I probably should have counted this as a Non-Scale Victory for February, but I was so intent on beating myself up over my weight gain that I didn’t think about it.
At the last Weight Watchers At Work meeting of February, I was talking to a couple of members before the meeting started, saying that I’d only gained 0.2 pounds that week, and that I considered that pretty much staying the same, since that really just amounts to a good BM. Everyone got a good chuckle out of that.
One member, Barb, asked me, “So, are you on Maintenance, then…?”
I kind of smirked and said, “Pfft, no. I still have about fifteen to go.”
Jane, sitting next to her, looked at me and her eyes got big. She looked me up and down pointedly. I could read the unspoken really? on her face.
Barb turned to Jane. “That’s what everyone says about you, too! You don’t look like YOU need to lose any more.”
Which was absolutely true. Jane didn’t look the least bit unhealthy to any of us, but she would often reference the rolls around her middle (and her undying love for cookies).
Anyway, after that, we had a brief discussion about what’s under our clothes, the rolls and jiggly bits that no one else can see.
So, what I got out of that is that even Weight Watchers members think I look “normal” now, even though I’m still a little more jiggly and puffy than I’d like.
I’ve been double-tracking again this month — that is, using Lose It! alongside my eTools — since I was curious about how much protein I was consuming. Of course, just the act of tracking a thing makes me more aware of it, so that first week, I consistently ate 20% of my daily calories (just under 90g) from protein, just by nature of the fact that I was tracking it. However, over time, I discovered that I don’t usually eat enough protein unless I make a conscious effort to include a source of it in every meal.
I also tweaked my Lose It! settings so that I should never, ever go over my daily calorie goal. If I eat my daily PointsPlus target, and nothing extra, that equates to somewhere between 1300 and 1500 calories. If I were to spread my Weekly Allowance Points evenly over all days, that would look more like 1700 to 1900. If I tell Lose It! that I want to lose half a pound per week, it sets me a daily target of 2001 calories. So, right now, I’m using Lose It! as my safety net. If I go over my PointsPlus Target on a given day, it’s been easy for me to throw in the towel for the day and just eat whatever and start over tomorrow. Now, I feel like I have a mental buffer: OK, you’re over your Points for the day, but you HAVE to stop at 2000 calories. Or 1700, or whatever, depending on where I have my limit set.
Me being the data nerd that I am, I love several of the features that Lose It! has to offer. I love the Fitbit integration that actually works and gives me a goal to shoot for to get a calorie bonus. I love the visualizations on the mobile app that show me how many calories I have left for the day, and display my percentages of macronutrients. I also love the list of Favorite Foods that’s on the website. It’s data that’s kind of telling.
Coffee and Splenda. Tart cherry juice. My snacks of choice. Or sort by Calories or Average to see what’s had the most impact, calorically speaking (various noodles, Girl Scout cookies, corn tortillas).
I don’t love double-tracking all the time, though, so I’ve temporarily retired from Lose It once more — until I decide that I want some additional insight into my macronutrients and other eating habits again.
Under the category of Why Did I Eat That: the last weekend of February put me over Points for that last week of February into the first week of March (since WW weigh-in day is Tuesday for me). I can point to exactly two major offenders: Indian for lunch on Friday and enchilada casserole for dinner on Saturday, neither of which I tracked ahead of time. Overall, though, not a bad week. The following weeks’ downfalls were mainly snack-related: vending machine stuff, doughnuts, a couple instances of Kraft Dinner.
The month as a whole wasn’t bad, either, but also wasn’t awesome, as far as weight loss is concerned. I changed up some habits — I try to sit down with a cup of tea at 8:30pm after my son goes to bed, instead of stress-eating, and I’ve promised myself a new iPhone case if I can make it for an entire week without snacking after dinner. (I’m two weeks in — or is it three? — and still no reward yet.)
NSVs:
- An acquaintance from college saw my pre-workout selfie online and commented, “Damn you’re tiny!” My husband also declared that I have “two tickets to the gun show.”
- Went to the 6th floor to grab a quick lunch. Passed up the lasagna in favor of the wrap and macaroni salad I’d planned to get.
- Worked out hard enough to get sore a few times this month by taking different fitness classes.
My goal has been to lose 1.5 pounds every month, to reach my goal weight by Thanksgiving 2015. If I go by my naked-on-the-scale weight, I only lost 0.6 this month. If I go by my Weight Watchers weigh-in weight, though, I’m down well over that pound and a half. I’m going to declare this month a win.