We'll call this one Weigh In # 2 OR Why two pies in one week is not a good thing...

Aaaarrrggghhh! Wait...it's not Talk Like A Pirate Day yet! Still, that sums up how I feel this morning over weighing in.

Last week at WW I was down 4.2. That was great...I was happy with that. For Thursday, even with my journey into decadence I was down another 1.8 at my WW meeting.

I ate a lot on Wednesday and luckily it didn't catch up with me at the weigh in on Thursday. My 21st anniversary was Friday so once again I indulged. Mark took me at Bart's and we had a fantastic meal. But did I stop after the meal? No, no, it was a celebration so of course I had to have desert again. This time it was the incredible Toll House Pie topped with a big scoop of ice cream and drizzled with hot fudge.

And the combination of the two has caught up with me this morning. I've gained. I'll say it again "Aaaarrrggghhh!!!"

BUT I'm getting over it and I'm not worrying about it. I have until Thursday before I have to face the scales again and my goal is to weigh in and be happy with the results. Right now, I'd be happy if I show a weight loss of zero by Thursday. I just don't want this gain to "go on record".

Would you say they have a plethora of pies?

Today, after Dad's surgery, Shea and I went for lunch at the Grand Traverse Pie Company.

He had been telling me about it and he's blogged of the place and posted some fun pie eater sketches and more pie eater sketches. Between hearing/reading about it and sitting in the hospital waiting room a most of the morning, I was more than ready to give it a try.

And no, the irony of a person on Weight Watchers eating lunch at a restaurant whose name contains the word PIE is not lost on me.

But it didn't stop me from eating there either.

And when they say Pie Company, they mean it. You walk in the door and are immediately slapped in the face with pie. Pies of all shapes and sizes. Pies in both the fruit and cream variety. It was Pie Overload! It was a Pie-O-Rama! You might say it was a Plethora of Pies!

Surely you don't think I ate any...

Of course I did. You expect me to go into a place called Pie Company and NOT eat pie? It wouldn't be right.

After what I thought was a "light" lunch of a half chicken salad(duh, they use REGULAR Mayo, not the fat free version I've been using to make it at home) sandwich on whole wheat bread and a cup of chicken noodle soup, I made my way back to the pie case.

Dear Lord. SO many choices. Not just pie...baked goods too. Cheesecake...plain, chocolate chip and cherry topped. Brownies. Cookies. Assorted Flavors of Muffins. Apple Dumplings. Giant Rice Krispie Treats. Death-by-Chocolate Cake. Turtle Cake. I could go on. It took me about five minutes to decide on a slice of peanut butter chocolate cream pie.

If you could take a bite out of Heaven, I imagine it would taste like the Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie at Grand Traverse.

It was one of, if not THE most perfect pies I believe I have ever tasted. The chocolate...decadent, rich and this is gonna sound weird but "old fashioned" tasting. The peanut butter...smooth and creamy...just the right balance to the chocolate. Crust baked to flaky perfection. If that's not enough it was topped w/whipped cream and peanuts. I'm drooling thinking about it.

I ate half of it. It took every single inch of willpower I had not to eat every last bit of it and then lick the plate. But I didn't.

So tonight I'm filling out my WW journal and look up the nutritional stats online.

One slice of that pie has 13 WW points!!! YIKES! Nearly 600 calories and 15g of fat in that ONE slice of pie. ONE! Luckily, I only used 7 by eating just half.

And it was worth it.

Every. Stinking. Point.

I'll just call this one Weigh In #1

I'm participating in the Looking Fine in 2009 Challenge over at The Daily Mish-Mash. My diet of choice, Weight Watchers.

The question of the week posted on the Challenge page...what songs get you pumped up to move?
My workouts are all DVD or Zumba class, so the music is preselected, but at Zumba I love it when we do a routine to a Gwen Stefani song. If I were making a walking mix, I'd probably have several Barenaked Ladies tunes, some upbeat showtunes(yes, I am a dork) and a ton of 80's music(yes, I am a dork who is stuck in the 80's).

Sooo. this first week on the challenge was a good one!

At my Thursday night WW weigh-in I had lost 4 pounds(it had been two weeks since my last WW weigh in). This morning I weighed and believe it or not, another 3 pounds were gone! WooHoo!

What did I do this week that I haven't been doing for the past several months?

• I tracked my food and points.
• I exercised at least four days during the week.
  
• I limited myself to only one regular Coke each day(reg. Coke is my downfall so drinking only one is HUGE).
• I tried harder than I have in some time.

Yay me!

Weight Watchers has me getting reaquainted with my sewing machine...

As I've mentioned, I am not so good at the points tracking portion of Weight Watchers. I don't waaaannnnna write down everything I eat she whines.

Still, I want to stick with the program and be successful. I know that writing down what I eat and tracking daily points is a huge part of that. Therefore, I'm tracking.

I'm not crazy about the free trackers they give out at the WW meetings. They're too small and there's absolutely no cute factor there...and I need cute, people!

With that in mind(and feeling I'm spending way too little time w/my sewing machine) I decided to make myself a new tracking journal.

I picked up a small notebook and began digging through my fat quarters. Using some FQ I got in a swap and a tutorial that I found here, I ended up with this.I did think to add a flap and Velcro closure to the pattern. I would like to try this again w/some stiffer fabrics or perhaps a layer of interfacing. A pen pocket and a pocket to hold my points finder thingy would be a nice addition too. This won't be the last of these that I make...it was fairly quick and easy and I think just as a journal they'd make nice gifts.

I think it'll make tracking points at least a little more bearable. BTW---good news to share on Monday about my weigh-in this week! Yay!

And yes, those are cupcakes on a WW points tracker journal. Hee hee hardy har! I kill me!

Here She Goes Again...

Yesh...Back on the Weight Watchers Wagon once again!

I didn't announce it on the blog but I turned 40 on the 6th of August. Gasp! I'm SO what I used to think was old. Now that I'm here, it's not so bad after all. However, the weight, which is a constant and never ending struggle with me has once again taken over. I know that I am now at the point in life where taking off pounds only gets more difficult. And this extra 30+ pounds I'm packing around...it's got to go y'all! Who wants to be forty and fat? Not me!

As I've mentioned before, WW is the one and only diet that I've ever been on that I've had success that lasted for more than a few weeks. My problem with WW, however, is that I am a slacker. I hate. hate. hate. to write down what I eat. Exercise...I actually enjoy it but as you notice if you read through this blog, I don't stick with it for long.

So what's different this time around? Not Much. I can say with all certainty that I will slack off at some point w/the journaling and I'm still probably going to wiener out on exercise occasionally(just keeping it real, folks).

But I when I do slack off, I'm going to get over it quickly and start right back up again!

I've been all over bloggyland tonight looking for some inspiration. I've found a few sites and I'll share those at some point.

For tonight, I'll mention the Looking Fine in 2009 challenge that I came across on The Daily Mish Mash. Looks as if there are several of us in blogworld who are like minded and are on the path to better health! Yay! You can head on over to the site for all the details of how to join in.

I'll do my best to post a weekly update following my weekly WW meeting.

For tonight I just want to go on record saying that I am ready to give it a go. A real one.

Wish me luck, y'all!

"You fear my butt because you don't understand it. You resist it like all the others before you, yet its power only grows...Look at it! "

Last night my friend Stacey talked me into doing this. For an HOUR.

Even though there were only six of us, I felt mostly self-conscious the entire time due to...

• being overweight
• having the dance skills of Elaine from Seinfeld
• the fact that I'm ALWAYS self-conscious
• having the dance skills of Elaine from Seinfeld
  

Let me tell you, there was some SERIOUS booty shaking going on. I don't know how they did it...my butt refused to budge.

And, is it wrong that I became hypnotized by the butt action around me and got completely out of step more than once? I was reminded of Dana Carvey as George Michael on SNL. In my mind I was hearing...

"Look at it! You can't take your eyes off it, can you?! It's hypnotic! Try to look away! You can't look away! Try to look away! You can't! Look at it! Look at it!"

Despite the booty-hypnosis and my self imposed awkwardness, it was fun!! I found myself grinning more than once and I intend to go back next week.

But, man! I'm still sore!

Uncommonly Good Weigh In

Yesterday I finished up cycle 1 of the Extreme Fat Smash Diet. I am absolutely thrilled to report that I lost a total of 6.5 pounds. 6.5!! Crazy, right? Apparently, this diet works! At least cycle one did anyway ;) My brother, who is doing along with me, lost 10 pounds this week! WOO HOO x 2!!

Last week I mentioned how sick I was of rice and beans. Truly though, it hasn't been that bad. Maybe that's the -6 pounds talking! This week I am going to experiment a bit more with the beans and rice. I'm gonna try out my friend Rhonda's Red Beans and Rice recipe. I'll also attempt to add a few different veggies to my list. Ya'll know the only veggies I like are the white ones(except cauliflower) and the yellow ones(except squash and yellow peppers)!

I'm not going to lie, I have been kinda hungry. Four meals a day plus two snacks are recommended, so really, I probably should not be that hungry. I'll continue to work on timing my meals a little better to prevent that hungry feeling this week. It's also been tough getting up at 5a.m. every morning to get in half of that exercise time, but 6.5 pounds gone makes it VERY worthwhile.

My goal for this week is to keep doing what I've been doing and add water to that. I have not been drinking the recommended amount of water. I wonder if I'd have lost more had I been doing that?

For you who are curious, here is a sample of one of the daily menus from Cycle One:
BREAKFAST: 1 cup cooked oatmeal & one c. fruit or veggie juice(fresh) OR 1 piece of fruit
MEAL 2: 1 small fruit smoothie less than 200cal. or protein shake less than 200 c al.
MEAL 3: 1 c. cooked beans, chickpeas or lentils, 1 cup cooked brown rice, 1 serving veggies
MEAL 4: 4 oz. fish, chicken, turkey or lean sirloin, 1/2 large baked sweet potato, 2 servings veggies
OPTIONAL: 2 snacks, 100 calories or less, 1 cup fat free or low fat milk. Plus the free snacks, which are carrots, radishes, dill pickles, hard boiled egg whites, and celery.
EXERCISE: 55 min. cardio

Ooooh! I get to eat bread(wheat/whole grain only) and cereal(unsweetened) during Cycle Two!! I've been looking forward to it, believe you me!

So last week, it was all about the diet and trying to keep it up. I wish I had some fun sewing projects to share. I wish I could have made it around to your blogs. I wish I didn't have TWO weight loss posts in a row. I was at work late every day last week and on this diet I had to come home and cook, eat, exercise, wash dishes and get the kitchen back in order. In what seemed like an hour or two, I had to turn around and cook again and then eat again and then wash dishes again! Had to get to bed no later than 9:30 in order to drag myself up at 5:00a.m.! Crafty time & blog reading time just didn't happen last week. Let's hope I can get back to it this week...I've missed it.

On Again, Off Again

...that seems to be my current relationship with diet/exercise. I joined Tales from the Scales back in the summer. Did pretty well. Started the next challenge in September. Got off to an OK start and then just stopped. I stopped going to Weight Watchers and went back to drinking regular cokes(at least three per day), eating anything and everything I wanted. The week before last, I had fast food four nights out of five after work. I won't even mention how many times I went to McDonald's or Burger King for a biscuit and coke for breakfast during the past few weeks! It's embarrassing. The only thing that kept me from gaining more weight than I did was three days of exercise a week after work w/some friends.

Finally I have come to my senses. Perhaps realizing I gained 5.5 pounds in a month did it. Maybe it was the fact that old "Jabba the Hut" feeling was beginning to return every time I looked in the mirror or went to button my "britches", as my grandma would say. Regardless of what has brought me back from the dark side, I am going to give it another go. Thank goodness for the new start we are so gracefully given each and every day. SO, I guess this is my official "I'm Baaaaa-ack" post!

This time around, I'm trying something a bit different. Extreme Fat Smash. It's the Celebrity Fit Club diet from Dr. Ian Smith. I started on Sunday and have actually lost a little! However, I am already so sick of eating beans and rice that I could hurl. BUT I am determined to stick with this particular diet for at least one three week cycle before I start back on Weight Watchers. I figure after three weeks of this, WW will seem like a dream! ;)

Honestly, it's plenty of food but I'm so used to eating so much that it's tough and right now & I'm feel hungry a lot. I'm having trouble with the four scheduled meals per day plus two snacks that are recommended. You would think eating every three hours would be easy, but it's tough. I have a feeling it's tough because I'm supposed to be eating meals or a healthy snack...not Doritos or cookies every three hours. I would have no trouble doing that. As far as scheduling meals every three hours and working...I can't really stop in the middle of a lesson plan or storytime..."Hey Kids, talk amongst yourselves, Mrs. Cotton has to have a salad now!" It just doesn't work. I'm sure I'll work it out somehow, it'll just take a few days. And I'm not kidding about the beans and rice either, it's one or the other or both DAILY. Fiber, I suppose. And by the way, after just two days I've realized that beans truly are the magical fruit.

And exercise. Man, you have to do a lot of it on this diet! Yes, I've had to get up at 5:00a.m. the last two days to get it in, but I have managed. Speaking of exercise, I've given up on my DVD experiment..you know the one where I was going to use each and every one of my many exercise DVD's and blog them. Leslie Sansone's workouts are the ones I enjoy the most and they are the ones that I know work for me, so I'm sticking with those!

I think the thing that'll help me most these next few weeks is knowing that my brother is doing the same thing. We decided to give it a go together. I am now accountable to him as well as to myself(and TFTS). Hopefully we'll both be healthier by Christmas rather than heavier! I heard recently that the average American gains SEVEN pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'd like to lose that much this year instead!

Since I started this new plan on a Sunday I 'll wait till Sunday for my weigh in post and link back, but I have high hopes that it'll be a pretty good loss. And at this point, any loss is going to be good for me!

This post on TFTS made me feel a little better. I am not alone in my falling of the wagon-ness!

This post from Jan makes a lot of sense. This gal has lost some SERIOUS weight! She's very inspirational and I especially appreciate this post right now when there are goodies and treats at every turn!

Tales from the Scales WK 4

Whew! I managed to lose the pesky pound I gained last week. WooHoo! Now it's time to try and get back on track for real. I've missed WW meetings the last two weeks. Last week I was unable due to having something more important to do. The week before I just skipped! I was getting a little aggravated w/paying 12 bucks and not seeing the results I wanted to see. Ummm, it could be that I wasn't seeing the results 'cause I wasn't following the program...I'm just saying. This week, I will track. I promise. And I'll drink more water, which should be quite easy to do considering I've had a whopping none this week. I think if I can focus on those two things along with keeping the exercise going, I'll do OK!

This week the exercise of choice is the second Leslie Sansone Walk at Home/Walk Slim DVD from the set I mentioned last week. This is the Fast Start walk/jog. The length is shorter but the workout is just as good. I think I might like it a little bit better. I like having the option of doing those intervals of jogging rather than just walking, and Leslie's jog is completely doable. Again, Leslie scores a 10 of 10 with me. I may break out the Dancing with the Stars DVD this week. I've tried this one once before(right after I bought it) and I seem to remember bouncing around like an idiot for half an hour. After that one time, I put it away and it hasn't seen the light of day since. I'll give it another go and pay more attention this time so that I can share it with ya'll!

Tales from the Scales Wk. 3

I think this is week 3 anyway...someone correct me if I'm wrong!

I know that so many of you who are doing the challenge are doing great! Let me congratulate you right here and now! I will be reading you're stories this week and hopefully I'll find some inspiration to get myself in gear! I'm not doing so hot. Last week I was whining because I stayed the same. Vowed to refocus. This week I actually gained a pound...that'll teach me to whine for maintaining, huh? Now I know ya'll don't wanna hear me whine more or cry over gaining a pound, so I won't do it. I've said this before ...I'm fat 'cause I eat too much and I exercise too little. Bottom line. No mystery, no deep psychological stuff with me. OK, yeah I DO tend to overeat and overeat and overeat some more when I'm feeling stressed, so maybe there is a little psychological stuff there but basically... I loves me some ice cream, pop, and cup cakes...a lot. Heck, I didn't even try last week. It was a stressful week. Still I know enough to know that had I decided to choose exercise over junk food, I'd have managed that stress just as well, probably better! But, you know, with every new day comes a clean slated and who's to say that today won't be the day that I get on board and do what I know I need to do?

This morning, after I weighted in, I thought about my plan to revisit all my exercise DVDs and how I did it for a week and just stopped. SO this morning, even though I was feeling a little pitiful over gaining, I popped in a DVD and decided to at least get back on the exercise track! Feel better for it, too! Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home. I can't say enough good things about these workouts. These are the workouts I was using faithfully when I was losing weight weekly and actually trying. You'd think I'd learn from my past success... Anyhow, compared to the others I've blogged to date, it is my favorite, hands down. This is a set of two. A 2 mile walk/jog and a 3 mile fast walk. This morning I did the 3 mile fast walk workout. There's a five minute warm up followed by a 35min. walk and a 5 min. cool down/stretch segment. The moves are very simple and straightforward. Walk in place, walk forward/back, kicks, side step, with some arm movements ...that's about it. Sounds boring, but it's not at all! I was enjoying it, despite my pitiful self, this morning. Leslie is very motivating and she's fun to watch. And 45 min/three miles, 'cmon...that's a good workout!! I was sweaty and a tad winded, but not falling on the floor begging for mercy when it was over. My rating...10!

Big Fat Zero.

That's how much I lost this week. Good thing I'm exercising or it'd be a gain! Is it just me or do you completely lose control when you get stressed out and eat everything remotely chocolate and or chip like that comes within view/smell/thought? I HATE to be off track so early in the game.

OK, will try to refocus and do better this week. In the meantime here's a little song about exercise!

Tales from the Scales Weekly Weigh In

Has it been a week already? How time does fly! This week went OK! I tried to ease myself back into the whole diet/exercise thing. Looking back at my list of "issues and goals" from last week, here's how it went this week.

1. Drank some water
2. Did some exercising
3. Was more positive this week about weight loss! Didn't beat myself up over a few bad choices and go completely off track! It was the state librarians conference this past weekend...had to eat at the Hard Rock..and drink a couple of reg. Cokes....and eat sweets...the other librarians held me down and forced me to.
4. Though I had a few over the weekend, I did cut way back on regular cokes. No, MBJ, I haven't switched to all water just yet...I'm easing, remember ;)
5. I bought some fruit. OK, I realize I have to actually EAT it to meet that goal, but I'm closer than I was last week!
6. Although I did eat less, I did not track anything. This is tough for me. I know it helps, why don't I do it???

So my weight loss this week was 1.5 pounds and I'm quite satisfied with that number!

Something I want to do this week is bump up the exercise. In order to keep it interesting I'm going to be conducting a little "taste test", if you will, of the thousands of exercise DVDs that I own. OK I exaggerate, I don't own a thousand exercise DVDs, but I do own a lot! More than I need....in fact, if I did them all I wouldn't have a weight problem! Anyhow, I'm going to work out and blog one DVD regularly and hopefully find the ones that I will actually stick with and weed out the others. I'll be starting with a Yoga Booty Ballet DVD(an impulse buy)

Tales from the Scales Check-In

Just got in from parent-teacher conferences and I have mere minutes before my all time favorite reality show ever, the Biggest Loser begins for the season. Gotta make this quick! FYI: No one ever comes to see the librarian at Parent/Teacher conferences!

• This week I lost a pound. One puny pound. But I DID lose...will try a bit harder this week.

• I did start back to WW meeting this week! Go Me!

• Hoping that watching people who are much more overweight than I exercising ten times harder and longer will motivate me to do more in that area!

Off to the couch with me!


ACK! Not off to the couch just yet! I just went to sign up and realized this was the last weigh in! I'll say this...I really appreciate all of the encouraging comments and kind words(not to mention a song) that the TFTS gals have given me through the challenge. Thanks so much! I hope there is a new challenge issued, I'd like to keep playing! OK....now...gotta run...I'll post my before/after and whatnot later. I'm seriously NOT missing a minute of BL!!! Sick and twisted, I know! :) Any other BL fanatics out there?

Tales from the Scales Tuesday

OK, so...last week I refused to weigh and vowed to weigh this week...Good or Bad. Well, it's bad. 3 pounds bad. Now, I could look at it this way: I mainted for three weeks and somehow managed to gain three pounds last week, OR I might say that since July 31 I've ONLY gained 3 pounds while being totally off program OR I could put an even more positive spin on it and say I gained something like EIGHT pounds in the month I was off program and managed to lose a whopping FIVE pounds of it this week???!!! Since I refused to weigh last week and haven't a clue what I've weighed the last month, I guess we'll never know! But that's OK. I have a new starting point, anyway.

Went to the grocery Monday and bought healthier foods and low WW points snacks. Plan to get in at least a 30 min. workout before bed tonight. Feeling pretty good, regardless of todays numbers. Thanks to those of you who offered words of encouragement last week. Someone said and I agree...fessing up...that helped get me in a better frame of mind.

Scared of my scales

Yeah, ummm, so I've not been participating in the challenge for maybe three/four weeks now. I think I actually feel worse about not signing in and not checking up on the other participants than I do over not losing any weight myself. How crazy is that? Anyhow, I hope I can weigh in next week, because this week, I don't wanna. So, please forgive me for not weighing in, TFTS gals.

This week, I just don't want to know. What happened? Don't really know. I just sorta stopped, and when I was doing good too! I've eaten my way through family get togethers, birthdays, Saturday afternoon movies and weeknight binges in the past three weeks. I 've stopped exercise for no apparent reason. Have skipped WW for three weeks. I've not had a glass of water in weeks.

I could blame it on the stress of going back to work after nearly three months of Summer bliss, but I'm not sure that's it. In fact, I don't think there is any deep psychological reason behind my current slump. I just got lazy. This girl, like Cyndi Lauper and her pals, just wants to have fun. And, well, food is fun. I don't even hate exercise, but couch time & crafting are more fun, so I've been doing that instead.

But alas, I've noticed some of my new clothes(which I bragged about so loudly on this blog) are starting to hit the "they still button/zip but are no longer comfortable" point. And I hate that.

It probably wouldn't take much to get the weight loss going again. A trip to the grocery store for some decent food would help. Putting on my walking shoes after work would help and drinking some water would help too. NOT stopping at McDonald's every morning before heading into school would really help. Staying far away from the Dr. Pepper machine in the teacher's lounge would probably help most of all. Luckily I haven't fallen so far off the wagon that I can't pull myself back up.

Calories in vs. calories burned. I know the drill. I know what I need to do, guess I'll try and start doing it. Still not fun.

HOWEVER, shopping is fun. Maybe I should reward myself with every five pounds by going on a little shopping spree or by putting back 20 bucks per every 5 pounds till I have enough $$ for a shopping spree? I may have just discovered my new motivational strategy. Will think on it more...

I will sign in next week and I will weigh, good or bad...I don't want to be a quitter. The challenge ends in a few weeks, hopefully I can lose at least one more pound by the end. If I do, perhaps I'll be properly motivated to jump in if a new challenge is issued.

Tales from the Scales Check-In

If eating less and moving more helps you lose weight, then it stands to reason that eating more and moving less would keep you from losing. And that's what happened to me this week (second week in a row)! I didn't gain, but I didn't lose either. My Pollyanna friends would say that I have maintained! :)

But I'm not letting it get me down! Not this week, I've enjoyed it too much for that! Mark and I spent a couple days running around and enjoying ourselves this weekend. Hot flea market caramel corn, anyone? Jackie & Scott are in from Poland for a short visit and they came down yesterday to stay with us and I used some of my newly acquired cooking skills to cook up a mess of barbecue chicken and hash brown casserole, Loveless Cafe style! (recipe for that to be posted later) We took in a movie yesterday as well. I don't know about you, but I can't go to a movie and sip diet coke while abstaining from the goodies. That's just wrong. M&M's and Coke for me! And then there were the chips and salsa that were consumed during several rounds of board games last night. All in all, lots of above points portions have been consumed by yours truly the last few days! And that's OK, because it was all in the name of family and fun!

So I've had my fun this week and now I plan to get back into the exercise groove and start tracking again. If I don't lose next week it wont be from lack of trying.

"Diet" Cupcakes Cease to be Diet when You Eat Them in Multiples

I guess you could call it maintaining, but I'm not feeling very "glass half full" this morning. Could just be that I have to go back to a meeting for work today after nearly three months of Summer Vacation, it's early, and I'm just being grouchy, but I'm a little mad at myself. I didn't lose a stinkin' pound this week!

OK, so part of that is because I chose to make some three point cupcakes this week. Was a good idea, anyway. Craving something sweet, so I though I'd do the "right" thing and eat cupcakes that were low in points (compared to real cupcakes, that is). Here's the problem. I have NO self control. I ate four...yesterday alone! That's half my points allowance for the day! Sheesh! And while I'm confessing, I also ate a Sonic Blast choc' full of Oreos this week, not to mention the cupcakes that were consumed prior to yesterday. Yeah, the were good, but not sure it was worth it.


A lack of movement may have led to my non-loss as well. Sunday and Monday I spent the better part of the day plastered in front of the computer trying to finish up my cookbook project and, I'm not going to lie, I spent WAY too many hours yesterday trying to win everything known to man in the Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway. (If you haven't already, check out my bloggy giveaway item!)

Alright, so I have GOT to reign in in this week. And it'll be hard. My lil' sis and her husband have been working in Poland as missionaries for a year and they are home for a visit. YAY! PRAISE GOD! I really have missed those kids! Heading out to see them this afternoon...much celebration and much food to be had over the next few months. I'll have to be really careful. I don't want to gain next week! In fact, I really want to be a loser next week!

Things are looking down!

This weeks loss was 1.5 pounds! Not as big a loss as last week, but I'm convinced that if I keep doing what I'm doing(daily exercise, drinking plenty of water, and tracking points) that by Thursday's WW weigh in, I'll be down another .5 to 1 pound! TFTS gals, please don't get wigged out by the scale above. I joined in on the May Day Challenge late, and that's 26 pounds lost since January, not since joining the challenge. However, I am so glad that I stumbled upon the challenge! I think that extra bit of accountability has kept me working at losing weight this summer. I really hope a NEW challenge begins when this one ends as I still have many pounds to lose!

On Friday, I went shopping with my dear, dear friend Trish. Who does not have a weight problem,bless her heart. In addition to having a ball and nearly laughing myself sillier, as I always do with Trish, I got a big kick out of this... Tried on some jackets and blouses and everything fit! And they were all a size Large! OK, I realize that a size large is, well, LARGE, but when you're used to EXTRA large, putting on a Large and having it actually fit(not hug the fat rolls) is SUCH a good feeling! Even better, yesterday I was in Goody's, where the clothes are always too small. I tried on some size 14 pants and THEY WERE TOO BIG! One pair nearly fell off! IT WAS GREAT! Considering at the start of school last year I was wearing a tight 16, this is a huge thing! Well, not so huge anymore! :D So when I head back to work in a couple weeks, I'll be down at least one size and maybe two. What? Did I try on the size twelves? Nope. I was so jazzed from the 14s being too small that I didn't want to jinx it!

Tales from the Scales Check-In

Last week I was sleeping in, still worn out from the trip to St. Louis and the Police concert(but it was a good worn out) I know better than to weigh in late in the day, so I didn't weigh in at all. Thursday at Weight Watchers I was down .6 from the the previous week. Not much of a loss, but still any loss is good in my book.

This morning when I weighed, I got a little gift...2.5 pounds down! Making for a total of 3 pounds and I'm really happy about that! Starting Friday, I bumped my exercise up to a four mile Walk Away the Pounds every other day and have started drinking a lot more water. Seems to be working!

Tales from the Scales Tuesday

I am so relieved that this week we were asked to focus on the non-numbers. The numbers weren't kind to me this week. However, I must remind myself that it took me a while to pack on the pounds...they ain't coming off in a week! :D

Though the scales weren't my friend this week, overall, I'm happy with what I've accomplished thus far. I exercise most every day and instead of killing myself with workouts that are too intense, I'm "Walking Away" the pounds using the Leslie Sansone DVDs. I highly recommend them! They are fairly easy to keep up with and I can't believe I'm going to say this...they're kinda fun! The exercise has me sleeping better and I've lost five inches in addition to my overall weight loss of 21 pounds (lately it's 21, then 23, back to 21, then to 22, etc. etc.). I've given up drinking regular sodas for the most part...this is down from 5-6 glasses PER DAY and I drink more water than I ever have. I've gone down one size in clothing! Yippeee!! Love that!