Weekly Weigh In - Good news/Bad news

This week has been one of those weeks where you can say that nothing all that bad happened but it was filled with annoyances, stresses, and aggravations.  The only thing that got me through the week was knowing that I was taking today (Friday) off.  Well guess who is at work?  Me being here today, however, will hopefully pay off big time. Not pay off in terms of money or respect but pay off with more time.  Time is good.  Money would have been better.

So I will spill the bad news first.  I gained. It wasn't a horrible gain, just 0.6 lbs.  But I do put the blame fully on James.  For dinner on Wednesday, he made homemade beer battered fish and onion rings.  ONION RINGS!!! Sweet crispy, oily, fried goodness dipped in ranch dressing is a major weakness.  You may be asking me, "Well it's not really James' fault.  You didn't have to eat them. And if you did you didn't have to eat so many that you thought your stomach would explode."  And to you, I say, SHUT UP. It was his fault...all his fault.  100%. His fault. Yup.

The good news is that it probably could have been worse. I finally did hit the gym here at work on Monday. I just simply walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes.  On Wednesday, I decided to do 3 minutes walking and 2 minutes running.  And you know what? I surprised myself and did it!  I know 2 minutes is no marathon but it is the baby steps that I need to take so that I can hopefully survive this run/obstacle course I signed up for. 

The scariest part of all this is that I actually want to exercise again.  Like, I am looking forward to going to the gym after work today.  This can only be called a phenomenon, perhaps a full blown miracle if I keep this attitude up. 

Lessons learned: onion rings are soooo good and totally worth .6lbs as long as it doesn't happen every week.

Weekly Weigh In

Wow, I have not done one these in quite some time.  As mentioned before, sticking to a plan that I know works has proved to be challenging for me in recent weeks.  I've become lazy at tracking and therefore lazy at eating well.


To reach my goal of 140lbs, I have to lose 29.2 more pounds and at the rate I am going now, it will take me wayyy longer than I had anticipated  a few short months ago.  I am hoping that by signing up for the Dirty Girl Run, adding exercise to the mix will only help.  I mean if I can lose over 30lbs without exercise, imagine what I can do with it!

The last weigh in I shared with you was back for my Dec. 2nd weigh in.  Let's catch you up:

Dec. 9th        -1.0 lbs (this brought me down to a new decade! 169.8)
Dec. 16th      +1.2 lbs (this brought me back to the old decade. Boo)
Dec 23rd      -1.2 lbs (back to the 160s)
Dec. 30th      The only time I intentionally skipped a weigh in b/c I didn't want to see the scale : (
Jan. 6th         +2.4 lbs (biggest gain since being on WW)
Jan. 13th       -0.8 lbs
Jan 20th        -2 lbs (FINALLY back to the 160s.)
Jan 27th        -0.2 lbs

So a lot of + and - in just a couple of months.  I'm sad that I wasted so much time but there's nothing I can do about it now besides letting it serve as motivation. 

Monday starts my exercise challenge.  What's the challenge?  Actually exercising!  I will report back : )

The Ups and Downs of Weight Loss

Yes, I still owe my ending to the jury story but I just wanted to do a quick catch up on my Weight Watchers journey.  I mentioned recently that I've fallen off the tracking horse and that I was going to get back on track.  Well I haven't.  And I'm pretty sure tomorrow's weigh in will reflect my recent indiscretions.

The last weigh in I tracked was on November 4th and I was down 1.4lbs.  Here's how things have been for the past month:
November 11th - down 1.8lbs (now over 30lbs lost! Happy Dance!)
November 18th - up 1.2lbs
November 23rd (I weighed in prior to Turkey Day) - down 1.2lbs
December 2nd (back to weighing in on Friday) - down 0.6

So all in all nothing HORRIBLE but definitely not great.  I have lost my motivation and am being careless.  I'm eating almost anything I want and in large quantities.  I know better but I keep indulging. 

It worries me.  I am extremely happy with how things have been going since May.  I actually am taking a double take of myself in some pictures. To be brutally honest, I have my Facebook profile pic set because I thought I looked skinny in it.  Granted, I am holding my adorable niece so I don't look too vain!

But I don't want to stop now. If I'm happy now, imagine how thrilled I will be when I reach my goal. 

For the most part, getting to this point hasn't actually been too hard on me.  Because of the WW system, you really can eat anything so you don't feel depraved.  I was religious about tracking food and points.  It just wasn't hard for me.

I guess I hit my rough patch.  Like in many aspects of my life, motivation eventually wanes.  I need a kick and maybe a weight gain will serve as that purpose.  Maybe getting back to blogging will help as well.  Something has to happen because I don't want to fail at this.

Weekly Weigh In - And the Scale Goes Up

I fell off the wagon starting right after last week's weigh in. 

It started with this big chocolate and caramel cookie that is sold at work.  I had not had one since starting WW in May and I finally decided to indulge my craving.  I'm the type of girl who can't just eat half a giant cookie and save the other half.  I try but that baby is gone in no time flat.  And you know what? It was good...but not that good.  I won't be needing another one for some time.

Then the weekend came and I set forth to cheer up a friend so we went to a movie (The Debt - very good) and ate popcorn.  Then fries and a milk shake at Steak n Shake. Sidebar: Steak n Shake has my absolute favorite milkshakes.  So thick and yummy.  Second is Potbelly's. Are you a milk shake lover like me?

The week pretty much went down hill from there.  I kinda gave up - if I didn't track, I wouldn't see how badly I was doing.  I got cocky.  Hey, if I could have tapas and sangria and still lose, I can just eat anything I want, right? Worse though, I stopped caring. I ate....a lot. 

Before weighing in, I knew I would be up, I just didn't know how badly.  My home scale is typically about 2lbs heavier than the WW scale but sometimes it surprises me.  Up 0.8 lbs which isn't bad but definitely not the direction I need to be going.

That + though is exactly the motivation I need to get my behind back into gear.  I will track, I will be accountable, I will care, I will lose.

Weekly Weigh In - I'm a Tired Busy Bee

Wow! This past week has been such a whirlwind.  By the end of the work day, I am completely exhausted.  I already do two full time jobs wrapped up in one and I am also coordinating my entire hospital for the American Heart Association's Heart Walk.  Since that is only a week and a half away, I have been bombarded with that work.  I am incredibly behind with every single aspect of my job right now.  It's bad.    I am taking a quick mental health break just to write this because once I get home from work it's straight to Lillian time and then housework and school work.  And trust me, the housework isn't being done well!

Okay, on to weight loss gain.  Yup I am up 1.4 lbs over last week.  But get this, I'm actually okay with it.  I did not stick to the WW plan and expected a higher than normal scale.  So no beating myself up, only new motivation to get back into the 170s by next week.

I am thinking about switching my WW group here at work.  I have heard that a good leader can make all the difference and I just am not happy with my current leader.  Turns out, I'm not the only one so at least it isn't just me.  The downfall is the other session is on Thursdays at 7:30am.  Do you know how much I loathe getting up early?   It's the main reason why exercise hasn't been on my radar in the last little while. I  just can't do the early wake up thing since I have been staying up later and later at night.  But once a week I should be able to do it. 

Mommy Guilt Monday

I've mentioned before that Lillian has mastered the art of making me feel guilty as I leave for work in the morning.  It's the reason why I only stick my head into her room to check on her before I leave in the morning.  It's the reason why I blow dry my hair in the downstairs bathroom.  I love seeing my sweetness before my work day begins but the sadness in her voice doesn't exactly start my day off on a high note. 

Lillian is a smart ass girl however.  I think I heard her thought process tonight.  It went something like this,
I haven't been getting up early enough to punish Mommy for leaving me each day so I need to reconfigure my master plan.  AHA!  I will start the scrapping away of her soul in the evening!! Yes, that's brillant! Briillllannnnnntnttt!

And our conversation went something like this.  Please think of Lilly's voice as extremely cute yet with that heartbreaking sadness only a child can come up with:

Lilly:  Mommy why do you have to go to work tomorrow?
Me:  Mommy gets paid money to work.  Then we use that money to pay for things like food and ballet.
Lilly: But Mommy whhyyyy?
Me:  I'm sorry sweetie. I think of about you all day.
Lilly:  But Mommy, I won't be happy in the morning.
Me: Because I won't be here?
Lilly: Yea.

Heart. Stabbed. Ow.

Oh and once that conversation ended, she threw in a bonus clip, a bit later:

Lilly: Mommy I want to sleep in your bed.
Me: No
Lilly:  Mommy, I want to sleep with you.  I don't want to sleep by myself.
Me: No


Now, I think I may have to start hiding from her at night to avoid the Mommy Guilt.  If I slide a plate of food into the living room, switch on SpongeBob, and sit in the laundry room until she falls asleep, it may just work.


Oh, and it was Weekly Weigh In Day.  Can you guess by me burying it this far down in a post completely unrelated to weight loss means I gained?  Yup.  1.2lbs.  Boo. Hiss. I am so close to reaching my 10% lost (the first major goal for WW and if I reach that goal before the end of the session I get 1/2 my $ back from work) and I just took a small step back.  It's frustrating. Not exactly sure what I did wrong.  Sure I had a pulled pork sandwich  french fries and a little crab rangoon on Saturday night but I honestly thought I had enough "extra" points to be a-okay.  I guess not.  Onwards and upwards I suppose. 

This is not the first gain and I'm certain it won't be the last.  I am taking this though as motivation to re-focus which will be good for me.

In summary: Mommy Guilt + Weight Gain = Monday.  'nuff said.

Weekly Weigh In - Week 6

Have you ever had one of those mornings when after you press the snooze button for a good hour, you finally sit up in bed, wipe the sleeping dust from your eyes and then just flop right back down on your pillow?  Yea, that was my morning. 

It's not so much that I was overly sleepy, I just didn't want to go into work today.  It's going to be a hectic and stressful week both here and at home (as we prepare to go out of town again) and staying in bed seemed like the perfect solution to delaying the inevitable.

The hardest part of being lazy like this is not the panic once I do actually get out of bed but it is the likelihood of Lillian waking up grows immensely.  Don't get me wrong, I love seeing Lillian before I go to work but the girl knows how to lay down a guilt trip like nobody's business.

As I was finishing upstairs, about to escape - Lillian comes stomping (she doesn't know how to walk like a normal person, she stomps) out of her room, her hair less Justin Bieber-like and more Tina Turner looking.  She runs to me and I get to just hold her.  Maybe the guilt trip is worth it.

Of course, this slows down my progress of getting out the door even more significantly.  I "make" her breakfast which today happens to be a donut that she didn't eat from the weekend but is supplemented by a cup of milk and sliced up strawberries.  The girl loves her fruit. 

When it is finally time to leave, I get the "Mommy, why do you have to work?" and I reply with "Mommy needs to make money so we eat and have a house".  Her "But I want you to stay with me." and this goes on and on.  Luckily my sadness turned to laughter when she said "You bring home your money from work and put it in my piggy bank."

Ok, so I will stop procrastinating and announce my weight GAIN for the week.  Yup, I gained but honestly, I did expect it.  I didn't track at all this week and being on vacation was just too big of a temptation for me.  I am up 2.8lbs so am now back to only 8lbs lost.

Not the end of the world.  It was totally expected.  But I'm still a bit disappointed.  I am happy to have a new, fresh week but heading to Kentucky makes me really nervous.  I don't want to gain again with the excuse that I'm on vacation.  But Kentucky - a family visit - is often filled with biscuits and gravy and fried chicken.  James' aunt makes all the good southern food for when her boys visit.  I think I'm in trouble!!

But I will try and if I gain or even maintain, I will just try again.  It feels good to finally feel motivated about weight loss....I don't want to lose that again.