Hi Folks --

This board has been entirely TOO quiet, and I'm working on my weight issue so coming here for support and encouragement and I'm feeling all alone!

Merry Christmas!

It's a rough month to be thinking about losing weight, I know, and I'm not even in a situation that requires me to actually avoid excesses. I'm all alone most days in this little house in the country three miles from town.

So, after ridding the house of most everything I shouldn't be eating, which I've done over the course of six weeks, I am progressing. Slowly. I think I'm eating just enough to maintain but my front section -- you know, the part that makes me look several months pregnant -- is shrinking.

It would be so much easier to just do Cambridge, and I have both the vanilla and chocolate in the fridge, but for some reason I keep resisting that. I don't know why; I just do. I think I'm "working up" to the idea of bringing Cambridge into my eating life.

But I am watching my carb and calorie consumption. I go in next Monday for my second total knee replacement. When I went to my primary care physician last Wednesday, my A1C was down to a flat 7.0, and my weight was 210.6, down (in 3 weeks) from 218.2.

I've been reminded recently how extra good Eggland brand eggs are. These are the eggs in the white plastic containers. They have a much richer color and flavor. Try 'em!

For the most part I'm staying away from the "white stuff" -- flour, sugar, rice and the like. That for you might be a challenge this festive-food month but since I rarely have to leave the house, I'm doing okay. So far.

Two things I have come to realize: the more sleep I get, the easier it is to stay close to the "straight and narrow." And, the more water I drink, the better off I am. My goal is four 16-oz. bottles a day. Two are easy. Four is definitely a challenge for me.

My current thinking is to be at 200 by Jan. 1, and then do Cambridge twice a day. I'd be happy with a ten-pound-a-month loss, even happier if it were 15 a month loss!

Enough chatter, I guess. If all we do is refrain from blatant OVER-indulging this month, I'd say we're victorious!

God's blessings to you this Holy Season!

Karen