I weighed in this morning (gained 0.2) and then looked back at my membership book and realized I re-joined on September 2, and it’s been three months!  I should have been down about 15-20 lbs in that time frame and I have only lost 6.6!  It’s (way past) time to step it up a notch.  I see that Weight Watchers has a new “momentum” program.  I’m going to spend some time reading up on it today.  I saw on the website that it combines the best parts of the Core and Flex programs. 

I’m also trying to get up the nerve to post a “before” picture of myself, so that I can start posting some “progress” pictures along the way.  I think I’ll post a picture of myself from right after I had my son.  Obviously, I was at my highest weight EVER on the day he was born, but I consider my highest non-pregnant weight to be what I weighed right after having him.  After I get up the nerve to post the before picture, I’ll post progress pictures from along the way… maybe tomorrow:)

~ Jenny

That I can’t give up!!! I do NOT deserve it but I lost 1.4 pounds this week. I think it;s a sign from somehwere telling me I can do it and not to lose motivation. I have a work christmas party tonight s that is going to be bad..my goal is to not eat dessert there however this place is known to have the best desserts in St. Louis…so…we will see…I need to start tracking my food…even if Im off points..it helps…thats the plan for today…good luck everyone!

I still can’t get over the fact that it is December.  I say it every year but this year really did FLY by.  Kind of sad how fast time moves now.  Wow.  I always thought I wanted to be in better shape at 30 than I was at 20. Unfortunately I only have about 60 days to get there… it’s really now or never.  Getting in shape, getting healthy, losing weight — none of this is stuff I still want to be trying to get started on months or years from now. I want to do it NOW so that I can enjoy the benefits for the rest of my life.  Well, a few big events in May are going to force me to get this done…my sister’s wedding and a good friend’s wedding, which are 6 days apart, and which I just ordered my bridesmaid dresses for in a size that would most likely not fit me at my current size. I don’t want to be a fat bridesmaid again!  Been there, done that.  

Today:

mini bagel, butter, coffee: 4 Pts
veggie sandwich, carrots, snack bar: 14 Pts
mini Reese’s pb cups: 4 Pts
sushi, miso soup, edamame: 14 Pts

Total: 36 Pts

Come ON.  Enough with the going over on points.  Let’s do this! 

It’s so hard to go back to work after a week off!  Although, it is nice to be back to a predictable routine with control over my meal times and food options.  Here’s how my day back went:

mini bagel, butter and coffee: 4 Pts
french onion soup, roll w/ butter, salad: 12 Pts
popcorn: 4 Pts
salad: 12 Pts

Total: 32 Pts

Gotta get back on that workout train!  It’s so darn cold here now! 

Well, I’ve started to get so furstrated with this weight loss thing, but I think I’m back now…I;m trying to follow south beach while remaining within my weight watchers points. So here is what I ate today…

egg, 2 turkey sausage patties-5
salad-9
peanuts-3
yogurt-2
chicken-4
peas-3
peanut butter-4

So that is 30 points…still not at 28 like i need to be…oh how am i ever going to do this…and im hungry right now!!! Thats the worst part!

And more focused than ever.  I made it through Thanksgiving without stuffing myself for maybe one of the only times in my life, and it felt great.  I still enjoyed myself and tried a little of everything that I felt was worth it, but I passed on the things that didn’t seem worth it or didn’t look good.  My mother in law is a fabulous cook, so I tried all of her homemade dishes, but passed on the pie which she admitted was out of a box.  In fact, I didn’t have any dessert the whole week except for a tiny piece of cake last night to celebrate my father in law’s birthday.  It was very rich, dark chocolate cake and I couldn’t even finish my slice.  

I also managed to work out 6 of the 7 days that I was gone.  On Thanksgiving day, I ran an 8K in 53 minutes with my husband.  Two other days I ran 3 miles, and 3 days I went to the YMCA with my sister in law.  It felt so good to stay on track even in the midst of traveling and not really being in control of my meals.

Now, with a few weeks until Christmas I am recommitted more than ever and would LOVE to weigh 160 on Christmas morning.  I can’t think of a better gift to myself. 

I am blogging for my sister because she doesn’t have access to a computer, but she ran an 8K on Thanksgiving morning AND lost 2.8 pounds on weigh in today!!! I am SO happy for her..this was a hard week for her with traveling and food all over the place and she did so well.

As for me…this week has been HORRIBLE…but starting now, as in this second..I am having a perfect WW month..until Xmas Eve..then right after, I’m getting right back on track…My plan is to work out AT LEAST 4 days a week until Xmas. I need to get back on track..because my mind frame this week had me ready to gain everything back..NO WAY!

Cuz that’s certainly how I am acting..so this weekend, I wouldn’t say I blew it..at all..but I certainly wasn’t counting points.  I didn’t overeat..and when I ate, I made healthy choices, but since I’ve been counting for so long now, I know that I went over…I am SO mad at myself..and then today, I packed chili for lunch…that certainly is not on my diet…what am i doing??? All I want is to lose weight..I know how to do it and for some reason or another, I feel jipped when I don’t get to eat what other people are eating and I feel like I am being restrained when I have to watch what I eat, when in actuality, I am jipping myself and restraining myself when I eat like a fat pig and don’t follow points…annyoing..anyway, I have to eat what I brought for lunch or I’ll never make it through the day..I did bring a piece offruit to go with a=it and a yogurt for my afternoon snack…But tonight when I get home…NO MORE JUNK!!!! Seriously, Jackie…but this weekend I did have an awesome workout..i am STILL sore from it..so at least I did one good thing this weekend…here we go with this weight loss mania…why can;t I just be skinny and I wouldn’t have to stress so much??? One more thought, I know I did not eat that bad this weekend, but since it wasn;t a diet, I will gain weight.  That does NOT happen to normal people!!! People can just eat normally and stay the same..not only will I not stay the same…I will FREAKING GAIN! ughh!

Another weekend is upon us.  This isn’t an ordinary weekend though.  It’s the kick off of the full blown holiday season.  Tomorrow I will be tailgating the day away at the Notre Dame football game.  Sunday will be a day of packing for our 1 week trip to visit relatives for Thanksgiving.  Ughh, this will be a challenge.  However, history is NOT going to repeat itself and I am not going to blow it just because I have traveling and lots of socializing and unstructured time.  

Today felt good.  I have some work to do at getting these points down though, but still, I felt good.  My attitude towards the scale right now is: SCREW YOU.  I know I am doing the right things, treating myself better and taking care of my health.  I am working out more consistently than ever, drinking tons of water, not bingeing on junk, eating a well balanced diet, etc.  If the scale doesn’t want to cooperate than so be it.  But I’m not going to turn back to my old ways.  Hopefully the scale will eventually reflect my efforts, but in the meantime I’m going to continue feeling energetic and much healthier than I have in a long time.

egg whites, mini bagel, coffee — 4 Pts
soup, half turkey sandwich — 10 Pts
M&M’s — 3 Pts
Run/Walk 3.5 miles — 4 APs
pistachios — 6 Pts
salad, pasta, bread — 18 Pts

Total: 41 - 4 = 37 Pts 

I am going to start thinking of my points allowance as a weekly amount.  I get 196 points per week (23 points/day + 35 weekly points).  That’s 28 Points/day on average.  I think that is easier for me to think about than the nebulous 35 Points/week.  What happens with me and those 35 Points is I don’t keep track of them, I just use them whenever I go over my daily points.  It’ll be 9:00 and my daily points will be long gone and I’ll just grab a snack thinking to myself, “oh, I’ve got the 35 weekly points.” I’ve been blowing through those by the day after weigh in!  I think by just allotting my 35 point allowance evenly over the 7 day week, ON AVERAGE, it will be easier for me to be aware of where those extra points are being used.  I say “on average” because if I have 32 points one day, that doesn’t mean I “went over” as long as on another day of the week I have 24 points.  So my inner dialogue will change from “i’ve got the 35 points so I can eat whatever I want” to “is it worth it to have extra points today if it means i have to have fewer points tomorrow?”  If this is at all confusing, I’m hoping to illustrate how it will work over this week:)

Today I had:

half of low fat banana muffin and coffee: 6 Pts
low fat vegetarian chili and corn salsa: 7 Pts
chocolate: 4 Pts
mini bagel and peanut butter: 7 Pts
veggies and peanut butter: 3 Pts
South Beach pizza, ff/sf ice cream bar: 8 Pts
30 Day Shred workout: 2 APs

Total:  35 - 2 = 33 Pts

*So I’m over the average daily points allowance by 5 Points.  I can make those up by having 27 Points for 5 days, or by having 23 Points tomorrow.  

UGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!  Okay, i feel better getting that out.  I could seriously just scream.  My advice to anyone thinking about getting pregnant in the near future, wait until you are at your goal weight before you get pregnant and then don’t gain a million pounds during your pregnancy! It is IMPOSSIBLE to get the weight off.  I did not have a good week on the scale, at. all.  Of course I got back to my office after posting a 1.8 lb gain at my WW meeting and see the beautiful flowers that my husband sent me last week after my very modest loss.  Those flowers made me feel so good last Thursday when I received them, and looking at them all week really reminded me of why I am doing this.  Of course now I feel like throwing them in the trash because I don’t deserve them.

Here’s what I’m taking from my SLOW weight loss — eating right is 85% of the equation, working out is 15%, at least that’s the case for me.  I’ve now worked out 10 days in a row, I’m feeling great, my clothes are fitting better, I have more energy and confidence, but the damn scale is going up up up.  Why?  Because I’m still eating WAY too much, not planning my meals, going over my points, treating myself to candy and desserts, drinking too much alcohol, etc. etc.  The weight loss just isn’t going to come unless I get my eating under control.

I have HAD IT with walking out of my weight watchers meetings with a gain or a tiny loss and feeling like I’ve just wasted another week when I could have made progress towards my goal.  It’s not going to happen again.  Of course this coming week is the week I need to see a HUGE loss to get myself back in this game mentally, and what do I have coming up this week?  Oh, just an all day tailgate on Saturday, two flights on Monday, being out of town all week staying at two different people’s houses, Thanksgiving on Thursday and a flight home the following Sunday.  Sheesh!  I don’t care about any of that.  My focus is NOT going to be on how off track I can get this week, making excuses because I’m traveling or off my schedule, my focus is going to be on visiting with the relatives we are going to see and staying in control and on track.  No food they could possibly serve would be worth the feeling I had today walking out of my weight watchers meeting.  Nothing is worth that.  No M&M’s from the candy jar at work, no Subway footlongs (yes, i fell for their stupid marketing campaign), no Starbucks lattes, no peanut butter eaten out of the jar, no cereal eaten out of the box in front of the tv, no Chipotle with my husband, no beer binges at the tailgate, NOTHING is worth it.  I am going to lose weight this week if it’s the last thing I do.

Here are the guidelines I need to add to my plan: there are 3 of them, and all relate to the number 3, so they’ll be easy for me to remember:

1. 3 Points maximum number of points spent on JUNK (junk includes candy, dessert, anything from starbucks)
2. 3 times maximum eating out during the week (this means I need to start bringing my lunch to work because if I buy my lunch 3 days, then no going out to dinner at all on the weekends). 
3. 30 minutes minimum of exercise each day

I have to weigh in out of town next week and I’m nervous about that because I can’t find a location or time that works for my travel schedule and the holiday.  I can’t let these stupid details get to me.  This is about the big picture and if I have to weigh in on Thanksgiving day at 10 pm I’m going to do it.

Well, I lost .8 this week but I had gained a pound last week, so I’m still technically up. Oh well..I probabaly didn;t desrve to lose at all because for a couple of days I had the screw it mentality..I forgot to post last night, but I did well yesterday..ate 26 points. Anyway, I plan to have a really great this week with a lot more working out. I would love to lose 2.4 pounds this week…thats my goal…2.5 would put me in new numbers but lets not get too hasty haha…

I oculd just eat. But I wont! And I didnt! This is the realization that I had today…I didnt do so well yesterday…actually i stayed within my points but i really wanted to go way under because of my crappy weekend…I just kept thinkin what does it matter? I already blew it…well then I started thinking today..but think of ALL those awesome days Ive had…if one day of blowing it can take a while to show up than so can many days of doing well…so even though I gained last week, maybe all my previous days of doing good will show up this week…I can only hope! So here is my points breakdown for the day:
yogurt, coffee-3
peanuts, pretzels-3
PBJ, apple-7
banana-2
applebees WW chicken quesadilla-10

25 points…I really need to get back to working out…so much else to do..i need to make it a priority and get my butt up early to do it! Lets see if that happens…DOUBTFUL…anyway…hopefully this weeks WI wont be as upsetting as last

It’s been SO long since I’ve been on a workout streak of this length!  I feel SO much better and more energetic.  I love it!  Today was a great day.  Here’s what I had:

yogurt blueberries and cereal — 3 Pts
pizza and mini reese’s peanut butter cups — 15 Pts
mini bagel and peanut butter — 6 Pts
30 Day Shred workout — 2 APs
veggies and sweet potatoes — 11 Pts

Total: 35 Pts - 2 APs = 33 Pts

Man, I’ve got to get this points down.  I’ve still got a bit of a problem with candy, as you can see.  I mentioned it to the nutritionist yesterday and her suggestion was that I set aside what I feel is a reasonable amount of calories (or Points) each day for something sweet. That way, I don’t feel like they’re completely off limits, but I also will also be more mindful of what I’m choosing to eat with those allotted points.  So instead of just grabbing a couple mini Reese’s because I want something sweet after lunch, I could think about the fact that I have 3 Points a day (that’s what I’m choosing as my reasonable amount) and decide if I really want to spend those on Reese’s in the middle of the afternoon.  Because I often want something sweet after dinner too, and I think I’d prefer to save those points and have a little dessert after dinner.   Anyway, just in time for the holidays, I’m going to start keeping in mind a loose 3 Point limit on sweets (I use the word “loose” because I think hard and fast, inflexible rules spell disaster for me).

My baby is teething and has been up and down every night for the past few nights.  It’s bringing me right back to those newborn days when sleep was hard to get.  Ugh, I hope his teeth come in soon and our family can get some shut eye:)

Except for feeling like I was dragging myself through the day, it was pretty good.  I met with a nutritionist at a work health fair and she was very helpful.  I wish I could afford to get such great one on one advice more often. In a nutshell, she assured me that slow and steady is the way to go when it comes to lasting weight loss.  It made me feel better and definitely made me feel like one day I will get to goal, even if it takes all year!

Today I had:

mini bagel and peanut butter — 5 Pts
oatmeal — 1 Pt
turkey sandwich and salad — 11 Pts
low fat frozen yogurt w/ heath bar — 8 Pts
South Beach pizza and sweet potato — 11 Pts
30 Day Shred day 8 — 2 APs

Total: 36 - 2 = 34 Pts 

I find myself in the same situation as Jenny on Sundays…just continue with the weekend trend or try and fix it? And I am the same as her, yesterday was certainly not blown, but I’m sure could have been a lot better….of course I eyeball my points and guess on the weekends…my goal for next weekend is to actually write down what I eat and pay attention…this is not how to lose weight..not at all…anyway, better luckthis week I hope

Sundays are tough because I’m always listening to the angel and the devil duke it out over whether to get immediately back on track and salvage the weekend after a calorie and indulgence-laden weekend, or whether to just “take it easy”, eat whatever and start back over fresh on Monday.  Well, neither one won out today and I think overall today wasn’t too bad.  I’m going to work again this week on getting to bed early. It’s so hard because I just love the evening hours when I have some time to myself after my little one goes to bed.  But I think getting more (and better quality) sleep is going to do nothing but help my efforts to lose this weight, so I’m making it a priority!

Here’s the damage from today:

pizza — 13 Pts
coffee - 1 Pt
brussel sprouts — 4 Pts
sun chips — 4 Pts
cookies — 3 Pts
peanut butter — 3 Pts
30 Day Shred — 2 APs
french onion soup and bread — 4 Pts

Total: 32 Pts - 2 APs = 30 

I cannot be trusted to have a couple of drinks and stay on plan.  It just doesn’t work for me. I don’t know how people do it, but I lose all resolve once I start sipping my second (or sometimes third) drink.  It’s just not worth it, AT ALL.

Yesterday was basically blown.  Here’s the damage:

30 Day Shred DVD: 2 APs
Mcmuffin and coffee: 9 Pts
south beach diet pizza and spinach — 10 Pts 
pretzels — 5 Pts
pizza, wine and champagne — 25 Pts

Total: 49 - 2 = 47 Pts 

Why!!!! Why havent kids finished their halloween candy yet??? If I were a kid it would be long gone..but anyway, I babysat and thought I had enough points for candy..stupid me. When I looked it up at home I realized I went above and beyond..now I have to be super careful at this wedding tomorrow.

oatmeal, yogurt, coffee-6
smartones, apple-7
granola bar-2
smart ones-5
CRAP-17!!!!! WTF!!!!

37 daily points which means I used 9 more weekly points which means I only have 22 extra weekly points to use tomorrow..you would think that would be doable..we’ll see…I will work my butt off to not eat like a horse at this wedding..luckily its a cocktail recepion so we ca get something small for lunch first and then maybe a small dinner after and I dont have to eat at all while Im there..just pray that the waiters dont come around tempting me!!!

One BIG reason I have gotten to where I am weight-wise is because I NEVER let myself get hungry.  The past couple of days, I have felt hunger again.  Funny enough, it’s been so long since I’ve experienced real hunger that I couldn’t figure out why my stomach was cramping up….it wasn’t cramping up, it was hunger. Honestly, I think learning to recognize hunger and satisfaction is a big key to successful weight loss.  I saw on Oprah (where else?!) that an effective means of losing weight for many people is to go to bed slightly hungry.  Back in the day when I was a size 4, I went to bed a little hungry almost every night.  I totally think that was a big reason why I was able to keep the weight off.  Going to bed full — the kind of full where you are *still* full the next morning — spells disaster when it comes to losing weight, in my experience at least.

Here’s how today went:

coffee, yogurt, cereal, blueberries — 4 Pts
mini bagel and peanut butter — 7 Pts
South Beach diet pizza — 7 Pts
M&Ms — 7 Pts
Tall NF latte — 2 Pts
Run 2.5 miles — 3 APs
Pita chips — 5 Pts
brussel sprouts, lean pocket — 7 Pts
30 Day Shred — 2 APs

Total: 39 - 5 APs = 34 Pts

I’m sure the question you’re asking is “how the heck was she hungry after eating all of that food?!”  I think it’s because of those 12 points of JUNK I had between the M&Ms and the pita chips.  I’ve gotta get rid of that junk and replace it with more satisfying, filling, less sugary/carb-laden food.  I’m happy overall with today though! 

oatmeal,coffee-4
smart ones, apple-6
yogurt-2
granola bar-2
buffalo wild wings-18

Total points 32 Weekly used-4

GREAT day today.  I needed that.  Actually, I need a week of great days, because I need to step it up BIG time.  I just finished my workout.  I hate doing it at night because I feel so much better when I get it over with in the morning.  In the evenings there are always so many better things to do!  I’m so glad I did it.  Day 4 of my 30 Day Shred is complete!  

Here are my points for the day:

oatmeal and coffee: 6 Pts
butternut squash apple soup and wheat roll: 9 Pts
salad: 8 Pts
brussel sprouts, veggies, low fat ice cream: 7 Pts
30 Day Shred workout: 2 APs 

Total:  30 - 2 = 28 Pts

I lost 0.4 this week!  I know, man am I losing at a turtle’s pace, but I’m happy and feel that I am moving in the right direction and will keep at it no matter how long it takes.  I left my house this morning without having breakfast (because I didn’t want to eat before my weigh in at WW) and so on the way to work I stopped for breakfast.  I was so tempted to get the enormous “low fat” banana muffin they had, but I knew there was probably nothing low fat about it, and it was about 3 servings and I would have eaten it all, so instead I got oatmeal and saved myself probably 7 or so points.  This week my focus is going to be on knowing the points values of things BEFORE I eat them.
 

My reward for losing weight is starbucks on WI day…well I gained this week…a whole pound! I guess I really do need to workout…thats really the only thing I did differently this week…well now im 3.2 pounds away from new numbers…it would be awesome if I could get there next week…Im going to try to make this week perfect. I’m not losing motivation yet!

My sister told me she was cautiously excited about WI tomorrow and I would have to agree completely..I have to remember that I had a good weight loss last week so it’s okay if I stay the same this week…also, throughout our attempt this time, I haven;t had a gain, so I know I am due soon…I just hope that I have a few more pounds lost before that happens…I’m not ready to handle a setback. I haven’t exercised at all since last weigh in…maybe last thursday, but I can’t remember and I probabaly won’t get a chance to worl out until Sunday…I have a wedding saturday. The ceremony is at 11 and the reception is at 4:30…so thats really not time to go home workout change and take a shower before i go..kind of blows my whole day. Anway, hopefully the low points on all the days other than Saturday especially and possibly sunday will help me out…so here is what I ate today…and oh yeah, I was VERY proud of myself. We had a training today and thy had a huge really good looking continental breakfast and all I had was hot tea! That is a huge step…i cant turn down food that is staring me in the face very often!

yogurt, granola bar-2
bread co-11
mcdonalds salad-6
weight watchers ice cream bar (yummy)-2

Oh and I’ve decided to start taking some one a day weight smart vitamins…they dont increase weight loss but they do help you get more energy and provide vitamins that you can miss when you are dieting. I think I probabaly am missing some important things with all the packaged food that I eat so I think it will be a good thing to take those…cross your fingers for WI tomorrow!

And feeling lazy because of it. I hope the not working out this week doesn’t mess me up..as long as I can maintain last weeks loss this week I will be overjoyed..but it would be nice to lose so I can treat myself to starbucks Anyway, I did alright with points but I rally wish I was eating more freshfoods and not so much packaged meals…I think that is what is causing all the bloating…which is icky feeling…so here is my food for the day:
yogurt-2
healthy choice-7
granola bar-2
steamfresh veggies-4
lean cuisine-6
cereal-2
milk-2

Total points=25 Allowed 28 so I feel okay about that…I try to eat as few as many without starving myself during the week..and of course no AP’s boo….but it’s 8:30 and this sick girl is going to bed…goodnight!

Well, it’s only my 2nd day of the 30 day challenge, but I LOVE this workout.  I’ve been spending more and more time over on the Forums on this website and they are so great! So completely night and day from the Weight Watchers forums, which in my opinion are a joke.  People on there are always off-topic and very mean spirited. The forums here have been so helpful and motivational.  

I got up this morning and started the day with Level 1 Day 2 of my 30 day shred.  Here’s the whole day’s breakdown:

30 Day Shred: 2 APs
pineapple, yogurt, cereal, blueberries, coffee: 5 Pts
mini bagel and pb: 6 Pts
salad and bread: 11 Pts
candy: 6 Pts
pretzels: 2 Pts
broccoli and garbanzo beans: 3 Pts
low fat ice cream bar: 2 Pts

Total: 35 - 2 = 33 Pts

This is an aside, but I’m watching the Biggest Loser right now and there are some evil people on that show this season!! 

I feel good about this week and think I’m going to lose!  If you look back over my points consumption you might think I’m crazy because I’ve gone over every day.  I don’t know what it is about feeling in control and not bingeing on any one day of the week really makes me feel lighter and healthier and like it’s going  to reflect on the scale, even if I was over my points every single day!  Here’s what I did today:

mini bagel and peanut butter: 4 Pts
Biggest Loser workout: 2APs
mini bagel and PB: 7 Pts
pasta and salad: 8 Pts
frozen yogurt and blueberries: 7 Pts
walk 1 mile: 1 Pt
chex mix and pretzels: 7 Pts
pita w/ veggies: 8 Pts

Total: 41 - 3 APs = 38 Pts

Maybe I am crazy… 

Which doesnt affect my eating but definitely affects my working out…which I REALLY need to do..but today was good..i thought i blew my weekend but i should be on track still…just trying to keep my points to a bare minimum this week. Here is what I ate today:

yogurt, granola bar-4
smart ones, yogurt-6
granola bar-2
brussel sprouts, lean cuisine-9
peanut butter-2

23 total points, no AP’s….

is that I have to eat as FEW points as possible all week long…why do I do that on he weekend???? Just for once I wish I could control myself on the weekends….AHHH!

I’m getting ready to go to bed, a couple hours earlier than usual.  That’s my number one goal this week — getting to bed earlier at night!  Today was good.  I did the biggest loser cardio workout and it is really challenging.  I love it!  Tomorrow I am starting the 30 Day Shred Challenge that someone in the forums posted.  My goal is to get to 162 lbs by the end of the Challenge.  I think it’s totally doable.  I have so much more energy when I exercise, I don’t know why I ever stopped doing it!

WW yogurt, blueberries, fiber one cereal, coffee — 4 Pts
BL workout video 40 minutes — 3 APs
South Beach pizza, broccoli, Hawaiian cookie — 12 Pts
100 calorie pack of popcorn — 2 Pts
grilled chicken salad, low fat ice cream cone — 14 Pts

Total: 32 - 3 APs = 29 Pts

Yesterday our extended family through a going away party for us because we are moving overseas at the end of the year.  Often times at parties, especially when they are being thrown for me, I feel guilty if I don’t try everything and go back for seconds, etc.  So stupid, as nobody probably paid any attention to what I was eating or drinking, but I still feel like it would offend the hosts if I don’t eat, drink and be merry.  That’s really very stupid, and I think there are other ways of showing my appreciation to the hosts aside from stuffing myself.  Luckily, yesterday I did not stuff myself, but over the past 3 days I have made it impossible for myself to lose at Thursday’s weigh in unless the next 4 days are PERFECT, which they will be.

Here was yesterday:

egg mcmuffin and coffee: 7 Pts
bread, chicken tortilla soup, half turkey sandwich: 10 Pts
2 pieces of Halloween candy: 3 Pts
dill dip and rye bread, sake and 4 beers: 13 Pts
artichoke dip, casserole and salad: 10 Pts
Hawaiian cookie: 3 Pts

Total:  46 Pts

Okay, it’s over, I learned from it, and I’m moving on…

This happens every night! I keep finding things to stay up and do and then I end up in bed after midnight.  Ugh, not tonight.  I’m posting this and then hitting the sack.  Pretty good day today.  Here’s what I had:

hard-boiled egg, mini bagel, coffee — 4 Pts
mini bagel and peanut butter — 7 Pts
low fat chili, corn & salsa salad — 7 Pts
M&M’s — 3 Pts
low fat chips — 3 Pts
SBD pizza, artichoke hearts w/ dill dip, cereal — 15 Pts

Total: 39 Pts

Needless to say, my weekly points are gone.  5 days left.  sheesh. 

Well, the good news is that I have lots to be happy about and my self-improvement mission is heading in the right direction.  First, I am wearing size 12 pants today, and i am not crammed into them!  Never thought I’d be happy to be wearing a size 12, but that’s another story.  For now, I’m thrilled to be nearing in on the single digit sizes and the day I can zip up a pair of size 8 pants will be here soon I know it!  In other good news, my hands look great since I stopped biting my fingernails!  What a childish habit!  I am getting a manicure next weekend to help me maintain my new nails:)  I am starting to feel better about myself too.  I know I’m doing the right things and although my weight loss progress is slow, I am heading in the right direction.  That makes me feel so much more in control and I love that I am treating myself with respect, finally.

On to the bad news — I have gotten into some bad habits: (1) staying up too late at night and not getting enough sleep, (2) not exercising consistently (often due to being tired because of staying up too late the night before, and (3) going over my points with reckless abandon.  (1) is easy enough to fix.  My goal is to be in bed by 9:30 every night, and light’s off by 10:00.  Since Jamie is a built in alarm clock at about 5:30 every morning, I need to get to sleep at night while he’s sleeping!  (2) is easy enough to fix too.  Getting more sleep will help, but also just getting my butt out of bed in the morning and reminding myself that I am going to feel better having exercised for that hour than I would having slept one more hour.  plus, it earns me some APs which I desparately need because of (3).  (3) is the hardest for me to fix, but I’m going to do it.  Enough with the eating of things for which I don’t know the points values.  I need to PLAN more.

I joined a yahoo group called Serious Weight Watchers and I love it! I get emails a few times a day with messages that have been posted on the message board and it’s a great reminder throughout the day to stay on track and it’s overall a very motivating and informational group. 

Here’s what I had yesterday:

yogurt parfait and tea from Argo Tea — 8 Pts
soup and half turkey sandwich — 10 Pts
bagel with peanut butter and 2 small pieces of chocolate — 10 Pts 
Work event dinner: chicken patay, fruit, small quesadilla triangle, veggies and dip, beer – 18 Pts
low fat ice cream and prunes — 5 Pts

Total: 51Pts - 23 daily points = 28 Weekly Points used and 7 remaining

ugh, not a good start to the week but it’s not going to get me down.

whoops..but I need to be fast because I have to pack..so here is what I ate yesterday:

yogurt, NF latte-5
smart ones, apple-7
100 calorie pack-2
healthy choice-7
yogurt-2
pretzels, piece of bread-5

Total=28 No AP’s yesterday…probabaly won’t get any of those until Sunday!!!! Here comes the weekend..bring it on! I know I can do it!

Lost 0.4 at weigh in this morning.  I’ll take it!  What with my Halloween candy problem last week and being sick and not able to exercise as much as I would have liked, I’m glad the scale still went in the right direction.  And I’m hoping for a HUGE loss next Thursday:)

So I lost about 2.5 or maybe even close to 3 pounds this week! I am so excited!!! I needed that to keep me going on the right path. Now of course I’m worrying that next week I will gain since I had a good loss this week…but no matter what, the current trend of my weight is heading down. 2.6 pounds away from new numbers!!!!! (really it would need to be 2.7) now I’m 3.7 away from being in the BMI obese range!!! Getting out of that range is my first goal of weight loss….

I did alright today..I just made the mistake of getting on the scale this morning and getting excited because if WI was today, I would have lost 2 pounds but I know how I can fluctuate so tomorrow I’ll be lucky if I lose at all! Here is what I ate!

yogurt, coffee-3
smart ones-6
string cheese, 100 calorie pack-4
bread co-13

3 AP’s so 26-3 AP’s is 23 for the day..pretty good…I’m really hungry right now but Im not eating right before I go to bed on WI eve….so I better just fall asleep fast!

This post is going to be short b/c I am so annoyed and disappointed in myself for ruining what might have been a good week.  I am just getting over a cold I’ve had for about a week, and really still don’t have much of an appetite, but somehow I still manage to have twice the amount of points I’m supposed to have.  Here’s the problem…I look up the points for things AFTER I have already eaten them!  Case in point: I got a veggie sandwich for lunch from Jimmy John’s, looked it up when I got back to my office after lunch, and the darn thing was 15 POINTS!!!  SO not worth it.  I meant it was filling and satisfying but 15 points is WAY too much for lunch when you’re supposed to only have 23 for the day!  Well, I could have kept the rest of the day on track b/c like I said it was a filling lunch and I didn’t even really want/need a big dinner or snacks the rest of the day, but what did I do?  have a BIG damn dinner and snacks the rest of the day.  ugh.

2 fiber one muffins, coffee w/ skim milk — 5 Pts
Jimmy John’s veggie sandwich — 15 Pts
2 fiber one muffins — 4 Pts
Run/walk 2.75 miles — 3 APs
prunes, bbq chicken salad, low fat ice cream — 18 Pts

Total: 42 - 3 APs = 39 Pts

So I hope today didn’t blow it for me…however, I really don’t deserve to lose weight this week..I haven’t changed a single thing about my out of my head weekends…but if I do lose, I’ll take it as a sign from someone somewhere out there that I can do this and that I will lose weight. Cause Lord knows I lose motivation REALLY easily when I don’t see a loss. Anyway, I was trying to stay ultra low on points today…that didn;t happen, AND I didnt work out…I thought I should pay my civic duty and go vote instead…expecting to wait in line for hours, when I got right in and right out, I still could have worked out, but by then I had already decided I wasn;t going to, so I didn’t…that is how easy it is for me to talk myself out of doing something good for myself. I think I’m going to get out of work early tomorrow which is good because then I can go to the gym and get in a good strength training workout, which I won’t do if there are too many people at the gym during busy hours…so here is what I ate today:

oatmeal-3
smart ones, orange, 100 calorie pack-9
peanuts-3
bread co-13

28 points…so at least i didnt go over, but tomorrow I plan to eat as few points as I possibly can and get at least 4 AP’s…to hopefully pay off for WI on Thursday…I guess I am sort of doing the Wendi plan but to a much lesser extreme. The problem is that I don’t WANT to do the Wendi plan!!! If only I could stay at my points on the weekends I could eat all of my points during the week…grrrr