resolutions

Just a quick check in. Down 2 more pounds which brings me back to a total of 6.2lbs lost. While it wasn’t exactly a banner week, it was a huge step towards getting back into the swing of things. Next up: actually taking the train to work and getting some exercise. Oh, and using fewer of my weekly extra points. Thank god for those last week.

-e

To say that I indulged over the holidays is such a massive understatement, it is almost funny. I ate whatever I wanted, didn’t work out, and generally lived a sloth lifestyle.

The 3 weeks leading up to vacation I was on the road for work almost non-stop. I had to abandon my food tracking because I didn’t have the patience or energy to try to figure out the points values of specific foods available in the one or two kiosks between the gate I just arrived at and the one I had to run to in order to catch my connecting flight.

So, once those insane weeks were over, I actually took my first restful vacation in YEARS. 2 weeks off, with nothing to do. It was amazing, and completely needed. However, my birthday is 5 days after New Year’s, so clearly I didn’t want to start any healthy plans then. Eat, eat, eat. 

Fast forward to today. Day 1 of my New Year’s; of being healthy, grocery shopping, taking the train to work, and going to the gym/dance class. I stepped on the scale to officially survey the damage. And, to my incredible surprise, I only gained one pound after almost an entire month of derailment. I do not know how that is even humanly possible, but I’ll take it. Maybe all those news reports about lowering your stress levels and getting sleep really are true.

-e

i’ve been very naughty. this week, i only tracked the foods i ate on 2 days (on weight watchers you track all the foods you eat every day). i skipped a lot of breakfasts and lunches. we know this is my kryptonite because not eating virtually STOPS all weight loss for me. 

i didn’t weigh in at all last week, because (sorry tmi) it was my time of the month. “shark week” sometimes really messes with my mood, and this time i had a ton of panic attacks. weighing in would have made me obsess and worry, so i just skipped it. i’m feeling better now, but my lack of weigh in sort of slowed my overall progress.

the good news is, i’ve lost .4 pounds. nothing to write home about, but it means i lost weight at all, which was not what i expected. i’d thought i gained some, so i’m okay with it.

mid-week this week, i weighed myself and it said i had gained over 5 pounds. i was devastated and disappointed, and i felt really helpless. i wasn’t perfect this week, but i didn’t think i’d deviated enough to gain *5* pounds.

and then, sure enough, this morning for weigh-in, i was down half a pound. wtf?

what is the normal amount a person’s weight can vary in a day? or is my scale out of whack? anyone else have this issue?

-a

huzzah!! i lost 4 pounds this week! that means i have lost 25.2 pounds total!!!! yayayayayay!!!

i must say, i was kind of a bad girl this week, because i didn’t have breakfast most days. it’s my hardest meal because i have to eat something on the run or at work. i usually have a meal replacement-type bar or shake, but this week we ran out of them, and i had no money to get new ones. in the past, skipping breakfast actually hurt my progress because my metabolism seemed to slow down, meaning overall i lost less weight. but i made it through this week!

i’m really thinking about joining a gym, but i’m a little bit scared. i think it will really boost my weight loss, but i’m not a huge fan of sweating or strenuous activity. i also fear that i will spend money on a membership to somewhere and then never go, thus wasting money AND being lazy. i might get my fiancee a gym membership for hanukah, and i will have to get one for myself as well. i’m nervous, but determined to keep this progress up!

-a 

Remember yesterday when I was so emo and pissed about gaining .8 lbs? It literally ruined my entire day. I ate way more than I should have, ate some shitty food, had to do a little retail therapy (and now have really cute booties). Horrible, horrible day. But I thought- whatever! Screw you, body. I’m going to comfort eat. So long as I don’t go horribly over my daily points, bring it on!

I stepped on the scale this morning to assess the damage and was down .2 from my weigh in LAST week. I literally facepalmed while standing on the scale.

Moral of this story, learned the hard way… .8 is definitely not something that needs to throw my entire day into a tail spin. I still wish I lost more weight, but I think I was looking for even a .2 on the scale to indicate that I had lost something- especially as I am just starting out and am desperate for any size victory. Well, I’ve got it, have been schooled, and am now back on track with cute shoes.

-e

I’m pissed. At myself, I guess. Today was week 2 weigh in, and I gained .8 lbs. While I know that isn’t much, and I should expect fluctuations, and it is less than a pound over Thanksgiving weekend, I’m still pissed.

Why? Because I didn’t splurge. I didn’t go nuts. I didn’t eat potatoes, I ate one small piece of cake because it was fewer points than the brownie I really wanted. I took walks every day; TWO on Sunday. I tracked everything I ate. I obsessed over points values Thursday through Sunday, and saved all of my flex points through the week so I could enjoy myself. And I did! I had wonderful, healthy meals, ate big healthy breakfasts, snacked on fruits, the works. And still, I gained weight. Bahh.

So I guess next I need to try to figure out what happened/went wrong. I can think of a few things:

1. No matter how much you plan, the best intentions can still fail. I went to dinner with a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time. Before I went, I did the points values for a bunch of meals that I could have, so I could chose when I got there, and make educated decisions. Well, it turns out the meal I chose was absolutely disgusting, which left me snacking on bread. Though I counted every piece of that bread, and it turned out to be a good vehicle to get my daily olive-oil, it still didn’t help.

2. Serving sizes. Maybe my calculations are not accurate? And I am eating more than I think I am?

3. Cheese. It may be low-fat, but I’m still snacking on a lot of cheese. I’m counting it, and it is string cheese or laughing cow cheese, but still… cheese.

So today I am just overall BLAH. I also pouted for a good few minutes this morning, and then drove to work instead of taking the train (and walking…) which is a childish response to being upset about something.  Today hasn’t really been a great day.

-e

i only lost .8 of a pound this Thanksgiving week. serves me right for being cocky, telling everyone i wasn’t worried about weight loss during Thanksgiving because i’m a vegetarian.

well, this vegetarian ate like 3 helpings of mashed potatoes and 4 pieces of apple pie after the meal. and, for the record, i ate turkey anyway*.

i’m trying not to be a total downer on myself, though, because i did still lose almost a pound. and i really enjoyed that effing pie. i have to keep in mind that my weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint. i have to keep it going forever, not just until i reach a goal weight. so there will be times, like holidays, where i will want to, and when i should, SPLURGE. also, this week’s .8 has rounded me up to a total loss of 22 pounds, and i’ve lost 10% of my total starting weight :D

A huge NSV for me was shopping at Old Navy and fitting in size LARGE tops. that hasn’t happened for well over 2 years, at least. i also shopped a little more at Forever 21 and got some size L skirts as well. i’m just about out of shopping in the plus size section at Target!

i got this jacket from old navy, which i have admittedly coveted for a long time. i was going in to the store about once a week until the size L fit me. and guess what, NOW IT DOES!

also, e and i are vowing to take one dance class a week from now on, even though i am usually tired and pissed off after work. we’ll see if i can hack it.

-a

*don’t hate on me, haters. yes, i call myself a vegetarian, but i can eat what i want.

Week 1 weigh in…

And I’ve lost 6.6 pounds in my first week!

I can’t even begin to explain how happy I am! And I don’t feel like I am dieting food-wise. For example- I went out to dinner with a friend who was also dieting. She has put herself on this crazy no carbs, no sugar, no processed food, no a bunch of other categories. She ended up ordering something she hated because she thought it would fit her diet, and then had to pick it apart at the table, could only eat a little and then had to give up and was hungry all night. I was able to make a few simple modifications to mine- swap in low fat cheese, add more vegetables and it was delicious, filling, and even tastier than the fattier version.

I also strongly recommend the Smart Ones Pasta with Ricotta and Spinach frozen meal. It is absolutely delicious. I hope, in the near future, to modify this into a real recipe and make it for dinner, but for now the frozen version is the perfect lunch.

-e

i’ve lost 21.2 pounds! that means i am out of the 200s and into the 100s!!!!

i visited the place i used to work, and my old coworker was like, “Have you lost weight?!”

huzzah, it’s starting to show!

-a

PS New favorite treat alert! Pringles Honey Butter Stix. Salty and sweet deliciousity, which are under 100 cal per pack (and 3 weight watchers points plus!)… There are enough of them in a package to make a yummy little treat.

Oh hey, it’s been awhile.

What has happened in my absence?  Work has gotten to the point of insanity and I’ve been on the road for them quite a bit. We also had a major turn of events family-wise that threw me not just into binge eating but a full on bender.  Just a crazy couple of months.

Fast forward to today. Inspired by A’s incredible success on Weight Watchers, I have also opted to join. Today is officially day one. I say officially, because I actually joined last week, the day before I left for a week-long work trip to Nashville. Not the best timing on my part. When I’m on the road, I can have upwards of 7 meetings a day, and most of these take place over coffee or food, not to mention all of my meals are dining out. Dangerous. I’m now home for a good 3 weeks, so I will have some time to actually get the diet up and running, and will tackle a travel eating plan once I’ve gotten into the swing of things a little more.

One thing that I definitely want to factor in when traveling is how to try local favorites without blowing my diet. For example- fried green tomatoes and grits in the south. I’ll report back when I have figured out a plan.

That’s all for now. I am attempting a WW recipe for boneless baked chicken for tonight. I’ll report back on how that goes!

-E

nsv- i shopped at Forever 21, and I found things that fit!!!

Forver21 is awesome because it has a plus size section, but i stopped shopping there for a little while because nothing seemed to fit correctly. so for the first time in probably a year, i went in and tried things on.

not only did i fit in the plus size XL, I ALSO FIT IN A SIZE LARGE!!! meaning NOT plus size. WHAT?!

tres exciting. i actually didn’t end up buying a lot because i’m broke, but it was still a great feeling. i did buy this outfit though:

as of this week, i have lost 17.8 pounds! if i lose 3 pounds, i will officially be out of the 200s! i cannot believe it!! ahhhh!

-a