Love the thread-Someone recently asked to be my friend because she said she liked my determination and she's right I am determined and commited to this being my way of life-all my life. But there are somedays, like early this morning when the *^#* hits the fan before you even get out of bed. For those days you have to have tools in place to get you through. This is what I wrote about it this morning on a FB group I belong to: "OK, Calm now, smile on my face and no food cravings- neroli rubbed in, Other essential oils for situation in diffuser, "safe" vis done (That & tapping done in midst of "situation") rose quartz in my lap, happy play list on and the below prayer said. I'm sharing a prayer that has gotten me thru many a hard time. I keep it on my laptop and in my purse. Some years (like when my pregnant daughter checked herself in hosp to prevent killing herself-me keeping her 2 yr) had it memorized like a mantra. Hope it can help you.BTW-Also stood up for self in situation (one that pushes every fear trigger I have for this son) and literally said I'm not eating over this and tapped away right there and the. I now have tools and Peeps to go with a strong spiritual base. I AM LIVING MY LIFE HEALTHY COMES WHAT MAY!!!!" I'll post the prayer in just a sec.

" O God! Refresh and gladden my spirit. Purify my heart. Illumine my powers. I lay all my affairs in Thy hand. Thou art my Guide and my Refuge. I will no longer be sorrowful and grieved; I will be a happy and joyful being. O God! I will no longer be full of anxiety, nor will I let trouble harass me. I will not dwell on the unpleasant things of life.
O God! Thou art more friend to me than I am to myself. I dedicate myself to Thee, O Lord." Abdu'l-Baha a Baha'i prayer.

I truly believe that God wants us to live in joy. To do so- we must first face and feel our lives in the moment and then have ways to deal with feelings-I use the prayer above often.

Oh yay! This is getting to be quite a lively thread! :grouphug:

I did really well today, so I'm happy about that! :D

Mars, good for you picking up that avocado! :cp:

Leah, I'm so sorry you had a migraine today, darn TOM! :devil: I'm so glad you were feeling more committed today though! I hope you stayed that way! :carrot:

Rana, good job on avoiding that dessert yesterday! That's so much better than having Sangria AND dessert! And yay on the good weigh-in! :goodscale: I hope your motivation stayed high today!

MaoMao, way to go on avoiding raiding the cupboard! :dancer: Stepping on the scale was a great idea!

FairyGaia, that is my goal too, to stick with this way of eating from now on, not just until I reach a certain weight. :yes: I'm glad you have a prayer that gets you through, and thanks for sharing it! That was thoughtful. :hug:

Thanks, Jacqui ! The avocado hit the spot.

This morning after coffee, I feel like a 10. 6th day in, my new WOE feels so easy that it's fairly easy to stay motivated. Maybe i will try to up the exercise today--that motivation is a lower number so I have my work cut out for me.

Wishing all a nice summer weekend. Oh and also wishes for Down Under folks, for a cozy winter weekend--your days will soon be getting longer!

Thanks Jacqui D! My commitment has shot up today, definitely a 10! Today was my official weigh day and I'm down 9lbs from last week! :D It was my first week so I expected the loss to be quite high due to water weight and I know it'll slow down from now on but I still feel great!

Went shopping and bought some fresh strawberries and melon to have with lunch, yum!

Happy weekend everyone! :)

My commitment is pretty low today. It's my day out with the boyfriend so I try not to worry about food and just focus on being with him. We have opposite schedules so getting together doesn't happen very often. Maybe once a week. I'll try to have a good, well balanced breakfast so I won't be as hungry if we do end up going out to eat. And I'll also make smarter choices where I can and keep things in moderation. But I'm not too concerned about staying on track. When we get together our focus is not on food if you get my drift. ;)

Hello friends! Today, my commitment level is a 10. Last night was kind of a challenge. I was helping a friend with watching her dog all day and they didn't pick her up until 9:30 p.m. I was incredibly tired (I struggle with sleep) and was desperate to go sleep but couldn't. I know this sounds wacky, but every day, I absolutely can't wait to finish walking my dog for the night because then I get to put on my soft pj's and, most importantly, take of my bra! Well, I couldn't so I was out of my mind frustrated. I ended up wanting to sooth myself with food. I so wanted to eat but instead I just chewed gum.

I was so proud of myself this morning because wouldn't you know it? I woke up not hungry at all. That urge to eat and that rumble in my stomach was just my mind playing tricks on me and perhaps a craving for some Serotonin.

LovelyLeah, I hope you have a great time with your boyfriend! When I go out, my goal is to avoid the breadbasket or chips that come to the table and to focus on having a salad with protein. I always get my dressing on the side or ask for olive oil and vinegar on the side. I also bring gum in the even that someone orders desert. Let us know how it goes!

MaoMao, congrats! 9 lbs. is nothing to sneeze at! What a tremendous feeling! Woohoo!!! :carrot:

LuckyMommy I hate when bedtime routines are thrown off but congratulations for pushing past the urge to stress eat. That was kinda my experience last night. We just discovered that the reason I've been waking up with hives is that we have fleas in our house. Or more specifically, my room. We think I may have gotten it from something I picked up at a garage sale. So last night, right before bed, was a frantic case of vacuuming, making my bed after washing all my bedding, and then trying to relax before sleep since I hate bugs and the idea of them being in my bed is violating. At least all this vacuuming and laundry is a good workout. As for going out today we generally never go anywhere that has bread/chips to start off with and we never get desserts. Anything I get has to be lean protein since I'm allergic to red meat and I don't like fish. The trick is to avoid the chicken tenders basket, it's my weakness.

My commitment level today is a 10. It's been a 10 for the past few days and for the first time in a long time I'm showing a weight loss. This is fine now, but I know from experience that sooner or later I'm going to have a day when my commitment level slacks off and it will be very important how I react to that. No one can be 100% all the time.

I'm happy to see that a couple of my WOE pals are also posting on this thread. We are doing a good job of keeping each other in line. I think this thread will do a lot to keep all of us on the straight and narrow.

Today I am a 9/10 and the reason I say that instead of 10/10 is that I am not planning on exercising today because I have a headache. I am going to eat perfectly and do well with saying no, but I am not going to exercise because I want to listen to my body and not torture it.

My commitment today on eating is a 10. The diet that Mars, Wannabehealthy (Carol Sue), and I are on has a built-in cheat day, which is an actual recommended part of our diet. We are calling it Carb Day instead of Cheat Day since it's not actually cheating for us. For me, Carb Day is today so it's pretty easy to be a 10 on eating today! :lol: However, I'm not as motivated to exercise today. First of all, I'm sleepy (but can't seem to take a nap). I didn't sleep well at all last night. Secondly, the YMCA where I exercise has limited hours on Saturdays and Sundays, so if I want to exercise today (and I need to), I'm going to have to go to the walk park this evening when the sun is starting to go down. Ugh. It's hot and humid out and I really am very sleepy. Ladies, help me! I don't need to hear, "It will be okay if you take today off." I need to hear, "Get yourself out there!" :kickbutt: :lol:

Mars, upping the exercise is a great idea! You can do it! :cheer:

MaoMao, wow!!! 9 lbs down is awesome, water weight or not! How exciting! :yay: Great job!!!

Leah, just keep your mind ON BF and OFF chicken tender baskets, lol! Just think how wonderful you're going to look in your wedding pictures when you and BF finally get married! Making your goal weight for that day starts now! :yes: Oh, and the fleas! :fr: I have a fear of fleas and ticks. Fleas because when I was a young teenager, we had an outbreak of them in a room that we had shut off for about a month. I went in there and was attacked. We lived in an apt at the time and my cat must have picked them up from sitting out on the balcony. It still gives me nightmares! And ticks because when I was about the same age, I cut through some woods to get to a friend's house and I got 8 ticks on me! Eight! It just gives me shivers to think of it! Other people get freaked out by spiders and snakes. For me, it's fleas and ticks! :eek:

Luckymommy, great job on chewing gum instead of late night eating! :broc: And the bra comment made me laugh because I can SO relate! :lol:

Carol Sue, yay! So glad you're here! :cp:

Icontrolmyweight, So sorry to hear about your headache. I hope you feel better soon! :hug:

I am an 8/10 today. It's a little difficult since my mom, who is kind of my dieting partner, takes this day off and generally makes a large meal with a rich dessert to follow. However, we are grilling today which makes things so much easier to eat healthy. I plan on grilled chicken breast, salad, and maybe some grilled veggies depending on what's in the fridge. As for dessert I have some healthier options in mind for myself or maybe I can convince my mom to go with an angel food cake version of strawberry shortcake.

Morning All! Today is post Carb Day. I feel a bit hung over, but glad to be back in the saddle. 10/10.

Great idea re angel cake LovelyLeah. Hope your mom goes for it.

I am a 10/10 today! I did make it out to walk yesterday, but I am post-wisdom tooth extraction (had it done on Wednesday), and I am just realizing (the hard way) that I have to slow down. So DH and I are getting over to the Y on time today but I have to take it s-l-o-w! :kickcan:

Leah, for not being 10/10, you are making some wonderful decisions in preparation for your family get-together today! Angel food cake instead of shortcake is an excellent idea, and it goes very well with strawberries! :T

Mars, yay for your commitment after Carb Day! That's the way to do it! :carrot:

11/10. I want to bring my scale number down after Carb Day! :kickbutt: