Sunday...9/13/09

This morning I started out with my Yogurt Berry Crunch. An hour later I was dragging. I hadn't slept very good but usually I'm going strong by 830am.

This I realized what the problem was..... for the last 4 weeks I have been starting my day with my Thyroid medicine and 16 oz of ice water. I down the water like it was a beer. The article said it would jump start my metabolism and it really does. I can't believe it. You have to try it.

Jerad met me at Irene's so that went a lot better than anticipated. Then it was errand - grocery store and Costco. I took the time to eat before going to the store and that saved me. I didn't buy everything in the store and I stuck to my list. At Costco I made it by the give away snacks - and the smell was killer.

I needed a reward so I got the non-fat yogurt at Costco. It's 390 calories - 8 points. Usually I ask them to only give me half but today I ate the whole thing. Oddly enough, it was too much. I felt kind of yucky. Next time I'm back to half.

Worked in the yard to get some activity in and then salad for dinner. Whew...time for bed! Talk to you soon.

A New Week

My weigh-in didn't turn out as bad as I thought. I was only up 1/2 pound. Time to get serious.

Today's session was on eating out.

E Eyeballing your portions - How do you make sure you don't under estimate? Does it fit in the palm of your hand.
A Always eat the filling foods first
T Track everything
I I can do this
N Never starve before you go out to eat. Some find it helpful to eat snack first.
G Get a menu on line and know what you will eat before your arrive.

O Use WW "Good Health Guidelines"
U Use weekly point allowance (35 pts)
T Take note of body signals. Usually when you sigh when eating your body means you are full.

Most restaurants will steam vegetables. Don't assume, ask. If vegetables are glistening when they weren't steamed. You are looking at some type of oil.

Order your salad dressing on the side. Then dip your fork in the dressing before you fork the lettuce. You will be amazed at how much you don't need. I only eat 1/3 of what I would eat if I poured on the salad.

Sometimes you can ask your waitress/waiter what would be a good choice.

Today starts the 2nd week of the 6 week "Lose for Good" challenge. I promised I would set a goal before I left WW and I did.

I decided to make it about activity. For one reason I will be going to Beth's soon for the 5k walk and I need to practice. The 2nd reason is based on advice from the group. This week I was distracted with problems from Irene. It was a very emotional time for me and I was distracted and even though I was tracking what I ate I was not focused on make good choices all the time- eating and activity. I asked the group what they did to refocus. One lady takes her dog (because the dog doesn't need to talk and anyone else would want to talk about the problems she is dealing with) and they go for a walk at a place called Soos Creek. Another lady goes to the gym and runs on the tread mill.

So... my 2nd week challenge is: Walk 30 min 5 days, Walk 10 min on Mom's treadmill M, T, W, F.

Going for my next challenge: Husky game

I just hate it when I stumble right out of the gate....

I can be distracted in a nano second. It's been 13 days since I started and I can't believe I only wrote the first blog and then nothing. Now granted a million things happened and all were important but I have to find a way to make this work. We are talking about my health and a potential job.

I didn't want to bore you with details daily so I had intended to write each week after the meeting. I've learned that once a week is not going to be enough. So I'll try to keep it brief but daily. Otherwise, I allow myself to get side tracked and I need you to keep me honest. I do realize that I'm the person allowing the distractions. Never more....never more. If only I were a raven....that's a story for later.

I'm happy to report that last week I lost 1/2 pound taking me to another low. Last week's meeting was about the challenge "Lose for Good". It's a six week program and the objective is to donate food that equals the number of pounds that you lose during the six weeks. I've lost 30 lbs so far so I'll bring in 30 lbs of food plus whatever I lose in the next 6 weeks. Weight Watchers will match what I bring and it will go to a local food bank.

To help us keep on track for the 6 week period, Michael challenged us to set a different goal each week. One week you might focus on water, another on journaling food, another on activity, etc. I was totally derailed emotionally so I didn't set a goal and therefore didn't meet one. I'm going to have to hide in class tomorrow. I just hate it when I don't do my homework. But I will go in and face the music and Michael is not as hard on me as I am on myself.

Before I leave the meeting - I will set a goal. No excuses.

Tomorrow will be interesting. I've had verocious ravenicitis...(spelling may be off but you know what I mean). I did manage to eat healthy but too much healthy is not a good thing. I also managed to log each day everything I ate, even when I went over my points.

Talk to you after the meeting.

PS. I had a great workout tonight. On Friday Brooklynn comes to visit and she and I have a 30 min dance-a-thon before she goes home. The problem comes after I take her home. I've done all this great activity, it's 830pm and I'm home alone... Jerry is in the bed. Usually I have a snack and then another snack. Instead I called Beth and we discussed an alternative. You got it.... I'm blogging. Going to bed. LL

In the beginning...

It's the first day and I'm so excited. Thoughts are darting through my mind so fast that I can't write them down before I've moved on to the next thought. To get started, I decided to write about the 8/29 WW meeting topic.

Topic: Recovering From Summer

What have you learned from summer?

1. In the winter I don't exercise outside because of the weather. Seattle has had a beautiful summer and I still didn't go outside and exercise, except to work in the yard which was minimal this year.
2. The time passes so fast.
3. My thyriod was low so I starting taking med to improve. We will see. I've always wanted my weight problem to be a thyroid problem. Fat chance - I don't think I had better hold out for this excuse.
4. I allow myself to get distracted from program when company comes in to town.

What makes summer so challenging?

1. Everyone else is eating all kinds of summer foods.
2. Foods of the season - Open season for mayonaise Memorial Day until Labor Day.
3. It's hot so you need to take off clothes. I lot can be hidden with layers.

How do you get back on track?

1. Cleaning - Getting my mind back on track (clean up my thoughts). Beth gave me a great idea when she used carpet cleaning, cleaning the fridge, etc to get her started. So I started on the refrigerator on Friday and 4 hours later it was done. Luckily there was minimum food in it or I would have been there all day. I DellaMaed it and took all the pieces out and cleaned it top to bottom. When vacumming out underneath, I realized I had never washed the bottom of the door...ich. But Beth was right I do feel so much better and I am reminded each time I open the fridge. Maybe if I cleaned something each week it would help me keep on track all the time. That's a thought.
2. New Goal Each Week - To get back to the basics, try one goal each week. Write it down and you can't have the word "and" in the statement. Just ONE. Last week it was to drink 16 oz of iced water every morning before I can eat or do anything else. The exception, of course, is Saturday when I weight in at 7am. I did it. I have actually done it for 2 weeks and it does seem to get my metabolism going (has to be cold water).. I hate it because I hate water but I got it done. My goal for this week: Walk 10 min every day and (just kidding, there is no and)
3. Journaling - If you bite it, you write it. It's like my checkbook. I can not keep track of my checks and I can keep a running total in my head. "How is that working for you?" I'm not as good as I thought I was and the same goes for keeping track of my food intake.
4. Go to Meetings - This works for some and not for others. The one commitment I made when I joined in April 7, 2005 was I would attend meetings. I am happy to say I have and continue to meet that goal. It keeps me accountable and I do not allow myself to NOT know how bad it is. Support is key and I really learn from those around me.
5. Water - I hate water. It takes on the taste of whatever was last in my mouth and I hate it. I've infused it, colored it, drank it hot, drank it cold, drank it tepid and I still don't like it. BUT I believe in order to get the fat off I am going to have to wash it out. SO, I'm drinking it no matter how much I hate it. A minimum of 6 - 8oz glasses.

What are the dangers of not getting on track after summer?

1. You waste the fall and soon Christmas will be here and another new year.
2. Your weigh-in clothes don't fit anymore.
3. You quit coming to meeting and then gain 15 - 20 lbs before you return to WW.

If you are out there.... let me know your answers to the 3 questions.