Sisters Getting Slim

Well, I just finished the 30 day shred..my first time ever and i love it..it feels like my bootcamp just shorter! Great quick workout…it wont count for one of my 3 workouts for the week, i think those need to be at least an hour, but will definitely work when i add more days into myworkout schedule…anyway, here are my points for the day

english muffin, egg, orange juice, coffee-5
peanuts-4
sandwich, 100 calorie pack, carrots-7
yogurt-2
I had 2 AP’s and I moved down to 27 points so I still have 11 to spend…Im meeting some friends at a bar..and I think Im going to leave 4 for a couple of beers…not drinking at all tomorrow night because I have bootcamp on Saturday and I really think ill die if Im the slightest bit dehydrated…that leaves 7 for dinner…lets go see what I can find!!! Jackie

I’m weighing in in kilograms now.  It’s so confusing!  But I like it.  It’s like this elusive number now and not one that I’ve spent almost 30 years attached to.  Anyway, I weighed 74.75 Kg.  I just did the conversion and that’s 164.5 pounds!  I have no idea how many pounds I weighed at my last weigh in in the US, but I do know for sure it was more than 165!  I’m going to stop doing the conversion now and focus on the kgs for a change:)  My next goal is to weigh 74 kgs by my birthday.  My ultimate goal is 59 kg.

~Jenny
 

I am SO happy….I lost 1.6 pounds!!!!! There are several things this weight does for me….for one…according to BMI and I NOT obese…HUGE!!! I’ve been dying for that…also, i pulled out my weigh in book from WW and on this day last year, I was 29.2 pounds heavier…I have lost nearly 30 pounds this past year…again, I do not feel like I look one bit different, but the scale doesn’t lie…I must have had 30 more pounds on me somewhere last year…so I have lost 12.3% of myself this year….I am just so excited by this…next goal is 3.6 pounds away…that should take me about 2 weeks…anyway, now im off for an awesome day..not to blow ANYTHING!!! new found motivation for sure:)
Jackie

I have NO idea what to expect.  I was 74.9 kilograms when I arrived here.  I’m going to the gym tomorrow morning and I’m going to weigh myself there (we don’t have a scale at home).  It will be my first time at the gym here. I’m planning on running on the treadmill and maybe doing some weights.  I need to get back into the swing of working out…it’s been SO long since I’ve done it consistently. But I’m ready now.  We’re just about all the way moved in and organized (still trying to get some odds and ends but we’ve got all of the major stuff).  Now that we’re kind of getting into a schedule, I’m ready to get into a workout schedule as well.  Eating is still going well and I don’t see any hiccups in the future because honestly I’m just not tempted by this food, at all.  I am so motivated by Jackie’s motivation though and I’m going to think about her drinking the diet coke at the happy hour whenever I am tempted to overeat anything.  Alright, goodnight and looking forward to a good weigh in!  

~Jenny

I went to a happy hour tonight and everyone was drinking pinot grigio (my favorite) and eating such good looking food..I stuck to the turkey burger, with no butter on the bun and fruit on the side with diet coke…and I actually was not tempted AT ALL by everyone else’s food. I think the motivation has finally outweighed the temptations…it’s about time! So I’m half excited/half bummed about WI tomorrow..excited because i know I lost from wherever I was…I had to have lost with how I’ve been doing this week and bummed because if only i wouldn’t have blown the couple of weeks around Christmas I would probably be well on my way to goal…however, I can’t change the past, and I enjoyed myself over the holidays without stressing about food…so anyway, I will be elated if I am even with what I was before the holidays. That way I will know that all my hard work before Christmas was not in vain…anyway, here is my fod for the day!

english muffin, egg, coffee-5
smart ones, tangelo-6
yogurt-2
turkey burger, fruit-11
yogurt-2
26 points…with 2 left to spare!! Even on a happy hour night! (and I may have calculated the burger too high, I just like to be safe with it!)

Does anyone have any suggestions for what I can pack for lunch…I can onlyeat so many frozen dinners and I’m really picky about lunch meat…I just dont know…I guess I could go back to soup but that honestly doesn;t fill me up….any other ideas? Thanks!!!
Jackie

I hate that word, but it’s so describes what today was like…this afternoon I just wanted to snack on things!  We don’t have much of anything in the house, but I still had a couple of (teeny tiny) cookies here and some cheese and crackers there.  But, I was hungry which is the most important thing.  I think I’m just eating so much smaller meals that I’m finding myself actually hungry between meals.  I haven’t been counting points, but focusing on eating with balance and regularity.  Here is what I had today:

large coffee, scone — breakfast
cheese and crackers — snack 
chicken salad sandwich, tall nonfat latte — lunch
bread and butter, 2 mini chocolate chip cookies — snack
half of a hamburger and small amount of fries — dinner

Wow, that looks like almost all carbs.  Like I said, fruits and vegetables are going to be a problem here because they just aren’t that widely available.  Salads, which were a staple of my diet at home, are just not found here!   I am also slacking on drinking water.  I’ve been drinking so much caffeine.  But the bottom line is I’m not overeating and that’s the major component for weight loss (in my opinion).  I need to work on getting in more fruits and veggies and less carbs, but I think from a calorie standpoint I’m in good shape (based on my hunger levels).

Still haven’t gotten to the gym! I was going to go after my husband got home from work today but he didn’t get home until almost 8 and by then I was like, screw it.  Not a great attitude!  I’m just so tired here for some reason and have been going to bed at 9:30 (which is about 3 hours earlier than I was going to bed at home!).  

Good night!

~Jenny

I for some reason decided to tell my fiancee what I weigh now AND what i weighed at my heaviest ever…for some reason, I felt like hiding it from him was like hiding the fact that I actually needed to lose weight..I felt like it was all out there now and now I REALLY dont want to stay this weight because he will ALWAYS know Im big..not that he was at all disgusted by it..actually, he told me that he never thought I looked like that..he thought I was about 30 pounds less!!! It sounds mean of him..but it was nice to hear because then maybe Im hiding it well from everyone…so now my sister and my fiancee are clued in about my weight and Im not going to let any of us down in this weight loss attempt! So Ive been doing well this week..i feel awesome and I feel like Im going to have an awesome weigh in..i cant wait! Here is what I ate today:

english muffin, egg, orange juice-5
sandwich, apple, 100 calorie pack-7
carrots, yogurt-3
100 calorie pack, yogurt, smart ones-9
NF latte and WW ice cream bar-4

28 points…and again…look how much food I got!!! I think I finally have this points thing figured out:)

Jackie

I have really been working on getting to bed earlier so I’m off to bed, but wanted to post a quick update to say I had another good, in control day and feel great.  I felt so sluggish and heavy and gross when I was eating (or stuffing myself, rather) every 5 minutes and I feel so much more energetic and healthy when I am eating with balance and regularity!

Still haven’t made it to the gym here but we’ve been walking so much, probably several miles a day, so I feel good about that.  Now I just need to make time to study my Japanese!!

~Jenny

Never go to the gym right after work…it has been so long since Ive gone at all I forgot that you literally can’t get a cardio machine at that time even though there are probably 125 machines in the place…needless to say my workout was a little shoddy. I was hopping from one machine to the next as a better one opened up…oh well, at least it was something. Foodwise, I feel very in control..and I feel like Im finally figuring out hwo to make the most of my points…im constantly eating and totally staying within my points. As a matter of fact, I still have 2 left for today and thats not including my AP’s which I just won’t use today, especially since I didnt have a great workout…oh well three workouts for the week down!

english muffin, egg, orange juice-5
peanuts-4
sandwich, 100 calorie pack-6
carrots, yogurt-3
smart ones, crackers-7
WW HUGE Latte ice cream bar-1 (this was my best find EVER!)
26 points…look at all that food and with 2 points to spare..dont worry, I wont let those go to waste! Its still early!
Jackie

That’s my focus here in Japan: eating with balance and regularity.  It would be difficult to estimate points with any accuracy at all, so I decided to just follow the two main pieces of advice the nutritionist gave me which was to eat with balance and regularity.  The trouble I’m having with “balance” so far is that fruits and vegetables are surprisingly hard to find here, and when you find them, they are EXPENSIVE!  For example, a little container of blueberries (a staple of mine at home) was $6.50!  When we have fruit in the house, I like to feed it to our baby, so I have been saving the fruit for him.  Also, I have not been drinking enough water.  The tap water here tastes perfectly fine and I need to start drinking it. period.

As far as “regularity”, I take this to mean eating essentially 3 main meals and having 1 or 2 small snacks throughout the day.  So far, I haven’t been snacking at all.  We’ve been so busy I literally haven’t thought about eating until my stomach growls!  What a concept…it had been ages since I had heard that sound:)

I’m going to continue to focus on trying to increase my consumption of fruits, vegetables and water but otherwise I feel like I’m on the right track.  I am going to go to the gym tomorrow and will weigh myself there on Thursday!

~Jenny

I love when I am able to push myself so that I am sore a little bit..definitely makes me feel like I got a great workout in…anyway, here is what I ate today:

english muffin, egg-4
subway-9
yogurt, crackers-4
apple-1
diet lasagna, salad-10
candy cane, popcorn-4

32 points and with 4 AP’s it all works out!!! Good day for me! So I didnt officially weigh over Xmas, but unofficially, I had gained 4 pounds over the holidays…im hoping to maybe get that all off this week…fat chance (no pun intended) but it would feel so good to not lose any more time getting to goal!
Jackie

I am sorry for that brief hiatus in posting, but I’m back online now and almost all moved in and organized in our new home in Tokyo.  Not sure where to start describing the food/my diet plan for while I’m here…this is just all so incredibly different from home and it really changes everything.  Dare I to say I am confident that I’m going to be able to lose weight here, for a few reasons: (1) food is EXPENSIVE, (2) because of 1, we hardly have any food in the house, (3) there aren’t convenient places to buy food/drinks when I’m out (i.e., Starbucks) — well, there are Starbucks, but a tall nonfat latte is like $4 and it is HALF the size of the tall latte at home…no thanks, (4) the food does not tempt me at all — maybe so far it’s been because my stomach has not adjusted well to the move, but the noodles and sushi are just not appetizing to me at all.  All of that adds up to basically just eating a  little when we are hungry and saving the rest for later because we don’t know when we are going to be able to find “the good stuff” again.  In other words, we have a tub of peanut butter that my husband and I have said has to last for a while because (a) it was $7 and (b) it is filling and we like it and we don’t know where to find it.  At home, I could go through a tub of pb in 2 days.  Not even tempted here.  

I just realized this post sounds so overly confident and cocky.  Man, I had better not fail!! ha ha.  Actually, I know there is a real possibility I could go back to my old ways here and I’m on the lookout for any signals that that might be happening, but I am looking at this as an opportunity to learn that food is about satisfying hunger and not taking care of other things (i.e., emotions, boredom, etc.).  

On the weight front, I weighed myself on the hotel scale when I got here…74.9 kilograms.  Yikes, I don’t even want to do the math.  But, I do like the kilograms! I think the pounds thing was getting to me at home and maybe weighing myself in kilograms will give me a new perspective.

On the working out front, we just got signed up at the gym yesterday and I am going to start going tomorrow.  I also brought a bunch of workout DVDs but we’re not sure yet they’re going to work with the DVD player here.  I could play them from my computer but I’m not motivated enough to do that yet.

Hope everyone’s New Year is great!!

~Jenny

For those of you who keep up with our blog, would you mind leaving the name of your blog in your comments so that we can follow your weight loss journey also??? Thank you!!!!

Jackie and Jenny

Just to let those who follow our blog know, Jenny will be back to blogging soon. She just finished her move to Tokyo and needs to get the internet up and working at her condo before she starts, but she will be back!
Jackie

And Im not quite sure how I did..until I add my points up for the day..I said I didnt want to use my 35 flex points, but I think that makes me feel too restrained and it’s part of the plan that you can still lose weight with eating them..soIm just going to try to limit them…however, I feel very in control today and I think I am going to be doing really well this time. A major challenge for me eating wise is with babysitting…for many reasons, for one, when it’s time to eat, I am starving and have to eat what the kids are having if I forget to pack my dinner..then I can’t count my points and it’s usually not good…for two, they always have the best food in their houses!!!! I hate feeling like I should try food because I won;t have it at home haha…anyway, here go my points for the day..a little nervous!!!!

english muffin, egg-4
sandwich, apple, yogurt, pretzels-10
smart ones, pizza, crap!-16

Total points=30, however I worked out and earned 3 AP’s…so maybe I’m actually okay for the day?? I need to stop eating things I can’t check points on though because I could potentially be WAY off!!! Anyway, as far as my working out goes, today was an extended cardio day…it felt awesome to workout after such a long time of not doing it…I definitely need to keep that part of my plan up!!!
Jackie

Well, for my first day back, I think I did alright…but jeese!!! Has anyone else ever noticed that when you are eating a ton for say, as long as the holiday season lasts, that when you go back to eating a normal amount of food you are starving????? I was so hungry ALL day and i know its because my body is like wait a minute…where are the rest of thousands of calories???? Anyway, I was pround of myself because we went to TGI Fridays tonight..so I looked at the menu today and decided what I was going to get and I wasn’t even tempted by anyone else’s food at all..what a great feeling..so here is my breakdown..PS, we saw Marley and Me after dinner..totally didnt need the twizzlers..why do I feel like I have to be eating in the movie theatre????
english muffin, egg, milk-5
sandwich, yogurt, apple-7
carrots, tangelo-2
TGI Fridays-10
twizzlers-4

28 points…didnt go over!!! Good start!

Jackie

But I’m not giving up!!! It is a new year and I have approximately 4.5 months to look HOT in my wedding dress (which by the way I picked up and is too big!!!! yay!!!) So heres the plan…NO going over points and NO flex points…none..unless its like my bachelorette party or something. Here is the workout plan…3 days a week in January, 4 in February, 5 in March, 6 in April, and 7 in May. So for January, my three days will consist of one cross training/strength day which can be bootcamp or my own concoction..one day will be extended cardio and one will be interval cardio. One hour for each workout. This is something that can be done if I make it my priority..and it is…so good luck to everyone…I’m sure everyone is getting the ball rolling again after the holidays!!!! I’m back to blogging everyday..without fail…please question me if I forget a blog entry!!! It only means that I’m totally screwing up!!!!!

Jackie

I didn’t even check in on Christmas Eve to report that I had lost 1.6 pounds!  Probably because starting about 30 minutes after my weigh in and continuing for the next 3 days I went off track and probably gained the 1.6 pounds back plus some.  Why do I do this?!  I knew going into Christmas that nothing was going to be worth it.  Quite literally, nothing tastes as good as being thin feels, so why would I blow the great post-weigh in feeling by eating anything and everything in sight for three days straight?  ugh.  It’s frustrating, and I’m disappointed in myself to say the least.

I am in Colorado for a 4 day ski trip and I feel a lot better.  I love being active and I really want to get back in shape so that skiing (and everything else) becomes easier.  I feel like a cow on the slopes.  It’s amazing how much it affects my confidence, too.  It’s like I feel like I *can’t* be good because I’m fat.  

I have had spotty internet access for the past few days which is partly to blame for my lack of posting, but I’m disappointed that my sister hasn’t posted! She was/is on a roll with her weight loss and I don’t want my brief hiatus of being off track to de-rail her as well. Because as of NOW I’m back on track and in this to win it.

~Jenny

This week has not been picture perfect, to say the least, but I’m forcing myself to go to my weigh in tomorrow because it will give me a chance to “check in” on myself and then start fresh.  For anyone who reads this blog (if anyone does…), I feel like my half-heartedness towards my weight loss efforts makes reading this blog a waste of your time, and I feel so bad about that!  My resolution for the new year is to stop making excuses, give this my all, and once and for all make a change because I am worth it.  Nobody wants to read a blog full of excuses.  For me at least, reading about others’ success and motivation and steadfastness and commitment to getting healthy keeps me on the right path, and I want to provide that type of support to others.  So, as 2008 comes to a close, I’m saying goodbye to the excuses and laziness and welcoming in a commitment to myself unlike any I’ve ever made before.  I’ll check in tomorrow with my weigh in report, good or bad… goodnight!

I am not out of control by any means but I certainly am not going to see a big loss this week, like I wanted to.  Trying to cut myself a little slack since this is a tough time of year compounded by the fact that we are moving to Tokyo in 10 days.  But really, I’m not out of control by any means and feel like if I can just make it through these next 10-14 days, I can really settle down and focus on myself in the new year and get this weight off once and for all. In the meantime, it’s all about maintenance for me.  No gain, no loss, works for me!!  I’m going to weigh in Wednesday morning, so I have tomorrow and Tuesday to have great days, which I fully intend to have! 

Here was today:

half of a bagel, pretzels: 6 Pts
half of chicken salad sandwich, small side salad, chili: 11 Pts
homemade pizza, peppermint chocolate cake: 16 Pts

Total: 33 Pts

Goals for tomorrow — drink more water, eat more fruits and veggies

Goodnight!

~Jenny

So, knowing this week is probably not going to be the best…I was aiming to make tonight perfect…never happens on a friday no matter what im doing! I have to eat 6 pieces of peppermint taffy!!! WTF! So lets see how bad this really is…on a good note, I took the girls I was babysitting to McDonalds and had a salad (which always upsets my stomach by the way) but i also had a small cone…but it was SO good…anyway lets check the points:

yogurt, coffee-3
smart ones, pretzels, orange-9
mcdonalds-9
peppermint taffy-6
nibbles of french fries, pineapple, and bagel crisps-3
30 points…three over..not as bad as I thought, but darn, I would have been okay with 3 pieces of freaking taffy and I would have felt better that I stayed in my points….better luck tomorrow, but good luck since we are going to taste our wedding cake in the morning!!!! Jackie

I am beyond stressed these days.  I am wrapping up my final days at work, nervous about becoming a one-income family, getting ready to move 6000 miles away from home, and worried about layoffs, etc. for my husband.  Why do I think that my stress can be alleviated by mindlessly eating food I don’t need?  Case in point: yesterday was not awful, food-wise.  I got stuck at work until midnight though and had done well during the day, but when I got home I discovered that my mother in law had sent a stocking full of treats and chocolates to us for Christmas, and my husband had them all spread out in the kitchen.  I was NOT hungry at all, but I felt sorry for myself and was tired and stressed out so I broke off a piece of the dark chocolate bar.  Then I had two big chocolate covered pecans.  Why do I think that calories consumed standing up do not count??  Why did I eat that when they really weren’t that good, I was 5 minutes from going to bed, and they made me feel WORSE than before eating them? 

This morning I was in Starbucks (yes, apparently that addiction that I thought I had broken has come back) and I noticed an average sized man sitting in a chair drinking his coffee, reading the paper and eating a big muffin.  I kept thinking: I bet this guy doesn’t attach any emotions at all to that muffin.  He just eats it, enjoys it, then heads to work and the muffin doesn’t enter his mind again.  ME, on the other hand, if I had eaten that muffin, I would have been pissed at myself the rest of the day and gone on to eat other junk because I would feel like I had blown it already.  However, the muffin was probably 500 calories.  It’s definitely not a good choice for breakfast, but if you are a normal person and able to just eat it and then move on, or better yet, realize you indulged a bit at breakfast and eat a little lighter at lunch and dinner, all is not lost!  That’s what I’m working towards. 

When I met with the nutritionist a while back, I was telling her how there is this sandwich place in my building at work that I occasionally get lunch from.  The sandwiches they serve are delicious, but HUGE.  Half is easily enough for anyone, and the whole sandwich is a ton of food.  But, as I said, they are delicious.  I normally don’t have a lunch break but eat my lunch at my desk, and it’s really my only break of the day, so eating half the sandwich and saving the other half cuts my “me-time” in half.  I like to eat the full sandwich because it’s delicious and when half of it is done, I’m not ready to resume working.  I want to eat the whole thing!  Well, the nutritionist said to me: “You’re asking a lot of that sandwich!”  She is so right.  That second half of the sandwich isn’t going to make my work or responsibilities or stress go away, it’s just going to distract me from it for the 5 extra minutes it takes me to eat.  How stupid of me to think that stuffing myself with that sandwich is going to make anything else better.  In fact, it makes everything else worse, because I feel bad about myself the rest of the day for having overeaten.

So that’s where I want to get - to a place where I do not attach emotions to eating, and to a place where I recognize the fact that overindulgences are okay but too much of a good thing is only going to make me feel bad.

~Jenny

For losing weight Ialso lose a points worth of my daily..but I was still able to eat some fries while staying inside my points..which goes to show that weight watchers really allows you to eat whatever you want in moderation..

yogurt, starbucks-4
bread co-11
orange-1
buffalo wild wings-11
27 points for the day…I also am proud of myself because the drug reps have been bringing tons of awesome looking desserts and food for the past two weeks and I haven’t even gone into the kitchen to check it out…HUGE step for me!!!!! Jackie

I gained 0.8.  I was on a 3 week losing streak.  Ugh.  Well, nothing to do about it but have a better week!  I deserved this gain.  I ate half of a red velvet cake over the weekend, what the heck can I expect!  I am so excited going into this week though.  Through this blog I’ve *seen* my sister lose so much weight but now I get to *see* her in person and I know she looks great!  My goal for this week is to lose 1 pound.  I have to weigh in 6 days from today due to Christmas so it’s a little bit of a shorter week.  1 pound would get rid of the stupid 0.8 lb gain and inch me closer to my 162 goal.

 ~Jenny

I am SO excited. I lost 1.4 this week! That puts me in new numbers AND gets me half a pound away from my next goal of no longer having an obese BMI!!!! I definitely needed this boost this week. I do NOT want to swing back up into those numbers so hopefully I will not let Xmas get the best of me! I’m only .8 into new numbers though so things could go either way….Jackie

These weeks are going by so quickly! It seems like I just had my weigh in.  Hard to believe 7 days have gone by since then.  Well, all in all this week was pretty good, but I’m expecting either to stay the same or gain a little, all because of Saturday!  So annoying that I can get so off track on the weekends.  I cannot wait to be on the verge of new numbers like Jackie.  How exciting!! 

I left my WW tracker at work so I’m just trying to recall what I had today.  This should be pretty accurate:

yogurt, fiber one and coffee: 4 Pts
Subway chicken sandwich and baked lays: 9 Pts
two small pieces of chocolate: 2 Pts
Jimmy John’s turkey sandwich and pickle: 16 Pts

Total: 31 Pts

Goodnight (and good luck, Jack!)

~Jenny 

Good for a diet but bad for my head!!! however, after I got Xrays done at the dentist, they determined that I actually have a severe sinus infection…so I work in an ENT office and I needed a dentist to diagnose my sinus infection…how annoying…anyway, I’ve been feeling terrible all day, so I didn’t eat all my points, but I think that’s okay day before weigh in…i REALLY REALLY want to see new numbers…it’s so weird, when I first started losing weight, people noticed all the time…it’s always nice to have someone acknowledge your hard work…well, no one has said anyhting is probably 3 months. Which makes me feel like my efforts are fruitless but they just can’t be..maybe a few more pounds and people will start noticing again…I always thought it would take about 25 pounds for anyone to notice on me, which is about 3 pounds away (since June) Even though I don’t feel like I look any different, I definitely feel better…I just feel more like I can keep up with the fast pace of life not carrying around so much baggage…anyway, here is my points breakdown!
yogurt, banana-4
smart ones-6
orange-1
healthy choice-7
oyster crackers-3

21 points…well at least I know I can survive off that when I get so skinny that that is all the points I’m allowed! Jackie

I wish I was having as good of a week as Jackie.  She is my inspiration right now.  She’s right on my heels now, almost in new numbers, and is well on her way to passing me up on the scale.  She’s doing so well.  Now, if we could just get her to post some before and progress pictures, WE could be the judge of how great she looks.  I find it VERY hard to believe that she doesn’t look amazing after losing 30 lbs!

Here’s how today went:

yogurt, fiber one and coffee: 4 Pts
turkey burger, potato salad, half cookie: 13 Pts
hot chocolate: 1 Pts
string cheese: 6 Pts
Subway sandwich and baked lays: 8 Pts

Total: 32 Pts

Goodnight! 

~Jenny

I am SO close to new numbers this week…It would be nice to get a little bit comfortably into the new numbers this week rather than just barely, however maybe just sneaking in will help me keep track of myself during the Christmas week because I don’t want to creep back up! As of last week, I am .7 away from new numbers, 1.9 away from my BMI goal of no longer being obese!, and 10.7 away from flying out of the ugly 200’s forever. Even though I honestly don’t see the difference in myself after almost 30 pounds from last year, I will not get up…I obviously have to be doing SOMETHING good for myself even if I look the same! Here is my food for the week:

yogurt,coffee-3
orange, smart ones-7
banana, nuts-4
bread co-13
yogurt-2

Whoops, one point over…That’s okay, I sill think I’m going to get into new numbers this week and I can’t wait! Jackie

I’m doing okay this week but not great.  Coming off such a decent and surprising weight loss at last week’s meeting I was SO pumped for the week ahead, but man this past weekend really got the best of me and it just still annoys me so much that I have such little willpower and resolve to stick with this. I see pictures of myself and I’m disgusted.  I’m still fitting in size 12s and some 14s, when two years ago I was comfortably wearing size 6’s.  Why am I not going at this with more effort and consistency?!  I certainly do not want to be fat the rest of my life, but I seem to be acting like it!  I was reading a magazine article last week about Jenny McCarthy.  I don’t by any means think she is the average person so I take what I read about her weight issues with a grain of salt, but I think she really has struggled and is now at a weight she is happy about and she understands the choices that comes along with maintaining that weight.  In other words, she said that after she delivered her son, she weighed 211 pounds (or something like that) and she felt terrible about herself and knew she had completely given up to get to that weight.  Now, she weighs something like 120, looks fabulous, and has made a personal decision to never let go of herself again because she knows that she is a much better person when she looks and feels better about herself.  She talked about how annoying it is to get comments from other people about how as she is ageing “she better watch it” because she’s not going to be able to be thin and fit forever, and her response is “watch me.”  I wish I could have that kind of confidence.  She knows how important it is to her (especially haven’t experienced the alternative - being fat) and she’s never going back to her old ways.  I find that so inspiring, and I’m trying to ignore the fact that she is a celebrity and has a whole other set of motivations with the paparazzi, etc. following her around, but I have read her book and I know that she has been well over 200 pounds and has come back to look fabulous and it makes me want to do the same!

Yesterday:
coffee - 2 Pts
tasty turkey sandwich and veggie soup: 13 Pts
tall nonfat latte: 2 Pts
Qdoba: 15 Pts

Total: 32 Pts

~Jenny

P.S. Biggest Loser finale tonight!!!!

SORRY! Jackie

I felt SO confident going into this weekend.  I outlined my plan of action on Friday and went to bed feeling sure that I could get through Saturday and Sunday without going off track.  Ugh!!!  I screwed up.  Honestly, I think I can identify what started the downward spiral and it was the fact that the bride I was hosting the bridal shower for left the red velvet cake at my house after the shower instead of taking it home like she was supposed to!  No, I’m not blaming her for my eating 3 (large) pieces of the cake over the course of the weekend, but I know that had she taken it I wouldn’t have been tempted and then after having the cake, of course my all or nothing thinking comes out, and I decided to just not count all weekend.  I didn’t go off on a binge or anything crazy like that, but I didn’t count my points and had the cake, 2 chocolate chip cookies that my husband brought into the house (why?!!!!), and about a pound of caprese salad.  I’m back on track 110% at the moment, but I’m just so disappointed in myself that I let cake have that kind of control over me.  Not worth it!!

~Jenny

Honestly, I didn’t have a bad weekend, I at least know that..but points wise, no clue…I didnt count…I need to start! Anyway, I’m hoping for a couple pound loss this week which means I need to be 100% on my game this week! Jackie

But blogging first!  I’m not going to let this weekend get away from me.  I’m hosting a shower at my house tomorrow and stressed about it because we’re in the midst of packing.  Once the shower is over, we’ll be able to get the boxes out of the house, but until then, I’m trying to make things look as normal and lived in as possible:)

Here’s my game plan for this weekend to ensure I don’t go off track.  Tomorrow morning, I’m getting up at 7:00 so I can spend some time with my baby before I need to start cleaning and getting ready for the shower.  Then I’m heading to the store to pick up a salad and some mini desserts to serve, as well as orange juice for mimosas and cream and sugar for coffee.  I will be sure to have my usual breakfast of yogurt mixed with fiber one and some coffee, and that will keep me satisfied all morning.  The shower starts at 2:00 so I’m going to be sure to eat something between 12 and 2 so that I’m not hungry and grazing on junk at the shower. I think I will be worried about serving everyone and making sure everything runs smoothly and not focused on the food — that’s one benefit of hosting!

After the shower ends, I’m going to clean up and spend some more time with my son, maybe run some errands with him.  We have a Christmas party tomorrow night and I’m not worried about that.  We’re only going to stay for an hour or so.  So for tomorrow, I am having NO desserts (they’re just not worth it in my opinion) and am limited to 4 alcoholic beverages for the entire day.   I can split them up how I like between the shower and the Xmas party.  Plus, I’ll make sure to get all 8 waters in before we go to the party (and ideally 4 in before the shower).

Sunday I am going to brave the cold and take my son on a walk outside.  We’ll be packing a lot of the day but I want to be able to spend some quality time with him doing something enjoyable.  We’re also going to take him to visit with Santa downtown.  I can’t wait to see his reaction:)

Overall the focus of this weekend will NOT be on food, but on spending time with family and friends, and getting organized for our move.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Today’s points:

yogurt, fiber one and coffee: 4
lentil soup and corn bread muffin: 15 (I cannot tell you how mad I was when I looked up the points value of the muffin AFTER eating it.  it was good but NOT worth 10 points!)
8 M&Ms, tall nonfat latte: 4
brussel sprouts, salad, small cookie: 14

Total: 37 Pts

I have 3 Weekly Points remaining.  I can tell you now that they will be used tomorrow:) 

~Jenny

I definitely agree with my sister and everyone that diet is the main part of the battle..however, I think it’s more of a 70-30 ratio diet to exercise. And heres why…when I exercise, I feel SO good about myself..it motivates me to eat well…I dont exercise and think now I can eat more, I exercise and think about how I want to continue my healthy feeling…so my goal is to exercise a bit more just as a check to keep my eating on point…just a thought! Heres my food for the day:
yogurt, starbucks-5
clementine, smart ones-7
carrots, 100 calorie pack-3
smart ones, yogurt, 100 calorie pack-9
beer-6
30 points…I mean to have 2 beers and ended up staying for three..but thats okay…2 points over..i didnt blow it! Jackie

Just got back from my WW meeting about the new Momentum plan.  I think my very favorite part of the new program, and something I should have tried long ago, is the hunger/satisfaction scale you use before and after each time you eat.  They have it right in your tracker so instead of just being a vague concept, it’s right there in front of you, on paper, to consider each and every time you put something in your mouth.  Here are my goals from last week…I was off by a pound this week but I’m not going to revise for the next two weeks…I still think I can make 162 by Christmas!

December 4: 168.8 (actual)
December 11: 166 (goal) 167.0 (actual)
December 18: 164 (goal)
December 25: 162 (goal)

This is a total aside, but for Biggest Loser fans, did you call in and vote for Heba or Ed (I almost wrote Eba or Hed, lol!).  I can’t stand them so I went against their *wishes* and called in and voted for Ed.  That sounds like something evil Vicki would do, lol!!

~Jenny

Phew, I can breathe, I think I’m finally out of the 170s for good!!!  I lost 1.6 pounds today.  I overslept and missed the WW meeting so I only got there in time to weigh in and then go to work.  There’s another meeting at 12:30 and I am going to go back to that so I can hear about the new plan.  They gave me the materials at the weigh in but I think a synopsis from the leader would be helpful to get me started.  I think it is just the change I need!

I went into Lululemon the other weekend just to look around. Not sure if anyone shops there regularly, but I would have to win the lottery to be able to buy anything more than the running hat I bought:) Anyway, with your purchase they give you a cute little tote bag that has some awesome quotes on it.  So many great things to think about.  Here are a few of my favorites:

A daily hit of athletic-induced endorphins gives you the power to make better decisions, helps you be at peace with yourself, and offset stress.

The pursuit of happiness is the source of all unhappiness.

Observe a plant before and after watering and relate these benefits to your body and brain.

The conscious brain can only hold one thought at a time.  Choose a positive thought.

I’ll include a few more tomorrow.  I love them!

~Jenny

Very excited….a loss is a loss…I feel like I’m finally back in the game with sticking to my diet. My goal was to lose 5.6 pounds more by Christmas…probabaly not going to happen so to keep myself from a letdown, I would be okay with three…which means I’m going to have to work my butt off the next two weeks….

Jackie

And I’m not ready…anyway, I’m proud of myself because my mom and I took a petit fours making class tonight and I was not tempted at all to eat any of it!!! Okay, maybe it wasn’t so much my willpower as my gag reflex watching people sneeze and cough all over everything…but still, didnt even try a piece of the chocolate….eating wise things have been going well..I’m still sick so that makes working out hard..not to mention I have had something going on every night this week..I really wanted to drop into my boot camp tomorrow night but if I’m not feeling better I seriously may die! Although a good workout would feel awesome…hopefully I don;t talk myself out of it during the day. Anyway, here was my food for the day:

yogurt, coffee, banana-6 (too many points for breakfast)
smart ones, 2 clementines-7
cheezits, carrots-3
pretzels-2
bread co-10

Exactly 28 points….I’m starting to think maybe I should make sure I eat all of my points everyday, I hear it really keeps your metabolism going and that eating less points really doesn;t help you at all..so my goal is to make sure I eat them all..maybe not all the time because I’m sure I miscalculate things here and there and I would rather eat less than go over!
Jackie

It was a really long day but here I am…trying to get back on track…so really short today..just a food breakdown!

yogurt, banana-4
smart ones, clementine-6.5
peanuts, clemntine-4.5
smart ones-5
yogurt-2
100 calorie pack-2
carrots-1
25 points…not too bad…I still am sick so working out is off my agenda for now..lets just get this eating thing back in check…
Jackie