I would die if I had only 4.5 - 5 hours of sleep a night! I am a horrible insomniac and on the 3 days a week that I work ( I only work 3 ) I am always sleep deprived even at 6 hours of sleep! On my days off, I sleep in nice and late and usually sleep over 9 hours. How do you do it?

The best part about exercising at lunch is that it gives me an excuse to take a shower in the middle of the day. And the world is just a better place after a midday shower.

Sleep makes a tremendous difference with weight, as does stress.. and it's pretty obvious you've had too little of the first and too much of the latter lately.

Taking it kind of easy and getting some massive sleep (I used to be able to only sleep 8 hours if I was sick, most days were around 5... Somehow now I rack up 8-9 hours a night!!) has probably been the only thing that has helped me maintain my weight, despite working out a little less and eating more. I can't explain it with anything else, because nothing else makes sense.

I also should add - and I hadn't really told anyone - I was losing a LOT of hair in the last year of school. Not chunks or anything, but WAY more than normal (and by way more, I mean I shed about 10x more than my cat... I had to switch to a wide-tooth comb... I almost broke my vacuum cleaner). Luckily I have thick hair, so it wasn't too much of a problem, but I was concerned. Once I moved out here and have been sleeping and getting more sleep for myself... voila! My hair loss is back to the 'normal' range.

Oh, and afternoon showers are THA BEST!

Having to shower is one of my top excuses for talking myself out of lunchtime exercise. After years of habit, showering is something that seems odd unless it is 6:23 in the morning.

I'm about to take a mid-day shower. Of course, I didn't take one this morning, so maybe it's not quite the same. ;)

how was that shower? ;-)

last year i worked hard at getting some weight off and lost 47lbs. then the dreaded holidays came and whoosh "go ahead, it's the holidays" they said. then it became easier to justify - well, since i have already gone off the diet...

and of course, another holiday (the feast kind) is approaching and i hate to miss out on the home cooked goodness.

you are each inspiring though.

something cool at work was recently launched to receive $100.00 off my health insurance cost to simply complete an online health survey (confidential, of course) with webMD. a few days ago, a packet of info came with personalized goals for acheiving better health and fitness arrived.

so last night i get a call from a "webMD coach" ready to help develop a plan and answer any questions... but, i am sick with brochitis and could barely breath/talk. LOL so, the call will be rescheduled.

honestly, getting fit and trim just seems SO overwhelming and the motivation/dedication tough to find. i realize it has to come from within.

knowing i am not the only one in this battle helps.

you guys rock!

Hey ML~

It is hard. I don't know what kicked in with me exactly but I know basically it was a f'this, I am not going to be like this anymore. Too many limitations, too many health worries.

One thing, even little cutbacks, like sodas, low fat mayonaise {or just mustard, as NA has stated} can help. In my sandwiches, I usually get the 'moisture' from the veggies I put in it.

I hope you get over your bronchitis soon! Take care of yourself!

~MouseWife~

I used to be a stress eater. Now I seem to be doing the opposite. My biggest problem was always being a closet eater. I would not eat when I was out because I knew everyone was pointing at me saying, "See, that is why she is fat." I would get home and binge.

Yeah, I think that is a wide-spread problem. It used to be my M.O. too - primarily in the early 00s amid my crushing depression, but I still feel the impulse now, ingrained from watching my mom doing the same thing. In that case, I usually call Tom to say "I was thinking of eating this but it's not good for me" or "I ate this thing that was not good for me and I'm OK/not OK with it."

It's such a big issue to me that it's featured at my screenplay's turning point.