Weekly WI: Operation Scale Decline

Operation Scale Decline was successful last week.  It took a ton of effort and planning on my part and the scaled paid off with a loss of two pounds.

 

It was a busy week and felt like it just kept piling on.  I had to be very strategic as there was several days of planned alcoholic beverages within my week (and one day not planned) that took up so many of my points.  That didn’t leave a lot of wiggle room for actual food, and I had to really plan my food around the social situations so I wouldn’t find myself eating excess points that were not necessary.

 

Let’s rewind:

Tuesday, I met my parents for lunch as we typically do after my WW workshop.  I had not planned them to be in town, so this was the first unplanned meal.  I made the decision on Tuesday that I would adjust the day my points change over to Wednesday.  It has been Tuesday for years but lately, I get really stressed out with starting my shiny new WW week with practically zero weekly points.  As much as I tried to not worry about it, I was.  The goal is not to go crazy on Tuesdays but to not have to start the week with a negative mindset.

 

Wednesday, I received an impromptu invitation to join a new friend at the Western Idaho Fair.  I planned to eat at Café Rio ahead of time and not spent any points at the fair.  My husband threw a wrench into that plan by suggesting we meet for lunch Thursday.  I pivoted and moved Café Rio to Thursday and packed a lunch to eat before I arrived at the fair.  I had not planned to drink; however, my friend is the founder of Boise Beer Buddies, and she was given free fair tickets as a social media partner.  She was also given some “fair bucks” (free money) to spend on beer.  So, two beers were consumed.  I knew there was a home brewing beer competition each year as part of the fair, but I didn’t know Sockeye Brewing brews the beer for the following year and sells it at the fair.  The 2023 winner was Riverbank Blonde Ale.  The 2024 winner will be announced before the end of the fair where their beer will be brewed for next year’s fair.  This is a neat concept.

Despite really wanting to eat out for dinner as I was 100% exhausted, we had steaks marinating so it was easy to throw dinner together and resist temptation and extra points.  I attended a volleyball game after dinner and felt the urge to get ice cream on my way home.  Thank goodness there were not soft service location between the school and my house as this was another successful day under my belt.

 

Thursday, as mentioned above, we had Café Rio for lunch.  It was a busy day with so much running around town as Kenyon’s car was in the shop and I was his Uber.  By evening I attended Music Bingo at The 112 in Nampa where I had just one pre-planned beer.  I also packed chicken and veggies to snack on before I arrived, so I wasn’t ravenous.  I resisted temptation when I picked Kenyon up a burger at Sonic on my way home and stuck to my plan.

 

Friday, I hosted a nacho bar for some of my girlfriend group (and Michael) many of whom I have not seen in a while.  I pre-planned a low point breakfast and lunch, so I was prepared with an abundance of points.  I stuck to my food plan, but I didn’t quite stick to my beer plan of having just one.  To make is easy and not have to be super focused on it, I did a quick add track wiping out the rest of my daily points plus 10 weekly points.  The following day it was business as usual.

 

Saturday rounded out the social events.  Are you tired?  I am.  I again planned my day with a light breakfast and lunch so I could have enough points for a beer when I met Michael and Wanda to see Casio Dreams play at McClearly’s Pub.  We had also planned ahead with a picnic dinner, so we didn’t have to rely on the food truck but when I got there, they made me feel guilty for bring in my food when they had a food truck telling me it “wasn’t really allowed.”  I was able to eat a little to tide me over and then more when I drove home.  The plan to avoid the food truck was successful!  Well, part of that success was because they did not serve fries as Wanda was about to succumb.  The WW Gods were on our side.  Since we were at an Irish pub, I practiced for our upcoming Ireland vacation and ordered a pint of Guinness and a very generous shot of Jameson Irish Whiskey over ice.  The vacation countdown is now less than 30 days.

As you can see, I made a ton of conscious decisions this week which led to my success at the scale.  It was hard and there were times I wanted to cave.  I am relieved to see it paid off on the scale as it could always have backfired.  I know spending so many points on alcohol is not realistic from week-to-week, or good on liver.  I also know I physically need more actual food.  When I spend a lot of points on alcohol, I always feel hungry.  Our bodies need fuel, not alcohol.