Truth Tuesday - LIFETIME

After I weighed in last week, all I could think about was hitting Lifetime today. I knew I had to be focused and stay on plan. I did that ... until Friday. Friday night I had plans to go out with friends and did my prep work. I looked at the restaurant's menu (Wagamama) and did the best I could to decipher the points since they don't have their nutrition facts on the site. I picked a good sesame chicken salad and some edamame. I figured it would be filling and yummy. I felt confident when I left the house on Friday and then... ... the entire plan went out the window!

The wife and I got to the restaurant early so we had a couple beers then I checked in to the bar on Foursquare and they offered us a half-priced appetizer. Yup! I fell for it hook line and sinker! So we split an app ... then since I had a couple beers what were a few more. Needless to say that night was not one of my finest eating moments.

Not sure this happens to other people, but once I have a bad night  - the whole next day turns in to a disaster.

So Friday and Saturday were horrible. All I kept thinking was I was putting myself in the wrong direction from Lifetime. So Sunday morning I got back on track and hit the gym for an awesome Spin class with Linds and Jen. Sunday night I still went a tad over points because my wife brought this garlic ciabatta bread in to the house to have with our spaghetti squash. But, overall I called Sunday a win in my book since I worked out and got all my healthy checks in.

Monday was right on point - I worked out, hit all WW Healthy Guidelines and stuck to 26 pts.

So that brings us to this morning. I got on the scale before heading to Spin and did NOT like what I saw. I saw a number that would put me out of reach of Lifetime. I made sure to give 150% during Spin and thankfully my friend Jess (the instructor) delivered with an awesome class. I got home and did my usual home weigh-in before the actual WW weigh-in. Well I saw a better number after Spin, but still not one that I liked.

But, you all know when I weigh in so there was no way I could skip out. I just had to face the music. My wife came with me for moral support and to act as photog if I hit Lifetime. I stepped on the scale and ... I took a deep breathe and prayed to see a number between 153-157 ...

I gained 0.6 lbs. That's it. Phew! That put me at 155.4 lbs - just 0.4 lbs over my goal weight - and in perfect position for LIFETIME!!

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Today: Gain 0.6

Starting Weight: 217.4

Today’s Weight: 155.4

Total Lost: 62.0

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OMG! OMG! I did it. I honest and truly made it to the moment I dreamed about on November 2, 2009. The moment I thought would never be in my realm of possibility on that first night of Weight Watchers. But, you know what? I did do it. I stuck with it.

I MADE IT HAPPEN!

I love this smile and am happy it hasn't left my face yet today...

I told my Territory Manager Elaine that I wanted to create my own "Biggest Loser Finale" type moment when I hit Lifetime status. Thankfully she approved and that is how the above happened. :) I am wicked happy that I decided to go this route and bring my own confetti to the weigh-in.

Lifetime means more to me than hitting Goal. I proved to myself that I could maintain a weight within my goal weight for six weeks - even with a 1,000 mile move, career change and basically a complete change in my life.

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This morning really made me think back to this journey and how I don't even recognize the person I was when I first stepped in to my Weight Watchers meeting on November 2, 2009. I was a sad - lonely - unhappy - and scared person. I was able to put on quite a front to the outside world, but inside was a whole different person.

But now? Now I see the good. I see the happiness in life. I am proud of the person I have become. I am happy with the person I am now. I have shown myself - and others - that I can accomplish anything I put my mind to. I am stronger than I thought I was. I am a fighter. I am a success story.

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Today, I am living in the moment and enjoying all of my accomplishments. But, what will come tomorrow? Tomorrow I will continue to keep my eye on the new prize ... maintaining! Now that I have reached this milestone, I vow not to return to old habits. For me, this time - the weight loss will stick. There is no going back.

Thankfully, I have one incredible support system - in person, through social media and within my new Weight Watchers work family - that will continue to motivate and push me towards success.

I may falter. I may fall off the healthy lifestyle/Weight Watchers wagon at times ... but thankfully every one of you will be there to pick me back up and put me back on track. And for that, I thank you all. You have all touched my journey in a positive light and for that I am eternally grateful.

I am reminding myself today - and every day - that I am human. I am not perfect. But, picking myself up and never looking back, will allow me to keep succeeding.

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So today, I relish in my accomplishment. I will allow myself to flood in the compliments and love being thrown at me from all directions. I am bottling it all up to keep with me on the dark days. I am saying to myself...

My Journey Is My Journey

I am 100% proud of what I have accomplished thus far in my weight loss journey. I thank Weight Watchers for giving me the kick in the butt I really needed. Okay I guess I need to thank my friends for taking that dreadful picture of me on Halloween 2009 that gave me the kick in the butt I needed to make a change. I could never have imagined I would have achieved as much success as I have in the last two-plus years. I have reached my weight goal, lost 63 lbs, rekindled my love of running, found a love in Spinning, tried foods I would've never thought to try, liked foods I have never thought I would like, shared my story with the world through social media, started this blog (or my little slice of the web), been featured in a magazine, started to really like the person I am and yet ...

I have always thought I could do - or be - more.

How could I not compare myself to the others around me?

Well I may have lost 63 lbs with Weight Watchers, but what about the man that lost over 300 lbs. He should be working and representing Weight Watchers over me. I haven't had as much success as him - or have I?

Why did TimeOut Chicago want to share my story when the guy on the cover lost over 200 lbs and is a Vegan. Over 200 lbs, amazing? Giving up steak? Commendable. What did I do? I lost jsut over 60 lbs and didn't give up a single food I liked. Heck yeah I still drink beer and eat french fries.

Who am I to be writing a blog? What information do I have to impart on the world? Do people really want to read what is going through my mind on any given day? Why choose my blog when there are such better writers out there.

Why must I always compare my life - my journey - my accomplishments to those around me? Why? Because that is what society does. It seems as if it is second nature in this day and age to immediately compare what you have done to someone else.

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This topic is something I think about often, but was brought back to the forefront when a woman came in to Weight Watchers to weigh-in and lost 1.5 lbs. A-freakin-mazing. But she was upset. Why? The woman before her lost 5 lbs that week and she wished she had lost that much. But the truth? She didn't need to lose 5 lbs that week. She was much closer to her goal and didn't have as much to lose. It was just the fact that she wanted that big of a loss.

I turned to her and said - each person's journey is their own.

We need to remember this ... I need to remember this.

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Everyone is unique. Every person is on their own journey in life. We need to stop looking to others to judge our accomplishments and to celebrate what we do. Every. Single. Thing.

Okay, I need to stop looking to others to rate whether my accomplishment is really all that great.

I should really be proud of the weight that I have lost. Hey 63 lbs is nothing to scoff at. Do I wish I could say I lost 100 lbs? Sure. But, I never had 100 lbs to lose. So it isn't an attainable, realistic goal in my life.

I have improved my 5k time from 38:21 to 25:27. What a difference, right? I have cut 13 minutes off my 5k time in a seven year span. But, would I like to run a 5k in 21 minutes? Of course, but that may not be something in my DNA. It may not be in my grasps.

I am 100% a perfect person to work for Weight Watchers. I love to share my journey (as we can see) with others and want to listen/help/aid/cheer and just be part of others who are doing the same thing. It doesn't matter if you need to lose 5 lbs or 100 lbs. I am the person is taking the steps to be part of a healthy lifestyle - that is the real journey!

I need to try to top myself and stop trying to top someone else's accomplishments.

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I am making a pact today to continue to celebrate my journey ... but to STOP saying they aren't enough. That I cannot share what I have accomplished because it isn't as great as someone else's best.

I will be happy with the best I do ... but where to start?

My next big milestone is hitting Lifetime with Weight Watchers. I am hoping it will happen on February 21st. If it does, I am vowing to shout it from the rooftops. But to start, I will throw some confetti in the air and give myself as much as a Biggest Loser Finale moment as I can get! Get ready ... I will be sharing that moment! :)

#7daychip - Crazy Eight :)

This was a great gift to get on Day 11 of my #7daychip...

Truth Tuesday – 0.4 lb Gain

Since 2008, this last week is always the toughest in January for me. I am out of my comfort zone and in a hotel for almost the entire time. I had my weigh-in and hit goal Tuesday morning, that night I moved into the Hilton Chicago and I was there through Sunday afternoon. I tried to prepare myself as best as possible and brought snacks, my workout clothes and my blender with me. :) During this week I normally gain between 1-2 lbs since I end up imbibing too much wine which then results in eating too much food ... and hangovers. Which lead to basically another day of eating horribly. So Thursday-Sunday for me this week were horrendous. Just ugly foodwise.

I am proud of myself because I kept my workout streak alive and made it to the hotel gym each day for at least 30 min of activity. (small victory)

Since I wasn't home and used Monday as a get back on track and stay in the gym for an hour, I didn't weigh-in. I had NO idea what to expect. I just wanted to be under 157 (to stay on track for Lifetime). My home scale showed a 0.3 lb gain. Whhaaaa??? I went to my WW weigh-in and I gained just 0.4 lbs! Wow! I will take it...

Today: Gain 0.4

Starting Weight: 217.4

Today’s Weight: 154.2

Total Lost: 63.2

I am still under my goal weight (155) by 0.8 lbs heading into Week Two of maintenance!

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I am upset with myself for not having better control of my snacking and drinking, but I accepted what happened and have moved on.

These next five weeks are crucial in my journey to Lifetime. I am ready to get back on the horse - which I did yesterday. It felt wicked good to eat on plan and hit all my healthy checks. I just felt normal - even after one day. :)

The really tough stretch is the next two weeks as we prepare to move to Boston. This week alone we are going to a Blackhawks game and two Going Away parties. I am going to devise and plan and stick to it. I am going to increase my activity, as well as, bring snacks whenever possible.

But, the main thing is - I will not beat myself up over anything. This is the last time I will see many of these people for awhile and I want to enjoy the time we spend together.

I will make sure to really keep the wine and beer in check. I don't like the hungover feeling - I mean who does (but this week I had two hangovers in three days - my first since early October). But it really messes up my eating schedule the next day, as well as, my workout schedule. And frankly, it's not worth it. Time to reign that in.

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Today was also our final WW at work meeting. It was extremely emotional for me. I didn't outwardly cry, especially we had such a good time laughing during the meeting. But, inside I was sad to see the time end. Not just for me, but also my coworkers. They have all done so well. As a group since April, we lost 325 lbs. Woo! How freakin' great is that!!

I really hope they can get 20 interested people in order to restart the group in April. I am keeping everything crossed for them...

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I am so proud of all my participants in the #100ozchallenge. I cannot believe over 35 people have joined in to my challenge. I am even thinking of maybe having a prize or something down the road. That would be cool right?

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Did anyone else face the scale for Truth Tuesday today?

Truth Tuesday – 4.2 lb Loss & GOAL!!

Well folks, I was really hoping for at least a 0.6 lb weight loss this week since I was at 59.4 lbs gone last week and I wanted to hit that lovely round # of 60 gone. I tracked everything this week - even when I let my guard down Friday and just enjoyed my goodbye dinner with my friend, I still wrote down everything I had - so I was hoping for a good loss. Also, despite being sick, I worked out at least 60 min every day. I liked the # I saw on the home scale this morning so I was hoping the Weight Watchers scale would be as nice, but you know what? It was EVEN better!! I lost 4.2 lbs this week for a total of 63.6 lbs gone ... and that means I passed my goal weight by 1.2 lbs!! :)

Today: Lost 4.2

Starting Weight: 217.4

Today’s Weight: 153.8

Total Lost: 63.6

Pounds From New Goal: NONE!! :)

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It is absolutely crazy to actually be at goal - like real goal not the fake goal I set before. Haha. I will not be changing the goal weight again ... for now ;) Haha. :P

It is surreal to see that I am at goal. I mean it is time to transition the brain from losing weight to maintaining. That starts by changing my daily allotment of points from 27 to 32. What will I do with those extra points? I told my Leader an extra glass of wine each night. ;)

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Since getting back from my honeymoon and starting my Dynamic December and Jammin' January challenges, which includes #back2basics, #30for60 and my #30daychip, I have lost 14.4 lbs!! Wow!

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I really want to thank each and every one of you that has traveled on this journey with me. Many times a day I just stop and think how truly lucky I am.

I really am proud of myself for sticking with this process. So many times I wanted to just stop and just eat everything in sight, but I knew I didn't need to do that. I didn't need to turn to food in emotional times. I could, and would, heading out for a run instead or putting in some time at the gym. Those endorphins can really do wonders.

I think I am still in so much shock that I can't even put into words what I am feeling. I am excited. I am thrilled. I am proud. I am nervous. I am anxious. I am fearful. But really? I am happy.

Isn't that all that matters?

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Truth Tuesday – 1.2 lb Loss

This week I didn't weigh-in at home once, which is sooo unlike me, but things kept getting in the way of my 8am weigh-in time. This led to me going into today's weigh-in pretty blindly. I weighed in at home at 7am and was down 1.5 lbs from last week. Okay! I would be happy with anything over a 1lb loss (even though I was internally wanting a 1.8 lb loss so I could hit 60 lbs gone) because it would be a loss. I headed to my new 8am weigh-in at my future Weight Watchers meeting and was pleasantly told of a 1.2 lb loss! Yay!! I am just 0.6 lbs from the 60 lb weight loss mark...

Today: Lost 1.2

Starting Weight: 217.4

Today’s Weight: 158.0

Total Lost: 59.4

Pounds From New Goal: 3.0

I am hoping to hit the 60 lb weight loss mark next week, but will be happy with any loss on the scale.

I don't have too much new to report today since I did a LOT of blog posting this weekend as you can all see.

I am hoping to just keep taking each day one at a time and keep getting back to basics!!

But, for today? I Believe In Me! :)

Jammin' January

Welcome to 2012 everyone! Who else is as excited as I am for what it can hold? Who else set some great fitness goals for the 366 days 2012 holds? I am coming off one of the best months I have had weight loss wise in awhile: Dynamic December.

Here is the biggest thing I hope to accomplish this month ... hit my new goal weight. That means I need to lose 4.2 lbs this month. It will be tough with my work schedule picking up, but I am going to give it a whirl! And here is my motivation:

So let's get on to a new phase: Jammin' January! Catchy? Maybe? No?

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1) #100ozchallenge - This is actually the first challenge that I started on my own! I have even had 15 people say they are interested in participating. Woo! I feel wicked cool. Okay, that wasn't cool. Dammit!

Anyway, this is a pretty simple challenge: drink at least 100oz water a day. That's it. Keep yourself hydrated during the winter months. I just saw on twitter today that "Dehydration can cause ageing & can slow down metabolism as much as 3%" - I am here to not let that happen! Stay hydrated!!

2) #plankaday - This has been lifechanging for me. I am not one for crunches, especially with my back injury, so this is a great way to get some core work in without sitting and doing a bunch of crunches - I don't want to do - on the floor.

This program was started by Dr. Sherry Pagoto (@drsherrypagoto) and is open to interpretation. For me, I started with doing a 60 second forearm plank every day for a week. The next week I upped it by 5 seconds and did 65 second forearms planks every day for a week. I did 5 second increments until I could hold a forearm plank for 120 seconds - yes! I can hold a plank for 2 minutes. Ahhh, I never thought that was possible.

I am now working on improving my side planks. This week I am doing 2 60 second straightarmed planks and 2 45 second straightarmed planks on both sides.

I am going to continue to do my #plankaday every day. I am enjoying the versatility and loving the #plankaday community.

3) #30for60 - The #30for60 challenge was created by Samantha (@runcupcake) and Jim (@runbikesurf). The jist is to keep people moving for a minimum 30 minutes every day for the next 60 days (so December 1-February 1). This will helpfully be an easier task for me since I will be using the same activity for Weight Watchers, #30daychip & #30for60. But, I will take as much motivation as I can.

This challenge does have a possible prize attached to it, but I don't usually get caught up in those since I don't usually win contests. :P

4) #back2basics - I think this is a great challenge and it was a huge success for me last month. I also like this challenge (started by Colleen - @tryn2bfit) because it again leaves the choice of what you focus on up to the individual. I think that is a great way to keep people's attention and driven when they are working on something extremely personal.

For me, I will be focusing on hitting all 6 of the Weight Watchers Healthy Guidelines. Every day of the month I will be sure to have my required amounts of liquids (water), fruits/veggies, vitamins, dairy, healthy oils & exercise.

5) #FT100- This is an amazing challenge set up by a couple of my fellow #FFCheer peeps. For me, it was a no-brainer to join. The deal: run 100 miles by January 31, 2012 - roughly 62 days). This works out to about 1.6 miles a day or a little over 11 miles a week.

Unfortunately, I have been derailed in this challenge due to a recent IT band/patella injury so with 30 days remaining I am just 34 miles in to the 100 needed. It's okay. I am going to keep trying and get back to it whenever my Physical Therapist gives me the a-ok.

6) #30daychip - I owe a lot of success to the man that created the #7daychip/#30daychip program: Brad Gansberg (@bradgansberg). He has been a great motivator and has gotten me back on track more times than I can count.

This is yet another great challenge that you set for yourself. I have done a few different #7daychip topics, which you can see here.

The basic premise is to do something healthy for seven consecutive days ... or if you are feeling like you want a real challenge you can go for 30 or 100 days.

For this, #30daychip (which today marks Day 36) I am looking to track my food every day. That means: log it into Weight Watchers eTools, write it up as a food log post on my blog and Facebook/Tweet it out.

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What will you be doing to make the most out of your own Jammin' January?