Weigh-in for 4/12/2014

Last weigh-in (3/22/2014) : 142.4 lb

This weigh-in (4/12/2014) : 142.8 lb

Change : 0.4 lb gained
 
Total weight loss since Izzie : 57.6 lb


It's been about three weeks since my last weigh-in and some weeks have been better than others in that time.  We've been to a record five birthday parties in the last eight weeks and another two weekends in there were my kids' birthdays.  It's hard to say no to cake every single week.  I didn't every time, but when you are tempted week after week, you give in.  The kids got sick . . . again, taking me out of the gym for a week, which never helps.  Even though my number seems to be hovering between 142-145lbs, my body fat percentage has decreased from 26.2% to 25.2% so at least some of the weight has become muscle rather than fat and I am happy enough with that.

I plan to do measurements to commemorate my one year gymiversary this weekend and I'm sure there will be changes there as well.  I can tell because the clothes sizes are going down in number.  I wore my size 8 bermudas the other day and they were super comfy and had me thinking I could get into a size 6, but they might be a bit restricting.  I bought a few new dresses for summer in general, a wedding, and my brother's college graduation.  I had been in the department stores and not seen anything I liked, so I looked online and saw one that might be nice, but I debated on which size to buy.  I settled on a size 10 because I really had never worn a dress in a size smaller than that.  A few days later, I saw the same dress in the store, in a size 8 and $20 cheaper.  I tried it on and it was perfect!

It's definitely not my normal style which is something that has a more flowing skirt to hide my hips, but I have been feeling more confident in how I look and decided to try something new.

I was heading out of the changing room when another dress caught my eye.  It was also on sale, but when I looked at the ones in stock, there was a size 6 and a size 10.  I figured the size 10 would be too big since I'd just gotten comfortably into a size 8.  I grabbed the 6 and headed back into the changing room, but not really expecting anything.

This is more my typical style, with a band right under the bust and flowing skirt.  To my complete surprise, the size 6 fit perfectly!  A size 6 has been the magic number in my head since I started losing weight almost eight years ago.  I still can't believe I did it!

There's still plenty of work to be done, in terms of body shape, even if the weight and clothing sizes stay relatively the same.  My goal is to have my ultimate body by the time I turn 30 (which is now 23 months away).  I plan to have another baby in that time, but now see that as an aid rather than an impediment to my weight loss.  I just have to keep working hard and keeping up a positive attitude.  I know now to appreciate what I have now instead of being down on myself for not being better.

Weigh-in for 12/13/2013

Last weigh-in (11/24/2013) : 143.2 lb

This weigh-in (12/13/2013) : 142.2 lb

Change : 1 lb lost

Total weight loss since Izzie : 58.2 lbs


It's Friday the 13th and while I am superstitious to an extent, I believe you make your own "luck" when it comes to weight loss, so I wasn't too afraid of getting on the scale this morning.  There was some apprehension as I had spent two whole weeks out of the gym due to the kids getting sick, and then giving it to me.  Also, in addition to a Thanksgiving weekend full of food, the week after wasn't easy either.  There were only two or three days in the last two weeks where I ate both meals at home.  My mental visualization of eating badly is that I balloon up.  I think that my clothes will stop fitting and while it may happen in the course of a month or more, a week here or there wouldn't do that (unless you were carrying some serious water weight or had a thyroid problem).  

Christmas for my kids is tomorrow, hence the Friday weigh-in.  Tonight will involve baking cookies and hanging stocking to be filled with candy and other treats.  I will weigh-in next Friday before heading out of town for two weeks, but I allow myself some treats here and there.  Especially since this coming week means making dozens of cookies.  How could I resist tasting a few?  I'll just make sure I make the most of my last week in the gym before the new year and finish out strong.

Weigh-in for 11/2/2013

Last weigh-in (10/26/2013) : 145.2 lb

This weigh-in (11/2/2013) : 144.4 lb

Change : 0.8 lb lost

Total weight loss since Izzie : 56 lbs


The Weight Watchers scale was kind to me this morning, as my own scale didn't have me down so much.  I'll probably pay for it next week, but right now I don't care.  That's a decent loss for a week where I only made it to the gym twice and of course, it was also Halloween week.  I definitely implored my will power this week, as I only allowed myself three pieces of candy in the last two days.  We also went over to a friend's house after Trick-or-Treat and they had pizza.  We had already eaten before the kids went out, so I just enjoyed the company and didn't eat anything.  There were plenty of times in the past where I'd say, "Screw it," and eat the pizza anyway.  That shows how far I've come in the last seven and a half years.  There are certainly times when I allow myself to overindulge, but I have to pick and choose.  I can't do it every time that I might want to.  If I didn't allow myself some things that aren't so great for me, I'd never be able to stay on program and this is something I have to maintain for the rest of my life, so I have to make concessions sometimes.

The Cure for my Pumpkin Addiction

Earlier this week, we were at our favorite frozen yogurt shop, and they had non-fat pumpkin frozen yogurt. It was to die for!! On the way over I was trying to figure out when I could fit in the pumpkin pie shake at Sonic and this frozen yogurt made me forget all about it. I could probably have this flavor three more times and not even come close to how bad that shake would be. Full sugar, non-fat frozen yogurt is only 1 Points Plus per ounce, so it's a perfect snack. I also topped it off with some graham cracker crumbs to make it like pie. Andy wasn't convinced that it was non-fat because it tasted sooooo good. He was thinking of having it tested like they did in an episode of Seinfeld and found out that it wasn't non-fat, so when they busted the shop and they made it non-fat, it was terrible. That makes me think about how far non-fat and low-fat has come over the years. I remember eating Snack Wells cookies as a kid and how terrible they were. Now most people can't tell the difference if they're eating something light unless they're told.

Autumn Temptations

Although we haven't officially closed out "summer" and won't feel a temperature change here until late October at the earliest, autumn temptations are starting to appear. Yesterday, I was at Sonic for my diet cherry limeade fix and they are now offering a pumpkin pie shake. I bravely put off the red velvet shake until it was gone, but pumpkin pie is another story. And of course, they already have Halloween candy in stores, like it's not 8 weeks away!

Autumn has to be one of the hardest times for me to lose weight. I am a sucker for warm apple cider, anything with pumpkin or pumpkin pie pieces, and I LOVE candy corn. This is the one time a year I let myself have candy corn. In addition to all those things, I make a killer Halloween treat that contains peanut butter, honey, marshmallows, candy corn, and a cereal base (recipe will be posted closer to the holiday). I only make it once a year because peanut butter is my Kryptonite. I don't even let it come into my house because of what happened when I was pregnant. Let's just say I ate an entire jar of peanut butter in the last month before Brady was born and it probably accounted for my last 10lbs.

I know I can't see these temptations everywhere and resist them all, so it's all about strategic placement. I will only let myself have one of these items right after a weigh-in so that I have the rest of the week to make up for it.

"Just One Time"

Being home reminds me of family gatherings. Growing up, my extended family never held back about me being overweight. When I started losing weight, they thought it was great, but family gatherings were tough. One minute, they were telling me how great I looked, and the next I was being offered a piece of cake or pie. When I would politely decline (at least towards the beginning of my weight loss), they would say, "It's just one time. It's ok." If I thought like that, every day would turn into "just one time." Now that I'm married into an even larger Italian family than my own, the gatherings have more than doubled.




My youngest cousin is 7, and more overweight than I was a child. She sneaks food and even resorts to stealing change to buy junk food. She's been caught several times, but the behavior continues, just going to show that parents can't always control the childhood obesity epidemic. She gets the same criticism that I endured, but she's constantly getting mixed signals from family. She didn't want to eat her meat at dinner, after eating all the side dishes, and was told that she wouldn't get dessert if she didn't eat it, which led to lots of crying. My Mimi had had enough and finally gave her a second piece of bread and told her she could have it if she finished her meat. I was shocked that she would give her something less healthy in order to eat something healthy. I told her she was sending the wrong signal by bribing with more food, and she took it away from her, which led to more crying.

Where do you draw the line when it comes to making an exception? When I was teaching, there was always food around. When I taught Pre-K, there were two snacks per day and birthdays on top of that. At the elementary level, every Friday, the faculty would take turns bringing in bagels and pastries for everyone. It was very hard to say "just one time," because the next week the temptation would be back. Something I've learned along the way is having temptations around will lead to indulgence. If there's an item in your house or workplace that's a temptation, the more times you have to walk past it, the more likely you are to cave in and eat it. That's why I'm very lucky to be at home during the day with Brady. Some people would think that this leads to eating more and everyone is different, but for me it's the opposite. I don't eat in restaurants by myself, and since Brady's still young, even taking him feels like being by myself. I don't keep anything bad in my house so as not to tempt myself.Summer 2005 with my PopPop and youngest two cousins
(1 year before I joined Weight Watchers)

With my cousin, Lauren

With my cousin, Chloe

With my cousin, Ava