Hi all, some of you may remember me from last Fall. I was pretty active for a little while, but my Seasonal Depression kicked my butt hard this year... gets harder every year, even though I try harder to improve it. Even with the new light I got for my birthday an taking lots of vitamin D, it was still bad enough that we're now seriously considering moving to Florida!

Anyhow, as we're moving into Spring and longer days, I'm feeling SO ready to get back to the Beach. I've gained back most of the roughly 15 lbs I lost, which scares me because I know every time you regain the harder it is to lose again. But the emotional eating that helped me crawl through the Winter is now just making me feel sluggish and sick to my stomach. I wish I could track down exactly what's upsetting my stomach on a regular basis, but I feel confident that a couple weeks back on Phase One will help. Thankfully, my sweetie will be doing the diet with me again this time, so I have support.

Right now I'm still sort of in preliminary stages... cleaning and planning. I cleaned out the cupboards, leaving only the SBD stuff (except for some hard-to-find gluten-free baked goods mixes - my sweetie is Celiac). Still need to send it somewhere, or possibly just throw it away since a lot of it's past the "better before" date. I hate to throw out so much food though.

As for planning, I'm kind of shocked (pleasantly so!) to realize that there are quite a few Phase 1 meals we like. This isn't going to be as hard as I think, once we can just get the fridge and cupboards stocked. It will be a bit challenging with my lactose intolerance and his gluten intolerance (desserts especially!), but we'll manage.

I'm hoping to be better about exercise this time, but I don't want to set my goals too high right out of the gate.

Anyhow, sorry to ramble - just thought I'd post a quick "hello, again" since I'm hoping to start posting to the boards again.

back!

Sorry to hear about your SADD issues, Betsi. I use a light and it's helped me immensely. Are you using yours according to a doctor's advice? When and how you use it makes a big difference.

If you see SBD as a way of living, you can keep yourself from a yo-yo dieting existence which, as you noted, not only makes it harder to lose in the future, but really wrecks your health. It's just not worth it to do that to yourself! So see this as a life change, rather than a diet, okay?

Cleaning out before starting is a great idea!

Thanks, Laurie! Glad to be back. I should probably talk to a doctor about timing with the light, but I haven't had a PCP in years. My light definitely helps a lot, it's just getting worse every year. But moving south should help - plus, my SO's job with travel so he'll still be paid a Boston salary but we'll have an Orlando rent. So it's looking like a good idea all around.

I did go into it looking to make a long term change, but I think I just started too late in the year and hadn't really adjusted to it by the time the SAD hit big time. Thankfully it was only really the second time I've tried to lose, so third time's a charm, right?

Welcome back. Hope the longer sunny days will help you feel better soon.

Welcome back, Betsi, and I hope you are feeling better now that the days are longer!

Welcome Betsi. Good to see you're back!

I have a problem with shorter days and less sunlight.

So I took up skiing and I love it. I'm a lousy skiier but six hours on the slopes under the bright sun and reflective snow is enough to keep me going for days and days. I eventually added running to my regimen, so that I spend a good two hours a day outdoors every day regardless of the cold (plenty of cold-weather gear out there to make it comfortable).

Get out doors and do something. It'll make a huge difference.

Welcome back Betsi!