Well, I lost 3 pounds this past month. And I'm not disappointed, because of what I said in my previous posting. Figuring out my daily allotment of muesli, and how to adjust my non-carb eating the rest of the day so that I'm losing weight more briskly, is going to take a little time. I think that with the new year, I may go to weighing myself once a week, just to do some fine tuning.

Thanks for the cheers, Trish and Kathleen! I haven't decided yet about my next mini-goal. I think I will keep counting the days of being free of emotional eating, but not put them in my sig anymore. It would be nice to get to a hundred days, and after that, to a year. I have to wait and see how my weight loss goes after the new year, and maybe set a weight loss mini-goal.

I really wish I could stay on the Atkins induction phase of less than 20 carb grams a day: I wish it hadn't made me go into that severe depression, because my body was comfortable with it and I wasn't craving carbs at all. At least the few raisins I add to the muesli don't tip me into sugar craving. I'm not eating any sugar whatsoever.

Except for tonight, when Bob and I celebrate Yule! I get a bar of very dark chocolate, one that has a little caramel inside each square. =broad grin= I hope I don't eat it all up at once, that I can make it last for a few days. Happy Winter Solstice, everyone! May your longest night be a warm one...

hello friends!wow that makes about 9 of us here atm so i'm going to try and recall every one. please don't mind me if i forget someone…i have just read through your posts….ah!. they are really good, cathartic in a way for me.

my boy and i had a conversation recently about another topic (artist stuff)and it was marvellous that we could communicate on another level which is what he wants. we have hobbies in common, so we can talk about it, and that is healing for our relationship. i feel better about us but i always worry about him like he's a little boy, and he's a man, for goodness sake.

vermontmum you write so much for me to respond to. firstly, hot flashes, yes, i know about it! it passes love. breathe.

secondly , hating xmas. i know about that too and i'm trying really hard to enjoy it now! it is a GOOD thing. a GOOD thing. a GOOD thing...

DH argument…no, it is not ALWAYS your fault. your DH has trouble communicating. that's obvious, as he didn't apologise and you asked for that specifically. so you can leave it be now that's ok. but that is his way of apologising…being nice and normal. put the words in his mouth next time: "i'm sorry holly". sometimes men need that, like children. because they were brought up not having to talk about their feelings. my DH doesn't admit to HAVING any feelings!

good for you, delivering cookies, like a little biker elf. haha so cute. funny.

ibelieveinme2, no no no no no naughty pizza rolls!. they ARE there to be eaten though, right?

now, about de-cluttering. THROW STUFF OUT. IT'S STUFF. DO YOU THINK THEY HAVE STUFF IN AFGHANISTAN? NO STUFF. THROW IT OUT. YOU DON'T NEED IT. THEY WON'T LET YOU TAKE IT TO HEAVEN.

gwen, i'm on cymbalta, it's very good. (among other things).

i'm shutting down for xmas, so have a nice time of it everyone (i am very busy doing christmassy things, like wrapping presents, shopping, the usual and i need to let my private indulgences go for a few days..:-) )

lilturtle, be safe and keep warm won't you? you will be ok, stay with us. we will look after you. i'm sorry i'll be absent for a few days only, but i'll be wishing you a good xmas from my home. please take care my dear.

fi, i like the way you talk about food CONTROLLING you., not the other way around as it should be. i will remember not to let sweets/sugar/bread boss me around this christmas too!

so..until after ,

bfn, love to all here at ups n' downs…(i have not named everyone after all but i wish you good tidings, my dear friends!)
saraphin xxx

Well, I just came from a family Christmas celebration at my parents' house. Lots of people there with 7 children and our spouses, 25 grandchildren ~ some with spouses or boyfriends, and 4 great-grandchildren! We had a good time and lots of food and drink. I am exhausted now.

Fi: Congrats on your 3 pound weight loss! Slow and steady is the way to go. And you are learning so much along the way! You are doing great! Hope you are encouraged!!! I hope you had a nice Yule celebration last night and thoroughly enjoyed your dark chocolate!

saraphin: You are so right about throwing out my clutter! No, I won't be taking it with me to heaven!!! It isn't all clutter, though, but also things I need to find a home for. I am just NOT a good organizer. That is why I have hired a professional to help me, but we had to cancel our Friday session after all. So she won't be coming until the end of January now. She gave me some things to work on until then. And I do have lots of stuff to return (which I always procrastinate on) and to go through and to throw away!!! God help me!!! I hope you are getting all of your Christmas stuff done. I am wrapping presents, too (since my shopping is complete), and I realize that I bought way too much stuff for my hubby and kids. Oh well. That is usually the case. I hope they like the things I chose for them! Anyway, I am trying to keep the main focus on the real meaning of Christmas, which for me and my family is the birth of Jesus, our Savior.

Trish: I hope you are hanging in there and taking things one moment at a time! You are in my thoughts and prayers!

Waving hello to everyone else!!! Hope all is well with everyone!

I have a little Christmas fun to share with you guys. It starts with a poem titled "Nicolas Was" by Neil Gaiman:
And here's the animation of the poem.. Enjoy!

Thanks everyone for the thoughts and prayers. I went to a family Christmas event yesterday. It went well. I got some nice presents and my presents were well received. The food choices weren't the best. Pizza, cookies and chips. I ate two small pieces of thin and chrispy and had two cookies. No chips or soda. My stepmom who knows I am dieting bought me a box of chocolates. I wonder what she is thinking. I think that no one in my family is taking this seriously. I have already given away the box of chocolates and most of the cookies I was sent home with. Tomorrow I leave for my brother's house two hours away. I will stay there until Thursday. My brother is a little bit more supportive of my diet so maybe there won't be as much temptation.

Hey there folks...I hope your holidays are going well. I'm in my usual yearly slump because of the gap between Yule and Christmas: I get all excited and anticipate the 21st, whereas it seems like most everyone else I know is anticipating the 25th. (Except for my Jewish friends, of course.) It makes me feel strange, out of synch.

Anyway, I'm still on top of things, diet-wise. I reached my mini-goal of 30 days without any emotional/compulsive eating, and the count goes on. Meanwhile, I'm examining my daily calories and my exercise patterns very closely, trying to figure out how to turbo-charge my weight loss, which has been quite sluggish the past two months. I bought a Leslie Sansone "Walk the Pounds Away" DVD, and I'm going to make myself try it out for the first time, either today or tomorrow. Tomorrow might work out well, if I think of the added exercise as a Christmas present I'm giving to my body. =smile=

Trish— Good for you that you were able to negotiate that holiday gathering with your weight loss resolve intact! That's great you gave away the candy and most of the cookies...you must be relieved not to have those temptations in your apartment.

How's everyone else doing? Anyone out there?

Hello Friends! I just came home from working out with my trainer and errands. It feels so good to have my exercise behind me already for the day. I would never have it done by now if I didn't have an appointment with the trainer! So thank God for that! She is keeping me on track with exercise!

Fi: I did Leslie Sansone's "Walk Away the Pounds" years ago and really liked it. Really don't know why I ever stopped. I wish you much luck with it! Stick to it and you WILL get results! Sorry about your slump between Yule and Christmas. At least you know to expect it and why you are in a slump. That helps somehow. It will pass. I am so impressed about you reaching and now passing your goal of 30 days free of binge eating!!! That is wonderful!!! On to the next mini goal!

Trish: You did so well to give away much of the tempting food that was given to you. Odd that your stepmom bought you a box of chocolates when she knows you are dieting. Sometimes even those who love us can sabotage our efforts (or TRY to; we don't have to let them!). I hope you will enjoy your stay at your brother's house! Good that he is more supportive of your dieting efforts.

Where is everyone else?!? It is pretty quiet around here lately! Busy time of year, I know, but at least post us a quick word (if you are reading along) to let us know you are still around! Take good care everyone and stay strong!!!

I'm listening to a rock-n-roll Christmas radio show, agreeably fagged by my nightly leg exercises, thinkin' about how to accelerate my weight loss. Three pounds a month may sound like a nice steady pace, but y'all know I'm aspirin' to something a little faster for the upcoming year. Aren't we all? I gotta get my feet moving out the door more, if only for the effect that it would have to lift up my mood.

My mood got better this afternoon, though: a cold front blew away all the dull grey clouds, and it was clear and pleasant out. I took advantage of the low humidity to spray a couple of my collage postcards with the acrylic fixative that is so picky: whenever the temperature's too close to the dewpoint, it tends to get cloudy with little water droplets.

Way to go, Kathleen, for working out with your trainer! You have a great holiday with your family!

And my warmest wishes to everyone for a very merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it!!! I will be busy all day, but wanted to be sure to hop online before my kiddos arise to see what "Santa" has brought for them! They are 17 and 14 and no longer believe in Santa, but they still get excited to open presents Christmas morning. Thank God the wrapping is finally finished! Now, I can relax and enjoy watching their reactions when they open everything up. My favorite part!

Hope that all of you will enjoy the day with family and friends! I aim to focus on the people gathered and NOT on the food, although ~ as I mentioned on an earlier post ~ my in-laws always have such delicious foods at our celebrations. YIKES!!! I will allow myself to indulge a bit, but will try not to go overboard. Tomorrow is a new day!

Love and prayers for everyone gathered here! May your day be happy and healthy!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!! Santa was very good to me and all is going well.

I ate way too much food throughout the day today. I start over again in the morning. I need to get very serious about weight loss again.

Trish: So happy to hear that all is going well and Santa was very good to you!!! That is wonderful!!!

Well, my big achievement for the day after Christmas is that I took a walk! That's huge for me, because I haven't walked in over a year, because I injured my knee. My knee was a little wobbly and the trail was a little muddy, but I got in a good 30 minutes of cardio. I'm hoping that more exercise will lift my mood, which has been hovering rather more below baseline than I like.

How's everybody else doing?

Hello!!

first, Fi, I think your celebration of the solstice was so kewl! and I checked out a couple pics of your collages, wow! how big are they ? and congrats on being able to take a walk

saraphin, thank you for your wonderful insight on my recent argument with husband, you are right on! and your conversation with your son sounded so great

Trish, it is so good to hear that things are going good for you and Santa was good to you

Kathleen I am so sorry you struggle with clutter. I feel kinda bad that I would be the pitcher if you and I were in the same house..I really didn't even care that much til I had to clean out my dad's condo after his death and it just made me more aware that, every single thing in the house has to be taken care of by someone, at some point. Onto positives..so glad you were able to enjoy a nice Christmas!

I had a great day also! We didn't have our get-together til Christmas Day evening, when our younger son and his fiance came over; to join us (DH, older son and I) We had great time first visiting, then digging into the stockings, then gifts.

I used some of my Christmas dough yesterday to buy a pair of much needed winter boots, not fancy or fashionable, but Merrills hiker-types, which are warm, waterproof (snowproof) and have amazing tread; just what a Vermont chick needs.

Back to work today, ugh. I know Fi is looking forward to some of my hilarious/horrible customer stories, I must have erased them from my mind cause they're so frustrating but this upcoming week should refill that void

I have been eating EVERYTHING but trying not to beat myself up about it.

I am slowly getting back to eating like a normal person again. I always have to watch my portions. It is so easy for me to overeat, especially if I love the taste of what I am eating. This morning, I walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes while my daughter worked out with our trainer and then I worked out with the trainer for an hour. I am exhausted right now!!! But it feels good to know I did all that work and that my workout is done for the day! Way to go, me!!!

Fi: That is excellent that you got out for a walk, especially since it's been so long since you've done it!!! Definite PROGRESS!!! Keep it up and it WILL help your mood! I always want instant results, but my trainer keeps telling me that it takes time to change your metabolism and body. I need the constant reminders that what I am doing now will matter in the long run. Delayed gratification is a difficult concept for me to practice..... but I am counting on it this time around! Regardless, I FEEL better when I work out, so I guess that is my "instant" reward.

Holly: It is so great to hear from you! You have a good reason to clear the clutter now, so others don't have to go through it later. I need to keep that prominent in my mind when I am working on the clutter. I don't want my kids to be stuck with all my "stuff." It is just so difficult for me to stay on top of it. Plus, I have some old clutter that still needs attention. It is difficult to know which area to focus on first. I keep working with my organizer on the first floor, so that I am not embarrassed if/when people come in the house. But I haven't been able to maintain our progress yet, so we are often going over the same areas when she comes. Of course, with all of the Christmas presents and things to return/exchange, I have even more stuff laying around right now. It does bother me. I want our home to be a peaceful place. It is not when there is stuff everywhere, though. At least I acknowledge the problem and I am working on it. Better than denial.
Congrats on your new functional winter boots! And good for you for not beating yourself up for eating too much. It doesn't help. You will get back in the swing of things soon! Hope your first day back to work went well! Keep in touch!

Waving hello to everyone else! Please post when you can with an update or just to let us know that you are still here and reading along.

I am looking forward to positive changes in 2014!!!

I have knee problems too Fiona. Even walking is hard. I want to start going to the pool again. I'm a little bit down today. Really dreading new years. I'll be alone.