Well, a little bit of good news: I've now achieved Platinum Elite status through this hotel's rewards program. No idea what that entitles me to.

I'm at 152.1, up slightly after a downward trend that I've avoided commenting on, till now, for fear of ending a good losing streak.

My mother and I have tickets to see a show at a Wednesday matinee. Meanwhile, the faucet arrived yesterday, thanks to Amazon, and the contractor should install it. Maybe he'll even finish hanging the cabinets. I can finally see the end of this.

saef, may I be the first to congratulate you on your new status? Platinum Elite has to mean something good, I hope! Also, more seriously, excellent news about the progress with the faucets and cabinets. The end has to be in sight.

On pregnancy in older mothers. I had the DB as a first baby, conceived naturally, at almost 45. 10 lbs 2 oz. Mother and baby still doing well.

On way back from my mother's on the train. Sugar helped me get up to escape velocity this morning. Looking forward to getting home and continuing the good weight loss.

A bit of success here.... went and stared long and hard at a box of chocolates at the grocery store (and they were even on sale!) and talked myself out of it, which i don't usually do (well...i've been good in maintenance for 4 yrs!) as i've been using the holidays as an excuse to slide..which is fine but it's not fine to keep continuing it, so i need to pat myself on the back that i did that, LOL.

It's those little daily decisions that make or break us.

Dagmar

Got on the scale this morning. Same weight as at the beginning of the month. 136 lbs. I'm just not so interested in eating huge amounts this holiday season. Treats are sitting unopened in my filing cabinet drawer.

I'm waiting 'til DH forgets the holidays a bit more and then donating the rest (one lot has already gone) to the food bank.

Dagmar

Wednesday morning, after an evening of disappointment and frustration. No, the contractor did not finish the apartment yesterday. In fact, he never showed up at the apartment. Nor did he answer any of my emails asking him for a status update. I stopped by late and the carpenters delivered the cabinet drawers, piled up by the front door. Otherwise, nothing.

He says he'll do it today. He has to. Even if he doesn't, I am checking out of the hotel on Friday morning.

I forgot the good thing yesterday: "The Color Purple" was brilliantly staged and sung. I'm glad I did not miss there before its scheduled closing next week.

I'm at 152.9, headed back upward.

Susie: nicely done resisting the chocodemon!

Saef: I've always wanted to see the Color Purple. That's awesome.

I'm starting to bounce back from the bad cold, but am struggling with my usual post-cold desire to eat super carby food and little else. The intuitive eating approach (I think) would be to feed my body whatever it wants, but I know it doesn't actually make me feel better to have a carb hangover, with bad dry mouth etc., on top of a persistent cough and sore throat.

That cold seems to be going around. My hubby and both of his bandmates have versions of it. So do most of my neighbours. Hope you feel better soon and can wrestle down that carbomonster!

Dagmar

Last holiday event - hosted by me - starts in an hour. I have everything pre-prepared and only have to put stuff into the soup stock to simmer, assemble the salad, and light some candles.

I prefer the day of a dinner party to be one where I'm not frantically running around for the couple of hours before the guests arrive. I guess that's why I don't prepare really elaborate meals. The food is good, fairly low cal - smoked salmon bite appetizers with lo-fat cream cheese on cucumber slices, turkey soup, and mixed green salad with avocado and cucumber and almonds - and it's not difficult to make.

I am going to enjoy hosting my younger cousin and his family. I have more in common with them than with anyone else except DH so it's always nice to get together with them.

Dagmar

Wowwowowow. Last visit 11/15. And I come back to find all my wonderful partners in the weight loss journey in varying magnitudes of the same mind/body state as me ... it's truly like coming home (cue the theme song to Cheers!). Happy holidays, all inclusive!

My Christmas present to myself this year was a membership at a very nice health club that I kid you not, is two MINUTES from where I work. One with multiple pools and enough group classes to keep me busy for a very long time. One with hours from 5am-10pm 7 days a week. DS17 is in the deepest grind of the swim season, and wakes me up as he gets ready for the morning swim and being in the water at 5:30am. I decided, in a rather firm way, that if he was going to wake me up each morning for the next two months, I might as well become a morning person and develop the habit of starting the day at the gym. I need to do this in the morning before my brain wakes up enough to talk me out of it. I have a 7am appointment tomorrow to get oriented with the large variety of equipment, and then there will be an "intake" assessment and planning of my program. My goals are simple - spend January getting some range of motion back, build some CV fitness, and to hit the weights in February.

For all practical purposes I haven't made any significant changes since I was here last. I am yoyo-ing unhappily between the lower and upper 160s; today was 164.6. Not a happy place - I don't "hate" it, but I want to be strong again.

Glad to be back!

Becky, hi and welcome back. That sounds like a really great gym, and a lot like mine; I belong to the MAC in East Lansing. I really do love it.

JZJ, the intuitive eating approach is to eat whatever you "want," but the approach also stresses noticing how your body reacts to foods and incorporating those responses into your decisions in EXACTLY the way you describe (this food tastes great while I'm eating it, but then I feel like sh*t 2 hours later). According to the authors, if you practice IE the "right" way (mindful eating), you eventually end up desiring mostly good-for-you foods, and being able to stop eating when your hunger is assuaged, before you become overfull. I have yet to achieve this advanced state of enlightenment, but I also don't do a very good job of eating mindfully.

Dagmar, hope your last holiday event of the season is a smash. I'm co-hosting a New Year's Eve party with a friend, and unfortunately it's an after-dinner event where there are sure to be all manner of snacks and sweets. I'm planning to bring a veggie/fruit tray but it will still be tough to stay away from the treats.

Woke up in my apartment again on a Friday morning, and I'm at 153.5, which is higher than last Friday.

Problem is, I woke up at about 2 AM, two hours before my waking time. I am profoundly disoriented and unhappy. I've been away too long and forgotten how to live here. And there are so many things wrong with the new kitchen, I've started a punch list: Leaking intake valve, problem with the screen in the faucet, cracks in the cabinet door, no slide-in waste baskets, missing drawer handles and knobs, etc. My hatred for the contractor is at a white heat.

I have seen 124.5 on the scale two different days. I am hoping for 124.0 tomorrow morning, or at least on Jan 1, but I don't feel like starving today either. I've got that niggling empty feeling, not quite hunger but not quite satisfaction, which comes with several days of a small deficit. Cooper, my 9 yo Border Collie, is recuperating after his perineal hernia re-fix. He got the cone off his head once but didn't remove any stitches. He managed to lick open the area between a couple of them, however, and it's oozing a bit. The vet switched him from Baytril to Rilexine. I'm going to try to keep the area clean which is difficult because he lies on it. His stitches are supposed to come out Monday but I'm not optimistic. My main problem with an extended recovery is that he bangs the head cone into the exercise pen at night and it disrupts my sleep.

Saef, I hope that most of the deficiencies in your kitchen can be remedied soon! I stopped weighing myself when I have to get up early. I once figured out every hour of sleep missed will add about half a pound to my morning scale weight, especially if I ate late.

Becky, your gym membership will be a big help but only if you use it. I like your plan - you'll give yourself a couple of months to lose fat before you start gaining muscle.

Andrea, good luck controlling the food intake during your party. Mindset is everything, isn't it.

Dagmar, it sounds like you are in a good place mentally.

Saturday has come around again, and it's going to be New Year's Eve soon.

I'm at 152.3, which is two pounds fewer than last Saturday. I want to keep making progress despite all the disappointment and frustration over the kitchen renovation. The contractor's crew member is supposed to come back today to fiddle around some more with the leaky intake valve under the sink. I think it's time that we just call in a professional plumber to fix it and ask the contractor for a rebate.

No plans for the New Year except gym, laundry and cooking. And probably hanging stuff on the walls in the dining room which had to come down for the renovation.

Call the plumber - the contractor's crew can't fix it and are hoping you'll give up. Been there - waited 2 weeks. Had to finally call the plumber. Was fixed the next day.

Dagmar