Tag: Weight Watchers

Still heading in the right direction – 1.06% lost for the week!

We’re working harder on meal planning, but this will be an evolving process.  I also want to get better at using what I have on hand, so more careful shopping and using what’s in the freezer.  If we ever want to move to the farm out in the boonies, we need to get used to hitting the store less regularly instead of stopping by 2-3 times a week because I don’t have a plan.

My exercise is still sadly lacking.  I keep putting it on my list – hopefully I’ll get my arse in gear soon. 

On the bright side, I did some closet diving this weekend and found several things I haven’t worn in a decade — that now fit!  Of course they’re a decade old…so I ended up donating most of it.  But it was still awesome to button and zip and have that decision to make, rather than regrets that I still can’t wear it.

We’re having car issues so I’m fighting stress/anxiety eating.  I hate having car issues, and these are major enough we might not be able to dodge the replacement bullet.  🙁  I hate dealing with salespeople even more, and the “10 minutes” turns into 2 hours, missed lunch, late dinner, and still no decisions.  *pass the Lays!!!  NO.  Lock those suckers up*

The poor old car has fought valiantly, but it’s almost 13 years old….  It’s probably time to DNR it instead of constantly dumping money into it trying to save it.  (And paying yet another tow bill!)

FINALLY!  The extra pounds that just wouldn’t go away finally dropped off and I hit a new low (1.69% loss for the week).  52.2 pounds gone since Jan.  My weekly average loss has decreased dramatically but slow and steady will win the race.

I’m still not exercising regularly.    It’s definitely something I need to work on, but with all the craziness going on lately, I’m doing the best I can.

I also made myself sit down and work on the meal plan for the next two weeks.  I sometimes get lazy and just forget to plan — and then it’s like I totally forget what I know how to make.  Is that silly or what?  It’s like I can’t think of how to make anything.  So I made a list of all the super easy “emergency” things my family likes — and I wrote out the ingredients so I’ll always have them on hand.  Then I made a general list of meals, a staples list, and made out a plan for two weeks.

And if anyone says “Ewwww!” they can make their own dinner!

No new foods this week — just working on getting my ducks in a row and firming up a meal plan and corresponding budget.

Argh, my worst stretch since starting this journey in January.  I gained again.  I guess I can’t call it “unfair” since I did slip…ONCE…but I know the bulk of the gain is tied to stress and poor sleep.  I’m staying the course and doing the best I can.  After slipping into the Lay’s chips the other night, I got right back on track and have been on plan since.  I’m still not exercising – I just haven’t found the time or the gumption yet. 

In the past, I would have fallen off the wagon by now.  I’d get discouraged and just quit.  If I’m going to gain anyway, I might as well enjoy it, right?  WRONG.  I know I’m doing the right thing and eventually I’ll see it on the scale.

After yesterday’s -.73% gain, the scale was back down 1.4 pounds this morning.  Still higher than my low but back down from that scary number.  I was almost in a new decade!  *whines*

My new food this week is a little bit weird.  Remember when I mentioned I was eating salads with protein, usually deli roast beef or cheese?  Well, I’m out of roast beef…but I have a ton of leftover meatloaf.  So, why not have a meatloaf salad?  It’s a little weird I guess but it tastes pretty good.  Since the meatloaf was made with 90% lean hamburger and oats instead of bread crumbs, I figure it’s not a bad protein option at all.

Onward and upward to a better week!!

As I feared in yesterday’s post, the scale is still up today, exactly the same weight I was last week.  However, I refuse to despair.  I’ve eaten on plan all week, making healthy choices despite my work stress.  I haven’t gobbled pizza OR chips.  I call that a win!

I haven’t been sleeping the greatest either, which contributes to a slowdown in weight loss.  All I can do is stay the course.  I know I’m doing the right things, and I should eventually be rewarded in the number category.  I should be exercising more — it’ll help with the stress and the weight factor.  I just haven’t taken the time, and I missed our weekend trek to the track thanks to much-needed rain.

New food this week:  at our favorite coffee house, they have a killer carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  That Man likes to order it, and it’s all I can do to eat one or two bites because it’s so good, but also sooooo high in fat and calories.  Luckily Middle Monster likes it too, so one piece with three forks hitting it doesn’t last long.

Anyway, I decided to make a healthy version, very similar to Skinny Taste’s Pumpkin Cupcakes.  I used a carrot cake mix for the base with canned pumpkin, and then mixed more pumpkin with the cream cheese in the frosting.  Unfortunately I didn’t have reduced fat cream cheese, so mine were a little higher points but still much more diet friendly.

The kids loved the cupcakes, although not all of them liked the frosting.  Not a problem — I kept the frosting separate in the fridge, so I didn’t have to keep the whole cupcake in the fridge too.   I’d like to make a homemade cake base eventually that I can control even more, but this was a good start!

If I were only looking at the scale, this would be a disappointing week because it’s showing a gain.

However, I know that I worked the plan all week.  I’ve been eating as healthy as usual.  But the biggest victory came this past weekend when I jogged with Princess Monster.  Again!  Not only did I not die — but I also jogged for quarter of a mile – straight!  Then I jogged another half a lap after that.

I wasn’t as sore, either.  Now, I just need to work on more REGULAR exercise.

My “new” food this week has been large salads for lunch.  I’ve always loved salad, but more as a side than the main dish.  Now I’m measuring out 2-3 oz of roast beef or ham, adding a BabyBell mini cheese, or even a hardboiled egg, for lots of protein, topped with my homemade honey dijon dressing made with olive oil and basalmic.  I have a nice huge plate of greens mixed with cucumbers, carrots, and tomatoes.  Yum!

Plus it always makes me giggle because I call it a “Hugh Jass” salad.  On the WW forums, they censor certain words, so people call it that instead of huge ASS.  Then my brain leaps on to Hugh Jackman…

And I’m very happy to eat my salad.   Hoping for a better weigh in next week!

Don’t forget the HautTotes giveaway!

Romance Biggest Winner

This last week I hit a significant milestone.  Since Jan. 5th, I’ve lost 50 pounds!

I’ve been on a lot of diets in my time, but I’ve never lost 50.  40, even 45, but I always gave up for some reason or another before I hit 50. 

I’m not giving up this time.

I think what’s different this time is that commitment I talked about earlier.  I’m not “interested” in losing weight — I’m committed.  Even if that means the scale is not cooperative.  I’ve battled 3 extra pounds off and on for the past two weeks.  It’s weird, but one day I’ll be up, and the next, I’ll be down the entire amount.  The next day, up .5 or 1 pound, then back.  It’s like my body isn’t sure about this new place and is fighting just a little.

What’s different this time around, too, is I’m taking a more realistic approach to dieting.  It’s not an “all or nothing” battle for me any more.  Weight Watchers allows for and even encourages occasional treats with weekly points above and beyond the daily points.  I typically eat well within my daily points, but hardly ever dip much into the weeklies.  Until I want to eat at Mythos, say…

And I can do that without guilt, because I have the points.  In the overall scheme of weeks and months and years of living healthier, a planned splurge isn’t going to kill me.

I do still get a little anxious about losing daily points, but I’m working on it.  It’s a good thing to eat less as I go, because my body doesn’t need that much fuel any longer.  I think as I get lower, I’ll be more dependent on dipping into weekly points, which might mean even slower losses, but that’s okay.  This isn’t a race.  I just have to stick the course.

I’ve had to buy new smaller bras and I found a stash of brand-new underwear (still with the tag) stuck in a drawer that fit now.  Yay!  I’m wearing jeans just about every day, when I owned only one pair before I started this journey.  And those jeans are getting big enough I have to wear a belt to keep the waist from gaping open.

The road is long and hard at times, and I’m never going to “get there.”  The journey will go on forever.  I’m always going to have to be mindful of what I eat.  So I might as well enjoy the scenery and plant flowers as I go.

This week:  .81% lost!

Romance Biggest Winner

I’m still up nearly 2 pounds from my low weight, although I am heading back in the right direction this week with a .24% loss. 

It’s incredibly frustrating.  In the past, this kind of “unfair” gain would have derailed me.  If I’m dieting and following my plan, I “deserve” a loss.  Right?

Wrong.  Well, yeah, sure, I’d love a loss.  But a woman’s body can be just as fickle as the scale.  I’m eating the right things and making good choices, but there’s more I could be doing.  I need to return to my exercise program.  Excuses, like getting the monsters back to school, making up some time during the day for work (because I have to pick Princess up everyday since we don’t have bus service this year) instead of working out, Revision Xibalba instead of working out…

I have to make exercise a priority or it won’t happen.  So that is my number one goal this week:  return to exercise in some shape or form.  Find the time, plan the time, and do it.

I can’t allow lack of progress on the scale to derail me.  Someone said on the WW forums the other day:  Just because you trip on one step doesn’t mean you throw yourself headlong down the stairs.  I’m only going to succeed long term if I learn how to deal with these scale droughts.  It’s just a number.  A meaningless number.  If I’m eating healthy and moving my body, then I just have to be patient.

A new food I’ve eaten this week is a quick and easy sort of “peach crumble” that’s really healthy.  Peaches are in full season here and readily available.  I dice up a nice peach or two (if they’re small) in a bowl (no need to peel unless you don’t like the skin), sprinkle with a little Splenda and cinnamon (or nutmeg), and microwave for about 60 seconds.  If I need to get a healthy oil in to meet the WW guidelines, I add a little coconut oil to the warm fruit.  Then I sprinkle old-fashioned oats on top (1/4 c = 2 pts), stir, and optionally heat a few more seconds.   It’s not quite as decadent as real peach crumble but it’s very good, warm and sweet and fruity.

Aside:  WW doesn’t really count coconut oil for the healthy guideline – the oil should be pourable.  But coconut oil is my go-to miracle cure for all sorts of things.  It’s anti-microbal and anti-viral!  (When I got a painful split in the corner of my mouth, I tried everything to heal it and it just got worse and worse.  Started putting coconut oil on it twice a day and it healed in a few days.)  Plus it tastes great and is very, very satisfying.  I decided to count it for myself as a healthy oil but I only use it at most once a day.  Really more like 2-3 times a week.

Romance Biggest Winner

So much for hitting the big 5-0. 

Ugh, my first gain, -.97%.  No, it wasn’t “deserved” either.  I’ve eaten within my Weight Watchers points every single day, even though I had a few Doritos (a serving, carefully counted and allotted) and two tiny cheesecake bites over the weekend.  My PMS cravings were killing me, but I stayed in my daily point range.

It sucks to be UP when I’ve been on plan all week, but my body has a mind of its own.  I can only do what I can do, and the scale has been up for two days in a row.  I know next week will be better.  I’m doing all the right things.  Eventually it’ll show on the scale.

Last night I made what’s quickly becoming a family favorite:  Lasagna from the WW Just 5 cookbook.  I use at least 90% lean ground beef, lots of organic Bertoli pasta sauce (our favorite), fat free or part skim ricotta (depending on what I can find), fat free cottage cheese, and part-skim mozarella.  I also use the old-style “boil” lasagna noodles.  Maybe it’s all in my head, but they seem to cook up so much better (and taste better) than the no-boil kind, so they’re worth a little extra time.

I had a 5-lb pack of 90% lean ground beef in the fridge from our Sam’s Club run this weekend, so I browned up the entire pack.  I made two dishes of lasagna, one for dinner and a smaller one for lunches and leftovers, while the rest of the hamburger browned in my iron skillet for tacos tonight.

Kid approved and deliciously slim!