And the good news continues

In my last post, I mentioned how I gained a pound at weigh-in that day. Well, I had another weigh-in a week later, and I was so happy. I was down 3.6 pounds from the previous week, for a total weight loss so far of 6.2 pounds! On Weight Watchers' scale, I'm at 132.4 (dressed, and end of day after dinner), but on my scale at home (naked, first thing in the morning), I'm 130.2.

I love Weight Watchers. I really do. And I'm so glad that I'm attending meetings this time around. It really does help to keep you motivated, and keep you on track. And I love the program. It's easy to follow, the tools are easy to use, and it's not hard. Admittedly, I have the occasional moment where I'm dying for Chex Mix or some other salty snack that I can eat in abundance. And every morning before I sit down for breakfast, I wish I could eat three bowls of cereal like I used to sometimes do. But that's more about loving the way those things taste, not because I'm hungry in the least for that much food. One bowl of Cheerios and a banana is plenty to get me through most of the morning. My morning snack of an apple holds me over until lunch. And my lunches have been satisfying as well. I realized recently that I can use 2 tablespoons of light ranch dressing on my salads, and it goes a long way, and makes the salad a bit more satisfying. So there's nothing to complain about. I even ate Chinese food a few times this past week (steamed chicken and vegetables with brown sauce), and had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory one night.

I must admit, I do think that The Cheesecake Factory dinner is going to catch up with me at the next meeting on March 3. I think I did ok on the meal; I ordered their "weight management grilled chicken." The menu said it had less than 590 calories, but mentioned nothing else about fat or anything. And it was way too much food. I ate about 2/3 of it, and even that was probably more than I needed to eat. The bad part came when Jack and Lila decided to share a peanut butter cup cake cheesecake. Oh my word. I had quite a few bites of that, plus a bite or two of other cheesecakes at the table that our friends had ordered. But you know what? I totally paid for those bad decisions. The next day, I felt terrible. I was lethargic, tired, and just had a feeling of blah. My stomach hurt. I was fine by Friday, but those leftovers are going in the trash. No thank you.

Workouts are still going well. I've been able to keep up with 6 days a week of exercise. I've still been mixing it up, doing some Brazil Butt Lift routines while doing some old favorites. I'm not crazy about the BBL cardio routine. It's only 30 minutes, and it's not very hard. If I had to judge my intensity based on low, moderate, or high, I would say it's moderate. But I'd much rather do 40 minutes of one of my other routines that I feel are high intensity, so I've been skipping the BBL cardio. However, the other BBL routines are great. There's one for your lower body that includes a bunch of squats and stuff, and that feels like a cardio routine, too, because you're constantly moving with very little rest. Then there's the BBL toning routine. It's a 50 minute routine that works every part of your body except your legs, since you get targeted leg workouts in the other routines. The toning routine has a good ab section, too. But then there's also a leg toning routine where you use bands and ankle weights. That's a good one, too. And lastly, there's a 20 minute ab workout, which is pretty difficult. I still can't complete it. At the end of that one, we do planks, and then one-arm planks, and then side planks while you lift and lower your hips. I find these planks all so hard, which is why I still do the easy version of some of those moves. I hate that part of the routine, but it must be helping because I went back and did an older ab routine yesterday, and it was much easier than the last time I remember doing it.

Anyway, overall things are good. It takes dedication and a willingness to track what you eat, and a willingness to exercise, but I have that dedication, and it's paying off. I hope that I can continue in this manner, and not get discouraged; however, I'm not fooling myself. I know there will come a day soon where the weight is not coming off so easily and progress will slow down. It always happens when you get close to your goal. So stay tuned for more fun and adventure on my wagon ride. I'm sure there will be more drama soon.