Monday 8/22/11 - Day 3 of the epic Week of Accountability

Today's weight:  198.2

Whaaa?  I'm starting to feel really silly for not getting back on track right when I got home from vacation...I've already nearly made up for my 3.4 lb gain from Saturday.  

Wall push-ups - 2 sets x 25

Tricep dips - Week 1 Day 1, 150 dips program - 6/6/5/5/8

Bicep curls - 10 lb dumbbells - 2 sets x 10 (too heavy for good form, I'll be using 5 lbs next time)

Treadmill - 7.86 miles in 1:45:00 (13:21 pace)

I will admit I got a little teary-eyed after the run.  I ran over 7.5 miles without stopping to walk.  It finally really hit me that I am actually a runner, no matter how slow I may be.  I mean really, what percentage of the population can say they have *ever* run that far?

Seems like a really long time to spend on the dreadmill, but I was watching Beetlejuice so I was thoroughly entertained.  I LOVE that movie!  "What are your qualifications?"  "Ah, I attended Julliard. I am a graduate of Harvard Business School.  I travel quite extensively.  I lived through the Black Plague and had a pretty good time during that.  I've seen 'The Exorcist' 167 times, and it keeps gettin' funnier EVERY SINGLE TIME I SEE IT.  NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT YOU'RE TALKING TO A DEAD GUY!"  Ahh, good times.  And of course there's this classic scene:

I tried to do the dance along with them while I was running...it didn't work very well.  Does anyone remember the Beetlejuice cartoon show?  ...I digress.

I had my post-run nausea thing hit me again (it's been a while), and I'm fairly sure I'm going to be very sore tomorrow (I'm icing my knee as I type this because it's pretty achy), but I am pleased as punch with myself.  23 Activity Points in one go!  I also discovered that BodyGlide might be necessary on long runs on areas that I hadn't even considered...

As for the food log, I went a bit over my daily allowance on points today.  Weight Watchers gives you 49 extra points for the week that you can use if you so choose, and considering I burned off well over 1000 calories today, a little more food isn't gonna hurt me!

Dinner was really point-heavy.  Mom asked me to finish off the chicken salad, but I still had another dairy serving, both oils, and 3 fruit/veg to meet my healthy checks, so I ate a lot (not that that's a hardship or anything).  As for lunch, I had a Morningstar Farms Veggie Corn Dog for the first time, and was pleasantly surprised!  I honestly couldn't tell the difference between that and a "real" corndog, and even when I ate some of the "meat" by itself the taste was very close.  Thumbs up!

And so it begins...

Today starts my Week of Accountability!  I will be posting every day with my food log/points tracker, my daily activity, and a weigh in.  I don't recommend weighing daily, but this week I really need to make sure I'm on track.

As I said in my last post, I'm putting on my noob hat.  For the first few months on Weight Watchers, I was absolutely obsessive about tracking accurately and making decent choices...I need to get back there.  So the paper tracker is coming out, and the online tools that have been neglected as of late will be put to good use.  The measuring cups and spoons will get a workout, as will my WW pocket calculator.

And so, without further delay...my weigh in from today's meeting.

Weigh in:  Saturday, 8/20/11 - 201.2 - 3.4 lbs gained 


My daily point allowance went *up*...how terrible does that feel?  Ugh.  That gain is since last Saturday's out of town weigh in, for a net gain in two weeks of 5.8.  Yeesh.  That's not to say that I'm surprised - I've been off track for a while now, and this past week especially I was NOT eating like a mentally sound individual.  It actually could have been worse, and it was when I checked Friday morning, so I did make up a little ground by getting back on track yesterday.

After a much needed trip to the grocery store, I came home and got in my activity for the day.  I follow FitnessGetzEasy on Facebook, and a challenge has been issued to be active for at least 20 minutes EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. for 30 days.  Today is my Day 1.

I also found an interesting set of training programs that are designed to increase your strength and get you doing insane amounts of body weight exercises in 6 weeks.  I decided to start on the 100 push-ups and 150 tricep dips programs...but then I realized I can't even do a decent push-up from my knees (my arms barely move, it's pretty pathetic really).  So I'm going to do wall push-ups for now and just try to increase my strength enough to move to the bench or floor versions.  Tricep dips I can do though!  Today was just my 'initial test' day, so I'll start the actually 150 dips program on Monday.

- Wall push-ups - 50
- Tricep dips - 13
- Stationary bike - 3.9 miles in 20:00 


I did some intervals on the bike - 30 seconds at max effort, 1-2 minutes recovery.  Max for me ended up being around 16-17 mph, and recovery was 10-11.  It amazes me that folks can maintain my interval pace for hours on end...I think I would die.  I went to walk up the basement steps when I was done and almost yelled - glutes made of pain.  Not sure if it was sitting on the bike seat, or the effort.  Ouchie.  But it felt good to sweat and have that wobbly-limbed sensation again!

Here are some screen caps of my tracker today!

I have 34 points per day right now, so I was right on target today!  I got in every single one of my healthy checks, which are 2 servings of dairy, 5 of fruit/veg, 2 tsp of healthy oil, and a daily multivitamin.  Weight Watchers recommends at least 6 8oz glasses of liquid a day, and it doesn't have to be water.  When I track, though, I check off a box for every 16oz I drink since my personal goal is to drink a gallon each day.

Here's a pic of dinner!  My mom was super considerate and asked how I wanted my porkchop cooked since she and Dad were having them breaded and pan fried.  (She knows I'm really stressed about gaining, I about had a breakdown yesterday morning talking to her about it.  Blargh.)  She seared mine with some olive oil and then baked it in the oven for me.  :)  I may have defeated the purpose by putting a little gravy on it.  Oh well.  And yes, I know, I know - two starchy vegetables!  Corn and mashed potatoes are my dad's preferred dinner sides...those, plus green beans, are about all the veggies I ever had growing up!

That's today done!  Tomorrow's plan is to get up super early and hit the pavement - 1 hr 35 min run scheduled, which for me should be around 7 miles.  I'm gonna stick close to home in case I need to refuel, I've never run much more than an hour!

I have arrived!!!!!!

Ok, so the Healthy Choice Café Steamers teriyaki steak I had for lunch wasn't quite as exciting as tea with the Mad Hatter.  But nonetheless, I am in ONEderland!!!

Weigh in:  Saturday, 7/23/11 - 199.2 - 1.6 lbs lost, 51 total

Weight Watchers awards.
Clockwise from top:  Keyring for 10% of
starting weight lost; -25 lb washer;
'Stay & Succeed' charm for attending 16
meetings; 5k completion charm; -50 lb washer

I didn't cry on the scale when I saw the number the receptionist wrote down, but I did tear up a little this morning when I jumped on the scale at home before the meeting.  (I do this every week, don't ask me why...I know it doesn't really do me any good!)

I got a new charm for my keyring for losing 50 pounds!

It's been nearly 2 months since my last set of progress pictures.  2 months to lose 11 pounds...it's acceptable, certainly, but that sounds quite slow to me.  I was spoiled with my quick loss at the beginning.

I still have an issue recognizing the weight loss in myself.  Logically, I know I'm a lot thinner because I can wear smaller sizes, and my measurements are getting smaller, but I have some sort of mental block when it comes to actually *seeing* it.

I have now lost 20% of my starting weight of 250.2.  My BMI has dropped from 38 (nearly morbidly obese) to 30.3.  I am still "o-beast" (I always say it like that when I'm talking to my mom, I feel it is an appropriate descriptor, but amusing at the same time...sometimes you gotta laugh at yourself!).  But I am inching ever-closer to the 'overweight' range of the scale.

Weight Watchers' BMI calculator on their website doesn't use decimal places, so they say I'll be overweight (BMI of 29) at 193 lbs.  More precise online calculators that count the overweight range up to a BMI of 29.9, tell me I'll be there at 196.8 lbs.  I've settled on 193.4 as my next mini-goal, and I'd like to hit that by September 3.

My full weight record.  I'm averaging 1.9 lbs lost per week.

Personal goal for the rest of my life:  Never see a number on the scale or on my pants that starts with a 2, ever again!

I'm so close I can...

...not 'taste it', surely.  I need to come up with a non-food-related analogy.  'Feel it' doesn't seem descriptive enough.  'Smell it' maybe?  Yes, I'm so close I can smell it.  What is 'it', you ask?  Why...ONEderland of course!!!  I'm officially looking down the rabbit hole.

Weigh in:  Saturday, 7/9/11 - 201.6 - 4.6 lbs lost, 48.6 total


Nearly 5 lbs!  And that's after my cream cheese and pretzel binge early in the week.  I drank water like it was my job and made sure to get in my fruit and veg servings every day.  Proof that if you screw up once or twice, your whole week/month/life doesn't have to go to pot!

I got my 45 lb star sticker at the meeting yesterday...once I hit 50 I'll get another and a new charm for my WW keyring.  There were some murmurs at the meeting about my large loss this week, as if it wasn't a big deal since I'm young (and look even younger).  I know they were just joking, but I still get a little touchy.  It's not as if I don't try at all and the weight just falls off  - I'm working my ass off (literally)!

I'm still alive!

I know everyone was worried.  ;)

I never posted weigh-in from last week, so I'll do that and yesterday's right now:

Weigh in:  Saturday, 6/4/11 - 209.4 - 1 lb lost, 40.8 total

Weigh in:  Saturday, 6/11/11 - 210.2 - 0.8 lb gain

I had my bad few days before the first weigh in, and then the few directly after it I still wasn't on track, so the last couple weigh-ins were a wash.  I did get my next 5 pound loss star sticker for losing 40. 

As of yesterday I am cracking down on my nonsense and will be tracking everything!  I've also started tracking bottles of water (about 16 oz) rather than cups (8 oz) on my Weight Watchers etools.  It has 8 check boxes on the tracker  I'm trying to drink a gallon of water every day, so that's 8 bottles - works out well.

Here are my recent workouts:

Tuesday, 6/7/11 - 10k plan, Day 5 - 1.97 miles in 30:00 (15:11 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks @ 3.4, 20 min jog @ 4.2

Thursday, 6/9/11 - 10k plan, Day 6 - 2.68 miles in 40:00 (14:54 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks @ 3.5, incline work/jog @ 4.2

Friday, 6/10/11 - 10k plan, Day 7 - 3.16 miles in 45:00 (14:14 pace) - 5 min warmup walk @ 3.5, 30 min jog @ 4.3, 6x100m strides @ 5.1

I did 5k in under 45 minutes!  Pleased with myself on that one. 

I'm trying to increase my speed a tiny bit.  I get a little discouraged because one of my ultimate goals is to run a Disney half marathon, and they require a 16 min/mile pace.  I can barely keep up a 14-15 min pace for more than half an hour or so.  I won't even consider signing up for a race at this point first off because I don't have the funds, but mainly because the last thing I want to do is pay all those entry fees and not even get a medal because I didn't finish!  Once I get through this 10k program I'll probably move on to a half marathon plan to see if I can even cope with the distance.

*grin*

I'm a little confused...but in a good way.

Weigh in:  Saturday 5/28/11 - 210.4 - 4 lbs lost, 39.8 total

Okay, first of all - 4 pound losses 2 weeks in a row?!  How does this happen?  I've been tracking everything this week, but I definitely used some of my extra points and I've gone out to eat literally every day because my mom is on vacation and that's just what we do.

And second - 0.2 away from 40?  A measly 3 oz away.  That left my weigh in feeling oddly like a let down, even though I've lost 8 pounds in the past two weeks. (!)

So, whatever, I do what I want...I'm rounding and calling it 40 because I feel like it's time for more progress pictures!  Are you super excited?!

I feel like it's a little hard to see in pictures except around my face, but these days I catch my reflection or my shadow out of the corner of my eye and have to stop and go "Wow, look at ME!"

Today also marked another goal met and surpassed - weight at 212.7.  I'm now officially at my lowest weight of the past 4+ years.  (I keep being non-commital on this number because I honestly did not step on a scale for ages, so I don't know at what point I ballooned for real...it may be more like 5 years, but the 4 I'm sure of.) 

If there was a Weight Watchers award for 15% body weight lost like there is for 5 and 10%, I'd have received that today.  And my BMI has dropped from 38 to 32. 

The goal line on my weight tracker was set at that 212.7, so I've now moved it down to (get this!) 199.9!  ONEderland is in my sights and I'm closing in!



Some fun things (for me, anyway) to think about:

-My driver's license says my weight is 200.  I'm almost true to that now!  (Definitely fudged it by a LARGE margin last time I renewed my license, obviously.)

-Once I live in ONEderland, I will be but a handful of itty bitty pounds away from being overweight.  That may sound odd, but what I mean is this:  I will no longer be obese!

I can already see myself crying on the scale at my meeting when my weight starts with a 1 for the first time in who knows how long.  It's gonna be a great day, and hopefully that day is but a few short weeks away!

Activities!

Weight Watchers has been plugging the Walk It Challenge, which is a 6 week program to encourage folks to get moving and walk a 5k.  I didn't participate in their training program since I can easily walk that far already, but I did go with my WW leader and a couple other ladies from my meeting on a walk around the neighborhood to complete the 5k.  We get a charm for our keychains for stepping up to the challenge...hopefully we'll get those next week so I can post a picture.  We kept a pretty decent pace considering we stopped to chat and had to wait for cars to pass to cross the street and whatnot.

Saturday, 5/21/11 - walked ~3 miles in ~53:00

On Sunday I did some yardwork - trimming bushes with the electric hedgetrimmer and some manual clippers.  I earned a couple activity points.  I also apparently got a mad workout on my forearms because they are sore today!  That powertool is heavy!

I debated going to Zumba, but I was wiped from being out in the sun working.  Ended up going to a late lunch with the parents and didn't get back home until after class start time, anyway.  Hopefully next week!

Today I finally got myself back on the treadmill.  I decided to restart my 10k training program, since I haven't run for distance in about 3 weeks.

Monday, 5/23/11 - PALA 10k plan, Day 1 - 1.97 miles in 30:00 (15:15 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks @ 3.4mph, 20 min jog @ 4.2

It wasn't too bad...really sweaty as usual, but not abnormally out of breath.  I could tell my legs aren't used to running for more than a few minutes at a time right now, but I got through it fine.

I'm starting to think about my loose skin, and how I need to be filling it back out with toned muscle.  These batwings need to diminish ASAP - not cute.  I hope it's not *too* unsightly when I get to the end of all this.  On the bright side, when I have babies I shouldn't get any extra stretch marks because I have them all over already!  Ha.

I'm baaaaack!

Ok, so I'm not really that excited to be home, because I have a better time in AZ, but I am looking forward to getting back to my routine and weight loss.

Suffice it to say we went out to eat a LOT, drank too many margaritas, and only worked out a couple times in the nearly 2 weeks I was gone.  I did track on most days, and some working out is better than none, so I do feel that I've made some steps in the right direction as far as vacations are concerned. 

I also attended local Weight Watchers meetings on both Saturday mornings I was away.  I won't post an official weigh in since I'm unsure how spot on their scale would be with my normal meeting scale, but I was down 1 lb, and then up 1.8.  Add it together and I gained less than a pound while I was away.  Coming from a gal who formerly gained 5 or more pounds during any weeklong vacation, I'd say I did pretty well.

We'll see how well I'm bouncing back when I'm back to my home meeting on Saturday!

Stay and succeed

WW 10% keychain with
25 lb and 16 meeting charms!

Weigh in:  Saturday, 4/30/11 - 217.6 - 1.6 lbs lost, 32.6 lbs total

Good loss this week!  I'm still on schedule for -35 lbs by June.  And I received my 'Stay and Succeed' keychain charm for attending 16 meetings!

Big test of my Weight Watcher ability looming, though.  I'm going to Chandler, AZ to visit my boyfriend, leaving on Wednesday, and will be gone for nearly 2 weeks!  I notoriously gain weight while traveling.  My aim is to maintain my current weight, and if I lose I'll be ecstatic.

Challenges include:

- Lots of yummy restaurants we don't have in Indy
- Exercise equipment in his parents room, so I don't really have access
- Desert heat at nearly 100 by this time of year, making outside workouts brutal during most hours

I'm gonna have to get workouts in early in the morning or a while after the sun goes down.  And I'll probably spend a fair bit on groceries so I can have a stock of healthy snacks at his house.

I still plan on attending WW meetings while out of town, since I have the monthly pass and there are multiple meetings really closeby.  Must remain accountable!

Cupcakes! NOM NOM NOM

There's a great way to make boxed cake mix into a lower calorie treat - omit all add-ins listed on the box (oil, eggs, butter, etc), and just add a can of diet soda. 

Yes, seriously. 

I did this with red velvet cake mix and Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper and it was delicious.  They don't rise quite as well as the normal preparation, but you can add a couple eggwhites to aid that if you wish.

I used fat free Cool Whip as frosting (0 PointsPlus for 2 Tbsp). 

Each cupcake (1 box makes 24) came out to be 2 PointsPlus, or 5 PP for 2 cupcakes. 

***Keep in mind that Weight Watcher math is not like real math.  2 servings does not always simply equal double the points, it could be more, or - on rare occassions - less than double the PP value for 1 serving.    Basically, either use the multiply function on your WW calculator, -OR- you must multiply the nutritional info by the number of servings you're eating and *then* figure the points.  Clear as mud, eh?

Getting back to cake...there are many combinations you can try, just remember that it's probably best to keep likes together - ie: dark soda with dark cake.  Here are just a few examples:

devil's food + Diet Coke
yellow cake + Diet Sunkist
white cake + Diet Sprite

For the record, I don't recommend red velvet cake mix.  The mess factor is great, and your fingers WILL turn red if you get the mix on them...or if you eat the cupcake with your hand, for that matter.

There are a couple other lower-calorie cake mix options that I have read about but haven't tried personally yet:

angel food + can of sugarfree or lite pie filling
angel food + can of crushed pineapple
spice cake + can of pumpkin

Happy Baking!

***Credit to Lyndsay and Melissa over at Curvy & Calorie Conscious for reminding me to write about this.

Party time!

I'm still sick, but it's party time anyway, because...*drumroll*...I've lost 10% of my starting weight!!!

Weigh in:  Saturday, 4/9/11 - 225.2 - 1.2 lbs lost, 25.2 lbs total

I got a mani-pedi today in celebration, in a lovely pinup-esque cherry red. I also ordered myself a new dress and accessories. Rewards are important!  And let us not forget the all-important snazzy WW keychain!

My leader likes to point out how the keychain looks like
the number 10 whenever someone gets one.

10% lighter, and my BMI has gone down 4 points from 38 to 34!  38 - That's not just obese, that's very nearly morbidly obese.  The scariest part about it is I just never felt that large. 

I'm following the 5% WW idea and setting my next goal for 15% of my starting weight lost, which will put me at 212.7.  I have another reason for setting my goal there:  The last time I seriously committed to weight loss was before a trip to Cancun in July 2009.  That time around, my lowest weight was 212.8 before I started the alarmingly fast rise back to the 250's.  Once I get past that previous low, I will be the lightest I've been in at least 4 years.

My progress, and my next goal!

I set another mini-goal a few posts back to lose a total of 35 pounds by June 1 (which would put me at 215.2)!  I'm beginning to look at that as a bit of craziness on my part, as I set it with the assumption that I'd stay on my current pattern and keep losing 5 lbs every 3 weeks.  Make it work, Dana!

Under the weather

Giant Plush Microbe - Common Cold
Available at thinkgeek.com

I think I'm getting a cold.  Boooooo.  Woke up with a sore throat, headache, and nose was slightly stuffy.  Just had some Theraflu and am relaxing on Grandma's couch right now.  The last cold I got in December wasn't very bad as colds go, and I was taking Theraflu every day, so hopefully I can knock it out the same way this time.

Still planning to do my C25K Week 6 Day 3 run this evening - 25 minutes straight of jogging.  Can I do it?!  I hope so, but we'll see.

Here's the past couple days:
Tuesday, 4/5/11 - walk/jog (treadmill, C25K Week 6 Day 2) - 2.1 miles in 31 min (14:47 pace)
Wednesday, 4/6/11 - stationary bike - 5.5 miles in 31 min

I'm not intentionally doing 31 minutes, it just keeps happening that way!  Tuesday's run was tough, but I did 10 minutes at 4.5 mph, which is a big deal for me.

Also went out to eat for my birthday on Tuesday and went waaaay over my daily points allowance.  I'm hoping it doesn't hurt me at Saturday's weigh in since I am only 1 lb away from my 10%.  It *shouldn't* since I'm nowhere near going over my weeklies, but I don't really use them normally. 

Now to lay down, chill out, and battle my illness!

Love my meetings, and birthday lunch!

I may feel differently if the scale starts to go the wrong way, but I consider weekly WW meetings my "me time."  It's great to know there are all these other folks struggling with the same issues, sharing ideas and celebrating each other's successes.

After 11 weeks on program, I am oh-so-close to being rid of 10% of my starting weight.  1 more pound to lose and then I get my snazzy WW keychain! 

Weigh in:  Saturday, 4/2/11 - 226.2 - 2 lbs lost, 24 lbs total

Mom took me out for lunch today since my birthday is on Tuesday.  We went downtown to TGI Friday's, which was fun.  We usually stay pretty close to home to go out to eat, and rarely venture into downtown Indy, so the little change was nice.  Went a little overboard on ordering food, and brought most of mine home.  We got nachos as an appetizer, and I ordered the Santa Fe Chopped Salad, which was *gigantic*.  I probably only ate a quarter of it.  I also got some Green Bean Fries, because those are my absolute favorite things there, and hey, it's my birthday!  So most of my salad and half my green beans are now in the fridge, and will make another meal...or two...or three - it's a lot of food!

Friday's is one of those shady restaurants that doesn't post their nutritional info online, so I used livestrong's website to estimate point values.  My lunch came out to about 19 points as best as I could figure.  I barely use my weekly point allowance ever, so even if I'm low on my estimate it shouldn't really cause a problem.  It may not always seem like I'm working the plan, but I think I do pretty well! 

Silver lining

Yesterday, I stayed within my daily allowance.  I got in my 5 servings of fruit/veg, 2 of dairy, and lots of water.  However, it wasn't the best day nutritionally.  And the beauty of Weight Watchers is that my one bad day isn't really a problem.  I can have my pepperoni and cheese bread for lunch, and go to Denny's for dinner, where I can eat greasy hashbrowns and an omelette (albeit my choice was a veggie omelette made with eggwhites).  I can eat what I like, as long as my portions are reasonable and I track it.  Hooray!

Wait...what is this?  My body isn't happy with me?  After eating all that greasy food?  SHOCKED.  (That would be sarcasm, right there.)

I used to get upset stomachs all the time.  At the time I didn't understand it, but now I know it's due to the fact that my diet consisted primarily of processed and fatty - often fried - food, and virtually no fruit and veg.  These days, stomach cramps are few and far between.  Last night was one of the "few."

The upside to my evening of unpleasantness is I was way down on my scale this morning!*  But I wouldn't recommend indigestion as a weight loss method. 

*Yes, I am a chronic scale-jumper.  I get on it every day, but only once a day, and always around the same time.  I think it helps me recognize why my weight fluctuates from day to day.  It has yet to become a source of frustration...we'll see how I feel about that in the future.

Weigh in day *cue ominous music*

Weigh in:  Saturday, 3/19/11 - 229.2 - 2 lbs lost

That's a loss of 21 pounds in the past 9 weeks!  Fairly big loss this week in spite of mother nature...take that, hormones!  And one of the ladies at the meeting came up to me afterward and told me she could really tell I'd been losing, so that was a nice confidence boost.

In Weight Watchers meetings, we receive a star sticker to put in our pocket guidebook for every 5 pounds we lose, so I have 4 of them now.  The first three came every 2 weeks, but this last one took me 3, so I'll estimate another 3 until I lose 25 total and reach 10% of my body weight lost.  My next goal is in sight!

And beyond the 10%, I'll have another 12.5 lbs to lose before I get down to the lowest I've been in my previous bouts of yo-yo-ing.  After that I'll be losing all new weight, weight that has been on me for the past 4-5 years and it's time to say BUH-BYE!

After my successful weigh in, I came home to find my mom had made a breakfast of scrambled eggs w/ cheese and peppers, bacon, and cinnamon rolls.  Somewhat of a splurge, but protein is good, so I had the eggs and bacon with one of my 2 point English muffins.  I really should have checked the points on the cinnamon roll before I ate it, though.  8 PointsPlus!  8!  Yeesh.  I knew it was nutritionally worthless, but wow.

Then we went to Fazoli's for dinner, and I got a salad, but ate 2 breadsticks with it, which was another whopping 8 points for the bread alone.  I usually let myself off the hook a little bit on the weekends; my choices aren't as good but I try to stay within my daily point allowance.  That didn't quite happen today.  If I have a snack this evening it will be some fruit, because fruit is 0 points!  Hooray fruit!

And a small victory - the enablers at Fazoli's put 5 breadsticks on our tray.  There were still 2 sitting there when we were finished eating, and it took great force of will, but I threw them in the trash.  *cheer*  Bread is definitely a weakness of mine; usually when we go out to eat at any of the various places that give you a loaf of bread as a free starter, I just avoid it altogether.

Fast food for breakfast

...sort of.

Yesterday I made myself this breakfast sandwich:

Healthy Life light multigrain English muffin - 2 PointsPlus
Oscar Mayer fully cooked canadian bacon, 3 slices - 1 PP
Eggbeaters (used store brand), 1/2 cup - 1 PP
The Laughing Cow light garlic & herb cheese, 1 wedge - 1 PP

It was gigantic!  Twice (or more) the size of your standard Egg McMuffin, and 3 PP less than the fast food version to boot.  Tastes a lot better, too!

Weight Watchers - because it works.

This weight - it's weight I've lost before.  That's the saddest part about it for me.  I know perfectly well how to lose it, but keeping it off?  That's a different story.

I've always been a bit overweight, even as a kid.  But a few years ago it got really out of control - I gained about 75 lbs in the space of 2 years.  INSANE.  How did this happen?!  When I finally got up the nerve to step on a scale, I was shocked.  I had no idea how bad it was.  I couldn't see it in the mirror.  Somehow, without even realizing it, I'd gone from a size 14 to a size 20/22.  In hindsight, of course I know how it happened - terrible eating habits, sedentary lifestyle, bad relationship, depression.  It all added up and put me on the fast track for obesity.

I lost 20...gained it back.  I lost 40...gained it back.  Lost 25...yeah, you see where this is going.  I tried to do every one of these sorry attempts on my own.  Obviously that wasn't working for me.

At the end of last year, the commercials came on the air.  You know the ones I'm talking about.  Yeah - the Jennifer Hudson commercials.  Holy amazing transformations, Batman!  I knew a bit of how Weight Watchers worked already; years ago my mom joined to get the books and then never went to another meeting.  JHud just looked so amazing, I got to thinking maybe I should get on the WW wagon.

But how could I justify spending money for a company to tell me how to lose weight - something I know how to do?

Easily.  ACCOUNTABILITY.  Knowing I am already paying to go to that meeting every week.  Knowing I'm going to be seeing the same people once a week, and they have similar goals.  Knowing I have to get on the scale in front of another human being, rather than hiding alone in the bathroom to see what damage I've done to myself.  It all helps me stay on track.

And those star stickers I get for every 5 pounds I lose?  Those don't hurt either.


I've been on the plan for a little over 8 weeks.  Here's where I started, and where I am as of last week's weigh in.

1/15/11 - Weight: 250.2, BMI: 38.0
3/12/11 - Weight: 231.2, BMI: 35.1

19 pounds in 8 weeks is not too shabby, methinks.