In my rushing around to sort out the fridge/freezer situation this morning I forgot my lunch. Technically I could have made a second portion of my breakfast as lunch, but then I’d have to buy breakfast tomorrow. I also could have done with some of what I had – a little peanut butter on a bagel thin – but that’s not lunch. Odd because what I had planned for lunch, lox on a pita pocket, isn’t lunch either. Go figure on taste buds.

So a colleague and I went out for salad. Nope, not the cheapest option for lunch but . . . → Keep Going: well I *tried* not to spend money on food]]> I really did.

In my rushing around to sort out the fridge/freezer situation this morning I forgot my lunch. Technically I could have made a second portion of my breakfast as lunch, but then I’d have to buy breakfast tomorrow. I also could have done with some of what I had – a little peanut butter on a bagel thin – but that’s not lunch. Odd because what I had planned for lunch, lox on a pita pocket, isn’t lunch either. Go figure on taste buds.

So a colleague and I went out for salad. Nope, not the cheapest option for lunch but I didn’t want Subway and I knew the salad would keep me fuller, longer. So ginormous salad it was and for the amount of food, I shouldn’t complain about the $8 price tag. Spinach, mushrooms, celery, cucumber, green peppers, spanish olives, apple, black olives, avocado, egg whites, red onions. carrots. I added in some turkey bacon that I keep from my breakfast. I wasn’t hungry at all until after my errands. Best of all? 6.5 points including dressing. My points are so off this week. WI going to be a crap shoot.

I don’t count the Arctic Zero as spending money. I had a gift certificate and I didn’t buy what I’d planned to at Modell’s so I’m still ahead of the game.

Some times got to look for the bright side. Hope I have a working freezer by tomorrow. I’m going through smoothie withdrawal.

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Like many trying to lose weight, I wear a heart rate monitor to track calories burned/APs while working out. . . . → Keep Going: Can I get APs for stressing over my fantasy football league?]]> because really, I’ve killed a ton of brain cells on that this week, with no reward as of yet I’m so glad it’s football season, I just wish it was year-round. On the plus side, my gym is getting Direct TV which means NFL Network. WooHOO! Just like this summer where I began spending more time at the gym for its AC, it seems as if I’ll be spending time there for their TV. So maybe football does translate to APs.

Like many trying to lose weight, I wear a heart rate monitor to track calories burned/APs while working out. I don’t have a fancy Polar or anything as I didn’t need it. I originally got a Sportsline META, which I really didn’t care for. I ended up putting it on eBay and buying a Bowflex Precision XT off buy.com. So far, I love it. I’ve never had any issues with its accuracy and it gives me a fairly consistent reading. I don’t currently eat my APs and don’t think I’m likely to on a regular basis, but I want to know what I’m burning to get an overall gauge of my activity. When I first started weight watchers I had delusions of far exceeding their suggested 28 APs/week. Oops

What I didn’t realize is how far APs would fall off as I lost weight and got presumably more fit. I miss my “easy” 8 AP days on the weekends, although I did pull off a 1003 calorie/10AP “last chance” workout the other week but that also included a 2.5 mile walk home. Especially with summer Fridays over, I very rarely have that kind of time to workout. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll happily take fewer APs in exchange for being 50 lbs lighter, but I wonder how on earth I’ll ever get 28 APs/week.

My main issue, especially during baseball season, is that I never get to the gym during the week. I’m either at the office until 8 or 9 pm or want to get home to unwind and watch a game. I’m not sure, even with Direct TV, whether that would get me to the gym on weeknights. It’s just my “me” time. I was very good about going to the gym daily before baseball started, so we’ll see what it’s like when the season ends. I like the gym for me time and always feel good once I’ve left, but I’m not sure I can get 4 APs in an hour anymore. I’ll have to re-evaluate my cardio I think. I asked a good question on MeFi when I first started working out. I think I need to revisit it.

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I thought about just linking to my LT review, but then the review turned into far more of a blog than a book review, so here it is. And this is a lot more streamlined then it was, and then my brain was when I read this over this weekend. It’s given me a lot to think about, and I imagine I’ll be revisiting it I like this book a lot better than I liked Kuffel’s first book, Passing for Thin. I found it flowed together a lot better, odd . . . → Keep Going: Review: Angry Fat Girls]]> Angry Fat Girls: 5 Women, 500 Pounds and a Year of Losing It…Again

I thought about just linking to my LT review, but then the review turned into far more of a blog than a book review, so here it is. And this is a lot more streamlined then it was, and then my brain was when I read this over this weekend. It’s given me a lot to think about, and I imagine I’ll be revisiting it
I like this book a lot better than I liked Kuffel’s first book, Passing for Thin. I found it flowed together a lot better, odd since it was a story of a number of women rather than Kuffel’s journey, which she told in passing. I believe Kuffel has grown significantly as a writer since her first book.

When I read Passing for Thin earlier this year and realized how dated it was, I found myseld wondering what Kuffel had done and whether or not she had kept the weight off. The appearance of AFG in my Amazon recommendations told me all that I need to know on that front, and I was glad to find this available at the library.

“But I’ve discovered that this Weight Thing is clearly easier to bear within a system of sisters”

While I cannot see myself participating in a twelve-step program for weight loss, I 100% agree with Kuffel in this point. When I first began Weight Watchers I was online only. I never thought I’d be one to attend meetings or to take anything from them. However my thoughts changed slowly and I decided to give them the same three-month “trial” that I did WW as a whole. My three months is “up” this week, but I can’t imagine not going to meetings. I don’t know about WW claims of meetings-goers losing more weight, but I know that I love the questions that come up from others. I get a lot of info from the message boards as well, but I can’t keep up there whereas I find myself taking a lot of notes at meetings and nodding in “Wow, I hadn’t thought of that” sense with questions/comments from others.

Although I’m a long way from goal/lifetime/maintenance, I find myself fearing what happened to Frances: one-hundred pounds in three years. I have lost weight in the past and I’ve gained it back. This time, I think it’s different. I’m older (30 vs. 18/19) and I want it. But I fear slipping. Sometimes I think it’s good that I’m a slave to the scale. I’ll catch the slip early, but then again I know the stories of others who have gained it back. What will keep me from being a statistic? I think that’s part of why I’m reading a lot on different aspects of diet/fitness/weight loss and nutrition. I want to know about the pitfalls before I fall into one.

I like how Kuffel worked the women’s stories into information on particular issues about weight, obesity, food and other issues. It’s part of what made the story cohesive and nicely wove narrative with important information. And yes, it sent Mt. TBR through the roof because I realize how much there is that I don’t know. At the same time, Kuffel left some stories unfinished and I found myself wanting to know how/why it ended with Katie and Ahmed. The reader was left hanging as to how the issues there sent her spiraling back to more than 400 lbs, but maybe it didn’t matter.

The women’s journeys intrigued me in many ways. They all came from different places, and were in different places in their lives, yet weight united them. Weight is not only a woman’s struggle but it’s something that unites women in a way that it doesn’t men. There are a couple of men in my WW meeting and I know there are men meetings, but dealing with weight in a group setting is very much female. Still, it was nice to see how Kuffel wrapped in the experience of some men, including Linday’s husband Jalen. Their experience with different weight loss programs also is a microcosm of women worldwide, who are always on one diet or another. A friend of mine said to me a couple of weeks ago when we were discussing the various diets “The only diet that works is the one you stick with”. So true. For me, that’s weight watchers. For others, it’s Atkins/South Beach/cabbage soup/etc. There is no perfect diet. We’re all different with different metabolisms, tastes and lifestyles and because of that, no one food plan or diet will work. I think they key to being successful with anything is to recognize your body/personality type and worth with it, not against it.

I was glad to see Kuffel tackle the issue of weight loss surgery and the issues that go with the surgery. Not being able to lap band one’s head is a key point. I know that many insurance programs/doctors require that patients lose ~10% of their weight before clearing them for surgery. I truly believe that if the person can lose the 10%, s/he will either be able to avoid the surgery or be more successful with it. Too many people see WLS as a fix, not really realizing that they’ll end up in the same bad place if they don’t adjust their eating habits following surgery. A good number of people who are overweight have emotional eating issues. I know I do myself. Mindful eating is something I’m working on. Sometimes I wish I could lap band my brain.

AFG is the book that got me back into wanting to blog, and I spent some time this weekend looking for the blog. It wasn’t until the epilogue that I found out that Kuffel and the AFGs had abandoned the blog. I was sorry to hear that. I still want to know more about Mimi, Wendy, Katie, Lindsay and Frances.

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I had . . . → Keep Going: food spending on Weight Watchers]]> one of the topics that comes up the most when I mention I’ve been doing weight watchers is the cost of food. I think many people have seen the Weight Watchers products in the store and think you’re required to buy them like with Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem. There’s no doubt some of the WW products are expensive, but you definitely don’t need to buy them. There are some products that I do like – mainly those sold at Centers (smoothies, mint crisp bars) – for which I’ve never found a comparable alternative but I don’t buy those that often.

I had a feeling that my food spending had gone down since beginning Weight Watchers, but I couldn’t swear to it. This morning I decided to look at my Mint data to see if my hunch was true or not. To be consistent, I’m going to use the two six-month periods going back to September 2009: six months pre-WW and six-months since joining WW.

9/1/09 – 2/28/2010
Category Spending
Restaurants $1,062.71
Groceries $439.10
Fast Food $310.72
Coffee Shops $20.89
Alcohol & Bars $10.88
Total $1,844.30

3/1 – 8/31/2010
Category Spending
Groceries $1,039.19
Restaurants $963.34
Fast Food $66.48
Coffee Shops $20.36
Total $2,089.37

Some notes:

• Fast Food is 7-11 when I don’t have water bottle for the gym & concessions at Yankee Stadium/Citi Field. Much improved over daily trips to Duane Reade for soda and candy (!!).
• Groceries includes WW center shopping for products, but not monthly membership fees.
• Not in the first six months ~1.50/day in soda from the guys in my building because that was paid in cash.

It’s not an exact science because there’s some holiday-related restaurant spending in the first six-months, but it’s close enough because it’s also balanced by some vacation-related restaurant spending in the latter. The reality is, eating out is a fact of life and restaurants in NYC aren’t cheap so this will always be higher than I might like.

So I’ve spent approximately $250 more on food in the last six months. That’s slightly surprising but not overwhelmingly so. The groceries are skewed high from initial stock up on basic things I didn’t have and early spending in Food Emporium, where I now try to limit my spending. Still, it has given me some goals for the next six-month window.

Sept 2010 – February 2011 Food spending goals:

• Cut back on the Subway habit. This is two-fold, actually. As my DPs go down I cannot keep spending 11 points on lunch. I just can’t. It’s so part of my routine, but it’s time to break it. If I can’t totally, I need to at least make one sandwich last two days. That would help with the money spent as well as the points spent.
• need to cut back more on lunch at work. I’ve done better in general as I very rarely order out for lunch or weekends, but when I do I spend far too lunch (Europa $13 salads, I’m looking at you)

One of my many abandoned blogs is a personal finance one. I’m always cautious on spending and have really been trying to reduce money spent. I don’t monitor it day-to-day but I’m pleased to see that groceries were about what I had “budgeted”. I’ve been making good progress with weight loss as well as my spending. Another reason to be happy.

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I think I’ve been mentally writing this blog post since yesterday’s WI, or even from Thursday when I sensed that I just might hit 50 lbs down this week. I still cannot believe I did it. 50 lbs lost in a hair less than six months. For some time, one of my mini-goals had been to lose 50 lbs before my trip to Indy for Manning Bowl later this month. Since I made my previous mini-goal of being considered not obese in July, it was my “next” goal. With my gain over vacation it was in jeopardy but . . . → Keep Going: It’s not before and after, it’s before and during]]>

Before and During

I think I’ve been mentally writing this blog post since yesterday’s WI, or even from Thursday when I sensed that I just might hit 50 lbs down this week. I still cannot believe I did it. 50 lbs lost in a hair less than six months. For some time, one of my mini-goals had been to lose 50 lbs before my trip to Indy for Manning Bowl later this month. Since I made my previous mini-goal of being considered not obese in July, it was my “next” goal. With my gain over vacation it was in jeopardy but I was still hoping to eke it out.

Last week’s big “loss” made me realize I could do it sooner and I began to wonder if there was any chance I could do it this week: one week before my six-month WW anniversary. I decided to try really hard last week, eat well and get in yet another last chance workout, which I became a fan of on summer Fridays. Still, I couldn’t quite believe the number on the scale on Saturday morning. Nor, however, could my receptionist and leader. I really adore the leader at the Saturday morning meetings and I think she’s been a huge part of my continued attendance after switching from WW Online to Meetings in June. To celebrate my achievment, she called me to the front of the “class” [I love her terminology: it's a class where we all go to learn] to be recognized as well as to share with others. I blushed something awful, but it was great to share. Later Saturday I also saw some friends I hadn’t seen in a long time

I’ve spent a lot of time looking at what I’ve come to call the “before and during”, which is above. The picture on the left is my Weight Watchers “before” photo: 209 lbs in March 2010. The picture on the right is me yesterday morning. 157.6. Yes, I’m sharing numbers. For some reason, outside of the WW blog from which this grew I wouldn’t say what I weigh. Photos are all over Facebook with the total lost, but I wouldn’t say what I weighed. As part of the decision to move the blog here vs. an anon blog, I decided I was going to be honest and open with numbers.

I’m still not sure what my goal is. I haven’t been this low since college and I’m not sure what’s realistic for me as I’ve never been thin. I need to think on that but in the mean time my next mini-goal is 149 lbs. The idea of weighing less than 150, having to move the scale one less 50lb increment is amazing. In tandem with that I will be in the same “decade” as what’s considered a healthy weight for my height (5’3). Not my personal goal, but still WOW.

I don’t say it often, but I’m very proud of myself.

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Maybe.

I’m reading Angry Fat Girls

and that’s part of what wanted to get me back to blogging. I’ve said for a while I don’t like the WW interface or limited tags, so I decided to come back to wordpress. I thought for a bit on doing it anonymously but I realized my WLJ has never really been anonymous due to the username I’ve been using on . . . → Keep Going: I’m back]]> well, moving back. I’ve been blogging on the weight watchers site since April of this year but since my domain keeps nagging me to update the wordpress scripts, I decided to move back here.

Maybe.

I’m reading Angry Fat Girls

and that’s part of what wanted to get me back to blogging. I’ve said for a while I don’t like the WW interface or limited tags, so I decided to come back to wordpress. I thought for a bit on doing it anonymously but I realized my WLJ has never really been anonymous due to the username I’ve been using on WW, so no reason to do this anon.

Now to see if I can get this site working since half of it is broken and dead links.

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* In addition to my collarbones, I also have knee caps and hip bones. The latter surprised me the most when I laid down on the floor one night. Ow, that’s not so comfortable any more. Guess it’s good that I have a futon now. In college I always used to study laying on the floor. * Face shape. Is that . . . → Keep Going: NSVs]]> I’ve been focusing a lot on scale victories because they’re something quantifiable. Measaurable. Speaking of which, I’m due to do my measurements. In the interim though, I’ve noticed a lot of other changes. NSVs. Non Scale Victories.

* In addition to my collarbones, I also have knee caps and hip bones. The latter surprised me the most when I laid down on the floor one night. Ow, that’s not so comfortable any more. Guess it’s good that I have a futon now. In college I always used to study laying on the floor.
* Face shape. Is that a SV or an NSV. Not sure, but I could never before pull off short hair. My face is still round/heart-ish but it’s so much narrower than it used to be.
* Skirts. Wearing one for 3rd day in a row and 5th time in last two weeks. All with NO SHORTS. Wow. If you are or have been heavy, you know the thigh rub thing. So uncomfortable in summer. Today is 97 and humid so it’s a little uncomfortable, but still no shorts. I also never used to be a skirt person at all. Wonder if that’s a weight loss thing?

I haven’t seen the day-to-day changes in myself but I look back at how I looked in March a photo I took of myself yesterday (not yet posted) or even a couple of weeks ago, I see it.

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Part of the reason last week’s gain was as bad as it was was that I knew the week was a lost one from half ass tracking and poor food choices, so what did I do on WI eve? Chicken burger with avocado, fries and a ton of salt and then dessert when I got home. Not the best decision and I didn’t track it, but I moved on.

The previous week had been up .2 so it was really nice to see the numbers . . . → Keep Going: -6? Um, wow]]> I’m not calling it a 6lb loss, but I’ll certainly take the numbers. Brings me to 48.2 overall.

Part of the reason last week’s gain was as bad as it was was that I knew the week was a lost one from half ass tracking and poor food choices, so what did I do on WI eve? Chicken burger with avocado, fries and a ton of salt and then dessert when I got home. Not the best decision and I didn’t track it, but I moved on.

The previous week had been up .2 so it was really nice to see the numbers head in the other direction in a big way.

Next mini-goal: Down 50 (159) by 9.18 trip to Indianapolis.

Next-next mini-goal: 149 just because weighing under 150?! Wow. I totally “see” the doctor’s scale and not having to move it that notch.

Next-next-next mini-goal. 140, healthy weight for my height.

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I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited about a bone in my body before. I found my knee caps a couple months ago, but collar bones? I don’t think I’ve ever seen those before.

Pathetically excited, but a huge NSV for me as I inch toward the next SV of 50 lbs gone. I really do think I’ll hit that by the end of the (calendar) summer, if not the end of practical summer in Labor Day.

Funny thing? didn’t find them until I took off my work shirt and looked in the mirror with my cami on. Now I . . . → Keep Going: collar bones]]>

Collar Bones!

I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited about a bone in my body before. I found my knee caps a couple months ago, but collar bones? I don’t think I’ve ever seen those before.

Pathetically excited, but a huge NSV for me as I inch toward the next SV of 50 lbs gone. I really do think I’ll hit that by the end of the (calendar) summer, if not the end of practical summer in Labor Day.

Funny thing? didn’t find them until I took off my work shirt and looked in the mirror with my cami on. Now I don’t want to change

oh and the frizz ball on top of my head? That’s my new hair cut and color. Color still settling but I really like it.

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Also wouldn’t change a bite of what I ate. Chocolate peanut butter brownie, homemade guacamole and chips and a local ice-cream place version of . . . → Keep Going: back on track]]> last week was a wonderful and well-earned vacation. I half ass tracked and got the WI I earned from doing so. Luckily it was partially salt/water as I’m now back down to a gain of only .5 which makes more sense. I knew I’d over eaten and under tracked, but I didn’t think it was nearly 3lbs worth of actual fat. Knew I hadn’t been drinking nearly enough and am now back into my routine which will help.

Also wouldn’t change a bite of what I ate. Chocolate peanut butter brownie, homemade guacamole and chips and a local ice-cream place version of a blizzard. Probably best not all indulged in the same week, but delicious nonetheless.

Random NSV: a skirt. I decided yesterday that I wanted to wear a skirt. Today I woke and it was cold and raining and I hated the idea of wearing pants. Me. The black pants girl. *AND* no shorts under the skirt and I’m still mostly comfortable.

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