Here's how I stand on the challenges. Today, Monday, will be:
Day 17 on caffeine
Day 17 on crunches
Day 9 on journaling
I have no pause days left for any of the challenges so I better get my act together if I'm going to make this trio a success! The training wheels are off..it's ride or crash and burn!!
Confession time -- I kind of threw a silent, pained tantrum yesterday and overate and went off on the sugar. I wrote it all down and looked at it afterward in dismay but that didn't stop me from continuing to do it. It may have slowed me down though...today I feel horrible, my face is swollen from the sugar and I feel truly ill. It wasn't that much. I used to do much, much more. Still, it means I may have undone a day or two's work.
Nonetheless, I will carry on and hope to get a good workout in today at the gym.I realized before, forgot, and am realizing again when I hear people talking about my "pride in accomplishments" that a lot of the problem is that I DON'T feel anything special about my "accomplishments." Having been raised in quite an authoritarian environment, where the striving for extremely high standards was just a given and no cause for praise of any sort has no doubt left me pretty lousy at feeling good about things. About the best feeling I get is NOT feeling bad. For all my childhood I was singled out by the school sand the family, seen as talented and had great things expected from me, which gained me nothing but feelings of pressure and jealousy from most others. Anything I did was taken as...."interesting, you are as we thought, now show us what more you can do....." I was battered with a barrage of tests and had to rattle off long strings of numbers forward and back and all sorts of other crap. All I wanted to do was play in the woods and with my animals.... The result was that from an early age I started to rebel at the expectations by intentionally NOT doing my best. I think much of this stays with me today and I think it always will. I wish people would keep their hands out of young people's lives, but heck, things were different back in the '60s.
Anyhow, what I'm saying is that it is extremely hard for me to stick with something once I DO start seeing success. It's like I don't want the attention, nothing good ever came of it and I guess I'm afraid subconsciously that nothing good ever will. Sigh. But, I must keep reminding myself to just DO IT and bear the consequences, for good or for bad.
Well, now, moving on after that little bit of unsolicited and very likely unwanted self-analysis...
curly -- You're almost through yet another round of the challenge. You are so steady....not the shooting star type like me!
(Actually, shooting star sounds too nice...it's more like a one of those fireworks that fizzles before the big bang...)CBETA -- You really have to be less attentive to the scale. Okay, in this case it looked good and yes, I doubt very much that you would have gained any real fat from the party, as you sound like you did great. BUT, true weight gain and loss takes time and is certainly not going to be reflected in the next day or two unless you really gorge. It's consistency over the long run that will get you where you want to go. Allowing your actions to be measured by every little fluctuation of the scale can have your emotions strung along like a fish on a line. Be careful!
Apple -- Snow shoeing! Cool! I've never done that. Now, that will really burn calories! PMS is such a pain, I really get irritated over the way women have to deal with chemicals playing havoc with your emotions...as if we didn't have enough emotionally havoc causing things to deal with. It makes us much more stable though, though we look less stable. Women must be much better philosophers...why is that you only hear about male philosophers...oh, yeah, right...I know why....better not go there....I'm glad you're doing well on your challenge Apple. I am sitting here wishing I were in front of the Super Bowl. Enjoy the Bowl suds!
Go Steelers!!!Tayja -- Only a bit more for you to go. Hope you find some energy or that it finds you! Good luck!
chai -- Those early rising wannabes are kicking your butt, aren't they?!
But, at least you keep trying. Remember with the measurements, that it does take a while for our skin to tighten up. I notice that when I'm losing weight I initially look grosser and only later tighten up, just like PMS time, when extra fluid makes you all jiggly! I hope you do get exercise in because that's the best thing for tightening up and getting rid of the sags. Go for it! 
Yeah, I hear you on the accomplishments. If you read above you can see where I'm coming from with that, but I'm trying to undo the stuff from long ago. I tell you, it ain't easy, probably because a lot feels so right. 
Sushi -- Were you able to get the running in, or is that still to come? You can do it...if you've been hiking...12-15 mins of running will be a cinch for you....it may be painful...but you can do it!
carla -- You are amazing, taking on a boot camp challenge like that! Hope it goes well. You should at least meet some interesting people, no? Now, what is this March trip? I must have missed that...glad you got a sitter. That's always a problem for me. Luckily, I have an ex-boyfriend who is a sweetie and has come in for mine. Now, with four cats! it's going to be even tougher...sigh.
Where have some of our people gone?? Where is our newest member, Dragon? draggin' that you know what of yours, are you? Get in here and tell us what's up!!
JCT, you out there? Hope to chat with you soon! tia, you doing okay? Shad, how's the heat? jolly, freaky hanging with us? Anyone I missed? Any of our newbies who faded quickly? Come in and talk! 
Not to mention the effect it will have on your waistline! Well, I understand you are no doubt feeling very anxious about your boot camp. I sure would be! 
Wasn't as tough as the 12 min on Sunday morning, maybe because I had company. 
I would yell... "I'M NOT A FIZZLE!!!!!" and they'd laugh and laugh... sheesh... bratty boys! :P anyway... 
Well at least we made it this far anyway.
Ah well... no pain ... I'll gain right??? 
I didn't realize that in the same post I chided you about food porn, I mentioned my own food porn incident. Just goes to show that it doesn't always pay to be so self-righteous! Also, just thought I should mention that my boot camp isn't training for a marathon, just a combo of spinning and strength and abs. I'd love to get backto running one of these days - maybe once i get my new orthotics my feet will improve enough for it. I've heard of the Bay to Beakers, but don't remember what distance it is. A friend in San Fran did a sprint triathlon last year, trained with a store whose name I can't quite remember - something about Lucy? They sell sports shoes and clothing for women. If you also swim and bike, it might be fun. Her race was near Calistoga. They probably have beginning runner clinics too. I've done clinics myself, and really liked the benefit of automatic running mates.
anyway, because even big girls need support. (support panties, in my case, but... 
