Starting Weight: 193.0; Goal Weight: 140.0 (Height: 5'4") Point formula: P = (C/50) + (F/12) - (R/5) P=points, C=calories, F=fat grams, R=fiber grams (cap the fiber at no more than 4 grams) Feb. 19, 2007 - Update etc. Posted in Food Journal Well, I haven't been making entries here because I've been really disappointed in how difficult it is to work with HSB since they made changes.  I can't get my blog to do what I want... Anyway, in February I had a weigh-in at Weight Watcher's where I had reached new ground, a low weight I hadn't seen since 1999.  Well, I've celebrated, over-eaten, and lost ground -- 5 pounds back on... :( So, for two weeks I've been goofing off and not staying on play, skipping meetings, sneaking things I shouldn't, not counting what I eat... Today I'm going to turn that around. I have started my day with oatmeal, and hope to stick to my WW plan and get myself turned around. Breakfast:  Oatmeal, coffee w/ fat free half & half, a glass of water (Core + 1 WP - weekly point) Snack: Banana and a glass of water Lunch: Progresso soup, salad, apple, diet coke, skim milk, glass of water snack: popcorn, diet coke Dinner: Marinated flank steak, sweet potato, broccoli spears, skim milk, water Bedtime: Frozen grapes, glass of water *********************************************************** So, that's the plan. I'll see how well I do today... D • Encouraging Words (0) • Encourage me! • Permanent Link Jan. 2, 2007 - Jan. 2 journal Posted in Food Journal Here's today's plan, to be updated as they day progresses. (Darkened block means I ate the item; blank square means I didn't.) Breakfast:               Lunch:         Snack:       Dinner:         Snack:p WW Treat (2 pts.)p Grapesp 1 glass waterp pfruit/veg   p p p p pwater p p p p p ppoints allowance (cumulative):       ___________________________________________ milks            n n n p p p p p p p p p p p pp run/walk 25 minutes p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p     p Orange-glazed turkey cutletsp Spinachp Winter squashp 1 glass watern Brown sugar oatmeal (1)n Coffeen Fat free half&halfp 1 glass waterSnack:p Bananap 1 glass waterp leftover chicken cacciatore (2 oz)p leftover cacciatore vegetablesp zucchinip 1 glass waterp Smoothiep Applep 1 glass water • Encouraging Words (0) • Encourage me! • Permanent Link Jan. 1, 2007 - Happy New Year! Posted in Food Journal I am back, and I am back with firm resolve.   First, I can't tell you how frustrating this entry has been. I have formatted and reformatted, and still what comes up for you to see is not what I enter.  I have breakfast entries (oatmeal, coffee, fat free half & half, water) and snack entries (banana, water), and they just dissappear!  I had words come through as bold and underlined that I didn't ask to be that way.  I had things come up in an entirely different order than I left them in on my entry form.   I had separate line entries come through on the same line.  I had words in Arial come up in wing dings, and I can't tell what else. I give up. I don't know how much longer I'm going to try to give HomeSchool Blogger, but I'm trying to be patient.  But here's my effort: Here's my journal for the day.    Breakfast Brown sugar oatmeal (1) Coffee Fat free half&half 1 glass water   Snack: Lunch: Lentil soup Apple salad 1 glass water Dinner:   Chicken cacciatore   spaghetti squash   Snack: 1 glass water   WW treat (2 pts)   ______________________________ milks 1 glass watern n fruit/veg    n n n n n water n n n n n n weekly points allowance: n n n p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p run/walk 25 minutes (Nope!) Cacciatore vegetables Snack:   1 glass water Grapes banana 1 glass water   So, how did the rest of you do with your New Year''s resolve? • Encouraging Words (0) • Encourage me! • Permanent Link Dec. 15, 2006 - WW update Posted in My Thoughts Ups and downs on the scale. Thought I had lost weight this week, even though I didn't follow Plan well... but I didn't lose. I gained .6 of a pound. (Theoretically that could be the Diet Coke I was drinking on the way to the meeting!... ::sigh::) WW introduced new information this week.  I had my 7 yos with me, so it was difficult to concentrate on the talk. I still need to go over the handout material, since I couldn't focus at the meeting, to know what has changed.  I signed up for a YahooGroup that I hope will help me to be more diligent --something like WeightWatcher_journals or something. Let me go get the name for sure...  here it is: weightwatchersjournals-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Well, gotta go get lunch.  Blessings, all! Diana • Encouraging Words (2) • Encourage me! • Permanent Link Nov. 30, 2006 - Checking in Posted in My Thoughts Greetings, y'all.   I've been doing very poorly for two weeks on the Weight Watcher's front.  The first week wasn't as bad as the 2nd week, but looking back I guess it is actually going on FOUR weeks, not just two.  And, come to think of it, it has been four weeks since my step-dad died, so I guess I'm beginning to see a pattern here...   So, anyway, my weight has been creeping up for four weeks, and it is just about time to turn that back around again.  But last week had the memorial service on Wednesday, burial in Arlington, and Thanksgiving on Thursday.  And I just haven't been able to bring myself back to proper eating yet, so there you go.   Tonight is my weigh-in night, so I'll go and see what the actual damage is.  Then I'll pull myself up by my bootstraps and get back on track.  (Oh wait! If I don't have boots with bootstraps, does that let me off the hook?  It doesn't?  Shucks!)   Please say a little prayer for me, as you read this, that God will help me to be serious and get back on track. I had set "pre-pregnancy weight" as a goal by my son's 7th birthday (how sad is that?!), but I didn't make it (SADDER STILL!), so I'm setting the new year as my date to try to accomplish it by.  That may or may not be attainable, since at this point it is 11 pounds away. Maybe it will take a little longer, but I need to get back to work.   On a good note, I did walk on the treadmill yesterday.  Because of my declining fitness, lack of working out for ages, and knowing my arthritis in my knee could act up, I went quite slowly, with the goal being one mile instead of a particular amount of time.  I was only going about 2.5 mph, so it took about 25 minutes (is that right?)... (maybe it was longer, I'm not sure...). But I did it. And my hubby wants to help me make sure I exercise just about daily, so that should help.  That means that I can tell myself it is okay to exercise right then, even though there are things all around me that are still not done yet...  I need to know that, or I put off the exercise... because for now there will never be a time when everything that needs to be done is done, so the exercise won't happen if I have to get everything done first.   Gotta go now. Blessings!   D • Encouraging Words (2) • Encourage me! • Permanent Link Nov. 4, 2006 - MY UPDATE! MY UPDATE! For real! My update! Posted in Weigh Ins - Stats Okay, sports fans! Here's the real update you've been waiting for!   Through the time since my son was born (will be 7 years old this month), I've been trying to get my way-over-40-yo body back to where it should be.  I have finally charted out my journey in a very nice way for you to follow.  It shows the yo-yo, somewhat, but it shows the success.   Jerry Bridges (I think it was), in the Discipline of Grace (I think it was), described how our Christian walk can have ups and downs, but that over all we should be growing, and it can be compared to a person going up and down, as a yo yo, but as a yo yo being worked by a person walking up a board, so that even when we are down, we are further up than we used to be when we were down.   So, the yo yo of my weight is like a person walking DOWN a board. My ups are further down than they used to be...   Well, here's the chart.  I hope you will all be inspired, as I actually was myself, to see my progress!  Here it is:   Date Weight Lost or Gained Total Lost or Gained 12/10/03 193.0 Starting weight Starting weight 1/25/04 184.5 -8.5 -8.5 1/16/05 183.5 -1.0 -9.0 2/1/06 187.0 +3.5 -6.0 3/13/06 181.5 -6.5 -11.5 4/4/06 179.5 -2.0 -13.5 5/6/06 184.6 +5.1 -8.4 6/8/06 177.6 -8.0 -16.4 7/1/06 175.6 -2.0 -18.4 8/17/06 173.6 -2.0 -20.4 9/14/06 177.8 +4.2 -16.2 10/5/06 176.8 -1.0 -17.2 11/2/06 169.4 -7.4 -24.6   So, my basic goal weight will be, I think, 140 or so.  That means I'm not even half way there yet, but if I can lose more quickly, like I did this past month, I could actually get there in just months, instead of years (which the above charg represents).   Gotta go rake leaves! Blessings,   Diana

• Encouraging Words (4) • Encourage me! • Permanent Link

Okay, y'all, I'm still here.  I'm also still losing weight.

I tried to update in October, but my kitchen computer won't let me into this account, and we can't figure out how to empty it's cookies!  Also, after a long battle with Alzheimer's, and a brief, rapid decline, my step-father's life ended last week (10/22), and my commitments leading up to that and as a result of that are occupying part of my time.  I am also still dealing with issues regarding my bio-dad's estate (who died 4/10/06).

I will try to post a chart tomorrow showing my weight loss progress, and update things on my blog like the little bar that shows how much is my goal and how far I've gone.

Blessings,

D

June 8?  My last entry was June 8?  Sheeesshhhh!  That's terrible!!!

Okay, so I don't have time right now to bring other parts of this blog up to date, which would be nice, but oh well!... But here are the stats:

Starting weight, February '06: 187.0 pounds

Current weight, 8/29/06:         170.5 pounds

So, I've had a really rough, busy, hectic, overwhelming summer, where I've literally been turning to God, who upholds me in His everlasting arms.  I've balanced out changes of food selections (brown rice) with smaller portions (when I eat white rice or white noodles, for example), changed portions (veggies take up the largest part of my plate) and changed choices (afternoon snack of 94% fat free popcorn without guilt, rather than some form of chocolate or other higher fat, higher calorie choice).  The reason I've not lost MORE is that I have the following philosophy: if this is a lifestyle change, and not a diet, then it doesn't matter how fast I am losing just so long as I am losing.  I am interested in being able to have a Starbuck's caramel frappacino when I want one, and an occasional dessert, or sharing a Ben & Jerry's pint of vanilla Heath bar with my hubby from time to time, as long as I am still losing weight.  And, if/when I get to a place where I an not satisfied with my weight loss, if I plateau, if I want to lose weight faster, I know that I can reduce or eliminate these delicasies (sp?).  But I am not ready to go there yet.  If I want changes to be permanent, then I have to make them slowly, like Flylady says, one change at a time until I've got it down, then move on to the next change.  Baby steps.

So, right now I have changed a lot of things in my diet, but am not purely following the WW guidelines, and not recording what I eat, not staying purely CORE or anything.  When I am ready I know there are more changes I can move to, and I know what they are. I know what I can change in my diet, I know I can start exercising...  But for now, I am the tortoise.  Slow and steady.  1/2 pound this week?  0.4 of a pound?  I'll take it.  It is a weight loss, and the numbers are going the right direction.

Who's with me?  Let's do it!  Slow and steady, Lord.  Hold my hand.  I am weak, but you are strong.  Help me to become all that you want me to be, and help me choose changes that will be a permanent part of my life!

Diana

Okay, so my family drove to Charlotte, NC on Friday for my nephew's wedding.  We were in the car for ten hours, Friday, and my meals were cereal (core) for breakfast, McD salad for lunch, and Appleby's for dinner (WW choice), and snacked on fruit, baby carrots and popcorn in the car while driving. 

Saturday was the wedding.  I had eggs, grits, coffee, and an apple for breakfast, Taco Bell ...some sort of salad... for lunch, and another Appleby's dinner, with snacks of popcorn and apple.  The wedding was at 2:00, and they had a reception with a choice of fruit, which I stuck to for awhile, ...but I drank some punch.  But I finally gave in to the trays and trays and trays everywhere of Godiva Chocolates, and I ate them. Way too many.

Sunday I had oatmeal for breakfast, a fast food McD salad for lunch, and another fast food something for dinner (sad, but I can't remember what I had...), with popcorn and fruit for snacks, and baby carrots. 

Monday I was going to be good, but I ended up having, during the day, a caramel frappacino from Starbucks, as I also did on Tuesday, ...and Wednesday...  And on Wednesday we celebrated, because my DD got her license!  So we ate out at Macaroni Grill.  I did get the "Skinny Chicken", and tried to stay core, but I was just sure I was doomed on weigh in day.

So, on Thursday, today, I went to weight in...   I lost 1.0 pounds this week!!!!!  What's up with that?  Last week, when I thought I was being good, I only lost 0.6 pounds!  Go figure!

********************

Well, life is too busy right now for me to blog more than once a week, so I'm sorry I don't keep up. 

Please do post comments.  I get an email when you do, and come read them!  So, I appreciate all thoughts and comments.

I am very thankful to be joined up with WW now!  Slow and steady wins the race!

My my home scale I have lost 13.0 pounds since February.  At Weight Watcher's, I have lost 7.0 pounds since I joined.

Blessings,

D

Sorry I haven't been posting frequently. My life is totally hectic right now.

Anyway, this week's weigh in:

Weigh lost this week:   - 0.4 pound

Total weight loss since joining WW:   - 6.0 pounds

Current weight (on Weight Watcher's scale): 178.6

Weight lost since beginning my journey:

                       8.4 pounds by WW weigh ins, but 12 pounds by my home scale.

This week (coming up) will be hard to lose weight. Might even have my weight go up a little, but it will be temporary if it goes up, I promise. 

I have a wedding to attend in Charlotte, NC, a ten hour drive away. I will be eating fast food for three days, and tempted at the reception by the treats.  I will get right back on the straight and narrow the morning after I get home, I promise.

Blessings,

Diana

Went to WW and weighed in.  Weight down 1.6 pounds from previous weigh-in (5 days ago).  Total weight loss since joining WW - 5.6 pounds.

Starting week 4 with WW membership.  Weight at home today: 175.5; weight per WW: 179.0 (two days ago).

Anticipating another successful week of weight loss.  Weight lost slowly reflects lifestyle changes, not just a short-term diet.  Diets are made to be broken; lifestyles are long term choices!

Blessings,

Diana

Monday's weigh in (at home): 174.5

My body was in, like starvation mode. I ate.  I didn't follow plan. I repent. I am back on the straight and narrow today, but today's weigh in was 176.0.  (To compare to my weigh-ins for WW, add 2-3 pounds to allow for breakfast and clothes..) So, I figure if I weighed in at WW right now my weight would maybe be 179, which would still be a loss of 1.0 for the week. I've still got time before weigh in, though, to lose another pound (again).

Busy with portfolio work this week. Gotta go.

Blessings,

Diana

Got to my meeting today.  Weigh in: 180.0

Weight loss since starting with the meetings: 4.0

Weight loss for the top of my blog: 7.0

Actual weight loss: probably 10.0, but I'm changing what I count from my morning weight at home with no food, drink, or clothes first thing in the morning to whatever it is at the meeting.  In other words, if I had been able to join with WW at the beginning, their recorded weight for me would probably have been 190 or something, for my evening weight with clothes.

But, we'll go with 7 for now.

I'm happy. I feel better. AND, I'm on my way!

Blessings,

D

Here are my eating for today:

Breakfast:

Bowl of spoon-size shredded wheat with skim milk

Coffee w/fat-free half & half

water

Lunch:

Tuna w/fat-free mayo

raw veggies

apple

water

Snack:

Banana

Skim mocha, no whip (Starbucks)

water

Dinner:

WW Dinner

salad, w/oil and vinegar

skim milk

water

Snack:

WW oreo-cookie ice milk bar

water

Daily check list:

Water                              g g g g g c

Fruits and Vegetables       g g g g g

Milk                                 g g(g)

Oils                                  g g

Vitamin                             c

I didn't really measure my oil. I hate that two teaspoons of oil. Gotta keep working on that water and that vitamin, and add exercise soon.

I don't have it in front of me, so I don't have the number, but I lost 1.6 pounds between joining weigh in and Week 1 weigh in. This is in spite of being fed regular popcorn one night when I thought I was eating core popcorn (94% fat free), and in spite of the fact that joining weigh in was in the morning, and "end of week" weigh in was only 5 days later and was in the evening.  Next weigh in should be significant if I can weigh in in the morning!

Diana

Okay, I wanted to let you know what I like about the Core plan.  I've gotten comments about "I've been afraid to switch to Core...", so I wanted to let you know how I like it and why.

Being on core means:

• When I approach a meal, I think about what I will eat, and I just prepare it and eat it. I don't have to measure it. I don't have to look it up.
• When my weeks are busy, like my past one has been, I don't even write Core items down. I am following plan, and that's enough.
• Using this plan, I am able to begin to see what I am doing as an actual lifestyle change, rather than something I am doing for a season.  For me, real life is serve a meal, eat a reasonable amount of the items I've planned, and stop eating when I am satisfied.
• Using this plan, I have the freedom to go outside the plan if I feel like the hassle of keeping track of my 35 bonus points.

So, for example, what Mother's Day looked like:

Breakfast:  Oatmeal, coffee with fat-free half and half

Snack: apple

Lunch: Our big dinner: rib-eye steak, salad, baked potato with fat-free sour cream, fried onions, raw veggies, and a glass of skim milk.

Dinner: Home made chicken salad with fat-free mayonnaise.

Snack: a banana, and later still had some 94% fat free popcorn. At bedtime I had a cookies and cream Weight Watcher's "Ice Cream" bar.

Now that is not necessarily perfect, but it gives you the idea.  Today started with oatmeal, and I haven't planned the rest of the day out, but it doesn't really matter. I've surrounded myself with core foods, and when I need lunch I will just pick from the core foods.

Gotta go get on with my day now. Probably will not get to weigh in until Saturday, but we'll see.  Blessings,

D

Well, I'm past the midpoint on Day 2.  Things are going well. 

When I woke up this morning, my scale was back down to 180.5 (from 183 yesterday).  So, I know that I will show weight loss when I go to weigh-in on Friday or Saturday. I'll probably go Friday, because Saturday is the memorial service for my dad, and I just don't think I can do both in the same day.  One of my concerns had been childcare for my son, but a lot of moms had brought kids yesterday, so I'll just bring him and see how he does.  I'll have to bring an activity, or he'll be bored and be interrupting during the meeting...

Here's my food plan for the day:

Breakfast:

Grapenuts cereal (core)

skim milk (core)

coffee with skim milk (core)

snack

4 Lifesavers during church (1 flex point)

Lunch

bean with bacon soup (core)

banana (core)

diet Coke (core)

snack

apple (core)

carrots(core) (were lunch, but I didn't eat them til later)

dinner:

grilled chicken (core)

corn on the cob (core)

broccoli (core)

skim milk (core)

snack:

WW oreo cookie ice cream bar (core milk + 1 flex point)

popcorn (microwave, 94% fat free) (core)

Does anyone reading this know the answer to a couple of questions:

1) When I eat corn, does it count as a vegetable? I don't think bean soup does, and corn is a starchy vegetable like the lima beans and such...

2) When I eat a large banana, does it count as two fruits? 

Blessings,

D

Church was good today.  Al Mohler was preaching on The DaVinci Code to help us be prepared to answer when we are asked what we think of it.  Spoilers:  The book has the following falacies in it:

• Jesus wasn't devine (the book says).  He wasn't deemed devine until the Council of Nicea, at which time the bishops present voted him devine, and "it was a close vote, at that!".  Besides the fact that we know Jesus' devinity was not determined by man and did not every have a beginning, we also know that, historically, the Council of Nicea was voting on the Nicean Creed, in which the bishops were professing their faith in what was already true.  Also, it was not a close vote--there were 301 bishops present, and only two of them did not agree to the creed, and they were later defrocked, or excommunicated, or whatever.
• Jesus was actually married to Mary Magdeline and had a son (the book says). After Jesus died, Mary took her son to Gaul, now known as Turkey, and he later became the political leader of that country, and his offspring still live there today. (Pardon my memory, for anyone who finds errors in my recollections of the story line...)  This is supposed to be this huge cover-up that has been passed down through the ages.  Well, we do not believe God would have neglected to mention that Jesus was married.  It was clear, where he was dying on the cross and asked John to take care of his mother, that Jesus was not married. If he had been, he would have assigned someone to take care of his wife and son. Marriage was not God's plan for Jesus' time here...

I know I probably butchered this. This sermon will be available free on my church's website later this week, so if anyone wants me to, I can try to post the link.  There was a lot more in it that I just can't remember right now. I plan to listen to it again myself later.

Blessings!

D

Okay, so I can't stay away from the scale!... asdf;lkjasdf;lkjasdf;lkj

I am going to update my weight, but not call it week 13, because I'm not following the Plan. I'm seriously going to talk to my hubby about actually signing up with Weight Watcher's, cause I don't think I can handle getting to June and still being this weight!

Monday: 182.0

Tuesday: 182.0

Wednesday: 180.0

Thursday: 180.0

So, while I do wish I were a svelt 120 pounds, 180 is better than 182, and both are better then 187 which I weighed in January!

Back to issues related to my father's estate.  Blessings,

Diana

Monday's weigh in: 180

Tuesday's weigh in: 180

Wednesday's weigh in: 179.5

Not following the diet right now. Dealing with other issue.

D