The Holidays are OVER !

Thank goodness. I used every excuse to allow myself to eat WHATEVER I wanted, and drink LOTS of adult beverages. I actually weighed myself today and although I wasn't shocked...I am not tempted to eat crap anymore. Krikies! It started in the beginning of December....parties, social events...lots of rich food, alcohol and poor choices. Coupled with TTOTM bloatage, and the naughtiness..I have nearly 30 pounds to drop ! My fat jeans are too tight. I remember when I got rid of this size last year because they were baggy on me ! Now I own new ones ! I am not upset or angry....disappointed in myself, yes. I know where this all came from. And I put it all into my own mouth!

There is way more to life than food !

Anyone else notice this phenomenon over the holidays...that gave themselves free licence to eat...freely?

Absolutely.  I lost 23 pounds between October and Christmas, and I went into the season with the full intent of NOT counting calories until January.  I knew I would gain weight, but I also knew it would come back off.  Of the 8 pounds I gained since mid-December, I've lost 2 since New Years.  It was great to let loose and party for a few weeks, but now I can get back to reality with no guilt or remorse or disappointment for my "bad" behavior. 

mmm food. I gained a good 7 pounds this holiday season that is off of me as of TODAY thank you very much! I am not disappointed in myself by any means. You've no idea how good home made fudge tastes, and real butter fat chocolate chip cookies, brownies, and all the other rich goodies that Holidays bring. You betcha I had booze, lots of booze! And it was delicious and fun, and I had a blast with my family. I wouldn't take back having to lose those extra pounds for anything!

I didn't eat 24/7 like a mad woman, I scheduled my 'free' times. I'm a planner by nature. So on Christmas Eve I allowed myself to enjoy dinner and after dinner (pre dinner was healthy oatmeal and a sandwich with an apple), on Christmas Day, I played the same game but throughout dinner and enjoyed the desserts and booze! New years eve was more booze! And I made cookies which I enjoyed. Everything pre dinner I was 'good'. Since New Years (Jan 1st) I have been back on track. Pheww!

But MY holidays aren't over. My birthday is in 2 weeks, then Valentines is approaching after that. Then I'll be in the clear. But with a little willpower, we're all going to be okay :)

I totally understand you. I quit smoking 3 yrs ago and had tried before but couldn't get it. I came up with a plan. A date to stop it was New Years at midnight. I smoked probably 3 packs that day. But it worked. So I did the same this New Years with eating and drinking. I put on 10 lbs since I went off my diet 3 months ago. I have 30 to lose. I never got hungry just kept eating. My problem is keeping motivated. I don't have encouragement from family. I just joined this web site this morning, I joined the National Body Challenge but it doesn't have enough personal tools.

Good Luck

Judy

Totally... since the end of November I've been using 'I'll start being healthy after the new year' as an excuse to eat everything in sight over Christmas. It was gooooood, but I regret it a little now because I've gained a good few pounds. Nothing that can't be sorted out, on a positive note. :)

Thanks Judy. I know it's not about luck though...it is about what you talked of...MOTIVATION. I think being mildly depressed isn't helping..but if I felt better and looked better, I might not be so depressed ! What happens to motivation? I am not sure. I used to be nutty and obsessed about what I ate and keeping active. I am downright sluggish these days !

I brought hummus and veggies to work for a snack..as well as cottage cheese, chicken and broccoli. Not even that hungry today. When I got back from vacation, there was a huge jar of chocolate truffles just for me on my desk ! (Insert silent scream here...) I have placed them in the teacher's lounge for mass consumption..and to get them away from me. PMS and a huge-ass jar of chocolates are not good bedfellows. There is still a fridge full of goodies left over from christmas and new years...but I have self control ! (Convincing myself)

Motivation? The fact that all my clothes are too tight, I hate to look in the mirror..and I am sooo unhappy with myself. That should be a start eh?

I did really well from May to September. Then came my holiday begining of October to California.

It's never good to stick an English person in American theame parks = the fasination of 'what IS a corn dog?', 'A Chimmy-what-now? Lets try!', 'Mmmm pancakes & bacon!'(every morning), 'Oooh! Cheesecake Factory!', 'You can't come to the states & not eat pie!'. Result gaining 10lbs in 2 weeks! 

Then there was getting over jetlag & eating at funny times. Then working at funny times. Then getting our kitchen redone so not being able to eat proper meals or do my pilates. Then a stomach bug which made me eat only the things I wanted/could keep down. Then weather being rubbish & not able to go for walks. Then Christmas - Parties, meals, drinks, chocolate, more chocolate.....

Anyways, I'm 13lbs over where I want to be/was. I figured about 4 of those lbs are to do with TTOTM, water retention & getting back to being ....ahem .... regular.

I started anew this week (well Monday) & done pilates twice & I'm now achy from it. Also I've been using my low fat cookbooks I got for Christmas!

TOTALLY AGREE!

Throughout the whole month of December (well starting with Thanksgiving in November), the dieting thing never suceeded. Thankfully new year means new resoloutions which means back to my diet. I would try not to eat all those cookies, pies, sweets and eating out every other night, but it never worked out.

But I found that moderating everything, as hard as it may seem at times, worked for me. For example I ate cookies everyday, but only had a few instead of constantly snacking. For eating out, I would eat half and save the other half for later. And always always drank water with my meals, especially when I ate out.

Even though I did not lose weight, I did not gain any either. So I guess I just "maintained my weight". Come next year I'm going to do the same thing. Because I just love holiday foods ;)

Yes...I am trying not to factor in the water weight gain from TTOTM....it's unknown. I do know that I crave LOTS of salt and have a voracious appetite. I just need to remember to eat healthy things and to only eat when I am hungry...I love to cook and sometimes I eat for eatings sake. I do have some ideas for healthy dishes though....I made some ricotta and spinach stuffed shells over X-mas break. Need a good idea for a recipie for a low-fat but yummy white sauce...yogurt?

I had intentions of eating what I wanted in strict moderation.  No sneaking a third or fourth cookie when two was more than enough...that sort of thing, ya know?  Well, I'll be darned if I didn't lose 5 pounds from Thanksgiving to Christmas!  I was shocked when I climbed in the scales this morning that I got off and back on FIVE times to make sure I wasn't imagining it!  LOL  This is the motivation I needed...a good start :)

Good luck and happy new year to you all!

I decided this year I would be accountable to the world for my ability/inability to stick to a diet.  Diet gurus always say that you should keep a journal so I started a blog and launched it this week.  Since weight loss is so depressing sometimes, I decided to put a lighthearted spin on it.  Anyway, would love to have your support and comments.  Check it out:  www.yearofdiets.com.  It's not a retail site.  Just a not-so-serious perspective on dieting.

Original Post by graett:

I decided this year I would be accountable to the world for my ability/inability to stick to a diet.  Diet gurus always say that you should keep a journal so I started a blog and launched it this week.  Since weight loss is so depressing sometimes, I decided to put a lighthearted spin on it.  Anyway, would love to have your support and comments.  Check it out:  www.yearofdiets.com.  It's not a retail site.  Just a not-so-serious perspective on dieting.

I did pretty much the same thing.  Not only did the holidays involve a lot of food, but I spent a few nights in the hospital with my wife having our new daughter and so I just let myself eat whatever I wanted.  I gained 10lbs in about 2 - 3 weeks, but I don't feel bad about it at all.  I've already lost 3 of the lbs and soon it will all be gone.  I actually feel a bit relieved because I was getting really frustrated with a plateau right before I went off the res and now I'm actually losing again (Even if I am losing the same wieght twice)

I am dissapointed with myself for not running for almost two weeks.  Not because it contributed to my weight gain, but because I've set my training back quite a bit and it's making it that much harder to run now.