Wow where have I been?

Where have I been? Not tracking my weight that's for sure. Amazingly, I have not really gained any weight either. Of course I haven't lost anything. But at least I'm maintaining.

I do still have weight to lose, it's not that. I've been feeling lost and misguided in my life right now. I'm not even sure where to go with it. Ever felt that way?

I thought I was leading a pretty good life, although a little over weight. But I was overall pretty happy. Now I need to figure out how to get happy again. Happiness is a choice. Or at least I think so.

Just like weight gain or loss is a choice. So back to the beginning, and back to making my life a happy one. No one knows what the future will hold for me. I think I'm going to take it one day at a time.

Been a while

Well I just noticed that I haven't blogged in awhile.  I'm just crazy busy now that I'm working, going to school and running a home life. 

But I'm more afraid to admit, I have fallen of the WW wagon a few times.  I don't count like I use to. I don't track my points on line and what do you think has happened?

Your right nothing has happened. I haven't lost, but I haven't gained either.  I 'm down 23 pounds since I started and still have another 17 to go.  I've now joined the $1 million dollar challenge by Dr. OZ.  Do you think I will win it?  Most likely not, but maybe I will get back on the wagon.  I still watch what I eat, but I certainly don't watch as closely.

So in short, time to blog, time to count, time to get really serious again.  Who's with me?

Still working on it.

Well I had another weigh in. If you recall the last blog, I gain.8 this last time. So I made sure that I went back to really counting my points.

I kept track of every single point, even if it was "just a little taste." It's amazing when you do that, to see how much you consume in a day. It's also amazing to see how important this weight loss has become for me.

My family has a history of obese family members and diabetes. I'm the perfect candidate for that. Or should I say I was the perfect candidate. Since starting WW, and losing a few pounds, I went to see my doctor for a complete physical.

Two years ago, I was border line diabetic, high cholesterol as well as overweight. Today I am no longer border line, my cholesterol is normal and I'm still overweight, but have lost so much. Progress is being made, one week at a time.

I know enough already right? Well I did lose weight this last weigh in. Not only did I lose the .8 I gained, but I lost and additional weight as well. Total for the week 2.4 pounds. Total for 16 weeks, 17.2 pounds. Wow, what a feeling!

I still eat all the foods I love, I'm just more mindful of it. So my suggestion to anyone who is overweight is to work on taking it off and using Weight Watchers to help. Without the help I would not have lost the weight. So it's well worth the cost. Few bucks, or my life? Not a tough decision at all.

Wow, What a Shocker

So my bubble burst! I had been doing so well on WW. I had been losing, than staying status quo, but then losing again. Until my last weigh in.

To my surprise I gained weight. OK, so it was only .8 pounds, but how frustrating that was. I actually came home and had a melt down. Went back to my old habits of eating everything in site. Then it hit me, what am I doing!

I have actually dropped to the next size down and that felt amazing. So how could I destroy all that hard work and two new pair of pants all on .8 pounds? Really. I had to tell myself, all I have to do is get back on the wagon and try again.

After I decided to get out of my self pity, I began to reflect on what may have happened. First I realized that although I was "counting" points, I only guesstimated. I didn't measure or weigh anything. Than I went out of town for the weekend and instead of splitting things, or maybe eating a little less of my order, I "pigged" out. I even went to the movies and ate a big bowl of popcorn and had a big soda. I deserved to gain those extra pounds. Not only that, I only gained .8.

Lesson learned. I may fluctuate between pounds, but It's OK. I just have to work on staying on target. Here's to another week of working on losing the .8 pound, and maybe even a little more.

Star Date June 2011

Yes, the title is strange, but that's when I started my weight loss journey. While on this path I have learned things about myself, and how to maintain good eating habits even while camping.

I weighed in today, and learned that I have lost another 2 pounds. Yes, 2 pounds. How cool is that? I'm so proud of this, as silly as it sounds. But I have taken off a total of 16 pounds since I started this life style change. That's a 10 pound bag of potato's and a 5 pound sack of sugar. You have the visual now right?

Wow, what a feeling. But here are somethings I have learned about myself along the way. Food is my comforter, my vice. If I'm depressed, sad, happy, or bored, I eat. In fact, I would eat just about anything in site. My favorite, Chips. Then came popcorn full of butter, cookies,chocolate and Coke. I still eat food for comfort, but now I try to "watch", what it is I'm shoveling into my mouth.

Food choices were never really vegetables, unless of course they were doused in dressing. Everyone made fun of me and my obsession with the "Dr. Oz" drink, but that has actually spurred me on to have more vegetables now than I ever did. I've learned that vegetables are your friend, not your foe. Sure there is still a lot I don't like, but it's getting better.

I also learned portion control. Prior to WW (Weight Watchers), I would eat until I was full and over flowing. I'm sure I could have been the next Thanksgiving Turkey. Now I've learned to actually taste my food, slow down and have made new and exciting dishes.

I credit all this to WW. They make it so easy to count points, and still eat all the same foods like my chips, popcorn with butter, cookies, chocolate and Coke. I also have to add, I was a two to three Coke person a day. I love my Coke. I'm now down to maybe one a week, sometimes two if it's been a good week.

I have replaced Coke, with Water, Lemon Ginger Tea (cold), Milk, and did I mention Water? I still have soda, but I make it from "Soda Stream". They have a cola flavor, not as good as Coke, but I like it. Plus, it's only 1 point per 8 oz. glass. I totally recommend purchasing one if you don't already own one.

I also wanted to mention, two years ago I had a physical. Unfortunately it wasn't the best I have ever had. In fact, the doctor discussed putting me on cholesterol medicine, if I couldn't bring my cholesterol down. Good news, my cholesterol is back to normal, and my physical a week ago was much better than the last. The doctor was impressed!

So as time goes on, I hope to remain faithful to my life style change, and remember this feeling of reaching my first 10% goal. With that said, here's to another 24.4 pounds remaining to lose and the heart to know that I can do it.

Weekly Write Up.

Well I made it to another weigh in. Surprisingly, I lost yet another pound. Pretty good I think since I had a bad eating week.

I wonder if starting my workout had anything to do with it? I started working out three days a week for 30-40 mins. I did the elliptical one day, walked the dog the next, and then wrapped it up with riding the stationary bike. It felt good, but I cannot image it helped me lose anything.

A friend told me, that in order to loose weight, you need 50 mins. of cardio training five days a week. A little much for me right now, so I just started taking baby steps. My three day a week workout is all that I can handle right now.

I'm also learning first hand, that working out is helping me with my stress. Which I have had a lot of lately. It doesn't take it away, but it helps me from feeling depressed. So even if I'm not losing weight, I'm keeping depression at bay.

I'm sure in the long run, all will be OK, both mentally and physically. But it will take some time to get there. I'm not a patient person, but I'm doing my best to learn.

With that being said, since Wednesday I have had a bad eating week, so lets hope Sunday will give me a clean slat and Wednesday will be a good weigh in.

So I'm catching up......

OK, so last week I was suppose to weigh in and due to fun family things, I didn't. Initially I felt guilty. I have paid my fees, and need to be held accountable. But than when reality kicked in,I didn't feel guilty at all.

Weight loss and my health is about me, not the person or group I'm weighing in with. Yes, it's great for support and motivation, but that will eventually go away. Once your a "Lifetime Member" with WW, you only need to weigh in once a month. Therefore you most likely will not see them as often as you do now.

After spending time with my family on my weigh in day, what I felt was more important, was knowing that the healthier I get, the longer I can be here for my family. That in itself should be motivation enough. With good health, a good gene pool hopefully, and luck, I might even be able to meet my great-grandchildren.

So another new change I have made, is trying to look at the big picture. Life is short and we waste much of it with mindless fillers and no direction. I have direction now. I might still have mindless fillers, but I know where I'm heading.

On that note, I will post again after Wednesday.

Another Pound Down, Even with the Holiday Weeekend

Well, it's hard to believe that the 4th of July has already come and gone. Time sure does fly.

With the 4th of July, came parties. I attended two this year back to back. It was tough trying to make the best food choices for me. One party was a little easier, as it was BYOM (Bring your own meat) and a side to share. While the first party I brought nothing, I didn't even think to bring anything. Although miss manners wouldn't like it, there was more food then you can imagine, so my lack of a contribution wasn't missed.

So anyway, bringing my own meat allowed me to cook what I wanted with less points. Counting was pretty easy. The other party offered the entire menu with a big selection, from chicken breast to sausage and all those good things in between.

So what did I do? Well I'm human. Party number one, I ate until my heart was content and justifies it by drinking water. While Party two, I ate my own homemade selected turkey burger. A fine Weight Watchers recipe I might add, with a side of fresh cut watermelon.

While both parties were fun,I really only paid attention to my food at the second party. Something, I must work on. I certainly can enjoy all the foods, just smaller portions and maybe not taste everything in site.

Good news, however, I still lost a pound. The official weight loss to date after four weigh in's is 8.8 down. Sill at least 34 more pounds to go. But I'm not looking at that. It really is too big. Giving me a more realistic goal, I'm looking to just another 8 pounds. Choosing this number was at the suggestion of WW.

I like it. It seems more manageable. I'm amazed how much pop I have cut out, as well as those fast food runs.

A family member posed a good question recently. While on vacation, they indicated they were tired of fast food, and couldn't understand how people live on it. Well people don't really live do they? That's why their over-weight, crabby, sick, and unable to sleep. I speak from experience of course.

Because of my weight loss, I sleep better, eat better, and not sick as often. However, eating better has actually cost me more money. But that goes with the old saying that "you get what you pay for." You also heard "garbage in, garbage out." So true that is even with food.

As the summer continues, so must my counting points. I can always bring my own meal or snacks. Which is exactly what I intend to do this Sunday, while we spend a day at Arlington Race Track. It will be fun and I will keep my points in check. Let's see how much I can loose for the next weigh in.

Some thoughts I'd like to share............

I have often heard that your mind plays tricks on you. After reading an article by Dr. Oz, and using that theory, I have changed my plate size. Yes you are correct, I changed my plate size. Instead of a big dinner plate, I now use the small salad plates that came in my set. I never used them before except for dessert. But according to the article, when you see a large plate, you believe you have to fill it. Therefore you pile on the food. Whereas a smaller plate allows you only so much room and you take smaller portions. Now my brain thinks, “Wow, there’s so much here”. Of course it’s smaller portions, but crammed on a smaller plate, now I’m playing tricks on the brain.

Another great tip was to place the food farther away from where you’re eating. No more family style service for me. The idea here is the farther away the food, the less likely you will be to get out of your chair and get more. Once again, tricking your brain into thinking you’re done. Out of sight, out of mind I guess is how it works.

I also read in that article, that if you wanted to jump start your diet you should make the Dr. Oz, green drink. So I did. His drink consists of the following ingredients……..Spinach (leaf), celery, parsley, cucumber, apples, fresh lemon juice, fresh lime juice, small amount of ginger root, and I add a banana to sweeten it up a little. You blend it all up and for a fruit and veggie smoothie.
I must admit, I was a little skeptical of its taste at first, but although it’s not mind blowing, it’s actually really good. So good in fact, that I drink 8 oz every day with my breakfast, and I’m good. So it’s filling me up, and it’s zero points on weight watchers. If you want me to post the amounts, I will so you can try it yourself.

I would also like to add, that even though I haven’t dropped a clothing size yet, I am noticing things. For instance, my face and neck are thinner. I’m not craving pop, and my water intake has greatly increased. I also, have lost my taste for alcohol which is both good and bad. I’m sure I could be corrupted again once I get to my goal weight.

Another one bites the dust.

So here it is June 30th and another weigh in is behind me. Much to my surprise, I lost another pound giving me a grand total now of 7 pounds in three weeks. Not to bad, not a drop in clothes sizes yet, but none the less a drop in overall body fat.

This, once again has been a rough week. I found myself just looking for anything that might sound good to eat. Was I hungry? No. Was I bored? Most likely. I might even have been stressed a little. Who knows? But it really does matter.

The big picture of losing weight is not actually calling it a "diet", or a "hunger strike." But, it is a lifestyle change. The only way I know how to make a lifestyle change is to really look at myself. I have to ask myself some tough question too. You know the ones, "do I really need that?" "Should I really keep that for a rainy day?" "why do I want to eat now?" There are many others I'm sure.

The best way to find out the answer to many of those questions is to actually start journaling. Yes, I said journaling. With Weight Watchers, you do keep track of the food you eat and the points they contain. But you really should be adding the time of day. Why? you may ask.

Well, in my opinion, I believe you can change your lifestyle by seeing what is happening through out your day that makes you want things, or do things. List the big picture from the time you wake up, until the time you go to bed. I'm thinking with this in mind, you can predict a little easier why you may want to eat all the time and where you can actually fit in exercise. You might even find your eating at 7, 12, and 5 and why because that's the normal meal time right? But it doesn't have to be. Once you have the clear picture, take the challenge and change what you can.

Lifestyle changes come in many different forms. From clothing to food habits, to even the houses we live in. So pull out your computers, your notebook or whatever you have to start journaling your time, listen to your body, make your changes.

Another weigh in

Well, it's been awhile since I blogged, but you know how life gets in the way. Besides I'm not really sure if anyone is reading this or not. Or do I mean following this?

Any way I had another weigh in back on June 22 nd. I was hoping for even a small loss. After all it was a bad week for food and me. I ended up eating out three times that week, and I didn't count very well. In fact on father's day, I ate a whole plate of ravioli from Olive Garden. Of course I ordered the mushroom ravioli, but between pasta and the white cream sauce, Oh need I say more. Plus of course I had a few appetizers, and a water melon martini. All very good, but totally lost my points.

A few days later I found myself at Cracker Barrel and couldn't resist the "chicken and dumplings". Billed as homemade, who could pass that up? Again not good for counting the points. Yes there was another stop in there, but I cannot recall where or what I ate, so it must have been fast food.

But to my surprise I still lost 1 pound. OK, so I didn't lose the 5 pounds I lost the first week, but heck 1 is still better than nothing right. I still lost even with eating out. How did that happen?

I can only surmise, that even with eating out and miss calculating points, I still had portion control the other days. That's really what losing weight is all about, portion control. I even go so far as weighing out 3 oz of meat at home. Not to mention, I measure everything else imaginable.

What I have found and learned in doing all of this, is that when the package says 3/4 cup or 2 Tbs. think it through. We don't really need anymore than the suggested amount. So why do we insist on eating twice or more of the serving? I'm not really sure I know the answer to that.

In this country we want for nothing. As long as you are working hard, and paying taxes we find it's the simple things in life that's all we need. Come on, do we really need that fast food run, or could we stop and maybe even pre-pack our own food? Why do we make ourselves so busy, what's it all for. All were going to do is rush to die right?

So with that in my mind, my new motto is "pre-plan, and slow down". What doesn't get done today, will still be there tomorrow. Pre plan the meal and how to handle eating out, and taking the time to enjoy myself and my food. Makes for an all new happier me.

So here's to one more pound down, and about and another 34 more to go. But I will make it! Slow and steady wins the race. "PRE-PLAN AND SLOW DOWN".

2nd Weigh In

I can hardly believe I have made it one week in the Weight Watchers program. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. I still eat many of the foods I like, just in moderation. Plus, I actually ask myself if I want to spend the points or not.

I also think I like being held accountable weekly to weigh in with someone. At first I thought it was crazy, and in some ways I think it still is. But it's working, how can you argue with that? There is a person in our group who has met their goal weight and is now on maintenance, everyone was so excited for her. This was good to see tonight. To see that this program really does work.

So your probably wondering, how did my weigh in go? Well even though I had a big mac and 1/2 fries, a hamburger, 3 cans a coke and a fountain coke......I still lost, 5.2 lbs. It's a miracle, but it shows, if you fall off, get back on and it will be OK. You just cannot give up.

But, let's think about this. I haven't done one thing to get up off the couch really. Imagine how much more I could lose, if I would just start exercising. Why is it so easy to do nothing, but so hard to do what is right? Even when we know it's the right thing to do, yet we don't.

So the next goal is to keep working at the points and trying to move as well. A little exercise can go a very long way.

Day 5 with the battle of the bulge

OK, day 5. So today is not a good day. I got up late and had to go to an appointment. So what happened? I skipped breakfast. This was not good. By the time my appointment was over it was close to noon, and now I was starving.

So what happened, well I'm sure you can guess. Yes, there was a Sonic so I had to stop. Really!?

I tried to be good, really. I got a value meal a chicken wrap with dreaded fries and a pop. Took make matters worse, I also got myself some fried cheese sticks. It was so good!, but now what?

If I look at my points, I just blew them all in this one meal. Dinner is going to be difficult. I can make a spinach salad, with strawberries and kiwi, but will that hold me all night? I'm not really sure. I'm actually kind of mad at myself for not eating right. All that hard work just got washed down the drain in one day.

OK, so now I guess there are consequences for my choices. I always have to learn the hard way, it can never be easy. I think I'm a stress eater and a boredom eater. So now I have to try and keep busy so I'm not eating again.

On the positive flip side...I am drinking a lot of water and I am down from 4 cans of pop to one a day. If I have a pop at a fast food joint, I do not have another at home. So I guess even though this is a struggle and it isn't easy, it will work out. I just need confidence, strength and support.

So if I'm lucky enough for anyone to read this, maybe I will have the support I need.

Starting at Day 4 of Weight Watchers

I know as silly as it sounds, I'm blogging about losing weight. Well who doesn't want to lose weight or maintain their current weight. All kinds of research suggests the being overweight is just not good for you. So in order to keep myself accountable, I'm going to blog about it.

I started Weight Watchers on June 8, 2011. My husband thinks it's going to be another costly gimmick. He said for the money were paying "it better work". Well I second that. After stepping on the scale and realizing I need to loose 40 lbs. to be at the top of my healthy weight, I figure I'm in for a hard, long wait.

I pay a big fee up front, but get access to web tools, and mobile apps. I even get to go to weekly meetings and weigh in. But the cost doesn't include, the calculator to help count your points, and the scale to weigh things. It also doesn't come with a personal trainer or chef.

But what I am finding it does, is teach me portion control. Unlike some of the other companies out there, I'm learning to cook all the same foods, just a little healthier and eating a little less. Those other companies just leave you dependant on them so it's more difficult to succeed on your own.

I weighed myself today on June 12, 2011. I was surprised by the fact I may have actually lost a few pounds. My scale said 6 lbs., now that's with no clothing and before eating. After my shower and adding clothing it still read 5 lbs gone. No I haven't checked out my weight after eating, but I'm guessing it still has to be OK. maybe not 5 or 6 lbs, but maybe 2 or 3. I plan to weigh myself tonight and find out.

I also heard you loose a lot of water weight first. That could explain why I don't feel bloated and yet my clothes still fit the same.

So here I go, on a new journey to try and loose weight. Weight in my family has always been a problem, so I got a lot going against me. But at the same time, I have a great support group and and the willing to succeed. Plus I have to weigh in weekly, so I really don't want to embarrass myself and see that I have gained any weight.