Big City Life - wisnowbird's journal

[wisnowbird]

146.8 today, so I'm making some progress. I'd really like to be around 145 for the party on Thursday & below 145 by the 14th for the big work holiday party. I have no idea what I'm going to wear. I still have a gift cert from a friend from my birthday back in the summer to Macy's, so I might be braving the tourist crowds & going there next weekend. The trick is to go late in the evening or first thing when they open. I'm kind of mad at myself for not ordering a dress I saw on bluefly a couple weeks ago. Of course now it's all sold out. It was just a simple brown wrap dress, but I have a pair of brown/green/orange boots that would have really popped the outfit.

I've really been craving the loaded broccoli again. I'm debating between that & chicken wings for dinner or spinach lasagna. I'll probably make the lasagna just because then I'll have leftovers to take to work for lunch & dinner a few days later this week. Wings & broccoli are easy - I can make them in a short amount of time tomorrow night after work.

I bought tickets to see Cyrano de Bergerac on Broadway when my dad come to visit now that the strike is over. Can't wait to see it! Kevin Kline is starring (LOVED him in A Fish Called Wanda & French Kiss) & Jennifer Garner is playing Roxanne. We're going to the afternoon matinee the weekend my dad comes to NY. I might make reservations to a really nice steakhouse that night, too. It would make for a fun day.

Oh, and in case my computer shuts down, I want to put this in my journal because I'm dying to make this pizza crust & try it out. I recently discovered that I love putting flax seeds in my yogurt, so I'm looking forward to trying out a flax pizza crust. Most Awesome Pizza

[speedymagee]

That pizza looks yummy!

Hope you reach your goal by the party!! I'm looking forward to hear how the play is.

Remember I suggested trying CAD for the holidays? I have to take back my suggestion. I tried it for a couple days and it was a big binge fest for me. ugh.

Have a good week-end.
sandy

[wisnowbird]

I'm not doing so great. I didn't meet my goals for the parties. I was probably in the upper 140's. I'm not even quite sure since I haven't weighed myself in days. It's been a rollercoaster week.

My bf asked me out to dinner on Wed after work. Thought it was a little strange since if we do hang out on a weekday night, it's usually at my place. He dropped the bomb that I've been dreading - he's moving to FL next month. Hopefully it'll only be for 6-7 months, but that's not guaranteed. I wouldn't change getting into the relationship because he's been wonderful. We're going to try to continue in a long-distance relationship, but who knows what will happen. I'm really sad right now because we had all these tentative plans of things coming up next year - some movies we've been waiting for months to come out, going to Atlantic City, Valentine's Day, restaurants we wanted to try. And now he won't be here. I've been trying really hard not to break down in front of him because that'll just make him feel bad & he already isn't happy about going. The next month is going to be tough.

Thursday I got the results of the cervical biopsies I had & they came back not cancerous, so that was a huge relief.

Friday night was the holiday party. It was fun, except for being too crowded. The company rented multiple rooms at Tavern on the Green, which made it hard to find people. We went, found people I work with & hung out with them for an hour, ate food & then couldn't find anyone again after searching for 20 minutes. I got an e-mail from one of my co-workers & he said he & his wife were doing the same circle. We were probably all doing the circle of rooms behind each other

John made me breakfast the next morning - french toast & bacon. He accidentally set a paper towel on fire. I was pretty proud of myself because I didn't freak out at all - just let him get it over to the sink & into some water. If I'd started freaking out he probably would have dropped it & started a towel on fire or something. It turned out to be no big deal.

We saw I Am Legend at IMAX yesterday (pretty good) & then had lunch at a hummus bar (eh - average). I was going to run a bunch of errands today, but don't feel like getting off the couch. The weather is blechy & I feel the same. I think I'll run out later after the Packers game to do a little last minute Christmas shopping. I still have one or two things to order online, too.

My dad comes in on Thursday night for a week. He sent this huge box of.....FOOD. Snacks for himself, makings for the stuffing on Christmas day, chocolates, yadda, yadda, yadda. All stuff I don't need to be looking at. I'm going to re-box it up until he gets here. We're going out to see a Broadway show on Sat, then to a steakhouse that night. X-mas eve will probably be a lobster dinner buffet.

NYE John is supposed to make me dinner & then NYD we're planning to go to a brunch at his friend's place. They did a great job with their pre-Thanksgiving party.

So lots of food events coming up the rest of this year. The only good thing about John going to FL is I'll have tons of time to devote to just me, eating right & working out. Maybe by the time I get to see him again after he moves I'll be back in my skinny jeans again. Something to strive for in 2008.

[wisnowbird]

So I got on the scale this morning & it was about what I expected - 148.8. That was after being really good yesterday, too.

Today was a test of my willpower. One person at work brought in two huge platters of cookies. My boss brought in goody bags for our team with stuff made by his wife - chocolate dipped marshmallows, chocolate covered pretzels, cookies, etc. I set it off to the side & didn't even open it. I'm going to save it for my dad as a treat to him when he gets off the plane Thurs night & for him to snack on Friday while I'm at work.

I went with ordering peppers filled with ground beef from the grille menu today. Got about halfway through them to realize the meat also had rice in it. So I don't know if I'll see any type of loss tomorrow. I ate well the rest of the day - yogurt, atkins bar, tea, brisket & green beans. I'm trying to get back in the habit of drinking more water. I always seem to lose better when I'm drinking lots of water.

I got an e-mail today saying the digital picture frame I'd ordered for my sister was backordered & did I want to cancel. I went ahead & cancelled & then was complaining to my dad on the phone about not knowing what to get her. He said....ummmmm....I hope you didn't get the frame - that's what I got her! Great minds think alike. So good thing it did get cancelled. I ordered her a new ipod Nano instead. She has the little shuffle right now & I'm sure she'll like having the Nano. She can watch video on it during her commute to work if she wants. I have to go to Circuit City tomorrow after work to pick it up. That leaves only 2 gifts. One for a friend, which I know what I'm going to get her. The other is the bigger present for my boyfriend. He'll either get the Twin Peaks DVD set which he's dying for or an xbox game. It depends on if his mom gets him the xbox player or not. Good thing we're exchanging gifts after Christmas!

[speedymagee]

I'm so sorry you BF is moving. Long distance is hard. I think having a goal (skinny jeans and his return) could be a fantastic motivator though.

I'm sending There seems to a lot of stress in your life beyond your BF moving. So sorry you even had to have a biopsy that must have been so scary.

I hope you can enjoy the next few weeks and not beat yourself up if you don't make perfect food choices.

[magentagirl13]

Hey,
I'm sorry to hear about your BF moving...I know that will be tough. Where in FL?
I think it's great you'll use the opportunity to get into your skinny jeans, though!

xoxo
carrollee

[speedymagee]

How are things?

Hope you're good!

[wisnowbird]

Hola! I'm doing pretty good. Was super, super busy with year-end stuff at work. Working until almost 10 at night is no fun But it's slowly getting back to more normal hours.

I've been spending a lot of time with John before his move to Tampa. We spent most of the day yesterday packing. He has probably 500 dvd's. Ugh. I'd hate to be him right now. We got 19 boxes packed & it still looks like we barely made a dent in his stuff. We ran out of boxes, too. I'm not sure where he's going to get more! I might make a run around the recycling rooms here in my building looking for boxes for him.

I haven't weighed in a while, but my clothes are all still really tight, so I know it's not pretty. Probably half the things on John's things-to-do-before-moving list were food related So we've eaten out quite a bit.

I had a Wii party last weekend that was a big success. Everyone had fun playing & the food I made was well received.

John will be staying with me for a few days after the movers come to take his stuff down to Florida. Then we're flying down the first weekend of Feb to get him & his 2 cats down there. I'll have to fly back the next day, so only 24 hours in Florida for me. At the beginning of the month I can't take any time off

But I'm really optimistic about February. I've been looking through Linda Sue's site for new recipes. I'm going to plan out food to eat, even bringing in lunch to work when I can order for free. I think it won't kill me to bring in my own food. That way I won't have to worry about hidden carbs. I'm going to start using the gym in the building more & will continue playing the Wii, which is fun & gets me moving. I really believe that February will be a good month for me. Then I get to go down to Florida to visit John at the very end of the month. I've already rented a convertible, which I haven't told him about. I'm not excited to see him go, but I am excited to go visit!

I think today I'll play a little Wii tennis & maybe get in my abs DVD, which I haven't done in a while.

[speedymagee]

Hey!

February is going to be fantastic. You're plan sounds great! It's long enough to notice a difference, but short enough to keep motivated, especially since you're going to Florida at the end of the month!

[wisnowbird]

Tomorrow is the big day - starting low carb over again with a vengence! I just got back this evening from helping John move down to Florida. I don't think he would have been able to do it without me. We had to sedate the cats (a 2 person job) & when we went through security we each had to take a cat out of the carriers & carry them through the metal detector! Luckily they were sedated because otherwise they could have wiggled out of our arms & gotten lose in the huge airport. That would have been a disaster. But the flight ended up being uneventful & we got them all settled in their new apartment. It was so nice & sunny down in Tampa. Made me remember how much I loved living in Florida this time of the year (a couple months from now, a totally different story).

I've got 25 days before I go back down again. I have NO idea what I weigh right now. I'm honestly too afraid to get on the scale. I made a list of Linda Sue recipes I want to make this week. Tonight I'm going to make some mini quiches to take in for breakfast tomorrow. I have a red bell pepper to cut up tonight, too, for a snack tomorrow. I took some scallops out of the freezer to make for dinner either tomorrow night or the next & some frozen turkey burgers & mashed cauliflower that's I'd made last week & had leftovers from. I'm really kind of looking forward to all the meals. I just hope I'm not so tired when I come home from work that I talk myself out of making them. I want to eat on plan plus save some money this month so I can spend it on the trip at the end of the month.

So there we go. 3 1/2 weeks. I'm hoping down 7 lbs. That seems like an attainable goal for me since I'm totally carbed up right now.

[speedymagee]

Go for it!
The cats at the airport sounds scary! Good thing they were sedated! Probably less stressful for them too!

[wisnowbird]

Day 1 is 95% down. I was good I can't remember the last time I got through an entire day exactly the way I should have. Usually I get to lunch or dinner & decide to indulge myself & start again tomorrow. All those tomorrows have added up & that's why I'm where I am now.

So today was 3 mini broccoli quiches, a cut up red pepper, salad (threw away the Cosi flatbread), yogurt w/ flax seeds, turkey burgers & mashed cauliflower. Fitday says I'm about 1442 calories for the day. I'm still a little hungry, but I just ate a big dinner, so I'm thinking maybe it's that I need to drink more water instead of eating anything else.

I'm excited to see the scale move again. I think I'm going to weigh these first few days when the scale does tend to move every day & then try to keep it maybe twice a week until the end of the month.

[wisnowbird]

Doing good so far. I feel really in control right now. It's a good feeling. Tomorrow morning Cosi is bringing us catered breakfast. I'm going to skip it. I've been putting my food that I plan to eat into Fitday every morning & making myself stick to it. Tonight I've got groceries being delivered & I stopped in at the grocery after work & voting to pick up a few things the delivery grocery store was out of. I'm going to cut up some veggies to take to work as a snack tomorrow. Snacks are working well for me these past two days. Knowing I can have a yogurt or one more mini quiche in 2-3 hours keeps me going. I've been drinking only water & decaf tea to hydrate myself.

The plan is to update my progress with how much I've lost on Thursday morning (after being back on plan for 3 days) & then 3 more times, once every Thursday, before I leave on the 28th to go back down to Tampa. John has a pool/jacuzzi at his new apartment complex & I really want to use it while I'm there. I really need to look better, though, before I put on a swimsuit. I'm on the right track. I'll get there.

[speedymagee]

Way to go!
Sometimes getting through that first day is the hardest, you're on your way now.

[wisnowbird]

Thanks!! 3 days straight of being good! Yay me

Tomorrow morning I'll take my official weight & then will try to limit myself to getting on the scale Sundays & Thursdays for the next 3 weeks. That's going to be hard - I'm a scale junkie

I resisted temptation today a couple times. Cosi brought in all kinds of breakfast treats for us (free) - bagels, biscotti, scones, muffins. I stuck with my bacon & yogurt I'd brought in. Then in the afternoon I saw that there were rice krispy treats out on the counter. Passed those by, too. I think I didn't eat enough during the day & ate 1/2 my calories for the day at dinner. Not the best move because I was hungry when I got home from work. I felt like I was eating all day, but it was really just snacks of cucumbers, etc. My mouth was moving, but my stomach wasn't getting full. Tomorrow I'll do better with that. I didn't binge when I got home, though, like I normally would. I started dinner quickly & stuck with that. It was a time consuming one, too - faux potato salad & hamburgers (time consuming = all the chopping for the cauliflower salad plus cooling time in the fridge). It was tasty, though, and I'm eating it again for lunch tomorrow. I've got all my meals planned out through Sunday. I've found that I tend to stick with being on plan if I lay it out the morning before & tell myself that's what's up for the day & no changing it.

Tomorrow morning.....first weigh-in of re-starting.....stay tuned!

[wisnowbird]

.......results are in.....down 3 lbs in 3 days Amazing how a number that made me groan when my weight was going up will make me happy while going back down

[wisnowbird]

I know I said I wasn't going to weigh for 3 days, but yesterday I was RAVENOUS & seemed to eat all day (ummm, isn't day 4 around when ketosis is supposed to kick in? - maybe it's PMS ). I'd try a snack, didn't fill me up. Tried something else another hour or two later. Didn't fill me up. It was real hunger, not cravings - my stomach was growling at me & I was eating plenty of fat. I ended up eating just over 2000 calories when my normal day on low carb is more like 1400-1700. So I had to see if the higher calories & stomach crying FEED ME helped my weight or hurt it. Guess it helped because I'm down 1 more full pound today

[Bea_Jack]

Hi there! Thanks for visiting.
For a really fast meal, I just fry a few strips of bacon. When they're done, I toss in some chopped cabbage. I cover the pot and let sit so that the cabbage can soften, season with lots of pepper, and it's done! Fast and easy. I love bacon, too. I'll try it with yogurt next time.

PS - I stopped by your MySpace and I love your travel photos!

[speedymagee]

Hey Congrats!!
Go you!

[wisnowbird]

I've had the most emotional last day and a half. It didn't really hit me how much I'm going to miss John until Friday night. I got off work, took the train home & walked out of the station with this huge grin on my face for it being the weekend. Watched 'Say Yes to the Dress' (depressed me because of all the happy brides), then watched 'What not to Wear' (depressed me because almost all my clothes are too tight & I can't wear them). Then it really hit home that I had no one to hang out with allllllll weekend long. My friends for the most part work long hours during the workweek & then want to spend their time with their SO's on the weekend. Our keeping in touch is mostly through e-mail or planned outings. All of a sudden my relaxing weekend of watching movies sounded so......lonely

Yesterday I managed to get inspired enough to get off the couch & go for an hour & 15 min walk. It was drizzling a little, but I just threw on a cap & that was enough to not get my head wet. It felt good to get out, but when I was walking I went down by where the Ferry takes off to go to the Statue of Liberty. There are always tons of tourists & of course most of them are happy couples holding hands. A little depressing, but then I saw a mother & daughter walking with their arms linked & that was really depressing. The daughter was probably my age. It made me realize that in a few months, my mom will have been gone for 10 years. That made me really sad. 10 years. That's such a long time & yet sometimes it feels like just yesterday.

I'm trying to put a better mood on the weekend today. It's sunny out (though cold), so maybe I'll run some errands. My eating is going GREAT, so that's something to be thankful for. Even with TOM arriving today, in the past 6 days I've lost 5.4 lbs I haven't even really been tempted to cheat. I feel real hunger & I eat. The cravings aren't there. I'm sucking down water like you wouldn't believe. I haven't had any soda or crystal light in 6 days. Only water, seltzer water or 1 to 2 glasses (some days none) of decaf tea w/ nothing extra in it.

I just remembered I have to get some Valentine's Day cards today. There's nothing like receiving a REAL card in the mail. The e-cards are nice, but getting a real card is so much better, so I'm going to try to do that for a few special people in my life

Oh, and I'm getting my hair cut next Sat. I was thinking just a few inches, but then I looked back at a some old pictures from years ago & might go even more. I'm sick of it knotting up in the back all the time. It looks great when I take the time to do it, but mostly, I'm lazy & don't. Then it looks frizzy & shapeless. Maybe it's time for a change? Any opinions? My hair is probably 3-4 inches longer now than in my avatar. This is what it looked like about 4 years ago when it was shorter.

[speedymagee]

I hope you're feeling more positive now. I still miss my mom(4 years) too and it hits at unexpected times.

Hope you're week-end turned out ok in the end. Will John be coming back someday? Would you consider moving there?

Why not go for a new look? Nothing like a new do to match your new bod! I think a shorter style would suit your face. Your hair looks so thick and healthy, I'm jealous. I have about 4 hairs!, well maybe 5!

[wisnowbird]

Thanks Sandy My weekend did turn out better. I got over my pity party by Sunday, talked to my sis for a long time, watched some movies. Nothing exciting, but it ended on a better note.

John is hoping he'll only be down there for 8 mos or so & then will be able to come back. Bad timing, though - I bought a ticket weeks ago to go down in a little over 2 weeks. They unexpectedly found a new space for a 2nd store to open & guess when it opens? Yep, the weekend I'm coming to visit. Looks like he'll be busy working a lot of Friday & all of Sat. He'll have off on Sunday, but I have to come back that afternoon/evening. Oh well. I'll just go into the store for a while with him & we'll have Fri & Sat evenings. Although I found out that Sat is his mom's b-day, so I'm sure we'll be spending it with her & taking her out to dinner or something. I'll have a car (rented a convertible!!), so I can amuse myself shopping or laying out by the pool if it's sunny. I wouldn't consider moving down at this point nor would he want me to. He's not even considering it being a perm move right now.

Sooooooo.....weight loss! Eating is still going great. Last week was PMS week & I still lost 5.4 lbs We'll see how week 2 goes. I was down another .6 today, so 6 lbs in a week & a day. Not bad. In all the times I've started over (and there have been many), I'm not sure I've lost this much this fast. I feel like I'm eating all day, but I'm really doing what a lot of experts advise - eating a lot of small meals every few hours. So maybe there's something to that. Plus only water/seltzer water/decaf tea. I know there's something to that. I'm tracking everything religiously in Fitday. I've been anywhere between 1500-2000 calories a day, so I'm definitely not starving.

Sat morning is my hair appt. I'm going to go with cutting off at least 5-6 inches. I'm so sick of it knotting up in the back when it's windy out. Plus John will be shocked (in a good way) & I want a different look. I'll hang out with my friend Scott that afternoon. Sunday my sis & I are going to see a foreign film & then hit Macy's. I think I'm going to buy a hand mixer so I can make some oopsie rolls (and other things). Monday I have off for President's Day. I'm renting a mini Cooper (fun!) & we're driving up to Harlem to hit a big grocery store, Fairway. They have a 'cold room' where they keep all their meats, etc - complete with heavy coats outside the room if you need one. We're going to stock up on a ton of food. Should be a fun & busy weekend.

[wisnowbird]

Originally Posted by wisnowbird

So there we go. 3 1/2 weeks. I'm hoping down 7 lbs. That seems like an attainable goal for me since I'm totally carbed up right now.

Got my wish early - down 7.2 lbs as of today - 2 weeks early!!! Happy Valentine's day to me

[speedymagee]

Happy Valentines Day to you!!

Wow! 7 pounds already! I agree with you about caffeine and several small meals. There must be some truth in those theories!

I hope you'll post pics of your new do! Your week-end sounds fun! That grocery store sounds like a hoot.

I think you'll love the mini. I test drove one when I was car shopping and it was a blast to drive!

Thanks right back at you for all the support!