Healthy Living Thread

[Matata]

My a$$ hurts. In an effort to keep it from slapping the backs of my knees, my trainer has devised a butt lifting plan that resembles cruel and unusual punishment. Think medieval torture chamber and black-masked whip wielding beast master. His eyes actually glow when I sweat & grunt in a porcine manner. During each set, I had to leg press, sumo squat and dead lift until the burn became intense and then do 5 more reps. After that, he made me do 100 reps in a row of each press, squat, lift. I live within walking distance of the gym and on the way home had to pick up my legs to step onto the sidewalk and I couldn't walk a straight line so tried to stagger inconspicuously past my neighbors out for their morning walk. I'm sure they thought I spent 2 hrs in the local sports bar knocking back vodka tonics rather than at the gym. Cannot bend over without shouting expletives. Who was it that coined the term "aging gracefully"? Ain't no such thing.

 

[Matata]

The scale has me at 131.8--totally not acceptable! I've decided 130 is my LIMIT (although I'm happy at 125 and happiER at 120), so now totally on the wagon.

So the state has processed my last transcript and now it's just a matter of scores being posted. The official release date is June 10 (Monday) but the blogs say the scores sometimes get released the business day before, so tomorrow. ACK!!!

You don't have too far to go to goal. A slight increase in cardio activity, a bit of work on major muscle groups, and a slight decrease in caloric intake should do it quickly (or just have frequent lusty sex and chew on ice chips for a week ). Good luck. And please remember to post in Hangout when you get your test score.

 

[Dee*Jay]

My a$$ hurts. In an effort to keep it from slapping the backs of my knees, my trainer has devised a butt lifting plan that resembles cruel and unusual punishment. Think medieval torture chamber and black-masked whip wielding beast master. His eyes actually glow when I sweat & grunt in a porcine manner. During each set, I had to leg press, sumo squat and dead lift until the burn became intense and then do 5 more reps. After that, he made me do 100 reps in a row of each press, squat, lift. I live within walking distance of the gym and on the way home had to pick up my legs to step onto the sidewalk and I couldn't walk a straight line so tried to stagger inconspicuously past my neighbors out for their morning walk. I'm sure they thought I spent 2 hrs in the local sports bar knocking back vodka tonics rather than at the gym. Cannot bend over without shouting expletives. Who was it that coined the term "aging gracefully"? Ain't no such thing.

I do believe I had a brief, but very satisfying, relationship with your trainer once...

That being said, Matata, you're nuts. I took a good long look at you, including your a$$, at the GTG, and you are FABULOUS. Beautful, fun, funny, and not a sag to be found!

 

[Matata]

That being said, Matata, you're nuts. I took a good long look at you, including your a$$, at the GTG, and you are FABULOUS. Beautful, fun, funny, and not a sag to be found!

It was the ruching on the dress. Hides a lot of flaws. Thanks for checking out my a$$, though. Good thing YT didn't see you, she can get very possessive. Did I mention that my trainer is 25 and fiiiiiine?

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone!

Dee Jay, yes that area will eventually be homes. There will only be 2 rows though because after that you are on a main road and at the edge of our division. We have a greenway behind our house. We will have a greenway on the south side of our house as well. The dirt you see piled up is from foundation excavations and that area is flat and level with our walkout basement. Right now they don’t have those lots marked out so we have a few years before any building might start there. Sorry to hear your LC was not very good. I quit eating them because I swear everyone of them had chicken in it because they all made me sick. You’ll drop those few extra pounds in no time. I hope they post the results tomorrow.

Matata, your description of your trainer and your session totally cracked me up. It reminded me of the joke about how excited this lady was to get 2 weeks with a personal trainer then each day the excitement wanes and she starts contemplating the demise of her evil trainer.

I got a new PC at work today so spent ½ of my day setting that up. It is amazing how many little places and things you have on your computer. I got some of my pictures set up as a desktop wallpaper – that was all that really mattered.

I came home a bit early to meet the guys who were making sure our sprinklers are set up correctly. Today they put stakes on our trees and mulch around the trees.

I finally got the paperwork in the mail to pay our sales tax on the trucklet and get our plates. I can’t decide if Friday is a good day to go stand in line. I may try on Monday instead.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[marcy]

It is Friday!

I took an early lunch today and went to the county clerk's office to register, pay taxes and get the license plates for the trucklet. I sure picked the right time. I was next in the title room, waited about 5 minutes, showed the lady what they sent me in the mail; she said they were all done with everything so I went to the license plate room and was helped immediately. I was in and out of the building in 10 minutes. What luck!!!

Marty is taking a walking tour of London tomorrow. I sure wish I was there with him. He left his little camera here so he picked up a new one today so he can get some pictures.

My family must think I am lost and distraught; they are all "planning" things for me to do with them this weekend. Too funny. I never suffer from being bored.

Take care! Have a great weekend.
Marcy

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Saturday kids!

Marcy, LOL on people trying to keep you occupied while Marty is gone. I am also perfectly happy and can always find something to do myself, so I totally understand.

So CPA exam scores started being released at 5 pm last night... and Illinois is one of the few states that doesn't let candidates view their scores on the main site, but instead they take in the scores and regurgitate them on the IL site. Since the scores were released so late it's questionable whether us IL candidate will see anything this weekend, although we are all sitting here refreshing like mad. I should just go on Best Buy's site right now and order a new F5 button for my poor computer... There is a forum devoted to CPA candidates and everyone is in the same miserable boat, so I am in lots of good company right now.

I went to the gym and did a hard hour this morning. I also solidifed in my own little pea brain a couple of important concepts because my MO is that I take the things I don't really get, type them up, and go to the gym with the piece of paper. After 30 mins on the gauntlet and 30 mins on the ellipitcal with the Cost of Good Manufactured formula in front of you you will probable get it!

OK, off to do some more hopework in between pushing the F5 button.

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone. Wow is it WINDY here. The wind start howling at about 5 this morning and woke me up. I was going to go out and pick off dead flowers but they are all blow over on their sides anyway.

Dee Jay, how is F5 working for you? I hope your scores get released before Monday. That is such a great idea to take something to study while you are working out. It makes both of them go by faster and is a great way to multi task. I am always trying to find out ways to save myself time. I can always find something to do as well. Lately if I have a day off I don’t even tell Marty ahead of time because then everyone thinks I have time to do something with them and pretty soon my entire day is full with outings and I don’t get a thing done for myself. I guess it’s nice to have family and friends that want to spend time with me.

Marty took the train in to London today and walked around to see the sights. He was going to call me so I didn’t take a shower when I got up in case I missed his call. He called me about 7:30 our time and even though we just talked a few moments it was good to hear his voice. He posted quite a few photos of the sites with the Killer Rabbit in the foreground. I will be anxious to see all of his photos.

After I talked to Marty I took my shower and met my dad and his buddies for coffee break and donuts. I had a chocolate frosted cake donut and sadly it wasn’t as good as I anticipated plus I am hungry already. Bad idea bear strikes for breakfast! My dad told me they did get phone numbers for local volunteers that will go stay with seniors who shouldn’t be by themselves. He is going to the mountains next Saturday so it sounds like they are getting someone to come stay with my mom that day. GOOD!!! He has made her ride along the last 2 times he went fishing and she got hot and bored in the car but at least she can’t decide to try and go do laundry or something. I told him I am very worried about her missing the electric chair on the steps and fall all the way to the basement. He has the same sentiments. She still doesn’t have her life alert yet.

My sister and BIL should be here soon. They want to see what we've done on our house then we are going to lunch. After lunch they are picking up my parents and taking them to a birthday party. I guess we are all going to supper somewhere later.

Tomorrow I am going to visit my other sister. Her youngest daughter just graduated from Texas A&M with her masters and is home a few weeks before moving to the Seattle area to start work for Boeing. I want to go visit her while she is home. I guess I am invited to lunch so I am supposed to bring a dessert. I think I’ll make cookies and then leave them all there when I come home.

Have a great day!
Marcy

 

[zoebartlett]

Hellooooo! I hope everyone's well. Hi Matata! Long post ahead...warning!

It's been a busy few days. My parents flew out to see my sister today and do some traveling around the PNW. We went to their house this morning to say goodbye and pick up my mom's SUV. We used it to go shopping for a desk and office chair for our guest room, which is also now D's office. We ordered this desk and we're having the shop paint it black: http://millstores.com/categorydetail.cfm?cattype=1&catcode=107B&sku=19-OF42... We found a chair at Staples. We did other errands too and when we got home, we began rearranging the guest room so the desk will fit. It's such a small room that with a double bed and a few odds and ends, there's barely enough room for the desk. D. will have to make do though.

I haven't heard about the job I auditioned for last week. I was supposed to hear back by Friday. I'll let it go a week and if I don't hear anything by next Friday, I'll call the principal to check in. We've decided that if I get the job and I accept, we'll move about 30 minutes closer. We're hoping to save money by finding another condo that's less expensive than what we're in now. If we stay put, our rent will go up to an insane amount (I think anyway). If we do end up moving, I will GREATLY miss the amenities and our neighborhood, but it might be worth it to save some $. We'll have to make a quick decision so we'll see what happens.

The bathroom in the condo we own was finally worked on today. The seal around the upstairs neighbor's toilet had been installed incorrectly, and this caused a whole host of headaches for everyone involved. The neighbor's landlord finally called a plumber to fix it today, and it hasn't leaked since. The ceiling still needs to be fixed since the plumber had to cut a large hole in it to get to the pipe to inspect the damage. I think that's a pretty easy fix though. The dryer is being fixed on Monday, and then we'll be able to focus on the kitchen floor and the water damage there. Ugh... The good news though is that I think we're going to put the condo on the market in September. Our tenant doesn't know that yet, but she does know we'll be selling sometime. I can't wait to walk away from it and finally get back on track financially. It's holding us back big time.

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone!

Dee Jay, Congratulations on passing your exam. I had NOOOOOOOO doubt you would.

Zoe, hopefully your husband can get his office arranged so he is comfortable in there. Since the ceiling leak in your other condo was from upstairs would they have to pay for the damage that caused? Good luck with all of your decisions.

I spent the morning at my sister’s house. My niece is home after graduating for a few weeks so I got to catch up with her. They live about 35 minutes from us so it was a nice quick drive.

I stopped by my parent’s house when I got home then got home about 4. I’ve been watching TV since then and being lazy.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[PumpkinPie]

I used to visit this thread, but fell off the wagon of healthy living a couple of years ago and have since had a baby. My daughter is 16 months old.
I don't have a lot of weight to lose, but since I'm only 5' tall, 10 lbs is a lot. I have struggled with binge and emotional eating since I was a teenager, and it has significantly worsened since my daughter's birth (and I recently started my own business so I have some stress). I did lose almost all the weight I wanted to a few months ago but have since gained it (and a bit more) back.
I'd love to rejoin this thread for the support and the accountability (along with the LoseIt app) in hopes that I can gain control of my eating and get back to a weight where I feel more comfortable.

 

[PumpkinPie]

Today was a bad eating day. We were visiting family and had an unexpected medical emergency that put my FIL in hospital.

I ate cookies and more cookies, and pizza, and birthday cake (it's my birthday on Tuesday), along with lots and lots of kettlecorn and tons of crackers (I have a carb craving problem).

Tomorrow I will start anew.

 

[marcy]

Welcome back Pumpkin Pie. I hope your FIL is okay. You are definitely right that tomorrow we start anew. I figure as long as I keep trying I am a step ahead or at least going in the right direction. I eat when I'm bored, stressed and definitely gravitate towards sweets. I also like a glass or two of wine. I am trying not to drink any wine during the week right now and keep sweets out of the house. I have been better with eating my raw veggies before supper to help reduce what I eat for my meals. I find that helpful. What things do you find work for you?

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Monday kids!

Hello Pumpkin Pie! I'm starting anew with you today too. It was a stressful weekend (HA!) so I had more "junk" than I should have. But TODAY I am back on the wagon.

Zoe, how frustrating that you were supposed to hear about the job on Friday but didn't get a call. I'm sure you'll get good news today! And keep us posted on the condo thing. Hopefully some (or all!) of the damage with the the other person's responsiblity.

Marcy, I'm glad you had NO doubt about my exame because *I* sure did. I still think the score is a mistake! It's a miracle the neighbors didn't call the cops after all the screaming that came from my unit when I saw the results pop up!

I had hard a hard workout yesterday, of course with a page of notes and formulas and concepts in front of me the whole time. If anyone needs me to recalculate the break even in number of units based on a change in variable costs while I'm on the elliptical machine -- consider it DONE! I'm in a bit of a panic over the next section. It's the only one where I'm learning the material for the first time and then launching directly into the test due to timing. Three weeks from today I sit for this piece and I'm only on Chapter 2 of 6... YIKES.

 

[zoebartlett]

Good morning!

Marcy, I'm glad you to to see your niece while she's home. Congratulations to her for graduating! The upstairs landlord paid for a plumber to come out and fix the leak. We'll have to see if he'll pay for new sheet rock for the ceiling.

Hi PumpkinPie! Happy birthday (tomorrow)! I hope your FIL recovers quickly and feels well soon. As far as food goes, here's my deal and how I'm handling it: I'm a carb craver, too. I haven't given them up completely, but now I try to stick to things like strawberries, raspberries, blueberries (berries are considered super foods). Apples with either cinnamon or reduced fat peanut butter is another go-to snack. I also recently discovered Fit (brand name) popcorn. It's really good. There are three flavors (sea salt, parmesan and herb, and olive oil), and all of them are tasty. As for other snacks, simple, sugary carbs like cookies, cakes, chocolate, etc., I gave that stuff up cold turkey 6 months ago. It was really hard but after a while you DO get used to it. Now I try to remind myself that if I give in to those cravings again, I will have undone so many months of hard work. It's kind of like a game -- how long can I go without caving in? It's not the answer for everyone, but it's working for me. I generally believe that there are no bad foods, and everything is okay in moderation. I do, however, know my weaknesses in that regard, so I stay away altogether from certain "trigger" foods. I still have a significant amount of weight to lose and I need to get back to the gym. But at least the food issues have lessened and it's not too hard anymore, for the most part. Good luck! Oh, weighing and measuring food, even popcorn mentioned above, really helps keep things in check.

I didn't get the job that I auditioned for. I'm bummed but I think more so because now I'm back at square one beginning my search all over again, rather than bummed about that specific job. The feedback was odd though and I'm not sure how to read it. I was told that I had all the qualifications and did well with the kids, but it came down to a personality fit. I pressed the person I spoke with a bit on that, trying to get more of an answer but he just said it was hard to describe. Okayyyyy... I happen to have a GREAT personality, so it's their loss, right?

I took today off and went to the local unemployment office to talk with a real person instead of reading info online. I was told that I need to wait until August to file my first claim because of the balloon check my district will give me for the summer. If I tried to file for unemployment while using my balloon check, that's considered double dipping. When I got back home, I went through a few boxes of stuff in our garage. I threw out a ton of school things that I've never used. I love that feeling of getting rid of stuff. It's so freeing!

 

[Matata]

Working out hard and being diligent with my eating because I leave for Pittsburgh on Thursday and intend to partake of all of my favorite childhood foods with complete lack of regard for caloric intake. Haven't been home to visit my family in 10 years and they show love by feeding you so it will be a food frenzy for an entire week. In addition to the tons of pasta my Italian relatives will make, I intend to eat a giant fish sandwich and crab cakes at the Original Oyster house and eat my weight in pierogies and potato pancakes at other long established venues. Notice that there is nothing resembling a green veggie anywhere in that plan. Oh, and Wise potato chips, a whole large bag all by myself. Oh and hoagies....we don't have hoagies in Oregon, they're called subs and they do not resemble a proper hoagie in any way. And pizza, did I mention real pizza tossed by someone singing opera in a voice like Caruso and wearing an apron that hasn't been washed in years? I miss good pizza. I think my arteries are clogging just from the anticipation....

 

[PumpkinPie]

I don't know what helps - I can usually do 1-3 days of good eating but it's followed by binge eating which feels out of control. I'm getting very tired of this cycle

I have been reading 'Women, Food, and God" and am finding it somewhat helpful so far

 

[Dee*Jay]

Matata -- Wise Potato Chips!!!!! My ABSOLUTE favorite!!! Remember when they made them more "burned"? I used to love them like that. I had a bag when I was home (Monroeville) last time and they are lighter now. Highly disappointing but I managed to eat them nonetheless.

My family also shows love in the form of food (and based on the size of my a$$ you can tell they love me A LOT!). Neither my mother nor my grandmother can really cook their way out of a paper bag (we're Irish after all), but they give it a go. Baking though - I remember many a December night with the alarm going off every two hours so my grandmother could get up, roll out the lady lock dough, add in ANOTHER sitck of butter, and go back to bed... only to do it again two hours later all night long. I can't even imagine how many gross of cookies we ate every holiday season.

 

[Matata]

I don't know what helps - I can usually do 1-3 days of good eating but it's followed by binge eating which feels out of control. I'm getting very tired of this cycle

I have been reading 'Women, Food, and God" and am finding it somewhat helpful so far

I was the same for most of my life. Emotional eating is tough to conquer and you have to really work on slaying whatever demons keep you on the roller coaster. I used my weight as a shield to make me invisible because I was molested as a child and I thought that if I was heavy, I would be unattractive and safe from men. But then I started getting old and realized that I was running out of time to get healthy and I didn't want to take the chance that I'd live a long life incapacitated by the myriad health issues associated with being heavy.

Tried all sorts of eating plans (I don't like the word "diet"), but what got me started on the right path was to do a cleanse. I stumbled upon the Isagenix site and in desperation ordered their 9 day Cleanse. It was tough getting rid of the effects of a sugar and carb addiction but at the end I felt fabulous. I started working out, dropped 74 lbs in 4 months (I lose and gain very quickly) and have between 5-10 lbs more to go. I've worked hard to get where I am and for the very first time, feel encouraged and motivated to not back slide and regain the weight. I can eat treats with self control and prefer eating freshly prepared healthy food.

I hope you don't give up. You might need to make some tough decisions to purge your life of negative people and negative influences and you most definitely have to do it for YOU and no one else. Hang in there.

 

[marcy]

Happy Monday!

Dee Jay, I am sure you screamed in delight when you saw the scores posted. You studied and studied so I am sure your grade is accurate. Good luck with round 2. You lost me on what chapter 2 covers but then again I only use Excel and Quicken. LOL that your family loves you - mine must absolutely adore me.

Zoe, I think the people upstairs should pay for all the ceiling repairs. Can any of the floor damage be directly linked to that as well? I will have to try some of the Fit popcorn. I have been craving that lately. I agree it is so important to avoid trigger food. Weighing out food is a good call too. Sorry to hear you did not get the job you auditioned for but I am sure the right job is out there for you. It is frustrating to be starting over again. Good idea to clean out some things.

Matata, have fun visiting the family. It is sad how much our social gatherings involve food. Something I do is cut food in 1/2 right away so I never eat more than 1/2 of something. It sounds like you are doing great with being able to eat treats occasionally and normally prefer to eat healthy food.

Pumpkin Pie, do you find you are eating less on your free day?

I am so easily amused. Marty posted pictures this weekend of London with the Killer Rabbit in the foreground. So tonight I took pictures of my teddy bear and another killer rabbit in his truck (titled “Road Trip”) and then pulled up pictures of a few places on the big computer and took a picture of the TBear and Rabbit in front of them and posted those online as well. I got to laughing so hard I was crying.

Work was okay today. I am starting to review procedures and see what we need to get done this summer.

I had leftovers for supper and some slow churned ice cream for supper.

Have a great evening.

Marcy

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tuesday kids!

Just a quickie this morning. I was good foodwise yesterday, mostly because I went straight to the party room with my computer after work... and stayed there until almost midnight. Then, I woke up at 5:20 because I just don't GET cost accounting, so I came into the office and did another whole homework section on-line. ACK.

Will work out tonight, then more homework. Whatever will I do once I'm over this test and have extra time on my hands?!?

 

[PumpkinPie]

Good morning everyone

I did pretty well yesterday - had this thread in the back of my mind all day and ate really reasonably (including a donut that I had been craving for weeks). Feeling good about it

 

[zoebartlett]

Marcy, I can't say for sure because we still don't know what caused the leaks in the kitchen, but I think it's a coincidence that it happened all at once. I think the bathroom and the kitchen leaks are separate issues.

I'm glad you had a good day, PumpkinPie!

We have a concert at school tonight that I'm going to attend, so I'm staying at my parents' house. They're on vacation, so it will be nice to have the house to myself. It also cuts down my commute a lot, so I get to sleep late tomorrow. Not much else new to report.

 

[marcy]

Happy 3 days until Marty gets home. (Or Tuesday to the rest of the world)!

Dee Jay, you are a studying machine! That’s got to help burn calories.

Pumpkin Pie, that is great you are feeling good about your eating. Sometimes you just have to give in to cravings.

Zoe, I hope it turns out the people upstairs have to pay for all of the water damage but I agree the likelihood the ceiling and kitchen floor are related is probably small. Enjoy sleeping in tomorrow.

I get to sleep in tomorrow as well, at least one snooze anyway. I need to wait for my cleaning lady to arrive before going to work.

I texted Marty quite a bit tonight. He was up after midnight his time but he was all worked up about something at work so I am not surprised he was up late.

I stopped at Culver’s for supper and had a sandwich and a small dish of peach custard. I need to go get some more fruit but since I was swapping notes with Marty I came home instead of stopping at the store.

I cleaned out some stuff tonight and filled the trashcan up for tomorrow. I swear we moved one truck too many when we moved. Tonight's purge was some things my MIL asked Marty if we wanted and he said sure - well now it's gone.

Speaking of moving, Deegee – how are you doing? Are you in your new place yet?

Take care.
Marcy

 

[PumpkinPie]

well yesterday was a write-off! but it was my birthday so I'm letting it go as a freebie

I just got back from my baby-and-me bootcamp class so at least I"ve started my day off well

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Wednesday kids!

Pumpkin Pie, I hope you had a wonderful birthday!!!

Zoe, I will be curious to hear more about your two leaks. Certainly there are coincidences in the universe, but this seems very odd to me...

Marcy, yes, I am a studying machine! Hopefully this section is the most rigerous one though because it's the only where where I am learning the info all new and then launching right into the test. The last two sections, even though they are harder material, may not be as bad becuase I took the class a few months ago so it will be all review before the exam.

Yesterday I ate pretty much an entire bag of Ghiradelli dark chocolate salted carmel squares... and then I worked out for 30 mins instead of my usual 60 and had a pizza for dinner. WTF?!? Then I went home and watched a two hour lecture. For a minute I was tempted to go on to the second two hours segment on that topic, but then I came to my senses and went the hell to bed!

This morning I went to a local industry group meeting and saw a bunch of people that I hadn't seen since I went down to KC, so that was nice!

 

[marcy]

Happy Wednesday.

Pumpkin Pie, Happy Birthdya a day late. I hope you had a great one.

Dee Jay, I am sure more of the new material is sinking in than you think. You'll be celebrating your passing score for round 2 in no time. I hope the big storm coming your way tonight didn't do any damage.

Today was our house gets magically cleaned day so I washed towels and sheets tonight. I did fast food for lunch and supper so I wouldn't mess up the clean kitchen. I had a junior cheeseburger for lunch and 2 hard shell tacos for supper. Tomorrow will be rough since we are having a department pizza party then I am meeting a friend for supper at Olive Garden. I will be sure to fill up n salad first.

Marty will be home Friday night, leave Monday then be home again next Saturday.

A couple of big fires are going in Colorado. I hate to see those starting up already this summer. It is so sad to see people losing their homes.

Take care.

Marcy

 

[PumpkinPie]

Thanks for the bday wishes ladies

Dee*Jay - anything salted caramel with chocolate is deadly for me too.

I did great yesterday - was on track with my calories and managed to include a cookie as a treat, and then I got home from work at 9;30 and ate half a box of crackers! soo annoying but this is my pattern. If i'm tired or bored it's hard not to eat. I did great during my daughter's naptime (which is another common binge time for me) but then lost control after work.. grrr

 

[PumpkinPie]

well I"m crashing and burning spectacularly. I just ate about 6 things tonight (cookies, crackers, chocolate chips) that I didn't need and wasn't even really hungry

I don't know what to do - wondering if maybe I don't really want to lose weight enough.. I think maybe I need to find a hobby - I get bored in the evenings after the baby is in bed.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Thursday kids!

Marcy, I'm doing great with the conceptual questions, but the ones where you have to calculate anything are still problematic for me. Unfortunately you never know what the weighting is going to be on your particular exam so if I get a version that is problem heavy/concept light I'm screwed...

Pumpkin Pie, forgive the novel coming but I want to offer up some ideas.
- Do you work out? You would think I could remember this from your posts, but I can't becuase my brain is fried from too much CPA stuff right now, but if you don't that may be a good thing for you to do. I find working out to be very motivating foodwise; i.e., I've done something good by going to the gym so I'm going to continue the trend by not eating badly. For me, more organized is better in terms of a workout, so mentally *going to the gym* means more to me than going for a long walk, even if the same amount of calories are burned. If you can't get to a gym (I understand you have family responsibilies), get a DVD, *put on workout clothes* and do the program at home. The act of physically putting yourself in workout clothes puts you mentally in workout mode. I read somewhere that people who get up and put on gym clothes first thing are more likely by a wide % to actually go than people who put on regular clothes and plan to change later.
- Yes, a hobby will give you something else to do/think about than food. It seems you eat out of boredom, so get rid of the boredom and it will likely help. And if you take up a hobby, make it something that uses your hands. You can't eat Oreos while you're knitting.
- Finally, all the things you are tempted to eat... Get Them Out Of The House. PERIOD. You can't eat what you don't have.
What do you think of these suggestions?

So I decided to forego the gym this morning to write out the notes from the chapter I finished watching the video on last night. Two full pages of sheer misery. And then I went and had lunch with my best friend. Pizza, pizza, and more pizza. Finally, I got my hair cut tonight. There's *something* wrong with this cut, I just haven't figured out yet what it is.

OK, back to the books...