I just wanted to take the time to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season!

I am not going to stress over staying in the Zone. I will make sure that I have "options", but if I decide to endulge, I am not going to beat myself up over it. Someone reminded me that we all can't be Zone Angels all the time!

So, I am cooking a nice little meal for our family tonight, some baked scallops with roasted veggies. May have some smoked oysters for a little appetizer later tonight (along with a Tom and Jerry, this is the only time of year that I get these, and it has been several years since I have even considered that).

Tomorrow is Christmas Dinner at the in-laws. It will sure look like a Thanksgiving table, with turkey and all the trimmings. I plan on bringing a veggie dish to complement the dinner (and so that there is another option available). But, who knows what is for dessert?

Hope everyone enjoys themselves over the next few days, and stay warm!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I hear ya CranCat!!!...
I plan on not stressing over what I eat either..but I do know that I won't eat nearly as much b/c I am not used to it since I have been Zoning for over 3 weeks and not overindulging at all ( minus two slip ups!)
I might indulge in some wine however...can't wait!!!
Happy Holidays to you and all the rest of you fellow Zoners out there!!

~Deb

Happy Holidays to Everyone!

Just can't believe Christmas is here already - this year sure has gone by fast! I swear it's true - the older you get, all you have to do is blink and another year goes by!

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful Christmas with everything it has to offer! Good cheer, full tummies, and the makings of warm memories!

Karen

Here's to full tummies! I'm up right now at 4 AM with my little grandson who just filled his tummy. I'm giving his mom & dad a little needed sleep for Christmas! :-)

Merry Christmas to all!

Hi Everyone

I am writing this pretty late on Christmas night. Had a really good day. Went to lunch at my daughters place. Everyone bought something to eat. Her partner cooked a barbeque. I did pretty well actually ..... only had one sausage, 1/4 schnitzel and lots of Caesar salad which my son's girlfriend made. It was the best I have had. I also had a serving of the trifle that she made. I was full for hours. My husband and I had a nap when we got home 5 hours later! The menu made a nice change from the usual chicken,turkey,lamb.

I laughed when CC said to keep warm. I hope I have done the conversion right - here in Canberra Australia it was 90 degrees (32 degrees). It was quite hot. I think this is why we needed the nap.

We are travelling tomorrow to see my family - they have a pool so will get some exercise and keep cool!

Was so happy ... my son gave me the Zone Meals in Seconds book. I had a quick scan but will read it when we get back from our break. Looks like lots of smoothies which will be good for me to take to work.

Hope you all have a great Christmas break.

Margaret

LOL, Margaret!

I forgot that you were on the other side of the equator!

We are getting record snowfalls this month, and we have had lots of really cold weather (below zero). However, my dad went to Florida for Christmas, and he was enjoying Christmas Eve out by the pool!

Well, I guess that you DID stay warm!

I am glad that it went well for you. Our meal today was not quite as zonable. We only had one dish that was veggie, and the rest were starches and creamy-cheesey veggie dishes. And, ham (rather than turkey). We were at Grandma/Grandpa's house. So, just had to make the best of it. But, no stress, just enjoyed ourselves and will get back on track tomorrow. In fact, I am going to go make up some veggies for my lunch that I take to work, right now!

BTW, I got the Toxic Fat book! I gave my hubby a laugh when I sat down to read the intro, and was munching on a little bit of caramel candy at the same time! LOL! Like I said, tomorrow will be business as usual!

Hi, Everyone! Well, as good as my intentions were, I went OOZ today. For dinner we had extra lean pork tenderloin roast, broccoli/carrots/cauliflower mix, sweet potato and strawberries. All blocks correct except for one - I forgot to bring nuts for my fat. My mom just threw out her nuts because they went stale on her and the only oil she had was vegetable. So, I got a little hungry. Our supper was the same - I did 1/4 cup sweet potato at each meal for my 1/2 cup weekly quota and I ate it as my dessert. Saved the best for last! LOL! Oh I thought I went to heaven when I ate it! YUMMY! As soon as I got home, I went straight for the nuts and now I'm full. It's amazing how a few nuts will fill you up!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas and everything it represents. Lucky you, CC, in getting Toxic Fat; and lucky you, Margaret, in getting Zone Meals in Seconds. The next book I want is Zone Meals in Seconds, then I want Toxic Fat. Maybe I can get it for Valentine's Day or Easter. Heck, maybe I should throw it out there for Martin Luther King Day, President's Day, St. Patrick's Day, etc. I'm thinking I'm deserving of a present on those days, too! ROFL! There I go dreaming again!

Happy Zoning!
Karen

hey, new to this forum. Christmas and ready to start the new year right. I have been watching manuel and if he can do it , anyone can. what an inspiration.

Karen, really doesn't sound like you did too badly at all!

Nita, Welcome!

Welcome, Nita! If you have any questions, just ask - we are here to help and support you!

Happy Zoning!
Karen

Hi Karen,

In that situationl eat the vegetable oil. The fat will still keep your insulin in check, and a little omega 6 fat once in a while isn't going to be a huge detriment to your inflammation levels and/or cardiovasular system in the long run.

Thanks, Sue! My thinking was that I should skip it altogether since it wasn't even on the poor choice list. Next time (if there is a next time) I will have the vegetable oil. I guess this was one of those something is better than nothing times. Darn! I could have stayed in Zone!

Happy Zoning!
Karen

You're welcome! Chalk it up to a learing experience. :-)

Karen, at least your head is in the right place! I think it is great that you are thinking about the BEST choices to make, rather than just accepting what might be good enough.

Probably, doing the "next best thing" is fine, as long as you don't begin to think that "next best" is OK all the time.

You are doing wonderfully!

Thanks, CC! I'm trying! Sometimes it's hard to decide if "something is better than nothing" or if "nothing is better than something". If my only choice is on the poor list, then I'll go ahead and eat it unless it has gluten in it. If it has gluten in it, then it's nothing is better than something. But when the vegetable oil was on NO list, I thought it best not to have it at all. I'll know better next time. I'm still learning!

Happy Zoning!
Karen

Hi CC

How are you going with the Toxic Fat book? Have you read much? I would like to have a look at it but the shops here will have to order it in. I might be able to get it from a website.

Hi Karen

I am really enjoying the Zone Meals in Seconds book. So far I have made a Berry Cocoa Smoothie and a Meatloaf - both very nice. My husband said it was a nice dinner! He doesnt like sweet and sour together so I scraped off the tomato sauce topping on the meatloaf. I served it with a green salad. It was very filling.

I weighed myself this morning after being away on holidays for 4 days. I have lost 1kg (I think this is around 2.2lbs) which is pretty good. I aim to keep it off and start on the next kilo! It is 1 January here so today is the day!!

Margaret

I haven't gotten too far into it (Toxic Fat). The one thing that I noticed is that I think I would have trouble understanding it, if this was the first zone book I have ever read. I think that most readers are looking for a "how-to" book. I think it is fine to have all of the scientific mumbo-jumb in there, but perhaps it belongs further in the back rather than in the front. Just my opinion.

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Margaret, that is just fantastic that you lost 1 kg! I bet you were so excited - I know I would have been! Thanks for the review of the book. The smoothie and meatloaf sound delicious! I can't wait to get the cookbook, but it'll probably be just a few weeks wait. I'm going to splurge with my next check - blender, mini food processor and cookbook. I really appreciated Glenn's suggestion of buying used - I'm going to look into it. Anything to help the budget!

Happy Zoning!
Karen