Start of a New Year

Hello peeps. Long time no see.
Well. I failed in this journey over the holidays. I GAINED a bit more than I anticipated in the end third of the year.
I blame a) my trip to Vegas in September b) doing a theater production where we enjoy going out to eat afterwards and c) my lack of willpower during the holidays, especially during get-togethers.
When I hopped on the scale Saturday (last week) after totally forgetting to get on the scale over Xmas week nor on my usual Wed. weigh in that week, I about died. Wow. I really let things go bad.
So, new starting total on January 3rd, 2015 is 178 lbs. *shudder* I don't think I've been that high since I was in my big weight loss plan back in 2011-2012 (where I started at 212 lbs- which I REFUSE to get that high again). My hubs hopped on the scale hoping to outdo me in not gaining as much and also about fell over from the number.
So the two of us vowed to have one last bad day on Sunday (in order to get rid of the leftovers from New Years) and start Monday as a fresh start to the new year of weight loss/fitness.

Monday went well- I stuck to my healthy food plan all day (Bringing back my Weight Watchers Points Plus plan, since it worked wonders when I actually followed it), we cooked up a light dinner of rice and chicken and then decided to try something new for exercise (since it was FREEZING outside and we hate gyms).
My parents were getting rid of their Kinect/Xbox and had a few games we didn't have, so I swiped them over the holiday break and we decided to give some a try for our fitness exercises.

First up- Your Shape: Fitness Evolved

This game is actually quite good. Once we got it all calibrated with the Xbox Kinect we went straight to the Gym games (as this is what caught my eye on the packaging). We did the punch out blocks game (Hubs vs. myself)- this quickly became a favorite and will surely be a part of our daily Kinect workout. Think punching/kick boxing but in a fun game format.
I then tried out some of the Personal Trainer portions of the game. Wow- kicked my butt (which I need though).
Hubs and I alternated using the games and trainer sessions to let our newbie tired muscles rest between reps.
At the end of the workout I burned plenty of calories and already could feel the burn of the exercises. We ended the evening with homemade fruit smoothies!
When I woke up Tuesday- my thigh, arms and sides were sore. Guess I'm more out of shape than I thought!
Here's the deets on the Weight Watchers Points Plus I consumed Monday...

Tuesday I did good also. I packed my breakfast, snacks and lunch so I could stay healthy at work (one of the hardest things to do at my job- where there is ALWAYS unhealthy food to be had). When my hubs got home, he said he was sore and didn't want to do the Kinect games. Even though I was sore, I was determined to get some arm workouts in and did some more of the Kinect games. I then decided to try the Just Dance 3 kinect game, to mix things up a bit.

I quickly found out the controls were a little wonky when trying to pick the difficulty- it constantly would just auto choose, or when I tried to change the difficulty, it would just start at whatever the closest place my hand was nearby. I enjoyed the Black Eyed Peas song during the "sweat" mix, though I had to laugh at some of the dance instructors- their facial expressions were wonderful. I had to wonder if these were actual people they just motion captured or videotaped and put funky color filters over top. I think the "Forget You" by CeLow's dancer on the screen reminded me of a crazy mime. lol.
I toughed through about 5 songs, with the hubs joining my last dance combo. Some were just my pace and others were just down right difficult (and I've even had formal dance training since I was 3, just haven't done much in the past few years). After working up a sweat and my muscles could handle no more, I crashed on the couch exhausted. We started talking about our current setup of our living room and how our Kinect doesn't like how close we are to it and tried to figure out ways we could rearrange our living room to better utilize the open spaces.
Once we figured out what dinner was going to be, I cooked up the dinner while the hubs rearranged the furniture in the living room /dining room. Now things look TOTALLY different, but are much better for exercising as well as entertaining. Hubs also jerry-rigged my current computer setup to help me have better posture while at the computer, since I like to sit quite close to my computer and the way our computers are set up- it isn't possible. He added a piece of wood on top of the cubed bookcase things and it works perfect! My hope is to paint it and officially attach it to the cases, so it doesn't just look like a piece of plywood stuck under my computer. haha.
After rearranging all that furniture and cleaning the two rooms (this is after I did some Kinect workout exercises and cooked dinner), I was pooped. I just so happened to have 4 points plus leftfor the day after having a low point dinner, so I treated myself to a hard cider and frozen mangoes for dessert. *phew* what a day!
Tuesday's points plus breakdown:

Today, I've been continuing to do well. When I hopped on the scale this morning to get back into my Wednesday weigh ins, I was at 177. So already I'm down a pound since Saturday- not bad! My packed breakfast, lunch and snacks has kept me going well. When I got home from work, I did some more of the Just Dance 3 and worked on finishing up my choreography for our upcoming auditions for Shrek the Musical (which hubs and I are directing). This worked up a sweat, so I was glad to get to dinner. Luckily with such a light lunch, I had enough points to enjoy tacos for dinner. Hubs picked up small taco shells, so we could eat smaller portions. I finished off the night with 1 oz of jelly beans ( I was craving sugar). Sadly 1 oz of jelly beans is 3 points plus! ugh. But, as long as I don't consume anymore points tonight, I'm golden for the day.
Here's today's points plus breakdown:

Tomorrow I am meeting up with a friend at Starbucks, so I already started researching what Starbucks drinks I could have within my points plus range. Basically, I need to say "skinny" before any of the drinks I plan on ordering. haha
Friday we are planning on taking a co-worker out to dinner for his retirement, so that's another place I"ll have to figure out what to order. Time to go stalking their menu online. ;)

Luckily, January I have very little plans, other than that co-worker's retirement dinner and a co-worker's bday bash later in the month, so I think sticking to this exercise and eating healthy plan will be a little easier. (Doesn't hurt that the hubs is doing it too for once!)
*fingers crossed* I lose some of the holiday gained weight and feel much better leading up to this summer. We shall see...
-M