snacky mcsnackerson

p.s. if you are not watching donald driver dance his freestyle on 'dancing with the stars'...well, i am not sure we can be friends anymore. : )

photo monday is here!

pardon the yucky outfit, i spent the day at the zoo with my seventh graders. surprisingly, they were super well behaved and all seventeen made it back to school by the end of the day! my legs look ridiculously white so please do not judge!

i have been struggling to stay out of the kitchen late at night - hence, the title of this post. it has not negatively impacted me but i know i need to be more careful, especially so close to bedtime. check back later this week!

two week lull

i know it has been a bit since i have written an update. many apologies.

things have been a little slow-going so i think i was just avoiding writing anything. but alas, i must move forward and continue on so here is a look at the last fourteen days.

as always, i owe the weekly shots of myself. the first set is from two weeks ago and the second set is from this previous week.

i think they look pretty identical. i missed my first weigh-in last weekend due to an out of town commitment so as of this morning, i was down another 1.4 lb which puts the overall total at 38.4 lb. i probably did not track as well as i could have and i KNOW i ate out too much. i am also officially on the lowest daily point value, which is 26. it seems like a scary number.

with that said, i have made a commitment that at least for the next week, i want to eat much more fruit and stay away from more of the processed snacks i usually grab from the snack drawer. i made sure to pick up apples, grapes, bananas, nectarines and cherries.

as i mentioned before, i was out of town last weekend in tofte, mn, celebrating a bachelorette party. we relaxed, drank, hotubbed (is that even a word?), ate, played games, and hiked. here a couple of shots from our hike through temperance park along the superior hike trail as well as a few from the back deck of our condo at blue fin bay resort.

that is all! i will try to do a better job from now on. i guess it is easier to write these posts when i lose more than just 1.4 lb over two weeks.

shopaholic

oh dear.

i have a problem. shopping. i have been trying to avoid doing it but target had all of their spring/summer stuff out and i just could not resist...

besides, i have SO many items sitting in the spare room to get rid of that two tops...and a dress...seemed harmless. PLUS - and this is the best part - i fit into a MEDIUM and a SIZE 10!

i actually purchased the purple shirt in a navy blue and white pattern...but they do not seem to have it online. i honestly had to ask the worker if the shirts looked too tight because i am not used to wearing a medium. 

finally, i bought the dress. i have a dress that i want to wear to a wedding in august but i am a little nervous about whether or not it will fit by then. target has a 90 day return policy so i figure i can hold onto it for awhile and see what happens. they had a limited number of sizes available so i grabbed it. they are featuring "the webster" clothing line right now, which i have honestly never heard of. apparently it is out of miami.

there are also a pair of shoes i would like to order:

i am highly interested in the coral wedges. how cute?! i did not see them in the store so i am curious as to whether they will arrive soon or if they can only be ordered online. i bought a pair of navy blue wedges from nordstrom to go with the other dress but i do not know that they will go with that new dress. nordstrom has a pretty lenient return policy so i figure i have some time to make my final decision.

these are the nordstrom pair:

have an opinion? let me know! maybe i will take a picture in the dress to post tomorrow and you can all let me know what you think. : )

another milestone

good evening!

i would like to update you all to my most recent weigh-in results. i was only down 0.6 lb this week but i am still in the 160s which is really all that matters to me right now!

at 25 lb lost, you get a "charm" to go with your keychain, which is given for losing 10% overall.

by the time i finish this journey, i should get another one to add to the collection. 

i met friends for a late lunch at the cheesecake factory. can you believe they have a "skinny" menu now!? kind of crazy. maybe they have realized how ridiculous their portions are. i ordered a house salad, vinaigrette dressing on the side and mexican chicken lettuce tacos. everything was delicious, though i never expect anything less at that restaurant. on the way out, i noticed RED VELVET CHEESECAKE is available right now. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. that is my all time favorite kind that they usually only have during the holidays. it took EVERY ounce of strength and will-power to not get a slice to go. 

after a walk around the mall, i am now home and enjoying some pizza for dinner. i am trying to motivate myself to either study for my biology final or catch up on some grading. we will see if either happen...

good things!

i know, i know, i am WAY behind in posts. many, many apologies.

i went to atlanta over the weekend to see my family and more importantly, baby-sit baya and byanka while my parents, brother, and sister-in-law attended wedding festivities of an old family friend. my guess is that if you read this, you see my updates and already saw all the mobile uploads of the girls. i know i am their aunt, but i think they are ridiculously cute (even when whining for milk!).

i did weigh-in while i was in georgia. it is amusing to me that i need that number every saturday. burton and the girls came along saturday morning when i lost another 1.6 lb. woo hoo! i hit my 25 lb mark so i will have to celebrate with my normal 10:30 meeting group in burnsville this coming weekend.

so, overall, i have lost a total of 36.4 lb. CRAZY!!!!

AND...i am finally back in the 160s!!!!!!!

i canNOT remember the last time i weighed anywhere near the 160s.

i am just really proud of myself. i have never stuck with a diet program this long. and honestly, i do not even see it as a diet but as a way to just learn how to eat better. do i eat out? sure. i sampled hotdogs and burgers from top chef's richard blais' restaurants, hd1 and flipburger. what other program besides weight watchers lets you do that? i honestly do not know.

i owe two sets of pictures, those from last week and the most recent from this week.

i feel like my face, neck, and throat definitely look thinner. i carry my weight sort of high (thanks, mom...) so i know it will take awhile before i feel like i do not have a "muffin top" anymore. a couple of people have commented on how much of a difference you can see now and i finally must admit that i think i can really see it too.

a week or two ago, jacob "strongly encouraged" me to go through my clothing...and i was frustrated by how much of it still did not fit. this made me think, 'how on EARTH was i wearing some of this stuff before???' but i realized, i really was just not wearing it at all so i removed a TON to try and sell/donate. jacob's new rule is that for every piece of new clothing i buy, i must get rid of four old pieces; a new pair of shoes calls for the removal of two pairs of old shoes. it was much easier to do than i expected! at this point, i am just going to abstain from buying anything because i do not know my end goal yet. i figure it would be a waste of money to be replacing items now.

quick hello!

hello!

quick check-in.

saturday's weigh-in was another success - down 1.8 lb, meaning i only have another 0.2 lb to go before i have knocked off another 5 lb.

woo hoo!

this weekend was good...i went bowling with some folks, had too many diet cokes and rums, and spent much of yesterday on the couch recovering.

i did have meals out at buffalo wild wings AND old chicago, which were both delish! pics tomorrow!

halfway point

hello, world. i have been dreading writing this...not for any particular reason, just because the couch has been looking so much more comfortable. : )

let me start with pictures from last week.

 i believe that was my 4.6 or 4.8 lb loss. that put me at 30.2 lb. overall.

for some reason, i was on a pasta kick last week. i made much more than i needed to last monday and had the leftovers for three or so nights. jacob thought it was weird but i just like my pasta. my favorite way to serve it is with peanut sauce and a bit of sriracha. if i am feeling fancy, i will even sprinkle on roasted sesame seeds. below is italian style with some (lame) ragu and shredded mozzarella cheese.

at last saturday's weigh-in, i was down another 3.2 lb or so, which put the total up to 33.2 lb now. i was SUPER surprised that i lost so much, especially after the big loss from the previous week.

this past sunday, jacob and i went to another easter celebration at his mother's house and a bunch of her family. i did fine while we were there but once i got home, i had a hard time keeping my hands out of the giant marshmallows that jacob found when we were at target. they were intended for s'mores but we never got around to making them.

here are just a couple of shots from the day. we will start with the three bald men (not to be confused with the three wise men...) trying to get a kite out of the tree.

 then one of jacob and me after playing bags.

pretty sure this is the first photo of us since we went to new york last summer. he is not the biggest fan of having pictures taken. it generally takes much convincing.

newest pictures from three days ago.

 i may or may not be sucking in just a little. ; )

finally, a quick look at our DELICIOUS dinner from last night. jacob used my mom's recipe on some flank steak along with ridiculously large salads, corn, and garlic toast.

i think that is about it, news-wise.

as i said in the title of this post, i am about halfway through this diet process. the top of the healthy range for my height requires me to lose about 30 lb more. i know eventually that i will plateau so i am trying to enjoy how easily the weight is coming off right now. i also know that i need to exercise (which i know i talk about in pretty much every post) and that i am really just making excuses to avoid doing it.

if i have too many giant marshmallows this week...maybe a walk will be necessary before saturday's weigh-in.