Well........That's one!!

Well Gang......I made it through the first 24 hours. I did all of my exercise, stuck to my planned meals, drank my liquids, ate my protein, and didn't graze at all. This was harder than expected because I discovered a half gallon of mint chocolate chip ice cream in the freezer which I have a passion for! I also have the disadvantage of being able to eat a fair amount of ice cream without dumping! The good news is I didn't touch it. I also got through 2 nights in a row at work without going to the snack machine...... a big milestone! Anyway, after yesterday's tirade, I just wanted to check in and let you all know that I made it through the first day and am well into the second. Take care and stay well friends. Mike

Hey Mike, Congrats on staying away from that snack machine. That is a step in the right direction for sure. Here is how my Tues Night/day went: Remember Mike & I both work graveyard people so our times are a little different than your are. This is day 2 with very little sleep to start off with. Very tired today will most likely sleep like a baby (It's also Friday) When I got up last night I had Vitamins with (decaf coffee & cream) On the way to work had 20 oz. water & 4 PB crackers I always get to work early, (which I plan to stop doing ) so I don't eat before work. I had a half a bowel of Mexiacn Caserole Stuff & a Chocolate cookie (bad girl) 2 hours later I had more coffee (regular stuff this time) No food, than at 4 a.m I had scrambled eggs w/ cheese on them & 2 slices of very cooked bacon. More coffee at 6;00 a.m. I just got home a little while ago & had a slice of turkey bologna. I have a bottle of water & will probably sleep most of today. Don't plan to eat anymore today. As you see I drink more coffee than water, so have to get that turned around so I am drinking more water than coffee. It doesn't look like a lot of food but it is eating every couple of hours & I have to get back to a more structure schedule so grazing does not become a habit & I am eating all of the time. That will put weight back on me faster than anything & I know it. O.K. I will shut up now & go sleep. Sorrry I got so long winded. I am stressen a lot these days Finances are still in the pits & boyfriend is still an idiot (any takers on a wanting a girlfriend) sure don't want the boyfriend I have anymore. (my give a damn is busted) He! He! More later on that one. Keep fighting & I hope to have a better day tomorrow or tonight hoever you guys want to look at it. Talk at you after much needed sleep. Marilyn, the Bearlady

Hi Marillyn, Hang in there kiddo......you'll get through this. I can't help you with the finances or boyfriend trouble.......totally things I shouldn't give advice on!! As for the food issues, I do have a suggestion for what it's worth: I've found as a night shift person that having regular coffee totally messes up my sleep cycle. Working nights and sleeping days is hard enough for me without the caffeine. I've found that switching to de-caf during the work week has helped a lot. Also, as you probably know, caffeine stimulates the appetite, so I have less urge to snack when I avoid the regular coffee. I love real coffee, so what I do is wait until the weekend when I shift to a "normal" day cycle to be with my family and then drink the regular coffee. This seems to have helped. There's some decent tasting de-caf coffee out there these days although I really miss the "Kick" of the caffeine. Take care and keep fighting!! Mike

Mike, Yeah you! Way to go! Remind me to kick OH when I get back to the states. I´m trying to reply to your post on a Spanish keyboard that costs me 1 euro for every ten minutes I use it and OH decides to give me grief about my login and password. They made me create another login because Happy Girl is taken. Now I´m cranky. lol OK, you guys inspired me. I walked my butt off in Morroco yesterday, but was still feeling guilty because I haven´t gotten much exercise even though the gym is very near our suite. I read Mike´s post and headed out the door for a walk on the beach. After I went back to the room for a bit, I headed for the gym and did half an hour on the elliptical and ran a mile or so. That makes up for the very rich cream sauce I had on my shrimp and scallops last night. The trip has been great and I have many thoughts to share with you guys, but the biggest epiphany came yesterday when I was sitting on the deck of a catamaran sailing towards Africa. I looked to the left and there was Europe, I looked to the right and saw the sun rising over the African continent, ahead was Tangier. Out there in the middle of all tha****er, I was actually thinking about maintaining my weight. In the midst of all of that wonder I thought surely there must be better things to think about than my own preoccupation with my weight. I had to put things in perspective, I had to get a grip. I´m going to stay the course, do my best to stay on track, but I´m not going to let it keep me from fully enjoying the life that I´ve fought so hard to regain. After my great epiphany (yeah, I´m right up there with Newton and Einstein), we were in the Casbah shopping for carpets when the merchant offered my father a carpet and some camels for me. My father told him to throw in some chickens and they might have a deal. Here´s to an on track tomorrow. Hugs, Connie (soon to be Hassan´s wife if my father keeps this up)

Hey Connie......I'm honored to have you take a time out from your travels to reply to my post!! Hey watch out for that Morrocan hashish......the "munchies" that result will totally ruin your dietary plan LOL!!!! If your dad does make the deal with Hassan, we'll mount a "Marcher Rescue Mission" to come and get you out of there. I'm not sure that we'll be successful, but it should provide you with considerable entertainment value as our plot unfolds.......maybe Hassan will die laughing and you'll be a wealthy widow??!! Anyway, it's great to hear from you and we're all looking forward to your tales of adventure on your return. Take care and watch out for the camel droppings!! Mike

your awesome mike! i knew you could do it! just think babysteps babysteps! one day at a time or night depending on your work schedule.

Thanks Pam; You're right.....one little step at a time does it. Having you and the rest of the gang for support is critical too!! Thanks for being here. Mike

Ok, here I am with the first day of my renewed commitment to fixing the food issue and I think I did pretty good. I managed to keep the calories to about 1,000 for the day with 71 grams of protein. I got in about 42oz of fluids not counting the coffee, I know I know bad for me but I love it, and I did count it into todays totals. I did not get any excercise in today however. I have been on the computer all day trying to catch up with work. Having 2 web sites to maintain is a lot of work, that and learning how to market yourself (still not very good at that). And no alcohol that it very good. So I think I am doing ok. Still won't get in any excercise tomorrow as I have an open house tomorrow for the holiday. Time to sell some jewlery!!! I will try to get some in in the morning before I start pricing and all that jazz, but if I don't I won't kick myself as I knew that tomorrow was going to be crazy, but if I do manage it...bonus! Great job staying away from the snack machine Mike. I know how hard that is, that machine and I were buds, around 3pm everyday I had to go say hi and see how it's day was going. Have a great evening and I will c-yall tomorrow. Leslie

Hi Leslie; It sounds like you're off to a good start too. You are so right about that *#%@$ snack machine!!! I've now managed to get through 3 nights at work without visiting it!! Of course, since Friday morning ends my work week, I now must fight the weekend demons!! Oh Well, one day at a time! Keep up the good work and stay in touch!! Mike

Yesterday: B: Protein shake S: Protein Bar (South Beach) L: South Beach wraps luncheon S: LF Cheese Stick D: 3 oz. chicken, 1/2 C. cole slaw I did have a handful of those SF peanut M&M's - between 4 and 6, I am ravenously hungry and craving very badly...I've got to solve that problem Exercise: 1/2 hour treadmill (cross-training - between very fast walk and running); followed by 1/2 hour weight training, upper and lower body I don't know what the totals are, but I am feeling better. Have a great day, all. Maureen