Think happy thoughts

Weight Watchers Stats
Starting Weight: 303.2 lbs
Weigh in Weight: 191.6 lbs
Weight Variance: +2.6 lbs
Total Weight Loss: 111.6 lbs

I am trying to think happy thoughts.... like baby sloths.

When I saw a 2.6 lbs gain I almost cried on the scale. That is a lot of "monthly" water retention weight. I am back in the 90! WAH! I may be overly emotional the last few days... but this is ridiculous.

I really tried this week.

As you guys have read you know how hard I have been working activity wise, waking up early, going to the gym. I ate lots of veggies this week, I did eat 30 of my monthly points and however earned 60 activity points. THEN when I found out that I am the exact same weight that I was this time last year I almost wanted to leave. I told with my leader that I am very frustrated. I do know what I should do. Why are things not moving? I am so close. *sigh*

I have been tracking all my points for weeks now and sending them to her so she is seeing what I have been eating. She told me that she was going to send my info to head office. We will see what that yields. If this keeps up I am going to get a doctors note so I do not have to pay because a year at the same weight means that I have spent $720 for no additional return.

Haywire

I've been so busy that I have only finally gotten around to posting something about the amazing movie I saw last week. I went to see "Haywire" on Friday with my friend Natasha and in the process I discovered my new idol Gina Carano . Gina in reality is a MMA fighter and former gladiator. They sort of built this movie around her skills. She kicked some serious butt in the movie and the butt she did kick was serious eye candy (Ewan McGreggor, Channing Tatum, Micheal Fassbender). This is one of those action films that both men and women are going to enjoy. The character Mallory was able to blend both strength, femininity and skill better then any other action heroine I've seen in a while. They didn't sexualize the character like the did with Babydoll in Sucker Punch, she was a more realistic and more clothed version of Leelu Dallas.

Today is WID at WW and I am a little ticked off when I went on the scale this morning. The scale told me that I am up, however the body fat % is down and the muscle is up. I went to the gym every weekday morning for the past week. My sleep deprived body wanted to see more progress on the scale. On top of that I know that part of the reason I am not moving this week is due to my monthly "gift" thus I am retaining water. Logic tells me to be patient and that I am doing great. My hormones are wanting to curse like a sailor. LOL.

Just start moving

So I know not everyone is as insane like me to be going to the gym at the crack of dawn almost every day. I wasn't always like that, this former couch potato started off slowly. If you are someone who hasn't incorporated any fitness into their week I have a few suggestions for you from personal experience.

First Step: Start walking. If you can find a way to get 30 minutes of walking a day it will add up over the week. If you can get in 10,000 steps in a day you are doing great. Walk to the bus, get off the subway a stop earlier, or get a walk in after dinner.

Second Step: Get some workout DVD's. This is great way to get in some exercise in during the winter months. I loved the Biggest Loser DVD's because I could adapt the moves so that I could do them. Jumping jacks as a 300 lbs woman was not going to happen, but they offered different ways to move to keep my heart rate up. Now I can do the more difficult DVD and routines I never thought I would be able to do. The important thing is to move around a work up a sweat for at least 30 minutes.

Third Step: Do a fitness related activity. I do not care what it is, be it volleyball, hockey, yoga, poll dancing, figure skating. Heck get on the Wii and do Wii fitness, it is great. Take a dance class, go to a dance club or join a dojo. These activities combine both fun and fitness together.

Start off slowly and build on the amount of fitness you do. You will discover as I have after you complete a workout you feel better. The endorphins that you get from working out really change your mood for the better. Soon it will feel weird NOT to be getting in your activity.

Workout Review: Jillian Michaels Shed & Shred

So gym yesterday morning and then Christine, Alex and myself did Jillian Michaels "Shed and Shred" DVD. We decided to be nuts and choose the option that combines both workouts. It was pretty insane, you need to be kinda fit to do this video because some of the moves are hard. It was for this reason that we all kinda liked it. I am in pain as I was resistance training this morning at the gym and I suspect that DVD is the reason. Out favorite thing to do while working out is to play "That's what she/he said." while doing the video and I must say you get some pretty good zingers with this DVD. Overall I would do this DVD again.

Fruit and Veggies

Weight Watchers Stats
Starting Weight: 303.2 lbs
Weigh in Weight: 189.0 lbs
Weight Variance: 0.0 lbs
Total Weight Loss: 114.2 lbs

I stayed the same. That is a comfort and a good base line. So if I only get 44 activity points in a week and eat 34 weekly points out of my 49 and eat a diet without a healthy balance of veggies I will stay the same. So this week I am going to up the veggies, eat less weekly's and do a bit more activity.
I covered the more exercise aspect by going to the gym this morning and I plan on going again for the next two mornings.
I bought this book called "Fruit and Veggies A to Z" from Weight Watchers $14.00. I thought I would a good way to get excited about trying new recipes and breaking out of my habit of Green Beans, Cauliflower and Broccoli. So on the way home I stopped off at the Sobey's express and got Asparagus, Avocado and Mushrooms (can you tell I started at the beginning of the book). I figure it would be good to at least try to eat every veggie, even the dreaded pepper and Belgian endive.

Weekly Effort

My week this week is looking between a OK and poor week. I understand why I might not loose at the scale. I had a little too much carbs and I didn't get to the gym as much as I would have liked. I have been hungrier then normal, however I think if I had eaten more veggies this week I would have remedied that. I had every intention of starting out my week right but it just turned out this way. I am going to attempt for a good to great effort this week.

I seem to go through different phases with how much effort I put into my weight loss. I seem to loose when I fall under the first two categories.

A GREAT week looks something like this:
Barely touch my weekly points (less then 10 of the 49)
Go to the gym 3 or more times
Get a very balanced diet with plenty of veggies

A GOOD week looks something like this:
Dip in to my weekly points a bit (10-20 of the 49)
Go to the gym 3 times
Get a fairly balanced diet

A OK week looks something like this:
Use a good amount of weekly points (20-30 of the 49)
Go to the gym 2 times
Get a less than balanced diet

A POOR week looks something like this
Use most of the weekly points (30-49 of the 49)
Go to the gym 1 time
Get a more carb based diet

A BAD week looks something like this:
Go over my points
Do not go to the gym
Eat fast food and drink a lot.

Heroine of the Week: Eowyn

My sister and her friend had a Lord of the Rings marathon (extended edition of course) on Saturday, I had a few things I needed to do so I would sit down with them and watch a half an hour or so before moving on to the next task. I happened on the scene where Eowyn is fighting in the Pelennor fields having just fallen off of her horse. She has some skills with a blade, and being a maiden of Rohan has excellent riding abilities. So when this nazgul lands in front of her she cuts off its head, then she fights the witch king and gets that epic line "I am no man!" and stabs him in the face. I have to give this lady kudos, she is very brave and doesn't let a little thing like her gender dictate her ability to be of value to her people.

Paranoid (zombie training pt2)

So I couldn't find "Zombies, Run!" in the App store. I don't think it is out yet. Boo urns! So I downloaded another one. It was the free version of Paranoid, called ParanoidDES

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/paranoid-dead-escape-standalone/id459892779?mt=8

I decided to launch it on my way home because I wanted to see what it was like before I forked over $4.99. This is the light version so it doesn't have all the bells and whistles, with this I don't get to shoot zombies. I thought that if I were to set my settings on slow zombies that I would easier out run them..... apparently not... well I am not sure because I have to run 5k as a minimum and it's not that far to my house from the bus stop.

So I get off the bus and start up the app. I am walking down the abandoned hiking train near my house, its a bit spooky so perfect for a zombie chase. The soundtrack begins, the app starts yelling at me to run, I have zombies on my tail. The score slowly gets more dramatic, I go from a fast walk, to a slow jog to a faster jog. The trail hasn't really been maintained and there is snow making it difficult to run. I am not really dressed for running, I have this messenger bag over my shoulder, a big winter coat and I'm full of coffee... but there are zombies, so I run faster. It get to a point where I am sprinting and my throat begins to start tasting like blood, I'm getting winded and it's like high school track all over again. I can jog at a solid 4.3 on the treadmill but it feels like I am going 7.5. I eventually have to pause it because it doesn't seem to matter, the zombies are catching up and I am kinda tired. I guess it would be a boring un-motivational app if you could get away. I will try it again when I am properly dressed. The sucky thing is that this works off of GPS so it is not like I can take this on the treadmill and use it at the gym.... it means I have to go outside.... in the cold.

If there are any other fun fitness apps out there please let me know. Something that might be able to train me in the ways of the heroine.

Zombies, Run!

The iPhone app will keep you running, literally!

I just found an article about a iPhone app which combines a game with fitness. You start the app and then start running. Every mile you pick up things you need for your mission and when you get back you can use the items towards building your base camp.

This will be a great app for any budding heroine for sure. I have yet to download it because the wifi at work will not let me connect to the web, so it will have to wait until I leave, but I will let you know what I think later.

Check out this link for more details.

http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/zombies-run-iphone-app-will-keep-you-running-literally-20110914/

Girls guide to surviving the apocalypse

Weight Watchers Stats
Starting Weight: 303.2 lbs
Weigh in Weight: 189.0 lbs
Weight Variance: -0.6 lbs
Total Weight Loss: 114.2 lbs

Going back in the right direction. I am going to do the same thing that I did last week and hope that I get the same result.

Found this website from someone off of Facebook. It is awesome. Makes me want to kick ass and take names. I am making my way through the various blog entries. A must read for any girl wanting to survive the apocalypse.

http://apocalypsegirlsguide.blogspot.com/

Private vs. Public

Accept everything about yourself--I mean everything, You are you and that is the beginning and the end--no apologies, no regrets.--Clark Moustakas

Private vs. Public

This is a topic I have been thinking about for the past day or so. Is it better to confide in the world or hold on to what you hold dear.

I live my life out in the open, I don’t hide who I am, I don’t think I would be able to. I like to share. This blog for instance, I share what is going on in my day to day life. I tell people that I attend weight watchers, that I read fan fiction, I am a Sci-fi nerd, a pagan, a fan girl, and a fitness junkie. I spin fire, crack whips, sing and I could spend hours watching my favorite tv shows.

Opening yourself up to others can bring with it the joys of finding people who share your interests and goals. Other times you discover how different your views are. Lately I feel like the odd duck out because my interests differ from most, like I live on my own island of misfit toys. I wouldn’t change who I am but it is making me consider how much I should share.

This by no way reflects on the frequency of my posts, I am just finding that posting every weekday is becoming a bit taxing, so I am going to post when I have the time available and I have something I really want to discuss.

On a different note I have weight watchers tonight. I hope it goes well as I have worked hard this week.

I have a headache

I decided this week to cut out my coffee and my coke zero. I realized that I spend more than 10 points a week on coffee, that is if I am calculating that right, if not it could be even more. Also the aspartame in the coke really isn't good for me. But now I'm going through caffeine withdrawal and I have a headache. Water, water, water.
I went to the gym yesterday and was happy to see that Buffy was playing on the TV's. Nothing like the Buffy theme song to run along with.

I'm so angry I cried

Weight Watchers Stats
Starting Weight: 303.2 lbs
Weigh in Weight: 189.6 lbs
Weight Variance: +0.2 lbs
Total Weight Loss: 113.6 lbs

*Shrug* I have no words really. I am frustrated. I don't feel like talking about it.

Sisyphus

Ever feel like Sisyphus rolling that rock up that hill? It feels like that some weeks, this endless and unavailing labour. I weighed myself this morning and it doesn't look like my efforts have yielded much results this week. I am getting to a point where I am tempted to eat the same thing every day just so I can see some results. Eggs, coffee and a banana for breakfast, a frozen meal, granola bar with fruit for lunch, and chicken and veggies for dinner. I am frustrated because I have been going to the gym 3-4 times a week. My muscles are currently aching for the weekend and you are telling me world that I still haven't made any progress. Balls!

Outside reactions regarding weight loss

I have noticed that over my transformation process that I have reacted differently to the way I was being treated and I have noticed being treated differently by others.

First I noticed that it took a while for people to notice my weight loss. It was true, people didn't really notice until I had dropped 65 lbs. LOL. Then I started getting a lot of attention, at first I liked it because I had worked hard to accomplish the loss.

Then I noticed that I started getting embarrassed by what people would say. They would be so amazed and talk it up like I had cured cancer or something. To me I was just the same person I've always been. However they are just seeing my inner beauty as my aesthetic now.

Then.... I started getting miffed sometimes by what people would say. It was like "Oh you must feel so great now", "What a wonderful change for you" or "You look so beautiful". The fat girl in me was questioning what they must of thought of me before. I noticed that this pressure began to develop about what would happen if I were to ever gain any of the weight back. Will I not be as valued?

Then I realized also that aside from the comments I would get, that people treat fat people differently. It is an unfair but true reality. I had gotten so used to how fat Michelle was treated by co-workers, friends and people in general, that now that I am getting a different type of attention I am not used to it.

Then there are the people who are like... "What?!?!?! you want to loose more?" "You are looking too thin, you should stop". Technically I am still considered overweight. I haven't reached a BMI of under 25 yet. It is not like I want to become Kate Moss or anything, I just want to get into the upper range of what is an acceptable range for my body type.

Those are just a few instances I have noticed. I am sure that you have experiences a least some of them. Anyways I need to get back to work. Wish me luck for my weigh in tomorrow.

This Stinks!

So I went to the gym yesterday and I got ticked off. I go to the meathead gym which offers me the luxury of a wide selection of empty cardio equipment. So the hordes of ladies who showed up this week was annoying. High traffic aside many of the people who came do not know gym etiquette. They didn't wipe down the machines, they sat around on the weight machines not doing much or spending far too much time adjusting the weights to do like..... 5 reps before moving on. Oh and most importantly, DEODORANT MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES. It was nasty smelling in there. I wish they all smelled like Isaiah Mustafa (aka Old Spice Guy) Hopefully Friday will be better.

Get your A$$ in gear woman! Make it so!

Weight Watchers Stats
Starting Weight: 303.2 lbs
Weigh in Weight: 189.4 lbs
Weight Variance: +1.0 lbs
Total Weight Loss: 113.8 lbs

So when thinking of a theme for todays post all of a sudden a scene from "Star Trek: First Contact" popped into my head (TNG rules). It's when Captian Picard is all ranty and emo and screams "The line must be drawn here!" It's hilarious but so true. So..... things may a slipped a bit over the holidays and it is taking me a little longer to get back into the groove. I do not want to get back into the 90's again.
Last week this girl Liz from Weight Watchers and I decided that we were going to set a goal for ourselves with a deadline of Valentines day (which falls on a weight watchers night). My goal is to get into the 70's and hers was to get her 50 lbs bling. Both are ambitious but I really need a bit of competition to kick myself in the butt.

Resolution Season

So did you catch them? You know the advertisements for weight loss or to quit smoking during the New Year's Eve countdown shows? I sure did. I was a resolution-er two years ago when I started Weight Watchers. It is a very busy season for them, as I am sure I will notice at the meeting tonight. I wish everyone the best on achieving their goals.

Now I thought that I was free of the holiday snacks now that the new year has begun, but apparently a wife of a co-worker brought in a whole platter of goodies for me to look at today. Not fair.

I have noticed that I have been eating too much Oatmeal. Now it is a good food, tasty and low in points, however during the holiday I sort of eat it almost once or twice a day because it was fast to make and it was better the a lot of the other options available to me. So to prevent myself from turning into Oatmeal, perhaps I will attempt to use a few of the cook books I received this year to try some new meals.