Losing it in Utah now.

Well, as of last week Wednesday, I was 187. Today I'm 183.6. Not through stringent attempts to starve myself into misery but...well, I'm not sure what worked. Perhaps it was the walking or the one morning of Buff Brides workout. But whatever it was, I hope it KEEPS WORKING!!!

I haven't exercised yet this morning but I do have some exercise bands so I can work on my chesticular region.

I'm a little sleepy-eyed and slow-starting this morning. My lap-area is sore from last Wednesday but that should get better. After all, I could hold a squat for over 30 seconds in Tae Kwon Do, why not work up to that again? I could also kick someone's head at my 5'2" level but only if they were my height. Still!

I miss TKD.

I'm not so sure I want to weigh myself yet. I still haven't had a menses (TMI I know, but that's the facts of life for a woman, you can't close your eyes and pretend that such things don't happen. EVERYBODY POOPS.) and I feel like I'm somewhat bloated, perhaps. Getting into a fresh pair of jeans was just not as easy as it was once before. But I still don't have quadra-boob which I'm grateful for.

I was browsing the Weight Watchers website and realized that the Buff Brides section has workouts and everything. I realize I'm much closer to being 'buff' than being a bride but why not start as early as possible, eh?

The workouts are low-impact with decent enough stretches for beginners. I'm not a fan of lunges, squats, and such because my upper legs have been neglected for so long. The upper body workouts though aren't bad at all but I have pretty decent upper body strength.

Oh! I decided for certain what I want after my first hurdle, the 10 pound mark. Want to know what it is?

Zhena's Gypsy Tea in Red Lavender. I got a tin once before from a friend and it was definitely the best tea I have ever had. It's herbal rooibos with lavender and it tastes a little ginger-ish and it's definitely a perky tea. I just don't know if I want to get 100 tea bags or get the 1 lb loose tea. Ah, decisions.

Speaking of teas, I had won the Happily Handmade Giveaway and my favorite thing in there was a large packet of loose Choco Lotta Vanilla Tisane from SBS teas. It's as sweet as it sounds and it takes the edge off my voracious sweets monster that I get after dinner.

Well, I'm going to drag some weights up from the basement along with my yoga mat so I'm better prepared to work out on Friday. Thursday is considered a "rest" day but since I skipped my walk yesterday, I'll walk on Thursday.

And Saturday I walk for babies, yay!

I'm baffled. I'm frustrated. And I'm honestly a bit depressed. I'm 187 today despite having about 18 points to eat out of 24. I'm now wondering if it's something else, like my terribly delayed Auntie Flo, maybe I'm retaining water, maybe it's related to the GI upset I had yesterday. I'm not sure but I'm done weighing myself daily. It's upsetting.

Ah well, I'm going to be very careful today.

Still 186.4, though the scale wavered a little. I'm caught up in frustration as I consider all I did yesterday. My list of food was small:
Breakfast
oatmeal made with half a cup of milk.

Lunch
1 slice of homemade bread with 3 thin slices of salami
1 apple

Afternoon snack
Half a serving of M&Ms
One 100 calorie pack of Ritz crackers

Dinner
1 slice of bread with 1/4 cup of egg salad (mom had made chicken enchiladas but the cilantro in it was so overwhelming I just couldn't eat it)
1 large Fuji apple

I think I'm going to aim to avoid the M&Ms today. I'm also not going to walk because I'm feeling crampy. I may not walk with Daisy as well today since she hurt her paw and won't want to go far if she's limping like a hunchback.

Currently 186.4, thinking most of that is water because I was 1 point short of the daily recommended 24. That or they're too generous with their points. I will try to shoot for 18 points today (6 per meal or so). Mom's making a Pepper soup from her diabetic cookbook and it sounds very low in points.

I also discovered that cilantro is very unpleasant and unwisely chose an orange Cadbury cream egg to get the taste out of my mouth. Each egg is 4 points. Ugh.

I was feeling good about only gaining a little over a pound until I looked at my curve chart. I've been hovering badly, not losing much at all. It's disappointing and I only have myself to blame.

I am determined however. My goal is 184 by next Monday. I've already walked on the treadmill this morning and I've eaten a healthy bowl of oatmeal, I will lose this weight! Yah!

I also plan on weighing myself daily. I have to shove myself into obsessive mode if I am going to lose any of this weight. At least to get me started. If I can lose about 0.3 pounds a day, I'll make it so here's to being a little obsessive, huzzah!

And I'm putting these Ferrero Rocher in the freezer and I'll treat myself to one if I make it to 184 on Monday.

I should mention some other observations of weight loss other than what just the scale tells me.

1. Monday, I put on a pair of freshly washed jeans. There was still a tightness but there was no sincere struggle and no discomfort sitting in them. I didn't have to unbutton them just to feel like I could breathe and that was extremely exciting.

2. I have lost the double breast. Y'know that flabby area that isn't contained by the bra, particularly if the bra is too small? Yeah, I have two boobs again, not four.

3. I'm debating on either buying a copy of Merlin on DVD or a copy of Twelfth Night on DVD when I hit 181. Hmm, decisions, decisions. Either way, mom says she will spring for a new outfit for me when I lose the weight and that'll be awesome, a nice summer dress for church, some new shirts, perhaps. That would be exciting.

tomorrow I weigh in again!

Down another pound. I've decided I'm going to try to crack the habit of not logging my intake in 21 days, the scientifically determined amount of time that it takes to make a new habit. I wonder if it actually works and if I shouldn't try to do that in other areas of my life like with scripture reading, getting up early, etc. But, y'know, one step at a time.

So, if I keep going down about 3 pounds a week--which is what I seem to be able to manage--I'll lose about 54 pounds by the time Don is home. 185-54 = 131 pounds. That'd be awesome, I wonder if I could do it. Y'know what? Black belt attitude. I will do it!

But no sense in being greedy, I am happy with any weight loss I have. It's a step closer to being healthy, being more energetic, being more lovely (not that I'm not lovely now, just a lot more lumpy than I'd like to be).

Here's to keeping it up!