Coaches

I woke up with a hungry tummy. *credit* This last 10 dys since I got back from Florida seemed to be one long eating fest. I recall in Florida that I always woke feeling hungry. Since people here are counting streaks, I'm going to count that: the mornings I wake up hungry=1!

My fitbit flex arrived as did my Aria scale which works, in theory, with the flex for added tracking/information. The flex was easy to set up. It told me I slept 6.49hrs of the 8 I spent in bed. Ok. I tracked my food fairly easily in its software pgm online. great. I added my weight*credit for weighing in*this morning( down from yesterday=a yay). So that's all good, but trying to get the scale to work was a big pain. Apparently you have to have your wifi router set to "b" and most are g and n--whatever that means, and the help board is full of "I've been an IT guy for 15yrs and this has me stumped feel so bad for non-computer types." It's a scale it shouldn't be hard to set up!!! I sent a help request to fitbit for help. I was going to just send it back except that almost every help post on the comment board, once they were successful, said it was really worth the effort and to persevere. My DH said their server is probably crashing as everyone who got one for xmas, and now with new year's weightloss frenzy coming on, well everyone logging in to set up their scale could be too much on their end. It seems so.... ridiculous. And talk about your 1st world problems.

I didn't get to the gym yesterday. Will go today=planned exercise. I did unearth and set-up my table in the kitchen + two chairs. DH did not squawk over the change. Good.

Today I am making soup. For me, this is a good sign that I am re-focusing on my health/food/weightloss goals.

BTW I cannot tell you all how thrilled I am to see 2013 fade into history. Good riddance.

My 100% OP streak count is back down to 0. DH is sick and he wanted pizza. Rather than bad delivery pizza, I went and picked up the good stuff with decent ingredients. I kept it to two slices and a large salad. My weight stayed the same this morning, so I'm considering that not too bad.

I'm ending the year 2.3 pounds lower than I started. My range over 2013 went from 164.8 to 176. I was aiming to keep it between 165 and 170, but had some trouble over the summer. I plan to nudge the low end down this winter in the hope that I can keep my weight between 160 and 170 in 2014. I think if I hang around on the lower end more often, I'm less likely to go squirting out the top end.

WI: NC in kg, Exercise: +45 1360/1400 minutes for December, Food: 80%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

BillBlueEyes: My plan last night was homemade chicken noodle soup, which sounded great to DH when I first mentioned it. You never know where the sick brain is going to go. I made the stock yesterday, so it will be quick to put together when he decides that sounds about right.

I need to remember that it's much easier to type my posts in a different program because it's too easy to accidently delete everything I've written. I'm rewriting my post on notepad now and I'm sure that's a metaphore in there somewhere for working smarter instead of harder!

I did read my ARC 2/3 times yesterday but forgot the night time one. That's something to work on today. I'm going to start tracking a streak of days when I read it at my 3 scheduled times.

I didn't have any need to read any of my other response cards- the first few fresh days are always the easiest.

I ate everything sitting down and mostly quite mindfully!

I left work early (Shh!) to grab a beer with friends in from out of town and then went to the grocery store to get ingredients for very fancy vegan enchiladas. I am NOT a cook and this "30 minute simple recipe" took me TWO HOURS but the result was the most successful meal I've cooked on my own according to my partner.

Plan for Today:

I'm on Day 5 - eat Slowly and Mindfully! That's a tough one for me always. For breakfast (which I eat at work at my desk) I've been writing this post while eating which has made it slow but not mindful. For lunch I'm going to actually go to the break room to eat and dinner will be at home and easier to eat more mindfully.

-I will read my ARC twice more (morning done on plan)
-I will eat every meal sitting (so far so good)
-No eating in the car!

Credit! For yesterday I get credit for drinking loads of water and enjoying how it made me feel, for reading my ARC twice when sometimes once is a struggle, for cooking a healthy meal AND cleaning up the kitchen.

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ForMyGirls Thanks for your very thoughtful and impactful response. I also use a tracking to-dolist program called "Habit RPG" and I went ahead and added a credit button so I can click it and get "points" every time I give myself credit. I really like the idea of a systems addict club, I'm proud to annouce my membership too! I think that you are right and I really need to invest in giving myself credit. Also credit to you for accounting for your food and being honest about it while also finding the positives there.

pamatga I love both KISS and "FINISH WHAT YOU START!" so much that both are now written on the white board next to my desk so I can look at them all the time. Thank you! I agree that one meal and day at a time will likely help me and I'm going to try and reorient my thinking around that. Thank you! Busy is very very good for me but sometimes I fall into the trap of the "glorification of busy" and I stop giving myself time to breath. It's all about finding happy mediums for me (but the perfectionist doesn't let that happen much!)

seadwaters Thanks for your kind words and encouragement. Good luck getting rest tonight!

BBE Thanks for that excellent response - it's now one of my response cards. I really like the simple wisdom and analogies are great for me.

onebyone Congrats from a fellow member of the "hungry tummy club!" it's a good feeling.

I'm in a good place today. Credits from yesterday include going light (not on purpose, but worked out that way) before our anniversary dinner ... ate less at dinner even though I gave myself permission to eat what I wanted ... decided on dessert from the market to save $ and calories and went with a four-bite fruit tart mini that was so cute (half strawberry, few blueberries, etc.) A treat, but not a 1,000 calorie treat to split.

Today is my last day to relax before going back to work, but a little devil on my shoulder is saying, just take two days of vacation on Thu/Fri and RELAX and don't think about work until Monday. We'll see which temptation wins out - save the vacation or actually get some days to relax. I know I won't relax tomorrow with the holiday gathering.

ForMyGirls - I'm taking that "8" and adding one to it from yesterday, so sitting at 9. DH suggested the creole spot for lunch and that works great for me - we can get it to go and save half here for another meal, even if it's for dinner... Goal to be at double digits for tomorrow's check-in.

Feeling like I'm on a wave of success here - but my mind is saying, what if the scale weren't reflecting a lower number... how would I be feeling? Would I be making the same choices? Why do I give it that power?

Veganasaurusrex - that recipe sounds like a doozy! Did you figure out ways to make it quicker in the future - sounds like a keeper, though. I wish I had all the time in the world to putter in the kitchen. I derive joy from it when I'm relaxed and not rushing. I do some mean enchiladas (or enchilada casserole when the tortillas keep breaking - it all depends on how those suckers go) ... with just black beans, diced onion, fresh sweet corn, green chiles, and a sprinkling of cheese along with the enchilada sauce. I know the cheese isn't vegan, but it comes together in literally about 10 minutes and bakes for 20 or so. It's one of DH's faves and easy to throw together after working during the day.

Good Morning, Coaches from Sunny Santa Cruz.

Credit for consecutive, four mile hikes along the ocean boardwalk to see the monarchs nesting in Eucalyptus and the surfers jousting with huge waves. Everyone is in short sleeves. We are in a top floor condo overlooking the ocean and the boardwalk. We hear the screaming of the seagulls and the people on the roller coasters.

The four families here have brought enough food for several small armies. The first day was a castrophe for me. I got caught off guard with dinner plans, never went back to the condo and ate dinner with the others when I was ravenous. My old enemy thought, "I have blown it anyway and I will diet tomorrow" came visiting. I was doomed.

Yesterday I hopped back OP for almost the whole day. Then we had to shop at Trader Joes because it was our turn to cook. I made it to the check out stand and there were frosted gingerbread cookies. "They are so small," I thought. "It is the holidays. The kids can eat them." As soon as I got home they were in my mouth and I was off on a tear. I did eat my smoothie, though. Credit. I had all me veggies and fruits.

So today I woke up, put dishwashing soap on everything sweet leftover and threw it all in the trash. I had my smoothie, a walk, and an OP lunch. That means 12 hours OP. I checked in here. Credit. Really, if I make it to 9:30 I can go to sleep and it will be a whole day. (I don't stay up for New Years.)

One day is a big deal.

Best to all. In the immortal words of Bing Crosby in the movie Holiday Inn "Let's start the new year right. . . "

Greetings all. It's a balmy -16 F here. Hope at least some of my Beckmates are warmer.

Yay, kudos onebyone for awakening with a hungry tummy. When I was losing my fat slowly, I knew I was on track when I was hungry 3 hours after eating something and when I awakened hungry.

BillBE, *laffin out loud at your 5 books at a time. SO gave me the new Nook for Xmas, so can read lotza books in the same spot. Always thought I was a purist and needed a real book in my hand..well another lesson learned. I am seriously smitten with this thing.

Could not believe my eyes when I saw you had eaten Snapping Turtle..thought that was strictly a treat for us folk in the sticks. Interesting you tried it, as I have been told it is one of the most toxic creatures we can consume. I tend to believe that, as they are bottom feeders and live a long, long time. When I learned that fact, I promptly declared that I would not eat another. The same person who pointed out how toxic they are said, "well, ya gotta die of something!". That was a great take on the situation, as Snapping Turtles fixed properly (and I have to humbly admit, I can fix them mighty fine) are just TDF. And yes, I fix them like chicken..good old fashioned fried chicken with gravy. They are amazingly tasty. They have the texture of chicken with a mild sorta fish-like, walleye taste. Making soup of them is a terrible waste IMHO. They are a real challenge to catch, but most of my local friends and neighbors have been known to make skid marks breaking for one crossing the road and finding a BIG stick to get it to latch onto and throw it into the back of the pick up or the trunk. Cleaning them is more than tricky and very gross. Someone had to be really hungry the first time he tried to eat a Snapping Turtle. I have had them lay their eggs in my driveway and have driven around the spot until they hatch and make for the lake. I also had quite a start one late afternoon as I sat at the top of the steps down to my beach talking on my cell phone as I dried off after a swim. I saw the waters slowly, slowly, slowly ripple and finally part as I saw this head as big as my fist emerge, and slowly, slowly, slowly the entire shell of a very large snapper appeared. He looked about, found nothing of interest, and just as slowly submerged. Would have been quite entertaining, but the fact that I had swum over that very spot not 5 minutes before gave me a shiver. ..well, more of a *shudder. Made me think twice about my next moonlight swim, but starry, meteor-shower August nights were made for night time swimming, and I figure at my age, what the heck? Thanks, Bill for making me think of summer fun and why I live in this frozen northland.

best to all,

Maryblu

Best wishes to all the posters and the lurkers.

Credit today for: riding exercise bike, reading advantage and response cards, weighing myself, logging my food, and checking in with my coaches.

maryblu-be grateful for your balmy -16. It was -39 this morning. We have been in a terrible cold snap all of December. Somehow when it lasts this long, I think snap is not the correct word.

maryann-given my temperatures, your Santa Cruz posts are nice to read. Enjoy your holiday!

nationalparker-yay for being in a good place. Nowhere better to be.

veganasaurusrex-nice list of credits for you. I also find eating slowly and mindfully very difficult.

gardenerjoy-Fantastic that you have had such a successful year.

seadwaters-I am also using NYE as inspiration. Power to us both!!

bethFromDayton-20 day streak!!!! Awesome.

pamatga-lots of credits for you. BTW, I like your long posts- often you write something that gets me thinking!

ForMyGirls-liked your story about getting up to take the vitamins. I took up your idea of a streak and am on a streak to ride exercise bike every day up until my trip next week.

onebyone- wishing you a wonderful 2014. You deserve a peaceful year.

BillBlueEyes- I also love reading beside the Christmas tree. The thought of eating snapping turtle=just yuck!

Hi all,

Happy New Year's Eve to everyone!

We traditionally have our huge house party New Year's Day weekend, so our house is usually hopping New Year's Eve. This year, because it fell on a Wednesday, we shifted the party to the following weekend. It is really strange for the house to be "just us" on New Year's Eve!

DD and I made/baked sweets tonight--and I held myself to one of each item, just as I planned. I also had had an ice cream treat after dinner :-(, which I should have skipped. Credit for admitting it. Credit for holding myself to one of each item, and credit for recording it--and still being within calorie range for the day.

It was a bit of "white knuckling" (thanks for the term, pamatga) but nothing "just found its way" into my mouth--and the three items were eaten sitting at the kitchen table.

I've got tomorrow planned out--it'll be a lot like a regular weekend day, so it should be easy.

Weight right at ticker, streak at 21 days!

CeeJay: Lots of credits for today!

maryblu: I know now more about snapping turtles than I ever could have imagined! Hope you can stay warm.

maryann: I thought of you at work today--just imagining being, like you, at goal. Your success is so inspiring!

nationalparker: Big credit for picking a small tasty satisfying treat. Scales are sneaky creatures--I think it's easy to give it power.

veganasaurusrex: Credit for realizing starting the book from the start is good for you. (I use notepad++ for typing my longer posts.)

gardenerjoy: 2.3 lb down means you've been maintaining and then some--and even as it climbed, you didn't let it climb out of control.

onebyone: I'm looking forward to hearing how the fitbit flex works for you.

BillBE: I laughed thinking of you with all of those in-process books in different areas of the house!

ForMyGirls: Awesome streak of 26! Your streak suggestion has really made a difference to me--it's helping me to focus on "keeping my streak"--thanks for organizing it! Big credits for managing both weight and frugal thinking.

systemsaddict: My "system" (when I follow it but I've been doing well) is calorie counting. Sunday night, I'm supposed to plan the week's meals--I just use a Word document. That'll be easier to get back to once the holidays are over. Every night, before bed, I enter the entire next day's plan into MyFitnessPal. I make adjustments if I need to, but it's somehow easier for me if I do it before the day rather than after I eat.

seadwaters: I'm smiling thinking of you creating your new spreadsheet. I hope you got some sleep!

Take care, all.

Made the colossal mistake tonight on way home from movie and debating on what DH wanted for a late dinner, to say that I was excited that I am entering the new year 10 pounds lighter this year. DH said, "Huh? How's that? You mean you weigh 10 pounds less now than at the beginning of the year?" I felt wounded and mad at the same time. Lesson learned. Never again will I mention being on track to him. I'm still irritated.

Still stayed on track. But now definitely NOT feeling celebratory for NY Eve. Need to regroup and just wanted to vent.

Hi Coaches

I don't get tired of saying HNY or hearing it this year. Happy New Year!

I have been at home doing a writing project today so getting my steps in has been difficult. I have had to resort to setting the timer and getting up after 25 minutes and walking rapidly around the flat for 5 minutes - takes a lot of those to get to the number! Today is on plan food wise and I have planned food for tomorrow. All food for today has been logged so I am taking credit for that. My weight is equal to my sticker so I am down to the weight I was before the holidays - credit. Have started to revise my advantage and response cards and now that I have finished the last of my writing projects for work (while on leave!) I can now focus on leave projects like writing responses and rereading Beck

ForMyGirls - Great streak! You are doing well on both counts - frugal and sticking on track with your Beck plans - more credits to you

BillBlueEyes - Snapping turtle soup sounds extremely exotic and therefore unusual - now clearer about the significance of why one might eat it after maryblu's post - I don't think you had quite her experience LOL

Onebyone - I too want an aria to go with my Fitbit but I might now wait until you sort it out! Hungry tummy for me means I am actually working it - thanks for the reminder that it is good - not a negative experience. I am very hungry at the moment. LOL "good riddance to 2013" - I am with you on that

Gardenerjoy - ouch for partners who are sick and have cravings. Credit for meeting his needs and balancing yours. And Credit for a great year

Vegan...Rex - Credit for all your successes today. LOL at simple recipes that take 2 hours! Thank you for mentioning HabitRPG! I love gadgets and role playing games - used to play them when all the computer had on the screen was a blinking amber cursor. So I explored it and loved it thanks. I like your idea of setting up a button for credits - but not sure yet about how to see the score / streak

Nationalparker - Credit for going light and for taking charge of your anniversary treat. Glad that today you are in a good place. Difficult that what we value doesn't mean quite as much to SOs - glad you came here to vent!

Maryann - Ouch for "My old enemy thought, "I have blown it anyway and I will diet tomorrow" came visiting. I was doomed." I am making a response card for that - I get tripped up by it all the time. Credit for getting back on plan and during a vacation too. Bing Crosby got it right - I am inspired by the new year

Maryblu - thanks so much for the stories of snapping turtles! They seem far more "accessible" now. Still don't want to eat it though - cringe

CeeJay - HNY to you! And a great list of credits. Yay - power indeed

Beth(fromDayton) - great planning and restraint with the baked sweets - moving on from the ice-cream - credit. Yay for in range with calories! You are doing so well with weight over the holidays - credit

Team total of 125 tonight - streak of 27 for me. I love how being 100% OP is starting to feel like just what I do :-)

A credit for today - when faced with a hotter than expected curry for dinner I chose to reduce the quantity of curry rather than increasing the quantity of rice!

Vegan...Rex - thanks for the phrase "the glorification of busy"!

See you all in the January board :-)

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