Always check the clock before deciding to go outside for a walk.
Let me back track for a bit. I'm trying very hard to earn activity points (AP in WW speak). I didn't plan on walking today because it's a bit too warm (close to 80) and I tend to get sweaty and flushed. But by around 11:30 I started getting antsy. Then about 15 minutes later I jumped up from my chair and went for a walk.
It's still sort of warm, but I didn't become too sweaty and gross, so that part is fine. But, I forgot to check the clock and I ventured outside and onto campus right smack dab in the middle of the change of classes.
You see, this is something that I, and probably 99.9% of the people who work here, try never to do. It's crowded and noisy, and depending on the time of year it can sort of be depressing (that is, remind you of how old you are). On top of that I was being lapped by everyone. Not that it's a huge deal for me, but I'm pretty sure they were getting annoyed with it. If I'd just checked the clock I would have waited 5 minutes and spared myself.
Or maybe not. Maybe I'd have put it off and not taken my walk at all. Maybe I'd have talked myself out of it. Maybe it wasn't such a mistake after all. I took a walk when my bod told me I needed to take a walk, and I got it done whether campus was crowded or not.
Makes you think. Well, maybe not you. But it makes ME think.
I may forgo my afternoon constitutional however. It's only going to get warmer, and I was planning on doing laundry tonight, which can be a real workout for me. I hate doing laundry and put it off and end up doing a ton at once. And WW includes laundry as an activity. I always clock less than I actually do, too, because I don't really work THAT hard at it. But I deserve those points anyway!
So, that's my activity for the day. I wonder how many points a person earns for wading through a sea of underclassmen?
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Anxious
Hey Amigos,
I feel the need to blog about some anxiety I'm having. I suppose I could just journal about this but who knows, maybe I'll write something that someone else may find helpful.
I'm anxious about many things right now. I'm anxious about my weigh in tomorrow. I can't believe how fast they come up! I was .2 lbs away from hitting a personal milestone last week. I believe that I did relatively well this week, but as has been my problem in the past, I let go a bit over the weekend. 3 meals eaten out, eating every bite from the plates of said meals, a few too many tortilla chips while having Mexican for lunch, a breakfast that could have been better. I know that I will be quite disappointed if I don't lose that lousy .2 that I need to, and I have no one to blame but myself.
Why would I sabotage myself? None of those things I did was fatal of course. But they are the crack in the dike, you know? That tiny little thing that seems OK and you don't have to worry about it, but it's the beginning of trouble.
The good thing is I recognize it as such. But I recognized it going in to this week and I still caved.
It's such a scary thing, that food has such control over me. You put it in front of me and I'm going to eat it. Like when I was at the ball game a few weeks back, we had a big bag of salted-in-the-shell peanuts. I kept eating them, and then moved them away from me so I would stop. My sister said "Why don't you just stop eating them?" Sounds easy doesn't it. But for me it's not. I needed them out of my reach. But why???
I'm anxious about how the odds are stacked against me. I do know the answer to that problem, though. Never stop going to the meetings. These meetings are going to be a life-long thing for me. If I stop going, it will stop working. That much I know. I tried desperately, for close to 20 years, to lose weight on my own, and all I did was gain. I'd lose in the short term, but it would always come back on, along with a few friends brought along just for kicks.
As long as I reach out for support, as long as I educate myself, as long as I'm accountable, every week, I will succeed.
Living the way I was living is not an option anymore. I really and truly was miserable. The enjoyment of food is over so quickly, but the effects of it are not. The good thing is I tend to think a lot more about my choices and I tend not to rush into things and buy stuff and eat it before I have a chance to rationally decide what I should do.
There are lots of things I haven't eaten since I started WW, and I don't miss them. I never did miss them. Krispy Kreme, for example. Can't remember the last time I had a KK donut, but I don't really care and I don't miss it. Haven't gone to a drive-thru since I started WW. I haven't visited the local deli or bakery either. I haven't had a mocha or a latte. I haven't bought and devoured a bag of chips. I haven't gotten anything from a vending machine. I haven't ordered Chinese carryout. I've been feeding myself with the groceries I buy every week. Not only have I lost weight, but I've for certain saved a lot of money too.
Even while I know I'm doing well and will continue to do so, there are still things that cause me anxiety, things that I work on all the time. I could never, ever say that this struggle is easy. The plan is easy. The meals I prepare and eat are easy. But the struggle I have with food never, ever will be easy. Never. I will fight this my entire life. That's what makes me so anxious. But all I can do is get through today.
If all else fails, I'll find something on my body that weighs .2 lbs and chop it off. Come to think of it, I haven't had a hair cut lately.
I feel the need to blog about some anxiety I'm having. I suppose I could just journal about this but who knows, maybe I'll write something that someone else may find helpful.
I'm anxious about many things right now. I'm anxious about my weigh in tomorrow. I can't believe how fast they come up! I was .2 lbs away from hitting a personal milestone last week. I believe that I did relatively well this week, but as has been my problem in the past, I let go a bit over the weekend. 3 meals eaten out, eating every bite from the plates of said meals, a few too many tortilla chips while having Mexican for lunch, a breakfast that could have been better. I know that I will be quite disappointed if I don't lose that lousy .2 that I need to, and I have no one to blame but myself.
Why would I sabotage myself? None of those things I did was fatal of course. But they are the crack in the dike, you know? That tiny little thing that seems OK and you don't have to worry about it, but it's the beginning of trouble.
The good thing is I recognize it as such. But I recognized it going in to this week and I still caved.
It's such a scary thing, that food has such control over me. You put it in front of me and I'm going to eat it. Like when I was at the ball game a few weeks back, we had a big bag of salted-in-the-shell peanuts. I kept eating them, and then moved them away from me so I would stop. My sister said "Why don't you just stop eating them?" Sounds easy doesn't it. But for me it's not. I needed them out of my reach. But why???
I'm anxious about how the odds are stacked against me. I do know the answer to that problem, though. Never stop going to the meetings. These meetings are going to be a life-long thing for me. If I stop going, it will stop working. That much I know. I tried desperately, for close to 20 years, to lose weight on my own, and all I did was gain. I'd lose in the short term, but it would always come back on, along with a few friends brought along just for kicks.
As long as I reach out for support, as long as I educate myself, as long as I'm accountable, every week, I will succeed.
Living the way I was living is not an option anymore. I really and truly was miserable. The enjoyment of food is over so quickly, but the effects of it are not. The good thing is I tend to think a lot more about my choices and I tend not to rush into things and buy stuff and eat it before I have a chance to rationally decide what I should do.
There are lots of things I haven't eaten since I started WW, and I don't miss them. I never did miss them. Krispy Kreme, for example. Can't remember the last time I had a KK donut, but I don't really care and I don't miss it. Haven't gone to a drive-thru since I started WW. I haven't visited the local deli or bakery either. I haven't had a mocha or a latte. I haven't bought and devoured a bag of chips. I haven't gotten anything from a vending machine. I haven't ordered Chinese carryout. I've been feeding myself with the groceries I buy every week. Not only have I lost weight, but I've for certain saved a lot of money too.
Even while I know I'm doing well and will continue to do so, there are still things that cause me anxiety, things that I work on all the time. I could never, ever say that this struggle is easy. The plan is easy. The meals I prepare and eat are easy. But the struggle I have with food never, ever will be easy. Never. I will fight this my entire life. That's what makes me so anxious. But all I can do is get through today.
If all else fails, I'll find something on my body that weighs .2 lbs and chop it off. Come to think of it, I haven't had a hair cut lately.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
6 Months!
Hey Amigos,
My last WW meeting marked 6 months with the program. They don't acknowledge that the way they acknowledge your first 16 weeks. The first 16 weeks is huge and everyone deserves kudos for making it through. By 6 months you're deep into it it's a long damn time. 16 weeks is dedication, a sign that you've committed, and I can see why they'd acknowledge it.
I didn't want anything for 6 months in the first place, and it makes perfect sense why they don't make a huge deal out of it. Can you imagine the poor person struggling to lose, receiving acknowledgement for length of time in the program? "You've been at WW for over a year now! Great! How much have you lost? 5 lbs? Oh."
I think this may be the longest I've stuck with any one program. The most I ever lost on a program was 28 lbs, and I hit that with WW 4 months ago.
So, this is good. And I still feel strongly for the progam, I still agree with it, I'm not bored with it, I like it. I haven't missed a single meeting or weigh in, and I still look forward to going.
So, what now? More of the same, I guess. I have made a few changes. As you move along in the program you sort of have to. Like the points thing. They give you a certain amount of points based on your start weight, and as you lose weight, they take points away. At first that was no big deal because I had an assload of points and had to work to use them all.
But as they've whittled away at them I find myself using them up much faster. So I've made some adjustments. I no longer purchase the WW goodies at the meeting. This has several benefits, actually. I save money, first of all. Also, I found it increasingly difficult to eat them sanely. I could rarely stop at one. And on top of that, I don't spend my points on them anymore. It wasn't like I was getting a great dose of nutrition or anything.
I've also stepped up my exercise. I'm not 100% successful in this endeavor, but I do try. I try to take a walk at least once a day for 20 minutes. Ideally I shoot for 2 walks a day of 20 minutes each, but I try not to get too worked up about it if I can't fit both in. The great thing about that is I can use the points I earn that day for food, and those activity points come in handy dandy.
I'm also making a rather drastic move. I'm going from a full sized bag of 94% Fat Free Orville Redenbacher Kettle Corn to the 100 calorie pack of 94% FFORKC. This is going to be a big change. See, I'm a popcorn nut. I can just eat and eat it and never think twice about it. The thought of that tiny bag of popcorn makes me very depressed, but I'm sure I'll get used to it, much like I got used to all the other little changes I made. Baby steps, amigos.
So, who's to say what the next 1/2 year will bring. If I have any control over things (and when you think about it I pretty much do, barring force majeur or an act of God) it's entirely up to me what happens the next 6 months. Frankly, it's the next 4 months that are giving me the schpilkes. I mean, this is the holidays, amigos. The big kahuna. The big cheese. The biggest road block to diets.
All I can do is plan, and pray. So often I've headed into the holidays with the best intentions, only to be spat out on New Year's Day with absolutely no resolve and a complete lack of interest in what I'm putting into my body. But, I have a secret weapon now. Well, not so secret. I have Weight Watchers.
My last WW meeting marked 6 months with the program. They don't acknowledge that the way they acknowledge your first 16 weeks. The first 16 weeks is huge and everyone deserves kudos for making it through. By 6 months you're deep into it it's a long damn time. 16 weeks is dedication, a sign that you've committed, and I can see why they'd acknowledge it.
I didn't want anything for 6 months in the first place, and it makes perfect sense why they don't make a huge deal out of it. Can you imagine the poor person struggling to lose, receiving acknowledgement for length of time in the program? "You've been at WW for over a year now! Great! How much have you lost? 5 lbs? Oh."
I think this may be the longest I've stuck with any one program. The most I ever lost on a program was 28 lbs, and I hit that with WW 4 months ago.
So, this is good. And I still feel strongly for the progam, I still agree with it, I'm not bored with it, I like it. I haven't missed a single meeting or weigh in, and I still look forward to going.
So, what now? More of the same, I guess. I have made a few changes. As you move along in the program you sort of have to. Like the points thing. They give you a certain amount of points based on your start weight, and as you lose weight, they take points away. At first that was no big deal because I had an assload of points and had to work to use them all.
But as they've whittled away at them I find myself using them up much faster. So I've made some adjustments. I no longer purchase the WW goodies at the meeting. This has several benefits, actually. I save money, first of all. Also, I found it increasingly difficult to eat them sanely. I could rarely stop at one. And on top of that, I don't spend my points on them anymore. It wasn't like I was getting a great dose of nutrition or anything.
I've also stepped up my exercise. I'm not 100% successful in this endeavor, but I do try. I try to take a walk at least once a day for 20 minutes. Ideally I shoot for 2 walks a day of 20 minutes each, but I try not to get too worked up about it if I can't fit both in. The great thing about that is I can use the points I earn that day for food, and those activity points come in handy dandy.
I'm also making a rather drastic move. I'm going from a full sized bag of 94% Fat Free Orville Redenbacher Kettle Corn to the 100 calorie pack of 94% FFORKC. This is going to be a big change. See, I'm a popcorn nut. I can just eat and eat it and never think twice about it. The thought of that tiny bag of popcorn makes me very depressed, but I'm sure I'll get used to it, much like I got used to all the other little changes I made. Baby steps, amigos.
So, who's to say what the next 1/2 year will bring. If I have any control over things (and when you think about it I pretty much do, barring force majeur or an act of God) it's entirely up to me what happens the next 6 months. Frankly, it's the next 4 months that are giving me the schpilkes. I mean, this is the holidays, amigos. The big kahuna. The big cheese. The biggest road block to diets.
All I can do is plan, and pray. So often I've headed into the holidays with the best intentions, only to be spat out on New Year's Day with absolutely no resolve and a complete lack of interest in what I'm putting into my body. But, I have a secret weapon now. Well, not so secret. I have Weight Watchers.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Rummage Report
Hey Amigos,
Made it through another weekend. The rummage sale was a resounding success. Of course, this all depends on your definition of success in the world of rummages. Success for me means I got rid of some stuff, made some money and was never frightened or overly annoyed by any visitors. Frankly, some of them were downright adorable and so sweet. And I got to spend quality time with some of my favorite people who were a part of the whole sale (we figured, the more people the more stuff, the more stuff the larger the crowd).
So, it was good. Better than good. Yet another fun thing I was able to do this summer.
The weather started out kind of badly on Saturday, with a couple sudden thunderstorms. But truly interested people do not let something like that get in the way of a bargain.
I also went to see a movie with my mom this weekend, Vicki Cristina Barcelona. The wonderful Javier Bardem was in it (which I'm pretty sure is the reason my mom suggested it in the first place--the woman has taste). I wasn't entirely into it, and neither was she. The settings were gorgeous, and it had some of the astute observations you expect from Woody Allen. I think my big issue was that most of the reviews I read had been stellar, so I was waiting to be impressed. This may be one of those 'the whole isn't equal to the sum of the parts' thing. There was a lot to like about it, but bringing it together didn't really happen, at least for us.
We had dinner after the movie. We couldn't make up our minds where to go, and I'm a bit fussy seeing as I don't want too much conflict with WW. We ended up at the Chancery where I had the open faced tilapia tacos. The combination of things they put on there was quite tasty, and it came with some yummy black beans and a side of wild rice. But there were for sure things on there I probably should have steered clear of, and I cleaned my plate, so I wouldn't say I did the best job. It probably didn't help that I met my friends bright and early that morning for breakfast at Heinemann's, and while I tried to keep it reasonable, I just don't think there's anything you can do to hash browns to make them healthy other than not eating them.
So, when I got home that evening I took both dogs out for a walk independently. I can walk them both, but I really need a couple more arms and maybe another leg or 2 to make that an actually enjoyable experience. But I wanted to get moving because I'd been so generous with myself food-wise. Stella and I went south, Ravi and I went north. By the time Ravi and I were heading in the door it was nearly dark outside. I love walking that time of night (though it's probably not necessarily the safest time, although I doubt anyone would mess with me when I have Ravi with me unless they were well armed, which they probably would be). The greatest thing about being out then is that the bats start coming out. I love watching them up there doing their job of picking bugs right out of the air. Occasionally they'll run into one another (not literally, just get into each other's business I guess) and you'll hear this 'tst! tst! tst!' that's very cool.
So, while I did take some liberties in the area of consumption, I was not inactive, far from it actually, so all is not lost.
Classes start today. I've made sure to get in 2 walks (if you walk all the way around campus you can almost get a good mile in), but only after the change of classes. I know they're my bread and butter, but I don't want them crawling all over the place when I'm just trying to get a little decent exercise.
Well, that's about all she wrote. I did want to mention this, however. I need to make a conscious effort to eat better on the weekends. I think I'm giving myself too much leeway, and while I haven't noticed it at the scale yet, and maybe I won't for a long time, if I keep it up unchecked, I will get into trouble.
If I think I can get away with it, I'll try more and more things until I'm right back where I started and wondering how I got there.
There is one thing I know for certain. I can't start this process over. I can't even let myself think about it, it's just too overwhelming. So I'm telling you all here and now, I'm going to do better on weekends. I'm going to be more serious and more honest about what it is I do on the weekends. Weekends are not a free pass!!!
Made it through another weekend. The rummage sale was a resounding success. Of course, this all depends on your definition of success in the world of rummages. Success for me means I got rid of some stuff, made some money and was never frightened or overly annoyed by any visitors. Frankly, some of them were downright adorable and so sweet. And I got to spend quality time with some of my favorite people who were a part of the whole sale (we figured, the more people the more stuff, the more stuff the larger the crowd).
So, it was good. Better than good. Yet another fun thing I was able to do this summer.
The weather started out kind of badly on Saturday, with a couple sudden thunderstorms. But truly interested people do not let something like that get in the way of a bargain.
I also went to see a movie with my mom this weekend, Vicki Cristina Barcelona. The wonderful Javier Bardem was in it (which I'm pretty sure is the reason my mom suggested it in the first place--the woman has taste). I wasn't entirely into it, and neither was she. The settings were gorgeous, and it had some of the astute observations you expect from Woody Allen. I think my big issue was that most of the reviews I read had been stellar, so I was waiting to be impressed. This may be one of those 'the whole isn't equal to the sum of the parts' thing. There was a lot to like about it, but bringing it together didn't really happen, at least for us.
We had dinner after the movie. We couldn't make up our minds where to go, and I'm a bit fussy seeing as I don't want too much conflict with WW. We ended up at the Chancery where I had the open faced tilapia tacos. The combination of things they put on there was quite tasty, and it came with some yummy black beans and a side of wild rice. But there were for sure things on there I probably should have steered clear of, and I cleaned my plate, so I wouldn't say I did the best job. It probably didn't help that I met my friends bright and early that morning for breakfast at Heinemann's, and while I tried to keep it reasonable, I just don't think there's anything you can do to hash browns to make them healthy other than not eating them.
So, when I got home that evening I took both dogs out for a walk independently. I can walk them both, but I really need a couple more arms and maybe another leg or 2 to make that an actually enjoyable experience. But I wanted to get moving because I'd been so generous with myself food-wise. Stella and I went south, Ravi and I went north. By the time Ravi and I were heading in the door it was nearly dark outside. I love walking that time of night (though it's probably not necessarily the safest time, although I doubt anyone would mess with me when I have Ravi with me unless they were well armed, which they probably would be). The greatest thing about being out then is that the bats start coming out. I love watching them up there doing their job of picking bugs right out of the air. Occasionally they'll run into one another (not literally, just get into each other's business I guess) and you'll hear this 'tst! tst! tst!' that's very cool.
So, while I did take some liberties in the area of consumption, I was not inactive, far from it actually, so all is not lost.
Classes start today. I've made sure to get in 2 walks (if you walk all the way around campus you can almost get a good mile in), but only after the change of classes. I know they're my bread and butter, but I don't want them crawling all over the place when I'm just trying to get a little decent exercise.
Well, that's about all she wrote. I did want to mention this, however. I need to make a conscious effort to eat better on the weekends. I think I'm giving myself too much leeway, and while I haven't noticed it at the scale yet, and maybe I won't for a long time, if I keep it up unchecked, I will get into trouble.
If I think I can get away with it, I'll try more and more things until I'm right back where I started and wondering how I got there.
There is one thing I know for certain. I can't start this process over. I can't even let myself think about it, it's just too overwhelming. So I'm telling you all here and now, I'm going to do better on weekends. I'm going to be more serious and more honest about what it is I do on the weekends. Weekends are not a free pass!!!
Friday, August 22, 2008
The state I'm in
Jeez, a week without a blog! Honestly amigos, it's strictly because I've been absolutely swamped at work and I'm swamped at work because one of my students came back for the last week of summer vacation. All my students are great, but this one is a freak of nature. Better than good, so far beyond competent there aren't words. So what did the Margin Walker do this whole week? Tried desperately to keep all of my students happy and busy, and it's kicked my everloving behind.
But it's all good.
Classes start on Monday. You'd think I'd be immune to it now, but it is an event that always gets me wound up, in many ways, most of which aren't good. Everything gets crowded, it's harder to park, it's harder to get around. And it makes me realize just how long it's been since I was in their shoes. That's the problem with working at your alma mater, amigos.
But there's another part of me that loves it. Don't hate me, but I always loved going back to school (that is, once I hit high school and even more when I got to college; grade school, which I despised, not so much). Seeing all my friends, getting back into the books, the camaraderie of the classroom. And I truly love working at an academic institution. I'll take that over a business any day of the week. Here we're just trying to get the knowledge out there. There's no money involved, just learning.
Of course, it's nothing you'll ever get rich doing. Wouldn't it figure, my two favorite things, education and animal rescue, are not the cash cows you may have been led to believe!
Weigh in was good yesterday, amigos, quite good. Scale is moving in the right direction, and it took a nice hop on its way down.
My weekend is going to be a very, very busy one (which is enough to drive me crazy; I come to work on Mondays feeling like they never even happened). Why, you ask? Well, I'll tell you, in two words: Rummage sale.
That's right. My friends convinced me (against my seemingly better judgment) to host a rummage sale. See, I live in a better neighborhood than either of them. Not that my neighborhood is any great shakes, but it's extremely close to Wauwatosa, and one of the benefits is that I can sort of ride on their coattails.
So, it'll be 4 people altogether: Me, my friend T, and my other friend T and his girlfriend G. I advertised it (on craigslist) as a 3 Family Rummage. So I guess I'm a family now. I'm completely and utterly unprepared. No lie. I've done nothing. So what does that mean? That means that tonight I'll be going through 11 years worth of things, figuring out what I'd like to throw away, and instead of throwing it away, slapping a price tag on it and putting it in my driveway.
To add to everything else, 2 of my best friends are having a housewarming (or as my friend, yet another T calls it, a 'house chillin') and I've got to figure out how on earth I'm going to swing getting there (because I really want to) and run a rummage.
And, this is going to be a family weekend, too. It's been a couple weeks since I saw my mom, and I can guarantee you that if I don't see her this weekend, well... I'm not going there. Trust me, it's in my best interest (and frankly EVERYONE'S best interest) that I see her.
So, I'm about ready to hit the road here, head home and start sorting. Here's what I have so far (at least, in the virtual rummage sale in my head; I've not actually done anything). A 19" Zenith television with no remote; a 3 tiered bookcase that I got from Target and never put together; a vaporiser (and filters!); a NordicTrack (if I'm not too embarrassed to put it out there); some cds I never listen to and dvds I never watch.
Tempting, ain't it?
But it's all good.
Classes start on Monday. You'd think I'd be immune to it now, but it is an event that always gets me wound up, in many ways, most of which aren't good. Everything gets crowded, it's harder to park, it's harder to get around. And it makes me realize just how long it's been since I was in their shoes. That's the problem with working at your alma mater, amigos.
But there's another part of me that loves it. Don't hate me, but I always loved going back to school (that is, once I hit high school and even more when I got to college; grade school, which I despised, not so much). Seeing all my friends, getting back into the books, the camaraderie of the classroom. And I truly love working at an academic institution. I'll take that over a business any day of the week. Here we're just trying to get the knowledge out there. There's no money involved, just learning.
Of course, it's nothing you'll ever get rich doing. Wouldn't it figure, my two favorite things, education and animal rescue, are not the cash cows you may have been led to believe!
Weigh in was good yesterday, amigos, quite good. Scale is moving in the right direction, and it took a nice hop on its way down.
My weekend is going to be a very, very busy one (which is enough to drive me crazy; I come to work on Mondays feeling like they never even happened). Why, you ask? Well, I'll tell you, in two words: Rummage sale.
That's right. My friends convinced me (against my seemingly better judgment) to host a rummage sale. See, I live in a better neighborhood than either of them. Not that my neighborhood is any great shakes, but it's extremely close to Wauwatosa, and one of the benefits is that I can sort of ride on their coattails.
So, it'll be 4 people altogether: Me, my friend T, and my other friend T and his girlfriend G. I advertised it (on craigslist) as a 3 Family Rummage. So I guess I'm a family now. I'm completely and utterly unprepared. No lie. I've done nothing. So what does that mean? That means that tonight I'll be going through 11 years worth of things, figuring out what I'd like to throw away, and instead of throwing it away, slapping a price tag on it and putting it in my driveway.
To add to everything else, 2 of my best friends are having a housewarming (or as my friend, yet another T calls it, a 'house chillin') and I've got to figure out how on earth I'm going to swing getting there (because I really want to) and run a rummage.
And, this is going to be a family weekend, too. It's been a couple weeks since I saw my mom, and I can guarantee you that if I don't see her this weekend, well... I'm not going there. Trust me, it's in my best interest (and frankly EVERYONE'S best interest) that I see her.
So, I'm about ready to hit the road here, head home and start sorting. Here's what I have so far (at least, in the virtual rummage sale in my head; I've not actually done anything). A 19" Zenith television with no remote; a 3 tiered bookcase that I got from Target and never put together; a vaporiser (and filters!); a NordicTrack (if I'm not too embarrassed to put it out there); some cds I never listen to and dvds I never watch.
Tempting, ain't it?
Friday, August 15, 2008
By popular demand (of no one)...
Yeah, I'm posting again today. So?
I'm sure you noticed I changed things up here a bit. I just felt the need to try something new and I was getting sick of looking at the colors I'd been using.
Actually it started because Alabaster Mom sent me a link to a website called CakeWrecks and I HAD to include it in my 'good links' section. And once I start messing around in there I just keep going to see what else I can monkey with and improve/make worse/annoy my reader(s).
I've included a picture of myself somewhere over there on the right. I was at an event for the adoption center and there were scantily clad women handing out what they called 'caffeinated shots.' Being the innocent that I am, I didn't think they were alcoholic, I just figured they were shots of caffeine. Alas, they were indeed alcoholic, and not too good either, and my drinking days are long over, so it wasn't particularly enjoyable. The least enjoyable was the picture. I look like I just consumed an entire pie. I do NOT like how I turn out on photos, and this one in particular just bugged the bejesus out of me.
But, I figured, I owe it to my reader to post a picture. See the sacrifices I make for blogdom?
This picture is from June I believe, early June or late May, so I've dropped some weight since then. Of course, unless every ounce has been lost only from my face, I probably don't look a whole lot different.
I'm going to try and post weight loss progress pics. That seems to be something that my WW boardies do, and it's so inspirational, and I should just swallow my pride and do it. Baby steps. It's all about baby steps.
Gearing up for the weekend. I'm off like a prom dress. Peace out amigos.
I'm sure you noticed I changed things up here a bit. I just felt the need to try something new and I was getting sick of looking at the colors I'd been using.
Actually it started because Alabaster Mom sent me a link to a website called CakeWrecks and I HAD to include it in my 'good links' section. And once I start messing around in there I just keep going to see what else I can monkey with and improve/make worse/annoy my reader(s).
I've included a picture of myself somewhere over there on the right. I was at an event for the adoption center and there were scantily clad women handing out what they called 'caffeinated shots.' Being the innocent that I am, I didn't think they were alcoholic, I just figured they were shots of caffeine. Alas, they were indeed alcoholic, and not too good either, and my drinking days are long over, so it wasn't particularly enjoyable. The least enjoyable was the picture. I look like I just consumed an entire pie. I do NOT like how I turn out on photos, and this one in particular just bugged the bejesus out of me.
But, I figured, I owe it to my reader to post a picture. See the sacrifices I make for blogdom?
This picture is from June I believe, early June or late May, so I've dropped some weight since then. Of course, unless every ounce has been lost only from my face, I probably don't look a whole lot different.
I'm going to try and post weight loss progress pics. That seems to be something that my WW boardies do, and it's so inspirational, and I should just swallow my pride and do it. Baby steps. It's all about baby steps.
Gearing up for the weekend. I'm off like a prom dress. Peace out amigos.
Results
Hola Amigos,
Well, after my week of debauchery, I still posted a loss! .4 lbs. I know, it's not even a 1/2 pound, but frankly, I couldn't be happier, because I was able to contain myself, ramp up my exercise and account for some overeating on my part.
The best part is, there should be no stumbling blocks for me this week. No birthdays. No state fair. I am going out with one of my New York friends who's in town visiting family, but he and I tend to be very active when we're together. I'm not worried about food when I'm with him. Then on Sunday I'll probably be going to breakfast with my usual crowd, but I can plan for that. I figure I can ride out those 2 things in my schedule, and follow the plan faithfully for the week, and hopefully knock one out of the park at the next weigh in.
So, all is well!
I have to say that this WW plan is pretty smart. I'm losing, but I rarely feel deprived. The online tools make it so easy to track what I'm eating. And the whole thing with earning activity points for exercise is nothing short of brilliant. You are actively rewarded for getting out and moving, rather than just having a plan tell you how important exercise is.
The meeting last night was about the history of weight watchers and how the plan used to be compared to how it is today. I came to the conclusion that the part of the plan that works has stayed the same. The group dynamic is probably one of the most important things about the whole plan. And they have been constantly working on the meal plans since they started.
We had some good laughs over that. I guess years ago it was required that you eat liver once a week. And you had to bake it. It makes me gag just thinking about it. Back in the day I would eat liver, but rarely and only when eating out. I'm one of those weird people who likes liver. Though I'd never dream of making it.
It's amazing how things have changed. I can remember the very first program I ever joined, the now defunct Diet Workshop. The first week, the intro to the plan, consisted of 750 calories per day. I remember feeling like I was starving. But I stuck with it and lost 10 lbs in one week. And I thought that was great. And there was so much I couldn't have, and so little I could. I remember eating iceberg lettuce and imitation crab legs and little else. I wouldn't last 5 minutes on a plan like that today.
That's what works with WW. Nothing is off limits. It's built so that you have enough food, but not so much that you won't lose. You have room to indulge yourself because you are given extra points for the week that you can use any way you want. And you earn points by exercising. I've said this before, but it's brilliant.
So, here's to next weigh in!!!
Well, after my week of debauchery, I still posted a loss! .4 lbs. I know, it's not even a 1/2 pound, but frankly, I couldn't be happier, because I was able to contain myself, ramp up my exercise and account for some overeating on my part.
The best part is, there should be no stumbling blocks for me this week. No birthdays. No state fair. I am going out with one of my New York friends who's in town visiting family, but he and I tend to be very active when we're together. I'm not worried about food when I'm with him. Then on Sunday I'll probably be going to breakfast with my usual crowd, but I can plan for that. I figure I can ride out those 2 things in my schedule, and follow the plan faithfully for the week, and hopefully knock one out of the park at the next weigh in.
So, all is well!
I have to say that this WW plan is pretty smart. I'm losing, but I rarely feel deprived. The online tools make it so easy to track what I'm eating. And the whole thing with earning activity points for exercise is nothing short of brilliant. You are actively rewarded for getting out and moving, rather than just having a plan tell you how important exercise is.
The meeting last night was about the history of weight watchers and how the plan used to be compared to how it is today. I came to the conclusion that the part of the plan that works has stayed the same. The group dynamic is probably one of the most important things about the whole plan. And they have been constantly working on the meal plans since they started.
We had some good laughs over that. I guess years ago it was required that you eat liver once a week. And you had to bake it. It makes me gag just thinking about it. Back in the day I would eat liver, but rarely and only when eating out. I'm one of those weird people who likes liver. Though I'd never dream of making it.
It's amazing how things have changed. I can remember the very first program I ever joined, the now defunct Diet Workshop. The first week, the intro to the plan, consisted of 750 calories per day. I remember feeling like I was starving. But I stuck with it and lost 10 lbs in one week. And I thought that was great. And there was so much I couldn't have, and so little I could. I remember eating iceberg lettuce and imitation crab legs and little else. I wouldn't last 5 minutes on a plan like that today.
That's what works with WW. Nothing is off limits. It's built so that you have enough food, but not so much that you won't lose. You have room to indulge yourself because you are given extra points for the week that you can use any way you want. And you earn points by exercising. I've said this before, but it's brilliant.
So, here's to next weigh in!!!
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