What did I expect??

As I hopped on the scale this morning, I was optimistic that today would be the day that I entered the zone that I refer to as the Single Digit 200's. The Single Digit 200's can only be claimed by people weighting between 200 and 209 pounds. My weight has been hovering slightly over 210 pounds for the past few weeks, and I felt that I had done a fair job the past week with my healthy eating and exercise regime so I was sure that today would be the day. (Don't tell my body this, but I was secretly hoping to weigh in at 208 pounds).

Well, I got on the scale and was surprised to see the number 210.0 glaring back at me. I immediately thought that it must a mistake, so I quickly weighed in again. Nope, 210 pounds it was! I thought that it must be my PMS weight gain, or the fact that I didn't drink enough water yesterday, or the fact that I only exercised 5 days last week instead of my usual 6. (By the way, none of these are valid excuses for me because I don't usually put on PMS weight, I drank plenty of water, and I exercised harder in those 5 days that I usually do).

During the commute to work today, I was continuing to think of reasons that I maintained at 210 instead of lost. I started thinking about the times that I had dined in a restaurant last week, but surely a few insufficient trips to local dining establishments couldn't be the culprit, could it? I quickly started counting restaurant visits on my fingers (Yes, I'm 35 and still count on my fingers) and once the number reached 10, I quit counting. There was my problem! I had eaten out over 10 times last week (12 to be exact), and even though I thought I was making healthy choices, I was still consuming way too many calories. My exercise routine burned enough calories to prevent me from gaining weight, but not enough make me lose weight.

I definitely need to do a better job at tracking my calories and planning meals ahead of time. I'm working way too hard at this to sit and spin my wheels.

The Spring Clothing Collection by Lazyboy

Since spring is in the air (well almost), I decided it might be nice to purchase a few new shirts for the season. I'm not one that spends a whole lot of time purchasing clothing because I get so frustrated when nothing fits me the way I think it should. I am shaped like Pacman--a big round torso with thinner legs, so it's hard to find clothing that doesn't make me look like a walking basketball. I'm losing weight, so I know that the clothing I purchase will only be temporary, but I'm frustrated as hell with the choices I have found so far.

Who designs the plus size clothing? Furniture manufacturers, perhaps? I understand that plus size women shouldn't necessarily dress just like the non-plus size gals because they have some figure flaws that they are trying to hide. However, it sure makes us plus sized women feel horrible when clothing makers can't come up with something remotely attractive for us to wear. Every shirt I saw today reminded me of a horrific couch fabric. Do they really think that it's a good idea to make larger woman wear floral prints the size of Uncle Bob's head? What's with all these brightly colored geometric shapes? Because that's what all of us larger gals want is to call more attention to our bodies.

What happened to basic colored shirts? I just want a burgundy, black, red, or blue shirt with no hideous pattern or goofy embellishments. You know, something that makes me feel like I am well dressed without calling unnecessary attention to my body. I don't want to wear a shirt that blinds people because it's flashier than the Vegas strip. Am I asking for too much?

I'm Singing the Chocolate Donut Blues

I have never had much of a sweet tooth. I would sell my sister for a cheese enchilada, but cakes, cookies and candy have never held much appeal for me. Don't get me wrong, that has never stopped me from eating my fair share of goodies. After all, I needed to do my part to stimulate the economy by supporting Krispy Kreme, Hershey's, Nestle, etc.

Today one of our vendors dropped off a box of donuts and I had no intention of having one. After I finished lunch, I entered today's food intake into The Daily Plate and I realized that I had plenty of calories left. The donuts starting calling to me. "Oh, Pudgy Gal, come meet us. We're fresh and covered in gooey chocolate." Well, I gave in and ate a donut and it tasted mighty fine. However, about 30 minutes later I felt like I had been hit by a train--I was drowsy, dizzy and felt just plain yucky.

I think my body was trying to tell me that it no longer wants to consume junk, and I can't argue with that. I feel so much better when I make healthy food choices. No more donuts for me!

Goodbye Fast Food, Hello Exercise

Fat Bridesmaid has inspired many of us to join her in a Lenten challenge. For my part of the challenge, I have vowed to exercise 6 days per week for at least 30 minutes per day during Lent. As you can probably tell by my slight weight increase the past 2 weeks, I have been eating too much junk food lately. To help curb this problem, I have also vowed to quit spending my weekday lunch hours at our local dining establishments and bring my lunch from home.

Random Thought #1 ~because life is about more than weight loss

I’m not a big fan of reality dating shows, but I am a faithful follower of Rock of Love with Bret Michaels. The show is a silicon-filled train wreck, but I haven’t ever missed an episode.

Am I pitiful? Yes. Do I care? No.

I have been quite proud of the progress that I have made since starting anew 5 weeks ago. I have been eating better, exercising and losing weight at a steady rate. As I mentioned in a previous post I have been completely focused on weight loss and not dealing with anything else. My routine has been pretty straight forward--wake up in the morning, prepare my food for the day, go to work, come home, exercise, go to bed. I have been quite fortunate that I haven't had many outside distractions to detour me from my goals.

I believe that this week is going to be the first big test I have had on this journey. I am meeting friends tonight for dinner and bowling. I am attending a meeting tomorrow night after work. I have family coming to stay at our house this weekend, and I am hosting a dinner party on Saturday. Those of you with really busy schedules are thinking "What's the big deal?" For me it is a big deal because I am easy thrown off track. It only takes a meal or two of bad eating and I am right back to where I started--eating junk and hanging out on the couch instead of exercising. I am determined to not let all of this hard work go to hell in a handbasket!

Wish me luck this week. I know that luck isn't really going to help me, but it definitely can't hurt.

The Weighing Game - Feb 9, 2009

I am happy to report that, as of this morning, my current weight is 211.4. I was hoping to see 212 on the scale, so I was pleasantly surprised. That brings my total weight loss to 11.2 pounds.
Only 8.8 more pounds to go until I can get my new cell phone*.

*I decided that it's time to upgrade my cell phone so that I can surf the web and view my email while on the go. I am known for just impulsively purchasing items on a whim, but I thought it might motivate me to earn a new phone. I made a deal with myself that I can purchase a new phone only after I have lost my first 20 pounds. Seeing that it's only a matter of time until I reach my first 20 pound goal (yes, I'm getting cocky now), does anyone have a recommendation for a great cell phone?