I Saw It

Well, I finally saw it yesterday evening. I had just stepped out of the shower and there is was, staring at me in the mirror. It as a little bit of change. I'm not talking about a couple of nickels, but a tad bit of a transformation in my reflection.

I think anyone who has lost weight or struggled with their weight has always kept a particular picture of themselves in their minds no matter what the scale says. For me, at least in my warped thinking, I still weigh about 180 pounds. But I'm working on that, on seeing myself differently.

I remember recently seeing a girl walking across a parking lot in jeans that were way too tight and a t-shirt that was way too small. You've seen her, too, with her middle section hanging over the top of her jeans and fabric so tight across her tummy that you can make out her bellybutton... I told Cole that that is what I look like in my mind. He called me "f***ing crazy" and shook his head, which I took as a loving compliment. He's so sweet.

But looking at myself in the mirror yesterday evening, trying not to focus on the army of wrinkles beginning to invade the country known as my face, I could see a slimmer image. Not of my body, I'm not ready to look that closely yet, but around my face and neck. My neck is a bit slimmer. My jawline too. And losing a little bit of fluff around my face makes my eyes look bigger. What a motivator that is to keep going...

Ten more pounds, prepare to have your butt kicked!!!

How my day added up...

Breakfast: whole wheat pita pocket with eggs and salsa: 5 points

Lunch: hot dog: 5 points
fresh strawberries: 1 point (that yummy photo above is actually from our lunch)

Afternoon snack: graham crackers and peanut butter: 6 points

Dinner: grilled chicken: 5 points
steamed green beans: 1 point

TOTAL: 23 points. I'll take it.

About a Goal

(Editor's note: Those are not my feet.)

I've been thinking about it for days now, almost obsessing, Google-ing and wondering what to do. I need to set a goal. Something to aim for, something to maintain. Something to live with for many years to come. And it seems like not two things I read about my "ideal" weight say the same thing. My ideal weight apparently is anywhere from 111-155 pounds. My bones alone weigh more than 111 pounds!!!

I'm leaning toward setting 140 as my goal weight. But then I have flashbacks to being at 140 a few years ago and passing out, face first, on a concrete ramp in front of tens of thousands of Dallas Cowboys' fans. But I don't think that had anything to do with my weight. That had more to do with the fact that it had been almost five hours since I had eaten anything. I've learned many lessons since then. One of which is: I do soooo much better throughout the day if I plan and eat snacks in between my meals. I'm not talking about chocolate cake and French fries in between lunch and dinner. I'm talking about a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts, just to keep my metabolism and blood sugar levels up and running.

Many people might say that 140 is still a little heavy for only being 5'6". But I think that will be a good fighting weight for me. (I'm not a little thing. I did get my Daddy's linebacker shoulders afterall.) And all of the BMI, Weight Watchers, doctors, information I've ever read or talked to about it would put me in the "healthy" category for my height and age at that weight.

How do you decide???

Breakfast: yogurt: 2 points
granola bar: 2 points

Mid-morning snack: clementines: 1 point

Lunch: turkey pita: 4 points
pretzels: 2 points

Afternoon snack: WW lemon cake: 1 point
saltines: 1 point

Dinner: chicken salad sandwich: 7 points
fruit cup: 1 point

TOTAL: 21 points. Excellent.

Searching for Zero and Peaches Aren't So Bad

I weighed in Saturday morning. After stepping on our scale before leaving the house, I expected to be about 1.6 pounds down. But according to the official WW scale, I was only .6 down. That's fine. It's still a loss. For a total of 10.6 pounds gone. Whoo hoo!!!

I really hope I can lose 1.6 in the week ahead. That will get me to my little mini-goal of hitting a weight that ends in zero. Then it will be time to set a goal. A real goal. A goal to hit and maintain. I have such mental block about doing that for some reason...

Oh, Little Miss Portable DVD Austin was at the meeting again, listening to her cartoons so loud that I could hear them two rows in front of her. Why does that make me so nuts???

My day in numbers...

Side note: I didn't think I liked peaches. When I think of peaches I think of the artificial aroma coming from "peaches and cream" candles and the such. But tonight I ventured out. Cole and I picked up some fresh Fredericksburg peaches yesterday at Whole Foods. I grilled them tonight as part of our dinner and they turned out pretty darn good.

Breakfast: muffin: 4 points

Mid-morning snack: banana: 2 points

Lunch: turkey pita: 4 points
pretzels: 2 points

Afternoon snack: WW chocolate bar: 1 point

Dinner: filet: 5 points
grilled peaches: 1 point
glass o' wine: 3 points

TOTAL: 22 points.

Dinner at Home, A Novel Idea

I cooked this evening. We've eaten out the last three evenings in a row, so now that I can finally stand in one place for more than five minutes without wanting to cry from the pain, I thought I'd actually make dinner for my sweet husband.

I didn't do anything too intense or difficult. Heck, the coconut chicken came breaded and ready for the oven (thank you, HEB). But I did grill the pineapple myself. Simple as this...

I mixed 1/4 cup of honey and about a teaspoon of cinnamon while the George Foreman grill was heating up to 300 degrees. I sliced a fresh pineapple in rings about 1/2 an inch thick and laid them on the grill. Then drizzled the slices with the honey mixture and grilled the pineapple for about six minutes. (The little recipe book that came with "the George" said three minutes, but that just wasn't enough.)

Now if we had only whipped up some Piña Coladas to go with our dinner, we could have pretended we were on a beach somewhere!!!

My day in points...

Breakfast: yogurt: 2 points
granola bites: 2 points

Mid-morning snack: apple parfait: 2 points

Lunch: pasta and chicken: 6 points
saltine crackers: 1 point

Mid-afternoon snack: WW chocolate bar: 1 point

Dinner: coconut chicken: 5 points
grilled pineapple: 2 points

TOTAL: 21 points

Oh, My Aching Back

Darn cats...

I threw my back out Saturday evening cleaning out their litter boxes. Well, it's not their fault really. Cole has heard me say this a dozen times now, but it was like one of those things out of a bad sitcom: Someone is bending over to drop trash in the trash can, and as they go to stand back in the upright position, they stick about halfway up. That's what happened to me. I just got stuck trying to stand back up.

My doctor was able to squeeze me in Monday morning, and immediately pointed to a spasm my back was having when she lifted my shirt just a bit. So a prescription of flexeril and a lecture about slowing down as we age (ouch!), and I was on my way.

Monday I ran around with an ice pack, and yesterday and today I've been cuddling with a heating pad. It's getting a bit better, but I can tell this is going to be a slow process.

Old... whatever!

How today added up...

Breakfast: yogurt: 2 points
granola bites: 2 points

Mid-morning snack: WW cinnamon swirl bar: 2 points

Lunch: club wrap: 7 points
Afternoon snack: WW chocolate bar: 1 point

Dinner: Which Wich? Chicken Cordon Bleu: 7 points
house chips: 3 points

TOTAL: 24 points

On the Dot

I weighed this morning. And yes, I hit that 10-pound mark of icky fatty pounds gone. (Confetti falls and band plays.) One even pound lost this week, for 10 pounds -- on the nose -- gone since April.

Yes, that is a slow rate of loss. As much as I'd like 15 more pounds to be gone by, say, Monday, I know that losing it slowly and creating good habits along the way is the right route to take.

My next little mini goal is 2.2 pounds. That will take me to a weight that ends in a nice round zero. Maybe when I get there, I'll tell you what it is...

I Love the Smell of Scales in the Morning

I can't really remember when I become a Saturday-morning weigher instead of a Thursday-evening weigher, but it hasn't been too long at all. I like going to the Saturday meeting. The leader is a little more enthusiast than any normal human should be at 9 a.m., but she really knows her stuff and is very encouraging and helpful.

I feel positive that come tomorrow I will have lost the one pound that will take me to a total of 10 lost. I've counted points this week, drank plenty of water and walked several miles with several dogs. I'll keep you posted...

How my day looked...

Breakfast: SB cereal bar: 3 points
yogurt smoothie: 1 point

Lunch: quesadilla: 8 points
WW chocolate/caramel bar: 1 point

Afternoon snack: mixed nuts: 3 points
sugar wafers: 3 points

Dinner: pork chops, apple and parmesan cheese: 6 points

TOTAL: 25 points. Not the best day of the week. I should have had just one afternoon snack instead of two... HA!!!

No Movement on the Scale

The scale at home hasn't moved at all this week. I know I shouldn't obsess and weigh every single morning, but I so want to hit that magic two-digit mark when I step on the official scale Saturday morning. I have about 38 hours. Wish me luck!!!

How my day added up...

Breakfast: WW cinnamon bar: 2 points
yogurt smoothie: 1 point

Mid-morning snack: banana: 2 points

Lunch: chicken breast: 5 points
broccoli: 1 point

Afternoon snack: graham crackers: 3 points
peanut butter: 3 points

Dinner: fajita lettuce wraps: 6 points

TOTAL: 23 points

An "Alli" to Your Weight-Loss Efforts???

How many times have we heard it: There is no magic bullet when it comes to weight loss. We've tried to find it for many years. But the truth is, it's all about eating less (and better) and exercising more. That's why I'm a little nervous about this new Alli.

The blue pill will be sold over the counter starting today in some parts of the country, and all over by Friday. Yes, trials indicate that it will help with your weight-loss efforts (by about 25 percent). But when the literature suggests that you take an extra pair of pants to work because the potential of anal leakage is so great, I think I'll pass. An article I read earlier even mentions staying home when you start Alli because of uncontrollable gas, loose stools and oily discharge.

Gross!!!

So, again, broken-record style... I'll watch my portions, walk the dogs more, make healthier choices, and take it slow and steady.

My Which Wich? Review

Remember ages ago when I said I had given up Subway for a great sandwich place called Which Wich? ??

Well, there is a kindred wich spirit in Nashville who has decided to tackle the whole menu. That will mean a total of 51 wiches under his belt by the time he finishes. Chris has eaten (and for the most part really enjoyed) the first 10 on the menu, and he's enlisting other wich fans to join him. So I did...

Read my full review of the Tomato and Avocado wich on Chris' blog. It was yummy!!!

I wonder if he'll let me do another one...

This is the Week

I really want to hit 10 pounds this week. I know I said that three weeks ago. But I have a renewed sense of determination for some reason. Maybe it's that I put on a bathing suit yesterday. Maybe it's just that I know I haven't been doing as well as I could have been. Maybe it's the new jeans that I'd like to wear AND breathe in...

My tally for today...

Breakfast: WW cinnamon swirl bar: 2 points
yogurt smoothie: 1 point

Mid-morning snack: banana: 2 points

Lunch: SB wraps: 4 points
veggie chips: 2 points

Afternoon snack: pretzels: 2 points

Dinner: nuggets: 3 points
fries: 6 points

TOTAL: 22 points.

Saturday at Weight Watchers

As I mentally prepared to weigh this morning, I knew there wouldn't be a loss. I've been very lax about things the last two weeks, but I knew it was time to get serious and focus again. So for good measure, I removed my hat and said a quick prayer...

Not surprisingly, I was up... but only .2 pounds. I was expecting to be up well over a pound. So I'm very pleased considering how bad it could have been.

And I really think that Weight Watchers should have a "no kids allowed" meeting time at least once a week. I don't mind kids. I even like a couple that I know. But there was one little girl there this morning with her mom that I actually feel sorry for. Instead of spending the 30 minutes being creative and coloring quietly (the way Gran used to get us through "big church"), her mom strapped earphones to her head and popped in a DVD in her portable DVD player. She's four!!! (That's a guess.) It made me think that her DVD player's bag is probably as important to leaving the house as the mom's purse. I wonder if she props that DVD player up on the handles of the shopping cart for that little girl while they're in HEB...

Doesn't she need to learn to just sit quietly and daydream?!?! Doesn't she need to be creative and color out of the lines with a "portable" coloring book?!?!

We don't have kids. I hope that one day we will. But I also hope that I have the patience to just talk to them on the drive between here and a grandmother's house without distracting them with a DVD. I want to ask them questions about the fun colors in the produce section without having their heads down in a Game Boy. I want them to be able to lie in the grass in the backyard and see elephants and grasshoppers in the clouds without having a television blasting on the backporch.

Just let me say, if I'm ever driving on a cross-county trip with a couple of toddlers in the backseat, I'll probably be happy to let them watch a DVD or two to help pass the time. But we won't have one just to go to Target...

Five Things

The folks over at ChatterBlogging have been highlighting their five favorites things of the moment. They've had many good ones, from cleaning products to cosmetics. And it's made me start thinking of my five favorite things... to eat and drink while I'm trying to lose a few pounds:

1. The new Squeeze fruit water from Tropicana. At only 35 calories for the whole bottle, it beats the heck out of plain ol' water, which really just bores me sometimes. The taste isn't artificial at all and it's very subtle. Hard to find 'round these parts though. Weight Watchers points: 1 per bottle.
   
2. Blue Bunny Health Smart fudge bars. These yummy little bars are fat-free with no sugar added and have five grams of fiber per bar. That, along with the fact they only have 50 calories (60 for the vanilla swirl), gives them a Weight Watcher point total of zero. Zero. Now, that doesn't meet eat eight in a day, but it does mean that I don't have to worry about points when I need a cool, sweet snack.
3. Fresca. Since giving up Diet Dr Pepper, I still crave that mid-day carbonated drink, so the original citrus flavor is my daily drink with lunch. I hope to one day get to the point where I don't crave a "soda" of any kinda, but at least I don't feel bad (or vomit) after drinking these.
   
4. The Food Network. While I don't technically eat or drink it, I definitely consume it. For some reason, I get very satisfied just watching the colorful sauces and soft cookies. It's like a visual of the yummy food is almost (sometimes) as good as actually getting to taste it.
5. And it may gross some people out, but I'm really digging the Talk of Texas pickled okra. For some reason it reminds me of Saturday afternoon at Gran's house. At five calories for two pieces, it's the perfect crunchy and cool, zero-point treat on a hot afternoon. I even eat them as a side alternative to chips with sandwiches at lunchtime. I've been eating the mild version, but I may get brave soon and try the "hot."
   

Breakfast: NutriGrain bar: 3 points
yogurt smoothie: 1 point

Mid-morning snack: banana 1 point

Lunch: small burger: 7 points
pretzels: 1 point

Afternoon snack: granola bites: 2 points

Dinner: Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets: 6 points

TOTAL: 21 points

Late With Hitting the Scale

I haven't weighed in over a week. I mean, I weigh here at the house and keep an eye on what's going on, but I haven't stepped on the Weight Watchers scale to get the official count. I'm hoping to do that Thursday morning.

And I need to determine what my ultimate goal will be, but until then, I'm taking a page from Southern Fried Fatty's book. Mini-goals of five pounds each. My first one: 3.2 pounds until I hit a weight that ends in a zero. Then I'll do a couple of mini five-pound goals and see how that goes.

Breakfast: yogurt smoothie: 1 point
Quaker breakfast cookie: 3 points

Mid-morning snack: oatmeal raisin bar: 1 point

Lunch: sandwich: 6 points
pretzels: 2 points

Afternoon snack: banana: 2 points

Dinner: baked potato with salsa and Butter Buds: 4 points
grilled chicken: 4 points

TOTAL: 23 points. I'll take it!!!