Aww, thanks all. Figured it was time for a change.

Josephine - I have a rather negative internal monologue also. I'm working on it too, starting with exercise (it seems easier for me then). I spend a lot of time telling myself "You are strong and awesome" when things start getting tedious or exhausting on my cardio. But then I feel silly.

Robin - you can do it!

Megan - Sounds like you did OK.

Midwife - I'm definitely watching the Olympics opening ceremonies, or Tivo'ing them while I'm out to dinner. I love the Olympics!

Jessica - Mmmm, cream cheese and jelly sandwich. That sounds really good.

Alinnell - take it easy on shoulders. You don't want to hurt your rotator cuff...it will take you completely out of most training for an extended period of time.

I got all snacky from the lack of sleep last night. It ALWAYS happens, I was aware of it and had plans in place to prevent it and it STILL happened. Lame.

So today is planned up through dinner, when we'll be going to a pizza place w/ family. They have nutritional stats up, and there are some healthy entrees (whole wheat pasta primavera!) as well as thin crusted pizzas and salads and minestrone, so healthier options abound. I'm just hesitant to choose something specifically, because I don't know what sort of ordering people are going to do (Pizzas and salads for the table? Individual entrees? Etc.)

Plan until Dinner:

B - English muffin, egg beaters, half a ham slice
S - Cantaloupe
L - Leftover chinese chicken salad
S - Dannon Light and Fit Lemon Yogurt w/ sliced strawberries
S - Popcorn

E - 55 min elliptical
55 min weight lifting

Midwife, I've invited some friends over to watch the opening ceremonies and am making some homemade (and secretly slightly lightened in the kitchen) Chinese food for dinner. Yum and lots of fun!

So far today:

Whole wheat bagel with light cream cheese and deli turkey, plus veggies.
McDonalds Ice Cream Cone (seriously...so good).
5 whole wheat saltines.

Plan for dinner: Going to our FAVORITE rotisserie for rotisserie chicke, grilled veggies, and salad. Delicious! We always get it when we're in town.

Dessert - Lowcal Ice Cream bar.

Tomorrow morning - hitting the farmer's market for fruits, veggies, then to TJs to make meals out of whatever foods we were inspired by.

I've had a great weekend so far, even made it through a triple-birthday celebration at Carrabba's and stayed on-plan by eating nothing but my salad with no dressing. I probably under-ate that meal, but that seems to be the way for me to ensure I stay on plan. I rarely go out to eat so this isn't a frequent problem.

This morning I ran a strong 7 miler and felt REALLY great. I thought the speedwork I did on Friday would put a hurting on my legs but turns out that even though my quads are sore, running this morning didn't hurt at all. Yay!

Saturday started out great and then went downhill. Amanda, McDonald's? Yeah, me too, but I got a Big Mac (I haven't had one in over 15 years and for some reason DD and I were craving McD's--we BOTH said that lunch would fill our craving for over a year, so I'm not upset about that).

Dinner was also burgers and I intended to do mine sans bun but caved at the last moment. Too much bread for the day.

One good moment: We went to see "Tell No One" and DD had dark chocolate peanut M&M's sitting in the cup holder between us. I seriously had less than 10 of them (I'm not crazy about the peanut kind). Usually, despite disliking peanut M&M's, I would have eaten more than my fair share, so I'm happy about that.

Today's plan:
B~not sure, not much in the house, probably yogurt
S~by the time I get around to B, there won't be time for snack!
L~quesadilla
S~unsure
D~steak and salad

Yesterday was my free day so I won't go too much into it to prevent triggering cravings, but I enjoyed some yummy foods that I don't ordinarily eat, they were good, appropriate portions, and I went on an hr long bike ride.

Back to business.

Sunday:

3 mile easy run--done
breakfast: peanut butter & jam sandwich, protein shake
snack: cottage cheese and blueberries
lunch: turkey & cheese sandwich
snack: raspberries
dinner: veggie/shrimp/crab rolls (er--krab)
snack: protein shake, blueberries

Oh, the farmer's market is SO great here! It's one of the 3 largest markets in North CA, so it was huge and vibrant and wonderful.

I had a chicken apple sausage on a baguette for breakfast, and a coffee, then bought all kinds of delicious...peaches and nectarines, two gorgeous, fragrant heirloom melons, heirloom squashes and tomatoes and peppers, carrots, bell peppers, basil, blue potatoes...mmm.

This afternoon we'll be having some hummus and veggies for snack, then homemade chicken soup and gorgeous rolls from a baker at the market for dinner. Delicious!

I've got my menus planned for the week, and I'm about to go out to trader joe's to procure ingredients to cover us the rest of the week.

So that's me - hope all are having an OP weekend!