Scale Envy

The last couple of days I've been reflecting on the subject of scale envy. You know that silly little feeling you get when you hear of other people who have these big losses and you wonder why it can't be you. It's like if you & a good friend apply for a job, you both have the same skills and experience and your friend gets it ... part of you is ecstatic for them, but the other part leaves you wondering why not me.


I'm really happy with my losses lately - really, truly, happy. But when I've worked my butt off and I see people have losses of 3-7 lbs in a week and I can only dream of those it just leaves you wishing for it. I know there are all kinds of reasons behind these big losses, and I shouldn't compare myself. And really I don't think I do, I'm just venting a little and being a whiny baby. I'm just impatient and I want to be there NOW!


Then there are some people I know who just started following the South Beach Diet. They have each lost between 7-12 lbs in the last 2 weeks. It's just hard not to be envious. Especially since one of them is quite a bit trimmer than I am and she lost 7 lbs without even being totally strict. They're also 10 yrs younger and sadly that does make a difference. We all post together on a forum and I guess I'm feeling a little left out without having the big losses to celebrate along side them.


Anyhow, off with the negative and on with the positive. I'm feeling pretty good today. I actually feel slimmer and I can tell the capris I'm wearing today are looser than they were a few weeks ago. A few weeks back I had bought some shorts that I could barely get done up. They're still tight, but they do up easier now. My goal is to be able to wear those comfortably when we go to Oregon next month. They're perfect beach combing shorts. I've got 1 month to go!!!!


Bootcamp last night was awesome. I'm getting so much fitter! We did a ton of running stairs and I feel so much stronger with push-ups. I think it's time I challenge my GOAL for push-ups. I think I'm pretty close. Actually I think I'm going to have to set some new goals pretty soon as I'm going to accomplish them all pretty soon - woohoo! We did planks last night and it was supposed to be 2 sets of 1 minute each. I started my plank when she was still demonstrating it to the rest of the class and held it right through both sets - so probably about 3 - 3 1/2 minutes total.


Tonight I have bootcamp again, but with the tougher substitute instructor. This one does not believe in any breaks or stretching during class - she's go, go, go! It's pretty muggy so we'll be sweating buckets.

My menu in pictures

The other night my family was scattered all over so we each had something different for dinner. I had a craving for hamburgers so had bought some Yves veggie burgers to give a try. I haven't had them for years and thought it was worth a shot since regular hamburgers are really not worth the points. At only 2 pts per patty though, that is amazing!



I paired the patty with a wonderful product I found in the discount bin at Superstore - Wonder Bread Thin Burger Buns - 120 cal each with 3 or 4 g fibre. They were awesome and only 2 pts. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell they aren't being made anymore so I will have to settle with President's Choice Burger First when I run out. The PC one's are 3 pts each and if they taste the same then they WILL find their way into my basket again.



This burger was SO good. I'm not a fan of meat alternative products. I like my meat. But seriously, how can you pass up a burger that tastes at least as good as a regular burger (if not better) for total 4 pts? Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmmmmm!!!!! Bonus, no one else in the family will touch them.



Breakfast yesterday morning was a lovely farm fresh boiled egg, a whole tomato and some veggies that didn't fit into my lunch container. I despise store bought eggs. These eggs are from my ILs friends, from chickens who eat vegetable scraps and you can not beat the flavour.




Lunch was my big container of mixed vegetables (I swear I could easily eat twice this amount - this is 3 large stalks celery, 1 whole large red pepper, 1/3 long english cucumber and a few baby carrots), 1/2 c. yoghurt and a turkey sandwich on Weight Watcher's Whole Wheat Bread. I don't often buy this bread, but it was on a super sale at my local Co-op store, so I got a few loaves. At 1 pt for 2 slices you can't really go wrong. My son took one look at my breakfast & lunch and asked if I was trying to turn into a rabbit!!! HAHAHAHA. He is a self proclaimed meat-atarian and is anti-vegetables.




Afternoon snack consisted of 1 oz. Jalapeno Jack Cheese and a hard boiled egg






Dinner was a tilapia fillet (I love this fish!) topped with a drizzle of olive oil, cornflake crumbs, cayenne, pepper & lemon juice. Served with a salad that included 1/4 c. kidney beans and a balsamic olive oil dressing. A just a few low fat french fries (too hard to resist).


I even had room for a little dessert. I love myself a Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich, but I found Breyers 100 calorie Ice Cream Sandwich on sale the other day and decided to give them a whirl. They are a bit smaller (90mL compared to 113mL) but also 2 pts compared to 3, so a little savings. It was good. I probably still prefer the Skinny Cow, but if the Breyers was on sale again I'd buy them.



We finished off the night with my husband having to go see a client out in Richmond. So my daughter came along and we went for a nice walk along the Steveston boardwalk (forgot my camera which was a shame as it was pretty - check on the link). They shared a mango yoghurt smoothie from Blendz Coffee and then they each had a Gelato ice cream on a waffle cone. I passed on both those items and didn't feel I was missing out. What a great feeling!


Total - 21 points

Exercise - 30 min walk

Busy weekend, lesson learned, job offer and lowest weigh in

I have been busy, busy, busy this weekend. Friday ended up being a bit frustrating as I had to take in our passport applications and be back in time to take my son to the ortho. On the way out there traffic was insane and I almost didn't make it back in time. This messed up my lunch/afternoon snack plans but I'm proud to say I still kept completely on track and didn't let it derail me.

Saturday morning I decided to ride my bike into town for a Weight Watchers meeting - it's about 10 Km each way. When I was just about there I heard a funny pop sound and thought I saw something fly out from under my wheel. But everything felt fine so I kept riding. When I pulled into the parking lot I felt a weird bumpity, bump and ... well you can already guess - it was my tire that popped. A big honking nail!! GRRRRR.

Normally I take various forms of money (cash, debit/credit cards) and on this day I had NOTHING. Stupid!!!! I also had absolutely no tools of any sort. So here I am 10Km from home, no family members are available to come get me, no money to pay a bike shop to fix it, and no tools to fix it myself. Never go out unprepared anything can and will happen.

I phoned my husband to get his credit card number, but he had to come into town to get supplies so I told him to come get me. I walked from the meeting to the other side of town (a few more Kms) and met up with him. Then we made a trip to Walmart and I stocked up on everything I need should this happen again. I got 2 small bags, all the tools, spare tubes, a big bag for longer trips, and a nifty little speedometer thingy (that was just a bonus).

When we got home I had him talk me through how to fix the tire myself. And .. after he left again, I taught myself how to do some minor tune ups. (so proud!)

Since I was now all fixed up, I decided to do another bike ride. I rode down to the area where we do our Sunday runs, then I rode the path we run so I could calculate the exact distance, then rode home.

In total I rode just over 50 Km on Saturday! Plus a 25 min walk across town. Talk about racking up the APs! I'm just loving being out on my bike again and I want to ride everywhere.

Back it up to the Weight Watchers meeting that morning .... the leader approached me after the meeting and suggested I become a team leader. I was surprised. But, it's not something I can see myself doing. And also I don't think I'm the right person. To me if you're going to be a team leader you should agree 100% with the program and I just don't think I'm the model of WW's. In my opinion, to be a leader you should absolutely practice what you preach - and I don't. Besides, if I were going to take a side job I'd much rather be a fitness leader.

This morning my husband and I were both bagged, but eventually we headed out and ran 12Km on our favourite trail. About half way through I could really feel it in my legs & butt - but I made it through.

Tomorrow will definitely be a lower activity day - maybe some upper body weights or a casual walk. My legs need some rest.

Saturday also marked a pretty big day for me. While I haven't yet broken the 150 lb mark ... I did weigh in at the lowest I've been on my progress chart. This is pretty big for me. I'm pretty sure that's the lowest I have weighed since early 2003 - 6 years! In 2001 I lost 30 lbs in less than 6 months, then spent the next year and a half putting it back on, follwed by another almost 15! My whole attitude about weight loss is completely different now than it was in 2001. I can absolutely taste the 140s and I know I'll be there very soon.

Didn't get around to posting yesterday. Was a bit of an odd day that I never really settled into. Ate a few extra things that I know from past experience are my downfalls (swedish berries and fresh yummy bread). I almost didn't track everything, but in the end decided to and it really wasn't all that bad. I had 26 points and my target is 21 - so really not that horrible.

I skipped on exercise too. My son had his 2nd set of soccer tryouts last night so I was going to run while he was there. But when I got there my friends were there and I haven't seen them in quite a while and have really missed hanging out with them. So while I felt slightly guilty that I was missing my workout, I also know the importance of good friends and keeping in contact so I felt this was the choice I wanted to make.

I'm so excited for Saturday when I'll post my weigh in. I weigh myself daily so I already have an idea and if everything stays on course then it is a fairly exciting day.

Tonight we need to get our passport photos done, my daughter has a special event at dance class, and I absolutely must squeeze in a run. I've been researching various half marathons and I've narrowed it down to a few possiblities for late summer/early fall.

Today's menu:

Breakfast - Red River Cereal (2)
Snack - Pear (1)
Lunch- 4 c. Raw Veggies, Spicy Chicken Wrap on a Small La Tortilla Wrap, Mandarin orange (4)
Snack - Fibre One Oats & Peanut Butter Chewy Bar, 1/2 c. yoghurt (4)
Dinner - Tilapia fillet with cornflake topping, Salad with spicy cilantro ranch dressing ** and 1/2 c. kidney beans (10)

Total - 21 points

Exercise - 45 min running

** Spicy Cilantro Ranch Dressing - I'm going to try mixing bottled ranch dressing with Louisiana Hot Sauce with Lime & a good handful of finely chopped cilantro - maybe some cumin too. I just love those flavours! Never made this before but the idea appeals to me.

Here's a couple pics I took today that I wanted to share....

This is outside my front door. I was relaxing (suntanning) for a bit before dinner and it hit me how lucky I am to live on such a pretty property. When the water lillies come out in a few weeks it is just gorgeous - all white & bright pink.

Here is what I had for supper. My plate was so full and I couldn't finish it all. This was 9 points, maybe even 8, but alot of food. I had about 2/3 of it then finished off the rest after my workout.

And just to show Syl that I too look like a duffus in a bike helmet - hahahahhaaaaaa. I absolutely HATE wearing a helmet. Ideally I'd wear it for safety but the reasons I wear it is it's hard to nag the kids to wear theirs if I don't wear one, but after years of not wearing one because I didn't want to mess up my hair ... I've found that it gets alot less messy when I do wear one. I'm vain, what can I say! I'd much rather ride without it as I love the feeling of the wind whipping my hair.

The bike ride to bootcamp was pretty tough. I went out to get my bike and realized they were still cinched up on the truck from our weekend trip - ack!! By the time I got them off I had 15 minutes to get to class. I had to ride so fast, it was hot, and I could feel the sweat dripping down my legs - but I couldn't slow down. Then class was super hard as we did alot of run stairs. I'm sure my face was beet red and I know I was sweating like crazy. The ride home I took a little more leisurely, especially since I was feeling a little bit lightheaded. But it was nice to get that extra boost of exercise. I love biking for that.

It's getting hot in here ... and what works for me

Man it feels great to be back on the losing train again. I've diddled around for so long and right now I feel like it's just clicked for me. I don't feel like I'm struggling, I don't feel deprived, I don't feel desperate. I just feel great and I don't want to stop!

The things I feel that are helping me are:

* Setting a goal with a timeline (to be under 150 by Jul 9th). Normally I don't like these types of goals, because it implies an end, but somehow this just seemed to be what I needed to get going again and keep me focused. I'm not feeling at all that that date will be 'the end' but rather just a checkmark.

* Tracking everything! Even if it's not pretty.

* Preplanning. Almost every night (or early morning) I write out a plan for the next day. It really helps on work days because when I wake up I already know what to pack. I've tried planning an entire week, but my tastes change or someone ends up eating the food I had planned for a certain day and too many things come up. I still make changes sometimes, but having a plan makes such a HUGE difference.

* Being honest here (and maybe not popular) but I've stopped worrying about filling every category according to Weight Watchers Healthy Guidelines. While I do very much agree with them, I find it very hard to stick to them. I know I don't get as much dairy & healthy oil servings as I should and those are my downfall. I still have them, just not as often as I should. I was just finding it kind of stressful to get them all in within my points allowance and ended up feeling like a failure when I didn't, or eating too many points to try to get them in.

* Having an afternoon snack. Trying to get from noon to 6:00(ish) without having something just doesn't work, and by most research isn't healthy. Now I plan for it, have a slightly smaller lunch, and have something light in the afternoon around 3:30-4:00. If I have exercise planned for the early evening (6:00) then I eat more at my snack time and have a lighter dinner afterwards.

Tonight I have bootcamp. It's going to be killer as it's super hot here today 28-30° C. That's pretty smokin' for us, but I love it. So what do I plan to do .... I'm going to add more exercise and ride my bike to/from class. It's just over 9 Km each way, though I may take a 10Km route instead.

Today's menu:

Breakfast - Red River Cereal (2)
Lunch- 4 c. Raw Veggies, hummus, 1 hard boiled egg, 1/2 c. yoghurt (6)
Snack - 1/2 c. 2% cottage cheese, 4 wheat thins, hummus (4)
Dinner - 1 c. beef tortellini, 1/4 c. alfredo sauce with added spice, broccoli & red peppers (9)

Total - 21 points

Exercise - 60 min bootcamp, 60 min cycling

Had a wonderful weekend away. Went up to the Okanagan to visit some family for a few days. Unfortunately we lost half a day on the first day as there was a major accident that shut down the main highway and we go stuck in the very slow detour.


Did two runs about 10K each. The first one was along a quite little trail beside a stream, then we crossed the highway and went up a long, fairly steep hill where there was a gorgeous lookout. This isn't an actual picture of where we were (I forgot the battery for my camera - duh!) but it is very nearby and pretty much the view.






At the top was a nice little garden centre that I want to go back to and explore thoroughly, and I also got to see one of the trestles from the Kettle Valley Railway Trails (Features: This 76 m trestle, the third highest steel girder bridge of its type in North America, features a spectacular view of the Trout Creek Canyon, as well as mountainous orchards and vineyards).


The next day I did another run, this time by myself, down a wonderfully quiet, relaxing country road past some small orchards, small farms, a lake and a golf course. Normally it would have been a very pleasant run except about half way out I became aware that I needed a bathroom, and soon, yet there wasn't anything even remotely available nearby. The return run was rather unpleasant due to that. Unfortunate because I would have liked to have run further.


I had some challenges with appy night, but I absolutely conquered them and was very choosey about what was worth enjoying and what was better left alone. For example, chicken wings, homemade is hit and miss at the best of times, and there are so fatty and high in calories - so those I passed on. The hummus (store bought as I ran out of time) & spinach dip I deemed worthy - the first one because it's healthy and the 2nd because I love it and rarely have it. But I still watched my portions. I was quite pleased with myself.


I'm not going to post this weekends menus (mostly because I'm lazy - haha), but here's what is on today's plan:


Breakfast - Red River Cereal (2) (Mom I'll have to send you some)
Lunch - Raw veggies, homemade hummus, Spicy Lentil Soup (6)
Snack - 1 boiled egg, Crunch N Munch (6)
Dinner - Ham, Small La Tortilla Wrap, Almond Butter, Jam (6)


Exercise - 60 minute walk


Points - 20


This morning as I was packing lunch (and my fridge is near empty), I really wanted hummus - but had none made. So I whipped out the food processor and in less than 5 minutes I had it put together (which I just finished devouring and it is delicious!).