Still 278 pounds but down .6 of a pound.

I'm seem to be dancing around the 10% lost marker. Exercise. Water. And no more Memorial Day Partying will be the keys to regaining a loss. There's no doubt that the carbs (including beer) over the weekend did me in. However, I understand what I need to do. I just have to do it.

This week I'm cooking at home every night. No eating out. Not that eating out is always bad. As a matter of fact, if you can navigate the menu, you may find that you can eat lower points than scrounging in a kitchen that is not properly stocked with low point foods.

This week I'm going to exercise everyday. Really.

This week is only 8 weeks from New Orleans and my 250 goal. It's going to be tough to make it. Although there's lots of motivation. Looking online at walking tours last night revealed that you've got to walk for 2 hours and several miles to enjoy the city. Ummm, yea, I gotta start walking more.

So let's toast (a no point water toast) to being better this week.

Weight Watchers Weigh In 278 pounds-- That's down 33 if you're counting.

No doubt about it, I'm below 10% now. Yea!!!! My next big goal is 250 for a trip to New Orleans with my husband, best girl friend and her husband (who is a friend too). I want to be at 250 to be able to walk the French Quarter to explore the sights, ghosts and parties. There will be libations, but I'll count them all. Can I drink 25 points a day and never eat? Umm, probably not the WW spirit, but it will be FUN. I don't know if I can hit 250 by August 1, but I'm going to try to lose it while sticking to the beautiful Flex Plan. I can't wait -- or is it weight?

This last weekend I mowed the grass and ended up with black and blue rings around my ankles. Sweet look. Like a tattoo, only free. Seriously, I guess I have to slip into walking a little slower. My daughter heard that four times your weight hits your feet with every step you take. So, 1112 pounds hit my ankles with each step for three hours. OK that was too much walking at once. I'm going to keep walking, just less on the weekends. However, I'm still getting in my week day exercise even if it's only one point. Heck, it's more than I've done in the past.

So here's to New Orleans where a new me will make a debut.

Finally 10 percent down!

Today I weighed in at 280.6 which is exactly 10% down from my starting weight of 311.8. Since I round my weight here and on my Weight Watchers tracker, I was aiming for 279 and didn't realize that I'd hit it until my leader pointed it out. Woot! On the tracker it won't register until next week, provided that I go down in pounds. But here, baby, I'm bragging. I've lost 31 pounds and I'm thrilled. Breaking through the plateau last week is really all I wanted to achieve this week, so hitting my 10% mark was an unexpected thrill.

How did I break the weight plateau? Several things. First, I looked through my Flex Plan food log to see what was different. I seemed to be eating more milk and had a potato three days that week. Although my points were way under, I wasn't eating the right stuff. On the Weight Watchers site, people said that I needed to eat all of my points. So this week, I did. I ate every last one of those suckers and I lost more weight than the week before when I ate less. All good foods and very little milk and carbs.

Second I had a little more exercise this week. Am I where I want to be with exercise? No. But, I'm working on it. My goal this week will be to continue my push to move more and eat all my points again.

I'm not a big talker or celebrator, so when my leader asked how I've done it. I was stumped because it was just soaking in that I'd reached 10%. When I finally was done turning beet red and could reclaim my brain, I said that I've always faithfully tracked my food. Writing everything down helps you realize just how much you're eating, where and when. At times it's been difficult to track the bites, licks and tastes; but thankfully I've managed to keep those at a minimum. Just thinking that I had to estimate them and add them to the log really helped me avoid wasted bites. The next thing I mentioned was that you need to eat all your points. No kidding, the weeks that I ate less, I lost less. Eat more, lose more. Counter intuitive, but it is the law. Lastly, I've added exercise to my life. Not necessarily the exercise routine that I'm trying for, but I take the steps at work more often and try to be much more active when I can.

Another fun fact that I didn't volunteer at work, but I'll reveal here is that I'm having way more sex. Tee-hee. Pilates be damned, sex is better and more fun. Lose 10% of your weight and you'll find the sex better, and you'll have sex more. Might be some other factors contributing to my improved sex life, but suffice it to say that weight loss is part of it.

Business time is the best time.

Hopefully this plateau has passed and the next won't be so scary since I've beat one.

Ack..the elusive 10%

Today was weigh day and I gained one pound. Disappointment compounded by the fact that I was sure I was going to get my 10% pin. Guess I was counting my lumps of fat before I lost them. It's OK. I understand a one pound gain is normal and that weight redistributes. However, I'm feeling a little whiny. I asked for advice on my weight watchers site and many kind folks replied. Mostly, they said that I need to eat all of my points and the gain is normal AND to hang in there. My goal is too important to me to waver, if anything this will set my resolve. I haven't been eating all my points, so that is one solid thing I can do. Second, I can exercise more regularly. Now I have a little warning sign that says EXERCISE. I have been, but I'll admit not with any constancy.

Looking back at my last blog entry, I note that this is the point when I've tended to fall off diets in the past. Was it because this is a plateau for me and I just need to stick with it to start losing again. Yep, seems that way. Hey, maybe I'm learning from my mistakes! Could it be? One pound gained in light of 27 lost shouldn't be that important, as long as I'm sticking with the plan.

Meanwhile, last night I walked with my son and daughter. My son is overweight and has been walking regularly. His uncle asked him to walk and then check in with him on his progress. It's amazing how a little bit of love generously applied has made all the difference. I'm very proud of my son ...and his uncle. Sometimes someone outside of the nagging parents can provide an encouragement that comes with all positive strokes and no negative baggage. However, how few people make that effort to reach out and help.

Lots of positives around me, so how can I be negative. (But I'm still gonna whine until I get my 10% pin.)

Celebrating One Year Cancer Free

Great Test Results. My MRI results came back and no cancer! Yay. Now I can celebrate my one year Survivor Anniversary on Sunday knowing that there are no evident signs of disease. Results showed nothing of concern anywhere. No gallstones, so much for the emergency room diagnosis. It’s fairly obvious now that it was an anxiety or panic attack that sent me to the emergency room a few Sundays ago. Well, now I know what those feel like and I’ll judge better in the future. Good grief, so much pain coming from my brain. That silly little brain will have to learn to deal with things differently because I’m not going through that again. I’ve never been really emotional in the past and I chalk it up to a hell of a year. However, I’m coming out on the other side of that hideous year with so many successes and lessons learned.

The most important point is that love is paramount. My husband, kids and friends have been so supportive. At times when those supports broke down, the whole world fell apart. The panic wasn’t caused by what people around me did or didn’t do, my brain was overwhelmed with the thought that my life had been so jumbled that I didn’t even see something happening right in front of my face. How in the heck did I miss something so blatant? Admittedly my battle with cancer absorbed me, but before that I had other absorptions that drew my attention away from those most dear to me. The conflict overwhelming me was partially of my own making and baby that is what brought on the brain pain that kicked into my asthma and left me in pain and breathless.

Moving forward, I want to make caring for my loved ones my priority. Health is nothing I can leave on autopilot. I’ve learned that. I’ve also learned that I can’t leave my relationships on autopilot either. The last few years my job and career have been the focus of my life. Earning an advanced degree was part of a plan to keep my career jogging along at a good speed. The motivation for a better job was more money for my family’s happiness. The cancer and subsequent family conflicts demonstrate that perhaps instead of money, they wanted time. A difficult balance, but clearly now that life has granted me the time, I’m going to spend it with my family and friends. Molding the time into positive experiences that focus on love, life and happiness will be a joint project with the burden of the effort shared between us. However, on my one year Survivor Anniversary, I’m ready to take my relationships off of autopilot.

I'm looking forward to participanting in Relay for Life this summer to support the fight against Cancer. Here's a link, if you'd like to join a Relay for Life in your area.