week 6: -1.2, 7.2 lost, 22.8 to go

This has been a week of gingerbread houses and yummy goodies. How did I lose weight? I ate pizza, and I even had a 13 point Taco Bell 7-layer burrito for lunch yesterday!

This has also been a horrible week of tragic loss, and I am an emotional eater. I think that's where the burrito came in. BUT I tracked that burrito! And I tracked every little goodie that went into my mouth. Well... except for the bits of licorice I kept picking off of the gingerbread house. Hahaha. Anyway, I worked around it and made my little indulgences fit in. I didn't exercise like crazy, but I did fit in 3 or 4 days on the elliptical. I am pleased!

And now Christmas is coming. I am so worried. We will be in California for a week from Christmas Eve to New Year's Eve, smack dab in the middle of my last two weeks for this month. I need to lose 2.8 pounds in the next two weeks in order to reach my 2nd month goal of a 10 pound weight loss. How will I do it? I know we will be eating out. And eating yummy food at parties. I have to stay in control! I checked the hotel's website, and they do have an elliptical. If I completely lose my mind, I might exercise a few days while we are there. But then we do have some very active days planned, like going to the zoo. That's a lotta walking. I tell you what - I will be happy if I just maintain my current weight while we're there. But then when we get back I only have 3 days until my weigh in. And if I don't meet the 10 pound goal, I will be behind. And then I will have to lose more than 5 pounds in the next month! See how I'm working myself into a frenzy here? Ugg. I'd ask you to pray for me, but it hardly seems appropriate.

week 5: -0.8, 6 lost, 24 to go!

No time for pictures and charts this week.

All I have to say is I'M DOING IT!!! 

1/5 of the way there. :)

week 4: -1.2, 5.2 lost, 24.8 to go!

Dang, I've been busy! So busy that I haven't had time to share my most excellent news . . .

I lost my FIVE pounds for the first month!!!!

(no, i am not ready to tell you my weight)

I can't feel a difference, but I know I will soon. I just have to stick with what I am doing and watch the weight peel away.

week 3: -1.6, 4 lost, 26 to go

I love weigh-in days!!! I lost 1.6lbs this week. AMAZING! That makes it a total of 4lbs lost in 3 weeks. I am right on track for that 5lbs in one month. Look at me running along that weight loss ticker! Yes, I am excited. :)

This is my progress chart for this week:

I am very pleased, considering it was my birthday this last week. And I made carrot cake. And I ate a 13 PointsPlus piece on Tuesday, Wednesday AND Thursday. I actually weighed myself the morning after the first piece, and I was a pound less than my weigh in today. Yikes. AND I didn't exercise enough! It shows 1hr 20 mins of exercise which was two 30 min days, and one 20 min day. BAD! I must say though that I have valid excuses. And I did lose 1.6, and I am on track. So, I am pleased. This next week should be nice and normal.

I've been thinking about Christmas coming up. We will be in California for an entire week. And there will be lots of fattening food. My plan is to be ahead of my weight loss before we go so that I have room to gain a couple (or a few) pounds. Then when I get back I will have a week before that 2 month weigh-in. Sounds like a plan, Stan!

And now I am off to exercise!

20 vs. 30

I haven't been exercising enough this week. It's tricky when I have this one golden time at the beginning of the day to do it. If I let that moment pass by, forget it!

So, I've been trying to bump up my elliptical time from 20 minutes to 30 minutes. 30 is so much longer than 20! When Matthew exercises with me, he won't let me stop and I make it the full 30 minutes. I was on my own this morning though and wimped out and just did 20. I even watch recorded shows while I do it, recorded shows that I really want to watch! But I guess that's not enough motivation. I just have to keep pushing myself since I want this so badly. And wouldn't it be great to look like that lady to the right?!

Funny story - last year when I wanted to exercise to lose weight (i think it was last year), I recorded some shows that I really wanted to watch: House and Law & Order SVU. I told myself that I could only watch those shows when I exercised. Then I never exercised, and I never watched my shows! It got to the point where the DVR was filling up and I had to sneak a few shows in. Then I started deleting House episodes to make room for Law and Order since I knew House reruns are played on USA. While sneaking in a few shows, I found out that Christopher Meloni left the show. I only watched it for him and Mariska Hargitay! The cases were awful. So, I deleted an entire season of that show. Haha.

I had already deleted a bunch of House episodes, and they weren't showing on USA. What a disaster. This summer I finally got the last season of House on Netflix and watched the entire thing in a week. Without exercising. It was good though! What a great ending to that series.

I decided that tricks would not work. I would only exercise if I really wanted to exercise. And that is what I am doing! I am ready to do the work. The most exciting part is that I am really doing it, and really seeing results! Almost every night I say to Mike, "I'm really doing this! I'm really losing weight!" And he says, "I know, honey. I'm so proud of you." He must think I'm so silly. But he knows I'm sincere. I am amazed everyday that I am sticking to my plan.

I am so anxious to weigh in on Friday. I know it's going to be a good one!

thanksgiving weigh-in?

My regular weigh in day is Friday. That would be the day after Thanksgiving. I'm not stupid! There was no way that I was going to weigh in the day after Thanksgiving. That is unless I planned counting points that day. Which I was not. So I weighed myself on Thursday. I lost another .9 pounds. Yea!!!

I didn't eat an enormous amount of food on Thanksgiving. I did fill my plate though, and I had a piece of pie for dessert. Oh ... I did eat some spinach dip (mayonnaise and sour cream based) with sourdough bread later that evening. Anyway, when I woke up on Friday morning I felt bloated and fat. I weighed myself just to see, and I had gained 2 pounds! In one day! I had leftovers that day (that's my plate to the right, minus the turkey and green bean casserole i already ate), and I did have a healthy amount of that dip again with bread. On Saturday I weighed one pound more! Yikes.

So, this morning I am back down a little. I am actually .4 lbs above my first weigh in where I lost 2.4 lbs. My decision after all of this is to SKIP this week's weigh in. I'm good with that. Having lost 2.4 for two weeks is just about spot on.

Now for this coming week... I am going to exercise as soon as I finish writing this. :) I really need to lose at least one pound in order to get back on track. Totally within the realm of possibilities! I'm finished with leftovers, and that spinach dip and bread are gone. Haha. I'm back on plan, and I have five more days until the next weigh in. I can do it!

sample menu plans

I follow this cute girl's blog that is all about weight loss: http://livingachangedlife.blogspot.com/. I can't remember how I even found the blog! At any rate, she has lots of great tips from her own experience.

Earlier this week she did a post on sample menus. CLICK HERE to read it. (the pic is from her post)

I am good at picking out recipes, but I am not good at actually making them. I think I really need to focus on that. I also have noticed during the last week and a half that I haven't changed what I am eating as much as I should. Instead I am taking the regular stuff I eat, and just reducing the portions. I know I could be eating more if I make better food choices. Thus the sample menu plans! There are some great ideas there! I am really going to try to incorporate some of these into my plan.

Day Four looks yummy. :)

{Day Four} 

Morning - Cottage cheese & tomato
2 slices reduced calorie whole wheat bread (3 PointsPlus)*
1 cup fat free cottage cheese (3 PointsPlus)*
1 small tomato, sliced (0 PointsPlus)*
1 medium orange (0 PointsPlus)*
1 cup black coffee (0 PointsPlus)

Total PointsPlus value: 6

Midday - Tuna & bulgur salad
1 cup spinach leaves topped with (0 PointsPlus)*
1 cup cooked bulgur, mixed with (4 PointsPlus)*
  1/2 cup tuna, canned in water, drained (3 PointsPlus)*
  1/2 red bell pepper, diced (0 PointsPlus)*
  1/2 cup diced cucumber (0 PointsPlus)*
  1 scallion, chopped (0 PointsPlus)*
  2 Tbsp fat free balsamic vinaigrette (0 PointsPlus)

Total PointsPlus value: 7

Evening - Grilled chicken & baked potato
1 small plain baked potato, topped with (2 PointsPlus)*
  2 Tbsp fat free sour cream (0 PointsPlus)*
3 oz grilled skinless, boneless chicken breast (3 PointsPlus)*
2 cups mixed greens, tossed with (0 PointsPlus)*
  1/4 cup halved cherry tomatoes (0 PointsPlus)*
  1/4 cup halved grapes (0 PointsPlus)*
  1/4 cup diced jicama (0 PointsPlus)*
  2 tsp olive oil (2 PointsPlus)*
  2 Tbsp red wine vinegar (0 PointsPlus)*

Total PointsPlus value: 7

Anytime
1 grande [16 fl oz] fat free unsweetened latte (4 PointsPlus)*
1 banana (0 PointsPlus)*
1 cup sugar free lemonade (0 PointsPlus)
3 cups plain air popped popcorn (2 PointsPlus)*

Total PointsPlus value: 6

Daily PointsPlus Total: 26

I'll let you know how it goes!