Back in April, I wrote a blog post about getting started with the Weight Watchers ActiveLink. I won't re-hash all the specifics (read the old post for those), but here's a quick recap: ActiveLink is a monitor that you wear every day. It records all of your movement and assigns you WW Activity Points based on your whole day's activity. For the first 8 days that you wear it, it assesses your normal activity and then assigns a 12-week challenge based on your current activity pattern.
I am currently in week 10 of my first challenge, and I must say that I LOVE this thing! Based on my assessment, my original goal for week 12 was to earn 4 activity points per day. I was sick during my assessment and less active than usual, so I initially thought that goal sounded easy. WRONG. Turns out that earning 4 activity points on days where I have a race or tough cardio workout is very easy. Earning 4 activity points on a regular workday with no cardio workout is very, very hard.
I have tried everything: cleaning more, taking the stairs, walking to talk to co-workers. The only thing that gets me to my goal on a regular, non-workout day is getting home early enough to go for a walk with my husband. (Or, as others might call it, getting in a workout.) The reality is that I do a fairly sedentary job and spend a minimum of 90 minutes per day commuting. That is a whole lot of sitting time. Want proof that most of us sit too much? Get yourself an activity monitor. Within 2 or 3 weeks, I was already considering fairly drastic lifestyle changes to cut my commute and increase my activity. I'm still thinking about making those changes in the long term.
In the short term, I'm just being more diligent about getting workouts done, especially cardio workouts. Knowing that I will plug in my ActiveLink at the end of the day and stare at a big fat "0" is often enough to get me to the pool for a quick swim or convince me to go for that walk at the end of the day. In fact, by week 4 or so, I was doing so well that ActiveLink suggested upping my challenge to 5 Activity Points per day. I gladly accepted!
10 weeks in, I haven't totally succeeded in achieving my goal of spreading out my activity throughout the week, but I am doing better. ActiveLink builds you up to your challenge goal with smaller goals in the early weeks. In the first week, I was struggling to meet my mini-goal of 2 Activity Points per day. Now, I almost always manage at least that. On a weekly basis, I pretty much always make my goal (ie: 35 Activity Points/week), but I still earn most of those on the weekends. This week, for example, I have earned:
-22 on Saturday (10-mile run plus cooking and cleaning)
-15 on Sunday (triathlon)
-3 on Monday (work from home day with a workout DVD)
-3 on Tuesday (TRX in the AM and a day in the office)
The pattern is clear. I'm already 5 Activity Points over my weekly goal, but I didn't hit the daily goal on Monday and Tuesday, even though I did some exercise both of those days.
This brings me back to what I said about cardio workouts. The ActiveLink really rewards cardio (walking, running, biking, swimming) over any other exercise. The workouts I did on Monday and Tuesday were more strength-based, and those just don't earn many activity points. I would earn more going for a 30-minute walk than doing an intense 45-minute TRX class. This can be frustrating, as I'm a big believer in strength training with no intention of giving that up. But I have to keep in mind that the ActiveLink is from WeightWatchers, which means that it is focused on weight loss, and one glance at any "calories burned by type of activity" chart (like this one) clearly shows that cardio activities burn more calories. I know enough about fitness not to abandon my strength training just to do more cardio, but one positive of the ActiveLink is that it motivates me to do at least a little cardio (say, a short run or walk) even on strength training days.
All in all, I'm a fan of this little device and activity monitors in general. If you are thinking about trying one out, I say go for it. I can't promise that you will lose a ton of weight and become incredibly fit (that hasn't happened to me), but you will learn a great deal about your activity patterns and where you can make some positive changes.
Showing posts with label Weight Watchers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weight Watchers. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Weekend warrior.
Recently, Andrew and I have been working on changing a few of our habits. We're trying to eat out less, drink less, eat more fruits and vegetables, and get to the gym more often. We also returned to Weight Watchers, where I picked up a little tool to help with those goals:
This is the ActiveLink active monitor, a fairly new addition to the Weight Watchers program. It tracks all your movement throughout the day and then calculates activity points to offset your food points. Under the regular WW program, you calculate your own activity points by entering any exercise you do, the duration, and the intensity. So, under that system, I give myself about 5 points for my weightlifting class.
What's different about the ActiveLink is that it considers your whole day's activity and requires that you hit a "base line" for the day before you earn any activity points at all. In other words, if you work out hard at the gym for an hour, but then sit for the rest of the day, you may not earn any activity points at all. Just this morning, I did a really challenging TRX class, but it wasn't enough to hit my base line for the day. Once I do hit that base line, any movement I do for the rest of the day (walking, fixing dinner, etc.) will earn me activity points.
The whole point of the Active Link is to promote movement and discourage being sedentary all day, every day. I decided that this would be good for me because I've fallen into a bit of a "weekend warrior" pattern, where I slack off on my weekday workouts and then go all out on the weekend with hard trainings and races. This isn't good for my health or for my performance in those races, so I wanted a little push in the right direction.
I had been thinking about this for awhile when I happened to attend a WW meeting specifically about the ActiveLink. I was a little skeptical (as I am whenever anyone tries to sell me something), but the device was cheap enough ($35 on sale plus a $5 monthly fee, no contract) that I thought it was worth a 1-3 month experiment. I took it home, set it up, and clipped it on (first pleasant surprise: it really is invisible under your clothes).
From the moment I activated the ActiveLink, it started an 8-day "assessment" of my activity. For those 8 days, I was instructed to just go about my normal routine. I plugged it in periodically to charge it, but I couldn't see any data until the assessment was over. My assessment week wound up being an extreme version of my weekend warrior pattern. Literally within a few hours of putting the ActiveLink on, I came down with a bad cold. I did half of a tri-training workout the next day, but I spent 5 days after that too sick to go to the gym. I even left work early a few days to come home and lie down. So, a very sedentary work week. Then, come Saturday morning, I forced myself back to the gym and out to run a many errands as I could manage.
Sunday was my first "real" day on the ActiveLink and what did I do? I ran a half marathon! The IronGirl Columbia half-marathon, to be specific. I was still pretty sick and knew I had no business running a race, but it was an expensive one and I hated the thought of losing the money. This was also the first leg of the IronGirl "Triple Crown," which consists of the half and two IronGirl triathlons later this summer. If you finish all three, you get a special award at the end. I love special awards. So, I did my best and it wasn't pretty. The course was super-hilly and I was dealing with chest congestion that hampered my breathing. I ran my second-worst time ever and felt every second. Still, I had a moment of pride at the end when I realized that this was half #15 for me!
When I got home from the race, I plugged in my Active Link to get the results of my assessment and personalized 12-week challenge based on those results. Sure enough, the weekend warrior problem was right there in my data. On weekdays, I earned between 0 and 1 activity points. On the weekends (ie: the two days I worked out), I got up to 5. Based on those results, my initial challenge is just to get up to 2 activity points each day.
The first day of my challenge was race day and I got a whopping 26 activity points (or 421% of my goal). Day 2 (yesterday), I was beat from the race and feeling lousy again. I reached my base line, but I didn't exceed it enough to earn any activity points and only met 73% of my goal. So, with just these 2 days, I can see how the ActiveLink is helping me. If I think of my goal in weekly terms (ie: 14 points/week), I'm already way over it. But I'm thinking of it in daily terms- a minimum of 2 points each day. Its not about crazy weekends (I got that); its about more active weekdays.
April was a race-heavy month. I did the Cherry Pit 10-miler, the Arbutus 5K, and the IronGirl half. Now, I have a bit of a break with no races until the Rock Hall tri on June 2nd. With lighter weekends, this is the perfect time to work on steeping up the weekdays. Wish me luck!
This is the ActiveLink active monitor, a fairly new addition to the Weight Watchers program. It tracks all your movement throughout the day and then calculates activity points to offset your food points. Under the regular WW program, you calculate your own activity points by entering any exercise you do, the duration, and the intensity. So, under that system, I give myself about 5 points for my weightlifting class.
What's different about the ActiveLink is that it considers your whole day's activity and requires that you hit a "base line" for the day before you earn any activity points at all. In other words, if you work out hard at the gym for an hour, but then sit for the rest of the day, you may not earn any activity points at all. Just this morning, I did a really challenging TRX class, but it wasn't enough to hit my base line for the day. Once I do hit that base line, any movement I do for the rest of the day (walking, fixing dinner, etc.) will earn me activity points.
The whole point of the Active Link is to promote movement and discourage being sedentary all day, every day. I decided that this would be good for me because I've fallen into a bit of a "weekend warrior" pattern, where I slack off on my weekday workouts and then go all out on the weekend with hard trainings and races. This isn't good for my health or for my performance in those races, so I wanted a little push in the right direction.
I had been thinking about this for awhile when I happened to attend a WW meeting specifically about the ActiveLink. I was a little skeptical (as I am whenever anyone tries to sell me something), but the device was cheap enough ($35 on sale plus a $5 monthly fee, no contract) that I thought it was worth a 1-3 month experiment. I took it home, set it up, and clipped it on (first pleasant surprise: it really is invisible under your clothes).
From the moment I activated the ActiveLink, it started an 8-day "assessment" of my activity. For those 8 days, I was instructed to just go about my normal routine. I plugged it in periodically to charge it, but I couldn't see any data until the assessment was over. My assessment week wound up being an extreme version of my weekend warrior pattern. Literally within a few hours of putting the ActiveLink on, I came down with a bad cold. I did half of a tri-training workout the next day, but I spent 5 days after that too sick to go to the gym. I even left work early a few days to come home and lie down. So, a very sedentary work week. Then, come Saturday morning, I forced myself back to the gym and out to run a many errands as I could manage.
Sunday was my first "real" day on the ActiveLink and what did I do? I ran a half marathon! The IronGirl Columbia half-marathon, to be specific. I was still pretty sick and knew I had no business running a race, but it was an expensive one and I hated the thought of losing the money. This was also the first leg of the IronGirl "Triple Crown," which consists of the half and two IronGirl triathlons later this summer. If you finish all three, you get a special award at the end. I love special awards. So, I did my best and it wasn't pretty. The course was super-hilly and I was dealing with chest congestion that hampered my breathing. I ran my second-worst time ever and felt every second. Still, I had a moment of pride at the end when I realized that this was half #15 for me!
When I got home from the race, I plugged in my Active Link to get the results of my assessment and personalized 12-week challenge based on those results. Sure enough, the weekend warrior problem was right there in my data. On weekdays, I earned between 0 and 1 activity points. On the weekends (ie: the two days I worked out), I got up to 5. Based on those results, my initial challenge is just to get up to 2 activity points each day.
The first day of my challenge was race day and I got a whopping 26 activity points (or 421% of my goal). Day 2 (yesterday), I was beat from the race and feeling lousy again. I reached my base line, but I didn't exceed it enough to earn any activity points and only met 73% of my goal. So, with just these 2 days, I can see how the ActiveLink is helping me. If I think of my goal in weekly terms (ie: 14 points/week), I'm already way over it. But I'm thinking of it in daily terms- a minimum of 2 points each day. Its not about crazy weekends (I got that); its about more active weekdays.
April was a race-heavy month. I did the Cherry Pit 10-miler, the Arbutus 5K, and the IronGirl half. Now, I have a bit of a break with no races until the Rock Hall tri on June 2nd. With lighter weekends, this is the perfect time to work on steeping up the weekdays. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
August catch-up post #1: Dog Days
Its been a busy month. I've run three races, including my second Iron Girl and my first A10 (finally!). I had a preaching gig (see previous post). Andrew and I had our wedding tasting; stuffed our invitations; and selected bridesmaids' dresses, a flower girl dress, and tuxes. Today, we're celebrating the anniversary of our first date. Then, on Thursday, we head off on a mini-vacation. Whew!
With everything going on, I once again find myself very behind in my blogging. So, here is the first of three update posts, in chronological order: a race report on the Dog Days XC 8K, which Andrew and I ran on August 5th.
This race was another case of managing expectations. On race morning, I tried to remind myself that I'm behind in my training and running slower right now, so I just need to do my best and accept where I am. Instead, I kept thinking about the 2011 Dog Days. I ran that race at the height of my 2011 IronGirl training, when I was in the best shape of my life. I warmed up with a 45-minute bike ride and still PR'd by almost 3 minutes.
Not so much this year. On the plus side, I got to run most of the race with my lovely running coach Susan. Catching up with her kept my mind off things for about the first 3 miles, leaving only the final 2 to slog through on my own. On the down side, I finished in 56:42, making this year's Dog Days time my slowest yet. I was pretty bummed about that.
Andrew ran this race too- his first experience running on trails. Here he is following my advice about finishing strong:
In related news, Andrew and I are just over one month into our time at Weight Watchers (his first time, my return). So far, so good! He's down about 7 pounds, I'm down about 4.5. As I wrote a couple posts ago, I had to be dragged kicking-and-screaming back to Weight Watchers in my out-of-shape state. Now, though, I'm so glad we're there. I know that taking some weight off and getting back on a more consistent training schedule are the things that will get be back to my previous fitness, and now I feel like I'm moving in the right direction. Also, its nice to have company!
With everything going on, I once again find myself very behind in my blogging. So, here is the first of three update posts, in chronological order: a race report on the Dog Days XC 8K, which Andrew and I ran on August 5th.
 |
| Charging up the hills with my running coach, Susan. |
This race was another case of managing expectations. On race morning, I tried to remind myself that I'm behind in my training and running slower right now, so I just need to do my best and accept where I am. Instead, I kept thinking about the 2011 Dog Days. I ran that race at the height of my 2011 IronGirl training, when I was in the best shape of my life. I warmed up with a 45-minute bike ride and still PR'd by almost 3 minutes.
Not so much this year. On the plus side, I got to run most of the race with my lovely running coach Susan. Catching up with her kept my mind off things for about the first 3 miles, leaving only the final 2 to slog through on my own. On the down side, I finished in 56:42, making this year's Dog Days time my slowest yet. I was pretty bummed about that.
Andrew ran this race too- his first experience running on trails. Here he is following my advice about finishing strong:
In related news, Andrew and I are just over one month into our time at Weight Watchers (his first time, my return). So far, so good! He's down about 7 pounds, I'm down about 4.5. As I wrote a couple posts ago, I had to be dragged kicking-and-screaming back to Weight Watchers in my out-of-shape state. Now, though, I'm so glad we're there. I know that taking some weight off and getting back on a more consistent training schedule are the things that will get be back to my previous fitness, and now I feel like I'm moving in the right direction. Also, its nice to have company!
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
July updates: manage your expectations.
Greetings, readers! I hardly believe it, but its the end of July. Last year at this time, I was in the middle of my most intense training ever, getting ready for my first IronGirl and my second marathon. I would never in a million years have guessed that I would spend this summer slacking off my training in order to plan my wedding!
In case you were wondering, the wedding planing is going pretty well. I'll write about some of my lessons learned in that process in a future post. For now, I want to share a bit about this summer's training:
My race schedule this fall is even more ambitious than last year's. I planned this season before I knew I was getting married, and now it feels like a bit of a stretch... actually, a lot of a stretch. At this point, I don't really want to back out of anything, so my compromise is that I'm trying to scale back my goals. Last year, I PR'd in every distance I entered. This year will be all about finishing. I won't lie: this is hard to get used to. As I mentioned a couple posts ago, I had my first experience getting slower in a race this past June. That wasn't an easy pill to swallow. Since then, I've swallowed it a couple more times and it hasn't gotten any easier. Two examples:
The Women's Distance Festival 5K 2012
Andrew and I ran this race on July 14th. Last year, I finished this one in 27:30, making it one of my best 5K finishes ever. This year, I went in with one goal: stay under 30 minutes. For some reason, my mind believes that my former fitness will remain attainable as long as I can keep my 5Ks under 30 minutes. I don't know what I think will happen if I go over, but I'm trying not to find out! I came in at 29:47- whew! Two upshots to this year's race: I felt a lot less miserable than I did last year, and Andrew ran it with me! Actually, he ran the companion race, which is called Run After the Women. The poor guys in that race got treated to a downpour just as their race began. Only 34 guys completed the race, and I was proud to see Andrew among them!
The John Wall Mile and the Weight Watchers Walk of Shame
On July 21st, I had a morning of double humiliation. First, I did my third running of the John Wall 1-mile race. Going in, I reminded myself repeatedly that I am slower than I was in previous years. I knew I needed to stay positive and just do my best. I can honestly say I gave it all I had that morning, but I was really bummed to finish around 8:30- my slowest time yet in that race. I was even more bummed when I realized that a chip mishap (my fault) bumped my official time back to over 10 minutes! D'oh!
After that race, Andrew and I headed over to our neighborhood Weight Watchers to officially enroll in the program. This is something I had been meaning to do for a long time, but I just couldn't bring myself to face it. I've been following Weight Watchers online ever since I had to stop attending meetings in '09 (due to a schedule conflict). I have not been following it well, and I'm reminded of that every time I step on the scale. For months now, I've known that I need to go to meetings again, but the idea of standing on the official scale and facing the damage held me back. Then, Andrew and I both got some troubling blood pressure numbers from our doctors, and that made all the difference. Before, I thought I would be going it alone in an attempt to look good in a wedding dress. Now, I get to have a partner and we're both doing it for out health. Stepping on the scale was still ugly, but I felt good about doing it.
So, that's the bad news. Fortunately, there is some good news as well!
TRX
For about two months now, I've been doing TRX training at the gym. This is a form of body weight resistance training that really builds core strength- one of my weaker areas. In the second month, Andrew joined me too. Its really fun, and I absolutely feel a difference in my activities. We like it so much we added TRX equipment to our wedding registry!
The IronGirl Dress Rehearsal
Confession time: I have not been to the pool- not once- since TriRock on May 19th. Given that IronGirl is less than 3 weeks away, this is BAD. Bad, bad, bad. This past Saturday, I went to Columbia to practice the IronGirl swim with a pit in my stomach. I floundered in that swim with training! I did poorly in my TriRock swim with training! How would I survive without training? As I lined up for my turn in the water, I seriously considered just backing out. Thankfully, I went ahead. Defying all logic, I had what felt like my best open water swim to date! In previous swims, I've relied on backstroke to get me through. Both my previous IG and TriRock swims were more than 50% backstroke. This time, miraculously, I was able to freestyle almost the entire thing. I was ecstatic!
How do I explain this? First, I think the TRX really helped. My shoulders and chest are the strongest they've ever been, and the improved core strength helped me stay aligned in the water (or as close to aligned as I get). Second, I finally managed to swim s-l-o-w-l-y. Usually, I get in the water, panic, and start kicking as hard as I can. This time, I told myself over and over to relax and take it easy. Somehow, my body listened. I got into a slow, manageable rhythm that I could maintain with only a few short backstroke breaks. The downside? This was my slowest IG swim by far. However, I have a new motivation to get back in the pool and, with some practice, I think I can pick up the pace and still freestyle most of the race.
Tomorrow is the beginning of August and one of my most intense racing months of the year. I know I need to continue managing my expectations, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to make it. So, I declare July a success!
In case you were wondering, the wedding planing is going pretty well. I'll write about some of my lessons learned in that process in a future post. For now, I want to share a bit about this summer's training:
My race schedule this fall is even more ambitious than last year's. I planned this season before I knew I was getting married, and now it feels like a bit of a stretch... actually, a lot of a stretch. At this point, I don't really want to back out of anything, so my compromise is that I'm trying to scale back my goals. Last year, I PR'd in every distance I entered. This year will be all about finishing. I won't lie: this is hard to get used to. As I mentioned a couple posts ago, I had my first experience getting slower in a race this past June. That wasn't an easy pill to swallow. Since then, I've swallowed it a couple more times and it hasn't gotten any easier. Two examples:
The Women's Distance Festival 5K 2012
 |
| His and Hers race hats! |
Andrew and I ran this race on July 14th. Last year, I finished this one in 27:30, making it one of my best 5K finishes ever. This year, I went in with one goal: stay under 30 minutes. For some reason, my mind believes that my former fitness will remain attainable as long as I can keep my 5Ks under 30 minutes. I don't know what I think will happen if I go over, but I'm trying not to find out! I came in at 29:47- whew! Two upshots to this year's race: I felt a lot less miserable than I did last year, and Andrew ran it with me! Actually, he ran the companion race, which is called Run After the Women. The poor guys in that race got treated to a downpour just as their race began. Only 34 guys completed the race, and I was proud to see Andrew among them!
The John Wall Mile and the Weight Watchers Walk of Shame
On July 21st, I had a morning of double humiliation. First, I did my third running of the John Wall 1-mile race. Going in, I reminded myself repeatedly that I am slower than I was in previous years. I knew I needed to stay positive and just do my best. I can honestly say I gave it all I had that morning, but I was really bummed to finish around 8:30- my slowest time yet in that race. I was even more bummed when I realized that a chip mishap (my fault) bumped my official time back to over 10 minutes! D'oh!
After that race, Andrew and I headed over to our neighborhood Weight Watchers to officially enroll in the program. This is something I had been meaning to do for a long time, but I just couldn't bring myself to face it. I've been following Weight Watchers online ever since I had to stop attending meetings in '09 (due to a schedule conflict). I have not been following it well, and I'm reminded of that every time I step on the scale. For months now, I've known that I need to go to meetings again, but the idea of standing on the official scale and facing the damage held me back. Then, Andrew and I both got some troubling blood pressure numbers from our doctors, and that made all the difference. Before, I thought I would be going it alone in an attempt to look good in a wedding dress. Now, I get to have a partner and we're both doing it for out health. Stepping on the scale was still ugly, but I felt good about doing it.
So, that's the bad news. Fortunately, there is some good news as well!
TRX
For about two months now, I've been doing TRX training at the gym. This is a form of body weight resistance training that really builds core strength- one of my weaker areas. In the second month, Andrew joined me too. Its really fun, and I absolutely feel a difference in my activities. We like it so much we added TRX equipment to our wedding registry!
The IronGirl Dress Rehearsal
Confession time: I have not been to the pool- not once- since TriRock on May 19th. Given that IronGirl is less than 3 weeks away, this is BAD. Bad, bad, bad. This past Saturday, I went to Columbia to practice the IronGirl swim with a pit in my stomach. I floundered in that swim with training! I did poorly in my TriRock swim with training! How would I survive without training? As I lined up for my turn in the water, I seriously considered just backing out. Thankfully, I went ahead. Defying all logic, I had what felt like my best open water swim to date! In previous swims, I've relied on backstroke to get me through. Both my previous IG and TriRock swims were more than 50% backstroke. This time, miraculously, I was able to freestyle almost the entire thing. I was ecstatic!
How do I explain this? First, I think the TRX really helped. My shoulders and chest are the strongest they've ever been, and the improved core strength helped me stay aligned in the water (or as close to aligned as I get). Second, I finally managed to swim s-l-o-w-l-y. Usually, I get in the water, panic, and start kicking as hard as I can. This time, I told myself over and over to relax and take it easy. Somehow, my body listened. I got into a slow, manageable rhythm that I could maintain with only a few short backstroke breaks. The downside? This was my slowest IG swim by far. However, I have a new motivation to get back in the pool and, with some practice, I think I can pick up the pace and still freestyle most of the race.
Tomorrow is the beginning of August and one of my most intense racing months of the year. I know I need to continue managing my expectations, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to make it. So, I declare July a success!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
The end of Lent and the beginning of vacation!
For those who don't know, this past Sunday was Easter, aka: the end of Lent. So, naturally, the question on everyone's mind is "How did you do with your Lenten resolutions?" Here is the final report:
On resolution #1, exercise every day, I did okay. I did not succeed in working out every day, but I made 30 out of 40 days. This was a major improvement over the beginning of the year. In January and February, I had several weeks where I only worked out 3 times (which is below average for me). Once Lent started, I never went below 4 times, I got to 5 times twice, and I worked out all 7 days one week. Even better, I got back in the pool and started swimming again- something I had been putting off for months. I am happy to report that my return to swimming is going better than I expected and I'm grateful to this resolution for pushing me back to it.
On resolution #2, track my food every day, I did better. I am a pretty typical long-time Weight Watchers member in that I know tracking is a key to reaching my goals, but I have a hard time staying motivated to do it. Tracking is something I had been really slacking on for several months, and my numbers on the scale showed it. Fortunately, this goal turned out to be a real motivation boost. My WW data only goes back 4 weeks, but I know that I tracked for 23 of the past 28 days. I didn't see a huge result on the scale, but I feel like I've made tracking a habit again and that can only lead to good things.
All in all, I feel pretty good about this Lent. From the start of my new job in December until Lent started, I felt like I was slipping out of my healthy habits. Now, I feel like I have some traction again. Just in time, too, because Andrew and I are going on vacation! We are off to London for 1 week, where I will try my hardest to match my worst vacation habit (overeating) with my best vacation habit (I like working out in new places). I'll let you know how it goes!
On resolution #1, exercise every day, I did okay. I did not succeed in working out every day, but I made 30 out of 40 days. This was a major improvement over the beginning of the year. In January and February, I had several weeks where I only worked out 3 times (which is below average for me). Once Lent started, I never went below 4 times, I got to 5 times twice, and I worked out all 7 days one week. Even better, I got back in the pool and started swimming again- something I had been putting off for months. I am happy to report that my return to swimming is going better than I expected and I'm grateful to this resolution for pushing me back to it.
On resolution #2, track my food every day, I did better. I am a pretty typical long-time Weight Watchers member in that I know tracking is a key to reaching my goals, but I have a hard time staying motivated to do it. Tracking is something I had been really slacking on for several months, and my numbers on the scale showed it. Fortunately, this goal turned out to be a real motivation boost. My WW data only goes back 4 weeks, but I know that I tracked for 23 of the past 28 days. I didn't see a huge result on the scale, but I feel like I've made tracking a habit again and that can only lead to good things.
All in all, I feel pretty good about this Lent. From the start of my new job in December until Lent started, I felt like I was slipping out of my healthy habits. Now, I feel like I have some traction again. Just in time, too, because Andrew and I are going on vacation! We are off to London for 1 week, where I will try my hardest to match my worst vacation habit (overeating) with my best vacation habit (I like working out in new places). I'll let you know how it goes!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
No sleep 'til Easter.
Greetings readers, and welcome to Lent! This is a season in the Christian year that lasts 40 days from Ash Wednesday (yesterday) until Easter (April 8th). Lent is about many things, including contemplation and spiritual renewal. During Lent, many Christians choose to give something up (or take something on) as a spiritual discipline and an act of self-improvement. Its a popular time to try to break a bad habit (smoking, procrastinating, complaining, etc.) or start a good habit (exercising, prayer, eating healthy, etc.).
For the past two years, I've written for a Lenten devotional produced by the Young Adult Council of the United Methodist Church in Baltimore/Washington. This year, the theme of the devotional is Back to Basics. Its about getting back to the basics of the spiritual life: prayer, fasting, scripture, service, sacrament and community. I've been inspired by this theme to get back to some basics in my life: exercise and tracking.
As I've shared on this blog before, I lost 45 pounds in 2003 following the Weight Watchers program. (Click on the Weight Watchers tab at the bottom of my home page to read more.) Since then, I've been maintaining that loss with varying degrees of success. I've never returned to my pre-WW weight, but I have gone up and down several times during the years. Lately, the trend has been up.
When you hit a plateau or start to gain in WW, the leaders often advise you to go back to basics. They encourage you to figure out what actions helped you in the first place and focus on doing those things. For me, the most important "basics" are exercise and tracking. I do well when I exericise regularly and when I write down what I eat. I've been struggling with both those things since starting my new job, and (surprise, surprise) I can see the results on the scale. More importantly, I can feel the results. I have less energy and the physical activities I enjoy (like running) are harder than they were this time last year.
So, this Lent, its back to exercise and tracking. In fact, I am resolving to do both of those things every day for the next 40 days. I have assembled a variety of tools to make things easier (mobile WW apps, gym class schedules, DVDs, and a boyfriend who also wants to exercise more) and I feel ready to go. In fact, I started the exercise resolution a few days early and I already feel better!
39 days to go!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Channeling my inner grocery cashier.
A belated happy holidays, readers! I know that you are all eagerly anticipating my "2011: year in review" post. One of the bigger events of my 2011- starting a new job- has taken a major chunk of out my blogging time. Fear not, though- I promise to get it done before 2012!
In the meantime, I want to take a minute to tell you about a cool new app from Weight Watchers: the "WW Scanner" app. This app is free and available for Android and Iphone (and maybe some other smartphones too), but you have to be a WW online or E-tools subscriber in order to use it. It turns your phone into a barcode scanner for grocery items. You pick up something in your grocery store or pantry, use your phone's camera to scan the barcode, and then the app calculates the WW points for that item. Then, you can save the item to a list of favorites, or zap the points total right into your daily tracker (on the website or the WW Mobile app). Amazing!
I downloaded this app a couple nights ago and then spent a good half-hour going through my refrigerator and pantry zapping things. The app did not recognize about 25% of the items I scanned, but I imagine that it will get better over time. Even with a 25% failure rate, this app still has the potential to save serious time. Calculating the Points for a new food can happen in a second, and the process of putting that food in your tracker is faster too. Just one or two clicks and you're done. (Of course, you still have to pay attention to the serving size of the food to avoid low-or-highballing the points.)
I am excited about this app because tracking has always been the key to my success or failure on Weight Watchers. When I track, I lose or maintain. When I don't track, I gain. Case in point: I tracked religiously last winter and lost close to 15 pounds. Then, over the summer, I stopped tracking and gained it all back. My reasons for not tracking are always the same: I'm busy and it feels like too much work. Fortunately, the combo of the old WW Mobile app and the new WW Scanner app elminate a lot of the effort involved in tracking. So long, excuses!
In the meantime, I want to take a minute to tell you about a cool new app from Weight Watchers: the "WW Scanner" app. This app is free and available for Android and Iphone (and maybe some other smartphones too), but you have to be a WW online or E-tools subscriber in order to use it. It turns your phone into a barcode scanner for grocery items. You pick up something in your grocery store or pantry, use your phone's camera to scan the barcode, and then the app calculates the WW points for that item. Then, you can save the item to a list of favorites, or zap the points total right into your daily tracker (on the website or the WW Mobile app). Amazing!
I downloaded this app a couple nights ago and then spent a good half-hour going through my refrigerator and pantry zapping things. The app did not recognize about 25% of the items I scanned, but I imagine that it will get better over time. Even with a 25% failure rate, this app still has the potential to save serious time. Calculating the Points for a new food can happen in a second, and the process of putting that food in your tracker is faster too. Just one or two clicks and you're done. (Of course, you still have to pay attention to the serving size of the food to avoid low-or-highballing the points.)
I am excited about this app because tracking has always been the key to my success or failure on Weight Watchers. When I track, I lose or maintain. When I don't track, I gain. Case in point: I tracked religiously last winter and lost close to 15 pounds. Then, over the summer, I stopped tracking and gained it all back. My reasons for not tracking are always the same: I'm busy and it feels like too much work. Fortunately, the combo of the old WW Mobile app and the new WW Scanner app elminate a lot of the effort involved in tracking. So long, excuses!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Catching up.
I have been finished with school for 8 days now. People seem to think I should be relaxing, but this past week has actually been a little nuts. I put off a lot of people and things in order to get through my crazy month of April, and those people/things were all waiting for me in May. So, now I am slowly catching up.
As part of my catching up, here are some updates on the things this blog is usually about:
Running: Shockingly, I am now only 3 week away from the Virginia Wine Country Half-Marathon, which my friend Katie and I are running as part of my 32nd birthday celebration. Katie also just finished the Loyola PC program, and this race has snuck up on both of us. We have both been running semi-regularly the past few months, but we have definitely not been training. So, tomorrow morning, we're going to skip ahead to the 10-mile long run portion of half-marathon training and just see how it goes. Wish us luck.
In other running news, I am slowly adjusting to the idea of doing another marathon this fall. When I first got the news about NYC, I was fairly apprehensive. I just did not feel ready for MCM and I do not want to have that experience again. Over the past couple weeks, though, I have thought a lot about where I am now compared to where I was when I started my MCM training last year. I have worked hard on my running ever since MCM, and losing some weight has really made things easier. When I consider the progress I've made, I realize that I will be starting my NYC training in better shape than when I finished my MCM training. That is very encouraging.
Tri Training: Over the past few weeks, I have realized that training for three sports at once is as much a logistical challenge as a physical one. For awhile, I really focused on my swimming. Now, my swimming is way better, but I realized today that I have not been on my bike in 3 weeks. D'oh! I was always amazed by the physical strength of people who manage to complete Ironman events. Now, I am equally amazed at their organizational abilities. I really do not understand how someone completes an Ironman without becoming unemployed and/or divorced in the process.
Weight Watchers: Once again, I am a plateau. In the past four weeks, I have gained and lost the same 2.5 pounds twice. I blame the craziness of last month and my recent travel. This week, I am trying very hard to re-focus and get things moving again. One thing helping my motivation is that I find myself between sizes right now. Fortunately, I held on to some smaller pants and shorts from the first time I lost weight on WW. At the moment, the pants and shorts I wore for the past few years are all too big, but the smaller ones are still a little tight. So, every day I choose between looking frumpy and struggling to breathe. Lately, I've been wearing the smaller pants and hoping they will remind me to stay focused on my goal.
So, those are my updates. This weekend is my long run with Katie and another tri training class, so I'm sure you'll hear from me again soon!
As part of my catching up, here are some updates on the things this blog is usually about:
Running: Shockingly, I am now only 3 week away from the Virginia Wine Country Half-Marathon, which my friend Katie and I are running as part of my 32nd birthday celebration. Katie also just finished the Loyola PC program, and this race has snuck up on both of us. We have both been running semi-regularly the past few months, but we have definitely not been training. So, tomorrow morning, we're going to skip ahead to the 10-mile long run portion of half-marathon training and just see how it goes. Wish us luck.
In other running news, I am slowly adjusting to the idea of doing another marathon this fall. When I first got the news about NYC, I was fairly apprehensive. I just did not feel ready for MCM and I do not want to have that experience again. Over the past couple weeks, though, I have thought a lot about where I am now compared to where I was when I started my MCM training last year. I have worked hard on my running ever since MCM, and losing some weight has really made things easier. When I consider the progress I've made, I realize that I will be starting my NYC training in better shape than when I finished my MCM training. That is very encouraging.
Tri Training: Over the past few weeks, I have realized that training for three sports at once is as much a logistical challenge as a physical one. For awhile, I really focused on my swimming. Now, my swimming is way better, but I realized today that I have not been on my bike in 3 weeks. D'oh! I was always amazed by the physical strength of people who manage to complete Ironman events. Now, I am equally amazed at their organizational abilities. I really do not understand how someone completes an Ironman without becoming unemployed and/or divorced in the process.
Weight Watchers: Once again, I am a plateau. In the past four weeks, I have gained and lost the same 2.5 pounds twice. I blame the craziness of last month and my recent travel. This week, I am trying very hard to re-focus and get things moving again. One thing helping my motivation is that I find myself between sizes right now. Fortunately, I held on to some smaller pants and shorts from the first time I lost weight on WW. At the moment, the pants and shorts I wore for the past few years are all too big, but the smaller ones are still a little tight. So, every day I choose between looking frumpy and struggling to breathe. Lately, I've been wearing the smaller pants and hoping they will remind me to stay focused on my goal.
So, those are my updates. This weekend is my long run with Katie and another tri training class, so I'm sure you'll hear from me again soon!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Big numbers!
Today, I saw two big numbers:
The first, you can see as well. All you have to do is look at the ticker on the right- 1,001 miles run! That's all the miles that I have recorded on my Nike+ since I started using it in February 2007 (for my thoughts on Nike+, see my 9/16/10 post). Most of those miles, though, are from 2010. Here's the breakdown:
2007- 52 miles (I really thought I did better that year!)
2008- 65 miles (No surprise there- this includes half of the "dark days" of '08-'09.)
2009- 116 miles (Starting to come out of the dark days...)
2010- 634 miles (The dark days are over!)
2011- 110 miles (So far.)
At this point, I do not expect to beat 2010 this year, but that's because I'm adding in biking and swimming in preparation for the tri in August. Still, I'm very excited to see the 1,000.
The other big number I saw this morning came on the scale- down 2.5 pounds from last week! That is very, very unusual for me. Even when I first did WW and lost very quickly, I tended to go down .5 to 1 pound per week. This time out, the average has been 1-2 pounds per month. For me, 2.5 is a very big number. I can think of a few reasons why this happened, positive and negative:
On the positive side, I have been sticking to my Lenten resolution of no extraneous spending, which has meant no take-out or impulse Starbucks trips. This is saving me both money and calories. Also, the "Biggest Mover" contest at my gym is still on, meaning that I am still getting to at least 5 group exercise classes each week.
On the less positive side, I am headed into major crunch-time regarding school. Between now and Mother's Day, I will complete all of my work for the semester and take my licensing exam. Also, just to keep things interesting, I will run 3 races and travel to 2 weddings (one of which involves a relay triathlon, aka: race #4). Thus, life is a little crazy right now, and I have replaced some of my usual food and sleep with panic. The situation is vaguely reminiscent of my senior year in college, when I was overwhelmed by writing my thesis and inadvertently lost a good 10-15 pounds. Not my preferred weight loss strategy.
So, in the interest of preserving some of my sanity, I will now try to subdue my panic enough to get some sleep. Goodnight, everyone!
The first, you can see as well. All you have to do is look at the ticker on the right- 1,001 miles run! That's all the miles that I have recorded on my Nike+ since I started using it in February 2007 (for my thoughts on Nike+, see my 9/16/10 post). Most of those miles, though, are from 2010. Here's the breakdown:
2007- 52 miles (I really thought I did better that year!)
2008- 65 miles (No surprise there- this includes half of the "dark days" of '08-'09.)
2009- 116 miles (Starting to come out of the dark days...)
2010- 634 miles (The dark days are over!)
2011- 110 miles (So far.)
At this point, I do not expect to beat 2010 this year, but that's because I'm adding in biking and swimming in preparation for the tri in August. Still, I'm very excited to see the 1,000.
The other big number I saw this morning came on the scale- down 2.5 pounds from last week! That is very, very unusual for me. Even when I first did WW and lost very quickly, I tended to go down .5 to 1 pound per week. This time out, the average has been 1-2 pounds per month. For me, 2.5 is a very big number. I can think of a few reasons why this happened, positive and negative:
On the positive side, I have been sticking to my Lenten resolution of no extraneous spending, which has meant no take-out or impulse Starbucks trips. This is saving me both money and calories. Also, the "Biggest Mover" contest at my gym is still on, meaning that I am still getting to at least 5 group exercise classes each week.
On the less positive side, I am headed into major crunch-time regarding school. Between now and Mother's Day, I will complete all of my work for the semester and take my licensing exam. Also, just to keep things interesting, I will run 3 races and travel to 2 weddings (one of which involves a relay triathlon, aka: race #4). Thus, life is a little crazy right now, and I have replaced some of my usual food and sleep with panic. The situation is vaguely reminiscent of my senior year in college, when I was overwhelmed by writing my thesis and inadvertently lost a good 10-15 pounds. Not my preferred weight loss strategy.
So, in the interest of preserving some of my sanity, I will now try to subdue my panic enough to get some sleep. Goodnight, everyone!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
A little friendly competition.
Ever since I started on the new and improved Weight Watchers, I've been following this blog by WWs' CEO, David Kirchoff. I really enjoy it. Like everyone else who works for WW, Kirchoff has lost weight on the program, so he understands what his clients are going through. He also happens to be a good writer, and a man after my own heart in many food and exercise-related issues.
Case in point: Earlier this week, Kirchoff posted this entry, writing about how he does better at exercise when he takes group classes because the presence of other people kicks into his competitve drive. I totally get that. I wish I could say that I push myself just as hard when there's nobody watching, but it wouldn't be true. Even though I'm not enough of an athlete to compete with most of the people in my races and exercise classes, I still go much harder when there is some element of competition involved. A few examples from this week:
Thursday: Having finished one multi-week torturous cycle of activities in Boot Camp, our instructor Kate started us on something new. She divided the whole class into teams and had us compete in a series of timed drills and relays. Losers had to do extra pushups. It was SO MUCH FUN. Everyone got way into it- by the end, there was definitely strategy happening. It was so much fun that, for perhaps the first time in that class, I actually forgot how hard I was working. Good times.
Saturday: I joined a shockingly large number of people at my gym for a special 90-minute "endurance day" spin class. Our instructor Bill (who also teaches my Group Power class) put together a St. Patrick's Day-themed ride, including a video tour of Ireland, Irish music, and a leprechaun hat that he actually forced himself to wear for the whole 90+ minutes. In case you were wondering, 90 minutes is a lot of spinning. There were definitely a couple of points where I felt like packing it in. In this case, it was less competition and more just group spirit that kept me going. The room was packed and people were having a genuinely good time, which made the time go by much faster.
Sunday: My friend Jaquisha has been doing a "hibernation to 5K" training program for the past 6 weeks, and today she "graduated" by running her first 5K race. She invited friends and I decided to go (a) to cheer on my friend, and (b) to try again for a sub-30 minute 5K. (My previous best was 30:16, set last month.) My PC classmate and former fundraising partner Katie C. came too, along with her running buddies Erin and Amir. Having Katie, Erin, and Amir there was a real blessing for me. They set a challenging pace and having them around kept me motivated to hang on to it (which was not easy). When we got to the finish line, I had to do a double-take: 27:19! Better than I ever imagined! Then, as the icing on the cake, we got to cheer as Jaquisha crossed her first (but certainly not last) finish line.
Before I sign off, I also need to send a HUGE congratulations to my friend Scott, who completed his first Half-Ironman yesterday (1.2 mi swim, 56 mi bike, 13.1 mi run) in a staggering 5 hours, 38 minutes. That put him in the top 25% of all finishers, which is pretty unbelivable for a debut at that distance. What's even more remarkable is that I saw Scott, just a little over a year ago, when I was running the B&A Half-Marathon for the first time. Scott was running the full marathon that day, and we ran together for awhile, chatting about both having turned 30. We both complained about gaining weight and slowing down; Scott mentioned that he had not finished a marathon in under 5 hours since his 30th birthday. Just a few months later, Scott did his first sprint tri and suddenly morphed into a super-athlete. He followed the sprint with an olympic distance, in which he finished within the top 100. Somewhere in there he lost what looks like at least 30 pounds. Then, in October, he finished MCM in under 4 hours. Now, he's got the half-Iron under his belt and he is gunning for the full Ironman later this year. That is a total transformation in just a hair over a year. Incredible!
Case in point: Earlier this week, Kirchoff posted this entry, writing about how he does better at exercise when he takes group classes because the presence of other people kicks into his competitve drive. I totally get that. I wish I could say that I push myself just as hard when there's nobody watching, but it wouldn't be true. Even though I'm not enough of an athlete to compete with most of the people in my races and exercise classes, I still go much harder when there is some element of competition involved. A few examples from this week:
Thursday: Having finished one multi-week torturous cycle of activities in Boot Camp, our instructor Kate started us on something new. She divided the whole class into teams and had us compete in a series of timed drills and relays. Losers had to do extra pushups. It was SO MUCH FUN. Everyone got way into it- by the end, there was definitely strategy happening. It was so much fun that, for perhaps the first time in that class, I actually forgot how hard I was working. Good times.
Saturday: I joined a shockingly large number of people at my gym for a special 90-minute "endurance day" spin class. Our instructor Bill (who also teaches my Group Power class) put together a St. Patrick's Day-themed ride, including a video tour of Ireland, Irish music, and a leprechaun hat that he actually forced himself to wear for the whole 90+ minutes. In case you were wondering, 90 minutes is a lot of spinning. There were definitely a couple of points where I felt like packing it in. In this case, it was less competition and more just group spirit that kept me going. The room was packed and people were having a genuinely good time, which made the time go by much faster.
Sunday: My friend Jaquisha has been doing a "hibernation to 5K" training program for the past 6 weeks, and today she "graduated" by running her first 5K race. She invited friends and I decided to go (a) to cheer on my friend, and (b) to try again for a sub-30 minute 5K. (My previous best was 30:16, set last month.) My PC classmate and former fundraising partner Katie C. came too, along with her running buddies Erin and Amir. Having Katie, Erin, and Amir there was a real blessing for me. They set a challenging pace and having them around kept me motivated to hang on to it (which was not easy). When we got to the finish line, I had to do a double-take: 27:19! Better than I ever imagined! Then, as the icing on the cake, we got to cheer as Jaquisha crossed her first (but certainly not last) finish line.
Before I sign off, I also need to send a HUGE congratulations to my friend Scott, who completed his first Half-Ironman yesterday (1.2 mi swim, 56 mi bike, 13.1 mi run) in a staggering 5 hours, 38 minutes. That put him in the top 25% of all finishers, which is pretty unbelivable for a debut at that distance. What's even more remarkable is that I saw Scott, just a little over a year ago, when I was running the B&A Half-Marathon for the first time. Scott was running the full marathon that day, and we ran together for awhile, chatting about both having turned 30. We both complained about gaining weight and slowing down; Scott mentioned that he had not finished a marathon in under 5 hours since his 30th birthday. Just a few months later, Scott did his first sprint tri and suddenly morphed into a super-athlete. He followed the sprint with an olympic distance, in which he finished within the top 100. Somewhere in there he lost what looks like at least 30 pounds. Then, in October, he finished MCM in under 4 hours. Now, he's got the half-Iron under his belt and he is gunning for the full Ironman later this year. That is a total transformation in just a hair over a year. Incredible!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Biggest Mover (or, Happy Belated Lent!).
Once again, I am writing from the land of papers and panic. Thus, the belatedness of my Lenten greetings. As you may or may not know, the Christian season of Lent began last Wednesday (aka: Ash Wednesday). Lent is a 40-day season of repentance in preparation for the death and resurrection of Jesus at Easter.
Many Christians choose to observe Lent by taking on some kind of discipline (sort of like a Lenten resolution). These resolutions can generally be classified in one of two categories: giving something up or taking something on. My friend Rev. Katie Bishop used these themes to organize a little Lenten devotional booklet for young adults in our conference of the United Methodist Church. You can download the devotional here and read many great Lenten thoughts, including two entries from yours truly!
When I was making my own Lenten resolutions, I thought about Katie's themes of Giving Up and Taking On. So, here is what I am working on until Easter:
Giving Up: Spending that does not help me reach my goals. Last year, I did a total spending diet at Lent and only bought necessities. This year, I thought a little harder about why my habit of mindless spending is a bad thing, and I decided that the main reason is the way it keeps me from doing things I really want to do. In the next year, I really want to do some travelling, pay down debt, and get all the equipment I need for my triathlon. So, for the remainder of Lent, I am only spending money on necessities (very narrowly defined) and things related to those goals. So, no take-out, no downloading books on the Kindle (except the free ones), no clothes, no miscellaneous Target impulse purchases. The one exception I'm making is for eating out with friends, because seeing my friends more is another goal of mine.
Taking On: I have two resolutions in this category-
First, I am committing to put more time into my schoolwork. I have an obscene amount of work due by the end of April, and I am also taking my counseling licensure exam (ack!) April 16th. You would not know these things by the amount that I have been studying. I need to do better so that I can complete the work to anything near my standards and so that I do not spend all of April in a state of panic.
Second, I am taking my Weight Watchers to the next level. Last week, I weighed in at 148.5, which means I have lost 10 pounds since November! Hooray! In order to keep going, I know I need to kick things up a notch. My gym has been helping in this endeavor. Since the beginning of February, they have been running a contest called "The Biggest Mover." Every time you take 5 group exercise classes in a week, you fill out a little card and get entered into a drawing. There is a winner every week and there will be an overall winner who earns the most points throughout the contest (it lasts 12 weeks). Now, I always take a lot of group exercise classes, but I can't say that I was always taking 5/week before this contest started. For 5 out of the last 6 weeks, though, I have made my 5. (I'm a sucker for prizes.) I am definitely seeing the results of those classes on the scale. Even better, I got a call from the gym earlier today and I won this week's prize!
Well, in the interest of Lent, I need to go pick up my prize, take another group exercise class, and then resume studying. (Without spending money, of course.)
Many Christians choose to observe Lent by taking on some kind of discipline (sort of like a Lenten resolution). These resolutions can generally be classified in one of two categories: giving something up or taking something on. My friend Rev. Katie Bishop used these themes to organize a little Lenten devotional booklet for young adults in our conference of the United Methodist Church. You can download the devotional here and read many great Lenten thoughts, including two entries from yours truly!
When I was making my own Lenten resolutions, I thought about Katie's themes of Giving Up and Taking On. So, here is what I am working on until Easter:
Giving Up: Spending that does not help me reach my goals. Last year, I did a total spending diet at Lent and only bought necessities. This year, I thought a little harder about why my habit of mindless spending is a bad thing, and I decided that the main reason is the way it keeps me from doing things I really want to do. In the next year, I really want to do some travelling, pay down debt, and get all the equipment I need for my triathlon. So, for the remainder of Lent, I am only spending money on necessities (very narrowly defined) and things related to those goals. So, no take-out, no downloading books on the Kindle (except the free ones), no clothes, no miscellaneous Target impulse purchases. The one exception I'm making is for eating out with friends, because seeing my friends more is another goal of mine.
Taking On: I have two resolutions in this category-
First, I am committing to put more time into my schoolwork. I have an obscene amount of work due by the end of April, and I am also taking my counseling licensure exam (ack!) April 16th. You would not know these things by the amount that I have been studying. I need to do better so that I can complete the work to anything near my standards and so that I do not spend all of April in a state of panic.
Second, I am taking my Weight Watchers to the next level. Last week, I weighed in at 148.5, which means I have lost 10 pounds since November! Hooray! In order to keep going, I know I need to kick things up a notch. My gym has been helping in this endeavor. Since the beginning of February, they have been running a contest called "The Biggest Mover." Every time you take 5 group exercise classes in a week, you fill out a little card and get entered into a drawing. There is a winner every week and there will be an overall winner who earns the most points throughout the contest (it lasts 12 weeks). Now, I always take a lot of group exercise classes, but I can't say that I was always taking 5/week before this contest started. For 5 out of the last 6 weeks, though, I have made my 5. (I'm a sucker for prizes.) I am definitely seeing the results of those classes on the scale. Even better, I got a call from the gym earlier today and I won this week's prize!
Well, in the interest of Lent, I need to go pick up my prize, take another group exercise class, and then resume studying. (Without spending money, of course.)
Friday, March 4, 2011
Drumroll, please...
That's what I heard in my head Wednesday morning when I stepped on the scale and saw... wait for it... 149.5! Finally, out of the 150's! Based on my saved Weight Watchers data, the last time I weighed in under 150 was November 19, 2008. Since that time, I have gone as low as 151 and as high as 158.5, but always stayed in the 150's. So, even if I go up a bit in the coming weeks (my usual pattern is down a lot, up a bit, back down again), it was super-exciting just to see a number in the 140's.
It was also super-surprising. Here's a bit of advice to those of you trying Weight Watchers for the first time: your weigh-ins sometimes make no sense. There will be weeks where you do everything perfectly and then stay the same or gain. Likewise, there will be weeks where you totally blow off the plan and lose anyway. Last week was the latter for me. I had two special events (the Striders' banquet and my brother's birthday) where I ate whatever I wanted, and I definitely did not balance those days out during the rest of the week. So, I was not expecting a loss, but there it was. The point is, don't put too much stock in the weekly weigh-in. As long as the overall trend is downward, you are doing fine.
Speaking of milestones, this Sunday will be my second running of my first half-marathon: the B&A trail half-marathon in Severna Park. Training for and running this race last year was a huge deal for me. Prior to joining the Striders' 2010 half training group, I had never followed a training plan or trained with a group before, and my two longest runs were one 5-mile race and a poor attempt at a 9.3-mile race. So, pretty much every week in training involved some kind of milestone. As race day approached, I was worried that I would not be able to finish in under 3 hours, and told my mom (who was coming to watch the finish) not to worry about getting there until at least 2 hours and 45 minutes had passed. To my great surprise (and my mom's chagrin), I finished in 2:24, while Mom was still en route.
Last year's B&A race is still my fastest half to date, owing to the good training I put in, perfect weather on race day, and the flat and fast course. I came within two minutes of that time back in October at the Baltimore Half-Marathon on a course that was nothing but hills, which makes me hopeful that I can knock several minutes off this weekend. Unfortunately, it looks like the weather is not going to cooperate with my plans, but I'm trying not to worry about it too much. Its nothing I can change!
Check back for a race report Sunday or Monday. Until then, have a great weekend!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Quick updates.
The big news of the past few days is the Annapolis Striders' annual awards banquet, which happened last night. I'm going to give that its own post. Before I do, though, here are some updates on other things:
-My neck: I spent most of Tuesday experimenting with various neck pain remedies, including ibuprofen, ice, a prescription gel for tendinitis, and my beloved IcyHot. In the end, the most effective thing turned out to be this Ironman Muscle Rub Gel. I had a sample from a race goodie bag (either Baltimore Half or MCM) and it was surprisingly effective (even better than the prescription stuff!). By Wednesday, the neck was feeling much better, but I still skipped Group Power because I didn't want to risk straining it further. By Thursday, it felt pretty normal again, though it definitely hurt a bit after Boot Camp and after I did an 11-mile run Saturday morning. So, I'm going to take it a bit easy on the weights this week just in case.
-Weight Watchers: I seem to be on a bit of a plateau. I weighed in four times in February, and the weights were as follows: 151, 151.5, 151, and 151. So, the good news is that I'm not gaining, but I clearly need to step things up a bit if I want to get out of the 150's anytime soon.
-MCM 2011: This week, I had to decide whether or not to register for the Marine Corps Marathon in 2011. After much agonizing, I decided against it. Two major factors played into my decision. First, I am in the lottery for the NYC marathon. Its a longshot, but if I get into that, I would have to defer MCM. With my very tight budget, I did not want to put out the nearly $100 for registration and take that gamble. Second, I am hoping that I will be able to save enough money to visit my former roommate Katie in Hawaii this December and run the Honolulu Marathon. So, I would rather my $100 go toward that goal. If neither of those things work out, I will just focus on my tri training this year and plan to do my second marathon in 2012.
-Contacts: Speaking of tri training, I am continuing in my quest to assemble everything I need to do Irongirl in August. Thus far, I have my registration, a couple books on training, a helmet, bike shoes, goggles, a swim cap, ear plugs, and registration for a local tri training group. This week, I added contact lenses to that list. I had a choice between contacts and a combo of prescription goggles and prescription sunglasses. The contacts seemed like the simpler and more economical option. Everything is relative though. While they may be simpler, they are certainly not simple, and while they may be more economical, they are certainly not cheap. This past week, I had an initial eye exam and fitting, and then I went back a few days later to get the first pair and learn how to use them. The second visit was challenging. I have never liked anything touching my eyes, and that aversion got a whole lot stronger back in '00 when I had to have stitches on my left eye (see my 12/30/10 post). Thus, I had a terrible time getting the lenses in and an even worse time getting them out. What should have been a 1-hour visit stretched to over 2 and I needed a beer afterward (I think the doctor did too). Finally, though, I got sent home to practice on my own. It has not been easy, but it is getting easier.
Okay, I think that's everything leading up to the banquet. I will post about that soon, but first I have to put my contacts in and go celebrate my brother's 40th (!) birthday!
-My neck: I spent most of Tuesday experimenting with various neck pain remedies, including ibuprofen, ice, a prescription gel for tendinitis, and my beloved IcyHot. In the end, the most effective thing turned out to be this Ironman Muscle Rub Gel. I had a sample from a race goodie bag (either Baltimore Half or MCM) and it was surprisingly effective (even better than the prescription stuff!). By Wednesday, the neck was feeling much better, but I still skipped Group Power because I didn't want to risk straining it further. By Thursday, it felt pretty normal again, though it definitely hurt a bit after Boot Camp and after I did an 11-mile run Saturday morning. So, I'm going to take it a bit easy on the weights this week just in case.
-Weight Watchers: I seem to be on a bit of a plateau. I weighed in four times in February, and the weights were as follows: 151, 151.5, 151, and 151. So, the good news is that I'm not gaining, but I clearly need to step things up a bit if I want to get out of the 150's anytime soon.
-MCM 2011: This week, I had to decide whether or not to register for the Marine Corps Marathon in 2011. After much agonizing, I decided against it. Two major factors played into my decision. First, I am in the lottery for the NYC marathon. Its a longshot, but if I get into that, I would have to defer MCM. With my very tight budget, I did not want to put out the nearly $100 for registration and take that gamble. Second, I am hoping that I will be able to save enough money to visit my former roommate Katie in Hawaii this December and run the Honolulu Marathon. So, I would rather my $100 go toward that goal. If neither of those things work out, I will just focus on my tri training this year and plan to do my second marathon in 2012.
-Contacts: Speaking of tri training, I am continuing in my quest to assemble everything I need to do Irongirl in August. Thus far, I have my registration, a couple books on training, a helmet, bike shoes, goggles, a swim cap, ear plugs, and registration for a local tri training group. This week, I added contact lenses to that list. I had a choice between contacts and a combo of prescription goggles and prescription sunglasses. The contacts seemed like the simpler and more economical option. Everything is relative though. While they may be simpler, they are certainly not simple, and while they may be more economical, they are certainly not cheap. This past week, I had an initial eye exam and fitting, and then I went back a few days later to get the first pair and learn how to use them. The second visit was challenging. I have never liked anything touching my eyes, and that aversion got a whole lot stronger back in '00 when I had to have stitches on my left eye (see my 12/30/10 post). Thus, I had a terrible time getting the lenses in and an even worse time getting them out. What should have been a 1-hour visit stretched to over 2 and I needed a beer afterward (I think the doctor did too). Finally, though, I got sent home to practice on my own. It has not been easy, but it is getting easier.
Okay, I think that's everything leading up to the banquet. I will post about that soon, but first I have to put my contacts in and go celebrate my brother's 40th (!) birthday!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
17 seconds and 1.6 pounds.
1) Weighing under 150 pounds. Thanks to my long relationship with Weight Watchers online, I can tell you that the last time I weighed in under 150 was in November 2008. I started the new Weight Watchers this past November at 158.5, and I am now at 151.5. So, I am really trying to be diligent this week. Seeing a 14_ on the scale would be pretty phenomenal way to celebrate Valentine's Day!
2) Finishing a 5K in under 30 minutes. My brief racing career started with a Valentine's Day 5K in 2007. I finished that one in 34:15. Since then, I have done four others, with a previous PR of 30:22. Today, at the Annapolis Striders' Valentine's Day 5K, I really thought I would see the 29:59 I've been longing for. Unfortunately, I positioned myself way too far back at the start and spent probably the first half of the race weaving around people. At mile 2, I really kicked it into high gear- so much so that I was worried about throwing up at the finish! Ultimately, I crossed the finish line (without puking) at 30:16. So, a PR, but 17 seconds short of my goal. Next time!
Now, my two goals are having a little conflict. Given the fact that I've been doing 8-10 mile long runs for several weeks in preparation for a March half-marathon, I did not think that a mere 5K could leave me tired and starving. Boy, was I wrong! I have been either eating or dreaming of food ever since I got home from the race at 11:30. Around 1, my good friend Pat called and asked if I would like to watch a movie and eat chocolate cake tonight. It was like a phone call straight from my soul. So, I am currently baking a (homemade) chicken pot pie and waiting for the arrival of my friend and the cake. I will do my best to enjoy both in moderation.
Speaking of chicken pot pie, are you watching Top Chef All-Stars? This week's episode was (in my humble opinion) one of the most entertaining Top Chef episodes ever, and my favorite chef Carla Hall won with her own chicken pot pie. I loved Carla when she was on Top Chef New York, and my fandom increased exponentially when I learned that she is friends with two of my very favorite relatives- my uncle Joe and his fabulous wife Michele. Michele has told me that she is every bit as quirky, funny, and nice as she appears on TV. Joe has bragged that he cooked her crab soup and she asked for seconds. This season, I have enjoyed sending Michele emails and text messages the morning after each episode telling her how well Carla is doing. I am very much looking forward to sending the message saying that she's in the finale!
(Ideally, I will do that weighing 149 pounds, the morning after a 29-minute 5K.)
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Sorry, Bill Cosby...
...but Runners World is my new authority on pudding. A few months ago, when I was recovering from my appendicitis, I ate a ton of Kozy Shack SimplyWell pudding. I love this pudding for its relatively short list of recognizable ingredients and its low Points on Weight Watchers. Still, as I was digging into what was probably my second container one day, I remember thinking "How hard could it be to make this from scratch? I need to look for a recipe."
I forgot all about my pudding-making ambition until a couple weeks ago, when the new issue of Runner's World arrived in the mail. I don't subscribe to Runners World for the recipes, but they do feature a surprising number of good ones. As I was flipping through, the above photo caught my eye. Lo and behold, there was a simple recipe for mocha-cinnamon pudding, and almost every ingredient was something I always have on hand. The only exception was chocolate milk, which I almost never buy because I have a hard time not drinking the entire container the day I bring it home.
So, this week, I added (the smallest possible container of) chocolate milk to my grocery list and made the pudding. It looks pretty good in that photo, but it tastes even better. SO GOOD! Even better, the recipe actually lived up to its promise of simplicity. The whole process (which included chopping up chocolate) only took about 15 minutes. The recipe says that it yields 5 servings, but the pudding is very rich, so I think it might stretch to 6 or 7. For you Weight Watchers people, the Points are 4-5 per serving (depending on the size), which isn't bad for such a good dessert.
So, make some pudding now and thank me later!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Updates, Group Power and Weight Watchers
Today is my weight tracking day in Weight Watchers, as well as my second time doing the new Group Power release, so it seems like the right time for some updates.
Regarding Group Power- did I mention not being sore yesterday? Apparently, I spoke too soon. I really did not feel much soreness after Monday's class... until I went to today's class. Once I started doing all the new exercises for the second time, I could really feel the first time. I am fairly terrified of Boot Camp tomorrow, because all of the things I find hard about that class (particularly lunges and plank) are a big part of this Group Power release. Hopefully, there will be no puking or crying. We'll see.
As far as Weight Watchers goes, I am still enjoying the new system. I experienced a little weight spike over the holidays (though much less than expected), followed by a big drop that I think had more to do with the monthly bloating/un-bloating cycle than with how well I was following the plan. Today, I was back up half a pound, but the overall number seems right for the post-holiday recovery period.
This past weekend, I had a belated family holiday party to attend, so I had to bake another round of Christmas cookies. This was an opportunity to reflect on two important Weight Watcher tips:
1) Calculate Points yourself. Do not rely on the general guides that are available in the program materials and online. For example, the program materials say that two small homemade chocolate chip cookies equals 3 Points. I use two different chocolate chip cookie recipes, and I calculated the actual Points for each one by adding up the Points for each ingredient and dividing by the total yield of cookies. For the first recipe, the cookies are 4 Points each; for the second, they are 8 Points each. So, as you can see, if you don't figure it out yourself, you risk seriously underestimating your Points.
2) Manage your environment. For the first part of the holiday season, I had all of the Christmas cookies sitting on my kitchen table. This meant that I saw them multiple times each day, including at night when I am most inclined to overeat. I ate a lot of cookies. Then, I moved them to my pantry, where I go much less often, and probably cut my consumption by half. With this weekend's cookies, I brought the leftovers to work and left them out for my co-workers. The workday is not a time when I am inclined to overeat, so I effectively removed the temptation and made my co-workers happy. Perfect- I need to remember this strategy next year!
Regarding Group Power- did I mention not being sore yesterday? Apparently, I spoke too soon. I really did not feel much soreness after Monday's class... until I went to today's class. Once I started doing all the new exercises for the second time, I could really feel the first time. I am fairly terrified of Boot Camp tomorrow, because all of the things I find hard about that class (particularly lunges and plank) are a big part of this Group Power release. Hopefully, there will be no puking or crying. We'll see.
As far as Weight Watchers goes, I am still enjoying the new system. I experienced a little weight spike over the holidays (though much less than expected), followed by a big drop that I think had more to do with the monthly bloating/un-bloating cycle than with how well I was following the plan. Today, I was back up half a pound, but the overall number seems right for the post-holiday recovery period.
This past weekend, I had a belated family holiday party to attend, so I had to bake another round of Christmas cookies. This was an opportunity to reflect on two important Weight Watcher tips:
1) Calculate Points yourself. Do not rely on the general guides that are available in the program materials and online. For example, the program materials say that two small homemade chocolate chip cookies equals 3 Points. I use two different chocolate chip cookie recipes, and I calculated the actual Points for each one by adding up the Points for each ingredient and dividing by the total yield of cookies. For the first recipe, the cookies are 4 Points each; for the second, they are 8 Points each. So, as you can see, if you don't figure it out yourself, you risk seriously underestimating your Points.
2) Manage your environment. For the first part of the holiday season, I had all of the Christmas cookies sitting on my kitchen table. This meant that I saw them multiple times each day, including at night when I am most inclined to overeat. I ate a lot of cookies. Then, I moved them to my pantry, where I go much less often, and probably cut my consumption by half. With this weekend's cookies, I brought the leftovers to work and left them out for my co-workers. The workday is not a time when I am inclined to overeat, so I effectively removed the temptation and made my co-workers happy. Perfect- I need to remember this strategy next year!
Friday, December 31, 2010
I must never work from home (Weight Watchers update #3)
Happy New Year's Eve! I hope you are all having fun. This afternoon, I joined an impressive crowd at Fleet Feet Sports in Annapolis for a 5K fun run called "Last Run of the Year." Tomorrow, I'll be doing my first run of the year, aka: day 1 of the Annapolis Striders' 2011 half-marathon training. In between, I'm supposed to be working on a sermon for Sunday. Instead, I just cooked a big (and delicious) meal of steak, mashed potatoes, and a spinach salad with a homemade bacon vinaigrette dressing. And, of course, I uncorked a bottle of pinot noir purchased over the summer, because you can't eat steak without red wine!
This dinner highlights a little problem I have noticed this holiday season. Allow me to lay it out for you: I am super-duper busy, leaving little time for my hobbies. Thus, when I have time off, I like to spend lots of it engaging in those hobbies. One of my favorite hobbies is cooking. Thus, when I have time off, I cook (and therefore eat) like its going out of style.
Today, as on several mornings over this holiday season, I made a favorite holiday breakfast of french toast with cranberry sauce. Fortunately, I'm out of champagne, so I didn't drink a mimosa with it, but I did that on three other occasions this holiday season. For lunch, I took leftover rice from Chinese takeout, some leftover veggies from shepherd's pie, and a leftover orange-glazed pork chop from Christmas Eve, and made orange-y pork fried rice. Then, for dinner, I had the aforementioned steak feast. That's just today. At 11 tonight, I'm going to put a chicken in some brining liquid I made so that I can try Thomas Keller's fried chicken recipe for lunch tomorrow. There's still another steak in the fridge too...
Thankfully, I also like going to the gym more often when I have extra time, so I've put in several extra hours of exercise in between all this eating. Thus, I only gained 1 pound over Christmas week and I'm hoping to at least break even this week. Also, my New Year's resolution is to get my food budget under control. If all goes well, this should have the side-benefit of reigning in my cooking frenzies just a little bit.
If there's one thing I've learned from all of this, its that I probably shouldn't work from home. Ever. I sometime dream about setting up a counseling office in my house, seeing a few clients a day, and spending the rest of my time writing. Its a nice idea, but I think its better for me if I'm separated from the kitchen at least 40 hours a week. Maybe I could install some kind of timer-lock...
Happy New Year!
This dinner highlights a little problem I have noticed this holiday season. Allow me to lay it out for you: I am super-duper busy, leaving little time for my hobbies. Thus, when I have time off, I like to spend lots of it engaging in those hobbies. One of my favorite hobbies is cooking. Thus, when I have time off, I cook (and therefore eat) like its going out of style.
Today, as on several mornings over this holiday season, I made a favorite holiday breakfast of french toast with cranberry sauce. Fortunately, I'm out of champagne, so I didn't drink a mimosa with it, but I did that on three other occasions this holiday season. For lunch, I took leftover rice from Chinese takeout, some leftover veggies from shepherd's pie, and a leftover orange-glazed pork chop from Christmas Eve, and made orange-y pork fried rice. Then, for dinner, I had the aforementioned steak feast. That's just today. At 11 tonight, I'm going to put a chicken in some brining liquid I made so that I can try Thomas Keller's fried chicken recipe for lunch tomorrow. There's still another steak in the fridge too...
Thankfully, I also like going to the gym more often when I have extra time, so I've put in several extra hours of exercise in between all this eating. Thus, I only gained 1 pound over Christmas week and I'm hoping to at least break even this week. Also, my New Year's resolution is to get my food budget under control. If all goes well, this should have the side-benefit of reigning in my cooking frenzies just a little bit.
If there's one thing I've learned from all of this, its that I probably shouldn't work from home. Ever. I sometime dream about setting up a counseling office in my house, seeing a few clients a day, and spending the rest of my time writing. Its a nice idea, but I think its better for me if I'm separated from the kitchen at least 40 hours a week. Maybe I could install some kind of timer-lock...
Happy New Year!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Cardio vs. Christmas cookies: Weight Watchers update #2
This morning was weigh-in #3 since the Weight Watchers changeover and I am down another pound! I think this is the first time in two years that I've actually lost three weeks in a row. For awhile now, I've been in a pattern of lose one pound, lose another pound, then gain three. This new system really works!
The fact that I lost at all this week is a Christmas miracle, because I've entered the portion of the holidays which I like to call "cookie sweatshop." Its time to put together all of my recession-Christmas homemade gifts, and most of those are baked goods. Not only do I have zero willpower around said baked goods, I won't let myself give anything away without tasting it first. (Once, I made a beautiful cheesecake for Thanksgiving, only to cut the first slice and realize that I forgot the sugar- lesson learned!)
In the past, cookie sweatshop week was a total free-for-all in terms of eating and I just dealt with the consequences in January. This year, under the new WW regimen, I've been able to approach it in a slightly more sane manner. I think the new system is a bit more flexible- mainly because I have more free points and activity points to work with. Also, knowing that I'm tracking everything helps me stop after the first or second cookie. Finally, I've really cranked up the cardio to help balance things out- I've added an extra spin class to my weekly schedule and I've done a couple of longer races over the past few weeks. Last week, I earned 60 activity points, which is the equivalent of more than two days' food for me. Looking at that total, I couldn't decide which was the more impressive feat- that I did enough exercise to earn those points, or that I ate every single one of them and then some!
Okay, I'm off to bake another batch of cookies and go to bed early. Thursday is 6am boot camp day, and the last two weeks have been so hard that I very nearly cried. Its easier to be tough on a full night's sleep! Goodnight!
The fact that I lost at all this week is a Christmas miracle, because I've entered the portion of the holidays which I like to call "cookie sweatshop." Its time to put together all of my recession-Christmas homemade gifts, and most of those are baked goods. Not only do I have zero willpower around said baked goods, I won't let myself give anything away without tasting it first. (Once, I made a beautiful cheesecake for Thanksgiving, only to cut the first slice and realize that I forgot the sugar- lesson learned!)
In the past, cookie sweatshop week was a total free-for-all in terms of eating and I just dealt with the consequences in January. This year, under the new WW regimen, I've been able to approach it in a slightly more sane manner. I think the new system is a bit more flexible- mainly because I have more free points and activity points to work with. Also, knowing that I'm tracking everything helps me stop after the first or second cookie. Finally, I've really cranked up the cardio to help balance things out- I've added an extra spin class to my weekly schedule and I've done a couple of longer races over the past few weeks. Last week, I earned 60 activity points, which is the equivalent of more than two days' food for me. Looking at that total, I couldn't decide which was the more impressive feat- that I did enough exercise to earn those points, or that I ate every single one of them and then some!
Okay, I'm off to bake another batch of cookies and go to bed early. Thursday is 6am boot camp day, and the last two weeks have been so hard that I very nearly cried. Its easier to be tough on a full night's sleep! Goodnight!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Weight Watchers update: So far, so good.
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| Image from the awesome Natalie Dee- http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/. |
I learned a couple of things when I posted about Weight Watchers last week:
1) At least 25% of the people I know have done WW at some time. Maybe 50%.
2) People who do WW like to talk about WW. I had more interest in that blog post than anything I wrote about the marathon.
Armed with this knowledge, I thought I would give an update on how I'm doing with the new WW:
I'm doing well! The changeover happened in the middle of one of my WW weeks, so I've weighed in twice since then, even though its only been about 10 days. Thus far, I'm down 2 pounds, which is better than I was doing under the old system. Granted, a big part of this success is due to the fact that, in order to learn the new system, I have been tracking Points and measuring portions diligently. I should have been doing that before, but I wasn't. (Note: tracking and measuring works.)
Still, I think the new system deserves some credit. The new practice of incentivizing healthier foods (like fruit) by making them 0 Points and penalizing unhealthy foods (like alcohol) by raising the Points is definitely pushing me to make healthier choices. I haven't had any alcohol since the changeover; before, I probably would have had some wine with dinner at least twice in 10 days. I've also had more fruits and veggies in the last 10 days than in the month prior. In fact, my new solution to everything is "have a banana." Here's how that sounds in my head:
"I would like some wine with dinner... Maybe I'll have a banana."
"A soft pretzel sounds like a good idea.... but I think I'll have a banana."
"I could definitely eat all of those cookies I'm baking for Christmas. Time for a banana!"
I'm sure you get the idea.
So, thus far, two thumbs up to the new Weight Watchers. I'll continue to keep you posted. How is everyone else doing?
Thursday, December 2, 2010
My favorite things, part 2: the new Weight Watchers
As many who read this blog already know, I've been a member of Weight Watchers off and on since October 2003. Prior to joining WW, my weight had fluctuated for years, and I only had the vaguest notions as to why. Starting in the 8th grade, I lost and gained a decent amount of weight at least three times, and it always felt like it just happened. I knew some things that I was doing right, and some things that I was doing wrong, but I really could not have told you why my weight changed when it did. This meant that I had no idea how to replicate the weight losses, nor how to prevent the weight gains.
For me, WW was a revelation. At the time I joined, I thought I weighed, at most, 165lbs. At my first meeting, I learned that I actually weighed 177lbs. Oops. I'm not sure if this was the heaviest I have ever been because I never paid much attention to the scale before WW. In fact, as I soon learned, I had never paid much attention to anything regarding food, weight, or exercise before. Obviously, I knew that eating a banana was better than eating a cookie, and that going for a walk was better than watching TV. Beyond that, though, I really didn't have a clue.
When I joined WW, the program used the Points system. Under that plan, all foods were assigned a Points value based on calories, fat, and fiber. Essentially, the Points values came from calories, with penalties for fat and rewards for fiber. Exercise was measured in Points too, with a formula based on your weight, the duration of the activity, and your level of effort. Every day, you tracked your Points like a checkbook. You had a balance at the beginning of the day (based on your age, weight, and activity level), and then you deducted points when you ate and added them back when you exercised. As part of the program, you got tools to manually figure out Points for food and exercise, or you could pay extra for books and/or an online program that listed Points for various supermarket foods and restaurant meals.
By the end of my first week doing WW, I had a pretty solid idea of why I had gained weight. In the beginning, my daily Points balance was somewhere around 24. When I added up the Points for my 3-4 times/week Dunkin Donuts breakfast (bagel with lowfat cream cheese, OJ, and coffee with cream), it came out to 18. Baja Fresh, which was one of my favorite restaurants at the time, did not have a single menu item under 25 points. Even when I was eating healthier foods, my portions were 2-3 times bigger than they needed to be. I also realized that exercise, which I had always used as a free pass to eat whatever I wanted, could only do so much. A 60-minute spin class, which is some pretty serious exercise, would only cover the bagel portion of that DD breakfast.
Losing weight with WW the first time felt easy. I had so many bad habits when I started that simply eliminating those was enough to make me drop weight quickly. I started October 1st and had lost 40 pounds by late May. At that time, I relied heavily on frozen entrees and other diet convenience foods. I also tracked my Points religiously and exercised semi-regularly.
I managed to maintain that initial weight loss for close to three years. Weight started to creep back on when I stopped paying attention to things like portion sizes, got more into cooking, and ate out more often. Then, came the Dark Days of late '07- mid '08 when my life was a total mess and all of my energy was focused on just getting through the day. By the time I emerged from that, I had gained back at least 15 pounds and it was time to head back to good 'ol WW.
I've been trying to get back on the WW bandwagon off and on for a couple of years now, with limited success. Most of the problem has been me- my crazy schedule and lack of willingness to think about one more thing. However, the second time around, I've had some gripes with the Points system. For the past few years, I've been trying to remove most processed foods from my diet. This includes things like WW frozen entrees, fat-free "cheese," and artificial sweeteners. Without those convenience foods, I have found it much harder to stay within my daily Points range without feeling ravenous all the time. Also, having a Points system based mainly on calories meant that fresh, healthy foods (like bananas) sometimes had more Points than super-processed diet foods (like 100-calorie pack cookies).
This is where the new Weight Watchers comes in. Starting this past Monday, WW rolled out a totally revamped Points system. The process is still the same- you track Points for food and exercise, aiming to stay within a daily target- but the way the Points are calculated is totally different. Now, the formula is based on protein, fat, fiber, and carbs. Also, the new formula generally favors healthy, whole foods. For example, most fresh fruit now has 0 Points. Before, fruit was often high in Points because its natural sugars make it high in calories. Whole grain carbs are also lower in points now, especially compared to refined carbs. In the past, the difference was negligible. More fruit and more whole grains is great news for me, because I love those things anyway.
There are some tougher changes, too. For example, the Points value of alcohol is now way higher than before. Also, having to re-learn Points is a challenge. Over the course of 7 years, I had memorized the Points for pretty much everything I eat regularly. I had also developed the ability to "guesstimate" Points pretty closely just by looking at a food's calorie count, and I knew the right Points-range for a meal pretty instinctively (ie: 6-10 for dinner). Now, I have to unlearn all of that and learn a new system. How many Points for my morning protein bar? Used to be 4, now its 5. Is 5 a lot for breakfast under my new Points budget? I'm still figuring that out. Finally, many of the WW materials I had amassed over the years are now useless. Earlier this week, I recycled all of my old Points guides and forked over about $15 for new materials (on top of my montly charge for using the online program). To the credit of WW, they put all of the new materials on mega-sale (50-75% off), so buying them wasn't as painful as I had expected.
Even with the challenges, I can't complain too much about the new system. Its not like I didn't know that drinking alcohol is bad for weight loss. Now, I'll be even more careful about that. Also, I was long overdue for a reassessment of my go-to foods, recipes, and portion sizes. Being mindful about those things is what helped me lose the first time, and I had not been doing a great job of that lately. Finally, the new fruit rule is worth all of the other changes to me. I already went to the grocery store for a purely fruit-buying trip and I am enjoying eating my bananas and pineapple with reckless abandon.
So, on the whole, I think the new Weight Watchers is probably an improved Weight Watchers. I would encourage anyone who wants to lose some weight or just eat healthier to check it out. One caveat is that I highly recommend going to meetings for at least a few weeks, as opposed to just doing the online program. I used to go to meetings, but I am online-only right now because of my schedule. The online materials are a great supplement to meetings, but I think that the introductory materials they give out at meetings are much easier to follow. Also, I am really missing having a meeting leader to explain these changes to me.
I'll keep you posted on how I do with the new programs! WW friends, I would love to hear from you too!
For me, WW was a revelation. At the time I joined, I thought I weighed, at most, 165lbs. At my first meeting, I learned that I actually weighed 177lbs. Oops. I'm not sure if this was the heaviest I have ever been because I never paid much attention to the scale before WW. In fact, as I soon learned, I had never paid much attention to anything regarding food, weight, or exercise before. Obviously, I knew that eating a banana was better than eating a cookie, and that going for a walk was better than watching TV. Beyond that, though, I really didn't have a clue.
When I joined WW, the program used the Points system. Under that plan, all foods were assigned a Points value based on calories, fat, and fiber. Essentially, the Points values came from calories, with penalties for fat and rewards for fiber. Exercise was measured in Points too, with a formula based on your weight, the duration of the activity, and your level of effort. Every day, you tracked your Points like a checkbook. You had a balance at the beginning of the day (based on your age, weight, and activity level), and then you deducted points when you ate and added them back when you exercised. As part of the program, you got tools to manually figure out Points for food and exercise, or you could pay extra for books and/or an online program that listed Points for various supermarket foods and restaurant meals.
By the end of my first week doing WW, I had a pretty solid idea of why I had gained weight. In the beginning, my daily Points balance was somewhere around 24. When I added up the Points for my 3-4 times/week Dunkin Donuts breakfast (bagel with lowfat cream cheese, OJ, and coffee with cream), it came out to 18. Baja Fresh, which was one of my favorite restaurants at the time, did not have a single menu item under 25 points. Even when I was eating healthier foods, my portions were 2-3 times bigger than they needed to be. I also realized that exercise, which I had always used as a free pass to eat whatever I wanted, could only do so much. A 60-minute spin class, which is some pretty serious exercise, would only cover the bagel portion of that DD breakfast.
Losing weight with WW the first time felt easy. I had so many bad habits when I started that simply eliminating those was enough to make me drop weight quickly. I started October 1st and had lost 40 pounds by late May. At that time, I relied heavily on frozen entrees and other diet convenience foods. I also tracked my Points religiously and exercised semi-regularly.
I managed to maintain that initial weight loss for close to three years. Weight started to creep back on when I stopped paying attention to things like portion sizes, got more into cooking, and ate out more often. Then, came the Dark Days of late '07- mid '08 when my life was a total mess and all of my energy was focused on just getting through the day. By the time I emerged from that, I had gained back at least 15 pounds and it was time to head back to good 'ol WW.
I've been trying to get back on the WW bandwagon off and on for a couple of years now, with limited success. Most of the problem has been me- my crazy schedule and lack of willingness to think about one more thing. However, the second time around, I've had some gripes with the Points system. For the past few years, I've been trying to remove most processed foods from my diet. This includes things like WW frozen entrees, fat-free "cheese," and artificial sweeteners. Without those convenience foods, I have found it much harder to stay within my daily Points range without feeling ravenous all the time. Also, having a Points system based mainly on calories meant that fresh, healthy foods (like bananas) sometimes had more Points than super-processed diet foods (like 100-calorie pack cookies).
This is where the new Weight Watchers comes in. Starting this past Monday, WW rolled out a totally revamped Points system. The process is still the same- you track Points for food and exercise, aiming to stay within a daily target- but the way the Points are calculated is totally different. Now, the formula is based on protein, fat, fiber, and carbs. Also, the new formula generally favors healthy, whole foods. For example, most fresh fruit now has 0 Points. Before, fruit was often high in Points because its natural sugars make it high in calories. Whole grain carbs are also lower in points now, especially compared to refined carbs. In the past, the difference was negligible. More fruit and more whole grains is great news for me, because I love those things anyway.
There are some tougher changes, too. For example, the Points value of alcohol is now way higher than before. Also, having to re-learn Points is a challenge. Over the course of 7 years, I had memorized the Points for pretty much everything I eat regularly. I had also developed the ability to "guesstimate" Points pretty closely just by looking at a food's calorie count, and I knew the right Points-range for a meal pretty instinctively (ie: 6-10 for dinner). Now, I have to unlearn all of that and learn a new system. How many Points for my morning protein bar? Used to be 4, now its 5. Is 5 a lot for breakfast under my new Points budget? I'm still figuring that out. Finally, many of the WW materials I had amassed over the years are now useless. Earlier this week, I recycled all of my old Points guides and forked over about $15 for new materials (on top of my montly charge for using the online program). To the credit of WW, they put all of the new materials on mega-sale (50-75% off), so buying them wasn't as painful as I had expected.
Even with the challenges, I can't complain too much about the new system. Its not like I didn't know that drinking alcohol is bad for weight loss. Now, I'll be even more careful about that. Also, I was long overdue for a reassessment of my go-to foods, recipes, and portion sizes. Being mindful about those things is what helped me lose the first time, and I had not been doing a great job of that lately. Finally, the new fruit rule is worth all of the other changes to me. I already went to the grocery store for a purely fruit-buying trip and I am enjoying eating my bananas and pineapple with reckless abandon.
So, on the whole, I think the new Weight Watchers is probably an improved Weight Watchers. I would encourage anyone who wants to lose some weight or just eat healthier to check it out. One caveat is that I highly recommend going to meetings for at least a few weeks, as opposed to just doing the online program. I used to go to meetings, but I am online-only right now because of my schedule. The online materials are a great supplement to meetings, but I think that the introductory materials they give out at meetings are much easier to follow. Also, I am really missing having a meeting leader to explain these changes to me.
I'll keep you posted on how I do with the new programs! WW friends, I would love to hear from you too!
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