I had been doing WW since August and had lost 12 lbs before the first week of November when I (temporarily) stopped going to meetings/following the plan. I knew I'd get back on track, but just couldn't keep with it for the holidays. I ate like crap, no exercise and was drinking alcohol. I knew I would gain but I had no idea how much. I was worried that I would gain all the 12 lbs back. Well, I went back to my meeting yesterday and was pleasantly surprised that I had only gained back 3.4 lbs! I know we don't usually celebrate gaining weight but I am going to this time. My enthusiasm for the program was renewed and I went out and walked for an hour. I ate on plan all day yesterday. I set some goals for the week as well as for the month. I have a meal plan for the rest of the week and groceries in the fridge. It feels good to be an active WW member again.

How about you all, how did you do and how do you feel about it?

I chose to take just one little week off program for the holidays. Who knew I could do so much damage in a week?! I gained 12 initially, I'm still about 8 pounds up currently. But I'm working on getting it back down. I'm disappointed about having such a large gain, but dwelling won't undo it. Staying on plan will!

It may just be water weight from eating what you normally don't, maybe there was a lot of extra salt in things (I know our stuff was saltier). You have a great attitude about it. For Thanksgiving, I really wanted to have a healthy meal but my husband wanted his traditional family meal that we've had in the past. Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday and he told me not to rain on his parade. lol So, I did make 2 healthier dishes to go along with the fat-laden dishes. I wish I could say I only ate turkey and those healthy dishes, but I did not! Christmas, we did a little better in that we had chicken enchiladas and rice and beans and we didn't have leftovers for days and I was able to sort of control myself. I love what you said, "dwelling won't undo it. Staying on plan will!"

I did gain a bit, but it's already half off (gained 5 pounds, down 2.6 this morning). It was partly that half of my students gave me cookies for Christmas and we had a blizzard, so I was snowed in with them, and partly that I had a cold and ate a lot of things like rice pudding and pasta -- not things I usually eat. One of the things I'm coming to appreciate about WW is that it really is all about changing habits and taking a long-term view.

Snowed in with cookies? Being sick too? I'd definitely gain too! :P I agree it's all about changing habits, substituting healthy things that you can do for the rest of your life for bad habits. I am really trying to do that. It's the only way we can lose weight and keep it off. I am really stressed today because I had to take my dog to the vet and they had to do tests on him and this is quite the trigger situation. Instead of going next door to the store and getting a bag of chips, I decided to go for a walk. You know what? It was beautiful out. The sun was shining on my face, I passed friendly people with dogs who said hi to me, I listened to music and it was very pleasant. I hate exercising and that is a habit/mindset that I need to change. It felt good to get out there and do something positive for my mind and body.

I hope you feel better soon, Xan!

I have been off plan for more than a month due to travel, holidays and surgery. I am working my way back on. I have gained 6lbs as of this morning. I know a bit of that is salt as I could not put on my rings this morning. I have put my GoWearFit armband back on and have started writing down my points. I am only allowed to walk right now and am back up to 1 mile.

I went off plan for about two weeks and gained about 2 lbs, but considering how much food was in my face, my work schedule, and how cold it was outside I'm not going to cry over it Last week I already took most of it back off.

You know it's like Dorie in Nemo says, "Just keep swimming."

I love that!

I was up 1.2 last Wed due to holiday and birthday excesses I knew I was up but made myself go in anyway. I think that and more should be gone this week. I really want to have 40 lbs gone when I get weighed in on the 13th, that would make 40 lbs in 4 months.

Wow, 40 lbs in 4 mths! That's awesome. 1.2 isn't bad at all. I wish I would have found time to go to the meetings during the holidays. Instead, I found excuses!

Since 12/23, I have lost 4.4 pounds being on WW. I tracked everything and that seemed to help me including the multivitamins. We were traveling during the holidays and even if I could not point something, I still wrote it down.

Trooworld -- how is your dog doing? I hope he is better.

Trooworld I'm not quite there yet, pushing myself to make it though. I was down 3 lbs today, that means 2.8 needs to go by next Wed. I know that is going to be tough, this was my easy week of the month to loose.

I weigh less now than I have since 1992 though, I have to keep perspective and not get so set on the smaller goals that I give up when I miss one.

janann: congrats on the weight loss! That is fantastic. I don't know if you use the etools or not, but that healthy checks feature really pushes me to get in the multivitamins (and the other stuff), too. We got good news from the vet, he said all the tests were normal and his kidneys are functioning great for his age (he is 16 yrs old). He is having issues "tinkling" throughout the day, the vet says he thinks it's just old age. He said if it becomes bothersome, we can try meds. We are going to try to put up with it for now.

allisonsf: you are almost there! What a feeling to weigh less than you did over 10 years ago. I can't wait to get that feeling! Yeah, sometimes goals can be a double-edged sword: they are great motivation until you don't make them and then you feel like crap and it de-motivates you. At least, that is what it does for me. I do believe in the value of goals, so I am doing them, but I am doing small goals. For instance, this month, my goal is to lose 3 lbs. I know I will lose more than that if I keep doing what I am doing, but I will have something to celebrate at the end of the month.

I gained a couple of pounds over Thanksgiving, than lost about 5 lbs. the week afterward. Than I stopped following the program and last weighed in on Dec. 21st and had lost maybe .5 lbs. I finally returned to WW last night and had lost another 2.2 lbs. even without tracking! Woo hoo! I really dodged a bullet. It could have ended up much worse.

I gained 1.5 lbs between Dec 23rd and Jan 5th! I have been really good this week and I hope to lose a couple of pounds by next week's WI