Yes I feel like that a lot! But I am in my third year (near end of third year!) so I have decided to keep going at this stage. But one of the main reasons I decided to keep going was because I was worried I might regret it if I quit, so I totally get what you're saying!

I don't know what I would have done at 8 months in though... maybe someone else will have better advice! But you are most definitely not alone!

Maybe doctors would recommend 1000 calories for people who were seriouly obese, but for a normal enough (i.e. only slightly overweight) person I think that is too low. Supposedly the most you can cut out with slowing down your metabolism is about 20%... So if your normal amount is 1800 you shouldn't cut out more than 360 calories per day. But I suppose it depends whether you want to lose it the healthy way or the fast way Anyway that is just my two cents!

Nice poem aloha! But waltz doesn't rhyme with renaults because apparently you are supposed to pronounce it "ren-oh". I didn't know that until recently but there you go

swantje: "no more than 1000 calories a day and you'll be dropping the weight, i promise you that..."

Isn't that kind of bad for your metabolism??? It sounds to me like a lot of calories to cut out... Exercise is a much healthier (albeit slower) way to lose weight!

I have heard that weird statistic before too - I have been living with my partner for 8 years now so I guess that is a bad thing!!! Seems odd though... I don't think anything will change for us expect having a piece of paper that says we're married and an extra ring... hopefully a sparkly one

This thread has gone off on a major tangent... and where are all the men??? Seems like all women posting... don't the men on this forum have any opinions about marraige and whether their girlfriends/wives would change their names? Clearly a lot of the women here have very well-defined opinions on the subject!

@ PCGeek - I didn't mean double-barrelled names in general... obviously if your family name has been double-barrelled for generations that's a completely different matter! When I said it I was actually thinking of someone I know who got married and then decided they would stick together two surnames that don't even match or sound well together... probably because they thought it would sound posh, but like you said that's not necessarily so!

I am going to take my fiancee's name when we get married. That is partly because I think it is a nicer surname - I too have been PLAGUED all my life with a surname that requires spelling at least two times - nobody ever gets it. Also, without giving away too much anonymity, my surname is also a first name... so people are always like "No, I said what's your SURname" and I'm like "For the fiftieth time, that IS my surname"... grrrr...

But apart from that whole issue I just think it would be nice that me, my husband and kids all share our last name... it is not really 'his' family it's a new 'OUR' family... but anyway that's just me! Each to their own... I hate all that double-barrelled nonsense though - either keep yours or take his - you can't have it all and anyway it sounds pretentious... in my humble opinion

I plan on forcing all my friends and family to address me as 'Dr. Rosy'. Of course that won't last for very long as my friends will probably dump me if I do that and my family will disown me

On a more serious note I haven't even considered whether I would use the title (that's if I ever get it!) - except to worry about being asked to save someone's life on a plane! Maybe I should do a first aid course... just in case...

If I can keep that up until the end of September that should be the bones of my chapters 2, 3, 4 and maybe a bit of 5! I would love to join in on this thread but maybe not until 30th June because I am about to go on a holiday - Yaaaayyyy!!! Probably the last one until I finish so I am going to make the most of it... I make no apologies for not even thinking about my thesis until I get back

I just read Joan Bolker's book too (on your recommendation Lara, so thanks ) and I am starting to write regularly also. I am not 'ABD' because I still have a quite a bit of my research to complete But I want to start writing up at the same time, to at least have 3/4 chapters done by the time I finish my research, so that I will then just have to write the final few chapters.

I have set my writing goals as the following:

1. Write 4 handwritten pages per day - 'Zero' drafts
2. Once a week type these pages and edit to first draft standard (hopefully approx. 10 typed pages!)
3. When I have the majority of a chapter in first draft format then work on structure, intro, conclusions and so on - then send to supervisors!!!

It's all downhill from 25 onwards... gravity starts to take it's toll! Just kidding 25 is a great age!!! I will be 28 next month now that is what I like to call "nearly 30"... Boo hoo

@ Sheena... I could have written that myself!!! I am also coming to the end of my third year with VERY little written - I haven't even been brave enough to put it all together and do a word count but I reckon it's between 5 and 10 k... I hope to be done by next June too... We can do it!!! I am aiming for between 70 and 80 k eventually.

Hehehe... Are you two really 24 or are you just mocking Alex from the Apprentice??? Funny...

I'm Rosy, I'm 27... which by the way is definitely not the age that you grow up, buy a house etc. etc... Although I did get engaged last year... but I was 26 then!!! I'm 27 now by the way... I'm in my third year of PhD, live in Ireland... and oh yeah, I'm 27

She is so awful I can't stand her... I watched her show once and nearly threw up when the 'poo part' came on... that was it for me! It's not just poo that she's obsessed with either, it's that whole area!!! On "Supersize vs Superskinny" which was on a couple of months ago she was all about 'Banning Big Bums' and went around examining scantily-clad huge-arsed women... bloody hell I've never seen so much cellulite in my life!!!

You are ENTITLED to take holidays!!! Can't believe she would try to talk you out of it... I just told mine that I am away from DateX to DateY and that was that. Like PC_Geek said, come up a white lie if you have to but don't let yourself be talked out of it!