The Wakeup Call.

I went to the doctor on Monday, and that woman slapped the reality of life into me. Diabetes, heart disease, etc. These are all things I'm completely cognizant of, but sometimes you just need someone to throw it back in your face with the force of "MD" behind it. And this woman did exactly that. She asked me what my biggest problem right now is, and I stated "my weight." Of course, I'm wrong. It's my stress. My stress, she said (and I know), is causing me to eat, to not sleep, to have stomach problems, to grind my teeth. Everything stems from the stress.

So she asked me what my ideal weight loss goal is, and I quickly answered 180. That would be chucking 10 percent of my body weight, which is a really good start. She was dismayed, saying that I should shoot for 140, and that's granting me extra pounds for my height anyway. Bummer.

Me? 140 pounds? I think I'd look freakishly weird. I've been curvy my whole live, and I'm actually a fan of the curves. I just want to be healthy with curves. Is that so much to ask?

Anyway, I have to get this stuff going. I have to really buckle down and make things happen. I must lose weight. I MUST. I can easily hit the snooze button again and wait until I'm "ready" to go to the gym. That's really the hardest part -- the gym. How do I hit the gym? How do I make it to the gym? How do I force myself to go to the gym!?

Why is this so hard?

Joining a Gym: Paying = Motivation.

There's a Planet Fitness opening around the corner from where Evan lives, and I think I'm going to join. This is the plateau problem. I know I won't lose anymore weight unless I go to the gym. So I'm going to nab the cheapest membership possible, that is.

Why?

Because I can drive to the gym and that's half the motivation to get there. They're open 24 hours Monday-Friday, and that means if I get an urge to go to the gym when I'm in Manchester at 10:30, I can.

Wish me luck!

Fish Dish = Chavi Full

Filling, filling, filling. Did I mention delicious?

Lettuce
Tomato
Salsa
Salmon fillet, rubbed with Blackening Spice (cooked about 10-15 minutes till liquid runs clear)

Absolutely delicious, and I can't even describe how full I am. All of the items are zero points except the fish, which came in at 9 points. I'm going to have to explore other options -- tilapia and the like.

At last!

Today might be the first day that I've been on Weight Watchers this time around that I haven't gone WAY over my points or been starving with zero points left. Wahoo for smart choices!

Note to Self!

Note to self: Brush your teeth earlier in the evening, so that you don't sit around eating snack foods.

Why? When my teeth are clean, I want nothing to eat. Just to drink water. This tip will be super effective!

Weight Watchers Goodies ...

So my first week went weirdly. I haven't lost weight or gained weight. I flat-lined. Probably because this weekend was Rosh Hashanah which involved lots of sitting, eating, and sleeping. Eating sweet things like honey and honey cake and honey cookies and candy. I did a bit of schlepping around the neighborhood, but not much.

I've realized that the biggest thing I need to work on this time around is the motivation to work out. I'm scared to death of my knees going out, so I'm constantly coming up with excuses not to do this or that. I know walking won't kill me, but on an incline or too much WILL kill me. Well, my knees anyway.

I did go to the Weight Watchers store in Vernon a few days ago in order to purchase a variety of delicious goods. What did I get? (Note: They're ALL KOSHER! YES!)

• Baked Pizza Pretzel Thins (2 points a bag)
• Red Velvet Mini Bars (1 point) -- they really taste like the real thing, yummy!
• Cookies and Cream Mini Bars (1 point) -- these are kind of disappointing, I won't buy again.
• Tomato Parmesan Whole Grain Pasta Side (4 points per serving)
• Chicken Herb Whole Grain Pasta Side (4 points per serving)
• Chewy Oatmeal Mini Bar (1 point)
• Latte Straws (0 points) -- they turn your milk into YUMMY latte! SOOO good.

Back on the wagon.

My successes of early 2008 haven't been repeated. I've put on a few pounds that I'd lost, even though I lost 7 pounds while I was in Middlebury, VT, over the summer (a diet of salad will do that to you, thanks non-kosher food!). So I'm feeling chubby again and sluggish, so I've decided to give Weight Watchers another go. Does this make me a yo-yoer? If so, well, sue me.

So since Weight Watchers is doing their big "one month free!" with the purchase of three months, I thought, "Why not?" After all, it'll carry me through the New Year (two of them, actually -- Rosh Hashanah and the Gregorian New Year), so we'll see what happens.

Wish me luck. I already went over my first day (okay, I bought the membership after I'd munched on gummies all day).

I'm allotted 28 points a day (blech) and 35 extra points for the week. And ... she's off!