WEEK NINETEEN

Wow it is week 19 and I don't know where the time has gone. Well, I have been bad and not kept you up to date on what is happing with me in any aspect of my life. Last week was another week of a gain of weight. I gained .6 last week so I was very disappointed in myself as I have worked so hard in the past to let this happen. I have been kind of down because of it and became determined not to let it happen this week. The challenge for the last week was we could not drink anything but water (plain no additives) milk, or juice. That was one of the hardest I have done. You just get tired of plain old water. I did find a juice where the points was 0. It is Ocean Spray Diet. They have several flavors and they are not bad for one who doesn't really like juice.
I had to go and weigh in tonight at we are heading out for four days at Lake Tahoe for the work junket. Two days of golf and eating and drinking. Oh joy! I just have to really watch what I am eating and make the right choices. I lost 2 pounds this last week and I don't want to gain any of it back. I want to lose that 10 pounds before we head to Hawaii. With the gain this last two weeks it has put me behind on what I can safely lose before we leave. So, I will keep you posted.

Have a great week and live your Life in Celebration.

WEEK SEVENTEEN

Well it is bad news bears I have to say. I gained 1.2 lbs this last week. I have been having a really hard time this last couple of weeks keeping focused on the goal. I have not been journaling as we all know that is the key and I can't seem to get my butt out the door to walk. What to do? What to do? I really want to lose 10 more pounds before we head to Hawaii. Still going to meetings and I am a little renewed in the quest. You remember the challenges this leader likes to have with her classes? Well, we have a new one. This one is setup the same way the other one was, you have to journal everything you eat, you have to eat all of your points and you activity points and the weekly challenges. The new twist is we are divided up into teams and the goal with the team is to have five people from your team to lose 10 pounds. The team that is still standing with five people who have lost the weight wins. Not sure what we win other than we win by losing the 10 pounds. I am in. I also hope this is the kick I need to get back into the groove.

And speaking of journaling I need to go and do that for the day. I don't think I went over but I need to make sure I did not. I might want to have a little treat tonight. Did I tell you I am off soda and treats candy, cookies, cakes and the hardest ice cream sandwiches. I was thinking of having maybe a glass of wine or just a cup of tea. There is a good chance it is going to be the tea.

Well it is good night for me.

Remember to live your Life in Celebration. Wish me luck.

WEEK SIXTEEN

This is a photo of the women who leads the Wednesday night meetings for Weight Watchers. I can't spell her name as I have not seen it written with any clarity. So, here is my guess on how it is spelled, Janece. Well anyway, she is a real inspiration to many of us who attend her meeting. She is battling the same thing we all are in the class, staying on track and keep the weight loss going. When I first started going to her meetings we were at the same weight and I found out at the last meeting I am ahead of her in weight loss area. She is about 3 lbs heavier than I am and yes ladies and gentlemen I am down one more pound. I am now 19.8 lbs. lighter than when I started this journey. Last week I had some trouble finding the WW while I was in Park City. I had to go to Heber to look for one and I could never find it. So, the reason you never saw an update on the journey.

This last Wednesday I was all set to see a gain and I was kind of expecting it but low and behold I had lost 1 lb. I am encouraged to keep it up. In class this last week Janece is going to mix it up some and I think we are going to get into teams of five and we are going to have to lose 10 lbs each by a set date. It should be good for me as I want to lose 10 more pounds before we go to Hawaii. So, I hope that this will help me.

I am also going to try and get more posts done as I have really be slack in getting to the posts.

I hope your Life has been in Celebration.

WEEK FOURTEEN

Well the old scale had a rough week. It had to put up with a .4 gain. I kind of expected it with the week I had though it is hard when you are really in the mind set of losing weight. I find it really hard when you don't have a lot of control in the meal. You just hope you don't go over your points for the week. I find I really need to walk everyday when I am not playing golf or the weight does not come off.

I find I am have a harder time with this. I am determined to lose the weight and I will but as I start wearing smaller clothes and people are telling that I am looking good it would be sooooo easy to just stop here. But, I have a goal and I need to reach that goal. It may take me awhile as I am my own worst enemy. Last night it was homemade Mexican food and we all know what that means. Fat Fat Fat

I hope my Life in Celebration is a lighter life next week.

WEEK THIRTEEN

All you fans it was a good week. I lost 1.2 pounds this week with a total of 18.6. Yahooooo! I feel that if I keep up the trend I will have lost 30 pounds before I go to Hawaii. I would like to down that much so I can have a new swim suit and look at new clothes for the trip. Then on to my goal weight. I can honestly say it has not be easy. There is one thing that keeps me going is going to the meetings with Weight Watchers. The women who runs the meeting I go to is fantastic she is back from having a couple of kids and gaining back all of her weight that she had lost before. So, she is going thru all of the things we are going thru. She has her down weeks and she has some weeks where she doesn't lose anything. She has been leading the meetings for several years and is well know in the WW community where people drive across town to attend her meeting. I feel very lucky that she is less than a mile away from my house. I just stumbled into her meeting and have not left. If you are thinking about joining WW you need to find someone just like her. I have gone to other meetings with other leaders and they are realllllly snoooozeville. I also have to say the people reading my blog also keep me honest in my weight loss. I not only have to go stand on the scale each week that reveals sometimes the bitter true about what you have been doing the last week. With me sharing the information on this blog enables me to be honest with myself also. I can't kid myself about what I have been eating or about not exercising. So, thanks for what ever support you have given me in my journey to a slimmer healthier me.

This is Life in Celebration.

WEEK TWELVE

It was a big fat zero. Didn't lose or gain any weight this week. It is kind of disappointing that I was a big fat zero but it is better than being a plus number. This last week was a little out of control as I had so many things going on it was hard for me to keep with the program. There was really no excuses for my lack of staying to the plan. It was just easier to eat what was available than packing my meals or waiting till I get home to eat. The days were long and when I did get time to eat I was so hungry that I would eat whatever was there rather than plan my meals. I am hoping this next week will be easier than this last one was. I can say so far it hasn't gone quite as I would like for it to go. We are down south and it is our anniversary this Saturday so, we are not really being very good. We have been trying to stay to the plan and it really is not all that bad but I did have pancakes, eggs, and sausages for dinner this evening. Which is not the best thing to be eating. They were wonderful and I will enjoy them again at a later date. When we go out to dinner tomorrow is when I think I will have the hardest time. I will want to have a variety of things for dinner with a possible dessert. I will try to keep this week within the my points for the day in addition with the extra points that I get for the week. Wish me luck.

My Life in Celebration.

WEEK ELEVEN

Drum roll please. I lost 2.4 pounds this last week for a total of 17.4 pounds. Yaaaaahooooooooo!!! Can you believe it. I got the best compliment yesterday. I went and played team golf yesterday at The Barn and when I got there and stepped out of my car to get by bag out and put on my shoes my partner just kept sitting in the cart looking around and at me. When she finally came over to the car to get me she said, 'I didn't recognize you, you have gotten so skinny'. Now that is what I am talking about! I do see some weight loss but it is the people that you don't see often are the ones who notice the difference. I feel really good about what I have done and let me tell you it has been a battle. It is all about choices. I also am wondering if the extra pound had anything to do with me stop drinking caffeine this last week or if I just worked hard outside and watched what I ate. So far still no tea and I have never been a big soda fan so I never did miss that.

Okay Kim you can do it.

Today is a Life in Celebration.

WEEK TEN

Remember I told you about The Diet Challenge the meeting director runs with her meetings. You will be happy to know I passed the first challenge. It was not really all that hard. The challenge was you could not weigh yourself for the week. So, my little buddy got a rest and I do have to tell the truth that I did step on the scale today. The holiday feasting was the hardest. Finding foods that would be just as good but low-cal was a challenge. When I look at my lifestyle I see that dieting is one of the hardest things that I do. Take yesterday for example. I played in a golf tournament and I am just getting done and I get a text message from my husband asking if it was okay to bring home one of the VP's from corporate home for dinner and would I make the glazed salmon dinner. I of course could not say no after all I am playing golf and he is working making it possible for me to play golf. I was really planning on a low-cal dinner with chicken and a veggie with a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich. But, no! There was wine, appetizers, cheese, sugar, and one of fattiest fish in the sea. Well, all I have to say is I get to eat grass for the rest of the week.

I am sure you are waiting for the news if I lost weight or not. Well, the news is I lost 1.4 pounds and to date I have lost 15 pounds. YAHOO!!

This week is going to be a real hardship for me. This weeks challenge is, are you ready, NO CAFFEINE or soda. I am okay with the soda but, no tea or coffee. I cannot say what condition I will be at the end of 7 days. So, if you run in to me and snap off your head please understand that I have not had a cup of tea for a few days and everything I say this week or do is not my fault.

This week will be a reminder that there is Life in Celebration.

WEEK NINE

Here it is week nine and the fun is still going on. I lost 1.2 pounds!!!  My friend Kim is also involved in this fun and she lost 2.8 pounds this week. Let's all give Kim a cheer for her hard work. If any of you have had any experience with a diet plan you know how much work it is at times. The problem with being on a diet is you have to think about it all the time. The work is what did I eat and what am I going to eat today and did I over eat and what effect will it have on this weeks weight. I think a lot of any diet or weight loss program is mental. Keeping focused on the day to day and not really looking at the big picture of the total weight loss you want. I know where I want to be at the end of the program but I can't think about that. I try to keep the focus on losing a pound or two for the week and over time I will reach my goal. It took time to get to the weight I am so it will take time to take the weight off.

Went to the Weight Watchers meeting last night and they had just finished an 8 week challenge. The 8 week challenge is where you must keep an accurate journal making sure you use all of your daily points and activity points without going over them for the week. Then there is a weekly challenge that you have to keep to for 7 days. If you keep to the weekly challenge you get to progress to the next week. If you fail to keep to the challenge you are dropped from the group. This last challenge had 7 out of 35 people complete the 8 weeks of challenges. Last night was the beginning of the next eight week challenge and this weeks challenge is to not weigh at home. Some of you say that would be easy but, I have had kind of made it a habit that when I get up in the morning and the first thing I do is step on the scale. I just have to see if I had lost any weight in the last 24 hours. I had to catch myself this morning from doing just that.
I don't want to be dropped from the group just for stepping on a scale and we all know how much I love my scale. The scale will be glad for the rest. I will keep you posted on what each challenge is and I hope by doing that it will help me to stay in the group.

Have a wonderful 4th of July and remember to live your Life in Celebration.

WEEK EIGHT

Well I was on the negative side of my weight loss program. I lost that ONE pound I had put on last week. I know it is in the negative but I seem a little let down because it was not more of a weight loss. I wanted to be two pounds not just one. I am my own worst critic. I seem to set goals that are somewhat unrealistic. Now that I am in my eighth week I expect myself to be at least with a 16 pounds drop in my weight. I know the slower it comes off the longer it will stay off and that is the objective of this whole process it to take it off and keep it off. I just need to be easier on myself and look at each ounce of weight that is lost is a victory.
While I was in Vegas taking the hubby to the airport I stopped at the mall and bought me some new shorts and those shorts are now a full size smaller than I have worn longer than I can remember. Know, that is progress and I need to see all the small victories for what they are, victories.

We all need to remember what ever victory we gain is Life in Celebration.

WEEK SEVEN

My friends I am so disappointed with myself. I have put on 1 pound. I can't believe that the slice of carrot cake, 3 servings of brie cheese with 3 slices of bread, dinner at a friends house which included the best chocolate sauce over ice cream and the 4 classes of wine would effect my weight loss. Go figure. I know where I fell down and it really is in keeping track of your points. The journaling is the key and I know I have not been doing any of it. All of us who are in the WW program and think we don't need to journal are the ones who are not losing weight. It has been proven journaling is the one thing which is most effective in losing weight. How else do you really know what you have eaten. You would be surprised on what you eat on a daily basis. I am putting a challenge out there for you all and I would like you to keep track of everything you eat for 3 days. Then come back and let me know know how you did. Can you do that? I think you all would be very surprised what you are eating. You don't have to keep track of points and stay within any points you need to just track your food intake. I will make sure my email address is available on the blog so you can let me know how you did. I am really looking forward to see how everyone did.
I am making promise to myself to be better in keeping the journal. It's not like I have a job that makes me too busy to do any of this. So, my promise is compounded. I promise to walk everyday I don't golf, to write down in my journal everyday what I have eaten and to keep within my points. It is not like I don't have the journals as I purchased WW's 3 month journal booklet. I will also keep you posted on the the points I have eaten for the week. Yes, you may have figured out that I am using you as my overseer to help me stay on track. I would like to have lost 30 pounds by the first of the year. It is my plan to reach my goal weight in a year. I figure it will be the hardest to lose the last bit of weight as I approach the end of the year in my weight lose program.

Well, wish me luck as I think I will need it.

The scale was not having a Life in Celebration.

WEEK SIX

My friend and enemy here is feeling much better. I lost 2 more lbs this week. This makes the total loss of 12.4 lbs in the last six weeks. How fun is that? I don't really feel like I have missed out on anything. I have talked about the nights out with friends and the great food I ate along with those smoores you remember. So, I guess it is watching what I eat the rest of the time along with the walking I have been doing. I have kept my promise to myself that if I was not golf then I would do an hour of walking at a moderate rate. I have been trying to increase the distance I walk within that hour. I want to make a full 3 laps around Liberty Park in less than an hour. Twice around the park is just shy of 3 miles. Right now I am at about 2 and 1/2 times around in an hour. Something to work towards for the summer.

The loss of 12.4 pounds is Life in Celebration.

WEEK FIVE

10.4 Pounds!

Yesterday was weigh in and the good news is I lost another 1.6 lbs. This brings me to a 10.4 loss. I cannot say it has been easy. I have really been worried every time I go to the weigh in because I have been soooooooo bad over the weekends. This last weekend as you know was a foodfest. I can not remember the last time I had a smoor so of course I had to one then have of another. What a pig. I am going to blame it on all of the wine that I drank that night. Okay, I will admit wine has a lot of calories also and that is why I should have stayed away from the sweet stuff. 

I went into be weighed on Wednesday evening. I usually go in the morning just because I get it out of the way and I am a firm believer that we all weigh lighter in the morning. But, yesterday I had a tournament at Davis Golf Course so I was unable to go in the morning. The meeting was packed. It was my understanding the meeting had gotten so big they had to split it. After going to the meeting at 5:30 I understand why it is so full of Weight Watcher. The women who hosts the meeting is really dynamic and fun. She remembers everyone's name and shows a real connect with the group. 

I set next to this women who has been with WW for a good 5 months and has lost only 18 pounds. We started talking and decided that we would look for each other at next weeks meeting and sit next to each other. It is nice to make a friend and to have someone to sit next to. Did not ask her name but will do so next week. I will keep you posted on what her name is and what the name of the women who is the leader of the meeting. 

I will have some more info next week about what makes her meetings so well attended.

Remember live your Life in Celebration.

WEEK FOUR

Here we are at week four and for me the most any fad diet lasts and sometimes less. But, I have stuck with this one by making every effort to stay with it. I have gone to the weigh ins and counted my points and watch what I have eaten but, this last week has been really tough. It has been one BBQ after another and then eating on those golf courses doesn't help the plan at all. So, when I went in for the bitter truth I was all set to see a gain in the old numbers and a deeper groan from the my friend and enemy the scale. I really prepared myself for the truth and gave my self a pep talk about getting back on track and really working out hard this week to bring my numbers back down so I don't lose too much ground. The shoes are off, the purse is on the floor, the sunglasses on the counter along with the keys and now I am ready.  I say 'I didn't do really well this last week and I am probably up some'. She said, ' no you are down .8 pounds'! Yeppy Skippy!!!! Don't feel so bad now. 

This is truly a time for Life in Celebration. 

WEEK THREE

You remember the enemy.


Well, when I stepped on the scale on Wednesday it groaned a little less than the last time. As of Wednesday I have lost a total of 8 that's right eight pounds. Now comes the hard part, staying with the program. I really like the fact that I am lighter and my clothes are fitting better if not a little bigger. I know I should be jumping up and down with joy at the loss but I also know this is just the start of a long road ahead of me. It is very easy to slide right back into my old eating habits. The trick really is keeping track of what you eat. I think that I have not eaten that many points for the day but, when it is written down on a piece of paper and your able to look at it you realize that you have eaten FAR more than you thought. You can gobble up 25 points faster than a blink of an eye. One hamburger and order of fries with a regular coke you are done for the day. I have to admit writing everything down is one of hardest things. I seriously think I am good at keeping track by adding up the points in my head to stay on track. Fool that I am. So my quest this week is to write everything down and make sure that I stay within my points for the day. This will be a challenge as I have a BBQ on Saturday at the Modesto's then one on Monday with my golfing buddies. I know as well as I am sitting here typing this blog there will not be one thing that will be diet oriented. It will all be fat fat fat. Then of course I will throw in a couple of glasses of wine to hold me over. I think the only thing that is going to help me is my walking and playing golf all of this week or that good ol' scale will be back groaning at me. I am done with my glass of wine (2 points) (okay 3 points) and it is time to post this and get to watching some serious TV.

Remember to live your Life in Celebration.

WEEK TWO

Weight Watchers
A trusted approach to weight loss for more than 40 years.
(http://www.dietsinreview.com/diets/Weight_Watchers/)

This is week two of my voyage into the weight loss saga. As of this afternoon I have lost a total of 4.6 pounds. I am quite happy that I did not gain any of the weight I had lost the last time I stepped on the scale. This week has been kind of a tough week keeping with the program. As you remember I had a house full of women golfers and they do not need to count points like I do. It was a little bit of a challenge making sure I stayed with the program as golf courses are not known for fat-free fare. I wonder if being away from home, not able to attend my regular meeting, and not able to weigh in the mornings as I do at home makes a difference? It should be interesting to see what next week will bring and the changes in weight at my next weigh in. It will be nice to get back to my regular schedule and follow the plan a little closer than I did this week. That means only one glass of wine a week not one glass of wine a day.

Tomorrow starts my return to walking every day I don't golf. I think the walking has really helped me stay on track as I don't want it to all be a waste of time. I really like walking in the morning but tomorrow I do need to get out of bed early and get started before it heats up. As many of you know it is not fun trying to power walk when the mercury is rising. By the end of the summer I would like to have lost around 20 pounds from walking and following the plan. So, you readers will have to help me keep it up. Your comments and encouragements will help me succeed. Let me know your struggles and successes as I maybe be able to use your experiences to help me.

I am sitting here in front of the TV entering this blog while watching the news and what do they show as a commercial...FANTASTIC looking food. Help!!! I guess it time to go to bed.

Remember to live your Life in Celebration.

DAY TWO OF DIET

DAY TWO

(This is a link and will take you to their site.)

Things are going okay. I don't want to step on enemy as of yet because I want to be surprised when I go for the cattle call and the mass weight in. I feel I am doing okay but the lunches with friends almost everyday really makes it hard to stay with it. I am keeping track of the food I am eating and it seems like I am eating more than I would if I was on some other diet. It really is about keeping track of what you are eating. I have forgotten what you could eat on this diet. You can eat anything you want as long as the total points add up to a set number. If you crave a piece of chocolate cake have it but you got to remember that cake maybe 15 points and that could leave you with less than 10 points for the rest of the day. It is all about making better choices. I am really trying to make better choices. Two down and five to go until I weight in. 

Remember to live you Life in Celebration.

THE ENEMY

THE ENEMY

 This very small scale is a spirit breaker. How many times have you stood on this very innocent looking and wondered how in the heck did I get to this weight again? It just sits on the floor. Doesn't harm anyone. When you step on it gives you an accurate answer sometimes it groans while it is doing it. Well, I am going really work on getting this stubborn little scale to become my friend. I am going to work on putting less pressure on the poor thing. For most of my life I have been battling the bulge. I am at the time of my life where genetics are taking over and I am losing the battle with my health. My blood sugar is becoming a problem as my A1C is starting to inch up and by exercising is not taking care of it. I have been battling the weight issue for most of my life. I remember being in high school going to the doctor who gave me Speed to help curb my appetite and make me move around more. I went over to my sisters house and stripped all of her wood floors in one day. Talk about speedy. I don't think there has been a diet that I have not tried. There was the Cabbage Soup Diet which I lost some weight on then I went directly into the Atkin's Diet with devastating result. I kind of new that I did not digest a lot of meat very well and the Atkin's Diet is all about protein. I had an attack of Diverticulitis which I did not know I had. I spent a week in the hospital with a contagious decease in my blood. So, needless to say I off that diet. Then I went to Weight Watcher's after I saw a picture of myself and I thought I was beginning to look like a beached whale. I lost 35 pounds. That weight probably stayed off the longest but, as all of us who are battling weight issues know they do seem to come right back on. Luckily not all of the weight found its way back to me. When I noticed that the scale was starting groan every time I stepped on it I thought I would try some other ways of losing weight. There was the French Women Don't Diet  diet. This diet you eat whatever you want but only half and you eat very slowly. It was working somewhat. Then came my husband being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. I lost 24 pounds when my husband lost 35 and it was all done with watching what we were eating. It was low fat, no sugar and smaller portions. Well, needless to say that ain't working anymore. The latest and not so greatest was the Six Week Body Makeover. Man can you lose weight fast. The pounds just drop off. You can lose 10 pounds in a week. But, let me tell you something the pounds come right back on if you go off and they come on quick. Now comes the next diet. I went back to Weight Watcher's today. I thought that it is one diet that seems to work and I did not feel I was denied. So, I am going to give it my best shot. I am going to be updating my progress each week and no I will not tell anyone how much I weight. The update will be just how much I have lost or not lost. I am hoping with me sharing my progress will shame me into being good and losing the weight. I need to stop the yo-yo.

Wish me luck and remember to live you Life in Celebration.