Down 22 pounds this morning!!!!! 1418

Goodie for me.


However, having said that, I can still tell I have some more to go to get back to where I WAS in 2004!

By the way, I did a run down on my calories and the median amount of calories that I have eaten is 1429. I'm not sure what the average is, if it falls lower or higher, but I've eaten as many above 1429 as I have below. However, that also means that half of those days I ate BELOW 1429.

I didn't break my fast until 11AM. Then I had a grilled chicken breast (260) , slaw (50) , and pears with a little cheese and mayonnaise on top. Hellman's lite. (130)

At work I had my usual sandwich and veggies (270) and later one string cheese (60)

Total 'til now: 670 plus a cup of coffee, making it 710

No wonder I'm beginning to feel very hungry tonight. I think I'll go have me a baked potato with onion and cooked bacon and green peppers (240)

That will get me up to 950 so I guess I'll drink a cup of milk with it. That will get me up to 1062.

That would have been good, if I would have stopped there. But I ate one tortilla chip because Josh left the bag right where it had tempted me MUCH while I was fasting. And I had MORE than a cup of milk. Probably more like two cups. (Add 122) And I had more than one slice of bacon. (Add 70) And a couple tablespoons of cashews. (1 oz is 160. ) I'm not sure how that translates into Tbsps.

Add 352 to 1062 ... I guess that will be close enough. 14 18

So what does that add up to? Hmmmm. The bacon was probably 70 more. 122 for the milk.

***************

There is ONE THING I noticed as I was walking around work today. (We have aisles of huge mirrors that I pass from time to time.) I noticed when I glanced at myself walking by that this skirt I'm wearing was actually LOOSE around the rear. It has NOT been before. It wasn't tight, but it sure didn't have any looseness. And I could actually pull it out from me and see that there was room to spare. GREAT!

Like my co-worker said awhile back: "It looks like you're carrying less luggage in your caboose."

Wed (9-12) TOTAL CALORIES: 1298

Today we fast for campmeeting but I can't really start my fast this morning because of it being freight day at work and because I have a HUGE order to get out. Much of my freight is heavy to deal with (boxes of albums, paper and paper packs) and I heft it around all morning. That is, after we get everyone's freight to the floor. Until about 10 o'clock I'm "hefting" everyone's freight. Then I have mine. Okay, now that I've explained that, you will understand why I am eating much early and then nothing later.

Coffee (40)
Breakfast: Steak (406) on a hamburger bun(110) with a glass of milk (122)
Morning Snack: Two Luna bars (360), Lipton Green Tea (160), Cashews (100)
Total Calories at this point: 1298

Can this be right?

Nutrition Highlights

Rib-eye steak (cooked), 8oz. (227g)
Calories: 260.9
Protein: 21.2g
Carbohydrate: 0.0g
Total Fat: 18.9g
Fiber: 0.0

The Daily Plate doesn't agree.

According their assessment, each ounce would be 58 calories, or 464 for an 8 oz. rib-eye. Mine was probably more like 6 oz., or 348. Just in case, I'll split the difference and call it 400 for 7 oz.

Diet Bites makes it even higher. 191 for three ounces or about 64 each. About 448 for 7 ounces.

BY THE WAY.... this site at Diet Bites looks like it could be a very helpful site for information counting calories of beef products and there is other helpful information they offer there as well.

Tues (9-11) TOTAL CALORIES: 1680 estimate

Coffee (40)
Banana (100)
Breakfast bars and more coffee (180 +40)
Yogurt and an apple (210)
Luna Bar and a diet Mtn Dew (180)

From Walmart Subway-- getting an oil Change-- a Veggie Delite in a wrap. (230)

SO FAR SO GOOD: 980

spaghetti (400)

Grapefruit: about three (240)

Celery: I got the "munchies" and wanted to just eat something so I got out my celery and ate and ate and ate. Probably three or four stalks.

Mon (9-10) TOTAL CALORIES: 1632

Coffee, two cups (80)
Breakfast bars (180)
Banana (100)
Lunch: Progresso Chowder soup (400) crackers (100)
Cookies: (40)
Yogurt (110) Apple (100)
Sandwich and Veggies (270)
Popcorn and milk (130) and (122)

Sun (9-9) TOTAL CALORIES: 1690 approx.

Coffee, two cups (80)
Breakfast: 1 fried egg and two pieces of cinnamon swirl toast with margarine (320)
Hard candy: three pieces, and a few cheddar cheese potato chips (200)

Lunch: Hamburger with onion, cheese, ketchup, mustard, mayo and dill pickles
Salt and Onion Potato chips...hmmmm, maybe a good handful. Diet Mtn Dew (750)

Caffeine free coffee (40)

I finished up my evening with a snack of half of a hamburger patty, with onions on one slice of wheat bread. (300)

Of course, I bounced up a little after what I ate on Saturday, but I noticed I was coming back down this morning. Monday Morning: back down more.

I am not looking on these high calories days as "failures" in my diet, but as "reality" days. Without having some places to "indulge", I am sure that I could not keep this up long term and even if I have a small backset because of eating high calories for one day or two, I feel that I will be "setting myself up for success" by building in days when I don't feel like I'm depriving myself. One reason I was not able to go back on my former diet was because--AFTER I STOPPED WATCHING THE CARBS-- I could never bring my mental state back to a point that I was willing to say YOU ARE NOT GOING TO EAT THAT. That is why I chose to count calories this time. I don't tell myself I CAN'T EAT anything. BUT when I look at how many calories are in some things, I CHOOSE to forgo lots of things that I gobbled on down before because they take up too much of my "spending allowance".

Sat (9-8): NO WAY Day

I was DOWN TWENTY POUNDS this morning!!!!

Coffee, two cups
Two pieces of toast with marmalade
Later: two peanut butter crackers
Lunch at Ruby Tuesday's. I had their quiche-- which was wonderful-- and an awesome salad.

No way I can figure out how many calories were in that salad I had at Ruby Tuesday's
I took several kinds of lettuce, added cucumbers, two kinds of peas, cherry tomatoes, a sprinkling of cheese, about a teaspoon of sunflower seeds and of dried cranberries. Then I dipped into the avocado ranch dressing, and the honey mustard dressing, and another dressing and drizzled them all around. It was DELICIOUS.

I went into work after lunch. I had a Luna bar around 6 o'clock.

At home I had Tyson chicken wings, cooked apples, and a stick of celery with MILK. Any time I feel like I've "blown" my diet, I say to myself: I might as well just go ahead and have a glass of milk. I love milk.

Sat, Sep 08 2007
Ruby Tuesday's quiche 735
Tyson Hot Wings, 6 440
Ranch done right, 2 Tbsp 24
Celery - Raw 6
milk 122
Cooked apples with a cookie 210
Luna Smores bar 180
Toast, 2 slices with sugar free marmalade 220
crackers, 4 48
Peanut Butter, Chunk Style 94
Ruby Tuesday's Salad 400
Total Calories Consumed 2,479

Fri (9-7) TOTAL CALORIES: 1352

Coffee (40)
Breakfast: Oats n Honey Bars (180)
Coffee(40)
Lunch: 4 oz ground beef patty, baked potato with onion, collards Milk
Coffee (60)
Snack: 2 string cheese (120)
Snack at home: Cereal with banana & milk

Calorie Count Log:
Fri, Sep 07 2007
collards 35
baked potato, small 100
Onions - Raw 29
Oats&Honey Breakfast bars 180
coffee 40
coffee 40
Milk, 2% 183
coffee 60
1 string cheese 60
1 string cheese 60
Golden Graham cereal, 1 cup 160
Bananas 90
milk 122
Beef, Ground, 85% Lean Meat Patty - Cooked, Pan-broiled 193
Total Calories Consumed 1,352

Thu (9-6) TOTAL CALORIES: 1263

Coffee(40)
Breakfast: Fried egg, one piece of toast (193)
Snack: Protein bar(200)
Lunch: Sandwich and veggies (270)
Snack: String cheese,(60)
Supper: Fish (125), Collards, 1/2 baked potato with bacon, onion, green pepper


Calorie Count Log:
Thu, Sep 06 2007
coffee 40
Egg, Fried 93
toast 100
coffee 40
protein bar 200
Sandwich and veggies 270 270
1 string cheese 60
collards 50
fish 125
potato, 1/2 75
bacon 50
onions and peppers 40
grapefruit 120
Total Calories Consumed 1,263



Nutrition Facts: Kellogg's Special K Protein Meal Bar
Serving size 1 bar (45g)
Calories 1990
Total fat 5g *%
Sat Fat 4g 20%
Choles 5mg (2%)
Total Carb 25 g (8%)
Fiber 2g (9%)
Sugars 17g
Protein 10g (20%)

Wed (9-5) TOTAL CALORIES: 1334

Coffee
Breakfast: 2 fried eggs, 2 pieces toast with Fleishmann's margarine
Coffee
Lunch: sandwich and Veggies
Supper: tilapia fillet, slaw, asparagus
After a nap: one cookie and a tiny bit of milk
After church: Glory cooked cabbage --the whole can 4 servings at 25 calories each

Calorie Count Log
Wed, Sep 05 2007
Egg, Whole - Cooked, Fried 93
Egg, Whole - Cooked, Fried 93
Toast 2 slices 200
Fleischman's olive oil margarine 70
coffee 40
coffee 40
Sandwich and veggies 260 260
Lipton Green Tea 160
Lemonade 10
tilapia, 1 fillet 49
slaw 70
asparagus 35
asparagus 35
cookie 50
milk 30
Total Calories Consumed 1,234
Glory cooked cabbage 100
Total calories consumed 1334

Announcement: I'm over half way there!!!

I was 188 this morning. That means I've lost 19 pounds. I have 18 to go to make it to my goal of 170. That's 19 pounds in 7 weeks. Ten the first two weeks, eight in the next five, which calculates to just over 1 1/2 a week. I had hoped to lose 20 by the time I went on vacation on the 16th. I might just make it.

Goodie for me. "So far so good."

Caffeine content in soft drinks

According to an article ( by Kate Brumback, AP writer, Sept 4, 2007) citrus sodas' caffeine content tops cola. I already knew that. What I didn't know was that store brand content of caffeine is not consistent with that of national brands.

Caffeine content of well-known national brands include: Coca-Cola (33.9 milligrams), Diet Pepsi (36.7 milligrams), Dr Pepper (42.6 milligrams), Diet Dr Pepper (44.1 milligrams), Diet Coke (46.3 milligrams), Mountain Dew (54.8 milligrams) and Diet Mountain Dew (55.2 milligrams).

By comparison, according to the American Beverage Association Web site, a 12-ounce cup of coffee has between 156 and 288 milligrams of caffeine, and the same amount of tea has 30-135 milligrams.

When I started to work, I started drinking Mtn Dew because it was not an easy task to find a cup of coffee. I didn't particularly like Mtn Dew when I started doing this but I knew that my taste would change over time because of the desire to get the caffeine. It did. I'd generally just drink one in the mid-afternoon. Looks like it would have taken me drinking three or more to get me back up to what I was getting with my "cup" of coffee. (Since most cups have switched to mugs these days, I'm not sure just how that plays out.)

Tue (9-4) TOTAL CALORIES: 1163

Coffee (40)
"Breakfast": Chicken breast, broiled (260)
Lunch: Sandwich and veggies (250) one small piece of cheese (35), Lipton Green Tea (80)

Starbucks Bottled Frappuccino (340) They say there two 8 oz servings in the bottle of 170 each. Hogwash. Whose gonna share?

Total Calories at this point: 1005

I got up in the middle of the night and ate some raisin bran with milk. (158)

I learned something inadvertently. I've had this "miserable head cold" so I took something to dry up my dripping nose and running eyes so I could go on into work. I'm not sure what the ingredients are in the medication I took (It's OTC stuff) but it definitely suppressed my appetite as well as my fluid flow. And there are no ill side effects that I can tell except I have dry mouth which I have taken care of by drinking more water.

I didn't even want to stop working to eat my snacks today. I'm not super hungry even now. My mouth is still somewhat dry so I feel like I'd rather drink than eat.

LABOR DAY : Miserable head cold day

Coffee, two cups (80)
Breakfast: Scrambled egg (100), 2 slices bacon (70) , piece of toast with marmalade (90)
Mid-day: Bacon on one piece of bread (225)
Afternoon: 6 oz Rib-eye steak( ), 1/3 cup baked beans, 1/3 cup potato salad, 4-5 no bake cookies with oatmeal
Later: 1/4 cantalope


About 2:30 or 3 AM popcorn (regular, small bag) and milk (probably 10 oz.)


However, I'll give it a stab.

Coffee (40)
Two fried eggs (200) and two pieces of buttered toast (It's freight day.) (280)
Lipton Sweetened Green Tea (180)
Snack: String cheese (60)
Lunch was Progresso chicken noodle soup (200)
Snack: A luna bar (peanut butter) (180)
After work: Banana (105)

Supper: Steak (with onion and steak) sauce sandwich (just the bread is 240. I use Arnold's Health Nut) (500)

I think I probably had a couple cookies after the sandwich (100)
After church: Bowl of cereal (bunch of honey with almonds, probably TWO servings and milk)
(460+122=582)

I usually run high on my calories on Wednesdays--for energy's sake-- and this was no exception. I was running to close with my time to record everything and now I know I'm not remembering all that I did eat.

I'd say I was at least 2500 calories ... possibly more if I dipped into my mixed nuts. I can't remember.

Nutrition Facts Canned Baked Beans
Serving size 1/2 cup (135g)
Servings Per container about 6
Calories 160
Caloires from Fat 10
Total fat 1g 2%
Sodium 21%
Total Carbs 30g 10%
Dietary fiber 5g 20%
Sugars 11g
Protein 7g
Calcium 4%
Iron 10%

Setting Myself up for Success ABCs

Having made up my lists of breakfasts, lunch/snacks, and meals, I now need to make myself out a list of food items to stay stocked up on so that I will NOT run out of that which will enable me to stay on my diet plan.

A. Groceries List
Eggs, eggs, and more eggs
High fiber cereal or oatmeal
Oats 'n' Honey bars
Sugar Free Marmalade

Bananas
Apples
Other fruit--nectarines, cantaloupe, etc
Radishes, celery, baby carrots, green pepper, onions
Cucumber & tomato, lettuce
Cabbage
Potatoes (small ones)

Low fat lunch meat
Low fat lunch cheese
Low Fat shredded cheese
Cottage Cheese


Hellman's lite mayonnaise
Jalepeno peppers (for the hot vinegar as well as the peppers)

97% fat free popcorn
sugar free jello (pre-packaged)
Activia Yogurt
String cheese

Asparagus
Green Beans
Pintos
Glory Rice & Beans
Glory Tomatoes & Okra
Glory Collards
Canned tomatoes, diced


Progresso or Healthy Choice Soups
Chicken Noodle, etc

Fish fillets
Lean Ground beef ( form into small portions and freeze)
Frozen chicken breast
Frozen stir fry vegetables

Whole wheat noodles
Cheese crackers, 5 calories each of snack crackers 10 calories each


B. Two Week Meal Plan
Fish twice a week
Monday (Work 8-4:30) -- fish
Tuesday (Work 12-close)--chicken breast
***
Wednesday (Work 8-4:30)--fish
Thursday (Work 8-4:30)-- Vegetable plate (beans, potato, etc)
***
Friday (Work 12-Close)
***
Saturday (Off)
Sunday (Off--Company for dinner)

Monday (Work 8-4:30)--fish
Tuesday (Off)--chicken breast
Wednesday (Work 8 -4:30)--fish
Thursday (Work 12- Close)
***
Friday (Work 12-Close)
***
Saturday (Work 9-5:30)--taco salad
Sunday (Off)

***Snacks after working until close (Sandwich at supper time):
low calorie soup, or
salad, or
cottage cheese and pineapple, or
greens and boiled egg, or


Snacks after eating evening meal at home
popcorn and milk
cereal and milk
piece of toast with marmalade and milk

C. Low Calorie Entrees (commercial)
It also wouldn't hurt me, now that I've been doing this a few weeks, to write myself up a two week plan for eating (as a guideline.) Breakfast is a no-brainer... and so is lunch (at work) and my snacks (at work). But meals at home and evening snacks tend to be a pitfall for me. If I knew ahead of time what I was going to eat, it would help.

One way to do this would be to investigate low calorie entrees I could buy and add something to them.

Healthy Choice

Lean Cuisine

• Cafe Classics
• Cafe Classics Bowls
• Casual Eating Classics
• Comfort Classics
• Dinnertime Selects
• One Dish Favorites
• Spa Cuisine Classics
• Casual Eating Favorites

Smart Ones
South Beach

Sun (9-2) TOTAL CALORIES: 1783

Coffee, 2 cups
Breakfast: Fried egg and 1 piece cinnamon swirl toast with sugar free marmalade
Hard candy during church
Lunch: Barbeque pork, potato salad, baked beans, slaw, diet Pepsi, 2 pieces of cake-- chocolate and yellow (Groom's cake and Bride's cake) I forgot that I also drank one cup of punch. It was probably about 50-80 calories
More candy
After church: Soup concoction to take care of my hungry feelings without very many calories.
1 chicken broth (10)
1 package Lipton mushroom/onion soup mix (35)
1 stalk of celery, about 7" long (7)

I should have gone to bed then. I was developing a miserable head cold and I had two grandkids with me that wanted to snack. So I ended up eating some crackers and milk and a little peanut butter also. SO 1783 is NOT the REAL TOTAL.

Calorie-count log
Sun, Sep 02 2007
B Beans, Baked, Home Prepared 127 192
B- Potato Salad, Home-prepared 125 179
B- Cole Slaw - Sides (Individual) 65 95
B- Pork, Fresh, Loin, Whole - Separable Lean And Fat, Cooked, Roasted 85 211
B+ Sauce, Barbecue Sauce 19 14
B+ Rolls, Dinner, Plain, Commercially Prepared - (Includes Brown-and-serve) 28 84
C- Cake, Chocolate, Commercially - Prepared With Chocolate Frosting 64 235
C- Cake, Yellow, Commercially Prepared - With Vanilla Frosting 64 239
B- Egg, Whole - Cooked, Fried 46 93
toast with sugar free marmalade 90
coffee 40
coffee 40
coffee 40
mints 7 hard candy 100
soup 52
Punch 80
Total Calories Consumed 1,783

BREAKFASTS: 7/17-8/31

Eggs:
Two Hard boiled eggs (156)= 156

Fried Egg (93) and toast (80) = 173

Egg in a "nest" Fried egg(93), toast with butter (170) =263

2 slices bacon (103), fried egg (93), toast (100) =296


Sandwich: Sausage(220), fried egg(93), lettuce, tomato(7),
wheat bread (138), mayo (27)= 485


Peanut butter toast. 1 Tbsp Peanut butter (94), Arnold's bread (120),
sugar free marmalade (10)=224

Cereal:
Quaker's packaged oatmeal:  Apples and Cinnamon (130), milk (63)= 193

Post with Almonds (130) and a Banana (105), milk (63) =303

1 1/2 cups raisin bran (285), banana (105), 1/2 cup milk (63)= 453

 


At home mornings (tide me over until lunch)
Banana (105) blended with 1/2 cup 2% milk (63) = 168

Toast (120) with sugar free marmalade (10) =130

Nature Valley Oats 'n' Honey Breakfast Bars (180) = 180

LUNCH /SNACKS: 7/17-8/31

LUNCH: Sandwich and veggies-- almost every day.

Sandwich: The bread varies, therefore the calories vary accordingly.
The meat is from the Subway Sandwich packs that come from Sam's-- four slices of meat, two each of ham and turkey. (50) One piece of cheese (70) Sometimes lettuce, most of the time none.

Veggies: 1 7" stalk of celery (cut in pieces), about 4 radishes, 4 baby carrots


SNACKS:

1. Activia Yogurt (110) and an apple (65-85)
2. String cheese (60)
3. Banana (105)
4. Nature Valley Oats "n' Honey bars (180)
5. Green Tea, sweetened (80)
6. Peanuts, 1 Tbsp (108)
7. Nectarine (65)
8. Sugar free jello (10)
9. 1 peanut butter cracker-- 1 Tbsp peanut butter (47), 2 snack crackers (50)
10. Milk (63) Cereal (130)
11. 97% fat free Popcorn (120) and diet coke
12. 1 peanut butter cookie (50), 1/2 cup milk (63)

MEALS 7/17- 8/31

1. Ground beef patty (211) with Mushrooms (22) and Onions (46); Asparagus (30) with Fleishman's margarine (70) = 379
2. 2 Breaded fish fillets (320)
   Green beans (27)
   Slaw (21 for cabbage) made with vinegar, sweetener, 1 tsp mayo (20)= 388
   
3. Soup: 1 1/2 cups -- a can of Healthy choice Garden Veg mixed with Campbell's _?_Gumbo. One would have been 120 calories per cup, the other 140. I mixed them and ate a cup and a half =195
   
4. Salad made with lettuce (6) , radishes (1) , cucumber (1) , tomato (6) , 1 Tbsp sunflower seeds (50) , 1/4 cup grated cheese (110), 1 Tbsp Hellman's light mayo (50), vinegar & sweetener= 224
5. Homemade Bean Soup (2 cups =200)
   1 can chili beans
   1 can diced tomatoes
   1 can chicken broth
   2 Tbsp hot salsa
   1 large sweet onion
   diced green pepper, 1/4 cup
   chopped celery leaves
6. Taco salad made with lettuce, tomatoes, some mozzarella cheese and ground turkey cooked with taco seasoning and onion. Lettuce (8), Hunt's Original Diced Tomatoes (20),
   1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (110), Onions (34), Ground Turkey ( 225) = 397
7. Tuna Salad (500 for the whole thing!!)
   One can of Starkist Tuna, drained
   Celery, cubed about 3/4 cup
   1 slice onion, grated
   2 boiled eggs
   1 pickle, chopped
   1 Tbsp pickle juice
   4 tsp. Hellman's light mayonnaise
   
   I figured the calories for everything that went into it and came up with total calories of about 500. I ate the whole thing as a breakfast/lunch combo before going into work at 12.
8. Tilapia (93) , slaw (40) , and green beans(18) and sugar free lemonade = 151
   Slaw
   Grated cabbage
   Diced Green pepper
   Minced Onion
   Salt, Pepper
   Jalepeno vinegar
   Hellman's Light Mayo, 2 Tbs
   Slaw made four servings
   about 40 calories each
9. Grilled Chicken breast (320) with Allegro sauce (12) and stir fry veggies (40) = 372
10. Beef ( 3.5 oz beef 315) and stirfry vegs = 400
11. Great Northern Beans ( 1/2 cup, 110), Baked Potato (163) , and Slaw ( 80) = 353
12. Salmon Salad
    1/2 cup canned salmon (180)
    2 stalks celery chopped
    2 Tbsps chopped onion
    2 chopped radishes
    1 Tbsp raisins
    1 Tbsp Hellman's light mayo
    1/2 jalapeño pepper chopped
    jalapeño pepper juice
    1 packet sugar substitute
    Total calories all ingredinets: 272
13. Glory Tomatoes and Okra over spaghetti noodles (220) topped with Parmesan cheese (40) = 260
14. Healthy Choice Chicken Noodle Soup (200) with some onion (16) and celery (9) added= 225
15. Glory Red Beans and Rice (3/4 c -135) and Slaw with green pepper, onion, mayo (83) =218
16. Progresso Chicken Noodle soup, 2 cups = 180
17. Spaghetti: Noodles (178) and meat sauce (1 cup 250) = 428
18. Broiled Tilapia (98) and Vegetable mixture (203) =301
    

    I wanted a potato. So I cleaned and cut one (128) into small pieces (chunky slices) and started cooking it in about a teaspoon and half of Fleishmann's olive oil spread (35). Veggies - green pepper, onion, three baby carrots,celery and some jalapeño peppers (40).

19. Baked Potato (110) with bacon (35) , onions and green peppers (50) = 195. Small baked potato (warm water added for moisture),
    salt and pepper and a topping of
    1/3 cup green peppers, chopped
    1/3 cup chopped onions
    1 small jalapeño pepper sautéed with
    1 slice of bacon
20. Glory Collard Greens (40) and a boiled egg (78)= 118
    
    

Post workover

I can see that if my "diet journal" is going to be any help to me, I'm going to have to go back and re-work the way I have things listed so that I can more easily find the calorie content of something I prepared for myself in the past.

Either that or I can go back and do a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly listing. Maybe I'll do it that way.

Comments

I'm not trying to work out my "Carb Cycling Turbo" days or even my "Wendie" days so that they actually fit the framework that someone has created that seems to know more about what they are doing than I do. (By the way, the Wendie plan is supposed to be an acceleration for Weight Watchers and the Carb Cycling Turbo plan I linked to is supposed to accelerate loss on a LA WeightLoss diet. Both feel the concept can be adapted to other diet plans.)

What I am doing by having "low carb" days and "Wendie" days is keeping myself from getting "burned out" over how I am eating. I am doing this because I know that I am going to have to figure out a way to make watching my weight something I do for the rest of my life. I do NOT want to get so tired of depriving myself that I just give up on it all.

So this is how I figure it: If I can splurge a day a week -- or change to another "plan" so that I can eat something I'd like to eat that the plan I am using is depriving me of -- and NOT gain lasting weight because of it, then it will help me to stick to a long term plan for getting my weight down to where I want it to be and KEEPING IT THERE.

While it would be nice to just stick to something and see the weight come off faster, I would not really be gaining anything by doing that if --when I reach my goal-- I'm so sick of watching what I eat that I stop watching and go back to eating whatever I want to eat.

I'm trying to set myself up for long-term success rather than reaching a certain point on the scales and then throwing weight watching out the window. That is what I did in 2004 and I ended up bigger than I was before I went on that diet. I DO NOT WANT THAT TO HAPPEN AGAIN.