Sticky Stickers!

I've missed you, my bloggy friends!

Just a quick update...At my last weigh-in, I FINALLY got another 5-pound sticker!  That's a total of 31.8 pounds gone!

Food Choices

Our family was invited to a Super Bowl party on Sunday.  I decided to bring a veggie tray, to help me make better food choices there.  I wound up taking home almost the whole thing!  I guess veggies were not as popular as the meatballs, stuffed mushroom caps, and cheese dips that were available.  Oh, it was all so tempting!  I did have a few tastes here and there, but I loaded up on the veggies.  I could have done better, but I was quite restrained nonetheless.

Yesterday my husband took me to lunch at one of my favorite local restaurants.  I had my standby "Farmer's Market Salad" which is baby spring mix with green apples, a little Texas goat cheese, walnuts, dried cranberries, and grilled chicken.  It comes with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing, and I used that sparingly.

Yum!

This restaurant is called Rails - A Cafe at the Depot.  It's in an old railroad depot, and has a cool vibe about it and really good food.  I highly recommend trying this place if you're ever in the Texas Hill Country.  Besides the food, one of my favorite things is the ceiling:

Inside Rails

I'm trying to learn to enjoy dining out and enjoying healthier options when doing so.  I'm trying to focus more on the conversation, presentation of food, and details of my surroundings.  There are so many perks to going out to eat other than seeing how much fat and carbs I can cram down my throat.  It's not an easy transition, I must admit, but I'm working on it one meal at a time.

Jumping the Gun

Normally I wouldn't post anything right before a weigh-in, but I've decided to do just that today.  Here's why.  My friend Mandy mentioned the need to remind herself that no matter what her weight today, she has worked the program and done what she's supposed to.  I'm doing that too.

First off, I did weigh at home this morning, and it showed a little gain.  I could let this get me down, but I'm not going to.  Instead, I'm going to learn from it.  I did what I was supposed to do this week, and I added in exercise.  So why the gain, you wonder?

Here's my theory.  I ate out several times this week, and I tracked everything and didn't go over my Points allowance.  So I thought.  What I've decided is that I must have just misjudged my restaurant servings.  It's the only explanation.  I really enjoy going out to eat (don't we all?), but I need to cut it down a little if I can, at least while I'm trying to lose weight.

The hubs and I met up with about 16 other people for dinner at the new Japanese restaurant on Monday.  It was lots of fun.  Judging from all the butter slathered all over everything, I'm guessing this could have been a contributing factor to my gain.

Wish I'd gotten a photo of the flaming volcano onion!

Where's the rice?  P.S. - That's my husband's beer, not mine!

This was my plate (before the little bit of beef was added).  I actually did order steamed rice, but for some reason it didn't get delivered.  I didn't ask for it, and still enjoyed the meal without the extra carbs/calories/points.  

Sunday, our family went to a late lunch/early dinner at Mamacita's Mexican Restaurant.  Afterward, we were walking to the car and I couldn't help noticing how warm and perfect the weather was.  We got in the car and I said, "It's so beautiful outside, it makes me wish I could just walk home from here."  Mike stopped the car and said, "Then walk home!"  He was joking in an "I-dare-you" sort of way.  I looked at my shoes (not workout shoes, but Skechers), and figured they'd work just fine.  So I hopped out and hoofed it on home.  Now, it's not really all that far from there to my house -- maybe 1.5 miles -- but it was a great feeling.  I was doing something spontaneous, just because it would be good for me, got a little exercise, and got to enjoy the sunshine.  It's hard to believe it was around 80 degrees just a few days ago, and right now it's like 16 here!  

I have another friend who just got certified to teach Zumba, and that will start on Monday.  I'm going to go try it out and will let you know how that goes!

To close, I just want to say that I probably will see a gain today at Weight Watchers, but it's not because I didn't try.  I just made some mistakes somewhere in my estimations, I think, and I want to learn from this and keep going for more losses coming up.  Not gonna let this get me down, but I'm also not going to take any gain lightly!

Weekly Weigh-In

Thursday's weigh-in was good.  I'm down 2 pounds!

While the last couple of weigh-ins were good, and it seems like I should really be well on my way to goal, let me just clear this up.  I'm pretty much where I was two months ago.  Grrrr!   It's my own fault for letting the change in Weight Watchers throw me off.  I was up and down and steady for those two months.

Rather than staying the course and sucking it up and just working the program, I just coasted along through the holidays and beyond.  For the most part, I tried not to go crazy, but I wasn't really doing anything specific.  And I GAINED weight.

While I love with the idea of intuitive eating, the truth is that I'm so far from that point right now.  I'm still pretty much a newbie.  Lack of structure in this quest for me, right now, is the way for me to fail.  So I gained weight.

But the good news is that I'm back to where I was when I got my 25-pound mark a couple of months ago.  And, yes, I'm ready to dig into that "virgin fat" and start shaving that off now.

Oh, and by the way, for anyone else who's in my position with the WW thing and being reluctant to try the new plan...Just do it!  Once you start, you'll realize how similar it really is to the old plan, and even better really, because I am not eating as much processed foods.  I'm buying (and eating) more fruits and vegetables than ever before.

I'm back in!  And I WILL have another loss at my next weigh-in on Thursday!

Giving In Just a Little

The Spurs game Friday night was so much fun!  And the Spurs won!

Photo: http://www.sportnooz.com/tag/okafor

It's always fun watching my boyfriend at work.

Tony Parker -- Okay, so maybe he doesn't know he's my boyfriend yet, but I'm sure I'll be a refreshing change of pace after Eva Longoria!

We watched the basketball action from the suite, where all kinds of food was served.

Fajitas!

I had some chicken with hot sauce -- no tortillas, cheese, sour cream, etc. -- and just a few cashews (I counted them like a nerd and had 8.)

Snacks everywhere!

Lots of drinks were available, including all kinds of beer and wine.  I prefer hard liquor, so I was safe and drinking water or Sprite Zero, until someone opened the liquor cabinet.  I couldn't resist and had a little Jack & Diet Coke.

The dessert cart came around, and I just went out for a peek and a photo.

The Delightfully Evil Dessert Cart

Then someone came in with a shot of DiSaronno in a little chocolate shot cup.  Okay, so I had one, minus the chocolate cup.  I got mine in a regular glass.  I don't normally drink much, but it looks like my big splurges for the night were alcohol related.  We had a great time, and I tracked everything, so it's all good.

Saturday night was a fundraising gala in Kerrville.  That was fun too, but I had already decided not to drink.  I had a big salad, a little pork tenderloin, and lots of veggies on the side.  No bread, just because I knew if I started on that, I would get that carb rush and go nuts.  And then dessert was served.  Turtle brownies.  This could be trouble.

Are you kidding me?!

I took one tiny bite, then my husband had a bite.  Then I took another little bite.  It was the best dessert I've had in a long time.  So I passed the dessert to my husband and made him place it far away from me.  My tactic worked!

The Turtle Brownie in Exile

Then, of course, there was dancing and socializing, and I got out of there feeling pretty good about it and having had a wonderful time.

I had planned to work out on Sunday, but started feeling really bad and didn't feel up to it.  I think it's just a bad cold, but it's put me in slow-motion.

Aside from feeling under the weather Sunday and today, I had a really fun weekend and feel good about the food choices I made.  Exercise is on tap this week, and I'm determined to have another loss at Weight Watchers this week.