Black Friday

It's Black Friday. Today used to be the day that retailers nationwide would recover from any slumps they had during the year and be "back in the black" as far as their profit margins. In the past I've done my part to help this happen but in recent years haven't really gotten up early to fight the crowds. This morning was a little different.

This morning at 2:25 a.m. I got up out of my warm bed after sleeping for only 3.5 hours. My daughter and I got up to go to Old Navy which was opening at 3 a.m. I knew I would not be the first person in line, nor did I want to be. All I wanted was a frost free coat for my son that was on sale for $15. I didn't even care about anything else.

We got to the store around 2:55 and the doors opened and within about 10 minutes we were inside and I bolted for the boys' section. I grabbed 3 different coats in his size and pushed my way through the crowd to find my daughter to ask her which one she thought I should purchase. We chose a simple black jacket and shopped for a couple of more things and got in line. The line went in front of the registers down to the back of the store, across the back of the store and then back down towards the front. We stood in line for about 45 minutes but I got my son his coat!

We got home around 5 and I went back to bed. I really wanted to sleep in but I was also determined to go and weigh in at Weight Watchers today.

As for Weight Watchers and Black Friday.... I knew I should go even though I had no idea how I would do. I could be "in the black" and be up or I could be "in the red" and losing. Unfortunately I was "in the black". Up 2 pounds. I will attribute some of that to the fact that I wore heavier clothing since it was really cold today, that thanks to mother nature I'm experiencing "feminine issues" and mostly to the fact that I haven't even signed on to WW to enter my points for the last 2 weeks. How pathetic is that?


I KNOW that I can't keep track of the points mentally in my head. I also know I can't keep track of my checkbook in my brain and yet I never write anything down in the register and am constantly "surprised" at how much money I've really spent. Well...I wasn't really surprised at the fact that I'd gained weight....again.

Why can't I just write it down??? If you snack it...track it!!! This week will be better.

I am proud of myself though for even going to weigh in today. Of all the people in my group I was the only one who weighed in today. Although I couldn't stay for the meeting the leader congratulated me for coming in and being accountable.

I think I need a specific goal for the week. Any suggestions before I really start out the weekend?

Where have I been?

Ok...so I didn't get to WW on Friday like I should have. It's not that I was afraid to weigh in...I had to go to school and help with my son's Thanksgiving Feast! (I think I might have lost a pound last week.)

Let's talk about Thanksgiving for a minute shall we? Remember when you were a kid and you got together with family and friends and you couldn't sit at the table with the adults? Where did you sit? You had to sit at the "kid's table".

The kid's table was fine when you were small but it was torture when you were 11 or 12. By then you wanted to sit at the regular table where you could serve yourself and cut your own food. More importantly as an adult...you could get your own dessert!

Let's be honest! I LOVE dessert. Pie, cookies, cake, candies, anything sweet. I think it's in my DNA...my dad was a total sweet lover, my grandmothers both loved sweets too. My dad's mother used to make a couple of things that I loved for some reason. Thinking back on it I have to wonder why this was her choice of "poison"...she would get the heal of a nice crusty French bread, dig out the light fluffy bread in the center and put olive oil and sugar in the bottom of it. I LOVED eating that.


The other thing she taught me to eat was bread dipped in Carnation sweetened condensed milk. Even as I type this I get a craving for it! I haven't eaten it in years but I can seriously taste it! It sounds gross but to me it was divine!

Anyway...at our last WW meeting we talked about how to make our Thanksgivings less about food and more about family. I remember one year doing Christmas crafts as a group. It was nice because we sat around the table and talked and created. It was bliss. Someone else had a great idea which I think I appreciate now because my dad passed away 16 years ago. She said that each one of the kids got to ask a member of the family about any interesting events or memories that happened to them at the same age as the child asking the question. (Does that make sense to you?) The child interviewed the person and wrote it down and then presented it to the rest of the family.

I don't know what we'll do this year as a tradition to make it less about food and more about family. If you have any ideas feel free to comment.

I am glad that I won't be sitting at the children's table though because I plan on serving myself dessert. It will be a rough day since I have to weigh in the day after Thanksgiving....we better eat early!

I was a Puff Momma!

Ok...so last week when I weighed in at WW I had a 4 pound gain. This was after flying 36 hours prior to weighing in. Supposedly flying can make you retain water. It has something to do with the cabin pressure and the lack of movement. I was willing to grasp that straw because I knew I'd eaten more junk than I should have but I honestly didn't feel like I'd gone crazy. I was, however, willing to accept my fate because I didn't track AT ALL while I was gone.

So I prayed for a loss this week of at least the 4 pounds I'd gained the week prior. Along with praying I went back on a diuretic that my doctor had prescribed a while ago. I'd been off of them for a while but with the gain and the fact that my legs, hands, feet and face were showing signs of swelling due to water retention I took the pills.

And so yesterday I made my way to WW. I got there, shed my sweater and shoes and stepped up onto the scale. I tried not to look at Adrienne while she recorded my weight and then looked at me with delight in her eyes and said...."You're down 5.8!" I swear angels were singing!

So I managed to get the 4 pounds off as well as another 1.8. Success! I am happy this weekend.

Is today my lucky day?

I've had enough 'bad luck' in the last month that I'm hoping that the Unlucky Finger of Friday the 13th is not pointing at me today.

I weigh in today at 11:15. On weigh in days I don't eat until after I am done at the meeting. I'm usually STARVING by then but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make for every stinking ounce!

I got on the scale this morning...like I do most mornings. I've been back on my water pill this week. Why must my body work against me so? I don't get it. I just wanna say to my brain, my stomach, virtually every part of me..."WORK WITH ME WILL YA?!"

Anyway...I weigh naked, as unsightly a picture as it is. I have my back to the mirror so I don't have to actually witness my own nakedness too often. I got on the scale this morning and compared to what I weighed at home last week it is 7 pounds less.

Now...I'm not going to get my hopes up for weighing in at WW on their scale with my clothes on. I know I've lost. I can feel it. The question is how much. We soon shall see.

I've always liked the number 13...after all it's the day of my birth...we'll see if it's lucky or not.

Two weeks and 4 pounds

I have to laugh at this picture because I posted it and then realized that it's a man in a woman's shirt! BAH! And I thought I was pathetic!

I almost cried at Weight Watchers on Friday. I knew I hadn't lost weight but I was totally unprepared to find out that I'd gained 4 pounds in 2 weeks!

While I was gone I did not journal or keep track of my food AT ALL. When someone dies they bring in food and tons of it. I didn't really think I'd gone crazy but I guess the 4 slices of pecan pie, the cookies and the delicious home made dinners that were brought in just went straight to my hips.

Since I've been back I've noticed that my feet and hands are also swelling like crazy. We were out today walking and visiting some shops and my hands got so swollen that I thought my rings would cut off the circulation! Time to drink more, flush this out of my system and get back onto my water pill. Maybe that will help as well.

I was so depressed after weighing in that I went to Target to look for one of my favorite things at Christmas time....peppermint Tootsie-Rolls. They didn't have any so I bought a bag of Halloween peanut M&M's which were on sale. I managed to eat the ENTIRE bag throughout the day. Do you know how many points that is????!!! 41.5 points!!! How sick is that?

How much sense does it make to gain 4 pounds and drown your sorrow in a bag of M&M's? It makes no sense. Why do I do this? I don't know. I'm trying to figure out my brain and my relationship with food. This is a process.

Today I did much better. I tracked my points and went for a good walk. I gotta get off the 4 pounds and wrap my brain around the need to lose weight.

Sheesh!!!

After 6 days away I'm finally home. The scale is and isn't my friend. Honestly I haven't gained any weight but I haven't lost either!

I will weigh in tomorrow and I missed last Friday's weigh in. It's likely that I haven't lost anything since my last weigh in 2 weeks ago. Sheesh! I need to get my brain back in gear. So much for a better week!