So after my blah day, I have a pretty good Friday. I went to the doctor for a annual check up and thought I was going to get some fasting lab work done so I after breakfast I didn’t eat much until the afternoon when I had one of the new Caramel Fiber One Bars (which I highly recommend). I didn’t know what I was going to do for supper when the boy asked if I wanted to go eat with some friends at a chop house. I don’t know how many of you are familiar with Texas and the south but a chop house is basically a restaurant that served meat and not much else.  So the boy ordered a HUGE, 16 oz steak and I ordered a side salad, veggies without butter, and a baked potato without butter, which I think was very healthy. So, since I was eating my vegetables and being all healthy I thought I could eat some of the boy’s steak. I guestimated about 4 oz off of his steak thinking it would be about 6 points. So, this morning I figured my points and it’s at least 10 points! For just 4 oz.! Had I known that, I wouldn’t have had the two beers. To make a long story short, I’ve gone over my weekly points by 3. I’ve never done that before. As you might recall from previous entries, I’ve had problems eating all my points and to go over is kinda freaking me out. Do I eat 3 less today? Man, if I had just worked out yesterday it would have been fine.

Ok. I’m not freaking out. This is not a diet. This is a life style change and sometimes I’ll make mistakes. I’ve gotten all my dairy, all my veggies, and all my water every day. I’ve worked out 4 days this weeks and I’m gonna work out today and tomorrow. I’ve been healthy. I’ve been tracking.

Any other week I would have quit and gone off plan thinking I had failed. But no. I haven’t failed. I haven’t gone off plan. I’m chugging along and owning this!

Today = not a good day. I just feel off, ya know? But then again, it is that TOM, so I’m not surprised. By the way, is that too much information? Can I blog about that? I’ve had a horrible headache all day and even worse cramps. To make matters worse, it’s food day in the office. The worst? It’s Mexican food. I’ve done nothing I’m ashamed of. I’ve journaled everything. I’ve kept portions under control. But! I was planning on doing better by making a healthy taco salad and staying away from the tasty enchilada casserole. But like I said, today wasn’t a total loss, because I’m not on a diet. I’m making life style changes and sometimes during my life, I’m gonna eat some good Mexican food. Oh, and two Valentine’s Day cookies ;) Because I’m not gonna hide from holidays and their theme cookies.

And! I worked out. Not one single part of me wanted to, but I did. I didn’t work too hard, but I still made it to the gym for 30 minutes.

But! I’m still feeling blah. So I’m skipping class tonight and going home and going to bed. I can only hope I’ll be asleep by 5:15 p.m. Some days are just like that.

I might have mentioned this earlier, but I’ve had problems eating all my daily points not to mention activity points and weekly points. When I first started WW I would always set my daily points one below what WW recommended. So instead of eating 27 points a day, I would only eat 26. And I would horde my weekly points and never use my activity points. And I really didn’t lose that much. Not surprising, I would get frustrated and go off plan….AND LOSE! I guess I wasn’t losing because I wasn’t eating enough.

You know, I bet a lot of other people might have this problem. As far as diets go, you’re supposed to deny yourself and limit what you eat. So WW is a bit of a change–eating more, but eating healthy.

So, what does this have to do with anything. I ate, let me see, all my daily points (26) all my APs (5) and some of my weekly points (8) that’s a total of 39 points. But, I’m not freaking out, because I’m allowed. I planned for it. And I know it’s good for my body. I ate healthy(ish) and I got all my fruits, veggies, dairy, and water. So, my new plan is to work out and eat ALL my points, no matter how much my mind might fight it. And I’m gonna be happy about it, because this is my body and this is what my body needs.

Now off to bed. I worked out super hard today and I am just plum exhausted.

I find myself actually enjoying exercise this time around. Before when I worked out it was to lose weight. This time around I’m working out for health. I want to get stronger. I want to get faster. I wast to rock. And you know what, I am! It’s only been a week, but I can already tell my cardiovascular health is improving. I started off walking and I’m almost up to jogging to keep my heart rate up. It’s so exciting!

And an awesome added benefit. I have SO much energy. I’m happier. I’m peppier. I wake up more easily. OK, that’s not true, it’s still hard to get out of bed, but my morning are better. It really is crazy to see the differences exercise makes.

But here’s a question. I know calorie counter on the machines at the gym are notoriously incorrect so I don’t use those to gauge how much work I’ve done and how many APs I should have. I actually went out and bought myself a heart monitor (which I LOVE!) so I would have an accurate reading of my heart rate and the number of calories I’ve burned. Anyways, now the question. I work out for 30 minutes at 70% to 80% of my max heart rate. According to the website working out in that range is considered high intensity. So with my weight and age, a 30 minute high intensity work out is worth 5 APs. But I’m only burning about 300 calories and I’ve heard one AP is equivalent to 100 calories burned. So, what is my work out worth? Any ideas? Any suggestions?

So as I mentioned in a earlier post I’ve been having some trouble with my scale. You know, it would fluctuate readings all the time. I mean it was never the same reading two times in a row. So I went out and bought me a new one. Just like the one I’ve seen on my favorite blogs.  It reads about two pounds higher than my old scale would read, on average.  But oh my is it consistent! If I hop on it, stand on one leg, gingerly step on it, just step on it regularly–same weight! So that’s good. I’m trying  not to weight in too often, just once a day. :) But needless to say, I’m enjoying it!

I’m embarking on a 21 days challenge. I actually started a few days and plan on completing the challenge by March 1st. While I was getting over the flu I found a lot of really inspirational blogs and they mentioned challenges. So I decided I’d have one too. My goal is to reach my 10% weight loss goal my March 1st. That might actually be a little ambitious, but I am so tired of this weight coming off so slowly! I think it’s because I’m not eating all my points. So for the rest of the month I vow to eat all my daily points, all my APs and most of my WPA. I’ve also started working out thanks to some wonderful inspiration I found over at Gettin’ Shrunk. So hopefully after 21 days of totally staying OP and staying positive I can see some positive results!

Hello world! It’s been a while! Turns out I wanted that breakfast burrito so badly because I was getting sick. You know, when you don’t feel well you want comfort foods and you really don’t want to be bothered with counting. Anyways, to make a long story short, I got sick and was sick for about a week and I was off plan the entire time. But, I still managed to lose. I guess that happens when you sick.

But I’m better now and so excited to be back on plan! I read a lot of blogs while I was sick and I did a lot of thinking. I have so much in my head, so many things I want to do and talk about! But I didn’t have any place to write it all down. I was having trouble with my last blog so my dear boyfriend finally set me up this one! So I don’t want to go overboard on this post with all the things I’ve been thinking about but I’ll give you a little list preview:

**Scale News**The Wendie Plan**Exercise**WW Meetings**Inspirational Blogs**My New Blog**Weekly Points**Plateaus

But I won’t bore you with all that tonight! But you can be there’ll be more later. I’m back and better than ever!

Roni asked a very simple, but very interesting question today: Why do you want to lose weight? And it really got me thinking.

I am more than happy with I look, especially now that I’ve lost the extra 20 pounds I’ve gained in the past year. I’ve always been a bit of a heavier girl but not by too much. And I’ve never, ever had any negative remarks about my weight or my body–not from family, friends, boyfriends–anyone.  I could never imagine being upset with my body. I have no major illness, I have all of my limbs–this body is pretty rockin! It gets me where I need go. I’m able to do all sorts of fun things: bowling, working, studing, loving…all sorts of things. Yeah, I totally love my body, even if it is a little plump.

I’m also fairly healthy. Good cholesterol levels, great blood pressure, no crazy illnesses. My cardiovascular health could be better and it wouldn’t hurt if I worked on my upper body strength, but over all, I’m pretty healthy.

So exactly why do I want to change my body? I think to prove that I can. To prove that I have the self discipline and drive to accomplish something important and amazing. I want people to ready this blog and go “Wow. That’s girl, well, she’s got it.”

And while I’m very happy with my body and love it tons! But….I wanna wear shorts and midriff shirts–while I’m young and can pull it off. I want that little ‘V’ on my stomach. Before I have kids I want to experience a body that is sleek and toned. Who knows, I might love that kind of body more than I love the kind I have right now. I wont know till I try. :)

Oh, and my mother joined WW and lost over 50 pounds. And I’m a little competitive. :) If she can do it, I can too!

So those are the reasons I want to lose weight. Nothing mind blowing here, but it works for me.

I love breakfast burritos. That’s all there is to it. Usually I can live off of low-carb tortillas, egg beaters, and turkey bacon–but this was not one of those days. I haven’t been sleeping well, the weather is cold, the boy is sick, classes are awful and I guess I’m just an emotional eater. This morning I bought a 15 point burrito and felt bad for all of 5 minutes. (OK–maybe a little longer, I did hide if from a co-worker who thinks him self my (kindly) WW task master) But you know what–I don’t feel bad while I was enjoying every single bite. I won’t feel bad about it now. I’ve ate healthy the rest of the day and will continue to eat healthy. If I plan right, I wont even use any of my flex points. The funny things was, come lunch, I wasn’t hungry at all. That burrito and maybe my pride kept me full for almost six hours!

So I have taken Roni’s advice and I weight myself first thing every morning. Just to make sure I’m on the right tract. I don’t freak out about a number–I just like to have some guidance. I do freak out when my scale jumps plus or minus two pounds in the matter of seconds. Do your scales do that too? First hop on–one pound gain. No problem. I can deal with that. Second hop on-two pound gain. In 24 hours? I’m not so sure. Third hop on-two and half pound loss from previous day’s weight. Fourth hop on-Same as third. I quit after four tries. I wasn’t risking my scales being temperamental again. And my scales almost always do this, fluctuate two to three pounds the first couple of times I hop on in the morning. Maybe I need new scales. Maybe I should stop hopping and just gently step on the scales. :)