@olehcat - Way to go!!! Hm, an unfamiliar city? Sounds like a perfect opportunity to explore! Will you have any time to? Mm, your stirfry sounds yummy. Enjoy the wedding.

whoo hoo, I made first mini goal! I'm almost afraid to celebrate too much because I'm afraid I'll ruin it this weekend somehow since 148 is sooo close to 150, but maybe that will help me regulate myself a bit!

I feel good! I didn't even eat THAT healthy last night (sloppy joes and I don't even eat beef very often, if ever, lol). But today I'm motivated to eat VERY well so that I have a good official weigh-in tomorrow!

@cattails - thank you!! Yeah, there won't be too much time to explore since I'm getting there, going the wedding, figuring out where the reception is, and then going home very first thing the next morning, but that's okay! I will have a few hours in the afternoon and I may spend that working out in the fitness center haha, we'll see!

Finally things are going to be getting back to normal for me, the holiday routine has really threw me. Look out for more posts, I promise I'll be making more of a regular effort now!

Sadly, it seems I'm up about 8lbs, but after what has probably been at least 4 weeks of gorging or eating whatever the heck I want, I guess that's not so bad. Now the cruise is over I'm feeling a bit deflated motivation wise, as that was what I was aiming for. But hey, it's Christmas soon, gotta get into those little black dresses!

P.S, congrats Olehcat!

So I registered for this site this morning and I am proud to say that day 1 is nearing its completion and I have been able to stick to my diet, NO unhealthy foods!

One thing that I am having trouble beating though is the sense of being "hungry," it seems like everything I eat leaves me hungry again 5 minutes later... and I HATE feeling hungry! Any advice??

Today was my "official" weigh-in for the week since I will be without a scale tomorrow morning. I was 148.8, so still under 149, whew, but I do think that I shouldn't weigh in too much this coming week. I know that I will be unable to stay on plan easily today and tomorrow. I'm going to try to not go over the top, but traveling stresses me out, I have to admit, and going to a wedding alone stresses me out a bit. So I am going to try to think of ways I can survive this, haha. Plus a family gathering tomorrow with picnic-y type foods. So maybe this weekend I'll just focus on portions, not healthy foods and see how things go...

Next goal is 144! I can do this!

@archaic - go you on getting through Day 1! That's always the hardest for me! To avoid hunger, eat healthy food that is high in fat and/or protein (like avocados, eggs, etc.). I always find those to be satiating. I make my breakfasts very low carb and high in fat and I'm not hungry for like five hours after I eat (which is necessary because I don't have time to snack at work). I stick to the "lighter" veggies and fruits later in the day.

@Leaves - thank you!! And I sympathize on the "getting back to routine." SO hard after being "off" for awhile!

Hi ladies. I hope everyone is enjoying labor day weekend.

Olehcat--Congrats on the mini-goal! I hope you enjoy your trip and the wedding. Your portion control approach sounds sensible.

Archac1--I hope you are into day 2 now and still at it. I agree with Olehcats's advice. Also realize that hunger is not an emergency. Once you have that mindset, you can wait it out. I also discovered that tea worked to squash hunger pangs for me. Good luck and keep going.

Leaves--Sorry about the 8 pounds. Hopefully that drops away pretty quickly once you get back into your routine. I'm not sure how you go on a cruise and not gain weight. I can't wait to go on one of those--even if a gain is inevitable.

I have no idea how I did this weekend as I will NOT be weighing myself for a few days, lol. I would say I didn't go over the top as far as portions, but I was completely off plan for two days in a row. Let me tell you, though, if I see ANY loss this coming week. As in, if my next official weigh in is UNDER 148.8, I will be really satisfied. That means that I don't really care how slow the weight loss is as long as it happens -- if I can have weekends and special occasions where I can enjoy whatever I want to eat and drink and still enjoy a glass of wine every day during the week, too. I mean, people who weigh a lot less than me enjoy their weekends, yes?

That being said, I'm going to eat super clean this week just to clear out the bloating from this weekend. Sodium bloat, eep, I can feel it in my ankles even this morning. We had Mexican food last night, and it wasn't from a very good place at all. I ate probably 1/4 of my portion of food, but I DID make up for that with lots of chips and salsa and a big margarita!

The wedding was really great, but I did feel socially awkward at times since I didn't know anyone at the wedding besides the bride. Also driving back was very stressful (thick, thick fog where I could not even see the dividing line on the highway a few times and had to concentrate with all my might to avoid driving off the road).

Anyway, hope you all are doing well!

@Moving forward - thanks! I think I DID actually do pretty (relatively) well with the portion control. I specifically made myself be mindful of when I didn't actually want anymore food and was just picking at it for the sake of picking. Made myself stop.

Good for you Olehcat! I'm of the same mindset as you. I will never sustain this weight loss if I can't go to social functions and enjoy myself once in a while. The fact is, food is an enjoyable part of life and I want to enjoy life. Everything in moderation, right?

I finally worked out yesterday for the first time in many weeks. I kept putting it off with many clever excuses. I'm not sure what that was about. My goal is to get back into a routine of three workouts a week. It was discouraging to see that I've lost some of my strength since my last workout. Something to work towards. I'm feeling pleasantly sore today all over, which will remind me I did the right thing.