Day 8 & 9 - Log all calories - good - 2 pauses left
Day 1 & 2 - Intentional exercise everyday - good - level 3
Day 1 & 2 - Eat sitting down - good - level 3

Wow, that eating while sitting down is pretty hard! I have lost track of how many times I went to put something in my mouth only to realize that I had to sit in order to do it. That made me mostly change my mind about eating it and I have ended up with a lower calorie count. Not a huge amount, but enough to make me happy.

Future - Well, can't say that I'd want a cold, but yeah, it does help those food urges go away since you can't taste anything! Too bad about the crunch challenge though. Maybe next time!

Red - Yeah, I went and bought the book. I decided that it can't hurt and might help. I have not read it all, but I am reading it slowly and trying to do the exercises in it such as eating sitting down, eating slowly and writing down things that might help me during rough times. It is making my think more about what I'm doing like I did in the past when I lost all that weight. We'll see how it goes!

Hi Jolly, Apple, Fitmom, Ashley & Eesa! Hope you are doing well!

I'm off to the YMCA again. Had a spinning class this morning and now I'm going back with my son to do some strength training and probably hit a treadmill or elliptical while I'm there.

Day 10 - Log all calories - good - 2 pauses left
Day 3 - Intentional exercise everyday - good - level 3
Day 3 - Eat sitting down - pause - level 3

It's funny, yesterday I caught myself putting something in my mouth and thinking, "great, I blew it", but I can't even remember what it was! The good news is that I "did" catch myself even though I now have to take a pause.

Future - Yep, it's amazing just how much food can go into my mouth while I'm not sitting! A taste here, a taste there and pretty soon I've had a couple hundred unintended calories! Thanks for the compliment on the exercise. Luckily for me, I love to workout. A couple of years ago I would have never thought I would say that, but that's one change for the better! Now, if I could just get past the food issues!

Good job on your challenges, but tell that man of yours to save those tasty desserts for VERY special occasions!

Red - I admit, challenging myself to eat sitting down is kind of funny, but, it has shaved some calories off my day already so what the heck. Who knows, it might help you a little too!

I agree on the planning though. I don't plan meals well. I tend to want to eat what I'm in the mood for or what I'm in the mood to cook. What I'm doing for the planning is a little different. I'm keeping healthy and low calorie snacks on hand that are ready to eat. I'm making myself keep a bowl of salad in the fridge so it's ready to go and I'm keeping washed and ready to eat fruit too. The hardest part is taking the time to wash and cut all the fruits and vegies up ahead of time, but it really doesn't take all that long to do it and it's always there for me when I get hungry. The other thing I keep handy is some black bean dip that I make myself. It's really good, gives me some protein, and with some high fiber crackers it's a pretty filling snack.

Maybe you can find just one thing that will help with the planning part and add others as you are willing. Something has to work for us! I'm also tired of having to hide these rolls of fat under big clothes! Let's keep reading, maybe something will click for us.

Have a great weekend all!

O0o0o This is exciting! I want to start.

My goals:

-Log All Calories daily.
-No trips to StarMart (conveniences store under my apartment building) for lollies/chocolate/ice cream.

Will start tomorrow!

Day 11 - Log all calories - good - 2 pauses left
Day 4 - Intentional exercise everyday - pause - 2 pauses left
Day 3 - Eat sitting down - good - level 3

Took a break on the exercise. I think I needed it. I felt really tired yesterday, which for me, can mean that I'm working out too hard and that it's time for a break.

Everything else was good. Calories were logged, but it wasn't a pretty sight to see the amount. My family ganged up on me and insisted I "order" dinner for once. I had to "guesstimate" what the calories were and I tried to be as realistic as possible. Let's just say that my total calories for dinner were more than 2x the normal!

Come on Red! 2 more to go. You CAN do it!

Silver! Glad to have you join us!

Have a great day all!

Just wanted to say that I am still around. I'm taking off for vacation today, wew hew! I blew both of my challenges. I am happy that I made it as far as I did though! I will be back in a week and ready to start new ones.

Eat only while sitting... interesting! I'm going to have to try that! I missed the talk about the book this tip comes from, but I think I get the idea. I will try it on my vacation (or at least try to notice how often I do it). This seems to go to the mindful eating practice.

Hope everyone has a great and successful week!

If I counted right I'm done with day 5 on daily salad. I've used up my 2 pauses already so I'm not sure if it's worth continuing or starting over. I think I'll keep going. It might help to eat salad at lunch, then if I forget I'll still have a second chance. We'll see. The other 2 challenges are out the window, but I'll start them up again today.
I'm gaining weight and feeling terrible about myself. Lately I've been really emotional too, but now I'm pretty sure it's PMS. Although its worse than usual. I'm feeling like I am under-acheiving in every part of my life and I feel overwhelmed about a lot of stuff too. This is going to be a really long week. Don't mean to dump on you guys, but it does help to write things down.
I'm glad to see everyone else is doing well. I'll probably drop a line later tonight....

Thanks future & red, for the encouragement. I feel a little better today but thats because it's early yet and I haven't had an opportunity to screw up. TOM is probably fueling the fire, I'm so emotional it's almost silly. Oh how I wish I could let someone else do it all, but that's just not an option right now.
It will really help if I could just get something moving along the right track. I'll keep plugging away at these challenges...
Day 6 salad, day 1 no candy, restart no beer (my brother was over for dinnner last night....lousy excuse I know but....)