To all the November Bandsters!!

Hope this brings all the good cheer and wishes you could imagine this Holiday season!! To YOU and your families. I am thrilled to be a bandster this holiday. For the first time I can remember I am not looking forward to stuffing myself full like a Christmas Turkey....LOL

I have eaten a couple of Christams Cookies and that is the extent of my indulgence. I am eating my sensible meals and food is not an issue for me.....it truly is just for sustinence now. Not for pleasure anymore and I am thrilled by that. I have admitted to myself that I am a food addict and that I need to always remember this for the rest of my life.

This has helped me turn away to temptations.:clap2: With all of that said I am not depriving me of anything. If I want to have a taste then I do. But that is as far as it goes.

I feel so blessed this year by my banding and my new life that I have been afforded. I know this will be a forever process and I am not looking for overnight success either I am being realistic that it will take time to get to my final goal.....so I set mini goals.....in 10 pound incriments and that has seemed to work for me.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to each and every one of you!!

:kiss

Merry Christmas, Kristin!

My husband asked me if there's anything off limits for my stocking this year. I know what he was really asking me is if he should get me my chocolate-covered cherries that I get every year. I told him nothing is off limits because I am not changing my life in that way. I need to find out how many calories are in one piece and then I'll figure out how often I can have one but I'm going to have them. I obviously don't have a problem with them because I could buy them any time, yet I only have them once a year at Christmas. I've had bags of chocolate candy in my house for a week to give to my daughters and their husbands when they spend the night for Christmas and haven't been tempted to open them for "just one piece." There's nothing special about them like my chocolate-covered cherries!

We're having dinner tonight, brunch in the morning, and then we're going to the movies at Alama Drafthouse, a theater that also serves dinner. They're doing a special Christmas turkey dinner tomorrow. Like you, I'm looking forward to all of it knowing that I will eat much less than in years past. And if I don't lose or even gain a little, I really don't care. I do still enjoy food for pleasure but in small quantities. I think it's important for each of us to figure out what our food issues are and how best to handle them. Isn't it great that, even though we may have different issues, the band can still work for each of us? :whoo:

Longhorn, I like your attitude toward eating with the band. That is my goal, to be able to eat anything; just small amounts of it, and feeling full because of the restriction. It's loving the "freedom of my chains..." (lyrics to some old song in my brain:rolleyes).

Have a blast at the Alamo Drafthouse... such a cool place, and Merry Christmas.

Merry Xmas to you all. I know I don't need any presents. I am wearing the best present I could have ever had inside and have a big smile on the outside.

I was going through all the old diet records I have from the last 20 years (ugh). I have never lost more than 15 pounds in a year, with a total lose of 35 pounds over three years. My pattern has always been to lose 8 or 9 pounds and then plateau for 4 or 5 weeks and then QUIT in frustration. Now, with the band, when I hit a plateau, I am sure that I will have the strength and serenity to know that it is coming off eventually. What a blessing to have peace in me!

Longhorn - I looked online and choclate covered cherries seem to range in calories from 68 to 81 per piece. I'd say you could work that into a sensible holiday diet! ;o)

Merry Christmas everyone! I am ahead most of you in time so we've already had ours.

Well I have to say I've been a bad bad girl... I'm sure if Santa knew how bad I was going to be he would not have brought me any pressies yesterday. I so desperately need my 2nd fill. There was way too much food and no willpower. :funscale:I know I didn't eat as much as I would have in other years but I certainly ate much more than a banster should have. I am on steroids for this awful allergy rash I have and I think they are making me hungry... should finish them in the next day, so hopefully that will help.

Have a great day all! :clap2: :clap2:

Find my BOO! He's in there. He loves my tree.

Wishing you all the very best in 2008.

I am with you Sades. I over indulged today and feel like crap. However, this is a lifestyle change and we are going to over eat more times in our lives; it is how we handle it after that is important. We just can't let this sabotage our efforts and get right back on the bandwagon tomorrow.

We can do it! I agree a fill would be nice. God it is another week away for me. It seems like forever.

Cindy

Hi Cindy, I know what you mean... we can't be too hard on ourselves, we just need to take note and get on with it. My next fill is on 23 Jan but I'm going to try to get in sooner than that. I did a 45 min walk this morning and will do another one tomorrow to help keep the weight from creeping up. I had another big food day today but I will definitely be back on track tomorrow. We always celebrate Christmas & Boxing Day with food but I didn't expect to be able to eat so much.