Happy Friday everyone!

Ruth Ann: hope you are feeling better and don't let the weather get to you. I find the transition from fall to winter hard, days are dark longer and the weather cools. I have my draggy days but we do get a lot of sun during the winter which is a bonus in the north. Love it!

Eve; wow, you look so good! Nice picture!

Jenny: I'm jealous! Never been to Vegas and was just chatting about going sometime the other day. I've seen Shania Twain twice in concert and I really enjoyed both times. And I would love to see Cirque de solei, I have heard nothing but excellent reviews about them. I have friends there right now and they sent a picture where it is looking warm and sunny!

Hi Liana! Hope you are well!

Great to see you back Steph!

Slip: Its Friday! Aren't you happy? Hope your week ends well!

Still on P1 and going strong. I am looking forward to getting back to my running and the gym once I am back to maintenance. I just got the 'Beck Solution' book and plan to do the course as a maintainer. I am very impressed with what she has wrote so far and will follow the six weeks she has set out. Have a great day everyone!

Good Morning Maintainers!!!!

Thanks for the compliments on the new pic. I realized my old profile pic was about 12-15lbs ago....so I decided to update. Of course, my hair is pulled back as is my norm these days with so much hair loss. I am SOOOOO ready for that to stop, but trying to keep my head about it. Even though I can see more scalp in the front than I would like, I realize most people couldn't really give a flying flip about the status of my hairline. I mean, talk about a FIRST world problem!

Jenny.....Wow! What a workout routine! I am envious of you getting to work out in a group. I'm very social, and love working out with others. But doesn't work easily with my schedule currently. Have an amazing time in Las Vegas!!!!!!!

Liana....I'm wondering if your pounds up right now have to do with your hormones as I remember you mentioning that you have been having an odd cycle? I tend to go about 2-3 pounds up for several days during that TOM.

RuthAnn.....You'll be back to exercising in no time! I feel so good after I exercise, I wish I could genuinely LOVE it more. It often feels like a chore that must be completed. Hope you get through today and on with the weekend ASAp!

Hawaii....You're doing great in P1!!!! I really like the Beck Solution book and really need to make some time to sit with it again. So much of this weight issue is mental. What I really like about Beck's approach is staving off the all-or-nothing thinking that we often set for ourselves with body image, food, stress, pleasure, etc.

Hope everyone else is doing well! Off to some birthday shopping for my hubby!!!!!

I think you are right ladies, I need to watch my water, a couple of days I have been short - 6 not 8+ - and I realize also that I have been lax in my vitamins, especially my cal-mag just before bed (which is important for weight loss & maintenance). It seems that I think of them and then I just go blecch, I don't feel like another cup of cold water (I'm so bloody cold in the evenings these days !?!) so I just toddle off to bed instead. That doesn't help with sleep patterns either, I know. I think I have gotten less than 6 hrs per night for the past week. Coupled with stress & whacky hormones... I guess I will just have to breeeathe more, and be patient.
On a good note, I was down to 134 this morning again so maybe I will get there soon.

Liana

Alright, today ended up being a Funday since my niece & I were in a production for the Food Network. Comfort food, what else - the restaurant was the Burner (made out of an old sawmill burner and it has all kinds of hand milled beams inside, and very old sawmill and logging equipment hanging from the rafters (like 2 man chainsaws from the 30's/40's)). http://www.theburner.ca/
John Catucci from 'You Gotta Eat Here' was doing the hosting and it was a closed set. I didn't want to say anything in case nothing came of it, (I remembered the IP video issues) but we had a great time and we were the background table for all the interviews. Cierra my niece got her meal filmed as delivery happened and then as she dug in & took a bite of the juicy, sloppy pulled pork sandwich. It will be for the start of Season 4 in the spring probably late March or very early April.
I had Nachos which were very yummy (I haven't had nachos in ages!) and luckily gluten free, although I was prepared to 'suffer for my art' .

Here's a couple shots:
Liana

Very cool Liana I know of this restaurant but haven't tried it. I drive by it every time I visit my family in Williams Lake.

Now you will have to pop in, Stephascope! Make it on a Funday, though, lol.

Liana...that's so cool! You look amazing...and I LOVE your new hair color!!!! I get mine cut/colored next weekend. Thinking of what i'll do. Probably a bit shorter with all my hair loss. I feel like my hair always has a reddish tint with color. Would love something more neutral bit not ashy-green....eek!

For sure! Maybe on the way back from Christmas holidays. No fun days until then

Happy Saturday, everyone!

evemomma, love the new pic! You look fantastic! Can't wait to see what you end up doing with your hair.

Jenny, have fun in Vegas! Sounds fun. I thought about you while I was on vacation. We hiked a lot at pretty high altitudes and I was thinking I probably have great lung capacity now for a sea-level dweller and might be able to kick off running more easily.

Ruth Ann, fall always hits me with a nesting or a hibernating instinct or something. I always want to clean clean clean and paint and reorganize. Rainy days are good for that.

Liana, that's so awesome! What a unique space, looks like a great venue for events. Let us know if they post a clip online. I live in a cable-free house, so I can't watch food network, but if I did have it, that's all I'd be watching. That, and HGTV. I have to make due with the PBS cooking shows (which are fine by me).

Fairly quiet weekend around here, doing some errands and taking care of that fall "nesting" urge. Have my eye on a pair of shelves from Pier 1 but they are $$pricey$$. Thinking of justifying it as my 'yay I hit my goal' and new job present to myself. Also looking at a new set of dining room chairs. Is there a limit to how much you can reward yourself? Have a great weekend!

Good morning everyone,

It has been a less than stellar week for me food wise, but I am at goal this morning. Pretty sure the slips can be correlated to pms. I am really going to focus on cleaning up my eating and getting all my water in this coming week.

Pishposh, I bought living room chairs for my 60 pounds lost reward. I say go for it!

Ruth Ann, have been thinking of my Seattle area friends as I watch the sad news on the tv. . As for getting chores done around the house, I am with you this weekend. It has finally stopped raining and the sun is out here. Hope your nesting allows for you to rest up and rejuvenate.

Liana, your day sounded so fun! Good food and a television appearance. Your niece must have loved it. Cute pictures too!

Jenny, I hope that you are having a wonderful time in Vegas.

Eva, such a cute new profile picture. How did your tests turn out? Or are they coming up soon.

Steph, you can do this reboot. And... A stop at that restaurant sounds like a great fun day after you are done.

Hawaii, I was looking forward to the weekend! Feel as though I am earning every penny this year. So happy that your phase 1 reboot is working so well.

Maile, have not heard from you lately, hope all is well.

Chip, how are you liking maintenance?

I have had some very interesting weight experiences lately. Some funny, some that make me want to thump adults in the head!

In my classroom, I have photos in frames of my travels. I am teaching about the Brandenburg Gate and I said there is a picture of me in front of the gate on the back shelf. A student picks up the picture and said you are not in the picture. I said, yes I am. I have the large iced coffee in my hand. He then shouts out. Omg, you used to be FAT! (No filter for this kid) I just had to laugh. Some kids were stunned by the picture, others were supportive.

The adults on the other hand! The wife of a childhood friend made a comment about my weight loss at a party. It was awkward in part because one of my old Beaus was standing right there. I said that I had been working on it for the past year and a half and that I felt great. She asked how I did it. I answered IP and exercise. She asked what that entailed. I explained all the things that you couldn't have, old beau said sound like you have not been having a lot of fun. The friend's wife then put me on the spot for exactly how much I had lost. It was so awkward and I did answer. But geez, ever hear of girl code?!!

Sorry to hear you were put on the spot like that Slipfree. It makes for an awkward situation! My husband's cousin made a big fuss in front of everyone at a family function last March and I could have punched her!

It's funny how some people can ask in such a supportive and diplomatic way and others come off so rude and like it is just going to turn into future gossip.

I haven't been posting much. Made it through my first week of maintenance and actually maintained! But I can't say I followed protocol to do it. I'm still struggling to eat that way. I'm making good choices and not overeating but not doing good on fat carb separation and ratios so will try harder this week. I'm glad I did IP when I did. Between a crazy work schedule and bust nights I don't think I could pull it off now. Most nights I am back out the door 20 minutes after getting home and eating dinner at 8:30.

I'm just finishing up one heck of a fun day. Realizing how crappy too many carbs makes me feel. I had a major energy crash in the afternoon. I haven't felt that since Pre IP when I experienced it almost every afternoon!

Funny how I am still learning so much in maintenance even on my fun days.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Slipfree.....I hope you are getting an energizing and refreshing weekend! Thanks for asking about my tests. I was supposed to call to get blood work last week. Tsk tsk on me....I still need to. My bilirubin was high (just a tiny bit) last time and need to get this pesky thyroid looked after still. Bah. You guys can help me be accountable. I also stood in line to get my flu shot last week only to be told my insurance wouldn't cover walk up pharmacy and needed to go to a clinic.

Chip n Dip.....I hear you on good timing! I didn't think k about the holidays when I started ip last spring. Good for you for maintaining in your first week. Keeping the carb/fat separation is hard! I had to accept that salads would be my norm for a fat meal....though they are DELICIOUS salads nonetheless! You'll get the hang of it. I hope you had a delicious fun day....I am having one today! I try to keep my protein up on fun days sometimes with two shakes....and I also try to eat at least 2 cups of veggies. This helps me feel better. I also love my p1 day after since it resets me for the week.

It's my hubby's birthday today....I have a cupcake in my future. I cut the butter in half and filled in with nonfat greek yogurt. Mmmmmm! I plan to adapt a lot more recipes as we move into the holidays!

Take care all!

Here you go, posh - watch online, lol, I don't have TV either. http://www.foodnetwork.ca/shows/you-gotta-eat-here/
Evemomma, be a good girl & go get your tests done before you get your hair done. And post a new picture, we wanna see the new do!
Hang on Chip & Slip. Things will get better. At least there is new furniture in all your futures, hahaha.

I was at a big conference yesterday, so no computer time for me... RCMP Dog Unit, Gang Task Force, the auto crimes unit from ICBC, and Citizens Patrols from the southern half of the province. Also the Okanagan Central Command Dispatch for Police, Fire, Ambulance were there and it was all an amazing overload of information to process. DH was allowed to take pictures of the Dog Unit Demos, but is not allowed to post online to any social media, so "Sorry, not able to share :P." Interesting videos and adverts are out there from the Gangs Unit though, that have already had good success with getting some members to change their lives and get out of the gangs. http://www.cfseu.bc.ca/en/end-gang-life
Very touching, no wonder they work.
Although I didn't record in MFP, the food was all on plan, Yaaay for the wonderful Hotel staff - it was almost all GF and fresh veggie based, and an amazing fall soup (GF too) made from squash, coconut milk, and apples, with an wowzer fudgy dark chocolate flourless cake that they brought out for my dessert when they learned I was GF.

Quiet here today....

Liana....Your conference sounded like it was the perfect fit, especially as food-friendly as they were for you! Hope you are getting some rest in today.

We had an unusually warm day for late October here....so odd to be without coats this time of year. After church, we spent the rest of my hubby's birthday yesterday at a state park enjoying the leaves and warm weather. It was so nice to be able to romp around on the trails and in the leaves and not feel out of breath or too heavy to do what I wanted. My daughter weighs less than 40 lbs....every time I pick her up it is a reminder of what I DON'T have to carry around anymore. What a relief!

Finished up my weekly P1 day today....and made a delish pork tenderloin to get me through as least a couple days. My asthma has finally calmed down so I was able to do my full 30 minutes of cardio without having to stop. I have a slower week at work, so I am hoping to keep my exercise routine up this week better than I have for the past two weeks.

Tomorrow night I am doing something special....I am going to be the guest speaker at a local Share Group meeting (a group for parents who have exerienced pregnancy loss or neonatal loss). I am excited and really nervous to go and share my experience of losing my son in utero 4 years ago and also discuss my experience as a counselor who works with other women who have experienced baby losses.

In preparing for my talk, I have been reviewing a lot of my writing around the time I lost my son and doing a lot of remembering. Of course, this brings up sad feelings. It is so nice to feel in control or my eating even in the midst of sadness. Stuffing my feelings with food only served to make me feel WORSE and not better. Ugh, a lesson it only took me 4 years to learn.

Good night all!