Weekly Weigh In and Some Food for Thought

So this week I got what was coming to me.  I gained just over two pounds.  Which isn't great, at all, but I honestly think I needed the reality check.  


Sometimes you need the scale to go up just as a reminder that you if you do eat or drink anything in sight you will see it on the scale.  Now all I need to do is take that realization and apply it to the rest of my week.  Goodbye beer, hello fruit.


I'm still down 26 pounds, so I'm not going to let this gain upset me or set me back - I'm back now and stronger than ever.


On a related note, I've been having some big problems lately with body image.  I know, deep down, that I look way different today than I did two years ago when I first started this weight loss adventure.  But I still feel as heavy and, well fat, as ever (I hate to have to use the f-word).  


I still find myself constantly comparing myself and evaluating the way I look in respect to others.  I can always tell you if I'm the fattest person in the room and always wonder who else notices when its me.  I'm always paying attention to how I'm sitting or standing - does one position make my tummy look big, do my thighs look enormous, do I have a muffin top?


I hate that I still feel this way.  I always thought that once the weight came off, a lot of these issues would have gone away.  But I'm still dealing with them, and having a harder time coping with them.  If anyone out there has any advice in dealing with body image, send it my way, because I'm so sick of constantly feeling overweight and inadequate.

Hmmmmm, This is New...

Something happened to me today that has never (and I mean ever) happened to me before in my life.


I was at the YMCA doing my arm work-out when I ran into someone who I know from spin class.  Due to my whole toe fiasco, I hadn't seen him in a while.  First he told me that I've "really trimmed up," awesome compliment...I don't care how many times I've heard this, its wonderful.


Then he asked me what I've been doing, how I've been losing the weight.  Really?!?!?  He asked me for diet advice!!!! 


I just told him diet and exercise, but look at me turning all role modelly!   


Speaking of the weight loss thing, here's my weekly weigh-in from last week.  I stayed exactly the same, which I was totally alright with.  To be honest, dropping a little more than eight pounds in two weeks kind of freaked me out.  I never lose that quickly, it made me nervous, I thought something was wrong.  So if my body needs to take a break for a week to catch up, fine by me.  


Still down 28.2 pounds, which I couldn't be happier about.

Weekly Weigh In

Down two more pounds!!!!! I'm down 28.2 pounds!  I never thought I'd be here again!  Only .4 pounds left in this "weight decade" then I'm back to a place that I haven't been since my junior year of high school!!!!!

I'm not really sure at all what I'm doing, but whatever it is, its apparently working.  The biggest difference in my diet of late has been a pretty significant increase in the amount of beer that I'm drinking.  


And if beer is helping me lose weight, by God, I think I've found a diet I can live with for forever.

I have to be honest, I haven't really been following the prescribed Weight Watchers plan lately.  I eat when I'm hungry and I try to make smart choices, like having a piece of fruit rather than a Snickers bar.  And its only taken me twenty-three two years to figure that out.  

I know I'm a genius - I figured out that eating when you're not hungry is not good for your waistline. 

Weekly Weigh In

Last night could be called a legendary weigh in.  I lost six pounds.  Yeah, you read that right - SIX POUNDS!!!!

Ok, so its not as legendary as it sounds.  Last week I was up four pounds - four pounds that came from a combination of not being able to exercise at all for a few weeks; a crazy, food-centered graduation weekend; and just a little bit of bloat.

But it was still pretty epic.  I dropped two more pounds in addition to the four I had put on the week before.  I've lost 26 pounds.  

When my family was in town they raved about how thin I looked.  I still think I look the same, but I feel a billion times better: I have energy, I can move more easily, I need less sleep, and all of the exercise has really pumped my system with endorphins, which I think may or may not be turning me into a perky, peppy individual (not 100% sure about this one, but I feel more optimistic).

I think its also important to note that this week marked my two year anniversary with Weight Watchers.  I hate that I've been paying for this program for two years now, but the first year was pretty much a wash - I lost for 6 months then gained it all back when I stopped paying attention to what I was eating and exercising.  

So I know 26 pounds isn't a ton of weight - especially when it has taken me two years to lose it - but I'm proud of what I've accomplished.  I know I'm far from perfect and that I still have just over twenty pounds to lose and I still hate my thighs, but I'm getting there.

In two years I've gone from looking like this:

To looking like this:

Which really isn't too shabby.

Just a few quick updates

Work's been crazy busy so I haven't been able to blog while at the office, and I've been exhausted so I haven't wanted to blog when I get home.  So I'm taking five minutes here for some quick updates:

1.  Toe, broken, set well, wearing icky boot still, luckily I can still lay out by the pool!  Go back to podiatrist next Tues for more x-rays and hopefully the ok to run again (keep your fingers crossed for me!).
2. Work kind of sucks right now.  And by kind of I mean totally and completely.  
3. Surprise BIG loss last week at weigh in.  I dropped *drum roll please* FOUR POUNDS.  Big, big surprise.  I think the fact that all I ate for almost a week was fruit, veggies, grilled chicken, and skim milk might have had something to do with it.  But I hit my 25 pound mark, or about 1/4 of one of my college roommates, something I still need to celebrate.  
4. Music Monday (I know its Tuesday) - Glee Soundtrack.  Any track.  So good, those kids could sing.  If I could sing like that, I don't know if I'd ever talk again.
5.  My brother's graduation is in a week and a half.  I'm in charge of the "dip committee" for the party.  Does anyone have a good, easy crab dip recipe?

That's all for now.  Back to the grind.  Is it Friday yet?

Weekly Weigh In

I've been skipping this post for the past few weeks.

When I went away to Charleston I gained two pounds and I was kind of disappointed in myself and I was kind of embarrassed to .  I had had a great plan to surviving the trip, but I found myself straying from it while I was away.  In hindsight, I realized that 2 pounds is the least I've ever gained after being away for a few days.   

After a few more weeks of hovering around the same number, I climbed on the scale last week.  I was down THREE POUNDS!!!!!  I never lose three pounds!  I was ecstatic!  That brought me to 21 total pounds lost - right where I had been before I started letting the weight creep back on, before I used my last semester of college as an excuse to celebrate every day with anything I wanted to eat.  I was thrilled!

After my stunning success, I was pretty sure I was either going to gain or maintain last night at weigh in.  I mean, three pounds in one week is a lot at this point in the game.  I've gone three months and not lost three pounds (no, I'm not kidding).  I expected the gain and prepared for it.  I made my peace with my impending gain: I knew I had done a good job following Weight Watchers food-wise and I was getting in tons of exercise, but still, our bodies sometimes have to take a minute after a big loss to catch its breath.


I headed to weigh in last night not expecting anything.  I stepped into the social hall of the church where my meeting is held and stripped down to my athletic shorts and a tank top.  Off came my flip flops as is my pre-weigh-in routine.  I stepped on the scale and waited for Susan, my sweet Weight Watchers receptionist, to quickly and quietly say "Well, you're up just a little bit this week, is everything ok?"  


Instead I stepped on the scale, braced myself, and stood in disbelief as Susan looked up at me and nodded with a smile on her face as she said, "Looks like somebody had a great week!"  I was down another 1.6! I've had plenty of unexpected gains, but never and unexpected loss!!!


I'm now down 22.6 pounds!!!!  


For the first time in a long time, I'm actually pretty happy with my "weight loss journey," as we like to call it in the biz.  I'm exercising a lot which I like for a few reasons - mostly because it makes me feel good and more confident, but I also really like how if I work out I have a little (and I mean just a little) wiggle room in what I eat.  Like its ok that I had a margarita last week instead of a lite beer when I went out for dinner, I knew I'd burn those extra calories off spinning the next day.  

And having a margarita once in a while makes me very, very happy!

Weekly Weigh In

Its that time again! Thursday weigh in!

This week only down .2, but .2 is .2, and those add up! Plus after my big loss last week, I wasn't expecting another significant loss.

So here are the updated stats!

This week: -.2
Total: 19.4

I'm going to take down the big two-oh before you know it!

A couple other weight-loss related things:

1. My Bender Ball - first week of my 30 day challenge went really well! I did it like 5 out of 7 days. But I don't think I've touched it since then....so....who knows?!?!
   
2. This week was kind of hard Weight Watchers wise - I mean life got in the way. I had stuff going on, I was busy. And its not an excuse, I literally ran out of time. I ate fine, but I didn't have time to exercise like I like to (at least living with my parents has one good benefit) which brings me to...
3. Running. It is almost all mental. And I have been letting my mind win. As in, I have no race coming up, so why bother or even try. Which means I need to sign up for something pronto, namely the Wounded Warrior 5k.
4. Since its been nice and warm, I decided to wear a pair of dressy Bermuda shorts to work yesterday. I go to pull them on and realize that they are HUGE on me! Like I could pull them on and take them off without unbuttoning them. They look like Jared's before and after pictures on the Subway diet. Ok, well maybe not exactly since I've only lost 19 pounds and he lost more than 100...
5. And finally, my arms are looking gooooooood. Toned and strong. My legs are shaping up. I feel a lot less like a beached whale. I think these are all good things.

In other news, I've kind of been neglecting my blog. Its been busy at work and I've been reading a lot, more than I've been blogging. I have lots to write about, I just need to put fingers to keyboard and get them out.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Weekly Weigh In

Tonight was my Weight Watchers weigh-in, and what a weigh in it was!

I lost 1.6 pounds!!!!

Tonight was a really important loss for three reasons. First, I reached my 10%. For anyone who doesn't know, 10% when you're on Weight Watchers is a big deal. When you first join, they calculate 10% of your joining weight, when you lose that amount you get a snazzy key chain (I'll try to get a picture up soon!). More importantly, you significantly reduce your risk of high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and certain types of cancer. All good things!

The second good thing is that I FINALLY got out of the weight decade that I've been stuck in, since, like ummmm last January! (weight decade as in 120's, 130's, etc.) Also really big (third big thing!) is that, I am officially where I was before I went to college. So all of the college weight is gone!

I guess I've had a big non-scale victory as well. I am starting to feel really, really good. I have a lot more energy and am feeling pretty addicted to exercise right now. More importantly, I'm starting to feel confident as in I'm actually starting to feel pretty, I don't know if I've ever really felt that way before.

On a side note, I'd really, really love to weigh less for my brother, Matthew's high school graduation than I did at mine. I'm four or five pounds away from being at that point, but hopefully I'll be able to get there in the next ten weeks or so.

Finally, I feel like I have much more realistic expectations in regard to my weight loss as well (ok, apparently there are a lot of things that are going well right now weight-loss wise). Not only is my goal for Matthew's graduation more realistic than a goal I would have set for myself a year ago, but there are other things too. I looked at myself honestly in the mirror the other day. And I realized that no, this will not be a "bikini body" summer, and it more than likely won't be a "short shorts" summer either, but my arms are starting to look damn good if I may say so myself (thanks to my weight lifting). So this summer might just be a sleeveless summer for me!

I may be a work in progress, but its a positive work in progress! I'll be there before I know it!

Whoops! I forgot to give you guys the full update!
Weight Loss this week: 1.6
Total weight loss: 19.2

Weekly Weigh In

Alright, confession time. I did not weigh in last night, as is my usual Thursday routine. Why you may (but probably won't) ask? I have a bunch of reasons including but not limited to the copious amount of alcohol I consumed Saturday night at a wedding and the broiled seafood platter and half bottle of wine I devoured at Mahi Mah's Wednesday night with my UVA pal Rob.

So excuses/reasons/logic aside, there was no scale for Andrea last night.

But I still went to my meeting. And let me tell you, I totally geeked out for the occasion. We can all scroll down a few blog posts and read about my awesome victory Saturday when I kicked the Shamrock 8K's ass and ran the whole thing (even if I probably could have walked faster than I was "running" that last mile). I'm still amazed by that accomplishment, so I wore my I heart (or Shamrock with little running feet) VB t-shirt and brought my victory medal for being awesome and finishing the race.

Let me just take a moment to say how much I freaking love my meeting. No one laughed at me when I strolled in there wearing my geeky shirt and even geekier medal (well they didn't until I made some hysterically awesome joke about it). They all clapped for me and told me how great it was that I finished and discovered this enjoyment in running, even the woman in my meeting who finished the half marathon. Now that's a huge accomplishment! They are all just so supportive, of everyone and of every problem. I couldn't do this without my meeting.

Since I have no actual weight-loss victory to report this week, I thought I'd share some non-scale victories that I've discovered along the way with Weight Watchers. First, I've learned that I will not die if I eat a vegetable. In fact, most of them are pretty ok, except broccoli *shudder.* And, bonus, since they're really healthy, you can eat a ton of them for absolutely zero Weight Watchers points. Second, all of this exercise I've been doing has really helped tone me up. Alright well, not like really tone me up, but when I flex my arm you can see that I do indeed have biceps and when you look at my stomach you can tell that I really do have abs, they're there, I promise! My stomach is no six pack, but not a keg either. Maybe its a 40? Who knows.

I've been having this mental battle pretty much all day with myself: after work do I go for a run or do I take a nap? Most of the time I pick the run, which is good good for me and gets my endorphins pumping and makes me all happy and relaxed, blah blah blah, and I would do in a second if it was sunny. But sadly its raining and the thought of running outdoors in the rain and in the cold is enough to drive me to my warm, cozy, cuddly bed. So the struggle continues.....