Update

Updates

My first week weigh-in was on Saturday, and I was down 3 pounds! Woohoo. But the second week is really the one that counts, because who knows, it could have just been fluctuating, etc. I didn't eat very well this past weekend (I know it's counter-productive, but I was excited that my weight was down, so I ate bad! I know, it's twisted.) But now I have to stick to my 32-34 points per day. I have no more 'extra' points left over. But I have been drinking a LOT of water, so that's good!

Mom and dad come out to visit at the end of October/early November. I'm excited to see them and to see their costumes on Halloween night! :)

Jon and I saw Transformers 3 in the dollar theater last week. Good movie, but too long. I think the "battle" scene lasted over half the movie! I started getting antsy near the end. I was ready for it to be over.

The Vienna Boys Choir is coming to Salt Lake City at the end of October.  I have always wanted to see them, and I didn't want to miss the opportunity, so I bought tickets for Jon and myself.
I am excited for General Conference this weekend! The older I get, the more I enjoy it. (Plus it will be fun to watch with the Butler kids). While the boys are at the Priesthood session, Emma, Elza, Emily and I are having a girls night. :)

Work has been pretty busy lately. There were some layoffs last week and a few people were cut back to part time. I am grateful I still have my job, plus I was lucky and will be working 40 full hours, instead of 35 - 38. The other secretary I work with got cut back to 20 hours, so I am thanking my lucky stars. I'll miss a lot of the people who were let go, though.

I can't wait for the fall! I am waiting for the pumpkins to go on sale, and then I will decorate the stairs to the house and make hot apple cider and wear sweaters and my boots. I love love love the fall and the colors of the leaves and the cool, crisp air. I love to bake in the fall/winter, and make lots of warm apple crisp and pies. I'll have to share them, or I'll eat them all! This week the weather says it will be in the 80s, but by the end of next week, the 60s will be here! If I had my wish, it would be fall all year round. And maybe 2 months of winter with snow so I can have a white Christmas. :) UNLESS I lived by the beach, of course. :)

HAPPY FALL!!

Tuesday

Breakfast: Wheat english muffin, 3
Shredded Cheese, 1
1 fried egg, 2
1 piece of ham, 1
Glass of water
Total: 7

Snack:
Banana, 0 points
Lunch:
Progresso Tomato and Basil Soup, whole can: 8 points
6 saltine crackers, 2 points
Bottle of water
Total: 10 points

Snack:
Piece of white bread, 3 points

Dinner: (same as yesterday)
Corn on the cob: 2
Baked potato with sour cream and shredded cheese: 8 (I added an extra point than yesterday, because I had more sour cream...)
Baked chicken, 3 points
Total: 13 points
Dessert:
Chocolate ice cream (3/4 cup), 6 points
Sugar cone, 1 point
Total: 7 points

Grand Total: 37 points

Food and Points

I think I will update what I eat on here, so it keeps me more accountable. I promised myself I would not lie about what I ate. I won't update every day, but just to give an idea (and so you can do it too by looking at the points for each item!)

Breakfast at 7:
2 eggs (5 points), one piece of toast (2 points), a sprinkle of cheese (1 point), big glass of water
Total Points: 8

Snack at 10:30:
Small Gala apple (0 points)

Lunch at 12:
Progresso soup (6 points), cornbread muffin (4 points), big glass of water
Total Points: 10

Snack at 2:30:
15 frozen grapes (0 points)

Sugar fix at 4:
Tablespoon of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Total Points: 2

Dinner at 7:30: (I planned for 6, but didn't realize how long it took to bake potatoes)
Vanilla Coke Zero(mmm) (0 points)
Baked potato with sour cream (2 T) /cheese (1 T) (7 points)
Baked chicken breast with herbs and olive oil (4 points)
Chili-lime corn on the cob (2 points)
Total Points: 13

Dessert at 9:
1/2 cup of light chocolate ice cream
Total Points: 3

10:00: Big glass of water before bed

Daily Grand Total: 36

My daily goal is 32 points, and I used 4 of my 'extra' weekly points.

Thoughts:

I have a hard time eating veggies. I have a lot of frozen veggies that I need to warm up and add to a meal but I just don't think about it until afterwards.

I am also supposed to track any activity. I think I sat most of the day yesterday and didn't really do anything that would count as an activity. I sit on my tuff all day.

I sip water at work throughout the day, but I know I need more. I just get tired of it...

I already feel better. I'm sure it's just mental, but to me, my body feels 'cleaner', if that makes any sense. Even though it's only been 2 days.

I calculate everything. Someone offered me a Zinger this morning (I've never had one, but it's like a Twinkies with frosting), and I asked him the 4 questions: Carbs, Fat, Protein, Fiber. I plug it into the calculator. For the whole package, it was 13 points. So for one it was 4 points. I passed and I stayed strong! (And it helps that I don't like Twinkies, ha).

I now take showers at night time, so I have more time in the morning to make breakfast. (I just get my hair wet now in the morning so I can "style" it, haha). I love having the extra time to get ready, too.

I have been trying to go to bed earlier, but I think the perfect time for me is 10:00 for bed, and wake up at 6:00. So far, so good. I've been waking up refreshed instead of groggy with those times.

WW

I joined Weight Watchers on Saturday morning with my friend Terri and her daughter.

I'm actually pretty excited about it. (I lost some of that excitement when I stepped on their scale and I weighed 8 more pounds there than on my scale at home... But I felt a little better when Terri and her daughter said the same thing about their weigh-in.)

I bought the "Buy One Month, Get One Month Free" deal. I'll try it out for these 2 months and see how it goes. So far, I feel good about it. Terri bought me the PointsPlus calculator too, which I LOVE. I plug in the amount of protein, carbs, fat, and fiber of what I'm eating (I just read the nutrition label) and it tells me how many points it is worth. I check it for everything - a piece of toast, an egg, pasta, milk, etc., and then determine if it is worth the amount of points (I get 32 points per day, plus 49 to use throughout the week.) I think I used about 30 of my extra points at the Utah State Fair on Saturday...!

I'm pretty excited and confident about the plan. All fruits are free (so zero points), and most veggies are too. I need to buy more wheat things - like pasta, bread, rice, and tortillas. But I have a hard time buying new stuff without finishing the old first.

Last night I cooked up some zucchini and squash and I added in some garlic and onion and olive oil. It was only 1 point! (because of the oil) and it was delish! Even Jon liked it (and he really doesn't like zucchini OR squash). Of course, the corn bread muffins I also made were 4 points each...

Anyway, so far so good. It's mostly just eating healthy and the right portion size (surprise, surprise.) But I think it will help to be accountable to stranger, also (and it's fun to have a friend to do it with!).

Yesterday when I was counting the points, I realized that I really did eat a lot of junk, especially when I was bored or when I just craved it. 1/2 cup of ice cream is 8 points! So it's nice to have those extra 49 a week for treats like that. At first I thought that those were a TON of extra points, but I realized they add up quickly.  I froze the soft grapes (I HATE soft grapes - only crunchy!) so they will be a nice frozen zero-point treat/snack!

So this morning I had a piece of toast (3 points), 2 eggs (4 points) and a little cheese (2 points) and a big glass of water. In the mid morning I had an apple (0!) and another 16 ounces of water, and right now I'm having soup (6 points instead of 3, because I eat the whole can of Progresso soup, which is 2 servings) and a corn muffin (4 points). So 19 points so far, and I have 13 points left for dinner. I think we'll have baked chicken and more zucchini and squash (thanks to neighbors who share the produce from their gardens!) with some rice. Mmmm mmmm. Jon is very supportive too, which is so nice! He is so positive and cheers me on and is encouraging. I love that man to death!

Burn

Last night I put some skin cream on my face (because I was starting to break out), and this morning I woke up and my face was BEET RED.  It is so blotchy and it itches like crazy. I must have had an allergic reaction (which is weird, because I've used that stuff before and it's never done this before). Jon kept giving me looks of pity all morning while I was getting ready. My face feels all nasty right now - I put a lot of moisturizer on, and tons of cover up, and even more makeup that's green (to balance out the red...) BUT, it still looks bright red with white streaks here and there. I think I burned my skin! It is so hot, too. Of course, the skin around my eyes is all white still, along with the top of my forehead (I must have missed that area! Along with some of my cheek. Haha). Anyway, I look like 2 face.

Jon mumbled something this morning about Beauty and the Beast...I'm sure he was referring to me as the beast. It's alright, he can be Beauty once in a while. ;)

I prefer the first picture,

but this one is probably more accurate.

We even have the same waivy hair and red skin!