Week Three Weigh In

I was much happier this week with my weight loss results. My Monday weigh-in resulted in proof that I lost 2.8 pounds last week. I attribute this to a few factors, first I started taking the stairs up to my 5th floor office each morning, second, I cut out my double double coffee, and lastly i have been making much smarter food choices each day. I no longer buy food at the food court. I had been doing the mall food court 1-2 times per week but now I always brown bag it. I can control what and how much I'm eating much easier that way. I bring a huge salad with me almost every day, then I throw in a cup of chickpeas, 1/2 a chicken breast or a can of flavoured tuna. It is a complete meal-so healthy and yummy too. I do mix it up a little by changing the dressings or using spinach instead of salad greens. On the days I don't do the salad thing I like to bring home made soup (always vegetarian-sometimes barley, sometimes cabbage) and a hard boiled egg along with a big container of raw veg- i was eating TONNES of baby carrots but now i've been bringing cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and peppers- so easy and filling too!
One thing that really helps is cutting up a bunch of vegi's on Sunday evening and just refilling my container each day-saves me time in the morning- and ensures i get in the vegi's i need.
I have really been watching how much fruit i eat. Fruits are healthy but they do have calaries and therefore higher points value than vegetables. Instead of an apple, banana AND an orange, i just eat one fruit a day-usually at morning break.
I am slowly getting in the habit of tracking dinner too. this is something I have been having trouble with but I usually have a pretty good idea of how much i've had during the day in order not to go over too much...and there is always activity points earned to help balance out any over eating!

hair dilema

My hair has been looking kind of shaggy these days...this pic actually acurately describes how I look these days.

This is me a couple of years ago (and boy i can't believe how i've aged since this was taken!!!)

Here is a picture of some hair i really admire...i've posted this before...i like the look but am also thinking i really like my hair longer ( i find longer hair more managable as I dont' HAVE to style is as much as shorter, trendy hair)

My dream hair... how many years would this take to grow? or how much would this cost to get extensions????

results:week one

Not as much a weight loss as I would have hoped for. I expected my first week to blast me from 22 points a day downt o 20 or even lower....well no such luck. My weight loss for the week was only .6 pounds. I really hoped for at least 1 pound weight loss! But what can I do now? Only work harder and work out more diligently this week.
I also know where I went wrong...here are a few things I learned during my first week.

First- look BEFORE you leap!! I had a few surprises after eating/drinking something and then checking the points value. My beloved double double coffee equals a whopping 4 points!! Who knew that double cream and double sugar pumps up the calarie and fat intake of coffee from 0 to 275 calories and 12 grams of fat!! YUCKYYYY. I have been able to stop drinking DD but not given up coffee altogether. I have replaced the cream with milk and use it towards my dairy servings for the day. The calories are now down to 150 and 2 grams of fat. Not bad.(but not as tastey!!!)
TRY not to eat after dinner. This is big one for me. I used to find that after getting the kids to bed and doing a few chores around the house I craved something...so i would sit and eat chocolate chips out of the bag, crackers or pita bread with hummos...unlimited quantities and right before bed too. Now I just keep myself occupied and keep a glass of water in my hand. If I'm really craving something I'll have a few craisons or a glass of diet pop. So far I haven't seen the results in weight loss but I think it will happen eventually. I also wake up feeling hungry which I think is a good thing.
EAT BREAKFAST. I'm finding that eating a decent breakfast like oatmeal made with milk or a high fibre cereal is much more satisfying that toast with butter or peanut butter. It keeps me full for longer and I don't crave an early morning snack at 8 or 9 am. (i usually eat breakfast at 6:30/45)
I've taken the "challenge yourself" part of the program to heart. Each morning I have been trying to take the stairs at work. My office is on the 5th floor so I am huffing and puffing by the time I get there but hope after a few more weeks my stamina will have improved greatly! I also think about working out and actually do it. I was waking at 5am to do my 45 minute elliptical training before work but found after 3 weeks that I just couldn't do it anymore so now I get on that machine at 9pm and "just do it!!" Watching shows like the Biggest Loser and X-Weighted while working out really helps the motivation factor!!

Week One, day One

I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting last night. I decided on a whim to join and I just called up the 1-800#, pulled out my credit card and paid for 6 months then and there. The woman on the phone kind of giggled when i told her I was planning on going to the meetings starting the next day- guess with it being New Years and all they have been getting more registrants...
Anyway the meeting was ok. I'm not sure the leader is the kind of inspiration I need but I'm going to stick to it regardless. She has been on maintnance for 18 months- which means that she reached her goal weight loss and has kept it off for 18 months. I would be more motivated by her if she'd said she kept it off for 18 years...but maybe i'm just asking too much. BUT even if the leader herself wasn't the most inspiring I did learn a few things from other members that will be useful in my overall new eating habits (or in slowing changing my eating habits- can't expect things to change over night)
So far it's been about 3 hours and I have been doing okay....not long but a start. No more double double coffee for me (boohoo- but not worth it) and no more tea biscuits or cookies as midmornig snack, these carrots i'm munching on are pretty tastey and they ARE really filling- really!

I did skip my 5am workout and am thinking I might have to rearrange my schedule because I'm just SOOO tired in the mornings PLUS my daughter is such a light sleeper that often when I walk past her room to get downstairs she wakes up and hubs isn't too happy about having to entertain her at 5am while I go workout. I'll figure something out.

I was going to keep my WW journey private but I'm hoping that by blogging about it I'll be motivated to keep it up. As FP noted in a recent post, it is like you are now accountable to someone and when people are watching you tend to be on your best behaviour.
Starting weight... 160.4 Ultimate goal: 135