Asuka

Sounds like you have everything down! Sorry to hear about your negative experience at the con - sounds like neither the wife nor the artist deserved you as customers. Hope other artists will make up for it! Glad to see you sticking to boot camp! I have been thinking about going for YEARS, but never gathering the courage to exercise in public. Hope week 4 will be good too! I am impressed with your ability to make clothes - the further I ever went was to make clothes for my Barbie dolls...

Work is not yet improving. Commuting is still gruesome and studying takes away precious sleeping time... as I learn (again) to survive on coffee and vitamin C and painkillers to manage the headaches induced by lack of sleep. But now that I realize that I am just a small cog in the machine, insignificant and not rewarded, I feel better leaving at 5:45pm instead of 6pm (while coming a bit earlier to pull off my 8 hours) and not caring too much about what people think. Not a long term plan by any means, but I hope I can change positions again in 2 months, since this started as a temporary assignment (with the potential to become full time - if we both want to). But silver lining, I was able to go back to my own dance class (with my favorite teacher!), so I will now and forever enjoy every second of it, since I was almost deprived of that pleasure... Study is going well, and thanks to the increased distance to work and more sustained effort biking in the morning (due to different entertainment sources), and renewed diets efforts, my scale is showing lower numbers. I started tracking also % of muscle and % of fat, as I want to be able to build on muscle, not just lose fat (although I know doing both at the same time is difficult at best). The weekend cannot start fast enough - I need to study more and mostly I need to rest, and do a mock test to see how far away I am from the grade that I want (and how much more I should study). Quitting is out of the question, but I may have gone overboard with the study during week days and need to readjust for next challenge. I read in a book (Barking up the Wrong Tree) that having a weak body is really a gift, because then if you can do only 1 thing per day, you have to only do the thing that you want most, versus the slew of unsatisfactory things we do all day. If I had to choose, then I would still study. And I would have to give up watching Seth Meyer and playing video games and all else. But I am lucky enough that I can study and spend a little time doing these other things - I just have to consciously chose the activities I spend time on. And then consciously chose times when I do not study, but enjoy truly relaxing and not trying to cram vocabulary in my head. Waht are your escapism hobbies? What do you do to stimulate your brain and to rest it?

None taken. Totally agree. Which is why we are not friends anymore. And I agree with you, I was able to get back on my feet relatively fast after my pity party. Guess I learnt with age... I am trying to be a little less constrained this week, despite focusing on study, and trying to find happy moments playing video games (no more than 10-15 min!), and meditating. These help tremendously keeping me focused and not losing my mind. Also, quick morning victory, at 88.8kg, below the 89 bar!! Now aiming for 85 in a few weeks... then 66.6 in its own time. Maybe in a couple of years?

I forgot that my goal in points for this challenge was 200... I guess I underestimated! Let's to to 400. If I make it to 400 I will buy myself special dance clothes!!!!

Just for fun: A Forecast of Points for Week 5 Useless details hidden Total over the week: 133.5 (Total challenge: 402.5)

Official update for weeks 3 and 4! 1 week left only! (And Bulbasaur is stiiiiill in Bulbasaur form!) So I finished Week 3 in shambles, after the friend who was supposed to come get me after my eye surgery just left me there and I had to walk home alone. Needless to say, I was none to happy, drowning my sorrows first in whtever food I could eat without seeing, then in melted chocolate, once I was able to see. I felt dejected and abandoned and since I was told not to exercise for a week, I took that advice to heart. It was a weekend-long pity party. The only upside of this pity is that I was sleeping. 8, 9 sometimes 10 hours per night. I started wondering if I had not started being depressed. (All the while thinking about all the sleeping points I was earning...) Until I started watching Game of Thrones. Then it became binge watching. But the upside was that I had energy again. So I started light exercise (cardio) and actually planning meals (aka not eating pasta until my belly feels like a balloon). I made Korean soy soup (successfully!!! I was so proud!), avocado and cucumber salad, and started focusing on eating protein again (hellooooo Quest bars! I missed you too). But I had stopped counting calories, and reverted to eating bread with butter. So I painfully restarted good habits, slowly weaning myself off the butter (now locked away in a ziploc bag at the back of my fridge!), focused on GOOD FOOD (Dim sum with friends! Good melted chocolate in reasonable quantities) and on protein. With meal planning thrown in the mix, I was able to come back to a more acceptable diet. Then... I checked the date for my exam. I wanted to cutely start to have these calendars telling you "You have 150 days left to study". And I discovered that my teacher had the wrong date. My Korean exam is in mid-January, not mid-February. YIKES!! Exit Arya, Cercei, Brienne and all my beloved strong women of GoT and back to all the Korean dramas, but mostly back to TV BEING OFF. And back to studying for at least 2 hours a day, up to 6 or 8 if possible on weekends (I don't want to lose my mind! But I know what is needed...). Thankfully this challenge has a study component, thanks to which I may graduate to Ivysaur - Yesterday alone I made 14 points from study. And with my new study plan moving forward, I shall expect this to continue. Back to numbers: Week 3: Total points 61 - Actually not so bad, pass with A- 1- Spend time in the tall grass - Fight off other Pokemons and get stronger! 1 day with no exercise at all, but good catch up on Sunday. Pass with A 2- Go to the Pokemon center regularly - Always be full of energy! Week started weak with 2 nights below 7 hours, then ended up basically sleeping at 9pm. Pass with A+ 3- Eat good Pokebeans - Make sure my body is fed the right nutrients! This is where the failing starts... 2 days without counting calories or respecting basic food rules, only 3 days below calory level (when I don't count I KNOW I am over the calorie level). Still 5 good days: B+ 4- Visit all the houses on the way - Pick up skills and hidden objects! A week starting well and ending badly... this is the theme of the week. Stil 3 (small) study sessions, it is within expectations. Pass with A- And now, the failing begins... Week 4: Total points 47 - Barely pass with B- 1- Spend time in the tall grass - Fight off other Pokemons and get stronger! 2 days with no cardio, only get to the minimum points (7) by having dance class 3 times a week now. However, with the new rule of no tablet while exercising (Korean TV instead), I actually bike faster, harder, and with more energy. This was true on Sunday, Monday and this morning, so I am taking it as a good sign of things to come (and pants getting looser at the waist!). Pass with A-. 2- Go to the Pokemon center regularly - Always be full of energy! So. Much. Sleep. Actually kinda scary. Pass with A++++ 3- Eat good Pokebeans - Make sure my body is fed the right nutrients! This is where the failing starts... 1 day of counting calories, 3 of trying to respect basic food rules, no day below calory level. FAIL: F 4- Visit all the houses on the way - Pick up skills and hidden objects! Omo, like my Korean friends would say. There was almost no study, some planning and organizing on Sunday and some drama along the way. Fail: D. The new week is going well though. We were still on holidays on Monday (now it is Tuesday), and I scored 7 points before study, 21.5 points after study (with more stringent study rules, otherwise I would just receive 25 points), with 3 food rules followed, caolires counted (despite being a little over) and a sustained cardio effort. I think week 5 will go well and I am 99% sure I will reach my goals by the end of the challenge! Now the challenge will be for next challenge. How do I stay fit and prioritize sleep while increasing WIDELY the amount of time I have to study? (Because who does not munch when they study??) All advice is welcome! I think I will just throw out all the junk food and stash Quest bars everywhere. Then get tired of Quest bars and go out buy Kinder... Side note! I found that lighting candles (especially food smelling candles) helps me focus and feel less hungry by satisfying my sense of smell. I currently have (at the same time!) hazelnut coffee and cranberry chutney from Yankee Candle on my study table and they help me a lot!

Definitely! The past 2 weeks have been rough (more on that in the next update post) and being home, rather sad, and exposed to food, definitely left its mark. But I needed the few days off everything (off diet, off work, off friends, off life almost since I binge-watched GoT... and got to season 3, I know, pathetic haha) and I feel better now. Surprisingly, I was able to bring abck a few good habits little by little and my weight decreased a little over that 12-day period. So all in all, bunnies were happy in Ecuador, Mars was nowhere near Jupiter and my hormones were down. I will focus on taking care of myself from now on, rather than obsess about the scale. Although the idea of ony weighting myself once a month is scary. I have a once a week "official" weight-in session (a la WW) and I just weight myself from time to time in between, knowing the number will not be recorded. This helped tremendously with the stress.

So I struggle in my new job. Both because of the culture (super hierarchical, and I am one of the youngest team members, so I am expected to say yes all the time) and the actual work, which comes at any time, cannot be planned and require to be done as soon as possible when there is no need for it. Anyways, That plus the commute has me running for chocoalte, and this is what I did last night. I had a super balanced meal of lean ground beef with pureed zucchini and it was heaven. Then I had bananas covered in melted chocolate, and then bread and butter. By then I was feeling a bit better about myself, like I always feel after eating really good food (Swiss chocolate and French butter, on whole wheat cranberry and nuts bread). This morning I fully expected to be higher on the scale, since I ate so much, at night. Usually if I eat in the morning, the impact is smaller on the scale. Well, I was in for a surprise, with the scale 0.1kg LOWER after eating all of that, despite days of low cal eating that left me unsatisfied (except for the choocolate bread). So, my body is officially out of whack. I will focus on daily calories, WW points and eating enough to keep me happy and try moving weightings only to Tuesdays, in order to avoid the stress of the scale. Maybe it's a better solution? I will also track my % of muscle and fat, to see if it helps with some good news. Also, I got offered a GIANT BOX of snacks at work yesterday, but I was able to explain to my colleagues that I could not eat everything by mylself and should thus leave the box next to the coffee machine for our team to enjoy it together - I ate one small treat and everyone was happy. It makes me feel good to be able to share all that good food! I am having eye surgery tomorrow, so audiobooks will fill my future over the next few days. I stocked my fridge with easy to eat foods (grapes, banana, ham, hard boiled eggs, cereals, milk) so I won't starve. I will se eyou again in a few days, once I am able to use a computer again!

Sounds awesome!! Keep going strong! What exercises do you do in bootcamp? Also usually how long are the sessions? Definitely love the feeling of getting stronger!!

A string of bad news and the new commute still have me exhausted although reaching 80 active minutes by mid-day (1:15pm today). This sends me right to coffee, which does not sit well with my stomach, so I have terrible stomachaches by evenings. I will have to find another form of cafferine / vitamin C. Orange juice has the same issues and more calories This also sends me in the arms of chocolate, which I struggle against. Maybe I should increase my sleep another notch? 8 hours might cut it better, despite my bus naps. I caved an ate chocolate bread this morning, but studied in the bus, before taking a nap :) And I was reasonable at lunch and with no morning snacks beyond fruits (I mean... chocolate bread for nreakfast? ^_^). Next week I will be on vacations! It is a sort of golden week in Korea, and I will take advantage of it to have eye surgery on Friday to have enough time to recuperate. I am a little bit anxious about lasek surgery (although I know so many people who did it at the same clinic and had successful surgeries!), so this is not helping with the stress. So I am focusing on the recuperation period afterwards and the full opportunity to have a legitimate reason just lay down in my bed. I stocked up on low cal food (turkey breast, egg whites) so as not to go into calorie overdrive while I cannot exercise / leave the house. Also still no weight lost. *sigh* I wonder what I should change ("Stop eating chocolate bread" says a voice in my head... XD)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA A study time goal! Stars are getting aligned - I'm going to tudy doubly hard! I am LOVING this challenge, where we can all find some activity to do without disrupting our activities - thank you @Anim07734!!

So I overate last night. I brought some chocolate bread and I clearly ate too much. A few days back I had some and threw out more than half, but yesterday because I had points left, ate too much of it, too fast, with enjoyment, but not as much as I should have. I felt super blah afterwards and I still regret it. I think I need to be more careful about not creating an atmosphere of deprivation, or not one which I cannot tolerate (for instance I cut pasta without a problem - I want to eat some but I won't binge eat it), but I could not live without bread. Snacks at the office have been terrible - I should bring back some chocolate protein bars, which satisfy my sweet tooth and a need for proteins. Just wanted to share that I fail on a regular basis. I wish I could accept myself more at my current weight. Then I would not stress so much about losing 20kg. I think even just 11 would be a huge change for me. I wil try to be more positive! But with food a major source of calm and comfort and as I am going through a period of change, I feel doubly deprived. You wouldn't believe how much I hug my plush toys!

Hahaha, thank you so much Julie Barkley! Here is the detailed count of points: 1- Spend time in the tall grass Goal: "Total 8 points theoretically (per week)" Total 18 points over 2 weeks (11+7), with a lazy weekend last weekend (I walked a lot, but it does not count as "tall grass") I am on plan here, +/- depending on how I feel during the weekend. 7 point is my absolute minimum (it means only cardio). Note: I took away the points for walking from last weekend, so on Week 2 the total of points is 83.5 versus 85.5 previously announced. 2- Go to the Pokemon center regularly Goal: "I will be aiming for 8 points which is ridiculously low" 35 points total, with only 3 nights over 3 weeks at less than 7 hours of sleep (+ yesterday). This one is a MAJOR adjustment, but a good win! 3- Eat good Pokebeans Goal: "A reasonable number of points: total of 20 points per week" I was at 87 pionts over 2 weeks. Basically, I changed all of my meals and ~60% of my snacks (shas she as she eats a maple sirup cookie for 2.5 WW points), so I am making good progress. This is how I am so much in advance of my goals. I am never sure if I will be motivated to eat well or not, so I wanted to make sure I would win al least some of the time. The solution I found for this challenge is to create space for the moments when I don't want or feel like I need to eat less than optimal food. So I will eat all of my meals super well, focusing on low calories swaps, no carbs, and then eat a chocoalte bread later because it is helpful and I have the calories. Not the best solution, but one that is manageable. 4- Visit all the houses on the way Goal: "Target number of points: 6. " 24 points total, since I have tried to use bus riding time to study vocab and end up studying a lot during the day when I have to use Korean reports to write my reports. Total 164 points over 2 weeks, which is good!

Understood. I think tracking macros is a bit more time-consuming though! Wow. Cautious tale. I think I will stay with the tried and true WW / calorie counting method. I will maybe check next week my past macros, to see how far away I am from target (I am on holidays post eye surgery so I will have time to count macros!), but I agree that I don't want to add too many new constraints if my diet is still okay with another method. Thanks Mana and Hazard for provising guidance!

End of week 2: Not so perfect results, but a hard week overall, so I won't complain too much. Overall week: Grade A- 1- Spend time in the tall grass I did all cardio this week, 5 biking sessions, 2 dance classes. I met my 80 minutes of exercises daily, but this weekend, it was entirely because I walked everywhere and my steps are counted by sHealth in my phone. So I met expectations, but I did not push myself (no weightlifting), because I felt so tired the whole week. Maybe it was the carb and sugar cutting,. maybe it was the new hour long bus rides morning and evening (before I walked 15 minutes to work). But I was exhausted and fell asleep even on Saturday after sleeping 8 hours, so I did not push myself. Overall, A- for the week (I met all expectations but did not push) 2- Go to the Pokemon center regularly - Always be full of energy! I slept a lot. At night, in buses, on my couch. I missed my 7 hours target 2 days, but woke up around 7 or 8 both Saturday and Sunday, signs that my body felt rested. However, it still feels like it is not enough. I am hoping that it is the change to a les carby diet (from the EAT ALL YOU WANT AND GAIN WAIT AT LIGHTNINIG SPEED diet), and will improve. Overall B+ for the week, I still can do better 3- Eat good Pokebeans - Make sure my body is fed the right nutrients! I improved! My total amount for the week is a bit below my WW max, so I give myself credit for that. I went over 30 points 3 days this week, Monday when we had a team diner at a buffet (!!!!!!) and from 3pm on were cooking while eating cookies. I should have done better, but it was really good quality food. The other 2 days (Sat and Sun), I went a little overboard, but not exceedingly so, I went out with friends and had brunch, so it was a bit heavier than "lean turkey with a side of zucchini". On the other had I made risotto and a gratin of zucchini puree with lean ground beef and it is delicious! I am eating small portions to keep calories low, but I did everything in a lewan way (light cream, no cheese, no potatoes, lean beef), so it is pretty healthy already. Note for next time: WAAAAAAY more spices required! Overall A- for the week - I can do better, but I am more systematically making the right choices. And I sometimes fail, but I don't let it put me down and I get back on the horse afterwards. 4- Visit all the houses on the way - Pick up skills and hidden objects! Waaaaaaa. This is where I shone this week. I started studying again in a truly intensive fashion. Call it vocab everyday, 1 study session with my teacher and 1 study sesison with a friend. And this friend even told me he was surprised that my Korean improved so much! Definitely a good trend! Overall A+ for the week! Now need to add actual exercises simulating my exam and it will be perfect! To dampen a bit my enthusiasm, my weight ha snot moved since the middle of the week. I am still below 90kgs, but barely. It am still around 1kg per week lost, so I am happy, but I need to continue my efforts. I am starting to wonder if age is not a slowing factor, where I cannot lose weight as easily now that I am older... That said, points-wide, I am very good, 85.5 points reached this week, or 83% of total Bulbi goal after 2 weeks! I think I willd efinitely get my new attack...

So quick question for the Porky Pig part of the challenge: all types of training count (e.g. dance, weightlifting, elliptical bike, yoga)? Trying to see if I overcounted my time... And if some activities count as mobility (dance, yoga I imagine), i can count them EITHER for him or for Yosemite Sam, right? Thanks a bunch!!

Wow, I am so glad I read that thread! I did not know about migraines and slumps from sugar and carbs withdrawal - this totally explains my current state... Totally agree. Sometimes I feel I have the worst restraint and need to EAT EVERYTHING IN SIGHT. But when you have stronger goals, and motivation beyond the first minute, restraint is much higher. For me it is about being healthy (versus skinny, esp. to please a boyfriend!) and being able to dance better or lift heavier weights. These are small but intimate victories! So they feel good. 100% in line with the need for some treats, especially the chocolate kind. I have yet to find mine (peppermint has too strong a taste for me), but I need them especially if I want to fight the migraines and hunger pangs. Apple slices and bananas are not cutting it anymore... Yoohoo for your successes! I will keep following up to see you continue on that path!

So we are closing in on the end of week 2. Weight loss slowed down considerably, with almost nothing moving over the past couple of days. I know it is a short period of time and I should not be alarmed. However, since I am still in the early stages of weight loss (40%+ of fat), I should be able to lose a bit faster through dieting and exercise. Since I track all that I eat and have considerably decreased the quantity of food I eat, I am a bit puzzled. But I won't worry too much unless it does not move for a while. I also remember that last time I started on my weight loss journey in a similar fashion, the scale would not move for a few weeks while my body was getting used to all these changes (more exercise, less food, more sleep), and then it went down steadily. Boy, how frustrating these first few weeks! I even had to check if the scale was broken... Fun activities and study planned for the weekend, and I am thinking about healthy recipes. I realize that with the commute, cooking on Sunday for the next Wednesday improves my quality of life significantly. So I am inventing new ways to cook chicken breast hahaha Point are going well too. I am prioritizing sleep (I increased my steps with the new job by ~30%, so I am tired) and doing activities which I enjoy, and try to cast a positive light on diet. I still sometimes eat a cookie or drink whole milk (pleasures!), but try to make healthy substitutions (e.g., grilled beef rather than deep fried pork, soy beans rather than rice). I have not yet completely cut out carbs, but I try to keep it low. At home I stopped dmaking rice or pasta, but I buy bread once a week and eat 1 slice (3pts/30) almost daily. At lunchtime, I try to keep rice (which comes with every Korean meal) to ~1 or 2 points. This give a total of ~5 points (17%) in carbs from grains. (I also get carbs from fruits etc.). Side note: I started reading about macros and counting macros instead of calories. What is your opinion on that? I am hesitant to make the plunge, since it woult take significantly more time (entering 3 data points instead of 1 for every ingredient!) and I am super good at evaluating calories. Maybe I can try retroactively? Let em know what you think!

Totally agree with you Grandkai! Most Korean coffee shops inside the buildings have very few / not so good snacks. So I try to go to the cafeteria in the morning to buy fruits and eggs to snack on later. I feel lucky that Korean "discovered" nutrition a couple years ago and have been adding healthy options ever since. Before it was "eat the carbs or die starving" kinda mentality. My whole team is pretty healthy, drinking mostly coffee (no soda) and not abusing snacks (1 cookie from time to time), none of them even smoke - a rarity in Korea! I feel lucky to have found this team!

Menu today: fried rice AND pasta salad. I ate some of the rice and tasted the pasta - but empty calories... I bought some chicken breast and vegetables afterwards for snacks in the afternoon. I'm expecting to be starving aroun 3pm since we eat at 11:30a... so I'm ready for it!!

Yesterday was a BLAST, I killed this challenge on every level! - Dance class was hard, but it was awesome, the song is cool and we will definitely study the song I love next month! I was on fire and gave my all. Also since I changed jobs, I am 100% getting my step count in. I finished the day exhausted and happy! - The new job is pretty exciting, so I don't get as distracted. Also there are NO coffee shops around, and I would have to go pretty far to buy snacks, so yesterday was a super low calorie day. I actually had to eat some sugar to keep my energy up. So as long as I am eating consciously in the cafeteria at lunch (Korean food - not too hard to eat consciously, so many sipcy things I cannot eat!), I should do an okay job. - Since I was exhausted, I went to bed pretty early and also slept on the bus. This new commuting schedule is not easy! - Thanks to my new job, I study all the time since most documents are in Korean (I will definitely have to arrange the points, or I will over/under estimate my efforts). Overall, I need for my body to adjust a bit, since I am feeling tired and chugging (free Nespresso!) coffee down hard. This job would be really great if it were not 1h away from home in the suburbs of Seoul... ㅠㅠ (This is a Korean crying face with tears coming down closed eyes) But I will ENJOY and celebrate victories! More weight lost yesterday too, so I want to continue on this path.

Awesome goal - totally following!!! And YAY for COSPLAY!!! I could never do it because I could never fit in any costume, but I would love to do so, so I am following and will be cheering you on! I agree that the advice to "eat fat to lose weight" is not working super well for me either. But what was the most successful in terms of nutrition was to cut carbs. THEN I saw a real difference. I continued eating fruits and veggies (and at that time I ate a lot, since they are ZERO points on WW), but cut out entirely rice, pasta and bread. I kept in some carby snacks I love like 1 cookie every other day so as not to cry, but that was it. Feels miserable at first, then one gets used to it. (However it reverses super easily if you have a birthday party with cake... so be strong!!) With strength training and cutting carbs, I have definitely seen my body fat % go down. So I know you can do it too! Agre on the hunger thing but noticed 2 things: 1/ sleeping way more helps a lot. Whenever I re-start strength training, I am always super tired and hungry, and sleeping 7-8 hours per night helps a ton, even with the hunger; 2/ the hunger will subside. I have been eating way less while maitaining 1 session of strength training and 4-6 sessions of cardio and while I was STARVING the first week, this week I am more okay. There too sleeping off hunger helps, becauase there is a max level of hunger you reach, then it goes away. So make sure to listen to your body and feed it protein, but feel free to ignore it from time to time to "reset" it - your stomach size will absolutely go down and this will help. Good luck with boot camp too! I have always been a bit afraid of them - tell us how you did!! Mana for the win!

I AM BACK. Officially I am back to have a weight starting with an 8 for the tens! Yoohoo!! Okay, so it is a small victory (~2.3kg worth), but I am still celebrating, because it is my first change in tens. I do hope to go through 2 more, but let's go slowly. To celebrate, I had breakfast of apples and banana! I am actively trying to lose weight and gain muscle for our dance of next month (starting on October 10th). I have 21 days to be able to go back to jumping and moving faster. Motivation is high (as high as the dance beat is fast!), so I will hold on to it and cut carbs. In 3 weeks I can safely lose 3kg (especially given how high I register on the scale right now), so I will be back below 88kg, which is a more comfortable zone to jump up while protecting my ankles. I am stocked about this dance!!

First week overview: Good pass (A-) 1- Spend time in the tall grass - Fight off other Pokemons and get stronger! I managed to exercise everyday, and put in a good strenght training session on Sunday (I am a Mon to Sun person), so I am widely happy on that front! I also managed to reach my activity level goal (80 min moving) every day this week, so hurrah! A+ on that goal. 2- Go to the Pokemon center regularly - Always be full of energy! I managed to sleep at least 6.5hours every day, with most days at 7+ hours. And you know what happened? I started waking up naturally after 7 hours of sleep (on Saturday morning!), which means that my body was well rested. I like the feeling. It was difficult, but it is a goal worth pursuing! A on that goal. 3- Eat good Pokebeans - Make sure my body is fed the right nutrients! I logged my food, I ate balanced meals, but I got tricked by that alcohol and I still have difficulties with portion control. I can feel myself getting full earlier and I try to train myself to diiminish my portions by cutting them in half and sticking the other half in the fridge. But it is a struggle, and 3 days this week I got over 30 points (and not by a little...). The good thing is that I do make efforts to eat healthier snacks and or not to snack at all, so I can see myself progress. To be continued! B+ on that goal 4- Visit all the houses on the way - Pick up skills and hidden objects! Ah study... well, for sure I watched A LOT of dramas. And I started my new job today. Work is a permanent study session with 100% of documents so far being in Korean. I can see my bus travels becoming hour-long study sessions, especially if I am able to sleep 7 hours outside of the bus (which is the goal, since an additional hour during the day does NOT replace an hour at night). B on that goal. The winner this week, was the number of point. For this challenge, I wanted to put a lot of emphasis on efforts and getting to good habits. I gave points just for deferring a snack or eating healthily. I need to get back on the good habit train. Total points week 1: 80.5 (40.25% of goal!) Expected weekly when planning: 42 points I was able to build good habits, and to lose weight! I lost around 3 lbs (mostly water weight, but still!). So I will count this week as a success, even if I am far from perfection. This challenge is about NOT being perfect, but being happy with ourselves, the trying, failing, half-succeeding and confident selves. I will do my best to continue on this trajectory and to start a long term weight loss! On a sad note, my new work blocks access to NerdFitness, so I won't be able to update this thread too often. Maybe from the bus? I will need to try - but good bye cute fonts and Bulbi pics!

Soooooooo I lost the fight to the gym leader, not because of the gym leader himself, but because of his acolyte hidden behind - alcohol. I was on the right path food-wise, I ate my vegetables while dreaming of the fries. Had some fries but very few, ate my lamb making sure to take the fat out and ate my salad with gusto. I succumbed to bread, but managed to eat only half a piece, then the waiter helped by removing the other half (I almost yelled at him! But then realized it was good!). But I forgot how much calories were packed in a glass of wine, and then in the second round in sake. But what a fun night! I actually do not regret it, despite the after effects still present this morning, which lead me to bring my cereal box to work... What I learnt from that evening: - 1/2 bottle of wine and 1 bottle of sake make you drunk - Lamb is delicious with mint jelly - If alcohol does not accompany a really great evening, then it is not necessary - This is why WW has a weekly reserve (I used about half of it) - When food is on the table it is difficult not to eat it In the future, since I will continue to have to participate in team dinners, I will try to use the following tactics: - Limit alcohol consumption to 1 drink - Forecast the point count (including alcohol!) so that I can compensate with lunch / breakfast - Try to eat more slowly, so that I eat a bit less over the same time I have another team dinner next Monday and the Monday after (Korean traditions... your time is not yours even after work!), so I will have opportunities to try out these tactics!