Broken record

My previous record was a 17.5 minute mile on Clyde.

Yesterday, I did a 16.5 minute mile. I did 3 miles in 49 minutes and 10 seconds.

Today I did my first mile in 16 minutes 21 seconds. I finished 3 miles in 48 minutes 31 seconds. Can't remember the mileage when I hit my hour.

I'm on a roll and I feel good.

Really, feel me.

6 more days...let's assess & is it sustainable?

I've got 6 more days left on my second 30 day challenge to myself. Let's see where we stand, shall we? My goal for this 30 days was/is as follows:

1. Stay OP for 6 days a week
2. Exercise a minimum of 5 days a week, a minimum of 30 minutes each time
3. Plan food ahead
4. Do not eat in my recliner
5. Do not eat after 9PM (8PM on nights I don't play cards)

How's that working out for me you ask? Well, I'll tell you.

1. Stay OP? Balls on baby. Not one snag. I'm amazed. I've never in my life gone nearly 60 days without giving in to my cravings. NEVER! It feels so freaking good. Is it sustainable? Yes.

I'll tell you something else too...it's changed my feelings. Yes sir it has. I used to have a no rules day. A day where I ate anything I wanted, and some days everything I wanted and a few things I didn't, but I ate them anyway. Hence my challenge for staying OP 6 days a week and not 7. I used to look forward to that. My WI day is Tuesday and my no rules day was Wednesday. By Thursday I was looking forward to next Wednesday already! Tuesday night I usually went to bed early as I was excited for Wednesday to begin. I began to notice a few weeks ago that Tuesday night I'd be thinking about what I'd like to eat the next day, and nothing was really coming to mind. Oh, I ate stuff anyway. I didn't enjoy it as much though. Hmmmm that was novel! Well that's not true. I enjoyed what I ate or I'd not have eaten it. I just mean I didn't enjoy the freedom that day used to give me. I really wanted to know how many points I was eating. Was I going over the 35 extra? Not getting the 35 I was due? I just wanted to know. So, I've made a bold decision.

I'm not having a no rules day this week. I'm actually excited by the thought. What the hell is the matter with me? I'm excited that if I want a hot dog from our Cafe by the lake, I can have one for 9 points one afternoon, and still not be short on points for dinner. If I want a blizzard from Dairy Queen a different day, I can do that too. Gee, let's actually do Weight Watchers how they intended it to be done. Doh, why didn't I think of that sooner? Oh, I did, but I needed my no rules day. I really did. I needed to know it was there. It got me through the week. If I wanted candy one day, I'd just tell myself I'd have it on Wed. Same with potato chips, bread and butter, Olive Garden, anything at all. Now the thought of cramming all that bad food in my body on one day just doesn't appeal to me. Maybe I've started a new habit? This time a good one? Holy moly wouldn't that be something??!! I'll tell you one thing. My next 30 day challenge is going to scare the shit out of me, but it's going to be to stay OP for 7 days a week for 30 days I think. I'll think long and hard, but I do think it's something I want to try. I'll see how this week goes first I guess!

Sorry, got long winded there. I do want to touch on the other things though.

Planning ahead? That's key I think. I've done it every day. Yay me! Is it sustainable? Yepper.

Exercise? I'm a freaking machine. OK, so not really, but for me, a fat old lady, I think I'm kicking ass. I've ramped it up to a minimum of 60 minutes a day for 6 days a week. I'm not out for a leisurely stroll either. I'm sweating like a pig on the treadmill and the elliptical. I go 3.5 mph most of the time, and up to 3.8 for sustained periods. That might be a warm up for some of you, but for me, a woman that has never done any exercise, I think it's fucking impressive! I'm proud of my fat self! Know something else? I like it! I look forward to it. Wow! Is it sustainable? No, I won't have a treadmill and elliptical at home. I don't know what the hell I'm going to do. I'll worry about that later on. For right now, I'm basking in my exercise glory!

Do not eat in my recliner. Haven't done it once in the last 23 days or however many it's been. I think it's working. I'll do it again next month for sure. Is it sustainable? Very much so.

Don't eat after 9PM. That's not working for me. Am I upset? Nope. My life here does not allow me to get all my points in by 9PM. Simple as that.

So, assessment so far is awesome I think. Sustainability is up in the air.

Fat Tuesday

Man I used to love this day. An excuse to eat a ton of food...like I needed an excuse back then! We'd get a dozen paczi....each kid would get one....there were 5 of us...you do the math! If you don't know what a paczi is...it's a greasy, deep fried hunk of dough filled with some ooey gooey filling. Prune was customary...I liked raspberry and lemon. Hell, I liked any of them! We'd get them from Hamtramck...they even have a festival for paczi's there! My stomach is rolling thinking of it...not in a good way either...so I guess that's a good thing.

I went shopping today for my Fat Tuesday treats. Nobody could go with me, so I could buy what I wanted and eat the evidence before getting home if I so chose. Today was my WI. I lost, finally. So, eating a bit extra seems to have helped. Oh yay...give me license to eat more today! Not! I was so wishing someone had gone to the store with me. I needed someone to keep me from buying junk. This is going to be my first week not having a no rules day. I'm going to spread my 35 flex points or whatever the hell they're calling them now, out over the week instead of using them all in one day. God give me strength.

I didn't eat anything on the way home. I didn't sneak anything at the store. I brought everything I bought home for God and everyone to see. I put it all away, ate a muffin with some natural peanut butter and a glass of milk and headed off to the gym. I thought I'd have my treat later on.

What did I buy?

4 twelve packs of diet pop
2 bags of salad
2 bags shredded cabbage
4 bags of broccoli florets
3 pounds of onions
5 pounds of baby carrots
3 pounds of red grapes
10 bananas
7 containers of Weight Watchers yogurt
1 gallon skim milk
2 bottles of olive oil (it was bogo)
2 twelve packs of toilet paper....hey...all that fiber you know!

Oh...I also bought myself a Fat Tuesday treat. I forgot to include that in the list.

It was this and I'm off to enjoy it right now!

Long live Fat Tuesday!!!

I've been beating my meat

and damn I like it!

I needed a shake up in my diet. I wanted 'plain' food. So, it started yesterday with chicken. Gag me...chicken again. My meal turned out so good Ian took a picture of it for me. My camera needs charging....gotta get to that! He took some pictures at the gym today for me too...that's another blog.

I pounded the daylights out of 4 ounces of raw chicken breast. Looks like more doesn't it? I seasoned it with garlic and pepper and dipped it in egg beaters (1/8 cup). I then rolled it in cracker crumbs (6 saltines) pressing every last crumb into the foul. I heated up my small, cast iron frying pan and then tossed in 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Added the chicken. Cooked it about 2 minutes on one side and flipped it. It was done in like 4 minutes. Meanwhile in the oven I had my favorite potatoes. I take 3.5 ounces of raw Yukon gold taters and slice them thin. I toss them with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and bake them for 20 minutes on 425, turning half way through. Damn they're good with nothing but a few twists of sea salt on them. I had some fresh blanched green beans in the freezer so I tossed them in the same bowl with the taters and roasted them right along. Man that meal was good. Country fried chicken WW style!

Beat my chicken again tonight and made my version of chicken piccata with pasta in a fresh, creamy, , lemon Parmesan, parsley sauce. Can you say YUMMY???!!!!!

Determined Debby

C'est moi.

OK, so I've been working my ass off and it's still fat.

I've had 2 undeserved gains.

I've ramped my exercise up and am sweating profusely for a minimum of an hour a day. Most days it's a minimum of 90 minutes. I feel good about that. I actually look forward to gym time. I worry about what I'll do when I get home in May and have no gym. I'm still doing at least 2 WATP's a week to get in some weights too.

My diet has been 100%, balls on, perfectly OP. I weigh, I measure, I plan ahead and I stick to my plan. I'm getting in all my milks, oils, fruit, veg, water. I'm using whole grains when I use grains. When I am hungry, I reach for healthy, filling foods, rather than junk even if I have the points for junk.

I've cut 100% of ALL trans fats from my diet. I switched to natural peanut butter. I quit using coffee mate and switched to non fat powdered milk. I eat no spreads, margarines, nothing at all with the word 'hydrogenated' in it. Things say they have 0% trans fats, but it's not true if the label says 'hydrogenated'.

I've been a good girl.

Why the hell am I gaining???? I'm sick of it. I gained 1.2 this week. Pair that with the 2.6 pound gain of a few weeks ago and you get one pissed off, still puffy, Pixie!!!!

Leader says "eat more". This week I'm adding in a few AP's a day to see if that helps. She said eat half of what I earn. I only count the actually gym AP's. I never count house work, walking around etc. So, I earn a minimum of 6 a day. I'm adding between 2-3 points a day to my diet and making sure I also eat my minimum points.

Tuesday seems a long way away. I need something to break. I'm working hard, I deserve results.

One good thing. I'm too f'ing stubborn to give up!!!

Please send skinny vibes.

I love Meatloaf

Not the globular meat mass shoved into the oven and cooked to look like a football, nay, it's this Meatloaf I love. This is my all time favorite Meatloaf song. In fact, it could actually be right up there in my top 10 fave songs of all time.

When I was younger, I suspect I liked it because it was a little bit dirty. Who am I kidding? It was a lot dirty. I felt like a rebel singing to it. It was my freshman year of college, what better time to be a little bit dirty?

Fast forward about 32 years. Picture moi, Puffy Pixie at the gym. I've just showed Clyde who was boss and now Bonnie was kicking my ass. For those of you not in the loop, Clyde is my treadmill and Bonnie is my elliptical. OK, so technically they belong to the park, but for 1.5-2 hours a day, 6 days a week, they're mine all mine. The first day I met them I was pretty sure they were out to get me. I did Clyde (oh er) for 15 minutes and rode that bitch Bonnie for 5 minutes. That was it. Stick a fork in me I was done. I could barely make it back to the golf cart! I'm still out of shape, but now I do Clyde for an hour and have come to love Bonnie. I save her for last. After half an hour or so on her, I'm losing steam. I need a pick me up. That's where my long haired, butt ugly, fat, hunka hunka burnin love, Meatloaf comes in.

I press the buttons and get 'Paradise by the Dashboard Light' on the display and hit play. Oh ya baby...it's time to rock and roll! If nobody is in the gym, I sing right along. I know every word. I pump harder, I sweat harder, and I love every minute of it!

I was singing along today and I realized how, maybe just for today, he was talking about exercise and not sex! He was really talking to me....this is what he had to say:

"I never had a girl lookin' any better than you did"....yep, he was talking to me!

"It never felt so good, it never felt so right." Amazingly, he was right. I don't know why I love a machine that I used to hate, but I do.

"We're glowin' like the metal on the edge of a knife." Oh hell yes, I'm sweating like a pig!

"I've been waitin' so long for you to come along and have some fun. I gotta let you know, no, you're never gonna regret it." Nope, no matter what happens with my exercise commitment, I will never forget this month.

"So open up your eyes, I got a big surprise, it'll feel alright well I wanna make your motor run." Oh it's running alright!!!

"It never felt so good, it never felt so right." No, it hasn't."

"Hold on tight." After my escapade the other day, that's a given!

"You got to do what you can and let mother nature do the rest." I'm doin' what I can. That bitch better keep up her end of the bargain now!!!

OK, so the rest is about sex. I still love it.

It gets me pumping and that's what I need. Whatever it takes.

A punch in the gut

A kick in the teeth, call it what you will, I got one.

WI yesterday was brutal. I gained. I haven't looked in the book to see how much....know it was more than a pound though. When I saw her write that last number in my book, and it was one number bigger than the one last week, I had to hold my lips really tight to keep from crying. I thought I was going to have to step outside so I didn't embarrass myself. I got it under control before having to do that.

It's just so frustrating to work so hard and gain. This is the second time in 3 or 4 weeks too. The big 2.6 pound gain and this 1. something or other. I can't believe it's not making me want to chuck the whole program. It's pissing me off and making me want to conquer the problem. Who is this new person?

I have a problem sharing what I do at WI with people. It's very difficult to explain. I like to share what I do, in fact I need to, but I want to do it in my own time, in my own way. I hate getting off the scale at my meeting and having my car mates say 'So how was it?' It's added pressure to me I think. I get through that and know the minute I walk in the door at home I'll get the same thing. I know they care and they think they're being supportive and caring, but it just ties me up in knots inside knowing it's coming. I was totally gutted yesterday when I saw her write that number, as I said, I nearly cried. I got home and my very caring friend said simply 'so how did it go?'. I glared at him. Oh yes, if looks could kill and all that. I can't believe I didn't burn a hole in his face with my evil eye stare. I snapped 'I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT' and stormed out the door. I took the golf cart for a ride and talked out loud the whole time. I'm sure the people I passed thought I was possessed! I was grumbling and pissing and moaning. I was mad at myself for being upset, as after all, I freaking did everything I could do. I was mad at my friend for asking when I've asked him not to ask. I was mad at Den for nothing at all. I would have kicked the cat if we had one. Yep, that's how pissed off I was. Why? Dunno, just was. Some things just can't be explained. They might be hugely important to us and we just don't know why. This is one of them. I've been told it's selfish. Maybe, but it's just so important to me. I can't explain it any better than a person who is shy can explain why he's shy. There really sometimes are no explanations for our feelings. They just are there and there's really not much we can do about them. OK, I'm done now.

I'll tell you all about what I've decided....after I tell my friend. It's time now. I think it's fair he hears it from me first and not read it on the blog.

I'm off to look for a shrink with a couch.

I'm alive

and kicking!

Computer was dying. Needed to get a new one. Been loading stuff on so no time to blog, read blogs, read emails, basically keep up with my important stuff! Well, that and it's been too nice to be inside!!!

I'm off to the pool right now but....

IT'S BEEN A FANTASTIC WEEK!

I've been kicking butt at the gym. Tomorrow is WI. I've been 100% OP. I've stayed out of my recliner for eating...all in all, I've been a good girl!

I'll write tomorrow!

It's like buttah

Eight sticks of the fatty stuff if the truth be told. Oh, yes, the truth is being told. I lost 2 pounds this week. I was pleased. To me, it was 2 pounds of 'real' fat. It's too far in to be water weight. It was pure unadulterated fat! Oh wow does that make me feel good!

I'm sure some of you reading this are thinking 2 pounds? All that work she did? 'Just' 2 pounds? Hell yes 'just' 2 pounds. I was thrilled. Last week I busted my batootie and 'only' lost 1.4 I think...so 2 pounds was a lot more. If I could lose 2 pounds every week, I'd be at my goal in less than a year. Holy moly what a feat that would be!

The challenge is giving me a few fits. Not eating in my recliner has been mostly fabulous. It's tough for my night time snack as we don't have a table in the house. I know you're not supposed to eat in front of the TV, but I love the Biggest Loser. If I wait until after it's over for my snack, it's 10PM. So, tonight I had my hot coco and WW cookie on the floor! Hey, I wasn't in my recliner!

Gee, my other challenge was to not eat after 9PM. I really think that's not going to work for me on certain days. I'm not sure what's worse, eating after 9pm or not getting my points in. You see, if I don't eat after 9PM tonight, I'll not get all my points in again. Some days things just get catty wampus. WW day is one of them. I get up and out the door at 8AM. I of course don't eat before that and I take my coffee with me until after WI. So, I get home at 10:30 and am hungry so I eat my breakfast. Now I'm too full to exercise right away. I learned today that it's a no no to exercise after eating oatmeal! It lay in my stomach like a lead brick while I was on the treadmill. Every step was hard. I was hoping I was done and only 20 minutes had gone by. I thought I was going to die before I hit 60 minutes! I could only manage 10 on the elliptical also. That is not acceptable to me. I got back from the gym around 2 or 3 and then had to do something for our local paper. I was going to eat the rest of my oatmeal from breakfast then, but I was still stuffed. Doing the stuff for the weekly paper takes me about 2 hours. All of a sudden it was after 6pm and I wasn't hungry yet! I had dinner at 7PM. This sure is a learning process! Not sure what I'm going to do about that 9pm thing yet. Not sure how important it is in the long run. I'll do more research and then make my decision.

So, it seems the kicked up exercising is helping. I shall keep up with that this next week for sure.

I hope I live through it.

Tomorrow is WI day

and I've definitely done all I can do this week.

I was 100% OP each and every day. I got all my HG's in. I was a good girl.

I never ate in my recliner one time. Well, this morning I fixed my oatmeal and settled in my recliner and even took a bite before I realized what I did. I got out of the chair before I swallowed, so I'm not counting that one! One night it was so cold on the lanai (that's where our only table is) I had my snack on the kitchen floor!

I doubled my exercise this week. This is what the routine looked like.

Tuesday: 3 mile WATP and 2.5 miles on the bike
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: 2 mile WATP with the weights, 15 minutes on the treadmill, 15 minutes on the elliptical.
Friday: 2 mile WATP with weights, 30 minutes on the treadmill, 5 minutes on the elliptical.
Saturday: 60 minutes on the treadmill and 20 on the elliptical
Sunday: 60 minutes on the treadmill and 30 on the elliptical.
Monday: 2 mile WATP with weights in the morning and 3 mile WATP with the belt in the evening.

I never ate after 9PM.

So, I did all I can do this week and now it's up to the scale gods.

I hope they smile on me!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

Won't you be my neighbor? OK, I loved Mr. Rogers, I'll admit it. It's just that I'm on such a high here, I think it would be awesome if all of you could be here with me!

Today was nearly perfect. The sun was out, the sky was blue, I was with friends. I saw baby pigs...just how much better does it get?

Today was our eco tour over near Punta Gorda. We were to leave at 9:30 and I was driving. We'd tour the farm, go somewhere else and see manatees, head home and have dinner on the way. Sound awesome? It was.

I planned, and it was perfect. It could have been a disaster, but planning ahead made it a spectacular day. I got up at 6 and had my coffee and packed snacks for the trip as I didn't know where we'd be eating and I wanted to make sure I'd have food. I changed clothes and did the 2 mile WATP with the weights before I left. I was short on time and thought hmmmm I can either eat breakfast or exercise. I did both. I exercised, grabbed my oatmeal and made my friend drive my truck. Sorted. Best of both worlds I say!

We got there and were an hour early so of course they headed to the snack bar. Oh was I prepared. I had a yogurt and grapes while they had cream of broccoli soup and bear claws! I didn't want what they had...amazing.

The tour was fabulous, but that doesn't pertain to this blog. Pixie will Ponder that one later on. We left there and went to see the manatees and left there starving to death. We stopped in a small town at a place nobody had ever been. I was prepared and not worried a bit. If all else failed, I'd have a plain salad and eat when I got home. I had brought along fat free salad dressing and I could always munch more grapes in the car on the way home if need be. Well, this place turned out to be such a nice surprise. I had grilled tilapia, a baked potato and grilled veg. I specifically asked for it to be prepared with no oil. It came looking fabulous. It tasted better! I hate veg as lots of you know. These were awesome. Just zucchini, yellow squash and red peppers but they were excellent. In fact, I ate the fish and veg and brought the tater home for Den. I was stuffed and it was lovely and I wasn't deprived at all. Man what a great feeling!

I got home and did a few things and then tossed on the grubbies and went up to the gym. I did 4o minutes on the treadmill and 5 on the elliptical. Who's your mama???? God do I feel awesome. No, really, feel me!

So, let's tally up this months challenge so far. Today is day 5.

Days I planned my food and stuck to the plan: 5
Days I stayed OP: 5
Days I exercised: 4
Days I did NOT eat in my recliner: 5
Days I did NOT eat after 9PM: 5

Damn I'm on a roll!!!!!

Kick it up a notch

Am I watching Emeril again? Ah, no, but I wish I were.

I decided to ramp up my exercise. Kick it up a notch. Slam it into high gear. What the hell was I thinking? Oh, I watch the Biggest Loser and they sweat and they're old and they can do it. I thought I'd try doubling my exercise this week to see if I had a bigger loss. Who let me think???

It's cold here. I went to the gym. I wanted to warm up on the treadmill and then hop on the elliptical. Some old fart was on the treadmill so I started on the elliptical. I did 5 minutes. The old guy on the treadmill kept glancing out the corner of his eye at me. I think he wasn't sure about the drool that extended from my slack bottom lip and went to the floor. Either that, or he thought I was choking on my tongue and needed the Heimlich maneuver. Thank God he finished and left the room. My 5 minutes ended and I hopped over to the treadmill. Actually, hopped might be too strong a word. My legs felt like Jell-O and my arms were shaking. So, technically, I wobbled over to the treadmill. I did pretty good on that. Hiked at about 3.7 mph and then ramped it up to 4.5mph and did a bit of jogging. That lasted 15 minutes. I went back to the contraption of death, oh, I mean the elliptical and did another 5 minutes. My breath was coming in ragged gasps and I was sweating from every pore. I'd had enough. My MP3 even quit playing. I didn't have pockets so I shoved it in my bra. I suspect it got waterlogged. I went over to do my stretches and found I was breathing too hard to stretch. Doh, I forgot to cool down so back to the freaking treadmill I went. I walked on that for several minutes and started to feel better. I went to do my stretches but somehow ended back up on the elliptical! Did another 5 minutes. Now, definitely stick a fork in me...I was done. I got back on the treadmill and went slow until my heart settled back in my chest. Did my stretches and headed back home.

I walked in the door and immediately popped in my 2 mile WATP DVD...the one with the weights mind you! It was tough but I was doing it. If you're not familiar with the Walking Away the Pounds DVD's...Leslie Sansone is the devil. Her goal in life is to kill me. Oh, she pretends to have my best interest at heart, but she doesn't. She tells me to lift my knees higher, and then says 'oh doesn't that feel good?' Hell no that doesn't feel good! The muscle in the back of my leg feels like it's going to snap! She then has us do side steps. One of the girls in the group (coven) says 'oh I feel it in my abs.' What the hell is an ab? Do I have an ab? I feel something, but it's mainly in my ass and thighs. I'm pretty sure an ab isn't there! I finished the damn DVD anyway and I didn't die. So I guess day 1 of ramping up my exercise didn't kill me.

Something in the belly region kind of hurts. I wonder if it's an ab?

It's probably a hernia from lifting the #2 weights!

Oh goody, I can't wait to exercise tomorrow.

Who the hell turned the heat off?

Sorry, that has nothing to do about weight loss. It's just cold in Florida right now. I winter here for heat, not cold! Oh, sure, it gets sunny and nice in the afternoon, but I expect more! OK, back to your regularly scheduled program.

Yesterday was WI. I lost 1.4. Yippee! Shit! Yep, mixed reaction for sure. I understand 1.4 is good. It's nearly 6 sticks of butter. Yada, yada, yada. I worked my ass off last week. I wanted more. I gained 2.6 the week before and I wanted to lose it last week. Whine, whine, whine, poor baby didn't get what she wanted and she's pissed. She didn't deserve the gain and she didn't deserve to not get rid of the gain. I am allowed to piss and moan and get it off my chest though. OK, done now. No use crying over not spilled fat.

How's my new 30 day challenge going? Very well, thank you for asking! I'm only eating out at the table. I'm not eating after 9pm. I'm exercising my ass off and planning my food. I'm being a good pixie.

I've encountered a problem though that I'm just going to have to work though. It's the not eating after 9pm thing. I don't like it much!!! The first night, Monday, I got home from cards and got into my nightie and fixed my snack. I sat out in the lanai and read a magazine and had my cup of milk, my WW cookie, and a cup of grapes. It was lovely. Came back into the house to watch 'Two and a Half Men' with the guys. I do adore that show. We were half way through the show when I realized that I had planned a WW ice cream sandwich for my snack also and I forgot to eat it! I was just heart broken!!!!!!! It was now after 9pm and it was lost to me forever! OK, so I could have it tomorrow, but I'd planned the points for it that night and now I couldn't have it. Damn and blast!!!!

I shall work on this. You bet your ass I'll be checking my food planner before 9PM from now on!

A new day has dawned

OK, so here it dawned dark and rainy. On the bright side, I woke up and that's always a good thing!

Today brings the first day of my next 30 day challenge. I've thought a lot about what I want it to entail and I think I've finalized it. I'm going with the old adage of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it', so I'm keeping last month's 3 items, and I'm going to add 2 new ones for this month.

So, drum roll if you please! Debby's 30 day challenge to herself is as follows!

1. Stay OP for 6 days a week
2. Exercise a minimum of 5 days a week, a minimum of 30 minutes each time
3. Plan food ahead
4. Do not eat in my recliner
5. Do not eat after 9PM (8PM on nights I don't play cards)

Sounds simple you say? Well, I think it's going to be very challenging.

I haven't eaten at the table since 2005. That's a lot of 'eating in my recliner' habit to break! I believe that when I want to eat at night (please notice that I didn't say 'When I'm hungry at night'), it's because I'm in the chair I eat in. I associate my recliner with food. OH SHIT! I JUST REALIZED I ATE MY BREAKFAST IN MY RECLINER! Talk about habit!!!!! OK, since I hadn't officially put my challenge in writing, I'm NOT counting that breach! Good grief, I told you this is going to be hard!

I love the park I live in. I play cards nearly every night. That means I have to eat dinner at 5PM so I always want, and really do need, a snack afterwards. I really want to get out of the habit of eating late at night and then going right to bed. So, this month, my snack will be consumed the minute I get home from cards and then that's it. I'm also going to try to keep it healthy and not comfort food. I'll save a fruit for at night. That should keep my tummy satisfied for the rest of the evening. If I want ice cream or popcorn etc. , I'll have it earlier in the day. What a concept, night time snacks in the afternoon when I'll have time to work them off! As it is now, I save several points for my night time snacking routine. It should make my food planning easier to not have to do that for sure!

Wish me luck people. If I complete this 30 day challenge, it'll definitely be the first time in my life I went 2 months being 'good'. I really want to do this for myself. It should let me see patterns in my weight loss and or gains. I tend to gain one certain week each month...well I think I do. This should show me if that's true or not. If I do find that's true, maybe I can start working on a way to help that week. Eat more points, eat less points, exercise more, exercise less....whatever.

Knowledge is power.

Last Day! C'est finis!

That's right boys and girls. Today is day 30 of my 30 day challenge. Wow what a boon this has been! Such a simple thing. Such a stupid thing. Why did it work? Who knows? Am I happy it did? Hell yes!

I read a Weight Watcher article about setting goals. I thought about it, and I did just that. They might be a multi billion quatrillion dollar business, but they do know their stuff.

I knew enough to make it reasonable, that's why I chose 30 days. I knew enough to not make it overwhelming, so I chose 3 things. I know my weakness, so I made that one of the things.

You're wondering what my weakness is? It's telling myself no. I'm not good at it. Not good at all. If I want it, I have it. Oh, I'll half-heartedly argue with myself. Now Debby, you know you don't REALLY want that bag of potato chips. You know you should have an apple. Apple my ass! If I want potato chips an apple certainly is NOT going to help!

I had a WW leader once that said, and I do quote here, "You have to want the pickle more than the potato chips." Yes, she was specifically talking to me. I looked at her like she was from another planet! I will never ever ever want a pickle instead of potato chips. They're not the same thing. I had an 'aha' moment a few years ago. A real head slapping, OMG, epiphany. She didn't mean I had to want the taste of the pickle over the taste of the potato chips, she meant I had to want to eat the pickle, eat what is better for me, a better choice, than to choose the potato chips! DOH! It took me about 20 years to figure that one out!

OK, so now let's apply that to the challenge. Bet you thought I forgot where I was going with this didn't you????? Nope, I didn't. If, every single time I want something, I give in to myself, I'll never learn to 'want the pickle'. I have to learn what it is to face a craving and defeat it. I have to do it over and over. Eventually, when the craving comes, I'll be able to 'want the pickle'.

I have never been able to fight myself when I really wanted something to eat. Never. I've been known to drive 25 miles to get a Whopper. When Taco Bell first opened, we didn't have one in our town. Next town over did! I have gotten up out of bed, dressed, gone to the store in the middle of the night for a candy bar. I have missed important parts of movies to get popcorn that when I went in I said I'd not have. Yep, when the feeling comes over me that I want something, an even stronger feeling comes over me letting me have it. This summer, for the very first time ever, I fought a craving. Read about it here if you'd like. I almost fainted! I hadn't done it since, obviously, as I gained 26.2 pounds this summer!

So my challenge had to include something about telling myself NO. Hence the 'Stay OP 6 days a week' part. I don't use my flex points during the week. I take one day each week and eat what I want. It's always been called my 'no rules day'. It works for me. Sometimes. In the past, that 1 no rules day often became 2 or 3 as, like I've said, I have a problem saying no to the princess! That's why my challenge said 6 days a week and not a full 30 days. If I could do this, it would be monumental. There's no way in 30 days I'm not going to want something that I can't have. If I can tell myself no, wow, what a boon!

There were 3 occasions in the past 30 days that I really, really, really, wanted something. The only thing that kept me from having it was my challenge to myself. That was it. Not knowing that I didn't want to gain more weight. Not knowing how hard it is on my psyche to have to lose weight again I've already lost. Not knowing that I really want to reach my goal. Nope, none of that. It was just that I wanted a clean 30 day record! Cowabunga dude! Have I made a discovery or what?????

My exercise routine was this.

Yep, that's right. I did nothing! I needed to incorporate exercise into my life, so that became number 2 on my challenge. I should have gone for baby steps, but I'm glad I didn't. I jumped right in with both feet so to speak. My challenge was to exercise a minimum of 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes a day. Man oh man did I do that. I didn't want to, but I did! Usually exceeding the amount required too!

Planning is the key to good weight loss I think. Write it down. Plain and simple. I can't wait until I'm hungry and then decide what to eat. That's a disaster waiting to happen. For me to succeed, I need to plan ahead. I need to plan my food for the day before I take my first bite. So, the 3rd thing on my list was to track my food. Plan, journal, whatever you call it. I can't tell you how many times that has helped me. I'm starving, what can I eat? Oh let me just see what I planned and have something off the list. Oh ya baby. Sometimes I'm so smart I amaze myself!

So, today is the last day of my challenge. I will have NO problem making it through the rest of tonight for sure. It's been a flying success in every way. For the full 30 days I accomplished all 3 of my goals. Wow do I feel great about myself!!! I mean really, really, really proud!

I'll be working tonight on the next one for sure. Look for the update tomorrow.

Why I love Weight Watchers/Day 30

Oh do click on that to make it larger!

Thank you to Ian for holding up the backdrop and to Daphne for the tea towel from Paris! That's my Mama's cast iron skillet, my favorite Piglet plate and my favorite hand painted juice glass. Eating is about the visual for me as well as the savoriness.

I had my coffee this morning and I was starving. I wanted sustenance. I didn't want puffy O's and yogurt. I wanted something that would satisfy me, something to stick to my ribs. WW allows me to do that!

I created this frittata. It's got a whole veg in it. It's got both of my healthy oils for the day in it. I had a sliced nectarine, one of my fruits, and a WW yogurt, one of my milks. That's a WW English muffin you see there topped with sugar free marmalade. A glass of Crystal Light tops off my feast. Can you say burrrrrrrrrrp? I spent 9 points on that meal, but look how many of my HG's I got in at breakfast! Not only that, I couldn't finish it all. So, now, I've got my lunch or snack or whatever I call what I eat next and the points are already counted!

How I did it.

3.5 ounces of raw potato grated = 1 point

2 teaspoons of olive oil = 2.5 points (both healthy oils for the day!)

1/8 cup grated onion = 0 points (I figure the onion and pepper = 1 of my veg for the day)

1/8 cup diced red bell pepper = 0 points

1/2 cup egg beaters = 1 point

4 slices Canadian bacon = 1 point

14 grams low fat feta cheese = .5 point

1 WW English muffin = 1 point (whole grain)

1 T sugar free marmalade = 0 points

1 sliced nectarine = 1 points (1 of my fruits for the day)

6 oz Weight Watchers peach yogurt = 1 point (one of my milks for the day)

I just love that Weight Watchers gives us the opportunity to satisfy our appetites. Most mornings I'm happy with oatmeal or cereal and yogurt. That wasn't going to cut it this morning and it didn't have to. Variety is indeed the spice of life.

I'll have to wait a while before exercising today for sure!