Friday, October 26, 2012

Week 6: Weigh-in and Goals

Official weigh-in:  +0.2 pounds.

While I would prefer the loss here are reasons why I'm happy with the week:

1.  I tracked everything.  EVERYTHING.  Every piece of Halloween candy that somehow made it into my mouth along with all the really good things I ate.

2.  I earned 24 Activity Points.  So according to my heart rate monitor, I burned 2400 calories this week.  That's two thousand four hundred!  **note for other ww members out there:  I track activity points by giving myself 1 AP for every 100 calories I burn**

3.  I ran out of Weekly and Activity Points and still managed to plan it so that I did NOT end the week in negative points.

And here are things I will work on:

1.  I need a better ratio of candy to vegetables :)  Seriously though, looking back over the week I can see a few places where it would have been better had I swapped a few points plus items for vegetables or fruit.  I have felt heavy and bloated all week and I know this is the reason why.

2.  My water intake.  I started running again recently and that means I need to step it up with water.  I get really dehydrated when I run. This would probably also help with the bloat.

3.  Usually every week I tend to eat something during the weekend that doesn't necessarily fit into the healthy guidelines.  This past week, that treat came out a couple of times during the week days.  There's nothing wrong with having treat meals, but I can't let them keep replacing good, healthy, TASTY meals that I've planned for the week.

And as always, track EVERYTHING (especially if I go over) and get at least 20 activity points.

Today's Menu:

B:  Whole Wheat Pancakes + egg/egg white + Coffee + bacon + maple syrup (9 pts)
S:  apple (0 pts)
L:  Ground Beef and Vegetable Soup (made by yours truly:  5 pts)
D:  ???

Weight Loss to Date:  10 pounds

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Week 6: I'm Starving

I don't know what it is but I am hungry.  Not bored.  Not stressed.  Hungry.  And it's been going on for days.

Maybe it's because my exercise is getting more intense due to being able to run again (I always burn way more calories running) or it's just one of those weeks.

I've been good and tracked everything so far.  I've earned over 20 Activity Points and after today I'll have another 3 under my belt if everything goes according to plan.  However, I've eaten all of my Weekly Points (49) AND as of right now, the 20 Activity Points I've already earned. 

I have seriously become a master of optimizing what points I have left.  Fruits and vegetables are my best friends this week due to their 0 point content. 

Tomorrow is my weigh-in.  I mean, hopefully I'll lose some weight but honestly I just want my points to roll over so I can have a little extra for dinner ;)

Today's Menu:
B:  Whole Wheat Pancakes + egg/egg white + 2 slices bacon + coffee
L:  Cajun Chicken Pasta
S:  Apple
D:  Giant Salad with Vegetables + Crab Salad + Chopped Apple **gonna keep it light for WI tomorrow!**

** NOTE:  I made a REALLY GREAT cajun chicken pasta this week.  Seriously, it's crazy good.   I linked the website I got it from in my menu.  Check it out, it's a really great resource for food ideas/recipes.  The author of the website gives the nutritional information for all her dishes along with old and new WW points.  However, on a couple of the recipes I've used the recipe builder and have come up with a different amount of points than what was listed.  So just a word of caution - any time you find a recipe online or anywhere even if it has nutritional info listed, always use the recipe builder using the ingredients that YOU are going to use.  It just might change things .. drastically.

For instance, her cajun chicken pasta was listed as 8 points plus - I put it in my recipe builder and had to finagle it to just get it to 10 points plus.  And while it's only a 2 point difference.  2 points can really add up day after day!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Weight Watchers Week 5

I had a really great week results wise:  -3 pounds.  I made sure to eat right, get in all the good stuff (working out, sleeping, water) and I was rewarded with a decent loss.  I even left some of my weekly points on the table and didn't touch my activity points at all.  It was pretty tough.

As for my goals ....

Week 5 Goals:

Water:  so-so.  Mon-Fri was pretty good but Sat/Sun was horrible.  I'm pretty positive I drank more coffee than water during the weekend.  Not good.
Exercise:  23/21 Activity Points
Tracking:  7/7 days - had 16 Weekly Points remaining and 23 Activity Points remaining

I'm having some problems this week eating wise.  I did the planning, the shopping, and the cooking but I just don't want any of it.  I'm having one of those weeks where I don't want to eat I just want to snack.  My vegetable intake has been lackluster because of it but at least I'm eating my apples.  Also, to make matters worse, we have Halloween candy in the house.  Probably not the best idea.  I finally threw it in a cabinet that's really high up.  Hopefully that will keep me at bay.  I'm just so bored with food right now.  

Working out has been great.  I am supposed to be running a 10k next weekend but due to a summer injury, I haven't been running since July and it would be stupid to try to do a 10k so I changed it to the 5k option today.  I've been going to a podiatrist and got the ok to run a little over a week ago and managed to eek out a 5k on the treadmill last weekend (very slowly) so I think I'll be ok.  It won't be the best performance of my life but my goal is just to not finish last.  I think I can handle that.

Week 6 Goals:

Water:  Drink water during the WEEKEND
Exercise:  20 Activity Points MINIMUM
Tracking:  Every day, every bite ESPECIALLY if you go over.

I did have a small victory last weekend.  I had brunch with some friends at the Cheesecake Factory.  And I'm sure everyone knows their menu is BRUTAL.  Especially the brunch menu.  Honestly, it's ridiculous.  So, I ordered off the Skinnylicious Menu.  I got the shrimp creole.  Cheesecake Factory doesn't really give you all the info to calculate points - they only provide calories, saturated fat, and carbs I think.  I did a little searching online and found that if you know the calorie count of an item you can get a rough points plus calculation by dividing the calories by 40.  So, the shrimp creole (550 calories) was 14 points for the entire thing and since I only ate half I was only out 7 points plus.  Add that to the non-fat latte I got (3) and one slice of their honey oat bread (3) with a tiny bit of butter (1) and I got away with only "spending" 14 points plus.  Pretty great considering the eggs and bacon breakfast is a rough 35 points plus just by itself.  Yikes.  And just so you know, it was really, really good.  I ate the other half for lunch the next day.

Today's Menu (I get 26 daily):
B:  whole wheat pancakes + egg/egg white + bacon + maple syrup + coffee/cream/sugar = 9 pts
S:  1/2 turkey sandwich on reduced calorie bread  + apple = 3 pts
L:  Ground Beef and Vegetable Soup = 5pts
D:  Vegetable Salad + Chicken + haven't really figured it out but it will be 9 pts



My plan this week is to eat all my points (daily/weekly) and leave all my activity points alone.  I'm done with my weekly points as of last night (which is a little early but that's ok) so Tues/Wed/Thur I'll be eating 26 points per day.  In any case, I find that I have better weigh-ins if I just stick to my daily points in the days leading up to my weigh-in.



Friday, October 12, 2012

I Weighed In Anyways

I figured why the hell not.  I was quite aware of the negativeness (is that even a word?) of my points so why not face the results.

I gained 3.4 pounds.

And somehow miraculously, it didn't send me into a negative tailspin.  It made me excited for a new week, a new set of points, and a new chance to kick some ass.  It's a challenge and I love me some challenges.  I want to get rid of those 3.4 pounds and then some this week.

Oh, and just for full disclosure.  I was negative 87 for the week.  Yes, I tracked every last thing I ate.

Wait, I forgot something.  Hold on.  Make that negative 90.

I want to mention that even though I'm pretty sure hardly anyone is reading any of this, it's still kind of hard to admit things like negative points and weight gain.  And while seeing a gain is hard on anyone who's trying to lose weight, it's even harder to admit to others when you fail.  Especially when you HAVEN'T been doing everything right.  But I really want to try to become better at admitting when I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing.  I'm a perfectionist by nature.  I HATE failing more than anything.  And if I can toot my own horn for a second, I'm usually pretty good at EVERYTHING I try.  Everything but weight loss.  Seriously, I've been on this earth 30 some years and this is the one battle I can't seem to get the edge on.

But I'm trying anyways.  And I want to be honest about my wins as well as my losses.  Cause fibbing about it won't do me any good.  And who knows, maybe my failure will help someone else.

So for those of you that are reading,  I ate too much last week.  I ate too much and was -90 points.  And I knew that I was doing it.  And yes, there were alternative, healthier options but I chose otherwise.  And if I want losses, I need to choose better.  End of story.

As for my other goals, I did not do my best on the water intake for the first half of the week but I quickly got back into the swing of it once my guests left and my life went back to normal.  Also, I did NOT get 20 Activity Points in.

I got 21!!

And with that victory, I'll bid you good day.

Today's menu:
B:  1 egg + 2 egg whites + 2 slices reduced calorie bread + 1 slice RF cheese + COFFEE
L:  big veggie salad + tuna salad + dressing + banana
D:  ?

Will someone please tell me to go grocery shopping already?


Thursday, October 11, 2012

Negative Points - No Weigh In

I had all good intentions of not letting that -20 points get to me.  Well, without going into too much detail, I would like to tell you that as of this morning, I am -68.

Isn't it amazing what 2 days can do.

I didn't do anything too crazy.  I ate normally both days except for dinner.  I ate out and that's it.  I didn't binge or go crazy or do anything too profound.  Were they exceptionally healthy meals?  Nope.

However, it's a revelation on just HOW off track you can get eating out.  I mean, even healthy options are going to set you back.  But "normal" options are going to blow you out of the water.

-68 points.

Oh, and just so you know, that -68 INCLUDES the activity points that I earned too!  Yeah, I've exercised.

 Yikes.

I'm not too down on myself about it.  I'm confident I can get back on track.  HOWEVER, my weigh-in is tomorrow morning and even though I'm just an online user - I'm going to invoke the no weigh-in pass.

I'm aware that when I step on that scale Friday it's going to be extra elevated by my nights out, and honestly, I don't want to be deflated because of it.   

WHEW!

I did a doozy.  And honestly, I'm not looking forward to repeating a week like for quite some time.  But lets be honest, they're going to happen.  I mean, had my family not been in town, I would have had ample weekly points for eating out 2 nights in a row.  However, instead, I had like 80% of my meals at a restaurant this past week.  The important thing is to get back on track.  I don't know about anybody else, but once I get a handful of bad meals under my belt, I start craving bad things:  candy, pizza, pasta, junk food, FAST FOOD!  So I'm preparing to be uncomfortable for a few days battling those cravings.

But it must be done.

Here's hoping.

Today's Menu:
B:  Skinny Vanilla Latte, Spinach Feta Wrap (Starbucks)
L:  Apple or Banana, Lean Cuisine
D:  Salad Veggies + ?

** I STILL haven't been to the grocery store, which is why I've been eating out, so here's a tip for all of you out there - GO GROCERY SHOPPING!!!**

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Weight Watchers Week 4: Month 1

This Friday is my fourth weigh-in on Weight Watchers.  That means I've now been following the plan almost one month and I can't believe how much I've taken to this program.

And this isn't my first time trying Weight Watchers.

I first went on the program in 2003.  I used it for about 3 months and lost 15 pounds.  I got tired of it and went on to use a food journal, while counting calories, and working out HARD and I lost another 30 pounds.  Then, about 2 years ago, I moved in with my boyfriend and proceeded to gain around 20-25 of those pounds back.  Around Christmas of 2010, I knew I needed to reel it in, so I tried a free 2 week trial of Weight Watchers and just wasn't having it.  I just didn't want anything to do with counting points.

Instead I went back to to the food journal, counting calories, and working out religiously since it was how I was so successful with the 30 pounds I had lost on my own.  But, sometimes, what you did before to lose weight doesn't always work a second time so I knew I needed a new plan.  Then, one month ago, without seeing a commercial or an ad on the internet, I went straight to the WW website and signed up for 3 months of their online program.  No free trial this time, I just plopped down the money, a little nervously mind you, and wished for the best.  And for whatever reason, something clicked.

Thank goodness.

It's not all gumdrops and lollipops.  There are days when it's just plain HARD but nothing worthwhile yadda yadda yadda.  You know the drill.

Anyway, the point is.  I'm hopeful for the future.  Even with the bad weeks that will be inevitably mixed in with the good weeks, I'm hopeful that I'll reach my 10% target weight by the dawn of the first day of 2013.

Very hopeful.


My parents and my brother and sister-in-law were in town this past week, and man does my family like to eat.  I was actually stressing this visit because I give my guests complete control over where we eat, how often we eat, and what we eat.  And when the majority of your meals come from restaurants, it gets pretty hard.  I made a deal with myself though.  I told myself that when they chose a place that A) I got to eat at frequently or B) was a cuisine I wasn't a big fan of, I would just chose the most practical thing on the menu.  You know, a vegetable or salad with some sort of protein with dressing on the side, drink lots of water, and just enjoy being there with them.  And when they chose something that was new and exciting to me, I would give myself some leeway to enjoy the food as well as the company.  And when that happened, I automatically found a way to eat the rest of my meals as sensibly as possible.

I also tried to work out as hard as possible every single day to bank as many APs as possible.

I have to say, I think I did EXTREMELY well.  Every day, I ate breakfast and lunch on my own and enjoyed dinner with my family.  Yeah, I had some high point days but I logged everything.  Even when my mom bought these wheat thin crackers that are like CRACK I logged it.  Man, those little thing take some major points.

I stuck to my plan all the way until the end.  And then I dropped them off at the airport and went back to my empty house.

And I ate pizza for dinner.  I knew I was going over my points for the week but I didn't care.  I was exhausted from the trip and sad that they were gone and had absolutely no desire to cook anything.  I grabbed the left over pizza in the fridge, sat down with my dog and ate dinner by myself.

It was delicious.   I can't remember the last time I was that bone tired.

I just updated my log and it says that I am -20 points for the week so far (and that negative number is ALL from last night's pizza dinner).  However, I plan on working out today, tomorrow and friday and earning some, if not all, of those 20 points back. 

However, there is a lesson to be learned.  Since my family was here during the weekend, I didn't get to make my scheduled weekend run to the grocery store so I didn't have an "exit strategy" for when they left.  Next time I have out of town visitors (which will be in December) I will make sure to stash something healthy in the fridge or freezer so that I don't have to think or cook, I can just grab and be on track.

Regardless of what my weigh-in says on Friday, I'm super proud of how I did while they were here and how I made my goal to get healthy a priority over the food.  Mostly ;)



Today's Menu:

B:  Skinny Vanilla Latte + Whole Wheat English Muffin + Lite Cream Cheese
L:  Reduced Guilt Baked Zitit + Apple + Carrots
D:  probably a trip to Trader Joe's

WW Weigh-Ins:

Week 1:  -2.8
Week 2:  -1.8
Week 3:  -1.2
Week 4:  *fingers crossed*


Total Lost Since July 6th:  -10.6


Friday, October 5, 2012

Weight Watchers Week 3: Measurements and Weigh In

I truly believe that I could have the most perfect, healthy diet and it wouldn't be enough for me to lose weight.  Now, I can't substantiate that claim, it's just a gut feeling I have ;)

Working out is so important.  Especially strength training.  And it wasn't until I did p90x that I realized how awesome it REALLY is.  I mean, I read the studies, I knew the facts.  But, after doing p90x and watching my waist lose inches like crazy, I was a believer.

I started p90x with a waist of 41 inches.  And in that first week of p90x I lost 2.5 inches.  Yes, 2.5 INCHES - just off my waist!

And as of today:

Waist:  34
Chest:  42
Rib:  34
Belly Button:  35
Hip: 43
Thigh at knee: 18
Thigh: 23.5

(original measurements below:)
Waist:  41
Chest:  43
Rib:  35
Belly Button:  42.5
Hip:  46
Thigh at knee:  19
Thigh:  25.25

That's 7 inches now just off of my waist.  I love it!  And my belly button area - that's a loss of 7.5 inches too!   What I'm finding lately is that my waist/hip area is losing slower but my legs are now starting to tone up.  And honestly, I don't care how my body chooses to lose, as long as it keeps losing.

And speaking of losing.  Today was my weigh-in.  I did NOT lose 3.8 pounds.  I lost 1.2 pounds.  I'm really happy with that.

How did I do w/ my goals?
I did NOT get my 20 AP.  I got in 15AP but I swapped out eating points instead of earning AP.  I don't really count that goal as a victory but since I couldn't workout I chose to eat less than normal on a couple of days and I'm happy I had control of everything to do that.

I got my water in!  YEAH

I got ONE strength training workout in.  Not bad but not a complete victory either.

And I DID track EVERYTHING!  YEAH!

50%.  I got in 50% of my goals.

Now for this week's goals.  I'm going for the same four again.  I WILL complete them all eventually.
1.  20 AP
2.  Water EVERY DAY
3.  Track EVERYTHING
4.  Strength train 2 Days

Today's menu:
B:  1 egg + 2 slices reduced calorie bread + Coffee
L:  Restaurant:  vegetable salad + nacho appetizer (shared w/ boyfriend)
D:  Tomato Bisque + Wheat Thins and Cream Cheese
Dessert:  Pomegranate and Coconut Pinkberry yogurt topped w/ fresh raspberries

Eggplant Rollatini in Tomato Sauce

I like to make at least one meal every week.  I make sure it has at least 4 servings so that on the mornings I'm rushing to pack my lunch or when I get home from work and don't feel like cooking anything, I'll have something easy to fix.

I also try to make sure it falls within a reasonable about of calories (or now points plus) so around 300-400 or what I figure would be 4-7 points plus.

This week I chose to make Eggplant Rollatini in Tomato Sauce - it was a recipe on Weightwatchers.com but I modified it a little to suit my own tastes and it came out to 5 points plus per serving.

Eggplant Rollatini in Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

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30 Days to ... by JH is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.