Weight Watchin' on the road. A rant.

Thursday, January, 21st 2010 through Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Last week, on Thursday January 28th, I went to my WW meeting to weigh-in before the cracking of dawn. I dramatically proclaimed how crappy my week was: I mean really, really, crappy.

Imagine the worst financial distress imagineable, and you're close to what I experienced.

Also, my husband started AA. As in, quitting drinking because he drinks too much. Much more than I knew, actually. I must insert my joke now: I always knew I'd drive a man to drink. Admit it, you knew, too. lol. But seriously, I know it's not my fault. And he's awesome, attending his 8th meeting in 8 days as I type.

I felt like I was stuck in a blender all week. But, somehow, I put my body into this protective state of autopilot (in Weight Watcher's gear), and managed to not go off my points plan. Not once. I definately shifted what went into my points balance, but I stayed in my points range. Allow me to entertain you with the details.

My proudest moment after finding out we were more than broke, and my husband was starting AA, and I was officially in charge of the family bills which gives me anxiety attacks? Making a snack mix built around the concept of slow indulgence, including popcorn, Crunch n' Munch, baked cheese puffs, and m & m's. All measured, and counted before it was put into the bowl which took me two hours to finish.

Approaching the scale last Thursday I expected to gain. They say when you're stressed, your body holds onto weight. I was panicked that a gain on the scale would send me into failure mode, and cause me to drop this whole diet/lifestyle change/lifesaving event in the trash can. Did I mentioned I was on my period, and as bloated as a goat? TMI? Too bad, it's crucial you know my situation to get the full effect. When I found I had lost .4 lbs I was so pleased. And ready to look forward and upward. Thank God! Not that the scale is the only way I mark my success, but seriously, after the shittiest of shitty weeks, losing weight was something really special to hold on to, and trudge forward.

**************
This week: Thursday, January 28, 2010 through Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

About 32 hours after my successful weigh-in I was presented with two little boys and a husband who wanted to have dinner out. Shouts of "Pizza!" "Buffet!" had me nasuous with nerves. I suggested Applebee's where I knew I could have my favorite standbye, but as we got towards the parking lot, I grew brave and suggested Famous Daves next door. Proudly, I enjoyed the intoxicating smell of BBQ, and dined on a BBQ chicken salad with all the sides served seperatly, so I could control the quantities and therefore points on the plate. Success.

Hours later we would be taking the kids to see Monster Trucks. I took a nap with both boys in our bed that afternoon and actually dreamt about stadium food. No kidding... I was slowly approaching the food line and saw "no calorie chili" on the menu. Ha! Pathetic. In reality, the boys got popcorn and nasty processed cheese nachos. I took a few nibbles of popcorn, and kept my mind instead on my cool new pedometer, racking up more steps during intermission. I also thought, if my newly sober husband could sit surrounded by beer at a Monster Truck show, I could probably handle not eating anything.

Home from the Monster Trucks by 11:30pm, and out the door to Peoria by 5am. Theo's mom had surgery, and we wanted to go help her through the weekend. First stop: gas station. I brought my home brewed coffee with sugar free coffee cream, but now was faced with donuts. My favorite kind: Kwik Trip chocolate glazed. I had one, but calculated the points on it, and included it in my total.

We arrive, and are dining at IHOP by late morning. Again, success: I ordered off the IHOP "for me," menu, which lists calories/fat/etc. I also requested sugar free syrup, and pushed the butter off my plate immediately. A nice 11 point brunch.

Afternoon finds my tummy grumbling, and my hands digging through Me-Maw's cabinets. Kitchen Cooked Cheese Puffs? Shit! So cliche. I know, the fat girl can't resist the cheese puffs. Haha! But seriously, about 4 months ago on a visit to the Peoria area I discovered the goodness that is KC Cheese Puffs, and devoured an entire bag in that one weekend visit. How would I resist? I wouldn't. I would indulge in half a serving (1 cup) and count it. And even another full serving (2 cups, duh) the next day. If I didn't have thew rationed serving cheese puffs, I certainly would have eaten the whole-entire-bag. Controlled indulgence was crucial.


My most miraculous and smart Weight Watcher's decision of the weekend? At breakfast I heard someone say there would be chocolate cake after Saturday's dinner. I had Theo run me to Walmart where I would find Weight Watcher's snack cakes and brownies. Totally wasn't even tempted to have cake after I tasted the 1 point chocolate snack cakes. I had 3 though, so it felt like I was having something comparable to everyone else. And the super-indulgent taco dinner took up most of my weekly flex points. So be it. I'm on the plan.

Oh, and the Weight Watcher's pedometer I mentioned? The best Weight Watcher's invention ever! This pedometer does what all pedometers do: tells you how many steps you take in a day, and adds it up to miles. But, once you enter your weight and height in the system set-up, it also calculates how many activity points you earn in a day, after considering the amount of calories you normally burn in a day. How awesome if that? Uber-awesome! So far I've earned at least 2 activity points everyday. One day, I even earned 4! I walk more than 2 miles everyday, taking upwards of 4000 steps. Mentally, this takes away all the thoughts I had about being so lazy.

Did I succeed in a rapid lifestyle change this last week? No, not really. But I think I made some serious steps (no pun intended) in the right direction without killing anyone, eating my hand, or sabotaging my diet completely. And I now find myself safe in the delightful comfort of my own kitchen where I can resume my normal plan, and hopefully by Thursday, make some serious progress on the scale. Thank you, Weight Watcher's Gods, for watching over me.

Stay tuned, folks.