Thursday, June 23, 2011

WW Weigh-In, Week 16

Meh.

Start: 150
Week 1: 147.25
Week 2: 150.25
Week 3: 148.12
Week 4: 145.25
Week 5: 146.5
Week 6: 144.25
Week 7: 143.25
Week 8: 143.99
Week 9: 142.66
Week 10: 142.33
Week 11: 141.125
Week 12: 140.7
Week 13: 140.25
Week 14: 140.9
Week 15: 139.25
Week 16: 139.25. Yes, again.

Actually, maintaining this week isn't a bad thing. Father's Day was Sunday and we went to a massive brunch buffet late that morning. I still ended up the week with a positive activity Points+ allowance, but it was a close thing. It does give me some concern about when I'm actually on maintenance, though, since my metabolism appears to be on the slower end of average.

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On the end of speeding up the metabolism, though, I've been working on running more again, both with Tabata sprints (two sets of those in one evening had me this close to puking) and with some longer but less "balls to the wall" running intervals. Tonight I managed to run 10 minutes, divided into 2 minute bursts. And so far my right knee, which is usually the one that gives me fits, isn't objecting. Well, it's not objecting any more than it was before my workout, which is saying something.

Okay y'all, I'm going to cut this week's entry a bit short. It seems it's a bit difficult to compose a blog entry when one's spouse is giggling like a maniac watching Wipeout in the same room. Oh well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em... hee!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

WW Weigh-In, Week 15

Cue the Hallelujah Chorus, Kids

Start: 150
Week 1: 147.25
Week 2: 150.25
Week 3: 148.12
Week 4: 145.25
Week 5: 146.5
Week 6: 144.25
Week 7: 143.25
Week 8: 143.99
Week 9: 142.66
Week 10: 142.33
Week 11: 141.125
Week 12: 140.7
Week 13: 140.25
Week 14: 140.9
Week 15: 139.25!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh. My. God. FINALLY. Yay!!!!!!! Okay, only 9.25 pounds to go...

Looks like I'm at the part of this whole weight loss thing where I basically lose half a pound a week when averaged out over a few weeks. So if I keep it up at this rate, I should hit goal right before my November 3rd weigh-in. As far as the theory of it goes, I'm good with that. Intellectually I know that I'm at a healthy weight and have been since I got below 160. My body is perceiving these last 20 pounds (now less than 10 -- HAH!) as "vanity weight," and is pretty hesitant to let them go. So I'm having to kind of sneak them out. And it will happen, in time.

Meanwhile, out here in reality-world, it's a royal pain. I keep going because my knees will thank me (the less I weigh, the less strain on both of them, particularly the right knee). And I keep going in part, too, because I gain weight in the "saddle bag" style, which means that I'm not only a pear shape, but a lumpy one at that and less weight overall means the saddlebags get proportionally smaller making it easier to find pants that fit well enough to pay for the price of having them tailored.

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At some point, when the scale gets extremely stingy with the rewards, you have to buy into the whole lifestyle aspect of weight loss. Sure, we can parrot on about how "it's a lifestyle change, not a diet!" all we want, but it takes a long time to truly internalize that concept. That's one reason why the whole deprivation angle of "thou shalt not eat items X, Y, and Z" never worked for me. It's just not sustainable, and there comes a time where it has got to be about what you can live with.

It's about activity.
I walk 10,000 steps minimum 5-7 days per week. On a weekday, that means I hop on the treadmill at the end of the workday for 40 minutes. Even at only 3 MPH, that puts me above 10,000 by the time I'm done. Anymore I'm at a minimum 5% incline and pushing up both that and the speed, because for me walking on a level surface at 3 MPH is just... sauntering, really.

I'm also working on my resistance training 2-3 times per week, 20 minutes per session. I'm once again maxed out on my weights at home (granted the highest I have is a 10 lb. dumbbell). Muscle memory is a marvelous thing.

And I've also been researching the hiking paths around my area. There's only so much one can do on a treadmill. Besides, the boys will enjoy forced marches... maybe?

It's about food.
I had a major NSV (non-scale victory) earlier this week. My parents have been away and in their absence I've hijacked their minivan, in large part because their fifteen-year-old-chihuahua-on-Lasix is staying with us and I need the back of the van to transport her and Teddy back and forth to their daytime location during the week. Well, Monday when I put the key into the ignition I heard an ominous "click-click-click-click-click".

Lovely.

So Choreboy gave me a jump and I got to work. About 4:40, I went out to check the van.

"Click-click-click-click-click."

Oh dammit all to hell. So once again, Choreboy rides to the rescue. I picked up the boys and we met him at the local auto parts store where I then replaced my parents' car battery for them.

You're welcome.

By the end of all this, the last thing I felt like doing was going home and cooking a new batch of lentil soup, so we went to the local family-sports-bar-like place, conveniently located in the strip center right behind the auto parts store.

I scanned the menu. If I were on the Deep Fried Items Only diet, I'd have been in hog heaven. Finally I found the grilled mahi sandwich, which looked fairly okay. I ordered it without the bread and with a side of steamed broccoli. The sandwich toppings were basically a Caesar salad and tomatoes, so salad + broccoli + grilled fish = win, all things considered.

I did, however, snag a couple boneless wings from Choreboy. They were good.

And yes, I logged them.

It's about consistency.
I have set myself up for success. For me, that means having my lunch-of-choice already stocked at the office. Apples, grapes, hard boiled eggs, reduced fat cheese (I usually eschew reduced fat cheese, but I've found two kinds I actually like -- Cracker Barrel 2% cheddar, and Babybel Light), whole wheat pitettes, and Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter -- these are what keep me going during day.

It means making a GINORMOUS pot of lentils or black bean soup. Yeah, I flaked out on the lentils Monday, but Tuesday night I was in the kitchen chopping carrots once again. And I think I'll set the black beans out to soak Saturday night.

It means getting into the habit of choosing wisely with both activity and food, so those times when a truly outstanding food opportunity comes along (hello pound cake/ chess pie/ vanilla bean cake/ REESES!!!!!!!!!!!!!), I can indulge with a clear conscience. Honestly, I'm not going to live a life without certain things (full fat cheese, desserts, guacamole, chips, cheese dip), so it behooves me to find ways to live with them now. Reasonably.

And then I log every bite of it. Because that's what works. For me.

It's about persistence.
I've been at this since fall of 2006. At 5'-7" tall, I weighed 200 pounds which gave me a BMI of 31.32. Technically I was categorized as "Obese Class 1". And I wouldn't have known my weight if I hadn't followed my kids onto the scale at Publix on a crazy whim. They weighed themselves, then I climbed on.

You know, you can tell yourself that the scale is off, that the dryer is shrinking your jeans, that you're bloated... you can say these things for a certain amount of time. And they may even be right. But there's nothing quite like the reality check you get when your seven-year-old announces to the entire freaking store, "Mommy, you weigh 200! Isn't that quite a lot?"

The now-twelve-year-old is very proud of his role in my wake-up call, as well he should be. Since that fateful day I've used just about every method out there to lose weight, and I've learned from each one of them. I started with NutriSystem, which reset my brain for standard sized portions. It also helped me realize I needed to get this weight off once and for all because no way was I going to eat that crap long-term. When Lean Cuisine tastes like a gourmet treat? Something's gotta give. I read The Hacker's Diet (free online!), and that's what finally kicked the calories in/ calories out switch. I got under 160, which officially put me at a healthy weight. I joined SparkPeople. I tracked my food. I exercised. I joined Weight Watchers.

I've had my ups and downs, but over time the trendline has continued to point in the right direction.

And in just a bit more time, goal.

November, watch out.

Friday, June 10, 2011

WW Weigh-In, Week 14

There is no subtitle adequate to describe my feelings at the moment. Well, there is, but it involves more cursing than I'm comfortable using in public.

The scale got an earful, though.


Start: 150
Week 1: 147.25
Week 2: 150.25
Week 3: 148.12
Week 4: 145.25
Week 5: 146.5
Week 6: 144.25
Week 7: 143.25
Week 8: 143.99
Week 9: 142.66
Week 10: 142.33
Week 11: 141.125
Week 12: 140.7
Week 13: 140.25
Week 14: 140.9 !@)(*$(*@*@#$@)(&@%)((!)

Where is the "primal scream" emoticon when you need one?

Okay, confession time: I (foolishly) got on the scale this past Monday, for what reason I do not know. It read 138.5. I was elated. The 130's! I'd done it! I could finally report on my blog that I'd broken the accursed plateau!

Then I weighed myself on Tuesday, and it read 139.25.

Huh. Well, weight fluctuates, and three-quarters of a pound is within reason.

I didn't get on the scale on Wednesday, because I felt like I'd kind of jinxed myself with Monday and Tuesday's weighing-in antics, so for Thursday I was fully expecting to be rewarded for my good behavior.

Nope. 140.9. Probably there are a few more repeating 9's in that series, but we're just going to leave it at one decimal place.

So anyway, the mind started kicking. I know my food has been good. I know my exercise has been good. I even started back with the weights this week! Hmmm... that could cause a little fluid retention, but not this much.

Then I thought to check The Calendar.

Yup. Screwed by hormones again. I'd thought my stomach was looking poochier than usual, but I was thrown off because the latest weight I've lost (and I have lost it) has affected my chest, thus making any retention in that area less noticeable. But indeed, it was due.

So guess what showed up right before I went to bed last night?

Sigh. Delightful.

At least I know what's up. Here's hoping next week will be it!

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Adding insult to injury, my bra size has apparently dropped even where the scale hasn't, which I didn't notice until I wore a dress this week with a certain bra and noticed that we were having a gravitationally challenged moment. The band size is definitely smaller -- I'm going to have to move down to a 32 -- and it's possible my cup size has shifted as well because that isn't a "volume" thing, but is instead proportional to the band size.

Y'all, if I dropped to a C I'm going to need an entirely new vocabulary. Just sayin'.

Oh well, on the plus side I took today off work. I've already bonded with the treadmill and am about to do my resistance stuff without my children staring at me as if I'm a very interesting bug in a terrarium. Gotta take those small pleasures where we can find them. Have a great weekend, folks!

Friday, June 03, 2011

WW Weigh-In, Week 13

Subtitled: ARRRGH!!!!!!!

Start: 150
Week 1: 147.25
Week 2: 150.25
Week 3: 148.12
Week 4: 145.25
Week 5: 146.5
Week 6: 144.25
Week 7: 143.25
Week 8: 143.99
Week 9: 142.66
Week 10: 142.33
Week 11: 141.125
Week 12: 140.7
Week 13: 140.25

*muttering to self* Slow but steady, Amanda... slow but steady...

It was a good weigh-in. It really was. I lost almost half a pound in a week where I baked both a vanilla bean cake and a chess pie, and partook in both of same multiple times. I had a cheeseburger on Memorial Day. And the night before weigh-in I was attacked by a box of Triscuits that were mercilessly taunting me and consumed probably 3 servings of them instead of dinner, along with all the attendant sodium that involved.

So truly, I did well. I'm just looking at that scale i-n-c-h-i-n-g its way down oh-so-slowly and it's driving me nuts! I know the last 10 pounds or so can take forever, but I wish The Grand Stall-Out had started at, say... 139.9?

Perhaps?

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In other news, I completed Jenn's 10K a Day (in May!) challenge and managed a minimum of 10,000 steps per day each day in the month of May. Hooray -- go me!!! And then I cracked Choreboy up because I looked at him on May 31st and said, "I'm not going to get on the treadmill tomorrow. I'm just going to take a break," but then proceeded to jog in place to get my steps up to 10,000 yet again for the first day of June.

Obsessive much, me? Nah...

I did, however, take a real day off of working out yesterday. I needed it mentally if for no other reason. And today I'm going to get on the treadmill but my plan is to mix it up a bit by using one of the pre-programmed workout circuits on the machine. I haven't tried one of those since back in 2001, way before the Gum Zombie was even a vague concept let alone any sort of cellular entity. Then tomorrow morning our local SparkPeople group is meeting at the mall for walking at 9:00 a.m. We had been walking around one of the local lakes (we've got a plethora of lakes here), but the last time we walked the humidity really got to a bunch of us (and to my hair -- talk about an explosion!) so we're moving the party indoors until things cool down a bit.

So... December, probably. Okay, realistically I'm thinking late October at the earliest. I will officially be hating my power bill for the next six months.

My challenge to myself this next week: get some resistance training back into the schedule. Seriously, it won't kill me to lift a freaking dumbbell. I might as well do it.