So, 4 months later...

So, it's been four months since I last posted. My life got a little crazy... I mentioned the new boy the last time I posted. Well, once the new boy came along I suddenly had no free time left. My job, which I already hated, suddenly got a lot worse, as first my supervisor quit and now our secretary just resigned, leaving me as the only remaining employee under a terrible boss. I also had to move because my landlady lost a property settlement with her ex husband. Seeing as how it was the wrong time of year to try to find a new place (March in a college town) and I'm poor, I moved in with the new boy, who is renting to own his house. I then had to adjust to a new location and lifestyle, along with the increasing terribleness of my job. In the midst of all this, my weight loss efforts have stalled. I didn't even track points from mid-March to mid-April! I finally weighed myself a couple of weeks ago and learned that I had gained 8 lbs since weighing myself 5 weeks prior! So, I've been trying to get back on track - plan meals, track points, exercise, etc. But my life is so busy I feel like I barely have time to breathe. I just picked up a 2nd job on the weekends, and although I'm happier since meeting my boyfriend, my social life has skyrocketed and I now have 1-3 social events to go to each week. Each event involves food, and I'm so stressed lately and unhappy about my job that I seem to pig out at every opportunity. Whenever I do have the time to exercise, I rarely have the energy.

So... after following the plan successfully for over a year, I suddenly have to deal with MAJOR lifestyle changes, and it's like having to figure Weight Watchers out all over again, because I need to work to fit it in and make it part of my life style.

Before, I was mainly treating this blog like a record. I think it would help me to focus on it as a place not only to record my progress, but also to explore the issues surrounding my weight loss. So, I'll be posting a lot more frequently than I used to. I think it will also help me keep weight loss on the table amidst all the chaos of my life - if I'm always blogging about it, I can't very well forget about it, can I?

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! I decided to do a separate post to acknowledge 2010. It's especially significant because it was this time last year (January 5th, 2009) that I started weight watchers. At the time I wasn't sure that I would stay on the plan for more than a month, but here I am, down 52.5 pounds with just 20 left to go!

I'm always really hard on myself. I was thinking about 2009 and I thought something along the lines of "glad that's over" when I realized that I actually achieved a lot in 2009. But I tend to focus on my flaws and failings instead of my achievements, so I wasn't even seeing them. I decided to make a list of my achievements in 2009:

In 2009, I:

• Lost 53.4 lbs
• Graduated with a Master's Degree
• Started on a career path
• Rescued a stray kitty, who makes me happy every day
  
• Got out of a relationship that was going nowhere
• Met a new guy :)

That's actually quite a lot! Better than most years, I might say. I don't ever make new year's resolutions anymore, but this year I thought I might try it again: In 2010, I resolve to look at myself more positively, acknowledge my achievements, appreciate my good qualities, and stop underestimating myself! It's about time!

Weigh in day 1/7/10

Long time no post! I got distracted by the holidays, traveling, and the new boy. I stopped tracking and weighing in for the past two weeks because of all the celebrations and traveling I had to do for the holidays. Needless to say, when I went to weigh in yesterday I was sure that I was going to be up 5 pounds. But somehow, miraculously, I only gained 0.4 lbs! I haven't even been exercising because it's been in the 20's and 30's here. Normally I'd be upset with a gain or a plateau but in this case I am extremely motivated by the fact that the holidays barely did anything at all to my weight loss efforts. I'm feeling positive and I'm back on the points, so I hope to see some losses in the next few weeks.

One problem I was having is my new boyfriend doesn't really keep much food in his house and tends to eat out a lot. (He's one of those people that is blessed with a freakishly high metabolism or something.) I solved this by bringing my own supplies to his house: splenda, non-perishable snacks, and frozen SmartOnes meals as "emergency rations." I also encouraged him to start keeping food in his house. I told him I would help him shop and teach him how to cook. So, we went shopping last weekend! Now his kitchen is stocked with healthy options. The biggest thing, though, is that I was honest with him and told him I'm on a diet (which I used to be too embarrassed to admit to men) and that I don't want to go out to eat a lot and I need healthy options wherever I am. So far he's been very accomodating, and he hasn't laughed at me for measuring spaghetti sauce or writing down everything I eat. At first I was afraid that this new relationship would hinder my weight loss, but now I think it's going to be fine :)