Good luck with the R&R at the cabin, Shannon. We were taken aback at the news of the wildfires there. We were under the assumption that there had been quite a bit of water in that area and it wasn't a drought situation like it is here.

I'm at 153 this morning, which is up from Saturday morning, but not as high as I'd feared.

That's from a half-hour on the Stairmaster, maybe 20 minutes swimming in the hotel pool -- yes, I finally put on a bathing suit for the first time in several years and I went down there and swam a couple laps, and floated and kicked. And also walking around midtown through the crowds drawn out to the city by the good weather.

It's not my activity level that I need to fix. It's overeating & wolfing at meal times, and making better choices.

I was at pike 139 friday. Well this weekend I stuck strictly on my diet. Whole foods, no snacks or sweets other than some honey in my coffee. Basically ate plain dry oats and almond milk with cinnamon for most meals... Drank more water. And now I'm down to 135.

Still at 153 this morning. This in spite of eating more than I'd planned.

The trigger was six enormous foil tins of leftover takeout from someone's expensed lunch -- it came from a Greek place. They put it out in the break room at the end of the day when I was hungry and wanted to go home & eat dinner. Now had this been cake, I would have ignored it. But it was freshly made garlic hummus and a big container of chopped Romaine salad with feta and black olives mixed through it. In the salad was one of these things -- it looked like Hammentaschen but it was more bread-like and the filling seemed to be spinach. I had one of those. Also hummus. And I took the salad home and put my leftover steak strips on top of it, and that was dinner.

Not exactly a binge, but unplanned, and also salty. The triggers here were 1) free food, when because of my hotel living with the kitchenette and limited cooking, I feel scarcity; 2) the smell of oregano, olive oil and garlic; 3) hunger and the idea of an hour delay driving home through traffic; and finally 4) the sense that this was *permitted* food, not strictly limited or forbidden food, a lingering eating disorder symptom.

Speaking of which. Raven, it's not good to eat "plain dry oats and almond milk with cinnamon for most meals." It's like you are putting yourself on a prisoner's diet of gruel. Where is the protein and the vegetables and the normal portions? I would not call that a long-term strategy for maintenance.

I baked a nice frittata for dinner last night--that felt like a good, light meal. Salad for lunch and yogurt for breakfast with snacks of cheese and (hard to admit) but a fun sized candy bar. All in all, I feel as if I came in lower than 1460 which is my daily goal.

I did 30 minutes on a hill climb on the treadmill this morning and I'm ready to hit the day, although it promises to be light duty at work today. I should take my knitting.

Because I have a terrible time maintaining during the holidays (and, in fact, never do), I'm joining the Maintain Not Gain Challenge at the YMCA. Frankly, the little voice in my head is saying, "don't do it, you'll miss out on all the holiday goodies," but I'm ignoring that voice. Challenges really keep me going because I've discovered my inner competitor, and she's pretty fierce. Anyone else have a holiday strategy? It's that tempting time of year. . .

I also have an inner competitor, Sheila. I love the idea of the maintain, not gain, challenge...
I just finished a dietbet and I know I could join another for the holidays, but like you, I'm not sure I want to restrict too much!

I was sooooo close on the dietbet. You have to weigh a certain amount when it's over to share the pot of winnings (4% loss from your starting weight). I was .4 under that amount (naked) but .4 over it with clothes on and holding my phone to take the picture you have to submit for proof! I ended up having dh take the photo so I didn't have to hold the phone. Assuming my weight is verified, I will be a winner.

Tomorrow is the holiday feast at work. It is a blowout. I am making a veggie dish that sounds good and healthy. I know I will overindulge tomorrow but my plan is to only try what is really worth trying. I usually skip the turkey and ham because we make it much better at home and I focus on the side dishes and desserts. Then, I'll spend the next week before Thanksgiving complaining about the weight I gained and trying to get it off before then. So... yeah... probably not doing another dietbet for now....

Saef - its not typical. Just ended up like that after running around through the weekend. One night went to pizza party for dinner, and I just ate oats before I left the house because its easy. Yesterday I ate spinach salad with lemon juice, tomatoes, tuna. More salad and fried potatoes for dinner. Drank water. Now I'm at 134.

Shannon, I'm sorry about the major change in plans and the events that caused them. I hope your mountain trip is restorative.

I'm at 152.3 this morning and disappointed. I felt so hungry before lunch and dinner yesterday and was not overly full afterward. Reaching that pitch of hunger has always been a sign to me that I am eating at maintenance. Now it's not. What happens *after* that hunger and what I eat to satiety is the issue, of course.

DH and I tried our first Freshly meal last night. When they arrived, I was a little disappointed as they looked rather small, but the packaging was deceiving. The entree turned out to be more than enough, very satisfying and quite good. Last night was penne bolognese. The sauce was rich with plenty of beef and vegetables. And the calories were only 450 whereas when I was doing Blue Apron, calories ranged from 700-850.

There's been a certain amount of grazing. It has to stop.

I have a week off from travelling. I plan to invest in sleep, somehow or another. I find it difficult to sleep in so it may have to be afternoon naps. Turning off the light early sometimes works but I sometimes wake an hour or so afterwards and can't get back to sleep. However I manage to do it, it has to be crammed in.

30 min ab workout today, yesterday 30 minutes of yoga. 2 eggs for breakfast yesterday, lunch salad, dinner home made chili. And chips. Plus dark chocolate. At 132 this morning.

So tired of seeing some version of 132 on my scale (132.8 3 days ago; 131.2 today). But tonight's dinner was Ethiopian food, and while not terribly calorie-dense, I ate the entire large injera bread (>12" in diameter) the food was placed on, which put dinner well over my 600 calorie limit. The quiet, polite "I'm full" signal given out by my stomach is immediately shouted down by the clamor of "don't stop; this tastes so good." Now feeling bloated and sluggish.

Raven, belated welcome from me. I used to post much more regularly; have become something of a lurker in recent months, as I find myself with little to say and overwhelmed with work stuff.

Allison, is Freshly also a do-your-own-food-prep kind of service, like Blue Apron, or does the food come pre-chopped/peeled/cleaned and you just combine ingredients and cook?

Saef, you dropped 0.7 pounds overnight but you say you aren't satisfied. How much were you expecting to lose in 1 day?

Andrea, no, Freshly is like a fresh microwave dinner. Absolutely no prep other than heating it up.