SAT STATS

• Target Points: 26
• Points Actually Used: 28
• Weekly Points Allowance Remaining: 17.5
• Activity Points Earned & How: 180 min leisure walking; 20 min brisk walking; 30 mins of AWESOME stretching. APs earned: 11
• Daily Steps Taken: 14241
• Ounces of H2O: 120/105 oz.
• Daily Vitamins Taken? All 5.
• Fruits & Veggies: 7/5
• Healthy Oils: 2/2
• Protein: Tuna steak, black beans, almonds, Kashi & dairy
• Whole grains: 2.5 (100%)
• Dairy: 4/2
• Weekly Non-Scale/Behavioral Goals:

1. Prepare for Holidays! <-- NO AGAIN! I must make lists & buy ONE gift at least TODAY!
2. ME Time! <-- Played on computer & watched a movie while exercising before work.
3. SLEEP! <-- YAHOO! 5 HRS! 3 of them IN BED! 17 more days to a HABIT!
4. Early/Regular meals & h2o.  <-- Didn't start eating until close to 3 PM. NOT GOOD! I slept in, but nowhere close to 3! Started w/ good protein, though, then pretty much constant eating until dinner to hit TPs. Late night helpful pre-sleep snack. Still BOT w/ water, but lost 32 oz cup & 20 oz one made it harder.

Rant and Coming Soon

RANT: I seem to have a bug up my you-know-what today, and since I have already ranted on the WW boards & just found myself ranting in Julie's blog, I think I'd better get it out in my OWN blog, since my comment to her was longer than her post! Actually, I said it all here at the Weight Watchers Boards. I hope not to offend anyone, but I think I hit a wall today. Feel free to click if ya want. (Hope it works -- didn't tinyurl it.)

NEW TOPIC: I really haven't said much about myself except what I've eaten, not eaten, weighed, gained, lost, blah blah blah. I’ve not said much about ME in this blah-g besides the list above, and I already do that elsewhere.

That wasn't really the point of me taking on this blog, since a monkey can follow a food plan for a while. I'm interested more in WHY I eat, WHY I am so whacked out, WHAT brought me to WW & Extrapounds.com.

My interest in blogging was hopefully to help me learn more about the INNER workings of ME: my brain -- the part that kept me from losing before, is scared sometimes of losing now, the part that is addictive and scary & a true saboteur. There's also the part that can't WAIT to be thin so I can get hollow compliments that are totally meaningless from truck drivers and construction workers. There's a part of me that thinks when I'm thin, I may just walk around naked ALL the time! These are the things I want to blog about really; so even though I will continue to post my daily stats for The Red Team, I also will begin, perhaps tomorrow, with the LONG post (don't worry, I'll break it up into readable portions) that I started earlier called, Ella: A Cautionary Tale. I may change the name. Anyway, it's basically the back-story of my entire life & how I ended up here. Since I'm chubbier than many of you and older than most of you, it's LONG! Moreover, I'm long-winded. But it's a tale that needs to be shared, just for me if nobody else, because I think there's a lot of stuff in there that needs to see the light of day before it's gonna be finished or even begun, and then out of the way of TRUE lifelong change.

So I'm gonna get all flakey on you guys for a few days. Forgive me if it bothers you, but you are not required to read. I, however, need to do this for me, just as I need to lose weight, take time to exercise, spend $ on healthy food, etc. It's time to take care o' Ella for a while. Besides, you may even read it. That'd be cool.

See you all tomorrow -- Ella
(who feels so full from her pumpkin shake that it's hard to believe she's shrinking as we speak.)

FRIDAY STATS

Yesterday's Stats for the Biggest Loser Challenge & I'll come blog when I get a chance!

So my TEAM knows what I've been up to, here's what will be listed DAILY for the previous day:

• Target Points: 26
• Points Actually Used: 32
• Weekly Points Allowance Remaining: 17.5
• Activity Points Earned & How: 150 min walking, leisure; 20 min strength training--free weights.
  APs earned 8
• Daily Steps Taken: 12028
• Ounces of H2O: 212/105 oz. <-- Thirsty from salt & alcohol!
  
• Daily Vitamins Taken? All 5.
• Fruits & Veggies: 6/5
• Healthy Oils: 2/2
• Protein: Quinoa, eggs, Kashi & dairy
  
• Whole grains: 2 (100%)
• Dairy: 3/2
• Weekly Non-Scale/Behavioral Goals:

1. Prepare for Holidays! <-- Nope & ALL I wanted to do was make lists of supplies/materials needed for homemade paper/gifts, etc! Grr. Every spare min was spent marching. (Friday -- WORK ALL DAY & NIGHT!)
   
2. ME Time! <-- THREE (3!) hrs of haircut, highlights,  wash, rinse, condition, blowdry...; nice/quick visit w/ friends (declined their fattening dinner & went along to work like a good girl!)
   
3. SLEEP! <-- YAY! I keep doing it. Another 8 EIGHT HRS in BED! I dunno what's happening, but I'm sleeping (albeit still with RX help to get me there) & going BACK to sleep when I wake up! 18 more days, & it'll be a HABIT!
   
4. Early/Regular meals & h2o.  <-- VERY evenly divided meals w/ early protein. Snacky/worky snack at work at night. (Thank God for APs.) Feel BOT w/ water, but must continue both endeavors & try to figure out why h2o was so hard last 2 weeks.

BBL! Ella (shrinking as we speak!)

It's FRIDAY Morning!

...and I've been up since around 4. I'm excited but rather nervous about my hair-cut & highlights followed by picture-taking session. (Pix should be up sometime over the weekend, if I get time to run around finding scanners & the people who have the pix.)

Yanyhoo, a coupla announcements:

I'm part of THE RED TEAM! (Dunno how to make color changes in text, or I'd have made that RED!) I am still partner-less, but I've got a TEAM to support as well.

So my TEAM knows what I've been up to, here's what will be listed DAILY for the previous day:

• Target Points: 26
• Points Actually Used: 26
• Weekly Points Allowance Remaining: 17.5
• Activity Points Earned & How: 10: 30 mins Brisk Walking 160 mins Leisure Walking (under 2.5 MPH)
• Daily Steps Taken: 20417
• Ounces of H2O: 174/105 oz.
• Daily Vitamins Taken? All 5.
• Fruits & Veggies: 8.5/5
• Healthy Oils: 2/2
• Protein: 2 PLUS dairy, Kashi & Quinoa
• Whole grains: 3 (100%)
• Dairy: 4/2
• Weekly Non-Scale/Behavioral Goals:

1. Prepare for Holidays! <-- Nope.
2. ME Time! <-- 8PM until bed for reading/relaxation/snack & earlier a GOOD walk!
3. SLEEP! <-- About 5 hours in BED, which is good for me.
4. Early/Regular meals & h2o. <-- h2o was great compared to the challenge it's been for two weeks. Reg meals pretty good too, BUT I need more protein & food in general EARLIER in the day still.

Just quick notices this morning. Gotta run to get my locks cut!

Be well -- Ella

2 days in a ROW? Ella's gone mad!

Howdy all!

I know, I can't believe I'm blogging two days in a row either, but I had a funny day yesterday. It would have taken me out COMPLETELY from my weight loss efforts in the past, because I didn't know how to do ANYTHING in moderation or w/ a sense of humor and realistic lifetime change judgment.

Yesterday I learned that I will probably not be able to go without fried chicken for the rest of my life. And that's OK! I didn't make all 8 Healthy Guidelines like I've been doing daily, and that (and a roll, which wasn't worth it) are my only real regrets.

Here's the deal:

I had a FOOD FIESTA yesterday. I'm a musician, so at the studio working; we'd had a HORRIBLE time thus far, so I'd been outside walking lots, then the band boys came back w/ convenience store fried chicken dinners for everyone (including white bread dinner roll & Western fries: you know, 1/4 potato breaded & fried? Those.)

I didn't feel good, so I'd had 4 Vitamin Waters for lunch (10.5 pts right there & nothing good about them except the h2o!) Then I thought, "But I'm hungry;" so I "smartly" ate my dinner of homemade veggie soup & cottage cheese way early.

Eventually I made an executive decision to eat the chicken dinner, no matter what, because I really LOVE fried chicken, and I don't know how to fry things (see last week's disaster of trying "low-fat fried eggplant.")

I ATE IT ALL! Man! Was it AWESOME while it went down!

Then I felt REALLY sick, so I didn't even make it to my nighttime gig (club owner = not happy w/ me!)

Lesson: I ate 49.5 PTs YESTERDAY! (My target points are 26, and I usually have a hard time meeting those, which requires LOTS of early and consistent eating b/c I eat mostly VERY healthy & low-pt food!)

I honestly don't feel guilty, except about missing work. (& poor, b/c I owe them $ for pre-sales now.) Anyway, I'm still On Plan! I STILL have Weekly Point Allotments left for the week: good, since my week started TUES. I had no idea fried chicken had that kind of PT value, so next time I won't eat the roll. 

It was also good since it made me so sick I had to come home & sleep. SAD: I MISSED ALL MY SHOWS (Wed is my "big TV night" and since I was home, I turned OFF TiVo, then fell asleep!) I've NO CLUE who's off Biggest Loser or even what the first newbie weighed, since she was on the scale last I remember. Missed "Top Chef" SECOND week in a row! Not to mention "America's Model" whatever... All frivolous TV that's great to march/walk/jog to, since they all make me feel fat!

I'll make good choices the rest of the week & still hope to lose since I've joined sweetpeatwins "Biggest Loser" challenge! (GO RED!) My partner (yet to be named) won't be happy to hear I'm so thrilled to have eaten Fried Chicken & Western Fries (plus dinner roll: only thing not worth it.) However, this is SO important for my learning.

Since Sept 10, I've eaten NOTHING really frivolous except the occasional alcohol & one tiny Hershey "nugget" (really small Halloween kind.) That's IT! Everything else has been healthy like crazy. In the past, this would certainly have just set me off. So that was YESTERDAY. I really feel TOTALLY fine now that I've slept well & have a FREE day today to run errands, maybe get GYM time & some real ME time.

In other words, I realize this is lifelong and that was ONE meal. I've got at least 20 other meals this week, and I still plan on losing.

In many ways, eating fried chicken & western fries has taught me more about weight loss than all the salads in the world may have. I know I can still lose this week, so long as I continue on my GOOD track and not allow myself to be derailed by ONE meal.

Wow -- This is a LONG one. Take care all -- Ella

Long Time, No See

DAMMIT! This thing logged me OUT while typing (and making breakfast) & only a TEENSY bit of my post got posted. I'd made a CHART & everything. ARGH! Let's try again...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Where to begin? It's been a BUSY time. Life just seems to have picked up at an extremely rapid rate, but that's good.

BIG NEWS: I hit my 10% mark yesterday, meaning I lost 10% of my TOTAL BODY WEIGHT since starting WW. Now I have a "temporary" goal of 140 lbs until my doctor checks it out. He can change or alter it either way, so he's on my list to see soon, which I had to do anyway.

You'll notice my weight tracker has changed because I am trying to look at this in "doable" portions, so I only had my 10% as goal, but I'm under it now, and headed for the "big time."

In recent weeks, here's what's happened:

• My bunny died. He was wonderful & I really miss him.
• I got hit by a car. ME, the person, NOT my car. I was fine, just a concussion.
• I endeavored to become an exercise addict, and succeeded to SOME extent.
• I put some OLD pictures up b/c I don't have ANY recent ones that I can find. I was too fat & simply refused to allow pictures of me. Bummer now, but seemed sensible at the time.
• I've taken on a lot, but I'm feeling OK about it, and trying NOT to stress over the holidays.

There was more: something pertinent, but I forgot already...

I took my measurements and MUCH to my surprise, they are way down since the beginning and some have even changed since 10/16 when I last took them. (This is where I'd made a chart.) I'm not re-doing that hard chart, but I shall say this:

Since 10/16 I've lost a total of 8.75 inches from all over my body! Some parts stayed the same, but happily my belly, chest, hips, upper arm & upper thigh are all losing.

Since the beginning (8/11) I've lost a total of 24.5 inches from all over my body (including my forearm and calf which each gained half an inch somewhere along the line, probably from push-ups and walking so much.)

AND, I've scheduled a hair cut/highlights for Friday morning. I'm calling a friend to tell him to take his camera to work that day, since I WILL be stopping by to take pix with my keychain. Yes I will!

Out for now (irked that my great post got screwed up) & I will try to hop around to see people soon: PROMISE! I have to go check in on the WW boards, exercise & shower before leaving the house though, so I'd better get going!

Big Skinny Hugs to all, Ella

Has it really been a WEEK?

Gosh, I'm BAD at blogging! I talk constantly, so why do I not blog? I will need to add some stuff at some point. I *have* been busy building a Weight Loss PAGE which will link to here for pics (which I'm busy trying to find) and other stuff.

So, another 4.2 lbs gone this week, and I have my period, so I'm pretty pleased, though I KNOW this will cease now that I've been eating more on a regular basis. My body is going to "get it" that food's part of the deal now. That's fine. I'm OK with slower because that means I will get to KEEP the weight OFF!

Mostly my LIFE is changing. I'm moving, marching, got all the Pilates stuff out of the boxes (after THREE years of owning them) and have USED some.

Biggest thrill: I'm less than a pound away from my WW 10% goal, which means I'll be able to make a REAL Goal Weight SOON! I hope I can do it by Thanksgiving. I think it's realistic that I may gain next week, or not lose a lot. OK, I'm ready. This time I won't want to jump off a cliff.

NICEST BENEFIT:

In August when I started losing, here were my BMI and Body surface at 251 lbs:

• Body mass index (BMI): 43.2
• Body surface area (BSA): 2.27

TODAY here are those same stats:

• Body mass index (BMI): 36.3
• Body surface area (BSA): 2.08
• Also gained 3 lbs of LEAN Body Weight

No, nobody has told me I look like I'm losing. One person said something about looking thinner in my face, but I was wearing my glasses & people ALWAYS say that when I wear my glasses.

So far I've not had a line of potential partners at the door, but I didn't really expect that.

I STILL have to take my BP meds etc, but I'm getting closer to dropping them says the doctor, and things in my household are healthier by the day.

I've even found my inner chef! I've been making some kick-a$$ food lately, and I can't believe it's good when I just throw things that "seem OK" together & it WORKS! Wow.

So all is well, and I DO promise to return more often and VISIT you guys! PROMISE!

Hugs -- The Shrinking Ella

Quick Weigh In Results

I'd like to report that after my .2 gain last week, I lost 4.8 lbs this week!

I'm 5.1 lbs from my 10% goal! Yahoo!

Amazingly, I did that by adding more essential oils and more food to my diet. I also have really bumped up the exercise. I'm thrilled b/c I was embarrassed to say at a meeting that I was having trouble eating my WW Target Points every day. I got some good feedback, and well...it worked this week. So maybe my metabolism is mending itself faster than I gave it credit for.

Well done, Body: you believed me after only one week. Nice work!

BBL if I get a chance. Want to visit some other people's blogs today too!

Be well all -- Ella

Dropping Drawers and BMI

Dropping BMI Scale:

While the scale wasn't my friend last Tuesday, the BMI calculator ALWAYS makes me feel better! From a whopping 43.? in August to 40.1 the day I started Weight Watchers to this week's weight at 37.8. That's pretty nice to think about. It cheers me up when my measurements and weight haven't changed much. It makes me feel "healthy."

And My Dropping Drawers:

My next little note, as I waste time trying to decide if I want to buy Winter clothes (much needed) while THIS size, is about something funny but good that happened. Let's call it "my embarrassing Non-Scale Victory" (though I dunno about "victory" but that's what the WWers call it.)

I bought a pr of jeans in August to go on vacation b/c everything was TOO tight (pre-any loss, when I weighed 251.)

Though I've lost some poundage, I've not had to buy any new clothes, just things are a tad loose sometimes.

On Saturday, wearing these jeans, I noted my SportBrain pedometer wasn't counting the steps in these jeans b/c the waistband wasn't really hitting me, so I had to "sling 'em low" for it to hit my body. I was rehearsing with a band who's hired me for a one-off New Year's Eve gig, so I barely know them. (Though they know me pretty barely now...)

...because when I got up from the piano, MY PANTS FELL OFF!

I was nekkid (in undies) from the waist down, both embarrassed and HAPPY as Heck with my pants around my ankles!

Maybe it's time to see if the next oldest pair fit now? Either than or buy a GOOD belt!

Be well -- Ella (who needs to go clean up the HUGE mess my cats just made by dropping a bunch of PLATES I was giving to Goodwill...argh!)

Goodness Gracious!

OK, so -- adding old journals wasn't workin' for me. I've erased them and will stockpile them elsewhere for myself. Now my blog makes a tad more sense, but it's still empty, which means I need to write more here.

I've had a TON of realizations after a gain of .2 lbs last Tuesday: I've abused my body to the nth degree, and it's time to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

After getting loads of sage advice from nutritionists, old-timer WWers, my leader, myself, etc, I have some goals I've been achieving this week. They are hard for me. I wasn't eating enough b/c I am NOT HUNGRY EVER, and that means I may have to deal with some gains before my abused puppy of a body learns that now it's being treated properly. 39 years of bad habits can't be "fixed" overnight,. Even if I've made TONS of changes, I can't expect my body to know how to act. It's been kicked FAR too many times in the past w/ everything under the sun to believe anything I do for a week is going to last.

So, my goals stay pretty much the same only to eat more. I know I will NOT lose unless I teach my body that food is going to continually be coming in, and it's OK to release it.

Right now my body is NOT doing that. It's holding everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. It's not even, ahem, "going #2." Even a doctor/WW-leader approved light laxative a couple times a week isn't making that happen; so I know that it's simply HOLDING EVERYTHING!

I've also got to remember to add those essential oils to my diet. They're called "essential" for a reason, says the new chick from The Biggest Loser, which I've only seen twice.

Also:

I've been EXERCISING, and my SportBrain ROCKS! I so love this thing. It's amazing. I'm nowhere near a good number of steps yet, but my baseline was UNDER 1000. Now I've upped my goals twice, and I aim for 4000 a day currently. I've made that every day but yesterday since upping the goal from 3000, which I'd made every day for a week.

Also joined The President's Challenge. I'm doing the Active Lifestyle Program -- from sedentary to something 5x/week for at least 30 mins. So far so good. I've got a week down and am into my second. All of this is good for me, and I'm realizing that I may gain more before I lose anymore, but HEALTH is the goal, and I'm in this for the long haul and health this time. So onward to caring for myself and being HEALTHY in mind, spirit AND BODY.

Hope all my friends are well. Nobody visits here. Wah. Oh well, this basically is for me anyway, so I will keep a-bloggin' and someone will someday realize that I've met goal. Someday...

Be well all -- Ella (maybe NOT shrinking right now, but on the path.