Surprisingly hard to find plus-sized suits

Finally got called in for an interview last week. We're planning on moving to LA but don't want to move out there without at least one of us having a job, so we're doing the long distance job search thing.

I got called on Wednesday and scheduled an interview for the following Monday. So I bought a ticket last minute and flew out Sunday. The bummer though was that the job I went out for was already filled. The recruiter really seemed to love me though and was telling me, just get in the door and if you're good, you'll move up fast. So they were trying to convince me to take a different position that would have been a step down and wasn't quite right, but it still paid very well. At least she squeezed three interviews into one day for me.That worked out well in that I didn't have to fly out again. It's in Orange County though and that commute from LA might be painful. In the end, that didn't work out either, so back to the drawing board.

I'm kind of loving funemployment so for now that's okay. As long as Alex is working. I'm definitely putting my time into the job search however. Just appreciating everything I have in my life right now. If I'm going to be unemployed, honestly, i might as well enjoy all the free time and make the most of it!

The good news is that in terms of my goals going forward, I learned a few things from the experience. Also, after that interview, I'm a bit more motivated for the job search.

And for the days before the interview I had an all-out shopping spree looking for just the right suits, etc. When I lost weight post-surgery, I got rid of my suits. And the new jackets I have weren't formal enough for an interview. So I had a major excuse to shop, and that was tons of fun! And now I have everything I need including a great new hair do too. That was desperately needed. My bangs are officially all grown out now! They NEVER looked as good in person as in the profile pic.

The photo at the top is me the morning of the interview... A bit blurry but you get the point. I LOVE the red/pink floral silk blouse I found at Nordstrom Rack. It just made the outfit.

I was VERY surprised however that I had trouble finding plus sized suits (hence the reason it turned into an all-out shopping spree). All my regular go-to places had NOTHING. Macy's, Lane Bryant, etc etc. Neimans had their stuff behind a curtain for a private sale! On a visit to a different Macy's I found the suit above. The only one they had for sale in my size. Good thing it fit! (Though I did have to hem the pants myself).

Surprisingly, I found something else at Talbot's. I had expected their stuff not to be business-y enough, but this ONE jacket on the clearance rack was SO PERFECT. I didn't really have time to order online. By the way, SALE ALERT if you're looking for some deals (not just suits), check out Talbot's online outlet clearance - 75% off!!! In fact, pretty much everywhere I went last week had MAJOR SALES!!

After all that, post interview, I randomly ended up finding a spectacular deal on a Tahari suit! I have two suits already, so this one makes three. I'm hearing more and more that people have to go for 3+ interviews, so at least I'll be prepared. The newest suit is something like this one below. Originally $320, I got it for $40 at Ross! Just the skirt is worth that, and I can wear that on many occasions! What made the deal even better was that I had tried on something very similar at full price the week before. So I definitely appreciated the value!

I had such a shopping high after that, so I actually went to another Ross, but they didn't have any other Tahari suits. I did find a perfect gray and white dress though for $12!!!! Great quality, flattering, with little sleeves. Still can't believe the deal. Perfect with a suit jacket for an interview, or alone for a date, or even just a normal day in the office. Once I have an office to go to...

I did go to the gym a couple of times since my last post, but with the interview prep and travel, that definitely threw things off. And true to form, post interview when all the stress was over, I found myself wanting to eat...and I did a little bit. Got stuck at the airport because of the Phoenix sand storm so had nothing but time to munch. oh no!

Definitely have to keep my eye on the scale. The biggest thing for us is being sure we go grocery shopping. Not having food in the house = fast food or eating out = BAD!

Workout Music Suggestions?

So I joined the gym today! Yay! Found an all-women's gym not too far away which is great. Felt really good post workout, then took a quick swim after, and then the post-gym crash/hunger hit me. I wasn't too bad though. Had some plain oatmeal with nuts and iced coffee which was my breakfast.

Definitely felt a stress-relief post workout. Haven't started strength-training. Will work up to that, just did cardio and stretching and sit ups for now.

I'll feel so much better with 20 lbs off. Even being heavy, I'm 20lbs more than i prefer to be at and my clothes are tighter than i like. Have been for quite a while really.

So now that I'm getting back into the workout thing, do you have workout music you like or links to other blog posts you can send me? I want to keep my workout mix fresh to keep things interesting.

Staying with Fam for the Week

I'm here in Houston with my mom this week. I'll be carless (in the suburbs) and have a few big projects to work on, so I went grocery shopping tonight and that's it.

So I dont plan on getting much swimming or exercise in (except if i happen to head over to my sister's place and her pool), but I really won't be able to go get any fast food or do much damage beyond what's in the house. So I think this week should be good. May do some neighborhood dog walks if it's not in the 100s.

So we'll see how I fare weight-wise once I get back to Austin. I'll be here for 7 or 8 days through the 4th of July weekend. I'm looking forward to lots of downtime at my mom's. I have some photography projects and have promised to completely organize her office. Basically it was never unpacked when she moved and since then, it's become a catch-all room, so I have my work cut out for me!

Down 4 lbs on my yo-yo coaster

I got on the scale in a funk this morning. Haven't weighed myself in more than a week, and for whatever reason, was just like "Oh great" my weight's going to be up too.

Yes, it's one of those mornings.

However, the weight wasn't up. It was DOWN 4 lbs!! Now granted, I think that the number was UP last time I weighed given my TOM or something. However, I'll take what I can get. It wasn't up, it was DOWN. And DOWN 4 lbs! So the swims and eating at home and eating more veg must be helping!

My yo-yo coaster is at least headed in the right direction. Woooooo!!! (That's me, arms up, going down in a roller coaster).

A Belated Honeymoon!?!? Tahiti!?!?

My husband is Mr. Internet deal, and he's just found an amazing trip to Tahiti for a steal!

It's been about a year and a half since our wedding. Originally, we thought we'd put off the honeymoon for a few months, but then Alex lost his job, and we moved to Austin, so it all got put on hold.

Now that we're trying more seriously to get pregnant, Alex and I discussed the fact that if things work out as planned, this could be our last chance to take our honeymoon which is really important to me, and we still have savings from the Honeymoon Registry we did for the wedding. And now, I have some extra cash from a freelance job I just did, so we're looking at Labor Day!!!

We've debated on Spain, France, Italy or Tahiti but really thought the South Pacific was just completely unrealistic. That is until we found this deal.

I want to research it and make sure it's the right decision. Plus, Alex will need to clear it with his boss.

Fingers crossed! That'd be a fun weight loss goal to have!

Avoiding Fast Food - What Do You Cook at Home?

You'd think just being vegetarian would help me avoid fast food. It's not like there's tons that I can eat, but I manage to find things. It's easy, cheap and convenient.

Being at home these days, I have decided to refocus on getting healthy. So one of the first steps is no fast food. I've allowed myself diet sodas as an exception when running errands, shopping.

So I made up a meal plan for the week, and I've done all of my coffees at home (my FAVORITE thing is going out for a morning coffee!). The trick is just making my coffee at home good enough to compete with what I get when i go out. So iced coffee is the thing for me. Lots of ice, with a straw.

We've already been on a salad kick, and had been trying to eat in more both for budget and health. So this week I put together our meal plan, and so far so good.

However, we're trying to avoid relying too much on pasta. We already do tons of mexican food. A couple of people replied to this question on Facebook, but I'd love to hear more ideas.

What do you guys like to cook at home for lunches/dinner?

Even if it's meat, i can usually make a substitute version. My favorite suggestion so far was bangers and mash! I can do those soy, Alex can do his meat and i can add some veg. So easy!!

Any go-to at-home meal ideas you can share?

Who else gets sleepy after a workout?

I went for another swim this morning, in my new swimsuit which i love! And now, 2 hours later, I'm getting. very. sleeeeeepy.

Do you guys get sleepy after a workout?

I lost a ton of weight a ton of years ago and at the time, tried many times to do morning workouts and then go to work, but I just couldn't get anything done because I'd be either feeling week, way too relaxed and always very sleepy. I was in pretty decent shape at the time, so I'm thinking it's not a weight issue.

Or on the weekends if i tried it, it would just kill the rest of my day.

So i took to a nighttime workout which worked well because i'd go on the way home from work and then sleep well.

These days, I'm at home, and schedule-wise, it's just better to work out in the morning first thing, then shower and go on with my day. Then i can spend my evenings with my husband. I'm also afraid if i leave the workout to the evening, it might not happen.

Has anyone else experienced this? Any thoughts?

Today I decided to respect the band

It might seem so obvious to other bandsters, but today I made a conscious decision to respect the band and to stop eating right away when I felt restriction.

This led to a total of 6 mini-meals, but overall I think it worked quite well. I definitely wasn't at all hungry. It was just about fighting that urge to feel like you wasted food. Some of what I had at home, I could just put back. And at lunch I had 1/2 a small side salad and 3/4 of a piece of bruschetta. It seemed like a waste to be in a restaurant and not eat what I ordered, but I took the other bruschetta home. We'll see if it gets eaten though. The topping came separate from the bread for some reason, so it might get repurposed into another meal, who knows!?

The problem is that later in the day, the band is always much looser. So for dinner, I ordered this big plate of veggies and rice from one of my favorite restaurants and was able to eat half of it before getting full. Veggies seems like a great choice, but the problem with this dish and why it's SO GOOD is that its made with a ton of butter and cheese. I figured it was better to eat lovely, lightly cooked veg even with the butter and cheese than the enchilada alternative. Despite the fat, I'm at least also getting the health benefits of all that veg and brown rice.

I might avoid that dish in the future however, or order it with way less cheese and butter.

But today's experiment was less about what I ate and more about stopping when I'm restricted, and I think I did a good job at that. I'm going to keep at it and slowly make healthier choices. We're already eating at home much more often despite eating out today. I had a friend in town so things were a bit different than usual.

What do you get stuck on?

The band has been acting up a fair bit the last 2 weeks. Or maybe I should say "working," which led me to thinking about the things I get "stuck" on. If I was smart, I'd cut them out of my life entirely, but until now I've been too _____(insert proper word here)______ to do that.

So, what is it I get stuck on???

- french fries (yes, I know, why am i eating these)

- tator tots (ditto)

- hamburger buns

- bread

- tortillas

- enchiladas

- quesadillas

- taco shells (I'm in Texas, LOTS of mexican food!)

- pita chips

- eggs

- dry nuts

- rice

- sushi rolls

- soy meats

- cooked tofu (the only way I eat it)

- pizza crust

- raw carrots (am actually afraid of them, won't eat them)

- bagels (i don't even bother trying)

Notice a theme here???

Since I don't eat meat, and unfortunately tend to lean on a fast food / takeout diet on occasion, carbs definitely tend to be involved in most of my menu options. Alex and I have a new commitment to eating at home and eating salads as a staple. Luckily, I never get stuck on salads. (Pasta never seems to be an issue either).

I need to rethink my diet and proteins however and let the band work. Of course i keep getting stuck if I keep making the wrong food choices.

If you know me, and i stop and pause during a meal. Kind of still and thoughtful. And then you see me stretch, you'll know what the deal is.

Getting stuck is deal-able, just not comfortable. On occasion more than uncomfortable. There will be a pain in my chest. Tightness. Tension in my back. If it's bad, a pain in my shoulder and a quick tension headache. It lasts a second and passes once I'm unstuck.

I don't PB much. If I do, I basically know i went too far. The inconsistency is surprising. One day or one meal I can eat the whole meal, another time, a few bites and that's that. The problems is that my trick is that I just wait, food passes, and i keep eating. Time to stop that too.

So what do you get stuck on? Do you have any foods you get stuck on that you for whatever reason keep eating? (if you don't mind sharing, any thoughts on why you still eat those foods?)

For me, I think i'm just *still* in denial that I can't eat certain things. Post-band it was like a point of pride that I could still be normal and people can't tell I'm banded. And sometimes I really am just normal. I just can't completely pig out and eat a full plate and then seconds.

Swimming!

I was super psyched when I found this cute retro little number IN MY SIZE and for $20-something dollars! The reviews all say it's got great support too. My old swimsuit was sadly (or sag-ily) lacking! I like the hip coverage too without having to go the awful plus-size swimskirt route.

Why do I need a new swimsuit?!? I've decided swimming will be a good way to ease back into working out. Beyond some nice long dog walks, it's been ages since I had a proper workout. Well except for my recent visit to our apartment's swimming pool which is super clean and really quite charming. That swim just reinforced how pathetically the old swimsuit fits. Or just entirely doesn't fit -- on top. It kind of made me understand a bit better how all these celebrity wardrobe malfunctions happen.

As for swimming, I found a particular time of morning when no one uses the pool, and it's a pretty big pool, so I started doing laps. I discovered it actually made my legs and lower back a bit sore. I noticed i had some odd posture while swimming, but it made me feel good to have gotten a good enough workout to be sore in a swimming pool. I'll have to watch my "form" in regard to my lower back though. But the sore legs were definitely from all the work, not bad form.

It did feel like work, but it was so enjoyable, it makes you wonder, how is this a workout!?! I was tired enough the rest of the day to know it definitely had some impact.

I think it's a good way to kick start some exercise! I'm looking at a women's gym by Alex's office that's pretty cheap and offers a short term summer contract. I'm still considering the financials, but I think it'd be a healthy option, both mentally and physically, to drop Alex off at work and get to the gym every morning. One of the job search books I was reading emphasized the importance of staying relaxed and happy and interested in life while job searching. It makes you a better interviewee and will help your confidence!

Great news today!

So I can let out a sigh of relief tonight. Despite all the negative-talk from the person I spoke to on the phone, I got an approval letter for Texas Unemployment. It's not a ton of money but just enough to make ends meet! Whew!

Life update

Hey everyone. So it's been a while, but I'm still here fighting the good fight. Sometimes (at least when it comes to food).

Lots has changed and lots is the same. The big news is that I lost my job. So I've joined the ranks of the nation's unemployed. After about a year of letting me work long distance, my company changed their mind. They talked about creating a new tech trainer job for me, but the funding didn't come through. And a few of our higher ups asked me to apply for a rep job that opened up in LA. I was on the fence about that but was trying to keep an open mind. They ended up switching things around and getting a rep for a different territory however, so that didn't work out. Now, I've been working on freelance projects for them which is a mixed blessing. It's great in that it pays (and the work is interesting)! But sometimes I feel like I can't really move on if I continue to be connected to this company that laid me off. Plus I find it to be a bit of distraction in terms of the job search. So...I'm just going to go with the flow for now and see what comes my way. Staying open to freelancing as maybe that's what's in the cards if it works out?

Assuming unemployment comes through, all will be okay, but so far I've been rejected by NY state because I live in TX, and TX told me on the phone that it should have been NY that paid me because I had a NY-based employer). So I'm expecting a rejection letter from TX any day now. I feel confident we can make ends meet in whatever ways we have to, but my husband gets stressed out about it, reasonably so. I think I'm just more naturally inclined to look on the bright side. However, it is certainly an added complication since I was the breadwinner. If TX does reject me, I'll have to go back and ask them to review my case again.

So we cut expenses, and I'm really proud that we were able to tighten our belts so much. The student loans all went on hold too which is a really big deal. The biggest thing we did though is move to a MUCH cheaper apt. We are in a more suburban area now. Bye bye beautiful downtown apartment. But this place has its plusses including way more storage and an office (which i LOVE!).

That's the big picture update. Now that I have more time, I'll be sure and provide more updates. Lots going on with weight loss efforts too. But I'll post all of that in other posts!

Cookies...uh oh

So everyone was talking about making fires for the east coast blizzard a couple of days ago and someone else said they'd bake, so i got it into my head that i'd bake.

So i took a favorite recipe and cut it in four and used extra WW points i had that day for a handful of cookies as my splurge. Alex and i shared of course.

Day 2 extra points again, made 1/4 of a WW pnut butter cookie recipe.

Today, had a bad day, and ate the remaining cookies. Then baked another 1/4 batch of a non-WW recipe.

I kind of went with the cookie option too because it involves the whole rigamarole of baking and doing the baking dishes in order to reap the reward. I figured i wouldnt want to do that on a regular basis (unlike the option of getting something bad at the store or fast food).

I'm still "on points" miraculously by using part or most of my weekly bonus point allotment.

Part of why i like WW is that it's all about portion control. Which with the exception of the cookies, I've had tons of. Also that you can eat "real" food on it, live a real life, and still have it work.

However, even though i can get away with this, the whole point is to eat healthier. Which in every other way i have been. Tons more fresh foods, fruit and veg etc.

And of course, the whole overall lesson is not to binge and not to turn to food when i'm bummed out.

But i think today was the true screw up day, even if by WW standards i didn't technically. So i learn my lesson today and move fwd tomorrow. Eating so much sugar isn't a good thing, that's for sure.

Short term goals

I've decided that short-term weight loss goals really are the thing that keep me ticking.

So, to that end, I'm going to add a new short term goal tracker. Right now, it was a 18 pound loss i was looking for. 6 of those down! So i'm going to try and add a ticker to the top of the page to distinguish from the one on the side.

My goal is to look like my after picture again

I had a commenter on a recent article note that I must be doing well because she'd taken a look at my after pics on the right nav.

The problem is, as I've mentioned, that I gained a lot of that weight back.

I had Alex take a recent current photo of me but decided it might not be a fair one to use in my before and after shots since i'm wearing foundation garments that make me look skinnier on the bottom than i am! I've added one of the pics here for you guys though! Growing out my bangs is making weird things happen with my hair too!

The good news is, I weighed myself today, granted on a non-weigh in day, and I'm down another 3 pounds since this past weekend.

Can that be right?

It's not official until the same number shows up this coming weekend. But it is encouraging! My goal had been to be down 10 pounds before all my presentations next week at our sales mtg. So far I'm down 6 with 6 days to go! Yay!

Very motivating!

Mmm...Can't wait to make these

I've stumbled upon a few great looking vegetarian recipes yesterday and today. Can't wait to make these healthy-style. Small portions, of course!

Peanut Stew with Spinach and Sweet Potatoes (WW recipe)

Tofu Parmigiana

Szechuan Tofu with Green Beans

and Red Curry with Vegetables

Pumpkin Gnocci (or butternut! MMMM...)

I'd have to cut down the amount of butter and flour on this last one by halving or quartering the recipe, and cut the parm on top.

Speaking of "Hungry Girl"

And i don't mean myself, though i have been really craving something in the cake realm. I might give in since I've been craving it for a few days and I have the "points." A small portion of something just to move past it already.

However, when I say speaking of "Hungry Girl" (from my last post), I thought I'd share that she and her brand just got a new TV show on the Cooking Channel. Can't say I'm familiar with the cooking channel, but I'm down for shows talking about healthier ways to eat!

Find out more here...

"Hungry Girl" Brunch

Alex and I are both finding this new Weight Watchers Points Plus to be so much easier with a band! It's just putting the daily food guidelines we needed into place. And I love that he's doing this with me now.

This morning, I made this really healthy brunch but problem is I chose three foods I get stuck on! Just because they are my traditional notion of brunch. I made Hungry Girl's mini banana pancakes with soy bacon and scrambled egg whites. I just got a bunch of healthy cookbooks from the library, and those banana pancakes really appealed.

The pancakes were decent but could only get down half of them. My only problem with the Hungry Girl recipes is all the fake foods used as ingredients and all the fake sugar.

Also just got Rocco Dispirito's cookbook Now Eat This! from the library. I'm not a big fan of his (which is completely reinforced by his photos in the book) but the cookbook itself is good. It seems as though the book's name was shortened from the catch phrase used inside a lot "Now You Can Eat This!" which really fits better. Basically, he took his favorite comfort foods and made them healthy. All 350 calories or less, or something like that. I see a few recipes I want to try, but there are tons of good meat ones for Alex that he's into. I'll post when we end up making some of those recipes.

Woot! Lost 3 pounds this week!

Very happy to report that I lost 3 pounds this week. Oh happy day!

And oh happy day because it's the weekend, and i can just forget about all my work week stressors for a couple of days.

Alex and I are off to walk the lake and take the dogs to the dog park where they are surprisingly good off-leash in this particular protected area. Tons of dogs there. Cali gets a bit nervous but JJ just LOVES it!

And i'm in my new workout wear, so I feel good about that. More on my new workout wear shopping excursion later...

My Bitchy Twin

I've had this running joke with a few friends about our bitchy twins. That cranky side of me that comes out ever so often. and than even more often other times.

I had someone nickname me Heather Locklear once - just a play on my name - and that nickname transformed into Heather Lochnessmonster. Just one of those play on word things, not an insult. But i've kind of come to own Heather Lochnessmonster and find it highly amusing. It's quite apropos for my bitchy evil twin.

Lots of stressful changes have been happening at work that I'm very unhappy about it I'm honest, and so I was thinking today that it would be a nice vent to just write *&**!x* as my Facebook update. Of course, I can't say ANY of my friends would appreciate that and certainly not coworkers. Maybe I should just create a special Heather Lochnessmonster twitter account just to be bitchy freely when i want.

Of course, i'm joking, but obviously, based on the state of the internet these days. I guess a lot of people out there actually do this!

P.S. The before pic in my right column is what my bitchy twin looks like! ha!

Double P.S. Despite blahs and bitchies and lochnessmonsters, I'm still totally on track food wise and even exercised this week. Shocking i know.

Super Funk

Maybe I'm just having a bad today, but I'm really hating working from home today. I feel bored and depressed and blah and ready for a major change.

It could be other factors, like that it's overcast and post-Christmas, and I have a new boss and am not working on my favorite project anymore. The deal with that project change is that most of my travel was tied to that project. And that travel is what made my job interesting. Got me out of the house, let me work more with customers etc. So without that, I'm just stuck at home. I'll still go to NYC for work, but some of the other trips will be greatly reduced. At least until next year. Then another project would be picking up travel wise.

I was so into working from home when Alex was home with me. I didn't really get at the time that that was why I liked it so much. I took it for granted.

And today, I'm blah, which is bad for healthy eating. But so far, i'm holding out. Not doing too bad. I did have the thought though "why am i doing this again"? As in Weight Watchers. Why do i need to lose weight? But i also had a decent answer for myself.

Thank goodness for the band

So i'm on day 2 of Weight Watchers and was surprised after just a single serving of thai lime rice and thai coconut soup (1/2 can) for lunch that I was still hungry. i really thought i wouldnt be with the band this tight and all. I had the other half of the can and the rest of the rice and I'm good now. And while it's more points than i'd prefer, i'm still totally on track. Hence the title of this blog post. Not sure I'd be okay with this day so far without the band. Usually on WW, I'm STARVING the first few days until I get used to it.

Though i'm quite susceptible to suggestion today. For example, after looking at a picture of a cupcake, I want a cupcake now. Surprise surprise!

However, after looking at a Whole Foods blog post on grains, I don't actually want grains now. Funny how that works!

Unlike my usual self, I wont just indulge in whatever comes to mind though.

I just heard a McDonald's commercial talking about their fancy chocolate coffees. And it was playing on that idea of subliminal suggestion. Ooh don't you want it, do you want CHOCOLAAATEEE the male announcer kept cutting in. Then they say it's on sale. For whatever reason, I didn't actually want one, but I thought how *mean* for all those people trying to be good on their diets. I guess McDonald's has a very serious vested interest in getting people to break those diets right away, huh?

I wasn't tempted by the chocolate though and I've been good today. Instead of my fancy coffee this morning, i got a small plain decaf coffee and added a mini "snack"-sized glucerna protein shake too it for my breakfast.

This cold I've been fighting is really hanging in there. I'm super loopy today. What I really want is a nap, but since I had a dr's appt this morning, i didn't want to call in sick this afternoon, so i need to hold out for 2 more hours. I'm reporting to a different boss as of today so I need to be on the ball!

As for that morning dr's appt, I went to see the OBGyn about getting pregnant and since we've been trying for 9-12 months with no luck they are going to run a bunch of tests. Looks like the tests might be drawn out over the next 2 months though as they have to be performed on certain days of my cycle, and I'll be out of town for a week. Fingers crossed!

Wow, WW has changed!

So before joining WW yesterday, I didn't think I'd had that bad of a day foodwise. I did have a bad breakfast but it was small -- I also had a few fritos in my veg chili and some tootsie rolls.

So I knew I wasn't perfect, but i thought it wasn't thaaaat bad.

Well, I was wrong!

Especially with Weight Watcher's new points plus program. You get more points to start with, but what shocked me is that they dont at all consider calories anymore! HUH!?!

It's a more complex calculation of fat, protein (yay, that's new), carbs and fiber. Very very interesting.

So my can of Whole Foods veggie chili that i thought was GREAT, especially with fresh spinach and onions in it, isn't really. (Not even including the few fritos i threw in). That can was just a bit less than half of what I can eat for the whole day! Of course, that's also a portion size issue. I should be eating half a can. Then it's about appropriate. I do get stuffed on a full can and that's with chili being a bit of a slider food, so half is fine i'm sure. It's just a matter of not letting myself sit down with a full bowl.

And that breakfast I thought wasn't so bad...really was. Those two things for the day and i was just about done points wise. So yesterday's exercise in food tracking made things clear -- they are making major efforts to push low fat and healthier food choices. Not just getting by with not-as-good-for-you low-calorie choices.

I'm excited about this, and it's been a while since I felt that way!

Weight Watchers (Post 2 today)

As one of my methods for losing the weight i want to, I just joined Weight Watchers. I googled "promo code" for Weight Watchers Monthly Pass and found 25% off. Pretty good deal as you get a reduced weekly payment, no sign up fee, free online tools and then $10 off.

Anyone else out there a bandster and a weight watchers member?

Needless to say I'm sure I was influenced by the number of times I've seen the Jennifer Hudson WW commercials. But what can I say, she looks good! And some glossy weight watchers mailing even found me at my new address. They're stalking me!

I've done Weight Watchers lots of times, and it definitely works (as does the band) but as is the case with both, you have to work the program!

So here I am once again a WW member. I'm thinking WW will be much easier with the band however. I definitely get fuller faster these days.

And I'm curious to hear the changes to their new program. I know that all fruit and almost all veg are 0 points now. I remember asking a weight loss leader once about the points for veg in my salad, and he was like, really, eat what you want for salad. No one ever got fat on vegetables. Now dressing is another story...

Wish me luck!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year's to everyone out there in blogland. Despite not having posted tons lately, I do still read all of the band blogs for inspiration and to keep up with what everyone is up to.

I'm sure I'm not the only one out there who has weight loss as a new year's resolution. Though I don't really like to think of it that way -- as temporary as a resolution can sometimes be. I've been thinking for a while now of a fresh approach to healthy eating as Alex and I have been trying to get pregnant. No luck yet but a lower weight will help I'm sure. I also have an appt with an OB on Monday.

I also think it'll be easier to eat healthy during pregnancy if it's not a new thing, so I'm wanting to start now.

My short-term goal is to lose a few before my next trip to New York for work. I'll be presenting and I've gained a few pounds since I was last in New York so that's a good goal. Plus I need my clothes to fit!

I'll be sure and update on how my efforts go. I have 2 weeks until I go to New York...

Then perhaps I should make dressing up for Valentines my next weight loss goal. Alex has promised to take me out to a super fancy restaurant here for a fun Valentine's date.

Post wedding I started putting less emphasis on weight loss goals (short term ones), and I definitely need to get back to that!