Post-Christmas Weigh-In and Hot 100

I made a comment last week that I WOULD lose weight over Christmas week.  Well, guess what?

I did!

Somehow I managed to shave off 1.6, which I realize isn't a huge number, but it is a loss over a difficult week for me.  I will relish it!

This puts me at -23.2 pounds total.  I'd hoped to have been down much more than that by now, but somehow I lost my mojo between Thanksgiving and now.  It's no excuse; just what happened.  But I am pretty sure now that I'll have my regular routine back, I'll be chucking those pounds again!

So how about a little Hot 100 Update?  This is the last one!  The challenge is over, so let's see how I fared:

1.  Lose 15-plus pounds by the end of the year / end of the challenge.  I had been so certain that I would reach this one, but I'm not even close.  During this challenge, I've lost 8.2 pounds, which is just over half of my goal.  Bummer!  I'll have to lose that in January instead.

2.  Get more sleep.  Some nights are better than others, but I really have improved quite a bit here.  I do notice a real difference overall when I get enough sleep.  The surprising side effect for me is that my diet/exercise are better when I'm not sleep-deprived as well.

3.  Start taking vitamins.  I started off really strong with this one, never missing a day.  Then I forgot one day.  Then I forgot a couple of days.  Then I went a really long time without taking them, and now I'm doing better again.  Yes, I had a fistful of them today, in fact.

4.  Make a plan for eating and exercising over the holidays and stick to it.   Well, it could have been better for sure, but I did manage a modest weight loss over the latest holiday.  I should have made a more solid plan to get me through, but I'm pleased with this one as a whole.

This was a fun challenge, and I enjoyed having the weekly updates to keep me focused.  Thanks to Steve at Log My Loss for putting this one out there!

It's New Year's Eve, and I'm not going out tonight.  We almost never do for this holiday.  But we will make an effort to stay up til midnight (sorry, goal #2) and might have a little glass of bubbly.  No party buffets, no overindulging in alcohol, and no high heels tonight.  Many years ago I would have been horrified by this prospect.  Tonight, I'm looking forward to a cozy little ringing in of the new year here at home with my honey and my sleeping kids.

Wishing you all a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous 2011!

Ta-Daaa!

My eating has been a challenge this holiday, but I did accomplish a goal.

A little backstory:  Because we had people coming in from all over and at different times, we wound up having our big holiday meal Sunday night and opening gifts on Monday morning.  So I had a little delay in the festivities.

Then after gifts were opened and leftovers consumed, my husband and I geared up and went out to walk the hilly road called Holdsworth Drive.

Did the whole thing, baby!  It was about 3.6 miles total, I think.  (Been awhile since I measured it out.)  I know for some of you die-hards, that doesn't seem like much, but at my fitness level and with all the hills, it really was pretty big for me.

It was windy, but the weather was really nice otherwise, and I had my fella with me.  All good!

And now for the photo proof of my quasi-5K:

Wait for me, dude!

Don't know if these pics do justice to the hilliness of this road

Big hill coming up in the distance!

Blue skies and sunshine

I think I might do this again sometime!

Hot 100 Update and Weekly Weigh-In

It's not a good number, folks, but here's the honest truth:  I gained FOUR LOUSY POUNDS this week!

I had four -- count 'em, FOUR -- holiday events this week alone.  So I guess I gained a pound at each event.  I wasn't even going to weigh in yesterday, but I figured I can't hide from it, so I went ahead and weighed.  Oh, and I didn't fall down dead as a result.  So that's where I stand, and it's not even Christmas Day yet.

Lest you think I'm feeling defeated, I'll tell you I'm not.  I'm not quitting.  I'm planning for moderation through the next couple of days.  I plan to have some of my old once-a-year favorites, but not go insane with it.  I'm going to get my weight off.  It might not be this week, but I'm not out of the game yet!

So here's my Hot 100 update:

1.  Lose 15-plus pounds by the end of the year / end of the challenge.  It's not looking good, though my weight is still down during this challenge.  Just not sure I'm going to hit the goal.  We shall see!

2.  Get more sleep.  As usual, it kind of just depends on the night.  Lately I seem to have more trouble, with all the items on my to-do list dancing in my head after the lights go out, but sometimes I get lucky and drift right off to sleep.

3.  Start taking vitamins.  See #2 - hit or miss.

4.  Make a plan for eating and exercising over the holidays and stick to it.  Well, clearly this week got away from me.  Correction -- I didn't stay on top of my game this week and gained weight.  Too many opportunities to be off my routine got the best of me.  I'm not happy about it, but at the same time, I'm not freaked out about it either.  I know the way this works and what I need to do.  I'm not going to moan about gaining weight and having no idea why.  I also know that I'll be able to lose this little bit of holiday weight, and I know how to do it.  It might not be the most fun in the world, but it's a pretty simple theory.

Merry Christmas!

The Weather Outside is Not So Frightful

Some of my fellow Hill Country Texans are complaining that it's hard to get into the Christmas spirit with this warm weather we're having.

Monday I took my daughter to Chili's Restaurant for lunch.  The bank sign next door showed this temperature reading:

Later, as I was running errands, my car showed this exterior temp:

Yesterday we were in the 80s.

Traditional snowy Christmas weather?  No, it's not.  But it still got me in the Christmas spirit, because for one thing, I LOVE warm weather and sunshine.  For another, while some people were skidding around on the ice or getting stuck in this...

Source: The Daily Caller

...I was enjoying my green salad at Chili's with this view of blue skies from our table.

at Chili's Restaurant

Yesterday evening, I went for a long walk at the track and felt comfortable in my t-shirt with no jacket.  Last night I sat on my back porch under a bright moon and a sky full of stars.  

So while the sun and warm weather have given me lots to be cheerful about, I'm just as excited to learn that, in traditional Texas style, our weather is expected to take a dramatic turn for Christmas.  It should be much cooler, with a high temperature in the upper 40s.  Nice and crisp for Santa!

We used to live in a city that got lots of snow each year.  Snow can be absolutely beautiful.  If you're in the snow, I hope you're enjoying it.  Build a snowman, go ice skating, sip a big mug of hot chocolate (from a healthy recipe, of course).  

Wherever you are, I hope you're finding happiness in the midst of this busy season and finding some peace in the slower moments.

Weekly Weigh-In and Hot 100 Update

Nothing too exciting to report in the weigh-in...I lost 0.2.  Yep, that weight is just FLYING off of me!  Sigh.  I have no excuses.  I know what I need to do (and you know what you need to do too, don't you?).  I just got busy and didn't make eating right and exercising enough of a priority.  It's the holidays, but I don't want to pack it all back on just because it's a festive time of year.

This means I am currently down a total of 25.6 pounds from the start.

Now for the Hot 100 Challenge Update:

1.  Lose 15-plus pounds by the end of the year / end of the challenge.  I'm 4.4 pounds away from meeting this goal.  Hmmm... I realize that's close, but I also realize that Christmas is in a week and I only have two weeks left in the challenge.  I'm going for it, no matter the odds!

2.  Get more sleep.  Doing better, most nights on this.  It doesn't hurt that my 3-year-old is sleeping all night in his own bed sometimes now.

3.  Start taking vitamins.  Hit or miss.  I'm not sure why, because for a long time this was the one I could count on knocking out of the park every time.

4.  Make a plan for eating and exercising over the holidays and stick to it.   I'm hosting Christmas for extended family this year, so I'm already trying to sneak in healthy options to my menu plans.  I won't be able to avoid serving some old-fashioned calorie nightmares, but it's just once a year, and I do know how to control myself. 

Have a great weekend, y'all!

My Super-Duper Saturday!

Saturday I walked MOST of the hilly road in my town called Holdsworth Drive.  After I walked it, I went and checked the mileage, and it was 3.2, which is just short of the whole thing.  I will get there, but that was pretty good for the first run.  Perhaps I shouldn't use the word "run," because running I most certainly was not!  It was a lot of panting and whining and legs threatening to quit.  But it was really good, and my big ol' glutes are still a little sore today.

Then my hubby Mike went to ring the bell for Salvation Army for a little while and I let the kids go bonkers in the backyard, and we took the kiddie art easel out there and made Christmas paintings outside too.  Love this December Texas weather!

After that, we cleaned up and hit the road for our annual drive to Johnson City to look at pretty Christmas lights.

First up was a quick stop between Kerrville and Fredericksburg to say hello to "Scrappy."

Scrappy - Yep, that's his real name!

Next we stopped in Fredericksburg for dinner.  The case of cheesecakes looked ever-so-enticing.

I did wind up with a teensy little molecule of a bite of one of these, but no more than that.  And I ordered a sensible meal and ate a reasonable portion of it.  The chips, however?  Um, that's another story.  But I did track it all like a good Weight Watcher.

After dinner it was on to Johnson City.  First stop was the courthouse, where lots of people were milling around and waiting to go inside to a craft fair.  

Courthouse

 Because we weren't all that interested in going inside, we walked a couple of blocks over to a church that had a living nativity scene, complete with live animals and a real baby.  They even served hot chocolate and cookies afterward.  The kids indulged, but Mike and I did not!

After that, we went to the park/courtyard area which was all decked out.  It was fun to walk around in all the little holiday scenes.

Finally we left there and went to -- (I'm not making this up) -- the electric company building.  It's actually a huge building with a lot of land around it.  Santa was there for the kids, they were selling hot apple cider, and there were hayrides and horse and buggy rides.  The most amazing thing is that they light up all the trees with a gazillion lights.  It doesn't really show up in photos, but it's just incredible to walk under these trees. 

Our daughter took this picture of me and Mike.

As we were leaving town, I noticed this little beauty salon called Truvy's (like in Steel Magnolias) and had to snap a quick pic of it.

Then it was back home, listening to Christmas music in the car, and arriving home with two kids who were already sound asleep.  

Good old family fun!

Hot 100 Update - Grumpy Edition

My update for the Hot 100 Challenge:

1.  Lose 15-plus pounds by the end of the year / end of the challenge.  Time is running out, and I feel like I'm spinning my wheels.

2.  Get more sleep.  It's almost midnight, and I'm nowhere near bed, so you do the math.

3.  Start taking vitamins.  Not once this week.

4.  Make a plan for eating and exercising over the holidays and stick to it.  Really want to be successful with this one.  I am hosting Christmas for my extended family this year, which means I'll have more control.  I have to be aware of the days surrounding Christmas as well.

Weight Watchers New Program

So as any of you who are doing Weight Watchers already knows, they've gone and changed up the whole system!

A Point is no longer the same unit it was before.  Fruits are free!  You get a higher number of points, but most foods now have a higher point value.  I feel like it probably all evens out, and that it does encourage you to eat more natural and nutritious foods, but it's different for sure.  I have certainly been getting in more produce than before, so that's a good thing.

My meeting is tomorrow, but I think I might wind up not weighing in.  It's kind of a silly reason, but here it is:  I have a Christmas Brunch to attend in the morning.  It's to benefit my little friend Katie, who is in the hospital with cancer right now.  I'm not planning to go wild and eat my weight in pastries or anything like that, but I do plan to participate and enjoy a sampling of what my friends have made for us.  Now, I wouldn't even blink at that if it were, say, tonight.  But I normally don't eat or drink anything at all until after I weigh, so I'm thinking that could affect my weigh-in.  I find that it does make a difference if I have even just a cup of coffee, and I don't want to get discouraged after my first week on the new plan.

I will go to the meeting, though.  I really want to hear what people are saying about it and hear what the leader has to say, as well as to see how the scales are treating everyone.  I will weigh at home on my scales, as usual, but I never count it until it's official at the meeting.

A few days ago my friend Mandy wanted to walk a winding and hilly road here called Holdsworth Drive.  It's really scenic and has nice sidewalks the entire length of it.  It's also just over a 5K if you go all the way down and back.  We started out, but then she started having trouble with her knee, so we had to go to the high school track and walk for an hour there instead, on that flat and level surface.  Before you accuse her of chickening out, let me assure you that she often walks it with no trouble and that it was her idea.  Don't worry though, it's coming!  I'm going  to blaze that trail!

Hope you're all enjoying this busy season and not getting too stressed out about it.  So far, so good here!

Weekly Weigh-In and Hot 100 Update

For my weekly weigh-in I was up 0.8 this week.  I'm mostly upset about this, I think, because I ROCKED Thanksgiving and didn't blow it until a few days after.  Grrr!  It's just a bump in the road though, and I'm not quitting.  So far I'm down a total of 25.4 pounds.

Now for a Hot 100 Update!

1.  Lose 15-plus pounds by the end of the year / end of the challenge.  Up 0.8 this week, so I'm down 10.4 pounds during this challenge, leaving me with 4.6 to lose in order to reach this goal.

2.  Get more sleep.  Depends upon the night and what's going on.  Last night was horrible - stayed up to the wee hours last night, but then one night I was scrubbed and in bed by 10:15.  I certainly always feel better when I get my sleep.

3.  Start taking vitamins.  I don't know what my problem is this week.  Travel?  Holiday?  Not sure, but I probably took my vitamins only a couple of days this week.  

4.  Make a plan for eating and exercising over the holidays and stick to it.  I did GREAT on Thanksgiving Day and the days right after, but then started struggling by Monday.  Exercise hasn't happened like it should either, which doesn't help!

Have a wonderful weekend!