The New Year Is Almost Here

This past year has been a wonderful adventure in the weight loss world.  I started out the year by regaining my lifetime status with Weight Watchers.  This took the previous year to accomplish.  I was thrilled to see 145 on the scale again.  I was hoping I would be able to maintain this weight throughout 2012.  To my surprise I did maintain this weight, in fact I continued to lose weight.  At my last Weigh In I was 130.  This is total of 56.6 pounds lost since December 2010.  I am hoping to be 129.8 by my 1 year anniversary of being at lifetime, which is January 2nd or being back to goal on February 6th.  I have gained some weight back over Christmas.  I am throwing away all the cookies that are left today, so I won't be able to sneak a few every time I walk past them.  I am cleaning out the refrigerator today too.  Enough is enough.  I have to get back to healthy eating.  I have continued working out over the last 2 weeks or I would be more than 4 pound up. 

We always have family over for New Year's Eve and in the past I've always had healthier options for me to eat.  I plan to continue this tradition this year.  The dips will be made with reduced fat sour cream, cream cheese and mayo.  Baked chips and salsa instead of chips and dip work for me.  I found a recipe for baked broccoli poppers that sound yummy.  Lots of fresh veggies to pick on.  One drink at midnight and that's it.  I have around 5 pounds to lose to make my 129.8 goal.  I probably won't make it in January for my lifetime anniversary, but it shouldn't be a problem to make it by my back to goal weight anniversary in February.

Maintaining

I think I have this maintaining thing figured out.  I'm staying about the same weight each week.  I wouldn't mind losing a little more, but I'm not going to stress over it.  I'm feeling good where I am.  I'm hoping to continue maintaining through the holidays and then maybe I'll push for more weight loss in January.

We are having a lot of rain the last couple days and expect it to last the rest of the week.  I would much rather have sunshine, but at least I'm not on the coast and experiencing all the flooding.  I'm going to pop my vitamins to help boost my mood.  This weather and the winter to come always makes me very moody. 

I'm still exercising a lot and will continue to do it.  I actually enjoy it.  I don't think I would like going to the gym and use the weight machines, but the aerobic stuff I like.

Now that the weather isn't good for grilling my menu will switch the cooler foods.  I see a lot more casseroles in the future.  Today will be a whole chicken and that will be in leftovers for a couple days.  We decided meatloaf sounded good so I will be making that later in the week.  I will have to work a lot of veggies into the menu too.  I think I'll get out my divided plates and start using them again and load up the large section with the veggies and put the meat in the little section.

I'm off to get my shower and do some cleaning for some extra activity points today.

Up a little today at weigh-in.

I went to my WW meeting this morning.  I was up .2 pounds.  The same thing happened last week.  I'm not sad about this, because I'm still within my goal weight, but these .2s will add up to pounds and I don't want that to happen.  I didn't go to Jazzercise yesterday and I usually do and we had  Roast chicken and all the trimming for dinner last night.  I usually go out for Sunday dinner and I usually get a salad or something else that is light.  So, I will take the .2 gain this week.  All considering I am happy with that.  I really thought I was going to have a couple pound gain.

I finished going through all the things that I took out of my closet, yesterday.  I tried on all of last winter's clothes.  I now have 2 over flowing totes to give away plus more sitting here on a dining room chair and I have 1 tote of things I can wear.  When my hubby saw all the "TOO BIG" clothes piled on the bed he asked me what I was going to do with all of them?  I told him I was giving them away, because I was NEVER wearing them again.  He then gave me a high five!  I think I'm OK with the amount of tops I have left.  I am going to need more pants though.  I am going to be watching for Kohl's to put their cords on sale and then I will go try them on and see what size I need to buy.  It's been too long for me to even remember when I had heavy pants that weren't elastic waist.  I will be buying pants with a zipper and button closure.  My size 10 jeans are getting too baggy in the legs and butt and the waist has some room in it.  Could I be ready for a size 8?  I never thought I would be saying that in a million years.

Boy, is it ever cold in here today.  We had frost overnight.  I don't want to fire up the furnace.  I put on my little electric faux stove to help take the chill off.  It doesn't seem to be doing such a great job.  My hands and feet are still cold.  I will be turning on the oven later to make chicken and stuffing for dinner so at least the kitchen will heat up some.  I am so not ready for the cold weather.  I am not a winter lover by any means.  The hotter the better for me!!

Out of the Closet.

It's so cold here that I had to get out my winter clothes.  The last I wore them was probably in April.  I had several storage boxes full of things I wore last winter.  When I took them out of the closet they looked so big.  I tried a lot of the stuff on and I was swimming in them.  The pants are size 12/14 and I am now wearing an 8.  The tops were mixed between XXL and XL.  I am now wearing a M in tops. I now have a BIG pile of clothes that I will be putting on freecycle, plus I have a lot more to try on.  I have mixed feeling about this.  There's a lot of cute things that I really liked to wear that are now too big and looks funny on me.  I also have a lot of shopping to do if I plan on having anything to wear this winter.

I have an outdoor wedding to go to on Saturday.  I was planning on wearing the outfit I wore to my nephews outdoors wedding I went to on a cold June evening.  I guess I'd better try it on and may sure I still look OK in it. 

Today was another weigh-in.

I didn't know what to expect at weigh-in this morning.  It's getting colder her in NE Ohio, so I ended up wearing my long pants, instead of my think capris.  My thought was that this would probably make me show a gain.  Changing the clothes you wear for the season is a scary thing when you are weighing in.  When I stepped on the scale at my meeting I was down another .2 this week.  That make a total of 52.8 pounds lost so far.  My leader asked if I wanted to change my goal.  She said I didn't have to, but we knew that 145 was no longer a realistic goal for me.  I told her I wasn't sure what I wanted it to be and that I would have to think hard this week about that.  I am at 133.8 now.  Am I being unfair to myself to make it 140 and still have such a big gap from my goal and actual weight?  I don't know.  I don't want to make it too low and then have to worry about it every week.  I know that I only have to really worry about it on the first weigh-in of the month since that is the only on that really counts for my lifetime status.  The holidays are just around the corner and even though I don't plan on going crazy with the eating it would be nice to not have to watch what I eat so closely.  I guess I'm going to see what happens this week and see what the scale says next week.  Maybe I'll be really brave and say my new goal will be 135.

This week's Weight Watchers meeting was about setting goals.  There is 8 weeks until Thanksgiving and if you lose just 1/2 pound each week you would be 16 pounds smaller when you sit down at the Thanksgiving dinner table.  1/2 pound is very doable.  I'm going to try and do this challenge and see how much smaller I can get in 8 weeks.  I don't think I will be able to lose a 1/2 pound each week, but as long as I'm losing something each week I will be happy.  Even .2 would put me down another 1.6 pounds and I would weight at 132.2  That would be 2.4 from my new all time goal of 129.8  Do you think I could actually get into the 120s by the new year?  That would be my anniversary of getting to goal again. OMG, I just might make it.  I sure am going to try.

Next week will be measurement time again.  I can really see a difference now when I look in the mirror.  I'm still working on my waistline (muffin top) but it is a lot smaller than it was.

I'm Back!!

It's been a very long time since I've been here to post.  To refresh everyone's memory.  I made goal in January 2011.  It took me a year to make it to goal.  I set mini goals to help me get there.  I lost a little and gained a little, but I never gave up.  I went to my Weight Watchers meeting every week no matter what I thought the scale would say.  After I made goal I wanted to continue losing if possible.  I am happy to say that as of Monday's weigh in I am not down 52.6 pounds. That is 11 pounds under my goal weight.  I guess it's time to set a new WW goal, but what should I make it?  I wouldn't mind losing more weight.  I have set a mini goal to get into the 120's  I don't care if it's only 129.8.  This would be awesome.  I really don't care how long it takes to get there.

Now on to my measurements.  These are total inches lost since I rejoined WW in Dec. 2010.
Arms: down 2"
Hips: down 8"
Bust: down 7"
Waist: down 10.5"
Thighs: down 5"
When I started out in December 2010 I was unable to even wear my size 14 jeans.  I am now into a size 10 and they are NOT tight.  I am actually wearing size 6/8 capris from Walmart and they are loose.  I am going to go clothes shopping for winter things and will see what sizes I fit into.

I still see that FAT girl sometimes when I look in the mirror.  It's very hard to get the mindset that I've lost 52 pounds.  I see the difference when I see photos of myself.  This is going to be the hardest part of my journey.  I just want to see what everyone else sees when I look at myself.

Friday

Boy, where did the week go?  I can't believe it's already Friday and can it actually be the middle of March?  Another nice day here in Wadsworth Ohio.  the clouds come and go, but it's 63 degrees so that's nice.

I ended up going for another walk after dinner yesterday.  It was just to nice to stay inside.  This morning I went to Jazzercise.  Then I had a dentist appointment for a cleaning.  Now I'm going to go grocery shopping for my hubby for his trip this weekend.  I might go to Target and check out their clearance sections.  I usually go around looking for bargains for Friday, since I don't have to dog sit my grand dog.

Since I ended up eating breakfast last because of the dentist appointment I think I'll just grab a cheese stick and head out shopping.  Enjoy the day where you are.  Till later....

Don't look at me naked.

I feel pretty good when I look in the mirror with my clothes on.  My clothes are fitting so much better.  I really think I'm looking skinnier.  My friends are seeing the weight loss and commenting on it.

When I look at myself naked in the mirror it is a different story.  I've been looking in the mirror straight on and from the side.  I think I'm looking a little better.  I still need work, but my rolls aren't nearly as big as they were.  My stomach is the biggest problem.  I do have a bit on an apron developing, but only on one side of my stomach.  My hope is as I gain more muscle it will disappear.  Having a  C section 38 years ago has weakened my stomach muscles (I think).  At almost 60 years old I can't see getting a tummy tuck.  Today I decided to use a mirror and look at my back, which I have not done before.  I was disappointed and discussed in what I saw.  My back has big rolls and dents.  Yes there are more than one.  This is something I don't see when I look in the mirror on a daily basis.  I can't see them ever going away.  As I lose the weight I can see them leaving a lot of loose skin which I don't want.  I've also noticed that my skin is sagging on my under arm area and on my upper inner thigh.  I've seen this in other people that have lost weight.  Will this firm back up as I workout more?  I don't want to lose all this weight and then have to wear a lot of clothes to hide my flaws I've gotten from losing it.  Sorry for the downer post today.  I just didn't like what I saw in the mirror today.

On to nicer things.  The weather is beautiful again today.  We did get thunderstorms early this morning, but it's really nice out now.  I went for a walk with my daughters dog before lunch.  He's a bigger dog and I was really having to walk fast to keep up with him.  My dash hound was dragging yesterday, so I left him home.  It felt so good to be outside getting fresh air.  Of course, with the rain, the ground is still to wet to do anything in the flower gardens.  Maybe I can get to that this weekend.  My husband is going out of town with the 2 older grandsons, so I will be on my own.  My daughter and I will go out to eat, but I can get my activity in without having to worry about stopping and taking care of something hubby or the boys want or need.  I'm considering going to Jazzercise on Sunday morning.  With the hubby gone I won't have to have him move that car so I can get out of the driveway.  This will give me an extra day of high aerobic exercise, before Monday's weigh-in.

I guess it's time to start dinner.  Brussel sprouts and turkey smoked sausage will be the main dish.  I'll probably put a couple potatoes in too and make it a 1 pot meal.  Gotta got only having 1 pan to hav eto wash.

Another Beautiful Day

The sun is shining and it feels so good.  I actually opened the windows in my bedroom to give it a nice airing.  We are suppose to have a high of 72 today.  I just wish it would last.  Since it's only the middle of March I'm guessing we still have some cold weather ahead of us.

I went to Jazzercise this morning, but I really think I'll go for a walk after dinner too.  It's just too nice to stay in the house.  The ground is still a little too wet to do much in the flower gardens.  I just can't wait to get out in the dirt.  All the flowers are starting to peek out and some never went away since we had such a mild winter.  I've had pansies and violas blooming all winter.  I had planted blueberry bushes last year and they have been eaten down to the ground.  We didn't have enough snow that the critters couldn't find food to eat so I see no excuse for that.

I think we are going to have burgers on the grill tonight.  I have some asparagus that I can grill too and I'll throw some sweet potato fries in the oven.  YUM! The only thing that would make this any better is to have some good old home grown tomatoes for the burgers.  I guess I'll just have pickles & mustard on mine tonight.

That's it for now.  I hope everyone has as nice as weather as we are and can get out and enjoy it!!

It Feels Like Spring

It was raining yesterday, but the sun is coming out today and it's going to be in the mid 60s.  I see a walk in my future today.  I went for a walk on Sunday after dinner with my daughter and our dogs.  My hubby says that's what helped me lose .6 this week.  Maybe it is.  I weighed in at 144.6 yesterday.  I'm .2 from being back to my lowest weight in my WW journey.  I hope next week I will beat that weight.  Only 4.5 more pounds to lose by my birthday.  I have 3 weeks worth of weigh-ins to get there.  My goal this week is to do some type of exercise everyday.  So far I've walked on Sunday, Jazzercised yesterday and I plan to walk again today.  The weather is going to warm all week, so I hope to get out in the yard to do some flower garden clean up.  This will be GREAT exercise for me.

I bought myself an ipod touch from Target on Sunday.  Now all I have to do is put my music on it.  I've downloaded an app that measures my walking distance and speed and the WW app.  I also joined a gym app that will pay me if I go to the gym. It's called GymPact .  Check it out.

I'm going to put the wash in the dryer and maybe head out for a walk before my shower.  See everyone later.

Why can't I blog more often?

That's a very good question.  I'm on the computer for hours everyday.  I just don't get on my blog or Google Reader.  I've been watching a lot of weight loss and couponing vlogs.  I really don't have a good excuse for being away.

I didn't weigh in on Monday.  I didn't go my meeting and I didn't go to Jazzercise.  I've talked before about having a hard time going to the bathroom and that I drink Smooth Tea on Sunday evening so I'm not full of it on Monday at Weigh-in.  When I got up on Monday I didn't eliminate and I was afraid to go to Jazzercise and to my meeting in case I would have to go while I was away.  I know this might be too much information, but I'm just being honest.  I just don't know how I'm suppose to lose weight and keep it off when I'm only having 2 bowel movements a week.  I really feel miserable most of the time.  I've tried drinking warm lemon water first thing in the morning and that didn't help.  I've increased my fiber and water intake and that hasn't helped.  I've taken 2 Glucomannan pills before each meal and still noting.  I'm exercising every other day and that hasn't gotten things moving.  I've tried several of the above together and still no go.  I've recently started eating Activia yogurt 3 times a day like Jamie Curtis tells us to on the commercials.  Guess what.  That hasn't helped yet either and I've been eating it for a week.  They say it takes 2 weeks, but I would think it should be helping a little by now.  Any suggestions on what else I can do?

OK, if you are still reading this I want to apologize for the above paragraph.  My weight is staying the same.  I'm up a pound and down a pound throughout the week.  The eating and exercise is still going well.  I'm still in my smaller sized clothes.  All in all I really can't complain.  I would like to lose another 5 pounds by my birthday, April 4th.  That would put me at 140.  It's doable, but it will take some work.  I'm going to have to up the exercise to more than just 3 days a week.  My eating has been pretty good, but I could eat more salads with my meals to help me fill up faster.  I need to drink more water.  I'm doing OK with the water, but I can always drink more than I do.  I just feel bloated when I drink too much.

The weather this year has been unbelievable.  At the end of fall the weather forecasters were telling us that this was going to be a VERY bad winter.  They were predicting a lot of snow and extremely cold temps.  I really wish all our winters were like this one.  We've only had a couple days of snow on the ground.  When it snows the next few days it's warm enough to melt it all.  We've had a lot of rain, but not snow.  Actually we had a very wet year all last year and it's continuing into this year.  We are suppose to have 60 degrees in the middle of next week.  If this really happens I just might have to go out and start clearing some of the flower gardens.  And go for a walk around the neighborhood.

That's about it for now.  I'll try to do a better job blogging in the future.

Weigh in day

WOO HOO!! I was down another .4 today.  That is a total of  42.4 pounds so far.  I was a little surprised with the loss today.

I went to Jazzercise this morning.  We did a preview of the Ballet Body workout.  Boy was it ever intense.  I hope I can walk tomorrow morning.  There was a lot of leg exercises in the routine.  I haven't decided yet if I want to shell out the extra money to do it or not.

Eating yesterday went well.  Today is my off day so I don't really track on my weigh in day.  I take one day a week off.  We went out tonight and had Mexican.  Back on track tomorrow.

What's going on with all of you?

Winter Has Arrived

We've been really lucky this year with the weather.  When it's snowed we had a nice warm day to melt it all.  Today we are getting another burst of winter.  It's snowing and blowing.  It looks all wintery out there.

Yesterday's eating went very well.  I stayed within my points.  I really like doing my tracking starting with dinner.  My weight is still down and I'm hoping to show another loss on Monday.  I am really going to try hard to stay on track the whole weekend, which never happens.

I tried on more clothes this morning.  I have some black jeans that are still snug.  I looked at the size and they are a slim fit size 10.  These were bought at least 9 years ago and have only been wore once.  I remember the day I wore them.  They were snug then too.  I think I'll see if my daughter wants them.  I just can't see me wearing a slim cut ever!!  I've tried on all my skinny clothes that I've saved and I have 1 pair of jeans that I could wear if I had to, but they are a little tight.  Another couple pounds and I will be able to wear them without any problem.  Could it be that someday I might have to go and buy more clothes because the size 10s are too big?  I just can't imagine this happening.  Of course, I never saw me getting back into my old skinny clothes either.

So, how's the weather in your neck of the woods?

Where Have I Been?

I can't believe that it's been so long since I've been on my blog to update.  I think working threw a wrench into my schedule.  I am no longer working and haven't been for a month, so that really isn't an excuse.  I've been watching weight loss and couponing videos on You Tube and playing on Facebook.

OK, now to what is most important.  I am now at my WW goal weight.  I got to my free weight last month and was able to be below my goal weight this week.  I weighed in at 144.8 on Monday.  That is a 41.8 total weight loss since December 2010.  I took my measurements today and I've lost a total of 25.5 inches overall.  I can't believe I've lost that much.   I still have a lot of inches to lose.

I rejoined Jazzercise.  I've been going 3 times a week.  They just started an 8:15 AM class and I love it.  It's a smaller class and I love getting in and out early in the day.  I can go to class before my 10:00 Monday weigh in too.  I'm so ready for summer so I can get out and walk and work in the gardens.  We have not had a bad winter this year, but it's not been warm enough to walk.  Well, it was nice enough a couple weeks ago and I took advantage of it and took the dog for a walk.  It felt so good to be out in the fresh air.

After taking my measurements I decided to try on my next size down jeans.  Guess what?  They now fit.  The last time I tried them on I could get them zipped, but they were not comfortable.  Today, I can sit here at the computer in them and still breathe. When I started this journey I couldn't even begin to zip my size 14 jeans.  Today I'm able to wear my size 10 jeans.

I learned a great tip for tracking at my last WW meeting.  Our leader suggested that we start tracking with our dinner.  She said it doesn't matter what 24 hour period you start with.  So far this week I've tracked everyday and I've stayed within my points everyday.  I go to the next day and log in my dinner and evening snack.  Then in the morning I know how much I have left for breakfast and lunch.  Those 2 meals a easier to tweak to stay in my point range than dinner.  The other day I realized I didn't have any points left for lunch, so I decided a fruit plate would work.  I just put a lot of fresh fruit on a plate and ate that.All were zero points so I stayed within my points that day too.

OK, that takes care of food and exercise.  Now for the water intake.  I'm still working on that.  I think I'm doing better, but I'm still not where I need to be.  It's hard to drink water in the winter.

How is everyone else doing on their journey?  I guess I'll go look at my Google Reader to see what everyone is posting.