If I gain weight this week..

Happy Christmas Eve! I'm still tracking my food! But if I gain weight I got a good reason or two.. or three.. Could be the chocolate cravings I had last night (satisfied with 2 servings of Ghirardeli chocolate squares..) or..

Or it could be my choice for Christmas Eve breakfast at The Nickel:

Cameron's Puppy Pile. Cause I was craving pancakes & meat.. I ended up having half the fried egg.. that saved me a point (which came in handy for the sausage which is a full sized chicken apple sausage) and the pancakes.. buttermilk pancakes, that is.

Good Stuff and really hit the spot. I should be set for the rest of the day right?? ;P

Nickel Diner Breakfast Menu

End of Week 50

..or something like that.

Was away since Thanksgiving (when I weighed about 182.6) and then returned the night of the 11th from Orlando.. Which I must note, the 2012 program went into effect on the 2nd of December. Not happy about that. My points plus target went from 29 daily points plus to 26... Yes it makes a difference to me.

So the last week of vacation I went off program, still tracking & walking a LOT but didn't worry about how many points I ate, which resulted with about a 5lb weight gain..

Started fresh on the wagon this last week tho even while I was down with a cold. Lots of salad, fruits and and yogurt.. with an occasional treat now & again.. Hot tea w/ honey or watered down hot cocoa-moo for my throat.

19 DEC 2011: 182.1 lbs

So.. I still have the cold but I'm going to try and stay on program til the end of the year and then start over fresh with a "Week 1.2" type log.. or something like that just to make it clear that it's the 2nd year on program or 2012 or what-have-you.

One thing I know. It's hard (and almost impossible) to stay on program at Disney World. I'm not saying it's not possible, it's just very freaking difficult. =)

End of Week 45

14 Nov 2011 183.3 lbs
07 Nov 2011 187.2 lbs
31 Oct 2011 180.8 lbs
24 Oct 2011 182.9 lbs
After some serious off the grid eating, going back on program was the best thing for me. Hoping I'll be able to stay on track during the holidays.

End of Week 44

07 Nov 2011 187.2 lbs
31 Oct 2011 180.8 lbs
24 Oct 2011 182.9 lbs
17 Oct 2011 183.4 lbs


Went off program for a week.. maybe it's the halloween candy.. ;P Hopefully I'll level out next week..

End of Week 43

31 Oct 2011 180.8 lbs
24 Oct 2011 182.9 lbs
17 Oct 2011 183.4 lbs
10 Oct 2011 183.6 lbs

End of Week 42

24 Oct 2011 182.9 lbs
17 Oct 2011 183.4 lbs
10 Oct 2011 183.6 lbs
03 Oct 2011 182.8 lbs

Half pound loss. Not bad considering I was attempting to stay on plan as much as I could, when I could while at Food & Wine Fest. There were a couple days (especially near the end) where staying on plan was next to impossible. Lunch at Kona was probably the best I've done without resorting to eating salads. I had the teriyaki steak which came with two 1/4 cup scoops of sticky rice and a half cup of mac salad. All things very measurable. I ended up eating all of the mac salad (I know!) and leaving 2/3 of the sticky rice for Sean who can have about 43 points a day.

I did a LOT of walking. Not so much on the travel days but I did get my minimum 9,000 steps in. Other days I walked anywhere from 17-27,000 steps. Seriously. My legs hurt every day for most of the first half of the week. I didn't want to walk near as much on Thursday. I actually started to fall asleep on the bus to the Disney Hollywood Studios (where I would often start my steps from the bus queue over to EPCOT via Boardwalk and Crescent Lake. That usually got me my minimum pretty quick and is a an easy walk over mostly flat surfaces. The "hills" are where the walkway slopes upwards/down to the International Gateway or along the bridges that connect the paths to the Yacht & Beach Club or the IG or Swan/Dolphin.

One thing I *know* I'm not accomplishing is walking 20k steps a day at home. I really need to do the "Walk it Out" again or the free run on the WiFit (that way I can have the news or something on while I'm exercising).

Sean said he didn't do too well (I must say he had less opportunity to get steps in what with it being a WORK trip for him.. I assume they are all sitting at those conference tables and desks). We ate a couple late night meals (anything after 7pm is late IMHO) so there wasn't as much chance to walk it off or process it during sleep. He was 227lb this morning which is a 5lbs gain.. but.. I'm sure it's just a temporary setback. Goodness knows I've had plenty of those! (not to mention I've been living on a plateau this past month).

Steps

So I carried the poncho with me and if it rained, I must have been inside American Adventure or The Land Pavillion because I missed it. I managed to walk just over 25k steps yesterday (and yes my legs are feeling it) That's not bad considering I got a late start.

Today I got up shortly after Sean and managed to brush my teeth and get dressed so we could eat together at the food court. Yogurt of course! It's forecasted to rain every hour with 90% chance. I don't know what to think about that. I'm supposed to meet up with a friend to go geocaching but don't expect that to happen. She suggested we go see a movie but there's nothing really good out there. Movies are expensive unless it's something worthwhile like Lord of the Rings or the latest Star Trek or Harry Potter film (IMHO) or a decent art house film. I haven't kept on that scene in a while, not working at a movie theatre. =)

Anyway we'll see where the day takes me.. Hopefully I'll get my 9k steps in.. That's all I want today.. My legs hurt.

End of Week 41

Posting from the World.. I'm using yesterday's weigh in at my mom's for the official.. just as a warning..

17 Oct 2011 183.4 lbs
10 Oct 2011 183.6 lbs
03 Oct 2011 182.8 lbs


It's supposed to rain in the World today but I'm still hoping to get my steps in.. Since I had to come back to the room it turns out that housekeeping was already here so I'm uploading most of the Halloween Party pix to flickr.. (I think Sean has many on his cel as well) as the battery died in the middle of the parade I think.

This week should be super fun (and challenging) food-wise. It being food & wine fest while we're here.. I need to make some smart choices.. or just keep walking.. =)

End of Week 40

Still on that plateau..
10 Oct 2011 183.6 lbs
03 Oct 2011 182.8 lbs
26 Sept 2011 183.3 lbs
19 Sept 2011 183.4 lbs
12 Sept 2011 185.5 lbs


Today I'm including a short list of things we are not allowed to have in our home anymore (because I can't finish the bag before they go bad):
1. craisins
2. Famous Amos Cookies
3. big container of hummus

or... they are just too naughty to have around:

1. nutella
2. ginormous bag of peanut M&Ms

Also I seem to eat better when we go out to eat because I think about what I am eating more.. I snack too much at home. I am a snacker. I come from a family of snackers.. (My dad is a snacker. My mom is a snacker..) I am probably the only person (or famale at least) who I know thinks gerkins cream cheese & buddhig ham is a good hors d'oearvre or braunschweiger on toast is a nice treat now & again. And don't get me started on cheese. I love cheese.. **Sigh** Can you tell I'm from the Midwest?? ;P

The weight gain this week is water weight though.. and the M&Ms I had I'm sure..

End of Week 38

plateauing again..
26 Sept 2011 183.3 lbs
19 Sept 2011 183.4 lbs
12 Sept 2011 185.5 lbs

Savor the Yumminess

, originally uploaded by meekorouse.

Running our bi-monthly errands is hungry work. I blew 12 points plus on this yummy and decadent version of The Habit's BBQ Bacon Char Burger for Sunday lunch. This is sans cheese, mayo or bun.. (they actually offer a lettuce wrapped option on their menu) so I don't have to stick with the BBQ chicken salad (at 11 pp) if I'm not wanting the big salad.

I did opt for a side salad tho.. (pictured in background) One thing if I ever do this again.. EAT THE SALAD FIRST!

I was depressed for the loss of that yummy grilled onion,bbq and bacon taste in my mouth once I ate the salad.. and part of what I enjoy about being naughty is being able to savor the yumminess!

Lesson hard learned..

End of Week 37

Yeah.. what happened to week 36..

19 Sept 2011 183.4 lbs
12 Sept 2011 185.5 lbs
05 Sept 2011 183.5 lbs

I haven't been walking as much and am in a bit of a plateau. I don't know if my secret Dec 1 goal of 170lbs is going to happen.. but I need to step it up a bit. It takes more than just staying on program to lose weight.

End of Week.. 35?

let's see.. I forgot to post my weigh in last week.. and the week before that I was in Florida.. so..


05 Sept 2011 183.5 lbs
29 August 2011 186.5 lbs
22 August 2011 (FLORIDA)
15 August 2011 185.8 lbs
08 August 2011 186.0 lbs
01 August 2011 190.5 lbs

Really having trouble moving beyond the 185/186 mark.. I did try to stay on program while I was in Florida, but despite trying to go for healthier options there is a lot to temp oneself with and then there's things that you can't really do much about.. the not knowing what is in things or the exact amount of serving portions.. Sean & I don't share our plates yet so much (other than to order 2 of something and split both plates).

The other day I had a hard time not being hungry between meals. Having a half portion of pita chips and hummus doesn't really satisfy.. and it literally eats up a lot of points plus (2pp for a 1oz serving of hummus and 2pp for 14g of pita chips.. a full serving would have been 8pp which is about 1/3 of my daily allotment *sigh*).

End of Week 32

15 August 2011 185.8 lbs
08 August 2011 186.0 lbs
01 August 2011 190.5 lbs *gain*

nothing really to see here.. didn't do much walking this week and wasn't feeling that great about it. I did try to keep on track though despite some pies arriving Thursday.. Those are 10pp each so... not exactly doing amazing.. This weekend will see a LOT of walking though.. we'll spend some time at the parks (or at least walking to the bar). =)

End of Week 31

08 August 2011 186.0 lbs
01 August 2011 190.5 lbs *gain*
25 July 2011 *no weigh in* (was in Orlando)

Yay! all that walking in Orlando paid off hopefully.. My weight dropped within a couple days of returning from Florida.. thinking I was retaining some water from all that humidity and the fact I physically unable to sweat much.

Turning 43 and finding I'm still tempted by sweets but trying to keep it in check. Today's treat is a half of cupcake later.. and I already walked at least to my 9k steps today (walking meter was green when I got home from errands today!)

So if I can keep up the momentum, I'm about halfway to my initial goal weight of 150! 36 lbs to go! (then 20: my last 20lbs!) My mini (secret) goal is to be at 170 by December.. that's 16 lbs in 4mo.. we'll see!

End of Week 30

Despite doing a lot of walking last week, I didn't do enough to keep from gaining weight.. of course the 2 buffet meals didn't help (or the ice cream sundae I had last Friday night).


01 August 2011 190.5 lbs *gain*
25 July 2011 *no weigh in* (was in Orlando)
18 July 2011: 188.2 lbs *gain*
11 July 2011: 187.8 lbs

I think I need to work on making better food choices when I'm at the World. I need to NOT allow myself so much naughtiness just because I'm walking more. Staying within my 29 points is very difficult when at the World and in social situations.

When we go out in December Sean & I will need to not only NOT eat at Buffets but will need to begin splitting meals.

Lowrider

Lowrider, originally uploaded by meekorouse.

Last night's dinner.. (minus that bun, dressing, and croutons) Yummy.. poblano peppers (under the cheese) were yummy treat.

End of Week 28

It's another one of those weeks..
18 July 2011: 188.2 lbs *gain*
11 July 2011: 187.8 lbs
04 July 2011: 188.3 lbs

End of Week 27

Difference of a half pound this week..
11 July 2011: 187.8 lbs
04 July 2011: 188.3 lbs
27 June 2011: 192.2 lbs


Surprise! Sean is starting to blog here too!! He's been on this weight loss journey with me & has actually done a bit better than me.. He just doesn't like to brag about it. ;P

Also.. I started feeling run down (cough/sore throat) last Thursday I want to say.. and now I got a full blown cold. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I last went out and about Tuesdsay of last week.. so it seems like I can't go out without catching something from someone or somewhere. *grumble*

Looking forward to feeling better though because this is just awful. Not getting any sleep even with the nightime cold medicine. Switching to Sudafed today so maybe the post nasal drip will at least stop. Sean's getting tix to see HP7.1 & HP7.2 for Thursday night.. So I've got something to look forward to! Must get well!

Introduction - A pound a week, that's all I ask.

Did you think that only Pamela would be posting here? Well, weight loss is easier when you have someone losing weight with you. So, both Pamela and I have been working on this together.

Like Pamela, I got back on the Weight Watchers wagon at the beginning of the year. On January 3, I weighed in at exactly 250 pounds (BMI of 36.9). My ultimate goal weight is 155 pounds (which is pretty close to my Devine Weight.) I knew that 95 pounds would be a hefty amount of weight to lose, so I also have a simple intermediate goal:

A pound a week, that's all I ask.

You might think that sounds like it's a slow rate to lose weight. However, at a pound a week, I'll be under 200 pounds (and be considered "overweight" instead of "obese") by Christmas and be at my goal weight just before Halloween of next year.

So, it's been 6 months, or 26 weeks since I resumed my weight loss journey. On July 4, I weighed in at 221.8 pounds. 28.2 pounds lost over 26 weeks works out to a rate of just over 1 pound a week. So, I'm meeting my goal so far. Anyway, future blog entries from me will concentrate on how I'm accomplishing my journey rather than how far my journey has progressed. My next post will be "Essential tools for portion control."

End of Week 26

04 July 2011: 188.3 lbs
27 June 2011: 192.2 lbs
20 June 2011: 190.5 lbs

Happy Fourth of July!!!

Mid Week Mittwoch

Yesterday I got in my 34/30 jeans! They were rather snug but I was able to wear them. I can't help but wonder if they were mis-tagged at the factory but I'll take the little victories. Otherwise I really don't feel any different. Still a lumpy fat chick..

OtoH my unofficial weigh-in this morning was 190.9 lbs, so never underestimate the power of exercise and staying within your daily point range. =)

End of Week 25

It was a donut week.. or should I say.. "Hubig's Pie" week??

27 June 2011: 192.2 lbs
20 June 2011: 190.5 lbs
13 June 2011: 191.8 lbs

lunches like this get me in trouble

lunches like this get me in trouble, originally uploaded by meekorouse.

Does this look like half my daily allotment of points plus?? It is..

Bagel Thin: 3 pp
black bean garden burger: 5 pp
Laughing Cow queso wedge: 1 pp
hickory bbq 1tblspn: 1 pp
smidgen of Kirkland salsa: 0 pp

1 oz Zapp's Chips: 4 pp

TOTAL: 14 pp (I'm allowed 29 daily)

Oh but yes it was yummy!

End of Week 24

20 June 2011: 190.5 lbs
13 June 2011: 191.8 lbs
06 June 2011: 191.3 lbs

MorningStar Farms

MorningStar Farms Chipotle Black Bean Veggie Burger



We purchased a box at Costco.. it comes as 12 pack and each patty is about 120g or as it says on the box "1/4 pound size!" Whatever.. All I know is each one is 5 points plus so I heated one up and put a spoonful of Costco salsa (it's the only one we have left that didn't say "use within 7 days of opening" otherwise I'd have used the good stuff..)

I like morningstar farms veggie burgers.. I don't know why we thought we might not like these. I do. They are just a littlest bit 'spicy' (that's got to be the chipotle seasoning people) but I'm thinking if I had some fresh avacado or gaucamole, that would have gone well with it.. or maybe a spicier, hotter salsa.

It had a bit of chargrilled flavoring to the edge, I suppose to make it more "authentic" or something. Personally I don't want my veggie burger to taste like it was cooked with meat in it. When I want a real cheeseburger I'll eat a real cheeseburger.. when I want a veggie burger, I want a veggie burger.

Tonight I wanted a veggie burger. It was good!

Mango Chicken yum!

Sean & I were out running errands today and hit up the Baja Fresh in Atwater Village after our Costco run.. I ended up getting this yummy salad:


Mango Chipotle Chicken Salad
Tortilla shell filled with Romaine lettuce, chicken, avocado, Cotija cheese, mango salsa, and a chipotle glaze. Served with chipotle vinaigrette.

Hmmm.. I didn't notice any cheese.. maybe they forgot?? As it is I didn't need the cheese, nor the tortilla shell or the tortilla chips they hand out for no reason at all.

According to my weight watcher points plus tracker, the tortilla shell (that I didn't eat) was 12 points plus! I'm so glad I left it behind! The salad itself was pretty yummy. Rather than pouring that oily dressing on it, I added some pico de gallo from the salsa bar (the thing they have so you can dip the chips they give you). Between the salsa and the mango salsa it was just enough sweet and spicy. No need for salad dressing.

The points plus for the salad alone was 7 points plus so I would definitely order this again assuming I'm out & about near Costco and needing food.

Last Friday

, originally uploaded by meekorouse.

I went to Rite Aid to get some eye drops from my new optometrist (hopefully this one will work out & Sean will want to see him too). While I was killing time I tried out the blood pressure thingy they got there.. You know the ones you see in places like Target or your average drugstore.

I don't know if this one is calibrated correctly but it's the lowest I've ever tested. I have a pretty low average for blood pressure normally.. but this was a nice surprise. Maybe it's the Weight Watchers but who knows?

End of Weeek 23

little gain this week..

13 June 2011: 191.8 lbs
06 June 2011: 191.3 lbs

The mistakes made this week are not exercising like we were doing in Orlando.. or not doing the "Walk it Out" (just haven't been in the mood so we need to change that)

I also think some of my food choices weren't the best. When I eat things that aren't the best for me I usually opt for healthy sides.. for example if I can have a salad or fresh fruit rather than fries I will. Last Thursday I ate a late dinner from a food truck... split a lemon grass chicken and a pork banh mis as well had a taco (that had 2 tortillas on it) Sunday I had half a side of french fries with a buffalo chicken sandwich I've been craving off and on.. I did remove the top bun and had it with no blue cheese but the chicken itself (being breaded) was NOT the thing to have.. nor the fries. I usually ask for a salad instead of fries but yesterday for some reason I didn't bother. I need to remember to bother and ask.

End of Week 22

Still don't feel any different but the scale says otherwise: down 3.7lbs this week!

06 June 2011: 191.3 lbs

20 May 2011: 195.0 lbs.
23 May 2011: 194.2 lbs.

It's probably water weight.

End of Week 21

20 May 2011: 195 lbs.
23 May 2011: 194.2
16 May 2011: no weigh in

didn't exercise or walk a lot this past week as I've been sick; that coupled with the 2 cheeseburgers I ate yesterday.. I assume it's a temporary weight gain.

End of Week 20

Back from 2 weeks in Florida.. down a pound and now have a cold! fun stuff..

23 May 2011: 194.2
16 May 2011: no weigh in
09 May 2011: no weigh in
02 May 2011: 195.3 lbs
25 Apr 2011: 196.4 lbs


Tried to stay on track while in Orlando, but usually didn't.. Too many good meals at Royal Pacific (IoA/Universal) and Disney World.. lots of yummy desserts and at least 2 chicken dinners at 50s Prime Time/ Tune In Lounge (substituting the mashed potatoes for a 2nd helping of green beans at least once) Lots of salads.. love the Asian Salad at the ABC Commissary at DHS... not so much a fan of the salads at Contempo Cafe.. I prefer the Turkey BLT (on multigrain) w/ the sesame bean salad as a side.

While Kat Kora's Kouzzina is not my favorite place to eat.. the service leaves something to be desired.. the food is excellent and the breakfast was pretty good. The Wave at the Contemporary Resort is still really good.. not too much meat but really good service and the breakfast is amazing!! The fruit plate is great and the bacon cheese grits are really yummy.. this from someone that doesn't eat grits. The sausage is kind of 'meh' don't get it if you can help it.. it's like brown & serve or something.. very lackluster.. the eggs Benedict and the spinach and feta scrambled eggs are good but the spinach isn't actually scrambled into the eggs.. which I found odd. They have a buffet now too.. but honestly splitting 2 meals and a fruit plate was more than enough. There's lots more food I tried and we did our minimum walking every day but Saturday.. and we still managed to stay around the same.. with just a little loss!

So the key I guess is to stay on program, treat yourself.. keep walking.. and stay hydrated. It was hot when we went.. crazy hot.

Steak Salad from the Nickel Diner

Steak Salad from the Nickel Diner, originally uploaded by meekorouse.

Tonight's dinner was just the right thing! Huge Salad (hold the dressing!) accompanies a (approximately) 6oz steak. Served Medium.. it was yummy & juicy and provided just the right flavoring and juices to the salad and the iceberg lettuce wedge.

End of Week 17

Monday Weigh In.. wasn't looking forward to it.. (had a corndog yesterday and was feeling under the weather for some of the week.. sore throat, cough, run down..)

Here we go:
02 May 2011: 195.3 lbs
25 Apr 2011: 196.4 lbs
18 Apr 2011: 197.2 lbs


so down a pound. yay.

BTW: Sean's weigh in was 231.1 (his start weight 250) so he's on track as well!!

End of Week 16

25 Apr 2011: 196.4 lbs
18 Apr 2011: 197.2 lbs
11 Apr 2011: no weigh in (Florida)
04 Apr 2011: 198.2 lbs

Spent last weekend in the Bay Area.. After abstaining from food, Friday night I split 2 orders of garlic fries at the Giants game as well ate a veggie dog w/ fixings and bun. Tried some of Sean's chowder in a breadbowl (ate most of the top).

Saturday we ate at Public House where I had half a Reuben sandwich, half a bacon avo burger, and a scoop of yummy chocolate salt Humphrey Slocombe ice cream for dessert (and 2 Tiburon Blonde ales).

Sunday we ate breakfast at Sally's (chorizo scramble, 2 corn tortillas & 2 cups of French Roast w/ milk & Splenda).. lunch @ Doyle Street (Asian Chicken salad minus much of the dressing the noodles scraped to the side & 2 cups of coffee w/ cream & sweetener)& dinner at Pasta Pomodoro (healthy chicken & half a side order of spinach salad w/ iced tea)

So.. despite being good during the week, last weekend was full of indulgences..I'm grateful I lost any weight at all; but it was a good time & a good Easter.

End of Week 15

I got my 10%
18 Apr 2011: 197.2 lbs
11 Apr 2011: no weigh in (Florida)
04 Apr 2011: 198.2 lbs
28 Mar 2011: 199.4 lbs

So I re-adjusted my goal on weight tracker to 150 lbs.. which is what my little tracking thing on the side column is set to. The Weight Watchers Weight tracker app says my ideal weight is 117-146 so we'll see what I do if/when I make 150 lbs.

Last week in Orlando wasn't ideal eating (we started w/ attending the Celebration Pie Festival on Sunday the 12th!) but I did do a lot of walking.. one day I did well over 30,000 steps.. Ironically the day I went to the mall with our friend Stacey I walked the least. Maybe I did more shopping than walking. ;P

One of my favorite walking loops was walking from the Studios (formerly MGM) around the Boardwalk, Yacht & Beach Club resorts.. and back again. Walking EPCOT isn't as ideal as I thought it would be as there's a lot of hovering and guest congestion in many spots. Magic Kingdom is next to impossible to get in a 'zone' for walking. Animal Kingdom is better but there's a lot of people stopping there as well. Walking around Riverside (the resort we stayed at) is pretty good as long as you're not stuck behind a horse carriage. =)

I'll be doing some walk it out today most likely.

Weight tracker app

Tried to track my weight this AM since I won't have a scale handy Monday & the app won't allow that. Unofficially then, I weighed 197.6 lbs. We'll see how that turns out later!

Donut

Today was definitely a 'donut' day.. Sean & I hit up the new place "Schnitzely Schnitzel" for lunch today.. I posted about it on my downtown blog.. HERE

I did order a salad though.. LOL

Personal Trainer Coach: Walking

Every week or so you consecutively make your step target on the Personal Trainer: Walking game for the Nintendo DS, you get an option to increase your walking target by another 1,000 steps.. I was putting it off for a week or so but finally gave in the other night to increasing it to 7,000.

I was able to get my target during my morning "Walk it Out" session..


My total active time was 74minutes (while I was doing the "Walk it Out" on the wii) My steps are still being recording by the activity meter while I do some housework, run some errands or check the mail.. Knowing I have my step target taken care of already, relaxes me just a bit and gives me once less thing to think about..

End of Week 13

Weigh in day.. and I'm just short of my 10%.. but I'm sure I'll get it this week!!!

04 Apr 2011: 198.2 lbs
28 Mar 2011: 199.4 lbs
21 Mar 2011: 200.7 lbs


On a personal note: Sean has given up (diet)soda for Lent and while I haven't, I am drinking less of it.. I miss my Cherry Coke Zero. We went to McDonalds on Saturday & I had diet coke w/ my breakfast (I can't do coffee or juice in the morning.. doesn't stay down..) it just wasn't quite the same. I passed up getting a bottle of Coke Zero at Costco when we went. It's not nice to wave forbidden things in front of people trying to abstain.

Instead we've been drinking lots of Diet Snapple and water (and I order iced tea where I can tolerate it.. don't like the "tea" in the soda fountain).

One thing I've learned from this is I need to remind myself now & again: "yes, Diet Rootbeer and 7-UP are soda too.." Just because I don't prefer them doesn't make it so.. LOL

Sean made pancakes!

Sean made pancakes!, originally uploaded by meekorouse.

Sunday morning surprise: Sean decided he wanted to make some pancakes. We had picked up some Fiber One pancake mix a couple weeks back to give it a try.

This is the second time we've had them & I really like them. They're 5 points plus per serving (which is about 3 normal sized pancakes.. you remember 'normal size' right??)

I added a tablespoon of agave syrup for 2 points plus and some sliced banana (which is 0 pp on the new program).

Hurray for Sunday breakfast and for getting to eat like a regular person. =)

Sleep

Can't sleep.

I know getting a good night's rest is important for proper functioning. I've always seemed to have suffered from one form of insomnia or another. Lately my mind keeps me up more than usual and the natural sleep aid I usually take didn't work.

I've been sleeping a lot during the day so I'm sure that's part of the problem but when I want to get back on track, it's not happening. I know what's keeping me up and what my mind is on. That doesn't help (the knowing why)..

Not sure what the point of this post is really. I guess just to remind myself to work on getting better, smarter sleep.

Maybe it'll help me lose weight if I'm processing things & allowing myself the recovery time in a healthy manner.

End of Week 12

Today's weigh in.. not too exciting but at least it's movement.

28 Mar 2011: 199.4
21 Mar 2011: 200.7 lbs
14 Mar 2011: NO WEIGH IN (was in Michigan)
07 Mar 2011: 203.2 lbs

I feel like I'm hitting a plateau..but we'll see if this sticks. So far I don't feel a difference and I don't think I look any different, and no.. I'm not keen on taking pix of myself every week.

What am I doing: I'm trying to do "Walk it Out" every day (except when I was in Michigan I did at least 20-40 minutes on the hotel's treadmill) I earn an average of 35-45 activity points a week.. I use between 2-5 of those activity points.. and I don't touch the 49 weekly points that WW gives folks for 'special occasions'

Sometimes I think the 29 points are too much and then there are days, (like last Wednesday) when I was wanting a giant triple hot fudge sundae every day.. mainly because of my mood and not that I needed it.. and fortunately I had some Fiber One 90cal brownies laying around so I had that with a cup of milk instead.. not the same but, the real thing wouldn't have helped me either).

I am still making food choice mistakes now & again.. but I'm trying to learn from each one.

Rhythem Island Master!

Tonight I actually completed "Walk it Out" the walking in place, stepping to the beat game on the Nintendo Wii.



While I didn't break any records, I was able to complete the last 19 pieces I had after my morning "Walk it Out" session..


So now the question is.. what do I do now? I can keep playing my profile as it is, walking around a complete island, making 'rainbows' every day.. or I can start over with a new profile and maybe change my game up a bit.

Sean suggests I play my profile one more time looking to see if that annoying coach keeps asking if I've found any capsules laying around the island.. LOL One of the glitches is she keeps saying that when I got stuff already or telling me I don't have enough points to unlock anything when it's pretty obvious I do.

Another thing that bugs me is how chatty the coach is or the size of the box that pops up when I'm being told something. I want to move or click on something and the "Walk it Out" coach is just yammering on and blocking something I'm trying to click on. ugh.

I do like the game despite personality problems with the coach interaction.. The only other big thing I'd like to see if they have a "Walk it Out 2" is maybe more stuff..

Comments I have after completing my first time:
1. how about a download-able expansion pack on the wii?? Maybe add another Island after the first one is complete??

2. Maybe more detail on the creepy "Prisoner" like faceless townspeople??

3. what's with so many fast food joints, and one church?? it's creepy. Who goes to church at 3am?? Obviously the people in "walk it out" do, because there's only one church.. and no wonder they walk it out.. there's so many "burger champs"

4. how about a town hall.. or a library or maybe a museum or some art galleries? Is it that much more memory to have different town building things to unlock??

5. Why so many cars?? I mean "Rhythm Island" is only 5mi around (something like that) and you can get anywhere easily from the stadium.. so what a bunch of lazy people that need cars "you're helping make life easier" REALLY?? #lame

5b: Come to think of it, where are the gas stations?? all those stupid cars & no gas station to unlock? What about postboxes?? There's blue Mailboxes but not Post Office or mailboxes for all those houses and apartment buildings.. There's fire hydrants but no fire station or police?? You can't tell me if there's only one church there's not going to be riots?? I'm over-thinking things here & being silly but you see where I'm getting?? There's lots of stuff that could have been done but didn't.

6. Most of the music is pretty good (I personally don't like anything slower than 110 bpm but whatever) Sean wanted more J-Pop.. I liked the Black Eyed Peas, Katy Perry & Madonna stuff.. although I did like the trance & Jazz stuff too.. My favorite song to walk to was "Get Your Freak On" by Missy Elliot.. (surprise!)

6B. I wish there was a way to skip to the next song if something is playing that stinks.

7. I wish that I could click on the map while I'm walking and see where the rainbow pieces were or town building things without pausing the game and leaving my walking.. I've taken to walking while I scroll through the map but then I find I stop because the controller is wonky to use while trying to move over the map. (I don't like stopping because I got my Nintendo DS "Personal Trainer: Walking" exercise meter in my pocket and that needs to stay red for me to count my exercise on Weight Watchers)

8. In the end I have over 2400 points that I wish I could have transferred to Sean who is doing the town-building the difficult way..

End of Week 11

A week later (and a day) posting my weigh in from yesterday:


21 Mar 2011: 200.7 lbs
14 Mar 2011: NO WEIGH IN (was in Michigan)
07 Mar 2011: 203.2 lbs
28 Feb 2011: 204.5 lbs

Spent last week in Michigan, attempting to stay on program.. didn't do the best job with food (or getting my milk & veggies in every day) but I did manage to use the hotel's treadmill every night for at least 20- 40min.

getting the steps in

, originally uploaded by meekorouse.

Still managing to get my 5000 steps in despite being away from home. There's a very small exercise room with a treadmill and elliptical trainer, so I was able to do about 30mins tonight.

Doesn't make up for what I ate though. Oh well. New Week tomorrow!

End of Week 9

07 Mar 2011: 203.2 lbs
28 Feb 2011: 204.5 lbs
21 Feb 2011: 206.0 lbs


I'm a little surprised since (along with a 5 points plus pint of Weider's Pear Cider) I had this yummy cheeseburger:

That was Saturday night at Clancy's Clubhouse in Anaheim.. My daily points plus is 29 and when the day was done.. I'd eaten a total of 45 pp (29 of them at dinner!)

We had walked over 20,000 steps at Disneyland but I think next time I'm going to skip the cider or something.. It was yummy and was grateful for the time to meet up with friends,(we don't see folks near as much since we moved to DTLA).

I managed to do some Walk it Out this morning; burned off about 300+ calories and unlocked some 'magic clocks' and a couple zodiac pieces. When I'm finished unlocking everything I'll most likely start a new profile and do it all over again.. along with other exercise of course.

Another New Record

newer record for pretty much everything I think.., originally uploaded by meekorouse.

Wasn't happy with the pace I kept Sunday morning, so I did another round of Walk it Out late Sunday night from 11pm for an hour and a half. I managed to unlock several zodiac pieces too..

I usually ignore whatever the steps the game says I did because they don't match what my actual steps from my activity meter say... and it's the "Personal Trainer: Walking" meter that I use for my Activity Credits..

What I do use from the above image is the calories as a guestimate of calories burned. It makes me feel good if only to think I might have burned off the yogurt I was about to eat before I actually have breakfast. =)

This past week I earned a total of 50 activity points.. (we were at Disneyland Saturday so I did a good 20,000 + steps but I don't think it made up for what I did Saturday night when we went out to eat).. which is why I am left with 30 of the 50 activity points remaining.

This will all get zero'd out this morning when I start the new week. I am so not looking forward to weigh in..

End of Week 8

Not good day, stuff going on beyond my control. What do you do?? I took a nap.

This morning's weigh-in was a good one but I just can't get excited about it..

28 Feb 2011: 204.5 lbs
21 Feb 2011: 206.0 lbs
14 Feb 2011: 205.5 lbs

so it took me 2 weeks to lose that 1 pound. meh.

Making Good Choices

Why the Gain??

Rather than losing any weight, I actually gained a half pound. I'm trying to keep myself accountable as to why I might have actually gone the wrong direction a little bit.

First of all, the past week I didn't do "Walk it Out" for most of the week/weekend before.. I was sick in bed from about Friday to Thursday this past week after Sean got released from Good Samaritan (we think I caught the flu somewhere). When I did feel better I tried to make up for it and did manage to get my walking in. I think I would have shown a bigger weight gain if I'd done nothing.

Along with the lack of exercise, my food choices weren't the best. I usually don't use my activity points or go in the hole if I can help it.

Thursday last week we had dinner at Starry Kitchen..


I thought I was doing OK but I got a wrap instead of a salad.. The "wrap" was a 13 inch flour tortilla which is about 10 points plus on its own!! Holy Cow.. I'm sticking with the salad from here on out.. That one mistake cost me a LOT of my accrued points.

Saturday I had a LOT of points left after going out to dinner at The Nickel.. (I ordered the 'eat your vegetables' without the mashed potatoes and it was still about 4 points plus (the buttermilk mashed potatoes would have cost about 15 points plus if I had allowed myself to have them). Since I had a bunch of points left over we headed to Big Man Bakes to get some minis.

I still don't know how many points the minis actually are.. but Sean weighed them at about 28g each. We guestimated them at 3 points plus.. I had 3. I was done for the day. I didn't use any activity points or weekly points. Still, that's about 9 points of minis vs. 3 servings of yogurt or.. 3 cups of cereal or 3 servings of Pop Chips or a tablespoon of guacamole and some chips, or a protein style In N Out burger. There's lots of things you can do with 9 points and I decided to treat myself to minis. Those are empty calories I just had.

Sunday night we had dinner at Urban Noodle which is like an Asian Fusion sort of place.. well it's a noodle place (not a Pho place) and I ordered Beef Chow Fun:

According to my tracker 1cup of Beef Chow Fun is 9 points plus.. so I measured that out onto my plate the best I could.. I also had a pork bun appetizer (which arrived after our dinner did) and that thankfully is about 5 points plus according to the tracker. I don't think what I had was very healthy but it was yummy.. and I have some leftover for today's lunch.

The weird thing is.. Sean & I would split the beef chow fun in the past (and have at least one appetizer) and I would manage to be full. I told Sean that I wasn't stuffed and I definitely could have eaten more.. so while the food is still good, having less of it didn't satisfy me and I blew all those points.

I think the thing for me would be to eat more salad or veggies and compliment that with some semi-bad choices. When I eat stuff like the chow fun, I should partner it with a side salad (assuming something like that is available) The good thing is Urban Noodle does have an Asian Chop Salad.. so I will give that a go next time..

and when I have something like 9 or 10 points left in the day I should probably lay off the mini cupcakes.. Once in a while is OK but having it be a 1/3 of my daily intake was not a good idea..

While I don't know if any of these choices were what contributed to me gaining weight it probably didn't help.. This whole thing is a learning experience though. I'm learning as I go.

End of Week 7

Another weigh in.. and I guess all that loss didn't completely stick..

02/21/11 206.0 lbs
02/14/11 205.5 lbs

gained 1/2 lbs.. better luck next week I guess.. well, at least I'm not sick or running a fever this week.

best results to date..

best results to date.., originally uploaded by meekorouse.

Scores for this morning's Walk it Out session.. Doubt I'll walk that many any time soon.. it was mostly an accident..

Ready to Wear

Supposedly I've lost about 14lbs (between being stressed and sick.. well, nothing's permanent til it is). I haven't noticed any viewable changes. My 38/30 jeans fit OK these days.. and by "OK" I mean I don't have to lay down on the bed anymore to put them on. I did try that with my 36/30s.. and well.. we won't be trying that anytime soon! =) (Maybe when I hit my 10% goal)

Today I did notice something. Being sick I'm out of clothes etc so I ended up having to wear one of my few 'girl-y' clothes.. my Merona Size 16 crop pants. I was able to put those on without sucking anything in. Yay! Honestly I don't remember ever being able to wear these (even when new) without sucking something in.. my gut or my butt. So hurray for the little things.

Yes, I'm still obese I know this.. but I'm getting there.. and if I keep up the 2 lbs a week thing I should be to my goal weight by December. Right now I'm on track to hit my 10% before May... Every little bit helps!

iPhone app bug

This morning I stumbled onto what I found out is a bug with the Weight Watchers iPhone app. It seems that when you update your weight on the iPhone it automatically puts you into maintenance when you set a new goal weight..

I'm very grateful that a good friend let me know what it was because I was having trouble finding anything about it on the message boards. Of course I wasn't looking for anything about a bug with the application.. It didn't make sense that I would get to eat MORE points after losing 14 lbs.. Once I went to the website and fixed it.. editing my goal (for the same 10% loss) it gave me an option to 'stay on maintenance' or 'keep losing' and sure enough, it had defaulted to maintenance so I changed my ticky box to 'losing' and it fixed my daily points right away:



Hurray! I'm not excited to eat less, but I'm certainly happy to keep on program the correct way. =)

End of Week 6

This past week has been a rough one.. what with my temporary weight gain last week, Sean's hospital stay at Good Samaritan and my getting sick (still sick but temp seems to have gone down). Weigh in today seems off.. in a good way.

14 Feb 2011: 205.5
07 Feb 2011: 211.6

So I got my 5% goal.. plus.. Here's a screen shot of my weight tracker graph:


I was given a choice of making a new ultimate goal or I could do a smaller goal of 10% (which would be 198). If you see along the top it says my daily points plus is 35! 29** (I've been doing 30 points plus) The weekly is always 49.. that's what I can use for special occasions or, like last night I only had 5 points plus left for dinner and my dinner was 6 points plus.

To be fair the only reason I had 5 points plus for dinner was because I'm sick and I had 3 cups of Trader Joe's Spiced Pear Cider throughout the day.. and a cup of that particular cider is 3 points plus... So yeah, I blew a 1/3 of my points plus on juice. Bummer. (FWIW I had oatmeal for breakfast & lunch)

I don't understand why my daily points plus value went up**.. Is it because of the wacky week I had last week?? Is it because I set a new goal so they 'zero' me out so to speak?? I honestly thought my daily points plus would have gone DOWN not up...

Granted losing 6lbs in a week is not considered a good thing.. I'm cutting myself some slack because honestly that 2lbs weight gain was water weight.. So assuming I didn't gain 2lbs in water weight I would have lost maybe 4lbs and not 6lbs.. or maybe not.

A good average is 1-2 lbs a week. My personal goal is to lose 2 lbs a week.. to lose more than that isn't considered a healthy rate by Weight Watchers from what I understand. Sean, (who says he will post here but has been otherwise occupied what with being in the hospital) has been averaging a pound a week. He did his weigh in and got a "you're losing too fast" warning..

If you look along the bottom of my photo it has my stats average to about 2.1 pounds. That may or may not be too much. This is one of the few times I wish I was able to talk to a consultant, so I'd know what the deal is with the points plus plan. Why do I have MORE points this week?? Should I stick with my 30? Is there a glitch in the online program? (ie: if I'd done an ultimate goal would that have kept my daily points plus rather than increasing?)

I guess that's what the message boards are for..

**EDIT: I found out this is a glitch with the iPhone app. I went back to the site and updated my goal and it gave me the option to 'stay in maintance' or 'keep losing' so I changed it. Suffice to say I won't be updating my weight loss with the iPhone app any time soon!


PS: Thanks to my friend Sam for the iPhone bug help & info!

End of Week 5

Another Monday! Today's weigh in was not so good. I know WHY I gained, but here's where the blogging gets a little too personal for me.

Let's just blame it on the Super Bowl and leave it at that?? =)

07 Feb 2011: 211.6
31 Jan 2011: 209.7

I'm just bummed b/c I was so close to that 5% goal.

Fruit!

One of the things I really like about the new Points Plus program is that I'm finally able to eat fruit w/out getting penalized (which is how I looked at it when on the old program).



Previously, a medium banana cost me 1.5 points.. on the NEW Points Plus program, it's 0 points plus

In fact most fruit and veggies are 0 and so I can have as much as I want! Yay!

Despite having as much fruit as I want, I still manage to only have around 4 servings of fruit a day. A banana here, a couple clementines there..

We live in downtown LA, so we have many options for hunting down our fruit. We get the bananas at Costco for like 3lbs for around $1.88; cuties we get at the Arts/District adjacent Fresh & Easy and the other fruit like apples (and more oranges!) we get at Superior for a crazy deal.

For last minute options we have the Central Market on Broadway, the Farmers' Market at City Hall on Thursdays and now Two Bits on 5th near Spring at the Alexandria.. The fruit at Two Bits is all organic, so the prices run a bit higher than Superior or Costco but it's a convenience too.

Hurray Fruit!

Walk it Out Rainbow

Walk it Out Rainbow, originally uploaded by meekorouse.

One of the features the Nintendo Wii game "Walk it Out" has are free spheres you can collect while walking to make a daily rainbow. SeanYoda actually collected all his color spheres on his first time out on the game today,

No, it's not a double rainbow.. but it's still neat!

Defining "A Slice"

Pandan Flan and Durian Cheesecake featured as part of the DineLA menu at Starry Kitchen.

Sean tries to help 'size' my slice of cheesecake, originally uploaded by meekorouse.

Sean and I went to Starry Kitchen for DineLA (it's the 2nd week). One of the things we puzzled over while eating was trying to figure out what the Weight Watchers Points Tracker app meant by "a slice" of cheesecake. Whatever it was we had half.. but the thing is, the tracker doesn't specify what a slice is.

Do they mean the sort you get at your average restaurant? Do they mean the sort you get in a Sara Lee box?? Doe they mean the size we got at Starry Kitchen (which this was half but they are by no means Claim Jumper size to begin with.. they are 'normal sizes'.. when normal was you know, normal) We settled on a half of 'fast food restaurant cheesecake 9 "points plus" (which I think is an insult to Starry Kitchen. Everything there is made from scratch.. so no fast food anything!).. I still wonder.. What is a slice?

more food pRon from our Starry Kitchen visit here

End of Week 4

Another Monday, another weigh in. Saturday we were at Costco and picked up a new scale. The Weight Watchers scale was on instant rebate (til the 30th) for 14.99.. which seemed like a good deal. This new one weighs in the .10 percents and seems to be more in agreement with the wii fit.. which.. is a good thing?

01/31/11: 209.7 lbs
01/24/11: 214 lbs.
01/03/11: 220 lbs (start weight)

Here's my wii Fit BMI test/weigh in..I weigh in on the wii fit every couple days: (I switched it to pounds but you can still see the BMI and of course the little wii fit coach says "ooh you're OBESE!" sigh.. it's so snarky!)



**SIDE NOTE** I entered my weight in the weight tracker part of Weight Watchers app & I got a warning about losing too much weight too quickly. I'm chalking this up to the scale issues we've been having.. but it's good to know that my 2 lbs a week personal goal is a safe one.. **

Ironically I was worried I wasn't exercising enough as I've been just walking and not running or training for one of the Disney 5K's that I'm wanting to do this year. I'm considering doing the "couch to 5k" training (which is actually less walking than I've been doing already at first) I walk every day. and the couch to 5k has several rest days that I wouldn't consider doing (what with being on Weight Watchers).

Daytime Lion

along with regular walking I've been doing the "Walk it Out" game for the wii but carrying the exercise meter in my pocket to keep track of my activity time.

A couple days ago my "Personal Trainer: Walking" target was increased from 3,000 to 4,000. I did some housecleaning this morning along with some walking in place so I was able to get my 4000 step target by 10am.

After lunch I played "Walk it Out" which is like the wii fit meets the Sims: You walk in place for points, the points in turn can unlock routes on a virtual island, music tracks that you can later play while you walk, trees, streetlights & bridges. The steps on the wii game differ from my steps counted on the exercise meter, another reason to keep the meter in my pocket when I'm playing.

I got hungry for dinner earlier.. I only had 10 points plus left for the day without getting into the weekly allowance. I ended up picking up a turkey & ham salad from Ray's Old Bank Market. I asked for no cheese & dressing on the side:

It came with a little avocado which was easily removed. I picked the olives out as well. I would say it had about 2 olives worth of sliced black olives but I wanted the salad to be as low point as possible. I left the artichoke hearts (there was only 2 pieces) and the meat I guessed at 3oz/2oz of Boar's Head brand meat respectively.. (I'm pretty sure I over-estimated) I measured the dressing which was 1/4cup exactly.

Along with some Fiber One bars, I'm pretty full a couple hours later. Yay!

End of Week 3

Monday means weigh in day.. I'm having scale issues. The wii fit and the bathroom scale are NOT in agreement, but I'll default to the scale (which weighs me a little different every time).

01/24/11: 214 lbs.
01/17/11: 215 lbs
01/03/11: 220 lbs (start weight)

So officially a difference of one pound (or 6 overall since starting). The wii fit says I weigh about 211.. so.. who knows? I guess I was expecting a better outcome because of the walking I did yesterday. When we got back last night I checked in with the "Personal Trainer: Walking" game on our Nintendo DS.

Personal Trainer: Walking



The "Personal Trainer: Walking" game for the DS comes with 2 'exercise meters' and the game which can record up to 4 exercise meters.. (you have to buy the extras separately but we don't need more than 2).

The Exercise Meter is about the size of a pedometer but doesn't have a counter on the outside. It looks more like a keyfob remote and uses a larger size watch-style battery (CR2032). After carrying around the meter in my pocket all day, I get our Nintendo DS to check my record for the day..

Once the little meter 'drops down' into the screen it saves the record and then goes over the findings.. showing the segments of activity and counting up the steps. The whole process takes 2 or 3 minutes.

After it totals up your steps, it assigns your walking to an 'animal type' like daytime koala or daytime sheep.. Sean got "daytime deer" once and yesterday we both got "daytime horse" (that being we walked mostly in the day and our style of walking "was like a horse.. covering large distances with short periods of rest" =)

Here's what my screen looked like:

total steps for yesterday was 15,586.. not as much as I'd like for a day at the park.. but.. *shrug* I know I didn't walk as much as I would if I were hanging out at the park by myself & not riding several attractions. It's a pretty good average though for being at Disneyland, (I'm expecting my count to go up considerably when we're at Disney World later this year) and I had fun visiting with friends. =)

Afterward it has you choose a stamp for what kind of day you had and gives you a new mini goal (along with the standard 3,000 step goal).

It's basically a fancy pedometer, except for whatever reason I haven't had a lot of luck with the regular pedometers. They either don't count my steps in my pocket or 'refresh' themselves in my pocket. When they're on my belt they count when I'm not walking or they fall off my waistband, (or worse they fall off & I don't notice). So far I'm liking it and having fun with it. As you walk there's supposedly games you can unlock but I haven't explored that yet: perhaps another time.

steps for 1/24: 4638

Treating myself

The original plan for Saturday was to head to Hollywood & Highland and walk down to the Egyptian Theater to see a Lord of the Rings (director's cut) movie marathon.. OK, the original original plan was to check out Art Weekend LA but then Sean got these tickets.. then our plans fell to the wayside as his work changed things.

Whatever, I started the day doing some walking (just in case) we ended up seeing the films. 10+ hours in a dark theater aren't conducive to exercise. So when we couldn't go we headed out after lunch to check out a few galleries.

Lunch was food from home.. I ended up having a Lean Cuisine Philly Style Steak & Cheese Panini which (if you go to their site) is just loaded w/ sodium. Otherwise I actually liked it. I heated it up (doesn't take long) and ended up eating it open face. It had plenty of meat on it.. (I forgot to take a photo of it before starting to eat so I only have a photo of half of it)


It reminded me (a little) of Trader Joe's Philly Cheese Steak pizza which I just LOVE and can't eat too often (and especially not these days).

For something sweet to finish it off, Sean had brought home some other WW novelty treats to try. These ones are in the old packaging and say "1point" on the box. They are actually 2 "points plus" but, much more affordable than those "4 Points plus" ice cream candy bars..

the bar image on the box is obviously not to scale. =)

It was pretty sweet and not too latte tasting.. I thought I tasted a caramel accent to it though. It's artificially flavored so it's no surprise it reminds me of those instant iced cappuccino mixes I would stir into my skim milk years ago.

For 2 points (plus) I'm not complaining..

I WILL be happy though when the new packaging comes out in the next month or so..


Day 20 Sat 22 Jan: "Personal Coach: Walking" daily steps: 8487 (@445pm) **EDIT** 10,341 @718pm
Day 19 Fri 21 Jan: "Personal Coach: Walking" daily steps: 10606

Keeping Active

One of my 2011 goals is to 'walk, bike or wii' everyday. I'm not necessarily doing that EVERY day.. but I am trying to do something even if it's walking in place.. I did about 45min today on top the walk to & from the City Hall Farmers' Market.

Sean is taking the stairs up from checking the mail. He's got me taking the stairs down at least, although I seem to have a depth perception issue even when wearing my contacts. =)

One thing I'm noticing is the 3,000 step daily goal is pretty easy to attain as long as I get off my butt.. We hit the mark on our way back walking from visiting City Hall this morning around Noon. City Hall is 3 blocks up the street.. so double that plus the walking around at the Market (getting a healthy lunch to go) and visiting the "National Coffee Break" event on the 3rd floor.

We had PTI (Pardon the Interruption) on and that was easy to start walking in place while they did the 'rundown'.. Sean went to do something else so I changed it to another show and kept walking. I did 45min of continuous stepping in place.

You can do any number of things I've found to get "activity credit" if you want. Playing the wii is an easy and fun way to do it, whether playing Wii Sports or doing the wii fit. You can do an exercise DVD (there's a list of stuff including "Walk off the Pounds" or you can take a walk around the neighborhood, walk the dog (if we had one) or a zillion other things. Just move. That's about it. I'm working on it. I'm no expert of course, and I've gotten out of habit.


Day 18: 20 January Nintendo DS "personal trainer: walking" 9820 steps

Dining out @ the DIsney Soda Fountain

19 January: Day 17 (Day 1 was 3 January)


Sean had the evening free, so we headed to Hollywood & Highland on the Metro to see Tron Legacy at the El Cap.

We left early enough to have dinner, and while there's a lot of choices in the area (including places on my points tracker app) we ended up at the Disney Soda Fountain which is has a separate entrance from the theater.

I did pretty good for the day and had 17 points plus left. Sean ordered the BLT on sourdough and I ordered the Chicken Ranch Wrap:


You get an option of chips or fresh fruit and as seen, I opted for the fresh fruit. We both ordered diet cokes to accompany our meals. The wrap had plenty of chicken and not too much dressing. The tortilla I am told was a chipotle herb wrap, but to simplify it, it really is just a flour tortilla.

The problem with dining out is that you can't really know exactly how much food is actually in your food. I was guessing that it would be somewhere between 10-15 points based on how many chicken strips were in there along with the tortilla and the dressing. I ended up going with the amount for a Sandella's Chicken Ceasar Wrap, although I've never eaten at Sandella's to know how much to compare it to. Either way I ended up not using all my points for the night.

The dinner was very filling. I ended up having a time finishing my meal, so that really changes my mind about eating a tourist-y place like the Soda Fountain. They do have a lot of comfort/ kid friendly options but there's a few things, like my wrap or a roasted turkey on ciabatta that might be a yummier and healthier alternative to the burger and mac n cheese rut.

For our movie treats Sean opted for a small non-buttered popcorn (I don't do popcorn in general and never movie popcorn).. we both got the 20oz Diet Pepsi (yes Coke is served at the Disney Soda Fountain Shop and Pepsi at the concession stands,, and coke products at the theme parks..)

The El Cap didn't have anything I could eat at the concession stand (I could get the King Size Reece's Cup & only eat one or two, but didn't. Instead, I opted for a Fiber One 90calorie bar I had in my purse (yes I took my black Harvey bag out for a walk) and that's only 2 points plus so I had had that instead.

I had the Nintendo DS "Personal Trainer: Walking" w/ me
Total Steps for that evening were 4,690.

What are Points?

**Disclaimer** I do NOT work for Weight Watchers nor am I a nutritionist. I'm just another fat cat trying to lose some weight on the new Points Plus Program. That said..

What are points?


Weight Watchers assigns 'points' to food. On the old program, treats like the Weight Watcher Novelties were nice.. (they were on sale at the downtown Ralphs so we got a couple boxes):


the 'candy bars' are the closest I'll be getting to those "Snicker Ice Cream Bars" any time soon.. on the old system they are (as noted on the box) '3' points (vs. approx. 10pts for the Snicker Ice Cream bars).

But that was the OLD system.. packaging for the new points plus hasn't come out yet.

On the OLD system you figure the calories, fat and fiber to get your points.

Here you can see the bar is 150calories, 9g of fat and.. 3g of fiber. On the old system they only count up to 4g of fiber.. so while eating high fiber food is good it won't help you lessen your points. On this ice cream novelty it doesn't matter (because it's under 4) so a point is around 60calories50 calories so a way to 'cheat' that is to divide 50 into 150 then add 90calories (for the 9g of fat) then subtract the 3g (or 30calories worth of fiber). Not an accurate way to figure the old points.. (that's why it's also handy to have the points on the box or have your points calculator).

**EDIT/Correction: 1103am Thanks to Ben for the point calorie correction! It's been a while since I was on program with the old system..

On the NEW points plus system you do NOT count calories. Instead, you count fat, carbs, protein and fiber... I have NO CLUE how the math is worked out but on my "Points Tracker" app it figures to 4points.

This is happening a LOT with many of the food I was used to eating. My 0 or 1points "Progresso" soup is now 1-2pts a serving, (which is still better than a regular can of Progresso soup) my Yoplait light fatfree yogurt went up from 2points to 3 points. My sugar-free Jell-O is still 0 points.. My double fiber Oroweat bread is 2points (can't recall if it was 1 or 2 points before it's been so long since I was counting).

So I haven't figured it out or if there is a cheat. I'm not worried about that right now honestly. I'm re-learning the program and while it's still early, I'm happy with the results. I figure if I can lose an average of 2lbs a week I will be well on my way to looking "OK" by May. It'll be nice to have 20-40lbs less of me to carry around for the D23 Scavenger Hunt this Spring. =)

Goals and My Points

At Christmas I was weighing 220lbs (not the most I've been but the most I've been in a REALLY long time..) I've always had issues with my weight; even in the army it was hard for me to keep within a 5lb limit of my proper weight target and weigh-ins always seemed to occur when I was weighing the most during the month. After my service was up I immediately gained about 20lbs which only fueled my binging. Looking back at those photos I only wish I still weighed 140lbs.. It really doesn't look fat from where I'm sitting now.

I tried going back on program in early 2010 and failed. I wanted to lose 80-100lbs by May of this year. I think that is what made me fail... Looking at the big picture and not allowing myself the little things that make the process a success.

This time I'm doing smaller goals and getting serious this time. I think it does help that I'm on the new "points plus" program because I don't feel so deprived. The points are higher for food I'm used to eating but on the other hand I can treat myself to fruit and veggies, which wasn't such a treat before. If you had to count points for the banana you ate, verses the fat-free yogurt what would you pick?? I ate a LOT of yogurt. =)

I was already on the weight watcher site; but to use the eTools you have to be a member and since the new points plus program is much harder to calculate (I haven't figured it out) than the old program, it behooves me to join for the 3month trial membership which I've done.


Differences in programs I've noticed: I personally don't get anymore daily points than before, but how it's done is different.

On the old points program I got 26-31points; I was encouraged to "bank" points for special occasions that I knew I'd need extra. So planning ahead was key. I'm not that good.

On "Points Plus" at my start weight of 220 I got 31points a day. No banking. Instead there are 49 weekly points that can be used for whatever. That special occasion you don't plan or times when you go 'just over' your limit. I call that "going in the hole." I personally don't like going in the hole because it means I didn't keep better track of what I'm eating and not making the right choices. I understand the 49 points is there to be used.. but it doesn't have to be.

Activity Points: these were on the old program but I honestly don't recall how they worked.

On "Points Plus" I'm getting credit for stuff like playing on the "wii fit" or taking my normal everyday walks, bicycle rides, etc. You can use the activity points like the weekly points.. The "points tracker" system is defaulted to use the activity points AFTER your weekly points have been used up. There's a way to change that but I haven't figured it out yet. I'm sure I'll post when I've got it figured out. As of now though, I don't tend to use my weekly points much.. last week I used 13 of my weekly points over the course of the week and the week before I think I used 5 over the course of a week.

At the beginning of the new week (weigh in day) you start all over with new weekly points so you if you don't use it you lose it, but honestly.. I'm trying to 'lose it' not eat as much as I possibly can.

I think knowing I have the weekly points there as insurance is encouragement for me to try and stay within my limits. Whatever keeps me on program right?

OK.. so here it is so far..

Start Weight: 03 Jan 219.6lbs
Week 01: 10 Jan 217lbs
Week 02: 17 Jan 215lbs

Starting my 3rd week at 215lbs has lowered my daily points to 30. I still get the 49 weekly points. As my daily points gets smaller, I"m curious to see if I use those weekly points more than I have in the past. Hopefully I'll get used to proper portions again and I won't be tempted to snack on the wrong things.

My first goal is 209lbs which I think is a 5% of loss.

New Blog New Me =)

Starting a new blog at the start of my 3rd week on Weight Watchers Points Plus..

What this blog is or hopefully will be, is a place I can put all that food pRon and program related stuff. Neither Sean or myself is affiliated with Weight Watchers or have any nutritionist experience.

We've been 'on program' before with good results. It's going off program, forgetting (or ignoring) those good habits you learn, eating a bag of chips, etc. that make the weight come back on. I used to walk A LOT and I got down to 170lbs. I kind of plateaued and got discouraged. I wasn't walking as much, I kept eating...

I started on the NEW points plus program on the January 3rd. SO yeah, I'm a little late on starting this blog. I won't be journaling my food here.. but I will post about the food I eat, the places we go, the games we're playing on the Wii or the DS. How my tracker app is working out.. that sort of thing.

Sean may or may not be posting here as well. He's on program with me. Yay!