Well, it's been awhile. Hard to keep up with Facebook, Twitter, and everything else. Now that I've been selected as a featured dieter in USA Today's Weight Loss Challenge/Diet on a Dime feature (running March 30, 2009), I thought I should at least check in.

Weight still stuck. In fact, climbed a bit from November 08 through January, so I went back to really focusing on the food journal and workout routines. I had tried to scale back on the journal, figuring I had a good idea of serving sizes and such. Not.

Maybe I'm putting on muscle? Doubt that. FAT chance. (Good pun, huh? Or not very punny?...)

I've added interval training and more varied machines (treadclimber, rower, crossramp, ARC trainer, treadmill, elliptical) to my workout, plus more varied weight routines, including whole body movements (such as squat and press).

I've been tired quite a bit (from getting up too early, I assume...duh), but the early AM workout guarantees I'll actually get to go to the gym. If you'd ever told me I'd be working out before the sun even came up, I would've laughed in your face. But, there I am, every weekday, before the birdies are even up.

My food journal haunts and taunts me, waiting there on the table every morning when I wake up. I weigh myself when I return from the gym and write my weight next to the date. Then I put A LOT of MAD and SAD faces next to that. It just won't budge downward!

The large caboose following me around indicates that I certainly have NOT reached my goal, nor my "natural" weight. The excess flab in my tricep area and the chubby knees also indicate a potential for more loss of excess fat. I have pictures of myself that are in no way skinny, but they show at least a thinner me that must be in there somewhere!

So, I continue...and I will not give up...but I will never go a day without chocolate. :-) Cabinet is stocked with mint 3 Musketeers, mint M&Ms (hoarded from after-Christmas sales), Dove Promises, and other assorted goodies. Maybe if I ate ONLY chocolate, the weight would finally come off? Or, if they found a way to inject muscle-building protein into chocolate? Hmmmm...