How Did I Get to This Point?

Egad. Not a happy weigh-in. I'm back at that point I never wanted to be at again... what happened? Just about 8 weeks ago, I was 7 pounds lighter and enjoying a downward trend. I made it through my difficult September, but this fall has just been rough... I guess low motivation has taken its toll. I need to be more mindful of what I'm eating, and the biggest thing is I HAVE to work more exercise in. I feel like a slug. I sense a major New Year's resolution coming on -- just like I do every year -- but I'm going to try to make it through the holidays without doing too much more damage. I keep eyeing those Lean Cuisines in the freezer -- it's time they have their day.

2 Steps Back

This week was tough, and it showed on the scale this morning. I gained back about 2 pounds. This was a stressful week, and Saturday night I had my first actual Thanksgiving dinner of the season so I'm sure that has something to do with it. This is going to be another long week, but I'm bringing in my lunch for a few days and paying a little more attention to what I grab when those cravings hit. It's all about having the right things around as options....

Better, Definitely Better.

Things looked better on the scale this Monday morning, as I lost 1.3 pounds over the last week. Hooray! I did try this past week to be sure to be eating healthier things, watching portion size, and incorporating low levels of exercise into my days. Sure, I could always do more. But since I didn't really do Thanksgiving this year there was no major meal to work around -- although I have a post-Thanksgiving big meal coming next weekend to plan around. So here's the start of another week, and I'll keep at it.

A Little, But Not Enough

Today's weigh-in was more positive than last week, but still depressing. Over the past 5 days, I've been hosting my parents for a visit to DC. We walked A LOT but it meant we also ate at an average of 2 restaurants a day - big meals with sometimes appetizers and desserts. So, the scale tells me I lost .7 pounds this week. That's good. But, last week was my highest weight ever, so that's not good.

I'm going to try keeping up some of the pace of more walking from the last few days, but go back to being much better disciplined in my meals. The good news is that I have a very low-key Thanksgiving planned, so I won't be gorging on a multi-course meal. In fact, my long weekend plans include several visits to the gym. So let's hope next week's weigh-in shows even more progress.

Much Better

The scale and I are friends again this week. Phew. I think last week may have just been an anomaly, cuz now I'm back in my usual range. Thank goodness!

Urgh. Aaargh.

Bad weigh-in this morning. I've been gaining, and right now the scale is showing a terrible number. I know what the problem is. I've been eating better food, but more of it. And the last week, I've been indulging in desserts and candy. I've just plain got to cut that stuff out, and then work on my portion control of other stuff. Dang. But I'm giving myself a free pass on Election Night -- so I have 6 days this week to try and get back on track.

Ugh

I'm gonna redo my weigh-in tomorrow. Let's just say I had a bad weekend... catered food, lots of salty snacks, real soda, even on top of a 3-mile walk it all added up to a bad morning on the scale. How can we fluctuate so much??? Let's see if I can clean up some of the mess by tomorrow morning.

Good Long Weekend

I didn't exercise much (oops) but I did cook a lot of healthy, homemade, low-sodium meals. It made a difference - I lost 2.2 pounds this week! Hooray. That's great motivation as I go back to work to keep me on track this week.

Checking In

Well, the annual bad month of September is over and it's time for me to start taking things more seriously again.

Along those lines, I just picked up a copy of the newest "it's not a diet" bestseller - Eat This, Not That!

It looks like it will be a handy little reference guide in figuring out what choices to make at restaurants or in the grocery aisles, with colorful guides on restaurant chain menus and key words to watch out for in preparations or ingredient lists. I've already picked up a few new tips from it on how to interpret menus. It seems like it was worth the 15 bucks on my Target bill.

Regret, Kinda

I had a major cheat last night - very willingly. I've been pretty good all week, and yesterday I really hadn't eaten much at all. But we're right in the middle of my annual most-stressful-time-of-year at work, and I was at work until about 7 with a colleague getting a bunch of big stuff together... it had even already started to rain! So by the time I got home, I was starving, and I just had a total craving for really bad comfort food. Knowing full well what I was doing, I ordered a small pizza and some buffalo wings. Yum!!!! I really enjoyed it, accepting that I'll have to spend the weekend making up for it. So, one bad night doesn't ruin a diet and now I have to compensate.... but it pretty much was worth it.

Week One

I made it! And I've lost 2.8 pounds, hooray!

Day 3....

Still going strong. But on day 3, there's been an underlying theme... I'M HUNGRY!

I haven't been able to cut out Starbucks yet, but I did downgrade from grande to tall (it's so small!) and I'm counting the points. Today, to try and battle some of the hunger, I ate more protein than I'd been having. Let's hope that works, along with my very tall glasses of Crystal Light.

From past rounds of doing WW, I know this first-week hunger usually subsides after the first week, so this is the hard part. I've got to power through!

Day 1

I've done pretty well today, woohoo! It was tough going at a few points, but I've made it.

The biggest challenge? The saboteurs at work decided that it wasn't enough to bring in 3 different kinds of fudge, oh no. They also decided we needed a whole platter of bagels and cream cheese!!! Ack!

I resisted the fudge - even though there was peanut butter, my 2nd favorite kind (pumpkin being the 1st) - and I allowed myself 1/2 a bagel with honey walnut cream cheese. And I counted the points!

I was super-hungry by the end of the day and made my way to the grocery store. I got all good stuff, but about twice as much as normal! Note to self: next time, don't go hungry.

The important lesson I re-learned today? ***Don't waste your points on beverages.*** I used up SIX of my allowed points today on beverages - both orange juice and Starbucks. That's probably why I was so light-headed and hungry by late afternoon, I need to eat more solid food during the day and not waste it on liquids.

Okay, tomorrow's another day...!

WW as RPG?

This is a great article that Onyah found -- so true!!!

Fun Way to Lose Weight: Turn Dieting Into an RPG
wired.com — A friend of mine recently slimmed down on Weight Watchers. She joined two months ago, and in just a couple of weeks, she'd shed 10 pounds. She'd been trying for a year to lose weight, but nothing worked -- until now.

Remember Me?

Hello again..... been a bad month. After the 5-pound stomach virus lost, I've gained almost 9. Dang.

So, even though it's an incredibly stressful time at work (not bad, just very high-volume), which is usually when I combat my stress with eating, I've really got to buckle down.

Trying again, points counting and all... cuz that's really the only way it works. And, gasp!, I've gotta get back into the swing of exercising, too.

I hate being motivated by guilt, anger, shame... but it's still motivation.

Even More

Since Monday is my official WW weigh-in day.... here's the update. This little bout of the stomach flu took a total of 5.5 pounds. In 4 days. Let's hope I can keep it off now that I'm feeling better....

The Viral Effect

Well, according to the scale this morning, this little bout of the flu has lost me 4.1 pounds. Not a bad side effect, but I'd really rather have skipped the whole thing....

Blech

Stomach flu = not fun. Two days of being in the, ahem, acute stage... where all I could do was drink a little bit of fluid. I managed to eat a total of 7 crackers in about a 36 hour period. I've finally had my insides settle down enough to eat small meals... chicken soup, some mac & cheese, even a little salad... but I have no appetite. Seriously, no hunger or even any real interest in food for 3 days. According to what I've read on the Internets, it may take several more days to get my appetite back. Well, if nothing else, maybe this little bout of the nasty and painful will have a good impact on the scale?

Hmmmmm

Well, I'm down 1.6 pounds from last week. That's good news... but I'm still way up over where I should be. I've gained 10 pounds this spring, since I went "off the wagon" at my birthday. Ugh. I'm stocking up the new kitchen with healthier stuff.... stay tuned.

Blech

I'm up by 2 pounds. I had a very indulgent weekend, with pizza and wine and gelato and salty stuff, and apparently all the walking I did all over town wasn't enough to make up for it.

Now that I'm fully moved in and settled in the new place, it's time to get to work again and focus on better food and more exercise. Easier said than done, on these summer days when all I want to do is lay on the couch in the AC with a dish of ice cream....

I'm Back

And happy to report that after the last several weeks, with my move and a big wedding weekend, I did not gain any weight. Whoohoo! I've had a very inconsistent diet these last few weeks, eating whatever I could find when I could find it in the midst of all the packing and unpacking. But now that I'm nearly settled and repopulating my refrigerator, I'm looking forward to stocking it full of really healthy stuff and starting anew. Hooray!

Gotta Eat Your Fruits and Veggies

Here's more, mostly good stuff.

Wednesday
carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes - in a wrap
cucumber and tomato salad

Thursday
lettuce and tomato on a sandwich (not great, but at least it was there!)
avocado in sushi
organic salsa
grapes

Friday
hummus (I'm counting it!)
steamed asparagus
roasted zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, onions
grapes

Saturday
grapes
tomatoes and onions in chili
mixed greens salad

Produce Tracking

More for your reading pleasure...

Monday
Orange juice - I forgot to add this, but I tend to have a glass every morning
Steamed broccoli - a small side
cucumbers and cauliflower - raw, crudite-style
banana - a tiny bit, deliciously grilled as part of a dessert

Tuesday
OJ
avocado, sprouts, mushrooms, tomato - in a veggie wrap
cucumber and tomato salad
sauteed spinach and mushrooms

Doing okay so far on variety... now I just need bigger portions of produce in comparison to some of the other stuff I've been eating! (Mmmmm.....brats....)

Produce Tracking

Since I'm trying to incorporate more produce into my routine, I thought it might be helpful at least for a little while to track what fruits and veggies I am actually working into my diet on a daily basis. Maybe that will help me figure out where I could work in more, and how much of a variety I'm getting. For these purposes, I'll also include potatoes, mushrooms... things that grow in the ground.

So, here goes:

Friday
strawberries, pineapple, kiwi - a fresh fruit salad from the store
small amount of tomatoes, onions in chili
sugar snap peas, red and yellow peppers - as a small side in a frozen entree

Saturday
tomato sauce - barely counts, right?
tomatoes, mushrooms, bean sprouts - in soup
avocado - in sushi

Sunday
asparagus - fresh
blueberries - fresh

More to come....

Delicious Dish

I made such a good dinner tonight!

Lately, it's been my goal to try and find new ways to incorporate veggies into my usual routine, and specifically to change it up a bit and have more variety, rather than my usual spinach and broccoli.

So, last time at the store, I bought a steam-in-the-bag bag of fresh asparagus spears. I also got a bag of those Perdue Perfect Portions good-sized chicken breasts. And, finally, in preparation for moving, I know I have a lot of stuff in the fridge, marinades and such, to use up so I don't have to pack it. Combine all of those things, and you have my dinner for tonight.

A baked chicken breast, marinated in a Lawry's baja chipotle sauce. Spicy! Steamed fresh asparagus spears, with a homemade vinaigrette sauce of olive oil, garlic seasoned rice wine vinegar, dijon mustard, and a dash of black pepper.

Tangy, light, filling - perfection!

Another Week

Well, I seem to keep playing around with the same 3 pounds. I'm so focused these days on getting ready for my move - I'm truly surrounded by carboard boxes and plastic storage bins - that I haven't been keeping my eyes on the prize, so to speak. So to break my funk, at least for today, I just went down and spent a good 40 minutes in the gym. A pretty good cardio workout, for me, followed by some shoulder/arms stuff on the Nautilus machine. I am wearing another sleeveless bridesmaid dress soon! I do feel better and have a little more spring in my step. I really SHOULD go to the gym more often. Luckily my new building has a small gym in the basement, too!

Better

Last week's weigh-in was pretty bad, as a weekend of Indian food and sugary drinks took its toll. This week, I've been much better.... while I'm still not good at portion control, I've been eating much better stuff. This weekend was just about all veggies and protein, very little starch overall. (Not that I'm a South Beach / Atkins type, I just know I'm a carb addict and it's good to watch that every once in a while.) So, this morning, while I still hate the number that's on the scale, and I still don't have much of a net loss to speak of, I'm glad that it's 3.8 pounds less than last week....

Had to be Done

This is depressing, but true. As part of the prep for my upcoming move (see my other blog), I've been going through all my clothes to sort and purge and donate things to charity. And I saved the hardest for last... tonight I went through all of my skirts/dresses/suits, the things I don't wear as often but tend to hold onto a lot longer.

And though it was painful, I finally did put aside all of the super-cute, trendy, smaller clothes that I had back in my 20's. There was one summer in particular, the summer of 2000, when I lost over 40 pounds (it's true, it can be done) and went to town buying the cutest clothes I've ever been able to wear. Well, those days are gone and the pounds are back, and I've held onto those clothes all this time thinking that someday I'd wear them again. And that I'd feel that cute and young and carefree.

But, since I'm downsizing to a smaller apt with a lot less closet space, I had to make some tough decisions. And I'm NOT giving up hope that I'll ever be down to that size again... but I finally recognize that now, at 33 and with a much more established, professional career, I'll really never wear that trendy, low-cut, short-skirt kind of style in my regular life. And that realization, in and of itself, is a little sad. Let alone motivating to eat a salad for dinner.

Rainy Days and Mondays

and horrible weigh-ins always get me down. It was not a great week, followed by a really bad weekend when I had lots of salt and sugary drinks. I'm not even going to record what the scale said this morning, I've just got a find a way to make the guilt and shame be more motivating... it's too bad that they're never as strong a motivator as success. But I've got to achieve some success first!

Not So Bad

Proof that you can get quick weight loss if you just cut out all the crap you've been eating... I lost 3.4 pounds this week. I fully expect that will slow down dramatically and I'll have to start working harder for it. But, I'll take it, that's for sure!

Another Week

Well, I had really good intentions this week. I started out very disciplined, tracking points online for the first 3 days. But, like always, then life (and mostly work) got incredibly busy. And that's always part of my problem, when I barely have 2 seconds to breathe, let alone respond to emails and phone calls, I always drop off doing the point-tracking. But all is not lost... I still proceeded with my normal week but just focused on trying to make better choices. I brought my lunch a few times, and got a few side salads instead of fries (though I did get fries on Friday!). We'll see how it turns out on the scale. Again, I think the point of it all always has to be that it's about making better choices and thinking about things ahead of time, rather than having to be rigidly sticking to a diet. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it...

It's a Start

I know I'm not a very disciplined exerciser, so sometimes I have to force it into my routine. And today, I did just that. I had planned to rent a Zipcar for an hour to do a massive clothing donation haul, driving bags of clothes the 5 blocks or so to the big charity bins. But, this morning, fueled by my scale-induced self-loathing, I cancelled the car (for a fee) and loaded up my old-lady-cart instead. I trucked 7 bags' worth of clothes on foot, and worked up quite a sweat in the cart vs. old sidewalks uphill battle. I didn't fit it all in to one cartload, so that means not only did I force a little activity into my morning this time, I've got plans to do it again sometime soon.

I know, it's not a revolution or rocket science, but I've got to push myself to make any progress. So, as I said, it's a start.

Ugh

So, I've fallen off the wagon these last few months. In a big way. Life's gotten busy and stressful, and with the apartment renovations I buried my scale under other things and just haven't thought about it. And I've been stress-eating to beat the band. So, this morning, I finally weighed myself again, and I'm just disgusted. And angry at myself. I've gained back 11.5 pounds. How does that happen? I mean, I know exactly how it happened, but it just drives me crazy that what can take months and months to work off only takes a few weeks to put back on. Egad.

Every year I fall off the wagon around my birthday time, and every year it takes me until about April to get back on track. Well, now it's the end of April, and I've got a very busy and probably very emotional few months ahead of me... so now's the time to recommit. Heck, I'm paying those Weight Watchers monthly fees anyway, I should be actually making use of it.

I'm not happy about where I've let myself fall to, but at least I'm still capable of catching myself before it goes any further. It's gonna be tough, and if I still have any readers out there I'd love some encouragement, cuz I can't let this go on any longer. Bah. That number I saw on the scale this morning was just ridiculous. No more.

What a Nice Thing to Say!

I know, I've been terribly absent from the blog lately. That's cuz it's been a bad month for being on the wwwagon. With the festivities around my birthday, a generally elevated level of stress, and the cold weather, I've pretty much sucked at dieting lately. I stepped on the scale once and it was so disheartening that I jumped off.

But -- I'm back here posting now cuz I just had a great moment that reminded me how good it feels to do well on this whole dieting plan.

I was in the communal ladies room at work, and a coworker came in. I don't know this woman very well at all, but I've probably seen her almost every day for 4 1/2 years. We say hello and sometimes chat about the weather, but that's usually the extent of it.

I'm standing there washing my hands as she came in, and after saying hi she said "I've noticed something about you."

Hmmmm. Instantly my mind started running down all the possibilities of what could follow that up....

And then she said.... "You're getting smaller."

Wow! Instantly, my face lit up in a huge smile, and after thanking her we had a fun conversation about how hard it is to work on losing weight but about how we're both committing to trying. We bonded, and she made me feel great. So, even though I've really been a bad loser lately, it was motivating enough for me to take the long way to my lunch place and get something healthy instead of the cookie I was envisioning. Hooray!

Yeehaw!

Remember how I said I haven't been tracking my points lately? Even though I'm still eating mostly well (other than leftover catered stuff at work), I haven't been counting it all up. So I wasn't sure what to expect on the scale today.

Guess what? I still lost 2.2 pounds!

I think it's mostly because I've been walking a lot lately, trying to force some exercise in my day by changing up a bit of my routine. My best trick? Walk the 15 minutes to the Metro rather than take the bus that picks me up at my door. Guess it's working..... :-)

Good News

I've hit that 6-week slump... when I always start to fall off from my disciplined habits of tracking my points. But even though I've indulged in some more catered desserts lately, things are still going well. I got the best news today, proof that my efforts to work at this over the last 8 months are not for naught.... I've lowered my cholesterol by 33 points! It's still too high, but there's no longer talk of medication and it's just the whole diet-and-exercise thing. Hooray!!!

CounterProgramming Works

Yeah, I had planned to watch the Super Bowl tonight... I'm not a football fan and don't follow the season ever, but every year I do watch the big game, partially to see the commercials and partially just to keep up on the conversation. So, that was the plan. But, those savvy programmers over at NBC had to go and put a marathon of The Biggest Loser up against the game. I'm hooked! Since I haven't seen it in weeks, now I'm catching up and even working out a little in front of the tv. It's probably better for me than the Super Bowl, anyway. Thank you, NBC!

Progress!

Yesterday, I wore pants that are a size smaller! They're a little snug, and I wore a long shirt just to feel a little more comfy... but still! I haven't worn these in 3 years, and it's great to get them out of the back of the closet. Yippee! Happy dance!

(Now I just MUST STOP eating cheese and donuts at work since I'm getting my cholesterol checked in 4 days!)

Ups & Downs

It's been a tough week... with a trip in the middle, my schedule and my eating habits got a little turned around. I've still been eating mostly good things, just more of them and at strange times. I didn't track my points for a few days, and that's probably why I'm up a pound on the scale this morning. :-( Plus, yesterday was one of those days where I stayed home and ate everything in sight. Luckily, with the exception of some fancy European chocolates I got as a gift (which I did attack late in the evening), everything I have in my apartment is pretty good for me. I just ate a lot of it!

So, this week I'm going to focus on tracking what I eat again and trying to work in a little more exercise. Let's see if that helps nudge the scale back down a bit...

Phew

It's been a rough week diet-wise -- I even had a very tasty but very not-diet-friendly homemade Italian dinner with a few glasses of wine last night -- but I still managed to lose .2 pounds. That's a small amount on the scale, but a HUGE relief, cuz I was afraid I would balloon way up. Hooray!

This week will be interesting, as I'm going out of town for few days and have a few more work events with the dreaded catering choices... but I'm still really motivated and I want to push myself to keep those numbers going down!

Oops

It's been a rough week, and my willpower is just about nil. I have had 3 really bad meals in 2 days... culminating with a cheeseburger and fries for lunch today when I didn't want to walk very far in the snow. I just tallied the points, and that meal alone used my entire day's allotment.

Yikes. I'm still okay for the week but I've used up all of my Flex points so I have to stay on target for the next 3 days. If it stays this cold, that means soup, toast, and Lean Cuisine.... um, yum?

Monday Morning

Boo. I gained back .9 lbs of my great weight loss from last week. I'm not gonna beat myself up over it, but I still really hate seeing a gain on the scale.

Thoughts as to why it may have happened? A few things... I bought my lunch more this past week than the week before, and while I still was counting every point the lunches were bigger and less exact than, say, a Lean Cuisine or a can of soup with the nutrition listed right on the package. And, I'm fighting off a cold, so my body may just be hanging on to things or reacting differently than normal to try and battle this nasty sniffley-sneezy-coughing-stuffy-head-achey-want-to-rest thing.

So, here's to the start of another week!

Ah-One, Ah-Two, Ah-Three....

So, how many pounds does it take before you actually feel like you're losing weight?

Apparently, about 17.

Suddenly, my pants are feeling a little loose... and getting a little long at the ankles (a sign they're fitting differently cuz there's less of you to cover)... and some of my button-down shirts are little less snug. Hooray!

And.... continuing the trend of last week, now 3 people have told me I look good and asked if I'm losing weight. Tonight, one even said "Wow! You look so fantastic! You're getting so skinny!" :-) Though I'm far from skinny, I really appreciate the compliments and the encouragement!

Validation breeds motivation which brings more validation which serves as further motivation...

Starting '08 Out Great

As of Tuesday, January 1, I am officially back on the points.... and this morning's weigh-in is again the simple, really not needed but much appreciated PROOF that Weight Watchers WORKS. I've lost 2.4 pounds! Hooray! It's really amazing how much a little success can motivate you even more.... plus I picked up some great groceries at Whole (Paycheck) Foods last night, so I'm ready for another good week.

Happy to Be Wrong

When it works out so well in my favor...

For years, I've thought a tall skim chai from a particular ubiquitous coffee chain was 5 points -- I had done the math ages ago and just saved it in my WW favorites. Well, tonight I went in and checked again by actually using the name of the chain.... and guess what? It's only THREE points! Omygosh! I just got myself back 2 points for just about every weekday (cuz, yeah, I gotta have it.)

What a nice mistake to have made!

Wheee!

Yesterday, I finally reached an important milestone in this diet cycle. I finally got asked by an acquaintance - "You look good. Have you lost weight?" Hooray!!!! A long time coming, but it still feels good. That's one of the best kinds of motivation around.