Down 15 pounds! Can't beleive it!

So yesterday at WW, I got to get a little 5 pound sticker and everyone clapped. it was AWESOME. Here are the numbers:

Weight: 146.4 pounds
Pounds lost this week: -1
Total pounds lost: 15.6 pounds
Pounds to lose: 21.4 pounds

You'll notice that the "pounds to lose" number has shrunk significantly. That's not because I have been making outstanding progress, it's because I have revised my goal weight. I had originally thought I'd want to get down to 120, but now I'm thinking a more reasonable goal is 125. Healthy weight would just be 130, so 125 is in that range. I realize that the last time I was 120, I had a significantly smaller chest and almost no muscles (sorry, TMI), so I'm ok with changing my goal number.

In other news, school is driving me crazy and work is incredibly hectic. When I have another moment to breathe, I may update about that. But for now, I just wanted to share this happy moment.

Finally getting my head above water

Hi all,

Since I last posted life has gotten pretty busy, as I expected. But I just wanted to take this time to come back an update y'all (mostly myself) on progress. First things first - still on the WW train. Again, there have been some moments of not so good food choices, but there has still been a slow creep toward my weight loss goal. I've combined the progress from when I last posted:

Weight: 148 pounds
Pounds lost this week: -1.6
Total pounds lost: 14 pounds
Pounds to lose: 28 pounds

There are two big milestones around the corner, and if I can get myself motivated, perhaps they can happen at one weigh-in instead of two. The first is a 15 pound lost. that's pretty serious. To give you some context (because this helps me realize how far I've come) my cat Penny weighs about 7.5 pounds, so I will have lost two of my Penny =) Also she's cute:

The second milestone would be reaching my 10 percent goal, which is 16 pounds. So perhaps if I sit down and make a plan for the next week, I can make it work.

In other news, school is in full swing and i have started my placement at Northridge High School. It's 10th and 11th grade, and right now I think I am just feeling out the teacher and the students. So far, though, I have a pretty good feeling about it and I think i will end up being a good experience for me. the only thing that is a struggle is me taking off time from work to do this placement. So i leave the school feeling pretty good about the day and then I rush back to work and immediately feel behind on everything. It's been hard to juggle and I have 12 more weeks to go! I guess at this point, I really should just take it one day at a time.

So that is all for now. I am hoping to be posting again on a regular basis, but we'll see how that goes. In the meantime - everybody enjoy the promise of fall around the corner!

A small loss and a BIG freak out...

So this week was my last time to visit the Monday WW meeting for the semester, because starting next Monday, I will have a class at the time of the meeting. Boo. It was sad to think about not getting to see the same people each week and check in on their progress. It's amazing, after 16 weeks, you really get to know people's stories and struggles. They have also helped me with my own struggles. There is a girl there who started just a few weeks after me, and her name is Kelli (with an 'i' just like me!) and we have really bonded. She wasn't at last night's meeting, so I didn't really get to say good bye to her. I did tell our leader to tell her I'd miss her for a while, though. So I'll be weighing in Mondays still, but going to meetings on Thursdays. I hope I can start going back to Monday meetings once school is over. One good thing about going to Thursday meetings is my friend Nikki goes to the Thursday meeting. I hope we can really encourage each other to keep up the progress. So here are the numbers:


Weight: 149.6 pounds
Pounds lost this week: -.2
Total pounds lost: 12.4 pounds
Pounds to lose: 29.6 pounds

It's just a very small loss, but still a loss. I am hoping to get down just a few more pounds before Labor Day. I had set a goal at one of the early summer meetings to be down to 143 by Labor Day (that would have been a pound a week) but I know that won't happen. So my new reasonable goal will be to get to 147-148. And that would be awesome.

In other life news, classes officially start tomorrow and I am completely panicked about my schedule. I keep trying to figure out how I can prepare for this, but I know that in the end, there is nothing I can do except try my best and just get through it.

Lots of people started school yesterday, and I have a surprising number of friends who were teachers. On Facebook people were either posting pictures of their kids starting school again, or pictures of their classrooms all ready to start the year. It made me a little sentimental, somehow. I really am looking forward to being a teacher. I know I complain about school right now, and my job gets me down. But I know that I am working toward a goal, and God willing and the Creek don't rise*, I will get there.

*FUN FACT* This is one of my favorite phrases. The "Creek" is thought to refer to the Creek Indians during the late 18th century when the U.S. government was trying to reclaim parts of their land, but some believe its etymology came before that. It's also the name of one of my favorite Ray LeMontagne albums.

A surprising loss!

So after getting my sister to join WW, I was pretty pumped. But this week, unfortunately, I did not do as well in the activity department. Despite being aware that I needed to do some activity to compensate for the lack of karate this week, I was pretty lazy until this weekend. Jennings and I did some major yard work, and I was surprised at how winded I got. I think it was because of the heat, too. But, another surprise is that I lost weight! I was so expecting to stay the same or gain.

Here are the numbers:

Weight: 149.8 pounds
Pounds lost this week: -1.4
Total pounds lost: 12.2 pounds
Pounds to lose: 29.8 pounds

Also when classes start (in only 8 days! Yikes!) I won't be able to go to the Monday meetings anymore, and that makes me sad. I have really enjoyed getting to know those folks. I'm going to have to start going to the Thursday meeting, which means I will miss one day a week of karate. I hate that my schedule is going to be so jam packed, but that is life sometimes.

I'm already stressing about hard this semester is going to be, and I need to quit that, because it makes me want to just go home, get under a blanket and eat popcorn and ice cream all afternoon and sulk.

But I'm not going to do that. I'm going to refocus, and do better.

Katie joined the Weight Watchers Party!

So this past weekend I was down in Mobile because Jennings was the best man in his friend's wedding, so we stayed with my sister. For many months now, she and I have been talking about Weight Watchers. I have been telling her about my progress and encouraging her to start, but she just needed a little extra push.

So on Saturday, without much warning, I told her that she and I had to run an errand. I drove her to the Weight Watchers meeting place that is just minutes from her house and signed her up! I have to say, she is a trooper for letting me bombard her like that. I am very excited for her to go on this journey with me. So if you know her or are friends with her on Facebook, send her some encouraging words!

So here are the numbers from this week's weigh-in for me:

Weight: 151.3 pounds
Pounds lost this week: -.2
Total pounds lost: 10.8 pounds
Pounds to lose: 31.2 pounds

It is a small loss, but a loss nonetheless. I did end up eating Chinese buffet basically twice this weekend (the wedding rehearsal dinner and the wedding food was Chinese because of the bride's heritage), so I am still going to count this in the "win" category.

I do have a challenge this week because our karate instructor is out of town this week on a trip to Costa Rica, so I am going to have to find some other ways to get in some activity points to keep up my progress.

Wish me luck!

I've lost 10 pounds!

So I weighed in today after missing last night's meeting. It was such a yucky day at work that I drove straight home and completely FORGOT about the meeting. Yea, it was one of those days. The nice thing about WW is that even though I missed the meeting, when I weighed in today my leader was so nice and just wanted to know how I was. No judgement. Just positive support. So here are the numbers:

Weight: 151.5 pounds
Pounds lost this week: -1.6
Total pounds lost: 10.6 pounds
Pounds to lose: 31.4 pounds

I have to say I was totally shocked. I had some struggles this week because of stress, and there were some times where I made pretty bad food choices. I guess the only thing that kept me on track was the fact that I kept up on my exercise. It was the last week of Summer Slimdown, I went to karate, and helped a friend move over the weekend. Another great thing about WW is you can get activity points for any kind of activity you do - even moving! I know it is not structured exercise, but it does take effort - so i counted it! As soon as I get my final results from the Summer Slimdown, I'm going to post them here, too.

So it has been about 13 weeks, and I am pretty positive I am going to stick with it. Now my next goal (in addition to continuing my own weight loss) is to get my sister to join with me. We've talked about it several times, but she hasn't quite committed to trying it. I know she's busy, and I can totally relate! But i just want her to experience the success that I have. I know she can do it! So, you know what this means - I'm coming for you next, Katie!

A good loss

After last week's gain, I really wanted to get back on track. And while I did not make the absolute BEST food choices, I still managed to lose:

Weight: 153 pounds
Pounds lost this week: -1
Total pounds lost: 9 pounds
Pounds to lose: 33 pounds

I think the biggest part of the loss was all the activity I did. I continued the Summer Slimdown, did karate twice, and we spent the weekend at a karate camp in Tennessee. Here are some pictures from the Facebook page:

This is my dojo during the morning workout. I am the short one third from the back =)

Here is me during a seminar on self defense.

This is during the speed breaking competition.

I got first place!

So it ended up being a good weekend. I learned a lot about karate, and it was also a special weekend, because Jennings and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. Hard to believe five years ago, this is what we were up to:

Here's to 5 more years! =)