The results..

Monday's WI: 224.2 (+1.4)

Today's WI: 223.8 (-0.4)

Results: GRRRRRRRRRR

As Monday's weigh in results clearly show, I didn't do as well as I had anticipated over the weekend. Instead of sticking solely to salads and fruit like I had planned, I indulged. At mealtime I managed to fill my plate with meat and potatoes as well, and of course I saved room for dessert after each meal. (Two words- rice pudding...) In spite of the short-comings however, I was able to maintain control: I only ate one plate of food at each meal, usually leaving a few morsels behind, and when I got full I stopped. I also made sure to eat vegetables and salad. All of that stands in stark contrast to my free-for-all, fried-meat-and-carbs-only M.O. for eating at buffets in the past. Therefore, what was a 1.4lb gain could have easily been 5-7 pounds had I reverted back to my old ways. So praise God for small miracles.

Our schedule at the retreat was jam-packed. Between workshops, devotionals and worship services we had almost no down-time. I didn't take a single picture! But I thoroughly enjoyed evey minute and I learned a great deal about myself and my walk with the Lord. It was great spending time with the other hermanas as well, several of whom shared that they're expecting!

I started noticing some back pain yesterday that hasn't gone away. I must've slept in a bad position or did something to strain a muscle back there. It's not an unbearable pain by any means, just dull and constant. Nonetheless I've decided to lay off the intense exercising until it goes away completely- the last thing I need is to do more damage. So this week I'll be focusing more on perfecting my eating habits. Maybe that's what I should have done in the first place.. So here's what I ate today:

Breakfast: Danacol

Bottle of orange juice

Coffee (skim milk, 1tsp. sugar)

Lunch: 1 1/2 c. beef stew (beef cubes, tomato, garlic, onion, zucchini, eggplant,

corn, peas)

1/2 c. white rice

1/2 c. diced strawberries and banana, 1 tbsp sugar

Snack: 1 slice white bread, 2 tbsp. chunky peanut butter

Since it's well after 7pm, my plan after work tonight is to take a hot shower and enjoy a cup of green tea (sounds sooo soothing right now). I'm confident that if I can stick to that plan, I'll be able to chart another loss for tomorrow. My goal of 210 by the end of the month is still in sight.

Thursday and Friday of this week will pose a challenge for me, however. Since it'll be Easter break, Chechu and I will be out of town visiting friends on Thursday, and we'll surely do something else on Friday as well. Knowing that I may be eating out on a few occasions will allow me to get a plan of action together before things have the chance to go awry.

I also joined the Healthy You challenge last week, and I'm excited to see new comments on here! Many thanks to those of you who've offered words of encouragement-- it truly is nice to know that we can support one another as we all work together towards reaching our fitness goals.