Good morning! Snow predicted for us today - some during the day and 1 -3 inches tonight. We really haven't had any snow yet (besides flurries) so I'm counting on it to get me in the Christmas spirit. I know a lot of people do it, but it's hard for me to imagine Christmas with sunshine and palm trees. Once we're into January, though, I'll be ready to head south!

Last week I found myself getting really sloppy with eating and falling back into some old bad habits, like stress eating. Truthfully, once I 'came to' and realized what I was doing, it scared the crap out of me - it was like I could seeing the writing on the wall of where all this bad behavior would inevitably lead (weight gain). So - in the true spirit of compulsive list makers everywhere - I made myself a chart from yesterday until Christmas - 13 days. With little check-off boxes for cardio, weights, water, food, vitamins and so forth. Yesterday I gave myself an 'A'. There's no better feeling in the world than waking up knowing that yesterday was a great day and today will be too. I know it sounds SO but it's what works for me.

How's everyone else managing with the holidays? You'll notice that things tend to get quiet around 3FC at the end of the year, and then we'll have a huge burst of activity around January 1. A lot of people fall into the 'to heck with it for the rest of the year; I'll start over again in 2005' mentality. But ... stick around and keep posting now, if you can - it will make Januray a whole lot easier if we all stay on track now.

Back later - it's time for the gym.

Good morning everyone!

I had a busy weekend, got almost everything done on my list! This included a long (15 mi) run and a party at my house and I survived both. Fortunately, they were both on the same day, so I didn't have to worry too much about what I ate, just watched it a little. I filled up on spinach salad, and then only had room for a little bit of the rest. Last week was a good week in general, stuck to most of my goals, didn't eat any of the work food, and generally did OK.

This week will be challenging. First a business trip Tues-Thurs, rescheduled from last week. I think that'll go fine; I'm prepared for that one mentally. Then I go visit my parents Fri-Sun. That one will be a little tougher. I'm still working on prep for that one, making a plan, visualizing myself doing the right things. But the available food is so unpredictable, especially this time of year, and mom's a food pusher. She does try though--she's agreed to keep the cookies to an absolute minimum and is mapping out a 3 mi running loop for me. I did put in a dinner 'order', roast beef and mashed potatoes, so she also has one special non-diet fussy meal to focus on for me, and doesn't try to do prepare everything all the time. Easier on both of us.

So after tonight, I'll be pretty scarce the rest of the week--might get to peek in Thursday night. I'll be back next week as work winds down! The last thing I can afford to get myself for Christmas is a big butt!

Meg, good for you for making that list, and getting an A the first day. I also find it so helpful to do things like that--completely refocused me a couple weeks ago, and I am so much more in control. You are so right, it is a great feeling. Be safe in the snow! How is the kitty?

How are the rest of you doing?

Hello Meg and Ann, and the rest of the lurkers

Meg -- Thanks for the idea on making a chart I just printed one out till January 3rd...It's only 8:30AM and I had almost convinced myself NOT to go to they gym and shovel the driveway instead, but I WILL do both now... Here is my list of TO DO:
1. Eat when I get off the puter....
2. Wash the kitchen floor....
3. Dust....
4. Gym - Legs
5. Shovel driveway

I have to be mindful of the crawp stuff at work this week, I KNOW they will be coming in left and right with the stuff... Coming here last December REGULARLY and POSTING is what helped me maintain during the Holidays...So I am for sure going to continue that this year...

Anne -- Have a great week, I'll miss you...

TTFN -- Let's be careful out there!!

OH! I was soooo textbook psycho yesterday! I was nibbling along like I usually do and my mother said something about dieting or not eating ... and in I dove! Full fat cheeses and dips, lasagne, creamy cesar dressing, whipped cream on mincemeat.
I can't explain it, fellow maintainers. I'm a fairly intelligent 44 y o woman who can run a house and manage a job and child rearing but when it comes to my mother and food ... I still do what I'm told.

On a happier note ... it really only rained yesterday. London is south of here so we only ran into some flurry activity as we neared home. And it wasn't bad. It's suposed to get colder today so I should run out this morning and get some boxes and things to tidy before I start decorating.
The plasterers are coming this week. Maybe by Friday we'll be done with the awful dirt and I can get down to brass tacks! The serious business of painting the fitness room and getting some Christmas things up. I'm starting to feel the 'less than two weeks crunch'.

Good morning all. It's hard to imagine not having snow already. Since Dec 1, we've had 3 major snowfalls, each one bigger than the last. Saturday afternoon it took 4 of us over an hour to dig out the end of the driveway and shovel it enough to get our car and our neighbour's car in and out, plus a path to the back yard. Sunday afternoon I ended up spending another hour or so outside with the kids finishing up the rest of the driveway and the front porch. Only "light" snow for the next few days hopefully.

Not realizing how bad the snow and wind were Saturday morning, I attempted to go running. It turned into more of a run/walk/stumble in near white out conditions. I knew I should turn back, but once I'd fallen into the first snowdrift, I figured I was already wet and outside, so I might as well get some exercise. I went running again this morning and actually ran this time. The sidewalks were clear and it was only lightly snowing. No wind even.

I like the chart idea Meg. I may have to borrow the idea for myself.

Ann, do we have the same mother? Mine is coming to visit between Christmas and New Year, and has already made shortbread cookies and coconut balls to bring with her. She's also planning on making and bringing samosas and veggie lasagna. And she'll only be here 2-3 days. She really likes to make food for us.

It's pretty easy (so far) for me, as I have to still work 5 days a week. I just bring my tupperwares in with 'clean' food and there's nothing much else to eat so I have to stay good. We don't have a microwave and the only refrigerator is for the medicines.

Xmas day and Xmas eve will be 'free days' and I refuse to feel guilty. :P

SusanB -- I know what you mean by mothers! I'm getting better but on Saturday I went over there and Mom announced to me that Dad has had 2 dizzy spells this week... One just that morning before I got there... I saw the cookie tin and had 2, I thankfully, BREATHED, then left it at that and I KNEW I was eating because of the stress about my Dad and they can't seem to find out what the problem is even after umpteen tests!! Yes, going back home can trigger some EMOTIONS to say the least... My parents only live like 5 minutes away so I have to go often enough, like this morning, so dealing with the emotions IS getting a bit better...


Only Me -- Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow! Is the theme here this past weekend and today! Oh well, I try to look at it as a workout!

My week started with Christmas party! I prepared to it by running 7km (instead of usual 5 on Fridays). I tried EVERYTHING there, in moderation, still it was twice as much as I am used to eat. I danced for the rest of the evening (high energy) and I went for a swim in the morning. I also walked a dog for 2 hours later in on Saturday.

Sunday was uneventful - walked, cooked, prepared for the party, trained my dog to behave on soccer games (we are getting there, he does not whine anymore!). Had guests in the evening, they brought low sugar, low fat cookies, which was kind of nice.

Plans for this week to survive. On Thursday and Friday I my kids have 2 parties per day. Thursday is good as I can leave them and go shopping. Friday is not bad either, as I will only drive them and DH promised to stay there!

I was really surprized that my yoga class asked me to continue thru the holidays. I will find out today, if yes, I am very happy to continue with the class!

Everybody have a nice week, plan ahead...

Sandy.

Happy Monday. Here in south central Indiana we're having wanna-be snow -- tiny flurries that blow around and dissipate before they even reach the ground. Oh, that it would always be thus. However, last night we had wind, the likes of which I haven't heard in a long time. Somehow, it sounds more ferocious when it's cold than when it's hot, but of course when it's hot, it can turn into a tornado. Oh well.

I'm actually glad to be at work today. I'm fairly insulated against Christmas goodies (we're a small staff, and everyone is trying to avoid the sweet stuff), but yesterday was tough. DH announced that he wanted to: 1) decorate for Christmas; 2) go out to lunch; 3) go to a movie; and 4) go the market. And then he opined that roast turkey sounded just great for dinner, and why didn't we buy a turkey breast? All in one day. We never did make it to the movie, in part because I succumbed to his wish for turkey, which meant I had to buy a frozen breast which, of course, did not thaw in time. And then I decided to try a new recipe, that turned out to be more complicated and blah blah blah.

The point? Well, by about 6, I was hot, tired, grumpy and had totally lost my appetite. This is not uncommon for me on Sunday evenings. But I found myself listening to my self-talk, and I realized I was setting myself up for a major failure. What I've done in the past in such circumstances is load a plate with food I do not want to eat and pour a very large glass of wine. I realized I looked to the food to provide relaxation, relief, even fun, if you will. And the wine was my treat for working so hard. I usually had a second large glass, and then it was Katy Bar the Door -- everything was fair game.

All of a sudden, I said STOP. I may have even said it out loud. Self, I said, you have a choice. You can wallow in your dinner, and blame poor hapless DH for simple enthusiasm, or you can put the brakes on right now. Breathe, babe, and adjust that attitude!

So, I stood there for a couple of minutes. And then I did the following: I got out my usual little wine glass (holds 4 ounces). Set the table, and called DH. Asked myself if I was really hungry. Took some more deep breaths. Realized I was a little hungry, so I served myself a little dinner. Sat down, and SLOWLY ate. Took some effort -- again, when I get tired and grumpy, I bolt down anything and everything in sight so as to feel better (do we see a weird pattern here, folks?) -- but I persevered. I drank my wine. And you know what, I actually enjoyed my meal.

Afterward, I cleaned up the mess, and took myself upstairs to pay a stack of bills and wrap a Christmas present or two. Later on, I had a little cup of ice cream (I buy those single-serving cups; the kind they usually give little kids. It's perfect -- pre-measured; I can't go wrong with it.) And the day was done.

This was not a situation I had ever rehearsed. This was not a sitatuion I had planned for. But you know what? This is a situation that comes up all the time, the result of full weekends and busy schedules. You all know what I mean. I have absolutely no doubt that it will happen again. But never again will it catch me unaware. And that's a beautiful feeling!

These days, I'm reading, reading, reading. "Thin for Life," "The Thin Books," "Leading a Charmed Life," a book about fitness, whose title I've forgotten. I won't want to do this all the time, but for now, it's exactly what the doctor ordered. Constant reinforcement. And although I've read some of these books before, it all seems new now because I have an entirely new mindset. Very interesting indeed.

And, of course, I'm reading here -- checking in several times a day. JuJu, over at Skinny Daily Post, writes today about the positive power of community and support in this journey, and I couldn't agree more. We're in this together my friends, each and every one of us.

And on that happy note, I have to get back to work. We're recarpeting our office, and we have to pack up everything. The best I can say about it is that it's good exercise.

Cheers,

This is my first holiday season maintaining and it's going pretty well so far I think. Both my daughters are coming to my place for Christmas dinner along with their significant others so I'm in control of the cooking which makes it so much easier!

I'm such an "all or nothing" sort of personality that I'm having to remind myself that Christmas comes only once a year and that the world won't come to a crashing halt if I eat a small piece of chocolate or miss just one work out due to other demands. I'm sure that I'll make it through the holidays without back sliding and gaining weight even if I'm not 100% all the time. I'm still struggling with the concept because, obviously, I can't be totally on track with eating and exercise for the rest of my life so I have to learn to 'bend' a little without falling flat on my butt! I'm pretty good at "never" and "always" but I'm not so good at "just this once" . Something to practice over the next couple of weeks.

I've done numbers 1, 4 and 5... 3 out of 5 ain't bad... the dusting can wait so can the kitchen floor, I visited my parents instead and ate a good tuna salad while I was there, quite yummy... When I arrived at my parents it was lunch time, so my mother greats me at the door and says: "Oh, you're just in time for lunch, we're having HOT DOGS!!" I just looked at her and made a face, she knows I hate hot dogs, but then she said "KIDDING!! It's tuna and a salad..." Perfect, I thought, because I was a adamant of going over because she often has stuff that just doesn't fit in with what I normaly eat and today I was determined to do well... Which I did BTW and am proud of it... Totally an on plan day!! ... My workout was super good too, I did legs and leg pressed a new high of 410# ... I can tell that I will be sore tomorrow already...

Cardio today was shoveling snow for 1.5 hours... Did you know that our driveway has 50 paces or steps from one end to the other and I have a house on one side and a 6 foot fence on the other? I don't know how many times I went up and down that driveway but it sure felt like 100s , plus the snow was nice and heavy!! Good thing I'm strong!


Robin ~~ Good for you for BREATHING... That was a very uplifting post, I could feel the : right through the computer... ... I've been taking your advise of stopping to breath , and you know, it works!

Meg ~~ I made my chart and have stuck to it ....

Sandy ~~ Congrats on the great planning... I swear that's THE best trick to this whole mind game! PLANNING!!

Well I'm off to fold clothes and have a cup o' tea... TTFN...

<------Mel after sitting in the car for 2 days and driving through snow, sitting at Ohio State graduation for 5 hours, and sitting and 8th grade chorus concert for 2 hours.

I managed 1 cardio session at the hotel Food was spot on, except for my planned post-graduation meal (mmmmm, ceasar salad, seared tuna, w/ asaparagus and garlic mashed potatos of which I only ate about 3 forks full, and 2 glasses of wine, and a few tastes of nearby desserts .)

I am so thankful my daughter graduated in December and NOT in the spring. Ohio State is one of the only schools of its size ( yeah, that itself is a true statement) to hold a single commencement ceremony for graduate and undergraduates of all schools and colleges together, and present each one with his or her diploma at the commencement. There were 130 Ph.D's and 1590 Bachelor degrees presented and about 350 masters or professional degrees. The June commencement is about 5 times larger It was so long, I managed to discreetly eat 2 meals through it

The only disasters of the week-end were my camera batteries drained instead of charged, so we had to reply on grandpa and boyfriend for photos, and I thought I tore my rear and side left delts and was in excruciating pain. At this point, it's feeling more like a badly pulled or strained bicep tendon since the pain has mostly gone and I'm getting most of the mobility back. Aside from the pain I was pretty terrified of having to deal with another major surgery and what I know is a long, painful rehab.

Time to load up on ipubrophen and off to bed!
Mel

HI all, lots of nice posts today.

I LOVE making special calendars for limited periods of time when preparing for something and needing to accomplish alot. I hadnt thought of doing one for food/exercise from now till new years. What a good idea. One of the little things I do with my 'event' calendars is use metallic stars like in grade school for individual tasks accomplished daily. I found some multi-color sticky stars and use a different color for each task finished. Silly how seeing a large home-made calendar filled with little shiny stars can give such a feeling of accomplishment for someone almost 60.

Robin, I also liked your breathing/wait/'It all counts' routine. I have done meditation in the past and have found it very relaxing. Sounds like a good thing to integrate into food/eating situations. I have used it in the past when I was trying to get in contact with the difference between physical hunger vs emotional hunger.

This week is going to be a real food mine-field. Starting Wed, there are 4 parties in 5 days. Alot of great seasonal fun of course, but potentially treacherous territory, esp the one this Wed - the annual Strawberry Margarita Bash. Perhaps on my calendar I need to draw some sort of danger signs. Kaboom!

My goal from a couple months ago was to end the year at 200# in order to be poised and ready for 2005, my year, LOL. I am now at 199 and while I would love to lose a pound to two the next few weeks, I am not sure the Dec. schedule will allow that. I do intend not to gain anything however. That would be satisfactory since I will participate in the holiday season with relative moderation.

Snow? What's that? After tennis this morning, I spent much of the afternoon in the front yard wearing a straw hat, sunglasses, t-shirt and shorts while planting flowers. It is a gorgeous time of year here in so. calif.

Robin said<< These days, I'm reading, reading, reading. "Thin for Life," "The Thin Books," "Leading a Charmed Life," a book about fitness, whose title I've forgotten. I won't want to do this all the time, but for now, it's exactly what the doctor ordered. Constant reinforcement. And although I've read some of these books before, it all seems new now because I have an entirely new mindset. Very interesting indeed.>>

Me too, big time. I have ordered from our library 3 books that seemed interesting. I am also re-reading "thin for life" for the umpteenth time. I consider myself in total wl immersion. I totally indentify with the 'entirely new mindset'. Its just different this time. Its like all the previous times were leading up to this final run. I have heard that elusive 'click' this time. I accept the food facts this time. I accept eating like this forever and no longer fear it. I feel like the mega-monster in the movie 'Alien' -- I may have set-backs, but nothing is going to stop me from my goal.

Jan

Jan ... I like the tone of that last post. Guts and determination! Good for you!

I'm going to take a page out of Ilene's book today .... I must .....
1.empty the ash pan
2. go check some carpet my husband was looking at in town
3. vacuum the hall upstairs
4. knit

And I'd like to do legs.

Just because I ate so badly at Mom's on Sunday, I put my stuff in fitday.com yesterday. Not bad, around about 1700 cals. Too fatty tho' and not enough protein. I may keep doing that for a few days.

Didn't want you all to think I popped in with no intention of hanging around here. I've been reading the active threads and some back ones as time allows. I think in some ways I'm in an information gathering stage so there's not a lot to comment on or share, but it's building up again.

I'm continuing to drop a lb or two a week even though I'm below goal (gw=135, cw=127). I think I'll put the breaks on a little more or just make a decision about what's truly maintainable after the 1st of the year. Neither dh nor my jobs have parties so there's not really any of that to worry about, but things have a way of popping up. We're having Christmas at our house for the first time EVER this year. Seriously. We usually travel to our parents and drag the kids here & there. We decided this was the year to have some traditions of our own. The "babies" are 4 & 6 so there aren't too many years left of Santa and they've yet to wake up to find those gifts. Anyway, I'm in control of what's on the table, but I do want to pass on some traditions too. DD and I (she's the 4yo) have been making 1 cookie batch about every week or so. That way we're not overwhelmed by them and the kids pretty much take care of them as snacks/dessert. (and I run them through Mastercook based on how many are actually baked so I know exactly what I can have should I choose to have something)

Dh & I did discover the Frappuccino low fat frozen bars this weekend. 130 cals for the fudge type. HEAVEN! There are only 4 to a box so there's control there too.

I got "Thin for Life" (the 1st edition, I think) and "Eating Thin for Life" from the library this weekend. Great information. I think it was the perfect time to discover those books. It made me feel more at peace with some of the "will I ever be able to's" that have been tossing around in my mind.

I'm a little envious of the snow. We have none but should be somewhat buried. We are at a whopping 8F right now so it's definately winter. Figures, the year we don't have to travel, the roads will be clear!

Off to work on my current list (you guys are my sisters in that respect! LOL) and get dd ready for dance.

Have a healthy day!
Brenda