Go Pink!

I don't mention it often, but yes, I was in a sorority in college. Which means I had a big sister in my sorority.

That has nothing to do with anything except Big Sis' mom and sister are on the Biggest Loser starting tonight. If you're a fan, I ask you to root for the Pink Team this time because they're awesome. Watch the video and see for yourself. Big Sis has been sneaking a little bit of info on how they've been doing, and it sounds like they've had a lot of success.

Go Pink!

Weight-loss maxims

I bottomed out on my weight loss in the middle of February after having lost a grand total of 27.3 pounds. Ever since then I've been a bit lazy in focusing on healthy eating and exercise. I go out to eat a lot more with my friends, and I've been busy enough with work that I haven't made exercise enough of a priority. As a result I've seen a few of those pounds creep back onto my body.

I'm working on slowly returning to my more diligent ways of keeping a close eye on what I'm eating and doing a little bit of exercise every day. (I packed a sandwich for lunch today AND remembered to bring my workout clothes for a stop at the gym).

Health.com had a very, very timely article in its e-mail today by Tina Haupert, a writer who had very similar weight-gain and weight-loss experiences to mine. You can read the whole thing here, but I thought her list of weight-loss maxims was too good not to share:

1. Make an appointment to exercise
Every Sunday I jot down my exercise goals in my planner. Sometimes last-minute plans get in the way, but I generally stick to my schedule once I’ve put it in ink.

2. Count calories—at least in the beginning
I didn’t realize just how many calories I was consuming, so writing down what I ate helped keep me aware of what I was putting in my mouth. I don’t count calories anymore, but I track what I eat (and when I exercise) on my blog, Carrots ‘N’ Cake, which keeps me accountable.

3. Meal plan
Every Sunday I sit down and plan a week’s worth of meals. I almost always brown-bag my lunch, which means I have more control over how many calories are in my meal. I’m also able to save money by making sure I use up all of my fresh produce.

4. Keep truckin’
Maintaining your Feel Great Weight is all about balance. If I overindulge at a weekend barbecue or mindlessly munch throughout the afternoon, I don’t throw in the towel. I make sure my next meal is healthy and move on.

Why I write: the accountability

(Why I write introductory post here)

About a year ago, I saw some photos of myself on Facebook and was mortified at how I looked. I'd gained so much weight in years since I'd graduated from college that I was embarrassed for anyone to see. At my mother's urging, I joined Weight Watchers, even though I was dubious as to how much success I might have with it.

I also doubted whether or not I should announce to the blogworld about my attempt to lose weight. I mean, no one even knows what I look like, save my real-life friends, so what difference would it make to everyone else that I was losing weight. But because I was getting used to the whole over-sharing concept that drives a blog, I went ahead and wrote about it.

Then I realized something: I put my weight-loss pledge out there in writing for all to see. As a result, I didn't want to let anyone down by giving up. I'm a stubborn gal like that. I wanted to be able to report back to all of you that I wasn't all talk without action just as much as I wanted to be able to call my mom and tell her each week that I was working toward my goal.

At times it was easy, but most of the time it was hard as crap. I work a lot of hours, so it took some real focus to plan out my meals and strap on my running shoes. But the encouragement I received with each post I wrote made it more than worth it. After a while, my new lifestyle was just that -- a new, healthier lifestyle. That's when it got much easier.

Then I started reading about some of my blogger friends who were committing to Weight Watchers and other healthy goals, and it warmed my heart so much. I am bursting with pride for each of you.

So now, I'm proud to announce that today I reached the ultimate Weight Watchers' goal: lifetime membership. What that means is I reached the weight-loss goal I set for myself through the program (18 pounds), and I maintained that weight loss for six weeks. Now, as long as I hover somewhere near that goal, I'll never have to pay to attend another Weight Watchers meeting. I could even consider becoming a group leader if I wanted.

Actually, I've lost more than my goal. My official tally:
-minus 22.4 pounds since the start of Weight Watchers about 7.5 months ago
-minus about 26.7 pounds since I started keeping track a few weeks before that

I couldn't have done it without all of you.

Something good comes of it

You may have noticed I haven't talked much about my Weight Watchers adventure lately. That's mostly because our last session ended three weeks ago, and we decided to wait until the holidays were over before starting a new one. In the couple weeks before that, I was so busy that I didn't have much time to think about it and as a result my weight pretty much hovered in the same spot. In other words, nothing much to see here.

Well, that is, until today.

I hadn't weighed myself in a couple of days, so I really wasn't sure what to expect when I stepped on the scale today at my meeting. I was one of the last people to go, and I tell you the suspense was somewhat killing me. 

I made my ultimate goal.

Thanks to having almost no appetite for the past few days,* I managed to work off the last couple of pounds gained over the holiday break to finish 1.2 pounds under my goal weight. I now enter six weeks of maintenance -- basically what that means is I have to be within two pounds (I think) of my goal after six weeks to be dubbed a lifetime member. Lifetime members don't have to pay to come to meetings, which is a huge bonus.

Of course my leader asked how I managed to do it over the holidays. I told her, and she hugged me and told me that a lady once told her she managed to shed 225 pounds of weight in a week -- by divorcing her husband.

It came at the perfect time for me, I definitely needed the self esteem boost. So, for those of you who read this blog and know the Modern Ex (still trying to decide if this is his new alias -- I'm not sure the ME cuts it), please pass on a hearty (yet somewhat sarcastic) thank you to him for providing me that last little boost I needed to get over the hump. I guess my next boyfriend gets to reap the benefits. (Sorry, that's probably a little unfair, but I'm in bitter mode today.)

So, for the final totals:
-lost 3.2 pounds over three weeks
-minus 19.4 pounds since the start of Weight Watchers about six months ago
-minus about 23.7 pounds since I started keeping track a few weeks before that

*I am eating, I promise. There are a few people who read this blog that can verify that. Also, I hate throwing up so passionately, that I can assure you there is no bulimia going on. I am just eating enough to take care of the responsibility of keeping myself alive, and not doing much beyond that.

It's Jan. 2. Do you know where your resolutions are?

The New York Times mentions today that we are pretty bad at keeping resolutions made to change ourselves for the better. Tell me something I don't know. Still, this makes me want to keep mine more than ever, just to say, 'Ha, I did it. Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah!'

One year on my old blog, I did a monthly update to see how well I was keeping my resolutions (I told you I took them seriously). I'm not sure it helped me keep them any better than not tracking them, but at least I maintained a focus on them. I might try that again this year.

Enter the deluge of magazine articles that want to help me keep my resolutions this year.

Real Simple has an article on how to organize and prioritize your goals.

Southern Living must have heard my pledge to simplify, because it wants to help me get organized this year. (Really, I am organized, I just have too much stuff. But that stuff is very orderly.)

And finally, Aunt Martha has a number of suggestions for some of the more popular resolutions. Here's suggestions for how to clean out your busiest spaces. Here are some more planning resources and tools if getting organized is your thing.

If losing weight is what you're looking to do, you know my suggestion: consider Weight Watchers!

Back on the healthy treadmill

Although I won't be making the traditional "lose weight" New Year's resolution this year thanks to my success this year with Weight Watchers, I am recommitting myself to an eat healthily/work out regularly routine starting now. I tried my best to watch what I was eating last week and I even managed to jog on the treadmill a few times, but I still ended up gaining a couple of pounds. Curses.

I hit the pavement today for a jog around my old 2-mile loop and, boy, did I huff and puff my way around. I couldn't run the whole time -- I had to walk up the last really awful hill -- but it still felt good to get out in the sun and push myself a bit. Then, Lucydog and I went for an extra-long walk.

After I ate lunch today, I tested out my gift from Santa: a Wii Fit. I took the introductory test which will serve as the base to compare myself to over time, and my Wii age, which is based on my BMI and a few basic balancing tests, is 36. After an informal Twitter poll, 36 apparently is not so bad, but I am in doubt of anything that uses balancing tests to determine my age, healthwise. I would think my heart rate and body fat percentage could be a better indicator, but I guess you can only get so much from a video game.

Anyway, so far the Wii Fit is fun and some of the activities are challenging. I couldn't make it through the push ups, but I excelled at ski jumping. A new career, perhaps?


Either tonight or tomorrow after work, I hope to hit the grocery store for the first time in about a month to stock up on fresh veggies and fruit. After eating Christmasy food full of extra butter and sugar and cream and everything else that's not so good for you, I'm ready to eat fresh foods again.

I'm really, really, really hoping to hit my final Weight Watchers goal by the time I weigh in next on Jan. 7. I may need your help to keep myself motivated until then.

How to tackle your Thanksgiving meal

I should be working instead of blogging so that I don't have to work tomorrow, although I'm still going to probably end up working.

Still, I needed a mental break. I've of course gotten tons more e-mails about Thanksgiving tips and such. I figure you've got your Thanksgiving meal planned out already, so you don't need any more food ideas. (If you haven't planned your meal out, then may God rest your soul.)

But there's still the whole eating thing. I haven't been doing that well lately with my Weight Watcher's approach to food thanks to working 12-14 hour work days, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let Thanksgiving dinner kick my ass.

I'm pretty sure I posted this last year, but Hungry Girl has a list of ways to avoid the Thanksgiving weight gain. She left off one tip from last year: wear form-fitting clothes rather than anything stretchy or oversized. You're less likely to keep stuffing yourself if you can feel your clothes getting tighter :)

Health Magazine also has a similar list with a few variations.

HG also has a more specific guide about what dishes are more healthy and which ones you should avoid.

To everyone traveling, be safe today and tomorrow while you're on the road. If you're the unfortunate soul hosting dinner, may the force be with you.

Also, if you're planning to hit the Black Friday foray like I am, I hope to have a post up tomorrow night about some of the deals you can expect to find so check back in after you're done digesting your dinner!

Falling off the wagon

I've just finished feeding myself and the dog, letting the dog out and doing a quick run-through of my snail-* and e-mail. As I type this, it's 10 p.m. and those are the only things I've had time to accomplish since getting home from work.

Like every night in the past couple of weeks, I had grandiose plans of coming home, eating a simple dinner of soup or sandwich, bundling up and going for a run. Sure, I'm bundled up right now, but only because it's super-cold in my house.

What I'm saying is, I've fallen off the healthy eating and exercise wagon.

I was doing really, really well right up to the end of October, when I hit that initial goal of 15 pounds. I had been eating right, tracking the Weight Watchers points along the way, and jogging regularly.

Now, I can't even seem to get one day right, food- or exercise-wise. My jog on Sunday was the only time I've run in three weeks. It was lovely, a chilly yet sunny day where you could smell the fireplaces burning around the 'hood. But all I could muster was about half of my regular 2-mile loop and I walked up all the hills instead of running. Sure, I'm proud of myself for doing that much at this point, but it really doesn't do me a lot good if I can't do it regularly.

I ran after dark all the time while it was hot outside, but now that the thermometer is reading in the 40s regularly, there's something inherently scarier about running at night. Maybe I'm scared of Jack Frost attacking? I'm not sure, but I do no that I'm not doing any running after I get off work.

I've also had grand plans of getting up early to run before work, but every time I think I've got my body on an early-to-bed/early-to-rise schedule, it gets broken thanks to a late night at work or visitors or what not.

Meanwhile, I've been overeating way too much and eating out too much -- which has not only been bad for my girth but that of my wallet. I mean that literally. I have gained a little bit of extra girth around my waist even though I've lost another two pounds. I'm to a weight finally where I don't care what the number on the scale says, I want those size 8 jeans I bought two weeks back at the Gap outlet to fit perfectly.

I'd like to say I'm pledging to get back on the wagon. Certainly I'm going to try, although with Thanksgiving next week and two more weeks of a hectic work schedule it may not be a realistic goal. I only have two more pounds to lose to reach my ultimate Weight Watchers goal and I'm guessing these two will be the hardest. I just don't want all those hard lessons of the past few months to be for naught.

*I got a four-page letter in the mail from Jimmy Carter. Sure, he was asking for money (I guess it's hard out there for an ex-prez). But still, he signed it Jimmy! I must be special.

Out with a bang

I nearly had a little Rocktoberfest slip up with some crazy things happening this week, but since today is my day off I'm leaving Rocktoberfest with a bang.

I am resuming my mission to find jeans today. I didn't make it to the Gap outlet last week, so I'm headed there today now that the price of gas has dropped so dramatically. (It's about an hour away). I will not return until I have some appropriately fitted, non butt-flapped jeans to wear.

I did hit my first Weight Watchers goal this week right smack on the dot. I've lost 15 pounds total, something I never, ever, ever, ever thought I could pull off. I managed to do it at a fairly busy time in my life, so I encourage any of you who want to lose a few pounds to try Weight Watchers. If you have questions you don't want to address here, e-mail me and we'll discuss. I just have to set a final goal now, and I'll let y'all know what it is when I do it.

The Modern Beau and I still have not decided what we're going to be for our post-Halloween Halloween party tomorrow night. I do know we're going to go with something that can mostly come from our closet. Y'all had some awesome suggestions on my costume post, and we've got a few ideas now. We'll have something good.

I'm also nearing a decision on a computer. I'm going to do some shopping today and tomorrow, and I think I know what I'm going to do if the shopping doesn't sway my opinion. Thanks everyone for some amazing insight into Mac v. PC. I may make a purchase as early as Monday (I know that's post-Rocktober, but it will be a direct result of Rocktober).

I didn't quite keep up on the Rocktoberfest pledge to discover new music once a week, but I still feel that my Rocktober was much more successful than Sucktember. The good news is tomorrow is November, and the November-December holiday period is my most favorite time of the year.

Avoiding the winter weight gain

It's gotten crazy-cold where I live this week, and considering how far South I am, I'm assuming it's crazy-cold where you are too. I've welcomed the temperature drop by breaking out all my favorite sweaters and boots. I know by February I'll be screaming for warmer weather, but right now I totally dig it.

We tend to put on a little bit more weight during the winter months than summer, and for obvious reasons. We don't get outside nearly as much -- we like to bundle up and stay in. Health.com has some really easy tips to help ward off some of that weight gain. The very first tip? Don't wear the baggy sweaters. I say baggy sweaters are fine, but wear them with your skinny jeans so you're still less tempted to overeat.

20sb Vlog Day: Off to the closet in the sky

I was hoping to share with you today news of me reaching my first Weight Watchers goal weight. You get an initial weight and then you get to set your ultimate goal. Fortunately for me, the two aren't terribly different.

My initial goal was to lose 15 pounds. Unfortunately, the weight loss has been slow in the past two weeks thanks to having all kinds of things to keep me busy and well-fed.

My numbers for the past two weeks:
-lost 0.8 pounds last week
-lost 0.4 pounds this week
-minus 14 pounds since the start of Weight Watchers 16 weeks ago
-minus about 17.7 pounds since I started keeping track four and a half months ago.

So basically, I still have one pound to go. Hopefully -- HOPEFULLY -- I can lose that this week. Of course, I said that last week.

I need some motivation. Perhaps a dress check will do the trick. Remember the bridesmaid dress?

And since it's The 20 Something Bloggers' Vlog day, I decided to skip grocery shopping to bring you this dress check in video form. It's my first video, so please forgive the length, poor quality and lack of humor. Really, the only reason to watch is the cameo by The Modern Dog.


The Modern Gal's Vlog Day from The Modern Gal on Vimeo.

5-A-OK

I've been debating whether to run the 5K or the 1-mile version of the local Race for the Cure. The original plan had been to run the 1-mile run now and do a 5K in November.

My regular run route is around the neighborhood loop once, a good two miles that kicks my ass thanks to the crazy mean hills:

That first hill is especially awful and pretty much ruins me for the rest of the run.

But the thing is, this weekend's 5K course looks more like this:

One quasi-imposing hill, but at least it's at the end.

I was still on the fence post about 1-mile/5K until Saturday, when I joined Jennifer and Jen for a run around our mostly flat downtown. They're a bit more hard-core into the running than I am, but that's exactly the push I needed. We ended up running probably about 4 miles and walking a little under a mile beyond that. And it felt so good.

So, I will be running the 5K this Saturday, wish me luck!

In other news, I think the additional running I did helped me overcome last week's bad weigh in, which I believe I neglected to tell you about. Here are my Weight Watchers numbers for the last week:

-gained 1.2 pounds last week
-lost 3.2 pounds this week
-minus 12.8 pounds since the start of Weight Watchers 14 weeks ago
-minus about 16.5 pounds since I started keeping track four months ago.

Only 2.2 pounds to drop before I hit my initial weight loss goal!

Who needs pants anyway?

I'm finding losing weight to be mostly a blessing, but it does have its curses too. Like in the pants department.

About a year ago, I conceded to myself that I had to buy some bigger work-appropriate pants because I couldn't squeeze one more moment out of the size I was trying to wear. I made an investment, spending quite a bit of money on some really good pairs and spending some more money on getting some of those pants hemmed because at the size I was wearing a girl is not supposed to be 5-foot-3, according to the fashion industry. I found some really great items that I've lived in for the past year.

Well, of course they're all now fall-off-my-body too big. Sure, I can get them on which is better than what I was dealing with a year ago, but they kind of defeat the purpose of having a better body after losing weight and make me look like I don't know how to clothe myself and that is unacceptable.

So, you'd think that means it's time to go back to wearing the old pants, right? Nope. In an effort to limit the amount of clutter in my life, I of course gave most of them away save a pair of jeans and hot pink J. Crew pants that I couldn't bear to part with. I can only wear those so many times in a row before someone starts to ask why I wear jeans to work so often or man, I must really love pink. (The answer to the second part is no, not really. I just like to wear a bold color every now and then.)

I certainly don't mind shopping for new pants, but I also hope (HOPE) to drop one more pants size before this is all said and done. It took me about 10 weeks to drop one size, so if I keep up my current pace, it doesn't make a lot of sense to spend a lot of money buying pants and getting them hemmed.

I had a 10% off coupon for Target that expired yesterday, so I stopped by the Big Bullseye on the way home hoping to find some pants that would tide me over. I found some that fit, but you know what? Target apparently doesn't believe in petite length pants, unless it's in workout gear, which is pretty much the one style I don't mind extra-long pants. YOU HEAR THAT TARGET? HOW ABOUT SOME LOVE FOR THE SHORT LADIES? I really, really don't want to have to get a pair of Target pants hemmed just to wear them for a couple of months.

I plan on hitting up Old Navy and the Gap armed with coupons this weekend in hope for a little more success, as they often carry the shorter length pants.

Anywho, I didn't do a Weight Watchers post last week because I was uber busy with work and my parents coming to town and ended up breaking completely even on the weigh in -- no gain, no loss.

This week I got a couple of really good runs in. I'm almost to the point where I'm running 2 miles without stopping. It's hard as crap, but I feel so good doing it. I'm thinking about changing my planned 1-mile run in the Race for the Cure in October to a 5K. I may have to walk some of it, but I doubt it would be much.

Anyway, here's my total for this week:
-lost 1.8 pounds this week
-minus 10.8 pounds since the start of Weight Watchers 12 weeks ago
-minus about 14.5 pounds since I started keeping track four months ago.

Put your new shoes on

My dad gave me some money for my birthday for me to buy myself something nice. Yes, my birthday was two months ago, but the money has just been sitting in my wallet while I debated what to spend it on: new bicycle or facial; bicycle or facial; bicycle or facial?

I've been wanting a bike for a while. There are plenty of places around town to ride a bike, something I love, love, LOVED to do as a kid. I spent hours on my bike as a youngin' because it meant freedom. I know I wouldn't quite get that same feeling of freedom from riding a bike as a 20-something, but I still wanted to see if I loved it as much.

I probably really, really need a facial. I have really bad skin on my face thanks to over a decade of acne and a teensy habit of zit popping. I'm trying to take better care of my skin before it starts making me look twice my age, but it's probably going to need a little extra TLC regardless.

So what to do, bike or facial?

Here's what I decided:

Yes, I'm well aware that the above photo is neither a bike nor a facial.

I've really been getting into this running thing way more than I ever expected to. I'm on Week 5 of the initial training program, and it's going great!

And in going great I mean let me share with you my latest Weight Watchers weigh-in numbers.
-lost 3 pounds this week!
-minus 9 pounds since the start of Weight Watchers 10 weeks ago
-minus about 12.7 pounds since I started keeping track four months ago.

Three pounds! My biggest weekly loss yet! I really have no other way to explain it than the running. I've been kind of lax in keeping track of my WW points every day, although I am trying to stick with all the healthy-eating lessons I've learned.

After getting up to running for 5-minute periods with 3-minute walking periods in between, I figured I needed to be running in shoes that weren't 3-year-old cheap New Balances that never had any support to begin with. And I figured, if I was going to do this running thing right, I was going to get some proper shoes. The Modern Beau needed new shoes for his marathon training, so we hit up the local running store on Saturday where they made us walk barefoot around the store and they inspected our feet before pulling out a couple different pairs for us to try on.

And I love my new shoes. They're light, they're cushy, they fit well (apparently I have a size 9 foot not 8.5). They're also Nike-Plus friendly in case I ever get an iPod Nano w/Nike-Plus to replace my old-school iPod Mini.

And I swear they're making me run faster.

Lose for good

I'm not trying to pressure anyone into joining Weight Watchers, because being pressured into it won't help you lose weight. BUT, if you were ever thinking about joining, now is a great time.

From now until Oct. 18, for every pound of weight lost Weight Watchers is donating the equivalent of a pound of food to someone who needs it, up to $1 million worth, as part of the Lose for Good campaign. According to the site, if I lose the seven pounds that I'd like to in that time span, Share our Strength could feed a child for a month.

You can sign up for Weight Watchers by clicking on the Lose for Good link. If you have any questions about the program, feel free to e-mail me at themoderngal(at)gmail(dot)com!

One step back

I keep waiting so late to write that I'm too pooped to think out a whole post.

So all I've got for today is a Weight Watcher's update. I had a bit of a setback this week, which I'm sure had nothing at all to do with spending three days lounging at the lake with my friends, cookout food and beer. Lots of beer.

I am still sticking with the running routine. Tonight I did splits of walking for five minutes and running for five minutes, which I'm sure has nothing to do with how exhausted I am right now. I did the five minute splits for the first time at the lake, and let me tell you the rolling hills and Alabama heat had me screaming profanity inside my head. Running for five minutes sounded near impossible. But I did it, and it was significantly easier tonight without the extra heat. It felt good. And it felt good that it felt good, if you know what I mean.

This time last year was when I started putting on the pounds at a faster rate than ever. As my work schedule gets busier and the holidays approach, I have to try especially hard to lose each and every pound. Hopefully the jogging will help.

Anyway, without further adieu, the total:
-gained 1.4 pounds this week
-minus 6 pounds since the start of Weight Watchers nine weeks ago
-minus about 9.7 pounds since I started keeping track four months ago.

Two steps forward, one step back.

Paying attention to what your body is saying

One of the things I found in The MG inbox from last weekend was the Health Magazine newsletter which had an article titled How to Think Yourself Thin. Bad title, but the article is about a health practice which I've been trying to master since joining Weight Watchers: paying attention to your body's hunger cues.

For several years I've had a problem of eating too much. I got into a routine of having two snacks before lunch, making a trip to the snack machine in the late afternoon in spite of a decent sized lunch, and having desert every night. Sure, I knew I wasn't that hungry, but I ignored my mental hunger cues and ate anyway. WW's method of point counting forced me to pay better attention to when I was eating and now I'm noticing my I'm hungry/I'm full feelings more and I'm actually heeding them.

It definitely helped me while I was in Asheville last weekend. I didn't eat the best stuff, but I still mentally cut each meal in half and stopped eating just before I got halfway through. I'd "rest," drink some water, maybe hit the restroom and let my food digest a bit. If I was still interested, I'd take a few more bites. If not, I'd hail the server and ask for a to-go box. Thanks to all my to-go boxes, the gastric portion of my vacation lasted several more days than the actual vacation.

The Modern Gal runs again

So I've decided to try again to take up running. I tried a little over a year ago and resulted in major fail probably because July in the South is a bad time to try to take up running, no matter how late or early in the day you do it.

"But Modern Gal, August in the South isn't any better and is probably worse."

True, but check out my training plan. It really isn't hard to spend a minute at a time jogging and having five minutes of walking to recover, even if it is 85 degrees out at 10 p.m. It starts out super easy and slowly builds your endurance until you can run two miles at a given time within eight weeks. Two miles to me right now is very, very scary.

Actually, that's just one half of my training. I plan to run Race for the Cure's 1-mile family run at the end. Then I launch immediately into my beginning 5K training plan, with a 5K race scheduled at the completion. I'll be running marathons in no time!

Ok, I'm not really planning on running any marathons. Truthfully, I'm not a fan of running. I have a hard time forcing myself to stick with it. But The Modern Beau, who is training for a marathon, has long encouraged me to try it out and since he, you know, watches Project Runway and Sex and the City with me and cooks for me on a regular basis the least I can do is try it out. If I find I still hate it come 5K time, then I'll move on. Plus, I've always wanted to be able to run charity 5K races with no problem. And, it shouldn't hurt my Weight Watchers quest either.

Speaking of Weight Watchers, I totally forgot to give y'all a tally last week. I wasn't trying to hide the fact that I had gained weight, it was just sheer oversight in my joy of going on vacation ... dang, I was starting vacation a whole week ago ... that went by too fast. So here's the tally for the past two weigh ins.

Last week's weigh in:
-gained 2.2 pounds
-minus 3.4 pounds since the start of Weight Watchers five weeks ago
-minus about 7.1 pounds since I started keeping track four months ago

This week's weigh in:
-lost 1.8 pounds
-minus 5.2 pounds since the start of Weight Watchers six weeks ago
-minus about 8.9 pounds since I started keeping track four months ago

I really, really want to try to lose five pounds in the next three weeks. I doubt I'll be able to do it, but with my newfound love of running, who knows? Five more pounds would get me super close to where I want to be.

For those of you who are runners, I'd love any insight you have to offer on running.

Moments of fail in weight loss history

I've been generous in sharing with y'all the success of my journey in trying to lose a few pounds, but I feel like I'm not giving you the full picture. I likely would have lost even more weight by now except that there are plenty of things still holding me back.

Situations that still prompt a big ol' fat FAIL.

• Free food. I used to tell myself that free food was as good as healthy food ... doesn't everyone think that? Unfortunately, the free food that crosses my path is almost always calorie-laden and high in Weight Watchers points. In the past week, I've had a piece of cake at work (probably in the vicinity of 8 points), a 13-point chocolate chip cookie from Bruegger's Bagels and bags of Cheetos and Fritos all given to me. And I ate them all.
• Foods in bags. When I'm at home, I must resist the urge to open a bag of food like a bag of potato chips. Because when I open them, I can't stop eating them. When I take stuff like this to work, I measure out my portions into a baggie and then there's no threat of overeating. You think this method would work at home, but you'd be wrong. I can measure out a portion, put away the bag and sit down to eat my food. But as soon as I'm done consuming that perfectly measured portion it's like an alien force enters my body, walks me to the pantry and forces my hand back into the bag for more, more, MORE.
• Dessert. My taste buds expect and demand something sweet to cleanse my palette after lunch and dinner. I tried so very, very hard one night this week to fight the desire for some chocolate after a dinner which left me feeling very full, but it consumed my thoughts. I tried brushing my teeth -- a trick that works for many, but for me it did not. I gave in to the chocolate. Fortunately I've been able to keep myself satisfied on 1-point pieces of dark chocolate (one at a time) and little 1-point Weight Watchers brand chocolate cakes (small but devine). But I can't seem to ween myself from them.
• Exercise. I like being active, but when it comes down to it I'm still pretty lazy. I still have a hard time making myself go to the gym/go for a run/get in the pool/break out the Dance, Dance Revolution. I was never like this as a kid -- I was always on my bike or in the pool or running around at color guard practice. (Yes, color guard. Go ahead, make fun of me. I'll wait.) As I've gotten older, Newton's first law has had greater bearing on my life. I'm pretty sure BravoTV and my bloglife plays a huge role in this.

I'm sure being able to identify my weaknesses is half the battle, but as far as figuring out the other half? I have yet to do that.

Different ways to think about weight loss

This weekend I sat down and updated my personal budget for the first time in over a year -- long overdue considering how drastically my life has changed in that time. But it got me to thinking a bit and I came to a conclusion. (One that's a twee simplistic, but let's just think theoretically here.)

Planning to save money really is no different than planning to lose weight.

Planning is something that's preached big time in Weight Watchers. If you take even just a few moments to think ahead about your meals, about how you'll respond when something like free cake at work presents itself (I failed in that department today), if you think about how you're going to incorporate more movement into your life, then you're more likely to be successful.

Same goes for money. And I definitely have to plan how to deal with that.

If given the opportunity, I could spend, spend, spend all day. Y'all know how much I love to shop. I also love to travel and eat and drink well, and those things cost money too. For the first year out of college I barely stayed afloat being paid a salary of peanuts and not having reformed my spendy ways. A few years ago, I decided to get smart about money and after spending a month analyzing ALL my spending, I put myself on a budget.

It wasn't perfect -- I still had shopping binges where I'd come home with more bags than I could carry. But it worked well enough that my bank account began to grow. And it grew large enough that I had a hefty downpayment for my townhome.

Now I'm trying to do the same thing with my weight, although I in reverse, I guess. I have a budget of points (a budget of calories, fat grams and dietary fiber units) that I get every day. Sure there are days where I'll consume more than I intend to, but there will be other days where I'll be super healthy.

Instead of a townhome, my reward is a slimmer body, a healthier lifestyle and loads of self confidence. I don't know about you, but that may be better than a townhome.

The beauty of both a financial budget and a health one is that there's plenty of opportunity for redemption: if you have a bad month for money, just start over at the beginning of the next month and try a little harder. If you have a bad week of overeating, treat the next one as a new beginning.

Apparently it's working. Consider the official tally:
-minus 5.6 pounds since the start of Weight Watchers a month ago
-minus about 9.3 pounds since I started keeping track four months ago

One of my fellow Weight Watcherers had a great tip this week. She's lost 25 pounds (amazing, isn't it?) and when she was in the grocery store the other day, she picked up a 25-pound bag just to grasp how much weight she'd actually lost. Brilliant. Twenty-five pounds on the body seems like one thing. When you're actually cringing from holding the weight, you realize just how significant it is.

Right now I'm in search for things that weigh 5.6 pounds. I've found the following:

• Five bottles of beer minus a few ounces (Coors Light used for testing purposes only)
• Webster's New World College Dictionary, fourth edition + Jen Lancaster's Bright Lights, Big Ass + Nuns Having Fun (exhibit A)
• New Balances + Chacos + brown ballet flats + hiking boots (exhibit B)
• My tool box + electric drill
  

Exhibit A
Exhibit B

Someone told my mother after she'd lost about 30 pounds on WW that it was like she'd given birth to a 4-year-old. By the time she achieved lifetime status (basically one's goal weight) on WW, she'd lost two of them.