It's Monday and I must say, I did pretty well this past weekend. I took a 3 day weekend to relax, do some work around the house and (mostly) to make sure I take some of my vacation time before I stop accruing it!
I worked around the house Friday am and went to walk around the mall with a girlfriend in the afternoon before our facial appts. We walked for 2 hours, stopping here and there, so I called it a one hour leisurly walk on my points calculator. My friend LOVES to go out to eat and she doesn't watch what she's eating at all, so I have to be careful about going out with her. Part of why I gained so much was because I was eating right along with her for the past year and I can't do that.
After our facials I convinced her that if I were to go out to eat with her that it would have to be at Applebee's where I can easily track my points. You know, I've only been to Applebee's once before and I wasn't impressed. However, this time I so very much appreciated my french onion soup and chicken dinner! Even with dessert I only used 13 points of the 16 I had left for dinner so I went home feeling really good about my choices.
Saturday I continued working around the house. I have a huge bookshelf that came out of my church's bookstore before it was remodeled. Solid wood, 6feet tall and 8 feet wide and I had the thing packed with books and cds. I unpacked everything, moved it out to the garage and my roommate and I started sanding it down so I could paint it. Took all afternoon but we got it completely sanded and ready for paint! It felt good to have a day that wasn't pouring rain and to be able to get outside and work in the garage. I also cleaned up the driveway, which was littered with gardening debris that needed taken care of.
I did go to a facial party (yes, two in one weekend!) that night and ate the snacks that were around. Mostly veggies with very little dip, but there were swiss stuffed dates that were amazing. Also drank water instead of wine so I saved points and calories there. We did play the Wii dance party game - the one where you stand on a mat and step according to which direction the arrows pointed. For a group of women in our 30s and 40s we did pretty well! Of course, when one was on the mat the rest of us were behind her doing the same thing as practice. That group of women are really fun and I'm so glad to have met them.
Sunday we primed the bookshelf - two coats. Unfortunately the rain made us stop. Can't paint when the rain is coming down so hard that it is splashing back up and into the garage and onto the project! Instead we walked over to the neighbor's woodshop and helped her move a stack of teak she had recycled from a remodeling project. This neighbor has an amazing woodshop in her garage and I love going over there to play around and smell the sawdust. The smell of freshly cut wood has always been a favorite of mine.
Besides, what is more powerful than a woman who knows her way around tools? Well, she's different than most, but she teaches the women in the neighborhood how to do things and is always happy to have us in the shop with her visiting and working together. Every neighborhood needs a woman like this who honors the strengths in women that we may not recognize in ourselves.
After planning meals for the week from the WW cookbook, we headed off to Trader Joe's and Safeway for supplies. For 2 of us we spent $90 for more than a week's worth of groceries. I'll make another pot of lamb stew, my roommate made her amazing 4pt taco salad last night and I've got pork chops to cook this week as well. We're eating really well on Weight Watchers I tell you!
All that work on the bookshelf burned off some calories for sure and I was sweating while moving those books and cds around. It feels so very good to have a rain free day where I could actually get out and do something! It also helps having a housemate who likes to work around the house like I do. The last 3 roommates I've had were pretty much couch potatoes!
I did well. I'm happy with my progress and again, no matter what the scale says on Wednesday weigh-in, I feel good and my jeans are getting looser, so I'm winning the battle right now!
Jumped on my scale last night and it was at 206 - I couldn't believe it. I neve4r weigh outside of my weighin days, but I had to after the week's WW weigh in being up 1.8.
Today I'm dressed in my standard jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt that I wear to most every weigh in and I'm down 4.2 from Wed's weigh in. Must have been that water weight!! I thought it was TOM gain but my cycle is way off right now so it could have been anything. What I do know is that I stick to my program at all times and it will eventually start to show a loss for me. I've been here before and I know I can do this.
I've reached my 10lb first goal. Now I'm reaching for 21lbs down - 10% of my starting weight will put me down under 200lbs and that sounds so very good right now!
I'm off to eat - I made an amazing lamb stew in the crockpot from one of the weight watchers cookbooks my housemate has. 5pts per serving and it is perfect for a day of nonstop rain like we're having in the SF Bay Area today.
I'm up this week by 1.8 but I followed by plan and stayed within my points range so I did well. And I'm honestly a little disappointed because I was hoping for a 1lb drop so I could get my 10lb sticker. Breathe.
I've been through this before. I know that this is a pattern for me and that no matter what I've done during the week I can easily gain due to my TOM (which is all screwed up right now) or stress. I just keep drinking my water and eventually it falls off.
I also know that my old pattern is to be so very frusterated with a gain that I eat off plan and I'm commiting right now not to do that. You all are my witnesses!
Last night I pulled out the jar of tobasco flavored dill pickles - god how I love those things! I can eat the serving of 3 each and be totally satisfied. Probably because my mouth is burning and I'm distracted for awhile. Yeah - it will add to the water weight gain right now, but it felt good and I'm over it already. It was a challenging night as my housemate, who is 18 years younger than I am and taller gets more points a day than I do and she wouldn't stop talking about food last night. I wanted to strangle her! Even in our meeting last night she was talking about Taco Bell (yuck) and Burger Kind (double yuck) and how many things she could get in her points range. I finally got up and walked away to look for a recipe in the book on the back table. Darned kids! LOL She did buy my Subway for dinner though after the meeting, so she's not so bad.
Today I'm meeting old friends from my HP days at TGIFridays for lunch. Printed the points reference from Dotti's page (you all know this, right? www.dwlz.com) to bring with me so I stay on track. My goal this week is to NOT use any of my 35 weekly party points. I should be able to do this with no problem as the one gathering I'm going to this weekend is at the home of a friend who is doing Atkins so there will be no carbs around to snack on.
My new favorite thing is the Weight Watchers French Vanilla shake mix. 1 point when you mix with cold water, 2 pts if you mix with 8 oz ff milk. But my FAV thing to do is mix it with the WW 2pt chocolate mint snack bar, milk and ice to make a vanilla mint milkshake. YUM and only 4 pts!
Time to head off to lunch. Less excited about the food but very excited about seeing my friends.
I'm back and it feels good. Have been through some very difficult times over the past year and spent a few months recovering from stress related issues, but I'm back and I'm having fun watching the scale go down!
My first personal goal is to get back down to 182 - my lowest during my time when I was blogging 2 years ago (for my records, it was 3/24/05 and 182.2). This time I'm doing Weight Watchers rather than Jenny Craig and I have a housemate who is doing it with me, so I've got support at home.
I'm not as busy as I used to be and I'm not somewhere every night where there are snacks around. In fact, at home we have gotten rid of all the snacks and kept only low point items to avoid temptation.
I feel good. Life is good and 2008 is for me, a new life with freedom and endless possibilities!
I did it! I successfully avoided chocolate bunnies this year. Yahoo! Whoopee! That was all I avoided. I had a vacation over the weekend and I ENJOYED every minute, bite and drink of it.
Yep - I intentionally ate off my diet most of last weekend and I'm back on today with no regrets. I spent my weekend at the house in Mendocino, CA with a girlfriend who is moving back to Austin this week and we enjoyed ourselves all over the North coast at diners and wineries.
I ate (yep - just to make you jealous) Two hamburgers, an entire dungenous crab, a hot crab sandwich and a cup of clam chowder over the 4 days. Doesn't sound like much, but boy, it was delish! I also ate lots of salads, my JC breakfasts and fruit every day to round out and make sure that I avoided cravings.
We also went wine tasting. Too bad for me - I didn't have the taste for wine this time around so I did alot of sipping and little drinking.
For exercise I ran my friend's three dogs through the fields a couple of times, ran them around a few wineries after being in the car for too long and ran them again at the dog beach in Fort Bragg. I doubt if I ran enough to work off much of my indulgences, but nevertheless I did move and I had fun and I was outside.
We've officially hit 101 days of rain this season in the San Francisco Bay Area. Thank goodness for waterproof boots and dogs who don't care about weather to run with - I needed to get out and just release some pent up energy from sitting indoors for so long!
I weigh in tomorrow, and I really don't care whether I gained or stayed about the same. Instead I'm looking forward to the weather clearing up so I can get outdoors more often. I'm looking forward to putting in my summer veggie garden and coming out of the winter cave I've been in for so long.
I'll check in again soon. For now, enjoy your day!
Talk about the hardest thing to admit! It's easy to blame, it's easy to find excuses (and it's really easy to go out to dinner 4 times in a week!), but it's really, really, REALLY hard to admit that I've failed a commitment to me.
Why make this public statement? Because yesterday when I was watching a tv show where the Life Coach reminded the dieter that she had failed to keep her own diet commitment I got really uncomfortable. Yep, I was sitting there on my couch waiting for the broccoli to finish cooking when I realized that I couldn't stand in my living room alone and admit the same thing to myself outloud. It took four times of trying before I could say it!
My JC Consultant and I talked about where I was in my life and how I was feeling around the time I went from a size 6 to a size 14 and what I may need to deal with around that event. Ugh. It's been seven years since that incident and just as many years of sorting though the emotional ick that resulted from it (or even brought me to that point in my life).
Just when you think you've worked through your stuff, more stuff is revealed!
So I'm off to meet with a body image therapist. Maybe she can help me to view things a different way.
I'll check back next week. In the meantime, I'm resolving to do my very best to keep my commitment to myself this week and eat only from my plan!
Yep - wearing the smaller sized jeans that fit me before I quit smoking a year ago. Yahoo!!! Brought in a bag-full of clothes for my dieting buddy at work today and it felt good to get rid of 7 items from my closet!
What's different? Honey, I've got a hot new car that's making me feel sexy, sassy and confident. Who knew how much my old car was dragging me down? Sixteen years of history with that car that I really need to let go of, you know?!
What else...had an injury to deal with last week - realized that because of the pain I was looking for quick and easy things to eat. I didn't have any desire to stand and cook my veggies, so I skipped lots of filler types of foods that I should have been eating. Was not a loss week for me (loss reported was from 2 weeks ago), but nonetheless it was a good week.
This week is good - have been active with rehearsals for a play, rehearsals for a singing gig coming up and a class I'm facilitating, so I've been out a whole lot this week. To boot, I've been successfully bringing my meals and extra snack foods with me every night so I've been sticking to the program all week.
Tomorrow is a set building and rehearsal day, so I'll be moving around alot which will be good in so many ways. Sunday I'm singing throughout a talk by Alan Cohen - I love him and devour his books, so this should be fun!
Oh! My cousin just asked me to officiate her wedding next month, so I'll be working on preparing that over the next week as well. I'm so very honored to do this for her. Yahoo!
Not a big loss this week, but a loss none the less. My new consultant is helping me to figure out when I can have that glass of wine and how to actually eat more than I ever imagined I could and loose weight at the same time.
More wins this week - I'm wearing those jeans that have been in my drawer for over a year that I couldn't fit into. It feels good to get those on and still be able to breathe in them! I also had fun with TWO desserts a couple of nights this week - one hand is my JC food and the other is my limited portion of Jello and whipped cream. That feels good!
I'm playing with my old cast iron frying pan, fat free Trader Joe's olive oil spray and veggies I've never even heard of before. Thank you mom for using grandpa's old cast iron last month when we were up at the ranch. I've forgotten how wonderful everything tastes when cooked in cast iron.
Nothing more to report. Just chugging away is all.
Wow! I haven't posted in almost a month. Life has been busy busy busy.
I met with a new JC consultant yesterday and I've got a renewed spirit this week. She showed me how much food I was missing (who knew?!) and how to adjust for a glass of wine every once in awhile. Good - now I can enjoy a glass and not be cheating. I'm now on the Personalized Menu and we've written down all the hidden foods that I've been missing for so long.
The weather is getting better too, so I'm spending more time outside and moving again. Just got back from 6 days up in Mendocino hiking, walking the beaches, visiting museums, working on the family property, and relaxing. I got some amazing photos and realized one evening as I was hiking cliffs to get some sunset photos that my ankle has healed really well from the break last summer. Yahoo!
Took my HUGE double serving of veggies and my lasagna to a friend's last night for our Thursday Survivor evening. They made fruit cups for dessert so I was able to join in - just fruit and a little lemon juice. I love spending the evening with friends who are also weight conscious.
I'm headed out for a quiet weekend. A couple of church things to do and a wedding reception to attend, but nothing major on my calendar this weekend, which will allow me time to finish unpacking from my 7 day weekend!
Duh - I should have known why I was so cranky and craving everything under the sun. TOM! Why do I forget that this happens. I swear, you'd think it was a new experience for me every month as I'm surprised to find that I'm starting my cycle. Yes - I am a blonde!
I had a very busy weekend - two birthday parties, a memorial service to officiate, a new housekeeper starting, a meeting and a concert. I tell you - I need a day off to rest!
I feel pretty good about my eating on my own choices and I'm done feeling like every time I eat off plan that I'm blowing it so badly. If I'm honest, I'm eating really well, watching my portion size and stopping long before I feel full. It is clear to me that I really need to work with my consultant on getting to know the meal on your own program - I've been avoiding it too long!
Today I don't care if I gained or lost this week. With two weeks of gaining .2 in a row I'm feeling like if I hope too much that I run the risk of being devistated if its another gain. Slow and steady wins the race, right?
U<imately, today is a good day! I had a yummy salad from the salad bar in the cafeteria - all the yummies I don't put on my home salads like cucumber and mushrooms and celery.
Tonight I have the house to myself and it was cleaned over the weekend, so I can focus on laundry and working on a crochet project I've got going. Quiet time with no housemate and no TV is what I'm looking forward to.
