Weigh-In Wednesday – Week 2

This week I really felt like it was a guessing game how things would end up on the scale.  I did complete my 3 RLR workouts, but I didn’t do a whole lot of other activity.  I ate well, and tracked all my points, but I didn’t necessarily feel that much lighter.  I did have a couple of “thin” days this week, but I also had some “fat” days, too.

Now let’s get to that scale shot:

Which means that this week I lost exactly 1 lb, for a total of  0.7 lb gained in 2010. Which isn’t great.  I mean, I’m happy with the loss, even if it is more modest than I’d like, but I do not like that my overall “balance” for 2010 is a gain.  Next week it will show an overall loss, even if it kills me.  😉  There are a few factors as to why the loss was so meager; TOM is coming, and I have the pimple to prove it, but I know I can be more diligent in a couple of areas.

What can I do to improve for next week?

• Drink more water. I had this on my goals for last week too, and while I did better, I can still get more water in.  I’m finding it difficult to get all of my water in, so I am going to really have to make more of a concerted effort in this area.
• Get in more activity. I can definitely do better here.  I took the weekend off last week, which was a mistake. I really need to use those days off from work to get in more exercise, even if it’s just going on the Wii for 30 minutes.  Or one of the many workout DVDs I have.  Maybe it’s time to pull out a bit of Jillian Michael’s 30-Day Shred.  I have the time on the weekends, so it’s just a matter of not being lazy or coming up with other things to do.

Other than those two things, I have been doing well.  I stayed within my points, and even had some flex points left over this week.  I’ve been tracking everything, and sending Scale Warfare my nightly emails with my food journal for accountability.  I’ve been good about eating at home and planning and preparing my meals ahead of time, so all good things there.

It is what it is.  I know I have some things to work on, and I need to get on those right away, otherwise, I won’t see any movement on the scale.  I’ll fall into a slippery slope of losing a slight amount one week and gaining it back the next, and so on as I did for most of 2009, and I really, REALLY do not want to repeat that cycle in 2010.

I’m also going to use all of you as inspiration.  My competitive nature wants me to do as well (if not better!) on the scale as all of you are, so I do get a ton of inspiration when I see you putting up great numbers on the scale. I know I can do better than this, and next week I’ll prove it.   Just watch me.

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BTW – If you need some new workout music (and who doesn’t, really?), why not enter my giveaway.  I spent a few hours Monday night burning and organizing all of the CDs, and I want to make this giveaway a success.   It ends at 11:59pm Pacific TONIGHT, so there’s still time.  Open to U.S. and Canadian residents only.  Good luck!!

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Bella the Gym Bunny – Ice is the answer

Today at the gym for my personal training session I saw Jimmy, my trainer, and let him know about my knee “injury.”   The first thing he said to me was, “did you ice it after our last session, like I told you to?”  I told him I didn’t, and he said I got a time out.  LOL.  I do not remember him telling me to ice my knee afterward, but I promised him that from now on, I will.

He wasn’t the only one who mentioned the ice – several of you told me to do that, as did my dad.  So, I finally got the message – ice is the answer. In fact, I have ice on my knee as I’m writing this.  So far it feels fine, but I want to do it as a preventative measure so I don’t feel that same bruised pain feeling again.  That was awful, and very debilitating.

Today we started using some of the machines, which was great.  These were a new type of machines that I had never used before.  They’re called Hoist Roc-It, and I loved them!  You sit in the machine and then perform whatever muscle workout you’re doing, but the machine also moves the rest of your body.  It’s hard to describe, but if you click on the link above, you’ll see what I mean. The machines make the workout a much gentler, smoother experience because of the way they move your body while you’re performing the action.  Pretty cool.

Today we did bicep curls, tricep curls, leg curls, shoulder press, chest press, alternating heel-touch abs (with my hands under my butt/lower back, and raising the opposing knee to my stomach while putting the alternating heel on the floor), alternating toe-touch abs with 2.5 weights, and some cardio in between.

The cardio is what kills me.  He has me step up on this little platform while lifting one leg and doing a side crunch or lifting my arms in rhythm with the leg.  The step is at least 24 inches off the ground, which doesn’t sound like much, but since I have short legs (and bad knees), it’s a lot.  He told me the cardio is not only to build up my endurance, stamina, and coordination/balance, but also to keep my heart rate up during the workouts.  As much as I hate that part of the workout, I gave it my all, because I know that Jimmy knows what he’s doing and that it will all help me look and feel better.

Today Jimmy also mentioned that he wants to see me in the gym at least 5 times a week.  5 times?!  That’s A LOT, given that I do other exercise outside of the gym. But he said that he feels that most people who workout outside of the gym might be going at a more leisurely pace than they would if they were in the gym, and he may have a point.  While I can ride my bike for 40 minutes outside, I may not be pushing myself quite as hard as when I’m in the gym on the bike.  I still plan to do outdoor activities while the weather is nice, because I love it, but I will also do what he’s asking me to.

So, here’s the plan:

• Group exercise class 2 times a week (Aqua, Zumba, Cardio Kickboxing, etc.)
• Personal training 2 times a week
• Cardio and strength training at least 1 time during the week
• Exercising outside as much as possible
• Wii Fit in the morning

It’s definitely doable.  Now I just have to figure out which days I’ll do what during the week, especially when school starts.  I think I’m going to do something like this:

Monday – Personal Training and cardio
Tuesday – Aqua class
Wednesday – Personal Training and cardio
Thursday – WW, no workout at the gym, but maybe a bike ride or a walk before the 6:30 meeting
Friday – Workout DVD/Wii – 30 Day Shred, EA Sports Fitness, Wii Fit for 45 minutes
Saturday – swimming (while the weather is nice) or Group Class (when the weather is bad) and strength training at the gym
Sunday – rest day, but maybe also a leisurely walk, bike ride, and/or swim or a yoga class

I am going to have 1st period prep, which means that every other day I don’t have to be at school until 9:45 or so.  On these mornings I’m planning on doing some sort of DVD/Wii workout at home.  Some weeks this will be MWF and some weeks it will be TTh.  Either way, it will be nice to keep up the morning workouts, because I’ve really come to enjoy them. I may also try to find a Group Exercise Class to go to in the mornings, if they have them that early.  Looking at the schedule on the 24 Hour Fitness website, it looks like they have 24Cycle, which is a spin class; StepJam, which uses the step; and TurboKickBoxing, which looks scary. 🙂  They offer lots more classes in the evening, so I may just do the group classes then, depending.

Jimmy reminded me that all of this working out is going to pay off for my reunion in October, and I can’t wait to see how much better (and slimmer) I look by then.  I’d love to have a really cute dress to wear to the cocktail party.  It’ll be fun to find something new that shows off my improved figure.

Tomorrow I get paid and I’m heading to the gym in the morning to buy the BodyBugg.  I can’t wait to start using it and hopefully getting some really important information regarding calories in/calories out.

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Summer Workout Plan

Now that summer’s here and my schedule is completely free, I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to rev up my workout schedule.  Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

• Start each morning with the Wii Fit because it’s a nice way to ease into activity for the day.  It’s definitely not a hard core workout by any means, but I do like the daily check-in aspect of it.  Plus, the balance is a challenge for me (according to the Wii), so I’m determined to master it and to stop getting messages like, “do you trip a lot when you walk?”
• Continue my daily walking routine, but ramp it up.  The Walk-It Challenge ended with 45 minutes of walking, which isn’t enough time for me to complete a 5K.  At my 18-minute mile pace (on average), it would take about 55 minutes to complete the 5K.  In reality, though, the last 5K I did took about an hour and half.  I’m going to try to whittle that time down, if I can.  So from here on out, I’m going to try to walk for at least an hour each day.  Sometimes I’ll walk in the morning, but I can also see myself doing it at dusk.
• Ride my bike. A lot.  I love the ease of being on my beach cruiser.  Because of the way the handlebars are located, I love being able to sit up and enjoy the scenery.  I plan on riding it to my parents’ townhouse complex pool (see below) several times a week, but I also plan on riding my bike to the farmers market on Fridays and to the library.  And I’m sure I’ll go on longer rides on the weekends.  I want to try to borrow my dad’s truck (the only vehicle that’s big enough to hold my bike) and take it to Half Moon Bay again to ride along the beach.
• Swimming at the pool at my parents’ townhouse complex.  I really am looking forward to do this, but the weather around here has been fairly cool lately, which is strange for this time of year.  I’m hoping it will come up to normal sometime soon so I can start swimming outside.  I plan to ride my bike the 3 miles to my parents’ house and then spend a good portion of the day swimming, laying out and reading, and then biking back to my house. So, that will be a 6-mile bike ride round trip, plus however many laps I do in the pool.
• Aqua Class.  Over the last month or so, I haven’t had a chance to go to the Aqua class at 24 Hour Fitness as much as I’d like to, but I really want to get back into it.  Now that summer’s here, I have the option of going in the morning or the evening, which is nice.  I can play it by ear depending on my schedule for the rest of the day.
• Yoga. I still have quite a few classes that I can take at the yoga studio I was going to with BFF.  I haven’t been in months, but I think a bit of Bikram would be great during this summer vacation, especially on days when it’s not too hot.  Although, does it really matter what it’s like outside when the Bikram studio is over 110 degrees?  Plus, I have the Biggest Loser Yoga DVD that I bought a while ago, so either way, I’m going to make yoga an almost daily thing.  I can’t think of a better way to end the day that with a bit of yoga, can you?
• Kick boxing. CTLB told me a few months ago how much she was enjoying the kickboxing class she was taking, and since there are classes offered at 24 Hour, why not?
• Zumba.  I never made it to a Zumba class over Spring Break like I wanted to, so I’m definitely planning on checking it out this summer.  Again, since it’s offered at 24 Hour, why not?
• EA Sports Active.  This should really be higher up on the list, since I just bought it and haven’t checked it out yet.  In fact, as soon as I’m done writing this, I think I’m going to try it out.  I plan on doing this a lot over the summer.
• 30 Day Shred.  I did manage to stick with the 30 Day Shred, although I never raised it past level one, because that was difficult enough.  This summer I plan to really stick to it and make sure I can get through all 3 levels.

So, those are all of the activities I’m planning, but what about a schedule?  Since it’s summer, I’d rather not tie myself down to anything too specific, plus plans are always in flux, so I want to be able to fit the workouts in to the rest of my day.

I’m thinking the plan will go something like this:

Morning: Wii Fit and either 30 Day Shred or EA Active (everyday)
Mid-Morning or Early Evening: 1 hour walk (everyday)
Early Afternoon: Bike to pool and then swim laps (2-3 times a week)
Evening: A class at 24 Hour Fitness (Zumba, Kickboxing, or Aqua class) (2-3 days a week) This will be done on days I don’t do the biking/pool thing.
After dinner/late evening: Yoga on either the Wii Fit or BL DVD.  Unless I’ve gone to a Bikram class in the evening. (every night).

It sounds like a lot, I know, but what better way to jumpstart my weight loss and kick up my workout routine.  I know I won’t be able to maintain this type of schedule when school gets in, but I’m sure some of the activities will become a habit, and I’ll be able to maintain at least a few.

P.S. – I’ve decided that I’m going to quit smoking on July 3rd (the day after my birthday), so I want to try to shake up my routine as much as possible so that I am not bored and hopefully won’t crave a cig.  The more active I can stay, the better off I’ll be.

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Weigh-In – Moving in the right direction!

 This week I had decided to switch my meeting day to Thursday evening.  I was really looking forward to attending the meeting, and was prepared to see a slight loss or even a slight gain, because I was switching from morning meetings to evening. 

I went home yesterday after school and decided it was time to take a nap.  I haven’t been sleeping well all week: waking up at 3am, 1:30am, 2am, etc.  And I’d fall asleep at night on the couch around 9pm or so.  I decided it was time to break the cycle and take a short power nap for about 30 minutes.  I set the alarm and everything.  Well, I’m sure you can guess what happened next, right?  Yes, I overslept, missed the meeting, and was so disappointed.  I won’t have time the rest of the week or weekend, because I’m booked up.  Ugh. 

But, I decided all was not lost. I got on the scale at home, wearing the clothes I was planning to wear to the meeting and waited to see what it said. 

I was down 1.5 pounds!  This is fantastic for two reasons – I was weighing in in the evening (after having eaten and drank water all day), rather than the morning (when I make sure not to eat or drink anything before the weigh in).  Also, it was right before my TOM (which came this morning, Happy Friday!).  Usually I gain weight with TOM, so to have lost 1.5 pounds on this week is really something. 

I know it’s because I’ve been keeping up with my WW Walk-It Challenge walks and that I encorporated the 30-Day Shred into my morning routine (most mornings, I’ve missed 1 this week, which isn’t bad). 

I can’t tell you how thrilled I am.  I am really breaking through that plateau/slight gaining streak I was on for weeks.  This makes me feel so positive and so energetic.  I may be giving too much power to the scale, but as long as that power is used to motivate me, hey, why not, right?!

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HYC Update – A bit of this and that

My ass, that is!  This week there have been a bunch of little things going on, so I’ll give it to you in bullets:

• I lost 2 pounds this past week, which really broke through a plateau/little gains cycle I was in
• I made crockpot oatmeal using Irish steel cut oats and loved it!  1 cup = 2 points, and it’s so filling
• I found out on Wednesday that I’m going to be featured in an article on WW.com as one of their 14 Momentum Walk-It Blog-It Challenge Participants.  Very exciting!
• I decided to change my meeting day to Thursday.  This will make socializing on Friday or Saturday nights a lot more weigh-in friendly. I’m not planning on going crazy in any way, but I’ve found that having even one drink on a Friday night before my Saturday AM weigh-in always has bad results.
• I went to see Wicked with my mom and sister on Mother’s Day, and it was just as awesome the second time around!  Best of all, I did my WW Walk-It Challenge walk in beautiful, sunny San Francisco.
• I started Shredding with the Sisterhood on Monday, hence the ass-kicking mentioned above.  I didn’t wake up early on Monday as I had planned, but I did do it as soon as I got home from the grocery store after work, while dinner was in the oven. I did it this morning, though, and I feel so good!  Working out in the morning really does energize me like nothing else.  If you own the DVD, you should think about joining the challenge.
• Last night I made Scale Warfare’s Pizza Casserole.  It was easy to prepare, and really yummy.  Plus, it makes 8 6-point servings!
• At the grocery store yesterday I finally found the VitaTops that everyone and her sister has been raving about for months now.  There were in the Organic section of my Safeway, and I had no idea to look there.  I just found myself in that aisle yesterday, and poof, there they were.
• I’m looking forward to that extra class I’ve been teaching in the afternoon coming to an end.  Wednesday is the last day, and then I’ll have my afternoons back again! I can’t wait to start walking a bit earlier in the afternoons.

I’m looking forward to the new meeting and leader on Thursday and with continuing with all of my fitness goals.  I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

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I’m gonna Shred!

In today’s earlier post,  I mentioned that my main goal for the week ahead was to earn more APs.  I’ve come to realize that one of the main keys for my weight loss success is moving my body.  The weeks that I am perfect on my points, but don’t really get in much activity, I don’t see the same results on the scale that I do on the weeks when I really commit to exercising.

I love doing the Walk-It Challenge, but as I said, I only earn about 2 APs doing that each day.  Which is much better than nothing, but not enough for me to see the results I want to each week on the scale.  Don’t get me wrong, I am loving the Walk-It Challenge, and plan to continue walking 5 days a week with the program.  But I’m thinking of that as more of a time to de-stress, reflect on my day, and just feel great.  Since I usually walk in the evenings/late afternoons, it’s a great way to begin wrapping up the day.

But in order to really see some major results, I know I need to ramp up my exercise, so I’ve decided to bite the bullet and join the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans in their 30-Day Shred Challenge, Shredding with the Sisterhood.

A new session of Shredding with the Sisterhood begins on Monday, May 11th. I will be there, shredding with them bright and early on Monday morning.  This is going to be just the thing I need to earn major APs and see some amazing results.

It’s been months since I’ve attempted the 30-Day Shred DVD, but I think it’s high time that I start back up.  I know Jillian would be proud.

So What’s the Plan?

My plan is to do the 30-Day Shred each morning as soon as I wake up.  It means getting up 25 minutes earlier than normal (20 minutes for the DVD, 5 minutes for bathroom stuff beforehand).  I can do that.  I can commit to getting up 25 minutes earlier when I know that all I need to do is walk into the living room, turn on the DVD player, and work my ass off (literally, I hope) for 20 minutes.  I can’t think of a better way to start the day, can you?

In order to get up earlier, I HAVE to get to bed earlier.  There I go using logic again.  LOL.  But seriously, I really need to make a concerted effort to start my nightly routine at 10pm so that I can be asleep by 10:45 or 11pm, rather than the usual 12 or 12:30.  So, I’m promising myself that I’m going to do it beginning on Sunday night.

So, who’s going to join me in Shredding with the Sisterhood?

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Here Comes the Sun!

Both literally and figuratively.

After nearly 5 days of relentless, pouring rain, finally today the sun is out.  And with it, my outlook is light and positive.  Today is going to be a great day – nothing specific planned, which means I can do anything that suits me.

One of the things I know I’m going to do is go through the box of old high school photos I picked up at my parents’ house last night.  As I said in that post, I’m looking forward to seeing all of my old high school pals, but I’m also really excited to look back at my thinner self for some inspiration.  I have always been overweight, but in high school overweight was 176 at my heaviest; 87 pounds less than I am right now.  I’m going to use any good pictures I find as motivation that I can be that weight (and even less) again.

Tonight I have my TNT track practice which means that I don’t have go to the gym today to walk on the treadmill!  It’s not that I hate the treadmill or anything, but I much prefer the elliptical machine, yoga, a workout DVD at home, or riding my bike outside in the fresh air.  I think I’m going to do the 30 Day Shred and the BL Yoga DVDs today, because Jillian hasn’t kicked my ass in a while, and after that 20-minute torture session I’m going to need to stretch out and do some yoga with Bob.

Speaking of Bob and Jillian, have you guys been enjoying this season’s Biggest Loser as much as I am?  I love how the contestants are all there for each other, regardless of which team they’re on.  Such a dramatic switch from last season’s Venomous Vicki.  There are a few players who annoy me a bit, but overall, I’m really inspired by all of them.  Tara is a machine!  That girl inspires me to no end.  I would like to think that I’d be able to push myself as much as she does, but I don’t know – she’s unreal.  I also really like the Brown Team – Mikey is so sweet with his father and his father is such a wise man.  I also love Kristen of the Purple Team – she’s a big girl and she never complains about the pain of what she’s doing.  She just digs in and does the workout.  Very inspiring to me. And let’s not forget about the blue team – I have a crush on both of these cousins!  Those guys work really hard but have hearts of gold.  Love them!  It’s so nice to watch the show and just root for the players, rather than seethe about how disgusting the contestants are treating each other. Positivity is so much better.

I can’t wait to see what today brings.  One thing’s for sure – I’ll be out and about in the sunshine as much as possible.

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WW Weigh-In #2

This week’s results weren’t great.  I gained 1.2 pounds, for a total loss of 2.6 pounds.

While I’m disappointed in the gain, I realize that it’s not that much, and I know there are some reasons for it:

• PMS.  My TOM is about to hit any day now, and I usually gain a bit when this is coming.  It also causes me to want to eat more, although I really tried to stave off the cravings I had this week.
• I didn’t get enough activity in this week.  I earned 10 APs, which isn’t enough to meet my personal goal of 21 APs a week.  I did the 30 Day Shred once, and yesterday I took a 9 mile bike ride, but it wasn’t enough.  I know I need to be more consistent in my activity in order to see consistent losses on the scale.

In spite of the gain, I am proud of myself:

• I’ve been keeping organized, tracking all of my points, which is a key in weight loss.
• I spent lots of time this week cooking new meals and preparing my lunch the night before.  I was great on my eating all week.
• I went to a meeting in spite of the gain.  In the past, when I knew I was going to gain, I would skip the meeting and tell myself I’d “catch up” next week.  Although that never happened, and I got off track pretty quickly that way.  As so many of you have reminded me, those tough weeks are the ones when I need the meeting even more.

Some goals for the coming week:

• Get the activity in every day.  Now that I found a plethora of workouts on my Comcast On Demand, I have no excuse.  The plan is to wake up 20-30 minutes earlier each morning and get in the 30 Day Shred or the Biggest Loser Power Sculpt.  After school, I want to try to get to the gym at least 2 times this week (in addition to the morning workout).  This coming weekend, weather permitting, I want to get in at least 1 long bike ride.  21 APs, minimum, is the goal.
• Continue preparing my lunch the night before, so I’m all set to go in the morning.
• Keep trying new recipes.  It’s been so fun to experiment.
• Continue tracking points for every bite.  It’s important to have the record of what I’m eating, for future reference.

This week I also have several events planned, which will be fun, but means that I need to really stay on top of my activity and tracking even more.  I’m not discouraged at all with this slight gain, and I’m confident that next week’s results will be better.

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30 Day Shred

Last night after school, I decided enough was enough – it was time for me to break out of this non-exercising track I was on all week and finally get some activity in.

I had the Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred DVD waiting for me, and I might as well put it to good use.  I had gotten this DVD from Netflix a while ago, but hadn’t really done it yet.  OK, to be honest, I’d watched it, but hadn’t actually exercised along with it yet.

The thing I love about this DVD is that in 20 minutes of HARD work, you’re getting cardio, strength training, and ab work done.  It doesn’t require a lot of extraneous equipment, either.  Just some hand weights, and a mat, if you’d like.  The simplicity of it is what attracts me to it and tells me that this is going to be a workout I’m going to want to continue to do.  And it’s not a light workout at all.  I started with the Level 1, for beginners, and this morning I am feeling it.

As Jillian says in the DVD, “you can expect something that only lasts 20 minutes to show you any kind of results if you take breaks between movements, so get to work!”  I was huffing and puffing as I did my jumping jacks and lunges along with the DVD, but it was a great feeling.  I can’t wait to see my progress.

In the comments to yesterday’s post about not meeting my 30-minutes-of-exercise-a-day- goal,  Lisa and a few others suggested that I break up my exercising into smaller increments in order to get it all in.  I love that idea!  I think I’m going to try to wake up 25 minutes earlier than normal on weekdays and do this DVD in the morning before school.  Then, anything else I do that day will be a bonus.

I like this DVD so much that I ordered two on Amazon today.  One for me and one for my mom.  She’s been wanting to tone up and I think this would be perfect for her.  I’m going over to my parents’ house for dinner on Sunday, and my mom and I made a plan to do this DVD before we start our “cocktail hour.”  Should be fun.  (The sad thing is, my mom is about to be 62 and she’s in much better shape than me.  She only weighs 135, and she feels like she needs to lose 7 pounds.  Ugh.  Why couldn’t I have inherited her genes? But, my mom is a great source of motivation for me, and this will be something fun we can do together).

If you’re looking for a quick, challenging workout, this DVD might be a good one to try.

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Update: Today I mentioned to my students that I was a bit sore after doing 30 Day Shred, and one of them asked if I had done it on Comcast.  When I asked her what she meant, she said that if you go to On Demand, “Sports & Fitness,” and then to “Exercise TV,” there’s a whole section with Jillian Michaels’ workouts.  I checked tonight when I got home and she’s right!  There’s a Biggest Loser Power Sculpt workout, as well as the 30 Day Shred, part 1 (beginners) and part 2 (intermediate).  So, if you’re a Comcast subscriber, you can try out this awesome workout free.  No Netflix needed.

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HYC Update – Everyday Activity & A Revelation

I’ve been doing well on my WW program this week.  It’s amazing how much easier things are to manage when you feel motivated and organized.  It’s simple to stick to the program right now, because I’m on vacation, and have little else to think about.  I’m going to make sure to put strategies in place so that it remains easy for me to keep this up when I go back to work and life gets more hectic.

Everyday Activity

I’ve been doing well with my goal of keeping active every day.

Sunday evening I went to dinner at my parents’ house, and after we ate, we used  the Wii Fit for more than half an hour.  It was fun and challenging (especially the balance work), and it confirmed in my mind that having my own Wii and Wii Fit at home would make getting my activity in excuse-proof.  It’s sort of fun to see how much better you get as you keep doing it.

Yesterday I went on a LONG bike ride with DRMK and her husband.  We rode our bikes all around, on paths and city streets, for more than an hour and a half, and it was so much fun.  The thing I love about bike riding is the freedom you feel when you’re out there with the wind in your face.  You get to look at things that you quickly pass by when you’re driving.  You get time to think, to be outside in nature (or in the city, in my case), and you get to enjoy the everyday moments that make life worth living.  Plus, it’s always nice to spend time with good friends.  We decided to go to Half Moon Bay on Friday, because they were excited to try out the path that I had discovered with my sister a few months ago.

Today I have a bunch of organizing to do around the house (taking down Christmas decorations and such), plus a huge grocery shopping stint, as well as a brow wax appointment this evening, so I’m not sure what I’m going to do.  I’m thinking I may do one of my DVDs, like the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred.

I’m really happy with the way that I’m making activity a priority for myself.  In the past I’ve been a lot less motivated, but it’s been fun to think of interesting ways to get some activity in.  It’s also nice to change things up and know that activity/exercise does not just mean going to the gym.

A Revelation

The other day my sister and I were hanging out, and she mentioned that she had recently tried Starbucks’ Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate.  Her eyes rolled back in her head as she described how truly decadant and delicious this concoction was.  My initial response was, “LC, that’s not WW.”  To which she replied, “Bella, everything is WW, you just have to count the points.”

It hit me like a ton of bricks. (Here comes the revelation)

This idea isn’t something new; in my head I’ve known for years that the beauty of the Weight Watchers program is that you can eat anything, but you have to count the points.  And I also realized (in my head) that deprivation isn’t the key to a lifestyle change.  But it wasn’t until this moment with my sister that I truly realized the ways I’d been sabotaging my own weight loss.

You see, I’m an all-or-nothing type of person; things are usually black or white, hot or cold, day or night – not a lot of in-between for me.  And I tend to have this same sort of attitude in my approach to weight loss.  I’m either On Program (OP) or I’m not.  No in between.  Which is short changing myself in a way that I never realized until this moment when we were discussing the hot chocolate.  I think all my weekend wackiness and binging has been caused by the fact that I have been depriving myself of treats while I’m OP.  In my mind, I had to be “good” to be OP.  “Good” means eating only foods that are low fat, low calorie, and good for me. And if I want to indulge in something “bad,” then that means that I’m no longer OP, and I might as well continue to go off plan and live it up (binge).

But what my sister said really made me realize the error in my ways.  Her approach is so much healthier – mentally and literally.  If you want something that is an indulgence, you just have to budget your points for it, and make sure to count it in the day’s total.  Again, I know that this is what they’ve been telling me in meetings for years, but I finally “got” it.

It made me see that by handling my weight loss in an all-or-nothing fashion, I was setting myself up for an eventual binge, because no one can be that good all of the time.  It’s unrealistic and not the way you make a lifestyle change.  Lifestyle changes are all about doing things in moderation, which is something that doesn’t come to me naturally.  I now realize that if I’m going to be successful in not only losing the weight but in keeping it off, I have to work on this idea of moderation and set aside my usual all-or-nothing mentality.

I put this idea into practice yesterday.  After the way my sister raved about the hot chocolate, I knew I had to try it for myself.  I looked up the nutrition info online, and found out that a tall salted caramel hot chocolate, made with 2% milk, with whipped cream was 11 points.  11 POINTS!  That’s a ton, but again, this was going to be a treat, not a daily beverage.  And I knew I was going to be going on a long bike ride with friends yesterday, so I plotted out the points of the drink versus the Activity Points I’d be earning on the bike ride (8 AP, btw!!) and figured that yesterday was the perfect day to try out the drink.  So, towards the end of our bike ride, we stopped at Starbucks, and I orded the Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate.  And yes, it was THAT good.  The salt balances out the sweetness of the caramel and brings out the richness of the dark chocolate used in the drink.  It’s truly a delicious, decadant, indulgent treat.  One that I enjoyed, but that didn’t send me spiraling into a binge eating mentality.

With this revelation about myself and my errors in my approach to weight loss, I know I’m going to be unstoppable now.

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