Happy New Year!!

2009.  I still can't believe it is already 2009.  I don't know what it is, but I wasn't prepared for Christmas, or New Years, or now 2009.  But life continues to happen even when I am not prepared it seems.  

As 2009 begins I am thinking about the upcoming year and all that it entails.  One thing is, I will be a bridesmaid in one of my closest friends wedding.  Although she hasn't narrowed down the bridesmaid dresses yet, she is thinking this will be the one.  I really like this one, so I hope it is the final one chosen.  We need to order them fairly soon as the wedding is in May.

I have many goals for this year so I figure if I write them down it will help keep me more accountable.

GOALS:

1) Stick to my budget!!  I want to be debt-free from my car by the end of this year, and I want to have saved about $15,000 for a down payment.  If I stick to my budget I know I can do both.

2) Stick to my points!  I currently only get 19 points a day on weight watchers and it is damn hard sticking to those points!  But I know I can do it, and I know the end result is worth it.  That extra cookie...not worth it most days.

3) Track my points.  In my head, I usually stick to the points I remember eating.  I really need to make a better effort with this.  Over Christmas my tracking flew out the window and I need to get back on track.

4) Increase my water intake.  I have struggled with drinking 8 glasses of water a day forever, so I have decided to focus on 6 glasses a day and once I have mastered that I will work my way up to 8 glasses a day.  

5) Keep my room and office organized!  I don't know what happens but I clean, I organized and a few days later it is a disaster again.

6) Workout 3 days a week, whether it is in the gym, doing a video or going for a walk and lifting weights.

7) Take more pictures!  I got a new digital camera for Christmas and I LOVE pictures!  So I need to take more.

8) Read one book a month.  

9) Write one real letter to someone a month.  Who doesn't like getting real letters in the mail?  I have lived in many different places in my life so therefore; I have tons of people I could write to!  I might as well.

10) Have a family games night once a month.  My step-father was really sick in November and there were a few days when I honestly thought he wasn't going to make it.  It has really helped me put everything into perspective and realize the important things in my life.  I need to spend more time with my parents and I think this will be a good activity for us all to do.

Well I think those are fairly good and realistic goals for me in this upcoming year, I am feeling really optimistic about 2009.  I can't wait to have new beginnings, get to my goal weight and (hopefully) be debt-free!  I probably say this every year, but I really think 2009 is going to be an amazing year and I'm so excited to be at the place in my life surrounded by loved ones and safety and a bright future.  Can't wait to see how the year unfolds!

Goodbye Christmas Goodies...

Christmas is over!  I can't believe it.  It was a pretty good one overall.  Good times with the family, and LOTS of good food.  Mmmm...turkey...so I ate the world.  I tried to limit the amount of food I ate as much as possible, but really...it's Christmas...so did I limit myself THAT much.  No.

I meant to weigh-in this past Tuesday since my normal weigh-in is on Thursday's.  However; I didn't make it after work on Tuesday, I had to stay late at the office and ended up missing the meeting.  So my only other choice is tomorrow.  I am a little concerned about the weigh-in, only 2 days after Christmas.  But, it is better to know the numbers on the scale than be oblivious.  So tomorrow morning I am going to trek my ass in the snow to the weigh-in.  Not 100% sure how I will get there, since my car is snowed in, but I will get there and that will be my final weigh-in of BLBE!  Hopefully it will be an okay.

Hope you all had a good Christmas holiday!

It's Christmas!!

I can't believe it is Christmas Eve!!  Where did the season go?!?!?  I am very happy it is finally here, although a little sad once it will be over.  And there is TONS of snow here in Vancouver, and although I may be in the minority of the people here, I absolutely LOVE the snow.  I love walking around in it, I love how it looks on the branches, and I love the crispness in the air.  There is nothing that makes me happier at Christmas than snow.

Anyway, MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you and I hope you have a great holiday with the ones you love.

Not a normal weigh-in

So Thursday's are my normal weigh-in day.  However; yesterday I left work at about 11am because I was not feeling well and I basically was sick and sleeping the entire day.  So I have missed my weigh-in.  I am not feeling much better today, so I am still at home and I don't know if I will be up for going to a meeting tomorrow morning.  I was quite upset about this as I know I was going to have a good weigh-in!  I had kept on track all week, tracking, enough liquids if we are no longer counting water!  So I was very excited.  I decided to weigh myself in at home, which I know is not accurate as the WW scale, plus, since I have been sick I thought some weight loss may be from that.  In order to be safe I decided to add 2 pounds to my total just to be safe.  And the result...down 1.2 pounds!  135.2  Actually my scale said 133.2 (the lowest I have seen in forever!)  So I am quite excited.  This upcoming week I know will be difficult to maintain, but hopefully I will have a stay the same.  I am feeling very on plan and on track lately.  I really think this new momentum plan has been the kick start I need to get back on track!

The Momentum Plan!

So at my meeting on Thursday I received the new books and info for the Momentum Plan.  Now...what I love about it.  LOVE the fact that I can just carry that one book around with me that has everything I need in it.  My tracker, my points/activity finder, my weight, point values of food.  FABULOUS!  One convient location.  

As for anything else to do with the plan...well it is essentially the exact same plan!  I will continue tracking and that will be that.  I guess it is useful to know that you are eating the filling foods aka: core foods.  But it really makes no difference at the end.  I just have a better idea if I have eaten healthy enough for the day.  Although I clearly can see when I eat healthy through the day already.

What I do think is a little odd is the fact that there are a lot of choices for liquids.  Water, milk, juice, diet pop, coffee or tea.  It does state that water is the best option, but I thought normally if you were to have another type of liquid you could count it as a portion of your water intake for the day, but it was not a 1:1 ration.  This works out well for me in some respects.  I struggle at having 6 (I prefer to try and get 8) glasses of water in a day.  However; I do drink tons of tea and coffee so I can easily get 5 glasses of liquids in through that.  I am still going to try and have 8 glasses of water because I do feel more hydrated with water as opposed to other types of liquid.

I am personally quite excited about this momentum plan.  Why?  Is it any different?  No.  It is the same, but psychologically I feel like I am beginning all over again and at the beginning of most things I am extremely motivated!  So I think this will be the same concept.  Plus, being able to only carry one book around with me I think will help me stay accountable and make sure I am tracking everything.  Now I really will not have an excuse not to!  

Tracking, tracking, tracking

I am getting very sick of this weight-loss dance.  One week I lose, one week I gain, and the cycle just continues.  I know the reasons I lose or gain in any given week, I just feel that I am at a point where I don't know if I care.  And I need to care.  I am not in my healthy weight range and I am not at a weight that I feel happy or comfortable at.  

I have vowed this week to just keep at it and take it one day at a time.  I find I sometimes won't track one day, and then I tend to blow off the entire week saying screw it!  But this week I will track, and if by some chance I "forget" to track one day, or I don't, I will track the next day.  I am happy to report that I have tracked both yesterday and today so far for this week.  2 out of 2.  Only 5 more to go!  And I even tracked when I ate McDonald's yesterday.  I didn't want to know the answer of how many points, but I figured it out and happy to at least know.  This way I have been able re-adjust some of my remaining flex points for the week.

Anyway, all I can do is to keep going and to hold myself accountable.  If I want this weight to come off, and to maintain the loss then I have to continue on this path.  And even though I have been struggling in the last few months, I know one day...one day...I will be at my goal weight and this time of my life will seem like a distant memory.  One day...

Motivation

Earlier tonight one of my favorite people called and she asked me to be one of her bridesmaids.  Of course I said yes!  I am so excited and can't wait to celebrate her special day with her and I am honoured she asked.  So in May 2009, I will be flying down to Wisconsin and being in her wedding party.  I can't wait!

But...being in a weddding means a few things.  

1)  I need to save for a bridesmaids dress, plane fare, hotel etc.

2)  I need to get on this weightloss train and be committed instead of half-assed.  

Last November, one of the reasons I joined WW was because I was in a wedding earlier this summer.  It was good motivation, to fit into the dress.  So I hope this time around I will be just as motivated.

Starting tomorrow I will be back onto my tracking consistently, drinking my water and working out.  I am super excited and know I can be at my goal weight before the wedding.  Yay for motivation!!