Holiday calories shouldn't have to count! (Then again, I would celebrate every countries holidays if we used that logic!) I only went over by a 100 on the 4th of July. I was sad to have to count that day as my 1800 day. Had I known, I probably would have had another cookie. Maybe it was better I didn't know, because that deviled egg was definitely worth it.

However, I tried a new sandwich the next day which cost me the loss of my 1st point. The Monte Cristo is a delicious ham and cheese sandwich dipped in egg then fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar. It was half my points for the day, but it was such a busy day I still only went over by 30 calories. Had I skipped the bad salad and just enjoyed the yummy sandwich I wouldn't have gone over, but now I've learned and will keep better track of my calories at restaurants.

I need to stop having ice cream at the end of every day that I have extra calories because I am not having quite the success I hoped to have with this contest. 1500 calories might be too high for my short stature to count as a diet. Normally you lose a few pounds right away before it gets hard, but I hadn't lost anything. When Amber told me how well she was doing I realized I needed to improve my workouts since the calorie counting wasn't enough. So this past week I worked in three times with the weight machines at the gym as well as running slower, but twice as long and have finally lost two pounds! Not enough to really brag about, but at least it's finally a start. I'm also at the point that I enjoy exercising again. So even if I lose this bet, it will be worth it.