Sigh

I really thought I'd lost weight this week. In fact, I was thinking about a really snappy title for this post on my way to Weight Watchers.

Alas, it was not to be. I gained .2 pounds. I know that's within statistical margin of error, but I thought I'd lost not stayed the same.

Still, I know that eventually I'll get the weight off. And my leader was so good with me when I expressed my disappointment with gaining weight (her suggestion was to reward myself with some non-food item, like flowers; I didn't need the reward but it was nice to accept her concern).

On a positive note, my fibromyalgia might be letting up some. Not that it's gone by any means. One thing I've learned from trolling the internet is that now that I've got it I can expect only that it will be better or worse. Controlling it is the challenge.

Onward into the next week!

Eight weeks later . . .

It was eight weeks ago that I reached the 20-pound mark of weight loss. And then I hit that plateau caused primarily by the Detoxx Diet and gained a little, lost a little, and so forth. This week I lost 1.6 pounds for a total loss of 20.8 pounds. Yes! Back to -- and over -- the 20-pound mark!

I feel like I'm getting back into the swing of things.

Again this week I tracked Points faithfully and went over my weekly allowance by a lot. I also got almost no exercise. But tracking and anticipating my weigh-in and meeting really do make me more aware of what I'm eating.

This week's success was . . . well, I'm not sure it's really a success, so I guess I need to frame it as a challenge: This week's challenge was to stay at work all week. After two days of training at a computer center that left me achy and exhausted and an evening event that had me on my feet for most of two hours, I thought I'd have trouble staying in the office to work for the rest of the week. But I did stay in the office despite a monumental struggle to do so.

Oh, I do have a success to report: Despite aching all over and feeling desperately tired, I resisted the urge to park as close as possible to places. I got in some walking -- slow walking but walking all the same -- that way.

Over the Limit

I went way over my weekly points total this week but lost 1.2 pounds anyway. Should I conclude that tracking alone makes a person lose weight? ;-)

OK, OK, I know it will catch up with me sooner rather than later.

I treated myself to some artisan French peasant bread with a lovely tangy taste. I calculated the points per serving and duly entered it into the eTools Points Tracker. In the past I'd have been tempted to not count those points, but I've resolved to be honest with eTools.

The challenge this week was to not comfort myself with food after I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia on Tuesday. It explains why I ache all over and, for example, just climbing the stairs to my office wipes me out. The way to increase my exercise tolerance is to start with a five-minute walk and increase it by 15 seconds a day. Fortunately, Zaphod is a clever guy and realized that my treadmill is just the thing for this kind of regimen. I haven't used the treadmill for a long time, so it's tucked away in a corner with lots of stuff protecting it from use. This means I have to find the energy to dig it out. Expending that energy will, oh yes, exhaust me for a day or two. Any questions about why it was a challenge not to turn to food for comfort?

By the way, the French peasant bread has 2 points per 56-gram serving (about a half-inch slice).

Yep, It Works

Lost one pound, for a total of 18. Deja vu? I'm still 4 pounds from the 10% key chain.

I used eTools to track my food and some of my activity this week. I went well over my allotment of points every day, but tracking does make a difference. This isn't news to me. What's news is that using eTools to do the tracking made me more aware of what and how much I was eating.

This week's successes: I walked my dogs for at least 20 minutes six days. My fatigue is not any less. I was up late last night so I can't really tell if it's worse. Still, it probably contributed to my one-pound loss.

This week's, um, lapses (I don't want to call them failures): I ate some Laughing Cow cheese that I hadn't planned to eat (only 3 points' worth) and last night I had some yummy tiramisu that I just couldn't resist. The Laughing Cow I probably could have done without, but I thoroughly enjoyed the tiramisu, so I don't regret it.

I see Dr. Sean on Tuesday. I doubt that he'll have a diet solution to my chronic fatigue . . . at least I hope so!

eTools to the Rescue?

It's time for me to get serious about tracking. Before the debacle of the Detoxx Diet, I was doing OK without strict tracking. I detest tracking, courtesy of the calorie counting I've done in years past.

Then the Detoxx Diet put me in a holding pattern for two months. After I killed the Detoxx Diet, I went on a carbohydrate spree for a week, followed by a week's visit to my family. When I visit my family, I stay with my dad and we go out to breakfast every morning. We also go out to lunch and dinner a few times. And snack at home.

I weighed in the day after I arrived and had lost 0.8 pounds. Respectable, considering the carb-fest I'd had that week.

My trip to Michigan coincided with a snowstorm, which led to multiple canceled flights. It was nearly 3:00 a.m. when I got to Dad's house and nearly 4:00 a.m. when he and I had wound down enough to go to bed. The long day of travel set off four days of fatigue that made it hard for me to exercise good eating habits. I knew what I was doing but I decided not to beat myself up for it. And then I had more delays on my way home.

I was not surprised on Saturday when the scales showed an increase of 1.8 pounds.

So now I have to get serious about tracking because I know I'm not going to moderate what I eat otherwise. The Detoxx Diet debacle disrupted my progress so thoroughly that despite the fact that I've lost 17 pounds, I still feel like I'm starting from the beginning.

That's where eTools comes in. I've pledged (to myself) that I'll track my eating honestly for this week and see how I do at weigh-in on Saturday. Entering my weekday breakfasts and lunches was an eye-opening experience because it made me realize just how far over my daily points limit I've been going. I've modified the blue-cheese salad dressing I've been eating to cost me fewer points at lunch and I've cut back elsewhere -- I'm still going to go over my weekly limit but I need to see how hungry I am and whether I lose any weight.

I knew what I was doing when I signed up for a full year last October.

A Meeting Is a Meeting

Last Saturday I was visiting family in Michigan, so I didn't post. I did, however, attend a Weight Watchers' meeting. It was fascinating to attend a meeting in a different location. My local meeting is in a building built just for WW, with semi-private cubicles for weighing and a room with tiered seating and a large white board at the front for meetings. It's a lovely location.

The meeting I attended in Michigan was in a storefront on the town's main street. Weighing wasn't private but the staff was very discreet (as they are at my home location). The meeting room had folding chairs and a schoolroom or church-basement feel. There was instant coffee or hot chocolate for the honor-system donation of a quarter (with the Points noted for the hot chocolate). The turnout was good. I was surprised that the Monthly Pass payment option wasn't available.

The differences, though, were superficial. I found the same WW values in Michigan that I experience in Maine: welcoming, non-judgmental, friendly, supportive. I struck up a conversation with some of the women at the Michigan meeting as easily as I do in Maine. The sharing, applause, and discussion were interchangeable. The group leader was experienced and, although not as funny or motivational as my favorite leader, she was as good as other leaders in Maine.

It was a fascinating, interesting experience. I highly recommend it!

Huh?

I killed the Detoxx Diet on Monday and gained 1.6 pounds this week? Huh? My total loss is now at 18 pounds. The plateau continues.

My theory is that the abrupt change in my diet from Detoxx to Healthy is what caused my weight gain.

In other news, I've decided to pony up for Weight Watchers' eTools so I can get better at tracking. I signed up for a year in October and thought the $12.95 a month wasn't worth it. And in the beginning it wasn't because I lost weight slowly and steadily. Then the Detoxx Diet and PK Protocol came over the horizon and I concentrated fully on not gaining. Now that I'm back on WW Flex (it will always be Points to me) I need to get some religion about tracking.

Sure, I could track on paper, but I've been hearing terrific things about eTools at the meetings. The tipping point came today when a woman said eTools made it so easy for her to track, even at work. Eureka! I live at a computer all day, including lunch, so tracking for the day while I'm munching my lunch salad makes a lot of sense.

I'm starting to feel like a Weight Watchers' true believer. If it works, though, how can I complain? It's not like I'll start selling flowers in airports!