Weigh-In Tuesday

Okay not going to lie. I debated last night whether to actually weigh-in today or not. I KNEW how bad I was this weekend. Okay, we ALL knew how bad I was this weekend so I figured the scale wouldn't be pretty. But...

I maintained! I didn't post a loss or a gain and I was thrilled... I would like to thank activity for making this possible. I did a nice run on Sunday and did my own little "last chance workout" this morning to try and help the scale as best as possible.

Here is today's main question: How do you handle your food/liquid intake before a weigh-in?

I was talking to my WW leader, Lisa, about it this morning. I used to weigh-in at night so I had my system down. I knew when to eat what and when to cut off the liquid before I hit the scale. But now I am weighing in in the AM (between 10:30-11). It is a rough adjustment. So each week I have been trying different techniques to see which works best.

Do I keep the morning coffee? Do I eat fruit? Do I eat my vitatop? Do I stick with water?

So many choices... what do you do to be successful on the morning scale?

Today's Positive

Now after the negative of the previous post, it is time for the positive.

This morning the wife and I ran 6.47 miles! Woo! We were supposed to run 6 according to our Half Marathon training schedule on Runkeeper. But, we did that plus some.

Go us!! Bring on next week's 7 miler... :) :)

Honesty

Well this post is inspired by two people.

The first being my Weight Watchers leader Lisa. She brought up on Tuesday how she wanted to be truthful with us because we would rather want a "truthful" leader than a "perfect" leader. That is the truth. When it comes to weight loss very few people have a perfect go of it. We all face obstacles and it is better to share them than hide them! Hiding things hurts no one, but yourself.

The second is Healthy Loser Gal herself, Jan. She blogged Friday about a rough food night and I commended her for being so honest.

So here goes...

I was HORRIBLE this weekend! Food, wine and beer, I indulged in it all. I made a loose game plan for this weekend and threw it out the window by Thursday night. Where to begin?

Thursday night I split a bottle of wine with a friend at an outdoor concert, while munching on A LOT of Baked Cheetos. I also came home and ate some pita chips (not needed). I did still hit all my healthy checks.

Friday night I went to a friend's house for a Weight Watchers approved dinner. I again imbibed on more vino than I allotted myself for that night. I snacked on more bread than usual. I also ate a few more Trader Joe's mini ice cream sandwiches than I should have. I did still hit all my healthy checks.

Here comes the BIG disaster of a day - Saturday. I had pita chips. I split a McDonalds meal with my wife. I had some wine. I had ... Olive Garden. I crushed five breadsticks and three plates of salad.

To round out the weekend, there was today. I had peanut M&Ms for breakfast with some post-run pita chips. Lunch was two beers and a chicken Caesar salad. Glass of sangria followed by Dominos (pizza and cheesy bread) for dinner.

GROSS!

I cannot believe I did that, but I am putting it behind me. I accept what I did and I am ready to be back on plan tomorrow morning. I am releasing the negative energy to this space.

As I told my wife this morning, this reminded me why I don't eat this way anymore. I feel gross, bloated (it is also that time) and overall disappointed in myself.

But, I had to look at the bright side. I still worked out each of those four days. After the wine, I could've gone out for pizza or greasy food, but I didn't. So I had some tiny plusses in a sea of negatives.

So there universe I admit it. I slipped. I am human. I am not the perfect weight loss person I sometimes appear to be. But, I will not let this get me off track. I am back.

Has anyone else had a fallout like this before, but gotten back on the horse?

Babies

This will be random, but something I have been wondering. I have worked, and continue working wicked hard, to hit my goal weight.

How long do you wait to have babies?

I mean ... I want to have kids and will be having our biological kids. So I wonder, am I horrible to be worried about gaining back all the weight I have lost?

I have been working at losing weight for a year and a half. I want to hit goal and enjoy it. But, on the other hand, I want babies.

People, let me know your thoughts?!?!

Positivity

This is one of the blog topic I have been really dreading, but keep getting nudged by a certain someone to finally do it.  (There you go Linds here is your second mention in the blog :P) One thing I have always been horrible with is positive thoughts about me. I am the queen of self-deprecating humor. I mean if I call myself a “fat a$$” first then someone else won’t do it. Right? Well, that is some of the logic that goes on in my head.

I think when you are trying to mask insecurities for so long (especially when your main issue is weight); you get really good at using humor to cover up the pain.

I have always been better at pointing out my own flaws than complimenting myself. I am a perfectionist that hates to fail. I know I know I am not the only person on the planet that feels that way. But I digress…

For me, it is just easier to point out my imperfections than to see the good. I am really good at taking a compliment from someone and spitting a negative right back. My wife can definitely attest to this. It seems like there is something in my brain that blocks the compliment. I mean I hear it, but it kind of goes in one ear and out the other. I like compliments, but for someone reason my brain will only validate them if they are say about my work, work ethic or something not too personal. Does that make sense?

Weight Watchers always preaches that in order for this program to work, you need to think positively. And I honestly try. I have used all the tricks people have suggested.

* Don’t say something to yourself you would want someone to say to one of your friends.

* Tell yourself three positive things about yourself every day.

* Every time you think a negative thought. Stop. Recognize It. Reverse it.

But none of those things work.

I am always the first to tell friends to “stop beating themselves up” when something doesn’t work out or “stop saying you are fat” when they make a comment about their own body. But, I can never accept my own advice. I would love to, but I just don’t know what it would take to change.

I am jealous of the people out there that just love everything about themselves. It seems like a great feeling/place to be.

Anyone feel the same way? Have any other suggestions I could try?

Weigh-In Tuesday & Non-Scale Celebrations

Maybe I should call this Truth Tuesday? I don’t really know why I am so stuck on the alliteration aspect :P Any way… 

I had already chosen my blog topic before weighing-in today because I thought I was going to have a bad weigh-in. Well …

I didn’t :) I lose 1.2 lbs for a grand weight loss total of …. 45 lbs!! YAY!

I seriously was not sure when this number would finally appear. I feel like I have been stuck around 40 for quite some time. At least now, I am half way to 50! 50. Wow, I might actually cry when I hit that mark.

So I was thinking this week about how much emphasis I put on the number on the scale. Like if I think it should be a good number and it isn’t, my whole demeanor changes. My mood worsens and I am generally unhappy the rest of the week. I know that since it is a weight loss journey I would put a lot of pressure on what the scale says. But the longer I am on this journey, the more the priority changes. I want to really start celebrating the non-scale victories.

Future Fit Girl had a similar post last week.

So this week I have 3 non-scale celebrations:

1) I set a personal record for my Run For The Zoo 5k on Sunday, finishing in 29:20 I even got this fun 5k Weight Watchers charm in my meeting today.

2) I went to Lululemon Athletica on Saturday and actually FIT into their clothes. Woo! That felt amazing!! I have wanted some of their workout attire for ages.

3) Today marks 6 months since I had my last Diet Coke/soda. It was definitely harder at first, but water is proving to be a fine replacement. EXCEPT, when I am somewhere without a Dunkin Donuts – then it is definitely still tough!

So folks, what do you have to celebrate today??

Non-Food Celebrations

For me growing up, we always celebrated a big accomplishment with a nice meal out. Graduate from high school, let's go to dinner. Birthday, dinner and cake. Balanced your checkbook, grab a slice of pizza. Okay okay, I made the first one up! :P But, I realized when I started Weight Watchers, I was continuing the cycle. I remember telling myself, "Okay, when you lose that first 15 lbs, we can have Domino's pizza." Say wha? That seems quite counterintuitive to the change to a healthier lifestyle. So at that point, I knew I had to break to cycle. I needed a change.

So from that point out, I started in with non-food related celebrations. One day, the wife and I took an extra long walk near the lake. (It may not seem celebratory to you, but with my work schedule, it is a rare treat). Then there were times, I would come home and she would have flowers for me.

My biggest purchase came when I finally hit the 40 lb weight loss mark. I tried to hit it for so long. So when I did, I got myself a little Tiffany’s heart necklace. I now where it every day as a reminder of how far I have come and how I NEVER want to go back.

This weekend I also splurged and finally got some athletic clothes from Lululemon Athletica. I always thought I was too fat to fit into their clothes. Even after losing the 44 lbs. But I went in there on Sunday and I FIT! It may have been one of their biggest sizes, but I didn’t care. I ended up going a little crazy and spending more money than I intended, but I was super excited. (More on this tomorrow’s post about non-scale victories!)

It is still far off, but I am still mulling around what I will get myself when I hit the 50 lb milestone. Now, it doesn’t always have to be something big and fancy. It’s up to you!

What do you do to celebrate the little things in life?

Running

Who would've guessed that my post today would been on running? :P Today's run felt AMAZING! I can't believe that after my back surgery I could've gotten back to my old running form. I felt alive. There is just something about being out on the street (or treadmill), shutting out the rest of the world and just being in the run.

This race may now be on of my favorite runs! We got to run through the zoo. One second you passed a camel, the next a zebra then a polar bear. It was awesome. I still think my favorite run is the Hot Chocolate 5k in November in Chicago (I've already signed up for this year's back in January). At the end you get a tiny vat of chocolate fondue and 5 delicious treats to dip in it (pretzel rod, marshmallow, apple slice and pound cake). Can you figure out how that race was my previous personal record? :)

Growing up I never liked running. I mean I was a catcher in softball because I could avoid running. But something changed in 2005 and I gave running a shot - mainly cause I heard you would lose weight faster. :) I started and quickly got addicted. I started in January '05 and did my first 5k in March '05. Knocked out my first half marathon in February '06 and my first (and only) marathon in September '06.

Once I hurt my back, running was forbidden. That hurt. Going to the gym and watching other people run was torture. But, thankfully in May I was finally cleared to start it back up. It feels great to have it as an option again.

My goal now is to train for the Chicago Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon on August 14th. I am really hoping my back and leg are on board :) I did a 4-mile run last Tuesday and really hope to nail down 5 miles this Tuesday before attempting 6 miles with the wife on Sunday. *Keeping my fingers crossed*

So if you say to yourself, "I can never be a runner," you definitely can! I am proof.

Have you given running a shot?

Run For The Zoo 5k - June 2011

Today I can my first official road race since my back injury and surgery. It felt GREAT to get back on the pavement. It was made even BETTER by hitting a new personal 5k record. Okay okay it was only by 5 seconds, but it counts!!  

I had some amazing ladies to run with ... all 3 of us posted personal lows!! Ellie was running her first 5k and kicked butt.

Then of course I made them do an after shot...

Next race: Proud to Run 5k - June 25

Tools

I am a bad guesser when it comes to measuring portions for Weight Watchers. Yes, I know that is probably why we are all on the program :P but I am really really bad. So recently I have become obsessed with my tools of the trade.

I have been known to carry with me in my pocketbook my measuring cup, my tablespoon and my travel scale. They have come in soooo handy!

Last night, my wife and I went out for sushi. I mapped out my day and didn't want to go over so I went prepared. First off, the place was BYOB so I was able to bring my own wine and pour out exactly 5 ounces (the allotment I had given myself). I then knew that 2 tbsp of soy sauce was 0 pts so I set that out ahead of time (even though I used 1 tbsp at most). Finally, I knew I could have one cup of edamame so I took out my 1 cup measuring cup and immediately took out that much for me and let my wife have the rest.

I felt completely satisfied and more importantly wicked proud of myself for staying on program. I went in with a game plan and didn't vary from it. :)

I think my wife buying us a food scale for home and a travel one for me has been life changing. I use it everyday at work to make sure I use the correct amount of chicken in my salad. I may go a tad extreme, I even measure out my chips at home. ;) I would much rather go with the serving size 28 g rather than about 20 chips.

Do you all use any tricks to gauge portions? Please pass on any secrets you may have...