The scale was very good to me this week – I lost 4.6 pounds! Wow!
I celebrated my 18th wedding anniversary on September 16, 2007 at Davinci’s Eatery, and the food was delicious. My sister described the lovely salmon we ate as “heaven on a plank of cedar”, and it was just that – heaven. In fact, I raced to the market the next day to purchase food-grade planks of cedar, salmon, capers, lemons, etc. I’m sure I will never prepare the fish in the same, delicate way, but I don’t care. I loved the taste!
Of course, I had a points-sucking piece of dessert as well. Some kind of chocolate peanut butter concoction that was sure to foil whatever hopes I had at the scale this week, but it didn’t. I counted the points and moved on. It was good, but I didn’t need the entire dessert. It was way too filling for my now smaller-sized stomach.
I did some quality exercise this past week, to include a 2-hour hike with my sister at Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary. This place is a natural gem in the middle of our busy city. We were wringing wet with sweat in no time, and I loved every minute of our hike. I should note that the hills are much easier to climb when I have my darling dog, Ginger, hauling my ass up via leash tow. I did not take Ginger with me for that very reason. I needed to face the ‘crag’ on my own, and I did just that!
I also learned that I am much more active now, and my body needs FUEL in order to LOSE weight. Weird concept, I know, because this confirms that all of these starving models are wicked stupid. Yes, if they ate more perhaps they wouldn’t look so bloody pinch-faced all the time. No food makes for a pissy girl, I always say.
I had salmon and chocolate therefore I am smart. Oh, and smaller.
I’m a hangnail away from 45 pounds lost at this point (44.4), and I have 12 pounds left to lose to reach my goal of a healthy body mass index (BMI). The Promised Land is in sight.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Scale Hoppin'
In the wonderful world of Weight Watchers, "scale hopping" is the term used to describe the action of weighing yourself at times other than your normal, weekly weigh in.
I am a big fan of this practice.
It is said that, when you reach your goal, you should weigh yourself each day so that you have firm control of your weight. Let’s face it – a week of bad eating will have a bigger effect than only a day. If the pants are starting to snug up and strangle your midsection, you should knock of the bratwurst for a bit, and do so immediately. I believe that we should all live our daily lives as though we are already at goal, so I weigh myself frequently.
Anyway, I “scale hopped” this morning and found that I had wooshed off some serious weight, about 5 pounds or so. Stand by….
YES, OOOOOHHHH, YES! YES! YES! (BANGS TABLE) YEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!
Sorry, that had to be done. It’s been quite some time since I’ve lost any kind of notable weight, and I’m so bloody happy that my body is finally cooperating. Well, it could be that I am finally cooperating, but let’s not dwell on the negative.
I have two days left before weigh in and you can be sure that I will be working out like a muscle-bound freak on ‘roids. I so want to be done with the 170’s. I so want to be within 10 pounds of my goal weight. I so want to be at GOAL!!!
I am a big fan of this practice.
It is said that, when you reach your goal, you should weigh yourself each day so that you have firm control of your weight. Let’s face it – a week of bad eating will have a bigger effect than only a day. If the pants are starting to snug up and strangle your midsection, you should knock of the bratwurst for a bit, and do so immediately. I believe that we should all live our daily lives as though we are already at goal, so I weigh myself frequently.
Anyway, I “scale hopped” this morning and found that I had wooshed off some serious weight, about 5 pounds or so. Stand by….
YES, OOOOOHHHH, YES! YES! YES! (BANGS TABLE) YEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!
Sorry, that had to be done. It’s been quite some time since I’ve lost any kind of notable weight, and I’m so bloody happy that my body is finally cooperating. Well, it could be that I am finally cooperating, but let’s not dwell on the negative.
I have two days left before weigh in and you can be sure that I will be working out like a muscle-bound freak on ‘roids. I so want to be done with the 170’s. I so want to be within 10 pounds of my goal weight. I so want to be at GOAL!!!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
THE HOLY F'N MECCA OF CAKEDOM
I’m taking this week off a.k.a. I’m not facing the scale. I didn’t start out with that intention, but it just worked out that way.
I am really enjoying the Core Plan, and it works. The food is filling and is quite similar to how (and what) I prepared before joining Weight Watchers. The main difference, of course, is that I am supposed to stop eating when I am satisfied. I get that concept and I have no trouble following this guideline.
Unfortunately, I have found myself with some kind of “strap on the feed bag and chow down” switch this week. I’m always very good with breakfast and lunch, but when I finally get home after a hard and stressful day, I just want to douse the shit in my head with food. It doesn’t even have to be good food.
How dumb is that?
Realizing that you have a problem is the first step to recovery, or so I’ve heard.
Also, I am apparently still swayed by what others say as far as my food consumption goes. Read on:
This week at work, someone was having a birthday. Now, my rule since February 1, 2007 has been that if I didn’t make it or bring it, I don’t eat it. Plain and simple.
So, at said birthday celebration in the break room, there was cake - Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup ice cream cake. Oh, yes. The Holy F’n Mecca of Cakedom.
I was prepared with a light cheese stick in hand and said “no” to the cake. That was, until a woman said, “You know, Janet, you don’t have to be so virtuous.”
Um, what?!?!
She went on to say that my statement that I would not like a piece of lard-cake really said that others should not have one either.
Say what? I never said that, I merely said that I did not want a piece of cake. Shut your pie hole.
So, what did I do? Did I assert myself and repeat that I did not want a piece of that cake (300+ calories, 15 grams of fat)? No. I ate my cheese stick AND had a piece of that disgusting cake. It totally coated my mouth with its transfat fakeness, and made me sick to my stomach.
Lesson learned - the hard way.
_________________________________
So, I’ve also had a monster headache for the last couple of weeks – I think it could be a sinus headache from allergy symptoms. I’m not very good at taking my allergy meds. Note to self: I should add that to my daily checklist right next to my multivitamin. Anyway, because I have not exercised, I have not lost any weight this week; therefore I will not face the scale monster. I have too much respect for my feeble little mind to give it anything else to worry about this week.
Now, next week, I’m back with a vengeance, kicking ass and taking names.
PEACE.
I am really enjoying the Core Plan, and it works. The food is filling and is quite similar to how (and what) I prepared before joining Weight Watchers. The main difference, of course, is that I am supposed to stop eating when I am satisfied. I get that concept and I have no trouble following this guideline.
Unfortunately, I have found myself with some kind of “strap on the feed bag and chow down” switch this week. I’m always very good with breakfast and lunch, but when I finally get home after a hard and stressful day, I just want to douse the shit in my head with food. It doesn’t even have to be good food.
How dumb is that?
Realizing that you have a problem is the first step to recovery, or so I’ve heard.
Also, I am apparently still swayed by what others say as far as my food consumption goes. Read on:
This week at work, someone was having a birthday. Now, my rule since February 1, 2007 has been that if I didn’t make it or bring it, I don’t eat it. Plain and simple.
So, at said birthday celebration in the break room, there was cake - Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup ice cream cake. Oh, yes. The Holy F’n Mecca of Cakedom.
I was prepared with a light cheese stick in hand and said “no” to the cake. That was, until a woman said, “You know, Janet, you don’t have to be so virtuous.”
Um, what?!?!
She went on to say that my statement that I would not like a piece of lard-cake really said that others should not have one either.
Say what? I never said that, I merely said that I did not want a piece of cake. Shut your pie hole.
So, what did I do? Did I assert myself and repeat that I did not want a piece of that cake (300+ calories, 15 grams of fat)? No. I ate my cheese stick AND had a piece of that disgusting cake. It totally coated my mouth with its transfat fakeness, and made me sick to my stomach.
Lesson learned - the hard way.
_________________________________
So, I’ve also had a monster headache for the last couple of weeks – I think it could be a sinus headache from allergy symptoms. I’m not very good at taking my allergy meds. Note to self: I should add that to my daily checklist right next to my multivitamin. Anyway, because I have not exercised, I have not lost any weight this week; therefore I will not face the scale monster. I have too much respect for my feeble little mind to give it anything else to worry about this week.
Now, next week, I’m back with a vengeance, kicking ass and taking names.
PEACE.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Friday, August 24, 2007
A Woman of Taste in a Tasteless World
I’m nearing the end of my first week on the Core Plan, and I thought I would share a few observations.
The Core Plan is very different from the Flex Plan. On the Core Plan, I am free to eat from an exceptionally healthy and wholesome list of foods, and I eat those foods to satisfaction.
One thing I noticed on the Flex Plan was that I found myself clinging to so-called “volume eating”, whereby I would stuff my face with low points foods, just for the sheer sake of overeating. I was not dealing with any old habits with regard to binge/emotional/compulsive eating, and I was not focusing on portion control. I was obsessed with the measurement and weight of my food as it related to its points value, and I never once asked myself if I really wanted to eat the amount of food on my plate. This forced obsession with points-counting skewed what should have been the normal hunger-satiety cycle. I did manage to stay away from empty calories (100-calorie packs and other assorted “mini-junk”), but as you near goal, your allotted points for the day greatly diminish, and you are forced to find creative ways just to fit in your daily healthy guidelines. On the Core Plan, your healthy guidelines are included in the plan. Amen!
The downside of the Core Plan is that food is presented in its simplest form, and the taste factor leaves a lot to be desired. Let’s face it: fat-free, plain yogurt is just disgusting. It’s wretched and vile. We are free to add fresh fruit and even artificial sweetener to the yogurt, but I choose not to consume artificial sweetener now that I am on Core. This is really tough, because my taste buds were wildly oversexed on the Flex Plan. I ate all manner of tasty little creations (all within my points), but I was not doing much to fuel my body for the long haul. I would end up hungry and craving more in no time – a binge-eater’s downfall, for certain.
On the Core Plan, I am now fueling my body with fiber-rich whole grains, seafood, lean meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, fat-free dairy, etc. This is how we are meant to eat. It is only in the last few decades that processed foods have made their way into mainstream consumption, and it is in the last few decades that humans have busted out all over into what is now an obesity epidemic.
I look at it this way: if my grandparents didn’t eat it, I won’t either.
I cook more. Lots more. I do not eat out. Another new motto: If I didn’t make it, I don’t eat it. That pretty much takes food-on-the-run out of the equation. I am not able to control the quality of the food that other people prepare, or the manner in which it is prepared.
Notice a theme here? Yes, it is PREPARATION.
You have to be prepared on the Core Plan. You have to think ahead. You have to consciously decide what you will fuel your body with and prepare. I believe that this awareness is what contributes to my success. Mindless eating is a dangerous state of being in my world, which found me overweight and on the verge of a heart attack and certain early death.
I’ve made myself the following promise for the long term: I will no longer kill myself with food. Food is not a pacifier or a crutch. It is not love and it is not an antidepressant. Food is fuel for the body.
So, I think I’ll stick with the Core Plan for a while, and give my taste buds the chance to settle down and accept the slow lane.
The Core Plan is very different from the Flex Plan. On the Core Plan, I am free to eat from an exceptionally healthy and wholesome list of foods, and I eat those foods to satisfaction.
One thing I noticed on the Flex Plan was that I found myself clinging to so-called “volume eating”, whereby I would stuff my face with low points foods, just for the sheer sake of overeating. I was not dealing with any old habits with regard to binge/emotional/compulsive eating, and I was not focusing on portion control. I was obsessed with the measurement and weight of my food as it related to its points value, and I never once asked myself if I really wanted to eat the amount of food on my plate. This forced obsession with points-counting skewed what should have been the normal hunger-satiety cycle. I did manage to stay away from empty calories (100-calorie packs and other assorted “mini-junk”), but as you near goal, your allotted points for the day greatly diminish, and you are forced to find creative ways just to fit in your daily healthy guidelines. On the Core Plan, your healthy guidelines are included in the plan. Amen!
The downside of the Core Plan is that food is presented in its simplest form, and the taste factor leaves a lot to be desired. Let’s face it: fat-free, plain yogurt is just disgusting. It’s wretched and vile. We are free to add fresh fruit and even artificial sweetener to the yogurt, but I choose not to consume artificial sweetener now that I am on Core. This is really tough, because my taste buds were wildly oversexed on the Flex Plan. I ate all manner of tasty little creations (all within my points), but I was not doing much to fuel my body for the long haul. I would end up hungry and craving more in no time – a binge-eater’s downfall, for certain.
On the Core Plan, I am now fueling my body with fiber-rich whole grains, seafood, lean meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, fat-free dairy, etc. This is how we are meant to eat. It is only in the last few decades that processed foods have made their way into mainstream consumption, and it is in the last few decades that humans have busted out all over into what is now an obesity epidemic.
I look at it this way: if my grandparents didn’t eat it, I won’t either.
I cook more. Lots more. I do not eat out. Another new motto: If I didn’t make it, I don’t eat it. That pretty much takes food-on-the-run out of the equation. I am not able to control the quality of the food that other people prepare, or the manner in which it is prepared.
Notice a theme here? Yes, it is PREPARATION.
You have to be prepared on the Core Plan. You have to think ahead. You have to consciously decide what you will fuel your body with and prepare. I believe that this awareness is what contributes to my success. Mindless eating is a dangerous state of being in my world, which found me overweight and on the verge of a heart attack and certain early death.
I’ve made myself the following promise for the long term: I will no longer kill myself with food. Food is not a pacifier or a crutch. It is not love and it is not an antidepressant. Food is fuel for the body.
So, I think I’ll stick with the Core Plan for a while, and give my taste buds the chance to settle down and accept the slow lane.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Summer Break
Ok, Sister, I get the hint. I have been very lazy about posting, but it mirrored what was happening in my life. I've been on a "Summer Break" of sorts. That is about to change, however!
I experienced a stubborn plateau after reaching the 175 pound mark, and I've been stuck for some time. It was a real plateau, but there may have been other forces at work as well.
I think I just got sick of the way I was forced to eat on the Flex Plan. I made healthy choices within my points range, but I was always RAVENOUS. Honestly, why does salmon, an exceptionally healthy food, get such a bad rap with points?!? If I chose to include the healthiest of food choices, I was hard-pressed to fit all of my healthy guidelines in and still be on program and within my points range. The whole thing was very frustrating.
I did some lurking on the WW Core Board, and found the information there to be very interesting. I will eat healthy, fat-free, whole foods to satisfaction. My healthy guidelines are included in the program without counting and weighing. Salmon is not the enemy!
I officially switched to the Core Plan on August 20, 2007. Is it easy? No. Am I satisfied? Yes! Am I hungry? NO! Will I break through my plateau and get the scale moving in a downward fashion once again? YOU BET YER ASS!
I do miss bread, and I still have the same issues of evening binge eating. I am not denying myself the bread - I just use my extra points allowance for the bread. Overcoming my binge/emotional eating habits will be the biggest challenge/reward of my weight loss journey. That behavior is what got me here (that being FAT) in the first place.
In spite of the scale-stall, I am very happy with how I look. I still have a long way to go (I'd like to lose another 35 pounds), but I find that I like my reflection in the mirror. I can see the real me, without the disgusting fat suit screwing up the view.
Yes, I'm a hot chica!
I experienced a stubborn plateau after reaching the 175 pound mark, and I've been stuck for some time. It was a real plateau, but there may have been other forces at work as well.
I think I just got sick of the way I was forced to eat on the Flex Plan. I made healthy choices within my points range, but I was always RAVENOUS. Honestly, why does salmon, an exceptionally healthy food, get such a bad rap with points?!? If I chose to include the healthiest of food choices, I was hard-pressed to fit all of my healthy guidelines in and still be on program and within my points range. The whole thing was very frustrating.
I did some lurking on the WW Core Board, and found the information there to be very interesting. I will eat healthy, fat-free, whole foods to satisfaction. My healthy guidelines are included in the program without counting and weighing. Salmon is not the enemy!
I officially switched to the Core Plan on August 20, 2007. Is it easy? No. Am I satisfied? Yes! Am I hungry? NO! Will I break through my plateau and get the scale moving in a downward fashion once again? YOU BET YER ASS!
I do miss bread, and I still have the same issues of evening binge eating. I am not denying myself the bread - I just use my extra points allowance for the bread. Overcoming my binge/emotional eating habits will be the biggest challenge/reward of my weight loss journey. That behavior is what got me here (that being FAT) in the first place.
In spite of the scale-stall, I am very happy with how I look. I still have a long way to go (I'd like to lose another 35 pounds), but I find that I like my reflection in the mirror. I can see the real me, without the disgusting fat suit screwing up the view.
Yes, I'm a hot chica!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
She won't KILL me, will she???
I do love photo slideshows. So in honor of my 50 pound loss, I put this one together. I'll eventually move this to the sidebar, but for now IT STAYS RIGHT HERE. At least until sister-darling gets off her butt and tells you about what she is doing to bust that plateau.
How's that for motivation, Janet?!
These pics also include a few of me, from childhood to morbid obesity. But the STAR of this show is JANET!
How's that for motivation, Janet?!
These pics also include a few of me, from childhood to morbid obesity. But the STAR of this show is JANET!
The slide show loads and starts immediately. Feel free to press play to restart, and pause to get a GOOD look!
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