Hi Everyone!
Wow it has been a busy week on here. Seems like the stress in life is getting to some of us. Please remember to take your Vitamin D3. I think I would not have had such a large regain if I would have kept taking it.

Cindy take care of yourself. I stopped making such big meals for the holidays a few years back and nobody said a word. It is OK to not be perfect. It is OK to say "No"'. It is OK to cry and acknowledge that life may be good but not as good as we had hoped. I am so glad to have you here with us. I think we can all relate to your feelings and it reminds us to be kind to ourselves. Please keep posting. You are an important member of our little community.

makebelieve so true about doing better with support! Cookies are evil. They are like potato chips for me, I can't eat just one.

Mommy welcome! Now is a great time to get in shape. Your little girl needs a mommy to share her life with, not just watch from the sidelines. You can do this we all can!

Betsy I had gone into a coma. All that family drama can be exhausting. Stop being too good for your own good. It is OK to say "NO". I am with you on the fact that it is freeing. No guilt trip allowed. I am struggling with my meal planning also. Before my MIL drama we were on a salad spree. I think we will go back to that. Thanks for helping me to give it some thought. FYI I am feeling like a cow. Not for long because I am back in the saddle!!!

Sam we sure can be routine girls. I do so well on a routine but boy the slightest thing and my diet slate is wiped clean. You are doing great! I think Betsy has great gift ideas. My rocket scientist daughter loves those 2 gifts. Have fun putting up your tree.

Mae let me get this straight. You were sick and still did half a workout??? A gold star for you! Hope you are feeling better.

Terra I thought you were a goner. What have you been up to? All ready for Christmas?

Whew that was a book. Hope I didn't miss anyone. Sorry I feel a bit chatty today.
Have a good day.

Good morning everyone. It's nice to see so many posts on this cold, blustery Saturday morning.

Mommy -- Thanks for sharing some background on yourself and your diet. Once you get into it, please let us know how it is from a hunger perspective. With protein shakes, that should help keep the hunger pangs at bay.

Makebelieve -- I totally get the 21% of the 7% -- Congratulations on the progress. I think that losing weight at any time is hard, but when we've got lots of worries going on, it's just that much harder.

Cindy -- So glad to see you posting and sharing with us. We're all of us probably emotional eaters, and losing a job is pretty high up on the emotional impact level. It sounds as though you have wonderful holiday plans, and hopefully the trip to SC and FL will be fun.

Ubee- I take my Vitamin D3. When one lives in the land of the eternal rain, D3 is a requirement! Your metaphors have given me all of these images -- you riding on a saddled cow one of whom is eating a salad. This may be my last week for salads -- don't know what's going on at the grocery store, but lettuce was priced at $3.49/head for iceberg lettuce when I was in this week. No way! I've also been on a there-are-other-kinds-of-salads kick and have been having broccoli salad and cucumber and onion and sugar free applesauce made from the incredible apple harvest this year.

Time for coffee and the crossword and whatever else I can do before I start on the Christmas letter and getting the cards addressed. I'm not doing any candy making or baking this year -- too much of it goes into my mouth instead of into the gift cans! Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Quick check in

My mum had to put our dog down a few days ago... She was 17 so mixed emotions.

I am sick again, but already know I am working late tomorrow to help a friend. I fly home on Friday so I am hoping to be well soon.

TOM is here so I feel bloated and fatter than usual.

Just counting down the days.....


Hope you all are doing well

I've been off the grid for a few days due to a variety of health/sickness issues (migraines, vertigo, nausea, etc.) Pretty much hung out on the couch Thursday through yesterday evening. I was finally feeling well enough last night so my sister and I went to the symphony with some friends. It was nice to be out of the house for a bit!

Good Monday morning (or is that an oxymoron?).

Time4Me -- One more day in the countdown to mark off. I know you're so excited about going home for Christmas. Hope you're feeling better and have a wonderful trip.

MaeCrochet -- Oooohhhh. Whatever you have sounds awful. Did the silver lining appear and your weight went down? I'm glad that you were able to go to the symphony and hope that means you're back to feeling better.

We had a miracle occur here yesterday -- I made it through an entire day without cheating. Didn't lose any weight, but mentally it helps to prove to myself that this is doable. Also finished up the Christmas cards and will start wrapping this week. I also watched Episodes 5 and 6 of Star Wars so I'll be able to talk with the "boys" (ages 5, 8, 39, and 44!) when it comes out and they get a chance to see it.

Just did my meal planning for today and now I'm ready to head to the gym. I've got to vacuum today. A friend sent me a wreath which is beautiful, but which shed fir needles everyplace. Hope everyone has a great day.

Quick check in just to say hello...Will catch up with personals within the next day or so.

Lost 4 pounds this week! Don't even know how I did it as I barely got many work outs in this week, not going to complain at all! I just might make that goal for the year I set myself.

I've been slammed at work today getting things cleaned up and preparing for my upcoming vacation...8.5 days woot woot!!!

Tonight the owners of the house I've been sitting and watching their dogs are coming home. DH and I have to rush and pack our stuff and tidy up before they come home. They offered to let us stay tonight as well but I just want to be back in my bed. The doggies started having a rough night last night because I slowly started packing some of our stuff...The mama dog jumped in between us last night and just cried so hard, I had never heard anything like it before. They know we are leaving soon...Maybe they worry that we're leaving and their owners aren't coming back so they'll be all alone? I'm not sure but while it's been nice being with them, they are so sweet...It makes me glad I only own cats and a turtle...They are so much easier to care for.

Work is about through and I got to leave on time so I'm off...Just wanted to stop by so you didn't think I fell off the earth

Good Morning!
Today is the first day of making my health one of my top priorities!!!

Sam 4 pounds!!! You are so close to your Christmas goal. I am so proud of you. You have been through so much yet you stayed on plan. Thanks for being our role model. I am so happy for you!
Betsy hooray for one day without cheating! I feel like I am ready to jump on the wagon with you. (better check the tires and axle!) I like the different types of salads too. I need to make a better list before I go to the store. Betsy surely you are worth whatever lettuce or healthy food costs. Your kids would rather have you around longer then an extra $3.49 to fight over when you are gone. Yes, that was a scolding! I missed you so much when you were gone. Being selfish I want you around as long as possible.
Mae how are you feeling?
Melissa I am so sorry to hear about your dog.

I am getting in the groove. Worked on our $ budget today. Way too much waste going to our waist. Time to clean up the house and take a load to the thrift shop. Time to spend less on the computer and more time moving.
Have a good day!

Good morning. Heavy frost last night and all the roofs in town are white. Pretty!

Sam -- Wahoo!!!!! You are so close to your goal and it is inspirational to know that goals can be reached. With 2 weeks to go, hopefully you'll be ringing in the new year as a member of Onederland. I completely understand about just wanting to go home and sleep in your own bed. The reaction of the dog is a little weird, but there may be separation anxiety there. A lot of dogs have problems with it evidently.

Ubee -- Actually I'm so sick of eating lettuce that the high cost of a head will get me to be more creative in my lunch planning. There are so many salads that are both delicious and healthy that don't require a bed of lettuce. I've gotten in a rut. Glad you're back in the groove because it does help to know that others are making it happen. I missed you, too, Ubee and am glad that we've reconnected after my sabbatical.

I was 4 pounds lighter this morning than when I went to bed so obviously I had a whoosh. Unfortunately, I was whooshing a good part of the night so I'm not feeling very rested. Oh well. I'm retired. I'll rest up today and take it easy working on wrapping gifts.

Off to the gym and then home to wrap some more. Have a great day!

Hi everyone.
Day 1 of putting myself first was an epic fail. Spent the day with the youngest at Urgent Care and going to two pharmacies. She will be fine with rest... Tis the season.
I will be ordering myself some feel good clothes today. Big step as I hate spending money on myself.
Betsy do you have a site to recommend for your salad recipes? One day with no cheating and you get a 4 pound whoosh. Maybe we should take it as a sign to stop cheating.
Have a good day. I'm going to try to get back on track.

Good morning from someone who is fuller of it than normal--still got the cold and nose is running to beat the band!

Ubee -- auto spell just changed your name to Uber. Bet you didn't know you were a taxi service. Oh wait. You're a mom. Of course you knew you were a taxi service! So sorry about focusing on you got side tracked in such a bad way. Glad everyone is ok, and there's probably no way to get around those kind of situations even if we wanted to. In terms of salad recipes--it was extremely creative.......I Googled salad recipes. Pages and pages of them. Some of them aren't practical for a dieter (like potato salad made with mayo and sour cream), but the quinoa and veggie salad sounded good and healthy.

6 pounds off this week. 99.9% of it is water as I've spent the week in the bathroom, but mentally it helps. I'm back to doing IF so 2 meals a day. And I'm working on portion control. When I go off track is when I just have to have some high carb food. I had mashed potatoes last night but just served up 1/2 cup instead of the entire package. Who knew that eating right could have results!

Off to get my hair cut, then the gym, and finish up the wrapping. Hope everyone has a great day.

Hello all...checking in. I've been trying to get life back in order at my house after being away house sitting. It feels good to be back in my own bed. I haven't gotten any workouts in this week, but I still am feeling ok about that. I've been doing a lot of cleaning to get my house ready for Christmas and I've been getting hot and sweaty doing that so I've been counting that as a work out. We'll see what happens this week with my weight. I've been doing one room at a time. Tonight is the bathroom. There are too many clothes in there so I'm sure a load of laundry or two will be in the works. Nevermind all of the other clothes that have been sitting in baskets that need to be folded. Hoping by Saturday I can get up early and go rent a carpet shampooer and get the carpets cleaned. I'm not having company over for Christmas but it would be a nice Christmas gift to myself to actually have my whole house in order and sparkling clean for once.

Eating wise has been on plan. I won't lie I've had a tootsie roll here and there at work, but they have been the small ones, and so far it doesn't look like it's hurt my weight. At least its only 1 here and there and not a whole bag.

DH and I are going to sit down tonight and try to plan a weekend getaway. I really want to go out of town for my birthday, but we would have to be back by Monday for a doctor's appointment. The plan is to hopefully go to Charlotte, NC. I love it there and there are so many cool shops so it would be nice to go there for a night or two. My bday is the 26th so maybe we would leave the evening of Christmas.

Anywho! Wanted to stop by and say hello! I suspect that this group will be more quiet as it gets closer to Christmas. If I don't hear from you all hope you have a great time with your families!

Hi everyone.
Sam a clean house would be my Christmas Miracle.
Happy B Day & Merry Christmas to you also.
Though I do plan on being around.
Hubby and I have come down with a bug.
Tis the season...

Good morning. I swear if I find moss growing on my back side I wouldn't be surprised. Enough with the rain already!

Sam -- Happy Birthday a little early. I'm to the point of life where I'll forget in spite of good intentions to mark the occasion on the 26th so I'll send wishes your way a little early. I'm going to clean house today -- maybe we can send simultaneous cleaning vibes to each other! Charlotte for a weekend getaway sounds like fun. Savannah and Beaufort were always fun, too, as well as going to the outer islands. Just doing something different is fun!

Ubee -- Sorry you and DH have the bug -- UGH! Horrible time of year to be sick (is there a good time?). Hope you're feeling better. And hope the silver lining is that a couple of pounds fall off with minimal effort.

This is the end of the first week of seriously getting back on IF and 7 pounds came off. I know most of that is water, but it is encouraging to see weight loss for a change instead of weight gain. The bad news is this is the same 7 pounds that I lost in November and then regained over the long Thanksgiving weekend. I'm definitely going to try to do much better over Christmas and New Year's.

The boys are coming for an overnight on Saturday so their parents can attend a Christmas party down here. They'll get picked up on Saturday morning, so I just need to fix supper and breakfast so surely I can do that without going overboard. Off to the gym and then home to start on cleaning the house. Have a great day.

Hi all...another quick check in. I'm about to go to the store to rent my carpet shampooer to do my carpets today. This is the last thing I have to do to have my house nice and clean for Christmas. I still have my closet to do but I plan to take care of that after Christmas while I'm on vacation.

Eating is still going good. I haven't gotten any excercise in this week but with all of the cleaning I think I'll be fine. Will try and get a few workouts in next week before the holiday if that's even possible. Have had s sore throat for a few days so that's always fun, hopefully it will pass before the holiday.

Take care everyone!! Hope you all have a great day!

Hello! I haven't been on the computer much to check in. The migraines/vertigo/nausea finally subsided last Sunday, thank goodness! Unfortunately, I struggled to get back into my workout groove and ended up not doing anything until today. Felt SO good to get some yoga done this evening!