Good News Everyone!

I really hope you read the title like Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth from Futurama...



Good News!

If not, that's okay. The news is still good. I weighed in Saturday (last weigh in of the year) and I knew I had lost a bit. I didn't weigh in on the 22nd (I had to work 12hrs) so I had certain hopes for the 29th.
December 29nd Weigh In: -9.2 lbs
Total Weight loss: 38 lbs
Weight: 246.2 lbs

Yes. You read that right. In two weeks I lost 9.2 pounds! Suck it! Be gone stupid plateau!! Haha!

Sorry, I'm very elated. I know its not the solid 40lbs I was hoping for but I'm pretty confident I'll smash that goal on my Jan. 5th weigh in. I'm really happy with the progress I've made this year. I know it's not some crazy number, but damn it, it's my number and it's a good one for me. I can tell you about all the weeks I was lazy and ate terribly but that won't change anything. It's also not constructive. My loss hasn't been lightning fast and I've had some slip ups and some discouraging plateau action, but in 9 months I have lost 38 pounds. That's roughly 4 pounds a month and I'm pretty proud of myself. Oh, I also biked 30 miles in one day and completed a freaking triathlon...no big deal.

I was talking to a friend about my blog the other day and they told me that they don't like to read it because I'm negative and basically I'm not very nice to myself. I understand that a lot of my writing is not exactly positive and it got me thinking. As the year comes to an end and most people are declaring weight loss as their new year's resolution, I think mine will be simple and too the point:

Be Kind.

I need to be kinder. To myself (and to others).

I am hard on myself. I think everyone is hardest on themselves, ya know that whole "your own worst critic" thing. I think that being hard on myself sometimes is the only thing that gets my ass out the door and to the gym some days but it's also a source of unnecessary guilt when I don't exactly follow the plan I made for the day.

So I will be kind to myself. I will accept that my weight loss journey is different from anyone else's and I can't compare my results. I will understand that even though I may be giving 100%, my week's won't always give me amazing results. I am human. I am going to struggle but I am also going to have great successes. I am 12 pounds away from losing 50! How awesome is that? I've never lost that much, ever. I already blasted past the 24lbs I have lost previously. I am waiting (impatiently) for sign up to open for the Danskin Tri 2013, and I will being completing the regular Sprint this year, three miles of jogging and all. I also am terrifiedly looking forward to venturing to Swallow Cliff for the first time. I can't wait to do Bike the Drive in May again and actually running the Firefly Run with Kait in September.

I can't wait to see what I am able to accomplish in 2013.

So here's the deal. I'm going to start training for August...tomorrow. I'm going to go to the gym in the morning and then everyday thereafter. I'm not going to beat myself if I miss a day. I'm just going to press on and go the next day. I'm going to stick with weight watchers because it works for me. I'm going to make good food choices, but I'm also going to enjoy the hell out of cheat meals.

It's been a long, stressful, crazy, awesome year and as 2013 begins, I'm going to try to love myself enough to accept that I am doing everything to the best of my ability and that one day I'll hit my goals.

I got this.

Damage Control

December 8th Weigh In: -0.4 lbs.
Total Weight loss: 35.2 lbs
Weight: 249.0 lbs

I've been at this plateau for some time now. I would say that I've stayed at the same weight for almost two whole months...until now...

December 15th Weigh In: +6.4 lbs.
Total Weight loss: 28.8 lbs
Weight: 255.4 lbs

Yes. You read that correctly. I gained almost 10 pounds in one week.

I have plenty of excuses: It was that time of the month. I had McDonald's (large fries included) twice that week. I went to an awesome cookie party. I made a lot of cookies for this party and sampled many of them. I went to the Christmas party for work at Bourbon and drank many sugary pineapple and Malibu's as well as roughly 3 shots/bombs. (If we are facebook friends there is a nice photo of me carrying a drink in an unorthodox place, check it out) I think a lot of the gain is water/bloating weight because I had way too much salt that week.

I kept telling myself this is the last day. I'll eat like shit and then hop right back on the wagon. Then I'd made another bad choice and say the same thing, I'll only be bad today, and it kept happening each day. So instead of just letting a bad day be one day and moving on, I let a bad day become a bad week. I know I haven't posted since Nov. 28th but before last week I was at least maintaining my losses.

I think a big problems is that lately I've just been powerless to the deliciously stick in your teeth wonderfulness that is Milk Duds. Hot damn do I love me some Milk Duds.

I wish this picture wasn't eerily similar to the amount I have actually consumed

So thanks to some tough love (my sister reminding me, daily and not so subtly, that I haven't been to the gym in quite some time) I realized that I can not let this slip up ruin the progress I've made so far.

I've let a lot of things that shouldn't matter change my point of view. I thought that if I changed programs I would find faster and better results. I saw a co worker lose a lot in a small amount of time and it was discouraging. In a month they lost what it has taken me 8 months to lose. It wasn't fair and the plateau wasn't helping my state of mind. So I stopped working my plan. I stopped going to meetings, stopped tracking, continued to not go to the gym, and spent time researching what worked for them. I gradually started to eat like I used to, before April, before Tri training, and kept telling myself that it didn't matter because when I start this new awesome plan it won't matter because the weight will just melt off.

Well, the plan was a bit too hard for me to follow. I didn't even start it actually. I knew I wouldn't be able to sustain the plan anyway, not realistically.

I like to have the flexibility that Weight Watchers offers and if I'm totally honest after a few weeks of plateauing my discouragement turned into me not really following the plan 100% and tracking faithfully.

So here's the deal: I would really like to be at -40lbs by year's end. I know -50lbs is just plain impossible. Really, -40lbs might be unrealistic too, but it's a goal nonetheless. Ah hell, I'd be happy just to end the year making up the 6.4 gain I've had. Regardless of goals and numbers I've made a bit of progress that I'm really happy about, slip up and all...

-I went down a size in jeans (I'm trying to be okay with it only being one size for a 30 pound loss)

-In Old Navy sizes I am officially no longer a XXL. I actually put a pair of XL pj pants on OVER my jeans.

-I bought and wore a smoking hot Red Dress from Old Navy (Size:XL) to the Xmas party at work. I think wearing that dress was the first time I ever looked at myself and thought, 'Wow this actually looks pretty great on me'. I got a lot of very flattering comments on it. If anyone wants to take me out, I'm looking for any reason to wear it again!

 

 

-I have gotten back into the gym and it feels great. I don't know why I stopped going. I really need to get over my chronic laziness.

I really have a great support system of friends and family and I'm going to utilize them more for the rest of this year and for the rest of my weight loss journey. I'm also going to try to blog more and not let my laziness/ashamed of gainsness keep me from updating. I've had a lot of restarts and "new plans" so I'm just gonna start real basic and work my way up. No crazy plans that involve multiple workouts per day or weird food plans. Just me, following my WW plan/tracking, and being active for at least 35 minutes a day and working my way up to bigger and better things.

I can do this and in August I will be doing the Sprint Triathlon and I will be jogging the whole 3 miles and I will be kicking ass and taking names.

For now, I'm just doing a bit of damage control.