100 Pound Loss

Last week, I gained 3 pounds after a 5-day trip for personal and business. I spent three of the five days inside airports, so I fluctuated between bad food and dehydration. I was up 3 lbs. upon my return.

Thankfully, I’ve lost that weight as of this week, despite not getting back on the “wagon” really much at all.

So, today I’m back to 209.8 lbs. Which is… not bad, I guess.

And this time, they actually did average it, at least temporarily, because I got this little helpful reminder: “However, we notice that you’ve lost more than an average of 2 pounds per week over three or more weeks. This rate is too rapid — it may be unsafe or unhealthy.” This is further punishment for losing almost 5 lbs. in one week after my spectacular plateau.

I actually got that reminder once or twice before, when my weight loss averaged 2.2 pounds per week– once again, WW needs a little more intelligence in their algorithm.

Anyway, yesterday I did really well and stayed on plan all day, which was no small feat. We ate pretty late for breakfast and lunch, which helped pull me to dinner, where I had a taco salad. Also, Jane called yesterday to chat about food and dieting and so forth, which kept me talking about food for an hour, but at least I wasn’t eating.

Jane will hopefully post today about her results this week. She had a really interesting weekend!

This is the end of a first week of Weight Watchers Core Program. So far I haven’t killed anyone because of my lack of carbs, and I have actually eaten more fruits and vegetables than I ate all summer. I have lost 6 pounds, eaten out twice, and am still drinking lattes; I have discovered that Safeway’s store brand of cottage cheese is not very good–watery and has lousy flavor (they have great produce though), but Knudson’ taste pretty good. I have also discovered why not too many people eat fat free anything; nevertheless, I like the direction of the numbers on the scale. This is one time I like being a loser. The second week of any diet is coming. Usually, the second week is when I don’t lose and I cheat. So this will be the big challenge. I’ve been using Julia Cameron’s book The Writing Diet: Write Yourself the Right Size , which I hope to read some more. One thing she has helped me rediscover is my love of sewing.

Well I don’t want to make this a blah, blah, blah blog, so tune in for next weeks update.

Jane of the Santa Clara County Jungle

bp: 105 over 65, 61 bpm.
Wow. Just. Wow. 16% of what I need to lose. I’m also 6 pounds away from my “10% of your total weight” goal. On Weight Watchers, the 10% goal is your first goal. I’ve achieved it in the past, where I lost over 20 lbs. over the course of a year.
That 10% is an important goal for me this time around, too. I haven’t really been exercising very much. When you’re obese, exercise is pain– there’s no two ways about it. If you doubt that, go ahead and grab a 100 pounds of weight and carry them around the gym during your 40-minute workout. You’ll see what I mean. I found that, after I lost that 10%-of-total last time, I felt better, stronger, and had more energy, enough to start exercising regularly and, eventually, training for a marathon.
But this time, I won’t make the mistake of overdoing it on the marathon. The 6 months I took recovering from my sports injuries are the main reason I’m back up to this ungodly weight.

Blood pressure: 110/71, 64 bpm pulse.

And now, a little rant…..

When I weighed in this morning and entered my weight, this is what I got from Weight Watchers Online:

While we’re proud of your achievements and pleased you’re making changes in your life, we need you to concentrate on one more thing: You should slow the pace of your weight loss to no more than 2 pounds per week.

We’re at the end of July, here. In 7 months, I’ve lost less than 2 lbs. per month, overall. Screw you, Weight Watchers. Try running a fucking average. At least an average over 3 or 4 weeks, please. The little automated “achievements” message should take an average before spouting this nonsense. Why? Because at the start of your diet (and let’s face it, a 6-month plateau means you’re essentially “starting” again), you lose more weight more rapidly. Everyone knows this. Weight Watchers Online even knows it– they have a special message in the first 3 weeks that congratulates you and warns you not to get too cocky.

Anyway, here I am, having busted through that 6 month plateau, and I can’t help feeling as though Weight Watchers Online has sucked a little bit of my thunder out of my victory.

The same thing happens with another web app I use to log my weight. You enter your goal or guesstimate for what you’ll weigh in 30 days, and every time you weigh in, it sends you an email to tell you where you’re supposed to be if you want to make it to that target weight. It seems a little messed up, since it estimates me losing 5 lbs. in the first week for a 10-lb. total loss. Plus, nothing makes you feel like taking a gun to your head quite like having a 4 1/2 lb. loss and getting an email telling you you should have lost more!

Anyway, the other, less-critical part of my brain is doing this:

GO ME! I ROCK! YEAH!!!!