ugh

Today was one of the worst days ever. It was a total waste of time and miserable. I've become a fan of Matilda Jane Clothing and the closest 'Trunk Keeper' is at least 1.5 hours away. Today was the premiere for the 3rd release, so I really wanted to go view it because items have been known to totally sell out before making it to the site.

Well, to make a long story short, we go, there wasn't much I liked, the youngest kid didn't get a nap and was super cranky, the oldest kid's feet hurt because the shoes she wore hurt her (which I had no idea), we got stuck in the worst traffic ever, which resulted in us going to the worst mall ever, and ended with me eating at Red Robin and finding out (once I got home) that my meal turned out to be 33 points. YES. 33 POINTS IN ONE MEAL. Granted, I had the extra points and I still have more than half of my 'extra points left', but DUDE. It's two days before my weigh-in!

The plan for tomorrow is to eat super clean and drink a ton of water and hope for the best. But don't think I don't regret doing it. As I'm writing this my stomach hurts like nobody's business and I kinda feel like I have a case of rot gut.

So I'm headed to bed so that I can either fall asleep quickly, or pass out from the pain and discomfort.

Call it dedication ...

... but I was just about ready to climb into bed when I realized I didn't post for the day. So here I am, on the husband's computer, doing my daily post. If only losing weight could be this consistent for me!

So I went to the Social Security Office today ... but a different one ... and everything just worked out beautifully. I kinda want to go up to the other branch and visit my dear friend Susan and tell her how she was completely wrong and I was completely right ... but I know that would be pointless ... and unkind. So I'll just keep  my smug attitude to myself (and I'll probably forget all about it by tomorrow). 

Okay. So we need a new Challenge for the week. Here is what I'm proposing. I say that we all 'commit' to something by posting it here and then next week we see if kept true to our word. Sound good? And like always, I'll go first. 

My Challenge for Next Week is:

to go for a walk at least three times

(I know, I'm totally pushing myself - right?)

And I'm kinda setting myself up for success because the husband's friend from back East is coming out for a visit and we're going to the coast. So I KNOW I'll be doing some walking.  But I don't look at that as cheating because I any extra help I can get ... I'll take. 

So how about you? What are you going to challenge yourself with this week?

Repeat

Yeah ... today wasn't a good day either. Turns out the paperwork I filed with the Social Security Office about a month ago mysteriously disappeared. As in they recorded that I came in, but where my paperwork went ... well ... no one seems to know. And the passive-aggressive woman on the other end of the phone didn't make it any better. It started off fine, I wasn't mad - a tad disappointed, but this is how our conversation went:

LADY:

Well, if you come in tomorrow we can access the new number in a couple of days

ME:

Oh, okay. So I just need to bring in the paperwork again?

LADY:

Yes

ME:

And then you can tell me when I can find out the new number?

LADY:

No. That's not possible.

ME:

I thought you said you could find out the number in a couple of days.

LADY:

The numbers are generated in Baltimore. Not here. So I have no

idea when the number will be available.

ME:

Oh. Okay. I thought you just said it could take a couple of days.

LADY:

It usually takes a couple of days but you're asking me to do the impossible.

ME:

@)#(*$&#@)!*()@#$

Okay, so I didn't curse at her. But I SO wanted to in my brain. She did this about the forms I needed to bring in too. She told me to bring the 'adoption form' when I asked for clarification as to what form she was referring to (as there are a TON of different forms) she just kept saying 'adoption form'. So I tried to explain again, that there are many forms, and then I started listing some... the last one I said was 'Adoption Decree' and she said, 'yes, the final adoption decree.' So I said, 'okay' and then she interrupted me and 'that is what I originally told you'. WHICH IS NOT WHAT SHE SAID. 

Anyway, I got off the phone, annoyed, angry and so frustrated that I felt that hysterical anger coming on... the kind where you're so mad you want to cry. I cannot believe how a conversation started off so normal and then she went all crazy on me. I swear to you that I was not being rude. I could have asked for her Supervisor since she ADMITTED that they were at fault, but I knew it was one of those situations where 'whats done is done'. 

So all that to say, I just wanted to eat carbs again. I'll be honest, I just wanted to go to a 'sit down restaurant' and order a big side of fries and just sit and eat them. But I didn't. I made my pita pizzas instead. I did go over my daily points by 3. And that's because I treated myself with a Luna Bar. Which really isn't all that bad if you ask me. 

And now I'm going to head to bed as I have to go the Social Security Office again tomorrow. But this time I'm headed to a different one. I don't think I can handle another run-in with Susan this week.

Accomplishments Anyone?

So? How was it? How was your week? What went well? What didn't? What changes are you making this week? What are you accomplishments?! It's time to spill. And I'm just waiting to hear what you all have to say. 

For me, I think my biggest accomplishment was tonight. It was the first time that I really struggled. Today was the last day to finish up my big order and I LITERALLY just got finished about 5 minutes ago. Feeling the pressure of my deadline rapidly approaching, I felt my old habits wanting to make an appearance. Meaning: I wanted to eat. 

I've said it before, but I'm SUCH an emotional eater. And when I'm stressed, sitting in the couch with a bag of carbs calms me down. FOR.REALS. When I'm stressed and I eat, I can literally feel myself calming down and it's 'comforting' to me. I know. So twisted. But somehow I created that kind of relationship with food. And tonight, well, I wanted to re-establish that relationship. But guess what... I didn't want to spend the points. I thought about dipping into my 'extra points' and getting the McDonalds 2 cheeseburger meal (with extra pickles) but I knew that even ONE of those burgers was beyond any insane amount of points.

So instead, I picked out the BIGGEST pita breads in the bag and made my pita pizzas. You know what else I realized when I ate them? Before I even finish swallowing a bite I shove more food in my mouth. So I decided to make an conscious decision to literally finish every bite (including swallowing) before I took another. Granted, I'm a slow eater by nature, but man, did it make me slow down even more! I actually kinda had to force myself to finish.

Anyway, I survived. I ate a ton of 'cuties', but I'm now able to go to bed and not regret that I blew my points on something stupid. 

On top of that, my order is done, boxed up, and tomorrow I get to hit FedEx and ship that baby off. 

Oh - and if you're friends with me on Facebook then you've already seen this photo, but today I had to take product shots to be emailed tomorrow. Today was the FIRST day of sunshine that we've had in over a week so I took over 500 photos and got maybe 3 good ones. Nature of the beast I guess. Anyway, here's a cute shot of my kiddos (if I do say so myself!)

Short & Sweet

I am beyond tired. I've spent HOURS gluing today (like over 8, and that's not including the 2 hours spent lining clips with 'grip') and I think I now have permanent callouses on my right index finger and thumb. Lovely. Good news is that I should only have one more super intense day and then I'll be finished with everything. 

On the food front - I had Korean food today. I used all my daily points and maybe 5 of my 'extra points'. But I'm good with it.

Oh, and when I weighted myself this morning, I was down TWO POUNDS from yesterday's weight. Hmm. Sounds like my body is playing tricks on me again. 

I'm off to bed. I can barely keep my eyes open as it is.

Can you believe ...

that I lost

1 pound

and believe it or not, I am MORE THRILLED about my

one pound than anything else I've done.

know why?

It's because I 'tested' out the system. After being frustrated with my weight loss last week, I kinda got this bad attitude and was like, 'dude - if this is how it's going to be, then I'm going to see what happens if I eat junk but stay within my points'. And that's exactly what I did. 

Honestly, last week I had: a cheese burger 'protein style', a turkey burger (with cheese), 6 chicken nuggets, fries on 3 separate occasions, Korean food, a burrito and a crunchy taco. ALL OF THAT AND I STILL LOST A POUND! And don't forget I'm not exercising either.

So Weight Watchers has me CONVINCED that it'll work. Granted, I won't be splurging like that all the time, but now it feels like I've exhausted my bit of rebellion and I can fully trust the program. Last week I didn't even use all my 'extra' points. I still had 23 left! It's insane!

Today I ate well, was totally satisfied, and for an evening snack I used my last 3 points to have one of those 100 calorie chocolate bars from Trader Joes. Perfection.

So now I have a new week ahead of me and I'm super stoked. I love this. For the lazy person in me (which takes up a huge portion) I've found my 'go to' foods that makes eating easy. I know there's a whole world of Weight Watcher meals that I can explore, but right now, I just don't have the time. But it's okay. What I'm doing is doable. 

Oh - and my new favorite? I found some pita bread at Trader Joe's that I LOVE. But what we do is make little pizzas on them. One pita is 3 points. And then I have some cheese from TJ's that's 2 points for a 1/4 of a cup (which is PLENTY of cheese). I use a VERY minimal amount of sauce (I hate overly sauced pizza) so it's basically 5 points. I ate two of them for diner. 10 points and I was TOTALLY full from it. I like making them crispy and I takes no time in our toaster oven. So it feels like a 'cheat', but it SO isn't! I probably should have had a salad with it, but I didn't have time. But maybe next time. 

And today at my meeting I sat with my friend Sandy and she was telling me that she takes butternut squash and slices them SUPER thin to make a french fry type thing. She lightly sprays it with olive oil and uses a bit  of salt and pepper and roasts them in the oven until they get super crunchy. She said she eats them every day as they're zero points. Sounds fantastic. I'll definitely have to try that ... and soon. 

Anyway, that was my day. I think it's rather funny that I'm so super stoked over 1 pound as normally I would be pouting, but I'm just happy. And I know I keep saying it, but I really am so excited that I started Weight Watchers. I feel like I finally found the key to my weight loss. It has helped me to make good choices, I don't feel deprived and I can visually see progress on the scale. Right now, life is feeling pretty darn good.

Food Friday

In less than 9 hours I will be stepping on the scale again. I'm interested to see what happens, but regardless, I'm still a big fan of Weight Watchers. Seriously. I think I finally found my 'thing'. 

And true to my word, I'm going to post a Weight Watcher's recipe (straight from the cookbook!). So I'm going to randomly open the cook book and post what ever recipe is listed. Here I go...

ORANGE & HONEY-MARINATED CHICKEN

grated zest of 1 orange

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup lime juice

1 tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoonn salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3 (6 ounce) bone-in chicken thighs, skinned

3 (6 ounce) bone-in chicken breasts skinned

3 cups hot cooked whole wheat couscous

1 (11 ounce) can mandarin orange segments in juice, drained

1/4 cup dried currents

1. Combine orange zest and juice, lime juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a large zip-close plastic bag; add chicken. Squeeze out air and seal bag; turn to coat chicken. Refrigerate, turning bag occasionally, at least 1 hour or up to 6 hours.

2. Spray brioler rack with nonstick spray. Preheat broiler.

3. Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade.

4. Place chicken on prepared broiler rack. Broil 7 inches from heat, turning, until chicken is browned and cooked through, about 25 minutes.

5. Mix together couscous, orange segments, and currants in serving bowl. Serve with chicken.

PER SERVING: (1 piece chicken and about 3/4 cup couscous): 171 grams, 323 cal, 6g total fat, 2g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 70mg chol, 260 mg sod, 40g total carb, 9 g total sugar, 5g fiber, 28g protien, 35 mg calc.

LEVEL: Basic

PREP: 20 min

BROIL: 25 min

SERVES: 6

POINTS: 8

So the photo they have looks really good... but broiling the chicken and turning every so often for 25 minutes? I don't have time for that. But I'm guessing you could just put in on the grill, right? 

If anyone actually tries this, let me know what you think of it. 

Okay, now to go sleep off some poundage.

One more day...

... and then it's my weigh-in. It's crazy how fast this week is going by... but then again, I'm swamped with 'work'. 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I really do like Weight Watchers. I'm super happy with it, and I'm hoping that 'happiness' lasts through my next date with the scale. 

Anyway, it's late, I'm exhausted from sewing, and I've got a crazy busy day tomorrow. So much so, that I'm kinda not sure how I'll get it all done tomorrow. But I'm sure I'll figure it out.

Were You Up For The Challenge?

Apparently I wasn't. I have an order that I was supposed to ship tomorrow but instead I can't ship till Monday. I'm that far behind. I finished what I needed to tonight, but I still have to get my 'game plan' together for tomorrow. I have a ton to do before the husband leaves for work and he's working late tomorrow, which lessens the amount of 'work time' I have, so I need to make sure I have my ducks in a row. 

But did anyone do the Challenge? It was a repeat of the first challenge... doing as many jumping jacks as you can in 2 minutes. So let me know if you did!

I'm going to take a break from Challenges this week as I really don't have the time to think of one, but I promise to be back up and running next week. After Monday, I have nothing scheduled for the entire month of April, so it'll be my time to get caught up and organized again. Since I got the rest of the 'year' scheduled out with my biggest client, I have a MUCH better idea of how my work time will flow. I can now do a little every day vs  these intense weeks.

So with that, I'm off to make my lists, and then to bed. The morning will come before I know it.

Haiku

I hate exercise

I lack happy endorphins

can I get some cake?

So as an 'experiment' of sorts, I decided that I was going to splurge and blow through my 'extra points' this week. Honestly - it's way harder than I thought. So far I've dipped into 9 of them and have 40 left. And you know what? It's just not worth it. I've had a burger 'protein style', some fries, Korean food... and tonight I actually went through the search engines trying to look up all different sorts of fast food. And get this ... nothing sounded good to me! I know, that in and of itself is a miracle. But it's true, low and behold I think Weight Watchers is changing my life. Who would have thought. 

I was talking to my Mom about how I've lost my desire for sugar and stuff since I can eat so much fruit. (right now Cuties are my favorite sweet snack) And then I started dreaming about summer when strawberries come out. There's a small strawberry field about a mile from my house and they are THE BEST strawberries EVER. So I'm super excited to get a basket and just go at it!

Another thing hit me today about my 1.8 pound weight-loss. I lost that without exercising. I've been working on a big order that is due ... well, now. But I won't be able to ship until Monday, and even that's going to be a stretch. So every spare second (meaning during meal times and nap times and when the kiddos are in bed) I sew. But once this thing is all said and done, I can start working a little exercise into my routine. Oh - and the best part about that? I get extra points that I can use towards food! Granted, it's probably best to not eat them, but if I do get hungry, I can. Which is great. Or at least the thought of having them available to me is a beautiful thing. For reals.

Something else I was thinking about - on 'Food Fridays' I'm going to start listing a recipe from my Weight Watchers Cook Book. Cool huh? (and if you don't think it's cool just pretend - I won't know the difference)

And for those of you who don't read the comment area, I wrote on the last post that I want to have a 'kdrama retreat'. And you know what? I'm not even kidding. I SOOOOOOOO want to do it! I want it to be a reward for when I hit some big goal. (I still have to figure that part out) But how fun would that be?! We could stay at a hotel and have kdramas going round the clock with all the fruit and vegetables you can eat. (hahahahahaha!) Anyway, file that idea away in your brain as I'm sure I'll revisit it at some point. And just know that if any of you actually decide to come, you would be making my dream come true. Because ask the husband... I just want to watch kdramas non-stop with no interruption and I want to talk about them afterwards. I'm getting giddy just thinking about it! So please, consider it. I'm not kidding. Make this dream a reality.

Accomplishments Anyone?

Another week, another Monday, and that means it's time to share our accomplishments! How was last week for you? What did you accomplish? What are you proud of? Let's get the ball rolling... and of course I'll go first. 

I think what I'm most proud of this past week is that I stuck to the Weight Watcher's plan and I also didn't screw up my eating when I traveled. I really thought that I'd totally blow it some how, but it was easier to make 'good choices' than I thought it would be. 

And after my disappointing weigh-in (which yes, I'm now having a good attitude about) I'm still motivated to do this thing and stick with the plan. But I still need to drink more water. 

Okay, your turn. Spill.

Weight Watcher's Realization #1

So now that I've been doing this thing for over a week, I've come to a few different realizations. But tonight I'll just talk about one. 

Because fruit is now 'zero points' according to the new Points Plus plan, I definitely eat a ton more fruit. And I just realized today, that I don't miss SUGAR! I mean, yeah, if you put ice cream, or cheesecake, or a milky way in my mouth and told me to chew, I probably would, but I mentally, I SOOOO don't want to waste the points!

Which I might as well share another 'realization'. I can't believe how much I dig the whole 'counting points' thing! For reals! I feel like I'm in control because if I want to eat something 'bad', I can. I can spend my points how ever I want. But when it comes down to it, I DON'T want to waste my points on stuff. I wonder if that's part of their weight-loss scheme. They come up with this brilliant plan that makes you think that you can eat what ever you want, when in actuality you end up eating less than you normally would because you try and conserve your points so that you can splurge with them later, which you end up never doing because your weigh-in happens and you don't want to screw that up.

Interesting stuff I tell ya.

But again, it's time for me to go to bed. And tomorrow I can go back to counting my points.

SERIOUSLY?!

I'm bitter. Here's why:

1.8

That's what I lost. 1.8 pounds. Yes, it's almost two pounds, but c'mon, I TOTALLY STUCK TO THE PLAN AND DID NOT DEVIATE IN THE SLIGHTEST! (okay, so my water in take was low... but still) And it doesn't help that my friend Sandy lost FIVE POUNDS her first week. (grumble ... grumble ... grumble ... )

Yes, I know that the day before was TOTALLY jacked up and I was working off of 4 hours of sleep, but I really did expect to lose more than that. We'll see how next week goes... but this is when I start to get really mad about the 'process'. 

But don't get me wrong. I really do like the Weight Watchers plan. I'm not mad at them. I'm mad at my stupid body for not responding how I want it to. And don't say 'oh - but don't quit' because I have no intention of quitting and I might find it a bit offensive that you'd think I'd give up so quickly.

Well enough complaining, let's move on.

My meeting went SUPER WELL and while I may have sacrificed some potential poundage for my first weigh in, I have to say, it was totally worth it. Putting 'faces' to the emails and phone calls I've had since July was fabulous. I was able to walk through their facilities and meet everyone there. SO FUN. But I have to say, the lack of sleep on my part messed with my brain. I kinda felt like I had A.D.D. as I had a hard time focusing on stuff. 

But we were able to plan out the rest of the year (goal achieved!) and decided on a general 'schedule' of sorts that we'll be doing. I am truly thankful to have this account as it really has surpassed my expectations. We even joked about how I sent in a timid email hoping that they might take a look at my website, and now every single employee there has the same reaction when hearing my brand: their eyes light up and they say, 'oh my gosh - I LOVE your products!' It's amazing to think that its not just a possibility, but its now a reality. I am SO thankful and I still kinda have a hard time believing it!

So with those warm and fuzzy feelings I will now go to bed. I'm still super tired from  my four hours of sleep.  Since I'm getting old, I have a MUCH harder time bouncing back than when I did... oh ... say 10 years ago. (who am I kidding... it's more like  15 - 20)

Ahhhhhhhhhhh ... it's nice to be home

I'm SO tired... so this is gonna be short.

1) Meeting went FANTASTIC. Super excited about the future. I couldn't be happier. 

2) First weigh-in at Weight Watchers tomorrow

3) I didn't use ANY of my 'extra' points!

4) I might even be under my points for the day!

5) and I didn't even eat that breakfast sandwich from Burger King :)

I gotta get to bed. I'm EXHAUSTED!

I'm about to board

Sorry for the delay. I went to bed at 2am and got up at 6am. I'm tired and I'm boarding my flight as I type this. Please excuse the typos.

Were You Up For The Challenge?

So how'd it go? Did you you all give up/increase/decrease what you wanted? I didn't hit my goal of 3 bottles of water per day, but I got decently close. So I'm still happy with that. 

NEXT WEEK'S CHALLENGE:

I think it's time to re-visit the first challenge... which was...

HOW MANY JUMPING JACKS CAN YOU DO

IN 2 MINUTES?

I'm fully aware of the fact that my cardiovascular endurance has NOT improved since then, 

but it might be kinda fun to see if we can beat our old scores.

So who's up for it?!

(and don't forget to tell me how you did on your challenge last week!)

I Got A New Attitude

Four Days. 

It's been four days since I started Weight Watchers and I have to say - I.LOVE.IT. The most amazing thing to me is that I don't feel deprived. Not only that, but the thing I detest the most when losing weight is keeping track of your food. I hate it. It just makes me angry. But for some reason, I find tracking my points to be totally fun. For reals. I have no idea why. I love looking up foods and seeing how they convert into points. I love that I can pick and choose how I want to 'spend' them. And I love how I don't feel like I've been deprived at all. 

So Thursday I'm gone all day to Utah for a meeting. I'll be gone for breakfast, lunch, dinner and all snacks. I've saved all my extra points for this day, but like I mentioned before, it's killing me that I have to use them the night before a weigh in. So for the first time ever, I'm planning. I'm coming up with all these scenarios of what I can do to try and make it through the day without totally screwing up my weigh in. 

Wanna know my plan? Well here it is...

I get 32 points a day. I'm flying Southwest and in the terminal of our airport, there's a Burger King. I KNOW - BUT JUST HANG WITH ME FOR A SECOND! I'm going to get a sausage & cheese croissant which is 10 points. The reason I'm doing this is 1) I love them, but mostly 2) it'll STICK with me for a LONG time. Those bad boys are heavy, and since I haven't eaten one in quite some time, I'm thinking it'll make me feel extra full. 

I don't get into Utah until 1pm and then I'm renting a car and heading over the the client's location. So it could be another good hour + until I get to have lunch. So I'm packing a TON of fruit for me to take... and also some veggies (probably carrots). I'll also pack some multi grain cheerios as those are 3 points for 1 cup, and I can pass on the peanuts or pretzels. I also plan on drinking a ton of water while I'm gone as well. I'm hoping that these 'tools' will help curb my hunger and when I actually do get to make a meal choice, that there will be some good options for me as well. I do have my 'extra points' available, but I really don't want to dip into those unless I really have to. 

Oh - and the Weight Watchers App is AWESOME. So I'll be taking that with me too. 

Okay, enough of the plan. I'm out.

Accomplishments Anyone?

I debated on whether I should change the 'Accomplishment Day' since my weigh-ins are now on Fridays, but I figure we can still keep it the same. I did change the weight loss tracking in the side bar though. I'm kinda 'starting over' since I joined Weight Watchers and I can now accurately track my weight loss from here on out. Super excited about that by the way. 

So this week I thought we could switch up the Accomplishments a bit. Still post what you've done and what you're proud of, but I thought we could also post why we're here and what one of our 'goals' might be. I thought it would be a good way to kinda 'get to know' each other better, and make everyone seem more 'real'. (real as in not just being a user name and some funny jokes and great conversation)

I'll go first ...

If you've been here from the beginning, then you kinda know my thoughts on this whole thing. I just need to get healthy. I'm tired of looking dumpy, and being out of shape. My accomplishment this week that I'm proud of, is that I joined Weight Watchers. I know that I've tried other things in the past, and sometimes I get side-tracked, but at least I'm still trying. I'm not giving up. And so far, I really think it's doing able. I don't feel deprived. 

One of my goals (and this is a superficial one) is that I really want to be able to dress fashionable. I can't wait till I can start wearing the clothes I want, vs the clothes that fit me. And another HUGE goal, is that I want to go back to Korea, and I want to go back thin. I want to be able to see my son's Foster Mother again and have her say, 'WOW - you lost a TON of weight!'

See how easy that was? Okay, now tell me yours!

Second Day ... and I still like it!

Yep. My second day has officially come to an end and I have to say - I think this thing is going to work for me!

I think I figured something out about the Point System. It makes you think that you can eat all this food because you have this large number of points available to you ... and they tell you that you can eat all the fruits and vegetables that you want for 'zero' points (except for corn and peas BTW). So in your brain, you think that you have this unlimited amount of food that you can consume. But really, the points serve as a 'distraction', so you don't realize that it's forcing you to make healthy choices.

So it's kinda a mind game. Which I don't mind. Because when it comes to food - I have mental issues. You tell me that I can't have something, and my mind obsesses over me wanting it - even if I really don't. So I tend to try and play tricks on my mind when it comes to eating. I know, I sound crazy. 

And now for those of you who don't like kdramas (or just aren't into them - which is TOTALLY fine) stop reading now as I will now talk about them.

***************************

So I think someone asked if there were 'tours' you could go on in Korea that would take you to different places where they filmed Boys Over Flowers. And the answer is YES!!! When I was in Korea my travelpartnerincrime found a tour for me! But we didn't have time to go... if I remember correctly it was kinda expensive.. like $80. But can you really put a price on love? Because that's how I feel about BOF. 

***WARNING: SPOILER ALERT***

So my babysitter was over today to help me out while I was trying to get caught up on my orders and we were talking about BOF. She actually watched the series before I even knew what it was - how crazy is that?! Anyway, I was telling her my thoughts on two of characters' relationship. It went something like this:

ME:

So I'm not sure how I feel about the Pottery Guy ending up with Jan-Di's friend. 

It just seemed totally unrealistic that they would actually be together. 

HER:

Um ... I'm pretty sure that entire show is unrealistic.

HAHAHAHAHAHA ... ahhh ... the innocence of youth. One day she'll learn that you can make anything real as long as you wish hard enough and believe with all your heart for it to be true. And that is why one day, I will be friends with Jun Pyo. Heck, I'd even take Woo-Bin at this point! (which by the way - what's up with his lame character development? It's like they totally forgot about him and threw him a token 'oh-I-might-commit-suicide-but-now-five-seconds-later-I'm-all-better-and-totally-over-it.')

And just for the record. ANY TIME ANYONE WANTS TO TALK ABOUT KDRAMAS I AM HERE FOR YOU. For reals. The husband hates when I try and engage him into kdrama conversations. So I need other outlets for my insanity. 

And with that, I'm off to bed. Hope you remembered to turn your clocks forward!!!

Oh yeah. I Went.

So this morning I went to my first Weight Watcher's meeting ...

... and it was AWESOME.

Okay, so maybe not awesome in the traditional sense, but it definitely confirmed that I made the right decision to join. First off, I would say that 80% of the attendees were over the age of 55. I was the youngest, for sure. 

After I registered they weighed me (which turned out to be a higher number than my scale at home) and gave me all my materials and told me to take a seat as the meeting would be starting shortly.

I was able to grab a seat by a woman who looked to be in her 50's,  with short brown hair  and she was reading over her booklets. Since we were basically sitting shoulder to shoulder, I ask her how long she has been attending and she tells me that this is her first time. I told her that it was my first meeting as well, and that seemed to bond us into a special sisterhood of 'newbies' and now Sandy is my new WWBFF (Weight Watcher's Best Friend Forever). She told me how her daughter (who she didn't think needed to lose weight) has lost 16 pounds in 5 weeks. So she decided to join. FABULOUS. 

We sat through the 30 minute meeting where they talk about not falling into a rut with our eating and they highlighted a 'power food'. This week's power food was broccoli. So people volunteered their favorite ways to eat broccoli and everyone was happy and supportive and encouraging. They gave out stickers to those who had reached their 5% goal (losing 5% of their body weight) and their 10% goal. And there were even a couple of people who had lost 10 lbs or 20 lbs. And if I'm being honest, I want a sticker. (and you can bet I'll let you all know when I get one)

After the 'regular' meeting they held orientation for those of us newcomers. Here is where they explained how the system worked, what our 'tools' were and all that good stuff. One of the things my leader talked about was how important it was to incorporate the 'bad foods' that we love into our lifestyle. She told us how she loved Mexican food and when she was  in the process of losing all of her weight (she lost over 80lbs) that she completely eliminated it from her diet. But the day she hit her goal weight, the first thing she did was go to a Mexican restaurant. She talked about how since she didn't allow herself to work it into her normal everyday life, when she ate it, she ate it the same way she did back when she was heavy. She gorged. She didn't know how to eat it in balance. 

So that's what's kinda cool about this system. And it's a huge reason why I think this could work for me.

I will say, there is a part of me that has a hard time believing that I can lose weight off of how many points I'm allowed to have, but I guess this is where I need to trust the system. Basically you've given a daily allotment of points (which is a really decent amount) and then you're allowed 49 'extra' points. You can use those points to splurge on a meal out - or if you know you have some event coming up that's going to have cake (or whatever). Or if you want, you can break those points down per day, raising your daily intake. You can do whatever you want with them - even not use them at all.

Today has gone really good for me so far. It still feels a bit awkward figuring out the best use of my points, and finding foods that I want to eat, but there are SOOOO many options. Online they have recipes and I actually picked up one of their cookbooks. So it'll be interesting to see what's in there. 

Also, I got the 'monthly pass' which allows me to go to meetings and have access to information online as well. It's $39 per month and they just bill your credit card. You can cancel at any time. I called the toll free number yesterday, because I wanted to ask some questions to people at my direct branch, but apparently it doesn't work that way. The person I spoke to answered some of my questions and tried to get me to sign up over the phone. I didn't want to. I didn't want to be pressured. So instead she said she'd email me a special offer not available online. If I signed up for the monthly pass, I got my first month for half off - and no sign up fees! So the first month was $19. 

She also said that I could share it with any of my friends...

So if any of you are thinking about joining Weight Watchers, email me at iwannabeakpopstar@yahoo.com and I'll email you the offer so you can get half off too! Remember, it's just for the first month, the regular billing will apply after that. 

I'm super happy that I joined. I'm not even kidding. I think this is going to be a great option for me, and I feel really motivated right now. Knowing that fruits & vegetables are 'zero points' makes me feel like I can get through my hunger periods... I have a good option to snack on, without giving up my points. AWESOME.

So there you have it. That was my first meeting. And Sandy and I decided to make Friday's at 9:30a our time - so we'll probably sit next to each other again next week. Gotta love making new friends.

Food Friday (and another little announcement)

So before I go into Food Friday - I gotta make a little announcement. This evening I joined Weight Watchers. I'm going to my first meeting tomorrow morning. I'll fill you in on what happens. But I'm stoked. 

and now for 

FOOD FRIDAY

last week the ingredient was

FRUIT

but because I know that fruit & vegetables are 'zero points'

with Weight Watchers... I'd kinda like to do this

ingredient again. 

Sorry folks. 

but I'm going to be a bit selfish

as I think I'm going to need all the help I can get. 

don't hate me - okay?

Back on Track

Today I had the same breakfast and lunch, and for dinner I had a bit more rice than I should have, but I think my calorie intake over all was right about where I wanted to be. I made jook for Charlie, and of course I had some of that as well. But the BEST thing I had, was taking some rice, putting it on red leaf lettuce, and then adding some kimchee had having little 'wraps'. It was AWESOME. Granted, I would have preferred to have some bulgogi or some type of meat with it, but this totally worked. 

And speaking of kimchee... every time I go to the grocery store I see these small jars of kimchee in the produce section. Yesterday was the first time I actually bought and today I tasted it. 

IT.WAS.AWESOME. 

So I'm super stoked on that. I think I'm going to go back to eating kimchee every day. 

Oh, and I drank my three bottles of water! Whoo hoo! Today was a good day. 

How was yours?

Were You Up For The Challenge?

Okay, so first off, I kinda cheated. Already. I know, I know. But what can you do. So I had the same breakfast today that I had yesterday, same goes for lunch. Now dinner... I had Korean food. So while I did eat alot, it wasn't all that bad. I had less than half of the bulgogi, I did eat my serving of rice (although it seemed rather small to me), oh yes... I did have 1 mandu. But then I ate kimchee, and the rest of the banchan. So really... it wasn't THAT bad... high in sodium? Sure. But calorie wise... it wasn't like fast food or Cheesecake Factory. (at least I think it wasn't)

I had the calories to kill, but it wasn't like a killed an entire days worth of calories on just THAT meal. 

But lets move on.

The Challenge. Were you up for it? What did you do? What did you challenge yourself on? Mine was to drink 3 bottles of water a day. And I failed miserably. Sadly, my water intake has been SOOOOOO low. So don't hate me, but I'm making it another food challenge this week. Even though today I didn't stick to the plan completely, I'm planning on jumping right back in tomorrow. I took the kids to the grocery store so I could load up on the things I needed. So I'm pumped and ready to go! The past couple of days I've drank probably 1.5 bottles of water each day. So I want to continue with improving that. 

so for purely selfish reasons...

Next Week's Challenge:

Give Something Up/Reduce Your Intake/Increase Your Intake

You know what it is you need to, 

so pick it, and stick with it!

in fact, I think everyone needs to post a comment

as to what they're committing to so there's some accountability.

I think that's what went terribly wrong for me. 

(well... at least that's what I'm going to blame it on)

So for the record,

I WANT TO DRINK 3 BOTTLES OF WATER PER DAY

I better get busy.

I DID IT

I made it through the day with only eating my 4 meals.

First Meal: yogurt (80 cals) and multi-grain cheerios (150 cals). I ate the cheerios one by one to make them last longer. And I'm totally not kidding.

Second Meal: can of tuna (120 calories) with pickle, celery & apple (not sure what that came out to calories wise - but it wasn't a ton) and a serving of veggie chips (130 cals). Obviously I went over '250' on this one, but I was planning on it.

Third Meal: 1 cup white rice, 1 cup corn (not sure on the calorie count, but maybe around 400?)

Fourth Meal: Turkey Jerky (120 cals)

And that's it so far. I wouldn't mind having something else to eat, but honestly, I'm super tired. So I'm thinking I'll just go to bed and sleep it off. HAHA. 

So here's to making it through today - and hopefully I can do the same tomorrow!

Accomplishments Anyone?

Well... it seems as though you guys got to witness how I become completely useless when I feed my kdrama addiction. Seriously... two times forgetting to post? What is UP with  me?!

I'll tell you whats up - I get to spend a little quality time with my boyfriend Jun Pyo. As I started watching Boys Over Flowers again, I found it really humorous how many little things I 'forgot' about. Like tonight for instance... I completely forgot how Episodes 14 & 15 make me bawl like a little baby. For reals. 

You know what else makes me bawl?

GAINING

1.5lbs

but what can you do. 

I'll tell you what I'm going to do:

I'm starting my new mini-meals mantra tomorrow. 

And I'm actually really excited about it.

I've figured out some meals that I'll be eating - and the cool part - is that I'm one of those people that can eat the same thing over and over for long time... and then I'll get sick of it. So I'll ride this one out as long as I can. Another thing that helps is that the husband works late every other night vs a bunch of closing shifts back to back to back... which is really draining for me for some reason. 

Anyway, I'm excited to start and see what happens. My goal is to take each DAY, and each MEAL one step at a time. Hopefully I can get mentally in that same place as well... as really, that is half the battle. 

So let's here what you guys accomplished this week! I'm super excited to hear!!!

Epic Fail

dude.

I forgot

AGAIN

because I watching

a kdrama

until I couldn't keep

my eyes open any longer.

see...

addiction

really does

screw up your life.

New post tomorrow. 

I promise.

But I'm on

eposide 10

of 

Boys Over Flowers

Darn You ROBYN!

So here it is after midnight (yet again) and I almost forgot to check in. Because Robyn started talking about kdramas again I went and started Boys Over Flowers. I have to say, it feels REAL good being back in that world again. I only watched 3 episodes... so I am practicing a bit of restraint. 

Oh - and if anyone knows how to download these movies so I could watch them at the gym - I swear I'd walk on the treadmill NON-STOP! My gym doesn't have wifi, so I can't take my ipad... but maybe I should just upgrade to the 3G one... hmm..... Seriously - I'd max out the two hour 'child care limit' in a heartbeat if I could figure out how to watch those bad boys on the ipad. 

So if anyone has any ideas... please share. For reals.

New Game Plan

So now my new Virtual BFF Robyn has me inspired. In case you're not one to read the comments, I'll fill you in. Robyn has lost an incredible amount of weight by eating 4, 250 calorie meals each day. Well, I'm not that disciplined, so I'm going to up it. I think I'm going to start off with 4, 350 calorie meals. So that puts me at 1400 calories per day... which I think might be a bit more doable. 

See, I have this problem with obsessing over what I CAN'T have. So if I think I don't get to eat very much food, then I'll freak out thinking that I'm so hungry all the time. I know, I have mental wars with myself. I try to do reverse psychology on myself, too, sometimes. (and sadly, I'm not kidding)

Anyway, my lack of posting last night (which I SERIOUSLY cannot believe I did) is somewhat of a testament to how busy  my week has been and continues to be. So I'm going to start my new regime on Monday. The weekend will be over, I will have had time to grocery shop, and I have NOTHING on my calendar for next week. Which to me, allows for some good habits to form!

So that's the plan. Anyone care to join me?

I almost forgot to do

FOOD FRIDAY

 which I believe was supposed to be on snacks. 

so what's my favorite snacks?

Well... you already know about ...

See's Candy Cinnamon Lollipops

dark chocolate with sea salt

...

...

even though I have it for breakfast,

I really like having a non-fat fruit yogurt

and a cup of multi-grain cherios.

it's about 200 calories and I get some 

sweet and a bit of crunch

man. I'm all out of ideas.

So share yours. I could go for a snack right about now.

NEXT WEEK'S INGREDIENT IS:


FRUIT


it can be any fruit, and in any form
( but let's try and be creative with it )


*** and a HUGE thank-you to Leanne who reminded me to post this! ***

OH SNAP... I forgot to post last night...

I can't believe I forgot. Well, actually I can. I was up late entering items into my Etsy shop for a sale that started and I started well before midnight and ended well after. By the time I was done I was super tired... and this totally slipped my mind. 

Shoot. There goes my perfect record.

I LOVE ROBYN (and was anyone up for the Challenge?)

So Robyn. You come out of 'hiding', and now I'm in love with you. I'm not kidding. You watched Shining Inheritance and loved it. And you wanted her to end up with Joon Sae. I love, love, LOVE Joon Sae (or at least I think it's him - I never remember their names... the restaurant guy - right?) I was so in love with Joon Sae that I kinda wanted to go to Korea and find him and tell him I loved him. It brings pain to my heart just thinking about it because it was so sad...

But Jun Pyo... dude. I hated him too at the beginning! So if you've been reading my blogs for a while, then did you see my post about my addiction to BOF? Seriously, I have been CRAVING the show. Sounds weird, but I've been thinking about it for a while now... I want to get lost in that story but I don't have 26 consecutive hours to watch it (... although I've been trying to talk a certain BFF to stay with me at a hotel and just get room service and watch BOF all night long ...). And I bought POSTERS of Jun Pyo when I was in Korea! I joke with the husband that one day he'll come home and I'll have the posters neatly hanging on the wall... above our bed. Kinda like a giant head board. That's not weird, right? I maybe I could frame some and hang it amongst the family pictures... the possibilities are endless...

Okay - so go watch Winter Sonata. I can't remember if I saw it on Dramafever or MySoju... fantastic story, cried a ton, hurt my heart... it's a winner. The last one I just watched was Dandelion Family - and that for sure is on DramaFever. It's a good one - so I recommend that one too, but it's different than BOF, SI and Winter Sonata... it's more... 'realistic'... if that makes sense. 

Seriously - you have no idea how stoked I am that I have someone I can talk to about Kdramas!!! So please, keep me updated!!

And I think I want to try the 4/250 cal meals... I'm afraid... but I also want to try... Maybe next week... like on Monday. I just checked my calendar and I have that week totally open.. this week is crazy. 

Maybe that can be our next challenge?!

And speaking of challenge...

DUDE. 

that was way harder than I thought.

I started on my left foot

and I could balance for:

1:30 

I then did my right foot

and I could balance for:

1:14

(did anyone else have a burning sensation in their legs?)

NEXT WEEK'S CHALLENGE IS:

Food Restriction of Choice

I know this sounds weird, but I've been thinking about how I lost

the most weight when I was just watching what I ate.

And honestly, 'limiting' oneself can totally be a challenge for some

(at least it is for me)

So I say pick something that you want to work on...

eliminating a certain food/snack

drinking more water

not eating after a certain time of day

increase protein

or something that you want to improve on

and THAT will be your challenge. 

I think it'll be interesting to see what happens. 

oh - and don't forget to list your 'balancing' times!!!