Operation Coup d'Fat

Okay, so as of last post I said I was W-3.  I'm still technically W-3, but a couple days ago was W-5.  This tells me that, even though there might be a pound of two of fluctuation, my weight is at least on a downward trend!  (I'm not W PLUS anything, anyway.) In terms of counting points, I've been really bad.  Okay, by "really bad," I mean I haven't counted points since my last points post.  I am, however, at least being cognizant of what I eat and am trying to make better choices.  Today, for instance, my honors Sophomores were going to be watching V for Vendetta.  One of my students asked if he could go make a bag of popcorn.  I said, "Of course!  As long as you make me one, too."  So he comes back and hands me on of the bags.  Feeling guilty and fearing undoing the small loss I have accomplished, I changed my mind and gave the bag to another student in the class.  Soooo, not a huge deal, but I saved myself probably a coupl...

Let's start with the good:  I'm now at W-3. The bad:  I don't really think this is due to a change in my eating. So here's the thing.  If I'm going to attribute a three pound weight loss to anything, I'd first probably say it's just luck or natural fluctuation.  If it's not that, then I suppose I've made a couple minor (and I mean really MINOR) changes in my life.  I've been doing some ab exercises daily at home.  (Muscle burns fat, right?  So maybe in doing just a little bit of toning that has helped...) I really don't think I've been eating that much better.  Heck, I just polished off a large family size bag of Cheetos last week (definitely NOT on my healthy food eating list).  But maybe cooking more meals at home has helped.  Maybe eating an apple or having an extra glass of water has provided just a little bit of fulfillment that has kept me from eating other unhealthy foods (in addition to the ones I eat every day...)   ...

Well, needless to say, this weekend did not go at ALL how I'd intended it to go.  Sigh. Nor do I think this week will be all that successful, considering I have three 12+ hour work days coming up, followed by a long weekend trip to NYC. I'm long on excuses and short on motivation.  Not the greatest, and I'm sorry I'm failing you as a partner in inspiration, Katie. That said....I'll do my best this week to make acceptable choices.  Goals: no fast food.  I can do that, right? Start small.

Okay, so here is good news:  the Doritos are officially out of the house.  The Snapple is out the house.  No more of that temptation!  (And seriously, I don't even like Doritos that much.. why did I buy them??) I'm going to consider this past week a failure, but from this point forward I'm going to work really hard to make progress.  I'm really bummed about my knee because it means that, in order to lose weight, I really need to zero in on my diet since I'm kind of limited with the cardio.  I'd rather pig out and then go for a nice long run, haha!  I think I can pretty easily figure out how to make healthy breakfasts and dinners, but lunches and snacks are my weakness. Maureen, any good, healthy, low-point lunch and snack ideas?  In the past, I have snacked on oyster crackers, fruit, carrots, etc.  Sometimes, though, when I snack I'm not really looking for a fruit or veggie.  I know that's bad and I should just get used to it!  ...

Alright, Katie - here I am! I will not bemoan the various dieting failures I have encountered over the last several years.  Suffice to say, it has not really gone well. But here's the thing: last year, I lost 60 pounds on Weight Watchers (like, legit WW - not the fake way I did it before! Because let's be honest, I didn't know what I was doing.)  Anyway, my point is that, clearly, when I'm focused and motivated, I know exactly what needs to be done to lose significant weight.  So I don't need to do anything other than simply get my ass back into gear. I also know that my life is infinitely better when my eating and exercising habits are healthy and under control.  I will forever wonder why I engage in such destructive behavior when A) I hate the way I feel when I'm doing it, and B) I genuinely love the feeling of eating well and working out.  I've come to believe that there is some kind of psychological and/or emotional disconnect when it comes to this...

So goal-wise, I haven't quite hit the ground running yet. I did... cook at home. I may have ... used a healthy recipe (sweet and sour chicken and rice?  does that count as healthy? Is a breakfast burrito healthy?  I mean, it has eggs...) I GUESS I had one veggie serving... if you count the very small amount of hash brown potatoes in this afternoon's breakfast burrito :/ I did NOT... eliminate soda/juice. In fact, I only had orange juice and two Snapples today.  Really thinking I should drink a glass of water. Haven't started counting points yet, but here's a look at today's food: Breakfast - 2 pieces of whole wheat toast (2 pts) with peanut butter (3 pts); 1 glass of orange juice (1 pt) Snack - too many Cool Ranch Doritos (has to be at least 8, right?)  (okay, I learned that 12 chips are 3 pts... ) Lunch - one small breakfast burrito (maybe 6?); one Apple flavored Snapple (3 pts) Dinner - sweet and sour chicken (8-11? estimating from other things on the...