My name is Cuban Pete....

Just 3 more "dodo's" till my feet will be in the sand. I am just so excited! I can't believe that my vacation is almost here!
I didn't do so well last week on my trip. I stayed away from the sweets and tracked my points. Why did I gain 3 lbs? Well, TOM was here. Yes, my beloved friend TOM. He usually brings a weight gain whenever he comes in to town. I was also a little heavy on the wine at night. Even though I tracked the wine, it still leads to dehydration and seeing as I was retaining water just with TOM to begin with, it added to my inflation. Oh well. Minor set back. I won't kill myself over it. I'm saying this even though I am just sooooo upset with myself over this gain. I could have done better, but hopefully this weeks weigh in will make me happy! I'm anxious to weigh in on Saturday so I know pretty much exactly how much I weigh at the start of my trip. I'll be missing my first weigh in the week after, so a full two weeks will pass by for my next. Will I reach Onederland? A place I haven't been to in almost a decade? I hope so! I may be being a little ambitious, but I'm 6.5 lbs away from it. We'll just see how you do. For those few that read my blog. Have a fantastic week! I'll definitely be posting when I get back, along with some pics! Maybe I'll go all crazy and let the camera be out when I'm in a bathing suit (that hasn't happened since I was like 5 yrs old). oh, before I forget, the title of my post was inspired by a song I've had stuck in my head ever since I booked my trip. Here's a clip of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJej6kCgxVM
Ta ta for now!!

203 and going strong!

I haven't written in a little while and just thought I'd update. Life has been really hectic lately. I'm out of town next week as I'm presenting a seminar for work, I'll be back in town for a week, and then off to CUBA!
In the last 17 weeks, I have lost a total of 42LBS!!! I am absolutely ecstatic. Things are going so smooth! And now for the worries: Seminars equal conference rooms. Conference rooms equal receptions. Receptions equal tables of sweets that stretch as far as the eye can see. Cuba. All-inclusive vacation-need I say more? We've been talking quite a bit about all inclusive vacations at my Weight Watchers meetings. People go south with the intention to eat/drink the value of the trip to "get their money's worth". One thought that is often left out is that you paid to go to the resort as well, not just binge eat. I've set myself up with a plan to follow while on vaca. Start with salads, vegetables etc. There is a grill option as well to select your seafood ( hi, shrimp account for barely any points!), chicken, beef etc... I think I'll be ok. My main worry is the Pina Coladas.. I haven't seen the ocean in 4 years so I feel I deserve to have a few on the beach. I promised myself to keep active. My leader says I should plan for a controlled gain, but of course I'd rather just break even.



Please share your thoughts and suggestions for my trips. Your opinion is important :P



Oh, before I forget: This picture was taken on Saturday. I was playing tourist in my own city for Grand Prix week end. 42 lbs gone does a body good!


Check out this fantastic video taken from http://www.pastaqueen.com/halfofme/archives/2008/06/how_to_lose_192.html

Naughty naughty

It's 5 o'clock and I've got all but 7 pts left. I haven't had dinner yet so I'm kind of worried. I snack the most during the evening and I've begged myself to get back on track. Saturdays' weigh in was great. Another 4 lbs gone. I'm totally ecstatic.. the unfortunate part is that I've eaten out every day this week end and went over my pts Sat & Sun. I almost feel like going to bed at 7 to avoid the possibilty of giving in to tempations.

When I'm at work, it's much easier to stick to the plan as I eat on a schedule and don't have my fridge right next to me calling my name. I don't want to have a gain this week, I don't want to disapoint myself.

It's a miserable and rainy day, so of course I don't feel like stepping foot outside. What do I do to keep myself entertained?

My birthday is coming up on Thursday, so of course there is another night of eating out. How will this week turn out? Will I have a gain or will I make a turn around and make myself happy with a loss?

I can see it in your face too.

I witnessed quite the interaction yesterday. A colleague of mine is doing the Smart For Life Weight Loss plan. This is a diet where you eat six cookies per day, and a lean meal at night.
Although I somewhat disapprove of this "get thin quick" scheme, she's doing fantastic and sticking to her guns. Sure, the weight loss is much faster than Weight Watchers, but Smart for Life is a diet whereas Weight Watchers is a lifestyle change. Her intentions are to drop a large portion of weight to start on this regime, and then switch to WW. She's lost just as much weight as I have in half the time, but she's completely miserable.

I feel bad for her when I see her practically holding her nose to somehow swallow these revolting looking cookies. Sure you can alternate between the cookies and the shakes, but it all boils down to a controlled calorie intake of 800 Calories per day. NOT HEALTHY. This is her business and she can do as she wishes but hopefully she won't be disapointed in the end.

So now back to where I started. Our manager has been out of the office for a few weeks (yay.happy.joy!). She happened to come by our work stations yesterday, and I see her start to do the most annoying thing ever. She stops, tilts her head sideways, back to the other direction, and just stares at my colleague. I just waited for her to open her mouth. 15 seconds later, the inevitable happened. "Did you lose weight?I can see it in your face". We both looked at each other slightly amused. Her response was a simply and tactful "Yes I did and thank you". I could see that our manager quickly got the message and decided not to pursue further with the what I call the Triple H question: How, How much, and How long have you been doing it. SUCCESS!

I've lost a whopping 32 lbs to date. I'm 16 away from my mini-goal as it stands. Last night was a difficult one, but I plan on making up for it today. I had eaten my dinner, and had 3 pts left for snacking. Great. The phone rings, and some friends of mine wanted me to join them out for dinner. I told them that I had already eaten, but would love to be in their company as it was only 7 PM. We get to the restaurant, and the food devil apparently came and sat right next to me. I open the menu and start salivating. I gave in and ordered! Shame on me, however the way I look at it, it could have been a lot worse. I ordered a chicken souvlaki which equates to 7 pts. Ok so I went 4 pts over, but I also count my morning coffees (I'm not sure how a table spoon of milk accounts for 1 pt but I do count it). So if we delete the coffee, I went over by 3 pts. Today will be a better day. I will go for a run, and I will swim. I am determined! I want to lose 3 lbs this week and I'm going to do what it takes to achieve this. Wish me luck!

Back to Square One.. but it's a good thing

Todays' weigh in was a great success. Last weeks gain has been officially cancelled out. I lost 2.6 lbs this week, so I'm technically down .6 lbs. Yay!! Aunt Flo definitely played a role in last weeks gain, not to mention the "ginormous" loss the week before.

I had a one on one with my leader today, and we've set another goal to hit. My initial ten percent goal was 24 lbs. I'm going to aim for another 10%, so I've got 21 lbs to lose for my short term goal. We figured that based on my past performance, this should be achieved by September without question. I'm actually going to do whatever it takes to reach this by July 15. I figure that in the next 10.5 weeks I could achieve this. I'm totally up for the challenge. Hooray!!

I'm on a mission to try to lose about 2 lbs per week. I'm not going to question myself and say " can I do it?", I WILL DO IT.

If anyone has any suggestions for this, please drop me a line! I am determined to be able to wear a swim suit on the beach for my vacation. NO, I will not be wearing a bikini ( I don't want to offend anyone), but a tankini will be just fine. I don't want to be the one wearing shorts & a t-shirt. I'd actually like to go to a water park this summer. GD knows I've been avoiding those for the last decade.

The challenge begins!!!

Can't help but feel disapointed

So I did it. I had my biggest gain. I'm up 2 lbs this week. Ok, now that that's out in the open, it's time to kick some butt this week! I'm not too upset with the gain as it was expected. I lost 7.4 lbs last week, and my leader told me to expect a gain this week as that kind of loss was just too much for a week. I thought I'd prove her wrong and lose again this week, but my body just didn't want to hear it. I worked out every single day, I ate 1 point of food less per day, and even used my points on healthier options. All in all I shouldn't be upset because I'm still 5 lbs lighter than I was two weeks ago. I just can't help but feel sorry for myself. Oh and did I mention it was my T.O.M too? Yup, the water-retaining enemy is "in da house".

I have to redo my measurements next week for my bridesmaid dress. My measurements were last done in January so it hopefully will be exciting to see the new numbers! The wedding is only in December, but my friend is having the gowns made in the Philippines so they have to be done well in advance. I'm hoping that there will need to be some major alterations done at the end of November! That still gives me some time to trim down significantly and not be the fatty in the skinny bridal party.

All I've ever wanted is to not stand out. To not be that fat girl. To not be the different one. I'm of Polish/Irish descent. You couldn't have a lighter complexion! Growing up, most of my friends were of mediterranean backgrounds. I've always been: the blonde in the group of brunettes. The whitey who couldn't tan if their life depended on it. The short one. And now for the one I've hated my entire life: The fat girl.

I'm tired of being her. I'm tired of being the fat friend. I just want to fit in. I don't want to stand out, and I certainly don't want to carry that lable! I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing. So far I have not cheated at all. Every time I think of stepping off and indulging, I always remind myself that this is just delaying the process.

The most fantastic quote I heard this week was this:

What you eat in private is what you wear in public

Now say that isn't food for thought!

Thank you to all that have stopped by. I really appreciate your kind words and I hope that we can learn from eachother and keep eachother pumped. Writing out my sentiments has proven to be really therapeutic.

What does thin feel like?

Why is it that I always always think I've gained weight just before I step on the scale?

Why do I expect to feel different? Why is it that I always get the jitters and think "oh my Gosh, I've screwed myself over this week. I gained weight. I shouldn't have eaten that bread on Tuesday"?

The same thoughts run through my head every week, since I've started this journey.

I wonder if it will ever be different.

What is thin supposed to feel like?