I LOST!!! And I Love It!!

I changed my weekly weigh in tracking to Saturdays. So today I weighed in. I have lost 4.2 pounds this week. I am now officially at a total of 16 pounds gone. I am happy with that!!

Next week I am incorporating exercise DAILY. I am eager to see how that affects my weight. I know I need to exercise merely because I feel so darn stiff and my knee, well I have issues with my knee and I am hoping with a daily workout that it will work out whatever is ailing it.
Oh and lest I forget to inform you that my daily points decreased by 1.

So yeah, good week for me, FINALLY!  Hope you all are doing good as well!

Rainy Days Make Me Happy :)

Not sure that I could live somewhere that had rain everyday, but I definitely would love to have rain at least a week out of each month. I love the sound, the smell and the feel of a downpour.

Today my son and I hulled strawberries and placed them in a gallon Ziploc with some added Splenda to make it nice and sweet for dessert tonight. On the dinner menu is chuck steak marinated in mesquite seasoning, sweet corn and macaroni & cheese. I'm going easy on the point today so I can have a nice big meal! So far so good. For some reason I tend to want a fuller lunch and dinner as opposed to breakfast. I can usually through a bit of fruit together with oatmeal and be good til noon.

Looking forward to Sunday, weigh in day. I think its going to be good, fingers crossed.

How is your week going? What's on tap for your dinner table tonight?

How much does exercise help with weight loss?

That is the question. This week I am doing WW without exercising. Next week I will do it with exercise and compare the two. Just curious to see what it does on the scale.

I now have a total of 3 Biggest Loser DVDs I am incorporating to the mix of things. Now that AF is about to exit, I am hoping and praying for a loss! I have been on Atkins since January 8th and now WW for 2 weeks. My weight went down 17 and then back up to only a -11. Sunday is judgement day. I have kept to my daily points and using minimal of my weekly bonus points, drinking lots of water and trying to stay a little low on the sodium. So we shall see come Sunday. There should be no reason why I should not lose some pounds.

So..what are you doing to make sure you see that loss?

Seriously?

So I get on the scale today and it says  I have gained. WTH? Ok, I did go off plan yesterday and had McDonalds for dinner as well as a butt load of candy. But the other 6 days, good to go. SO how the hell am I gaining weight?

Ok, could be impending TOM, could be water retention, could be that I started exercising and building muscle, hell it could be anything. But I know I did not consume enough calories to gain anything.

Maybe I should weigh in the evening instead of the morning. I just don't know. I still feel great. Clothes still fitting loose, still seeing results in the mirror...maybe I will just throw the scale away! Maybe its the scale and not me. Its discouraging to know I am losing but not seeing the numbers, it really is. But, as usual, I am sticking to the plan..sooner or later it will move.Maybe I will just wait a few hours and get on the scale again. Damn it.

Walkin' It!

So today I finally put the Biggest Loser DVD in and walked a mile in 15 minutes. I was cracking up since Bob from BL was instructing the video and was sure to let me know every time  I hit a quarter mile. I LOVE IT!! I love BL and seeing some of the contestants on the video is inspiring to me! It went by quick and I must say, I was sweaty and proud! Woot!

You Change Yourself For Yourself...

Lately I had been having some battles with myself and my inner peace. I was finally able to release and let go. I now have that inner peace I have longed for. Ironically, one of my favorite pages, Positive Thoughts, posted this today. It describes all that I had been feeling and felt I needed to share this.

"All the years you have waited for them to "make it up to you" and all the energy you expended trying to make them change (or make them pay) kept the old wounds from healing and gave pain from the past free rein to shape and even damage your life.
And still they may not have changed.
Nothing you have done has made them change.
Indeed, they may never change. Inner peace is found by changing yourself, not the people who hurt you.
And you change yourself for yourself, for the joy, serenity, peace of mind, understanding, compassion, laughter, and bright future that you get."

I Gained!

I know that part of losing weight is also gaining. And with having been sick and changing diet plans I think something went haywire along the way. I weighed today and I have gained. I'm OK with that, it happens. I actually weighed one day when I was sick and that is when the lowest weight came in. Perhaps it was due to the vomit/diarrhea - water loss. And then factor in that Atkins caused major constipation that I am still recovering from. Oh well, pushing forward now. Trying to stay true to my numbers.

Sundays are my weight watcher weigh in days. And while I was a tad disappointed to see a gain, I reminded myself that I stuck to my points everyday and that is all I can do. Gaining IS part of the process. Due to the gain, my points increased +1. Funny thing is that most days I find myself struggling to use them all. I wonder if that has any correlation with weight loss? Are you supposed to use all the points each day? I know there was  couple days last week that I had 10 or more points left. Ok, so goal this week, use all points if possible.

Also, I bought myself a new workout DVD so will be incorporating that. Hopefully my knee can take it. LOL!

Hoping you all are safe and happy and wishing you a Happy Valentines day!

Happy Valentines Day!

I took my kids out today to let them pick out their Valentines Day gifts and boy did we have a great time! While we were out, I told myself that just because I didn't have a significant other did not mean I could not receive a Valentines gift! So, I am now the new owner of the Biggest Loser Power Walk workout DVD as well as a pair of weights. I hope you all have a special Valentines Day. And hey, even if you are single like me, treat yourself to something you want! ♥

Oh Happy Day!

If you've been following my blog lately, you know that I have sort of been stalled on weight. I lost a pound yesterday bringing me to 15 pounds lost. Well, I have switched plans. Effective yesterday, I am now a Weight Watcher member. Going from LC to WW I told myself to expect either a temporary gain or a longer stall. Of course I was sick the last two days as well, not eating a whole lot.

Well, today I woke up feeling very good and decided to hop on the scale. 2 more pounds lost, 17 pounds lost total! That makes me smile. Not just because of the loss, but because I know in my heart I was the one responsible for that loss. I did it. I stuck with it. I weathered the storm for the last month and these are the fruits of my labor. OK, I'm being a little over dramatic, but in all seriousness, this is such a great feeling!

Changing It Up

It is said all good things come to and end. Such is the case with low carb for me. I am switching to Weight Watchers. The main reason is that in order for me to be successful long term, I need more variety than LC has to offer. While I know I am successful with LC, it is just not something I can live with for the rest of my life.

I feel good about my choice. I have done WW in the past, but was not really in a place that I was ready to commit to any plan. So, here's to new adventures!

10% down!

Today I got on the scale and I am down 15 pounds. February 8th marked one month.  That is 10% of my total weight loss goal. I am super proud to have been able to stick with it and not give in. I have to say, this snowy weather is making it difficult on me as I want to get outside and go, go, go!

I've been dragging a bit on blogging as I am trying to also keep on top of school work and both kids. Aye!

I want to say THANK YOU to those of you, and you know who you are, that have been so supportive of me. Whether its posting comments or emailing me, it means alot!

A Little Sweet Indulgence...

I wanted ice cream last night. I REALLY wanted it. I had told myself from the beginning that I was not going to deny myself if I really had a craving. I also told myself that any splurge should be minimal and preferably sugar free.

Up until yesterday, I had been housebound due to snow for a week. I was climbing the walls for something sweet. Finally I got out and went to Walmart. I picked up some Atkins Advantage bars and SF Russell Stovers. They don't slow me down thank God. But they didn't have any ice cream that I wanted. So after leaving there we stopped at Braums and found some SF vanilla bean as well as Peanut Cluster Fudge. Both were actually SF Frozen yogurt, but to me, it was like Ben & Jerrys!

The container said no sugar added. Apparently that does not mean sugar free as there were 5 grams of sugar. Net carbs were 7 for 1/2 cup. Mind you, in the past it was nothing to eating 2+ cups of ice cream at a sitting. Well not this time. I got out the handy dandy 1/2 cup and measured it to a t! I ate very slowly and enjoyed every bite! THAT was a nice treat! Not induction friendly, no, but it was nice.

Whats Up With the Scale?

So in case you have not noticed, the scale at the top of the page is stuck on 14 pounds lost. Actually, it's not stuck, I am! The scale has not moved. I was slamming the weight off everyday, then BOOM. Nothing.

If you read the low carbs stalls post earlier, you know that between weeks 4-6 it just really sucks. My body is like WTF? McDonald's, chocolate, ice cream with cookies one day..then the next your giving me protein and fat and where the hell are my carbs! I WANT MY CARBS GIRL!!!  My body is a little pissed right now that the sugar has been stripped from it. But that's OK! See I haven't lost anymore, BUT, I have not gained either.

I am sticking with it. My clothes are more looser than they were a week ago. While the pounds are not coming off on the scale, the fat is melting off my body! That's what really matters to me. Oh and did I mention...I still feel WONDERFUL!

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Subtle Changes

I have been noticing things, little things, indicating that the weight loss is finally showing. Clothes fitting a bit looser, mainly shirts, since I seem to lose from the head down. Legs are noticeably smaller in the ankles, which I attribute to water loss. My face is clearly thinning down as seen in my pictures. But today, today I noticed something new.. When I got out of the shower and put the towel on me, well the towel covered more than it normally did. That is a clear sign to me that its working! When I put that towel around me, normally its hard to tuck to stay by itself. Today I noticed that it tucks with room to spare. I looked up in the mirror and gave myself a huge, proud smile! Little things..they make a difference. ♥

Comfort Food

Sitting on my sofa near the front window, I am watching it snow. Everything outside is covered in white and the snow is still coming. I feel so cozy in my confines. However, I find that I am wanting some comfort food. Some chocolate, some ice cream, some cookies, some doughnuts, some pizza...all simply because its snowy outside, we are stuck in the house and my way of thinking makes me believe I want comfort food.

There are many triggers for me that make me want to break my way of eating. Most often it is sadness, excitement, depression, boredom, solitude, loneliness and just the fact that I love to eat. But today, I realize what it is. It is that I cannot leave my home. I am stuck here. I know I cannot get out, so I want to eat those comfy foods. I want to dig in, binge, pig out, stuff my face.....alas, I will not do it. I now have a grip on my eating and understand why I have done this to myself. Now, I choose to eat better.

Finally, it clicks...