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!

Another WW Update

I lost 3.2 lbs this week for a grand total of 18.4 lbs lost so far on Weight Watchers! Yay! This felt especially good because it was a rough week. I have a long way to go, but this start feels good, especially since it took place during the holidays! Woo hoo!

PS - a very happy 30th birthday to my friend Danette! Holy shit you're old! Have a great one!