Time flies...

Well, I've had several days of eating well under my belt and my weight has dropped back down to 139-ish. Phew! It's amazing what having a back deck does. You want to grill out more! So I've been getting my fill of grilled meat and veggies. :)

My life has been nothing put unpacking the last few days. I took a break from that to plant some tomato plants in my new, full-sun, back yard. I planted 4 tomato vines, two sweet pepper plants and some herbs. I've never had luck with herbs before. But I'm hoping they're grow well this time. I planted cilantro, rosemary, thyme, chives, basil and lavendar. *Crossing my fingers.*

My 10 year high school reunion is tomorrow night! How convenient that I'm at my goal weight. :) I would have probably avoided it had I been overweight. That's what being out of shape does to you, you want to miss everything. I'm glad that I feel happy and healthy and excited to see old friends. Tonight my friend Monica and I are going shopping for something to wear to the reunion. Monica is my "What Not To Wear" consultant. Only the best of friends can tell you that something looks awful on you. She's priceless.

I can't wait for next week when there is nothing on the agenda. :)

Here's my dialy tracker for today:

Breakfast:
Oats-n-Flax oatmeal
peach

Lunch:
Whole wheat cous cous topped with lean ground beef, mushrooms and tomato sauce
Mangos

Snack:
Grande Mocha (non fat, no whip)

Dinner plan:
Chicken skewers on the grill
Steamed broccoli

Hola from my new house! We moved in yesterday and are settling in nicely! I'm still pinching myself hourly. I cannot belive this is my house! I have a jacuzzi tub for pete's sake!!!!

On the eating front- yesterday was not my best day. It was pretty difficult to eat Core foods on the go. SO I pretty much ate crap. Pizza, sub, donuts, chips, you name it. Good news is that I probably earned some APs to even things out. :) Bad news is that I got on the scale this morning and it read 143!!! I was just 139 two days ago! What gives??? Oh well...moving forward.

I went running Sunday and hurt my knee. So I'm trying to hold back on running for a week to give it some time to heal. I'm really bummed too because my last few runs felt almost effortless. Might be time for new shoes...

I'll post later with my daily tracker.....

Tired, as usual....

Here's my daily tracker:

Breakfast:
whole grain cereal
skim mlik
banana

Snack:
grande mocha (2 pts used)
1/4 PB&J (3 pts)
1 clementine

Lunch:
whole wheat cous cous made with chicken broth and diced tomatos
ff sour cream

Snack:
ff/sf chocolate pudding

Dinner:
Grilled chicken salad with ff vinegarette

Snack:
1 bag ff popcorn

Busy day. Doing well with Core. Still learning the ins and outs. Ed took a half day and we went out with the kids to run errands and then eat dinner. We went to R. Thomas and I had to get their wings! So good!

Anyway, here's my daily tracker:

Breakfast:
Whole grain cereal
skim milk
banana

Snack:
Grande Mocha (count 1 pt)

Lunch:
TJ's grilled chicken skewers
cous cous (2 pts)
corn/green beans

Snack:
ff popcorn

Dinner:
R Thomas grilled hot wings (counting 8 pts for skin and sauce to be safe)
Grilled veggies
Blue cheese dressing (3 pt)

Snack:
edemame
sf/ff pudding

Well, I packed my scale, so I have no idea where I stand! LOL I switched to Core seriously last week and after reading further into what are actually Core foods and what aren't, I realized I ate lots of non Core foods this week! So, I'm sorta expecting to maintain or gain a little. Mainly because I ate all my Flexies this week too. I found a great site to help me answer my questions about The Core Plan. Here's a link if you're interested: http://jopax.home.mindspring.com/id15.html

I was paid a visit by my montly friend this weekend. Good times.... That explains my massive snack attacks the last week. Also my icky, bloated feeling I've had for a couple days. I keep telling myself: at least I feel gross and bloated in a size 4 and not a size 14. One bad day can sometimes make me feel like I've gained all 60 something pounds back.

The last few weeks have just been so crazy. Selling and buying a home is not for the faint of heart. I'm tired, grumpy, and ready to be in my new house. That way I can stop using "moving" as my excuse for generally being off plan. lol This limbo state doesn't suite me well.

The weather was awful this weekend and I couldn't get in my long run in. :( This is when I wish I had a treadmill. It would be so nice to have the option of running after the kids are in bed. *sigh*

Here's my daily tracker. Even though I'm not counting on Flex Plan, I still would like to be accountable.

Breakfast:
Whole Grain O's
FF milk

Snack:
FF latte
orange

Lunch:
Willy's steak salad (lettuce, blk beans, steak, olives, cilantro, onions, roasted red peppers, avacado,ff sour cream and salsa for dressing)
Diet coke

Dinner:
Chicken breast
Brown rice
avacado

Snack:
1 bag ff Kettle Corn popcorn

Did 4 miles today! Karyn and I traded off and watched eachother's kids while the other ran. I think that's going to be the key to training for this 1/2 marathon we're doing in October. Oh yeah, did I mention I'm doing a half-marathon in October? :)

I earned 4 APs so I spent them at lunch when Ed took me and Amelia to one of our fav restaurants called Salsa. Cuban food. Delish! I got a Roasted Chicken dish with steamed veggies. I spent my APs on chips/salsa. I tell ya, chips are a major trigger food for me. :) But luckily I had to pick Fischer up from preschool so I couldn't over do it.

We're moving in a week. I'm slowly settling into panic mode. I'm hoping my running will help offset my nerve. Right now I feel like the poster child for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Yeah, that's right, I went "there."

c

Still running when I can in the midst of packing.

Here are some pics from my afternoon run the other day with my friend Karyn. This is the 3 mile leg I do. City running is interesting.






Well I had a gain after my Easter Fest at my weigh in. But I'm glad I went to the meeting and faced the music. A friend at the meeting has been having the same issue with losing the same 3 lbs for months. We decided to switch to the Core Plan this week. I can already tell a differene. I feel "cleaner." Less processed foods makes you feel so much better. So I've successfully done that all week. So I'm expecting a good weigh in next week.

Happy Easter Weekend!

We celebrated Amelia's first birthday today with my family and boy did I chow down! Yikes. I just got caught up in all the festivities. I didn't stuff myself, just ate high fat foods. Went to brunch this morning and had eggs benedict, then had hot dogs (ff) and coleslaw and chips for lunch. Then the same for dinner. Oh, and did I mention I also had to have a piece of my delicious carrot cake with cream cheese icing that I made for Amelia???? And vanilla bean ice cream???? I can't remember the last time I had ice cream. Anyhoo, I definitely feel like I didn't make wise choices, but I didn't binge by any means, so I'm proud of that. I think I got it out of my system, so tomorrow's Easter festivities won't be all that tempting.

I haven't weighed myself since mid week. I hope I'm on track. If not, I know the right thing to do is forgive myself and move on. That's the only way to do it. I'm getting used to this whole maintainance thing. It's weird. I sort of suspected that I'd feel a little more freedom to eat "no no" foods this week. All my hard work over the last 11 months has paid off and I'm settling in to enjoy it. I think I just needed one day I could avoid points and just have the freedom to splurge within reason. I'm certainly not intending to eat like this all the time, but once in a blue moon, you have to be able to eat the "no nos." :)

Tomorrow I'm back OP! I'm sure there will be temptations, but I'm a big girl and I can wear my "big girl pants" and have some self discipline. LOL Ed got tickets to The Masters so he'll be gone all day from sun up to sun down. So it's Easter with the kids alone. :( But I know Ed loves it and those tickets are nearly impossible to get, so I'm trying to be a good sport about it. We're planning on meeting up with Ed's family, so I'll have some help. I won't be able to get a run in tomorrow and that's one thing I really want to do.

I reached goal!!!!! I weighed in a 139.4. You're probably saying: "Wait...isn't 135 lbs your goal?"

Well, kinda sorta. See, I talked to my WW leader about this darn 2-3 lbs I kept gaining and losing since January. She suggested that I adjust my goal to 139 lbs. She thinks my body is leveling off and said that if I'm in a size 4 at 5'6", I'm at a good "skinny" weight. It's smack dab in the middle for what's recommended for my height and it's something I can realistically maintain. So, after thinking about it, I decided to officially change it! So, I'm officially starting maintainance with WW!!! Now I'm still planning on following the plan as I have. I wouldn't mind getting down to that 135 mark. But, with my goal adjusted, the pressure of losing quickly is now removed. And once I maintain 139 for 6 weeks, I don't have to pay WW's anymore!

So after my meeting I went to Marshall's to check out their spring dresses. I have my 10 yr reunion this month and need something "knock out." :) I found some cute things, but decided not to buy anything just yet. Then I was pleasantly surprise by my friend Tara who spontaneously called me to see if I wanted to have a late dinner with her. I was starving! So we went to one of my favorite places here in Atlanta called R Thomas. Great, organic food. Big flavor and mostly healthy. They make these free range chicken wings (grilled) that are to die for! We split a wing plate and got some hummus and raw veggies on the side. Perfect dish!

Phew! I feel like a load has been lifted off. I feel good. I'll have to get an "at goal" pic posted up here shortly. :)

Daily Tracker:
Special K Bar: 2 pts
Apple: 1 pt

Snack:
WW muffin: 3 pts

Lunch:
Salad topped with:
chicken: 2 pts
Mozz cheese: 2 pts
green beans: 0 pts
tomatoes: 0pts
Cilantro dressing: 1 pt
Whole grain chips: 2 pts

Snack:
Handful of goldfish: 1 pt (?)
Mocha: 4 pts
sf, ff pudding: 1pts

Dinner:
Grilled chicken wings: 15 pts (estimation)
hummus: 2 pts
veggies: 0 pts

Daily Points: 36 pts
Flex used: 11 pts
Ap's earned:3 pts

Is it Sunday already? Wow, the week has flown by. Anyhoo, I'm pround of my efforts this week. I really did reign it in and I have kept myself in check with pickng the right foods. And my scale showed it thise morning. But my official weigh in is tomorrow.

I went to the park yesterday and attempted to run 6 miles. I don't know if it was my allergies or a cold coming on, but by mile 4 I had to stop and walk the rest. It was still a big accomplishment, but I really, really wanted to get another 6 miler in. I have to start upping my mileage each week to prepare for the Peachtree Road Race in July. I'm very excited about it. It's a big race and one that Atlanta is famous for. So I'm gearing up to do well, time wise, on that 10k. Only problem is that it's on July 4th and I cannot imagine how hot it is going to be. With the summer heat and humidity coming back into Altanta, I've got to start eating the right foods and getting my water in. Otherwise, I'll be up a creak on my runs. But, so far, so good this week.

I got into another pair of size 4's and I'm way thrilled about that. It's kinda of surreal. It's just so weird being in this body now. I'm just so used to never really feeling quite right in anything, so to be able to wear all the cute trends now is just amazing. I think running is really doing a great service to my body. My muscle tone is good and I feel much "tighter" everywhere. And, hey, that's always a good feeling, right?

So, I'm getting closer and close to goal. Unfortunately it's taken a snail's pace getting there lately, but I'm so close. I think last week was the last straw on my slacking. I took a look back at my WW's weigh in records and realized I had been gaining and losing the same 3 lbs since January! What!??? That just pissed me off enough to get serious. I experimented this week with eating more Core foods. For those that don't know, WW's has two plans. The Flex Plan and the Core Plan. The Flex is what I've been doing: counting points. The Core Plan is a non-counting plan where you are limited to certain foods. Luckily both plans let you enjoy those extra 35 Weekly Allowance points each week. So, this week I've been sticking to mostly Core foods, but still counting them. I think it's helped me tremendously. I just feel lighter. Know what I mean?

Anyway, here's my tracker for today. Ed and I have made a rule that we're eating in every day for all meals this next month to save up money. We just eat out too much. SO, staying on plan has been easier for that reason too.

Daily Tracker:
Oatmeal: 2 pts
Apple: 1 pt

Lunch:
Trader Joe's Turkey burger: 2 pts
Whole Wheat Bun: 3 pts
FF Swiss: 1 pts
1 oz Pretzel Thins: 2 pts

Snack:
Mocha: 3 pts

Dinner:
Trader Joe's Vegetable Lasagna (made with whole grain pasta): 5 pts
Salad with lite dressing: 1 pts

Snack:
1 (Yes, only one!) cookie: 2 pts

Points used: 22 pts
Flex used: 0
AP's earned: None (day of rest here)