It Occurred To Me
Whenever I am on a diet, chunging along and whatnot, I always have a moment of regret that I've never had a really astonishing binge. Have I ever eaten an entire box of Ding Dongs? Have I ever eaten a whole gallon of Rocky Road ice cream? An entire bag of Oreo cookies? Why no. No I have not. And I mean, if I have to go on a diet anyway, I might as well really have gone crazy while I had the chance.

Is that wrong?

Anyway, I am off to Mexico. Wish me luck in the whole margaritas-the-size-of-my-head thing. By which I mean, keep your fingers crossed that I'll get to drink a whole bunch of those!
- posted by mo @ 12:12 PM

 
Week 4 Weigh-In
Yes, I weighed in on Sunday this week. This is because, after having had a really great on-program week, I went out on Friday night with a friend of mine to Chevy's, where one of her friends works. And I had my pre-planned dinner all set (I ordered a chicken Caesar with dressing on the side, no cheese, no tortilla chips. It was good.) And then I had planned for one margarita.

Which turned out to be the size of my head.

Which led to a second margarita (watermelon flavored!), and a gigantic brownie sundae thing. We split it, but let's be honest: it could have fed about fourteen people.

So when I weighed in on Saturday morning, at home, informally, I still weighed a huge amount. And after the great week I had, I didn't want to go weigh in when I was (hopefully) retaining water or whatever mystical thing the kids are always talking about, that happens after you go off program entirely and drink the equivalent of forty-seven margaritas.

Which brings me to today, when I weighed in as having lost 2.6 pounds! Some of it was from this week, and some was certainly a correction from last week. But it brings me to a total of -4.8 pounds, head-sized margaritas notwithstanding.

Now my next challenge is a vacation to Cancun that is upcoming. I set my vacation goal, which is to lose a small amount, just enough to get that 5-pound bookmark. In order to accomplish this, I am going to be as on-program as possible in the days leading up to the vacation, and do as much exercise (read: swimming in the beautiful blue ocean) as possible while on vacation. Then get right on program when I get back. Voila!

I went to the grocery store and stocked up on the items that helped me have such a sucessful week: the 1-point cheese wedges, nectarines, grape tomatoes and sugar-snap peas to snack on, the TJ's curried chicken salad for lunches, and the whole wheat crackers for snacking. I have three days before I leave for my vacation, and I am going to spend those three days wisely.
- posted by mo @ 12:07 PM

 
The Cheat Night Principle
From Plork:

"You are severely cutting down your calories all week – allowing one day a week to go up out of your stinking Calorie Budget and splurge (what an awful word "splurge" is, aesthetically and in every way. Jeeze.), you keep your body from going into starvation mode. That is Science.

Well, that is Something I Made Up, really, but it seems logical, and makes sense, and this oreo in my mouth, as I type? It's making me happy. It was like a gift in the middle of general grimness, a way to relax after a week of excessive fright – everything you put in your mouth scares you, when you're on a diet, or a meal plan, or trying to lose weight. You're always wondering if this is going to be the thing that fucks you up, sends you weight rocketing, ruins everything."

I am quoting the first half of that because it is entertaining, and the second half of that because that fear is very familiar to me. And I am quoting it as a whole because it reminded me to tell you that this is how I use my Flex Points every week. I use them all on the same day. I've found that if I use a few every day, I do not lose weight; in fact, I tend to gain it. If I use them all up at once, it allows me to have one night as described above: free from food fear, and keeping my metabolism happy.

It seems like every week since I've started up the Weight Watchers, I've had one night like this, usually due to an event. This weekend is Mas, the monthly holiday that my friends and I invented as an excuse for us to take turns cooking awesome food for each other and eating Humbolt Fog cheese and drinking wine. Last weekend was Books and Pie. Which involved pie. Particularly the lemon chiffon pie with blueberries. Mmm. The weekend before was Beth's not-a-reception. Then there was the vacation, where we went out for one amazing, expensive, delicious meal, involving dessert and wine, and of course, dessert wine.

I have learned (and this is just me speaking for me, now) that I do better if I still keep my points in mind, and try to stay within the Flex Points bank. Not because of mathematics, really, but more for psychological reasons. It makes me feel like I am still on-program. It gives me permission to say no to food and make healthier choices, even if I am having a "night off" from the program. In other words, just because it's "Cheat Night" doesn't mean I have to have use up the last of my Flex Points on that seventh piece of pie.

But I can!
- posted by mo @ 11:53 AM

 
Link of the Day
Discovered in my referral logs (yes, that's how I find weight-loss blogs) this morning: Relentlessly Me. Well-written, funny, relatable. One of those good diet blogs that some people think are mythical. It's Brigadoon! It's bloody Brigadoon!

Nope, coffee still hasn't kicked in.
- posted by mo @ 8:43 AM

 
Planning
Doing meal planning for the week is great, let me tell you. I stepped on the scale this morning and things are looking good in the neighborhood. (Sorry, morning coffee hasn't kicked in yet, obviously.) This week was a lot easier than last week, mostly because I had a meal plan prepared that I could stick to. I had a lot of snacks every day, for when those 3:30 munchies hit. And I have to say five days were totally on-target so far.

Tonight is a challenge. I have plans to go to Chevy's with a friend of mine. (To meet someone who works there.) Fortunately, Chevy's is listed at Dotty's, so I followed the advice of countless diet magazines, and decided ahead of time what to eat. The challenge will be saving enough points over the course of the day, because quite frankly, I have decided to eat a margarita. Ole!

I may weigh in on Sunday instead of Saturday, just to avoid the inevitable post-Chevy's salt-intake water retention doohickey that everyone is always talking about. But we'll see.
- posted by mo @ 8:21 AM

 
Dear Mark
I got mail from someone named Mark today. Mark, let me preface this by saying, I am sure you are very nice, and I don't actually think you're an asshole. I am not sure if you only looked at my weblog for ten seconds, or if you read further. But I find it hard to believe you would have seen how much weight I have lost over the past five years, or read anything about my struggles, and then thought I could use the following advice.

"In general terms, Wt loss = calories burned - calories consumed."

Wait, so... all I have to do is... consume fewer calories than I burn...? Is that... it? Oh my god, WHAT A REVELATION THIS IS! HAD I ONLY KNOWN!!

"Try working on the calories burned part of the equation. Go for 2 or 3 bike rides each week."

Hey, you know what he's saying? Let me save all of you a lot of trouble and share Mark's magic secret with you all. We should all EAT LESS, and EXERCISE MORE. Finally, someone who knows the secret! Mark, we've been waiting for you!

"Find someone to ride with, to help you get out there regularly, make it fun but work hard at it."

To be serious for a minute--because this is a reasonable suggestion--it's not actually that easy to find someone with the exact same exercise and fitness goals as you, who lives in the same place and has the same schedule and is as motivated as you are. I mean, an exercise buddy is a glorious thing, but if you have found one, you are very lucky.

"Stay in lower gears and spin the pedals faster. Ask a local bike shop for good places to ride. Explore your area to find those quiet smooth roads."

I have been bike riding for years. I have biked through redwood trails and on the beach and on local cliffs and by the San Francisco Bay. I probably lost forty pounds bike riding. I know where the "good places" and the "smooth roads" are, and I damn well know how to "spin the pedals." I am sure this is just a case of not having read the relevant parts of the blog, but it's still a little "Advice from Basic McObvious" to me.

And now you are probably thinking, "Why is Mo being so mean to poor Mark? I mean sure, it's simplistic advice, but it's reasonable, right? He means well, right?" Well here's the last line of his e-mail:

"On the eating side, drink lots of water, or lightly sweetened tea, to keep the belly full."

Here's the part where Mark loses me, and I lose it. Because if there has ever been more USELESS DIETING ADVICE than "drink water or tea" when you are having CRAVINGS or eating EMOTIONALLY or dealing with STRESS or just FUCKING HUNGRY LIKE A NORMAL PERSON, then I HAVE NEVER HEARD IT.

In fact, I still vividly recall something that Erin said back in 2003. And that is:

"When you want food -- junky, fatty, salty, substantive food -- there is no Celestial Seasoning Tea that you can dunk in boiling hot water and be a surrogate for an order of cheese fries. There just isn't. And anyone who looks at you with a straight face and a pair of size 8 jeans and says otherwise is an asshole. "

I know that Mark is a guy, and men tend to be very straightforward about weight loss. Believe me, I respect and envy that. It is great to have that mindset. Because basically, yeah, that is the weight loss formula. Eat less, move more. But although I appreciate the fine intentions behind Mark's advice, talking to me like I am an idiot who doesn't know the first fucking thing about losing weight is not actually helpful. At the risk of being just as obvious as Mark, let me tell you something else we all already know.

IT'S NOT THAT EASY. I mean right? It's fucking not. We just do our best and try our hardest. You, me, Mark. We all are in it together.

Anyway, now that that's off my chest, I am off to have my afternoon cup of cheese-fries-flavored Celestial Seasonings Tea. Mmm mmm! That is satisfying!
- posted by mo @ 2:20 PM

 
Bizarro World
So this S&P post is half very familiar to me and half Bizarro World. I know the feeling of falling off the horse and how hard it is to get back on. But can I just say: nine solid months of weight loss? Without ever posting a gain? And now the gain is like, half a pound?

That is simultaneously impressive and frightening.
- posted by mo @ 11:47 AM

 
Wha Happened?
For some horrifying reason, I gained 1.8 pounds this week. Two steps forward, one step back, I guess. I honestly don't know where I went wrong. I wrote everything down, and tried to stick to the program. It just seemed harder this week, and I sort of crept over my points a couple of days. And I didn't exercise at all. Still, I felt like I had lost some weight, not gained it all back!

Right after the weigh-in, I went to go see the pants movie, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. And it was wonderful, and America Fererra is the overweight girl's perfect role model, even though she's only a teenager, and I felt great about myself again after watching that. Which is exactly where you want to be when you're contemplating getting back on the horse you just fell off.

Part of the problem last week was that I kept going over my points during the day, and not having enough points to eat dinner, and either starving myself or gorging myself as a result. So I did a calculation to see what I should eat during the day, and then I went shopping and bought all the ingredients, and now I have a Plan.

Today I am going to have my morning coffee (2 points), cereal (3), a TJ's salad (6), one serving of fruit (1), one serving of veggies (0), one Stonyfield Farms yogurt (2), and a wedge of cheese and a couple of crackers (3). I do not know if this will be enough food, but I am going to give it a try. That adds up to 17 points, which gives me 11 points for the rest of the day. (I have been eating my activity points, but I am going to try not to this week.)

I actually should have brought more fruit, now that I am looking at the list. Oh well, something to know for tomorrow.

Goals for the week are to stick to the program and eating plan, and write everything down. And get some exercise. And modify the eating plan for next week, based on what I learn this week.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, the topic of my Weight Watcher meeting was "It isn't failure; it's feedback." As long as you keep coming to WW, and keep trying, and learning from your mistakes, it's not failure at all. It's just new information. And it's just what I needed to hear, this particular week!
- posted by mo @ 9:31 AM

 
Tiny Note
I updated the links over in the sidebar. They were out of date. I will add more as I find them!
- posted by mo @ 9:41 AM

 
Question for the Ointyites
It's about lunch. Specifically, what do you have for lunch? Especially those of you who work in an office but really, everybody. How many points do you spend on your lunches, and what do you eat? Are you with it enough to pack a lunch every day, or do you have to wing it? And when you do wing it, what do you get?

I've been on the Weight Watchers for two weeks now (this is week three, woo woo) and my lunches are most frequently as follows:

* A Subway sub with turkey or veggies. I always add something to the basic sandwich, usually honey mustard, but sometimes mayo, cheese or oil. (Not all of the above, but the veggie sandwich needs a little something. I could try avocado sometime.) Usually that comes to 6-8 points, and I will sometimes add a 2-3 point bag of chips.

* A Lean Cuisine. All the ones I've brought in lately have been 6 points.

* A Boca Burger on a wheat roll. This one takes some planning, but it is only 4 points. Sadly, it is also not very filling.

* A Trader Joe's curried chicken salad. Delicious and filling, 6 points. A better choice than the Lean Cuisines for sure--more veggies, less sodium, not processed. I am going to try and bring this in more often.

So there you have it. I usually have a bowl of cereal for breakfast and fruit, yogurt, and other snacks throughout the day. But I'm looking for more lunch ideas. So what do you eat?
- posted by mo @ 8:59 AM

 
Week 2 Check In
Here we are again, with another check-in, and another set of goals. How did I do? Let's see...

1. Stay on program (write everything down) and attend meeting on Saturday.
I did this! (For the most part, my vacation was a little murky, but still better and more on-program than I have ever been on a vacation, and that really does count for something. I didn't have an all-or-nothing mentality, and I tried to make good choices some of the time even if I didn't make them all of the time.

So I lost 1.6 pounds this week, which brings me up to 4.0 pounds lost exactly. I remember that my body loves to lose 1.6 pounds for some reason; lots of weeks had me posting that exact same number. I would be happy with that, even if I don't actually hit 25 pounds within the prescribed 12 weeks. But anyway, yay!

2. Do one ab workout and one upper body workout. (It's a short and busy week, but this is attainable.)
No; I suck.

3. Go on at least one bike ride.
I was supposed to bring my bike to Sacramento this weekend, and halfway here I realized I had forgotten it. Do good intentions count?

4. Limit myself to one treat per day. (I was doing this on vacation, and it was a good thing to keep in mind.)
Some days I didn't even have any treats. This week it was not a problem.

Next week's goals:

1. Stay on program and go to meeting on Saturday.
2. Do at least one ab workout and one upper body workout.
3. Go on at least one bike ride.
4. Every day, write down at least one "choice to be proud of" that I made that day.

We'll see how it goes!
- posted by mo @ 12:55 PM

 
I Just Opened Some Yogurt... I Am In For The Night
If you haven't seen Here and Now and don't get that joke, that is a shame. Because Ellen Degeneres is very funny!

Anyway, thanks to my Complete Food Companion, I discovered a new type of yogurt. I had been eating Yoplait light, but as you know, one container is 4 points. I had no idea there was a 2 point yogurt out there that was low fat (as opposed to fat free) but there are lots! The one that I've been buying is Stonyfield Farms organic.

So far I've tried the maple vanilla (it's a little hard to get past the sour yogurt flavor paired with sweet flavoring) and the raspberry (yum) and the lemon (yum). The fruit flavors have fruit on the bottom for that extra-fruity flavor, and the yogurt itself is tasty and not overly sweet (which means not artificially sweetened, which is nice). I've been in the habit of bringing a yogurt to work every day. If I am super hungry, I can always throw in a handful of (0 points) Fiber One cereal.

Tomorrow is weigh-in #2, and I hope I've lost some more weight this week, but I guess we shall see. I am impatient, because even if I lost ten pounds, I would still be way above my comfortable weight level. So it seems like a long way to go. If I keep the 12-week commitment in mind, though, it seems less long. As of tomorrow, only 10 weeks to go!
- posted by mo @ 11:47 AM