Weigh in # 31

The first full week of January. Do you know what that looks like at a Weight Watchers meeting?

Just kidding on that photo, but it was a packed meeting. I hope most people have as good an experience as I have been having. I know all too well how easy it is to drop out after a few weeks.

Before WW this morning, I had a doctor's appointment for a routine re-check on blood pressure. I've lost 12 pounds in the two and half months since that last visit. Not earth shattering but steady. The best news is that I've gone from a full dose of blood pressure to half a pill daily in that time, and now I am trying a regimen of a half pill every other day. If all goes well for two weeks, I'll stop entirely and see how that goes. Next recheck is in six weeks.

Total loss is now at 48.5 pounds. I hope to hit 50 next Monday!

Onward and downward!

Weigh in #30

With a few days left to 2014, I know won't hit 50 pounds lost, but 46.6 gone is not shabby! I sent my leader an email with most of my previous post included. She asked me if I would wear the outfit to the meeting today and share the email with the group. I did both. 

My family will be going on a 4 day cruise in February. I am going to need new clothes but not too many of them. I hope to be down more pounds and sizes by the time warm weather hits home.

Do you think shopping counts as exercise?

Onward and downward!

Post Christmas, pre weigh in thoughts

Christmas was wonderful. I didn't avoid anything that I wanted to eat or drink, but I didn't go overboard with anything either. That wasn't intentional self restraint, I've gotten to where I don't need to eat something just because it tastes good. We don't steal an item that we can't afford because it looks pretty, why should I do that with food or drink? An odd comparison for some, but maybe a few will look at that the way I do.

I am really annoyed with the Weight Watchers website lately. I'm not against change but the last one had many people complaining while I remained peeved but quiet. Whatever they did to correct problems or improve things (ha!) last week left me unable to log in for days. I finally got that corrected after using Live Chat assistance yesterday but I haven't checked my mobile devices to see if they are working properly now or not. I had to look for the tracking feature on the new site. The main purpose of paying for and using e-tools is tracking. I liked it where it was. I plan to see how others feel at Monday's meeting (day after tomorrow) and may contact corporate after that. It is a lame excuse for not tracking, but that is what happened this past week. I don't like paying for things that didn't work for a week.

On a much happier note, I got mostly clothes for Christmas. It has been ages and ages since I've asked for clothes or given anyone my sizes. My two sons, one daughter-in-law and husband gave me a variety of sweaters and tops and hubby bought me two pair of slacks. None of these were items I would have chosen for myself, but not because I don't like them.

The slacks are the same style in two different colors. Why wouldn't I have tried them on in the store? They are knit slacks. Not sweats, they are casual slacks. I assumed they would cling and show things I don't want emphasized. I'll be honest here (it's my journal!) and say that I constantly see women wearing things that make me wonder if they own a mirror and how the heck can they possibly be comfortable squeezed into something that appears to be way too small. I guess I'm more judgmental than I'd like to admit, but I'd never say anything to anyone about how they look.

I couldn't hide the extra pounds (and still can't, there are still many extra pounds to be lost) but I always tried to choose clothing that covered tastefully. Seams weren't straining and splitting, and knits were tops only, never clinging to rolls.

I tried on the slacks before going to bed Christmas night. I almost did not, I was afraid I wouldn't like how they looked and would depress myself. I gave myself a pep talk, saying that if they didn't look ok now, they'd likely be ok in a few weeks. I can't tell you how happy I was to see them on! They fit well! A size XL....something I haven't worn in slacks in a very long time. I wore a pair of them yesterday with a new sweater but didn't get a picture.

Today I am wearing this top. The top and slacks in the photo are both from Lands End's site. The top not only is cut to somewhat hug the body, it has horizontal stripes. Yikes!

The sweater I wore yesterday is a color I wouldn't have chosen. It is lavender with white mixed into the yarn, sort of a marl affect. Pretty, but I don't wear lavender well. Guess what? There is enough white in it that it works! It still isn't my best color, but I don't like ill wearing it.

The other tops were all items I would have assumed either would not fit at all or would fit like sausage casings. All of them were fine! I didn't really need a boost of encouragement, but these clothes did that anyway. The Christmas cookies (a gift) remain on a plate. The leftover stuffing that came home with us is being consumed by hubby with me only having a pinch of it last night (I really do like it) and nothing else is even trying to tempt me.

I feel better when I eat well. Not smug, just functionally better. Joints move better. Salt and sugar may have been affecting me for a long time without me realizing that.

This journey began because I wanted to be healthier and have more energy. I truly am not vain about my appearance, but I sure am excited about clothes again!

I thought I would try to take selfies wearing the outfit shown above. That was easier said than done. After saying I am not vain, here I am with my head cut off in all the photos. Why? Partially because of having my phone/camera over my face in the shots and because I gave myself a paper cut on my lip that hasn't stopped bleeding and I have Kleenex stuck to my lip. Really glamorous. 

The Lands End model doesn't have to worry about competition from me.

Not quite yet. 

Onward and downward!

Thud! The inevitable happened...

One little Hershey Nugget won't hurt, right? Of course not. But if one leads to 2-3 in an afternoon a few times in a week, and if you go to a calorie laden lunch at a tea house serving very rich quiche and scones which you knew were also rich but ate them anyway, and if you had a saltier than normal diet on the day before weighing in...you can't really be surprised to be up a bit on the scale, right?

I'm not freaked out. I am up a half pound. Will I be more conscientious this week? You bet I will! Christmas day will a relaxed exception, but not to go hog wild.

Onward and downward, with more emphasis on DOWN.

28th Weigh In

I don't think of myself as having a busy social life. My husband and I often kid each other about coming home from somewhere at a time that once signaled the start of an evening. I've realized the past few weeks that we are busy, but as a retired couple, the busyness begins earlier in the day and often brings surprises that weren't on the calendar.

Today is December 15th. That means we've add holiday shopping and some holiday parties, lunches and dinners into the mix. I continue to do well with my weight loss, even on the occasions when I don't know what the points are in what I am consuming. I try to make good choices and then let it go. I don't berate myself if I find out after the fact that something was much higher in points than I would have guessed, nor do I fall into the "what the hell, I've already messed up for the day" mind set that leads to conscious over indulging. The big reason continues to be how good I am feeling. Not just pleased with a successful weight loss, but physically good. What has been temptations in the past (gooey desserts, creamy after dinner drinks, cookies of all sorts all day long) are simply not worth the trade off of feeling this good.

I am not saying I haven't had any of those things, but just as I have always been able to take alcohol or leave it, the foods that used to torment me are now in that category too. A small piece of something, maybe only a taste, is enough. I realize when I am full, when I am truly hungry and that most of the time I am in a happy middle.

Going back to the alcohol reference, I like beer. I like the taste of it. Same with Scotch and a few creamy drinks such as White Russians and Mudslides. I never drank any of those drinks to get a buzz. I never needed to drink (that is a separate issue that some people face and not when I am addressing here) and often chose not to have any alcohol because the situation didn't seem appropriate to me, such as driving somewhere, being in charge of children, etc.  I am plagued by sinus headaches that are beyond my control, often brought on by weather changes. Beer and wine can cause me to have histamine headaches. Some days I just know not to have beer or wine because of the likelihood of that happening.

Why people continue to do things that are detrimental to their health and well being is way too large a topic for me to tackle. I can't speak for anyone else as to the why. What I can say is that Weight Watchers works. If one leader isn't a good match for you, try another. If you really want to change habits, and this applies to changes beyond what you eat, you must commit and keep trying. The turning point for me was realizing how good I was beginning to feel. Maybe for someone else it will be getting off of medication or buying smaller clothes.

I am now down 45.9 pounds. How many years did I spend thinking "next Monday" would be the day to start a new diet? This isn't a diet. This is my life. I don't feel deprived. I can't eat garlic any longer for reasons that have nothing to do with WW. That doesn't make me feel deprived, so why should counting points and staying within a range make me feel deprived? So much of this is mind set.

Onward and downward!

27 weeks and still losing!

Mid-week, we went to dinner with friends who are leaving Michigan soon for the warmth of Florida. The entree wasn't a bad choice point-wise but I don't have any idea what the points were in the lobster bisque. It was wonderful and worth whatever the value. I also had two drinks, Scotch, but no dessert.

Saturday was our neighborhood holiday party. It began many years ago as a true progressive dinner but soon we had too many households involved. We now have people volunteer to host, usually no more than 5 homes, and food is abundant. People not hosting bring food to the host homes just in case an army stops by that needs feeding. 

The party began at 7:00. I decided to eat a normal dinner at 5:30. It isn't just following WW that made me want to avoid most of the typical party fare, it is that many of those foods don't agree with my digestion now. Part of it could be age, but I suspect that my body prefers the way I have been eating for six months and "junk", no matter how tasty on the tongue, is going to play havoc with human machinery.

I had three Lil' Smokies (sausages) that were wrapped in bacon and baked with brown sugar; two alcoholic drinks, and close to 3/4 of a 2 liter bottle of caffeine free diet Coke. That was probably my big mistake. I still drink diet Coke occasionally, but usually from McDonald's, not bottled. Is one better than the other? I doubt it, but fountain drinks seem less carbonated to me.

We had to be up and out of the house early on Sunday morning so I was functioning on 4.5 hours of sleep and not feeling 100%. There was no hangover, there wasn't a food coma, I think I was just plain tired and felt bloated from the pop. I made sure to drink plenty of water and eat sensibly yesterday.

At weigh in this morning I hoped to stay the same as last week and not show a gain. Imagine my surprise when I heard I'd lost another .7 pounds! I am down a total of 44.1 and looking forward to 45 and then 50!

Like many women who prefer to be the photographer rather than subject, I don't have many photos of myself that are full body shots. Perhaps I should have taken photos of my weight loss each month but since I didn't do that 6 months ago, this will have to do:

Onward and downward, parties and all!

The post-Thanksgiving weigh in

Weigh in #26, the Monday after Thanksgiving.....

One of my nieces has recently settled into her new home which is where Thanksgiving dinner was held last week. Everyone but her mom and I contributed food. It was all delicious.
And carb heavy.
And sweet.
Or carb heavy and sweet!
If you are a typical American, you know what I'm talking about.

In past years on WW or other plans, I either worried about a feast like this ahead of time, or I slipped into the trap of thinking "oh well, I already blew it, I may as well continue, but just for today".

I didn't worry and I didn't slip. To be honest, I didn't track points either but I was aware of what I was doing, right down to the small piece of chocolate cake and sliver of cheesecake. For the first time in a very long time, that was an indulgence, not a step on the path to old ways.

My husband and I like the traditional turkey dinner. We really like leftovers the next day. When you're a guest, you don't have that, not unless you cook a turkey breast, homemade dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy, devil some eggs, open a can of black olives and bake a pumpkin pie on Black Friday.

I'm not fond of gravy so I skipped that and the mashed potatoes and put a very small amount of sweet potatoes next to a large amount of broccoli. I skipped rolls but did have some dressing, a deviled egg, some olives and a small slice of pie. The rest of the weekend I stayed away from desserts, dressing and starchy vegetables. It wasn't a problem for me to do that.

The news at the scale this morning was good. I am down .6 for a total of 43.4 pounds. I could have been better but I also could have been much, much worse.

Onward and downward!