Hey, ladies! Hope everyone is having a great holiday season! I love Christmas, but it hasn't been great on the diet and exercise front. I am STILL maintaining, which I guess isn't all that bad through this time, but I'd love to start losing again. I guess that's what Jan. 1 is for -- a new beginning! Isn't it exciting to think that this coming year will be the year that we will reach our goals??? (optimistically thinking, of course). I'd love to finally make it to goal! What a great feeling that would be.

Well, I'm getting way ahead of myself. We've still got Christmas. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! Enjoy this special time with family and friends! Merry Christmas!

Take care,
Jina

nice short work week? ha! not even close... i'll even have to work a half a day on christmas eve! we are just so busy... bah humbug.

i am excited for christmas though. we are going to my parents on christmas eve for polish food. then on christmas we do presents at rob's moms house, go to his aunts house, and then back to my parents house. i dont like all that running around but it's ok.

i don't want to gain anything (not even an 1/8 of a pound) over christmas, so i have to be really careful. rob's family is annoying in that after they open presents, they have a big breakfast (like eggs and pancakes and bacon and sausage) and then, an hour later, they go to his aunts house, where they eat more food (all kinds of stuff set out on a table like pepperoni bread, chips and dip, stuff like that), then they go home and eat a big christmas dinner (ham, mashed potatoes, etc). i am thinking, who ARE these people??? is it really necessary to eat all this food? and i will be there for parts 1 and 2 of that, and then part 3 will be at my parents house. i really need a strategy. my thinking about this christmas stuff is that it is no excuse to go completely off plan and totally indulge. i think it's better to just try alittle of things I really like, but for the most part, stay as close to on plan as i can.

here are a few thoughts off the top of my head:
- no drinking on christmas eve or christmas day. i just don't need it.
- stick with protein at rob's mom's breakfast extravaganza
- one plate of whatever is healthy at rob's aunts (like veggies)... because i feel like it might be rude to not eat ANYTHING... right? but also rob will be trying to force me to try everything so i have to be strong, lol
- skip the lasagna course of my mom's meal (i think we'll be arriving too late for that anyway)
- dessert probably won't be a problem bc my family always has different kinds of pie and i don't like pie

anyone else have a plan of action?

In NZ we are lucky enough to have christmas in what passes for summer these days!
I have my mother and my brother coming up to visit me for christmas.. and to meet my BF for the first time! eeek.. well he knows my brother already but still...
My plan for the day is brunch..which will be eggs and bacon, smoked salmon and croissants with orange juice.. i was going to make fresh fruit salad, but due to all the hail, SNOW, and bad weather in general this year, fruits in my area of the country are EXTREMELY expensive ($5 a punnet of strawberries).. so not sure about that one... but then as it will be so "HOT" we are having green salad, with baby new potatoes boiled and tossed in a light vinaigrette and a cold cooked ham. hopefully no one will want more than two meals. I am making a couple of light deserts too.. to have instead of the plum pudding mum has made. I am cooking so I can control the fat content of a lot of it myself. so NOT uber healthy, but a lot better than the traditional ham and turkey with all the trimmings meal i used to have at my mums family do, my boyfriends family do and my fathers do...3 christmas meals in one day is not fun, especially when it is a case of people being upset if you don't eat much.. like "oh is my food not as nice as x's..."

I hope everyone has a brilliant holiday tho! I am really looking forward to unwinding, my work load has been intense the last few weeks, and even though our GM has said we can leave at 12 on friday.. i will be here until 5 i think...

i have just realised too, i have an (un)fitness assessment at the gym today.. crap crap.. i went out last night with my BF for his work do... too much beer... oh well c'est la vie.

have a great day everyone
Tiff

Brunettechic - CONGRATULATIONS on the fantastic exam results. You should be really proud of yourself. Also a B+ is nothing to be sneezed at!!

My fitness test was a bit of a suprise, my resting heart rate (after panicing about running late) was 54 bpm at 6pm! wicked... and I lost 3% body fat in the last three months, plus I have evened up my measurements and lost some cm's.. so all in all a good sign. funny thing is, i haven't been as hard out with gyming it as i was earlier in the year...

Have a fantastic holiday period everyone.. good luck with staying OP or not...

Tiff

congrats, NBK!! That is awesome about your body fat. how did they measure it, with calipers? i'm just curious how many sites they pinched. i get my body fat tested with calipers.

my favorite kind of snapple is the 1/2 lemonade 1/2 iced tea - yummy! but a bit too sugary. anyway, right now i am drinking it in the diet version that i just found out existed. its yummy, yay!

i was jealous yesterday because my trainer was training someone who is hotter than i am (well, my face is CLEARLY prettier, lol, but her body is amazing, so she wins). i had to pretend that i wasn't looking at them. he was totally cheating on me, that jerk.

well i guess everyone is really busy this week. as for me, i am finishing my christmas shopping after work today (good luck to me!), and then making cookies tonight and tomorrow morning. thank goodness the gym is open tomorrow so i can get in a workout before the festivities. yay again!

Man what a slut.. i think you should sit your trainer down and ask him if he is really committed to your relationship! lol

Umm because my body fat is still so incredibly high (it's embarassing to say the least).. i still go for the electrode option. Once it gets lower I'll start looking towards the more accurate caliper method.

Have a great christmas and new year everyone!
Love
Tiffany

NBK! That is awesome news about your fitness test!!
TannyMC - I personally believe that face beats body EVERY time!! Your body will eventually be as nice (or better) than that other chick, but she can't do anything about her face that doesn't reqire a scalpel
Last night my mother and I were up until 11 last night wrapping presents for my son (he is 5 this Christmas) - I wish that I had had a video camera this morning when he saw MORE presents under the tree, and just now he pointed out what could only have been Santa's footprint in the ashes of the fireplace!!!
Here is a fun like for you all - espicially if you have kids around www.noradsanta.org
Merry Christmas all!

well i hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! as for myself, it is me and my boyfriend. all of our family is out-of-state, so i think all the eating i have done for the past two days will quickly halt as of... tomorrow! than back on track. its funny how i can tell when my body has had FAR to much sugar. ive been sick to my stomach and my pants dont fit as well... and i know i couldnt have gained everything back, but man i feel like it. anyway, have a beautiful christmas where ever ya'll are!!!! don't have a worry in the world and have fun!!!! brunette chic, thanks for the noradsanta, thats a great site.

peace irina

Ok - it's Christmas, and my hubby is still 3,000 miles away
But, it was alright, crappy for the diet, but I wasn't trying to be good today. I had more alcohol than I should have, and I took my son to see the Incrediables - so we had some movie popcorn and diet coke. :P
Anyway, the gym is first on my list tomorrow (at 10am when they open...grrrr...)
Tomorrow I will be 9 days away from seeing DH again - and today was the offical 4 month mark. It has been tough; I am glad it is almost over.
I hope that everyone was happy with their day today - Merry Christmas!

(hugs) BrunetteChic - have a wonderful end-of-the-day.