Put up or shut up

I started this blog a long time ago, thinking it would give me the external motivation I needed to finally get my weight under control and start living healthy. Well, apparently that did not work.

External motivating factors, especially one as narsissitic and fleeting as a blog, do not work. Motivation must be internal.

Yeah, I know, duh.

I've had some powerful realizations lately, life changing, game changing realizations. And now I'm in the game.

I am committed to being fit and healthy and smart about weight loss and I hope to chronicle some of that experience here. My goal is to hit my "ideal weight" but the end of the year and complete a 10K race. It is a challenge. But I'm up to it.

two rocky weeks

The past two weeks have be rocky on the WW front. I gained and then lost the exact same amount of weight. I'm not happy about it but what can you do.

I am resolved to do the 8 minutes in the morning program every day this week.

Oh and I found a fabulous new treat - Vitatops! 100 calorie chocolate goodness!

Snack attack

I don't know what was up last night, but I had a total snack attack. after dinner I had a vanilla shake, popcorn and a tiny pb&j sandwich. I was still within my points range, but still

The date is set

My baby sister set the date for her wedding. August 8, 2009. That is 30 weeks from today.

According to the Weight Watcher's scale thingie, the goal weight for my height is between 135 and 169 pounds. I have decided that when I stand beside my sister as her Maid-of-Honor, I will be in that range. That means I have 29 weeks to lose 32.5 pounds.

There is no reason I cannot do this.

Its a stupid 3 pounds a week.

I've lost 7.8 pounds so far by just watching what I eat and staying in my points range. My plan is to slowly ramp up working out to sustain that 3 pound loss.

3 is the magic number.

3 is awesome.

My First Star

On the Weight Watcher's system, they mark 5 pound milestones with a little star sticker on a golden book mark. I lost 3.2 pounds this week, for a total of 7.8 and got my first sticker. I know it's just a sticker and just 5 pounds, but it does feel good to see that first waypoint in a long march. I've been doing some interesting reading (and listening) in weight loss strategies lately. Some things are a bit out there - a little "woo woo" as a friend would say - like using NLP and law of attraction and mediation to aid your weight loss. Also I've found some interesting slightly more science based on vitamin supplements that I need to think on before I write about it.

WW - etools

I'm down 4.6 pounds since starting this Weigh Watcher's adventure. Weight Watcher's just switched to the "Momentum" Plan with absolutely adorable commercials (I love the little Hunger Monster!). I started the first week it was launched. Starting a new diet plan just before Christmas was not the brightest of ideas, since it is a big food holiday, but I'm working with it now. One of the best things about the program are its online eTools. It automatically calculates your points for you so you don't have to do any math at all. It's great for anyone tied to a computer, just pop on and a few clicks later, everything is figured out for you. You can save favorite foods. You can build recipes. It's a great service. I've used other online tools like FitDay and SparkPeople, and to be honest, the services are pretty much the same - log in, find food, track and record. I like the eTools a little better on WW because, well, I'm on the plan, and it's a flash application so it runs independently of your browser. On SparkPeople, anytime you add anything it has to reload the page which is a bit annoying. I do not like the community forums on the site. I find them very hard to navigate and very hard to find good information. There is serious room for improvement here.

Rocking the WW

Well, the vegan thing lasted about two months and apparently I cannot focus on eating vegan and losing weight at the same time. After all, potato chips are vegan. So with the announcement that the baby sister would be getting married in the summer, the mother sucked me into the cult that is Weight Watchers. I've lost 3.2 lbs since starting 2 weeks ago. And I have now decided to do my 50 in 100 plan in earnest. I have to take this weight off for heal reasons and life reasons. No more fat girl clothes. I'm ready to committ and go for it.