I know you were all waiting w/bated breath for the results of this AM's weigh in. Did the carby popcorn and kit kat do our heroine in?
Today you'll have to click below for the results 
Daily Weigh In: 193.6 
Nutrition
- Breakfast: Soy Milk, Fiber 1, Strawberries
- AM Snack: 2 'nanas w/2 tsp of natty peanut butter, walnuts
- *Lunch: grilled chicken breast w/swt potato casserole and brocolli w/a bit of ranch dressing
- PM Snack: none
- Post Workout: plum & protein shake
- Din Din: swt potato, lf cc w/maple syrup, cinamon & raisins...tasty 
4 short bread cookies
- Final Meal: none
*It is official, Dinner is now Lunch. I didn't feel rushed to eat knowing I'd be going to bed in a few hours. I could take my time and eat, was able to add some veggies.
Yup, after having a lite dinner that seals it, I've always ♥ed swt potato topped w/lf cc...today I sprinkled cinamon and a bit of maple syrup and raisins, warm enough to feel like food, yet soft enough to not feel heavy in this muggy weather...I know I know 2 swt potatoes in one day, albeit the first serving was a frozen food type casserole...what can I say, I like it better than the white potato*
Water – 2 liters + 50 oz (no green tea today, late start)
Vitamins/Supplements - Check
Training
30 mins elliptical - 1.87 miles
30 mins treadmill - 1.4 miles
Total cardio mins: 60
Total miles: 3.27
30 mins weights - Legs & Abs
********
As you can see, a teeny smidge downward. Does carb bloat take a few more days to materialize? Hard to say. Last Thursday, when I was not publicly logging my eats, I was @ 196-sumthin and had huge Mexican burrito w/a double chocolate chip frappuccino from Starbucks. Venti-sized. Friday AM I was 199.2.
By this time next week I hope to log enough gym hours and knock out enough weight sessions so the daily weigh in for next Thursday will better reflect if I went over 3500 calories. Keep in mind a gain won't be the sole fault of the popcorn and kit-kat, there'll be other eating to factor in.
It's not a perfect science and I'm not rigid. W/in reason I like to track and know what's going on.
Speaking of tracking, this is the real week 1 of my own personal challenge. Last week was a dry run b/c I had been so slack from the middle of May to the end of June, I needed to transition myself back to having a routine. Learning this lesson the hard way, I now use the first week of the challenge to work out my kinks.
It's hard to dive into something cold turkey first of the week. Mondays don't magically make you a new person. You still have the habit of you to fight with as you train yourself to no longer have the bacon double cheeseburger w/large fries for lunch and instead have the salad w/balsamic vinegar dressing.
Take me for instance, this week, I accepted I am too keyed up Sunday nights to wake up @ insane AM for Monday morning cardio. Solution: Work out Monday PM
Originally Tuesday was my off day/rest day/movie day b/c they give free popcorn on Tuesdays. Being that I don't much like popcorn and the only way to eat it, is to buy chocolate and not only does it end up costing me money, it costs me calories as well, the solution is to switch that day to Wednesdays. Plus Wednesday is smack dab in the middle of the week which makes the Libra in me love the balance. Going forward I'll pack portable snacks accordingly.
Problem: In the PM I was too hot and too tired to prepare dinner.
Solution: Lunch is now dinner: grilled chicken w/starchy carb like swt potato and veggies & dinner is now lunch: tuna-cheese sandwich or some other light fare like a salad.
Problem: I dig the low-carb pita, mainly b/c it's high in fiber, but it tastes like cardboard, even when I toast it.
Solution: I do better if I modify things a bit @ a time, I love cinnamon raisin bread. Sure it's not as healthy as the pita but in the grand scheme of things, I can ease up a bit and enjoy it, especially if it makes swallowing tuna-cheese easier.
Problem: Lots of fruit I bought Saturday went bad before the middle of the week.
Solution: Do a split purchase. On Friday PM, go to Harrys' and get fruit to last till Tuesday. On Tuesday AM, get fruit from the local farmer who stops by once a week, to last till Saturday.
I'll end this with Renee's Tip Of The Day, were I to put that to acronyms it'd be ReTOTD and almost phonetically sound like re-tard, purely by coincidence folks.
But my tip, unlike my thought of the day which came in very handy this AM thanks to the fact that 1 cup of strawberries has 3gms of fiber *cough* and yesterday I inhaled about 3 cups, is: Make your challenge fit your life while you make your life fit your challenge.
I don't like getting up so early, I'm a night owl, but, I am willing to push myself to make the gym b/c of all the benefits it brings that rings true to me (that may sound like poppycock to you and you believe working out in the PM is much better *shrug* that sounds like poppycock to me 
). Yet, if I have to swallow down one more cardboard tasting pita, the person next to me when I do, will get pummeled. As healthy as it is, I am not that willing to keep doing it.
You'll have to figure out your own personal gives and takes that match your personality & lifestyle. Some things you can compromise and make peace with but others you'll have to just suck it up.
