Weigh-In

I lost 3.2! :) So my current weight is 187.8 pounds... I went down to 25 daily points from 26. Eek!

I was so surprised (and pleased!) about the loss. I felt brave enough to raise my hand at the meeting (I'm pretty shy), and I got 3 Bravo stickers! And Ashley, my leader, asked how much I have lost altogether. I said that I had lost 14 pounds since coming to weight watchers meetings... and 88 pounds in total! So I got applause for that too... I love getting applause!! haha

Today's meeting was really good. The past couple of weeks, I went to the meetings before/after my usual meeting, and they just weren't the same. I LOVE the people & the vibe at my 9:30 meeting. Today, we talked about emotional eating. Our "homework" for the week is to list 10 things we can do when we want to eat for reasons other than hunger. I will work on this and let you know what I come up with!

Some goals for this week:

- continue to track everything (even if I go over--last week I went over by at least 10 points or so, but I still lost. If I hadn't tracked, I probably would have gone over by WAY more)

- exercise at least 4 times (hopefully I will finally get to the pool--I've been in the mood for a swim for weeks!)

- try to get to bed at a reasonable hour every night!

What are your goals for the week?

Keeping Things in Perspective

I've been feeling nervous about my weigh-in tomorrow.

Part of the reason I like this blog is that it keeps me accountable. Knowing that I have people reading about my attempts at healthy living is just another reason to live healthfully. But I'm also nervous that I will "fail" and people will think I'm a flake--that it appears I don't follow the program, and then I complain when I gain weight.

I know that one weigh-in, one number on the scale, does not mean anything. One of my favourite blog posts is from Bitch Cakes: back in 2007 (I discovered the post when I read through all of her archives a few months ago) she wrote how it's not all about the scale. I especially love the way she explains that she would rather have a "false gain" (gaining after a week where you ate well and felt good) than a "false loss" (losing weight by fluke).

No matter what I weigh tomorrow morning, I am very proud of the week I had.

I exercised a lot: I went to both of my Booty Camp classes and my Pilates class, and I also did the Booty Camp at-home workout (I did the beginner level). I am about 10 points over my weekly points, but I did track everything (this is the first week that I properly tracked the milk I put in my coffee and tea, for example). So, to be honest, this is probably one of my better weeks, points-wise.

In other news, I am SUPER SORE today from boot camp last night! For the first time since the new year, I took the elevator at work (to the third floor). My legs just couldn't handle the stairs! Also, I don't think my abs have EVER been this sore. Ever. Last night was definitely the toughest class yet. We used the agility ladders (after we did about 7 million butt exercises) to do some cardio, and I could hardly hobble through them. But hobble I did, and I felt invincible afterwards. :)

(P.S. Tonight, the moon is the brightest it will be all year. Mars is also bright tonight, just to the left of the moon. Looking at the night sky can also put a weigh-in into perspective!)

but for the sky, there are no fences facing

In the summer of 2007, I did some travelling. It was the summer after I finished my undergrad, and before I started graduate school. My mom and I took a bus from Toronto to Banff to visit my sister, who was working out there (yes, we were on a greyhound for two-and-a-half days. Both ways. I ate a lot of bus station food).

Soon after, I went to Halifax for 4 weeks, to attend a math summer school program that took place at Dalhousie University. I lived in residence, and ate (all you can eat) at the cafeteria 3 times a day.

There was a group shot of all of the summer school participants taken (a photo that I can’t find anymore). When I looked at it, I couldn’t find myself in the picture at first. I also saw, out of the corner of my eye, someone in the front row who was much larger than everyone else. That’s odd, I thought. I don’t remember there being anyone that big in the program. Then I realized that person was me.

After Halifax, I spent a couple of weeks at a cottage with my family (back in Ontario). While there, I found The Ultimate Healthy Eating Plan by Liz Pearson and Mairlyn Smith in a discount bookstore. I decided to buy it.

I read the book quickly, and it made sense to me. Instead of being a fad diet, and instead of vilifying food, it told me how food could be good for you. It explained the importance and nutritional benefits of many different types of food, and had tons of healthy recipes. It also had a few sets of weekly meal plans, including one for weight-loss. I determined that as soon as I got back home, I would follow the plan and get healthy.

While growing up, I rarely weighed myself. We didn’t have a scale at my house, so I never knew exactly what my weight was. In August 2007, determined to really lose weight this time, I bought a scale so I could accurately keep track. On August 26, 2007, I weighed 276 pounds.

I have never weighed that much since. On my last weigh-in at Weight Watchers (on January 23, 2010), I weighed 191 pounds.

Here I am in June 2007, on my graduation day (when I got my Bachelors):

And about 2 years later on my next graduation day, when I received a Masters of Science (wearing the same shoes!):

In Halifax in the summer of 2007 (with the delorean!):

And here I am this past Saturday:

I never thought losing this much weight was something I could do. But, over the past couple of years (and a bit more...), I've lost over 80 pounds. And I'm not finished yet. :)

New Party Strategies (well, new for me)

I went to my sister's birthday party last night. I'm happy to say, I was able to track everything and... well, okay, I'll admit it, I ended up using 36 of my 35 weekly points. BUT here are the reasons why it could have been much worse:

• I decided not to have ANY chips. If I'd decided to have "just a couple," I wouldn't have been able to stop. By making the decision not to have any, I didn't even have to think about it, or have an argument in my head (do you know the kind I mean?) about having "just one more."
• I also avoided all of the ice cream sundaes/toppings. I decided that ice cream really isn't my favourite and it wasn't worth it to me. (You may be wondering how I went overboard while avoiding all the chips AND ice cream. Yeah, it was basically because of the brie, not gonna lie. Oh, and the alcohol. And the appetizers...)
• I somehow realized that I was perhaps underestimating what I was eating, and I went to another room for a few minutes to track it. I've never actually tracked DURING a party before. I honestly thought I was maybe at about 16 weekly points... but I added it up, and I was at 36! The mini quiches that I remembered as being 2 points for 2 were actually 4 points for 2!! So the extras that I ate (and hadn't planned for) really did some damage!

I was being much more honest about what I was actually eating than I usually am. Since I had some of this food after midnight, I took one point away from Sunday's daily points, and checked off all of my weekly points in my tracker.

I really did NOT want to use up all of my weekly points on Saturday--the rest of the week will be tough without them. But I do plan on exercising a lot, and focusing on filling foods.

I'm calling last night a success.

Weigh-In & CRAZY MOTIVATION

Today (I guess it was yesterday, actually--I'm up late!) I was down 0.8 lbs. I'll take it! I had a pretty spotty week, to be honest, and I was nervous that I would gain again (last week I gained 2.6). I'm actually higher right now than I was on Christmas Eve, which is disappointing... maybe two weeks ago, when I lost all the weight I gained over the holidays, I hadn't really lost it?? Maybe that weigh-in was a fluke, and it's just (slowly) coming off now??

Since I HAVE been very spotty lately following the plan, and since I now have this blog holding me EXTRA-accountable, I decided I needed some new motivation:

The 2010 basic member kit! I'm already totally in love with the Canadian Dining Out Companion. Some of its contents are quite horrifying. For example, some of the large blizzards at Dairy Queen (which I have definitely eaten before) are over 30 points each (to put that in context, I am allotted 26 points for the entire DAY). Yikes! We also got free samples of the Weight Watchers vanilla smoothie mix. I'm excited to try it!

I'm really spurred on & motivated to have an AWESOME week with lots of activity. Also, at our meeting today, we were very lucky to have a special guest: a leader-in-training who has lost 140 pounds! Before the meeting (and before I knew her story), she struck up a conversation with me and gave me some much-needed encouragement. Then she shared her success story with all of us--very inspiring stuff!

To kick off my SUPER ON-TRACK WEEK, I made a veggie-packed pizza. Under that mozzarella cheese is a thick layer of greens: some kale, green pepper, and broccoli (as well as onions and garlic). It was delish! I calculated that 1/4 of the pizza was 3 points (and that is a BIG dinner plate that it's sitting on).

My motivation continued tonight at my sister's birthday party (post to follow).

Also coming soon: a bit of my weight-loss history, including some before & after (during? I'm not done yet!) photos.

Hope you're all having the loveliest of weekends!!!

Special Delivery & Fancy Night Out!

Hey folks! I actually have some readers now!! The pressure is ON! :)

Yesterday, I spent most of my day sitting around, waiting for a certain delivery (can you guess what it is? If so, you must be psychic, because I haven't mentioned it on here yet...). I also got ready for the Opening Night Party of the Interior Design Show in the Metro Convention Centre!!

My mother is a ceramic artist, and was accepted to be an exhibitor in Studio North (a feature exhibit at the IDS). I'm so proud! If you're near the Convention Centre this weekend, the IDS is a great show (you can say hi to my Mom--and maybe you'll see me, too!)

My sister and I attended the swanky opening night party with her. It was amazing! One of the best/worst things was all the free, amazing food & drinks (they had drinks you could pay for, too, but there were also booths with free beer tastings and such). I'm not gonna lie, I definitely indulged. I was on my feet the whole time though, but probably not enough to counteract all the delicious food (including a cookie on a stick!)

But, back to that special delivery I mentioned...

It's a wanigan! Wanigan is a company that delivers fresh fruits & vegetables to your home. I've been interested in this for awhile, but I finally ordered the "Metro Wanigan" this week.

The website describes it as follows: "A well balanced assortment of colourful fruits and vegetables, this Wanigan is for households looking for nutrition, variety and value. Enjoy 8 to 12 different items of which at least 3 are certified organic, at least 3 are locally grown and 4 of the 5 colour groups are always represented." Mine included a tomato, carrots, celery, oranges, apples, broccoli, leaf lettuce, spinach, potatoes, a mango (!), and bananas! I also ordered a red onion a la carte.

Look how sad my fruit bowl was before my wanigan delivery:

Look at it now! (Notice how the avocado has been tossed aside to make room for the newer, more exciting fruit.) I forgot to include the potatoes in the picture above, so here they are, too.
I'm going to see how long it takes me to work my way through this (I'm hoping it will encourage me to eat more vegetables), and I may start having a wanigan delivered weekly or biweekly. Fun!

Booty Camp Update!

Tonight I had my fourth Booty Camp class... so far, so good! I'm actually kind of... impressed with how I'm doing?? Haha, is that allowed?

I'm proud of how strong I am!

There, I said it!!!

It's really tough, and I struggle to keep up sometimes, but I also know that I have come a long way from 2-and-a-half-years-ago-Katie. At one point, the leader told us to find our second wind... and I actually had one! I was able to keep going.

Now, I was a bit distracted during the class, because I was pretty sure I recognized a fellow blogger across the room...

When the teacher took attendance, I got confirmation: it was definitely Andrea! (At least, I was almost positively absolutely sure).

After class, I was on the verge of leaving and perhaps leaving her a lame comment later ("Um, I think I was at your Booty Camp class tonight, I was wearing a green shirt and I probably kept looking at you funny"), but I worked up the nerve to go say hello. And I'm so glad I did! Andrea was so nice, and it was so cool to meet her (I really love her blog!).

All in all, a very exciting night!