WW Weigh In: Week 4

YIKES!  ok, it is not like i didn't see it coming.  +1.2 pounds gained over the past week.  i have to say...i don't feel bad for one ounce of the weight.  everything i ate was WORTH IT.  i wasn't just eating b/c i was bored or stressed.  B and i cooked two great meals that were pretty healthy, overall (but when ya have steak and mashed taters...the points go quickly!).  and delicious.  we indulged in a cannoli for Christmas and one the day after.  we were required to do that; we are in the North End for the holidays!  we ate a bunch of Lindt chocolate (maybe too much).  but, again, i know that i would have been pretty bitter if i didn't savor food for a special time of year. today marks the first day since last Saturday that i've been 100% on-plan.  i'll be good tomorrow, but New Year's eve is going to be off the book.  and i'm not gonna feel bad about that either!  i am trying to think of some manageable way to really take this 'lifestyle' change to the next level.  i still am in 'diet' mindset, and that is not my overall goal.  i want to live a healthier lifestyle in mind and body.  this is not rocket science.  and for the sake of the cannoli, i can change.  i just have to do it.  no excuses.  no one/thing is force-feeding me, or making me stay in bed longer than i need to, or tempting me to sit on my arse all day.  the responsible party is typing this blog.  i don't believe in making New Year's resolutions anymore because they inevitably are the same year after year (lose weight, excersize more, get out of debt, finish school).  but i think i do need to try to be very specific about my goals and i need to try to make them manageable.  sounds like a productive way to spend my time before the Patriots game starts :)

Snowshoeing the Minuteman Trail 12/23/2007

ahhhh...i feel like i've earned enough activity points to keep me in the black for at least a day!  i'm going to try to post the slide show of some pictures i took.  enjoy!

Week Three Weigh-In

wow, i could get used to this.  -2.4 lbs gone.  (total 7.4 lbs lost since the beginning of Dec.!).  there was a thread on a WW message board asking "how many sticks of butter have you lost?"  1 lb= 4 sticks of butter.  SO...i've lost the equivalent of  29.6 sticks of butter (fat + water).  YUMMY.

i am very, very hopeful that this loss will be maintained through next week while B & i are housesitting in the North End.  anyone that has ever been to the North End in Boston knows exactly what i'm talking about.  it is the "Little Italy" of Boston and as that might imply the food is, well, mostly excellent.  yummy pasta dishes & delicious pastries solicit at every turn.  man o' man.  i suppose the timing couldn't be better; i feel determined and the continued weight loss has given me enough momentum that i think i can keep the "wild bingeing woman" inside chained during tempting situations. 

now i must ponder tomorrow.  specifically...do i go into work tomorrow?  if i do will i get ANYTHING done?  Merry Xmas everyone.  See ya next week!

Week Two Weigh-In...

OUTSIDE...BRR!!

very, very encouraged!  i logged a -1.8 lb loss for this week (*jumping w/glee*).  that also brings me to my 5 lb 'milestone'.  now, only 55 more to go!  i need to figure out how to get that little weight ticker to show up on this spot...the font is black and it needs to be white!  i want to see that frog hop on down the ticker :)  guess i will change my template...

so it is pretty yucky outside today (see pic)...a few inches of new snow, some sleet on top of it.  i decided i would earn an activity point by digging my car out to go to Starbucks  then hit up EMS for some new cushy, warm socks.  well, my fiance then decided to get me an early Xmas gift and so i also got a couple new pairs of trail shoes (on sale-even better!).  oh, i do love trail shoes.  some women have shoe addictions.  i am NOT one of them.  but i LOVE trail shoes...they can be hiking shoes, trail running shoes...no matter.  i LOVE my new ones so much i'm including their pic.  not even my fiance has been included (well, OK, i don't think he wants to be publicized just yet...).   

it is truly my intention to use these shoes for good.  there was a time when i lived in Colorado, not so long ago, that i loved hiking.  i also went cross-country skiing and snowshoeing a handful of times a year.  when i was running consistently i would go to some trails in the foothills and run which is just so much more interesting than just pounding the pavement.  there really is little reason why i can't find places here to do the same stuff.  so, my dear shoes, you WILL be used for something other than casual day-to-day wear.  i promise!!

Week One on WW's

i log a loss today for WW online, Week One, of -3.2 lbs.  Yippy!!  i am hoping i can stick with it.  i feel that this week was a little abnormal since i had started right before my period...so i will be interested in seeing what this upcoming week looks like.  i've also not started exercising yet, which might help me feel better overall and, obviously, help me gain some points back (although i've stayed OP this week and did not use but 1 of my 35 weekly flex points).  this is a little annoying for me but i've not quite gotten over that activation energy hump to start the C25K plan yet.  it is COLD outside which is one 'excuse' (although, imagine my shame when i see people jogging in the snow and on potentially icy ground!).  this does not prevent me from using my Gold's Gym membership.  Gold's loves people like me...i just fork over my $40/mth fee and do not contribute one iota to wear-n-tear on their machines!  i just need to START. that is my motto now with everything i do.  the Diss.  the Lab work.  the Diet.  and now...Exercise.  everyday i have to start again.  if i have a good day then i need to acknowledge it and allow that to encourage me.  if i have a bad day then i need to start again the next day, hour, minute...it is always a new beginning no matter what the moment it.  

this blog will hopefully not stagnate like so many things in my life.  i tend to get really interested in something or some goal and then lose focus.  but, provided that this will be my way of accounting for positive change in my life, i am going to try my best to use this.  is it weird to advertise to the world my goals and personal challenges?  perhaps it is (yet so many people do it these days!)...but it is the fear of an audience that makes me want to accomplish what i set out to do.  onward!!

Wow, this thing is still active!

i can't believe it!  well i think i've got one of those "i-had-this-for-breakfast" blogs....only by not using this site for months at a time it doesn't even qualify for that.  the CAT demanded to be on my lap while typing this...he seems interested.  i guess i'll continue for his benefit.

so...let's see.  i guess i can start with an actual introduction.  i'm zen, gal in her 30's (please...i don't want to be a full grown WOMAN...whaaa!!), and reasonably dissatisfied with my life.  in a way that seems selfish and wrong b/c i have a relatively easy life.  i'm a graduate student and if i could concentrate on writing my dissertation i might actually graduate in 3 or 4 months.  i am engaged to a very good man who frankly brings logic into my life....and i'd be hurting pretty badly financially if he didn't allow me to shack up with him.  i guess i'm having a bit of an early mid-life crisis because i don't know what i want in life and wish it could be more fulfilling.  so, i have a lot of work to do on developing my 'self'.

that said,  i have started on one venture that might bring me closer to my goal of attaining better health.  i started Weight Watchers online about a week ago.  i am starting at my heaviest weight ever...200 lbs (199.8 to be exact).  it might not be exactly a 'fair' week for that female 'reason' but as long as i log a loss on Sunday me be real happy.  my ultimate goal is to get back down to 140 pounds...but i will be happy between 140-150 lbs.

i have not, however, started on my exercise goals.  man, it is so tough to start when it is frickin' COLD outside!  i want to start running again.  i used to be a consistent runner and was at my healthiest weight and mindset when i was in that mode.  but it has been YEARS since i've run [consistently].  i saw on the WW site reference to the C25K plan through coolrunnings.com so i will try to follow that.

i guess that is it for this post.  a little whine and a little goal announcement.