Limbo

Posted on 22 February, 2011 by Renée

I knew I hadn’t written for a while, but I didn’t actually realise just how long until this weekend. I tried to write on the weekend, and now I’m glad I didn’t publish, because, well, it’s not completely what I wanted to say.

I’m not even totally sure what I want to say now.

I’m totally and completely in limbo at the moment.

I’m officially not following Weight Watchers anymore. In fact 5 minutes ago I pressed the button to cancel my membership completely. The one thing that I need to do and have needed to do for months and months now is accept my body the way it is, exactly as it is.

So. No dieting. No counting points. No trying to reach daily limits. It’s all over.

Now what do I do?

I feel lost. I feel stuck somewhere in the middle. I don’t fit into any group now. I want to be excited for friends having success but I can’t help but have a twinge of envy. And don’t think I don’t know that envy is no good for me, I know this, but honestly I’m still a little bitter.

And through all of this, I’m bitter that people I thought were more than just an online contact have dropped me in the mean time, a time when I actually needed support the most. I have been told more than several times to just “get over it” and “don’t take it personally” and actually saying these things don’t help me get over it at all, it makes it worse! We are all different and we all react differently to things. The fact remains that my reaction is taking it personally (not everyone, only specifically a couple of people), and I am not going to apologize for that or pretend like I’m not bothered.

So, I’ve got no new goals. No new plans. I am feeling quite blase about everything. I’m still trying to get my activity in more regularly, but I haven’t even really bothered to stick to a running plan, nor have I gone to the gym. I’m maintaining my weight so clearly I have learned something in this whole eating / Weight Watchers process. I’m just not excited. I guess that means the next thing I need to do for myself is create my own excitement to really move forward.

That’s it. I wish I had something more, but that’s it.

The Results are In

Posted on 19 January, 2011 by Renée

I talked to my doctor today about my blood tests. The Good News: Nothing is wrong with me.

I could say there is bad news. But there isn’t. Nothing is wrong with me.

Am I sad, frustrated, and being driven completely mental by all of this, yes. But nothing is wrong with me.

I have to come up with another game plan. Weight Watchers isn’t working for me. It should, because I’m not only following the program, but also because nothing is wrong with me.

I have received tons of advise. Suggestions. Ideas. I appreciate them all. I have to let go of the goal to lose weight and have a different goal. Losing weight isn’t working. No wonder it’s so frustrating.

So. There it is. Nothing is wrong with me.

In other news (and for the love of all that is holy, this is WAY more important and worrisome that my own issues), my dad started his cancer treatment and he is doing very fine. We talked and laughed for about an hour and he has such a great attitude. I can learn a lot from my dad!! He has cancer! I’m slightly overweight! Duh! I can’t wait to see him in March.

More Running, less Whinging.

Posted on 2 January, 2011 by Renée

Every new year I imagine myself as one of those people who come up with brilliant goals and resolutions and every year I pretty much come up with not-a-whole-lot.

In 2010 I lost exactly 1 kilogram of weight, which was not really my intention, no, in fact, I really thought I would have hit my goal weight this year. When I started (the last time) in March 2009 I weighed in at 98.5KG or 217 lbs (the year before I know I’d reached 101 at some point, so there was some effort in 2008, just not a lot). My last weigh-in of 2009 was on December 30th at 82.2KG which is a loss for 2009 of 16.3 KGS or 36lbs. My last weigh-in of 2010 was on December 29th, at 81.2KG or 17.3 KGS / 38 lbs lost..

On top of all of the events in December (work stress, my dad being diagnosed with prostate cancer and my beloved cat of 18 years dying), weighing in 1 kilo less than last year really pissed me off and brought me to a point beyond frustration. Since complaining about it on twitter is reduced to 140 characters per tweet I had the feeling that many people just thought I was bitching and nay-saying to suggestions and being stubborn about Weight Watchers in particular without being willing to try anything else. I want to clear a few things up right now:

1) I have tried several different variations of eating; eating more, eating less, eating carbs on work out days, eating every few hours, eating only every 4 -6 hours, eating more fruit, eating less fruit, eating all my points and activity points, even eating more bread (on dietitian’s suggestion). Really. I swear I have tried.

2) I follow Weight Watchers probably just for the guidelines alone. I follow no set meal plan, I eat what I want/like when I want. WW is designed to let you choose and fit it in the program whilst following the fit formulas. Counting calories (while it works for others and that’s a personal choice) is definitely not for me. Why? Because for me, eating is more than just a number of calories. If I knew I should only eat 1500 cals per day I’d just eat that much in chocolate or peanut butter. If I started counting calories I’d have to also count fat, protein, fiber and that’s already where my head starts spinning. Why would I do that when WW has already worked it out for me?

3) I am definitely eating enough.

4) I eat probably 5 servings of fruit and 5 servings of vegetables per day. The fruit could be an issue but I’ve already reduced it from last summer and I need something to eat in between meals.

5) I do think my activity level at times is too high for a standard member of Weight Watchers, but then again, if others are losing weight every week and reaching their goals, why aren’t I? (I know, everyone is different).

6) I have shaken things up more times than I can shake a stick at.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because I’m done. I’m done talking about my weight. I’m done comparing and feeling sad and like a failure. I’m NOT a failure!! This year will be more running and less whinging about my weight. I started running to get fit and I have continued because it actually makes me feel great, so the focus is being shifted to that.

I am still overweight. I don’t want to be, but OK, it is what it is right now. How many times have I said to people “It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to get there, it only matters that you get there”? I need to follow my own words of wisdom, don’t you think?

December did not turn out the way I wanted it to turn out. It’s ok. I have a new month and a new start and I am excited about the future. I wanted to sign up for six races in 2011 and those races are:

1) Egmond half marathon (10.5K portion) – 9 JANUARY
2) Zandvoort Circuit Run (this was my first race last year) 12 K – 27 MARCH
3) Utrecht Marathon – HALF MARATHON 25 APRIL
4) Rondje vom Ederveen 15K – 11 JUNE
5) Bridge to Bridge Arnhem 10K – 12 SEPTEMBER
6) Zevenheuvelenloop Nijmegen 15K – 21 NOVEMBER

I reserve the right to add races to this list :) I would like to do at least one race outside of the Netherlands, I just have to figure out where and when.

So. There are no resolutions. There are no “goals for the year”. Sure there’s stuff I’d like to accomplish. Fitness related and totally non-fitness related. What it boils down to is feeling good about myself, not only my physical body, but my mind, my soul. Running helps, so I’m going to go with that.

What are you going to do more of this year? What less?

Happy New Year Everyone! I wish you all maximum peace, happiness, laughter, love and of course your favorite pie on special occasions.

December Goals Part I

Posted on 3 December, 2010 by Renée

In the spirit of a complete attitude adjustment, there are a few things I want to focus on this month that are not scale related. Part of those goals is to revamp the blog a wee bit and include my food and recipes a bit more (though I will never claim to be a food blogger and if I do include photos they will be of non-professional quality). Most of it involves fitness. Other goals are simply hopes, dreams and aspirations that will last more than just the month of December.
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Since I have joined in on DecGTD I made a running goal of 50 miles. Yes, I said miles; though I always speak in metrics, for GTD I even converted the amount of KM to miles -that’s how excited I am to be a part of it! (In case you are getting used to my KM postings, the goal is 80 for this month). It may seem like a hefty goal but it’s literally only 20KM per week, I can get this done in 2 to 3 times a week, easy as pie.
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To accomplish this goal, I need to prepare myself a bit for the cold weather. Last year I really don’t recall it being this bad, maybe a few times when I went out but nothing like it was last night. As soon as possible I will need to procure something for my head – a cap with a hole in it (sounds dirty!) for my hair or one of those head/ear wrap thingees, whatever they are called. I have underarmour tights, but I don’t really have a good undershirt to wear. Also I think I may need a better jacket – yesterday I just went out in two jackets, a long-sleeved undershirt and a normal shirt over that and the wind still pretty much cut through me like a knife during the first part of my run. I would also like to get the YakTrax that Brandon mentioned on twitter and DailyMile, especially if we are going to continue to have a lot of ice this winter. I don’t want anything to stand in between me and my running!
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Another goal I have is actually concerning races. In December I want to decide on SIX races in 2011 that I will participate in. I talked about doing the marathon in Berlin next September, but to be honest, my brain is not ready for that yet. I would prefer to do a Half-Marathon before a Marathon. Call me a wuss but after I spoke to my friend M who recently ran the Amsterdam marathon (who is basically the one locally who got me into running) and a colleague of mine who ran the Berlin Marathon two years ago I am scared shitless. So, first a Half. I also want to do at least one race outside of the Netherlands, but I haven’t decided where yet. I was looking into a few races in the UK, but I am not sure I want to fly over for “only” 10K (for example, I was looking into the Great Run of Manchester or one in Edinburgh, but both are 10K). This weekend I will be looking into other alternatives; I’m open to Germany, Belgium, France – all easy to drive to or take a train). So for the Netherlands I’m considering the Utrecht Half Marathon and the Marikenloop (and I’m already 99% sure of both of those – Hubs even said he would do the Half as well) most likely the Zuidas (but 16K instead of the 6K I ran last year) and definitely the Zevenheuvelenloop, maybe the Nike Women’s Run as well. In any case, I will commit to minimum six races.
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I’m also going to do a race on New Year’s Eve day. If you would have spoken to me several years ago these words never would have come out of my mouth or from my brain to my fingers to the laptop to any previously existing blog of mine. Not only did I not even remotely jog, I certainly wouldn’t have done something fitness related on the biggest night of the year. I would have been all about the parties, probably still hungover from Christmas and have spent too much money on cigarettes and eaten too many pies, cookies, cakes and other “holiday” treats. That’s why this time around I want to end the year on a note that truly represents who I am: a RUNNER.
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I still need work on getting to the gym and I really want to sort that out this month. It’s still quite hit or miss and that has a lot to do with the work/stress situation but I do not want to use this as an excuse anymore. I may need to start packing my bag and schlepping it with me to work as much as I don’t want to. It will take a bit of extra planning on my part, because I will need to eat something in the train before I arrive at my home station. I also need to figure out the buses or maybe take my bike. I know there are possibilities; I just have to make it work now.
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More goals to come – and like I said some will be long term. I just want to get them all down and make a plan to succeed.

Time for a Change. Again.

Posted on 1 December, 2010 by Renée

It’s December, a new month, a new chance. My record is on repeat here -I say this every month.
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So it’s time for a change. Again.
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Clearly after an entire year of being upset, accepting, non-caring, positive, negative and still not really losing any weight I really have to shift what is really important to me.
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There are a lot of things that are important, to name a few:
1) Good Health
2) Fitness
3) Getting enough Sleep
4) Feeling Happy
5) Getting a grip on my finances
6) My Family
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(all things equally important here or rather not in any particular order)
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Notice how I didn’t put my weight? The thing is, and we all know it by now, I am not super excited about weighing 80KG but I can no longer continue to fight with myself in the manner that I have been.
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So it’s a new month. It’s time for new goals. I am excited to announce that I am doing DecGTD or December Go The Distance.. I’ve been following Robby’s blog for a while now and I noticed October’s and November’s Go the Distance but never had the cojones to join in. I mean, I know myself, I’m terrible with challenges and such, but this is different. This is not a challenge.
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I’m focusing on running now. That’s what I do. Like today in sub-zero temperatures. I initially didn’t want to go after being hit with a brick wall of freezing cold wind and then I remember just this time last year I was completely debilitated, unable to even get out of bed, let alone walk anywhere, let alone run. I missed my first race I had signed up for. I cried just about every day from the pain I had in my back. All I wanted to do was go outside and RUN and I couldn’t. I vowed then I wouldn’t make excuses or take advantage of what my body is able to do and to be honest I haven’t completely kept up my end of that deal. I have let the work stress once again take over parts of my life and that simply has to stop. In fact it stops now.
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I just think about people like my mother-in-law who would give anything to walk, run, ride a bicycle. But she can’t. She can’t hardly even talk because of the stroke she had around ten years ago. I think about the runners that joined Dean Karnazes who suffered through cancer, who lost limbs, who had strokes, etc who run, no matter what, because you never actually know when there may be one day you simply can not run anymore.
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So, yeah. I would love to lose weight. And I’m still going to follow Weight Watchers, because, hey, maintaining is actually better than nothing right now. There are worse situations right? I’m just going to focus on the other things that are important.
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Next step is to make some goals and those will be posted very soon. I already have a running goal of 80KM this month. Yes, people. 80! I’ll be signing up for some races as well, and I may also be joining Fran in the Utrecht Half-Marathon on the 25th of April!

Learn Something? Like What?

Posted on 28 November, 2010 by Renée

Why is it that every single time things just get TOO TOO much, I go for sweets and junk?

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Seriously. You would think after SO MANY YEARS of doing this, I would get a real handle on things. Like, NEVER EVER going that route again. Why is it that I can quit smoking, and NEVER TOUCH ANOTHER CIGARETTE AGAIN but I can not keep out of the candy jar at work when things get really, really bad?
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I had two great weeks on Weight Watchers, following ProPoints again. I had a great run on Sunday a GREAT run! Then I went back to work where it was nothing but stress all week. Working overtime, stupid trains, irritating issues, etc. I am so very tired of it! I managed to get all the way up to Thursday when I decided somehow that eating my weight in Chocolate would not only solve my problems, but quite possibly bring world peace as well. Hmmmmph.
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Then I went out, ate a burger the size of Texas, drank 4 Mojitos and then got on a train to go home, where my loving and amazing (like I’m really, really, lucky and I tell him every day how much I appreciate him) husband picked me up at the train station at Midnight. We raced home and I was asleep by 00:30, only to get up and do it ALL over again on Friday (I went in late one hour and left one hour early as well. Take that, deadlines and people off sick!). Of course I ate like hell on Friday because I wasn’t home Thursday evening to plan and prepare and was left to survive on my basics at work plus whatever they had available when the need to eat came upon me.
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My weigh in on Saturday? Back to 81.4 KG. Yes, folks, exactly where I was when I re-started. F*ck.
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I feel like I have to be on program ALL the time, 150% or it just doesn’t work. Of course I didn’t expect to lose weight, but I didn’t expect to GAIN 2 kilos either! I mean, really? And I read constantly people who are NOT on plan, not even 50% it seems, who do NOT follow all the “fit formulas”, who do NOT eat all their fruit and vegetables and who DO eat nutritionally empty junk quite possibly on a daily basis and they lose weight.
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There is a lesson in all of this, I am willing to learn it. I just don’t know anymore what it is. Maybe it’s patience and acceptance, since I have been saying that all along. Maybe it’s accepting who I am in the package I come in and then moving forward with that. I don’t know. I’m like a little kid having a tantrum at the moment though. Have I not said it loud enough?? I DON’T WANT TO WEIGH MORE THAN 80 KILOS!! I don’t even want to weigh more than 70 Kilos. Why must I stay overweight? You know I don’t even care about my size (clothes) anymore, you know what bothers me the most? That I can not run faster or be stronger as long as I have this extra weight. It doesn’t feel comfortable running at times. Maybe it sounds weird but the jiggling bits really do bother me. It’s like I’m running and 30% of my body is lagging behind. I’m not asking for perfection. I’m not asking for thin. I just want to be a healthy, non-overweight weight and a kickass runner.
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Sheesh.
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Results since Re-Commitment

Posted on 14 November, 2010 by Renée

I decided last Monday to recommit (Well I decided Sunday really) and start using my Weight Watchers ProPoints program again. I committed to logging in everything regardless of the numbers and the games they play with me. I’m not an angel, but as I mentioned before, I actually enjoy and do my best every day to eat healthily and mindfully. You may notice that there is not a lot of junk (until Friday *ahem*) either. You may also notice that I get all my fruit, vegetables, dairy (a little) and good fats in, every day (until Friday *ahem*). These are the pillars in which Weight Watchers calls the Fit Formulas – hydration, calcium, fruit and vegetables, and good fats.
*I realise that not everyone likes to read food journals and on top of that mine are in Dutch, but if you have the gumption to look, I’m also going to create a little list of the food translations.

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I have to say I was already kind of annoyed Monday at the end of the day when my daily total was over my target of 29. I know that the weekly free points are there for that reason, but you have no idea how diligent I was, weighing and measuring everything, making sure I was using small amounts for flavor and not overdoing at dinner (and believe me, I WANTED to eat more of my dinner that I had made, but I did NOT). It’s really a mind game and I wish it would just stop, but… apparently Sadist-Brain is not ready to give that up yet.
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Tuesday was better at 29 points, though admittedly I was hungry when I went to bed and very hungry when I woke up Wednesday (Tuesday I did go to the gym, where I had a creepy/flattering gym-guy experience, my first ever!). Wednesday I was over 5 points, but I earned 4 with just doing my Cooper Test at lunch. Thursday I was over again at 34.5 points, but even then I am not sure if it’s correct as I kind of guessed my dinner (it was leftover homemade Indian chicken with spicy lentil sauce).
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And Friday. Well. It was a total wash. I woke up hungry and I had no plan or preparation. So I Planned to Fail.. Friday’s total is at 73.5 points.. Why? I woke up hungry, I didn’t eat enough breakfast so I got something at work… it was the day after Sint Maarten and someone had brought in candy (it’s like Halloween), so I helped myself to a Mini-Nuts. It was downhill from there really. Lunch was with my team and food was provided. Then I had the commute on the way home which was completely disrupted by an accident (so there was the stress of figuring out how I was going to get home). Oh don’t these excuses sound divine! And hey! There are two croissants in my bag! I’ll shove them down my throat! So once I was at home, hubs and the kids arrived, he was ready to cook the lean ground beef hamburgers that were on the plan and … they were still frozen. Can you imagine that someone, at some point said “Screw this, we’re getting pizza!” and then other had already logged on to the local pizza place’s website? None of which were me of course … *looks around nervously because she is a terrible liar*
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After all that I did see a change on the scale again (what’s new, updownupdownupdown) – Monday Morning was at 81.5KG, Saturday morning (even after pizza) was at 80.8KG which is a loss of 800gr or 1 3/4 pound. If you can’t get your head around metrics, it’s 178 lbs give or take.
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I did run last week and I did go to the gym once. I really wanted to go this weekend, and I thought I could go this morning early, but I had to stay home with my stepdaughter – my stepson had a swimming test that Hubs brought him to and since SD was still sleeping I couldn’t just leave her and have her wake up with no one in the house. (Wait. Does that sound like an excuse too?). I thought they would be back at 9 and they were back at 10. That means I stayed in bed until 10… the gym closes at 12 and I wasn’t exactly ready to go when I got out at 10…
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So here’s the deal for this new week (Weeks are Sat – Fri on the program)
1) Run – 15K is next Sunday. I’m crapping myself. Totally unprepared.
2) Gym – Twice
3) Yoga DVD (didn’t manage this on Thursday – was at work until 7pm)
4) Track everything
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I’m Not a Weight Watchers Leader

Posted on 10 November, 2010 by Renée

Nor do I pretend to be.
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There was a time though, that I was at my goal weight of 68KG or 150lbs, that I went religiously to my meeting every week, brought friends with me, had online “clubs” (remember Yahoo! Clubs?), and supported and cheered on new and old friends as we each worked on our health and fitness goals. There was a time when I had a personal trainer and a fancy schmancy gym and had very low body fat and felt really good about my physical self. There was a time when I “coached” people I through hard times of their own weight loss goals and helped them get through rough patches. And then there was a time that I actually applied to be a Weight Watchers leader, and asked specifically to do a class of Non-Dutch Speaking members as I knew so many in the Expat community I belonged in who would have joined had there only been someone who could explain it in English. My application letter was probably one of the best letters I’ve ever written in my life (in Dutch of course!). It was beautiful. It was clear and specific. It was so good they couldn’t say no. But guess what? They said “no”.
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I have never really understood why. They had a whole other group of people out there they could make a profit from, yet they were not interested, not “at this time”.
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So, OK. I believe in the program. In general. I believe it’s the most realistic and the most flexible. It teaches you how to actually LIVE and make choices for a better life, rather than following a plan that maybe isn’t realistic at all (fasting? juicing? cabbage soup diet anyone?). We all know after trying several different ways of losing weight that short term “dieting” leads to short term success. Am I wrong? How many of you out there have lost then gained then lost then gained then lost? Each time telling yourself “THIS time is different!” “This time I’m really going to do it!”. I like Weight Watchers because I can eat WHATEVER I WANT as long as it fits in the plan.
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Or can I?
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Seems like the new program is telling me, telling us, something different. Seems like the suggestion is out there to choose nutritionally sound foods that are worth more in points to reach your daily targets. Because now it’s not about calories and fat anymore (and fibre? I guess in North America you were counting fibre) Maybe this is my problem? Most of the things I eat are fruit (0), vegetables (0), proteins, superfoods, whole grains, good fat fish, yoghurt, and lean meats. I can tell you right now, I have no problem looking for and eating foods that are really beneficial to me. I like to try new and different foods, different combinations and I’m totally open to suggestions.
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I have 29 ProPoints a day. I can also tell you, it’s not rare at all for me to go OVER that total. I’m eating foods in the right portion sizes, weighing and measuring everything out and as you have heard from me (maybe) before, I’m often hungry. So part of what I’m doing now is accepting and not feeling bad about dipping into my 49 weekly points (which will drop to 42 when I get under 80KG). I’m working on working out for extra points to enjoy my wine and maybe a meal out in the weekend, instead of the letting the guilt and anger fester up and frustrate me.
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But WHY do I always go over my points? How can I get under? I already eat buttloads (literally, people!) of fruit and vegetables, this doesn’t always help me when I’m hungry. I’m working with a dietitian ,who is trying to work out some food combinations and times to eat to help me with this issue I have. More importantly (yes, mother, I know I shouldn’t compare), why is it that others don’t seem to have this same problem?
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I’m not a Weight Watchers Leader. Maybe you shouldn’t listen to me. BUT, I’ve been a Weight Watcher long enough (and I was at my goal for 3 years and I AM a lifetime member) to know that I can help. I can help others, who in turn may just help me!
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What I do know, from ProPoints is to go with the green foods -
potatoes (natural! not french fries, or potato chips/crisps)
heavy/whole grain bread
certain kinds of pasta and rice
starchy veggies, beans (legumes/pulses)
eggs, kwark, yoghurt
tofu, tempeh, quorn, seitan
fish and shellfish (and a focus on the good fats)
lean meats, poultry, organs -kidneys and livers (yeah, not gonna do it)
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I’m of the opinion that you do not have to “eat green” all the time. I mean, I do love my rice and my pasta, but I always try to combine it with something nutritionally sound and use good fats (olive oil, coconut oil) to cook in. I eat oily fish at least once a week. Hubs and I have at least 2 vegetarian dinners per week as well. Moderation, planning, control but also living life. Now if I can just get my points in line, stop my hunger or at least stifle it a bit and work this program like it’s meant to be done, I may even lose some weight too.
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I’m not a Weight Watchers Leader. I don’t even play one on TV. But I can help. So let me help you. Trust me you will be doing me a huge favor as well. We can do this together. We can totally SUCCEED together.

And, we’re Back

Posted on 9 November, 2010 by Renée

After nearly one year of being on ProPoints (well, let’s face it I took a break for a few months because it was doing my head in), I can’t help but have mixed feelings now that the US/ North America will be using the program soon (and the UK already started apparently).
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Why mixed feelings? Well, it’s just funny that I have been talking about ProPoints, bitching about ProPoints, moaning about ProPoints but my cries have gone to a limited audience. In some ways it feels good because finally we are all on the same plan – and it’s never been like that since I started in 1999 – I won’t be talking mumbo jumbo or vice versa, I may even be able to exchange recipes, ideas, plans with others. It feels less good when I think about how much I have struggled with it, the fact that I still don’t know how “they” come up with my daily / weekly points, the fact that I can never seem to just hit my daily and not dip into my weekly free points every day. I struggled for months and months with hunger (and now that I’m running less I am in fact less hungry) and no one could really explain anything to me. It was sending a really negative message to my brain – going over points = eating too much, trying to eat less+ hunger = total frustration. And as you all know I have NOT really lost weight on the ProPoints plan. I have no idea if it’s me or the plan, so let’s say it’s me until I can scientifically prove otherwise.
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One of the things I wanted to do this month was decide yay or nay if I was going to continue with Weight Watchers or not, since my credit card was about to expire and I normally follow online rather than go to the meetings (I would love to go to the meetings, but it’s highly unlikely to get to a meeting if I want to run, go to the gym, be social, hey, maybe even get some sleep every once in a while) and I have decided in fact to start over again. I’m not really sure why, except that I really hate to give up on anything and I don’t feel like I really gave it 100% the last six months. It’s time to do it without any excuses, without letting the numbers get to me, and WITH a full commitment. So there you go. New credit card, extension made on my program.
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Admittedly I was already slightly irritated last night when I noticed my totals of the day were way over my 29 points, and even though I earned activity points from running, watching my weekly free points go down by 12 was really disheartening. I thought about what I ate, how I prepared my foods, how I weighed and measured everything out. I wanted very much to eat another enchilada after running and decided against it but then I felt angry as I stared at the number 41 looking back at me from the screen. If I just keep going, I can get over this number thing I seem to enjoy arguing with internally. So, I’m keeping going.
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Day two on ProPoints has been much better, hit my daily of 29, though am admittedly hungry – I think this may have something to do with the fact that we had dinner fairly early and that I went to the gym. I just want to be sure to have enough activity points from this week to not have a deficit in the weekend when I want to have a couple of glasses of wine or a homemade thai curry. Enjoying my life is still important to me and I’m not going to apologise for having food and drink fall into my enjoyment category. Now I just have to be a bit strategic about it.
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So, here’s the deal – I see a lot of traffic coming in from searches for ProPoints like:
Can I carry over my points?
How many points for walking?
How are daily ProPoints calculated?
How many ProPoints in pizza/ almonds / basmati rice/ add your favourite food here?
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Well you get the gist, right? The thing is, I know some answers, and some I don’t. And our food is different here than in North America. And our exercise might even be calculated differently. I’m happy to help in any way. To answer any question anyone asks me directly. So just ask. I have learned some tricks and certainly some tips and I would love to help. But honestly, I think if you follow Weight Watchers, just read your materials and be patient and do whatever you need to do to make it work for you.
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We all have ways to improve our health. Some people count calories, some people follow Weight Watchers, Atkins, Slimming World, Body for Life, etc. I choose Weight Watchers because in the past it has really helped me learn about a healthy balance. I’ve learned about nutrition, portion control, and have actually figured out that I LIKE eating healthy and trying new new things. I definitely need structure and I am committed to making this work regardless of how long it takes.
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Are you following Weight Watchers? What do you think of the new program? Are you nervous? Excited? Scared? What questions do you have about the program?
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and just a PS: please drop by Endurance isn’t only physical for Tricia’s Moving Comfort Sports Bra Giveaway. I don’t know if you guys remember when I first discovered Running Skirts . Com but it was Tricia who had a coupon code on her blog that introduced me to the company and I’ve been checking out her blog ever since. Everyone has a chance to win, and goodness knows we ALL need to be wearing proper sports bras! Drop by and enter the giveaway!

I’ll take a Re-do for $100 Alex

Posted on 7 November, 2010 by Renée

Even Alex Trebek would have kicked me of his show for my behaviour last week.
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So I’m asking for a do over. All the whinging in the world is not going to get me through my life. I need to buck up and just do it. I’m talking about my health, which is directly related to my life, work, etc.
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Let’s talk about a few things then:
1) Weight Watchers – do or do NOT, but nothing in between. So I’m going to go back to point counting and logging online daily to keep track.
2) Reducing stress levels – have already discussed the working from home thing; is 99% sure to be a go. Already next week I work from home on Tuesday (dentist appointment), week after that I’ll be at home on Wednesday (dietitian appointment).
3) Exercise and Food Planning. More on that in a bit.
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Last week, despite my stress levels through the roof and the apparent lack of time for exercise I actually clocked 18KM running. Of course 9.6 of that was my race in Wageningen, but that detail doesn’t matter. 18KM is 18KM! Right? The race itself wasn’t really hard, but it wasn’t easy either. I think the most difficult parts of the race were the pitch darkness about midway through the course (my way was lit only by other runners with small head-flashlights) and the wind. It was raining and while I don’t really mind running in the rain, a lot of muddy puddles were on the course, puddles that I could not see, therefore puddles I regularly splashed in. I was cold all the way to the bone by the time I finished.

And speaking of finishing, I was 24/27 of my age group and 122/126 of all the women in the 9.6KM. Which means… I’m not very fast! If you guys have been following along though, you know I really don’t care about speed much, but lately I have the feeling that I don’t really want to be one of the last ones in anymore. I would definitely like to do this race one more time, simply to beat my time and placement. Lucky me, they have it again in April :)
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A little about point 3 above; yesterday Hubs and I made our dinner plans and shopping list again like we did a few weeks ago. I’m learning (and totally “listening” to Fran here as she is a planner and that clearly works for her) that planning is really key – well, wait, in fact I already knew that, and am a preacher of planning, but I haven’t been doing too well in that area, so it’s time to kick it up a notch again. Plan, plan, plan, plan, plan!
Dinners are planned, even already pre-cooked the meal tomorrow so I can just throw it in the oven when I arrive home. Will also premake a few other meals whilst cooking or preparing lunches/snacks for work. Lots of healthy stuff for lunches too. Am kind of looking forward to food this week!
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Exercise plans as well this week; Tomorrow running, Tuesday gym (spinning maybe?) Wednesday running (at work – I have a Cooper Test whatever that is), Thursday my yoga DVD that I received and haven’t taken out of the package yet, Friday rest, Saturday morning gym.
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I’m going to get through this. I’m going to stop thinking how unfair it all is or how much I’m struggling to lose weight. Really, maybe I’m not doing everything I possibly can. So, unfair or not (and who is to say, everyone is different), I’ve just got to move on, stop comparing myself to others and work on the only body I’m going to get in this life.
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So that’s me. A re-do commences now.

{run} {laugh} {eat pie}

amazing what changes when you start to run

Category Archives: Weight Watchers