trucking towards my goal

Ok, so I'm writing this on Saturday (so over mid-ways through my next week), however this past week (on Tuesday) I had lost 2.4 lbs! Hooray! Making total loss at 54.4 lbs.
However, I forewarn you, I can't guarantee that this week will be as good- I blame the dreaded Friendly's ice cream.
See this:

This is my my weakness- peanut butter ice cream, shared among friends. I couldn't pass it up. I've been SOOOO good for so many months, it was just CALLING my name. So if I gain or don't lose anything, this is why.

As far as other things, I have come to realized it is so darn tough to find healthy within my point values at restaurants. Chain foods- easy, I have an app for that- the ITrackBites app I use to track my points came out with a $1.99 restaurant guide app here, and I couldn't pass it up. So far it has been SUPER helpful. These are my cheap knockoff Weight Watchers apps that I've been using since November, as I can't afford the monthly fee for Weight Watchers online. Basically I just take what I learned from the 10 weeks I went to meetings (and whatever my mom tells me about her meetings) and do everything else with the above two apps. So far it's worked great for me. But the hardest part is family owned restaurants that you don't have nutritional information on...you have to guess- and for me, I SUCK at guessing- because I never guess correctly- I'm usually way off in either direction. Either way too many points or way too little. That's why as much as I'd like to eat at these more often, I never am sure of what I downed.

With the show, we have practices 4 times a week- this makes meal time difficult, as we 90% of the time want to go out to eat afterwards (either because it is super late when we get home, or we need to kill time before I have to head to work on the Saturday rehearsals.). This means, money spent more often at restaurants and much harder to be healthier. But we're trying our hardest to order cheaply all the while being health- means LOTS of water with lemon and LOTS of salads (*tears- I hate salads all the time).

 Though this beef vegetable soup and spinach quiche was AWESOME from Isaac Newton's in Newtown.

The other problem with this week- battling a sinus infection. Yeah, I know what you're thinking...AGAIN!? I agree- I feel like I'm sick all the time. After this one goes away, I'm making an appointment with my family doctor (I went to the minute clinic for this as it was over last weekend it started to get bad) and telling them they NEED to test me for allergies or something- this singer's voice can't handle all the phlem!

Anyways, had a good loss week. Tried on my corset from my wedding and it was too big!- It had the hooks on the back, and I would probably need to get a tighter row added if I was to wear it. yay! I also tried on my outwear corsets I used to wear in college, and they fit- I had to loosen the back a tiny bit, but that's at least a start.

*crossing fingers* for an ok week.
M

two week updates

Sorry I didn't update last week (I only lost 0.2 lbs the week I forgot to post, so not a lot to report from that week. haha) This week however I lost 1.2 lbs, so I'm down 52 lbs thus far! Only 10 more lbs till I get to my goal of 150. I might keep going if I feel like it when I hit 150, but it won't be as important to me to get to a number under that when I hit it.
Basic updates- Enjoyed some theater friends' Tony Awards party- lots of foodies, which is probably why I didn't do so well that particular week. My hubs' famous buffalo chicken dip went so quick (didn't even make it to the table- it was gone before you could announce it was brought right out of the oven), that I didn't have any, therefore luckily didn't have to use the points I saved for it- and got to use it for something else- like the awesome hummus someone brought.

 (we each got these cards, and if one of your nominees won, you got a prize)

(Hubs made alcoholic juice also for the party. I loved the apple one.)

This week has been filled with rehearsal for Music Man, meeting with people for the housing situation, and lots of work and such. Last week I worked 6 days straight (one of the days was a swap so I could have a day off in July for a friend's bday). Also did some Salvation Army/Walmart shopping and scored some great stuff which I'll show off on my MadcapFrenzy site later.

Saturday after practice we went to Tony's Place with theater buds and I had a bbq chicken sandwich and a salad (instead of fries). Their fat free sesame dressing was amazing. It was the first salad that I've had in a long time where I actually wanted to have more of! haha. If we go back there ever, I'm just getting a salad (I can't believe I'm actually saying that, since I'm not a huge salad person). All of their food looked and tasted amazing. One of our friends got a stuffed pepper with crab meat, and it look amazing (and I don't even like peppers or crab).

On Monday after meeting with the Bucks County Housing Group to apply for stuff for our house, the hubs and I went to The Green Parrot restaurant and enjoyed a good lunch before running errands and going to another theater practice. I had their personal Tomato pie. They did it perfect. Even though mostly the traditional tomato pie is served cold, I like my sauce to be at least room temperature and to have a good spice, which they excelled at. The hubs got a potato soup and a large salad.

On Tuesday (my weigh in day where I saw I lost 1.2 lbs) we went to Friendly's with some theater buds after practice for Music Man (does this seem like a trend- practice followed by food?- that is why I gained most productions I was in, but I'm determined to eat good while out). They actually have a 550 calorie menu, so I had the half turkey club melt and salad with fat free italian dressing. Was a good deal. Also got two scoops of sugar-free ice cream (I couldn't resist because we were at Friendly's after all, but sugar free ice cream is only 2 pp per scoop. So 2 scoops wasn't bad for 4 pp total).
Wednesday we went to a diner after practice and I had chicken noodle soup and salad with fat free italian.
So it has been a very Salad kind of week- that's the problem with going out to eat a lot- not a lot of options when it is the end of the day and you have not a lot of points left. So Salad it is.
It's kind of been a lot of microwave time at work in the past few weeks. As much as it gets a little boring, it really does help me portion control and since I am lazy in packing my lunch, it works for me.

 (a typical lunch/dinner at work- sugar free jello, diet soda, smartone/leancuisine/healthychoice, just one veg side and/or fruit- which I ate the fruit before this picture. Sometimes I throw in a string cheese)

(My jello matched my nails! haha)

Anyways, down 52 lbs, only 10 to goal! Hoping these last 10 aren't extremely horrible and hard to lose.
Happy weight loss!
-M

A Milestone down...

So I lost another 3.2 lbs this week. Not only was this great because I lost so much, but also because that means I have lost a total of 50.6 lbs since I started Weight Watchers back in October. I am now under 10 lbs away from my goal (I might keep going if I find it goes ok, but overall, my goal is 150). I have lost more than 50 lbs in under 8 months. This milestone is such a big deal, as it means I am on the home stretch of my weight loss. This however also means I cannot relax too much, otherwise those pounds will come back (which I DO NOT WANT- I want to look good for my friend's wedding in September and decent this summer).
Clothes are still not fitting right, as I'm between sizes again. I do also hope to start doing some upper body exercises, as I'm find that my arms are the flabby part left right now (especially the underarm area- looks gross when you wear a strapless dress- like I will be wearing for my friend's wedding).
Here's this week's numbers:

Basically this week I stuck extremely close to my points. I didn't use ANY weekly points and only uses a few of my exercise earned points. It also was time for me to drop my daily points value down a point to 28. If I find that I'm not losing enough after a few weeks, I might need to drop to 27 daily points, as I'm pretty sure I need to be at 27 or 26 points plus for my height and current weight. We shall see.
Hopefully things go well this coming week, as thus far I've been pretty darn good- but I know Sunday, my friend's Tony Award party, is going to be tough to be good at.

 (Considering I had 2 slices of this kind of pizza for dinner out with friends on Sunday, I was surprised I lost so much. But I guess because I didn't go over in points, it worked out good.)

 (I wanted to reward myself for hitting the 50 lbs down mark with a mani/pedi, but since we are saving up every penny for our new house, I just did it myself. I was later surprised by my mom, who got me a gift certificate to get a mani/pedi at a place near the theater we do shows at as a Congrats on my 50 lb loss- I'll use it when it gets closer to the show. :D I decided to go with bright neon green for good luck on the last 10 lbs.)

Happy weight loss and *crossing fingers* the last 10 lbs go by smoothly and quickly.
-M

Even out...

Ok. So this week still wasn't my best week, I enjoyed a wine tasting the day before Memorial Day. However I tried my darnest to do well every single other day except the wine tasting. This paid off with me losing 0.4 lbs (the exact amount I gained last week). I am determined to do even better this week, being the last full week I have before I start practice for the show I got cast in. (I'm still in disbelief of that fact).
Here's some happenings this week in weight-loss land.

(

(The hubs made this lovely avacado ranch dip after I was raving over it from TexMex. It's 1 points plus for 2 tablespoons!)

(Last Wednesday we celebrated our one newspaper I work for winning Best in the State. I however was good and bypassed having a piece of this lovely cake. I instead enjoyed the free salad and sandwiches.)

(What a rarity- I had taco bell for dinner. I only had 2 soft tacos (10 points plus for 2 soft beef tacos) but getting off of work and after grocery shopping late at night, I didn't feel like cooking)

(My first glass of wine at my friend's Wine tasting. It was some white wine of some sort)

(This is my "I'm bad" cheesecake. I was good with everything else, but I REALLY wanted a piece of this)

 (On Memorial Day, we used a Groupon to go mini golfing with two of our friends before I had to work night shift. It was super fun, but super hot outside.)

(Here is the lunch I had at Ruby Tuesday's. I even avoided the dreaded cheese garlic biscuits they give out. This was actually a very healthy dinner. I've become obsessed with roasted zucchini!)

 (My numbers for this week)

(Here is 3 pictures all from the Holiday dinner at my husband's work- Top picture is 2009, middle 2010, and bottom 2011. Can you tell the gains and losses going on here?)

(lastly, here is my new drink of choice if I'm going to have a soda. Yummy!)

Overall, not the best, but not the worst week. I hope to rock this coming week, as I have no major parties or get together to bog my weight loss down. *fingers crossed* We are also hoping that the housing situation all goes smoothly this week as well. *double fingers crossed*

-M

blargh!

So today was my very first weigh in since I started Weight Watchers that I gained weight: 0.4 lbs gained to be exact. I knew it was going to happen too. I tried to be good, but his week was filled with parties, eating out, and all around bad bad bad. To be honest, I was surprised it wasn't more, but I guess the exercise and the little bit of healthy foods I threw in when I could made it ok. This is why I CANNOT have more than one day a week where I don't track. *sigh*
Any other week I would be way more bummed about my gain, but this week was a pretty awesome week overall in life-wise stuff, so it outweighs the gain.

Among the big stuff, I got cast as Marian the Librarian in the Newtown Arts Company's "The Music Man." I am SUPER excited over this, as it is the first time that I've been THE FEMALE LEAD in a show. I've been the secondary female lead in a bunch, but never the leading female. It really was a boost to my confidence. I also hung out with a bunch of cool people throughout the week and enjoyed being a part of a surprise party for one of my theater friends for his 30th bday. (we made a "beer" cake for him- no food- just beer cans)

Another big deal weight wise, I was officially able to get my wedding band and engagement ring off my fingers. This may seem like a minor thing that shouldn't be such a woo moment, but I had been struggling to get my engagement ring off my right hand (I normally wear my band on the left and engagement ring on the right, because we haven't gotten them fixed/fused together after the jeweler went out of business before he could do it). So, here is my two rings sitting on one hand after I could get them off (because I can't photograph both hands at the same time on my own). Basically I was driving home from work on Saturday and was rotating my ring at a stop sign. It came off and I looked down in shock- did that just happen? I quickly moved it to my "skinny" hand and was super excited to tell what happened to my hubs. Sadly he was asleep when I got home from working night shift, so I had to tell him in the morning- kind of lost its "woo" by then, but still was a great moment.

Here's a few other things this week:

 (diet wild cherry pepsi- the only way to get through the day, and the only diet soda I really like)

 (snack time- apples!)

 (part of my chicken meal at UNOs out with friends. Roasted vegs and rosemary chicken. I gave the breadstick away (6 pp for that alone, so I gave it away) I also had a salad with their no-fat vinegrette)

(this is one of the reasons I probably gained this week- margaritas. The hubs and I had TexMex last tuesday, so I didn't start the week off well.)

So, as much as the weigh-in was not what I wanted, I knew I was bad, so therefore this week I MUST do better. Gotta keep it up if I want to be the best Leading Lady in The Music Man this August and look fab in my bridesmaid dress for my friends wedding.
Gotta keep with it!
-M

Trucking along...

Down another 1.6 lbs this week. So that makes me down 47.4 lbs since October. I'm nearing the 50 lbs mark!

Here's my numbers:

Other than the usual, I tried my hardest to not use any weekly points (only my exercise), since I still haven't dropped my daily points yet- I can't bring myself to do it.
Though on a happy note, I am able to get into most size 12 jeans- got two pair at the SalVal during the week, so I don't spend a fortune on clothes I'm going to grow out of.
Also, my friend's sister (another bridemaid in her wedding) got the wrong size and needed bigger, so we hoped we could swap dresses since mine was way too big- sure enough, hers fits like a glove (might need a tiny bit taken out at the top, since I'm top heavy compared to her) but overall, the waist portion fits beautiful- still need it shortened though. It made me super happy to try that one and see what the dress is supposed to look like, instead of swimming in the dress everytime.
Speaking of swimming, it is starting to be summertime, so I'm going to try on my swimsuits tonight and see if they look better, or if I have to get a new one. who knows...I hate swimsuits, so hopefully it goes alright.
Happy weight loss all. I'll leave you with a picture from my photo a day project- the prompt was, "Something that makes you happy" which for me is big sunglasses and pearls. :D

later all.
-M

Banana muffins and margaritas

So I lost another pound this week. To be honest, this reallllllyyyyy surprised me! I had the hardest time tracking things and was pretty lax over the weekend, so getting on the scale this morning and seeing I had lost a pound was such a relief.
My hubs was in super-bake mode: banana muffins (similar to his banana bread) and more homemade pizza. Check out these beauties:

Now these are 4 weight watchers points plus each, but so yummy they are worth it.

I also was in a creating mood on Saturday and made 4 cake stands, 1 small cupcake/cake stand to go with my cheese dome, started repainting an old rack thing, and added a stand to my headband holder. Here's the mini cake/cupcake stand with my cheese dome on top. I think it turned out adorable!

Other than that, I tried out this chicken enchilada Smart One. Looks horrid, but pretty darn good, spicy, but good.

I also picked up a bunch of things from the Amish market by my work- had Botti Boi (chicken pot pie noodles) for dinner at work, then had corn on the cob with chicken croquettes and pasta salad, ALL from the Amish market. Was great to have something different for a change. We still have some of the corn left, but I'm sure we'll have that soon enough.

The biggest thing that surprised me, was that I had some margaritas on Sunday night with the hubs and a friend after seeing the Avengers. I was sure that those drinks were going to screw me all up in the loss department.

Another interesting thing was that yesterday I went to a tailor to get a quote for how much it was going to cost to fix my bridesmaid dress for my friend's wedding. So far, he's going to have to take it in 2 inches from each side (or if you fold it in the back, bunch it in a little more than 2 inches) besides shortening it. As much as it sucks I'm going to have to pay to get the dress altered (it was purchased in December, and the wedding isn't until September), it also feels good to be smaller.

Anyways, crossing fingers for good losses each week. Now I'm down 45.8 lbs! Woo! Goal weight, here I come!
Happy losses!
-M