As you can see from my signature, I've been making weightloss efforts since 5/9/07 and I've only lost about 5 lbs. But I've noticed that I've slowly been changing my ways. I was making a pretty good effort at the beginning, making better food choices. But I still was eating poorly on the weekends and wasn't exercising, or drinking enough water. Lately, within the last couple of weeks, things have really changed. I have cut my bad eating down to one meal a week. I have been eating more salads and keeping my meals at less than 400-500 cals each. I have cut drinking down to just friday and saturday nights. I have been averaging about 1700 cals, which is where I want to be. I am drinking more water. And the biggest, and hardest, change has been that during the week, I've been getting up at 4:00am to exercise! That is a huge deal not only because that's really freaking early, but because I hate exercise. We've also bought bikes and have been biking on saturday mornings. Yesterday, we went to this lake that has a path around it and we biked 5 miles! (that was totally accidental: we made it to what I thought was almost to the parking lot again when we discovered a dead end! We had to turn around and bike 2.5 miles all the way back, up and down hills in the hot hot hot heat. )

I am so worried that this is going to be like the last time I lost weight: a few years ago, I lost 40 lbs and was exercising etc, and I got an injury and just gave up and gained all the weight back. I hope that doesn't happen. I really feel like, at this point, I have some control about what is going on. I don't feel like I am letting food control me. I'm so scared. I am doing so well. Now that school has started (this past week), things are going to get hectic and I am going to be stressed and feel like I need all the time I can get to sleep. I am going to be wanting to eat for comfort. Atleast that is what I've done in the past. Will this be the time I do things differently? I hope so. I really do. I'm going to give myself a hug, because I need one right now:

The injury wasn't your fault, and thinking with the "this time" positivity actually help. All it is, is a lifestyle change, not a diet at all

trooworld, you're planning to succeed, and that's a good part of the "battle."

4 a.m. is really freaking early, I agree! Any possibility for after school instead, on those days when you just can't get out of the sack? In other words, have a backup plan instead of simply skipping it.

I'm glad you're making small changes--they WILL pay off! You'll see--the longer you stay with it, the more success you'll have.

Jay

Keep up the good work. I think it's great that you have support from your husband and that you are exercising together.

Thanks, Bliss. It's really helpful to have his support. I don't know if I could do it without him. Okay, slap me, I'm being too gushy!!!

Hey Jay, that's a really good point. I forgot to mention that all last week, I walked to school and back (.5 miles each way), up and down hills...so I guess I did pretty good. It's just so hot right now, I doubt I could get motivated to exercise in this heat. I may just have to count that walking to school as the exercise for the day in that situation. When it cools down, I could go for a walk or do an exercise video. Hopefully it cools down soon...I don't know about you all, but I am MELTING!!!

Thanks, Veggie. What do you mean that thinking with the "this time" is helpful? Like "this time will be the time that I succeed"? Is that what you meant? Yeah, and I am *trying* to remember that this is a lifestyle change. I think I can live with the way I am living now...I might find the exercise part a little hard to swallow, but I'll just have to suck it up!

You know, you mentioned that you had success in the past and that you're doing so well now. I think you have peeled away that layer of past failure and are on the right path by recognizing your triggers and wanting to keep on track! If you have the support at home, that's GREAT!

I'm so excited for you! I think you're doing so well! Keep up the good work!

OKIE-DOKIE MY DEAR TROO! Here is a couple of zillion hugs from me... ...OK...now

#1 ~ YOU control the food...it has no brain...no emotion...it doesn't control you!

#2 ~ Everyday is the day you need to make good choices.

#3 ~ If you screw up one day do we give up?....ah...NO!

Do me a favor...every day for one month push a little harder than the day before....if at anytime you need help to push harder you PM me...I will push up up the hill....down the hilll...over the hill...through the hill...whatever you need...you can do this...you just have "forgotten" that you can!

My prayers are with you each step ~ Gary

Thanks, Aymster! I definitely want to keep on track...it's hard though, as you all know. I think that because I lost weight before and gained it back/failed, I am not as afraid of failure now...I have already proven to myself that I CAN lose weight, I just have to fine-tune my methods. Does that make any sense? I'm sweating and I've been at school using my brain too much, so I'm not sure if I'm making much sense.


Gary: THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the hugs. I really needed them, especially today (see rant below).

Okay, now for the bad news: just when I was doing so good, Labor Day weekend came along + the heat and my good intentions went out the window like a bullet from a gun. Friday was good: I had a birthday dinner party for my sister-in-law and I made thai food and I actually controlled myself: I had a big bowl of Tom Yum soup and I had a smaller portion of Chicken Panang (curry) and no seconds! Yay for me. One bad thing: my hubby made dessert and I ate a smallish portion of that, but I was okay with that...I allow myself one bad meal a week, right? So, Friday was good.

Saturday was good too: lunch was a big bowl of Tom Yum with a smaller portion of the curry. Dinner was a pita pizza, which was really healthy. So yay again.

Sunday? What happened Sunday? Woke up, ate some Tom Yum soup for breakfast (breakfast of champions?), and then for lunch we went to Chili's. That is where the trouble began. You see, we waited to go until I was starving...always a bad idea. The voice of reason told me to order something off the guiltless menu. That was my intention. When the server asked me what I wanted, out of my mouth came "Crispy Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers." How did that happen??? I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed it until I got home and looked up the nutritional information: 2,040 cals, 99g fat, 3,890g sodium, 240g carbs, 70g protein and 9g of fiber! Yowza! For dinner, I had a little bit of curry. I was so mad at myself. I mean, I knew it would be bad but THAT bad? Had no idea. Now I know. I also had multiple beers. Yesterday it was bad too. Pasta with pesto and turkey italian sausage (not too bad really) for lunch, but for dinner we had Carl's Jr which of course is horrible. Plus multiple beers. Today hasn't started out so swell, either: because I was partying
until late last night, I couldn't get up at 4:00am to workout. I did have a bowl of cereal with berries for breakfast , then because I was at school and was hungry I had a small bowl of chili (I could have made a better choice of fruit!) , and when I got home a little bit ago, I had that pasta for lunch again.

BUT...I am not going to give up, I haven't given up so far and I've only lost 5 lbs since May 9th, I am in this fight for the long haul and I'm going to make a better choice for dinner...I am planning on making some soup even though it's like 100F around here right now and I feel like I am suffocating.

Thanks for listening to this long post and thanks for your support!

Hey TROO ~ I got to thinkin' that calorie count just had to be wrong....nope! I am glad I usually get the montery chicken if I get chicken, it accidently has about half the calories.

But then again, what part of breaded and fried did you NOT UNDERSTAND?...wink

Nope the shocking reality that hit me in the face when I looked up the cals...it was a rude awakening. And I really should have understood the fried and breaded thing...I think I was fooling myself and deep down, I knew it would be VERY VERY bad!

I think ALL of us around 3FC know that feeling!

I sure do! I vividly remember the first times that I looked up certain favorite foods, and realized that in one meal I could eat my entire day's calorie allotment and more.

So, "little changes" do add up, but big screw-ups add up even faster! It's a learning experience...

Jay

Oh yes...and it's so easy to put the weight back on. BTW, I did better yesterday, I ended up eating something like 1800 cals for the day. Not ideal but better than the past couple of days. Today will be a better day. I know this sounds like an excuse, but when it is so hot, it's just hard to get motivated to cook. Luckily, yesterday my hubby cooked dinner, and he is cooking dinner tonight, too. That means that I had a fairly healthy meal last night (soup), I will have that for lunch today and tonight will be grilled chicken breast + grilled sweet potatoes...that will be for lunch tomorrow, too. So right there, I have 3 healthy meals between today and tomorrow. And tomorrow's dinner is planned out too (as is the rest of the week until Saturday). We always make a plan, but sometimes (like the past couple of days) we just don't feel like cooking and toss the plan out the window.

Easy to do! But you don't have to toss the plan out the window just because you don't eat at home. So, don't let that become an "excuse" for eating off plan.

Jay

Good point, Jay. Honestly I'm finding it easier to just eat at home because I don't really like salads as a main course, so I'm kind of limited at restaurants. That is good, though, because we can save money by not eating out. Things have been better the past couple of days. We've stuck with our plan (even though today my hubby wanted to go for sushi) and I think we are going to be okay at least this week. It really helps that the hubby has stepped up to the plate and is cooking 1/2 the time now. Before, he would cook like one meal a week and the rest it was up to me...that got old and tiring. I cook every other day now, I can handle that.