MILESTONE: 200 POUNDS!

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Before (actually about 2 weeks
after starting Weight Watchers)- July 2010

The weight loss milestones seem to take longer to reach as I get closer and closer to my goal weight.  I don't really mind because I have other goals that I want to hit along the way but it seems like forever since I wrote about losing 175 pounds way back in April.  However I am delighted to share with you that I've lost 200 pounds, actually 205.6 to be exact.  I can't even believe that this has been possible.  I also can't remember the last time I was at this weight.

After (actually a few weeks after I crossed the
200 pounds mark) - December 2012

I think it's clear that the amount of activity I've been getting in while training for the half marathon has been the most likely reason (aside from the healthy eating of course) since I really had to amp up the work outs.  Before the half marathon I was working out 6 days a week either running (distance, speed or recovery runs), biking (my choice of cross training), and/or strength training.  It's strange how your mindset changes regarding activity.  I remember when I started running and I'd run for 30-45 seconds that I thought I would die by the end of the workout.  

This time after the half marathon is an odd time.  I'm trying to let my body recover from the trauma caused by running a half marathon but balancing recovery with trying to stay active for weight loss is hard.  Not having a training plan also seems more difficult than I'd imagined.  Luckily, it won't be long before training will "start" again since my next half marathon (yep - next!) will be in April!  It won't be the same since I won't be training with Team Challenge (this time) but I'm hoping that it will go as well and really have me prepared for the next big race.

Half way to another goal

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A few weeks ago I wrote a post about the Under Armour #WhatsBeautiful challenge.  When I signed up for that challenge I had to state my goal and it was to run my first half marathon after losing more than 200 pounds.  I've read quite a few blogs where people started training for races (some half marathons some full marathons) and that they gained weight.  *gasp* I didn't want to gain weight... obviously.  The week that the group ran 5 miles (and coincidentally after I'd had a couple of weeks of gains) I was running with Coach Bill and I asked him if he thought that because of the increased amount of training that weight gain was unavoidable.  I was surprised (and frankly relieved) when he said no and encouraged me to stay away from the pre-run binge on pasta/bread and instead continue to focus on getting my carbs from fresh fruits and vegetables.  When he said that I was like YES!  This I can do because all of those things are FREE POINTS!!!

Fast forward a few weeks and I am happy to report that half of that goal has now been accomplished.  When I went to weigh-in today I was a little nervous.  My last weigh-in was only last Thursday so really how much weight could I lose?  Additionally, after stepping on my scale this morning and seeing that I was only down 0.2 pounds I thought I might not even have a loss this week.  Imagine my surprise then when I stepped on the scale at my meeting and realized that I lost 2.2 pounds for a total of 201.0 pounds.  It's awesome and trust me when I say that I am aware of the awesomeness because I can do stuff that I could never do before.  Like run SEVEN miles.  At one time.  Without stopping.  Also impressive?  Being able to shop at basically every store (ironically except the plus sized clothing stores) without wondering if I'll fit into the clothes.

I have lots of other thoughts rolling through my head right now... I can't quite explain how I feel and apologize if this post is all over the place.  I'll try to gather my thoughts a little better before I post again...

So what do you do now that you couldn't do before?

MILESTONE: 175 POUNDS

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About two weeks after joining Weight Watchers

A couple of weeks ago I needed a new photo and my friend Sheri was very kind to take them for me.  She also shared with me some photos from right after (read:  about 2 weeks) we started Weight Watchers.  When she showed them to me I literally felt sad inside.  I suppose you're probably wondering why on earth I would then show that to the blogosphere (yes, that's totally a real word.  Even if I just made it up)?  Well, that's simple.  I don't know that I can truly celebrate how far I've come unless I look back on where I was and while I don't really enjoy these photos it is certainly a good comparison to look at them next to each other.

April 2012 - 175 pounds lighter

If you remember last week's post you'll know that I was a mere 0.2 pounds away from hitting a milestone.  I was pretty sure I could hit that today, though my scale this morning showed a gain so who knows?!  Anyway, when I got on the scale I knew I had done it.  My leader, Karen, makes a big deal about the celebrations and the attendance at my normal meeting has been growing so there were a LOT of celebrations today, including mine.  This was a pretty big sigh of relief to me because my friend, Jen, and I have been talking about how we were going to celebrate when I lost 175 pounds.  I reached out to some friends on Twitter for suggestions and one was to spend $1-2 per pound lost on a spa day.  Now that's my kind of reward!!  Luckily, Jen spotted a deal yesterday where we get a spa day for 1/2 price ... wow - getting healthier and saving money?  I'm totally all over that.  So I am thrilled to be able to schedule a day for us to go get pampered.

Now... you know I like to share a witty story or something with you so I'll leave you with this nugget.  On Sunday I posted my race recap which included (in my opinion) a pretty funny account of the odd things we saw while we were in Wisconsin.  My sister, Brenda, sent me a text later that night that said ...

Ok, I have a new siting for you.... One lawn mower towing another down a county road.

Seriously people, you can't make this up.

RACE RECAP: EGG SHELL SHUFFLE 5k

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Some things will probably never change, like the somewhat restless sleep the night before a race or the second guessing my wardrobe for race day.  I was struggling with the decision of whether to wear long sleeves or not when Dan told me that the temperature had already risen 4 degrees in the last hour.  I also realized that it was later than I thought so I needed to book it to Woodman's to meet Kim and Jen.

On your mark....

Meeting up with friends to carpool to the race was definitely calming because we were able to talk about lots of  things which kept my mind off the race.  We got there really early and spent a lot of time walking around visiting the sponsor booths and watching the half marathoners start their race.  Soon it was time for us to begin but I hadn't seen Dan yet.  A last minute change of plans for him meant he was going to be able to come watch us race and that really meant the world to me.  Shortly before we were ready to begin Dan walked up and gave me the needed boost of energy and excitement that I needed.

Jen M, Jen B, Kim - let's get this race started!

Finally, we'd been waiting about an hour before our start time, we were lined up to start the race and we were off.  Jen and I had planned to run intervals for the race.  Our plan was to run 3 minutes then walk 2 minutes and repeat for the duration of the 3.1 miles.  After the first 3 minute interval we both felt awesome so we decided to change our strategy and run 4 minutes, walk 2 minutes.  At the end of mile 1 my Forerunner alerted us that we logged a 12:14 mile.  I told Jen and I know we were both surprised.  It hadn't really dawned on me that we started out too fast and we needed to slow our pace if we were going to be able to keep running for the whole race.  We pushed on and logged mile 2 at 13:04 and mile 3 at 13:58.

Jen B is "encouraging me" to keep going.  I {heart} her!
Plus don't you love our matching running tights/skirts?!

One thing I didn't like about this race is that it consisted of two out and backs.  If you're not familiar this is basically where you run one direction, get to a certain point, turn around and run the exact same path but in the opposite direction.  I'm not crazy about that because there is nothing new to look at so I'm much more likely to get into my head rather than enjoy the run.  Plus I felt like I knew how far it was and at least at one point it felt like we were 10 miles away from the start rather than 1 mile away.  I know they changed the first two miles of the race course because they had so many people sign up to do the 5K so this might be the reason.  The other problem was that the first mile and a half (or so) was mostly downhill so the back part of the first out and back was mostly uphill and even though the hills weren't really bad it's enough to psyche you out.  I guess I need to work on that part so I'm better prepared for hills next time.

Hanging with the Easter Bunny after the race

The best part of the race was running with Jen.  While I think it is a little difficult (mostly because I'm not used to it) to run with someone else it was really the kick in the *ss I needed when we were about a quarter mile out from the finish.  I had told Jen that one goal I had for the race was to cross the finish line running and she reminded me of that yesterday.  So, we crossed the finish line pushing it hard and I logged a new PR (for the 2nd time this week) of 40:20!  I was completely thrilled, you know once I had caught my breath and all!

Race Recap: The Jelly Bean 5K

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You're going to get more posts than normal this week because I have a busy race schedule.  It started on Sunday with the Fight Forever Virtual 5K, last night I posted about finding your anchor, and today I completed the 5K for The Jelly Bean race (no jelly beans were harmed or consumed during this race!)

This was another virtual race I found out about via some Chicago area bloggers.  The organizer actually held a physical race near Peoria last weekend but I couldn't make it there.  There are a bunch of events you could participate in but I was focused on the 5K.  I had another Learn 2 Run training run scheduled for today anyway so I used that as my pacing strategy.  I was wearing long sleeves because the weather man said it was cool outside this morning.  I sort of regretted that decision around mile 3 but I was definitely glad I started out with warmer clothes on.

not bad...

My training run looked had me doing this:
Warm Up:  5:00
Run:  3:15
Walk:  2:00
Run:  4:30
Walk:  2:00
Run:  4:30
Walk:  2:00
Run:  4:30
Walk:  2:00
Run:  3:15
Cool Down:  5:00

My splits looked like this:


At the end of that run I was still over a mile from home which was good because I hadn't gone the full 3.1 miles yet.  Luckily, my Garmin Forerunner calculated that it took me another 4 minutes to travel the last .24 miles (at this point I was in cool down mode so I was moving slow(er).

All in all I felt pretty good, I had a little pain in my knee but it's been tight lately so I've been trying to stretch it out more and will continue to do so over the next several days because Saturday is another race.  This one will be the first "actual" (read:  not virtual) of the year and I'm super excited.  Two of my friends from WW are doing this race as well so it should be a blast.  Stay tuned....

Frozen Cherries vs. Cherry M&M's

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Our February weather has been unseasonably warm.  Especially since the weather folk predicted this was going to be our worst winter ever.  Frankly, I'm a little disappointed in our lack of snow but at least I used the time to my advantage.  As you may recall one of my 2012 goals was to log 700 miles this year.  Well January was disappointing due to illness, frankenfinger and weather.  So I'm hoping to make up some of my missed mileage in February.  As of Sunday's walk I hit my goal for February so the rest of the month is just bonus!  I'm pretty excited about that.

On another exciting topic - or it is to me (and Jen B) at least.  I had a conversation with my friend Jen via text that went something like this:

me to Jen B:  Ran out of frozen cherries for my oatmeal this morning.  Have bag of cherry flavored M&M's in pantry.  Should be same points value, no?
Jen B. to me:  Totally the same.  Love it  

Later that day:

me to Jen B.:  Bought real frozen cherries for oatmeal in the morning.  So excited.  Seriously?  Fruit gets me excited?  Who the hell* am I?

Jen B. to me:  I feel the same way!  I heart cantaloupe! 

* some words were changed to protect the innocent eyes of my readers (clearly it's all about you guys!)

So this either proves that you really can retrain  your brain and taste buds to crave things that can be good for you or that Jen B. and I are both a little bit crazy.  Or both.  In all honesty though I had to make oatmeal with frozen peaches this morning which are as equally delicious but there is something about big frozen cherries, a touch of cinnamon and 1/2 t. of vanilla in my oatmeal that is just so tasty and satisfying to me.

Do you find yourself craving things that you weren't before?

600 Quarterpounders?

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Today was big.  I mean HUGE.  I went to weigh-in and got on the scale and was so close (I was 0.2 pounds away from 150) when I realized that I hadn't gone to the bathroom.  Crap.  So I went to the bathroom quickly and then went to my favorite receptionist to beg her to weigh me, again.  For those who don't know Weight Watchers only allows you one recordable weigh-in per week.  Thankfully, Pat was able to delete my less than stellar weigh in and I tried again.  This time I did it.  Total weight loss:  150.2 pounds!!!!

We celebrated during the meeting and even though I feel like my meeting mates are tiring of celebrating my losses they were so proud and excited for me.  A few of them asked some really great questions and I was extremely touched by it all.  Here are the questions I was asked (I think this is all of them but someone keep me honest if I missed any):

Q:  How long did it take to lose 150 pounds?  A:  I started Weight Watchers in July 2010

Q:  How did you get started?  A:  My very bestest friend, Sheri, called me while we were driving back from Northern Wisconsin and said that she and her daughter were joining and asked if I wanted to join too.  She said we'd go to meetings together and have a little club.  We called ourselves Fatties Unite Tonight.  It worked!!

Q:  Had I done WW before?  A:  Yes, about 10 years ago I did the WW Online only plan and followed it for awhile but then later quit.  I didn't realize how valuable the meetings are both from an encouragement perspective as well as a learning perspective.  There are tips about food and recipes that really kept (and keep) me going on the program that I wouldn't learn if I wasn't going to meetings.  Plus I've met some of the most friendly and caring people there and I really love going to the Tuesday meetings just so I can see them and catch up with them.  My leader, Karen, has been BEYOND supportive too and she has this contagious optimism that you can't help but feel motivated and energized for the week ahead.  Meetings, like the Weight Watchers commercials say, work!

Of course when I got home and told my husband he said, "my god that's like 600 quarter pounders".  To which I replied, "Well, that's one way to think about it!"

How about everyone else?  How was your week?  Sticking to the New Years resolutions?

I DID IT!!! (The 9K version)

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Crossing the finish line

I walked my first 9K today and I will definitely do it again. There were some things I wish I'd done differently, like not getting sick last week and missing out on some crucial training days, which really would have just put my mind at ease before and during the race.  The view from the course was amazing as we walked past Lake Michigan and through North Avenue beach and finished in Lincoln Park.  

It's easy to be inspired by the other people in the area and there was no shortage of runners, walkers and bikers along the course.  When I see them I want to go faster which was kind of a struggle from time to time because it takes me off my game which frustrates me.  I know that the more I do this (more training and more races) that I will get comfortable being at my pace and this desire to constantly go faster or keep up with others will pass, or at least subside.

About a mile away from the finish line my fabulously supportive and funny sister-in-law, Laura (who ran the race today), came and met me and gave me the push to get through the end.  I don't know why but it was reassuring to see her along the course and being able to talk to her took my mind off the fact that my side hurt and my legs were getting tired.  It was exactly what I needed at the moment that I needed it.  (THANKS LAURA!)

My unofficial time (based on the app on my iPhone which I forgot to stop when I crossed the finish line) was 1:25:49 which was 5 minutes faster than when I walked the 9K in training.  I was happy although I think the app hit a couple of glitches while I was walking so I'm really waiting to see what my chip time was before I get excited.

After the race we headed to Revolution Brewing for some lunch and drinks.  It was certainly a high PointsPlus day but one that I thought I earned considering all the activity.  I suppose I'll know for sure when I get on the scale on Tuesday.  :)

Extra Encouragement

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This week I had the great honor of taking a very special guest to my meeting with me.  My Mom and Dad were traveling through and spending the night here so Mom agreed to go with me to the meeting.  I asked Dad if he wanted to come but warned him it is generally a group of women.  He said all women?  Yep.  He said, no, I think I'll stay home.

So Mom went to the meeting and she got to meet some of my favorite people in the world and was surprised when there was only one celebration last night.  Mine.  For losing 128.2 pounds.  (It's really the .2 that makes it impressive, right?!)  I kinda thought I would hit the 125 mark but I didn't realize that I'd do it quite so spectacularly   My total loss this week was 4.4 pounds.  I honestly don't know how.

What a better way to hit a milestone like that but to have the extra encouragement from Mom and the fabulous Tuesday ladies.  I was especially touched (in case you hadn't noticed or you don't know my Mom, she's a hugger) that everyone rushed to give her hugs and welcome her to the room.  I can't think of a better way to celebrate than to have Mom and Dad here to celebrate with me and Dan.  Oh and to have home made pizza!  That's like a mega bonanza in my book.

PS 1 - The Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough is really pretty good.  Thanks for that tip Pat!
PS 2 - I'll update the pictures as soon as I get a new "I've lost 125 pounds!" picture taken... hopefully later today or this week.  :)

One Hundred and Four!

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So, I surpassed 100 pounds today!!!! 

(Yes, that totally deserved four exclamation points)

I've been walking a lot and even shaved FIVE MINUTES off my 5K time since my first 5K in mid-May.  I knew I only had two pounds to go after my weigh in last week so I was really hoping that this would be it but when I got on the scale I didn't expect the number that I saw.  

 

I knew I hit 100 pounds as soon as I stepped on the scale.  Once my weight had been logged I wanted to run out into the store because I'd heard about a new Crystal Light product I wanted to try.  On my way out of the meeting room I met up with some favorite meeting members and that is when I realized....

I lost 6 pounds since last week.  SIX POUNDS!!! 

WOAH!

I don't think I have any tremendous advice to leave you with this week other than to keep going.  While it may not be a huge milestone week for you, every week is something.  Even weeks when the scale is not moving the direction you want, or when it's not moving at all, keep going with your plan because it's the only way you'll ever get to your goal, and that feeling is awesome.  

5K = 3.1 miles (can you walk it?)

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As you know I'd been preparing to walk my first 5K and as I told you in a previous post my sister, Brenda, asked me if I wanted to walk a 5K and before I had a chance to think about it I said yes and then quickly registered because let's face it if I've paid money it is way harder to back out on something!  So, Friday night Dan and I headed up to Wisconsin and met Brenda, Mom and Dad.

Brenda and I before the race

Saturday morning came and I was about as excited as when I woke up on Christmas morning as a kid.  This was it!!  I was pumped as I got dressed and made a bowl of oatmeal.  Then, I realized it was raining and I was a little less pumped.  I'd never walked before in the rain.  Ugh, this was going to be awful because not only was it raining but it was WINDY and a little colder than I'd prefer.

Regardless, the five of us piled in the car and drove to Eagle River for the race.  We picked up our race packets and goody bag and then headed back to the car to wait for the start.  We made a quick trip to Walgreen's so Brenda could put on long pants and we could use the bathroom.  On our way out we found some 2/$2 rain ponchos (who can pass up a good deal on such a necessity?!) and then we were ready.

Here we go!!

While waiting for the race to start I met up with my friend Shawn (who was also running the 5K and had a PR, by the way) and her husband Matt and the kids and had a few minutes to chat about how the rain was really just going to encourage our pace!!  Soon, it was time to leave the warmth of the car and go wait at the starting line.  And then, they fired the starting gun.  According to the video Mom shot this was very shocking because she jumped at the sound!!

Originally, the plan was going to be Brenda and I walking together.  As I started training though I started to think that I'd really rather walk alone so I could set the pace I wanted and I told Brenda this.  She said she would probably run the race and then rather than just stopping and waiting she would come and meet me and then walk the rest of the way back with me.  So, when the race started Brenda and Shawn hit the course like the champion race runners they are and I kept toward the back of the pack to avoid being in the way.  But we were off...

I got to the halfway point, grabbed my cup of water and kept pushing forward.  I was less than a mile from the finish when I saw some traffic coming toward us (I was following two other walkers) when I realized there was also a person running towards us.  True to her word, there was my sister coming to meet me and walk the rest of the way back with me.  I don't know why but immediately and every time I think of the sight of her with her red winter hat, blue long sleeve shirt and yellow poncho coming towards me my eyes tear up.  It was great fun to have that time with her and celebrate the accomplishment, just the two of us.

Nearing the finish line and still rocking out!

Anyway, as we neared the finish, she left the course (so she wouldn't cross the finish line again) and let me continue forward.  As I got nearer I could hear my Mom yelling for me and saw Dan taking pictures.  A few steps later I saw Shawn and Matt cheering me on too and then I saw Dad and Brenda there screaming for me.  Seriously, how lucky am I to have these people come and cheer me on?

I finished last place in my age group but I don't care.  I finished my first ever 5K in 57 minutes and 41 seconds.  This was almost 2 minutes faster than any of the times I'd walked it at home (though I blame the dogs and their need to poop and smell stuff for that!)

Oh, and for those who said (or bet) that this would only be the beginning to doing more races, well, you were right.  I'm already looking at signing up for another one, which would make it my third 5K this year!  My 2nd one is coming up on Sunday in McHenry.  I can't wait.

MAJOR MILESTONE! 75 POUNDS!!!

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This weekend was a scrapbook retreat weekend and on Friday we ordered pizza (sausage, onion, peppers, mushrooms), bread sticks (plain baked dough, not even any garlic) and beer nuggets (essentially fried dough, no taste of beer).  I ate like a pig and with all that dough I knew I was way over in my points allowance for the day.  I did however make one fundamental change, I hit the treadmill in fitness center on Saturday and Sunday mornings.  I didn't walk nearly as long as I had been last week but it was something. 

Apparently that and the other training for the 5K have in fact paid off.  I went to my meeting today and when I weighed in I honestly couldn't remember what I weighed last week.  I knew what I weighed on my scale but that's usually different from the WW scale.  My leader looked at me with a really excited face and I said, ok tell me because I don't remember what last week was.  Karen said, no I want to show you.  She held up my weight record and pointed out that I'd lost 4.8 pounds since last week and 75.4 pounds total.

Before the meeting the usual ladies and I were discussing a whole bunch of things, including Weight Watchers vs. other weight loss plans.  Before we got married, charming husband and I both started on Seattle Sutton.  This turned out to be great for us at the time because we were in the process of getting our condo ready to sell, moving and then renting an apartment for a few months until our house was built so the convenience of having your meals planned and prepared for you (short of microwaving them) was awesome.  Though very expensive.  A few months after the wedding we both stopped and I gained back all the weight I'd lost, and then some.  The problem is that none of those other plans teach you how to really live while continuing to lose or maintaining.

Some new folks were at the meeting tonight so they seemed particularly interested in why we were WW members.  Being able to learn how to cook for yourself so you are in control of your meal plan, being able to learn how to eat when you're not home are HUGE reasons to love WW.  There is also the matter of the meetings.  I have a lot of meetings nearly every day for work so I wasn't tremendously crazy about having one more meeting, but I was so wrong.  The meetings are a great place to meet people who have a similar interest (trying to get healthy).  Not to mention the things you can learn from the other members. 

When I started WW I thought I wouldn't be able to have pasta again because it was too high in points.  I was wrong and one of the other members told me where to find a low point kind of pasta.  Then another member mentioned a tortilla that she found that was only 2 points (1 point for the small tortillas) and that was great.  So there is a huge amount of information you can learn from the meetings from everyone who attends.  The biggest reason I love the meeting is that there are people there who have lost a lot of weight.

At my meeting there is a woman who has lost (as of this week) 96 pounds!!  I love being able to talk to her and hear what she does.  I mean I know we all see the commercials of celebrities who have done every weight loss plan imaginable but being able to see the progress someone is making on a weekly basis and having the opportunity to ask questions and learn what has worked for them is a big advantage and I love it.  It also keeps me motivated to lose more. 

So, I say to all of you who are on this weight loss journey, whether you are doing WW or another plan, CONGRATULATIONS!!  What you have done is amazing already.  So what are you doing to celebrate?

MAJOR MILESTONE: 50 POUNDS!!

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Last weekend we were in Wisconsin for the weekend for my husband to go hunting and for me to spend time with my Mom.  It was a busy weekend and really our first road trip since trying to lose weight.  My husband will tell you that I'm a junk food junkie.  If we stop to get gas I always want to get something to drink and a snack.  So this road trip was both a test of will and a visit home.  We really tried our best to eat healthy on the road and at home.  So you can imagine my shock when I went to weigh in, after the last two weeks of -.2 and +.4 when the scale said I lost 5.8!!

5.8 pounds??

My leader was shocked and so was I, though pleasantly of course.  Over the 20 weeks we've been doing WW I've lost 51.6 pounds.  In real things, that's like 2.5 bags of dog food.

FIFTY-ONE POINT SIX POUNDS!!!!

Seriously?
Seriously.

My birthday is in a few days and this is an awesome birthday present, I think.

Just a reminder, if you haven't read my Holiday Alternative post you might want too, it offers some healthier options to the usual Thanksgiving fare.

I wish you all a very happy, healthy and safe Thanksgiving.  I'd love to hear if you come up with any new healthy Thanksgiving traditions or recipes!!  

Well I haven't grown

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I've tried, hopefully I've been sucessful, to find some common thread or comical story to share with you about what I've learned or how my week went and today is no exception.  Two I actually have two stories to share with you.  It should also be noted that if you don't know my  husband he's kind of got that sense of humor that is pretty dead pan.  If you don't believe me I'll post the video from our wedding when the best man did an impression of him that, to this day, cracks me up every single time.  So... at least you've been warned!

 

For those who know me outside of work or school know that my daily wardrobe consists of t-shirts and either sporty pants/capris/shorts depending on the season. When I say sporty pants you know what I'm talking about they are like yoga pants but since I've never really done yoga it seems inappropriate to call them that. Now that I think about it given the purpose of this blog it seems slightly inappropriate to call the sporty pants too. Anyway...

 

At the scrapbook retreat a couple of weekends ago Sheri looked at me and said 'your pants are too big'.  I kind of knew this before she said it because the moment she said that I was currently pulling them up because they were falling down!!  Anyway, the fact that she said this was totally fine because I told her early on that she would have tell me when clothes didn't fit right because I'm a fashion catastrophe and my husband... well... he's no better.  She agreed, as true friends should, though she may have agreed a little too quickly. 

So, I ordered some new ones in varying sizes, same as I did for my jeans.

 

I put on the largest of the sporty pants I bought and showed my husband who promptly said 'those are too long'.  Which, duh, I was well aware of having stepped on the bottoms twice already. 

 

The following day, because I do not enjoy trying on clothes, I put on another pair, this time one size smaller than the day before. I was ecstatic! I said to Dan, look I've got little-er pants on to which he again promptly replied, 'those are too long'.

 

I looked at him and said, 'duh, I'm in a weight loss program not a height gain program.  I haven't gotten taller since yesterday!'

 

Anyway, I love the fact that I'm ordering smaller clothes and can fit into them.  I'm even going to send back the pants that were the bigger size.  Oh yeah, I really just said that!  Which totally gives Sheri permission to ask make fun of me until I do.

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The second thing is that I hit a milestone last night at the weigh-in. 

46 pounds

Yes, I totally get that it's funny I made the font on that BIGGER when I'm trying to make myself SMALLER!  Anyway, this is an excerpt from the meeting last night during the celebrations.

 

Leader:  And we're celebrating with Jen because she lost 46 pounds
Sheri bursts out laughing
Leader:  Why is that funny?
Sheri:  It just seems odd to celebrate 46 and not 45
Leader:  I just want to give full credit for the 46 pounds
Sheri:  Well were there ounces there because she'll want to celebrate the ounces too
Jen:  Yeah, I will
Leader:  (Laughing) No, it was 46 pounds even.

 

I thought the whole interaction was pretty funny.

 

Enjoy your week folks.

Clothes....

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I like to shop online because I do not like crowds, I get a little panicky if there are too many people around.  I also don't like pushy sales people.  This makes shopping online for many things, especially clothes, very convenient.  I am, however, not so good about returning things that I do not like or that don't fit properly.  I've been getting better about this but traditionally, I'm not so good at it.

This is where my great fortune happens to come into play this week.  About two years ago (I think, maybe it was last year, I don't know for sure) I bought a Chicago Bears sweatshirt.  It is really nice, looks like it's been worn for years but it didn't quite fit.  I said to myself, I'm not going to send this back because someday I'll be able to fit into it and it'll look great.  Apparently, that day is today.

Today, my bestie Sheri and I are going to stamp camp and I was looking for a sweatshirt to wear in case it was cold where we are going.  I thought to myself, just try on that sweatshirt and see, who knows?  Well.... it fit.  How awesome is that?  I also pulled out the third pair of jeans in my 'I'm going to order 4 pairs of jeans all in different sizes' to see if I was close to fitting into the next smallest size.  Apparently, I'm on a roll because those fit too.  The work towards weight loss is really paying off!!!

Though I suppose this also means that I only have one more pair of pants to fit into so I'd better start looking around for new pants again.  :)

HOLY RAVIOLI!!

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I went to my weigh-in meeting tonight, stepped on the scale and I watched the jaw of my leader hit the floor.  She was shocked and so was I.

When I go to the weigh-in I usually forget what my previous weight was because the scale at my house isn't the same as the WW scale, when I weigh at home throughout the week I track more with the +/- of weight than I do with the actual number.  This week I made a point of checking my tracker while waiting in line.

Did the scale really say that? 
The shock registered on my face.
My leader said, oh my god you hit 10%! 
She then high-fived me which was awesome because that's how I roll.
The loss this week was 6.2 pounds.

I texted Dan to tell him the loss and his response:  HOLY RAVIOLI!!

So the other thing I like to do is put the weight into realistic things.  Like, I lost five pounds so that's a bag of sugar.  Twenty pounds was a bag of dog food.  So, this week when I looked at the weight tracker I thought.... hmmm... that's TWO BAGS of dog food. 

I LOST TWO BAGS OF DOG FOOD.  42.2 POUNDS TO BE EXACT. 
And yes, while I was thinking about this I was screaming in my head (hence the capital letters).

So, I finally got my key chain.  I put my 25 pound charm on it and can't wait to get more charms.

When doing the celebrations my leader always asks something like do you have any inspiration or words of wisdom for the others?  I thought... not really.  I'm still fat.  I'm not as fat as I was and that's a good thing.  Apparently, I wasn't thinking about it at this point because I actually said that out loud.  I said, I'm sorry if that's offensive to others but that's why I'm here, the rest of you are fine.  You can celebrate my 10% by having a cookie!

See, I have to make myself accountable for my actions, both past and present in order for this to be a lifestyle change instead of a diet.  If I'm accountable for this the same way I'm accountable for paying the Com-Ed bill or the water bill, then I feel like I don't have to work at it quite so hard.  Or maybe the time is just starting to make these things more familiar to me.  Either way, I've learned good habits.  I'm happy. 

Someone remind me of this the next time I have a bad week, ok?

Two bad things and a good thing

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A few weeks ago my bestie Sheri told me that my pants were noticeably too big.  Like really big.  So, I went out and ordered four new pairs of jeans in different sizes.   I did this both as a reward for losing 20 pounds and a goal to keep going.  That and I had a coupon for 40% off!  I opened the biggest (which was still smaller than any of the pants that I currently have) pair and wore them a few times.... including on Oktoberfest, then I threw them in the laundry pile.

I had lunch plans with my friend Judy today.  I was so excited because I haven't seen her in awhile.  So, I took a bunch of laundry downstairs including the aforementioned pair of jeans.  When it was time to go I went to the dryer and pulled out a pair of jeans and then realized I knew what the 'thunk-thunk' was while the dryer was running.

I'd left my pedometer on my pants.

CRAP.

But I had to get going so I took the pedometer off the pants and felt in the pockets to make sure they were dry.  Then I looked at the pants and found a hole on the back thigh.  Seriously?  I'd only worn these pants a few times, literally.

DOUBLE CRAP.

What made this even worse was that I was afraid I didn't have any other pants that fit.  I went upstairs and found the next biggest pair of pants I had.  The same style jeans but one size smaller.  I pulled them out thinking that these probably wouldn't fit but I had to at least try.  So, you can imagine my absolute shock when I put them on and was able to zip and button them.  I had to go look in the mirror and make sure I hadn't split the pants or something, but nope, they fit.  They were maybe even a little bit too big. 

HOLY WOW!

This was one of those things that was a major victory to me.
So I ask you - what do you do to celebrate these kinds of victories?

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go try on my other smaller pants and see what happens!

TWENTY FIVE POUNDS?!

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I've mentioned milestones before.  In any weight management program milestones are important.  I like to set realistic goals so I don't get discouraged.  So, when I reach a milestone I generally use ten pounds as my next goal.  It seems easy enough because it's not a huge number but far enough away that it'll take a few weeks to get there. 

Well, I hit a BIG milestone.  I lost twenty-five pounds.  25 pounds!  I don't know why but I tend to say it over and over again. My leader made a HUGE deal about it at the meeting.  The reward?  It's a small 'charm' that looks like a washer and it says 25 pounds on it.  It is supposed to fit onto a keychain that you get when you lose 10%.  I'm guessing that generally people lose 10% before they lose 25 pounds but I like to do things a little bit out of order!  Anyway to be 'honored' by the people who are on this journey with you is amazing and I'm thrilled.

Milestones are huge.

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Part of the Weight Watchers (WW) plan celebrates milestones.  At the beginning of the meeting the leader will announce those who have lost five pounds, or five additional pounds.  Your WW group also celebrates things like 10, 25, 50 pounds and 5%, 10%, etc...

They celebrate smaller milestones, for every five pounds you lose you I am three meetings in and I hit my first big milestone (beyond a 5 pound loss).  I lost another pound so I hit a 15 pound milestone.  When your leader recognizes you, it's thrilling.  My leader also asks each person being recognized how they were successful or what they have found that works.  I like this because it feels real.  I get to learn from the other people who have made this plan work.

Most people say things like... follow the plan, don't cheat, drink your water, journal everything.  Knowing that other people are doing something and it is working, is comforting to me.  It makes me want to do that so I can be successful too.  I mean, there's really no reason to reinvent the wheel, right?

Given that I'm able to follow the plan and hit milestones like losing 15 pounds is proof that it works.