(Almost) A Week without Carbs

When I got back from vacation and a month of not tracking my points on Weight Watchers, my husband and I both jumped on the scale to see the damage. Last time I weighed myself in mid-July I was 183. Last Monday morning, I was 190. Yikes. That's a big jump in one month. I wanted to get back on track but knew that my typical pattern of eating well while at work then gorging at night and on weekends wasn't going to work.

I've never tried a no-carb or even low-carb diet before because it really didn't appeal to me, and I didn't think cutting out carbs made that big of a difference. But I needed to do something different, and I really wanted to get as far away from the 190s as quickly as possibly.

I didn't eliminate all carbs, but pretty close. Tuesday, I slipped up and had a few heaping spoonfuls of Bridget's macaroni and cheese, and I had granola on my yogurt on Monday. Otherwise, I was pretty good during the week even when the family and I went out to eat on Thursday. My husband almost ordered corn bread, though, and that would've killed me. Apparently, my telepathy worked, because he ordered potato salad instead, thankfully.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

By Saturday morning, I was down 7.4 lb (!!!), but the real challenge was coming up when I was going to a wedding reception barbecue later that day and having my parents over Sunday.

Saturday

Sunday

At the party Saturday, I basically ate whatever I wanted within reason and managed to rack up an estimated daily allowance's worth of points in just a few hours. Sunday was back to business, but I did sneak one Megastuff Oreo. This morning was the moment of truth, and I weighed in at 183.2 lb, down 6.8 lb in a week. I'll take it! I don't expect to lose that much next week because I know you lose a lot when you first start a new diet, and then it tapers off, but it was a nice jumpstart.

While I had some serious cravings during the week for things like cupcakes, candy, and basically everything, and I even had a dream about eating cookies, I actually didn't go hungry. Being full, or at least satisfied, helped a lot. When I usually do Weight Watchers with all the carbs, I find I'm starving and torture myself with salads at lunch to stay within my daily points. I did have a couple salads this week, and I accidentally skipped lunch altogether on Friday, but I wouldn't say I was starving at all. Who would've thought? Oh yeah, anyone who knows anything about nutrition. Silly me.

I didn't exercise at all last week, but I do plan on getting back into my regular Zumba and yoga this week and see how it goes. I usually gain a little when I start working out again, which I know is a good thing because I'm building muscle, but I just wanted to see the numbers drop to get back on track first.

This weekend, we're headed to Nashville with some friends, and I know lots of wine drinking is going to happen, so hopefully I don't mess this up too bad and reverse everything.

Health Screening Results

Last week, I took my annual healthy screening at work. They're not required, but they're encouraged, and we get a little bit of a monetary incentive if we participate. I always come out of these with basically the same results - completely healthy, nothing to worry about, except the weight thing. Here are the numbers:

	My Number	Optimal Range	Result
Blood Pressure	102/76	Less than 120/less than 80	Normal
Body Fat	32.5	21 - 32.9*	Normal*
Body Mass Index	27.3	18.5 - 24.9	Overweight
Total Cholesterol	138	Less than 200	Normal
High Density Lipoprotein	56	Greater than 50	Normal
Triglycerides	74	Less than 150	Normal
Low Density Lipoprotein	68	Less than 100	Normal
TC/HDL	2.5	3.3	1/2 Average Risk
Fasting Glucose	87	Less than 100	Normal

*They gave us two different charts to compare our results to. One said I was worse than poor in body fat, and the other one said I was at the high end of normal. I'm choosing to believe the high end of normal one.

Each year, I forget how the body fat test is done, and I go in worrying that they're going to pinch my stomach fat with some tongs. Not the case luckily. That would be kind of mortifying considering these tests are done pretty out in the open in one corner of the cafeteria. Really, they just hand you something that looks like a large XBOX controller, and you have to hold it in front of you with your arms out straight for about 5 seconds, and somehow that measures your body fat.

Not surprised at all by the BMI number, I assured the lady who was taking my test (who didn't seem concerned in the least about my above-optimal number actually) that I just started up Weight Watchers and that I mostly have a problem with portion control and a sweet tooth. She gave me the friendly tip of using smaller plates for dinner, which I plan on doing from now on. That won't help my snacking problem, but it's something.

All in all, not too shabby. Now if I can curb my snacking and bump up my activity level, I'll be one healthy chick.

Wellness Update

Perkins blueberry muffin - my reward for being good yesterday

I've been back on Weight Watchers for two weeks now, and it's been going pretty well so far. The first week was rough - I felt hungry all the time - but I ended up losing 2-1/2 lb. During the first week is also when the following somewhat amusing conversation I had with a friend took place. This was a conversation over IM, so our punctuation is not all there.

Dude: i'm doing WW
Dude: 7lbs first week
Me: WHAT! Men. I hate you.
Dude: you what is even better about that
Dude: guess what my daily pts are
Me: A million?
Dude: 54!
Dude: now 53
Dude: 49 weeklies
Me: Son of a bitch! I have 33 and I'm frickin hungry ALL THE TIME
Dude: i left 30 weeklies on the board
Dude: i knew you were gonna be pissed
Dude: couldn't resist

That's the thing with men. They seem to lose weight without even trying. And with a smidgen of effort, they lose TONS of weight. I wanted to slap him when he said he was hardly using any of his weeklies. I use up every last point every week.

Anyway, my weight loss so far isn't even close to his, but it's progress. And I'm happy to report that I was much less famished the second week.

Besides eating better, I'm also taking two fitness classes - Zumba on Tuesdays and Yoga on Thursdays. Zumba is great, and it feels less like a workout (although I do sweat) and more like fun. I forgot how hard yoga is, but it's a good thing. I definitely feel it in my muscles the next day. I've also been ice skating occasionally. Now I just have to keep up this momentum and ideally add another physical activity in there. My bro and sis-in-law got me these cool earbuds for Christmas that supposedly won't fall out of your ears; I'm looking forward to trying those out sometime. I may have to locate a treadmill since I'm not going to brave the elements to go running.

Beginning weight (since beginning again): 194
After two weeks: 188.8 (down 5.2 lb)
Goal: 175

Week Twenty-Four Weigh-in

Current Weight: 187.6 (down 3.8 lb this week, 17.4 lb overall)

It's a fluke. It has to be. There's no way with going to the state fair on Wednesday that I lost that much weight this week. Granted, I was pretty good the rest of the week, but still. Four pounds is unheard of unless I have the flu. It has to be  fluke.

But for now, I'm going to pretend it's not a fluke and that eating healthy this week will at least let me maintain that weight next week. Unfortunately, with this big loss of poundage, my daily allowance of points went down again. Ugh. Looking forward to a week of starving...

By the way, if true, this means that I'm down to my pre-pregnancy weight. Woohoo!!

Week Twenty-Three Weigh-in

Current Weight: 191.4 (down .6 lb this week, 13.6 lb overall)

Here's the problem. I never feel like entering points on the weekend. And I always feel like eating everything in sight on the weekend. Basically, I have to start saving all my points for Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen this week with state fair tomorrow (!!!).

To make up for my inevitably bad eating week, I decided to go for a run this morning. Not that it helps that much, but it's better than nothing. It does help me feel more energetic during the day. My knees hurt like crazy during today's run, and the dog was annoying as usual, but I'm still glad I did it. Depending on how late I stay up tonight, I may go again tomorrow. We'll see.

Speaking of energy, I've been coffee free for a week now. I got caffeine headaches the first two days; but by the third, I was good to go. Although I'm not sure how much difference it's making, I might as well continue with the lower caffeine content green tea. Maybe that's what helped me lose the half pound since I did kind of gorge myself last weekend.

Week Twenty-One Weigh-in

Current Weight: 194.4 (up 1.4 lb)

So...I skipped a few weeks there...or six. My last weigh-in post was Week 20, so I'm calling this Week 21 and ignoring all the junk I ate in the last month and a half. If only I could ignore the pounds I gained, too. To recap, last time I tracked my weight on WW, I was 191, which means I've actually gain 3.4 pounds instead of just the 1.4. I suck at this.

I've taking up running, though. I think I can officially say that now since I got up this morning at 5 AM and went for a run before work, which makes that my third attempt at running. It's going better every time. The dog was still annoying, but she needed the run, too. I jogged for longer spurts, and my hips don't hurt as much today. If I consciously put more weight on my left leg, it seems to help.

I also had a chat with my sis-in-law (an avid marathoner) this weekend, and she encouraged me to get running shoes, too. She told me about a running store that should be walking distance from work, and my friend Pete also commented in the last post about a store on my way home from work. So I'm set there. I just have to go.

So after all my hard work, I undid all of it by going to Dunkin Donuts this morning and buying a couple doughnuts. What? I needed more K-Cups! I really, really suck at this.

Week Twenty Weigh-in

Current Weight: 193 (up .8 lb)

See? This happens every time. I do well one week, and then I do poorly the next week.

I did OK Monday and Tuesday, but on Wednesday, I had a little impromptu night out in Chicago where some adult beverages were consumed, which do no favors as far as points are concerned. Worth it, but still. I was dragging the next couple days, and my laziness and sleepiness prevented me from caring about entering any points. Then the weekend hit, and I cared even less.

But I'm back to caring. I went to the grocery store tonight after spending a lot of time on the Weight Watchers website and picked up some healthy food items like tons of fruit, nuts, low-fat cheese, peanut butter and flatbread, etc.

Now if I can just stay out of the cookies I bought for hubs, I'll be good to go.

Week Nineteen Weigh-in

Current Weight: 192.2 (down 1.2 lb)

OK, we're going in the right direction. I did pretty well this week. By Friday, I had only used about 11 of my 49 weekly points (the extra points they give you for the week when you go over your daily points). With that in mind, I didn't bother tracking points at all this weekend. I didn't think I ate that much either, but I did have a few drinks Friday and Saturday. That always adds up.

I guess that's about all I have to stay about that this week.

Week Seventeen and Eighteen Weigh-in

Current Weight: 193.4 (down .4 lb)

This is one of those unexplained weight loss weeks. I didn't track points for two weeks, citing Mother's Day and having my mom-in-law as a house guest as my excuses this time. But I must not have been quite as bad as I thought I was. Awesome!

It's back on track this week. I will NOT go over my points. Let's see how I do.

Week Fifteen and Sixteen Weigh-in

Current Weight: 193.8 (up 1 lb)

Yeah... So what happened was, I was doing really well, and then hubs and I went out to eat Saturday. He insisted that points didn't matter that night and encouraged me to drink three adult beverages. Actually, he wanted me to drink four, but I stopped at three and switched to water because I knew going from liquor to wine was probably not the best plan. Then, I ate dinner and appetizers, which included the best onion rings on the planet. And then yesterday, I made s'mores bars, our Six Flags opening weekend tradition, and ate a couple of those along with some other junk food.

I wasn't even going to do a weigh-in post this week since I did so poorly this weekend, but I needed to have some accountability.

Hubs' mom is visiting this week, so we'll see if that helps or hinders my progress.

Goal/Incentive: Trying for Baby #2 when I hit 175. By the way, hubs lifted this restriction because he kind of just wants to get having kids over and done with (he's not a big fan of the newborn stage), but I don't want to start trying until the fall anyway. So I continue.

Week Twelve Weigh-in

Current Weight: 194.4 (down 2.8 lb)

I re-weighed myself four times this morning because I didn't believe it. Really though, I was pretty good this week. By the time the weekend hit, I still had 20 weekly points to play with (I start the week with 49 and usually burn through them well before Saturday), but I didn't track points at all Saturday or Sunday.

I feel like these fluke weight drops seem to happen like once a month, so maybe it's just the normal fluctuation of my weight. But I sure do like when they happen. My goal for this week is to maintain and not gain.

Goal/Incentive: Trying for Baby #2 when I hit 175. Hopefully this will happen by September because I'm definitely starting to get a case of baby fever.

Week Nine Weigh-in

Current Weight: 196 (down .4 lb)

I have no idea how I lost weight this week (barely), but I'm not complaining! By Thursday night, I was fresh out of weekly points. Friday and Saturday, I did OK; but Sunday, I pretty much ate everything in sight.  My husband is on this new kick of walking to the lake and back, which is 2 miles round trip, so we'll see if he can convince me to do that this week. That would definitely help get me back on track!

Week Eight Weigh-in

Current Weight: 196.4 (up .2 lb)


I'm completely OK with basically no weight change this week. With all the Girl Scout cookies I ate and not tracking points at all, I expected the number to be at least a pound higher. Now that my cookies are gone (whoops?), I can get back on track.

Goal: Lose 6-1/2 lb by April 2 (since Mondays are my weigh-in days).
Incentive: When I hit 190, I can make travel plans for my May trip to Tulsa.

Week Six Weigh-In

Current Weight: 198.4 (down 1 lb)

I didn't know how this week was going to go because I quit entering my points on Friday. Even with my being home all day Friday, a baby shower Saturday, and a kid's birthday party Sunday, I managed not to eat too much and lost a pound. It probably helps that I don't like cake. Like I said at the baby shower, had they served brownies, it would've been all over.

That's about all I have to say this week. I still have 8-1/2 more pounds to lose before I get to my next incentive of buying a plane ticket to Tulsa. It sounds like quite a ways to go, but hopefully I can do it in the next month. I guess I'll make it official...

Goal: Lose 8.5 lb by April 2 (since Mondays are my weigh-in days).
Incentive: When I hit 190, I can make travel plans for my May trip to Tulsa.

Week Four Weigh-In

Current Weight: 199.4 (down 4.4 lb) !!!

Progress Last Week:

I have no idea how I lost 4 lb this week, but I sure am happy about it! I stuck to my points, but because of a few indulgences throughout the week, I ended up with no points left by Sunday at 11 AM. So my lunch of coffee and a few frozen strawberries and my dinner of broccoli and a handful of Cheerios probably helped. With the big drop, I may gain a little back next week, but let's hope not.

I went to Zumba again this past week, and I was even more sluggish than the week before. I was a little sleep deprived, which made me want to take a nap while doing the exercises, but I survived. I don't have any plans this work week, so I'm looking forward to relaxing and sleeping a lot.

Goals This Week:

1. Try my darndest to stay under 200.
2. Continue Zumba.
3. Don't eat crap (except tomorrow--tomorrow, eat lots of junk food and drink wine) and make real food for dinner.
4. Do not go over my weekly points allowance.

Incentives:

When I hit 190, I can buy plane tickets to Tulsa for the Hanson Day event in May.

When I hit 175, we can start trying for kiddo #2.

Week Three Weigh-In

Current Weight: 203.8 (up 1.6 lb)

Progress Last Week:

I am not pleased.

I guess I'm not surprised either. I was really nervous about today's weigh-in. I didn't track points at all Friday through Sunday, and I ate tons of junk food Saturday night when I had some friends over for an early birthday shindig. I did have my Zumba class last week, so that's something.

Zumba Recap:

Having not worked out in a year or so besides taking the stairs at work, occasionally walking the dog, and every once in awhile playing Just Dance, I was a little concerned going into this Zumba class. I was even more concerned when it was just me and another person; but luckily, two other people came a few minutes late.

The first 5 minutes of class, I was feeling pretty good about myself. Maybe I wasn’t as out of shape as I thought! However, the next half hour, I proceeded to huff and puff as my face got redder and my legs got slower. When it was time to cool down the last 5 minutes of class, I was feeling pretty good about myself again. I had kept up with everyone, looking sluggish at times, but I still kept up.

They have to cancel the class if they don’t get one more person to enroll, so hopefully someone does. Apparently out of those that took it last session, two are hurt and one is pregnant. So I’ll go back next week and see if class is still on! I will say, so far, I like taking classes a lot better than bopping up and down on an elliptical machine for a half hour.

Goals This Week:

1. Take second Zumba class.
2. Don't eat crap and make real food for dinner.
3. Do not go over my weekly points allowance.

Incentives:

When I'm under 200, I can have peace of mind.

When I hit 190, I can buy plane tickets to Tulsa for the Hanson Day event in May.

When I hit 175, we can start trying for kiddo #2.

Week Two Weigh-In

Current Weight: 202.2 (down 2.8 lb)

Progress Last Week:

I did pretty darn good last week and stuck to my WW points, but unfortunately, I also felt hungry a lot.  I'll have to try to adjust what I'm eating to more filling foods.  I also went through the very quick fitness center orientation today, so I'm ready for Zumba on Thursday.

Goals This Week:

1. Take first Zumba class.
2. Try to eat more filling foods so that I'm not hungry.
3. Do not go over my weekly points allowance.

Incentives:

If I don't use (m)any weekly points, I can pig out on Saturday when I have people over without feeling guilty.

When I'm under 200, I can have peace of mind.

When I hit 190, I can buy plane tickets to Tulsa for the Hanson Day event in May.

When I hit 175, we can start trying for kiddo #2.

Week One Weigh-In

Starting Weight: 205

Goals This Week: 

1. Schedule orientation for the fitness center at work.
2. Sign up for the Zumba class at work.
3. Track every single thing I eat on WW.
4. Do not go over my weekly points allowance.

Incentives (more to come, I'm sure):

When I'm under 200, I can have peace of mind.

When I hit 190, I can buy plane tickets to Tulsa for the Hanson Day event in May.

When I hit 175, we can start trying for kiddo #2.

Thirty Pounds

It’s been my goal to lose weight forever. That’s not surprising considering it’s the goal for a lot of people. Since packing on nearly 50 lb during my last pregnancy and only losing about half afterward, that goal should weigh even heavier on my mind now (pun intended).

The last time I dropped a lot of weight was in 2008/2009 because I had a specific goal to work toward–my wedding! I didn’t shed as much as I originally planned, but I fit in the dress, and that’s all that matters as far as that moment in time goes.

My husband tries to be my cheerleader, but considering I generally give up on counting my Weight Watchers points after a day and a half, it’s a lot easier to be skeptical. But recently, he gave me another finish line to strive for. He made a deal with me that made a lot of sense. When I lose 30 lb, we can start trying for Baby #2.

I work a lot better with deadlines, and one my “resolutions” was to try to get pregnant this year. And, losing 30 lb would put me just under my pre-pregnancy weight. So it’s a win-win situation because getting pregnant at my current weight AND gaining another 50 lb would not be good. Ugh, I’m already not looking forward to being pregnant again, but I would like another baby sometime soonish.

So here I go. I need to be held accountable, so maybe I’ll have to find a community and tag along with some bloggers who track their weight loss. I don’t know if I’ll be brave enough to post the actual number on the scale, but I’ll at least find a way to post my gain/loss progress. And in the meantime, you all should judge me if/when I fall off the wagon. Positive reinforcement’s always good, too, I s’pose.

This One'll Be a Doozy

 I have to admit, I wasn't looking forward to this FBFF topic. This isn't a direction I originally wanted to go with this blog because I wanted to be all happy and show you cute pictures of my kid and talk about clothes and what's on TV.  Plus, I want to put my best foot forward for you guys.  But I just got on the FBFF bandwagon, and I didn't want to jump off, so here we go...

I always thought as you got older, you became more self-assured and not care what others think. I'm not quite there yet. I've been an adult for 10 years now, and I'm a mom, but I definitely do not have myself all figured out. Maybe someday!

1. Since you started blogging has your image of yourself changed?
I only started blogging this month, but I s'pose my image has started to change a little. Taking pictures of myself has probably only made me more critical. Hopefully in time, it'll also help me realize my progress (assuming I do lose this baby weight) and give me encouragement.

2. Are you self-conscious about any aspect of yourself? If so, do you
go out of your way to avoid it or do you post it/talk about it anyway?
I'm self-conscious about my weight and height, but I talk about both all the time. One topic I sometimes want to write about but completely avoid is my social awkwardness, which is related to my poor self image and also caring too much about what other people think.  Although people I meet probably figure it out pretty fast, I don't want to bring up the fact that I'm not good at one-on-one conversation, or that I'm absolutely rubbish at small talk (I'm hoping putting a British spin on it will make it more light-hearted). I wish I could bring games like Taboo or Pictionary and one glass of wine with me wherever I go because I feel most relaxed when I'm playing fun games with people...and/or when I have one adult beverage in me.

3. Based on how you are feeling now, what do you think the future
holds in the evolution of your body image?
Well, since I'm doing Weight Watchers, I'm hoping my body image will get better, but I've always been pretty critical of myself in that regard. When I look back at pictures of myself from years ago, I realize how decent I actually did look, but it's always retrospective. I don't think I really realized it at the time because I've always had this apparently unattainable goal weight in my mind.

4. Do you photograph yourself for your blog? If so, how do you feel
about the experience when you're having your picture taken? If you
choose not to post pictures of yourself, what prompted that decision?
Sometimes I do photograph myself for the blog. If it's to show off an outfit, I take my own pictures. Although I did ascribe to be a model once upon a time, posing for the camera is kind of awkward for me. If I were a model, I'd prefer to just walk the runway all the time.

And the reason I don't ask my husband to take the pictures is illustrated in conversation we had tonight:
Him: What are you doing?
Me: Taking pictures.
Him: Of what?
Me: Myself for my blog.
Him: Why?
Me: Because that's what people do.
Him: They're all stupid.  Don't do it.

Haha.  Lemme clarify.  He thinks I should have a blog, but he doesn't understand the outfit of the day thing.  Oh well!

5. What would you want every person who struggles with body image to take to heart?
Haha, am I supposed to give myself advice now? Someone in my situation who recently had a baby, I would remind them (and myself) that it took 9 months to put on the weight, and it'll potentially take 9 months to lose it. So chill.