Photo Page Update

Check out the Photo Transformation page with my most recent photos as well as an additional "before" photo!

Planning Paid Off - But Here's AF!

So, it turns out that all that planning on the camping trip paid off. Although I appeared to gain .6 lbs when I returned from the trip, this last Sunday, I weighed in at -2.5 lbs. That means that in two weeks, I lost 2-1/2 lbs, which isn't bad when you throw a camping trip in there.

I haven't crunched the numbers, but I think this week is PMS week. If my hollow leg and craving for food that I don't usually miss at all is correct, then I'm burning those extra calories preparing for AF to show up. If that's not what it is, then I'm a little worried. But, seriously, I have other clues too, but that's not this blog...

So when I'm not feeling like THIS ^^,

I'm feeling like THIS ^^.

Turns out that Weight Watchers and my period (actually, just the PMS week that proceeds it) don't get along. At 28 points, I feel like I can't eat when I want to eat EVERYTHING in my house. I just wanna pig out and go nuts when this week comes along and at this new 28 points, I feel like if I eat another piece of fruit or one more carrot, I'm going to turn into a vegetable!

This is where I really rely on my hypnosis. If you aren't up to date with what I'm talking about, let me fill you in. I listen to self-hypnosis recordings on my iPod at night, especially when I'm having a hard week. I'll listen to them all week. I have a Weight Loss one, a Weight Loss Supplement (part 2, basically), a Fat Burning one, a Fitness one, and a Procrastination one. I listened to all of them wide awake to check them out and make sure they weren't wacky. 

 

I had a bad experience with hypnosis once - I paid $1000 to join a hypnosis program that used aversion tactics such as "imagine your favorite splurge food in your mind. Now bring it to your lips. Take a big bite or large drink of that amazing food or liquid. Now, as you feel it in your mouth, imagine it suddenly turning into maggots in your mouth. Spit it out. This food disgusts you. You find this food repulsive."

I didn't know the contents of the hypnosis tape (as it was a supplement to the live hypnosis) and was horrified at that technique. As a result of that experience, I was VERY critical of the ones I downloaded. The speaker has a soothing, well, hypnotic voice and I am extremely pleased with the content. I think it keeps you very much in control of your body. It encourages safe and consistent methods of healthy eating and exercise. 

If you're interested, here is the link to their website. After enjoying the free downloads, I DID donate to the site in order to have greater access to all of their downloads.

http://www.free-hypnosisdownloads.com/ 

 

Okay everyone. It's time for me to get to my son's hearing test, so I have to run. Please enjoy my link and wish me luck with this difficult week! Until next Wednesday!

Bonus Post - ONEDERLAND

How on EARTH did I miss the opportunity to tell everyone that I DID reach Onederland?

I was going through my posts and I was looking for when I posted about reaching that SUPER-DOOPER, all important point when one drops below 200 pounds. And to my AMAZEMENT, I found NOTHING! NOTHING!!

I can't find anywhere where I posted that I finally dropped below 200 pounds and my weight now begins with a ONE! Ahhh, Onederland. I reached Onederland on June 17th when I dropped to 197.6. I wasn't in Onederland by much, but it was all I needed. (I've since hit a bit of a plateau and haven't dropped below 197 lbs, but I'm not worried.)

In celebration, I went out with my good friend, Ashly, and pierced my nose. That has a personal history of it's own. I have wanted to pierce my nose for a while, but have always thought my nose would look AWFUL pierced because I've always hated my nose. All that went away when I met my half-sister for the first time a little over a year ago. We looked very similar and shared the same nose. Her nose was pierced and didn't look bad at all. In fact, it suited her quite well. That got me thinking. Perhaps it was all a matter of perspective and my being over-critical of myself. Maybe my nose wasn't so bad after all. So, I got the courage to pierce it, but wanted to make it a reward for hard work. Reaching onederland seemed like the perfect place for that reward. It was between that or a small tattoo, but tattoos cost more and are more permanent. I like tattoos, but I think I'll wait for my goal weight to get my next tattoo.

 Me last summer, before my 40 lb weight loss and nose piercing.

 My half-sister, with her nose pierced. We DO have different facial features, but the nose is the same. See? It looks good on her.

Anyway, so, even though it's not Wednesday, which is my normal posting day, I had to get this posted because onederland is a HUGE milestone in my weight-loss journey. I can't believe I missed my chance to tell you all about it!

Here's to staying under 200 and committing to this new lifestyle of fitness forever after! Good luck everyone and thanks for reading!

Camping - Staying "On Plan"

Okay, so Weight Watchers gives you tons of tools for how to stay "on plan" or "OP" while you're on vacation. I had it all worked out. I was going to eat well, fill up on veggies, eat lower fat foods, drink lots of water and only some diet and diet caffeine-free sodas. I was going to resist the urge to splurge.

Hahaha! I'm hilarious. I did the best I could. I ate lower-fat Spam and eggs (my husbands FAVORITE camping breakfast), we had turkey hot dogs for the trip and I used only lower-fat olive oil mayo for the sandwiches.

Then, I had Texas Toast with one breakfast and formed hashbrowns for another. I ate 2 hot dogs at a time WITH Doritos (limited to about 1 serving or 12-16 chips) and diet sodas. I drank little water and then had S'mores with EVERY dinner and once on the last day after breakfast. And I didn't just have S'mores. I had some normal S'mores and then half of my S'mores were made with...wait for it......
REESES peanut butter cups!! Yeah. I can easily say, I SERIOUSLY doubt I was on plan.

Without any data-enabled devices and no service anyway, I had NO way to track. I also had NO way to weigh myself on my usual Sunday weigh-in day. I had NO idea how I was doing. I won't officially know until this Sunday. However, that being said, I DID weigh myself this morning in order to gauge the damage and....I gained a little less than a pound.  WHA?! Yeah. Let me say that again. A LITTLE LESS THAN A POUND.

Hey, I'll take that. After the week I had, I was afraid I was going to over 3 pounds, putting me back over the 200 pound mark and right out of Onederland. I think I would have taken it like a champ, but I would have been crying on the inside. It goes to show that even if you DO splurge, a little forethought and effort goes a long way. I tried to resist having a 3rd S'more. I didn't skimp on my vegetables when I was hungry. I tried to dish up my Doritos rather than sit down at the camp-fire with the whole bag. If I snacked, I grabbed fruit and veggies, because we HAD them available. I piled my sandwiches HIGH with lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes, and then added lean meats and only a little cheese. I used whole grain/whole wheat bread.

I also made a conscious effort to hike whenever we could. I didn't meander or stroll to the bathroom; I ran when I could. I ran there and then ran back. I ran with my son up and down the camp-ground road to wear him out and get myself moving. I hiked the interpretive trails and hiked to the river and back and again and again. I walked quickly and with purpose. I used to HATE hiking because I would be SO tired afterward and I'd have to stop SO often that I couldn't enjoy the view. I would get winded walking to the bathrooms and so I wouldn't want to walk anywhere with my family. This trip was totally different. I found myself looking for reasons to get moving and wasn't humming and hawing about going to see the sights like I have for 15 years.

Weight Watchers might have suggested I do a BETTER job of tracking and eating well, but doing my best, I managed to keep myself in reasonable check. I'm sure that in years past, a camping trip would have meant a several pound gain as I pigged out and then moved very little, sleeping most of the days.

I want to take this time to say, if you identify with what I'm saying; if you've found yourself "relaxing" on a camping trip meaning sleeping in the tent all day, sitting around the campfire eating hot dog after hot dog, eating S'more after S'more, snacking all day and then feeling TOO worn out or tired to walk the trails and visit the beach/water/landmarks, then listen up. There is FREEDOM from that feeling. Weight Watchers is helping me get there and I'd recommend it if you have the weight to lose. Learning to eat well and get moving has changed my life. Weight Watchers has changed my life. How will YOU get there? Please, join me.

Until next week everyone. Happy Trails!!! ;) 

Been away TOO long!

Okay, so I know I've been away for a long time. I'm really sorry about that. Joshua, my boy, smashed my laptop screen and it had to be shipped to ASUS to be repaired. They repaired it for free and shipped it back, which was awesome. We weren't actually covered by our Accidental Damage Plan, but I was told we were by one of the repair techs and they had it recorded. After some trouble, they said they'd fix it anyway at no cost to us, which is exactly the way good customer service works. I'm happy with the way they handled it and I'm THRILLED to have my laptop back.

So, what's been happening? I've lost a total of just over 40 pounds now. This last week, I ate all of my Weekly Points, over my Daily Points, all of my Activity Points, and then went OVER all of that. I didn't exercise but one time (my training run). I still lost .6 pounds. I was sad, but relieved at the same time. I expected a gain.

I can't remember, at the moment, if I've mentioned my training. I'd really like to run a 5K. So, I'm doing the couch to 5K training. I'm trying to run 3 times a week. Unfortunately, I'm having to drag out the training because my body isn't handling it well. I try to do at least some of the training at the gym so I can track my heart-rate (since I can't find my heart rate monitor). My heart-rate was too high the last time I ran week 4 (?). Whatever week it is, it's doing two sets of 1-1/2 min running, then walking, then 3 min running and walking. On the second set of running 3 min, my heart-rate spiked at almost 180 and I had a nasty heart palpitation (I get them sometimes when I'm overtired too and I've had them checked out by a cardiologist who said my heart is strong and that they're not life-threatening). Even though I know it wasn't a big deal, I knew I was over-exerting. I've backed off to the previous week and when my heart-rate stabilizes at more around 155 or less, I'll drive myself harder again. I'm not comfortable with 178 bpm. So, it might take me more than 9 weeks to get there, but the training isn't the race. I'll get there when I can.

Finally, I have to say, my daily point value has dropped to 28 and I've never before eaten SO many of my weekly points and activity points. I don't even know HOW to eat at 28 points. I just found out that the minimum points for those who are losing was updated to 26. I will drop to 26 points eventually and that freaks me out. I'm gonna have to eat LOTS more veggies. Although fruit is free, I need to keep it at about 3 servings because fruit still has a lot of sugar in it. And, besides, I'm not really a fruit person. I much prefer vegetables. I guess that's a good thing. I'm SO glad they're 0 points with Weight Watchers.

Okay, folks. I'm going to go. I have A LOT to do before we go camping and I gotta get on it. I'll have to miss my weigh-in as I'll be camping and I won't be back until Wednesday. Hopefully, I'll be able to weigh in on Wednesday and get here so I can blog my results!

See you all next week! Until then, stay healthy! 

Checking in.

Okay, random, but short post. I JUST got my laptop back today. It's fixed and I feel human again. I got very used to being able to multi-task before I lost the laptop. Having our only computer in a back room with an active (possibly autistic) toddler, and it means you use a computer ONLY when he's sleeping. And, then, you're trying to catch up on everything you've put off.

You should be able to have some more faithful Wednesday posts about my weight-loss now.

See you guys tomorrow! :)