23 April 2006, 255.0 pounds (10% star!)

That's right, I have lost 10% of my body weight!!!  I started a prednisone pack this week to try to calm the inflammation in my sciatic nerve and have terrible edema from that medication, so I had no expectations about weight loss; I certainly didn't expect this!  My weight loss can also be measured as: Three Rabbit Goal!!!             or Two Cat Goal!!

15 April 2006, 260.5 pounds

Yeah, whatever. Now where's an Easter Bunny... I wanna bite it's head off.  -Don't worry, Brewster is safe!  If you follow the link, you'll see that it turns out that the Easter Bunny isn't actually a rabbit, it is a hare! [got the link offa Gandolf's Oatmeal] Actually, here's a lesson for any young grasshoppers that may be about: you need about 3,500 calories to make a pound of fat.   I went 105.5 points over this week, which is somewhere in the neighborhood of 7,900 calories.  Which means that realistically the most weight I could have put on from fat is about 2.25 pounds.  Sometimes people post a gain of like 7 pounds or something and think it is fat when there is no possible way.  Anyway, I got off easy, 1.5 pounds.

08 April 2006,  259.0 pounds (25 pound star!)

Based on my pattern I actually didn't expect a loss this week; so this is a nice bonus. Couldn't do the 5K due to an injury.  I squished my sciatic nerve using poor seating; something I could get away with when I had more padding back there.  Now, with the injury, I had to purchase some "replacement padding" also known around here as the "fake butt"... a pressure pad that very much replicates the properties of what I lost.  Also had to purchase a very expensive office chair since I have, for the short term at least, ruined myself for cheap seating.  And swimming accomplishments has become my focus this week... I don't know how people can exercise just to put in their time; I'm too competitive even though right now my only competition is me!

02 April 2006, 261.5 pounds

I've always wanted to be a distance runner, but with the weight there was no hope of returning to running.  Now that I know Weight Watchers really works, my goals are about fitness rather than weight.  Weight is no longer an insurmountable obstacle; it is something that is being taken care of in the background while I focus on other things regarding my health and fitness.  I've changed my page headers to reflect my new goals, and also the fact that Weight Watchers is now one of a few life-changing tools that will get me there; this isn't just about Weight Watchers any more! This week I went straight from the airport to the gym and went to the gym a second time while on the road.  At home, I walked two road miles in 38 minutes, giving me a new low mile time of 19 minutes.  I was also significantly less sore and winded than I was the last time I did a road walk (as opposed to the treadmill).  GIven that level of wellness, I signed up for a 5K next Saturday. Also went to 9th Street Active Feet and got shoes that fit!  This may seem like a simple matter, but in fact I have never had shoes that fit, and I've had constant pain and frequent injuries starting during high school athletics.  One more stupid, simple thing that was never set right before. I'm really having resentment about all the dumb diet ideas that crowd out the one that works, and all the stupid foot things I've been put through that kept me from the solution that works.

26 March 2006, 262.5 pounds (add'l. 5 pound star!)

Plenty of exercise this week, and got myself a heart monitor.  My treadmill activity points were the same as the Weight Watcher's estimate, but my weightlifting activity points were actually 66% less than the estimate.  Also found out that my cottage cheese servings were actually half-servings, so I had to double my cottage cheese intake.  I followed the Eight Healthy Guidelines almost to a T; this is my first week for that.  Weight Watchers is a lot more than counting points... I've found out that a lot of people don't know that. Cumulative Loss = Nephew + 2 lbs. Or, put another way... Cumulative Loss = Rabbit + Cat

19 March 2006, 268.0 pounds

Had a great exercise week.  I had been afraid I wouldn't make any progress if I only did weightlifting every three or four days, but this week it really became clear this is my recovery time.  If I wait that long I have a much better workout than if I try to go back to the weights in 48 hours.  No change in body weight, but my fat percentage has finally started to nudge down.             Side and face progress pictures in reverse!  I was hoping for a little more progress on the arms, but apparently all the fat has been coming off my tummy, thighs and face instead.             No wonder my glasses won't stay up!  I don't know what to say about that sour expression on my face.  I purposefully don't smile because I want a good comparison, but today's picture is especially somber...

12 March 2006, 267.0 pounds

Very emotional week.  Did fine on eating, but had trouble dragging myself to the gym. Cumulative Loss = 2 Rabbits

05 March 2006, 268.0 pounds (add'l. 5 pound star!)

Spent the week on the road at a giant hotel with ONE TREADMILL!  The manager told me that the hotel chain just had a manager's conference and one of the topics was that hotels must have good gym equipment these days.  Okay, get to work!

27 February 2006, 269.5 pounds (add'l. 5 pound star!)

At the beginning of the week went over points by 4.5 by eating a very small portion of a ribeye steak- nearly 2 points an ounce, YIKES!  During the week exercised quite a bit- treadmill, stairs, and weight training.  At the end of the week was guest in a relative's home and went under points each day because I wanted to make sure I was prepared for anything that might happen by the end of the day. Cumulative loss =  One Cat + 1 lb.

19 February 2006, 276.0 pounds

My first "gain week".  Worked out like a crazy woman this week, so a gain is possibly to be expected.  I've learned that people commonly retain water in their muscle tissues after increasing exercise.  Now that I've learned that, I recall a men's clothier telling me that men often go up an entire shirt size the week they start lifting weights; obviously on that time frame it is water, not muscle, that those men are packing on.  Did a set of pictures on the 17th.  The only thing I can really see in the pictures is that I have lost the fullness in my cheeks and my neck has gone down about 2 inches (before & current face pictures provided below).  I can see a lot more in real life, but that is all that I can see in the pictures.  Oh, and that lean to the left?  I wouldn't have realized it was permanent if it weren't in both pictures; that's from carrying my very heavy briefcase on my right shoulder.  I've got to find a healthier way to shlep my stuff around. The BIG news is the dramatic improvement in my resting heart rate. BMI: 44, fat %: 52, Size: 24, Resting HR: 74 (!), Mile: 23 minutes

12 February 2006, 275.5 pounds

All week my pants are falling off; had to go buy pants this weekend.  My husband and I can both clearly see that I've lost weight.  I was up all night before weigh in and my husband wanted me to weigh in early because he was so curious to see what I weigh... I'm a bit surprised that it is just one more pound.  It must have been one really BIG pound. Cumulative loss =  One Rabbit

05 February 2006, 276.5 pounds

Before my WW on-line group, I would not have coped with a one pound loss very well at all.  However, I've had a chance to "meet" and see dozens of women who are successful losers.  And they all say what the science says, which is that slow losers are the most likely to be successful long-term losers.  And also that one pound a week is 52.5 pounds a year.

29 January 2006, 277.5 pounds (5 pound star!)

My first week on a plane since WW.  Business class (constant food!) two two-hour layovers in LAX and one three-hour layover in ORD.  My first trip to my Dad's ranch (food, food, food & no escape) since WW.

18 January 2006, 284.0 pounds

After returning from four weeks of constant business travel as the poster child for a poor work-life balance, I was in no mood to screw around with anything in my life for one moment in 2006.  My first day back in town I got an advertisement for reduced-cost Weight Watchers courtesy of my employer and I joined online within minutes of receiving the email. Obviously I cannot do the in-person program... because I'm always on a plane! A few months earlier I had weighed 296 pounds.  Those pants on my "before" picture had been skin-tight on my thighs then, and the shirt didn't have any give around my mid-rif.  I began having some endocrine problems (partly due to my frequent travel) and with medication for that my weigh reduced to 284 pounds.