RE: 's Thanksgiving plus a little of mine.

[Guest guest]

Well done . A loss is a loss and when you lose 3 pounds, well,

way to GO!

Our Thanksgiving meal was much earlier than everyone else's, simply

because of timing. My husbands break from Iraq ended 2 days before the

traditional day, so we had ours 2 weeks ago today. My strategy was the

spoon approach someone suggested a few months ago. A spoonful, not a

serving spoonful, but more like a small bite full, counted for 1 point.

I ended up loosing 2 pounds that week! Like you, I planned for it, and

when it came down to it, all that food (that I cooked myself, no

extended family nearby) was overwhelming. I told myself that this isn't

going to be the last feast I'm subjected to, and that there will be food

on the table the next day. No need to hoard the stuff, just enjoy my

husbands visit, and be thankful to be able to eat together at the same

table.

The stressful part came later. Not even when we went to visit our son

in Utah for a few days. I lost 4 ounces after that trip was over. It

was the letdown part after my husband left to go back to Iraq and my

daughter had her (as usual) nervous breakdown. So, for 4 days (he left

Tuesday afternoon) eating like there was no tomorrow, I kept telling

myself that I will never make my goal weight, that I am destined to wear

size 14 pants. Can't I be sexy at a size 14? SURE. But it isn't what

I want! The funny thing is how I was slowly talking myself out of my

goal. I was rationalizing that I can be happy looking like I am,

because even with my husband in Iraq, I am generally happy. THEN I

started to realize that losing the weight won't make me generally happy.

The accomplishment of reaching my goal is more important than being

generally happy. Its more about how it will effect other area's of my

life. Just knowing that I can make the goal, gives me a sense of

confidence. Confidence is a funny thing, because with it, one can

accomplish almost anything. If I quit now, I will always know that I

quit, and because this IS important to me, there is a good chance that I

will tell myself that I can't reach other goals.

Self talk can be terrible. But it can also be helpful. To anyone out

there who might be in the position of talking yourself out of your goal:

really look at what you are saying. Who are you trying to convince that

you can't make it? I tried to convince myself to quit, how silly is

that? Self defeating behaviors (or thought processes are)never

positive.

So, before I went to bed last night, I told myself to be strong when I

wake up. To gather my resolve and journal everything. To weigh myself

(in 4 days I gained 3 pounds back) and live with my choices. What a

freeing feeling it is! Depressing that I gained back 3 pounds, and yes

I realize most of it is water. I really didn't eat 3 pounds worth of

calories. But I feel like I will make my goal again, and that I will

continue the healthy lifestyle, exercising, eating healthy and THINKING

healthy.

Thanks for listening

Teres

's Thanksgiving

Hi, all~

We went to my hometown for Thanksgiving. I was quite concerned about

how well I would do, especially because I couldn't take anything for

the feast (it's 7 hours away by car, not counting traffic).

I planned out what I wanted to eat a few days in advance. I was

SHOCKED at how many points these traditional foods have, and I made

adjustments accordingly. I had only the foods I LOVED, including 1/8

of a cup of this cheesy potato stuff--horribly decadent, but a small

portion satisfied my craving.

I walked for 50 minutes in the morning with my brother and husband,

and then for another 40 minutes in the evening. I live in Ohio now

(no hills in this area), and my family is in Pennsylvania (lots of

hills). My butt hurt so bad the next morning I could barely move!

LOL!!

I did so well this week! I didn't even use any of my flex points on

Thanksgiving--because I preplanned, I'm SURE. If I had just decided

to go in there and have small portions of things, I never would have

known how many points everything had. I was shocked to find out that

pumpkin pie has 9 points a slice. Is that really right? I thought

pumpkin pie was a healthier choice!

My family was really supportive. My mom tried to make sure I had

things to eat and I got lots of compliments on how great I look. It

was a good holiday. It's funny because my family isn't the

healthiest of eaters. For dinner on Friday, we had lasagna and

bread. And NO vegetables! I remember when I used to eat like that,

too. My husband and I were craving veggies so much that once we got

back to Columbus, we stopped off at the grocery store and bought

asparagus for a late dinner. My goodness...we actually CRAVED

vegetables!!

In other news, I lost 3 pounds this week (weighed in on Tuesday).

That's, uh, not possible. Three pounds?! So, I'm sure I'll probably

be up one this week. Three pounds simply isn't a standard weight

loss for me this far into program. Nonetheless, if I am up a pound

or two, I'm OK with it. I know that I stayed on program.

I'd like to welcome all the newbies! The list was probably quieter

than usual this week because of the holiday.

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