Derailment!

Whew, things have been a little crazy around here. On Monday I managed to trip over a loose piece of flagstone on our front steps at work and the next thing I knew I was on the ground with 2 sprained ankles. I guess I'm feeling pretty lucky nothing was broken but this has really thrown me for a loop. I'm back at work today which is a bit of a challenge but at least I'm mobile. I was starting to get a bit depressed not being able to do anything. I'm off the pain meds now which I think were contributing to the depression.

The ER docs said no exercise for at least a week which is a bummer since I was just getting back in the groove.

So here I sit with 2 extremely swollen ankles and hoping to fit in my cute shoes by the reunion next week! I haven't been eating great but managed to lose a pound during all of this. Hopefully on Monday I can go back to my water aerobics class and carefully get back in the swing of things.

Sure makes you appreciate mobility!!

Monday Motivation

Well I weighed in this morning after a really good week and was disappointed to be up a pound. I worked my butt off! It's my TOM so I'm going to blame it on that and move on. Next Monday will hopefully show a loss.

Successes from last week include:
1. 90 minutes of exercise on Friday night after never having stepped foot in a gym on a Friday night. (People actually exercise on Friday night instead of going to happy hour!)
2. Choosing a cereal bar and water as opposed to stopping at McDonalds on our way out of town.
3. Drinking more water than ever.
4. Not buying a single item of junk food at the grocery store.
5. Planning every meal and staying within my points.

I'm planning an even better week this week since there will be no anniversary dinner or trip to moms to throw me off. These WW activity points are great motivation to exercise plus, after 2 weeks back at the gym I feel a million times better. To me that's worth it even if I don't lose a pound.

I now love the water aerobics class on Fridays at the gym and that will be a part of my regular routine. The instructor was one I've never had before and she kicked my ass! She has you think about the muscles you are working for each exercise and while it sounds silly, concentrating on them while working them makes you really work harder. I was sore in all the good spots so I know I got a good workout. Not only did I do an hour of the class, I did 30 minutes on the elliptical as well. I was so proud!

I've joined the Biggest Loser Challenge over at Lauren's blog. I'll be updating here every Monday as well as on her blog. I would love to do well in this before the holidays are here. It has always been a downward spiral from Halloween to New Years for us sugar addicts.

I hope everyone out there has a great week and thanks to y'all once again for the support, inspiration, and motivation!

Happy Friday!

Wow this has been a long week but I'm pretty impressed with myself for staying on track. My gym bag is packed and I will be doing one hour of cardio/abs tonight then going to my water aerobics class for another hour. This will be the first time I've ever set foot in a gym on a Friday night but hopefully it will help make my weekends more successful. If I keep up this exercise I can afford my splurges.

Speaking of splurges, last nights dinner was incredible. We went to Kevin Rathbun's Steak (the Rathbun brothers recently won Iron Chef America) and I think it was the best meal I've had in this city and I've been here 15 years. I had a roasted beet salad with creamy goat cheese, followed by scallops florentine and half of an amazing chocolate mousse cake. My husband had the best steak I've ever put in my mouth. We got to meet Kevin Rathbun who came to our table. When he asked what we thought of the food I told him I could taste the love that went in it. He's a very large man and wrapped his arms around his belly said "i've got a lot of love to give". LOL

Aside from the bread, wine and dessert, I did pretty well and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Tomorrow we are going to the mountains in NC for a visit with my mom. We'll spend the night and come back on Sunday. The dogs love it up there because they can run free as much as they want. It's also a great place for all of us to go for a walk together.

Have a great weekend everyone! I don't post on the weekends because I'm chained to this computer all day during the week and don't like to look at it on the weekend :)

Counting my blessings

While it seems the world is falling apart, I am counting my blessings this morning. I've been married to my awesome husband for 4 years today and I could not be happier. He is the funniest, sweetest, most supportive man on the planet and he's my best friend. He loves me if I'm skinny, fat, sad or happy...no matter what. He truly treats me like a queen and I'm the luckiest girl on earth. British men don't mind women with a little meat on their bones either which is handy ; )

Tonight we are going out for dinner and I won't be thinking too much about my calorie count but I'm going to have a perfect day up until then. I won't go overboard and make myself sick but I plan on eating some delicious food. We're going to a restaurant I've never been to but the chefs/owners won Iron Chef America recently and that won me over. I can't wait to try it. I'm thinking I'll have snacks most of the day and avoid a big lunch.

Yesterday was a good day although the pool was closed and I got no exercise at all. I had a rotisserie chicken salad for dinner although I had 2 small rolls like an idiot. I still managed to stay in my points and the bread felt good in my stomach which was slightly upset. Normally when I pick up dinner from the rotisserie place I would have mac and cheese, corn and chicken but I need to remind myself I enjoy the salad just as much.

I'm feeling pretty good and won't weigh until Monday. The goal is a 2 pound loss for the week. If I can manage that with still eating some of my favorite foods then I've done well.

Thanks again to all of you who read my blog. I really feel like the support I've found here is making a difference for me! Y'all rock!

Are these shoes the shoes for my high school reunion?

Lets hope so because I ordered them to wear with my black and white polka dot dress. Low enough heel where I won't be dying on my feet all night. I think they are cute enough.

UGH!

I ate chicken wings last night. I'm not even going to make any excuses other than it was debate night. Not that that is any sort of excuse whatsoever! Yes I will count the points.

I'm going to focus on the success I had yesterday instead as I sit here and eat my delicous oatmeal at my desk on a rainy morning. I was bored with my chicken chili yesterday so I didn't eat anything before I went out for lunch to do some shopping. As usual I was passing a million fast food places and wanting everything in sight. For some reason I love to eat in my car (we'll analyze that at another time). I almost caved and got a burger but I really thought about what I used to do when I lost 100lbs. and the answer was right in front of me. Hooray for Chick-Fil-A. I had a grilled chicken sandwich (which they now have on a whole grain roll) and a diet lemonade. Only 5 points. I was proud of my decision and it kept me full all afternoon.

As if that weren't enough, I walked the dogs with my husband. For a good 30 minutes. Normally I would make some sort of an excuse and he would take them. Not only did we get a good workout but we had a great time together. The cool weather makes it so much easier for me to want to be outside.

Tonight is my class again. Hopefully there will be no thunder otherwise the pool will be closed. I usually bring additional workout gear in case that happens because I can just picture myself saying "oh well pool's closed. No workout for me!" I don't have that stuff today so fingers crossed!

I'm still feeling motivated - and a little sassy today!

Exercise = happiness

I finally feel like I had a successful day yesterday!

I ate great all day yesterday and wasn't even tempted by a mini Twix that is still laying on my desk. I stayed within my points and even had 2 pieces of garlic bread with the delicious Jambalaya my husband made.

I talked myself in to going back to my water aerobics class after 5 weeks of being absent and it was so awesome. My 2 friends I have made in the class were so happy to see me which made it even more rewarding. I worked my butt off and had to get up in the middle of the night to take some Advil because my arms were BURNING. I feel great today though. Not too sore. The best thing about water aerobics is that even fat girls can feel like ballerinas. You can do moves in the water you'd never be able to do on land! It's such a free feeling that I really enjoy. It was a little cooler last night and dark when I left class which makes being wet not nearly as enjoyable as it was during the Hotlanta summer but I'll just have to adjust my post-swim wardrobe.

My plan is to go back Wednesday and adding in Fridays and Saturdays as well. One of my friends at the pool easily outweighs me by 50lbs but is there for every single class and has motivated me to come those additional days. Fridays I get out of work a little early which leaves time before class to add to my cardio minutes. I used to work out every day but Fridays but that's when I had social things on a Friday night. Now I just plop in front of the TV a half an hour earlier than normal and not take advantage of that little bit of extra time. Or worse, I stop at the store to load up on junk food for the weekend.

Note to self: remember how good you feel today next time you try to talk yourself out of exercising!!!

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

I had a great weekend overall. I ate too much but what's new! I love spending time with my husband and my dogs on the weekend but it seems like the time goes by way too fast.

I had a few successes this weekend and a few seriously unsuccessful events. The house is clean as a whistle, laundry done and I prepared tons of food for the week including my favorite white chicken chili. While I was cleaning and doing all my chores, I made a conscious effort to not avoid trips up and down the stairs and it worked. My butt was killing me on Sunday so I got a great workout. Instead of piling things up to take upstairs to the bedroom or downstairs to the basement, I took several trips. I'm going to use my new pedometer next weekend to see just how much that adds up!

Sunday morning I was feeling pretty good about myself until I got out of the shower and started digging through my closet to figure out if I had anything to wear to the reunion. I pulled out some of my super cute skirts thinking that maybe if I wore tight enough undergarments (God bless Spanx) that they would work. Now lets just say it's a good thing that I have a sense of humor because I laughed out loud at the fact that they wouldn't even go up above my knees. ONE OF THEM IS A MEDIUM PEOPLE...A MEDIUM! I used to wear a MEDIUM! It was probably even from the junior department. Even if I would have had 2 of them to stitch together it would have been too small. It doesn't seem that long ago that I could wear those. It was when I first met my husband. I've gotten that much bigger in the time I've been with him. I'm surprised he hasn't moved back!

Luckily I have a dress to wear that's "passable" and I'll find some super cute shoes. BLERG!

Part of my attitude adjustment is moving on after events like these and using them as more motivation instead of an excuse to eat more because I'm already huge anyway. I've been trying to think hard about what my life used to be like when I lost those hundred pounds and wore a medium and the answers are pretty simple. I was single and never really ate a meal and I was at the gym or on the treadmill at home all the time. Even on the weekends. To be sure I polled some friends who have known me a long time and their answer was "you were always at the gym". So, while I don't ever want to be single again, I do want to be back in that "exercise above all" mode because it allows me to be able to be more flexible with my eating and not obsessed with everything that goes in my mouth.

That said, my gym bag is packed and I'll be going to water aerobics after work. I will exercise every single day this week. I will not get rid of those skirts because I will fit into them again.

Autumn and Oatmeal

What a gorgeous morning here in the ATL. I get so energized by fall even though I'm feeling totally bloated these days. I'm sure i'd feel great if I wasn't lugging around an extra person on my body.

I forget how much I like oatmeal. I tend to only eat it in the cold weather but I'm sitting here wondering why I don't eat it every morning. I feel so full and so satisfied. Lately I've been lazy and having a Fiber 1 bar for breakfast and that just seems to make me hungrier immediately. I don't know why I don't just admit I can't have things like that even though they are "healthy". They make me crave everything in sight. It's all about the sugar with me and I need to stay away from it in any form.

Today is 21 days until my high school reunion and I vow to exercise every single day until then. Even if it's just a walk. Hopefully that will make feel less jiggly and bloated even if I can't lose 100 pounds in 21 days : ) I will log my exercise minutes here.

Also, a big shout out and thank you to my blog land pals who are so sweet and supportive even though they don't even know me. It means so much to me to know that I'm not alone in this.

I promised myself I wouldn't freak out

and I'm freaking out. About my class reunion coming up in 3 weeks!

I've never in my life considered driving instead of flying because I'm uncomfortable in the seats of a plane but I'm at that point. How can I possibly feel good about myself at the reunion when that is something to even have to consider? I remember when I lost 100 pounds how great it felt to feel tiny on the plane and not have to worry about it. I can't believe I let this happen again...and I'm bigger than ever.

I normally have a ton of confidence and a great self esteem because I consider myself an awesome person but this weight is eating away at it. More than I thought. What the hell am I even going to wear??

I was also scanning the pictures of the 10 year reunion which I did not attend and hoping that I won't be the fattest person there. Once again, normally something I don't care about.

I have to get back into attitude adjustment mode again and just exercise as much as I can until that point. Even if I don't lose a pound at least I will feel good.

UGH! (or BLERG as Tina Fey would say!)

Oh and Happy New Year to my Jewish friends.