The Losing It winner is not JUST a chick!

Congratulations to ALL the ladies who participated in Losing It. I loved reading about your weight loss journeys and was truly inspired and motivated by so many of you - some who lost lots of weight and some who didn't but persevered anyway.

The winner of our prize is Dedra at Just a Chick - but let me tell you, she is FAR from JUST anything! I met Dedra at Blissdom this year and loved her. She is sweet and funny, and through this challenge, I have been completely blown away by the changes she's made and how she's made them.

Way to go, Dedra! (E-mail me your address, so we can get you your prize!)

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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 – Week 7

The last two weeks I’ve missed my weigh-in at Weight Watchers, thanks to my trip to Nashville and a daycare Easter egg hunt. And I realized yesterday that, because of that, I have no idea what kind of progress – if any – I’ve made. I have no idea if what I’m doing is good, bad or somewhere in between.

See, that’s the thing about a regular weigh-in. It tells me how I’m doing – if what I’m doing is enough or if I need to do more. Without that check, I have no idea if I’m losing weight or getting healthier – or not.

I am a Weight Watchers flunky. I’ve joined – and quit without reaching goal – at least half a dozen times. [That’s just a nice way to say SIX or MORE times!] But the ONE time I DID lose weight? It was thanks to Weight Watchers . . . and an awesome meetings leader and supportive co-workers.

A picture of me after losing 25 lbs, thanks to Weight Watchers, five years ago.
I found my collarbones again - and a clown, apparently.

For me, Weight Watchers is a program – and lifestyle – that works. As we say at my company, “If you work the program, the program works for you.” And as cheesy as that sounds (and believe you me, I know it does), it’s true.

Weight Watchers encourages eating what they call Core Foods – lean meats, plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole wheat grains and low-fat or fat-free dairy. It also suggests healthy behaviors like regular exercise and drinking plenty of water. [There are more, but I can’t remember them. I said I was a flunky!]

And then there are the points, of course. As the list-maker you know I am, I kind of love that. Less in reality of everyday reporting and counting than in theory, of course. But still, it’s good to keep track of what I’m eating. Really, it’s the only thing that works for me.

Oh, wait, I said it was the weighing in. Or is it the tracking points? Or is it the regular meetings with inspirational and understanding leaders? Or the fact that they let me rejoin time and time again, never judging, never questioning? Really, I could go on and on. But what I’m trying to tell you is this: Weight Watchers works for me.

[Even better than ranting about the similarities of my life with Kirstie Alley’s, believe it or not.]

Those of you participating in the Losing It Challenge have been sharing all about your weight loss challenges and struggles and successes and wins. I, on the other hand, have mostly told you about how I drink a lot of water and have an inability to lose weight. So I thought I’d focus on something a little more positive this week!

And, oh yeah, I’m going to weigh in later today, too.

If you need more info about Losing It, read this post. And link up your posts. And comment with something fun! (No giveaway today, but remember, you have until tonight to enter the other three giveaways.)



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Look Who's Talking - about not losing weight.

I feel like I’m the Kirstie Alley of blogging.

No, I don’t mean that I’m starring in movies where babies talk and it’s somehow cute not creepy (at least in the first one). I mean that I keep saying – loudly and in public – that I’m going to lose weight, only to, well, not lose weight.

From the grand goals and empty promises to the ridiculing myself (For instance, “Am I a good cook? Uh, yeah, obviously. I’m a great cook!” That may or may not have been heard on The Marriage Ref. Probably not. Because of course I wouldn’t watch that kind of dreck on TV. Nope.), I’m following Kirstie’s path.

[Please note that I refrained from saying that I’m following Kirstie’s alley. Because I could have. But I didn’t.]

I don’t mean the path that took her from one of the longest-running and most-loved TV shows to blockbuster (I think, but I’m not looking it up) movies to outlandish reality shows.

Nope. Just the one where I think admitting my weight issues will make me face them and deal with them, only to flop on my face.

*sigh*

I know. You don’t need to tell me to be nice to myself, to give myself a break, to cut myself some slack, not to be so hard on myself. As you may have guessed, I’ve heard it before. And I know it.

But honestly? Going easy on myself – in this department – is what’s gotten me to this place in the first place. And it’s what has kept me here, too.

I keep wondering – WHAT is going to be the last straw? WHAT will make a difference? Keeping my issues to myself didn’t do it, but neither has confessing them publicly. Beating myself up hasn’t worked, but giving myself a break hasn’t worked, either. So what will?

One time when Smitty and I were in high school, we were walking at the park and passed an older lady. [She was probably my exact age now, that’s just how OLDER she was.] I don’t remember what she was wearing, but whatever her attire was, it showed some unfortunate rolls. And Smitty and I swore to each other that no matter what, we would NEVER have back fat.

Um, yeah.

I also swore I’d never shop at Lane Bryant or wear a size that starts with a 2 or be as big as her (whoever “her” was that day). And yet . . .

I’m not writing all this to get sympathy or pats on the back or anything like that.

(Side note: Annalyn has really gotten into “patting” lately, like patting someone’s arm or asking me to pat her back when I put her to bed. Unfortunately, we’re also dealing with some hitting issues, and I’ve discovered that it can be difficult to draw the line between nice, yet firm, patting and outright hitting. Anyway. Back to my rant.)

Nope, I just wanted to be honest with you all and let you know how I’m feeling. AND to ask those of you who ARE losing weight during our Losing It challenge: What has made the difference to you?

Please don’t tell me, “You just have to be ready. You’ll do it when you’re ready.” Because a) That is not encouraging. (Hello? Ready! I’m ready now!) and b) I truly want to know what’s made the difference in your lives.

And as for the next week of Losing It, I’m going to try and implement some of the goals I made last week: eating more fruits and vegetables, drinking even more water, and getting my exercise ball out of the garage and into the house!

P.S. This morning's Losing It post is the one where you can link up and I remind you of the rules.

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Losing It - including my sanity!

 {How cute is this card? Thank you, Jessie!}

Update: After reading your posts, I have come up with four new goals. First, I'm bringing my exercise ball back into the house and will use it this week. Second, I will work hard to avoid emotional eating (this is huge for me). Third, I will aim for a gallon of water a day. And fourth, um, shoot. I don't remember.

So - if I commented on your blog about a goal, would you remind me? Thanks. You guys are great. And, yeah, next week I'll take notes as I read your (obvioiusly) inspiring posts!!

Guys, I have a confession: I have no idea what week we are in. Can someone tell me? Please?

You may not know this about me, but sometimes I'm just not good with the numbers. Or I've lost more sanity than pounds. I don't know.

I'm not weighing in today, but not because I'm afraid of the scale (for once!). More about what I am doing today later. What I can tell you now is that I've written down all my food and counted my points this week. That might seem like a small thing, but it's HUGE for me.

The trick will be keeping it up this weekend, because it's going to be a hectic one.

How do you stay on track when you get busy?

Wonder what I'm talking about here? Each week for the next few 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.

I can't wait to read about how your week has gone! (Although, I'll warn you: I will have to wait. Because of the previously mentioned hectic weekend. You know.)



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Beauty and Losing It – Week 4

This was me in 1990. Since then I’ve lost those hideous glasses, straightened and whitened my teeth (good heavens, how could a 5th grader have such horrible yellow teeth?), gained a few million pounds and gotten a somewhat better haircut.

Oh yeah, and my mom finally allowed me to wear makeup. (And shave my legs, but let’s be honest: I’m not nearly as excited about that as I was back then.)

But in my heart? I’m still that ugly duckling . . . and I’ll never be a swan.

I know, I know. That’s a ridiculous thought. Not because I’m some supermodel, though my mom insists on calling me Beautiful Baby Girl and my husband is smart enough to say I’m pretty.

No, it’s ridiculous because I Was Created In God’s Image. And we’re all beautiful, each and every one of us. I know. I KNOW.

But do I really believe that?

Well, no. Not really. I mean, I believe it about you. Sure. But me? No. I’m a nearsighted, yellow-toothed chubby dork. No matter what I see in the mirror, a small part of me still feels like that 11-year-old girl.

I’m not asking for sympathy or fishing for compliments. SERIOUSLY. I’m just admitting to one more bit of my CRAZY. My friend Sarah has had guest posters talk about beauty all week and asked us to do the same.

So there you have it. My kind of late night, definitely stream of consciousness thoughts on beauty – or lack of.

Now don’t go planning an intervention for me. I’m not dwelling on this craziness, I promise. But it’s there. Do you have a definition of beauty – or lack of – in a dark corner of your heart?

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On a related note, I guess it’s time to talk Losing It 10, huh?

This week I went walking one night with my friend Brittany (and Annalyn who was so excited to see her friend “Bernie” and actually cooperated when I put her in her stroller). And I’m drinking lots of water. (Yes, I will mention that every week. Sometimes it’s all I’ve got, okay?!) And even though I have not written down all my food and points, I have figured the points on most my food. So there’s that.

I am committing to writing down everything I eat this next week. I did it the first two weeks and lost weight. It’s really the only way I can keep myself on track.

How did you do this last week? And what’s your goal for next week?

Each week for the next 7 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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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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Who wants a worm, anyway?

 

Image by chefranden

I’m trying to become an early bird.

A few weeks ago, I decided that I really need to start getting up earlier. Of course, I make this decision about once a month, so it isn’t quite a dramatic statement as it seems.

But this time I actually prayed about it. I asked God to help me get up earlier. And you know what happened the next morning? A certain two-year-old woke up a good 40 minutes earlier than normal!

And she’s been doing that for the past several days, waking up and hollering, “Get me out, Mommy!” until I pull myself out of bed and join the land of the living.

Now that Annalyn’s going to daycare, we’re going to have to make this a regular thing, this getting up before the last minute, this rising before the sun, this not hitting snooze half a dozen times.

It’ll be good for me. Right? Staying up late and sleeping in is overrated, right? (Not that 7 a.m. is sleeping in. Because it’s not.)

Yes, I think I’m convinced. Getting up early will be good. As a matter of fact, I thought of 10 benefits of getting up early, and I’m linking up to OhAmanda’s Top Ten Tuesday (which is hosted at Mandi’s It’s Come 2 This today).

1. I can finally, once and for all, for real this time read my Bible every morning.
2. I could change a load of laundry. And maybe, after a bunch of early mornings in a row, my hamper might be empty for at least 10 minutes.
3. I can empty the dishwasher before breakfast. So I can actually sit down with Annalyn at dinnertime.
4. If I get up before the sun, it’s possible I might actually snap a picture of it coming up. (I said it’s possible, not probable. Quit laughing.)
5. Once I get tired of oatmeal (my Weight Watchers breakfast strategy), I’ll have time to scrambled an egg and nuke some turkey sausage.
6. If I’m really feeling good (and Annalyn’s not awake and wanting to play blocks, watch a movie or play with her clubhouse), I could work out. Water aerobics class is over for now, but that doesn’t mean I can’t pop in a Walk Away the Pounds, Shred or even Tae-Bo video.
7. I can wear my needs-to-be-ironed shirts. The ones that have been crammed in the back of my closet for months because I never have time to iron.
8. I can make coffee for Mark and wake him up nicely – as in, without shouting, “Come on! You’ve got to get up now! I’m going to be late!”
9. I can actually dry my hair and go to work looking like a grown-up.
10. I can breathe. Instead of spending the first hour of my day in a panic, I can spend that time with purpose.

Are you an early bird? If not, what could you accomplish if you got up a few minutes early?

Also, for inspiration to wake up earlier, you should check out Kat’s new blog, Inspired to Action.

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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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Better than carrot sticks

Photo by nanaow2006

I have this aversion to plain, raw carrots. I chew and chew, but they never go away. Hey, you don't have to tell me that's gross. I live it. That's how much I dislike carrots.

Add a little dip (and calories) or cook them with a roast (again with the calories), and they're fine. But raw? And plain? No thanks.

Thankfully, our society is so overweight and diet-obsessed that I have lots of healthy eating options. And we talked about our favorite "diet" foods at my Weight Watchers meeting last week. It made me want to go shopping right away!

The meeting also reminded me of some of the tricks I'd forgotten to losing weight. Here are a few of the foods I rely on when I'm on program, as they call it at WW:

• Apple and cinnamon instant oatmeal
• Sugar-free hot chocolate
• Fiber One (or Great Value) granola bars
• Oroweat sandwich thins (These are new, and I highly recommend them!)
• 98% fat-free Mission tortillas
• 98% fat-free popcorn (I like kettle corn the best.)
• Light or lowfat cheese or other milk products. (I do not do fat-free milk products. Ick.)
• Reduced fat peanut butter
• Apples, bananas, strawberries and grapes
• Lots and lots of green beans

Edited to add: How could I have forgotten Laughing Cow cheese?! I love that stuff, especially with reduced fat Wheat Thins! Yum! Also, have you all discovered Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta yet? It comes in spaghetti, macaroni, penne and probably several other shapes, and looks, tastes and feels just like white pasta (because you will never convince me that the wheat stuff is good) - but it has extra fiber and other vitamins/minerals/good stuff. Check out Jill's post and this funny video about it!

What healthy (or healthier) foods do you rely on to maintain a healthy diet?

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I do not heart HTML.

I have just spent the last 47 hours fixing the text on this blog. It involved spacing and fonts and HTML and I don’t even know what has happened.

Or, as Annalyn likes to say, “Hap. In?”

I had my first Weight Watchers weigh-in last Friday, and I was down 1.6 lbs. That’s not much, but it’s definitely a start.

And, umm, probably more than I’ve lost this last week. This week has not gone so well. I didn’t eat brownies at the family barbecue. And I had every intention of walking. And I used low-fat sour cream and mayo when I made up six dips for my party on Tuesday.

But this week may also have included pizza. And chips with that dip. And beer bread (oh, my goodness, the beer bread was sooo good!). And no walking, due to rain and crazy schedules. And did I mention the chips?

So. My second weigh-in may not be so hot. I know that. But I’m still looking forward and making goals and not quitting. My goal for next week is to write down everything I eat.

All of it.

Do you have a goal for next week?

I have a big weekend coming up. Tonight is Light the Night (and there’s still time to donate if you’d like to join my team in fighting cancer!). On Saturday, Chelleybutton is coming down for a visit. And on Sunday, we have nursery duty (yay.) and small group (yay!).

What are your weekend plans?

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?

But I'm on my feet four hours a day, three days a week!

What's that? You thought that because I watched the GLEE premiere the first time around that I wouldn't watch it again last night?

Wrong!

I couldn't do much more than that. After all, I did walk an entire mile last night. Oh, I didn't tell you? That's right - I've started exercising. Again.

And next week, I'll be joining Weight Watchers. Again.

I'd love nothing more than to never say those words again. So I'm thinking about starting some sort of weekly fitness / weight loss / dieting / accountability THING on this blog.

What do you all think? Would you be interested in something like that? Would you be bored by that? Annoyed? Excited? Love it so much you want to marry it?

Let me know.

Until then, I'll be stretching my legs. When you're used to an exercise routine that consists only of lifting a gallon of milk out of the fridge and shuffling down the hall behind a slowly walking baby girl, a short mile feels like a 5K.

That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run.

I’ve been thinking lately that I should do an update on my 2009 goals. So here are the short answers:

• Quiet time – not so daily, but I’m still working on it.
• Finances – have paid off some debt and have saved some, too. We’re going to be sidetracked for the next year, thanks to Uncle Sam. But I’m still working toward sticking to our budget and moving forward (instead of backwards!!).
• Quality time with the kiddo – yep. She doesn’t always want to read before bed, but we’re getting in time doing something fun each day.
• Recycling – our trash service doesn’t offer recycling in our neighborhood. I have bought bins and identified nearby drop-off locations. But . . . I have to admit that the bins haven’t been put to use yet.

The long answer, of course, is about my never-ending quest to lose weight. Let’s see . . . where to start?

First, I quit Weight Watchers, because I wasn’t going to meetings and it was really a waste of money. (However, let me state here that the problem was me, not the program! The program definitely works when you follow it!)

Second, I’ve considered various options for exercise, from jazzercise to Curves to water aerobics at my local gym.

I haven’t started any of them.

And then there’s the latest craze being talked about like, well, crazy on the internets: Shred. For about four seconds, I considered trying it out.

Until I remembered the stack of workout tapes and DVDs that already live in my house.

Have I mentioned that we’re now just eight weeks away from a trip to Florida? Where I will, presumably, be forced to don a swimsuit?!

So last night, I set the alarm to get up early. To use one of those workout videos. Which I would have done, had I not hit snooze about six times. Luckily, the day didn’t end there.

After work, Annalyn and I headed to the park for a walk. The weather today was beautiful – about 70 degrees, and no rain. Sure, we’d all like a nice sunny day. But when it’s rained almost every day lately, I take what I can get.

Anyway, I plopped her in the stroller – the regular kind from Walmart, not a fancy jogging stroller, mind you – and headed out. My original plan was to take the trail twice, for a total of one miles.

But something happened on that trail. And it sounded like this, “Do you want Mommy to go fast?”

Yeah. I decided to try running. I’ll tell you some other time about my previous relationship with running. But suffice it to say it’s not been a good one. And it’s been quite a while since we even met, running and me.

I don’t know what came over me. But as Annalyn and I made our way around the slightly hilly half-mile trail, I decided to try running a few yards at a time. Turns out it wasn’t as hard as I would have assumed. Then again, that could be due to the fact that I ran for, literally, a few yards at a time. Three times.

We spent the rest of the time huffing and puffing and wondering why I left my inhaler in the car. Or . . . maybe that was just me.

Annalyn spent the rest of the time playing with her phone and greeting the other walkers and one tiny dog.

See? We do fun stuff together!

** Extra credit to anyone who can name the movie I got the title quote from! **

What's the point of Lent, anyway?

I don't mean to be sacrilegious or even disrespectful. The days leading up to Easter absolutely should be filled with reverence and worship. After all, we spend an entire month (and so much more if you work in retail) preparing for Christmas. Why not put the same effort and commitment into celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus?

But what I've never been sure about, never fully understood is the practice of fasting during Lent.

To give you some background, I am a Protestant mutt. I grew up in a Presbyterian and Disciples of Christ church. I was briefly a member of a Methodist church, but have belonged to Baptist churches since college. So the bulk of my upbringin' and churchin' has not focused on giving anything up for the 40 days preceding Easter.

But I've always been drawn to this mysterious discipline. Once in college, I decided to give up pop (or soda to those of you not from here) for Lent. I've never been a big pop drinker, so it wasn't actually difficult (or much of a sacrifice).

Until the night I was visiting my parents and we had burritos for dinner. As I threw back the last of my rootbeer, I realized what I'd done. I drank pop! Drinking rootbeer with burritos was so ingrained in me that I didn't even realize it until it was too late.

Then a couple years ago, I decided to give it another try and gave up chocolate. To be honest, my intentions weren't so honorable or God-focused. I thought restricting my candy intake would jumpstart the weight loss I'm always reaching for. That's why I did it.

But it turned out that every time I wanted chocolate and couldn't have it (something that happened several times a day), I thought about why. Which made me think about the sacrifice Jesus made for me. And so, giving up chocolate that year really did draw me closer to God.

This year, though...this year, I also decided to give up chocolate. And again, I have to confess that my intentions were more about weight loss than spiritual discipline. But this year, I recognized what I was doing and decided not to do it after all.

Just to be clear, the timeline looks like this:

• The few days before Ash Wednesday, it occurred to me that hey, maybe I should give something up this year.
• The day before (this would be Fat Tuesday, for those of you keeping track), I settled on chocolate. I mean, it worked before, right?
• So on Ash Wednesday, I didn't eat chocolate. Same for Thursday and Friday. And Saturday, too.
• Then, on Sunday, I made brownies for our Bible study group.
• And I decided that giving up chocolate wasn't the best way to grow closer to God.

I discussed it with Mark. Was I just giving up because I wanted a brownie? Or was I really making a better decision for my spiritual walk? My loving husband said it was probably a little bit of both.

And he was probably right.

But more importantly, I am committing to reading through the book of Exodus over the next few weeks. I looked through my Bible to see if any of the books had exactly 40 chapters, and Exodus was the only one that met that criteria.

Or is it criterion? I'm not sure on that...

Anyway. Here's the cool part: for the past week, I have been excited to read my Bible each day. To be reminded of what God did for Moses and the Israelites. To notice details and messages I hadn't seen before. To learn what these stories from so long ago have to teach me in 2009.

And I haven't felt that way in a long time. Maybe there's something to this Lent thing after all.

What do you think about Lent? Do you give up something? Add something to your daily life for 40 days? How do you decide what to do or not to do?

Photo by happy homebaker


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Why do I wait? Or do I mean "weight"?

Last week, for about half a day, I thought I might be pregnant. (I’m not.) As my goal for losing weight this year is just as much about being healthy and prepared for another possible pregnancy (in the future, people, so don’t get any crazy ideas) as it is about lookin’ good, well, this possibility kind of freaked me out.

I know that the complications during my last pregnancy weren’t my fault and might have happened even if I’d been the picture of good health. But I also know my chances of a repeat performance are higher if I don’t lose weight.

So when I had this little episode last week, one of my first thoughts was, “Oh no! Now I won’t be able to lose weight!”

And then I thought, “Well, that’s okay. I’ll just start immediately walking every day and eating lots of fruits and vegetables. And I’ll be so healthy! Yay! I can do this! I will do this!”

And then…then, I thought, “Hunh. Wonder why I couldn’t be this motivated before? Back when it wasn’t too late?”

I mean, really. Why is it that when the time is perfect for doing the right thing, I don’t do it. It’s only when I’m face to face with the consequences of my laziness, my lack of motivation, my sin – it’s then that I’m finally able to find within me the commitment to doing that right thing.

But sometimes it’s too late. Why don’t I act before it’s too late?

Does anyone else have this problem?

I know for me it doesn’t just apply to healthy eating and exercise. This happens with finances and how I talk to my husband and spending enough time with my family and finishing work projects and sharing my faith with a friend and, well, the list is quite long, now that I think about it.

What about you? What do you find yourself waiting – possibly too long – to do? And if you have mastered this habit, how do you motivate yourself before it’s too late?

Who Needs Zero Point Soup, anyway?

As you all know, I’ve been going to Weight Watchers. For the fifth time. For about three months. I won’t make you ask – I’ve lost 5.6 pounds. Please, let’s not do the math. I don’t want to know what that makes for a weekly average.

Anyway, during one of my rare and short-lived spurts of commitment to this weight loss thing, I looked up the infamous Zero Point Soup. If you’ve ever done WW, you know what I’m talking about. But for those of you blessed with skinny genes or willpower, let me fill you in.

Zero Point Soup is, depending on who you ask, anything from a tasty snack to the secret ingredient to losing your love handles. Because it’s made only from veggies, it has no points. And lots of fiber and water. Therefore, it fills you up (making you less likely to eat, you know, muffins and pizza and such).

But when I found the recipe (and there are dozens, possibly hundreds, of versions to be found), I realized it includes a large amount of cabbage. And while I don’t have anything against cabbage, the soup just didn’t sound good to me anymore.

So I decided to make do with chili (and the occasional can of Healthy Choice or Progresso). Here’s how I make it, as part of this blog carnival from BooMama.

Photo’s Phenomenal Chili
(Not really – I just liked the alliteration.)

1 ½ lbs. ground beef (browned, drained and rinsed)
½ packet hot chili seasoning
½ packet mild chili seasoning
1 can Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chilies)
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can chili beans
1 can diced or crushed tomatoes
1 can (medium or large) tomato sauce
1 can (small) tomato paste

Dump it all into the Crockpot. Cook on low for 4 hours. Eat a big bowl. Sigh in contentment. (You can garnish with shredded cheese, sour cream or crackers. But that adds points, you know. Without all that, a bowl of this stuff is about 3-4 points. And way better than cabbage soup!)

Your turn: Do you like soup? Do you use the Crockpot to cook?

I blame it on the M&Ms.

My weight-loss success was short-lived. I had a gain this week, and it's no mystery why. I ate an enormous amount of M&Ms (bought for Photobaby's upcoming birthday party). And, okay, I ate two delicious cake donuts for breakfast on Friday. But mainly, it was the M&Ms. Evil candy-coated pieces of chocolate, they are.

[Turns out, I’m not the only one to believe M&Ms are evil. Check this out. Or this one. Or this one here.]

All joking aside, I really am down about this. I have been trying to lose weight for longer than I haven’t. I can remember trying to diet and exercise when I was 14! Yet, I’ve never really gained control over this struggle. Sure, I was thinner back then, but I wasn’t healthy. And now, I’m neither thin nor healthy!

You’d think I would be motivated. First of all, my health was seriously endangered last year at the end of my pregnancy. And even though the doctor said it wasn’t my fault, she also said being at a healthy weight and eating right could possibly prevent it from happening again, should we have another baby in the future. This should be big motivation, right?

Plus, I’ve passed every limit I set on myself, from “I’ll never have back fat” to “I’ll never shop at Lane Bryant” to “I’ll never weigh more than 200 lbs. again!” Each time, I prove myself wrong. I prove that no, I can’t do this. I can’t make the right choice, do the right thing, be a better person.

And how can I expect to conquer this problem? I mean, even Paul said, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” And if Paul had trouble, well, this mere mortal is doomed. Doomed!

Then again, maybe it’s not futile. (And perhaps I get a bit emotional and dramatic about this topic.) After all, Paul also said, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” And not to mention this: “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

So if Paul didn’t give up, I guess I shouldn’t either. Even if I gained half a pound. It’s a new week, and I’m back on the point-counting wagon. I know Weight Watchers is a good program that works. And I remember that I am capable of following the program and losing weight. And I’m praying that this week is the one where I start moving forward. Pressing on toward the goal. Again.