mern - i'm so sorry !! :(

Mern,
Love and a hope for strength to you and your family.

OMG Mern, that is horrible! I'm so sorry. :(

Ama - so sorry to hear about your loss as well. I can't imagine having to go through that.

1) 1,600 calories max/day (allow myself 1 guilt free day over 1,600) - 1331, 1319
2) do 2 exercises on days I don't work (walking/weights/Richard Simmons/stationary bike) - 2hrs gardening (I'm counting it!)/1hr+ walking, 1hr gardening/1hr+walking
3) 20% protein minimum - 26%, 17%
4) 64oz water minimum - 64oz+, 64oz
5) calorie deficit 700+ - 1167, 933
6) take vitamins - yes, yes
7) lights out by 11 the night before (except Sunday night because apparently I'm hooked on Celebrity Apprentice) - no, no

I might have to give up my evening treat - two squares of dark chocolate. I've been having restless leg symptoms off and on since I was pregnant (usually about one night a month). Basically I get in bed and feel like there's bugs crawling under my skin in my feet and I can't sleep because I just want to smash my feet with a hammer. I've had it now for the past three nights. Last night was the worst; I was awake tossing and turning and kicking the bed until after two. Caffeine is bad for it, and I think my evening chocolate is too much for me (I usually have a couple of cups of coffee in the morning but I think it probably wears off before bedtime). I'm going to skip it tonight and see if it's better. Now I'll need to come up with a new, caffeine-free treat. I don't have much of a sweet tooth for things that aren't chocolate, so it won't be easy.

Check-in:


1. Calories below 1300. 1090, 1297 (sheesh!)
2. Exercise 6 hours. 30 min, 30 min.
3. 2 big sports bottles water. Yes, No-1.5
4. Sleep 7 hours. 6.5, 7
5. Eat clean. Yes, Except for the peppermints at the office
6. Log everything; post it daily. Yes, Yes
7. Name an excuse I've used, and shoot it down. 1. "It's a special occasion." This time of year, there is always a 'special occasion'. If I let things lax for every one of them, I'll never be on plan. I can celebrate the occasion without eating junk. 2. "I'm too busy." What exactly are my priorities here? Work or health? I have to make the tough choices until I learn to juggle everything even when things are crazy (no pun intended). Yes, exercise takes time, but it takes the same amount of time to make a good food choice as a bad one. Exercise relieves stress, so I should do it even more so now!

Ama, so sorry to hear of your loss at such an early time in your life together. Mern, thinking of you as well and hope you and your family are holding up.

nobe, I hope you get an answer on your chocolate-restless leg connection. What do you enjoy; I'm sure we'd all have some treat suggestions for you!

Tori, wherever you are that's not home, I hope it's fun for you. Hang in there!

Chat with you all tomorrow...have a restful night.

Hmmm...I'm not sure. I've had chocolate (a little or a lot) pretty much every day for as long as I can remember. I only eat cake if it's chocolate, same with ice cream. Maybe something caramel-y or brown sugar-y would be close enough? I've been eating this fat-free honey flavoured Greek yogurt for breakfast, and half a cup is the same calories as my two squares of chocolate, so maybe I should just have that in the evening. I wonder if there's something I could do to jazz it up...besides fruit. Fruit to me is breakfast or snack food, not dessert (pie and crumble for breakfast probably partially explains why I'm here, haha).

Mern - I am so sorry. Prayers and lots of hugs out to you and your family.

Goals for the Week
1. Calories around 1000 - M:N, T:Y
2. Walk or exercise every day - M:Y, T:Y
3. Water - 100+ oz daily - M:Y, T:N but close
4. Log activities - M:Y, T:Y
5. Bed by 11 pm - M:N, T:N (11:30)
6. 1/2 day hike this weekend


Cassie & Mern - I'm just impatient - I want the weight gone tomorrow. It is slowly coming off - just not as fast as I want. Distance between my mom and I is best. And the further the better. I'd say Texas to Montana is far enough

1) 6+ glasses of water, 6 6
2) stretch, Yes Yes
3) write two hours a day 5 days a week, Yes if you call sitting and blankly staring at my screen then writing very little writing Yes did "real" writing well over 2 hours
4) 1500 calories or <, 1273 1734
5) lose at least 1 lb this week, not yet! Yes but I'm afraid it won't stay off
6) keep positive, tryyyyyyyying Yes and it helped DD

The reason I thingk the weight won't stay off is because I went off antibiotics and my tummy reacted badly to it so that makes me lose weight. Ahhhh, the battle with the "demon machine" (the scale) as Tori calls it.

Nobe, restless leg sounds horrible. And giving up chocolate IS tough; I had to do it for menopause symptoms especially insomnia and hot flashes; caffeine is a killer. There used to be really good sugar free caffeine free chocolate but it's gone - they probalby found out it was carcinogenic or something LOL. Let's put our heads together and try and come up with a good treat for Nobe, guys.

MERN. My thoughts are with you and your family at this time of tragedy.