March Madness Finale: Weigh-in No.4

Alas, March Madness is coming to a conclusion. But alack not! Success has been had! I am down 3 lbs from last week. Grand total March Madness loss = 9.5 lbs in 4 weeks. Woot! March Madness was an excellent way to re-invigorate my commitment to WW, stay motivated and inch my way closer to a healthy BMI.

But March Madness wasn’t just about weight loss - the madness helped me re-discover myself, become slightly less reclusive, make my apartment marginally less disgusting (I totally cleaned the other day), stop crushing on a boy, push through my plateau and turn up my cardio routine by way of interval (fartlek) training for both running and biking.

Now that the end is upon us (read: Shanny, myself and other MM participants) the only lucid course of action is to SPRING FORWARD. That’s right folks, it’s time for another challenge. New name, same rules: lose 8-10 lbs by way of healthy and intelligent means in a month (my weigh-in day will be April 3oth). Losing 8-10 more will get me palpably close to my healthy BMI. Very exciting shit. It’s not going to be easy. Stay tuned for results and other musings.

March Madness Maintained, Period: Weigh-in No. 2

Impromptu trip home did indeed damper my March Madness efforts, but wasn’t a complete disaster, weight-wise: I maintained. I maintained whilst surrounded by food pushers, wings, beer, pie and family. I count this as a success. (Especially considering my period came into town the day before weigh-in.) But, this little success leaves me with the same 4.5 - 6.5 lbs to drop in 2 weeks time for the March Madness challenge. Is this achievable? Perhaps, but perhaps not; it certainly won’t be easy.

Upon reviewing my membership book I have noticed a pattern. It is the sort of pattern that many of us in WW dread: the plateau.

Reader, for the last 5 weeks I have been hovering on or around 170 lbs, plus or minus 5 (i.e., 172.5, 169, 174, 170.5, 170.5). Getting here has been difficult, and I am proud to have lost 25 lbs. I have always said that numbers aren’t that important to me, but they are one source of feedback. As a woman of 5′5″ a healthy weight for me, according to the BMI scale, falls between 120 and 138 lbs. I know I can try harder and push through this plateau. It is going to take some forserious change. It’s time to get back to basics.

When I first joined WW I diligently tracked everything I ate using the Flex plan. Over time, I switched to Core, mainly from irritation with the tracking required on Flex. For the first few weeks on Core I diligently meal planned and also tracked things on my one-pager, but that has stopped. No matter how much I tell myself to track while on Core I stop a few days following weigh-in (just in time for the weekend!). So, to push through this m-f*ing plateau I am switching back to Flex. I need to monitor what I take in and Flex is the plan most conducive to maintaining monitoring (for me). It takes a couple of weeks to form a habit so I am plan to be on Flex for at least 2 weeks. This is an ultra long weekend (4 days off) so I am going to have a cooking-palooza: I am going to make a pot of chili and a pot of morrocan-inspired lentil/veggie stuff, measure it out, write points values on the bags and freeze individual portions so I have food good to go in the freezer on days when I am running late and haven’t packed a lunch or for when I don’t feel like cooking. I am also going to be diligent about getting to the gym. Usually when flo is in town I prefer spending any and all free time in a drug-induced coma, as I get terrible cramps. Like, today for instance. I woke up 15 minutes before having to attend my meeting, neglecting to pack a breakfast, lunch or gym bag. Actually, it’s amazing I managed to put on pants. Let alone a bra. Kind of astounded that I showed up to the meeting at all. Damn you flo! DAMN YOU.
*cough*
In light of my uselessness this morning, I am going home for lunch to snag my gym bag and am going to my f*ing weight-lifting class no matter how much I would prefer to curl up in a ball and sleep for the next 3-7 days.

In other news, I picked up a whole grain cookbook over the weekend which has some pretty interesting breakfast options. I am going to try some recipes out over the next couple of weeks; in the event they are not gross I will share some easy-to-make crockpot whole grain breakfast options with you.

March Madness: Weigh-in No. 1

This week at meeting we talked about detours: the things that get us off-track, and also the strategies that help us come back to the right path (i.e., being on program). Mentally, I had been pretty off program for awhile prior to the onslaught of March Madness. I was basically bored with the program. I had fallen out of love with WW (it’s not you…it’s me…), stopped saying “No” food pushers (fucking gateway Oreos) and was really not paying attention to my hunger signals (which is integral to success on Core). Before MM started I hadn’t been tracking last week; as soon as the challenge was afoot I got out my 3 month tracking guide, started tracking and also meal planning for the latter half of the week. It paid off! I am down 3.5 lbs from my last weigh-in (which ALMOST compensates for my gains last time around). This leaves me with 4.5 - 6.5 pounds to lose before my weigh-in April 2nd - totally achievable in 3 weeks time!

Shanny mentioned that the object of March Madness was to lose 8 -10lbs by the end of March through healthy and intelligent means. I almost got aboard the choo choo train of stupid / overdoing it last night. I went to a volleyball practice right after work so I didn’t get the chance put in the 5 km I usually run on Tuesdays. The practice SUCKED. I barely worked up a sweat at all. I got home from practice at 9:00ish and had really weird anxiety about not having worked out enough this week and almost went for a late night gym session. After all, I biked instead of doing interval (running) training the day before to give my knees a break from the impact, and biking is basically pointless.

Yup, that was my logic.

Pretty sound, eh?

Not!

So, I had a mental intervention with myself, turned down the retarded train of thought I was on, and went to bed. I have been having enough difficulty getting up in the morning since day light savings time started, I don’t need to add late night work-outs to my schedule because of some crazy notion that I haven’t worked out enough (I went through all 28 of my activity points). I noted in my last post that I am least successful when I am tired; being well-rested is waaaaaaaay more important / useful / healthy / intelligent than being ridiculous about exercise.

nearly 30 with a standard deviation of 5ish

Last weigh-in I had lost a total of 27 lbs! That’s like nearly 30! I was out of the 170s and into the 160s, which felt hella closer to the 150s. All was well.

This weigh-in I was up 5 lbs. Five pounds in one week! That takes some forserious effort. And also an eat-a-palooza the night before my 8:00am weigh-in. So, this week I am back to having lost 22 lbs which is closer to 20 than 30 and I am back in the 170s. I am like a roller coaster of weight fluctuation.

same numbers, same girl

Formerly 196, I now weigh 169; I am down 3.5 from my last weigh in (last week).

Working out is still a challenge most of the time.

If I buy a box of cookies or a half dozen scones I will still eat way, way too many of them instead of keeping some for later.

I seriously consider eating an entire pizza to myself for dinner most nights.

I have low confidence despite a most excellent facade.

But, now I make better choices (most of the time).

sick of it

I went out to an infamous burger joint Friday with some friends. It was crazy busy and I didn’t get to eat till like 8:30. So I overate. And I felt like crap afterward. Full-on nauseated. I didn’t actually enjoy the fried food nor eating way more of it than necessary.

And so marked the end of my hiatus.

Reader, you may have noticed my lack of blogging. I also stopped attending meetings / weighing-in for 2 weeks. During the first week I overate at almost every dinnertime (a notorious pre-WW behaviour). I ate out most every day for lunch. I ate a forserious amount of Oreos and also pizza. I was sick of the WW bullshit and keeping track of what I ate and meal planning and packing lunches and not eating copious amounts of glorious chocolate whenever the urge hit. I felt like french fries. And baked goods. And napping. And ignoring whatever is going on in my life that I am unhappy with. And I am sick of it.

You know what I am not sick of? I am not sick of getting compliments about my weight loss. I am not sick of my pants getting looser and looser. I am not sick of having more energy than I have had in years. I am not sick of being better at volleyball because I am carrying less weight. I am not sick of going to the gym - I don’t always enjoy exercising, but I do like what it is doing for me. I am not sick of muscles peeking out of my previously undefined legs. I am not sick of becoming healthier and focusing on what is good for me instead of what is good for parasitic friend-types.

And so I attended my meeting this morning and am down 6 lbs from last weigh-in.

It seems I wasn’t entirely off track during my two-week rut. WW has taught me how to eat better, even when I am forseriously down on myself. The loss could also have something to do with me starting to train for a 10 km run that is in a few months.

So, I have come to realize I am sick of my ad hoc eating practices, and am back on track.

At least for the time being.

pudge and prejudice

From the moment I saw the Core plan I knew it wasn’t for me. After all, you should only have starches, grains or cereals ONCE a day on Core. WW: do you have any idea how much I love pasta? I usually have cereal for breakfast - which leaves me screwed for the rest of the day. FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE, even, in the event I were to stay on Core (like a tool) forever and ever. And don’t even get me started on bread. Apparently, it isn’t even a Core food. What the deuce is that about? WW: Do you know what is delicious? Pizza. Do you know what is a fairly important part of pizza? Bread. Screw you WW and your anti-bread fascism.

The general need for a change helped me decide to brave what would surely be the exceptionally terrible experience of enduring Core for an entire week of hell, hunger and disappointing food choices.

That was two weeks ago. (As noted,) I lost track of what I was eating come weekend-time my first week of Core, but still managed to lose 2.5lbs. So I gave Core another go as I had no idea how much I liked it (as I hadn’t given it a whole-hearted try). I am happy to report I am down 4.5lbs since my last weigh-in. My prejudice toward Core was completely unfounded in any reality. I found I stuck to the Good Health Guidelines more than when I was on Flex (and found that it was easier and necessary to do so), I was satisfied hunger-wise and I came up with a really good stuffed roasted pepper recipe (which I will share eventually). I went through all of my 35 flex points. I enjoyed my friend’s birthday party Saturday, had a few glasses of red wine AND a slice of chocolate cake. I made pizza one day - I made it from scratch, cooked it on a whole wheat pita and topped it with Core foods - only spent like 2 points. I had a scone for breakfast one day, and it was glorious. I had pasta with pesto twice (using flex points for the pesto which was a mouth-wateringly delicious gift from a co-worker). Core isn’t as limiting as I had assumed in all my unfounded anti-Core prejudice. (Also, I think I enjoy and appreciate treats more now than before I joined WW.) I am committing to Core again this week and am going for a grocery shop later today.

In other news: I have officially added weight lifting to my work out repertoire. Took me a bit to get here because I was embarrassed about not really knowing how to do it. I was also pretty prejudiced about using weights at the gym - specifically, about the dirty looks fit people would surely throw toward pudgey and weight-lifting-knowledge-less me for attempting to better myself. There is a 20-minute all-the-core-muscle-groups step-by-step weight lifting thing set up in my gym that is super easy and not at all intimidating. I tried this with a friend a few days after I went to a weight lifting class (which stole my weight lifting cherry). Now that I have a better idea how it works I am going to go Friday to do it by myself. I heard a rumour that weight lifting can boost your metabolism. This, eating Core, keeping focused on my goals by meal planning, partying hard, enjoying foods I love and averaging 6 or 7 activity points a day helped me with one of my larger losses.

Unrelated note: Mr. Darcy is dreamy to the max.

what the deuce…?

The thing about losing track of what you ate and did for the majority of a week is you have no idea what the deuce you are doing right (or wrong). I am down 2.5 lbs from last weigh in. Sweet! But why - and how? Was it the meal planning ahead of time for the few of days I kept track of stuff? Was it checking in more often with my hunger signals? Was it the pointsboosting? It definitely wasn’t the cake or cookies…When did the shit I actually exercise? What the hell did I do last week?

I have no idea.

I am 6.1lbs away from 10% loss; I hadn’t really had that goal in mind much lately until I realized that I am getting closeish to it. This week I am re-commiting to Core and am going to try to actually write down what I am doing so that in the event I have a successful week I can replicate what I did for more success. I am using the area designated for the flex plan in my QuickTrak system to meal plan for Core and I have also moved my activity calendar to these pages.

Speaking of activity - I FINALLY went to BodyPump (a weight lifting class at my gym) yesterday. Some co-workers peer pressured me into going. As suspected, I was indeed embarassingly bad at it, but people saw my lost puppy face and gave me pointers along the way.

I feel stiff and really awesome.

the following has not been helpful

“You know you might never lose the weight.”

noted by a co-worker in passing

“Why do you keep running? I only run if I’m being chased.”

said by “friend” who knows I’m on WW

every time I mention going to the gym

Fucking naysayers.

I maintained when I was gearing up for Core - the first weigh-in I hadn’t lost (when I bothered about weighing-in).

It sucked.

Things said to me varyingly recently such as the above ran through my head a lot.

Then I realized I hadn’t really stuck to plan that week.

Hopefully the sucking will be a catalyst to re-focus.

day 49: the first weigh-in I have ever looked forward to

Finally, a meeting: my post-holiday staycation metime turned into a shortbreadapalooza; today’s morning meeting was much needed and I really looked forward to it - I know, weird. But, I knew that I was going to have at least maintained over the holidays, that my terrible meeting facilitator had been replaced with a useful one and I just felt like I needed a meeting to inspire me to be more on track with program. The last 3 or so days have been spent overeating, not counting points and have been exercise-free. Luckily, my two weeks of running and focusing on the program nonetheless resulted in a loss of 3 lbs over the holidays! Woot! So, I am down 11 lbs from my starting weight - just over half way to my 10% loss goal. I feel really freaking happy. I can also feel my motivation waning.

I haven’t tried the “Core” plan yet, so this week I am going to be on Flex gearing up for Core. What the deuce does that mean? Well, I want to understand Core before diving in and trying to stick with it for 7 whole days, so I am going to be on Flex trying to eat in a Core-like fashion. I’ll be counting points but eating those Core high energy density-type foods, really getting to know when I am full (it’s about time I do that, really) and meal-planning for a Core-week grocery shop. Trying something new will help me re-focus, I think.

January gyming sucks. It’s full of resolutionaries. Good on them for resolving to get in shape and whatnot, but it’s still annoying to battle for machines. I resolve to go to the gym during offtimes this month. I have a gym buddy lined up to join me for a treadmill run tonight; we are going to go after the post-work rush. The crowds usually taper by February - so for those of you who are equally annoyed - just wait it out! It gets less irritating, I promise. During my holidaying I mentioned that I need to mix up my cardio routine - so I am going to focus on that this week, too. Tonight I am going to try for a longer run (5+ km) because I have that post-meeting motivation going for me. Tomorrow I am going to attempt to re-claim my morning-time and go use the elliptical before work. Normally, I sleep in as late as physically possible and drag my ass to work and am kinda useless for a solid hour or so. I downloaded some podcasts and audiobooks which should make morning ellipticing actually enjoyable.That’s as far as I am planning activity-wise, for now. I’ll update shortly, unless I get offtrack again - but I have eaten all the shortbread so you’ll probably hear from me soon ; )