Breakfast—high fiber cereal with fresh strawberries and skim milk, coffee with milk and two tsp sugar
Lunch—two-egg omelette with spinach, mushrooms, and light Laughing Cow cheese; one slice whole-grain toast with one tbsp low-sugar marmalade
Snack—coffee with one tsp sugar and milk, fiber bar
Dinner—corned beef, cabbage, and brussels sprouts
Snack—fat-free hot chocolate and 90-calorie bag of baked wheat sticks

Did thirty minutes on the elliptical and fifteen minutes of strength training. Ouch—I have clearly let my muscles go too long without a good workout!

Natalie Jo, it's 85 here, but I don't think it's the heat. I think it's probably just stress and nothing more or less! At least I hope so!

Carrie, maybe toss in some almonds or some nut butter once in a while? That's a favorite of mine—or part of an avocado in a salad or something. It doesn't take much, but you need a little for all the good things fat does in your body (shiny hair, functional joints, functional brain).

That sound track sounds perfect! Music is such a great motivator and pusher for cardio.

It's interesting catching up a bit here Sophie. I hear you saying that you are absolutely swamped with obligations, so busy, got an injury, having miserable moments, but I also see you posting regularly, exercising mostly, eating well mostly, no mega binges (not like someone else we both know) - and losing weight - doing really well during a tough time - is what I see!!

Breakfast—oatmeal cooked in skim milk with slivered almonds and mango sauce
Snack—coffee with sugar and powdered creamer, fiber bar
Lunch—corned beef, cabbage, and brussel sprouts
Snack—fat-free, sugar-free chocolate pudding with half a banana
Dinner—black beans, whole grain pasta, and fire-roasted tomatoes with half an ounce reduced-fat cheddar; one apple
Snack—hot milk and honey

Felici, I so, so appreciate your kind words. It's good to be reminded of what's happening, even now when things are so difficult.

Breakfast—coffee with fat-free half-and-half and four tsp sugar, oatmeal cooked in skim milk with raisins
Snack—fiber bar
Lunch—Georgian green beans (green beans, onions, and egg, chiefly)
Snack—tea with two tsp sugar and skim milk, carrots and hummus
Dinner—whole-grain pasta with tomato sauce, four olives, and steamed broccoli, topped with grated parmesan
Snack—coffee with fat-free half-and-half and sugar, two sandwich cookies

Weigh-in morning, and I'm down two more pounds! Feeling very good about that, especially given that I've been slacking on my exercise again--I'm having real trouble staying motivated right now, especially when I've got so many other things that I've got to do. In a week or so that will slow down, but for right now, having to get some work done every day is the single most important thing for me. All the same, I want to exercise and keep my body feeling good and healthy. That needs to be a priority too.

Two pounds - very nice!! You are doing this and you are reaping the reward!

Congrats on your 2 pounds!!! You are doing so well! I'm glad you seem to be doing better. It's so hard to keep it going throughout hard times, but that's the real test I suppose, and you are kicking butt! And mmmm..I LOVE laughing cow light cheese.

Breakfast—high-fiber cereal with skim milk and fresh strawberries
Snack—fiber bar
Lunch—homemade cream of broccoli soup
Snack—half a banana with fat-free, sugar-free chocolate pudding
Dinner—salmon, sweet potato fries, and roasted corn
Snack—coffee with milk and two tsp sugar, one chocolate caramel cookie

Felici, Carrie, thank you both so much for your congratulations. I'm pretty sure I owe this loss only to decent eating, since my exercising has been abysmal for a while (and likely will be for perhaps two more weeks). It's very hard for me to make myself do more than one really hard thing per day. Exercising, unfortunately, is a really hard thing for me, but so is academic writing. Since my entire life demands that the writing get done, it's hard to work in the exercise as well.

This is an excuse, but it's also a really tough thing to overcome.

Yesterday's record:

Breakfast—90-calorie bag of wheat sticks, apple, coffee with skim milk and two tsp sugar
Snack—100-calorie bag of popcorn
Lunch—low-fat, low-carb tortilla; fresh spinach; half a chicken breast; homemade honey mustard dressing, handful raisins
Snack—coffee, as above, 90-calorie bag of oaty snack things
Dinner—ground turkey with slivered cabbage and hoisin sauce
Snack—coffee, as above, fresh strawberries, and fat-free, sugar-free chocolate pudding

Wow. I ate a lot of pre-packaged food. I suppose I just really wasn't in the mood to cook things. I'd also like to note that I'm becoming quite attached to Jello's fat-free, sugar-free pudding made up with skim milk. It's especially good with fruit.

Did twenty-five minutes on the elliptical. Not nearly so much as I'd like, but anything's better than nothing.

Breakfast—oatmeal cooked with skim milk, walnuts, and one spoonful blueberry maple syrup; two cups coffee with fat-free half-and-half and two tsp sugar
Lunch—most heavenly sandwich ever with tofu and veggies in a pita pocket, half an order of french fries, red velvet cupcake
Dinner—turkey with cabbage and hoisin sauce
Snack—fresh strawberries and fat-free sugar-free chocolate pudding, coffee as above

Yesterday's record:

Breakfast—half a cup of coffee with sugar and skim milk
Tea—tea with sugar, many finger sandwiches, two scones with clotted cream and preserves, half a small chocolate cake
Supper—Lean cuisine pizza, one serving macaroni and cheese, coffee as above

Breakfast—90-calorie Special K bar, coffee with sugar and fat-free half-and-half
Snack—fiber bar
Lunch—two Morningstar Farms veggie cakes; fresh strawberries and fat-free, sugar-free chocolate pudding
Dinner—baked chicken breast with artichoke spread, roasted corn
Snack—one cup coffee with fat-free sweetened condensed milk, five Hershey's kisses

Managed thirty minutes on the elliptical today, hurrah! I felt really good afterwards, too. Must remember that whenever I'm thinking of it as a chore.

Hi Sophie! Sorry for my recent absence from diaries! I'm so glad to see you're still doing well. I'm sure you're still going through a hectic period of your own, and you're doing a wonderful job! By the way - CONGRATS on the two pounds down. That's awesome!!!

Great job Sophie. Wow, 30 mins on the elliptical is great girl...that this is HARD! I love Special K 90 cal bars...which one do you like? My fav is the chocolate drizzle. Keep up the hard work!

Breakfast—oatmeal cooked in skim milk with mango sauce, coffee with two tsp sugar and skim milk
Snack—fiber bar
Lunch—low-fat, low-carb tortilla; spinach and spring greens; chicken; homemade, low-fat dressing
Dinner—chili dog, spaghetti, cake
Snack—fat-free hot chocolate

Did thirty really good minutes on the elliptical, thanks to my pulling out all the musical stops (Aerosmith, the GoGos, and the Who!).

Heather, so good of you to stop in. Things are still a bit crazy, as I haven't got my final papers done, but should be better after Monday, I hope. I hope they're better for you soon, too!

Carrie, my elliptical isn't as impressive as I could wish, because my machine is broken and therefore stuck on the default setting. But it works up a sweat, so I keep going. My favorite Special K bars are probably the orange Bliss ones, but I also like the strawberry.