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
Woohoo! Congrats on hitting 10%. I finally made it to five pounds. March was terrible. You are doing such an amazing job!
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