Woo-Hoo!

I lost another 2.2 this week, so I've now lost 20.2 pounds! YES!!! I received another 5-pound sticker, so I have 4 of them in my book now. My goal for next week is to lose at least 1.8 more so I can make my 10% goal. I really want to get the keychain for my birthday, which is the day of the next meeting. =)

I had a NSV last night at Famous Dave's. For my side orders, I asked for baked beans and green beans, but when it came out, they had given me baked beans and STEAK FRIES ! I LOVE their steak fries, so it would've been easy to just say "ah, what the heck..." and ate them, but I told them of the mistake. Instead of taking the whole plate back, they left the fries and brought out a dish of green beans. I didn't want the fries on my plate, so I put them all on the little plate that the green beans came on! Victory! I ate all of the green beans and baked beans, but only half of my salmon. I'll have it for lunch today.

So 2007 is coming to a close. I'm hoping that my weight loss in 2008 is as successful as the last 7 weeks of 2007 have been!

Below is an updated progress chart.

Christmas Update

I was very worried about Christmas and the days leading up to it. We went to my parent's house Saturday morning and came home last night. In preparation, I packed some of my own food (popcorn, V8, apples, chicken salad mixture and oatmeal) and took it with me.

I told my mom that I was on WW and she was pretty supportive. I asked if she still had her old diet scale, and she did, so I was able to weigh my food and stay within my portions.

I tracked everything I ate, the best I could. Here are some of the foods that I ate while home: chili, chicken noodle soup, french dip sandwich, pork sirloin roast, and boiled potatoes.

For Christmas dinner I had everything I normally have, except I took more turkey and less of the other things. I took just enough of the 'sides' to amount to 3 bites (a helpful hint from last week's meeting). So I had turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes & gravy, sweet potatoes, and corn. I also had one piece of the pumpkin dessert I made, too. Other than that dessert, I had one cookie and a piece of peanut brittle...which were both on Saturday evening.

I am really surprised that I didn't give into temptations while I was home. I think it was mostly because I knew that if I did, my mom would think "she's not doing so well on this 'diet' thing" and I didn't want that.

We got back to Lincoln around 7:00 last night and decided to have a frozen pizza for dinner. I had two slices and dipped into my flex points to do so. But hey, that's what they're for, right?

Anyway, I stepped on the scale this morning just hoping that I maintained and not expecting to lose. To my surprise, I lost a little while being out of town!

I'll post again after this Saturday's weigh-in.

Six Weeks...

...and I have lost 18 pounds! I am getting close to my 10% goal...only 4 more to go. I am very proud of how well I've done (not to gloat or anything, but....).


I am just now getting around to updating this since we headed back to McCook for Christmas as soon as I got home from my meeting.


Below is an updated progress chart.

Great Week!

I just got back from weigh-in and I've lost another 3.2 pounds for a total loss of 16.8 pounds! I got another '5 pound loss' sticker at the meeting, too.

I am surprised I lost so much this week. Yesterday was our holiday party and we had mexican food. I had some of the ticoritto supreme and boy was it yummy! I didn't go overboard though.

It would be great if I could lose the same amount this coming week as last, because then I would be at 20 pounds lost by the time we go home for Christmas!

We'll see...one day at a time. Below is an updated progress chart.

Bits & Pieces -- long post, be warned!

I know I still have a long journey ahead of me, but I am so proud of how I've done so far. My only regret is that I wish I had joined WW much earlier! The past 4 1/2 weeks have been relatively easy. I hope I don't jinx myself by saying that!

Below are just some random tellings and thoughts...

Last night one of our neighbors brought us a little bag of homemade cookies, so I splurged and had a chocolate chip one (I had to dip into my flext points since I was out of daily points...it was 9:45 p.m. when she came over!). It was really, really yummy...except that it gave me an instant tummy ache! And it was so sweet that it actually hurt my throat! I know that sounds weird, but it happens when I eat super sweet stuff. So I guess it's obvious that my body isn't used to that kind of stuff any more.

I used to hate the taste of the low sodium V8. I decided to try it again though and now I like it! I don't even notice that it's not as salty. I also discovered that I was figuring the points wrong for my 2 cups that I bring to work for a morning break. I had been tracking it as 2 points, since when I figured it for 1 cup, it was 1 point. So I doubled the points since it was double the amount. Yesterday I calculated it for 2 cups and it is still just 1 point! I drink it every morning at 10 a.m. and it fills me up enough to hold me over to lunch. Plus, it counts as 4 vegetable servings. So between that and my daily cup of orange juice with breakfast, I have my 5 servings of F & Vs in by noon!

I also discovered some raspberry flavor packets to add to water. They are delicious! I drink plain water during the day at work (68 ounces), but I add the flavor occasionally in the evening. I have a couple in my purse, too, for when we eat out. I can order water, then add the flavor to it and it seems like a treat!

The other thing which has helped me a great deal is the little notebook I bought. I have a section on "Points" where I write down common stuff. I include the brand, serving size, and points value. It's easier to refer to the notebook than have to recalculate all of the time. I also have a section of "Recipes." Again, it's easier to refer to that than have to keep track of printouts from the WW web site.

I have also created my own yummy chicken salad sandwich recipe. I use fat-free mayo, fat-free ranch dressing, a little bit of garlic salt, celery, and apples. It's only 2 points for 1/3 cup. This last time I also threw in some slivered almonds. It bumped it up to 3 points, which still isn't bad.

I found a new bread that is only 1 point for 2 slices! The other bread I was using was 2 points per slice! OUCH! So my sandwhiches had 4 points alone in just the bread...now they will only have 1 point! That's a huge points savings!

Well, I've rambled enough. I'll post again after weigh-in this Saturday!

4-Week Mark

Well, I joined WW 4 weeks ago today and so far I've lost 13.6 pounds! I'm happy with that amount. Hopefully next week I'll get my 15-pound sticker!

I am 8.4 pounds from hitting my initial goal of 22 pounds (10% mark). I had wanted to hit it at the December 22 weigh-in, but that's just 2 weeks away....so I am pretty positive that I won't reach it. But that's okay...slow and steady is fine. Perhaps by my birthday I will attain it...that gives me 4 weeks from today to lose the 8.4 pounds. That seems more doable.

I have a few things I need to highlight:

1. I have not had a SINGLE tootsie roll since joining WW! This in itself is a huge accomplishment for me.


2. The first box of Christmas chocolates arrived yesterday and I resisted my co-worker's offer to choose one. Do you know how hard that was?!


3. It has been 4 weeks since I've had a french fry! And really, I haven't even been tempted to ask DH to have one of his!

We're going to a wine tasting party tonight and besides the wine, there will be lots of munchies. I plan to eat some soup or something ahead of time so I'm not starved when I get there. It's going to be just red wine, which I'm not really into....but the good thing about it is that I won't drink as much.

That's all for now. Below is an updated progress chart...I'll be using this format from now on instead of the one from WW's site. This shows the weight dropping better!

Not Worth the Points!

Okay, so my husband and I caved in and went to our favorite Mexican restaurant on Wednesday night for dinner. We used to go there every single Wednesday or Thursday, but we hadn't been there since the beginning of November (before WW).

I had about 8-10 tortilla chips with salsa and my usual tostada with rice and beans. In the past, I would snarf it all down, even if I was full half-way through. This night, it just didn't do much for me. I don't know if it was that I was feeling guilty for eating something so unhealthy, or because of my cold my tastebuds are off. For whatever reason it was just so blah! Maybe it's also because we've been cooking more using really fragrant ingredients....garlic, onion, cilantro, etc.

I only ate about half of the rice and beans, and also left about 4 bites of the tostada. I also skipped the margarita and opted for a diet soda instead.

I am having dinner with my girlfriends Monday night at another Mexican restaurant, owned by the same people as the other place. I'll order something else and see if tastes better now that I'm getting over my cold a bit. Perhaps it's just that my tastes have changed.

Tomorrow is weigh-in. I'm expecting about a 1-pound loss. That's better than a 1-pound gain!

A Little Loss

Weight Watchers was closed Saturday due to the weather, so I weighed at home in my "weigh-in" outfit. My scale said I was 209.0 with my clothes on, so that is the amount I entered for my progress chart. It's only a loss of 1.6 pounds, which I was disappointed in. However, I knew that my losses would start getting smaller after the first couple of weeks. They say to expect to lose .5 to 2.0 pounds per week, so I guess 1.6 is actually pretty good. I've now lost 11.2 pounds over the last 3 weeks. Not bad.

I got sick over the weekend with tonsilitis. I'm on an antibiotic and feeling a bit better, but still not back to normal yet. I didn't eat much yesterday until dinner. We had alfredo linguini (whole wheat) with chicken, shrimp and broccoli.

My progress chart is below. By the way, the red star represents my first 5 pound loss; the pink star represents an additional 5 pounds.

More Reasons

Every now and then I think of reasons I want to lose weight, so I decided to jot some of them down as a reminder to myself.

1. OFFICE CHAIR: My butt just about doesn't fit! This is a chair that when I first got it, I referred to it as a "big butt chair" and now my butt touches the sides of the arm rests! I used to fit in it much better.
2. CLOTHES SELECTION: I want to be able to shop at ALL stores and not just "big girl" stores like Lane Bryant and Avenue. I see cute clothes hanging in the mall windows but I'm unable to shop there.
3. SHOPPING: My mother-in-law has asked a few times if she could take me shopping to buy me a new outfit, and because of my size, I've told her "no, thanks...I'm not much into clothes shopping." When I was thinner (back at 150) I liked to go shopping because I actually fit into clothes at any store. I hate it now and I'd be too embarrassed trying on clothes for her to see. So, once I get smaller I will tell her I'll take her up on that shopping spree offer!
4. LESS PAIN: I want my feet and knees to hurt less.
5. LESS HUFFING-&-PUFFING: I don't want to be winded any more walking from the parking lot to my office.
6. STRAIGHT LINE: Okay, so this one is kinda funny. What I mean by "straight line" is this....when I stand and look at myself sideways in a mirror NOW, my boobs stick out farther than my face and my butt sticks way out from my back. After I loose weight, I want my face to enter the room before my boobs! And I don't want my butt exiting the room 10 seconds after the rest of me! I want to look like a straight line rather than a scribble. =)
7. PICK ME UP!: I want my husband to be able to pick me up if he so desires. You know, like to carry me to the bedroom or something like that! =)

That's all I can think of right now. I'll blog after weigh-in this Saturday. I think I've only lost a pound or two so far. But that's better than gaining, right?

Another Good Week!

Weigh-in was this morning and I'm down another 4.6 pounds for a total loss of 9.6 pounds in 2 weeks! GO ME!!!

I did well on Thanksgiving, only going over my points by 4. That darned slice of apple pie did me in! I also splurged and had 2 glasses of wine.

I really want to reach my first goal of 10% weight loss by Christmas, and I think I stand a good chance at attaining it. I have 12.4 pounds to go, and I have 4 more weigh-ins before the 25th. It sounds doable, doesn't it?

We took Wrigley for a walk last evening and again this morning. I would like to take her for a walk every day, no matter the weather. She needs excercise, as do we.

That's it for now. My progress chart for week 2 is below.

Change of Plans

Due to a family emergency, we will be hosting Thanksgiving at our house instead of driving to Iowa.

Now I will be able to weigh-in this Saturday and not have to skip a week. I will also be able to make some food that I can snack on. I will definitely make a veggie tray and I'm going to look through Weight Watchers online and their Turnaround cookbook to see if I can come up with an idea for a salad (to impress the mother-in-law). I also plan to make the green bean casserole per the recipe Joanne gave us at last week's meeting. That'll cut some points off of it.

So now I'm not so worried about over-eating since I'll be on my "turf" and will have access to good, healthy stuff. Plus, since we won't be going out of town, I'll be able to continue calculating and tracking my points.

I'll post again after weigh-in!

I Got the Smile Stick!

Yesterday was weigh-in and get this....I lost 5 pounds! In the first week! YES! My leader was super excited for me and during the meeting I was awarded the Smile Stick! I also got my "5" sticker to put in my book that shows I've lost that many.

Last night we had my family over before the game and my mom had bought 2 frozen pizzas, cinnamon breadsticks, and regular garlic breadsticks. While at the store I suggested picking up some salad so I'd have something to fill up on. I also cut up 2 red peppers and 1 green pepper for a quick veggie tray. I still had 2 small pieces of pizza (thin crust), but I skipped the breadsticks. The pizza slices were 7 points each, but I still stayed within my 28 points for the day. Okay, technically 29 since I splurged and had a glass of wine. So I used one of my bonus points.

I'd have to say last night was my first test, given that I love pizza! But I handled it very well. Thanskgiving is next week so hopefully I can continue to make good choices. I don't weigh-in again until December 1st (2 weeks) so my goal is to have lost at least 6 more pounds. However, 10 would be even better!

Here's my progress chart for week 1.

Go Me!!!

I am super PROUD of myself! Here's why:

1. I haven't had ANY tootsie rolls this week! That is a HUGE accomplishment because there is a candy dish on my desk ledge that ALWAYS has tootsie rolls in it. In the past, on AVERAGE, I would have 8 pieces each DAY. Some days even more. I used to eat them when I had a hunger pang. So to not have ANY all WEEK....that's HUGE for me! =)
   
2. My boss just walked by with a basket of mini candy bars and offered me one. I said "no thanks"! That was a tough one because it's about time for my 3:00 snack (light mozzarella string cheese stick) so that took extra willpower! =)

Tomorrow is weigh in. I'm actually looking forward to it!

Holiday

I had today off for Veteran's day and well, I didn't do much! I like days when I can just veg and relax. After Bill went to work, Wrigley and I napped on the couch till 9:00. We went for a 20-minute walk a little bit later. We would've went longer, but it was pretty chilly. After that we just laid around and watched tv the rest of the day.

I made some chicken salad for lunches and put celery and apples in it. I had some for lunch today in a tortilla. The bites of just the tortilla weren't the best, but the ones with the chicken salad were really yummy.

So far things are going well. I know today is only the 3rd day, but I feel like I'm doing a good job. I haven't cheated yet, and considering I was home all day near lots of food, I didn't! I really think the workweek will be easier since I won't have a refrigerator in the next room. I'm actually looking forward to going to work tomorrow so I'm not tempted.

That's all for now....

I joined!

Well, I walked through the door at Weight Watchers, which is the first step. I was introduced to the evil scale, which read 220 pounds...exactly what I figured it would say. My first goal will be to lose 10% of my weight, which will be 22 pounds. After I reach that (198) I will choose my "ultimate goal" which is based on the WW healthy weight range chart, which goes by BMI. Since I'm so gosh darn short, mine seems unattainable at this point...117-146. I would be thrilled to get down to 150! That's what I weighed 4 years ago and I thought I looked good (even though I would still be 'overweight') according to their chart. I'll worry about setting the ultimate goal AFTER I reach the 22 pound loss.

I'm laying it out there

Okay, so I'm completely fed up with my weight. I've been upset about it for awhile, but I guess what "took the cake" was not fitting into my favorite winter coat earlier this week. I'm planning to join Weight Watchers this weekend. I have a lot of weight to lose, so I know that this isn't going to be an easy journey. But the longer I wait to start...the harder it will be.