planning to succeed

The mean old hateful ugly scale is actually kissing up to me lately. He's been telling me nice things in the mornings and right now we're on good terms. I know he's a sneaky snake, though, and if I don't watch myself he'll start pissing me off again every morning and then Jess and Amanda will be right! (you know I love you girls!!) I know I have to mind my P's & Q's to be able to ride this as long as it will last, but the next two weeks are going to be rough. And when the going gets rough, the Mandy starts planning.

All of the sticky eating circumstances coming up are all in my control. On the Fourth I'm planning on bringing my own low fat hamburger patty and my own healthy bun. I'm bringing FF mayo so that I can make a single serving of deviled eggs, cole slaw, and maybe potato salad. I'm going to find a healthy ice cream recipie and not tell the family that it's healthy and see if they can tell. (I ALWAYS make homemade ice cream on the Fourth of July) We'll have cake because it's my SIL's b-day, and I can either have a small piece of that or some of my mom's baked beans. (trust me - the way she makes them cake and baked beans proally are equal in points) No margaritas and lots of water.

On our camping trip I will allow Jeremy one restaurant a day that will offer unhealthy foods and I will do my best to control my portion sizes and choices. (I'm sure he's going to chose Chinese buffet for one of them - DANGER! DANGER!) I will enjoy one meal of small endulgence and the other two will be strictly healthy. And I will bring my favorite healthy snacks along, too.

For VBS, I will review the menu and plan my points around it. If it's too high in points or if I haven't succeeded in planning my points accordingly - I will eat SubWay. I WILL NOT EAT THE CAKE THAT IS PROVIDED EVERY NIGHT!! :o)

Most important of all: I will count points for everything, and if for some reason if I mess up one day I will still count points and move on the next day.

There. Now that ya'll know it maybe I'll be more accountable and feel stronger. :o)

Happy Friday! I hope everyone has a wonderful OP day and rock the socks off this weekend!

at least banana splits have fruit in them...

Last night after church Jeremy and I decided to go out for ice cream. So we went to Sonics and I got a banana split! That sucker was 10 points - and I ate the whole thing! I had to use 3 WP's to cover it, and it honestly wasn't that fabulous. It was already melted before the carhop brought it out. But I ate it because it was there and we had spent money on it and because I guess I wanted to. I feel sorta guilty about it, but I stayed OP and had all my GH points in for the day. (uh, ice cream is a dairy, right?) j/k!

Last time I was on Flex I would use all my WP's at once - typically pigging out eating Mexican food! But this time around I seem to be using them a little bit at a time. I have less points to use each day so that may be part of it, but perhaps this eating in moderation will help. I mean, I can still eat my chips and cheese dip, just maybe not so much of it and with a healthier entree. (Because, let's be honest, my favorite part of Mexican food is the cheese) I'm going out to eat with my skinny girl coworker tomorrow, I'm going to suggest we eat at Casablanca so that I can get the Mexican food urge out of my system while in front of skinny minny. I always eat healthier around her. :o)

Oh - the doc's appointment went really well yesterday. I talked to him for about 5 minutes and he confirmed NCChris's thoughts on weight loss & weird TOM's. Chris had told me that fat has estrogen in it and when you lose the fat your body loses some estrogen, which could lead to messed up cycles. So yay! We're not all in some weird cyber-sync - we're all just gettin skinny! Way to Go! ;o)

I hope everyone has a grandola granola OP day!!

honky tonk heaven

Yesterday went really well. I got in all my water/fruit/dairy and even played in my pool for a little while. Somewhere around 9 o'clock last night Jeremy and I needed to run to the store down the street, and while we were there he decided that he had a sweet tooth. (Can I just say that my hubby always has a sweet tooth?) He grabbed a fried apple pie and I zoned in on the fried chocolate pies. Okay, now I love me some fried foods and I love me some chocolate and when you put the two together I'm in honkey tonk heaven. So I got it, but not before I swooned at the nutritional facts on the back. I knew I had six points left and I had achieved all of my GH points for the day. (minus a milk serving - but you HAVE to drink some milk with fried chocolate pie anyways) And when I got home I realized that my slide points thingie wouldn't calculate the points because it was over the charts! I got on Roni's site and used her little points calculator that she can no longer call a "points" calculator. It was a whopping 11.8 points! :o) So I ate half of it and used 2 WP's for my milk. I zapped it for a few in the microwave and it was delicious - totally worth the 6 points. And since I only hate half of it I didn't feel like I was going to go into diabetic shock.

So it's all gravy. I had my chocolate fix, stayed OP, and have hopefully headed off that "whoa is me I'm on a diet I can't have no fun" feeling. The bad thing is that I encouraged Jeremy to eat the other half of my pie so it wouldn't be there to tempt me. This is after he ate his pie. I'm a bad influence.

It's going to be pretty busy busy in Mandy Land for the next few weeks. We're going camping on July 5th and won't be back until the night of the 7th. Then July 8th we're starting VBS at our church and I'm the storyteller, so I've got to get all my props together and my backdrops painted and my peeps organized before I leave for camping. I'm nervous about my eating habits during this period b/c we'll eat out for all of our meals while we're away (I know it's not real camping if you don't cook you own food, but we're taking baby steps) and then we'll have kiddie meals everynight at VBS. Maybe I can get a hold of the menu in advanced and plan ahead. Being the youth minister has its perks! ;o)

So, I suppose I should stop procrastinating and get int the middle of my planning. I'm blessed to have a job that allows me to not only blog and comment with my favorite cyber buddies, but also allows me to work on church stuff while on the clock!

Have a Great OP Day!

yippy skippy!

I went to WI last night, and, (are you ready for this?) I actually lost 1.8!! I have absolutely no clue how it happened because, as I said yesterday, I didn't make the best choices in the recent past, but of course I'm not complaining! :o) I finally busted out of the 190's and now I'm working on getting out of the 180's. I haven't been in this "decade" in a long time, so it's nice to be here.

I switched back to Flex yesterday because my portion sizes were getting out of control. I had that "I'm on TOM and it's not my turn so I deserve to eat whatever I want" mentality going on, and I needed to get back to the basics. I did really well yesterday. I drank all of my water (yay!) had at least six servings of fruits and veggies (yay!) and over two servings of dairy (yay) and my point total came to 24. My target is 25, but I didn't want to eat late at night when I wasn't hungry, so I didn't. An even bigger NSV for me is that I only "spent" 2 points in empty snacks. I ate a granola bar with a glass of milk last night for dessert, but all my other snacks were nutritious. That's a really big deal for me! It seems that every time I go from Core to Flex I've learned a new healthy habit that sticks with me. That makes me happy! :o)

Somehow our another I screwed up the links to everyone's blogs, so I'll work on fixing that today. I'm just stalking everyone on other people's blogs! :o)

Have a Great OP Day!!

*jumping up and down*

Okay, not really. But I'm super duper glad that so many of ya'll have come here! I've been working my booty off trying to keep up with everyone and add links to my page, but if you don't see yourself here then make sure you leave me a comment and I'll add you!

I was able to find a lot of my past blogs with Google Cache, and it's really creepy/insane that I can Google my alter ego and find all of my past blabberings. I know that you're all as relieved as I am! ;o)

Okay, I just wanted to say hi again! :o)

the journey continues

Since I assume that you (the reader) know me from the weightwatchen community, it seems sort of silly to reintroduce myself with this new blog, so I won't. :o) I might see if I can't make an "About Me" page with all that junk on it.

I already miss our community so much! Hopefully we can all stay connected until it's back up.

Okay, back to me. :o)

I had a really "Off Plan" weekend. Well, probably ever since Wednesday night. I've been stress eating, and lazy eating, and bored eating and hormone eating. And it's gotta stop. Even if my stupid TOM is driving me insane. I have to go to my gynocologist on Wednesday because of the slight concern that I might have endometriosis. My mother had it when she was my age, and since I've been having crazy symptoms we just want to be sure. I'm totally not looking forward to this - but I'm really not freaking out about it, either. (the old Mandy was borderline hypochondriac - so this is pretty huge) What I'm obsessed most about is the infertility issues that it can cause, and that's exactly why I'd rather be safe than sorry on this one.

So I'm trying the Flex plan again. I feel the need to go back to basics. I need to measure portions and get my dairy/veggies/fruits in each day. Not to mention water! These are all such great habits - why am I such a slacker?

Alas, today is new day, and this is a journey, not a hop skip and a jump, right?

Thanks for finding me here and I hope you all have a great day!!

I Love My Curves!

If you look back at my high school pictures, you would probably think that I was a skinny girl back then. I look curvy and happy. But I never ever was happy with my size. My best friend from High School and I was talking about this the other day. We thought that we were fat, but we were such a cute size! Why couldn’t we appreciate ourselves?
My smallest size back then was a 9 - my largest was probably a 15. In four years time I yo-yo’ed back and forth. This up and down isn’t healthy for anyone, let alone a teenaged girl with a low self-esteem. I never could maintain what I had lost because I never felt that I was finished losing weight. I was never happy with myself.
This yo-yo cycle has continued into my adulthood. I will loose weight just to gain it back because I feel like I’m so far away from my goal that I just quit.
Today as I was looking in the mirror before I got dressed I thought to myself, “You know, you’re looking pretty good”. I could easily point out areas that needed work, and I would by no means like to show you just how “good” I look naked (not that you would want to see…) but I realized for the first time in a long time I am becoming happy with myself. And what’s more for the first time, ever, I love my curves. I love my shape. I love that I look like a WOMAN. (hear me roar!) I am by no means a Marilyn Monroe (36-24-35 or something like that) but I am happy with the body that God has given me.
With all that being said, and with the effort to not yo-yo anymore in mind, I have decided that my new goal is to be a size 12, no matter what I weigh. This is probably WW heresy, and I probably won’t make lifetime, but I don’t really give a flip. I don’t want anyone else to be able to tell me when to me content with my body, and as long as I continue to eat healthy foods and exercise I will be at a healthy size then. I would much rather love my curvy body than try to lose too much and not be able to keep it up. My dad and my Kelley both have had a hard time maintaining the weight they lost, but I think they look great now. They looked too skinny when they hit lifetime. :o)
So there it is. I hope ya’ll don’t think I’m chickening out, but this decision feels right for me.
As a totally TMI side note, I believe I have figured out why I’ve maintained for the past two weeks. The first week I was on TOM, and I have just started TOM again. Unfair!! But it makes sense that I wouldn’t lose during this crazy hormonal time. There seems to be a lot of us going through this. You know how they say that women who spend a lot time together sync up? I wonder if that works with cyber relationships too? lol
Have a great OP day! :o)

playing dress up

I did pretty well at following the mission statement yesterday. I drank more water and I made healthy food choices. I even managed to get my house out of CHOAS (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome). When I kicked back to watch The Wonder Years (my nightly addiction) I was completely relaxed and guilt-free. It was great. I even managed to only eat three times yesterday - not that there’s anything wrong with a snack if you need it. I just wasn’t hungry the rest of the night.
My Kelley is a really good photographer, and she wants to take pictures of Jeremy and I at a new spot she has found. She said that she thinks that I should wear a sundress, but the only “sundress” I own is my Senior Class Day dress my mom made for me over six years ago. I tried it on last night, and it almost fit! It was a little tight around the tummy, and really looked ridiculously too young, but I was excited that I could wear it in another five pounds or so. (although it’ll probably stay in the closet forever) While I was at it, I also tried on my Junior Prom dress, which didn’t look too hot but I could put it on. I know it’s silly, but I’m glad to see that I’m at least getting close to the size that I was back in high school.
That’s it for today. I hope everyone has a wonderful day!!

mission statement(s)

I went to WI last night and I have maintained - again! It’s disappointing and frustrating, but it’s made me realize something. I started this journey with the idea that I wanted to improve myself for my future children. To have a healthy pregnancy was my biggest motivation, but some how I’ve warped this into a vanity issue. If I were honest with myself (which I’m trying to be) I would admit that I really just want to lose weight to look good. I want to be skinny. I want to be able to wear whatever I want, and if I want to prance about in a bikini, I want to be able to with pride. There’s just one problem with that: it’s wrong. I’m sorry, it may not be wrong for you, but it’s wrong for me.
It’s one thing to want to be healthy, but it’s another to want other people to look at you and base your worth on your appearance. My husband has thought that I was beautiful all along, and other people’s opinion’s of my appearance really shouldn’t matter to me. (and for the most part, they don’t)
So, with all that being said, I’m returning to my original purpose- to learn habits that I would want my children to have. But rather than carrying on with this vague mission statement, I’ve decided to specifically list the habits that I want my children to have. (as they relate to me, of course)
1) I want my children to make good food choices. - Junk food is okay every now and then, but I want my kids to eat healthy foods on a regular basis.
2) I want my children to have an active lifestyle - watching TV isn’t a horrible thing, but watching TV all night, every night is.
3) I want my children to clean up after themselves - okay, this seems like something I would have down pat right now, but if you were to see the current state of my house you would totally understand.
4) I want my children to drink lots of water - everyone knows that most kids don’t get enough H2O, and I definitely don’t.
I think these just about sum it all up. These are the habits that I want to have. I know that if I do these things I will lose weight, but I don’t want to care so much about that anymore. I’m trying to make self-improvement my main goal, and if that also registers on the scale it’ll be an extra bonus.
So I’m going to keep on following WW’s Core plan. It’s an easy program and I can make sure that I eat well-balanced meals. I’ll still go to WI and all that jazz, but I really think that I need an “inside makeover” before I can be truly happy with the ways that I’ve changed on the outside.
Thanks for listening and have a great OP day!

yay me! :o)

I’m pretty proud of myself. I was really good on Saturday at the family reunion - the only non-Core thing I ate was a tiny tiny slice of key lime pie and a tiny tiny slice of chocolate pie. They were itty bitty, but I just couldn’t pass them up. (note: last year’s reunion included me eating as much of whatever I wanted, so this is a big change) I made Penne Bake and Tomato Pie, and they were both really yum.
Sunday we ran around to see all of the dad’s, and we had dinner at my mom’s house. She made this yummy stir fry using that broccoli coleslaw stuff and I skipped everything else except the asparagus and banana bread. No, banana bread is not Core, but I had to have some. But I skipped the cream cheese. All in all it amounts to a victory, I think. I like that I’m learning (at least I think I am) to eat healthy choices while at family functions, but to allow myself a little desert so I don’t feel like such a martyr. Besides, the desert is the best part, right?
I also managed to exercise twice this weekend: car washing and swimming. All in all it was a great and busy past two days. The scale still isn’t budging, but we’ll get the official verdict tonight at WI. If I don’t lose, I know it’ll be a direct reflection of what I did or didn’t eat this past week. I went a little overboard last Tuesday night, but have tried to do damage control all week. However, I realized this morning that I haven’t been getting enough dairy or water - so that really could be the culprit. We’ll see. I’m not letting it get me down. I feel good and I’m wearing clothes that I haven’t worn in forever. I think I just got into the “wanna lose weight fast” mode with this wedding coming up, and we all know that the slower the better, right?
Have a great OP day and wish me luck tonight!

i'm a bottom-less pit with a big bottom!

Honestly yesterday was kind of rough. I’ve had a dull headache since Thursday morning and I felt hungry all stinkin day long. I don’t know why - I ate foods that should keep me full, but I was starving!! I went walking with mom last night and that helped a lot. Exercise always curbs my appetite! :o)
When I got home Jeremy had already eaten so I just fixed a bowl of oatmeal. I love this stuff and it really sticks with me. Then Jeremy got a sweet tooth so I sorta had a talk with him about baking stuff that he would get on to me for eating. I told him that it was unfair, and that he should make something that was a single serving. He ended up making a oatmeal & chocolate concoction that I tried a couple of bites of, and it was pretty good. The only thing in it that wasn’t Core was the sugar - so I’m counting a point for my bites. I’m glad he worked with me.
When I first started WW, I refused to have anything in the house that I couldn’t have. I’m not so much of a nazi now, but I still can’t have my trigger foods at easy access.
We’ve got a busy weekend coming up. We’re decorating for the reunion tonight and grocery shopping for the dishes I’m making, tomorrow my in-laws will inevitably come over in the morning (they always do) and then there’s the reunion and we have to shop for Father’s Day gifts (which drives me crazy because I’m a shop ahead kind of gal, but the men’s gifts are Jeremy’s job) and then Sunday after church we are visiting all of the fathers!

Busy Busy! :o)

I hope ya'll have a great weekend!

my husband is a brave brave man

I think that I’ve offhandedly mentioned before that my normally very intelligent husband has taken to supporting my weight-loss efforts by taking food away from me. Example: if we go out to eat and he orders French Fries then he’ll smack my hand if I try to reach for one. This is a semi-new habit of his, and I must admit it burns me.
I got in his car last night to go to church and there was a bag of gummy cherry thingies, and I reached into the bag to get one, and he took the bag away from me, prying the gummy out of my hand. He said, “You don’t have the points” and I said, “Yes I do.” and he said, “You ate a lot last night at the woman’s picnic, you don’t want to eat these.”
Now, I love the fact that he’s holding me accountable. It’s hard to hear, and I don’t like it (especially last week while I was on TOM and HE MADE BROWNIES FOR HIMSELF!!) but I appreciate the fact that he’s willing to risk ticking me off to help me stay OP. But come on! If he wasn’t eating so much crap, I wouldn’t be tempted by it. Then he said something like, “If I’m going to pay $40 a month for this, you’re going to stay On Program”. I think he was kidding. He better have been.
Like I said, my husband is a brave brave man. But what kinda bothers me is that my mom was like that when I was a little girl. She’d tell me that I didn’t need to eat something because she didn’t want me to get heavier. So things like ice cream and cookies were often totally off limits. So I began to sneak foods up to my room and eat at night. I really think this is what started my inappropriate relationship with food. I don’t want to start sneaking food in my own house.
Honestly - what do ya’ll think? Maybe I should talk to Jeremy and let him know that I’m scared of having a food sneaking relapse. It’s really hard for me to accept his “help” for what it is rather than thinking, “You hypocrite!”.
In other news, I stayed OP yesterday and only used 3 flexies (thanks to Jeremy!) When we got home from church we got in the pool and I worked out. Working out in the pool is so much fun because it doesn’t feel like work!

freshy-fresh start

Thank ya’ll so much for all of the comments about spray tanning and maintaining. You’re so sweet! :o)
Yesterday afternoon I was invited to our church’s woman’s meeting/picnic, so I went after work armed with store bought cake and Milo’s Splenda Sweet Tea. (I brought the only store bought item, by the way) I didn’t have time to plan a healthy dish to bring, and once I got there I ate with little abandon. All of the ladies had fixed their very best dish (ie: extra butter, extra fat, etc) and I was starving, so I ate like a normal person. I didn’t really over eat too much because I looked around and noticed that no one else was still eating so I stopped! Saved by the southern belles! :o)
I have no idea how many points I had last night, but today is the beginning of my WW week, so I’m starting fresh. I have a family reunion this Saturday that I’m absolutely dreading because they’ll be so many yummy things there. I think I’m going to find a really good Core dish to bring and munch on the veggie/fruit tray that’s always there and then I might let myself try a small piece of one dessert. That way I won’t feel like too much of a martyr. :o)
Ya’ll have a great OP day!

oh well :o)

I went to WI last night and maintained, like down to the last ounce. I’ve never done this before, and I’m not sure how to take it. My hubby said that he thought it was good because I’m experiencing heinous TOM, but it’s so dull that I can’t even process it. Like if I had lost I would have been excited, and had I gained I would have geared up to start kickin booty this week, but no change? It’s odd. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take it, and maybe I’ll have an extra big loss next time.
I really really want to break the 190’s so I can get some more clothes. Yesterday I said that I felt heavy, and I still do, but when I was picking out my clothes this morning I went through a pile of them because nothing fit. They were all too big. :o) I’ve never had a hard time finding an outfit because everything was too big. After years of making things work even though they may be too snug! It’s a great feeling, and I know that I’m losing something somewhere even though the scale isn’t registering it yet. Yay!
Do any of you know anything about spray on tans? I’m going to have to do something to wear this yellow dress and obviously getting a real tan is out of the question. I guess I’m lucky that I can’t tan. Since I have to be so careful out in the sun, it’s not such a hassle to me. Plus I’ve read that tanning beds are addictive.
See? There’s a silver lining to everything. :o)
Have a great OP day!

thank goodness it's monday (what?)

I’m actually glad it’s Monday. It was a stressful weekend, and a major issue couldn’t be resolved until this morning. Actually, it’s still not resolved, but hopefully it will be soon. *rolls eyes* I need a vacation. :o)
I went to David’s Bridal yesterday to get my dress. I ended up getting the 16 because no matter what size I bought it would have needed to be altered and this way they’ll have more altering options. I wasn’t exactly feeling confident that I could lose enough in 6 weeks to fit into a smaller size. Maybe it was because of the stressful weekend, or because of TOM, or because the bride and the bridal consultant are stressed out enough without worrying about a bridesmaid not fitting into a dress. But, the decision’s made now and maybe they’ll just have to alter the heck out of it.
I tried on several of the dresses that was tea-length and came in Cyrena’s Canary yellow, but my original halter was my favorite, so I went with that. It was the cheapest, too. You know I love that. I think I’m the only one with that dress, so at least there won’t be some skinny girl (ie: my little sister) up there for people to compare how different the dresses look. That’s the way my mind works. :o)
I’ve gotta admit - I’ve stepped on the scale twice since I said I wouldn’t until tonight. I really was just curious because I feel really big this week. I’m sure it’s just feeling bloated and hormones because I hadn’t gained any, but I don’t expect a huge loss tonight. Just in case I wore really light clothes today. ;o)
I’m hoping tomorrow’s blog will be a little more upbeat. I just feel sorta blah. I’m sure it doesn’t help that I got up extra early this morning to send the kids off to camp before work. I’m going to bed extra early today, and by Tuesday morning
**UPDATE!!**
I just got a call from Jeremy. He said that the issue was resolved before he could walk in the bank to see what was going on.
God Is Good!! :o)

Ode to Budget Shopping

I got off work early yesterday because the office was dead, so I decided to go grocery shopping. It was definitely time to go, and I’ve learned that if I let my cabinets get too empty I end up reaching for my hubby’s kiddie cereal. :oP
I didn’t want to fight the crowds at Wal-Mart, and we really needed meat, so I went to Hometown, a little mom and pop kind of hole in the wall place. It’s clean, mind you, but the building is old and the selection is limited. I like to go there sometimes, though, because they have really good looking produce (a lot of which come from local farmers) and their meat is handled there in the store (verses Wally World’s pre-packaged stuff) and they have this wonderful thing called “Pick 5″. You get 5 packages of meat (of a specific selection, of course) for $19.99. And ya’ll know me - I love a bargain. I can get fresh looking pork loin and steaks and save $5. Love it! :o)
Okay, I don’t know why I just rambled on like that (I’m obviously a carnivore) but the point of the blog is coming, I promise.
Even though Wal-Mart has cheaper prices, I’ve noticed that the last 2 times I’ve gone to Homietown that I’ve spent around $50 for a week’s worth of groceries - verses over $100 sometimes at Wal-Mart. I started thinking about why this could be, and I’ve realized a few things. Here they are. From Mrs. Cheapo to you: (not that I’m an expert…)
1) While on Core I’ve been having to really plan out my menus. Since I take the night before’s leftovers for lunch the next day, I have to plan when I’m going to use my daily starch and plan accordingly. This results in me knowing what I need and what I don’t.
2) Hometown may have a smaller selection, but that could be a good thing. Since they don’t have a ton of 100 calorie packs or 50 different tempting brands of rice cakes, I don’t end up making impulse buys, so I don’t have the extra junk in my house but more cash in my wallet.
3) Hometown is nice and quiet. I have plenty of time to wander through the aisles and really compare prices. For example: I started to reach for a gallon of skim milk, but I could actually SEE the selection well enough to realize that if I bought 2 1/2 gallons that would save about 30 cents. The 1/2 gals were on sale, but the gallons weren’t.
4) I’m less likely to run into someone I know, so I’m able to really concentrate on my mission. I can make sure and get everything on my list, and take my time making my way to the check-out instead of rushing there to avoid talking to someone I know will be hard to get away from. (you know ya’ll do it, too!)
5) The check-out lines are shorter. Enough Said!
There are a few things, of course, that I can’t get there, so Wal-Mart trips are necessary. (I love the Diet Sam’s Cola’s for some reason) but I’m trying to plan ahead for that, too, and buy like 2 weeks worth at a time.
Okay. Just thought I would share my newfound love for our little grocery store. It’s hard to find some of the cool WW friendly foods that ya’ll always mention, but at least I have a little hometown grocery store when I can find my shopping zen. :o)

yummy yummy

I was craving something chocolately last night after church, so Jeremy and I went to Applebee’s to try out their WW dessert. Once we got there he decided that he was hungry so I ordered a house salad that I could munch on while he was eating his bacon cheeseburger and fries (I couldn’t just sit there and watch him eat…) then came dessert time. I got the chocolate raspberry cake (the only WW dessert they offered) and it was 4 points worth of yumminess. It wasn’t something that I would have normally ordered (I usually like pure chocolate with chocolate on top) and it was a little small of course (think a slice of cheesecake) but it was just what I needed. All the flavor and comfort of chocolate cake without the guilt. Gotta love that.
Next time, though, I’ll be sure to order my salad sans cheese and croutons. I had to charge myself a point for the salad because I sneaked in a little of the toppings! :o)
Today should be a good day. I’m going out to eat for lunch so there’s really no telling what I’ll get, but whatever it is it won’t be more than 5 points. I might be good and stay completely Core - it’s just kinda hard to eat fastfood Core without using my starch for the day. (leftover mashed potatoes are calling my name for supper)
I’ll go walking with my mom this evening and sometime today I’ll sneak in my arm exercises here at work. I just wish that I got a lot of AP’s out of cleaning my house and folding laundry. I’ve gotta get that done, too, so it won’t be looming over my head this weekend. :o)

the lobster syndrome*

I have what has not been medically diagnosed as the lobster syndrome. It’s not life-threatening, but it can cause discomfort. Here are my symptoms: I blush easily, and when it is pointed out the I’m blushing I proceed to a blush so intense that my entire body turns bright red. Anytime I exercise, no matter my fitness level, I turn a nice shade of lipstick red. I sunburn extremely easily, obviously, and if I’m in deep thought I become flushed. :o)
Despite my LS I have decided to start walking on my lunch break. I have an hour that is usually wasted on window shopping and the occasional errand, so I figure why not spend it getting some exercise? Granted I’ll come back to work looking like I’ve ran a 5K, and my coworkers will probably express concern for me for the first few weeks, but it’s all gravy. I’d rather be lobster faced than busting out of a yellow halter tea-length bridesmaid dress in front of no telling how many people. (yes, I’ve thought of the fact that I’m likely to go lobster faced while in said yellow dress in front of everyone. I’m just hoping I don’t do something to embarrass myself)
So, with much anticipation and a little apprehension, I will walk today during lunch. I’ve brought a change of clothes, my walkin shoes, and my knock off ipod. It should be good times. :o)
I’m going to try to let ya’ll know after lunch how it goes.
I had a pretty good Core day yesterday. I was really craving some comfort food last night, so after much deliberation my hubby and I decided to make pork chops with mashed taters and peas. All Core. (except the margarine I put in the taters - I need to buy some Core friendly stuff soon) It was delicious and pretty healthy, but I overate. That’s one of the hardest parts of Core. You can eat just until satisfied. But I was needing some comfort and I had the mindset of “at least I didn’t go get Chicken Fingers and French Fries” so I kind of lost it for a while there. Then later on, my hubby was going for a snack, so I wanted to eat to (why?) so I fixed another little helping of mashed potatoes. I had most of it eaten before I realized that I broke another Core rule - only one serving of potatoes or pasta a day. Shoot. I didn’t mean to, I just sort of did it without thinking. (Roni’s blog hit home today) But that was yesterday and today is today and maybe I’ve been reminded to THINK before I eat. :o)
*the lobster syndrome is a “condition” that I totally made up and should not be confused with any actual medical condition. :o)

rockin it HARD CORE!

Sorry. I couldn’t help myself. I’m super pumped up because I was down 4 pounds at my WI last night. Yay! I’d be proud of that period, but especially since I was sooo off plan the week before. (I’m telling ya’ll - it’s CORE)
Right now the only downside to Core is that it’s making my face breakout. I’ve told ya’ll before that I’m sort of having problems in this area, but I remember having some breakouts when I first started Core last time. The peeps on the Core Board seemed to think that it was related to my body detoxing itself. (ew.) It should go away soon enough. And it probably doesn’t help that I’m getting close to TOM. :o)
Thanks for all of your comments yesterday. I think I’m going to go for a 14 (provided that the dress is alterable). The WW Bridal Board said that under no circumstance should I order under my size, but I’m going with my gut here. (Besides I trust ya’ll more) :o) I’m trying to gear myself up to start some sort of exercise regime. *shudders* I’ve actually thought about ordering Buff Brides. Have ya’ll heard of that? There’s a Buff Bride challenge on the WW website that I’m thinking about doing, but it all seems so easy to stop doing. Ya’ll are really going to have to help me stay accountable. You have my permission to be mean to me if I’m not. :o)
Thanks again for all of your helpful comments and for all of your support. I really do love ya’ll!
Have an awesome OP day!!