QOTD: Do you have a cheat day?

I don't have a cheat day, but usually once a month I go out to dinner with friends and order something not OP, but not crazy off plan. I'll have a glass of wine with my meal too. I'm staying away from desserts because the sugar makes me feel like crap and getting a taste of it makes me want MORE! I never realized how closely I resemble an addict when it comes to food. Example, I've hidden food, I've binged on food, I've lied about food, I've blown money on food, all kinds of addictive behaviors. I don't go to OA because I don't believe in their whole philosophy, but I definitely agree with food becoming an addiction. To be honest it scares me because I am always afraid I'm going to end up like most addicts and relapse. I'm not in my 20's anymore and at 42 if I don't control this now....I WILL end up with diabetes and heart disease and high blood pressure and whatever else. I'm doing well now, but I'm always afraid.

Same here. Cheat days far too easily turn into cheat weeks unless you are in a restricted environment with accountability, like a BL ranch!! I've heard recommended that you don't do more than a cheat meal. For me, that would be going out to eat once a week and like Missing, getting what I want but not throwing the plan off track. I know that even eating healthy, teh volume is likely more than I would normally take in at home. I can't do the sugar either. Or pizza, omg, pizza is so a trigger food for me - I taste that and immediately reach for my coke to go with it. Terrible.

Oh, and Tee, I think you may have strep. If you get a fever, go get a test.

That does sound like strep to me as well, tee...take care of yourself, maybe get to the doctor. I don't think strep goes away on its own, does it?

I allow myself one day a month that i can not count my calories and have things that I've been craving for awhile, though I still try to stay away from sugar because it has consequences beyond that one day. I take this day on holidays, a birthday party, wahtever the big day is that month. then I consider it a holiday over and get back on plan. Sometimes it works and I get back to it, other times I don't...but have to say, the times it turns into more than one day event, I am already struggling to begin with. When I am going strong and feelign good I can take this day and be back to normal the next day. I find I lose a little more those weeks as well.

QOTD: I heard that last night on BL also. Was it a *cheat meal* or a *cheat day* the contestants get? I thought it was a cheat meal following their weigh-in day. Either way though, I don't have any cheats planned. I have too many little cheats and slip-ups along the way that I don't allow myself that specific reward. If I could remain totally OP (I'm usually under my total calories for the day, but end up with too much carbs or fat than what I'm going for)

Like Lisa (missingmyerica - that is your name right? I see it in your blog link and blog title) and Theresa are talking about, I also need to get off of all sugar. It's been a long time since a blow-out sugary binge, but it's the little bites here and there that slow my weight loss down.

It does sound like strep, Anna. Sucks.

Jordan - I just got them at the local grocery store in the ethnic/japanese section. They come in a plastic bag inside of a smallish box - kinda the size of mac&cheese box. I've heard that you can get whole wheat ones at whole foods or through amazon though. BTW - we didn't like the shrimp. I often don't like "substitute" foods - like when something is supposed to be fried and isn't. I would have been better off just boiling the shrimp and having them with cocktail sauce which I LOVE.

I want to stay a chat more, but I gotta get going on my day.

Morning Chicas!

Normally I would have been on here at 8 am sharp but I had to go to the doctor again this morning! I have been coughing for the past week and last night it got so bad that I was coughing hard enough to puke. So I went to the doctor and I have the beginnings of bronchitis. (Which I already knew... I just have to have a signature to get meds. God Bless WebMD.)

So I'll be stuck on Tussanex and Zethromax for the next 10 days.

Thank you all for the kind words and asking me to still weigh in. I really appreciate it. I still think I'm going to sit that portion out though. I was watching a Joel Osteen sermon on my iPod Touch at the doctors and he was talking about setting goals. I have a long term goal to be 135 lbs and a short term goal to be 182 since thats my 10%. But he said that a goal or dream is only half made if you only set the goal, but don't have a plan of action. This is the stage I'm at right now. I have goals. They are written all over the place, but I don't have a plan to guide me to that goal.

Its not like I'm going anywhere! Heck I still have to be here to run the challenge cause I know no one else wants that workload!

Today's really going to be slow since I have to sacrifice my lunch hour for the time I missed this morning. I just have some piddly things to take care of work wise and then I'm free to finish homework or read... whatever tickles my fancy til 5 or an order comes in. I took my finals last night in human resources and got an A so I'm pleased with that. My teacher was giving me a ration of crap about my attendance since my college is so anal about it. I had to miss the first week of class because I was in Richmond and I know thats not excusable. But she's also docking points from my attendance grade where I was out of class for strep throat. Can she do that if I had a legal doctor's note? I don't think she can but she said she'd have to check the school policy. If she gives me a low grade in that I'm going to petition it. I don't risk getting anything lower than a B, but still ya know?

Well a customer just called and I need to get his invoice ready. TTYL!

I think it is just season-change. I am draining like crazy. My guess would be that I am just draining so fast that I cannot keep up. Especially since I cannot swallow.

Four aspirin DID make it possible for me to drink something.

Oh, you have hit one of my peeves. I cannot stand the idea that adults are CHOOSING to go to college, and yet some micro-managing, stage hog wants to have your rapt, compulsory attendance. I always knew which classes I needed to attend and which one were nothing but some prof parroting the book. As a grown-up, I am responsible for my own grade. If you cannot hold my attention, that is YOUR problem. I know what I need to do to get the grade I want, and if I choose to skip class to my own detriment, why should anyone care? My actions have consequences. I own that, so let me make my own choices!

Prof: Please come and validate my existence. If you aren't here, I am not important. I am so smart and so wonderful, you should WANT to hear what I say, but since I am not able to make you want to be here, I will punish you for making decisions that are available to adults in any setting but this one.

I generally give myself 1 day where I just have a litle extra (you know 1 extra starch, 1 extra fat). Other than that I try to stick to plan, but that gives me the opportunity to go out once a week and have a little more than normal.

So, is it okay with the team if I still come here and chat? My day just didn't feel quite right with not coming here this morning and posting. I hate knowing that I'm not "technically" a part of the team.

I've been tired, depressed, anxious, stressed,achey and just not feeling 100%like myself lately. This had made staying on-plan almost impossible. Then, a few minutes ago, I realized that I have the classic symptoms of menopause and hormone deficiency. A couple of months ago, I made the decision to stop taking two of my hormones as I thought they might have been the cause of my achey knees and swollen ankles. Well, my achey knees and swollen ankles are still happening, however, I never started taking the creams again. This is what I get for self diagnosing. I'm going to start taking the hormones again and see what happens. I'd bet money in Vegas that my symptoms improve within a week. Menopause sucks!

QOTD: I've never managed to follow my calories closely enough throughout the week to feel like I was allowed a cheat meal. I tend to get in trouble with the cheat meals, unless they are 100% planned and I am feeling 100% in control of myself. Did anyone notice that Bob said something about "they can have another scoop of macaroni and cheese?" Sounds like their idea of a cheat meal is not my idea of a cheet meal!

Hope everyone is having a great on-plan day.

I posted my weight loss for this week. I have to say that I had a HORRIBLE Saturday. It wasn't that I ate bad, it was that I really didn't eat. I was SO busy doing stuff that other than a light breakfast and a Luna Bar, I didn't eat anything and before I knew it it was 10pm and too late to be eating.

That being said, I posted a 3.4 lbs loss I guess my getting back on track Sunday was enough to keep my losing.

For those who want to dropout of the Challange, I say please stay. To me this is about us, not about winning. If you are planning to leave for "us" the team, stay, we are here for you. If you need to leave for you, we will understand and hope you stick around to chat, because we need you too.

Hope to hear from everyone this week. It is one of the great parts of my day to sign-in and see all my sisters (and 1 brother) out there in this battle to become healthy.

He said go on and have that scoop of mac and chesse...sounding like it's something you only eat on a cheat meal, period. Yeah, one scoop wouldn't be a cheat to me. I dont' like boxed mac and cheese anyway, but do make it from scratch with whole wheat noodles and have a little if I have the calories...but on a cheat meal i would eat more than scoop

Now, he did say that after WI they get a "Cheat day" but as he talked it was explained more like a cheat meal...he said something like "where they can have something (or did he say a meal?) they don't normally get" something like that, so I think to them it is a cheat meal, but he did say cheat day.

QOTD:
Do you have a cheat day each week? If you have one, how do you keep from going crazy and having an 8000-calorie day? How do you feel about the idea of cheat days? Would that motivate you or throw you off your game?

Morning Blues! Just time for the QOTD today. Aren't you glad? Anyway, I allow myself a cheat weekend every month or so. Because I still log everything into FitDay, I never go crazy enough to have an 8,000 calorie day. Actually, I don't think I've broken 3000 calories on a cheat day yet . When I cheat, my sodium and fat levels sky-rocket like crazy though!

OK, I lied, two quick personals...

Rhonda: We certainly don't mind you staying with your team. TBL is more than the number we post in the weigh-in thread, right? We've all been saying that all along. Plus, if you read back a few posts, you'll see that you're still getting personals, woman. Stay for the support, and stay to support us.

Nori: Sorry my reply took forever. I've been belly dancing since I weighed 286lbs. Oh wait, that's my point of reference, not yours . I started dancing in October 2006. I keep bouncing around the idea of moving out of California, but I don't want to move away from my troupe. That's how much I love the dancing and them! Class and rehearsal tonight !

OK, off to work. Good thing I'm the supervisor, or I could get written up for being tardy, which I'm definitely going to be, because I have to stop at Starbucks, and I have to get my lunch together and I have to put everything in FitDay before I go (not in that order). Yikes, better stop yakking! Bye Blue chicks!

Have a Smurferriffic Wednesday!!


- Sonja

Rhonda if you don't come and chat we will all shrivel and wilt!!!

I'm sorry I can't post more today. My kids are all battling various stages of a tummy bug and I'm swamped with laundry and icky diapers and pedialyte.

OK, I had to go figure it out. According the the Team WI thread, when you add up Blue's loses for each of the 8 weeks, you get (drum roll)

363.7 lbs

I think that is fairly good motivation ... don't you all

That is more than any other Team for pounds (may not make the percentage, but ...). I think that is a GREAT accomplishment!