Thanks ladies! I'm glad that sharing my story has helped. But believe me, it's definitely been a struggle sometimes. It's a daily test of willpower to keep it going and not succumb to a craving or temptation. *Most* days I'm very successful at that, but every now and then..... Yesterday we celebrated two birthdays @ Jeff's folks' place - Jeff's and his sister's. Jeff baked a chocolate orange cake for Tricia, and Tricia baked a banana cream pie for Jeff. Plus his mom put out a Mexican burrito buffet for lunch.

Well, I'd like to tell you I resisted it all, but......Of course I had to try both the chocolate cake and the pie, both of which were amazing. And the mexican food was awesome. I dutifully counted up all my points at the end of the day (I never skip that step, even when I've had a "bad" day) and just about fell off my chair.

One thing I've taken away from all of this over the last 3 months is that it's OK to have a day like this now and then. I've learned not to sabotage myself *after* the fact by saying - "well, now I've screwed up my whole week, so I may as well also have x too." Instead, today I'm right back on the plan and eating my daily 19 points. I went for my run this morning, as scheduled. Basically, I've found that if I don't let myself have a day like yesterday every now and then (say, once every 4-6 weeks) then I end up feeling too deprived. What really matters is how I work the plan every day, not the very occasional day when I let loose and eat a piece of cake.

I'd like to thank all of YOU for keeping me on track, too. Part of what works for ME is being accountable to other people, so being able to check in here and on the Jan/Feb weight loss thread really helps me alot.

Susan