UGH

I can't believe I haven't posted in over a month. This has NOT been a good month as far as sticking to my weight loss/get healthy/get in shape plan has gone. I've gained back all that I lost with Weight Watchers and am now trying really really hard to get back on the wagon. I left WW, then signed back up after a couple weeks when I realized that I couldn't do this without WW. My boyfriend and I have a trip coming up in August to Turks and Caicos, an island south of the Bahamas. I want to be in a teeny bikini and I want to wear cute sun dresses feeling good about how I look! I have started keeping a pen-and-paper journal that I write in throughout the day to keep track of what I eat and how I am feeling. I also write little reminders to myself, like "Don't eat in the car on the way home!" It is my first official day of trying this and so far it has been working! Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Last Night

OK...so I went to the Mexican restaurant as planned. I didn't eat a SINGLE chip before my meal came out. My boyfriend and I shared our usual chimichanga meal (which was delicious, by the way!). I had plenty of points left for the day to enjoy the chimichanga and more, so I DID end up having come chips to scoop up my refried beans. I left feeling stuffed, but only half as stuffed as I usually feel when I leave that place. I didn't order any margaritas...I did have a little bit of my boyfriend's beer, but not enough to hurt my points. I used some of my weekly WW points, but I still have a bunch left and I only need them Fri-Sat-Sun (I never need them on Sat or Sun, so I should be good!). I did the Wii Fit before dinner so I got my exercise in. All in all, I think yesterday was a success for my first time @ a Mexican restaurant since I've been on WW. :)

I tried a new recipe from Hungry-Girl.com for a vegetable stew (I'm Catholic and I needed some meat-free food since it's Friday). I made it in the crock-pot overnight and packed some for my lunch today...it smells DELICIOUS! I can't wait to try it! The good news is it's only 1 WW point for 1 cup of it--meaning I'll have PLENTY of leftover points for beer tonight. :)

Blah

I'm afraid I don't have anything fabulous to report today...I skipped my workout because I feel yucky (physically), the weather was depressing, and I was simply EXHAUSTED from not sleeping much last night. Not an excuse, but I needed a break. I did ok with my WW points today...I used a few of my weekly allowance points, but I have so many left and half the week is over already so I'm not going to let myself feel guilty about it!

I'm putting this in writing so I can do my best to stick to it: 

Tomorrow night I have plans to go out with family & friends to a Mexican restaurant...I often leave feeling miserable physically AND emotionally--I'm so stuffed my belly aches and I feel so guilty for jumping off the WW bandwagon.  SO, my plan of attack is this:

~NO chips & dip

~NO margaritas!

These two things are often the downfall for me when it comes to sticking to my plan @ Mexican joints. I could typically take down an entire basket of those free chips by myself with an order of the queso dip...but not tomorrow!!! I'm going to be good!

Something I'd like to try with the chimichanga dinner my boyfriend and I always order (and share!) is dipping it in the salsa they give instead of sour cream and guacamole. I am not prohibiting myself from those (I don't eat much of them anyway), but I want to see if I use the salsa instead if I'll even miss the SC & guac. Maybe I'll like the salsa better!

We'll see how it goes...wish me luck!

Feeling Good

Yesterday evening was a very happy one for me--my boyfriend (who strongly dislikes exercising) asked me if I wanted to go to the park to go for a walk/jog. It makes it so much more fun to exercise if he is with me. We push each other to go a little bit farther, a little bit faster. We talk about the techniques that work for us when we run as far as breathing and motivating ourselves. The park where we went is actually really neat--there is a marked path, and there is also an old track from a nearby school. We walk the path to the track, jog a lap around the track, then get back on the path. It is nice to catch our breath from the jog and hold hands while we are strengthening our relationship and our muscles simultaneously. :)

I am really proud of myself for how well I followed Weight Watchers yesterday. I respectfully declined when I was offered a graham cracker at the end of the night because I had already reached my point limit for the day. I am back on track with tracking what I eat, and it feels good!!!

The next thing I would like to introduce into my "living healthy" regimen is doing some Wii Fit exercise in the morning before I go to work. It's something I can do in my small apartment, I don't have to sweat if I don't want to, it may jump-start my metabolism for the day, and most of all it may help wake me up! I set my alarm this morning for it--just 15 minutes earlier than normal--and snoozed until 10 minutes after my old alarm. I am SO not a morning person...I love to sleep all I can. I make excuses for myself, too--I was feeling a tad stiff and super tired this morning, and I chalk it up to the fact that I went jogging yesterday. I know I won't have time to go to the gym tonight, so now I'm kicking myself for not doing something this morning. I am going to try to sqeeze in some Fit time after class before dinner...I hope I can make myself do it after a long day of work and school!

My goals for this week:
~Stick to Weight Watchers points every day!
~Exercise at least 3 times (really really exercise at the gym, not just on the Wii Fit)
~Wake up and do the Wii Fit before work at least ONCE this week
~Jog 10 min. on the treadmill at 5.5 mph without stopping
~Do something fun--just for me!

My First Day

This is my first posting on a blog--ever. I've been on Weight Watchers officially since January 5, 2009. I started at 135 pounds--a perfectly healthy weight for a 5'5" 24 year-old. However, I would be much happier about ten pounds lighter and a lot toner. I've lost a few pounds--the lightest I've been is just under 130. My problem is that once I see that I'm losing weight, I tend to "excuse" myself from sticking to my plan--whether it is just one night, or a weekend, or a week altogether (which I am just coming off of now)--it totally blows my plan. I read blogs and articles about losing weight and keeping it off, but I feel so entitled to eat a sandwich when I've been living off of rabbit food for 5 days.

Since I've started Weight Watchers, I have been exercising more regularly. I find that the treadmill has actually become one of my best friends when it used to be my worst enemy. I like the treadmill better than the elliptical because I've read that since the elliptical is such a new piece of equipment, scientists haven't been able to monitor calorie burning on it as they have with the treadmill. I like to see my progress, so I stick to the treadmill. If I spend an hour on the treadmill at a moderate pace, I earn 3 activity points!

One of the biggest nuissances I have come across while doing Weight Watchers occurs when I am eating around people who are heavier than I am. As I portion out my food and they ask why, I say "I am watching my points." The conversation about Weight Watchers inevitably comes up and I am constantly met with comments like, "Why is the skinny girl always on a diet?" Well you know what? If I weren't on a diet ALL THE TIME, I wouldn't be so "skinny". I choose to watch what I eat and live a healthy style because I WANT TO. I am very proud of being able to be in control of how I look and how I feel. I am not trying to force my lifestyle on anyone, and I don't think I need to be criticized for wanting to take care of myself.