Life as Betsy

So, the night after I got the cd, I was over at Aja’s and she was openly willing to let me pick and choose songs from her iTunes for my iPod (as she had just purchased a new nano herself and was playing around with it) and I happened to grab her "Gym" playlist before I really actually looked at what was on it. It definitely is a great mix - a 470 song mix. But I am enjoying a much larger selection of songs to walk my fat ass off to.

I am always looking for new blogs to read and recently found Yet Another Weight Watcher Blog. And while I need to really read through her blog entries, I did happen to notice one of her newest blogs, a cd of inspiration songs specifically for weight loss. If you don’t believe, take a look here. Better yet, take a listen!

So my weight loss is plateauing between my general lack of pushing myself harder and my body’s comfort with staying at its current weight. My goal of being in the 160’s by Valentines day was not met; however, my goal of having a job by Valentine’s day was, and of the two, I think that was the more immediate goal to be reached. But I am not one to quit and will keep pushing on. I am going to reach my goal weight, if for no other reason than spite.

But I am weighing less than I did last week, so I cannot be too mad about it. And I don’t want to use another pathetically cliche’ line that "it doesn’t matter what the scale says because my clothes are fitting looser" but I really feel that my face is looking leaner than it did even this weekend.

The truth is, with a busty chest like mine, you just can’t really get comfortable running. I’d need to wear two sports bras to get the needed support and the entire time, I’d be haunted by my cheerleading coach’s tale of woe about some former student of her’s running without a sports bra and ripping the muscles in her upper chest. I’m cringing now, just thinking about it.

I take comfort in knowing that there is no greater health benefits to running verses walking. In fact, in the long run (no pun intended), it is actually better for your body to walk instead of running. Running is harder on your joints and your back. I can remember when my father had to quit jogging and had to have surgery on both his feet to repair some damage he’d caused in his years of being a runner. He was in a walking cast for about two months per foot.

So off I go, hitting the treadmill, pushing the speed to what I can handle, upgrading the incline until I feel it in my calves and butt and pop on a compilation cd Aja made for me last year entitled "Betsy’s Bridal Bootcamp". I’ve been maintaining a heartrate of over 180 beats per minute, making my little ’stroll’ to a nice 30 minute cardio workout. She mixes some SClub7, Daniel Bettingfield, Atomic Kitten on there, with a little bit of Bon Jovi to keep me going and a touch of NIN for good measure too.

Question is, will I actually get my butt out of bed in the morning to do it again? My personal trainer of a husband (it comes in soooo handy that he does have that background) is hoping that I can make this a 7 days a week habit. I am hoping so too.

Luckily (??) this time I restarted before I’d reached the same dreaded magic weight that had driven me there before. About ten pounds less. But when it comes to gauging the loss and comparing it to previous losses, it is a little harder than it was before. So I’ve started taking monthly pictures of myself to see if I can see it.
 
Mike says he can tell I am losing, and so does my mother, but I think they are biased.

Obviously, the first (without bangs) is from January 2nd and the the second was taken tonight. Same bathroom, same lighting. I do look forward to taking a third picture at the beginning of next month to have a better comparison.

Down 3 pounds this week!!! Oooh that felt so good to see that on the scale. After last week’s back tracking, I tried my best to stay on course this week. Seriously, I need a new scale. Our current one is a digital and since we live on the second floor now, vibrations of us walking by turn it on and run the battery down. I really need one like I had when I was in California:

Also, I haven’t been exercising. And there is ABSOLUTELY no excuse for that. I have plenty of time and a decent gym about 200 feet from my apartment. If that wasn’t enough, my parents live about five minutes from me and have a treadmill with a wall mounted flatscreen with DVD player and wireless headphones available. I could go over, while my father is working, and watch a movie while walking.

I need to stop snacking at night too. Even if it is 94% fat free popcorn or Curves cereal, there is a certain point in the evening that I do not need to eat after.

These are my weak points. These are the areas I need to work on . . . so that I will be down again next week In fact, I am hoping if I really work at it this upcoming week, I’ll be down enough to make up for this week as well.

To quote Weight Watchers’ newest campaign, diets don’t work. Because they force you into a vacuum, where you eat certain things and not eat others and attempt to live in a bubble of only the approved foods. As far as I know, there isn’t a diet restaurant yet. One that supplies to all the various diets out there, from Jenny Craig to South Beach to Nutrisystem to Atkins. Although, that would be a very good idea. Feel free to steal that one. So we have to learn how to eat better. How to cut back on the foods that get us into trouble and bulk up on the foods that are lower in "badness" and filling at the same time.

I did try the Atkins diet for a summer, but after 12 weeks of lots of eggs and bacon and rolled up ham and not a slice of bread in sight, I grew very tired. I missed crackers. I missed toast. I would have killed for a bagel - all because they were things I couldn’t eat. They were on the no-no list. I lost about 10 pounds on Atkins and when I started eating crackers and bagels again, I gained back 15. Whoopee!

So that is why I have stuck to Weight Watchers. Because its teaching me to eat better. Every time I do it, I get better at it. I learn more about how to maximize more and I learn how to like more foods. Since a year ago, I have finally learned to like salads. Actually, I love the ones I make, which is a huge amount of growth for me. Even two years ago, the idea of eating salad left me feeling disgusted and I never could understand how people could want to eat it. Ewwww  . . . .

Here is a small list of my tried and true, old and new products that help me stay on track and fulfilled too.

Activia yogurt - The Activia Light is one point per cup and has all those active cultures to help you get regular. Its yogurt that makes you poop. Anyone trying to get rid of weight can appreciate a regular system.

Crystal Light To Go packets - They are really growing this product line to have drink mixes with stuff to boost your hydration, immunity, energy and all around feeling of taking better care of yourself. Pair two "To Go" packets with a 32 ounce Nalgene bottle and you are never are without water. I read somewhere that in wanting to lose weight, you should cut your weight in half and drink that many number of ounces of water a day. My current weight would put me at needing just under 3 Nalgene bottles a day.

Curves cereals - At Winco, they are under two dollars a box, they have, at the most, 4 points a bowl and they are tasty. Add a little sweetner and it might as well be Frosted Flakes.

South Beach Breaskfast bars - Tasty tasty tasty and two points a bar. I especially love the Cinnamon Raisin bars.

SmartOnes meals - They are a Weight Watchers product, but my favorites are a saving grace for lunchtime, when I would be most tempted to go buy something like McDonalds. So I tend to buy the few meals I absolutely love - specifically the Santa Fe Rice, Lasagna Bolognese, Spaghetti Bolognese, Three Cheese Ziti and their new Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas.