Good luck Laurie I had my kids take all their Christmas candy to their rooms because once I start I cant stop.Here's to all of us reaching our goals in 2016

Nici - You are totally rocking it! Taking care of the calories business, making good food choices, resisting the steroid-induced appetite boost. The scale will catch up. It always does, so long as we don't sabotage ourselves because it's not cooperating. Day 7, baby. You got this.

Merowi2 - That's a great tip. Out of sight, out of mind. Let's do this in 2016.

I went to the gym yesterday. Didn't want to. Wanted to do one of my "I'm here, and that's good enough" days where I just put in minimal effort. But I had planned on doing W1D3 of C25K, and I decided to just do it, even if I had a bad attitude about it. And I did. By the end, I was really feeling it.

And then, I made some late-evening bad choices. I had ordered a reasonable dinner, but the restaurant screwed it up, and then I threw up because of this weird medical condition I have recently acquired. I had been so hungry and was so disappointed that I allowed myself to binge a little. And the scale went up again - to 250.4.

It's not looking like I am going to make my December goal. BUT - I am down, despite the holiday season. And I am back in the gym, getting fitter and stronger. And I am recommitted to my weight loss program. Seems like a win regardless of the scale disappointment. And who knows? I think I am premenstrual (hard to tell because my periods are irregular), so I may be retaining water. It would take a heck of a whoosh, but it's theoretically possible that I could end 10 pounds down.

Onederland in 2016, baby.

Hi all! I'm back! All-in-all, I didn't do great while at my Mom's house, but I didn't do as bad as I could have. The meals themselves were somewhat in control, but the cookies/candies/pumpkin&bananabread-withcreamcheesespread indulgences were definitely not on plan. But hey, that's the way it goes. I have not weighed myself this week and I don't plan to weigh myself until Monday. I don't think the numbers will be great, but I WILL NOT overreact to whatever they might be. It is only a starting point for the year and I plan to write it down, record it here and MFP, and then move on. I'm so ready to make this year a good one and now that the holidays are almost done, I feel empowered again. I am taking the weekend to do a little research and come up with my goals and my plans. I actually love New Year's Day because it feels like a brand new start, and the year is full of potential! (Don't ask me about New Year's Eve... hate it because I don't like looking back... so I go to bed early!!) I'll share what I come up with so that I can stay accountable.

New Year's Eve/Day might bring a couple of indulgences, but then the madness stops.

I did go to Spin class this morning. It was a little bit of a struggle since I've missed some days, but not bad. Body Pump tomorrow.

Merowi2 - Had to laugh! I had to do the same thing with these amazingly tasty chocolate candies that I have from my Mom. I gave each of the kids a bag and told them to keep it in their room. Don't need that temptation!

Laurie - Here we go! Heading past any disappointments of 2015. On to 2016 and seeing some good results! I believe it will be a great year for all of us! Your attitude sounds great, your plans are awesome, and we'll all support each other when the times get rough.

Nici - Same thing as for Laurie! We'll put the past in the past and move forward! One day at a time, and it will fall into place. We will have rough times and setbacks, but we'll power through and come out on the other end weighing less, feeling better and looking great!!

My food habits are out of control right now. Going to the gym for the first time in ages this evening. Hopefully, if I can just get one thing going right, it'll be easier to control my food. I've successfully switched from soda to water, with just the occasional glass of milk, or fruit juice mixed with some moscato wine and I'm pretty proud of that. One step at a time! I've decided to stop weighing myself daily until I've made a solid week's worth of progress.

Nici: Congrats on staying strong!

Merowi2: Good idea! Too bad all the candy belongs to me lol

Laurie: That def still sounds like a win

Diane: I'm with you - I can't wait for the season to be over! Cheers to new beginnings!

Good morning, all! Last day of 2015. It was a good year for a number of things. Weight control was not one of them. =)

Diane - So good to have you back! I've missed your "I killed it at the gym" reports. =) I think your "taking stock, making plans" weekend sounds perfect. I may join you!

Amanda - Girl. I so feel you. It is so hard to make consistently good choices, especially if I am out of the habit of doing it. Sounds like you have made some progress, and have a great plan to make even more.

Nici - Throwing some good vibes your way on toe recovery. Even if today's podiatrist appointment isn't ideal, I hope you're able to find a more successful treatment route with your doctor. And woot! on your December weight loss victory! It's such a huge accomplishment! And can't wait for a report on your delicious NYE celebration.

I decided not to weigh this morning. I made some poor pre-bedtime choices. NBD. I have a whole year of fantastic choices awaiting me!

I think Diane is on to something with the planning idea. I have not been overly successful with my strategy this month. I have had some success, and I am thrilled that I am more comfortable in my current clothes rather than popping buttons. But I need better, more consistent results.

I will plan meals for the following week so that I know what I am eating and when I am eating it. I hate to do it, because it does not allow for the flexibility I prefer, especially when I am dealing with a raging appetite. But I know it will work, even if I am miserable at times, and right now, I just need something to work.

Have a great celebration tonight/tomorrow, everyone!

ONEDERLAND IN 2016. What? ONEDERLAND IN 2016, BABY!

Well, went to Body Pump this morning. I could tell it had been a while since I was there. It just doesn't take long to lose your momentum on that! I felt like I did well with food yesterday, so that's good. May not be as good today and tomorrow, but we'll see how it goes. Back to body pump on Saturday, but nothing tomorrow.

Kind of excited to get started with plans for 2016. I have one idea already. I like having a goal that isn't weight related, so I know what I want to do this year. It's like what I did last year, riding the zip line. I'll save it to share later.

Laurie: Sounds like a good plan! I am hoping to put together different ideas for lunches, in particular. I need a guide so that I keep my calories down, so that's part of planning this weekend. We'll get it!

Nici: Sorry to hear about your foot! But congrats on the weight loss in December! Way to go!

Dread: Enjoy the gym! That's a great way to get things going in the right direction.

Happy New Year!! Onederland in 2016!!!!

Happy New Year, everyone!!!!!

Aaaahh! It's 2016, y'all! I've got a feeling that this year is gonna be an especially great one. 2015 was the year that I proved to myself that if I want something bad enough, if I try just hard enough, I can accomplish anything. This is going to be the year I take that intensity and action from nursing school and pour it into all the other parts of my life that need that extra *oomph*.

So with that *oomph* in mind, I've been super productive today. The boyfriend straightened up our apartment while I deep-cleaned the bathroom (pretty much hosed the whole thing down with bleach and water), I studied burns and (most of) the endocrine system, and I've had a strawberry/banana/yogurt/orange juice smoothie and a lunch of chicken breast, spinach and pasta. Feeling pretty good right now, and we're going to be going to the gym in a few hours once lunch settles. I wanna do D1W1 of C25k and then come home to a health dinner (which may just be another helping of the spinach pasta from lunch).

Update: workout didn't happen, but sugar cookies did. On the upside, I only had two!

Nici: Congrats on ending 2015 on a high (low!) point! That's an incredible weight loss for the month, especially considering the whole holiday food thing. Hope your podiatrist appointment went well! Being able to wear sky-high heels is one of my non-scale related goals. Hope you enjoyed your drinks and snack.

Laurie: I need to get on the planning bandwagon! I keep thinking I can make good, healthy choices and it's so, SO, painfully obvious that I just can't.

Well, here we are in 2016. I did all of my updates for my charts/goals/etc. I realized two things... 1. I track everything, almost obsessively, when things are going well. Made my husband shake his head a little bit, too. 2. Last year wasn't a great year for weight loss for me. And that's ok. I see where things started to slip and I'm ready for the new year, to get the weight loss moving again. I'm getting food ready for the week, so I'm good to go, and everything is in place. Exercising hasn't been a problem, but I'll be getting back to running again and tracking more carefully.

As for my goals? I've got a few. I want to make it to onederland first, and then by the end of the year, I want to reach my goal weight shown in my signature. I don't think that it will be my final goal, but I want to make it there. It's been my goal for so many years, I can't even remember when I started thinking about it. However, I also noticed that I start having trouble losing by the end of the year. Probably holiday related, and after hunting season, I relax a lot. So, I want to hit it early. My goal is to lose 5 pounds per month until I reach it. 5 pounds per month should be doable. It won't be easy, but it should be doable. I'll have to work pretty hard to get it. Sometime in May, I think, I'll be reviewing my goals to make sure they are still good.

Other goals? To keep me on track with running, I'm going to run another 5K. Not that I love races, but it does keep me motivated to keep running. I don't know which one yet, but I'll be looking for some as the spring gets closer.

And, last... I am going to climb the Manitou Springs Incline, near Colorado Springs. (You can google it, if you want to see it.) It is a little less than one mile hike up an old cog railway, which means there are steps. In less than one mile, you go up over 2000 feet in elevation, so it is a steep hike. Then, there is another 3.5 mile hike back down a different, less steep trail. So, depending on how it works out, I'll do that either in the spring or fall. It is rated as a difficult hike, but it caught my attention, so I'm going to do it.

Weigh in tomorrow. Just a place to start!

Onederland in 2016!

So far, so good for 2016. I worked out for an hour yesterday at the gym, and my whole body is definitely feeling it today. Studied for a while, cleaned for a while...now making a healthy dinner of fish, brown rice and veggies.

Diane: Wow, those sound like some awesome goals! I especially like the inclusion of goals that aren't specifically weight-related, like climbing the incline!

Well, had my weigh in. Wasn't great, but I'm really trying to keep in perspective that it is a starting point only. Now, if it isn't great after today, it will be more troublesome. I am back on track and I need to see numbers go down.

Went to Spin today. The gym seemed busier, but the spin class was about the same group of people, so not too bad. I told myself to hit it hard, because of the crappy weigh in, so I put a lot of effort in. At one point, my heart was pounding so hard, it almost hurt. But you know? I found that I could increase my effort. That means I was slacking before, somewhat. I just need to keep my head in the game when I'm working out. So there you go. Learned something.

Dread: Good for you! Sounds like it is going well so far for you! I actually made my lunch today and it is healthy! Yay! Here we go!

UGH, I'm so sore. Worked out Saturday and Monday for an hour each at the gym, and even though it was just on cardio machines such as bike and elliptical, I was still going long and hard doing intervals. Fell asleep at 8pm right after a shower and dinner just because I was so tired from studying and working out all day. Weight spiked a little bit after the first workout, and then dropped 2lb after the second one. Not gonna worry about my weight spiking and dropping until next week...don't wanna psych myself out before I really get started.

NCLEX on Thursday! AAAHHHHHHH. Gonna finish studying today so I can relax tomorrow before the test (tomorrow is also job interview #2!).

Diane: It such a blessing and curse finding out you can go harder, isn't it? lol Congrats on the progress!

Nici: I hope your mom's husband is doing okay! Good job making it work even when the available options weren't the best.

Went to Body Pump today. It was a good workout, but I was feeling a little irritable (TOM is to blame, I think). There were more newbies there today. I know they are trying, but it gets so tiresome to have so many people around. The locker room was a little too busy for me, but that's what it will be for now. I can't imagine what it will be like trying to run tonight. I hope there is an open treadmill. Food was pretty good yesterday. Just trying to get back on track.

Nici: Glad to see you back. Sometimes things happen, and it takes us out of our comfort zone of food choices. I think you did pretty well! Hope you get some rest!

Dread: Feeling sore is good, right? Sounds like you've been doing well! Good luck with studying and the test!

So food was going well until the stress of the next two days set in...after which, I ate half a bag of puffy cheetos and a pint of rocky road ice cream, along with a small glass of Coke. UGH, I was doing so good. Now I'm studying more and chugging water to try and counteract at least SOME of the damage. Tomorrow is the interview, so I'm going to do minimal studying and I'll be going to the gym to workout tension in the afternoon. Need a good night's rest before the test Thursday.

I feel like a maniac. It's just like being back in school. /sigh

Diane: Haha, yeah, I'd rather be sore than not. And thanks! I need all the luck and good juju I can get right now

Ok, went running last night. I've lost a little bit of the progress I had been making, but that's ok. I'll keep working on it so that I can be ready for the 5K. The gym was ridiculously busy last night. So crowded, but I found a treadmill. It made me a little crazy with all of the people around, and so loud, but I put in the headphones and tried to ignore it all.

Spin this morning was difficult! Some was being tired from running, but it was just a tough workout. Just keep plugging along. Still working on staying on track with food. I'm doing better than I was, just not perfect. I haven't checked the scale yet. I might take a peek on Friday.

Dread: Just forget the little slip up. Sometimes we just aren't perfect and need that little bit of stress eating. You have a lot going on, so you have to forgive yourself! Stay strong!