Hooray!

I weighed in this morning...lost 4 lbs!  I am SO excited.  I need to keep this up.  If I can keep this up the holidays won't be so much of a struggle.  Maybe I can lose another 2 or 3 lbs before Thanksgiving.  That stretch between Thanksgiving and New Years is always tricky!  I have managed to do pretty good over the years...but every year I need to encourage myself not to lose focus.  In my WW meeting today, the leader said something that really stuck with me.  Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas...it is just ONE DAY, do what you do, forgive yourself and get back on track...or plan and do the best you can.  Don't let ONE DAY undo your hard work.  For those of you reading...are you thinking about the holidays?  What are your strategies?  And...why did I lose this week...one word EXERCISE, it does make a difference!

And so it begins...

I weighed in Thursday...and gained another 1.6.  I am not eating horribly...every day I say no to things.  But, I am not eating well enough I guess.  What is really strange is the pants that are looser...I feel good.  But, a wake up call for sure.  I am under 190 and want to stay there...and if anything get under 180 at some point.  So...I think exercise is what I need to factor in.  I try...but with school, work, and just day to day life...it is hard to get out there and exercise.  I started Thursday...walking with a friend on her lunch break.  It doesn't always work out...but it is something, and she and I have a similar pace.  Also, I started tracking again...not just what I ate, but the point values.  I am trying to get my husband to encourage me...and I am trying to encourage him.  I have two co-workers who are also doing this...so we talked on friday and vowed to try and encourage each other, share recipes, share wins and losses...just so we know we aren't alone!  Perhaps with all of this...I can be successful.  Sometimes it just boils down to will power and that deep sense of WANTING...nothing else will really work.

So, today we had chicken sausage with roasted butternut squash and green beans for lunch.  I am not a huge fan of squash.  I am trying to learn to like it.  Today it was roasted in the oven with butter (yep, I still use it), fresh thyme and kosher salt.  I had a quarter of a squash...the other half was made into a butternut squash soup.  The recipe came from this month's WW magazine...I just altered the recipe a little based on what I had, and taste.  It will still be 1 point per serving, 1 cup of soup.  I left out the cheese...and will top with some low fat plain yogurt or sour cream when I eat it!

Hope everyone else out there is not losing hope...it WILL happen, small steps!

The Weekend...

Well, it wasn't horrible...but it wasn't good either.  This weekend was the last weekend of the farmer's market...so I had a pain au chocolat.  But...very active at work.  Then...made a pizza...delite from papa murphy's but removed much of the cheese...and added figure friendly items...turkey pepperoni, canadian bacon slices and tomatoes.  Not bad...then I made some chocolate chip bars to mail to someone...ate some cookie dough...and went to bed feeling sick.  Sunday...I managed to eat a couple chocolate chip bars...but made a yankee pot roast (6 points) for dinner and then had popcorn for snack.  But...I plan to do better the rest of the week...and get some good exercise in.  Thursday and Friday I did manage to power walk!  Hopefully I can do that Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  If I can fit a power walk in each day...that will help!  And...I have planned my meals for the rest of the week.  Here's to doing better!

Facing the scale...

So today I weighed in.  I gained .6 UGH!  And yet, not really surprised.  This week I plan to do better.  Today was a good day.  Nothing bad...but I didn't track like I should.  I will track this week AND meal plan for the week.  Soups are always a good thing.  We talked about the things that undo us...friends, family, habits, cravings, time, money, and so much more.  All I could think is that I have come so far...it seems like I have so little left to go.  What is standing between me and success?  ME...honestly!  Here's to trying for a better week.

Thoughts about Apple Pie

So, I think this week my undoing will be apple pie.  I decided to make small, individual pies for the serving size...and then gave up and made both a regular pie and small pies.  I am not a pie eater normally.  In fact, this is a food that I have long given up.  And...if you had met me as a child the only pie I would eat was chocolate cream.  Now I love my mom's apple pie.  True I made the pie with less sugar, whole wheat flour...but I am still eating it.  But, what is life without pie?  I could have made baked apples...I could have decided to continue eating just apples.  But...I talked to my dad on the phone and he had me at light and flaky crust.  UGH!  So...here I am undoing some hard work by eating an apple pie.  I am savoring it.  And, next week, I will be back on track.  Until then, I am enjoying something I haven't eaten since last year...and I am going to be okay with it!