2008 in review

Hi everyone. I hope you had a great 2008 and have started planning for 2009.

What was great about 08?

Well, I spent the first part of the year focusing on physical phitness. I learned a lot about what my body is capable of and leared to plan menus. I struggles with this in the next few months, but was still exercising and planning until mid-summer. Since then...not so much. What have I learned? Maintenance is a continuation of skills you have learned, not abandonment of them. My commitment to exercise in the coming months will be to commit to movement every day - unless I am sick and can't move out of bed. Other than that, there is no reason I cannot get on the elliptical or go for a half hour walk daily. Ideally, I would like to participate in a couple of 5Ks and maybe even a triathalon, but we'll see how 'tings go first.
So, even though I fell off the phitness wagon mid-summer, I got through vacation with minimum damage food-wise and continued to maintain my weight throughout the year. Woohoo.
In case some of you missed it, I began training as a WW receptionist last summer. I worked at 2 meetings/week for my training then took Basic Leader Skills training in September. I moved directly into my own meeting on Monday nights as Terry, my mentor, was looking to move on. It's been a great learning experience for me. One lady made lifetime in November and I have 2 more making lifetime next week. What a great way to start the first meeting of 2009!!

What's on the plan for 2009?

I'm recommiting to strength training in January. Apparently, Corinne has a great running/ST routine that would fit with me for the first part of January. I'm commiting to movement every day and strength training twice a week for 3 months, when I'll re-commit.
As for food, I am going back to my excel spreadsheet each week and pulling my grocery list from that. It was the easiest thing I've done yet for journaling - and very effective.
I will attend other meetings for a few months. I have 4 leaders I would like to watch and will be attending 1 meeting per week to watch and learn for the first while. Unfortunately, I have my meeting on Mondays, so I'll be watching after-the-fact. That's OK though. I would also like to take on another meeting, but I'm not sure when just yet. I may post-pone this for a few months.

Financially - I need to clean up a small balance on hubby's MC, but it's been cancelled. I need to consolidate holiday spending on the Visa and Sears card to the LOC. We are not using these anymore. I'm paying monthly on the LOC and would like to cut it in half by the end of summer.

De-clutter - We've done a lot but have alot left to do. I'm giving us 3 months to fast-track any remaining decluttering, such as building supplies, etc. In 3 months I will be hiring a lady to come in and help organize. We'll also be renovating the kitchen this summer.

I will be reviewing my goals over the next couple of days and doing a SWOT analysis on each of them to pull out the top 3 to work on over the first quarter of 2009. I'll try to get a story board up for Q1 09 as well. I haven't updated it since last spring and it's time to do so.

So, not into planning or goal setting? Let's get ready and make 2009 a year for the record books. Many of us have a vague idea about what we want. Honestly, it's not enough. Fail to plan and you plan to fail. If you have a vision you are ahead of the majority of the population. Write it down and BAM! Your chances of reaching your goal have just sky-rocketed. Next, document what you need to do to reach that goal. Think this is the tough part? Really, it is. Because all you need to do after that is follow your action plan. Hmmm, tougher than it sounds, huh. Remember, "Before anything else, preparation is the key to success." - Alexander Graham Bell

What do you want to accomplish in 2009?

Take your time

I was checking out some information on the net and found this thought quite interesting.

- Give yourself time to lose. This isn't a race and time-line goals are often difficult to obtain. I am always amazed at those who are disappointed because the ONLY lost 1 lb this week. Gee, I've been happy at ONLY gaining 1 lb some weeks:)

- Give yourself time to learn. Learn the program, the lifestyle, new habits and such

- Give yourself time to heal. Heal from years of self-abuse to your body and self-esteem.

The longer it takes the better the chances you have of long term success. You may also discover that other areas of your life are improving along with your weight as the lessons learned in WW are transferable to all areas of our lives. Goal setting is such an exciting **new** discovery for me.

Remember, you didn't gain all that weight in weeks or even months, so relax and enjoy the journey. Give yourself time.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ME!!!

YUP. It was May 23rd, 2007 that I realized that my 4 days of trying to cut out sweets and bready products was destined to fail. I sat at work looking down at my ginormous belly and thought about 2 of my friends who had lost weight on Weight Watchers. One worked out at Curves and the other walked up and down the highway and some other exercises. I'd seen both withing the previous month. The scale that I'd purchased the previous weekend scared the crapolla out of me. AND, my body shape came with all sorts of personal insecurities. If you're there or have been there, you know what I'm talking about. If you don't - well, kudos to you or maybe you're missing out on part of the journey we're on. Regardless, that's another post.

SO, here it is 1 year later, 40 lbs lighter, and what have been the highlights:

Octoberbest: Thanks to Kim for hosting this and introducing me to Sparks.
Silver 33's: 33 inch waist Silver brand cords. I couldn't believe they fit. They're getting big now.
Losing over Christmas Holidays: Thanks for my Holiday plan, and those of others I was ready for December.
Inches lost: I did not take my measurements until July when Octoberbest started. I'm am very pleased with my progress since joining Phit-n-Phat as well.
Increased Energy: Keeping up with my kids and actually having to help them along.
Making WW Goal and Making WW Lifetime.

There have been others too numerous to mention that have given me the motivation, encouragement or determination to continue. I'm still working on more goals and still want to lose some more inches. As it's been a year I'm thinking I'll stop updating my graph for now. What I know is I'm back to a body I can like and have brought with me a whole heap of confidence this time around.

Have a great weekend everyone. Believe in yourself and you can accomplish whatever goals you set our there for yourself. Cheers,

The Beast

I really dislike having to weigh my food all the time and keep in check those BLT's. I was reading the mouse today and I can so relate to her reaction to the Armstrong ad. I don't so much care about his use of the F-word either mouse, but the idea that there is a way out of measuring and weighing is really appealing. Guess what though? It's unrealistic.

OK - here we are. I have admitted that I have a food problem. Never thought I did, but my ability to pile on almost 50 lbs over 8 years years or so emphasizes the point - doncha think? If I had known how to eat I would have lost it when it was only 5 or 10 lbs. Instead I felt over-whelmed and sulked my way from a 10 to a 12. Then I later convinced myself that 14 was the new 12. Still later I choked down pride and began to purchase 16s. It felt horrid. Weight Watchers taught me a lot. Blogger friends taught me a lot. Phit-n-phat taught me a lot. With all this knowledge you'd think I COULD just put down the fork.

If you were at my house last night for pork loin, potatoes and asparagus maybe you'd understand that I sometimes can't just put down the fork. Frig it was good.

Accountability, Baby!

Yeah, I gues that's what I got last night at 6pm at the fire hall. And I guess that's what I'm doing now. So much for my Re-commitment promise last week. I'm up another pound. And, I'll be honest here, it had nothing to do with the pants I was wearing. In fact, I was wearing the SAME pants I wore 2 weeks ago and, likely the same top as well. If not the same top the weight difference would be immaterial.

There - I've put it out there. I've talked the talk, but haven't been walking the walk. I've run out of excuses for my lax behaviour. I have not exercised at all, except for some walking, in almost 2 weeks. My elliptical is wondering what it's purpose in life is. My weights get more action being used as a balancing tool by the 9yo than anything else. I'm feeling relaxed, lazy, and unmotivated. On the food side, measuring is fine - sometimes. Journaling gets done on Thursday and part of Friday before taking a nose dive. Luckily I am planning my meals or I'd really be in a tail-spin.

So - for myself I am going to journal my food here. For ALL of blogland to ignore. BUT, this has always been MY back-to-basics - the thing that gets me moving again. My daily points, based on weight and age, etc is 19, plus all the other stuff. I smooth my weekly pts and just go for 24/day while in weight-loss mode. If I put in a kick-ass work-out I'll have and extra 2pts just for kicks and giggles. YES - I eat all my points. The goal: at least 4 kick-ass work-outs this week, 2 for ST.

SO:
6am: Coffee with whole milk and splenda (1)
7:30am: Super smoothie (1C yogurt/milk, some strawberries, 1/4C prepared oatmeal, 1/2 scoop protein powder) (5)
9am: Tim's coffee, 1/2milk, 1/2cream, splenda (1)
11am: Homemade protein bar (3)
1pm: 1C brown rice, 10 shrimp, topped with frozen veggies and drizzled with oyster sauce (less than 1Tbsp) (6)
4pm: 1C baby carrots and 1Tbsp pb (2)
6:45pm: 1.5 C chili made with ground chicken (5)
9:30pm: 1/2C lf soy drink (1)

Activity: Dance/yoga - low impact cardio for 45 mins and some great light stretching for 45 mins.

Measurements

Seems like a good month overall. Kind of mucking around with a lot of quarter inches, which are subjective (did you measure the same spot as last month, pulling the tape slightly harder one time over another, etc.). I am pleased with the fat reduction in my upper body - arms and shoulders. The loose skin, etc in my arms is reducing nicely.

My thighs aren't overly large in my opinion, so I'm not really concerned at this time. I'm also please with the waist reduction, as you can imagine. Below 30 - WOW!
As an NSV, I donated one of my bathing suits from last summer. It was a blue 1-piece and, although it still fit through the body (I could still get away with it because it wasn't stretched out) it was loose and I felt the chest wasn't supportive and the style left much to be desired. My black one, the top still looks good, but it was designed to hide the flab, so I'll likely get rid of it, too. The bottoms? I wore them so much the past 2 years that the arse was stretched out. The elastic in the waist and tummy still work, but there's loose, stretched material in the arse. So, I'll need to pick up a couple of new bathing suites. I'm very pleased that these are 'required' purchases so I don't need to justify them to my new budget. Hubby and kids all need a new suite too so we'll hit Wally-World when the stock comes in. The current selection leaves much to be desired.

I've been lurking and will try to get some comments out in the near future. Oh, and if you haven't been yet - go congratulate Barbie. She's having a baby (or babies) and I've never been happier for anyone to spend 3 months feeling lackluster, tired and yucky - then another 6 months getting big an uncomfortable. Steph - you so deserve this and all of the happiness it brings. While you're at it, pop by and see Amanda and her new baby - ahh, it just seems like yesterday that I popped on and her meeze was preggers. And I can't be talking babies without mentioning Mandy who is now in 2nd trimester. Check out her belly - there's 2 in there. Babies, babies everywhere. I must make sure that no other members of the Barbie Brigade are pregnant.

Have a great weekend everyone.

It's a Lifetime

In the right corner, we have Candace weighing in at 147.2 lbs, 2.8 UNNNNDER GOAL!!! In the left corner, we have a series of supporters, including Weight Watcher leader, workers and members, Blog friends and motivators, and PnP drill sergent, moderators ANNNND members. Finally, ther is family and friend supporters.

Last night I officially made lifetime status. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! Thank you all for helping me along this fat loss journey to build a healthier me.

As you're aware, the journey doesn't end here. Now it's maintenance and continued loss until I feel I am in the right 'place', physically, for me. 150 is arbitrary and designed for a lifetime, but for today I want more. Also, as you will see in the coming weeks, I am expanding my weight loss knowledge into other areas of my life to achieve thinner stress (at work), thinner clutter (at home) and thinner debt. All in all, I believe I have gained enough confidence in myself to take other steps to improve my life. I look forward to sharing my continued Journey to Thin with you.

Six words

Everyone is doing it. Summing up their life/journey in six words. Check around - I've found this on several blogs yesterday and today and thought I'd give it a whirl. There's a book about six word memoirs out there. Some of the excerpts are neat, others quite sad. Amazing what can be said in 6 words.

To be accepted. Family to love.

- Candace

I think most of my life I have converted to what others think I am, rather than being true to myself. My parents saw what they wanted and, even today, Mom tells me what I AM. Fact is, maybe she does know me better than I know myself; however, maybe she doesn't. Maybe who I am is a constant moving target. In my 20's I was in a relationship where I LOST myself. When he finally left the relationship one of my first thoughts was "No wonder he doesn't like me anymore. I don't even like myself." I spent several months re-finding myself and am very fortunate to have met my husband along that journey. He was extremely supportive of giving me the freedom to be me. I strive to give him that same gift. I think my mother is accepting more of me for who I am as time goes on. I remember hearing about a story being relayed to her about me around 8-10 years ago and her response was, "Candace is strange anyway." Obviously, whatever the story was, was something she looked down upon.

But today I have my family. We aren't perfect, but we try to accept each other as we are. To encourage each others strengths and support each others gifts. My 9yo has a great gift of independence, which can be extremely trying at times. However, on the bright side, if nurtured properly she will not be a push-over as she gets older. She has the potential to be a great leader - something I am not gifted with. My 4yo has such a soft heart and is hurt more easily than any of us. Where others would want us to 'toughen her up' I say there is a place for this. Yes, her heart will be broken more easily in the future, but opening up yourself to others and nurturing them can also bring with it great rewards. So, for me, I know my family loves me in SPITE of my many faults. And I love them because of everything they are.

Oh, and a special thanks to Douglas who broke my heart and gave me the beautiful opportunity to be someone that I could love. I'll never forget you.

Why do you want to lose weight?

Oh, I'm not getting all philosophical on you. Roni is.

So, Roni has put this out there and has received a tonne of responses. I decided to post here to share with everyone my response.

Last spring I was worried about my upcoming 'annual' - you know the one - feet in stirrups and a bunch of bloodwork for all the preventable diseases in your family history. Well, I was nervous about this for a couple of reasons. First, I've known my doctor for a while and he's watched as year-after-year I've packed on the pounds. He sat with me as I cried after my Dad passed away and has always been very kind to me and my family. I was embarrassed for him to see me heavier yet again. I was also worried for the first time about test results. Thyroid, diabetes and other health issues could really negatively impact my life. My heart palpitations had started acting up again. A diabetic diagnosis would mean not being able to get life insurance in the future on loans, etc. Yeah, I was nervous. It was triggered by wanting to get HEALTHY.

Then there was the move to get back to the old me. The 140-145lb me. What I discovered was that, the 170lb losing weight me was more healthy than the old 140-145lb me. Now I entered the vanity zone. For the first time in a long time I wanted clothes that showed off my bootie. I wanted bras that 'lifted me higher' (why do I want to sing that?). But, health still plays a huge part.

At 160 lbs I discovered that, although my frame had shrunk, I was still the general shape I was when I was bigger. I could hide this form under some clothes, but the thighs are thicker than they should be and the tummy still rides high. I had been reading Phit-n-Phat and finally accepted that exercise had to be a part of the equation. Again, it's about health. It's about a level of health that I have never known before. It's about more than health, but fitness. It's about being the best 'me' I can be, physically. This has given me renewed motivation and energy. It has allowed me to think about the possibilities for the future.

I look at many of the bloggers I consider my friends and realize that those who are truly successes have embraced exercise, be it running (the Mouse), spinning (Steph), yoga (Swizz), weights (Randi), rock wall climbing (Roni) or just rockin' the cardio. These people don't do just these exercises alone - these are just the ones I know them best for. For me, I love to lift. I also want to jog and will attempt C25K again this spring. Of course I enjoy dancing and I have introduced some yoga this year. I'm not that good at any of this stuff - but I'm getting better every day. I have stopped thinking of walks with the kids as exercise and have come to a place where I have the energy to go and enjoy the walk. This is where I wanted to be.

BUT, there's more. I also want MORE energy. I want it ALL. I want a crazy body that men drool over too. Hope I'm not asking for too much.

Race? What Race?

OK, I originally thought I'd be at goal by December 12th weigh-in. In the summer that seemed to be my target spot. Sweet! Maintain over Christmas and stop paying mid-January. I had it all worked out.

Some things happened along the way.

I could wine about plateaus, my lack of focus during certain time periods, inability to embrase exercise through the summer and fall. Instead we'll chalk it up to learning a new lifestyle. To making changes at a pace I can live with. I never took my eye off the prize - and don't intend to even yet, but I learned something about myself at every stage. Every month I got closer and closer to who I wanted to be. In early October I was 160.4lbs and before Christmas I was still 158. So, in almost 3 months I had only moved 2.4lbs. So much more happened during that time.

I developed a holiday eating plan, I learned that not journaling contributes to BLTs (for me), I learned to change my definition of exercise.

Pre-October defintion: Exer-Cise. Two 4-letter words that should never be said together. Can be replaced by Activity which includes leisurely walks or fun things that require mild exertion.

New definition: X-or-Size. "X" as in X-tra large fries and X-tra large T-shirt "or" "Size" as in the size you want/deserve to be. This involves embrassing the benefits of sore muscles and a bit of sweat. It also involves abdominal moves to get rid of a bulge (described earlier this week)

All of this actually reaped some benefit on the digital devil in the past few weeks and I finally broke the plateau. It wasn't the first plateau I experienced, just the longest. I'm hopeful that, with my new-found knowledge and exercise regime I won't experience another plateau at least until I reach goal, because I'm starting to get tired of paying for meetings...

So, the bottom line. We're not in a race. I'm not going to win any prize for getting to the finish line first. Enjoy the journey - there's more to it than lower numbers on the scale. There's great recipes, great company, and a lot of stuff to learn. And where is the finish line? I am having the distinct impression there isn't one. So, unlike exercise, you oughta take some time and enjoy the journey, with a mild exertion that can be maintained for the long haul.

Challenges Past and Present

More of the ongoing saga aptly named 'Journey to Thin'. Blah, blah inches down from diet alone and I feel great. More energy than I thought I'd ever have again, but why is this beach ball still in my tummy. Somewhere along the lines my tummy decided to move up from the area where it had been housed forever into the 'pregnant-only' zone under my chest. Unfortunately my chest decided to drop at the same time to join the belly in an oh-so-confusing mish-mash of what's what. So, not much I can do about the chest without surgery, so I invested in some good bras - stay up, damn you.

But the belly...

Well, as it has shrunk there has been a wee bit of downward movement. Not as much as I'd like though. So, even though I'm still working on WW goal I feel that my rib cage, waist and abdominal measurements really need a good kick in the butt.

I began strength training in late November and am really enjoying it. The cardio aspect of exercise almost seems like a punishment though. Last night was strength, but I just couldn't bring myself to jog in place or walk the stairs for 20 minutes of cardio afterwards, regardless of benefit - apparently your hemoglobins are spent from ST and this forces the cardio to burn fat instead of muscle.

So, onto the competitions. It seems all of the competitions I join are tied into trying to make exercise a regular part of my life. Why should the latest one be any different.

Octoberbest: a 12-week challenge proposed by Kim in July. This was housed in Sparks and I constantly tried to get in 150 hours per week of activity. I didn't always succeed, but I did enjoy several noon-time walks and began the C25K, but cold weather hit and that was that.

New Years Best: Following Octoberbest, some of the Sparks girls continued the tradition of weekly weigh-ins and support into the new year. I continued to report my weight, but didn't utilize the group as I had done in Octoberbest. Still, Sparks is a great resource and this challenge kept me connected.

Christmas Challenge: Simultaneous with New Years Best I joined a blogging challenge that Carolyn proposed. The Christmas challenge was to keep us all on track during the most challenging eating months of the year. These included Thanksgiving, Halloween and Christmas. She and Randi headed up a blogsphere support system and, with the 2 of them focusing on the gym I really spent a lot of time figuring out what I wanted to do in the arena of exercise. Tese two ladies really motivate me.

PnP: Not a challenge, but an on-line personal trainer. I joined PnP in November and focused on strength training. There was a challenge going on at the time, but being new I focused on my beginner routine and struggled with getting the cardio in. Now, there is a new challenge. Very simply, members pick a program and go to it. Report each week your compliance with food and exercise. So, since I don't want to report a non-compliance I need to do the right things. Oh, and as proof of our compliance, we sent pictures and measurements into Corrine and will re-take more at the end of the challenge. Pictures of front, back and side while dressed in shorts and a sports bra are always an eye opener. I just know I'm not ready to post them here yet. I'm hoping to receive as a reward for this competition a smaller waist, smaller bum, and bigger guns. Check out Dawn from the last challenge. Isn't this awesome! Crazy what 12 weeks will do.

The Pictures

I've got a few. First, Christmas in Nova Scotia:

This was taken on my way to work the other day. The spots are not marks on my camera, but rather falling snow caught by the flash.

Next are the comparative photos of me: The first at around 177lbs just fitting into a 14, and now, around 20 lbs later: The current outfit is my weigh-in outfit, although I missed weigh-in this week.

Finally, some breakfast selections from this week.

I also included some instant coffee in my smoothie. 1/2C each of juice and LF soy drink and cottage cheese, a banana and 1/8C Wheat germ (and 1tsp instant coffee). I had 1C and hubby had around 2/3C. I'm looking to move into tweaking this and adding protein powder, but I haven't boughten any yet. They try to push the soy protein on me at the store, but as you will see, I think I get enough soy. And Corrine says Whey is better for strength training.

The wrap is a fried egg in olive oil with 1/2 small onion, some salsa and 15g LF cheddar + 1/2C LF soy drink

Then the old staple. Throw around 1-1.5C mixed frozen berries in the mic, then add a serving of whole grain cereal and 1C LF soy drink.

Wednesday Wine

Hi ya'll!

Well, I suppose it's that time of the week to reflect on what I've done and not done that may affect the scale tonight. What a crazy week. I've been very busy at work and my sleep got thrown way off Sunday night to around 4-5 hrs only. Anyway, I'm still feeling it today.

Foodwise, my indiscretions on Saturday night I estimated as 15 pts - I have no idea what the actual damage was, but it involved shared handfuls of bits n bites and a couple bowls of potatoe chips - I have to move on and stop thinking about it because my mouth keeps watering. That coupled with 12 pts of beer Friday night and it put a good dent in my FPs. I've also gotten into protein bars this week a bit. A nice filler if you're waiting for dinner - I may substitute these on occassion as I usually have nuts. Same diff point wise, but when taken after work-outs could have added benefits.

Exercise - I've been thinking a lot about this - and finally doing something now. I've joined Phit N Phat and have a weekly work-out schedule. My schedule currently involves 2 strength training days and 3 cardio days. Each session takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. The ST sessions involve 4 supersets (for a superset you do a set each of 3 activities before breaking, such as 10 lunges, 10 this, 10 that, break 30-60 secs, repeat). Good stuff. I'm currently using 8lb weights and am ready to get some 10 lb ones for some of the bicep moves. I'm having a hard time with actually getting in the cardio sessions and owe 1 session before tonight - guess that's a walk at some point today.

So, because I've been working a lot I've eaten frozen dinners steady. Last night I finally ate 'real' food and brought 'real' food for lunch today, too. I've also been drinking water to flush the sodium out. A double-whamy is the retention the ST activities may cause due to muscle re-build holding onto some water. Anyway, I don't think I 'blew' the week, but just imagine what could have happened had I exhibited some restraint on Friday and Saturday evenings. As I've read over on PhitNPhat - it's week-end, not weak-end.

I'm walking into this weekend more focused (I know, it's only Wednesday already - but isn't that when we should be planning). We have my staff party Saturday - it's at Hatfield Farms (sleigh-ride, hot chocolate, Santa, etc) in the afternoon with kids and all. It should be fun and I'll be pocketing a banana or two and a protein bar. I'll have a hot chocolate, but will skip the hot dog or hamburger and fries. J was invited to her 1st birthday party ever for Sunday, so I will likely stay with her. I'm glad it's an at-home weekend and look forward to getting the house ready for Christmas.

WI - Sucks Arse Sometimes

Crap, I've been reading the Mouse's blog too much lately, LOL. However, it is true - weigh-ins sometimes suck arse.

I didn't make WI last night and, instead went today at lunch. The digital devil said I gained 0.2lbs this week. Now, I know you're saying, "That's nothing, blah, blah." But I was really hoping to see some downward movement this week. Let's review: On Oct 3rd my WI was 160.4 - Today - 7 WEEKS later, it is 159. Farrrk! 1.4lbs in 7 freakin' weeks!!!

Discouraged? YES! Frustrated? YES! Pissed? NO!, well, maybe - but mostly at myself for letting the ball drop in October. What the heck happened? Did I get to this size and become complacent for a while? Well - that sucks arse, too.

So, I chatted with the leader and we took a look at things and she says my tracker looks good, even with occassional indulgences. What's different? I'm exercising again, but....ahhh...Light bulb moment...

I used to walk every lunch break for 20-30 mins. I go to my class for 90 mins on Thursday evenings now, but gave up my daily walks. I suspect that just 'moving' daily has benefits other than the time spent moving. So, I need to find something that I enjoy and continue my focus on DAILY exercise. I've talked about joining the gym, so we'll see what happens next week.

Also, there could be a component of 'what I've been doing has taken me this far - now I need to step it up'.

Meanwhile, I am going to strive for a minimum of 10 APs this week - to be obtained over 6 days. That means, walking the dog for 30 mins (1AP), etc. I will NOT count my cleaning. Let's see if this helps. I am also thinking to add some strength training in a couple of times a week. I know this will affect weight via retained water, so I will be posting my measurements as well once I take them at home. I am also going to review the Goal component of all of this and come up with some quantifiable numbers, like 10 APs this week, and limit FPs to 25, and some not so quantifiable, like write before you bite (do you really think I would have eaten 2 bags of popcorn had I known they were 5pts each - that's CRAZY).

8 Healthy Guidelines

Zazu did an self-evaluation the other day of how she is dealing with Weight Watchers 8 Healthy Guidelines. I think this is a great idea and, at the risk of displaying all of my faults, decided to give it a whirl.

• 5 Servings of Veggies and Fruits per day - I usually have 1 serving in the morning and add veggies to meals all of the time. This has never been a big issue. I don't count many veggies except peas and stuff I know has pts. If I don't know, it's free.
• Choose whole-grain foods - We've always eaten whole wheat bread and I've switched to brown rice and whole-grain cereals. I've also boughten and eaten some whole-wheat pasta, but am just starting in on pasta-season, so will get more into this in the coming weeks. Generally I've jumped on this wagon.
• 2 servings of milk products per day - I don't care much for milk so I substitute LF soy drink and yogurt. I try to have 1C in the morning, I put whole milk in my coffee, and I try to remember to have 1C for supper unless I've had cheese during the day. Usually I get it in, but it's always an effort.
• Healthy Oil - I have actually taken to using oil-based salad dressings as my sauce in lunches. Paul Newman has some great suggestions. This is the one area I don't worry about points - I count them, but will choose high-fat options if I like the taste. It's something that's worth spending 2 pts/day on to me.
• Adequate protein. I usually get enough. This was a new thing to me because I was always so cheap at the grocery. Knowing I need protein and evaluating the cost in pts vs money has really modified some priorities.
• Limit added sugar and alcohol. Sometimes I still struggle with the sugar. I have switched to sweetner and try to satisfy a sweet craving with something like frozen pineapples or strawberries mic'd for a bit with a packet of splenda. I love baked goods, whip cream and chocolate. I try - let's leave it at that. With alcohol, I really don't drink a lot. 4 glasses of wine or beers per week tends to be my limit - not because of the points. Quite often one bottle of beer on Friday night is all I really want. I will very rarely have 3 drinks in 1 day. I just like knowing that I can, if I want to spend 3 pts on it and slow down my progress a bit.
• Drink 6 glasses of water per day. Sometimes I don't have a problem with this and sometimes I do. If I have my bottle, no problem. Lately I've been slacking and would like to get this back up to 8Cs per day
• Multi-vitamin daily. Very rarely, even though I keep a little bottle of Centrum in my desk. But now that I'm typing this I think I'll go downstairs, get a cup of water and take a multi-vitamin.

Holiday Planning

DC&Z is trying to develop a plan for holiday eating. Wow, what an under-taking. I have gone over and over how I am going to keep from gaining that 11 lbs (I actually had 10 in mind, but Becky said Americans average 11 - I'm thinking the other 1 is from Thanksgiving and I've already battled that beast in October).

I love focusing on the main meals (for Americans Thanksgiving, but I only have Christmas and New Years), but that's not what puts 11 lbs on, and I for one am dreading all the other days in between. It's the sweets, chocolates, gathering of all sorts, that get to you. Last year we had at least 1 box of chocolates or truffles in the lunch room at all times for weeks - and I ate more than my fair share of them. When did fruit baskets go out of vogue? When I was young I used to diet before December - I mean, my own version of eating next to nothing - so I could lose at least 5 lbs and enjoy the actual 2 weeks of festivities. I wasn't overweight, but I knew that holidays meant Mom's sweets, big meals, and generally non-stop eating. Any extra weight I gained would be lost in Jan/Feb as I spent a lot of time on the ski hills back then. Well, I haven't skiid in years and have discovered that starvation for a few weeks is not really the healthy way of life that I want to live.

Hmmm, neither is 11 lbs of bonbons and gravy. So, how do we resist these pesky temptations.

• Gatherings - Get a small plate and choose healthy options (i.e. 1 sandwich wedge, some veggies and fruit, limit of 1 small sweet). Why the sweet - because I'm not on a diet. You heard me - I'm a weight watcher but not on a diet. This is my life and we all need a sweet now and then or one of these parties we're gonna stuff sweets down our throat until we're sick of them - at least I would. Deprivation is not pretty. The "I didn't eat a sweet so I'm better than you" attitude is bunk. I drink alcohol too. YUM
• Dinners - I load up on veggies before they're mashed, made cranberry sauce with splenda and used it on my 3-4 oz of turkey breast. Who eats desert right after the meal, so when it's time, again limit to 1 small piece of whatever looks the best - if you can come up with a low point option, go for it. Just add 'healthy' in your google search.
• Fast food during busy days decorating and shopping - This I've got. Subway SW Chicken Terriayake with extra sauce (8pts), McDonalds grilled chicken salad (7pts), Tim Horton's broth soup, Chinese with steamed rice vs. fried, do your research. You may be able to make these for a few less points at home, but it's better than a 30 pt option elsewhere.
• Quick meals at home - Stock up on some easy supplies, like pre-cooked chicken breasts, or low fat meatballs for quick meals. Take an hour and make some frozen dinners that can be easily grabbed - I use the dinners in the frozen food section as guidelines (rice, shrimp, veggies and sauce) or (pasta, cooked chicken breast, veggies and pasta sauce). The choices are endless, but I do tend to use frozen, pre-cooked meat - but you can also throw in a few casserole dishes with various cuts while the rice is cooking. Pork, Steak, Chicken. For pasta don't cook until done as it will continue to finish cooking when being mic'd. Measure, put in container, and freeze. I love the 2C ziploc containers and usually make 6pt meals.
• Sweets at home - don't buy them. You don't need them and neither does your family. If you do any baking, I have found segregating it for the kids tends to keep me from eating it. I guess this is conditioning since we've always boughten separate foods for Ci's allergies and didn't want to eat them all up on her. However, the better option is to do the baking and let the kids take it to school/daycare/outside activities for a treat. My husband can also consume a fair bit without gaining weight, so I warn him to eat it by such and such a date or it's going in the compost.
• Sweets at work - specifically chocolates or truffles, as that's my downfall. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. I'm thinking that, when they start arriving I'll allow myself a coffee treat 2-3 times/week. At 3pts each I may think twice about taking them. Maybe I'll pin the cover of a magazine on the wall by the table, the ones with bodies like I've never seen in real life - SWITCH, do you want that body or SWITCH, that chocolate. Frig, that may work at home, too.
• Exercise - Hubby asked what I wanted for Christmas and I said a gym membership. Not what he had in mind, but I'm serious. I'm also thinking - why wait until New Years? I'm going to join the first of December and make a point to go 2-3 times per week for at least an hour. I'd like to get started on my legs and do a few sessions of cardio a week. But make a point of exercising throughout the holidays.

Good luck with whatever your plans are. Let me know if you post a plan so I can check it out.

Vanity and Chocolate

Vanity sizing to be more specific. How does it feel to be wearing a size 10? Hmmm, good, but…Clothes sizing means very little anymore. Last night I tried on a size 12 slacks and they fit. I’m still wearing some 14s. And get this – I’m also wearing size 10. It’s the 10s I take issue with – sort of. They are actually my favourite pants. Maybe because they are ‘new’ styles and look cool. But a 10? I have a pair of 11 jeans at home that I used to wear when Ci was a baby. These were snug, and yes, I can button them. But, can you say major re-distribution of wealth. I swear my muffin sticks out a full 3-4inches and I feel like something is going to rupture (this is NOT an exaggeration). What I do know is that these 11’s are from 8-9 years ago – back when an 11 was an 11, not something else. So, I know I cannot possibly be a size 10 now.

So, like I said, I tried on some size 12 slacks and 2 size 10 skirts. I didn’t buy the slacks – the purpose of trying them on was to confirm that I am a comfortable size 12 because slacks tend to still have proper sizing. One of the skirts I couldn’t get done up, but at least it came up to the point I could try (Yay). The other fit like a glove. I’m also wearing other size 10 hand-me-on pants thanks to Heidi.

I guess what all of this really means is that maybe I should get rid of all of those size 14s. And, sizing really doesn’t mean as much as it once did. But we keep on trecking, which brings me to Chocolate…

How did you do this week? I ate a small fraction of what I ate last year, but did give in to maybe a dozen or so chocolates (give or, well, not give a dozen), a few suckers and hard candies, and a couple of bags of chippies. The chips were when I was at mil’s on the weekend and they were the store brand plain kind. I haven’t had chips in a while and it was nice to indulge with small quantity. So, way more crap than should be consumed by a weight watcher in 1 week, but way, way less than I would have consumed otherwise. I really deserve a gain this week and I really need to get back on track with journaling. This weeks journal remains empty – sad, huh. So, if the 150’s were short-lived I have no one to blame but myself. On the plus side, even the 9yo admitted to feeling sluggish a couple of days ago and has scaled back her consumption all on her own – I’m proud of her. I’m thinking it’s time to confiscate all candy, review the contents and store chips in the basement (hubby said he’d start taking some to work), candy in a high cupboard to be dolled out an item or two per night until the Christmas advent calendar hits the house and we toss the left-overs. I’m seriously thinking about the Polly Pocket advent calendar this year for the LO (a piece of clothing per day), but not sure what to do for my big girl just yet.

I Got a Secret

No Where to Run asked what some of my secrets to weight loss were. Heck, like most of us who have had some success with this - I just don't know. I also feel silly posting any advice I may have when faced with the amazing women in my blog community - Steph the big loser, Swizz the scientist, Randi the iron-woman, and everyone else who I turn to daily for motivation. Regardless, I've decided tonight to play 'Randi' and pretend I'm a know-it-all, LOL. Anyone reading this ought to keep in mind that my loss is quite slow, averaging just over 1lb/week since I started this in May.

The beginning: It was recognizing a disgust I had with my body. Staring at my stomach and thinking "I hate this." I go back to this image whenever I feel myself becoming too complacent. Several things lead me to the end of the beginning.

What is the end of the beginning? For me it was walking into a Weight Watchers meeting, but any program will do, even your own. I didn't know about food - I was a thin kid who ate like a man - correction, a working man. Until I was 29 this worked quite nicely for me, but then it stopped - my metabolism suddenly slowed down. WW taught me things about food that I had no idea about. And for the first time in my life I became aware of what I was eating.

In the months since this journey began I have 'trained' my family to be supportive. At first my children were especially upset because they like the built-in pillow. Supportive doesn't mean that they will eat everything I eat - yet - but it does mean that they're more sensitive, they don't try to de-rail my efforts ('Let's eat out tonight - you've been working so hard' is NOT supportive). For everyone this support is different. For me, it is having my 4yo be the first to ask me how my meeting was, my 9yo to smile at my successes and give me a hug, and my husband to try to make point-friendly meals and ask when I can work in a meal out.

Then I discovered blogland. I found Roni who lead me to: Colette who makes me laugh and Steph who makes me laugh and cry at the same time and Becky who is a sweety through and through and Swizz with her crazy graphs and crazier heels. I started my blog - and this community gives me support and information that I wouldn't have had otherwise. I have expanded my blog weight-loss support group, revising my daily reads as I 'meet' new people and discover that others have stopped posting (runnergirl, melody, gone).

Through a blog-friend I discovered Sparks and found a lot of exercise tips there. At around the same time I 'met' Randi who expanded my horizons regarding strenght-training. I still struggle with the exercise thing, but trying and trying again - that's the biggest thing there.

Weight-loss, they say is made up of calories in and calories out, but it is so much more. It is food, it is exercise, and sometimes it's weighing-in after a pee, lol. But it's also your support system. Only you can decide who you will turn to for support. You need support in real life and, for me, in cyber-space.

The only other thing I can say is definately required is attitude. Each person can look at an event and take different steps: you weigh-in today and gain 3.2lbs (uh, yeah, let's not do that again). Do you: a) get depressed, say you blew it, and eat like crazy for a couple of days, b) re-focus, evaluate and move forward, while staying on-plan. This attitude, this perception, is going to be your success.

Other tips:

• Take measurements so you have another tool to measure success other than the demon scale. These should be taken every 1-2 months, or when you hit a plateau
• Attempt activity - do what you are comfortable with. Every little bit helps
• Journal your food (it's amazing what we 'forget' we ate)
• Pack lunches often - make your own frozen dinners
• Eat whole foods whenever possible, including whole grains such as brown rice and fresh fruit vs. dried. They are more filling
• Drink lots of water
• Share successes so others can celebrate with you
• Share challenges so others can offer their support to you
• Stock up on frozen fruits & veggies, and keep fresh stock at reasonable quantities to avoid feeding the composter
• Some protein, such as cheese and crackers or almonds while you're waiting for dinner will keep you full longer and you only need a bit
• I also try to get a dairy and a fruit in every morning at breakfast to get these servings under my belt, so to speak. It gives a great start to the day
• Remember, this is not a diet. It is your life and there's no rush. Take time to develope good habits and love yourself.

PS - I lost 1lb this week and decided to stick withthe cords as my weigh-in clothes. I also bought the 9-week holiday super-saver plan, so I'm good until Christmas.

Holding my Head High

I am trying to hold my head high as I report a gain of 3.2

It is a gain, definately. The scale said 163.6 - or did it? OK, this is where I try to justify the gain. Why? Because I can't accept that a few beer, a couple glasses of wine and 5 VERY small chocolates did this.

I had a debacle at a lawyers office last night and was 'required' to sign new mortgage documents ASAP. NOT - the documents were nothing like what I had discussed with the banker - variable vs fixed, term, interest rate - they were ALL different. What a waste of time. I'll be back there again on Saturday to, hopefully, sign the right documents.

Anyway, this meant I couldn't go home and put on my weigh-in outfit - I was running late for meeting as was. Usually not a biggie, but yesterday I was wearing cords and a belt with a buckle! So, shocker, they weigh significantly more than my cotton slacks.

Also (TMI) I was quite bloated. See, when I go home I usually also hit the washroom. But this was more than that. Something wasn't sitting right. Also, likely related to this, I had processed soup for lunch both Tuesday and Wednesday, which usually means sodium. My MO is to avoid excess sodium after Monday evening.

So, I suspect I DID gain this week, but that a good portion of this gain will be gone by tomorrow morning.

I've also been reflecting a bit after reading Carolyn and Randi's blog and realize that I haven't been celebrating the non-food aspects of this journey. I am going to build some personal challenges surrounding exercise as I know I've been slacking - I didn't have a lot of time available in September, but that's a relatively lame excuse. I'm going to be busy in November, too, but that doesn't mean I can't fit in 2.5 hours/week. I think I'll always struggle with this aspect, so it will be my focus in the coming weeks (again).

Also, thanks to my co-worker Heidi. She brought in 2 more pairs of pants. A pair of black slacks I could do up, but some major muffin toppage and tight buttage happening. I also have a pair of black slacks that fit like this last spring that I'm thinking of sizing the larger ones, but will take some pictures first. So, in line with other Christmas challengers, I have found my Christmas challenge pants that I hope will be suitable for wear by Christmas. The nice thing about this part is that it's not a scale item that we're comparing to, and it's not all food that will get me where I want to be. It's crunches, glute moves, walking, etc.

I really do feel rejuvinated today. It's the start of another week. My food journal is a clean slate and I'm excited to fill it up with great choices and activity points.