Ugh...I feel like crap!

Do you know what I have spent the last two days doing? Eating nothing but CRAP!! I decided that since I have lost so much weight and haven't had all the foods I love in so long, I was going to eat ALL of those crappy foods in two days. Blah. I don't like how I feel at all. It is yucky. It has definitely given me the motivation I need to get moving and get back to eating healthy. But now that I am where I want to be, I can experiment a little with points, different exercises...

In a way, I am grateful for this experience. It has made me see that I do not want to feel this way. No wonder I was so blah all the time before I lost weight. This is how I ate all the time! It is amazing how much difference a healthy lifestyle really makes in my overall quality of life! So tomorrow, I am back in the swing.

I bought shoes today!

Yeah, I know, big deal. What does buying shoes have to do with weight loss? Believe it or not, for me, it has A LOT to do with weight loss. Before this little "journey", I was a sloppy, sweats and a t-shirt, don't care what I look like, throw the Nike's on kind of girl. Since I have lost all this weight I have started to care a little more about how I look. Thanks to the generosity (and weight loss) of my little sister, I have clothes that are actually cute. I have gone back to wearing a little make-up. I even had my hair professionally cut (for the first time in my entire life).

BUT, shoes are expensive (and thus in my mind a bit more of an investment). Because I never cared what I looked like, all I had were flip flops, Nike's, and dress shoes. The flip flops worked in the summer. The Nike's worked for winter. And the dress shoes worked for church. I have not bought a pair of "regular" shoes in literally YEARS. I bet it has been AT LEAST 5 years!

My wonderful husband gave me his Christmas bonus because he was proud of me for winning AGAIN (oh yeah, today was our final weigh in and I won, more later). I decided that I was going to buy shoes! As weird as it sounds, my buying shoes is kind of a stamp of reality on all this hard work. I feel good and now it is time to LOOK good from my head to my feet.

Awesome find!!!

I just found the best website!! I have already found TONS of very useful information and I have only spend about 30 minutes on the website!


http://www.nutritiondata.com/
Here is a screen shot of their home page (once registered anyway). Registration is free. My favorite part (okay, one of my favorite PARTS)? The little gray "Analyze Recipe" button (right above the purple "Diabetes" box). One of my biggest struggles with dieting is my own recipes. I cook mostly from scratch. I know how to add up all the nutrition information for the ingredients in the recipes but it is such a PAIN! This lets you type in (and save) any of your own person recipes and get the nutrition information per serving!! LOVING IT!

BUT, THERE'S MORE!! I have found different online sites that allow you to look up nutrition information of certain foods. But this one is different from any that I have seen. Right up at the top (so you don't have to search for it every time you go to the site) is a box that you type in the food you're looking for. Be as specific as possible or you will get TONS of results. You then select the food from a list that best matches what you are looking for (it has meats, fruits, veggies, packaged foods, fast foods).

You then get this screen (this is actually only part of the screen). It rates the food you entered on weight loss, optimal health, fullness factor, glycemic load, etc. Scroll down and it breaks down the specific nutrients, carbs, minerals, protiens, fats, etc.
There is some cool info on this site! Like I said, I know I am only scratching the surface so go exploring and let me know what you find!

It still hasn't sunk in....

I am so over the anorexia comment. Thanks so much for all of your comments. They helped more than you can know. I do know that I have gone about this the right way and that is all that matters!

I still can't accept the fact that I am a size 4. It is seriously weirding me out (yes I know weirding isn't a real word). When I tried on pants a couple of days ago, I was at Walmart. I convinced myself that it was just because I was at an el cheapo store and they just run bigger. So today, I made a trip to a department store to try on their size 4 pants. I tried on three different styles (two brands) and they still fit! My daughter was with me and couldn't figure out why I was trying on pants if I had no intention of buying any. I had to explain to her that it was just because her mommy is a little bit crazy!

Funny story here - I am so used to going straight to the "Women's" section that I didn't even know how the rest of the store is laid out. I walked in and thought, "I don't need the women's section anymore so that must mean I can just go to any of the other sections." Wrong! The section I started in (as far as I could tell anyway) had sizes ranging from 12 to 18. I didn't even know that section existed! I could have been looking in that section when I bought clothes! Oh well! Then I couldn't figure out where the section would be that did have the right size. I didn't want Juniors (just because they're sized differently so it wouldn't have been very useful). I felt too dumb to go ask a salesperson where my size was (okay, so maybe I'm not totally over the anorexia comments. I'm still a bit self conscious). After wandering around for a while I finally found them! It is seriously a big mindset adjustment

Weigh in

I have to laugh at myself today. I have been so bad this week. I just kind of "gave up" I guess you could say. I have come to grips with the fact that I don't have a chance at winning this competition so I can't bring myself to do all the work that I have been doing. I did stick to my points but I did not even once exercise this week! Naughty, naughty me! So why am I laughing when I have been so bad? Because I lost a pound this week and haven't lost any for the last three weeks (during which I WAS working my butt off)! Maybe my body just needed to rest. I actually read this week that it is possible to work your body too hard and it can cause a "weight rebound." It doesn't really make sense but neither does eating more (and that one I have personally tried and had work).

So my goal is to find a workout this week that won't necessarily kick my trash, but that will still get me to move. At this point, I am more focused on maintaining and staying healthy than on weight loss. And I know that in order to stay healthy, I need to keep exercising (and eating healthy but that seems to be coming much easier these days).

Here is to NOT gaining this week!

That was short lived...

I've already had my little bubble of excitement burst! Lately, I have been getting a lot of "you're too skinny" comments but most of them have been made in passing or by people who's opinions matter very little to me. My sister has been getting the same comments (she has also recently lost a lot of weight) so we call each other and vent our frustrations. First thing this morning, I called her to tell her that I was a size 4 because I knew she would be encouraging and supportive. She was so excited for me. This was going to be a good day! I was on such a high and she made it even better.

Then I talked to a good friend of mine. I didn't call her to tell her about my size but I was excited so I ended up telling her. She responded with "That is too skinny. That is like, anorexic skinny." And basically went on and on about how I was now too skinny. It really made me feel bad. I don't know if she reads this blog. I kind of hope not because my intent here is not to make her feel bad. It is more to bring awareness to people. I have worked my butt off! I have NOT starved myself. I eat exactly what Weight Watchers says I should eat. No I take that back, I ADD two points a day for exercising and I eat my extra 5 bonus points EVERY day. I don't have a separate menu I prepare for myself. I eat whatever my family eats. We have just made changes to our diet to include more healthy items and exclude the less healthy options.

Since I have been getting these comments lately, I was starting to feel a bit self conscious so I looked up my BMI on the computer. My ideal weight range is 118-159. Guess what? Mid point of that range is 138.5. I am currently 137.6! It seems like there is a 5 pound window that people think you need to be in to be "healthy". If you go over it, you're fat. If you go under it, you're too skinny. So next time you see someone who is "skinny" tell them they look great NOT that they look anorexic!

WHAT!?!?!?!?

I have been really struggling with motivation this time around. We only have a week and half left in this competition and I just don't want to do it anymore. I am still doing the eating part but I haven't worked out since Friday (the fact that I know I don't have a shot at winning is the biggest factor me thinks). So, I decided I needed something to motivate me. Maybe a trip to the store to see if I am close to fitting into a size 6. Last time I tried on pants, I was a size 8. I figured if I was close to a size 6, it might give me the motivation I need to finish strong and get into that size 6!

As I was driving to the store, I was coming up with all the excuses (or scapegoats if you will) ahead of time for not fitting into a size 6 yet. "I still have a lot more excess in my belly than I would like which would make it hard to fit in a size 6." "I have always had wide hips. What can you do about your bone structure? If my bones are too wide for a size 6, there is no way I will ever fit into a size 6. " You know, setting myself up to not be too disappointed when I fail. It makes it easier to take...

I walked into the store and pulled the first pair of size 6 pants I could find off the rack. I kind of laughed at myself for even grabbing them. I thought to myself "I hope I don't pop the seams out trying on these pants!" I took them into the dressing room and sure enough, they didn't fit. Bummer huh? Not really! 'Cause guess what? They didn't fit because they were TOO BIG! WHAT!?!?!?!?

Okay, so let's try a size 4? Uh...okay...? I grabbed a size 4 and slid them right on! They fit like a dream. I use the word dream because to me it is still a dream! I can't believe it is real! I thought to myself, "There must have been a mix up. The wrong pants were put on the wrong hanger!" I checked the tag. Nope! They were size 4 alright. "Okay, so it must be this brand. If I get a different brand, surely a size 4 won't fit." I got another brand....and the dream continues because they fit too!!

Never, ever in my wildest dreams did I think I would get down to a size 4. I don't even know how I did it! I am so excited!

Just a side note here: I wasn't aware that there is a difference between Junior sizes and Women's/Misses sizes. I was always confused when I went to the thrift store and got two pairs of pants in roughly the same size and one fit and the other didn't. So just a tidbit in case I am not the only retard out there - Junior sizes are the odd numbers. Women's/Misses are the even numbers. And Juniors are sized smaller than the others (ie. a 7 in Juniors is NOT the same thing as an 8 in Women's). I didn't try on any Junior pants but based on my past sizing, I would guess I am a 7 or 9 in Juniors even though I am a 4 in Women's). So now you know...

Weigh in

Yup! Definitely plateaued! I did lose but barely again. I have lost just over a pound in the last month. But I am okay with that! All I want to do at this point is keep from gaining. I've worked too hard to let it all go! I promise that soon I will get back to some posts other than weigh ins but I just haven't been much into blogging lately. It WILL come though! I did want to post my graph though (now that I can). I am actually a bit embarrassed by the spikes. That is when I wasn't doing competitions. I didn't realize how much outside pressures affect my weight loss!
(This graph doesn't have this last weigh in but just imagine that straight line staying straight!)

Weigh in

I am a little late on this post. Not much to report. I did lose weight but by the skin of my teeth (good thing I brushed them or I probably wouldn't have!). I think I am officially hitting a plateau. I'm not too upset about it because I have lost a lot of weight and I'm happy with where I am. I just don't want to gain because I don't want to have to pay!

One thing that does frustrate me is watching my points (even on Thanksgiving day) and exercising every day and maintaining. I don't want to have to be that strict just to maintain! I would like a little wiggle room without worrying about gaining 10 pounds!

I was actually going to post an chart that shows my weight loss (and gains) throughout the year but the picture link isn't working. I guess I'll put it up when I can get it to work!

Revision

Just in case anyone is interested, I revised my apple crisp recipe and it is much better now.

My First 5K

Today I completed my first official 5K! Notice I said "completed." I very intentionally did not say "ran." I am a humongous wimp when it comes to running. I get so frustrated because my legs would totally go a lot harder and faster but I get completely winded!

I didn't train at all for this so I am thinking maybe I need to start doing a little running and see how I do on another one. But I don't have a treadmill (not that I think those are overly effective anyway) and my hubby is gone at work for all of the hours of the day that have daylight. I am scared to death to run by myself in the dark and have at least three kids at home all day. I need to figure something out because I think it would be cool to actually compete not just complete!

My time was 40:01. Not good, but I am glad I did it. My goal was actually to come in under 45:00 because I know what huge wimp I am when it comes to running and I actually beat that by 5 minutes! I also didn't want to come in last. That was my biggest fear! But it was a very casual 5K so there were a lot of walkers. There was a big pack of people up front, a big pack in the back, and stragglers all through the middle. I was towards the rear of the middle stragglers.

Any suggestions for training for running in my situation would be very welcomed!!

I made it through Thanksgiving!!

I made it through Thanksgiving without going crazy on the food! Yeah for me! I staying within my points today and there actually was food there that I liked (despite my earlier claims that there would not be anything that I liked anyway).

I still want to eat more than I do but for some reason, it is all of the sudden getting easier to know when to call it quits and to call it quits. Knowing and doing are two different things. I have never really had a problem with the knowing part, but the doing has taken some time. But I AM doing and it feels great!

I hope my diligence pays off at the weigh in this week!

Apple Crisp

One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving (and Christmas for that matter) has been the pie! Oh I love pie! My favorite? Apple crisp - especially warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting over the top! BUT, I also know that apple crisp is FULL of sugar and fat (at least the recipe I have).

I have been eating Healthy Choice meals now and then and they have a wonderful oatmeal topping for their apple crisp. I figured if it was part of this meal, I should be able to find a recipe online for a healthy apple crisp topping. I could skip the crust, put the crisp part on top, and be good to go! Every recipe I found had butter in it! I looked at the ingredient list on the box - NO BUTTER!

So, I decided to try my own recipe using the ingredients listed on the box. And I must say, it turned out decent. It wasn't great, but it is a good substitute. Don't get me wrong, this recipe is definitely NOT calorie free. It is LOADED with sugar. BUT it has NO fat and lots FEWER calories than the real thing!

1 jar apple pie filling
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp dark Karo syrup
1 Tbsp honey
1 cup rolled oats
butter spray

***REVISION FROM ORIGINAL POST***
To help crisp up the topping (and keep it crisper longer) bake the topping for 1 1/2 to 2 hours at 225 degrees. Turn every half hour. I sprayed the topping with butter spray, cooked if for 1/2 hour, turned it and then sprayed it again (so the bottom also got coated). This also seems to improve the flavor quite a bit. Cool.

Pour and spread the pie filling into an 8x8 baking dish (sprayed with cooking spray). Combine sugar, syrup and honey in saucepan and cook over medium heat until well mixed. Add oats and stir until well coated. Remove from heat and spread over apple filling. Spray the topping with butter spray. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

The ingredients list also had molasses but I didn't have any. I think it would probably have been better with a touch of molasses but I can't say for sure!

Potato update

Okay, so do you remember a couple of posts back, I mentioned a party that I attended (and was actually good at) where they served mashed potatoes? I didn't eat them because I wasn't sure what was in them (but had a pretty good idea from a small taste test that it wasn't very diet friendly). Well, I found the recipe for them. I am SOOOOO glad I passed on the mashed potatoes:

15 medium (5 pounds) potatoes, peeled and quartered
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons onion powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 egg whites, slightly beaten
4 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup chopped chives (optional)

Seriously! Who comes up with recipes like this? This just shows me that I really have made some changes. Last year, I would not only have eaten the potatoes, but I would have sought out the recipe and made some myself. Now, I look it at this recipe, and it doesn't even look tempting to me. It looks a little bit more like a heart attack in a crock pot!

By the way, I do have a good recipe for mashed potatoes that is still yummy but much healthier! Okay, maybe not technically a recipe, but...

I boil my potatoes (amounts depends on number to be served). Drain the water and blend in a small amount of skim milk and Butter Buds or Molly McButter (sometimes I do a mixture of the two) to taste! I have also added some butter spray before. Still very yummy but no where near the calories and fat of potatoes that have real butter in them.

Weigh in

I know, I have really been slacking in blogger land. Rest assured that all of my blogs have been lacking, not just this one. I just haven't been into blogging the last couple of weeks. BUT, I do have a tendency to go in spurts so stick around....

I figured the least I can do is keep up with my weigh in updates - makes me be more accountable. I didn't post great numbers this week, but I DID lose. And that is what really matters, especially at this point. I really want to lose another 7.4 pounds before the end of the year, but I figure it isn't the end of the world if I don't. I have far surpassed my original goal and I am very happy with that. At this point, my focus is more on NOT gaining than on posting huge numbers at the weigh in. I am still working out because I think one area I am lacking in is toning. I have lost the weight, now I really need to get what is left into better shape!

Weigh in

I am officially a scale buster!! Yeah!! I am now OFFICIALLY in the 130's!!! When I started this journey, my end goal was to be in the 150's. I didn't think it would even be possible for me to go any lower. To have my weight in the 130's...I don't even know what to say!! I only have 8 pounds to go to be able to say that I lost 50 pounds in one year. How cool would that be?

I finally did it!!

It has taken almost a year, but I finally did it! I went to a dinner on Wednesday night and I did fabulous!!

We were served mashed potatoes, ham, corn, rolls, and some sort of jello fruit salad. I didn't eat the salad because it was packed with all sorts of very sugary fruit. I skipped the mashed potatoes because I had no idea what they were made with. I even took a little taste and they were YUMMY. But I still didn't eat them! I ate the ham and the corn and about 1 ounce of a roll (the fact that I know how much an ounce of a roll looks like says I have weighed WAY too many rolls). I even skipped dessert because while they all looked very yummy, they also all looked very fattening and I knew I didn't NEED it.

BUT - it gets better! Last night, I was feeling lazy and bought pizza for my kids for dinner. There was a mix up at the pizza place so they threw in free breadsticks. I looked up the points and had one piece of pizza and one breadstick (the amount of points I normally eat for dinner). A year ago, I would have eaten AT LEAST half a pizza, a few breadsticks, and throw in some soda (I always thought you couldn't possibly eat pizza without soda).

I was good, two nights in a row! AND my hubby is out of town so there wasn't even anyone around to know if I was bad. I always used that as an excuse. My hubby is out of town, I am stressed, I deserve to eat whatever I want. WHAT?!?! And I also deserve to feel like crap and gain weight, right?

I think I am far from having my "food addiction" cured, but I am doing SOOOO much better than I was a year ago!

Another milestone!!...(but I cheated)

Whoa!! I stepped on the scale today and I was in the 130's!!! Hello! I can't even remember the last time I was there! I'm guessing '92-'93-ish. Okay, okay, I have to admit, I kind of cheated. I volunteered at my son's school. It was 1:00 and I hadn't eaten since breakfast (7:00 this morning, a bowl of cereal). I got on the scale with a jacket on (I forgot I was wearing it) and weighed 140.8. So, I took the jacket off and then shed some other extra clothing to get down in the 130's but I figure my true weight would be without the clothes anyway!! Hip, hip, HOORAY for me!! We'll see what my weight is tomorrow at the weigh in but it was AWESOME to see those numbers actually register on the scale!

Halloween should be outlawed!

This is a picture of about HALF the candy my kids brought home.

Can I just say that when you have five children, all young enough to go trick or treating, you end up with A LOT of candy after Halloween is over?!?! I have not done so well with staying out of my kids treats! I have to say that the candy I have eaten has still been within my daily points, BUT I would be better off using my points on healthier options. I have actually done pretty good this year with staying away from treats. I hadn't thought about Halloween. I stay away from treats because I don't buy them! Thanks to Halloween, we are now stocked!!

Every year, we let our kids pick out a certain number of their favorite treats. The rest of the treats go in a "community bowl" for everyone to share. This stash usually last us well into the next calendar year because I usually only let my kids have a piece or two a day. After the newness of it wears off, it goes down to a few pieces a week. BUT this also means that there is candy at my house for a long time!!

Some people say just to let the kids have at and get it over with. But I feel like that teaches them to binge eat. I'd rather teach them that it is still okay to have treats as long as they do it in moderation. Now I guess I need to move on from just keeping the treats away, to having the willpower to not eat them even when they are around. I will admit, if I can gain that willpower, going out to restaurants and parties will be MUCH easier!

Weigh in

Just a quick update. I lost another pound and a full percent of body fat so I am no longer the ONLY person who hasn't lost body fat! Yeah!! It is amazing what happens when I actually exercise.

Yummy Treat

I found a yummy treat that I wanted to share!

1/2 cup Dryers Slow Churned Vanilla ice cream (this is the kind I used but any with the same calorie/fat count would work)
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup (or 79 grams) frozen raspberry, blueberry, blackberry blend (needs to be this blend for the fiber)

Blend in blender until smooth. Weight Watchers points - 3!!

Salads

I just wanted to share something interesting that I just discovered. I mentioned in an earlier post how sometimes ordering salads can actually be worse than just getting a hamburger. I was just checking out Wendy's nutrition information. A Chicken BLT salad (with croutons and dressing) has 17 points!! A Single w/everything is 11 points!

That is not to say that all salads are bad. Wendy's also has a Chicken Caesar Salad that is 8 points (with croutons and one packet of dressing). I actually like it without the croutons and dressing and then it is only 3 points!

It really makes me realize how important it is to check nutrition information before going to a restaurant if at all possible!!

Weigh in

Whew!! I lost weigh by the skin of my teeth today! I have been doing HORRIBLE. I haven't watched my points, haven't exercised. So I was prepared for the worst today! But I ended up losing .6 pound. NOW, I have to get back to exercising and watching my points! I mentioned in an earlier post that we had the swine flu. Well, that turned into a sinus infection from Hades!! I have been on antibiotics for a few days and am finally feeling TONS better. So now it is back to work. I actually exercised today. I'm sure I will feel it tomorrow. It stinks because I already got past the sore muscles once and now I have to do it all over again!

Okay, enough whining! Everyone did well today at the weigh in. We had one slight weight gain but she did lose a good amount of fat. I am now in fourth place but hopefully now that I can get back to exercising, I will be able to do better. I am currently the only person (that we know of, two haven't weighed in on my scale for a couple of weeks) who has an overall fat percentage increase! Blah!! But I am sure that is from lack of ANY physical activity. When you feel like crap, you do a LOT of laying around!!

We did have to add a rule. We have allowed emailed weights from home when people can't make it to the weigh in. But we have had problems getting weights from a couple of people so now we have a $1 fine if the weight isn't to me by Sunday night. Hopefully, that will help get the weights in better!

Here's to healthy eating and exercising!!

Tools I use...clothing

For me, I have three essential pieces of clothing for a good workout - a good sports bra, a headband, and good shoes.

First the bra. Obviously, this one only applies if you are a woman! I have worked out with the cheap sports bras from Walmart. I don't know if I got the wrong size or if they are just crappy, but when I get jumping around, the dang thing slides off! Yeah, that makes for a fun workout! And, I never really felt like it gave me good support anyway! Just because it says sports bra, doesn't really mean it is! So, I went and tried on a few bras. I jumped around, raised my arms in the air (basically, I was doing jumping jacks in the fitting room). But it has made a HUGE difference. I can't get on here though and say, buy this particular bra because I think it varies from person to person. My recommendation would be, TRY THEM ON!!

Okay, now to the headband. This is totally a personal thing, but I HATE having to push my hair out of my face all through a workout. And when you are sweaty and jumping around, the hair has a tendency to stick to your face...yeah, not fun. So I highly recommend a good "stay in place" head band.

Finally, a good pair of shoes is a must. I should have put this one first because I really think this is the most important. When I first started working out, I had a good pair of shoes, but they were walking shoes. They weren't designed for aerobics. I got horrible shin splints at first. After those went away, I would find that my legs were completely spent about 3/4 of the way through my workout. I was given a gift card so I went and bought some GOOD shoes specifically designed for aerobics and I cannot believe the difference they made! It was amazing! I was able to get all the way through my workout with legs that were less tired than half way through my workout with the old shoes! So get good shoes! Ask the salesperson for help. Make sure you get shoes that are designed for the type of exercise you will be doing. It will take so much stress off your legs and back. You will pay a little more but it is SOOO worth it!!

Weigh in

We had our second weigh in yesterday. I actually lost a pound which shocked me because I have done NOTHING because we have all been sick with the swine flu at our house. Not being able to breath pretty much makes it so exercise won't happen. I am mad though. I was ready to go and had all the motivation in the world. I was doing great and then went down with this crud and now I have NO motivation! Ugh...

We did have one person gain this week (so far, we have one yet to report) so our pot is at $1 (okay, really it is $10 because we guaranteed a minimum of $10 but....)

We also had a new person join our group so now we are up to 8 people. Our newest joiner is trying to have another baby and is hoping that losing weight will help. I can personally vouch for weight loss as an effective way to increase odds of getting pregnant! My personal experience has been that it makes a HUGE difference.

Anyway, enough babble, hopefully now that I am back to health, I can get my butt in gear and get posting more regularly!!

First group weigh in

Our first weigh in went pretty well. No one gained weight (that we know of, we still have one who hasn't reported). I lost five pounds in our first weigh in but it will be interesting to see what my body does next week. I have been sick so I haven't been eating much. I am worried that will translate into weight gain next week. My body fat went UP .8%. Don't know for sure what is up with that! But I will take the weight loss any day. Because my fat went up, I am in fourth place (out of the six that weighed in). So overall, everyone did pretty well. Having to report to a group is definitely giving me motivation to do well. Now I just need to get over this crap I have so I can start exercising!!

On a more positive note...

I decided I needed to write a positive post since we started up our new group today and I don't want to be a motivation killer on the first day!

Seriously though, I am really excited about the group we have gotten together. There are six of us total. I know three of them, two I don't. So this will be fun to get to know a couple new people. As far as I know, everyone wants to meet weekly to do the weigh in rather than the email thing. I am very excited about that. I was worried people would want to take the "easy" road and just email their weight. It will be great to meet up with these gals every week! I will have people to be accountable to! When I have done these group things in the past, it has taken me a few days to get into the groove. But this time, I am ready to go today (not so excited about the exercise part, but I did DO it).

Here's to six women who will spend the next 10 weeks getting healthier and happier!!

Exercise

I don't get it. I hear a lot of people say how much they LOVE to exercise. They say how addicting it is. I just don't get it. I DO NOT love to exercise. I know it is a critical part of weight loss. I love what it does for my body. I do enjoy how I feel when I have been exercising regularly. But honestly, I would rather have a root canal than exercise (they numb you at the dentists office and then give you drugs afterward).

I started up a new weight loss group today so I figured I better get back into exercising mode. I couldn't bring myself to pull Jillian out AGAIN. So I decided to go back to Bob. I like Bob but he is obsessed with lunges. Lunges are hard!!! Especially when you have to keep going and going and going. It's like he thinks I'm an energizer bunny!! Well I have news for you Bob Harper. I'm not a bunny!

Oh well, I guess it's a necessary evil. I need to find a running partner and go running in the wee hours of the morning. I love exercising outdoors but it's kind of hard to do with five children and hubby leaves for work at 6:00. So I would have to go running (okay, realistically, I would be mostly walking) at like 5:30 am....My body doesn't even know that time of day exists!! Any volunteers?

Weight loss group

My neighbor and I decided to start another weight loss group because being accountable to others really seems to help both of us. We were trying to find a way to keep people motivated and committed without having a "fee" that people on a tight budget have to worry about losing. So here is what we came up with (any suggestions or insights are WELCOME):

We are starting this Saturday and will require that everyone weigh in this week and the final week (December 19). Weekly weigh-ins can be emailed or you can meet with us weekly to weigh in together if you need the motivation.

Our "challenge" will go for 10 weeks (so we can enjoy Christmas - LOL).

We will have a $20 "fee" to start BUT it is refundable. As long as people attend the weight-ins (or email their weight weekly), they can get their $20 back - with a small exception. To keep people motivated, we will have a fine for weight gain. Every pound gained at a weigh-in equals a $2 (haven't determined the exact amount yet) fine. Money collected from fines will go into a pot to be given to the person with the highest percentage of weight loss.

If anyone chooses to withdraw, they forfeit their money (this is the commitment part) and the money goes into the pot for the winner.

Ugh...

Has anyone noticed that I haven't posted anything on here about weight loss lately? Well...THAT'S BECAUSE THERE HASN'T BEEN ANY!! Oh I have been HORRIBLE! Last time I did this competition thing, I went off the diet for 2 months and gained five pounds. I figured that wasn't too bad!

So this time around, I went back off my diet and something in me SNAPPED! It has been three weeks and I have gained 9 pounds!!! BUT...I do have to say that I still am under my ultimate goal weight of 150. I said I wanted to go below 150 so I would have some weight to play with...I know, I can give all the lame excuses I want...

You know what really stinks though? Guess where it has ALL come back? My gutt!! UGH!! Granted I think that is more from lack of physical activity than anything.

Okay, I really need to get my butt back in gear. My husband and his family are doing a competition until December. Each person has to put in $50, winner take all. I figured if I lose 19 pounds, then I will have lost 50 pounds in one year. How cool would that be? That would put me at 12% weight loss this time around. I just don't know if that will be enough to win or if I can even actually get down that low. Decisions, decisions...

Tools I Use...Ab Lounge

This little contraption was a life saver for me when I first started this journey! I could not do a crunch, sit up, superman, etc. TO SAVE MY LIFE! Seriously! I had ZERO muscles in my stomach. I had given birth 5 times in 7 years (one six months before I started and one 15 months prior to that). I felt like the biggest doof! I didn't know what to do because I knew I wasn't going to build any muscles if I wasn't using them...

So I decided to give the Ab Lounge a try. When the ab portion of the video came on, I would let it play and use my Ab Lounge while the ab part played. At first I would just leave the exercise video playing and use the Ab Lounge for the duration of the ab portion. As I progressed, I would pause the video and use the Ab Lounge a little longer. Now, I can do all the crunches, sit ups, etc. on my own but I attribute a lot of that to this little machine! I don't use it anymore but it was definitely great to give me a jumpstart!

On drawback to the Ab Lounge is that it does have a 250 pound weight limit. There are other machines out there that I assume would serve a similar purpose (for example - Ab Rocket) but I am not sure what (if any) their weight limits are.

I paid around $100 for mine but the cheapest I could find was on Walmart.com for $77.

Tools I Use...George Foreman Grill

I LOVE this thing for dieting! I have seen these advertised before but never bought one because I figured it would just be another appliance that would sit on my counter, take up space, and never get used. My husband mentioned that he would like to have one and a couple of days later, my sister called to see if I would want hers because she was getting rid of it. I said sure, thinking I probably wouldn't use it much but at least I wouldn't be spending the money on something I wouldn't use.

We literally use this a least every other day. Some days it gets used several times during the day! It makes it so easy and QUICK to cook up a chicken breast (very good for diets). I have used different types of seasoning on the chicken and everything has turned out great. When I do cook beef, it drains off all the extra fat instead of having the meat sitting in the grease as it cooks. We have found that it is VERY versatile. We have cooked fries (so no oil), squash slices (very YUMMY), burritos, breaded chicken, regular chicken, hamburgers, steaks, grilled sandwiches (which can be done without the added calories of putting butter on the bread).

I always hated cooking up a chicken breast for myself because of all the work and time. With this grill, I just throw it on the grill for five minutes and I have a nice evenly cooked chicken breast. I have even thrown them on slightly frozen and just increased the cook time and still got a perfectly cooked chicken breast.

One complaint I read online was that they are hard to clean because you can't remove the plates. We have found that this isn't necessary. All you have to do is wipe the extra food off with a dry paper towel. The temps on the grill are high enough that there is no need to use soap and water to clean it (in fact the instructions actually recommend not using soap and water). I have never had a problem getting it clean with the paper towels.

I found this one online at Walmart.com for $29 (mine is white but I think it is the same grill). It comes with a drip pan and a spatula designed specifically for this grill. If you will be cooking mostly for yourself, they do have a smaller one for $19.

"You're too little..."

I had the most awesome thing happen to me today!! I went to buy a couple of shakes for me and hubby. I walked out to my car carrying two small shakes and walked by an older lady who was sitting in her car with the window rolled down. She asked if I was going to eat both of the shakes. I told her I wasn't. She responded by saying that if it was her she would probably end up eating both of them. Then she said "But you're too little to eat both of those shakes by yourself." She called me little!!! NO ONE has EVER called me little before!! I just wanted to give her a big old hug and tell her she made my day!! Talk about motivation to keep going and not put the weight back on...!!! WAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOO!!!

Pictures

So I promised before and after pictures so here there are. I was hoping that the change would be a little more apparent in the pictures but what can I say?
These are the pants I was wearing in the before picture. I always laugh at these pictures because the pants are flat so it is a way skewed but I couldn't resist!!

Tools I use...Weight Watchers

Weight Watchers is definitely the best "diet" plan that I have found. It has taught me how to eat what I already eat but do it in moderation. I like being able to eat what my family is eating. I don't want to have a separate menu every day for me. Even when I did make up my own menus, it was food that my family was already eating. I didn't make up some weird rice paper wrap stuff that I had to choke down every night. I ate what I liked!!

There are several ways to do Weight Watchers. There are meetings that you attend once a week. There is an online version. I used the online version for a month (got a free trial) and loved it. It let me type in my own recipes (which was great for me because I cook a lot of casseroles) and then it would give me the point value per serving. As much as I liked it, I couldn't justify the expense just as I couldn't justify the time and expense of the meetings. So I just purchased the books and the calculator and have done the program on my own. I bought mine directly from Weight Watchers when I had the free trial. I don't know if you can purchase directly from them if you are not a member, BUT you can get just about any of their stuff on EBAY for about the same price.

My friend bought a starter kit on EBAY and the lady she bought it from actually sent a detailed list of instructions on how to use the program, calculate points, calculate the point value of exercise...I actually copied her instructions because I was just kind of winging it! The most basic started kit I could find on EBAY also included a recipe book and a 1 month food journal. The kit I purchased from WW also came with these two items but I have never used them. But I have found that it is cheaper to buy the starter kit than to buy the two books I actually use and the calculator.

The calculator makes it so I can get the point value of any food that I have nutrition information. Unfortunately, meats and fresh fruits and vegetables don't come with preprinted nutrition information. This is where the books (or the cool food scale that I have) come in handy. I don't think I have come across a food yet that isn't listed in the books.

The books obviously don't list casseroles but I just find the point values for each of my ingredients, add them together and then divide by the number of servings. It is a pain to do this the first time around but then I write the point values (and number of servings used to calculate those points) on the recipe and then I always have the point value.

The Dining Out Companion is so-so. It has a lot of restaurants that I have never heard of and doesn't list a lot of my favorites. The restaurants it does have don't have a complete menu listing but I can use it to get an idea of what the point values of some places are. I have found that most national chains will have their nutrition information posted online so I go online before I go out and figure out the point values using my handy dandy calculator. This also helps me make better choices when ordering if I know that I will use up my daily allotment of points eating one six dollar burger!

Using this program has been a real eye opener for me. We still eat our favorite foods but some of them we have switched to only eating on special occasions now that we really know what we are eating!! I would highly recommend Weight Watchers even if you don't have the money to invest in their monthly options. If you purchase from EBAY, make sure you are getting a calculator with your kit. Some have them, some don't. I have found that most complete starter kits are around $60 right now.

Who really eats this stuff?

I get a lot of emails from weight loss websites. I got one today that said it had recipes for losing the wasteline. I was all excited because that seems to be the one part of my body that just doesn't want to let go. So I opened the email and here are a few of the recipes that I found:

Rice paper-wrapped salad rolls
Blackberry spinach salad
Pecan & gorgonzola greens salad
Pollo en Escabeche
Carmelized onion and white bean flatbread

COME ON!! Who really eats like this? Oh, I know, it's the people that are already health nuts, don't need to be on a diet, and even know what this stuff is! Give me some stuff that I'll actually eat!!

I AM DA WINNA!!

Well, I won again but I have to say, it wasn't as fun this time. Last time, it was a faceless name that I didn't know so it was easy to get all competitive. This time, I did the competition with a friend so while I was still competitive, it wasn't fun seeing her not win. BUT, even though she didn't win, I have to say, she still did AWESOME!! She lost 17 pounds in 12 weeks with two family vacations in the middle of all of it! Way to go!!

So here are my stats since January:

I have lost 39.6 pounds (22% of my body weight) - yeah I was trying SO hard to get to 40 pounds by the final weigh in. I was DANG close, but it was still good.

I have lost 11% body fat

I went from a pant size 16 to a pant size 8!!! That is half!! I was very excited about this one.

My overall goal was to get to 145 so I would have 5 pounds to play with so I can stay under 150. I was 140.8 at today's weigh in!!!!

Now I have to maintain.....

Weigh in

Sorry for the lack of posts. Last week was pretty crazy so I didn't get any posts done. We had a weigh in Monday. I gained 1/2 pound but I was kind of expecting that. Last week's loss was somewhat artificial. But if you take my total weight loss for the two weeks (3 pounds), I still lost a pound and a half per week which is still pretty good.

I think stress must be a good fat burner though because I lost 2 percent body fat! I'll take it!

In the next couple of days I will get back to my "Tools.." posts. I still have a few more I want to do.

So, we have the final weigh in less than a week away and guess what I did tonight? I went to an all-you-can-eat buffet! DUH!!! It was my daughters birthday dinner so I couldn't really argue...

Ugh, I didn't do as well as I had planned, hoped, etc. But I didn't do TERRIBLE either (I guess some of that would depend on your definition of terrible though). I'm hoping it won't bite me in the butt come Monday!

Weigh in

So we had a weigh in yesterday (had to do it a day late) and I lost 3.6 pounds! I think a lot of it was stress so it will be interesting to see what the numbers are next week. I did gain fat again though. Not quite sure what is going on with that one...

Tools I use...food scale

I LOVE this scale. When I first started this whole diet thing, I was using a cheap little one pound scale . It did the job, sort of.


Then my husband did some research and found my Kitrics Digital Nutrition Scale. It comes with 999 foods programmed in (and a book to look them all up). I can program 99 of my own favorite foods. It will let me keep a running total of the nutrition information for everything I eat in a day.

One feature that I love is that I can put my plate on the scale and zero out the weight. Then I can put my meat on, weight it, and zero out the scale again and add my potatoes. With the other scale, I was having to find my lightest container (so it didn't tip the scale) and weigh one item at a time.

Another great thing about this is that I can type in my own foods and then make my own 100 calorie packs. Once the nutrition information is entered in, I just put food on until I reach 100 calories and voila - 100 calorie snack packs!

This scale actually shows calories, calories from fat, carbohydrates, protein, fat, saturated fat, fiber, sugars, cholesterol and sodium so I know the calories, fat and fiber for my Weight Watchers points. (I am starting to feel a bit like a typing infomercial).

We paid $50 on Amazon.com with free shipping but right now it is $45 with free shipping:
http://www.amazon.com/Kitrics-0120-Digital-Nutrition-Scale/dp/B000U67EI0/ref=pd_sbs_hpc_1

Tools I use...body fat scale

I use a weight/fat/water scale when I weigh in. I prefer this type of scale because it shows my weight loss AND my body fat loss. These scales have been proven to not be 100% accurate on the actual amount of body fat but as long as I weigh in at about the same time, it gives me an idea of whether my fat levels are going up or down. I have learned that body fat levels go down during the day, some days by as much as 3% by evening. So if you buy one, keep that in mind. Oh, and if you have a pacemaker, don't buy one. ;D

The scale I use is a TANITA brand. I did a lot of research before I bought one and found this one to have the best reviews and the most consistent/accurate results. TANITA does sale a scale that has the works. It will tell you your weight, body fat, body water, muscle mass, bone mass, metabolic age, calories required to maintain your current weight, visceral fat levels, and physique rating. This was the type of scale used by my hubby's work and I LOVED it but I couldn't justify the expense. So I went with the same brand with the basics.

I bought my scale from Target for $50 on sale but I can't find it on their website so I don't know if they sell them anymore. I did find what I am guessing is the newer version of what I have on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009V1YPK/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=304485901&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000094ZGG&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=101XK4Y09NJAG7NK1910

I have seen a lot of other scales that are weight/fat/water but make sure you read reviews before you purchase them. Some of them seem pretty bad based on the reviews I read before deciding on this one.

Tools I use....a buddy

Lately, I have had several people ask me how I have lost all my weight. So I thought I would do a few posts that tell what I have used (worked or not), where I got them, how much they cost, etc.

My first tool, and in my opinion, the most important one, is some sort of "buddy". I have tried and tried to lose weight on my own and it has NEVER worked. For me, the buddy had to be someone I was accountable to (ie. more than just a friend who was also dieting). I guess maybe I should say "someone to be accountable to" because that is more what I mean, but "buddy" is easier to type!

The first go round, I had my hubby's work as my "buddy". With hubby's work, I knew that I would be weighing in, it would be recorded, and people would know whether or not I lost weight.

Again, for me, it helps if the buddy comes with some sort of reward. The reward with hubby's work was $300 dollars. Yeah, GREAT motivation. If you can get a big group of people together, I would definitely recommend this strategy. Each person chipped in $20. The third place winner got their money back. Second place doubled their money ($40). And the winner gets the rest of the pool. The trick with this one is that everyone has to be willing and able to weigh in at a specific time each week on the same scale in the same location (believe it or not, the floor underneath the scale can make your weight vary by as much as a full pound).

This go round, my buddy is my neighbor. Every Monday, we weigh in at my house. It makes me be accountable. I can't just tell myself that I'll get back on track next week because no one will know because she will know. This blog has also helped with that because I am accountable to whoever may be reading it. I had to throw in a little reward though. The winner gets to go out with their hubby while the other one watches all the kids (there are nine total).

So, if internal motivation is not your thing, find something external. There is nothing wrong with that! I was worried that having the external motivation would make me less likely to keep the weight off. But now that I have lost it (and worked so hard to do it), I am DETERMINED to KEEP IT OFF!!!

Weigh in

I just realized I never logged my weigh in this week. I lost a big whopping....are you ready for this one.... 2 tenths of a pound (yup, that's .2 pounds). Woopee!! Okay, a loss is a loss...right? Oh, and did I mention that I gained fat? I don't know why I am having such a hard time with that this go round.

3 weeks to go....

Diet Mistakes #11

Found the link but had to keep you in suspense:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/slideshow-diet-mistakes?ecd=wnl_wlw_072509

#11 Avoiding Exercise

When you don’t exercise, you place the entire burden of weight loss on your diet. If you become more active, you can eat more of the things you like -- and still lose weight. The key is finding an exercise you enjoy. If the treadmill seems tedious, try swimming, ballet, biking, or Ping-Pong, all of which burn more calories than walking. Spend time at different activities until you find one you want to do on most days.

I LOVE this one!! I exercise not to lose weight faster. I do it because it gives me a couple more points to play with during the day AND it tones. Dieting alone WILL NOT tone your body. And I have really enjoyed doing different activities. I have several workout videos and I walk, run, and bike as well. Find what works and go for it! There are several workout videos that are 20-25 minutes (which is a must for me with 5 little kids) so they really don't take much time out of your day.

Diet Mistakes #10

#10 Setting Unrealistic Goals

Telling yourself you’ll lose 20 pounds your first week is probably setting yourself up for failure. If you know you won’t be able to do it, you may never start your diet in the first place. If you do diet and lose 5 pounds in a week, instead of celebrating, you may feel discouraged that you didn’t reach your goal. A realistic goal is vital to successful dieting. If you’re not sure what your goal should be, talk to a dietitian.

This is a hard one. I have done this before. "I am going to loose 30 pounds in 1 month." Yeah right!! I have found that setting realistic goals is so much easier because you get a feeling of accomplishment when you actually achieve them instead of total frustration when you don't. My first go round, my goal was to reach a "healthy" (based on BMI) weight which meant 22 pounds in 12 weeks. That may have even been pushing it because the guidelines are 1-2 pounds a week after the first week. But I lost 6 pounds my first week so that left 16 pounds for 11 weeks. And I actually did accomplish it.

This time around, I had less to lose so my goal was 16 pounds in 12 weeks. So far, I am on track.

However, don't set goals that are so low that you could do it in your sleep. I heard a lady once say, "I always set a goal for weight loss and I never achieve it. So this year, I am not going to set a number. My goal for this year is just to be healthier." What kind of a goal is that? Set a real goal and then find ways to keep yourself on track (like a specific diet and exercise plan). If you just say "I am going to lose 5 pounds this month and don't exercise or change eating habits, it's probably not going to happen!

Diet Mistakes #9

#9 Weighing Yourself Every Day

Weighing yourself daily is a recipe for frustration and doesn’t yield useful information. It’s more important to look for a long-term trend with weekly weigh-ins. If your goal is to lose 1 or 2 pounds a week, you’ll be satisfied to see those full-pound drops when you step on the scale. The result is more motivating than the confusing swings that may accompany daily weigh-ins.

Okay, so this one is me to a tee. Not really. I actually weigh myself three or four times a day! I am SOOOO bad with this one! I will get so frustrated because the scale shows that I have gained a pound or two but I have actually lost weight at every official weigh in but one. I REALLY need to work on this one. I have tried. I think once I even made it for two whole days without weighing...

Diet Mistakes #8

#8 Taking the Drive-Through Bait

The drive-through is convenient after a hectic day, and you can always order the salad or other healthier option. But once you’re there, can you resist that milkshake or other treat? And if you allow yourself the ease of fast food once, it could become a habit. According to one long-term study, people who ate fast food more than twice a week gained 10 more pounds than those who had it less than once a week.

I can honestly say I don't have a problem with this one. We very rarely go out to eat. But one thing this doesn't point out that I think is important to point out is that you need to check the calories even if you are ordering a salad. I have been SHOCKED at some of the caloric/fat values of some salads. Some of them are worse than a cheeseburger! So don't think that just because you are getting a salad, all is well.

Diet Mistakes #7

#7 Ditching Dairy

Milk, cheese, and ice cream are taboo for many dieters, but ditching dairy foods may be counterproductive. Some research suggests the body burns more fat when it gets enough calcium and produces more fat when it’s calcium-deprived. Calcium supplements do not appear to yield the same benefits, so dairy may have other compounds at work as well. Most dietitians recommend sticking to nonfat or low-fat milk, cheese, and yogurt.

Haha!! No problem here! In fact, I actually did have to ditch some dairy to get my diet to work. I was pretty much living on dairy - milk with every snack and meal, cheese on everything, ice cream, yogurt. Yeah, I have cut back but I still get plenty and I try to make sure it is low fat (most of the time).

Diet Mistakes #6

#6 Drinking Too Little Water

This is one of the simplest diet blunders to fix. Water is essential for burning calories. If you let yourself get dehydrated, your metabolism drags -- and that means slower weight loss. Research suggests adults who drink eight or more glasses of water per day burn more calories than those who drink less. So try adding a glass of water to every meal and snack.

I have a BIG issue with this one. I don't know what it is but I just cannot remember to drink water. I have tried every trick I have ever read (drink water with every snack and meal, keep a water bottle filled up so you can keep track of your drinking, ....). The biggest problem is then at night, I am so thirsty that I drink away and then I am up all night in the bathroom. Getting a good night sleep is another weight loss help! I really need to work on this one!

Diet Mistakes #5

#5 Sipping Too Many Calories

When counting calories, many of us tend to overlook what’s in our drinks. This is a big mistake when you consider that some fancy coffees and alcoholic beverages have more than 500 calories. Even the calories in fruit juice and soda can add up quickly. What’s worse is that liquid calories don’t curb hunger. You’re not going to eat any less after a high-calorie drink.

Again, not an issue here. I am not a flavored drink person. I do like juice and chocolate milk but knowing the chocolate just adds calories, I try to stay away from it and drink skim milk. I have mentioned in earlier posts that I do drink V-8 and V-8 Frusion to get my fruits and veggies in but I know I would be getting more for my points if I ate the actual fruits and veggies.

If you do favor flavored drinks, there are a lot of zero/low calorie alternatives: diet soda (I personally like diet A&W, and Sprite Zero), Powerade Zero, Crystal Light (and a whole bunch of generic versions), and FUZE Slenderize are all drinks that I have tried and liked. One tip with the Crystal Light (especially if you use generic) is to use less water than it calls for. This gives it a much better flavor.

Diet Mistakes #4

#4 Loading Up on Low-Fat

Low-fat products can play an important role in your diet. Just remember that low-fat isn’t the same as low-calorie and it’s not a license to take second and third helpings. If you pile your plate with low-fat cake, you may end up eating more calories than if you had a smaller slice of regular cake. The best way to know how much fat, sugar, and calories you’re getting is to check the nutritional label.

I haven't had a huge problem with this one. My problem is more getting fats into my diet. I am very hung up on the low fat stuff and I know that it is important to get some (good) fats in your diet.

Diet Mistakes #3

#3 Losing Track of Your Snacks

Maybe you count calories meticulously at every meal, but what about all those nibbles in between? There’s the bag of pretzels at your desk, the little slice of cake at an office party, the taste of your son’s ice cream cone. All of this mindless munching adds up and could sabotage an otherwise well-planned diet. If you’re serious about counting calories, you may want to use a notebook to keep track of each bite.

Again, been there, done that. That is what I like so much about Weight Watchers. It you trains to keep better track of those little bites here and there. I am much more likely to throw my kids scraps in the garbage than munch on them because I don't want to waste my points on senseless munching. When I don't keep track, this is my downfall every time!

Diet Mistakes #2

#2 Skipping Breakfast

Skipping breakfast seems like a simple way to cut calories, but the result can be insatiable hunger the rest of the day. This may lead to unplanned snacking at the office and eating a super-size portion at lunch, making calorie counts soars. But breakfasts that are high in protein and fiber can reduce hunger throughout the day. In fact, studies show people who eat breakfast every morning are more likely to maintain a healthy weight.

I, unfortunately, also have experience with this one! I went through a phase where I never ate breakfast because I figured it would help me get thinner. I ate very little for lunch but as it says above, by afternoon, I was so hungry that I would snack "here and there" and think I hadn't had anything to eat all day so I can eat a bigger dinner.....and I GAINED weight.

I have actually been doing this "diet" in reverse. I eat most of my calories by early afternoon so when my evening winds down and I am not burning as many calories, I am also not eating as many calories. I think that has also helped keep my blood sugar more consistent which has helped with the cravings.

Diet mistakes #1

The other day, I got a slide show with an email that had some good diet tips. It was from WebMD but I deleted the email so now I can't link directly to the slide show. I did copy the tips though to have on my hard drive so I will share them on here. If I find the link, I will post it as well.

#1 Relying on Crash Diets

Determined to lose 10 pounds fast, you turn to a crash diet. Perhaps your plan calls for nothing but grapefruit or cabbage soup each day. You slash your daily calories to fewer than 1,000 -- and sure enough, the pounds melt away. But when you eat so few calories, you train your metabolism to slow down. Once the diet is over, you have a body that burns calories more slowly -- and gains weight more quickly -- than ever before.

I think I have already made my position clear on this one! I really found it interesting though how it said that you slow your metabolism down. I couldn't ever figure out why the crash diets had that effect. I figured it was more just eating bad when you stopped but a slower metabolism makes a lot of sense!

MAJOR milestone!!!

I haven't posted in a while! We had another weigh in yesterday. I officially weigh in the 140's!!! I have stepped on the scale at different times and been there but this was an official weigh in! This is a major milestone because my husband has never (including our dating) seen me weighing in the 140's. When we met I was around 160. A week before I wedding, I did a crash diet and lost 10 pounds putting me at 150. So this is a major thing for me!

Oh, and about the crash diet - that is EXACTLY why I am so against diet pills, shakes, crash diets, (ie. supplements). Within a month of my wedding, I not only gained the 10 pounds back but an additional 10 pounds that I really never took back off! Not this time! This time I have worked too hard and too long to let it all go. I may fluctuate a little but I can't imagine gaining it all back after working so hard and knowing that it is possible to be where I am. And dang it - I FEEL GOOD!!!

I have to say, I think there is just a point where I finally got past my "I'm a fat slob" feeling. The first time I did this, I lost 25 pounds and I never really felt any different. Then I gained 5 back and have now lost 12 pounds and I can't believe the difference in how I feel! And I don't really mean I have more energy because I don't have all this excess weight I am carrying around. It is more of a feeling of almost liking what I see in the mirror. That is a huge motivation for me to stick with what I have done and keep it off.

So if you're just starting out or have been doing this on and off (I have been there too) KEEP GOING. DO NOT QUIT!! You will get to a point where all your hard work WILL PAY OFF!! I never, ever thought I would get to this point. I thought I would always hate my body. Just to clarify, I don't, by any means, have the body I wish I had, but what I have feels healthier and tons better than it has for a very long time.

YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!

Weigh in

Yesterday was another weigh in. I didn't do great, just 1/2 pound, but it was a loss! At this point, as long as I don't gain, I will be happy. I am actually surprised that I lost weight. We went out to eat twice on Saturday, and had a party on Friday at a friend's house!

So today, I decided I needed to have pizza for lunch. I need to work in the foods I really love (like pizza) a little better. I think that is part of my problem right now. I feel like I am eating the same crappy low cal foods all the time. The whole point of weight watchers is being able to eat foods you enjoy! And I actually did good today. I had pizza (dipped in ranch), chocolate milk, and a cookie for lunch and still stayed within my points for the day! So it is possible to eat the foods I like and still be "good." Granted, I had to keep myself moving the rest of the day so I didn't think about being hungry (and having fresh tomatoes from the garden that are zero points didn't hurt either).

I did something today that I haven't done in FOREVER!! I tucked in my shirt. I have ALWAYS worn big baggy clothes to hide my body and when I did tuck, I would blouse it out so it would still hide my belly! Well, today, I did a straight tuck with no blousing! Now, I am not going to say I looked great because I know I didn't. BUT even having the self confidence to do it was a MAJOR thing for me! I am not supermodel skinny but I am actually getting a little more comfortable with my body!

Happy Day!

My awesome sister just made my day!!! She called a while back asking if I wanted her clothes that she no longer fit in (she has also lost a lot of weight). I said sure thinking in my mind that there was no way they would fit but they would give me the motivation to lose weight so I could fit into them. I have always viewed her as super skinny and myself as...well...not so much! So I figured there was NO WAY I would fit into anything that she had fit into.

She dropped the clothes off today and guess what? They fit!!!!! So I got a double bonus. I have new clothes AND it really made me feel like all my hard work is paying off if I can fit into clothes that she has worn! Yipee!!!!

So now maybe I can start to accept that I am actually not big anymore. I can't believe how hard it is to change that mindset! I walk into a clothing store and automatically go to the women's section because that is where I have always shopped. But I can't get clothing there anymore that fits!

Waist not....???

I've always felt like I had a rather large waist. It is the part of my body that I hate the most. But it seems like I am finally starting to chip away at my waistline! Last time I did a competition, I went and got some size 12 pants. I haven't been wearing them because I have been lazy and have been lounging around in sweats. I put a pair on today and GUESS WHAT? They are too big!! They fit when I bought them! So, I got my trusty old belt out. I have never really worn a belt but had to buy one a couple of months ago to keep some of my pants from falling off. When I bought the belt, I could only do it up on the first hole. Well, today, I used the FOURTH hole!

I remember the last time I could squeeze into a size 8 pair of pants. It was about 16 years ago! And I remember being shocked that I fit into them! So if I can get down to a size 8.....WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

I think the hardest thing about weight loss is the first part. For me, I was already wearing clothing that was either snug or had elastic waistband so I didn't really notice a difference in my body size. But now, it seems like I am noticing change fairly regularly and it has been great! So if you are just starting and getting frustrated because you don't notice a difference, KEEP GOING!! You will start to notice change and it is the most AWESOME feeling in the world to know that all your hard work and determination are finally paying off!

Major milestone!!

I have officially lost 30 pounds since January! Yeah for me! My goal is to lose 36 pounds by the time I am done with this round and it looks like I am well on my way to accomplishing that goal! Why 36? Well, my ultimate goal is to not go over 150 (currently I am 151) after I am done. I figure if I go down to at least 145, then I have 5 pounds to play with. If I gain a couple of pounds, I can get back on track before I go over 150. And I would be thrilled with anything beyond the 36 pounds!

I actually lost 2 pounds this week so I am still loosing weight so maybe...

I don't know what my problem is with fat though. I keep gaining fat percentage. So I guess the weight I am losing must be muscle mass or something. So...I pulled Jillian back out! She kicked my butt on the last go round so I'm going to go with her again. I figured the walking I was doing was exercise so it was burning calories but I wasn't really doing anything to tone or build muscle mass. So back to my boring old work out in the front room bit!

It's good though because I have noticed my gutt starting to hang out a bit and she worked great on that last time. It could be too that my chest is disappearing so that makes my gutt show more!! Fair warning all you women out there. When you lose weight, you also lose chest!!

My daughter is funny. She just asked me who is winning the competition with my friend. I told her my friend was winning overall. Then she asked who had lost more weight, I told her my friend. She asked who had lost more fat, I said my friend. She said "So pretty much, she is kicking your butt on everything?" I said yes. She replied, "Mom, I really think you should start working out twice a day. Maybe go running AND do Jillian."

Off the wagon...

This post is dedicated to my friend who called this morning to tell me that she “fell off the wagon” this morning. First of all, you are doing AWESOME!!! Don’t let one bad morning frustrate you. Get back on the “wagon” and keep going! I have had that problem before. I have a bad morning and I figure,”Oh well, my day (or week) is shot anyway. I might as well enjoy myself.” Don’t do it! So you had a bad morning. Keep going! What do we do? We swiiiim, swiiiim....

So now back to my theory on keeping the house stocked with “diet friendly” snacks in the house. Yes, they cost more....up front. But I really believe that in the long run, they pay for themselves not so much in monetary ways but in physical well being.

I figured it out and I probably spend about $50 a month on diet snacks, Healthy Choice meals, etc. BUT, that $50 spent is in place of food that I would be eating (and therefore buying) anyway. Plus, being on a “diet” (uh, I mean, lifestyle change) I am actually eating less than I would before anyway. So being generous, I figure I would have spent AT LEAST $25 on the food I would be eating anyway in place of the diet foods I buy.

Okay, so now we’re down to $25 a month (at most) that I spend in addition to my normal food budget to have diet snacks around. That adds up to $300 a year. How many thousands of dollars am I saving on health care costs down the road that result from my being overweight/obese? Hard to say. Maybe nothing. But maybe....lots. I would rather not take the chance.

Let me give an example of how the little snacks can be helpful. The other day, I bought some Blue Bunny fudge bars that are actually 0 points (or 1 point if I eat 2). So if I really get crazy and go on a binge and eat, let’s say 10 fudge bars...guess what? I’ve only eaten 5 points! That chocolate chip cookie that just came out of the oven and looks so tantalizing costs that much by itself!

Oh, but wait! Weight Watchers has cookies that are one point a piece. So if I really have to have a cookie, I grab one of those instead of the 5 point cookie that just came out of my oven. They even have chocolate chip ones (though I wouldn’t highly recommend them, they’re alright but not the best). I WOULD recommend the peanut butter cookies. They are actually quite good, especially dipped in a glass of skim milk (total 3 points for the snack). Even with the milk, they’re still better than one “normal” cookie. And I get the milk which is more filling.

So I guess what I am saying is that the “cost” of these snacks is all relative. I may feel like they’re pinching my budget now, but I also think they are so worth it.

Weigh in

Alright! I have mellowed out since last week! Actually I got thinking about it and there were a few factors that contributed to my low loss last week. First, the week before, I actually lost 3 pounds because I weighed right after exercising and hadn't had lunch (our usual weigh in is mid morning prior to exercise). So if you split that up, it was actually not as bad of a week. It was also that time of the month (which could explain the temper tantrum) and I always retain a ton of water right at first. So, it wasn't really as bad of a week as I made it out to be.

This week, I lost a pound and a half but I did gain a slight amount of body fat. I am okay with that though because I had and AWESOME week! I know I did everything I could (which you'd think would make me MORE frustrated) so I will take what I get. We went out to dinner on Friday and had a party on Saturday and I stayed within my points BOTH days!!! How awesome is that? I think that is a first for me. I usually blow it on both of those, especially parties because it is really hard to know how much you are eating. Actually, I should say as far as I know I stayed within my points. I am not positive because I didn't have my handy dandy scale for the party but I guessed the best I could. So I was so proud of myself. Yay self!!

Weigh in

Half a pound? Half a stinkin' pound?!?!? All that work and watching what I ate for 1/2 a pound!!?!?!?!? UGH! Okay, it is still a loss. I should be happy. But I went from losing 2 pounds a week last time to basically nothing this time. I think I have hit that crappy plateau that you always hear about. I hate plateaus!! They suck!!

It wouldn't be so bad but the person I am doing it with keeps telling me that she really isn't even watching her points, just cutting back and she is dropping 2-3 pounds every dang week! Do I sound angry? Because I am! Not at her, but at my stupid body!

I know I will regret posting this tomorrow, but I don't really care right now! I said at the beginning of this I would be honest and this is how I feel right now!

Walking

Not much to report today. I have been doing pretty good with sticking to my points and exercising every day. I have found a GREAT way to get my exercise in with 5 little children. My kids LOVE to ride their bikes. So everyday, we have been going for long walks with them on their bikes. Monday through Thursday, we walk to get free lunch (a summer program for the kids) which is a 1.3 mile walk each way. My kids literally beg me to ride their bikes to this every day. It works great for me because I push the stroller with the babies in it which gives me a little more of a workout. (I actually tried it one day this week without the babies because my husband was home and I decided it really does give me a much better workout with the stroller.)

Today, we had a dentist appointment for two of the older kids. I asked them if they wanted to drive or ride bikes. They wanted to ride bikes so I got my walk in today (no stroller though so not as much of a workout as normal). I love it! I get things done and exercise in for me AND my kids at the same time. It does get a little hot but hey, it helps me sweat off a little more weight and fat, right? So that is my goal for the summer. Whenever we are going somewhere close enough to walk, weather permitting, we will walk (we'll see if that holds up when the temps are in the high 90's).

New find

I have, on occasion, tried Lean Cuisine meals, Smart Ones meals. I like them because if I pay attention while I am eating, it gives me a better sense of portions for when I make my own meals. But, I haven't been a real big fan of the taste and they don't seem very filling so I don't eat them very often. I found these Healthy Choice meals the other day and actually bought them for my husband. I had no food in my house and decided to give one a try. I really like them (especially baked instead of microwaved). They are very filling and the ones I have tried range from 4-6 points for the entire meal AND it comes with DESSERT!! Can't beat the dessert factor! They do have some that are up in the 8-10 point range so if you get them, make sure to check for the ones with lower calories. Another bonus - they are high in protein so they make a great after workout meal. They cost a little more but did I mention they have DESSERT?!?!?

Just kidding!

So I got my groove back....until I went to a family party. I even starved myself all day so I could eat at the party and not go over my points. But remember the add campaign for Lays potato chips? "No one can eat just one." Yeah, I wasn't even going to eat any but I thought "just one won't hurt." And then I kept eating and eating and eating! I think they lace the chips with something that makes them addicting (okay not really, but it makes me feel better about eating so many.) So I figure I probably went over my points by about 6 points. Then I went over yesterday by about 8. I have to figure out a way to get past my "I already blew this week, I might as well enjoy myself" mentality. Who cares if I ate too many chips on Saturday? Pick it back up and do good on Sunday! I'm doing good today though. I lost 3 pounds and 2% body fat at this week's weigh-in but that was artificially high because I exercised right before the weigh-in. So next week will seem like a bad week even if I do good. That gives me something to look forward to!

I got my groove back!!

At least I hope I did. I finally feel like I WANT to do this last ten pounds. I exercised today and yesterday. I have been sticking to my points. And I don't feel like I am torturing myself all day long! I am not quite sure what did it. I just finally feel like I WANT to do it. It is so hard to get motivated when it feels like a chore. I just need it to last 9 1/2 more weeks!

I have figured out how people with a lot of kids stay skinny. They are the moms who put their kids in piano, tball, soccer, swimming, dance, tumbling, ice skating..... They don't have time to eat because they are running kids to and fro all day long!

I am not that kind of mom. We sit at home all day because I don't dare take five kids in public by myself. So I sit at home and eat all day long! Guess I better get myself busy. I can use the money that I would have spent on a gym membership and put my kids in all sorts of stuff. Okay, not really, but I do need to get out and do more! Then I am too busy to eat and my kids have a life!

Weigh in

I pretty much sucked at the weigh in today! I gained a pound but I knew I would because I just didn't have any motivation last week. I am still going back and forth on the menu thing. I liked it because it helped me stick to a set plan, but then when I didn't have it, I just went crazy. My old way actually did work...I just don't know. I do have to say though that gaining a pound definitely made me want to do better (today anyway). Seriously though. I just need to get off this last 13ish pounds...I know, I know...that is all we ever say, "If I could just do this, then I would be happy," and then once you do it, you move on to something else.

Just some thoughts I have had recently. I have been really down on myself the last little while. I twist everything everyone says or does into some reason that they hate me (and who knows, maybe they really do). But this has only been since I have gone off my "diet." It really got me to thinking about depression and how maybe our eating patterns play a role in depression. Then I got thinking that the time in my life that I was at my worst (depression) was right after I had my first baby. I blamed it on post pardom depression (which I still think played a major role) but I realized that is also the time in my life when I was eating my worst and weighed more than I have at any other time in my life - including more than I weighed being 9 months pregnant!

So I have two theories. One is that eating healthier and more on a schedule helps physically by making my body healthier and keeping my blood sugar at a more constant level (I have a whole post to do on my theories with that one). My other is just the mental aspect. When I know I am eating healthier, I feel better about myself. When I know I am eating crappy, I feel bad about myself and feel like I have no self control. If I don't like myself, how can I think that others can like me?

That is not to say that my entire mental state hangs in the balance on whether or not I am following a set diet plan. But I do think that it plays a major role.

Guess I better run so I can exercise while the babies are sleeping!