Weighty Wednesday -- You ARE What You Eat

I know this title is a cliché, but clichés are clichés because there is a load of truth to them.

Have you ever had a friend who counts calories, but can’t lose weight? Or someone who doesn’t eat very much and can’t lose weight? Or someone who eats a normal daily calorie count, but it’s all fast food?

Well, I’m a perfect example of the first two scenarios.

Over the last few weeks, I have been walking my rump roast off.

Literally.

Two-a-days. Three days a week for about 9-10 miles. The other days, I would do my normal 4 mile walkies, plus whatever else I do to keep active. A couple of the days, I earned 17 activity points with my ActiveLink.

Even though I’m Lifetime, I want to keep my weight to the low end of my goal weight—more wiggle room when I weigh in.

And I knew for sure that I was going to lose the weight I had gained on vacation two months ago.

I didn’t lose weight, I’ve been gaining . . . very slowly, but gaining none-the-less.

So, what gives?

1. There’s a very good reason Weight Watchers is an advocate of tracking your food.
2. There’s a very good reason Weight Watchers advocates portion control and measuring your portions.
3. There’s a very good reason Weight Watchers advocates their GOOD HEALTH GUIDELINES.
4. There’s a very good reason Weight Watchers advocates a minimum amount of points a person should reach daily.

And I have failed in all four of these departments these last two months.

1. I really don’t like tracking my food, but this week I need to get back to tracking. In one day of tracking, I discovered that I haven’t been getting enough points, or way too many points, daily
2. I would guess the amount I was eating, not measuring. Normally this is less of an issue, except I’ve been attacking the peanut butter with abandonment. Though PB has loads of protein, it also has tons of fat AND sugar (JIF is the worst offender, but tastes the bestest!)
3. I haven’t been eating near enough fruits or vegetables. If I had been eating enough of them, I wouldn’t be grazing on the peanut butter!
4. I’ve been under my daily points numerous days in a row, which puts my body in ‘starvation’ mode. This means it hangs onto all the lovely fat that I have packed away for a rainy day. Not good.

So I’m back to tracking and following the good health guidelines.

I’ll have to let you know if my strategy worked.

Later, Peeps!

 

 

Weighty Wednesday -- Activelink

I was going to write different post, but I thought this one was more current.

A couple of weeks ago I purchased a Weight Watcher's Activelink. This is a handy-dandy little USB  that also contains an accelerometer chip that gauges all the movement you make throughout the day.

The old calculation method had its flaws. For example, walking. We all know that I enjoy walking. Well, the calculation measured any pace between 3.0-5.0 mph the same. So if you are a fast walker (me) you are sort of penalized.

So the Activelink measures everyone individually.

You can clip it to a bra or shirt near your heart, or hang it on a lanyard, or clip it at your waist. You just have to tell the system which one you choose because it calculates it differently. It also takes into account your weight, age, sex and height to calculate activity points.

Then the 8 day assessment begins.

And no, it won't tell you how you're doing during this assessment, but you can get a general idea when you plug it in at the end of the day.

The purpose of this gadget it to stimulate you into moving during the low parts of your day, to get off your bum and walk around.

After my assessment, it allowed me to see my activity points. One day I actually logged in 17 activity points! That was a day that I walked almost 10 miles, 4 in the AM and 5.5 in the PM. This number was nowhere near the calculated values would have been!

Do I expect this to be the norm?

NO. For one, I'm not going to be walking twice a day when winter comes. It'll be too dark. I'll find something else to do.

But I do know that I can easily earn 6 activity points with my AM walkies and a little activity throughout the day.

Activelink also provides you with a challenge to consistently reach a certain level daily. It originally set it at 12, but I changed it to 10, which is still a challenge on the days I don't walk twice a day.

On Sunday, I was truly lazy and didn't walk. I almost didn't even meet my baseline criteria for health! And I certainly didn't earn any activity points!

It does cost a little every month to monitor the Activelink, but I think it's worth it if it gets me out of the desk chair a little more often.

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Trying to Gain Perspective

As I mentioned in last weeks, Before and After post, I hadn't realized that I had gained so much weight. That's the insidious thing about weight. You simply buy the next size up until you realize that you just bought size *** (insert head-thumping moment). For me, it was an XL, along with a slightly elevated blood pressure (technically, it was 'normal', but very ABnormal for me!), plus weighing more than I had when I was nine months preggers!

Well, the opposite is also true.

I really don't see myself any differently than I had when I was 45 pounds heavier. Oh, I know I'm a different size on the bottom, but many of my Large shirts still fit because I have very broad shoulders. In the 80's I didn't need no stinking shoulder pads, thank you very much! My body shape is about the same, there's just less of it.

So it's difficult for me to think thin. This is another battle of the mental game of weight loss.

Society hasn't helped with most people's body image, what with Twiggy, uber-skinny models, and Barbie as examples of 'real' shapes. Then there are the poor people who strive to be thin through anorexia, bulimia or self-medication (drugs, alcohol). Or some food companies brainwashing us into thinking that if we pinch more than an inch, we're too fat.

Oh, we all know babies should be fat and happy, but when does baby fat translate into fat fat?

Well, that's the kicker, isn't it?

**I'd show some pics, but most of them are packed away and haven't been scanned into the computer**

When I was young, I thought I was fat. I was on the chubby end of the stick, but then again, I was short. At that time, we played outside all day, every day. With only three TV channels to watch--and Mom forcing us to watch PBS--there wasn't a whole lot on TV. Now there are a gazillion channels to watch, numerous types of compterized gaming systems, AND computers to play with. People are more sedentary.

In the 70's, I was in Jr. High and High School. I wore boy's Levi's because most girl's jeans didn't fit me as I had chubby thighs. I sewed darts in the back waistband to keep them up. Clothes were made for the Twiggy's of the world.

I weighed 112 lbs when I graduated from high School, and I thought I was fat.

I weighed 116 lbs when I graduated from college, and I thought I was fat.

When this picture was taken (I'm in the hard hat, Jody is wearing the towel), I was in my late 20's and weighed 124 lbs, and I thought I was fat.

I had been trained to think I was fat all my life so that when I did become fat, I was simply becoming fatter.

And least we forget the normal weight range for a person of my height is 106-132 lbs. All those years that I thought I was fat, I wasn't.

Now I have the same problem, even though I'm in my healthy weight range, albeit on the high end, I don't see myself as being thin. I probably will always see myself as fat, but as long as I eat right and walk daily, then I guess I'll overcome the mental game of thinking  I'm fat.

How do you keep your weight in perspective? Is it a daily challenge?

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Before and After

I entered a Weight Watcher contest at the last minute. It was called "Celebrate Success". Weight Watchers had to write a 400-word essay, submit before and after pictures, along with evidence of their weight loss success. There will be a group of 'finalists' posted online and Weight Watchers from around the world will get to vote on their favorite.

*fingers crossed* Here's hoping I made the cut!

So when I was looking for pictures, I wanted a truly hideous BEFORE. In this picture, I had been on WW for about three weeks and had lost about 7 pounds.

July 2011

And for an AFTER picture, you want to look really, really good. I didn't have any pics of me in a bikini, so I went with a vacation picture--45 POUNDS lighter.


July 2012 -- in front of the Hogwarts Express Train

Yes, my 11-year-old is taller than I am.

Here's a pic of my online Weight Tracker. It might be a bit fuzzy, but you get the idea.

July 2011-August 2012

And here's my essay. After I had one wonderful CP read this--another CP found some more mistakes! Yikes! I think this is clean.

When I joined Weight Watchers--for the fourth time—I knew my path wasn’t simply taking me to a destination (a vacation, wedding, or class reunion). Instead, this journey of self-discovery would continue beyond simply reaching my goal weight. I needed to make a permanent change to correct my poor habits. Throughout this journey, I’ve climbed mountains of self-doubt, forded streams of defeat, and stumbled over many rocky moments on my weight loss path, but I’ve also acknowledged my weaknesses, grown as a person and overcome obstacles that stood in my way. 

For a number of years previously, I’ve blogged about the writer’s life, my stories, and insight into life in general. Less than a month after joining WW, I decided to dedicate one blog a week to my weight loss challenges, aptly named Weighty Wednesdays. Sharing my insights, challenges, tips and tricks, along with my success and failures helped me focus on the bigger picture: honesty and accountability.

Brutal honesty is my mantra to the extent of confessing my sins when I ate an entire can of frosting in a day. I didn’t excuse the behavior, but it happened. If I pretended it hadn’t happened, then I would be lying to myself, and lying to oneself is the first step backwards. Be honest. Be accountable. The only person who loses is you.

And what happens when you reach that ever elusive number that we call our goal weight? Do we miraculously have all the answers? Do we keep the weight off without having to think about it? Do we stop exercising? Stop counting points? Thinking about food?

No. Those challenges and obstacles when we lost weight are still there, waiting for us to relax our habits and get lazy in our routines. Staying healthy takes constant maintenance. While working to reach our goal weight, we discover the knowledge and the tools to help us succeed at maintenance. The key is to enjoy life and food, while realizing that treats are for special occasions and not daily consumption.

We gain weight and we lose weight. That’s life.

And I intend to live it to the fullest.


I'll let you know if I made the cut. Time to get back to work!

Later, Peeps!

Headaches and Goals

Went to bed with a headache and woke up with the same headache. I took some aspirin and antihistamines, but they didn't work. I'll try different type of antihistamine this AM.

What is more frustrating to me (other than tinnitus and the headache) is that I've gotten into a non-productive cycle again. I know what I need to do, but I find everything else to do other than what I have on the agenda for the day.

Yesterday, I played Spider Solitaire.

So, for today, I think I'll post my goals. Maybe being accountable to my blog will help. It isn't a big list, but each part is time-consuming and I think that's where I get into trouble. I need lots of quick easy goals to feel like I've actually accomplished something!

1. Finish writing the Weight Watcher's essay to enter their Celebrate Success contest. And then find before and after pictures.
2. Take all my Weighty Wednesdays, transfer them into Word Documents--will eventually print them to organize into chapters
3. Judge the Golden Pen contest (5 entries)--I finally got a batch of historical entries instead of the series contemporary that I don't read. Only one score with loads of comments
4. Make sea salt caramels for the kidlet's back to school night for her teachers.
5. Work to convert/format my ebooks to paper.--this is tougher than you might think! 
6. Oops--I forgot one!  Design a flyer of my books to put into my donated chocolates.

Well, okay, this is actually a week's worth of goals. See? I told you they would grow into a huge list. And this isn't even counting plotting any of my stories!

Oh, well, I won't be able to start until after I drive the kidlet to school, take my hour long walkie and shower. Yesterday, I wasn't dressed until noon and I had leave the house to pick her up at 2:45.

Bye-bye daytime! Hopefully this will make me more focused with the time I am given!

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Carb Cravings

As I mentioned last week, I've had a difficult time coming off of vacation. I thought it would be simply turning off the switch and turning on the good habits.

Yeah, right.

This isn't my first rodeo and it probably isn't yours either. You would think I would have all the tricks down pat.

I don't.

I still have cravings. And I still cave to cravings. None of us is perfect. None of us are infallible.

The key to remember is that I, and you, have the knowledge to fix this, even if the will is questionable at times.

I've discovered over the course of my WW adventure that it's hard to fix something if you don't admit there's a problem.

My problem started with vacation where I allowed myself to eat like there was no tomorrow. Shall I say it? I was planning my very own hunger games. I wasn't about to go hungry.

Mindless eating along with female hormones (Damn it!) make us crave yeasty, floury, sugary goodness. Well, it makes me crave them.

So last week I made chocolate chip cookies--tried a new recipe and threw everything you could imagine into the mix.

AND I made my cinnamon rolls for the kidlet's first day of school, but I made them the previous night, so we ate cinnamon rolls for din-din . . . and the next two days.

I've found that eating something sinful one day doesn't really have an adverse effect on my weight. Eating said nummies two or more days in a row does.

Weigh-in was not pretty. Oh, I was still in my allotted +2 pound range over my goal weight, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it.

Oh, no. I'm mad at myself.

So what to do?

Buckle down and get back on track again! I want my pretend goal weight to be two pounds LESS than my 'official' goal weight.

Truth is that I like the extra weight loss for special occasions . . . like my birthday . . . which falls on next Wednesday . . . August 29th.

I'll take cyber-gifties, congrats, and happy B-days. Shoot, I'll even take Preparation H--as it works wonders to reduce under eye puffiness!

Time to focus and go cold turkey on the carbs!

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- 'tude is everything

Attitude, that is.

No, I'm not talking about the chicken-necking-in-yore-face-I'm-a-hot-mama-so-I can-wear-clothes-that-are-a-size-six-on-a-3X body kinda crap. Usually, those people are so insecure, they have to be in your face to feel good about themselve. They are bullies. Period.

I'm talking about a quiet confidence, of wearing an aura about you of "I got this". This type of attitude makes you stand tall, chin up with your shoulders back. You walk with determination and strength.

This is the type of attitude that makes people take notice.

Oh, they take notice of you with the other 'tude, but not in the right way.

When you approach anything in life do it with passion and attitude. Confidence will create a positive aura around you, which in turn, will make others feel confident in YOU.

This works for so many aspects of your life, not just your weight loss journey.

If you must have a hospital procedure, visualize the positive outcome.

Numerous competitors use this technique of visualizing a positive outcome in their events, from riding a hunter course to running a race to whatever.

Use this in a job interview. The more confident you are about your abilities and passion, the more confident the interviewer is of YOU.

Speaking of which, I was offered a job to be a Weight Watcher leader. YAY!!

I notice that Weight Watchers was recruiting, so on a whim, I filled out an online job application. A few days later, they sent me a Gallup poll survey. I was honest, which made me think that I screwed up my chances from the get-go. No, I do not want to work with my best friend.

Imagine my surprise when I received an email to set up a phone interview with the regional director in Iowa. Then I was asked to do an in-person interview with the local WW director.

I guess it went well, since she offered me a job!

Again, I went into the interview with passion for the company--I really, really like what WW did for me and my ability to influence those around me to get serious about their health. I was honest about my pros, but also my cons, or what I envision as being my problem areas. Sometimes I worry that I might not be empathetic enough, but she assured me that some people would need my 'tough love' style of leadership.  

So being honest with yourself is a large portion of this weight loss journey, but when you couple honesty with confidence, then you have a WIN-WIN situation.

I know you can do it, but do you?

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Ramblings or Lagniappe

Two days ago, I knew what I wanted to blog about for today, so I didn't bother to write it down.

Yesterday, I  couldn't remember what it was.

Today, I'm going to simply ramble on and on, and maybe I'll hit a topic that means something to someone.

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As you all know, though I'm a WW Lifetime Member, I still have to weigh in monthly to maintain my LT status and my free meetings and etools.

Well, hooey to that! To keep myself accountable, I have to weigh in every single time I go to a meeting.

Yesterday, I gained 0.4 pounds. I'm still within my goal parameters, but it was a struggle for the previous two days to get it to that point!

IF I HAD NOT FORCED MYSELF TO 1) GO TO A MEETING, 2) WEIGH, THEN I WOULD HAVE EASILY STARTED THE DOWNHILL SLIDE INTO GAINING WEIGHT!

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Our Tuesday AM meetings are usually pretty full, but not yesterday. I'd say we had about 1/3 of the normal crowd. I don't know if it was because of the July 4th holiday, or vacations, or what, but studies have shown that if you skip one time because "oh, I'll lose what I gained by next week . .  ." The odds are against you to lose that weight. In fact, many times you'll keep gaining and the vicious cycle will start again!.

Trust me, I know. I've been there. Which is why I will weigh myself weekly. And if I'm over then I'll pay the fine and do the time to get back to my thinner me!

It's all about accountability, people.

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Yesterday, after my so-so weigh in. I gazed longingly at the jar of peanut butter. Instead I opened the jar of Nutella and took a nice scoopful out and proceeded to nosh on it.

Whoever invented the stuff works for the devil I say! It's EVIL!! Right up there with the Monster under the Bed! So good and decedent.

So what did I do?

Well, I taped up the jar of peanut butter, and then I proceeded to tape the jar of Nutella. I'm not talking that I put the jars into bondage. All I did was take painters tape (the blue stuff) and make an X over the top of the jar and onto the shoulders.

It won't keep me out if I'm determined, BUT it will make me pause and think about my choices. I've done this before with peanut butter (my personal challenge) and bags of chips. I just need another barrier to make me think about what I'm getting ready to do. Most of the time, I'll simply put the item back into the pantry and guzzle down a glass of water.

**Many times when you are trolling for food, you aren't really hungry, YOU ARE DEHYDRATED!**

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So after my almost tip-toe through the pantry, what did I do?

Well, I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies. From scratch.

Why?

1) it's been months and months since I baked anything . . . no, I didn't even need to look at the recipe. ;-)

2) hubby will take the rest of them to work. I have frozen baked cookies before, but I discovered that I like to eat them frozen = bad Margaret.

3) I refuse to buy the pre-packaged cookies in the refrigerated section of the grocery store--too tempting to eat raw, and too many preservatives.

So I enjoyed my afternoon of decadent behaviour of eating raw cookie dough and a couple of baked ones.

Did I count them? No, but I'm back on track today. And I'm good with it. 

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The problem isn't having cookies or chips or other treats. The problem happens when it becomes a DAILY treat.

I would much rather enjoy a couple of homemade cookies, or drive to Custard King for a small Butterball concrete as a ONE DAY treat instead of having them in my house tempting me for multiple days.

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Yes, losing and maintaining a weight loss does take some self control, but you build that up over time when you learn about your particular challenges.

You might have to totally remove the food item from your house, or refuse to go to certain restaurants because you know you'll order XXX (insert favorite fat-filled, sugar-filled, large quantity item here), but you can do it.

I have faith that you can succeed, and I'll be right there with you!

Later, Peeps!

Summer is halfway over!

I swear that I have good intentions about pre-writing this Monday's blog, but here I am at 6 AM trying to find out what happened to the weekend!

Well, what are you waiting for? Pour a cuppa smooth, rich Gevalia and pull up a chair to sit awhile. Sorry, Sven will have to stay with me to prepare my morning Gevalia--I sure did miss my Stockholm roast, but this House Blend that I picked up at Target is NICE. I thought I was a total convert with Starbucks Pike's Place coffee, but O-M-G this coffee sure is smooth! The downside is having to load the tiny little filter each and every time I want a cup. Sometimes I miss having a regular coffeepot!

Here's a thought: I could rejoin Gevalia, get the freebie coffee pot and then cancel my subscription! Naw, that wouldn't be right. I'd feel guilty every time I drank a cup of coffee.

I don't know about y'all, but this summer is sure flying by!  It's hard to believe that we are already on July 9 and school will start on August 16.

We still haven't planned my hubby's work party. My kidlet wanted to have a party for her friends--it still hasn't happened. I think the cicadas whirring and the triple digit heat might have had something to do with our lack of planning. I did tell the hubby--last April, mind you--that we just need plan his party, rain, shine or 105 degree heat. It didn't happen. Too much stuff is happening at work with his move planning. Maybe we should do it in September after everyone settles down and the kiddies are back in school.

We did plan a quick get-together for family--no meal, just snacky happiness. My sister S is in town from Germany, and my brother G, with his wife and daughter have just returned from their trip to France, so I seized the opportunity to extend a swimming invite. With our two families combined we had only 16 people total, including kids. This is a very small group. Many of the kids are growing up and have better things to do than go to Auntie Margaret's house and be forced to speak to 'family'. GAK!

So, hubby, kidlet and I cleaned the house Saturday AM, I washed 4 loads of laundry and went to the grocery store. I also made my two salsas, and discovered if the Tomatillo one has too much acidity, then add a touch (1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon) of sugar. I made the Ranch dip with a little twist. Take your packet of dry ranch dressing and instead of using sour cream, use 0% fat Greek yogurt. It's good. My MIL pointed out to my hubby that the calories are still the same, but what she failed to realize is that 1) I don't have to count this on the Simply Filling part of the WW plan, 2) it's chocked full of protein, which fills you up. I also had carrot sticks available along with the chips.

The party went well. Clean up is always a breeze. 1) grab hose, 2) squirt everything down. Simple, huh? Can't do that when you have people inside your home!

And yesterday, we took the kidlet to her last camp for the summer. It's another Girl Scout session and this time she's living the life! The cabin that she's in holds up to 24 girls, but only 12 were scheduled to be in this building. AND this cabin has a flush toilet AND showers. Wowzers! Talk about luxury. No grabbing a buddy to have to go take a whiz in the middle of the night!

This week, I have quite a bit on my plate. I just hope that I can buckle down and do it.
1) take car to garage this AM--it needs 60K mile maintenance (it's at 68K), plus AC and brake work
2) phone interview with WW--yes, I applied for a job
3) finish judging contest
4) finally do interview questions and send back
5) FINISH EDITING TROLL TO UPLOAD BY 7-20!!
6) if time, work to convert GNOME to be published in paper--more difficult than I expected. No, I'm not going to pay anyone yet.

With everyone out of the house and no chauffeuring for me, we'll see if I can manage my time a little better and keep up with what I need to do!

Later, peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Food Obsession or Knowledge

My Weight Watchers' Lifetime status is going strong. I weighed exactly the same as I did last week-- 129.6. Remember my goal is 132, but my mental goal is 130, since it's easier to deal with round numbers, and I'm exactly where I want to be.  Though I'm LT (lifetime), I would like to see if my body will drop some more weight. I'm not actively striving in that direction, but I'm just curious to see if I would have to work at it or not.

My goal is to NOT have to work at staying a particular weight--what fun is there in that??

Onward to today's topic: Food Obsession.

Marilyn asked me a question on Facebook, "Question about your nf book and weight-loss journey: do you ever feel obsessed with food, like it's the focus of your entire day?"

And I truthfully answered, "YES" and proceeded to blather on about how it's different now.

She responded--I've condensed her response-- that the point counting in Weight Watchers drove her crazy.

And in my response, I 'fessed up that I actually stopped counting points last NOVEMBER.

Yes, my friends, I stopped counting points and managed to lose weight, albeit at a far slower rate.

So what was my 'trick'?

First, I'll give you a little background as to why you need to be obsessed with tracking and counting the WW program when you join.

If you don't have a digital kitchen scale, go buy one. You will need it to be successful. Yes, WW plugs their scale where you can weigh the food and it automatically calculates the points and you can save it, blah, blah, blah. The only thing that scale doesn't do is give you a back massage when your standing around cooking all day!

I have a Salter scale from Williams-Sonoma that I got one Christmas to help me when I make candy. All it has is ounces and grams, and that's all you really need. Sometimes too high tech can deter your education.

When you first join the program I HIGHLY recommend you measure stuff out, but then WEIGH it on a scale. This will be called an obsession by your friends and family--ignore them. You are doing this for YOU, and they can stuff it. Don't look at the ounces of the food, but look at the GRAMS count, both on your scale and on the WW calculations.

This can and will be an eye-opening education.
For example:

I bought Planters Sweet- n- salty mixed nuts for my daughter to take to a swim meet, but personal experience has allowed me to observe that if I gave her the entire container, she would EAT the entire container. Yes, they are that good! I wanted to measure them out and place them in single serving ziploc bags.

The container said one serving size was 1/4 cup, which equaled one ounce, which equaled 42 grams.
--on a side note: one ounce can weigh between 37-42 grams, so check you gram amounts, not ounces!
When I poured my 1/4 cup of nuts on the scale, it was over one ounce. After the removal of a nut or two . . . erm, don't ask me HOW I REMOVED them! Let's just say the big black maw of my bottomless pit was begging for nummies! The sample weighed one ounce.

I changed the setting to grams.

It was overweight. With the magical disappearance of another nut or two, I decided to measure the remaining amount in a cup. Believe it or not, when serving size is talking about 1/4 cup, it doesn't mean HEAPING! Go figure!

This little experiment opened my eyes to a new world. I weighed EVERYTHING! Weighing everything made me understand portion control. If I didn't know how much food weighed, then how would I keep track of how much I ate? Shoot, I even weighed my glass of wine--118 grams for a 4 point glass of red wine, roughly 4 ounces. Yes, weigh your wine, with each additional glass of wine you drink the glass starts to get fuller and fuller. Weird, huh?

So now that I know what portions I was supposed to be eating, I didn't have to be so hard-core about measuring. But if I stopped counting points in November, how did I manage to lose weight and keep sane?

During weigh-in one day, Jackie told me where to find the secret elixir in this game. But if I hadn't gone through all my trials, I wouldn't have been ready to find the elixir. Now it all made sense.

On the WW trackers, there is a section that offers check boxes: water, dairy, fruits & veg, oil, multi-vitamin and activity. The online etools gives you a smiley face when you've had the correct amount for the day.

I like getting smiley's.

The answer was simple: Fill in your checkboxes.

But we all know it isn't that easy. You do have to be aware of goes into your mouth and how much. If I eat breakfast out (even if I don't go nuts and eat pancakes until I hurl), I know I have to eat fruits and veg for my other meals. If I have any wheat products, I know I'll bloat so I have to limit them--SEVERELY. I also follow the WW Simply Filling plan--which I think I've talked about, so check the archives.

When you start a weight-loss journey, you have to be willing to do the hard work to become aware of what you eat and how much, which is why WW is so good. They give you the tools to be successful--knowledge. Oh, other weight-loss programs claim the same thing, but when you stop buying their products, what have you really learned?

That you have to keep buying their products to be successful.

I know that I only touched the tip of this particular iceberg, which is why Marilyn is pushing me to work on my NF book.

But the answer to her original question about food obsession is still, "yes" but it's an educated obsession. Knowledge is everything. I know my trigger foods. I know what wheat products do to me. I know I need to walk daily. I know that most restaurants serve 2-3 servings in each 'serving'. I know that I can only eat one 'meal' a day, but then I need to fill up on fruits/veg/FF dairy the other meals.

Before I started this journey, I was obsessed with simply eating until I was stuffed. Now, I'm stuffed with the knowledge to make an educated choice about what I put in my gaping maw. Some days, I'm totally aware that I'm eating a food that is chocked full of evil goodness. It's the knowledge that's the difference.

Hope this helps a little, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Finding the 'perfect' weight

Today is the third week since I hit my goal weight, and without even trying I managed to lose 2.4 pounds.

Technically, I'm 0.4 of a pound LOWER than the allowed 2 pounds below my stated goal weight of 132. Yes, I'm in the 120's, barely--129.6.

--Once you reach your goal weight, you have +/- 2 pounds to play with.

**I must clarify this statement because my Weight Watcher leader, Julie, smacked me upside the head**  Hey, Julie! *waving at Julie* Now, give me a little credit here--I had asked one of the operators at WW about this (I was on the phone to convert my etools from paid monthly pass to freebie Lifetime pass) and she confirmed the +/- 2 pound part of the equation.

Okay, when a first time/returning, but not previous Lifetime member reaches their goal weight, they are required to do six weeks of maintenance. Within this six weeks, they are required to stay within the +/- 2 pound range to prove they can stablilize their weight.

BUT those of us who have made Lifetime previously--*moi* in 1998--do NOT have to complete the aforementioned mainenance period. AND if you stay within the healthy weight range, but do NOT go over your goal weight by more than 2 pounds, you're gold.

This is the only part of the Weight Watchers program that I take issue with. I'm in my healthy weight range for my height, but my body is trying to adjust to the weight it needs to be, which makes me out of complience with their 'rules' when I can fluctuate up to 5 pounds in a week.

I'm sorry, but it takes time to for a person to find the 'perfect weight', where one feels healthy and the weight is relatively easy to maintain. Punishing a person for being TOO FAR BELOW YOUR GOAL WEIGHT is just silly.

Oh, I understand that they don't want their members to lose too much weight, resulting in an unhealthy goal weight, but there are minimium weights for all heights. There are also rules that won't allow a person to join WW if they are too close to the minimium weight on the range.

So how do I figure out what weight is perfect for me?

It's very simple, it's a weight that I don't have to work at to maintain.

Look, I'm too old to play the youth game. I enjoy my food, wine, desserts, BUT I don't need to eat the good stuff every night to be happy. An occasional foray into decadence works for me, and I can meet my healthy guidelines on a daily basis.

What are those healthy guidelines?

6 servings of WATER, not just beverages, but WATER sans flavoring. Other beverages are simply bonus
2-3 servings of dairy
5-6 servings of fruits and veg
1 multi vitamin
some sort of activity
a dash of healthy oil

I don't really count the healthy oil because I know I usually get it sometime during the day and I don't need to track that.

So if I tend to lose more weight following this, then I'll simply adjust my 'goal' weight to serve my needs and satisfy the powers that be at WW.

But my personal goal is to simply stay below 132 pounds, that's it.

Easy-peasy.

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- GOAL!!!!

GOAL!

          GOAL!

   GOAL!

GOAL!

      GOAL!

      GOAL!

GOAL!

No matter how you say it or color it, I DID IT!! 

Actually, I did more than meet my goal (132), I met my previous set goal (130) and then demolished it! I lost 4.4 pounds last week for a grand total of 48.4 pounds. My starting weight was 177.2 and yesterday's weigh in was 128.8 pounds!

I haven't weighed this since before I was married 20 years ago!

I don't think I need to say anything else, do I?

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- GET 'ER DONE!

All right. I have had it!

I've been putzing around with losing these last few pounds for MONTHS now. Yesterday, I lost 0.4. Big whoop. I need to kick my butt into gear because this is getting redonculous!

So what am I going to do to hit WW Lifetime--AGAIN?

It's back to basics.

• Filling up on fruits and veggies.
• Keeping my spoon out of the peanut butter jar.
• Keep up my workouts and maybe adding a few strength-training free-weight exercises.
• It's summer--drink lots and lots of water
• yard work

That should be a good start to this mission.

On June 17, 2011, I started this weight loss journey. The first 35 pound flew off my body, but then the last 10 have been stubborn. I could list numerous reasons for this, and most of them are just lame excuses!

• I stopped tracking
• My body had been at that weight for YEARS and it equilized
• I stopped measuring and weighing my food

Even though I still lost weight it was at a substantially slower pace than before. AND I still continued some GOOD habits:

• Meeting my healthy check guidelines on most days
• drinking at least 6 cups of water daily
• eating 5-6 servings of fruits and veggies
• walking--a lot--even in the cruddiest of weather
• found a meeting leader/group that meshed with my personality

And for a long time I was okay with this, but now I'm NOT. I'm reaching my one year anniversary and I need to be at goal. So how do I get to goal in 11 days?

I did one thing that I hadn't planned to do, and that was raise my goal weight from 130 to 132 pounds. 132 is the upper limit of the healthy weight range for my height. I feel good. I look good, but I need to "Git 'er done!" I have a feeling that when I reach goal, the mental block that I have will be gone and I'll be able to drop the rest of the weight a little easier.

Another thing I did was to try to find my Lifetime pin. I still have a few areas to look, but I know I made it once before--in 1996 (we found my hubby's card and pin!).  The interesting thing about making Lifetime again is that I don't have to do the 6 weeks of maintenance--shoot, I've been doing that for over 6 MONTHS now!

I don't know about y'all, but I'm tired of reporting my non-progress on this point.

I'd like to finish with my Weighty Wednesday posts forever. I started them for me, but I often wonder if the struggles I've been facing on my journey have helped anyone else on their weight loss journey? I know keeping my weight in control will be a lifetime change. I'll be working at it on a daily basis as I know some days I'll make some not so good choices. Heck, we all do that, but the key is to have more days making EXCELLENT CHOICES!

Here's my question--And I wonder how many people will actually comment on my blog/Facebook/Google +--

WHEN I REACH MY GOAL WEIGHT, DO YOU WANT ME TO CONTINUE WITH MY WEIGHTY WEDNESDAY BLOGS?

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Body Image

I don't know about y'all, but I know I enjoyed my three days off over Memorial Day weekend. Hubby thinks I'm on vacation all the time, but not really as there is always little stuff to do to keep the house and family running smoothly.

Anyhoo, I enjoyed my weekend: food, drink, family and friends. There were some social gatherings: helping Grandma move her art studio stuff from one location to another. And some family time: experimenting with various rubs and sauces for smoking ribs. And friend time: Hey, Y'all! *waving*.  And during this weekend all of us ate and drank as we hung by the swimming pool.

Even though I KNOW I over did it (food and booze) this weekend, I still walked and I still tried to eat healthy--if not healthier, then just until I wasn't hungry any longer--but I did enjoy margaritas and beer.

Guess what?

I didn't gain any weight!

I didn't lose any either, but I'm okay with that, because I DIDN'T GAIN!

This was the first social occasion of the season that I wore a swimming suit. In the past, I've worn swimming suits, but this is the first year that my measurements are the same as when I got married (except my waist--it's 2" larger--go figure). I had to buy a couple of swimming suits.

I looked good and I felt good. Hubster calls me TB (teeny butt) now, instead of WL (wide load).

--No, he never called me that! I'm just embellishing here!

But the interesting thing is that I THINK I look the same as I did 45 pounds heavier even though I KNOW I'm wearing a smaller size and weigh less.

I totally understand anorexic people who think they still look heavy even though they aren't.

Weight loss is such a mind game. Sometimes your mind doesn't SEE the change. They key is to find some way to reset your thinking.

For me, it's the scale. I've always been a scale jumper and I'll die being a scale jumper. I want to know HOW my body's weight fluctuates throughout the day. This familiarity keeps me sane, while it would drive other people bonkers.

I know I'll never become anorexic because I enjoy my food too much, or bulimic--ewww!, but I will always have to be on the lookout for the weight gains.

Remember--body image isn't just about how you look on the outside, but how you feel on the inside. It's the stuff on the inside that gives you the confidence and attitude to tackle anything!

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Success!

And I'm happy to report that SIMPLY FILLING WORKS!!

Even though I went out of town this last weekend, I still lost 2.4 pounds for a
 total weight loss of 45 pounds!

Yes, I'm totally stoked!

So I'll be continuing the Simply Filling technique this week and, with luck and hard work, I'll lose the 2.2 pounds to hit my goal weight. If not, then I'll aim for the week after.

Remember, weight loss is a journey not a destination.

Once I reach maintenance, it doesn't mean I can throw all this hard work out the window.

Nosirreebob!

It means I now have the tools to KEEP myself at a healthy weight along with the knowledge of what to do if the weight starts to creep up on me again.

I'm happy!

But I'm more than just happy because I lost weight, it's because I've inspired others to take their own journey: other swim moms, a couple of teachers at my daughter's school, some of my husband's co-workers and/or their wives.  Some of them are exercising more, while others are eating better.

It's all about choices.

And I'm not blatantly bragging about my weight loss.

I don't need to.

The evidence is in my smaller size, my happy attitude and my confidence.

In other words, MY POSITIVE AURA.

Create your own aura of peace and happiness, and reap the benefit by allowing others to see your joy.

Namaste, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Same old, same old

And I had a ZERO gain/loss this week.

But I'm not too upset about it, considering I had a three pound gain during the week. Ugh!

I'm not thrilled that I haven't been able to shake these last few pounds, but I'm determined.

I have increased my exercise, but it isn't enough. I was talking to my leader and she suggested I use the Simply Filling technique. I'd heard of it, but I needed to read a little more thoroughly about it.

So what is Simply Filling?

Basically, it's unlimited amounts of Weight Watcher designated Power Foods. Lean meats, fruits and veggies, whole grains, and non-fat dairy products. Points are deducted from your weekly tally of 49 when you eat products that are NOT power foods (salad dressings, glass of wine, salads with black beans or corn in it), which means you have to be very, very frugal with your ppv products.
Use them well, padawan.
Here's a breakdown:

Lean meats--very doable for a week, especially now that it's grilling season. Seasonings of every type are available. Feeling a little Greek, then sprinkle on some Cavenders. A little Nawlins, then one of Emeril's selection. Caribbean? a little jerk seasoning. The seasoning supplies are endless and virtually all of them will take zero off your weekly point allowance.

Fruits and veggies--with a few starchy exceptions (corn, potatoes, green peas, etc) most fruits and veg are power foods. May is the perfect time to take on the Simply Filling challenge since there are so many fresh fruits and veggies available.

Non-fat dairy products--some of this is easy and some isn't worth it, namely non-fat cheese. That stuff is plain old nasty. I'd rather give up cheese for a week than eat the non-fat variety. I will eat non-fat Greek yogurt (more protein) and take a 1 ppv hit from my weekly points with a Tablespoon of Brown Sugar Splenda. Non-fat milk in a smoothie, I'm cool with it.

And the last one, Whole grains--this is more of a sticky wicket. Cooked cornmeal, quinoa, and whole wheat pasta are a power foods, but couscous is not. Reduced calorie bread--also known as cardboard--is a power food, anything with flavor is not. Again, I would rather not eat it instead of worry about it.

When I started looking at the power foods and thought back to the first part of my weight loss journey, a lightbulb lit up above my head.

Though I had counted all my points in the beginning, I had also focused my choices on the daily Healthy Checks--many of which include power foods. Ding, ding, ding, ding!

In general, I try NOT to use my weekly or activity points, which means when I do need them for various products they will be available.

I think I can do this.  I'll try it for a day or two, but if I seem to have a handle on it, I'll keep going for the entire week.

Of course, I'll let you know how it goes.

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- And a Gain

Alrighty then . . .

I gained 1.8 pounds this week. OUCH!!

Look, it happens. Shoot--its been happening to me since last November. Down/up, down/up, I'm so sick of it, but this time I did it to myself. It's called: Friday at Red Rock Canyon Grill--steak, beer, shared desserts (yes, that is an 's' at the end of dessert). A pitcher of Margaritas on Saturday night with cheeseburgers and tots, and Sunday brunch: two eggs over hash with avocados and bacon, AND pizza for dinner.

It's no wonder I gained almost two pounds.

I belong to a Facebook group called Weight Watchers. It isn't affiliated with the 'real' Weight Watchers, but the members for the most part ARE Weight Watchers. This morning, one person was lamenting about her weight gain of 0.2 lbs.

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME??

0.2?? That could simply be from drinking a glass of water and not peeing. Puh-leeze.

Anyhoo, she said that she didn't know what went wrong. She counted her points, exercised, blah, blah, blah. It could be a number of factors:
1) she's not 'fessing up about all her sins
2) she's not calculating her points correctly
3) she's exercising, converting her weight from fat to muscle.

My response was that she was using the "standard" point values provided for in eTools.

And let me tell you, my friends, those points are so off that it hurts!

For example:
A tamale is listed at 4 PPV.
But a calculated tamale at On The Border is actually 8 PPV. Double the amount that was stated in their 'standard' points. If you can find the nutritional information online for a restaurant, then calculate it as accurately as possible.

This discrepancy is the very reason I try NOT to use my weekly or activity points. I like to have the padding . .  . except sometimes the damage is too great, as in my current case.

What's done is done. I need to focus and move on.

Later, Peeps!





 

Weighty Wednesday -- Traveling Tracker (cont.)

IT WORKED!!

Down 2.0 pounds for a grand total weight loss of . . . 44.4 pounds!!

I'm not excited or anything, right?

With all of my up/down, up/down weight loss recently, I can actually say that this is the lowest I've been since around the time I was married almost 20 years ago! 

Margaret & Todd

--and yes, our 20 year anniversary IS coming up!

Aren't we just the cutest?

Anyhoo, I did discover something very interesting when I had to use a paper tracker. . .

I eat almost constantly between the hours of 10:30-3:30, and then I'm done.

Weird isn't it?

On WW etools, it only allows you to document Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Anytime. Well, I obviously don't eat meals like a normal person does, so it was a real eye-opener to discover this idiosyncrasy of mine.

It's not like I would eat a full meal or anything, as my page might have something written down every 45 minute to hour.

1/2 cup strawberries

And then an hour later:

Oikos Greek blueberry yogurt

An hour later:

green monster smoothie

an hour later . .  .

You see what's going on?

Today's lesson is that if what you're doing isn't working for you, then try something else.

I have only 0.6 pounds to go until I hit minus 45 pounds.

Only 0.8 pounds until I hit the top of my healthy weight range for my height.

AND ONLY 2.8 POUNDS UNTIL GOAL!!

I WILL do it!

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Traveling Tracker

This week I'm down 0.8 of a pound--big whoop! I'm still 1.2 pound higher than my lowest recorded weight.

Total weight loss : -42.4 pounds

Over the last couple of weeks, okay months, I had noticed my tendency to snack, and not in a good way. So I decided to take home the TRAVELING TRACKER from my WW meeting. It's a three month tracker and it rotates around the room depending on who wants to take the challenge. Using the paper tracker will force me to jot down all those nibbles and bites that I had been ignoring.

I've also felt bloated and puffy.

Part of this I'm sure was due to the added carbs into my diet (Last weekend, hubster made a cake--like I would be able to turn it down?!) I've mentioned sugar and flour in my previous posts and how I love them, but they don't love me. Right? Well, I'm going to severely limit them for this week.

No more eating the Dove Easter Bunny--his head and neck are missing and who wants to eat bunny butt? :-P

No more scooping peanut butter straight out of the jar.

No more eating Froot Loops without measuring them.

No more eating nuts without weighing them.

No more double Margaritas at Chuy's Mexican restaurant or eating chips without counting them.

And if I'm going to eat food, then I will have to account for them!

That's all I have for this week:

REFOCUS

RECOMMIT

REALLY LOSE WEIGHT BECAUSE I WANT TO BUY A BIKINI JUST TO TEASE MY HUBBY!

Later, Peeps! 

Weighty Wednesday (on Tuesday) --Guilt

I already wrote a post to go up on Wednesday, but I felt this post is pertinent; therefore, I must share it with you.  

When I started on this weight-loss journey, I felt that I had it all figured out. I knew how to focus. I had strong motivation to do it right this time. I was very successful with my weight loss until last November when I fell off the wagon and my weight loss slowed to a trickle.

I had that figured out, too.  

I had an answer for everything

But last night--well, actually, it wasn’t last night, but 4:30 this morning--I finally figured out what got me into this overweight mess to start with.

It was guilt eating.

Not guilt over what I ate--that came later--it was the guilt of letting someone I love eat alone.

Last night I ate dinner, not because I was hungry, but because I didn’t want my hubby to eat alone. If I felt this way, I should have simply eaten a salad, but I didn’t. He had gone to the trouble of making enchiladas (I had made the filling and sauce last week for his sister and kids, but it didn’t get eaten), and I didn’t want to disappoint him . . . so I ate two beef enchiladas. Ugh.

We also ate after 6 PM.

Again, another bad thing for me.

What am I going to do about it?

Over the next couple of weeks, I am seriously tracking again, writing down everything that is put into my mouth. This is the only way I’ll reach my elusive goal weight.

And I’ll have to learn to say, “No, thanks, I’m not hungry. But I’ll keep you company while you eat.”

Thanks for letting me share.

Later, Peeps!