Emotional eating

Oh, was I ever in a wretched mood last night! I ate several fancy dessert glasses full of double-churn ice cream and read on the couch as a "remedy." I know that I should not use food to feel better, but the sick thing is that it worked. I relaxed a bit, went to bed early and I feel much better today.

Daily weigh-in: 153.2 lbs. Fortunately, I ate pretty well most of the day yesterday so the ice cream didn't trip me up too badly.

I indulged a little this morning. A friend brought homemade cinnamon buns in, so I had half of one (they're about half the size of a store-bought one). This of course means that I need to behave myself the rest of the day! The lunch I brought to school is very healthy: the last of the quinoa, some carrot salad, and an apple. Tonight I plan on having more of my sweet potato & squash soup and maybe making a spinach and sauteed bell pepper quesadilla (with one tortilla, not two).

Something new!

Daily weigh-in: 153.8 lbs (I think this is temporary)

Instead of eating more quinoa for lunch, I made a carrot salad that I saw posted on KathEats. I realized that it wouldn't be enough for lunch, so I decided to shake things up and bring some Yo-Plus, too. We'll see how it goes.

Kickboxing was okay yesterday. I didn't have that much energy, and I'm still having some health problems. At some point, I realized that my hamstring was really sore--just on one side! I kept going but I was a bit more gentle than before. I've signed up for the Self Challenge and I'm going to try to do the strength workout today. I'll probably go a bit easy on myself because I don't want to be as sore as I was this weekend!

Breakfast was 1/2 a sourdough English muffin with 1 teaspoon of almond butter and a packet of Simple Harvest oatmeal. I gave and got a short nonfat mocha from the cafe; I desperately needed something chocolatey that I could sip. Lunch will be the carrot salad, Yo-Plus, and an apple. We'll see if that holds me, or if I need to add more protein to the mix!

I'm not sure what I'll have for dinner tonight. Last night I found my butternut squash soup a little lacking, so I cooked two sweet potatoes and mashed them in with the soup. I had 2 small bowls, adding different spices each time. I think I liked the curry powder concoction the best. I still have a ton of soup left so I might eat that.

Wake-up call

It never fails to amaze me when I'm thrown off my game. This time, I sat back afterwards and thought, "Oh, that's why that happened." And I felt better about it. Other times, an afternoon meltdown would have presaged another and another and another, all getting worse because of the guilt. But instead, I woke up this morning and thought, "Obviously, I need to plan my meals today. Also, I need to go stock up on veggies." And the first thing I did once I went downstairs was to write a note to myself about all the tasty, healthy options that are waiting for me in the fridge.

I'm not going to post this morning's weigh-in because it's not entirely accurate and because I'm not going to guilt myself about it. Instead, I'm going to relax and focus on these goals today:
1. Go to sleep EARLY tonight. It'll make me feel so much better.
2. Have fun at kickboxing.
3. Pick one task at home (sorting/filing, finishing application, etc) and one only; complete it.

It's going to be a good day.

**********************************************************
Today's meals:
B: Simple Harvest oatmeal, 1/2 English muffin with almond butter
Snack: Fiber One caramel & oats bar
Lunch:
Snack: (planned) sliced apple
Dinner:

Finals/Vegas countdown

Sometimes time flies by so fast that it scares me a little--seriously, where has the time gone?? I need to start studying with finals in mind...and I still don't have a job lined up for this summer.* At least vacation is coming up, and with it more and more motivation to work out. I want to look decent in my swimsuit!

I was right about this morning's weigh-in: 152.6 lbs. I knew that my weight would go up. Instead of being down on myself, I'm trying to see it as a reminder to stop snacking so much. I did work out each day this weekend despite being very sore from my workout on Friday. Yesterday, I used the elliptical for 30 minutes, lifted some weights (biceps, triceps, rows and lat pulldowns) and then walked on the treadmill for 15 minutes.

Class is beginning so I have to run.

* For a second-year law student, this is pretty close to catastrophe. Not as bad as being a 3L without a job, but still, it's troubling. The stressful emails from the Career Center are about to start plaguing me...

A hit-and-miss weekend

I have a feeling tomorrow's weigh-in will not please me. I have not planned well, so I've had to rely on meals procured on the run (including snacks from a coffee shop). I over-indulged several times, but fortunately I did balance some of that out with light meals.

I tried part of a new DVD--Shape's Bikini Body Transforming workout. I am *still* sore, and I did that workout on Friday!

My efforts at making spaghetti squash cakes did not go so well; I don't know what was off, but they didn't seem to cook well all the way through. Maybe the squash was in the fridge for too long?

I'm tired...I'll post more tomorrow.

Too much wine

Last night, I went to An Event/Fundraiser. We were all dressed up, and I thought I looked pretty good...then I saw a photo someone took! I hope to god it was the angle, but I looked puffy. It definitely made me realize that I need to spend more time on my arms!

Because the Event was last-minute, I had to spend most of my day getting an outfit together. Still, I knew I wouldn't have too much control over the menu (cream sauces ahoy!) so I made sure to work out before I left. I tried a new DVD through Netflix yesterday: Shape's Bikini Body Boot Camp "Transforming" workout. It has three different workouts on it, and I tried the strength workout. It had my heart rate up, and my legs are sore today. It's probably for the best that I hit the treadmill afterwards; if I hadn't, I think that I would be hobbling today.

I made 2 miscalculations last night: drinking too much wine and not having something filling before we left! Then, when we went out after the Event wrapped, I didn't grab water and a piece of fruit. It left me SUPER hungry later that night...and I ended up eating a cheeseburger from McDonald's. I haven't had one of those in years.

This morning's weigh-in was 151.6 lbs. It's sunny out, so I might go for a walk instead of going to the gym. Today, I want to go grab some food storage containers from Storeables or the Container Store so I can keep my whole wheat flour in an airtight place. (Did you know that whole wheat flour goes rancid after a while?)

The natural oils found in whole grain flours, including cornmeal, make them susceptible to rancidity. Store all whole grain flours in plastic bags in the refrigerator or freezer where it will keep for about a year. Keep it in bulk in an airtight container or place the entire flour bag into a ziplock bag and seal. To test if the flour is rancid, just smell it! If it is, throw it out.

So that's on my list; also on my list is grocery shopping. I want to try the spaghetti squash cakes from GreenLiteBites and also this little carrot salad I saw on KathEats. I need to run by TJ's to pick up some more of their fabulous nonfat greek yogurt, and I might get a new bag of whole wheat flour while I'm there.

Endorphins are my favorite

Kickboxing is becoming more and more difficult. She is really, really pushing us. It's great. I think I burned even more calories than normal today!

Today went well food-wise until I got home. The temporary hunger block from a hard workout disappeared and I was ravenous! I tried the tofu shirataki noodles...NOT my favorite. Yes, they resemble noodles, but the consistency didn't please me. I might try them again sometime. I'm working hard to get over my resistance to tofu.

Tomorrow's plans have changed completely. I hope that I manage to fit a workout in, because at this point I'm not sure it will happen.

Thursday!

Everyone loves short work weeks. I am no exception! It's particularly nice that it's Thursday because my bedtime last night was much later than normal.

Yesterday, I had errands to run after studying. By the time I returned home, the mini-gym at the apartment was crowded. It stayed that way for quite some time, and since we were expecting friends later that night I just couldn't manage to do it.

I ate well during the day, but then a last minute stop at the grocery store derailed me: I bought ice cream for our friends (2 for 1 deal on Safeway slow-churned, damn them) and then indulged in something that has been obsessing me for over a week: sourdough bread. I looked to see if they had small individual loaves, but all they had were the family-sized ones. Instead of putting it off--or realizing that I could have purchased sourdough English muffins for better portion control--I bought a San Francisco-style loaf. And yes, it did taste as good as I thought it would.

Did I mention that we are trying SmartBalance? I really like it! I try not to forget that it's best used like real butter, i.e. sparingly, but it's nice to know that it might have an effect on my cholesterol.

I weighed myself this morning, but since the scale was on carpet and not the bathroom floor I'm not going to count it. I looked down and it read 150.6 lbs. It was obviously, if delightfully, wrong!

Today:
B: plum and Simple Harvest oatmeal
L: leftover taco turkey quinoa stew
S: chopped pear w/1 Tbsp 0% TJ's greek yogurt, 1 tsp honey
S2: sliced apple in lemon juice
D: probably veggie chili over spaghetti squash

Goals:
1. Drink lots of water!
2. Go to kickboxing
3. Stay away from the ice cream in the fridge.

Happy in February?

Usually, February is the dreariest month. The first few weeks definitely felt "blah" to me. But lately, things are feeling better. I think that's why the fact that yesterday's weigh-in was a bit of a fluke doesn't bother me too much. Today's read 152.0 lbs.

This morning, I was in the mood for something different so I made a pear oatmeal recipe I found in one of the cookbooks I checked out recently. It turned out pretty well! It calls for walnuts but I used almonds on top instead and cut waaay back on the amount of toppings.

Today's planned meals:
B: pear oatmeal
S: sliced apple
L: leftover turkey taco quinoa (YUM)
D: unsure...maybe leftovers

I'm very happy about that turkey quinoa. I still have 8oz of ground turkey waiting in the freezer, and I have to figure out what I'm going to do with it.

Fidel steps down, and so does my scale

It's a weird day all around, everyone. My daily weigh-in was 151.0 lbs (I should go to bed feeling slightly hungry more often). I'm pretty sure this is an outlier.

I'm getting a free lunch today; to offset the calories, I'm going to pick whatever vegan option is offered. I also brought healthy snacks to keep points low, all of which should be core foods. I think that we're going to try and get to the gym a little before kickboxing tonight so that we can do some weights. Since I'll be wearing a swimsuit soon, it seems like the right thing to do.

Daily goalsetting has been lacking of late, so here goes:
1. Go to kickboxing
2. Focus on core foods
3. Drink lots of water

Breakfast: simple harvest oatmeal
Snacks: apple, cup of grapefruit slices, FiberOne bar
Lunch: free lunch, apparently will be sandwiches
Dinner: taco turkey stew w/quinoa (recipe from GreenLiteBites)

*************************
Evening update:
Things went really well today, I think. I treated myself to a Wyder's pear cider with dinner, and I LOVED the recipe from GreenLiteBites. Fortunately, I had leftover squash before it finished cooking or I might have inhaled half of the entire pot. I have plenty of leftovers for lunch.

Kickboxing was SO HARD tonight. She did so many high intensity intervals in a row that I thought my heart was going to shoot out my chest. If she does it again, I'm going to have to say something. Everyone in the class was half-heartedly doing stuff and she kept saying, "Come on, ladies!" (I might have glared at her a little, but COME ON. If my super-fit friend is sucking air, we need a second in between squat-jumps and mountain climbers to let our heartrates slow.)

President's Day

I am back on coffee, and I think I might have overdone it this morning. I'm feeling a wee bit jumpy...

I don't have class today, so instead of a quick package of oatmeal I cooked an egg and had it with a slice of whole-grain toast, half of which I smeared with black currant jelly. I think this weekend has convinced me that I need to attend farmer's markets more often!

Daily weigh-in: 153.0 lbs. (it was 152.9ish)

***
Later afternoon update:

It was another mellow workout today. We walked up a sizeable hill in our neighborhood, shopped at a local organic grocery store, and walked back down. I realized that, after several hours of studying, I had not had a real lunch! I quite seriously had two cookies. (Embarrassing.)

Dinner was a chicken breast with a lemon herb sauce over brown rice and some instant mashed sweet potatoes I decided to try on a whim.

Summing up the week

Wow, it's Sunday night already?! I had intended to do some studying this afternoon, but our planned day of fun ended up going ALL day long. It was great, though! My friend and I went to a previously unexplored part of the city, walked along the water (brr, it was cold), went to a farmer's market, wandered into tons of shops, had a great lunch, and then went to a local mall and found GREAT deals.

Yeah. Awesome day.

I didn't weigh in this morning. I'll leave that for tomorrow, and I doubt that it will be a great weigh-in. That's alright, though. It's well worth it for the fabulous day I had.

Long weekend, yay!

If you're going to eat chocolate, have the kind you'd take home to meet your
parents. ~ Victoria Moran

I started reading Victoria Moran's Fit from Within: 101 Simple Secrets to Change Your Body and Your Life--Starting Today and Lasting Forever. I really like Lesson #6: "Focus on Living a Quality Life." She suggests making your life richer through simple things, including eating quality food. I think it's a positive sign that I'm craving more veggies and whole grains lately; the food on Kath Eats Real Food and Green Lite Bites is inspiring me! I can't wait to try roasting a spaghetti squash.

Yesterday I went off plan to have dinner with a friend. I did make a point to do about an hour of cardio (elliptical, a little jogging and some walking). After we walked around, shopping, we were starving and ended up eating hamburgers. We did share some French fries rather than each having an entire order, and I did not have any alcohol. (I haven't had any alcohol or coffee for over a week now.)

This morning's weigh-in was 154.0 lbs. It was a very late weigh-in this morning. I slept in incredibly late (10:30am!!) for no particular reason. I ended up eating lunch rather than breakfast (leftover shrimp & gnocchi) and had roasted butternut squash, a tuna steak (from a pre-prepared package) and a scoop of the roommate's couscous for dinner. I've been snacking on clementines all day, too.

I've been toying with the idea of switching to the Core plan on Weight Watchers, but I'm so fond of many of my recipes that the idea seems daunting. I am going to try to increase the number of core foods that I eat in the hopes that it will be the best of both worlds.

Friday!

Hurray! 3-day weekend ahead...

I went to kickboxing last night but was a bit lacking in energy. Has anyone ever gone to a class, done the moves, but felt like you had a so-so workout?

My weight is back up a little today. Very confusing! 154.2 lbs. But I did do 28 pushups yesterday.

Have to run--busy day ahead!

Rock steady

Daily weigh-in: holding steady at 153.2 lbs.

Mood: neutral. Could go either way.

Update:
V-Day ended up being fun. A few of us single girls hung out, split some takeout, and watched an 80s classic. There's nothing like watching Flashdance after kickboxing. Our instructor had us doing "high knees" for about 2 minutes, and I thought my lungs would explode! Watching Jennifer Beals tape up her feet and dance around made me think I should have pushed myself even harder.

Things were going well...

And then I suddenly remembered that I hadn't taken my antibiotics tonight, and they're supposed to be taken with a meal. Of course, I had already had my dinner. I had a ripe pear on hand; hopefully that will be enough to prevent the pill from tearing through my abdomenon like that creature in Alien.

I did work out a little tonight after running errands, reading, and making dinner (my favorite recipe EVER from Self magazine, shrimp and peas with potato gnocchi). I did run/walk intervals on the treadmill for 36 minutes...not too bad.

It's late--time for bed!

Things are looking up!

My body seems to be adjusting to the drugs, yay! Only a little nausea here and there. It is also my fourth day without coffee, and I'm looking forward to going back on it. But this challenge is like running: I always say, Well I've made it this far, why don't I try another day? Last year, I didn't drink coffee for over a month using this method. I don't particularly want to do it again, but I'm sure that it would be good for me in the long run.

I went to kickboxing last night and felt much better. I love endorphins! And now for the weird part...my morning weigh-in. 153.2 lbs. I know!! I am confused as well. I was worried that it could be water weight but I always drink a ton of water after kickboxing. We will see if it sticks or not.

Yesterday, I ate about 24 WW points, and 3 of those were APs (activity points). I'm going to try and do the same thing on Thursday (not swap out all of my APs).

Today's menu:
B: simple harvest oatmeal, Yo-Plus yogurt
S: sliced apple
L: salmon patty, 2 mini wheat pitas, 1 Tbsp mustard, cucumber slices, and red-leaf lettuce
D: not sure yet.
Dessert: decaf tea with one biscotti

Today's goals:
1. Stick with the meal plan :)
2. Remove stress by completing some chores
3. Do at least 30 minutes of cardio tonight.

Tentatively better

I woke up this morning feeling tired but better in general. Of course, I haven't had an antibiotic since 6:30pm last night, so maybe that is why. I'll be holding my breath a little when I take my next one at lunch.

Today's goals:
1. Go to kickboxing.
2. Prep tomorrow's lunch tonight (salmon patty!)
3. Go to bed EARLY.

Today's weigh-in: 155.2 lbs. Again.

Honestly, I think I need to log things into WW immediately after eating them. I woke up this morning remembering that I forgot to specify that I wanted a nonfat Chai, and suddenly this thought pattern ran through my head: "Does that cafe use 2% as the default? Or whole? Wow, if it was whole milk I *definitely* dipped into my Flex Points. I bet they use whole. Why can't they be like Starbucks and give everybody 2%? That cafe sucks." And so on.

Ahoy!

Since I still wasn't feeling up to working out tonight (yeah, my body still hasn't adjusted to the antibiotics), I decided to do another grocery run. This time, I hit Trader Joe's. As usual, the Tiniest Trader Joe's Ever was running low on items.

I did find some salmon patties, though, as well as some eggplant parmesan patties. I thought that both would be good for lunches this week. I also grabbed a box of biscotti, thinking that a nightly snack with a cup of decaf tea would be perfect for me. Fortunately, they didn't have the oatmeal cranberry dipping cookies! They are my favorite and come in a HUGE tub.

Tomorrow is kickboxing class. I'm planning on as long as things are at "meh" or above. If I'm experiencing nausea, all bets are off.

I have a new hero

I want to eat like Kath. So healthy! I am inspired, and I am already trying to figure out how I can run by the Tiniest Trader Joe's Ever (TTJE) tonight to copy her meals.

I am feeling better today. Maybe all those doses of Yo-Plus helped my body even itself out, maybe I've just adjusted to the antibiotics, maybe the illness this weekend had nothing to do with my stomach problems, but HURRAY. I was eating so much to try to keep up my energy, and that was NOT good for me. (Gatorade is chockfull of flavorless calories.) It resulted in a lackluster trip to the grocery store where I bought nothing useful. Sigh.

Every once in a while, I find myself drinking way too much coffee and I do a detox. It is truly one of the most horrible experiences--you would not believe how crabby I get--but I am drinking far too much lately. Because I'm a wimp, I'll likely try to step down my intake by mixing in some decaf soon.

Goals for today:
1. Work out!
2. Eat yogurt.
3. Go to the store for lunch supplies.

Daily weigh-in: sure enough, I'm back up! 155.2 lbs.

Go check out Kath's website. It's amazing, and the photos will make you want to replicate everything she eats. It is also making me want to buy cool bowls so that my food will look as delicious as hers! Sadly, Simple Harvest oatmeal just does NOT look as great as hers.

Sunday

I'm still having problems with my antibiotics. Thankfully, I only have 7 more days of them left. Hopefully my body will adjust before then! I keep downing Yoplait's "Yo-Plus" yogurt (I like the blueberry-pomegranate but frankly don't think it tastes much different than normal blueberry yogurt) in the hopes that it will counteract whatever is going on.

I haven't worked out since Friday. I am planning to workout tomorrow if things are a little more under control.

Pass the gravy, I hear it tastes great ladled over insanity

It was one hell of a party, y'all. Good lord. Last night (Friday) was chock full of miscalculations. I'm sure I will told more about what happened tomorrow. It was fun, though. It's not often you have a drunk married friend ask, "Which fireman do you want? How 'bout the one in the skirt?" My response: "There's more than one in a skirt. In fact, all but two are in kilts." (Yes, a roving gang of firefighters showed up WITH BAGPIPES to a bar at about 1:30am. Yes, we talked to them. Yes, I looked like an idiot dancing around to said bagpipes.)

Yeah, a lot of crazy stuff went down. And I don't remember all of it (apparently I wrote an email about tatertots at 3am). And it involved so many ounces of beer and a shot of something--I am so stupid, and I think I recall a rum and Diet Coke as well--that I am actually reluctant to log that onto my WW tracker. I'm afraid that putting that much alcohol on my log will trigger some sort of crazy meltdown at WW headquarters, a hand will extend from my computer screen and slap me across the face.

SOOOOOOOOOOOO. I didn't weigh in this morning because 1) I didn't get up until 10:30am (that's 7 solid hours of sleep, people) and 2) my antibiotics are eating my insides. I WISH I had a hangover compared to this! The pharmacist warned me of possible side effects, but this is just...ugh. I felt so ill and rundown that I went back to bed at 1pm and slept for 2 solid hours, which is something that I NEVER do. Someone told me that eating yogurt can help, so I've been downing Yo like a maniac. Hell, I've just been eating anything that looks like it could help.

I would make some daily goals for tomorrow, but everything is contingent upon the tummy settling down. So much for working out 6 days this week.

Things that get to me

FACT: I am an emotional/bored eater. I eat when I'm tired, and since one almost always feels tired when sad, I think that you can see where I'm going with this. Since working out releases endorphins, it helps me stay on plan.



The issue that keeps putting me in a bad mood? The fact that I did not get a summer job through On-Campus Interviewing (OCI). For non-lawyers and non-law students, it's like going through sorority recruitment, feeling like you really connected with several houses, and then not getting even one bid. I'm not as disappointed as I could be; I was a close second on many of the decisions, and I lost out to friends. (Much better to lose out to a qualified, wonderful person than to some of the personality-lacking people you meet in law school sometimes.)



Still, it messed with my self-esteem. And while I love my friends, it definitely sucks to hear them talking about all the parties and goodies the firms lavish on them...while I am still unemployed for the summer.



Anyway, this is only peripherally related to weight loss, so I'll move on: I keep pulling myself up by my bootstraps, working out, taking my antibiotics (OH YES: I found out that I have a sinus infection and have to take these horse pills 3X a day--and even so, I went to kickboxing last night), and doing my thing. I think that counts for something, right?



Daily weigh-in: 153.8 (woo! slowly but surely going down)

Daily goals:

1. Work out with my friends this afternoon.

2. Keep lunch/snack points to a minimum.

3. Drink glasses of water in between the beers tonight.



Tonight is going to be a blast--it's our mid-program celebration since we're halfway done with law school!

American Heart Month

Another good reason to do lots of cardio this month: it's American Heart Month!

Despite the fact that heart-shaped things will be everywhere, I personally will be skipping the boxes of chocolate this month. It's not nice to load one's heart down with fat and cholesterol :)

DOH!

I wrote a post with daily goals, a daily weigh-in, and ruminations about having "resickened." Then Blogger ATE IT.

I don't have time to do it all over again so:
Daily weight: 154.1 (based on scale's wavering between 154.0 and 154.2)
Daily goals:
1. Drink lots of water
2. Go to kickboxing, even if sinuses feel like they're going to explode
3. Keep post-kickboxing meals within points range.

I didn't do push-ups yet today. Why? My sinuses would have gone nuts.

Tired? Yeah, me too.

Last night's kickboxing class was exhausting. I didn't have much energy, and I was paranoid about my knees. I think my fatigue was contagious, because 2 of my friends looked tuckered out during the class, too.

I was shocked to see that my weight dropped a bit: 154.0 lbs this morning. I think it might be some kind of water-related fluke, but it still makes me happy!

Today's plan is for REST. I still have leftover problems from last week's cold, my arches hurt from wearing heels on Monday, and I've worked out 5 days in a row. I might fit a little yoga in if possible, though!

Today's goals:
1. Keep within WW daily points.
2. Go to bed early!
3. Streeeeeeeetch, focusing on calves and hip flexors.

February goals

I love lists. I love goals. Therefore, I love lists of goals!

February:
1. Do at least 1,000 cardio minutes this month.
2. Get back below 150 lbs. 149.9 counts!
3. Do at least 20 pushups and 50 crunches (alternating days).

I'm well on my way, cardio-wise! I've already done 92 minutes since Sunday.

Today, I weighed myself and I'm not quite back to last week's weight. Stupid Super Bowl! 155.2 lbs.

I need heavier weights

I realized tonight that my little 5-pound weights might be adequate for some of the DVDs I do, but they are not getting it done for my arms. Granted, my shoulders are incredibly weak and might get a little tuckered out when I used those, but my biceps are BORED.

Our apartment has a little gym with some weights, and tonight I did hammer curls and some tricep extensions with 15 pound weights. So much better!

I'm going to challenge my roommate to an escalating pushup challenge. Both of us have weddings to go to this summer, and both of us will be wearing sleeveless dresses. The idea: every other day, we try to fit in as many pushups as possible. Today I did 25. Granted, that was on my knees but my arms feel stronger already!

Tomorrow night is kickboxing. I am so happy to be well again and able to go.

Somebody's got a case of the Mondays

Super Bowl + falling off plan = 155.6 lbs.

Today's lunch
Leftover bean-beef tortilla bake
sliced apple
Fiber One bar (if I get really hungry before lunch)

Today's goals
Drink LOTS of water
Do a total of 25 pushups (already did 12 this morning)
Do at least 40 minutes of cardio tonight

Today, I am wearing a ring that my mom's best friend gave me. I call it my "no complaints" ring. My mom's friend is still alive, but she has had breast cancer twice, had her hip replaced and was recently told that the chemo/meds regime she is on is failing to beat back her pancreatic cancer. Despite this, I have never seen her complain. She has been a loyal and wonderful friend to my mom, so when I wear this ring I remind myself, "No complaining today. Just work hard."

Damn brownies

My Super Bowl goals went to hell in a handbasket.

I've already planned out my meals for tomorrow so I'll be back on track as of tomorrow.

Time to regroup

Illness always messes me up. I fall off the exercise wagon, I start eating tons of empty calories, and suddenly I'm in a bad mood and cranky about my possible success.

Why I can do this:
1. I lost 30 pounds before. I can get this new weight off again--I've proven myself before.
2. I have two nights of scheduled exercise a week already. I just need to get people involved in my plans again. (Joined Traineo.com in the hopes that my friends will, too.)
3. I have to. My cholesterol is too high, and I want to have a healthy life.

50 days til Vegas/Spring Break

Every day...scratch that, every day that I remember, I change my screensaver to say "51 more days til VEGAS!" I also keep shots of previous trips to Vegas up as my background to remind me of one of the reasons I work out and eat healthy: POOLSIDE TIME APPROACHES.

Sadly, I'm still tired/stuffed up. I want to curl up on the couch and watch Martha Stewart. I weighed myself this morning, and two days of being off-plan PLUS TOTM = 156.0 lbs. Yesh.

So, my plan for today includes:
1. Cleaning. It needs to be done to get rid of germs, keep me focused, and prevent possible guests from running into the night, screaming about slobs.
2. Apply for a research assistant position. I need the money. And the possible networking that can come from it.
3. Do a light workout: arms and then some light cardio.
4. Pick 2 healthy recipes to take for the Super Bowl party.
5. Pick a healthy recipe for tonight's dinner that uses up some of the things sitting in my fridge right now (leftover low-fat tortillas = crazy lots of possibilities!)

I'm going to do it. Really. I'm going to get up, off this chair.

*Sneezes. Coughs.* Sigh.