Today the scale read an all-time low and 4lbs less than my weigh a week ago. I don’t think I really lost 4 lbs of fat in a week, which just means that probably most of my gains during my trips was retaining water. I am happy to say I am back under my driver’s license weight and just 2 lbs from my 10%.

It is easy to not eat when I am too crazy busy for a meal. I had that problem today, in fact, only having time for a yogurt between breakfast and 4pm. I finally got lunch at 4, then a late dinner about 8:30. I had someone compliment me today on how I looked (she knows I’m losing weight), and it felt great. I wore a shirt that hasn’t looked good in a while (a size XL from the Jrs dept) and I think my tummy is flatter than it’s been in years (not yet flat, just flatter I think it was rather flattering - if I do say so myself. I will post another progress photo when I get to a 20 lb loss ( which is 2.7 lbs). Here’s todays menu:

I need to figure out how to fit in exercise with my new schedule. Besides taking the stairs and walking between buildings on campus I haven’t gotten any since school started. Two of my days are ~12 hour days (9am - 8:30/9:30pm). I honestly don’t see myself exercising those two days.

Irish dance starts back up next week (HOORAY!) and I need to start playing some DDR or doing my videos again. If it would cool off I’d walk outside, but I think I’ll wait until it’s in the 80’s. Tomorrow is my weigh after being at home from vacations for a week. I’m hoping to be back at my lowest.

I’d give today a 5. I’m getting back in to the swing of working and school again. My new full-time job is exhausting me. I am teaching a total of 6 sections from 4 different classes and they are all new classes for me; So I have TONS of prep work and reading to do for each one. I love it, but I am wiped out. Today was a 12.5 hour day.

Eating was OK, except I had pizza at the cafeteria for dinner (need to plan ahead better) and there literally was not time to fit in exercise.  Also, not enough water. . . I need to remember to carry a bottle with me to all my classes.

I haven’t posted a menu in a while so here’s today’s intake:

Tomorrow is a fresh start for me.  After being out of town for a good part of the last month, I am back in town and ready to get back to the business of counting points and exercising regularly. I looked at my progress and because of my few pounds gained from vacations, I have effectively lost nothing since the 4th of July.

School is starting again, though, which means I’ll be back on a normal, regular schedule which really helps me stay OP. I’m excited to be back to work. I teach at a community college and was just offered a 1-year full-time contract for this year. My schedule is going to be crazy, teaching until 8:30pm 2 days a week and starting every day at 9 or 9:30 am. I am thrilled though. I have been part time for the past 3 years in a very small department where full-time openings are rare and this opportunity just fell in my lap the day before I went to Hawaii and school started the day I got back. So.. I am incredibly overwhelmed and unprepared, but excited nonetheless. I will be packing lunches every day and dinners, too, twice a week. I do much better when the only thing I have to eat is what I’ve brought. I have been very scarce on the site and keeping up with others’ blogs, but I’m looking forward to catching up

I am back from Hawaii and had a GREAT time! I could have stayed there another week or two! I know I have gained .. a lot. We were active while we were there with hiking and snorkeling, etc, but I also ate a lot and did not count one single point in the 8 days we were away. >< Anyone heard of Motsumoto’s Shaved Ice in Haleiwa, HI? Well, I ate about a zillion of those while we were there.

I haven’t stepped on the scale yet, but I can tell because of how my clothes are fitting that I am up. It’s strict point counting for me starting tomorrow. Glad to be back. I’ll catch up with posts and your blogs soon. Thanks for the encouraging notes on my blog

Well today the scale told me I was back down to 178. Maybe some of my gain was really water weight. Either way, my new short term goal is to maintain at 180 (or less) for the next week while I am in Hawaii. We leave Tuesday. As I am sure you can tell by my posts the past few weeks, I am beyond Excited! It is my first time to Hawaii. Even though I am not the size I want to be, the 15 or so pounds I’ve lost have given me a huge boost of confidence and I am going to go out there and snorkel and surf and swim without worrying about how I look! It is a great feeling.

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to post a menu. This isn’t really one to brag about, but I want to stay in the habit. We don’t have much food in the house because I haven’t grocery shopped in a while so no veggies or fruits. Dinner/dessert was at mom’s house:

I got on the scale finally after my week in San Francisco and the last few days at church camp. I was expecting a gain so I am not surprised that the scale is up 3 lbs. I was actually prepared for worse. So, that is a setback in reaching my 10% goal. I had hoped to be there before we left for Hawaii on Tuesday. With all the traveling I’ve done, I have only stayed 100% on plan about 7 of the last 21 days. I am lucky the gain isn’t more. In spite of the gain, I went bathing suit shopping tonight (usually not a fun thing). I was pleased to find a suit that I thought was flattering and in a size 14 (down from a 16/18). It’s not really time to update my progress photos (I decided to do it approx every 10 lbs) but I thought I’d go ahead and share this one as motivation for myself. Thanks for the thoughtful comments on my blog while I’ve been away. I haven’t had much time to reply or keep up with others’ blogs, but I will catch up tomorrow before I head out of town again.

I am back home, but only for one night. Less than 12 hours really. I got home from San Francisco at about 7pm today and I am packed up (again) and ready to go  to camp with the 12-18 year old girls from church at 6:30 in the morning.

San Francisco was a great time and there was plenty of great food. I wrote down what I ate, but didn’t stay within points. Between  seafood on the wharf, gelato, In&Out Burger, Cheesecake Factory and Chinatown cuisine it was hard to concentrate on losing weight. We did do a lot of walking which I hope will counter balance some of the overeating. I skipped the scale tonight, but I’ll weigh first thing in the morning.  We leave for Hawaii on Tuesday which was my goal date for my 10% goal. I think I have sabotaged that, but I’m not letting it get me down. I can eat healthy for the next few days and then recommit myself after Hawaii.

I am headed out of town again tomorrow for the national conference for sign language interpreters in San Francisco. This time I will be eating restaurant food since the conference doesn’t provide meals. I am actually hoping to do better than last week at the previous conference where they had buffet style meals provided.

My plan for the week is to get simple breakfasts, like fruit or cereal, then hopefully fast food salads or Subways for lunches and then make good choices at sit-down restaurants for dinner. The hotel has a workout room, but I don’t know if I’ll have time to use it. I think I’ll get in some of walking since my hotel is a 1/2 mile from where the conference will be held. See you in a week
Today’s food choices weren’t the best - not enough water or veggies, and a little splurge on cake and ice cream for my 6 year old nephew’s birthday:

Fixed my scale - one of the rubber stops on the bottom was loose and causing it to be off balance. After my week out of town and dessert every day, I was a little nervous to get on the scale today. I was pleasantly surprised to see I was down 2.1 lbs from my last weigh 2 weeks ago. I have officially met my driver’s license weight goal and I am 3 lbs from my 10% which I am hoping to reach before going to Hawaii on Aug 14. My trip is 2 weeks away, but I still think I can do it.

I tried McD’s Southwest Salad and it is worth what everyone is raving about it. I calculated 6.5 without the dressing. It doesn’t need dressing because the chicken has a really great flavor to it already. I paired it with a small shake and was surprised to find out that was 9 points. Luckily I had earned a few activity points today.