In which I eat out for the first time

Today the kids and I went to visit my husband at work. After, since it was getting late and everyone was getting cranky and hungry, we all decided to go out to eat.

I won't lie, it made me nervous. Something about going out to eat worries me, as if I will throw all caution to the wind, eat off-plan and blow up a week's worth of hard work.

We went to TGIFriday's and I realized the shrimp is a pretty safe choice. I had 12 small grilled shrimp, a side of broccoli and a good time.

I realize that dining out is going to be a relatively common occurrence in my life, and I have to get over this irrational fear that I will suddenly get WW amnesia when I walk through a restaurant door. I need to suck it up, order smart and not obsess.

Week 7 Weigh-In

Down -1.2 this week, my lowest weekly loss yet.

That's to be expected, though. I can't keep reeling off giant losses, that's just not the way it works - even with good eating and regular exercise. One of those Keep-On Keepin'-On weeks.

I am a little bummed because I walked a 5K last Saturday morning with a friend. It took us 1:01 to do it, and it was a haul, but we did it. I expected a bigger loss coming off all that exertion, but perhaps my body is still in shock from the event and is readjusting. I know, I shouldn't "expect" or try to predict any loss, but old habits die very hard in that regard.

I haven't been at a 5K since I ran them - 7 years ago. Seeing all the runners and pre-race excitement made me miss it a bit. Maybe I'll run again someday, but today is not the day to obsess over that!

Total loss is -21.4, inching closer to 10%.

In which I find the most inspirational video ever

Any time I don't want to work out (read: often), I watch this and my attitude changes.

Seriously, it's that good. His blog is just as good, too.

Week 6 Weigh-In

-1.4 this week, lowest weekly loss yet, for a total of -20.2.

Two big developments this week: I broke the -20 barrier and I survived my first big non-planned eating event: a friend's wedding.

The wedding was on Sunday, which was closer to weigh-in day than I wanted but, then again, picking the date wasn't up to me. I ate my chicken dinner, had a couple of small appetizers and a piece of wedding cake. I enjoyed my meal and didn't go overboard, so that felt good.

Last week I had a really large loss (-4.6), and given my losing pattern now and in 2002-2003, most of my large weekly losses are followed by a much smaller loss. So I'm not disappointed.

In which there are a hard 4-6 weeks

I believe the first 4-6 weeks of a new eating lifestyle (not diet) are the worst.

You don't have great momentum yet, there are a lot of firsts and new situations to handle, not to mention food, planning, exercise, etc.

And to add insult to injury, in these first several weeks you're not seeing a lot of easy victories, major milestones, etc. There are no, You look great!, Wow, what are you doing? comments that make your day.

It's easy to get discouraged and quit, and I think that's why many people do just that.

So why do some people throw in the towel and others forge on? It's probably different for everyone, but my 2 cents is you have to want it more than anything. You desire, your drive to change has to superceede everything in your life.

I'm convinced that if you can just push past those difficult challenges in the early weeks, you can make it happen.

Week 5 Weigh-In

Nice big loss this week, -4.6 for a total of 263.6.

This large loss was most likely aided by a terrible stomach bug I woke up with yesterday. It was brutal and I ate only 5 Points the entire day (2 Edys Grape Fruit Bars and 1 slice of Fiber One toast).

I wouldn't recommend a stomach bug to anyone, ever, but if I had to suffer through it, I'm glad it was the day before weigh-in.

In which I get new Leslie DVDs

I've been a Leslie Sansone fan for years, and I believe her workouts are fantastic, especially if you haven't worked out in a while.

But now that I'm back to exercising a few times a week, I find that the Leslie DVDs I've done in the past feel a bit musty. I've done them hundreds of times, and while they're effective, it's time for a change.

I headed over to QVC (where, in a bit of trivia, Leslie was the very first guest) and found she had a new set out: Eat-Walk-Lose. To be honest, I'm only interested in the walking and losing portions, the eating I leave to WW.

Regardless, it got fantastic reviews, and comes with a pair of strength-training cables, so it looked like a good purchase to me.

I've worked out with the set (1 and 2 milers) several times and it's a great workout. The Body Boost cables add some nice strength training in with the cardio, and overall it's definitely worth the time.

In which it's time to start exercising again

When I rejoined WW last month, I knew how overwhelming it can be, especially for a Type A/Perfectionist personality like me.

There are a lot of to-dos with WW, but one trick is you don't have to do them all perfectly in the beginning to see success.

I knew trying to balance losing and parenting was very new and demanding, so trying to plan and execute everything simultaneously would only burn me out. For example, starting out I only had one goal: Eat within my Points. I knew if I did that, I would lose weight.

I made a deal with myself: Master eating within your Points, then you can move on to something else. I feel confident that I can eat within my Points, so now I will add another goal: Exercise. If I want the weight to keep peeling off at a good rate, I must exercise regularly.

I also knew this was going to be tough because of time constraints. When can I fit it in? And, what do I do?

The What-Do-I-Do? was easy: Leslie Sansone's Walk At Home DVDs. I have several from my last go-round. What's great about Leslie's DVDs are:

They're weather-proof.

You don't need any equipment save for sneakers and a DVD player.

They're effective and challenging.

It's a safe, doable workout for all shapes, sizes, ages and ability levels.

Now, when to exercise? Before the kids get up isn't realistic as my youngest is still up frequently overnight, so I don't get a good night's sleep to begin with. Getting up early only makes things worse. Evening is also tough because I'm pretty beat, and I work part-time at home evenings. It looks like the answer is relatively simple: In the afternoon when my youngest is napping. My two older children can safely entertain themselves within earshot while I work out for a half-hour.

So, I blew the dust off my Leslie DVD today and gave it a go. I only did the 1-miler (18 minutes). It went quickly, I sweated quite a bit and felt good I got it done. It was very humbling to start at the beginning exercise-wise, but that's the way it goes. I plan to do this DVD 2-3 times per week and see what the scale shows.

Week 4 Weigh-In: 5%

A nice -2.4 loss today to hit my 5% goal right on the nose: 268.2.

One month in and that's a total of -14.2 gone, exactly half of what I need (-28.4) to earn my 10% keychain.

I wish the 10% weren't so much weight, it feels like it takes forever to get there. I know we shouldn't compare weight losses with others, but my 10% is more than some people's entire losses to reach goal! Like my leader, for instance. She lost 25 lbs to reach her goal weight, and to her credit has maintained it for years. Now that all evens out when you hit goal and maintenance, as regardless of how much you lose, maintenance is equally hard for all.

So, 4 weeks in and I feel like a have a handle on eating within my Points. Now, it's time to refine that a bit. I eat way too many carbs, so it's time to try to diversify and spend more Points on fruits, vegetables and proteins. I'm not going to obsess about it, but I need to gradually improve in that department.

Also, now that 4 weeks is up, "easy" water weight, shock-to-the-body losses will slow and disappear, so I should start thinking about exercise in some regard. It may be time to pull out my Leslie Sansone's Walk Away The Pounds DVDs. They're a challenging workout, but doable regardless of your size or current fitness level. (A note, I went to look up Leslie's Web site and she's changed the name of her series to Walk At Home. It has been a while since I've been there!)

But, one step at a time. I will not overload myself with to-dos or I will get burnt out and off-track. Slowly!