Lose 5 pounds a month November 2010 CHALLENGE

I've had a hectic couple of weeks, but I made my 5 lbs with a few days to spare. 11/26 152.2 lbs for a total of 5.8 lbs:)

I had a very nice time with my family on Thanksgiving. I let myself eat what I wanted and I was happy with what I picked. I was good with portions but took a little of everything I wanted. I even told the family that I wanted to walk after dinner from now on each year. The guys didn't go for it but I walked with my sister-in-law and my mom and it was really nice. Took the kiddos to a movie today, that was fun. Hope everyone is having a nice Friday.
Hugs

Im very HAPPY, I LOST 12 POUNDS AND STILL NOT FINISH NOVEMBER.

SW: AT 04/11= 204 POUNDS

CW: AT 27/11= 193 POUNDS

11/01- 170.4
11/08- 169.8
11/15- 174.2
11/22- 168.2
11/29-

Down by 2.2 for the month, the 5 is not looking probable but we'll see

Good morning -- Happy Monday! It is great to be back home and into a somewhat-'normal' schedule. Had a great, albeit over-indulgent weekend with family - but now it's back to the real world!! Scale was up a bit this morning, but I attribute a lot of that to water weight! Sodium was WAY overboard in the last few days -- my fingers and toes are so puffy! Time for lots and lots of water, and we'll see what the scale says in the morning. I am not at all hopeful for 5 lbs this month, but considering food choices in the last few days, I will be happy to maintain.

Have a wonderful start to your week!

Weekend update...

Friday night, we went to the Spirits Festival, where I tried many liquor concoctions. Yum! We went out to eat afterwards, and even though I was giving myself the night off from being sugar-free (obviously) - I still ordered a beef and mushroom dish and ate only a bit of the rice. It's *almost* becoming auto-pilot.

Saturday, after the kids swimming lessons, we went out for lunch, and I ate fish'n'chips (can I blame the sugar hangover?). The choices are very limited at this particular restaurant, but I guess I should have spoken up to go somewhere else. The cool thing for the kids was that a clown came in to eat lunch in full costume, and made balloons for us while he was waiting for his food (dog, butterfly, apple and cat). Later that night, after the Santa Claus parade, we went through the drive-through at Wendy's and I made better choices, and had salad and chili.

Sunday, I hosted a birthday party for my 5 year old, and had 11 kids from the ages of 2-5 at the house for 2 hours. I was too busy to eat a proper lunch, and then ended up eating 2 small pieces of cake (more sugar, oops!). We all had fun, that's the main thing, right? And silly me, when I was cleaning up, I ate the 5 or 6 banana slices left on the fruit tray, not realizing what I was doing. Later on, I felt really crappy, and was blaming the sugar at first, THEN remembered!! "OMG, I ate banana!!" The last few times I've eaten a banana, I ended up with such massive cramps that I thought I had the stomach flu. So, still recovering from that. Yuck.

Karin - thanks for the support! There's another bag of chips in the cupboard that I was planning to put out for the birthday party, but we had more than enough food, so it's still in there... Let's hope that 3 is the limit of the damage for that bag too!

Buttsmom, congrats on reaching this month's goal!! (Love all the hats in your profile pic, by the way! :laugh: )

Bru - hope you enjoyed your weekend away!

Barty - Be sure to get back on track to stay close to your goal. I figure you've got to give yourself 5 pounds of wiggle room, but when you get close to being +5 over goal, then you've got to start paying attention again. Good luck! :happy:

55, I haven't weighed in for several weeks now... I use the scale at the gym, so what does that tell you? :embarassed: I asked for a scale for my birthday or Christmas, as I'd like to be able to weigh myself at home. Let us know how your weigh-in goes after you get your new batteries!

Jenn, sounds like you approached Thanksgiving with the right attitude. Great job! :bigsmile:

Tina, did you buy anything for yourself while shopping? Or were you Christmas shopping? Great to hear that you are willing to work to come visit us! You must really *love* MFP!!

ClaryPR - Wow! congrats on your Nov weight loss! :drinker:

Michele, my sister started the trend of bringing some of her own food to mom's or going grocery shopping with her after she got there, so she's paved the way for me. We share our stuff with her, which mom enjoys. Maybe you can start by offering to make lunch for everyone when you're visiting, or a side dish to go with dinner? Approach it so that it doesn't insult or hurt her, maybe just something like, "you know what mom? I'm really craving [broccoli] today - do you mind if I make some to go with dinner tonight?" or "My friend made me this really great recipe for [chicken tortilla soup] that I'd love for you to try! why don't I make some for us for lunch?". When mom is visiting me, I make the healthy stuff I like, salads, soups, etc, and I offer her an extra side, if I think she won't be satisfied, like a roll or an english muffin. Try it, soon you might start making a difference in her eating habits! :happy:

Just Peachy - any loss is a good loss in my books! Great work! :flowerforyou:

Shorthand - glad you enjoyed your time with your family. Now, like you said, back to the real world!

And finally, a daycare update...
:frown: Recap: I'm the one who sparked the big discussion on daycare drop-offs because I was stressing about how to deal with my 2 year old who cried every day when I dropped her off. Even though her crying stopped within 2 minutes, it would really stress me out, and deflate my mood for hours, setting me up for stress-eating, etc.
Update: We are now officially on Day 2 with no crying at drop-off!! It's crazy how happy this makes me. :bigsmile: Last week, I dropped her off first, which meant my older daughter was still with us, and that her daycare providers were still in the other classroom (they combine the kids early in the morning, then split off to their own classes). Day by day, she was getting better and better, as I would explain that I had to go bring Anna to school, and since her teachers weren't in her class, I said "they must be playing hide and seek - let's go find them"! By Friday, she went in to the other classroom and was waiting by the door for a minute, just taking it in, but not crying when I left. Then today, we were running late, so I had to drop off the older one first, and her teachers were already in her class, so I wasn't sure how she would react, but I gave her a hug, then told her to go play and she was standing looking over at the other kids when I left, again without crying. And more importantly, without the daycare staff having to physically restrain her from chasing me when I left. :happy: :happy: :happy:

Well I had to change my ticker again today....up 3 lbs from the Thanksgiving weekend. :grumble: I didn't work out at all, except helping CJ moving yesterday. (Not really a workout but okay calorie burn - I wore my HRM). My parents were at my house from Wed - Sat so I really didn't have any time for myself at all. Plus TOM showed up as well, so I know that has helped me gain a bit too. I need to get my water in....I don't seem to drink as much when I'm at home. :drinker:

I'm hoping I can change my ticker again tomorrow & at least I'll hopefully show SOME loss for November.

11/01- 170.4
11/08- 169.8
11/15- 174.2
11/22- 173.6
11/30- 168.2

Ended the month down 2.2 lbs.

Here's to December!! :drinker:

:sad: Well November ended up a total bust :sad: :sad: :sad:

11/1 - 178
11/30 - 179

I know it is water weight because I was down to 176 a week ago but still depressing.... :sad: :sad:

OK PITTY PARTY DONE!!!!

Bring it on December. :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: I don't plan on making the 5lb but I am OK with that being such a big holiday month. I won't be denying myself but playing the game of moderation. If I maintain in December, I consider that a WIN.

My plan for the month: Get my water every day, walk at lunch time 3xs per week, get additional cardio workouts in at least 3xs per week, and go for moderation.