Too many cals again-2235, Exercise-60 min step class. I watched another PBS diet special -this one was 7 Foods Not to Eat (soy, peanuts, sugar, corn,eggs, diary and gluten). Pretty interesting. I eat all of them now but I do try to limit them. The point is to give up all of them for 3 weeks and see how you feel. I would like to try it but now does not seem like a good time of year for that. I think I will work on limiting these things more now and maybe try to eliminate them for three weeks after the new year begins.

maryea-you are really rockin the exercisin. Glad your posture is improving.

Marie-This weight loss thing takes time. You are doing great-I know you will get there. What kind of quilt are you making? That is cool you are making them with your husband.

AM2-I actually went hiking in the park yesterday although it was a very short one-about 30 minutes. There was just a bunch to do yesterday but I made time to make sure I got outside and communed with nature even if only for a little bit.

Marie-Wow, I love the quilt. How is it done? Do you use a sewing machine? Does your husband find it difficult? I hope you got the lead out of those limbs of yours and are feeling peppier today. Great job on the calorie improvement. Now is the perfect time to get those guys in line before the holiday onslaught.

I did better on calories yesterday suprisingly, I think around 1600.It would have been worse but I work in my bosses house and his dog ate all the chocolate my co worker brought to share. She had it at the back of her desktop but that dog is a wily character. Poor guy (and his innocent mate) ended up with a dose of ipecac with a charcoal chaser for the guilty one. Exercise was 60 minutes of strength training class at the Y. I am so happy to be able to resume my old schedule of classes. I can feel myself returning my former fitness level and it feels great.

Huzzah, all! Sorry, a flyby as feeling a little burned out, lying down & typing on iPad, which is slightly easier when I move it to horizontal mode, Marie.

I am on a quest now to get in the 120s by end of year, not necessarily 125 but just in the 120s.

Looking for work is a bit on hold for the month.

Tera, I was invited to do an 8- hour hike with some friends but it is too difficult a terrain for me at this time. I am still walking my 10,000 steps, some of it hiking on the flat areas. Getting stronger.

Mary, posture is an issue of mine due to spine being messed up. Good for you for working on that.

Marie, your quilt sounds beautiful and interesting.

My plan for end of year initiative involves inspiration from ideas in a book, The Simple Diet, and Wonderslim, Medifast & Ideal Protein, as well as Weight Watcher's 360, although I am not doing any of these plans, I am doing my own thing, always.

Good-night, all.

Am2-Please consider sharing the worthwhile weight loss ideas you gleaned from all those sources. Best wishes for your next goal.

I ate a ridiculous amount of calories again. It didn't seem like that much at the time. Sigh. I did get to the y for strenth training class. Thankfully I am not as sore any longer.

Lol, Marie & Tera, I have no real worthwhile ideas from the new "diet" as it didn't go all that great, although it was a good week for me to get some of the fog and stupid ideas outta my head and get organized lol.

Woke up with a clear idea of what I want to accomplish & how, ran some numbers and will know more about the data after my weigh-in tomorrow but I do have a good idea of my weight today.

I posted this in my 3FC blog and everywhere on the internet I post and in my personal fitday pc software blog and am starting the countdown:

Manifesto: There are 22 days to go to December 30! After that it is New Year’s Eve, kind of a holiday for rest & reflection. I am starting NOW to make this last bit of the interesting year 2012 the best they can possibly be before crossing the portal into the GLORIOUS YEAR 2013, a year where anything is possible, with no mistakes in it (yet)! Woot!

THE GOAL IS TO BE IN THE 120s by year’s end, which is functionally, December 30 because tha last day I will weigh in this year.

Good for you Am2-go for it!

I am still eating too much. It is not like I am bingeing on a bunch of crazy food, it just things like having chips with cheese and salsa yesterday with the girls. I used to not eat any and stick with diet coke only. I did skip the margaritas but then came home and had two Crown Royal with Ginger Ale with my husband. FAC of course. To top things off, hubby made clam chowder for dinner which was delicious but very fattening. We only have it once a year but it all adds up. Especially now-there are so many once a year indulgences all at once and it is just so darn easy to put on weight. Damn the holidays-(said with a sarcastic voice and fist shaking in the air)Oh well, I am just going to have to keep working on it.

Marie-You are doing excellent! Sorry I did not follow your advice and keep the calories in line but I sincerely appreciate your reminding me. Perhaps I will today although the "perhaps" gives away my low level of resolve these days

Lol, I think it takes a long time to be a fully graduated maintainer, Marie.

I gained a pound. Still going for the goal of getting into the 120s by December 30 and still happy where I am but not feeling well today.

Actually I don't feel well, blood pressure shot up suddenly from the frozen entree I ate for lunch as part of my little foray into The Simple Diet. I began to realize yesterday that if I wanted to do this kind of a plan, I was going to have to pitch the frozen entrees and cook something without so much sodium in it lol.

So I tossed all of them but the guy next door was out in his yard and I asked him if he wanted them so he fished them out of the trash (they'd only been in the trash ... in a clean area ... for one minute). So I feel better. He seems to be a bodybuilder and said he would eat them but they had too much sodium lol.

Lol, I know ... I still like the structure of The Simple Diet but best cook my own frozen entrees. The shakes I have are okay.

Tomorrow ... groceries ... real food.

Today, get blood pressure down and get rid of cobwebs in brain!

Am2-So what is the Simple Diet? I like to cook most of my own food. I only eat out for convience. I bet you will enjoy your own frozen entrees so much more.

Marie-My husband gave up alcohol and sweets for 5 days and lost seven pounds last week. R U KIDDING?!!! Men! I was jealous too even though I hound him all the time to eat better and lose weight--ha, ha.

Okay, I ate too much again yesterday but I had to have that Baileys after dinner, and a S'more when we built the fire in the pit on the patio. Right? Okay, admittedly not right. Tomorrow is Monday and it will be so much easier to behave. I did make the Y Friday and today for step classes.

Tera, there is a big thread on 3FC on The Simple Diet, I think. I downloaded it on iBooks after reading parts of the thread one night on the iPad (lol I think about weight loss all night sometimes ... I really want to get to my goal).

It is a diet devised by a doctor using frozen entrees, shakes, bars (only in emergencies) and lots of fresh produce.

I'm not normally a big fan of frozen entrees as sodium makes my blood pressure go wonky (plus probably the additives) and only a few taste good to me, but I decided to try my own version of the book as I needed a new diet angle. But after only a few days I was not feeling well at all using the entrees, so yes, will be kind of doing it but cooking my own.

Today I made chicken with vegetable broth, lite canola butter and frozen brown rice (basically brown rice that has been precooked so you can steam in bag, there are a lot of varieties and it is just easier for me than cooking rice from scratch as I always get it wrong).

It took little time and I had six servings. I ate one, gave one to dog, and froze four. Usually I have Brussels Sprouts with that meal but was completely veggie-less today.

I am using various things for shakes emergency bars, mainly so far for bars, Soyjoy, because I like them and my body reacts well to them. I am going to make breakfast cookies tomorrow and call them bars lol.

Exercise is on target, 10,000 steps still being done as well as strength and my little aerobic DVDs, which at this point are back to only Leslie ones just to get some walking in that is lateral, as the Fitbit doesn't register lateral steps.

I am having lunch out with a friend in the town where I used to work tomorrow. Want to stay in my calorie range. Not sure yet what that will entail as she is picking the place.

I've been having pretty high days, too, Marie. T'is the season lol.

I agree with you about being fit! Woot!

I'm still playing Super Duper Chef of my own queendom, looking for a job, and doing 10,000 steps (plus the weights and aerobic DVDs as well), so life goes on here in LaLa Land. :laugh:

Life goes on and so does THE DIET!

I am not feeling terribly confident that I'll get into the 120s by the new year but giving it the old college try.

It would be fun.

since sandy i have aged so much. i looked in the mirror once the lights went back on and i could not recognize the woman looking back at me. the stress from the storm gave me an excuse to ababndon my good eating habits. I went for cookies, bread, cereal with milk, pancakes pretzels, chips , more bread with hummus ... i fell into a carb pit and this Monday I have decided to climb out.