Weight Loss, week 21 - Changing it up! (And Pilates!)

Over the course of the last 21 weeks, I have done a few different things - started with Weight Watchers, moved to Calorie Counting, attempted the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred (got sidelined halfway through due to leg and knee issues), and lost a total of 13 lbs!

I am changing it up yet again. I am over my Wednesday weigh-ins! That's not to say I won't still be weighing myself, because I will be, but since I am going to be doing so much toning and weight work now, I know the scale will most likely go up - and I don't want to report those weigh-ins as a gain, because it will be muscle gain - and that's not a bad thing. A higher number on the scale doesn't have to mean I'm getting bigger... it might just mean that I'm becoming leaner and stronger and replacing those last stubborn unwanted pounds with something more desirable (and less jiggly)!

I'm going to focus less on the numbers now (because I am by no means overweight) and focus more on shaping my body into something strong and beautiful. And who knows, I may be 5 pounds heavier but 2 sizes smaller!

I am looking forward to my new workout schedule. I thrive in class environmnets as opposed to working out on my own, and this is what my schedule is going to look like.

Mondays: Total Body Class at 5:30 p.m. (I've never been to this one, but Josh recommended it)
Tuesdays: Abs at 5:30 a.m., Pilates at 5:30 p.m. (two-a-days! eek!)
Wednesdays: Yoga at 6:15 in the Village (except late June until late August - then Wednesdays will be my off nights)
Thursdays: Abs at 5:30 a.m., Pilates at 5:30 p.m.
Friday: Free Day! (except Late June to late August when I will be doing Yoga at our gym @ 5:40 pm while our regular lady is on Vacation.)
Saturday: Free Day!
Sunday: Free Day!

I think I am going to love this schedule... my weekends will not be devoted to the gym and I can concentrate on the stuff that is important to me - hubbin, dogs, cooking, entertaining, gardening, trying to get my crafting groove back. Generally enjoying life. Instead of zoning in front of the tv or otherwise wasting time most weeknights, I will be getting myself in shape with other like-minded folks. I can't wait!

Tuesdays and Thursdays are going to be hard. That abs class is a killer and Pilates isn't an easy-breezy picnic, either! To be honest it will probably take me a few weeks to build up the stamina to do both classes on both days. I will probably just do one ab class a week to start. We did Pilates last night for the first time and although it was very difficult at some points, it was pretty empowering, too! We got to do some moves on the ball

and also did some killer arm stuff with weights, too. I loved the class. When you are feeling the soreness and sweating 10 minutes in, you know you are working it right! It's similar to yoga in a lot of ways, except the breathing is opposite in most cases, which was confusing. I didn't realize how "used" to yoga I was already and how my breathing wanted to naturally go down the yoga road instead of the pilates road. I didn't know if this class would be a keeper for Josh, but I think it's going to be. It was quite a workout and we're both looking forward to unwinding, relaxing, and releasing at our Yoga class tonight. I think Wednesdays are officially my favorite day of the week!

Weigh-in, Week 20

GAIN! Shouldn't be surprising, I guess, since we were out of town last week and did a LOT of eating. If you recall, I was up about a half a pound last week and now I am up 2.5 more, for a grand total of 3 pounds! However, I did go to the grocery store last night, so we're getting back on track. Funny thing is, I had food poisoning before we left Ohio... I wonder if I would have gained 6 pounds if not for that?

Oh well, time to get back on the wagon and keep going... although there is cheese in my future this weekend, and that's always a bit scary. Cheese is totally my binge food!

Weigh-In! Week 16! And a picture of me when I was too darn skinny.

Another pound down! This morning my scale read 117.2! To say I am thrilled is an understatement. I saw the same number a little over a week ago for a couple of days, but it was back up a little for weigh-in last week. Hope to see another pound gone next week.

My goal weight is 110 - still a good 10-12 OVER what I used to weigh, so don't give me any crap about it or tell me I am aiming too low. I know my body. It's mine, and by gosh, I like it. But this time around, instead of just being skinny, I want to be fit. I want to have muscle tone.

I don't plan on looking like this again (92 lbs here - I looked like a skeleton. Look at my face and arms!), so don't get your britches in a wad!

That shirt I'm wearing? That was my ex-husband's when he was like 6 or 7. And he was a small kid. So no, I don't ever want to look like this again.

7.2 lbs from goal right now!!!

Late weigh-in (week 15) and current obsessions.

Weight is the same as last week. I am grateful that I am only 7-8 lbs away from goal. Might be able to get it all off by summer, who knows?

I have been too busy reading http://www.websleuths.com/ to update this thing, because I am currently obsessed with the Holly Bobo case, and finding every new bit of news I can on it (although law enforcement is very tight lipped). I hope she is found soon.

Other obsessions at the moment? Gwyneth Paltrow's new cookbook:

I will be the first to admit I didn't really warm up to her until she became a mother (what is it about motherhood that makes otherwise unlikable celebrities seem human?), and even then I could really take her or leave her. She seemed rather cold and anemic to me and "Macrobiotic diet" seemed like a fancy phrase for "anorexia". Plus the Bipster is pretty much in love with her and she's been all over the TV for months now - I was suffering severe Gwyneth burnout... until I got my hands on this book. I challenge you to not love her a little bit after looking at all these mouthwatering and EASY recipes (I'm dying to try the slow-roasted tomatoes), and reading about how she feels her macrobiotic diet was her way of trying to heal her cancer-sticken father "by proxy." That melted even my ice-cold heart.

And these two photos of her are just stunning:

If all I have just said about her has somewhat thawed your cold heart a little, too, and now you're thinking about renting "Country Strong", I feel it my duty to warn you that it is a very depressing movie that may stick with you for weeks and keep you from ever looking at Tim McGraw the same way again. But still, rent it, because I cannot carry the heavy emotional load of that movie alone. Really. It scarred me, but I'm really sensitive.



My last obsession (for now) is Thai spring rolls from Lean Cuisine:

Seriously, try them!

Ok, I am off - busy weekend ahead. I am hosting two back-to-back Easter brunches this weekend, and although this is the kind of stuff I usually thrive on, I am way out of practice. Time to get back on the entertaining horse, with the months of warm weather that are coming...

Weigh-in Week 14

I wasn't expecting much since my eating last week looked like this thanks to eating so much convenience food due to being in a hotel most of the week:



Can you guess which day I was eating my emotions?

Though I tried to make fairly healthy choices with my fast food options, it was still a LOT more sodium than I was used to having and I noticed a 2 lb weight gain when we finally got to come home from the hotel. I did my best to get back on track right away, staying in my calorie zone as best I could. I thought I'd still have a little bit of a gain to show this week, but I am pleasantly surprised to say I am .2 lbs less than when I weighed myself before we were displaced by the storm. I am a little more than 8 lbs away from goal, and down a total of nearly 12 lbs! So I lost all the weight I gained last week, plus .2 more! I'm really, really happy with doing the calorie counting thing now.

Don't get me wrong, I ADORE Weight Watchers.They got me halfway to goal, and their recipes will be the ones I use for maintenence. (I won't bust out the Barefoot Contessa recipes except for Holidays and dinner parties.) But right now I am concentrating on calories, rather than points, and it's working for me. My calorie budget per day is pretty low (1200), so I make sure to eat as healthy as I can instead of just having 1200 calories of crap a day. Whole grains, fruits and veggies and lean meats like fish or chicken. Josh has been working out like a maniac and these food choices are great for him as well. He's losing a little bit of weight, in terms of pounds, but it's mostly helping him build more muscle. He looks wonderful! Very little filler food in our diet these days, but I love it when I can budget in a little treat. It is Cadbury Egg season, after all!

Happy Wednesday... we're halfway to the weekend!

Weight Watchers/ Calorie Cutting weigh-in, Week 13

Unlucky number 13! I know this is a day late, but weighing in has been the least of my concerns thanks to this:



Long story short. Storms and Tornadoes on Monday, neighbors tree in our power lines, surge in cable line that somehow crossed into our electric system and kaboom. There you have it. We are very lucky the house didn't burn down.

In lieu of WW, for the last week and a half or so, I've been monitoring my calories with the help of the "MyFitnessPal" iPhone app. There are no words for how much I love it. You basically log what you eat - they have EVERYTHING in there- and it keeps track of your calories. It's incredible. When you start, you put in your current weight and then your goal weight and it tells you how many calories to eat per day to get to that weight.... then all you do is keep track! As of the weekend, I had lost 1.2 lbs.

Last week looked like this:



Very good, huh?

This week, due to hotel living and convenience eating, looks like this:



Not so good, huh? I didn't even eat dinner yesterday because I had blown all of my calories by lunch.

Here's an example of what a daily log looks like:


There is also a nutrition tab so you can see how well you are doing with that:



All in all, I love this app, even though it's hard to keep in my calorie range with all that is going on. This lovely suite is our temporary home:


... but I think we get to really go home tomorrow. Now I'm just praying the insurance people don't give us any trouble and we get our claim settled as quickly as possible! And hoping for a good weigh-in next week, too!

Weight Watchers - Week 12... And farewell to Jillian (for now).

My weight today is exactly the same as my weight last Wednesday. However, over the weekend I went up FOUR POUNDS for some reason. Not sure if it was the few drinks I had or the mexican food or what, but I was all "blowed up like a blowfish". With the calorie cutting and excercise I have been doing, I am back down to where I was. So we can either look at this week as no change or a four pound loss. I say, it's no change.

It has become apparent that my knee issues need to be addressed by a doctor. I am going on Friday and anxious to hear what we'll do for it this time around, since I am not too thrilled with how it was addressed last time. Until I get the go ahead to continue exercise, I am putting Jillian on hold. However, it feels really weird to not be active in some way, so I will continue to do ab and arm stuff, but that's about all I can do.

The whole thing is really a bummer... I miss Jillian. But I desire a healthy leg right now more than I desire being 'shredded'. And the lower-calorie stuff is going pretty well, too. I am taking vitamins and choosing my foods wisely - whole grains and protein w/ fruit in the mornings to stay full, veggies and a protein drink at lunch and veggies with fish or chicken for dinner. I'm not feeling hungry or snacky or anything, my food intake is super healthy and the calorie content is lower than what it has been. I am sure I will see a different number on my scale one of these days!!!

Happy Wednesday!

Thoughts on Jillian Michaels 30-day shred - Day 16, LEVEL 2.

I still don't look like this:

I missed one day of doing the shred last week... I forget what day it was, but my knee was just hurting too badly to be dealing with all the squatting and bending. However, I did do other things that weren't quite as aggravating to me. I started off with jumping jacks. I thought I'd do about 25, but I just kept going and next thing I knew I had done 70 of them. Then I did ab work... lots and lots of ab work. By the time I was totally done for the night, I am sure I had done well over 200 ab excercises. Bicycle crunches! Oh, how I used to hate them, but now I just love, love, love them!


Friday, I PLANNED to shred after getting home from my sister-in-laws bday dinner, but the white wine sangria and margarita I had consumed told me "NO". To make up for it, I decided to do back to back shredding on Saturday. I started with level one, and I didn't even break a sweat until the third circuit. I knew that it was time to move on to level two, so I did that next. It kicked my butt in a really good way. I swear I felt high from the endorphins... life had never been more glorious. I was all sweaty and stinky and disheveled and blathering on about it to Josh. Ab moves with weights! Plank stuff! Crawl-out pushups! Give it to me, Jillian!



And then there was yesterday.... I put on my gear, started level two and could not finish it. I felt like a deflated balloon... I just didn't have the energy to get through it. What happened to me? Where did endorphin girl go? However, today is another day and I am armed with:



I am also shaking up my diet this week. A little over a year ago, Josh and I attempted healthier eating for a while, and he just started dropping pounds like crazy. He actually got way too skinny. For dinner every night we had either fish or chicken and vegetables. Last night we recreated one of those meals and figured up the total calories - 115. That's it. No wonder he was wasting away! He's been working out like mad but still has some stuff going on in his love handle areas that he wants to be rid of, and I just want the scale to frigging MOVE. So we're doing a drastic calorie cut this week and seeing what happens... I'm taking vitamins and eating plenty of good food - just lower calories. We'll see what happens.

I am pretty sure my knee/leg issues are IT band related. I have been trying everything I can think of - ice, friction massage, ibuprofen, stretches... what am I missing? I can't deal with it anymore, it is seriously getting in the way of being active and it's driving me nuts. PT only aggravated it further, and steroid shots only helped for a little while. It went away on it's own for a bit, but now it's back with a vengeance. If anyone has been through this and has any advice, I'd love to hear it. I just started with the glucosamine and chondroitin, I know I won't see instant results but I am hoping it will do something.

Happy Monday!!!!

Side by side comparison...

As a continuation of my last post, here are some side by side comparisons of the "before" pictures and what I look like now.






My mind = blown.

See for yourself what a difference 10 pounds makes. Plus, thoughts on Day 5 of 30 day shred.

I was looking through some pictures last night, and WOW. I can definitely see the change in myself now. Can you?

This was me in October or November of 2010.

In this first picture I am even wearing spanx... I had to wear them every day just to be able to get my pants on. It still wasn't doing me a whole lot of favors:

I remember how I felt that day, how uncomfortable I was in my own skin ALL THE TIME then. This is not the body I wanted to live in.

These were taken around the same time. I thought the slightly flowy top was masking my problem - I was wrong:

I had no waist whatsoever. And be sure to note how round my face was, too. Do you see a difference from those pictures to these?

And Glory Hallelujah my face is slimming down, too. This picture was taken just last night.

I am so proud of myself. I still have some work to do, but being able to look at these pictures all together and SEEING the changes is motivating me even more. Hopefully you can see them, too, and I'm not just being delusional.

In other news, yesterday was day 5 for me of the 30 day shred. There are some parts that still put a hurtin' on me, but overall I can feel myself getting stronger and having more endurance. At some points I yell at Jillian to stop talking so we can just get on to the next move. I'm not doing this just to hear you talk at me, Jillian, I want to move! At other points, like when I have to do these side lunge barbell raises and I'm on the 25th one or so, I have to tell her through gasping breaths that she is an evil, evil scorpion woman. But overall, I am loving it so far... in 5 days my waist has went from 28.75" to 27.5". That's no one time measuring fluke either. I measured it on Day 4 and also again this morning (which will be day six) and both times it showed me an inch and a quarter lost!

Double workouts this weekend - hitting the gym and also doing the shred at home.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Weight Watchers - Week 10 weigh-in

Down a pound! No small feat, since it's that time of the month... very happy with the loss! I keep knocking on 119's door, but it just won't let me in (although I weighed 119.4 last Saturday... I always weigh less on weekends for some reason). Next week's weigh in will be the true test, I will have been doing the 30 Day Shred for over a week by that point. We'll see if it makes any difference.

Speaking of the Shred, last night was day 3 of it, and I am already finding some of the parts getting easy. Don't get me wrong, I still break a good sweat and I am about dead by the last set of abs, but it's amazing how much my endurance has increased in just 3 sessions! Pushups are still a struggle, but last night I did better than ever on them. Josh was watching (grrrr) and he said "Look at my girl go!" I think maybe I impressed him and myself with those last night. I think this weekend I will be moving up to level 2.

If I don't see some good improvements at the end of my 30 days with Jillian, a personal trainer may be next for me. It's not something I would have ever considered, but when Josh was at the gym yesterday he talked to one of the trainers about me. She asked my weight/height and then she was like "Oh, I can have her down to 103 or 104 in a month." Yikes. I don't know if that's just big trainer talk or what, but my BMI would be around 17 at that weight, which is underweight, not to mention I'd be losing 17 lbs in one month. I think that's just a tad unhealthy and unrealistic, don't you? Or am I crazy? Wait, don't answer that. I know I'm crazy, but I think I am also right in this instance. I weighed about that amount for most of my adult life (without really having to try), but I really do think I was too skinny. Josh was quick to tell her that my goal weight is not nearly that low, but he told me he thinks it's worth the investment to do it for a month just to learn more and get more results. We'll see. I'd rather Jillian whip me into shape at home and use that personal trainer money for a new wardrobe! ;)

Oh, there's a new (FREE!) app I love that I'd like to share with you. It's called "Fooducate." You scan the barcode of any food and it gives you a grade from A-F (or maybe D-?) based on how good it is for you, and also includes loads of other info. I have had a blast scanning just about everything I can, and luckily, most everything I eat falls into the A or B category. However, I've recently fallen in love with a C- item.



Fooducate was kind enough to proivde me with a list of alternatives.


I'm sorry, Special K... I just can't quit you yet, even though your artificial sweeteners scare me to death.

If I don't post tomorrow, have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

(Hat and shirt sent to us by Josh's mom. How fun to get in the mail! For Valentine's day she sent us wine and chocolate... What a fun package to receive, let me tell ya.)

Body By Jillian AKA The Perfect Storm for a PMS Meltdown

I bought this video months ago, but didn't get around to trying it until Friday. Why did it take me so long? Well, you need a yoga mat (unless you have carpeted floors) and hand weights. I have some 3 lb hand weights "somewhere" in the garage, but I'm not about to dig for them (they were in storage for 5 years, so I have no idea what box they'd be in). Friday, I went to Target and bought some 5 lb weights. MISTAKE #1!

My reasoning at the time was that I didn't want to buy another set of 3 pounders. Besides, I'm pretty fit now, right? I can do a 20 minute video with 5 lb weights, right?

HAHAHAHA.

So I got home from work on Friday and I was all excited to DO THIS. I put on my workout gear, even had Josh take a picture of me getting ready to kick some Jillian tail.



Yeah, that's my tough girl face. That's me thinking I am going to breeze through this without breaking a sweat. That was MISTAKE #2.

Not many people know this, but Jillian is all-seeing and all-knowing. When you mock, even in a joking manner, a karmic smackdown will ensue. Trust me on this. Never mock Jillian or think for one minute you can beat her at her own game. You will lose.

I asked Josh repeatedly to let me do this in private.You see, my ex-husband once told me I look funny when I run. That has stuck with me and I don't like to be looked at when I do any type of exercise now. Unless I'm on the gazelle, because face it, everyone looks stupid on that thing. Josh insisted on watching. That was MISTAKE #3. Because, you see, my husband is incapable of watching idly. No, he decided to play devil's advocate, which is to say he's Team Jillian. My own husband. Traitor.  So while I'm struggling to keep up, and realizing that those 5 pound weights were my WORST PURCHASE OF ALL TIME, I've got my beloved behind me telling me to keep up, go faster, stick my chest out, keep my back straight, etc.

I dropped those five pound weights (I was only halfway through the video), took off my shoes, glared at him and said "YOU do it."

Never one to back down from a challenge, he tried. God bless him, he tried, but Jillian defeated him as well. Now, Josh is in really good shape. He's no stranger to weights or working out in any form, but even he said the 5 lb handwieghts were a bit much for this.

I crumpled on the couch and cried (remember, PMS). DEFEAT.

But yesterday I decided to try again. I purchased some lighter weights, and yesterday afternoon I took on Jillian in private (Josh was in the office and obeyed my orders to not watch this time). And you know what? I made it all the way through! It felt great, and I absolutely loved it and enjoyed it. I am going to actually take the 30 day thing to heart and do it every day and see how my body changes. April 11th will mark the 30th day! I'm really looking forward to sticking to this... It takes me the same amount of time (or less) than I devote to working out on the gazelle, but it does so much more for my body. I already can't wait to go home tonight and do it again!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this workout if you've done it.

Weight Watchers - Week 9!

Gained a pound, but that was to be expected this week due to *ahem* water retention. And a few too many spoonfuls of peanut butter yesterday that my hormones were demanding.

I'm actually pretty proud of myself, because I've not been exactly on plan this last week - a lot of family/friend time, not cooking at home, had a work event... but I managed to maintain all week and didn't see a gain (which again was to be expected) until yesterday. I intend for this to be a way of life (obviously), and I have surprised myself by how well I am able to control my eating when I'm not eating at home, or something pre-planned due to outside-of-home-and-work plans. I didn't even really think about it until after the fact, actually. For instance, at my M-I-L's last week, we had spaghetti, salad and garlic bread. I filled 3/4 my plate with salad, took a tiny amount of spaghetti, the smallest piece of garlic bread and said "no, thanks" to the birthday cake without even thinking twice. I was fully satisfied and didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. In fact, it was the salad that I was really craving and hit the spot for me.

At our work event, I went a little crazy with the appetizers (they were good!) but when dinner rolled around, I skipped the bread, ate less than half of what was on my plate, and only about half of the dessert. Again, I didn't really think about it or stress over it, it came naturally. Normally, I would eat: a) until everything was gone, or b) until my stomach burst (whichever came first). Again, I was plenty satisfied and didn't feel like I was missing out.

When I started the WW plan, I had a lot of food guilt at first. If I ate one thing off plan I really struggled with feeling like I was undo-ing all my hard work. It's not that I am getting lazier with it now, but I am more forgiving of myself. I am not a robot, and it's ok to slip as long as I track it and work the rest of my day/week around it. However, it doesn't take a genius to figure out I feel better and look better when I stick with it.

A lot of my confidence comes from knowing I am halfway to my goal (maybe more - I may have set the weight bar too low for myself and with more toning/muscle I will have a better idea of where I should be when I get there), and that good choices have become habits. I don't think maintaining will be a problem once I get to goal. Although at first I was frustrated when I wasn't losing 3 lbs every week, I now see that as a blessing. For starters, I don't have a lot of fat left to lose. If I did, it would be coming off faster! My stomach and arms are what I want to work on the most, but even they aren't too bad - they just need more toning. Even though my weight hasn't changed dramatically in the last few weeks, the shape of my legs has! I wore a dress yesterday and I was like "Who do those thighs belong to?" because they definitely didn't look like mine. Also, numerous studies show that people who lose 2 lbs or less per week are more likely to keep it off long-term. And that, my friends, is my goal. It's not about getting there as quickly as possible, it's about STAYING there once I get there.

I absolutely love the changes that losing just 10 lbs has brought to my life. When Josh takes my picture, I no longer ask him to just get me from the chest up... I'm like "get my waist in!"



Let me tell ya, that waist was MIA for a looooong time! I'm thrilled to be showing it's return. Stay tuned for more progress. :)

Have a great Wednesday!

Weight Watchers - Week 8!

I lost 1.4 lbs since last week! I'm thrilled. No, I didn't get to see the 119.8 on my scale again (darn), but I'm still thrilled with the loss.

Of course,  next week Mother Nature will probably be starting phase one of her 2 week bloating program on me (it gets so much worse for me the older I get), and I may have more gains coming up. I hope not. I can't do the one step forward, two steps back thing.

Here I am at week 3:


And today, same outfit, week 8:


Do you see any differences between the two or is it just me? Only a couple of pounds difference on the scale, really, but I feel like I look HEALTHIER now. And my waist/stomach area looks a little smaller. You can't see much since I'm so covered up, but let me just tell you that everything is tightening up, and it's WONDERFUL. Week 3 was before I had started any exercise, and now I do some form of exercise every single day.

I feel so good - excercise seems to clear up the fog in the ol' brain. I feel mentally sharper, infinitely happier, and more energetic. I am just loving this journey!

Pictures or it didn't happen!

When I stepped on the scale this morning, it told me I weighed 119.8 (very hard to see in the picture, but I promise you that is what it says).

I have not seen that number in forever (well, a year and a half). And the next time I weghed myself (immediately after, because  I was so excited), I was 120 on the nose... but I got a brief glimpse of life in the teens, and I liked it.

Tomorrow is my 'official' weigh in, so we'll see what the scale says then, but I HAD to document this because I was so happy... or "over the moon" as all the pregnant celebs say (not that I'm pregnant, or a celebrity, but whatever).



I finally got my flickr issues fixed, so expect more posts coming up!

Weight Watchers Weigh-in, Week 7

Well, I had a loss, but not a big one. Just half a pound. I am still 1.2 lbs over my lowest recorded weight (3 weeks ago) since starting WW.

I was feeling a bit discouraged after weighing myself, but I know I am going about things the right way, even if they are happening more slowly than I hoped. Healthy eating habits and exercise - that's so much more than I was doing before, you know?

I've kept my promise to myself to go at least a mile every day on the Gazelle, and there have been days (not many) that I've done as much as 3.5 miles. That's a big deal for me. I am not going to stop at the end of February, I am going to keep this up, and starting today I am bumping up my "minimum mileage allowed" to 1.5. I'd like to make it 2, but sometimes I have a hard enough time cranking out one. I'd rather do my 1.5, realize I'm 3/4 of the way to 2 and keep on going because I want to. We'll see how it goes. I'm also doing ab exercises at home or the gym every other day, and they are a killer. My abs have been sore for about the past 2 weeks straight! It's a good feeling.

While the scale is not showing me a whole lot of change, my body is. My clothes (especially pants) are getting more loose-fitting by the day, and I can just see my body as a whole toning up. I feel the muscles that I work. My seatbelt has started rubbing uncofortably against my collarbone - I actually forgot I had those!

I feel good and I'm excited to amp up my excercise little by little over time. I'm still loving 99.9% of the WW food we've made. I'm playing around with my breakfasts a little so I am not so ravenous at lunch (I've went from not feeling hungry most of the time to feeling hungry a LOT lately... I think maybe that's due to excercise?) I also crave protein - like beans!! - often. I mean, when you're daydreaming about chickpeas instead of chocolate... it's different!

I recently started using the "TargetWeight" app for iphone, and I am trying to decide if I like it or not.


See that number 11? That's how many pounds I have left to lose... it's a constant reminder when I look at my phone and I am not sure if that is a good thing or not yet. I still use the "LoseIt" app to track more frequently, but I'll be using the "TargetWeight" one to record my Wednesday weigh-ins only.

Last night's dinner was so good! Shrimp with a lime/cockatail sauce and spiced edamame.


Our menu this week is mostly stuff we've already had, or variations on stuff we've already had. It's good to revisit some favorites, but I look forward to attacking some new recipes next week... and hopefully, a happier weigh-in, too. I feel like I am at a plateau, but I also feel like I am going to bust out of it soon. I think my body is changing, adjusting, and then all at once I am going to have a good 3 lb loss in one week or something. Here's to hoping!

Weight Watchers Week 6 - ANOTHER GAIN!

I am up another pound, and I'm not going to lie. I am frustrated. I know for a fact I am not overeating, and not only that, I have exercised every day this month, whether it's walking 1-3+ miles at home or going to the gym.

Without going all TMI on you, there are other factors probably contributing to this, but I had hoped that I would see some downward motion on the scale anyway, or at the very least, to stay the same as last week.

I'm still not giving up, though! Resisting any kind of junk temptation just gets easier and easier by the day, and cooking healthy meals is something I love to do. Exercising isn't my most favorite thing in the world, but i love the way I feel once I've done it. Just going to keep pushing harder... there is absolutely no reason I shouldn't see a loss next week. If I don't then I am going to need to re-evaluate this situation further.

Since my no-smoothies for meals resolution for the week didn't help me any, guess what I had for breakfast this morning after my weigh in? ;)

Here's a few other things I've been eating this week...

Mondays dinner: shrimp, zucchini, garlic, tomatoes. Yum. Josh made this, as I was still feeling really crappy.


Snack: spicy roasted chickepeas. Yum! He made these, too.


Last night's dinner: Cayenne-spiced "fried" (baked) chicken and lemon-basil smashed potatoes. Josh was not a fan of the lemony potatoes (though he loves lemon), but I thought they were amazing.

Weight Watchers, Week 5 - I gained. :(

Yep, that's right, folks... I gained half a pound this week. The good thing is that I think I know where I went wrong.

#1. Mother Nature takes some of the blame *ahem*. Nothing I can do about that.

#2. I am not consuming all of my points most days, and I think that's working against me. I'm not doing it on purpose, it's just that I'm not that hungry anymore. I don't snack, and most of the time I don't even want to EAT. As I mentioned in a previous post, I am fine with drinking smoothies 2 meals out of the day (I'd do it for three if I had a blender at work). However, it was explained to me that digesting liquids uses less energy than digesting and breaking down actual food, so I am burning even less calories. I'm really doing myself a disservice.

I really though that with eating less and really stepping up the exercise that I'd see a nice change on the scale this week, but I didn't. There is always next week! While this wasn't my happiest weigh in, I don't feel discouraged or want to give up. I love Weight Watchers, being active, and my current lifestyle. I'm not going to stop!

Here is last night's dinner (though I didn't eat it, I opted to have a smoothie instead). Can you guess which one is mine? (Hint: it's not the one covered in so much cheese that you can't even see the tortilla!)


I'll be eating it for lunch today...in just a few minutes, actually! Yum.

My goal for this week is NO SMOOTHIES AS MEAL REPLACEMENTS. I will allow myself an occasional 2 pt WW smoothie WITH a meal, but not AS a meal. And my mocha PB smoothies will only be a treat after an extra hard workout at the gym on weekends. Looks like my chewing muscles are going to get a long-overdue workout!

Weight Watchers - week 4!

I did my 4th weigh-in this morning and I am down another pound! I was worried I wasn't going to see a loss this week (I do weigh myself more than once a week, to get a feel for how things are going, but my *official* weigh-in day is Wednesday)... I haven't been all that hungry, and not using all my daily points. In fact, I rarely want food. I crave smoothies made from fat free chocolate milk, peanut butter and banana all. the. time. I could live on that. I was also feeling quite bloated most of the time (not sure why). But, these last few days I stepped up the exercise and I think that pushed me over into the 'loss' category. Very happy! In fact, I am less than half a pound away from a 10-lb total loss!

Last night's dinner was great! Chrorizo and bean burritos. It's not from a WW cookbook but from this book that Miriam gave me:

Here is the final product:

Wow, were they ever good! I only bought one can of beans (oops), so we could only make half the recipe (3 servings instead of 6). The good news is I just have to buy a can of beans the next time we go to the store and I can make them again next week (or maybe even this weekend) because I have all of the other ingredients.



Despite the Bipster having two very generous servings, there was a (very) little bit left... so guess what I am having for lunch? (I refused to let him claim the leftovers this time!)

Yay, Weight Watchers!! (week 3)

This morning was my 3rd weigh-in, and I am down about 6 pounds since I started WW, and down a total of 8 lbs since the holidays.

Today is the first day I've really seen the change in my body, and I love it.


My face is thinner, as are my arms, and of course my stomach shows the most improvement (hallelujah)! I am 11 pounds from my goal!

And in 3 weeks of cooking WW meals, we just encountered our first yucky one last night. Chicken Paprika. I guess it's good if you like caraway seeds, but we definitely found that we do not, and this was in no way reminiscent of my mom's Chicken Paprika, or any Chicken Paprika I've ever encountered. So to say the least, it was quite disappointing.

Yuck.

I am sure tonight's dinner (Shrimp and Goat Cheese sandwiches) will be just fine. And I've already got ideas brewin' for next week's menu.

Also, I think my husband is the only person who has GAINED weight eating so much WW food (of course, he eats triple portions and washes it down with gallons of chocolate milk).