I took the liberty to post a check-in.
ok, it is a few weeks from the big day. How are folks doing with social gatherings, stress, tighter wallets, cold and flu season, family who put the "fun" into dysFUNctional, healthy habits, end of term exams, etc?

I am 1 1/2 weeks away from my vacation . i get a whole week off and i am really looking forward to that. i am not anxious about eating or meals. i am looking forward to a break from workouts. it is the same week as TOM and i am little scared of pain. due to my stomach acid, doctor says i cannot take motrin. i have horrific menstrual cramps, and last month, i was barely functional for about 3 days, hugging a heating pad. at any rate, i am grateful for some time off, no matter the timing of Aunt Flo.

our office is doing the holiday luncheon thing after christmas becaue of everyone's weird schedules, so we do not need to cram one more thing into the next few weeks.yipee!

quote:

I've spent the day doing holiday baking & making candy to fill orders.

I used one of those Oxo cookie scoop portioners to help Mom make Snickerdoodles the other day. If I was to "eyeball it", no two cookies would end up the same size - not even close.

I have been spending way too much time snow shoveling and snow blowing lately. I'd rather be doing summer walks in the park.(sigh) It's way too early in the season for the snow and brutal cold that we have been having. It's just relentless.

I'm holding my own weight wise but have definitely substituted some non healthy foods for my typical foods. Calories all seem to be balancing out for now but I'm heading into the big entertaining week now.

I wish I could climb on the "I've been good" bandwagon, but I can't. I've been horrible. I have been in some sort of sweets binge mode for about 2 weeks. Then the package from my mother arrives--which I have specifically asked her NOT to send anymore--and it has homemade Amish candies and a huge bag of my favorite nuts. Nice.

Oddly enough, through it all, my weight on the scale has been stable but I FEEL so fat and yucky.

I've spent the day doing holiday baking & making candy to fill orders. I have tasted one bite from each batch and that is it. I've been extremely good on food all day, and my calories are well within range even though I've eaten a grand total of 4.25 cookies and two chocolate covered potato chips. There has been no finger licking at all, and (shocker of all shockers) no raw cookie dough eaten. (I LOVE raw cookie dough.) Only a few cookies will be staying in my house.

Plus I came back from vacation with no legit weight gain and a major case of "can't stand eating out" itis. Which is probably a really good thing. I have one more day of cookies/candy making to go, and will be done.

i was given a surprise birthday party today. i was touched . there was really good mexican food. i kept to 1 serving of meat. no rice at all. 3 small servings of the beans. that filled me up. i had a slice of brownie-cake. then i did not eat the rest of the day until dinner time. had japanese food. chicken curry in a rice bowl. only ate half the rice. gave the potatoes to dd. tried one of her sushi , and had one more slice of brownie cake afterward. i was able to get on a long workout this morning, thank goodness. we are giong on vacation tomorrow. i have packed my trail mix. plan to have a healthy breakfast before leaving. i am excited. i have not weighed myself because i do typically have one day a week when I am very relaxed about eating, and i have been pretty much the same for quite some time. i just have to be more conscious because i have a whole week off, and i should not have a whole week of "realxed" eating.
no other parties that i am aware of. we are going out for chinese on christmas but that is not a problem. I did not receive any food gifts at all.

I wanted to check in.

I'm good.

I have finished up 4 social potluck/lunch/dinners in as many days. I'm 4 for 4.

I am fortunate to have many friends. But I'm really glad to only have one light weight "dessert" thing on Monday... and then Xmas eve. The dessert thing on Monday is on the level of a get together at Starbucks. No humongo dessert buffet or anything.

My family can't come to town tomorrow... so that is off. We are getting together at New Years.

My sister is coming over on Xmas eve. She ask, "Maybe we should just go out?". But I just want to eat at home. Plus, I REALLY like our Xmas eve of cheese, crackers, sour dough and salad and dessert dinner.

The scale is up 2 to 3 lbs, but I know that SOME of it is fluid retention. When does a person know when they have reached their maxium saturation point? In CA, when the ground gets too saturated, we have land/mud slices. I'm imagining a body part "slide" from so much sodium of late.

The "bad" thing is that the same foods that cause fluid retention also cause fat retention. Restaurant foods come to mind.

We'll see where I am on Xmas Eve morning. Then I'll know the fat damage. I don't think that it is much. I can't tell you how sick I am of vegs for lunch so that I can go out. I've REALLY enjoyed my meals out. Don't get me wrong. But I REALLY enjoyed a sandwich today, instead of veg soup in miso broth. It was so nice to have a sandwich and not be saving up servings of grains for pasta or bread at dinner.

Oh... and I received a LOT of calorie gifts this year. I'm at a new school (in the most wealthy part of town) and the gift giving there was quite something. I got:

2 pounds of truffles
2 one pound boxes of See's
A one pound box of shortbread cookies
A one pound box of Harry and David’s individually wrapped truffles
And a Starbucks mug with coffee, “drinking” chocolate and 2 biscotti (mug is big. like it a lot. )

I didn’t get any homemade gifts this year (thankfully), but I think that I got about 40,000 gift calories. I think that I eat about 1000 calories in dessert a week… so this would be nearly a years worth of dessert calories.

I’ve kept one of the 1 pound boxes of See’s for New Years.

Ds (who is no longer overweight and is 16 and 6’1” and 150 lbs or something and can eat 4000calories a day) ate the biscotti and “drinking chocolate (which is choc chunks that can either be wisked into milk or eaten).

I tell the kids that the lines on the treble staff are:
Every Good Boy Does Fine… or
Every Good Bird Does Fly (although this discriminates against penguins and emus and ostrige and the lame and injured birds)… or
Every Good Band Deserves Fudge.

They often ask me to produce fudge… so I’ll give them the Harry and David’s. (Bass clef... Good Burritos Don't Fall Apart... they don't ask for burritos...).

The rest, I sent home with teenage helpers.

And… oh… I’m making fruitcake today. I’ll be really glad not to go out this week and have some fruitcake instead of a slice of toast.

How is everybody else doing?

I'm good... right this second...

Weight wise, I'm back to my pre- Thanksgiving weight. I was out of town 5 days... and then came home and after the water weight went away, I think that I was up about 1/3 lb of fat (to my best guesstimate). And that is gone now.

I've been looking at the calendar. I've got 8 dinner/social things in 10 days. We normally go out to dinner ONCE in 10 days and eat dessert twice so I've sort of been ruminating about this 8 events in 10 days.

They are ALL with people who are special to me and I WANT to go to them all. If it was some work thing with dh's company, I'd ditch it. But I want to go to all of them.

I think that I'm going to stick with the My Pyramid 1400 calorie plan... and that MIGHT compensate for going over at meals out.

1. Lunch with friend - she is also watching weight and I think we will go for sushi (that is what I'm going to suggest).

2. Mom's Group Dinner - I haven't gone to a restaurant with the mindset of, "Let me order the best choice on the menu" for a LONG time. USUALLY, (in MY mind) the “best” thing on the menu is something I can’t or won’t make at home. I usually don’t want grilled salmon because a) I can make that at home b) I resent paying $24.95 for a dinner I can make for $5. But eating out 8 times in 10 days… I think I need to go back to KD’s “Good, Better, Best” choice thing… and pick a “best” choice. We aren’t having dessert… as we are having dessert and coffee a week later.

3. Band potluck. I’m taking the flour-less gingerbread cake made with beans. Somebody ALWAYS brings a bucket of KFC… so I’ll get a piece of chicken, some salad and fruit and my cake and like tastes of the gnocchi and blueberry pies and other things that people are bringing.

4. Dinner in city with former coworkers. I usually have a drink (or two). Since I have a Cosmo about ONCE a year… and this is it… I’m not willing to cut that. Last year, I had clam chowder and was disappointed and have learned that I just don’t like creamy things (clam chowder, alfredo, etc) as much anymore. Need to go with a “best choice”, I think.

5. Dinner with my extended family. I’m cooking. Only “bad” thing here is cheesecake… which I think will be like 700 calories. But the rest is ok… I think.

6. Mom’s dessert and coffee night out. I might bring the gingerbread cake thing, since a friend can’t eat wheat. We are going to a locally, owned Starbucks kind of thing… and we are probably “supposed” to buy pastries/desserts there. I can buy one for 800 calories and bring home to Jamie.

7. Xmas eve. Just the 3 of us. We usually have cheese platters and crackers and appetizers for dinner and then a chocolate dessert. I’m not too worried about this dinner and won’t change a thing.

8. Christmas Day. At mil’s (I’m guessing). I used to REALLY stress about this… but I’m actually not too worried and just plan on stopping when full. Desserts are store bought and I’ve gotten to be a total dessert snob and I’m now satisfied with a sliver of store bought dessert. I’ll happily eat 1,000 calories of awesome dessert… and happily eat a 3 bite sliver and 150 cals of dessert from Safeway.

That is sort of a NSV. I never thought I'd see the day when I was planning a "sliver" of dessert. I usually HATE the thought of sliver and dessert being typed into the same sentence.

Plan is to put tree up tonight and have sugar cookies and ginger bread people.

Oh... and heater is probably going out. I think Nelson and I are giving each other a new furnace.

PS... I think I'm posting on "What's for Dinner" thread for accountibility.

Lately, my weight has been slowly drifting downward. The rest of the year, it had been slowly drifting upward.

Mom just started making cookies, so I don't anticipate losing any more weight this year.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sheltieguy,

My eating has been off lately and I don't see the holidays helping any.
I have an end of term essay overdue, I'm supposed to be on vacation as of the 22nd but I probably won't take time off due to work, my kids have a gazillion social functions, and even if I were trying (which I'm not), super-clean eating wouldn't even be on my radar screen. I'm not overeating big time, just enough.
I just need a clone. Someone who'll do my Christmas shopping, be nice to my family and let me get on with my work. Or was it supposed to be the other way around?