Lasagna, Breakfast Bakes, and Saddlebags.

As promised, more about my time with my folks in Florida. Warning: do not read this on an empty stomach.

First, we arrived in the evening and went straight from the airport to a party at their friends house. There was a huge spread of dinner type food and desserts. I limited my take at this party to one glass of wine, a few pieces of dinner-type food, and one dessert. I had a haystack (melted chocolate and chinese noodles, ripped from my childhood memory and placed decoratively on the table of temptation). I may have had one other cookie, but I can't remember if I did or not, which speaks more to my memory than to the cookie.

Christmas day, we had food in front of us non-stop -- all fo it good and tempting. I did a good job of balancing through the day. We started with a breakfast bake -- kind of a baked french toast with bread, milk, eggs, and fruit. I had one tablespoon of the bake, and half a grapefruit. I had a bowl of cereal at around 2 to help stave off the hunger that would come when all the appetizers came out. At the appetizers before dinner, I had a few bites of cranberry cheddar cheese, some crackers, one cracker of spinach and artichoke bake, and one glass of prosecco. For Christmas dinner, we had lasagna, sausage, meatballs, fresh bread from Boston (I guess Florida people can't get crusty bread, so it's quite a delicacy) and string beans. I had string beans, one small piece of lasagna, one piece of sausage, no bread, no additional wine. For dessert, we had a thousand things on the table - cannolis, chocolate covered creampuffs, chocolate covered strawberries, lots of christmas cookies, and cannoli cake. I had one small slice of cannoli cake, one strawberry, and one bite of lemonbar/muffiny treat thing.

The rest of the weekend involved one or two big meals each day. All of which I had one portion worth, no seconds, rarely any sides that could have gone with them. We had another breakfast bake later in the week (a savory one with sausage and leeks - yuuuuuuuuuuum) and chicken pot pie, and lots more temptation of cookies (i had a few over the 4 days).

All in all, I'm happy with how I managed my food, my portions, my general over the few days. Even the festive drinking was all around. One night I had 2 cocktails, but never more than that.

Robert got inspired and ran a 5k the day after Christmas (he did very well, even running in reindeer antlers on his head), but no other exercise existed for us during those days.

A few weeks ago, when my parents asked me what i wanted or needed for Christmas, I said I could use some pants. Boy, could I use some pants. The 14's are long in the back of my closet, and most of the 12s I had are at least roomy, some unwearable. I probably am rotating 3 pairs of pants at this point. So, the day after Christmas, we went out at I got several pairs of 10s and a couple of very-well-fitting 12s.

Because of the ill-fitting clothes, my parents couldn't tell much, beyond my face, that I'd lost much weight at all. It wasn't until Christmas eve night, when I had my pajamas on, when they both saw me at a certain angle and in a certain light, and both finally noticed the weight, and the slimmer bottom half.

My mother announced, "Oh, now I can finally see the weight loss. You lost your saddle bags."

(then she asked me if I knew what she was talking about. Of course I know what saddle bags are. They plague me!)

I'm not sure if the saddlebagectomy is from the dieting, or from the pilates, but I'm giving the pilates credit at this point. I can feel just how much stronger my legs are, and that slimming effect has to all be part of that.

Now we head up to NH, and it's going to be a blizzard up there. I'm anticipating comfort food and crockpot meals and soup and all that kind of stuff. I'll have to continue working at portion control and moderation throughout the weekend if I want to get back to the 14 pounds down I was before the holiday weeks. But I'm looking forward (?) to the Week 20 weigh in, measurements and photos, just a few days away. Still not posting photos (maybe week 30?) but happy to stay focused on that ritual as I go.

Happy New Year to all of you! Do any of you have resolutions for 2010 that involve your health and fitness?

Thanks for reading!

Dodged a bullet - just a quick post

I'll post more later, but the highlight is that I survived 4 and a half days in Florida with holiday parties and all the food one could want, by only gaining less than a pound.

This week's weigh in: +0.6 lbs
Total Weight loss: -12.9 lbs.

I still hope to have my "year end" weigh in a bit more positive (or negative, as the case may be), when I weigh in for week 20 next Monday.

I'll post more about holiday week later.

Thanks for reading!

As expected, but not as bad as it could be

My weigh in this week wasn't a surprise (in the sense that there was a gain), but I was prepared for worse.

This week's weight: +0.6 lbs.
Total weight loss: -13.5 lbs.
Body fat -- still at -4.5%, which is great, considering that could easily have slipped, too.

I faced a lot of temptation and a lot of "special occasion/eating out" this week, but made some good choices here and there:

• Holiday luncheon on Thursday (I skipped the bread, my app was a light salad, and we didn't have dessert)
  
• Out to celebrate my new promotion on Friday (I had 2 cocktails, but I had soup and salad for dinner and only one of the rolls... which are amazing).
  
• Out with friends and an elaborate dinner on Saturday (I stuck to small portions and skipped dessert, though I had a cookie afterwards.
• Brunch with friends on Sunday (where there was a ton of attention paid to making it a HEALTHY brunch, not just for me, but all of is -- I had some scrambled eggs, root vegetable hash, fruit salad and 2 bloody marys, and a couple of cookies).
  

I've got lunch plans the next 3 days, but hope to keep them limited to salads and lighter sandwiches, if I can. AND THEN comes the traveling for Christmas. That will be:

• Party at my mom's friend's house Christmas Eve night
• Fancy breakfast on Christmas (stuffed french toast thing)
• Christmas dinner with lasagna
• Dinner out at Roy's steakhouse over the weekend
• Probably another elaborate meal in there somewhere

So... a week from now (well, Tuesday morning) will be the post Xmas weigh in. Week 19.

Hope those of you who celebrate Christmas are looking forward to a great week of joyousness and being able to say no to the extra cookies! :-)

And the rest of you... well... you can find will power with the cookies, too!

Thanks for reading!

Dressing has been a challenge lately

So, when all this started, I was wearing a size 14. Not entirely comfortably, either, depending on the outfit or the day.

After about 6 or 7 weeks, the 14s just weren't working at all, and I had to start into 12s. I had a couple of pairs (I seem to have a ton of options in black pants and gray pants in various sizes I've visited over the years). But I needed a few more. So I bought a few pairs of inexpensive 12s, hoping not to waste too much money as my plan was to not spend too much time in them.

This week, those 12s started to be a problem. a few I just can't wear at all, and a few I can kind of fake it if I'm in a bigger sweater that hides the roominess in the waste and the slimmer hips.

Now, for the most part, I can deal with this. My work wardrobe can be filled in here and there with a few core pairs of pants and I can get through the week. But this time of year, with holiday luncheons and dinners, I find myself wanting to wear nicer, more tailored-looking outfits, and struggling in a big way (oh - I just thought about this right now - i bet my good suits aren't going to fit at this point... shoot).

So, tonight, as we prepare to go out, I tried on several pants that have been in the rotation lately, and nothing was looking great. I was getting frustrated (just like when things are too small), and I found a size 10 pair of pants, slim because they are stretchy, that I haven't worn in 5 years. I bought them when I started working at Fidelity, and because of the "we bring in lunch and cookies every day" atmosphere when I first joined, well, these pants didn't last very long.

But today, they fit. Maybe not perfectly - maybe they'd look better in a few more pounds or inches, but they fit fine, they're in good shape, and they work for a festive evening. I'm happy, because I'm wearing a 10 for the first time in years, t because I found an outfit after many failed attempts, and because I'm now secretly justified for saving smaller size pants that I wasn't realistically going to fit into again without a major life change. I just want to be able to feel like I look good, and if my clothes don't fit, in one direction or another, I'm not feeling at my best. And I want to.

I spent time today with a friend who went through a major effort over the last year and has gone from a 14 to a 4!!! I couldn't be more proud of her, and she's a real inspiration. We bonded about the concept of working through a size for a few weeks, and the money spent as you transition to the next size. I'm hopefully going to pick up a few pairs of 10s over the holidays, and that should get me through a while after that.

Tonight, however, I'm headed out to the Italian restaurant I headed to earlier in the diet, and am planning on splurging here and there, but nothing crazy. Gotta get through this challenging week, one meal at a time!

Hope everyone in the "Winter Wallop" region is staying safe and cozy this weekend!

Thanks for reading!

Where the heck have I been?

Hello! Well.. yes, this post is days overdue. We've had computer problems here at the house, and I was without the internet for a few days. (and on the phone with comcast A LOT). Now, I've got internet, but can't seem to get my wireless going yet, and just haven't had the time to reconstruct the whole darn thing. And since it's way inappropriate to blog from work, I've had little other choice. So, SORRY for the interruption! Thanks for sticking with me!

Back to my regularly scheduled program: Trying to hold onto any possible weightloss progress through the holiday season!

I weighed in on Monday, and had gained A POUND. I was honestly pretty angry with myself, even though I know that it's just kind of a factor of this time of year. It's much harder to stick to WW when there's a lunch or a dinner or a special occasion here and there. What's worse is that it's only continuing. I've been out since then for more indulgent meals, and I have at least 3 more events and 3 more lunches between now and Christmas eve! I'm honestly a bit worried that I'll have gained back 5 pounds before all of this is over! And it's not like I'm gorging... it's just off the plan. I'm not having large portion sizes, but it is portions of stuff I haven't eaten since before I started WW in August. It's like my body wants all that yummy food back, and it's gotten a few tastes of it, and won't let go.

Now, to be fair, I knew this was coming. I knew that I wanted to hit 15 lbs down by xmas so that I COULD afford to gain some back and have my 2010 journey not be 30 lbs but 20 or less to go. But still, there must have been a part of me that thought that was just a hedge, that I'd be fine and successful, and that there was nothing really to worry about, and I'd impress myself and probably everyone else. So, I guess from that point of view, I'm disappointed that I haven't been able to defy the physics of the holiday season.

So, the numbers:

This week's weigh in: +1.1 lbs (ugh)
Total weigh in: -14.1 lbs

It should be added that I've been in the gym 2x each week, which is good, but not great, and the biggest thing that needs to change in 2010!

Some points of note for the coming weeks:

• Next week I will weigh in and report out on Monday (I promise!) Even if it sucks.
• The week after that, weigh in will be a day later.
• The week after that (Jan 5) is week 20, and I will do measurements and pictures then. I still haven't decided yet on posting pictures. I think I want them to tell a better story first, so we'll see...

In the meanwhile, thanks for coming back (even with a few day delay on my weigh in) and for being supportive during this crazy time! I hope you are all doing your best in facing the challenges of the holiday season, and you can give me some inspiration with your own success stories!

Thanks for reading!

Unofficial weigh in, but it will have to do

I'm still in our NH house this morning, but wanted to keep the weigh in, so I'm using the Wii Fit to log my weigh in today.

This week's weigh in: -1.1 lbs.
Total weight loss: -15.2 lbs.

Also achieved: My third "Five Pounds" star on Weight Watchers, though not yet all the way to 10% loss, though I'm about about a half pound away from that goal.

If I can sustain the 15 lbs down through Christmas (I won't consider it official until after I survive the holidays) I'll be officially half way there!

I've got 4 more weeks until my next "every 10 weeks" check in for photos and measurements. (Jan 4th) But one thing I know I can comment on, in a way different from "my pants don't fit" is about the muscular quality of my thighs. Yeah, I know -- an odd thing to talk about, but I'm kind of psyched about it, so here you go.

Last week, in the power pilates class in NH (on the mats, not the reformer class on the machine that I take back in MA), we were doing an exercise we normally do; we were doing scissor legs where, while lying on our back, we would alternate holding each leg in the air, and pulling closer to our body, to get a good stretch with each alteration. We do this sort of move each week. Well, this time, with each holding of my thighs, I could not believe how muscular they were! Usually, it's much more flab than muscle, but I've noticed just how much muscle mass I've gained in both legs.

Part of this is the pilates class in NH, and a LOT of it is the pilates reformers class that I love, which really focuses on the legs in most classes, in addition to the other parts of the core and the arms. And part of it is just plain being more active, I know. But I'm excited about it because it's an indication of better overall health and strength, once again, reminding myself that this whole journey is not just about the scale.

Dangers this week: well, for starters, we're getting into the holiday season... with less than 3 weeks until Christmas, I expect to start seeing a lot more of baked goods in the office, both home made and gifts from vendors. Last week, I managed to say no thank you to the brownies from a vendor and to the pumpkin spice cake from one of our companies that made it into the office. I am trying to do as close to a zero tolerance policy on this stuff as possible, but I know there are always potential for breaches. AND, if you can believe it, I hope to do some of my OWN holiday baking next weekend (just cookies) and I'm certain I'll have to taste a few of those. I know I can indulge with some moderation, selectively. It's just a matter of making sure I'm making the best choices possible each time I have the opportunity to succeed.

I hope all of you are dealing well with the holiday treats coming into your homes and places of work!

Thanks for reading!

Dinner of temptation in the North End.

Last night, the head of our organization, in a gesture of extreme appreciation for a challenging year for the team, hosted us all at a dinner at my favorite restaurant in the North End (the Italian section of Boston, for those who might not know). There were about 24 of us, and it was a sit down dinner with a selected menu, a great sampling of their larger menu.

I knew it would be a great temptation, and so I needed to do a few things to plan for today. First, I had my cottage cheese and pineapple for breakfast, but for lunch, I had a very small serving of some tuna salad, and that's it -- maybe a scoopful. No other lunch. So, I knew my points would all be spent at dinner, and I could go into my extra points if needed.

I also knew there was no way I was going to actually be able to figure out the points I was going to be eating (in a restaurant, you can't tell if things were cooked in butter or olive oil, what extras went into things, etc), so, I was going to have to estimate on the high side for things.

I spent time looking at the menu before hand, getting comfortable with the overall offerings of the full menu, making mental notes of what might work and might not, if they were serving any or all of the items when we got there. I felt very familiar with the menu when I arrived and was able to make a quick decision when I saw my options.

As for what I had:

To drink: Pinot Noir (with one topping off pour after I'd drank some of the first glass.)

Appetizer: Butternut squash ravioli with browned butter. There were 2 of them, though they were large. Some walnuts were in there, too. I ate none of the bread on the table.

Entree: Oven braised spring chicken (small bird, on the bone) with brussel sprouts and black wild rice. Not a lot of rice (and a lot of trapped under the bird, so took some effort to scoop up more than a forkful or two), and probably 3 or 4 brussel sprouts. Was able to eat a good portion of the meat, but being on the bone, the dinner looks much bigger than it is. It was very moist and tender, really good chicken. And I love brussel sprouts!

Dessert: The dessert offerings were served as sharing plates: 4 of us would be able to try normal serving sizes of espresso pannacotta, apple crisp, a chocolate torte type thing, and an flan. I was very good and tried just two teaspoons full of apple crisp, and left the rest.

All in all, pretty good! I think it was a well balanced meal which didn't involve a lot of extra indulgences either in ingredients or portion sizes. The meal itself was excellent food, and I felt like I had enough of a variety to be able to make good choices for myself. I still wanted to have something a bit "special" as it was a celebratory night out, and so the real indulgence for me was the butternut squash ravioli, rather than a salad.

The best part about the evening was the company - it was great to spend some social time with people I work with and enjoy very much! It helped the celebratory spirit even more than just a special meal.

I'd been down a few ounces since my Monday weigh in, and this morning I'm back up to that level, so probably not too much damage done. I plan to go to the gym tonight and again on Saturday, and both should help for this week to be directionally better than last...

Thanks for reading!