Wendy,

I've been saving one of my milk servings for the late night snacking. Since fat free yogurt is a milk, I can snack on chocolate, berry, orange, banana. Also, can buy unsweetened cocoa powder (10 calories a tsp) and mix it in - yum.

Good idea, Kathy. I also use low-fat smooth ricotta for evenings, and mix it with some Splenda and some of my tahitian vanilla extract. That also is very good, and of course you can make a mocha version with cocoa and coffee too.

OK, I'm back and this time it is out of real necessity. I really do need you more than ever. Let's just say that while Kathy was doing good in Italy and getting lots of exercise I was pigging out on our cruise and being a complete bum. I got on the scale yesterday and thought I read it wrong. I weighed three times and it didn't change. :eek: :mad: :mecry: :b:

OK, I'm through beating myself up and am just going to get back to it. What a time to try and do this though. Thanksgiving on Thursday, my birthday on Sunday, and the following Sunday is the Mimosa Brunch!!

Don, you ARE going to get back on track! You have such a great spirit - I've watched you commit and do what you KNOW you need to do. You're also very upbeat and innovative. Focus on a plan, your plan, and go with it. When I get weak, and believe me, I've been weak all month being on the Voyager, just remember something easy: don't eat everything on the plate. Eat half and drink half. You CAN do it. You are a positive person. I believe in you! - Michele

Thanks Michele. You are so kind. Diana and I are looking forward to seeing you and Don at Mimosa. What a great group!!!

I must have not read the latest guest lists for Mimosa. Hooray!!! We can all keep an eye on each other and then we'll have to walk back home to burn off those extra calories!!! Or maybe we'll laugh so much we can burn them off that way!!

Michele, well put!!! Don, we know you can do it!

Don, my guess is that the recently added pounds will come off pretty quickly. Do the things that worked for you before and you will soon be back on track, I'm sure. You will find lots of options at the brunch - made-to-order omelettes, carved meats, and good fruit and veggies - so not to worry.

Dena

I just have to share this Thanksgiving poem with you all.

Twas the night of Thanksgiving, but I just couldn't sleep
I tried counting backwards, I tried counting sheep
The leftovers beckoned - the Dark meat and white
But I fought the temptation with all of my might.

Tossing and turning with anticipation
The thought of a snack became infatuation.
So I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door
and Gazed at the fridge, full of goodies galore.

I gobbled up turkey and buttered potatoes,
Pickles and carrots, beans and tomatoes.
I felt myself swelling so plump and so round,
Til all of a sudden, I rose off the ground.

I crashed through the ceiling, floating into the sky
With a mouthful of pudding and a handful of pie.
But, I managed to yell as I soared past the trees...
Happy eating to all, pass the cranberries, please.

May your stuffing be tasty. May your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes ' n gravy have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious. May your pies take the prize.
May your Thanksgiving dinner stay off of your thighs.

MAY YOU ALL HAVE A BLESSED THANKSGIVING!

Trish

Trish - thanks for sharing! I think the leftovers usually taste better than the meal, for some reason. I kind of like my potatoes lumpy, though :)

Dena

Trish that is cute.

I was thinking today of the movie Airplane. I sure picked the wrong week to give up food! LOL

Hope everybody has a great Thanksgiving.

There is one meal this week you do not have to follow YOUR Plan, but, you do have to have A PLAN.

That does not mean you cannot have a Thanksgiving Dinner. It means you can sample everything and you stop when you've eaten the first plate of samples. A sample does not mean a shovel full of each dish - it means a small spoonful and a slice or two of Turkey. It does not mean a sample of all the desserts but a taste of each (or a maximum amount you are comfortable with).

Won't it be nice to get up from the table winning the battle, not feeling so full that you can barely move or have to unbutton your pants/jeans etc? If you can stick with a plan you will feel good and you won't feel deprived.

OK, well the plan must have worked. I did have some of the goodies but took it easy. With Thanksgiving and my birthday this week, still lost 4 lbs.

Good for you, Don! So far, I've been in control. I haven't taken seconds of anything that I haven't planned for. I went to a party yesterday that was a fun pot luck wine pairings. There was NOTHING literally that was acceptable to eat. I ate moderately and tasted wines without drinking them all. I will be happy to lose 5 lbs this month with the holiday diversions to dieting!

Bad day to bring this post back up, but I think we really need it now (weell I know I do), especially after Mimosa! We had a wonderful time. Great food, great champagne, and most importantly, great friends to share it with.

I didn't weigh in today, frankly because I was too scared to, however I will be back on track this week and do what I must do! I have to get serious now and get down before our next cruise in four months.

Hi Don, I jumped right back on. I wanted Pizza for dinner and I had it - from my JC supply. I wanted cake for dessert, but, had fruit instead. Even after yesterday, I had a small loss this morning. Tomorrow's the official day and I think I did make some progress. Does leaving the Orange Juice out of your mimosa count?

Sorry to post after myself, but, I think some of us wanted to bump this up since several of us want to get back in the game!

I took a few weeks off from my plan, and went right back into pre-diet mode compounded with lots of goodies that stuck in places I'd rather not mention :eek:

So tomorrow at noon, I go back to see my counselor, admit my transgressions, and move (yes, as in EXERCISE) on. Anyone else joining me? I want a whole new wardrobe for WAVE, MUSH and SNAP!!! And I want friends to cheer on and cheer me on too!

Kathy...I'm happy to cheer you on. I need much of the same motivation - started writing things down today - my morning resolve needs to last a bit longer!

I walked with two of my 3 Day friends at 8 am - walked an hour and felt like we started the new year right! But since then nothing good to report!!!

Ah yes, the added holiday lbs are certainly making an appearance on me as well. Thanks for the "group therapy", Kathy & Margo. So good that you're back to walking with your 3 Day friends, Margo. We're starting to move" again after a couple of weeks of way too much of everything! We're off to move, or, that's "waddling" to the pool....in the rain.... :( Michele

Well.....If only they would make a pizza with no calories........ ;)

Trish

Kathy, thanks for bringing this back to the top. I was thinking the same thing. I will be here. It is that time. Tonight champagne, tomorrow Perrier!!!

Tomorrow, I am back on plan and will be hitting the gym. Only 110 days before we leave for Lisbon and we are going to be in great shape before we leave.

Kathy and all, I am with you. I already a new outfit for WAVE (bought on sale at the end of the summer), but I want it to fit me! Along with my $300 designer jeans that I can hardly stuff myself into!

It'll be a few more days before I get totally serious. Our kitchen is still dismantled right now while the floor gets completed, then we have to put it back together and have the whole house thoroughly cleaned. We're having the front entranceway re-drywalled, and the house is full of plaster dust. Until that's all done we are picnicking, and I can't be really organized in this state.

I've also had some knee problems so I will be starting back on my cross-trainer very slowly.

I'm back to work tomorrow so maybe that will help a bit, at least I will be walking to the subway!

Hooray - glad you are all joining me. Now if I can get motivated to turn off the computer so I can use the treadmill. There isn't enough power and they are on the same circuit. At least I've cleaned it off so it's totally ready to use!!!

Hi everyone!!! Time for me to join in. I need HELP!!! Way too many lbs added to the ones I gained back from PIP loss. Thanks, Kathy, for started this up again. I know it will help.

Good luck to all of us!!!!

Yippee!!! The whole gang is back! Glad your back Cyndi. We are all going to do this together.

Well, having a hard time starting back to the grind. I cancelled my appointment because of the rain I did great on my own today. Trying to decide if I am better with the JC boxed food or if I can free wheel it with the plan I worked with my nutritionist.

Kathy, good luck with whatever you decide. I am sure that you will succeed no matter which way you decide to go.

I'm having a hard time getting back as well. Not with sticking with the plan, but I am having carb and caffeine withdrawal headaches that I have never experienced before. Probably, because I was really on carb overload after the holidays and now my body is in full revolt!

Well, I talked to the nutritionist. I am going back to her program. It's easier for me and I am in a better mental state (well, let's not debate that issue!)Back to writing it down and not mixing carbs and protein. But I can at least have a glass of wine or a piece of chocolate or a frozen yogurt.

One more day till weigh in. How is everybody doing? We had friends over last night for dinner. They brought a layered Ice Cream dish along with a hot fudge topping, All five of the others ate, while I had my decaf coffee.

No exercise yet for me this week. I plan on the exercise program starting manana.

Well, I've re-lost my Christmas Weight Gain. That's good news. I've been following the nutritionist's custom program for me and somehow I do feel like I've been set free. Basically it's 4 ounces of protein for dinner/ 3 for lunch and all the veggies you can eat. In lieu of the protein you can have pasta but never both at the same meal (higher in calories) 250 calories for breakfast, 350 calories for lunch, 400 - 500 for dinner, and 3 100 calorie snacks - one which should be fruit. Exception to this rule is if you have a Lean Cuisine type dinner, you can mix if it falls into the calorie count and you can have 1/2 a sandwich at lunch once or twice a week. A day once or twice a week is recommended where you do not eat any bread or pasta or cereal. And best of all one snack can be chocolate or wine or cocktail!!!

Off to take a nice walk in the sunshine!

I did not weigh in yet today and since I already had breakfast, I won't do it since you know that food in the stomach adds weight - Ha! However, as of yesterday I have lost 4 lbs since Tues 1/3. I'm pretty excited about that. I'm back to my low carb diet and I already feel better and it seems to be the trick to lose weight a little faster for me. Note that I said LOW Carb not NO Carb. That is also a good thing for me so that I don't miss my favorite treats. I just have much, much fewer of them. I try to eat no carb whenever I can and then don't worry if I throw in a few low carbs or even a higher carb item every now & then.

I'm still counting calories, like you Kathy. I absolutely need something to keep me honest with my portion control. It is the only way for me. Kathy, I really like the sound of your Nutritionist's custom program. It sounds a lot like what I'm trying to do. When you say one snack can be chocolate or wine or cocktail, do you mean one of the three you are allowed each day?

Don, You were so brave about the layered ice cream dish. I'm so proud of you. I would be willing to bet money that you'll do well on your weigh in tomorrow. You always do!!!!! I'm with you about skipping the exercise last week. I'm planning to ease back into it tomorrow. Can't wait to start feeling good again!!! AND to be able to fit into more of my clothes. I'm sure the people at work are getting as tired as I am of seeing me wear over & over again the few things that fit!!!!

Are your headaches getting better, Don? Sure hope so. Hang in there. It's a good thing if it means getting back on the low carb track.

Kathy, that is great. I was looking at your calorie count. Boy that is stringent! I'm not sure that I could do it, but I know you will succeed.

Cyndi, way to go!!! Congratulations. :app:

The headaches have gone away. Thank goodness. It may have been a sinus headache though. With it being so dry here and unseasonably warm, my allergies have been really flaring up. Of course it makes it that much easier to drink lots of water.

Tonight I think we will go for a short walk and tomorrow hit the exercise bike.

Well, I went out and walked a little over a mile....and I found a coach for us...(hee hee)because we're all doin' it!!! Hooray!!!

OK, I'm not sure what I lost this week. I think it was 8 lbs. even though the scale showed me losing 18 lbs. While 8 lbs. is possible, I think 18 lbs. would be a little impossible. I think when I got so thouroughly disgusted with myself last week, that I had actually read the scale wrong by 10 lbs.

So the good news is I lost 8 lbs and the other good news is that I am another 10 lbs further along than I thought I was. The bad news is, I probably need to go and have my eyes checked!!!

My goal is to lose another 42 lbs in the next 14 weeks before leaving for our Med Cruise! Now for more aerobic exercise! :banana:

Ahhh...the male metabolism - a goal of 3lbs a week. We females are happy with one or two. I think the exercise is almost as or more important than the calories in.

I know it isn't fair, is it. Of course we put it on a lot faster too!!!

Don, the gain depends on how many cruises you can go on in a year (lol)

Isn't that the truth!!!

Just reporting in that I lost 4 lbs at weigh in yesterday. 38 more lbs and 13 weeks to go. How did everyone else do?

Way to go Don - you are really doing terrific.
I'm plugging along - albeit slowly. What I am doing is a slower process, but, I can eat more to my liking. I am down 3 lbs in 3 weeks.

:hug: :ch: :)

Trish