Today marks the beginning of week 3 of 8. I met my exercise goal of 10 hours for the second week in a row. Hooray!! My weight, however, has remained at 159. Which is either good or better, considering this is PMS week and I usually gain 2 lbs in water weight before my period. I've also had a couple of chocolate binges this week. It's so weird how chocolate makes me feel better. One thing I have done to limit the calories on my binges is to not just eat chocolate by itself. Too much of a slider, so I make sure it's attached to protein (best choice) or some kind of flour or other filling stuff. My thinking is that if I deprive myself of chocolate, I'll go even more crazy on the binges. I may be justifying here, but I think it's also good to be realistic.

My hormones have been out of control the past few years. Since I got the band I have real hope of getting through perimenopause alive. I think it's mainly because of the exercise, but we've also been eating a lot better since I have to be so mindful about what goes into my mouth now. So... back to being realistic. I am not losing as quickly as I'd like, but my clothes fit pretty good and I am so much happier and healthier now. So the scale isn't cooperating, but that is something that will happen eventually. Or, maybe not for a few more years, but honestly, I could live with my current weight and still be happy. I am so glad I got the band when I did, things would be a lot worse now if I hadn't. I can be happy where I am because I know I could easily be 50 pounds heavier than I am right now. But... I am going to keep my weight goal for another two weeks and then re-evaluate at the 4 week mark. By then I'll know if I can get back on track with the bandster eating rules.

Speaking of which, I created a new ticker to help motivate me. It takes 3 weeks to turn an action into a habit, so I'm counting the days I succeed. It might get a little tedious updating 2 tickers every day, but I really like seeing the visual results. I've only been doing the eating goal for 4 days now, but I am really learning how my daily schedule is not helping me. Will have to think about that for a few more days to figure out a new plan.

Here are my results and plan for the rest of the week:

Goals for next 4 days

Fitness goals are specific per day, eating goal for the 4 days is to have 4-6 oz of meat protein at the beginning of lunch and dinner.

Sun- do 2 or 3 dog walks = 1.5 hrs

Actual exercise: 25 + 20 + 20 = 1 hr 5 min

Eating goal: snacked thru lunch, good on dinner

Mon- long hike day, plus 1 or 2 more walks = 2 hrs

Actual exercise: 1 hr 20 min + 20 +20= 2

Eating goal: yes!

Tues- gym (easy workout), 2 dog walks = 1.5 hr

Actual exercise: 20 + 15 +20 = 55

Eating goal: yes

Wed- try something new = 1.5 hr

Actual exercise: 1 hr 10 min + 1 hr 5 min (gym) +15 = 2.5

Eating goal: yes (barely)

Goals for next 3 days

Thurs- do 2 or 3 dog walks = 1 hr

Actual exercise:

Eating goal:

Fri- gym?, 3 dog walks = 1.5 hrs

Actual exercise:

Eating goal:

Sat- long walk or video = 2 hrs

Actual exercise:

Eating goal: