Sept 12,2001

Yikes. If there was ever any week not to go to the meeting this would have been it. The events yesterday were horrifying. I have relatives who live in New York, spent about 6 months in DC several years ago, and while everyone I know is alright, I can’t get those images from the television news out of my mind. I am eating dinner with my family this evening at the time when I would normally go to the meeting, so I went to an earlier meeting

Going in the correct direction once again. Two pounds, and I had a real enjoyable weekend celebrating the 35th Anniversary of Star Trek. I was sitting in front of a television most of it watching all 9 movies, and many episodes, so I didn’t get much exercise, but I managed to eat only small quantities of chip, dip, etc. and I was overly careful the rest of the week.

Standing around at work yesterday talking to co-workers about the news events I had several of those small chocolate Hershey nuggets out of nervousness. But I still lost, which is a good sign.

The meeting I went to today is a new one in town, only began a couple weeks ago and I was the only one there besides the leader, so we had a 1-1 meeting. Luckily it was the same leader as the evening meeting so she knew who I was.

She gave me some good ideas regarding snacking, and we discussed how to best handle Yom Kippur which is coming up in two weeks. (The fasting part is real easy, except she recommended that I eat a somewhat larger meal than I have been the last 8 weeks for the pre-fast meal since a “diet-sized” meal might make it more diffcult to make it through the fast, and of course not to try to eat a full day’s worth of points in the break-fast meal after the fast is over — just to remember that I can’t bank more than 5 points on a given day.)

206.6/197.5/150
9 pounds 8 weeks

Sept 5,2001

Another week, another pound and a half, unfortunately this time in the wrong direction.

I could blame it on Labor Day weekend, but the weekend didn’t force me to eat what I ate. I did get 2 hours of walking in during the week which probably helped to make it not as bad as it could have been.

In Week 4 I gained a pound, didn’t let it get to me and got right back on program — and in Week 5 I lost it again, plus an additional pound and a half. I can do that again. Our group leader emphasized tonight that we should all be proud of ourselves despite whether we gained or lost this week, because we came to the meeting.

Tonight I renewed my membership for 20 more weeks. That will take me up to Jan 19, 2 days before my birthday. I am in this for the long term. Despite a couple bad weeks, I am having more success overall on WW than I have had on other diets. By my birthday I hope to be half-way to my goal – 178 pounds – that’s only slightly more than a pound a week, so it’s achievable.

206.6/199.5/150

August 29,2001

Another week, another pound.

Over the weekend to celebrate a friend’s birthday I joined several others at Outback Steakhouse. I had their grilled salmon and vegetables, which was quite tasty. I also had a cup of their cream of onion (walkabout) soup, which I could have done without. But including the piece of cake afterwards, the entire meal was around 10-12 points, which is probably about half of what I would have eaten 6 weeks ago.

A co-worker is getting married this weekend, and I joined several others yesterday for lunch as we took him to a local pizzeria. Of course I had pizza, and way more than I should have. But on Monday I brought some sushi from the local grocery store in for lunch, and I am going to do that more often as I want to cut down on the sodium-enriched frozen entrees.

I got up the courage to try the Planet Green juice mix from Fantasia this week. It contains a variety of fruits, along wiith wheat grass, barley grass and blue-green algae. 100% of the RDA for Vitamins C and A in one serving. Not too bad. I gagged several years ago when I tried wheat grass juice straight, but there must be enough fruit in the mix to counterbalance that taste.

There’s a Whole Foods store that is about to open within walking distance from where I live. I am anxious to see what kind of foods they have; I suspect I may be shopping there a lot.

I think I am beginning to see some results in these pictures.

206.6/198/150

August 22 2001

Lost 2.5 pounds this week. I haven’t stepped in an elevator for 2 weeks. Went bowling last weekend. It’s not a lot of exercise, but it was enjoyable. The only bad thing about losing 2.5 pounds this week, is now that I weigh 199, I’m only allowed 22-27 points a day. I rarely eat more than that now, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Things I’ve learned:

I found a vegetarian liver spread which doesn’t exactly taste as good as the chopped liver my grandmother used to make, but still makes a good-tasting snack. Gefilte fish (white fish and pike) and horseradish sauce also is quite good all year-round. I’ve been eating a lot of sushi too.

I’ve now surpassed 10% of my target, losing 7.5 pounds in 5 weeks. I feel great.

206.6/199/150

August 15, 2001

Went to Six Flags over Mid America amusement park over the weekend with some friends. Spent 8 hours there and did a lot of walking, however, I made a few bad choices. The sub I chose from subway (seafood) for lunch was not one of the low-point ones. That evening, when we ate dinner at Denny’s I got the buffalo chicken sandwich which almost has enough points for an entire day. While I ate fairly well for the rest of the week, I guess it wasn’t enough to make up for it. I gained a pound.

Things I’ve learned:

I need to carry my Dining Out book in my car, so I don’t have to make my choices at the restaurant blindly, and find out what the points are later on.

However, things could have been a lot worse. I only gained one pound. I’ve still lost 5 pounds over four weeks. It might take me a year to lose 50 pounds at this rate, but I will lose it.

206.6/201.6/150

August 8, 2001

Is there such a thing as a “normal” week? Went to a party on Saturday, but easily made up for what I ate and drank the rest of the week by banking points. However, Tuesday was my first “Food Day” at work while on program. Whenever I felt tempted by the food table beyond resistance, I tried to take only small pieces, but I still ate too much. When I tried calculating what I ate at the end of the day, I came to the disturbing conclusion I probably ate twice my allotted points…and I had one day before weighing in.

I still lost a pound. But I know that’s because I’m still in the opening few weeks where I am expected to be losing the initial weight quickly. If I don’t learn how to manage these temptations, even though they only seem to come about once a week on average, in future weeks I won’t be so lucky.

Things I’ve learned:

Hummus and crackers are a great snack. The Jalapeno hummus from Tribe of Two Sheiks is only 1 point per 2 tbsp serving. A serving of 11 small fat-free garlic and herb crackers from Venus is also just 1 point.

On the WeightWatchers message boards someone suggested a tunafish/salsa/spinach/celery dish I may have to try. I am going to have to cook a lot more if I don’t want to keep eating the frozen entrees I’ve been eating a lot of the past 3 weeks.

Being my fourth meeting, I got the flyer on activity points. I’m not quite sure what exercise I will do — there isn’t much that I like.

August 1, 2001

First the bad news. Friday morning at Harrahs I tried to eat sensibly, but with the French toast, and home fries, it was not a good morning. And I couldn’t back away from drinking at the parties. Saturday night there was a buffet banquet. It was next to impossible for me to keep track of my points over the weekend at the conference, and I just gave up for those few days. There’s a black hole in my journal. Not too happy about that.

Good news: Before the weekend I had banked 10 points, and since I weigh in on Wednesday evenings, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I reverse-banked several more points. And since every little bit counts, I got a haircut Wednesday afternoon 🙂 Over the whole week I lost 2 pounds, just under five for the first two weeks. I wonder what I could lose with a normal weekend….maybe I’ll find out this coming week.

Things I’ve learned:

healthdiscovery.net is another great website with over 100 restaurant point-menus. Bison meat is a great alternative to beef (or chicken). Using the nutirional information on the above link, and the Weight Watchers food companion:

• 3 oz bison = 3.5 points
• 3 oz beef = 5.5 points
• 3 oz chicken (with skin) = 5 points
• 3 oz chicken (w/out skin) = 3 points

Fantasia Smoothies are an excellent way to start the morning. Some I’ve calculated are 2 points a serving, some 3 (2 servings per bottle), but there’s a pound of fruit in every bottle. (the company’s website is currently under construction).

I really like the Weight Watchers.com message boards. They can serve up inspiration and motivation between meetings.

July 25, 2001

A week ago on Wednesday July 18th, 2001 I made a decision. A decision that hopefully will change my life. I joined Weight Watchers. I may not have picked the best week to start, but there probably is no “best” week to start. However, on Saturday evening I was hosting a pot-luck dinner with a group of friends. Everybody else was bringing the food and I would have no control over what was placed before me. I knew one person was bringing lasagna; one of my favorite dishes. On Thursday and Friday I tried to bank a few extra points, and not eat much Saturday for breakfast and lunch. While I went over my allotment, I only went over by 3 points, which I easily made up for on Sunday. When I weighed in today before the meeting, I had lost 2.75 pounds. An exciting beginning.

What I learned this week:
I eat every Tuesday night at Steak ‘n Shake with several friends. I worried a little bit about what I would eat, but through the message boards at WeightWatchers I found a wonderful webiste called Dottis Weight Loss Zone with a bunch of menus, including Steak n Shake’s. A Chili Mac with 4 saltines is listed as 7.5 points. However, since the saltines are at least 1 point, it’s really only 6.5. I had a Chili Mac and a diet soda; a tasty meal, and I felt satisfied.

Another challenge is a co-worker who has a basket full of Hershey’s nuggets, and similar candy at her desk. I went to the Hershey website and looked up the nutritional information for the nuggets. They’re only 1 point. I heard at the meeting today that a Tootsie Roll is also 1 point. If I have to give in to temptation occasionally, these chocolate treats at least won’t be killers if I keep myself to just one.

Even if I continue eating occasionally at fast food restaurants, there’s almost always something on the menu that will fit into the program as long as I don’t overdo it.

My second big test is coming up this week. I am leaving town this weekend to go to the Starfleet International Conference. This annual conference for the international fan organization is in a different city every year. This year it’s in Kansas City — way too close to St. Louis for me to miss it. The friend I am driving down with wants to start the journey Friday at Harrah’s All-You-Can-Eat Breakfast bar. If I can stay on-program this weekend, I think I can meet any obstacle.