Hey everyone!

Everytime I don't get on here on wednesdays I feel like I've missed SO MUCH. It's crazy how much goes on when you miss one day of posting.

I'm so not a fan of those 100 calorie packs. I know I'd just eat three or four packs if I had them around, no way one would satisfy me! Plus they're just a lot of extra garbage... like individually wrapped hot dogs. When your problem is stopping eating, the fact that you have 100 calories worth of cookies in a pack won't stop you from reaching for another pack.

Today was a good day. Although I went out biking and was out for way longer than I'd planned on being, so I got back here and was so famished that I was shaky (low blood sugar I'm supposing...). I ended up eating a bunch of food because of it. But I fortunately didn't eat too, too much, and I'm feeling okay now.

Alright, I'm off to try and convince my roommate to go for a run. It'll be a good run.

Man I feel like I miss everything just by being asleep!

Who was it worrying about the new scales? Hikerchick? Well if you've done everything right, like eat right, exercise etc then you really don't need to worry too much about the ACTUAL figure on the scale. You KNOW you haven't messed up, you know you've been doing the process correctly, and at this stage in tha game I think that concentrating on doing stuff right is more rewarding than hopping on that damn scale every day! Make a chart where you tick off "good days" or On Plan days if you like - I have one for my exercise and I might just add an extra column for my eating, like, did I feel I ate only when I was hungry... etc etc.

I had a good 2 hours kickboxing last night, worked fairly hard and enjoyed myself. BOY was it good to be back in the swing of things! And the classes were good too. I'm really glad about that, because some weeks it's just like going through the motions.

My eating was pretty good overall yesterday - I probably ate a little too much when I got home, but I was probably famished from training. I definitely didn't eat until I was over-full.

Today I've got the gym planned after workies, then a nice sleep methinks! I'm up early for a grading. All the students are testing tomorrow (or at least all who want to get belts) and I will be judging Then DH and I are off to a wedding.

Good Morning!
I don't think I have much of note to say this morning. Just that I'm up and getting ready for work. Today, I will not leave my lunch bag at home.

I've been thinking about charts too. I should be taking better care of my skin and my teeth.

I thought I had a pretty good day yesterday, but the scale said differently this morning. I managed to not drink any wine, either! This morning, I'm not hungry at all. I'm going to pack an extra snack for work cuz I know I won't make it until lunch on just my apple.

This weekend, I'm going to plan a lot and get back on track. Although I wanted to make my Easter challenge goal, it doesn't look like it is possible at this point. But if I can just break 140 by then, I'll be happy.

Good morning all!
I can't be trusted with any sort of baked goods in the house, unless they're hidden and I forget about them (rare), so those 100 calorie packs are out for me. When people don't recognize the struggle of keeping a healthy diet and exercise I wonder a) does it come naturally/have they mastered it already, b) are they fooling or c) do they not realize how poorly they eat?

I might not always exercise the best or eat properly but my skin!!!! is something I never cease to take care of. Even if I stumble home at 5 in the morning, I wash my face before falling asleep. SusanB, I've found that if I drink 2.5-3L of water a day my skin positively glows. (You mentioned skin and teeth, which is what made me start yammering on about it....)

Also, good luck on breaking through that "darn" 140, Allison. It's the toughest number I've had to drop. Grrrr. I know you can do it

Ilene, what concert did you see??

My biggest problem is that I HAVE gone below it!! I was 136 at Thanksgiving. Today I woke up to 143. It is quite discouraging to say the least! I'm going to do a lot of planning this weekend and I hope to see 139 by Easter.

Hmm, the strangest thing happened to me.

Let me start the story first:
Every Thursday night (but just for two more weeks until the end of the semester!!), I drive home after my last class, which ends at 4:20. I try to have a snack just before my class ends (yesterday, blackberries), but the drive is 2.5 hours, so by the time I get home around 7, I am always famished.

DH wanted to go out to eat, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to learn how to "relax" about calorie counting. Unfortunately, I didn't have a snack before we left the house, and we went to an upscale steakhouse where we didn't have a reservation. It was around 8 before we sat down.

Caught up in both my hunger and the atmosphere of the restaurant (plus always loving to be home after leaving DH for two days!), I ate like crazy. Half a baugette, a baby arugula salad with crisped bacon and egg (and dressing, though I had asked for it on the side!!), about 5 oz. of filet (cooked in butter, no less), garlic mashed potatoes, and chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert. This meal was FANTASTIC, and I don't regret it a bit.

All the eating must have put me in a little bit of a binge mode because I did have some Easter candy when I got home and we were watching television -- about 1.5 servings or less (though still around 300 calories!).

A *bad* calorie day to be sure, but I did want to learn how to enjoy treat meals. (It was just the Easter candy that was truly inexcusable in my eyes.)

But now the strange thing: I could barely sleep last night. My body felt so gross. I wasn't have any stomach issues, but I just felt like I was weighed down with food. Even this morning, I felt terrible. I puttered around the house and drank lots of water to flush my system.

I went to run, did some Turbo Jam, and had a light breakfast (Kashi cereal). Now I'm back to feeling great! Apparently, I'm going to have to learn ways to lighten my meal next time DH wants something big. I think my body is rejecting heavy food, and I want to KEEP it this way. The longer I can stay in my "new" body, the less likely it is I will fall back to bad habits!!

I'm going to try to keep calories low today, because I have another "treat" meal tomorrow for a friend's bridal shower. I should be able to make better choices at lunchtime though, and I'll make sure that I'm not starved before I go.

Oh, and the scale said I didn't gain any weight (at least from Monday), so hopefully I can get down a pound or so before I weigh in again Monday morning.

That's good news poppins that your body is acting as an alarm system. "danger, danger" it screams at you . And good job for listening!

OK well I really don't care about the scale. Its more that dang little armadillo I want to walk him down the trail of glory. OK I am a total nit wit. Still I got on my almost totally defunct scale and it said 160! Cool huh?

But if I move my tracker now I very well may have to move it back.

It is just the silliest little dilemma. I am a total sucker for positive reinforcement. It works 100 percent for me.

I have been so completely on plan almost all of the time. Totally obsessive when I get my mind set on something. Its just how I am. I don't so much have to worry about cheating now and then for me its all or nothing and as long as the switch is on I am ok. Now I just have to keep it on forever and so far everything feels doable long term so I am not so worried.

My big challenge is not getting into hyper perfectionist mode and then getting all deflated. Thats one of the reasons I set the old ticker at 145 I wanted a nice conservative number. I haven't been 145 since college but I know its not super thin. I am glad I did too since now I am planning on putting on a ton of muscle so 145 might actually be more thin that I originally thought. But you see there is that little perfectionist coming out. You see how I do that to myself. Still it is helpful in some respects to have that kind of drive. As long as I can "stay the course" That is always my biggest challenge.

Ilene I love your new ticker. (is it new?...sometimes I am a little slow on the uptake) Way to go for keeping yourself accountable.

I think the best thing about 3fc is that there are so many long term members and it gives you a great reality check that weight management and fitness is a lifelong process not something that you can complete in a week or a month or a season but something that you do forever.

OK I think I had a little too much coffee this morning. You may all now talk amongst yourselves

This week, I haven't felt like eating much ~ it's the medicine I'm on, it decreases my appetite. I've been under 1,000 calories for the last 5 days (I know, that's too little and I need to make myself eat more) So yesterday I ate a third meal instead of my usual two with pile of 'healthy' walnuts and still ended the day under 1,000.

My good eating and excerise during last week's vacation plus this week's low calories has taken two more pounds off. Usually, I only weigh myself on Wednesdays, but I felt compelled to this morning and was rewarded with another pound below goal. It looks like I might hit my secret wish goal of 105 after all. The lowest I ever was, was 103 on a starvation diet when I was in my twenties. That lasted about a day. 105 felt really good and is only three pounds away from now. So again, I'm not going to do anything different than I've been doing this month. If it happens great, if not, I still feel terrific.

Today, DH and I are going to take our bikes over to the Pine Barrens and bike on the dirt paths. The roads around our house don't have enough space on the sides to bike safely as the cars go whizzing by at 40 mph and faster.

Allison ~ you've been struggling to get under 140 for weeks now. It must be very frustrating. Maybe you're body just needs to be at this weight for a while and later it will be ready to lose again.

Everyone ~ I can NEVER eat just 100 calories of a snack pack no matter that it's individually wrapped. It doesn't matter if it's a sugar or salt treat. Either makes me want to continue to eat until the whole box of snack packs are gone. The ONLY way for me to control myself around them is to not eat the first one. Please pass me a carrot, thank you.

Poppin3 ~ Anne over on Maintainers made a great post about eating out

"Some strategies I use:

"Try not to go to restaurants too often, usually for a special occasion.

"Try to go to a reastaurant that publishes nutritional information on the web and make a choice before I get there.

"Send the bread/chips that come before the meal away.

"Order seafood, which tends to be healthier and come in smaller portions.

"Avoid cream sauces, and ask if unsure. Look for marinara/tomato sauces on pasta.

"Order dressings, sauces, butter, sour cream, etc on the side. Ask what comes on the sandwiches.

"Ask if I can substitute something else for french fries (which usually come with a sandwich).

"Don't assume a salad is low cal, and always get dressings on the side.

"Ask how things are prepared: grilled, steamed, fried, etc, and if they have any sauces/dressings/butter added.

"Eat only about half a typical restaurant entree, maybe less.

"Eat all the vegetables first, to help fill up and remove temptation to overeat the entree.

"Do not eat dessert unless I know exactly what I'm getting--some scrawny restaurant desserts can run up to 2000 calories each!!

"Unless I know exactly the calories, assume I've had way more than I think I have, because it is almost impossible to correctly estimate portion size and amount of oil/butter the kitchen adds."

That's good advice, Carolyn (and Anne!).

After that dinner, I didn't even bother trying to record my calories. I knew it was ridiculous -- I'm just glad I didn't go up at all on the scale this morning.

But, I got right back on the horse this morning.

One of the big problems is that DH and I go out to eat all the time, usually to restaurants for which I can't find info. That's just part of how we live, so I'm going to have to find a way to make it work for me -- saying no to bread, chips, and dessert and ordering things plain is a great plan. I'm also motivated to be more careful at the meals I can control!

Hi dears. I'm home from a wierd shift. It was fine up until about 2:30 then got nutty. Yuck.
Anyway, I'm tired. I ate a few cookies and now I'm sipping wine. DS said he'd get pizza for supper so I'm gonna play it by ear. I've got good stuff and I'm not hungry so ...

Carey ... the truth is ... I've never taken very good care of myself at all. But somehow, eating well and exercising begets the other stuff. If I'm going to be thinner and fitter, I might as well be heathy skinwise and orally hygenic as well. Who knew that deciding to lose weight would be such a totally evolving experience?

Susan!!! You deserve the best care in the world, you were the first person who really befriended me on this website and I'm really glad that you want to take good care of yourself

You, too, huh? Recently I looked back at my first couple of posts, and there was our wonderful SusanB giving me advice!!!!

Oh honeys! I tried to take a quick nap but someone came to the door. I was crusty! But you've made me feel sooo much better. Thanks.

BTW ... neither one of you is hard to be nice to. I appreciate you both very much.

DH tries so hard. He just came home with Organic Kraft Mac & Cheese.