Where's Goose?

Do you ever get the feeling there's something not quite right but you have a really hard time putting your finger on what exactly is wrong?

*sigh* Welcome to my life. Pull up a chair. I have a story.

I've been feeling like something isn't the way it should be for a couple of months now, and I've really been struggling to put my finger on it. Until the past couple of weeks. Now I've finally figured out what's not in the right place.

It's my control over eating. It's not that I don't have any, but I just feel kind of all over the place. It's like the feeling of knowing how to drive, but not knowing which direction to take.

Everyone knows now that Weight Watchers changed their program in December. I, like millions of other people, am a Weight Watchers alum. I've done the program for years now and have been very successful. The new Points Plus program is not allowing me to be successful. It's not for lack of trying either - I've honestly tried the new program to the best of my ability and I just can't get it to work for me. And I can't be bothered to tweak a program like that to get it to work for me.

So I'm lost. Without my tried and true weight loss program backing me up, I feel like I've lost my wing (wo)man. I'm now officially looking for a new wing (wo)man.* I mean, where's Goose?

Tonight I find myself here:

Can you tell where I am? That's Oprah to the left of me, and Jillian to the right. Here, let me give you a closer look:

That's right - I'm at my local Chapters store. I'm standing in front of the Nutrition & Diets section with a blank, lost look on my face. Overwhelmed. Looking for guidance. Waiting for my next solution to jump off the shelf and hit me in the chest.

That didn't happen.

I mean, LOOK at all of them! The Carb Lovers Diet, The Sonoma Diet, The Biggest Loser Diet, Skinny Bitch, The 17 Day Diet, The 4 Hour Body, Eat to Live, Eat Right 4 Your Type, The Hormone Diet... Gah!

I just don't know what to do now. I need a new solution, but what? There are so many diets out there, how do you choose? What can you manage for the rest of your life? What works? What is based on real science and not just hype?

I brought home two books to check out: 'The Low G.I. Handbook' and 'The South Beach Diet Supercharged'. At the very least, I'm hoping to learn something I don't already know about food and nutrition (doubtful). But I also hope that I might find something to help me feel in control again, in the hopes of losing a few pounds.

*sigh*

Weight Watchers, please bring my old Momentum program back...

*Apply within.

Food Experiment 2011 -- Day 5

Breakfast: (8 Momentum pts, 8 PointsPlus pts)

Oatcake (180 cals, 25g carbs, 8g fat, 3g protein, 2g fibre)
175 grams Liberte Plain Greek Yogurt (110 cals, 6g carbs, 1g fat, 20g protein, 0g fibre)
50 grams Liberte Lemon Yogurt (71 cals, 7g carbs, 4g fat, 2g protein, 0g fibre)
1/2 Tbsp Flax Meal (15 cals, 1g carbs, 1g fat, 1g protein, 1g fibre)


Lunch: (7 Momentum pts, 7 PointsPlus pts)

2 C Lettuce (16 cals, 3g carbs, 0g fat, 2g protein, 1.9g fibre)

1/4 C Tomatoes (8 cals, 2g carbs, 0g fat, 0g protein, 0.4g fibre)
1/4 C Cucumber (3 cals, 1g carbs, 0g fat, 0g protein, 0.2g fibre)
1 oz Light Feta (60 cals, 0g carbs, 4g fat, 6g protein, 0g fibre)
1 Tbsp Renee's Greek Feta Light Dressing (50 cals, 1g carbs, 5g fat, 0g protein, 0g fibre)
1 C Carrots (52 cals, 12g carbs, 0g fat, 1g protein, 3.6g fibre)
Cheese & Crackers (190 cals, 24g carbs, 9g fat, 3g protein, 0g fibre)


Dinner: (6 Momentum pts, 6 PointsPlus pts)

5 oz Mahi Mahi
3 C Frozen Mixed Vegetables
1/2 Can Low-Fat Condensed Soup
1 tsp Olive Oil

Snack: (5 Momentum pts, 7 PointsPlus pts)

Slice of Sweet Home Alabanana
2 Tbsp Chocolate Chips

Daily Totals:

1380 calories (my range is 1200-1550 per day)
155 g carbohydrates (my range is 163-236 per day)
53 g fat (my range is 32-56 per day)
85 g protein (my range is 60-127 per day)
23 g fibre (my range is 25-35 per day)

26 Momentum pts Used, 28 PointsPlus pts Used




Weekly Totals:
Momentum Weekly Points: -5/35 Remaining, 7/7 APs earned
PointsPlus Weekly Points: 29/49 Remaining, 11 APs earned
Sparkpeople Calorie Differential: -1604 Calories

Food Experiment 2011 -- Day 4

Breakfast: (5 Momentum pts, 5 PointsPlus pts)

Thomas' Cinnamon Raisin Bagel Thin (110 cals, 25g carbs, 1g fat, 4g protein, 4g fibre)
1 Tbsp Light Peanut Butter (90 cals, 6g carbs, 6g fat, 2g protein, 1g fibre)
1 Banana (125 cals, 32g carbs, 0g fat, 1g protein, 3.2g fibre)


Lunch: (3 Momentum pts, 4 PointsPlus pts)

Multigrain Sandwich Thin (100 cals, 22g carbs, 1g fat, 5g protein, 5g fibre)

2 oz Smoked Turkey (35 cals, 0g carbs, 1g fat, 9g protein, 0g fibre)
1 Tbsp Light Mayonnaise (50 cals, 1g carbs, 5g fat, 0g protein, 0g fibre)


Dinner: (17 Momentum pts, 19 PointsPlus pts)

1.5 oz Whole Wheat Fettuccine (143 cals, 26g carbs, 1g fat, 7g protein, 4.5g fibre)
1/2 C Light Alfredo Sauce (100 cals, 6g carbs, 6g fat, 2g protein, 0g fibre)
2.5 oz Chicken Breast (78 cals, 0g carbs, 1g fat, 16g protein, 0g fibre)
2 Tbsp Light Cream Cheese (60 cals, 2g carbs, 5g fat, 3g protein, 0g fibre)

3/4 C Broccoli (41 cals, 8g carbs, 0g fat, 3g protein, 3.9g fibre)
1/4 C Onion (15 cals, 3g carbs, 0g fat, 0g protein, 0.7g fibre)
2 oz Breadstick (151 cals, 29g carbs, 2g fat, 4g protein, 0g fibre)
2 C Lettuce (16 cals, 3g carbs, 0g fat, 2g protein, 1.9g fibre)
1/4 C Tomatoes (8 cals, 2g carbs, 0g fat, 0g protein, 0.4g fibre)
1/4 C Cucumber (3 cals, 1g carbs, 0g fat, 0g protein, 0.2g fibre)
6 Lg Olives (40 cals, 3g carbs, 3g fat, 0g protein, 1.2g fibre)
1 oz Light Feta (60 cals, 0g carbs, 4g fat, 6g protein, 0g fibre)
2 Tbsp Renee's Greek Feta Light (100 cals, 2g carbs, 10g fat, 1g protein, 0.7g fibre)

Snack: (4 Momentum pts, 4 PointsPlus pts)

1 oz Potato Chips (152 cals, 15g carbs, 10g fat, 2g protein, 0g fibre)

Light Jello (10 cals, 0g carbs, 0g fat, 1g protein, 0g fibre)




Daily Totals:

1487 calories (my range is 1200-1550 per day)
185 g carbohydrates (my range is 163-236 per day)
57 g fat (my range is 32-56 per day)
70 g protein (my range is 60-127 per day)
29 g fibre (my range is 25-35 per day)

29 Momentum pts Used, 32 PointsPlus pts Used




Weekly Totals:
Momentum Weekly Points: -1/35 Remaining, 6/7 APs earned
PointsPlus Weekly Points: 29/49 Remaining, 11 APs earned
Sparkpeople Calorie Differential: -1604 Calories

Food Experiment 2001 -- Day 3

Day 3... No good choices made after breakfast. It was a traveling day, so my meals were all eaten out (after breakfast).


Breakfast: (4 Momentum pts, 4 PointsPlus pts)

1/2 C Liberte FF Plain Greek Yogurt (79 cals, 4g carbs, 1g fat, 14g protein, 0g fibre)
1/2 C Liberte Mediterranee Lemon Yogurt (107 cals, 11g carbs, 6g fat, 3g protein, 0g fibre)
3/4 C Blueberries (61 cals, 15g carbs, 0g fat, 1g protein, 2.9g fibre)
1/2 Tbsp Flax Meal (15 cals, 1g carbs, 1g fat, 1g protein, 1g fibre)


Lunch: (9 Momentum pts, 10 PointsPlus pts)

3/4 TH Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich (233 cals, 24g carbs, 10g fat, 12g protein, 0.8g fibre)

1.5 oz Jerky (120 cals, 6g carbs, 1g fat, 23g protein, 0g fibre)


Dinner: (20 Momentum pts, 23 PointsPlus pts)

Deep Fried Pickles (113 cals, 11g carbs, 8g fat, 0g protein, 0.8g fibre)
Fish Sandwich with Cheese (523 cals, 48g carbs, 29g fat, 21g protein, 3g fibre)

Sweet Potato Fries (206 cals, 29g carbs, 9g fat, 3g protein, 2.9g fibre)

French Fry Dip (130 cals, 3g carbs, 13g fat, 0g protein, 0g fibre)

Snack: (20 Momentum pts, 23 PointsPlus pts)

6 Potato Chips (yes, 6) (70 cals, 7g carbs, 5g fat, 1g protein, 0g fibre)

Hostess Strawberry Cupcakes (100 cals, 22g carbs, 3g fat, 2g protein, 4g fibre)




Daily Totals:

1755 calories (my range is 1200-1550 per day)
183 g carbohydrates (my range is 163-236 per day)
83 g fat (my range is 32-56 per day)
79 g protein (my range is 60-127 per day)
13 g fibre (my range is 25-35 per day)

35 Momentum pts Used, 42 PointsPlus pts Used




Weekly Totals:
Momentum Weekly Points: 4/35 Remaining, 7 APs earned
PointsPlus Weekly Points: 32/49 Remaining, 11 APs earned
Sparkpeople Calorie Differential: -683 Calories, -581 Calories, -36 Calories

Food Experiment 2011 -- Day 2

I'd just like to put it out there that y'all had better not be judging my food consumption. Yes, I can put back a foot long sub. I can put back a lot of things. I didn't get fat without eating a lot of food.

On to day 2...


Breakfast: (4 Momentum pts, 4 PointsPlus pts)

2/3 C Liberte FF Plain Greek Yogurt (110 cals, 6g carbs, 1g fat, 20g protein, 0g fibre)
1/8 C Liberte Mediterranee Lemon Yogurt (36 cals, 4g carbs, 2g fat, 1g protein, 0g fibre)
3/4 C Blueberries (61 cals, 15g carbs, 0g fat, 1g protein, 2.9g fibre)
1/2 Tbsp Flax Meal (15 cals, 1g carbs, 1g fat, 1g protein, 1g fibre)


Lunch: (9 Momentum pts, 9 PointsPlus pts)

1 oz Roast Beef (57 cals, 0g carbs, 2g fat, 9g protein, 0g fibre)
2 oz White Bread (151 cals, 29g carbs, 2g fat, 4g protein, 1.4g fibre)
1/2 Tbsp Mayonnaise (45 cals, 0g carbs, 5g fat, 0g protein, 0g fibre)
1 oz Swiss Cheese (107 cals, 1g carbs, 8g fat, 8g protein, 0g fibre)
1 C Baby Carrots (52 cals, 12g carbs, 0g fat, 1g protein, 3.6g fibre)


Dinner: (12 Momentum pts, 14 PointsPlus pts)

14 Tostitos Multigrain Chips (260 cals, 32g carbs, 12g fat, 3g protein, 3g fibre)
3 oz Chicken Breast (94 cals, 0g carbs, 1g fat, 20g protein, 0g fibre)
1/4 C Barbecue Sauce (47 cals, 8g carbs, 1g fat, 1g protein, 0g fibre)
1/4 C Yellow Corn (33 cals, 8g carbs, 0g fat, 1g protein, 0.8g fibre)
1/4 C Light Sour Cream (70 cals, 6g carbs, 3g fat, 2g protein, 0g fibre)
1/2 C Chopped Green Peppers (19 cals, 5g carbs, 0g fat, 1g protein, 0.8g fibre)
1/2 C Salsa (36 cals, 8g carbs, 0g fat, 2g protein, 2.1g fibre)
1/4 C Chopped Onions (15 cals, 3g carbs, 0g fat, 0g protein, 0.7g fibre)


Snack:


Activity:




Daily Totals:

1208 calories (my range is 1200-1550 per day)
138 g carbohydrates (my range is 163-236 per day)
39 g fat (my range is 32-56 per day)
74 g protein (my range is 60-127 per day)
17 g fibre (my range is 25-35 per day)

25 Momentum pts Used, 27 PointsPlus pts Used




Weekly Totals:
Momentum Weekly Points: 23/35 Remaining, 3 APs earned
PointsPlus Weekly Points: 45/49 Remaining, 4 APs earned
Sparkpeople Calorie Differential: -683 Calories, -581 Calories

This has gone on long enough

I am tired of the struggle, and making excuses. I'm tired of not wanting to put on my clothes in the morning, or adjusting them so they're comfortable all day. I'm tired of wavering between weight loss programs, so that I'm never sticking with one the way I should, so that none of them are working.

I'm dedicating myself right now to doing the following for at least the next 7 days:
- I'm going to post a daily menu for all to read.
- I'm going to re-live my food experiment of a couple of years ago, comparing WW PointsPlus point values to Sparkpeople nutritional values, to WW Momentum points values.

I'm going to see what's not working and why.

I need to get rid of my newest 20-pound monkey.

Food Experiment 2011 -- Day 1

Breakfast: (5 Momentum pts, 5 PointsPlus pts)

2/3 C Liberte FF Plain Greek Yogurt (110 cals, 6g carbs, 1g fat, 20g protein, 0g fibre)
1/3 C Liberte Mediterranee Lemon Yogurt (71 cals, 7g carbs, 4g fat, 2g protein, 0g fibre)
3/4 C Blueberries (61 cals, 15g carbs, 0g fat, 1g protein, 2.9g fibre)
1 Tbsp Flax Meal (30 cals, 2g carbs, 2g fat, 2g protein, 2g fibre)


Lunch: (8 Momentum pts, 8 PointsPlus pts)

1 Personal Size Veggie Pizza (315 cals, 39g carbs, 12g fat, 13g protein, 2.4g fibre)
1 Cup Raw Carrots (52 cals, 12g carbs, 0g fat, 1g protein, 3.6g fibre)


Dinner: (16 Momentum pts, 17 PointsPlus pts)

12" Subway Ham Sub with all veggies, mayo (685 cals, 99g carbs, 18g fat, 36g protein, 8g fibre)


Snack: (4 Momentum pts, 4 PointsPlus pts)

3C Orville Redenblahblah's Nacho Popcorn (180 cals, 15g carbs, 13g fat, 2g protein, 3g fibre)
1 Light Cheese String (60 cals, 0g carbs, 3g fat, 6g protein, 0g fibre)


Activity: (-3 Momentum pts, -4 PointsPlus pts)

Downhill skiing for 2+ hours (I'm estimating 1 hour): 360 calories burned



Daily Totals:

1533 calories (my range is 1200-1550 per day)
195 g carbohydrates (my range is 163-236 per day)
51 g fat (my range is 32-56 per day)
81 g protein (my range is 60-127 per day)
20 g fibre (my range is 25-35 per day)

33 Momentum pts Used, 34 PointsPlus pts Used




Weekly Totals:
Momentum Weekly Points: 31/35 Remaining
PointsPlus Weekly Points: 45/49 Remaining
Sparkpeople Calorie Differential: -683 Calories

Tonight's Meeting - Setting Goals and NSVs

It appears that my meeting has become one of the more popular ones in the city. I think it's because the meeting is the earliest evening we have and the first meeting after the weekend. Not that it matters to me why it's popular, I'm just happy that it is.

Tonight's topic was about setting goals and non-scale victories. These topics are usually a bit difficult for me. For some reason when I talk about goals in my meetings, my members have nothing to say.

Clearly, they all have a goal. The only conceivable reason why they may have walked into a Weight Watchers meeting without a goal is because their doctor has coerced them into doing so. Otherwise, they have a goal, maybe not a specific goal, but a goal nonetheless.

It was important that I drive home the importance of regular goal setting to my members tonight.

I begin by asking them about their goals. I get great response from the young married couple, Angela and Kevin. They're so great - I wish I could let them know how much they enrich my meetings. They're always so upbeat and refreshing, and they're never afraid to talk in the group. Most of my other members stay clammed up.

I knew that in order to get them talking about their goals I would have to push them. So I did. I wasn't giving up this time. Goal-setting is the most important thing you can do for yourself. I asked them about short-term goals, goals they're shooting for in terms of general health goals, and vanity goals. Lo and behold, they started talking to me.

I heard, "I have a goal." *cue angelic music - LAA!* "I'm going on a cruise." Yes! A goal to shoot for! Then, "I have some new fitness goals", followed by, "I'm getting married next year." Goals, people! Goals!

For those of you who don't have a goal - find one, figure it out, and think about it all the time. Do what you need to do to keep it in the forefront of your mind. Use post-it notes, put a picture on your refrigerator, keep it in your iCal. Just do it, remember it, and think about it all the time. Change it up, keep many goals on your mind, one for today, one for this week, one for this quarter.

Don't be discouraged when you have a setback. Please remember that setbacks are part of the process. No one is perfect, and no one ever made it to a goal without a setback or two. We're human after all.

Today's Meeting Topic: Motivating Strategy

*Sigh* Such a difficult topic...

We all start out with a great attitude and all the commitment in the world when we get on the weight loss wagon. But, once the initial weight loss tapers off, many people drop out of Weight Watchers before they reach goal. Or once they reach their goal weight, many people don't even hang around long enough to reach Lifetime status. And some, after becoming a Lifetime member, start to slowly gain their weight back. Most often people blame this on having lost their motivation.

Motivation: whatever inspires you to do the things necessary to reach your weight goal and stay there.

"Last straw" incidents are important to get members started, but to sustain motivation they need to focus on the good feelings they'll get when they achieve what they want - which inspires them to take the necessary steps to achieve it.

So, have you left your motivation somewhere? What does it look like? Where can you find it again?

Confessions of a Splenda Junkie

After long last, I've finally made it back to goal. FINALLY. And I did it after reading a great book, and taking the advice I always give to my WW members. When my members reach a plateau, they usually grab me after a meeting and hit me up about what to do. The conversation usually goes like this:

Member: "I need to ask you something. I'm staying OP all week, and it seems like no matter what I do I just can't lose any weight - can you help me?"

*Please note: this member always looks like they've either been hit by a truck and didn't mind it, or they look like they would rip a chocolate bunny out of the hands of a six year old, then proceed to bite Mr. Krispy's ear off right in front of this child. Sometimes I let out a little giggle when they look me in the eye, to hide my fear.

Me: "Are you getting in your fruits and veggies, and the rest of your healthy food servings?"

The member ALWAYS says yes.

Me: "Then you have to take a good look at the foods you're eating other than your healthy choices. Are you eating enough? Are you eating your Flex and activity points?"

The answers vary, but this is often where the ugly truth comes out. Usually people are filling their days with 100-calorie packs, or they aren't eating enough. I stress to them that it's really important to take a look at the quality of the calories they're taking in, not just the amount.

Every time I struggle with a plateau I learn something. This time I had to take my own advice and look at what I was eating. This, in combination with Jillian's new book, are what finally got me back to losing the extra 10 lbs I've been carrying around since fall. I was eating a lot of chemical crap - diet pop, artificially sweetened EVERYTHING.

So I went back to basics, eating whole foods. No artificial anything. And it actually WORKED. And it's for good, forever. I'm not going back to being a Splenda junkie.

Since I'm a huge foodie, you wouldn't think that I'd try to scrimp and scrape by on low calorie alternatives for real food, would you? Well I did. And it didn't pay off. My food tasted worse and ended up stockpiling chemicals in my body. NOT GOOD.

Now that I've rid myself of the Splenda, the extra weight seems to be falling off, without a whole lot of effort on my part - a big change from a month ago where everyday was a struggle and I wasn't losing an ounce. In fact, I was gaining.

Eating Chemicals + Exercising = Gaining Weight Anyway -> BAD

Eating Real Food + Moderate Exercise = Losing Weight Without Thinking About It-> GOOD

And, to top it off, I haven't had a pimple since I made the change! That is huge for me.

So sing it with me girls, "Don't you put it in your mouth..."

Finally! Training Tonight!

The day has finally arrived! I'm getting trained to be a WW Leader tonight and tomorrow! My goal will finally be realized! I never thought in a million years that I'd ever get here. I'm so eager to get the materials to look at! EEEEEKKKK!

On another note, one of the younger WW Leaders here in Fredericton is moving. :-( She's one of my favourites - just a complete sweetie! She's moving to Vancouver, to be closer to her family. I told her about all of the great girls out there and she was pretty excited about it - she's going to be a leader out there too.

My Little Eating Experiment

I went for my regular WW monthly lifetime weigh in yesterday and I'm up a couple of pounds - no biggie.

While I was there, I picked up one of the two-week trial coupons to use WW Online. I used to be a paying member online once I didn't have to pay for meetings anymore, but have since decided that it's an expense I no longer wanted.

Anyway, this leads me to my experiment. I'm going to track my points online for two weeks. I'm also going to simultaneously track my eating in SparkPeople to see the differences. I've often wondered if my points allowance was giving me a fair amount of daily caloric intake. We'll see... I'm going to post my daily meals, and the associated information.

Just when I thought I had this eating thing all figured out...

I had a really harsh realization this past week. After working this WW program for a couple of years now, I thought I had mastered this whole weight management thing. I sure was wrong...
I started Weight Watchers in October of 2005. I had no trouble getting my weight off, and lost consistently until I reached goal in June of 2006. I started maintenance just as I was going on vacation for a week. I gained throughout my 6 weeks of maintenance, but did manage to keep my weight under the two-pound threshold so that I would become a lifetime member. I blamed my gains on vacation, meeting my boyfriend, camping, my B-12 deficiency that had sidelined my running, moving back to the city, etc. - anything I could find as an excuse for not maintaining my loss.

Over the course of my first 6 months of being a lifetime WW member, I continued to weigh in monthly to keep my lifetime status, but I continued to gain in small increments until I had regained a little more than 20 lbs. by last Christmas. That's when I decided to get back on the WW program full-time and get myself back down to my goal weight before I gained any more weight and was back to where I had started. I was tired of weighing in monthly and paying for it - I mean, what had I worked for anyway? I definitely hadn't worked so hard to lose the weight just to gain it all back! I knew the WW program worked, and I knew I could do it again, so I got back on the weight loss train.

I knew how to get the weight back off, so I started running again and watching what I was eating. And once again, the weight came off pretty easily. It has continued to come off until now. I am now the smallest I ever remember being, and until now I was still trying to lose a few extra pounds. I'm well below my WW goal weight.

This past week has really opened my eyes. I decided I'd go off plan for a couple of days while we were on vacation and that I'd eat what I wanted. What an eye opener! I was so sad to have to go back on plan when we returned that I had some kind of breakdown or something. I am allotted 19 points a day if I want to continue losing, which really isn't much anymore. It's been very difficult to keep it up week after week, as I'm constantly watching every single point. I haven't been enjoying myself, and I've been feeling quite deprived to be honest. It's summer time, my favourite thing to eat is ice cream, and although I know I can eat it if I use my flex or earn the APs for it, I find myself in a strict eating mode, depriving myself of a treat to save the points. It's crazy and needless and I know it, but that's what I've been doing.

So I'm going to switch my focus and concentrate more on improving my fitness and my body composition while switching my program to maintenance for a while. This is where the new realization comes in. I've been a lifetime member for over a year now, and I've never maintained! Not even for a little while! I'm scared to death of maintenance because I think I'll gain some of my weight back again! What if it doesn't work?!? I know it's supposed to work, but I'm just so scared of it! When it comes to losing weight, I feel like an old pro - I know all the tricks and everything you need to do to lose, but I'm not so sure of myself when it comes to maintaining a loss. I'm just so scared of gaining... but I'm going to bite the bullet and risk gaining a little bit until I can figure out this maintenance thing. I'm going to add the 4 points to my daily amount, giving me 23 points, and I'm going to eat half of my APs earned, and as many flex points as I want throughout the week. Just the extra 4 points a day will allow me to treat myself without feeling so bad about it. I know I shouldn't feel bad, but I'll admit that I sometimes do feel guilty for indulging in a treat. I'm working on that...

It was a rough week mentally finally figuring this out, but I'm gonna conquer this new issue too! I'm going to learn to maintain and finally learn how to live healthily without gaining or losing for a while. I'm going to learn that success isn't always measured with a loss - the hardest part of this whole thing is maintaining the loss. It's going to be harder to put the work in to living a healthy lifestyle without feeling the success of a weekly weight loss. I'll have to learn to love maintaining the loss as much as I have loved losing the weight to begin with - it's going to be tough, but I'll have to revel in the new victories I'll experience.

Glad I got that off my chest...

My 2-Day Eating Frenzy Has Come to an End

As I metioned on the WW boards the other day, I decided I'd take a couple of days off of counting points and just enjoy myself while I was on a brief camping trip, away with DBF. I figure I can do this since I'm quite a few pounds under my goal now, was on vacation, and both DBF and I love it when I take a couple of days off and just eat what I want.

I had someone show concern on the boards as to why DBF likes it when I decide to go off plan. I'm going to respond here (and I posted a response on the WW boards). He just likes it because I allow myself to let loose a little. I'm usually pretty strict with my diet and he respects that (in fact, he eats all the healthy stuff and checks NI on everything with me - he's extremely supportive). We both think it's very important that we eat healthily, so we both do at home. But we also think it's fun when I take a couple of days off from counting everything, so that we can enjoy eating a few of our favourite "unhealthy" foods together without me worrying about how much of it I'm eating. We enjoy being able to indulge a little together, share what we've ordered at a restaurant, etc. We think it's fun to share treats together, even though he could easily eat this food anytime on his own, since he doesn't have to worry about his weight (yet! LOL).

My DBF is extremely supportive of my weight loss efforts, and I appreciate him so much for that. I know I'm lucky because I'm not one of those people who don't get the support from their significant others that they need and deserve. I don't have to worry about cooking more than one meal at home to satisfy both of us. He's happy to eat what I prepare, and we both choose healthy options for our meals at home.

Today, I'm back on plan and counting again. Today isn't nearly as much fun as yesterday was! I'm just going to put the couple of days behind me and start the week from now. If I gain a pound or two, I'm fine with that, and it was totally worth it!