OMG, this is busier than ever. I don't know I can keep up. Just to really e back I am posting from work right now.

Krampus: thanks! Though I did not maintain, I went up to about 137 which I keep pushing back to 134 with ease but back down to 131 - pff. That was a onetime low. Hihi. I'll get there again though.

Thanks for the welcome backs! I am gonna interact with you all soon, but right now just starting back up on the diet and not focussed yet.

I did exercise the past few days but I did not count calories, not really. Just vaguely in my head. Will figure it out. I am fed up with counting so I don't know what else works.

Mottainai...You might not actually be up that much if your scale is off. You always get back on plan, and I know you will be doing well in the next few days. You look great in your pics...I'm not even braving a pic of tummy right now! lol!

Turbo...You have good eyes girlfriend! That is some really nice eye candy! I squint and I see Beckham! LOL!

Kakers...I ate and drank guilt free all summer. The guilt didn't set in until the 10lb extra weigh-in. I still have the guilt, and about 6 lbs to show for it But boy, do I ever miss my happy hours with my fresh salsa, chips and cheese! Oh..and the spidey hotdogs at the campfire...sigh

Pixellette...This is just a slump, you WILL pull yourself out of it.

Krampus and Joss...I would be very jealous if either of you lost 5lbs right now! LOL! I'm hanging in there. Another day of clean eating and a Kettlebell workout. You both are helping me to stay OP. Thanks!

Leila...It's hard to stay OP when your busy at wonly something to work. I have to remember to eat and make sure I pack a lunch and healthy snacks. So hard sometimes!

Lockitup..You lost weight this month. That is certainly something to be proud of. Don't lose focus of the big picture.

_________________________________________________

Nothing new to report...but I have some confessions:

-I'm eating lunch away from the lunchroom. I don't want to hear any comments about my lunch or weight. I don't go to the lunchroom either during "treat Friday".
-I'm obsessed with my stall...I spend most of my spare time reading articles about water weight, boosting metabolism, low carb or carbs..blah, blah
-My husband is not happy about my obsession and now I don't talk to him at all about my weight or issues.

Still 118.0 and staying OP. Still frustrated but not going off plan. Worried about "wine weekend" already!

All the praises go to very helpful stars gossip website.

I'm PRETTY sure David Beckham is one of the few things that make this world a BETTER PLACE hehehe.

Hey Feathers, I'm getting ready to go out with friends for a late night...I have a 3 hour work day tomorrow and then it's just nothing but special brownies, whiskey and fooooooooood at my BF's mom's for Thanksgiving. His dad wants to take us to a diner famous for these burgers:


(That's fried cheese)

Yessssssss. Went to the gym despite not feeling like it, had a good time with some weights, goblet squatted 55 lb dumbbells, I did 5 x 10 so I know I can push myself more. I just have a fear of the Olympic bar/hurting my back holding it wrong!

mottainai Where's the bloat? Seriously if that's you carrying 10 pounds of water weight, you must have had a totally concave belly before! That said, "everything around the house" binges are SCARY - eating things you don't even like while thinking "Why am I doing this?!?!?!" all the while. I hope next week is better! At least you don't have to deal with USA Thanksgiving...

Bayzee Maybe you could try just eating 100% differently to what you do now, track nothing going only by intuition, and force yourself away from constant information flow about weight loss? I and a lot of other Feathers here have definitely had some success/mojo return with that technique. What kettlebell workouts do you do?

philana I saw Bayzee's post about her husband and thought it was you and was like "omg did she switch teams and get married?!" Are you still doing looong bike rides? Counting calories sucks and I still haven't gone back that way...

TurboMammoth Mmmm DILF. I don't like kids though, I'd be the wicked stepmom who "accidentally" locked the kids out of the house. Glad the downward trend continues for you. No more 140s!

LeilaJey Hope you find some pie soon and manage to get back on track. I really hope all is well in your personal life.

JossFit Mmm muscle gain. I had a male friend who's never seen me in gym clothes tell me I looked "jacked up" today so that was encouraging. Feel more in control today (as I type that I'm getitng ready to go out drinking...), went for weights directly after a big restaurant dinner and feel good!

Just a quick post to share that I finally broke 118!...117.8 this morning. Not much, but I'll take it!

Good morning Feathers!

I survived yet another trip across country and managed to get through the pre-holiday air travel unscathed and without going off-plan (and trust me, with gigantic gourmet Oreo brownies staring at me from across the terminal in Atlanta it was hard!)

My plan for the day is to hit the gym and then grab a couple of groceries for my stay but make good choices as per usual. I *might* join a few friends for cocktails tonight but I'm a bit hesitant to just because I told myself that I wouldn't "cheat" aside from Thanksgiving Day. Silly, no? We'll see how my husband feels about going out after working all day.

In spite of my higher than I had hoped for weigh in yesterday I still feel okay about the situation. I can SEE that I'm getting my definition back and my clothes fit well so I'm not going to freak out about it too much. Yes, after Thanksgiving I still plan to hit weight-loss mode hard (not that I'm not doing that now, but you know what I mean... RESUME hitting it hard) and hope to lean out a bit more but I think that seeing 118.8 pounds on the scale and then seeing what I see in the mirror has made me realize that I might not be quite as lean but I look good at about this weight. I am still defined but I have a bit of a rounder booty and my face doesn't look gaunt.

Besides, I think my husband likes a couple of pounds on me.

I took the attached picture this morning after breakfast so it's not 'optimal' but it gives an idea. Mottainai inspired the tummy pic! haha


Anyway, hoping for a great workout today and that not too many people are at the gym... icky.

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Philana - At the end of the day you have to do whatever works for you that you can stick to. I LOOOVE weight lifting but if it's not your thing it's just not your thing. It's amazing for your bones and stuff so it's good to at least try to do a bit of it to get those benefits but you don't need to be all gung-ho about it.

I too have gained a few pounds, and while I want them off I am more accepting of them. I just don't want to gain anymore! I think you have the right idea trying to take advantage of the time between now and the Christmas holidays to stick to a routine. I am going to talk to my husband today and figure out what dates I'll be out here for Christmas vacation (probably a week or so) and then that will give me a good idea of how intense I want to get with my program.

That being said, I'm still sticking OP most days when I come out to visit... I don't just come out here and eat like a pig the whole time but it's hard to eat exactly on plan and sometimes I have a hard time adjusting to working out at different gyms.

anyway... welcome back! I hope you stick around... we miss you!

Krampus - There was a place I used to live near called The Squeeze In that does/did the generally accepted 'original' burger like that. I never got around to getting one, but they did feature it on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.
I feel kind of "Jacked up" today too! LOL I am rearing to go to the gym but I have to wait for my hubby to get back from his early morning team workout/breakfast so I can drive the truck. He has a mustang too but I don't like driving that thing... too suped up and crap.
I'm glad you feel more in control today!! I feel good now too, but you know how quickly that can change... hahaha.

Bayzee - I know it's easier said than done, but stop freaking out about the stall! It is what it is, and if you have been OP and working hard there is nothing more you can do. Just be patient. I know, I know... pot calling the kettle black over here, but I really am taking my own advice and just continuing on my plan; I'm not getting extreme and cutting calories drastically low or running 10 miles before each meal, NOR am I stuffing my face because I feel like hope is lost. IT'S JUST A NUMBER. It will get better if you commit to it.
Maybe you should focus on some NSVs, like more reps with the Kettlebells, a longer run, one less glass of wine per 'wine night', etc. The scale is only one tool, but if you have been changing up your eating and workouts the scale is no longer the best gauge of progress. You need to adjust to a new 'normal'.

I know you asked elsewhere about supplements and such; not necessary. Take a good multivitamin, calcium and maybe supplement with fish oils just to fill in any gaps in your diet. You don't need to get drastic and take a bunch of crap. If you start changing all sorts of things because you are obsessed with this 'stall' you won't know what worked and what didn't once you get over it.

My best advice? RELAX. Stress causes an increase in Cortisol which in turn increases water retention and triggers your body to hold onto fat, specifically abdominal fat.

Mottainai - Whoo, that's a lot to digest babe... pun sort of intended. First of all, I'm going to echo Krampus and say that if those pictures are of you with EXTRA weight on, you're not doing too bad! Holy cow, most women would kill to be that tiny! I know, I know... it's not what you want and not what you're used to so it's hard to see it from another perspective. I am super hard on myself as well but I can still take a step back and appreciate that a few pounds heavier or not, even in $hitty lighting and with post-flying/beef-jerky eating (yesterday) bloat I still look damn good... and I'm not the only one. ALL OF the women in this thread are gorgeous and have beautiful bodies. We have to come here and complain to each other about our 1-4 pound fluctuations because we're crazy like that and only we understand each other.

YOU ARE GORGEOUS, and so is your bloated, binged-out ice cream filled body.

Anyway, you do still have time to get it off before your vacation but you are totally right; you don't have to stop progressing just because you go on vacation! Why is it so important to be itty bitty for this trip, really? Go enjoy it with your husband and don't drive yourself so nutty in the meantime that you lash out and eat 5 1/2 gallons of ice cream. I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Bayzee; RELAX. I'm telling it to myself too.

For ALL OF US; Be kind and gentle to yourselves! We all know how to eat right and workout and yes, we all seem to be struggling a bit right now at the very least mentally if not physically as well. Too much upcoming holiday stress and pressure to stay on plan seems to be backfiring for a lot of us. Why are we doing this to ourselves? We KNOW what to do! Workout, enjoy some special treats and eat well the rest of the time. It's no different from any other time in our lives.

Turbo - I am intrigued by the idea of eggnog waffles... how is that done? Do you use eggnog in the batter? It sounds delish! I bet it would make the house smell amazing too.
I actually brought some Bath and Body Works candles in scents like "Fresh Baguette" and "Gingerbread" to my husbands' house so that it will smell like the holidays. I just love the smells!

I thought my hubby's idea of dressing up and acting like fools was super cute. This is probably TMI, but my plan is to ambush him and "break in" our hotel room early in the day... I know I'm going to end up eating and drinking too much and not feeling sexy after dinner rolls around! hahaha

(Does anyone else plan sexy time for before they know they're going to eat too much? I just don't want to be bloated! hahaha)

**I did get some good-ish news with my foot. I actually JUST got off the phone with the lady to schedule my appointment for my foot scan, from which they will build me some custom orthotics. I also have to call back Monday to schedule the surgery. I'm going to put it on the books just in case.

How did it go with your progressive walk/run program? Does everything feel okay today?
I did a bit of a run yesterday and so far, so good. I need to buy new shoes but for today I'm going to pick up some arch supports from the store.

The man in that picture does have a handsome face, but I'm with Krampus... kids? Blech. That takes away from the hot-ness for me! hahaha

JossFit Our rule is "bang before dinner" - people who go out to dinner and then get down to business are doing it backwards. I keep expanding but I remind myself that there is a big difference between "regaining 30 pounds and being unable to run for 5 minutes or do one push-up" and "a couple holiday pounds." Your abs are INSANELY RIPPED and it sounds like you're pleased with having a rounder booty and fuller face - enjoy your Thanksgiving!!!

Bayzee Well done!!!!!! Hard work pays off. Hope it sticks.

philana Counting calories I think doesn't have to be FOREVER - just a week or so of being vigilant and then you'll remember what has how many calories etc and can probably loosen up. Bodyweight stuff is just as hard/harder as weightlifting - I still can't do an unassisted pullup!

***

I'm excited to hit the gym after work (I'm out at noon today!) and then eat my PF Chang's leftovers and the garlic/herb spaghetti squash my BF gave me. Last night was a fun and relaxed night with friends - I maaaay have had a few french fries in buffalo wing sauce with bleu cheese and a wing and a couple bites of my BF's "wing burger" - oh well. I also drank less than two beers so in my mind it evens out.

Bayzee : I HATED when people were commenting on my lunch. At some point people just stopped to though, after I told them I was not dieting anymore (hehe). It is still hard dealing with outsiders though... Especially when we have to deal with self-control, it feels so exausting having to deal with comments from others.. But : OH YEAH ON THE 117's!!

Krampus : Oh jeez, that picture you posted of the hamburger... That.Looks.Good. I never tried fried cheese though... but maybe it's better that way! As you said, if you just nibble on some stuff of your boyfriend, the damages should be really small. have fun at the gym!

Philana : Glad to see you back! It been so long! Hey, you weight isn't so bad for someone who went oveboard for a complete month! I go overboard for a weekend and I get about the same weight gain It's funny that you mention that you never really took up the weightlifting LOL. Last time you were around, I was struggeling with the same thought that I should try it and never did. I started some bodyweight stuff though, but I stopped for a while after injuring while running last september and now a hip.

Joss : Happy to hear you made it safe on the other coast! And I totally agree with Krampus on the banging before eating rule! You look so RIPPED! It's hard to beleive you get bloated whatsoever

Gingerbread candle!! That must be amazing. My mom used to burn some ''Toffee''-smell candle around Christmas... EDIT : I realized I skipped the waffle Eggnog part! Yes, the recipe says to pour Eggnog in the batter with some spices However, the boyfriend dislike store-bought Eggnog, he finds them too ''sugary'' and he's supposed to prepared some home-made one. Can't WAIT to try this recipe!!

I did the first run on the progressive program yesterday, followed by some crunch and foam rolling and so far so good. I did not feel any pain, only a slight feeling of... you know, when you get a joint that you would like to just, crack? (don't know if you say that in enligsh). I only ran 5 minutes though. I'm going to do my second today (8 minutes of running, oh lala LOL).

The man in the picture was David Beckham, so to me, no kids in the world could take away the hotness (even if I might like, forget the kids to the soccer practice or something...)

***

I was down a pound this morning, but I don't really know if it's because I moved the scale from one inch or something. We'll see later this week if this holds up :P

I felt I did good with the food yesterday, I only indulged in a small part of tiramisu after dinner. This sh*t was sooo good. I pushed my boyfriend to eat it all last night, so I don't have to live with this in my fridge, but it said it might be too much (''Oh come on! Be a man, finish that up! There is only... like... 5-6 parts left...'').

The weather is super nice outside and hot for the season, so it will be cool for my walk/run exercice. Not sure what I'm going to have for lunch, but I'll try to make it light because we decided to have chicken sandwich with the remains of th roasted chicken.

On a totally other point, as I write this I understood why the mirror on the wall just above a little table next to the front door is ALWAYS dirty. I just saw my cat get on the table and look at himself in the mirror while putting both of his front paws in it and letting his paws SLIIIIIIDE on the mirror. Like, REALLY!?

Turbo...It really was Beckham? I completely thought it looked like him but could not tell. I don't follow soccer, but Beckham is my eye candy!
Congrats on styaing OP with eating.

Jossfit...Thanks for the advice and happy to hear you arrived for your special weekend. Enjoy your time with your husband...everything else is secondary right now. Between your pic and Mottainai's, there is NO WAY I will be showing my abs anytime soon! LOL! And I agree..Bang before eating is the way to go!

Krampus...Your burger pic looked amazing! I take Kettlebell classes as I am fairly new to kettlebell training. I've done kettlebells in circuits, but not a whole 40-50 mins of it. I love it though, and I just bought some for the house. I'm trying to find a decent video, but it's hard to find one I like. Some are too easy, some are boring and some are abit too advanced for me without being taught the proper techninque. I will never a try a new move on a video unless I ask my trainer about it first...proper technique is so important to me. I get quite a sweat from kettlebell...more so than my HITT workouts or Bootcamps. It's just a different burn.

I am hoping the 117.8 sticks, but I am not convinced. Too many variations this month. But I'm staying OP with food. It am determined to keep it up right now, so I'm just moving forward.
__________________
I will come back tonight to do more personals...just on my lunch! Enjoy the rest of the day

Woohoo, time for personals. (:

Bayzee- Congratulations on breaking 118!! Great job staying OP and "just" moving forward, that's awesome. Thanks for the encouragement too, I'm pretty determined and ready to get back on track now.

Turbo- I'm glad it sounds like you're doing well after having a tougher weekend (I think I remember reading??). I hope that progressive running program works out! It must be hard doing only five minutes.... Also I smiled when I read about your cat! haha

Krampus- Wow, fried cheese....xD Yeah, I'm actually glad Thanksgiving's already out of the way for me here! I love reading about your workouts. You sound so strong and awesome! And thanks for your kind words. In my heart of hearts, there is a part of me that's thinking it's kinda awesome that I look as decent as I do even so full of crap food...but I'm a little scared to listen to that part too much in case it encourages me to just keep eating, lol.

Joss- Wowww, those abs, you are looking fantastic!! If that's not optimal, well, I can just imagine. Thanks for your encouraging comments as well. I know I don't look that bad, I really do, but like you said, I'm just hard on myself. It's almost like I try to find reasons specifically to notbe satisfied. Oh, and I really don't even know why it became so important to get as small as I can before the trip. It's totally like a knee-jerk reaction I always have to events or especially trips, don't really have a good reason. I actually talked about it with my husband, bemoaning my weight-gain and how off-track I got, and he also encouraged me to stop focusing on this one point in time and eat well for my health, for my whole life, instead. Soooo anyway, yeah, I'll take your advice and chill out a bit. (;

philana- Hi, nice to meet you! I haven't written any personals since you started posting again here I guess, sorry about that! I also just "owned up" to my re-gain and am going to get back on track again. It sounds like you've got a good plan in mind! Good luck. (: Oh, and it's great that you like cycling! I haven't done much lately, but my dad is really really into cycling and while I was living at home we'd go for long rides most days during the summer!

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After a day back OP, and hearing all you guys' encouraging comments, I am feeling a bit better today. After the initial obligatory day of water weight loss I'm back to 120, so just 5 pounds gained over last week (which sounds about right, considering I can calculate that I consumed approx 25000 calories in extra ice cream alone...... OMG holy cow, that sounds insane?!!) Even I can admit that's an amount that likely no one else would even notice, except for myself who's consistently checking how well I can wrap my hands around my thighs and other such weird things, haha. My clothes still fit, I still feel pretty light on my feet, I had a good break from any diet rules and have lots of energy, and definitely learned my lessons about the dangers of the ginormous gas belly. So that's that, moving on.

I'm really putting my focus back on health and fitness for LIFE rather than the silly vacation deadline. There's really no point to that at all. I think I was scared that while in Japan I would just want to go totally crazy with eating and gain a whole bunch of weight, and so I was trying to mitigate the damage in advance. But finally I stepped back and realized that it's not like I'm suddenly going to automatically be out of control once I'm out of the country, lol. I'll still be my usual health and fitness-motivated self, fully capable of making good choices while still enjoying food, so I don't need to worry so much! That's really a relieving thought.

Anyway, my plan is to go casual PSMF-ish for the next three weeks, just making sure to get adequate protein but not putting any limits on vegetables or anything like that, sticking with the lifting and no pressure light cardio. Not only for weightloss, but also largely in order to heal my stomach. Before living with my husband, when I fixed all my own food, I ate very clean and what other people might think of as slightly boring and bland, but I honestly enjoyed it and NEVER EVER had a stomachache-- compared to how often my stomach and digestion has been bad over the past year. I just want to have a few weeks of no-stress eating whatever I want and not having to worry at all that I'll eat too much and feel unwell after. And luckily, after seeing my amazing huge awful stomach problems this week, my husband is also on board with this idea. Surprise surprise, haha.


edit: Just wanted to add one paragraph to say that I love my husband's support in all this. He has, I think, a great perspective towards weight-loss and eating which I really admire, and he's always encouraging to me without being dishonest or like falsely kind so as to not hurt my feelings. I *****ed about how depressed I was with myself to him yesterday, and I was saying something like "Don't you think I'm fat and disgusting??" And his answer was, "No, not yet, not at all....but that doesn't mean you can keep doing like this." xD Yes, it's simple but that sounds about the right perspective to me!

Mottainai...You might want to try having 3 meals a week where you can eat any meal that you want. When I was maintaining, this really helped me. I never felt like binging. Although, I don't really binge the same way. My weight gain or "binging" is more making bad choices everyday for a longer period of time...getting off-plan" for a month or 2 and I pack on the pounds.

Eating clean has played havoc on my digestion, but now it it adjusting. I can relate to the cooking for 2 when one person is trying to eat clean. I eat very differently than my husband. I can eat any fruit or veggie. He's more a meat and potatoe guy. So I make the same protein for both of us, his potatoe and I make the veggies I want. Sometimes he eats them, other times, he doesn't. I don't find it anymore work really and this way, we are both happy. He likes baked goods, but I don't...so it works out great because I like to bake!

Rawr, no time for personals, gotta get packed and on the road to my in-laws!

Was up a bit yesterday but back to 151 today. Actually I managed to break even on calories on my hostess cupcake day. I was in a deficit still, even after eating the second one with dinner (I had a really small frozen pizza for dinner!) and would have been good but I was starving before bed and had a handful of cheddar pretzels. But that's OK.

Yesterday I did good! I had a small lunch and a massive dinner (KFC) but it's pretty awesome cause 6 of their bites only have 200 calories. So In the end I was just over 1300

Now the next 2 days I don't count. :/

~Katy

Oh my goodness this chat blew up today! I feel like I haven't checked back in a couple of days and it's only been a few hours!

I got my butt to the gym and had a decent workout (but they didn't charge me for the day pass so that was sweet!) and then came home and baked some pumpkin spice bars. They have a graham cracker crust and a pie-like topping. I also picked up some whipped cream to put on top. I figure since my husband and I are eating dinner out tomorrow and I'm not sure exactly what is on the menu, I wanted to make sure there was something seasonal in the house.

Mostly I just wanted to bake something so that the house will smell amazing when my husband gets home... is that weird? hahaha I also picked up some caramel pizzelles, his favorite type of cookie plus I have those chocolates from PA that my friend bought me. Tomorrow is going to be a piggy day! hahaha

Kakers - As much as I love gourmet food, I was raised on middle-class eats and I will always have a soft spot for KFC even though I know it's horrid and cheap and low quality nastiness... haha. I am opposed to it on a theoretical level but I will still gladly get down on some fried chicken strips, potato wedges with ranch dressing and macaroni and cheese! mmmm I love it.
Have fun at the in-laws, enjoy your Thanksgiving, and let us know how it went!

Mottainai - Meh, my abs look okay right now. My lower abs have a layer of fat over them and in general things are squishier than normal... BUT my obliques are starting to come back in and really it's okay for right now. As long as I keep Thanksgiving to ONE day and get back on plan I should be able to maintain that and hopefully improve things a bit.

It looks like my foot surgery will be mid-late January and I will be unable to do much working out for SIX FRIGGIN WEEKS so I need to be really good with my diet and preferrably in good shape beforehand so that way I'm not starting off my down time on the wrong foot. (LOL, unintentional pun but I'll keep it.)

I just want to throw something out there and I apologize if I'm overstepping my bounds here, but frankly thats what happens sometimes when you put all sorts of information out here;
It seems like you do okay for a while and then 'fall off the wagon' pretty hard. Now, we all do that from time to time, but having a day or even two of indulgences or even a random binge doesn't seem like something to worry about. I am however worried when you have an entire week like that. Do you think that maybe you are being too restrictive with your day-to-day program? You seem to keep jumping back and forth and each time you fall off the wagon you decide that whatever you were doing didn't work and therefore you need a new plan.

What about coming up with a plan FOR LIFE? You did say you want to focus on eating better for your health in general, but then you also said you want to do PSMF for the next 3 weeks in almost the same breath. It seems like putting yourself on a diet, ESPECIALLY one with a time frame does more harm than good for you.

I think that your husband has a good point, and you sort of hit on it as well; yeah, you are 'getting away with' this kind of diet right now, but how long does that last for? Not long... I can have a huge Treat Day and usually not only does it not hurt me (once any bloat is gone) but I usually end up losing weight after a few days. I get a huge whoosh! That being said, if I DON'T get back on track right away it doesn't have the same effect... those days pile up and so does the weight and suddenly the whooshes don't come.
Of course that's just my body but from my totally unscientific research/observations over the past few years I have noticed a trend; once at a certain bodyfat percentage the occasional Treat Day actually helps to lean people out, but an inability to rein in back in, even for just an extra day suddenly becomes detrimental. If you are interested in reading up on it a bit I suggest you get familiar with Lyle McDonald's work on the subject... but I digress. My point is - you are already starting to see that you are now above that threshold where you can "get away with it" and if you don't stop the restriction/binge cycle it's going to keep piling up on you.

Again, I apologize if that is in any way harsh, but I've just noticed that you are falling into a pretty classic pattern for weight GAIN rather than loss. Chill out about losing, let your body relax and heal, and focus on your health. I think if you stop fighting your body so hard you won't have as many urges to binge. Just my two cents.

Bayzee, Krampus and Turbo - I knew I wasn't the only one! LOL I am going to tell my husband tonight that is my new plan. Waiting until a food/drink coma kicks in to have sex just results in us passing out, not having sex, and then being pissed we missed one of our few chances since we don't see each other all the time.

Turbo - I'm totally sold on the eggnog waffles now! I actually think egg nog is gross but thats because, like your BF, I hate the store kind. I have never had it made fresh. I do like the flavor of it but I think I haven't actually had any in like a million years and when I do/did I would always cut it with milk to lighten up the richness a bit.

I TOTALLY know what you mean about feeling like it needs to 'crack'. Have you had any x-rays or CT scans done of your hip? Thats how mine felt all the time when I had the stress fracture; it felt like my hip needed to be cracked/popped, sometimes there would be a dull pain in my hip flexor area, and sometimes the pain would be a little bit sharper and radiate around to my upper butt area.

Krampus - Thanks lady! They aren't at their best but overall I am 'comfortable' right now. I suppose my fear is that at this current bodyfat percentage I don't have any wiggle room and I'm a little worried about holidays. I am doing good so far and I think knowing that I could possibly have that foot surgery in January is helping to keep me on track. Thanksgiving is going to be a piggy day, as is Christmas/Christmas Eve but I really plan to keep it clean aside from those days.

Bayzee- Thanks for the suggestions!! That's actually close to what we do now, with dinners, too! (:

Joss- Nope, not overstepping anything. If I'm posting every one of my thoughts on a public forum, I'm expecting to get feedback. Thanks for your observations, you're really spot on. I definitely made a mistake even throwing the term PSMF out there, wasn't meaning to imply anything much more restrictive than normal except for kinda eating cleaner at dinner. So that was my bad. But you're absolutely right, I totally contradicted myself, first saying I'm focusing on health for life and then saying I'm dieting for the next three weeks. Totally didn't catch that when I'm writing stream-of-consciousness, I guess. I have experienced the same thing like you said, that normal cheat days every once in a while don't hurt at all and actually help with the weight loss. It's definitely the mutiple off-plan days in a row that are the bad thing. One issue is that I'm just such an extreme person in general., all or nothing, and moderation is very difficult. I recognize that it's a bad cycle when it comes to eating, though it's one that I've become accustomed to, that it seems very natural to me to go hard and do great for a while and then go waaay off for a bit and repeat, like it's actually easier and more familiar for me than trying to just keep to a more average fluctuation...so that said, it hit me pretty hard when you wrote "how about a plan for LIFE" and I started thinking, well, that's actually kinda difficult, becuase it's hard to imagine doing things much different than I do now, since bingeing and trying to lose weight has pretty much been the way of life for so many years now, and I'm not sure how to eat differently, "normally," anymore. I almost don't want to give it up. It sounds awful writing it out now, but there you go. Anyway, thanks again for your comments, it's making me think!!
And btw, that's really tough about the foot surgery! I'm sure you'll handle it all fine though.

Personals tomorrow - sorry ladies.