Hello, my name is Megan, and I'm a chocoholic.

 I don't smoke.  (Have before, but it's just not my thing.)  I don't drink.  (Everyday that is.)  I do love/need/crave/twitch without some chocolate though.  True stories...

1. When I was younger (like, 5 years old), I ate so many Hershey Kisses that I threw up on my dad.
2. After seeing the Lion King in the movies (circa 1994), I threw up from eating too much popcorn, doritos and chocolate.
3. I always eat ALL of my Easter candy, especially the solid bunny.
4. Bayards Chocolate House on Rt. 70 was like a dream for me as a child.  And an adult.
5. I successfully gave up chocolate for Lent in 2004.  (Not for religious purposes, just to see if I could do it for 40 days.  Seriously.)
6. I successfully gave up chocolate again for Lent in 2006.  (However I drank White Russians at least once a week to get through my craving, and I think that's not how Lent is supposed to work.)
7. I often feel nautious after eating raw cookie dough, but I do it anyway.
8. I have had something like 16 cavities filled.
9. I have had 1 very PAINFUL root canal.
10. I push in the bottoms of candy to make sure there's no strawberry, cherry, orange or some other ridiculous jelly flavor that will ruin the chocolate.  (Thanks Dad, for that "thumbing" advice.)
11. Mac thinks I blame wanting chocolate on PMS.  He says it shouldn't last 2 weeks.
12. I don't drink coffee; I drink hot chocolate.
13. Chocolate + salt = lovely.  Chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate peanut brittle, moose munch.
14. I am super confidant that I could win a chocolate eating contest.

A couple other tidbits... when I gave up chocolate for Lent, I still had cavities, my teeth did not change color (i.e. whiten due to lack of chocolate) and I DID NOT LOSE WEIGHT.  Theoretically, is chocolate the problem?  Maybe not, but it's probably part of the problem.  Also, I didn't have a single cavity until I was 22 years old.  I went to the dentist and found out I had ELEVEN.  AT ONE TIME.  Teachers I worked with can tell you how crazy that was.  Ok, on to my journal.  More about chocolate in a minute.

Monday, July 18, 2011 (up 1 lb. from yesterday)

• 1 cup Golden Grahams
• 1 diet coke
• 1 piece american cheese
• 1 chicken breast with ranch rub
• tomato cucumber salad
• 1 diet coke
• 2 mile walk with klobo in dc
• veggies with dip
• 3 slices Italian bread with margarine
• 1 piece Godiva mint choc. chip bar

Tuesday, July 19, 2011 (same weight as yesterday)

• 1 cup golden grahams (all gone thank God)
• 4 slices american cheese
• 4 slices peppercorn turkey
• 1 diet coke
• veggies with dip
• work out - 5 mins stairmaster/10 mins treadmill/10 mins bike/leg and arm weights/leg lifts (36 each leg)
• pretzels
• grilled chicken breast with ranch rub
• 2 pieces Godiva mint choc chip bar
• 1/2 slice cake (last piece of our wedding cake, it was a MUST as far as I'm concerned)

Wednesday, July 20, 2011 (down 1 lb. from yesterday... really?  after cake?!)

• 1 cup strawberries
• 1 diet coke
• 4 pieces peppercorn turkey
• 3 pieces american cheese (mac suggested not eating a pc. of cheese for every pc. of turkey.  interesting concept.)
• veggies with dip
• work out - 15 mins on elliptical/go into leasing office to complain about gym being 80 degrees inside with 4 windows open when everyone knows there's a crisis heat index of 1,000 degrees in the whole country/20 mins back on elliptical/shirt is a different color green from sweat/leg lifts
• 1 serving tuna macaroni salad (elbow macaroni, tuna fish, celery, real mayo and lots of celery salt)
• saltines
• 1 diet coke
• 2 pieces Godiva mint choc chip bar

Thursday, July 21, 2011 (down 1 lb. from yesterday)

• cheerios with skim milk
• 1 diet coke
• saltines
• 1 diet coke
• 1 miniature macadamia nut cookie from mrs. fields (about 1.25 inches round)
• tuna macaroni salad
• 3 pieces peppercorn turkey
• 3 pieces american cheese
• leg lifts (72, that does not really count as working out, but I'm putting it down anyway.)
• 1 piece Godiva mint choc. chip bar

Huge progress, I am 9 lbs. down at my 2 1/2 week mark!  I have definitely been wanting sweets more, and I try not to have treats unless I work out.  I will sweat my badunkadunk off at the gym just to have a little bit of chocolate.  Hey, whatever works, right?  It's motivation now, and it may change later, but for now, I think I'll keep this up.

Side note of insecurity: While I can acknowledge my progress, I am also skeptical.  Maybe 9 lbs. was just water weight, whatever that is.  Maybe my scale isn't that great, so I'll keep double checking with the gym scale.  9 lbs. is not a lot, and I feel like if I wanted to, I could gain it back in 2 days.  I think I'll be a little less wary when I've lost 20+ lbs.  Hopefully.  Either way, I should not give up.  Not yet.  Hopefully, not ever.  Lose, then maintain.  (Fingers crossed, and where is that rabbit foot?)