In 2007...

1. Will you be looking for a new job?
Nope! I love my job!

2. Will you be looking for a new relationship?
No way!

3. New house?
Nope!

4. What will you do differently in '07?
Hit my WW goal before 2008... 48 more lbs!

5. New Year's resolution?
See #4

6. What will you NOT be doing in '07?
i will not gain weight back.
I will not be getting anew job

7. Any trips planned?
Hopefully somewhere warm and wonderful in May

8. Wedding plans?
oy, quite a few to go to, who knows if i have plans for my own yet... gotta ask adam about that.

9. Major thing on your calendar?
Nope

10. What can't you wait for?
My family craziness to end.

11. What would you like to see happen differently?
Budget better

12. What about yourself will you be changing?
Losing weight, continuing to not smoke

13. Will you be nicer to the people you care about?
yes

14. Will you dress differently this year then you did in '06?
YES!! Smaller clothes!!

15. Will you start or quit drinking?
Eh, dont really drink, don't really like it

16. Will you better your relationship with your family?
I hope so.

17. Will you do charity work?
maybe

18. Will you go to bars?
Maybe

19. Will you be nice to people you don't know?
Sure

20. Do you expect '07 to be a good year for you?
Yes!

21. How much did you change from last year to this year?
I'm 55 lbs lighter, and a lot happier.

22. Do you plan on having a child?
NO

23. Will you still be friends with the same people you are friends with now?
Yep

24. Major lifestyle changes?
Not that I can think of

25. Will you be moving?
I hope not!

26. What will you make sure doesn't happen in 2007 that happened in 2006?
Going broke

27. What are your New Years Eve plans?
Going out to dinner

28. Will you have someone to kiss at midnight?
Yes! My one and only...

29. One wish for 07?
Happiness and health for all around me

Updates

Just a few things today: *I'm officially down 53 lbs! *my 2 year anniversary with Adam is coming up on the 17th and he bought me a diamond circle pendant to celebrate (that, and he's proud of me for losing 50 lb) *Lizz came through her surgery just fine *Grandma's cancer is treatable as long as she can afford the treatment. Hopefully she'll be part of a study or something that will cover her medication. She's in good spirits though, and I'm going up to see her on Tuesday. I hope that should cheer her up.

This is a new photo of Skylar, Lizz's 18 month old and my "niece"... I love her!

Grandma

things have taken an odd and sad turn in the last few days... my grandma who will be 89 in a couple weeks, was diagnosed with lung cancer.

i'm having a hard time dealing with it

just thought i'd share

Onederland, again!

I gained 3.8 lbs. last week. Well, that's what the scale told me anyway. My brain knew better! It knew that I'd had Thai food the night before and was bloated. It knew that my lack of counting that week had caused me to gain a little weight. I went back to old-school though, and counted like a mad woman (at least the stuff i needed to count) and lost all but .2 of that this week! I'm back to Onederland and 52.8 lbs gone....PHEW!

Above is the picture of Lizz and I from the Baby Fair a couple weeks ago. I think we literally have hundreds of pictures together now!

A difference in perspective

Earlier in the week, I had an experience that I wrote about where a student called me a fat ass. Granted, no, I don't know what else is going on in her life to make her so angry etc, but no matter what, behavior like that is unacceptable. Later this week, I logged into my MySpace account for the first time in a while. I'd recently added a few former students (now in high school) as "friends" so I was anticipating a few comments from them. I was not expecting what I got! 3 of the 4 girls wrote me notes saying how amazing I looked when they saw me, and how they didn't recognize me until I talked to them. These are teenage girls with no ulterior motives for complimenting me, so I really can take their compliments to heart... usually teenage girls don't compliment anyone unless they mean it!

I had to weigh in a day early this week because my WW center is closed today. I was down 1.6 so it's a total of 53 pounds now... which is still hard for me to believe. It's been fun now that there are people at work that are also on WW, and I'm slowly converting them to the core plan... very very slowly...

On Wednesday, I had to go to the pet store to get a bag of dog food, and of course dog food comes in GINORMOUS bags. The only kind our dog will eat is this organic stuff that of course was on sale: 44 lbs for the price of 40. I was proud of myself for lifting the bag and carrying it to my car, but was thinking that not 7 months ago, I had MORE than that much weight distributed on my body. It was very eye opening to think about, and motivation for me to keep going.

Hopefully I'll get my "reward" for 50 lbs and Onederland this weekend: a diamond circle pendant. Adam said he'd help pay for it, which has allowed me to really look for the one I REALLY want, instead of the one I can afford.

A funny thing happened today...

I managed to anger a student today. Not that this is an odd occurrence by any means, but the reaction and argument that ensued was, let's say, different.

This story needs a little preface: Last year, just about 2 months before I joined WW, a student was confused by a major assignment that I had just finished explaining. I caught her passing a note to another student, and like any other teacher, I took the note away from her. When I read it, the note said "I know, I hate her, I hate her stupid projects. Imagine how fat she would be if she got pregnant! GROSS!" And even though it was a 6th grade student, it still hurt. Part of my decision to join WW was because of this note.

Now, on to today's story. This student had a major attitude for the class period that I saw her. With Halloween and the festivities, I let a lot of the stuff she was saying go because it was just that kind of day. The staff was then given a list of students that were not allowed to participate in the upper-grades dance in the afternoon, and this one girl was on this list. She of course got angry, and said "Well, if I'm not allowed to go to the dance, I want my $3 back." I told her that I didn't know what the policy was, but since it was for disciplinary action that I doubted she'd get her money back . She then said "Damn Miss O shut your fatass up until you know what you're talking about." Rather than getting upset about what she said, I sent her to the office and she proceeded to get suspended for 3 days.

I started thinking. This time last year, I really *was* a fatass! As of now, I'm still overweight, but by no means a fatass... this was a major revelation to me!

Such milestones!

YWow, so last week I hit a huge milestone in my mission to get down to a normal weight: I officially lost 50 pounds! Then today, I saw something at the scale that I haven't seen in over 5 years: a 1 as the first digit in my weight. That's right folks, I started this whole thing at over 250 lbs, and I have no plans of stopping. Y


YI've been watching portions much more closely, and I've noticed that I need significantly less food to keep myself satisfied. Tonight, for example, I started myself with 2 small tacos, assuming that I could go back and make another one if I needed. I didn't need it! When I wanted something sweet, I had a little leftover breakfast (pancake) and felt good. I have pudding for a late night snack if I feel I need it. Y

YOther news: My sister is moving back home!! She got a job in Chicago at a new restaurant, and will be moving home before the end of November. I'm so excited for her!! Sorry there are no new pictures, but hopefully I'll have a few soon. Y

Beginning of month 7

I know I've said this before, but man, I can't believe it's been this long! There are some days that I feel like a complete rookie at this, then there are other days that make me feel like an expert. They started an "at work" ww meeting at my school for the teachers, and all the teachers who joined asked me to come to meetings for support. They ask me as many questions as they do the leader! It's great feeling like I actually know something.

I had a rough last week with Josh's wedding and a few dinners out. I though I'd done pretty poorly and had braced myself for a gain. I got on the scale and the receptionist smiled and said "good job!" When I looked at my book I saw that I'd lost 1.4 lbs... guess I did better on the other days than I'd originally thought. I need my knee to heal so I can start working out again. I was doing SO much better when I had more regular activity. I've started doing housework when I get home from work so I can at least break a sweat.

Posted here are pictures of me and Adam from a year ago, and from last weekend. I think there's a pretty drastic difference!

Time to reflect

After however many weeks of steady weight loss, i gained a pound this past week. I know exactly why: i stopped counting points of what i ate, and i ate a bunch of crap... I just hate that this gain came so close to me hitting my 50# mark... oh well... onward and downward!

Back to my "real" life...

Yesterday was my first day back at my "real" job, and I was not looking forward to it. I felt like I hardly got any time off. BUT all my hard work this summer paid off! People were talking left and right about how great I look, and it felt SO good to be talked about positively. Today, a few students were in the building, and they didn't initially say hello to me until I said hello to them because they didn't recognize me. For fun, these are some pictures of right after school let out in June and right before work started this past week:

Camp is over

Wow, 9 weeks sure went quickly! While i had my challenges during camp, I did lose over 15 lbs in the 9 weeks, which is decent progress! I'm ready for my break now...10 days off... My plans include getting my hair done, and cooking a LOT! OH and sleeping... sleep has been hard to come by...

This is a photo of me and my friend Rita on the last day of camp. I love that I can see my eyes now, and they're not completely squinty when i smile...

Week 19...

well, a friend of mine just told me that I haven't updated this in a really long time... and I guess i haven't! It's been a crazy month really, with camp and moving. Camp has been fun for sure, and TONS of work. My kids keep me running around all day, and my whole weight loss thing has been going well because of that. I slipped up a bit last week after the move. There were no clean dishes, and it was just easier to order out. I made good choices (nothing fried, no cheese, etc.) but still saw a gain (.4) at the scale this week. it's back on the wagon this week though! We're doing dishes and going grocery shopping today. The Under 200 mark is my next goal...hopefully by Labor day!

Independance Day

Well, I've been slacking on updating ya'll, and i know you TOTALLY miss me! So here's what's new: i've lost 7 lbs since camp started... i guess the physical activity is good for me! My girls are adorable, and the people I work with are a blast. I've made a couple new friends and reconnected with some old ones. Eating has been pretty difficult because I have to get up SO early, so remembering to pack lunch within the 8GHGs has been HARD!

It's interesting that it's Independance day though... I actually feel like I have something to celebrate! I'm independent from my reliance on crappy food, independent of the judgements of being a "fat girl" and most importantly, independent of the way i used to feel...

Week #15... another milestone up soon!

I really can't believe how well this is all working for me... not to sound self-centered or anything, but I've never had a lifestyle change stick as well as this one has. I hadn't realized how much better I felt, but camp started this week. For the first time in a few years, my campers were yelling at me to slow down when we were walking, and they got tired LONG before I did. I don't feel like an idiot in my bathing suit, and the kids aren't pointing and staring at "the fat counselor" anymore. Next week I get my "stay and succeed" dangle for my 10% keychain... I can't believe it!

I DID IT!!

I hit my first "mini-goal" of my first 10%! I'm bouncing! SO EXCITED!!!

Next goal: another 10% by the beginning of the school year, the first Tuesday after Labor Day. I think i can do it!

Nervous for tomorrow's WI

I had a disappointing WI last week, especially because I "should have" hit my 10% at last meeting. But alas, instead of losing a full pound, i lost .4 and i missed it by .6 ARGH! Hopefully I'll hit it this week! I've done really well this week though, and it looks like i'll be cooking a lot this weekend, so I'll start next week off right. I got a haircut last week, and i've been feeling really good about myself lately, which is always the best part of losing weight!

week 10... i gave up counting days

I lost track of my days! I've had a few victories the last few days, the most minor being that i fit into a SMALLER size of a shirt that i'd previously tried on 1 size larger. The more major ones have been: eating very well on my trip to Denver. I managed to not overeat TOO much, and kept track of my points. I didn't get to weigh in last week, and I'm starting to feel as though I may have made a mistake in not doing it. I'm kind of feeling like I've lost sight of what my 35 pts. in a week feels like, and even though I've gotten at least 1 AP a day for the last 2 weeks, I feel like I may be overdoing it. The scale will tell on saturday though! The above picture is of me, my dad, and my sister at her graduation.

Day 48

I really thought i'd be better at updating this, but alas, i've had other things going on. This past week was a great one for me! I hit a couple challenges during the week though that I think I dealt with pretty well. The biggest one was when I went to visit a friend of mine and her new baby out of town for the day on Friday. Her husband was really nice and went and got these amazing sandwiches from a local place, and in a previous mind frame, I would've eaten my sandwich, a full cookie, chips, etc. I worked it out so i had the smallest piece of this HUGE sandwich with no mayo, and a HUGE glass of water. I was definitely satisfied, and I didn't have to feel guilty about eating something I knew was bad for me. Saturday morning I went to my meeting and I was down 2.6 lbs for a total of 15.8 in 6 weeks. I've never felt better!

day 41

This past week had so many challenges! Getting back to work after spring break, a 3 year old's birthday party, and a friday dinner with my boyfriend. I must've done something right because Saturday's WI showed a 1.2 lb loss! I've lost 13.2 lbs total, and i figured out that it's equal to:

• 53 sticks of butter
• My friend's 10 month old
• almost 3 bags of potatoes
• 1.5 bags of ice

So i'm feeling pretty good!! Thinking this way has helped me keep the motivation i need to stay on this plan and keep losing!! Even the boyfriend (who has told me a zillion times that i look great no matter what) said "you really look great, definitely smaller"... sigh...

Day 36

Wow, I've kind of sucked at updating this!! I've had a pretty succesful week though I'm pretty proud of myself, especially for doing well through holidays.

• I survived my family's Passover seder with only using 2 WPAs, and my mom was very accomodating of my new eating style. She made sure to tell me that there was almost no oil in anything she made!
• I survived Adam's family's Passover seder with only another 2 WPAs, and it was great because his aunt used to be on WW, AND his uncle is diabetic. There was no added sugar, and everything was very lean.
• A friendly barbecue was a bit difficult for me because I did NONE of the cooking. I counted my points, only used 8, and ate very well.
  
• Easter proved to be a bigger challenge since the woman who did the cooking is notorious for putting extra oil in stuff, and there was SO much candy everywhere. Since my points renewed on Saturday, I was able to use 14 points without feeling guilty.
  

It was back to work after Spring break today. I wasn't ready for it! I actually cried in Adam's arms last night because I didn't want to go back to reality. The thing that stinks is that I only get to see him on weekends, and I got spoiled this past week. I got to Adam's at about 4 on Wednesday, and didn't have to leave until this morning. I really love waking up with him!! In a nutshell, I think i'll gain this week. It's TOM, and no matter how hydrated I am, I always bloat. I also used more of my WPAs than I usually do, but we'll see what happens. In other news, one of my best friends from high school had her first baby today!! She and her husband were blessed with a gorgeous baby girl! I couldn't be happier, and I can't wait to take the road trip the 2 hours to go see her!!!

day 28

I had my 5th WI today...4th one since on core. I was down another .6 of a pound, so that makes a grand total of 9.8 lb of me gone! I'm planning on a hot dog and a beer at the Cubs game today, a small piece of b-day pie for adam's birthday, and that should leave a good 15 points for me to use at passover. shouldn't be too bad! I'm feelin' good! GO CUBS!

Day 27

I took the day off work today as an extra day of Spring break, and WOW did I need it! I spent it w/my boyfriend, and we went for lunch and then to best buy. I made a pretty good lunch decision but it came with a few things I wasn't expecting. It was an asian chicken salad, but it came with this sauce that wasn't the dressing, and peanuts. I had a hard time even finishing half of it, so I didn't feel guilty about it. Dinner was Bubble Up Pizza...and it's a great find! I put it in my recipes page, and I'm definitely making it again! Next time, i'm making it in a bigger pan and only doing one topping. I tried to appease the boyfriend and put pepperoni on one half and mushrooms on the other. Not worth the extra work! I'm weighing in tomorrow at 10, and then shopping for boyfriend's birthday present. I have the sentimental gift already, I just need the material one... not too difficult! Then it's off to the Cubs game! I should get a lot of APs just walking from parking to the game!

day 26

I can't even begin to explain how happy I am today! I'm sitting in my boyfriend's house on a thursday night, after having a great sushi dinner, and i know that i don't have to go back to work until a week from monday! I love spring break! Food's been a little difficult lately because money has been tight, so I've had to live only on what i had in the house. The only thing I missed really was my dairy, but I'll do better this week. I really appreciate all the help and encouragement I've gotten from people on the boards, and I appreciate even more the help and support from my friends. It means so much to be encouraged! I made good choices this weekend too, by bringing my own food to the boyfriend's house so i'm not stuck eating non-core food. The freezer is stocked with chicken breasts and steak, and the fridge has applesauce and mashed sweet potatoes! Here's to another loss on the scale!

Day 25

The last couple days have been a bit bizarre. The weather has been changing, and I'm finding myself with more and more energy, mostly from the better foods i've been eating and the increasing daylight. The days have been strange, though, because I'm getting annoyed at myself for not wanting to be more active. I come home from work and all I want to do is sit somewhere quiet. I can't seem to get up the motivation to go walking! Then, the days that I promise myself that I'll go, it's either rainy or I have to work until after it's dark. I've cooked some good dinners though, and I'm excited to see my sister next week to see if she notices my losses. I've found that my family's comments and compliments mean a lot more to me than others'. Maybe its because they know me the best, and don't serve to gain anything by complimenting me...

Day 23

Even though I'm on day 23 of WW at this point, its the first day of my WW blog. I figure that I need to keep track of how I'm feeling re: the program and myself in order to stay on track. I've found that if I'm accountable to someone or something other than myself, I have a much easier time sticking to whatever I'm trying to accomplish.

Today was the first day that I really had a hard time OP. I spent the weekend at my boyfriend's house, and while I did my best to keep enough core food in the house so that I could bring enough food for today, I underestimated how much I'd need for the weekend AND today. Breakfast was a banana and coffee, and stuck with me surprisingly long! Lunch was veggies with a little rice and 2 bottles of water. Dinner was leftover skillet lasagne (aptly re-named "coreburger helper" by Megs and myself). I'm satisfied, thats for sure, but I don't feel as good today as I normally do. I like being able to snack if I need to. Tomorrow should be a better day.

i'm down 9.2 lbs... that's 37 sticks of butter, or 3 bags of cat food, or a large newborn baby...when I think about it that way, I've really accomplished something!