Losing It - Week 10

Well, here we are. The last week of our Losing It Challenge. So . . . ?

Ten weeks ago, Jessie from Vanderbilt Wife, Ashleigh from Heart & Home and I had a crazy idea. We were lamenting our weight loss woes on Twitter, and somebody suggested a blog challenge.

So, just like that, we started one. Just a few days later. Without a whole lot of planning. Or thought. And yet?

The Losing It Challenge seemed to work.

Not for me. I didn’t lose any significant weight. But you all? Oh my goodness! You ladies of #LosingIt10 have blown my mind.

You’ve been honest. You’ve been inspirational. You’ve shared your struggles, your successes, your lives. Some of you have lost a lot of weight. And some of you haven’t lost any pounds but have gained resolve, motivation, even wisdom. (I’m putting myself in that category, by the way.)

As you report your percentage of body weight loss, we will have a winner. But, as clichéd as it sounds, I believe everyone who’s pushed through this last 10 weeks has won something.

But let’s talk about the winning and the prize for a moment. If you linked up at least six out of the 10 weeks, you are eligible for the prize package of a six-month subscription to The Six O'Clock Scramble (a meal planning service), a Weight Watchers pedometer and a gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods.

The winner will be the person who loses the largest percentage of his or her body weight during the 10 weeks. So make sure you include that info in your post that you link up below.

But wait! There’s more!

No, not super-sharp knives. But more community, more sharing, more weight loss. Kathy at House of Hills has agreed to continue hosting Losing It as a weekly carnival. The friendships and support that have been built over the past 10 weeks is incredible, and I’m so excited Kathy is going to keep it going for us!

But before you leave me (Don’t leave! Or, at least, please come back!), please answer this question in the comments: What does weight loss success look like to you?

Does it look like a certain number on the scale? Or a size of jeans? Or maybe a pair of jeans from college or pre-pregnancy? Or perhaps for you it looks like a fridge and pantry stocked with healthy foods or the ability to eat your favorite treat in moderation?

For me, weight loss success will look like this:

• A certain number (or below), healthy food choices on a consistent basis
• The ability to shop in non-big-lady stores (sorry, Lane Bryant)
• The ability to use my body for what God intended it (Hello, water skiing. It's nice to see you again.)
• And an absence of negative thoughts (particularly no longer singing, "I hate myself for loving food" in Joan Jett style).

How about you? What does weight loss success look like to you?



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Losing It: Ice Cream Treat Edition (Week 9)

I know, I know. Eating ice cream isn’t really going to help me meet my weight loss goals any better than not counting my points and eating McDonald’s for breakfast.

And I’m not even a big ice cream person. Mark can eat half a gallon in one sitting, but not me. Unlike most unhealthy tasty foods, like Pop Tarts or cheese dip or chocolate frosting, ice cream can be in the freezer without me feeling even the slightest bit tempted.

See, just like hot wings, ice cream takes too much effort to eat. The getting out of the freezer and the scooping and the waiting for it to thaw a little bit and the eating slowly to avoid brain freeze? Eh. I can do without it.

However . . .

Several weeks ago, I was looking for blog ideas and discovered that 2010 is the Dairy Queen Blizzard’s 25th anniversary.

And I couldn’t just ignore that little nugget, could I?

Thankfully, there’s not a Dairy Queen near my house or my office, so it was really a one-time celebration. (Because, seriously, if one was close by, you know I’d be celebrating all year!)

Sonic is another story. (Which might make you wonder why I even brought up Dairy Queen, but I’m getting there. I promise.)

After I picked up Annalyn from daycare on Wednesday, we stopped at Sonic and got a Butterfinger Blast for Mark and an Oreo Blast for us.

Just like her daddy, that little girl loves her ice cream! She ate at least ¼ of my ice cream – and then wanted to share with Mark, too!

[Side note: As we shared the treat, using the same spoon because why wouldn’t we, I thought, “Good thing she’s not sick or anything.” Yeah. Guess which TWO members of our family woke up with a cough and scratchy throat yesterday?]

I’m still trying to get back on the Weight Watchers wagon, so yesterday morning, I looked up the points in a Blast. And then I wondered: Which is worse for you, a Blast or a Blizzard?

Just in case you’ve wondered, too (and in case you have the good fortune to live near both a Dairy Queen and Sonic), here’s the lowdown:

Dairy Queen Blizzard
Size: 10 oz.
Calories: 550
Fat: 20
Fiber: 1
Points: 12

Sonic Blast
Size: 12.8 oz.
Calories: 548
Fat: 20.8
Fiber: .7
Points: 12

The verdict? Go with the Blast. It’s still 12 points, but you get more ice cream!

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This post is part of the Losing It Challenge. How did you do this week?


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Losing It - Week 8

All day yesterday, I felt like I’d been hit by a truck. Or at least a Chrysler Pacifica. But no, I’d just spent the previous day driving said Pacifica.

I told Mark, “I feel like I worked out really instead of just sitting on my butt!” Too bad I’m sore from driving nine hours, not running nine miles. Or something.

[Don’t get worked up. I’ll tell you all about the driving and the nine hours and the whole reason I did it all . . . next week.]

I never would have thought that sitting perfectly still – aside from some very enthusiastic jamming to the sporadic radio stations and my favorite CDs – would make my stupid, weak muscles hurt. And all that random aching has made me think about the many different ways I’ve hurt those same, weak muscles.

• Crunches, leg lifts and lunges in my bedroom every night in high school.
• Running sprints and separators at early-morning basketball practice.
• Learning how to lift weights with my friend Jeremie and then with my boyfriend.
• Frequenting the student rec center that sat next to my dorm.
• Joining Curves. Quitting Curves. Joining Curves again.
• Walking with my friend Katy – at that rec center, of course – weeks before my wedding.
• Taking aerobics for an “easy” credit. Ahem.
• Kickboxing.
• Walking.
• Tae-Bo.
• Walk Away the Pounds.
• More walking.
• Water aerobics.

I’m sure there’s more. But I can’t remember now. So, tell me: What’s your favorite way to exercise? What’s the hardest thing you’ve done to burn calories? (Mine would definitely be the kickboxing class. It was super hard and super early in the morning!)

This post is part of the Losing It Challenge. If I’m one thing, it’s consistent: still not losing weight, but still not giving up. How about you?


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Losing It - Week 3

Today is the end of our third week of Losing It: Not Just Our Sanity. Each week for the next 8 weeks, Jessie from Vanderbilt Wife, Ashleigh from Heart & Home and I will be sharing a peek (or in the case of this wordy ramble, an oversized bay window) into our weight loss journeys.

If you’d like to take the challenge to Lose It (#LosingIt10 on Twitter, by the way), write about your own journey, link to this site in your post, and share a link to your blog post in our weekly carnival. The bloggers who link up at least six out of the 10 weeks will be eligible for our prize package of a six-month subscription to The Six O'Clock Scramble (a meal planning service), a Weight Watchers pedometer and a gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods.

The winner will be the person who loses the largest percentage of his or her body weight during the 10 weeks.

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This week wasn’t quite as good as last week, and I had one particularly, spectacularly terrible night. Annalyn and I went to the store after I picked her up from daycare, and she was A Bear.

According to my darling child, I went to the wrong grocery store. Yes, my 2-year-old daughter knows the difference between our various grocery stores, and yes, she has her favorites.

And I had the nerve to go to the wrong one.

It was all downhill from there. Let me just say, there was screaming and crying and throwing herself over the side of the cart in loud desperation. Not throwing herself OUT of the cart. Just over it, like she was passed out. But she wasn’t. She was just protesting the injustice of my terrible parenting skills and grocery store choices.

I cracked. I bought a frozen pizza. And a box of chocolate Pop Tarts. And a bottle of Coke.

I know. I KNOW!

Then, because I have a feeling you might understand just exactly how frustrating this was, I couldn’t get the Coke open.

I tried. And tried. AND TRIED. But I could not, for the life of me, get that 20 oz. open.

Despite that sad situation, I still ate more food than any one person should in one sitting. And I felt TERRIBLE. Oh, my stomach hurt so bad! I even felt sick the next morning. As I should. I totally deserved that stomach ache!

What I’m not sure I deserve is a weight loss when I go to my Weight Watchers meeting today. I did okay, but not great. And obviously had this crazy night of gluttony that was not exactly “on plan.”

So, we’ll see. I have still been drinking my water, and I have still not been exercising. But I did talk to my friend Brittany about walking next week, so I’m hoping that helps.

Oh, also – I tried Thomas’ Bagel Thins. They are tasty and only one point. But they are THIN. Yeah, I know, that might seem obvious from the names. Bagel THINS. I’m just saying that they’re so thin I wanted to eat two. And, maybe I did.

So, that’s me – the kind of good, the bad and the Pop Tart Ugly. How was your week?

UPDATE: I gained a pound back. The moral of this story? Don't buy the Pop Tarts!! (Or don't take your 2-year-old to the grocery store . . . as if I can avoid THAT!)

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Losing It - Week 2

So, here we are. The end of our second week of Losing It: Not Just Our Sanity. Each week for the next 9 weeks, Jessie from Vanderbilt Wife, Ashleigh from Heart & Home and I will be sharing a peek (or in the case of this wordy ramble, an oversized bay window) into our weight loss journeys.

If you’d like to take the challenge to Lose It (#LosingIt10 on Twitter, by the way), write about your own journey, link to this site in your post, and share a link to your blog post in our weekly carnival. The bloggers who link up at least six out of the 10 weeks will be eligible for our prize package of a six-month subscription to The Six O'Clock Scramble (a meal planning service), a Weight Watchers pedometer and a gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods.

The winner will be the person who loses the largest percentage of his or her body weight during the 10 weeks.

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This week I was on my weight loss game. Mostly. Kind of. Okay, let’s just compare my week to my goals (and then, yes, I want you to compare YOUR week to YOUR goals. It’s only fair.).

• Drink 10-12 cups of water a day. I’m all over this one. If I have one good habit, it’s drinking water. Of course, it means I spend half my day walking back and forth to the bathroom. But I think it’s worth it to be able to say things like, “I’m all over this one.”
• Stick to my weekly allowance of points (Weight Watchers). As my daughter has taken to saying, “Welllll . . .” I haven’t stayed within my points. But I did write down my food and count all my points almost every day. So there’s that.
• Exercise three times a week. I did a Walk Away the Pounds video on Monday after work. Annalyn alternated between marching along with me and saying, “No, Mommy! Not dance!” I know I need to exercise to complete my healthy transformation. But I can admit that I’m going to have to work up to the multiple times a week thing.
• Lose 20 pounds during our competition. I’ll let you know after my weigh-in today!

Edited to add: I lost 1.2% this week! Woo-hoo!

All right, that’s how I did. Now tell me how you did!

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“She’ll lose her baby fat when she starts walking.”

Welcome to the first official week of Losing It: Not Just Our Sanity. Each week for the next 10 weeks, Jessie from Vanderbilt Wife, Ashleigh from Heart & Home and I will be sharing a peek (or in the case of this wordy ramble, an oversized bay window) into our weight loss journeys.

If you’d like to take the challenge to Lose It (#LosingIt10 on Twitter, by the way), write about your own journey, link to this site in your post, and share a link to your blog post in our weekly carnival. The bloggers who link up at least six out of the 10 weeks will be eligible for our prize package of a six-month subscription to The Six O'Clock Scramble (a meal planning service), a Weight Watchers pedometer and a gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods.

The winner will be the person who loses the largest percentage of his or her body weight during the 10 weeks.

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Apparently I was a chubby child. I say “apparently,” because for my entire life my family has teased me, from reminders of my grandma’s promise (see above title) to my parents thinking the trash bag commercial slogan was a perfect fit for my brother and me.

I’m talking about “Hefty, Hefty, Hefty! Wimpy, Wimpy, Wimpy!” I’ll let you guess which one was me, and no, they did not mean that I was strong.

And then there’s the Sears girls size: husky. Husky? Are you kidding me? Was there not a single compassionate woman on that panel?

Oh, my. The memories, they are so warm and fuzzy. Kind of like my gigantic, stretched out and faded yoga pants.

Honestly, my family isn’t nearly as mean as those overly sensitive adolescent stories may indicate. But still, I don’t remember ever not thinking I was fat.

I remember my mom telling me I had nice legs and thinking she was crazy.I remember towering over my tiny friend, Nichole, in a three-legged race and wondering if I’d crush her if we fell.I remember doing hundreds of crunches and lunges in my bedroom after I was supposed to go to bed.And I remember not being able to shop the popular mall store, 5-7-9, because I did not, in fact, wear a size 5, 7 or 9.

I remember being fat.

The funny thing is – and I suspect I’m not alone in this – that when I look back at pictures of myself, all I can do is cringe. Because really? That was “fat”?

Oh, to be “fat” again.

It appears that at some point, I actually did lose my baby fat. Unfortunately, even without the chubbiness of my early years, the curves were still there. Meanwhile, my friends – and, of course, the popular girls I so envied – were stick thin.

I was curvy before curvy was cool.

And so the self-image issues continued. Not that things like basketball uniforms helped. (Please, God, don’t ever make me put on a pair of those ridiculously tight shorts again.) But I wish I could have seen myself for what I really was. And I wish I would have learned then how to care for this body, curves and all.

But I didn’t.

So when I started dating Mark and eating out at restaurants, things like “portion control” and “salads with the dressing on the side” didn’t even cross my mind. And when I went to college and experienced the all-you-can-eat buffet? It didn’t occur to me not to eat scrambled eggs and hashbrowns every morning for breakfast.

Even when my clothes stopped fitting and I gained the Freshman 15 30, I didn’t change my eating habits. After all, who can resist sharing a bag of tortilla chips and jar of Tostitos cheese dip with her roommate? In one sitting? At midnight?

I did lose a bit of weight before my wedding, but it didn’t last. That weight returned so fast that I still have lingerie in my closet with the tags on it. Because it didn’t fit. And yes, I realize it’s silly to keep it in my closet for 10 years. Don’t start with me.

In the decade since I got married, I have gained 80 pounds. And just so you know, saying that out loud makes me want to climb in bed, hide under the covers and never come out again.

Except to eat. Because that always makes me feel better. [Insert sarcastic font here.]

In 2002 – yes, eight years ago – I joined Weight Watchers. I have been a member six times since then.

Thanks to Weight Watchers and countless magazine articles and infomercials, I’m not nearly as ignorant naïve as I was in high school and college. I KNOW how to make good food choices. I KNOW I need to exercise regularly. I KNOW what’s healthy and what’s not. I KNOW.

It’s just a matter of DOING IT. And that is something I have failed at, big time, every time.

Not this time, though. As we kick off Losing It, I’m saying, “Yes, Grandma, I will lose my baby fat!” I will lose it when I start walking. And kickboxing. And dancing. And eating vegetables. And measuring portions. And counting points.

I will lose it.

How are you going to lose it?

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I’ll edit this later today with my percentage weight loss. I weigh in at my weekly Weight Watchers meeting over lunch, and I’m going by their scale. (Because you cannot tell me my doctor’s scale was right on Wednesday. I refuse to believe it.)

UPDATE: I did not lose. And no, I don't want to talk about it. But next week WILL be better!

How did you do? Link up below – and remember, use the permalink to your post, not the link to your blog.



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Losing It

On Monday, I said this on Twitter: “My mom said my brother's lost a bunch of weight. So I'm back on the healthy wagon today. Is that bad?”

According to my friends on Twitter, that is not bad motivation at all. As a matter of fact, two of my friends suggested we put our bloggy powers to work and start a weight loss competition.

I’m kidding. We don’t have special bloggy powers.

We are, however, holding a weight loss competition.

For the next 10 weeks, Jessie from Vanderbilt Wife, Ashleigh from Heart & Home and I are going to be making healthy choices and talking about it. And then we’re going to tell you if we’ve lost weight and how much. Kind of.

I can’t be more specific than that, because we’re each going about weight loss differently. For example, Ashleigh and Jessie are big believers in whole foods. On the other hand, I’m a fan of food that comes from a can or my freezer and gets cooked in the microwave.

But no matter how we differ in food choices, exercise plans or calorie/point/carb counts, we’re all aiming for the same thing: healthy, lasting weight loss.

And we’d like you to join us. Every Friday for the next 10 weeks, we're going to host a carnival called Losing It (and Not Just Our Sanity). I’ll tell you if I met my goals for the week and what percentage of my body weight I lost.

(Sorry, friends. I only share my actual weight with my Weight Watchers leader. And . . . strangely enough, I pay for that privilege . . .)

If you join us, you could not only lose weight, but you could GAIN a prize! Anyone who links up at least six of the ten weeks will be eligible to win a six-month subscription to The Six O'Clock Scramble (a meal planning service), a Weight Watchers pedometer, and a gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods.

The winner? The person who loses the biggest percentage of body weight!

What do you say? Are you ready to make some healthier choices over the next 10 weeks? I know I am! Here are my goals:

• Drink 10-12 cups of water a day.
• Stick to my weekly allowance of points (Weight Watchers).
• Exercise three times a week.
• Lose 20 pounds during our competition.

Who’s in?



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What’s the point?

Last Friday was The Big Day. The day I joined Weight Watchers . . . for the sixth time.

I know.

I’d like to say that this time it’s going to work, that this time will be different, that I’m tired of worrying about my weight and my health, and I’m ready to make a change.

But I’ve said that before.

So I think I’ll stick with this instead: I’m going to do my best today.

In case you don’t know how Weight Watchers works, the basic plan helps you manage your diet by giving you a set number of points you can eat each day. Your number of points is determined by age, gender, typical day’s activity and starting weight.

That means the heavier you are, the more points you get. Yay.

But back to Friday. My co-worker and I went to a meeting over our lunch break, where we signed up and weighed in. It’s a necessary evil, that scale.

The meeting was inspiring, if only because it put me back in the lose weight mindset. I get off track easily – yes, I realize this is shocking information – and I need the weekly reminder meetings provide.

I also won’t turn down the free samples of Weight Watchers snacks. And that is unfortunate, because those pizza pretzel thins were disgusting.

Not even worth the two points. Good thing I only ate one before pitching them in the trash. (I know, I know – wasting food is bad. But you know what’s worse? Eating a bag of pizza pretzel thins, thinking they’re going to get better and knowing they’re going to leave one nasty aftertaste.)

The best moment of our first meeting? When our leader, trying to prompt us, asked, “What’s a good appetizer to order at a restaurant?” That girl sitting across the room who answered, “Mozzarella sticks!” – I want to be her friend.

I suppose I should tell you how I did in my first week back on plan (or, OP, as we like to say). The bad news is that the weekend kicked my butt. I fixed my chocolate éclair dessert for my day o’ scrapping – and then finished it off myself. (NO, not all in one day. Thank you.) I didn’t even end up counting points on Saturday and Sunday.

But I did make some good decisions! I walked with my friend Brittany (and Annalyn, who likes to call Brittany “Bernie”) on Monday and Wednesday. I ordered soup and salad at On the Border and the TenderGrill Chicken Sandwich at Burger King (no mayo, even!). And when I “needed” to pig out one night after Annalyn went to bed, I ate chips and salsa (That’s a veggie! Really!) and a cheese sandwich (on whole wheat bread with low-fat cheese). Sure, I overindulged, but it only cost me 12 points.

Believe me, even if that sounds like a lot, it could have – and has been, many times – way worse.

So, I’m making progress. Wednesday was the first day that I actually stuck to my points allowance, but I’ll get better. I’m looking up every little thing, even when I think I remember the nutritional value. That’s a good thing, because even though I actually do remember most things (like I said, I’ve done this five times before), it’s good to be reminded that honey mustard is not fat-free. Or point-free.

But it is tasty . . .

Overall, my first week has gone pretty well. I’ll weigh in over lunch today, but even if I haven’t lost a pound (oh, please say I’ve lost a pound!), I know I’m back on track.

And that feels good.

My goal for this next week is to write down everything I eat; that habit really keeps me accountable and mindful of my choices.

What’s your goal for this week?