Today's weigh-in is... 172.8. Exactly the same as it was last week. I'm trying not to be discouraged -- there are, after all, a bunch of potential factors at work.
For starters, in the "I'm not as healthy as I think I am" category, we went out to eat Sunday at a hibachi restaurant to celebrate a family birthday. I love hibachi, and I'm sure I over-ate. Since my 2-year-old wasn't interested in his soup or salad, I ate his in addition to mine, as an aid to filling up. And I ate a big bunch of his vegetables, too. I indulged in the steak and chicken combo, and ate every last bit of my steak -- but I left about half the chicken and probably more than half my rice on my plate. I thought I'd done pretty well, all told, but of course even the vegetables had been cooked with oil and butter, so maybe it was more than I thought.
And then in the realm of "willpower? what willpower?", I played Rock Band with some friends Monday night, and even though I'd brought some low-point snacks for myself, I caved and ate some chips, too. I don't think I went too overboard, but... overboard is overboard, I guess.
In the land of "not actually my fault", I've got a mild-but-persistent cold, which is probably dragging my metabolism down.
And in the world of "short-term loss for long-term gain" (or the reverse, as it may be) my change-up at the gym means that I've replaced about 15 minutes of cardio with 15 minutes or so of weight lifting, so I'm both losing 15 minutes' worth of steady calorie-burn and gaining muscle-weight. Which makes me wish I had a more recent set of measurements, so I can do those comparisons. I should try to remember to do those monthly, or thereabouts, I guess.
On the plus side, I've been getting a lot of compliments, lately, which is nice for my ego.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Signposts and Markers
Back in November, before the holidays closed in, I crossed the threshold on my fourth 10% goal, and at the time, I noted that I was awfully close to a few other major milestones, so I was going to hold off on celebrating that signpost until I'd lost another five pounds.
Then the holidays hit, and I more or less went into a holding pattern for the next six weeks. Which is okay. I'd given myself permission to do that. I'm pretty proud, in fact, that I managed to restrain myself as much as I did. But now I'm back on track and trying to get back on the wagon, and it hasn't been remotely like easy, but I'm (mostly) doing it.
And I've been rewarded for it. This morning's weigh-in put me at 172.8. That's 1.6 for the week, and more importantly, a grand total loss of 100.2 pounds. And the Wii Fit has been reporting for several weeks now that I've dropped below the line that separates "obese" from merely "overweight".
So I passed my fourth 10% goal.
And I'm not obese any more.
And I've lost. One. Hundred. Pounds.
Do you know what difference one hundred pounds makes?
Here I am, a year and a half ago (I'm the one with the baby, though it's worth mentioning that everyone else in that picture has been on Weight Watchers since then, too, and has made similarly impressive progress):
...and here I am now:
I'm not even sure someone who hadn't known me for the last two years would be able to recognize me. I still own that t-shirt I'm wearing in the top picture, because it was one of my favorites and I can't bring myself to throw it away -- but it hangs down nearly to my knees like some kind of bizarre minidress. I'm wearing about half size M clothes, and the Ls I'm wearing are almost exclusively because my boobs are DD cups and just don't squeeze into some M cuts. (Which is absurd. I've lost 100 pounds, and my boobs have only gone down one cup size? The husband isn't complaining, natch, but y'know, I'd be okay with a regular D cup, I really would.) I own a pair of size 12 jeans, and they don't even give me a muffin-top (well, not much, anyway).
Mind you, I'm not by any means done. I've got another 30 or 40 pounds to go. (If I lose another 36.4 pounds, I'll be able to say I'm less than half the woman I was -- but that would put me right at about the weight I was in high school, and after 2 babies and with these DD cups, I don't know how feasible that really is. On the other hand, my starting point for this diet is actually not the heaviest I've ever been, so I expect I'll eventually be able to say that anyway.)
But I've made it, over the last 15 months, to these three milestones, and I think it's time to celebrate, and celebrate BIG. I'm still pondering what my celebration/reward should be, but I've got a few notions. Anyone want to offer up any suggestions?
Then the holidays hit, and I more or less went into a holding pattern for the next six weeks. Which is okay. I'd given myself permission to do that. I'm pretty proud, in fact, that I managed to restrain myself as much as I did. But now I'm back on track and trying to get back on the wagon, and it hasn't been remotely like easy, but I'm (mostly) doing it.
And I've been rewarded for it. This morning's weigh-in put me at 172.8. That's 1.6 for the week, and more importantly, a grand total loss of 100.2 pounds. And the Wii Fit has been reporting for several weeks now that I've dropped below the line that separates "obese" from merely "overweight".
So I passed my fourth 10% goal.
And I'm not obese any more.
And I've lost. One. Hundred. Pounds.
Do you know what difference one hundred pounds makes?
Here I am, a year and a half ago (I'm the one with the baby, though it's worth mentioning that everyone else in that picture has been on Weight Watchers since then, too, and has made similarly impressive progress):
...and here I am now:
Mind you, I'm not by any means done. I've got another 30 or 40 pounds to go. (If I lose another 36.4 pounds, I'll be able to say I'm less than half the woman I was -- but that would put me right at about the weight I was in high school, and after 2 babies and with these DD cups, I don't know how feasible that really is. On the other hand, my starting point for this diet is actually not the heaviest I've ever been, so I expect I'll eventually be able to say that anyway.)
But I've made it, over the last 15 months, to these three milestones, and I think it's time to celebrate, and celebrate BIG. I'm still pondering what my celebration/reward should be, but I've got a few notions. Anyone want to offer up any suggestions?
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Recovery
This morning's weigh-in was 174.2 -- 1.6 for the week, 98.8 total, and putting me this close to being back to my pre-Christmas low.
I decided Monday morning, when the various feasts and dinners and such were all done and it was definitely time to get seriously back on the wagon, that I needed to be especially strict for a week or two. Not just logging and meeting my points goal for each day, but also meeting all the nutrition checkoffs. No junk food at all, even counting points for it -- all snacks must be heavy in nutritional value: fruits, veggies, or yogurt. No evening snacking at all, even fruits or veggies, until I've broken the evening grazing habit. Must absolutely do my 15-minute Wii Fit routine every weekday morning, must absolutely make it to the gym at least three times a week.
So Monday and Tuesday were a bit rocky. I did a lot of pacing and I drank a shocking amount of tea. Today will be rough, too, I expect. And possibly tomorrow. But I've been sliding for the last six weeks or so -- I've been more or less maintaining my weight since Thanksgiving -- and while I'd given myself permission to do so, I need to get back into control if I want this last thirty or forty pounds gone by the end of the year.
Maybe if I'm vigilant and determined, next week's weigh-in will earn me that coveted and elusive 100-pounds-lost mark!
I decided Monday morning, when the various feasts and dinners and such were all done and it was definitely time to get seriously back on the wagon, that I needed to be especially strict for a week or two. Not just logging and meeting my points goal for each day, but also meeting all the nutrition checkoffs. No junk food at all, even counting points for it -- all snacks must be heavy in nutritional value: fruits, veggies, or yogurt. No evening snacking at all, even fruits or veggies, until I've broken the evening grazing habit. Must absolutely do my 15-minute Wii Fit routine every weekday morning, must absolutely make it to the gym at least three times a week.
So Monday and Tuesday were a bit rocky. I did a lot of pacing and I drank a shocking amount of tea. Today will be rough, too, I expect. And possibly tomorrow. But I've been sliding for the last six weeks or so -- I've been more or less maintaining my weight since Thanksgiving -- and while I'd given myself permission to do so, I need to get back into control if I want this last thirty or forty pounds gone by the end of the year.
Maybe if I'm vigilant and determined, next week's weigh-in will earn me that coveted and elusive 100-pounds-lost mark!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Take It
Weigh-in this morning was exactly the same as weigh-in last week: 175.8. Which, considering how badly (and deliberately) I fell off the wagon for Christmas, is not bad at all. I'll take it.
Since Thanksgiving, I've gained about one pound, overall. One pound, between Thanksgiving and two family birthdays and multiple Christmas parties and feasts? I'll take it.
This year, in 2009, I've lost about 70 pounds. I've also lost about 90% of the knee pain I was having this time last year, and 75% of the pain in my feet. I gained some shoulder pain, but I think I'm starting to make progress on that, so... I'll take it.
Even if I don't lose any more weight from this point forward -- and I don't for an instant believe I'm done, but if I were -- then I'm still thinner and healthier than I've been at any time in the last fifteen years.
I'll take it.
Since Thanksgiving, I've gained about one pound, overall. One pound, between Thanksgiving and two family birthdays and multiple Christmas parties and feasts? I'll take it.
This year, in 2009, I've lost about 70 pounds. I've also lost about 90% of the knee pain I was having this time last year, and 75% of the pain in my feet. I gained some shoulder pain, but I think I'm starting to make progress on that, so... I'll take it.
Even if I don't lose any more weight from this point forward -- and I don't for an instant believe I'm done, but if I were -- then I'm still thinner and healthier than I've been at any time in the last fifteen years.
I'll take it.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
...And Up
Today's weigh-in: 175.8, which is up 1.8 pounds from last week. Can't say I'm terribly surprised, what with the party, and the other party, and the third party, and the stress-eating, and then the friend over for dinner and margaritas last night.
Looking at my chart, though, it looks like I've been more or less maintaining since Thanksgiving (down and then up and down and then up and down and then...) which is not horribly unreasonable, what with all the birthdays and holidays and such. So my son's birthday is today, and we're having my parents over tomorrow for Christmas Eve dinner, and then Friday is Christmas.
And then it'll be time to throw out or give away any leftover candy and cookies and other goodies, and get my behind back into the gym, and get back on the diet wagon and start making some serious progress.
Looking at my chart, though, it looks like I've been more or less maintaining since Thanksgiving (down and then up and down and then up and down and then...) which is not horribly unreasonable, what with all the birthdays and holidays and such. So my son's birthday is today, and we're having my parents over tomorrow for Christmas Eve dinner, and then Friday is Christmas.
And then it'll be time to throw out or give away any leftover candy and cookies and other goodies, and get my behind back into the gym, and get back on the diet wagon and start making some serious progress.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Bracing
Well, I weighed in at 174 this morning, which is down 1.2 from last week's "real" weight, so good job, me! (Also, it's a grand total of 99 pounds lost, which doesn't even seem real.)
Of course, I suspect I'm about to fall right the heck back off the wagon, here. Friday is my office's holiday party -- and since I was the coordinator, I already know exactly what awesome food is going to be there. And Saturday is our Christmas party at home (again with the tasty treats). And Sunday is the family party to celebrate my son's birthday.
No matter how restrained I am, getting on the scale Monday morning is going to be painful, I expect.
Oh, well. Let's talk about realistic expectations: I told myself that I'd be satisfied with maintaining through the holidays, which means that my weigh-in on January 6th (the first weigh-in that's completely out of the holiday block) should be no more than 175.6, which is where I was at the beginning of December. And the last time I addressed my goals, back in October, I talked about wanting to hit my 100 total pounds lost mark by the end of January. Which, I think, is still eminently reasonable and perfectly doable, despite the temptations of the next few days.
Which is not so much giving myself permission to misbehave as it is acknowledging reality, taking responsibility for correcting any slip-ups, and promising to move forward without too many glances backward.
Of course, I suspect I'm about to fall right the heck back off the wagon, here. Friday is my office's holiday party -- and since I was the coordinator, I already know exactly what awesome food is going to be there. And Saturday is our Christmas party at home (again with the tasty treats). And Sunday is the family party to celebrate my son's birthday.
No matter how restrained I am, getting on the scale Monday morning is going to be painful, I expect.
Oh, well. Let's talk about realistic expectations: I told myself that I'd be satisfied with maintaining through the holidays, which means that my weigh-in on January 6th (the first weigh-in that's completely out of the holiday block) should be no more than 175.6, which is where I was at the beginning of December. And the last time I addressed my goals, back in October, I talked about wanting to hit my 100 total pounds lost mark by the end of January. Which, I think, is still eminently reasonable and perfectly doable, despite the temptations of the next few days.
Which is not so much giving myself permission to misbehave as it is acknowledging reality, taking responsibility for correcting any slip-ups, and promising to move forward without too many glances backward.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Addendum
I totally called it. I ate (more or less) on-plan yesterday, drank plenty of fluids to rehydrate after the alcohol and flush the late-night stuff, and this morning? 175.2. (Both the bathroom scale and the Wii Fit agreed on the size of the drop, even, so it's not just that the scale is getting flaky and random on me again.) Not just a less-egregious gain, but even a 0.4-pound loss. If I call that my official weigh-in for the week (which I think I will), then that's a total loss of 97.8 pounds. I'm 2.2 pounds away from breaking the triple-digit barrier!
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