In which it's a milestone day for my daughter and me

Today was a big day in our family as our oldest started kindergarten.

It was a big milestone for her and a quiet one for me.

Early in 2010, when I was gearing up my motivation to get healthy and fit, one major goal was to be back at my Lifetime weight by her first day of kindergarten, which then was a year and a half away. It would be 9 more months before I actually walked through the doors of the local WW Center.

Starting kindergarten meant joining a new community - a new school, new friends, new parent friends, staff, etc.

And I knew one thing: I didn't want to be the fat mom anymore.

I have been the "fat kid," the "fat girl" and the "fat woman." Frankly, it sucks, and I didn't want to open my children up to any ridicule in school because of my issues. (At right, that's my daughter and me, October 2010. I was about 1 month into WW and at that time weighed 262 lbs.)

At best kids have no filter and at worst can be cruel, even at a young age. And little girls, oh, forget it.

The thought of my kids getting hit by a jab at me, I couldn't bear it.

I knew when I walked in those doors with her, met her teachers, saw her new friends, etc., I wanted to look "normal" or, better than normal.

So it was super sweet this week that when we went to orientation and I met her teacher, I was better than normal. When I saw her off at the bus stop today, I had just returned from bootcamp and was not only below my Lifetime weight but in the best shape of my life.

I was no longer "the fat mom" but "Marley's mom," "Will's mom," and "Clare's mom."

And, in the end, that's all I ever wanted to be.

Home Weigh-In: Week 4

The good times continued rolling today.

Home scale had me -1.6 to 171. I'm pleasantly surprised at the number given how much I lost last week, but it goes to show I continue to know nothing.

I also have no idea how that correlates to the official WW scale, but I will next week.

My monthly Lifetime weigh-in is next Tuesday and I can't wait to learn the true differential between the two scales.
On Aug. 2, my last WW weigh-in when I reached Goal, I came in at 174.6.

Over the past four weeks I've lost at least 6.6 lbs, maybe more since I'm still unsure what the real results of my first home weigh-in were.

Hoping that all adds up to a nice, official number in the 160s next week. That would be amazing, putting me somewhere within 10 lbs of my personal goal weight, which was one of my goals for the summer.

And, to make it even more meaningful, next Tuesday is the first anniversary of rejoining Weight Watchers. On Sept. 7, 2010 I walked into the local WW Center weighing 282.6 lbs. Let's see what the new number is next week.

Home Weigh-In: Week 3

Oh, what a beautiful morrrrrrning.

Oh, what a beautiful daaaaaaaay.

I've got this beautiful feeeeeeling.

Everything's going my waaaaaaaaaaay.

Yes, people, it's weigh-in day and it is good.

Tuesday mornings are the only time I practically bound out of bed for the 5 am alarm. Like a bizzaro Christmas morning, I want to go downstairs and see what I got.

Alarm sounds, I get up, change into my regular weigh-in clothes and head for the basement. I was particularly excited for today's weigh-in because due to my body's traditional weight-loss pattern, I was due for something sizable this week.

Deep breath. Inhale. Exhale. Step on.

Holy shit.

172.6.

That's -5 from last week.

I....um...that can't be.

Disbelieving, I repeat the process. Inhale. Exhale. Step.

172.6.

Awe-some.

Now, what would be even better is if I knew exactly how this translates to the official WW scale. I believe my home scale is 3 to 3.5 lbs higher than the WW scale, and if that holds it means I am now somewhere in the 168-169 territory. And that, my friends, is within spitting distance of my personal goal, 160.

I'm still 2 weeks away from my September weigh-in, so I'll have to wait. But, wow, it's looking like I am set up nicely for that day.

Now, I've had friends ask: Why don't you just ask if you can weigh in when you go to the meeting?

I would, absolutely, but my 10K training calls for a Tuesday run and I can't fit it in anywhere else in my schedule during the week. So I have to work out Tuesday morning, which means I need to eat before and then after drink a good 32 ounces to rehydrate myself, ruining any true comparison to my home-no-food-no-drink wake-up weigh in.

It's OK, I can wait.

So, ecstatic from my trip to the basement, I had a little pre-run snack then headed out for a 5.5 miler on a seriously gorgeous fall-like morning. Sunny, dry and cool. I had to wear a long-sleeve shirt, that's how chilly it was. And I loved every minute of it.

7:15 am and already two big victories. That's already a great day.

In which not working out was the right thing to do

I planned to hit the gym this morning because tomorrow is weigh-in day (at home, at least) and I am pre-programmed to try and burn, burn, burn the day before.

The alarm went off at 5 am and I hit Snooze, which is programmed for 10 minutes. Next time I heard it and opened my eyes, it was 5:23 am. Not sure how that happened, but I trudged downstairs, workout clothes in hand, already behind the 8-ball when it came to my traditional leisurely pre-workout snack and newspaper reading.

At the bottom of the stairs it hit me: I don't have any clean sports bras. Well, technically I did, but they were damp. I forgot to hang them up to dry before I went to bed. Now it's 5:30 am, and I realize, to my compounding horror, there is no Diet Coke in the fridge.

Frig this, I am going back to bed.

I took these three obstacles as a sign from the universe: You are not meant to work out today.

Too tired to actually climb back upstairs, I laid on the couch and thought it over.

Since I started 10K training in late June, I've worked out 6 days a week - sometimes 7 - due to an increase in run days (3 days a week) and complicated scheduling. I used to "only" work out 4 days a week, and I liked that. A lot.

I will be excited for this 10K to get here and get done so I can cut back a bit for the winter, say bootcamp 2x a week and running 2x a week, indoors on the treadmill. Give these old bones a break and then return to outdoor running and training refreshed and relaxed late winter/early spring.

Since today was not bootcamp or a training run day, I considered it an optional workout.

But, it's the day before weigh in! You have to work out!

No, I told myself, luxuriating under a fleece blanket watching the sky lighten through our living room window. You really don't.

I've done a lot of good work on the eating and exercise front this week and "missing" an optional 45 minutes on the elliptical this morning will not make or break everything.

Normally, skipping a workout would haunt me until the next weigh in. You screwed up! You skipped a day!

But not today.

If you read this blog with regularity, you know I historically struggle with an all-or-nothing mentality when it comes to eating and exercise. Either I am 100% committed to being healthy and fit or I am mainlining Oreo Cakesters.

One of my goals, right below returning to a healthy weight, is to learn how to apply moderation to my eating and exercise. To live my WW guidelines, but if I plan an off day - or just have a bad one - get right back on track and move on. If I miss one workout, to realize it won't undo a year of amazing effort.

No guilt and move on.

So far, this past almost-year, I've done well on that front. I've gone on vacation, come home and got right back on track the moment I set my suitcase inside the front door. I'm slowly moving away from all or nothing, but I believe it honestly will take me years to undo my natural instincts on this front.

Despite my current aggressive workout schedule, I never want to live in the gym or be a slave to exercise. Like eating, I want to enjoy physical activity in moderation. I now know exercise can be fun. I want it to stay that way.

And if I work out too much or hold myself to too high a standard, I risk burning out, and that's the first step in a slippery slope I never want to gaze at again.

If asked about weight loss, I always tell people you don't have to live in the gym or go on a reality show to make it happen - and I want to practice what I preach. Because it's true, you don't need to be a workout fiend to work it off.

So in today's case I truly realize rest is good. It is important. It gives your muscles time to repair and strengthen so you can work out better and stronger next time.

And an extra day of rest is welcome this week. My training plan calls for a lot of miles in the coming week, so resting up going in is smart.

And with that, I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

In which I roll 7s and 11s

Today turned out to be the most unexpectedly awesome day.

First, I got to sleep in, a day off from any formal exercise. After 6 days in a row of early-morning alarms and sweating, that alone was great.

After breakfast, I hit the salon and got a great cut from my beloved stylist, then my 5-year-old and I headed to the mall to get her new shoes for school. With the first day a little over a week away, Stride Rite looked like the Fall of Saigon, but amazingly we found two pair in the style she wanted and size she needed. That rarely happens.

Feeling lucky, I hit Kohl's as I had a coupon expiring, and I bought a beautiful wool pea coat for fall/winter. Size? Medium. This time last year my coat was a 3X.

Came home, had lunch and riding a wave of unexpected energy, I went through all three kids' clothes to bag the small stuff, find the fall/winter stuff and determine what they need for fall.

Thanks to hand-me-downs from generous friends and stuff I bought at the end of the season on deep discount, none of them need anything.

At this point I'm thinking, "I gotta play the lottery today."

After our youngest went down for a nap, my husband hung with the kids while I ran more errands. Alone. If you're a mom, you know solo errand-running is really, really nice.

So I'm driving around, windows open, beautiful summer day all around and Aerosmith's "Back In The Saddle" starts up. The first 28 seconds of that song are pure kickass. Love it.

And it hits me, This is a damn good day.

Other things that went my way:

Sales clerk asks to see my license when I pay with my credit card. Stares at license. Stares at me. Stares back at license. Looks up: "Um...did you lose a lot of weight?"

When shopping for the kids, the clerk asks if I have any coupons. I hand her the one I have for 15% off my entire order and she says, "Oh, keep that one. I have a 25% off one I can use for you."

Tried on some pajama pants. They were too big. Size? L. Why do I keep automatically grabbing Ls? Found Mediums on deep discount.

Since I was in the neighborhood, I hit a random grocery store to get some raspberries and found them on sale.

At the same store I found my favorite Luna bar flavor, Chocolate Raspberry, for which I've been searching high and low for 4 weeks. Every store in my area all of a sudden stopped carrying it. Until today.

I felt really great today. I looked really great today. Everything was going my way. If you asked me to scale a tall building in a single bound, I would have told you to stand back and make sure you get a good picture.

Hell, I should have stepped on the scale today. Given the day I was having it probably would have told me I weighed 140 lbs.

Some days it's the little things that make a difference and today a lot of little things added up to something really big.

Food Of The Day: Boar's Head Turkey

Love Boar's Head Deli meats.

Yes, they're more expensive than Acme-brand stuff, but I think it's worth it for the quality, taste and the knowledge there are no beaks and snouts in my food.

Board's Head is also an exceptional value on Points+. For instance, Honey Maple Turkey is only 1 Point+ per ounce and the Honey Maple Ham is 1 Points+ per 2 oz. For 2 P+, you can get a lot of sandwich there.

Most deli counters that carry Boar's Head also have copies of their nutritional guide to take home, so you can determine the P+ value for any of their offerings. Pretty handy. And they offer a large variety of flavors.

Also, several of the BH offerings, including the Honey Maple Turkey, are branded as heart-healthy foods by the American Heart Association.

Above is lunch today: 2 oz Honey Maple Turkey on a toasted VitaBun with bacon (of course) and a wedge of Laughing Cow Cheese.

Home Weigh-In: Week 2

I was not super-hopeful walking toward the scale this morning.

First, I ate way too much ice cream - and a big piece of fried dough - while on vacation last week. While I didn't overdo it or binge, it was simply more calories than I normally eat.

I got in all my regular exercise - even while away - but I was also lacking on the water front while away. It's hard to put away 96 oz every day when you're not at home. Even though I drank my daily 96oz and more since I got home, I had no idea how much damage I had done.

Then I ate chili last night. By mistake. Hey, it happens.

So more calories + less water + sodium-packed chili = potential trouble on the scale.

However, I knew if the number was up, it was only temporary: I'd get it right off.

Last week I was concerned my new scale may not be calibrated correctly, but credit to the Eat Smart folks, I posted my question on their Facebook page and they replied within 2 hours. Last night I double-checked it was calibrated - without actually weighing myself, so I knew I was all set for 5:05 am Tuesday.

Cut to said time, I put on my regular WW weigh-in clothes for consistency's sake (bra included) and headed for the basement. Took a breath, stepped on and saw...177.6.

Wow, the exact same number as last week. I maintained on a vacation week. Nice! Following a vacation, that's as good as a loss, in my opinion.

Then I stepped on once again just to ensure I wasn't seeing things. Nope, 177.6.

Later today my paranoia crept in: What if I had some weird scale that only displayed 177.6? OK, I know that's insane, but I had to check, so I had my 5-year-old step on. She got 42.2, so yes I had a real M.

Goal for next week: A number less than 177.6.

I went to my regular WW meeting today and I gotta say it's weird to go and not weigh in. If I had my druthers, I'd still weigh-in there every week.