Week 6

I know its Thursday not Wednesday. You were probably all thinking (all two of you), "where is the new post? What amazing successes/challenges were faced this week?"

To be honest, this was not a good week...BUT I'm OK with that. There are weeks in our lives that are, for whatever reason, more challenging than others. This was one of those weeks. I've faced challenges this week that were bigger and scarier than almost any other challenge I've ever faced and I am PROUD of the way I handled it. I didn't dive into food (in fact, being upset has the opposite affect on me. I feel slightly sick so I don't eat), but I also didn't count points or worry about what I was eating. Points and worry are for the other 51 weeks of the year.

My weight loss efforts might have suffered a bit, but as with all challenges in life, the key to success is getting up one more time than you fall down.

I'm afraid that I can't even lay out how badly my weight loss efforts suffered as I don't currently have a scale. It is on my list, though, so hopefully next week I will have some numbers ready :)

Week 5 weigh in

I really hate it when you weigh yourself early in the week and discover that you've lost a ton of weight but by the time you weigh in, you're back up. I'm not really complaining. Overall, it was a loss this week, and you can't complain about a loss...its just...it was such a bigger loss last Friday...oh well.

Perhaps the pizza and beer did me in. Probably. Note to self: eat less pizza - drink less beer.

Once again, I was really good 5 days this last week. Then there was the pizza and beer debacle (but what else was I supposed to do during a Dr. Who marathon?). The other day I went over was really not my fault in any way. Some friends had us over for dinner and managed to cook the most amazing, low-calorie food. Apparently, eating A LOT amazing low-calorie food isn't so good for weight loss (but still probably better than eating A LOT of pizza and beer).

Last Week: 189.2 pounds
This Week: 188.4 pounds

Weeks Loss: -0.8 pounds

Total Loss: -2.1 pounds

Gawd. That number looks so pathetically small. I mean, if I were going to the meetings, I wouldn't even have gotten an award yet (and practically EVERYONE gets that stupid 5 pound award).

Maybe I should make it my goal to not go over AT ALL this week. Can I do it?

New Recipe

I wanted to take a moment to selfishly post this recipe that my (sorta) sister, Amy, just posted on her blog. I say "selfishly" because I am only posting it so that I don't forget it, but if it inspires some you readers out there to try it as well then maybe its not entirely selfish.
Salad ingredients:
- Fresh spinach (chopped)
- A lot of fresh basil (whole & chopped)
- Grilled salmon (left overs, in this case)
- Onions
- Feta cheese
- Sea salt & pepper
- Newman's Own Olive oil & vinegar dressing

Now, seeing as how I don't think that there is anything more delicious than salmon and avocado, I will probably add half an avocado to my salad which will add an extra 4 points (t0tally worth it). I'm not sure what the nutritional information is on the dressing so I don't actually know how many points the salad is, but I plan on making it as soon as possible.

If anyone out there tries it, let me know what you think.

Update:
I just made this recipe for lunch and it was delicious! I changed a few things because I am a firm believer in using what you have on hand when cooking. Here is what I did.

- salmon (covered in a salmon rub of garlic, brown sugar, rosemary, and lemon)
- spinach
- red onion
- avocado
- feta
- dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 TB soy sauce
- juice of 1 lemon (I used the lemon that I placed on top of the salmon after it was done cooking)
- rosemary
- sesame seeds
- sliced almonds

To make the dressing, I put everything in a sauce pan and heated it all together for about 5 minutes.

Put everything in a giant bowl and tossed the dressing on top.

So good.

Week 4 weigh in

On the plus side, I stayed in my points on 5 out of the 7 days! This is a marked improvement which leads me to think that I might aim for 6 days this next week.

On the down side, the days I went over, I really went over. I went out to eat at this amazing place called Cool Water Fusion - the foodie inside me was doing the happy food dance for days after. Its probably some of the best food that I've had in almost 8 months. Needless to say I didn't worry so much about how many calories I was ingesting as I did about the amazing flavors dancing in my mouth. The real killer, though, was probably the 20 or so mint cookies I consumed following the meal. I get into the mind set of "Oh well, I've already blown it, I might as well go all the way!" Not the best attitude for optimal weight loss. The meal itself probably wasn't so bad, but the cookies definitely were.

After that night, I had trouble getting back on the horse, so I went over the next day as well. Grrr.

Despite these two massive overages, I managed to lose weight this week. Which, ironically, was even more frustrating. I want there to be a rhyme and reason for weight loss and weight gain. If I do "x", I will lose "y" pounds. According to my formula, I did "z", so I should have GAINED "w" pounds. The fact that this did not happen is actually quite depressing. I feel like I have no control over this process at all.

Weight Watchers always says that you need a reward when you reach a goal. They also say it should not be food, but lets face it. There is a reason I'm in the condition I'm in. I LOVE food. I'm thinking I will give myself the reward of eating out at Cool Water Fusion once I reach my 180 pound goal. This might keep me motivated to stay in my points ALL week. Fingers crossed.

I think I'm heading to the fair this afternoon. I'll be bringing my own snacks as a deep fried corndog would probably NOT help me reach my goal of getting to go to Cool Water Fusion anytime soon :)

Old Weight: 191.2 pounds
New Weight: 189.2 pounds

Loss: -2 pounds
Total loss: -1.3 pounds

Current Goal: 180 pounds
Weight left to lose to current goal: 9.2 pounds

Week 3 weigh in

To say that I got off track this week would be like saying that my daughter effortlessly transitioned from diapers to undies (we've been working on it for two years and she still won't go in the potty regularly - we must be doing something wrong). Sure, we can focus on the things I did wrong: I didn't track my points everyday. I ate out a bunch. I snacked without tracking. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. We could focus on all that stuff, but no one ever climbed a mountain by being negative. At least I don't think they did. It seams to me to be the sort of sport where positivity would be important - otherwise you'd turn around as soon as you started to get winded. Yes, I am digressing. On purpose.

Lets focus on what I did right. I "weighed in" this morning. Do you have any idea how difficult that is when you know that you have gained weight? I briefly entertained the option of never stepping on a scale again, deleting this blog, and hiding in a hole for the rest of my life. Who are we kidding - no one lost weight doing that. I tracked my points...sometimes. Yea me.

OK, here goes.

Last week: 188.3 pounds
This week: 191.2 pounds

Gain: 2.9 pounds

That sucks. I wonder if that is ever going to work. If I'm ever going to get rid of this belly. The problem is, I don't know what else to try.

Week 2 weigh in

Well...I did better this week. I swear there were at least two days that I stayed within my points. Maybe even three. Not great. I know. But better.

I did start to exercise this week. Adam, Ilya, and I have been walking to the park about a half a mile from our house after dinner. Then, while Ilya and Adam play on the playground, I've been running and walking (mostly walking) around the half mile park. Its really nice to have some alone time where I can just listen to my music and focus on me. Plus, I love the way I feel when I am done. Hopefully, my shin splints and sore ankle won't get much worse so that I can continue this ritual.

I did track all my food, and - surprise - I went over my points every day that I ate out. Guess I should eat out less :( I'm also thinking that a sugar detox is in my future....but I'll worry about that later.

Last week: 188.4 pounds
This week: 188.3 pounds

Week's loss: -0.1 pounds
Total loss: -2.2 pounds

So, its not exactly a stellar loss, but I'll take it considering I literally ate my weight in pizza yesterday plus it was my dad's birthday so I might have had a slice of pie. Or two. Who's counting? Back on track today, and next week is going to be grand!

Week 1 weigh in

To say that this week was difficult would be an understatement. I managed to go over my points EVERY SINGLE DAY! Every single day. Even the first day. Needless to say, I'm not feeling very optimistic about this weigh-in. I was actually feeling pretty down about the whole thing until I talked to my saint (otherwise known as Adam, my husband) who pointed out that it is impossible to simple change all of my habits overnight. Its OK that I am going over points because at least I'm trying to do something different. I love that guy. And he's right.

While trying to motivate myself, I found an app for my android phone called wwdiary. Its awesome and free (although I recommend donating if you find it as useful as I do). It has been wonderful at helping me track my food and activity points.

Here are the numbers:

Last weeks weight: 190.5 pounds
This weeks weight: 188.4 pounds
Difference: -2.1 pounds

Yea...Except that I might have weighed myself with all my clothes on at the end of the day last week. And, I might have weighted myself at the beginning of the day in my PJs this week...I might have...

Regardless, the point remains that I lost 2.1 pounds! Yea me! I'm only 8.4 pounds away from my 180 pound goal.