A pound in the right direction.

For the past couple of weeks I thought there was something significantly wrong with our scale. It simply wouldn't go below a certain weight. My obsession with frequent weighing led me to test it. Move it to a different part of the floor, try again. Put my 25 pound baby on it. All signs pointed to it being in working order. So what was going on? Why wouldn't it budge for me?

Well, this morning it did. A pound.

A pound is great. I mean, it makes my next goal attainable this week. I would have liked to see more of course, but I worked for that pound. I walked 3 times last week during my lunches, challenging myself a little more each time with jogging or with going a little further. It's not even summer yet, but it was hot. I wanted to do more pilates, but did get in a session. (I'm making a list of all the exercises so I don't necessarily need to be watching the DVD to do it. I can do it while we're watching a different show.) I also made a different kind of breakthrough this week:

I started to really learn how/what to eat. I focused on getting my fruit/veggie servings. I made smarter choices. I made small modifications to make a big difference.

It finally clicked.

Oh and I just have to say, I big puffy heart Weight Watchers. It's really helping me to eat better because I'm figuring out what foods I can have and use no or very few points. I'm learning how to make my points go further. Personally, I think it has it all over any other weight loss system because I'm eating normal food. I'm in the real world. It works for me. Other weight loss programs work well for others, but the concept of WW is fantastic. Even though the math makes statistics look elementary--thus why I signed up for online WW so it would do all the calculations for me--I like the fact that the new system looks at the full picture of nutrition (though the fact that calories aren't used in the calculation throws me off a bit).

Oh and my contribution to anybody looking for a truly awesome tasting breakfast, here you go:

Yummy Breakfast Stack

1 slice of toast whole grain bread (2 WW points), topped with a teaspoon of margarine (1 WW point) and a teaspoon of jelly/jam/preserves (0 WW points)
2-3 scrambled egg whites (1 WW point) put on top of the toast
Top it all with 2-3 slices of tomato (0 WW points)

YUM. 4 points total.

You can also modify to replace the toast with a frozen hashbrown patty (cooked without fat) for the same # of points. Add cheese (either a slice or 1/4 cup of shredded) for 2 additional points=6 total. If you must have a meat product, go with turkey sausage or bacon, but points will vary based on how much you have. 3 slices of turkey bacon would add 2 points, while 2 small turkey sausage patties would add 3.

It's all about striking a balance and finding what works so that a "diet" is easier to stick to. Also, modifications like using egg whites instead of the whole egg makes a big difference. 2-3 egg whites is only 1 WW point. 1 whole egg is 2. Now, it might not seem like a couple of points makes that big of an impact, but it does when you're budgeting points throughout the day. I've found if I'm smarter about points and spread the wealth, I don't get hungry all the time.

Another thing I learned this week was the importance of learning portion sizes. I even measured a lot of my food--like shredded cheese. In the past, I've grabbed a fist-full and dumped it on my quesadilla. (I'm a wee bit obsessed with quesadillas.) When I went to log my food, I wasn't sure if I had 1/4 cup of cheese or a full cup. Now I do. I use our measuring cups as a scooper and I know exactly how much to log and how many points I'm having. I also use portion size references. One serving of cooked pasta is about the size of a hockey puck. A 3oz serving of meat is about the size of my palm. And so on and so forth.

So I'm in learning mode--taking all of this info to make lifelong changes. Because I don't get to reach my goal weight and go back to my old ways. That's how I got to a position of needing to lose a mess of weight. It's just a matter of re-training my mind, feeling the impact that better food choices make on my body.

"What have you done today to make yourself proud?" (or this week, rather):

• Cheesecake Factory dinner could have been a disaster, but I planned ahead and got the salmon salad and just had a handful of itty bitty bites of the Hubs's red velvet cheesecake (just the cake part with some whipped cream). Total WW points: 7-9. That's AWESOME for any dinner, but especially for a dinner out.
• Walks at lunch--excellent posture, head held high...felt empowered.
• Planning ahead with points/meals. I also logged in to WW at home and over the weekend to make sure I stayed on track.
• Better food choices in general

Goal for this week: Meet my next goal!