8 Weeks DONE

I missed updating last week, and since then, I've lost 4.8 pounds for a total of 22 pounds!  I'm only ONE POUND from losing 10% of my starting weight!  We leave for Florida in 6 weeks so to attain my "mini goal" of being under 200 pounds, I need to lose 9.4 pounds by June 11. I've been averaging 2.6 pounds/week so I do think it's doable.

This week is supposed to be nice so I want to get back to walking in the evenings. Last week and the weekend was cloudy, cool, and rainy so I didn't get much non-work activity in.

Here is an updated progress chart. Look at that line go down!

Happy Doctor!

I had my annual exam this morning with my OB-GYN doctor and at the end of the exam she commented that I weigh 9 pounds less than I did at my appointment last year! I told her I joined WW again last month and that I've lost almost 19 pounds and she gave me a high-5! She commented how WW was a good program and told me I should be super proud of myself because losing weight isn't easy. She also commented that it's great that I'm not on any medications. Honestly, I haven't had bloodwork done for a couple of years, but at that time, everything was okay. But I'm pretty sure if I had it done today, that I wouldn't need any medication.

Anyway, when she was leaving she said she'd see me next year and I told her hopefully there will be a lot less of me next year. =)

6 weeks in

Drumroll, please!  After 6 weeks, I've lost 17.2 pounds!  Woohoo! On Saturday, I weighed 213.2 in the morning (naked) before my meeting.  I got in almost 13,000 steps, surpassed the 5 mile mark on my Fit Bit, and was just a few calories below my goal in that category. When I got on the scale yesterday morning (I'm a daily weigher), I was down to 211.4!  I was super excited but then between the weather, no exercise, limited water, and eating out...I had the blahs. I ate lunch in the car -- 3-piece chicken fingers from Sonic (8 pts) and then we went and Mexican at Las Margaritas where I had a chicken tostada.  I tracked it as a tostada from Chili's for 10 pts. I ended the day at 0 so while I didn't go over my points, I didn't eat very healthy. This morning the scale showed it, too. I was up to 212.8! Granted that's still below my weigh-in weight on Saturday, but I was up more a pound from yesterday. I know I didn't eat enough to calories yesterday for that to be an actual 1.4 pound gain, so I'm hoping that after a couple of good bowel movements (haha) and lots of water today, that it will head back down tomorrow.

BUT, I will likely be eating pizza for dinner, which won't be exactly helpful. Our Sojourners group is having Family Night and bringing pizza for all of us and kids are invited. We'll get there about 45 minutes late since my daughter has swimming lessons, so if it's already cold and gross, I'll skip it. But I did plan ahead and have only eaten 12 of my 18 points. So, if I have a couple of pieces of pizza, it will be okay.

Here's an updated progress chart.

Week 5 done

Well, my week 5 weigh-in was a bust.  I only lost .8 pounds (((sad face))) making my total loss 14.4 pounds.  I had a great week though so I shouldn't be bummed about losing a bit less than a pound. A LITTLE LOSS IS BETTER THAN A GAIN. I walked every day and had some big step days, too.

So that was Saturday morning.  Yesterday morning, I got on the scale and was down 2 pounds from the day before and that's still where I'm at today. Hopefully it doesn't go back up because right now I've lost 16.4 pounds!  I soooo want to get recognized for 15 pounds lost this coming weekend.  OR, maybe I'll lose 3.8 more and get 20 pounds!  lol...  While that would be nice, I'm not going to get my hopes up since that would be quite a loss in one week.

Here's my chart for the week. As you can see, not much movement. NEXT week will go down!

By the way, we leave for Florida TWO MONTHS from today. So, 2 months to lose 14 pounds.  I got this. =)

One month down...

After being on WW for one month (4 weeks), I've lost 13.6 pounds!  I'm pretty proud of how the first month went. I started at 230.4 and I'm at 216.8 now.  I'm wanting to be 199 by the time I step onto the plane on June 11, so I need to lose 17.8 pounds over the next 10 weeks, which is an average of about 1.8 pounds per week. I really think it's doable as long as I keep on walking and staying on plan.

I took Milo (my adorable Shih Tzu/Coton de Tulear dog) for a 50 minute walk on Saturday morning. It was a pretty chilly morning and my ears were quite cold by the time we got home, but it was a great walk. Our neighborhood is quite hilly so my Fitbit counted it as though I'd walked up 16 flights of stairs!

Yesterday I went on two separate walks for a total of 60 minutes. Both of those walks were at Holmes Park on the trail that goes around the lake. It was a nice change of scenery for sure!

Here's an updated chart of my weight loss:

I've got the blahs

I'm not sure what's going on today, but I am soooo sluggish and tired. I went to bed later than I have been lately and was awake for about 45 minutes in the middle of the night, but it's not that unusual! I guess my body has gotten used to going to be around 9:30! It's "that" time of the month, too, so that could play into it as well. The sun hasn't been out much today so it's darkish and gloomy...much like my mood!

I gave in and went to the vending room in hopes that some caffeine from a Diet Coke would lift me up a bit. I haven't had a drop of caffeine since March 3, which is exactly 4 weeks ago! That was the last day I had coffee in the morning.

I went for a morning walk but didn't go at all at lunch. I only take 30 minutes, and by the time I got done eating I was out of time. I had fish, a hard-boiled egg, and yogurt with granola (which takes me forever to eat).

I plan on taking a walk this afternoon but there's no way I'll get even close to 10,000 steps today! Yesterday was a great Fitbit day though....I met every single goal!

Weight Loss Chart

When I was on my original weight loss journey, I had chart on the side of my blog that showed my progress and I updated it after each weigh-in. I loved seeing the line go down and down. I created one for my latest (and LAST) journey. I will plot each week's weight through the end of 2016. I realize I likely won't be at goal by then, but it's all I could fit on the chart!

I go back and forth on my goal; last time it was 145, which is at the top of my "recommended" weight for my height. In 2008 when I quit WW because of my pregnancy, I was at 150 and I was pretty happy with that. Once I get back to that, I'll decide on what my "ultimate goal" will be. My weight should be 120-145, so I'm thinking it will be 135, which will be a total loss of 95 pounds. Oy vey.  lol...

For now, I'm just focused on getting to 199 by June 11!

That Silly Scale!

When I'm on WW and trying to lose weight, I get on the scale every morning to see where I'm at. Over the last few weeks, I've seen decreases and been happy....until this morning.

Here's what I've weighed for the past few days:

• Saturday, 220.0
• Sunday, 219.0
• Monday, 218.2
• Tuesday, 217.8
• TODAY, 219.2

I'm 1.4 lbs from yesterday morning even though I stayed on track, walked over 10k steps, and burned 2775 calories (I ate WAY fewer calories than that!) yesterday. It makes no sense at all, but I know that it's just one of those things that happens. I'm still down from last Saturday's weigh in and I have a few more days for itself to straighten itself back out.  I'm definitely NOT going to get discouraged because I KNOW I didn't do anything wrong to cause the weight gain from yesterday.

I'm still hoping to lose 1.6 lbs this week so I can reach my 5% goal (12 lbs) and get my first piece of bling!

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UPDATE:  I just returned from the bathroom and I think I know the reason for that 1.4 lb 'gain' from yesterday.  My period is starting so that's probably the culprit!  I'll be upping my water intake the next few days and hope that helps by Saturday!

Mini Goals

Since I have so much weight to lose, I'm setting mini goals so I don't get overwhelmed. We are taking our first 'major' family vacation to Florida in June and I'd like to be in "onderland" as they call it at WW. So, my first mini goal is to be at 199 lbs by June 11 when we fly to Ft. Walton Beach. I won't be able to go to my WW meeting that morning, but I can still do a "naked weight" at home.

As of today, I have 20 pounds to lose;  to accomplish this goal I will need to lose an average of 1.8 lbs/week over the next 11 weeks.  I am going to try my hardest!

First Compliment!

I went across the hall to peel my hard-boiled egg and I told our receptionist that she could take break earlier than 10:35 because I've been walking instead of going on break with a few other coworkers. They like to sit and talk and breaks were always closer to 20-25 minutes than 15. Anyway, another coworker overheard me saying that I'm walking now and she said, "Trying to get healthy huh?" and I said "Ya, I'm trying" and then she said "I can tell you've lost weight!"  =)  =)  =)   I said thank you and said "only 10 pounds but it's going good!" and she thought I'd lost more. Another lady said, "10 pounds? I probably gained that much yesterday!" which was Easter. lol...

The pants I have on get stretched out easily and the sweater I have on is also pretty stretched out, so it could just be that, but I'll take the confidence boost! 

Week 3

Last week was an awesome one! I was down 4.4 lbs at weigh in for a total so far of 10.4 pounds. I know I'm not going to lose that much every week, but damn it felt good! I'm hoping to lose 1.6 this week so I can be at 12 lbs lost and receive my 5% award. Back when I did WW before, the first award was for 10%, which for me now, is 23 lbs. I like that they have added a 5% reward since it's important to receive recognition in the early weeks or months.

Last week's weather wasn't too conducive to evening walks so I only had 2 or 3 days where I hit 10,000 steps. I was able to walk the dog yesterday after church and I think it's supposed to be a lot nicer this week so hopefully I'll be able to walk in the evenings more.

Yesterday was Easter and while I didn't go super crazy, there were things I shouldn't have eaten. I had made these cute flowers from pretzels and M & Ms and I think I had 3 of them. I did stay away from my daughter's Easter basket of chocolate, peeps, and popcorn balls though!

Dinner was prime rib and I had a piece about the size of a deck of cards so that wasn't too horrible probably. There was a spaghetti squash dish that was really good. I didn't have very much though because I was afraid of how pointy it was since it had olive oil, bacon, parmesan cheese, and pine nuts in it.  I found the recipe and calculated the points; using turkey bacon, the total points for the whole recipe is 38 (44 with regular bacon). It says it makes 4 servings, but not how much each serving is, but I know I didn't eat 1/4 of it! There was a decent amount left and probably 5 adults had some. I might make it at home since it's not as pointy as I thought!

I also had some green beans that probably had some butter on them, and 3 mushrooms that were in butter. I love slicing them and having a little with each bite of prime rib. So good! I passed on the orange salad made with cottage cheese and cool whip, and also the mashed potatoes, gravy, fresh homemade rolls, and WINE. All in all, very proud of myself.

On to week 4!

Exercising

Prior to joining WW, I never exercised, unless you count meandering through Super Target. I'm still not doing anything hardcore, but I have started walking at work during breaks and lunch, if time allows. I work in a large, square-base building which makes for a great 'track'. Each lap around the inside is approximately 1/4 mile.  It takes me 5 minutes/lap so I walk 3 laps at each break and if I have time, I try to do 2 more laps during my 30-minute lunch. Therefore, on a perfect day, I get 8 laps in which makes for about 2 miles. This doesn't count the steps down and back to the bathroom or down to get water and back! On nice evenings, when there's time, we take the dog for a walk, too. Our path is just over a mile and slightly longer if I take him by myself.

My goal is to take 10,000 steps every day, which honestly doesn't happen as much as I'd like it to. A lot of days I'm around 8,000 steps which I'm still happy with. It's a lot more than I use to take in a day.

I have to remember that even though I don't walk as fast as others or walk as many laps as others do on break, that I'm MOVING and not just sitting all day.

Through My Child's Eyes

The other day I found my "after" picture from the first time I did WW, which was taken the same day I found out I was pregnant, October 29, 2008.

My daughter is 6 now and knows that I am trying to lose weight and to be healthier. I showed her the picture and told her I want to look like that again. She looked at the picture and commented that my hair looks different now, and that my glasses are different, too. She asked where the picture was taken (in a former house). And she noticed a picture of my husband and I in the background of us in Chicago. But she didn't comment at all on how different my body size is now compared to the picture. I weigh 80 pounds more now, so believe me, it's obvious. I finally said that I was a lot thinner then and felt better so that's how I want to look and feel again. Then she reached for my lower arm flab and asked "But will you still have this because I like how it jiggles!"  lol... I told her that hopefully some of it goes away but I'm sure there will be enough for her to jiggle.  ; )

I learned that children don't see us the way we see ourselves and they love us no matter what size we are.

A Little History

I'm calling this new blog "Third Time's a Charm" because I started Weight Watchers for the THIRD time on March 5, 2016. I blogged my first time around and found it very helpful and made some new friends along the way.

I joined WW for the first time in October 2007 weighing 220 and by the end of October 2008, I had lost 70 pounds and was only 5 pounds from my goal. The day the scale read "150" was also the day that 2 pink lines showed up on a pregnancy test!  Unfortunately, I had to quit attending WW meetings and didn't stay on track and gained 55 pounds during my pregnancy. When I left the hospital, I think I weighed 180 and if I remember right, I only lost about 5 more but I stayed around 175 for the next year and then it started climbing again.

The second time I joined was in September 2011 and I weighed 205. I had lost about 30 pounds by March 2012 and then I gained a couple of pounds and went a few weeks without getting back down and I gave up. I wish I had just kept going instead of quitting.

So here I am, again. My starting weight this time was 230.4 which is 10 pounds heavier than my original starting weight back in 2007.  It's been 2 weeks and as of a few days ago, I'd lost 6 pounds. According to my scale, I've lost a couple more since then so I think it's 8 pounds now

My goal remains 150, but honestly I need to weigh less than that. So when I get there, I'll decide how much further I want to go.

There it is. The history of my weight for the world to see.