No, I am not dead, and no, I did not abandon this blog. The last week has just been crazy busy! Without going into much detail (as most of it is not necessarily weight-loss related) this is why I have been missing in action the last [almost] week.

Last Wednesday was my company's Christmas party, and those who know me in real life knew I was planning on using the event as a catalyst to get better acquainted with a certain male coworker of mine. My plan worked. We really hit it off and chatted pretty much all night. During our conversation it was revealed that he has a girlfriend - ugh. But, not wanting to discard a potential friendship we kept talking. As the night went on we really had a good time getting to know each other, and then, after one too many tequila shots, we ended up leaving the party early to make out around the corner from the building. Classy! Anyway, he paid for me to take a cab home, somehow we exchanged numbers, and during one of our many phone conversations that night he asked me to have lunch with him sometime because he did like me and wanted to get to know me better "as friends." I laughed to myself, knowing that, while his plan was very sweet, it wouldn't work out exactly that way. I sort of have a sixth sense: when I meet someone new, within the first few hours of knowing them I can tell whether or not we will hook up and/or date in the future. And for my entire life, I've never been wrong. And just so we're clear, kissing doesn't count. ANYWAY! That's why I didn't blog Wednesday. Thursday I was way too hungover to blog, and Friday I only worked a half day so I could get on the road to Michigan. I had a doctor's appointment Saturday morning, then Saturday night I went to The Whitney in Detroit to research a performance opportunity I was offered. Sunday was lunch with my mom and aunt and then driving back to the city, where I unpacked, did my nails, and relaxed. Yesterday [Monday] I had full intention of blogging - but Matt (the male coworker from the Christmas party) followed through on his lunch invitation and asked me to join him last minute, to which I happily agreed (and we went to Subway). Needless to say the rest of the day I was on Cloud 9 and couldn't give two figs about blogging. Sad, but true. (I suppose I should mention that although Matt does have a girlfriend, I am not intending on breaking them up. I am intending on getting to know him, as FRIENDS, just as he suggested, and hopefully the pieces will fall where they may in the future. Neither one of us have brought up the events of the party, and I doubt we will any time soon.)

*PHEW*

So, now that we are all caught up, how did I do with food? Well, let me start off by saying I haven't worked out, at all, since last Tuesday. I feel horrible about it because one of my December Goals was to work out four times a week, but the events of the last week have unfortunately prevented me from having much of a mindset towards weight loss. DING DING DING! Let me start off by saying I did relatively well with my points this last week. I did have fast food twice and I did go over my points [almost] every day, but I in no way did nearly as bad as I did that infamous week. Am I expecting a loss? Eh, not really. I am just hoping I didn't gain anything.

I had somewhat of a realization over the last week. I think the main reason Weight Watchers works, and is something people can stick to, is because it fits into your lifestyle - in the sense that, people's lives need balance. You can't spend every waking moment obsessing about diet, and exercise, and weight loss. It will drive you crazy, and most likely make you quit. Then again, on the same token, you can't let your entire mentality be shifted away from those things just because you have a lot going on in your life. You will slip up far too many times and fail. It's all about finding the balance, and I think I did just that over the weekend.

Am I anticipating a huge number tomorrow morning? Hell no. I'm really not even anticipating a loss. I'm a little bummed, yes, because I do want to make it into the 140s by New Years Eve, but the fact of the matter is I'm content with my actions over the weekend. Yes, I indulged a little bit. I drank quite a bit at the party, but opted out of having any food. I did pick up McDonald's on the way into Michigan and Taco Bell on the way out, but those were my only meals for the day. Honestly, I'm not sure how the scale will read tomorrow. As long as I don't gain I will be content, and I'll move forward with this next week back into my old routine. Coming into work "dirty" and going to the gym first thing is now somewhat of a challenge because, well, I need to look good, every day, all day. Pathetic, I know. But with the start of my new week tomorrow I'm hoping I can convince myself that it is for the best - plus, if I'm smart about it, I can work it out that I don't see said coworker until after my workout / shower. Yeah, I've trailed off again...

Point being, this week I did decent. Next week I will do better. Now, to see what the scale says...

Holy crap. I LOST 3 FREAKING POUNDS! I stepped on the scale this morning and literally could not believe the number I saw. I actually was mildly expecting to gain. Between using up almost all of my 35 weekly points and only working out two days ... I don't know. I guess I was just preparing myself for the worst. When I stepped on the scale I actually closed my eyes. I didn't want to look down. I could feel every nerve in my body tense and I just kept repeating in my brain, "Just let me see 157.something. 156.something would be better, but please just let me see 157.something." When I saw 155.2 my eyes popped open so wide I thought one of my eyeballs would fall out. I actually had to get off the scale and weigh myself again; I couldn't believe that number, it had to be wrong. I must not have stepped on the scale correctly and it read me inaccurately. That must have been what happened. But NOPE! The second reading was exactly the same: 155.2!

After my first month on Weight Watchers I've lost 7 pounds. Am I happy with this, absolutely. It's 7 pounds off my body forever. And who knows, maybe next week I'll have another loss like this week? I doubt it though. I can't imagine having two huge losses back to back like that. But then again I didn't think I'd lose 3 pounds this week either. I guess it just goes to show you that the body is going to do whatever the body wants to do. All I can do at this point is keep following the program. Even if I'm a little off my goal by the beginning of May I'll still be a lot thinner than I am now, and I guess that's what I really need to focus on.

Oh! And my Weight Watchers app gave me a little badge for being a good little weight-watcher:

Today my boss took me out to lunch for sushi. During my first week we were chatting and he mentioned that he was taking his old assistant out for sushi, and when my reaction was nothing but excitement he told me to pencil in a day for us to do the same. That day was today. Being that I'd consumed all of my weekly points except 6 (technically 20, but I only use 35 weekly points instead of the usual 49) I decided to skip my usual breakfast and make one gigantic fruit salad. I chopped up an apple, a clementine, some strawberries, and some pineapple, and it turned into quite a morning feast. By the time lunch rolled around I was starving! I couldn't wait to get to the restaurant and order!

My boss is well aware that I am on Weight Watchers and so he didn't mind me taking a few extra minutes to tally up my points. My typical sushi outing usually involves the all-to-common California roll, in addition to two or three hot Japanese appetizers. Knowing I couldn't indulge as I normally would, I whipped out my calculator and figured out what would be the most sensible choices. I, of course, stuck with my California roll at only 6 points for the entire roll, and actually, due to the low point count, I considered just ordering two of them and being done with it (or broadening my horizons and choosing another roll to try). However, I kept on searching and found out that Gyoza, one of my favorite hot appetizers, was also only 6 points. Done!


While we were discussing our orders, my boss suggested we get an order of edamame to start. My response to this was, "Aren't those those little bean thingies?" Feeling horribly uncultured and all-to-shy in my cuisine endeavors I agreed to his suggestion. And OH MY GOSH am I glad I did! I think I found my new veggie love! Freaking soybeans!


I at first was a little skeptical of trying these hairy little pods, not to mention the fact that I had absolutely NO idea how to eat them without making myself look foolish. My boss told me to "teeth them out" - I did this with the first one but, although it worked, I decided to simply squeeze the rest out with my fingers. I figured this would eliminate some salt ingestion, plus it was easier for me. And only two or three of them flew away from me in the process! They were delicious! They taste almost like nuts of some kind, so I was very curious as to what the nutrition information would look like. Turns out I was right, in that they were similar to nuts. Although, they weren't quite as bad, and worked out to about 3 points for half a cup, which is what I assume I ended up eating. I definitely think I'm going to buy some of these little guys and incorporate them somehow. I found some recipes that suggested mashing up the cooked beans and making a dip of sorts. Hmm, interesting! In any event, I'm really glad I gave these a try.

Maybe I should trying more foods! *thinks*

Water and I have a very love-hate relationship. Some days it's crisp and fresh and clean and I can't get enough of it. Other days it's bland and boring and tasteless and I have to force myself to even have one glass. Over the years, I became a big fan of Crystal Light. The idea of turning water into a flavored beverage without adding any calories was incredible to me. However, once the initial amusement wore off I began to realize what a pain these little packets were. Powder would always get all over my counter, rarely would I get the entire packet to dissolve, leaving behind large clumps in my drink, and to top it all off, the flavors I consumed the most almost had a dye-like quality that would stain anything it touched. Now, I have several boxes of Crystal Light in my pantry, none of which have seen the light of day in quite some time. Every now and then I'll brace myself for the challenge, but nine times out of ten I'll simply drink my water plain, missing the tasty satisfaction the product used to give me.

Today I went grocery shopping and being that it's been a particularly uneventful Sunday I decided to take my time walking up and down the isles to see if anything jumped out at me. I found myself at the Crystal Light section wondering if they had come out with anything new that wasn't such a pain. Well, they hadn't. But someone else had. I had seen blogs a while back about Mio Liquid Water Enhancer and had heard a few people mention it in passing, but had never really taken the time to consider the idea. For whatever reason I assumed it would taste like chemicals, or like food coloring (which to me has always had a taste, and not a good one at that). However, I was feeling especially adventurous and decided to pick up a bottle. It was only a few dollars so if I didn't like it I wouldn't be losing much. Fruit Punch was always my go-to Crystal Light flavor, so I decided to give it a go. I got home, took out a glass, and filled it with water from my Brita. Then I took out the egg-shaped container and gave the glass a squirt. And the results?

It was great! It tasted like Fruit Punch. Who knew?

• Each container makes 24, 8 ounce servings.
• Each serving contains zero calories, zero fat, zero carbs, zero guilt!
• The product dissolves instantly, with no manual mixing needed.
• The container does NOT need any special treatment after being opened - it can live anywhere.
• It comes in seven regular flavors and two special flavors containing an added energy boost.

It's easy to say "I want to weigh 125 pounds by summer." There, I just said it. How easy was that? But the truth is, it's not easy. It takes a lot of work, determination, and will power to actually make it happen. I've always believed in setting goals, but throughout my life, especially when it came to weight loss, my goals kind of got lost in the dust of other things: school, work, theatre, family, friends, relationships. Somehow, these things always got in the way and made me lose track of what I really wanted. However, my life is very different now than it once was. I am on my own and in full control of what I do, so I've decided to finally start making goals I can keep. Each month, I will be making three to five mini goals to help push me to reach my final goal of 125 pounds by summer. Some mini goals will be bigger than others, but all of them will be achievable and will motivate me towards my final goal.

November was a good month, maybe not in the numbers on the scale, but I was able to conquer some demons and learn some lessons. I feel like I finally have my head on straight and am ready to move forward with this journey. I spent the month learning the Points Plus program and figuring out how to make it work with my lifestyle. I really committed to using the gym at my work, and worked out 3-5 days every week. I really made some progress last month, I just want to continue.

So, here's December:

• Try One New Recipe Each Week - Because Weight Watchers lets you eat essentially anything you  want, I've been pretty bad about cooking lately. So, I want to turn my focus on cooking more this month. Unfortunately, I only have a few recipes under my belt, and turkey burgers, although delicious, get old if eaten every night. Therefore I want to make sure I am expanding my culinary skills by cooking one new recipe each week. I, of course, will be able to cook more if I feel adventurous, but I wanted to give myself a realistic number to achieve first, and four recipes in the month of December is something I can definitely handle!
• Work Out at Least Four Times a Week - I have done pretty well working out in November, usually working out three or four times a week. I want to make sure I up this in December to a minimum of four times a week. The fact of the matter is, working out at the gym at my office is amazingly convenient for me. Waking up early has always been a struggle, and getting to sleep in an extra half hour or so instead of taking a shower and getting ready is right up my alley. Getting into work "dirty" forces me to get to the gym at some point in the morning, and it's worked great so far. If I decide I don't want to work out, then I have to shower in the morning before I leave my apartment, meaning I miss out on sleep - which I don't like to do, ever. So, I think this is something I can definitely accomplish.
• Reach the 140s by New Year's Eve - I realize I have very little control over this goal, but it definitely is my number one goal for December. As I explained in my last weigh-in, New Years Eve 2011 was the start of an amazing year, and that night I weighed in the upper 140s. I'd love to rekindle that feeling, and hopefully the good vibes that come along with it, and make 2013 even better! 2012 was somewhat of a crappy year for me - a lot of roller coaster emotions and big changes in my life, so I want to make sure I start off the new year on an amazing note. Being in the 140s would definitely do that, so I'm crossing my fingers the scale is sweet to me!