Rewards for weight loss?

I've been asked by some people what I'm going to "give myself" as a "reward" for getting to my goal weight.

In the beginning of my WLJ, I had a clear image of what I wanted to reward myself with once the scale announced to me that I weighed a mere 135.0: a trip to NYC, where I would buy myself a pair of ridiculously expensive designer jeans in my new size! It was a pretty motivating goal for a couple of months.

...Then I lost sight of it. My rewards became mental, completely mental. As in: Just seeing a smaller number on the scale was enough of a reward for me! Those NSVs (non-scale victories) are so rewarding. Here are some amazing and free (or nearly free) rewards that I have "given" myself over my WLJ:

1) old shirts that used to show my rolls that now look awesome!

2) luxurious bubble baths with a cold beverage on the side and a good book or magazine to read (okay, the bubbles, drink, and reading material cost some $, but not much)

3) the ability to wrap a towel around myself, and not a beach towel... a regular towel!!! Walking around the house (er, apartment) wearing the towel, doing homework in the towel, folding towels in the towel, etc.

4) Cooking a healthy meal, enjoying every bite.

5) Dark chocolate. (yep, I went there. Food rewards are still valid to me!!!)

6) Amy's pizza (again with the food rewards! Do I have a problem?) ;-)

7) old jeans that were boxed away because they were way too small. I love giving myself my own old clothes!!!

8) me time: an hour at the gym, a long walk, a bubble bath (I know this was already mentioned, but it needed repeating), permission to read for pleasure for an hour, permission to watch an episode (or 4) of Buffy or Charmed, and my favorite daily reward: The Young and Restless (which is often combined with good food or exercise, double reward!)

9) Blogging. Sometimes, this blog is very cathartic for me, and it helps me to get through a tough day. Today is one of those days, people! Trying to write a bit about positive things to remind myself that the bad days are few and far in between.

As much fun as the cheap/free rewards are, I decided to finally break down and reward myself monetarily recently. I got a haircut, bought some new work clothes, and just now ordered myself three guilty-pleasure books from Amazon.

Two of them are... embarassing! But I want to read them, and will definately be sharing exerts from them if I enjoy them as much as I think that I will...

1) The Black Book of Hollywood Beauty Secrets, by Kim Douglas and Cindy Pearlman.

Sound exciting, no? This can only be helpful for my quest to work on my outer beauty more.

2) The Black Book of Hollywood Diet Secrets, by same people This book looks totally lame! It also sounds completely mindless. And like stuff that I've read a million times in several different magazines... and yet, I'm so excited to read this! Why not enjoy some mindless and fun reading, that may possibly contain the secret to weight loss? (Please know that I'm joking about believing in any such secret, okay? Eat less + move more = only "secret" to weight loss out there) 3) Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited to try making these. I have recently discovered a bakery right here in Memphis that sells vegan cupcakes and cakes, and have been enjoying a few every couple of weeks. Making vegan goodies myself will only save me money, right? ;-) I can't wait to share a recipe with you guys, and let you know how it goes!

P.S. Stay tuned for Tasty Tuesday post late tonight, which unfortunately will NOT have a lunch photo, since I completely forgot to take one. Bad blogger, I know. Sorry! I will describe my boring leftovers lunch in detail, don't worry. :-)

Ring NSV

I have been wearing my grandmother's pinkice ring for about a year now, always on my right hand ring finger.

Today, it fell off!!!

I had to move it to the next biggest finger, the middle finger. It feels weird, but I love the ring, and I know that this means that my fingers are getting closer to their perfect size.

Once I hit my goal weight, I will have the ring resized to fit my newly thin ring finger.

Until then, I will just move it on up, one finger at a time.

PointsPlus- the new Weight Watchers program

Blah. That's how I feel about the "new" plan so far. Blah.

Here's what's new and different about

PointsPlus (vs. Momentum, the "old" WW plan):

1) It sucks.





Just kidding. Here's the real list:

1) I get more daily points now! Yay! I used to get 23 daily points, and now I get 29. That's 6 extra points every day, right?!

2) Almost everything that I consume regularly has a higher points value now... so, really, no extra daily points.

3) There are now 49 WPA, which is a lot more than 35 WPA... and I think that this one actually makes me happy, that definately adds up to more food. :-)

4) Activity points are now easier to get. I now earn 8 points for my Nordic Track workouts, where before I was earning 5 or 6. This is because 1 AP now = 80 calories, instead of 100 calories. So, again... more food!!!

5) Momentum points were calculated using calories, fat, and fiber. This meant that I could eat a lot of high fiber foods for few points. Things like beans, brown rice, and granola bars. PointsPlus points are calculated using protein, carbohydrates, fat, and fiber. This means that my favorite fiber foods are now increased in points. :-(

6) However... FRUIT IS FREE. Meaning, ALL fruit has a value of zero points.

How has this new plan changed my menu?

It really hasn't so far. But this is a funky week, since I started my Weight Watchers week on Saturday (down 1 pound at my weigh-in, WOO-HOO), and the new plan started on Monday. I did not have a perfect OP weekend by any means.



I was sick. I didn't track. I did the "eat whatever I want within reason and just assume that all of my WPA are gone" thing. It's not the best decision, but it's one that I make on occasion.



So starting on Saturday, I'll track my food on here publicly for another week, just to see if there really is a difference in the two plans.



My work week breakfast is usually a granola bar and a banana. The granola bar has gone from 4 to 5 points, and the banana is now zero points, so what was once a 5.5 point breakfast is now a 5.0 point breakfast. So it's about the same...



Basically, my feelings are mixed about the new plan. I love carbohydrates. I usually focus on complex carbs, but not always. One of the things that I loved about Weight Watchers was the freedom to eat as many carbs as I wanted, as long as I stayed within my points and followed the Good Health Guidelines. (Speaking of which, yes they are still there, but the whole grain requirement seems to be gone... what the what?!)



Is the new plan easier for meat and dairy eaters?



I think it is. Apparently the points values for meat and dairy all stayed the same. So if you eat a lot of meat and dairy products, instead of a lot of carb products, you will get to eat more, since you get more daily points. Not fair.



I will be following the new plan for as long as it makes sense. I've always said that eventually I'd like to go back to "Intuitive Eating", but that will probably be after I've maintained my goal weight for awhile. Time will tell...



P.S. A major NSV for me happened on Black Friday: I tried on clothes. I tried them on and loved the way I looked in them! There was not a tear in that dressing room... Well, maybe a happy tear or two. :-)

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