Comparisons

My weight loss journey thus far in pictures.

end of July 2010 - 205-210 lbs - larger size 18

right before I started WW - August 13, 2010 - Zoe's birthday - size 18

205 - start

x

184 Christmas Eve day

184 - Christmas

                                           

184 present

175 - goal 1

160 - goal 2

150 - goal 3

New Year thinner me!

My last weigh in I FINALLY got to 20 lbs gone (20.2 to be exact). I got my 10 percent key
chain thing AND I got an award for being a WW member for 16 weeks (I joined on August 18, 2011). I was very proud of myself. My pair of 16 pants (Old Navy dreamer) that I bought when my 18s were falling off of me a few months ago, are starting to fall off of me and are super loose in areas. I went to Old Navy on Thursday to try on a pair of 14s and they didn't fit. I still have some inches to lose off my hips and thighs it seems. No big deal I'm still losing weight. I have 10 lbs until my first goal of 175. At 175, I will be at a 30 BMI. I have been losing about 5 lbs a month so I will probably realistically hit this goal by the end of February.

My next goal after that is to lose another 25-30 lbs and meet that goal by summer. That will put me at 150 (25 lbs) or 145 (30 lbs). And then see then how I feel about losing more or maintaining.

So I started at 205 (August 18, 2011) with a BMI of 35.2
At my 5 percent goal I was 195 with a BMI of 33.5
At my 10 percent goal I was 184.8 with a BMI of 31.7

My next goal is 174 with a BMI of 29.9 (to drop me to the 'overweight' BMI section rather than 'obese')

145 lbs would put me in the 'normal' range for BMI.

I am also going to start doing weights and stuff in addition to Zumba.

Update and Recipe

So far I have lost 15.2 lbs. It was 16 lbs but I gained .8 lbs this past Thursday. I just can't wait for 20 lbs gone.

I also want to make this recipe.
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/01/chicken-pot-pie-soup.html

My first WW blog

I have been keeping a blog since I first heard about LiveJournal in college or maybe even late high school. Then I switched to Xanga. Then to Blogspot. And now I have this one too! Before blogging online, I always kept a diary. I also have a degree in Journalism so I guess writing comes naturally to me.

I have always struggled on and off with my weight. When I was in fourth grade, I had lots of 'baby fat' left over (see picture). When I was in sixth grade, I still had a pudgy baby belly. When I was in 7th and 8th grade, well I was just awkward in general but thinner. When I was in 9th grade, I hit my first weight loss drop to 105. But it does unhealthy by not eating and over exercising and for the wrong reasons - a cute boy. Then sophomore and junior year was spent average. Senior year, I hit one of my hotness overall peaks. College, began drinking and eating those Red Baron pepperoni pizza two packs and living off caffeine but also walking or biking everywhere and taking a Fitness class for credit every semester for an easy A so it worked out. But I did gain the Freshman 20.

I crash dieted to fit into a size 10 wedding dress. Emotional ate my first year of marriage because it was hard and I was trying to cope with life changes in general including my first real job. Picked up a trainer, gym routine, eating healthy and got a little thinner. Then got laid off from my first job 4 years later and went into a deep dark depression of alcohol, insomnia, late night eating, sulking in food and a beyond sedentary lifestyle. Decided after getting laid off that it was a blessing in disguise and started living life!!!! Became social, introspective, listened to hippie music, drank more and became a free spirit. Then I realized I had to return to the real world. Decided it was time to have a baby. Did not decide to work out because I figured I was going to gain weight from having a baby so it would be easier to just do it later. (WRONG ANSWER - DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS). Gained 15-20 lbs while pregnant. Added to the 50 lbs of laid-off misery weight. Raised baby. Maintained weight. Tried to lose weight. Lost 10, gained 10. Repeat for about 10 months.

Husband's job did new healthy initiative where we were going to get charged extra for my fat. I decided I could either pay money later and stay fat. OR I could pay money earlier and get healthy. I chose the latter. I took the money and joined Weight Watchers. If I work to lose weight and lose a good sum of weight, I don't usually gain it back once I get it all off. So I thought better now then never. Continued my Zumba, added in more activity, started counting again what I ate and watching what I ate rather than dieting. Starting learning about my portion control.

And now I'm down 8.4 pounds since mid-August.

9th grade

10th birthday

Wedding day

North Carolina vacation - college

Senior picture - 1999

Sterling - college

Around 11th birthday

Er

I am frustrated! I know I shouldn't be but I am. I freakin maintained this week and it really pissed me off. I seriously almost cried after I weighed in. It hit me like a big emotion sack. The leader came over and said its not a gain though so stick with it but when I am working out on Labor Day, eating celery with my wine instead of cheese and passing on most foods I love... maintaining sucks! And I am so close to a 5lb loss. I'm at 4.1 lbs gone and I want that 5lb sticker they give you so bad! And when I lose the 5 lbs I will be UNDER 200. I have ONE more pound before I'm under 200 again. All I want to see is a 1 - - on the scale! Ugh. And now I have to keep going and keep motivated and not sulk and stay good and healthy and try again next week! I'm tempting to put on shorts and a tank top and weigh in tomorrow morning to see if not wearing damp jeans (it was raining) makes a difference or not. I don't want any excuses. And I'm just mad because I knew I should have found an alternative Zumba class on Wednesday and I didn't so I just went Monday and it was raining so I didn't do anything. And Ian made cookies and I ate some and now all those minor bad choices seem big. It's just frustrating. BUT I have to remember that today - literally because its 12:19am - is a new day. And I am not giving up over one meltdown. I can do it. I can do it. I can do it. Repeat.

NASTY!

Thank God I'm doing this because I still look pregnant but with droopy nasty skin. Ugh. I just took my before pictures after putting off doing them for almost 3 weeks now. I knew they had to be done but ICK I did NOT want to see them. And since this blog is all about honesty and weight and food, I'm posting them. But don't think I'm liking it.

So disgusting. I look like 18 weeks pregnant.

Thank God I'm wearing black!

My love handles are now a spare tire. Yippee.

Chart Comparison

Thank Goodness!

I was so worried about today's weigh in because I knew I had done awful this week points wise. Thank God for the 49 bonus points they give you! I went over every day. On Saturday, I went over 16 points!!!! Oh well at least I was able to still lose 1.4 pounds. Even on my period and with water weight. I def. did not expect to lose 3 lbs every week like last week that's for sure! Even 1 pound a week is still a loss! Today was so stressful. Zoe is teething and I was on the run all day so I grabbed McDonalds and Starbucks today. I feel like my body is carrying out so much crap right now. Blech. I had two cheeseburgers and a diet coke. I had fries but I didn't eat them. I thought Zoe might but she only had a couple. They were 8 points a piece! BLECH. The Starbucks I've had before and was only 3 points. I have 12 points still for dinner which isn't too bad.

I want to get a ticker for my blog to show my weight loss. Hopefully I can figure it out!

Tomorrow is weigh in No. 2!

So tomorrow is my second weigh in. I'm optimistic (more so than last week) because I know that I have been tracking everything and working out and trying hard!

I got two Bravos last week at the meeting for learning things.

I opened a breakfast sandwich package (Smart Ones Morning Express) and realized it had two in the package and EVERYTHING in me wanted to make both of them and eat them both and justify the points but I didn't!!! I put one back!!!! I was proud of myself. Baby steps.

Tonight, at Zumba, I got one of Kendra's Advocare Slams (its kind of like a 5-hour energy) I just wanted to try it. So I got one and drank half. I worked out really hard and felt like I could keep going. It made me feel like I could jump for hours which was nice because usually jumping is so hard. I had my HRM on so I wasn't worried about going to far into scary mode or anything. But I was sweating a ton and still feeling completely energized! It was weird but nice. I ended up burning 603 calories! I topped out at 177 and dropped down to 119. I was proud of myself! I messed up my knee towards the last night. My stupid knee cap popped out of place for the third time. But at least I was able to do like 92 percent of the workout.

I just have to make it through tomorrow and then I'll have ONE more week down! I'm still pretty motivated. Just dealing with life and making right decisions mostly.

I remembered and found the quote I used to live by when I lost weight using thedailyplate.com -- it's from Biggest Loser a few seasons ago.

"There's going to be days that you're tired, that you're hungry, that your sore, but you have to pick it up and keep going because that's what separates you from your old [FAT] self and the new [THINNER] self is being able to not make the excuse and just do it."

My usual lunch

My usual 10 point lunch.
Celery (sometimes pretzels) with laughing cow french onion cheese wedge, pickles, 1/2c cottage cheese (low fat), turkey/laughing cow swiss/pickle sandwich on low cal high fiber bread.

ahhh

Man, I am failing at this this week! I have just been so hungry and snacky. I'm going to get a visit from Aunt Flo this week so I am like craving everything and starving! It's been really hard this week to make good choices because all I want is mass amounts of sweets and salty food. All food. LOL Ian and I went to the store Sunday and I got some Skinny Cow cookies and cream ice cream sandwiches. They are only 4pts and taste good! They aren't super small or super diet tasting at all. Last night though I had a double serving of pepperoni, saltines, real cheese, two glasses of wine and like 1/2 a bag of creme brulee rice cakes. I had Zumba-ed so I didn't feel as bad but still. Its hard to stop myself from splurging! Right now all I want is some peanuts/peanut butter/anything peanut-flavored.

Weekends

Weekends are so hard for me. I don't know why I do the same thing as every day. It's not like I'm home more. It is just hard for me to not eat what Ian's eating I guess. Today he had a bacon sandwich with cheese and I wanted his extra piece of bacon so bad! But I know bacon isn't good for you so I passed. Instead I ate a piece of WW string cheese (which is so good) and only 1 pt. And I looked up this HG recipe for pizza that Ian and I saw on the HG show we TiVo now. It was a Crispy White Pizza but I wanted sauce and didn't have tomato paste or anything. Here is what I did and the points as I figure them out. Hopefully my makeshift one is as good for you!

Here is a pic of mine --

I used the last bit of my Prego (tomato, onion and garlic) it is usually 1/2c serving but I used 1/4 cup instead. So for a 1/2 cup the stats are
3F/13C/3F/2P = 2 points
but I had half so... 1 point. Not bad for sauce.

Then I didn't have low fat ricotta so I used 1/3c pizza cheese (kraft). Serving size is 1/4c so 6f/less than 1 c/0f/8p = 2 points for 1/4c. So 3 pts give or take. I love cheese! I wish it wasn't so many points!

The crust is a tortilla - baked for 3 mins at 375 and then flipped and done for 3 more min at 375 then add toppings and do for 3 more minutes at 375. I use the tortillas we always have. They are kroger wheat. 1 tortilla is 2f/24c/2f/4p = 3 points. Not too bad for carbs.

I had 12 pieces of turkey pepp (kroger) - serving size is 15 slices. I'll round up just to be on the safe side. Its 2 points for 15 slices. And its amazing - the Kroger brand. SO much better than other brands of turkey pepp.

Okay so tortilla (3), cheese (3), sauce (1), pepp (2) = 9 pts! Not bad for a meal. It wasn't really that filling through for 9 points. If I would have had mushrooms and other veggies I would have added that and made it more filling but I just finished my mushrooms the other day and forgot to get more.

Here is the original HG recipe - http://www.hungry-girl.com/show/you-wanna-pizza-me-crispy-white-pizza-recipe

So so eating day/pantry revamp/really great recipe for late late dinner though

So I slept in today and so did Zoe - until noon. I had a banana and 16oz of coffee with 5T coffee creamer (one less than usual - I'm gradually lowering it).

I've been living off bananas for breakfast. I find they fill me up a lot, are easy to eat/grab, are 0 points. I eat probably 2 a day, sometimes more because I have them for breakfast, snack and maybe another snack or as a dessert. I'm finding that my urges for salt are easily solved with vegetables and my urges for sweets are mostly solved by fruit. I have not yet found a solution for chocolate yet. So far it's mostly just been switching out my normal food with healthier versions that taste the same. I bought a high fiber bread (I think its made by Healthy Choice or Healthy Living), Egg Beaters instead of eggs (SO much easier for me to cook with too), TONS of veggies that I can just grab and eat and TONS of fruits I can grab and eat. So far I bought a thing of white mushrooms and ate them mixed with stuff, a bag of red grapes that I've been snacking on, celery that I've eaten once, baby carrots that I steam for lunch or dinner, strawberries that I cut and eat for dessert at lunch (and share with Zoe), a berry already made thing at the store (Zoe mostly eats it though), a melon thing made at the store (I eat this one), grape tomatoes (I ate by the handful the other night). I switched out crispy chicken for Boca chicken. Regular sausage for Boca sausage. For cheese, I have 1pt smoked string cheese (WW) and laughing cow wedges. I haven't felt gyped (sp?) since I went to the store and got all the healthy food. I have actually felt FULL.

Today was just a run around day. I was loungey from 12-230. (sore from Zumba last night). Showered, got us ready, went to Sam's. I gave Zoe bottles. At Sam's I was STARVING and it was 415 and I wasn't going to eat dinner until late so I grabbed a hot dog at the little Sam's fresh deli thing. It was a HUGE hot dog. Later realized after googling that it was a Nathan's All Beef 1/4lb hot dog (with bun/ketchup/mustard) worth 15 freaking points. UGH. So then I only had 10 points left and by the time Ian got home and I got Zoe fed and ready for bed, I hadn't eaten and then I tried to recipe search from like 9-11 for foods and new meals I could eat and decided on breakfast and finally found one! So it was like 1115 by the time I ate so now I feel gross but I only went a few points over (1 from dinner, 3 because I really wanted OJ).

Awesome Recipe - 11 pts the way I made it tonight.
1c Egg Beaters
the rest of my white mushrooms (like a cup maybe)
a wedge of swiss cheese (laughing cow)
minced garlic
onion powder
2 Boca sausages
1 handful of casserole cheese (kroger brand)

I put the boca sausages in microwave, chopped up. (added a second one because I had extra points since I didn't have the hashbrowns which were worth 5pts)
Cooked the mushroom, minced garlic and onion powder together (didn't have actual garlic or actual onion)
Added in the cooked sausage crumbles
Added in Egg Beaters, cut up pieces of the wedge
Cooked for 3 minutes or so mixing up/scrambling egg
When done, put on glass plate, threw some casserole cheese on top and microwaved for 10 seconds (enough to melt cheese)
Eat.

Here is the real recipe
http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew/show/2047

3 lbs lighter!

I did my first weigh-in today and lost 3 lbs. I'm having a hard time on dinners. I never know what to eat.

EEK

My first WW weigh in is tomorrow. I am freaking out about it. I just hope I did enough to lose some weight. I feel like I tried really hard and spent money on it and I just want it to work. Yawn.

Sunday

Today I felt really stressed out for no real reason. I just felt unhappy for no reason. I wanted to sleep a lot and just slug around for a while. I got out of my funk after a couple hours. I don't know where it came from. I was just sad. I am really hungry. There are so many choices at my house but none of them make a meal that is low in points. So far I had a blueberry muffin that I split with Zoe and a banana. Some pickles, lettuce, chicken pieces, dressing. I might eat something heavier like rice to fill me up. I don't know I need to go to the store. I want to pick up some English muffins, Egg Beaters, WW cheese, high fiber crackers, etc.

Wow yesterday was hard

I spent the early part of yesterday confused about what to eat and the latter part of yesterday starving. As soon as Hubby came home from work I had already dissected the Applebees menu online because 1. Its my favorite place and 2. I knew they had a WW menu. The WW food all sounded gross so I went with the word PASTA and SHRIMP. LOL two of my favorites. It was 12pts. So good. Then as I was there it was salty but yummy and so I wanted something super sweet so I analyzed and finally decided to just spend 6 of my bonus points so I could have some freakin chocolate and ice cream! I don't believe in depriving yourself of anything not even while trying to lose weight. I am not here to diet folks. I'm here to learn and live.

I'm back and I'm paying for it in more ways than one

Fact: Hubby's company created a health initiative saying that they will charge more if you have a BMI of more than 30.
Fact: My BMI is currently 35.
Fact: I have to lose 35lbs to reach a BMI of 30.
Fact: I joined Weight Watchers to help get me through this goal (in addition to Zumba twice a week like I have been trying to do, walking and eating right)
Fact: My Weight Watchers weigh in at Thursday's meeting (my first meeting) was 205.4
Fact: My goal weight is 175.

I spent the money and got all the WW tools. I felt really overwhelmed at first but after doing a Facebook shoutout I found that I wasn't the only one in this WW boat. That made me happy. I starting getting lots of tips and recipes from friends.

I still am staring at my pantry and fridge in confusion as what I can and cannot eat as much of.
So far I have figured out my coffee creamer is 1 for 1 serving. I can eat fruits and veggies non stop for 0 points. Most meats are 3 points. Most greasy foods are 7 points. Most desserts are 7 points.

My shout out for breakfast foods resulted in the following helpful hints!
Amber - okay sorry you have to go to the store for this, but I have a breakfast quesadilla every morning....they are great and filling...made by smart ones. I stock up when they are on sale.
--
Hailey - Oatmeal is very filling because of the fiber content, and it's healthy for you as long as you don't add too much sugar. If it were me, I'd do oatmeal and fruit.

Amber -  yes it has cheese it and a fairly good amount....I think that's why I like it. Cheese is my sore spot....along with several other things obviously...lol

Denise - when I did weight watchers, I bought these bran muffins that Kroger had that were delicious and only two points each. Also Glucerna made some snack bars that were only 2-3 points and were really filling and kept me full because they have the slow-releasing sugars.

Lindsey - OK. I can't believe its not butter spray butter is 0 points. Fruits=0 points. Bagels or english muffins are 3 points. Eggs are 3 points and you can cook them in the 0 points spray butter. Plus eggs are a power food. Bread is 1 point. By the way if you run out of points and are still hungry 10 min of workout=1 point. You can even count house work or playing with your baby.

Sarah - I have some goodies I will try to share with you!

If you like spinach and mushrooms... my FAVORITE breakfast was to saute up some mushrooms and onions, when they were done, toss in baby spinach leaves and let them wilt up, then take that out....... pour EGG BEATERS egg whites in a small skillet, once it starts setting up, put the mushrooms, onions and spinach back in... I flip it once too. And I'd eat it with some low cal/high fiber bread as toast. I can't rem. teh points, but egg whites are CRAZY low points, and the mush. onions and spinach are just good for ya! SO FILLING and SO GOOD.

I also have a french toast recipe from a WW cook book I'll get ya!

Oh, and Kashi cereals are good for points. I liked their heart healthy one that has the hearts and o's in it!
Also, I think HUNGRY GIRL has a recipe I always wanted to try, you just microwave some EGG BEASTERS in a mug.... she's got lots of recipes, some better than others from what I've tried!

FIBER ONE has good granola bars (and now brownies) for ...snacky things.... and I've heard VITA TOP muffin tops are good? I have a box I haven't touched since all this pregnancy yucky tummy crap! They're in the freezer section.....

Oh! And for lunch I'd always do a frozen meal... smart ones or lean cuisines, for portion control and ease of preparation. lean cus. has an amazing CHICKEN POTSTICKERS meal in a steamer bag right now!!

OR, in the summer when fresh produce was readily available I would do a lettuce salad, crammed with whate4ver you like, and a can of chicken, a little light dressing, and maybe some cranberries and almonds!

Lindsey- The first 2 weeks your gonna feel like you are STARVING!!! But its all good from there. As long as you spread out your points. If you kinda plan your meals for the whole day you will know if you got room for more. I don't spend my workout point either. I like to see how many I can get a week. I joined online. I really like it. Its real personal and set up just how I want it. You can save foods on there and create your own stuff and save it.

Me - My problem is CHEESE and WINE. LOL

Lindsey -They make some cheese with skim milk now and fat free. So that kinda helps. My issue was chocolate milk. lol. Not sure about the wine but they also have weekly points beyond your daily ones now. You could maybe just set those aside for wine.
My convo about pasta with Sarah ended up with this
this is just reg. spaghetti sauce but i sauted up some veggies before adding the sauce

zucchini, shredded carrots, onion, mushrooms and of course lean Hamburger

this is the pasta dish i told u about

no meat, but it's a great lunch or supper still!

CAPRESE-STYLE PERCIATELLI

Done something SIMILAR before, but this is a WW recipe, but OH so good! Here's the recipe... oh and it's not a salad, it's served warm--though it could be served cold!

1/2 lb perciatelli or spaghetti pasta
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
4 oz bite sized bocconcini (small mozzarella balls--I found at Walmart up toward the deli with the other cheeses)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper (this makes it a little spicy though, if you don't like that back off it)
3 T grated Grana Padano or Parmesan cheese
(My addition: I like to add a little fresh spinach too!)

This makes 4 servings of 1 1/4 cups ...

Nutritional facts: 325 calories, 9 grams fat, 6 grams fiber

For you WW-- just 6 points!

omg i'm posting

It is so hard to be a Mom and figure out who you are and a have a social life and have a married/sex life and have spare time for yourself AND lose weight on top of all of that. There is not enough time in the day!

Yesterday instead of Zumba-ing, I convinced Bri that we should get pedicures. They were amazing. My feet finally feel girly and are painted! I do feel bad though that I didn't work out. Part of me is like well Zoe is sleeping now on the couch next to me so I could put in a workout dvd and do a half hour. But then I'm like ew I'm dressed in real clothes do I really want to work out? And I'm hungry for lunch. I've been eating the same thing for breakfast every day - coffee with creamer (more like creamer with coffee) and two pieces of lite wheat bread toasted with creamy peanut butter. Today I had 3 pieces because I knew I would be eating a later lunch and need energy to chase around CJ and watch Zoe! Maybe chasing a 16 month old babysitting counts as working out. He was here like 2 hours. I was hot and took us outside at one point! I need to take my measurements again and weigh myself but its always so depressing.

I'm going to make lunch. Lately I've been having either a can of chicken or a can of tuna, light mayo, sweet relish mixed together on rye bread with a diet coke.

More later. I'll try to remember to blog here!

measurements

49 hips
37 waist
39 under boobs
44 boobs
196 weight