8/29/23

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. 

8/22/23

Weekly WI: Is A Downward Trend Is On The Horizon?

It’s Tuesday!  I am planning to head out for a walk before getting ready for my morning WW Workshop.  I will need to catch a nap afterwards as I may need to assist with sick coverage and work until 2am.  It has been minute since I have worked a swing shift but what is that famous song lyric?  “I ain’t as good as I once was but I’m as good once as I ever was.”  Ha!


My Weekly WI was a loss.  WHOOOHOOOO.  I am eager to see the downward trend again.  





I have not been successful in breaking out of the 200s for any lengthily period of time since mid-May.  I am also seven pounds heavier than last year.  That is better than 10 pounds which seems to be consistent lately.  It is going to take take a lot of focus this week to combat and balance my social situations.  I will spend time on Wednesday getting my meal planning/prep in order so I am prepared.  I might even do some pre-tracking.




Last week was really great on the activity side but I let some mindless snacking slip into my food plan.  I will tighten that up this week and also try and keep the activity up there too.  I will admit, while I am proud of my 21 days of a perfect month, it is exhausting and a rest day sounds nice.  I won’t be trying for a perfect month in September.





I also decided to change my points reset day from Tuesday to Monday.  My parents and I get together on Tuesdays for lunch after I coach WW and I don’t love starting my week with little to no weekly points.  Sometimes I am able to not let it seep into my starting week and other times, it is hard.  I love spending time with them so I don’t want to not go to lunch just because it could result in higher points than if I was to come home and eat lunch.  I will see how I feel about this and go from there.  I don’t want this to mean Tuesday becomes a free-for all and Tuesdays could still be a non-blue dot day.  But, if that is the one day within my week, I think that might set me up for better success.  I’ll keep you posted!

8/20/23

Walking & Vacation Prep At The Same Time

Good Morning and Happy Sunday!


I don’t work today until 10am so I went out for a walk this morning while listening to a WW virtual workshop.  I am not one to go out in inclement weather but I had to test out my new shoes and a few layers for our upcoming Ireland trip.





The flag is outside the front of our house and what I use as our wind meter.  Hurricane Hilary is affecting Idaho and we will have cooler temps for a few days along with rain.  I made sure to mow the lawn last night after work.


It is nice to go into work later and have lazy morning.  Sadly, I got up too early but after some coffee and breakfast, I got myself out and about.  While this week has not been as great with intentional eating/tracking, my activity has been 100% on point for my intentions.  I feel like a new pair of lounge pants are fitting better.  


It is pumpkin season so I have already started indulging to coffee creamer and beer.  I love Fall and I am so excited for cooler temps.  Sadly, they won’t be sticking around.





I had local gal design a new reusable water bottle for our future vacations.  It arrived last week and I love it.  It makes drinking water lots more fun.