The Amazing Drivers License Victory

Most people I know absolutely hate the picture on their drivers license. Usually for good reason. The lighting is poor, the "photographer" doesn't give you any warning before pressing that little button, and most pictures closely resemble either mug shots or a deer caught in headlights. Mine is no better... But today I learned to love my drivers license picture. Here is said glorious picture, read on for the story of why it is no longer so offensive to me:

I was at Office Max picking up a few last minute supplies for my classroom (back to school this week, let the craziness begin!). I handed the cashier my credit card to pay for my items and she asked for identification to verify it was my card. Now, I don't find that cashiers typically comment on customer's drivers licenses, although I'm sure they see a fair amount of horrendous photos. However, today my cashier immediately said "Wow, have you lost weight?!" loudly enough that several other people started looking! I responded "Yeah, thanks for noticing." She went on to proclaim how fantastic I looked and asked a whole bunch of questions like how did I do it, how much have I lost, do I feel different, etc.

Wow! I felt like a minor celebrity there in the checkout line! No one had ever noticed I lost weight before solely by looking at the picture on my drivers license and boy did it feel fantastic to be recognized for that accomplishment! It was such an inspiration to myself to think that a complete stranger could see my progress just by glancing at an old grainy photo the size of a postage stamp. Sometimes just when you need that little extra push to get through the day without ordering greasy takeout, it just comes out of nowhere and bites you!

Go me!!

Weekly Meeting with Caroline

So I told you the other day I was going back to WW meetings, and I meant it, damn it! I went to my regular Wednesday evening meeting with Caroline, the sweetest lady ever. Caroline has been my leader for a couple years and she is hilarious. She is about 70 years old and has been on WW for 30 years!! Seriously, I want to be her in 40 years or so! She is such a firecracker!

The topic of the meeting was "Say no to saying no" and was all about how on WW we don't NEED to say no to any foods. We may CHOOSE to say no, because it is not worth the points to us, but there is nothing that is completely restricted. (One reason I love WW, by the way!). I felt like this was a timely topic, considering my Pizza Hut debacle last week.

One thing Caroline said that really hit home to me was this: "Don't feel guilty about eating something. But make sure you ate it because you really wanted it. Don't eat it just because it's there, or because you smelled it, or because someone else is eating it. If you really, really want it, eat it. Count the points and move on. Guilt will get you nowhere."

Okay then. Last week I really, really wanted that pizza. I ate it, I counted it, I moved on, I still lost weight. I felt somewhat guilty for eating WPs when it wasn't really necessary, but I DID have the points, I DID want the pizza, and I DID track what I ate. So, no guilt.

The bottom line is, I think we are programmed to feel guilty when it comes to eating "bad" foods. No matter how healthy a lifestyle someone may live, no one is perfect and I'm sure every one of us craves some kind of not-so-healthy food at some point or another. Realistically, it's totally okay to splurge on something  every so often if we are maintaining a healthy lifestyle most of the time! And why should we feel guilty about that?

I think people often follow this philosophy in other areas of life and don't feel guilty about it. For instance:
I know people who cut back on spending in everyday life to save money for a nice vacation. I bet they don't feel very guilty while they are sitting on a beach somewhere sipping margaritas! Isn't what we do on the WW program a similar philosophy? If you want the pizza, cut back in other areas or exercise to offset the points, and enjoy! Wash your hands of the guilt!

I am just as "guilty" of this behavior as others, as you saw in my post about the pizza last week. However, Caroline's comment about how guilt gets you nowhere has really been stuck in my head. She's totally right and I'm going to try to stop the "bad" talking and feelings of guilt. I challenge everyone else to do the same!

Good luck and stay healthy!

Week in Review

This morning's weigh in was super successful! I lost 4.1 pounds since last week. Typically, that's a pretty unrealistic expectation. However, since I have not been living super healthy for most of this summer, and last week was the first week I really got serious about getting back on track, a pretty big loss was the result. I expect it to be a much smaller loss next week, but I'll certainly take that 4.1 for now!! I'm only 4 pounds away from my lowest adult weight!

Accomplishments of the Week

This week I kicked ass because:
1) I tracked everything I ate (even the junk, even the littlest bites and tastes, everything!) - This is so important! It's easy to ignore little tastes, or write off the junk food as a screw up, but all of it adds up! Note to self - suck it up, admit you ate it, write it down!

2) I made it through a wedding, and several beers, without binging on any junk food there (and, of course, I tracked the beer!) - Weddings are tough. A lot of times you have no idea what food will be served and by the time it IS served, you have made great friends with the bartender. For most of us, more drinks = less capacity to make great decisions. At this wedding, I didn't allow myself to fall victim to the taunts of cheesy pasta, fatty beef, or creamy dips. I ate super clean. I chose chicken breast, a baked potato, steamed veggies, and fresh fruit. All of that even after a few drinks! To me that's a sign of a healthy lifestyle starting to become the norm, instead of something I have to force upon myself!

3) I bought tons of fresh, local fruits and veggies and used them for everything (breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, snacks, you name it!) - 'Tis the season for local produce, no matter where you live. Take it from an upstate NY girl, where most fruits and veggies aren't ripe until mid-summer: seize it while it's available, it will soon be gone! I can't stress enough the importance of supporting local growers. Their produce is fresh, your money is supporting your local economy, and you are helping the environment by purchasing goods that didn't have to be shipped across the country for your consumption. Check out this amazing caprese salad I made the other night with local tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil from my own herb garden:

Goals for Next Week

Next week I will kick ass, because I plan to:
1) Try some new recipes - I have three picked out. Not sure if I will get to all of them, but I'm going to try. New recipes really help keep things fresh and exciting. There are some foods I love and could eat everyday, but I don't want to get stuck in a rut or get bored by food.

2) Go back to WW meetings - I am going to admit that (gulp) I haven't been to a meeting since May! Eeeep! Seriously, I love my meetings, I love my leader, I have no idea why I strayed. Then it got to the point where not going just became habit. But tomorrow, I GO! I promise.

3) Kick it up a notch - When I'm not on track for awhile and I decide to get back ON track (like I did last week), I tend to focus on one aspect of a healthy lifestyle at a time. Last week, that was the food part. Since I was so successful at getting my eating back under control, this week I will be continuing eating healthy while also focusing more on the activity part. Today, I already made a step in the right direction:

Here I am, in the reflection of my car window, getting ready for a bike ride (always wear a helmet, people!).  I have a pretty decent mountain bike and I haven't had a chance to ride my favorite trail much this summer. Today was a cool day, but sunny, so I took the opportunity to ride for about an hour and a half. I had an amazing, peaceful ride plus I earned 7.5 activity points!!

My favorite trail is part of the "Rails to Trails" program. It's an old railroad converted to a multi-use trail. People use it for hiking, biking, horseback riding, etc. I really love it because it's such a beautiful ride through the woods and past swamps where I get to see a lot of different wildlife. Today I saw deer, rabbits, and a tiny little turtle sunning himself on a log! Most of the trail looks just like this:

... and makes me think of "The Road Less Travelled". The great part about "Rails to Trails" for beginning bikers is that since the path used to be an old railway, there were rules about how steep the grade could be... Meaning there are no areas where there are super steep inclines!

So I felt really great about getting all those APs right in the beginning of my week. It's a habit I hope to continue as the week goes on. Even when I feel like I don't want to make time to exercise, I try to remind myself that it's essential for a healthy lifestyle. Could I lose weight without it? Sure. But will I get all the same health benefits, just by losing weight and not exercising? Nope. So exercise it is.

Good luck and stay healthy!

Eat 'em if you've got 'em!

Clearly I'm a fan of Weight Watchers. I know it's not for everyone, and there are other healthy lifestyle plans that work for others, but WW has worked for me, so I'm an advocate of the program. However, there is one aspect of the program that I sometimes wonder if it's working AGAINST me!

Confession of the day: I have a love/hate relationship with weekly points.

See, I really appreciate the concept of the weekly points. Obviously they are WWs way of helping us through situations like:
- I chose the chicken entree (thinking I was making a healthy choice) from a wedding menu and the plate appeared in front of me with fried chicken smothered in cheese... Good thing I have weeklies left!
OR
- I had a healthy dinner planned but my best friend had a crisis so I ended up meeting her for drinks, which turned into dinner, which turned into more drinks... Good thing I can use my weeklies!
OR
- It was the end of the school year and one of my students brought me a donut as a thank you for being his teacher. I didn't REALLY want it, but it was a sweet gesture and I didn't want to seem ungrateful so I ate half... Oh well, I'll just use my weeklies.

All of these are situations in which I really feel okay about using my weekly points allowance. That's what they are there for, right? I try to use them for things like ordering mishaps, evenings out with friends (even then I still try to make the healthiest choices) or food surprises that I don't have the willpower (or heart, sometimes) to completely refuse.

However...

It seems like there are so many instances in which using my weeklies is completely unnecessary, but I decide to do it anyway. I feel like all I am doing by using weeklies this way is cultivating my ongoing unhealthy relationship with food! Argh!!

Case in point: Yesterday. Yesterday I made a day trip with my fabulous family (my hub, mom, dad, aunt, cousin, other cousin and her hub, other cousin and her boyfriend) to a glassblowing museum. Very cool, I even got to learn how to make a Christmas ornament by blowing glass!! (That's me, below, in my awesome safety glasses, getting ready to use my new skills).

Not knowing the food situation for the day, I ate a substantial breakfast of oatmeal with berries, a peach, and coffee. We didn't end up leaving the museum and getting to eat lunch until 3:00 and by then I was absolutely ravenous! My dad chose Bob Evans for lunch. I had never eaten there before so on the drive from the museum to Bob Evans I did a quick search using my "Eat This, Not That" app on my iPhone to see what kind of healthy options there might be. Even though I was super hungry and others were ordering tempting items like fried appetizers and cheesy omelets with biscuits, I managed to order reasonably healthy. I ordered from their "Fit from the Farm" menu, the only place where they showed nutritional info, so I felt pretty good about that choice!

Since the museum was a few hours away from where we live, by the time my hub and I were getting close to home, I was actually a little hungry again. Could I have gone home and had a snack and been perfectly fine? Would I have stayed within my daily points, even after eating out at Bob Evans? Would I have been able to avoid using unnecessary weeklies? Yes, yes, and yes.

But... Knowing I had all my weeklies left, and feeling tired and lazy, and craving something unhealthy and cheesy after watching everyone else eat at Bob Evans, what do you think I did instead? This is what I did:

... And I used about 20 weeklies on it.

Disclaimer: The breadsticks were for the hub, not me! I didn't touch them! And it was a thin crust veggie lovers pizza.

So it could have been worse. Definitely worse. But still, I get so annoyed with myself after the fact that I made good choices all day long and then made a not-so-great choice just because I had all my weeklies left. And ONLY for that reason. I made it through a wedding on Saturday making really great choices and not using any weeklies. I made it through a day of travel on Sunday and eating out at an unfamiliar restaurant. Yet I knew my points reset on Tuesday, so I might as well use them up on garbage.

See? Love/hate... I need to figure out a way to focus on the health aspect of eating and ditch the "eat 'em if you've got 'em" mentality!

Dusting off the sugar and moving on

Yesterday - 12 hours in the presence of cake

Today I am coming out of my sugar coma... Not because I ate a ton of the sweet stuff but because yesterday I was so covered in it I could almost feel it seeping into my pores. Another Lisa fact: I am a cake decorator. In addition to my full-time teaching job, I make cakes. I love, love, love it BUT it definitely adds to my weight struggle. Yesterday's projects:

(Both of these will be decorated with some fresh flowers today to finish them off before I set them up at the wedding, but in these pics they are mostly complete)

The Sticky, Sweet Struggle

I'm sure no one will be surprised to hear that I became interested in cake decorating not only because I love the creative outlet it provides but also because I have an out-of-control sweet tooth. Back when I started decorating as a hobby it was not uncommon for me to make a cake just to eat at home (of course I told myself I needed to do it to practice my skills!). Now, however, I do my best to avoid a lot of processed sweets. Am I perfect? Absolutely not. Do I usually indulge in something sweet every single day? You betcha! I just make sure I have the points for it! I also like to think I am past the point of allowing myself to down half of a gooey cake!

So, herein lies the problem. When I am baking and decorating I am tempted all day long to taste. "Oh, I better have a bite of this chocolate cake to make sure it's okay. Well, that was good. I wonder about the vanilla. I should probably taste that too. The frosting tastes okay, I tried it earlier. I wonder what the chocolate cake tastes like WITH the frosting. I should try it and make sure it's edible..." and on, and on, and on.

I will admit, some amount of tasting is necessary. Especially for fillings and icings that I need to make sure have enough of a certain flavor. That being said, typically one itty bitty, tiny little taste is plenty enough to determine if something tastes "right". Clearly, my struggle is stopping after that one itty bitty taste. I have, however, acknowledged that struggle and really been working hard at overcoming that temptation.

Anti-Sugar Strategies

Here are some things I did yesterday to avoid going overboard with the tasting:

1) Ate a filling breakfast - Fiber One cereal, fat free milk, banana, melon cubes, coffee (By the way, I was the incredible melon slayer this week... See below... I hacked up an entire watermelon and cantaloupe to have in the fridge so I could grab it quickly for a snack. Talk about sweet! These are so good they're like candy! But much better for you, of course).

2) Packed a lunch and plenty of snacks - Sometimes I get caught in the trap of not having any food with me when I'm decorating and I get hungry! All that does is lead to snacking on cake trimmings all day long! So I brought chicken and orzo for lunch, and my snacks were carrots and celery with a spicy mexican dip and more melon.

3) Water, water, water - I made sure all day long to have water at my side and even brought limes to put in it since I think the tap water in the bakery tastes funny.

Was I successful?

I guess we will see for sure on the scale this week! Overall, I felt that it was a pretty positive day. I tasted only a tiny bit (I estimate about 6 points worth) and also stayed within my daily points despite the tastes. Unfortunately, I didn't get all my GHGs in, but today I am focused on doing that to make up for yesterday. So, I give myself a B- for the day... not terrible, but room for improvement next time!!

Good luck and stay healthy!!

Is my arm fat showing?

I have an unhealthy obsession with arm fat. I worry that it is jiggling while I exercise. I'm afraid to reach for things on high shelves because it exposes that oh-so-tender underarm area. I have perfected the technique of writing on my white board at school with my upper arm pushed tightly against my side (the last thing I want is my students to notice my arm fat waving at them!). And maybe worst of all... while having my wedding photos taken I asked my bridesmaids to please be on "arm fat patrol". I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I probably asked them 20 times that day if my arm fat was showing!

Today I published this blog and the first thing I did was report to the WW message boards for a little shameless self-promotion. The positive response I received after people looked at my pictures absolutely floored me. I have never in a million years thought of myself as "beautiful". In my mind I'm your everyday, average girl-next-door. But that was the response I got, and it made me feel so proud of how far I have come and so inspired to keep up the fight. And you know what? Not one person commented on my arm fat! Lesson learned, point taken...

Good luck and stay healthy!

Giving a Face to the Weight

I am ready to own up. My face is pictured to the left. Below is a photo of what my scale said on Tuesday morning, my last weigh in.

After journeying through the world of weight loss for the past three years, it is time for me to to put a face to my weight. This is a bold move for me (probably for most people). Throughout my life I've been a master of evading weight questions, fudging the number, and outright lying about it.

No more! I'm laying it all out there for anyone who cares to see! I will be posting my scale picture every week, my struggles, my successes, and my random thoughts on health, fitness, weight, self-esteem, and all that goes along with it! So many people have inspired me along the way, but I need some more help, so I'm counting on reporting here to keep me accountable. I'm not really one who considers myself wise enough to give words of wisdom, but hopefully my experiences can at least offer some inspiration and support to those following the same path!

Good luck and stay healthy!!