Another Gouda Day

I opened my Advent cheese this morning, since it it worked out so well for lunch yesterday. 

The Mustard Gouda paired nicely with the ham, although I shouldn't have tried to grate it - it was way too soft. I didn't have any salad dressing and it didn't miss it at all. 

I've been tried to shave WW points here and there to make up for the crazy eating that I've been doing at work. 

So much candy! I'd lost nine pounds since March and have gained three of it back in the last six weeks. What the heck is wrong with me? 

Tomorrow is the start of a new Weight Watchers week - my goal is to track, track, track - and ignore those delicious Reece's trees. 

 

Gouda Evening!

Happy December 3rd...or Black Pepper Gouda Day. 

My intention was to melt whatever the cheese of the day was on to a serving of turkey chili for my dinner, but somehow black pepper cheese on chili didn't sound appetizing. 

I'm really struggling with my weight. I'd stayed at my Weight Watchers goal weight for three years and let it go to hell two years ago. Somehow I've managed to lose six pounds during the pandemic and just need to lose four more to get back to my goal weight. 

I've really been buckling down on counting points and trying not to blow the progress I've made, but it's been a struggle the last two months. We have so much candy floating around Second Helpings and I've been baking.

 I tried to make this meal last....the next struggle is not to sample the Snickerdoodles I'm baking....I wouldn't take any bets on my willpower. 

Get Analog: Chop, chop, chop.

[click on the title for the full post]

I am excited to be participating in the Think Kit project again this year. Today's Prompt: No screens, no technology – what did you do with your hands this year?

This is an easy one! 

I got handsy with a whole bunch of fruits and vegetables in 2015. Chop, chop, chop. 

I took my lunch to work and and ate at home many evenings. 

Summer lunches included open-face veggie sandwiches and broccoli slaw chock-full of fruits and snap peas and carrots and cilantro. Chop, chop, chop. 

Dinners involved sauteed veggies with scrambled egg topped with curtito Chop, chop, chop. 

I've lived in my smallish half of a double house for 20 years and never quite bonded with the kitchen. I love my old appliances but the counter space is nonexistent. This year I learned that all I needed was enough space for a cutting board.

I enjoy the time chopping. Sometimes I spend it in silence, sometimes listening to music, and others watching Netflix on my iPhone.

Who needs a big kitchen when you have a cutting board and a knife?

Chop, chop, chop!

your 2015, reviewed: less is more

I did it! 

[Click on the title for the full blog post] 

I am excited to be participating in the Think Kit project again this year. Today's Prompt: Your 2015, Reviewed: Give us the 30,000 foot view. Or, hone in on a few highlights. Let's bring last year to life before moving on to what's ahead.

I feel like I wrote the 30,000 foot view yesterday. Which was hard for me, I'm not good at the "high-level look" or other things that get bandied around in business and board meetings. I'm a boots on the ground sort of person. Tell me the project or idea and I'll make it happen. 

So, in the spirit of the opposite of high-level, I'll drill down on one aspect of 2015.

I joined Weight Watchers online a few years ago (at 165 pounds) and lost 15-ish pounds, give or take. My lowest weight was 140, but I seamed to hover around around 150 no matter how hard I tried. And this went on for years. Since 2007 at least - I know this because I've been writing down my weight on the first day of each month since then on a giant blackboard in my hallway. 

Last year I realized that I really wasn't trying that hard. Even if I was disappointed in my weekly at-home weigh in, it was just me and I could quickly shove the scales out of the way and ignore my chubby knees. It was surprisingly easy to walk by the chalk-scrawled numbers each morning.

I decided that I needed to treat losing weight like a part-time job. 

I am a hard worker after all. 

I started going to WW meetings in February (at 147 pounds) and meet my goal (135) in July and maintained the weight for six weeks, becoming a "lifetime" member in August. I'm proud to say that I've managed to keep it up...or rather off...for the last six months. 

While it hasn't been easy, I feel great, the new clothes have been fun, and my lab results from my last checkup were lovely. And writing on the board is so much more enjoyable.

I've discovered several things about myself. I like to cook and I especially love the prep part. I spend at least half an hour each day, often more, making my breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I spend more time at farmers markets and in the veggie aisle. My cutting board is always within reach and I had to have my French knife sharpened for the first time in 20 years.

I've also learned to my great surprise that I feel better when I exercise. I credit my Fitbit with keeping me motivated. My jiggly elbows didn't bother me, but reaching 12,000 steps and getting those four little lights to flash in my wrist kept me jogging in place in my kitchen. 

Apparently eating less and exercise lead to weight loss. If only someone would have told me sooner...

Here's to another year of eating well and jogging around my 750 SF house - 28 steps east, turn, 28 steps west, turn, 28 steps east....

And if you need me on Wednesdays at 6:00, tough. I'll be at my Weight Watchers meeting. 

 

track it!

[please click on the title to read the full post]

Today's Think Kit blog post prompt: 

One Small Step

Set your sights on the next year: what's one step you can take to support a goal you have for 2015? Whether it requires a written plan, a list of supplies or ingredients, or even a flowchart: getting your plan down in words should help spur you into action.

I have two not-so-fun goals for 2015 and both involve tracking. 

I'm had great luck with Weight Watchers over the years. 

As it turns out, eating less and moving more results in weight loss! 

Who knew? 

I was cruising right along at a manageable weight for the last year or so and I let me guard down a bit and gained five pounds this fall. While the weight isn't terribly noticeable, I can tell. And I feel much better with the weight off.

And you can't go around gaining five pounds every three months or so. Actually, you can. And it sucks. 

So, I'm back to tracking my food and activity. It really does work. 

The second goal is to get my finances in order. At one time I had a giant savings account. Then I bought a house and other grown up things. All of the amazing travel in 2014 took a dent in my non-existent savings account. 

I've already made the spreadsheet and filled in my projected income and expenses and am ready to start recording, no matter how painful it might be. 

So here's to losing and saving!  

twenty-six

[Click on blog title for complete post]

Lucky Numbers

 
Time to get mathematical – and yes, you may use a calculator. Was there a significant number in your year? A birthday? A first? A personal record? A date now carved in the annals of time? A number that represents a streak, whether winning or losing, good or bad? A bellwether or a lagging indicator or just...three.

I'm not sure if it can be considered my lucky number, but 26 is always on my mind. Twenty-six is the number of daily Weight Watchers points that I am allowed. Forty-nine is the number of weekly points (the ones that you can spend however you like, not just on chips and beer as I am wont to do). Five is my goal for activity points - points earned above my typical day-to-day activity.

I'm a big (not as big as I used to be - get it?) believer in Weight Watchers. It really does work. I've lost 25 pounds and basically kept it off. Except for the five that I gained since September.

So here's to being back to keeping 26 at the top of mind (and off my waist).

think kit day one - your year in photos

[click on the title for the full post]

Today's Think Kit blogging prompt: Document your year in photos. Did one photo encapsulate your year? Maybe it takes a gallery. And don't forget to caption, describe, or or document what made an image so important. Let's see those photos!

Uh oh. I panicked when I saw the prompt - how in the world could I whittle it down to just a few photos? Hell, I have seventeen days worth photos of me and the giant popcorn ball at the Indiana State Fair this summer.

I'm a seriously crazy picture taker. I take a ton of photos. I'm never far from either my Canon SLR or my iPhone - I think of the phone as a camera first and telephone second. Confession: I sleep next to both of them. Not in the bed of course, that would just be obsessively crazy. They have a nice little spot within reach on the nightstand. 

As I was flipping through the thousands of photos that I've taken in 2013 something quickly became apparent.  I was in them. And not just my feet.

Not only have I lost 20 pounds since Saint Patrick's Day, I've grown more comfortable with my looks. I have the Spitznogle nose and the Gremelspacher chin and I'm finally okay with that.

And losing weight has been the biggest news of 2013 for me.  Apparently if  you eat less and exercise the pounds melt off! Who knew? Being accountable to Weight Watchers and an activity monitor have helped. The biggest motivation has come from being involved in a message board on the Weight Watchers site. There is a group of us all born in the same year that chat daily. I hate to miss checking in each day and I was thrilled to meet some of them in person in October.

The photo I choose for this prompt was taken in Boulder this summer. I was with part of my family and visiting with college friends. I like how healthy and relaxed I look - it made me smile when I saw it.

I can't resist leaving you with a giant popcorn ball picture from the State Fair this year....

.

www dot weight watchers dot wheeee!

Chicago Camp '61

You might remember that I lost weight five years ago. And I gained most of it back. I gained it so slowly that I barely noticed. Unless I was bare - then it was obvious. 

Since April I have lost over 20 pounds. I'm even lighter than I was five years ago, mostly in thanks to the women pictured above.

Weight Watchers is a great program - as it turns out healthy eating, portion control, and increased activity are the key to losing weight! Who knew? 

Actually I did know, but I needed to be held accountable.

But the thought of attending another meeting makes my head explode. I have seven standing meetings each week, and several other monthly meetings - board meetings, church meetings, neighborhood meetings, committee meetings - you get the picture. 

One day I dipped my chubby toes into the Weight Watchers online community and stumbled across a wonderful group of women all born in the same year. And what a diverse group we are: nannies, nurses, FBI personnel, college administrators, teachers, payroll specialists, homemakers, cable industry execs, and all sorts of fun and inspiring women. I made instant friends!

It is fascinating, but we don't talk about food or our weight as much as you think we would. Since we all have a common point of reference - being 52 - we talk about everything under the sun. 

Several of us got together over the weekend. People flew in from all over the country and spent the weekend together in Chicago. I was lucky enough to drive up on Sunday to soak in their goodness. 

It was great to meet so many of them in person - and I think we're all just fabulous!