to drinking a gallon of water a day and NOT having to pee every 20 minutes? 

It's not as bad as it was at first, but still, it's ridiculous how often I have to get up and go!  I'll admit, it's worth it though.  When I don't drink the water, I don't lose the weight. 

Was up a little this morning, and can't figure out why.  I didn't eat salt or anything that should have "earned" me a pound and a half since yesterday.  Maybe it will be gone tomorrow?? 

Overall happiness today = 7.5

Weight related happiness today = 6

So I gained a little (.5) this week, but I'm fine with it.  I ate a big salad and a big, sweet, yummy navel orange right before I went to weigh in, so although I might not have lost much, if anything, I'm confident that the gain is bogus.  :-)

I had a pretty week, and I'm feeling pretty good about me right now.  I have come to some decisions and made some choices about how I want to proceed with my life, and I'm oddly at peace.  My kids are fabulous, my house is getting (very slowly) more organized, and I have the support of good friends.  What more can I ask for?

I hope all is well with all of you.

xoxo

Overall happiness today = 9

Weight related happiness today = 7.5

I go for my weigh-in in about an hour and I expect to see some good news there.  I'm thinking I've lost about 5 pounds this week - guess we'll see what happens!  I've been very carefully on-plan all week except for yesterday when I was pretty bad.  I skipped breakfast which was not a good thing, then had:

3/4 of a burrito with chicken, cheese, black beans, and rice for lunch

a salad, a big steak, and a small baked potato for dinner

a small piece of ice cream cake for dessert

many, many, many diet cokes throughout the day

So yes, it was a cheat day all around and it probably cost me a pound or so, but I'm back on track today.  :-)  It was a perfect Mother's Day!  I hope all you mommies and future mommies out there had a wonderful day too! 

I'll post my new weight later this evening.

xoxo

So this morning I weighed myself (as I do every morning even though I know I shouldn't) and was down 4.2 pounds from yesterday.  I'm thinking maybe it was water weight?  You see, I sort of . . . ate some chips on Sunday.  Could have been the salt?  Who knows?

Now it's a matter of keeping it off, and keeping on getting more off.  :-)

On a completely unrelated note, my 7-year-old is a HUGE Jonas Brothers fan, and all morning this is what has gone through my head:  "We are wild, we are free, we are more than you think, so call us freaks, but that's just the way we roll!"  I'm hoping that typing it out will MAKE IT STOP!!  lol!!!

So far, so good!  I haven't eaten anything inappropriate yet today and it's already almost 11:00! 

Seriously, I am on track and it feels MUCH better!

OK, I'm here to end the downhill skid.  I haven't weighed in yet today, but I know I have gained.  I'm guessing the scale will say 235 point something. 

I am sorry not to have been around.  Things have been more than a little hectic (daughter had a cold followed by an asthma attack followed by a sinus infection; baby got 3 teeth in one week; went out of town for three days; had our loft closed in to make a bedroom for the baby and now I have drywall/plaster dust all over the house . . . ) and I just haven't made the time to come here and write - either in my blog, or in replies to yours.  I'll be a better friend going forward.  :-)

Meanwhile, I have let myself get off track, and it's time to stop it.  Beginning this afternoon, I'm back on the plan 100%.  There will be no cheating, no "just one bites", no "I'll do better tomorrow", NO EXCUSES!!!  I want to be thin more than I want to eat.  And I want to lose weight more than I want to cave in to the convenience of unhealthy choices. 

I'm off to visit my F.I.T. friends and see what all I have missed there, then I'll check in with you guys and see how things are.

Have a great week!

Overall happiness = 7

Weight related happiness = 4

Hi everyone.  Sorry it's been so long since I checked in here.  It's been a rough week.  The baby hadn't slept more than an hour and a half at a stretch in 6 nights until last night.  She's teething and growing and it's just been a tough time for her.  Last night she was up and down for a while, but she was able to sleep from 2 till nearly 7 this morning, and we both feel better for it.  The poor little thing slept in the car on the way to her Gramma's today, too.  Her ears are feeling better, I think, and she's just about to break a tooth through, so hopefully she'll be herself again soon.  She's such a sweetheart about everything, and never complains or fusses, that I hate to say a word about the lack of sleep.  I am SO lucky to be her mom!  And I feel the same way about her sister.  I know I tend to go on and on about my kids, but they are so amazing to me.  :-)  I am LUCKY!!!!

Anyway, it seems like when I'm this tired, all I want to do is eat.  I'm up 2.4 lbs. (some of it water weight too) and I'm surprised it wasn't worse than that.  Today is the start of a new weight-week for me, though, and it will DEFINITELY be a better one.  It just has to!  :-)

Exercise-wise I didn't do so well either.  My back has hurt since last week (I talked to a trainer/massage therapist finally about it and it's just a pulled muscle) but I've been pretty lazy as a result.  I've done the minimum, but half-heartedly.  I think I'm going to repeat my c25k week because I don't feel like I improved my endurance at all since I just didn't push it.  I didn't do my ab work because it hurt like heck. 

That's enough whining from me.  The visit to my Gram's house this weekend went surprisingly well, and I took the girls to see Horton Hears A Who on Sunday.  Sooooo cute!  The only two kid-friendly movies playing were that one and Nim's Island, and I thought I would rather have seen Nim's Island, so I Rock-Scissors-Papered with F since she wanted to see Horton and she won.  Turns out, I'm glad she did.  :-)

I'm off to find out how all of you are doing!

BTW - There are flowers blooming EVERYWHERE down here.  I can't remember a prettier spring! 

Overall happiness today = 9

Weight-related happiness today = 6

I meant to post this yesterday.  My goals for this week are to do my 3 c25k workouts, at least 2 ab workouts, and an undetermined workout involving my kids.  It will likely be a walk, but maybe I'll take F to shoot hoops or something similar. 

Thanks for keeping me accountable you guys!

1.  My car will be done around 5:00 and will cost less than I feared it might!

2.  I was able to reschedule my weigh in for 8 AM tomorrow (can't make it at 4:45 today b/c of the car).    I wasn't sure if I had lost and thought I might have gained a little, especially since it's the end of the day, but I bet I'll have good news in the morning!  Woohoo!

So last night I did my first ever c25k workout.  I've been considering this for quite some time, but I have put it off because I didn't think I would be able to do it.  I was afraid that even the first workout would be too hard and I would feel like such a failure . . . and we all know where that kind of thinking gets us - nowhere!

So I finally tried it last night, and with a great podcast to walk me through it, I made it, and relatively easily!  There wasn't a time during the workout when I felt that it was too hard, or that I might not make it.  I did catch myself, however, feeling bored.  For a moment I thought, "I won't tell anyone else I've done this, and then if I don't do it again, no one will know."  And at that moment, I knew I needed to come here and blog about the whole darn thing so that each and every one of you knows that I have started it.  :-)

I'll be posting updates, probably three times a week, to keep me honest.  I don't expect that I won't have to repeat some workouts, or even whole weeks, but I do plan to make it through the program.  How amazing will I feel when I can jog for a half hour, or accomplish a whole 5k event?  Pretty darn amazing!  And I'm thinking I can take the baby with me when I go, too.  We have one of those three-wheeled jogging type strollers, and I think I'll give it a go now that I know I won't be collapsing halfway through the workout. 

As for the rest of my week, who knows.  I weigh in this afternoon at 4:45 and I think I may have gained a little, but I can live with it.  I didn't do anything really stupid this past week food-wise, so I know it will come off this coming week.

This weekend was kind of uneventful.  I was hoping for an adventure, since my older daughter had a sleepover on Saturday night and I thought maybe I'd go out alone with some friends.  It's incredibly seldom that I am completely kid-free, and my husband spent most of the weekend at home watching the Master's tournament on TV, so I thought that I would leave the baby with him.  But I couldn't put any plans together, and my hubby was cranky and not as willing to keep the baby as I had hoped he would be (long story for another post) so I ended up just staying home and playing with her.  But she and I had a good time together, and all in all, it was a relaxing weekend.  My girls and I all three took naps yesterday which was rare and nice. 

OK, I've blathered on here long enough.  I'll post my new weight (for better or worse) this evening.  I'm trying to look at everyone's blogs and catch up today. 

Oh, one more thing.  Wish me luck!  My car is in the shop today for oil change, brakes, and because she got a little hot on my way into the office this morning.  Hopefully it's nothing major!