The plateau

So operation plateau breaker didn't work! It's time for drastic measures!

Week 3 and I'm maintaining nicely, too bad I'm not trying to! Not so much as a 100 grams off at WI this morning. I am currently smack bang in the middle of a dreaded plateau. It is soooooo frustrating!

In the last 2 weeks I have
*changed my exercise, exercised some mornings, some nights some none and some twice, walking sometimes, jogging sometimes, some skipping and some jumping on the trampoline.
*drank a small swimming pool everyday, (at least 3 L)
*had mostly carbs at lunch (except sometimes potato or corn with dinner) and not every day*cut out all alcohol (I haven't had any since Christmas)
*last week NO sugar point at all except choc powder on top of skim cappucino

The only thing I haven't done, and tbh I'm dreading to do is swap to points, but I really don't see that I have much choice. :(. It will be hard so after over 10 months on core. I'll be down to 18 points (last time I did points I was on 24!) I will update during the week!

And again...

Rather frustrating to say the least, but I stayed the same again at WI, looks like I have a plateau happening at the moment, so this week it will be operation plateau buster and if that doesn't work, shock horror I might.. I said MIGHT consider swapping to points to see if that shakes things up enough. This is my very last option, and I won't unless I feel it's absolutely necessary. So this week I'll be upping my water, swapping my exercise and food to try to shake things up!

Wish me luck!

No gain..

.....and no loss, I stayed the same.

This week I've drunk a small swimming pool in water, eaten at least 5 serves of vege and 2 fruit every day.. walked and jogged more kilometers than I care to calculate, consumed no sugar or alcohol and I didn't lose 1 single gram. I also decided that I'd not eat white pasta or rice at all last week, thinking it would shake things up a bit, but alas it didn't show on the scales. I am a little dissappointed (as I always am when I don't lose) but I'm hoping what I did this week will show on the scales next week. I have a plan to put in place so we'll just have to see what happens next week.

A crazy couple of weeks!

So busy last week I didn't even get to do an update! It was my birthday last Tuesday and Wednesday I gained 0.2kg at WI. I was a bit dissappointed as I stuck to the plan and didn't do anything for my birthday as I was working at the meeting in the evening (we went out last weekend for it instead) I looked back over my week and noted I really didn't eat very much, I mean I ate and was satified but when I really looked, there were heaps of salads and veges and not much else! I paid particular attention to that (adding protein, bread or vitaweats with lunch, having a few points worth of nuts here and there- they aren't core but I allowed for them from my points allowance) and even though I went out for lunch, and 2 dinners last week I lost 0.8kg this week.
The first restaurant is the one we go to every Friday night (and have done since well before I started WW) It's a Smorgasboard (all you can eat, buffet style), Chinese and seafood place. I do treat myself at the restaurant, usually having a couple of pieces of salt and pepper squid and a chicken satay (with very little or no sauce) Basically everything else I have is core (with exception of the oil and cornflour that is used in the chinese style veges that I allow for too) they do steamed vege, grilled fish, I make a prawn cocktail with fresh prawns, plain lettuce and lemon juice. Fresh fruit for dessert, a green tea and I'm done!
Saturday night we asked Brad's mum to have Daniel overnight so we could go out for my birthday dinner. We went to a mongolian BBQ place which was very, very nice and very CORE friendly! Basically you choose your meat (which is prepared for you, thinly cut and still frozen) you have a choice of kangaroo, beef, lamb, chicken and pork, then you choose your veges cabbage, bean shoots, pineapple, onion, celery, carrot and some others I can't remember then you chose your sauces.. Soy, garlic, ginger, chilli, sesame oil, hot pepper oil, sugar water, cooking wine, sweet and sour, hot pepper oil... Then you give your plate to the chef who cooks your meal in front of you on a giant curved hotplate (kind of like an upside down wok) and then hands it back to you when it's cooked, no oil, unless YOU add it, BRILLIANT! So as you can see it's very easy to have a 100% core meal at this place! We'd never been there before, but no doubt we will go back! Afterwards we went for a little walk and got a skim cap and then came home. Great food, great night.
I'm doing the Valentines day raid on the WW core board this week for hopefully a bit of a boost and a lot of fun this week!

As requested :)

Sorry! I didn't do my hair or makeup and I'm not even standing us straight! lol!

For pics in my before clothes go here!

I'm sitting here... (warning shouting to follow)

IN SIZE 10 JEANS!!!!! Sorry I had to shout but how exciting!!!

My size 12 3/4 jeans have been feeling a bit big and I've been wearing them with a belt so today while at the Target end of season sale I was having a look and tried on a pair of size 11 jeans. They fit but of course they only had 11 long, and of course me not being long I would have had to cut far too much off so I put the 11's back thought oh well the 10's will probably fit by winter anyway grabbed a pair of size 10 short (did I mention for $15) and to my surprise when I tried them on when I got home.. THEY FIT! They're boot leg so probably a bit wider than a "normal" 10 would be, but they are a size 10!!!!!! (and I don't have to take them up!!)

♪♫ I'm doing a happy dance!! ♫♪

2 weeks in a row

Yep that's right 2 weeks in a row I've lost over 1kg. I'm a happy little camper! I have been doing a raid on the WW core board so that would have helped as would that I am walk/jogging now. I also try to get a couple of "extra" walks in a week (besides my normal hour morning walk.) It all helps! I pay careful attention to hunger signals, only eating if genuinely hungry, and stopping when comfortably satisfied, not stuffed full! I make sure I drink at least 2L of water each day and I'm mindful of the good health guidelines when planning my meals.

I did it

I'm overweight and yes I'm excited about that as it's so much better than being morbidly obese - which is what I started out as! Today I lost a fantastic 1.1kg at WI which brought my BMI from 48.9 (16 months ago) to 29.9 (today) . Next step HEALTHY at 24.9. Bring it on BABY!!

I promise to update pics soon and I will include pics wearing my original "fat clothes" as a few people have requested.

♥

Sunday ponderings

Or should that be ramblings??

While walking this morning I was thinking, as you do, about why I think I have been sucessful so far. I'm often asked at meetings, and in general so here it is..

Shazzy's hints and tips for sucessful weighloss!

• Tell everyone you know you are doing WW.
  -This helps in a number of ways. People are expecting you to lose weight, so you will feel less inclinded to let these people down. I can't imagine saying to someone if they ask how WW is going.. "Oh, I don't do that anymore!" If you keep WW a secret, no one will know except you, this will not keep you very accountable.
  -People will encourage you more, they aren't scared to ask if you have lost weight, when they can see it, they will tell you!
  -You're less likly to be given gifts of food hampers or chocolate.
  -Friends will often make sure there is something that you can have if they invite you over, and are less likly to push a piece of cake or biscuit on you.


• If you go to meetings to be weighed.
  STAY for the meeting, I don't understand how people can pay to get weighed and then leave the meeting. It just doesn't make sence to me. You've paid anyway, you may as well stay. It's a great way to share and brag about things you're proud of, or if you're having "issues" it's a great place to get support, afterall everyone there is in the same boat as you, a different stages of the program, but everyone is in the same boat! I've made some fabulous friends at meetings!


• Use the WW website
  There is a wealth of information on it as well as recipes and hints and tips. Use the community message boards. I like to think of it as my daily meeting. Any time, day or night I can log on and get or offer advice or encouragement. Motivating others is great motivation.


• Success breeds success.
  Think about how you feel when you achieve your goals, whether they be major or minor. Man I could be a rich woman if I could bottle that feeling! Remember it, it will help you through the harder times, and there will be harder times! You may be 1/2 way to goal or you may be able to do up those jeans you haven't been able to wear since the kids were born. Celebrate them with non food rewards. A book, a magazine, a massage, a manicure, a bubble bath, a hair cut and/or colour or new clothes, it doesn't have to cost alot either. I've recently discovered op shopping! Great clothes = not much $$ it is the luck of the draw though. I was also told at our meetings that you can ring TAFE and offer yourself as a human guinea pig for people needing to practice manicures, pedicure, massage, waxing, haircuts - ok maybe I'm not THAT brave but still it is a great idea, that won't cost you alot, and you are helping someone else in the process.


• Measure your success
  We've all been there, you have done absolutely EVERYTHING right you have been a perfect WWer all week, did all your exercise, drank all your water, got in all your serves of fruit and vege, you're expecting a kg + loss and you get 0.1 or the scale doesn't move. I know only too well how frustrating it is! How long has it been since you've taken your measurements? Are your clothes feeling loose? Does the towel go all the way round you now?


• If you have a slip up
  Don't beat yourself up over it. It's over, move on! You will only truly fail at this if you give up and don't stick to the plan/s. If you just don't stop you will eventually achieve your goals.
  
• Follow the plan
  Whether it be core or points, do it properly! Track! Track! Track! If you "cheat" you're only cheating yourself!

So there you are. I hope it helps someone out there in cyberland!

♥

We're back!

We had such a fabulous time while we were away. I got to catch up with heaps of friends and family. I had lots of great comments about my weight loss and how I look while I was away, (they usually started with Oh my God!) Others stared as they weren't quite sure if it was me or not :).
Some really exciting news... Mum bought me a skirt and top for me for Christmas while I was away and just guess what size it was?? A size 10!!! A 10!! Can you believe that? Last Christmas I was wearing a 22-24!!!
OK now I'm not totally delusional because I'm certainly not fitting into 10's in anything else, so I'm sure it was a "big" size 10 and it was a touch firm, but I wore it all day Christmas day! No one could wipe the smile off my face!

Quick Update

Still at mum and dad's. Gained 0.1kg Christmas week, amd I was really happy with that! First week of 2008 and I lost 0.7kgs. I'm really pleased with myself! Will update in detail when I get home next week! ♥

New cut and colour!!

You like??

Busy, busy!

I just realized that I didn't even update my blog last week! December just seems to fly by doesn't it? We leave to go to mum and dad's on Sunday.

I seem to be maintaining nicely at the moment, I gained 0.1kg last week and lost it again this week, which would be great if I was trying to maintain!! Anyway I'm going to try shaking things up exercise and food wise this week, see what happens, it will be hard to work out if it helps as I won't be able to weigh on Wednesday as the meetings are closed on Boxing day, but there is an 8.30am meeting on Saturday I might go to.

My plan for Christmas is to not gain, I'll be happy to stay the same, and if I loose, that is a bonus! So I will eat totally core, as much as I can until Christmas, and treat myself on Christmas day paying careful attention to hunger signals and back to it again on Boxing day!! What I need to remember is food will still be there after Christmas and really who wants to be uncomfortably full all day??

You won't believe what I did last night! I had a Lindt Ball! I haven't had any "nice" chocolate since I started WW all those months ago, I mean I've had a few WW Choc Crisp bars and while they're nice, they don't even come close to what is an utterly delectable morsel of swiss chocolate! I actually promised myself to have "1" about 20kgs ago, but I could not find 1 to buy, there were packs of 3, 6 and then boxes of so many points I'd hate to think, but I only wanted 1, I didn't want to buy more. As it happens my MIL won a raffle a couple of weeks ago and in there was a small packet of Lindt Balls, so I asked her for 1! It sat in my fridge for a little over a week. I ate it last night. Can I tell you? It took so long to eat that Lindt Ball I scraped it with my teeth, I nibbled every last orgasmic bite and boy did I enjoy it! I was chatting to a friend last night and she asked if I needed another one now? My response even surprised me, "No thanks I'm good!" I might not wait so long to have the next one as they are pretty affordable points wise (2 points) so instead of being 16 months it might only be 6!! Or maybe when I get to goal! There is no IF, I know will get (and stay) there, that's a promise I made to myself a long time ago!

If I don't get a chance to blog before, have a fabulous Christmas everyone and I will try to do an update from mum and dad's! ♥

I've been a slacko!

Gosh it's a busy time of year! I didn't even post my loss from last week . I lost 0.3kg which I'm pleased with considering my big losses lately.
Post raid update... it went really well and I will continue with it til Christmas, despite losing 0.3kg on it (I was expecting more, but the raid really wasn't that much different to what I do day to day anyway, so.. ) all in all it's not too bad.
Daniel and I went to the park with a friend (Hi C) and her little girl yesterday.. It had the biggest slide you've ever seen! It was great fun! Yes I had a go too, what a difference a year makes! This time last year my ass wouldn't have fit! lol

Here is Daniel on the slide! See what I mean?? In his words it's HOOOGE!!


and another of Daniel just for good measure! (pics of course taken with my new camera!)

Time Flies!

Wow I can't believe this week has gone so quickly, scrap that, this YEAR has gone so quickly, this time in 3 weeks will be Christmas eve.. that's just CRAZY talk!
Monday I started doing a RAID on the WW boards ROX (Raid Operation Xmas). I'm in the Christmas Core-acker team. What is a raid? Well basically you have to agree to this pledge

I ______ , a Hard-Core Christmas Core-acker, pledge that everyday, for the next 7 days I will:
*Get amazing energy from my Core plan
*Do a minimum of 45min continuous exercise
*Drink 2L of water
*Eat 5 serves of vegies and 2 serves of fruit
*Consume no alcohol
*Consume no sugar
*Not use any exercise points that I earn
*Report in to the Core-acker Thread.

In the event of a special occasion (ie. Christmas Party) I may apply for a pass, BUT … I must make the best possible choices available. If I am unable to fulfil the ROX Raid requirements I must bow out OR make up for my indiscretion with a suitable punishment as negotiated with Kerri Core-acker and fellow Raiders.

Day 2 of the raid and it's going really well, it's basically what I do day to day anyway except I do include small amounts of sugar in my diet. We'll see if it shows at WI :)

45kgs gone!!!

I just want to shout it from the rooftops!!! I lost 1.1kgs this week, bringing my total to 45kgs. I'm in shock! I have no words, but I'm very, very happy!! :) I'll come back later when I can think clearer!! ♥

What has changed since I started WW?

Well apart from the obvious!

- I can cut and paint my toenails and put on my shoes and socks without having to hold my breath.
- I can fit down a slippery dip.
- I can walk for hours if I need to, I used to have to have rests all the time.
- I get up at 6am most days to go for a daily fast paced walk, I used to avoid exercise
- I can get up off the floor easily, I was never able to before.
- I'm not the biggest person in a crowd anymore, I always felt like i was before.
- I can sit comfortably in a chair with armrests without having to squish in.
- I look for ways to get extra excercise, I used to always look for the "easiest" way to do things.
- I don't eat mindlessly when I'm bored, happy, sad, angry...
- I enjoy helping and motovating others.
- I can see bones in my wrists, hands, collarbones.
- I have to get all my rings resized, they're all to big!
- I have new clothes, all the old ones are too big!
- I get compliments constantly, I never used to.
- I can shop in "normal" sized shops, I used to have to shop in plus size shops.
- I can say "no thanks" to chips and chocolate, I was never able to resist before.
- I don't look for the closest car parks.
- I wear make up more often.
- I like myself.
- I have more confidence.
- I smile alot more.
- I am proud of myself.

A great loss this week -0.8kgs. :)

Heading into NEW territory..

Some of you may remember this post about me buying size 12 jeans on special for $5 back in August? The plan was to be able to wear them on Christmas day. Well guess what peoples? I'm wearing them today with NO flabby overhangy bits! I'm also wearing a size 14 top today that I bought on our shopping expo yesterday to Harbourtown. Last time we went I didn't find anything that fit!! This time? So many bargains! I'm a very happy girl today!

Breaking the trend and new pics!

The last few weighins have gone something like good loss, gain, same, good loss so I was kind of expecting a gain or a same, but I lost 0.3kg, so I'm really pleased about that! I'm still walking at least 6 days a week. I was wanting to try to do the c25k but my poor "old" knees won't let me, so I will stick to walking.

Do you know what I have found the hardest since starting WW? Learning to take compliments. I've never really had many compliments before and I always used to brush them off. I've since learned that all I have to do is say thank you! :)

I was asked at this weeks meeting how I stay motivated for so long. Tbh I think the first few weeks are the hardest, when you aren't seeing or feeling the results, but once you have lost about 7 or 8 kilos you really do start to motivate yourself. You have lost a dress size, you start looking different and you start to believe that you can do this - AND YOU CAN! I have never missed a meeting - NEVER. Even when I go away (usually to visit mum and dad in NSW) I always make sure I go to the meeting. Keeping a blog helps me stay motivated to, it's different to just keeping a diary as I'm accountable to everyone who reads it not just me. I have never kept my attempt to lose weight a secret. EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE that I know, knows that I'm doing WW. Even my butcher knows and asks me each week how I've gone. I log in daily to the WW Website to see how everyone is going and to post about my celebrations and breakthoughs, but not only that... Motivating others and patting them on the back gives me a great feeling! All these things help keep me accountable. I can't wait for Christmas when I get to see all my family and friends agian in NSW. I love the shock factor each time they see me, as it's more dramatic because they only see me a couple of times a year.

Some updated pics for you.. you can check out all the pics here. Enjoy!

Well that's more like it!

I lost 1.1kg this week. Thank goodness as I was just getting ready to throw in the towel! NOT! lol sorry! You don't really think I'd quit now do you? I know I can do this and I will. I am confident that it is only a matter of time before I get to goal! I'm confident that I will be able to maintain my weight with the help of core.

I have realised over all this time that Weight Watchers is all about choice.

• You can choose to do it or you can choose not to. I chose to do it.
• You can choose to "kinda" do it, or you can choose to not kid yourself and do it properly. I choose to do it properly.
• You can choose to make excuses, or you can choose not to. I choose not to make excuses.
• You can choose which plan you want to do. First I chose points, now I choose CORE.
• You don't just fall off the wagon, you choose to hop off. (Oh yes you do! No one force feeds you at night with a drip) I choose not to fall off.

So now tell me... What do you choose?