As I stand here in my kitchen...

I realized, after commenting on Nicole's latest post, that I haven't posted lately.  My life has been WICKED busy, and I'm trying hard not to fall off the wagon that I've been trying so hard to hang on to.  They really should make seat belts for these things.

I saw my doctor this week as a followup to her changing my meds.  It was a good visit.  My blood pressure is under control, and my fibromyalgia has been manageable.  She told me that as long as I'm having more good days than bad, I'm doing well.  I'm trying to give myself permission to hurt, which is hard, because it means that I'm actually realizing that my body isn't ever going to feel perfect.  My "normal" is to feel like a 65 year old (or older) person, with aches, pains, fatigue, and I'm not going to feel like a healthy 30-year-old woman most days.

Another thing that she pointed out was that I have been steadily losing over the past few months.  According to my chart, I've lost about 10 pounds.  It doesn't sound fantastic, and it's not, but it is better than gaining.  She reminded me that losing gradually is the way to keep it off, and that I'm probably better off this way.  I was told to stay patient, keep taking care of myself, and I will surely see results soon enough.  (Soon enough for her, maybe.  **snicker**)

Here's an interesting tidbit.  I have a family member who has had weight loss surgery, and has been REALLY sick after losing 100 lbs in a year.  The doctors told this family member that the reason he's been so sick is because his fat was helping him filter some things.  Also, his cholesterol is higher than it's been in years because his fatty liver is dumping all of the fat stores directly into his blood stream.  He had joked with me that he was better off fat - and while not exactly true, his rapid weight loss has greatly affected his current state of ill health.

I guess I'm using this blog to convince myself that it's okay, I'm okay, and doing it slowly is the right way.

**nod**

Weigh In #2

Trying to stay positive is going to be difficult this week. Trying to stay on plan while enjoying holiday get togethers is also going to be difficult this week. Difficult, because when I went in to weigh today I did NOT like what I heard!

I stepped on the scale...excited! I had a pretty good week as far as counting points, writing down food, and then exercising 3 times to the point of exhaustion. This was going to be a good week! I held my head high...waiting for the nice lady reading the scale to report "2 pounds lost this week," to me. She didn't report that though. Instead I heard, "Yeah! You stayed exactly the same!"

To which I quickly replied, "That's isn't good news. I worked hard this week." She explained to me that "I had a great loss last week. You wont believe me, anyway, but you are doing well." Ugh. How frustrating.

So, I didn't stay for the meeting. In fact, I was pretty close to tears. I don't know why, but it hurt to hear I stayed the same. I DID work hard (harder than last week). Why was the scale being so mean to me? Last week I could barely function I was so sick and had so much going on. Ugh. I know I said that already, but really.....UGH!

While I was driving the long road home, I tried to focus on the positive. I won't lie though. This was a low blow. I will keep trucking on. I will work my tail off for a good week next weigh in.....

But I am feeling blah.

Meeting #1

Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010 was my first meeting (again).

I was so nervous on my way to the meeting. I knew I had worked hard this past week. I had written down everything I put in my mouth and even managed to do my elliptical once and get a 2 mile walk in. My nervousness came from being on 2 different meds for bronchitis, not being able to really exercise because of that, having my monthly visitor just ending, and then I started new fertility meds. Oh my goodness....I also had a birthday in there! So as you can see, I had a few good reasons to be a little worried.

I arrived right on time. There are always lots of people here I notice, but I think it may be because of the new program that WW just put out. People are still learning the new stuff and are a bit taken aback by it. (more on that later) I go right up to my little helper who asks me if I have my card. Ummmmm....huh? Apparently I was supposed to stop at the bar and pick it up. (Yes, my meetings are in a restaurant. Yes, I agree that is strange.) No problem though, she was going to run back and grab it for me. So nice!

Well, I get my weigh on and it seems through all of the "stuff" I have going on, I was able to drop 4.4 pounds. 4.4 POUNDS!!!!!!!!!! DO YOU SEE THAT??????

I earned a Bravo sticker for losing my first week on plan and then I ended up earning another Bravo sticker for sharing something I learned during the week. Something I love about the new WW plan is that on pg. 60 of the Getting Started Manual there is a chart that helps you map out your points for the day. If you are eating 29 points, it tells you how many points to eat for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack #1, and Snack #2. I was eating 39 points. So for Breakfast I have 7 points, Lunch 10 points, Dinner 15 points. Snack #1 3 points, and Snack #2 4 points. I love that it provides an outline.

I am really enjoying Points Plus so far. WW has revamped a lot of its old stuff and I think it is easier to follow and teaching me how to actually eat, not just telling me I can have X points for the day. I am eating healthier, smarter, and feeling better! I have a long journey yet, but I am taking it one bite at a time!

~ Cole

Time to Count My Blessings

Days go by so quickly. Too quickly. Sometimes it is so easy to get into a rut. Even easier to feel blue and down about where you are, what you don't have, what you have lost, and/or what is missing.

Today, though, I decided to Count My Blessings. Honestly, I just woke up like this! I woke up and looked around and said, "Today feels like a good day."

Last year, I heard an amazing speaker share a story about her day. She began by telling us her alarm didn't go off at the right time, she had to squeeze the last drop out of her toothpaste, her gas light came on in her car, and then she spilled her coffee on her clothes.

Instead of taking her day as a loss and believing that it was the worst day ever, she turned it all around. She made her thoughts positive. Her alarm didn't go off, but she is blessed because she woke up. Last drop of toothpaste...she is blessed to have teeth to brush! No gas in the car...blessed to have a car and the money to put the gas in it. Coffee on her clothes...clothes to change into are a blessing as well!

I am not perfect and never claim to be, but I am going to make myself try oh so very hard to look at each "blah" as a blessing in disguise.

Today, I count My Blessings and I share them with you...

My Blessings (in no particular order)

*My Husband

*My Family

*My Homes (ugh I have one in FL too, but I am trying to stay positive here)

*Sparks the Wonder Kitty

*My Health

*My Husband's Health

*Having a part-time job

*Florida Friends

*Massachusetts Friends

*Closeness with my Elementary/High School Best Friend

*Warm Socks

*Coffee

*Nieces and Nephews

*My pillow

*Sunny skies

*Hugs from the little ones I work with

*Internet

*DVR

*Coastie Chicks

*USCG

*Cupcakes

*Butterflies

*Having food on the table

*Having a car to drive

*Full head of hair

I know I can go on and on. Isn't that beautiful. I can go on and on about My Blessings! Take a minute. Think about your blessings. I promise, you'll have more than you will ever know what to do with!!!

"Do or do not, there is no try." ~Yoda

Okay, in my house, Star Wars and the Jedi are a big deal.  Though the title of this entry is tongue-in-cheek, it's the truth.  I either need to do it, or I'm not doing it.  Pretending to try isn't enough.  Here's a quote I took from a friend's Facebook this morning that really sums it up for me:
We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.

Wow, so you'd think I would learn, wouldn't you?  I'm involved in 2 challenges right now, and if I was truly motivated and trying, I would be ROCKING THEM!  I don't know exactly what's going on, but I know that I need to fix it.  

I'm struggling with discipline in a lot of areas of my life.  Not in a rebellious teenager way, but in self-discipline.  I'm behind on housework.  I know my Nanny would tell me, "if you just do a little every day..." and it's true!  But somehow I can't find the motivation inside to just DO IT.  In my head, I'm thinking of all these little justifications, but they're excuses.  I'm doing a good job drinking water.  I'm not exercising like I need to, though.  My husband and I aren't connecting like we need to, which means the couples challenge is going to be hard to dominate.  

Stuart and I are generally VERY competitive, but right now we're trapped under the rubble of regret.  The good news is that, while it feels like TONS of weight on top of us, just a few ounces of discipline can make all the difference.  This week is the week for that to happen.  

Never Ending....

My sickness that is!

I am so frustrated. I am so tired of coughing, blowing my nose, not tasting anything, and sucking on cough drops!

I finally went to the doctor today and found out I have Bronchitis. So, it is meds, cough medicine, and rest for me.

Which frustrates me so much, because I really want to be eating better (more than broth) and work out. I need to get out of my house and do something!

So, please say a few prayers that this Zpack works! I have to get out and about SOON!

Wii (not so) Fit! Plus...

I have a myriad of health issues - from a chronic condition to kidney stones - and it is not always easy to get to the gym.  My sweet husband purchased Wii Fit Plus for me, which is the update to Wii Fit.  It's a great tool to get off the sofa and get moving.  

My one however, though, is that the Wii Fit is so happy to let me know where I stand physically.  There's nothing like hearing a video game declare, "that's OBESE" when you do your daily check in.  Even better is getting to field the questions from my 8 and 4 year olds.  Oy.  


Here's what I know, though.  If I keep it up, I'll work my way down to Overweight and then, ideally, to normal.  No matter what, it's all one step at a time.  If I can keep these feet moving, there's nothing I can't reach!


...And my Wii Fit age today was 27.  So there, Wii Fit.  

Winter Couples Weight Loss Challenge

Team 1 : Ber and Stuart. aka: Peeps and Tapper

Team 2: Cole and Ron. aka: Chips and Marbles

The Challenge breaks down like this....

11/28 Official Weigh In

12/4 Complete 3 laps at on base trail/timed. Each person earns 5 pts for completing the trail. This will be our base line. After that we have named 2 other times that we will completed the laps. It will then be based on time improved for points per person.

2/19 Final Weigh In

We will weigh in weekly. If you lose weight for the week, you gain 5 points into your total! If you gain weight, then you lose 1 point per pound gained!

The winner gets....

Well, since we will all be winners because of choosing to get healthy, we are all going to win! Ber and I decided that we would get all dolled up and head out for a night on the town to see Blue Man Group and have a nice dinner with our men!

However...the team with the least amount of points for the challenge will not be able to drink an alcohol beverage for the evening and they must be the drivers for the evening!

Balanced Holiday Season

This is a brief write up of our Challenge. I did not come up with this concept. I don't know the lady's name, but it is a friend of a friend's. lol Don't you just love those!

The challenge is six weeks long (11/22-1/2). Each week begins on Monday and ends on Sunday.

Each participant will contribute a prize. Make it something fun or creative, or make it a gift card. Rule of thumb: it should be something that you would be excited to win!

At the end of the six weeks, each participant will get a prize. The person with the highest score will get to pick their prize first. Then we will go down the line - everyone is a winner!

There are a possible of 8 points per day/56 per week. You get (1) point for each wellness goal accomplished.

The wellness goals are:

1. Drink at least 48 oz of water per day.

2. Complete a minimun of 30 minutes of exercise a day.

3. Eat a minimum of 2 veggies and 2 fruits a day.

4. Do not drink soda or alcohol.

5. Avoid added sugar (hint: avoid WHITE foods- rice, potatoes, flour, & sugar)

6. Avoid fast food and junk food.

7. Read something uplifting and fun for 15 minutes.

8. Write in a journal (or blog) - focus on positive thoughts.

It is that simple and should be lots of fun! I will post our standings on our blog too! Week 1 is complete. I am just waiting on everyone's points before posting!

Catching Up!

There is soooooo much to write about today! Mostly because I haven't blogged since the 15th of this month. Guess that tells you just how motivated I have been, huh? Oh well. Moving on!

A couple weeks ago, a friend introduced me to a Challenge she was doing with some of her friends. "The Balanced Holiday Season Challenge." It looked interested and I love a little competition! I spoke with Amber and *Stacy and they were in! I will blog more about this in another post.

Then, over the weekend, while Ber and I were/are recooperating from a nasty bug, we came up with a fantastic why to also get our husbands involved! They both are thin men (grrrrrr lol), but would like to lose a few pounds. We now have a Couples Winter Challenge going on too! It is going to be great fun, I think!

So, as I am sitting here trying to get rid of this nasty cold/flu thing I have going on, I am also getting all Type A on myself. I have already made my workout schedule for the week, menu for the week, and even a blog schedule!

Oh, and another thing I am tossing around, is joining the meetings again for Weight Watchers. While I love the competition with my friends and family and I know that is going to really help with keeping me on track, I still feel like I need a little more. The truth of the matter is, I have a problem with food. I need all the help I can get. So, why not! I really felt like it was the right move for me, when I signed on to Weight Watchers Chat and found that there is a new program that started today. They have completely revamped it. Hopefully I can make it to a meeting this week to find out more.

I apologize for any typos or errors in this blog. My brain is so fuzzy from being sick and I just don't care to edit at the moment! Thanks for understanding!

*Stacy is a friend of Amber and mine. She is fantastic and we are trying to convince her to blog along with us!

"If you don't know where you are going, you'll probably end up somewhere else." ~Lewis Carroll

This past week, I had a goal making session with some friends, and made a poster (which I'll share later).  On this poster, I attached pictures of dresses that I think are particularly lovely, a picture of my goal bathing suit that I ordered 2 years ago in a size that I haven't seen since high school, pictures of lingerie and other encouraging images.  I am a visual person.  I am the person with the calendar posted in the kitchen with various events and something written on almost each day.  I am a list maker.  Setting goals helps me SO much!

I'm not the only person that goal-setting helps.  It has been well established that goal setting can be the difference between success or failure - not only in weight loss, but in life!  Here is a very helpful article from the Mayo Clinic on setting realistic goals.

My goals are:

To be wearing a size 12 pant COMFORTABLY by 12/25/10.
I'm currently wearing a 14.

To weigh less than 200 by 1/15/11 - my anniversary.
I currently am hovering around 215.

To weigh 180 by 4/17/11 - my birthday.
A realistic, yet challenging goal!

Some process goals are:

Make my bed daily.

30 minutes of activity 7 days/week.

Shower and fix my hair every day.


My process goals may seem pathetic.  I don't deny that.  For me, losing the weight is secondary to living a healthy lifestyle.  I've been dealing with depression, and many aspects of my life have fallen by the wayside, hence my including them in my goal making process.

I also have a holiday challenge starting next week, but since it was Coley's idea, I'll let her tell more about it.  ;)

SURPRISE!

Well, not really a surprise. I am up on the scale! Not much I can do about it. I can't ignore it at all. I went away to my mom's and enjoyed myself. The week before that I was enjoying myself as well! AHHH!

Oh well. Onward. I have a few new ideas and plans for myself. More to come!

I do promise one thing...I am taking charge of me...starting TODAY!

The Twinkie Diet

Have you seen this article?  CNN Health is reporting the tale of a Kansas State University professor who lost 27 pounds in 2 months.  How did he do it?  He ate snack cakes, chips, and a few veggies here and there.  He maintained his activity level and reduced his caloric intake to 1800 calories/day.

As a professor of human nutrition at KSU, Mark Haub does not claim that this diet is healthy, nor does he recommend it.  From the tone of the article, it does seem to have raised eyebrows, though, about the way that we define "HEALTHY eating."  Honestly, his cholesterol decreased while eating junk food.

Frankly, I wouldn't mind figuring out a beer and junk food diet.  Or maybe a Mediterranean food and wine diet.  Okay, maybe not.  It really does make me think, though.  Generally on a weight loss regimen, I am so overwhelmed with the fact that "good" foods are too expensive or require a lot of preparation.  I guess if I was stricter about my caloric intake, maybe I'd see a larger weight loss difference?  (If I was more vigilant about any number of things I think I'd see a difference...)

What do you think?  Is this experiment by Mr. Haub dooming others to fail, or do you think that the premise is valid and maybe offers hope to others trying to shed a few pounds?

Good news!

Despite lethargic living, Halloween candy, and stress that should have my cortisol levels at or above a critical limit, I have managed to lose half a pound.

My weigh in is 214.5.  Sucky number, but progress nonetheless.

You should get that!

Grr.  Having a stressful week.  I haven't weighed in.  I didn't weigh in last week either.

I have fibromyalgia, and we had some very unpredictable weather this week.  As a result, I have had a lot of severe pain, which left me unable to move.  I've spent time in the bed, shuffling to the bathroom or living room (thank God for hardwood floors and socks), and on Cole's couch knitting for a little while.  The fibromyalgia makes me feel bad emotionally, too, because I feel like my kids deserve better than a mom who is randomly bedridden.  It's my issue to work through, but it's the truth.

So tonight, the boys are playing in the living room, seemingly not paying attention to the TV, and a commercial comes on.  It's for this magical pill that is sure to eliminate any speck of fat off one's body.  Suuuuure, right?

So, from the peanut gallery, I hear my 8-year-old son say, "You should get that, Mom, so you can be skinny."

Sigh.

Amber and I at THE KNOB in Falmouth, Ma.

We had a lovely afternoon full of starfish, rocks, leaves, and a sunset.

Amber and I walk/hiked for 3 1/2 hours.

We lost all track of time and enjoyed every minute of peacefulness.

Hopefully we stick to our goal of making this a weekly ritual.

Starfish

Cole's feet and the rocks

Leaves

And the beautiful Sunset.

Where you at?

Well, I am right here....

Enjoying cupcakes, pizza, cheese, biscuits, and butter!

Why?

Oh, well because I am in limbo.

Again?

Yup.

When are you planning on getting out of this "limbo?"

Soon.

Really?

Maybe

No, hopefully.

Why this time?

I decided to learn more about my PCOS and in doing so, I have learned I am eating the wrong foods.

You mean cupcakes and pizza are wrong?

Yup! Who knew? ha ha

The good news is that I am now reading more about my PCOS. I was diagnosed in May and have had too many things going on to even really take some time and learn more about it. Now I am. I am taking the time to learn what I need to be eating, doing, and not doing to take care of myself and my body. Small steps, I know. But I still feel like I am making positive life choices. It will soon begin to trickle into positive diet choices. For now...I will settle for life choices that are positive.

Okay, okay, I'll post mine, too.

So I haven't posted anything in a little while.  I had family in, and boy do I fall off the bandwagon when I have company.  Good grief.  I need to learn to eat right ALL the time, and not just when I'm by myself.  I know that seems silly, but it's true.

I weighed in this morning, and I'm at 215, which is a 2.5 lb loss since I started.  Truth be told, I had lost 3 lbs the first week, then gained a lb back while my sister was here.

I didn't want to post my before pictures, mostly because my abdomen is so distended I look like I'm pregnant.  It doesn't change when I put on loose, ill-fitting clothes, but it does draw attention away from it.

So here are my NOW pictures (I like that way of thinking, BTW, Cole).  Right now I am wearing a size 14 jean and an XL shirt.

Today's a Blue Day

Well, I have been putting this off for a full day now. It is at this time I need to report that I am UP .4 pounds. I am not surprised by this in the least bit. I have not been as strict as I should be and I have been making poor choices.

Why can't I get my butt in gear? I know what I want, I just can't seem to stick with it.

I am an emotional eater. Always have been. The ups and downs of life are becoming more difficult. I seriously, just want to sit on the couch and eat Ben and Jerry's Everything But The.... every night before I go to bed. I know that isn't a good choice, but ahhhh. I am driving myself crazy.

I decided to get up at 7am and do my exercises now. Everyday! Whether I am going for a walk or doing my pilates. *Just realized I don't know where that DVD is. * I don't know what I am doing with the points. I want to follow my points and write it all down, but food just gets in the way...

Why do I continue to hold myself back? How do I move forward?

Current Pictures

I don't feel quite right saying, "Here are my before pictures." The truth is, this is what I look like now. This is me. This is what I don't see until I have a picture taken and realize what I truly do look like. This is my mess to clean up. This is me steeping out into the world and saying, "Heck ya, I know I am fat. I am trying to change that!" These are my current pictures. I am a size 18/20 pant. I wear a XXL shirt. This is me.

Family, Fun, and Food Oh My!

Family: A couple days ago I was just having a pity party for myself. My brother and his family had not been able to make it out to our home since we moved here in July. I was sharing these feelings with some friends when I got a text message that made my year! They were going to come up (they live about an hour away) and spend the night. The entire family!

We had a fantastic time! My new niece is a joy to be around. Sleep, Eat, Poo, and repeat. I love her so much already. I can't wait to see what kind of personality she develops.

Fun: Hubs made, ok attempted, to make a fire for us out back. It was a struggle. I think our wood was bad, because the flame we had going was from the starter sticks. Oh well. The nephew, age 5, still had a wonderful time roasting marshmallows and sitting outside in the dark. He loved looking at the stars and learning about the Big Dipper. "What's it dip?" Adorable, right? He always keeps me in stitches. We also played video games, had pillow fights, went for a nice walk, and just had a fantastic time sitting around being with one another. I wouldn't trade a minute of this weekend for all the money in the world.

Food: Ahhhh, yes. This is the "Oh my" section of my post. I am being 100% honest here and sharing that it all started with one bad choice followed by another and so on. It wasn't over eating. In fact, I think I was under eating and that lead to bad choices of food that had too many calories. So, here we go...

Friday Evening: Boneless Buffalo Wings w/Blue Cheese from Chili's. I did a little search and found out via Hungry Girl that those bad boys are 33 points for the basket. Don't believe me. Check it out!

Saturday: I had cereal for breakfast, so all was well there. Lunch was nothing because I was busy making a red velvet cake complete with cream cheese frosting, all from scratch. (Remember, I was having some important visitors!) That evening we had hot dogs for dinner. I had 2 on a light bun with some chips (small handful) and a tablespoon of some not very good mac and cheese. I split a small piece of cake with Hubs. I think he ate most of it.

Sunday: Breakfast was soooo yummy! We made pancakes, sausage (I had turkey sausage), home fries, and syrup (I had light). I am confident that I did fine there points wise. I had 3 small 4 inch pancakes and 3 links of turkey sausage. I don't think I even had 3 tablespoons of syrup. Lunch was quick. 2 cold hot dogs on the way out the door. Ohhhhh and my own slice of cake this time...thin, but still! For dinner I vowed to turn it around. I made WW General Tso Chicken with white rice. It was yumo and a good comfort food.

Am I wrong here? I don't think I over ate, I just made poor choices.

Today, I have been back on track. As a matter of fact, I even worked out! I did my elliptical this morning and then this evening, Ber and I went for a walk. 1.6 miles in 29 minutes. I am pretty happy with that.

Tomorrow, my plan is to get some organizing done in the basement, eat on plan, and go for a walk.

The weekend, thoughts, checking in...

Wow, did I have an amazing weekend!  There was no school this past Friday, so we took the kids to "the knob" for some hiking and a picnic.  My first super PROUD moment in my WL journey is that I opted to bring a salad instead of using bread for a sandwich!  Yay for me!  We did lots of hiking there and then moved on to a local hiking trail to hike some more.  It was a beautiful day and so nice to be enjoying the Cape in the fall.  I will also admit that it was somewhat discouraging.  It's hard to know that I let myself gain so much.  I was moving slowly after a while, and it was honestly hard to keep up with my guys.

Enjoying my salad on the beach

On Saturday, after a nice morning walk with my Cole, we took BEFORE pictures.  Dun dun dunnnnnnn...  Wow.  I don't know that I'm ready to share mine yet.  Maybe after I have made some progress.  Later in the day, my family loaded up and went to a local beach to play in the tide pools.  It was such fun to explore, to hear the amazement in my boys' voices, to get to teach them some things.  We had spaghetti for dinner on Saturday, and again I passed the bread up.  I'm telling you, this is HUGE for me!  By Saturday night, my fibromyalgia was letting me know that I had overdone things, and I had to take some pain medication to sleep.

Can't hide from the reality of a picture

Yesterday I started feeling the effects of a few days' good eating habits.  My appetite has decreased drastically.

I told Nicole the other day that I won't be logging onto Facebook chat until I've done at least 30 minutes of exercise.  I have to get moving and make a habit of it!

The Beautiful Ladies of "Why Weight?"

So, Ber totally looks amazing as usual. I, on the other hand, feel the need to share the pic so you can see the "why" I am on this journey!

Perseverance

Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th.  - Julie Andrews

What an amazing quote from a beautiful woman.  I don't know the context of what she was referring to, but it doesn't matter, really.  As someone who has struggled with my weight since I was in high school, I have fluctuated up and down many times over the past 12 years.  I'm now at a weight that I haven't seen since I was pregnant with my last child - 217.5 lbs.  Yikes.


Most people who know me know the success I had with Weight Watchers a couple of years ago.  Then, about a year ago, my world fell apart, and I've been gradually climbing a slippery slope to finding myself again.  I have gone from 179 to 217.5 in a matter of a year, and it's time for it to end.  


I have been experiencing a full gamut of health problems, and when I talk to my physician about my concerns regarding my obesity, she encourages me to get some other things under control first.  I do appreciate that she is concerned about dealing with these other things (fibromyalgia, kidney stones, etc), but to me, my mental health and the big picture of my physical health is dependent on me losing some of this weight.  It is physically a burden, but the emotional toll this weight gain has taken is far worse.


As fate would have it, I reached the end of the proverbial rope, and had discussed with my husband whether it would benefit our family for me to follow WW again.  Just as I was preparing to get going again, my beautiful friend Nicole mentioned that she was about to start living the point-counting way of life.  What a beautiful, beautiful thing!  Having support - and support right here with someone kicking my butt to do this the right way - is going to be instrumental to my success.


Yesterday morning I started counting points.  I'm allowed 27 points a day.  I have points trackers, calculators, etc.  Because of my kidney stone, I have put my gym membership on a sort of sick leave status.  I will be belly dancing again, hopefully with my girlfriends, but if not, at home.  I forgot how good utilizing muscle control feels!  I also want to take advantage of the beautiful autumn in New England and start walking at least a few times a week.  I also have a Wii Fit that I haven't used recently, and I'll be using that for some low-impact cardio and core strengthening balance exercises.  My ultimate goal?  To be able to weigh in on my balance board and not hear the Wii say, "that's obese!"  Nothing like hearing you're fat from a video game.  


I will persevere.  I will do this.  I know it can work, it does work, and it requires work.  Thank you for your willingness to endure another blogging expedition on the ultimate journey of finding myself and being the best me I can be.

You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it. ~ Margaret Thatcher

Oh, Mage. If you only knew!

Hello. My name is Nicole and I am addicted to losing and gaining weight....or at least you would think so!

Weight loss has been a (not so fun) hobby of mine for the last, I lost count how many, years. I have done it all people. ALL consisting of and IN particular order: Atkins, WW, South Beach, WW, Atkins, South Beach meets Atkins, WW, Dietician, Medifast, WW, Atkins, Calorie Counting, WW, Jenny Craig, and back to my old faithful, WW.

I have had great success on all of these wonderful plans. I have lost 30-40 pounds with these plans at different times and in different combinations, but I have never been able to keep it off. Why? Who knows? Frustrating? Of course it is! My fault? Totally!!!!! Ready for a change that is going to stick? YOU KNOW IT!!!!!!

This (blogging) is going to be my new way of keeping track of myself and hopefully a few readers will help me with it as well.

It is also going to help that I have a partner in crime, my Thelma to my Louise, my Jen to my Rachel, my fellow giggler: Amber, or as I lovingly refer to her, Ber. She is a beautiful person; inside and out. I don't care how corny that sounds, either! Good habits are contagious, so here's hoping we both catch something from one another! I know we can do it! * Love you, Ber! *

We will be riding the WW train this time around. Fingers crossed this is a non-stop ride!

Let's get to the numbers. No sense in putting it off....

I can have 30 points a day.

Starting Weight (10-1-10): 248.8

Week 1 Weight In (10-8-10): 244.1

Down 4.7. I'll take it! I wasn't as "together" as I would have liked to be, but a loss is a loss. I kept telling myself, "I'll just wait for Ber to start. No biggy." Bad Bad Bad, Cole! Obviously, I did better than I thought, so WOOO HOOO!

Goals for this week: * Elliptical 4x this week for 30 minutes.

* Eat all my points/do not go over.

* Try 1 new recipe and share it!