Week 41 and the Deathly Hallows...

Oh yeah! We are big time Harry Potter Fans. I even have the official HP Wand and Marauders Map (which I got for my 40th bday). So today we headed out to see the movie with the kids and it was great! Except for now I have to wait 'till next year for part II. (In Margene time that is equivalent to about 4.5 years!)

So last July 2009, we got special screening passes to see HP & The Half Blood Prince even before it was released. I took my HP wand and we snapped this pic on the left below while we waited in line. I remember feeling pretty groovy with my wand.

(July 2009) -------------------------------- (Nov. 2010)

Then the pic on the right was taken just today. Yes, I brought my wand again. Feeling groovy again I suppose. I pulled up my old pic for a comparison. I cannot believe that was us just last year. It already seems like a lifetime ago. Never going back!!

Okay, so weigh-in this morning showed me having LOST 3 POUNDS! Woo Hoo! That breaks up my 3 week plateau. The hubs is STILL THE SAME. He's feeling a little down about that but definitely not out. He's been struggling with taking some spoonfuls of peanut butter in the evenings which is kicking him out of "fat burning" and slowing his weight loss. But he's working on it. It's also about his stress and ADD meds as well... we're trying to get the right combination of everything so he can feel 100 percent.

For Thanksgiving, I've decided that I'm staying on plan. None of this "I'll stay on plan except for the holidays." Let's see... the holidays: Thanksgiving meal, Christmas Eve meal, Christmas Day meal, New years Day meal.... that is 4 meals. So why do the "Holiday's" end up being more like 20 or more meals? It's 4 meals... is that worth gaining weight for? Not to me. When I've reached my goal and learned to maintain, THEN I will "splurge" a little more where I feel I can, but right now I am in weight loss mode. When I am on-plan, I am in "Fat Burning" which gives me the exact balance of protein, carbs and healthy fats to be burning my fat and losing 2-5 lbs a week (in a very healthy way). When I eat something off plan (like a donut), that's like throwing a big log on a roaring fire... it nearly puts it out and makes it take a long time to build up again (my metabolism) and it takes 3 days of being on-plan to get back into fat burning. Is a donut or piece of pie or brownie really worth 3 days lost? Not to mention the cost of that food - my Medifast food is about $10. a day so that donut would be a $30. donut. NOPE. I will be satisfied with my delicious Medifast brownie, or hot chocolate, or even these Vanilla Spice Cookies I made from the Vanilla Shakes... YUM! And it keeps me on plan. Plus I can enjoy a big 6 ounces of delicious turkey and some veggies or a fresh salad. I am so not missing out. And if I absolutely HAVE to, I'll have one bite of pumpkin pie. But as of right now I don't plan on it. If I had 2-3 bites of pumpkin pie, then I would start CRAVING carbs more. You know.... THAT is why I can do this plan... because it curbs my cravings so well. When I do let too many carbs slip in, my hunger and cravings go up. Staying ON PLAN is SO easy, because I don't have to fight all of that. People think I'm suffering or really going without but I am SO NOT. I am not fighting the cravings and fighting the cravings is what makes "dieting" so hard.

So that's my plan, and I'm stickin' to it!! Anyone else with me and want to stay ON PLAN for the holidays? We can so do this!

I also want to focus more on games and activities and spending time with loved ones this holiday season instead of making it just about food. I want to make it about spending time together!

You may have noticed too, that I've added tabs right below my header up there now. I have a tab that link to my "Take Shape For Life" info page, and one for my "Medifast Recipes". This is where I post my knox blox, Medifast Peanut butter balls, and other recipes I've tried. Then there is a link to "Margene's Lean and Greens". This shows pics of my lean and green meals. And when you click on the picture, it will link you to the blog post where I posted it and have the recipe. Hopefully that will be helpful to those looking for meal ideas. :)

Alright... Thanksgiving week... here I come!! Life is GOOD!!