If I Am Thinking About It

If I am thinking about the blog I am going to post.  I need to get back in the habit.  My success can be tracked exactly by how frequently I post.  When I was on top of it and posting at least weekly I was losing weight.  When I stopped posting I stopped losing.  I wish there was a Weight Watchers widget for blogger so I could easily post my points on a daily basis.  I went over today, but I treated myself to some middle eastern food and while I may have overeaten a little bit it was all pretty healthy stuff:  Shawarma, Hummus, pita, veggies.  I also had not used any of my weekly points yet, and still have 40 or so left.

For those of you not familiar with Weight Watcher Points Plus system it is a way of tracking your intake.  The program allocates a certain number of points that you can (and should) use daily.  For me that is 71.  I figure each point is worth roughly 40 calories, so 2800 calories a day, which seems about right.  Those points are only usable on that day.  You also get a bank for the week that you can use at any time.  I get 49 additional points a week to use for parties, cheat days, if I want a drink or desert every once in a while.  I have been staying pretty much on track with the points, but haven't had much success yet.  I lost 5 pounds over the first two weeks and I have gained a pound or so over the last 2 weeks.  I think this is due to a combination of slightly underestimating how much I am eating, which is difficult no matter what system you use, particularly if you freehand cook like I do, and Weight Watchers possibly allocating too many points for the week.  I am going to stick as closely to the plan as I can this week and try to leave about 20 points on the board.  If I do not see better results I will take points away from my daily balance.  We shall see how things go.

Walking A Maze Blindfolded

That is what doing this all over again has felt like.  It is all the more frustrating because I have done this maze before, so it feels like doing it again should be even easier.  Since visiting my folks for my birthday I have made some very positive changes.  I am eating out a lot less, I have cut most of the sugar out of my diet, and I am making better choices on a meal to meal basis.  I am just not seeing the results.

I have stopped gaining weight, which is a step in the right direction I suppose. I also can't help but feel that once I break that barrier and start losing I am set up for success.  My parents are doing Weight Watchers, and I joined them to give myself fewer excuses to keep good track of my intake.  Calories in/ Calories out is not good enough anymore, and weight watchers takes into account some of the other things I need to keep in mind.

My big goal is to lose 50 pounds by the time I go back to Houston for my theater teacher's 20 year celebration.  I had set 390 by March 1st as my first goal, but that looks like it is not going to happen.  375 by April 1 is the next goal, and I feel it is achievable if I focus on a few things.  1: keep up the good work with my diet. 2: get more physical activity.  Not having something to do everyday makes staying sedentary all too easy, especially with the awful weather here in Chicago. 3: Focus on sodium.  My blood pressure is too high, and flushing out that crap should help take other bad things with it.