I am starving. STARVING.
I had forgotten how small an actual serving size of cereal is. I almost cried when I poured it into my bowl this morning. One of my greatest pleasures in life is a big bowl of cereal every morning. I love cereal.
I ate breakfast at 8:00. My stomach was already starting to eat itself by 10:00. I managed to hold off on my lunch until 11:45ish. My lunch was normal--I've eaten the same things for lunch off Weight Watchers as I did when I was on it. But it's 1:30 and I am already starting to feel the tinge in my stomach again. How is this even possible?
I think I need to take some kind of sleeping pill and just knock myself out for the next seven weeks. In theory, I'd wake up super skinny. Not to mention well rested.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
Back on the Wagon
The Weight Watchers wagon.
Well, that's actually misleading. I didn't ever "fall off" of the Weight Watchers wagon. I rode it out and then got off when it was time. :) It's just that now, it's time to get back on again--hopefully only for a short ride this time.
Since I'm sure there are so many who can relate, and because I try to be as honest as possible (without going overboard), I'll share all the "weighty" details. This is sure to be lengthy. Where to start?
I honestly can't pinpoint the time in my life when my weight became an issue for me. Sadly, growing up, I always thought I was fat. I had a really petite best friend as a child, and another really skinny friend that we hung out with often. So between the three of us, I was always the biggest, and always felt that way. Now, when I look back on childhood pics, I can't believe how thin and healthy I actually was. I just never, ever felt that way. I guess even as a little girl, you still compare yourself to others--and the people I compared myself to were smaller than me. So I suppose that messed with my head, even at a young age.
Thanks to puberty, I started "filling out" in middle school. But I think my weight actually became a problem--meaning I crossed the threshold into the "overweight" category--when I was maybe 15. At my heaviest, I was between 170 and 180 lbs. (I'm 5'7"ish.)
The summer before my senior year of high school--I was 16, going on 17--I don't even remember, but I must have mentioned to my mom how uncomfortable I was with my body. Somehow, I found myself in an L.A. Weight Loss center with my mom, and was soon signed up for the program. I stuck with it for probably 6-7 months or so, and got myself down to about 150-155 lbs. The program was hard to stay on... no cheating, very specific things had to be eaten at every meal, certain combinations (pasta and beef, for instance) were off limits completely, etc.
Coming from someone who was 170-180 lbs. before, my new size felt pretty good. I felt as comfortable in my skin as I possibly could as a senior in high school. I graduated and went on to college. I remember being really paranoid about the "freshman 15," and was shocked when I weighed myself while home on my October break--I had actually lost weight. Something like 8 lbs., actually. I attributed it to being a picky eater (there were only certain things I would eat at the dining halls), and all of the extra walking around campus, to the bars, etc. Because lord knows I was practically drinking my weight in beer every weekend. ;)
I maintained my weight pretty well throughout college, despite eating what I wanted (for the most part) and the obligatory college drinking habit. I tried to make good choices when I could, but there was definitely a lot of late-night eating, and a once-a-week pizza and wings splurge that Michael and I never missed out on (oh, Lena's Pizza, how I miss you so--it was our favorite local pizza joint in our college town).
Three weeks after graduation, I started my first job (in June 2004). It was a desk job. Highly stressful, but also highly sedentary. Over the next couple of years, I started to grow more and more unhappy with my body. Despite going to the gym, I did not look good--I was still eating whatever I wanted.
In March 2006, I got together with a bunch of my girlfriends from college. My friend Bethany (who is one of my bridesmaids) and I were always around the same size. On this visit, though, Bethany looked absolutely fantastic. She said she had started Weight Watchers, and she had lost a lot of weight. When I got home the next day, I looked into Weight Watchers on the internet, and I saw that they had an online version of the program. This sounded perfect to me--for one, I was never crazy about the idea of having to attend meetings and weigh-ins. Secondly, it was really affordable.
I registered that night, and the next day (March 20, 2006), the program began. My first weekly weigh in was that Monday morning--and I weighed in at 156.4 lbs. That was my starting weight. My first goal was just to get down to 140 lbs.
In the first week, I dropped 5 lbs. I was ecstatic. Obviously that slowed down, but still--it was a great start and a great motivator. I think I hit 140 lbs. sometime in May. I had done it with what felt like little effort. Sure, I had to follow the program, but I wasn't really exercising--just dieting--and I just never felt that Weight Watchers was that hard. I could still eat what I wanted, just within reason. I decided to keep going; I lowered my goal to 135 lbs. By July 2006, I got down to 136 lbs. And then my body just wouldn't budge anymore. We had a ton of weddings that summer, so I did a lot of "cheating"--but I still managed to not gain any weight back.
I figured once the weddings were over, I'd get back to the plan and follow it more strictly. I did, and still--my body did not want to budge below 136 lbs. In fact, most days, I'd hover right at 137-138 lbs. I stayed on Weight Watchers for another four months or so, trying to just get a couple. more. pounds. off, but to no avail. I figured my body was telling me something. It was comfortable at that weight. And really, two pounds? Was my body going to look that different if I lost another two pounds??
I put my goal at 137 lbs., and technically "met" it, so then I started maintenance. It was time to teach my body how to eat more normally again. I did another 3-4 months of that with Weight Watchers, and then I decided I trusted myself to do it "on my own." No more tracking points, no more paying for the online subscription. I cancelled my subscription with Weight Watchers almost exactly a year after I had begun.
Weight fluctuates. Anything can make it fluctuate. All throughout my time on Weight Watchers, I was a daily weigher. The people at WW like to tell you that it's not healthy--you shouldn't weigh more than once a week. But for me, it was what kept me on track. I wouldn't let the fluctuations upset me. It's just that if I was up one morning, I'd be extra diligent on drinking my water that day, getting in some exercise, and sticking to plan. If I was down, I could be just a little more lax. So on maintenance, and even before that, I'd see my weight fluctuate between 136 lbs. and 140 lbs. regularly. Most often, as I said before, I was at 137-138 lbs. I guess that was my "average," so to speak.
I went back to eating normally. I am very conscious of what I eat, and I still always have Weight Watchers philosophies in my head. If I know something is coming up, like a night out to eat, or a family party, etc., I try to "save up" during the week by being really good. That way, I can indulge at the party or at the restaurant and not worry about my weight so much. This, in large part, has worked for me. In the first few months officially off the Weight Watchers plan, my average weight crept up a little bit. I started seeing 140 lbs. on the scale more regularly. But since then? I've stayed right there. I figured having my average weight go up 3 lbs. and level off was not a big deal. I still don't think it's a big deal. Because again, I can pretty much eat what I want (and again, within reason) and my weight stays the same.
But now, with the wedding less than seven weeks away, I feel like I just want to give it another go. I'd like to try to get a few pounds off. Because really, my weight usually averages like 140-142 lbs. And that's about 5-6 lbs. more than I was at my lightest. And 5-6 lbs., although not a huge deal, does make a difference. Sure, my clothes still fit fine, but I can tell the difference. To be fair, I've become much more of an exerciser. In September, I started taking two high-intensity aerobics classes per week, and I also go to the gym both days on the weekend (when scheduling permits). So it's very possible that some of the weight really is muscle weight (and not just an excuse).
Honestly, I'm not even that concerned about how I look on the wedding day. It's a big dress, it hides a lot of flaws. I'm more concerned about the honeymoon and being in bathing suits and shorts! :)
When I was lying in bed last night, trying to sleep, I was thinking about maybe going back to Weight Watchers just to try to shed a few pounds before the wedding and honeymoon. This morning, I woke up and checked my BlackBerry--and oddly enough, I had an e-mail from Weight Watchers. I receive them every couple of months... special offers to get me to try to come back to them. And this e-mail was one such offer.
So today, I took them up on it.
This is going to be sooo fun. Not.
Well, that's actually misleading. I didn't ever "fall off" of the Weight Watchers wagon. I rode it out and then got off when it was time. :) It's just that now, it's time to get back on again--hopefully only for a short ride this time.
Since I'm sure there are so many who can relate, and because I try to be as honest as possible (without going overboard), I'll share all the "weighty" details. This is sure to be lengthy. Where to start?
I honestly can't pinpoint the time in my life when my weight became an issue for me. Sadly, growing up, I always thought I was fat. I had a really petite best friend as a child, and another really skinny friend that we hung out with often. So between the three of us, I was always the biggest, and always felt that way. Now, when I look back on childhood pics, I can't believe how thin and healthy I actually was. I just never, ever felt that way. I guess even as a little girl, you still compare yourself to others--and the people I compared myself to were smaller than me. So I suppose that messed with my head, even at a young age.
Thanks to puberty, I started "filling out" in middle school. But I think my weight actually became a problem--meaning I crossed the threshold into the "overweight" category--when I was maybe 15. At my heaviest, I was between 170 and 180 lbs. (I'm 5'7"ish.)
The summer before my senior year of high school--I was 16, going on 17--I don't even remember, but I must have mentioned to my mom how uncomfortable I was with my body. Somehow, I found myself in an L.A. Weight Loss center with my mom, and was soon signed up for the program. I stuck with it for probably 6-7 months or so, and got myself down to about 150-155 lbs. The program was hard to stay on... no cheating, very specific things had to be eaten at every meal, certain combinations (pasta and beef, for instance) were off limits completely, etc.
Coming from someone who was 170-180 lbs. before, my new size felt pretty good. I felt as comfortable in my skin as I possibly could as a senior in high school. I graduated and went on to college. I remember being really paranoid about the "freshman 15," and was shocked when I weighed myself while home on my October break--I had actually lost weight. Something like 8 lbs., actually. I attributed it to being a picky eater (there were only certain things I would eat at the dining halls), and all of the extra walking around campus, to the bars, etc. Because lord knows I was practically drinking my weight in beer every weekend. ;)
I maintained my weight pretty well throughout college, despite eating what I wanted (for the most part) and the obligatory college drinking habit. I tried to make good choices when I could, but there was definitely a lot of late-night eating, and a once-a-week pizza and wings splurge that Michael and I never missed out on (oh, Lena's Pizza, how I miss you so--it was our favorite local pizza joint in our college town).
Three weeks after graduation, I started my first job (in June 2004). It was a desk job. Highly stressful, but also highly sedentary. Over the next couple of years, I started to grow more and more unhappy with my body. Despite going to the gym, I did not look good--I was still eating whatever I wanted.
In March 2006, I got together with a bunch of my girlfriends from college. My friend Bethany (who is one of my bridesmaids) and I were always around the same size. On this visit, though, Bethany looked absolutely fantastic. She said she had started Weight Watchers, and she had lost a lot of weight. When I got home the next day, I looked into Weight Watchers on the internet, and I saw that they had an online version of the program. This sounded perfect to me--for one, I was never crazy about the idea of having to attend meetings and weigh-ins. Secondly, it was really affordable.
I registered that night, and the next day (March 20, 2006), the program began. My first weekly weigh in was that Monday morning--and I weighed in at 156.4 lbs. That was my starting weight. My first goal was just to get down to 140 lbs.
In the first week, I dropped 5 lbs. I was ecstatic. Obviously that slowed down, but still--it was a great start and a great motivator. I think I hit 140 lbs. sometime in May. I had done it with what felt like little effort. Sure, I had to follow the program, but I wasn't really exercising--just dieting--and I just never felt that Weight Watchers was that hard. I could still eat what I wanted, just within reason. I decided to keep going; I lowered my goal to 135 lbs. By July 2006, I got down to 136 lbs. And then my body just wouldn't budge anymore. We had a ton of weddings that summer, so I did a lot of "cheating"--but I still managed to not gain any weight back.
I figured once the weddings were over, I'd get back to the plan and follow it more strictly. I did, and still--my body did not want to budge below 136 lbs. In fact, most days, I'd hover right at 137-138 lbs. I stayed on Weight Watchers for another four months or so, trying to just get a couple. more. pounds. off, but to no avail. I figured my body was telling me something. It was comfortable at that weight. And really, two pounds? Was my body going to look that different if I lost another two pounds??
I put my goal at 137 lbs., and technically "met" it, so then I started maintenance. It was time to teach my body how to eat more normally again. I did another 3-4 months of that with Weight Watchers, and then I decided I trusted myself to do it "on my own." No more tracking points, no more paying for the online subscription. I cancelled my subscription with Weight Watchers almost exactly a year after I had begun.
Weight fluctuates. Anything can make it fluctuate. All throughout my time on Weight Watchers, I was a daily weigher. The people at WW like to tell you that it's not healthy--you shouldn't weigh more than once a week. But for me, it was what kept me on track. I wouldn't let the fluctuations upset me. It's just that if I was up one morning, I'd be extra diligent on drinking my water that day, getting in some exercise, and sticking to plan. If I was down, I could be just a little more lax. So on maintenance, and even before that, I'd see my weight fluctuate between 136 lbs. and 140 lbs. regularly. Most often, as I said before, I was at 137-138 lbs. I guess that was my "average," so to speak.
I went back to eating normally. I am very conscious of what I eat, and I still always have Weight Watchers philosophies in my head. If I know something is coming up, like a night out to eat, or a family party, etc., I try to "save up" during the week by being really good. That way, I can indulge at the party or at the restaurant and not worry about my weight so much. This, in large part, has worked for me. In the first few months officially off the Weight Watchers plan, my average weight crept up a little bit. I started seeing 140 lbs. on the scale more regularly. But since then? I've stayed right there. I figured having my average weight go up 3 lbs. and level off was not a big deal. I still don't think it's a big deal. Because again, I can pretty much eat what I want (and again, within reason) and my weight stays the same.
But now, with the wedding less than seven weeks away, I feel like I just want to give it another go. I'd like to try to get a few pounds off. Because really, my weight usually averages like 140-142 lbs. And that's about 5-6 lbs. more than I was at my lightest. And 5-6 lbs., although not a huge deal, does make a difference. Sure, my clothes still fit fine, but I can tell the difference. To be fair, I've become much more of an exerciser. In September, I started taking two high-intensity aerobics classes per week, and I also go to the gym both days on the weekend (when scheduling permits). So it's very possible that some of the weight really is muscle weight (and not just an excuse).
Honestly, I'm not even that concerned about how I look on the wedding day. It's a big dress, it hides a lot of flaws. I'm more concerned about the honeymoon and being in bathing suits and shorts! :)
When I was lying in bed last night, trying to sleep, I was thinking about maybe going back to Weight Watchers just to try to shed a few pounds before the wedding and honeymoon. This morning, I woke up and checked my BlackBerry--and oddly enough, I had an e-mail from Weight Watchers. I receive them every couple of months... special offers to get me to try to come back to them. And this e-mail was one such offer.
So today, I took them up on it.
This is going to be sooo fun. Not.
You guys are awesome!
You guys are so great! Thanks to everyone who left comments below, "introducing" yourselves. If you haven't yet left a comment on the post below... please do! I see that I have had 375 "unique visitors" today... and although I am completely grateful for the 42 comments that have been left thus far, those numbers don't really add up, do they? :) So keep the introductions coming!
I am so happy to "meet" many of you. You are all so sweet. Thanks for all of the compliments about anything and everything. And obviously, best of luck to anyone getting married... I definitely reciprocate with all of those good wishes!
Moving forward, I challenge all of you to comment more often. ;) It's great to see that there really are people behind those page hits, and I'd love to hear from you all more frequently.
And as for my blogging... I will not be going anywhere anytime soon! I have plans to keep blogging through the wedding and honeymoon, and at least for a while afterward. And as I complete projects for other brides, I want to continue to post them here. I just might move all my other antics to another (new) blog. I'll be sure to let you all know if and when that happens.
Again, I just have to say how much I appreciate all of you reading. Throughout my experience as a blogger, I've always kind of followed a rule I made for myself--I don't really want to post a blog entry if I really don't have anything interesting to say. As the wedding approaches, I know you've all noticed I've been posting more frequently--and I was so happy to see some of you say you enjoy that.
It's not always easy coming up with things to blog about, but hearing from you guys makes it worth it.
Now back to my regularly scheduled blogging...
I am so happy to "meet" many of you. You are all so sweet. Thanks for all of the compliments about anything and everything. And obviously, best of luck to anyone getting married... I definitely reciprocate with all of those good wishes!
Moving forward, I challenge all of you to comment more often. ;) It's great to see that there really are people behind those page hits, and I'd love to hear from you all more frequently.
And as for my blogging... I will not be going anywhere anytime soon! I have plans to keep blogging through the wedding and honeymoon, and at least for a while afterward. And as I complete projects for other brides, I want to continue to post them here. I just might move all my other antics to another (new) blog. I'll be sure to let you all know if and when that happens.
Again, I just have to say how much I appreciate all of you reading. Throughout my experience as a blogger, I've always kind of followed a rule I made for myself--I don't really want to post a blog entry if I really don't have anything interesting to say. As the wedding approaches, I know you've all noticed I've been posting more frequently--and I was so happy to see some of you say you enjoy that.
It's not always easy coming up with things to blog about, but hearing from you guys makes it worth it.
Now back to my regularly scheduled blogging...
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Come out, come out...
...WHOever you are!
I can't sleep tonight. I hope this isn't the beginning of a trend leading up to the wedding. But my brain is entirely too active to sleep right now.
Anyway, I started this blog as a way to chronicle my whole wedding planning experience for myself.
Over the past 10 months, however, it has become much more than that. According to the stat tracker on my page, I get many, many, many hits every day. People from all over the world--all 50 states, England, France, New Zealand, the Bahamas, Canada, etc. Honestly, every once in a while, I actually get hits from countries I have never even heard of. Those visits from obscure countries may or may not be legitimate readers of the blog, but still.
Sure, the DIY pages and instructions are popular. But the majority of the hits are still for the front page. In theory, these are people just "checking in" on Road to the Aisle.
I've shared, and will continue to share, details about our wedding, our lives, our future, and more. So now I'd like to turn the tables tonight. Please take a minute to leave a comment, and tell me who YOU are.
Where are you from? Are you getting married? If so, when is your wedding? What do you like about Road to the Aisle? Anything in particular you'd like to see more of (or *gasp,* less of?)?
Does anyone have any questions for me? Related to projects? Related to our wedding? Related to life?
I'd really appreciate learning just a little bit about the people behind all of these hits to the blog day after day. You don't even have to register with Blogger to leave a comment. You can just click "anonymous" and type away. Please? Pretty please?
And as always, thanks for reading! :)
I can't sleep tonight. I hope this isn't the beginning of a trend leading up to the wedding. But my brain is entirely too active to sleep right now.
Anyway, I started this blog as a way to chronicle my whole wedding planning experience for myself.
Over the past 10 months, however, it has become much more than that. According to the stat tracker on my page, I get many, many, many hits every day. People from all over the world--all 50 states, England, France, New Zealand, the Bahamas, Canada, etc. Honestly, every once in a while, I actually get hits from countries I have never even heard of. Those visits from obscure countries may or may not be legitimate readers of the blog, but still.
Sure, the DIY pages and instructions are popular. But the majority of the hits are still for the front page. In theory, these are people just "checking in" on Road to the Aisle.
I've shared, and will continue to share, details about our wedding, our lives, our future, and more. So now I'd like to turn the tables tonight. Please take a minute to leave a comment, and tell me who YOU are.
Where are you from? Are you getting married? If so, when is your wedding? What do you like about Road to the Aisle? Anything in particular you'd like to see more of (or *gasp,* less of?)?
Does anyone have any questions for me? Related to projects? Related to our wedding? Related to life?
I'd really appreciate learning just a little bit about the people behind all of these hits to the blog day after day. You don't even have to register with Blogger to leave a comment. You can just click "anonymous" and type away. Please? Pretty please?
And as always, thanks for reading! :)
Saturday, May 3, 2008
We ate like kings
Today, we went to Bed Bath and Beyond to use our gifts cards we received at the shower. We also received two waffle makers, so we had to return one of them. They gave us store credit, so we found something else to buy with that money, too.
We ended up walking out with a rice cooker, a 5-piece Calphalon gadget set (that we needed very badly--mainly for the can opener since ours sucked), a new sink strainer (it's amazing how good the sink looks now), and... a BLENDER!
Last weekend, since we had such nice weather, we really wanted to make strawberry daquiris. Unfortunately, last summer, the motor in our smoothie maker totally died, and we never replaced it. Instead of getting another smoothie maker, we decided to go with a high-powered, good quality blender. We'll see how it works. I'm hoping to test it out tonight. We even stopped by the new liquor store for some rum. ;)
Once home, we fired up the new rice cooker to help us with dinner. Then we ate dinner using our brand new dinnerware!
We decided to go with an old favorite from Rachael Ray. Delicious! And it certainly looked great on our new dishes.
We ended up walking out with a rice cooker, a 5-piece Calphalon gadget set (that we needed very badly--mainly for the can opener since ours sucked), a new sink strainer (it's amazing how good the sink looks now), and... a BLENDER!
Last weekend, since we had such nice weather, we really wanted to make strawberry daquiris. Unfortunately, last summer, the motor in our smoothie maker totally died, and we never replaced it. Instead of getting another smoothie maker, we decided to go with a high-powered, good quality blender. We'll see how it works. I'm hoping to test it out tonight. We even stopped by the new liquor store for some rum. ;)
Once home, we fired up the new rice cooker to help us with dinner. Then we ate dinner using our brand new dinnerware!
We decided to go with an old favorite from Rachael Ray. Delicious! And it certainly looked great on our new dishes.
Friday, May 2, 2008
New Dishes = New Kitchen
The day after the shower, we unpacked, cleaned, and organized the majority of our gifts. However, there were a few things we saved for later. Mainly things that we didn't get all of. For instance, our dishes. We technically received them all at the shower, but my friends got us the second set of them and had to order them to be delivered to our house. They came the Wednesday or Thursday after the shower, but we didn't do anything with them last weekend.
Tonight, we got motivated to pack up the old dishes and unpack the new. We loaded as many as we could into the dishwasher and ran it; we washed the rest by hand. We watched a movie, then put them all away.
Tonight, we got motivated to pack up the old dishes and unpack the new. We loaded as many as we could into the dishwasher and ran it; we washed the rest by hand. We watched a movie, then put them all away.
We are still waiting on five more pasta bowls (second shelf, left), and another set of the mini bowls (second shelf, center). Hopefully we'll complete the whole dinnerware collection at the wedding.
Now it's like we have a whole new kitchen! We can't wait to eat our first meal on them tomorrow. Gotta think of something good to make. :)
Thursday, May 1, 2008
It's May! It's actually May!
Our wedding is officially "next month."
*squeal*
It makes my heart rate skyrocket. I can't even believe it.
I'm currently working on preparing and researching a number of things.
I'm trying to decide on and finalize a design for the bridesmaid jewelry (which I'm making), because then I have to order all of the supplies. And not to mention--I have to leave myself enough time to make them all.
I need to finally bite the bullet and just pick and order a garter set.
I'm waiting on more RSVPs so I can make the last-minute decisions on the "extras"--favors, personalized cocktail napkins, etc. I don't really want to order anything until we have a more accurate estimate of how many people to expect.
We're going to start gathering photos and scanning them into our computer so we can get started on creating a photo slideshow/montage for our rehearsal dinner.
And also, in the next week or two... we're planning to go get our marriage license! Eeeek!
I'm sure there is more that I'm forgetting right now, but it's good to keep the list short, complete the things on it, and add more. When I look at a ginormous to-do list, it gives me major anxiety!
51 days!
*squeal*
It makes my heart rate skyrocket. I can't even believe it.
I'm currently working on preparing and researching a number of things.
I'm trying to decide on and finalize a design for the bridesmaid jewelry (which I'm making), because then I have to order all of the supplies. And not to mention--I have to leave myself enough time to make them all.
I need to finally bite the bullet and just pick and order a garter set.
I'm waiting on more RSVPs so I can make the last-minute decisions on the "extras"--favors, personalized cocktail napkins, etc. I don't really want to order anything until we have a more accurate estimate of how many people to expect.
We're going to start gathering photos and scanning them into our computer so we can get started on creating a photo slideshow/montage for our rehearsal dinner.
And also, in the next week or two... we're planning to go get our marriage license! Eeeek!
I'm sure there is more that I'm forgetting right now, but it's good to keep the list short, complete the things on it, and add more. When I look at a ginormous to-do list, it gives me major anxiety!
51 days!
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