Eighth Weigh-in

Whoohoo! I'm down 1.2 lbs this week for a total of 10.6 lbs lost. I'm now over the half-way mark to my 10% goal! I received another 5lbs sticker and immediately stuck it to my bookmark.

Note for next week: sit on the right side of the meeting. That's where I usually sit but today I had to bail early.

The left side lacks some serious enthusiasm. Where the right side folks were giving serious kudos and claps during all the sticker handouts, the left side was barely moving. Most didn't clap and the few that did, looked like they were dabbing hand lotion on or something.

So, I took up the cause and clapped as loud and as enthusiastically as I could. I swear, some folks on the left side mentally nudged their chairs away from me. Ha! Well, next time I'll go back to sitting on the right side. We know how to party on the right side!

PS
I've already planned my 10lb reward. I can't say what it is only that I've decided to treat my ninja husband at the same time. He knows we have a date next week, he just doesn't know what for!

I ♥ Becel Spray

My new favourite food find is Becel Topping & Cooking Spray. I was a little leary about it but plenty of the gals over at the WeightWatchers.ca forums seem to love it. So, I bought some about a week ago.

I've only used it on toast so far and have to say: this stuff is fabu. I usually eat my toast dry; I got tired of measuring out margarine and spending five minutes trying to make what little I had cover the entire face of the bread. With a few spritzes of this Becel Spray, woot! Good coverage and instant flavour without the fuss and without measuring.

I've heard it's also good on popcorn and vegetables. I'll have to do some more experimenting. For now, I'm just tickled pink that I won't have to eat dry toast anymore if I don't want to.

PS
Did I mention? As near as I can figure, it has no points. Whoo!

Beware of blog-reading ninja husbands

In his spare time, my husband is a ninja. I was beginning to think that he had stopped reading my blog because I had heard nothing from him with regards to my Danish exploits. However, knowing that he is a ninja – even a part-time ninja – I should've suspected something.

This morning, my scale is gone again.

I asked him about it to which he replied "What scale?" Sometimes I think I should've had full-disclosure before I married him. I.e., "I'm a ninja and I'll be able to get away with lots of things because I'm sneaky and can hide in empty rooms."

I bet my scale really is in Denmark this time.

Exercise in the mornings will not kill you but the cat might

Yesterday I took on a challenge posed by one of the WeightWatchers.ca forum members: get up early and exercise. If you knew me, you'd know that's a tall order. Get up early??? At the best of times, I'll schlup my way out of bed at about 7:20 a.m. despite having to leave the house at 7:30 for work. Alarms and hungry Siamese cats do nothing to hasten the process.

But, I did it. Got my tush out of bed at the ungodly hour of 6:34 a.m. and did my 30 minute WATP DVD. And you know what? I learned a few things.

1. Exercising early in the morning really does lead to increased energy throughout the day; and
2. If you don't feed the cats before exercising, they tend to get involved in whatever workout routine you're doing regardless of whether or not it helps or is, by any stretch of the imagination, safe for you or them.
   

Because I feel so good now, I took on the challenge again for tomorrow morning. Maybe one of these days I'll turn into a morning person?

Greetings from Denmark

While I'd like to pretend that my missing scale is living it up in Copenhagen, I must confess to a secret. I know where my scale is. To my husband who will undoubtedly tickle me to within an inch of my life, please be merciful. In fact, if you check now, the scale is not where you left it.

However! In my defence, I've been very good about it. I snuck a peek one day mid-week. Mentally berated myeslf and then put it back, vowing to only weigh once a week on official weigh-in day. Since then, I've been a peach. Except...I kinda forgot to put it back last Saturday.

Please don't tickle me.

Oh, and you'll be glad to know that I've convinced myself out of buying a new scale that tracks decimal figures, body fat and so on. I figgered it was no good for me to keep focusing on the scale when I can spend the exact same amount of money and get a nice workout top that I've been eyeballing. I think I'll order it after my 12th workout at Curves as a mini-reward.

Oh, and did I mention? Please don't tickle me.

Here's to the sweaters

I'm a sweater. No, not the fuzzy pink, periwinkle and brown sweater that your grandmother knits you in a misguided attempt at fashion. Rather, the kind of sweater that perspires going up stairs.

I've learned to suck it up, especially at Curves. Four machines in, and I can feel the sweat start to dribble. What makes it worse is I seem to be the only sweater there.

Well tonight I found out I was not alone. There was another sweater on the circuit. She was working the machines as hard as I was. But most importantly, she was sweating. I wanted to give her a hug. Here was a lovely young lady working out and sweating just as much as me, the overweight 32-year old.

I kept stealing looks at her. Not in a "hahahaha, you sweat just as much as I do" sort of way. But rather in a "wow, there's someone just like me!" sort of way. It was inspiring and I worked harder (and sweated harder) because of it.

So here's to you, my fellow sweater. May our grandmothers creations always be wearable in public.

Two months is a long time

I've been thinking about the last two months and how the time has flown and yet crawled at the same time. Along with that line of thought, I've been reflecting on my weight loss so far.

I won't pretend that losing slowly is an awesome fun-time feeling. It's disheartening. My mind casts ahead, doing mental calculations, and arrives at a date in the far far future when all the weight will be gone. "It'll take more than a year," that calculating mind of mine says. It's like I'm five years old again and a year was an unendurable eternity.

My logical mind can accept that it's going to take what it's going to take. It's my five year old self that I need to convince and to some degree, agree with.

In my almost two months on the plan, I've worked hard. It wasn't just following the plan or exercising more. There was more to it than that. Fighting emotions, cravings, being committed when everything else just wanted to let go. It was harder than I give myself credit for. And it's going to be just as hard in the months and yes, in the year, ahead.

So to my five-year old self, why yes, two months is a long time. What say we do something extra special when those two months are up?

Seventh Weigh-in

Whoo! I lost 1 lb this week. I'm almost halfway to my 10% goal. It could be my imagination, but my pants seem to be fitting looser than normal :)

Review: Walk Away the Pounds 30 Minute Walk

I finally had a chance to try out my new Walk Away the Pounds 30 Minute Walk DVD earlier this week. Although it was not exactly what I expected, I did enjoy it.

The WATP series by Leslie Sansone is all about in-home walking. Basically, walking in place combined with knee lifts, side steps and arm movements. The video itself looks very dated. The set looks straight out of the 80s and Leslie's backup walkers looked very 90s. The mic quality on Leslie herself was also lacking. If the 2001 copyright date that came up during the credits is anything to go by, this video hasn't aged very well.

Regardless, I dove...or rather walked....right in. The movements started out slow, timed to some forgettable music. I'm thinking, "This'll be easy!" And then Leslie started adding in more moves and the pace kept increasing along with the music. Before long, I was sweating just as much as if I had been doing Turbo Jam. However, I wasn't frustrated at all because the moves came very easy to me and I found I could focus on the intensity rather than worrying about which body part goes where.

Leslie is very happy and enthusiastic. Some of her laughs made me cringe because they were loud and cackling but it's nothing a turn down of the volume couldn't fix. The backup walkers are a little forgettable and they seemed to get confused sometimes with Leslie's directions. It's not a polished workout per se, but I didn't mind.

The video is equivalent to one of her 2-mile walks and let me tell you, it's a long 2 miles! It was a lot harder than I thought but it was just as satisfying and fun as I hoped. I can hardly wait for the DVD set to arrive from Amazon!

Swiiiinging a chain, swinging a chain...

Just a general update. It's been super busy for me these past few days but I'm still on track with eating and exercising.

Thanks to everyone who's been visiting and leaving encouraging comments. I really do appreciate them. It's like a calorie-free cookie every time I get one!

I have been drinking my water and am now making more of an effort to be sure I eat my Activity Points. Last week's AP-festorama certainly taught me that lesson! Thanks for the reminder that I really do have to eat them.

Hopefully soon I'll be able to make a review on my first WATP video and post a picture of the exercise bike I'd like to earn. I'm still trying to think of an appropriate challenge to earn something that big.

Activity Point Update - I did it!

But I think I might've overdid it. Earning 10 points a week for two weeks was pretty easy, but check out my AP chart:



20 points for last week alone! Although that's great, I was feeling excessively hungry and my legs were tired by Friday. Although ramping up is great, I think ramping up so quickly isn't the best thing to do. I'll be sure to be more careful this coming week.

For now, I'm going to enjoy my reward - Leslie Sansone's 30 Minute Walk video. Whoo!

Sixth Weigh-in

If you squint, you just might be able to make out the alligator purse hanging off my hula-girl's arm. She took care of that pesky reptile and even managed to bush-bash her way a bit closer to goal! 1.8 lbs down this week :)

Ab Anti-grav

After a week I've decided it's NOT a fluke. My stomach is holding itself in more. On its ownsome even. Without help.

So this is what it's like to have abs (I use this term lightly of course) that do something more than just chill and hang out.

It's hard to believe that my recent ramping up of exercise has produced somewhat noticeable results. All I was hoping for was to someday not have things jiggling around so much. This is encouraging!

I shall nurture my baby abs along with a Grow-Your-Own-Abs kit of core exercises courtesy of WeightWatchers.ca. I made a spreadsheet last night and all I have to do is get to it.

If I smoked, I'd hand out cigars!

Inexpensive mini-rewards

After the reality of budget set in, I realized I needed to find some ways to reward myself without spending a lot of money. I did some brain-storming and here's what I've come up with:

• Fun socks. I love pretty and patterned socks but never buy them because they're more expensive than plain old socks. But, they're not too expensive for mini-rewards!
• Flowers. A single carnation, rose, or dahlia would be inexpensive and a luxury at the same time. (I never buy flowers either.)
• Lip gloss. Something fun and fruity from the Body Shop or Fruits & Passion.
• A trashy romance. Guilty pleasure yet I don't buy them anymore. A cheesy Harlequin romance and a bubble bath would be right up my alley.
• A pretty (cheap) bracelet. I like browsing in places like Claire's and sifting through the cheap costume jewelery at the Bay. I ought to quit browsing and buy something pretty!

Can you tell yet that I'm pretty frugal when it comes to frivolities? That's the beauty of my list. I can "splurge" on the things my sensible brain won't usually let me buy.

Now all I have to do is earn some of these things. Where's that celery stick?

Something about Salmon

I love salmon. I could eat a whole 40 pounder all by myself if given the chance. Unfortunately, I've been spoiled on really good salmon. I might as well admit it...I'm a Salmon Snob.

Equally unfortunately, I can't cook salmon worth a darn. So, you can imagine how excited I was when I found some good looking frozen and brined salmon fillets at Costco. I was leary, I was untrusting. I was fully prepared to dislike it like many a frozen fillet before. But, I gave it a chance because it had been brined (okay, well injected) with salt and water.

Fast-forward to a few days ago when I had come home feeling all mopey, I decided to cook a few fillets for supper. I sprinkled them with some ClubHouse Italian seasoning and baked until done. I gave both fillets a nice healthy squirt of fresh lemon juice each, slid them on my plate, and tentatively dug in.

Being a Salmon Snob such as myself, I can honestly say that I have a discerning taste for salmon that's nicely done. Flavourful, moist, never over cooked, a good fillet of salmon will melt in your mouth. And melt in my mouth this unassuming Kirkland brand injected salmon did.

I have not had salmon this good in years. Stranger of all...I cooked it. Even stranger and stranger of all, my I-won't-eat-things-with-scales husband, loved it. He ate all of it. Repeat: HE ATE ALL OF IT. Which sucked because I would've definitely taken care of his share. Oh wait...maybe that's a good thing.

It'll be a repeat performance at our place , that's for sure. It is a bit high in points, but oooooh so worth it.

For anyone interested, it's called Kirkland Signature Boneless Skinless Atlantic Salmon (injected with 4% of water and salt solution). Per 196g: Calories: 340, Fat: 20g, Fibre: 0g. You can find it in the frozen section of Costco Canada. YUM.

Tiny Trim: 1, Vegetables: 0

For the first time since starting Weight Watchers, and even probably for the first time in my life, I have somehow managed to eat all five servings of fruit and vegetables before dinner.

What the heck is up with that? I'll tell you what. Boo-yah! Vegies, you're going DOWN. Literally.

To celebrate this momentous occasion, I will not eat my salad tonight. Yep, that's right salad, you can live another day.

Blowout averted

Last night was tough. I had just finished Curves and was feeling a bit down. Maybe it was because there's such a long road ahead, maybe it's because the Country music tape was playing during the workout circuit. Whatever it was, boy was I in need of some comfort food.

It seemed every where I went afterwards the smell of bbq'd or deep fried food was in the air. It was maddening. At the grocery store I almost bought ingredients for my favourite comfort food – chicken wings and shake n' bake. I felt very deprived.

But, I got through it without giving in, with the promise to myself that I would have those chicken wings later in the week as long as I planned for it. I wound up having a very excellent supper anyways, better than I anticipated. But, that's another post ;)

Acitivty Point Breakdown

This is just a little chart I made up in Excel to track where my Activity Points are coming from. Week 6 isn't finished yet but it's well on its way!

Mini-goal Monday

I'm on-track for meeting my mini-goal that I set last Monday – get 10 activity points each week for two weeks. One week down, one more to go!

Despite fighting this cold-like thing for the past few days, I'm not finding it hard. I even made a spreadsheet last night with my point break down to see where my activity was coming from. Interestingly enough I see my points from walking is slacking off. I gotta get on that if I'm to survive the 10k coming up! I'll post the graph later on tonight if I remember.

As for my reward, I'm starting to think I really need to get my WATP fix in or I'll wind up with a library of "as seen on TV" fitness videos by the time my order arrives from Amazon. So, I've decided to get the 30-minute WATP video from Future Shop on Saturday as my reward.

And, because it was a hard-won battle, I'm going to reward those 5lbs lost with some nice hand-lotion from the Body Shop.

Walking dead

They should make the Monday following DST a mandatory holiday. In about a week I'll be singing the praises of more daylight but for now, blurgh.

I was kicking myself yesterday because I just couldn't eat all of my points. After a game effort of snorfing down fruit salad last night, I finally gave up around midnight and went to bed with 1.5 pts unspent.

This morning I realized that I had forgotten to record 2 points for some toast that I had eaten with lunch yesterday. Whew.

I blame DST.

Turbo Trim

I'm still waiting for my WATP DVDs from Amazon and, as a result, I've been finding all sorts of ways to buy fitness things to keep me busy. To the detriment of my character and my wallet, I'm not a good waiter.

My latest purchase is a mini Turbo Jam box set that I found at Costco over the weekend. If there's one set of workout videos that gets as much mention on the forums as WATP, it's Turbo Jam. As soon as I saw it, my inner "as seen on TV" child knew that I had to get it.

This morning I tried the intro video – Learn & Burn. They should really rename it "Learn & Suck." Did I mention that I'm also an uncoordinated creature at heart? Even still, I had a reasonable amount of fun and have NEVER sweated so much in my life. I was so sweaty, my husband asked me if I had done all three workouts!

Fortunately, I'm assured the moves get easier with time. I'm planning on doing Learn & Burn as cardio this week inbetween Curves and training for the 10k. So little time, so many exercise videos!

Fifth Weigh-in

It appears my little hula-girl came across an alligator in the grass and had to take a few steps back. I'm "up" .8 lbs today. I was feeling rather blurgh about it despite all of my wonderful logic as to why it was okay. After my nap, I'm feeling better.

Here's why that alligator shouldn't bother my hula-girl:

• I had a big loss last week. Averaging it out, it means I've lost 2lbs over two weeks. Whoo!
• I started weight-training at Curves
• I've been battling a minor cold
• I've been meeting ALL of the healthy checks consistently this week; yes, even the fruits and veggies
• I'm still on track with my 10 activity points per week
• That pudding is still sitting on my desk at work

Go me. Go hula-girl!

We are not alone

If there's one thing that hanging around at the WeightWatcher's forums has taught me, it's this: we are not alone. There are many people, ladies and gents alike, that are going through the same thing. They've been there, they've come back, they're still traveling. With humour, with determination, with tears or with frustration, there has always been someone who has experienced what I've experienced. It's comforting to know that there are such kindred spirits out there.

While these may not all be "weight-loss" specific blogs, they are still blogs by people who are going through or have gone through their own weight loss journey.

• A place for Ashley...
• BabyGirlOlivia
• Gettin' Shrunk
• Jenera Healy
• Megan's Blog
• Stacey's WW Journey 2007
• Tams the Loser

So, here's to the ladies at the WeightWatchers.ca forums and here's to my lone reader. May we never feel alone.

The proof is in the pudding

Note the date. It is Wednesday. Note the Jell-o pudding that's been sitting on my desk since Monday. Note that it has not been opened or eaten.

In days gone by, that pudding would have been dearly departed by Monday 8:01 a.m. I've been snacking instead on fruit. Yesterday afternoon I reached for my apple when I wanted a snack. An apple!

After a bit of reflection on this fact, I came to the conclusion that I wasn't on Candid Camera and yes, I did turn down chocolate in favour of something healthy. Go me!

Pee, Pee, Pee.

All I do these days is pee. I feel great about drinking my water, don't get me wrong, but man...me and the bathroom at work, we're best buds.

Last night I had a dream. My husband and I were looking at a house for sale. It was only after we had looked at several rooms including the kitchen, den, dining and living room did I realize that every single room had a toilet in it.

I woke up shortly thereafter with a ragingly full bladder. What is my world coming to? Pee, apparently.

Mini-goal Monday

I was able to get 13 activity points last week and I'm inspired to keep that trend up. For the next two weeks my goal is to get at least 10 activity points per week. At the end of these two weeks, my reward will be something inexpensive from the Body Shop, Aveda, or even from my favourite tea shop. We'll see which one I'm leaning towards in a week's time.

I've also been giving some thought on how to celebrate my 10% goal. It's been hard trying to think of something that's special but not too special! I've almost decided on a French manicure; I love the look of them but have only had two in my lifetime. Again, we'll see how I feel closer to goal :)

Fourth Weigh-in

Protestations aside that the scale doesn't really matter, it's still nice to see that number move. This morning my weigh-in showed that I had lost 2.8 lbs this week for a total of 7.4 lbs lost overall. Go Hula Girl, go!

Although this is quite a lovely number, I'm keeping my enthusiasm in check. Normally I have breakfast before I go to the meeting but this morning I didn't have time. We'll see what next week brings. In the meantime, I'm still reservedly pleased and was proud as punch to receive a 5 lbs lost sticker at the meeting.

Oh, and that Curves weigh-in? I'm starting to suspect either their scale is off or I was weighed wrong. Both my scale and the WeightWatchers scale have similar (if not the same) readings.

Joined Curves

I did it. I joined Curves tonight! I tried a new location as it's closer to home than the old one. I'm glad I did because it's VERY nice in there. They just finished renovating and it's got a really high-end decor feel to it; almost like a boutique gym!

The only downer is that I had to get weighed as part of the start-up process. According to their scale, I'm at 202 lbs! Blurgh. I can't deny that I'm a little disappointed in that but the stronger voice is prevailing. I've been doing Jane "evil ab" workouts this week and am likely retaining water. What's more important? The scale? Or the fact that I've been doing awesome?

Tiny Trim, my girl, you know I don't have to point out the right answer.

One Month!

Today marks my one-month anniversary. After four weeks of being on plan, I'm really proud of myself. It's hard to believe the time went so quickly! Sometime this weekend I'll be rejoining Curves as a reward and as a commitment to fitness. Here's to another four weeks and here's to my health!

I ♥ Delissio

Delissio ads always drive me crazy. No frozen pizza tastes like takeout. Believe me, I know! But after starting WeightWatchers, the pizza craving kicked in. Diet usually = no pizza. Or if it does, it's a vegetarian pizza. Ewwww. Well, thank goodness for Delissio.

The Harvest Wheat pizza pictured right is my new best friend - point friendly pizza that actually tastes good. It's a wholewheat thincrust pizza with chicken, cheese, tomato sauce, spinach, and red peppers. One slice is 4 points and goes great with a nice big salad. Yum!

I know it ain't delivery but dayum it tastes good!

Remember, Remember

Some days, like today, I feel on top of the world. Or, at the very least, somewhat above sea level.

May I always remember these days – these days when I feel good about me and what I'm doing.