~Holiday Goals~

First off, Good Morning Texas! I moved to my new duty station and we finally had our house finished and moved in to our new home in Alabama. The Alabama forums are not the same- I visited yesterday. The people are simply not like here. I found that on the main forums too. So- sorry to say, you guys cannot get rid of me that fast because my "home" forum is here in Texas! 

I am not 7 months out and I have lost 81lbs. I am quite excited. With the holidays coming up, there are some challenges. Thanksgiving was easy for me since I was the cook and I was able to cook healthy. Christmas is another story. We will be alone again, but at least my husband is home (although he is re-deploying again in March and they are not giving him his 1 year home). I am wondering what everyones goals and challenges are? I know, for me, that keeping away from the holiday coffee is my biggest issue right now. I use sugar free creamer, but the coffee is really not good for me. I have also been addicted to soup, and I get the low sodium ones, but for some reason, I tend to crave the chicken noodle soups lately and they are no good. That was all I was hooked on for the first few months because it was all I could handle. I still have a hard time handling certain foods, but I found that if food gets stuck, after it goes down, I can munch again. I am having a hard time with head hunger and this holiday season is going to be a challenge.

Any advice? How do you get through? How do you get through head hunger? Right now, I am also about to start my period and the head hunger is so bad all I want to do is eat! They are small meals and snacks in between, but they are all day. I am not satisified at all the last few days and it scares me that I can eat so much! 

Have a wonderful Thursday everyone!!

Hi Michele,

The holidays are going to be a challenge to me also because 1) I do not dump and 2) I can eat a lot more than I could last year at this time.

It took me 17 months to reach my goal and to my surprise I am still dropping - 145.8 last weekend and 145.4 this morning so it wasn't a fluke ! LOL.  My goal is to maintain during the holidays so I will have to work at it for sure.

My best advice is push the protein and push away the carbs.  Yeah, I know - easier said than done with your monthly cycle about to start.  Thankfully I am past that stage in my life. 

Have you tried the chewable papaya enzymes?  You can get them at Wal Mart cheap and they are great for when things get stuck.  I chew 5 at a time if I get into trouble (usually with chicken). 

Btw - congratulations on the 81 pounds - you are doing GREAT!

If the hard proteins are a problem, try the softer ones like cottage cheese, Fage yogurt or even cheese sticks.  My favorite cottage cheese salad is chop up some tomatoes and green onion and toss in the with cottage cheese and salt and pepper it.  You can leave out the salt if you need to, but don't forget the pepper - spices up the bland cottage cheese.  This is better if you make it up and let it sit in the fridge a few hours to meld the flavors.

Oh - and lastly - glad you didn't "leave" us just because you moved!  Once a TMB'er ALWAYS a TMB'er !!!!

LOL! Thank you Sarah. I will try the softer protein, but I found that since surgery, I cannot tolerate dairy at all. Milk is a big no-no, but cheeses and eggs, etc, make me so sick. I will look for papaya enzymes. I am glad to hear you are still losing after 17 months! Most people tell me they are still struggling to lose. That is good news! I was afraid once I hit a year out that I would not lose anymore. That is also a fear or mine. LOL- I love the Texas boards!!