Finding calm in the New Program

The new ww program was released last November and i have to say, I'm loving it. We get more daily points to work with, more weekly points for splurges and nearly all fruits are zero points plus value. Of course everything has gone up in points, but that's because the points are now calculated by fat, fiber, carbohydrates, and protein. This makes me so much happier. Now people are eating real foods, with healthy oils and fats. Naturally, when you have a new product, some people are going to have trouble catching on or willingly hopping on board. But everyone will find there way eventually.

Since this past week was Christmas week and i have a zillion things to do, i ended up doing what i always said id try not to.. skip the gym for other (supposedly more important) things. Im definitely feeling it. To me, i think being on weight watchers is about living a lifestyle, not a diet fad or trend. And in my life, i like to celebrate the holidays with my family, friends, and betty crocker. : ) I'm not saying I'm completely liberal with food during this time, but i am a tiny bit more lenient.

Today i woke up ready to eat well again, and maybe even hit the gym before heading to work. Ya know, to the Mexican restaurant... well I started out okay. Had some cereal and a light coffee and tracked it online. Then i went to work.... a side of rice and fajita vegetables with sour cream was my lunch. I did sneak in a yogurt though.. score one for me! I came home on my break and the fella and i made sammiches and had potato salad. I think I'm done with eating like this.. i feel awful, I'm so tired, and the feeling of heartburn is less than desirable.

Tomorrow I am going to do this. I'm going to track all of my food, get in my good health guidelines (ghg's), and im going to try to do some sort of exercise (wii games anyone?)

Here's to a good week!

Tacos and New Beginnings

The past few months have been insane around here! September 1st the fella and I moved into our first apartment together. Its been really nice having a place to call my own. I had to leave my comfy office job (due to the commute and tolls) and got a part time job at a Mexican restaurant. Yep, that's right, the girl who is trying to work on becoming healthier and fitter is working daily with taquitos, burritos, and an endless bucket of fresh tortilla chips. God help me..

I was offered the job when i was there having birthday meal for my friend who was in town from Minnesnowda (yeah yeah..you caught me, i was totally chowing down on some tacos..). I asked if they were hiring and they replied with "Can you start tomorrow?" I'm so happy that i was able to find a job so quickly. I'm on my feet the whole time and I really enjoy it but the offering of a free meal for every shift worked is getting to me. Ive gained about 2-3 pounds since i last blogged and I'm not too happy about it. Yeah, one could say "Its ONLY 2 pounds" but to me, its alot more than that. Its proof Ive lost a little bit of control in my eating and that just does'nt settle well with me.

I rejoined WW a little over 5 weeks ago. Ive been going to meetings and weighing in every friday morning at 9am. I like the meetings and they bring me back to earth and the plan when the week gets to me. Im going to weigh in tomorrow even though this past week has been wild. There was Halloween, stress due to work and money woes, and Im going back to school soon so ive been trying to keep my head on straight. the gym this week was an uphill battle. I went on Monday morning after dropping the fella off at work and i went Tuesday as well but Im nervous that it wasnt enough to see a loss this week. I suppose Ill have to find out in the morning!

Ill keep you updated! For now, have a wonderful night!

Kels

What a month!

So at the beginning of last month I took a new approach to my weight loss journey. I decided to only weigh myself once a month and to start looking at myself in a new light. I could workout 4 times a day and eat very little, but i didn't want that. I wanted to look at myself in the mirror and be pleased with what i saw.

I also changed my eating habits a bit. Its no secret, I'm always going to love my cheese fries and chocolate. I just needed to learn how to integrate all of that into a healthy diet of organic, non pesticide foods. I began with the easy part. Grocery shopping. It wasn't too hard to find organic yogurts and ice creams, (thank you Stonyfield) but it was a little more difficult on the wallet. I know that its worth it to eat fresh fruits, veggies, organic meats, and whatnot but with the Fella and i moving in a month, its simply not practical. Ive eased up a bit but I'm not totally compromising my new found way of eating. Just having whole wheat pasta instead of gluten free, high fiber, organic milled pasta that costs $3/box (no joke). Ive become accustomed to Trader Joes. Theres only one in the area that i live but i feel a once a month trip there can definitely be possible. Last time i was there i stocked up on veggie fried rice, organic tomato sauce, lemon pepper pasta, veggie corn dogs, and guiltless pleasure multi grain chips. A-mazing : ) I'm still working on the eating healthy part and stopping myself when I'm full. Its a work in progress, as am i...

I didn't run my 5K i had planned i would. There are a few reasons why i didn't, i think the main one was that I would have had to do it alone. But then when i thought about it (hindsight is a b*tch) I realized that doing that 5K was about me. Not me and the fellas sister or me and my mom, just me. I am looking currently for a new one to shoot for so Ill keep you updated on that.

New food find! After a long day of shopping at Trader Joes my mom and I were hungry so after I had heard all about the Panera Strawberry Poppy seed Salad i just HAD to try it. So worth it!! For 280 calories you get an abundance of fresh fruit like strawberries, blueberries, mandarin oranges, and pineapple on a bed of refreshing lettuce. So. Good. Such a shame its only seasonal.

Tonight I'm hitting the gym again. The first time in a little over the week. I plan on doing the elliptical for at LEAST 30 minutes and some upper body weights. I'm thinking if I'm feeling ambitious, after that ill run a few miles. I have to get home tonight, i have to, you know, pack. That's right! The fella and I were offered our dream apartment! Moving day is Sept. 1st and i couldn't be happier!!

Have an amazing week ladies!

A new way of thinking

Happy Friday everyone! Hope everyone has had a fantabulous week. This week had got me thinking a bit. Wednesday night i went to see the Fella. We were talking about how the points system works for weight watchers and it doesn't always support healthy eating. Example: You have the ww brand yogurt for 1pt. Then you have an organic yogurt for say 3 pts. Because we by nature want to get more bang for our buck one would naturally choose the ww brand. I understand this and have been guilty of it myself. But looking and the ingredient list on each of them, I'm more inclined to want to choose the organic yogurt. Not only cause i can pronounce each ingredient but also because i know what each of the ingredients actually look like. I don't know about you, but I'm not sure what calcium nitrate looks like....

This leads me to other thoughts about my journey. Mostly about how i let a number on a scale determine my mood. I hate that i fall victim to the scale most weeks. If its a lower number, I'm happy and feel that i should celebrate. How you ask? Usually its with going out to eat with friends or the Fella. If its a higher number than the previous week I get upset and will usually binge.. see a pattern here? I do. I use food as an emotional crutch, and its rather hard to admit that out loud. As a result of my recent findings, Ive decided to only weigh myself once a month and focus on healthy eating habits. I will continue to track my 8 good health guidelines (i.e. fruits/veggies, oils) and activity, but not points. I was told once, and i really believe this, that WW is a program to give you the tools to lead a healthy life. Once you have these tools, its ok to go back and refocus, but not to use ww as a way of life. Honestly, i cant imagine counting points for the rest of my life. Not gonna happen.

Tonight should be fun!! I'm going to a birthday party and have looked at the menu and decided to have the mozzarella and basil panini with veggies on the side and a strongbow. mmm! Tomorrow ill be working out in the morning time and trying to break 36 minutes for my 5K time.

Today was WI day!! I'm down that 1 pesky pound i gained last week. I'm pleased at this and also pleased i don't have to step on that scale til August 9th.

Hope everyone has a happy and safe weekend!!

Peeking.. and the dangers it causes..

It isn't a huge secret that i haven't exactly followed the plan this week. I ate out a few times and didn't track a bite. not one. I never prepared myself like i normally do for a bad day, i just went with it. I even had 2 servings of beer battered fries at The Coat of Arms pub. So worth it though. I really do believe that once in awhile, one needs a break from the monotony of tracking and keeping up with points. I was feeling overwhelmed so I took a short break.

Last night, the night before WI (weigh in) I, for some reason still beyond my comprehension, decided to hop on the scale and see how bad it was. I had lost 1.7 pounds. My first instinct was to be elated.. that quickly dwindled when i went back and did a mental overview of what i had eaten. There was no way in heck I worked out enough (3 times..) to make up for the delicious food i had eaten. Quick run down: Pizza hut Hawaiian stuffed crust pizza, meat with rice casserole, pb cups, Dublin Reuben (roll with corned beef and Swiss, thousand island dressing), beer battered fries, kashi pizza with extra cheese, olives, nachos... seriously.. it just keeps going..

Today was WI. I am up one pound. I am very okay with this. I really think that after that awful (food-wise) week, it could have been ALOT worse. I have already set up a game plan for the July 4th weekend and I'm prepared to see a loss next week.

Yesterday I sent in my registration for my first 5K. eeep!! I'm nervous but really excited too. Its Aug. 1st in Maine and even though the Fella wont be there (hes going camping), ill have my friend and his sister there with me. Also, after the race... we're totally going to The Friendly Toast. Hello Orleans Fries!!


My goals this week:
- to track EVERYTHING, even the condiments i put on food
- to workout 4 times and work on getting my treadmill 5K time under 35 minutes
- to stay positive and confident at the beach on Monday.

Hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July!!

Pirates with a side of powdered sugar

Well, let me just say, and i know i say this alot, but the past few days... whew!! ALOT is going on. Friday at WI i was astonished to see a loss of 1.1 pounds for the week! With going out to eat last weekend and not getting in as much activity as i would have liked to, to see 153.6 made me one of the happiest girls you've ever seen.
Yesterday, Saturday, the fella, his friend, along with his sister and i all went to the New England Pirate Faire!! It was small but there were vendors, and tarot card readings, and you know.. FRIED DOUGH!!! I have to say, i was all about not even eating at the faire. I knew it would be small and i even brought a ww sweet and salty bar with me, but that plan flew right out the window when i saw crispy, light, greasy dough covered in sweet powdered sugar. I shared on with the Fellas' sister. along with a hot dog. Hey, at least i got a diet soda...
Later on we also all shared a basket of fries and i had a bite of the Fellas sweet sausage.. (<-you have not idea how much strength it took to type that out without laughing..and naturally i mean it was an actual sausage, not an appendage..dirty minds.)
We got home and i proceeded to make an old family favorite, Meat with Rice Casserole. I would post the recipe, but its highly unhealthy and if i did that my grandma may find you and take it away.

But, yesterday wasn't a total waste. I did manage to wake up at 7 and hit the gym. Maybe not as hard as i wanted but i earned 3 AP's by jogging/walking 2 miles on the treadmill and doing arm strength training. I have decided that now that i have lost over 60 pounds, i want to start toning up a bit and incorporating weights into my workouts more. Today Ill be doing 3 miles on the treadmill, 20 minutes on the elliptical and leg/lower body weight training. Its going to be a long day.

Have a great rest of the weekend! - Kel

What a wonderful weekend!!

This past weekend was such a blast! Lets start at friday..

The dreaded WI day.. I was hoping that with the week previous being not so good that my working out and drinking enough water to fill the English Channel that i at least wouldnt gain. And you know what?? I LOST! All of .1 pounds. Hey, a loss is a loss right? I was chuffed when i saw that. I felt very confident that if you work the program and you know how to recover from a "bad" weekend then you can stay on track : )

Friday night the Fella and I decided to make turkey tacos! I have recently become a fan of replacing ground beef for turkey. I feel that it doesnt overfill me up like ground beef did and its easier on my stomach. While the fella made his double decker tacos a la Taco Bell, i made a fancy little taco salad. I had salad greens, 4 oz of ground turkey with taco seasoning, 1/2 cup mild salsa, 1/4 mexican cheese, 2 tbsp reduced fat sour cream, chopped tomatoes, and 1/2 cup ff refried beans on the side. And to round it all off, a Blue Moon summer ale : )

Saturday I went with the Fella and his parents and sister to celebrate Fathers Day. Where did we go you ask.... only the WW worst nightmare, Outback Steakhouse. (bum bum buuuuuum) Earlier in the day after running a 5K at the gym I sat down and worked out all the points for what i was going to have. When i got there, that all flew out the window. I ended up having the teriyaki medallions with rice and green beans without butter. I didnt do as bad as i could have, but still it wasnt great. I dipped into my WP's and felt satisfied after supper.

Sunday I woke up and had some lovely strawberries and a little whipped cream for breakfast. Then the Fella and i hit the gym. A 30 minute run for us, then stretchin'. We decided since it was so nice out to go get subway for lunch and eat outside. I got the 6 inch turkey and bacon on wheat w/lettuce, black olives, and salt and pepper. A nice low point sammich if you ask me!

Later that night i went to pick up the Fellas sis for a girls night! I didnt track, ate what i wanted, and have moved on from it. Im not going to let it get me down, just have to work as hard as i can until friday. You know, the dreaded WI day..

i just want to give him a hug, and other morning gym thoughts

I have come to like morning workouts. I don't like waking up before the sun comes up (in the winter) or being awake so early my parents think something is wrong but i do love getting to the uncrowded, 'older crowd' inhabited gym. Where people say 'Good morning' and there aren't any ya dudes hogging the weights. In fact, no one uses the weights. I think that may be cause some of them cant actually lift them but that's besides the point. Today I saw an older gentleman probably in his late 60's or early 70's hoofing it on the treadmill. going all of 3 MPH. It made me smile to see this older man working so hard. With his fanny pack and khaki pants, he was the highlight of my morning. : ) I ran my heart out this morning. I only went a little over 2 miles but i ran for 1.65 miles non-stop. now that, to me, is amazing. a little proud? you bet i am!

Tomorrow is my WI (weigh in) day. This past week has been full of celebration and carefree eating. I'm really hoping these past few days of hard work are going to pay off. I don't even really care if i lose. I simply don't want to gain anything.

Ive posted a picture of a sample lunch i have during the week at work. Salad with cucumbers, celery, and 2 tbsp of ff ranch, an orange, a light and fit yogurt and water.
Ive also been known to have sandwiches. My favs are Teddy's All Natural PB, SF Grape Jelly on light wheat bread for a fantabulous pb&j or butterball honey turkey with sargento pepper jack cheese on light wheat. so good!!

I'll update on how my WI goes tomorrow, sweet dreams world! <3

Pizza, scales, and shoes....

This week had been full of ups and downs, to say the least. I like to workout monday nights because Im home in Boston and the Fella has 'Manday Monday'. This past monday was the first monday of the month wich at my gym means pizza. Free pizza. being served as a thank you to the customers. Now let me just say that the last thing i want to see when i walk into my already overcrowded windowless gym is pizza being gorged on by sweaty meatheads. well maybe not 'meatheads' cause technically they arent allowed at my gym but lets just say the 'my new haircut' video as seen on youtube, isnt far off from what i workout next to. Im personally not against the idea behind pizza monday, or bagel tuesday... however in my particular gym it isnt exactly an attractive feature.
I did get in a really good workout though. I ran/jogged for about 40 minutes which roughly transfers to 3 miles. All i wanted to see was that mile marker change over to 3 miles covered. I love that feeling of accomplishment. I actually smile rather big when it happens. : )
Tuesday was a rather good day as well. I decided that since the Fella is back on the day shift at his job that we'd resume our normal 'schedule' which is i come up to the seacoast tuesdays, thursdays, and fridays then stay for the weekend. Its a good system. tuesday i really didnt want to workout. Its about an hour drive and honestly the last thing I want to do is workout after that, but he wanted to go. I have to be honest, he is very supportive and we keep each other in check when it comes to the gym and being accountable. We worked out for an hour then came home to relax. For dinner we settled on whole wheat pasta and broccoli. My personal go to favorite easy dinner. : )

Every Friday I step on the scale. this process is the same every week. Thursday i tend to stay away frmo any kind of beverage besides a load of water. I dont eat anything with excess salt, and mostly have fresh fruits and veggies. I do have carbs but only in limited amounts. Now im not saying any other day i gorge on these things like carbs and salt, but i dont tend to worry about it as much. Friday mornings i wake up, use the ladies room, then hop on the scale in my birthday suit. this past week i was really hoping that all my hard work and dedication would pay off and.... it did!!! I had a loss of 2.8 pounds!! Im finally once again under 155 and this simple fact makes me very happy. Ive worked for 3 months to get here. Im going to do my best to stay here for some time.. well that WAS the plan until friday night. enter lo mein, veggie fried rice, and spring rolls. Im pretty sure i out ate a sumo wrestler. Am i proud?? maybe. But in all seriousness, it made me wonder, am i always going to do this? celebrate with food? use food to reward myself? I need to work on this i think.

This past saturday was also the Fella and my one year anniversary celebration!! I bought him a snazzy new watch and his gift to me was something only a fellow weight loser/runner could love. I got new running shoes!!!! Im so excited to use them monday at the gym! they feel like im walking on a cloud. LOVE THEM!!! and him, of course <3 We celebrated with Olive Garden. This was a special occasion that I had laready planned that i was going to enjoy my food. Not worry about everything i put into my mouth but also not over eat just because i can. I had braised beef with tortellini, breadsticks (cause really who goes to Olive Garden and DOESNT have the breadsticks?? crazy people. thats who), and champagne. It was a lovely meal and im so happy that we had an amazing year.

Today was the Boston Health and Fitness expo. The 'celebrity' (I use that term loosely cause yesterday it was Mario Lopez and Americas Next...Top....Model) was this years Biggest Loser Michael Ventrella!!! He was quite charming up there on stage. He looks good and was rather inspiring during his little presentation. I kept thinking though how much i just wanted to ask him for Jillian Michaels phone number so she coould come kick my ass at my house and call me awful names to motivate me. Surprisingly i respond well to that. I would want to prove im not fat and i can run at 30 mph. : )

this week is going to be difficult cause i was very bad with food this weekend. Im thinking though if i stick to the WW plan, workout 4 days, and get in all of my 8 HG's (ww'ers you knwo what they are..) then ill hopefully maintain and not gain. Heres hoping!!!

Workout song of the week: "Don's Stop Me Now" Queen
Strech/Cooldown song of the week: "Set Fire to the Third Bar" Snow Patrol.

Have a great week everyone!!! - kels

That wasnt planned..

6/5
Today I went out with my mom. The Fella was out of town for the day with his buddies so I thought today was a perfect time to spend time with my mom : )
We had planned on going for coffee, lunch at a local British pub, then walking around town. Here's what really happened, we went to heaven. Or what my former fat girl self imagines heaven to be. We went to The Friendly Toast. The Orleans fries are amazing (sweet potato fries with Tabasco sauce and brown sugar served with sour cream) and the D.G.G.C.... lets just say you have to go there to experience it. (side note, its the best grilled cheese you'll ever have).
Anyways, we get there and i settle on the breakfast burrito. Egg, sour cream, black beans, cheddar cheese, salsa all wrapped in a flour tortilla and paired with spicy but pleasant home fries. I immediately begin to try to decode the points. I realize quickly that I'm going to have to dip into my weekly points. On WW you get 35 points for the week to use for special occasions, or if you just need a little more. I try not to use these but so far I've had to dip into them a few times. I justify in my brain that if i workout enough, ill be okay. Flash forward a little later to the movie theater. It was raining so my mom and i decided instead of walking around and maybe getting down pored on, we'd see a flick. Looking at that big, sparkly, colorful concession stand i argue in my head that today I'm only getting a diet soda. That's it. Nothing more. Cut to my mom and i walking into the theater with a small buttered popcorn, to share of course : )
Real cheese, ice cream, and movie theater popcorn are 3 things i refuse to give up on my journey. Take away my Chinese food, or fried chicken but do not lay a hand on my cheese, ice cream, or popcorn.
I did manage to hit the gym though. I earned 4 ap's (activity points, the unofficial rule is 100 cals burned = 1ap). I ran (OK jogged and walked) 3 miles on the treadmill then did a few weights for the ol legs. I got back to the Fellas place and after a nice shower and a little TLC (say yes to the dress was on!) I made dinner. Was i hungry? probably not as hungry as i should have been to eat but still my brain said 'Its 7pm!!! time to eat!!'. I'm going to have to work on that. I had a weight watchers smart ones dinner and 1/2 cup french silk ice cream. Hey, it was light ice cream....

All in all not such a bad day. I'm going to have to work hard at the gym this week to make up for it but I'm ready for that. Ill have to keep you posted...

Here we go again..

6/3 -

Excited to recommit to weight watchers. A little background first. I joined WW in December of 2005. I weighed in at 214 (i knew this cause i used to donate plasma and they weighed you every time you donated). I was too embarrassed to workout in front of people, even though i had a gym membership for a year previous. I ordered my Richard Simmons workout tapes and the day i received them, I started my journey. There wasn't ever really a 'moment' that i knew i had to lose weight. I had been mildly overweight most of my school years and rather overweight for the 4 years afterwards. Here's the thing though, i never really thought of myself as the 'fat girl'. I knew i was overweight, i had self esteem issues because of it, but still... i felt okay with it. I enjoyed life and welcomed the move to Boston.

Soon after i was sweating to Dance Your Pants Off courtesy of Mr. Simmons I decided to join Weight Watchers. I did okay there at the Saturday morning meetings. Soon though life got in the way and since i had acquired the tools i needed to lose weight, i stopped going to meetings and continued to lose weight at a steady pace on my own.

Flash forward to today. 6/3/10. Alot has changed since i started WW. I have an amazing boyfriend ill refer to as the Fella. Him and I are moving in together this fall and i couldn't be happier! Ive gotten to an 'overweight' BMI and shooting for that coveted rank of 'healthy' BMI. And I'm taking each day as it comes, which really should be my mantra...

today I'm recommitting to WW. I have been off and on this program for years. I know it works if you work it correctly. I know that the Fella loves me and thinks I'm attractive, and i think I'm pretty, but i want to be Fabulous. with a capital F : )
I'm excited to recommit. Hoping i don't lose momentum too early like i have in the past. I want this for me. I have high hopes this time around and my official goal is to get to 140 by the move in September. Only 17.6 pounds to go!