Hi ladies...wow! There is so much to catch up on when you miss a couple of days on this forum!!

I just returned from a weekend in Vegas, and it was lots of fun...and lots of OFF program foods The good thing I did was keep consistent with taking all of my supplements and HNS daily I tried to be "aware" and make "better" choices than others mostly, but vacations are just tough...with a teen daughter who loves having junk food around at all times...lol

Honestly, I am scared to get on the scale in the morning...I am trying to "cleanse" a bit first, but I have my WI Wednesday morning. I was the one up 2lbs last week, so this trip didn't happen at a real good time. One would think that my motivation from having a not so great WI last week would be high to get it under control this week...and if I were at home, that might have helped. There are times though that I get discouraged and very consciously make poor choices because of it. Not a healthy mind-set to be in...

But, I am home now and will get back on track...I may have wanted to start "Stabilization" the end of December....may need to put that off for a little while.

I had a big day of "I'm sick of this" yesterday...I only had one HNS b/c I just couldn't stomach any more...and had 2 cookies (I hadn't had ANY in 2 months!). And the kicker of it all was I was at my lowest weight EVER. I have to remind myself that if I let up over the next week and a half until January thinking I'll restart then, I could take some serious steps back. So onward. I have to keep my food journal, it's the only thing that keeps me accountable...and even then I almost didn't write down the cookies...but what good would a food journal do if I didn't write EVERYTHING down?

Thanks, Patzi. You're an inspiration to us all. And I just changed my glasses. :-). Same shape--great for a round face--but you can only see the frame on the top part.

Thanks big dog for the info on the syntax shakes!

ok, one holiday dinner after another, parties and more parties ahead and then Christmas vacation at the beach...i'm going to continue to track online and try to maintain -and work on not gaining!!! i'm going to continue w/ the HNSs daily and step up the activity. will also make sure i'm drinking even more water than i do already.
i made some strawberry sugar free jello and added a package of strawberry creme protein shake - i really need a high protein low cal dessert to turn to when i'm tempted...i'm going to have to cheat and have some lite cool whip for 20 cal. :-)
i keep hiding the triple chocolate popcorn that someone gave my DH -he's not eating it quickly enough and i got into it again - just a small cup but still!!! he asked where it was tonight and i felt like stuffing the rest of it in his mouth!! just so it would be gone. (i put it in the bottom of the china cabinet so i wouldn't see it)
i need to buy some more veggies and have them prepared so i can grab them when i get tempted... i am chewing my dessert sugarless gum - i love it!! key lime pie, strawberry shortcake and mint chocolate - it's sooooo good!
just writing this stuff down makes me realize it would be really stupid for me to eat this junk that 's in the house and stop eating the chinese food and eating out because i'm slammed at work, etc....Greek food today - ate the salad and gyro meat w/ no pita bread....so lately not eating on plan but trying to eat mostly meat and veggies ... and aiming to be OP tomorrow!!

bigdog-I think its great that you are doing your best to eat the best that you can this time of year. If you can maintain, you'll only have 8 lbs to go once you hit 2012! Won't that be awesome??? Veggies and water...I figure if I work really hard at getting those, I won't have as much room for other goodies.

Bad news: 14 year old daughter + high school = STRESSING ME OUT!!! Long story short, she's been a competitive gymnast most of her life and due to all the time spent in the gym, she's been struggling in school. We had done a mix of homeschool and public school in the past due to her gym schedule and this year planned on homeschooling for good, but she ended up "retiring" from gymnastics over the summer and wanted to go to public high school. She has been struggling from day 1 and most of it is her own fault. I've been eating terribly and just generally not caring anymore. According to my scale, I've put on 3-4 pounds.

Good news: I haven't completely ruined everything. I now need a belt to wear all of my pants. Gonna do Metaquick to get back on track. Thankfully, I'm pretty sure I'm all sugared out.

you are right Gina - i'm so close and can't backslide now! plus i feel great when i'm eating on plan.

Bighog, i'm doing Mediquick today also to undo the crazy overeating and "sweets" overload We can do this. no matter what is going on in our lives, if we take care of ourselves and stay on plan, at least we can control that part of our lives :-)
i hate when i go off plan and feel like crap, and stuffed. bleah...

Hi...

I had maintenance weigh in this morning and lost 1 pound putting me 6 pounds under goal... I lost this pound intentionally, as I have a party coming Christmas Eve and there is Christmas Day. So needless to say, I am happy on the weigh in.

Big Dog... What online journaling did you say you use? I think Teacher Lady said she uses LiveStrong, but not sure. Will have to pull up to see if that is what it is. I still journal every day on maintenance. It keeps me focused and accountable. I carry this small journal in my bag.

I made baklava for my holiday company Xmas Day,which is basically family, and that about kills me not eating it, but I won't. I will have a healthy dessert for people on a diet. Stretching the diet a bit, but better than the baklava.
I will make an apple cranberry crumble, and that will be my dessert with my Christmas meal along with some wine and rest of meal. I just can't see gaining a bunch of weight during the party and the holiday meal and then spending so much time getting it off.. So we shall see that is my focus for the up and coming..


Wishing everyone a great day, and hang in there ladies, just try to stay focused .

Congrats to all those that lost weight.

Patzi

i use myfitnesspal.com and customized my goal. i put in the 60% for protein, 20% fat and 20% carbs and 1100 calories daily and it gives me a total of where i'm at when i plug in what i eat. i used the livestrong but i couldn't find alot of the stuff that i eat and MFP seemed to have everything so i didn't have to keep adding to their list. plus i loaded the app (free) in my blackberry and can use on the road. they share some good recipes, fitness tips, etc on their blogs too so interesting reading.

the good thing is that i'm writing every single thing down even the triple chocolate popcorn - which is actually 120 cal. for 1/4 cup - not as bad as what fudge would be and before this program i would have eaten a lot more than 1/4 cup!!! knowing that i'm going to be honest and write everything down in MFP will keep me from eating more than a couple bites if i really really want to taste something. eating the Greek platter yesterday, just had the gyro meat and the salad - not the fries or the pita bread - did eat the feta cheese though! we are having Greek food again tomorrow night and planning on getting the Spinach pie and greek salad...they will have Baklava..i think they have flan too - i'll have to ck out the calories of that. i'm doing more calorie counting and staying under 1200 plus exercising more for the party days..

Big Dog...I also use MFP...I tried Live Strong and for me it was just easier because it was on my phone. Also my consultant loves it because not only can she see what I'm eating, but if she's not familiar with it she can see whats in it. She also loves the food and exercise journals at the bottom. Some times I write in those about how I felt about what I ate or a particularly hard time not reaching for a chocolate donut that was smacking me in the face all night at work...which FYI I did eat one. It was delicious going down, but all night recriminations and guilt I don't think were really worth it. Should have had a piece of my gum!

I can't wait for christmas!!! This year I asked for all healthy stuff. Zumba DVD's, handheld weights, a scale, wrist weights. My husband was super impressed but he asked if I didn't want any jewelry or clothes. I told him when I can fit in my skinny jeans and my skinny dress...then we'll buy my clothes and jewelry. Till then I want the exercise stuff. I don't want to get too carried away and weigh everyday, but like every other day, or if I've had a bad day and eaten off plan...than I want that immediate slap in the face of hey...honey...that donut you had...it cost you a pound!

Oh well....ladies...gotta run this morning...I've gotta get the last of my husbands gifts before work tonight. (And probably something easy to make and take for work) Have a good day!!

i love on MFP when i had a good day OP and it says in 5 weeks you'll be 160 lbs! now that is motivation! i also write notes, like Good day or next time i eat at Applebees it won't be the dang entire Chicken oriental salad! i'm slammed at work and still have Christmas presents to buy and wrap and ship to VA! not enough hours in the day.. i told my DH last night that the dishes were not going to clean themselves and i had to finish wrapping gifts for his family and my family and his reply was...well you don't have to wrap mine. then i was like oh, crap, i still have a couple more things i need to get for him. haha! trying not to panic...i do have 2 more shopping days (till we leave for the beach!)
Zumba CDs -that sounds like something i would love! my DH is working more days though and not as many nights (darn! i do love my DH but him being a Chef is like what are we having for dinner or where are we going out - the man is obsessed w/ food - that's his job) so can't do the exercise tapes at night like i used to. i walk every am early but guess i could do a tape after my walk... i'll have to check them out - i did buy an early present for myself that i love! the GE single blender - i make my shakes in it and go! it's incredible. i shipped one of my sister's one too for Christmas... they're $18 at Walmart.. i got the Shake a weight last year. hahaha! about pulled my arms out but it does work when i use it. (that's the key - use it) :-)

i like the online journaling because it's easier for me. i was journaling using the print outs they have at the center but if i was in my car, or office or on vacation, i wouldn't have the folder w/ me so would stop writing down what i eat. my blackberry is w/ me 24/7 so easier for me. plus if i am going to a restaurant and maybe not going to be strictly OP, at least i can calculate what the calories are ahead of time so i can make lower cal, healthier choices. plus i know more protein and less carbs is why i'm losing weight so it's pretty cool to see the carb (avoid) and protein (need more!) counts of different foods.

I've been tracking just on paper, but previously have tried Live Strong (I liked it) and sparkpeople.com (loved that-it has a mobile app as well...I don't have a smart phone, but I put it on my husbands so I can access it if I need). I'm not tracking calories right now, just using the MRC plan. For a while early on I was tracking on sparkpeople, but I was letting myself cheat too much thinking I Had the "calories" to do it. Once I hit maintenance I plan on using one of them to track my calories and exercise...or to get a fitbook and use that.

I just made a cupcake type thing...just a package of double chocolate pudding and an egg, stir up egg first, then add pudding. Put in muffin tin in oven for about 13 min at 350. It was pretty good fresh...I made a 2nd one to try tomorrow to see how it would be if I made up a whole box to have them on hand for my creamy.

I want to thank y'all for data relative online journaling.. I do not count calories, never have with this diet, but I do want it for my husband, as we are watching his cholesterol count.. I may see about using it instead of my book I keep on me..

Have a nice evening.

Patzi

Ok so i found the MFP site and love it...thanks ladies. I have a question? i'm on the meta slim plus plan and want to know what the daily calorie intake should be?