Training Progress Update

I am sad to say that I officially didn’t start my training until March 11th, not the 4th, like I had originally planned (the day I bought the shoes). And in those 2 weeks, I have only completed the first 2 days of the Couch to 5K Training.


The main positive thing is that I have at least started. I have the shoes, I have done runs, and I have officially signed up for the 5K! And although I haven’t been doing the runs on the program, I have at least been taking 2 separate 10-15 minute breaks during the work day (one before and one after lunch) to do some speed walking in my office basement. It’s air conditioned and there’s usually no one else down there. So at least I get some exercise, and I earn a Point each time. Plus, it breaks up sitting down at a desk all day. And if I have an hour lunch, I walk for the last 20-30 minutes of it.

So it’s not all bad - I am raising my heart rate 2-3 times a day by speed-walking around for 10 minutes (sometimes I add an exercise to lunch, if I am done eating). And I burn around 50-60 calories each time. I’ve been wearing my running shoes when I do that, so I can get used to being in them, and hopefully my leg and feet muscles get used to them as well. (Plus, walking in my work shoes could really kill me!!) I can usually get my heart rate up from about 90 to around 120-130 during the quick walks, and I can feel the onset of sweating, without actually doing so. I would feel disgusting after lunch if I ran or did an actual workout, so with these walks, I at least get some benefit to it.

I have had a few slip-ups– I do great during the day at work, because I have to structure my eating and walking around my work schedule. I can’t just sit and gorge out on food for an hour if I have a half hour lunch, for example, or overeat if I only brought 2 items in for lunch. And then when I get home, I have a fridge, freezer and cabinets of temptation and possibilities.

But, overall, I’m eating better and exercising more than I was 2 weeks ago, so I can’t be discouraged. I’m doing something, and that’s better than nothing.

Good news update:

- I weighed myself on the morning of the 11th, then the 18th, and again this morning, and even though I haven’t really stuck to the running program, I’m down about 6 lbs from my first weigh in!! I would say being down 2-3 isn’t a big deal because sometimes you can fluxuate that much in a day! But being down 6 means that I’ve lost about 2-3 lbs a week with just diet (even with the cheating!) – imagine what getting back into exercise regularly will do!!!

- Zach and I recently went on a 2 ½ hour hike the first weekend of my training, and I ended up “earning” 8 Weight Watchers activity points! That’s huge!!! That’s like a breakfast or lunch amount of points! We celebrated after at a brewery, but I kept myself to 1 beer, and 2 small chicken BBQ sliders (and perhaps some chips with homemade salsa). But I felt good about it!

- During the hike with Zach, he made a comment to the effect of “I am looking forward to climbing a ton of 14ers with you this summer”. This is very encouraging to me, because he wants to do more active things with me, and that he is planning on taking me on several of those climbs. So I have more motivation to get into and stay in shape!

So, all in all, it’s been an emotional up and down week with all the times I “cheated”, but since I mostly stuck to the program and I’ve seen a little progress, I’m excited to finally buckle down and do it for real and see a BIG improvement!

I follow a trainer on Facebook, and she always posts the best motivational pictures, and I really loved this one (helped me keep somewhat on track last week) -

Honestly...

Honestly...

I haven't run yet.  It's been a week since I got my new shoes, and while I've worn them around the house and out and about, I haven't done any actual running.

I also haven't been eating as well as I'd like.  I do great during the day, and then I get home from work, and it all goes out the window.  (Most likely because I'm at work so I don't have access to as much food as I do at home.)  And then today, I've already had a large coffee with probably too much creamer, and a bagel with cream cheese!  The bagel alone was 10 Weight Watchers Points Plus!!!!  Why didn't I just eat half?? I know better!!

Finally, I was planning on signing up for my 5K on Friday because it was PayDay - and I haven't signed up for it yet.  The deadline to sign up before the price increases is this coming Friday, so I'm ok there, but I'm still waiting to do my budget for the month before I actually sign up.

I am VERY disappointed in myself.  I am showing no self-discipline or self control in any of the areas I really need to - weight, money and training for my 5K.

So tonight - No more excuses.

First thing, I will start my running program.  Then, I will eat a 7 pt or less dinner (because sadly that's all I will have left at this point in the day without going into my extra points for the week).  Finally, I will sit down with my laptop, do my budget and sign up for that 5K.

It's time to make myself be a grown-up.  I don't think I've really been this mad at myself in a long time.

Back in Shape!!

I’ve seriously been thinking about getting back to running – I’m definitely out of shape, and back where I weighed before I did Weight Watchers around 2010. I lost 22 pounds on the program, and I felt and looked much better than I do now. I could blame it on breaking up with a terrible ex-boyfriend and meeting a new guy and putting on the new relationship pounds over the past 2-3 years. But, I’ve always heard that there’s nothing to blame but myself. I knew I liked how I looked and felt about myself and how clothes fit me, and I just stopped.

I do remember how I did at least like having something to do when I had to do a “run” on the Couch to 5K program. Or every time I read an article on Dean Karnazes, I think “I wish I really had that desire to run; people who do it all the time seem to really love it, and I want to have that”. And every time Zach goes ski mountaineering, or skiing, or climbs a 14er, I think “wow I’m just really lazy. I don’t have anything like that. I want something like that”.

And running, I can do. I've done it before, and I’m still proud of it. So why not do it again?

Not that my life isn’t going well with a great boyfriend, a place to live, and a new job, but I really feel like I need something to make me feel good about myself again. Everyone seems to have their “thing”… And I don’t have one. Not to mention, my last home was in a flat neighborhood – so why didn’t I run there? And even though my apartment complex is in a very hilly neighborhood, they have a workout room with treadmills – why haven’t I run there? And, my new job even has a gym with treadmills – I should run there!!

“Color Me Rad” is a run coming up in June that during the 5K, at different points of the race, the runners are pelted with brightly colored powder. It’s very similar to The Color Run which is a race I’ve always wanted to do. I really would like to do it with someone though, or at least have someone there to cheer me on! Zach doesn’t run, and I don’t really know anyone who runs just yet, so I just have to think about it. Plus, I really should be more active and it would be fun to do outdoor activities with him, so it would help me get into shape for climbing some 13ers and 14ers this summer! Which, surprisingly, I’m really looking forward to.

So I posted a request on a friend’s Facebook page to see if she wanted to do the “Color Me Rad” run with me. She was actually the person who initially inspired me to start running – I was doing the employee newsletter, and she had just finished her first marathon! She replied to my post, and instead invited me to do a Glow Run with her at the end of April! That’s barely 2 months away, which seems like a while, but I haven’t done ANY kind of jogging or running since October 2011, so that’s going to be a lot of training. But she is an extremely positive and motivational person, and isn’t taking any of my excuses!

Plus, I got really excited with the exchange I had with her on Facebook, and the Glow Run looks like a lot of fun…and I ran an errand at lunch so now I REALLY have no excuses!!

The only thing left to do is sign up for the run online (before the deadline increases the price!!). And then consider doing the “Color Me Rad” race in June. The first deadline is next Friday, but knowing how long it takes me to make decisions, I won’t make it. And it only goes up $5… so we’ll see.

I am also seriously considering going back on Weight Watchers. It felt really good last time to lose that weight, I already know it works, and I already know it’s going to take 2-3 months to really see some weight loss, and maybe 1 month to start seeing clothes fitting differently. This week I’m giving myself a trial run back on the program, to get back into the rhythm of things. Also, I want to see how it will go with having a new boyfriend, explaining it to him, and especially watching what I’m eating now that we eat out a lot more than I used to. I’m not so open that I would post a before picture just yet – I’d really like to see where the running and eating better get me, and I can post a before and after side by side, so you can really see the difference.

Adventures in Cooking

September has been a month of cooking/experiments! Check out some of my creations below!!

A nice acorn squash with salt, pepper, and roasted pumpkin seeds. YUMMM!!!

Then, Justin wanted a Weight Watchers meal (you probably heard me gasp around the world)...so I made a healthy pizza - from scratch. Whole wheat crust, fresh tomatoes, fresh cilantro, mozzerella and pizza sauce. Also YUM!!!
And I had purchased some butternut squash at a Farmer's Market recently, and I wanted some soup so I improvised. See the amazing recipe below!!

Butternut Squash Recipe:

1 large (or 2 small/medium) butternut squash
1 cup Fat Free Milk
1 cup Fat Free Cream cheese
Garam Masala spice
Curry spice

Peel and cut all the squash. Boil over the stove for 20 minutes, or until squash is soft enough to smush with a fork. Drain the pot, and mush all the potatoes to as smooth or lumpy as you'd like.

Put all the mashed squash back in your pot and put the stove top at about medium heat. Add the milk and cream cheese, and stir until all the cream cheese has melted and you reach desired consistency. Add the spices to your taste preferences. (I just did a dash or two until I got it right where I liked it).

This recipe will make a very thick soup, almost like a paste. But I looove really thick soup. You can slowly add more milk to make it thinner until it gets to your preference. And I just picked those spices because I love Indian food!

And I made sure I picked fat free cream cheese and milk because I'm on Weight Watchers. But it reallllly tastes yummy!!

Update for Accountability

Well, unfortunately, I had another weigh-in yesterday, and I gained back almost as much as what I lost the first week. So I'm not sure where I went wrong, but I'm going to try 10 times as hard this week!

I made sure I had a WW meal for lunch, so it could be easily counted, and I picked a healthy frozen stir-fry option with lots of veggies for dinner. I also got some WW desserts so I could still feel "bad" but still stay within points. I will have 2 points over after dessert, so I'm doing good for today!! (I hope this shows up next Wednesday in my weigh-in!)

Weekend Update

Boy it was a busy weekend!!

Friday:
I got home from work and Justin called from his office and invited me to go downtown with a bunch of his co-workers. Fortunately, I had already fed Bailey, so I left and met up with them downtown. We hung out at a few places and headed to our final destination because a girl we were meeting wanted to do karaoke. So Justin and 2 of our friends, Kyle and Amanda, all drove back to our place and hung out for a few minutes first, while Justin changed out of his work clothes. We then headed over to Hatch Cover and met up with Megan and Mike, and it was a great time!! We ordered a bunch of food and it was like we had a buffet at our table! We never actually ended up doing any karaoke (thank goodness!) because it was the conversation was great, and it was extremely crowded, but we did pick a bunch of songs on the jukebox and it was a blast!!

On a side note – Amanda LOVES Hindi movies almost as much as I do! At my place, we had a blast going through my movie stash and I explained plot lines, gave recommendations, etc. Plus, the girls drove home separately from the guys, so Amanda and I rocked out to some Hindi soundtracks I have in my car. We made plans for when the boyfriends go on a business trip later this month to go to a local Indian restaurant for lunch and then go back to my place and watch a movie! (Or two! Or three!)

Saturday:
I managed to get up around 6:45 am and shower and meet up with my parents at Panera Bread at 8! They go each Saturday at 8 am – it’s a “tradition”! I brought Bailey with me, and they brought their puppy Cody, but they had errands to run, so they left and Bailey and I went to the dog park – go figure, right? Plus, the weather was still pretty nice and wasn’t miserable yet, so it was nice.

Then I had a quiet lunch at home while Justin was out fishing and I watched a new Hindi movie on Netflix called “Welcome”. I say “new”, but it came out in 2008, but Netflix just made it available to add to your instant queue, so I could watch it on the Wii without having to wait for them to ship a disc. I definitely won’t buy the movie, and I didn’t really enjoy the music all that much. But, you win some; you lose some. It was good and funny in some parts, and it was a Bollywood movie, so that much I enjoyed.

I wanted to watch the UT game, but it wasn’t televised in my area. Booo!!! I ended up just watching some documentaries on the History channel about 9/11 and then went to bed.

Sunday:
I got up somewhat early, and realized that I had a TON of laundry that I forgot to do Saturday, so I was a “Laundry Queen” all day. I think there were about 3 or 4 loads of laundry total. Whew!! Around 11, I ran some errands with Justin and got some brats for NFL Kickoff Weekend!! We also bought ingredients for homemade chili on Saturday, which has become a football Sunday tradition. That bad boy started in the crockpot around 9 am and kept it nice and hot all day long! YUMM!!! (And it’s like 85% veggies, plus beef, so I could still enjoy it and stay on WW!!)

Football Sunday consisted of watching the Broncos lose, then the Eagles, then finally the huge disaster that was the Cowboys/Redskins game. Not a good day for us. I started to watch another Hindi movie in between games, but I wasn’t really focused so I’ll have to finish it tonight!

Update

I'll probably give a full weekend update tomorrow (once I have a chance to remember it all!) but I wanted to document that as of my self weigh-in last Wednesday, I was down 2.8 lbs!!

So I can do it. I can be smart about food. I just realized - it's hard to think about what you eat. Why can't all the Sonic food and the junky stuff just be enough for me??? Oh well, making some good progress so far... yay!!!

Back on the wagon...

For Weight Watchers, that is.

And I must say, it seems so much harder this time!!

In the 4 ½ months since I finished my 13-week session, I’ve gained back approximately 5 pounds. It isn’t the end of the world, and I can still fit into the clothes I could back then, but I’m just disappointed. Plus, when I finished back in May, I was only 5 lbs from my goal weight, and now I’m at 10 lbs away.

I don’t know if it’s the meetings that make the difference or not, but I’m not going to be attending them this time, but I did on my last time on the program. Granted, I only started it up again last week, but it seems so much harder this time already.

I know all about the point system, how many to start with, how to get extra, what foods are good and filling and which are not, etc. I know exactly what I should be doing, and yet I’m finding it really hard to stay within my points for the day. I can’t remember if it was this hard the first week for me last time or not, because that was back in January. But I lost 5 lbs that first week!!

I just seem to be finding myself having a 7 or 8 point lunch or dinner, and then feel good about only a 1 or 2 point snack and then boom – it’s 7:30 pm, I’m starving and I’m already close to or over my allotted points for the day. I know that there are 35 flex points for the entire week, but I don’t want to keep dipping into them each day and then halfway through my week, they’re gone. It just seems that what I ate the first go-around filled me up more then than they do now, which is weird.

I am getting some daily exercise, in the form of taking Bailey to the dog park. I walk to the park, spend about 30-40 minutes there, and walk back, totaling about 45 minutes round trip on average. It’s low intensity, so I don’t earn as many activity points, but it’s hard to go and “haul-ass” around the park with a dog that likes to stop and smell and run off, and stop and play, etc. Plus, it’s also a great mental break for me, because I love dogs (especially Bailey), and it makes me happy to see him enjoying himself and being silly. So I go for a nice leisurely walk – better than sitting on the couch all night. And then he gets exercise too – maybe even more than me!!

I’m just a little frustrated with myself this time around. I do need to give myself some slack though, as it is still in the first week of this for me, and I should allow myself some time to re-adjust back to eating well and controlling portions. As long as I keep up with that and work hard at it, and continue to exercise, I can see this working for me again. I didn’t even do any exercise last time, so I’m hoping that gives me a slight advantage the second time around.

Chicken with Pine Nuts and Orzo

I have GOT to share this AMAZING recipe I made last night!! Well, 2 technically. The Chicken Recipe is Weight Watchers, and the orzo recipe I got off a box of orzo - but it was spectacular!!! I will definitely make it over and over again. In order to help you duplicate this extremely tasty dish, I have copied it exactly as it is from the recipes I used.

Orzo with Spinach, Pine Nuts & Parmesean Cheese
1 cup of Orzo
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pinch dried red pepper flakes (optional)
10 oz. fresh baby spinach leaves
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup shredded parmesean cheese, plus extra for serving (as much as you'd like!)
Salt
Pepper

1. Cook orzo as package directs.
2. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and pepper flakes and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
3. Add spinach and stir to mix in garlic. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 5 minutes until spinach is wilted. (*This was the point I added the pine nuts so they could get toasted**)
4. Once spinach has wilted, stir in balsamic vinegar. Add drained orzo to skillet with basil, any additional pine nuts and parmesean cheese. Toss well and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with additional cheese, as desired.
*Makes 3 entree or 5 side dish servings.
**No nutritional facts listed, therefore, no WW Points :-(

WHILE PASTA IS COOKING, START ON CHICKEN!


Chicken with Pine Nut Gremolata
4 6-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Salt (*I used kosher salt, but I LOVE salty food!)
Pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leafed parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon grind
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. Place chicken breast halves between 2 sheets of heavy duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2 inch thickness using a meat mallet or a small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, seasoning to taste.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan, and cook 5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. (**The recipe doesn't call for this but for the last 5-10 minutes the chicken was cooking, I threw in a handfull of pine nuts to roast them - TOTALLY made the recipe!!!)
3. While chicken cooks, combine parsley, pine nuts, remaining teaspoon oil, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon lemon rind, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss gently to combine. Server gremolata (this mixture) over chicken.
Yield - 4 servings. (Serving size - 1 chicken breast, 1 1/2 tablespoons gremolata)
Weight Watchers points - 5

As Rachael Ray would say - YUMM-O!!!!!

Cooking Adventures

Since I started on Weight Watchers, I've really gotten in to cooking. I find that it really calms me and puts me in my old little world and it's just amazing to me to see things come together and make fantastic tasting items!! I turn everything out except what I'm cooking.

So I've taken some pictures of 2 recent dishes (on my cell phone, so I apologize for the poor quality) that I was excited about and that turned out well!


Dish #1 - Cheese Quiche from scratch:

This was the quiche going into the oven. It was supposed to be a spinach and cheese quiche, but the spinach wasn't defrosted by the time I made what you see below, and I didn't want to leave a bowl with raw eggs and milk in the fridge overnight.

And I can I just say that the finished project (below) looks YUMMY?!!??!??!?! I didn't have the spinach ready, but I felt like adding something extra, and so I just threw in the rest of the onions I had in the fridge. This was breakfast for me for about a week. O....M....G....

And then here's a great side shot of a slice of the best quiche ever (sorry mom!).

Then...
Dish #2 - Turkey Burger:

I attemped 2 first with this dish: I had never tasted ground turkey, let alone a turkey burger, AND I had never made my own turkey burger from scratch! Here's what it looked like in the bowl when I mixed it with onions and seasoning - the MOST disgusting consistency and feeling in between my fingers I have ever experienced. It was like the feeling you get when you chew your gum too long, and it goes from being "elastic" feeling to dissolved in 2 seconds. Ew.

So, it looks great, but here are the two patties I made (Justin wanted one). Still kind of yucky...

But, in the end - doesn't this look good? It was really tasty too - with a slice of cheese and some spinach leaves, on a whole wheat flattened sandwich bread. So all in all, I think I would make it again, because it was SOOO good, but I'm really not looking forward to touching the ground turkey again. EW - just had another nightmare flashback.

Quick Update

So I realize my posts have been getting few and far between, and not really full of substance, but I like to think it's also a way for me to look back and see my own progress. So maybe these past few posts have been just for me, but someone could be reading them ... who knows. I will try to bring "good" posts back!!

We had another weigh in last week and I'm now at 22 lbs lost!! I only have about 10 more to go before I reach my goal weight. I can say that I'm very proud about my B.M.I. and how much I've reduced it in just 3 months!! (B.M.I. - Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to both adult men and women.)

When I first weighed myself on my Wii Fit Board, my B.M.I. was over 25. Now, as of this morning, my B.M.I. has reached just over 21. YAY!! I went from being in the overweight range to the normal range - and once I reach my goal weight, I will be at exactly the B.M.I. I should be! I'm finally glad to see results and that I'm making progress - I can do this!!

Weight Watchers update

This will be a short blog but I wanted to share some victories!

• At my weigh-in last week, I was 1.4 lbs down!
  
• I was able to take Wednesday off this week because my sister was in town, and when I was getting dressed that morning - I fit into an old pair of jeans from my "skinny stack"!!
  
• I am only 3 lbs away from reaching my 20 lb mark!
  
• Exercise - Wednesday at the zoo, we walked for 4 hours, then later I was at the dog park for 45 minutes. I'd definitely say I put some miles on my sneakers that day. Then, I went to the dog park today for an hour! I'm feeling good!

Weekend Update

I write this blog with heavy eye lids - I need more sleep!! I wouldn't say I've had a busy weekend, but I did get a lot done.

Friday was a fluke day in the Springs...we had 2 straight days of 65-70 degree weather and then BAM - an all day "blizzard" with several inches of snow. So needless to say, our plans to go out to dinner were put on hold when we passed a stopped car on the highway, then watched in my rearview mirror as another car slid right into them.

Saturday was a lot nicer outside, and we got a lot of chores done around town and just stopped at Sportsman's Warehouse for some window shopping. We got haircuts (I needed it BAD!) and even got some groceries. We had an early dinner at home and then went bar hopping downtown. It really was a great night!

Today was a great weather day, so while Justin went fishing, I got a few things done myself. I went to the dog park for an hour and earned 2 Activity Points! (Weight Watchers "gives" you points for exercise, much like eating food takes points "away"). Anyway, I was able to do the dishes and pick up the apartment and even take a little nap with Bailey. It was a great day!

The only bummer - I've had a sore throat since last Tuesday. It was really bad through Saturday, and finally started to let up. But, while there's no more "dagger" pain, it still hurts. That's the only thing wrong, no fever or aches or anything else. It's just because of the sudden, drastic weather changes. Could be worse though...at least it's almost gone!

So thanks for following my blog and checking in! Have a great week!

Lack of motivation

I’ve decided that while I’m still struggling with motivation to work out, that I can at least mentally work out. I have a large stack of books that I have been clinging to, in hopes that I will read through them. While I never read them, I continue to add to the list whenever an interesting book comes along.

A while back, I made a plan to alternate a fictional book with a non-fiction book with the idea that I would get through them faster by not focusing on one genre and feeling bogged down. That plan may have worked – if I had picked up 1 book to begin in the first place.

I just prefer after being at work all day to come home and unwind or “veg out” from the day by hanging out on the couch and playing with Bailey. But…I also do chores, like laundry, the dishes, cook dinner, etc. So when I’m done with what I NEED to do, I’m even more tired than before and am just not motivated to do what I WANT to do – read a book, exercise, scrapbook, etc.

But last week in my Weight Watchers meeting, we discussed being “empowered” and doing something you didn’t think you could do or have been putting off for a while and the feeling you get after you’ve finally accomplished that task. My goal before the next meeting was to scrapbook, and I did a page on Sunday while at my mom’s house!! It was just one page, and I still have many more pictures piled up to do, but it did still feel pretty good.

So my goal for this week (From tonight until Saturday) is to spend at least 30 minutes a night doing something I WANT to do. I want to feel like I can accomplish carving out 30 minutes to do something for ME. And it can be any of the tasks mentioned earlier – I just want to get into that habit. Then maybe I could make one night a week a particular task and then it will become a part of my life. But – if I can make it through at least 30 minutes a night, I can finally believe in the fact that I can really do whatever I put my mind to.

*Disclaimer: While I realize the last sentence of that last paragraph is the world’s oldest (and maybe cheesiest) adage, I think finally at 26 I’m realizing what that could really mean for me.

Plateau

While I did lose more weight last week at my weigh in on Thursday, I must say, I don't feel I've been doing good the past few days. I haven't been a terrible eater, and I've been sticking to my points, but I don't feel like I'm losing anymore. I think I've hit my plateau.

This Saturday I went with my mom to go clothes shopping because some of my pants are starting to fit pretty loose. Now, technically, it's loose in my legs. It still fits pretty well around my waist. My stupid weight loss is coming off everywhere but my stupid belly!! It's very frustrating because that's the one and only part of my body that practically got me to start Weight Watchers. So unfortunately, for me, shopping was very depressing. I found myself coming to tears many times in the dressing room because the pants were all still fitting me the same as they did 2 months ago. So even though I've hit the 15 lb mark, I still felt a little upset at myself for not going down a pants size or two.

I understand that it' s about being healthy and not about dropping sizes, but it's hard for me to stay so positive when I'm still wearing the same stinkin' pants.

But...

In 6 weeks, I am already 15 lbs down. And that's progress. I recognize that it works and I am going to continue to folow the program. And granted, that's all without me working out. I occasionally do Pilates and I've done my workout DVD once...but that's pretty much it. I know I need to work out to continue my progress, and trim down my stupid belly that I hate so much - but working out is hard for me. Eating better = simple. Working out = hard.

So maybe it's a physical plateau, but it could be a mental one too. Just got to keep pushing!!

Whew...that felt good. Sorry for venting!

What's a birthday like on Weight Watchers?

Birthday flowers from my co-workers!! Nice surprise...

I am proud to say that while today was my birthday, I had a very good food day!!

I had a Weight Watchers bar (2 pts) for breakfast. It wasn't a problem, because I wasn't really hungry. It's getting under control - woo hoooo!!!!!!!!

Then for lunch, I had to have a Smart Ones Weight Watchers meal because I had to take my car in for a new battery. (I know - great birthday). That was only 5 points, and actually filled me up more than I expected! I also had about a 20 oz bottle of water with a Crystal Light packet, and that probably could have helped control the hunger.

Every time someone has a birthday at work, we have a "birthday party" for them. I put that in quotes because it's more like a 30 minute "come-and-go" type event, where you sit around a table and awkwardly get asked about your birthday plans with people you barely talk to while they make small talk with each other. But...my boss made a homemade tirimisu from a recipe I found, and it was very yummy - and only 4 points per slice!

Finally, dinner was a BBQ Chicken Pizza (SUUUUUPER YUMMY!) which was 6 points a slice. I had 14 left for the day, so I helped myself to a Birthday 2-slices with 2 left over, and salad on the side with about 1 point for the dressing. I wasn't even planning on having dessert, just because that's my downfall, so I try to avoid it. But my mom surprised me - the BEST surprise of the day....

Weight Watchers 2 point ice cream!!! It was so perfect, because I haven't had ice cream in FOREVER (again, I would have just gone nuts and blown my progres), AND I only had 1 points left for the day!! (I would have used an extra point). It was an extremely thoughtful gesture from my mom, since I hadn't even requested a dessert. She just knew I would love it!

And...here's the kicker - - I only had HALF! Seriously, I took a few bites and then *boom* - that's enough. I wasn't really hungry, and I didn't want to finish it. So I stopped. I am so proud of myself! And what's even better is that I only ate about 1 points worth - so I didn't have to use an extra point.

So all in all - I can do this!! I'm very proud of myself for sticking with this progam for this long, and I am already seeing results. I haven't done anything for this long, so this says something to me. I will keep going and look forward to only seeing more good things happen!

Goal Check-In

Just a quick accountability note...

I'm still trying to eat healthy, but had a few meals over the weekend that didn't have points and I had to "guess". Now, I tried to guess high points, but I have a sneaky feeling that I guessed too low. So I have to be extra good this week. Going to Panera Bread tomorrow for lunch with my dad will be tough - I will need to stick to a nice, light salad, and be sure to have chicken or something on it, but be careful of the dressings and little things added on.

Goal update from last week:
- continue tracking points: I'm still all over it! Haven't missed a thing!
- Lose at least 2 pounds: Didn't make it to two pounds, but I did have a loss. At least it wasn't a gain!
- Try to eat more fruit: Unfortunately, I did not meet this goal. I had some fruit last Monday, but that was only because we had leftovers from a parfait making party from Friday. Fruit is just too darn expensive and goes bad too quickly! Enough excuses..I should at least look for deals.
- Try not to "cheat" and look at my weight before Thursday's weigh in: I'm proud to say that from last Monday on I didn't check! It made me a little disappointed at the weigh in on Thursday though that I didn't reach my 2 point goal though. I keep thinking if only I had looked I could have worked harder and at least lose an extra pound or 2.

Goals for this week:
- Lose 2 pounds: I definitely want to hit this goal, so I'm pushing it into this week!
- Work out 3 seperate times before next Monday: If I want to hit my 2 pound goal, other than continuing to eat properly, I need to also burn calories that are coming in! I haven't fit in any working out so far on this program and I feel that it's time to start.
- Take the stairs up to my office: This is huge. I work 4 flights of stairs up from where I park. And I HATE taking stairs! If I can do it from Tuesday-Friday, then I've met my goal!

Quick Update

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged, hasn’t it? Part of it is due to the fact that I discovered this wonderful website – Veoh.com where you can either watch tv shows or movies online, or download them and watch them later! (Which is great because then you don’t need an internet connection to view them if you download them to your computer!) And part of it is that I’ve been spending almost the last week watching my parent’s dog Baxter, while they’re on vacation! I’ve spent most of the time at the house with Baxter and my dog Bailey and they’re a handful!

And I guess another reason why I haven’t blogged so much is because of this Weight Watchers thing. I spend a lot of time tracking points and foods, which will ultimately pay off in the end because once I know the points, I know them – I only have to find out once. It’s just all this legwork early on that’s tiring. But it’s working – I’ve lost some weight and hopefully will lose a little more.

Goals for this week:
- Continue tracking points
- Lose at least 2 pounds
- Try to eat more fruit
- To not “cheat” and check on my weight before Thursday’s meeting

I need to post more pictures. I’m sure people see my wordy entries and think “maybe I’ll check back later”. I do tend to ramble, so I get that. I like to think that the more pictures I post the easier it is for people to read it. So since I still haven’t replaced my camera cord (since Bailey destroyed it) but my parents let me use their computer, here’s a visual recap of the last few days:

I had a "I need a BIG Starbucks morning".
Taught my first "official class" last week - Word for Beginners

Reached my first Weight Watchers milestone - my first 5 pounds!
My co-worker Kearstin was on Wheel of Fortune!
We made homemade parfaits at work on Friday for our weekly meeting - YUMMY! (Darn those granolas - they were 7 or 8 points!)
It snowed a few times - the dogs love to go out and "eat" the snow.

Weight Watchers Update

We had our first meeting yesterday, and had our first official weigh in. I now have my starting weight and a healthy range I’m supposed to be in for my height and age. All I have to do is pick my goal weight – which will be at next week’s meeting. Our leader wanted us to just use this first week to find a good rhythm and get used to tracking before making any big decisions. That way, we can find out the best way that works for us to track our activities, and make the rest of the program really work for us.

I’m really pumped about it! The meeting leader, Pat, said that’s normal. For the first 4 weeks or so, members get really excited and track everything they eat and exercise – and then you start to get “worn down” with all the different things you need to monitor. Officially, I’m in Week 1, but I did start tracking my food and making Weight Watchers meals 2 weeks ago, so I’m around Week 3 in reality. So technically, I’m close to the stage where most people start losing motivation.

What’s really hard for me in regards to “dieting” is keeping motivated. I’m a very big “giver-upper” when things start slowing down, and one of my biggest fears with this program is that after 4 or 5 weeks of being on track that I will start to “slack off” or give up. I’m being very conscious of my decisions so far, and I can honestly say I’m very proud of myself when I’m faced with a good food vs. bad food choice and I pick the good choice. Hopefully this is a good feeling that can keep driving me to pick the good choice.

I just hope I don’t feel bogged down with all the tracking or get sick of making all the different meals. Hopefully, I can find 4 or 5 “staples” of really easy, healthy meals that can be fallbacks for when I don’t feel like thinking to hard. And then just toss in a new meal twice a week for a while (or more often!).

Ultimately, I’m just really proud of myself for finally doing something about losing weight – I’ve been stalling for far too long, and it’s a big step that I’m even starting something like this. Plus, it’s been a New Year’s Resolution for the past 3 New Year’s that I eat better and lose some weight, and this is the first time I’ve actually tried (if I can be perfectly honest).

Here’s to a healthy New Year for me! (Finally!!)

Thumbs Down: Yesterday was when I learned what my “allotted” points per day were. Unfortunately, by lunch today, I’ve already used up all of my allotted points! (I didn’t have anything prepared for lunch, and I tried to wing it). So I have to dip into my “extra/emergency” points just for dinner!

Thumbs Up: This morning at our monthly staff meeting, I had a choice of a muffin, a frosted donut or a Yoplait, and I picked the yogurt. So I started off my day in a good mood, because I made what I felt was the smartest choice for me. It was like giving myself a mini-pat on the back.

But I could have killed for the chocolate frosted donut with sprinkles.

Home-cookin!

The past few weeks have been really interesting with a lot of home cooking going on! I've been doing really well with cooking Weight Watchers meals and sticking to the idea of smaller portions. The funny thing is - I haven't had my first meeting yet, so I don't know how many points a day I'm supposed to have, but I still feel good about the meals I'm making and eating. I feel like I can do this!!

So here's a peak into the meals I've been having...very yummy!

Chicken and shrimp stir fry...

Justin is cutting up garlic in this photo for another stir fry recipe that we tried...

This is the first "official" WW meal I made, a chicken wrap...so good I made it twice!

Found a great chicken casserole recipe. We ended up having it for lunch the next 2 days!

I don't really like how I look in this one, but I'm on the way to looking better and feeling better about myself! I'm making a side dish of broccoli to a WW meal my mom made and I reheated.

Justin wanted stir fry again, so since it wasn't a WW recepie, I made sure to give myself a small bowl and small portion, and shockingly enough for me - I was full! This is great!

Then tonight, I made a chicken cous cous with veggies salad, and a side of broccoli. It turned out really well! And there was enough left over that I can have it as a small snack tomorrow if I'm hungry.

Whew. Those were some good meals! The healthy stuff can be expensive...so I may have to do a WW meal only once or twice a week and just be smart with the "regular" stuff. But I'm feelin' good!