It's possessed

Yup, that's what I've decided about my scale. I woke up this morning weighing 1 pound more than yesterday. What the heck? And the frustrating thing is, not only did I work out yesterday, but I also didn't eat many calories either. Not that I was TRYING to eat so few, but I was just not that hungry yesterday. Anyway, needless to say, I am frustrated. I want to get a new scale...but I don't want to spend the money. I don't know. Grrrrr....

In other news, I've been watching season 8 of the Biggest Loser since yesterday, and I have shed more than one tear so far. What an emotional show. It's weird to me that I can identify with the contestants, because on one hand I think "oh I'm nowhere close to that." But the fact is...I'm close. Too close. And I want to make sure I NEVER get there.

Today. Down 5.5 pounds altogether, and starting my fourth week today. I need to rock this week.

I Cheated!

And boy am I happy I did!! The scale said 6.5 down this AM!! AHH! I won't get toooo excited until I see that number of the scale tomorrow morning (who am I kidding, I'm overjoyed). I will literally crush the scale if it tells me I gained weight over night :).

Thanksgiving- Blunders and Accomplishments

Well this long Thanksgiving was definitely a challenge to stay on track. Thursday, Thanksgiving day, we headed over to Kellen's grandparents house (the Bergen's) to chow down. I was pretty proud of myself here- although I was starving by the time food was served, I stuck with healthy choices (turkey, green beans, and small amount of mashed taters) and didn't go back for a second plate. Dessert time I had a very small slice of apple pie and some whipped cream.

I snacked on a couple of olives in between things and was excited to find out that five olives are only 25 calories! Woohoo!

When I got home I did some "loose" calculating of my calories for the day on livestrong.com and found I had around 700 calories left for the day! WOW. I had some rice and a skinny cow.

Needless to say, I was happy with my performance :).

The next two days were spent at my grandparents house, which, if anything is a temptation situation, this one is. Not only is my Grandma a great cook (in my opinion) but she cooks to feed the thousands (when there are only about 10 of us)!

All in all, I'm happy with the choices I made (despite my dessert choice on Friday...eeekk). I also walked on the treadmill on Friday instead of just opting out of exercise all together.

Today is sunday and I can't weigh myself (though I may just end up cheating!!). Ready for week 4 to start tomorrow.

Turkey Day..Oh the sweet, sweet sin of feasting

Day 18. Turkey day. Mashed potatoes, pies, pies, pies, food galore. Wish me luck.

On another frustrating note, the scale said only 4.5 down this morning. Ugh. I swear the thing is possessed. I am really thinking about investing in a new one. In the meantime, I feel I must cave in to Kellen's advice and stop weighing everyday. I think Mondays and Thursdays are my new weigh days. Can I hold out until Monday this week? We will see.

My Favorite Mini Meals

I call these my "mini meals" because that is part of my plan and how I am making this weight loss thing work for me. It's an adaptation of the weight watchers program. Since I know that I am allowed around 20-24 points a day, I try to eat around 10-12 points in "mini meals." That way, I don't have to worry TOO much about dinner...I just try to watch my portions. So here is a list of my favorite "mini meals" from the last two and half weeks:

-Sweet Wheat Alternative Bagel w/ Weight Watchers Cream Cheese
-Egg Whites & Veggie Sausage
-1/2 BLT with two pieces Turkey Bacon
-Veggie Soup
-Turkey Wrap w/ WW Cream Cheese
-100 Calorie Kettle Corn
-Apples and PB
-Fiber One Granola Bar
-Light String Cheese
-Mandarin Oranges
-Whole Wheat Eng. Muffin w/ spaghetti sauce and light shredded cheese
-Fuji Apples

Mini Meals I want to try:
-Fiber one blueberry waffles (possibly with SF syrup? have to check the cals..)
-Banana/Blueberry smoothie
-Vitatops
-WW bread w/ slice of WW cheese and Tomato soup
-Progresso Soup-0 or 1 points each
-Original Gardenburger w/ a sandwich thin

Goals/Rewards/Accomplishments

Other than the sweet satisfaction of those sweet "have you lost weight?" comments, Kellen and I sat down together last Saturday and talked about some realistic rewards for my weight loss journey.

10lbs- A date day of my choosing (and I mean ANYTHING I choose...hehe)

15lbs- New Lingerie (a perk for Kellen too, lingerie boosts my self esteem and makes me feel sexy at any weight :) )

20lbs-$100.00 shopping spree. Can you say HELLO size 12 jeans?

25lbs- Kellen cooks me a healthy dinner (we will see how much input I will need to put into this one)

30lbs-$200 shopping spree in Seattle. H&M, we meet again...

35lbs-A hike and picnic lunch with the hubs

40lbs/Goal- Weekend getaway

*My hope is that I will see that 10lb goal in the next 3 weeks. Then my date day will include forcing my own personal scrooge into an entire DAY full of Christmas joy :)

My First Goal: To lose 40 pounds

why 40? because I can't remember when I weighed that much. why 40? because I look back at pictures of me when I was 15, and I had to have weighed close to that then. and I looked good. I know that my body structure is not meant for super skinny weights (150 and below). That's why losing 40 pounds is my goal :)

The Wheels Keep on Turning

So much to share about the last 17 days. But first things first: I stepped on the scale this morning and was down 5 lbs. Technically, my goal is 40 pounds down. I want to celebrate the accomplishment somewhere. So 5lbs in 2 weeks and 2 days. That is pretty good. I'm proud of myself :).

Exercise has been challenging, but what an amazing feeling to feel your lungs expanding and no longer feeling like they are going to pop. It's also great to do a hard workout and not feel like your body can't move from sore muscles. I was at this point I'd say only about a week after I started. A WEEK. And in the past I would have given up after only a couple of days because I couldn't see an end in site.

My one complaint right now are my shins after I run. I think it has to do with jogging on the pavement, but they are pretty sore (and not really a muscle sore, more like shin splints). I hope to try out the H.S. track this weekend (Thanksgiving Holiday). That might help with the splints, not to mention there will be no hills to conquer!

Ok, I must be off to visit my friend Jillian. Working my way up to 30 Day Shred Level 2- haven't quite gotten there yet.

Day 16

Today is my 16th day on this new weight loss "journey" I have embarked upon. As of this date, I am starting to think my scales is possessed by a frustrating "make you think your fat" ghost . I have lost 4lbs. Not as much as I would like, but it is 4 more "drips" than I was at two weeks ago. I will explain the drip theory in a later post.

These are the questions I intend to answer to myself within the next few days:

What makes this time different than any other weight loss attempt?

Why are you doing this? List your reasons.

Who are you doing this for?

Other posts I intend to talk about are:

*Goals-Exercise and Weight Loss
*Healthy snacks and meals