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Maintainers - Week Of November 29 - December 5
Good morning and how did everyone do with the four-day festivities? In my family, at least, the eating and drinking went on until the last relative cleared out last night and it was all pretty much to excess. :dizzy: Fortunately, the scale stayed the same for me, but I was very careful with food other than at Thanksgiving dinner itself. I only made it to the gym two out of the four days, but every little bit helps.
So as soon as I got back from the last trip to the airport last night, it was time for ... the Christmas lists! All you fellow list-makers know that this is the holiday that requires the most lists. :lol: We've got the present lists, the menus, the baking list, 'to buy' and 'to do' etc. My goal for this week is to be done Christmas shopping by Friday and to do all the wrapping over the weekend. And stay away from the malls for the rest of the month! How's everyone handling holiday baking? I used to be the champion cookie baker (and eater, of course) - like 17 kinds of cookies. This year I'm going to cut way back, but can't cut it out entirely if I want to stay married. :p So I told DH he gets four kinds of Christmas cookies and they're going to be kept in the basement freezer (hopefully I'll be too lazy to go after them there :D ). Life would be easier without cookies in the house, but that's just not an option here. My exciting news of the weekend is that I got a kitten! Our 20-year old kitty died last winter and even though we still have a 13-year old, the house seemed too quiet with only one cat. So all my sisters (who were visiting) and I trooped down to the Humane Society and adopted the sweetest little girl - she's three months old and gray, tan and white tortoise-shell. We named her Sophie. The two cats are getting along fine - the older one is quite timid, but the kitten is so little that she's not threatening to him. She likes to sit on my lap while I'm typing and chase the cursor on the screen! :lol: So onward to the most challenging month of the year, IMO. We can do this - with some thought and planning, we can get through the parties and baking and food and drink everywhere! My focus is on what I want the scale to say on January 1, 2005 - it's a visualization thing like we've talked about - I picture myself standing on the scale and know what I want it to read. I love all the strategies and ideas that everyone's come up with to deal with parties and festivities - keep 'em coming; we're going to need all the suggestions that we can get in the weeks to come. :) |
Hi Ho and Happy Monday!
I had the very best Thanksgiving! We went to my wonderful MIL’s, and my brother came over from Louisville, and we spent the day eating turkey and playing dominoes. The day after, DH and I drove to St. Louis – one of my absolute favorite cities – where we spent the weekend. We went to a couple of terrific restaurants, and we shopped some. It was just great. But what really set the weekend apart was my reading of a book that has been mentioned several times: Fit From Within by Victoria Moran. For me, this was *exactly* the right book at the right time. Moran, a motivational writer and speaker who has maintained a 60-pound loss for several years, divides her book into 101 very brief chapters (e.g., 2-3 pages each) in which she gives 101 tips for weight loss and maintenance. I suppose one could say that much, if not all, of the ground she covers is not new. But her take on things is exactly what I was looking for at this point in my life. She draws strong connections between one’s spiritual, mental and physical aspects, and I found her approach gentle and loving. I also found lots of parallels between her practice and my yoga practice, in which balance and breath assume preeminent roles. This won’t be a book for everyone, but I recommend it very highly if such an outlook has any appeal. And the proof is in the pudding: by putting some of her tips into practice, I came home from Thanksgiving weekend (including two fabulous restaurant meals) down half a pound :goodscale Meg (congratulations on the kitten!), I’ll join you in visualizing a stable scale on Jan. 1. But before I get to Christmas, I need to make it through a board meeting at the end of the week. As some of you know, board meetings have been a real challenge for me, so this time, I’m strategizing in advance (as you all recommended :gossip: ) Here’s what I’ve come up with so far: I’m *not* going to drink endless cups of coffee, which just jack me up :coffee2: . I’ll have my usual morning cup, and then switch to water. I will not pass the time with mindless eating; if need be, I will set the timer on my Palm to let me know when the next meal is due. I will visualize myself remaining calm throughout the meeting and remind myself that even if all **** breaks loose, a bagel/doughnut/cookie will not resolve the problem. Since the food is pretty terrible at this particular hotel, I’m going to take steps to augment the menus. I’m going to buy some blue ice and pack an insulated bag, into which I’ll stash apples, raisins, individual packs of Kashi multigrain crackers, carrots and celery sticks and cheese wedges. At dinner, I will eat the salad, the roll and the chicken breast, passing on the rice pilaf, which is usually like lumpy wallpaper paste. I will order poached eggs from room service for breakfast, and skip the buffet, which is a minefield of French toast, pastries, sugary cereals and omelets that are swimming in fat. And I will remind myself to breathe. When I do so, I pull myself into the moment. I center myself. I calm myself. And I reinforce the connection between my mind and my body. Great stuff, breathing. :cloud9: Anyway, that’s what I’ve decided on so far. I’ve never come up with a real plan before, and I’m feeling pretty good about it. Anyone have any thoughts? Oops … gotta run. Talk to you later. |
Last week turned out to be tough for me, and I'm crawling back on the wagon with a more regimented week--details on the 'starting over' thread so I won't belabor it here.
What great news about the kitten, Meg! And best of luck with your baking. Can you bake the kinds of cookies you don't like so much and trade with someone else baking your danger cookies? Airegrrl, I'm so glad to hear you had a great Thanksgiving! It also seems like you have a very sound plan for dealing with your meeting. I especially like remembering to breathe. I'm going to have to try that one tomorrow. I'm gearing up for another race this weekend, this time a half-marathon. I ran a lot last week, and somehow my running got much better by training on my bicycle. Life is a mystery. This race is gearing up for the BIG GOAL. I will finally get to do my marathon on January 9 in Phoenix if all goes well. It is a bit too close to the bike race for my taste, but it was a major goal for 2004 and I'm going to do it, even if it will be just barely 2005. I trained for the Los Angeles Marathon last spring, but managed to get a stress fracture in my foot the week before, so I couldn't run. That was a huge disappointment. After the marathon, I'm taking a break from the long-distance craziness for a little while to give my body some time to recover. Hope everyone else is doing well! It's been so quiet the last week! Anne |
Good Tuesday Mornin' Girls :wave:....
Mel ~~ I'm starting my lists, and checking them twice! Tourtieres and a casserole are on the list to do today! Anne ~~ I sure hope I get to the point of competing like you do, I may try it next summer... Robin ~~ Great post... I'm going to the library to look for that book today... Yes, breathing, smelling the roses, living in the moment ALL great ideas that I will try to think of this Holiday season... Yesterday, DH and I went to Ottawa and we're almost done our shopping! We also went to the Running Room, a great store for running gear...DH bought me some new Nike runners, gloves, socks and a baclava for running...:dance:... I'm sooo excited to wear them, but NOT thill Christmas :( dang!! Food was so-so and there was no workout except lots of walking...TODAY is leg day :strong: and maybe some cardio depending on how the legs feel... Well, TTFN, I'm off to make a list :wave:... Let's be careful out there! |
G'morning all.
The day has started well. Put in 40 minutes on the treadmill, and managed to get to work on time, possibly because the snow that is threatening to fall hasn't done so yet. Now they're saying it will arrive tonight. I can't imagine there will be much accumulation, but who knows! Anne, good going on the training and the upcoming race. I wonder if the bicycle training was effective because it allowed you to rest muscles you'd been training hard while revving up a different set of muscles that don't get as much work when you run? Possible? In any event, I think it's great to have a goal and I bet you do fabulously! Ilene, I think you'll like this book but I had to laugh when I read your post; I thought *you* had recommended it. :lol: I wonder where on earth I read about it? The same author has a number of books, including two journaling guides, one of which centers on yoga. I may try to find it this week. Two interesting incidents have occurred this week, both involving meals that I have opted *not* to eat. I don't know about you, but if a meal is set in front of me, I usually dig in. Like Pavlov's dogs. After more than a year at 3FC, I might not eat as much of said meal, but I usually eat some of it. Well, yesterday, I had a mid-morning protein shake before heading into back-to-back meetings, totally forgetting that the second meeting was a lunch session. When the box lunches were put in front of us, I dutifully opened the lid, even though I was still really full. Interestingly, I knew I didn't want to eat then, but the force of habit is so damm strong! But then I paused and told myself to breathe. And then the solution occured to me: I simply told folks I'd had a late breakfast, and that I'd eat my lunch later. They couldn't have cared less whether I ate or not, and just kept their attention on the subject at hand. As for me, I was physically there, but mentally, I was :dance: Talk about an object lesson. I had made a conscious decision and followed through on it. I had not fallen into auto pilot. My head and my stomach were in sync, which meant that I was in perfect balance. It was an awesome moment. Incidentally, I eventually ate that sandwich yesterday afternoon, and it was very good. And I was hungry. Then, this morning, after the threadmill session, I realized that I wasn't feeling quite right. Sometimes, when I'm tried, I fall out of sorts and I particularly notice it in my gut. This time, although I drank a cup of tea, not a single solitary thing sounded appetizing. So, instead of eating something then, I just passed on the whole thing. By the time I got here, my appetite had returned, and I had a bite to eat. Right now, I feel good. My water pitcher is full; I have fruit on the credenza; and I'm nursing a cup of coffee. I'm tired, but I'm aware of being tired, which means I'm aware that I must guard against falling into the nearest muffin. Today, I can do this and that's all I need to think about. Today. Once you get into it, this listening to oneself is incredibly powerful. And on that happy note, I've got to fix my website. All the fonts are wrong this morning. Sheesh. :mad: Have a happy everyone. And hugs and love. |
Hello Maintainers--
We took a 4 day trip to Montreal, city of wonderful food and lots of opportunities to walk. We didn't celebrate a traditional Thanksgiving, but we did have a relaxing and wonderful time together. The kids (ages 12 and 7) were in a separate hotel room right next to us--we thought it would have a connecting door, but I was pleased to have the break from them. I valiantly trotted out my high school French (from 20+ years ago) and was able to order a cafe au lait every time I wanted one! I went to some good museums, tracked all my food, used the hotel exercise equipment and weighed in on Sunday down 1/2 pound. My next challenge is when my parents visit at end of December. Hanukkah is over by then, but I think my mother will bring some of her cookies and/or want to bake a lot when she is here. Some things about food I can control, especially on my own turf, but family can always make these issues more complicated. I told my parents to bring swimsuits and exercise clothes so that all of us could go to the Y together. Plus I'll do a lot of the cooking, in my delicious yet low-fat way. I like having an audience to cook for, and I am looking forward to their visit. Does anyone own a workout tape/DVD for weights or stability ball? Any particular title you would recommend? Have a good week. |
Hi, everyone,
Even though I am in Canada, I ended up eating turkey this weekend, as SuperStore was giving out as free item. So we took one. Since we do not eat read meat, it is nice to have the whole turkey for free... My last three weeks were very hectic - I was transferred to work in customer support and I've lost there 2 pounds. Now I am back to my normal working environment and I try not to gain them back (after all I know I've lost them doing customer support, so I know where to find them). My family also got a new addition - one of my coworkers wanted to put his puppy to SPCA and puppy was so nice and sweet, so my first intention was - "no" - you do not take puppies to SPCA and put them in cages. So a day later new addition arrived to my house - his new name is Blake and he looks like beagle but he is twice as big - height is about Lab's. He is very sweet and definitely was abused before. He is 10 month old and we are going to the first obedience class on Thursday. He is still not getting along with two of my cats, but it is getting better. I mentioned that since he arrived I stopped using treadmill but just walk outside and it gives me a totally different fealing - I not only feel like I've exercised but I also get good feelings to be outside and take long uninterrupted walk - you know, with 3 kids and 1 job and 2 cats and now one dog it is almost impossible to have time for myself. I had dogs as a child and teenager and now I am kind of going back to those years... Sandy. |
Well I'm back from my trip to Cleveland to visit the grandparents for thanksgiving. I survived!!! I ate a bit more then I planed but I didn't go crazy like I feared I would. All in all it was a good visit and I was able to look at my family and their eating and lifestyle habits and evaluate some things through new eyes. One thing that this trip taught me is that I'm so thankful for exercise! There are many mornings that I have to talk myself out of bed and onto the treadmill...but after 4 days away from my treadmill I was having exercise withdrawals. I can't do that ever again! There wasn't anywhere for me to really go to walk outside let alone run. I felt like a rat in a cage or like I was on a long car ride and needed to stretch my legs.
I am also truly thankful for is my health. My grandmother is 77 and my grandfather is 81. I am very glad that I was able to visit them this year because I'm not sure that there will be many more thanksgivings with my grandfather. He is one of those people that has benefited greatly from the advancements of modern medicine. He has had more surgeries then I can count and could start his own pharmacy from home with all the prescriptions that he has. The crazy/sad thing about it is that had he just eaten a bit healthier, exercised, and not smoked he would be a different person. I don't want to end up like him. Visiting him and seeing him in the condition that he is in made me all the more resolute to maintain the healthy lifestyle changes that I've made. Looking at my grandparents eating habits and lifestyle was a big wake up call for me. Suddenly I see what I could become...what I don't want to become. I know many older people that are living into their 80's and are very active. That's how I want to be. I don't expect to be running marathons when I'm my grandparents age...but I do hope that I will be able to go for long walks with my grandkids. My life my be cut short by an accident or an unpreventable disease. Even if it is, I still want to know that I made the best of my life in this body. I want to know that I took care of it as best that I could and treated myself with the utmost respect. |
I admire you all for being so strong over Thanksgiving. I wasn't. :( I've been back to my routine for the last three days so I already feel better. My plan is to lose my Thanksgiving weight by Christmas! :dizzy:
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Something Mel said in another thread really got me thinking this morning: Since we all aim to make this the LAST time we go through the diet part of our lives, we darn well better learn how to live here happily. The scenario started kicking around in my brain about ‘what if’ I woke up back at 257 pounds and faced the prospect of dieting it all back off again. Honestly, it’s hard to put into words what an incredibly depressing thought that is - I can't imagine anything much worse than sitting here with all that weight back on again and facing having to lose 120 pounds all over again. Just even THINKING about being back there gives me the shudders and puts a black cloud over me. And it makes me realize all over again that regardless of how tough maintenance can be (and some days can be hard ;) ), it's so totally worth the effort. :D
Maybe Mel’s remark really hit home today for me since we’re now well-launched into the holiday season with all its challenges. It seems like everywhere I went yesterday there was nothing but FOOD! :dizzy: I felt like I was running a food gauntlet at the mall and Starbucks and grocery store, all carefully designed to get me to eat crappy food I didn’t need (well, I guess it’s done that way on purpose, come to think of it - marketing). I don’t know about you guys, but I seem to have a little :devil: voice inside of me that likes to say things about how it’s OK to give in ‘just this once’ and how I could start again tomorrow and everyone’s else is giving in and it’s the season, blah blah. I stomped that sucker flat yesterday but actually felt mentally exhausted from the constant stream of NOs that I had to yell at the :devil: :devil: . I need to finish up my Christmas shopping and stay as far away from that commercial madness as possible for my own sanity. Sandy, congratulations on the new puppy! Good heavens, it sounds like your life is hectic! Our new kitten has come down with an upper respiratory infection and conjunctivitis (not unusual for shelter cats), so I’m supposed to give her that lovely bubble-gum pink amoxicillin and eye drops twice a day. Who knew that three pounds of kitten could turn into such a holy terror? After each bout, she stalks away while I’m covered in pink stuff and little kitty scratches. Now I’m trying wrapping her in a towel while I dose her, which is working a little better, but if anyone has any ideas for getting medicine and eye drops into a kitten, I’d appreciate them. Robin, I think that you can’t help but succeed with your plan – it’s carefully thought out and you’ve come up with a way to work around the potential pitfalls. Be sure to let us know how it goes for you. :) And think about how good you’ll feel when you’ve made it through one of those dread board meetings unscathed - I’ll bet you’ll feel like you’ve conquered Mt. Everest! And thanks for the book recommendation – as we all get further along in our lifetime weight maintenance, the books that speak to us seem to be more about the ‘head’ stuff of weight loss rather than the nuts and bolts of dieting (we’ve all got that down pat, right? :lol: ). It would be great to get a regular discussion group going to look at other books after we've gone through Thin For Life in January. Wish I had time for more, but I’ve got a date with an elliptical! :D Have a great day and -- we can make it through the holidays, one day at a time. |
Meg ~~ Ah Maintenance! I'm not quite there yet and I've lost only 18# but I agree 1000# that regaining scares the beegeebees out of me! The last week, I didn't THINK was so bad, I didn't have Thanksgiving to deal with afterall, BUT as I look at my calendar it's been awful food wise 2 out of 7 days have been NOT good . POOR PLANNING is the reason, I didn't make my batch of chicken on Sunday and since then every time I turn around I have no decent protein to eat so I've been eating that dreaded PB:devil: along with cheese:devil:and with the PB well I've got to eat my WW bread, and with the cheese, the WW crackers...then the vicious circle begins with the carb cravings. I even went into a "carb coma" :lol: on monday night when I ate too much WW pasta... Ok, everyone will say it's all WW bread, pasta, and crackers BUT for MOI it's :nono: food and sends me in a "I want more mode" ...
Oh dang !! I have to gooooo shower time... Oh Meg BTW congrats on the Kitty, as you know I :love: kitties... I have no suggestions with the meds for your Sophie except close your eyes or wear goggles, you don't want to get any pink stuff in YOU eyes ...;) TTFN... I have to listen to my own mantra : "Let's be careful out there!" :) |
Ilene - in my book, there's no such thing as 'only' losing 18 pounds or 10 pounds or whatever. Ten pounds or a hundred pounds - we're all fighting the same battle, right? I have so much respect for anyone who's lost ANY amount of weight and managed to keep it off, so please don't ever say -- ONLY 18 pounds!!
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Hi guys!
The week is going fabulously. I'm now on day 5 of the 'new start' monitoring. After a couple of rough days, it's getting easier again--I'll be posting the gory details on the other thread just after this. But my binge weight is all gone, plus a little extra, and I'm back near the bottom of my maintenance range. Perhaps, now that I'm re-establishing some better habits, I'll try to push on and conquer those last 15 lbs I've been moaning about for a while. I'm feel like I'm back in a place where instead of wishing and hoping the scale will be nice to me, I've reacquired the power to make it happen. Amazing what fear of regaining can do your resolve. I've been thinking about this in the context of the fear discussion above, I find it very interesting that it is the conflict between two negative emotions, fear and stress that started me back on the narrow path, once fear won that battle, I could beat stress into submission. But what will keep me here on this path is happiness, with my ability to be strong, to do something positive for myself, and to be happy with my body and my progress. Already, the desire to keep that kind of happiness is becoming the driving factor in continuing on, and it is so much more powerful than either fear or stress. I'm thinking this is the key for me--I have been remembering that kind of happiness, but hadn't been experiencing much of it recently. I had an absolutely spectacular run last night, and that is also contributing to the good mood. Not to mention a lunch date today with DH to go bicycling! You guys have given me a lot of good ideas to ponder as I'm stuggling this week. Thanks so much! Ilene, I think you and your 18 lbs are fabulous! I'm proud of you! And of all of us who keep off so much as a single pound. How hard it is, what heros we all are in this battle. And here's looking forward to the day when we reach MrsJim's 'it get's easier' stage! Anne |
Hi all,
Afraid this has to be quick as the dreaded board meeting begins today and I have yet to shower, pack a bag, collect the papers blah blah blah ... But I couldn't go without saying to Dee, Amen Sister. It was watching my mom in her last decade that sealed my decision to be as healthy as I can be. She was miserable and I felt desperately sorry for her. The awful part was that, like your grandfather, she brought the worst of it on herself: she smoked; she rarely got so much as a walk; and she refused to acknowledge, let alone seek treatment, for depression. She actually succumbed to lung cancer, but I believe she died a little bit every day for 10 years out of sheer unhappiness and inertia, and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. Thus, I am determined to do whatever I can to prevent a similar fate. Let's face it, I share her genes, and there are probably some things that are beyond my control, but I can certainly eat right and keep moving! Do we have a sticky for book recommendations? I went looking at the "Maintenance Library" sticky, and it seems to be largely (fabulous) articles. Perhaps we could have one for just book recommendations? Or do we already have that somewhere that I haven't looked? Sandy, bless your heart for scooping up that puppy! I am involved in Airedale Rescue, and I'm generally appalled at how some people treat animals. I'll never understand it; I'm just glad I can do a little something to help. Meg and Ilene, you are NOT going to regain that weight. I hear you when you worry about your worst nightmares and dipping into those carbs, but somehow, I think you've crossed your own personal Rubicons, and having done that, it would be almost impossible to swim backward. I believe Anne Fletcher when she says that successful Maintainers have a "click" moment -- a trigger that leads to permanent change. All I would add is a strong recomendation to breathe. When the cookies/candy canes/plum puddings call out to you, stop stock still for a moment and center yourselves. This can be done in 30 seconds and can save you a heap o' trouble. Breathe in, become aware of your bodies, and relax. Oh oh, I've done it again ... climbing down off the soapbox now. Karynlee, you're going to be just fine. Look at what you've accomplished! Greetings to Anne, Elana and everyone yet to post. Have a Happy! |
Anne, you and I were writing at the same time. Fabulous post; thanks!
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I want a kitten and a puppy, scratches, pink stuff, and all :( The towel and leather glove method is the only one I've ever come up with that works with a recalcitrant cat or kitten, too.
Meg, sorry to depress you or scare the poop out of you with that remark! Didn't mean to, but maybe it got you through a Starbucks moment :devil: All is well here- actually doing so well I afraid something is wrong. :dizzy: I've eaten totally on plan ( I won't use the "clean" word anymore except at the gym ) for 32 days and haven't missed a single workout. I'm down about 4 1/2 pounds from my "maintenance weight", which is the smallest I've been in 23 years when healthy and lifting. So far I've totally ignore the looming holidays, and other than making hotel reservations, my dd's college graduation. Maybe staying out of malls and stores has kept me on track! I think I may do some very limited on-line shopping today, and that will be it. It's been a rough year financially so I'm better off staying out of stores anyway :devil: And definitely no baking going on here! I made double pies at T'giving which I'll take to my brother's house at Christmas along with a big salad and some steamed shrimp. Half my family is Jewish, so we'll have a first night dinner with them next week (yikes! I need to look at the calendar more often!) Off to do cardio.... Mel |
Meg, about kitten... One of mine is Siamese and if you do not know what does it mean, it means needy and vocal. Anyways, as a kitten he was always sick. I found out that drops are not really good for kittens, my vet was giving me a salve - you put it on your finger and simply smear it into his eyes. Worked fine and it is not messy - next time ask them if they can do it for you. How to give any oral medication to kittens/cats is still a question for me. When we were moving, my Siamese went crazy and was attacking my other cat. So we had to put both cats on something like Prozak. I had to pay extra to put medication into the plastic capsules in my Safeway store, and than I would just spend 10 minutes trying to push this capsule down their throats (BTW, you can just go to Safeway now and ask them to give you capsules and measure the dosage into the capsules of course if your dosage is small enough and it fits in). At least it was not messy plus I was sure at the end that dosage is correct.
On the bright note - my puppy and cats started to sniffle each other. Cats started to eat in puppy's presense (my siamese lost half of his weight I guess after hiding for 5 days). Today I saw that puppy and Siamese were eating side by side... My next challenge is to teach the puppy not to whine when we leave - I still want my neighbours to like me.... About malls - this year I decided to shop online. I found that it is much easier, faster plus temptations are under control. |
Hello Girls :wave:
Thank you for the encouraging words all... Meg ~~ I have to take back those words, I do realise that loosing 100 or 18# IS an EXTREME battle... I also have to rephrase this : "... it's been awful food wise 2 out of 7 days have been NOT good" it should read "2 out of 7 days have been GOOD"... Meg knows how bad my math can be :lol:... I should also never post before I put my eyes in, in the morning, I can't see a dang thing! It isn't the first time I make that kind of mistake :shrug: I've shopped at Amazon this Christmas too, I must say that I LOVED it! No muss, no fuss, no crowds! AND cheaper too even with the S&H... :thumb: Sash ~~ Oh the things we do for our animals... even putting them on Prozak for an adjustment time... Imagine, who would've thunk! You seem to kind hearted... Mel ~~ WOW!! You're really on track, Congrats to you! Anne ~~ Great post... I'm going to re-track myself as of NOW! Robin ~~ I will breath more deeply, I should've read your post this morning I had some candy at work today... BREATH Ilene BREATH!!! Karenleigh ~~ Maybe we can BREATH together? Hang in there WE can do it... Ok... I'm off to the gym, will jog there do chest then jog back... I may take a long way there because it's so beautiful and sunny at the moment...Althought pretty cool -6C or 21F , but ya know I preffer this weather to the heat of the summer... TTFN...:wave: |
Business trips are hard . . .
In August I had two weeks of time scheduled out of town and was kind of panicked about maintaining. I had been reading the Zone books and decided that this way of eating was pretty adaptable to business travel. I exercised daily and roughly followed the Zone plan. It worked! I actually lost a few pounds. At the breakfast buffet, I either had scrambled eggs and oatmeal or eggs and fruit. For lunch I would have a lean protein, vegetables, and fruit. Sometimes this was a chicken caesar salad with very little dressing and an apple after lunch that I had picked up at breakfast. For dinner, there was usually a grilled fish available. I asked the waiter to substitute vegetables for any potatoes or rice and had a glass of wine. If I thought there were not enough carbs, I'd eat from my fruit stash back in the room. I took some Almond Brownie Balance bars and some almonds. I ate half a balance bar in the afternoons when all the tempting snacks were placed out at my meeting and had another half before bed. If any of my meals seemed too low on fat, I dipped into my almonds. I drank tons of water and took my own green tea bags. Having a plan defintely helped!
Sounds like you are planning for success! I have three parties this weekend, and hope that my party :devil: will not rear up! My thought is that I'll drink pretty of sparkling water, drink some red wine, have some cheese and shrimp if available. I want to be able to partake, and I think this plan will allow me to do so without feeling deprived. I'll probably have one of my homemade 30/30/40 muffins before each event just to take the edge off my hunger. Thanks for all the encouragement and updates on your own efforts :) |
Hi, not a maintainer - yet - but wanted to address the kitten medication issue. What works for us with liquid meds is either (a) mix it into food, but that requires a cat that eats all its food at once or (b) using two people, have one hold the cat wrapped in a towel. The second person administers the meds using a dropper. This is usually me! :lol: I use my left hand to open the cat's mouth (pressure on both sides of jaw hinge) and then put the dropper into the cat's mouth and squirt the whole thing in as fast and as far back as I can manage. close the mouth and massage the throat. This is all done in a closed bathroom btw. We have two Siamese daughters and have developed this process over the years. And the salve is a great idea for the eyes. I'm currently giving my older cat thyroid medication by rubbing a measure dose of a cream on the inside of her ear twice a day. Of course, this involves catching her, putting her in the closed bathroom, putting a rubber glove finger on my hand (I don't need the meds!) and then rubbing it on her ear. No pain at all, just the aggravation of catching her!
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WR ~~ You can come in here anytime, heck I'm here aren't I and I'm not at goal, I just like these Maintainers Attitudes they ROCK!!
Meg ~~ You mentioned last week that your D had lost quite a bit of weight... How good does she look? Do tell!! |
Hi Ilene, WR and all, I am not at goal either, but am now more than half way there (?), and have maintained a 35# wl for several years. When I was looking all over for a place for helpful, informative wl support, this group fit my needs more than any other I found. The people here are friendly, generous, knowledgable, not to mention successful. Most are living breathing Thin for Lifers.
Years ago I read that if you want to learn a particular skill, learn from those who have actually done it. Jan |
Hi people
I was reading the support forum and just thought I would alert you to this question http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/show...352#post725352 You all really know what you're talking about! Dill |
Ack, I just received an invitation to a Christmas cookie exchange later this month from a good friend who lives just down the street. I really want to go for the social part of the event, but dont especially want either to bake, or to receive any. Not sure what I am going to do yet. I used to bake (and eat) lots and lots of good C. Cookies every year. No more. This one is going to require some strong visualizations. I guess I should worry more about the other holiday events that precede that one and see how those go first.
Jan |
Cookies!
Christmas cookies! Jansan, aren’t you just the timely one! :D I just sat down here at the computer with a cup of tea after baking six kinds of cookies this morning and read your post about cookies (more about my baking later). About your cookie exchange invitation – why not tell the hostess exactly what you said to us? You’d love to come to socialize but you don’t want to receive cookies and would prefer not to bake them. Hopefully she’ll say sure, come anyway and have a cup of coffee and chat with everyone (of course, there will be cookies there but you can come up with a strategy for them, right?) If she still wants you to bring something to share, how about purchased cookies? Or maybe those individually wrapped Lindt truffles in place of cookies? (I like to put a few of those on a cookie plate - makes it pretty)
My intent was to do minimal cookie baking this year but then my sweet DH :devil: signed us up to bake cookies for his office Christmas party. In his defense, I‘ve always done it in the past and the office was clamoring for cookies, so I just didn’t have the heart to say no. When I woke up this morning, I felt like today was a good day for dealing with cookies and baked my little heart out (there are definitely times when I know better than to bake, but today was an easy day to resist temptation). Now I have dozens of cookies cooling all over the kitchen and my plan is to package them all up (some for the office, some for us for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners). I like to wrap the containers up with yards of masking tape so that they look like little mummies – it keeps me out (sometimes I even write messages to myself on the masking tape :o ). Thanks for all the kitten advice – we’re getting a little better at the pink stuff. I’ll definitely ask about the eye salve – sounds much easier than drops. Sophie is still really snuffly – she tries to sneak up on the older cat but right when she’s about to pounce, she’ll sneeze ah-choo and give herself away. DH says that it’s hard to be a predator with a head cold! :lol: I love Siamese’s – they're so intelligent and so vocal! I had a Siamese kitten for a brief time in college and had to give him away when I moved (but the family who adopted him had just lost their Siamese, so they adored him and I didn’t feel quite so bad). Pat/Water Rat – please stick around and keep posting with us! You don’t have to be at goal to post here, like the others said. And if I’m remembering right, you’ve lost, regained some, and lost again so there’s probably lots that WE can learn from YOU! :) Ilene, that’s sweet of you to remember about DD! She’s lost 45# now and looks wonderful! She’s in size 8 or 10 jeans now and had a blast trying on her old jeans that she had left here at home and watching them fall down without unzipping them. We did some preliminary clothes shopping while she was home but are going to wait for the after-Christmas sales and hit them hard. OK, time to get the cookies out of sight and out of mind. :p |
Hi Meg and all,
Glad you were able to bake your cookies without a problem. The cookie exchange isnt until the 19th so there is time to decide what to do. And yes, I could go without taking cookies. I have always taken a plate of cookies to a family and friends Christmas eve buffet, and think I would like to take them again this year. They would not be my cookies but those from the exchange. Fortunately (?) its only my own cookies that tempt me, and more specifically the raw dough that's the biggest problem. I am considering baking the morning of the exchange. Or not. It depends on my mood at the time and how I have been able to handle other Christmas events. You have made me think about cookies and the 3 oatmeal raisins (my favorite) that have been in my freezer for over a month now. There were 4 to begin with :) I should just get rid of those. Its sometimes hard for me to just toss perfectly good food, but then what is the alternative? Eating them myself? I dont especially want to do that - they were from a friend and while they are good, they are not excellent. So what am I keeping them for? Posterity? My heirs? An oatmeal cookie emergency???? My trash man collects on Friday. Jan |
I've finally gotten to the point where I have ZERO guilt about throwing food away - since, as you say, what's the alternative? Wearing it on my butt? :lol: I tell myself that I'm acting like a trash can if I eat it, so I'm better off throwing it in the real trash can. Gotta say, though, there have been times that I've had to squirt dishwashing liquid all over the offending item to really make sure I don't eat it. :o
I'm just like you - if I'm going to spend the calories on a treat, I want it to be the best - the best chocolate, the best piece of cake etc - and feel cheated if it wasn't worth the calorie 'price tag'. Speaking of baking, DH and I were planning Christmas dinner while we were eating tonight and he jokingly asked if I would be making figgy pudding (as in 'bring us some figgy pudding ... ' from 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas') so now I have to satisfy my curiousity and find out what IS figgy pudding? :?: |
Yea what the heck is figgy puddin'?? :shrug: I'm on google as we speak!! :lol:
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Hey I found something.....http://www.whitington.com/unclebubba/wing/figgy/
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Quote:
And forget leaving food on my plate. Have I tried to do that to no avail. I have learned to serve myself less to begin with so I dont have to go thru that angst 3 times/day. Whatever works. I have also had a problem with 'free' food or really good deals in the store. Same family learned 'waste not (waist?), want not' thing. In most areas being frugal has served me well, but with food, not always. I now rarely buy things just because they are inexpensive. What really helped here was teaching myself to eat only the best low cal. foods that are available, within frugal reason of course. Even shrimp goes on sale. Free food such as at parties or at work or after tennis has always been a problem too. Making headway here too, but I can be still vulnerable. I totally agree about treats. If its not absolutely wonderful, its not a treat. So why eat it? This has not always been the case. Jan, becoming ever more discriminating as time goes by. |
It's been even harder for my dh to learn that it's ok to throw away food. With our three young kids, after a particularly bad meal, I've joked that I should save the middle step and just thow the cooked food directly in the garbage rather then letting them spread it all across the table and floor too. Dh hated throwing their leftovers away, and would often eat them, even if he wasn't hungry and even if he didn't particularly like the food. He's slowly getting over it.
But I have trouble turning down a good deal at the grocery store. And as a result currently have more cans of sweetened condensed milk and bags of peanut butter chips than I need for my family's baking purposes. I'm going to donate a couple of each to a Christmas hamper campaign on Tuesday. |
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