The losing continues...

We are almost 4 weeks into our Biggest Loser challenge with the Paakkonen group. At work, we began a similar challenge. Each Tuesday, we will give our lbs lost or gained and the percentage. We've got some fierce competitors in this one so I am excited to see the actual results at the end. All in all, it is good for everyone involved and we are all doing it together. We will be starting week 3 on Tuesday. SO, with these two competitions, I am down almost 10 lbs! I have really been following Weight Watchers, however, we are given weekly points to use if we want and obviously, if we don't use them we lose more weight but I usually use them. Weekends are the WORST! But on the flip side of that, you can work out and gain points. I have been working out and averaging about 35-40 points each week so it all balances out. If I just reduced the eating more I would lose mega pounds. BUT I am really, really happy with the fact I am consistently losing each week. I lost 4lbs the first week and 2 lbs each week thereafter. I am so proud of myself!!! I honestly, attribute my success to Weight Watchers. I love it. I just get it and love the balance. With counting calories, I just never really followed it or would find it easier to cheat. When really, the only person I was cheating was myself. I have just switched my thinking and really feel like WW helped me do that. I am able to have beer, greasy foods, and high caloric things BUT the difference is in order to enjoy those things on the weekends, I work my BUTT off during the week with both working out and avoiding fatty meals. It's all about balance! Here's to more weight loss!!

Biggest Loser...

Time for big changes. The weight battle continues. I am so done and sick of it. Over our Paakkonen Christmas celebration last weekend, a few cousins and I were talking about it. We are all in the same boat. All of us have lost some and put it back on, lost some, put it on, and so on. We all decided to do our own version of Biggest Loser. We each will put in $25.00 and the person with the biggest percentage of weight loss by April 3 will win the pot. The amount will be almost 200 bucks!! We have created a private group on Facebook and have all posted our starting weight. This was EXTREMELY tough for me to do because I have never told anyone my true weight; outside of doc offices of course. The act of telling, no, scratch that, POSTING this number to 8 other people was actually really freeing. I just laid it all out there. No going back now!! :) The feeling that everyone is in the same boat was a relief as well. Yes, we are competing but we are also very supportive to one another on the group board. That support and validation helps!!

I have re-signed up for Weight Watchers, which I absolutely love and forgot I did. The premise of the program, for those of your who are not familiar, is you get points to start with in the week (mine are 27), you get extra weekly points (mine are 49) to use on anything extra throughout the week. THEN, you get more points called Activity points when you exercise. Which you choose to use on food or drinks. The way the points are calculated are based on fat grams, protein grams, carbs and fiber. You plug those into the calculator online or the handheld one you can buy for 7.50 and alacazam you get a point value. You learn rather quickly what each foods are what value and what are the low point items to keep near you. There are so many zero point foods such as most veggies and fruits! It's exciting as I love both of those. Today, my lunch consisted of 2 cups of lettuce, an orange bell pepper, strawberries, grapes, dried cranberries and a little bit of dressing. My total was: 3 points. That is a lot of food! I was able to eat some WW friendly chips for a grand total of 6 points for my entire lunch. One half hour on the elliptical will wipe away that entire lunch. What happens then?! Hello, weight loss! See? No brainer. It's all a balancing act!

I'm looking forward to it! I have extra motivation to lose...this is the dress I am wearing on Feb 25th to Jamie's work party. We also we are going to Vegas March 1-4...MORE motivation.

Some of the most satisfying things....

It truly is the little things in life that make it satisfying. Things so small and insignificant to some are insanely satisfying to others. I take these moments in fully and recognize my love of them.

 Here is my abbreviated list.


1. This may be a given but my number one is: warm sheets straight from the dryer to bed. Not just any sheets but the t-shirt ones.....warm, t-shirt material sheets. Mmmm...exquisiteness...

2. A fresh new notebook. There is something so extremely satisfying and exciting about using the first page in a new notebook. I think it reverts back to the first day of school...that excitement, the newness of the year, the knowledge that was about to be bestowed upon me....or maybe I am just a huge nerd.

3. Being the first to dig into a new jar of peanut butter. Seriously, to be the first to dip into the perfectness of that tan delight. Absolutely 100% satisfying.

4. Hitting every green light on the way home. This is a rare occasion but when it happens, extreme bliss occurs.

5. Being so, so, so cold and then entering extreme warmth. For example, getting out of warm bed, into cold room, straight into hot, hot shower. Or shoveling outside in the frigid cold and then entering the house and sitting in front of the fireplace.

6. The very moment you finish your workout DVD, minutes on the treadmill/elliptical, or final rep on weights. It's a joyful moment filled with released endorphins and self satisfaction for making it through it.

7. The moment you click "Submit Order" when online shopping. Absolutely love it.

8. The very first drink of a coffeehouse specialty drink. For me, it is a tall, non fat, vanilla latte from Starbucks...all of the drinks out of it are great, but the very first one is THE most satisfying.

9. Vacuuming the floor. This is one of the most satisfying acts I perform. I love the feeling of looking into the canister of the bagless vacuum and seeing all of the junk I just cleaned up. Take that gross junk on the floor.

10. When my husband reaches over and grabs my hand when we are in the car. HAPPINESS.

11. Being so utterly exhausted from your day and crawling into bed and stretching out. That stretch is the greatest thing. The stretch that lets your tired bones fall comfortably into bed....

12. The sound the furnace makes when kicking on. It's such a comforting sound....

13. Getting laughs from my niece and nephew. I love when they get my jokes and we can goof around. Their little minds are so fascinating to me.

14. A nice, big glass of warm, red wine on a chilly evening.

15. Taking off my work clothes at the end of the day. That feeling that the obligatory duty is done for the day and the rest of it is mine!

What are your satisfying moments?!