Off to a Great Start

After getting off to a rocky start, I had a very successful weekend. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, I did my best to make better choices and was sure to track everything I ate, no matter what. I went over my calories every day by quite a bit, especially after Friday night's drinking at bowling followed by Taco Bell. Saturday, I was very conscious of the choices that I made and ended the day under my calories. Sunday went just as well! I was very happy with how the weekend played out and it gave me the boost that I needed to push full force into this week.

Tonight after work, I plan to work out. I will be doing The Firm Express which is a quick 20 minute workout. I enjoy The Firm Express because although it's quick, it's certainly not easy. It can definitely be hard to motivate yourself to gear up for a 60 minute workout, but anyone can squeeze 20 minutes into their day without much displeasure.

I also went grocery shopping and bought plenty of the healthier foods that I have eaten in the past when I have been successful. It is very relaxing to have my week planned out and I feel very prepared for the challenges that may comes!

I also wanted to mention that I found this fantastic blog that has recipes, success stories, and lots of other inspirational things. I find it easy to relate to the woman writing the blog because her starting weight is similar to mine. She has also struggled with becoming pregnant, which is a great fear of mine. Although she and her husband's struggles did not end up being related to her weight, it is still understood that being overweight can greatly affect someone's ability to become pregnant. It's just another reason for me to push forward on this journey!

200 Days

Today marks the 200th day until my wedding. I am dangerously close to pulling on that white dress and walking down the aisle to marry the love of my life. I had high hopes of losing a lot of weight before my special day. I still do. The problem is, I haven't been focused on weight loss. At all. In months. In fact, I have gained a lot of weight and am now the heaviest I have ever been in my life. It's a sobering thought. The most important day of my life is rapidly approaching and I am doing nothing to ensure my complete happiness on that day.

I have dabbled with dieting here and there since my last post. I've had great days and good weeks and then horrible days and even worse months. It's only 200 days. Six and a half months. I should be able to focus myself on the prize for that long, right? It's so much easier said than done. My weight is a thought that consumes every minute of my life, but at the same time, I cast it aside in my mind, blocking out the harsh reality.

So once again, here I am proclaiming my new found commitment  to this journey. I commit to becoming healthier. I commit to tracking my food. I commit to exercising. 

I plan to have my official weigh-in tomorrow morning, and update my progress. My goal is to lose 65 pounds by my wedding. My first "mini goal" is to lose 10 pounds by 2013. I will do this! :)

Progress

After all the back and forth and the trying this plan and that plan, I'm finally doing it. I'm finally losing weight. Reality FINALLY set in that my wedding is rapidly approaching. I'm finally on track and doing well. In just under three weeks, I've already lost ten pounds. It's amazing how some hard work and dedication will actually get you somewhere!

 Summer makes it easier to exercise, but harder to stay on track. Somehow, I'm doing well at both right now! I've been jogging, riding my bike, walking, and doing some fitness DVDs at home. I even joined Jazzercise again for the summer! Last weekend, my two best friends stayed the night at my house. On Sunday morning, we woke up and went for a jog/walk around my neighborhood. We came back and did interval training in my driveway. I'm sure that we looked like idiots jumping around and lifting weights out there and we definitely got some odd looks from the people driving by, but we burned a lot of calories and had fun!

Stay motivated, people! If I can, anyone can!

Temptations

It's not secret that you don't become overweight by eating carrots, celery, and broccoli and getting plenty of exercise. Pizza, pasta, cupcakes, and other delicious foods are what have added to my waistline over the years and have come to be staples in my diet. In order to start losing weight and move toward a healthier lifestyle, I need to learn how to enjoy my old favorites in moderation, while still maintaining a dominantly healthy diet.

I started Weight Watchers on Saturday. My daily PointsPlus allowance is 43 points. This number is based on my age, height, weight, and some other factors and is personalized to me and my needs at this point. As I progress, the number will go down, eventually shrinking to a measly 26 points per day! In addition to these points, every person in the program has a weekly allowance of 49 additional points to use as you please. 

The main goal of the program is to focus on eating "Power Foods" such as lean meats, vegetables, fruits, and other healthier options. These Power Foods are expected to make up the majority of your daily PointsPlus allowance. The weekly allowance is for indulging on sweets and other temptations that you may come across in a week.

This week, my first week back on the program, has been full of temptations. On Saturday night, we went out for my cousin's 21st birthday. I used a couple points on doing a Patriot Bomb shot. On Sunday, we had a birthday party for my cousin. I used some the majority of my daily points eating wings, spinach artichoke dip, and birthday cake and had to use some of my weekly allowance later in the day to have something small for dinner. Monday and Tuesday were relatively successful and temptation free. On Wednesday, I went to lunch at a new local restaurant with some coworkers. There were NO healthy options, so I ended up eating a grilled cheese and some french fries. The french fries were not good, but I still ate every last one of them, wasting 11 points for the day. Needless to say, when I got home, I was hungry, and had almost no points left for the day. I used a good majority of my weekly allowance on dinner and an evening snack yesterday. 

That brings me to today - the biggest temptation of the week. A coworker of mine is leaving to start a new job and we had a smorgasbord of food this morning. Cookies, cupcakes, fruit pizza, breakfast casseroles, cinnamon rolls, and other delicious options. I helped myself to a large plate of food. It's a celebration - why not? Well, I have no idea how to track anything I ate. I have no idea how many points I consumed, but it's safe to say, it was A LOT. I haven't had lunch or dinner and I am sure I'm dangerously close to meeting today's allowance and I have only 20 more weekly allowance points. 

Life is full of temptations. Unexpected events, celebrations, or other social gatherings will constantly pull you out of your comfort zone. It's up to you to make the choices or have an alternate plan. I didn't do well in choice making or planning this week and gave in to every temptation that came my way. It wasn't a very good way to start WW, but I'm still hopeful that I'll have a loss this week. I weigh in on Saturday morning. Tonight and tomorrow will definitely be full of exercise!

Week One

I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting on Saturday! It was really nice. I went back to the Weight Watchers I had gone to in the past and there were a few familiar faces. I've been doing well with my tracking of points. It definitely takes longer to figure out if I can eat something because I can't just look at the calorie content and know that it fits into my day. I find it's helped deter me from eating a couple things because I simply didn't want to mess around with figuring out how many points it was! 

I didn't get any exercise in the weekend. On Saturday, two of my friends and I drove a few hours to meet another friend and her husband for lunch. We ate at Olive Garden and ended up being at the restaurant almost 3 hours! It is so nice to catch up with friends I don't get to see often! Sunday was my cousin's 21st birthday so we went out to the bar at midnight to help him celebrate! 

I'm hoping that the coming week will allow me to get some exercise done and speed up my weight loss for my first official WW weigh in!