The Fats of Life

I hope everyone has been having a happy holiday season! Thanks for all your support and comments following my 10% success. It is so great to be a part of such a positive community.

Unfortunately, I must admit that while I counted points last week, I evidently used too many flex points and gained 1.2 lbs. I'm now 0.2 lbs. away from 10%. It's not fun yo-yo-ing so I am working to lose the pound I gained. I've been to the gym twice already this week and I'm going to try to not use all my flex points. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Now for a story. So I'm at dinner with my parents and the waiter says, before I've even ordered, "you look like someone famous". I'm like, "you're talking to me?" I mean I have no makeup on, a sweat shirt and jeans and my hair is in a ponytail. And he's like "yeah, the girl from 'The Facts of Life'". At this point I try to not roll my eyes when I say, "yeah, I know who you mean." And of course he's struggling with the character's name, and trying not to describe her, so I tell him, "Natalie." Of course, he has to pick the big girl on the show. Why couldn't it have been "Blair" or "Jo"! (Not like I look like either one of them.) I really don't look like Natalie either, but I am big. This isn't the first person who has told me I look like this actress. Another man told me this (20 lbs. ago which makes me feel really great about my loss). Do people just not understand that telling someone they look like an 80's celebrity doesn't count as a good thing if that actress is overweight? I like to pretend that I'm not overweight, so when someone holds up a mirror it is silently painful.

10% Filled with Happiness

I did it! I reached my 10% goal! I have my key chain! I put the keys on it during the meeting :)

I got a little misty when I thought about the last few months. I truly feel like I have accomplished something. I've never tried to lose weight before. I've gone to the gym consistently before, but I have never really changed my eating habits or weighed myself on a regular basis. I had no idea what I weighed before I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting. I had been weighed at the doctor's office every year or so, but after I hit 200 lbs. I stopped listening to the numbers.

This has been such a great experience, and I feel so lucky to have this blogging community and be able to visit your blogs and see how well you are all doing and get inspired. And I love it when you visit me! :)

I have another goal coming soon, I'm 0.8 lbs. away from 200 lbs.! I never thought I get so excited about weighing 200 lbs., but I am. It means I can really do this, that its working and that I'm going to be able to sustain my weight loss. I don't think the next 60 lbs. are going to be easy, but if they are anything like the last 23 lbs., I'm sure its going to be an adventure I'm going to look back on fondly in the future.

So I thought I had done really badly today. I ate a good lunch - broiled mahi mahi with seaweed salad and a Diet Coke. But then I went to a German band's Christmas party at a beer hall and had 2-1/2 pints of beer. (I also had a grande cappuccino after lunch.) But the Weight Watchers site says I've only used 16.5 points. How can this be? I still have 9.5 points left for the day? That makes no sense! I'm nervous I totally screwed myself for my weigh-in on Tuesday. And I'm going out for lunch tomorrow (Monday)! AHHHH! The pressure! Some people have a weakness for cookies. I have a weakness for beer, cheese and salty things, and not necessarily at the same time - don't ask me why.

I'm going to try to go to the gym tomorrow to mitigate some of this damage. I knew I was making bad choices, but I just couldn't stop myself. I was uncomfortable at the party and I wanted something in my hand to hold. I should have asked for water. Next time. Next time.

The Christmas party was a mad house. My brother-in-law played Santa to about 150 kids ages 0-12. He is such a good guy.

Okay, it's time for me to edit my group paper and email it to my professor for her comments before it goes to the client. Wish me luck!

Hot Damn!

Are you allowed to swear on blogs? (Of course you are, what am I talking about!) I usually have the mouth of a truck driver, but that's off-line. Anyway, HOT DAMN! I lost 3.6 lbs. last week! I had my Weight Watchers meeting tonight. I'm down a total of 20.6 lbs! I'm so excited. I was good with my points last week. I only used 1.5 of my flex points. But, I didn't really exercise at all. I need to get in the habit of exercising. That's going to be tough for me. Another obstacle to face.

I had a really good day today. I turned in a group paper at 8am, then I had a client presentation from 2-4pm. It went really well. I didn't think it was going to, but the client was pleased, so that makes me happy. And I got my credit card bill and I spent $350 less than I expected last month! I wish all days were like today. But at the same time I'm sorta waiting for the other shoe to drop. I wish I wasn't like that, but I kinda am.

So, I calculated it and I just have to lose another 1.4 lbs. and I'll hit my first major goal of 10% of my original body weight. How cool is that?! I don't know if I'll manage to do it by next week, but that snazzy key chain they give you would make an awfully nice Christmas present. Whatever happens, it's nice to know the goal is in sight!

Nice Pants!

So I discovered two nice things this week. First, pants that didn't fit in April fit now. I tried on a pair of suit pants and they fit. I couldn't sit down in them in April. Now they fit! They unfortunately show my panty line in the front, so I still need to lose more weight before I can wear them without feeling self-conscious, but it is a spring/summer suit so that's not a problem. I also wore a pair of pants Monday night to class for a presentation that I don't think I have worn in about a year. It was so nice to put my legs in them and have them comfortably pass my thighs and button!

The other nice thing I found this week was cheek bones. I noticed them when I was in the bathroom combing my wet hair. I turned my face to the side and there they were! I mean I have cheek bones when I smile, but I haven't seen hide nor hair of them without smiling in months.

I have a confession to make. I don't like my driver's license picture. It was taken in February and I look terrible in it. I mean its embarrassing to show this picture when I get carded (yes, I still get carded at 33). I hate seeing it. For a few days recently I had turned it around so the back of it was visible through the clear plastic sleeve in my wallet. But I found that that made me more conscious of it. So I turned it back around. I shouldn't be embarrassed by the picture, but I am. I'm just waiting for someone to comment on it. I lied about my weight when they took the picture. I really didn't know what I weighed, but I could have easily guessed it was over 200. But I said 200 and that's what is on my license now. Oh to be down to 200! That's my 10% goal!

I lost 0.8 lbs. last week, so I'm down 17 lbs. total (I've added a little ticker because I was jealous of everyone else's! :) I'm happy with that considering all the beer I drank last Friday and the cheese and crackers I had on Sunday (snacks at the group meeting for school).

That's all for me. I better get to bed if I want to wake up before noon. Ahh, the life of a grad student.

Taking A Break

Things have been really busy with school lately. Lots and lots of group projects - meetings, presentations and papers. But, I've been taking some breaks to enjoy myself. Thursday night I decorated my apartment for Christmas. It took me all of 15 minutes since I only decorate inside and my apartment isn't that big. I found a Christmas "radio" station on the Internet and rocked out to golden Christmas oldies while I decorated. It was fun! Last night my mom was in town. She had been in town this week for a conference, which ended yesterday. We went to dinner and hung out in the hotel bar. It was one of those sky bars with windows looking down on the city. It rotated! It was so subtle I almost didn't notice! It is always nice to hang out with mom. I made good food choices - broiled salmon cakes and cucumber salad, but I drank way too much beer. That's why I have stopped keeping it in the fridge. It's too tempting. I love beer. But I have been much better today. No beer. And I haven't used any flex points.

I've done a bunch of work for school tonight, so I am taking a break. But I have more to do. I have a group meeting tomorrow at 1pm that I have to prepare for. I'm not looking forward to it. Classes are done December 12th and all my papers and projects will be done by December 20th. I can't wait! I'm not doing anything Christmas-y, except decorating, until I go to my parents in Vegas at the end of the month. Maybe I'll listen to some Christmas music on Pandora <http://www.pandora.com/> while I prep for tomorrow's meeting. You've got to check out Pandora if you haven't already. It's this internet music radio station that plays songs based on your last selection. They have analyzed half a million songs over the past century and the algorithms search for like characteristics and play songs they think you'll like based on your initial selection. It's great!

Does anybody swim laps for exercise? I've been thinking about starting now that water aerobics is over. The next session won't start until the end of January. I love the idea. I just find it so monotonous. They have music playing under the water, which should help, but it is hard to hear it.