Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Wednesday, February 23rd

Weigh in, gained .6 lb

Quote from the Weight Watchers website after I recorded my gain, "Look back at this week and see what you might be able to change; then let go of what you can't. The best thing to do is focus on is making this coming week a success."

I know that there are 3 reasons for my gain this week.  First reason is food related--I went to Maggiano's for dinner on Friday night to celebrate my baby's first birthday and I ate freely in the spirit of celebration.  Then on Saturday I had a piece of birthday cake.   Second reason is exercise related--when I discovered my neighborhood gym was closed on President's Day, I decided to go for a jog instead of driving to Lifetime.  I am still terribly sore, but proud at the same time for actually being able to jog for almost 45 minutes without feeling like I was going to die.  Third reason has to do with starting the weaning process.  I need to wrap my head around the fact that I will no longer have this calorie buffer from breastfeeding. 

I've been thinking about that quote, and the thing is that I don't think I could have changed any of my reasons for my gain this week, so I need to let it go and concentrate on next week.

Having said that, I have to admit that I am a little bummed by my gain this week.  I stayed after my WW meeting today and talked with my leader for a few minutes. We came up with a plan and I think it will get me back on track.  It has been no secret that I haven't tracked points.  I should be eliminating my final feeding around March 9th and the plan is to start tracking my new allocation of points (after subtracting my breastfeeding points) and re-learn appropriate portions to kick start my weight loss again. 

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Wednesday, February 19th

Weigh in, lost 1.4 pounds

I have officially surpassed my first goal of losing my baby weight!  In fact, after my weigh in today, I am slightly lighter than I was when I became pregnant with Rylan.  I suppose it is no coincidence that I reached my goal on Rylan's first birthday and I am glad to be celebrating today.

So where do I go from here?  I have had a new goal in mind for a few weeks now as I am the type of person who plans ahead so I can visualize success.  Over 2 years ago, I purchased designer denim for the first time in my life based on the simple fact they buttoned.  These pair of Paige jeans have haunted me ever since.  There is a huge difference between being able to button a pair of jeans and actually wearing them comfortably.  My goal is to wear those jeans with ease.  I am not exactly sure what that equates to in terms of number of pounds to lose, but I am guessing between 15 and 20. 

It has taken me approximately 6 months to lose 40 pounds and my husband remarked that I should be prepared to reach my next goal in the same amount of time.  I can't be discouraged by this because he might be right--the smaller you become, weight seems to come off more slowly.  I think it would be reasonable to try to lose 1 pound per week (on average) over the next 5 months to reach the high end of my goal.  Figuring out how to do this might be tricky as I get through the weaning process and evaluate what I want out of my workouts once ski season is over.  I have been working so hard at the gym for the athletic payoff, maybe I need to find a new physical challenge once spring arrives.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Wednesday, Febrary 9th

Weigh in, lost .8 pound

I am feeling a little better about my loss this week.   I am still pretty sure that I will need to adjust my food in order to really start dropping weight again, but that is on hold until I have completely stopped breastfeeding.  So, for now, status quo on nutrition as well as exercise.

Operation Baby Weight success is so close--I can taste it!  I am .4 pound away from celebration and I have already determined my next goal.

I am still hitting the gym pretty hard these days.  I have been trying to workout 4-5 times per week, mainly in anticipation of skiing.  Adding the strength training and increasing my levels on both my elliptical (hills plus, level 7) and bike (manual, level 5) workouts is making me stronger.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Wednesday, February 2nd

Weigh in, lost 1 pound

So I am a little ambivalent about my loss this week.  I feel like I have increased my level of activity significantly since recovering from pneumonia, but I am not necessarily seeing the impact at the scale.  I try to ask myself if I am working out more in order to lose weight or to get into great shape for ski season.  I know I probably wouldn't have added the strength training recently if the slopes were not in my future.  I also realize that I was losing more weight when I wasn't exercising as much--interesting dilemma.

Further, I have been analyzing my meals and wondering if I should cut back any on that front.  I have to say that I am not willing to decrease my caloric intake until I have completely finished breastfeeding and I do believe that I have healthy eating habits that I am proud of while allowing myself one nice splurge meal per week.

It seems to me that I am not willing to make any changes at the moment in my behaviors, so perhaps I am destined to plateau right now or teeter back and forth within a pound or two.  Somehow this conclusion puts a kink in my plans.  Sigh.