Other Changes

So I haven’t posted in a little while and that is because I didn’t want to write this post for a few reasons. The first of which is that it is going to be a longer one and I have been so busy lately I just haven’t had the time to sit down and write any posts let alone long ones.
Though I was successful in losing weight during Phase 1 of the Curves weight loss program and didn’t gain weight during Phase 2 of the program, I never quite grasped the concept of Phase 2 and wasn’t able to be very successful at it. Perhaps I am just not strong enough to be that strict with my food intake, and perhaps that type of slightly restrictive plan isn’t for me. Don’t get me wrong Curves is a really well thought out weight loss program that incorporates proper eating and use of all the food groups, but I don’t think it is really for me. It was also about this time that I heard about the changes with the Weight Watchers program.
The new Weight Watchers program is called Points Plus and has changed how points are calculated. Old points used to be based solely on calories, fat and fibre, but with the new program points are based on the ‘building blocks’ of calories: fat, protein, carbohydrates and sugar. This is to encourage healthier use of your points. Also, all fruit and most vegetables are free despite their natural sugar content. So long story short, I am now using this new program.
Thing are going well, I have gotten back on track and am definitely headed in the right direction now.
I have a few other changes in the works but don’t want to get into them just now.

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New Inspiration

This past holiday season I found the inspiration I so desperately needed.
I first found it in my mom, again. She has lost 59 pounds in the last two years! She has done this using the Weight Watchers counting method and regular attendance to the weekly Weight Watchers meetings. Seeing her and how much weight she has lost was very motivating and made me want to get working towards a healthier me again.
I was then inspired by Dave. He asked me to marry him and the idea of walking down that aisle and starting our married life together at my current weight was too much to bear. We have not set a firm date, but will be working towards a Fall 2012 wedding.
I have set my goal of just under 1 pound a week until two to three months prior to the wedding (to ensure I can get a dress in time). To reach this goal I have set in place several things, firstly I have restarted the Curves diet, starting right back at Phase I. I have also started attending Curves on a regular basis again (Tuesday and Thursdays to be precise) and am going to be trying out the new Curves Zumba next week to see if I think that will help at all. I will be working out on Monday evenings, walking to class on Wednesdays and doing an intensive workout on Saturdays and Sundays. Fridays will be my day off from exercise as I know I enjoy doing nothing on Fridays.
I am not saying it will be easy, but I have a real deadline now, something that I can’t push off too long and once a date is set, I won’t be able to push it off at all. I do not want a plus size wedding dress. I do not want to be a white blob walking down the aisle.

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Balsamic Vinaigrette and Cucumbers

This is a new snack I discovered (for myself, obviously it has been out there for quite some time) during a trip to The Works (shhh...don't tell my diet I went to The Works it doesn't know yet). A little balsamic vinaigrette dressing and several slices of cucumbers (sliced on an angle to make it fancy-like) make for a delicious morning or afternoon snack. Most 'counting' diets consider cucumbers to be free food (for example, Weight Watchers and the Curves diet) so all you need to account for is about 1 tablespoon of dressing. The Kraft Calorie-Wise version has 25 calories and 2 grams of fat in 1 tablespoon and I even had some leftover when I was done. Delicious.

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Curves: Research Phase

My mom attended Curves when I was still in high school. She went for a month but learned that it wasn’t for her (predominantly due to her knees and her doctor’s insistence that she not use any machines that but stress on them – which is half of the machines at Curves). I thought about going with her during her month of attendance, but as I was in the middle of high school, things like Curves and Weight Watchers was not something you announced or really even did (sadly), so I never went.
Chris started going to the Curves by her bus stop a little while ago and has been really enjoying it (I can say this because she told me so). She hasn’t really lost any weight, but she feels that it has counteracted her lack of dieting (or eating well) and has given her more energy, which are both very good things. Lately I have realized that there is no way any plan I make is going to stick for very long – at least not long enough to get myself into shape. Working out at home just isn’t working. I can do little things, like sit-ups and other ab workouts before bed, but I can’t get myself to spend the better part of my weekend doing something I really dislike. It is for this reason, that I have decided to seriously look into Curves for myself.
Chris is going to look into whether or not she can get me a referral and some sort of signup deal, which would be awesome. But even if that isn’t possible, I am pretty sure I am going to start attending Curves after work. Dave and I have come up with a schedule of sorts. After work he would drop me off at the Curves nearby and then come get me when I was done. While he waited for me, he can go to the public library around the corner which conveniently has wireless internet. It is a really good plan and seeing as how the workout is minimum 3 days a week for 30 minutes, we would still get home at a decent time and be able to enjoy the rest of our night.
It does mean money spent on a monthly basis, but really it isn’t that bad. The way I see it, if I can pay monthly fees for online games like WoW I should be willing to pay monthly fees to improve my health and general well-being.

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WW online

As you know, I enrolled in the WW online program some time ago. Since then I have let the daily logging and monitoring fall by the waist side. BUT as my prepaid months have ended, it is appearing on my MasterCard statement every month. This recurring payment is a really great reminder and has made me start tracking again. I could prepay for several months and save some money, but would likely forget about it again - so instead I am going to stick with the monthly payment and reminder. Time to face reality and see how much damage I have done lately and how far away from my daily point goal I have been recently.

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August/September

Sorry for the irregular posts lately, I have not fallen off the wagon or anything of the sort, in fact I have lost another pound since my last post. Work has been so incredibly busy lately that I haven't been able to find time to post as much as I would like.
As previously stated, I have decided to up my weight loss goal for 2009 to 24 lbs (from 20 lbs). This will enable me to get to a nicer sounding number in terms of my actual weight. To do this I need to lose 4.8 lbs a month (August to December). Therefore, my August goal was to lose 4.8 lbs. (I think it is rather important to state that I didn't set my original goal of 4 lbs a month until a week into August and changed it even further in.) I have however, managed to lose 5.2 lbs in during the month of August! I am really happy with this result as I wasn't completely on plan and that makes me really confident that I will be able to reach my goal by getting more and more on plan as the months go by.
My September goal is the same as my August one, to lose at least 4.8 lbs in order to be heading towards my overall goal. *fingers crossed*

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It's Working

I am down to 8lbs lost since I restarted this journey! I stepped on the scale this morning expecting a maintain from last week and instead got a big drop (for me). I am only 1 pound away from my monthly goal which I was not expecting to achieve since I started so late into the month.
I stated earlier that I wanted to lose 20 lbs by the end of the year. I have since altered this to be a certain weight by the end of the year which means I have to lose 24lbs from that starting weight. It is a little more weight to lose, and therefore a lot more effort required, but it will be so worth it in the end. I really think I can do it too as long as I stick to it this time. That being said, it is time for me to update my WW trackers.

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August to December

I have decided that I will set a large goal for myself. I want to lose 20 pounds (from my current weight) before the end of the year. To do this, I will have to lose 4 pounds a month (5 months from now until Dec. 31, 2009). I therefore have an August goal of losing 4 pounds. I plan on doing this with the help of the tracking forms on the WW online program and by biking on a nightly basis with Dave after work. I am also hoping to incorporate some longer weekend workouts, but will start with the bike rides and go from there. I am already nearly a week into August, so I will really need to push myself to reach this month's goal - but I feel good about it

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Forums

For the last two years or so I have participated in a online forum for weight loss, though I have been rather quiet in the forum lately due to my busier schedule. The women there are motivational and so incredibly nice. I have recently also started participating in the WW forums and am trying to get inspiration from there as well. So far I have found that they are not as warm and welcoming as the smaller one I am part of, but they do provide me with a great deal of information and are much more weight loss based (the smaller forum can sometimes be focused to heavily on non-weight loss topics, though it is one of the features I love about it). I am hoping that being part of more than one forum will grant me opportunities to challenge myself in different ways.

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June Recap/July Outlook

So last month I had a goal to lose 5 pounds. Though I feel as if June did not go as I had hoped, I did lose the 5 pounds! I was able to get 5 pounds off within the first two weeks and keep it off for the rest of the month. I didn't exercise as much as I had hoped, but I got in a few really good workouts and definitely did some extra walking, etc.
This month I want to get back on track with my WW online program and get more exercise in than last month. No workout routine as I tend not to succeed with those, just try to get off my butt more often. My weight goal for this month is to lose 3-5 pounds. It will be difficult as this month has already started and I am off to a rocky start, but I will do my best.

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Week 5 and 6

My weight is up a tiny bit, really only about half a pound, but up nonetheless. It doesn't bother me right now, the past weeks have been stressful and there wasn't really time for much exercise but I have already starting changing things. I am out in the field this week and getting much more exercise which I think will make a difference in the weeks to come.
I haven't tracked my food on the WW online program for about two weeks and I am not entirely sure what that means overall. I don't know if I am just really busy and don't have the time for such things, or if I am just being lazy and need to be more strict with myself.
My goal for next week is to get more exercise in and hopefully track my food again.

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Week 4

This past week was awful. Work was so busy and stressful that I didn't upload my information to the Weight Watchers site once! That means no food log, no activity log and no weight update. The increased hours at work meant my food intake was irregular and worse than usual. Dave and I ate out three times I think, two lunches and a dinner. And though for both lunches I did my best to eat well by choosing 6 subs and baked chips to go with them, it was still higher calories than the food I normally take with me to work.
No matter what tomorrow's weigh in brings, this is a new week and I will do my best to overcome the challenges of the inevitable stressful work schedule. Corny I know, but I will. I have no real goal in mind other than stick to my points as much as possible.

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Cookbooks and Recipes

I have several really great cookbooks. The Podleski sisters books are absolutely amazing. The book shave really great tasting food that is supremely healthy for you and tips and witty comics to boot. I have gotten one on my own and another as a Christmas present (thanks Chris). There is a third (their first one) that I have yet to find anywhere, including most online shopping sites. It is on eBay, but at high prices that I don't want to pay. Anyway, the books are great.
I also have some other healthy-eating books like the vegetarian Company's Coming and a Weight Watchers one that I bought myself and one that Chris got me for my birthday.
All of these books are great and when combined with my personal cookbook and my knowledge of cutting out fat and calories in recipes (which is growing with every healthy meal I make), I am capable of making some really healthy, nutrititous and still very yummy meals.
The problem arises when I go out and buy the ingredients. More often than not, I forget about the ingredients and they end up going to waste. Dave and I finally figured out a way that we can get great ingredients for my recipes and not really have to worry about them going bad.
Monday evening when getting our grocery list ready, we went through the recipes books and picked out a handful of ones that we wanted to try. We wrote down the names and general decriptions of them and will be placing them on our bulletin board. When the meals have been made, we will remove the name and place it somewhere to be used again if the meal was deemed worthy of repeating. This way, I know what recipes we have the ingredients for and will actually remember to make them before the food goes bad.
We are going to test it out this week and next, basically until all the food is gone again and hopefully it will result in us trying out some different meals and branching out from our normal food routine while not wasting money buying food that will not get eaten.

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Week 3

Another week has passed since registering with the WW online program. This past week was hard as Dave and I had no food in our house and no desire or energy to go get any. We ate out for lunch almost every day but tried to make good choices by getting 6" sub from Subway most of the days and splitting the chips/cookies that come with the meal deal.
There was a great deal of activity like the Heart and Stroke Big Bike on Tuesday (the 16th) and lots of extra walking as my Photoshop course moved classes to a much further location. I wanted to get out and do some biking this weekend but never found the time, though Dave and I did walk around the Science and Tech museum so at least I got off the couch.
I forgot to get on the scale yesterday, and this morning as well so I have no update there, which may be for the better considering how much takeout we ate last week.

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Week 2

My second week was even better than my first. I didn't walk around as much as the first, but I definitely ate better. I ended the week with leftover weekly points and therefore didn't delve into my activity points at all. I am feeling better about myself already and to make things even better - my clothes are starting to loosen up again. I haven't lost crazy amounts of weight or anything like that, but for me it doesn't take many pounds to really start feeling the difference when it comes to my clothes - and my back pain, as that has also lessened recently. In total, I have lost 5.6lbs so far.
I am hoping that in Week 3 I am able to stay out of my weekly points all together and get some more more exercise in, probably biking as I really enjoy that. Other than that I am going to just stick to my plan as much as possible.

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Breakfast Pitas

Whenever I visit Dave's family in Peterborough, I have a similar breakfast. We start off with fruit drinks, which are another post on their own, and eventually get around to eating breakfast pitas and extra old cheese.
The breakfast pitas are usually apple cinnamon flavour and toasted for just long enough to get them warm. Then you place three slices of extra old cheese on top and they are so warm and delicious and extremely satisfying.
For a few weeks after each visit to Peterborough, I look for these breakfast pitas and am never able to find them in the grocery stores in the area BUT this time was different. Dave and I decided to do our grocery shopping in South Keys this past weekend and we happened to come across the pitas at the Loblaws there! So now I have the apple cinnamon flavour and the cranberry orange ones.
They are 190 calories, 1.5 grams of fat and 2 or 3 grams of fibre which works out to something like 3 points in WW. But a few slices of extra old cheese on and you get a 6 points breakfast that is filling and satisfying, which are two of the keys to not over indulging. I am really enjoying these things and am finding it pretty easy to resist 10 and 11 o'clock temptations around the office when I eat pitas for breakfast.

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One Week Later

It has been one week since I registered for the online Weight Watchers program, which I will now be calling WW. I did alright in terms of my plan last week though it was a difficult and unusual one in that I was on vacation for the better part of it. I spent 3 days away from home and 4.5 completely out of my house. I ate 6 meals at restaurants and 5 at another person's home (and therefore had little to no control over what was made). All in all I did quite well when it came to food. If I could not choose a completely low calorie meal I attempted to select one that had good fats and oils in it (such as salmon or chicken). I didn't snack much if at all last week and ate a great deal of fruits and vegetables. I also did a huge amount of walking both leisurely (at a normal rate) and more briskly (at an increased rate and/or intensity than normal). I ended up with a surplus of points through my activity points even though I had to use most of my weekly points (at WW you are assigned a daily point value and also given a weekly point value for extras throughout the week. You can also increase your points through activity points gained through exercise). Normally I would not use my weekly points let alone my activity points, but last week was a special case. I am happy with how last week went and think it was a good idea to start WW again and an even better idea to start the online WW program.
As an added bonus to feeling good about my success with the program in terms of points, etc I have lost 3.2lbs since last week's weigh in. I am very happy with that.

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Weight Watchers Online

For years now I have been saying that I would try 'this time' on my own and if it didn't work or if I came to a plateau I would spend some money and get help one way or another. I have said it every time I recommitted to my weight loss and every time that commitment didn't last, I didn't look into outside help. Well yesterday I finally did it.
I registered for the Online Weight Watchers program. It was kind of expensive but I think I need something other than myself to push me forward. I have systems similar to the ones you get through the online program and the ones I didn't have I could have easily created myself, but I would eventually stop using them. Now that I am paying a monthly fee to use them, I have hopes that I will actually use them. I signed up for 3 months and I will see how that goes and then decide if it is worth using from then on.
I have heard good things about this program though I have heard better things about the actual meetings. I do not, however, have time for the meetings right now, especially with my night courses (currently running twice a week). I just know I would end up not going, or being to busy that I couldn't find time to exercise enough during the week. I think the online program is the best route for me right now.

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May Recap/June Outlook

So May was not a good month for my weight loss. I did not gain any weight overall but anything I lost (a pound or two here and there) was gained back by the next weigh-in. I have more time on my hands this month and more inspiration from friends and family so I want to see if I can lose 5 pounds this month and keep them off. I would love to lose more but I feel 5 is a good goal for now as I want to ease back into my routines and actually reaching a goal would be good for my self-esteem and therefore my will power and weight loss drive.
My plan to lose these pounds is pretty simple. I am going to start counting points (Weight watchers) and calories again and within two weeks be back on track with staying within my daily limits. I will be exercising more, predominantly through biking for cardio workouts and some calisthenics to target my midsection. I am not planning anything too restricting other than working out at least 4 times per week. This gives me Tuesday and Thursday nights off, as I have class these nights, and one other day that I can choose as each week progresses.
Summer is usually the time that I am most motivated to lose weight probably due to the smaller, tighter clothing and nicer weather. I want to use this motivation this year to get myself back into gear and really start doing something to better myself.

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Inspiration from my Mom

I spent the weekend at my parents' house this past weekend and was rather inspired by my mom. She has gone back to weight watchers (WW) as is attending the meetings once a week and participating in the new momentum plan. She is doing really well and has already lost over 10lbs! I was so happy for her as I could tell she was happy about it too. We spent the weekend making yummy, healthy meals for each other and I told her a few of my secrets to WW. I introduced her to the Smart pasta (the stuff that looks and tastes like regular white pasta but is actually whole wheat) and how to incorporate soy sauce into her stir-fries to give them a little extra flavour. She told me about her victories of the buffet at a recent work meeting she went to and other such things. She has done really well and in eating properly with her all weekend I lost over 2 lbs! I am sure it is mostly water weight and probably has to do with my currently high stress levels, but it is something and it happened when I was behaving 110% so it is definitely encouraging me to keep behaving. So to sum things up, my mom is doing well and I am so proud of her.

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