Challenges and triumphs
 

Ill start with the triumph. It may seem small, but it is the start of something big for me. I hadn't actually gotten myself to the gym since last semester. I have exercised, just outside of the gym. I know that once I start going to the gym, I continue and do better with exercise and diet. Today, even after everything seemed to be going wrong, I got myself to the gym. Yay!

The gym is under construction right now, so when I get there, the cardio room is closed and all the equiptment is on a basketball court that's covered by a tarp. They seem to have forgotten the treadmills. :mad: I had planned to do 20 min of running(more walking with a little jogging and turning bright red), 20 min on the stair climber, and 20 min on the bike. So I changed my goal to 20 min on the stair climber and 40 min of bike. I made a mini goal to not use my arms on it at all for the whole 20 min. Have you all seen people supporting themselves entirely with their arms because it makes it easier? Thats what I was going to try to avoid. I felt pressured the whole time by the speeds of the girls next to me. They were going so fast, but they were holding themselves up with their arms, so I convinced myself that I was doing more even though it was at a slower pace. I almost died, but I made it the whole 20 min without using my arms!!!:carrot:

After a great workout, I was driving home planning what heathly dinner I was going to have only to arrive home to my sister surprising me with a meal. Steak and spaghetti. Its not done cooking, but it is what is for dinner. How do you deal with difficult eating situations? I think I am going to add a big salad and eat small portions of the steak and spaghetti. The sauce looks great with lots of veggies, so thats good. I guess Im looking for advice on how you roll with the punches when it comes to eating situations?

Hmmm. I made some good choices today, I think.

They were handing out chocolate snacks in the metro today. They gave me two, and I only ate one. I'm glad I was able to do that. Honestly, they weren't that good. There was a time I would have just eaten them both anway.

Looks like we both had a great day!

I didn't buy junk food at the caf, just a black coffee. I'm glad, the caf is often a real temptation, especially when I'm stressed about grades and wan't to seek out food to feel better.

And - I did my exercises! I've been procrastinating doing the videos, but I am so glad I did!

I think you're just going to have to tell your sister straight out what you can and can't eat. Of course the sentiment is much appreciated and I think you were made a great decision with portion control. Sometimes people unconsciously sabotage you and sometimes they mean well and just don't realize what they're doing. My dad is the WORST for this.

:)

I have the same problem...eating what other people cook.. I keep my calories throughout the day fairly low so that I can enjoy my moms dinner to some extent... I dont eat certain things and she trys to help by not using butter and what not... Most of the time though I just practice some good portion control :)

I have learned that if i want to stick to my diet i have to be the girl that always brings a salad that i know i can eat to dinner parties in case everything else is unhealthy. I also find myself making two different dinners each night: one for my BF (who likes pastas and cream sauces) and big salads or soups for myself.

since she is your sister, maybe you can tell her you are on a diet and those things aren't on it.

i think you had a pretty great game plan. if you had a normal portion size of the steak that's actually fine for you, especially if it was broiled or grilled. loading up on the veggies and salad is excellent. and most pasta sauces are simple tomato sauces and pretty much guilt-free. it's the spaghetti that would have gotten me! :0)

also, i can totally relate to "avoiding dinner at mom's" and "making a 2nd dinner for the BF"

Actually, steak is pretty darned healthy once you remove the fat (unless she fried it in butter). The lean meat is very satisfying and there are only like 400 calories for an entire 6oz slab. So that plus salad is a perfectly healthy meal.