Had oral surgery Monday. Was really out of it yesterday. Trying to catch back up today. So this will be short.

Nici - I ordered a white Russian on NYE. It was AWFUL. Just thought you should know. =) (In all fairness, I am a complete newbie to alcohol, and I have never had coffee, so it's probably a delightful drink for most.)

That's all for today. Hope everyone has an incredible day! Will check back in tomorrow.

Went to body pump today. The gym seemed a little less hectic. I think that had to do with the snow we got overnight. I left early from home, but barely made it in time for the class. Oh boy. I am so much not a snow person. I just look forward to spring. I guess that might be a while yet! Body pump was good. We were going to do flys on the bench (chest workout). I normally use 10 lb dumbbells, but there weren't any left, so I went with the 15 lb ones. I knew I could do it, but I also felt like my arms were going to fall off once I was done. But, overall, good workout.

Still struggling with food plan. I wasn't too far off yesterday, but went a little high. Keep trying....

Nici: Boy, you do have a lot going on right now. I hope your foot is getting better. Living with a mini fridge and small microwave must be tough. I agree with what you said about not looking at past low weights. It is just so frustrating to do that. I know that I'm aggravated that I went up so much. I just hope I can stay out of the 230's at my next weigh in. I hope it goes down, but I've been feeling like I'm retaining water or something. I don't know if it is getting back to harder workouts, so retaining water for muscle repair? I know that it happens, but not excited about it. But really, what is the option? Just have to keep trying to do what is right. Such a battle!!

Laurie: Hope you are getting back to normal after the oral surgery. No fun for you! I'm not much of an alcohol person either, so I probably wouldn't like a white Russian either!! Ha!

Went running last night after work. It was much better than Tuesday, so I was happy. The gym wasn't quite as packed, and I felt a little stronger with my running. Today I went to spin class. It was a very good workout. We had a couple of woohoo girls acting up, but I guess they were having fun shouting out woohoo! I'll never be one of those girls, although there is nothing wrong with it. I'm more of a grunt/gasp type! Ha!

I'm going to go to Body Pump tomorrow and hopefully stay for Body Flow. I haven't done it for a while, so I'm sure it will be challenging.

Nici: Glad you dropped back down to the 30's. That's a plus! Hope you have a good workout!

I'm so tired! It's been a crazy couple of days. My interview was on Wednesday...I feel it went well, I could've played my strengths up a bit more, but we touched on all the major points and I feel like I came out looking like a pretty good choice for the position. Spent the rest of that day studying and went to bed that night feeling like I knew absolutely nothing about nursing lol. Took the NCLEX on Thursday. My test shut off at the 85 question minimum (which is good, but I've heard of people failing at 85 questions and people passing after the max of 205). Anyways, I find out my "unofficial results" tomorrow on the website, and I've been an anxious mess since yesterday. Went home and got drunk off wine after the test out of pure relief. Spent all day today cleaning my closet and then an hour at the gym on the elliptical and bike (I am SO SORE).

I read this book yesterday by Marie Kondo called The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and it's inspired a total apartment makeover for myself. It's so awesome! I got rid of about three garbage bags full of clothes today, and completely organized and rearranged my closet and dresser. Highly recommend! Gonna finish the rest of my apartment tomorrow and Sunday.

Cherry on top: my weight has stayed completely stable! Woohoo! All I can really ask for considering my stress level and eating habits from previously mentioned stress.

Diane: I'm not a woo-girl either. I'm a gasp/grunt/try desperately not to throw up or fall off the bike kind of girl! LOL

Nici: Good progress! And considering all the medical issues you and your family are facing, your progress is that much more impressive.

Laurie: Hope you're feeling better from your oral surgery!

Woke up this morning to half a pound lost, putting me at 261.6. Woohoo! Two hours till I get my results. UGH.

I Did It, I Passed, I'm A Nurse!!!!!!!!

Dread!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!

Not a great weigh in again for me. It is totally on me though. I went up, back into the 230's. I'm owning it though, and I recorded it. I don't really know why, but I had a really off plan weekend. I didn't go work out on Saturday because I was feeling really sore and honestly, just didn't want to face the crowds at the gym. But then, my food choices were unbelievably off. So, there... that's done.

Went to spin this morning, determined to get back to doing things right. I am also going to be diligent in recording my food this week, and I have to see a loss at next weigh in. I'm debating with myself to see if I want to start weighing every day for a while, just to try for more accountability. Might do that.

Nici: Congrats on getting the workout in! That's great! We'll get back on track this week together!!

The boyfriend took me out last night to celebrate my passing NCLEX, and consequently, I've been really, REALLY hungover all day today. There were margaritas and shots involved, along with chips and queso, and then tacos at the end of the night (along with today). Today's food has been tacos and a big ol' bottle of Coke (burns so good). I've refused to weigh myself the last two days because of all the bad choices, but I'm not all that worried about it to be honest. Just gotta get back on track.

And with that in mind, we're going to the grocery store tonight, where I can make some much, MUCH better choices food-wise. Gonna get my act back together tomorrow

Nici and Diane: sounds like all three of us made some iffy choices the last few days lol. Cheers to starting new and fresh again this week!

Good morning! I am all about the iffy choices lately! But you know what? It's only Tuesday. A whole week full of promise.

I only skimmed, and I promise I will get better at regular check-ins and responses now that the craze of the holidays are over. But AMANDA - WOO HOO! I am a little jealous that you got fairly immediate results. I remember the **** of waiting six weeks to find out if I passed the bar exam. =) But I also remember the HUGE relief. What a great accomplishment!

I forgot my gym bag today. I normally keep it in the car, but I had to wash the clothes. And I have some crazy days ahead, so today was really my best hope to escape in the afternoon for some gym time. So, I will just focus on good, relaxed food choices and clearing out some of this work.

Have a great day, everyone!

Ok, so new plan. Well, adding on to existing plan, I guess. I am going to weigh every day. I'll probably update my weight on MFP everyday because I like the graph they have on there. But I probably will only update 3FC and the paper journal I have once a week. I'll let you guys know what's going on, so that I can continue to stay accountable. I sometimes drive myself crazy with my "rules", but it is just how I am and it keeps me disciplined. I'm not one that can fly by the seat of my pants and be successful. I saw a loss this morning, so that was good. I had gone up 2.6, but I was down 1.6 this morning. Who knows what the fluctuation is. I'm just moving on.

Went to body pump this morning. Good workout. I also did well on calories yesterday, so that's a plus. One day at a time! I'm planning to go to the gym after work to run. It's so cold here today, I'll have to keep focused so that I go, rather than running home to my couch and blanket.

Nici: Good job on the workouts and keeping on track! And thanks for the positive attitude. That helps!

Laurie: Dang it! Too bad you have to wash the clothes! But, sounds like you'll do well anyway, even if you don't get to the gym.

Amanda: You deserve the celebration time! Now you can get back to good eating again!

Alright ladies...it sounds like we're out of our collective "iffy choices" slump and we're all getting right back on track! Congrats, team! lol

Went grocery shopping last night and bought a crap-ton of healthy, good foods for me to eat instead of junk food. By the time I got out of the store, it was late and the boyfriend didn't want to cook anymore, so we just got some fast food (womp womp). BUT TODAY! Today I ate a bowl of Cheerios and milk for breakfast with a banana, and I'm making a roast chicken in the crockpot to eat for dinner. It's seasoned with some butter, salt, pepper and poultry seasoning and I want to cut it up/shred it for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow. Feeling pretty good about these choices so far. All my workout clothes were still dirty, so they're getting washed right now. As soon as they're done, off to the gym I go!

And to top it all off, I showed up on the Texas Board of Nursing website today! I'm an official nurse now, complete with my own license number!

Laurie: Haha, thanks girl. I legit just stared at my computer for like half an hour, reading and re-reading my results to make sure I wasn't hallucinating a "Pass" result. Then my best friend called me crying because she was so happy, and then I cried out of joy and just sheer relief LOL. If it wasn't for the online quick results and the online license registry, I would have to wait six weeks also! I can't even imagine!!

Nici: Way to break the cycle! Great job!!! You've totally got this! And super congrats on the new low for 2016

Diane: I'm the same about rules. I have to write them all down too, so they seem more real! MFP is great, but I've really only been using it for weigh tracking lately. I really need to start putting in my meals again. As a matter of fact, I think I'll do that now.

Ok, down another 1.2, so that took care of whatever happened over the weekend with the 2 pound gain... I must have been retaining water or something to make it jump like that. Who knows?! I'll never get this figured out, haha! I do think the daily weigh ins will help me for now. I am paying attention to it a lot more now. Or maybe, I hope, I'm turning the corner and am really back on track. One day at a time. I did well with calories yesterday.

I went running after work last night, even though the gym parking lot was packed. The treadmills were not completely full, so not a problem. It went much better last night. I finally felt like I could run without feeling like I was going to die. My husband thought that now I can see that even if I fall off a little bit, it isn't as hard to get it back as it was to get there in the first place. Maybe. Oh, and I went to spin this morning. Such a workout! Feeling good!

Nurse Dread: Congrats! What a great accomplishment! And now you are buying healthy food and cooking what sounds like a great chicken dinner! Yum. I do like MFP for keeping track of everything.

Nici: Good job on the workouts! And don't compare to others! Although I know what you mean. Last night, I was feeling pretty good about my run and had about 5 minutes left when this very tall, fit, lean, maybe 20 year old guy got on the treadmill next to me. He started running, way faster than me, but his stride was so incredible. He had these long legs and he made running look effortless. I kept looking over at him just because he was amazing to watch. So, I finished and took my short, choppy stride and went to stretch out. Ha!

Another quick check-in. I am off my gym game, and totally overwhelmed by work. But in a good way. Cuz I am being productive and feeling great about it.

Diane - Woot on the running improvement, and on the continuing consistency at the gym. I know that I say that a lot, but I never want to let it seem commonplace. Your level of commitment is definitely not commonplace.

Amanda - I had to print out the results and circle my name to convince myself that I had actually passed. Yay great food choices and prep! I need to get back there.

Nici - I LOVE "competing" with other gym goers. Not that I can win against most of the regulars, but I can "win" something -- even if it's just to push harder for 30 seconds. I find it very motivating to focus on the little victories, cuz it makes me try harder and feel good about myself, and that's what the gym is for.

Made bad food choices just now. And I had planned on coming on here and reporting that I was out of control. But I am glad I am here because I had to think it through. I am not really. I am just struggling to get to the gym, and ate cookies with lunch (and ate lunch, which I typically skip). I am not out of control. And things get better when I make good planned choices. So, for dinner, I will eat something reasonable. See? Easy peasy.

Have a great day, my peeps! And Diane, I LOVE that you're calling Amanda "Nurse Dread." If I read back, I would probably find out why. (Assuming it's more than the obvious - her new status as an "official" nurse and her username.) But regardless of why, it's just fricking awesome.

Bahahahahaha, I love my nickname, Diane! Laurie, you're exactly right, it's my "officialness" and my name is all lol. So far I've been called Nurse Dread, Nurse Panda, and Nurse Ratchet (LOL). I love it.

The chicken was amazing. Came out half between roasted and boiled, and sooooo delicious. I shredded it and we added it to some pasta, spinach and alfredo sauce for a quick dish. Went light on the sauce and pasta, and heavy on the spinach and chicken, so it came out to a decently healthy meal.

The scheduler position I interviewed for didn't work out, but I just got a call for an interview on Monday morning for a nursing position at an adult day care center! It's a Monday thru Friday, 8-5pm job; this probably means less pay, but the hours are to die for so I'm willing to make that trade.

Nici: I have a love/hate relationship with comparing myself to other gym-goers and "competing" with them. For instance, if a cute skinny chick gets on the elliptical next to me, I make it a point to stay on it longer than them. Makes me feel better about my workout. But when I go with my boyfriend? UGH. The guy freaking looks like a gazelle when he runs, it's ridiculous. I hate him the entire hour we're at the gym. Especially because he only goes when I go. I love him but he drives me crazy with his naturally in shape physique!!! Good job on making your workouts more efficient!

Diane: Sounds like you got some awesome workouts in! Good job on the loss, even if it is just water weight. It sounds like you really are back on track, with watching your calories and getting gym time in!

Laurie: It's so hard to not see things as all-or-nothing and black-and-white, but I'm glad you realized it wasn't as bad as you originally thought it was! Planning your dinner is the first step to gently correcting course. There is absolutely nothing better than feeling productive!!