Thirty!

I've now lost 30 pounds on Weight Watchers! THIRTY, 3 - 0! Yeah! This week's loss was especially crazy, considering how I ate when I was in Neenah with B and her family. To really demonstrate how amazing 30 lbs is, here are a few examples of things that weigh 30 lbs:

• Matty's giant bag of dog food (that is an excellent visual)
• 6 bags of flour
• 30 boxes of butter
• 1 big bucket of kitty litter (yikes, I know how heavy those feel when I'm hauling them in from the car)
• 3 10 lb bowling balls
• 1.67 Tonys (my big orange cat)
• 1/2 of Matty the dog
• My lawschool backpack (okay, that's probably an exaggeration).

I think you get the point - 30 lbs is a significant amount of weight. My clothes are starting to be ridiculously big; I have to cinch all my pants, and I laugh at myself when I look in the mirror before work. I guess that's a good ridiculous though, right? Also, my knee feels a lot better, which is fantastic. My health, especially my knee, was my biggest reason for starting this journey, and I think my work is already paying off in that department.

In bad news, I haven't been to the gym in a LONG time. I also haven't played volleyball for over a month. Illness and work (and let's be honest, some laziness) have kept me from both activities. I was planning on going to the gym tonight, but I may go to bed instead. At 8 pm. Yes, I know I'm only 32 and not 82, but I'm tired. Work has been stressful as of late, and I still don't think I've completely recovered from the blackhole of sickness. So, the gym will have to wait yet another day. The personal trainer may kill me, as I haven't worked out once since we met last week. Oh well.

As I travel along this weight loss journey, I'm discovering there are a few food staples that I need to survive:

• Soup - I eat a lot of soup. Always have though, so this isn't that different
• 94% Fat Free Popcorn - this is a new one, as I used to hate popcorn. However, my weakness is salty, snacky type food (not sweets at all), and popcorn fulfills those cravings for me. I'm eating some as I write this!
• High fiber bread and lean lunch meat. I LOVE sandwiches, so I needed to find bread I can eat. I found bread that I enjoy, and it's only 1 point a slice (good, hearty bread)
• Fruit - bananas, clementines (tons of those), apples, pears, fruit cups, etc. I love fruit.
• Oatmeal - maple and brown sugar, lower sugar, almost every single morning
• Malt O'Meal - love it
• Eggs
  
• Smart Ones meals - I take one for lunch almost every single day
• Fat free Yogurt
• Babybel light cheese (LOVE this)
• Weight Watchers ice cream treats, especially the 1 point fudge bars
• Chicken breast
  
• Baked potatoes
• 100 calorie snack packs, especially the cheez it party mix. Yum!
• 60 calorie Jell-O pudding cups (70 calorie for Rice pudding)
  
• 10 calorie Jell-O cups
• Refried beans
• Canned green beans
• Diet coke (or other diet soda). I know, I know. I'm supposed to drink a lot of water. But I just like Diet Coke a lot more. I try to drink more water, but a girl can only change so much at once. :)
  

There you have it - my life in food for the last three months or so. I'm probaby forgetting a few things, but I think that at least provides a glimpse. Additionally, B often cooks for me, so I'm really blessed in that department. Her help is especially important right now, as I've sort of hit a motivational wall. To help me overcome that wall, she told me to pick five new recipes from the Weight Watchers cookbook for her to make. It doesn't get much better than that, right?

I know I always say this, but I hope I can find the willpower to continue on this journey. The first 30 pounds weren't easy per se, but they also weren't that hard. From past experience, I know the last 30 will be absolutely brutal. However, I might be getting a little too far ahead of myself here, as I have the middle 30 to lose before I even get to the last 30. Yikes - how did I let my weight get so out of control? That's simply mind boggling to me. Alas, it happened, and all I can do now is work on repairing the damage. So far, so good, right?

As usual, I'm open to tips/advice on new food, work out ideas, etc. Only you can help me prevent food boredom, friends and family. I need you! Here's to losing the "middle" 30!

B and I are buying a house!

Big news - B and I are buying a house together this summer! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it, and I think she feels the same way. It's such a big step, but I feel completely confident that it's the right choice. She and I have been solid for a long time, and she's the real deal. Wedding bells might be ringing in the near future, but I can't give too much away online, as she is one of my 3 readers! Anyway, I can't wait to begin the next stage of our lives together, and that will involve moving in together for real (we live together now, but I'm still on the lease for the Saint Paul apartment too - most of my stuff is still there).

We started the process by looking at houses online, and then today we drove around and checked out some places too. We want to buy in Saint Louis Park or Minneapolis, and we spent most of today in SLP. We saw tons of places, many in our price range, but we only went to two open houses (both not the houses for us). We don't want to close until mid-June, so it's probably a little too early to be looking really seriously, but we wanted to get an idea of what kind of house we can afford, where we want to live, etc. My mom, a former realtor, said many more houses should be coming on the market next month, so that's also great news! I'm super excited for the whole process, and I can't wait to get started!

As I noted above, we are looking at SLP. That's right, we are considering a suburb. I never thought that would happen, and I will be SAD to leave the city if we decide to do so. However, there are good reasons to choose SLP - proximity to B's family and job, proximity to downtown, the schools, the JCC (I love, love, love belonging there - so much so that B says I should be in their next promotional piece), the nicer houses, etc. Still, I've been a city girl for a long time now, and it will be hard to leave that behind. Plus, I have to leave my beloved LRT as well...I guess I will have to bus it if we move out there. Definitely doable, but not ideal. Anyway, we haven't decided for sure where we will wind up, but there is definitely a chance I'll be going back to my suburban roots. Gasp! Let the mocking begin!

As we begin this process, B and I are open to your tips, advice, suggestions, etc. Specifically, we need a good exclusive buyer's agent, so if you have any recommendations for someone, please pass them on. We also need an attorney who does GLBT partnership work, so if you know someone for that, please share as well (unfortunately, my law degree will not help me in that area, and it's too important to screw up). Also, please know that we will be talking about houses, realtors, and everything related for the next six months. I apologize in advance, but that's just how it will be. :) Thanks for your support and patience as we begin this amazing journey together. Woo hoo - that's the best I can capture how excited we truly are, at least for tonight, as I'm quite tired. WOO HOOOOOO! :)

PS - thank you to my parents for all their support and help through this process! I am truly blessed.

WW Update

I completely fell off the Weight Watchers wagon last weekend. I had two more Thanksgivings, and I indulged at each. Further, I indulged the rest of the weekend too, in a BIG way. Fast food, pizza, crepes. Yikes! The scale won't be pretty tomorrow...in fact, I'm considering using my no weigh in pass. My weight actually went up the previous week after I had behaved and worked out (our leader thought it was probably just water weight from being sore, etc.), and I felt devastated after weigh in. I can't imagine what I will feel like tomorrow. Going up in weight after working hard makes it difficult for me to stay on track, so I think it's just best to avoid the scale for a week or two.

In fact, it might just be better to not focus on the numbers during the holiday season, as treats beckon everywhere. I got back on track today, but soon I will be participating in holiday gatherings galore, and I'm not sure I have the willpower to behave all season long. Given this reality, perhaps a better goal during the holidays is weight maintenance rather than weight loss. I'm going to do my best to stay on track, but I just don't think it will be that easy. Plus, life is too short to not enjoy some of the fabulous treats I'm going to encounter!

In good news, as noted in another post, I joined a gym - the JCC. I'm hoping this will kick start more weight loss, and it should also make me feel better overall. Stay tuned for updates on that front.

Overall, I think WW is still going decently well, but each day I'm starting to realize this is going to be a life long, difficult battle for me. I may not ever win completely, but I do hope to at least make some progress. As everyone tells me, I can try to eat well and work out for the next six months and hopefully lose some weight along the way or I can do nothing - either way time will pass. I might as well try during that time period. What do I have to lose, besides all the excess weight I'm carrying around? :)

PS - I'm starting to get bored with my food options. The problem is that if B doesn't cook, I need quick and simple meal ideas that are low in points (calories and fat, high in fiber). Anyone have any suggestions? A girl can only eat so much soup!

And the answer is...

Just to keep my readers (all 3 of them) informed, B and I joined the JCC on Friday. Our membership starts today, Monday, December 1. We chose the month to month option because I'm unsure about the drive over there. However, I feel good about the decision overall, and I'm looking forward to working out again. Plus, that hot tub looked fantastic! Perfect for a cold day like today - Brrr!