I am still wiped out from my week out of town working and I came down with a sinus infection while I was gone - thus I am sick, and tired. I made it to the doctor today and started some antibiotics so hopefully I will be getting back to normal soon. I have an Irish dance performance tomorrow and I haven’t danced or really worked out in  a week and a half and have zero energy tonight. Hopefully the meds will kick in and I will perk up and be ready to dance tomorrow.

I had one of Jamba Juice’s Light smoothies today. It was yummy and only 3 points for a 16 oz. one. I had the Berry Fulfilling one.

.. on track, that is. After 6 days out of town at a conference, I am excited to be home (if only for 4 days) and fixing my own meals. The conference I went to was held at a remote location and I was without transportation. All meals and snacks were provided on-site. Although I did bring along some granola bars and such, I ended up eating what was provided.

Everything was served buffet style and it was all tasty home-cooked food. In addition to generous meals, there was dessert after every dinner AND lunch and snacks 3x a day! Oh my gosh, I have never seen such much food! I wrote down all of my points (between 30 and 40 points most days) and tried to make some better choices (salads, lots of water, etc.) I did succumb to dessert every day and more snacks than necessary. Exercise was problematic because I was working (I interpreted the conference) up to 15 hours per day. I was exhausted by the time it was over. I did get in a few miles of walking, but not enough.

SO … I am expecting to see a gain this week, but for some reason my scale is flipping out and not working right (telling me I weigh 121 - ya right!)  so I haven’t even been able to check. Wednesdays are my WI day so hopefully I will have it fixed or replaced by then. Thanks for all the words of encouragement and suggestions on my last post. I read most of them after I got back, but I still have 2 trips coming up and I will definitely refer back to them.

Here’s today’s food:

Tomorrow begins my string of being out of town and I am NERVOUS! I am going to be out of town for 27 days total between now and the end of August which means I won’t be cooking my own meals or eating from my own pantry very much. Eating out is my downfall and I am going to be “guess”timating points like crazy. I’m also going to be away from the internet and my beloved Excel spreadsheet and my blog and all of you who help me stay on track <sniff> …. I’ll be gone on a work trip for 6 days this week, then at a 5-day professional conference at the beginning of August. I’m home overnight then head out on a camp-out with the 12-18 yr old girls from church then back for 3 nights before our 8 night trip to Hawaii!! Then at the end of August I have a 2 night camp-out with sign language students from the school where I teach. TELL ME I CAN DO THIS!! Any suggestions for staying on track away from home greatly appreciated.

Man, I am like a roller coaster. Yesterday was great after NSV at Old Navy, but today I just feel blah. I wore the size 12 capris I bought yesterday for half today, but ended up changing out of them because I felt so fat. Girls with belly fat should not wear low rise jeans. I haven’t been exercising well, and on top of that my asthma is flaring up because of all the forest fires near us so I can’t go for a walk outside even if I wanted to. My eating was horrible today. I cannot seem to control myself when I don’t prepare my own meals and we were at the in-laws for dinner. I wasn’t hungry at all after the tacos, but I promptly downed a full slice of cheesecake. I ate all my daily points AND all my flexies PLUS 20 points beyond that. I’m glad today is day 7 in my week. It’s TOM so I’m blaming everything on that. :p Sorry for the depressing post. I’m determined omorrow will be a better day and the start of a great week!

Tonight I stopped at Old Navy to try to find some shorts or capris for our Hawaii trip coming up (24 days!). SHOP has been a 4-letter word for me for a while. The last time I shopped for clothes was in the Spring. I remember trying on some jeans at Lane Bryant. I grabbed a size 16 from the rack and they fit nicely. Well, I realized as I took them off, they were actually 18’s on a size 16 hangar - the biggest size I’d ever worn. That was one of my many wake-up calls.

Well I am pleased to say that everything I bought tonight was a SIZE 14! That’s right. I tried on 16’s and they fit, but I thought for kicks I would try some 14’s and I was surprised they looked better than the 16’s! Then, I knew I was pushing it, but I saw some denim gauchos I liked and they didn’t have anything bigger than a 12 so I tried it on. Get this - They FIT! Ok, they don’t look great (yet) but they were on, and zipped, and I could breathe… so I got them. I think Old Navy is probably a little more generous in their sizing than some stores, but HEY - the tag says 12 and I’m stoked!

Recap of today:

I can’t think of anything in particular that sparked it, but for some reason I feel incredibly blessed and grateful today. Although I dislike my body and losing weight has been hard work, I realize that I have few things in my life to complain about. I have a great job, wonderful family and supportive husband. I am a happy person and I like who I am. I know this is much more than many have. Tonight I just wanted to acknowledge that I’m thankful.

Today didn’t go exactly as I had planned. The day started on a high with a peek at the scale (despite my good judgment I weigh nearly every day). The number was the lowest one I’ve seen yet and it was BELOW 180!!! (Just barely below, but who cares right?) My eating could have been better. I had dinner … then dinner part 2,  and my day started and ended with sugar. Ah well … I’m headed to bed with a smile on my face.

Loss of 0.5 today … not bad considering I went over on Flex points this week and didn’t get much exercise in. My next mini-goal is to weigh my Driver’s License weight. I am at 180.5 today and my license says 180. I’m going to wait to count it as an accomplishment until I’m actually at or below 180, which should be next week.

If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I am headed to Hawaii in August and hoping to be at my 10% by then. I have 4 weeks and 5.1 lbs to go. Wish me luck! Here’s the menu - tonight was my niece’s birthday party, the reason for the pizza and ice cream.

Planning ahead, I tell ya.. that is the KEY! PLAN AHEAD! Yesterday at class someone volunteered to bring Einstein bagels to class today. I had overnight to think about how I was going to handle it. Now, if I was really good I would just pass on the bagels and eat celery sticks (ya right!), but I felt good about what I did decide to do.

I looked up Einsteins nutrition info online and found out how many points it would cost me - about 8 for a bagel with cream cheese.  So I decided that would be my breakfast, then I packed a 4 point lunch, 2 point snack and planned a 7 point dinner.  I tried something new for dinner. I love Twice Baked potatoes that my MIL makes, but she uses like a whole tub of sour cream and a cube of butter in hers. This is my lo-fat version…maybe not quite as creamy and cheesy, but still good. I counted 4pts for mine because I actually had to use some low-fat, rather than fat-free ingredients, because that’s all I had.  Soo . . . Woo-hoo for planning ahead! I actually did end up with another 1/4th of a bagel for a few more points and then a few bites of toffee at our Youth activity at the church tonight, but overall not a bad day.  Tomorrow is my WI.

Just a quick menu from Monday. I am at another all day class every day this week for my M.Ed program. At least my drive is only 1/2hr for this one instead of 1hr 1/2. We ate out for lunch today, but the rest of the week everyone is brown bagging it, but bringing “snacks” to share. We’ll see how this goes…

Today was a better day. I like feeling in control of what I eat. I know that ultimately I am always in control of what I put in my mouth, but it is so much easier to make the right food choices when I cook my own food and select from my pantry. It is hard for me to eat at a restaurant or family member’s house and stay OP (as evidenced by Wed and Sat. this week.)

Today at church I heard something that made me think and that I applied to weight loss. It was “Don’t give up what you want MOST for something you want NOW.” Obviously it was meant to have spiritual implications, but I think it is so true for health and weight loss, too. It has to do with always keeping your goals in sight and making choices consistent with your goals. My next short term goal is only 1.1lbs away and my 10% is only 5.5lbs after that! I can do this.

Here is my menu from today. I still have a few points that I’ll probably use on Frozen Yogurt or a creamie later tonight. I’m also going to play some DDR and get in my ab workout before bedtime.