Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match...

A year or so ago - on a weekly basis - there was just one little teeny-bopper I saw rocking out to his iPod in front of a sign for a restaurant near the marina on the intracoastal.  I'll admit that seeing him rock out every week made me smile, but it never once made me go to his restaurant.  These days it seems like there are dancing sign-holders at nearly every major intersection.  Why this sudden boom?!?  Do other people actually get lured in by the dancing/lip-syncing skills of these pubescent teenagers???

On my way to dinner yesterday, there was a teenage girl dancing her little heart out and spinning her "We Buy Gold!" sign like it was going out of style.  While waiting at the light, I discovered she had about a dozen signature moves...none of which prompted me to run home and get some old gold jewelry to take to her store.  On my way home from dinner, exactly one signal light away from the gold girl, I saw a guy spinning his Little Cesar's sign and dancing his cares away.  Even if I didn't have a full belly of citrus chicken, I would not have been compelled to stop for cardboard pizza.

What I did find myself wondering was whether any of these sign kids ever get together to swap strategies, dance moves, etc.  OR!  What if gold girl and pizza boy decided to start a relationship???  They could melt down all her old gold jewelery and eat like pizza kings...for about a week. 

What do these people do/say when someone asks them what they do for a living?  Do they respond, "Oh, I spin signs and dance at intersections."?!?  If I were talking to someone and considering whether to date them, I'm pretty sure I'd be gone about 2 seconds after I heard a response like that.  Which leads me to believe that the only person that could date a sign-spinner is another sign-spinner.

Someone get these kids a matchmaker!!!

Week 1 Complete

Today was the big week #1 weigh-in for the at-work WW program.  Ultimately, I had a bit of an unfair edge...last week I succumbed to the illness that has been floating in and out of my office for a couple weeks.  Said illness sent me into a fevered state and removed any and all appetite I had.  Even if I wanted to eat, the nonstop coughing would have probably prevented that.  At any rate, a 5-day long diet of jell-o and chicken noodle soup meant I wasn't afraid of the scale this week.  In fact, I recorded what is sure to be my record week's weight-loss and posted a -8.6 pound difference.  That's right...more than a pound a day was lost. 

But now that I'm on the road to recovery, I'm actually going to have to start sticking with the WW program and see what I can do for myself on this thing.  Here's to hoping for at least a 2 pound loss in week #2 so I can reach my first goal: -10 pounds!!!  *fingers crossed*

And so it begins...again

A Wednesday lunchtime hour weigh-in for WW is a blessing and a curse.  It's a blessing because it's far enough away from the weekend that I'll still have a chance to see a loss on the scale if I fall of the bandwagon on the weekend.  It's a curse because, well, I have to weigh in!  Today it began...but not until after I'd done a little morning binge.  Yes, that's right.  I wanted to weigh in heavy to guarantee a first week loss.  I don't even care if I know that I tried to weigh in heavy.  Seeing a negative (which is really POSITIVE in this case) change on the scale next week will erase any shame in intentionally fattening up pre-weigh-in.  Don't judge me!  :)

Anyway, it truly begins again tomorrow since today was just a half-day of tracking food/drink.  I'm already dreading Friday though because my Grandfather and Uncle are in town to celebrate my Grandfather's 89th birthday on Saturday and we're doing dinner at J. Alexander's on Friday evening.  That place is phenomenal and just thinking of their steak or mile-high French dip sandwich has my taste buds gearing themselves up.  That's where the blessing comes in again.  Any slip by me on Friday can definitely be made up for before next Wednesday's moment of truth on the scale.

Any advice for resisting temptations?

Now WEIGHT just a minute...

For pretty much as long as I can remember, I've been fighting the so-called "battle of the bulge."  There was a time in my life that weight wasn't an issue, but that was early grade school so I'm not sure that really counts.  It started as a little gain each year - probably about 5-10 lbs each year - for several years that eventually plateaued at "overweight."  For me, it became a vicious cycle: I wasn't happy with how I looked; to combat that depression I ate; my new, higher weight made me less happy about my appearance; I ate; and so on and so forth. 

In the past several years, my weight has yo-yo'd a number of times.  After initial success with Weight Watchers (hereafter "WW") in mid-2007, I hopped off the bandwagon too soon.  The changes I'd been making had not become a new lifestyle yet and slowly but surely I began to add back the weight I'd worked hard to lose.  I'm still a tad over 20 lbs down from my starting WW weight a few years ago, but once again I'm unhappy with my appearance.  Worse than that, I don't like the way that I feel.  Uncomfortable in your own skin is not the way to live your life.

So why this blog?  I just read an article on 8 different amazing individuals that worked hard for their weight-loss success and each of them kept a blog at some point in their journey.  Having an outlet to vent, celebrate success, and keep myself accountable will hopefully equal success on the scale and a victory in my battle of the bulge.  I definitely don't have a huge following on here (so really, what do I have to hide???), but just the idea of someone else reading my journey, and perhaps sharing their own experiences/tips, is enough for me to put it out there.  Plus, it will be a way for me to look back on everything I'm doing and see where I was and how far I've come.

My first step on this journey begins on Wednesday.  They're starting a WW program at work.  The convenience of the 12-week program added to my previous WW success made it a no-brainer for me to sign up.  So step 1: get back to WW!  I recognize that exercise will need to become a regular part of my life but for the sake of sustaining my quest for health, I'm not going to start everything all at once.  I'm going to give myself 2-3 weeks on the WW program to get my eating under control and then I'll begin to add in regular exercise. 

My goal?  While I would like to say that losing 50-60 lbs is my goal, I know better than to set up that obstacle for myself.  Therefore, my first goal is 10 lbs from my Wednesday starting weight.  Once I reach that goal, I can confidently set another attainable one for myself.  Rather than dreading Wednesday like I thought I would, I'm actually pretty excited about it.  Let the journey to the new me begin!

Ringing in 2011

I rang in the new year at a wedding last night, and I've got to say that it was an unexpectedly awesome way to begin the year.  Besides the whole "drinking for free on new year's" aspect, it was really special to spend the evening surrounded by love, excitement, and happiness.  Those feelings are infectious and I couldn't help but smile my way into 2011.  For an evening that typically falls short of expectations (I've previously had very few, if any, truly great new year's eves), last night was one to remember.  I wish a lifetime of love and happiness for the newly wedded couple.

Thinking of this new year in general, there's something that seems so "brand new" about the 1/1/11 date we have today...like it's a fresh start, a clean slate, a chance to begin all over again.  While I have definitely had some great experiences, accomplishments, and memories in past years, there are still things that I'm working towards and wishing for.  Here's to hoping that 2011 is a great year for myself and everyone else too.  While people typically make resolutions at the start of each year, more often than not those resolutions fall short of fruition.  Therefore, I'm not making any resolutions this year.  Rather, I'm choosing to live my life as best I can each day...hopefully giving more of myself to others and receiving satisfaction and happiness in return.  How did you spend your new year's eve and what's your plan/goal for the new year???