Hanging in there

The novelty has worn off on this game (even though my team was in first place after the first week!) but it hasn't yet fallen into the "this is just what I do" feeling yet, so I've spent this week craving the foods I gave up far more than I did last week, and I lost points on Monday night for sleep (by the time everyone left and I put away the leftovers, threw away the trash, and gathered up the recycling it was well past midnight. To get 7 hours of sleep I would have had to get up 15 minutes before I had to leave for work). Some things HAVE begun to feel like habit, though--giving up mindless internet surfing at night has been easier than expected (and made easier by Brian working from home in the evenings this week so I don't have access to the computer), and waking up and immediately going out to run or ride my bike has become the norm (although I like those days when I plan a lunchtime workout so I can sleep in a bit. At lunchtime I don't enjoy it, though - running is a lot easier in the early morning when it isn't 95 degrees out.). And the three liters of water has been remarkably easy to stick with; most days I'm drinking 125 to 140 ounces. Sleep and food are the hardest--I now go to bed before anyone else in the house, which is hard on Brian (who is then stuck working until midnight and also dealing with Connor) and I feel bad for Claire (who I'm only reading to at bedtime now a couple days a week instead of every day; we've decided that starting today I'll read to her after work in case we can't do it later). And it's boring. That's the only time of the day when I have a few minutes of free time without work, errands, cooking, or housework (not that there isn't housework--I just stop doing it around 9:30 or 10:00) so I'm used to reading or watching a movie at that point. We've had The Kings Speech in our house from Netflix for over a week with no chance to watch it. My days are pretty much get up, work out, shower, get dressed, eat, pack lunch, work, come home, cook dinner, run errands (about half the time), walk the dog, clean up, go to bed. The food part is just thankless--lots more work to prepare and pack the food while endlessly avoiding temptation. But I haven't ONCE lost points for my food--I haven't eaten anything non-sanctioned or snacked between meals except on my day off and my meal off. But I have fantasies of Lucky Charms and can barely wait until my next day off to indulge them!