Biggest Loser 8 Fall Challenge -- for losers and maintainers!

[tigger813]

Change in dinner! Making Trader Joe's Orange Chicken and then I'll do either 3 more miles on the elliptical or the 3 mile WATP! Need to reach 20 pounds this week before PMS kicks in next week!
Been really good today! Ate some Boston Lite Popcorn for a snack! 3 1/2 cups is 130 calories! Done 5 miles so far today and planning on 3 more plus my crunches!

 

[pjlla]

Jayne.... I'm so excited for you to be hitting goal (hopefully) this week! I can't wait to get there myself! Come and share that thrilling feeling when you hit it! Have your camera handy and take a picture of the number on the scale!

I know what you mean about buying better clothes. I used to just buy cheap Walmart and Target clothes. I am not a big shopper and of course, I hated buying clothes in my "fat" size, so I just bought enough to get by... and of course I ALWAYS thought that I would be losing weight so that the clothes were always just "temporary". But now that I am approaching my goal weight, I am definitely thinking about better clothes to buy. I still shop at the Goodwill and Salvation Army (the only thrift stores around here), but I try to buy better brands that will stand up to the test of time.

My "thin" SIL gave me a bag of clothes this past weekend that she is not wearing any more (she lost 11 pounds and is down to a size 2 ). She gave me some great pants... Ann Taylor, Gap, Tommy Hilfiger and they ALL FIT!! (mostly size 6). She is shorter than I am, but most of them were average length.

Anyhow, about my SIL losing weight... my Mom thinks that she (my SIL) is secretly feeling competitive with me about my weight loss and she doesn't want me to be the "thin" one in the family. I have NEVER seen my DSIL really overweight... even after she had her kids! She has probably never been bigger than a size 6-8 in all of the time I've known her. She is one of these people who loses weight and can't eat any time she is feeling stressed, depressed, or angry, whereas I want to do nothing BUT eat when I am feeling stressed! SO I find it interesting that for some reason she is feeling this way. It really doesn't bother me I guess. I will never be as thin as she is (right now after her 11 pound weight loss she is at about 110 lb) and I have always thought she was so pretty... so I'm not sure why she feels this way. Maybe she feels like that is her "identity" in the family... as the "thin, pretty, fashionable one" (yikes... does that make me the "fat, frumpy one"??).

Well... anyway... I hope my Mom is wrong about this, but my Mom usually has pretty good instincts. But I would hate to think that my success on the weight loss front has caused any problems/stress or a feeling of competition for my SIL. But I'm happy for the hand-me-downs anyhow!!

And you know... my cousin who I am fairly close with (and who shares my love of all things Disney) struggles with her weight too. And she was more than happy to give me a high five when she found out that I was wearing DSIL's size 6 hand-me-downs. If there is ANYONE who should be stressed about my weight loss and feeling competitive, I would think it would be another person struggling with their weight... but as usual, my DCousin is as sweet and supportive as can be.

Well... gotta run. DD and DH are at a Rainbow Girls/Dad fun night, so I promised DS I would play a game with him after homework time.......P

 

[ShortyNBug]

Today did not go as planned. Good riddance November, I'm ready to bring on December.

 

[corinnak]

Hello Losers! I'm back from WDW (and completely buried on the QOTD!!). It was a weird, weird trip. There was illness. There was solo parenting. There was cold weather. There was rain. There was my complete inability to get away from the rental car place in the airport parking garage. There was more illness! There was even a virtual 10K race. And in among all of it, there was fun and family and food and even a night at Jellyrolls for me and DH. At least it was memorable!!

We were staying at Kidani Village in a standard view room (bus stop view!) - I never did run into Sara and family....that I know of. But what a great resort to be at when everything goes kind of slightly wrong. We loved Kidani so much. It may be our new favorite DVC resort. Only issues were these: the light switches. It was very confusing and hard to figure out how to turn on the lights! And the fans in the bathrooms - they turn on by magic eye and then don't turn off for a while, which was annoying when you just needed to step in there for a minute and get something! Other than those two petty complaints, it was pretty much ideal for our needs.

Foodwise....sorry to say, I kind of counted the first half of the week and then just kind of took the rest of the week off. Lunch at the Rose & Crown. Thanksgiving dinner at Boma. Lunch at the Crystal palace. Those were the "Big" meals of the trip and they were foolishly clustered into the last three days. There were also lots of little splurges over the course of the week. I tried to balance things out, like if I had a large lunch, I had a minimal dinner. If I had a large dinner, I didn't go out and have several drinks afterwards. That sort of thing. I tried not to get disgustingly full. Which mostly worked. I am a sucker for the soft serve at Crystal Palace. I also wore a pedometer in the parks and tracked my AP's for the week even if I wasn't tracking the food very well. I tracked my food on Saturday, travel day, so I would have all the numbers for this week. And I weighed in on Sunday and sent my numbers to Shannon, too.

And shockingly, I showed a loss. I was down 1.4 pounds for the week. Which brought me past my goal of 50 lbs. for the year (check the new clippie!!). It doesn't seem fair or right, I know! It is enough to make a person wonder if she has her points allowace set up properly, in fact. So theoretically, I am at my goal. I'm not sure I'm at my ideal weight at this point, though. How do you know when enough is enough??

And now I will share a few photos from my trip:

We love to see the gingerbread displays. This one is from the Beach club and is so pretty and also clever. How many points/calories do you think are in this??

Fortunately, they supplied a list of components:

I ran my Thanksgiving 10K starting in Downtown Disney, running over to Old Key West, then back to Saratoga Springs, through the treehouse villas and around the Grandstand, and Paddock to Congress Park and back to Downtown Disney:

It was a great course!!

When we were in the Magic Kingdom, right after riding Buzz Lightyear, my kids wanted to climb in with Zurg, as usual. This time, I jumped in there with them - just because I COULD!! We all tried to look evil!

Finally, here is a little holiday magic for everyone:

 

[tigger813]

Corinna, Thanks for sharing your photos and congrats on reaching 50! I love the castle at Christmas. I'll be seeing it in about a year!

Completed 8 miles total today! Gonna finish off the day with 50 crunches and some more water. Watching the Patriots game with DH and just finished addressing 44 Christmas cards! Dessert was lite popcorn!

Have a great night everyone! Can't wait to see what's in store for us tomorrow!

 

[sahbushka]

Hi all. I have been doing well...working lots of overtime and not getting to work out much but plugging away. I took a sneek peek at the scale this morning and it looks like I might have a good loss this week! Here's to hoping!

Take care everyone and don't forget to drink that water!

Sarah

 

[50sjayne]

Jayne.... I'm so excited for you to be hitting goal (hopefully) this week! I can't wait to get there myself! Come and share that thrilling feeling when you hit it! Have your camera handy and take a picture of the number on the scale!

I know what you mean about buying better clothes. I used to just buy cheap Walmart and Target clothes. I am not a big shopper and of course, I hated buying clothes in my "fat" size, so I just bought enough to get by... and of course I ALWAYS thought that I would be losing weight so that the clothes were always just "temporary". But now that I am approaching my goal weight, I am definitely thinking about better clothes to buy. I still shop at the Goodwill and Salvation Army (the only thrift stores around here), but I try to buy better brands that will stand up to the test of time.

My "thin" SIL gave me a bag of clothes this past weekend that she is not wearing any more (she lost 11 pounds and is down to a size 2 ). She gave me some great pants... Ann Taylor, Gap, Tommy Hilfiger and they ALL FIT!! (mostly size 6). She is shorter than I am, but most of them were average length.

Anyhow, about my SIL losing weight... my Mom thinks that she (my SIL) is secretly feeling competitive with me about my weight loss and she doesn't want me to be the "thin" one in the family. I have NEVER seen my DSIL really overweight... even after she had her kids! She has probably never been bigger than a size 6-8 in all of the time I've known her. She is one of these people who loses weight and can't eat any time she is feeling stressed, depressed, or angry, whereas I want to do nothing BUT eat when I am feeling stressed! SO I find it interesting that for some reason she is feeling this way. It really doesn't bother me I guess. I will never be as thin as she is (right now after her 11 pound weight loss she is at about 110 lb) and I have always thought she was so pretty... so I'm not sure why she feels this way. Maybe she feels like that is her "identity" in the family... as the "thin, pretty, fashionable one" (yikes... does that make me the "fat, frumpy one"??).

Well... anyway... I hope my Mom is wrong about this, but my Mom usually has pretty good instincts. But I would hate to think that my success on the weight loss front has caused any problems/stress or a feeling of competition for my SIL. But I'm happy for the hand-me-downs anyhow!!

And you know... my cousin who I am fairly close with (and who shares my love of all things Disney) struggles with her weight too. And she was more than happy to give me a high five when she found out that I was wearing DSIL's size 6 hand-me-downs. If there is ANYONE who should be stressed about my weight loss and feeling competitive, I would think it would be another person struggling with their weight... but as usual, my DCousin is as sweet and supportive as can be.

Well... gotta run. DD and DH are at a Rainbow Girls/Dad fun night, so I promised DS I would play a game with him after homework time.......P

You hit the nail on the head with the clothes thing. That coat though-- I am completely infatuated. I really haven't felt this way about a piece of clothing for a long time. Think I'm trying to just turn into a cat lol. We all knew it would eventually happen...(all that gorgeous black fake fur)
Think I'll get my hair cut this week too--I need some layers for the growing out perm. Then I can take a picture with me in the coat when we go to Portland. I have a feeling that it'll be next week I hit my goal, y'know the aftermath of turkey day. I am really trying though to polish off the leftovers in a reasonable manner. Thanks to our question of the day I put some thought into my meals today and the turkey ramen was slightly messy, but good in my car I'm also putting stuff in smaller containers and jeez-- having a look at my husbands gravy which is amazing but cold looks like brown jello-- ugh. Think I'll just use a little of that on the turkey itself and not do my usual mix the mashed potatoes, turkey and gravy alltogether. Will just use o calorie butter spray and Johnny's garlic on the mashed potatoes and exercise as much as possible this week lol.

Listen--I saw a show on anorexic twins a few months ago and what you are saying about your sis is scary. It became a competition for them and the "thin twin" identity thing really pushed one of them over the edge. Anorexia is something I had to deal with as a teen. It was a lot about control for me. I weighed at one point 81. This was with running every day-- I had muscle. Or at least I did until my body started to consume itself. At the time I was so pleased with myself I never really came to understand how badly I was hurting until I think just now. When I look back now I understand the person inside that girl in such a lot of pain, absolutely screaming soundlessly. It took my mother to come in and take charge. I had actually been on summer vacation at my Dad's for 3 months when I was at my lightest. I think just the total trust that comes with someone talking to you who you know loves you completely, who only has your well being at heart makes a difference in avoiding a steady downhill turn. Probly helped my mom was a nurse too

 

[pjlla]

Today did not go as planned. Good riddance November, I'm ready to bring on December.

Well... at least we are here for you, when things are not going well. Hopefully December will be MAGIC for you!

Hello Losers! I'm back from WDW (and completely buried on the QOTD!!). It was a weird, weird trip. There was illness. There was solo parenting. There was cold weather. There was rain. There was my complete inability to get away from the rental car place in the airport parking garage. There was more illness! There was even a virtual 10K race. And in among all of it, there was fun and family and food and even a night at Jellyrolls for me and DH. At least it was memorable!!

We were staying at Kidani Village in a standard view room (bus stop view!) - I never did run into Sara and family....that I know of. But what a great resort to be at when everything goes kind of slightly wrong. We loved Kidani so much. It may be our new favorite DVC resort. Only issues were these: the light switches. It was very confusing and hard to figure out how to turn on the lights! And the fans in the bathrooms - they turn on by magic eye and then don't turn off for a while, which was annoying when you just needed to step in there for a minute and get something! Other than those two petty complaints, it was pretty much ideal for our needs.

Foodwise....sorry to say, I kind of counted the first half of the week and then just kind of took the rest of the week off. Lunch at the Rose & Crown. Thanksgiving dinner at Boma. Lunch at the Crystal palace. Those were the "Big" meals of the trip and they were foolishly clustered into the last three days. There were also lots of little splurges over the course of the week. I tried to balance things out, like if I had a large lunch, I had a minimal dinner. If I had a large dinner, I didn't go out and have several drinks afterwards. That sort of thing. I tried not to get disgustingly full. Which mostly worked. I am a sucker for the soft serve at Crystal Palace. I also wore a pedometer in the parks and tracked my AP's for the week even if I wasn't tracking the food very well. I tracked my food on Saturday, travel day, so I would have all the numbers for this week. And I weighed in on Sunday and sent my numbers to Shannon, too.

And shockingly, I showed a loss. I was down 1.4 pounds for the week. Which brought me past my goal of 50 lbs. for the year (check the new clippie!!). It doesn't seem fair or right, I know! It is enough to make a person wonder if she has her points allowace set up properly, in fact. So theoretically, I am at my goal. I'm not sure I'm at my ideal weight at this point, though. How do you know when enough is enough??


I ran my Thanksgiving 10K starting in Downtown Disney, running over to Old Key West, then back to Saratoga Springs, through the treehouse villas and around the Grandstand, and Paddock to Congress Park and back to Downtown Disney:


When we were in the Magic Kingdom, right after riding Buzz Lightyear, my kids wanted to climb in with Zurg, as usual. This time, I jumped in there with them - just because I COULD!! We all tried to look evil!

It sounds like a great trip (except for the illnesses). THanks for sharing the great pictures. You look terrific! And nice job on the 10K T.giving morning. But I imagine it must be FUN to run around WDW!

I find that occasionally I have an unexpected loss (or higher than expected loss) during a week when I feel like I might have overeaten. I think that it just really shakes up your metabolism to occasionally have a higher calorie day and your body works so hard to burn it all, that it just keeps at that higher burn for a few extra days.

I know what you mean about not knowing where a good stopping point is, as far as goal weight goes. I kind of picked my number a bit randomly, based on what I weighed when I got married nearly 20 years ago. But as I got closer, I realized that with all of the ways that my body has changed over the years, I wouldn't look the same at that number as I used to. So I dropped my goal weight another 5 pounds. Even though I would love to see a smaller waist/belly, I don't think I am going to drop my goal any lower. I think it will be hard enough to maintain (130 lb) as it, without making it more difficult. Plus, I have NEVER been in the 120's for my entire adult life, so I can't even IMAGINE what it would be like... so no use dreaming about it!

Nice job hitting goal... that makes two of you this week! I'm so envious! You have worked hard and EARNED it!................P

Corinna, Thanks for sharing your photos and congrats on reaching 50! I love the castle at Christmas. I'll be seeing it in about a year!

Completed 8 miles total today! Gonna finish off the day with 50 crunches and some more water. Watching the Patriots game with DH and just finished addressing 44 Christmas cards! Dessert was lite popcorn!

Have a great night everyone! Can't wait to see what's in store for us tomorrow!

I am impressed... both with your 8 miles and with your finished Christmas cards!

Hi all. I have been doing well...working lots of overtime and not getting to work out much but plugging away. I took a sneek peek at the scale this morning and it looks like I might have a good loss this week! Here's to hoping!

Take care everyone and don't forget to drink that water!

Sarah

HOpefully you get that good loss this week. That would be a great thing... especially right after T.giving!

You hit the nail on the head with the clothes thing. That coat though-- I am completely infatuated. I really haven't felt this way about a piece of clothing for a long time. Think I'm trying to just turn into a cat lol. We all knew it would eventually happen...(all that gorgeous black fake fur)
Think I'll get my hair cut this week too--I need some layers for the growing out perm. Then I can take a picture with me in the coat when we go to Portland. I have a feeling that it'll be next week I hit my goal, y'know the aftermath of turkey day. I am really trying though to polish off the leftovers in a reasonable manner. Thanks to our question of the day I put some thought into my meals today and the turkey ramen was slightly messy, but good in my car I'm also putting stuff in smaller containers and jeez-- having a look at my husbands gravy which is amazing but cold looks like brown jello-- ugh. Think I'll just use a little of that on the turkey itself and not do my usual mix the mashed potatoes, turkey and gravy alltogether. Will just use o calorie butter spray and Johnny's garlic on the mashed potatoes and exercise as much as possible this week lol.

Listen--I saw a show on anorexic twins a few months ago and what you are saying about your sis is scary. It became a competition for them and the "thin twin" identity thing really pushed one of them over the edge. Anorexia is something I had to deal with as a teen. It was a lot about control for me. I weighed at one point 81. This was with running every day-- I had muscle. Or at least I did until my body started to consume itself. At the time I was so pleased with myself I never really came to understand how badly I was hurting until I think just now. When I look back now I understand the person inside that girl in such a lot of pain, absolutely screaming soundlessly. It took my mother to come in and take charge. I had actually been on summer vacation at my Dad's for 3 months when I was at my lightest. I think just the total trust that comes with someone talking to you who you know loves you completely, who only has your well being at heart makes a difference in avoiding a steady downhill turn. Probly helped my mom was a nurse too

Thanks for the thoughts. I am certainly not feeling any competition toward DSIL about the weight loss. I will never be her size, nor have I ever intended to be (not to mention the fact that she is 4 inches shorter than I am!). And maybe my Mom is just reading something that isn't there.


Well... I'm on early because I had to take DD to meet her ride for morning swim practice. I usually exercise after I drop her off, but I am hitting the Y tonight, so I figured I would skip my morning workout. I did some online banking, a bit of picking up around the house, and now I will hit the shower and get ready for work. I hope you all have a super day! Happy December 1st!..............P

 

[tigger813]

Did the 3 mile WATP and the knee is starting to bother me. Think I'll just do Wii Fit the rest of the day and just drink water and watch what I eat today. Should have a good loss this week after last week's 4 pound gain! YIKES! But it was Thanksgiving!

Can't wait for my walk with Redwalker tomorrow though it may also involve my knee brace! Icing it a bit now!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Hi Guys!

I'm back from my trip and hope to start getting back to really DISing today and tomorrow. I just have to catch up on that pesky work and go to a few meetings. I did two 3M runs while I was away, so I was pleased with that. I did 4M yesterday and 3M today, plus I have yoga later at work. I'm glad I've been able to jump back in with exercise, and I also went back to eating normally yesterday. I'm looking forward to answering QOTD's I missed and catching up on all the back pages.

Sounds like some incredible progress has been made!

Maria

 

[mikamah]

My hubby works tonight and my oldest has dance so I will make them something quick like grilled cheese or something so I will probably just have a salad of some sort. I was up a little on the scale this morning so I need to get that back down to where it was Friday!

Don't you just hate those daily fluctuations? But sometimes they do help get us back on track. You can do it.

It is tough to get back into your regular routine after a long holiday week-end!
!

Aint that the truth. But we can do it!! 3 weeks left of the challenge, and this is the time to stick with it and finish big!!

Last week was a gain for me again I think mostly from TOM. Next week will be better. I'm sticking to my exercise plan, cleaned out my snack drawer at work, so less temptation, and tracking as I eat. I have decided that I WILL end this challenge with a last, and am finally feeling motivated. I just have to get through the exam on Wed, and then life will settle down.
The stress at work is settling down, and I'm finally feeling like I can take control.

sorry you saw a gain. Sounds like you have a great plan and are right back on track. Thanks for all your hard work, and friendly reminders for those of us with a little dementia.

On another topic.... I will admit that the remainder of the weekend was harder (eating wise) than I anticipated it to be. I did really well on Thursday and Friday and pretty much stuck to my eating/exercise plan. But the "bits and pieces" of leftover goodies really called to me, especially Saturday. My biggest downfall was about a half a piece of leftover peanut butter pie. And I went over my points yesterday, more out of exhaustion and hunger, than anything else. But I'm trying HARD to concentrate on all of the RIGHT things I did over the holiday, versus the WRONG things that I could have done!

I stayed primarily on plan Thursday and Friday. I got in all of my planned exercise and even did a bit more on Friday than planned. I drank plenty of water and seltzer. I took myself AWAY from the food areas and concentrated on visiting with family and such, rather than thinking about what I could eat next. And I got back on plan (pretty much ) on Saturday morning.

I hope you all are doing well. Gotta run and get ready to coach Robotics.....P

It sounds like you did awesome to me, and only had half a piece of pie!! That's great. Remember, if you were on maintenance, you'd have all your daily points, flex points, and an additional 28 points a week just to maintain, so I'd bet your still under that, and with your exercise, you'll be able to see a loss. It was thanksgiving after all, and you had a full weekend.

Breakfast was a smoothie as I needed to use up the last of the summer's blackberries.
I'm gonna heat up some leftovers for lunch here shortly and I think I'll make some ramen with some leftover turkey in it to put in a thermos for lunch. That way I can sit in my car too- I'd rather do that then the breakroom. I'm up 3 pounds since Friday lol. Must be the leftovers. I swear I look at food these days I immediately gain weight. Went around looking for a nice coat yesterday since I had a sunday off and goodwill changes their specials on tags on sundays. Found a few things- I'm being really picky about clothes. I figure the ones I'm buying now will be my permanent clothes for awhile and I feel they are a huge part of my reward for losing. I really just don't even like many of the styles right now that I could afford in retail stores and it seems they aren't even selling warm clothes. I'm one of those who dress practically. I found a beautiful faux fur coat at St. Vincent De Paul for $25 after 1/2 off it looks like it's from the 60's- Davis of Boston is on the label and it says by Jonathan Logan. Can't find much on the brand online but I am devastatingly in love with it.
I needed some nicer clothes to wear to a fancy restaurant my husbands boss is treating us to and I found a great shirt and pants at St. Vinnies too. I still plan on making 135 this week-- will just have to be full throttle the rest of the week.

That coat sounds awesome. You can do it!! Can't wait to celebrate your reaching goal!!!!

Change in dinner! Making Trader Joe's Orange Chicken and then I'll do either 3 more miles on the elliptical or the 3 mile WATP! Need to reach 20 pounds this week before PMS kicks in next week!
Been really good today! Ate some Boston Lite Popcorn for a snack! 3 1/2 cups is 130 calories! Done 5 miles so far today and planning on 3 more plus my crunches!

Whoo hoo on the exercise!!

My "thin" SIL gave me a bag of clothes this past weekend that she is not wearing any more (she lost 11 pounds and is down to a size 2 ). She gave me some great pants... Ann Taylor, Gap, Tommy Hilfiger and they ALL FIT!! (mostly size 6). She is shorter than I am, but most of them were average length.

Anyhow, about my SIL losing weight... my Mom thinks that she (my SIL) is secretly feeling competitive with me about my weight loss and she doesn't want me to be the "thin" one in the family. I have NEVER seen my DSIL really overweight... even after she had her kids! She has probably never been bigger than a size 6-8 in all of the time I've known her. She is one of these people who loses weight and can't eat any time she is feeling stressed, depressed, or angry, whereas I want to do nothing BUT eat when I am feeling stressed! SO I find it interesting that for some reason she is feeling this way. It really doesn't bother me I guess. I will never be as thin as she is (right now after her 11 pound weight loss she is at about 110 lb) and I have always thought she was so pretty... so I'm not sure why she feels this way. Maybe she feels like that is her "identity" in the family... as the "thin, pretty, fashionable one" (yikes... does that make me the "fat, frumpy one"??).

Well... anyway... I hope my Mom is wrong about this, but my Mom usually has pretty good instincts. But I would hate to think that my success on the weight loss front has caused any problems/stress or a feeling of competition for my SIL. But I'm happy for the hand-me-downs anyhow!!

And you know... my cousin who I am fairly close with (and who shares my love of all things Disney) struggles with her weight too. And she was more than happy to give me a high five when she found out that I was wearing DSIL's size 6 hand-me-downs. If there is ANYONE who should be stressed about my weight loss and feeling competitive, I would think it would be another person struggling with their weight... but as usual, my DCousin is as sweet and supportive as can be.

Well... gotta run. DD and DH are at a Rainbow Girls/Dad fun night, so I promised DS I would play a game with him after homework time.......P

It's so funny how people can be. I know what you mean about your dsil always being thinner than you, and maybe she is feeling a bit threatened. My sister has always been thinner than me, but a couple years ago, I was down in the low 180s, and so was she, and she was shocked to weigh as much as me. Not in a mean way, but she's shorter than I am, and she had gained, while I lost, and it was eye opening for her. My mom and I always had a little weight competition too. Sometimes it motivated me more to lose the weight. Enjoy those hand-me-downs.

Today did not go as planned. Good riddance November, I'm ready to bring on December.

Welcome December!!

And shockingly, I showed a loss. I was down 1.4 pounds for the week. Which brought me past my goal of 50 lbs. for the year (check the new clippie!!). It doesn't seem fair or right, I know! It is enough to make a person wonder if she has her points allowace set up properly, in fact. So theoretically, I am at my goal. I'm not sure I'm at my ideal weight at this point, though. How do you know when enough is enough??

Congrats on running the 10k, you look awesome!! Love the pictures, especially the zurg one with the kids. You all look so happy. Glad it was a good trip, despite the issues you had. It is pretty hard to have things ruin a trip to the magical place on earth. A positive attitude goes so far.

Listen--I saw a show on anorexic twins a few months ago and what you are saying about your sis is scary. It became a competition for them and the "thin twin" identity thing really pushed one of them over the edge. Anorexia is something I had to deal with as a teen. It was a lot about control for me. I weighed at one point 81. This was with running every day-- I had muscle. Or at least I did until my body started to consume itself. At the time I was so pleased with myself I never really came to understand how badly I was hurting until I think just now. When I look back now I understand the person inside that girl in such a lot of pain, absolutely screaming soundlessly. It took my mother to come in and take charge. I had actually been on summer vacation at my Dad's for 3 months when I was at my lightest. I think just the total trust that comes with someone talking to you who you know loves you completely, who only has your well being at heart makes a difference in avoiding a steady downhill turn. Probly helped my mom was a nurse too

Anorexia is so difficult on the whole family. 2 people I work with have daughters college age who have struggles with anorexia and it's such an emotional drain, and they are always worried. Thanks for sharing your story. It's nice that your were able to accept help from your mom, and appreciate her love.

Well... I'm on early because I had to take DD to meet her ride for morning swim practice. I usually exercise after I drop her off, but I am hitting the Y tonight, so I figured I would skip my morning workout. I did some online banking, a bit of picking up around the house, and now I will hit the shower and get ready for work. I hope you all have a super day! Happy December 1st!..............P

Happy december!! You're up early!

Did the 3 mile WATP and the knee is starting to bother me. Think I'll just do Wii Fit the rest of the day and just drink water and watch what I eat today. Should have a good loss this week after last week's 4 pound gain! YIKES! But it was Thanksgiving!

Can't wait for my walk with Redwalker tomorrow though it may also involve my knee brace! Icing it a bit now!

Love to hear your exercise plans. They always help to motivate me!

 

[mikamah]

Hi Guys!

I'm back from my trip and hope to start getting back to really DISing today and tomorrow. I just have to catch up on that pesky work and go to a few meetings. I did two 3M runs while I was away, so I was pleased with that. I did 4M yesterday and 3M today, plus I have yoga later at work. I'm glad I've been able to jump back in with exercise, and I also went back to eating normally yesterday. I'm looking forward to answering QOTD's I missed and catching up on all the back pages.

Sounds like some incredible progress has been made!

Maria

Welcome back maria!! Hope you had a wonderful time! We'd love to hear all about it.

 

[mikamah]

With the holiday season here, I thought we all might have celebrations coming up, and maybe we could share some recipes and ideas to make them a little healthier.
Tuesday QOTD- What is your favorite healthy party food? Do you have any healthy or low cal recipes to share?

Fruit would be my fav food to snack on at a party. For my family, I'll usually slice up cantelope and have strawberrie on a platter. It easier for the kids to pick a piece of fruit rather than have a bowl of fruit salad.
I don't have any good healthy appetizers, but for dessert I usually make a trifle with angel cake, vanilla pudding - 2 boxes made with skim milk, then mix the pudding with a large ff coolwhip, and layer the cake pudding and fruit. For fruit I use strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries mostly. I have done it with berries, and canned peaches, or canned pineapple. I have a sweet tooth, and it's nice to have something sweet and low cal. Not really healthy with the sugar and cool whip chemicals, but if I go crazy on the trifle, it's a lot better calorie and fat wise than going crazy with the cheesecake.

 

[pjlla]

Maria.... Glad to have you back. I hope your trip was terrific and I can't wait to hear about it.

Tuesday QOTD- What is your favorite healthy party food? Do you have any healthy or low cal recipes to share?

Well... I try to stick with the fruit and veggie platters when I go to parties. Everything else is just a MINEFIELD of fat and calories.... especially dips and cheeses. Another SIL of mine (not the one with the weight-competition issues) makes a gorgeous fruit tray for most family get-togethers (sadly, she wasn't there this past T.giving), so I really look forward to that. And I really enjoy fresh veggies, even without dip, so I can fill up on that. Cocktail shrimp is another low cal, easy appetizer that I really like.

For dessert, if I really want to be good, I will make a pineapple angel food cake with a FF Cool Whip on the side. It is a nice treat. I didn't make it for T.giving this year because last year I was the only one who at it and it really was wasted, so I skipped it this year. I suppose I should consider that I am worth making it for, even if no one else wants it!! I also enjoy a trifle, as was previously mentioned.

I would love to have a few good ideas/recipes for lower calorie appetizers and desserts that EVERYONE could enjoy. I would like to have a "fancy" dinner with my parents for Christmas without going hog-wild with the calories! I look forward to hearing what everyone has to share!...............P

 

[mullysisters]

QOTD - I second the cantelope! I love fresh fruit platters too.
I also like smoked fish esp. salmon, high in fat but the good heart-healthy kind. A nice smoked fish pate and lower calorie crackers would be my next favorite.
Anything in those little puffs, profiteroles? My mom used to fill them with condensed mushroom soup! Sounds funny but tastes great.

 

[jennz]

hello everyone...I've been hiding out from life again but not as bad as before...the holidays have brought back a lot of memories of my mom and it's been hard for me to deal with, and I've found myself withdrawing again...my goal is NOT to do that and stay in touch with friends (includes my BL board friends ) and my life.

So although I haven't been on the boards you all have been on my mind and after a good week (which I thought was bad but Luvbaloo was there to straighten me out on that) I am up over a pound, but that's OKAY...back at it today! And although all of my choices weren't the best I still exercised and it would have been a lot worse 3 months ago! lol

 

[lisah0711]

Good morning all!

How exciting that we have two folks who are at goal! I think that we have the beginnings of our maintainer team next time around!

. I'm one of those who dress practically. I found a beautiful faux fur coat at St. Vincent De Paul for $25 after 1/2 off it looks like it's from the 60's- Davis of Boston is on the label and it says by Jonathan Logan. Can't find much on the brand online but I am devastatingly in love with it. :

Susan, your coat sounds lovely. A lot of those vintage coats are really fashionable and in our neck of the woods you have to wear a coat a good portion of the year so you must have a beautiful one!

And shockingly, I showed a loss. I was down 1.4 pounds for the week. Which brought me past my goal of 50 lbs. for the year (check the new clippie!!). It doesn't seem fair or right, I know! It is enough to make a person wonder if she has her points allowace set up properly, in fact. So theoretically, I am at my goal. I'm not sure I'm at my ideal weight at this point, though. How do you know when enough is enough??

Welcome back, corinnak! Sounds like a great trip, in spite of the bumps in the road. Those pictures are wonderful.

And congratulations on that new clippie! It looks great on you!

Thanks for the thoughts. I am certainly not feeling any competition toward DSIL about the weight loss. I will never be her size, nor have I ever intended to be (not to mention the fact that she is 4 inches shorter than I am!). And maybe my Mom is just reading something that isn't there.

pjlla, I think that you have the right attitude. Maybe your DSIL is jealous because you got the best brother . . . Isn't family weirdness fun?

Did the 3 mile WATP and the knee is starting to bother me. Think I'll just do Wii Fit the rest of the day and just drink water and watch what I eat today. Should have a good loss this week after last week's 4 pound gain! YIKES! But it was Thanksgiving!

Can't wait for my walk with Redwalker tomorrow though it may also involve my knee brace! Icing it a bit now!

Tracey, you are a workout machine! Maybe your body needs you to pull back a little. I agree with Kathy, I get inspired everytime I read about what you are doing, I think "well, you ought to be able to walk 2 miles . . . "

Hi Guys!

I'm back from my trip and hope to start getting back to really DISing today and tomorrow. I just have to catch up on that pesky work and go to a few meetings. I did two 3M runs while I was away, so I was pleased with that. I did 4M yesterday and 3M today, plus I have yoga later at work. I'm glad I've been able to jump back in with exercise, and I also went back to eating normally yesterday. I'm looking forward to answering QOTD's I missed and catching up on all the back pages.

Sounds like some incredible progress has been made!

Maria

Welcome back, Maria! Way to go and get right back on track with things!

With the holiday season here, I thought we all might have celebrations coming up, and maybe we could share some recipes and ideas to make them a little healthier.
Tuesday QOTD- What is your favorite healthy party food? Do you have any healthy or low cal recipes to share?

Fruit would be my fav food to snack on at a party. For my family, I'll usually slice up cantelope and have strawberrie on a platter. It easier for the kids to pick a piece of fruit rather than have a bowl of fruit salad.
I don't have any good healthy appetizers, but for dessert I usually make a trifle with angel cake, vanilla pudding - 2 boxes made with skim milk, then mix the pudding with a large ff coolwhip, and layer the cake pudding and fruit. For fruit I use strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries mostly. I have done it with berries, and canned peaches, or canned pineapple. I have a sweet tooth, and it's nice to have something sweet and low cal. Not really healthy with the sugar and cool whip chemicals, but if I go crazy on the trifle, it's a lot better calorie and fat wise than going crazy with the cheesecake.

Oh, I am looking forward to hearing some good recipes from all of you. I always go the easy crudite with light dressing way. I could use some fun stuff!

hello everyone...I've been hiding out from life again but not as bad as before...the holidays have brought back a lot of memories of my mom and it's been hard for me to deal with, and I've found myself withdrawing again...my goal is NOT to do that and stay in touch with friends (includes my BL board friends ) and my life.

So although I haven't been on the boards you all have been on my mind and after a good week (which I thought was bad but Luvbaloo was there to straighten me out on that) I am up over a pound, but that's OKAY...back at it today! And although all of my choices weren't the best I still exercised and it would have been a lot worse 3 months ago! lol

, jennz. You are heading in the right direction and this is a rough, rough patch in your journey. I am so sorry.

Thanks to all of you who have chimed in so far on the planning poll for the BL 9 challenge. Don't forget to pop in and give us your input!

Have a great day all!

 

[corinnak]

QOTD: Favorite party recipe:

Have I posted this before? It is a spinach artichoke dip that you can feel good about eating. It's really delicious served with pita chips but even better with celery sticks!

Spinach Artichoke Dip

From Vegetarian Times Fast and Easy

12 oz light silken tofu
2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
One 15.5 oz can artichoke quarters in water, drained, rinsed and chopped
1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Ground Paprika for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 400º F. Purée tofu, mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, garlic and onion powder in blender or food processor until smooth. Transfer to medium-sized bowl.

2. Stir artichokes, spinach and cheese into tofu mixture. Spoon into 8-inch glass pie or casserole dish. Bake 20 minutes. Dust with paprika. Serve hot.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups

Per Tablespoon: 16 cal; 1 g protein; 1 g. total fat (.5 g sat. fat); 1 g carb; 56 mg sod; <1g fiber; <1g sugars

 

[princessbride6205]

Hi to all! I'm back from 6 days at my folks' house in NJ. I didn't spend much time online. I got up early and did my 5k on Turkey Day (treadmill), then didn't exercise the rest of the trip. Oh well. I think I did well on food, I watched portions and didn't stand around the snacks chatting. I ate a few more cookies than I should have, but other than that, I think I did well.

And shockingly, I showed a loss. I was down 1.4 pounds for the week. Which brought me past my goal of 50 lbs. for the year (check the new clippie!!). It doesn't seem fair or right, I know! It is enough to make a person wonder if she has her points allowace set up properly, in fact. So theoretically, I am at my goal. I'm not sure I'm at my ideal weight at this point, though. How do you know when enough is enough??

Congrats on your loss and your Turkey Trot! As far as when weight loss is "enough"...? That's a question I'm facing as well. I'm also at what I thought was my goal when I started this journey last May. My appearance is still lumpier than I'd like, but I don't know how many pounds that will translate into losing. I don't feel like I'm at my ideal weight, but I'm also wondering how far can I go and still maintain that loss? I think a few more pounds off and my running/toning workouts and I will find my own "ideal." I've found that ideal weight formulas and calculators and even BMI may not be good benchmarks for certain individuals.

 

[jennz]

corrina and princess...congrats on being at your goal weight! I do agree that it's individual, based on how you feel...a few (okay 15!) years ago after I lost 40 pounds and was at 140 I was tired a sick a LOT, and my goal was supposed to be 135. (I'm 5' 7") I went up to 145 and felt much much better. (Feels funny typing that, right now I'd be thrilled to be down to my starting weight back then!) So for what it's worth I agree and say go with how you feel, it's not about the number on the scale it's about your healthy body and energized life!

Lisa thanks. It is very hard, and I think I should be "better" and "normal" but I have GOT to take those labels off of my feelings - I know in my head however I am feeling is "normal" for me at the moment. Thanks.