Today

Breakfast: 1 cup steel-cut oats, 1/2 c. skim milk

Lunch: bowl of stir-fry--no rice

Snack: 1/2 c. cottage cheese

Dinner: 2 bowls of beef macaroni soup

1 small bowl chicken noodle soup

1/2 piece bread and butter

Exercise: 35 minutes on treadmill

30-34: 2 mph

1-5, 10, 15, 27-30, 35: 3 mph

6, 11, 16, 20, 25-26: 4 mph

7, 12, 17, 21: 5 mph

8, 13, 18, 22: 5.5 mph

9, 14, 19, 23: 6 mph

24: 6.5 mph

chewed a couple of pieces of gum to get through snack-y times

Another add to the list

I learned something else by trial and error (heavy on the error--no pun intended):

• don't eat off your kids plates. even if they are wasting perfectly good food. it is their food, not yours. I'm worth my own plate with my own food, not the cast-offs of a temperamental child.

I sometimes go to my kids' school for lunch with them. I am usually in a rush to get child #3 to school, so I don't eat. There is my mistake. It is a little early for lunch, but I am usually ready to eat when I am there. But I don't want that to be my lunch meal, soooooo I need to keep my grubby paws of their chow. 'Nuf said. We won't even go into my hoarding/ultra-thrifty personality traits that make it challenging for me to throw away perfectly good food. I'll go lie on the couch and we'll have a therapy session one of these days. :)

The morale of the story is: don't let myself get dangerously hungry because then I make less-than-effective food choices (can we say icky dried-out school-lunch churros, anyone?).

Did pretty well today.

steel-cut oats w/sugar and skim powdered milk

no morning snack

bowl of taco soup for lunch

cottage cheese as afternoon snack (a little late--HUNGRY!)

bowl of beef stew, 2 plates salad for dinner

8 cups micro popcorn (160 cal) evening snack

this is where it gets challenging for me. the candy cane oreos are calling to me

I need to go to bed earlier.

I need to eat mindfully--not reading, or standing or watching TV. I need to recognize that my body is being fed.

I felt quite full after the oatmeal this morning. I felt pretty good until lunch-no need to eat.

After lunch I felt the cravings come. But tonight the cravings are intense. I am so used to getting something to snack on and going to my bed to read. I need to add that to my list of goals:

• no eating in bed while reading AT ALL!! chew gum if I need to
• get to bed earlier--I won't have as many cravings late at night!

Overall, I feel good about today but aware that my will power isn't so great. I almost gave in to the cookies SO MANY TIMES today!

I know that feeling good is so much better than the momentary pleasure on the tongue. I just have to create a mantra that I can repeat over and over so I can get through it.

Also, we don't have the treadmill set up yet. I am hoping we can do that soon--I really need to start moving! And going outside is NOT an option right now. Way too much snow and WAY TOO COLD!!!!!

Today is the day!

I am getting back on the wagon whether it kills me or not!

I weigh approx. 220, and I want to lose about 30 pounds in the next couple of months, to get ready to get pregnant again.

My goals:

• eat breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner
• portion control (NO seconds!)
• exercise 30 minutes/day (M-Sat)
• strength training T, Th, Sat

I will check in to let you know how I do.