So close!

I am very close to reaching my next mini-goal of 170, which will be a total loss of 50 pounds! I now weigh (drumroll, please) 170.8 pounds. Therefore, I have to lose .8 to get to that goal. Wow, that's amazing! I can't wait to get there. Once again, I have multiple big weight loss goals right in a row. Last time it was around the 200 pound mark.

My goals looked like this on February 22, 2010:

200- 20 pounds lost! (reached March 1, 2010)

199- ONEderland! (reached March 8, 2010)

198- my first 10%!!! (reached March 8, 2010)

This time around, my goals look like this:

170- 50 pounds lost!

169.9- Goodbye, 170's!!

Okay, so that's only 2 goals in a row this time, but still. My goal for this week is to work hard enough to lose one whole pound. That way on Saturday, I will hit both of these goals at once. And boy, will it feel great. :-)

Sharing my Journal, Sept 22-23

Food and Exercise Journal, September 23
time- food (points)

8:00am- banana (1.5)

8:30am- granola bar (4)

12:30pm- wasa crackers (2), 1/2 cup ff refried beans (1), salsa (0), steamed veggies (0), sandwich thin (1), 1 redvine (.5)

6:00pm- bean burrito (5), 1 tsp EVOO (1), steamed veggies (0)

8:00pm- kashi cereal (4), 1 cup soy milk (1), 2 redvines (1)

8:45pm- 1 hour Nordic Track (+6)

10:00pm- 1 cup soy milk (1), VITAMIN!!

Points Summary:
Daily Points- 24/24
Activity Points- 0/6
Weekly Points- 0/-5 (still digging out, but almost there!)

Lessons Learned:
I can eat 24 daily points just fine! I think that I would have overeaten last night had there been oreos in the house. Luckily there weren't, so thank Goodness. Also, I am pleased to announce that I will be OUT OF THE HOLE by my weigh-in tomorrow morning. I am still kind of expecting a gain, or at least a maintenance. But I'm pretty proud of tracking my negative points and getting caught up. This is the most OP I've ever been, despite the week starting off so badly. Lesson here: Don't let overeating go to my head and ruin the rest of my week.

September 22 Food and Exercise Journal
time- food (points)

8:00am- banana (1.5)

9:00am- granola bar (4)

12:30pm- 1 sandwich thin (1), 2 tbs peanut butter (2.5), apple (1)

1:30pm- 1 sandwich thin (1), 1 tsp EVOO (1)

4:15pm- carrots (0)

6:00pm- 1 cup brown rice (4), 1/2 cup black beans (1), 1 tsp EVOO (1), bell pepper (0), onion (0), romaine lettuce (0), tomato (0), garlic (0)

7:00pm- 30 minute bike ride (+2)

8:30pm- luna bar (3)

9:30pm- 1 hour Nordic Track (+6)

11:00pm- 2 cups soy milk (2), cookies (2), VITAMIN!!

Points Summary:
Daily Points- 24/24
Activity Points- 1/8
Weekly Points- 0/-11 (getting out of "the hole")

Lessons Learned:
I have been getting hungrier in the early morning lately. The banana and granola bar breakfast has been working for so long that to change it now is going to be tough! But I would love to find a more filling breakfast that could be eaten at my desk at work. I'm not "allowed" to eat at my desk, so things like oatmeal and burritos are out. Also, I'm so happy to be digging myself out of this WPA hole with APs! :-)

I lost a point....?

I was looking over my materials today and realized that I lost a daily point. I don't know when it happened, but I should be eating 24 daily points, not 25.

In the past, whenever I have lost a daily point, it has been because I went down a "decade" and ww.com reminds me to retake the quiz. This time I voluntarily retook the quiz and discovered that I have been eating too much.

I'm excited to lose that point, oddly enough. It means that I am getting smaller, that my new body requires less fuel to function.

I guess that I need to cut out some redvines from my plan for today! :-)

Sharing my Journal, Sept. 21

September 21 Food and Exercise Journal
time- food (points)

9:00am- banana (1.5)

10:00am- granola bar (4)

12:30pm- 4 wasa crackers (2), 1/2 cup ff refried beans (1), 1/2 cup salsa (0), 1 tsp EVOO (1), 4 redvines (2)

3:30 pm- carrots (0)

6:00 pm- 1 cup brown rice (4), 1/2 cup black beans (1), 1 tsp EVOO (1), bell pepper (0), garlic (0), romaine lettuce (0), tomatoes (0), onion (0)

7:00pm- bike ride (+2 AP)

9:00 pm- Nordic Track (+3 AP)

9:45 pm- 1 sandwich thin (1), pineapple (1), boca chikn pattie (1)

10:40 pm- 2 cups soy milk (2.5), cookies (2), 2 sandwich thins (3.5)

Points Summary:
Daily used: 25/25
AP used: 3.5/5
WPA used: 0/-18 (all used this week plus an extra 18! But at least I know.)

GHG Summary
Fruits/Vegetables- CHECK!
Healthy Oils- CHECK!
Dairy- CHECK!
Lean Protein- CHECK!
Vitamins- CHECK!
Whole Grains- CHECK!
Activity- CHECK!
Sugar/Alchohol- CHECK!

Lessons Learned:
I learned a lot yesterday. Mostly that I was very hungry in the evening, despite my very filling dinner. I had really planned to "save" all earned APs this week, since I am in the hole with my WPA right now. But I did get that number down a little bit (from -18 to -16.5) so I'm progressing. :-)

I need to learn what's making me eat so late at night after a filling and healthy day. Why am I hungry for more bread? Am I really hungry, or is it just my emotions tricking me? I will try to push through today with eating my 25 DP, getting in all 9 GHGs again, and earning 8 AP. I can do this!!

September 22 Food and Exercise Plan:
morning- banana (1.5), granola bar (4)
midday- 1 sandwich thin (1), 1 tbs peanut butter (2.5), 1 cup soy milk (1), 1 apple (1)
evening- leftovers from last night: brown rice (4), black beans (1), 1 tsp EVOO (1), lots of veggies (0)
anytime- cookies (2), 1 cup soy milk (1), 2 redvines (1), sandwich thin w/ 1 tsp EVOO (2), pineapple (2)
activity- bike ride (+2), Nordic Track (+6)

Thoughts on PMS cravings...

I completely gave into my PMS cravings over the weekend. I didn't track for most of that time, either. Given the ammount of oreos and chips that I consumed, I am going to just consider that my WPA are gone. In order to not feel deprived for the rest of the week, I am going to allow myself to eat up to 4 earned AP each day.

I also want to come back here and plan and track like I did a couple of weeks ago. Hope that's okay with all of you! It got me back on track last time, and I hope it will have the same affect this time around.

I did still manage to have both a scale victory (SV) and non-scale victory (NSV) this weekend. I was down 1.2 pounds, bringing me to 171.4, and oh-so-close to my next mini-goal of 170 (50 pounds gone!!) and just about as close to my birthday (October 7) goal of 169.9. I want to weigh less than 170 so badly! I am so close to being out of this "decade" that I can taste it.

The NSV? I wore shorts. In public. And these shorts were purchased from the JUNIOR department!! They are size XL, not a specific size, but still. Amazing. I have a junior ass again. How exciting. :-)

Here I go with today's plan:

morning:

banana (1.5)

granola bar (4)

midday:

2 sandwich thins (3.5)

2.5 teaspoons peanut butter (2)

1 cup soy milk (1)

1 small apple (1)

evening:

1/2 cup brown rice (2)

1/2 cup black beans (1)

1 tsp EVOO (1)

lots of cooked zero-point vegetables (0)

anytime:

chips (2)

salsa (0)

1 tsp EVOO (1)

3 oreos (4)

1 cup soy milk (1)

activity:

30 minutes at Curves

30 minute bike ride

30 minutes on Nordic Track

Points Summary:

25/25 DP, 7 AP earned

down another 1.2!!! (and today's plan)

I am thrilled to be down another exciting 1.2 pound. My birthday goal (being under 170 by October 7) is seeming more and more realistic! Yay!!!

(((Weight Watchers)))

Here's my plan for today:

morning:banana (2)
granola bar (4)

midday:
2 sandwich thins (3)
2 teaspoons peanut butter (1.5)
1 cup soy milk (1)
apple (1)

evening:
big healthy cooked meal that includes- bell pepper (0), tomato (0), romaine lettuce (0), garlic (0), onion (0), red wine vinegar (0), lime juice (0), 1 cup brown rice (4), 1/2 cup beans (1), 2 teaspoons EVOO (2.5)

anytime:
3 double stuff oreos (4)
1 cup soy milk (1)

activity:
Curves (30 minutes, +2 AP)
Nordict Track (60 minutes, +6 AP)

25/25 DP, 0 WPA used, all GHGs met

I'm hoping for another successful WW week!

Weight Tracker Update...

I changed my weight loss tracker to show all of my progress since June 2009. Before it was from when I started The Kind Diet, but now it shows ALL of my progress. Makes me feel happy to see that much loss. I not only CAN DO THIS, I actually AM DOING THIS.

:-)

And I took away the "average weekly loss" because it was starting to discourage me. (Don't ask me why, but it was!)

A Week of Sharing my Journal: What I learned

I learned a lot from journaling all last week and sharing it with you. The first thing that I learned: I actually enjoy journaling. It was like an adventure, seeing how much food I could eat each day and still be on plan. I got some comments on weightwatchers.com (where I also have been sharing my journal) about how much food I eat each day.

Which brings me to the second thing that I learned: If I follow the Good Health Guidelines (GHG), I can eat a LOT and still stay On Plan (OP). And since I'm still working on listening to my hunger signals, it's good to know that I don't have to sacrifice quantity for quality just yet.

Three: I can cook! I put together several "throw together" meals last week, and quite enjoyed both the cooking and the eating.

Four: I love Weight Watchers!!! I sort of already knew this one, but now I really understand how it is supposed to work, and appreciate it even more than before. It is a slower weight loss than, say, South Beach or Atkins, but I get to enjoy eating.

I remember a time when I thought that I needed to lose 10 pounds every month in order to be a successful dieter. Now I know that is just not true. I cannot even imagine what I would have to sacrifice to lose that quickly. All I know is that every time in my past that I have lost 10 pounds a month, I have regained it just as quickly.

Finally: Weight Watchers has helped me to see that losing 1 pound a week is a great rate of loss! Losing half a pound a week is great, too! If I lose a half a pound every week until I meet my goal weight, I will be at my goal weight of 135 in mid 2012. Which would be great! Yes, I am of course hoping that I will reach my goal much sooner than that, but if it takes that long, then I need to embrace it. What else would I be doing? If I had to choose between losing a half pound a week or gaining 5 pounds a month (my rate of gain pre-WW), the choice is easy. :-)

This is for life. I am embracing WW and all that it has to offer.

Sharing my Journal, Day 5

September 2 Food & Execise Journal
time- food (points)
8:00am- granola bar (4)

9:30am- applesauce (1)

12:30pm- 2 sandwich thins (3), 1 tbs peanut butter (2.5), apple (1), 1 cup soy milk (1)

5:30pm- vegetarian baked beans (setpoints-5), crackers (9)

7:00pm- broccoli (0), cauliflower (0), baby carrots (0), 1 tsp EVOO (1), *VITAMIN*

8:00pm- 60 minutes Nordic Track (+6)

10:00- 1 cup soy milk (1)

Points Summary:Daily used: 25/25
AP used: 3.5/6
WPA used: 0/28.5

GHG Summary:Fruits/Vegetables- CHECK!
Healthy Oils- Needs Improvement... I got in 1 out of 2 teaspoons
Dairy- CHECK!
Liquids- CHECK!
Lean Protein- CHECK!
Vitamins- CHECK!
Whole Grains- CHECK!
Activity- CHECK!
Sugar/Alcohol- CHECK!

Lessons Learned:
Crackers can get me into just as much trouble as chips. Also, I learned that I'm now used to getting in a healthy oil at lunch, because when I went to bed last night, I was positive that I had gotten both teaspoons in. Only now as I review this I realized that I didn't! I also had a sort of epiphany about the GHGs, but I will save that for a WW.com blog entry (Find me at NewGirl24 in the blog section, a lot of entries are cross-posted both here and there, but some more WW focused I just post there.)

Today's Plan:
Unfortunately, I didn't write a plan for today! I hope that this doesn't derail me. I'm running low on most of my favorite healthy foods, which I've learned will happen quickly if I actually eat OP each day. Crazy, huh? Here's the points plan, though (and I am going to try to stick to the DP today, day before WI)

morning- 5
midday- 7
evening- 13
exercise- +6

Sharing my Journal, Day 4

September 1 Food and Exercise Journal
time- food (points)

8:00am- banana (1.5)

10:00am- granola bar (4)

12:30pm- 1/2 cup beans (1), 1/2 cup salsa (0), 1 tsp evoo (1), 4 wasa (2), apple (1)

5:30pm- Ruffles Light potato chips (7), salsa (0)

7:00pm- broccoli (0), cauliflower (0), 1 tsp evoo (1)

9:30pm- Nordic Track (+2)

10:00pm- Tofu meal leftovers (8)

10:30pm- applesauce (1)

Points Summary:
Daily used: 25/25
AP used: 2/25 (25 AP earned from Saturday to now)
WPA used: .5/29

GHG Summary:
Fruits/Vegetables- CHECK!
Healthy Oils- CHECK!
Dairy- NOPE!
Liquids- CHECK!
Lean Protein- CHECK!
Vitamins- CHECK!
Whole Grains- CHECK!
Activity- CHECK!
Sugar/Alcohol- CHECK!

Lessons Learned:
I did not stick to my plan last night AT ALL. I ate chips when I hadn't planned to, and was thrown off by that. My stomach hurt and I was hungry, so I did 20 minutes of my planned 60 minutes workout on the Nordic Track. When I went to sleep last night, I felt like I had done terribly with WW yesterday. But looking at this makes me feel much better. I used both earned AP and half a WPA point. The only GHG that I didn't meet was dairy. I did briefly consider gulping down two cups of soy milk before bed, but I really wasn't hungry after that late night meal, so I skipped it.

September 2 Food and Exercise Plan:
morning- applesauce (1), granola bar (4)
midday- 2 sandwich thins (3), 1 tbs peanut butter (2.5), apple (1), 1 cup soy milk (1), carrots (0)
evening- 1/2 cup beans (1), 2 cups steamed vegetables (0), 2 tsp EVOO (2.5), 1 cup brown rice (4), cereal (4), 1 cup soy milk (1)
Exercise- Curves (+2), Nordic Track (+6)

Sharing my journal - Day 3

August 31 Food and Exercise Journal
time- food (points)

8:00am- banana (1.5)

10:00am- granola bar (4)

12:30pm- 1/2 cup beans (1), 1/2 cup salsa (0), 1 tsp EVOO (1), 4 wasa crackers (2)

3:30pm- carrots (0)

6:00pm- 1/2 package tofu (4), 1 cup ww couscous (4), 1 tsp EVOO (1), broccoli (0), cauliflower (0)

7:30pm- 1 cup soy milk (1)

8:30pm- 1 hour run/walk (+6)

10:00pm- 1.5 servings Kashi vanilla cereal (4.5), 1 cup soy milk (1)

Points Summary:
Daily used: 25/25
AP used: 0/14 (remaining)
WPA used: 0/29 (remaining)

GHG Summary:
Fruits/Vegetables- CHECK!
Healthy Oils- CHECK!
Dairy- CHECK!
Liquids- CHECK!
Lean Protein- CHECK!
Vitamins- NOPE!
Whole Grains- CHECK!
Activity- CHECK!
Sugar/Alcohol- CHECK!

Lessons Learned:
That afternoon snack of carrot sticks really helped me to not be starving when I got home from work. Also I learned a couple of things about tofu: 1) It tastes like whatever I marinate it in. I marinated it in lemon juice and pepper for 2 days. 2) I can cook it! But I still have no clue how to keep it in cube form. It ended up looking like scrambled eggs. But it tasted good! I also learned that I will forget my vitamin if not concentrating on it. I will put the vitamins in a prominent spot today to help myself remember to take it.

Today's plan? The exact same thing as yesterday except it will be leftovers from last night's tofu meal for dinner instead of fresh. That was just such a satisfying and delicious day that I think it deserves a repeat.