Rules of the Road (100 pounds, 100 days)

Immutable, non-deferrable, carved in stone.

1. I will not eat anything where I do not know the exact caloric makeup. If I eat out, it better be someplace that provides nutritional information or I will suck on a diet coke and smile happily.
   
2. I will not exceed 1500 calories per day. I will not play the 'I worked out more today, so I can eat more calories' game. If I burn extra calories, that gets me to my goal quicker. Exercise calories are flexible and inexact, consumed calories are NOT!
3. I will not eat of my son's plate (lord knows how much damage I'm doing to his psyche as it is) or directly from a cereal box/chip bag.
   
4. I will track caloric intake religiously and exactly. Food scale will be used as appropriate. No 'eyeballing' or 'guestimating'. I've been known to underestimate (especially when I REALLY wanted something) by as much as 50%.
5. I will get a MINIMUM of 7 hours sleep per night. If I have to stay up late (work issue or other reason), I will defer wake-up time and move exercise to accommodate.
   
6. I will not cause damage to my body. Pain and soreness is normal. If I am truly injured, I will see a doctor. If I damage something, I will switch exercises/techniques until healed. There are plenty of ways to sweat.
7. I will not get discouraged by a bad results week. Between water flucuations, muscle mass buildup, magnetic field interference and solar flares, my weight loss will not be linear. Every week is simply a small battle in a larger campaign.
8. I will not weigh myself mid-week. It will just frustrate, annoy, confuse and distract me.