Thanks! (And a Little Update)

First of all, thanks to all of you for your support and advice. I needed it this week. I can say that things have definitely been better, and the cravings are not so bad anymore. I did have sugar during the week - just in moderation. Mostly in the form of hot chocolate, something I crave in the fall. I also found this tasty treat - chocolate granola. I love bear naked granola because it is low in sugar, is all natural, and it tastes yummy. I think this is a great way to curb/satisfy my need for chocolate without going over board. I bought some dark chocolate squares to help ward off the cravings as well.

Now for the real splurge. I bought an incline trainer/treadmill. I've been looking at these for the last few months. NordicTrack makes them, and I kept going to their website hoping for a sale. No such luck. So I checked Craig's List several times. Still no luck. Then, on a whim, I decided I'd look on ebay. I found one for about 700-800 dollars less than the retail price! And it was new...I think it might have been a floor model. But what really makes me proud? I put it together all by myself - no easy feat - I can tell you!!! This thing is HEAVY!!! The day it arrived, it took me over an hour just to get it out of the box. Then I had to go to class. I just figured I'd have to call a friend to come over to help. And then I realized that I didn't want to wait, that I wanted to get to using it. And so I put it together.
And of course I've been using it ever since. I ran three and a half miles today. I was shocked at both the length of the speed of my run. I chalk that up to doing stairs. So before this came, my workouts were in the stairwell of my building. I honestly believe that if you want to build up some stamina, start doing stairs!

I'm still looking for advice and support...any ideas you throw my way will be much appreciated!

HELP!!! (Or Two Bags of Peanut Butter Cups...in Three Days!)

Why am I posting a picture of a Coke bottle filled with sugar? Keep in mind that this is seventeen teaspoons of sugar, the amount in one twenty-ounce soda, and read the following...

So last January/February, I made a goal to go off of sugar for a month. I even went over my goal, 32 days, to be exact, without having sugar. But lately, my need for the stuff has been little on the fiendish side. Or perhaps a lot on the fiendish side! I'll go into a little more detail in a moment.

So what am I needing help with? I need to eat better and exercise more. I want to lose weight and get myself back into healthier habits. I feel frustrated, though, because I don't have a support system. That's my fault. I think one of the hardest things for anyone to do is to ask for help. I do not like asking people to do things for me. I would rather do it on my own. But lately it occurs to me that this is NOT something I can do on my own. And I am tired of trying to do it on my own. I need a cheer squad! I'm asking my friends and family to be my cheer squad.

So the sugar problem...consider the following. I ate three candy bars, three Klondike bars and polished off some left over frozen cookie dough in three days. I had two twenty ounce Cokes and some hot chocolate this week. Then later in the week, I was really craving Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. In a matter of ONLY three days, I ate two bags. This is no joke people! That might be the most embarrassing thing I've ever admitted. Seriously. Who does that? I want to be honest, however. I think telling the truth to others might help me be a little more honest with myself. I've been struggling up and down with my weight for about six years now, and I am tired. After a week like this, I realized I couldn't let it go on.

Realistically, I'm not going to quit eating sugar forever. I really need to figure out a balance that works for me. And if shame helps me to get started, then shame it is! Because that is how I feel about what I ate - ASHAMED. I didn't intend my blog to become a food confessional. However, for the next few months, I'm going to be posting about my progress and asking for advice. For now, I just ask that you give me some of your ideas about how you have learned to control sugar intake. That and please be my cheerleader! I need it!!!

a funny dilemma

What to do...what to do? So most of you all know that my full name is Deborah Michelle Fish. I've always gone by Michelle, except during that brief stint in kindergarten when I decided to exercise my independence and become Deborah.

Anyway, most of my records say Deborah Michelle Fish because of SSN/tax stuff. It's just easier to explain to people that I go by Michelle. So whenever I'm in a new class, I try to let the teacher know right away that I go by Michelle. And this is what happened in federal regulation of international trade. The teacher had us introduce ourselves as he went through the roll, and I let him know my preference. I guess he forgot.

About every other week, when my assigned case happens to come up, he calls me Deborah. And then he even calls me Deb...which is WEIRD!!! Only my closest friends and family call me that. Seriously. It's sort of reserved for people like my mom...or dad...or Dawn...or Nate. What do I do? We're half way through the semester and he's used the name for the last five weeks or so. Do I tell him or just go with it? I ask because some of my classmates are confused. Yesterday one of them asked me what was up. Would it be rude to tell my professor at this point that I go by Michelle?