SJP, thanks for the welcome!  I love beer and wine, but they make me so hungry so I try not to drink much of those (reference to your happy hour, assuming that was drinks).

RR, ran 2 miles last night, felt like crap.  Had 3 miles in mind, but felt like my stomach was out of energy, like I needed an apple.  Strange because I had just eaten dinner, but maybe too soon after eating.  Or maybe I should have drank some grape juice before hand.  Doesn't matter, see what happens next time.  Generally, running in the dark is really difficult, as I'm on an uneven trail, not roads.

FR, the dieting goes easier than running for me.  I'm sort of waiting until most of my weight is gone to feel good running.  Not waiting completely, but it is sort of a chicken versus egg thing.  Have to lose weight to run, have to run to lose weight.  But the dieting in itself has been going easy for me.

Big reason for my dieting success is changing what I eat.  Influenced by Paleo, so mainly staying away from wheat based foods, except for one sandwich a day (potato roll with  lean meat and spinach).  No pastas.  No pancakes.  No waffles.  No breads.  Oh, just a little four in the homemade oatmeal raisin cookies, so I'm not a purist or anything

Haven't had snacks in a couple months.  No potato chips, no pretzels, no chocolate, no nestle's quick in my milk, no ice cream, no candy, none of that stuff.  Drives my 8 yr old son crazy because I used to eat all those snacks with him.  Sort of feel bad that I can't do that anymore.  I make him eat the meat and veggies for dinner, and then let him have whatever snacks he wants afterwards, such as his usual ice cream.

Fruits have been my snacks.  Apples, bananas, oranges, and dates!  Love the dates, but try not to eat too many of those because they have a lot of natural sugar in them.  Apples are probably the best because they take a long time to eat, and lots of chewing involved with the skin.  Bananas are too easy to eat, so always a danger of eating 2 in one sitting (especially if they are perfectly ripe without being too ripe).  I think the apples probably have the most fiber and the fewest calories, but would have to look that up to verify.

To replace pastas, my wife has been cooking with a lot of cabbage.  Even chicken noodle soup with cut cabbage as the noodles.  Spaghetti squash works good with red sauce.  Lots of cooking is done with some meat and cauliflower cooked in an Indian sauce.  Or some meat dish, like chicken, with brocoli on the side.  We've pretty much eliminated corn, potatoes, rice, and beans.   Went out for Chinese food and got chicken and brocoli, and didn't eat the rice (none at all).  Japanese food is good too, steak and veggies, however they cook it is fine, just skip the rice.  Went to a steakhouse the other night and had steak and asparagus.  Picked a smaller cut, and a cheaper one too, because the higher priced stuff (strip, ribeye, or prime rib) have more fat throughout and thus more calories, even says so on the menu!  For the salad, didn't eat the croutons.  Didn't eat any bread.

Try not to drink much juice at all, just some grape juice in the morning (quicker than fruit, so I can get out the door).  But I do think grape juice before a run might help.  I'll try that next time.  I've done it before and it seems to work (but didn't know if psychological).  I know some runners have concern about being low carb not helping them run.  My diet isn't low carb, as veggies have carbs of course.  But maybe a fruit or juice would better help the run if eaten beforehand.

tonight's RR:  Probably do my calisthenics tonight.  Sit-ups, push-ups, squats, jumping jacks, arm lifts and leg lifts (multiple lifting directions each, with small weights).  Adds up to about 25 minutes.  I'm at reps of 20 each.  Heart usually gets going pretty good doing it all.  Then 5 minutes of stretching afterwards.  I do this on days I don't run, thus getting still excercise and strengthening while keeping my runs basically on an every other day schedule.  But I will double up my runs on the weekend, simply because I get to see where I'm running during the weekend!

good afternoon.

RR: Went out for a short run with some walking with my DD and my friend about noon.  It was cold with the wind but in certain directions not too bad because of the sun.

NRR: KInd of a lazy day.  DD and I are doing some Christmas decorating.  DD is having a friend over tonight to watch one of the seasons of Grey's Anatomy.  They have been having Greys Anatomy marathons since they both started college.  It's their way to catch up with each other. Tomorrow one of my friend's daughter is turning 1, so DD and I are going to her b'day party and then I'll probably head up to DBF's house afterward.  Sunday will be getting some school work done and getting ready for work on Monday.  I did find out I actually have a 2 week break from school starting Dec. 20th.  Assignments will be available so we can get ahead though which I'm happy about.

FR: Doing okay I suppose,  I probably could do better since my clothes still feel snug. :-(

SJP: Sounds like it's going to be a fun trip into Boston.

OFS: Is your wife following your food plan as well?  sounds like you have a good support system and think about what a good example you're setting for your son.

Seattle: Hope your roommate isn't being too annoying and you're able to get some of your work done without too much distraction.  Good luck on your finals this weekend and have fun relaxing afterwards.