Breakfast: Two slices whole wheat toast topped w/pb, fruit spread and banana (260)
Lunch: Lean Cuisine Chicken w/Basil Cream Sauce & baked cheetos (380)
Snacks: Yogurt (80), Gum (10), Popcorn (100)
Dinner: Chicken w/salsa and brussel sprouts (396), Sugar-free jello pudding (60)

Calories: 1281
Exercise: 1.69 mile walk

My calories have been wayyyy too high these past four days! Note to self: no more baking until I reach goal. I baked two loaves of pumpkin cream cheese bread last night which was just a freaking mistake. The recipe makes enough for 2 loaves and I was sending one with my husband to take to work, so I thought the other one would just be for us to nibble on. I cannot do sugar when it is in the house. It is just my worst enemy. Sometimes I can't have just "one" of something because I go into a zombie-trance and hone in on whatever sugary goodness is in the house. Sometimes I'm ok. Like when I brought home two pieces of leftover birthday cake in May, let them sit on my counter for a whole day, and then I ended up tossing them. But last night was a different story. I had one slice of the bread, and then I couldn't stop thinking about it. Then, 30 minutes later I was in a total daze and went back and cut another piece. The whole time I was telling myself in my head "don't eat this!!" but I quickly drowned that voice out by shoving another slice into my mouth. I sent the leftover loaf and the full loaf to work with my husband. I don't know what it is about sugar sometimes. It just really gets a hold of me.

I remember before Christmas I saw a huge box of Nerds at the store...the kind that has like 14 servings...and I ate the whole thing in 2 hours. Not because they were so delicious, but it was literally like the sugar had me in a trance and I kept going into the kitchen, dumping handfuls into my palm, and throwing them back. Not a pretty sight and it reminds me of my binging days. Scary. Anyway, I am not going to bake anything until I've reached goal. It's too tempting to me and I just can't deal with it.

And it was sooooo nice not weighing in this morning. I actually felt relief and it was nice to start my morning not worrying about a number I saw on the scale. I think I just might like this non-weighing thing until July 29th! I just have to make sure I stick within my calories and keep up with my exercise.

Update: I have been obsessing about food today and I think it's partly because I'm PMSing. I was so, so focused on food today. I went to Target over lunch to get a few things, but I meandered over to the food section and was gazing lovingly at all the chocolate and snacky snacks. I actually paused and sighed as I was looking at the gourmet chocolate candy bars. Then in the checkout line I was ogling at the snack packs of gummy fruit snacks, so I threw a piece of gum in my mouth and started smacking away. I went back to work and made myself a chain...a countdown chain made up of colorful paper...like we used to make at home when I was a child to countdown the days until Christmas. Only this one has 22 links on it for each day left until my weigh in on July 29th. I have one in my office and I'm making one for home tonight, too. It will be my reminder that I have a goal to reach and it is important to me, and food is not going to make me feel better whether I am PMSing or just having a normal day. And each day when I leave work I am going to take a link off. And every night just before bed I am going to take a link off. And I am going to stay focused through this PMS haze and keep my eye on the prize. The big, healthy picture.

Breakfast: Two slices whole wheat toast topped w/pb, fruit spread and banana (225)
Lunch: Lean Cuisine Chicken Fried Rice & baked cheetos (390)
Snacks: Yogurt (80), 1 baked chicken tenderloin on piece of wheat bread (98), gum (10), popcorn (100), cheese stick (80)
Dinner: Baked salsa chicken with snap peas (372), chocolate cup (90)

Calories: 1445
Exercise: 2.79 mile walk

Well, one ring was taken off of my weigh-in chain last night and it was nice to see it this morning when I woke up and again at work. It's colorful and it makes me feel happy. Sigh...the little things. It was nice not to weigh-in this morning. I have found that I am not thinking about it at night anymore. During the evening I would think about how much water I was drinking before bed, how much I may have eaten for dinner and would it cause my weight to be heavier in the morning because of the weight of the food, etc. That's just too much of a thought-process related to the scale. It was becoming exhausting. I am glad I made the decision to stop weighing daily. It has calmed me. My PMS on the other hand....

Emme - I agree with 'ya. It's so nice not to be weighing myself now. I feel like I'm focusing more on my eating and exercise instead of the # on the scale and I know this will get me to my goal weight.

Keep up the great work you're doing and when you weigh again, you'll be celebrating reaching your goal.

GettinFit ~ It is nice not weighing daily, isn't it? Today is my usual WI day and it was so nice to just hop in the shower instead of getting on the scale...felt great!

Breakfast: Two slices whole wheat toast topped w/pb and banana, cinnamon cheerios w/milk (347)
Lunch: Lean Cuisine Baked Chicken & baked cheetos (370)
Snacks: Yogurt (80), Gum (10), Fruit Snacks (80), Popcorn (100), 2 Twizzlers (80), Snack bar (140), Cheese stick (80)
Dinner: Chicken sandwich (254), Rice pudding (70)
Party food: Piece of cake, one sloppy joe sandwich (I didn't use a ton of meat), 5 starburst pieces, 2 bud lights

Calories: unsure


The last weight I recorded a few days ago before I stopped weighing daily was 168.4...and it just dawned on me that I am now in the "normal" weight category according to the BMI charts!! Just barely, but I'll take it!

I'm going to a friend's daughter's 3rd birthday party tonight, so I am going to eat before I head over there. I might have a small piece of cake because, who am I kidding, I freaking love cake and I don't have it often. I am also thinking of trying the MGD light lemonade beer (it's like a shandy) which is 64 calories for the campfire my friend is having later after the kids are sleeping. I've heard that it tastes horrible, but everyone's tastes are different, so I guess we'll see!

Small NSV for today: I am PMSing and my food of choice for this month has been those gummy fruit snacks. You know, those nasty little squishy, gummy, nothing-but-sugar snacks? I love 'em. I went to Target a few days ago, saw them, and almost passed out because they were on my radar, but I walked past them hesitantly. I went to Target again today over lunch with full intentions of buying some, but I went to the checkout line and had forgotten about them because I got side-tracked. I get back to work, go to the vending machine, and see that it does indeed have fruit snacks. So, I grabbed $1.25 out of my wallet and told the vending machine before I put my money in (with narrowed eyes, nonetheless) that it better let the fruit snacks fall and that it better not catch the end of the package so it doesn't fall down. It fell down and I was elated. Read the back. 200 calories total for the bag. 2.5 servings total. "Ok, not so bad, I can eat the whole package", I thought (knowing that it actually was bad with my calorie intake...plus, I'm planning to have a piece of cake tonight at a friend's house). But, I've been thinking about them for days thanks to good ol' PMS, so I knew if I didn't have some that I would still be obsessing over them. So, I sat at my desk and ate 1 serving. 10 pieces. And I ate them slowly and savored each one. Then I told myself that was good enough, got up, and gave the rest to our student worker up front who was more than happy to take them from me. So, fruit snacks eaten = accomplished. Not going overboard with calories on said fruit snacks = accomplished.

Hi Emme! Just thought I'd drop by and give you a heads up since last month we were on the same uhhhhh..."schedule". Yesterday TOM took me by surprise...so...looooooook out!

I was wondering why I went on a baking tangent making pies, cookies, muffins...all in the same day!

on reaching a "normal" BMI!!! Won't be long now for goal!!!

You are so funny with the TOM thing! It's totally true...I've been an emotional mess for three days straight now, so I should be any day now.

Glad you are doing so great with maintenance!

Good morning! I just scraped into my "normal" BMI like 2 weeks ago..it's so exciting!!!
Hey if you are thing about an adult beverage....MGD has a lemonade that is 64 calories which I have heard is good. Miller Chill (lime beer) has 100. Mic. Ultra has 95 calories and they have some that is lime, pomegranate, or dragon fruit which I have heard is good. (My summer job is selling adult beverages) Also Jose Cuervo has a lite margateria mix that has a 100 calories...Just some suggestions! Have fun!

Awesome work getting into the "normal" BMI range! It is exciting

Thanks for the tips on the lower-cal drinks...the Miller Chill lime beer sounds interesting. I usually drink Miller Lite and it only has 96 calories in it, so 4 more calories to try the lime wouldn't be bad. And the Mic Ultra dragon fruit sounds good, too! Thanks for the suggestions! I wish I could just buy one bottle of each to see which one I liked best instead of just grabbing a six-pack and hoping for the best...

Breakfast: Two pieces wheat toast w/pb, spread, banana, pieces of cereal (307)
Lunch: Healthy Choice Turkey Breast w/green beans and blueberry crisp (290)
Snacks: Gum (10), Root beer (15), Egg white omelet with cheese (143), Cheerios w/milk (140), Jello sugar-free dark chocolate mousse (delish!!) (60), Popcorn (100)
Dinner: Chicken sandwich on wheat bread, snap peas (410)

Calories: 1475
Exercise: Rollerbladed 3 miles in 20 minutes

Man, this PMS thing has got to end soon! Yesterday was the PMS day to be absolutely famished and I felt like a bottomless pit. Usually when I am non-PMS hungry I can just work through it and deal with it and eat if I am honestly really hungry. But sometimes with PMS hunger, it is uncomfortable, my stomach hurts, and I just feel downright starving. I woke up today starving again, so we'll see how this day goes. I am going to rollerblade today to counteract my eating yesterday and rollerblading burns a ton of calories...I feel like my body is on fire every time I am done blading. Plus, it probably helps that I go 2.5 miles in just under 20 minutes...I fly when I'm on those bad boys!!

Side note: I tracked the new route I take rollerblading and it's actually 3 miles. I think I overworked myself and now I've been nauseous all day. Buh!! I need to slow down a bit on blading because I could tell I was exhausted halfway through. It's just hard when I've got a great pace going...I'll have to tone it down tomorrow.

Breakfast: Two pieces wheat toast w/pb, spread and banana (198)
Lunch: McChicken w/no mayo (310)
Snacks: Gum (10), Snack bar (280), Chocolate Cheerios w/milk (191)
Dinner: Salsa chicken w/brussel sprouts (377), Sugar free jello dark chocolate mousse (60)

Calories: 1426
Exercise: Picked weeds outside in the 90 degree humidity for an hour...good enough for me

Feeling soooo much better today! TOM came last night, so that's probably also why I was feeling so nauseous and exhausted yesterday. I was ready to go to bed at 4:00 in the afternoon. Not good.

Last night I dreamed I was eating one of my all-time favorite desserts...tiramisu. I make a killer tiramisu and I haven't made it in years. I dreamed that I was eating big bite after big bite and it was so delicious and moist and I could taste the espresso soaked into the ladyfingers. It's funny how our subconscious works in our dreams. My mom had been talking about a strawberry tiramisu she tried when she and my dad were in Vegas a few weeks ago...it must have been on my mind!

Aaahhhh...good ol' PMS FOOD DREAMS! You'll be ok now. Enjoy your nap!

Breakfast: Two slices whole wheat toast with pb, fruit spread and banana (252)
Lunch: Lean Cuisine Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes w/baked cheetos (380)
Snacks: Yogurt (80), Gum (10), Popcorn (100), Cheese stick (80)
Dinner: Baked chicken w/laughing cow cheese, asparagus, Chobani raspberry greek yogurt (488)

Calories: 1390
Exercise: W-ogged on treadmill for 2 miles

I ate the last banana from the bunch I had at home and I think I am going to take a break with those. The bananas are packing on an extra 80-100 calories every day, and I tend to be hungrier in the afternoon compared to the morning, so I'd rather use those calories on an extra veggie snack or something to go along with dinner.

My hunger has been all over the place lately. Usually my hunger is better after I start my period, but yesterday was absolutely horrible. I always have hunger pangs and yesterday was probably one of the worst days for it that I have had in a long time. I went to a gastroenterologist a month ago to see if he would know why I always feel like I am starving (I never get a true feeling of "fullness" and my stomach always feels like it is just about to growl and it is soooo uncomfortable...and if I ever do get a feeling of fullness it is because I overly stuffed myself to the point of being sick because it's too late to tell that I was full). He said it could be that my body is just so hyper-sensitive from yo-yo dieting and going up and down with weight that it is just now jacked up...really?! He seemed really confused by what I was describing and he admitted that. He then said it could be an ulcer although he highly doubts it. He ordered an endoscopy for me, but the surgery center isn't on my insurance plan, so I'm not going to do it because I can't afford whatever it's going to cost for it. Then he ordered me some anti-depression meds to see if that would help with the pangs/pains, but I didn't pick them up because: A) I didn't even know he was going to order anything like this for me (I got a call from the pharmacy saying I had a pickup ready and I was like, "um, what pickup?!?!"), and B) after researching the meds it could cause suicidal thoughts, so that's a "no" for me. It's really frustrating and I feel like I am completely alone with this. I googled for info, of course, and a lot of posts are just like, "Don't eat", or "It's just boredom hunger"...no, it's not. I know what boredom hunger and "mind hunger" feel like. It's just so aggravating.

In any case, 18 days until my WI. I am really hoping I can see a 165.8 since my scale weighs with even-ending digits.

Breakfast: Two slices whole wheat toast with all-natural pb and fruit spread (146)
Lunch: Lean Cuisine Chicken Fried Rice and snap peas (380)
Snacks: Chobani greek yogurt w/kashi (157), Gum (5), Popcorn (100)
Dinner: 3 ground turkey tacos (515), sugar free jello pudding (60)

Calories: 1363
Exercise: Blech...nothing...it was 95 and humid today and I got home and started doing projects around the house with the husband

Holy moly, I picked up some Chobani greek yogurt (with fruit) for the first time yesterday and loved it! Mmm...it's a good thing I cut out my banana for breakfast because I'm going to have the yogurt for a morning snack instead of my Dannon Light & Fit yogurt. And I'm mixing in a little Kashi cereal to make it crunchy. I'm a texture girl.

Also, UV vodka makes "cake" flavored vodka. Just found this out yesterday. Cake. Vodka. My white russians will have a whole new meaning! So will pineapple juice, strawberry shortcake drinks, etc...come on goal weight!!!

And I had my husband hide my scale this morning and told him he can't get it out for me until the evening of Thursday, July 28th for my Friday, July 29th WI. I told him to hide it in a good spot...but not so good that he forgets where he put it.

Exercise: Picked weeds outside in the 90 degree humidity for an hour...good enough for me


AMEN!! You and I were on the same wavelength! It always amazes me how fast the weeds grow!

Are you really not weighing yourself till the end of the month? HOLY MOLY! I only weigh once a week but I think I would go through withdrawal if I did not weigh myself until then!