let's all stay strong! 6 days to Turkey day here in the States.

Yoyo, I'm so glad the light therapy is working!

Megan, great job staying OP and meeting the Thanksgiving goal!!! :high:

ICU, IMO maintenance is about gaining and losing the same 5 pounds over and over again for the rest of your life. :shrug: I can't seem to ever stay exactly at any given weight consistently, but the 5lb window is doable.

Scale was at 140.4 this morning. It may be another few days to get 140.0 on the scale for my 5lb goal. I took the day off today to avoid the free lunch and other junk food at work. Took the dog for a nice long run (2.8 miles is long for me!) to the park, then walked him around and walked back this morning. Now my plan is to eat my healthy, OP lunch, then take him to the dog park (he should be too tired to cause trouble! :lol: ), then go run errands for the rest of the afternoon.