08.18.09
Posted in Weight Loss at 12:15 pm by Deb
It was sitting on my desk when I came in to work this morning. A coupon for free fries and drink with one of those insanely good Third Pound burgers at McDonalds. I was very naughty and got one last Friday, and they gave me a coupon to get another one.
Ridden with guilt, I looked up the points for that tasty leap off the wagon. Just the sandwich is 18 points. Add 11 more for the fries, and in one sitting, I blew more than my entire 28 points for the day.
The beauty of WW is that you CAN eat something like that, once in a while, as long as you fit it into the program. The trouble is staying ON program after a little food bender like that. I swear McDonalds puts some sort of habit-forming drug in their food, because as soon as I eat their food, I want more, and more, and more. It becomes an obsession.
So I told myself it was FRIDAY, beginning of a new WW week with all-new floating points, and I could just work it in. Trouble is, Saturday and Sunday ended up being a continuation of that little transgression, with me trotting to the fridge every hour or so for a snack. Monday was just as bad, being home from work. I ate and drank crap non-stop all weekend.
So there it sat this morning. That evil coupon. I'm sitting here starving, because I'm back on the protein shakes and fruit thing trying desperately to right the wrongs of the extended weekend. And gee, I go right past McDonalds on the way to the post office…the battle begins. I consider tearing it up. I re-consider how good that burger would be.
I almost went for it.
I get extra points for working out. The category of workout determines how many I get. I really think there should be a category for resisting serious temptation like that–holy crap, what a battle that was. I'm exhausted.
I ended up giving the coupon to a skinny friend who eats there a lot. She said the last time she got one, it was so huge she couldn't finish it! I guess that's why she's still skinny.
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08.06.09
Posted in Work in Progress at 10:23 am by Deb
I'm going camping this weekend. And I'm tired of always borrowing a sleeping bag from someone, so I decided to pop in to good old Wal-Mart and get one. As usual, Wal-mart got me with not just a sleeping bag, but myriad other camping items that were dirt cheap. On my merry way to the checkout, I spied some fabulously colorful men's Hawaiian shirts on sale for only $7.50. I grabbed three of them, along with some $4 tank tops to wear under them. Imagine my glee when I got to the checkout to find the shirts had been marked down to only $3!!!I've already gotten several complements on the one I'm wearing today.
This is what I love about Wal-Mart. Good stuff, dirt cheap. Ok, so they don't have my beloved Lee Riders in size 20 tall anymore. And their plus size women's clothing really sucks lately. But it's not their fault I've become a fat slob. At least I know they'll likely still have my Lees in a size 12, when I get back down to the size where I belong. And in the meantime, their goofy men's stuff suits me fine.
So why are there so many people who hate Wal-Mart with a passion? Because they cut health benefits for their workers? Well shit, every place I know of has done that. And I don't think any of the other stuff they've been accused of is a big deal either. I think Wal-Mart has gotten a bad rap. Yes, they are a HUGE store, and they are in business to make a profit. Isn't that the American Way? Don't like them? Shop somewhere else. We're free to do that in this country, you know.
This morning I get an email from some OUTRAGED former Girl Scout Leader urging me to protest Wal-Mart's "Knock-off Girl Scout Cookies." WTF? I work for the Girl Scouts and I hadn't even heard about it. After some research, I found that yes, Wal-Mart is beta testing a chocolate mint cookie, and a chocolate covered peanut butter cookie. Some anti-Wal-Mart loonie saw them and started screaming–"Wal-Mart is ripping off the Girl Scouts! They're knock-offs of Thin Mints and Tagalongs!" Hmm, now does this mean that anyone who makes a mint-flavored chocolate cookie or peanut butter cookie is ripping us off? No, just evil Wal-mart, those Basty Nastards.
Wal-Mart also sells pop-corn. Does that mean they're ripping off the Boy Scouts too?
A few years ago, there were plans to build a Wal-Mart near my home town. People got all freaked out about it. They protested. They came up with a bunch of crazy reasons, none of which really made any sense. And they managed to block the new Wal-Mart. My mom was pissed. She would have liked to shop there. These are the same kind of people who protested the Wind Power turbines. That I don't get–would they really rather have a Nuclear Plant in their back yard?
Come ON, people. Protesting something because it really is bad is one thing. But protesting just because you CAN, or because YOU just don't like it, or it makes you feel powerful is just plain stupid.
Perfect example: now that these loonies have made a big deal out of these Wal-Mart cookies, people who wouldn't otherwise have even noticed them will now flock to Wal-Mart to try them. I hope our Wal-Mart gets them. I'm going to run right over there and buy some for my next food bender. And maybe pick up a couple more $3 Hawaiian shirts while I'm at it.
Wal-Mart ROCKS.
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08.03.09
Posted in Weight Loss at 11:33 am by Deb
243.2! It's unofficial–I finally hit the first 10 pound mark. Unofficial, because I don't officially weigh in til Friday, but this morning's number hit the mark. Doing the happy dance, feeling good, because I've spent the past several years losing five pounds, then gaining it right back, then losing 5 pounds, and gaining back seven, and so on. I feel like I've got some momentum this time.
It's a quiet celebration, because although it's it's a small milestone, I don't look any different, and nobody's going to notice anything yet. That, and a glimpse of my reflection in the glass of a framed print in Liz's office this morning, looking like an elephant next to her and Audrey, provided the ever shocking reality-check to remind me I still have a long way to go.
Still, I'm going to reward myself with some frivolous little prize and have a private celebration on Friday, assuming the number doesn't go up between now and then.
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08.02.09
Posted in Weight Loss at 9:30 am by Deb
244.2 this morning. I have almost hit the first 10 pound mark. It amazes me how much harder it is to lose now than it was 15 years ago. Sucks getting old, but I'm sure that beats dying young.
At any rate, I managed to keep the momentum going in spite of the past two weeks of HELL at work. At long last, the Kick-off and the State Fair booth are OVER and the council calendars have been delivered, so I'm hoping I can kick back and breathe a little now.
In the past, I'd have used this kind of insane work stress as an excuse to overeat, but this time I found myself realizing that when everything else is out of control, at least I have total control of what I eat. And even though there were some small food benders this week, I counteracted them in other ways. Yes, I loaded up a plate at the kickoff yesterday and chowed down, but there really wasn't anything bad on it except a cookie and a brownie. And when I got handed a piece of cake that was supposed to be some sort of local delicacy, I said to myself "if I take one bite, and it's absolutely fabulous, I'll eat it, but if it's just cake, it goes in the can." It was "just cake." It went in the can. When I got home, Jim had already eaten, so I passed on supper since I wasn't hungry anyway. We chowed on some popcorn later, but that was it. Not such a bad day after all.
I'm sure I'm going to face more crap at work–the de-briefings for the kickoff and the Fair and the calendars and all the other crap that blew up in my face this past month are going to be ugly, but my CYA files are in order, and I'm ready for anything.
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