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Monday, December 22, 2003 Happy Holidays! Was away for the weekend to visit my brother for our family Christmas. Time for some damage control. Well, seems that is my life story these days.
10 minute warm-up, walking Eating has been BAD BAD BAD lately and I'm really starting to feel it and see it. Not good! Do I have a plan? Well, if I can do better today than I did yesterday, that is a start. If each day can be better, I'll be okay, but it sure is easy to slip into the old bad habits! Wednesday, December 17, 2003
10 minute warm-up, walking
Tuesday, December 16, 2003 Doing my workouts at Victory Lady again these days. My YMCA membership expired a few days ago and since I have a contract at VL until April and I have earned 20 FREE months time that will be added on to my contract, why should I fork out the money to go to the Y? I do miss the treadmills at the Y, but that is not enough incentive for me to stay there.
10 minute warm-up, walking
Saturday, December 13, 2003 Back at the gym today.
10 minute warm-up, walking
Tuesday, December 9, 2003 I seem to be getting most of my "exercise" in the form of going up and down the attic stairs and bringing down holiday decorations and then going back up to put other things away. Up and down, up and down. Also, I am trying to get my shopping done. I have to be finished by December 19 because my family will have Christmas that weekend. Tonight I went with my sister to a holiday event at the Governor's Mansion. Here I am next to the tree there.
Friday, December 5, 2003 I took yesterday off from exercise and planned to work out today, but it is so cold out and I just didn't feel like going back out once I got home from WW. Can you believe I stayed exactly the same today as last time? I'm pretty happy, all things considered. Wednesday, December 3, 2003
10 minute warm-up, walking
Tuesday, December 2, 2003
35 minute walk Monday, December 1, 2003 I hope everyone had a great holiday and a nice weekend. I didn't do too badly and I didn't do too good, either. I think mostly I was just burned out from all of the yard work I have been doing and so I decided to just enjoy myself and relax. Today I was back at VL. I worked out for an hour and 40 minutes of that was weights and abs and the other 20 was walking. I wasn't feeling like going at all, I really had to push myself, but I'm glad I went because it does make me feel better once I'm finished. Friday, November 28, 2003 Worked out today. Nothing major, mostly just weight lifting stuff. I couldn't bring myself to go running yesterday, I think I needed the day to just bum around and hang out and not worry about anything. I did go to a mall today, just for the heck of it. I need a new pair of black jeans. I started off trying on 14 Bill Blass. They were way too big. So for curiosity sake I tried on size 10 Bill Blass and they fit. Not a perfect fit, but I was able to get them zipped and buttoned. I tried on a lot and ended up with size 12 GVs. Eating was not completly disastrous for Thanksgiving, but I was no angel. I don't really care for most of the traditional TG fixings, like stuffing and potato salad kinds things. I am never tempted to overeat on the basics that I do enjoy, like turkey and cranberry sauce. It is the dessert trap that I always fall into. There really is no way for me to avoid it, I just assume eat what I want because if I don't I will just overeat on things I don't sincerely want and end up consuming the same amount of calories anyway.
Wednesday, November 26, 2003 Well, I'm about 96% finished with the yard project, but I have had enough. I worked for nearly three hours today, blowing leaves, sucking-up leaves, raking leaves, bagging leaves, mulching leaves, mowing leaves. I am sick-of-it!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow! Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Still working on the yard.
Monday, November 24, 2003 Hour of raking and bagging leaves. And yes, more cleaning house. Sunday, November 23, 2003 3 hours of raking and bagging leaves today. And I have not even started on the front yard and I'm not nearly finished with the back yard. Saturday, November 22, 2003 No "formal" exercise today, unless you consider climbing the kitchen countertops to get to the windows for a good cleaning "formal exercise," haa. Really, I spent almost 3 hours doing deep cleaning today, mostly in the kitchen. Holiday time is always a good time to get things neat and clean and to get rid of clutter. Tis the season. Friday, November 21, 2003 Thanks for tuning in. You can now see my 8K race finish-line pictures online here. Allow my to narrate please. The 2569-132-021 shot is of me looking up at my time as I am about to cross the finish mats. The 2569-619-017 shot is of me and my overwhelming sense of freedom that I was feeling as I was nearing the finish mats. It was a very liberating feeling I was having. Shot 2569-381-031 is of me feeling so happy that I didn't let the guy in the black shirt and plum shorts finish before me. I was not about to let him finish before me. For the last half of the race he was grunting behind me. When he would get closer, I would speed up. If I felt tired and had to slow down, hearing him grunt behind me was my cue to speed up again. Enjoy. And please, no laughing. I took yesterday as a day with no exercise. I did manage to get in some good cleaning though. I need to get out into the yard today, so I'm not sure that I will make it to the gym tonight. *****I did 2 hours in the yard today. Raking and bagging leaves.***** I weighed-in today and am almost exactly the same weight that I was on my October 17 weigh-in. At least I know I'm good at maintaing. I snapped a few pics before leaving today. Here is one. The other is on the main page.
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
10 minute walk I really wanted to just not go today and have a day of rest but I'll do that tomorrow I think. I need it. I really just went to Victory Lady get the abs stuff in since I never seem to get around to it when I'm at the Y. For anyone concerned about the fact that I have not posted my weigh-ins for the past weeks. Please don't worry yourself. This is a very personal journey and while I have openly shared most of it with all of you for going on 2 and a half years now, sometimes I just don't want to be watched that closely. Also, I am dealing with some stressful events in my personal life and I really am just concentrating on getting through this and with maintaining my weight through everything. Tuesday, November 18, 2003
Rake leaves and bag leaves - 2 hours I didn't really have the energy to run tonight because I had to start on my project of getting up the leaves. I love autumn but it it just too much with all the leaves everywhere. I like to have them taken care of by Thanksgiving. Two hours a day is about what it takes. Monday, November 17, 2003
10 minute walk (warm-up) I had the urge to run tonight but I don't want to push it and risk injuring myself. My things feel better today, tomorrow I'll give it a go. I really need to get back to doing abs every day. Bigtime. Sunday, November 16, 2003 Walk 30 minutes - 3.6mph and 3.8mph on 3% inclines I have just a slight bit of soreness in my thighs today, but it is a good kind of feeling. After having been in the cold and wind yesterday, I had a bad case of the sneezes all day yesterday afternoon and evening, but I took some Sudafed and then NyQuil at about 8:30pm and I got a good night of sleep and feel fine today.
Supposedly there will be race finish-line photographs available within the next week or so, I look forward to seeing that, ha ha. Saturday, November 15, 2003 First, I want to say "thanks" to those of you who have sent e-mails encouraging me with doing this race. It really has meant a lot to me!!! I'm extremely grateful for and touched by your support! Here I am eating before leaving for the event.
Well, I did it. Not only did I finish the 8K, but I finished under my goal. I had wanted to complete it in 65 minutes, and when I crossed the finish line I was at 57 minutes and some seconds. I have to say, this was by far the coolest thing I have ever done and experienced. Here I am with my medal.
 
I'm not sure what my "net" time is (the time it takes to complete the race course from the moment you cross the starting mats to the moment you cross the finish mats) or my exact "official time," (the time it takes to complete the race course from the moment the starting horn is blown to the moment you cross the finish mat). Like I said, when I crossed the finish line it was just over 57 minutes, so my "net" time will probably be a minute or so under that, which just amazes me. Yeah. Anyway. I ran a lot more than I thought I would. It was cold, which was not bad, but shortly before the race began, the wind started whipping. For the first 2 miles it was me against the wind. I hadn't even planned to run for 5 minutes or so into the thing, but I couldn't help myself. I couldn't even make it to the one-mile marker without stopping to walk because the wind was pretty bad. After mile 2 I was okay though, and then wow, when I made it to mile 3 and my time was just at 35 minutes, I was so excited! I knew I would be able to beat my time! Then I had a good laugh at mile 4 when a lady next to me asked me how far 8K was. She wanted to know if it much farther than 5 miles long. She seemed pretty relieved when I told her it was just under 5 miles. I wasn't sure at all if I was going to like running outside with a bunch of strangers all around me. And I was scared that I was going to be in pain because I never trained on pavement or anything. But I have to say, it was not bad at all. In fact, I am looking forward to doing some running out at my favorite park. I have asked myself if I think I could have done that run 5 times, well, a little over, to be able to do a full marathon. At this point, no way. I mean, I think I probably could actually finish it if I could walk it the first 20 miles, ha ha. I know for sure I could not do a complete marathon right now, not even sure I'd be ready a year fromnow. But I know now that it is something I really want to do at some point in my life, for sure. Anyway, I completely almost lost it at the finish line. I was really overcome with emotion. There were people everywhere and I didn't want to be crying in the pics the photographers were taking, so I held it together. I still can't believe that I have come this far. Posted 8:20PM
My goal was 65 minutes Friday, November 14, 2003
Walk 25 minutes Well, it is official. I picked up my race packet this afternoon and I think I'm about as ready as I can be for tomorrow. This is about what I'll be looking like tomorrow morning, though I'll have my hair up and out of my face.
When I was on my way home from picking up my stuff, I was reflecting on the past few years of losing weight and some of the things I have been able to accomplish because of having lost this weight. I know that an 8K race isn't the big 26 mile marathon, but to me, tomorrow is a very important day in my life. I never ever in my life imagined that I would ever be participating in a race like this. I grew up a swimmer and I quit swimming competitively very early in my youth and it has always been a big regret of mine. Yeah, in the past few years and months there have been times when I wanted to quit exercising, to quit watching my diet, to quit trying to live a healthy life. Giving up is easy. I don't ever want to have that kind of regret in my life again.
 
Thursday, November 13, 2003 No exercise. Rest day. Wednsday, November 12, 2003
Walk 30 minutes (2.14 miles)
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
Walk 30 minutes (2 miles) 3%-4%-5% inclines Monday, November 10, 2003 I have a love-hate relationships with the treadmills at the Y, I love them because I can actually run on them with no knee pain, but I hate them because you can't set them for more than 35 minutes. Very annoying. I'm tired. I have decided that I must be in bed no later than 11pm all this week. Last night I was in bed by about 10:40pm, but I couldn't sleep, so I just laid there all damn night. Not good. Anyway, today's action:
Walk/Run 30 minutes, 2.44 miles
Sunday, November 9, 2003
Walk 30 minutes, 2.16 miles (3.8mph-4.5mph 3% and 4% inclines) Saturday, November 8, 2003
10 minute warm-up, walking
Friday, November 7, 2003
30 minute walk (2 miles)
Thursday, November 6, 2003 No exercise.
Wednesday, November 5, 2003
Did not want to go tonight.
25 minute walk (4% inclines, 3.8mph-4.3mph) with 5 minute jog thrown in for good measure (2.15 miles total)
Tuesday, November 4, 2003 No exercise.
Monday, November 3, 2003
No knee pain, really wanted to run but am giving myself another day until I start up again on Wednesday. I'm trying to determine how long I expect it will take me to do the 8K on the 15th. If I can run 2 of the miles, each mile at about 10½ minutes, and walk the rest of the time, I think I can manage 65 minutes. But almost as soon as I decided that (you have to tell them what your estimated completion time is), I learned that you are not allowed to wear headphones. I listen to really fast-paced music that helps me set my running and walking paces. Ugh! Two things I HATE to walk without: Ice Breakers Hot Cinnamon gum and music. Anyway, I used 65 minutes when I submitted my entry into the 8K, I'm sure no matter what I'll do alright. I'm hoping that the event will be so exciting for me that I'll have a lot of adrenaline and I'll run more than just 2 miles. I also really need to run and walk on paved roads or trails, so I think I'll try to make it over to my favorite park a few times this week and hit the paved trails there. With all of the hills there, it makes for a great workout. Today's workout:
10 minute warm-up, walking
Sunday, November 2, 2003 2 mile walk
Saturday, November 1, 2003
I can hardly believe it is November! Only 60 days remaining of this year!!!
Walk 30 minutes, 4% inclines 3.8mph Friday, October 31, 2003
Walk 30 minutes, 3% inclines 3.8mph Happy and safe Halloween.
Thursday, October 30, 2003
I'm feeling very low about things right now. My dear friend Kathy sent the following to me a few months ago and I just thought I'd put it here in case there is anyone reading this who has lost a lot of weight and is maybe having similar issues today. "Repeat after me: My name is Dana. I have lost GOBS of weight and I am not fat anymore. I look good! I am wearing a size 12 for goodness sake. I am not wearing anything with a "W" behind the size (LOL). Men are going to look at me. They are not thinking "What a fat chick she is". They are thinking "This girl is HOT! I'd like to get to know her". They will see my sparkling personality to go along with my skinny body and they will WANT to be around me and spend time with me. I am going to have fun. I will go dancing. I will flirt. I AM a good person. I AM beautiful. The mirror doesn't lie - that skinny girl looking back at me IS me. And I deserve all of these feelings!" Thanks, Kathy.
Today's workout: Today was supposed to be my "rest" day, but I decided that I wanted to at least do something. Today my body was feeling a little tired, I think that torture device messed with my knees, too. Yesterday morning I woke up with a little knee pain, same today and I probably overdid it yesterday. So today I just walked on the treadmill for 45 minutes and then did 15 on the bike. Very moderate to low-intensity today. Oh oh, found a pic of the step mill!
Wednesday, October 29, 2003 Today's workout:
Walk 10 minutes 3.8mph 3% inclines
Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Treadmill Walk - 35 minutes...most of which was 4.0% inclines at 4.2mph No running today. And probably no running tomorrow because tomorrow I will be at Victory Lady.
Monday, October 27, 2003
Treadmill Walk - 30 minutes Sunday, October 26, 2003
I went to Barnes & Noble last night and had a look at a few books. They did not have a copy of the book I really wanted to see, Running for Dummies, but I did get some great info from the "Fitness for Dummies," book. It says that when you are a novice runner, that it is important to: Since I got the idea into my head to do the 8k, I set a goal to do it in under an hour with just walking, but then I started thinking that while there is no way I could do the full marathon (26.2 miles) this year, maybe I can do it next year. I know I could walk it now, but they won't let you walk it. Anyway, so as I was leaving the gym, I picked up a flyer for the Richmond Triathlon Club. Because I have been following my fellow WW buddies, Courtney and Donna train for various events, I have long felt like maybe a triathlon is something I'd like to try someday. Still my only problem with this is biking. I hate it. But, it is something to consider. Today's workout:
Walk 3.8mph on 3% inclines - 5 minutes
Saturday, October 25, 2003 I have been neglecting the weight training so I was back at Victory Lady. I have gotten so used to the treadmills at the YMCA that now I am spoiled. (Follow that link, it is a virtual look at the actual fitness room at the Y that I go to.) I did a 10 minute warm-up and then concentrated all on upper body. Because of the running, I do not want to do much for lower body weight lifting because I want to REDUCE, especially my thighs.
Walk 10 minutes 3.8 - 4.0mph on 3% inclines crunches. About a gazillion. 20 minutes dual-action bike. Arms level 10, legs level 4. Friday, October 24, 2003 No weigh-in today. I had a good week but I did not feel like stepping on the scales. It was busy at our center today, though. Things are picking up with a lot of interest in the new program. If you went to the meeting this week, the topic was about carbs. The truth about carbs. I am craving carbs so much, I think it must be because of the running or something. I really need to sit down and look at what I am eating these days. I think I need to read some about running properly, but I am learning and progressing with my endurance. I have learned this "trick." I keep my arms and hands to the sides of my body, and I keep my hands at about the area near my hips. This is not the easiest task because I seem to want to instinctively have my arms flailing and flopping up towards my waist and boobs, but then my posture goes bad and I waste energy on my upper-body when I need the energy to be focused on my lower-body. So, with each hand I pinch the edge of my shirt , yeah, the bottom of my shirt edge at the side seam. This keeps my arms where I think they should be, and it makes me comfortable too because I can kinda pull down the shirt a little and cover my "underbelly," does this make sense? I'm sure it looks stupid, but I have to do this. Maybe one day I will have done this long enough that I will no longer need to do this, but for now, this is the way it is. I was late getting to the Y, they close early on Fridays. So I only had about 45 minutes to work with. I did half hour walk/run on the treadmill and 15 on the bike.
Thursday, October 23, 2003 So tonight I walked for 7 minutes then ran for 10. Walked for 4 minutes and ran for 5 minutes. Walked for 4 minutes and ran for 5 minutes. Reset stupid treadmill for 12 minutes...walked for 4 minutes, ran for 5 minutes, walked for 3 minutes. Then did the bike for 30 minutes (heh, a lil over 10 miles on the bike). WW Weigh-in is tomorrow. I don't think I have lost even an ounce this week. I have done the best possible with eating. I have journaled. I have not been perfect. But I have had intense exercise sessions...9 days in a row, yesterday off, then exercised tonight. It would be nice to see a loss. Wednesday, October 22, 2003 rest Tuesday, October 21, 2003 Continuing to work on my conditioning training... Today's workout:
Walk 3.8mph on 3% inclines - 5 minutes Sunday, October 19, 2003 Eating this weekend was fair. I journaled everything and was over my Target Points both Friday and Saturdy, but I exercised and dipped into my FLEX points to compensate. I am going to continue to work on my jogging thing. When I used to jog in the past, I couldn't go for long because I would get terribly winded. Now I find that I can breath well, but my legs are heavy and that heavy-legged feeling makes me want to not run. I do not have runner's legs, but I hope that if I can keep this up, eventually they will start to slim down and make running less difficult. What I am finding, also, is that my knees do not hurt after running like they used to when I tried running before. I think this has to do with the treadmill I am running on. I belong to two different gyms. The gym where I do my weight training at, they don't have the best quality treadmills. In the past I would try to jog a little, but my knees would hurt. I'm doing my jogging at the YMCA and they have much nicer treadmills, I have not experienced any knee pain at all. Anyway, I can't believe I did this, but I ran for 10 solid minutes today. That is a big deal for me. Big, big, big! Today's workout:
Walk 3.8mph on 3% inclines - 6 minutes Friday, October 17, 2003 I faced the music today and made it back to Weight Watchers and got on the scales. I have gained 5.4 pounds since my last weigh-in, which was August 30. It was not as bad as I thought it was going to be (making it through vacation, 13 powerless days, multiple other problems...but it is time to set and focus on a new, realistic, goal for myself. I need to start journaling faithfully again, and continue to work on my fitness goals. My only weight loss goal is to get down to 178.8 pounds. Today's workout:
Walk 3.8mph on 3% inclines - 6 minutes Thursday, October 16, 2003 Today's workout:
Walk 3.8mph on 3% inclines - 6 minutes Wednesday, October 15, 2003 Today's workout:
Walk 10 minutes 3.8 - 4.0mph on 3% inclines Thursday, October 2, 2003 The good news is that as of Tuesday, we have electricity restored! Yeah! You can now see my photos of my neighborhood here. The bad news is, that I STILL have not weighed-in and have not been back to a meeting or anything. I know I have gained a minimum of 10 pounds, possibly 20, even. I refuse to weigh at home, though. Now that power is restored and things are slowly getting back to "normal," I am going to give myself the next week to get myself back on program before going back to Weight Watchers. My only saving grace through all of this has been my continuing dedication to exercise. While there isn't enough exercise to be done to cover all the crap I have been eating (ugh, no power = often 3 meals out a day). My jeans are tight and I'm feeling stuffed even when I have not eaten much. Wish me luck, this is not going to be easy!
Friday, September 26, 2003 On the 19th, due to Hurricane Isabel, we lost power at my home and we are still without electricity. This is proving to be an extremely stressful time and I am managing best I can. Even now, still there are homes with trees on top of them and tress on top of power lines! We had a few days with no water or phone service, and when the water came back on, we were under orders to boil water. Of course with no power, this was not a possibility. Unfortunately, having no power and little access to ice, all meals are being consumed out of the house! I have not weighed since August 30 and can only imagine what the damege must be!!! Today I was informed by my neighbor that we may not have power restored until 3 October. Pray for my sanity as well as my waistline!
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
I really thought I had done well on this trip. I refused bread and dessert many times, I skipped appetizers and I worked out for over an hour 7 days in a row. I ate a lot of fresh fruits and I drank way less than usual, but still managed to gain a significant amount of weight. I have been so bummed ever since, I have not had any 100% on program days. But, I know this is just a bump in the road and I'll get through it. I have not been to a WW meeting since August 30 because I went to stay with my boyfriend in Charlottesville almost as soon as I got back from the trip. And because of this stupid hurricane, I'm not sure I'll make it on Friday and if I don't greet on Friday I'm not sure I will go on Saturday, even though I know I really need to. I'll use a pass and not weigh, I just need to get my butt to a meeting. I am going to start back to journaling tomorrow, I HAVE to. I don't like this feeling, I hate feeling out of control. I can easily see myself letting things really get out of control quickly, so better to get my head out of the sand and get with it. Saturday, August 30, 2003
Weight at home: 180
As promised, I have archived my entries from the past 6 months and if you want to go back to them for any reason, you can do so by clicking here. You can still find my old exercise journal entries here. The kinda cool thing about deciding to go ahead and archive 6 months of my diary is that my fitday.com weight tracker shows that I have actually lost 7 pounds in the past 6 months. Yes I know I'm still in a mega-plateau, BUT, 7 pounds lost is better than zero pounds lost. If I hadn't stuck it out, do you think that I would be able to say that I lost 7 pounds in 6 months? No, if I had given up I probably would be saying that I had gained 60 pounds. I know that I could easily gain an average of 10 pounds a month if I were not keeping myself in check. Last week I weighed 182.2, so today I had a 1.8 loss. I did FLEX all week and I even ate all my FLEX Points on Wednesday and I ate all of my activity points all week and I still had a loss. So you know what? I think I'm really going to love this new program! Saturday, March 1, 2003 Okey, here we go! I've decided to not continue with the exercise page format, and to just make "diary" entries here when I feel like it. If you are looking for my previous exercise entries, you can still find them here. I will be getting the chatterbox back up, and will also be changing the URL of this page, so if you are a regular visitor of this page, you will be able to seek the "Diary" button that will soon be on the home page in order to get here. The new URL will be https://www.angelfire.com/journal2/danalosingweight/diary.html I will probably change it to the new URL early this week, and I will remind everyone who is on my mailing list of this when I send out my Friday update. Sunday, March 2, 2003 Speaking of Friday update...I did not weigh-in on Friday. Since I'm about to celebrate my second anniversary of starting Weight Watchers, the pressure to weigh-in every Friday is getting to me. The pressure is mostly coming from myself, but everyone at my meeting is watching me, and everyone who has been keeping up with this site, well, you all are watching too, and I would be lying if I said that it is all stress-free having so many eyes upon me. A few weeks ago, after I had a few bad weigh-ins and missed a few Fridays due to snow days, I had a great loss, and the woman who weighed me made the comment that "maybe weighing every other week is working for you." Maybe she was right, the comment stuck with me, and I'm feeling like maybe bi-weekly weigh-ins might be a healthy thing for me for a while. I don't know if my leader will "go for it," or not, since I'm Her greeter, she wants me to set an example for other members, I am sure. But, it is a decision I have to make, and I hope that if I do decide to go with bi-weekly weigh-ins, I will be supported no matter what. If bi-weekly weigh-ins don't help me with my progress, then I'll go back to weekly weigh-ins. 10:45 PM "There are worse things in life to be terrified of, it is just a number on the scale and does not define who we are or how well we have been On or OFF program." This was my response to someone from the WW message boards who is terrified of weighing tomorrow. I just had to post my response here, because sometimes I don't follow my own advice and sometimes I give really good advice and I really need to start listening. Monday, March 3, 2003 185.5 Going to post my daily weigh-ins. I know a lot of people are against weighing daily, but I like it, and just do this once each morning. Wednesday, March 5, 2003 185.5 What the heck is happening? My site is suddenly getting so much traffic that it is sucking up the bandwidth and making it inaccessible to many, and for that I am sorry. I had added my site to this site listing, and that must be where it is coming from. That is all well and good, but woweee, never had this happen before. Anyway, I spent the better part of today out of town with my sister. I had breakfast at 7AM, packed my lunch and ate it in the car at about 12:30PM, then we ate at Outback before hitting the road back home, that was at about 7:15PM. I had 15 Points to put towards dinner, but I know I went way over. I ate too much bread and butter, and though I had the chicken griller (did not eat the rice, just the chicken and veggies), I did have dessert. Yup, that sinful sundae, and boy was it ever sinful! Tomorrow I plan to clean the house and get some chores done, and I will eat low in Points to try and make up some of the damage. So, I have been thinking of doing another challenge. I have not done one since the blast off last spring, so I think it is time, and I know at least ONE of my friends out there is in need of a challenge, so I'm going to do it. I am going to limit participation to no more than 50 people, and I only ask that you make a commitment to follow through with the challenge each week for 6 weeks. This will be the shortest challenge I have done, but if I am going to ask YOU to commit to 6 weeks, I have to be able to do it too, and since I'm going on a cruise in late April, 6 weeks is all the time that I have right now. Here is how you sign up! Send an e-mail to me (contest is over) with:
1) Your Username If you want to sign up and have yet to weigh-in this week, please go ahead and send in your UserName and WW start weight, that way you will be added to the chart, then you can just send me that Start Weight and goal weight for the challenge. I have yet to modify the chart, so I'll post the page URL tomorrow night. Now, last challenge I gave away lots of prizes (cook books, frames, stationary...). Because this is a shorter challenge, and I have just been laid off from work, I am only going to award ONE prize at the end of the challenge. Because I love all of my challengers and want to be fair, I will, at the end of the 6 weeks, put each of your names in a bowl and have my Mom draw ONE name. Now, you MUST have reported your results EACH WEEK in order to get your name in the drawing. If you miss a week, fine, but you will NOT get into the drawing. If you have a gain, and you have reported your stats EACH of the 6 weeks, your name GOES IN THE DRAWING! This in a challenge, but it is meant to be motivating and fun. So you want to know what you are working for? Well, I never divulge the prize early, but trust me, it is something good, and something that NO Weight Watcher should be without. The retail value of the prize is about $35! If you have a personal weight loss website, send me the URL to your site and I will link yo it on the Challenge Chart. Thursday, March 6, 2003
188.5 (too much sin yesterday, perhaps?)
I'll send out an update to my notify list, and will take it from there. 9:10PM I dread weigh-in tomorrow. Dread it, dread it, dread it. I remember the days of being excited, albeit nervous, to weih-in, but those days are gone. Yes, there are the few occasions when I know for sure the results will be great, but the harder I work on it now, the less results I get. Hmmmm, maybe what I really mean is that this is just getting much harder than it used to. I do work hard, no, going to Outback last night was not part of the deal, but one day does not a week [or 2] make. I have, in the past 11 days, been on program all but 1 day, yesterday. Ah well, no matter what happens, I need to stay focused because I've got the challenge going now, and the cruise is 7 weeks away! Friday, March 7, 2003 187.5 at home, 187 at WW Lost a whopping 0.4 today. That's okay, though. I can't quite understand why my body does what it does. I was over Points Wednesday, but not crazy over. Oh well. Anyway, I'm having dinner out again tonight, this time with my sister and a guy she used to work with. It is a Greek-Italian restaurant, and I'm determined to stick with the program today. I have had 12 Points today and have 15 for dinner. Yesterday I only ate 21 Points, to kinda try to make up for Wednesday, so I could go up to 21 points for dinner, but I'd like to just stay in my range today if possible. Saturday, March 8, 2003 186.5 Well, I did very well out last night. Sorta. I had a light beer while we were waiting for our table, and then the three of us split an appetizer, brushetta...it was a thick slab of bread with loads of tomatoes and hardly any cheese, I'm counting my portion as 5 points. Then I oredered chicken kabobs, which were served over rice pilaf. I NEVER eat rice out, so all I had was the chicken that had green peppers and onions with it. I counted that as 8 points. Then I had an order of green beans, which were fresh and cooked in butter, I counted them as 2 points. So, dinner was 17 points, I am guessing. It was very satisfying and the company was good, so eating was a slow process. Yeah, 17 is a lot for dinner, but it could have been worse, I could have ordered any of the entrees that were smothered in cheese and meat sauces, but I chose non-fried grilled foods, and I skipped dessert, there was nothing I could not live without. Today...I have no idea what dinner will bring, I hate this, too. I like to be able to plan, but the people I live with can be difficult, hehee. I did make it to the gym today, though, I walked for 32 minutes at a moderate pace (3.2MPH) and did 100 crunches. I'm staying away from the weight, but really need to start going and doing my walking at least 3 or 4 times a week. I just need to not over-exercise, which I tend to do. Sunday, March 9, 2003 186 I put my foot down last night and did not go out to dinner! Wednesday and Friday night were enough. I did, however, save up the points to go get what I really had wanted, and that was a Chocolate Brownie Frappaccino at Starbucks. I have no idea how many points a "tall" is, but I counted it as 10 and called it a day. It was well worth it, too. The challenge is all set up and is going smoothly thus far. There are 56 of us, and I'm not allowing anyone else to join at this point. Okay, well, Courtney, if you want in, you can, but you gotta e-mail me your stuff, hon, mmmmkay? Yesterday I went shopping for a new bathing suit. The one I have and that I wore on the cruise in December...well, it is my favorite bathing suit of all time, but it is a 18W and is saggy in the butt on me now. I love those Kathy Ireland swim suits from K-Mart, and they are just $29.99 each. Well, I found 2 great ones yesterday, both are size 14! Yeah! One is a one-piece tank style with the key hole back. The other is a tankini, it has a solid navy bottom and the top is colorful strips of blue, it is really cute! Wednesday, March 12, 2003 184, which I shall enjoy while it lasts. Today is my 34th birthday, I can't believe I am 34 years old. The week has been going very well. I have dedicated myself to walking at least 4 times this week at a moderate pace, a lower pace than what I have done in the past. I walked Saturday, and each day this week, so far. I may or may not walk tomorrow, but I have to admit that walking is far more pleasurable when I'm not trying to outdo myself. When I'm finished, I feel refreshed, and not worn out, which I have experienced in the past. My eating has been very good, too. I have been trying to heed my own advice and stick to 3 balanced meals and one snack each day. I'm trying to stay away from highly processed food, too. I'm going out for dinner tonight, I have 7 banked food points and have 8 activity points on top of that. I don't want to go crazy, but I do want to enjoy myself. I have not had pizza in a very long time, I had actually gotten bored with eating it. So, tonight I will have 2 slices of cheese pizza from my favorite Italian Restaurant, and I will have a salad. I will either have dessert at the restaurant, or I will have a small cone of Dairy Queen. No cake. I have insisted on it, and not even a cup cake. I don't want it and don't need it. Friday, March 14, 2003 185 at home, 185 at WW Yesterday I weighed 186, I can only guess it was because of the high salt content of the pizza from Wednesday night. Soooo, I pushed the water all day yesterday to help flush that away. I'm really thrilled with my loss today, I feel very good about the way things are going right now. I do think that the walking at a light to moderate pace really helps. I think there is the tendency to believe that the more high the intensity of exercise the better, but for me I know that is just not the case, and from all of the health and exercise articles that I have read, it just is not necessary to nearly kill yourself at the gym in order to lose a couple of pounds. Wednesday, March 19, 2003 If you are reading this, I really hope you are having a great week. I'm sorry I have not written in a few days. I am having a good week, but I can't say that my weekend was so Points-friendly. Friday I did great during the day, then unexpectedly went out for dinner and went way over points. Saturday I was having a great on program day and had planned to dine out, but I lost control at dinner and was again over points. Sunday was another good day, but I was feeling a little weak about following the program. I did fine all day, and then I blew it at the cafe at Barnes and Noble, I did not have the Points to indulge in anything other than my usual decaf, but I went ahead and caved to the temptation of Starbuck's and again, went WAY over Points. Needless to say, I am trying to do some damage control this week, but I don't think that it is realistic for me to be able to reverse ALL of the damage that I did do in such a short period of time. I have to accept that and move on. Sometimes I get the urge to just eat like any other "normal" person. That is such an oxymoron, because there are no normal people, and eating the way that I eat when I'm not following program 100% is NOT normal. Maybe what I really mean is that every now and then I just want to feel like I'm living, and since much of my life food has been the major thing that my family has always enjoyed, when I'm eating without regard to the damage that it will do me, I feel like I am living. But then what kind of life is that, you know? For me, I feel guilty, and then I get obsessive about the weight that I put on, and then I feel like, hmph, what kind of example am I being to my peers? And then I just feel like I really let myself down, and then with all of those feelings, am I really living? And I enjoying life and feeling good? No, to be honest, not really. Right now I am just plain mad at myself. BUT...I am exercising. I went to the gym Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, today. And I will go tomorrow. Monday, Tuesday, today I have been 100% on program. Friday, March 21, 2003 I chose to NOT weigh today at Weight Watchers, belief being that if I did I would have a gain and then I would flip out and go buy a whole cake or something. I'm not kidding. I am sure that I would have gained 2 pounds, and while I know that and not weighing does not change that fact, sometimes it is better to just use the pass and take a mental break from it all. The day is not a loss, though. Several weeks ago I bought some new clothes, specifically a pair of size 14 misses capri's. I had not tried them on since I bought them, but since today is the first day of spring I decided to wear them to Weight Watchers. They actually feel a little loose compared to what they felt like when I bought them. It must be the walking. Anyway, I am still 100% on program and hope to stick with that for the next 4 weeks. No more lapses in judgement, hehee. The next gain will have to come the day after I get back from the cruise on May 2. Until then, I am committed to my walking program and to working the Points. Sunday, March 23, 2003 Well, tomorrow is the big day. March 24, 2001 is the very day that I walked into my first Weight Watchers meeting. I am sure I will have more to write about on this milestone tomorrow, but I have some new pictures to share withyou, so if you are reading this today, you are the first to see them, I will send out an update tomorrow. You can see the new pictures on my picture page. Things are going well. I am really proud of myself, I walked at the gym each day this past week, Monday through Saturday, and I did some work outside yesterday, too. I am always amazed at the level of stamina that I now have, just one of many benefits from having lost almost 120 pounds. Well, I can't believe it, since I moved back to Richmond from NY I have lost over 160 pounds...that is in almost 4 years, how's that for progress? Please, if you are reading this and thinking of giving up. NEVER give up. There can be no success without trying and persevering. Thursday, March 27, 2003 186.5, grrrrr Hey how are ya? Sorry I did not write on my 2 year ani, but I really couldn't come up with anything more profound to say, the latest pictures say it all, I think. So, how will weigh-in go tomorrow? I get the best results when I don't exercise at all, and I eat towards the middle of my range a few times a week and at the top a few times. But, when I exercise, my clothes fit better, but I don't lose weight. I have been exercising 6 days a week for the past few weeks. This week (well, Saturday - today) I have earned 16 activity points. I'm trying to tone up for my April 27 cruise and I am not losing weight, but Saturday night I fit into and bought size 12 capri's. I'm not happy that the scale is not moving, but I am happy that my body is shrinking despite the scale. In fact, just about 2 weeks ago I went through my drawers trying on summer clothes, and specifically the shorts and stuff that I wore on the cruise at Christmas. While I have lost about 10 pounds since I got back (granted, I gained 5 pounds on the cruise, so really I have only lost about 5 pounds since before I left for that cruise, hehee). Well, everything fit fine. Not quite as snug as they fit in December, but wearable. Well, today I pulled out one of the pairs of shorts and the darned things are baggy! BAGGY! I am going to die if in 4 weeks I have to go buy new shorts and shirts for the cruise! I'm just going to have to go looking like a bum and live in my new bathing suits and never leave the ship. Am I complaining? No. I'm going on a cruise dangit, yippeeee, one month from today and at this time I'll be waiting to get in to the second seating for dinner!!! Anyway, I did not exercise today. I could actually feel that my body needed a break, a day to rest and repair. I am thinking that I can tone it down, I don't need to have the all or nothing mentality that I get when I start exercising. I had planned to do 3 days a week, and I have done 6, so if I can just do 4 or 5 days a week, maybe that will be for the best. Eating has been good. Saturday night I was over, but remember the weekend before that I was over on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So being over just on Saturday was good for me. Each day this week I have eaten about 26 or 27 points each day, but today I have had 31 points. I had 7.5 [unplanned] points in cashews, I felt the need for some good, naturally occuring, fat. After that it would have been very difficult to manage the rest of the day without eating, I did the best I could. Plus I have all of the activity points under by "belt" so I'm not all that worried. The fact is, I could have eaten the whole tin of cashews, but I did not. Walks away, sining, "I've got the power!" Friday, March 28, 2003 186.6 at WW, 186.5 at home. I'm feeling really low right now. When I went to update the challenge chart, it was empty. I didn't even notice in the webshell that the file was empty until I clicked to edit and found the page empty. I'm really, really upset about this. I don't know if someone hacked into my site or what. I have been maintaining this site for nearly 2 years and have NEVER had anything like this happen. And I feel low about my weight. I'm trying so freaking hard. I either am eating too much or am not eating enough. For me, exercise and weight loss don't mix, but I can't deal without the exercise because I need to be toned up! Yes I had that bad weekend, and then I had one bad meal this past Saturday night, but give me a break! I just don't know how I am feeling right now. 11pm Thankfully, one of my smart challengers came up with an idea about fixing my challenge page, and it worked. Thanks Toni! I still don't know what happened, but it is okay now. I just figured out that since I joined WW 2 years ago, I have lost 117.2 pounds, and I have lost over 60 inches!
- 4 inches from Right upper arm Sunday, March 30, 2003 186 The day is not over with yet, but I have managed to stay 100% on program all weekend! Friday I had 25 Points, yesterday I had 27 Points and earned 2 activity points, and today I am planning for 25 Points. I went to the mall today because it is yucky and snowing today. I splurged and bought new undies. I have an undie obsession and have not bought any in a long time. I had my first venture to Victoria's Secret and got 5 pairs, a few are size large and a few are size medium. I then bought 3 more pair at JC Penney! Each are size 7. Then I bought a new nightie, because right now, I pathetically sleep in my old size 3X nightie or my XL Royal Caribbean T-shirt, ha ha (hey, I'm single, what can I say). The nightie I bought today is a size large chemise. Anyway, I just wanted to write because I'm happy that I have managed to be on program the entire weekend! Hopefully this will pay off on Friday. Thursday, April 3, 2003 184.5 Well, well, well, looky there. Hehee. What can I say, I have been having a great week. All weekend on program, all this week on program. I exercised Saturday and Monday at the gym. Yesterday and today I have done 2 hours of yard work each day. Yesterday I estimated that I earned 7 activity points, so I ate about 5 of them. Today I probably earned 5 activity points and I'll probably eat 29 points for the day. I have decided that on days that I do activity, or that I postively know that I will be doing activity, I will eat a huge breakfast. I'm talking 10-12 points. That is what I did yesterday. Yep, I used my activity points before I even earned them, but I knew I was going to be working in the yard and needed the fuel to get me going. I guess it didn't do me all that bad, all this week my weight has been 185.5 until this morning. If I wake up tomorrow and weigh 183.5, I will be one happy chick! I'm not counting on it, if not tomorrow, next week. I am also not eating out anymore leading up to the cruise, which is on the 27th. I have 4 weigh-ins before the cruise and I'd like to have gotten down to about 180 or 179 by the April 25 weigh-in. I won't be too upset if I don't make it, because I know eventually I will get down to those weights, but it is something to strive for.
Friday, April 4, 2003 183.8 at WW, flip flop between 184 and 183.5 at home. 120 pounds lost! Yippee skippee. I can't believe it! Finally! I'm really, really pleased with my progress this week. And I really feel good, too. I really think that what I did both Wednesday and Thursday made the difference in how I felt and the weight that I lost. This week I'm going to do the same thing, if I know I'm going to be earning activity points, I'm going to add them onto my breakfast and not wait until the end of the day to decide what I should or should not do with them. I feel much more energetic today, too. Sunday, April 6, 2003 183.5 Well, I made it again, yet another 100% on program weekend! I went to the gym on Saturday and walked for 20 minutes and did the dual-action bike for 15 minutes. I think the bike is helping my shoulder a bit, too, which is good. I was slightly tempted to "cheat" this evening at Barnes & Noble. I had a tall decaf and that is it. I almost got some gelato, but I bought me a little reward for getting my 120 pound star...  yeah, I bought this ring, it is sterling silver and I love it, so tonight I just looked down at it and I just knew that if I got the gelato I would feel bad later, and it would not be worth it, so I made it through! Plus, I signed a personal contract with myself that I will stay on program until the cruise no matter what, so that was in my thoughts, too. Here's to a great week! Thursday, April 10, 2003 weight unknown *Sniff * sniff* I have a cold! Monday I felt fine all day, I went o the gym and everything was normal until about 11PM when suddenly I started feely sick. Tuesday I slept ALL day, and it is cold and raining out and I feel yucky. Actually, today I feel better than the past 2 days, but my head and nose are still stuffy, at least my throat is no longer scratchy. I have continued to stay 100% on program, yesterday home scale was showing that I was up a bit, so today I decided that it was too much trouble to weigh. Whatever tomorrow brings I will be okay with because I know that I have been a good girl all week and am firmly committed to staying 100% on program until the cruise. Next week the weather will be better, I will be better, I'll be able to get out there and do some activity and hopefully my body will let go of another couple of pounds. *sigh* just 17 days to cruise!
Friday, April 11, 2003 183.5 at home, 183.6 at WW (-0.2) I can't complain, I was great all week and resisted the comfort of food while dealing with this darn cold, so maybe I'll have a great big loss next week. I only have 2 more weigh-ins before the cruise, I'd like to get to 180 before then, but I'm not counting on it. I'll just do the best I can and be happy with it. Wednesday, April 16, 2003 183 So, what's up? Well, I'm hanging in there. Stayin strong. Still 100% on program each day. I'm feeling better and I got out there and did some yard work this week. Monday 2 hours and yesterday almost 2 hours. I am so sore! Oh my gosh! My butt and thighs are killing me from squatting and picking up stuff from all over the back yard, mainly acorns! I'm still experimenting with my points and activity points, yesterday I was 182 and todat 183, go figure. Just a week and a half until the cruise, yippeeee! In fact, these will likely be the last pics until I get back from the cruise. After I got back from getting my hair fixed up, I went to the gym and walked for 20 minutes and did the dual-action bike, hoping it will help my thighs recover more quickly.
Friday, April 18, 2003 182.6 at WW, 182 at home. Well, another pound gone. I'm glad, but wish it had been better, even if it had been -1.2 I would have felt better, but no, it was 1 pound exactly. I just feel that I worked SO hard this week that I deserved to lose more than a pounds, but I am glad to be losing. Today our meting topic was about mental rehearsing. I'm starting to get in that mode of thinking about the cruise and how will I do with my eating. Last time I did not know what to expect, and to be honest, I was completely off program for 2 days before we left. This time I am going to do better with that. I think that I did great with my eating last time, but drank way too much. So, I have to think about how much I am going to be drinking. I am thinking of trying to limit myself to 2 mixed drinks a day and 2 lite beers at night in the club. But, I know that if I do set the limits and then I don't follow through, I will be setting myself up to feel guilty, and I don't want to do that. I do not want to come back after 5 days weighing 5 pounds heavier again, though. I am making steady progress again and I would like to continue on with it. All I can say is, Activity, activity, activity, lol. Anyway, I need to lose 1.8 pounds to get to my 5th 10%, which will put me at 180.8 pounds! If I could do that next week, that might be incentive enough for me to try to be extra "good" while on the cruise. Oh yeah, and today ends another block of 12 weeks of progress.
Weeks 01-12, -23.6 pounds
Tuesday, April 22, 2003 181 Yet another holiday done with for this year. It seems there is always something, though, right? We did not have the traditional Easter dinner, we had turkey, at we had scalloped potatoes, from the Weight Watchers "Simply the Best" cook book. We also had deviled eggs and green beans. It was not hard to stay on program, thankfully. Last night I was extremely tempted to break my personal contract. I went to Starbuck's at Barnes & Noble, I had about 6 available points, plus I had had a great workout earlier in the day. I thought about how mad I would be at myself if I blew it, so I just had a small decaf and 2 small bites off of my sister's cheesecake. When I got home I had a bowl of strawberries with Cool Whip Lite, and that satisfied me. I am still feeling very focused, even through the few tough spots. I had an energetic workout yesterday and today, and I feel pretty good. SAturday night I was bored and went to the mall. I went to several stores and was not tempted to buy anything, nothing was jumping out at me. Then I decided to go into Lerner. I ended up with a new outfit, again fitting into size 12 capris, white capris, I have never owned white pants. The top is awesome, it is bright and see-thru, with pink and orange and red and white stripes, and I have a coral tank top to wear under it. Hopefully when I am wearing this next week on the cruise, I will think twice before eating something sinful that I don't even want or need just because it is available to me. Tuesday, April 24, 2003 182.5 (go figure) I had another invigorating work out yesterday and I feel great. I'm taking today off to rest and do some housework. I just wanted to drop in to show a picture of that new outfit from Lerners!
Friday, April 25, 2003 182.4 at WW, 182 at home. I am >so annoyed with today's weight. So very annoyed! It just seems inconceivable to me that I could work that hard all week, staying on program the whole time, exercising and then lose 0.2! When I got home this afternoon, I was either going to freak out and have a binge or do something productive, so I cut the grass and am feeling a little more calm. I mean yeah, it is great that I lost and all, but sometimes I work so hard I feel like I should be losing 5 pounds a week. Oh well. I am just glad that this moment of feeling bad about it will not last long, and that day after tomorrow at this time I will be sitting on a big ship, thinking about other great things. I have to tell you, before today, I was feeling pretty good about going on this cruise and the potential to actually try to follow the program as best I could, especially because I know what to expect as far as the food goes. Now, I just feel like if I try really hard, I'm going to feel deprived, and when I get back and have gained weight no matter what I did or how hard I tried, I'm going to be really angry that I did not live it up some. I'm not saying I'm going to go crazy with the food, but I will probably not restrict my drinking which in all honesty, is more of an issue for me on the ship. Anyway, this is my last update until I get back. I'll write as soon as I can when I get back, and I will surely have many pictures and stories to tell. Have a great week! Same day, 7:30 PM I just want to make it clear that I'm not giving up. No where in my entry today did I every say that I'm quitting or giving up or throwing in the towel or anything of the sort. I had a natural, emotional, response to my weigh-in and I wrote about it, that's it. Going on a cruise, or on any vacation for that matter, brings a lot of varied obstacles when you are doing any kind of diet. I will do the best I can and it will be my choice and I will have to deal with the results. I weigh 182 pounds and it is not as easy to stay on program during a vacation when you go from eating up to 35 points a day down to eating 22- 27 points a day. I'm NOT planning to use this cruise as an excuse to binge or gorge myself. I plan to be very active again, just like last time. I plan to eat 3 meals a day, just like last time. I never even overate on the last cruise. Last cruise I was very active. I gained 5 pounds. What did I also do last time? I drank a lot. Will I drink a lot this time? Probably. I do not drink at home and drinking on the ship is fun and part of the experience. It is not an excuse. It is what it is. Thanks. Thursday, May 1, 2003
That was me on Sunday, we were of the first on the ship at 11:30 AM. What a wonderful cruise, just 4 nights is not enough. I'm dead tired, but wanted to check in. I had a great week. I worked out each evening and was great with my eating. I'm really proud of myself. I did have anywhere between 2 and 6 coctails each day, though, but I don't feel bloated and gross like I did when I returned from the last cruise. My clothes all still fit and are not tight like last time. I may gain tomorrow, but I'm feeling highly motivated. I'm going to start swimming regularly and will continue to do my walking and such. Many more pictures and stories to share in the coming days.
Friday, May 2, 2003 183.8 at WW, 184 at home. I had a post-cruise gain of 1.4 pounds! I have to admit that I feel wonderful about this. I felt so good, alive, and healthy on this cruise and I ate healthy foods and enjoyed my cocktails every day. Even went to the midnight chocolate buffet, but I had fresh strawberries and just one strawberry that was dipped in chocolate. We had the second seating, which meant dinner at 8:30 each night, but at 6 PM each day I went for a vigorous walk on the treadmill at the gym, and did some weight lifting twice. Oh yeah, our cabin was on deck two, and the gym is on deck 10, so I always took the stairs. My breakfasts were healthy, yogurt and eggbeaters, bacon, orange juice, fruit. Lunches were good, usually the biggest meals for me with the exception of Tuesday when we went to a Greek restaurant in Nassau and I had a salad. Late that afternoon I stopped at the buffet and had a few vegitable spring rolls and some fruit. Dinners were wonderful, the portions are always pretty small, but a lot of people order more than one entree. I stuck to salads, chilled soups, and I always left a lot of food on my plate. The first night I had eggplant, I ate all of that but skipped the orzo that it was served with and ate the steamed veggies. Dessert was a small piece of Tiramisu. Monday night I had chilled pear nectar with dried cranberries, that was out of sight good, but rich, I fished out the cranberries and just enjoyed that new flavors of that appetizer. For the entree I had Jamacain Jerk Chicken that was so good!!! It was served with rice and I skipped on that. I had strawberry ice cream for dessert. Tuesday night I had fruit and then Tagletelle, a spicey cajun chicken and pasta dish with green and red peppers. That was out of the ballpark good, I ate the chicken and ate about a cup worth of pasta. For dessert I had pistachio ice cream. Wednesday night was a salad and fruit and prime rib. For some reason they gave me 2 slabs of it, but I only ate about 3/4 of one piece, it was delectable. The best I have ever had. It came with a baked potato that was cooked so perfectly that it did not even need butter. Dessert was a very small portion of baked Alaska. Overall, I did great, last time I gained 5 pounds and this time under 2, so that is not bad at all. Friday, May 9, 2003 184.8 at WW, 184.5 at home. -119 pounds Yes, I gained again, a pound this time. It was actually better than I thought, though. Two things I can not have in the house. Granola Bas, and Quakes! The problem for me this week was finding a balance between my activity and hunger. I have started swimming every night and am still walking almost daily, and I have been dealing with insatiable hunger. Nothing I eat satisfies me. So this week I plan to cut back on the swimming and will not do both walking and swimming on the same days. Thursday, May 15, 2003 182 I'm here, I'm alive, Barely :) I have come down with tonsillitis this week, so I have been taking it easy. I think it is not a bad thing, too. No swimming, and very light activity has been it for me. Great article in the June issue of Shape Magazine on page 52, "Mistakes that Inspire." I won't go into too much detail about it, but if you tend to be a perfectionist about weight loss and activity, it is a good read. Just thought I'd mention it here. You will have to actually go get the magazine, the article is not on the website. Friday, May 16, 2003 182.2 at WW, 182 at home. -121.6 pounds Yeah! I have not been swimming all week because of my throat. I have not done any exercise (other than cutting the grass and vacuuming) since Monday. This is my lowest weight. And lower (by 0.2) than I weighed pre-cruise. My next goal is my 5th 10% which is 180.8 pounds. My next MAJOR goal is to get to 169 pounds by the end of August.
Wednesday, May 21, 2003 183 Things are going fairly well. Well, I have had a few rough days, but I am recovering. Friday night was very bad, and then Sunday was even worse. People in this house keep bringing in things like mixed nuts and such and once I have a taste I can't stop and then I start eating just about anything and everything. At least I'm feeling better. I worked out moderately on Saturday, then I went to the YMCA Sunday, since my gym is closed on Sunday. I really only go to the Y to swim because I don't like the atmosphere of the gym there. Sunday was very annoying and I stormed out after about 25 minutes ont he treadmill and then I came home and did the 3-mile Walk Away the Pounds DVD. I got burned out on the whole Walk Away the Pounds thing, but the 3-mile is a really good workout. Monday and Tuesday I had great workouts, and today and tomorrow I am taking off to rest and recover, hoping that my appetite has finally balanced out and that on Friday I will either break even or have a small loss. Hopefully not a gain. I might go swiming tonight but I don't really want to risk it with the way things have been going. Friday, May 23, 2003 183.2 at WW, 182.5 at home. Oh the pain. Oh well, considering that I was about 20 points over on Friday and Sunday, gaining 1 pound is a good thing. Turns out I had some unexpected PMS things going on. I would, however, like to lose some weight these next few weeks and months. So I need to start doing better than what I did last week. If I can keep it together this weekend I think I'll do great next Friday. Friday, May 30, 2003 182.4 at WW, 182 at home. Well, I'm hanging in there. Actually, all things considered, I have a really great week. I exercised Sunday - Wednesday and then I managed to mow the lawn (mostly in the rain) yesterday, which took almost an hour. My eating over the weekend was not the greatest, but was better than last weekend. Of course because I was in damage control mode this week, I ate below my maximum each day even though I earned about 7 activity points most days. I am thinking of really trying hard to follow my own advice and add my APs to my range, that way at least I never go below my minimum. If I earn 7 APs I need to eat between 29 - 34 points. I have had success with this in the past but I do not like to eat that much. Okay, I guess that is not completely true since I have no problem overeating on the weekends, ha ha. I just do not want to exercise as a means to eat more. That is not what I'm doing, but still there is the old guilt associated with eating over points, even if I have legitimatel earned the extra points (for fuel) by trying to get my body into excellent physical shape. Friday, June 6, 2003 181.4 at WW, 181 at home. I lost a pound, a whole pound! I feel like I just won an Oscar for this, ha ha. I am now 0.6 from my 5th 10% and 2.6 away from the ever elusive 125 pound star! I have updated pictures on the picture page for you to check out. I may not have lost much weight since January, but my hair has grown a lot and my body has lost a lot of inches. So check them out! I left the January pics up because it really is amazing to see such a difference, even though the pounds have not been dropping. Friday, June 20, 2003 179.2 at WW, 179.5 at home. How I lost 2.2 pounds this week. Friday night I went out and after, consumed 5 Krispy Kreme doughnuts (2 cream-filled, one powdered blueberry-filles, and 2 regular glazed). Saturday went out of town, had lunch out, and and then for dinner ate country fried steak with white gravy at the Cracker Barrel (not to mention a biscuit and a corn muffin, a double order of baby lima beans and thankfully the mashed potatoes did not taste right to me so I skipped them), followed by a small Peanut Butter Oreo Blizzard from Dairy Queen. Sunday I ate 18 points, Monday I ate 14 points, Tuesday I ate 17 points, and Wednesday I ate 20 points, then yesterday I ate 17 points. I was not hungry all week, and I did NO exercise all week. I have not been to the gym since a week ago today. I don't suggest eating this way, and I did not do it on purpose, but maybe it is just what my body needed to let a little go. I just hope it doesn't backfire on me somehow. It has been since October that I got my 4th 10% and today I made it to my 5th 10% and am just 0.4 of a pound away from my 125 pounds lost. For the past 6 months I have averaged less than half a pound lost each week (if I look at it that way), and it would be nice to get things moving along steadily again. I just can't seem to exercise the way I want to and to be able to see the pounds melt away from the scale, even though it is nice to lose inches. Thursday, July 3, 2003 This past Friday I was up 0.4 of a pound, but still under 180, which makes me happy. I have to admit that my eating has not been so good lately, I'm feeling like I just can't lose anymore weight, but I sure don't want to begaining weight, so I need to get things better under control. I am sure that in time I will lose more weight, but it is a feeling that comes over me from time to time and I just have to work through it. I can't use it as an excuse to overeat and then wind up gaining several pounds. Nope! Here is my incentive picture, taken just today.
No weigh-in tomorrow. Happy 4th of July!
Saturday, July 12, 2003 184.6 at WW, 184 at home. I have had a lightbulb moment this week! I think I have narrowed down the reasons why I have been overeating and have had a roadblock in my weight loss journey. If you have serious weight/weightloss issues, I would highly suggest reading the book, The Solution, by Laurel Mellin. She was on Oprah several weeks ago and I mentioned the book to my sister and this book is very eye-opening, and very deep! So, without going into anything too personal here, I can just say that yesterday I decided to NOT go to WW and NOT to weigh-in and NOT to do my greeter thing. Today I went to a different meeting, got a new journal, and I feel like I'm embarking on a new journey. Saturday, July 19, 2003 181 at home. I updated my stats today and plugged in 181.6 as my weight, even though I did not weigh-in today. I was out of town last night and today so I did not make it to WW. I did go yesterday and did my greeter thing, and it was good, but from now on I will be weighing on Saturdays I think. Thursday, July 24, 2003 I thought I'd post my activities as of late. Sunday - YMCA - 45 minutes treadmill Monday - 2 hours and 40 minutes of yard work Tuesday - 20 minute treadmill and 20 minute dual-action bike, upper body strength training (dumbell bench press, incline dumbell press, reverse grip pulldowns, dumbell extensions/triceps), 3 sets of squats, calf-raises, and about 200 crunches. Wednesday - YMCA - 35 minute treadmill walk, 25 minute stationary bike Thursday - YMCA - 35 minute treadmill walk, a few sets of chest presses on the bench and a few sets of arm curls, 25 minute stationary bike Yep, I'm starting to work out with the boys at the YMCA, it is closer to home than the all-female gym that I go to and some days I'm just not feeling like going there, and I need to be around the boys, ha ha. There is a lot of equipment at my gym that the YMCA does not have, and it annoys me, but I'll just have to keep rotating going to both gyms and see what happens. If you are looking for awesome walking music, I'm talking UPBEAT walking 4.2 mph and 4.4 mph or running music, check this out! Yeah baby! That is get-up-and-go music! Monday, August 4, 2003 Sorry I did not post his sooner. My weigh-in Saturday was 184.2 pounds. Egads. I know I know, my weight sucks. I should not focus on the scale so much, blar blar, but WW doesn't give a rats ass about my pants fitting better. Okay, granted I ate like a maniac at the beach last weekend (pancakes, butter, maple syrup, fried eggs, hashbrowns, bacon cheeseburger, steak fries, sundae, fudge, country fried steak, biscuits, corn muffins, chocolate cobbler...get he idea?), but I worked my ass off at the gym all week and pretty much maintained. Okay, I was up 0.4 from Saturdy morning. My all-time low weight was 179.2 back on 20 June, and I'm now at 184.2, which is better than the 184.6 that I weighed on 12 July, right? [Why is it that at the beach, a place where people seem to want you to look all hot and skinny, every corner restaurant has waffles and fried eggs? Why is there no healthy food to eat at the beach?] The leader I am with on Saturday morning is great, though. The meeting Saturday was about plateaus and after the meeting she came over to me and sat with me for a while, tossing out ideas. We agree that I'm doing the best I can at this minute, but she wants to help me get to my goal weight. My Friday leader has never said that to me. This leader said that she wants me to act like I'm doing maintenance, to add points each day and to lift the burden of trying to lose lose lose for a few "minutes." Take a bit of a breather, but stay in very guarded control. She wants me to settle on a goal weight. I have, all of this time, been setting the 5 pound and 10% goals, and I have been fighting to get to 125 lost, so maybe trying to focus on a totally different number will be helpful and take away the pressure to get the next star. But for me, that final number seems so far less attainable than the next star. But hey, looking at things from new and different angles is a good thing. PLUS, the new WW program debuts here on August 24, so having completely new program materials will be good. I know what my emotional battles are. And I know that I need 7 good days of staying 100% on program. I need to stop blowing it on the weekends. The next few weeks I am really going to work hard at this. Thursday, August 7, 2003 The week is going good. I did not exercise on Friday or Saturday, and Saturday was not the greatest as far as Points go (day was good, blew Points with dinner out), but I exercised Monday - today, and plan to go again tomorrow. Last night went out to dinner to celebrate sis's 40th birthday. I had a busy day and so I did a warm-up and weights during the day between running errands, and then after dinner I went and did 70 minutes of cardio at the YMCA. I pretty much starved myself during the day so that I would be able to enjoy dinner without feeling guilty. This usually sets me up for a night of overeating, but I am proud that I did not do any snacking at all after dinner. At least there was no cake at home this year, and I enjoyed my sinful sundae at the Outback. I earned a total of 9 activity Points for the day, and other than dessert, I had the chicken and veggie griller, substituted a plain baked potato for the rice. I did not even have the salad, which is usually loaded with those croutons and cheese which add up to unwanted points. Sunday - YMCA - 35 minutes treadmill, 25 minute stationary bike Monday - 20 minute treadmill walk, upper-body strength training, 200 crunches, 3 sets of squats, calf-raises, 20 minute dual-action bike Tuesday YMCA- 45 minute treadmill and 25 stationary bike Wednesday 10 minute treadmill walk, upper-body strength training. Later in the evening at YMCA - 45 minute treadmill walk, 25 minute stationary bike Thursday - YMCA - 45 minute treadmill walk, 25 minute stationary bike. Saturday, August 9, 2003
WW weight - 182.4 Heading back in the right direction. Thursday, August 21, 2003 Well, after having lost a whopping 0.8 of a pound this past Saturday, I have been feeling underwhelmed with WW and with trying and with everything in general. I'm, human, what can I say? My eating has been downright awful. I was over points Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, but somehow managed to keep it together yesterday, ending the day with 23 points consumed. On a positive note, I'm still working out every day. Well, 6 days a week, really. I do feel as though I am in the nest physical shape that I have ever been in in my life, and the fact that I am still keeping my WW journal, even if things are not so perfect in it, is a major victory. (Yeah, 126 weeks of journaling, I'm keeping track!) Anyway, I know I promised I would try to do better about journaling here, but it has just not been easy for me. It is hard to come here and write about not making any progress. It is not easy to come here and to spill out my guts about how stressful it is to be dating now. It is hard to talk about my new homonal issues. But, I am here, and I hope that if you are reading this, that you are doing well. Hang in there, that is the key. Don't give up. Nothing worse than going backwards, but there is nothing wrong with treading water for a good long while, I guess. It is a learning experience. Yes, that's right. Anyway, check this out. Go to my picture page and see towards the middle, there are three pictures, two from the past and one from today. I think these pictures say a lot. Peace! Thursday, August 28, 2003 Are you Flexing yet? I have to admit that I like the new program. It makes better sense to me. Eat your target. Eat your APs. If you have an emergency, take away from your 35 Flex Points. It should be interesting to see how it goes. I have been doing my journal this way since Sunday. I was doing great up until yesterday when I had that all day feeling of insatiable hunger. To compensate, I worked our twice. Early, I did my weight lifing and 30 minutes of cardio. At night I squeezed out about 40 minutes of cardio. With the points I consumed for the day...I think with my target, Flex, and APs, I MAY have come out even. Usually I'm a "good" binger. I usually measure out everything no matter what it is. But yesterday I couldn't be bothered to measure out the cereal and or the sherbert and or the crackers, and I lost count of how many mini-tootsie roll pops I had. I did journal them, though, and I also journaled the TWIX and Snickers Ice Cream bars that are 6 Points each. Even still, with yesterday's eating extravaganza, this week is still one of the better weeks I have had in a long time. If I could just get below 180 again I would be so happy. It will happen. I'm going to be away for like 10 days, so Saturday I will have my weigh-in and then the next one will be September 13th! Before I go away, I'm going to archive this page in its current format and then start a fresh page. From then on, the new posts will always be on top, that way you don't have to scroll down so far to see the new entries. 8pm, I have 2 points left. No activity today. What the heck am I gonna eat for 2 points? Must go to bed early tonight!!! Oh yeah, I wanted to address the "hormonal issues" that someone commented about in the chatterbox. I have PCOS and after years and years of not having a monthly period, I have had two int he past months and it is really throwing my body and mind for a loop. I started a period on May 18 that lasted for about 6 days and was preceeded by about 3 weeks of hardcore PMS. I started another one on July 22 and it lasted about 7 days and was preceeded by about 10 days of serious PMS. When will it be next? Maybe I should start a contest?
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