Post cherry cobbler weighin, Weight Watcher love, the Big Climb

Post cherry cobbler weighin
I seriously think I have mental issues. How else would you explain my bipolar weight loss attempts?

One day I'm 100% on track, nothing can derail me. I am PERFECT.

Then the next day, I'm once again 100% on track. I'm so proud of myself, I'm superwoman. Nothing will make me go off my diet.

Then that same day the clock strikes 11pm, and I, the person who claims to desperately want to lose weight, decides to whip up a cherry cobbler. Not only did I make a cherry cobbler, I ate the WHOLE THING. I wish I could say it tasted horrible, and it made me sick. I can't. It tasted wonderful, and I didn't get one bit sick. A massive influx of sugar, and I slept like a baby.

I woke up this morning with my first thought, "I have to weigh in today. What in the hell was I thinking last night?!" Mental illness is the only conclusion I can some to. There simply is no other explanation.

I almost blew off Weight watchers today, but I was so excited to find out more about the new program that I couldn't skip it. My girlfriend was going too so I couldn't be a no-show.

The weighin wasn't what I expected. When I stepped on the scales I told the receptionist that I knew I had a gain, and I was okay with it. I waited to hear the bad news, dreading another gain. Instead, I had a loss!

Down 2.2 pounds!

Current weight: 178.6 pounds

You know what I was thinking. If I just hadn't eaten that cobbler, imagine what a really great weight loss I could have had today. I shut that thought right out of my head. My goal is lose two pounds a week through the end of the year. So far, so good.

Weight Watcher Love
I totally and completely love what they've done with the program. I love how they're not even looking at calories anymore. Food is really so much more than calories.

For example, those stupid 100-calories snack packs of cookies are no longer two Points, they're three Points.  They're just junk food in small packages. I'll never forget my first 100-calorie pack of cookies. I bought a big box of them. I think there were ten packages. I can't even remember what kind of cookies were in there, but I do remember I ate all ten packages in one sitting (see, I told you, mental illness). I never bought them again.

Now Weight Watchers is looking at the Fat, Protein, Fiber and Carbohydrates in food to calculate Points. This makes total sense to me. 100 calories of Carbs is not the same as 100 calories of Protein. I don't care what you say, but they are NOT created equal. I've known this for a long time, but to have Weight Watchers come out and say it makes me super happy.

Now I get 29 Daily Points on the new plan. The best part, I'll never get less than 29 because 29 Points is the minimum. I was getting 22 (or 21 under 180 pounds). That's not a lot of food. Of course some of the food has more Points now, like those Sandwich Thins that I didn't like anyway but for 1 Point you couldn't beat it. Now they're 3 Points, the same as a slice of my favorite bread.
My most favorite thing, fruits and most vegetables are ZERO Points. Yes, that's right, ZERO! Even bananas are ZERO Points! Now that doesn't mean you can go crazy and eat a case of Clementines or ten Honeycrisp apples or a bunch of bananas, but you can have reasonable portions without dipping into your precious Daily Points quota.

I'm really excited that most vegetables are zero Points. I eat a ton of vegetables, and it really made me mad that a cup and half of Brussels Sprouts were a Point on the old plan. I never liked that it was the same Point value as one of their junk food Weight Watcher 1-Point bars (which are now 2 Points). Now the Brussels Sprouts are zero Points. Even ten cups are zero Points. Butternut squash, zero Points. Again, ten cups of Butternut squash, zero Points.

I know I'd gain weight if I ate ten cups of Brussels Sprouts or ten cups of Butternut squash. What is so exciting about this is I can eat the foods I love, again, reasonable portions. I don't have to weigh and measure my fruits and veggies anymore because they have a big, fat zero Point value. I totally love it.

The Big Climb 
I was on the StairMaster today listening to Lady Gaga singing Poker Face for the millionth time. I was thinking this has to be the most boring exercise in the world. Climbing up stairs to no where so I can see nothing and sweating to death in the process (or having a heart attack).

Then I started thinking about the Big Climb and how much I really want to do it. I want to be able to do it without feeling like I'm going to die. I started thinking about the purpose of the Big Climb.

WHY?To find a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, and myeloma and to improve the quality of life for patients and their families.  Funds raised through the Big Climb go directly to support research, patient aid, patient services, education, and advocacy.

It made me think about how lucky I am to never have had a major illness. I know these diseases must be horrible. I've seen shows about St. Jude's and their kids. Absolutely the saddest thing in the world. I remember seeing one a few days ago about a little seven year old girl being diagnosed with leukemia when she was a year old. It broke my heart.

Then I remembered a guy at work, Steve. He has MDS and just underwent a stem cell transplant. MDS is Myelodysplastic syndromes. MDS has been known as "smoldering leukemia," or "preleukemia." It's a very serious disease and without treatment MDS always leads to leukemia.

Steve is a truly awesome person. Everyone loves him. Even though I don't work on his team I know him, and the people that work with him love him to pieces.  So I had this great idea. I'm going to get a team of people together from my company and we're all going to do the Big Climb.

Plus, if there are any Seattle area bloggers that would like to join us, please email me (ww.lady@gmail.com) and let me know. I think it would be super fun to meet.

Grace has already sort of committed to it. She's thinking about it. Seattle Runner Girl....Pounds Off Playoff (Allan). What do you say? We have until March 20 to train. I'd love to meet you. I'm sure there are others out there too.

This really lit a fire under me today during my workout. I had my best all-time ever workout:

45 minutes on the StairMaster - 190 Flights!

Step rate of 67. Weight Watcher Activity Points of 10! Which I did NOT eat.

1 hour lower body workout, with lunges, squats, leg presses, calf raises, leg extensions, leg curls, bent knee squats and more lunges.

I've never worked out as hard as I did today. According to my heart rate monitor I burned 800 calories. My normal is 350-400.

Steve (the guy that made my heart beat fast today...on the StairMaster):