South Beach on Thxgiving ~ FAIL!

I gained a pound and a half yesterday.... LOL!!!

It's ok, I knew I wouldn't be able to stay on the strict eating plan on Thanksgiving Day!!

I did really good up to that day (not sure how much I've lost, but it's about 12 - 15 pounds!), and I'm jumping right back on that wagon today. But everything was SOOOO WELL WORTH IT!!!! What a great meal we had!!

I ate turkey, rice stuffing, brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes with leeks, a little gravy, homemade cranberry sauce, green beans (actual fresh green beans, NOT the casserole), baked yams (WITH ALL the bad stuff on them), appetizers, wine, and a slice of apple pie.

BUT, I didn't bring ANY leftovers home!! And I left two whole pies (I'd made four) there with my cousin at his request.... which worked out perfectly for me. I brought a couple slices each of the other two pies for Chris and my mom.

Yes, I went WAAAY off plan, but hey, it was Thanksgiving Day!!

We had a BLAST though, my cousin just moved down here from Oregon about a month ago, and his mom was here visiting from Arizona, so we had a great time together catching up and enjoying 'family' again. There was 11 of us and we fit perfectly around the huge ROUND table my cousin has!! I got to help in the kitchen, and we laughed so much, I didn't feel like I was missing anything not preparing the meal at home.

My cousin's new place is beautiful, and he's VERY proud of the fact that you can see the world famous 'Hollywood' sign from his house.... but my sister brought him back down to earth when she rolled her eyes and said 'TOURISTS!!!' LOL!!!

Thanksgiving with FAMILY, worth EVERY OUNCE!!! = )


I caught a fish THIS big!!! (My nephew) (Note: my cousin MADE that beautiful fresh flower centerpiece!!)



NO video games at the dinner table!! (My nephew and my son)


My niece, my mom, and my sis


My gorgeous niece and her handsome boyfriend, Tony


My handsome nephew and his beautiful fiancee, Carrie


My beautiful sis and her son

Sixth day and still going strong!

Just finished my fifth day of the South Beach eating plan. I'm still doing very well. Thank you all for your encouragement, I feel it!! = )

I got alot of tips to help me stay on track, and writing about this journey was one of them.... (you can thank Ken for that! = )

I've learned some new ways to conquer the sweet cravings, although, they haven't really been that bad.... the first night or two, I was literally, dreaming about sweets... I think my mouth was chewing in my sleep, but hey, at least I didn't sleep walk into the kitchen... LOL!!!

But the cravings are more scarce now... I still NOTICE sweets nearby, but it's MUCH easier to JUST SAY NO!!!

Last night, I had an 'episode'.... but I conquered it with a tablespoon of peanut butter!!! Then I went to bed, that helped. = ) This morning, instead of the pancakes I thought would be nice... I'm having blackberry flavored tea which DOES have some natural blackberry flavoring in it.... but hey, it's WAY better than the pancakes, right!?! LOL!!!

MOST of all, I have to remember NOT to DWELL on the thoughts of something that enters my head, like the Fuji apples that my boss brought to the office yesterday, my favorite kind... yes, apples ARE a good snack, but for this initial period, I can't have ANYTHING with sugar AT ALL.... so I quickly forced myself to turn my thoughts to other things, work, weekend plans anything else but those apples.

A wonderful friend wrote me about the dangers of becoming, and challenges of being, diabetic. My dad was diabetic, so I'm right in line to becoming diabetic if I'm not careful.... I'm really trying not to. And although my dr. says ALL my numbers are really good right now, (he checked everything about two weeks ago... sugar, cholesterol, iron, etc.)..... I know my good luck isn't going to last forever if I keep eating the things I do and NOT exercising the way I should.

So I'm pretty determined to stop eating the junk food, there's no reason a woman my age should be eating all that stuff anyway, LOL!! No kidding, sometimes, I eat like a five year old would. LOL!! My meals are normally decent, healthful and well balanced, but it's the snacking on sugar junkfood that I have a problem with... So this was my answer.... an eating plan that absolutely BANS ALL sugar from my diet for a couple of weeks until I kick the sugar craving.... my plan is to STICK to the eating plan forever, and enjoying (sparingly) only good-for-me carbs after this initial two week period. If I start getting weak again, I'll just jump back on the first phase of the plan every once in awhile. I'm truly hoping this is something I can LIVE with. I really HAVE to make it work... otherwise I'm doomed.

Now, to set my mind on getting to the gym!! LOL!!!

Joann~

On the wagon, AGAIN!!!

The sugar wagon!! I've banned myself from eating sweets. I'm doing the South Beach eating plan. I wasn't going to post about it, but I have to.... I'm excited, and I'm doing well.... of course, it's ONLY my second day! But hey, I'm feeling REALLY good... good enough to stay pretty determined. Soooo, I'll probably post about my accomplishments and set backs for awhile, until I find something better to blog about. Sorry, I'll try hard not to bore you too much. LOL!!

I've been making the best dinners!! Of course, anything's really good when you're HUNGRY!!

I opened my front door this afternoon... and I SMELLED donuts!!! They smelled so good, but I'm ok, I don't need it.... I just came back in, grabbed a handful of delicious raw almonds, and I was set. = ) And I'm hoping that after a couple of weeks, the sugar cravings will subside, and I'll forget about missing it.

Thursday, I'm going to start my work-outs... I had to get over the 'weakness' hump first... you know, the one where you feel like you're gonna FAINT everytime you think of food, which for me, is ALOT!!! But I'm getting better at that, too!

Even my son is encouraging me.... he's actually eating what I make WITHOUT complaining that there's no pasta or bread with the meal. He just eats the protien and veggie dishes I prepare.... then goes out and buys a burger somewhere!!

Well, thanks for any encouragement you can send over, I'll appreciate it. = )

Joann~