Last Day of the Year

Today is the last day of 2010, and I have the day off. I started by going to the grocery store at 7:00 this morning and getting black-eyed peas. Got to have black-eyed peas for New Year's Day!

I stopped and got 3 carne guisada tacos on the way home (actually, they weren't on the way). Last time I got 5, and I forced the 2nd taco down. This time I only got one for myself. I was satisfied. Then about 45 minutes later I had a slice of pepperoni pizza leftover from dinner last night. It upset my stomach. For lunch, I had 2 more slices of pizza, and again, my stomach was upset. WHEN AM I GOING TO LEARN? I spent the rest of the day eating grapes and drinking V8 Fusion Light. After I opened the bottle, I saw that it says 50% juice. What is the other 50%? I assumeed V8 was pure juice. I'll definitely have to read the label next time. I also had some grapes. I'm hoping to fill up on fruits and veggies for the next 2 days.

Well, I got hot and sweaty cleaning the house today, so my pedometer is on the fritz. I hope there are still some numbers in the memory when it dries. I washed the dishes, which were piled everywhere, then I cleaned off the shelves next to the TV. I took some of the Christmas decorations off and boxed them up and hauled them to the garage. I straightened the work-out room, put the TV on the desk instead of the floor, reboxed the video tapes, and hauled the drawers they were in to my son's room so he'll have something to put little things in. And I cleaned off the coffee table in the living room. That was quite a feat. But, the living room feels much better. I still have to finish the dining room table so I can start putting the butterfly puzzle together that I got for Christmas. I plan to glue and frame it after it's put together tomorrow. It's beautiful. In addition to the cleaning, I just about finished my laundry.

I'm going to babysit my grandson this evening so his mom and dad can go to a New Year's Eve party. I'm taking beans & franks and a banana for him. I'm also taking a can of black-eyed peas for them to eat tomorrow.

I don't know if you eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. I believe in them with my whole heart. I don't remember when it was that I didn't eat them on New Year's Day, but I had the most horrible year. The next New Year's Day I ate 2 cans!

I'll take the Christmas tree down Thursday night, the night after Epiphany. My tree is so beautiful that I really don't want to take it down.

A New Day, A New Attitude

OK, let's get started.

It's time to do the right thing. It's time to make the right choices. It's time to follow the plan or ANY plan for that matter. I weighed in today, and I weigh 224.6. It's not as bad as I expected, but it's not good either. I'm not going to beat myself up about it; that wouldn't do anything but make me feel even worse.

I've coasted, doing my own thing, for a month, and it's just made me miserable. As I mentioned before, my stomach is messed up. Like it hasn't been in years! I haven't been this out of control in many years, probably at least 4 years.

When I joined LA Weight Loss in 2006, I followed the plan religiously, and the weight dropped off. I looked really good, and my stomach was healthy and it could handle anything I ate. The difference between then and now is I didn't eat garbage like I am now. You know something's wrong when you have to have a couple of Tums after every meal. I think I'll start tomorrow by following a cleansing routine. I have to buy black-eyed peas anyway, so while I'm at the store, I'll find something to help clear my system. Maybe a package of Ex-Lax ;O)

When I was a child, my mom used to say that whatever you do on New Year's Day, you'll do the rest of the year. I really don't know if that's true, but to make sure, I NEVER cleaned house on New Year's Day. I think this year, I'm even going to do that differently. To tell you the truth, I'm tired of being in a messy house. Part of the reason is I'm so tired when I get home, and with the free-lance work I do, I'm stuck at my computer all evening for several nights in a row. Then before I know it, the house is overwhelmingly messy.

I spent a couple hours last night writing thank you notes for the gifts I received for Christmas. Then I actually made a list of what I received. If you've ever done that, it's an eye opener. I found how truly blessed I am because of all the gifts bestowed upon me. The list includes 23 people! And some gave me more than one gift! I'm humbled and suddenly I don't feel like I deserve what I've been given, which, I guess, makes them gifts.

Anyway, this post should probably be in my Personal Development blog (so you'll be seeing it there as well :p

I started out today with an on-plan breakfast: 1 slice bread (1pt), 1 slice cheese (1pt) 1 egg

I'm taking my 1pt bread slices with me to the cafeteria so I can get a sandwich and salad for lunch. (update: I got a turkey/swiss cheese sandwich with lettuce & tomatoes & mustard and a salad with greens, 1 boiled egg and 2 tbsp black beans and ranch dressing on the side.)

I'm not wearing pockets, so I have my pedometer in my bra. It's not counting the steps correctly, so I'll have to figure out a plan B.

Something I read recently said the boxing on the Wii was a good form of exercise, so I'll be seeing you in the boxing ring!

For dinner we had Little Caesar's pizza. I think I ate 3 pieces. Then I made the mistake of opening a box of dark chocolates. I lost track of how many I ate.

Rollercoaster

I'm on such a rollercoaster, and it's making me sick to my stomach. I can barely type because my stomach is in the way. And it's distended. That's really sad. I live on Tums.

I walked 1.07 miles today. During the lunch hour I delivered Avon brochures to one of our buildings. My pedometer says I walked 1568 for 15 minutes aerobic, but it was actually 2/3 of the total distance. I ran into someone and stopped to chat, so I lost the momentum. But at least I was able to catch my breath. I really huffed and puffed during the first half of our chat. It felt good to be out and walking. Tomorrow night my walking buddy and I will get back on the track. We don't have Weight Watchers at lunch, so I may walk to deliver more brochures to either a building closer or one farther away. I can't decide. I guess I'll see what the weather is like.

For breakfast, I ate a grilled cheese sandwich, and it upset my stomach. As soon as I got to work I chewed 2 Tums. Then for morning snack I had some of my Kickin' cranberry slaw. For lunch I had 3 tamales and the rest of the slaw. For the 3:00 snack, I finished the fruit salad. It was really 2 helpings, but I managed to get them both down today. So the question is...what will I eat tomorrow?

My son bought burgers for us for dinner, and I made waffle fries. Now that I think about it, I should probably have baked them instead of fry. I'll try that next time. I'm still so unconscious.

Those who follow the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus plan to the letter lose 3x as much weight as the old plan. Note the operative words in that statement "follow the...plan to the letter." I've done it before, I can do it again.

I walked a total of 4471 steps so far. I'm home and ready to veg, so that may be it for me. I am still reading something about the WW plan every night before I go to sleep.

I'm trying . . .

What was it about this year that so many of us went completely out of control during the holidays? I don't think I've ever been this crazy about food. Maybe a year of dieting was just too much. I can't say I've actually been dieting because if you look at my chart, you can see that the last time I actually lost weight was in May. That's really sad. Here it is 7 months later, and I'm gaining it back.

I'm trying. I had beef for breakfast so I could stave off hunger as long as possible. Two eggs are just not doing it for me. Maybe I'll try my grilled cheese in the morning. Then I had a banana for mid-morning snack. I had 3 tamales for lunch. They weren't greasy because I steamed them Christmas eve, and all the grease ended up in the steam water. GROSS ;(. I had the leftover salad from Christmas and a few bites of fruit salad.

I met 3 friends at Mimi's and we had a wonderful meal of stories, gift exchanging, visiting. I love my "sisters." I looked at the menu beforehand and picked out a broiled Chicken & fruit it was 11 points. And I ordered a cafe latte because it was 3 points. I ended up with 2 lattes because the first one got cold before I could finish it. I asked the waiter if he could warm it up, and he replaced it. It was actually too much. I also went crazy with the artichoke dip and garlic bread. It was delicious! My meal came with a muffin, which I saved for my son.

My stomach doesn't feel so good. I don't foresee any more meals like this for a while. I have 2 more friends who I usually share a meal with during the holidays. Maybe we'll do something soon. For the past few years, we've done a progressive dinner where we have appetizers at one house, the main meal at another, and dessert at the third house. That way we can visit, check out each other's decorations, and share a fun meal.

I think I managed something like 1500 steps today. I'll have to verify.

It caught up with me ;(

Of course we all knew it would catch up with me again. I weighed 227 again this morning. Not only am I gaining, I feel awful! I'm not sleeping at night, I have acid reflux, my stomach feels rotten.

I finally threw away the last 2 pieces of candy this morning. I threw them away! That's something I've done very rarely in my life.

For lunch today, I had 1/2 a cheese sandwich with mustard and double fiber bread, a large fruit salad, and a tossed salad with Light Catalina dressing. I have to admit that I'm still hungry. I'll survive until tonight. I may, if I think I'll faint, have some peanuts at 3:00.

The fruit salad was really good. I'm going to bring a fruit salad to the office to celebrate the January birthdays in a couple of weeks. I think the staff will appreciate something healthy instead of cake. I like the opportunity for us to visit; that's why I bring the birthday cake every month.

I've walked 1045 steps already today. If I get out of the office by 5:00, I think I'll walk around the block before I head home. Now that the winter solstice has passed, we should have increasingly more light after work to walk. YEA!!!

I walked after work-.7 miles in 15 minutes for a total of 3265 steps for the day. And then I ate enough to make up for the possible loss. :(

Day after Christmas

I still weigh 225! I've almost finished eating all the bad food :( I don't know why I don't just throw it away. I told my son the other day that I didn't want it to go to waste. Instead it is going to my waist. One good thing that happened is his girlfriend took half the goodies with her yesterday.

I saw a couple of books at the Half-Price book store that got me excited. One was about making changes. I can't remember the name, but I'll definitely find it again when I go back on payday. And the other was about hobbies. They had so many good books about beading and jewelry making that I may get for my son. He's started making jewelry, and I think he'd enjoy his own book as a guide.

I really don't have too much to say today - believe it or not. We've been watching an NCIS marathon while working on our laptops. It takes me twice as long to do anything on my laptop, but at least I can do both. I don't have access to more than the local channels in my office here at the house, so I don't watch TV while working on that computer.

Tomorrow, it's back to reality. Actually, tonight I'll begin the process to wrap up this year and plan my new year's resolutions.

One for sure is to be more observant. I don't know how to learn that, but I'll definitely try. And I'm going to increase my health and fitness. In the process, I hope to lose weight. I think if I take the pressure off losing weight, and emphasizing health and fitness, I may actually accomplish both.

Christmas Day

Well, I'm still at 225, and I did pretty well today. Still ate too many pieces of brownies and candy, but they were little pieces. For dinner at my daughter & son-in-law's, I took a cranberry salad that was delicious but runny (didn't follow instructions, so it never set like it should have), a 7-layer salad, and a fruit salad (no sugar added). The dinner was prime rib, and it was delicious! About 9:00, I felt hungry, so I had a couple little helpings of the salad. Now I'm completely stuffed.

I'm a little blue today, probably letdown from all the rushing, stressing, wrapping, planning, etc., and now it's all over! I got a really good framed photo of my grandson that I'll have to hang. I think I know where I'll put it. He'll replace the picture my daughter gave me a couple of years ago that's hanging in the living room.

I got 3 really good books -- inspirational -- that I can read in bits and pieces. I love that sort of thing.

I have a week to assess 2010 and plan for 2011. I really like making new year's resolutions.

I've made some significant changes in my life because of new year's resolutions. Like this year, I actually lost weight. One year I decided to call everyone by name when I saw them. Instead of just saying "Hi!", I'd say "Hi John." It really made a difference. It was actually easier to remember people's names. I still do it today. I got over the embarrassment of not remembering people's names. If I can't remember someone's name, I'll admit it and ask them their name. I realized I don't mind telling someone my name. Especially because it's so different.

When I was married, if my husband couldn't remember people's names, I'd introduce myself to them, and they would, of course introduce themselves to me. That would help my husband find out their names without having to admit he didn't remember. I still do it today. I don't assume people remember me, so I introduce myself to people all the time whether I remember their names or not. I find that as I get older, I can't remember people's names if I've only seen them once before, sometimes even twice before, especially if I've seen them in a group setting each time.

Of course one of my new year's resolutiosn is to continue to lose weight, but I have to put it in a more positive light -- something like eat healthier, exercise, something like that. Anyway, I'm still reading about the new Weight Watchers Points Plus plan so I can make better choices.

Read my 2010 Family Christmas letter

Merry Christmas!

When I got on the scale this morning, I'd lost 2 lbs! I guess in the back of my mind, I felt this weight was temporary, so I could go crazy knowing it would be off in no time. Bad way of thinking.

I was pretty good today, until I went to my sister's. But I expected it, so I cut down on the carbs and when I made a sandwich at my sister's, I didn't use bread, just lettuce, cheese, mustard, and meat. I did have a couple tamales and a couple cookies. I made brownies and candy to take, but left the tray at home (I'll take it to church Sunday). I did take some tamales and baked brie (YUM!)

We exchanged gifts at my ex's and my sister's. Tomorrow morning my son and I will open gifts, then we'll go to my daughter's and open the rest. I've received some cool gifts. I haven't opened them all yet, but the ones I have so far are great -- a puzzle in the shape of a butterfly, with butterfly shaped pieces, cookies, 3 dozen tamales (I love tamales), a bar of soap in a really nice box, a robe (how did she know), a really pretty sweater, a web camera and headset (my secret Santa gift), a digital key chain (I'll definitely load it with photos of my family), a box of dark chocolate candy, homemade dark chocolate candy, gosh, I've been truly blessed.

For tomorrow's dinner at my daughter's, I'm taking a 9-layer salad and Hungry Girl's Kickin' Cranberry Slaw. It's awesome! I made it for Thanksgiving, but I forgot to take the leftovers home, and I was really disappointed that I didn't get to eat more of it. It was really good! I already told my daughter that if I forgot this one, I was breaking and entering to get it this time.

Anyway, It's 1:30 Christmas morning, and I guess I shouldn't have had a cup of coffee when we got home from church at 1:00. Oh well, I don't have to get up early, so I'll enjoy more Christmas movies before I slumber.

Merry Christmas!

I've been out of Control!

What's wrong with me? I've been completely out of control with all the goodies that have been around for the holidays. It isn't bad enough that we have things at the office, but they're at home as well. There's a can of 3 flavors of popcorn. I've been good with it, all in all. But it's the cookies, candies, and tamales that have me spiraling back to where I started. I weighed 228 this morning! That's absolutely unacceptable. This was definitely a wake up call. I couldn't get my rings off this morning. The swelling has subsided, but I still feel bloated.

I was going to take a dump cake to my sister's for Christmas, but I scratched that off my list. I'm taking brownies and baked brie instead. The brownies are a better choice because a batch of brownies is much smaller than a dump cake. And I won't have to take the leftovers home.

Today I'm eating the roast I cooked in a crock pot yesterday with the carrots, onions and potatoes. I'm going to drink at least 8 glasses of water in addition to my coffee. When I feel the urge to eat, I'll have a glass of water first.

I hate that I feel roley poley and fluffy. I could almost be Santa.

My son and I have lots of errands to run today. Thank God I have the day off so we can take care of several items while fighting the crowd of half the city instead the whole city tomorrow. I'm starting by heading to the grocery store right now with a list. I stuck to the list, and I think I did a good job. Hopefully, I'll have enough money to cover the trips.

Instead of taking a dessert to my daugher's for Christmas, I'm taking fruit salad. I got canned fruit (which I'll drain) with no sugar added, bananas, apples, oranges, grapes, raisins, and some nuts. If there happens to be whipped cream available...Yum!

I've been good today - eating wisely, mainly because we ate all the sweets yesterday. I have been drinking water before eating - when I remember! I'm so unconscious most of the time.

My main new year's resolution this year will be to be more observant, which I hope will translate into being more conscious.

Food:
green bean casserole
roast beef with carrots and onions
roast beef sandwich with double fiber bread and mayo
last little piece of white chocolate candy that I made
handful of bite-sized tortilla chips

Full day

My day began at 6:30, when I got up to get ready for church. After the 8:30 service, I went to the nearby HEB to pick up some things. I had to meet the groom at 11:00 to put the flowers in the fridge. I also put my refrigerated groceries in with the flowers.

Then I had more time to kill until the end of the late service so I could help decorate the church for Christmas and the wedding today. After the decorations were done, I again had time to kill. I headed over to Bill Miller, got 1/4 lb of brisket and unsweetened tea. Then I made myself comfortable in my car and took a nap. I had to be ready to coordinate the wedding.

Eating my way through the Holidays

I must be crazy. I've gained at least 5 pounds in the last week! Being around so much good baked goodies is driving me crazy! I was saying this morning that I had hit my limit. I didn't think I had a limit, but this morning I thought I found it. I really didn't want anything sweet or baked; I wanted a tamale, a carne guisada taco, or even menudo. Well, that didn't last long.

BUT, my body is telling me I've had enough. My mind is still in stuff it in mode, but my body is saying "Uncle!" I'm all puffy, my tongue is hurting, I'm sluggish, lethargic, and all-around blah. And it's because of all the starches I've eaten in the past week.

I have managed to get some fruit in. I ordered a vegetable plate at our Christmas luncheon today at Cheddar's; well, along with a mushroom burger. The salad filled me up. I only ate 1/4 of my burger, and 1/3 of the great steamed vegetables.

The good news is . . . I found my pedometer. It was between the driver's seat and console in my car. I couldn't find my driver's license when I was going to rent a car while mine was in the shop, and my driver's license wasn't in my purse, so the porter and I tore my car apart looking for it. That's when I found the pedometer. I had my son look through my laundry and my secretary search my office. We couldn't find my license anywhere. I finally remembered when I saw it last (in my pocket at church Sunday), and I had my son look in my bathroom one more time. That's when he found it. It was between some books on a table there.

My buddy and I haven't walked in at least 2 weeks. We promise that we'll get back into the swing of things after the holidays. I'm going to have to do it without her if necessary.

Monday and Tuesday, I boxed with my Wii. 13 minutes on Monday, and 16 on Tuesday. I'm punching and punching, but I'm not connecting. The first time I boxed, I had several KOs, but I can't seem to do it anymore. I even got knocked down once! I'm getting worse instead of better. Without KOs, I'm having to work really hard to get these guys down. If only they'd stay down!

I have been really busy lately -- who hasn't? In addition to the Christmas shopping and wrapping and decorating, I've designed our Christmas card and written the annual newsletter. I've designed some inspirational signs to give to friends, I'm working on the FOSAPL newsletter, and I have a wedding and rehearsal this weekend, PLUS decorating the church after the 10:30 service Sunday.

I have just a couple of things to get, and I'M DONE! Yea! Then I can concentrate on the reason for the season.

We'll go to my sister's Christmas Eve, then to the 10:30 service that night. The next day, I have Altar Guild, then we'll hed to my daughter's for Christmas Day. Then Sunday, I'm relaxing and recuperating!

I hope you do to!

Fixin' to get ready to go!

I did read some of the WW materials last night. They have a good tear-out chart of how to build meals using different elements that will help me plan.

I usually have a good on-plan breakfast. And lunch is usually good as well. It's when I get home that all hell breaks loose. Sometimes we have foods that aren't on plan, and we run out of food. In those cases, I make do. BUT truly, I should plan for those days as well. When we only have off-plan food, I will plan what we'll have for dinner, THEN eat breakfast and lunch according to that.

I just finished breakfast, and I have 4 small potatoes in the oven, 2 white and 2 sweet. Each potato is 2 points, and they are ready for when I want a quick snack. I can heat them and go.

I'm going to a party this evening and I have 20 points left. Breakfast and the sandwich I'm taking for lunch add up to 9 points. And I'll take lots of fruit for snacks. So, I have lots to play with. I'm taking a bottle of wine, but I think I'll just have water or tea at the party, whatever the non-alcoholic choice is. I don't want to waste the points on wine. Well, maybe one...

OK, I'm feeling really good about myself right now. I hope this continues on through the holidays and I come out the other side weighing less and feeling even better. ;O)

I set up my laptop in the dining room, so I can be online and watch TV at the same time. I'll more likely be here more often now. I hope that's a good thing for us all :O)

I went to a Christmas party this evening with a group of ladies from my church. We had a really nice time visiting and catching up with one another. Then we had a Chinese gift exchange. I drew #2, and I picked a gift that was a fountain. I really thought I'd take it home, but one of the ladies took it from me, so I got another gift from under the tree. I love opening gifts. The second one was a Lenox snowpeople salt and pepper shakers. They are so cute. I'm glad I got to bring them home.

Food:
2 slices double-fiber bread (2)
1 slice 1/3 fat cheese (1)
2 egg whites (1)
2 slices bread (2)
mustard (0)
1 slice cheese (1)
Turkey lunch meat (2)
1 banana
1 orange

Enough Already!

I've fallen off the wagon, and I can't get back on! I was so excited about the new Weight Watcher's plan, but I can't seem to actually start following it. I've become so used to eating mindlessly again, that I'm starting to backtrack. I gained another pound today. What to do?

Eat fruit!!? Track?? Plan?? Exercise??

I updated my weight loss(?) chart, and I'm ready to draw a line in the sand. I am going to read at least 15 minutes about the new WW plan every night so I'll know more about what I'm supposed to be doing. When I feel like having something that's not part of the plan, I can have enough fruit to feel satisfied.

My son and I went to Marie Callender's last night, and I got the Kickin' Chicken Salad. Oh my gosh, it was delicious! And I put half of it in a to-go container for lunch today. I'll check on the points values and report back. Oh, and I had a sourdough Jack for dinner. Yumm!

Comparing last year to this year

I only lost 25 lbs between now and last Thanksgiving, but it makes a difference in how I see myself. Last year, we took photos of the whole family, and I hated how I looked. Then I joined Weight Watchers. This year, when we took photos, I made sure I stood so my good side was to the camera, and I look so much better. My hair is better. I'm wearing more stylish glasses, my clothes are more stylish, and I just look better. What can I say?

Weight Watchers changed their plan, and I really like it. Fruit is 0 points! I feel like I've gone to heaven. I love fruit, and there are times when an orange or grapes are just what I need to satisfy my sweet cravings.

Tomorrow night I'm going to the store for lots of fruit! I'm buying bananas, oranges, tangerines, tangelos, clementines, apples, grapes, whatever they have!

I was supposed to go to an Avon sales rep Christmas party, I even made some coconut macaroons and white chocolate candy to take because it was a pot luck, and that was all I had to take. But I had such a bad day (especially this afternoon at work) that I decided to forego the party and take it easy. I ate quite a few coconut macaroons. Then I watched Martha Stewart's Holiday Open House show.

I managed to get in 13 minutes of boxing this morning. I really like doing that. Tomorrow I'll shoot for 20 minutes. 13 minutes was hard work I tell you!