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)

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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)

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.

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...

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

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.

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!