A lesson in frustration

I stepped on the scales this morning - 176.2. I officially weigh more now than I did when I began my body makeover eight days ago. What the Hell?! I'm so frustrated. I know why the weight went up - I overdid my eating yesterday. By a lot. I ate my Outback leftovers from the weekend and THEN went out to eat last night at 99 Restaurant and pub. I did pick a healthier choice than most (a turkey panini with spinach and avacado). I was all proud of myself until I got home and calculated the day's calories and realized it totaled almost 3,000. Ugh. So close, then so far away again.

So where do I go from here? What do I do to get back on track? I joined www.my-calorie-counter.com, a calorie tracking website that will help me calculate what I'm eating (and how much), as well as my water intake and activity levels. It's pretty cool, actually, and only costs five dollars a month. I'll let you know how it goes.

I also need to learn to satisfy my hunger in healthier ways. I ate the leftovers last night not because I really wanted chicken and fries, but because I didn't want to go through the effort of making anything. I am going to have to learn to get past that (or learn not to put high-calorie leftovers in my fridge ready to re-heat).

The one thing I have gotten right so far is my daily bike ride. My resolution for 2008 was 20 minutes of pedaling my stationary bike every day all year (366 days). Yesterday made eight days in a row (I started 12.31.07). I haven't wanted to most days, some days it has been painful, and I definitely don't increase my time/calories burned/level every time, but at least I'm on there. If I can find the motivation, tonight is also a night for my yoga DVD. I also have a ton of chores to do. Chores burn calories, right?

I guess today I'm struggling not to be discouraged. I'm trying to remember that it isn't about what I did wrong yesterday, but what I can do right today. I sure could use some outside encouragement, though... can you help me?

~Amalia~