This was not a great week. Well, the weekdays were fine, nothing special, but this weekend sucked. As part of my job I have to take turns doing evening/weekend emergency response. I am fortunate that the part of campus in which I work is generally well-behaved, but this weekend the whole campus was a little rough...and of course I was the one on duty for my area. What made things difficult on me as far as this journey goes, wasn't so much the temptation to eat bad things or even the "stress eating", but the sheer bad timing of everything. I've mentioned in several posts about how easy the dining hall has made things for me with their always having a healthy option, posting the nutritional facts online, etc. But I haven't mentioned what makes things difficult: their hours don't revolve around my hunger/sleep schedule! This is especially key on duty weekends when I'm getting called out at all hours of the day and night.
Friday night I only had a couple calls, but they were spaced out so that I only got sleep in 2-3 hour increments. I ended up sleeping in until around 12:30. I ended up having my first meal around 4:00 - my first mistake. It was such a late lunch that I wasn't ready for dinner until quite late. However, by the time I was hungry for dinner, I was in the midst of Saturday night duty calls. Let's just say it was a really late night and not only did I then have to find myself dinner, but I had to do it in between my calls. Not easy and I mostly just ended up snacking - baked chips, some fruit, popcorn, healthy-ish stuff, but not an actual meal. I was up really late and again ended up sleeping until 1. I decided I was going to eat earlier, so I went onto the food services web site and looked at all the tasty things they were having for brunch. I used my WW app to check the points, decided what I was going to get before I went, and then realized that it was 1:57 and the buffet closes at 2. I had essentially no food in the fridge and the only thing open was the grill...which makes burgers, chicken tenders, grilled cheese sandwiches, cheesesteaks, etc. So, I made the best choice that I could, and had it with a side of celery sticks. Then, again, come dinner time I wasn't hungry and by the time I was ready for food it was 8 and they were closing. I looked at a bunch of take-out menus...I had a serious hankering for a steak salad, but couldn't find one anywhere that sounded appetizing. So, instead of making a bad choice, I made an egg, light toast, and turkey bacon.
I've had the last two days to contemplate how this upset in my normal schedule will reflect on the scale on Monday, and I've come to an important conclusion...I don't care. I mean, I don't WANT to gain anything, but it won't really bother me if I do. Because I know that I was dealt a bad hand this weekend and that I did the best that I could, and that's all that I can ask of myself. I have decided that regardless of what happens on the scale, I'm going to concentrate on celebrating my small victories this week.
1. When I had the choice of all the tasty, yet unhealthy, offerings at the grill and my head, taste buds, and stomach were all saying "CHEESEBURGER!!!"...my mouth said "Grilled Chicken sandwich, please"
2. When it was 2am and I was still awake and really hungry and already in my car, I could have easily driven to the 24-hour McDonalds...and I honestly considered it...but then I thought of the picture from the doctors office of the year old hamburger that looked brand new and I pointed my car home instead.
3. Sunday, after two very late nights and little uninterrupted sleep, when I easily could have spent the day on the couch or in my bed, I made myself get up, do a little light cleaning in my apartment, and I still played Just Dance to get my exercise in since I missed it on Saturday.
4. This week I exercised at least 5 days...and each day I exceeded my goal.
5. Instead of ordering take-out, or eating the box of macaroni and cheese sitting in my cabinet, I chose the egg sandwich and turkey bacon.
6. There are two chocolate bars and half an ice-cream cake in my freezer that went untouched.
7. I tried a Zumba CD this week with a friend and it was super fun! I may just really buy myself the Zumba for Wii after I get paid.
8. I went to my RAs program where there was pizza, cake, and ice cream and I didn't eat ANYTHING.
9. Aside from this weekend when I needed to stay awake, I have significantly reduced the amount of pop I drink.
10. I just measured myself for the first time since I began and I have lost 1.5 inches off my waist, 1 inch from my hips, 1 inch from my bust, and 2 inches from my thighs.
11. I have lost 15.6 pounds in 6 weeks!!
and last, but certainly not least,
12. I have the most fantastic support system a person could ask for. Honestly, after I submitted my first post I thought I was crazy for starting this blog and sharing it with everyone, but I think it's the smartest thing I could have done.
So, no matter what the scale says, I'm counting this week as a success!
Initial weight: 257.2
Week 7: +0.2
Total weight loss: -1546 lbs
Current weight: 241.8
Only up by 0.2?? After the week I had, I will take it and not complain!!! Especially since I discovered today that one of my favorite snacks costs more points than what I originally thought.....wwwwaaaayyyyyy more points. And I ate it almost every day this week...no more pretzels and hummus for me!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Some days are better than others...
Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like you just can't eat enough?? I'm having one of those days...it's currently Sunday and all day long I have felt like I was starving! I woke up and was famished (which almost never happens) - I made a nice breakfast of two eggs, breakfast potatoes (both made with 0 point Pam spray instead of butter), and 5 slices of turkey bacon. It was so tasty, but less than an hour later I felt like I was hungry again. Not bored hungry - legit hungry. I had a late breakfast...ate somewhere around 11 or so. Between then and dinner, I ate two bowls of grapes, a serving of pretzel sticks with Laughing Cow Light French Onion cheese, and a banana. Still hungry. I had dinner around 6:30 where I had a cup of brown rice and my own stir fry (eye of round steak bits, broccoli, green beans, carrots, and tomatoes cooked in some butter with garlic salt, salt, and pepper). I felt so full and satisfied after I ate it, but here it is only about an hour after eating it and I feel like I haven't had dinner yet. I have a whole 4 points left to eat today, and I am just baffled at how some days I can eat barely anything and feel full all day, but others I can eat every hour and still feel hungry! Bodies are weird.
Overall, the week as a whole was pretty good. Valentine's Day was a little difficult from an emotional eating standpoint, but I handled it pretty well. I tried to embrace the holiday, though I am a singleton, choosing to celebrate those that I love. However, in doing what I thought was one of the coolest things I'll ever do, I managed to slightly depress myself. I went to see Casablanca in an old theatre. It was seriously cool, but at the same time seriously awkward as I was literally the only person there by myself. I tried not to let it get to me, but afterwards I had a serious case of emotional hunger. But, I let myself have a Weight Watcher fudge bar, and that was it. I decided that I would make some sweets, but to share with others and not eat them myself. I may have gone a little overboard...
I love to bake...and I love to decorate what I bake...so I got a little fancy. I was unsure what kind of cake to make, and I had a lot of friends to feed, so I made two cakes. I experimented with making layered cakes, which makes icing them pretty difficult. I tried my hardest not to lick the fingers while decorating and pretty much just tried to do the neatest job possible so I wasn't even tempted! It worked out pretty well, actually. (If you'd like to see my cakes, you'll have to check out my Confectionery Capers blog to see the update on there soon.)
I had a friend come to visit this weekend and thankfully she let me know early on in the week that she wanted to go to Mad Mex (a Mexican restaurant, if you couldn't figure that out) while she was in town. I ate well through the week, but it was good to know that I needed to behave if I was going to eat there this weekend. I was able to save all of my extra weekly points, as well as get in some extra exercise, so that I could eat my burrito on Friday. The most important thing I noticed, though, was that while I was eating my burrito I was getting full faster than I used to. Definitely a good thing!!
So can I have my burrito and eat it too? Monday's meeting will surely tell...
Initial weight: 257.2
Week 6: -2.8
Total weight loss: -15.6 lbs
Current weight: 241.6
Apparently I can!! And, I have officially lost over 5% of my initial body weight!! So, I guess it's time for a photo update...
Original picture from a few weeks ago... Me tonight...
Not a huge difference, but a noticeable one! :-)
Overall, the week as a whole was pretty good. Valentine's Day was a little difficult from an emotional eating standpoint, but I handled it pretty well. I tried to embrace the holiday, though I am a singleton, choosing to celebrate those that I love. However, in doing what I thought was one of the coolest things I'll ever do, I managed to slightly depress myself. I went to see Casablanca in an old theatre. It was seriously cool, but at the same time seriously awkward as I was literally the only person there by myself. I tried not to let it get to me, but afterwards I had a serious case of emotional hunger. But, I let myself have a Weight Watcher fudge bar, and that was it. I decided that I would make some sweets, but to share with others and not eat them myself. I may have gone a little overboard...
I love to bake...and I love to decorate what I bake...so I got a little fancy. I was unsure what kind of cake to make, and I had a lot of friends to feed, so I made two cakes. I experimented with making layered cakes, which makes icing them pretty difficult. I tried my hardest not to lick the fingers while decorating and pretty much just tried to do the neatest job possible so I wasn't even tempted! It worked out pretty well, actually. (If you'd like to see my cakes, you'll have to check out my Confectionery Capers blog to see the update on there soon.)
I had a friend come to visit this weekend and thankfully she let me know early on in the week that she wanted to go to Mad Mex (a Mexican restaurant, if you couldn't figure that out) while she was in town. I ate well through the week, but it was good to know that I needed to behave if I was going to eat there this weekend. I was able to save all of my extra weekly points, as well as get in some extra exercise, so that I could eat my burrito on Friday. The most important thing I noticed, though, was that while I was eating my burrito I was getting full faster than I used to. Definitely a good thing!!
So can I have my burrito and eat it too? Monday's meeting will surely tell...
Initial weight: 257.2
Week 6: -2.8
Total weight loss: -15.6 lbs
Current weight: 241.6
Apparently I can!! And, I have officially lost over 5% of my initial body weight!! So, I guess it's time for a photo update...
Original picture from a few weeks ago... Me tonight...
Not a huge difference, but a noticeable one! :-)
Monday, February 13, 2012
I'm in Love...
Since Valentine's Day (or Singles Awareness Day, as I like to call it) is this week, I thought I'd share a few thoughts about my rekindled romance...with my kitchen. I've always had a strange love for kitchenware - even when I was younger I got a kids "cookbook" and loved it...I was always trying to find reasons to make things out of it. I think at some point in high school I may have even asked for a food dehydrator for Christmas because Trevor had one and I liked it...
My first year working here, I actually cooked quite a bit. I almost always made dinner myself, and usually cooked all three meals per day on the weekends. During my second year, I got a little lazier and started eating more in the dining halls...and never really looked back. Now, there is nothing wrong with eating in the dining halls - the food here is actually quite good - it's just so much easier to make not healthy choices there. Go to the all-you-care-to-eat buffet and have a chicken breast and vegetables or go to the a-la-cart side and get pizza, or a burrito, or a burger just as easily? So, needless to say, I made a lot of unhealthy food choices in the following few years. Oh, I still cooked every once in a while, but it was mostly only if I was inviting friends over and usually on the weekends. After a long day at work, I just wanted to be able to eat and relax and not have to worry about cooking.
Well, if you haven't noticed, I'm quite committed to this journey. I mean, would I broadcast my weight to the world if I wasn't?? So, besides making better choices when I do eat in the dining hall, I've decided to try to cook more. Especially on the weekends, because then I can divide up the extras into single serving containers and save them. That way, I can have the convenience of the dining hall, but the nutrition and taste of homemade! So, I've renewed my love affair with my kitchen.
This weekend I made pasta sauce with shredded chicken in it - YUM!! I can't express to you enough how good it was! I mean, I pride myself on my tasty sauce (thanks, Mom), but this was more than just the actual taste of it. This is one of those foods that, for me, carries memories with it. Memories of home, of my Nannie, and of my childhood. I had been craving it for a while, and (thankfully) making my own sauce means not too many points. Adding the chicken also added a little protein to what would normally be a carb-fest. I wasn't prepared for how much I would enjoy it...I seriously could have eaten the whole pot by itself! I didn't...but I could have. I was a good little girl and measured out my sauce so that I didn't overdo it. But I already can't wait to eat it again!
I also made a roast with my wonderful crock pot. That was actually what inspired this post...I originally thought of writing a love note to my crock pot, but it hasn't quite earned that badge of honor yet. I mean, I do love it, but it hasn't quite reached the "love note" status. My favorite thing about the crock pot is its ease - around noon I put in a couple cut up potatoes, some baby carrots, a roast, and an onion. I added a little garlic salt, salt, pepper, and parsley. Splash in some water, turn the baby on, and then just leave it alone. You can let it go for hours...I let mine cook for about 7 (it was actually done in around 5, but the longer you leave it the more tender it gets). I checked in once or twice just to see how tender the meat was, but there's zero fuss. And it tastes soooo good!! And even better, it made enough for several more days! So I packed up a few individual containers in the fridge and put the rest in the freezer for another time.
After my cooking this weekend, my tummy is a happy camper and I have officially remembered why I love my kitchen. Now let's just see how much the scale liked my kitchen...
Initial weight: 257.2
Week 5: -2.0
Total weight loss: -12.8 lbs
Current weight: 244.4
I'd say the scale likes my kitchen!! Oh, and my new in"cent"ive program has been helping a lot!! I highly recommend...I only added $3 this week, but that's a vast improvement for me. I track pretty much every day, just not necessarily the WHOLE day...so baby steps!
My first year working here, I actually cooked quite a bit. I almost always made dinner myself, and usually cooked all three meals per day on the weekends. During my second year, I got a little lazier and started eating more in the dining halls...and never really looked back. Now, there is nothing wrong with eating in the dining halls - the food here is actually quite good - it's just so much easier to make not healthy choices there. Go to the all-you-care-to-eat buffet and have a chicken breast and vegetables or go to the a-la-cart side and get pizza, or a burrito, or a burger just as easily? So, needless to say, I made a lot of unhealthy food choices in the following few years. Oh, I still cooked every once in a while, but it was mostly only if I was inviting friends over and usually on the weekends. After a long day at work, I just wanted to be able to eat and relax and not have to worry about cooking.
Well, if you haven't noticed, I'm quite committed to this journey. I mean, would I broadcast my weight to the world if I wasn't?? So, besides making better choices when I do eat in the dining hall, I've decided to try to cook more. Especially on the weekends, because then I can divide up the extras into single serving containers and save them. That way, I can have the convenience of the dining hall, but the nutrition and taste of homemade! So, I've renewed my love affair with my kitchen.
This weekend I made pasta sauce with shredded chicken in it - YUM!! I can't express to you enough how good it was! I mean, I pride myself on my tasty sauce (thanks, Mom), but this was more than just the actual taste of it. This is one of those foods that, for me, carries memories with it. Memories of home, of my Nannie, and of my childhood. I had been craving it for a while, and (thankfully) making my own sauce means not too many points. Adding the chicken also added a little protein to what would normally be a carb-fest. I wasn't prepared for how much I would enjoy it...I seriously could have eaten the whole pot by itself! I didn't...but I could have. I was a good little girl and measured out my sauce so that I didn't overdo it. But I already can't wait to eat it again!
I also made a roast with my wonderful crock pot. That was actually what inspired this post...I originally thought of writing a love note to my crock pot, but it hasn't quite earned that badge of honor yet. I mean, I do love it, but it hasn't quite reached the "love note" status. My favorite thing about the crock pot is its ease - around noon I put in a couple cut up potatoes, some baby carrots, a roast, and an onion. I added a little garlic salt, salt, pepper, and parsley. Splash in some water, turn the baby on, and then just leave it alone. You can let it go for hours...I let mine cook for about 7 (it was actually done in around 5, but the longer you leave it the more tender it gets). I checked in once or twice just to see how tender the meat was, but there's zero fuss. And it tastes soooo good!! And even better, it made enough for several more days! So I packed up a few individual containers in the fridge and put the rest in the freezer for another time.
After my cooking this weekend, my tummy is a happy camper and I have officially remembered why I love my kitchen. Now let's just see how much the scale liked my kitchen...
Initial weight: 257.2
Week 5: -2.0
Total weight loss: -12.8 lbs
Current weight: 244.4
I'd say the scale likes my kitchen!! Oh, and my new in"cent"ive program has been helping a lot!! I highly recommend...I only added $3 this week, but that's a vast improvement for me. I track pretty much every day, just not necessarily the WHOLE day...so baby steps!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Sack of Potatoes for Sale!!
Week 4...I don't know any week that I actually look forward to weigh in, but this week I seemed to dread it even more than usual. It wasn't because I did badly during the Super Bowl...actually, I think I handled that pretty well. I guess I, for some reason, just felt like it was an "off" week. As I mentioned in my last post, I didn't really feel well on Monday - and Tuesday wasn't a whole lot better. Overall, when you don't feel well you just want to eat comfort food and not worry about how many points they're worth. It's not like I wanted pizza, chips, or candy or anything bad like that. But sometimes you just want to eat whatever is going to make you feel better no matter how good or bad it is for you. So, I did. I figured that if it's what my body was honestly telling me it wanted, and really nothing else sounded appetizing, then I shouldn't deprive myself. I kept things within reason, but didn't really count the points so much. By Wednesday I was back on track, but still had a long way ahead of me. I made my usual choices within my points "budget," however I just still felt off on my weight loss.
Friday I had a friend date at Red Lobster, and I actually was really smart about it! I looked online for a website that calculated the point values for restaurants and looked up the items that I usually choose. Overall, what I normally got wasn't that bad as far as points...the cheesy biscuits, however, were pretty wicked. One biscuit was worth FOUR POINTS!! (for a point of reference, a plain grilled chicken breast is generally worth about three...) I nearly fainted! Now, we didn't go to Red Lobster all that often before this journey, but I could easily put away three biscuits and my meal when we would go. They just taste so good!!! Anyway, I planned out what I was going to eat for dinner, then had myself a light breakfast and lunch just in case. I told myself I was allowed to have one cheesy biscuit and my meal. No drink (other than water or diet coke) and definitely no dessert....don't even get me started on how many points their desserts are worth. I got a garden salad with balsamic dressing on the side and one of my usual dinners which I had preselected. Then I did one of the smartest things I've ever done while eating out. I allowed myself the one biscuit I had planned for...but I waited to eat it until it had gotten a little cold. It still tasted good, but not nearly as good as when they come out fresh, so I wasn't tempted in the least to have another one!!
The weekend was pretty uneventful, though I did do some baking on Sunday. I love to bake! For me, the hard part is not being tempted to eat what you've made, because I genuinely enjoy baking things for other people and not necessarily myself. The hard part happens WHILE I'm baking. Got a little cake batter on your finger? Lick it off. Spill some chocolate on your hand? Lick it off. Pretty soon, you've licked yourself away a ton of points. This was my first time baking sweets since I rejoined Weight Watchers, and I made a serious conscious effort to NOT do that...and it was hard!! I made an absolute mess out of one of my kitchen towels, and I think I washed my hands more during the time that I was baking than I have in any other whole day. But, I did it. And it's the little victories that count. You can't climb a mountain in one leap...you have to take it one step at a time. (I totally just made that up! Though I'm sure someone else has said it before...)
Anyway, the Super Bowl came and went. Like I said, I did pretty well. I ate one slice of pizza. I took some tomato salad that I made and ate that. I had a few slices of celery that someone else brought, though I passed on the buffalo chicken dip that was meant to go with them. I did try a very small amount of an onion dip that a friend brought, but overall I was good at staying away from the dippy things. And my proudest moment...I did not eat any of the extremely delicious looking candied bacon. It sure did its best to call my name, but I crunched out the noise with my celery stick.
Despite making some pretty good choices this week, Monday I just still wasn't feeling it. So I was a bit worried about weigh in, and decided to eat light that day. And, I did something I don't think I've ever done before. Instead of going to eat lunch with my coworker, I went home and got in a quick workout. WHAT?!?! WHO AM I?? Passing up food to work out?? Don't get me wrong, I did eat something for lunch, but it was just a quick bite I ate at my desk after I got back to the office. When I first started this journey/blog, one of my supervisors suggested going for a walk during my lunch hour. I distinctly remember saying to myself..."chyeah right, I like my food too much to pass it up for a walk." Somehow in four short weeks, I've already changed that mentality. Granted, I'm not making a regular habit of it...I still like my lunchtime - and I like using it to socialize with people - but, just maybe it isn't quite so bad to give it up once in a while to get in an extra workout. Then again, I haven't mentioned the best part yet. I BOUGHT A WII!! Frankly, I've been wanting to buy one for, oh, at least a year now, but I finally let myself do it. I bought it earlier in the week, I believe Tuesday evening. I had had the intention of getting the Wii Zumba with it, but they didn't have it at the store when I went to get it. So, I got Just Dance 3 and Dance on Broadway instead...how perfect is that?!?! Dancing game + Broadway Music = MAJOR SUCCESS!! Anywho, I've been playing one of the two games almost every day since I bought it. Such a great way to get in some extra movement. The dances are kind of great and they are so much fun! It's also so much easier to get people to do it with you! If you call up a friend and say, "hey, wanna do a workout dvd with me??" and they're going to tell you that you're crazy. BUT...if you call up a friend and say, "hey, wanna play some Just Dance with me??" They'll be at your place in a heartbeat!!
Back to my Monday, though. So I'm fretting about weigh-in as usual, though maybe worse this time. I had convinced myself that if I lost anything it would only be a little bit, but I probably didn't lose any. Then I started to think about what I would say on my blog if that happened. And what would my faithful readers think if I had a bad week? Then I realized - they would totally be okay with it...and I would be okay too. Sometimes, you will have bad weeks. Sometimes, your body needs to just adjust to what it's going through. Sometimes, your body has a mind of its own. So, I was on my way to my meeting and I was debating on whether or not I would stay because I had to be back on campus by 6:45 for a work thing and my meeting runs from 6-6:30 and I still hadn't even had dinner. I told myself that since I didn't stay for the meeting last week when I was sick, I really needed to stay this time. However, I would sit in the back and leave a few minutes early so that I could grab food and be back on campus in time for my event. I had just pulled in to the parking lot when I got a text from one of my friends wishing me luck on my weigh in and she was just so confident that I was going to hit my ten pounds. I told her thanks but to not get her hopes up because I wasn't feeling it. She said, "Ooo ok. Well fingers and toes are still crossed. I believe!" That one little phrase made me feel so much better. Even if I didn't lose anything, or even gained a little back, I knew that I had people in my corner who would root me on and help me dust myself off and start right back in again. So I went in, went to the bathroom one last time (yes, I make sure that I pee right before I weigh in...every little bit helps!!), and went out to the scale in my shorts and tank top. The leader of my session was weighing me in that day and she asked how my week went. I said, "Eh - it was just okay," but instead of asking me what was wrong, or what was hard about my week, she asked me what was easiest. I was totally thrown off guard. But, it really helped that she wanted to focus on the positive part of my week and not the negative. In a way, it really helped me turn my attitude about the week around no matter how the scale ended up. So, once she was ready for me I stepped on the scale to face the music. Then she said, "looks like you're down another 1.6 pounds - guess your week wasn't so bad after all!" I was shocked! Not only had I lost, but I'd lost another pound and a half AND went over my first ten pounds!! I decided right then and there that I was staying until the end of the meeting because I wanted to get my second five pound star. The meeting was good as usual, I got my star, and then I RAN out the door! Thankfully, there is a Subway right next door to the center, so I grabbed a quick turkey sandwich and was only a couple minutes late...but it was a couple minutes well worth it. Just as a visual to help you all understand how excited I am about this - 10 pounds is a large sack of potatoes. The next time you're at the grocery store, I dare you to pick up a 10lb bag of potatoes and literally carry it around the store. See how long it takes for you to get tired of it, then realize that I have just taken that much weight off of my body.
Initial weight: 257.2
Week 4: -1.6lbs
Total weight loss: -10.8 lbs
Current weight: 246.4
OH...and I want to tell you all about my new in"cent"ive program!! I totally came up with this on my own (though with a small idea from my weekly WW pamphlet). So, the meeting this week was about tracking (writing down everything you eat and how many points you've used)...and frankly, I kind of suck at it. I'm usually good with breakfast, lunch, and snacks...but I get to dinner and I make sure that my points don't go over, but I really suck at actually tracking my dinner every day. Well, in the weekly pamphlet, there was a woman who said she sticks a dollar in a jar every day that she tracks the whole day. Then, she uses that money to buy herself new WW stuff like their snacks, a food scale, a new calculator, a cookbook, etc. That's not so much an incentive for me because I feel like if it's something that I really should have I'm going to get it and not wait until I've tracked long enough to be able to afford it. So I came up with my own in"cent"ive program...with the emphasis on the "cent" since it deals with money. I am going to try the dollar for every day that I actually track, but I'm going to go a step further and also put in money for what I lose every week. One pound = one dollar. So, since I lost 1.6 pounds this week, I now owe my jar (or whatever I decide to use) $1.60. Then, when I have tracked diligently and lost some weight, I will have some extra money to put towards a vacation. And I mean a good vacation...like the Bahamas, or Europe, or some other cool place I've never been before. I love to travel - so I think this is a much worthier cause for my fund. Anyone wanna join??
Friday I had a friend date at Red Lobster, and I actually was really smart about it! I looked online for a website that calculated the point values for restaurants and looked up the items that I usually choose. Overall, what I normally got wasn't that bad as far as points...the cheesy biscuits, however, were pretty wicked. One biscuit was worth FOUR POINTS!! (for a point of reference, a plain grilled chicken breast is generally worth about three...) I nearly fainted! Now, we didn't go to Red Lobster all that often before this journey, but I could easily put away three biscuits and my meal when we would go. They just taste so good!!! Anyway, I planned out what I was going to eat for dinner, then had myself a light breakfast and lunch just in case. I told myself I was allowed to have one cheesy biscuit and my meal. No drink (other than water or diet coke) and definitely no dessert....don't even get me started on how many points their desserts are worth. I got a garden salad with balsamic dressing on the side and one of my usual dinners which I had preselected. Then I did one of the smartest things I've ever done while eating out. I allowed myself the one biscuit I had planned for...but I waited to eat it until it had gotten a little cold. It still tasted good, but not nearly as good as when they come out fresh, so I wasn't tempted in the least to have another one!!
The weekend was pretty uneventful, though I did do some baking on Sunday. I love to bake! For me, the hard part is not being tempted to eat what you've made, because I genuinely enjoy baking things for other people and not necessarily myself. The hard part happens WHILE I'm baking. Got a little cake batter on your finger? Lick it off. Spill some chocolate on your hand? Lick it off. Pretty soon, you've licked yourself away a ton of points. This was my first time baking sweets since I rejoined Weight Watchers, and I made a serious conscious effort to NOT do that...and it was hard!! I made an absolute mess out of one of my kitchen towels, and I think I washed my hands more during the time that I was baking than I have in any other whole day. But, I did it. And it's the little victories that count. You can't climb a mountain in one leap...you have to take it one step at a time. (I totally just made that up! Though I'm sure someone else has said it before...)
Anyway, the Super Bowl came and went. Like I said, I did pretty well. I ate one slice of pizza. I took some tomato salad that I made and ate that. I had a few slices of celery that someone else brought, though I passed on the buffalo chicken dip that was meant to go with them. I did try a very small amount of an onion dip that a friend brought, but overall I was good at staying away from the dippy things. And my proudest moment...I did not eat any of the extremely delicious looking candied bacon. It sure did its best to call my name, but I crunched out the noise with my celery stick.
Despite making some pretty good choices this week, Monday I just still wasn't feeling it. So I was a bit worried about weigh in, and decided to eat light that day. And, I did something I don't think I've ever done before. Instead of going to eat lunch with my coworker, I went home and got in a quick workout. WHAT?!?! WHO AM I?? Passing up food to work out?? Don't get me wrong, I did eat something for lunch, but it was just a quick bite I ate at my desk after I got back to the office. When I first started this journey/blog, one of my supervisors suggested going for a walk during my lunch hour. I distinctly remember saying to myself..."chyeah right, I like my food too much to pass it up for a walk." Somehow in four short weeks, I've already changed that mentality. Granted, I'm not making a regular habit of it...I still like my lunchtime - and I like using it to socialize with people - but, just maybe it isn't quite so bad to give it up once in a while to get in an extra workout. Then again, I haven't mentioned the best part yet. I BOUGHT A WII!! Frankly, I've been wanting to buy one for, oh, at least a year now, but I finally let myself do it. I bought it earlier in the week, I believe Tuesday evening. I had had the intention of getting the Wii Zumba with it, but they didn't have it at the store when I went to get it. So, I got Just Dance 3 and Dance on Broadway instead...how perfect is that?!?! Dancing game + Broadway Music = MAJOR SUCCESS!! Anywho, I've been playing one of the two games almost every day since I bought it. Such a great way to get in some extra movement. The dances are kind of great and they are so much fun! It's also so much easier to get people to do it with you! If you call up a friend and say, "hey, wanna do a workout dvd with me??" and they're going to tell you that you're crazy. BUT...if you call up a friend and say, "hey, wanna play some Just Dance with me??" They'll be at your place in a heartbeat!!
Back to my Monday, though. So I'm fretting about weigh-in as usual, though maybe worse this time. I had convinced myself that if I lost anything it would only be a little bit, but I probably didn't lose any. Then I started to think about what I would say on my blog if that happened. And what would my faithful readers think if I had a bad week? Then I realized - they would totally be okay with it...and I would be okay too. Sometimes, you will have bad weeks. Sometimes, your body needs to just adjust to what it's going through. Sometimes, your body has a mind of its own. So, I was on my way to my meeting and I was debating on whether or not I would stay because I had to be back on campus by 6:45 for a work thing and my meeting runs from 6-6:30 and I still hadn't even had dinner. I told myself that since I didn't stay for the meeting last week when I was sick, I really needed to stay this time. However, I would sit in the back and leave a few minutes early so that I could grab food and be back on campus in time for my event. I had just pulled in to the parking lot when I got a text from one of my friends wishing me luck on my weigh in and she was just so confident that I was going to hit my ten pounds. I told her thanks but to not get her hopes up because I wasn't feeling it. She said, "Ooo ok. Well fingers and toes are still crossed. I believe!" That one little phrase made me feel so much better. Even if I didn't lose anything, or even gained a little back, I knew that I had people in my corner who would root me on and help me dust myself off and start right back in again. So I went in, went to the bathroom one last time (yes, I make sure that I pee right before I weigh in...every little bit helps!!), and went out to the scale in my shorts and tank top. The leader of my session was weighing me in that day and she asked how my week went. I said, "Eh - it was just okay," but instead of asking me what was wrong, or what was hard about my week, she asked me what was easiest. I was totally thrown off guard. But, it really helped that she wanted to focus on the positive part of my week and not the negative. In a way, it really helped me turn my attitude about the week around no matter how the scale ended up. So, once she was ready for me I stepped on the scale to face the music. Then she said, "looks like you're down another 1.6 pounds - guess your week wasn't so bad after all!" I was shocked! Not only had I lost, but I'd lost another pound and a half AND went over my first ten pounds!! I decided right then and there that I was staying until the end of the meeting because I wanted to get my second five pound star. The meeting was good as usual, I got my star, and then I RAN out the door! Thankfully, there is a Subway right next door to the center, so I grabbed a quick turkey sandwich and was only a couple minutes late...but it was a couple minutes well worth it. Just as a visual to help you all understand how excited I am about this - 10 pounds is a large sack of potatoes. The next time you're at the grocery store, I dare you to pick up a 10lb bag of potatoes and literally carry it around the store. See how long it takes for you to get tired of it, then realize that I have just taken that much weight off of my body.
Initial weight: 257.2
Week 4: -1.6lbs
Total weight loss: -10.8 lbs
Current weight: 246.4
OH...and I want to tell you all about my new in"cent"ive program!! I totally came up with this on my own (though with a small idea from my weekly WW pamphlet). So, the meeting this week was about tracking (writing down everything you eat and how many points you've used)...and frankly, I kind of suck at it. I'm usually good with breakfast, lunch, and snacks...but I get to dinner and I make sure that my points don't go over, but I really suck at actually tracking my dinner every day. Well, in the weekly pamphlet, there was a woman who said she sticks a dollar in a jar every day that she tracks the whole day. Then, she uses that money to buy herself new WW stuff like their snacks, a food scale, a new calculator, a cookbook, etc. That's not so much an incentive for me because I feel like if it's something that I really should have I'm going to get it and not wait until I've tracked long enough to be able to afford it. So I came up with my own in"cent"ive program...with the emphasis on the "cent" since it deals with money. I am going to try the dollar for every day that I actually track, but I'm going to go a step further and also put in money for what I lose every week. One pound = one dollar. So, since I lost 1.6 pounds this week, I now owe my jar (or whatever I decide to use) $1.60. Then, when I have tracked diligently and lost some weight, I will have some extra money to put towards a vacation. And I mean a good vacation...like the Bahamas, or Europe, or some other cool place I've never been before. I love to travel - so I think this is a much worthier cause for my fund. Anyone wanna join??
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)