November/December Weight Loss Thread?

[Susan Otcenas]

156.5 I'm a happy camper.

[solobiker]

Hanging in at 151. My inlaws are in town so it is a little hard to stick to points and exercise as much as I usually do. I will/plan on going for a run this weekend.

[kjay]

Down 2 pounds! . . . and that's with only one day of exercise for 6 hours.

[Susan Otcenas]

Yay, kjay!! You seem so much more positive than last week. Success is a great motivator, isn't it?

[kjay]

Yes, Susan, and your response to my success is even more motivating. Thanks so much!

[polly4711]

I had that happen, and then I found out that my floor had a very slight slant in it (Gotta love an early 1900's house). Make sure that it's even!

[kjay]

I've moved my scale around so much that now I'm thoroughly confused. My floor is not even, so about the only thing I can do is to leave it in one place, which means I now weigh 182. This just keeps getting better and better!

[jesvetmed]

KJAY..... KJAY..... KJAY!!!!!!! Go KJay! Great work.

Me, not so much. 173 this week.
Funny -- I have the same trouble with the scale in my bathroom. As I stand on it, it rocks back and forth unless I find the sweet spot on the floor!

[3for3]

Wow! good job everyone! Wish I was having the same success. I'm up to 127.2

Can someone please remind me that I can NOT actually lose weight by eating Christmas goodies, having people over for big lasagna dinners, playing around with my pie recipe to "perfect" it (and consequently needing to eat the resulting pies) and NOT working out?

I did work out today, but here's my fear. Even if I work out this week and eat really well, I leave on Sunday for TWO WEEKS that include my brother-in-law's wedding, Christmas, and a very long road trip to and from Canada from Atlanta....which of course means eating on the road....which usually means fast food. And how do I manage any sort of work-outs in there?! Help?!?! I need travel-friendly "stay healthy" tips!

[Aggie_Ama]

I am the worst about junk food on the road. Can you pack an ice chest of healthy snacks like fruit and carrots? If you are at fast food remember those salads can be as bad as the other stuff. I try to stick to kids meals and eat really slow. Good luck!

[3for3]

Good call on the kid's meals Aggie Ama! I think I had heard somewhere that they have less calories than the salads a lot of times. We'll be travelling with my in-laws and my mother-in-law is very health conscious, so hopefully there will be healthy snacks available to munch on. Maybe I can also just request a run to her favorite health food store the day before leave so I can pick some stuff up to make sure.

[Possegal]

I've got the creeping crud going around the office. yesterday I felt better as teh day wore on, so I went to spin for an hour. And felt great, exhausted but great. Woke up today feeling worse again and the word day has been just full of fires for me to put out. UGH. My lunch is still sitting here and it is now dinner time. On the plus side, the illness does take my appetite with it. but I wish I could do more working out but I know I should just get better first.

Spreadsheet is updated for today.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?k...A4CgfyVg&hl=en

[Susan Otcenas]

As far as the road trip goes:

How about pre-bagging snacks in known point quantities? In other words, if you know 3/4 cup of your favorite granola is 2 points, measure up and pre-bag several portions for the trip. That way, you don't dip into a big bag of something, and lose track of what you're eating. I tend to eat out of boredom when I'm driving, so now I make an effort to be more mindful of that when I'm in the car.

One of my favorite 4 point lunches is an egg salad sandwich. 2 slices of Oroweat Light Wheat bread is only 1 point (hard to believe, I know, but 2 slices are only 80 calories with tons of fiber, so it only comes to 1 point). One hard cooked egg mashed with 1 tsp of mayo & some mustard is another 3. I package the egg in tupperware until I make the sandwich, so that the bread doesn't get mushy. You could keep a small cooler with some of your favorites in it.

As for restaurants - many will make half-size portions if you ask. Jeff and I sometimes order one entree and share it, along with a side salad for each of us. It cuts down on the calories, with the added benefit of being easier on the wallet. I was raised in a household where one was REQUIRED to clean one's plate (there are starving children in africa after all, though it was never entirely clear to me how my uneaten scraps would make their way to africa...) That's stayed with me my whole life, to the point where it's very hard for me to leave food on my plate. If I share, though, the plate gets cleaned and I have no guilt.

With all that's going on in your life for the next few weeks, perhaps a goal of simply maintaining is what you might aim for. That way, you can partake in festivities without any guilt, and have a better time.

Enjoy your trip, and let us know how it goes!

Susan

[3for3]

Thank you Susan! Maybe I'll work at losing what I can this week, while I'm at home and then aim to maintain until the end of the year. I like the sharing entrees idea. I also find that I end up eating more just because it is in front of me when I am out to eat and I feel guilty leaving so much food! I went through a phase where I was really good about only eating until I was comfortably full and it was much easier to lose weight! I find that when I'm eating out, or am eating at other people's houses I tend to feel I need to eat more. I'm just going to go and enjoy myself, but remember to stop when I am full and try to take smaller portions to begin with. Pre-portioned snacks are also good. Otherwise it's easy to just keep munching. Even if it's a healthy snack...eating too much can really pile on the calories! Thanks everyone!

[Susan Otcenas]

Anyone read this article about Oprah inthe Chicago Sun Times? http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/w...prah10.article I was thinking today about how much weight she's gained and lost in her lifetime. She went from 142 pounds in 1988 to 237 in the early 90's. Back down and then up to over 200 now. My first thought was "Wow, after losing so much weight, I'd never let myself put all that back on again. " But then I realized I've pretty much done the same thing, on a smaller/longer scale. In my early 20's I dropped 30 pounds over a 3 year period. At 25 I was 133 pounds and looked great. And now, here I am at 39, having hit a new high this year a little over 165 (I can't remember exactly how much higher, though I think I might have hit 167 sometime earlier this year.)

I'm working my butt off and as of this morning am down to 154. I truly believe I can make my ultimate goal of 130. That would make me a healthy, fit size 8. But I wonder where I'll be 5, 10, or 20 years from now. It's a little depressing to think that odds are I won't be 130. SO many people yo-yo their whole lives. Even in my own family, I've watched one of my sisters gain and lose 50-60 pounds multiple times. My mom has done the same and is quite over-weight. Probably 50-60 pounds right now.

So, I wonder... what is the key to KEEPING it off? How do we not let ourselves fall into old, destructive habits once we hit our goals?

Susan