Not quite

I made it to 18 days in a row, then hit my first final exam in 15 years. Insomnia, no exercise, pizza and ice cream for the last 3 days. I was still 136.2 this morning, though, and plan to get in three workouts this week before we head to California on Saturday.

This person is going to be my inspiration for the 12 weeks after we get back from California:

http://www.transformationcontest.com/contest4/tabitha.shtml

She's roughly the same height and age as me and her before weight and size are similar. I don't know about shooting for a size 4, though, that seems a little extreme.

C's weigh-in: 136.2

Happy with the progress. I've exercised 14 days in a row so far. I'm planning to save all extra points this week for cookie baking on Saturday. I have a final on Saturday morning but have so far avoided the insomnia that usually goes with something like that.

Another clue to motivation for me - exercising every day is easier than trying to exercise most days. It takes the decision out of it, I don't start rationalizing about how tomorrow will be better.

Tired Eating

Last night I had the worst sleep, all because I didn't make a list of things I had to do, so I woke up and tried to remember all of them, and then looped back and tried to remember all of them again, etc. So today I was snacktastic. And while HBD is in effect, I totally just ate about 10 homemade oatmeal-raisin cookies AND I DON'T EVEN LIKE RAISINS.

Ridiculous.

C's weigh-in: 138.2

Basically just shooting for my original goal of 135 before the California trip at the end of the month.

So far so good with the exercise every day plan. My parents had Griffin overnight on Saturday night and yesterday I realized that if I can exercise any time I want to, I don't. I had all day yesterday and didn't drag myself to the basement until last night after Griffin had come home and was sleeping. I guess having too much time doesn't work because it makes it easier to put it off. The main things keeping me on track right now are this blog and a calendar on the wall that I mark with an X for every day I stay on plan. Maybe that's the whole secret to motivation, I don't know.

Motivation

I've worked out every morning this week, so far so good. One thing I realized is that if I'm not really motivated I can come up with lots of reasons I just can't exercise. Monday morning I woke up and saw that we had 3 inches of snow. Last year this would mean I skip exercise and get stuff ready while Julian shovels the driveway for an hour (because he is a saint). On Monday I woke up Julian and then went searching for the old baby monitor so I could exercise and still hear Griffin when he woke up. There was some scrambling at the last minute to get the breakfasts and lunches ready and everyone showered and dressed but it worked out. On Wednesday morning Griffin woke up at 4am and I couldn't fall back asleep before my alarm went off at 5:30. If I'm not feeling motivated that's plenty of reason reset the alarm - too bad, didn't work out. Knowing this doesn't help with the main problem, though - how to get and stay motivated?

THANK GOD

I am thankful for the 140s blog, for real. I'm declaring Hotbody December and it starts today and right now I'm home from work and procrastinating going to the gym, but I'm going to go, I swear! I'm going to spend the next four weeks doing Turbulence Training for Abs in the hopes that I won't be embarrassed when we spend New Year's Eve in LA and I'm expected to wear a swimsuit for part or all of the proceedings.

Also, I'm on track to get to the 140s in the next week or two, which is also good times. Yay us!

C's weigh-in: 139.8

I'm pretty sure the only way I'm still (barely) in the 130's is that any muscle I might have had has turned to fat. I did work out this morning, though, and am going to focus on that.

Resolve

So, actually, I don't know what I weigh right now. I've been avoiding the scale. I've been avoiding exercise. I have not been avoiding the food. The deal is that I'm going to exercise every day until Christmas. And I'm putting it here so that it's out there somewhere and so I don't keep putting it off. If I'm exercising the food usually takes care of itself, I'm just going to focus on that for now.

C's weigh-in: 138.6

This is *not* the right direction. Stupid left-over Halloween candy.

Denise is in the 140s!

I, however, am not.

Post-vacations I hit 163 and then I hid for shame. I'm back to 158 and I'm going to be at 152 by Thanksgiving, when I will purchase a shiny new pair of boots. And by Xmas I'm going to be at 144, when I will purchase a shiny new pair of jeans. That's all there is to it.

C's weigh-in: 137.8

Insomnia still, no exercise last week. I'm wondering if maintenance for me is going to involve a week of dieting alternating with a week of eating everything in sight. I'm getting back on the wagon again, but at this point I've fallen off so many times that it's contributing to the problem. I just give up and tell myself I'll turn it around later, I've turned it around before.

Anybody else still here?

C's weigh-in: 137.2

Lots of fluctuation, but I'm glad to be going in the right direction again.

New goal

I saw a personal trainer yesterday afternoon to do a fitness assessment. I explained to her that I'd lost a lot of weight and I wanted to figure out what my goal should be based on my body fat percentage. She was very complimentary. She insisted that I didn't need to lose any more weight. She said my legs are toned, my stomach is flat, and I look great. Then she got out the calipers and filled in the chart. And then she said "Huh. Usually I'm really good at guessing what this will be." My body fat percentage is 26%. This seems be a common theme, I'm fatter than I look.

A while ago I was digging through some paperwork and found a fitness assessment from 10 years ago. I was about the same weight but back then my body fat percentage was 29%. I remember that personal trainer was surprised, too.

So, here's my new goal. If my body fat percentage is 26% and I'm 140 pounds that means I have 103.6 pounds that isn't fat. If I want to be 20% body fat then .2x = x - 103.6 and I should weigh 129.5. That's pretty close to what Self magazine thought was my happy weight. I guess a good timeframe would be to try to get to that weight before we go to California in January, a pound/week seems to be realistic.

I also just bought a digital caliper which is what the trainer used yesterday. I have a Tanita scale which is supposed to measure body fat but it's been telling me I'm 32-33% fat every day since I started losing weight. It's possible I'm about to go very OCD with this.

C's weigh-in: 139.8

Insomnia -> no exercise -> food binging. I'm actually grateful I didn't gain more. I didn't exercise this morning, either, but I'm counting points again. Since I hit the 130s I made an appointment with a personal trainer this afternoon to measure my body fat percentage. I'm hoping that will give me some motivation.

C's weigh-in: 138.6

Woot! I used to always use food as a reward and I'm trying to get away from that. So my non-food reward for getting into the 130s is that I'm getting a massage tomorrow night.

Getting close

We had a BBQ at work yesterday and someone took this picture. Those jeans? Are a size 8. I think I may have last worn a size 8 in high school. I'm not all the way there yet, but it feels good to be getting close.

Motivational Plateau

Rather than discuss how my weight is up lately (last Friday I weighed in at 156.2, ugh) or how much I've been snacking, I'm going to respond to C's awesome posts and remember why we started this blog in the first place!

First Topic: Comments on Weight Loss
OK, I admit it, I love them. That said, the tummy tuck thing? Really? HOW TACKY. I love thinking about responses to things like that. For example:

"Wow, I know you had surgery, did you have a tummy tuck, too?"
"No, did you?"

People are dumb. In some ways, though, compliments help motivate me when the scale isn't, so much. Last weekend 4 different people commented on how good I looked - not just because of my weight loss, although I'm sure that's a factor to me looking (and feeling) better.

Topic the Second: Low Blood Sugar

I've been a total grouch lately. I think more than LBS it's that I've been pretty much constantly overeating, which means that I feel guilty and angry and generally pissy at the world (even though the world isn't force-feeding me). I miss the fruits and veggies that were all fresh and delicious all summer, and my training schedule has interfered with green market trips. I finally went last night and bought squash to make soup, which I think will help me feel like I'm indulging in Fall fare. We'll see.

Finally: The Menu

I realized recently that I need ritual around my food/meals. It's all-too-easy for me to eat 1,000 calories mindlessly and still feel hungry or deprived, but if I spend an hour preparing a meal worth 4 points I feel so much more satisfied. The last couple of weeks I've grilled a stack of chicken breasts and turkey burgers on Sunday night and we've eaten them over the course of the week. It turns out this isn't a great idea for me, because then there's nothing for me to prepare. I like being around food. I like looking at it and smelling it and touching it, and those things don't even involve caloric intake! Most of this summer we ate breakfast together in the back yard, and it was a great way to start the day - and most of those days I really stayed on program.

I'm already looking forward to getting back from vacation and settling into a routine with more ritual around meals, especially dinner. I'm also looking forward to starting a new TT - because I haven't been able to go 3x/week for the past month I'm still doing the intermediate workout, and I admit that I'm getting a bit tired of it!

Eggs

I'm using Weight Watchers to count calories, but within my point allowance I've been loosely following the South Beach Diet and Precision Nutrition. Basically I'm trying to limit carbs and I'm trying to eat a fruit or vegetable plus a lean protein every two to three hours. This feels healthy and I think it helps me lose weight. As a former vegetarian getting in the fruits and vegetables isn't hard. The protein is harder, even though I'm eating meat now I don't want to eat it six times a day.

So, I eat a lot of beans and string cheese and greek yogurt and do weird things like mixing whey protein into my oatmeal. And I eat a lot of eggs. One of my favorite snacks is to boil an egg and replace the yolk with 2 Tbs of chipotle pepper hummus. Filling and just 1 point. On days when I lift weights my breakfast is often 1/2 cup of egg beaters scrambled with 1/2 cup of lentils and 1/2 cup of spinach. Lots of protein and fiber, 3 points.

I'm kind of in a rut with food lately, though, do either of you have favorite snacks or meals?

C's weigh-in: 141.6

Crap weekend for food. Great weekend for getting homework done, clearing out old technical books, and biking with Julian, Griffin, and a nephew.

Grouchy

I try to do weight watchers the right way, eating high quality real foods throughout the day. Even so, by mid afternoon I'm often tired, crashing, hungry, and grouchy. I was in a terrible mood one day this weekend and I mentioned to Julian that I thought low blood sugar was a factor. He agreed a little too quickly. It turns out that I've been more grouchy than usual for seven months. Does this happen to anyone else? It's a good thing I'm almost to maintenance.

Off The Wagon

Ugh, I have been overeating a lot the past couple of weeks. Not getting enough sleep, not enough routine, all that jazz. I really really need to get back on track and back on counting every little thing, because I want my fall wardrobe to be skinnified.

This, then, is my Post of Great Resolve. Nothing like a Tuesday to kick things off, right? I'm going to run home from work then eat a chicken breast and corn on the cob. Then no snacking!

Why is that so hard lately?

C's weigh-in: 140.0

The last few days I weighed in the 139's and was really hoping for that this morning. Even so, 140! That's only 5 pounds away from 135! I've been doing this so long that I honestly don't know what I'm going to do when I get there.

G's Weigh-In: 153.4

I'll take it.

To celebrate I'm eating a French Cruller! But don't worry! It's only 3 POINTS (from Dunkin Donuts). More lengthy posts coming this weekend. I've been thinking about food a lot lately.

Oh in other news, yesterday I wore a pair of pants that I've had for three years but have never worn b/c I bought them too small (on sale, of course). On the plus side, w00t! New pants! On the minus side, this is just encouraging me to keep things that don't fit. Heh.

MYOB

I love having this forum to talk about weight loss, but I actually hate it when people in my day-to-day life point out that I've lost weight. I know people are mostly trying to be nice, but what I hear is "I think I have a right to notice and judge your appearance. Out loud." I get at least one of these a day, in just the past few weeks:

"You've lost weight!"
"How much weight did you lose?"
"How did you lose so much weight?"
"You must feel so much better?"
"Wow, I know you had surgery, did you have a tummy tuck, too?"
"You look fantastic, like a completely different person!"

I try to smile and be polite and fight the urge to mess with people.

It seems for every person who thinks it's rude to comment on someone's weight there are several who think it's rude not to comment. I even get people who apologize for not mentioning it sooner which really bugs me. They think I put in all this effort for them and now I'm just waiting for their approval?

Of course it doesn't bother me if the comments come from a close friend or from someone who wants information because they are trying to lose weight themselves. I also get some people who are genuinely concerned for my health. And a few are just funny like a brother-in-law who asked "Is it wrong to tell your sister-in-law 'nice ass'"?

Mostly, though, I can't wait until I've seen every single person I know and these comments die down.

Cheating

I try to follow WW pretty closely, except:

I need to get through the CSA vegetables, therefore any food made with them is 0 points. Even if I just braised those carrots in butter, thyme, and honey.

Fish oil pills are free even though they have calories. I'm only taking them for my health, they gross me out, there's no way I'm going to start counting them against my daily points.

Date night food is free. We only get date nights a few times a month, I don't usually use the 35 weekly points, and I'm going to eat whatever I want. Also, and this may just be rationalizing, but I really think I lose more weight if I go off points occasionally.

Anyone else?

Stupid Catered Lunch

I still don't eat the catered lunch. Today I had a turkey burger (4 POINTS!) and an english muffin (1 POINT!) and some salad. BUT then I ate a mini cannoli. Then I ate another mini cannoli. Then I ate a mini eclair, and a chocolate-dipped strawberry (or four). New resolution: salads ONLY from the catered lunches. It's too hard to count and I kind of feel bloaty and gross now, anyway. Totally not worth it. :-P

Om nom nom nom

I'm sooooo snacky today. And yesterday. I've definitely lost some poundage since my faux-vacation last week in Boston (things eaten out-of-town have no POINTS right?, and I'm still counting everything, but man, SO SNACKY!

Hence the meaningless post. Nothing to see here, really! Carry on!

Or go here.

G's Weigh-In: 155

OK, it was last Friday, and I didn't want to post it because... :-|

I spent last week at a software conference in Boston, where I hung out with my boyfriends and then some of their friends showed up later on and it was basically a full-on orgy. DON'T JUDGE!

But thanks to the 140s Blog, I'm keepin' it real.

C's weigh-in: 142.4

Take that, vacation weight.

C's weigh-in: 145

Which is fine. I'm tracking points again as of today. We got back in last night so there is no food at all at our house, I'll hit up Trader Joe's on the way home today because having healthy food around is half the battle. Well, maybe 1/3 of the battle... I'm mostly worried about getting back on track with exercise. Current plan is to get in two workouts this week and then start 3 workouts a week again next week. I think I may redo the whole 2k6 month of workouts because I am an uptight perfectionist when there are charts involved.

Overheard

Outside a fast-food restaurant in Vancouver - "Hey, wait! This sounds familiar, I think Gillian talks about this place. Yes! Julian, look! Timbits!"

G's Weigh-In: 152.8

W00t! It's been a good week here at 140s HQ. I'm within spitting distance of that fabled weight "decade" - albeit a big ol' horky spit weighing 3 pounds or so. Heh.

The plan

Ok, I'm back. For a day anyway. I've been hovering around 143.6 all week. No exercise at all, diet has not been a focus. This morning I got back on the wagon with the "B" workout from Turbulence Training 2k6. That workout is hard even when I haven't just taken a week off. I'm glad to be pulling out of the tailspin.

Tomorrow we're going to Chicago for a short family trip. We'll be visiting the Museum of Science and Industry, Millennium Park, and the Shedd Aquarium. We'll be staying in a hotel with a waterpark. We're planning to stop at Green Zebra tomorrow for brunch so we'll start out with good food. After that I imagine we'll be around a lot of "kid friendly" food like hot dogs and pizza. That just isn't worth it so I'll bring low point snacks like string cheese and almonds. I'm planning to work out at the hotel gym at least twice, I'm actually really looking forward to exercising somewhere other than our basement.

Next weekend is Vancouver. We're celebrating our 10-year anniversary by taking a trip with just the two of us for the first time since becoming parents. We're going to eat at every good restaurant we can find, screw points. We may do the four-hour bike tour of the city one day and go to the indoor climbing gym another day. Or, we may just sleep in, get massages, and order room service.

I'll do an official weigh-in again next Tuesday and go from there.

G's Weigh-In: 154.8

The WW Website says it all:

The Post Formerly Titled "Hiatus"

I've been half-assed this week.

It started on the weekend when I didn't get enough sleep, and had several early mornings in a row. The past three days at work I've been snacking on peanut M&Ms without counting them at all. Just now I realized that I'm not actually hungry - I had a healthy, satisfying lunch - I'm just tired. And tired leads to snacky (for me, anyway).

For inspiration I perused the WW boards this afternoon. Someone had written: "sometimes a cookie is just a cookie - it's not a free pass to eat for the rest of the day."

It's a tough lesson to learn. I'm expecting a gain this week, but I'm not going on hiatus from the blog or from eating properly and counting POINTS, because when I eat healthier I feel healthier, and that's important.

Turns Out, People DO Care What I Had For Lunch

Since I first mentioned it way back when, I've been bringing my lunch to work religiously. I've probably missed twice in the last month. And for the sake of convenience, it's usually the same thing: a veggie burger, English muffin, and maybe a slice of cheese. The English muffin and the cheese are snacks we already have at the office, so really I just throw a box of burgers in the freezer on Monday for the week. And on days we have salad or steamed veggies or fruit as part of lunch, I load up on those too.

No big deal, right? Nobody will even notice!

WRONG. Here are two representative conversations I've had in the past month:

Co-Worker 1: You brought your lunch.
G: Yes.
CW1: You know, we have a delicious lunch brought in every day.
G: Yes.
CW1: And I'll never get tired of reminding you that.
G: OK.

Co-Worker 2: It's salmon today! Salmon is healthy, right?
G: That does look good, but I brought a turkey burger.
CW2 [on seeing my plate loaded up with salad]: Oh, you caved.

Another friend at work has also started bringing her lunch, and last week someone asked her, "Didn't you used to eat like a normal person?" Guys, she was eating chickpea salad, not goat testicles! What's up with people?

Healthy

I just realized I'm not medically overweight anymore, my BMI hit normal at 147 pounds. I have my annual physical next Tuesday, I've had that physical in mind for while now. At last year's physical I talked to my doctor about my plan to lose weight and told her I was starting Weight Watchers. She said she'd found Weight Watchers or just counting calories with something like fitday to be the most effective approaches. Since I'd had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant she scheduled me for a blood test. When she called me a few weeks later I immediately thought my blood sugar was elevated. Instead she told me about the abnormal cells that were the beginning of last year's medical scare. Then a week later she called again to tell me that also, my blood sugar was elevated.

My body reacts to being moderately overweight like I'm really, really obese. I know I was in denial about how much weight I gained, but over and over I've had doctors look at me and say "this shouldn't be happening". PCOS, gestational diabetes, endometrial hyperplasia. I have issues with insulin resistance and I have issues with too much estrogen. This creates a feedback loop where it's easier to gain weight and that makes me have more insulin resistance and more estrogen. I think trying to limit carbohydrates and using a progesterone supplement have helped a lot.

I'll do another blood test at the physical next week and which will hopefully come back normal. Then I need to keep reminding myself that being overweight is just not an option for me.

Update: My fasting blood sugar was 100, right on the borderline between normal and prediabetes. I guess maybe I really should shoot for 128 as my goal weight.

G's Weigh-In: 153.8

Déjà vu. I'm not sure exactly how I got back here but I'll take it.

That's 240 POINTS

Michael Phelps eats 12,000 calories per day:

Phelps lends a new spin to the phrase "Breakfast of Champions" by starting off his day by eating three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise.

He follows that up with two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar and three chocolate-chip pancakes.

At lunch, Phelps gobbles up a pound of enriched pasta and two large ham and cheese sandwiches slathered with mayo on white bread - capping off the meal by chugging about 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

For dinner, Phelps really loads up on the carbs - what he needs to give him plenty of energy for his five-hours-a-day, six-days-a-week regimen - with a pound of pasta and an entire pizza.

He washes all that down with another 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

Deflated

I was always, happily, a B cup. Then I got pregnant and holy crap! I bought C cup nursing bras and had to exchange them all for D cups. I figured once I stopped nursing they would just deflate. Apparently if you gain enough weight that doesn't happen. Until four years later when you finally lose the weight. I took my measurements earlier this year to buy a swimsuit online and discovered I'm now an A cup. Things are not what they were. Things are not where they were, either. It's enough to make me go eat some funnel cake.

I seriously need new bras. We'll be taking a trip to Chicago in a few weeks and I've decided I'm going to Nordstrom's to take this advice.

Update: The staff at Nordstrom's was awesome, as advertised. Apparently like just about everyone I was wearing a band size that was too big (I was wearing 38 or 36 when it should have been 34 or 32). Since the cup size is relative to the band size that went back up to a C.

Thinking Differently

Back in February I spent a long weekend in Puerto Rico with my special friend and another couple (who are, it should be noted, both naturally very skinny). When we stopped at the grocery store for snacks we inevitably ended up with a bag of Cheetos, and in both cases polished off the bag that same night.

This past weekend in Oregon, we made some healthier decisions. On Saturday morning, we shared breakfast: Eggs Benedict with fresh crab meat (and the sauce on the side). At a picnic in the afternoon, I ate a single slice of pizza, and chose the veggie option. Then we stopped at Safeway to buy snacks before dinner, and bought blueberries, veggies, and beef jerky (which is surprisingly project-friendly). At dinner on Saturday night, we shared a sandwich, and had a side salad instead of fries. We weren't perfect and we didn't even attempt to count POINTS, but I'm hoping that these choices will be evident when I weigh in on Friday.

G's Weigh-In: 155

Yeah, up 1.2 last week - my heart wasn't in it. And that was just on Friday, not through a weekend in Oregon that included an Indian wedding and possibly multiple Tequila Sunrises. I'm just sayin'.

Back in the saddle today, as they say.

C's weigh in: 143

As WW says, I'm "feeling a little neutral" about a whole week of work for .4 pounds. I may not hit my mini-goal in time for Vancouver.

However, I decided I'm completely satisfied with this:

Title Nine

I'm developing a bit of a Title Nine problem. It started out gradually. A tank top here. A pair of yoga pants there. Then I got on their email mailing list and now it's just out of control. I keep telling myself it's for a good cause, I need positive rewards to keep myself exercising. But, I work out in our basement and I go to yoga once/week. How good do I really have to look?

That's Better.

Before:
After:
(It's times like this that it pays to live so close to the gym, and be doing WW, AND have the accountability of the 140s blog. Yay!)

Ugh.

I guess it had to happen - I've been pretty serious about following WW and Turbulence Training for four weeks now, and today I was frustrated with all of it. First, I forgot to bring my veggie burger for lunch, so I ate some of the catered lunch. Just a little, and I estimated POINTS and all that, but I still ended up higher for lunch than I usually do.

I went to Ikea after work and as I passed the cafeteria and the grocery area on the way out I was pissed off that I couldn't stop for Swedish Meatballs or a cinnamon roll or even a lousy frozen yogurt.

I ended up 6 POINTS over for the day (and no, I didn't have any weekly POINTS left because, yeah, Saturday's baby shower included a lot of wine and ice cream and conveniently forgetting to count things like pistachios and Pringles). And I didn't work out today because it just didn't fit into my schedule, although I'm considering hitting the gym now for at least a 30 minute run just to even things out a little.

The rest of the week doesn't look much better. Friday I'll be at a work BBQ, and in Oregon on the weekend for a wedding. I'll pack healthy snacks and and eat vegetables and all that, but sometimes I just wish I didn't have such a propensity for weight gain and I didn't have to *think* so much about it. You know?

Freakin' B&J!

B&J = Ben and Jerry = Half Baked ice cream bar = what I ate last night while walking home from the Y-Man's place.

The thing I don't usually manage is to count POINTS when I'm eating such a thing. It usually means I'm off the rails and POINTS are the furthest thing from my mind - which has an interesting psychology of its own... That's a rabbithole we won't go down right now! My nugget of wisdom:

One of the biggest behaviours to master on the way to the 140s is getting back on track quickly! (ie same day or at the latest - next morning!) Sometimes I've had trouble with this in the past. For instance - Crap! I ate B&J! Guess I'll binge until Monday morning! Not this time though. The weekend was not perfect but I'm getting back on that horse and riding my way to the land of 140s!

xo

d

C's Weigh-In: 143.4

I'm very happy with this. 3.4 more pounds to lose before Vancouver.

POINTS Quiz!

How many POINTS am I consuming (or about to consume) in this photo?

Arm Envy

So I didn't click the link to discover my Happy Weight. I think it was because I anticipated complications measuring my wrist given my unwillingness to get off the couch on this balmy Friday evening on the right side of the long weekend.

On goals - hmmmm.

WW Goal:
I set my WW goal at 153. This way I can get under there for 6 weeks and become a Lifer. I never bothered with Liferhood in the past but for some reason it sounds good to me now - Going, but not paying. Yes.

140s Goal:
I can't remember getting as low as 145 so this is probably the right place to start. It is right around my theoretical 10% goal for WW and if I did measure my wrist I'm sure it would be my Happy Weight, give or take a pound. This would put me around Size 8 as well. I like 8. It is out of the double digits. Similar to G, 6 just seems unreal for now.

Squishyness Goal:
Because I used to be over 200 lbs, I seem to have a squishyness problem. I climb at the gym and have pretty good upper body strength, yet there is still some flab and (ewww!) excess skin. I also have this on my tummy and the top part of my butt / lower part of my back. It seems like while exercising more lately is causing me to get smaller (I can feel it in my clothes too!) it is accentuating the squishyness. I think my skin can't keep up. So somehow (over time) my goal is for the squishyness to go away. I think it can but it just happens gradually.

I am about ready (for real!) to quit my job. This could bode very well for the 140s and squishyness goals. AND for my participation on the blog!!!

xo

d

Happy Weight

I just had way too much fun figuring out how to measure my wrist at work. Fun with office supplies!

Wrist - 5.5". Height - 5'4.5". It thinks my happy weight is 128.5.

My rough goal is 135 pounds, my plan is to get into the 130's and then find a personal trainer to measure my body fat percentage. I think the 21-24% body fat range should be my goal.

When I started this back in February I was a size 16, now the size 10 clothes are getting loose. I'm guessing 10 more pounds would put me a least into a size 8, maybe a 6. I bought a bunch of size 12 clothes several months ago that now literally fall off, so I'm holding out for a while before I go on another clothes buying spree.

I'm planning to exercise 6 mornings/week for the rest of my life, alternating weight training with cardio. I think my "happy weight" is going to be whatever I can maintain at that level of exercise while eating good food. I'm trying to learn to hold out for the truly good food instead of eating kid birthday cake and work pizza and whatever else is in in front of me. I'm trying to pay attention to portion control. It's easier for me to go to extremes than to find moderation, I'm scared of maintenance.

G's Weigh-In: 153.8

Oh hell yes.

Happy Weight

In my internetting this week, I stumbled across Self magazine's Happy Weight calculator. I measured my wrist (6.25") and plugged in some numbers and came up with 144.3, which sounds exactly right! So that's my current goal. Handily that's also my WW 10% goal, so I can reevaluate once I get there.

I told Candace last week that I'm happy to be a size 10 but come to think of it, size 8 would be pretty sweet too. I'm pretty sure size 6 isn't going to happen in this decade.

What are your weight or size goals?

I've also been thinking about buying clothes. It's too soon yet - my current wardrobe just fits *better* right now, it isn't too big. But I'm planning to splurge on a pair of Richie jeans once I get to 144.

In other news, I'm PMSing and just ate a bowl of ice cream for dinner (measured, of course, and tracked, and it didn't put my over my POINTS for today). I'm not expecting grand things at my weigh-in tomorrow but whatever.

PS: HBJ has been a resounding success! Tomorrow's my last day of the beginner series of Turbulence Training, and I've received several compliments on the current state of my arms (not quite hot yet but getting there). Go team 140s!

140s Peeps Rock!

Sorry for the silence 140s peeps. I don't feel as much pressure now that Candace is picking up the slack (and then some).

So a quick update: Even though I haven't been writing, I've been doing well!

WW: Attending and loving the meetings. I have this lively Scottish woman who says a lot of things I already know but still enjoy hearing. I strangely love watching people get stickers and ribbons too.

Climbing: Very into it! Climbing indoors 3+ times a week and outdoors at Rattlesnake Point whenever possible. Very scary and good for me!

Eating Good Stuff: Yoav is grilling up chicken with any veg he can find - we're talking zucchini, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, peppers, mushrooms... with some indulgence in sweet potatoes now and again! Yum!

Running: At least 4 times a week in the morning... still doing a modified 'Couch to 5K'. I can now run for 20 mins straight outside. This is big progress! I need to talk to you G about running now that I'm getting into the swing...

Other Stuff: Work - crap. Y-Man - good :) Vacation to Israel coming up Aug 7-20th... Should be able to sweat out some fatbody!

xoxo Love you! WAY TO GO on your impressive progress! We are truly headed to the 140s... (except for those already there!)

d

D's Weigh-In: 154.2 lbs

Femininity

Conversation with my four-year-old:

Him: Only boys get sweaty.

Me: That's not true. I'm sweaty after I exercise, right?

Him: Oh, that's right. Only boys and you get sweaty.

D's Weigh-In: 155 lbs

OK so I'm still alive. I really have to go though! I'm getting in crap!

Shape-shifter

I was looking through some paperwork and found a fitness assessment I did with a personal trainer almost exactly 10 years ago. Apparently 10 years ago I weighed 140 pounds exactly, plus, it has measurements! My shape has changed in ways I didn't expect, my chest and waist are bigger and even at 145 pounds my hips and thighs are smaller. I don't know if this is from having a kid or lifting weights or what, but I wasn't expecting my proportions to have changed so much.

Lookin' Good, Cupcake

After my run this morning I stepped on the scales and happily weighed 153.8.

Then I came to work and ate 2 cupcakes.

Here's how it went down:

Today is our (fabulously amazing) office manager's bday. I went out just before lunch to pick up some treats for her, and decided I'd indulge in just one. I did, but it was carrot (it had coconut on top so I thought it would be coconutty but I thought WRONG). Don't get me wrong; I love me some carrot cake as much as the next girl. But it wasn't what I wanted. I wanted light, fluffy, sugary, cupcakey goodness.

I counted it as 6 POINTS.

Later, I debated having another one.

G: can I eat another cupcake? what do you think?

K: i'd advise against

G: hrm

G: :-\

K: i know

G: :-(

K: i think you'll be immediately glad for eating a cupcake

K: but once the flavor leaves your mouth

G: oh I WILL

K: there will be not-gladness

G: OK

G: you're right

K: so, without the cupcake

K: you won't be stressed about having wine later

G: that's true

G: OK

G: 2 glasses of wine tonight

K: 6 points is just major

K: that is

K: it's a big trade

K: and it's not the filling kind either

G: I know. But I feel whiny about it.

K: you will end up paying in hunger, too.

G: Like, "but I ran! And my 35 points!"

G: but you're right.

G: :-|

K: you were happy when you came in under 154 this morning, too

K: :)

G: I know!

But then I ate another one anyway! For accuracy's sake, I checked the interwebs for nutritional information for cupcakes. These were from Burgers and Cupcakes and they seemed to be about the same size as a Magnolia cupcake. So I Googled and found this NPR article, which estimates the cupcakes have 389 calories and nearly 19 grams of fat. Ho. Ly. Shit. That's NINE POINTS each. That's EIGHTEEN POINTS' worth of cupcakes.

Worth it? Emphatically no. A better option would have been to eat half the carrot cake one (since I didn't know) then go for half the blueberry one (which was waaaay more satisfying anyway).

Recording it for posterity, and chalking it up to experience. I'm still left with 25.5 weekly points, of which I'll just steer clear.

Extolling the Virtues

First, Candace, I'm SUPER proud of you! You are kicking ass! (Your own! haha)

And that's a great idea for cooking oatmeal. I'm going to have to try it. Yum!

Second, D, where are you? Don't make me send out an APB or something.

Now, onto my big soapboxy rant about why WW is so awesome. Yesterday I ran a half-marathon. On Saturday I was all, I'm totally not counting POINTS on Sunday if I run 13.1 miles! But then I did, and I added up my Activity Points (17!), and I stayed within range (even with the extra bowl of ice cream). Here's the thing: If I hadn't been doing WW, or had thrown caution to the wind yesterday, it's likely that I would have gone out for breakfast after the race and eaten something cheesy and with a side of bacon, and then eaten a burrito for dinner, and also would probably have had another encounter with my other boyfriends. Then on Friday I'd wonder why I hadn't lost weight even though I ran a half-marathon. As it was, I weighed my bagel in the morning, counted the Gatorade and Gu I had along the course, ate a Zone bar in the afternoon when I woke up from my nap STARVING, and counted both bowls of ice cream.

Total POINTS consumed yesterday: 32.5. I didn't skimp or let myself be hungry, and I treated myself at night - I just also didn't eat when I wasn't hungry. The increased awareness is good times.

Chai oatmeal

For this morning's breakfast I brewed three cups of double spice chai tea and then cooked a cup of scottish oatmeal in the tea. I had one cup of the cooked oatmeal topped with a teaspoon of dark muscovado sugar. Only 2 1/2 points and I'm still glowing from the yummy, spicy, sweet goodness.

C's weigh-in: 144.6

I'm very happy to average a pound/week. All this public accountability might just get me through these last 10 pounds.

G's Weigh-In: 155.2

OK, I admit that I'm a *little* disappointed - I was hoping to be below 155. But, I'll take it!

In other news, yesterday I worked in an office that had snack food galore: Oreos, Chips Ahoy, and Pecan Sandies. None of it extremely high-quality but all of it extremely tempting. At one point I went to the kitchen and decided to have a little snack: One of each cookie. I brought them back to my desk and entered them into my tracker, for a total of 5 or 6 points.

Then I threw them in the garbage (and took them off my tracker, of course).

Beans: The Breakfast of Champions!

I've been eating a lot of poached eggs lately, usually one with a slice of whole wheat toast and 1/4 avocado or an ounce of smoked salmon for a delicious 5 pt breakfast. This morning we were out of eggs so we went for some black beans. I ate a slice of toast covered with 1/4 c black beans and this sauce that I AM ADDICTED TO made from onions, garlic, and tomatoes all chopped up and sautéed in cooking spray, and a slice of toast with 1 Tbsp of almond butter and a couple of sliced strawberries. The whole thing was still only 5 POINTS, and WAAAAY filling! I'm pretty psyched about the beans. I think I might try toast/beans/egg (for only 4 POINTS!) as well (just because I love eggs, and what's more delicious than egg yolk oozing onto beans?).

Beware, though. The fibery goodness of beans only gets you so far - while 1/2 c will only cost you 1 POINT, if you double that amount you end up with 3.5 POINTS. My special friend found that out the hard way, i.e., after he'd eaten the whole cup.

Exercise for geeks

Several years ago I bought a treadmill that had support for iFIT workouts. Basically this meant you could put in a video and pretend you're running in the Swiss Alps or something and the speed and incline of the treadmill would adjust to match the scenery.

Of course, more than running on the treadmill I wanted to hack the treadmill. I did some research and it turns out iFIT works by embedding audio tones in the video that the treadmill detects and uses to adjust its settings. And also, somebody beat me to the hacking, the i2Workout software does exactly what I want. I can create my own courses and then burn them to CD or put them on an MP3 player. Then I run an audio line to the treadmill and, presto, I can run the courses I want without having to fiddle with the controls the whole time I'm running.

I just started running for my cardio intervals and I'm looking forward to breaking out the treadmill software again.

Introduction

Gillian introduced me to WW years ago and this is now my second go-round. I had a health scare last year that made me start taking the health stuff that was in my control more seriously. Plus I realized it was time to stop referring to my "pre-pregnancy weight" since my kid just turned four.

I started WW online and Turbulence Training in February and have lost, umm, almost 30 pounds. Weigh-in on Monday was 146 even, my goal is 135 (I'm short). My mini goal is to be in the 130's for a trip to Vancouver at the end of August.

I've been enjoying reading along here, thanks for having me!

Menage à...

So yeah, there was this wedding in Vermont. And you know what comes from Vermont, right?

Backing up a bit, I got up yesterday morning to get to the gym at 7 so that I could work out before we left for the wedding. HOW VIRTUOUS! Then I counted POINTS (non sequitur: that's how the write it on WW's website, POINTS, for emphasis or possibly because they couldn't trademark the word unless there were capital letters involved) all day, and even brought a turkey burger for the drive up so that I wouldn't be tempted by Pringles' siren song at any rest stops. I had about 10 POINTS going into the wedding, plus a weeks' worth of extras (35 to be exact).

But then, oh, then. Then there were Salty Dogs and red wine. I mostly avoided the cheese table and the passed hors d'oeuvre (mini Ruebens! mini PB&Js!) and ate a reasonable amount at dinner. So far so good, right? Until Ben & Jerry showed up.

Those guys are so seductive, I swear. You know, all swaggery with their New York Super Fudge Chunk and their Sweet Cream & Cookies (only available in Scoop Shops!). How could I say no?

I totally made out with them, of course. I could barely contain myself They didn't even have to come to me - they just hung out in the corner and I kept going back for more. My friends didn't even try to stop me - they were all "Go for it!" as I groped and licked and suckled at the sweet sweet teat of Vermont's finest.

I believe the hangover was worth it, but I'll let you know after my next weigh-in.

G's Weigh-In: 155.8

W00t! HBJ is in FULL effect, and it's working.


P.S. D, where are you?

*Slightly* Drunk...

...after 4 glasses of wine. If I wasn't counting Points(tm) (and weighing in tomorrow morning) I would totally be eating a chocolate bar right now.

For The Record

I weighed-in (at home) on Friday: 157.6. Not bad.

I have to say, counting points with someone else is much more fun vs. alone (even though he gets more points to count, hmpf). This morning we had a delicious breakfast (varying quantities of eggs, toast, and avocado - 5 pts for me, 8 for him) and felt all virtuous about it. And I'd already gone to the gym for my TT workout! TT is awesome, btw. It takes me 45 minutes at the gym and I swear I can see results after only a week and a half.

Training is also going well - I ran 10 miles on Saturday (and did not count a single point that day, points which would have included 2 Nanaimo Bars, a slice of Amanda's famous strawberry-rhubarb pie WITH ICE CREAM, and blueberry crisp). I figure I get a pass on days I run over 10 miles.

HBJ2 in Full Effect!

Today is Day 3 of fastidiously counting WW points and I just discovered the ultimate hotbody snackquation:


I also started Turbulence Training (check out their site; it's awesome). Candace recommended it and she has ultra hotbody these days, so I'm going to give it a shot. After all, who couldn't use a little ultra hotbody? The workout took just under an hour with the 20 minute cardio interval. It's 3x/week, which I'll work into my running schedule.

P.S. Creating that graphic distracted me for a good 30 minutes of prime snacking time. Yay for the 140s blog!

Counting Points Together

My special friend joined WW too this weekend! He gets 32 points/day. Bastard.

I'm going to officially weigh in on Friday, but after only 2 days of counting points religiously this weekend, I weighed 158 this morning, so I'm optimistic for this week!

On the docket: Gym tonight, running tomorrow night (in high, high humidity, so hopefully I'll sweat the pounds away).

D's Weigh-In: 155 lbs

Well at ww last week I was 155 lbs.  This is just fine!  I lost weight last week (this was my second meeting) but I feel it was partly because the first week I had breakfast before! ;)  Oh well - I will not get away with that one again this week.  Things are on track and I am pumped for HBJ!

d

HBJ is Happening!

Thanks for declaring HBJ2 Gilly!  I'm feeling it!  Great work with the running (5k in 29 mins - as Yoav says "I am envy!") and working out!  I know nothing of good weight programs but let me know what you find.

The points and meeting are helping.  The group leader is an energetic, funny Scottish woman who I find entertaining.  The best part for me right now is just remembering what I know.  Remembering how I spread 21 pts over a day, remembering what quantity of food 21 pts even means in a day, remembering especially that there are a lot of other people who understand the challenges!   There are also new foods and recipes which sort of renew the program.  One thing that I think is new (or at least brought back) is the 'core' program vs. the regular 'flex' we know, where you count pts.  Check it out.

Climbing has been tough lately but I'm bouncing back - went last night with a woman who is easy going and around my level who is totally separate from Yoav and the crew.  It was fun and refreshing.  I need to get back to myself!  On Tuesday we went outdoor climbing - I was sooo upset at how I climbed.  It was truly a dog's breakfast.  I learned how much I can slide after a month or so of very infrequent climbing.  Anyway I'm back on the horse!

Running is going great!  I got a watch that times intervals and I'm in the midst of my ct5k running plan.  Sometimes gadgets are peripheral but sometimes one little thing like a stop watch with an interval timer makes all the difference!

Anyway - Off to the Loo!  Have a great weekend! 

xo

d

Back On Track

HBJ is in full effect! Last night I got home a little late (~8:30) but decided to go for a run anyway. I did a 5k in 29 minutes (not too shabby!). This morning Ken convinced me, *very* against my will, to go to the gym when we woke up at 7. I worked out for about 45 minutes but was pretty unfocused - some upper body, some lower body, some internal complaining that someone was on a machine I wanted to use. I need to find a good program on the internets for weight training... anyone?

Denise 1, Gillian 0

I'm so proud of my girl for getting on track! Last night we declared July to be HBJ2, and I'm going to track points and not drink this month. Yikes! But, only one wedding to attend, and it turns out popsicles are delicious AND low-point (especially if you make your own).

I might even find a meeting to attend so we can compare notes. Thoughts?

Lift-Off!

Great news - I have made some progress! All four things from my last post can be checked off the list:
- Started WW Thursday - a really good time, good leader, and group...
- Started counting points. So far so good here!
- Started running today with Andrea - we did 6k and while I ran the first 10 mins, I had to walk a lot. Still great!
- Getting ready to go grocery shopping now!!! Holy freakin' crap!

Also got a running watch with two timers on it so I can start my 'couch to 5k' running plan.

Yay!

PS I did have 3 beers and all you can eat sushi last night... but I'm counting it!!! That's the important thing here, right?

Yay Swiss Chalet

I've been reflecting on the bringing lunch (or meals - since they can also be dinner) to work thought Gilly. I think you are right. Eating out healthy (in my case grilled chicken and greens, greek salads, burritos etc.) is just not the same as bringing a healthy lunch. It seems to be the key to actual weight loss.

What I need to do:
1) Grocery shop for healthy f&vs plus chicken or turkey for my lunches.
2) Start the freakin' running! Only climbing actually happened this weekend. (Funny story - I got dropped quite a long way by my belayer! Worst fear realized and it really wasn't so bad! She freaked more than I did!)
3) Start counting points - It has been ages since I actually truly kept track. Like written in a journal. Like find the freakin' slider. Like "I can't have that snack because I already maxed my points for the day." Like "OMG a peanut butter and banana sandwich for breakfast is 15 points! I won't have it!" Like "I banked points yesterday so I could eat this angel food cake today".
4) JOIN and go on Thursday. This is my punishment for lack of personal motivation. If I can get back on track I don't need to renew.

This is sad.

I'm excited you are visiting! Send me the details please. I want to partay with you Friday (TO or the Loo?) possibly meet up Saturday in the Loo as the Y-man will be coming to town and then Sunday he and I can cheer you in your race!

Yay Swiss Chalet!

Virtuous

I just finished an hour-long cardio sculpt class at the gym! Dig my bad self, yo.

I'm off to shower then sit in the backyard with coffee and a healthy (and low-point, of course) breakfast. Happy Monday!

Weekend Update

I pretty much managed to break even this weekend. I drank too much and then ate too much (like D, drunkenness turns my hands into calorie shovels). My saving grace was hitting a pilates class yesterday and yoga class tonight - the room tonight wasn't air conditioned and I'm pretty sure I sweated out a couple of pounds.

However, I was very inspired by my weekend guest who recently lost 24lbs doing a combination of WW and tons of exercise. She looks *completely* amazing. She said that she has to avoid stuff she doesn't know the points values of because if she starts eating it she just stops counting. Word, sister.

I'm fading fast tonight, probably due to the heat. There's a thunderstorm starting up so I'm going to drink some lemon water and enjoy. Thanks for keeping me honest and motivated! xox

PS: I weighed-in Friday at 160. Sad times. I'm blaming PMS and I'm going to get that number down so I can post it less shamefully in a post title. :-)

PPS: I didn't run AT ALL this weekend, which means I'm now 3 miles behind in my long runs. Yikes.

mid weekend view

Ok so mid weekend there is good news and bad news.  Containment really.

Exercise - none but walking.  When I can't be motivated to do anything else I'll still want to walk.  Climbing tomorrow at 4 pm though.

Eating - Ummm reasonable.  Shared some Fresh sweet potato fries yesterday and ate some corn bread today but these are minor transgressions among generally good eating (fruit, salad, healthy brunch etc.)  This is the kind of weekend where I stay the same but don't lose anything.  And THAT is exactly what DOESN'T get me to the 140s!

Drinking - Skipping a party tonight.  Not sure if this is a good or bad thing but I don't want to drink (road to ruin as discussed - one glass of wine and my hands become calorie shovels) and be tired for climbing tomorrow.

All things considered though, a bad weekend this is not.  (A bad weekend = last weekend = hot tamales, cherry blasters, score brownie, cool whip, peanut butter square, pringles... for real.)

Hope your weekend is going well too! :)

xo

d

Pop Quiz!

Today I avoided:

(a) the jars
(b) eating the lunch I brought
(c) working out
(d) all of the above

If you answered (d), you're correct! You don't win anything.

The jars are stupidly tempting. I've blogged about them before - they're full of tasty bits like M&Ms, peanut M&Ms, chocolate-covered raisins, Jelly Bellys, and Reeses Pieces (my personal favourite). Lately I've been hitting them up around 2 p.m., then again around 2:30 p.m., and usually after my DD fix wears off (around 5 p.m.). But, no more! As D says, it wouldn't look good on the blog.


I did, however, skip my bag lunch in favour of the catered lunch - a mostly-healthy combo of tiny crustless sandwiches, veggie skewers, and pasta with tomato sauce and cheese. I'm a sucker for that and always take just a bit to begin with but inevitably end up going back for more. I think after today I will Just Say No to the pasta option.


I also got home too late for HLNKBA* and it's looking increasingly like I'm going to bag any aspirations of gym-going tonight, but tomorrow morning I'll be running at least 3.4 and possibly closer to 8 miles! There's always that, right?

*Hot Lesbian Neighbour Kick-Boxing Action

My Lunch Date With Jenny

Today I went to lunch with Jenny and her son Nicholai. Three month old Nicholai squealed like a pig to the slaughter in the middle of the Marche in Brookfield place. It was funny.

After a healthy turkey sandwich and salad lunch, Jenny and I decided to have coffay. Since Jenny had to feed the squealer I went to get our coffay and dessert. Upon my return:

D: Here's your coffay (yes decaf!) and cookay.

J: Thanks! Wait...where's YOUR cookay?

D: Me? Cookay? Heavens no! That wouldn't look good on the blog now would it???

It really wouldn't.

xo

d

Woo!

Lady and gentleman, we have a blog!

I usually weigh-in on Friday. The time I spent with Ben & Jerry last night isn't going to help my cause at all, so I'm going to stick with the Friday plan this week. Plus I just ate breakfast (points in parens):

1 slice whole-wheat toast (1)
1/4 avocado (2)
5 oz. low-fat yogurt [homemade!] (2)

D has inspired me (as usual, and the point of this blog) to not do things I won't be proud of tomorrow, which includes but is not limited to raiding the EVIL jars at work.

I'm also going to bring a change of clothes to work today so I can participate in Run to Work Day tomorrow.

Here's my dilemma: Do I bring my lunch to work? In 99% of cases I would know the answer to that question would be a resounding "Yes!" possibly followed by a muttered "...Duh." BUT my place of employment provides a delicious meal every day. Sometimes though, the nutritional value is questionable, and I don't do well in a buffet-style setting (I'm not known for my self-restraint).

OK I secretly know the answer. Bring lunch. Partly I also hate being That Girl - the one munching on a salad and drinking Perrier while everyone else is having burgers and beer. I'm pretty sure I'm my own worst critic - my coworkers will just be all, "More falafel for us!" If they even notice.

D's Weigh-In: 156 lbs

There it is.  Even though I am not going to a meeting today doesn't mean I can't start back with all the fun!  I plan to weigh in on Thursdays but usually not until my 12 noon meeting - how about you, Gilly?

xo

d

P.S. The PSWR will hopefully give me some padding so I can show progress next week.  Yay!

One More Thing - I can't stop clicking the Terms of Endearment link from my entry last night.  It gives me the chills every time!

It's Not About The Food

OK this fucking fan is driving me crazy.  I have tried for 10 minutes to find a more clever and entertaining way to say it but it is 1:30 am, and this incessant, throbbing, mechanical tumor inches from my head is like a violent spin cycle that goes on forever!!!

This week:

What I did not do:  (and should have!)

- Join ww - I scheduled lunch with a friend tomorrow, forgetting my intention to go to St. Andrew's Church for the lunch ww meeting starting Thursday!

- Start my 'Couch to 5k' running plan - rainy weather would be the easiest excuse but low energy and apathy are closer to the truth.  I did print of the schedule though!

What I did not do: (and I'm proud I didn't!)

- Drink booze when out with Ken and Mike tonight.  Booze is the road to ruin in this game.

- Eat Nachos at The Pump (I had a Chicken Greek Salad at lunch and sushi for dinner.  I will feel fatter tomorrow (post sushi water retention) but won't actually be fatter.

- Have a midnight snack when I woke up from my neighbour's fan and went upstairs to sleep on the couch (Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday this week)

- Go downstairs and scream hysterically outside my neighbor's window in my pjs: 'turn off that effing fan you little shit.  It is freakin' ten degrees outside.  I'm wearing flannel for effsake!  TURN IT OFF TURN IT OFF TURN IT OFF!'  (Picture Shirley MacClaine: 'GIVE MY DAUGHTER THE SHOT!!!')

What I did do: (and should not have!)

- Had one of my most career limiting conversations ever!!! where I informed my boss that I am 'ready to shoot myself' and that the thought of creating a charter for the next phase of the big IT system implementation I work on makes me feel 'physically ill'.  It was in the context of 'needing renewal' which went over like a lead balloon and made me look like I don't have enough work.  Most people try to keep their quiet desperation, well, quiet.  Particularly good timing given recent layoffs and upcoming salary review.

- Drew an alter ego face (later named 'Mandy') during a particularly boring meeting and answered questions while holding up the picture and talking in a high-pitched Mandy voice.  Then requested that someone report my behaviour to someone from HR!

What I did do: (and I'm proud I did!)

- Climb on Monday in spite of feeling unmotivated and weak.

- Stuck out the week so far without resigning or seriously telling someone off.  I know it is lame but it is the only one I could come up with for this category!!!

Oh jeez It is now 2:35 am and there are two raccoons snarling outside or maybe one and some poor victim creature.  Maybe I need a new voice for Mandy! 

Bye!

xo

d

5 Point Dinner

After work tonight I had a hankerin' for a cheese & cucumber sandwich. Weird, maybe, but I swear I'm not pregnant (although if I was, I'd be embracing the weight gain. Hmm...). Anyway, I had all the fixin's at home except a cucumber, so I hit the co-op for a cuke and some sprouts to crunch it up a bit. It was delicious and only 5 WW points!

To celebrate I ate half a pint of Ben & Jerry's Frozen Yogurt (Half-Baked, in case you were interested in such details). Eight more points.

Oops.

So Freakin' Retro

I'm talkin' WW. I'm talkin' pay a membership fee and use little tickets to weigh in weekly surrounded by souls with a similar plight on my lunch break every Thursday. Holy crap.

~ SparklyD on her blog

And So It Began

To: G
From: D
Subject: fatbody

My quest to get into the 140s is tragically failing!
I am seriously getting fat body! fek. I'm freaking
out cuz I've tried to get back on board and it just
isn't sticking.

Drastic measures: (proposed)
- WW (yes it is that bad!) - I even found the meeting!
- Running coach - need more cardio.
- Yoga (I never go! This one I am skeptical about)

Climbing on its own is not cutting it.


To: D
From: G
Subject: Re: fatbody

I am right there with you! I'm glad to have company at least. I hate to admit this but I hit 160 recently which totally bummed me out. THAT IS THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF 140!

I'm doing WW as well, and I will renew my efforts. I haven't been running nearly as much as I should or doing enough yoga. Maybe we could start a joint blog to chronicle our efforts, even if it's just for ourselves? Maybe... oneforties.blogspot.com?