TOM sucks, even though I know its not "real" weight, I still get frustrated seeing the numbers go up. And it makes it easier to say oh well I'll just have a bit more coz I'm gaining anyway, I'll make up for it next week.

Jitterfish. Me too. TOM sucks. I gained 1.5 this morning because it is on the way. Makes it hard to continue to work on it.

Hope you have a good day.

You guys think TOM sucks, just wait until you get past menopause. The post-menopausal body has a low metabolism and all sorts of other unpleasant proclivities. I miss having estrogen coursing through my veins.

Oh well. No one ever said losing weight was easy, not at any age. I recently saw a so-called "inspirational" quote that I think sums it up very well:

Being fat is hard.
Losing weight is hard.
Maintaining your weight is hard.
So pick your hard.

=laugh=

Fiona - Thanks for the quote. It is right on. Great, menopause sounds terrible. I thought it would be better to have it all over with.

How are the binge-free days???? Are you really at 25?? Almost there!!! What will you do when you hit 30? Keep counting or start with another 30 day challenge?

Fiona I say that to myself all the time, it actually made a huge impact when I read it the first time and I realised just how right it was. It made me realise that weight loss isn't a journey (although I often still refer to it as one) and goal isn't a destination. Because once I get there, I will still forever be watching my weight and hopefully having new healthy habits to help me stay at goal, but this battle will never end. Not for people like myself who have always been overweight.

Yes, today is Day 26. I don't know what I'll do when I hit 30, Funky. I haven't decided. The only thought about it I've had so far is that maybe I don't need another challenge. Maybe I've arrived at being free of those old painful patterns. I certainly feel like I have. When I think about my previous emotional/binge-type eating episodes, they seem like they're in the remote past, or even in another world. They don't feel like recent history, even though they are.

But it would be nice to get to a hundred days, and then after that, to a year. But just privately, not in my 3FC signature anymore.

One funny thing about the timing is that Day 30 is the Winter Solstice—also the pagan holiday called Yule. My husband and I are pagans, so we celebrate Yule, not Christmas. So I get presents on the day I hit my mini-goal! =big grin=

Bright blessings Fiona! We still celebrate Xmas, because its way too hard on our 3 and 4 yr old when everyone here does Xmas. So we celebrate summer solstice then Xmas, and try and talk to our kids about different religions and traditions. I wonder if when we celebrate Yule I can convince my other half to buy presents too, a mid-year pressie session!

I was wondering, do you guys avoid social events at times to avoid food? I skipped my work Xmas party this year because I had so many events going on and I know what our party is like. It just seemed easier to say no to going, than no to the temptation of food.

Fiona. I think a hundred days sounds like a great idea. But if you feel like it is behind you then just remembering the anniversary date would be great. And presents sound great on your day. Lucky day all around.

Jitterfish. I totally skip occasions for diet reasons. I skip my in-laws Sunday dinner to get out of eating. It is better on me mentally too. Sitting in a group of people trying to make conversation makes me stuff my face.

OP today. I still have an orange to eat tonight so I am in the zone. The afternoon is really hard for me. It is more like urges I have to work past. The mindless eating that I have to caught myself from. TOM is on horizon and I am up 2 lbs but I am not letting it get me down.

Have a great night.

I'm back on plan after regaining 56 of the 58 I'd lost. I'm down 24 lbs from a year ago. Now working hard both in the gym and on my eating plan.

175.5lb today, I like to weigh Friday morning to help me stay focussed over the weekend. Tomorrow we are intending on doing a picnic at the lake and take the kids out in the boat for the first time this season but Sunday is making Xmas cookies for my husbands work mates. I'll be baking about 3doz chocolate maple chip cookies and a few batches of shortbread, so fingers crossed I will NOT be taking orders from a cookie and not end up binging on them!

I'm really glad I'm not the only person that skips social events, tbh I wish I was in charge of Xmas day (we are going to DH's family this year). I'd get all the food other people love that I don't LOL. It was quite good last night's dinner out the dessert choice were two things I didn't like so I was both disappointed and very happy!

Hope ya'll have a great OP weekend.

I had a bunch of holiday errands to run today, and I was a little apprehensive about venturing out into the Friday holiday scene. All turned out well, though: people were helpful and upbeat everywhere I went. They were even having a wine tasting at the Co-op, so while I waited for Bob's scrip to be filled at the pharmacy, I got to drink a couple glasses of Pinot Grigio, my favorite white.

My monthly weigh-in is usually on the 22nd, but I'm going to do it tomorrow, a day early, because I'm going to allow myself a bar of dark chocolate at our Yule celebration. I realized today that I don't even care about how much weight I've lost this past month, or if I've lost any at all, because I've just about wrapped up my mini-goal of 30 days of no emotional, compulsive, or binge-type eating. I can't believe how utterly changed I feel, to have that horrible monkey off my back. Cookies & candy & donuts & their ilk are no longer ordering me around and making me miserable. =whew= I have so much to be grateful for!

My best wishes to all of you for a lovely weekend filled with peace, comfort, and joy...

Hello everyone, I've just been reading and catching up on what's been happening since I last posted maybe 3 or so weeks ago. Sorry I disappeared and most of all sorry I bailed on our challenge LoseToAll and SMSDreamer2007. I knew I was going to be doing some traveling but then work travel got involved and it was like 4 countries/3continents in like 2 weeks and then finally last week I got home and then I got sick (food poisoning) and it's just basically been all over the place with me. I'm better now and ready to attack the regain again. I'm not really sure where I am weight wise, I'll do a weigh in tomorrow to see and maybe plan what to do going forward with Christmas and the end of the year.

I've really been enjoying getting to know everyone and their plans through your posts. I can't wait to be active on this thread again.

I'm going to go back to some form of 5:2/4:3 I think. But I also don't want to ever eat that much again. I'm still in the recovery phase where I saw too much of the inside of a toilet bowl for food to be super appetizing to me right now but I'm also finding I FEEL better when I eat around 1500-1600 calories physically, even if mentally I like maybe 3500 calories.

Re the binge issue. I've never had an issue with purging but certainly eating past comfort, yes definitely. And I have a fear of never having the opportunity to eat something again and I'm not really sure where that comes from.

Work has closed for the year till New Year and I'm taking some time off as well then so I don't go back to work officially till mid January. I leave on a family vacation next week after Christmas, which should mean lots of quality time and relaxation and fun and so far I'm feeling less seasick than last week when I thought I'd have to bail. Christmas is my favourite time of year and I guess my Thanksgiving point of reflection where I get to review the year and thank God for all my blessings especially the amazing people in my life including you guys! :Hug: :Hug: :Hug: Here's wishing everyone a safe, healthy, joyous season.

I have a little Christmas fun to share with you guys. It starts with a poem titled "Nicolas Was" by Neil Gaiman:
And here's the animation of the poem.. Enjoy!