Yes, I speak the truth. You really can lose weight on vacation. How do I know this? Because I did it.
We left for Chicago last Tuesday. I did go to a Weight Watchers center on Thursday to weigh-in and I was down 0.4. Not bad. Granted, I'd only been on vacation for 2 days and it was Chicago so that included lots and lots of walking. The real test would be Friday-Tuesday when I would be at my sister's house for my nephew's graduation. That meant dinner and a graduation party. Could I do it?
I will admit that I was very nervous before vacation started. I knew I wouldn't be counting points. I knew that there would be plenty of yummy foods on this trip and I knew that I wouldn't be able to say no to everything.
I did avoid some things. But most, I did in moderation. I did have Chicago pizza. I did have a cupcake at the graduation party. I may have had 2, but they were the home baked, not the giant ones you get at cupcake shops these days. But when we went to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, I had the salad with the chicken tenders on top and I got both the wing sauce and the salad dressing on the side.
I brought my hot cereal with me to make for breakfast so I wouldn't be tempted by junk. I bought strawberries when we went to the farm store, so I'd have fruit to snack on. I did have ice cream in Chicago, just a single scoop cone. And a frozen custard, but a mini with fresh strawberries in it.
I stopped eating when I felt like I was getting full instead of eating until I felt sick.
And it worked! When I went to Weight Watchers yesterday, I was down a full pound!!
So yes, you can lose weight on vacation. You just have to be conscious of what you are doing! Make the right choices. Eat the things you really want, in moderation. And try to get in the exercise.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Slow and steady wins this race!
This is so true! One thing I have always said as I try to lose weight is that I didn't put it on overnight, I can't take it off overnight. It's taken me about 40 years to gain the weight and now I hope it doesn't take me 40 years to take it off.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Monday Motivation!
I didn't have time to post on Friday, so we're on to Motivation Monday instead. It had a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
So the focus of today's post is vacation! Tomorrow I'm flying to the Midwest and I have to admit, I have been very nervous about what this is going to do to my recent success. 10 plus weeks was huge, and I really want to continue to lose, but I am afraid of what can happen on vacation because I will be out of my element. There are some things that I won't be able to control. I know that, but I have to remember that vacation does not give me a free pass to eat whatever I want. I have worked very hard over the past 10 weeks to get where I am and I can't throw that away now.
This isn't going to be easy. I know that. But the best things in life doesn't come easy. They take work and the results are worth it when we work hard. So I will get out and walk. That will be the first thing I need to do. And the hotel has a gym, so I need to make sure I use it. But even if I don't, I'll need to walk. And I'll be keeping an eye on my pedometer and my ActiveLink. That will tell me if I am doing the work.
Food is also going to be something I really need to think about. We all love to try new foods in new places. But I need to focus on keeping those to a minimum. Moderation. A taste. No over indulging. As my BIL said, "it doesn't taste any better when you go back for seconds or order a larger size." I can still enjoy something in a smaller portion, so that is what I need to do.
Wish me luck!!
Oh, and while I'm away, I will be weighing in at a Weight Watchers center to see how I'm doing. So you should see a post from me again on Thursday with those results.
So the focus of today's post is vacation! Tomorrow I'm flying to the Midwest and I have to admit, I have been very nervous about what this is going to do to my recent success. 10 plus weeks was huge, and I really want to continue to lose, but I am afraid of what can happen on vacation because I will be out of my element. There are some things that I won't be able to control. I know that, but I have to remember that vacation does not give me a free pass to eat whatever I want. I have worked very hard over the past 10 weeks to get where I am and I can't throw that away now.
This isn't going to be easy. I know that. But the best things in life doesn't come easy. They take work and the results are worth it when we work hard. So I will get out and walk. That will be the first thing I need to do. And the hotel has a gym, so I need to make sure I use it. But even if I don't, I'll need to walk. And I'll be keeping an eye on my pedometer and my ActiveLink. That will tell me if I am doing the work.
Food is also going to be something I really need to think about. We all love to try new foods in new places. But I need to focus on keeping those to a minimum. Moderation. A taste. No over indulging. As my BIL said, "it doesn't taste any better when you go back for seconds or order a larger size." I can still enjoy something in a smaller portion, so that is what I need to do.
Wish me luck!!
Oh, and while I'm away, I will be weighing in at a Weight Watchers center to see how I'm doing. So you should see a post from me again on Thursday with those results.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
A Perfect 10!
That's right folks, 10 straight weeks of weight loss. Today was another 1.2 drop on the scale.
This has not been an easy week and I would not recommend following my example this week if you really want to lose weight. It started out with the Cinco de Mayo party at my office last Thursday after work. I can say that I didn't eat as much as I would have in the past. I was full, but not stuffed. I did eat things with cheese. And I had churros. So not the healthiest choices, but again, I didn't stuff myself.
The weekend was ok. I did get out to the track. I did less laps on Saturday, but more than made up for it on Sunday.
And then the work week started again. UGH! The beginning of the week was very stressful. Just so much stuff to get done. Monday was ok as far as eating and I got out to walk at lunch, but I ran out of my oatmeal and the substitute was 1 point higher than the one I normally eat. And by the time I got home Monday night, I was pretty exhausted and didn't do a full workout.
Tuesday was just awful. I was pretty much tied to my desk the majority of the day because of work and wasn't even close to my daily goal of 5000 steps by lunchtime. And then there was lunch. I was asked to have lunch with some potential new employees. The firm ordered lunch for us from California Pizza Kitchen. Between the food and the fact that I didn't get out to walk during my lunch hour, that was a double whammy. And then by the time I got home, I was completely exhausted and had no energy to work out. I barely scrapped up 10,000 steps for the day and my ActiveLink only registered 1 earned activity point for the day. I have been averaging 6.
Yesterday was a little better, but the weather cut my walk short. There were off and on showers and while I managed to get out, I didn't walk as far for fear of getting caught in a downpour far from the office. I was running around the office quite a bit, so I racked up the points that way. I was at nearly 8000 before I went to lunch. But again, when I got home last night, no energy for a workout.
So stepping on the scale this morning, a loss of 1.2 was HUGE under the circumstances. But I also know that this is not the norm and if I were to continue to do this every week, I would quickly see the numbers climb.
The next few days should be ok. But I am nervous about the next 2 weeks. Vacation! We'll be spending 4 days in Chicago and that means eating out for every meal. On the plus side, lots of walking. And then it's off to visit family for a few days. That can be torture. Not because I don't want to visit but because I get lazy. I don't pay attention to what I'm eating. I don't do my workouts. So I know that I must stay focused. I must push myself.
And I have given my husband permission to question me about everything I put in my mouth. For the entire time that we are away, he gets to crack the whip and keep me in line. But only for this week and only when it comes to my diet and exercise.
So today's weight: 208.4
Year to date total weight lost: 8.6 lbs
I can do this!
This has not been an easy week and I would not recommend following my example this week if you really want to lose weight. It started out with the Cinco de Mayo party at my office last Thursday after work. I can say that I didn't eat as much as I would have in the past. I was full, but not stuffed. I did eat things with cheese. And I had churros. So not the healthiest choices, but again, I didn't stuff myself.
The weekend was ok. I did get out to the track. I did less laps on Saturday, but more than made up for it on Sunday.
And then the work week started again. UGH! The beginning of the week was very stressful. Just so much stuff to get done. Monday was ok as far as eating and I got out to walk at lunch, but I ran out of my oatmeal and the substitute was 1 point higher than the one I normally eat. And by the time I got home Monday night, I was pretty exhausted and didn't do a full workout.
Tuesday was just awful. I was pretty much tied to my desk the majority of the day because of work and wasn't even close to my daily goal of 5000 steps by lunchtime. And then there was lunch. I was asked to have lunch with some potential new employees. The firm ordered lunch for us from California Pizza Kitchen. Between the food and the fact that I didn't get out to walk during my lunch hour, that was a double whammy. And then by the time I got home, I was completely exhausted and had no energy to work out. I barely scrapped up 10,000 steps for the day and my ActiveLink only registered 1 earned activity point for the day. I have been averaging 6.
Yesterday was a little better, but the weather cut my walk short. There were off and on showers and while I managed to get out, I didn't walk as far for fear of getting caught in a downpour far from the office. I was running around the office quite a bit, so I racked up the points that way. I was at nearly 8000 before I went to lunch. But again, when I got home last night, no energy for a workout.
So stepping on the scale this morning, a loss of 1.2 was HUGE under the circumstances. But I also know that this is not the norm and if I were to continue to do this every week, I would quickly see the numbers climb.
The next few days should be ok. But I am nervous about the next 2 weeks. Vacation! We'll be spending 4 days in Chicago and that means eating out for every meal. On the plus side, lots of walking. And then it's off to visit family for a few days. That can be torture. Not because I don't want to visit but because I get lazy. I don't pay attention to what I'm eating. I don't do my workouts. So I know that I must stay focused. I must push myself.
And I have given my husband permission to question me about everything I put in my mouth. For the entire time that we are away, he gets to crack the whip and keep me in line. But only for this week and only when it comes to my diet and exercise.
So today's weight: 208.4
Year to date total weight lost: 8.6 lbs
I can do this!
Friday, May 3, 2013
Friday Motivation! - or a little background on me, not sure how motivating it is.
In my Weight Watchers meetings, they often ask the question "what made you join Weight Watchers?" Sometimes it is referred to as you "Aha Moment." Well, I'll be honest. There wasn't anything that suddenly clicked and made me say "I'm going to do this." I'm sure that's not what people want to hear, but really, it's the truth.
I joined Weight Watchers with a friend. She had decided to do an "at work" meeting that was actually being held at the office across the street from ours where her friend work and she asked me if I wanted to go with her. I decided, sure, why not?
I've been overweight (obese) my entire life. I was never a skinny kid. I don't have clothes in the back of my closet that I used to fit in when I was 18, 20, 25. There are no "skinny clothes." I was always the fat kid, but honestly, I didn't hate myself or feel miserable. Well, almost never. I know there were times when people made not so nice comments about my weight, but that was just who I was. I didn't let it stop me from doing what I wanted to do...except that one time.
I was in junior high. Gym glass. All us fat girls just love gym class, don't we? My gym teacher was not my biggest fan. We were doing gymnastics and that day, it was the uneven bars. There was this one move that I really wanted to do. I was up on the bars and the teacher said "I don't know why you're even going to bother. It's not like you'll be able to do it anyway." I wish I could tell you that I said "I'll show you!" and I did it. But no. Instead, I got off the bars and said something along the lines of "fine, then I guess I won't do anything" and I spent the rest of the class sitting along the wall. BUT, there was some positive out of that. Several of the "popular girls" talked to me and told me how rude she was and that she wasn't right, that I should try it if I wanted to do it. I think the next time we had gym, I tried that move. I wasn't the most graceful, but I at least tried. I may have given up the first time, but I went back and tried again.
Anyway, that's about the only "fat girl" moment that sticks out in my mind. I'm not sure where much of my confidence comes from, but I'm glad that I have the attitude that other people's opinions of me will not determine who I am. Sure, I have insecure moments, plenty of them, but they don't rule my life.
As I said, I've always been heavy, fat, overweight...whatever you want to call it. I don't know what I weighed because for most of my life, I didn't own a scale. I just didn't want to know. When I'd go to the doctor, I wouldn't look and I wouldn't ask. Now...I pay attention. I still don't live or die by the numbers on the scale but I really do like seeing the number get smaller and I am really looking forward to getting below 200 again, and to that magic 185 that I've set as my May 1, 2014 goal...less than a year to go now. (And I'm a little excited at the possibility that I might even see that 185 before May 1, but I can't think about that now. One goal at a time.)
So while I do pay more attention to the numbers now, how I feel is even more important. I never let my weight get in the way of doing things that I really wanted to do. I never wanted to run, although I'm finding that it's really not so bad. And I enjoy excercise more than I thought I would. But I didn't hide away in the house because I was fat. I went out. I traveled. I walked a lot, even when I was a kid, but to me it wasn't exercise, it was just a way to get where I wanted to go.
Where am I going with my life story? I have no idea. Maybe I'm just saying that don't use your weight as an excuse not to do things. If you feel like it's getting in your way of doing the things you really want to do, then do something about it. I can't help you find your "Aha moment" because I don't even know what mine was. I just know that I said "sure" when someone asked me to go to Weight Watchers with them and I decided that maybe now was the time to lose some weight and to see what it was like to not be the "fat girl" anymore.
There is a saying: Nothing tastes as good as thin feels. My response to that has always been, well I don't know because I've never been thin, but I sure have tasted some really good food in my life. Maybe one of these days, I'll know how thin feels.
I joined Weight Watchers with a friend. She had decided to do an "at work" meeting that was actually being held at the office across the street from ours where her friend work and she asked me if I wanted to go with her. I decided, sure, why not?
I've been overweight (obese) my entire life. I was never a skinny kid. I don't have clothes in the back of my closet that I used to fit in when I was 18, 20, 25. There are no "skinny clothes." I was always the fat kid, but honestly, I didn't hate myself or feel miserable. Well, almost never. I know there were times when people made not so nice comments about my weight, but that was just who I was. I didn't let it stop me from doing what I wanted to do...except that one time.
I was in junior high. Gym glass. All us fat girls just love gym class, don't we? My gym teacher was not my biggest fan. We were doing gymnastics and that day, it was the uneven bars. There was this one move that I really wanted to do. I was up on the bars and the teacher said "I don't know why you're even going to bother. It's not like you'll be able to do it anyway." I wish I could tell you that I said "I'll show you!" and I did it. But no. Instead, I got off the bars and said something along the lines of "fine, then I guess I won't do anything" and I spent the rest of the class sitting along the wall. BUT, there was some positive out of that. Several of the "popular girls" talked to me and told me how rude she was and that she wasn't right, that I should try it if I wanted to do it. I think the next time we had gym, I tried that move. I wasn't the most graceful, but I at least tried. I may have given up the first time, but I went back and tried again.
Anyway, that's about the only "fat girl" moment that sticks out in my mind. I'm not sure where much of my confidence comes from, but I'm glad that I have the attitude that other people's opinions of me will not determine who I am. Sure, I have insecure moments, plenty of them, but they don't rule my life.
As I said, I've always been heavy, fat, overweight...whatever you want to call it. I don't know what I weighed because for most of my life, I didn't own a scale. I just didn't want to know. When I'd go to the doctor, I wouldn't look and I wouldn't ask. Now...I pay attention. I still don't live or die by the numbers on the scale but I really do like seeing the number get smaller and I am really looking forward to getting below 200 again, and to that magic 185 that I've set as my May 1, 2014 goal...less than a year to go now. (And I'm a little excited at the possibility that I might even see that 185 before May 1, but I can't think about that now. One goal at a time.)
So while I do pay more attention to the numbers now, how I feel is even more important. I never let my weight get in the way of doing things that I really wanted to do. I never wanted to run, although I'm finding that it's really not so bad. And I enjoy excercise more than I thought I would. But I didn't hide away in the house because I was fat. I went out. I traveled. I walked a lot, even when I was a kid, but to me it wasn't exercise, it was just a way to get where I wanted to go.
Where am I going with my life story? I have no idea. Maybe I'm just saying that don't use your weight as an excuse not to do things. If you feel like it's getting in your way of doing the things you really want to do, then do something about it. I can't help you find your "Aha moment" because I don't even know what mine was. I just know that I said "sure" when someone asked me to go to Weight Watchers with them and I decided that maybe now was the time to lose some weight and to see what it was like to not be the "fat girl" anymore.
There is a saying: Nothing tastes as good as thin feels. My response to that has always been, well I don't know because I've never been thin, but I sure have tasted some really good food in my life. Maybe one of these days, I'll know how thin feels.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
I'm going down!
C'mon everyone, sing along...I'm going down! Ok, I don't really know anymore words to the song right now. LOL
But the words are true. I am going down. For the 9th straight week, I have seen the number on the scale get smaller and smaller. Today it was down 0.8 lbs. I was thinking 0.4, so double that is twice as nice. And, I broke the 210 plane. I was hoping to break thru that 2 weeks ago, but then the bombings happened and the manhunt and the stress of the week kept my numbers low, but they were still down.
So, for a recap with the numbers, with the loss this week, that means I am down 7.4 so far this year. If you remember, I originally set my goal to lose 15lbs by year end. Then I changed it to be down more than 17lbs because I really want to get below 200. So the 7.4 puts me about halfway to my original goal, which is a month ahead of schedule. I think that means the 17+ lbs is definitely do-able.
So how am I remaining consistent? One of the keys is walking. I walk every day. I go out on my lunch hour and walk around Boston. Then at night, I have started walking after dinner. And my wonderful husband has been joining me on several of these walks. On the weekends, I hit the track. I'm still just walking the track, but this past weekend, I boosted my laps from 8 laps to 10 laps. I will soon start running, really, I promise I will. Maybe after my vacation. Or maybe I'll just try to run some this weekend so by the time I get back from vacation, I can do a whole lap.
I do wear a pedometer and I have the Weight Watchers ActiveLink so those both help to motivate me. I have been logging at least 15000 steps this week. Now I just need to focus more on counting my points. I do it most days, but on the weekends, I just don't do it. No excuses. I just don't feel like it. But I know I need to.
But the words are true. I am going down. For the 9th straight week, I have seen the number on the scale get smaller and smaller. Today it was down 0.8 lbs. I was thinking 0.4, so double that is twice as nice. And, I broke the 210 plane. I was hoping to break thru that 2 weeks ago, but then the bombings happened and the manhunt and the stress of the week kept my numbers low, but they were still down.
So, for a recap with the numbers, with the loss this week, that means I am down 7.4 so far this year. If you remember, I originally set my goal to lose 15lbs by year end. Then I changed it to be down more than 17lbs because I really want to get below 200. So the 7.4 puts me about halfway to my original goal, which is a month ahead of schedule. I think that means the 17+ lbs is definitely do-able.
So how am I remaining consistent? One of the keys is walking. I walk every day. I go out on my lunch hour and walk around Boston. Then at night, I have started walking after dinner. And my wonderful husband has been joining me on several of these walks. On the weekends, I hit the track. I'm still just walking the track, but this past weekend, I boosted my laps from 8 laps to 10 laps. I will soon start running, really, I promise I will. Maybe after my vacation. Or maybe I'll just try to run some this weekend so by the time I get back from vacation, I can do a whole lap.
I do wear a pedometer and I have the Weight Watchers ActiveLink so those both help to motivate me. I have been logging at least 15000 steps this week. Now I just need to focus more on counting my points. I do it most days, but on the weekends, I just don't do it. No excuses. I just don't feel like it. But I know I need to.
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