Weigh-In Thursday: Week 14

Slowly and surely wins the race. Every pound counts! I have been getting super excited about losing this weight. I have been monitoring and tracking everything that I have been eating and drinking. Tracking has become almost second nature to me now. It is just something that I do and everyone in my life has been a huge supporter. Even if it means I can't eat everything I would sometimes like to and my boyfriend has more patience and helps me pick out something "healthier" to eat when we do go out. Even if it takes me way to much time to get through the menu and decide what to eat. That has been amazing and I love having someone who supports my efforts 100% like he does.

Here I am.
Looking onward to my 30 pound lost goal that is a mere 1.8 pounds away. I can so do this! I also had to go buy some clothes today and everything I bought was a 2X. Even the Shirt!!! I don't remember the
last time I fit into a ladies 2X shirt. And yes I say ladies sized 2X because the sizing is different between ladies and men's 2X and a men's 2X is larger. Maybe that means I can fit into a men's XL. There was even some give to it because is was not tight as can be. This is a huge non-scale victory for me! The only downside is that I cannot see a difference and that is disheartening. If I can fit into smaller clothes comfortably and the people around me say they can see a difference. Why can't I? So frustrating. This quote was an inspiration! I guess this means that it is time to take some more pictures so that I can see the difference. I plan on doing that sometime this weekend. I also plan on taking my measurements every week from now on in order for me to better document my journey.

Have you been thinking of joining Weight Watchers and losing with me? Now is the perfect time to Join Weight Watchers with Me. This link will give you a free gift of the Weight Watchers Magazine if you subscribe by 9/5/2015.

Lets not forget:
Starting Weight: 306.4
Current Weight: 278.2
Current Week: -1.4

Total Loss: 28.2

Weigh-In Thursday: Week 13

Good-bye 280s! I don't ever want to see you again!

I achieved my mini-goal! I lost 2.8 pounds this week! My goal was to lose only 1 pound in order to hit my 25 pounds and I crushed that! Pedicure here I come! I plan on scheduling an appointment for this week or next. My next mini-goal is quite close 30 pounds lost. I am currently only 3.2 pounds away and I hope to reach that in 2 weeks at my week 15 weigh in. I can do it if I put my mind into it!

I had another revelation this week. I have been letting my weight hold me back. This came up when I went swimming with my boyfriend over the weekend at an outdoor pool by my house. He went off the 5m platform and I sat and watched. As I sat there I thought about how fun that it looked, until I looked around and realized that there was no ladder to get out of the pool with in this area. This meant that I could not do it because I would not be able to get out of the pool. As I sat there reflecting I thought, dang it, I am just going to do it and worry about getting out later. I climbed the stairs to the platform and it looked so much higher from the top of the platform. I almost chickened out because of the height. Nah, I am already here. Let's do this. I jumped and I am so glad that I did. I also managed to pull myself out of the pool on the third try. It probably was not pretty to watch but who cares. I freaking did it!

I will not be letting my weight hold me back anymore. That is no way to live. On another note I bought a dress in a size 2X and it totally fits! That is one size smaller than the dress I bought a few months ago! I am so looking forward to smaller clothes in the future!

Have you been thinking of joining Weight Watchers and losing with me? Now is the perfect time to Join Weight Watchers with Me. This link will give you a free gift of the Weight Watchers Magazine if you subscribe by 9/5/2015.

Lets not forget:
Starting Weight: 306.4
Current Weight: 279.6
Current Week: -2.8
Total Loss: 26.8

Weigh-In Thursday: Week 12

So close, yet so far. To my next mini-goal that is; 25 pounds lost. I am hoping to hit that goal at next week's weigh-in. Here is to being optimistic and working toward that goal. I am almost more excited to partake in the non-food reward than I am to lose a total of 25 pounds. :) My feet really need that pedicure, like yesterday. That is the downfall of summer, I love flip flops but my feet get all dry and scratchy. Love being a girl. The things we go through in the name of beauty, and my hatred of wearing socks when I don't have to. I really love the freedom of flip flops.

After last week's revelation that I need to work on being honest with myself the message at this week's meeting was exactly what I needed. It was all about getting happy and recognizing when small moments happen in life that make us happy. It was something that I really needed to hear and take to heart. Losing weight will not fix anything, but my health. I have to do the work on myself and put the same effort into my self-esteem that I am putting into losing the weight and getting my health in order. Putting in the work on the inside is just as important as putting in the work on the outside. The outside will not fix the inside. This is something that anyone trying to lose weight needs to consider. Losing the weight will not solve everything. If you can't love yourself now, as you are, how will you be able to love yourself just because you lost a few pounds?

Have you been thinking of joining Weight Watchers and losing with me? Now is the perfect time to Join Weight Watchers with me. This link will give you a free gift of the Weight Watchers Magazine if you subscribe by 9/5/2015.

Lets not forget:
Starting Weight: 306.4
Current Weight: 282.4
Current Week: -1.6
Total Loss: 24

Weigh-In Thursday: Week 11

Tracking my food has become a way of life for me now. I track everything no matter what. I mean why should I hide things that I have eaten. If I do I am only hiding it from myself because I am the only one who sees my tracker, so who cares. Psychologically, I care, I really do care. It is hard to be honest with myself. Harder than I had ever imagined and I thought it would be easier to be honest with myself than it would be to be honest with other people. Apparently it is not. This is something I plan to work on since it is a new issue that I have not really realized.

This week was my first week of using Weight Watchers etools and I am loving it. The smart phone app is fantastic and super easy to use. It has a bar code function. It came in handy because I could just scan the bar code and access all the points plus information. It was also convenient to track on the go and to check points while grocery shopping so I could make good decision before bringing the foods home with me.

I had another loss this week and I think the etools were amazing to use and have. How have I been following the plan without it? I am excited to have Weight Watchers in my pocket and not having to flip through a book to find points plus values.

Have you been thinking of joining Weight Watchers and losing with me? Now is the perfect time to Join Weight Watchers with me. This link will give you a free gift of the Weight Watchers Magazine if you subscribe by 9/5/2015.

Starting Weight: 306.4
Current Weight: 284.0
Current Week: -1.2
Total Loss: 22.4

Weigh-In Thursday: Week 10

After my off plan weekend in Las Vegas part of me didn't want to go to my meeting. It also did not help that I was sick, like not getting dressed or leaving the couch sick. I didn't skip my weigh in though, I can't own my choices if I don't know where I stand. I got on the scale hoping for no more than a 2 pound gain. I was expecting the worst, but got the best news. I LOST WEIGHT! Yeah it was only 0.4 pounds but that is almost 1/2 a pound. Apparently my food strategy did work. That and all the walking that I did on Sunday. This result really fueled my fire! I CAN DO THIS! I AM DOING THIS! I signed up for the monthly pass and it recalculated my 5% based on my current weight. My next mini goal is 25 pounds lost and my new 5% goal is 14 pounds away at 271. My goal is to reach my new 5% goal in July. It can be done.

Let's not forget:
Starting Weight: 306.4
Current Weight: 285.2
Current Week: -0.4
Total Loss: 21.2

My Weekend in Las Vegas

Me and my boyfriend in Las Vegas 5/24/15

I had a great Memorial Day Weekend. I spent it in Las Vegas with the family for my Mom's wedding. It is so hard to be good and stick to plan when in Las Vegas and especially when there is amazing food all set out for the wedding. Oh and the specialty cocktails. I sure so love a good drink and I am not ashamed to admit that I usually use all my weekly points on Friday and Saturday night when enjoying libations. This has not stunted my weight loss in anyway because I track every single drink. I also drink water at the end of the night, sometimes begrudgingly, but it mostly works out that way. This is what I love about weight watchers, I can eat and drink anything I want so I don't deprive myself and end up binging later on. I can have my drinks and my cake as long as I track it! 

The vacation started off with a 6.5 hour drive to Las Vegas. Snacks, drinks, and lunch was portioned and packed the night before we left. I stayed on plan and tracked everything. So far, so good. Saturday morning there was continental breakfast at the hotel and they had plan friendly options. Lunch was a rush in between finishing the table centerpieces and getting the house prepped for the reception. One beef hot dog w/bun and fruit. Not the healthiest choice, but the easiest and fastest. Lunch was tracked, still on a roll.

Then came the reception, with platters of food, veggies, stuffed mushrooms (my fave), fruit, and plenty of drinks. I stuck to ice water with sparking cider for the toast. I decided that I could enjoy myself without tracking or worrying about my daily points. Here was my strategy:

• Use the small salad plates only.
• Eat one plate of fruits and veggies
• Have the chicken salad sandwiches without the roll and over lettuce with 2 spoonfuls of dressing.
• Add sugar free flavorings to my ice water
• Eat a bite or two of cake off my son's plate. (it was WAY to rich not to share)

My strategy worked. I did not feel deprived or like I was taking time from the reception in order to track all of my food. Although, I did have some anxiety as a result of not tracking since tracking has become a part of my daily routine.

On Sunday morning I made scrambled eggs with vegetables from the leftover veggie trays. Then we took the kids out on the strip and we walked around for a good couple of hours. After sightseeing we went back to my moms' house for a barbecue. I had a hamburger and a hot dog, both with buns, and it was okay because we didn't really eat while on the strip except for sharing a soft pretzel from NY NY. After the barbecue I got the kids ready for bed and sent them into watch a movie. My moms watched the kids while my boyfriend, my little sister, and I could spend some time together without worrying about the kids. We walked around quite a bit looking for a good slot machine that screamed, "Play Me!" which sometimes took awhile.

On Monday morning we again made veggie eggs and then got the car packed and got on the road for the drive home. At this point I was just hungry and wanted junk. I caved since we were on the road and I just assumed that I would have a gain come the weeks end. I figured that it would be okay and I would just get back on track when I got home. All in all it was a great weekend and I don't feel bad about how I ate. I enjoyed life and that it okay to do sometimes. Now that I am home time to get back to tracking, Whatever the scale says on Thursday is fine. I will own it and keep on going.

Weigh-In Thursday: Week 9

Happy Dance! I hit my second weight loss goal today. My first goal was to lose 5% which I achieved in Week 6! The next goal I made was to lose a total of twenty pounds. What do I mean lose? It is not like I want to ever find those pounds again. I guess I should call it weigh obliteration instead of a weight loss. Obliterating my weight is the ultimate goal.

I never want to see this number on the scale again. I am determined to not give up because if I do the cycle will just begin again and 9 weeks into it is alot of work to just throw down the drain.

This week I focused on eating all of my daily points. I would not leave more than 3 points left at the end of the day. I think I did a pretty good job and my hard work and focus showed up on the scale this week. I lost a total of 2.6 pounds this week and have a total loss so far of 20.8 pounds! I wanted to do a happy dance right there on the scale at my meeting. This was achieved and I felt like I ate so much food. You can eat more and still lose weight. I focused on eating a breakfast that was around 10 points, and that is approximately 1/4 of my daily points allowance. The main benefit I saw with eating more in the morning was less cravings at night. I also found myself not eating as much crap at night because I don't have more than half of my daily points to eat come dinner time.

My next mini-goal is to reach 25 lbs gone forever and once that goal is completed my next goal is 10% which is 30 lbs.

Starting Weight: 306.4
Current Weight: 285.6
Current Week: -2.6
Total Loss: 20.8

Weigh-In Thursday: Week 8

I changed my meeting again. This time I think I found a group that I really enjoy. Although that Leader at the Friday meeting was my favorite so far I just felt out of place. The group on Friday was older women and the energy was just way low. I also ran into an issue with scheduling since I am out of school for the summer I no longer pay for my son to go to daycare. That means I have to pick him up from school 10 minutes after the Friday meeting starts and that just would not work.

The first time I attended Weight Watchers back in 2011 I attended the Thursday night meetings and really enjoyed them so I thought I would give that meeting a try. I couldn't have been happier. There were people closer to my age and the energy was amazing. This is definitely the meeting for me. I am excited to go next week and feel like I am truly a part of a great dynamic of people that are going through the same things I am.

This week the meeting topic was spring cleaning your fridge. This is something that I did a few weeks ago out of necessity. The power went out in a storm and that fried the compressor in the refrigerator in my apartment. They replaced my fridge which was great however, they replaced it with a much smaller unit. I had to maneuver and organize everything so that it would fit. When I did this I got containers so that the fruits and veggies are in the open and easily visible. This would encourage me to reach for things that are healthier rather than the junk and it really helps. If you want to eat healthier I would encourage you to do the same. Put the good stuff front and center and you will notice yourself gravitating to them more. At least that's how it happened for me.

How did I do this week. Well, it was a hard one. I gained one pound and it was really hard to see. I wanted to cry. I attributed this gain to a change in meeting day and time, but that is not the whole story. Yes, I went from a Friday noon meeting to a Thursday night meeting and this could contribute to the gain. I talked to my leader after the meeting and we looked over my tracker. I have not been eating enough. I know, I know, you can only lose weight if you starve yourself. That is a myth. You have to eat enough for your body to sustain itself. I figured if I had such a bog loss last week and had a few points left so if I had more points leftover at the end of the day I would lose more. It just doesn't work like that. This next week I will focus on eating all of my daily points and hopefully I can reach my mini goal of 20 pounds gone.

Lets not forget:
Starting Weight: 306.4
Current Weight: 288.2
Current Week: +1
Total Loss: 18.2