Headed the right direction...albeit slowly

This past week has been filled with highs and lows. I have been both proud and ashamed of myself. I have however, managed to stay inspired this week most of the time (despite my non-perfect dieting) thanks to my outside support system. I can't believe how many notes I've gotten from people. I've gotten emails, FB notes and comments from people I talk to all the time as well as from people I haven't heard from in years. Most of these notes offered encouragement, many people relayed their own weight-loss/gain stories and many of them said I had inspired them, which in turn, inspired me. Funny how that works. It's comforting to know that while weight-loss is such a personal thing (for most people anyway), so many of us have the same stories and share the same struggles.

I finally weighed myself this morning on my new scale and the (not-so) magic number was 171. If I'm going by my original weigh-in (on what may or may not have been a "broken" scale...I think it's pretty close either way)...I have lost 3 lbs. this week. I am trying to take that in stride. I worked hard most days last week however I did have some slip-ups as well. I don't have a personal chef and I don't have eight hours a day to spend with a personal trainer (e.g. Janet Jackson, who dropped 60 lbs. in 4 months!). I do, however, plan to start working out in the next couple of weeks. Besides, everyone knows you're only supposed to lose 1.5-2 lbs. per week when you lose it the "healthy" way. Another thing that has been working against me this week is the fact that I've had family in town which has meant more extravagant-than-usual meals and more meals out.

I should be writing down everything I eat and I did really well with this during the week but have been distracted these past few days while hanging out with the family. I'll give a brief synopsis here of my diet these past few days though - Thursday night we ate at mom and dad's again. I had a small hamburger (no bun), 3 or 4 tomato slices and about 5 potato chips with dip (I won't even try to justify this). On Friday we took the kids to the zoo. I had a pear and a tangerine for breakfast that day and a turkey sandwich on whole wheat for lunch (this was a proud moment - there is pizza and other unhealthy fare there everywhere you turn). That night we went out for Mexican food. I did have about 12-15 chips with salsa and I ordered the chicken fajitas. I ate most of the meat and veggies without tortillas (I had 1 and a half with about a tsp. of sour cream) and water. I did skip the margarita I REALLY wanted and I was also able to say no to all the menu items dripping in cheese (enchiladas are one of my favorite foods so this was no small feat). Saturday I had a piece of toast (whole grain white - not great...but it's all I had) with a tsp. of peanut butter and a tangerine for breakfast. Yesterday for lunch I had a turkey sandwich on whole wheat with a light layer of mayo on one slice of the bread (note: I would normally slather both pieces - love the stuff). I did break down and have a Bud Light in a moment of weakness during a heated game of Mexican Train in the afternoon. It was hot, we were by the pool, you do the math. For a snack yesterday I had a about a cup of Kettle Corn (which reminds me, I had another handful at the zoo where we bought it...), a piece of cheese and a banana. I also had a glass of Perrier with lemon. Last night was my "worst" meal this week and I'm still feeling ultra-guilty about it today (I'm going to use this guilt to my advantage though and really buckle down this week). I had a small slice of beef tenderloin, a salad with a small amount (1 TBSP) of Russian dressing (it had less calories and sugar than my other choice - regular Ranch) but here's the kicker...I had two helpings of my mom's mushroom casserole. Think mushrooms, cheese and A LOT of butter. What can I say? I had really good intentions to skip this side (the salad was actually my idea when my mom was asking what we should have with the tenderloin) but in the end, I was so hungry, I gave in. True to form, I rationalized that our company would soon be gone and I wouldn't be faced with this many temptations once they left, so I could enjoy this now. Very badly done.

I would like to point out that I have not had ONE diet coke in over a week and the only thing I've had to drink is water, club soda and coffee (well, and that one beer I mentioned previously). This is a really big thing for me - and it's also the thing I'm most proud of this week.

I do have a story from the zoo to share (about an obese woman and her t-shirt) but don't have the time right this second to write about it. And besides, I'm still processing my feelings about it. I just wanted to get something up here so that all of you following could stop wondering how much weight I've lost and when my next post would finally come. I'll try to post again tonight or first thing tomorrow.