BS: 2009 Dec. De-clutter & Accountability

Subject: RE: BS: 2009 Dec. De-clutter & Accountability
From: katlaughing
Date: 02 Dec 09 - 11:06 AM

I guess the lexapro was the cause of a 4 lb weight gain, recently. I've been off of it now for over a week and have finally started to lose, again. Since it is just Rog and I at home, we keep the holiday temptations out of the house. I have a chocolate treat every night already in the form of the 1 point Weight Watchers "giant fudge bar" and that takes care of my sweet tooth. Rog is really good about what he puts in the mashed potatoes and careful about draining the fat off of the turkey. We stuff celery with cream cheese which has a few chopped green olives mixed in and that makes a delicious snack without costing hardly any points. If I make a pie, it will be pumpkin with no fat evap. milk and an olive-oil pastry with no fat cool whip on top. The only other thing I eat for holiday dinner is cranberries made whole with brown sugar. I'll eat a little bit each day, a little on the sour side and I love them!:-) So, I hope I can keep losing.

Subject: RE: BS: 2009 Dec. De-clutter & Accountability
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Dec 09 - 10:40 AM

I know the pitfalls of the holiday season, so my biggest goal is to stay away from sugar. That's an addictive force, and hard to get off of. If exposed to calories (like the staff luncheon today) I'll go with savory and get the calories in cheese or spicy meats, not in candy or cookies. And if I can simply stay at this plateau for a couple of more weeks, that's okay also. It lets the metabolism stop reacting from the diet--after a while on a diet you don't lose much because your metabolism acts like you've met a famine.

It's snowing this morning, actually a mix of snow and rain at this point. It's harder to get exercise in this weather--the dogs will go for walks, but my eyes tear up something awful in the cold air. I need some kind of Rx safety goggles to keep the cold air out. I can go walk around a mall, but they're getting crowded and difficult to park in.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: 2009 Dec. De-clutter & Accountability
From: LilyFestre
Date: 02 Dec 09 - 07:25 AM

During this time of year at Weight Watchers, the leaders ask us to think about where we want to be in January.

Are you ok with maintaining your weight?

Are you ok with gaining weight and if so, how much (set a goal, keep an eye on things and if you go over that point, then do something about it)?

Do you want to lose weight over the holiday season?

Of course I would love to lose weight over the holidays and I've taken some new measures to help ensure that that does happen but I'd be pretty happy with maintaining my weight too.

I'm feeling MUCH better than I have in about 3 weeks and so I went back to yoga last night. My stomach muscles are a bit sore but it felt SO good to stretch out.

I also found a tracker I like....it's completely anal but right now, when I really need to keep an eye on myself, it's a good thing!

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: 2009 Dec. De-clutter & Accountability
From: Penny S.
Date: 02 Dec 09 - 04:48 AM

In contrast to SRS's link, Delia Smith's Christmas recipes last night really slathered on the cream, and butter. I could not believe how rich her bread sauce was. (And fiddly - no wonder I caught an elderly couple who should have known better buying a packet in the supermarket.) I'm not sure about fat free fake cream as a topping, though - I'd rather skip a topping at all.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: 2009 Dec. De-clutter & Accountability
From: Penny S.
Date: 02 Dec 09 - 04:27 AM

You really are making me hungry for turkey sandwiches. And I'm going to my sister's for Christmas this year, so won't have any cold turkey of my own. I shall have to buy some at the deli! And make some stuffing solely for use in sarnies.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: 2009 Dec. De-clutter & Accountability
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Dec 09 - 01:06 AM

Here's an article that came out in a system-wide newsletter (for the University of Texas employees at all of the campuses. Sometimes they have some downright strange recipes, but this discussion is just a clear reminder of how to avoid some of the pitfalls. One of the important things it says is if you are dieting, don't try to diet right now, just work on maintaining the weight you're at. That's what I've been doing; it's the only way to survive this season, I think!

Healthy Holiday Tip of the Month.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: 2009 Dec. De-clutter & Accountability
From: katlaughing
Date: 01 Dec 09 - 11:28 PM

I am supposed to make a new piece of jewellery to show the therapist on Friday. I managed to get the table emptied and got some beads out to play with colours. Found some stones which need to be soaked in sea salt water, cleaned up and cared for. The old wire I used long before I knew better had rusted for some reason, so I removed it all from those chips and they will clean up well.

Morgan cleaned up his corner on Sunday and took out some largish toys he no longer needs or plays with so his corner looks a lot neater. Roger took out an extra office chair we no longer needed. I have some things by the front door for my son next time he comes over. He's also going to take my granddad's four volume dictionary set from the late 1800s. They are up high where I cannot get to them and I don't think I'll want to anyway. They are neat and special, but I like passing some of these things on now when they kids can enjoy them for a long time.

Subject: RE: BS: 2009 Dec. De-clutter & Accountability
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Dec 09 - 10:16 PM

That seems like a lot to me; I'd never been this heavy before without being pregnant. Getting off of the HRT that had too much testosterone in it seems to have made a difference in at least being able to lose the weight.

Tonight's hot turkey sandwiches were much better than a couple of days ago. The big difference is the bread. I used homemade bread both times, but last time I'd made it a couple of days earlier and it just didn't have the fresh flavor that these relatively mild sandwiches need. Turkey and gravy are fairly subtle, and they need a good bread to really support the enterprise. We have some dessert for later; fruit and some bread pudding (low low sugar--I use Splenda and just a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar for flavor). I wasn't planning to make this now, but I had a half-dozen eggs freeze again in the fridge, and I decided to use some of them for something, and I had some old bread around. . . Eggs look so strange when you peel them frozen.

It's downright cold and nasty outside right now. We may be getting a hard freeze and snow flurries later in the week.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: 2009 Dec. De-clutter & Accountability
From: LilyFestre
Date: 01 Dec 09 - 08:19 PM

25 to 30 pounds? YOU GO GIRL!!!!

Yoga: 1 hour

Healthy lunch out with a friend and got to meet her new puppy!

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: 2009 Dec. De-clutter & Accountability
From: wysiwyg
Date: 01 Dec 09 - 07:17 PM

Go, SRS, go!

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: 2009 Dec. De-clutter & Accountability
From: maire-aine
Date: 01 Dec 09 - 05:40 PM

It has been a beautiful day here-- sunny and temps in the 40s (comfortable with a jacket)-- so I spent as much time out and about as possible. It is supposed to start raining tomorrow and turn to snow by evening, so I guess this was the last of our beautiful autumn. Bought 2 bags of rock-salt while I was out. The last of the laundry just finished in the dryer.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: 2009 Dec. De-clutter & Accountability
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Dec 09 - 03:33 PM

Brrrrr but it has gotten cold and rainy outside this afternoon. I think it's time to pull the turkey carcass from last week out of the freezer and make that pot of turkey soup! The freezer is fully stocked now, so there will be a gradual de-clutter in the coming months.

SRS

Subject: BS: 2009 Dec. De-clutter & Accountability
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Dec 09 - 01:28 PM

I just read through some good entries on the last thread, and realized we're at the next stage, and the last for this year. Penny, good job on that gutter!

Today I heard from a friend that she's adding on to her home--a few years ago she put a room on the back, but this addition is going over the top on one end. I can only imagine the noise and dust. (But I love that kind of work!)

This week has been a real emotional roller coaster, probably for the entire family, not just me. As we get ready to send my son to college, and as the older one starts looking for a graduate school, it looks like both of them may well be out of state next year or the year after. And here I am with an incomplete remodel myself (distracted by a burglary, but time to finish the work). So I need to work on my mid-range and long term plans now. That, for me, is the way to avoid depression. Like some of the rest of you, I'm not living in the place that I had planned to live in when I was young, and though I'm accustomed to it now and moving back to my home state would be difficult (very expensive), it is still something I want to consider. So I need to get organized here after we get the work done for the kids. People will still come home for the summer or holidays, and they will see both of us (their father lives a couple of miles away).

This sheds new light on the process of finishing the house and moving the clutter out in a way the benefits the bottom line. Either as a tax deduction or by selling, I need to streamline and finish up all of this.

Nothing new, life goes on.

On the accountability front, I have managed to keep off the weight I lost in the last couple of months, and my goal is to get back to my old weight that I was at for several years after the kids were born. 1996. I think I still have those jeans. :) I have about 25 - 30 pounds to go.

SRS