No worries..not blaming the brownie! I was still under calories yesterday with the brownie. Just joking!

Just giving my quick check-in!

Mostly OP today, got a nice running workout in and then hit the sauna again (GOODNESS I LOVE THE SAUNA). I was a little bit snack-y due to just hanging around the house all day... But I'll be busy tomorrow and will be okay then. Hubby is being a real trooper and letting me make healthy dinners lately too. (: Going strong still for 100% to next Monday!

Just a few more days until Japan!!! Ahh I'm so excited.
I need to study for my final exams, first one tomorrow, but it's f-ing hard to concentrate!

Love to you all~

You guys had me cracking up with the visuals of nose-picking 4 year olds touching the rice crispy treats.... I STILL gave in! Thankfully the kids only touch their own portion so I did not have to worry about germy hands, but still.... I lasted throughout the day, then PIGGED the eff out on the way home. Seriously I estimate that I used almost half of my daily calories on them. Gah... Lesson learned? Clean out the dish at school before heading home. The good news is that I managed to stay within my calories for the day and took a brisk 60 minute walk this afternoon.

Mottainai- It sounds like you've had a great day! My gym has a sauna but I've never tried it.

JessicaB, I'm glad you're starting to feel better in your clothes... and it looks like we're weight twins! It's definitely nice when the little ones grow up a bit and can do a little more on their own. I also have a 3.5 year old. Thank God for the gym's daycare, so I'm able to manage some "me" time most days of the week.

Alexistrophic, I rarely get compliments from my husband... We've been together for 9 years and he shows love in other ways, but it would be a nice change of pace. Glad you're feeling better about the whole situation.

LeilaJey, YAY for water weight dropping off and your make-shift chocolate straws sound amaaazing.

Joss, it's pretty amazing that your body knew it was time for a binge/refeed, even though you had no idea you were into such a pattern. Great job on sticking with your plan.

I'm heading to my hometown this weekend to visit my family (3 hours away) since it's been a few months and my husband has duty all weekend. I'm a little bit nervous about interrupting my gym and eating routine. I think I'll hit the gym tomorrow night and Friday morning like usual, then head out of town and take a long walk with the jogging stroller on Saturday and Sunday. I hope I can keep my eating in check with two holiday events going on. The scale moves SO slow for me these days, so I really don't want to see it go up.

Well... the bank put most of the money BACK in my husbands account today and he moved it back into ours. Still less than I think we are supposed to get back but we'll see. Either way it was nice to put some money back in savings and catch up on late bills. My parents helped out a little, so our rent check could go out on time, so we'll pay them back when we're there for Christmas.

Ate like a pig yesterday, well, ate a lot for me. Later on at night, I just was hungry and wanted to eat. I think I was around breaking even but may have been a few calories up. I haven't been tracking lately. But so I woke up to 150 today but hey, one pound isn't anything to write home about so no biggie and today hasn't been a huge eating day for me.

And boy am I tired and sore after gymnastics tonight! Guess I worked out pretty hard, which can only be a good thing.

Sorry no personals, I can't keep up! I'll have some catching up to do I think this weekend.

~Katy

Ok...when I got on th scale it was 115.8 then jumped to 116.0! I thought for sure I'd break 116 this week. To frustrate things more, I pulled a muscle last night and really limping around today.

TOM is next week, so not hopeful there.

Broke down and ate a bunch of junk last night. My weight is waaaay up now. Blah. I'm not going to let it spill over into today, but I'm feeling pretty bummed about it.

124.2 today. Ate like no carbs yesterday but then went out for a big glass of wine and nibbled on the free candy at the bar. I won bingo though!!!

Tonight is a big potluck with all the friends. I'm bringing salad and wine, my roommate is bringing a creamy soup, bf is bringing 7 layer bean/cheese/sour cream dip and tortilla chips, another friend is bringing quinoa/kale mix...I'd be really surprised if I'm anything but this tomorrow:

As my friend would joke, "I suck at life!" Man this month is busy. I only babysat for a week before the mom decided to just stay home early. She was going to next Spring anyway. So I did a lot to get my house baby ready, and lot to get it back to normal! Lol Christmas tree and inside/outside are decorated. I love blasting Christmas tunes all day. Lots of holiday parties and more to come. I hope everyone is having an awesome Christmas season so far! This week is my one-year maintenance. Rough year, but pretty good overall in terms of weight loss.

I'll be back soon and catch up. You ladies are always so chatty!

Jessica : Good luck for your job interviews!!!

Alexis : Letting the guy know where you are standing right now sounds like the better and mature thing to do. If you're not sure you're feeling this, you can't really help it anyway! He will probably appreciate the fact that you are being honest.

LeilaJey : Bwhahaha. I can be SUCH a ***** you have no idea. But it's only when I'm concentrating. Or tired. Or if it is early. LOL. You said ''just keep baking''. I think the guy is getting spoiled, last night after dinner he started to complain lile a 4 years old that ''we ONLY had shortbread cookies left for dessert...'' Well bake yourself a freakin cake, boy

Okay, this tea drinking with chocolat thing sounds like MARVELOUS. I don't think we have this kind of chocolat here though

Joss : YUMM, langoustine!

Woah, your body is following a strict pattern, you're like a clock! I always feel like I've discovered that the Earth goes around the sun when I see something like that concerning my diet! Did you manage to go through your 11th day without much trouble?

I'm also glad to know I'm not the only one going into the GETOUTTAHERE when I workout. LOL poor boyfriend. This is weird, it's only when I do some muscles things.. when I run I'm chatty and happy like a Disney princess going for a ride in the forest. Go figure.

Mottaini : Good luck with your exams! It's gonna be over soon!

OhthePlaces : I think your plan for this weekend sounds fair! it might not me the usual gym routine, but going for long walks do count for something

Kakers : Glad to hear that you at least got a part of the money back! Must be a releif!

Bayzee : D*mn, must be frustrating after seeing the 115's number. Hold on!

Thebunneh : You'll get back on your feet.. It happens to all of us!

Krampus : All that food you describe sounds deliciouuuuus. You're gonna be a nice furry cat!

Chickie : Nice to know you're alive!

***

Yo! Still 136.2 this morning. Don't know if I am really holding steady or if something is up with my scale. I think I'm gonna try and get new batteries. My boyfriend's weight is normal though. And I DID ate a lot last night, I went for another serving of chinese mac.

I also only got my Christmas Chocolat Calendar last night (did I forgot to mention that I'm 8 years old somewhere along the way!?). My boyfriend already has his Star Wars one that I got him last weekend. So we ate all the chocolat from the 1st to the 5th in one sitting... Iit was 125 calories for the 5 pieces. Not TOO bad.

Planning to bake healthy muffins (banana and zucc, and maybe with some peanut butter chipit if I can find some) this afternoon when I'll be sick of my thesis. I also need to find what to do for dinner, we only agreed on eating something with shrimps last night. Ideas?

Leila ~ Thanks for the understanding... Ha. That's exactly what it was (a vent) and I'm hoping that I'll be able to just let it go. I WISH I was your 136.2 buddy (I think that's Turbo?) but believe me, I want to be joining that club soon.

Joss ~ What a revelation on the "binge/refeed/treet night" cycle! I can definitely co-sign and have experienced almost the exact same phenomenon of bucking the plan after about 10 days... when I'm on a plan. Which hasn't been often... lately.

mottainai ~ Sounds like a lovely hubby, indeed. What's in Japan?

Ohtheplaces ~ Hope you have a great time with your family!

Kakers ~ Your gymnastics team sounds like so much fun! Did you compete as a kid?

TheBunneh ~ *hums the Aalyiah song* "Pick yourself up and try again... You can dust it off and try again... try again..." Or the old army sloga "FiDO" (Forget It Drive On) <-- Love that one. (I'm in the same boat. Have been telling myself these things all morning...)

Krampus ~ Awww, fuzzy kitty! It's "fluffy, not fat" That party spread sounds de-licious! And fairly healthy, too...? How have YOU been with life/work/things in general?

Chickie ~ "Happy Maintain-iversary to you!!!"

~~~
Didn't have the best day yesterday, food-wise. I had therapy yesterday morning and as soon as I left I felt overwhelmed by this massive wave of all-consuming hunger. I KNOW that it was emotional, and yet I still gave in. Started with a bagel+butter and the massive eat continued through the day (stopped for a McDonald's cheeseburger + chicken nuggets and then 3 oatmeal cookies on the way home, followed by food after 8PM, my personal "out of bounds line"...).

Notes to self:
I am a danger to myself and others when I eat compulsively.
I never stop at "just one bite/taste/bag".
It's not about the food, it's about the behavior...<- remember this one, self.

So far, today is going better - I had my daily fruit for breakfast (1 pear+1/2 cup pineapple + 1/4 cup dried apple) and have been going strong all morning long. Plans for veggie+lean protein lunch/dinner.

Am going to a lecture/event tonight at a college nearby and am excited to catch up with friends on the drive over. Possibly going to a party tomorrow with the aforementioned "give 'im a chance" guy, so the weekend is looking promising. Also booked a hotel and car for Christmas trip down to Nashville to see my lil sis. Both are refundable, should the trip end up not happening, but it's exciting to plan for now.

Did some Christmas shopping last night, too, and the poor debit card didn't know what hit it. Got a call from the fraud department of my bank confirming that I actually made these charges... Yep, I made 'em all...

Holiday hugs to everyone!

Turbo ~ lol - 8 yrs old + 55 years old... it all equals out in the end. And thanks for the words re: the guy. Mmmmmm zucchini muffins... mmmmmmmmmmm....

Chickie - THERE you are! Glad to see you're keeping busy and enjoying the start of your holiday season!

Krampus - I want to cuddle the **** out of that big fat kitty. It sounds like a great night planned! I will be wishing I were out drinking wine and having dinner with friends as well, but instead I'll be acting like a good friend and going with my roommate to see her daughter (she's 7) and her class sing Christmas songs for their school holiday event. Oh joy.

TheBunneh - Aww, I'm sorry to see you had a rough night! Did you binge or was it just overeating a bit? I think as long as you like no $hit get back on plan today the damage will be minimal and gone before you know it. Don't beat yourself up over it!

Bayzee - Perhaps you'll have a whoosh after TOM? I know everyone's cycles are different but it seems a lot of ladies start to hold water the week prior and then lose it at the end. I've never noticed a pattern personally, but I'm a sporadic weigher. Even when I do weigh regularly, it's still only once a week.

LOL I'm glad you were joking about the brownie... some people lose their minds over silly things like that!

Kakers - Thank goodness you got your money back! Sometimes for whatever reason people really get the short end of the stick on things like that and I would hate to see that be the case for you.

haha, it sounds like you had a good workout, so maybe 'eating like a pig' actually went to good use? I always feel better if I have a great workout before or after indulging a bit too much. At least in that case I know that some of those extra calories went toward fuel and/or rebuilding muscle. It's a very VERY small condolence, but a condolence nonetheless.

OhThePlaces - The rice krispies treat pig out couldn't have been too bad if you stayed within your calorie range! Besides, they are nutritionally devoid of anything redeeming, but at least a rice krispies treat isn't a huge calorie bomb. When I hit the sweets, I'm digging in to rich chocolates, truffles, pastries and things with lots of fat. Yum. hahaha I can do a LOT of damage considering calorically dense things like nuts, peanut butter, chocolate and ice cream are some of my favorites.

Traveling and interrupting my routine always causes me a bit of anxiety as well, but I've managed to make it through some pretty hairy travel schedules and locations by just doing my best. I travel a good bit, so I try to make sure that I book a flight or leave at a time on the first day of the trip that allows me to get a solid workout in first. I always take several changes of gym clothes with me, along with my ipod, and have a great base of bodyweight workout moves I can do literally anywhere. You can drop down next to your bed in any house or hotel room and get a great workout doing a circuit of ab exercises, squats, pushups, squat jumps, burpees, etc. You can even do jumping jacks or jog in place to get some extra cardio too!

Eating while traveling can be much more difficult. I try to do my best to pack snacks in my purse as well as my luggage for use in emergencies. I love Quest protein bars (they have the best nutrition stats I've ever seen for a protein bar, taste good, and travel really well), individual pouches of instant oatmeal, 100 calorie packs of almonds or other nuts, green apples, beef jerky, sweetener, individual pouches of tuna and protein powders. It might not be the tastiest thing available, but I always feel better if I choose a healthy snack over some quick airport or gas station crap.

You can do it, you just have to set your mind on it.

Mottainai - I hope you were able to concentrate long enough to get some studying done! I get super excited before I go ANYWHERE, so I can only imagine how much I would be jumping out of my skin before going someplace as amazing as Japan.

Guys my 400% Vitamin D daily supplement is turning me into a grinning maniac. I like this a lot.

JossFit 7 year olds singing Christmas songs, at least it's not 4 year olds singing Christmas songs. Being a good friend is an awesome thing to be, though! And at least watching kids sing isn't just sitting in a room half-drunk eating until it hurts.

Alexistrophic My life's good. Work, play, work, went to London for a week, have I mentioned my job is the easiest thing in the world? Play some more, eat, go to the gym. Nothing too noteworthy. Sorry you had a rough day yesterday - therapy should theoretically have the opposite effect? Glad today is starting off better. As for the potluck, none of it is particularly healthy, so I'm balancing it out with the salad.

TurboMammoth I have a chocolate advent calendar from Harrod's. Don't tell my roommate but I've been throwing out the chocolates...they are SO STALE, bleh! You could deep fry the shrimp and make fried coconut shrimp, MMMMMM



ChickieChicks I don't think "being busy spending quality Christmas seasonal time with your family" and "sucking at life" are compatible :P Happy early maintenance anniversary!!!!!!!!

TheBunneh Aw man, I hate when that happens, but you'll recover soon! What did you eat? I hope it was awesome.

Bayzee That's the worst. If I put my scale on carpet I weigh 1.2 lbs less every time...

kakers Happy to see your money situation is getting more manageable. It's nice to have parents willing to help out in times like these!

OhThePlaces Staying within calories counts even if half of them were Rice Krispy Treats! :P I hope you enjoy your weekend back in your hometown, your exercise plan sounds totally doable and I'm sure there will be some good choices available to eat (though I don't know what your family eats).

mottainai AHHHHH so excited for your trip. My friend never got back to me about Tokyo gyms, I'm sorry! Just spent some time last night catching up with a friend who went to Japan for frivolous fun for 2 weeks. She wants to move there really badly. Is your husband from Tokyo proper?

Alexis : Yeah, the mean between 8 and 55 years old is 31.5... which is not THAT far from my age. I'll take that!!

Banks can be stupid. A guy I know was travelling in the States last year and he got his card blocked in California because the bank thought ''it was weird stuff were being bought so far from his home''. The poor guy was trying to pay for his dinner and almost had to wash the dishes LOL

krampus : those shrimps look GOOD. Might be doing that!!

***

OKAY, I'm amazed how Amazone is just FREAKISHLY efficient. I places an ordre last night for my brother Christmas gift and it got delivered THIS MORNING at like 10AM.

It's a bummer I can't order ALL the Christmas gift on Amazone :P

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

I had a giiiiiiant salad for breakfast and already feel better.

-And, as I was writing this post I got a fedex package. I'm always really excited to get stuff in the mail... except it's an unexpected holiday wreath from my estranged half sister. I know my reaction should be "oh, how sweet of her!" but mostly it just feels weird. I haven't spoken to her since I was about 15, save for a brief greeting when she found me on facebook... Would sending her a thank you message on FB be enough return?-


Joss I'd call it a binge simply because of the attitude that went along with the eating, even though it wasn't a large quantity. I allowed myself to say "Screw it! What I do won't make a difference anyway!" even though I know that's just me lying because I was feeling self destructive...

Krampus That shrimp looks SO good. Also love the picture of the kitty! I hope you have fun at the potluck.

And sadly, what I ate wasn't anything I even enjoyed very much... it was like, handful of M&M's, then a handful of chips, then a bit later a couple scoops of ice cream, etc... would've been a lot better off just making myself a satisfying meal.

Turbo Those muffins sound yummy. I need to start baking again...

Alexis Glad you're having a better day. Thanks for those quotes, I really like the "Forget It Drive On" one. And I agree with you that it's not about the food, it's about the behavior. I need to remember that too.