Inching Along

Well I am making progress, but it is still slow going. I am not going to give up, however, and I will take every little ounce of weight loss. I vow here on this post, that this is really really going to be the time I finally do it. It may take awhile, but heck, where exactly am I going? What else is there to do, but keep on keepin' on. I am having missteps along the route, but that was to be expected. I used to follow a blog, where the writer proclaimed that once he started losing weight, he never never ever had a gain at any of his weigh-ins, and he said everyone could do it (but then ticked me off when he said people who did have gains were not trying hard enough and were making excuses). Well, I do have an excuse- it's called life!! And hopefully, if you are reading this, you are alive and enjoying yours!

I still occasionally want a real Coke and not a diet, and I still don't always order a salad when we go out to eat, and I still come home pathetically exhausted and skip the treadmill, we do go out of town and I miss a Weight Watchers meeting. It happens, it's going to continue to happen, but I'm not going to let it happen enough that it totally derails me.

At the start of the year, I decided to try weighing every morning. I know, you really aren't supposed to, I've read articles that say it can get you obsessed with the numbers. But, I also read an article that said, people who weigh every day, don't have as many gains because they are more aware. I bought a nice calendar and put it on the back of the bathroom door, next to my scales. I weigh at the same time every morning. I make notes about what I did that day- did I eat lunch out, did I not exercise. I found that in the past, when I weighed myself once a week, I would be shocked on the weeks where I had a gain, and would try to figure out where it came from. Now, I can see it happening daily, and it really has made me focus more.

I keep track of the goals I've made for myself, and made notes at the bottom of the page for "monthly" goals- not all are weight-related. I track my five-pound milestones, where I reward myself with another charm on my bracelet (I go ahead and buy the next one, and keep it pinned up on a board in my closet so I can see what I will treat myself to).

So far, so good on my wagon ride this go round. Yee Hah!

SANDY

Grateful

Lately I have been wanting to give up. I missed the last 4 WW meetings, I haven't been on the treadmill since before the holidays. My weight has been going up and down, up and down the last few weeks. Yesterday I just did not want to get up and make it to my meeting- it's easy to blow off leaving the house at 7:30 AM on a Saturday, just to go weigh in. In fact, all I wanted to really do, was sleep in.

But then James reminded me of all the progress I've made so far, and I shouldn't give up, and I should go to the meeting. I've been feeling sort of down lately about how SLOW that progress has been. I thought when I started back to WW in the fall, I'd be well under 200 pounds so far. I haven't been under 200 since before we were married, and that thought makes me fairly sad. I think, for a lot of people, the first major goal is having your weight start with a '1' finally.

I whined that we are gone out of town so much, I am paying monthly to sometimes only go to a meeting once a month. He said, so what- go when I can, but don't give up completely just because I can't get to 100% of the meetings. So I went yesterday and found that I had succeeded with my goal for the holidays- which was to maintain and not gain the dreaded "holiday season" weight. And I made it through. I weighed exactly to the ounce, what I weighed the last time I went to WW back on December 10th. For some people, not having lost anything in a month, would be a disappointment. But for me, to make it through all the festivities and food of Christmas and New Years, and come out on the other side without even an extra pound- was astounding.

So I am grateful- if my husband hadn't encouraged me to go to my meeting this week, I doubt I would have. And by not going to the meetings- the accountability, the helpful tips, to see other success stories- that's usually when I fall back off the wagon and start embracing the old unhealthy habits- it seems easier and more comfortable to do that. But, I'm not comfortable with myself or my weight.

I know there are a lot of really amazing and wonderfully supportive husbands out there, but I know for me, James is sometimes the only thing that keeps me going. Knowing that he cares, and that he's proud of me, makes me want to work even harder at it.

My current goal was to get down to 200 before our cruise. It is less than 30 days away now, and even though I don't think I will lose the whole 16 pounds by then, I'm not just going to throw up my hands and say I'm not going to even try. I'm going to work at it, and if I only lose 5 pounds, or 10 pounds, I am going to be okay with that and keep moving forward.

SANDY

(New Years Eve in downtown Atlanta 2011- isn't he so handsome all dressed up?!)

Happy New Year

I did sort of good over the holidays, but not as great as I had hoped for. Then again, I didn't work as hard at it as I should have. Although from Thanksgiving to Christmas, I lost a few pounds- from Christmas through New Years I found them again! It was too hard at Christmas to not enjoy my mom's cooking while my parents were visiting. Then a week of leftovers were too convenient while I was working 12+ hour days. New Years was a three day celebration in downtown Atlanta that included lots of really great meals out.

With the new year, comes a clean slate, and like millions of others I'm ready to get back to program. I've missed the last three Weight Watchers meetings, and will miss next week's as well. Then right away in February I'll miss two more meetings when we go on vacation. I've got to realize that staying on program is an every day, every meal decision. It should have nothing to do with whether or not I'm going to make it to weigh in at the meeting that week. I am tired of going up and down on the scales. I know that December is the most trying month at my job, demanding extra extra long days, but it's over and I hope that January will bring a little relief and more time at home to take care of myself.

I'm happy with the weight I lost in 2011, and grateful that I made the effort to keep it off over the holidays. I've got a long road ahead of me, and for me it will take a great deal of dedication to continue. From using my time wisely for exercise, to organizing my points/meals, and keeping my focus on my goals instead of my distractions.

SANDY