Twenty-second Weigh-in

This week I'm down .8 lbs. So much for predictions! As I said at the meeting, I guess my vacation hasn't caught up with me yet. And, as my meeting leader jokingly said, that .8 lbs is not because of my haircut ;)

The meeting was a good one as always. Lots of laughs and lots of things to think about. I'll be starting a separate post on the meeting topic as it deserves to be discussed on its own.

Another person achieved goal today which is always exciting. She didn't have much to lose, but it was still a great achievement for her.

Picking the worst weeks

I've been picking bad weeks to get serious about Curves. That's right, I didn't get out on Wednesday night. Nor yesterday, nor today. However, I'm bound and determined to get there tomorrow after weigh-in as per my usual routine. That'll make two times this week I've gone which is better than going once or not at all.

But, I'm okay with that. Spending time with my husband this week is much more important to me right now. He has to fill in for someone at work while they look for a replacement. Trouble is, he has to get up at 4 a.m. because of it. We only have one car, so I've been taking the bus. By the time I get home in the evening, we haven't seen each other in 16 hours. He's tired, I'm tired, we're both kinda grumpy. All we want to do is relax with each other and reconnect after a tiring day. I only have a slim window of opportunity to get us dinner and cuddle time before he goes to bed; if I go to Curves I wouldn't see him at all!

I did manage to get us out for a twenty-minute walk this evening which was nice. It's been hot and the cool night air was lovely. Hopefully I can get us out more next week; he'll still be on that shift but a few walks should help with that.

Oh, and my glasses? People have been complimenting me which is awesome!

Making yourself over, one day at a time

Last night I picked up my new glasses. The last time I bought glasses was ten years ago. Although my prescription has changed imperceptibly, I decided to get new glasses anyways. And what a difference they make! I feel hip, happening and yes, even younger!

With these new glasses, I came to the realization that I've been making myself over as I go. Weight loss isn't just about the pounds, it's about your attitude and how you feel about yourself. Some days are crappy, there's no doubt about that, but as time goes on those days are fewer and far between and you start to think you really are worth taking care of.

You buy some new clothes, you get a manicure, you actually start shaving your legs and washing your face, you get a new hairstyle, you order new glasses and the next thing you know, you're 28 lbs lighter and someone you want to take care of!

Finally got to Curves

Boy have I been slacking lately. I haven't been to Curves in over two weeks! But I got my bum in gear last night and finally went. I didn't want to go; I was in that its-been-so-long-why-bother? funk. As always, I'm glad I showed up. There had been some minor changes to the circuit which made it a refreshing go 'round. They were also playing music I hadn't heard before which is always a plus. And lastly, the good employee was there. She's the one that's genuinely friendly, but not pushy or condescending. The bad employee was there, too, but she was cleaning so I managed to avoid her.

This week I've again pledged to get to Curves three times. I know there's at least one busy night this week so I'm planning around it by going again tonight. Although they say you should wait a day between strength training, I've used that excuse too much to avoid going. Better to go than not go, right? I've got my gym stuff laid out so I can nip out the door with little fuss when I get home.

As finances are a little tight these days, my reward will require no money - I'll take an afternoon for myself this weekend so that I can work on some needlework.

Biking the good bike

Today was the first day this summer we got our bikes out from storage and went for a ride. We rode a lot last summer but it was a sweaty, blotchy, often unfun affair. Remembering these I-want-to-pass-out rides, I was somewhat dreading going out again this year. But you know what? I kicked ass. Like, seriously. Those hills that gave me so much trouble last year? Not a problem. I guess all those kilometres logged on my exercise bike have really helped!

Happy, happy day!

I had a fabulous day yesterday, not only did I pull off a great dinner (a non-scale victory unto itself), but I also had two more NSVs! First, was clothing-related. I did the 3k HBC Walk for Canada yesterday. They provided technical shirts as part of the registration fee. I was worried the women's XL wouldn't fit me, but it did! The second NSV came when a friend told me she had been meaning to mention just how slim I'd been looking, that I looked slimmer every time she saw me. Woot!

As the drunk and disheveled woman remarked to us as we were walking home from the fireworks last night, "Happy, happy day!"

Loving you with low-fat food

You know that relative of yours that tends to make fattening food and then push it on you at family dinners? That's me. Or at least, that was me. It was my way of showing love to family and friends. But since starting Weight Watchers, I've come to realize that loving one's family members with fattening dishes isn't necessarily, well...loving. But since this is how I know how to love them, whatever would I do now?

The answer was to start trying out lots of new recipes. I've bought a number of new cookbooks as well as downloaded recipes from the internet. Yesterday was the first time I had the opportunity to try some recipes out on a big dinner I made for some friends. This time, it was all relatively healthy fare. The result? Scads of compliments and people going back for seconds (and even thirds!)

Here's what I served:

• Sticky Chicky: a low-fat barbecued chicken dish from Eat, Shrink, and Be Merry!
• Couscous with Tomatoes, Scallions, and Lemon: a delicious low-fat but wonderfully flavoured couscous courtesy of The Best Light Recipe by Cook's Illustrated. A friend kept going back to this dish despite the glares of his fiancée who said he didn't like the couscous she made. Whoops!
  
• Chef's Salad Bar: a make-your-own salad featuring leaf lettuce, cherry tomatoes, carrots, Canadian back bacon, cubed hard-boiled eggs, two kinds of shredded cheese, sunflower seeds, slivered almonds, and three kinds of low-fat dressing. Of the dressings, the Basic Vinaigrette (also from Cook's Illustrated) was the one everyone loved the most. One friend even asked for the recipe (which is a very high compliment, her being as near to a chef as anyone I know)
  
• Strawberry Shortcake: an invented dessert using store-bought individual angel food cakes sprinkled with a mixture of sherry and strawberry-kiwi juice, filled with low-fat white chocolate pudding, and topped with sliced strawberries and light Cool Whip. Although simple to put together, it looked very impressive and eyes popped when I brought out the plates. My husband took a picture of his dessert and everyone else just dove right in.
  

I am so pleased. The dinner was beyond successful. Not only did it all taste good, it was as healthy as I could make it. It just goes to show you can show love with healthy food!