To Be Expected

I just weighed in, and as I thought I have gained back another 2 pounds. So that's 3 pounds that I'm back up, and I did expect it. I could actually "feel" it, in that weird way where you can sense things happen with your body.

Like I said, I did this knowingly. I'm going to spend the next 3 days here trying to be good and tracking things. Then when I leave for the conference, I'll pay attention to what I'm eating but will allow myself to go with the flow of the 5 crazy days. Then, when I get back I will start in again in earnest. So Tuesday, May 2, will be my day for recommitting. Which is fitting, cuz I started this all on January 2.

I am still down 10 pounds, so it's all good!

Checking In

As you might have guessed, I ended up taking a slight break this week from the WW world. I sort of decided by default to just enjoy the week, still trying to eat sensibly but not obsessively. And I have had a good time! I'm proud, though, that I didn't go hog-wild and order 8 pizzas and 2 dozen donuts or anything like that. I've still eaten mostly the right things, just a little more of them. :-)

I've had a few cookies and a piece of cake for a coworker's birthday, plus a whole lot of alcohol the last two nights... but other than that, I've still had pretty much the same kind of food I have been eating. Some pork chops, some spaghetti, some vegetarian chili (I did splurge on a deelish fatty corn muffin!), a steak, and some gourmet thin-crust pizza. But, like I said, no marathon Ben & Jerry's sessions or Velveeta shells & cheese.

I feel pretty good about this, and if I see another pound or two on Monday, I can accept that. I think I'll continue this break next week - though I'll plan to post more often - cuz I'm going away on a conference and it will be very hard to manage my meals over those 5 days of events, lectures, and hotel food....

So my plan now is to recommit in the month of May and see how well I do at slimming down a bit for my cute spring and summer clothes. Stay tuned!

Not so Bad

I just weighed in for the first time in 2 weeks, going back to before the big allergy/sinus attack and the couple of boxes of mac 'n cheese I ate when sick. And I was somewhat relieved. I gained back 1 pound, but I expected it to be much worse. It's really just a slight fluctuation, and I can live with that.

I'm gonna continue to do a sort of hybrid plan this week, recording what I eat here and tracking the points but not freaking out if I go over my daily allowance. (So that means I can enjoy Thursday night!) We'll see how that works for another week.

What I Ate Yesterday

Scintillating info, I know you don't want to miss it!

Breakfast:
An egg beaters and cheddar omelet

Lunch:
8 oz orange juice
The 6-point Smart Ones Chicken Enchiladas Monterey (pretty tasty)

Snack:
my tummy was upset, and I don't know if this helped or not:
One turkey hot dog, with a slice of cheese on a bun

Dinner:
my attempt at a pseudo-Easter dinner for 1:
3 ~1/4 inch slices of turkey ham
1 pkg of Green Giant cheesy rice & broccoli

Dessert:
2 Jello sugar free pudding cups

Easter Sunday Safeway Deals

Wow, 9 am on Easter Sunday is the *best* time to go to Safeway. There was no one there! Seriously, I think I saw less than 10 other customers. Good times.

Today's good deals:
- Lean Cuisine - $2.50 (4 for 10 bucks), reg price $3.29 (this sale includes most of their regular entrees and the pizzas, but not the paninis)
- Crystal Light big canister - $4.59, reg price $4.99
- Tropicana o.j. 6-packs - $3.50, reg price $4.29
- The Great Meat Markdown - between sales and the instant-coupons that the meat dept. had put on the packages, I scored!
- 1 pkg of boneless pork loin chops - $2.17, reg price $3.65
- 1 pkg of Perdue fit & easy chicken breasts - $5.04, reg price $6.54

There were other good diet items on sale that I didn't pick up cuz I couldn't carry any more, including Lean Pockets, boxes of oatmeal, and Silk brand light chocolate soy milk.

It did occur to me this morning that if Clinton and Stacy were to ever secretly videotape me on my early morning grocery trips, I'm screwed. I usually go before I take my shower - the only time I'll *ever* leave the house without showering. So I have my hair pulled back or in a baseball cap, I'm wearing my big brown glasses, and my outfit is terrible. Yes, I admit it, the t-shirt I slept in - it's a free Humane Society t-shirt with a big kitten on it - plus my gym shorts, a big denim overshirt, and my beloved pink Speedo flip-flops that squeak with every step. I'm a walking billboard for What Not to Wear!

It Is Easier At Home

I've said it before, but it's still true that I find it much easier to eat healthier stuff - or at least smaller quantities of bad stuff - when I spend a whole day at home on my own. It's simple: If I don't buy it, I don't have it in the house, and therefore I cannot eat it.

There was a slight change to what I ate yesterday - as we were unable to get seated at Matchbox, we ended up going for Thai food. So I didn't have mini burgers and a big salad. Instead I had green curry chicken (love that fatty coconunt milk) and 2 glasses of riesling, followed by 2 glasses of sangria after the movie.

Today's intake:

Breakfast:
On weekends, I don't really eat breakfast food. I had a handful of reduced fat wheat thins and garlic hummus.

Lunch:
A Lean Cuisine steak and cheese panini

Snack:
A bag of O.R. Light Natural popcorn

Another snack:
Another handful of wheat thins and hummus

Dinner:
The Safeway Select Light (blue box) Meat Lasagna. It's technically 2 1/2 small servings, but I ate the whole thing. So it was very filling and I haven't had any snacks since.

Doing Okay Today, But Having Fun Tonight!

So I'm still on my "pay attention to meals but don't obsess over points" plan. We'll see how it works when I weigh in on Monday.

Is it boring for you to hear what I ate during a day? I know, the ultimate in tedious subject matter. But maybe you can help me figure out if I've got problem trends that you can see - or maybe I can give you ideas on new things to try that are fairly diet friendly. We'll see.

So far today:

Breakfast:
Another Egg Beater omelet with cheese and 1 slice canadian bacon

Snack:
Grande skim chai

Lunch - at La Tasca - fun!:
The lunch combo, which features 3 mini-tapas, that yes, are even smaller than regular tapas. I had:
patatas bravas
chicken in garlic and white wine sauce
vegetarian paella
and a regular size sauteed spinach with raisins and pine nuts

Snack:
100 calorie pack

Plans for dinner? Fun times at Matchbox!
I *will* allow myself to eat mini burgers. Maybe even 3 of them!
My favorite Bistro salad
Probably 2 glasses of viognier

Movie time.... any food? Probably not, cuz I'll be full from dinner.

After movie:
I'm planning on sangria, back at La Tasca. At *least* one glass. It's a Joyous night, after all! :-)

What I'm Thinking

I'm trying to think about ways to get myself out of this vicious cycle of stressing about what I'm eating and then feeling guilty about what I ate. I love Velvet's idea of taking a break for a week, but I'm gonna try to take just a 1/2 step down and maybe take a break from the counting of points for a little while. What am I saying, I've been taking a break from that for a while! But actually thinking about what I'm eating, focusing on healthy stuff and portion sizes, without stressing over the point value each time.

And maybe for a while I'll just record what I eat here, for all of you, so there's still some level of accountability? There's less silent shame (seriously) if I'm sharing my good choices and my mistakes. I hope it's not too boring for you. But I think I'll try it for a little while and weigh in on Monday and see how it goes.

So, what I've eaten so far today:

Breakfast:
An omelet of egg beaters, 1 slice of canadian bacon and some shredded cheese

Snack:
South Beach peanut butter bar

Lunch:
cup of tomato vegetable soup
1/2 ham and cheese sandwich
handful of tortilla chips
oatmeal raisin cookie

Snack:
100 calorie pack of those peanut cookies
(Wohoo - successfully avoided cake at the staff meeting!)

Splurge Snack at Home:
the rest of last night's Tostitos and black bean dip

What I'm planning for actual dinner:
Lite Caesar salad kit

Dessert:
Maybe a sugar free pudding cup

Not too bad, actually, in terms of healthy items and decent portion sizes. Other than that chips and dip snack, of course, but I did eat that knowing it was a splurge. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

I'm Having Trouble

Geez, how was I so good in January? I'm having a very hard time getting/staying on track. Today, for example, I was really good, UNTIL...

Breakfast:
Egg beater omelet with a little shredded cheese

Snack:
South Beach peanut butter breakfast bar

Snack 2:
4-pack of Snackwells vanilla cream cookies

Lunch:
Tuna bento box from Teaism

Uh oh.... getting very, very hungry Snack 3:
Another South Beach bar

Oh my God, I'm starving, stressed and have a raging headache after-work and after grocery-store snack:
1/2 bag of Tostitos
A lot of low-fat but still pointy black bean dip

Dinner still to come.... I'm guessing it will be the one item I picked up based on a pure craving: Turkey Hot Dogs. Why? I have no idea. But I want one really bad. With lots of ketchup.

It is kind of that craving time of the month (TMI) and my allergies are still bad and my head is killing me and all that... but those are just excuses, and they're even starting to sound tired to me.

I need new motivation. Perhaps the spring clothes will help me get back in the swing of things? I want to look cute in my skirts and sandals!

Back on Track(ing)

Well, it's Monday and I have my computer back, so that means I'm back on the Points Tracker and recording my Points for the first time in weeks. Amazing how easy it is to fall out of the habit, eh?

I'm still sick (blah) and haven't been to the grocery store in about 2 weeks, so I'm eating a fairly bizarre combo of things from the pantry and the freezer. Not the most appetizing stuff, but I'm making it work. I did splurge and got a Snickers bar, which turned out to be a very tasty but indulgent 7 point snack. Eeek.

Today is actually my WW anniversary. It was Monday, April 8 (the second Monday in April) in the year 2000 when I first started WW. Between April 8 and August of that year, I lost 42 pounds. Wow - that doesn't seem possible! But the fact that I've done it before makes me believe I can do it again. I'm not setting that as my real expectation, cuz why self-sabotage?, just as my own example of how it can be done.

The Sickness Clause

Ugh, I feel awful. I spent all day in bed yesterday with a horrible, raw sore throat. My throat feels better now but it has all evolved into a full-blown head cold / sinus infection, complete with throbbing face pain and swollen glands. Day 2 of being in bed.

So, my policy is that I do not count points when I'm sick. I just go for what my body craves, which in this case has been starchy, soothing food that's either hot or cold on my throat. I'm drinking juice and Power-Ade, and eating lots of bread and pasta and hot soup.

I think I'm gonna take a pass on weigh-in this week. Or maybe I will step on the scale, but just not beat myself up if I gain. I do finally have my computer home, so assuming that I feel better on Monday I will start anew with counting and tracking my points. If this rain ever stops, which is aggravating my mold allergy, maybe my head will clear up.

My Dogs Are Barking

You ever have an experience where suddenly you are forced to realize just how out of shape a certain muscle group might be??? Well, last night the BIG LONG down escalator at Tenleytown was out, so I found myself walking down about 100 steps while carrying my big computer bag. It was no big deal while I was walking down, other than my fear of heights which had me holding on to the railing and only looking at the steps, not ahead. But by the time I made it down and then rode 3 stops on the Metro, my outer thigh muscles decided they weren't too happy about it. When I got out of the train and started walking, my legs were actually a little *shaky* -- waddafa? And walking up stairs on the way home made it clear that those muscles were a little sore. And, if you can believe it, they're still a little sore this morning!

Either I'm getting old or I *really* need to do some more thigh work at the gym! We do have an adductor/abductor machine, but I don't like doing it when anyone else can see me.... it's not the prettiest set of movements in the world!

Remember My Coworker?

The one who has started on a hard-core weight loss plan, with a nutritionist and everything? Well, she had her first weigh-in last night. She's lost 14 pounds in 4 weeks! That's so awesome! It was so cute, she texted me at home to tell me the news. It's the first time she's ever called or texted me for anything personal, and it really made me smile. Good for her!

I, on the other hand, am another story. I've not been tracking points this week at all. I'm making some lunchtime choices that aren't so great, but I had 3 nights in a row of super-healthy, and super-fiber-rific (thank you Beano) turkey chili for dinner. I've been having hunger pains for the last few days, though, so I don't know what that's all about.

Stage 1 in getting the computer fixed is now complete, and I have to head to Best Buy this afternoon to give them the disks for an OS restore and installing all the new anti-virus software. I hope to have it back home by Friday evening, so then life gets back to normal and I can get back on to the WW site. Here comes accountability again!!!

Things I Should Not Have

In my house, cuz I will eat them all in 2 sittings or less:

• Honey Teddy Grahams
• Kettle Chips
• French Onion Dip
• Tagalong Girl Scout Cookies
• Ben & Jerry's Mint Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream
• Desert Pepper Trading Company Black Bean Dip (although sometimes I can't resist)

Weekend Setbacks, but Okay Overall

Well, I kinda sorta stayed the same over the last week. Nothing lost, and the scale kinda wavered around last week's weight so I'm gonna call it a draw. I'm still at 13 pounds down, but I know that I need to pick up the pace a bit.

I had an extremely stressful week last week, both mentally and physically, and that's what took its toll. Stress Eating 101, I could teach that class!

I did make it to the gym on Saturday, though. I tried the elliptical for the first time, and could barely do 5 minutes. That thing kicked my a@@!!!