It's Been a While...

I haven't been a good Weight Watcher this year. It's taken me 8 months to lose and keep off roughly 25 pounds when the first 50 came off in 6. Looking back, I can see the mistakes I made--getting careless with 'splurge days' that turned into 'splurge weeks', not tracking, sitting on my butt and not exercising, not weighing and measuring, skipping meetings.

But let's be realistic, this has not been an average year. I've become a mother. I nearly lost my father. I spent 4 weeks on the road this summer. (Did you know that Leah is four months old and has already set foot in 11 states? I don't know anyone else who is nuts enough to attempt that kind of schedule.)

So the past is past. Tomorrow I return to my meetings, I weigh in, and I kick it off again. Nothing is to be gained by beating myself up except extra pounds, pounds which I do not want back. I never, ever, ever want to step on a scale again and see that scary number I saw week one. And I think I'm about halfway to my goal. There's no reason I can't step it up and get to it. I have so many friends on WW now, some here in town, some out of state, some who I see as inspirations, some who view me that way (God help them). I know I can do it.

The time has come to put away the excuses and get to it. My dad's heart attack scared the living hell out of me. I don't want to have one as my own personal wake up call, and I think it would have been a possibility a year and a half ago. I want to keep losing and keep removing that possibility from my life!

Weigh In 6/18

I weighed in on Thursday for my first post-Wii-Active weigh in. I was hopeful, but at the same time, I knew I hadn't been "good" all week either, so I wasn't entirely sure.

I posted good numbers! I was down 1.4 for a total of 76.4 pounds gone. I was very happy with that and will take it and run!

The meeting was about eating breakfast. I hate eating breakfast. Of all the changes I've made on WW, eating breakfast has been the hardest, harder even than exercising. There aren't a whole lot of breakfast foods I like, for starters. Here's a short laundry list of what I do not like: English muffins, eggs, cheese, most dairy products, French toast, melon, coffee, orange juice. See the problem?

I've been sticking to 3 basic things: Nutrigrain waffles (4 pts with a little butter flavored light syrup), WW bagels and LF cream cheese (4 pts), and instant oatmeal (2 pts). It gets mighty boring. But I'm persevering with it. Lately, it's been 10:00 or later before I eat breakfast, but I'm really still making the effort to get it done. I've noticed that when I eat it, it does seem to keep me more on track for the rest of the day and those weeks I eat breakfast, I do better at weigh in.

I still like my Thursdays. The leader is a little sticker happy, she needs no incentive to hand out bravos--this week she gave one to a woman who gained 2 pounds just for having the courage to admit she made banana muffins :-) And she gives them out with a little "Woo hoo!" after each one. It's kind of funny. I kept my mouth shut so I didn't get one this week. But I bet I almost did!

A Preliminary Report on Wii Active

So I've been hearing a lot of buzz about Wii Active by EA Sports. I was getting rather tired of Wii Fit--as much as I enjoyed the 'game' aspect of it, how many times can you do Free Step without going totally crazy? Stepping up and down off the platform for 30 minutes is maddening, but it really was the only way to get a decent work out.

When I hit 75 pounds, I decided I should reward myself and Wii Active immediately sprang to mind. Unlike Wii Fit, Wii Active is relatively easy to find and at my first stop, I was able to get a copy. I bought it Saturday and didn't get a chance to crack it open till Monday. I really didn't know what it was all about, but a friend on Facebook kept posting that she was getting quite a work out using it.

Active comes with a leg band for the nunchuck and a resistance band for arm exercises. When you log on, you create a fitness profile where you put in your height and weight, customize your avatar to look like you, and choose a personal trainer. That's right, I said choose a personal trainer. You can have either a male or female trainer (I chose the female for now), although I'm not really sure why other than the dude looks like a drill instructor and I thought the female would be a little more easy going. Ha ha, I laugh!

Then you can start. There is a 30 day challenge you can do, which exposes you to a variety of different exercises and customizes a workout for you. In addition, you can take daily quizzes and determine if what you're doing away from Active will be affecting your results (for instance, in the lifestyle quiz, it asks you how many sodas you've had to drink versus how many vegetables you've eaten). You can also add in any additional exercise you get away from Active, such as housework, gardening, walking, etc. If you fill out the entire diary each day AND do the corresponding work out, you get a series of trophies in your trophy case. It's funny, but it really does motivate you to do it!

The work outs themselves are strenuous. I have selected a low level of strenuousness not really knowing what I was getting into and am I ever glad I did! These first two days have kicked my butt! The activities include walking, running, lunges, squats, tennis, presses, curls, and more. Yesterday, my arms and knees felt like jelly. Today, my thighs are KILLING me.

The program almost shames you into working hard. It congratulates you when you're doing well, but when you are having trouble keeping a steady pace, it says things like, "Oh well, everyone has hiccups along the way"... I wanted to smash the TV in, as I was running when she said that, and I am not a runner, have never been a runner, and can't remember the last time I ran for any reason.

It gives you a SERIOUS work out--sweat pouring, heart pounding, muscles pushing, serious. I am very, very excited to see where the 30 days puts me out at when I've completed them. Some people are reporting losses of as much as 20 pounds. I'd take half that amount. As you are working, it keeps a running tally in the top corner of the screen of how many calories you've burned during the workout. Today I broke 200. Yesterday I did more than 175. Fantastic!

I'll continue to update as I learn more about this program. I admit, it's fun and it's nice to have instructional videos to show you what to do for each exercise so you do it properly. The only trouble I've had is the squats--my knees just really won't allow it. But you are able to skip any exercises you can't do, so that's nice.

Happy 75!

So this morning I was sitting around and I decided to get on Wii Fit and see what the numbers were looking like. I wasn't too hopeful, but I wanted to see, since I knew this weekend is going to be a minefield of food related issues. Notably lunch today with a friend, dinner out with my sister for a book signing, lunch out tomorrow with a friend, and dinner at Elizabeth's house tomorrow night. But also, we are shuffling Leah off for an overnight with her cousin Friday night, and I just knew how much I would like to sleep in a little bit. (although I probably won't sleep a wink wondering what's going on!)

So I hopped on Wii Fit and the numbers showed a decline of 1.1 pounds. It showed an overall drop of a couple pounds since my last weigh in on 5/30, when I went up 1.4 pounds and decided "SCREW WEIGHT WATCHERS!" (to be fair, we weren't in town last week for my weigh in, since we went to Rhode Island)

So I thought I'd go today. I thought I'd at least get back to 74 pounds and then on the following Saturday I could go again and hopefully hit 75.

So I packed Leah up real quick and we headed over to the center and barely made it in time for the meeting. I stepped on the scale and it showed a 3.8 pound loss for a total of exactly 75 pounds. I was like, "No way!" I mean, seriously, I was SHOCKED.

So I decided to stay and celebrate and get my 75 pound award. This time last year, I attended a Thursday morning meeting and HATED it--it was a huge group and a lot of real chatterboxes taking over the meeting. So I was stunned when I walked in and the room was almost empty. Of the 15 or so people who were there, there were 2 new moms and everyone else was in the 55+ crowd. A woman sat next to me and we got chattering about Leah and stuff and it turned out that her motivation has been flagging. She lives near us on this side of town and we got talking about how we could be motivation buddies for each other, and it just felt so nice to have support bang! right off the bat like that. I've been attending on Saturdays for a year and never once has anyone ever said hello to me.

So the meeting started and it started off with celebrations. When I got my 75 pound award, the place went crazy. It was awesome! The leader, Bobbie, said "This girl has gotten rid of Nicole Richie off her body!" Hilarious! :-)

The meeting was great--everyone, including me, participated in the discussion about getting exercise for free. I really liked Bobbie's style of leadership. When it was over, another lady came over to chat about Leah and Bobbie came over too and we all started gabbing about a million things while Leah contentedly slurped at a bottle and was adored.

Long story short, I'm switching to the Thursday 10:30AM meeting. For one thing, Saturdays at 6:30 just really aren't an option for me any more. It's too early and I'm too tired. I've also been using Saturdays as an excuse not to track or do anything over the weekends, and then the weekends slowly extend themselves into the weekdays, and then it's Wednesday and I'm all "Crap! I have to weigh in in 3 days" and panicking. I think going on Thursday will keep me on track for longer. And now that I have people at the meetings that I am accountable to as well as all of you on line, I feel like it'll be better to go then. So I am really excited about this change! We'll see how it goes.

For now, I'm shooting for my next goal of 80 pounds. I'm going to go looking for Wii Active this weekend, the new add on to Wii Fit. I enjoy Wii Fit, but apparently Wii Active gives you a hell of a work out. I'm also going to dust off Mr. Simmons this weekend and get back into the swing of things. All easier without Leah around. I've got to start exercising when she's napping.

So that's it! I figure I'm at the halfway point to my goal--I wanted to lose about 150-160 pounds. I have my next physical scheduled with Dr. Leonard for September 25th and I'll consult with him about what he thinks I should be shooting for. Hope to see less of myself next week! :-)

It's Been One Year

Today was the last meeting of my first year of Weight Watchers. I ended with a small loss of 0.2 pounds, for a total of 72.6 pounds my first year. Considering my last weigh in and my last time even remotely trying to do anything WW related was on May 2, I'm happy with anything with a minus sign. In case you hadn't noticed, my life got turned upside down a few weeks ago.

So now I start year two. The changes have been many in year one. My mental outlook on life, the way I look, the way my clothes fit, the way I feel physically and emotionally, it's all changed for the better.

I've made many changes, but the two biggest have been:

1. Being conscious of what and how much I eat

2. Giving up high test soda.

It's been a challenge. I just re-read this blog for the past year's entries and a common theme is, "I need to get back to tracking". Guess what? I still need to get back to tracking.

But my view on it is this: A year ago I started. Today, I start over. Forget the 72 pounds in an abstract way--I'm proud that they're gone, but I want to see the number of pounds that'll disappear in year two. I'm curious. I never thought I'd stick with this for this long. I didn't know I had it in me. But I did and I do and I will.

So we'll see what's next on the ole scale! I want my daughter to know that anything is possible--even that which you think is impossible. That she was with me today made it that much sweeter. And I've been banned from returning without her. The ladies love her there. :-) It'll keep me coming at least... And she'll keep me going too.

Weighing In

So I went back to WW this week after another week that I skipped. I honestly don't know how I'm going to get through all this. Exercise? What's that? Ok, not entirely true, I take the Cupcake for a walk every night or else she doesn't sleep. But it's not 30 minutes of brisk aerobic activity or even 30 minutes of steps. This Saturday I am doing the 5K for the momentum challenge--our local foodbank is hosting a 5K and the only registration requirement is a non-perishable food item.

Anway, I had a gain this week, totally expected, of 1.8 pounds. I'm still doown more than 72, so that's good. I'm trying to recommit myself in terms of WW being what I do for me, but the tired mommy me wants quick and easy fixes, healthy be damned.

Still, I'm not giving up, not withh 100 in my sights. So we'll see what happens!

Wow!

Having spent 2 weeks in Maryland, eating out 3 meals a day and making questionable choices often, I am stunned and pleased to announce today's weigh in results as -4.4 for a total loss of 74.2 pounds! HUH!?!?

Seriously, I cannot believe it. Just like that!? It really seems like it was just that easy. So. Freakin'. Crazy!

I wasn't going to go today. I had thought that with so much dining out there was no way I could lose anything, much less the 0.2 I needed to hit 70 pounds. Two things changed my mind.

1. Yesterday, I was packing up and cleaning Tom's place in preparation for our departure. As usual, I was running around in my bare feet, and when I went to his garage, I stepped on something and it embedded itself into my foot. Well, I didn't want to walk on it and force it deeper into my foot, so I started hopping around trying to get to the stairs so I could sit and pull. As I was doing so (and I'm sure looking every bit as foolish as I felt!), my pants fell off. They fell right off! So I thought, "Hmmm, maybe I've done ok after all!"

2. This morning I woke up and put on my weigh in outfit just in case. It felt a little looser than usual, so I decided to get on Wii Fit and see what Wii Fit was saying I'd lost. If the report was good, I'd go to WW. If not, I'd have a week to work on it. Well, Wii Fit reported me as 4.2 pounds less! So I was like, "Hell yeah, I'm going!" Kissed the General good bye and off I went.

Well, when I got there, I didn't think it would be as good as Wii Fit said--after all, Wii Fit allows me to deduct the weight of my clothing. But I was counting on a couple of pounds which would easily put me into the 70's. And did I ever get it!!! I was thrilled, thrilled, thrilled! I got my 5 pound star for crossing 70 and our leader gave me a bravo for doing it under such circumstances!

This is doubly impressive because Easter is my favorite candy holiday (I love me some cream eggs and mini eggs and peanut butter eggs!) and because last night I went whole hog at the Chinese buffet before we came home. I was HUNGRY and I'd been dying for Chinese for almost a week. I even ate those horrible little sugar covered donuts.

So there you have it. I wanted to hit 75 by our anniversary on Monday, and I suspect I might do it, although WW won't see the proof of it till next Saturday. But wow! :-) 74 is an impressive number. I'm proud of myself. Thanks to all who have helped along the way!

Another Pound Gone

This week I lost 1.2 pounds for a total of (are you ready for this?) 69.8. AUGH! Why when I get down to those milestones do I always miss it by the teeniest fraction!? That is so annoying!!!

But honestly, it's cool, I never thought I'd lose 70 pounds. This program is awesome.

Next week, a sticker?! I hope so!

New Progress Photo

I thought I'd post my latest picture since several people commented on the other blog about how different I look. Honestly, I don't see a huge difference, but I notice a difference in my clothing. The clothes I wore today are huge--and when I bought this shirt last May, it was too small, the buttons straining. In fact, this is the first time I've worn it, and now it's too big. Go figure.


Before: February 2008, Savannah GA

Current, March 2009, Fredericksburg VA

Please excuse the hellhole that is our living room. We're attempting to pack in case we get "The Call".

Zippity Do Dah!

There's 20 percent less of me! It's official! :-) I went over 20 percent by 0.6 pounds, my new total now being 68.6 pounds gone. Hot diggity dog!

I didn't think I'd done it, honestly--I've been sick and hardly exercised at all this week, plus two baby showers and a trip to the Cheesecake Factory all were in there, but somehow I managed to lose 2.2 this week. I did track very carefully this week, using the new tracking system they suggested we lax trackers try. This is basically to forget writing down every food stuff and just add up the points on a piece of paper. This has been tremendously satisfactory for me--Even if I have to look up a points value, I just add the number to the total and done! No more being tied to the computer or anything. It's awesome and has really helped me get back on track.

That's it for this week! Hopefully I'll be feeling better soon and will be able to get back on the exercise horse. Actually, Michael and I decided to see how the lost pounds would affect our quest to walk around the block--no matter which way we go around, we hit a big hill to go up one way or the other (we live at "the top" of the street, so going in either direction, we go down and then have to come back up), and last year when I was starting out, I couldn't make it up the hill without huffing and puffing and sometimes having to stop part way. Well no problem this time! Not only was I pretty much in control of my breathing, I didn't need a break! It led me to wonder if I could start jogging a little bit. Not that I want to jog, mind you, but I'd like to try it anyway.

But can I confess? It's felt good to sit on my butt the better part of this week.

A Slight Uptick

So I went up 0.4 this week and I think I know why.

Today's meeting was about moving more. And Vicki, our group leader, said we should be shooting for 1-4 AP's per day, 5 days per week. And if we're getting more than that, we should be eating those points to keep our metabolism fueled.

Well, this week I was damned determined to get my 1.2 pounds gone. And so I very carefully tracked and exercised the hell out of this week. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I earned 10 AP's each. And I didn't eat any of my AP's. Or my 35 weekly points this week either come to think of it.

After those last really good weigh ins, I think the bod is in shock. My 'bad' knee is killing me from all the steps--yesterday I did an estimated 3400 steps in 3 ten-minute blocks, and I did 30 minutes of steps the previous two days, so I'm totally destroyed.

I'm going to go back to taking it a little easier with the AP's and continuing to track. We'll see what happens next week! 1.6 to go :-)

Weekly Weigh In Report

I had a good feeling today when I pulled on my capris. I had a feeling things were going to go well. For one thing, my calves have become rock solid courtesy of step aerobics. My legs are a bit more toned and my pants are fitting a lot less snugly. Plus my shirt felt great too.

Little did I suspect a loss of 2.6 however! This brings my total loss to 66.8. If I lose another 1.2 pounds, I'll have lost 20 percent of my original body weight. That's my goal for this week. 1.2 pounds.

I didn't get to 'claim my fame' today and get my 5 pound star because we had a new lifetime member today, so I'll have to do it next week. I am so excited that things are back on track. I've even found tracking not so onerous this week. I've been planning what I eat more and that's helped. But also, I've been doing pen and paper tracking since I'm tired of typing things in. I will use the computer to look up points if need be, but more or less, I have it in my head what my favorite foods are and I can keep good track.

I've also been making better decisions now. I love Panera's mediterranean veggie sandwich. A whole sandwich is 12 points. I also love their shortbread cookies, which clock in at 3, and their chips, another 3. So I order a half sandwich and then add the chips and cookie to make up for it. With a half a classic cafe salad, it's a more than filling meal and I get all my favorites.

I seem to start panicking when I have less than 20 points left. Even though I know I still have lots of points for dinner when I hit 19, it seems when the magic number pops up, my brain starts thinking HORDE THOSE POINTS! I'm not sure what to do about it--twice this week after dinner I had 5-7 points left and I was like, "Well, now what!? Mini bags of popcorn are only a half a point!" So I'm trying to relax a little bit. I guess I am programmed to eat a big dinner, I dunno, and so when those points start disappearing, I start panicking. Anyone else have this problem? Some people in my meeting start their daily points totals at dinner. After they eat dinner, whatever they have left has to get them through breakfast, lunch, and snacks the next day till dinner again. I've thought about it, since the most points I've ever had for breakfast is 4, and lunch usually hovers between 10-12. I guess the mindset might be different, I dunno.

That's all from here! Let's hope next week is a 1.2!

Just What I Needed!

So I took 2 weeks off, basically. I was so unhappy about that 2 pound gain two weeks ago that I just decided to take a break. I didn't track, I kept on exercising and was careful within reason--you do kind of get a feel for what you can eat after a while. But I also did things like I ate a Cadbury egg just because... And last night for dinner I ate a piece and a half of pizza that I wasn't planning on because I wanted it.

So I weighed in this morning fully expecting a gain and even told the receptionist that I was there to find my new starting point. I do feel re-energized and ready to attack it fresh, but I did need those two weeks off.

And guess what? I lost 4 pounds!!! Yes, that is a two week total, but still, that's a great drop! I am now at my lowest weight in probably 10 years. I can hardly believe it. I hope to lose 0.8 or more this week to get another 5 pound star, but I'm feeling good. I really didn't think I'd have a good loss this week, but there it is.

This week presents challenges. Today we're heading to meet our birthmom and treat her to the Cheesecake Factory (finally what we all decided on--but we'll hit Sabatino's while we're up there waiting for permission to come home). Tomorrow I'm meeting a friend for lunch and we're doing Carlos O'Kelly's. Monday is book club. But I feel confident that I can get it done. After all, look what I accomplished without trying? Time to get back on the horse, track, weigh, measure, and see what's what!

Runnin' Out of Steam

I gained 2.2 this week. Still with a loss of 60.2, which is great. But I'm runnin' out of steam. I'm tired of thinking about what I eat. I sat at the meeting Saturday and thought, "Do I really give a damn if what I have is steamed with butter?" when we were discussing how to eat at restaurants without getting a pile of calories.

I need a shake up. I need to regain that desire to achieve. Because right now, I just want to tuck into a big peanut butter cup sundae at Friendly's and not feel like killing myself with aerobics and guilt afterwards.

I'll be seeing Annette this weekend, so I'm hopeful that seeing her will kickstart my drive again! My new card for the month arrived yesterday, so I guess I'm in it till March, anyway :-)

Another One Bites The Dust

I lost another pound this week for a total of 62.4 pounds gone. This was an accomplishment. I did a LOT of stress eating yesterday, which I hated myself for, but was necessary. I got a stern lecture from the General about it too. Hence why I did all the mad exercising yesterday to make up for it--5300+ steps on Wii Fit step aerobics plus 28 minutes with Monsieur Simmons.

I also had book club this week, which is always a major chow festival. I missed Sarah being there, but was glad her cookies weren't there to tempt me!! I ate a huge piece of cake anyway, but tempered it with fruit on the side. :-)

But actually, I enjoyed the aerobics in the morning. So this week I'm going to try doing the steps for 20 minutes in the morning and then the aerobics with the mister in evening.

The water thing is going pretty well. I haven't been able to totally wean myself from Cherry Coke Zero--I still have one a day, but at least I'm not drinking 4 or 5 a day. The water is presenting the new and interesting problem of me having to pee all the time though. The other day I couldn't make it from VDOT on Rte 17 to the Rte 3 exit, which is all of 3 miles. I had to pull over and use the new welcome center here in Fredericksburg. But at least I got to check it out and it was pretty nice, actually.

So that's it for this week. We'll see where next week leads us. Congrats to Annette who is in the double digits to go before reaching goal and who is starting her leader training!!!

Amen!

I was so disgusted last week with a 0.2 GAIN that I just couldn't post. I was so aggravated at how long it was taking to get to 60 that I was prepared to call it "game over" and move on with my life. But you all know my husband, and he's Mr. Don't Quit, so I persevered.

I was flat out determined to make 60 this week. Wednesday I didn't have time to exercise until 11:30pm, but I did it. Thursday and Friday I did double exercise--Richard Simmons for 30 minutes and Wii Fit step aerobics and jogging for 30 minutes.

This morning I woke up before 6am and I did another 10 minutes Wii Fit. I was hopeful--Wii Fit said I'd lost 2.6, but I don't trust that wily little machine to be in synch with the scale at the WW meeting.

So I drove over there this morning freezing my butt off, and honestly, I didn't feel any different. I just kept praying "Please, I just need to lose 0.6 to hit sixty, that's all I'm asking."

I stepped on the scale and the loss was beyond what I could have hoped--2 pounds even, for a sum total of 61.4. HALLELUJAH! When they announced it at the meeting, the place went crazy. And one guy even came up to me afterwards just to shake my hand and tell me to keep up the good work! What a feeling :)

I spent 3 weeks hovering at 56 and 3 more weeks hovering at 59, and I don't care if I have to kill myself with the aerobics, I don't want to do that again. It's nice to get an idea of what maintenance would feel like, but I don't want to maintain my current weight!! I want to lose it. So time to keep plugging. Plus, I'm a mere 8.6 pounds away from weighing the same as my sister--for the first time in FOREVER. So I gotta teach her who's the boss! (I'm gunning for you, Judith.)

This week, I am going to attempt to join Russell on the "no carb" diet to an extent--I've decided to make soda something I have when I'm out. I drink way too much of it, even the diet stuff. And Cherry Coke Zero has become my new drug of choice. Since we're eating out a lot less, I'm hoping that I can cut my soda intake in half and start drinking a LOT more water. I've got last summer's Crystal Light Lemonade stash in the cupboard, but lemonade seems like such a summertime drink, and it's been so freakin' cold here, I can't even think of drinking it. So water and Fruit20 will be my new beverages of choice for now. We'll see how it goes!

Ummm... No

We were sitting through the meeting today and our leader pointed out the page in the new pocket guide where we can find zero point condiments to add to our foods.

Two of the listed "freebies" were baking soda and baking powder.

When was the last time you thought, "Geez, you know what would be really great on this? A sprinkle of baking powder."

Yeah, me either.

I'll Take It, But I Don't Have to Like It

So, this week I needed to lose one stupid pound to get to 60. And guess what? I didn't. I lost 0.6. Zero Point Six! DANGIT! This sucks!

Yeah, I'm kinda cheesed. I mean, at least I didn't go up, and on the heels of last week's good loss, I kinda thought I'd have less of a loss this week to make up for it, but 0.6!? That's the best my metabolism could do? It couldn't stretch out another lousy four tenths?

Oh well, I'll be celebrating next week instead. This was a hard week--I just read Annette's blog and she said she was hungry this week. Well, so was I. I dipped into the M&Ms on the counter and the Hershey kisses. And I got seriously into oatmeal raisin cookies this week. Why? I dunno, but they tasted really good to me.

Another habit I've noticed that I have is that when I get home and I'm starting to make dinner, I have to eat. I just sit there and snack while I'm cooking. I know full well that dinner will be in x number of minutes, but I'm snacking. So I'm going to try and find something healthy to snack on, since I don't seem able to break that habit--some veggies or something.

Yesterday being in the car so long (I logged 256 miles yesterday--is that ridiculous or what?!), as I was driving home, I was completely exhausted. I stopped over at Sheetz to pick up a caffienated beverage and I got some Sunchips as well, since I hadn't eaten since 11:00 and it was 5:30. I guesstimated correctly the points in the Sunchips, but definitely needed to do more planning, as I wound up with a 0 point soup and salad for dinner. Those soups are actually pretty filling, but watching my husband sink his teeth into a chicken cutlet sandwich made the soup seem like a poor second choice.

Well, we'll see what happens this week. No book club, which should help, as should being able to exercise daily! However, with the 4 day weekend, I'm cooking at least 3 and possibly 4 countries this weekend, so that may well stunt things a bit. We'll see!

WOO HOO!

So, I weighed in yesterday, and didn't get a chance to post until today. I had a very good week last week, dropping 2.8 for a total loss of exactly 59 pounds on the nose. This leaves me with a total of 7.2 pounds to lose before Valentine's Day to reach my mini goal of 10 pounds and only 5 more pounds to hit my secondary goal of 64 pounds lost. After a very slow (but I'm not complaining!) month of December, a bigger drop like this felt great.

Even better, I went shopping at Walmart for our party and decided to grab a cheap pair of jeans while I was in there. On a whim, I bought a pair that was a size smaller than most of my pants and two sizes smaller than what I was wearing at my heaviest weight. I brought them home, put them on, and they fit like a glove!!! I ran downstairs yelling, "I HAVE SKINNY JEANS! I HAVE SKINNY JEANS!" I made the General check 'em out. Wow did that feel good.

I also punched my start numbers and current numbers into the BMI calculator on the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute website. It appears that my BMI has dropped exactly 9 points now. This is also quite exciting.

So, I'm back on the ole horse now full swing into 2009. Things are looking good and feeling great. Today I was running up and down the stairs, hauling boxes of china and Christmas decorations. I didn't notice anything about my ability to do so until my sister stopped me and said, "Last year, you had were out of breath constantly." Wow. Now that's impressive!

Hopefully next week I'll get a nice 5 pound star. My brother-in-law is considering joining up this week, so we talked about it all day today. The General is feeling great too and his pants and shirts are all getting looser every day. I think we're all going to be much, much healthier come the end of 2009!

Mmmmmm-kay

Well, I went to the meeting today with a heavy heart. Confession time: I did not track in December. Oh sure, a day here and there, but mostly I just kind of ate and made best guesses in my head. Not good, but I figured, "Well, it's the holidays."

By and large, my weigh-ins were pretty good. For the month of December, I lost a total of 3.6 pounds. But this week, I even gave up on the guessing. I just wanted to eat me some food. It probably had a lot to do with everyone leaving, the holidays being essentially over, a release of stress, and maybe just a little bit of not giving a damn.

We had tons of Chinese food on New Year's Eve. I made a huge ham and scalloped potatoes for New Year's Day, topped off with a Pepperidge Farm coconut cake--the height of celebrating as far as I'm concerned. I made veggie dip, which Jacalyn helped eat, and though I used FF sour cream and light mayo, I still felt like "eh, whatever" and just ate it. I mean, white and creamy is white and creamy, so it's probably not that great for you regardless. I ate candy. I baked scones and ate them with clotted cream. We had pizza for dinner the last two nights--and at Jacalyn's, I ate a piece of deep dish supreme from Papa John's and I used the garlic butter on the crust. The week was a veritable orgy of good eats.

And I only formally exercised twice.

So this morning I trudged into WW with a heavy heart. Oh, I didn't regret what I'd done, but I had a bad feeling. My main goal on WW has always been not to have to repeat an award. For every five pounds you lose, you get a 5 pound star. And I've never had to re-win the stars before. I just got my 55 pound star a few weeks ago.

Well, guess what? The trend holds. By some miracle, I only re-gained 0.2 pounds, giving me a 2008 total of 56.2 pounds gone. (I am resetting the group total for 2009--so we're all back to square one! Let's see what we can lose in 2009!) I came through the holidays with a total loss of 3.4 pounds. This is nothing short of miraculous. The world did not end because I didn't bake cookies. My world did not end when I didn't bake for work.

But to be honest, my daily points allowance is 34 and I couldn't tell you what 34 points worth of food looks like. So this week, I get back to tracking. Back to daily activity. The people at the meeting rave about what a good walk does for you on a bad day, so if I get into a dark mood--which is almost sure to happen on Monday when I return to work from 2 weeks away--I'm going to take a walk. It's so freakin' freezing that I might have to do it at the mall or something, but I'll do it.

At our meeting, we were encouraged to set a goal for Valentine's Day week, which is 6 weeks away. I think I will set a goal of TRACKING and trying to lose 10 pounds. That's less than two pounds per week, so hopefully I'll be able to get it done. I will go back to guesstimating what we have at book club, and being pretty on target for everything else. The big hurdle will be our Three Kings dinner on the 10th, but I am usually so busy I don't get to eat until dinner, so I'm thinking that might not be an issue either. Plus it's on a Saturday after I weigh in, so I'll have the whole week to work it off. And if that doesn't work, I'll head down to the Mediterranean market on the corner where Eyup takes great delight in telling me how much weight I could lose if I ate there regularly and let him take my self esteem down a few pegs.

All in all, a very satisfactory result after a week of prolonged naughtiness. Back on track, onwards!