Hey lovely ladies!

I was wondering what everyone's rituals were? What does YOUR day look like? What are the things you MUST do? Everyone needs rules or maybe you don't? I would love to see what some of you do to help yourself lose weight! Any studies you've read so therefore you follow the advice of? Any definite exercises you do? Do you sit on an exercise ball at work? Do you have a secret stash of almonds in your drawer at work for when others bring cupcakes and such?

Here's my typical day:

5:30am - Wake up and shower!
6:45am - Boot Camp! (Read a study that says if you work out BEFORE you eat breakfast your body is then forced to use fat for energy!)
8am - Home to weigh myself (only on Mondays!)
8:15am - Oatmeal w/ 2 cups of skim milk and a dash of sugarless Hershey chocolate syrup for taste (Read a study that women who drink 2 cups of skim milk after a workout instead of protein shakes or sugar shakes lose more weight and gain more lean muscle) and vitamins!
8:30am - Write my blog!
8:50am - Shower!
10am - Work
12pm-1pm - Lunch!
3-4pm - Snack (usually a banana or some kind of fruit)
6pm - Another snack, usually a yogurt
7pm - Home to cook and watch tv!
8pm - Dinner!
11pm - Sleep

Also, I absolutely love water. I drink cold cold water, about 8-11 bottles a day (THANK YOU Wal-Mart for having cheap water!). I read a study where it said cold water actually keeps your metabolism going faster because it has to warm up to your body temperature =) So I follow that pretty religiously.

Any tips you guys have? What does YOUR day look like?

Right now my day is:

5:30 am up and get ready for work
6 am leave
6:30 am arrive at work
7 am breakfast on my break (varies)
10 am snack
noon lunch
2:30 snack
3:30 off work
4:15 pm home (traffic)
5 pm workout
6 pm make dinner and eat
7 pm shower
7:30 pm snack sometimes if I feel hungry
10 pm Sleep

Nights the biggest loser is on I workout during so it switches up.

6:30am wake up
7:15am: drink my fiber35 shake (140 calorie) or apple for breakfast
7:30am leave house for work
8:30am arrive at work
10:30am my biggest meal of the day around 600 calories
2:45pm: get off work
4:30pm: get home
4:35pm walk puppy for 20minute
5:15pm eat ,y 90 calorie snack bar for dinner or apple(120 calorie)
5:30pm - 10:00pm: computing time,
10:00pm bed!

Sometimes I go to bed around 8pm depending if I m tired

5am: wake up and weigh, first cup of coffee
5:30-7am: gym
7-8am: breakfast and shower
8am: go to work
10am: snack
1pm: lunch
4pm: home
4-5pm: tv
5-6pm: dinner and clean up
6-9pm: more tv or homework or internet or reading
7pm: cup of tea!
9pm: typical bedtime.

The only thing that's really a "ritual" to me is my after dinner tea. I don't eat after dinner, so this is a nice way to wind down. For some reason, the caffeine doesn't bother me in the least.

06:30 Get up, give dogs their meds, put them out, feed them, pick up yard.
07:00 Breakfast over the laptop. Catch up on 3fc overnight.
08:00 Bathroom and scale. General tidying up.
09:00 Start work, sometimes out, sometimes from home.
12:30/13:30 ish Dogs' lunch, My Lunch
Back to work.
15:00 (or 11:00) walk into town
18:00 Feed dogs
19:00 Feed me.
21:00 Coffee made with 90% hot milk/lactofree.

In my downstairs bathroom I have a 6oz plastic glass. Every time I go, I drink down another glass after I've washed my hands.

6:00- get up, start coffee & jump in shower.
7:15-leave for work
10:30- 15 min walk
12:00- lunch with the hubby
2:30-15 min walk
4:30- out of work
4:30-6 is usually a combination of running errands and working out.
6:00- start dinner
7:00- eat
8-10 is TV and craft time.

I really want to be a morning workout kind of person but I can't seem to get myself to change my morning routine yet.

6:35 alarm goes off
7:30 get out of bed
7:50 leave house to walk to work for about 35 min
8:30 morning meeting, eat yogurt and drink coffee
12:30-1:30 lunch somewhere in this range
16:15 leave work, walk home, stop for groceries or the ATM
17:15-18:15 exercise somewhere in this range, run or Tae Bo plus pushups and crunches.
18:15 shower (no showers unless I've just exercised!)
18:30 cook dinner and eat it while watching TV episodes/movie
21:00-23:30 Internet vegetation time, make tomorrow's lunch, relax
23:30-00:30 bedtime somewhere in this range

However, my vacation schedule looks like this

8:00-9:00 get home from the club
9:00-16:00 sleep
16:00-18:00 chug water and recover
18:00 venture out for lunch/dinner meal
20:00 get pretty
21:00 hit the bar
23:30 hit the club

My days vary hugely. In fact so much so that I don't know if I should even post a routine like you all have, it would be so much different! Mondays and Tuesdays are similar for me, Weds and Thurs have their own similar schedules, Fridays are different again (but will look more like a Wed or Thurs for the next two weeks). Saturdays are a whole other kettle of fish and Sundays are different again!

lol at your weekend routine krampus!

i don't really have a strict routine, except that i always eat the same exact thing for breakfast everyday : coffee, an egg, yougurt and a banana. lol.

i also pretty much always eat supper really early (5pm) and then conk-out around 10pm. i'm quite boring. lol.

I dont have a strict timeline for my days but here's things I HAVE to do

Weight Training 3 days per week with protein before and after.

Body Brushing at night -- stimulates lymphatic system, supports the immune system, detoxes the body.

Alternating hot and cold showers after dry body brushing.

Drink green tea -- benefits a wide an varied

Take vitamins and omega 3.

Caloric cycling -- helps prevent stalls.

Only eat carbs in the AM and always have protein with carbs -- carbs are good for some people, but they are not my friend! lol I have to limit the damage without cutting them out fully

I'm another "no set schedule" person, but there are some things that I have to do each day, or I just feel off...
- check in at this website at least in the morning and evening
- drink a cup of coffee in the morning
- at least two cups of green tea during the day
- fish oil and biotin nightly
- read for pleasure for at least 20 minutes
- walk/hike outdoors at least once a week
- eat a piece of fruit for a snack every morning while my class is at recess
- never eat after 6:30 in the evening
- check the t-shirt design and what's for sale at Woot.com

I love this! Thanks so much for sharing your rituals =)

Focused Lani: What is this body brushing? I want to read more on it! Does it seem to help?

Something I've realized that is a ritual for me NOW that I care about my appearance again is to make sure to wash my face every night and use Aveeno Ageless skin moisturizing cream before bed and also put vaseline under my eyes every night to keep wrinkles at bay ha! That's not a weight loss trick but it definitely helps my skin! LOL

6:15 alarm
6:45 get up and do my hair and wash baby bottles
7:00 make the bottles and pick out babies clothes
7:15 get dressed
7:30-8:30-leave for work, eat breakfast at work (oatmeal and banana), catch up on 3fc
9:00 morning meeting
10:30 snack
12-1 lunch
3:00 snack
5:30 head home
6-10 dinner and baby time
10-11 shower and hubby time

Hm...

Right now it's:

6.45 am Wake up, weigh in, have Yakult (a digestive balancing drink), get ready to exercise
~7.30 - 8.30 Walk or Wii Fit
~8.30 - 9.30 Shower, dress, start up computer, have brekkie (usually a meal replacement shake)

The rest of the day is a mix of work, domestic duties, creative writing (I wants to be a novelist :P) and whatever other exercise I can fit in. I usually try for a walk to the post office in the late afternoon.

Interesting that we collectively are getting so very little sleep..

Here's my IDEAL schedule

5:30, Wake up, breakfast, scrape snow and ice off of car, 20 minutes to warm up car, while reading news on iphone.
6:30 - Gym
8:30 - Shower at gym, get ready for day, leave for school
9 - 12 - Classes
12 - 1:00 - Lunch and review notes
2 - 10pm - Work, dinner @ lunch break
10:30 - Midnight, Home with boyfriend, quality time, homework, laundry, etcetera.



Is it any surprise that it's so hard to find balance between sleep, life, work, exercise, and school?!?!?!? Exhausting!