Up!

So the last few days haven't quite been working out in my favor. I was doing pretty well with the weekend, which I thought was going to be my downfall. Turns out Sunday and Monday nights just suck for me. I can do really great for an entire week, but then the first few days of a week I have to clean out my fridge (and dump the contents into my belleh). Guh.

So I weighed in this morning and was up. My second week in and I'm already having gain weeks! Between how I started the week off (Tuesday last) and the past two days, I am not surprised. But what a way to start it off.

I'm contemplating moving my WI day. It used to be Saturday mornings. It's only Tuesday because my friend who is actually attending meetings in Toronto is going on Tuesdays, but there is no rule about us having to have the same WI day. I think it puts a bit too much pressure on me at the time of week I am weakest, typically. It feels kind of like setting myself up to fail, you know?

Well, here's the plan for the day. Off to a new start.

B: yogurt. granola. blueberries. touch of honey.
L: 3 sisters casserole. orange.
D: leftover chicken, chopped, on a salad. 1/2 a large potato. broccoli.

Not very exciting, huh.

Steps back, steps forward

I have this problem with WI days. I seem to feel like since I've had a good week, and I have a whole new week ahead of me until my next WI, I can just go ahead and eat whatever the hell I want for a day and undo the damage before my next WI. Okay, that may be true, I can undo a night's binge in a week, but all that does is get me to maintain. This week was no exception. I treated myself like a garbage can. Dumped a whole bunch of junk in there.

Something different happened this week, though. I made myself write every single thing down. Weights and measures, calories and points, it's all accounted for in my food journal. And yes, I went way beyond my points for the day, and way beyond my flex points for the week, but I wrote it all down. I think that's a step in the right direction. No more hiding, no pretending it didn't happen by denying it. I'm faced with the ugly truth of it til a new week starts.

Aside from that transgression, the week has been going well. I got my butt back into it the next day. This will be my first weekend back on plan with the boy in town, so I have to be extra careful - too easy to treat his visits like a special occasion and indulge mindlessly. I've planned out our dinners for the weekend and will have plenty of good stuff on hand for lunch, so I should be okay. I guess we'll see how it all turns out on Tuesday.

Day 8

What's on the menu today?

Breakfast: 1/2 c frozen blueberries, 1/2c plain low-fat yogurt, 1/4 c Bear Naked low-sugar Vanilla Almond granola, 1 tbsp honey (5 Points)

Lunch: 1 serving of 3 Sisters casserole, as pointed out to me by the lovely vegan goddess Heather. I am in love with the casserole. The squash lends just the right amount of sweet, the polenta just the right amount of crunch... It is delicious! One sixth of the 9x11 pan yields one serving at 6 Points. I made it over the weekend and had a half-serving for breakfast on Sunday, which was a delightful start to my day. I highly recommend it. I have a whole serving tucked away for lunch today. Plus an orange.

Dinner: Chicken tacos. I have shredded taco chicken I made in the crockpot over the weekend. That plus 2 or 3 corn tortillas, shredded lettuce, diced tomato, hot sauce, onion, and avocado if I can hunt one down before going home. Unsure of the points til I see my portions, but I have plenty of room for the day.

Snacks: If needed, I have almonds and prunes at my desk. Will probably also have the coveted tablespoon of PB after dinner because... yum. As long as I have room in the plan...

Giving In... Blogging It Up

Okay, I admit, I kind of miss blogging. My last one is being left in the dirt. I'm very much a "forget the past, move forward" kind of person - Yes, I've made umpteen stabs at losing my extra weight and yes, each of those attempts have ended in some degree of regain or I wouldn't be here, yet again. But you know, that doesn't matter. I've learned a lot. Every attempt teaches me something new about myself, something I can carry forward and use to inform my present travails. My failure to maintain doesn't define me, but rather my willingness to try again. No matter what happens, I will always come back.

I started this my current (and final?) journey towards a healthy weight on January 5, 2010. I weighed in at 206.2 lbs. I would like to see 150 on the scale just once in my life... The 140s would probably treat me well too. I am not going to say what my final goal is right now. How can I know? I haven't weighed that little since puberty. I don't know what it will look like on me, or how I will feel at those weights, so I will leave final goal-making up to a later date.

For now, we focus on leaving the 200s behind again.

Off to a good start! My WI this morning for Week 1 was 203.0, or a loss of 3.2 lbs. Hurray! Just need another one of those weeks and I'll be back out of the 200's.

About my plan:

I'm a former meeting-attending Weight Watcher, and I find it hard to leave WW habits behind. I briefly tried my hand at calorie counting but as always the numbers are daunting. I much prefer the simplistic Points system which only takes into account calories, fat, and fiber. I find it easy to eat a healthy balance of foods while counting Points, and I am not intimidated by the system as it is so familiar. So I am tracking my food and counting my Points but not attending meetings or using their online tools. I'm also back to walking 2 miles a day (to and from work total). Sometimes I'm a lunch-walker, sometimes I'm a living room-exerciser, sometimes I just do push ups and sit ups and planks on the floor before bed. Whatever works, right?