Not Sure on WI...
WEDNESDAY
So I'm not sure why I had such a funk with blogging. I tried to analyze why I didn't want to blog, and I think it was at least partly due to the fact that I've not been good with the bootcamp/eating/dieting thing and I feel like that girl that's always "gonna" lose weight but never does. This blog is supposed to help inspire me, keep me on track, and ultimately help me lose weight. When I've been bad, though I don't want to come on and say my weight, or say how bad I've been. So I say - ah - tomorrow I'll blog after I'm good today. But that just doesn't work sometimes.
So here's declaring. THIS BLOG IS FOR ME. Well duh, you say, who else would it be for? Well, no one in particular, but when you know someone's reading (even if it's only like 3 someones) you feel an obligation to do good. Well, I don't always do good. It's hard to lose weight. And you know what? I can still be a good person even if I don't.
So I'm back, I hope with the same goals, but hopefully not the same fears. Ironically I forgot to weigh myself this morning. Not at all in anticipation of this post. Yesterday morning i was at 217.4, so I'm sure I'm somewhere around there.
So - life is good otherwise. I've finally got some work to do, which translates to TONS of work to do. That's pretty much how it goes, though. Feast or famine. But it's better. I billed less than 100 hours last month (I should average b/w 160-180 each month). And this month until this week I hadn't billed even 40. So this is good. I'm not at a place where I worry about my job in the short run, but if that pace kept up, there'd definitely be trouble.
In other news, I've re-found my obsession with poker. I never really quit playing, and Erik and I have always gone out 1-2 nights a week to play with friends, but recently bought a book by a player I respect greatly, Gus Hansen, called Every Hand Revealed. It's basically the story of how he won the Aussie Millions - a huge annual poker tournament in Australia - in 2007. He tells every hand he played, the circumstance of the table, and his thought process behind is decisions. Fantastically boring for a non-poker player I'm sure, but exceptionally helpful to me. It got me inspired. I'm back playing online, and doing pretty well. I put $100 on my PokerStars account a week ago and have about $300 now. I'm going to try to build up a bankroll for Erik & my September trip to Vegas. We'll see how it goes, but right now I'm really lovin it.
Other than that, wedding plans are going fine. I'm sure there's something I should be doing right now but all the major stuff is taken care of, and we're down to details. I think it'll all work out just fine.
That's about it for now. I'm going to try to stay on the blogging thing. For me. It sure can't hurt. :-)
Showing posts with label Poker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Poker. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Sobriety...
217.8 (better, but still..)
WEDNESDAY
Well I have some small successes to report, besides the scale getting back in a reasonable range. not the 215 I saw 2 weeks ago, but it's going back down, so that's good.
My success is on the alcohol front. I've totally gone out the last two nights - Monday at Erik's request and last night on my own when he had a Kiwanis meeting - and had...drum roll please....NO ALCOHOL. Ok, so maybe that should not be such a huge announcement, but I cannot remember the last time I went out to a bar for poker and did not drink alcohol. I bet it was a time when I was really hung over. Seriously. I'm a huge social drinker and always like to have something in my hand. Diet coke it was last night. That problem is that waitresses are not eager to refill your diet coke since you already paid for it. So I had to get up a couple times and walk to the bar for a refill. Oh well, more exercise, right?
So maybe that's why the scale has gone down despite the fact that I cannot seem to get my lazy butt to exercise this week. Maybe.
So we're on day 4 of my new sobriety. I'm not promising a 4 month streak, but I'm going to see how far I can go. Holly brought up the idea of having a party next weekend, which would be a real challenge because when we host parties, it's all about the drinking. But we'll see.
Nothing else too exciting to report. Boy my blog is boring... ;-)
WEDNESDAY
Well I have some small successes to report, besides the scale getting back in a reasonable range. not the 215 I saw 2 weeks ago, but it's going back down, so that's good.
My success is on the alcohol front. I've totally gone out the last two nights - Monday at Erik's request and last night on my own when he had a Kiwanis meeting - and had...drum roll please....NO ALCOHOL. Ok, so maybe that should not be such a huge announcement, but I cannot remember the last time I went out to a bar for poker and did not drink alcohol. I bet it was a time when I was really hung over. Seriously. I'm a huge social drinker and always like to have something in my hand. Diet coke it was last night. That problem is that waitresses are not eager to refill your diet coke since you already paid for it. So I had to get up a couple times and walk to the bar for a refill. Oh well, more exercise, right?
So maybe that's why the scale has gone down despite the fact that I cannot seem to get my lazy butt to exercise this week. Maybe.
So we're on day 4 of my new sobriety. I'm not promising a 4 month streak, but I'm going to see how far I can go. Holly brought up the idea of having a party next weekend, which would be a real challenge because when we host parties, it's all about the drinking. But we'll see.
Nothing else too exciting to report. Boy my blog is boring... ;-)
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Sabotage, Sabotage
Last WI: 214.6/At Home WI: 214.6 (better, but not good).
THURSDAY
Well it's Thursday - WI day - and I have mixed emotions. I woke up yesterday to 216+ on the scale and really felt my week was over. Part of that high number was the beers I had the night before, but it was also a good part legitimate bad eating. I planned to have a perfect day yesterday. It started off right with my balance bar for breakfast but when I got to work, Holly was waiting for me. She works with me, but usually in a different office. She had to come by our office for something so we caught up and gossiped for a while. She ended up staying till after 11:00 and wanted to go to lunch. Now this is the bride I described before - eats EVERYTHING and will be wearing a size 2 wedding dress. Yes 2. So she of course wanted to go to Slices - a great pizza place down the road. I had planned on subway for my "perfect day" but gave in (surprise surprise). I did only have 1 slice of pizza - it's one of those places that have huge slices - and she had two (bitch). :-)
Obviously the scale is down this morning, though frankly I'm surprised. I was late getting out of work and had agreed to volunteer at the fair again last night. So I picked up McDonald's for dinner - very healthy. Then after a few hours at the fair I agreed to let Erik get me a hot dog - didn't need it. And finally, instead of going to the gym when my shift ended at 8:30 I went home. And had a glass of wine. Oh the good choices abound.
So this week has sucked. It's so common for me to have like 4-6 weeks of going great and then sabotage. I know I'll see a gain if I go to WI today. I'm thinking about not going. Now I know they always say you should "face the music" and WI anyway. But I hate seeing the gain. I don't know. I haven't decided. I think part of it will depend on scheduling. I've got an appointment out of the office at 3:00 to meet with a witness (named Pig - charming huh?). If I get done with that appointment in time, I should be able to go home, change cars and clothes and WI before I need to be at the fair at 5:45 (last night of volunteering). The good news is that for the 2nd week in a row I won't have my typical Thursday night after WI drinking binge due to the fair commitment. Any hot dog/fair food I eat could not be worse that consuming bar food and 10 beers.
So here's the plan. I've let myself go this week on both food and exercise. I'll forgive myself that. We all need a break now and then. I have got to recommit though. WI or no WI today I have got to make this coming week a good one. I'm back to a normal schedule with the exception of Saturday which will be crazy football day. Holly's an Alabama grad and I'm an FSU grad. Well, this year is the first year in a very long time that our teams play each other. So we got tickets. It's a game in Jacksonville so Holly, Dana, me and Erik are driving down Saturday for a 5:00 game and have to come back afterwards because Holly has to teach Sunday school in the morning. Will be a very long day with one of us very unhappy. But should be fun regardless. I'm looking forward to it. Tomorrow night we're celebrating Erik's birthday with friends. He turned 36 last Friday but had family in town, and then the fair, so we haven't really been able to celebrate. So I will be DD that night and he will be getting toasted I'm sure. That should be fun. And then Sunday we have a different poker league that has a game. Busy weekend, but with the exception of Saturday (game day!) I should be able to make some good food choices AND get some exercise in. That's the plan. Back on track. I've had my "vacation" from WW. Now I need to DO THIS. Not long till the wedding!
THURSDAY
Well it's Thursday - WI day - and I have mixed emotions. I woke up yesterday to 216+ on the scale and really felt my week was over. Part of that high number was the beers I had the night before, but it was also a good part legitimate bad eating. I planned to have a perfect day yesterday. It started off right with my balance bar for breakfast but when I got to work, Holly was waiting for me. She works with me, but usually in a different office. She had to come by our office for something so we caught up and gossiped for a while. She ended up staying till after 11:00 and wanted to go to lunch. Now this is the bride I described before - eats EVERYTHING and will be wearing a size 2 wedding dress. Yes 2. So she of course wanted to go to Slices - a great pizza place down the road. I had planned on subway for my "perfect day" but gave in (surprise surprise). I did only have 1 slice of pizza - it's one of those places that have huge slices - and she had two (bitch). :-)
Obviously the scale is down this morning, though frankly I'm surprised. I was late getting out of work and had agreed to volunteer at the fair again last night. So I picked up McDonald's for dinner - very healthy. Then after a few hours at the fair I agreed to let Erik get me a hot dog - didn't need it. And finally, instead of going to the gym when my shift ended at 8:30 I went home. And had a glass of wine. Oh the good choices abound.
So this week has sucked. It's so common for me to have like 4-6 weeks of going great and then sabotage. I know I'll see a gain if I go to WI today. I'm thinking about not going. Now I know they always say you should "face the music" and WI anyway. But I hate seeing the gain. I don't know. I haven't decided. I think part of it will depend on scheduling. I've got an appointment out of the office at 3:00 to meet with a witness (named Pig - charming huh?). If I get done with that appointment in time, I should be able to go home, change cars and clothes and WI before I need to be at the fair at 5:45 (last night of volunteering). The good news is that for the 2nd week in a row I won't have my typical Thursday night after WI drinking binge due to the fair commitment. Any hot dog/fair food I eat could not be worse that consuming bar food and 10 beers.
So here's the plan. I've let myself go this week on both food and exercise. I'll forgive myself that. We all need a break now and then. I have got to recommit though. WI or no WI today I have got to make this coming week a good one. I'm back to a normal schedule with the exception of Saturday which will be crazy football day. Holly's an Alabama grad and I'm an FSU grad. Well, this year is the first year in a very long time that our teams play each other. So we got tickets. It's a game in Jacksonville so Holly, Dana, me and Erik are driving down Saturday for a 5:00 game and have to come back afterwards because Holly has to teach Sunday school in the morning. Will be a very long day with one of us very unhappy. But should be fun regardless. I'm looking forward to it. Tomorrow night we're celebrating Erik's birthday with friends. He turned 36 last Friday but had family in town, and then the fair, so we haven't really been able to celebrate. So I will be DD that night and he will be getting toasted I'm sure. That should be fun. And then Sunday we have a different poker league that has a game. Busy weekend, but with the exception of Saturday (game day!) I should be able to make some good food choices AND get some exercise in. That's the plan. Back on track. I've had my "vacation" from WW. Now I need to DO THIS. Not long till the wedding!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Weekend in Tennessee
Last WI: 215.4/At Home WI: 216.4
MONDAY
Well I survived the weekend. Of course I didn't get all the exercise in that I wanted, but I did get some. I flew on Friday morning. I landed about 10:00 am and was picked up by my sister-in-law. We went and saw my brother before going to my mom's house where I was staying. I ended up not running Friday - I guess I just got lazy and was tired from the flight. I watched my neice play in the high school marching band on Friday night and went to bed relatively early.
Saturday I woke up and went running right away. I had planned on trying to do as many miles as I could on the local high school track - which is very close to my mother's house - but the school track team was practicing and I didn't want to disturb them, so I ran around my mom's neighborhood. I did 20 minutes before I had to walk. I ended up running about 2 miles and walking about 1.5. Not the 5 I had hoped for, but it was extremely muggy and hot out and frankly I haven't run outside in a long while, so I'll take it.
Saturday night we had a birthday party for my brother. Mom made her famous manicotti and french bread. I only had one serving, but still probably too much. The good news is I did munch a lot on the fresh veggies I had cut up.
Saturday night after the party I was still feeling wide awake so I headed to the riverboat casino in Missouri - just about 20 minutes away. I ended up winning $400 at craps and another $40 or so at poker before I headed home a little after 3:00 am.
Sunday I slept in, of course, and totally didn't go running when I did get up. Slacker! I spent the day saying goodbyes to my dad, brother, mother, sister-in-law and neices and nephews. My brother drove me the 2 hour trip to the airport around 5:00 pm. I got home a little after 11:00 pm and crashed out pretty quickly.
All in all the weekend was wonderful, family-wise, but not great food wise. I didn't crazy indulge but I didn't track, and I only ran once. That's about normal for my family weekends though.
Today I'm playing catch up at work. I've got my interview on Friday so it's another short week. Work is completely crazy with trials just 5 weeks away. I'm starting to stress. But that's normal too.
Today I've been ok with food. I had a balance bar for breakfast, popcorn and a nectarine for snack, and subway for lunch. I've got 10 points left for dinner, and I'm not going to get to go to the gym today (as usual for Mondays). I have to hit the grocery store right after work, and get home before 6:30 for our Monday poker night that we're hosting. Now - I just need to make good choices for dinner/poker.
This week I'm worried about WI because of the weekend, and my attitude. I'm totally grumpy because of stress at work, and that is always a recipe for disaster. When I feel grumpy or tired, I don't care about making good choices, and usually fall off the wagon. I'm going to need to find a way to improve my mood so I can keep my good trend going.
Here's to keeping up a good thing...
MONDAY
Well I survived the weekend. Of course I didn't get all the exercise in that I wanted, but I did get some. I flew on Friday morning. I landed about 10:00 am and was picked up by my sister-in-law. We went and saw my brother before going to my mom's house where I was staying. I ended up not running Friday - I guess I just got lazy and was tired from the flight. I watched my neice play in the high school marching band on Friday night and went to bed relatively early.
Saturday I woke up and went running right away. I had planned on trying to do as many miles as I could on the local high school track - which is very close to my mother's house - but the school track team was practicing and I didn't want to disturb them, so I ran around my mom's neighborhood. I did 20 minutes before I had to walk. I ended up running about 2 miles and walking about 1.5. Not the 5 I had hoped for, but it was extremely muggy and hot out and frankly I haven't run outside in a long while, so I'll take it.
Saturday night we had a birthday party for my brother. Mom made her famous manicotti and french bread. I only had one serving, but still probably too much. The good news is I did munch a lot on the fresh veggies I had cut up.
Saturday night after the party I was still feeling wide awake so I headed to the riverboat casino in Missouri - just about 20 minutes away. I ended up winning $400 at craps and another $40 or so at poker before I headed home a little after 3:00 am.
Sunday I slept in, of course, and totally didn't go running when I did get up. Slacker! I spent the day saying goodbyes to my dad, brother, mother, sister-in-law and neices and nephews. My brother drove me the 2 hour trip to the airport around 5:00 pm. I got home a little after 11:00 pm and crashed out pretty quickly.
All in all the weekend was wonderful, family-wise, but not great food wise. I didn't crazy indulge but I didn't track, and I only ran once. That's about normal for my family weekends though.
Today I'm playing catch up at work. I've got my interview on Friday so it's another short week. Work is completely crazy with trials just 5 weeks away. I'm starting to stress. But that's normal too.
Today I've been ok with food. I had a balance bar for breakfast, popcorn and a nectarine for snack, and subway for lunch. I've got 10 points left for dinner, and I'm not going to get to go to the gym today (as usual for Mondays). I have to hit the grocery store right after work, and get home before 6:30 for our Monday poker night that we're hosting. Now - I just need to make good choices for dinner/poker.
This week I'm worried about WI because of the weekend, and my attitude. I'm totally grumpy because of stress at work, and that is always a recipe for disaster. When I feel grumpy or tired, I don't care about making good choices, and usually fall off the wagon. I'm going to need to find a way to improve my mood so I can keep my good trend going.
Here's to keeping up a good thing...
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Am I Becoming a Gym Rat
Last WI: 218.6/At Home WI: 217.0 (woo hoo!)
TUESDAY
So maybe I'm not actually becoming a gym rat - I think those people actually look forward to going to the gym. I'm not going to delude myself on that issue - I don't hate it, but it's definitely not the highlight of my day. But I am going much more frequently these days.
Yesterday I got off work later than I hoped - like 4:30 (my usual off time) and made it home a little after 5:00 and wanted to go to the gym. I was concerned that I wouldn't make it home in time for people to start showing up for our Monday night poker game that started at 7:00. Generally no one shows up till 6:45 or later, but on occasion as early as 6:30. And of course, after my work out I need to shower and change before I can be seen by civilized friends...
Anyway, I beeped Erik (love Nextel!) and he said he thought he could get out of work on time and be home by 6:00. Score! I headed off to the gym to see what kind of cardio damage I could do.
I did very well! I did a total of 60 minutes on the elliptical machines. My gym has two types of ellipticals, one type there are about 6 machines, one type there is only one machine. Of course the one that has only one machine is a favorite of most people so it's often occupied. So I jumped on the more common type and kicked out 30 minutes. Just as minute 29 was passing, they guy on the popular machine finished. So I finished out my 30 minutes on the first machine then kicked out another 30 on the other one. Woo Hoo - 60 minutes of good heart thumping cardio. The machines said I burned 960 or so calories, so I'm counting 9 APs. Not bad.
So far this month (which is almost over I know) I've done 91 APs worth of exercise. Definitely a banner month for me. That's over 9100 calories burned. Probably more like over 10,000 since I always low ball my APs. Awesome. Amazing how diet and exercise work. lol.
Well, I ended up getting home about 6:20. No one (but Erik) was there yet so I jumped in the shower. By the time I was cleaned up Holly had shown up and others were on their way. I didn't want to make a sandwich or cook dinner in front of guests, so for "dinner" I ended up just munching on the snacks Erik had put out. I did cut up some broccoli, but mostly my dinner consisted of beer, light tostitos, bacon cheddar dip, and broccoli. Very healthy, yes. But hey - it could be worse.
So this morning I had a gorgeous 217 on the scale. I truly hope that wasn't dehydration from the beer... I guess I'll find out tomorrow.
Due to some running around I missed breakfast this morning and ended up having lunch with Holly at Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse. Now I ordered my favorite non-steak item - the twin peaks chicken sandwich. I had a house salad with ranch to start and it came with fries but I only had like 3 or 4 of them. The sandwich is definitely high points though. I just can't figure out how much. It's a Cuban style bread, grilled chicken, Swiss and Monterrey jack cheese and spicy mustard. Probably a total of 8 or 9 inches long. I'm guessing at least 12 pts. Not sure.
Anyway - tonight I'm headed to the gym, probably with Erik, for 2.5 miles. Hopefully it'll go as well as Sunday's run!
Here's hoping!
TUESDAY
So maybe I'm not actually becoming a gym rat - I think those people actually look forward to going to the gym. I'm not going to delude myself on that issue - I don't hate it, but it's definitely not the highlight of my day. But I am going much more frequently these days.
Yesterday I got off work later than I hoped - like 4:30 (my usual off time) and made it home a little after 5:00 and wanted to go to the gym. I was concerned that I wouldn't make it home in time for people to start showing up for our Monday night poker game that started at 7:00. Generally no one shows up till 6:45 or later, but on occasion as early as 6:30. And of course, after my work out I need to shower and change before I can be seen by civilized friends...
Anyway, I beeped Erik (love Nextel!) and he said he thought he could get out of work on time and be home by 6:00. Score! I headed off to the gym to see what kind of cardio damage I could do.
I did very well! I did a total of 60 minutes on the elliptical machines. My gym has two types of ellipticals, one type there are about 6 machines, one type there is only one machine. Of course the one that has only one machine is a favorite of most people so it's often occupied. So I jumped on the more common type and kicked out 30 minutes. Just as minute 29 was passing, they guy on the popular machine finished. So I finished out my 30 minutes on the first machine then kicked out another 30 on the other one. Woo Hoo - 60 minutes of good heart thumping cardio. The machines said I burned 960 or so calories, so I'm counting 9 APs. Not bad.
So far this month (which is almost over I know) I've done 91 APs worth of exercise. Definitely a banner month for me. That's over 9100 calories burned. Probably more like over 10,000 since I always low ball my APs. Awesome. Amazing how diet and exercise work. lol.
Well, I ended up getting home about 6:20. No one (but Erik) was there yet so I jumped in the shower. By the time I was cleaned up Holly had shown up and others were on their way. I didn't want to make a sandwich or cook dinner in front of guests, so for "dinner" I ended up just munching on the snacks Erik had put out. I did cut up some broccoli, but mostly my dinner consisted of beer, light tostitos, bacon cheddar dip, and broccoli. Very healthy, yes. But hey - it could be worse.
So this morning I had a gorgeous 217 on the scale. I truly hope that wasn't dehydration from the beer... I guess I'll find out tomorrow.
Due to some running around I missed breakfast this morning and ended up having lunch with Holly at Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse. Now I ordered my favorite non-steak item - the twin peaks chicken sandwich. I had a house salad with ranch to start and it came with fries but I only had like 3 or 4 of them. The sandwich is definitely high points though. I just can't figure out how much. It's a Cuban style bread, grilled chicken, Swiss and Monterrey jack cheese and spicy mustard. Probably a total of 8 or 9 inches long. I'm guessing at least 12 pts. Not sure.
Anyway - tonight I'm headed to the gym, probably with Erik, for 2.5 miles. Hopefully it'll go as well as Sunday's run!
Here's hoping!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Relationship Issues
Last WI: 220.2/At Home WI: 218.8
TUESDAY
Yesterday was a very good day. I left work early and hit the gym. Unfortunately that didn't go as planned. I went to Target last week and bought some new running gear including a few new sports bras and a new runners top that is a fitted, racer top (don't know how else to describe it). I decided to try the new top yesterday. Usually I just run with a sports bra and t-shirt. Well, it was snug but not overly tight heading to the gym and all was going well until I started running. Walking was fine, but running made the darn thing ride up horribly. Now, I'm one of those people who are very curvy and when I lose weight I lose it everywhere. Similarly when I gain weight I gain it everywhere so my hips and busts are always bigger than my waist. Anyway, bottom line, my hips were too big and the shirt rode up to just below my boobs - not a pretty sight. I found myself running while holding my shirt down. Didn't work. So I walked, which didn't seem to disturb the situation quite so bad. I ended up walking about 1.5 miles, burning just over 200 calories and earning just 2 APs. I had planned and hoped for more, but it was something.
Technically Monday is supposed to be a rest day but since I didn't work out as planned on Friday or Sunday I was trying to do make up work. Oh well. Today is another day and it's back to the T-shirt - at least until the shirt is not quite so snug.
After the work out I made a very healthy dinner of chicken, whole wheat pasta and tomato's with basil and garlic. I don't cook often, but this was a great old standby from my original WW days. I also made some cooked broccoli for veggies. All in all dinner was only 9 points which left me with 6 points for the day not counting my 2 APs. I packed up and headed to the poker game.
And.....
ATE NOTHING. Oh yes. I decided before I got there that I would bring some diet coke and diet mountain dew to drink hoping to be able to avoid the beer but if there was snacks - like chips and salsa - I'd spend a few of my remaining points on them. Well, all they had was pizza from a local joint. Now, I've had this pizza before and it's ok, but not phenomenal and I've guesstimated the points at 5 per slice. I had 6 left for the day and just didn't feel like one slice would satisfy me and I'd end up eating too much. So I said no to that to, promising myself that if I wanted something when I got home, I could use my points there.
Poker lasted till midnight, I got home, chugged some water, and decided that a day under points would do me good! So I went to bed with 6 points and 2 APs to spare. Woo Hoo! This totally doesn't seem like such a big deal as I write it but for me it's a HUGE victory. I've had such a hard time staying in points that actually staying under is nearly inconceivable.
Today I've had my balance bar for breakfast (4pts) and am planning another low point day with 6-10 APs earned at the gym. I'm still sort of making up for the weekend and realistically need to see 217.6 or lower on my home scale Thursday morning to have any hope for a 2+ lb loss this week. I've got two days. And Erik's out of town so no distractions. Tonight's plan is to go to the gym, and have a healthy dinner - no going out!
So - all that WW stuff out of the way, I want to talk about some personal issues. Erik and I. I've been dating Erik for 2 years and 2 months now. When we started dating he had been separated from his now-ex-wife for about 7 months, though the divorce wasn't final until 6 months into our relationship (custody issues). He's also been married once before that, so he's been divorced twice. And has a 4 year old son. Not someone I would have initially thought I would ever date. But I met him through friends and didn't learn all the back story right away. And, it turns out, you can't always pick who you fall in love with.
Anyway, early on in our relationship I made it clear to him what I wanted eventually - a husband and children. Now Erik is definitely not one to talk about his feelings much or open up often, but on this issue I made things perfectly clear and made him be perfectly clear with me that he wanted those things too. I didn't want to get 2 years in and learn that he didn't want to get married again, or that he didn't want anymore kids. He assured me, repeatedly, that it wouldn't be an issues. He wanted the same things - but wanted to take things slowly. Well, I had no problem with that as I was not at all ready to have kids yet, so I could hold out on the getting married thing for a bit. So here we are 2+ years later and we're still not engaged. Now - my theory on couples is that no one should get in engaged in less than 1 year. Just my opinion, but I think you need to go through a year to really learn about a person. That said, I've always felt that if a relationship goes into 3 or more years with out an engagement, there's a problem.
Well, the good news is I know what our problem is - or at least I hope so. When I met Erik, as I said, he was going through a divorce. Unfortunately in that divorce there was a lot of debt that they, in all fairness, divided equally. But they had started a business together that failed, and in starting it had taken out additional mortgages and loans. So, coming out of the marriage Erik had a lot of debt. In early 2006, Erik's "friend" (I put it in quotes because I don't think he's a friend of Erik) Charlie, talked him into "investing" in a subdivision Charlie was building. Basically he got Erik to buy a lot of land relatively cheap and agree to build a new house, with the plans to sell it. Charlie convinced Erik that he could build this monstrous house for under 400K and then sell it for 500K plus. Now, Erik and I had been dating less than a year now and weren't even living together and I didn't have enough influence to persuade him that this "get rich quick scheme" was likely not all it was cracked up to be. Erik felt it was his opportunity to make enough to pay off the debt from his last marriage. I argued that it could easily make thing worse. I tried my best, but against all of my pleadings, he agreed to build the house. Erik has perfect credit and a really good job, so he had no problem getting another loan to build a new house - even though he had little to no equity in his current one.
Well, the new house was built and finished in August of 2006. Back in March of 2006 Erik had placed his old house on the market with the theory that perhaps we could live in the new house for 2 years to avoid taxes on a sale (another misunderstanding he had - you don't avoid taxes, you just roll over your profits to another house - but he again didn't listen to me). Anyway, the "old" house was put on the market initially at just under 300K. He has lived there since 1999 and bought it for under 200K but has refinanced it so many times he owes nearly 300K. Another disappointing fact.
So, 2006 came and went and no one made an acceptable offer on the "old" house. By this time, Erik was paying a mortgage on a 300K house and a 400K house. Now I said Erik has a "good" job. But not that good, by any means. He ended up taking out an additional 100K line of credit on the "new" house based upon an obscene appraisal and was paying mortgages out of borrowed money. So - the new house was put on the market as well with the theory that we've got to sell one or the other - ideally both.
Now, it's been nearly a year and neither house has sold. Eventually the money is going to run out. I'm not sure when, he keeps saying "oh a couple more months is all I got" but then a couple months go by and he's still pluggin along. Unfortunately, even bankruptcy is not a viable option right now because in his job he has a "secret" clearance because he works with the government a lot. He's convinced that if he files bankruptcy he'll lose his secret clearance and his job. So he's been applying for other jobs but so far that has gone the way of the house sales - no luck.
Anyway - back to our relationship. We've talked about marriage repeatedly and I've indicated that I think we've waited long enough. But it always comes back to the finances. He, understandably, doesn't want to propose until he's cash-flow positive. And I appreciate that. I frankly don't want to marry into all of that debt anyway, but I sure wish he would resolve it sooner rather than later. I don't know if there will be any good resolution right now, but I do know things are getting worse, not better.
So here I am, in a relationship with a great guy who has some major financial problems. He has promised me that, once we do get married, I am authorized to take over all the finances, as I am a bit more risk-averse than him and will, hopefully, do a better job for our future. But meanwhile, I'm in "limbo" and have no idea when I'm getting engaged. Frustrating to say the least.
Now, the good news is that I'm still not at all ready to get pregnant, though I would like to in the next 3-4 years. But in reality, I don't need to be married until we decide to have kids. That said, if we pass 3 years without a proposal, I'm going to be concerned there is more behind this than finances. Right now I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. He assures me it's not commitment issues, or relationship issues, that he loves me and wants to have a family with me. But until there's a ring on my finger, I'm not sure I'll ever completely believe him.
Anyway he's out of town this week so it's got me thinking about us, and our future. I hope that he can resolve the finances, in some way - good or bad - soon. Problems like this don't go away - they just get worse.
TUESDAY
Yesterday was a very good day. I left work early and hit the gym. Unfortunately that didn't go as planned. I went to Target last week and bought some new running gear including a few new sports bras and a new runners top that is a fitted, racer top (don't know how else to describe it). I decided to try the new top yesterday. Usually I just run with a sports bra and t-shirt. Well, it was snug but not overly tight heading to the gym and all was going well until I started running. Walking was fine, but running made the darn thing ride up horribly. Now, I'm one of those people who are very curvy and when I lose weight I lose it everywhere. Similarly when I gain weight I gain it everywhere so my hips and busts are always bigger than my waist. Anyway, bottom line, my hips were too big and the shirt rode up to just below my boobs - not a pretty sight. I found myself running while holding my shirt down. Didn't work. So I walked, which didn't seem to disturb the situation quite so bad. I ended up walking about 1.5 miles, burning just over 200 calories and earning just 2 APs. I had planned and hoped for more, but it was something.
Technically Monday is supposed to be a rest day but since I didn't work out as planned on Friday or Sunday I was trying to do make up work. Oh well. Today is another day and it's back to the T-shirt - at least until the shirt is not quite so snug.
After the work out I made a very healthy dinner of chicken, whole wheat pasta and tomato's with basil and garlic. I don't cook often, but this was a great old standby from my original WW days. I also made some cooked broccoli for veggies. All in all dinner was only 9 points which left me with 6 points for the day not counting my 2 APs. I packed up and headed to the poker game.
And.....
ATE NOTHING. Oh yes. I decided before I got there that I would bring some diet coke and diet mountain dew to drink hoping to be able to avoid the beer but if there was snacks - like chips and salsa - I'd spend a few of my remaining points on them. Well, all they had was pizza from a local joint. Now, I've had this pizza before and it's ok, but not phenomenal and I've guesstimated the points at 5 per slice. I had 6 left for the day and just didn't feel like one slice would satisfy me and I'd end up eating too much. So I said no to that to, promising myself that if I wanted something when I got home, I could use my points there.
Poker lasted till midnight, I got home, chugged some water, and decided that a day under points would do me good! So I went to bed with 6 points and 2 APs to spare. Woo Hoo! This totally doesn't seem like such a big deal as I write it but for me it's a HUGE victory. I've had such a hard time staying in points that actually staying under is nearly inconceivable.
Today I've had my balance bar for breakfast (4pts) and am planning another low point day with 6-10 APs earned at the gym. I'm still sort of making up for the weekend and realistically need to see 217.6 or lower on my home scale Thursday morning to have any hope for a 2+ lb loss this week. I've got two days. And Erik's out of town so no distractions. Tonight's plan is to go to the gym, and have a healthy dinner - no going out!
So - all that WW stuff out of the way, I want to talk about some personal issues. Erik and I. I've been dating Erik for 2 years and 2 months now. When we started dating he had been separated from his now-ex-wife for about 7 months, though the divorce wasn't final until 6 months into our relationship (custody issues). He's also been married once before that, so he's been divorced twice. And has a 4 year old son. Not someone I would have initially thought I would ever date. But I met him through friends and didn't learn all the back story right away. And, it turns out, you can't always pick who you fall in love with.
Anyway, early on in our relationship I made it clear to him what I wanted eventually - a husband and children. Now Erik is definitely not one to talk about his feelings much or open up often, but on this issue I made things perfectly clear and made him be perfectly clear with me that he wanted those things too. I didn't want to get 2 years in and learn that he didn't want to get married again, or that he didn't want anymore kids. He assured me, repeatedly, that it wouldn't be an issues. He wanted the same things - but wanted to take things slowly. Well, I had no problem with that as I was not at all ready to have kids yet, so I could hold out on the getting married thing for a bit. So here we are 2+ years later and we're still not engaged. Now - my theory on couples is that no one should get in engaged in less than 1 year. Just my opinion, but I think you need to go through a year to really learn about a person. That said, I've always felt that if a relationship goes into 3 or more years with out an engagement, there's a problem.
Well, the good news is I know what our problem is - or at least I hope so. When I met Erik, as I said, he was going through a divorce. Unfortunately in that divorce there was a lot of debt that they, in all fairness, divided equally. But they had started a business together that failed, and in starting it had taken out additional mortgages and loans. So, coming out of the marriage Erik had a lot of debt. In early 2006, Erik's "friend" (I put it in quotes because I don't think he's a friend of Erik) Charlie, talked him into "investing" in a subdivision Charlie was building. Basically he got Erik to buy a lot of land relatively cheap and agree to build a new house, with the plans to sell it. Charlie convinced Erik that he could build this monstrous house for under 400K and then sell it for 500K plus. Now, Erik and I had been dating less than a year now and weren't even living together and I didn't have enough influence to persuade him that this "get rich quick scheme" was likely not all it was cracked up to be. Erik felt it was his opportunity to make enough to pay off the debt from his last marriage. I argued that it could easily make thing worse. I tried my best, but against all of my pleadings, he agreed to build the house. Erik has perfect credit and a really good job, so he had no problem getting another loan to build a new house - even though he had little to no equity in his current one.
Well, the new house was built and finished in August of 2006. Back in March of 2006 Erik had placed his old house on the market with the theory that perhaps we could live in the new house for 2 years to avoid taxes on a sale (another misunderstanding he had - you don't avoid taxes, you just roll over your profits to another house - but he again didn't listen to me). Anyway, the "old" house was put on the market initially at just under 300K. He has lived there since 1999 and bought it for under 200K but has refinanced it so many times he owes nearly 300K. Another disappointing fact.
So, 2006 came and went and no one made an acceptable offer on the "old" house. By this time, Erik was paying a mortgage on a 300K house and a 400K house. Now I said Erik has a "good" job. But not that good, by any means. He ended up taking out an additional 100K line of credit on the "new" house based upon an obscene appraisal and was paying mortgages out of borrowed money. So - the new house was put on the market as well with the theory that we've got to sell one or the other - ideally both.
Now, it's been nearly a year and neither house has sold. Eventually the money is going to run out. I'm not sure when, he keeps saying "oh a couple more months is all I got" but then a couple months go by and he's still pluggin along. Unfortunately, even bankruptcy is not a viable option right now because in his job he has a "secret" clearance because he works with the government a lot. He's convinced that if he files bankruptcy he'll lose his secret clearance and his job. So he's been applying for other jobs but so far that has gone the way of the house sales - no luck.
Anyway - back to our relationship. We've talked about marriage repeatedly and I've indicated that I think we've waited long enough. But it always comes back to the finances. He, understandably, doesn't want to propose until he's cash-flow positive. And I appreciate that. I frankly don't want to marry into all of that debt anyway, but I sure wish he would resolve it sooner rather than later. I don't know if there will be any good resolution right now, but I do know things are getting worse, not better.
So here I am, in a relationship with a great guy who has some major financial problems. He has promised me that, once we do get married, I am authorized to take over all the finances, as I am a bit more risk-averse than him and will, hopefully, do a better job for our future. But meanwhile, I'm in "limbo" and have no idea when I'm getting engaged. Frustrating to say the least.
Now, the good news is that I'm still not at all ready to get pregnant, though I would like to in the next 3-4 years. But in reality, I don't need to be married until we decide to have kids. That said, if we pass 3 years without a proposal, I'm going to be concerned there is more behind this than finances. Right now I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. He assures me it's not commitment issues, or relationship issues, that he loves me and wants to have a family with me. But until there's a ring on my finger, I'm not sure I'll ever completely believe him.
Anyway he's out of town this week so it's got me thinking about us, and our future. I hope that he can resolve the finances, in some way - good or bad - soon. Problems like this don't go away - they just get worse.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Weekend in South Carolina
Last WI: 220.2/At Home WI: 219.8
MONDAY
Well this weekend was fun but not wonderful WW-wise. Friday night I went out with Erik to Y-knots and had chicken nachos for dinner. Not a great choice but believe it or not there are worse. I also had a few beers, but was driving so didn't go overboard there.
Saturday we got up at 8:00 to pick up two 17 year old boys - Shane and Ryan. Shane is the son of one of Erik's best friends who is stationed in Iraq right now. Ryan is a classmate of Shane. Both are baseball players and there was an event in South Carolina this weekend they wanted to go to but couldn't get a ride. Erik's friend asked if we would take them and we agreed. So, Saturday we spent the day on the road. I was good and made myself a tuna sandwich for breakfast, knowing we were meeting them at Burger King and knowing I'd make a very bad choice there for breakfast. Lunch we stopped at a wing place, so I didn't eat great, but didn't over-indulge. For dinner we ate at the resort we were staying at. I had a really bad steak, but it was small and not fatty at all, so not too bad, and a couple beers. The good news is that before we went to dinner I convinced Erik to hit the hotel gym with me and earn some APs. I managed just over 2 miles before calling it quits when the treadmill died on me.
Sunday we took the boys by McDonald's on the way to the ball park, but I talked Erik into dropping them off and getting subway for us - so that was a victory. It was a little late, so it was lunch and we had no breakfast. Then we went and watched they boys play for a few hours and I got some much needed sun - a bit too much but the burn wasn't bad. We hit the road about 5:00 stopping at a gas station for drinks/snacks. I munched on some chips (bad idea!) and we stoped for dinner about 7:00 where I split some pizza and breadsticks with Erik. Over all not a horrible day but definitely could have been better. We got home about 11:00 last night after dropping the boys off and crashed out immediately.
Erik left this morning for a week in Ft. Lauderdale for a conference (lucky boy!) so I'm single for the week. I'm going to try to use that to my advantage and get LOTS of exercise in and stay home. We'll see how my resolve lasts as the week goes on. Of course that doesn't apply to tonight because it's Monday and our weekly poker game is tonight. Holly is hosting and I doubt I'll have time after work to make it to the gym before heading over there at 7:00. So, the plan is to eat a really low points day and eat dinner before I go over there and NOT drink beer while I'm there. Again - we'll see how my resolve does.
So far today I've had a balance bar for breakfast (4pts) and some 94% ff popcorn (2pts). I just about to head out for lunch which will probably be subway again. I might try for just a turkey sub (5pts) no chips and a drink. That would do well toward my goal of a low point day. It's a plan - now to execute!
MONDAY
Well this weekend was fun but not wonderful WW-wise. Friday night I went out with Erik to Y-knots and had chicken nachos for dinner. Not a great choice but believe it or not there are worse. I also had a few beers, but was driving so didn't go overboard there.
Saturday we got up at 8:00 to pick up two 17 year old boys - Shane and Ryan. Shane is the son of one of Erik's best friends who is stationed in Iraq right now. Ryan is a classmate of Shane. Both are baseball players and there was an event in South Carolina this weekend they wanted to go to but couldn't get a ride. Erik's friend asked if we would take them and we agreed. So, Saturday we spent the day on the road. I was good and made myself a tuna sandwich for breakfast, knowing we were meeting them at Burger King and knowing I'd make a very bad choice there for breakfast. Lunch we stopped at a wing place, so I didn't eat great, but didn't over-indulge. For dinner we ate at the resort we were staying at. I had a really bad steak, but it was small and not fatty at all, so not too bad, and a couple beers. The good news is that before we went to dinner I convinced Erik to hit the hotel gym with me and earn some APs. I managed just over 2 miles before calling it quits when the treadmill died on me.
Sunday we took the boys by McDonald's on the way to the ball park, but I talked Erik into dropping them off and getting subway for us - so that was a victory. It was a little late, so it was lunch and we had no breakfast. Then we went and watched they boys play for a few hours and I got some much needed sun - a bit too much but the burn wasn't bad. We hit the road about 5:00 stopping at a gas station for drinks/snacks. I munched on some chips (bad idea!) and we stoped for dinner about 7:00 where I split some pizza and breadsticks with Erik. Over all not a horrible day but definitely could have been better. We got home about 11:00 last night after dropping the boys off and crashed out immediately.
Erik left this morning for a week in Ft. Lauderdale for a conference (lucky boy!) so I'm single for the week. I'm going to try to use that to my advantage and get LOTS of exercise in and stay home. We'll see how my resolve lasts as the week goes on. Of course that doesn't apply to tonight because it's Monday and our weekly poker game is tonight. Holly is hosting and I doubt I'll have time after work to make it to the gym before heading over there at 7:00. So, the plan is to eat a really low points day and eat dinner before I go over there and NOT drink beer while I'm there. Again - we'll see how my resolve does.
So far today I've had a balance bar for breakfast (4pts) and some 94% ff popcorn (2pts). I just about to head out for lunch which will probably be subway again. I might try for just a turkey sub (5pts) no chips and a drink. That would do well toward my goal of a low point day. It's a plan - now to execute!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Poker and Alcohol - Required Together!
Last WI: 222.4/At Home WI: 220.0 (hope that's not a fluke!)
WEDNESDAY
Well, yesterday was perfect until the evening...again. I am totally weak at night even after a perfect OP day! I left work and went to the gym - ran 2 miles, then did the elliptical for a total of 6 APs. Not the 10 I'd hoped for, but my energy was just low so I took what I could get. I got home and had 9 points left for the day plus the 6 APs I'd earned. Erik had a friend coming into town from Michigan that he went to college with. His friend, Kevin, would be staying with us for two days. The tentative plan was for him to get in about 5:30 or 6:00 and we'd go to dinner. A little after 6:00 no boys and I'm starving, so I have a bowl of chicken noodle soup to tide me over (3pts). That still leaves me a good 12 points for dinner - totally doable with good choices. The boys finally get there about 7:00 and Erik decides he wants to go play poker.
Boooo!
We play at a restaurant called chaps, which I can totally eat ok at, but have the hardest times not drinking - particularly when playing poker. So we get there, we order, I make a good choice and order diet coke with my sandwich and salad - total of 14 points approx. Then about an hour into the poker game, I'm irritated by the people at my table and order a beer...then another. And you know where it goes from there. I ended the day with a total of 4 beers - and 8 unnecessary points. All in all I was 10 pts over for the day after eating my APs. Not horrible, but I didn't have them to spare after my Monday night splurge. I should NOT be splurging two nights in a row when I really need to post a good loss this week! Grrrr. The good news is that the scale was very friendly this morning - to the point that I think it was wrong but I was too scared to weigh again. I want so much to believe it's right. So I'm taking it and running with it and hoping to have my perfect day today. It's the day before WI and I have no choice, right?
The good news is that I've done TONS of exercise this week. Since WI I've earned 28 APs and plan for another 6 or so today. That is huge for me, so I'm hoping that will cover for the slips of the week.
Today I've had 7 pts so far for breakfast and snack. I havent figured out lunch yet as I'm trying to sneak out of work early so I may just have a bowl of soup I have and disappear around 2:00 or so - we'll see. Either way I am going back to the gym today. And at least I know I won't be tempted by alcohol tonight - Erik has Daniel and our house guest, so it's definitely a night it with the boys. I WILL make a good dinner for me, even if I have to be unsocial. Ideally I can eat just my target points and "bank" the APs for WI tomorrow. That's the plan man!
WEDNESDAY
Well, yesterday was perfect until the evening...again. I am totally weak at night even after a perfect OP day! I left work and went to the gym - ran 2 miles, then did the elliptical for a total of 6 APs. Not the 10 I'd hoped for, but my energy was just low so I took what I could get. I got home and had 9 points left for the day plus the 6 APs I'd earned. Erik had a friend coming into town from Michigan that he went to college with. His friend, Kevin, would be staying with us for two days. The tentative plan was for him to get in about 5:30 or 6:00 and we'd go to dinner. A little after 6:00 no boys and I'm starving, so I have a bowl of chicken noodle soup to tide me over (3pts). That still leaves me a good 12 points for dinner - totally doable with good choices. The boys finally get there about 7:00 and Erik decides he wants to go play poker.
Boooo!
We play at a restaurant called chaps, which I can totally eat ok at, but have the hardest times not drinking - particularly when playing poker. So we get there, we order, I make a good choice and order diet coke with my sandwich and salad - total of 14 points approx. Then about an hour into the poker game, I'm irritated by the people at my table and order a beer...then another. And you know where it goes from there. I ended the day with a total of 4 beers - and 8 unnecessary points. All in all I was 10 pts over for the day after eating my APs. Not horrible, but I didn't have them to spare after my Monday night splurge. I should NOT be splurging two nights in a row when I really need to post a good loss this week! Grrrr. The good news is that the scale was very friendly this morning - to the point that I think it was wrong but I was too scared to weigh again. I want so much to believe it's right. So I'm taking it and running with it and hoping to have my perfect day today. It's the day before WI and I have no choice, right?
The good news is that I've done TONS of exercise this week. Since WI I've earned 28 APs and plan for another 6 or so today. That is huge for me, so I'm hoping that will cover for the slips of the week.
Today I've had 7 pts so far for breakfast and snack. I havent figured out lunch yet as I'm trying to sneak out of work early so I may just have a bowl of soup I have and disappear around 2:00 or so - we'll see. Either way I am going back to the gym today. And at least I know I won't be tempted by alcohol tonight - Erik has Daniel and our house guest, so it's definitely a night it with the boys. I WILL make a good dinner for me, even if I have to be unsocial. Ideally I can eat just my target points and "bank" the APs for WI tomorrow. That's the plan man!
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Slight Binge with Wine and Beer.
Last WI: 222.4/At Home WI: 221.4 (to be expected)
Well, I didn't follow my plan yesterday. :-( I didn't make it to the gym for weight training after work as I got delayed a bit and had people showing up at the house at 6:30. I did make a good dinner consisting of a tuna sandwich and some light chips. I had 10 points left and used them all. I prepared the "snacks" for our guests and included some very good choices for me - broccoli with light dip and "light" tostitos (fat free) with salsa.
Unfortunately I also opened a bottle of wine. And by the end of the night had drank it all. :-* Plus two beers. :-( Plus snacked on the good food and the bad (spinach dip and cashews). All in all the day was great till the evening and my splurge wasn't totally over the top, like I've done in the past. But I'm still disappointed with myself. Today I need to get it back under control.
The good news is I won our poker game last night! :-) Woo hoo! It's been a while since I've posted a win and it felt good. The money isn't bad either. Now - to just learn to play poker withOUT alcohol...
So, I should be able to sneak out of work early today. I'm definitely going to the gym. I plan to run 3 miles, and hopefully kick in some elliptical or weight training to get in 10 APs. That's definitely on the high end but it helps after a splurge day to have a great AP day - sort of a la Wendie Plan.
Another factor is that Erik's highschool friend Kevin, whom I've never met, is coming in tonight to stay a couple days with us. I think he's moving to this area and needs a place to crash for a couple nights. Hopefully that won't mix up the food issues too much. I NEED to post a good loss this week for motivational reasons as well as the bridesmaid countdown. As of today I'm down about 1 lb. BUT I totally plan to kick that to over 2 by Thursday with today's extreme work out and another planned for tomorrow. I CAN do it. I haven't seen a 2 lb loss in AGES. Here we go!
Well, I didn't follow my plan yesterday. :-( I didn't make it to the gym for weight training after work as I got delayed a bit and had people showing up at the house at 6:30. I did make a good dinner consisting of a tuna sandwich and some light chips. I had 10 points left and used them all. I prepared the "snacks" for our guests and included some very good choices for me - broccoli with light dip and "light" tostitos (fat free) with salsa.
Unfortunately I also opened a bottle of wine. And by the end of the night had drank it all. :-* Plus two beers. :-( Plus snacked on the good food and the bad (spinach dip and cashews). All in all the day was great till the evening and my splurge wasn't totally over the top, like I've done in the past. But I'm still disappointed with myself. Today I need to get it back under control.
The good news is I won our poker game last night! :-) Woo hoo! It's been a while since I've posted a win and it felt good. The money isn't bad either. Now - to just learn to play poker withOUT alcohol...
So, I should be able to sneak out of work early today. I'm definitely going to the gym. I plan to run 3 miles, and hopefully kick in some elliptical or weight training to get in 10 APs. That's definitely on the high end but it helps after a splurge day to have a great AP day - sort of a la Wendie Plan.
Another factor is that Erik's highschool friend Kevin, whom I've never met, is coming in tonight to stay a couple days with us. I think he's moving to this area and needs a place to crash for a couple nights. Hopefully that won't mix up the food issues too much. I NEED to post a good loss this week for motivational reasons as well as the bridesmaid countdown. As of today I'm down about 1 lb. BUT I totally plan to kick that to over 2 by Thursday with today's extreme work out and another planned for tomorrow. I CAN do it. I haven't seen a 2 lb loss in AGES. Here we go!
Monday, August 13, 2007
Good Weekend Considering...
Last WI: 222.4/At Home WI: 220.2 (woo hoo!)
MONDAY
I had a great weekend with only a few slips. Friday I executed my plan FLAWLESSLY! I had a salad for lunch with the Bride. I then went to the gym after work and ran 2 miles, walked 0.5 miles, and did some time on the elliptical for a total of over 600 calories burned (6 APs!). Then, ... GET THIS... I STAYED HOME friday night. Wow. Shocker. lol. The Bride invited me to go out for a movie with her and the roomie, and I declined. I was pooped after my work out and had a great dinner consisting of a tuna sandwich and some veggies. Great day.
Saturday I woke up to 220.4 on the scale, but it was the "slip day". Though not horrible at all. I started it off with a balance bar for breakfast (4pts) and then went to the gym and did a GREAT 3 mile run - fastest I've done in a long while, though not at all my best time. I then went to the grocery store and spent way too much stocking up on good food for the week. After that, the slip. I was supposed to go to the mall of Georgia with the Bride, but she got caught up doing bride stuff with her mom and didn't get done in time. So last minute I decided to go play poker at Three Dollar. Well, that was fine - I ate before I went and "allotted" myself 3-4 beers worth of points. Well, 3 hours and 5 beers later, a group of us decide to move the party to the Bride's house, and hang some more. Well, 4 hours, 4 slices of pizza and 5 MORE beers later, I'm headed home. Not horrible, but definitely not what I had planned initially for the evening. I had a good time though and didn't use ALL of my flex points in one day. lol. I still had 5 left going into Sunday.
Then Sunday - the perfect day. :-) Morning scale hopping showed 222.2 - to be expected after the "slip" Saturday, but I woke up to Erik and Daniel playing, and we went to church. I drove separately and had a balance bar on the way so I could go straight to the gym after church. I had a real tough run on Saturday so I opted to let my legs heal a bit and do the elliptical. 64 minutes and 1000 calories burned later, I was pooped. Went home, had a great lunch of steamed shrimp, rice and Green beans, then napped until 3:00. Headed to a friends house for a poker tournament and picked up Subway on the way for when I got hungry a couple hours in. All in all, I ate exactly my target points (28), earned 10 APs, but didn't eat a single one. Fabulous day.
So all in all it was a good weekend for me. Of late I've not counted points, splurged Thursday Friday and Saturday and had to try to make up for it on a hung over Sunday. Not this time. Only one "splurge" and it was controlled. Felt great on Sunday and had a great day then too. I'm very pleased, and hope to repeat this feat repeatedly. lol.
So today - I saw the scale down 2lbs, I think this could be a great week! 3 days will WI and I'm totally hoping for a 2+lb loss. I CAN do it. I had a turkey sandwich for breakfast with fresh tomato (5pts), 2 plums for a snack this morning (1pt) and am still figuring out lunch. The scary risk is tonight. We have our Monday poker league and we're hosting it at my house tonight. I generally like to have a beer or two with Monday poker, and I'll be providing some yummy (read fattening) snacks for the crew. So, the plan is this. I've got 22 pts remaining for the day. If I use 10 or so for lunch (subway anyone?) and get in some weight training after work (2APs) that leaves 14 for tonight. I'll have a filling dinner of something with lots of veggies, and try to save myself 4-6 pts for beer/snacks. I really should just avoid the beer. 2-3 beers isn't enough to even get me buzzed (sickly high tolerance) so it's really wasted calories. I wonder how strong my will power is. I'm going to have to think on it. The good thing is I've got some fresh broccoli and light dip I can put out that I love, so I'll have a healthy snack to choose. It's the beer that tempts me... Oh the life of an alcoholic.
Well, that's about it. I've got 110 days till the bridesmaid dress. I would LOVE to be in Onederland for the wedding. Here's hoping!
MONDAY
I had a great weekend with only a few slips. Friday I executed my plan FLAWLESSLY! I had a salad for lunch with the Bride. I then went to the gym after work and ran 2 miles, walked 0.5 miles, and did some time on the elliptical for a total of over 600 calories burned (6 APs!). Then, ... GET THIS... I STAYED HOME friday night. Wow. Shocker. lol. The Bride invited me to go out for a movie with her and the roomie, and I declined. I was pooped after my work out and had a great dinner consisting of a tuna sandwich and some veggies. Great day.
Saturday I woke up to 220.4 on the scale, but it was the "slip day". Though not horrible at all. I started it off with a balance bar for breakfast (4pts) and then went to the gym and did a GREAT 3 mile run - fastest I've done in a long while, though not at all my best time. I then went to the grocery store and spent way too much stocking up on good food for the week. After that, the slip. I was supposed to go to the mall of Georgia with the Bride, but she got caught up doing bride stuff with her mom and didn't get done in time. So last minute I decided to go play poker at Three Dollar. Well, that was fine - I ate before I went and "allotted" myself 3-4 beers worth of points. Well, 3 hours and 5 beers later, a group of us decide to move the party to the Bride's house, and hang some more. Well, 4 hours, 4 slices of pizza and 5 MORE beers later, I'm headed home. Not horrible, but definitely not what I had planned initially for the evening. I had a good time though and didn't use ALL of my flex points in one day. lol. I still had 5 left going into Sunday.
Then Sunday - the perfect day. :-) Morning scale hopping showed 222.2 - to be expected after the "slip" Saturday, but I woke up to Erik and Daniel playing, and we went to church. I drove separately and had a balance bar on the way so I could go straight to the gym after church. I had a real tough run on Saturday so I opted to let my legs heal a bit and do the elliptical. 64 minutes and 1000 calories burned later, I was pooped. Went home, had a great lunch of steamed shrimp, rice and Green beans, then napped until 3:00. Headed to a friends house for a poker tournament and picked up Subway on the way for when I got hungry a couple hours in. All in all, I ate exactly my target points (28), earned 10 APs, but didn't eat a single one. Fabulous day.
So all in all it was a good weekend for me. Of late I've not counted points, splurged Thursday Friday and Saturday and had to try to make up for it on a hung over Sunday. Not this time. Only one "splurge" and it was controlled. Felt great on Sunday and had a great day then too. I'm very pleased, and hope to repeat this feat repeatedly. lol.
So today - I saw the scale down 2lbs, I think this could be a great week! 3 days will WI and I'm totally hoping for a 2+lb loss. I CAN do it. I had a turkey sandwich for breakfast with fresh tomato (5pts), 2 plums for a snack this morning (1pt) and am still figuring out lunch. The scary risk is tonight. We have our Monday poker league and we're hosting it at my house tonight. I generally like to have a beer or two with Monday poker, and I'll be providing some yummy (read fattening) snacks for the crew. So, the plan is this. I've got 22 pts remaining for the day. If I use 10 or so for lunch (subway anyone?) and get in some weight training after work (2APs) that leaves 14 for tonight. I'll have a filling dinner of something with lots of veggies, and try to save myself 4-6 pts for beer/snacks. I really should just avoid the beer. 2-3 beers isn't enough to even get me buzzed (sickly high tolerance) so it's really wasted calories. I wonder how strong my will power is. I'm going to have to think on it. The good thing is I've got some fresh broccoli and light dip I can put out that I love, so I'll have a healthy snack to choose. It's the beer that tempts me... Oh the life of an alcoholic.
Well, that's about it. I've got 110 days till the bridesmaid dress. I would LOVE to be in Onederland for the wedding. Here's hoping!
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Ran 4 Miles. Felt Good!
Last WI: 212.4/At Home WI: 213.4
WEDNESDAY
Well, I've had a couple of tough days. Monday I had my poker league. I went shopping on my way home from work and stocked up the fridge. I bailed on the run I had planned because I got home late and was tired from shopping (wimp!). I cooked a healthy dinner before my friends showed up for the game, but then set out the "munchies" for them. I had too many chips and dip, and unfortunately one of my friends brought tacos from taco bell and I had 2 (boo!) so my OP day went to Off Program quickly.
Yesterday I fell off the wagon for lunch. I had court in the morning and while there we heard some really good news for the office. One of the slack-ass attorneys has put in his notice. We've been thinking he was going to leave because he never shows up to work anymore, and we were counting the days. Now we have a date certain when this loser will be gone. Praise be. So we went to lunch to celebrate (bad move) - Mexican (even worse move). I totally ordered my favorite - taco and chili relleno w/sour cream and too many chips and salsa. Bad girl. I can't know for sure the points, but I'm guessing 20 for the lunch and that might be low. :-(
BUT there is a silver lining. I was supposed to do dinner at Maggiano's last night for a social function, but after my over-indulgent lunch, I bailed and went to the gym instead. I managed 4 miles on the treadmill. I ran it a little slow for me - 5.7 mph - but I wanted to get in 4 miles - something I haven't done in a while. And it felt good. I probably could have (and should have) gone further, but I quit without pain. 6 AP's earned, and a good run logged. I felt good. I went home to cook some chicken and a side of pasta and green beans for Erik and I. A 10 pt dinner - not bad and healthy. Had a snack of popcorn before bed. So I definitely finished the day over in points, but at least the run helped. The scale was very nice today considering it showed 215.4 yesterday. I'm hoping to have a good day today and see another drop tomorrow. I'm not sure what to expect at WI tomorrow, but I fear I'm going into it again, with the hope of not seeing a gain. Ah - I deserve it.
Plan today - get back to the gym tonight and get in another run. As far as I can, but then some elliptical to get me over 5 APs. I've had 9 pts so far today (a little high for breakfast) so I need to keep a check on things to be good the rest of the day. Good news is no plans for the night. Erik has daniel, so we'll have a quiet night at home I hope. :-)
WEDNESDAY
Well, I've had a couple of tough days. Monday I had my poker league. I went shopping on my way home from work and stocked up the fridge. I bailed on the run I had planned because I got home late and was tired from shopping (wimp!). I cooked a healthy dinner before my friends showed up for the game, but then set out the "munchies" for them. I had too many chips and dip, and unfortunately one of my friends brought tacos from taco bell and I had 2 (boo!) so my OP day went to Off Program quickly.
Yesterday I fell off the wagon for lunch. I had court in the morning and while there we heard some really good news for the office. One of the slack-ass attorneys has put in his notice. We've been thinking he was going to leave because he never shows up to work anymore, and we were counting the days. Now we have a date certain when this loser will be gone. Praise be. So we went to lunch to celebrate (bad move) - Mexican (even worse move). I totally ordered my favorite - taco and chili relleno w/sour cream and too many chips and salsa. Bad girl. I can't know for sure the points, but I'm guessing 20 for the lunch and that might be low. :-(
BUT there is a silver lining. I was supposed to do dinner at Maggiano's last night for a social function, but after my over-indulgent lunch, I bailed and went to the gym instead. I managed 4 miles on the treadmill. I ran it a little slow for me - 5.7 mph - but I wanted to get in 4 miles - something I haven't done in a while. And it felt good. I probably could have (and should have) gone further, but I quit without pain. 6 AP's earned, and a good run logged. I felt good. I went home to cook some chicken and a side of pasta and green beans for Erik and I. A 10 pt dinner - not bad and healthy. Had a snack of popcorn before bed. So I definitely finished the day over in points, but at least the run helped. The scale was very nice today considering it showed 215.4 yesterday. I'm hoping to have a good day today and see another drop tomorrow. I'm not sure what to expect at WI tomorrow, but I fear I'm going into it again, with the hope of not seeing a gain. Ah - I deserve it.
Plan today - get back to the gym tonight and get in another run. As far as I can, but then some elliptical to get me over 5 APs. I've had 9 pts so far today (a little high for breakfast) so I need to keep a check on things to be good the rest of the day. Good news is no plans for the night. Erik has daniel, so we'll have a quiet night at home I hope. :-)
Friday, May 18, 2007
Maintain Equals Loss!
Last WI: 212.4/At Home WI: ????
FRIDAY
WI yesterday was actually good. I weighed exactly what I weighed 2 weeks ago at WI. 212.4. So, I maintained. But in actuality it's a loss. Here's why. Last week I was really bad. I journaled, so to speak. But I was over every day. And by a lot. So last Thursday I was supposed to go out of town to see my dad in Tennessee. I also was coming down with a cold. I ended up deciding not to go to TN, but hadn't followed my WI day rituals, and expected a gain. So I decided not to go to WI last week, and recommit to a good week this week.
Well, I did pretty good. I had 2 flex points left going into yesterday. So, I weighed in and had a "maintain". But since I know I was up last week, that's really a loss - equivalent to the gain from last week. So, mentally I'm telling myself I lost 5 lbs this week. :-) In reality it was probably more like 2, but I like thinking 5.
So, now we are at another new week. I really hope I can get things together and see a true loss next week! So far this month I'm only down 0.2. Not to stellar. Granted it's not a gain, but it will take a long time to get to goal at this rate...
On another topic, Erik and I just booked a trip to Vegas next month. I'm very excited. I totally can't afford it. But it's going to be super fun. I wasn't sure we'd be going, and Erik just decided. Here's the deal. For about 9 months we played in a Sunday poker league. It consisted of weekly poker tournaments where the coordinator withdrew 20% of the prize pool to put in a fund to pay for some of our best player to go to Vegas to play in a $1500 buy-in World Series of Poker event. Well, Erik did really well, and won one of the buy ins. We don't get any of our expenses paid, but he gets the free buy in. We were really considering not going because finances are pretty tight right now, but Erik made some calls. Based upon our status with MGM Grand, they gave us 3 nights free plus buffets and a $50 promotional chip. Very cool. We got the flights through Spirit Airlines Atlanta to Vegas for $440 total for the both of us. So we're going to Vegas for 4 days 3 nights for a sum total of $440. Not counting gambling money of course.
They other cool thing about it is we're going over Erik and my 2 year anniversary of dating. The tournament he's playing is actually on our anniversary (June 9) and we're flying in the night before. I'm very excited. I think it's totally going to be a blast. And maybe Erik can win some money in the tourney. First place last year ws $600,000! Boy would that be nice.
As for me, I haven't decided what, if any, tournaments I'm going to play. There's another tournament the same day as Erik's that I would love to play but it's $2500 and I totally can't afford that. Of course I could also consider playing the one Erik's playing for $1500 but even that is pretty steep. Remember he got his buy in paid for. I don't know. I'll think about it over the next 3 weeks of anticipation. :-)
Oh - I don't have a number on my "at home wi" today because I totally forgot to get on the scale this morning. Honestly completely forgot. That is so not like me, but it's ok because I'm sure it would be somewhere around 214 or higher since I was out drinking last night - my typical Thursday night indulgence. So - we'll see what tomorrow brings.
Today I've had 7 pts so far - 5 pts for breakfast and 2pts of popcorn snack. I wanted to go to the gym tonight but I forgot I agreed to work for this casino company I help out with part time dealing roulette as some business function. Should be fun as Holly, Dana and Marine are dealing too. I totally plan on getting some AP's this weekend, though!
FRIDAY
WI yesterday was actually good. I weighed exactly what I weighed 2 weeks ago at WI. 212.4. So, I maintained. But in actuality it's a loss. Here's why. Last week I was really bad. I journaled, so to speak. But I was over every day. And by a lot. So last Thursday I was supposed to go out of town to see my dad in Tennessee. I also was coming down with a cold. I ended up deciding not to go to TN, but hadn't followed my WI day rituals, and expected a gain. So I decided not to go to WI last week, and recommit to a good week this week.
Well, I did pretty good. I had 2 flex points left going into yesterday. So, I weighed in and had a "maintain". But since I know I was up last week, that's really a loss - equivalent to the gain from last week. So, mentally I'm telling myself I lost 5 lbs this week. :-) In reality it was probably more like 2, but I like thinking 5.
So, now we are at another new week. I really hope I can get things together and see a true loss next week! So far this month I'm only down 0.2. Not to stellar. Granted it's not a gain, but it will take a long time to get to goal at this rate...
On another topic, Erik and I just booked a trip to Vegas next month. I'm very excited. I totally can't afford it. But it's going to be super fun. I wasn't sure we'd be going, and Erik just decided. Here's the deal. For about 9 months we played in a Sunday poker league. It consisted of weekly poker tournaments where the coordinator withdrew 20% of the prize pool to put in a fund to pay for some of our best player to go to Vegas to play in a $1500 buy-in World Series of Poker event. Well, Erik did really well, and won one of the buy ins. We don't get any of our expenses paid, but he gets the free buy in. We were really considering not going because finances are pretty tight right now, but Erik made some calls. Based upon our status with MGM Grand, they gave us 3 nights free plus buffets and a $50 promotional chip. Very cool. We got the flights through Spirit Airlines Atlanta to Vegas for $440 total for the both of us. So we're going to Vegas for 4 days 3 nights for a sum total of $440. Not counting gambling money of course.
They other cool thing about it is we're going over Erik and my 2 year anniversary of dating. The tournament he's playing is actually on our anniversary (June 9) and we're flying in the night before. I'm very excited. I think it's totally going to be a blast. And maybe Erik can win some money in the tourney. First place last year ws $600,000! Boy would that be nice.
As for me, I haven't decided what, if any, tournaments I'm going to play. There's another tournament the same day as Erik's that I would love to play but it's $2500 and I totally can't afford that. Of course I could also consider playing the one Erik's playing for $1500 but even that is pretty steep. Remember he got his buy in paid for. I don't know. I'll think about it over the next 3 weeks of anticipation. :-)
Oh - I don't have a number on my "at home wi" today because I totally forgot to get on the scale this morning. Honestly completely forgot. That is so not like me, but it's ok because I'm sure it would be somewhere around 214 or higher since I was out drinking last night - my typical Thursday night indulgence. So - we'll see what tomorrow brings.
Today I've had 7 pts so far - 5 pts for breakfast and 2pts of popcorn snack. I wanted to go to the gym tonight but I forgot I agreed to work for this casino company I help out with part time dealing roulette as some business function. Should be fun as Holly, Dana and Marine are dealing too. I totally plan on getting some AP's this weekend, though!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Tough Week
Last WI: 212.8/At Home WI: 217.4 (drinking last night...)
TUESDAY
Well, I haven't blogged in four days, and I haven't really been all that good. Friday I was bad - I had wings for lunch and bar food for dinner. Saturday I was relatively good. I ate at home. I cooked a good WW recipe - hamburger casserole - for the boys. I ended up over about 6 points for the day. The really bad thing was I didn't exercise at ALL. Stupid. Sunday was better. I did get out and run/walk for 40 minutes, earning 4 APs and ate only my target points plus the 4 APs. Yesterday I fell again. It turns out certain friends are just bad influences when it comes to weight loss.
I work with a friend named Holly. She works in a different office than me, but we have the same boss - the DA. Well, the DA is planning this banquet for law enforecement officers in a couple of weeks. Holly called me late Sunday night to ask if I wanted to join her in taking some photos on Monday of local officers for our slide show at the banquet. I agreed, and met her at her office Monday morning. Well, she is my "skinny" friend who never has to worry about weight. When lunch rolled around she invited me to join her and her boyfriend at wings 'n things - a wing/burger joint. Well, there's not a lot of healthy choices there, and I generally am just bad at making good decisions with her and at that type of restaurant, so I ended up ordering the burger with cheese and tater tots. And we split an order of fried mushrooms. Boo.
After lunch we finished up our photos, and other errands for the banquet and I went shopping. I stocked up my fridge with lots of good food, but also bought snacks for last night's Monday night poker league game, that we were hosting. I tried to mix good with bad, chips and salsa as well as some boiled shrimp. I ended up not having a real dinner after my lunch splurge and basically grazed all night on the snacks. Not good. I also had too much alcohol, beer and wine. Not good. Thus why this morning's WI was bad.
Today so far, I've been ok and made some good choices. I had a balance bar for breakfast, and then had to run to the jail for preliminary hearings. My breakfast just didn't stick with me through the morning, so I had 2 mini muffins that the judge had brought in. Bad. Lunch I went to burger king and ordered the tender crisp chicken sandwich w/o the sauce. Not bad. I also had some light chips. Not bad. I'm still hungry though - Bad. I desparately need some exercise tonight but I'm so tired. I didn't get to sleep last night until after 2:00 am because of the poker game (which I didn't cash in by the way) and a ridiculously random discussion about religion I had with Erik starting at midnight. I definitely shouldn't get into philosophical discussions when I'm drunk. Note to self.
Anyway, I'm not sure what tonight holds, but I'm definitely planning on staying home, eating GOOD - lots of veggies, and REALLY trying to get myself motivated to work out.
Here's hoping.
TUESDAY
Well, I haven't blogged in four days, and I haven't really been all that good. Friday I was bad - I had wings for lunch and bar food for dinner. Saturday I was relatively good. I ate at home. I cooked a good WW recipe - hamburger casserole - for the boys. I ended up over about 6 points for the day. The really bad thing was I didn't exercise at ALL. Stupid. Sunday was better. I did get out and run/walk for 40 minutes, earning 4 APs and ate only my target points plus the 4 APs. Yesterday I fell again. It turns out certain friends are just bad influences when it comes to weight loss.
I work with a friend named Holly. She works in a different office than me, but we have the same boss - the DA. Well, the DA is planning this banquet for law enforecement officers in a couple of weeks. Holly called me late Sunday night to ask if I wanted to join her in taking some photos on Monday of local officers for our slide show at the banquet. I agreed, and met her at her office Monday morning. Well, she is my "skinny" friend who never has to worry about weight. When lunch rolled around she invited me to join her and her boyfriend at wings 'n things - a wing/burger joint. Well, there's not a lot of healthy choices there, and I generally am just bad at making good decisions with her and at that type of restaurant, so I ended up ordering the burger with cheese and tater tots. And we split an order of fried mushrooms. Boo.
After lunch we finished up our photos, and other errands for the banquet and I went shopping. I stocked up my fridge with lots of good food, but also bought snacks for last night's Monday night poker league game, that we were hosting. I tried to mix good with bad, chips and salsa as well as some boiled shrimp. I ended up not having a real dinner after my lunch splurge and basically grazed all night on the snacks. Not good. I also had too much alcohol, beer and wine. Not good. Thus why this morning's WI was bad.
Today so far, I've been ok and made some good choices. I had a balance bar for breakfast, and then had to run to the jail for preliminary hearings. My breakfast just didn't stick with me through the morning, so I had 2 mini muffins that the judge had brought in. Bad. Lunch I went to burger king and ordered the tender crisp chicken sandwich w/o the sauce. Not bad. I also had some light chips. Not bad. I'm still hungry though - Bad. I desparately need some exercise tonight but I'm so tired. I didn't get to sleep last night until after 2:00 am because of the poker game (which I didn't cash in by the way) and a ridiculously random discussion about religion I had with Erik starting at midnight. I definitely shouldn't get into philosophical discussions when I'm drunk. Note to self.
Anyway, I'm not sure what tonight holds, but I'm definitely planning on staying home, eating GOOD - lots of veggies, and REALLY trying to get myself motivated to work out.
Here's hoping.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Good Loss Finally!
Last WI: 212.8/At Home WI: 215.4
FRIDAY
Well, I weighed in yesterday and lost 1.4! Sad, but that is a HUGE loss for me of late. The best I've had in 6 weeks. AND this marks 6 straight weeks of losing! I'm so happy. I'm 1 lb away from the lowest I've been since re-joining WW last year. In January, I got as low as 211.8 after kicking butt during the holidays. I'm hoping for a 1+ lb loss next week so I can get working on some new lows...
Well, this morning's weight is high, as expected, after my thursday night splurge. Erik and I went to Yknots again for drinks/poker. We both busted out pretty early and were home before 10:00. Not before I had a good number of beers and some chicken nachos, though. :-)
I did write it down, however, and regardless how ugly, it's in the books. Which brings me to my next success - I am now on day 43 of my target 84 days journaling. I totally attribute my last 6 weeks of losses to tracking. Success begets success, as they say.
Well, today I'm going to meet some friends at Wings n Things for poker and lunch around 2:00. I haven't eaten anything yet today so I need to find something to tide me over until then. I don't think I'm going to get any exercise in today, which is sad because I should, but big plans for the weekend includ running both saturday and sunday.
Here's to a good OP weekend!
FRIDAY
Well, I weighed in yesterday and lost 1.4! Sad, but that is a HUGE loss for me of late. The best I've had in 6 weeks. AND this marks 6 straight weeks of losing! I'm so happy. I'm 1 lb away from the lowest I've been since re-joining WW last year. In January, I got as low as 211.8 after kicking butt during the holidays. I'm hoping for a 1+ lb loss next week so I can get working on some new lows...
Well, this morning's weight is high, as expected, after my thursday night splurge. Erik and I went to Yknots again for drinks/poker. We both busted out pretty early and were home before 10:00. Not before I had a good number of beers and some chicken nachos, though. :-)
I did write it down, however, and regardless how ugly, it's in the books. Which brings me to my next success - I am now on day 43 of my target 84 days journaling. I totally attribute my last 6 weeks of losses to tracking. Success begets success, as they say.
Well, today I'm going to meet some friends at Wings n Things for poker and lunch around 2:00. I haven't eaten anything yet today so I need to find something to tide me over until then. I don't think I'm going to get any exercise in today, which is sad because I should, but big plans for the weekend includ running both saturday and sunday.
Here's to a good OP weekend!
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Papa Johns - Not so bad if you only have 1 slice!
Last WI: 214.2/At Home WI: 214.4 (better!)
TUESDAY
Well I was good yesterday but not perfect. Eh - such is life. I ate my lunch I had brought from home yesterday at work. I wanted to leave work early to get a run in before our Monday night poker tournament. Well I did leave early - about 3:30, but ended up getting home and just resting before it was time to leave. The Monday night gig's go so late, I didn't want to be too tired today. I did eat TONS of veggies yesterday. A huge salad for lunch. A bowl of spinach with dinner and a bowl of green beans too. Lots of good protein with eggs and cheese. Not a lot of meat yesterday except what was in my taco soup. Oh and a fresh tomato too with dinner. Yum. I left at 6:45 for the poker tournament having 6 points left for the day. I "hoped" to not use them and just credit them against this weekend's indulgences but - it was not meant to be.
A friend, Matt, hosted the tournament last night and he had ordered Papa Johns pizza. I ended up limiting myself to one slice of thin crust pepperoni and a few potato chips. So, all in all not bad. Actually it was probably 8 pts total (6 for the pizza and 2 for the chips) but I'm not too upset with that - generally a good show of will power. Going over only 2 pts yesterday was all good. We got home late - like 12:15. Then chatted in bed for a while. Finally to sleep at 1:00 AM!
Today I DESPERATELY need to work out. It's been 6 days since I earned ANY activity points. So - the plan is simple. I think I'm going to do subway for lunch. I didn't bring lunch today. I don't want to get sick of my taco soup and salad lunch, so I need to mix it up occasionally. After work, I'm going home to run 6 miles. The weather is nice today (been very cold lately) so I shouldn't have any excuses. Plan to stay home tonight and eat good - not eat any of the AP - and try to eat less than my target points. I need to get that at home scale at or under 213.0 before Thursday!
On good news - I ended up doing well in the tournament last night. Of 15 players, I got 3rd - good for some money and some points. :-)
I think it'll be a good day today. I just learned that the judge released the juror's for the rest of this "trial week". What that means is that after the case he's trying now (which my boss is doing) there won't be any more trials this week. What that really means, is that with the exception of tomorrow when I'm going to see the Court of Appeal's oral arguments, I don't have to wear a suit anymore this week. :-) I love my casual office. I get to wear jeans!
TUESDAY
Well I was good yesterday but not perfect. Eh - such is life. I ate my lunch I had brought from home yesterday at work. I wanted to leave work early to get a run in before our Monday night poker tournament. Well I did leave early - about 3:30, but ended up getting home and just resting before it was time to leave. The Monday night gig's go so late, I didn't want to be too tired today. I did eat TONS of veggies yesterday. A huge salad for lunch. A bowl of spinach with dinner and a bowl of green beans too. Lots of good protein with eggs and cheese. Not a lot of meat yesterday except what was in my taco soup. Oh and a fresh tomato too with dinner. Yum. I left at 6:45 for the poker tournament having 6 points left for the day. I "hoped" to not use them and just credit them against this weekend's indulgences but - it was not meant to be.
A friend, Matt, hosted the tournament last night and he had ordered Papa Johns pizza. I ended up limiting myself to one slice of thin crust pepperoni and a few potato chips. So, all in all not bad. Actually it was probably 8 pts total (6 for the pizza and 2 for the chips) but I'm not too upset with that - generally a good show of will power. Going over only 2 pts yesterday was all good. We got home late - like 12:15. Then chatted in bed for a while. Finally to sleep at 1:00 AM!
Today I DESPERATELY need to work out. It's been 6 days since I earned ANY activity points. So - the plan is simple. I think I'm going to do subway for lunch. I didn't bring lunch today. I don't want to get sick of my taco soup and salad lunch, so I need to mix it up occasionally. After work, I'm going home to run 6 miles. The weather is nice today (been very cold lately) so I shouldn't have any excuses. Plan to stay home tonight and eat good - not eat any of the AP - and try to eat less than my target points. I need to get that at home scale at or under 213.0 before Thursday!
On good news - I ended up doing well in the tournament last night. Of 15 players, I got 3rd - good for some money and some points. :-)
I think it'll be a good day today. I just learned that the judge released the juror's for the rest of this "trial week". What that means is that after the case he's trying now (which my boss is doing) there won't be any more trials this week. What that really means, is that with the exception of tomorrow when I'm going to see the Court of Appeal's oral arguments, I don't have to wear a suit anymore this week. :-) I love my casual office. I get to wear jeans!
Monday, April 16, 2007
Great Indulgent Weekend in Atlanta!
Last WI: 214.2/ At Home WI: 217.2 (ick)
MONDAY
Well, this weekend was wonderful. And of course I'm paying for it on the scale. :-( But - it's better today than yesterday. Yesterday morning I saw 219.2. That was mostly dehydration, however. Friday I left work early and had lunch with Holly in Fayetteville. We went to Bugaboo Creek and I did "ok", but definitely not great. I had my favorite "Twin Peaks Sandwich" which is basically chicken, and moz cheese on cuban style bread. Not horrible, but I should have only eaten half of it. I also had a salad with ranch on the side (2pts) and some mashed potatoes (counted at 4pts) and bread (umm. yeah - like 6 pts). It was very good - but I shouldn't have splurged for lunch since I knew I was going out for dinner and drinks.
Friday evening I had the best intentions of hitting the hotel gym once we got up to Atlanta while Erik was in his meeting with my lawyer friend. But, we got to talking, and I ended up staying with him through the meeting. It was great catching up with an old friend. Then we went to a "tapas" restaurant for dinner. So - good, but definitely too much food and drink. Out to a club after that, where we got blitzed, but could walk back to the hotel. Very good times. I can only estimate points, but I went WAY over of course.
Saturday I had Fellini's for lunch in Atlanta - one of those restaurants I don't get very often now that I've moved out of the city. It's a great pizza joint, and my typical order of salad and one (large!) slice of pizza is about 15 pts. Then we were off to the poker tournament. I had some beer and they had chick-fil-a for dinner, so I went over again, but not as bad as Friday. Lots of fun. I ended up in 19th place out of about 120 players. Not enough for money - but just enough to be disappointed in no money. Oh well - I had a great time. Erik busted out much earlier - like about 50th, but hung out and cheered me on.
Sunday was a catch up day. We slept till almost noon! Then it was time to hit the grocery store and stock up for the week. I did very well. I almost got out of there under $100 but ended up at $109. I hate grocery shopping as I never seem to be able to spend under $100 no matter how long or short my list is! After grocery shopping I prepped my salads for the week, and then had to do my taxes. I know - I know - very late. For some reason, this year, I just couldn't get myself on it earlier. I usually have them done in February, but this year I just kept putting it off. Unfortunately my procrastination cost me a work out because I had hoped to get to the gym before our 4:00 poker tournament. No such luck. The Sunday tournament went till 10:00. Erik won and I got 4th (out of 8) so it was a fun night. After that I had to finish my taxes and get to bed.
Today is another "trial week" but after calendar call this morning, it doesn't look like any of my cases are going to trial. Which is good because I have a brief due on Thursday for the Supreme Court and really need this week to finish that.
Today's plan is to eat as few points as possible and "try" to get a work out in. Again I have a poker tournament tonight to go to - this one I help host - so I'm going to have to get out of work early to make it to the gym. Since I'm not trying any cases, though, that might be possible. I've had 4 pts so far today. I'd love to finish the day around 20-24 and get 10AP's. That will help counter-act this weekends "free-for all"
I do get to report that even though I totally over-indulged this weekend, I still tracked. So I'm on course for my 84 days of tracking challenge. I definitely had to "guesstimate" on Friday nights points A) because it was Tapas - weird food i wouldn't normally know the points for, and B) I had a lot too much to drink and don't remember the end of the night too well. Oh well - It's in the book, for better or for worse.
My goal to start lifting weights hasn't work out too well either. Maybe I can get that in today, but in reality if I get to the gym at all priority is as many AP as possible in my short time frame. That equals running! Which is good since I haven't run since Tuesday last week, or done any cardio since Wednesday last week. Gotta get back on that horse!
MONDAY
Well, this weekend was wonderful. And of course I'm paying for it on the scale. :-( But - it's better today than yesterday. Yesterday morning I saw 219.2. That was mostly dehydration, however. Friday I left work early and had lunch with Holly in Fayetteville. We went to Bugaboo Creek and I did "ok", but definitely not great. I had my favorite "Twin Peaks Sandwich" which is basically chicken, and moz cheese on cuban style bread. Not horrible, but I should have only eaten half of it. I also had a salad with ranch on the side (2pts) and some mashed potatoes (counted at 4pts) and bread (umm. yeah - like 6 pts). It was very good - but I shouldn't have splurged for lunch since I knew I was going out for dinner and drinks.
Friday evening I had the best intentions of hitting the hotel gym once we got up to Atlanta while Erik was in his meeting with my lawyer friend. But, we got to talking, and I ended up staying with him through the meeting. It was great catching up with an old friend. Then we went to a "tapas" restaurant for dinner. So - good, but definitely too much food and drink. Out to a club after that, where we got blitzed, but could walk back to the hotel. Very good times. I can only estimate points, but I went WAY over of course.
Saturday I had Fellini's for lunch in Atlanta - one of those restaurants I don't get very often now that I've moved out of the city. It's a great pizza joint, and my typical order of salad and one (large!) slice of pizza is about 15 pts. Then we were off to the poker tournament. I had some beer and they had chick-fil-a for dinner, so I went over again, but not as bad as Friday. Lots of fun. I ended up in 19th place out of about 120 players. Not enough for money - but just enough to be disappointed in no money. Oh well - I had a great time. Erik busted out much earlier - like about 50th, but hung out and cheered me on.
Sunday was a catch up day. We slept till almost noon! Then it was time to hit the grocery store and stock up for the week. I did very well. I almost got out of there under $100 but ended up at $109. I hate grocery shopping as I never seem to be able to spend under $100 no matter how long or short my list is! After grocery shopping I prepped my salads for the week, and then had to do my taxes. I know - I know - very late. For some reason, this year, I just couldn't get myself on it earlier. I usually have them done in February, but this year I just kept putting it off. Unfortunately my procrastination cost me a work out because I had hoped to get to the gym before our 4:00 poker tournament. No such luck. The Sunday tournament went till 10:00. Erik won and I got 4th (out of 8) so it was a fun night. After that I had to finish my taxes and get to bed.
Today is another "trial week" but after calendar call this morning, it doesn't look like any of my cases are going to trial. Which is good because I have a brief due on Thursday for the Supreme Court and really need this week to finish that.
Today's plan is to eat as few points as possible and "try" to get a work out in. Again I have a poker tournament tonight to go to - this one I help host - so I'm going to have to get out of work early to make it to the gym. Since I'm not trying any cases, though, that might be possible. I've had 4 pts so far today. I'd love to finish the day around 20-24 and get 10AP's. That will help counter-act this weekends "free-for all"
I do get to report that even though I totally over-indulged this weekend, I still tracked. So I'm on course for my 84 days of tracking challenge. I definitely had to "guesstimate" on Friday nights points A) because it was Tapas - weird food i wouldn't normally know the points for, and B) I had a lot too much to drink and don't remember the end of the night too well. Oh well - It's in the book, for better or for worse.
My goal to start lifting weights hasn't work out too well either. Maybe I can get that in today, but in reality if I get to the gym at all priority is as many AP as possible in my short time frame. That equals running! Which is good since I haven't run since Tuesday last week, or done any cardio since Wednesday last week. Gotta get back on that horse!
Monday, April 2, 2007
Weekend at the Casino - not TOO bad
At home weight: 217/Last WI: 215.2
MONDAY
Well, the scale was not friendly today, but I'm not surprised either as I was at the casino all weekend. We left Friday at about noon. First of all I have to note that I love Biloxi! We usually go to Tunica for our casino trips, but the drive is killer, and flights are expensive. The drive to Biloxi was almost pleasant. It was 5 hours, all interstate. And the Beau Rivage, where we stayed, was very nice. They had sent us some comps, and we just had a great time. Friday night we went to see Chris Cagle in concert. I didn't realize how many songs of his I knew. He was a wonderful performer and we had GREAT seats - thanks Beau Rivage! I'm very impressed and surprised that he hasn't been more successful than he is. I'm definately now a big fan.
Then on Saturday at noon, we played a poker tournament. It was $130 for 4500 chips, 20 minute blinds. Not a bad structure. It makes for a 5-6 hours tournament. On Saturday there were about 105 players, so first place was a little over $4000. I did pretty well, but got myself in trouble a couple times over valuing some high pairs. I ended up busting out about 30th (which didn't pay) but I enjoyed the tourney.
Saturday night we went to the bull riding concert. The Beau Rivage bused us over to the colloseum and again we had GREAT seats. I'm so pleased with the comps this weekend. I've never been to a bull riding show, and it was lots of fun. I can't believe these guys do this. I mean those bulls are BIG and MEAN! Most of the riders looked like they were about 18 or 20. Very scary. Fortunately no one got hurt and we had a great time.
Sunday we played the noon tournament again. Again, neither of us cashed, but had a good time. After the tournament we had comps for the cafe. We waited about 30 minutes for seats then proceeded to have very poor meal. It was cajun/southern food, which I generally like. I had the gumbo to start, but it was very fishy tasting. I had the shrimp po boy for my entree and ended up just eating the shrimp as the bread was toasted too much and just plain crumbly. I had fries to, but only ate about 5 of those as they weren't very good either. Erik ordere the Seared Tuna Rare to Med Rare, and it came out well done. So overall disappointing lunch. But it was at least free.
Then we hit to road to come home about 6:00 pm. We got home just after 11:00 after hitting some rain and a little traffic. I'm a bit tired today from our busy weekend, but very pleased we went. Oh - and we lost our butts playing of course, but that's normal. :-)
Food-wise, I was ok. I did "journal" to the extent I could remember and guess points values. My biggest downfall (as usual) was the alcohol. Free drinks at the craps table makes for an uncountable number of (light!) beers. I guessed though, as I have promised to journal every day. I went way over on points, but only ate 1 meal a day with snacks and alcohol the rest of the time. Over all, it could have been worse. I made good choices at the buffet on Saturday and stuck with light beer.
Now to be back on track. This morning start off a bit bad as I had court and forgot to pick up my dry cleaning. I had the pants/shirt but now suit jacket. I went to the cleaners who were supposed to open at 8:00 and had to sit there till 8:15 when the clerk finally showed up. I had grabbed a balance bar for breakfast and had planned on a very low point day, but in my frustration I drove through Chick-fil-a and got a chicken burrito as well(8pts). So - a total of 12 pts for breakfast.
Lunch I've had at my desk, not bad - 4 pts for soup and 4 pts for popcorn. That leaves me 8 pts for tonight but I'm planning on going for a run when I get home, which will earn me about 7 more. Hopefully I can stick to just eating the 8 and use the 7 against this weekend's indulgences.
I hate going into a WI hoping for a maintain, but that might be the plan this week. I'll see how the next few days go. I seem to be very munchy today. Hopefully that will abate as the week progresses.
Tonight should be fun. Erik and I are hosting a poker game at our house about 6:30 which gives my time to run home after work and do my 5 mile run and shower before people show up. I'll probably take out some chicken or something for a light dinner.
The good news is that there is nothing going on this weekend. Erik has his son, and it's easter, so we'll probably decorate eggs or something. I'll try to get through the week and have a good OP weekend. Maybe I can forgo my thursday night indulgence if WI doesn't go too good. That would make for a long 1.5 weeks OP for a good WI next week. We'll see. We don't have plans to go out of town again until possibly mother's day so I should be able to be good for the foreseeable future.
MONDAY
Well, the scale was not friendly today, but I'm not surprised either as I was at the casino all weekend. We left Friday at about noon. First of all I have to note that I love Biloxi! We usually go to Tunica for our casino trips, but the drive is killer, and flights are expensive. The drive to Biloxi was almost pleasant. It was 5 hours, all interstate. And the Beau Rivage, where we stayed, was very nice. They had sent us some comps, and we just had a great time. Friday night we went to see Chris Cagle in concert. I didn't realize how many songs of his I knew. He was a wonderful performer and we had GREAT seats - thanks Beau Rivage! I'm very impressed and surprised that he hasn't been more successful than he is. I'm definately now a big fan.
Then on Saturday at noon, we played a poker tournament. It was $130 for 4500 chips, 20 minute blinds. Not a bad structure. It makes for a 5-6 hours tournament. On Saturday there were about 105 players, so first place was a little over $4000. I did pretty well, but got myself in trouble a couple times over valuing some high pairs. I ended up busting out about 30th (which didn't pay) but I enjoyed the tourney.
Saturday night we went to the bull riding concert. The Beau Rivage bused us over to the colloseum and again we had GREAT seats. I'm so pleased with the comps this weekend. I've never been to a bull riding show, and it was lots of fun. I can't believe these guys do this. I mean those bulls are BIG and MEAN! Most of the riders looked like they were about 18 or 20. Very scary. Fortunately no one got hurt and we had a great time.
Sunday we played the noon tournament again. Again, neither of us cashed, but had a good time. After the tournament we had comps for the cafe. We waited about 30 minutes for seats then proceeded to have very poor meal. It was cajun/southern food, which I generally like. I had the gumbo to start, but it was very fishy tasting. I had the shrimp po boy for my entree and ended up just eating the shrimp as the bread was toasted too much and just plain crumbly. I had fries to, but only ate about 5 of those as they weren't very good either. Erik ordere the Seared Tuna Rare to Med Rare, and it came out well done. So overall disappointing lunch. But it was at least free.
Then we hit to road to come home about 6:00 pm. We got home just after 11:00 after hitting some rain and a little traffic. I'm a bit tired today from our busy weekend, but very pleased we went. Oh - and we lost our butts playing of course, but that's normal. :-)
Food-wise, I was ok. I did "journal" to the extent I could remember and guess points values. My biggest downfall (as usual) was the alcohol. Free drinks at the craps table makes for an uncountable number of (light!) beers. I guessed though, as I have promised to journal every day. I went way over on points, but only ate 1 meal a day with snacks and alcohol the rest of the time. Over all, it could have been worse. I made good choices at the buffet on Saturday and stuck with light beer.
Now to be back on track. This morning start off a bit bad as I had court and forgot to pick up my dry cleaning. I had the pants/shirt but now suit jacket. I went to the cleaners who were supposed to open at 8:00 and had to sit there till 8:15 when the clerk finally showed up. I had grabbed a balance bar for breakfast and had planned on a very low point day, but in my frustration I drove through Chick-fil-a and got a chicken burrito as well(8pts). So - a total of 12 pts for breakfast.
Lunch I've had at my desk, not bad - 4 pts for soup and 4 pts for popcorn. That leaves me 8 pts for tonight but I'm planning on going for a run when I get home, which will earn me about 7 more. Hopefully I can stick to just eating the 8 and use the 7 against this weekend's indulgences.
I hate going into a WI hoping for a maintain, but that might be the plan this week. I'll see how the next few days go. I seem to be very munchy today. Hopefully that will abate as the week progresses.
Tonight should be fun. Erik and I are hosting a poker game at our house about 6:30 which gives my time to run home after work and do my 5 mile run and shower before people show up. I'll probably take out some chicken or something for a light dinner.
The good news is that there is nothing going on this weekend. Erik has his son, and it's easter, so we'll probably decorate eggs or something. I'll try to get through the week and have a good OP weekend. Maybe I can forgo my thursday night indulgence if WI doesn't go too good. That would make for a long 1.5 weeks OP for a good WI next week. We'll see. We don't have plans to go out of town again until possibly mother's day so I should be able to be good for the foreseeable future.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Poker Frustration Used for Exercise
At home weight: 214.8/Last WI: 216.2
MONDAY
Yesterday was a very nice day at home with the boys for the first part of the day. Then Erik and I were scheduled to play a poker tournament at a friends house. This tournament has been a bi-weekly thing for a few months, so we really know the people we play with. Well, we went there and the game started about 4:30. We had 7 players, which is about typcial. I was doing ok through the evening until about 8:00 when I just started getting the WORST beats of my life. I would go into a hand a huge favorite and get sucked out on - usually by the same exact player. It got so bad, at one point, I was dealt pocket aces, and I raised. This guy who'd been "lucking" out on me all night, re-raised all in. Of course I called and was a HUGE favorite against his AK off-suit. I looked it up today and I was 92% to win, 1.25% to tie and 6.75% to lose. Yet, against him I was CONFIDENT I wouldn't win. And guess what? I didn't. We tied when K, Q, J, 10 came on the board. I mean - I couldn't have BEEN a bigger favorite.
I was so frustrated, I was out of the game shortly after. I really had no choice at that point, and think I played as well as I could. You just can't beat luck.
But - all of this has a WW moral. I was livid when I left there last night about 8:30 PM. I decided to take the anger out on the treadmill. So I went home, immediately changed into my workout clothes, and headed to the gym. I did 30 minutes and 3 miles on the treadmill. Why is it I can run for 3 miles straight on the treadmill, but not at home? Weird. Anyway - by the end, I accepted that it was just a poker game, and although it was for $, it didn't break the bank and I usually do really well in that group, so loss was to be expected sometime. Very frustrating, but at least I turned it into a constructive workout.
So I ended up doing 5 miles on Saturday and 3 miles yesterday. Pretty good considering I only made it to the gym once last week.
Erik and I are supposed to go to Biloxi this weekend to the casinos. We're really thinking about canceling and just staying home. We booked it after we got a flyer in the mail offering us a free room for 2 nights, + tickets to see Chris Cagle, + tickets to a bull riding event. I thought it would be fun, and still do, but we really can't afford it. I don't know, I'm still torn. I want to go to the concert and show, but know that I'll spend major $ gambling. I just can't decide.
Points wise was ok yesterday. I had a VERY low day on Saturday eating only 26 of my 28 points and earning 7 AP. So I was planning on having a semi-high day yesterday. I ended up eating all my 5 AP + 12 flex points. But that's ok b/c I hadn't used any this week (week starts on Friday) and I still have 23 remaining for Monday -Thursday. I don't plan to eat any tonight. I want to have a low point day. I'm planning on eating just my 28 points possibly any AP I earn. I'm going to try to exercise today after work - maybe walk/run my 3 mile route near the house. I'm a little sore though from 2 days in a row (after slacking so much lately). We'll see. So far, I've had a 6 pt breakfast and 2 pt snack. So - I still have 20 pts for the day. I'm thinking about Applebees for lunch. I kinda want to get out of the office for a bit.
On the job interview. I haven't heard from them today (it's about noon). I figured that if I got the job, I'd hear today, but if they didn't want me I'd get a letter in a couple days/week or so.
We'll see.
MONDAY
Yesterday was a very nice day at home with the boys for the first part of the day. Then Erik and I were scheduled to play a poker tournament at a friends house. This tournament has been a bi-weekly thing for a few months, so we really know the people we play with. Well, we went there and the game started about 4:30. We had 7 players, which is about typcial. I was doing ok through the evening until about 8:00 when I just started getting the WORST beats of my life. I would go into a hand a huge favorite and get sucked out on - usually by the same exact player. It got so bad, at one point, I was dealt pocket aces, and I raised. This guy who'd been "lucking" out on me all night, re-raised all in. Of course I called and was a HUGE favorite against his AK off-suit. I looked it up today and I was 92% to win, 1.25% to tie and 6.75% to lose. Yet, against him I was CONFIDENT I wouldn't win. And guess what? I didn't. We tied when K, Q, J, 10 came on the board. I mean - I couldn't have BEEN a bigger favorite.
I was so frustrated, I was out of the game shortly after. I really had no choice at that point, and think I played as well as I could. You just can't beat luck.
But - all of this has a WW moral. I was livid when I left there last night about 8:30 PM. I decided to take the anger out on the treadmill. So I went home, immediately changed into my workout clothes, and headed to the gym. I did 30 minutes and 3 miles on the treadmill. Why is it I can run for 3 miles straight on the treadmill, but not at home? Weird. Anyway - by the end, I accepted that it was just a poker game, and although it was for $, it didn't break the bank and I usually do really well in that group, so loss was to be expected sometime. Very frustrating, but at least I turned it into a constructive workout.
So I ended up doing 5 miles on Saturday and 3 miles yesterday. Pretty good considering I only made it to the gym once last week.
Erik and I are supposed to go to Biloxi this weekend to the casinos. We're really thinking about canceling and just staying home. We booked it after we got a flyer in the mail offering us a free room for 2 nights, + tickets to see Chris Cagle, + tickets to a bull riding event. I thought it would be fun, and still do, but we really can't afford it. I don't know, I'm still torn. I want to go to the concert and show, but know that I'll spend major $ gambling. I just can't decide.
Points wise was ok yesterday. I had a VERY low day on Saturday eating only 26 of my 28 points and earning 7 AP. So I was planning on having a semi-high day yesterday. I ended up eating all my 5 AP + 12 flex points. But that's ok b/c I hadn't used any this week (week starts on Friday) and I still have 23 remaining for Monday -Thursday. I don't plan to eat any tonight. I want to have a low point day. I'm planning on eating just my 28 points possibly any AP I earn. I'm going to try to exercise today after work - maybe walk/run my 3 mile route near the house. I'm a little sore though from 2 days in a row (after slacking so much lately). We'll see. So far, I've had a 6 pt breakfast and 2 pt snack. So - I still have 20 pts for the day. I'm thinking about Applebees for lunch. I kinda want to get out of the office for a bit.
On the job interview. I haven't heard from them today (it's about noon). I figured that if I got the job, I'd hear today, but if they didn't want me I'd get a letter in a couple days/week or so.
We'll see.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Permission to Fail
At home weight: 215.4/Last WI: 217
WEDNESDAY
Last night was another good night WW-wise and willpower wise. I got home from work about 5:30 - once again could NOT get motivated immediately to go to the gym but had planned to do so later that evening after Erik got home. Well, he got home about 6:30. He had a Kiwanis meeting that night so I fully planned for us to stay home, veg and hopefully get the motivation to go to the gym. But - when Erik gets home he says he wants to skip out early from his meeting and go play poker again. So we did. I have no ability to say no to that man. :-)
We went out to Chaps again (same as last Tuesday). And AGAIN I did not drink. (yeah!) This time, I was going to forgo the prime rib sandwich (my favorite) and try to get something healthier. I ordered the salmon dinner that came with mashed potatoes and veggies and a salad. I counted the salad as 2 pts (a little dressing and shredded cheese) the veggies as 2 (would be 0 but for the oil I didn't know it came in) the mashed potatos as 2 (had about half the serving) and the salmon as 9. 9 points for salmon? I didn't know it was that bad, but when I got home I checked it out on E-tools. It said one "fillet" was 9 pts. I thought - ok so maybe a fillet is a lot. So I estimated the oz. The entree came with two pieces I would estimate to be between 4-5 oz each. I ate 1 and 1/2 pieces. So I'm guessing about 7 oz. When I plugged 7 oz of salmon into e-tools, I got 8.5 pts. GRRRR. Ok - so I counted it as 9. Put me over by a little for the day, but I'm sure it's still healthier than having a burger, right?
Erik drank again (as I was DD since I'm so OP!) but didn't go as overboard as last week. We had a good time, even though neither of us made the final table of the poker tournament. Got home at about 10:00 and watched recorded Idol and totally passed when he popped popcorn and offered to share.
So this morning's weight is exactly what I was at last Thursday before WI. Now I've got one more day to get it lower. So - I'm really trying today. I had 5 pts for breakfasts (balance bar) and 8 pts for lunch (Cambell's Chunky Soup, Wow chips, and a snack of popcorn). That leaves me 15 pts for tonight. I know we're supposed to, but I'm going to try not to eat them all. I'm going to shoot for only 9 pts at dinner and going to the gym. Basically a "super low day" a la Wendie Plan. :-)
I REALLY want to WI tomorrow at 215.4 or lower. I want my 1.5lbs/ week. I was so bad on Thursday and Friday last week, but really have been totally OP since. I've gone a little over my target points a couple times this week, but not counting friday have only used 12 WPA. That's good for me. It's the exercise that I've sucked at. I haven't done any since last Wednesday. So - today I'm going to the gym (not fooling myself about running in the neighborhood) and trying to get 5+ AP.
On other matters, things are going well. We had arraignments today. Basically, the Defendants on our trial calendar are paraded through and plead not guilty. Pretty routine, but I did have to wear a suit. :-) I got to wear a new shirt today though b/c I went shopping yesterday. I know it's so ghetto, but I totally went clothes shopping at Wal-Mart yesterday. I usually don't buy clothes there, but I'm totally determined to do this WW thing this time and don't want to spend a lot of money on clothes this time. So I spent $150 at walmart, but got like 10 blouses/shirts, etc.
Tonight is definitely a night in. Erik has his 4 yr old son for the night so no risk of last minute plans. If I can just follow through with my plan to go to the gym, all will be good!
____________________________________________________________
UPDATE (Later on Wednesday)
I DID IT! I went to the gym finally. I've decided to that the key to success with this weight loss journey is to give myself permission to fail. I'm one of those people that want to be the best at what I do. Always. I hate failing, and hate not doing something really well. The first time I did WW, I totally kicked butt. Of course I had days off program, but I basically lost just about every week. I hit goal - losing almost 50 lbs after just 6 months. I've tried repeatedly to get back there after a few years off and gaining but I've been unable to. I think part of the reason I've been unable to get back down to goal is because I'm demanding that same success that I had the first time. When I don't get it I give up.
So - I've lowered my standards. I know that sounds horrible, but I think it's what's best. How does this all tie to the fact that I went to the gym? Well that's one area I've given myself permssion to fail. For the longest time I though that if I wanted to call myself a "runner" I couldn't walk. Walking was "failure". So, when I go to the gym and can't run like I used to, or just have a bad day, I consider it a "failure" and quit early. Today, I didn't want to go to the gym (like every day!) but I decided I'd go and just do what I could. I got on the treadmill, hoping to RUN 6 miles. I run about 10 minute miles, a little slower right now, so I can usually just about 6 miles in 60 minutes. Well, not surprisingly, after abut 1.5 miles, I had a horrible stomache cramp. I think I drank too much water prepping for the run. I had to stop and walk a bit. So - I forgave myself and allowed my self to walk ("fail"). I decided I was going to do my 60 minutes and just do the best I could. I walked a bit, ran a bit, walked a bit, etc. until I finished the 60 minutes. I ended up doing 4.5 miles in 60 minutes. Not the 6 miles I'd hoped for, but I did finish and burned ~ 700 calories. Not bad at all. Usually I run as far as I can - about 3 miles usually - and then quit. That's about a 30 minute workout, burning ~ 500 calories. So, by allowing myself to "fail" I actually got more out of it.
I take this attitude toward journalling as well. Before, if I had an "off" program day, I wouldn't journal. If I went out and got drunk, I wouldn't even try to estimate the points. So - I've decided that it doesn't matter if I "fail" in the sense of staying OP every day. It's more important that I get it down on paper. By journalling, my "failure" doesn't last as long. I see the damage I've done and I get back on track faster. So, now when I have an off day, it still goes in the book. For instance, on Friday we had the party. I had to do a LOT of estimating because I got pretty drunk that night. My estimates are probably not exactly accurate and the picture was prettu ugly (33 pts over for the day!) but it's in the book. And it made my really focus the rest of this week.
So - tonight I made it to the gym. After that I came home and ate all but 3 of my remaining points for the day. I'm not sure if I'll use them tonight on popcorn/snacks, but I'm still happy with today. I'm definitely not eating any of my AP.
Overall a good day. If by some fluky craziness, I don't lose tomorrow, I'm still happy with this week. Also - this weekend looks good. Erik has his son (Daniel) so we have a 4 year old in the house all weekend. I'm hoping I'll just decide to stay home all weekend, get some exercise, and some quality time with Erik and Daniel. That'll keep me good. I expect to splurge a little bit tomorrow night, but I'm going to try not to go too crazy, so as not to destroy all this week's progress.
Update on cruise goal - still on track! So long as I WI at 217.5 or lower (217.5 would be a gain) I'm on track for my 1.5lbs/week to get to goal and below by cruise time in Dec. :-)
Personal Journal Challenge (one whole 12 journal book full of journaling every day): Day 13 of 84!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Prelims
At home weight: 216/Last WI 217
TUESDAY
Ok, so I had to be in Prelims today so I had to get up early. Prelims are Preliminary Hearings. They're held once a week at the jail with a magistrate judge. They usually last most of the morning, and basically we have to convice the judge that various people in jail are there for good reason. It's usually moderately interesting, good to get out of the office, and helpful to get to know our police officers. Today I learned a major lesson. I have one officer that any case he makes, I have GOT to plea. I mean he's an absolute moron. He testified today in two hearings and I'm surprised we didn't get them dismissed right there (something that very rarely occurs). He tells what happens by saying "this white male talked to another white male and referenced a black female and he said that he and her were going with them to the store.". Hello? Names would be helpful here to know who he and him an her and them are. It was like pulling teeth getting enough facts out for both myself, the defense attorney and the judge to have any idea what happened. Frustrating! Fortunately, most of his cases are going to be assigned to Gail, another attorney in the DA's office, due to the nature of the charges. But please tell me how he became and investigator? Sheesh!
On another note, I had a WONDERFUL night last night WW-food-wise. Not so much WW exercise wise as I was really going to go to the gym, and then I was just going to run at home, and then I just did nothing. :-( But - Monday's are are usual night to go out to Y-knots for beer and poker. I'm usually DD on Monday (Erik is DD on Thursday after my WI). But I still usually have a couple beers or some munchies or something. See the problem is that for the "free" poker game, you get 800 starting chips. But if you spend $10 or more at the bar, you get an additional 500 in chips. So - we usually try to spend some money b/c it makes a difference in your play. But last night Erik agreed to drink Gin (big sacrifice for him...lol) and order an appitizer to get us over the hump - or close to it. Knowing the bartenders and tiping well helps. SO - just diet coke for me! :-)
Today I want to desparately find the motivation to go to the gym or run outside. It's getting nice out and I LOVE summer so I'm excited.
Hoping for another OP day - wish me luck!
Personal journal challenge: 12/84 days journaling and counting!
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