Thought I'd check in . . .

Hi all, I'm Dora, former and hopefully future Blue Team member. Lost about 8 lbs last challenge, but have been TOTALLY, like WAY off plan lately. Still . . . I have faith that being in the next challenge will bring me right back on the wagon, even if I'm up in lbs. to start.

I'm a bit older than most of you - 58 - and I'm having to come to terms with the fact that I don't lose like I used to. It's much slower now, but boy the gaining - still as fast as ever!!!

The cooking that goes with this season hasn't helped, though I must say I am very pleased with my DH's prime rib dinner that it came out so perfectly that my SIL said it was "melt-in-your-mouth-delicious". The other food challenges are that I'm the cooker for the Christmas eve dinner which the family has agreed to have lasagna (anti-pasto, green beans, salad, garlic bread - and tiramisu for dessert - I'm half Sicilian) But by weigh-in, my cooking duties will be cut and for the new year I will have lots of craft projects to keep my hands out of the cookie jar. Like Rhonda - I'm a sugarholic and that's where my downfall is and has been. I think it's worse than alcohol, truly.

All the cooking, the holiday shopping and sewing, working and the rest of the stress is my cop-out. It not only affects my eating, but I've got a big bald spot (alopecia - stress induced hair loss) behind my L ear. I know logically all the right things to do (25 yr. RN) - but the whirlpool just drags me in. This challenge is truly my life line - thank you all for your part in holding my head above water.

Well, on the positive side, big congrats to Donna (djay) and Abby (fauxtini) and blanna our really BLs. And thanks so much Dee for taking on this challenge literally. (the slippers will be fleece btw)

Jamie - it will be so good to have you back, whoo hoo! Glad mj is coming back too. I'm gonna need lots of shunning I'm thinking - so get your frocks ready.

Nice to "see" some of the red team folks here as well as the newbies
Like someone said already, the first few weeks the chat gets overwhelming, but keep coming back to check in, because it always helps me - so it likely will help you too. And when it calms down - you can jump right in. Don't give up!!!

Well, back to my bead catalogs and seed (garden) catalogs. These are what keep me from the rebound semi-depression of the post-holiday period, I'm just starting earlier this year.

Again - looking forward to working with (or against ) you all - in the spirit of helping all of us. See you soon.

Dora

Hi everyone! I'm Marianne, a blue team gal looking forward to her... 3rd? 4th? challenge. I'm up a half-pound since the end of the challenge, thanks to Christmas parties this past week. My fiance and I are starting "gym dates" this coming week, though, so I'll be kissing that .5lb goodbye again shortly!

I'm really looking forward to the next challenge. I'm shooting for onederland, and I can't wait to get there!

Good Morning! It's another snowy day here. I'm really glad I can stay in today! A niece (11) and nephew (7) are coming to visit this afternoon so my brother and sil can finish their shopping. I think we will pile some blankets on the couch, curl up w/ the dogs, and watch a movie. My nephew's all time favorite is The Grinch, so that's probably what we will watch. They both like healthy snacks, so "movie food" won't be a temptation for me this afternoon.

I think I aggrivated my knee shoveling yesterday, so I am going to rest it today, but hit the gym tomorrow.

Hope everyone has a great OP day!

I guess it doesn't matter if you are on the Red side or the Blue side...or just joining...Christmas treats are just a huge roadblock! I for one am looking forward to January when everyone will be concentrating on getting back to a healthy diet!

I resisted as long as I could...but I finally fell victim to some Key Lime Pie and Christmas cookies this week. And then I get frustrated that the scale isn't moving like it used to...I think I must be crazy!

But I'm back on plan and hoping to drop a pound or 2 this week since I DO NOT plan to be good for Christmas! I will NEED this challenge to recover!

What are your plans for Christmas? Will you stay OP, Splurge or some sort of combination?

Luckily I'll be at my sister's house for Christmas, and both she and her husband are back on WW after recently having their 2nd kid. So we're planning on finding some holiday health-friendly recipes on the WW site and focusing on those, though there will be treats... And I'll just have to be good

The past month or so has been TERRIBLE for me weight-wise. I am up 6lbs from my lowest weight reached during the last challenge (before I dropped out). This is unacceptable and I need to work my way back down again. There is no waiting until x happens, the holidays are over, the new year starts, etc... I am starting NOW, TODAY.

Oh my gosh.....season goodies are everywhere! I just don't understand why vendors can't send healthy treats....probably too expensive. I have fell victim to the traps and I don't even want to step on the scales. I did find out my test results....D deficient, Iodine deficient and insulin resistant. One of my test results the doctor says R T3 is too high but its hard to read his handwriting and I don't see him until January 19th. so I don't know what that means.....could be RatioT3 too high? Other things look to be in the normal range. I can't wait for the challenge to begin so I can be inspired! Oh, yes, I was blue last time but I know a few of the red's from other threads. I will probably be the last one picked since I am such a slow loser but that's okay. I am going to get to onderland for sure this time.

I am having a heck of a time steering away from holiday temptations. Add in nearly a foot of snow in the Seattle area (who aren't prepped to deal with it) and you get a mostly housebound girl who just wants to snuggle and watch holiday movies and eat rice krispie treats. UGH!!

Must get moving again exercise wise even if it means a slow commute to the gym. I will in the very least work out after my work shifts this week (M-T-F). I do not want a repeat of Thanksgiving when I gained 5 pounds in one weekend and it took me over 11 days to take that off.

Who's with me? I was originally hoping to get to 170 by the end of the week but now I think I would just be happy to maintain until January 1st and then start the losing cycle again. Just no gain!

The holiday goodies train ran me over this week at work. I tried to keep it in moderation, and I did, for the most part. Having PMS didn't help, nor the office holiday party, which the party coordinator called in sick the day of the party. Guess who had to fill in at the last minute?

I'm back down to where I was on Tuesday, my lowest weight since 2002. How do I know it's my lowest weight? I looked at 6 years of fitday.com records.

Okay...DH just asked me if Canada celebrates Christmas, he thought it was an US holiday...I guess those pain pills he took for his back are working.

Today was a cardio day, and I challenged myself with 4.5/5.4 intervals, and I finished my 5K in 36:12, a new personal best. Take that TOM!

As for Christmas, I'll be alone on Christmas until 3pm when DH gets home. We're having turkey and the works, made as healthy as I can. Then DH will probably head over to his brothers for dessert and video games until the wee hours of the morning. We'll have DSS on Christmas eve, I hope. Those plans haven't yet been finalized. Cause now that he's 12, we're not cool enough to hang out with.

Well we're really getting walloped with the snow here. We were out running errands this morning and the roads were just awful. We had a fantastic time at the park tobogganing, though! What a workout it was, too - totally made up for not being able to get up the hill to the gym.

My Christmas plan is to let the 24th and 25th be "free days" and then get back OP on the 26th. Depending on the snow situation back home, I'm hoping to get out with the family for some walks or snow-shovelling!

Dee - Congrats on your personal best today! Also you can tell your husband that this Canadian LOVES Christmas and can't wait for it to arrive!

Now, I'm trying to look beyond Christmas and into the new year. I really want to go from just meal planning to planning healthy, balanced meals for the week. I'd love your best meal planning tips, and even better, your favourite healthy recipes!

I've now done the first two days of Jillian's circuit workouts. My legs are SO sore! Steps are a real challenge! Fortunately walking seems to help, so I've still been getting in my 3 miles every day.

I've been OP with my eating for the past two days! I was beginning to think I would never get myself back in gear. I forgot to weigh this morning (see how lazy I get without the challenges), but hopefully I'll see a nice number tomorrow.

Good Morning! I am trying to focus on work today, not an easy thing! By this time tomorrow my surgery should be over! Thanks for all the well-wishes!

I am still doing ok w/ holiday treat--I don't have any in my house, so that helps! Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are going to be a different story, however....I plan to indulge a little, but not go crazy. The truth is, I can't eat as much as I used to and that's a good thing!

We are getting a new tv today. It was one of those things where it was just too good of a deal to pass up. We were going to wait until after Christmas, but oh well!!!! Good news is, while I'm lounging around tomorrow afternoon/night, I'll get to watch the new, big tv!

Congrats to all the losers from the last challenge and especially the winner djay!!

Hey girls! I flunked out of the last challenge. Pick an excuse and roll with it, I had no good reason. I just wasn't feeling it at the time. I've largely maintained (up 5 down 5 over and over and over and over) since the challenge before last and it's time to get back in gear. I'm feeling rejuvenated and going to take a shot at the upcoming challenge. I'll be very busy during January - March as I'm an (almost) CPA and have crazy hours but that's no excuse to not eat well and squeeze in exercise where I can. I know from past "busy seasons" I do better at work if I make the gym a priority. I ran my first 5K race on Thanksgiving and have been a bit slack since then so I'm also working on getting back into jogging more regularly.

Have a great day all!

I just raffled off the excess food in our office. We get tons of gift baskets with junk food. I divided up the baskets and put all my co-workers names in a basket. As I drew a name, I taped it to the food item and made my co-workers take their "winnings" away from my desk.

I will admit to having a small bowl of dark chocolate moose munch. It was about a cup and a half, but I'm not feeling too guilty. With the way I'm feeling after eating that, I'm certainly not tempted to have anymore.

I had myself locked out of 3FC because I forgot my password. I'm at my son's place and didn't bring my computer and when I went to log on I couldn't for the world remember my password but finally by phoning home and getting DS#2 to do a bit of investigating I got a new password so here I am. Ha, ha. I was having withdrawal symptoms.

Cathy, I don't have my gingerbread house done yet because we left for DS's place a day early because of the snowstorm that was due to come today (and it did). But I have everything ready to go. I used a molasses cookie recipe I have and added ginger to it. It's a really simple recipe that I use to make jam jams (two cookies sandwiched together with jam). I can post the recipe if you want to try it sometime. My gingerbread house will be quite simple also. Just 4 walls and a roof. I'm going to do it when I go home even if Christmas day is over.

Dixied, what a great idea about raffling off the holiday treats.

mj5, all the best wishes for a successful surgery. Hope everything goes perfectly well for you.

Gotta run, DS wants the computer.