Out of the Frying Pan

And into the fire... Some things of note:

I cancelled my Y membership today and I'm feeling a little nervous about it. This year, I intend to generally track my progress a la Bridget Jones by marking down where I start the year and periodically (but not on any given schedule) checking in with myself. Maybe if I'm good, Collin Firth will show up and think I'm perfect, just the way I am. :)

I registered on Christmas Eve for my first half marathon. So far I am up to 12 (very tough) miles in my long runs but my running group is going strong. Most people are going to run a later race, but I've got to be up for 13.1 miles on January 27th. It's making me a little nervous.

I've been trying to keep my eating under control but this last month has been stressful. I nearly lost my dad to an infection of his blood right around Thanksgiving, and then a couple weeks ago they diagnosed him as being in the early stages of Alzheimer's (which, if I'm being honest, I really figured before he went for all the testing). Add in the holidays and you have a perfect recipe for a girl who will eat WAY more chocolate pie than is good for her. But now that the holiday is over, I will eat my black eyed peas tomorrow and get myself back on track. I swear, though, my life used to be a lot more laid back than I feel like it has been this past year.

I have decided that my goal for 2008 is to run my first (only?) marathon in the fall. It will be tough since training starts in May and runs clean through the fiery Texas summer (there's a reason "hotter'n hell" is a common response when discussing the weather down here) but I think I can do it.

I've decided that I'm going to try and make weight loss less of a priority in the new year. Instead, I intend to focus on living the lifestyle that I want to - eating good, healthy, nutritious foods, continuing to run, and enjoying opportunities that come my way - and see where that leads. If I start gaining again, we may have to re-think this strategy, but this is basically the strategy I started out in the first year of this blog and it worked well for me. Over the past year I have been more fixated on weight and as a result (?) I've gone nowhere fast. I'll keep you updated on how it's going.

Finally, I'm so proud of each of you for what you've accomplished in the last year. Some of you had tremendous losses that reflect your hard work and dedication to yourselves. Others managed to maintain your weight at a level that a year or two ago may have seemed unimaginable. And still others found in themselves a strength and endurance to go beyond what you thought you were capable of and push yourselves to excel. I am proud of you all, I love you all, and wish everyone many blessings in the New Year.

New Year - NO resolutions

There's a new year a-comin. There are new starts to calendars, new years to write on checks, new clothes from presents and new hopes for health and success.

But there is one thing that should remain absent from the new year.

Resolutions.

Why? Well - why start out your year with a goal that will probably be over-zealous and depress you if you fail? Why value the new year more than the true goals of your heart?
A Monday is a good day to start a new thing. So is a Friday. So is a New Years...but do the days you choose to start a good thing matter? No. Its the goal in your heart that motivates you - not the calendar.

So do yourselves a favor. Pour yourselves a glass of water. Resolve in your heart to continue drinking it thru the day. Who knows what will happen tomorrow, next year, but we know that NOW is the time for good choices.

Setting yourself up for Success by NOT making resolutions? Sounds odd - but I'll take it!

Hi there all!

Well, I thought I would write and let you all know how things are going on this front. I am glad that our visitors have left the building, LOL, it was stressful having my in laws over for a week. Eating was hard. I was so swollen after a couple of days of dining out with them and now my hands and feet are just getting back to normal. I love having a schedule which is pretty much empty. It was getting nutzo around here. The house is a wreck, but we are all happy and together, and not expecting company, so what does it matter.

I weighed in at 160 on last Friday and then by Christmas was up to 168. Pure water gain. I am back to 162 by doing nothing other than drinking lots of water and eating again as I should, meaning mostly veggies and seafood. I don't know if I will be at 160 this week or not. Auntie Flo will be dumping her magic hormones on me again soon, but I am relieved to be rid of the excess fluid. It was a real pain. I mean it too, my joints ached, I had headaches, I felt completely unwell from eating crap foods. And it's not like I went overboard. I was still under 1700 cals a day, but it was a lot of processed stuff and white flour and some things that I usually shun, like sausage.

So, I am now adding in a couple of things that I have been shirking in the past months, weight lifting and push ups and crunches. Trying to get this bod more firmed, because, well, bathing suit season cometh shortly. I wonder what size I will be wearing this year. Last year I was in a size 26. I think that this year I will be in a 12 at the very biggest. Oh, shopping for a swim suit will be fun, don't you think?

Fear of the Scaley Tale

How was your Christmas, y'all? Am I the only one who is afraid to get on the scale?

Letting your Left hand know what your Right is eating

I am schizophrenic. I know because I make glorious statements of health and well being. Then, not an hour later I have a second brownie in my hand headed towards my mouth. Yet, I really believe that I do want to lose weight, tone up and look great.

With one hand, I pour a glass of water and with the other I forage around the cupboard for something to sabotage myself with. That is plain double minded.

Its just how hard it is to wean ones self off stress eating. So, in the hopes of confession and repentance, I'm posting here to say that I went from 151 to 156 in one week. I'm ashamed.

However, maybe with a little support I'll get back down towards the 50s and maybe even break into my goal of dipping into the 140s. I am so close...but I don't have the determination of Kristina. What to do? I'm not a runner...I'm not a counter, I'm not even a weight watcher.

Back to my water, my goals and my attempts. Its not over until the fat lady sings, and I've got my mouth clamped. For now at least.

Mini-Goal!!

Surprise, surprise, surprise!!

I got on the scale after my walk, and that's after 20 ounces of water and my fiber one bar this morning and I weight ---- drum roll please:

160!

10 lbs left to go

MVM Fun

I was playing around today with My Virtual Model, trying on different outfits, trying to visualize the difference 40 pounds can make. I decided that with the right clothes I look pretty darn good now, but at my goal weight I am HOT. Hee!Hee! Anyway, here I am. Like my hairdo?



And here I am stripped down. If only my skin were as smooth and nice in real life. I have a feeling that even at my goal weight I'll find something to be unhappy about when I look in the mirror, and that perhaps, is the more important transformation we all need to make -- becoming happy with who we are, seeing and loving ourselves the way God loves us.

Opinions Requested

So, I would like your opinions.

I have been a member of the Y where I work out for almost 5 years, at a cost of $53 per month, and I have (ahem) not been the best at getting my money's worth. I love the ability to go swim indoors during the winter, but I rarely take advantage of it. I have to try every trick in the book to get myself there to work out and now that I'm running 4x per week outside, I hardly ever go to the Y anymore. And when I do, I have to force myself to go because I don't look forward to it like I used to.

So here is my question: would you keep the membership?

The running classes that I have been taking are not terribly expensive - around $80 for a 6-week class - and I intend to keep taking them through the next year. I can afford both, but as long as I am running, the chances of me actually getting to the Y are slim to none (since I work out with our group so frequently, I rationalize that I don't have to go to the gym) and I feel a little like I may be simply wasting resources by maintaining my Y membership. I can think of things to do with the $600 a year it costs me. On the other hand, my options are greater at the Y since it has facilities for racketball, swimming, yoga classes, and things other than running.

So what would you do? If I drop my membership, I will likely do it at the end of the year - a short couple of weeks away - so let me know.

Lisa

A little Then and Now

I haven't posted pictures in a long time because I haven't lost any weight since September, but I thought I'd post a couple now. It's kinda fun to see the difference between now and last year.


It's my husband and I last summer, and then one of me this past weekend. I wasn't quite at my highest weight during the summer of 2006. I packed on a few more during the fall and winter. A picture from last Christmas would be interesting, but I don't have one.

Here's one from January with another recent one:

This Photo Was Taken in the Future

I thought that since I'm so close to breaking into the 140s that I would try to help myself and have a boost by literally seeing even further. So, I took a photo of what my scale WILL look like when I'm at my goal weight.

I have been losing over the past few weeks, but its been a recent decrease. I haven't weighed 135 since in back in the 90s when I would use a 135-140 base weight.

As I am approaching my 40s I want to make sure I wrestle and master this area of my life. It feels crucial.


How will I do it? Drinking water number ONE. If I can JUST do this ONE thing, I'm sure I will be overall more healthy. Who doesn't want that? I'm starting small, but I'm aiming high!

Checking In

Hi Y'all!

Well, it's been awhile since I checked in and I've been totally derelict in the Jingle Jiggle Challenge - and for that I'm sorry. I've been eating good, healthy food but I've also been hitting the holiday indulgences (well, most of them) but I don't feel bad about it.

I am not much of a drinker and I never really have been. I have a friend, however, who really needed to quit. He and I talked, and argued, and negotiated, and finally he agreed that he needed to quit. As a show of solidarity, I quit too. That took out all of maybe a glass of wine each month, but I will take my calorie losses wherever I can take them. So this year, my cup of holiday cheer is most likely Diet Dr Pepper. Now if I can just start getting more water.

On the exercise front, however, I'm still doing well, it's keeping me busy, and is part of the reason I haven't had much time to post lately. I ran in the Whiterock Marathon relays a couple of weeks ago and after that, the running class I was taking through our area running shop was over. The next set of classes don't start until a couple weeks into January and that meant that for over 6 weeks I would be on my own as far as running was concerned and that was just a set up for failure. I'm kind of proud of myself for this, but since there were no formal classes during this time I started my own by getting a bunch of my classmates excited about the winter half marathons, coming up with a training schedule, organizing everyone by email, coordinating the logistics on our long runs, and generally serving as the team touchstone. Long story short, I am now running a half marathon class for nearly 20 people just to make sure that I will keep running over the holidays - and it is completely working. I feel like I can't skip any runs since I'm coordinating things and I've been sticking with the training schedule since I have other people around me who are abiding by it too.

So last weekend (at 5:30 a.m.) we ran over 10 miles around the lake and through several neighborhoods. If you had told me in August that I could have ever done that - much less enjoyed it - I would have thought you crazy. But there you have it: 10 miles, 1 hour and 45 minutes, 1342 calories burned, and an icepack later and I'm the fittest I may have ever been. And it feels great.

I hope everything is going well for the rest of you. Elicia, I love the newest addition to your family menagerie and Jennifer - keep with your walking, you total weight-losing rock star!

Lisa

Just for Fun!

This is Sir Rudy.

He is the newest member of our household. He comes to us from the loving family of Fretland and he's getting on nicely.

That makes...
Three dogs: Blackjack, Baretta and Mr Bill
Two birds: Sir Pretzel and Sir Rudy
and one fish: Bernice.

We're a happy menagerie!

Motivated

I've decided it's time to move the rest of this extra weight I'm carrying. As happy as I am with the way I look, and as much as I enjoy shopping for clothes now, I'm still not at my goal weight. If I'm being really honest with myself, when I look in the mirror I can see every one of those forty pounds I'm still wanting to lose.

I haven't lost any weight since September, and I don't think it's a coincidence that after the 3-day in September I pretty much stopped walking. So this week I walked every day, and wonder of wonders, I lost 2 pounds. My mood is also vastly improved. I think I've been experiencing the beginnings of my annual gray and gloomy Northwest depression. It seems to start with insomnia, which leads to fatigue and lack of motivation. Well, the good news is that thanks to my experience with training for the 3-day, I know that walking really kicks my depression in the butt.

So, my new goal is to lose roughly a pound and a half a week, which I will do by walking at least five days a week, and eating regular healthy meals and snacks. It worked for the first forty pounds, right? I know the last pounds may be harder to lose, and if that happens I'll need a new shot in the butt to do what it takes to lose them, but for now I think my plan will get some results.

Yay for water!

Thanks (in part) to all the water reminders this week, I lost half a pound this week!

That might not sound like much, but after gaining two pounds in two weeks, it's great.

I've already had two glasses this morning, by the way!

Water Time Girls!

If you have a right hand, take it and grab a glass.

With the left hand, open the tap and let water fall into the glass.

When it is full, use the right had to put it up to your mouth.

DRINK.

Then post to me that you did!

(Melissa!)

6 month pictures!

I have lost 105 pounds and have gone from size 26/28 4x to 16/18 XL clothes. I am feeling great and think I am looking great too :) at least my hubby thinks I am looking pretty hot. Thanks for all of your support.

The Christmas Chin Wishes You Happy Holidays - AGAIN!

an oldie, but still make me laugh!

This is how my sister in Atlanta remembers me, and this is how I am now!

Yeah, my younger sister Heidi is planning to come up to Washington around the New Year. I've not seen her in 2 1/2 years, since we took our family down to Georgia for vacation. Talk about motivating me to keep on track. I want to blow her away when I see her again. It's such a trip for me to see these photos of myself... It feels like a lifetime ago. I am a new woman, in many different ways. : )

If your first name starts with a Consonant....

GO GET A GLASS OF WATER AND DRINK IT UP.


NOW!


I'll wait here until you are done (AHEM, MELISSA)


- love,

the waterbearer

Me and my first Post

So I've finally figured out how to get on here and post! YIPPIE! Now if it only takes me this long to loose 50 pounds I'd be a happy girl! ~HaHa

I've had 2 babies in the last 3 years, and how the marks to prove it-:=}

Since we've decided we are done having babies, it's now time to 'get to work'. I don't yet have a game plan, other than getting a membership at 24 hour fitness and honoring a comitment to go at least 3 days a week. This is realistic for me right now. I'm also comiting to better eating, but giving myself some room over these great holidays. I'd just dissapoint myself otherwise.

Bought some jeans and tops...

I bought a pair of jeans today.
I grabbed them, a size 10
didn't try them on...I figured if they didn't fit then they should fit within a few weeks.

I also purchased some cute tops - its been a long while since I bought anything new, so it is fun.

Wheeee!

Tearing up that elliptical!

This week at the Y, I broke my record three times for calories burned for a thirty minute session. THREE times! Yesterday, I burned a whopping 534 calories in just half of an hour. Before that, my record was 509, and before that, it was 491. ( I know, I'm a numbers freak). : ) But the point is, I'm pressing forward to make progress. I just keep increasing the intensity. Watching The Biggest Loser this week really motivated me too. I mean, if they can do it, SO CAN I! If Jan and Kris can do it, then so can I. I believe that. It just takes a lot of discipline.

Not maintaining at all!

Ok, so I gained another 1.5 pounds this week! What is wrong with me?

(And no, I'm not pregnant. I know that's the next question my mom is going to ask when she finds out I've gained two pounds over the past two weeks.)

Know what I realized last night? Well, other than I get way too depressed after a bad weigh in? That I didn't drink my water this week. I can't say that was the only reason I gained weight, but I can say that staying hydrated goes a long way to helping with correct body functioning (and perhaps weight-loss). It's just so hard to drink water when it's cold outside! My body is screaming for coffee and hot cocoa!

I did get an email from someone recommending this article on negative-calorie foods. It's pretty much stuff we already know, like eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, but I thought y'all might find it interesting anyway.

Guess I'd better get busy on that water!

Gaining a proper perspective... I am NOT fat anymore!

You know, some times I look in the mirror and still see a "big" girl. Not always, but sometimes. These days, I usually am pleased with what I now see. I USUALLY am. But it can be a struggle.
I seem to have a love/hate relationship with the scale too, but don't most of us? I'm trying not to obsess about the numbers. Because really, isn't it more about how you feel and look? I had a woman from the Y that I've not seen in probably six or seven weeks, say a very encouraging comment to me yesterday. She said,' Have you lost more weight since I've seen you last time?' 'No', said I, 'I'm about the same weight'. (which I am) . But then she said,' Well, it looks like you have lost weight, because your body shape has changed, and you look great!' These were very encouraging words indeed! I'm going to get another fitness analysis next month, I'm pretty curious to see what my body fat is now. The last one I had I believe was in July. And at that point my body fat was like 26%, which is still pretty high, but compared to my former 44.2 %, pretty damn good, if I do say so myself!!

Welcome Maggie - Part TWO!

Ok - I ran into Maggie and she and I figured out how to add her.

Maggie - I added you as an author - let me know if you get in ok :-)

So let's give her another round of welcome!

WELCOME MAGGIE!!!

100 POUNDS!!!!!!

In six months I have lost 100 pounds! I feel great and I am looking great, if I say so myself. I will post pictures soon. I was just excited to share my news.

Have a great day everyone!!

Shoes to make your legs look sexier?

fitflop walkstar Want to look ‘fit’? (In England, it’s synonymous with fabulous.) Don’t get caught without FitFlops on your feet. Not only do FitFlops help tone and trim your thighs, your calves and your glutes while you walk in them, they’re biomechanically engineered to absorb shock and lessen joint strain. They’ve been spotted on many a celeb, recently hailed as a ‘Medical Miracle’, and reported to relieve back pain. (And if you don’t live where it’s warm all-year-round, we’d suggest subbing them in as your slippers.) p.s. FitFlops make great Christmas gifts! “I have to say I was skeptical, but I am so glad I tried these amazing flip flops. I saw and felt a difference in my legs and butt right away. I also suffer from sore feet no matter what shoes I wear. These are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn. Well worth the money!" -Debbie, Vineland, NJ • women’s whole sizes 6-10

Girls, I saw this and thought they were cool - plus, Bliss makes tennis shoes that help you walk better while improving your muscle tone!

My Fitlinxx stats for November

Last month at the YMCA:
I earned 17,021 fit points. Placing me 1st in my age group, 1st for all women, and 3rd for the whole Y.

I lifted 1,065,713 pounds. (My most yet) Placing me 1st in my age group, 1st for all women, and 3rd over all.

I burned 9,953 calories. Placing me 2nd in my age group, 11th for all women, and 25th over all.

This was my weakest month for burning calories, and I'm not very pleased about it. I have been having problems with a bump that forms on the top of my right foot, it can get rather painful. It comes and goes. I wonder if it's because of the way that my foot lands when I run? I may need to go to a fancy shoe place and have them check me out while I run. And have them tell me the best type of shoe for my foot. I don't know. I hope it's only my shoes, and nothing more. Regardless, I'm back on the downward trail as far as pounds go. I'm down ten pounds, and hallelujah for that! My pants were getting too tight. I had crept back up to 184, but now I'm 174 and feeling in control again. I'm ready for those 160's baby! Holiday's or no, I'm goin' there!
I'm finding that I do much better if I weigh a lot more frequently, rather than not. It's when I avoid the scale that I get myself into trouble.

Starting a new venture

For a couple of months I have been a contributor on a site called Tales From The Scales. Well, starting soon, I will be playing a part on a much more frequent basis. I will be doing a weekly column.

It's sort of scary and exciting at the same time. There are a lot of people who are working through the challenges that Tales offers. I am going through my second challenge. I lost about 80 pounds on the first one and have taken off nearly 20 on this one.

I was on my computer, trying to figure out what articles I would write, what bits of insight I could give on so frequent a basis and finally realized that I would do best to start with the basics of what has helped me and just keep it simple each week.

I am really thrilled and excited about this.

There IS coming a day...

When I will look thin in ALL of the photos that are taken of me, not just half. I will look thin, because I will BE thin. I am tired of this cycle of doing great for a while and then pigging out and gaining 10+ pounds! I know what I need to do, but then I tire of it. I am discovering that I am an extreme person in many areas of my life. For the most part, this can be a good thing. Why do we go through these cycles?! I mean, I gained weight right before I had my family Christmas picture taken,(and it shows). And since then, about a week, I've lost eight pounds people! 16 pounds isn't far to go. I just need some cheerleading I think. That, and a good massage. : )

What exactly are we calling "maintaining?"

I need to know!

Because that was my challenge, to maintain over the holidays. And last night I found out the damage from the last two weeks (since my WW meeting is on Thursday, we didn't meet last week.)

I gained half a pound over the last two weeks! I'm now at an even 157, which means an even 80 pounds lost.

So, that's what I'm asking - does less than a pound gained count as maintaining? And does it make a difference if I tell you that it's my "time" this week?

If this doesn't count, just let me know - I won't be upset!

Oh, and one more thing: here is a picture of our office staff from December 2004. That's me on the right.



I found it while I was getting out my Christmas decorations last week. Could I have taken a less flattering pose?

And this was taken here with a tour group about two weeks ago. It's not the best picture, but you get the general idea:



And, in retrospect, I guess half a pound isn't bad, considering that I was served a holiday meal no fewer than five times within the space of a week!

Hurts Good?

I am a total masochist.

I hurt.

And I like it.


Yeah, I have been doing my sit ups, my leg lifts, I've even been riding horses. I'm totally a wreck sore. I can't raise my arms very high...I can't walk very fast, but you know what?

I like it.

I live in a lot of discomfort. Fibromyalgia steals my deep sleep, and even makes putting on clothes painful. I have a lot of pain I can't choose.

So I love the pain I do choose.

What do you do that is like this? What hurts good to you?

Eating changes

Today is my weigh in day, I am weighing 166 pounds now. Down from an all time high of 272 and from 168 last week. I thought I would tell you all something that has been a big change for me.

I love eating Chinese food and Indian food. For the most part, I make my own Chinese and it is as low in fat/cals as I can get it. I use steamed shrimp with the Chinese food or baked skinless turkey and the Indian food is a frozen dish and is vegan, so no meat products in that.

I love these meals, but I was getting so frustrated because they would really boost up my caloric intake for the day. Most of it was from the rice. I would add between one and two cups of rice to each meal.

I had a brainstorm one day and decided to make a change. For the past week I have been having my foods on a bed of steamed veggies instead of the rice. I use about a cup and a half of broccoli, snap peas, water chestnuts and carrots. I use the Steam-Fresh veggies from the freezer section. I love them. Then I top that with my Chinese or Indian food. Now the Chinese food has veggies already, so I just omit the rice entirely. If the Chinese is commercial prepared, I add more veggies because they never give enough to suit me.

This not only is much easier on my caloric count, but the feeling of fullness that I get lasts much longer. It was hard to make the adjustment, but now I don't see myself going back to rice. I know grains are good for you, but I really get enough throughout the day without the rice. I have two cups of thick sliced oats for breakfast.

One of the things that started me on this track was learning that when we get steamed rice from our Chinese food place, they add oil to the rice. That really bothered me. Here is another thing, for some reason, when I use the bed of veggies, I am not tempted to add soy sauce. Not sure why not. But I was becoming a real soy addict and the effects would be clear in increased fluid retention.

Please pray for a dear friend of mine!!

I just found out this evening, that one of our dear friends, Kerri, from our church family was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. She just celebrated her 33rd birthday less than two weeks ago, so this was a big kick in the face, so to speak. She will require surgery, as well as chemotherapy. In addition to that she has three small children. Tyler, (4) Jacob, (2 1/2), and Emma, (11 months).
Her and her husband Eric are incredibly active in our church, they both have such servants hearts. I'm sure that they would put many of us to shame. They are the neatest, NEATEST couple. If you knew them, I have no doubt that you would love them.
So please join Willem and I as we earnestly pray for their whole family. It would be much appreciated!!

WATER REMINDER

WARNING - IF YOU ARE READING THIS YOU HAVE 10 MINUTES TO DRINK 8 OUNCES OF WATER STARTING



NOW

Better Now.

Hi. I'm back.

My dad's out of the hospital (and thankfully, alive and looking much better), everything has calmed down, I ran my 8 mile Thanksgiving Day race (and finished well ahead of my goal time), I'm keeping with my training schedule, and my eating patterns have returned to normal. No more marshmallows for breakfast. So I'm back.

In good news, over the holidays I got many compliments on how great I look. While I've lost only a couple pounds running, it has built muscle mass and slimmed me down and it's noticeable in certain places. Like where, you ask? Exhibit A - my tighter waistline (and are those abs you feel? Why yes, they might be). Exhibit B - the jeans which are saggy in the rear (sadly, they're my favorites) which have to be hitched up frequently now. Assuming that I didn't do too much damage over my little binge break, I think I'm in good position heading into the holidays.

I promise to get with the tracking the jingle jigglers this week. It looks like everyone's doing well, so I'm proud of y'all. And I can't wait to hear how Melissa's Thanksgiving plan worked in action.

Love to you all,
Lisa

Buh-Bye Bloat

Okay, party's over for a little while. This week I'm gonna do things right. I'm just sayin'. It doesn't mean the fun's over, right? It just means I won't have to deal with the holiday bloat this time next week.

I had a really good time this weekend! I'll just let that fill me up for the time being.

What are you doing to recover from Thanksgiving? Am I the only one in need of recovery?

I CAN'T believe I did that!

Okay, so, I've not worked out the last couple of days due to Thanksgiving...and this last week I've not been lifting as much as I usually do. So, what am I thinking? I'm thinking that I want to try to make up for some lost time. In fact, I'm feeling energetic enough to possibly break my record of 81,000 pounds for one day. Well, I lost track, just hoping that I'd break my record... only to discover at the end of my workout, that I had lifted one hundred and seven thousand eight hundred and thirty-five pounds!!!! ( I intentionally wrote out the numbers for effect). : ) I blew my old record out of the water, girls! I blew it clean out. And yes, I do believe that I'm a bit crazy.

Holiday checkin

Well, here I am. Trying, like the rest of us, to not only survive, but THRIVE over the holiday season.

(I gained 1.5 pounds the week after I got to my 80 lb. mini-goal, possibly due to water weight, but I've lost that again and am back down to 156.5.)

After we all posted our challenges, I felt pretty silly. Maintenance? That's not very exciting! But considering how much most people gain during these six or so weeks, I guess maintenance is pretty important.

Now for my strategy.

1. I'm wearing my, um, tightest pants. Yes, they fit. Just. I picked up a pair of size 10 (size 10!) Liz Claiborne (Liz Claiborne!) pants at the Goodwill about a month back for $4.50. ($4.50! Score!) They just barely fit, and I figure that if I wear them I'll be less likely to over eat.

2. I'm going to Cracker Barrel for lunch. Yes, I am. We're traveling to my MIL's in Georgia, and we can't leave until Thursday morning because I have to work Wednesday. We're stopping for lunch on the way. How is that a strategy, you ask? Simple. I don't have to cook, so I won't be snatching a bite here and there as I do. And I can't just get as much as I want on my plate, so my portions are (relatively) controlled. And, I won't have leftovers hanging around to tempt me.

That night when we get to GA, I can resist the leftovers that will be there, because of the superiority of my lunch meal.

(Oh, did I mention that my MIL, a naturally thin person, is not only very critical of people who are overweight, she also has not one stitch of healthy food around? And that I have to bring my own stash, down to a granola bar to take to breakfast because she eats at Popeye's every morning and there's not a healthy thing on the menu there?)

3. I'm going to be extra-special good on the other meals, so that I can enjoy smaller portions of the foods I only eat once a year when the time comes. Like yesterday, I had some Progresso Light soup for breakfast, because we had an office Thanksgiving lunch. I had a small portion of the hen and dressing for lunch, and loaded up on green beans, and bypassed the mac and cheese all together. And then for dinner, I had a cup of hot and sour soup, which is really better for you (minus the sodium) than you'd think.

I also have a strategy for on-the-road snacking - I pack a separate small cooler full of veggies. And we take individual bags of baked chips for when we want something salty or crunchy.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to make myself a cup of green tea.

Photo and weight updates

Weight: 168

Measurements:

Before: Chest 57 Waist 51 Hips 57

Now: Chest 41.3 Waist 37.5 Hips 43.5

I intentionally took these photos in clothes that I felt would show as much of the remaining fat as I was willing to bare. Now I wish I had worn jeans!

I have put about 700 miles on our treadmill since April. I walk about three miles a day, but when I saw my photos today I thought, man, I really need to get this belly OFF! It's about the only place that I am still fat, and it is still very substantial. But it's coming. I can tell that the dents that I developed in my belly when I first started losing weight have really deepened and have become a waist. I have a big rounded pouch that starts just below where my ribs end, but it used to be that my boobs sat right on my belly. Not anymore.

So that's where I am now. I am hoping for more changes as time goes on. I am very happy with how I look and feel, with clothes on I look pretty good, but I want to get this fat reservoir gone!

Here is my old face and my face today:

Stress

I have more on my plate right now than I can handle. Between travelling for work, packing people to move, taking care of my friends who are in crisis, obligatory pre-holiday baking, my dad being in the hospital for really scary reasons, no sleep, and other assorted drama, I have been so unbelievably stressed this last week and it's not going away. And it's showing in what I've been eating but at this point I don't care.

I think that yesterday I ate scrambled eggs, two ginger cookies, a glass of milk, and a bag of marshmallows. The day before? No breakfast, enchiladas for lunch, no dinner, and about a dozen Diet Dr Peppers. Friday was no breakfast, a full turkey and stuffing dinner for lunch, half a piece of meatloaf for dinner. I get that I'm stress eating. I get that this is quite possibly the worst thing I could do for myself and my body right now. I get that this is a slippery slope into bad habits. But right now, I just can't deal. I cannot handle one more thing at this moment so this is what I'm going to let slide.

Someday I hope to be able to handle massive meltdowns in a more constructive manner. But for now, I will settle for being able to go back to eating well when all of this passes.

Whoever said that short hair isn't sexy?!

I feel so great with my new do. I got it done last night. In addition to having it cut shorter than it ever has been, I got some brown streaks put in. When I was a "big" girl, I always hid behind my big hair. Well I don't feel that need anymore, and it is very liberating! : )