Ringing in the New Year

Ah, the last day of the year. I have work, but when that's done, I get a whole glorious day off!

I am having a CostCo stuffed salmon tonight, and for once I am actually not looking forward to it. Not that I don't want it (because it's delicious!) but for once I am not salivating at the thought of consuming it. I haven't felt deprived once since I started WW, I have just been making other choices.

Vern and I went shopping last night and stocked up on some WW friendly foods, like Healthy Choice premium fudge bars (one POINT!!), Shimp Wonton Soup I read about on Hungry-Girl, and later went to our normal grocery store to pick up that ICBINB spray and some Healthy Choice frozen dinners for lunch.

By the way, those frozen dinners are phenominal. I am having a creamy garlic shrimp meal for lunch today, and it has shrimp, pasta, green beans, carrots, and a cherry crisp... and there is a lot of food! I'm all excited.

I am also having one of the blue lo-carb Monsters (one is zero POINTS, two is one.) Those are soooo good, and taste exactly like their green counterparts. Yum! lol, I'm all excited I get to drink a Monster today because I've had nothing but water since I started. But that's saved my butt a couple of times- chugging a fat glass of water before going out... it tides me over until my next snacky fix.

I Survived A Chinese Buffet

Chinese food... my God. I love a fat mound of shrimp lo mein. Spring rolls! Sushi! Cream cheese wontons, orange chicken, mushrooms and chicken... the list goes on and on. Anything dipped, fried, smothered in oil - yum!

I got a call from a friend of mine, asking if Vern (my fiance) and I would like to go to my FAVORITE chinese buffet with her and her man for dinner the next day. We said sure! I IMMEDIATELY began to freak out.

Oh my God, I thought. Here it comes. I will overeat, fall off the wagon, and quit my diet. Damn it, this happens every freaking time.

But people, this is my first time with Weight Watchers (apparently people start and stop all the time), so I headed over to the message boards to ask what I should do.

A wise member advised that no food is off limits, and suggested that I do some research and figure out what I should eat beforehand to stay within my limits.

Impossible! I thought. Everything at Chinese buffets are going to have a buhjillion calories each.

Wrong.

I went to that buffet last night for dinner, and I ended up eating:
1 C. Egg flower soup (OMG so effing yummy)
2 veggie spring rolls
1 cup creamy coconut shrimp (not fried)
1/4 cup sauteed mushrooms, as much of the butter drained off the 'shrooms as I can
3 pieces of California roll sushi

And I was FULL! I couldn't drink anything but water, but I guzzled down three huge glasses of my water, and had a nice little fortune cookie at the end. Awesome!

***

In other news, I discovered "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" spray today. I actually talked to a girl at work who dropped 80 pounds with WW, and I told her that I absolutely can not live without margarine, but it has SO many POINTS! She suggested this stuff, and I put it on my grilled cheese sandwich for dinner tonight... and holy Jesus, people, this stuff is actually better than the margarine I have eaten all my life. I am beyond stoked.

This means I can have baked potatoes. I don't care about sour cream, but some sort of buttery, margarine-y topping is a must. YAY!

What Can I say? I'm Irish.

I overate a little today. I feel uncomfortably full. I was only 1.5 points over my limit for the day, and it's really not over since I have those extra points plus activity points for the week, but still... I feel gross.

It was an awesome dinner though... veggie burger with cheese, lettuce, and ketchup on two slices of whole wheat bread, and a TON of homemade french fries (all accounted for, or course.)

Still, I feel gross. Bleh.

Sore Loser

About 24 hours after using my Wii Fit for the first time Christmas night, I was sore. I had used muscles I hadn't used in ages! Hell, when was the last time I did a crunch? That Hula-Hoop game on the Wii Fit let me know:

"Honey, it's been a long time since you've used those abs, you know that, right? You're going to hurt tomorrow," said my Wii Fit to me.

"I know Wii Fit, but your Hula-Hoop game is so much fun! I just want to beat my score one more time..." I responded.

"Okay then, but it's your pain, not mine," Wii Fit warned.

And I continued to play the Hula-Hoop game :)

This morning I am feeling great. I can still feel that my abs and calves are a tiny bit sore, but nothing compared to the day after Christmas. And it's actually a sore that feels good, not a sore that screams "I was climbing Mt. Everest for the last week!"

I resisted the urge to weigh myself this morning, as I weighed myself yesterday. Since I will be going to Saturday WW meetings and they suggest you weigh yourself once per week, I figured I'd get a head start and not be disappointed with myself when I weigh in. And it was really, really hard for me to resist the urge to weigh myself. But I knew that if I had gained even an ounce, I would be disappointed all day and more likely to fall off the wagon.

In the Beginning

I had been in a bit of a rut when it came to my weight. I was in a happy relationship, just bought a house with the guy of my dreams, at a high-paying desk job, and life, in general, couldn't get any better. Well, I'm still like that today, but now I'm engaged!

The wedding is set for May 20, 2010. I started my lifestyle change (Weight Watchers) the day after Christmas.

I have lost weight before in the past, but I have always just gained it back. Before I got my desk job, I was an overnight stocker for Wal-Mart, which kept my weight down to 190 (which is still overweight, but that is my high school weight and the lowest I have been in a long, long time.) I am currently 233.5, (started out at 235 Christmas night.)

I plan to be 150 pounds when I walk down the aisle. It will be hard, but I am determined- it can be done! And by God, I will do it.

Today is day two of my new lifestyle, and so far I am holding up great! I've been using my Wii Fit, eating less than my points require me to, and doing anything I can to get moving. My first meeting is on Saturday. I look forward to it!

I have been on WW online, and it's a great place! I am definitely enjoying all it has to offer.