Everyone handles stress in different ways - some work out, some get angry, some shut down, and some eat. I've never really considered myself a stress eater. When I'm sitting in my office with twenty million things going on, food is not the first thing I think about. I don't go looking for chocolate.
However...excessive stress takes a toll on my emotions, and I am most definitely an emotional eater. Great day? Let's celebrate by going out to eat or enjoying a piece of cake! Bad day? Treat yourself by enjoying something tasty. Sad? Chocolate might make you feel a little better.
This week has taken a major toll on my emotions - I have run the gamut of them. I've been worried, sad, angry, excited, elated, and just about everything in between. April is always a tough month for work - trying to get everything done by the end of the academic year and getting the halls closed. But, this week has been especially tough with work stuff that I can't really mention at this point in time. It has caused the bulk of my stress, though. Not knowing what the future holds, saying goodbye to some of my students, and dealing with upcoming changes...all on top of an already stressful month. But there were also some definite highs this week. Remember how I mentioned early-on in the journey that I was starting my own in"cent"ive program? Well, I've decided what I'm using the money for...I've added to some other savings and I'm going to London!! An old friend of mine and I secured plane tickets and a hotel this week so it's really happening!
Thankfully, I haven't completely succumbed to the emotional eating that normally would have happened. Now, I didn't always make the best food choices this week, but at least it wasn't as bad as it used to be. Regardless of what the scale says, I know I need to get back on track again this week. The weeks stresses kind of took me by surprise, but I know what I'm in for this week and it will still be a tough one, so I need to prepare myself for that. So, let's see what the scale says...
Initial weight: 257.2
Week 15: -2.0
Total weight loss: -29.4 lbs
Current weight: 227.8
In the spirit of complete honesty, I am quite baffled. I walked into the center assuming that I had gained weight and really just hoping for minimal damage. The receptionist asked me how my week was and I said "not good" - I had decided against using the word "bad" because "bad" would have resorting back to my original behavior, and while I certainly didn't make the greatest choices this week I didn't quite go all the way back to my pre-January behavior. So she asked why it wasn't good and I said my week was busy, stressful, and emotional and she said "all in one week? wow that's rough". As I got up on the scale I said that my week wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it certainly wasn't good. She said, "well you're down so it couldn't have been that bad." I said, "really??" and she said..."yeah, you're down by two pounds." Talk about a jaw-dropping moment!! I was completely floored. Now, as I said before the weigh-in, I know that I can't keep that behavior up, and that I really need to get my butt back in gear. April is arguably our busiest month, and it's certainly proving that true again this year, but I can't put my whole life on hold until this month is over and I need to make sure that I'm taking some time for me.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Okay
Have you ever had a week that was just okay? Not good, not bad, just okay. That's how my last week was - not great, not bad, just okay. This was actually the first week that I've really struggled to write the blog cause I didn't have any super exciting news or insights to share!
Last week at work was not super busy, but it included a few later nights, which took a major toll on my workouts. I started duty again on Wednesday, but I hardly got any calls all week so that wasn't really an issue. I had a banquet to attend on Friday, but we had a reasonably healthy menu and I made some good choices there. My youngest brother came to visit for the weekend, and while we went out to eat several times, and I honestly didn't really count points for what I ate, I made some reasonably good choices. Though he was a little concerned that he was throwing me off and didn't want me to gain weight and it be his fault. I assured him that any choice I made was my own and I would take whatever results came of it. When we went to Cracker Barrel, I chose the chicken over the beef and as soon as it arrived, I cut the chicken in half and pushed one piece away because I knew I wouldn't be eating it. I ate all of my vegetables and half the chicken and felt comfortably full. In the past I would have eaten the whole thing and not blinked an eye...and probably considered getting dessert.
But, like I said, work took a toll on my workouts. Between pulling some later days, having several "after-hour" commitments, and just being overall exhausted, I didn't really get any workouts in. I did get in some walking between meetings and have noticed that I walk to other places on campus more and take the elevator less, which helped. However, there was no traditional "workout."
When it came time for weigh-in, I went not expecting a great one, but confident that it wouldn't be bad. I didn't have the panicked "I hope I didn't gain anything" feeling, but I also knew that it wasn't going to be a stellar weigh-in. I had decided not to stay for the meeting since my brother had stayed an extra day and we invited some of my friends over for dinner. I got there early and it was a different receptionist, but the regular leader was at the other scale. I stepped up on the scale and she told me that I was exactly the same...and I was totally okay with that. Once my leader had finished with the woman she was helping she asked how I did and I told her that I just had an okay week and that I stayed the same, but that that was cool with me. She said, "you've had two really big weeks, it's good to have some stability." And I found that I really agreed.
One of my favorite musicals is "Into the Woods" by Stephen Sondheim. In the show, one of the characters has herself a little romp in the woods with a prince, then he tells her that it was "just a moment in the woods". Of course she sings a song about "moments" in life, and in her song she says, "oh, if life were made of moments, even now and then a bad one! But if life were only moments, then you'd never know you had one." I feel like that's a great comparison to this week. The last few months have been made up of weight loss "moments" some good, and some bad. But sometimes you need to have a week of no moment to help you better appreciate when you do have moments. At some point, it will start getting harder and harder to lose weight. I may not regain the weight, but there will come a time when I'm not losing weight every week. And it's during that time that I will need to remember that it's times like that that will make the "moments" even sweeter. Someday I will start having "just okay" weeks often, but that will make the great moments even greater.
Initial weight: 257.2
Week 14: -0
Total weight loss: -27.4 lbs
Current weight: 229.8
Last week at work was not super busy, but it included a few later nights, which took a major toll on my workouts. I started duty again on Wednesday, but I hardly got any calls all week so that wasn't really an issue. I had a banquet to attend on Friday, but we had a reasonably healthy menu and I made some good choices there. My youngest brother came to visit for the weekend, and while we went out to eat several times, and I honestly didn't really count points for what I ate, I made some reasonably good choices. Though he was a little concerned that he was throwing me off and didn't want me to gain weight and it be his fault. I assured him that any choice I made was my own and I would take whatever results came of it. When we went to Cracker Barrel, I chose the chicken over the beef and as soon as it arrived, I cut the chicken in half and pushed one piece away because I knew I wouldn't be eating it. I ate all of my vegetables and half the chicken and felt comfortably full. In the past I would have eaten the whole thing and not blinked an eye...and probably considered getting dessert.
But, like I said, work took a toll on my workouts. Between pulling some later days, having several "after-hour" commitments, and just being overall exhausted, I didn't really get any workouts in. I did get in some walking between meetings and have noticed that I walk to other places on campus more and take the elevator less, which helped. However, there was no traditional "workout."
When it came time for weigh-in, I went not expecting a great one, but confident that it wouldn't be bad. I didn't have the panicked "I hope I didn't gain anything" feeling, but I also knew that it wasn't going to be a stellar weigh-in. I had decided not to stay for the meeting since my brother had stayed an extra day and we invited some of my friends over for dinner. I got there early and it was a different receptionist, but the regular leader was at the other scale. I stepped up on the scale and she told me that I was exactly the same...and I was totally okay with that. Once my leader had finished with the woman she was helping she asked how I did and I told her that I just had an okay week and that I stayed the same, but that that was cool with me. She said, "you've had two really big weeks, it's good to have some stability." And I found that I really agreed.
One of my favorite musicals is "Into the Woods" by Stephen Sondheim. In the show, one of the characters has herself a little romp in the woods with a prince, then he tells her that it was "just a moment in the woods". Of course she sings a song about "moments" in life, and in her song she says, "oh, if life were made of moments, even now and then a bad one! But if life were only moments, then you'd never know you had one." I feel like that's a great comparison to this week. The last few months have been made up of weight loss "moments" some good, and some bad. But sometimes you need to have a week of no moment to help you better appreciate when you do have moments. At some point, it will start getting harder and harder to lose weight. I may not regain the weight, but there will come a time when I'm not losing weight every week. And it's during that time that I will need to remember that it's times like that that will make the "moments" even sweeter. Someday I will start having "just okay" weeks often, but that will make the great moments even greater.
Initial weight: 257.2
Week 14: -0
Total weight loss: -27.4 lbs
Current weight: 229.8
Monday, April 9, 2012
Holiday! Celebrate!
Holidays aren't easy for anyone, especially not someone who is trying to lose weight. In our quest to spend quality family time during each holiday, our celebrations have almost become more about the meal and less about the meaning behind it. That goes for all holidays. For me, the first major holiday test was this week - Easter. Yes, technically Valentine's Day is a holiday, and it did pose its own challenges, but it's not one that is as focused on large family gatherings. Easter, on the other hand, was a new hurdle.
When I went to weigh in last week, I knew that I had done well. I didn't expect a loss of four pounds, but I was confident that I had lost. I got up to the counter and the leader asked how my week was and I told her that I was sure I did really well. I tracked every day, I worked out almost every day, I was an angel. I stepped on the scale and she had a very serious look on her face - I considered for a moment that I didn't do as well as I felt I did. Then she looked at me and said, "you're down four pounds." I nearly fell off the scale. After discussing the excitement and how close I was to my next goal, she asked, "how does this week look for you?" I hadn't even really thought about the Easter food complications until that moment. But, I said that I thought it would be fine because I didn't have any major plans for the rest of the week except for Easter.
Well, I forgot about another dinner club "meeting". Thankfully, the menu was pretty good. I ate a lot of salad, some plain chicken, a small amount of couscous (my first foray into that - not too shabby and pretty low in points), and a small amount of noodles with peanut sauce. I didn't have the recipe to figure out the points for the peanut noodles, but I had plenty for the day and I made sure that I worked out after I went home. And the best part - I passed on the ice cream sundaes for dessert. I had a small moment of temptation when I saw everyone else eating theirs, but I took a deep breath and it passed. Plus, I got several compliments while I was there - and that definitely helped.
Compliments are a funny thing. They help and hurt at the same time. They help because it's so nice knowing that what you're doing is actually working, and not going without notice. But, they can be detrimental when you start letting them go to your head. I certainly appreciate all the comments and encouragement that people have been giving me. Thankfully, I recognize that I still have a long way to go, so they haven't been hurting so much yet. LOL. Recently, I've heard a number of people use the word "inspiration" when talking about my weight loss/blog. That means more to me than anything, though I know I still have a long way to go. Hearing other people say that they have decided to lose weight too because of being inspired by what I've done is the biggest compliment I could receive. I am truly humbled by that. And, I have to say, that all of you inspire me. After my post last week, my blog hit over 1500 views - some of which are from some really random counties. I have no idea who those people are, but I do know most of you, and knowing that you are all so invested in my journey has helped me stick with it more than I could ever tell you. In class last week we also learned about having an "anchor" - something that keeps you grounded and on track...whether it's a picture of what you used to look like, a piece of clothing you want to fit into, or some mantra that keeps you going. You all are my anchor. Knowing that I have to write this blog every week because there are people who will hound me if I don't, keeps me going and keeps me honest. I easily could have done this and not told anyone, or cheated and gained a little and not shared it, but knowing that I am sharing my success, or failure, every week and that people actually pay attention to it, is so inspirational to me. So, thank you.
In fact, it's what helped me this weekend! Along with Easter and dinner club, my awesome parents also celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary. Those crazy kids actually like hanging out with their children, so I took half a vacation day on Friday and drove home to go to dinner with them and my two younger siblings. We went to Outback and there were soooooo many tasty things on the menu, but I went with the tiny filet and shrimp skewer. There were about four shrimps and some cherry tomatoes on the skewer, a very small lean piece of filet, and a baked potato...which was supposed to come loaded, but I asked for a simple sour cream on the side. When the meal was delivered I was a tiny bit sad at how small the piece of filet was, but it was so delicious. Then, when I finished, I realized that I was quite satisfied. I didn't feel disgustingly full, but I wasn't hungry either. In fact, when they mentioned the possibility of stopping for dessert I thought it would ruin the nice comfortable feeling I had going on. We ended up not stopping anyway, but I was pleasantly surprised at the turn of events.
Saturday I didn't eat much, and we ended up having lean burgers for dinner. I had one burger and some veggies - and when I was still a little hungry, I went back for more veggies instead of the leftover burger. Dad made popcorn that night, which was so good, but I limited myself to one bowl and felt great about it. And, I got Mom to go on a walk with me! Not quite the workout I usually get, but it was some exercise and that's what's important!
Sunday was a little trickier. Now, my family is super supportive, and Mom was even great enough to cook a turkey breast along with the traditional ham. However, breakfast was a bit more tempting. The "church men" were supposed to be making breakfast during normal Sunday School hours...that turned into younger brother, Dad, Mom, and I making breakfast. Mom and I were primarily on prep and setting while the men folk did the actual cooking. But they made pancakes, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, and we had a giant fruit salad. I'm conflicted about how I did. On one hand, I told myself I would only eat one sausage link and one piece of bacon...I had one piece of bacon and three sausage links. On the other hand, I ate two bowls of fruit instead of eating more of the "bad" stuff. At one point, I even started moving bowls around the table just so that the sausage wouldn't be sitting right in front of me anymore! So, I had planned for it to be better, but it could have been so much worse.
Dinner wasn't quite as bad, thankfully. We had ham, turkey breast, mashed potatoes (real ones, not fake ones from a box), snow peas, asparagus, salad, and acorn squash. Older brother was dishing out mashed potatoes and he put a small amount on my plate and asked if that was enough...I looked at it trying to gauge about what the serving size was and said, "ummm yes, for now, thanks" thinking that I would eat what was there and if I felt like I wanted more then I would get more later. Well, older brother didn't quite read my mind and put another dollop of potatoes on my plate and said something along the lines of just saying I wanted more if it wasn't enough. Mom and I laughed and then I explained what I meant...guess that's what I get for assuming people read minds. So I had a small bowl of salad, my dollop of mashed potatoes, a small piece of turkey, a few stalks of asparagus, and some snow peas. Looking at my plate I thought, "just a few months ago this plate would have been completely full of food and right now it's only about 3/4ths full - I think that's progress!" It was even better when I finished my plate and was full - not bursting out of my pants going into a food coma full, but a comfortable full. I waited a little while to digest some before going for dessert. My uncle brought a raisin pie and an apple pie, but I went for the angel food cake Mom made. We even left some strawberries without sugar so that I could add a little sweetener to them instead. And...there was, unintentionally, Lite Cool Whip! I did snag a piece of raisin pie to bring back to school with me, but I didn't want to risk eating it until after I weighed in. I even got back to my apartment with enough time to get in a workout before bed.
I am sooo close to 25 pounds (which is also 10% of my initial body weight) that when a friend tossed me a peanut butter egg last night (with white chocolate...my favorite!) - I literally ducked to avoid it and then threw it back at him. That may have been a little extreme, but I needed it. I feel like I did so well managing this holiday that I don't want to do anything to spoil that. And even if I end up not losing, or even gaining a little, that piece of candy would have made it worse. And being able to say no, and not feel bad about it or like I'm missing out, is the other thing that has been keeping me going.
Initial weight: 257.2
Week 13: -2.6
Total weight loss: -27.4 lbs
Current weight: 229.8
I kicked that 10%'s butt!! As I mentioned a few weeks ago, at Weight Watchers, we like to celebrate achievements. Today, I hit two major ones at the same time...losing 10% of my starting weight and losing 25 pounds. For smaller achievements, like every 5 pounds or the first 5%, you get stickers to add into your weight tracker. For larger achievements, you get something more tangible. For reaching the 10% mark, you get a key chain! It looks like a ten and has some WW symbols etched into it. For other achievements, like 25/50/75 pounds, etc. you get rings to put on your key chain...like the ones I got tonight!
And, as I was reminded by a coworker last week, it's time for an updated picture...and just in case you missed the pictures on Facebook (or if you're those random people who I don't actually know and aren't my Facebook friends...) I cut off my hair! I donated 10 inches of hair to Locks of Love a few weeks ago...so here it is:
Original picture 1/20/12 -10% picture 4/9/12
When I went to weigh in last week, I knew that I had done well. I didn't expect a loss of four pounds, but I was confident that I had lost. I got up to the counter and the leader asked how my week was and I told her that I was sure I did really well. I tracked every day, I worked out almost every day, I was an angel. I stepped on the scale and she had a very serious look on her face - I considered for a moment that I didn't do as well as I felt I did. Then she looked at me and said, "you're down four pounds." I nearly fell off the scale. After discussing the excitement and how close I was to my next goal, she asked, "how does this week look for you?" I hadn't even really thought about the Easter food complications until that moment. But, I said that I thought it would be fine because I didn't have any major plans for the rest of the week except for Easter.
Well, I forgot about another dinner club "meeting". Thankfully, the menu was pretty good. I ate a lot of salad, some plain chicken, a small amount of couscous (my first foray into that - not too shabby and pretty low in points), and a small amount of noodles with peanut sauce. I didn't have the recipe to figure out the points for the peanut noodles, but I had plenty for the day and I made sure that I worked out after I went home. And the best part - I passed on the ice cream sundaes for dessert. I had a small moment of temptation when I saw everyone else eating theirs, but I took a deep breath and it passed. Plus, I got several compliments while I was there - and that definitely helped.
Compliments are a funny thing. They help and hurt at the same time. They help because it's so nice knowing that what you're doing is actually working, and not going without notice. But, they can be detrimental when you start letting them go to your head. I certainly appreciate all the comments and encouragement that people have been giving me. Thankfully, I recognize that I still have a long way to go, so they haven't been hurting so much yet. LOL. Recently, I've heard a number of people use the word "inspiration" when talking about my weight loss/blog. That means more to me than anything, though I know I still have a long way to go. Hearing other people say that they have decided to lose weight too because of being inspired by what I've done is the biggest compliment I could receive. I am truly humbled by that. And, I have to say, that all of you inspire me. After my post last week, my blog hit over 1500 views - some of which are from some really random counties. I have no idea who those people are, but I do know most of you, and knowing that you are all so invested in my journey has helped me stick with it more than I could ever tell you. In class last week we also learned about having an "anchor" - something that keeps you grounded and on track...whether it's a picture of what you used to look like, a piece of clothing you want to fit into, or some mantra that keeps you going. You all are my anchor. Knowing that I have to write this blog every week because there are people who will hound me if I don't, keeps me going and keeps me honest. I easily could have done this and not told anyone, or cheated and gained a little and not shared it, but knowing that I am sharing my success, or failure, every week and that people actually pay attention to it, is so inspirational to me. So, thank you.
In fact, it's what helped me this weekend! Along with Easter and dinner club, my awesome parents also celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary. Those crazy kids actually like hanging out with their children, so I took half a vacation day on Friday and drove home to go to dinner with them and my two younger siblings. We went to Outback and there were soooooo many tasty things on the menu, but I went with the tiny filet and shrimp skewer. There were about four shrimps and some cherry tomatoes on the skewer, a very small lean piece of filet, and a baked potato...which was supposed to come loaded, but I asked for a simple sour cream on the side. When the meal was delivered I was a tiny bit sad at how small the piece of filet was, but it was so delicious. Then, when I finished, I realized that I was quite satisfied. I didn't feel disgustingly full, but I wasn't hungry either. In fact, when they mentioned the possibility of stopping for dessert I thought it would ruin the nice comfortable feeling I had going on. We ended up not stopping anyway, but I was pleasantly surprised at the turn of events.
Saturday I didn't eat much, and we ended up having lean burgers for dinner. I had one burger and some veggies - and when I was still a little hungry, I went back for more veggies instead of the leftover burger. Dad made popcorn that night, which was so good, but I limited myself to one bowl and felt great about it. And, I got Mom to go on a walk with me! Not quite the workout I usually get, but it was some exercise and that's what's important!
Sunday was a little trickier. Now, my family is super supportive, and Mom was even great enough to cook a turkey breast along with the traditional ham. However, breakfast was a bit more tempting. The "church men" were supposed to be making breakfast during normal Sunday School hours...that turned into younger brother, Dad, Mom, and I making breakfast. Mom and I were primarily on prep and setting while the men folk did the actual cooking. But they made pancakes, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, and we had a giant fruit salad. I'm conflicted about how I did. On one hand, I told myself I would only eat one sausage link and one piece of bacon...I had one piece of bacon and three sausage links. On the other hand, I ate two bowls of fruit instead of eating more of the "bad" stuff. At one point, I even started moving bowls around the table just so that the sausage wouldn't be sitting right in front of me anymore! So, I had planned for it to be better, but it could have been so much worse.
Dinner wasn't quite as bad, thankfully. We had ham, turkey breast, mashed potatoes (real ones, not fake ones from a box), snow peas, asparagus, salad, and acorn squash. Older brother was dishing out mashed potatoes and he put a small amount on my plate and asked if that was enough...I looked at it trying to gauge about what the serving size was and said, "ummm yes, for now, thanks" thinking that I would eat what was there and if I felt like I wanted more then I would get more later. Well, older brother didn't quite read my mind and put another dollop of potatoes on my plate and said something along the lines of just saying I wanted more if it wasn't enough. Mom and I laughed and then I explained what I meant...guess that's what I get for assuming people read minds. So I had a small bowl of salad, my dollop of mashed potatoes, a small piece of turkey, a few stalks of asparagus, and some snow peas. Looking at my plate I thought, "just a few months ago this plate would have been completely full of food and right now it's only about 3/4ths full - I think that's progress!" It was even better when I finished my plate and was full - not bursting out of my pants going into a food coma full, but a comfortable full. I waited a little while to digest some before going for dessert. My uncle brought a raisin pie and an apple pie, but I went for the angel food cake Mom made. We even left some strawberries without sugar so that I could add a little sweetener to them instead. And...there was, unintentionally, Lite Cool Whip! I did snag a piece of raisin pie to bring back to school with me, but I didn't want to risk eating it until after I weighed in. I even got back to my apartment with enough time to get in a workout before bed.
I am sooo close to 25 pounds (which is also 10% of my initial body weight) that when a friend tossed me a peanut butter egg last night (with white chocolate...my favorite!) - I literally ducked to avoid it and then threw it back at him. That may have been a little extreme, but I needed it. I feel like I did so well managing this holiday that I don't want to do anything to spoil that. And even if I end up not losing, or even gaining a little, that piece of candy would have made it worse. And being able to say no, and not feel bad about it or like I'm missing out, is the other thing that has been keeping me going.
Initial weight: 257.2
Week 13: -2.6
Total weight loss: -27.4 lbs
Current weight: 229.8
I kicked that 10%'s butt!! As I mentioned a few weeks ago, at Weight Watchers, we like to celebrate achievements. Today, I hit two major ones at the same time...losing 10% of my starting weight and losing 25 pounds. For smaller achievements, like every 5 pounds or the first 5%, you get stickers to add into your weight tracker. For larger achievements, you get something more tangible. For reaching the 10% mark, you get a key chain! It looks like a ten and has some WW symbols etched into it. For other achievements, like 25/50/75 pounds, etc. you get rings to put on your key chain...like the ones I got tonight!
Original picture 1/20/12 -10% picture 4/9/12
Monday, April 2, 2012
Getting Back on Track
Some weeks I consider blogging more than once, but I don't want to overload people with my random thoughts. This has been one of those weeks. Several times this week something has happened that I thought, "oooh that would be a good blog topic this week"...so, instead of writing multiple times this week, I decided to kind of combine several of them because they all have to do with getting back on track.
The last few weeks I've done okay, but not what I would call "well." Don't get me wrong, I am pleased with the progress that I've made, but for the last few weeks every time that I went to weigh in I had that nervous "I could have done better, I hope I didn't gain weight" feeling. I started reverting back to the weighing myself throughout the week habit and freaking myself out again. After last weeks meeting, I took a hard look at what was different. In being really honest with myself, I admitted that while having a couple of busy weeks, I wasn't paying as much attention as I could have. I wasn't working out as much as I should have, and I definitely wasn't tracking my food as much as I should. For the most part I was being aware of what I was putting in my mouth and mentally keeping track, but I wasn't writing it down and I wasn't making sure I got all my fruits/veggies/dairy in. I admitted that I had gotten a little lazy and I needed to get myself back on track...no pun intended.
This week was pretty busy too, but I was determined to get in workouts and track all my food. For the last few weeks I'd mostly been doing workouts on my yoga ball with the occasional evening of Just Dance 2 (a friend loaned it to me and I thought it would be a nice change of pace). This week, I got back to dancing every day and went back to my JD3. Then another realization hit...slacking off on working out takes its toll on you quickly! I wasn't getting as much of a workout with JD2 as I had been with #3 - it is a nice pace changer every once in a while, but I get much more out of #3. Some of the songs that I had been getting 5 stars on (based on the points you score, you get ranked from 0-5 stars), I was only getting 3 or 4 stars on. That was quite the kick in the pants. Even before my slip, I would dance for about an hour, but had a small break in between each song while I looked for the next one to do. This time, I decided to start using the "non-stop shuffle" button. It automatically goes from song to song with no break in between so I'm getting more out of my hour.
I also found that it's true that sometimes good things come to those who wait. Thursday night, one of the student groups I advise had a big event that I needed to attend. I was at work a little late, so when I went home I decided to work out instead of eating dinner right away, despite being really tired from a late night duty call the evening before. I thought I had time to do both, but it turned out that I didn't. Luckily, the event was being held in one of the dining halls and I knew that I would have just a few minutes to grab some food before they closed. The only part of the dining hall that was left open was the grill so I had resigned myself that the only things left would probably be cheeseburgers, cheese steaks, or chicken tenders. I had points left, I hadn't used any of my "extra" weekly points, and I had just earned some new ones by choosing the workout, so I wasn't too worried about having to eat something not so healthy. However, I was pleasantly surprised that when I got there they still had the evening special left...filet mignon, broccoli, and a baked potato. Heck yes!! I mean, that would be awesome any day, but to have that option instead of the cheeseburger...I was in heaven...and it tasted like it, too!
Tracking had become one of my worst enemies...I haven't tracked well since the first time I did Weight Watchers when I was in college. I didn't really know how things worked back then and I was an AVID tracker because I thought that at some point they were going to ask to see it. And for some reason, I believed that for months. Once I realized that that would never happen, it just went downhill from there. This week, however, I have been a tracking angel! For, probably the first time since I began this journey, I have honestly tracked every single day this week. (Guess that's $7 more for my vacation fund!)
Here's to hoping that it pays off!
Initial weight: 257.2
Week 12: -4.0...yes, you read that right...I lost FOUR POUNDS this week!!
Total weight loss: -24.8 lbs....SOOO close to 25!!
Current weight: 232.4
If that isn't motivation to keep working out and keep tracking every day, I don't know what is!!
The last few weeks I've done okay, but not what I would call "well." Don't get me wrong, I am pleased with the progress that I've made, but for the last few weeks every time that I went to weigh in I had that nervous "I could have done better, I hope I didn't gain weight" feeling. I started reverting back to the weighing myself throughout the week habit and freaking myself out again. After last weeks meeting, I took a hard look at what was different. In being really honest with myself, I admitted that while having a couple of busy weeks, I wasn't paying as much attention as I could have. I wasn't working out as much as I should have, and I definitely wasn't tracking my food as much as I should. For the most part I was being aware of what I was putting in my mouth and mentally keeping track, but I wasn't writing it down and I wasn't making sure I got all my fruits/veggies/dairy in. I admitted that I had gotten a little lazy and I needed to get myself back on track...no pun intended.
This week was pretty busy too, but I was determined to get in workouts and track all my food. For the last few weeks I'd mostly been doing workouts on my yoga ball with the occasional evening of Just Dance 2 (a friend loaned it to me and I thought it would be a nice change of pace). This week, I got back to dancing every day and went back to my JD3. Then another realization hit...slacking off on working out takes its toll on you quickly! I wasn't getting as much of a workout with JD2 as I had been with #3 - it is a nice pace changer every once in a while, but I get much more out of #3. Some of the songs that I had been getting 5 stars on (based on the points you score, you get ranked from 0-5 stars), I was only getting 3 or 4 stars on. That was quite the kick in the pants. Even before my slip, I would dance for about an hour, but had a small break in between each song while I looked for the next one to do. This time, I decided to start using the "non-stop shuffle" button. It automatically goes from song to song with no break in between so I'm getting more out of my hour.
I also found that it's true that sometimes good things come to those who wait. Thursday night, one of the student groups I advise had a big event that I needed to attend. I was at work a little late, so when I went home I decided to work out instead of eating dinner right away, despite being really tired from a late night duty call the evening before. I thought I had time to do both, but it turned out that I didn't. Luckily, the event was being held in one of the dining halls and I knew that I would have just a few minutes to grab some food before they closed. The only part of the dining hall that was left open was the grill so I had resigned myself that the only things left would probably be cheeseburgers, cheese steaks, or chicken tenders. I had points left, I hadn't used any of my "extra" weekly points, and I had just earned some new ones by choosing the workout, so I wasn't too worried about having to eat something not so healthy. However, I was pleasantly surprised that when I got there they still had the evening special left...filet mignon, broccoli, and a baked potato. Heck yes!! I mean, that would be awesome any day, but to have that option instead of the cheeseburger...I was in heaven...and it tasted like it, too!
Tracking had become one of my worst enemies...I haven't tracked well since the first time I did Weight Watchers when I was in college. I didn't really know how things worked back then and I was an AVID tracker because I thought that at some point they were going to ask to see it. And for some reason, I believed that for months. Once I realized that that would never happen, it just went downhill from there. This week, however, I have been a tracking angel! For, probably the first time since I began this journey, I have honestly tracked every single day this week. (Guess that's $7 more for my vacation fund!)
Here's to hoping that it pays off!
Initial weight: 257.2
Week 12: -4.0...yes, you read that right...I lost FOUR POUNDS this week!!
Total weight loss: -24.8 lbs....SOOO close to 25!!
Current weight: 232.4
If that isn't motivation to keep working out and keep tracking every day, I don't know what is!!
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