Not Bad for Birthday Week

I lost .8 pounds, woohoo! And that's with a full-scale catered dinner, birthday festivities with cupcakes AND cake, and 2 different nights of sangria.

I'm so glad to see the scale number going down. I'm not really "dieting" -- I'm just trying to eat better and cook more. And someday I'll work exercise into the plan...

Much Better

I don't feel great today, and as always on a Monday morning I wish I could sleep another 3 hours. But, I am happy with what I just saw on the scale. I lost 2.6 pounds this week! Hooray! Really, it's cuz I've been trying to drink more water, cutting out the cookie-a-day, and just trying to choose better options. Not dieting, just making better choices. This is going to be a tough week, but I hope to have good news to report next week as well.

The Buddy System

Losing weight is a very hard thing to do, and for most people (myself included) there's a huge emotional and psychological side to it. That's why I'm always so glad when I have some friends who are going through the same thing, who understand the challenges and the potential emotional reactions to whatever's on the plate or on the scale. And right now, I'm benefiting from having two friends to talk to, who are both smart and intuitive and understanding. Together, we are stronger than we are apart. So thanks to my friends (who are both linked over on the right), and let's keep helping each other out.

Back to Reality

I got on the scale this morning. Ugh. The number I saw on there was pretty unforgivable, and it's the first time I've ever seen that number in my life. I've been pretty loose about things the last few weeks cuz it's been a stressful time -- but I can't keep using that excuse, cuz there's always going to be stress but I have to learn how to work through it and still take better care of myself. I'm hoping that number on the scale is at least partly related to my salty SuperBowl snacks from last night - but whatever the reason, the number was still there. Ugh.

Bah Humbug

Bad weigh-in, and I woke up with a headache to boot. I'm 99% sure that the scale was reflecting the entire day of salt that I enjoyed yesterday -- with sushi, chips and salsa and queso, soda, and a packaged Indian food entree. I've gotta get back to fruits, veggies, and lots of water today. Not happy, cuz the scale bopped back up over that line I didn't want to cross again. I hate negative motivation.

Happy Monday!

Well, the pain of having to actually get up this morning to go back to work - aaargh! - was lessened when I stepped on the scale. I lost 1.9 pounds! Woohoo! That's a good way to start the New Year. And I've crossed a "decade mark" that I never want to see again. It's really just cuz I was eating better foods, and I haven't been in the office with all those tempting treats. Now it's back to the usual routine (though I hope those treats are gone) and I'm going to work to make this a trend.

It's a New Year!

And I'm back to the cause, mentally and I hope in action as well. I did weigh myself Monday morning and I'm proud to say that I did lose a pound over Christmas week. That's an achievement in and of itself!

I'm still in a place that I'm not happy about, and I feel the negative motivations of shame and guilt after spending all of last night going through old photos and seeing my yo-yo past. But, whatcha gonna do? It's a New Year, I'm equipping myself with new tools by learning more about nutrition, cooking, and overall food quality. And I just HAVE to make myself exercise.

I'm not making official resolutions, cuz they're way too easy to break and they hang over my head in negative ways, instead I'm just still looking at this as a positive journey of self-improvement. So, there you go... welcome to 2009, let's work to make it a good one!

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.

2007 Results

It's the last weigh-in of the year! And, phew, I still managed to lose .3 pounds this week - even with Christmas and a very meaty pizza-and-burgers outing. Hooray! I must be doing something kinda right.

And since this is the last weigh-in of the year, a look back....

I have now been tracking my weight loss progress officially since June 3, when I was at my heaviest weight. Blech. That means I've been doing this for 30 weeks. That's a long time, and it includes the always difficult fall season with our Gala and the holidaze.

How did I do?

I have lost 13.7 pounds, or 5.8% of my total body weight, and I've brought my BMI (body mass index) down by 3 points. That's an average of just under a 1/2 pound a week, which isn't bad considering there were some really tough weeks in there.

I feel good about all this, and even better knowing that this really didn't take all that much effort... meaning that I can follow my New Year's resolution to step it up just a bit both in terms of diet and regular exercise, not in a fanatical way, but just improvements - and that should make my results even stronger in 2008.

Thanks for coming along for the ride, and here's to an even better year in '08!

Navigating the Holidaze

Oh, the holiday season is tough for dieters. Big meals, and - even worse - huge plates of cookies and boxes of chocolate delivered to your very door!

But, I've been doing okay, surprisingly. Sure, I've had some treats here and there, but I'm also keeping to pretty decent meals when I can.

So, that means that I'm still on track, and almost 2 pounds less than I was after Thanksgiving. Sure, I'd gone up a bit then, but the overall trend is still down. In fact, last week, I had a great downward spike one morning as the scale showed me a number I haven't seen in a very long time. Whee! It's gone up a little since then, like you do, but at least I know it's out there... and I'll be bringing it back!

Just a quick trip to see the family, with some more big meaty meals, then I'm back and really working on getting the numbers - both weight and cholesterol - down again.

You Are What You Eat

And I can't figure out what that is yet... I'm leaning lots of good stuff about what to eat both for my own health and for basic environmental sustainability, but my discipline level has had its ups and downs this week.

I had a good doctor's appointent. Of the two sets of bad numbers I had over the summer, one is now firmly in control thanks to some medication and some improvement in lifestyle choices. Hooray!

So now it's really time for me to focus on the other set of numbers... and those will be the much harder ones to fix, since it will all come down to my self-discipline. Yep, we're talking about cholesterol, so I *really* have to spend the next 2 months -- the time until my next blood work appt -- getting those numbers in line. And, of course, I just had a real whopper of a 24-hour-period for consuming bad stuff. I was bored this afternoon and, truly against my better judgment AND my inner voice, found myself downing kettle chips and onion dip. Egad. Thus the cycle of guilt and shame begins again.

So... I'm considering that snack blowout to be Cholesterol's Last Stand, the last splurge before I really get serious. And so what am I having for dinner? A plate of green beans, flavored with a little light Smart Balance spread and some seasoned rice wine vinegar. It's actually pretty tasty.

I Don't Know How...

...I lost weight this week, but I did! Somehow, I managed to lose 2.4 pounds in the last 7 days..... and that's with either a big cookie or a pumpkin-cream-cheese muffin or both every day. Yikes! Can emotional stress make you lose weight? Cuz I've practicially been mainlining that this week.

I've got a few more days of big work stress, but then pretty much the rest of the month can be wrap-up and holiday fun. Hooray! I just have to remember not to indulge too too much!

Dangit

Cold weather has hit. I'm eating everything that isn't nailed down.... and I'm drinking lots of hot sugary drinks. Yikes, gotta put a stop to this bad behavior! I have another doctor's checkup next week, so that should be a motivator..... <>....

Pasta Fun

I've always been a big fan of using pasta dinners to experiment on new ways to eat your veggies. For the last few nights, I have made some really tasty "throw it together" pasta dinners that are also super-healthy. Hooray for cleaning out the pantry!

Pasta Fun #1:
Chicken tenders
Button mushrooms
Canned, no salt added stewed tomatoes

Saute the chicken tenders in a little olive oil, with minced garlic and black pepper. Toss in the mushrooms and saute as well. Once these are mostly cooked, add the undrained can of stewed tomatoes and basil and oregano to taste. Simmer until the liquid cooks down, serve over whole wheat pasta of your choice.

Pasta Fun #2:
Frozen chopped spinach
Cannellini (Great Northern) beans

Saute spinach in olive oil and garlic. Add drained and rinsed beans. Cook on low, adding black pepper and basil to taste. Add olive oil as needed to keep a slight liquid consistency. Beans will soften a bit, and that's when you'll know it's ready. Serve over whole what pasta of your choice.

These were both delicious, and have a few added nutritional benefits... they're both very low in fat, with most coming from the omega 3-rich olive oil. And, as long as you buy low sodium canned stuff, there's very little sodium overall... you CAN cook without adding any salt!

Ehhhhh

I did weight myself after all today. It wasn't pretty, but it could've been a lot worse. After my awesome triumph of last week, I'm now back up by 1.6 pounds. Not devastating, but it certainly didn't make me do a happy dance. I know what caused it... and I am trying to be better.... though I did eat a leftover cookie today. Yum.

Shame, Shame

Oh, it's been a bad week diet-wise. I think I'm going to take a pass on weighing-in this weekend, cuz I just know it will be disappointing.

I ate out a lot this week. Eating dinner out once or twice a week can be okay, if you made good choices at a restaurant and work to make up for it elsewhere. But, this week I think I did dinner out 4 nights in a row followed by a not-so-healthy catered breakfast and a moment-of-weakness bag of kettle chips for dinner. And, I was *not* good about ordering when I had those dinners out. Fish and chips? Spinach and artichoke dip?

Uh oh, the cold weather makes things tougher cuz it just makes me want warm comfort food... usually involving cheese or butter.

So, I will make it through Thanksgiving and the brotherly visit this week, then get back on track. Bear with me....

Holla!

I lost a pound and a half over the last week. Hooray!!!!! And I didn't exactly make the best food choices - there was a work pizza lunch, and a grilled cheese day - but those bad lunches were balanced out with some lighter dinners, and a good variety of physical activity.

For those of you The Biggest Loser fans who like percentages, too, you'll be glad to know I've lost 6.1% of my total body weight so far this year.

I'll take it!

Sweet AND Crunchy

Another snack tip...

I have already professed my love for Quaker Quakes, their flavored mini snack cakes, but now I have found their snack-world "little brother"... Quaker Mini Delights. The "Chocolately Drizzle" flavor is great! These tiny little multigrain cakes, each about the size of a quarter, really are drizzled with chocolate sauce. Like the title of this post says, it really does satisfy both of those snack desires.

These little guys are part of the low-cal snack pack trend, but 100 calories just aren't good enough for Quaker. No, these are 90 calorie packs! So the whole pack is a little 2 point treat, perfect for an after-dinner snack!

A Cafeteria Classic

Growing up, Fridays were my favorite day of the week, lunch-wise at least. Because in mostly-Catholic Upstate New York, that meant the school cafeteria skipped the usual mystery meat and instead offered either fish fillet sandwiches, cheese pizza, or my beloved grilled cheese and tomato soup. Yum! Nothing says comfort on a cold day than a good grilled cheese sandwich and a big bowl of steaming, creamy tomato soup.

But, that childhood favorite is not exactly diet-friendly. So I've worked up a little WW-friendly update that I am slowly becoming addicted to...

The soup is still soup, but now rather than getting a regular cream of tomato soup (full of fat and sodium) I now get an organic, fat-free, low sodium version. It's very light, and a little bit sweeter, but still really tasty in its tomatoey goodness.

Instead of a greasy, crispy grilled cheese sandwich - with lots of butter and white bread - now I opt for a quick and easy quesadilla. Using just a little fat-free cooking spray, I warm up a whole wheat, fat free tortilla and fill it with about a 1/4 cup of shredded light Mexican-blend cheese, sprinkled with a little cumin. Really tasty, and perfect to rip into pieces to dip into the soup.

Yum! And it's all much lower in fat and sodium than the original... and about 9 points for the whole lunch. Not bad!

Progress.... The Kind That Hurts

Well, I just got a really good sign of the progress I'm making..... I've passed a certain milestone on the scale (yippee!) which means that WW has now reduced my daily points target (boo!). I knew it was coming, and this particular benchmark only means 1 less point (about 50 calories) per day. But still!

It's nice validation, though, cuz in the whole year-and-a-half plus that I've had this blog, this is the first time I've made enough headway in order to get to this next level of WW play. Finally!

That's a First!

Wow. I actually LOST weight on vacation! And this was a vacation at my parents' house - land of huge portions. Hooray!

I've been losing half a pound here and there over the last few weeks, so I've now passed 11 pounds lost total. The best thing is that I'm actually starting to feel it, cuz my clothes are fitting better. That's always motivating, too, to actually see visible progress.

I'm back in town now, and back to counting my points. Stay tuned.

Not So Bad

I did end up losing .7 lbs this week, so I've now erased all of that vacation gain and have started working on losing overall again. Good news! But I still feel like I've been hovering in the same range for weeks.... because I have! So I feel like jump-starting things again, and that means I have to be more disciplined. I've got 2 weeks before I go on another vacation again, but it's just to my parents' house again and I can ask them to keep my diet in mind when they're meal-planning. Back to work....

Rough Week

This has not been a good week for dieting. I've had a stomach bug since Thursday... which I caught in either one of two ways:

(1) it's possibly something contagious that is going around our office. Now that we have all 12 of our staff sitting on top of each other in a single room during office renovations, we've become a pretty gross petri dish.... there's a head thing and a stomach thing going around, and I got the stomach thing.

OR

(2) something that I ate on Wednesday, a day which featured TWO catered buffet meals from two different caterers, majorly did not agree with me.

I have a coworker who came down with pretty much the same thing, but he also has both of these potential factors at work, so who knows? Maybe it's a bug that also didn't agree with that gross salmon I made the mistake of eating at lunch.

Either way, that's already way TMI for all of you folks, but.... that's the roundabout way of saying that my tummy's been upset, so I have not been eating normally. And, you know me, I use any excuse possible not to exercise, so there's that too.

So far, the scale is okay and it looks like I'll still just be hovering around the same place I've been for weeks on end now. Which is okay... but I sure would like to see the scale moving again. Which means I have to get moving again. Blech.

Back on Track

Woohoo! I've lost 1.2 pounds this week, which has mostly erased the vacation damage. Proof yet again that vacation food is not the same as at home food, even when you are trying to be good. Hopefully this next week will erase the rest of the damage, and then I can get back to actual losing!

A Good Substitute

I love crunchy snacks. Potato chips and I have had a life-long love-hate relationship.... and it's very hard for me to resist the temptation of getting a little bag of chips to go with my lunch. I've become a Baked Lays fan, but sometimes, when my deli doesn't have Baked Lays in stock... I face a real dilemma. I crave a crunchy, satisfying snack, but I should not eat real chips with all their grease, fat, sodium, and cholesterol.

Luckily, this week, I took a risk on something new and found a great alternative to potato chips: Crispy Delites fruit chips! Hooray!

This little bag of goodness contains an entire pound of fat-free fruity goodness - packing lots of fiber and Vitamin C but no added sugar or crazy processed ingredients. I chose the cinnamon apple variety, and these dried fruit chips were tasty, filling, and - most importantly - they had a really satisfying CRUNCH.

Plus, unlike with regular chips, I found I could eat a few and be happy putting the bag down until later, so I actually snacked on these for a whole afternoon. With Utz or Doritos or something, that whole bag would've been polished off in about 3 minutes or less...

I'm so glad I have a new, much healthier weapon in my arsenal in the ongoing battle for healthy but satisfying lunches during the week. Thank you, Crispy Delites!

Back to Reality

Hell Month is over... I've survived 2 out-of-town weddings, a Gala, a board meeting, 2 other big events, and a short vacay with my family.

Now I'm back, and life finally gets back to normal. I did fairly well in all the stress, only gaining 1.7 pounds. (Not bad compared to 2 years ago, when I gained TWELVE pounds in all the stress.) I hope to erase that damage by Monday's weigh-in.

So I'm starting back in full force again today, journaling and eating better stuff. And I HAVE to make myself exercise, cuz I know that's the magic solution to making the weight come off faster. Stay tuned...

Tough Time....But Doin' Okay

This is the hardest time of year for me for dieting, other than Christmas week. It's Gala time! So I'm working very long hours and am not really able to run out for long to get good, healthy lunches.... in past years, I've actually gained 12 pounds in the month leading up to the event. Yikes! Not this year, though. Even though I'm taking the week off of journaling my points, cuz I barely have time to breathe yet alone track everything, I'm still losing. Hooray! Slowly but surely, the pounds are coming off - at a rate of about 1/2 pound a week. I can live with that.

Better yet - I had good results at my dr's appointment yesterday. Hooray! I love not being scolded....

NW vs. the Gym

When I woke up early this morning, I planned to go down to the gym. But, in a happy turn of events, I decided to head out to the mailbox with my Netflix before going down to the treadmill. And that's how I learned that it was a gorgeous sunny September morn in DC, with a chill in the air and a lovely breeze. So, I skipped the gym and went for a walk in the neighborhood instead.

I really enjoy walking outside so much more than the boring machines. The city was sleepy and quiet this morning, and I decided to explore a bit of the 'hood north of my place that I don't usually visit. There are some stunningly beautiful quiet little streets along Connecticut, and the early morning is the perfect time to discover these quiet little nooks.

I tried to MapQuest my route to show you all, but turns out MQ doesn't like it when you walk the wrong way down one-way streets. They can't map a walking route if a car couldn't do the same. Ah well, I still clocked in 2.27 miles, which is more than I would have done in the gym. Not only do I prefer walking outside, I usually pick longer routes that keep me walking for more time than if I was just trudging on the treadmill.

Clearly, we have a winner! As we ease into fall, thank goodness, I'll be heading back out on the streets more often!

You're Not Worth It!

Ah, Au Bon Pain Southwest Tuna Wrap, I hate to say it. But we have to break up.

With your 900 calories and your 51 grams of fat, you just no longer fit into my life. It's a toxic relationship for me, and I know you're not going to change who you are. So, I have to cut you off. Sorry.

In fact, I don't think we should even be friends. I will probably still hang out with some of our mutual friends, like the low-fat soups and salad varieties, but I promise I won't make them choose between us.

Hope you have a good rest of your life. But, for my own health, I don't ever want to see you again.


Dangit! I hate when I don't look up the nutritional value until AFTER I eat something!

Believe It Or Not

Honest to goodness, these things taste like Snickers!

Image courtesy of SlimFast.

A Shiny New Look

Au Bon Pain has redesigned their web site, and I like it! The nutritional info is even more accessible, and I like the layout a lot better. Thank goodness ABP has some good choices for me on those days when I just have to get out of the building and grab lunch.

Not on the DL, Sadly

I just got my blood work back from my physical. Sad. My cholesterol went WAY up. Last time I had it checked, about 3 years ago, it was a nice, shiny, happy 182 or so. But now? Yikes. 262. That's not a number I'm proud of.... so I've got my work cut out for me. I'll have to go back for follow-up blood work in 3-6 months, and I've got to get that number down.

Dad's very interested in hearing all my stats now, cuz he wants to make sure I don't have the same experiences he had. Even though my cholesterol was high, I'm happy to report to him that my triglycerides are good, my blood glucose is normal, and that my HDL - the good cholesterol - is actually really good. It's just that my bad cholesterol is really bad. :-(

So, I shall soldier on, trying to live an increasingly fat-free life....

My Swap-Out Dinner

I'm trying to make small adjustments in my cooking to reduce the amount of fat and sodium I use, and my experimenting is resulting in some pretty tasty meals.

Swap-out #1 -
I'm no longer cooking in olive oil, but instead am just using a small amount of olive oil-flavored cooking spray in my awesome non-stick skillet. This reduces the amount of fat, makes the final meal less oily (of course), and is cheaper!

Swap-out #2 -
I'm experimenting with different little flavor-toppers for things like veggies, rather than using margarine as a base.

Tonight, my dinner was:

Tilapia, crusted with black pepper and cumin.
Whole green beans, blanched and lightly dashed with garlic-infused rice vinegar.

This was so tasty! Light, fresh, with a little tangy zip -very low in fat and sodium, but totally filling!

Truckin' Along

I'm still here..... even while not posting, I'm still on the WWWagon. Things have been going pretty well - I'm now down 8.4 pounds from my official starting weight, which is really more like almost 12 pounds from my highest point (cuz I gained a few there after starting).

It feels good... every day still brings its challenges, like Restaurant Week with its desserts included and pasta nights with tomato cream sauce, but I'm managing to balance it all out. I track all my points in my little online journal, so I know to step it up after a bad day.

I'm still about the worst person ever about making myself exercise, but I know that and scold myself enough for it already. I'm drinking LOTS of water, and because I'm on a medication that leeches potassium (and means I shouldn't have alcohol), I have dr's permission to drink fruit juice. So I've had fun trying out different kinds - surprisingly, passion fruit juice wasn't all that.

The really good side benefit of all of this is that - finally! - I've now tried on the dresses I'll be wearing at the upcoming weddings, and I actually think I look cute in them! Hooray for not hating how you look! :-)

WW Works

I'm still on hiatus, for now, so consider this just a brief update. In the last month, I have been sticking to WW online: tracking everything I eat, calculating my points, even counting my "oops" splurges. And guess what? The diet works. I've been steadily losing about a pound or so a week. I've been hungry, and I've made some mistakes, and I've had to resist a lot of temptation -- catered spreads, meeting donuts, boxes of cookies -- but I'm doing well. My Dad's recent health scare has been a real motivator for me. So, that's the update. I may not post very often, but I am updating my little hula girl ticker every week, if you want to follow along at home. :-)

Lights Out

I think it's about time for On the WWWagon to go dark, at least for a while.

I'm not getting the same thing out of the blog anymore - neither from writing posts nor from getting feedback from readers, and there've been less and less of both for months. I'm not in a great place right now thinking or feeling about my health or body issues, and I've been terrible lately in my own habits.

Sadly, I think the biggest thing I've learned by doing this blog is that I CAN'T do it on my own. I need to go back to more of the structure and feedback from following an actual diet, so for the zillionth time I'm going to try the real WW route.

Thanks for being supportive over the last year and a half. I'm just sorry I don't have more -- or LESS -- to show for it.

Takin' It To The Streets

It was such a nice morning this morning I decided that instead of forcing myself to the dark and dreary gym, I would go for a walk outside. It was great! It's starting to be a scorcher outside, but at least at 9 am there was some shade and a bit of a breeze so I didn't totally burn up.

I just learned MapQuest now lets you build a whole route, so I just plotted my little scenic tour of the neighborhood. (Yes, I'm a geek.)


This made for a 45 minute walk, and it's 1.87 miles total. It starts out on the downhill, then goes flat for a while, then has a huge uphill turn for a few short but very strenuous blocks, then evens out again. I worked up quite a sweat, but it feels good!

Not So Bad

I weighed myself this morning, and it wasn't as horrible as I expected. I have gained a half a pound since the last time I reported, so I'm up a total of 1.9. BUT... even though I gave myself a pass last week, I did weigh myself and so I know that last week I was up about another pound and a half. That means this week's gain was *actually* a bit of a loss, even though I didn't count last week. So that makes me happy!

Streeeeeeeeeeeetch

I have taken yoga classes several times over the last few years, but it has been a while. I recently picked up a new (to me) yoga DVD, cuz I've been feeling a need for the benefits of yoga again, and I thought I might as well break out my mat and strap and do it at home.

This is a the DVD I bought, and it's pretty good. It has a 45 minute workout that features both floor and standing poses, with lots of good breathing exercises mixed in with the stretching. What I really like about this disc, which is hosted by a woman named Suzanne, is that there are 4 women doing the poses for 4 different levels of difficulty. The host lady does the full poses, then the 3 other women consistently do medium or beginning levels of difficulty. It's great, and very easy to follow, even if you (like me) have to jump between regular poses for some things and medium for others. For example, my hamstrings are very flexible, so I can do full poses of all the forward bends and a lot of the standing poses, but my hips and torso aren't so great, so I do modified poses of the floor exercises. I think that feature is the best thing about this DVD.

I just did the whole workout for the first time, and wow were some of my muscles not so happy about working in such a focused way. My quads and my actual feet muscles aren't very pleased with me right now. But overall, it feels good. There's nothing quite like the feeling of those deep back cracks during a good forward bend.

What's the hardest thing about doing yoga at home versus in a class? Well, it's hard to explain to trusty cat Cleo that just because I'm sitting or laying on the floor doesn't make it playtime!

MIA - Sorry!

I skipped weigh-in last week, cuz I just knew I had been pretty bad. I was hoping to give myself this week to recoup, and I've been semi-okay. Until today, that is. Last night I was really good and got a big healthy salad out at one of my favorite restaurants. Unfortunately, my sensitive tummy somehow didn't agree with that healthy meal, and I've been sick all day today. :-( And, when I'm tummy-sick, I want nothing more than to soothe it with starch, followed by starch, with a little cheese mixed in, then a little more starch.

So I will weigh in tomorrow, but I do not have high hopes for it.

I Had a Bad Weekend

And sometimes that's all it takes to erase your progress and make you gain a pound or two. Aaargh.

Chips, candy, salty Chinese food... and I fell down in a restaurant and hurt my left knee and my right ankle, which are both sore today. Dang.

This week is going to be crazy with work events, both food and schedule-wise. So I'm going to try to really take it easy on lunches and get in as many fruits and veggies as I can, plus try to be more active... though the alternating rain and scorching humidity haven't been so motivating lately.

Blah.

A New Tool in the Toolkit

Hooray! I've rediscovered an old love.... dijon mustard! This stuff is great. The brand I have (Safeway... I'm cheap) has zero calories and zero grams of fat, and LOTS of potential uses. I've used it as a marinade on chicken breasts, as a base for my first home-made vinaigrette, and just plain on sandwiches.

My problem with sandwiches is I tend to like the kind that go best with lots and lots of fatty mayo -- tuna salad, chicken salad, ham and swiss. But lately I've been trying different combos that taste just fine without mayo. I've got lowfat roast beef and lowfat pastrami, and they go great with this mustard. So I still get the convenience of just grabbing a sandwich, and getting the protein and dairy boost (cuz I'll still allow myself one slice of cheese), without the unnecessary added fat goo from mayo. Hooray!

Before the Feast

I'm heading off soon for some Memorial Day party indulgence...

...but I'm proud that rather than just lounging around all morning, I actually did just do a 20-minute ab workout. (A tearout one from SELF magazine that I like a lot.) I'll be feeling it tomorrow, for sure, but at least it makes me feel a little better about knowing that I'll be sampling lots of different tasty treats all afternoon!

Small Victories

Yay, I lost this week! It was small - only .4 of a pound - but that's enough to keep the losing trend going (hey, 2 weeks in a row I'll call it a trend). More importantly, it means I'm now in the negative on my little ticker, having lost the almost 2 pounds that I was up a few weeks ago. I don't know why my hula girl has a hard time with decimal amounts, but you still get the idea... now it's my job to make the amount a whole number, so she's not so confused. :-)

A Light Dinner, aka Ode to Cumin

Inspired by one of Scotte's recent culinary adventures, I made a great light dinner tonight:

Mahi Mahi with Avocado & Corn Salad

The fish:
It started as a frozen filet from Whole Foods. After thawing, I sauteed it in olive oil in my favorite non-stick pan. I sprinkled it with cumin and black pepper. Mmmm, light, flaky, tasty.


The salad:
I took a 1/2 bag of frozen corn kernels and roasted them in the oven for about 15 min at 400 degrees. Before popping them in, I drizzled it with olive oil and sprinkled - you guessed it! - cumin and black pepper liberally across the top. Then I diced and scooped a whole avocado, and mixed it with the cooled corn.

And, here's the shocker -- I made my own vinaigrette! I've never done that before! It took 2 tries to get something tasty -- but I ended up mixing together 1 tsp of dijon mustard, about 1/2 tsp of lime juice, cumin, black pepper (natch!), and olive oil. It didn't mix together as well as I would've liked, and it was kinda tart, but overall it did the trick.

Visual Reference

There's nothing like seeing a picture of yourself - a side view, no less! - to give you that kick in the pants you need. Yikes.

So, I've been refocusing the last few days -- making better choices in my regular routines.

Por ejemplo:

Thursday for lunch at the deli, where I would've normally wanted a bready ham sandwich with mayo, instead I got a turkey wrap that has lots of veggies and a cucumber sauce. And no cookie!

Friday for lunch at a Thai place, where I would've normally wanted green curry with lots and lots of fatty coconut milk in the sauce, I ordered lad na with pork - a light brown sauce with lots of broccoli.

And Friday afternoon, when I went to see a movie? No popcorn!

And today? I just spent 45 minutes in the gym! Hard core, no excuses, in the gym. Hooray!

A Reese's Smoothie?

I experimented with the blender again today, and based on a recipe I found on the Internets I came up with the following concoction:

- One WW giant fudgsicle - 1 point
- One T reduced fat peanut butter - 2 points
- 1/2 cup skim milk - 1 point

Oh my goodness! This tasted like a frothy peanut butter cup! Not bad for a sweet, satisfying 4 point dessert!

Hooray!

I lost 1.4 pounds this week. Yippee!

And that's even with being at a conference for 5 days -- airport food, constant grazing at buffet tables, irregular schedules, all of it! That's great, cuz last year I gained weight at this particular conference. I'm happy! (Even though my ticker seems to have gone a little crazy....?)

Bringin' Back the 70's

I was inspired tonight to go digging through the storage bins in my closet to see if I could find an old friend... I wasn't sure if it had survived all the moves of my 20's, and I didn't know if I'd kept it or sent it to Goodwill at some point, but.... success! I found it! My trusty old (and I mean old, it was one of Mom's hand-me-downs when I moved out) Osterizer blender! I think that sucker predates me, and I'm no spring chicken.

I was so happy that I found it that I just threw together a smoothie for dessert, using some frozen organic blueberries, fat free milk, and a little bit of light whipped topping. Deelish!

Now I'm on a mission -- to fully integrate smoothies into my home repertoire. Breakfast, snack, dessert - it's all good!

So what are your favorite blender concoctions? Now that I've dug out the Osterizer, I plan to get as much life out of the old girl as I can!

Gurgh. Aaargh.

Shiny new scale and I have not figured out how to be friends yet.

I'm up 1.6 pounds from last week! Bah.

Well, I know I had some indulgent dinners, and I ate out 4 nights in a row.... plus I have GOT to work in some exercise. I think I need to kick my own butt and just start doing it!

This week will be a real challenge, cuz it's conference time.... but I'll be very active, so maybe it will work out okay. Until next time...... pffffffffft!

I Met My Challenge!

I stuck to my lunchtime challenge for the rest of the week - hooray!

Wednesday: Another day of soup and a bagel at Au Bon Pain, with yogurt this time.

Thursday: Chicken bento box (though I did have a salty oat cookie)

Friday: A steak salad

So, I know these still aren't super low-cal lunches, by far, but I'm glad that I was able to go a whole week without getting into the cycle of killer deli sandwiches yet again. And I enjoyed every meal that I had at lunch... so let's see if I can make this a habit.

Now, to work on dinners, too....

Two Days In

I've been doing fairly well on my lunchtime challenge so far....

Yesterday, I had a Cosi Signature Salad, as is (no added grilled chicken as usual), with the whole grain flatbread. That's it - no extra yogurt or cookie or anything.

Today, I'd been having a bit of tummy trouble so I didn't eat breakfast. By the time 11:30 rolled around, I was light-headed... but I also had a meeting coming. So I had to eat fast.

I got a large beef stew with a plain bagel and just one little cup of cream cheese at Au Bon Pain. Tasty. Again, no cookie or yogurt as a "side"....

I've successfully avoided the killer lunches both days -hooray! And I've discovered a very easy and convenient new snack for when my mid-day munchies come. The basement cafe at my office sells little single-serve cups of cereal, including my fave Smart Start, so I grab one of those and a tiny little carton of fat-free milk. It's sweet AND crunchy and keeps my satisfied.

That's all good stuff. Dinners, on the other hand, have NOT been very good.... but one thing at a time!

Take a Deep Breath

Ugh. So, my shiny new scale did give me a totally different number today. Like I said, I'm going to just accept it. What else can I do? But, um, yeah - it was TWELVE pounds higher than what my old scale gave me. (Remember, the old scale used to waver a lot on the dial, so I was never really sure where it was landing.) I guess it really was time to upgrade my weight loss technology, if it was so wrong....

But. Yikes!

So, there's nowhere to go but down!

Lunchtime Challenge

Lately I've been getting really lax on trying to have good lunches during the week.

My days are really busy, so when noon rolls around I'm usually facing one of two scenarios:

1. I need to give myself a break and get out of the building for a while, so I'll go out with a friend for a restaurant meal, most likely Austin Grill. (Mmmmm, gooey cheese and meat.)

2. I'm on the run and have a lot of meetings, so I just run out to grab something quick, usually at a deli or Potbelly's. My favorite so-bad-they're-good (but really, ultimately, very bad) options? The Italian sandwich at Potbelly's or a turkey & swiss & avocado sandwich on a greasy, buttery croissaint from the deli. Yikes.

I realize that this is the time of day where I'm most likely to make bad choices, with little forethought.

So, this week, I'm challenging myself to break that cycle. I want to eat healthier stuff at lunch - meals that are still satisfying, but are lower in fat and have better ingredients. My goal is to spend this whole week going back to some of the good options I have been successful with in the past: soups, salads, fruit, and bento boxes.

That's my plan for the week -- spend 5 days avoiding killer sandwiches and cheesy entrees. I'll report soon on how I do!

Shiny and New

I got my new bathroom scale today. Isn't it all sleek and fancy-looking?

I am worried that I'll have a bit of a shock when I step on the scale Monday morning. My suspicion is that my old dial-a-number scale probably lost its precision quite some time ago. So, scary, this digital readout may give me a number that is higher than I want to see... yikes!

But, I've decided that I'm going to just go with it. It's not that I will have suddenly gained 10 pounds or something, it's that I'll finally know what I actually weigh and can use that info as a starting point. And there's no way I want to mess with doing some algebra program to translate my stats from the old scale to the new one. Who can handle doing that on a Monday morning???

So... wish me luck. I will report in on the scary new number on Monday!