Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Drag it up on that scale!

After basically a month of farting around (and waiting for my knee to get less angry) I drug my butt back to weigh in today. I have actually maintained since last recorded weigh in here. I had been up two to three pounds but that weight has sort of crept off over the last week. I've not been tracking much, and I've not been exercising much (except at Julie's farmsitting) but I've somehow managed to find some sort of moderator lately. It's good. Really good.

So I'm back on track. I started Zumba back last Saturday and again last night - all's well. I'm staying low impact for another week or two just to ease back in (for my knee).

And. AND. There is a Zumba instructor class on Nov 5th thirty minutes from home. I'm signing up tonight!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

WOOT Wednesday!

Hah, isn't it funny how the number on the scale can set the tone for the day? Today I was down 3.0 lbs, for a total of 38.6. I've finally come to realize that while that number isn't everything it *is* significant to me. It's silly for me to try to act like it doesn't matter. I'm trying to not let it affect how I feel about myself in general, but it sure is nice to see good numbers (ie downward).

I'm starting to think I need some actual Zumba clothes. I've been too big for them so far, but I tried on some of my sister's duds the other day and they were a little snug, but fit. Hers were a medium and they go up to XXL, so I should be able to find stuff that fits. Even if I have to shop in the mens britches. I went to Kohls hoping to find some decent workout duds... but no. Ugh. Not impressed.

I'm also to a point of desperately needing new work clothes. I'm down to about two pair of pants that barely fit. The good news is that I have jeans from where I am now (about a 14 misses) to about a 6 misses. So at least I won't have to buy any new jeans!

Laura

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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Wanh Wednesday

Well... poo. Weigh in this morning was a total maintain. That could be because I bolted down close to two pounds of blueberries yesterday. Hm. It counts as zero points, but certainly two pounds in one's body is still two pounds. They sure were good though! On the upside it should make for a nice loss next week.

In other news I almost have the $$ scraped together to go get my Zumba instructor's license. WOOT!

(Laura)

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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Someone has to do it!

It seems lately all we can manage is weekly weigh-in announcements. I'm blaming the weather. And a flood of freelance work (that's a good thing!). I completely missed last week. Almost missed this week. Got on the scale this morning and think it hasn't moved since the last weigh-in (I say "think" because I failed to write it down last time). Anyway, I'm within a tenth of a pound of where I was last weigh-in.

Again, that's not great, but in the grand scheme of things, at least I'm not gaining, and given my extremely odd eating habits lately, I'm okay with that. Still, I'd like to do more than just plod through the Gail Parkins Memorial Ovarian Cancer Walk/Run in September, so I really do need to get going. It's just hard to do when exercise must take place outside and we're in the middle of a nasty heat wave. But that is something of an excuse. I could set my alarm for early a.m. and get out there before the sun comes up. In fact, I think that's what I'll do. And I'll have to 'fess up here next week if I don't. I know you'll be sitting on the edges of your seats waiting to see if this becomes a fail for me, lol!

(Julie)

______________________

I'm glad someone got around to it - yesterday was crazy, and today doesn't look to be much better. Funny how going home at lunch again to potty puppies seems to somehow shoot my day!

Anyway, I was down 3.6 lbs this week. At one point over the course of the week I was up an additonal four pounds from there - lets just say that I played the vacation card, followed by the birthday card, followed by the "it's Nicky's birthday too" card. Anyway, that puts me back below where I was prior to playing all of those cards. I think my total now is like 35.6.

An interesting thought process to share: As I saw the scale registering me up by 7 lbs or so, I had a moment of intense dispair. It was a moment of, "Oh no... I'm out of control and I'm never going to get it back." I was sort of keeping an eye on things, and the fact that the scale was moving in the wrong direction was scary to me. So I stood there, nekkid, and reasoned with myself. I told myself not to worry, that it was mostly food and water weight. I reminded myself that the plan works, and that if I continued to work it I would see the scale back in order again.

Know what? It worked.

(Laura)

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

WI Weds

Well. Here I am. I'm putting on my big girl panties and fessing up. I'm up 3 pounds this week. Yep. I was on vacation last week... and my "vacation" carried on through last night. I didn't do any Zumba last week... so yeah, the scale groaned just a little this morning. It shouldn't be a major issue as most of that is food and water weight, but still. It is easy to see how this could have the potential to be out of control in a hurry. The good news is that it's not.

The bad news is that it's my birthday and cake is going to get in my belly. Or is that good news too?

Laura

_________________________

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

I was a slacker, and it's Wednesday....

I completely forgot to weigh-in and come to the blog to talk about it last week, so I'm trying to make up for it this week by saving Laura the trouble of being first! See what I good friend I am? So the moment of truth: I'm down 0.4 from the last weigh-in for a whopping total of 2, yes, count 'em, TWO pounds lost! Okay, that's almost laughable, but given that I'm not actually exercising beyond the usual stuff on the farm, I will be happy with any loss. Just imagine what I could do if I just got my lazy self on my bike every morning and rode a few miles.... I promise that day is coming, but for now just eating a healthier, more natural diet seems to be helping, albeit slowly....

(Julie)

________________________

Now who's a slacker? I'm even a day late. I'm on staycation, though, so that's my sort of kind of but not really excuse. :) I weighed in up .4 yesterday. All I can say is... clearly making a pan of brownies when on vacation and alone isn't the smartest idea ever. It is a tasty idea, but not exactly smart from a weight loss standpoint. On the other hand... they're almost gone so by today I'll be safe from myself.

Editing to correct myself - I gained .2, not .4, and at a WW meeting that's considered a maintain.

Laura

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Another Weigh In Rolls Around

This week I lost 2.4, for a total of 35.2. I am now, officially, back in the land of weights that start with a "1". WOOT! I'm now below my "anything under" weight, which makes me inordinantly happy. My body appreciates it a bunch, too. I'm looking forward to next week on staycation. Maybe I'll get all wild and crazy and post more than once.

Laura

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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

WI Weds

Weigh In this morning had me down 1.6 lbs. Total = 32.8. It has been interesting to me to see this slow and steady loss, as opposed to my previous pattern. Last time around I'd lose less than a pound for three weeks, and then in the fourth week I'd lose anywhere from 2-4 lbs. This time it has been a steady 1-1.8 loss every week, averaging about 7.5 lbs per month. This is slower than before, but I'm so very much happier. I'm approaching things very differently this time around and I think it changes things. It has changed me.

(Laura)

_____________________________

I guess that leaves me to add in my stats. Down 0.4. Not bad since I ate like a pig, and then some, all week. Okay, so let's use another analogy: I worked like a dog and maybe that helped make up for my eating indiscretions. Still less than half a pound isn't necessarily something to crow about, but given that I'm working on that same old last 15 pounds, I'll take it. So let's see, that's a grand total of 1.6 pounds in three weeks. The fat's just flying off here...lol! But the lifestyle changes are slowly taking hold. And if I could just give up most of the chocolate I constantly crave, life would be good (well, good in the sense of weight loss, not good in the sense of giving up something I love).

(julie)

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Workout Alternatives

So what do you do if you live in the country and aren't near a gym and don't want to pay to work out anyway? Well, you find things around the farm that can serve as suitable substitutes for all that fancy gym equipment (sadly, you don't get the hot Latin guy, but then again, some of the on-farm workouts can lead to embarassing situations that you probably wouldn't want anyone--hot or not--to witness!).

So, let me introduce Saturday's workout machine: the Cub Cadet rototiller. This is not a small machine, and it's heavy enough that you won't move it if the engine isn't running. I borrowed this from Robin because my garden was beginning to look like a jungle, and the grass was overwhelming the plants that are supposed to provide the vegetables that are going to sustain me through the winter.





Now, running a rototiller in and of itself could be fairly easy (if you have a tiny little Mantis, one of my favorite tillers), but if your garden happens to be hard clay, with numerous rocks on and under the soil, and your tiller is one of the big boys, then it becomes workout central! Word of warning to would-be rototiller exercisers: even smallish rocks like the ones below can cause the rototiller to buck and jump like the broncs at the Wild West show. And when that happens, well, you're hanging on for dear life, which of course means you're hanging on to the little bar that keeps the tiller running. Double jeopardy: the longer you hang on the farther it pulls you--at an amazing rate of speed. So remember, if your tiller leaps and starts dragging you like a big shark on the end of a line, LET GO of the little safety bar! At least I didn't end up crushed between the fence and the tiller or worse, but wrestling it around the garden, never knowing when the next wild buck was coming, sure was a workout!



This is the edge of the garden:





And this is one of the tilled rows.



The rock in the picture above is maybe 5 inches long, but let the tiller go over it and you'll think you've struck a boulder the size of the glacier that took down the Titanic. It took me just over an hour to wrestle that beast around my garden. Thankfully, all of my limbs and digits are intact, but I can't say the same for all my plants!


But it was a good workout--my heart rate was up, I was sweating like, well, a pig, and I certainly managed to work my legs, my core, and my arms and shoulders. In fact, my trapezius muscles are still screaming their indignity today. After I finished with the tiller, I took the hoe between plants. I liken hoeing to working on a rowing machine, but a lot less fun. But it's done, and I did get some exercise, and maybe my plants will thrive and provide lots of bounty that I can put up for the leaner winter months. (For the eating healthier and simpler part of my diet/lifestyle plan.)


Oh, and I can look forward to doing this workout on a fairly regular basis, as Robin has kindly told me to hang on to the tiller for now (little does she know about the hanging on part!)....


So the moral of this story is that you can find a workout right at home; just be careful not to damage yourself in the process, because there won't be a hot Latin guy around to save your butt.



(Julie)

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Zumba Saturday



image from www.zumbainthehills.com

Today promises to be a hot and busy day. I have two Zumba classes lined up - one at 9am and then another at 11am. I've done one Zumba and one Aqua Zumba class in the same day, but never two full Zumba classes. I'm looking forward to it, but am going to be careful not to be too stupid about it.

My left knee has been acting a little wonky, and I think it was because I've been feeling SO good that I've been hopping around a hair too much. Over the years I've had tendinitis in that knee, several injuries, and probably have arthritis in it. So I need to remember to be smart - easy on the jumping.

This, my friends, is mostly just a thinly veiled attempt at ogling Beto Perez with his shirt off. Yum.



image from www.page2live.com

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Weigh-In Wednesday

Ok, so maybe I'm not changing gears. I'm going to rook my partners in crime back to the blog, instead. So lets start with today's weigh-in. If you haven't been weighing, now is the time to start. If you're anti-scale, now is the time to have SOME sort of method by which you track your progress. So. Let's have it.

I weighed in this morning, and was surprised to see a 1.2 lb loss. I'd been hanging right at the status quo all week, so I was pretty pleasantly surprised. That makes a total of 31.2. I found what will become my new "before" picture, and some time this week I'll post a "before" and a "30 lbs lost" picture. Now I just have to find someone to take the current picture for me. Hm.

So. Weigh in time. Or measure time. Or jeans are looser time. Or I'm just starting out today time. Whatever it is, lets do it! You don't even have to be one of the 3 Fat Girlz. I'd love to hear from you.

Feel free to either edit and add (if you're a contributor) or post to comments. By the way, I don't urge you because I'm nosey (which I am) but because I want to cheer you on, and learn from you!

(Laura)

***********************************

Surprise! Okay, so I didn't get Laura's hint at first when she said the weigh-in post was up. I lamely wrote her back to say I was planning to put a post up later this week. Then I realized that she meant that I should post a weigh-in. Is she MAD????

Okay, truth is, I've been MIA for a long time, but I did finally spend an hour or so fighting with Blogger to recognize me (since I moved and my e-mail changed) so I could start posting again.

What? I'm NOT stalling! Honest. Okay, so it turns out that I did weigh myself a couple of weeks ago. Took me a while to find where I had written it down. And since I had to get up from my desk anyway, I decided to go climb on the scale just now. So this is not a first-thing-in-the-morning weigh-in, but then again, I've been such a backslider, it probably doesn't really matter.

That said, if my scale is accurate, I am down 1.2 pounds from the last time I stepped on two weeks ago. Not a huge change, but since I've not been doing anything in particular to try to lose, any little loss is a victory.

And since I've been on hiatus for so long, I'll just say that my approach now will be the same as it was in the past. My life circumstances are such that there is no extra money for organized exercise plans or anything similar, so for me it will be the bike and possibly taking up jogging again (ugh!). I am still trying to do the eat healthier by eating fewer processed foods thing. I have a big garden this year and hope it produces a lot that I can freeze for eating during the winter. I will add in lamb, and I have a neighbor who has promised me venison. Maybe I'll even learn to butcher my chickens. So for me the journey will be about doing things as simply as possible, just to prove to myself that I can do it--and of course there's the up side to eating less processed more natural foods: better health at any weight!

So later this week, I will post about what I bought on my most recent excursion to the farmer's market and what I've done with it so far. I also plan to post about our exercise motivator for the summer, which is to participate in the Gail Parkins Memorial Ovarian Cancer Run/Walk on September 17th, in memory of Joan Stout Knight, who lost her battle with ovarian cancer early this year. So stay tuned; we are resurrected!

P.S. to Laura: In honor of a new start, I applied a different template to the blog to change the look slightly. Feel free to go make more changes--I just thought a slightly updated look might be fun!

(Julie)

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Aliens

I think that quite possibly my thoughts have been invaded by Aliens. Admittedly I did leave the house today without my tinfoil underwear, so it's really all my fault. I left myself wide open for suggestions from the great beyond.

I'm having a ridiculously stressful day. I can actually FEEL that my blood pressure is up there. WAY up there. Up in a place that it ought not be. I tried deep breathing, but almost passed out. I went and hid in the bathroom here at work for a few minutes, and it marginally helped. I texted Sandy, who always makes me giggle, and I do think the BP decreased a tiny bit.

I finally got a moment to run out and get some lunch. I went to the Wendy's to get their new Berry Almond Chicken Salad (it rocks, by the way) which is the salad I got last week. Hold the cheese. They held the cheese. I went to a different Wendy's, and the hussy at the speaker said they're premade and she cannot take the cheese off.

I said "Never mind" and went screeching out of the parking lot. No, not really. I don't think the dog-mobile could catch a wheel unless it was some sort of a dying gasp glitch. But I did drive off with authority to find something else.

As I was wandering around a different shopping center I saw that I was driving past a Ben and Jerry's. We already know I have a weakness for the B&J. I then had this thought. I thought, "I could just go get some ice cream. Then I could go over to Jersey Mike's and get a big old sub and stuff myself. I sure do deserve it after all of the suffering I've done today."

Now here's the part where Aliens took over. Ready for this? My next thoughts were, "Now that would be stupid. I don't really even want this stuff. It's not like I'm even having a craving. All I really want is to get some relief from this stress, and I know that eating all of that food is just going to PISS ME OFF... thus adding to the stress. Never mind the guilt, and then there's weigh in tomorrow to consider. I think probably all I really want to do is stuff my face and then be able to justify it tomorrow on my blog. I don't think it's worth it, not for the repercussions."

I drove on past the B&J and picked up a grilled chicken salad for lunch. I cannot guarantee that I'll make it through the rest of the day on track, but I think at least one crisis has been averted. My blood pressure isn't any better or any worse, really, but I'm happy with the not worse thing. I'm also patting myself on the back for having an adult conversation with myself - in my head, which looks infinitely less crazy to anyone watching me.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Changing Gears

Today's weigh in has me down 1.4 lbs, for a total of 30 lbs lost. I think I'm going to change gears a little. I'm thinking to start posting only in 5 lb increments, as opposed to a weekly weigh in sort of thing. I'm also seriously considering either a. changing the name of the blog, or b. starting up a new blog focusing on weight loss, exercise, getting healthy, recipes, tips, etc. I'm leaning towards leaving this one up and referring to it, but starting up something new.

But I'd need a name. I'm in a name drought right now...

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Snowballing

Yesterday I forgot to take my afternoon snack with me. Typically for an afternoon snack I choose a complex carb, and something with some protein. I'll often have a few multi-grain crackers with a couple of tablespoons of hummus. This usually takes the edge off enough to get me to dinner. But yesterday I forgot to bring crackers. So I settled for an orange.

Suffice it to say that the orange, by itself, just didn't quite do it for me. I got home and immediately started munching. A piece of chocolate. A handful of nuts. Then I changed plans for dinner from a chicken breast with veggies to pasta and smoked sausage. Dinner plans went from about 10 pts to about 15 pts.

Then... not to be outdone by myself... I topped it off with 2/3 of a pint of Ben and Jerry's. Yes, really.

Of course there are consequences. First is that tomorrow morning is weigh in, and I'll be up from where I would have been had I not done that.

The second consequence? Lactose intolerance. Full flare. I wasn't even sure I'd make it to work this morning. The whole thing was just unsatisfying. I'm irked that I didn't, at the very least, consider the lactose intolerance thing. I mean, aren't I supposed to be all about being healthy? It's not healthy to have faucet-ass because I snarfed almost a pint of ice cream. It's not like I didn't KNOW I'd be in serious gastronomic distress if I ate it.

{insert gigantic self-flagellating sigh here}

By the way, in case anyone was wondering, this indulging business only put me over by 1 point for the week. So that's not so much the issue, as much as it is the mindset with which I was operating. I know I should be cutting myself some slack here. In the big grand scheme of things it's only a minor blip. But, until my gut settles I'm sure I'll continue to really curse my own stupidity.

Oh, and the moral of the story is don't forget your crackers.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Aqua Zumba!



Today I plan to forge a new frontier. Aqua Zumba! One of my favorite instructors is doing a class today, and I'm going. I'm really going to support Katie more than anything, but also because it sounds like fun. Well, maybe not so much the wearing a bathing suit part, but with the heat we've been having lately pool is sounding nice.

So there is that bathing suit thing. I haven't been out in public in a swimsuit in several years. Even first go-round with WW I didn't go out in a bathing suit, other than maybe once. Fortunately the pool will be closed to the public, so it'll only be me and the other Zumba peeps. The idea of being the only fat girl in a bathing suit is freaking me out, but by the same token I'm taking refuge in the fact that I am doing something about the fat girl part.

While I'm on the subject, lets talk about swimsuits. Around this time last year, I bought this suit from Lane Bryant:



(photo from www.lanebryant.com)

It is a Miraclesuit... supposed to make you look ten pounds thinner instantly.

Uh... hello??? When you weigh upwards of 200 lbs, ten pounds thinner isn't really all that noticeable. Seriously. What? It's going to tame one roll or something? One miniscule roll? None of my rolls are miniscule, but whatever.

I'm a couple of sizes smaller now than I was when I bought the suit, but surprisingly it still fits. The bust is a teenie bit loose, so I'll have to be careful of bobbing and weaving around in the pool. Wouldn't want the girlies floating away, now would we?

I'll be back with a report on how it goes today. Oh, and I'm going to a regular class in a little over an hour, so that'll be two Zumba classes today.

The video is from the www.zumba.com site.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

For a Splurge

Last night for dinner I had my sausage pasta somethingorother for one. It doesn't even have a name, and this isn't really a recipe. The cool thing about this is that one can make as little or as much of this as desired to meet their individual caloric needs. Here we go:

1. Put some water in a pot to boil.

2. Measure out how much pasta you need. I usually do two servings - 4oz dry. That adds up to a lot of points though - 11. Use less if you want less. I'm hungry, and I have the points for it, so I'm GOING for it! Add salt to water, and then put the pasta in when it's at a full boil.

3. When pasta has about 6 minutes left, put a non-stick skillet on medium heat. Add 2 tsp of EVOO. To this oil add whatever spices you like - I add crushed red pepper and basil.

4. When pasta has about 4-5 minutes left, add 2 oz of smoked turkey sausage (cut into little bite sized pieces) to the pan with the EVOO. I also like to use lite kielbasa. Stir to coat with EVOO, and then leave.

5. At about 2.5 mins left flip the sausage. If you like garlic or garlic powder now is the time to add. If you add it any sooner it will become bitter or burn. Also take a small measuring cup and pull out about 1/4 cup of pasta water, and set it aside.

6. If sausage is browning fast, take off of the heat when ready.

7. Drain pasta in a colander, and immediately dump the pasta into the pan with the sausage, and toss to coat. If the "sauce" needs more liquid, add some pasta water. It won't take much.

Put it in a bowl, and enjoy!

With 4 oz of pasta, 1 turkey smoked sausage link (Hillshire Farms) and 2 tsp of EVOO I wind up with 15 Points Plus values. It's a lot to spend, though, so if you have fewer points to burn consider only doing 2oz of pasta, and adding some veggies to fill it out some!

Last night I used cavatappi pasta

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Weigh-In Wednesday

This past week's weight loss is 1.6, for a total of 28.6. I expect a "whoosh" in the next day or so, because after all of the work I did outside yesterday in the hot sun I felt like I was retaining water, even after the 8 bottles I drank.

Other stats:

APs earned: 74
APs swapped: 74
Weeklies Used: 34 out of 49, with 15 left over

Holy canoli that's a lot of APs! I had four days of Zumba, plus lots of yard work, and I went on a couple of cleaning benders.

It's been a successful week in many ways - I navigated obstacles like the family reunion with style, and without depriving myself. I almost forgot - I got into some size 14 misses jeans. I wasn't quite ready to wear them all day yet, but I think in another week or two I will be. Here's to next week being just as good!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Revelation Reloaded

I thought it might be interesting to make a play on the title from my other blog today. It has been my week for revelations, apparently.

I was having a conversation with an acquaintance at work last week about weight loss and Weight Watchers. She was asking some questions, and I was explaining about how I'd been through this process before and had made a mistake when I hit maintenance. My mistake was thinking that I could just sort of do my own thing and keep the weight off. Once it started back on it snowballed, and then I found myself in trouble.

She asked me if this meant that when I got to maintenance that I'd have to keep tracking for the rest of my life???

I replied, "Yes. I think that's exactly what it means for me."

The surprising thing is... I'm OK with that. I am going to have to track what I eat for the rest of my life. I've tried to do my own thing, and it has become obvious that doing my own thing doesn't work. I think in the big grand scheme of things tracking daily is a very small price to pay for not having to keep doing this over and over.

On some level I've never internalized this (the tracking forever... being a weight watcher for life). Somehow it just... settled for me. The path became clear. It suddenly has become less of a burden.

This is big for me.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

WI Wednesday

I stepped on the scale this morning to find myself down 1.6 lbs from last week, for a total of 27 lbs lost. I still have a long way to go to get to goal, but not such a long way to my "anything under" weight. 8 lbs. 8 lbs to my "anything under" weight. I'm stoked!

Someone posted on FB the other day to ask WW peeps if they do, or do not swap out activity points. There's always a lot of talk with WW'ers about whether or not to use weekly points, and whether or not to use activity points. My answer to that is... you just have to figure it out for yourself.

Everyone is different. I personally do. I use my activity points, and I also use my weekly points. I don't always manage to use all of them on weeks where I have a ton of APs, but typically I come pretty close. For example: this past week I had 69 activity points (yes, really). If you add the 49 weeklies in with the 69 activity points that's a total of 118 extra points to burn. I managed to use up all but 22 of them. So on top of my 33 daily points I also burned up an additional 96 points over the course of the week - and lost 1.6 lbs.

I think different people lose in different ways, so what works for me may not work for someone else. My strategy is this - if you're using all points and not losing well, then try cutting back. If you're not using all points and not losing well then try using more.

I think for future weigh ins I may report on how many weeklies and APs I've used. I think it will give an interesting picture.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Catching Up

I made the executive decision last week to change my weigh-in day. I had been weighing in on Tuesday mornings - which was frustrating because I like to use my extra points on Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun. What was happening is that I was still retaining water on Tuesday mornings. I know these things work out in the wash, but it was making me a little crazy. So, new WI day is Weds.

Week before last I lost 3 lbs. This past week I lost .4 lbs. That's a total of 25.4 lbs lost total now.

Overall I'm very pleased with my progress. I have a busy weekend ahead of me from an activity standpoint, and I'm looking forward to it!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Progress!

Today's weigh in was a whopping four pound loss. Total lost: 22 lbs. I am almost to my 10%, too - another pound and a half to go!

I am pleased that I managed to deal with last week's frustration and urges, and managed to survive without the binge I was craving. It was a close one, and I really felt like it would have been a sort of tide-turning thing had I given in. There are some times that I can take liberties and keep on trucking, and then there are times that I know I'll take a departure from the plan as a permission to go out of control... and then it takes a very long time to rein it back in. So that's a huge victory!

One thing I am starting to figure out is that these weigh ins more or less will all come out in the wash, eventually. So I was up one pound last week, which was up two pounds from two or three days prior to weigh in. So then I was down four pounds this week - which includes last week's two pounds, and two more for this week. Essentially it all came out in the wash anyway.

They tell you this, you know, at the WW meetings. To look at your overall trend, I mean. Easier said than done, I can tell you. I've found a place where I'm not as obsessed over the number on the scale, but I'd be fooling myself if I didn't say that come weigh in day it matters. It may not be everything. It may not be my main focus, but it matters.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Recipe - for Two Servings

I called this Chicken Pomodoro-ish Stuff. I sort of made it up as I went last night. It made two servings for me - one for dinner last night and one for lunch today. It would have been lovely served with a side salad with a vinaigrette of some sort (though I didn't do the salad thing last night). Here it is:

Chicken Pomodoro-ish Stuff
Serves: 2
PointsPlus: 8

1 approx 6 oz chicken breast (more will up the pts - I used one of the individ. frozen dealies)
2-3 Roma tomatoes (or any fleshy tom without many seeds)
2 tsp EVOO
splash to 2 Tbsp white wine (eyeball it as you go)
splash to 2 Tbsp water (eyeball it as you go)
1 small clove of garlic
crushed red pepper
salt
basil
grill seasoning
2 servings of a brown and wild rice blend

Put on your rice - cook as directed. When there is about 10-15 mins left to go, start this part:

Spray a skillet with cooking spray. If using stainless steel also add 1 tsp of EVOO (I used SS). Cut chicken into bite sized pieces, sprinkle with grill seasoning (and salt & pepper if you like) and brown slightly on medium to medium high heat - about 2 mins or so. While the chicken is cooking seed and dice the tomatoes, and chop the garlic.

Pull chicken out of pan, and then add the other tsp of EVOO.

Add the garlic and saute briefly. Then add the tomatoes, and spices. I can't say how much because I just sort of throw in whatever makes me happy. Cook the tomato and garlic mixture for another minute or two, and then add the white wine. Cook some more - another five mins or so, stirring occasionally. This makes a thick and chunky sort of sauce - not a lot of liquid. Once the tomatoes start to get softer, add the chicken back in. If it's looking too dry add more water. Cook another two minutes or so, warming the chicken back up.

Cover half of the rice with half of the chicken mixture. Put the other halves in a container for lunch the next day.

You could also toss this with pasta instead of rice. OR you could dump it into a roll and top with some cheese...

After eating go outside and then come back in so you can smell how yummilicious the house smells.

The end.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Rebound Struggle

So I've been talking to myself about how I know it's water weight (or food weight, or whatever) and that there's no way I gained (and I was off by a digit) two pounds of fat over the course of the week... particularly not since I did Zumba five days!!! Normally I would have expected to have dumped the water weight by this morning, but I've only dumped about .6 of it - leaving me still up .4 from the last weigh in.

I'm not sure why, exactly, but I'm feeling frustrated over it. Not "quit" frustrated, but certainly "eat a bunch of Easter candy" frustrated.

The Easter Bunny came to see me on Sunday. It brought many lots of bunches of candy. I ate a few pieces (truly, really, genuinely only a few) and brought the rest to work. Now it's sitting here on the edge of my desk and it's calling my name. I think it's calling my name harder because of the frustration.

In my head it goes, "Oh, well, I'm up this week anyway, why not?". It's not even that I'm thinking that I might want a few pieces more... it's a craving for an all out down and dirty binge.

I don't feel very good this week - emotionally or physically. I think this is a contributing factor. It's been a while since I've felt like I was out of control. I'm not ACTING out of control, but I feel like it. I feel like at this exact moment one step in the wrong direction would send me careening down a path that I don't want to be on.

So I guess this is a good moment to draw on those militant reserves. I've been cruising along sort of giving myself some leeway, but I think this is a moment for staying the course carefully... at least until this passes.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Say What?

Up a pound this week? Three or four days ago I was down two pounds, so this is up three pounds from a few days ago. I've been on plan... so the only thing I can come up with is a normal sort of fluctuation. I don't have many of these, though I know most people do. I *do* feel like I've got some bloat going on.

I almost waited to weigh in again tomorrow, but then it didn't seem fair to make up my own rules as I go along. So I'm putting on my big girl panties and taking the gain this week. Darnit.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Rolling Along

This week's WI has me down 1.4 lbs. That makes a total loss of 19 lbs so far, and I'm 5 lbs away from 10%.

I managed to get myself to Zumba 3 times last week. I was afraid that by the third class I'd be all ricketty, but in actuality I felt pretty darned good. I'm going to try to try different classes and find the ones that I like best to go to. I'm somewhat limited by the fact that I can't make a class before 6.30, but I'm managing.

It is interesting to me (though probably not terribly surprising to my friends) that I am finding that I tend to have relatively strong preferences about Zumba so far. I find that I prefer classes that focus more on the latin style moves, and less on the hip hop stuff. Don't get me wrong, I loves me some hip hop, but really prefer some salsa in my step. I like clear and sharp choreography, and rather dislike wandering around up there.

It almost makes me wish I had a man around to take some ballroom dancing lessons with. You know, a man to dance with, not a man to date. It would strictly be a using him for my own purposes sort of arrangement (dancing, of course).

Anyway. I'm gearing up for the spring and summer - I just cut open my first cantaloupe last night. Yum! Every time I eat cantaloupe it reminds me of my Papaw. When I was a kid he and I would sit up there at his bar, and between the two of us we could wipe out an entire cantaloupe. I probably still could. Particularly when they're teenie tiny (grumble grumble) like the one last night. Anyway, for dinner last night I had:

Citrus Marinated Lamb Chops
Brown and Wild Rice blend
cantaloupe
two dove miniatures

I was going to have a spinach salad too, but had already had quite a hefty salad at lunch, and there is such a thing as too much roughage, IMO.

I am reminded that it's been a long time since I've posted a recipe. Hm. I may do that this week. Until then, my one major goal for this week is to keep moving!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Triple Threat Tuesday

Alliterate much? Hah! I weighed in this morning to find a 3.0 lb loss this week (triple threat... 3.0 lbs... get it?). Actually, it was more like a 3 lb loss last week, but I was holding on to pizza induced water weight. Either way, though, these things usually sort themselves out. So that puts me at 17.6 lbs lost.

I feel so much better. I'm sleeping better, my pieces parts ache less, and I have a lot more energy. Emotionally I feel better, even in the midst of trying times at work. I feel like this is a gift for myself.

I'm totally having a ball doing Zumba, and if I keep enjoying it I'm tossing around the idea of following in my little sister's footsteps and going for my instructor certification. But that's a ways off. I'll probably need another 17 or so pounds gone before my body will be in good enough shape to stand up to the rigors of being an instructor.... or even stand up to the rigors of the instructor class.

I have, however, figured out that for some reason steps just wreck my knees. I can Zumba, I can walk, I can hike... but take the stairs and I'm in pain. For now I'm going to continue to give the stairs a rest.

Until next time.... rock on!

Friday, April 8, 2011

Snack Time!

I almost always eat a snack in the afternoons. For me this is a holdover from when I was a kid. We *always* had a snack around 3pm, and I still do it.

Today's snack is a handfull of grape tomatoes (ok, maybe two handfulls), along with multigrain crackers (I like the Wheat Thins Great Plains Multi-Grain ones) and roasted red pepper hummus. Total points = 4. Very satisfying. This is my fuel up before Zumba in 2.5 hours. Can't wait to go sweat it out!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Tuesday - Weigh In - anyone want to jump in??

Weigh in again. Just opening the floor for any other fatgirlz who'd like to post. :)

I lost another 1.2 this week, making that 14.6 total. I am still up about 1.5 lbs from before the weekend, but I suspect I'll unload the rest of that water weight today.

Unfortunately for me I unloaded a bunch of the water weight in the middle of the night, involving a multitude of potty trips during the night. Feeling a bit bedraggled this morning. But I'm happy with my progress. There is a cut off, so to speak, where I'm happy with myself at any weight below that. I'm 20.4 lbs away. That's my first BIG goal. Other than 10%, obviously, and I'm close to it too.

Happy somewhat rainy Tuesday!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Internal Debate

Today I'm having a bit of an internal debate I thought I'd share. I took a trip this past weekend, and had lots of manual labor going on. I picked up a small pizza Saturday night, and this morning I'm up approximately 3 lbs from the weight I was at prior to leaving on Friday.

Intellectually I know this is typical for me - I can usually expect 2-3 lbs of water weight after eating pizza - especially if I've not drunk enough water. I didn't drink a whole lot of water yesterday knowing I'd be driving.

So normally prior to a weigh in if I was holding water weight I would drink copious amounts of water (to flush out the bloat) and if I had any flexies or APs left over I wouldn't use them - and I'd certainly not eat anything heavy prior to bed knowing I plan to weigh in tomorrow morning.

I'm tossing around the idea of just treating today like a normal day and letting the chips fall where they may tomorrow. I have eaten all of my APs but I still have my 49 flexies left. I also have a regular #8 from Jersey Mike's that I was planning to eat for dinner tonight. Hmmm... what to do.

Can I deal with being (most likely) up tomorrow even though I know it's water weight?

I'm not sure. I think so though.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Steady as She Goes

Well, I'm down 1.6 this week, for a total of 13.2 pounds lost. I really expected a very small loss, maintain, or slight gain this week after the whopper loss last week. However, this was a very respectable loss, and I'm OK with it. I spent this past weekend at a friend's house, and wasn't overly obsessed with what I ate - but I did, however, keep an eye on myself and tried to be relatively mindful in general. It was easy, too, because she had lots of great healthy choices for us to eat! I have had a small victory this week. Last weekend we went to a lovely little french bakery in downtown Charlotte. I was *starving* while we were in there, but fortunately we took our goods to go. Yesterday I looked in my box and I had two items left. I got out a knife, and cut about 1/4 of one item, and about 1/6 of the other, and that was all I ate. I wanted to taste them, but I really didn't want to gorge myself on them. One of them I found to be... not worth the calories for me. I hate to waste money but I think I may toss it. The other I believe I will cut into five more small pieces, and eat it that way - unless I get tired of it, and then I'll toss it. It's hard to do that - overcome the urge to cram it all in because it is there. I have been pleasantly surprised that in this particular case I've not felt like cramming it down the hatch. That is a pretty huge victory. I have a lot of activity lined up for this coming weekend, and I cannot wait! It feels really good to be active again.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Gaining Ground (and Losing Weight)

This week's weigh-in clocked 3.8 lbs DOWN, for a total of 11.8 pounds lost. I try to keep myself from losing that much in a week, but sometimes it just happens... particularly with all of the activity I did last week.

I don't really look like I've lost much of anything yet, but my britches are looser, and I feel SO much better. It is amazing how much better JUST ten pounds off has made me feel.

I'm still totally digging the Zumba. I even got a DVD so that I could do it at home when I feel like it. They've started a class literally a mile away from my house, and at a time I can make it, so I'm stoked about that! I've been driving about 15 miles each way to get to class (there are closer ones, but I can't get there in time after work).

So I'm stoked to be making progress, and above all feeling so much better.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

By the skin of my teeth!

This week's weigh in was down .2 from last week. About thirty minutes later I got back on the scale and I was down another 1.5 lbs. This morning I was down a full 2 lbs. So who knows, but I recorded the .2. I think sometimes my scale has a bugaboo. Knowing this I always vow to take the first weight.

I remember standing on the scales at the WW meetings and asking if I could have a do-over. Hah!

I am totally digging the changes in the new WW plan. Very nice!!

I also have one small victory. A girlfriend and I stopped to get lunch today, and I got a salad. Came back, ate it, and then found the restaurant's nutrition info. I held the cheese and only ate about 2/3 of my dressing serving, and still it racked up a full 15 points. I almost had a coronary, before I stopped and decided that while I might say "hold the little crispy fried oniony thingies" next time, and forego the texas toast, it wasn't a huge deal in the big grand scheme of things.

That I can do that - both analyze but not freak out (or fall off the wagon) is a big thing, particularly in light of how I feel emotionally at the moment. I hope this is a sign of good things to come!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Epiphanies

I certainly cannot take credit for any of these thoughts - they're not original. I didn't come up with them... but they finally sunk in for me last week (or week before... I dunno I lose track). I've mentioned how I want to change the way I think and the way I view food and such, and I've been making some moves in that direction for a while now. But just lately two thoughts have sunk in - and they have made a slight shift in perception happen for me.

Thought #1: What if I just think about getting fit and healthy?

What if I just think about doing things to be fit? So to answer that I have been focusing on walking the dogs and going to Zumba - just generally moving more. I've made a specific effort to get more active, and what is the result? I feel better, I'm losing well, and I can eat more. Not only that, but the dogs are more fit and healthy as well. I feel like it is a winning situation for all of us.

But what if I also just think about eating to fuel the getting fit, and being healthy part? My body needs fuel for this Zumba business, and it needs fuel to run the everyday processes, and fuel to walk and work the dogs. So I'm making choices that will enable the bod to do it's new jobs.

The result? I'm thinking far less about "what can I eat" and "what can I not have" because I'm thinking more about "what do I need to put into the engine" and "Wow, I guess I don't need to constantly obsess over how I can eat what I would like to because there are more points available to me than I could possibly eat". But strangely, once I have gotten my workouts in, and once I have gotten in the proper fuels I find myself so satisfied that I'm not so worried about the points values - other than to make sure I'm eating ENOUGH. I'm mindful, don't get me wrong, but making an interesting shift away from militant.

Thought #2: Where I am today is just another point on the journey.

I was so riddled with guilt and fear that I'd gained back quite a bit of weight that I was allowing that fear and guilt to paralyze me. Then I heard or read somewhere that it's all just different points on the same journey. So it wasn't like I took a journey, lost weight, and then it was over... or gained weight and it was over, or that I sucked because my journey was over and I had failed. I'm still on the journey - and the point that I'm at doesn't make me suck, it just is another point on my journey to success. Somehow this thought is so freeing. It is liberating! This is all part of my process.

Yay for Epiphanies!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Tuesday Rolls On

I missed last week's blog post due to crazy busy life, but I did not miss last week's weigh in!

Last Week's Loss: 1.4 lbs
This Week's Loss: 3.4 lbs

Total loss so far: 7.8 lbs

This more or less fits my typical pattern. Next week I most likely will only have a small loss, a maintain, or a slight gain. We shall see! A lot of things about my mindset have changed - I've read/heard some things that have changed my outlook, and so much for the better. Later today or later this week I'll post about that, but I wanted to get back on track with the weigh-ins this morning.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Less-Troublesome Tuesday

Woo-HOO for a good weigh in! This week I managed a loss of 2.8 (a typical loss for me), for a total loss of 3.0 lbs. I worked the program more this week, but I made some adjustments to my attitudes and thoughts. It feels SO good to finally be seeing a downward spike.

The cool thing is that this loss is in spite of some Valentine candy indiscretion. Woo-HOO! I didn't allow it to stress me out, or derail me.

I managed to get in a bunch of fruits and veggies each day, and now I'm close to getting all five servings in daily. I *really* like that under the new WW Points Plus TM system fruits are 0 pts, and most veggies are 0 or very low (this excludes potatoes). I'm consistently getting in 3 bottles of water (16.9 oz) daily, and don't know if I can manage much more than that. I used to try to get in four, and was SO miserable running to the bathroom every 45 minutes. Ugh. I don't even want to think about it.

Exercise. I gotz it. I've been taking Nick and Linc on nice, long trail hikes (pictured) and both they and I have been having a ball. The major problem is that at the moment there's not enough daylight before or after I get home from work to get a walk in. So I've been looking around, and have found a lovely little wooded trail about 15 mins from work. So today I have dogs with, and during my lunch hour we'll go take a hike. I'll only be able to get a 30 min hike in, but that's 30 minutes we wouldn't have gotten otherwise. My thought is that I can at least get all three of us in better shape if I make the effort.

My exercise goals for the week are:

1. One dog walk during the week, and one or two on the weekend (the weekend walks are usually 2-1/2 hours or so). Next week I'll aim for TWO walks during the week.

2. Go to Zumba class this week. I've never been, but my sister promises me that there are other fat girlz there, so I'm planning to go tomorrow. I'm a bit skeered. I hate trying new things like this. I might call my brother's girlfriend and see if she'll go too. I'll admit I often feel guilty doing things during the week because the dogs are crated so much now (I work 30 mins from home). But I'm going to sacrifice one night during the week.

Food goals:

1. Continue on my water and fruit trend.
2. Cook more - at least two nights this week.

Anyone else who cares to chime in is welcome to...

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Stupid Scale

Stupid Scale. It hates me. While I'm on the subject, I hate it too. So I'm up .2 from last week, which at a WW meeting would be considered a "maintain". I'm not sure why, but in some reality I expected my seven miles of walking last week to result in like... a ten pound weight loss. Ha!

So what have I learned? I'm going to have to work the program. I've been sort of doing it my way the last three or so weeks, and while I've managed to maintain I'm certainly not gaining any ground on losing. I have GOT to set myself up to succeed, and instead I'm farting around and setting myself up to fail. Plus that stupid scale hates me.

I've been following my rules this past week - more water, more fruits and veggies. I have, through process of elimination, learned that even yogurt sets off my lactose intolerance, though not as bad as some other things. It is bearable on occasion, but as an every day thing I can't do it. I NEED to eat breakfast, so I'm going back to English Muffins and peanut butter. I've always wondered... what do the English call English Muffins? Muffins? Then what do they call a muffin?

Anyway, so I'm going to try this week to get closer to plan. I sorta got all cheaty on myself a few times with the tracking... I fell into the whole, "well I ate so many of ____ that I just won't track it". So my goals this week:

1. Eat three fruits and/or veggies a day (uh... that's really up from like none a few weeks ago)
2. Drink 3 bottles of water (that will equal my 6/8oz per day)
3. Track it all. No buts. Even if I find myself in a major suckage situation

I have had some good moments this week - I've chosen wisely in a few situations, so power to me on that.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Refusal

So today was supposed to be my weigh in day. The fact that I wrote "supposed to be" is indeed a bad sign. This is me heaving a gigantic sigh. I weighed this morning, and the 2.5 lbs I had as a loss the last few days had vanished. Not only that, but I was actually UP freaking .8 from last week's weigh in. This just is not possible!

I protest.

I'm allowed to protest. It is my scale. In my house. If I'm going to strip to me skivvies to weigh I insist I maintain the power to protest.

I'm also constipated. Well I was this morning. I won't go into all of that though. In fact, I've probably already gone way too far, but too late to back it up now.

I'm going to weigh again tomorrow morning, and I promise that weight will go on the books, regardless of what it is. Girl Scout's Honor. I'm even holding up two fingers. Or three. I can't remember which it is. But seriously, tomorrow I will be back to post of my loss... or gain. It better not be a gain. Or else.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Yo-Yo Queen


How's this for motivation? OMG. You could park a truck across my arse.

Sometimes I'm just SO sick of myself and the trends/habits I allow for myself. It appears that I am the queen of following a program, and then the queen of going all wild and crazy and throwing caution to the wind. Why is it SO hard to find a middle ground? Why do I always find so much guilt, and either let it rule me, or live in denial to it?

I don't know. But I just feel so strongly that I have GOT to find my way. I'm not sure what that is, really, but I've got to find it. I really admire those women who either a. don't think about this stuff, or b. only ever have five pounds to lose.

I don't know that I'll ever belong to the women of group a. but I'd love to be one of the women in group b. When I keep finding myself facing 60, 70, or 80 lbs to lose suddenly being 5 lbs over goal seems like no big deal. I need to find a way to look at it all as if it's no big deal, and just DO it.

I finally got up the gumption to track my weight in the WW Online tracker two or three weeks ago. I tracked again last week, down .2. I then lost two to three pounds due to vertigo (ugh, no fun), but as soon as I started eating again there it was. Again.

So I've made a few very small changes. Last night I chose leftover steak, broccoli salad, and egg noodles with a splash of EVOO and spices over PIZZA. I'm craving some pizza, and may need to have some. But last night I was craving protein and veggies, and so that's what I had. I marked my start weight two weeks ago, and I'm working on finding ways to live with myself. One of these is that I've made steps towards getting the dogs out for trail walks. They love it, I love it, and they'll be in much better shape come trial season than they have been. They'd better get in shape because they'll be working at Robin's trials in March and April.

So here are my few small changes:

1. Back to tracking. Even if it's abysmal.
2. Two bottles of water daily.
3. One or two fruits/veggies daily.
4. Dog walks - at least two a week. For now.

I'm planning to start Zumba with my sister, but I've got to get a few pounds off first.

Now, for the good news. In all of this floundering around I still have not gained back all of the weight I'd previously lost. This is something for me, because my usual pattern is lose it, gain it, and then some.

So here's to getting back on the horse, even if it's just a pony!